Transatlantica Radio

August 26, 2009 -- Last Show!

2009-08-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love)
Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are The Pipettes)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva La Vida)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Delgados -- Coming In From The Cold (Hate)
Streets -- The Irony of it All (Original Pirate Material)
Basement Jaxx -- Cish Cash (Kish Kash)
Ting Tings -- That's Not My Name (We Started Nothing)
Lightning Seeds -- Pure (Cloudcuckooland)
Teenage Fanclub -- It's All In My Mind (Man Made)
Robyn Hitchcock -- Belltown Ramble (Ole Tarantula)
Jens Lekman -- Black Cab (Maple Leaves EP)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Heavy Blinkers -- He HEard His Song (The Night and I Are Still Young)
Hidden Cameras -- Breathe On It (The Smell of Our Own)
God Help The Girl -- Perfection as a Hipster (God Help the Girl)
Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Belle and Sebastian -- Jonathan David (EP)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of...)
Divine Comedy -- Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
Morrissey -- Now My Heart Is Full (Vauxhall And I)
Elbow -- Scattered Black and Whites (Asleep at the Back)
Dire Straits -- Going Home, the Theme from 'Local Hero' (Alchemy Live)

Playlist for August 12, 2009

2009-08-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Menswear -- Daydreamer (Nuisance)
KT Tunstall -- If Only (Drastic Fantastic)
Beatles -- Nowhere Man (Rubber Soul)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
Glasvegas -- Geraldine (Glasvegas)
Robyn Hitchcock -- Up to Our Nex (Goodnight Oslo)
Boy Least Likely To -- Saddle Up (Law of the Playground)
Stereolab -- Ping Pong (Serene Velocity)
God Help The Girl -- Perfection as a Hipster (God Help the Girl)
God Help the Girl -- I'll Have to Dance with Cassie (God Help the Girl)
Loveninjas -- I Wanna Be Like Johnny C (Labrador 100)
KLF -- Last Train to Transcentral (White Room)
Moloko -- Day for Night (Do You Like My Tight Sweater?)
Lemon Jelly -- A Song for Jack (lemonjelly.ky)
Lily Allen -- LDN (Alright, Still...)
Pet Shop Boys -- Rent (Discography)
Glenn Tilbrook -- Melancholy Emotion (Pandemonium Ensues)
Duckworth Lewis Method -- Age of Revolution (Duckworth Lewis Method)
The Streets -- Let's Push Things Forward (Original Pirate Material)
Madness -- Sugar and Spice (The Liberty of Norton Folgate)
Peter Gabriel -- Sledgehammer (Shaking the Tree)
Traveling Wilburys -- Handle With Care (Volume 1)
Frightened Rabbit -- (HEads Roll Off) Midnight Organ Fight
Morrissey -- Something Is Squeezing My Skull (Years of Refusal)
God Help the Girl -- A Down and Dusty Blonde (God Help the Girl)
Chrysler -- When Sarah Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)

Stuart Murdoch NYT Article

2009-08-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Since I'm enjoying "God Help The Girl" so much, I though I would post a link to a longish piece in the NYT magazine that focuses on Murdoch and the recording of the album -- well worth a read!

Playlist from July 29, 2009

2009-07-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Where Do The NIghts of Sleep Go To When They Do Not Come To Me? (guide for the Daylight Hours)
The Fall -- Theme From Sparta FC (The Real new Fall LP)
Franz Ferdinand -- Turn It On (Tonight)
Gorillaz -- Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Echobelly -- Great Things (ON)
Mclusky -- Alan Is A Cowboy Killer (Do Dallas)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Radiohead -- Idioteque (Kid A)
Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are The Pipettes)
The Go Team -- We Just Won't Be Defeated (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
Blur -- You're So Great (Blur)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (Seldom Seen Kid)
Boy LEast Likely to -- Saddle up (Law of the Playground)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degree of Separation (Born in the UK)
Belle & Sebastian -- Boy With the Arab Strap (Boy With The Arab Strap)
Baxter Dury -- Lucifer's Grain (Len Parrot's Memorial Lift)
Tindertsicks -- Sometimes It Hurts (Waiting for the Moon)
Cake Sale -- Aliens (Cake Sale)
Doves -- House of Mirrors (Kingdom of Rust)
Robyn Hitchcock -- I'm Falling (Goodnight Oslo)
Neil Halstead -- Oh Mighty Engine (Oh Mighty Engine)
Billy Bragg -- She's Leaving Home (Reaching to the Converted)
JAMC -- Happy When It Rains (Darklands)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out Of This Country (Let's Get Out Of This Country)

2009-07-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Suede -- Trash (Coming Up)
Magic Numbers -- take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Hooverphonic -- 2Wicky (single)
Guillemots -- Made up Lovesong #3 (From the Cliffs)
Lightning Seeds -- Pure (Cloudcuckooland)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Shudder to Think -- Hot One (Velvet Goldmine)
Morrissey -- Now My HEart is Full (Vauxhall & I)
Teenage Fanclub -- Near You (Howdy!)
Franz Ferdinand -- Ulysses (Tonight)
Jesus and Mary Chain -- Rollercoaster (Power of Negative Thinking)
Death in Vegas -- Aisha (Contino Sessions)
Led Zeppelin --Immigrant Song (BBC Sessions)
Komeda -- It's Alright Baby (What Makes It Go?)
Radio Dept. -- Pulling Our Weight (Labrador 100)
Jens Lekman -- Black Cab (Maple Leaves EP)
Robyn Hitchcock -- Up To Our Nex (Goodnight Oslo)
Boy Least Likely To -- I Keep Myself to Myself (Law of the Playground)
Bibio -- Ambivalence Avenue (Ambivalence Avenue)
Neil Halstead -- baby I Grew You A Beard (Oh Mighty Engine)
The Cure -- Plainsong (Disintegration)
Cocteau Twins -- Evangeline (Lullabies to Violaine)
Black Box Recorder -- Goodnight Kiss (Facts of Life)

Playlist from July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Graham Coxon -- Bittersweet Bundle of Misery (Happiness in Magazines)
Madness -- Michael Caine (Divine Madness)
Brian Eno -- Black Frank (Here Come The Warm Jets)
Pipettes -- We Are The Pipettes (We Are the Pipettes)
Duran Duran -- Wild Boys (Singles 1981 - 1985)
Smiths -- There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Singles)
Robyn Hitchcock -- My Wife and My Dead Wife (Fegmania)
Belle & Sebastian -- Take this Carriage Clock and Shove It (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Neil Halstead -- Oh! Mighty Engine (Oh! Mighty Engine)
Lloyd Cole -- No Blue Skies (Lloyd Cole)
The Cure -- Snow in Summer (Join the Dots)
The Cure -- Halo (Join the Dots)
The Cure -- I'm Cold (Join the Dots)
The Cure -- This Twilight Garden (Join the Dots)
Doves -- Kingdom of Rust (Kingdom of Rust)
Boy Least Likely To -- Saddle Up (Law of the PLayground)
Brakes -- Two Shocks (Touchdown)
Kooks -- Mr. Maker (Konk)
Streets -- Don't Mug Yourself (Original Pirate Material)
Art Brut -- Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
Cocteau Twins -- Bluebeard (Lullabies to Violaine)
Maps -- Lost My Soul (We Can Create)
Glasvegas -- Geraldine (Glasvegas)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Suede -- Shipbuilding (HELP)
Blur -- Sweet Song (Think Tank)

