let the spirits move you

A couple of year ago I decided that I’d not buy as many albums due to an ever increasing collection and only a limited time to listen to them. I had a great idea. I’d just buy seven inches instead. They don’t take up half as much room and they’re much quicker to listen to. What started out as a nice lunchtime shopping distraction has turned into a full-blown addiction. I’m now running out of shelf and box space for the little blighters. All my talk of getting some bespoke shelves made has amounted to nothing. It was all bluff and bluster. I’ve not bothered my arse doing anything about it. It’s now at the point where I’m buying seven inches that I’d forgotten I already owned. What will become of all this?

After lamenting the lack of seven inches out there I decided that maybe I should just try harder to find some. Like a junkie looking for a fix (but slightly better dressed and a little more handsome) I steeled myself late last week to venture forth into the various record stores of Dublin. And as it turns out I had a highly successful trip. I picked up nine little beauties and took them back home to take their place in the vinyl vault. Here they will gather dust until my kids reach their teenage years and thank me for the collection I amassed on their behalf. Or something like that!

The Smiths released ‘Hand in Glove’ as their first single and it failed to chart. Not to be outdone both Morrissey and Johnny Marr entreated the then retired Sandie Shaw to do a cover of it. Hey presto it’s a hit. Next thing you know she’s writhing on the floor during an appearance on Top of the Pops. Behind her are Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, all barefoot, in homage to the great woman herself. I don’t think it’s as good as the original but I’m glad to have a copy of it for posterity.

So too was there gladness when I picked up a copy of Joe Jackson’s ‘Is she really going out with him’. I’ll put it beside my recently acquired copy of ‘Stepping Out’ by the same artist. I don’t really know much of his other stuff and to be honest I’m afraid to listen to it in case I’m disappointed. I like those two tunes so much that I find it hard to believe he could have equalled or bettered them. I remember he appeared on 'Later' a few years back and I think he might have performed this tune. That only leads me to believe that he hasn't done anything better.

I got both of the aforementioned seven inches in Spindizzy Records in the Georges Street Arcade. They’d also got a couple of boxes of second-hand reggaes sevens in so I had to have a look through them too. There was loads of stuff there that I was kind of interested in but as I say, space is at a premium in Chez Vinyl these days. As such I settled for the following three tunes. ‘Fally Ranking’ by Johnny Osborne was released on the Greensleeves label in 1980. This seven-inch of the tune is a repressing from 2001 and delightfully features a b-side by Black Uhuru of a top reggae tune called ‘I love King Selassie’. The next couple of reggae sevens look like they’re represses on the Trojan subsidiary label, Jackpot. The first is the well-known Ken Boothe version of The Abyssinians classic ‘Satta Massa Gana’ and has the accompanying Satta Riddim on the flip side. Likewise with the next tune. It’s another Abyssinians tune ‘Declaration of Rights’, this time by Johnny Clarke and it too has the version on the flip. Animal tune!

A trip down to All City Records was equally, if not more, successful. I bagged the new seven-inch by Mike Slott on the All City label. It’s hard to describe but I’m going to attempt it anyway. I was listening to it over the shop speakers when some teenage kids came in to buy some spray paint. One of them asked if the shop sold dance music and proceeded to treat me to some happy hardcore that he had on his phone. I told him that he was in fact listening to some cutting edge leftfield hip-hop over the shop speakers but he couldn’t reconcile my description with what he was hearing. Therein lies the problem with describing ‘Flunky’ by Mike Slott. It really is going to have limited appeal to most people. Like Guinness you have to acquire a taste for this. I think it’s great.

There were a bunch of other seven inches behind the counter so I picked them up and starting listening to them. I picked out an eighties nu-soul/funk tune by, wait for it, Wynd Chymes. The track is pure cheese. Now don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not talking Galtee Easi Singles here. I’m talking good cheese. A finely aged Stilton. A nice Camembert even. It’s called ‘Baby you’re the one’ and it really is a cracker. All bass and hairspray. The other tune that I picked out was by German dubstepper Phokus and it’s called ‘Police in Helicopter’. The tune is called Inta and the flip side has a remix by Wadadda on it. The pressing is limited to 400 copies and that makes me feel pretty bad. It turns out that Olan had ordered the pile of records I’d picked up for himself. Nevertheless being the consummate professional he still sold me the two tunes I wanted. Now that’s service for you.

Finally I also chanced upon the latest seven inch release from the latest Roots Manuva album Slime and Reason. It’s called ‘Let the Spirit’ and I hadn’t really given it much thought when listening to the album. Then I saw it performed on ‘Later’ and I was hooked. It’s sparse and simple and it’s beautiful. I have the kids singing the chorus all day. I think that they’re hooked too. Here he is on Later.

going underground

I think I might have mentioned it before here but I've more info on it now and its closer to the mark, so I'll bring it up again. It's nice to have mates that do interesting things, that way you can save yourself all the creative heartache and hang on to their coat tails instead. One such bloke is the ubiquitous Dennis Mc Nulty. He's at it again and this time I was determined to get a piece of the action.

