A Day In The Life (Harkive)

I suppose this post is a little different in that it is a musical 'day in the life' recorded as part of the Harkive project.

Okay, so what is Harkive? It's a listening project, set up by an MA student at Birmingham City University.  With all the streaming and scrobbling these days it is easy to know what people are listening to but for this project "I am interested in the How, Why and Where. I am less interested in the What." And they are collecting it from around the world on one single day.

So this is my personal contribution. All the music that I have listened to on 9th July 2013, and the reasons why.

At midnight this morning I was sat in bad, on the laptop, headphones on, listening to music.  Our Vapour Trails radio show had gone out a few hours before and I was keen to get some of the prep for next week's show out of the way early.  It actually takes a surprising amount of time to produce an hour of radio!  So I was flicking through my archives, listening to tracks. I tend to run this through Spotify as that gives me access not only to my own CDs & mp3s but thousands of other tracks too. I probably started about 11pm but, as this project only covers today, have only listed the tracks that I listened to after midnight.  Not all of these will be in next week's show and I didn't necessarily listen to the whole track.

• Move Away by Warm Jets
• Never Never by Warm Jets
• Hurricane by Warm Jets
• Vapour Trails by Warm Jets
• I Suppose by Puressence
• Drop Down To Earth by Puressence
• All That You Do by Dandys
• Shelter by The Boo Radleys
• See A Better Day by Graham Coxon
• 26 Years by Menswear
• Fishes by The Real People
• Chemical World by Blur
• Zeroes And Ones by Jesus Jones
• Ruined In A Day by New Order
• Dracula's Castle by New Order
• Snakedriver by Jesus And Mary Chain
• Belaruse by The Levellers

The morning routine tends to be conducted to BBC Radio 5live so the next music was when I got into the car for the drive to work.  I've got an idea for a future show (which I'll blog about in more detail later) involving the Shine compilation albums. I've recently bought all of them second hand and I need to listen to them just to check that the CDs are okay. So I'm ploughing through them on my way to work (a fairly short commute).  I'm on Shine 5, Disc 1.

• The Day We Caught The Train by Ocean Colour Scene
• Charity by Skunk Anansie
• History by Cast
• Stereotypes by Blur

At this point the next song was by The Divine Comedy.  I've got to confess that I've never been able to stand The Divine Comedy so I switched to the radio.  It was tuned to Phonic FM, one of the stations that I have a show on (Britpop Revival Radio Show, 3rd Sunday of the month, 2pm!).  I like Phonic a lot. It's a community station which means that there are no ads and no playlists - the presenters just play what they want.  This leads to the most gloriously eclectic mix of music.  Today I recognised the song 'Wicked Game' but not the version. When the car stopped at a red light I got out my phone and Shazamed it.  I'd had Shazam on my phone for a while but not really used it, so I was impressed that it identified the song instantly.  So to the list we can add;

• Wicked Game by Bossasonic

The next 9 hours was a music free work-day but I did pick up a couple of tweets about new releases that I make a note to listen to later.

Back in the car and of course the radio is still tuned to Phonic. I don't know the song that's playing though I reckon it is probably The Jesus and Mary Chain and I let it play out.  I Shazam again and it confirms the song as;

• On The Wall by The Jesus And Mary Chain

After that I switch back to the Shine 5 CD and am accompanied home by

• Something For The Weekend by The Divine Comedy
• Female Of The Species by Space
• Something 4 The Weekend by Super Furry Animals
• Going Out by Supergrass
• Sleep by Marion
• Inbetweener by Sleeper

Once home I listen to those new songs that I wanted to hear because I think they might be of interest to listeners for next week's show.  I find the Manics on Spotify and Babyshambles on YouTube.

• Rewind The Film by The Manic Street Preachers
• Nothing Comes To Nothing by Babyshambles

At this point I'm interrupted by my youngest daughter practicing her clarinet. So to the mix I guess we should add Oklahoma!, Doe A Deer and assorted scales!