Playlist from June 17

2009-06-17T20:01:00.001-07:00

Aztec Camera -- Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
British Sea Power -- Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Hayfever (I've Seen Everything)
Pet Shop Boys -- Did You See Me Coming? (Yes)
New Order -- Regret (Singles)
Golfrapp -- A&E (Seventh Tree)
Morrissey -- Something is Squeezing My Skull (Years of Refusal)
Nouvelle Vague -- The Killing Moon
Neil Halsted -- A Gentle Heart (Oh Mighty Engine)
Gomez -- See the World (How We Operate)
The Cure -- Just Like Heaven (Single)
Black Box Recorder -- French Rock & Roll (Facts of Life)
Alison Moyet -- It's Not The Thing (The Turn)
Brakes -- Heard About Your Band (Give Blood)
Rolling Stones -- Shine a Light (Exile on Main Street)
David Bowie -- Always Crashing In The Same Car (Low)
Brian Eno -- This (Another Day On Earth)
Del Amitri -- Move Away Jimmy Blue (Waking Hours)
Jesus & Mary Chain -- Terminal Beach (The Power of Negative Thinking)
Belle & Sebastian -- Act of the Apostle (The Life Pursuit)
The Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are The Pipettes)
The Boy Least Likely To -- When Life Gives Me Lemons (Law of the Playground)
Robyn Hitchcock -- America (Gotta Let This Hen Out)
Ed Harcourt -- Something In My Eye (Here Be Monsters)
Turin Brakes -- State of Things (Optimist LP)
Stone Roses -- Love Spreads (Second Coming)
Elbow -- Scattered Black & Whites (Asleep at the Back)

Playlist from June 3, 2009

2009-06-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Death in Vegas -- Dirge (Contino Sessions)
My Bloody Valentine -- When You Sleep (Loveless)
Pulp -- Pink Glove (His & Hers)
T-Rex -- Telegram Sam (the Slider)
Belle and Sebastian -- Blues are Still Blue (The Life Pursuit)
Futureheads -- First Day (Futureheads)
David Bowie -- Ashes to Ashes (Changes)
Nick Cave -- Dig Lazarus Dig (Dig Lazarus Dig)
Rumble Strips -- Girls and Boys in Love (Girls and Weather)
The Boy Least Likely To -- Every Goliath has Its David (Law of the Playground)
Morrissey -- First of the Gang to Die (You Are the Quarry)
Kate Bush -- How to be Invisible (Aerial)
Magic Numbers -- Love is a Game (Magic Numbers)
Aerospace -- The Great Divide (Labrador 100)
Sambassadeur -- Between the Lines (Labrador 100)
Radio Department -- Pulling Our Weight (Labrador 100)
Glasvegas -- It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry (Glasvegas)
James -- Tomorrow (Best)
Rolling Stones -- Tumbling Dice (Exile on Main Street)
Neil Halstead -- Oh Mighty Engine (Oh Mighty Engine)
Kate Walsh -- Your Song (Tim's House)
Stina Nordenstam -- Little Star (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck)
Turin Brakes -- Feeling Oblivion (Optimist LP)
Divine Comedy -- Everybody Knows Except You (A Short Album About Love)

Playlist from May 6, 2009

2009-05-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)
The Coral -- Dreaming of You (The Coral)
Reindeer Section -- You Are My Joy (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Graham Coxon -- Bittersweet Bundle of Misery (Happiness in Magazines)
Glasvegas -- Geraldine (Glasvegas)
Mclusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Primatives -- Crash (Lovely)
Jens Lekman -- Friday Night at the Drive In Bingo (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Acid House Kings -- This and That (Labrador 100)
Sambassadeur -- Between the Lines (Labrador 100)
Pet Shop Boys -- Love, etc. (Yes)
Boy Least Likely To -- A Balloon on a Broken String (Law of the Playground)
Paul Weller -- All I Want to Do Is Be With You (22 Dreams)
Radiohead -- Wolf at the Door (Hail to the Thief)
Aereogramme -- Black Path (Sleep & Release)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva La Vida)
Morrissey -- Something is Squeezing My Skull (Years of Refusal)
Cribs -- Men's Needs (Men's Needs Women's Needs Whatever)
Libertines -- Time for Heroes (Up The Bracket)
Beth Orton -- Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Faraway Eyes (Spanish Dance Troupe)
Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard his Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love)
Stranglers -- No More Heroes (UK Punk I)
Ned's Atomic Dustbin -- Grey Cells Green (God Fodder)
Cast -- Alright (All Change)

Skinner, you swine!

2009-05-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Mike Skinner of The Streets has been quick to respond to the H1N1 influenza-A situation. Has he bought a load of face-masks and made a Tamiflu stockpile in his basement?

No, he's recorded a song about it.

Playlist -- April 22, 2009

2009-04-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Suede -- The Drowners (Suede)
Pulp -- This is Hardcore (This is Hardcore)
Glasvegas -- Geraldine (Glasvegas)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Jesus & Mary Chain -- April Skies (Darklands)
Pet Shop Boys -- Love, etc. (Yes)
Madness -- It Must Be Love (Divine Madness)
Depeche Mode -- Personal Jesus (Violator)
Camera Obscura -- French Navy (My Maudlin Career)
St. Etienne -- You're In a Bad Way (Singles)
The Boy Least Likely To -- Saddle Up (Law of the Playground)
Radio Department -- Pulling Our Weight (Labrador 100)
Neil Halstead -- A Gentle HEart (Oh Mighty Engine)
Leisure Society -- Last of the Melting Snow (The Sleeper)
Superstar -- Barfly (Greatest Hits Vol. 1)
Stereolab -- Wow & Flutter (Mars Audiac Quintet)
Gene -- Sleep Well Tonight (Olympian)
Guillemots -- Trains to Brazil (From the Cliffs)
James -- Waterfall (Hey Ma)
Wonder Stuff -- Maybe (Never LOved Elvis)
The Fall -- Hey Luciani! (50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong)
Editors -- Smokers OUtside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Flight of the Conchords -- Bowie (Flight of the Conchords)

Playlist for April 8, 2009

2009-04-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Jam -- Going Underground (Sound of...)
Ikara Colt -- At The Lodge (Chat & Business)
The Fall -- Fiery jack (50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Camera Obscura -- Shine Like a New Pin (Biggest Bluest Hi fi)
Sean Lennon -- Headlights (Friendly Fire)
Robyn Hitchcok -- Belltown Ramble (Ole, Tarantula)
Lloyd Cole -- Music in a Foreign Language (Music in a Foreign Language)
Neil Halstead -- A Gentle Heart (Oh Mighty Engine!)
Echo & The Bunnymen -- Ocean Rain (Ocean Rain)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Divine Comedy -- I'm All You Need (A Short Album About Love)
Eurythmics -- When Tommorrow Comes (Revenge)
Black Box Recorder -- Girl Singing in the Wreckage (Child Psychology)
Cocteau Twins -- Rilkean Heart (Milk & Kisses)
Prefab Sprout -- Appetite (Steve McQueen)
Aztec Camera -- Walk Out To Winter (Retrospect)
Kinks -- Where Have All The Good Times Gone? (BBC Sessions)
Brian Eno -- The True Wheel (Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy)
Nick Cave -- Midnight Man (Dig Lazarus Dig!!!)
Jilted John -- Jilted John (UK Pop I)
Strawberry Switchblade -- Since Yesterday (Living In Oblivion)
Ride -- Twisterella (Going Blank Again)

Ahhhh, England....

2009-04-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

At the risk of reducing my week in England to a single cliched image, here I am in the Truf Tavern pub in Oxford, pint in hand, fish & chips on the table in front of me.

NB: It's not raining. Or snowing.