Underground takes place in the basement of Road Records. It begins on the 27th of this month and ends on the 6th of July. The exhibition and accompanying publication look at the changes in independent music culture in Dublin over the last 15 years, tracking the relationship between the local and the global, society and technology and charting the erasure of the boundary between the public and the private. Some of you will note that I've just robbed that last sentence from the blurb as I'd never write anything as complicated as that myself. Contributors to the collaborative project include such artistic heavyweights as droid + slug/weareie, David Lacey, Daragh McCarthy, Dennis McNulty, Naptha, Stephen Rennicks, Dave & Julie Road and of course , me! There's a host of others involved but by giving you a short list it appears that I've contributed much more than I actually have.

When I started to look back at the rock scene in Dublin just over ten years ago I came across a movie by the above-mentioned Daragh McCarthy called 'The Stars are Underground'. I find it brilliant that such a snapshot in time exists on the interweb. It post-dates my own involvement in the band scene here in Dublin. I was fortunate enough to be in a couple of second rate bands where I met lots of interesting people. As one of Jubilee puts it in the film, we were a bands band. Only bands liked us. The film is that much more fascinating because I know so many of the people in it. You can check out a youthful Lee Casey from Jubilee (later the Jubilee Allstars), Conzo and Dave from Female Hercules, Rocky and Dennis from Cruiser, Dylan and Kevin from Pet Lamb. The sad thing is that most of them never went on to achieve the fame or cash that they deserved, but the rock worlds loss has been Dublins record and clothing stores gain.

Check out the film in three parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

parish notes

There's been an upsurge in activity relating to Dublin record shops in recent days and it looks like its going to continue into the foreseeable future.

First up, All City Records have witnessed the passing of Kilkenny hip-hop legend Cool C. Don't fret folks, he ain't dead, he's just moved to Valencia in Spain to be with his girlfriend. The things we do for love. His departure leaves a mighty void in All City but I'm sure it will be suitably filled in time. I'm going to miss my lunchtime chats with Cormac so it looks like OB will be bearing the brunt of my rants for the foreseeable future. On a related note they also got some transition year students in on work experience and made them clean the toilet. Put that on your CV lads.

It also appears that Big Brother have had enough of the cohabitation with All City. Like a Cinderella that's been locked in the basement (no Austrian puns intended) they've decided to move somewhere where natural light is available. As it turns out, they're only moving around the corner onto Fownes St, just in front of the Central Bank plaza. In related news, it appears that they wish to make a clean break with the past because they've gone and gotten themselves a brand new name. Henceforth they shall be known as Beatfinder (which for some reason makes me sing Teethgrinder by Therapy every time I hear it).

Not to be outdone with all this moving and shaking, Road Records will play host to an exhibition/installation by Peter Maybury and my aul arty mucker, Dennis Mc Nulty. They'll be comandeering the basement in Road (which coincidentally was a former home to Big Brother) in order to unleash some arty stuff on the music and art loving public. I don't know much about it yet but I do know that its concerned with reflecting on the changes in independent music culture in Dublin over the last fifteen years (or so). It's called UNDERGROUND which is very apt.

whiskey on a sunday

Sunday Best Records have been knocking out the seven inches by the dozen over the last few months. One of their latest releases is 'Animal Sounds' by Grand National. For this one they've raided Human Leagues studio and robbed what sounds like an old eighties Fairlight synthesiser. It's an altogether low-key affair that I didn't like on the first listen but since then its really grown on me. It's such a slow builder and the build of the song is somewhat reminiscent of the low-key build up on Sweet Harmony by The Beloved. Of course it sounds nothing like that tune but there are similarities in the undercurrents of both tunes. The B-side features a remix by Fear of Theydon and it takes the low-keyness, takes a beat, layers it with some dinky keyboard sounds and turns it into quite a groover.

Another seven that I picked up is the second part of a two-part release by The Little Ones. It's two remixes of their latest single 'Ordinary Song' on Heavenly Records. The first remix is by X-Press 2 and it's a full on, four to the floor tune. The flip-side is a remix by Electrelane, a band that I enjoyed at last years Electric Picnic. It couldn't be more different than the X-Press version. This one is a simple guitar riff overlayed with an ethereal sound that is reminiscent of listening to the Cocteau Twins play in the next room. It's all a bit spacey. I like it though.

I've been breaking my nuts trying to get a seven inch copy of 'It must be love' by Labi Siffre. I've ordered it online twice only to be told that they didn't have it. I've a funny feeling that I actually have a copy already but I haven't found that yet. Instead I picked up 'Too Late' by Labi and its the business. Its like an old bluebeat tune. Simple off-beat guitar riff and Mr Siffre's dulcet tones. I love it. J'adore.

In the same secondhand shop I chanced upon the second seven inch release on the Trensmat label. I've mentioned these quite recently and I'm also awaiting delivery of their two latest releases. The seven i picked up is by a band called 'Mugstar' and to be honest this is pretty full on prog. I'm not sure which tune is on which side, but the one that I like is fucking rocking and I'm not pushed on the other one.