Finally after an evening with the family a quick last minute email check reveals a couple of new tunes.  One from Mark Fernyhough, a songwriter I'm not familiar with, asking if I'd be interested in playing something from his soon to be released debut album (I am) - that one a soundcloud link.  And then an email from Darren of A Northern Light, a band I have long championed, with the youtube link for their first proper video.  So I listen to that too.  

And then just when I think that I'm done I notice that in the corner panel on Youtube is a link to Beady Eye covering Rock 'n' Roll Star at Glastonbury.  I watch this for pure vanity reasons.  It's shaky camera, dodgy quality footage taken by someone in the crowd but I was one of the people stood at the side of the stage for this (right behind Patsy Kensit) and I wanted to see if I could spot myself on the video - I couldn't.

So to finish off the day's listening we have;

• Berlin by Mark Fernyhough
• Kill It by A Northern Light
• Rock 'n' Roll Star by Beady Eye

It's not necessarily a typical day's listening but then it's not atypical either. What I did find interesting though was the different ways in which I listened; Spotify, CD, Radio, YouTube and Soundcloud (oh, and live clarinet!). I wouldn't want to try and do this 'audit' every day but it's been fun and I look forward to seeing some of the results from the Harkive project. If you're interested, be sure to sign up at their website www.harkive.org

Win Tickets to see Suede, Live By The Lake

Suede have been unveiled as the opening act for the latest English Heritage concert season Live By The Lake, held at Kenwood House, London on 23rd August.

It's certainly a diverse series of events.  So alongside the band the Telegraph call 'The Britpop progenitors' (great word!) you have evenings of Opera, Choral Fireworks, Keane and, whisper it quietly, Michael Ball.  Fair to say something for almost everyone there.

I saw Suede's triumphant Alexander Palace show earlier this year (see this post) and this is, quite simply, a band in it's prime.  Not a nostalgia act but a band making great new music and playing it with the same passion and intensity that they had when they burst onto the scene 20 years ago.

So what am I saying? Go and see Suede basically.  If you like their music then you need to see them live.  And if you want an outdoor setting then by the edge of a lake, with "London’s most regal 18th century stately home" as a backdrop doesn't sound bad at all!

And that is where we can help, because the Britpop Revival Show on Phonic FM have a pair of tickets worth about £70 for this must see event to give away! You lucky, lucky people...

How To Enter:

You can enter in 2 ways;

Head over to our Facebook page, then share and tag yourself in our Suede Live By The Lake poster.  Simple.

Or you can use twitter, just tweet this  Tweet

"Win 2 tickets to the Suede @livebythelake gig at Kenwood House. RT to enter. #britpop via @britpoprevival"

If you do both then that's 2 chances to win!

Terms & Conditions and general small print:

It's pretty simple really - we've got a pair of standard tickets to give away for this gig.  That's all. No transport, accommodation or any of that kind of stuff - don't be greedy!

The draw is not scientific but it is at least fair. We'll put the names of everyone who enters into a hat and pull out a winner.  Winner will be chosen on Sunday 23rd June at 6pm so hurry! There you go.

Longpigs: Out Of The Loop?

If you've listened to the radio shows then you'll know that I'm a big fan of Longpigs and so are you probably, because their songs always get a great response whenever we play them.  Comments are normally of the "I'd forgotten how good they were" variety; On And On, She Said and Lost Myself all big hits and quality tunes.

So when I saw that there was a new Longpigs anthology coming out this month, including 5 previously unreleased tracks, I was quite excited.  I tweeted about it, and gave out the Amazon link.  33 songs for £9? Bit of a bargain.

Then I started to get a couple of comments back from people suggesting that all was not as it seems.  The label behind the release was, it was suggested, "a bit dodgy".  Richard Hawley, now mega-selling solo artist but formerly Longpigs guitarist, said on his web site:

"This has nothing to do with me,I know two of us haven't been asked about it,it's some dodgy company as far as we can tell,I doubt very much that anyone from the band will get a penny,the"artwork"is shite,I don't endorse this in any way......thanks folks for your time"(Richard Hawley)

This was worrying. As much as I'd like to see more Longpigs material released, nobody wants to think of artists not being paid.  Time to investigate...