Playlist for March 25, 2009

2009-03-25T20:04:00.001-07:00

Badly Drawn Boy -- You Were Right (Have You Fed the Fish?)
Delgados -- Coming in from the Cold (Hate)
Blur -- End of a Century (Best of)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Lightning Seeds -- Sense (Sense)
Belle & Sebastian -- Another Sunny Day (Life Pursuit)
Stereo Total -- Dactylo Rock (Stereo Total)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Cocteau Twins -- Seekers Who Are Lovers (BBC Sessions)
St. Etienne -- Like a Motorway (Travel Edition)
Black Box Recorder -- The English Motorway (Facts of Life)
Bjork -- Play Dead (Greatest Hits)
Nick Drake -- Hazey jane II (Bryter Layter)
Neil Halstead -- A Gentle Heart (Oh Mighty Engine!)
Sondre Lerche -- You Know So Well (Faces Down)
Ballboy -- A Day in Space (Club Anthems)
Acid House Kings -- This & That (Labrador 100)
Club 8 -- Missing You (Labrador 100)
Lasse Lindh -- C'Mon Through (Labrador 100)
Leslies -- Dear Friend (Labrador 100)
Maps -- Elouise (We Can Create)
My Bloody Valentine -- Blown a Wish (Loveless)
Slowdive -- When the Sun Hits (Souvlaki)
Hidden Cameras -- Builds the Bone (Mississauga Goddam)
Dire Straits -- Going Home, theme from Local Hero (Alchemy -- Live)

Playlist from March 11, 2009

2009-03-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Longpigs -- She Said (The Sun is Often Out)
Suede -- So Young (Suede)
Radiohead -- Climbing the Walls (OK Computer)
The Fall -- Sparta FC (The Real New Fall LP)
The Jam -- In The City (The Sound of the Jam)
Ballboy -- You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Round With Arseholes (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Supergrass -- Richard III (In It For The Money)
Teenage Fanclub -- Personality Crisis (Velvet Goldmine)
The Futureheads -- A to B (The Futureheads)
Looper -- Impossible Things #2 (Up a Tree)
Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are The Pipettes)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Hayfever (I've Seen Everything)
Frightened Rabbit -- Fast Blood (Midnight Organ Fight)
Brian Eno & John Cale -- Empty Frame (Wrong Way Up)
Travis -- Battleships (The Boy With No Name)
Elbow -- Scattered Black & Whites (Asleep at the Back)
Neil Halstead -- A Gentle Heart (Oh Mighty Engine)
Divine Comedy -- Frog Princess (Casanova)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Let Those Blue Skies (How I Long to Feel That Summer In My Heart)
Lloyd Cole -- Margo's Waltz (Don't Get Weird on Me Babe)
The Cure -- Pictures of You (Disintegration)
Clinic -- Harvest (Visitations)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)
British Sea Power -- It Ended on an Oily Stage (Open Season)

Eyebrow Dance

2009-03-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

When I try to tell people that ads in the UK are far more creative and funny than ads in the US, this is the kind of thing I am thinking of.

Playlist from February 25, 2009

2009-02-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

Inspiral Carpets, feat. Meak E. Smith -- I Want You (Saturn 5)
KT Tunstall -- If Only (Drastic Fantastic)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of...)
My Bloody Valentine -- When You Sleep (Loveless)
Elbow -- The Bones of You (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Ed Harcourt -- The Birds Will Sing For Us (From Every Sphere)
Belle & Sebastian -- I'm Waking Up to Us (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Strawberry Switchblade -- Since Yesterday (Living in Oblivion, 1980s collection)
Stereo Total -- I am Naked (Do The Bambi)
Kate Bush -- Hounds of Love (Whole Story)
George Harrison -- When We Was Fab (Cloud Nine)
The Cure -- Catch (Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me)
Madness -- Michael Caine (Divine Madness)
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset -- Sea Song (The Bairns)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Where Does Yer Go Now? (How I Long to Feel That Summer In My Heart)
Stina Nordenstam -- Hopefully Yours (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Jens Lekman -- You Put Your Arms Around Me (Night Falls Over Kortdala)
Flight of the Conchords -- Bowie (Flight of the Conchords)
Neil Halstead -- Sometimes the Wheels (Oh! Mighty Engine)
Nick Cave -- Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! (Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!)
Frightened Rabbit - Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
James -- Tomorrow (Best Of)
Turin Brakes -- Hidden Track (Ether Song)

Radio person!

2009-02-25T13:15:00.001-08:00

Jan2009 063
Originally uploaded by BenACS

Just a quick pic of your illustrious host, with his tiny little earbuds in. Possibly the first time in history a gloomy expression has been in the same room as a Lemon Jelly CD.

Playlist from Feb 11, 2009

2009-02-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Ride -- Taste (Nowhere)
David Bowie -- Suffragette City (Changes)
Dexy's Midnight Runners -- Let's Make This Precious (Too Rye Ay)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Looper -- On the Flipside (The Geometrid)
Camera Obscura -- Suspended from Class (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Passengers -- Miss Sarajevo (Original Soundtracks)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Leave Me Alone (Weightlifting)
Neil Halstead -- Paint a Face (Oh! Mighty Engine)
Snow Patrol -- Engines (A Hundred Million Suns)
Elvis Costello -- American Gangster Time (Momofuku)
Kaiser Chiefs -- Never Miss a Beat (Off With Their Heads)
John Martyn -- Solid Air (No Little Boy)
Robyn Hitchcock -- Television (Spooked)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Once Around the Block (Hour of the Bewilderbeast)
Dizzee Rascal -- Wanna Be (Maths + English)
Life Without Buildings -- The LEanover (Any Other City)
Libertines -- The Boy Looked at Johnny (Up the Bracket)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Blur -- You're So Great (Blur)
The Chrysler -- What I Must Keep With Mine (Failures and Sparks)
Cocteau Twins -- Calfskin Smack (Milk and Kisses)

Playlist from January 28, 2009

2009-01-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

Mclusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Superfurry Animals -- At Least It's Not The End of the World (Ringz Around the World)
David Bowie -- New Killer Star (Reality)
Pulp -- Pink Glove (His & Hers)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Black Box Recorder -- Facts of Life (Facts of Life)
Badly Drawn Boy -- 40 Days, 40 Fights (Have You Fed The Fish?)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Spanish Dance Troupe (Spanish Dance Troupe)
Divine Comedy -- PErfect Lovesong (Regeneration)
Lilac Time -- The Girl Who Waves at Trains (Compendium)
Noah & The Whale -- Shape of My Heart (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Kaiser Chiefs -- Never Miss a Beat (Off With Their Heads)
Graham Coxon -- Bittersweet Bundle of Misery (Happiness in Magazines)
Teitur-- Catherine The Midwatch (The Singer)
Ballboy -- A Europewide Search for Love (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Brian Ferry -- More Than This (Street Life)
Belle & Sebastian -- Sleep the Clock Around (The Boy With The Arab Strap)
The Streets -- Everything is Borrowed (Everything is Borrowed)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Kings of Convenience -- Homesick (Riot on an Empty Street)
Bloc Party -- The Pinoeers, M83 Remix (Silent Alarm Remixed)
The Chrysler -- WOunded Night (Failures and Sparks)
The CUre -- Plainsong (Disintegration)

BBC 1! BBC2! BBC3! BBC4! BBC5! BBC6! BBC7! BBC heaven!

2009-01-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

So I got to talk to my all-time radio idol live on-air last night!

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie have a nightly show on BBC Radio 2, a station known for being pretty staid and safe and inoffensive. Radcliffe and Maconie are hadly hellraising wild men, but they are probably the only DJs on R2 to play Iggy Pop, The Fall, Buzzcocks, etc. Anyway, they have both been huge godlike geniuses to me for years (Radcliffe especially, whose shows I have listened to ever since I was a callow teenager.)

So they have an ongoing feature on their show called The Chain, whose concept is simple enough: each record (or 'link') in The Chain has to be somehow connected to the previous one. The connection can be as tenuous or obvious as the submitter likes. Each night at a couple of points in the show they speak to the listener whose suggestion has been accepted as the next link.

And last night it was me! My suggestion of a Divine Comedy song to follow a Madness song (on the grounds that both bands had written songs about Michael Caine) was triumphant! For the next week you can hear, courtesy of BBC.co.uk's 'Listen Again' feature, my three minutes of starstruck babbling...

So...click here and then select Tuesday's episode ('Graham Nash speaks') from the Listen Again list on the right hand side. Although you would do well to listen to the whole show, you can skip ahead to my bit if you like -- I'm on at around the 1hr 42 minute mark.

Last Week's Show -- Audio File

2009-01-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

If you missed the last show, and feel like hearing it (see playlist below), then feel free to email me at transatlanticaradio@yahoo.com, and I'll send you a link to an online location where I have uploaded the WAV file.