The latest from Tiny Masters of Today is released on Mute Records and is called 'Hologram World'. Its an infectious little garage punk-pop ditty. I can't really say much more about it.

Brass in Africa was released on seven inch in 2007 but I only heard it today for the first time. Its by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and released on Handcuts Records, a Tokyo based label and shop. It's a reworking of Shaft in Africa (from the movie soundtrack of the same name) and it's funky to bits. It has all the urgency of the original tune and a lot more.

Last but not least is a 2007 release from Cucumber on Cosmic Groove, the French shop and record label. It's a complete sixties groove on the a-side 'It's Hippopotime' with a little bit of scratching and what sounds like a kazoo in the background. You feel like you're in a sonic advertisement. There's a bell chiming in the background that reminds me of a song used in a recent advert for somethin I don't remember. The b-side is a bit more brassy sounding with a wah-wah guitar running through it. It's all starting to sound like a psychedelic extravaganza.

I was watching Other Voices during the week and Interference were on it. I was only wondering what happened to them and indeed posed the question on this blog very recently. They never went away you know, or if they did, it wasn't too far. I remember seeing them play a lunchtime gig in Merrion Square and the same series of gigs also saw The Frames play the same venue. Coincidentally, Glen Hansard from The Frames was also on the Other Voices show. Glen is starting to look too much like Avid Merrion for my comfort. Someone should tell him.

sometimes it's hard to be a .................

Drifting around at lunchtime today, I decided to pick up a seven inch that I'd been looking at for the last couple of months. It's such a pain in the hole trying to buy vinyl in most shops these days. Both Tower Records and HMV hold the needles and carts for their turntables behind the counter. They will hand out said needle and cartridge for a deposit of €20. The rationale behind this is that they keep getting nicked. Fair enough but I'm not going to nick their needles. They must be mistaking me for some thieving urchin. I'll grant them that that's quite a common mistake made with me. I also have issues with Freebird Records (both shops). That fucker Chris is an ignorant bollix and I now refuse to use the shop that he works in. Instead I've taken to frequenting their other store on Wicklow Street. I've been buying vinyl there for ages now. They must know me! I'm the sad sap who goes straight to their 7" box a few times a week to check for new stuff. For ages I'd go in, listen to a couple of tunes and would regularly purchase items. Then all of a sudden last week, the bloke who has been watching me go through my routine for god knows how long, tells me that I need to ask him before I use the turntable. This is the turntable, on the counter, beside the 7" vinyl, that does not indicate in any way that I must ask to use it and it's also the one that I've been using without asking for an eternity. It was the final straw. It was a breach of trust that had existed between me and this particular store. The trust was broken. The relationship was over. Freebird can go and fuck off. There is a happy ending however. I still have Road Records. No matter how pissed off Dave & Julie are to see me most lunchtimes, me talking shite, clogging up their shop, they still cater to vinyl lovers like myself. Informative, witty and professional they stand head and shoulders above most others. I should also give thanks and praise for Big Brother Records and All City Records. Both Gerry and Cormac indulge my nonsense on a regular basis and for that I salute them.

Anyhow, that was a roundabout way of explaining why its taken so long to pick up 'It's a beat' by Simian Mobile Disco. It was in Tower, HMV and Freebird but not in Road, Big Brother or All City. I came across the SMD MySpace the other day and finally got to listen to it. It bears an uncanny resemblance to 'This beat is technotronic' by MC B feat. Daisy Dee. For the 90's EuroPop pedants This beat is Technotronic was also released by Technotronic in the same year. I'm not sure why they released the same tune twice in the same year under different names, but they did. I have a copy of both to prove it. Now I have a copy of 'It's a beat' to put beside them. Their new album 'Attack Decay Sustain Release' was released today and they'll be playing down at the Electric Picnic in September. SMD that is, not Technotronic.

I also chanced upon the new 7" from The Gossip and it's called 'Listen Up'. It's far more polished than 'Standing in the way of control' was but that's to be expected. The bassline is pretty funky and it gets you hooked fairly lively. The cowbell kicks in and all of a sudden you're galloping up the charts with Beth Ditto. That must be some horse of a tune. Indeed it is. It'll have the crowds rocking all over the festival circuit. It's rock disco (I'm not sure if that's a genre?)at its finest. You can listen to it on their MySpace. There's also a freaky version of George Michael's Careless Whisper there.

I had a bit of a rite of passage with my eldest son yesterday. I brought him to see Dublin v Meath in Croke Park. He seemed to take the whole thing in his stride. He didn't seem to mind the toothless Meath man (with some green and yellow string tied around his head and a heady aroma of stout and urine about him) sitting next to us. He kept telling me that Dublin were going to win but sometimes you can only smile to yourself as you look at their innocent optimistic cherubic faces. As it turns out he was spot on. If he makes a habit of this I'll be getting him a subscription to the Racing Post.