So who are the company behind this?  They are called 3Loop Music and their strapline is "re-engaging artists and fans".

As I understand it their model is to partner with bands and release archive material, licensed from the original record label.  In return for helping to promote the release, bands earn a cut of the sales.  It reads like they are breathing new life into old back catalogues, enabling physical releases of specialist material to a non-mainstream audience (that's you and me folks!), activity that would be uneconomical for a mainstream label.  You can read more about how their business model works on their own web site, here.

The 3Loop website clearly states "our partner artists receive a direct share of the profits from the relevant projects; this is in addition to any recording or publishing royalties that they may be due from the relevant rights holders".  So that's alright, isn't it?  So how come Richard Hawley thinks it's dodgy?  Now I was confused.  So I sent an email off to 3Loop asking some questions and today they called to give me some answers...

3Loop have licenced the Longpigs back catalogue from Universal, who are the rights holders.  They initially spoke with Crispin Hunt (Longpigs frontman and songwriter) about 18 months ago about the project but he was not keen to get involved in promoting any future release.  They state that he is fully aware of the project.  They decided to proceed with the Anthology anyway though, whilst saying that they would have preferred to do it with Crispin's involvement.  Therefore the band do not get a cut of any profits that 3Loop might make but they do get the recording or publishing royalties that come from the licence that 3Loop is paying to Universal.  So by my reckoning Crispin, Richard and the rest will get the same royalties as they would if Universal had put the record out themselves.

There is a problem though.  On their website it clearly lists Longpigs as being a 'partner artist' and they manifestly are not.  So anyone reading the website and buying into the ethos of 3Loop will think that they are supporting the band directly and they are not.  I put this point to 3Loop and they agreed that the website was wrong and that "we really must sort that out".  Yes, they really must and they should do it quickly if they want to retain any credibility.

I'm pleased that 3Loop were open about all this and took the time to get in touch with me.  I don't think that they are 'dodgy' but for a label whose whole ethos is supposed to be about connecting artists, their languishing back catalogues and fans, it is regrettable that their highest profile release so far doesn't follow that actual model.

The model that they are trying to follow is an interesting one and if it can bring unreleased music out of the vaults that can only be a good thing.  I will follow their future releases closely as there is the potential for some really good music to come out - they just need to be careful about how they are listing people on their web site!

For now though, I shall leave the final word to Richard Hawley again:

"Although further to this I hope it gets Crispin some well deserved respect as a songwriter and lifts the band out of an undeserved place in history to something a little nearer the truth"

Longpigs, On And On: The Anthology is out now on 3Loop Music

[Update: Within 24 hours of our contacting them 3Loop had updated their website. Longpigs are no longer listed as 'Partner Artists']

Our Alternative Best Of Britpop

Don't despair Jarvis, we have an alternative!

Recently the NME had a Britpop issue and selected the 100 Greatest Britpop songs. The songs were all good, I've played most of them on the show, but to be honest it was all a bit predictable.  So I asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter for what they considered to be the best of Britpop, but avoiding the behemoths.  Yes, we could still have Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Suede etc. but no Wonderwall, Common People, Parklife - you get the picture.

And did they respond?  Oh yes - hundreds of songs were suggested.  Plenty of them were hits in their own right but some unexpected songs from well known bands (Last Day Of The Miners Strike by Pulp for example) and even some bands I'd not heard of; The High, Headswim & Nancy Boy!

As it happened our monthly Phonic FM show was coming up and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to play some of these songs in our own highly subjective Alternative Best Of Britpop!

Now I'm normally very prepared for our monthly live Britpop Revival Show.  I have most stuff laid out on my laptop in advance, with a back up on my phone just in case and finally in reserve a big bag chock full of assorted Britpop CDs.  I load a couple of CDs into the players in the studio just in case, but not this week.  No, the laptop always worked so why bother?