Playlist From January 14, 2009

2009-01-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Heavenly -- 'C' Is The HEavenly Option (Le Jardin De Heavenly)
Steve Harley -- Come up And See Me (Velvet Goldmine)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Silent Sigh (About a Boy)
Brian Eno -- Dead Finks Don't Talk (Here Come The Warm Jets)
Hidden Cameras -- Breathe On It (The Smell of Our Own)
Kaiser Chiefs -- Never Miss A Beat (Off With Their Heads)
Trashcan Sinatras -- I've Seen Everything (I've Seen Everything)
Blur -- Chemical World (Modern Life Is Rubbish)
U2 -- In A Little While (All That You Can't LEave Behind)
The Smiths -- What Difference Does it Make? (Singles)
Hot Chip -- The Warning (The Warning)
Aztec Camera -- Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Streets -- Everything Is Borrowed (Everything is Borrowed)
Lemon Jelly -- Space Walk (Lost Horizons)
Turin Brakes -- Future Boy (Optimist LP)
Belle & Sebastian -- Another Sunny Day (The Life Pursuit)
Teenage Fanclub -- It's All In My Mind (Man Made)
Manic Street Preachers -- Raindrops Keep Falling On My HEad (HELP: Warchild)
Teitur -- Catherine the Waitress (The Singer)
The The -- Lonely Planet (Dusk)
James -- I Wanna Go Home (Hey Ma)
The Chrysler -- When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Elbow -- Scattered Black and Whites (Asleep at the BAck)

Playlist from New Years Eve, 2008

2008-12-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
The Go Team -- We Just Won't Be Defeated (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
David Bowie -- Let's Dance (Changes)
Pulp -- Disco 2000 (Different Class)
Camera Obscura -- Happy New Year (Biggest Bluest Hi Fi)
Life Without Buildings -- New Town (Some Other City)
Gomez -- Whippin' Picadilly (Bring It On)
Goldrush -- Waiting for the Wheel (Ozona)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Jens Lekman -- The Opposite of Hallelujah (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Teitur -- Catherine the Waitress (The Singer)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Elvis Costello -- You Tripped at Every Step (Brutal Youth)
Noah and the Whale -- Five Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Pogues -- If I Should Fall From Grace With God (If I Should Fall From Grace With God)
Libertines -- Time for Heroes (Up the Bracket)
Streets -- Turn the Page (Original Pirate Material)
Gorillaz -- Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Boo Radleys -- Wake Up Boo! (Wake Up)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
James -- Sit Down (Gold Mother)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching the Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Stars -- Look Up (Heart)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)

Best of 2008 -- Playlist

2008-12-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Goldfrapp -- Happiness (Seventh Tree)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Ray Davies -- In a Moment (Workingman's Cafe)
Glen Hansard -- When Your Mind's Made Up (Swell Season)
Duffy -- Warwick Avenue (Rockferry)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Ladytron -- Ghosts (Velocifero)
Bloc Party -- Better than Heaven (Intimacy)
The Cribs -- I'm a Realist (EP)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
The Real Tuesday Weld -- What it Takes (End of the World)
Tricky -- School Gates (Knowle West Boy)
Radiohead -- Faust Arp (In Rainbows)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (Seldom Seen Kid)
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds -- Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!)
Wire -- One of Us (Object 47)
Forward Russia -- Breaking Standing (Life Processes)
Ting Tings -- Great DJ (We Started Nothing)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Sigur Ros -- Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur (Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust)

Mince Pies...Jamie Oliver style

2008-12-17T14:49:00.001-08:00

At this time of year in the UK you can hardly turn around without someone shoving a plate of mince pies at you. Contrary to what the name suggests, these are actually vegetarian confections, a little sweet tart filled with 'mincemeat' (a bizarre mix of dried fruits, raisins, miscellaneous spices, etc.)

By mid-December, everyone in the country is thoroughly sick of the sight of them, and yet they still buy them and serve them at Xmas parties -- a weird form of obsessive sadism/masochism.

Anyway, I cam across this video online, and thought I would share it with you all. It is truly a remarkable achievement, coming dangerously close to making me actually want to make a batch of mince pies.

See what you think.

It Really, Really, Really Could Happen

2008-12-11T08:00:00.001-08:00

I am very excited by the news that Blur have decided to reform and play some shows together this summer. The split was far from acrimonious, so the prospect of a reunion has always been on the cards, and although the band members have been having a good deal of post-Blur success (Damon with Gorillaz, The Good the bad and the Queen, and the Monkey operal; Graham with solo albums; Alex making cheese -- really!; and drummer Dave taking a stab at politics) it is great to see that they are going to be reunited for a few dates.

Regular show listeners will be well aware of my love of Blur (and tired of my foaming-at-the-mouth ranting about their infinite superiority to Oasis), and they have always struck me as a remarkably affable, down-to-earth bunch of chaps. I like to think that these reunion shows will lead to some new material and maybe even a new album (2003's Think Tank demonstrated that they were anything but creatively stagnant at the time of the parting of the ways) -- watch this space for updates.

Playlist from December 3, 2008

2008-12-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide to the Daylight Hours)
Belle & Sebastian -- Belle and Sebastian (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Cure -- Plainsong (Disintegration)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
Morrissey -- Irish Blood, English Heart (You Are The Quarry)
The Fall -- Mr. Pharmacist (50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong)
Roxy Music -- Virginia Plain (Velvet Goldmine)
Spiritualized -- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Where Does Yer Go Now? (How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart)
Noah and the Whale -- The Shape of My Heart (Peaceful The World Lays Me Down)
Sondre Lerche -- You Know So Well (Faces Down)
kaiser Chiefs -- Never Miss a Beat (Off With Their Heads)
Bloc Party -- Halo (Intimacy)
Badly Drawn Boy -- You Were Right (Have you Fed The Fish?)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The Sound of Speed)
British Sea Power -- Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Art Brut -- Good Weekend (Bang Bang Rock and Roll)
Foals -- Red Sock Pugie (Antidotes)
Depeche Mode -- Personal Jesus (Violator)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)
Lloyd Cole -- No Blue Skies (Lloyd Cole)
Nick Drake -- Northern Sky (Way to Blue)
Blur -- Sweet Song (Think Tank)
Stina Nordenstam -- Hopefully Yours (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Black Box recorder -- Goodnight Kiss (Facts of Life)

Winter Blunderland

2008-12-02T09:25:00.001-08:00

I couldn't resist sharing this article which really does a fantastic job of exploring the total lack of festive cheer at a Chritsmas-themed fun park in Dorset's New Forest.

Sort of bleak and horrible, and yet hilariously funny at the same time.

Choice quote: 'One of our elves was slapped and had a pram pushed into her leg which has left a horrible bruise.'

Playlist from November, 19 2008

2008-11-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Brian Eno -- Needle in the Camel's Eye (Here Come the Warm Jets)
Kingmaker -- Queen Jane (Sleepwalking)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Pet Shop Boys -- Opportunities (Discography)
Black Box Recorder -- The Art of Driving (Facts of Life)
David Bowie -- Young Americans (Changes)
Suede -- Trash (Coming Up)
Bomb the Bass -- So Special (Future Chaos)
Chemical Brothers -- Leave Home (Brotherhood)
Underworld -- Born Slippy (Second Toughest in the Infants)
KLF -- Last Train to Transcentral (White Room)
Portishead -- All Mine (Live Roseland NYC)
Camera Obscura -- Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken (Let's Get Out of This Country)
Foals -- Big Big Love (Antidotes)
The Cure -- Catch (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me)
Jens Lekman -- Black Cab (Maple Leaves EP)
Lily Allen -- Smile (Alright, Still)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Frightened Rabbit -- Fast Blood (Midnight Organ Fight)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
The Chrysler -- When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Love Spit Love -- Am I Wrong (Love Spit Love)
James -- I Want to Go Home (Hey Ma)
Dubstar -- Not So Manic Now (Goodbye)
Stina Nordenstam -- Little Star (And She Closed Her Eyes)

Playlist for November 5, 2008

2008-11-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

Reindeer Section -- You Are My Joy (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Beatles -- Here Comes the Sun ('Blue' Album)
Mcalmont and Butler -- Yes (misc)
Trashcan SInatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
Teenage Fanclub -- Sparky's Dream (Grand Prix)
Chemical Brothers -- The Golden Path (Brotherhood)
Doves -- There Goes the Fear (The Last Broadcast)
Dexys Midnight Runners -- Jackie Wilson Said (Too Rye Ay)
Noah and the Whale -- 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Delgados -- Everybody Come Down (Universal Audio)
Maps -- Elouise (We Can Create)
Love Spit Love -- Half a Life (Love SPit Love)
Frightened Rabbit -- Heads Roll Off (Midnight Organ Fight)
Bloc PArty -- Halo (Intimacy)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
Basement Jaxx -- Cish Cash (Kish Kash)
Streets -- Don't Mug Yourself (Original Pirate Material)
Pulp -- PInk Glove (His & Hers)
Belle and Sebastian -- I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Clinic -- Harvest (Visitations)
Sigur Ros -- Inni mer syugur... (Meosuo ieyrum vio...)
The The -- Love Is Stronger Than Death (Dusk)

Playlist from October 22, 2008

2008-10-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (Physical Graffiti)
Mclusky - To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
The The - Dogs of Lust (Dusk)
British Sea Power - Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats (Brotherhood)
Futureheads - Hounds of Love (The Futureheads)
Bloc Party - Helicopter [Whitey Remix] (Silent Alarm Remixed)
Foals - Tron (Antidotes)
Stars - Ageless Beauty (Set Yourself on Fire)
Heavy Blinkers - He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Noah & The Whale - 5 Years Time (Peaceful the World Lays Me Down)
Life Without Buildings - Let's Get Out (Any Other City)
Tricky - Overcome (Maxinquaye)
Portishead - Strangers (Dummy)
Cocteau Twins - Calfskin Smack (Milk & Kisses)
Cure - Plainsong (Disintegration)
Morrissey - Now My Heart Is Full (Vauxhall & I)
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Closer)
Ballboy - A Day In Space (Club Anthems)
Chrysler - When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space)
Mojave 3 - After All (Ask Me Tomorrow)
Divine Comedy - Lucy (Liberation)

Don't Like Eating Glass?

2008-10-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

...then why not pop over to the Guardian site, where they have a week-long series of Bloc-Party-related features, including this, my personal favourite, in which the mindblowingly talented BP drummer, Matt Tong, takes time out from pounding the skins to teach us a bit of basic cookery.

Class act.

Calling All Morrissey Fans

2008-10-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of Moz and his bequiffed brand of plaintive, angsty, daffodil-brandishing, band-aids-on-the-nipples moan-pop, then clicky here to link to the BBC Radio 2 show of veteran DJ Janice Long, on whose show Stephen Patrick appeared the other day for a great interview.

Oh My Sweet Lord in Heaven

2008-10-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Say it ain't so, John!

Playlist from Oct 8, 2008

2008-10-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Art Brut -- Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
The Jam -- Eton Rifles (The Sound of the Jam)
The Rolling Stones -- Rocks Off (Exile on Main Street)
Althea & Donna -- Uptown Top Ranking (Jamiaca)
Kate Bush -- The Sensual World (The Sensual World)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The Sound of Speed)
Bauhaus -- Spirit (Gotham)
Cure -- Closedown (Disintegration)
Radiohead -- There, There (Hail to the Thief)
George Harrison -- If Not For You (All Things Must Pass)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Leave Me Alone (Weightlifting)
The Cake Sale -- Aliens [feat. Neil Hannon] (The Cake Sale)
Roxy Music -- Remake/Remodel (Roxy Music)
The Subways -- Shake! Shake! (All or Nothing)
Libertines -- Death on the Stairs (Up The Bracket)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Hot Chip -- Hold On [remix.] (Made in the Dark)
Tricky -- School Gates (Knowle West Boy)
The View -- Same Jeans (Hats off to the Buskers)
Field Music -- Working to Work (Tones of Town)
Cherry Ghost -- Dead Man's Suit (Debut)
James -- I Want to Go Home (Hey Ma)
David Bowie -- Sound & Vision (Low)
Mclusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Van Morrison -- Queen of the Slipstream (Poetic Champions Compose)

Playlist from Sept. 24th 2008

2008-09-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (A Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Smiths -- How Soon Is Now? (Meat is Murder)
Psychedelic Furs -- All That Money Wants (Left of the Dial Box Set)
Streets -- The Irony of It All (Original Pirate Material)
Tricky -- Past Mistake (Knowle West Boy)
Brian Eno -- I'll Come Running (Another Green World)
Teenage Fanclub -- It's All In My Mind (Man Made)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
The Real Tuesday Weld -- What it Takes (End of the World)
Radiohead -- Sail to the Moon (Hail to the Thief)
M83 -- Kim & Jessie (Saturdays = Youth)
Emiliana Torrini -- If You Go Away (Rarities)
Sugarcubes -- Birthday (Left of the Dial Box Set)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (Sound of Speed)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva La Vida)
Foals -- French Open (Antidotes)
Forward, Russia! -- A Prospector Can Dream (Life Processes)
Blur -- End of a Century (Best Of)
Divine Comedy -- Perfect Lovesong (Regeneration)
Belle & Sebastian -- The Model (Fold Your Hands Child...)
The The -- Love is Stronger than Death (Dusk)
Supergrass -- Low C (Road to Rouen)
Stereo Total -- Moviestar (Stereo Total)

Playlist from Sept 10, 2008

2008-09-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Radiohead -- Let Down (OK Computer)
Jesus and Mary Chain -- April Skies (Darklands)
Suede -- Moving (Suede)
Inspiral Carpets -- I Want You (Saturn 5)
Franz Ferdinand -- Darts of Pleasure (Franz Ferdinand)
The Libertines -- Can't Stand Me Now (The Libertines)
The Rakes -- Retreat (Capture/Release)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
The Thrills -- Big Sur (So Much For The City)
The Guillemots -- Trains to Brazil (From the Cliffs)
David Bowie -- I'm Deranged (Outside)
Eurythmics -- Missionary Man (Revenge)
The Ting Tings -- That's Not My Name (We Started Nothing)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Underworld -- Born Slippy (Trainspotting)
Coldplay -- Viva La Vida (Viva La Vida)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
The Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Belle and Sebastian -- Woman's Realm (Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant)
Spiritualized -- Soul on Fire (Songs in A+E)
Rialto -- Monday Morning 5:19 (Rialto)
Supergrass -- Butterfly (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Ed Harcourt -- The Birds Will Sing For Us (From Every Sphere)
Ballboy -- Essential Wear for Future Trips to Space (Club Anthems)

Mercury Music Prize

2008-09-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Yes it's that time again. We're just a couple of hours away from learning who won this year's Mercury Music Prize -- a slightly weird award that started about 15 years ago and is simply given once a year to one band/artist for producing The Best Album of the Year.

There's something about that simplicity that appeals to me. Too often in the world of music awards we get bogged down in splitting the difference between "Best Band," "Best Artist," "Best Act," "Best Single," "Best Song," "Best Album," "Album of the Year," etc. It's like Cannes -- they have about a dozen different prizes and each of them sounds like First Prize.

So, the nominees this year are pretty mixed (and they seem to have dropped the idea of including a classical record just for the sake of tokenism.) Burial, a hotly tipped favourite, would indeed be an outside win (very outside, since nobody even knows who he is or what he looks like) but it's just the kind of edgy move Mercury needs to make after giving the award to the bloody Klaxons last year.

I'd love it to go to Elbow. A win by Radiohead or British Sea Power I will accept. Neon Neon and Last of the Shadow Puppets are also just about OK by me. I really hope it doesn't go to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, despite the latter having ties to Champaign -- I have yet to be impressed by the record itself. Adele and Estelle cancel each other out. Rachel Unthank and the Winterset are really lovely, and a from-out-of-nowhere win by them would be welcome.

Ah well, we'll know in an hour or so...followup comments to come.