I get everything plugged in, settle down, say hello to the listeners, "and we'll kick off with this from McAlmont & Butler"!

S   I   L   E   N   C   E

Dead air, the cardinal sin - even at this level.

I start pressing buttons, more in hope than expectation. Okay, time to switch to CDs - the Alternative Best of Britpop idea going out the window, I just need to play something.  Why didn't I pre-load a couple?  Where is my big bag of CDs?  Of course the ones on top are my recent purchases, stuff I haven't even listened to yet; Warm Jets, Smaller, Geneva's much ignored 2nd album.  I dig deeper and pull out Symposium's Farewell To Twilight, I've played it not long ago but it'll do.  I cram it into CD drive 2, apologise to the listeners, fade up and relax.  But no, still silence and now I get the feeling that I am doomed.  Fortunately Spencer, the presenter of the previous show, is still in the studio and calmly points out that I've simply selected the wrong CD drive.  Fade up, music plays and offer many, many thanks to Spence whilst we finally get the laptop working.

Phonic is a community station, run on a shoestring by volunteers.  There are no engineers or producers (well not for most of the shows) and when things go pear-shaped you realise how little you know about how the studio works.  So my objective now is to get to grips with all this gear properly.

After all that the rest of the show went smoothly enough, apart from cutting short Oasis' Slide Away with some bongos.  The joy of live radio.

Thanks to everyone who suggested tracks or who got in touch on twitter during the show.

Track Listing:

1. Farewell To Twilight - Symposium
2. Yes - McAlmont & Butler
3. History - The Verve
4. You're Always Right - These Animal Men
5. Sale Of The Century - Sleeper
6. She Said - Longpigs
7. Here Comes A Soul Saver - The Charlatans
8. Twisterella - Ride
9. Dragging Me Down - Inspiral Carpets
10. Olympian - Gene
11. Tourniquet - Headswim
12. Tranqillizer - Geneva
13. Dolphin - Shed Seven
14. Window Pane - The Real People
15. Slide Away - Oasis
16. Being Brave - Menswear
17. This Feeling - Puressence
18. The Wild Ones - Suede
19. End Of A Century - Blur
20. I'm So Lonely - Cast
21. Box Set Go - The High
22. Last Day Of The Miners Strike - Pulp
23. Cocaine Socialism - Pulp
24. Step Into My Word - Hurricane #1
25. Untouchable - Rialto
26. Sleep - Marion
27. Love Is The Law - The Seahorses

The Britpop Revival Show broadcasts on the 3rd Sunday of the month, 2pm to 4pm, on Phonic FM (106.8FM in the Exeter area or online at www.phonic.fm)

However you can hear our weekly Vapour Trails show every Monday 3pm EST (8pm UK time) on Strangeways Radio, www.strangewaysradio.com

Track Listing from April Britpop Revival Show

Owing to a variety of reasons, some planned and some unplanned, there had not been a Britpop Revival Radio Show for a couple of months.  So to make it up to people I decided to make this show a 'Hit' special.

Being a monthly live show on a local FM station, BRRS is usually more mainstream than Vapour Trails, our weekly, specialist show.  However for this edition I decided that every song would be a Top 40 hit from a different artist.  (Well, there was one song that only made it to 41 - got to break the rules somewhere!)

This is the playlist:

1. Blur - Parklife
2. Elastica - Waking Up
3. The Bluetones - Slight Return
4. Manic Street Preachers - La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)
5. The Chemical Brothers (ft Noel Gallagher) - Setting Sun
6. Kula Shaker - Hey Dude
7. Oasis - Supersonic
8. 60 Ft. Dolls - Talk To Me
9. Gay Dad - To Earth With Love
10. Radiohead - Karma Police
11. Gene - We Could Be Kings
12. Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo
13. The Candyskins - Monday Morning
14. Cast - Alright
15. Cataonia - Mulder and Scully
16. The Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo!
17. The Seahorses - Love Me and Leave Me
18. The Charlatans - Tellin' Stories
19. Echobelly - Insomniac
20. Dodgy - Staying Out For The Summer
21. James - Runaground
22. The Auteurs - Lenny Valentino
23. Suede - Beautiful Ones
24. The Supernaturals - Smile
25. Sleeper - Nice Guy Eddie
26. Ash - Burn Baby Burn
27. Pulp - Common People
28. Shed Seven - Getting Better
29. The Verve - Sonnet

That is a lot of quality tunes!