Playlist from August 27, 2008

2008-08-27T19:59:00.001-07:00

Elvis Costello -- Accidents Will Happen (Armed Forces)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Mclusky -- To Hell with Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Undertones -- Jimmy Jimmy (Undertones)
Life Without Buildings -- New Town (Any Other City)
Hot Chip -- The Warning (The Warning)
Tricky -- Black Steel (Maxinquaye)
The KLF -- 3am Eternal (The White Room)
Radiohead -- Idioteque (I Might Be Wrong)
Brian Eno -- Needle in the Camel's Eye (Here Come the Warm Jets)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Coldplay -- Viva la Vida (Viva la Vida)
Ting Tings -- That's Not My Name (We Started Nothing)
Foals -- Balloons (Antidotes)
Gorillaz -- Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Sondre Lerche -- On The Tower (Two Way Monologue)
Goldfrapp -- Clowns (Seventh Tree)
Spiritualized -- Death Take Your Fiddle (Songs in A&E)
Maps -- Eloise (We Can Create)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Let Those Blue Skies (How I Long to Feel That Summer in My HEart)
Mojave 3 -- Running With Your Eyes Closed (Puzzles Like You)
Belle and Sebastian -- Sleep the Clock Around (The Boy With The Arab Strap)
The Chrysler -- When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Portishead -- Roads (Dummy)

Playlist from August 13, 2008

2008-08-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Trashcan Sinatras -- I've Seen Everything (I've Seen Everything)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Eyes of Green, Green, Green (Sleep/Holiday)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
Beth Orton -- Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Stereolab -- Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
BMX Bandits -- I Wanna Fall In Love (Theme Park)
Ballboy -- Where Do The Nights of Sleep Go To When They Do Not Come To Me (Guide for teh Daylight Hours)
Pulp -- Do You Remember The First Time? (His & Hers)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of)
Aereogramme -- The Black Path (Sleep and Release)
Elbow -- Mirrorball (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Kate Bush -- Cloudbusting (The HOunds of Love)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends)
Trembling Blue Stars -- Ripples (Broken by Whispers)
Stars -- Look Up (Heart)
Goldfrapp -- Clowns (Seventh Tree)
Belle & Sebastian -- Mary Jo (Tigermilk)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Forward Russia -- A Prospector Can Dream (Life Processes)
Fratellis -- Shameless (Here We Stand)
Spiritualized -- Goodnight Goodnight (Songs in A + E)

"We're drinking to life / We're drinking to death / We're drinking til none of our livers are left..."

2008-08-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Just found this online and thought I'd post it here: The Divine Comedy -- A Drinking Song.

Neil Hannon is the coolest man on the planet. Fact.

Playlist from July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Echobelly -- Great Things (ON)
Heavenly -- 'C' is the Heavenly Option (Le Jardin de Heavenly)
Camera Obscura -- Shine Like a New Pin (Biggest Bluest Hi Fi)
Supergrass -- Butterfly (Diamond Hoo Ha)
The Music -- Float (The Music)
Longpigs -- She Said (The Sun Is Often Out)
Ballboy -- You Can't Spend Your Whole Life hanging Round With Arseholes (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Eno/Cale -- Empty Frame (Wrong Way Up)
Elbow -- Weather to Fly (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Kate Walsh -- Your Song (Tim's House)
PJ Harvey -- The Garden (Is This Desire?)
Goldfrapp -- Cologne Cerrone Houdini (Seventh Tree)
Kate Bush -- Hounds of Love (The Whole Story)
Kate Bush -- How to be Invisible (Aerial)
Portishead -- Hunter (Third)
Stina Nordenstam -- Hopefully YOurs (And She Closed Her Eyes)
Southside Stalkers -- Five (The SOund of Speed)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
Forward, Russia -- Breaking Standing (Life Processes)
Foals -- Cassius (Antidotes)
Arctic Monkeys -- A Certain Romance (What People Say I Am...)
Tricky -- Council Estate (single)
Spiritualized -- Soul on Fire (Songs in A+E)

"I wanna destroy passers by!"

2008-07-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

It appears that John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) has been involved in a backstage scuffle with Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke. According to this piece in the Guardian, Okereke approached Lydon to ask about the possibility of a Public Image Ltd. reunion, and Lydon responded with a stream of (at times racist) invective and the whole thing escalated into a massive indie-rock scrap (members of Kaiser Chiefs and Foals also rolling up their sleeves and getting involved), leaving Okereke with a bruised face and split lip, and Lydon with some serious 'splainin' to do.

Rotten indeed.

Playlist from July 18th, 2008

2008-07-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Mojave 3 -- Some Kind of Angel (Out of Tune)
The The -- This Is The Night (Dusk)
Brian Eno -- Put A Straw Under Baby (Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy)
Coldplay -- Lost! (Viva la Vida)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
Delgados -- Coming In from The Cold (Hate)
Sondre Lerche -- Modern Nature (Faces Down)
Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Minnie Driver -- Beloved (Seastories)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
Goldfrapp -- Little Bird (Seventh Tree)
Pulp -- The Birds In Your Garden (We Love Life)
Morrissey -- Every Day Is Like Sunday (Greatest Hits)
T. Rex -- Telegram Sam (The Slider)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Usually (Weightlifting)
Belle and Sebastian -- We Rule The School (Tigermilk)
Supergrass -- Mansize Rooster (I Should Coco)
British Sea Power -- Carrion (The Decline Of...)
James -- Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Spiritualized -- The Straight and the Narrow (Let It Come Down)
Ed Harcourt -- Fireflies Take Flight (From Every Sphere)
Divine Comedy -- Lucy (Liberation)

Playlist -- July 2, 2008

2008-07-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Peter Gabriel -- Big Time (SHaking the Tree)
Badly Drawn Boy -- You Were Right (Have You Fed The Fish?)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old WOunds)
Fratellis -- Mistress Mabel (Here We Stand)
Ladytron -- Ghosts (Velocifero)
My Bloody Valentine -- Only Shallow (Loveless)
Radiohead -- WOlf at the Door (Hail to the Thief)
Bloc Party -- Hunting for Witches (A Weekend in the City)
Placebo -- Teenage Angst (Placebo)
Coldplay -- Strawberry Swing (Viva la Vida)
James -- Bubbles (Hey Ma)
Ballboy -- Where do the Nights Of Sleep Go To? (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Felt -- Penelope Tree ('Beloved' CD from Mojo Magazine)
The Loft -- Up the Hill and Down the Slope (ditto)
Orange Juice -- Simply Thrilled Honey (ditto again)
Ray Davies -- No One Listens (Workingman's Cafe)
Billy Bragg -- M for Me (Mr. Love & Justice)
Morrissey -- Irish Blood, English Heart (Greatest HIts)
Cure -- The Only One (single)
Elbow -- The Bones of You (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Trashcan Sinatras -- All the Dark Horses (Weightlifting)
Portishead -- Nylon Smile (Third)
Goldfrapp -- Caravan Girl (Seventh Tree)
Supergrass -- Diamond Hoo Ha Man (Diamond Hoo Ha)
Beatles -- Here There and Everywhere (Revolver)

Latitude Festival

2008-06-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sure, the USA has Bonnaroo and South By Southwest and Burning Man and Lollapalooza (I think), but this is far more my speed: the Latitude Festival on the East Coast of England. A fantastic lineup of bands as well as poets and writers, a magical leafy location (check out that photo gallery), and the small-scale feel that makes it far more mellow and family-friendly than the giganto-fests like Glastonbury and Reading.

(Interestingly, the undisputed mack daddy of the summer music festival circuit, Glastonbury, has been having trouble shifting tickets for this year's festivities -- partly, it is said, due to the 'controversial' choice of Jay-Z to headline one of the stages -- while smaller 'boutique' festivals like Latitude sold out in no time at all. The tide appears to be turning against ginormo-fests in favour of the more intimate experiences like this one.)

Playlist from June 18

2008-06-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Blur - Chemical World (Modern Life is Rubbish)
Ed Harcourt - Hanging With The Wrong Crowd (Here Be Monsters)
Elvis Costello - Sulky Girl (Brutal Youth)
The Coral - Dreaming of You (The Coral)
Ladytron - Kletva (Velocifero)
Super Furry Animals - At Least It's Not The End Of The World (Rings Around the World)
Sondre Lerche - You Know So Well (Faces Down)
Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha (Diamond Hoo Ha Man)
Belle and Sebastian - Stay Loose (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Lilac Time - This Morning (Lilac6)
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Libertines - Time for Heroes (The Libertines)
James - Whiteboy (Hey Ma)
Morrissey - You Have Killed Me (Greatest)
Wonder Stuff - Welcome to the Cheap Seats (Never Loved Elvis)
U2 - Ultra Violet (Light My Way) (Achtung Baby)
St. Etienne - Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
Portishead - The Rip (Third)
Kate Walsh - Your Song (Tim's House)
Goldfrapp - LIttle Bird (Seventh Tree)
Kate Nash - We Get On (Made of Bricks)
Camera Obscura - Tears for Affairs (Let's Get Out of this Country)
The Cure - The Only One (new single)

George Harrison -- Crackerbox Palace

2008-06-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Digging around on YouTube I came across this gem -- a video for George Harrison's 1976 single "Crackerbox Palace," directed by that noted Python, Eric Idle. The video is utterly mad, and seems to embody a kind of cartoonish excess, achieving a fusion of the Monty Python sensibility (see: cameos by Graham Chapman and Neil Innes in drag) as well as the Beatles' own take on surrealism (think a live-action Yellow Submarine), all wrapped up in a Fellini-esque carnival atmosphere.

Everyone involved seems to be having what we Brits call 'a total laugh,' and the video features some lovely footage of George's house, Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames. At the risk of dropping names, I was at school with Harrison's son Dhani, and seeing this video took me right back to my childhood, when I too gallivanted around the house and gardens shown here (although I was dressed a little less crazily.)

Playlist -- May 21, 2008

2008-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Libertines -- A Time for Heroes (Up the Bracket)
Art Brut -- Good Weekend (Bang Bang Rock n Roll)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- Relax (Welcome to the Pleasuredome)
Futureheads -- Beginning of the Twist (This is Not the World)
Teenage Fanclub & Donna Matthews -- Personality Crisis (Velvet Goldmine)
Supergrass -- Floating (Supergrass)
Eurythmics -- When Tomorrow Comes (Revenge)
OMD -- If You Leave (Best of OMD)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
David Bowie -- Five Years (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
Portishead -- Machine Gun (Third)
Life WIthout Buildings -- New Town (Any Other City)
Ting Tings -- Great DJ (We Start Nothing)
The Cure -- The Only One (Single)
Brian Eno -- King's Lead Hat (Before and After Science)
Lemon Jelly -- Song for Jack (lemonjelly.ky)
Goldfrapp - A&E (Seventh Tree)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Last Shadow Puppets -- Right Next to Me (The Age of the Understatement)
The Pipettes -- Pull Shapes (We Are the Pipettes)
Heavy Blinkers -- He Heard His Song (The Night and I Are Still So Young)
Black Box Recorder -- Weekend (Facts of Life)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Morrissey -- Now My Heart is Full (Vauxhall & I)

Portishead In-Studio Session

2008-05-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Nope, not on my humble show, sadly. But they did just play a storming in-studio session on my BBC Radio 2 show of choice, the always excellent Radcliffe and Maconie show. Go to their homepage and click on Beth Gibbons's keening face.

Cultural Artifact -- Catherine Tate

2008-05-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

I hate all generalizations. ALL of them. Without exception.

Broadly speaking, though, there are a couple of differences between British and American TV comedy. Much British comedy tends to celebrate silliness, whereas American comedy focuses more on either stupidity or its flipside, wiseassery. Also, British comedy is more about the talents of the performer, while American is more about the cleverness of the writer (or, more typically, writers.)

Catherine Tate is quite a celebrity in the UK at this point, but if she is known in the US, it is probably due to her semi-regular role in the popular sci-fi show Doctor Who.

A couple of years ago, however, she took Britain by storm with The Catherine Tate Show, in which the incredibly versatile performer created a number of characters who have quickly become indelible parts of the British cultural landscape. TV sketch comedy is where British humour often has its finest moments -- for some reason nobody can figure out, we just don't DO sitcoms very well. In Tate's hands, sketch comedy becomes a venue for some astonishing self-transformation and some awfully subtle acting.

Most famously there is Lauren, the stroppy teenager who has become the best-known of Tate's characters -- and the most disliked by Tate herself, for whom the character's catchprase "Am I bovvered?" became an albatross around the neck. Still, it got her into 10 Downing Street to do a skit with Tony Blair, so how bad could it be?

Tate does more than create characters, she inhabits them, refusing again and again to go for the easy laugh or punchline, preferring to take a more holistic approach to comedy, allowing the laughs to emerge from the character rather than being forced into their mouths. And, crucially, she seems to have a real affection for the people she plays, even if many of them appear to be loathsome on the surface. (For example, the foul-mouthed grandmother "Nan," or the high-strung woman who screams in surprise and terror at every little noise...)

So do some YouTube surfing, or find a way to get your hands on the full season of her show (I bet Netflix has it, and if you live in Champaign-Urbana, it can be borrowed at the Champaign public library...)

You may especially recognize this character.

Playlist from May 7th, 2008

2008-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
Magic Numbers -- Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Belle & Sebastian -- I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Rolling Stones -- As Tears Go By (Shine a Light)
Supergrass -- Richard III (In It For the Money)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Pet Shop Boys -- Suburbia (Discography)
James -- Sound (Seven)
Tom McRae -- End of the World News (Tom McRae)
The Specials -- Too Much Too Young (The Specials)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Tunng -- Bullets (Good Arrows)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Fire Engine On Fire pt. II (Bluffers Guide to the FLight Deck)
Portishead -- The Rip (Third)
Cocteau Twins -- Seekers Who Are Lovers (BBC Sessions)
Stereolab -- French Disko (Serene Velocity)
My Bloody Valentine -- When You Sleep (Loveless)
Elbow -- Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (The Seldom Seen Kid)
The Last Shadow Puppets -- The Age of Understatement (The Age of Understatement)
Switches -- Lay Down the Law (Lay Down the Law)
Sugarcubes -- Hit (Stick Around for Joy)
Moloko -- Day For Night (Do You Like My Tight Sweater?)

OMG! MBV!

2008-05-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hear that crinkly-creaking noise? It's the sound of hell freezing over. After vanishing for a couple of decades, My Bloody Valentine have announced the dates of a Summer '08 World Tour. And yes, they're coming to Chicago.

06-20 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-21 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-22 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-23 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-24 London, England - The Roundhouse
06-28 Manchester, England - Apollo
06-29 Manchester, England - Apollo
07-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
07-03-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-09 Paris, France - Zenith
07-17-20 Benicàssim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
07-25 Naeba, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08-08 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
09-05 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10-02 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic

Playlist from April 23, 2008

2008-04-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Ballboy -- Where Do The Nights of Sleep Go To WHen They Do Not Come To Me (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Art Brut -- My Little Brother (Bang Bang Rock n Roll)
Sugarcubes -- Walkabout (Stick Around for Joy)
U2 -- Dioscotheque (Pop)
James -- Come Home (Best of...)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Aztec Camera -- Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Inspiral Carpets, feat. Mark E. Smith -- I Want You (Saturn 5)
The Jam -- Going Underground (The Sound of The Jam)
Ash -- Girl From Mars (1977)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching The Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Elbow -- One Day Like This (The Seldom Seen Kid)
Morrissey -- Suedehead (Greatest Hits)
Madness -- MIchael Caine (Divine Madness)
Ballboy -- A Europewide Search for Love (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Where Does Yer Go Now? (How I Long to Feel that Summer in My Heart)
Divine Comedy -- In Pursuit of Happiness (A Short Album About Love)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Hidden Cameras -- Breathe On It (The Smell of Our Own)
Sinead O'Connor -- The Emperor's New Clothes (I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got)
Ray Davies -- No One Listens (Working Man's Cafe)

The Living Library -- Borrow a Person for a 30-Minute Chat

2008-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

What a fascinating idea!

It was like the school disco all over again. As some unexpected spring sunshine brightened up the Finchley Road last Sunday lunchtime, 15 of us were waiting nervously in a room in Swiss Cottage's sleek new leisure centre to be borrowed as “books” in the UK's first ever Living Library.

The idea, which comes from Scandinavia, is simple: instead of books, readers can come to the library and borrow a person for a 30-minute chat. The human “books” on offer vary from event to event but always include a healthy cross-section of stereotypes. Last weekend, the small but richly diverse list included Police Officer, Vegan, Male Nanny and Lifelong Activist as well as Person with Mental Health Difficulties and Young Person Excluded from School. I was there as Gay Man.