Don't forget that every song we ever play gets added to our Spotify Playlist.  Please subscribe and share.

The Britpop Revival Radio Show is on Phonic FM 2pm to 4pm on the 3rd Sunday of the month. You can listen online at www.phonic.fm, at www.tunein.com or via the TuneIn app.

SULK Interview

So this basically a blog posting just linking to another blog posting!

SULK are one of my favourite new bands.  I've always been a sucker for a jangly guitar and they have them in spades.  Their debut album Graceless has just been released and is already a contender for my album of the year. Yes, there are comparisons to be made with the Stone Roses but there is plenty that is original here and I strongly recommend giving them a listen.

I had lead singer Jon on the Vapour Trails show recently and you can read my interview with him on the Strangeways Radio blog.

It starts and ends with Suede

Suede at The Alexandra Palace, 30.03.13

There is something in the timing of this event.  20 years to the day (well, almost) since the release of their eponymous decade defining debut and just a month after they put out their first new album in 11 years, this feels like a key moment.

There is a lot of money to be made on the nostalgia circuit and the 20th anniversary of a classic album would be reason enough for many bands to hit the road one more time.  However with Bloodsports sitting in the top 10 of the albums chart and garnering glowing reviews, this could not be more different.  Suede have always had an arrogance and a swagger to them and with the new album on display they have both in abundance.  The scene is set, not for the 90s or even just a gig, but, given that we are in a palace, for a coronation.

When Fred Macpherson of Spector, ends his band’s support set by saying “And let us not forget that we are gathered here this Easter to witness the resurrection of our lord... Brett Anderson”, he is joking but also assessing the mood of the sold out crowd.  This needs to be good, no it needs to be glorious.  Nothing less will do.  

The PA incongruously blasts out Sabbath and then the Pistols, an amalgam of album artwork backdrop illuminates the stage with an unknown (to me) classical surge of violins that lasts for what seems like ages but is probably only a minute.  Then they take to the stage, all dressed in Sleeperbloke black apart of course from Anderson.  Still skinnier than any other 45 year old I know, still moving like Jagger, he and the band have aged well.  I’ve seen other 90s bands where the years have left them looking, well like many fortysomethings, with retreating hairlines and expanding waistlines.  Still good bands but looking... old.  Suede just look like Suede.

They tear straight into Barriers the opening track from Bloodsports and the crowd reacts as if it was their biggest hit.  The first three songs are from the new album, all driving intensity such that when they follow them with Animal Nitrate and Metal Mickey, the big hits from that debut, it just fits.  An incredible opening salvo of 5 songs that are 20 years apart but are equals in candour and fervour.  Even the back of the hanger-like Ally Pally is bouncing like they are down at the barriers.

Brett spent quite a bit of time down by the barriers himself, disappearing for entire songs at a time into the front rows, wanting to be part of it.  I half expected to see him crowdsurfing his way to the back.  It must have been a great experience for those at the front, for the rest of us it left us watching what felt like an empty stage until his return.  

White shirted in the spotlight, striking messianic poses or windmilling his mic with a ferocity that would make a health and safety inspector cry, he commands your attention.  There is no ‘banter’ but plenty of communication and an hour and a half has already passed before we realise that Trash and Beautiful Ones can only mean the end of the set.  “Sing along with this one.  You know the words and if you don’t know the words then why are you here?” he asks.  Everyone knows the words.

Thank you and goodnight!