Playlist from April 9, 2008

2008-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Reindeer Section -- I'll Be Here WHen You Wake (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Dubstar -- Just a Girl, She Said (Goodbye)
Kirsty MacColl -- Soho Square (Titanic Days)
Divine Comedy -- Songs of Love (Casanova)
Turin Brakes -- Future Boy (Optimist EP)
Elbow -- Scattered Black and Whites (Asleep at the Back)
Oakenfold, feat. Nelly Furtado & Tricky -- The Harder they Come (Perfecto Chills)
Radiohead -- Nude (In Rainbows)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Donald Pleasance (Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck)
Bloc Party -- Pioneers, M83 remix (Silent Alarm Remixed)
British Sea Power -- Canvey Island (Do You LIke Rock Music?)
JAMC -- Just Like Honey (Psychocandy)
My Bloody Valentine -- Only Shallow (Loveless)
Morrissey -- Every Day Is Like Sunday (Greatest Hits)
Liam Finn -- Gather to the Chapel (I'll Be LIightning)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Prefab Sprout -- Wild Horses (Jordan)
Electrelane -- Cut and Run (No Shouts No Calls)
Stereolab -- Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Beth Gibbons -- Mysteries (Out of Season)
Mojave 3 -- Love Songs on the Radio (Ask Me Tomorrow)
Black Box Recorder -- Goodnight Kiss (Facts of Life)

Playlist from March 26th, 2008

2008-04-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Lightning Seeds -- Pure (Cloudcuckooland)
Looper -- On the Flipside (The Geometrid)
KT Tunstall -- If Only (Drastic Fantastic)
Divine Comedy -- Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
The Specials -- A Message To You Rudy (The Specials)
ELO -- Mr. Blue Sky (Out of the Blue)
John Lennon -- Oh Yoko (Rushmore OST)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)
British Sea Power -- No Lucifer (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Franz Ferdinand -- You're The Reason I'm Leaving (You Could Have It So Much Better...)
Editors -- Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Cocteau Twins -- Calfskin Smack (Milk and Kisses)
Ikara Colt -- At the Lodge (Chat and Business)
Forward Russia -- Nine (Give Me a Wall)
Aereogramme -- The Black Path (Sleep and Release)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
Hot Chip -- Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark)
Cribs -- I'm a Realist (Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever)
Liam Finn -- Second Chance (I'll Be Lightning)
The The -- True Happiness This Way Lies & Love is Stronger than Death (Dusk)
Beautiful South -- Song for Whoever (Welcome to...)
Trashcan Sinatras -- All The Dark Horses (Weightlifting)
Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)

English Haute Cuisine

2008-04-09T08:12:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's an ice cream cone filled with mashed potato, drizzled with gravy, sprinkled with peas, and then speared by a big fat sausage.

Bon appetit.

Thom Yorke and the Radioheads

2008-04-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd post a link to this storming live set by Radiohead. They appeared in an intimate venue at the BBC, playing lots of stuff from In Rainbows as well as older stuff, to an extremely lucky audience. If you listen to the whole show, you'll also catch a great half-hour interview with Thom Yorke and Ed O'Brien, in which they come across as a really nice couple of blokes, and a far cry from the gloomy, hypersensitive, delicate sulkmeisters they so often come across as elsewhere in the media.

Anyone who likes the band should catch this show.

Playlist -- Wed. 12th March

2008-03-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Kingmaker -- Queen Jane (Sleepwalking)
Camera Obscura -- Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken (Let's Get Out of this Country)
Lloyd Cole -- Don't Look Back (Lloyd Cole)
MIA -- Paper Planes (Kala)
Hot Chip -- Over and Over (The Warning)
Lamb -- Fly (Fear of Fours)
Massive Attack -- Angel (Mezzanine)
Burial -- Ghost Hardware (Untrue)
Anthony and the Johnsons -- Hope There's Someone (I Am A Bird Now)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Weightlifting (Weightlifting)
Divine Comedy -- Light of Day (Victory for the Common Muse)
Radiohead -- Let Down (OK Computer)
The Cure -- Before Three (The Cure)
Depeche Mode -- Enjoy the Silence (Violator)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Made of Bricks)
James -- Tomorrow (Singles)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Basement Jaxx -- Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Lemon Jelly -- The Staunton Lick (lemonjelly.ky)
Elbow -- Fugitive Motel (Cast of Thousands)
Tender Forever -- Tiny Heart Clever Hand (Wider)

British Sea Power

2008-03-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

To all in the Champaign-Urbana area, I urge you to get out to the Canopy club tomorrow night for the British Sea Power show.

Here is a fantastic opportunity to catch one of the truly unique British acts of the moment, who have decided (for reasons best known to themselves) to pop in and do a show in C-U on their otherwise pretty big-city-centric US tour. They had a great run at SXSW and are now working their way East.

Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music?, is just out, and has been garnering very strong reviews, and their live shows are renowned for their energy and...well...power. Their tendency to dress in WWI military garb, to drape the stage in greenery, and to write songs about ornithology and Victorian explorers and arctic ice sheets and whatnot has garnered them a reputation for eccentricity. But make no mistake about it -- these guys will rock you. They are a band, for goodness sake, whose cornet player sustained a major facial injury after jumping from the top of a 12-foot stack of amps and landing on his chin. THE CORNET PLAYER! Do you understand what I'm telling you?

Here are a couple of thier finest songs, as a teaser.

Carrion:

It Ended on an Oily Stage:

Playlist -- Feb. 27, 2008

2008-03-12T17:30:00.001-07:00

Here's what I played on the show...

The Fall -- Sparta FC (The Real New Fall EP)
Oasis -- Champaign Supernova (Definitely Maybe)
Blur -- Beetlebum (Blur)
David Bowie -- Lady Stardust (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
Shudder to Think -- Hot One (Velvet Goldmine)
Ed Harcourt -- Watching the Sun Come Up (From Every Sphere)
Doves -- Pounding (The Last Broadcast)
Dubstar -- Not So Manic Now (Hello)
Kate Nash -- FOundations (Made of Bricks)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
Brian Eno -- Dead Finks Don't Talk (Here Come The Warm Jets)
Jilted John --JIlted John (DIY UK Pop I)
British Sea Power -- Waving Flags (Do You Like Rock Music?)
Art Brut -- Jealous Guy (It's A Bit Complicated)
James -- Born of Frustration (Seven)
Supergrass -- Seen the Light (Life on Other Planets)
Fratellis -- Flathead (Costello Music)
The Horrors -- Sheena is a Parasite (Strange House)
McClusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (McClusky Do Dallas)
Divine Comedy -- Perfect Lovesong (Regeneration)

The State Within

2008-03-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

A quick recommendation for fans of top-class British TV -- a six-part BBC drama called The State Within.

Imagine a show that combined the nailbiting, non-fascist aspects of 24 with the fast-talking inside-the-beltway realpolitiking of The West Wing, mixing in a healthy dose of ripped-from-the-headlines War on Terror shenanigans of...well...The Bush Administration, all wrapped up in some classier-than-classy BBC production values.

That's The State Within.

The series boasts a sprawling, multilinear plot that seems at first to lead everywhere before settling into an all-too-believable story centering on UK ambassador to the US Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs -- get this man for the next Bond movie, NOW) and the aftermath of a terrorist attack that threatens to jeopardize relationships between the two countries.

All sort of skullduggery and double-crossery ensue, in a narrative that forces the viewer to lean forward and pay close attention to every scene. If you are one of those people (and I am) who tends to say "Hang on, why is he saying that to her? I thought he was with the good guys? Is that the same guy we saw planting the bomb in the last episode? etc." then this show will most likely make your head swell up to twice its normal size.

There are no big names in this production, although many involved deserve to go on to become huge in the coming years. Isaacs in particular, looking a bit like Clive Owen if someone ironed out some of those crumples from his face, manages to radiate experience and gravitas while complicating it with a little loss of control around the edges (a loss of control that only increases as things progress.)

In general, The State Within achieves a level of believability and realism that is usually lacking in shows of this genre -- a realism that encompasses both the plot itself, as well as individual scenes (the aforementioned terrorist attack, for example, is unexpectedly gripping and harrowing, trapping the viewer very much in the role of helpless bystander.) Fans of intelligent TV drama, Anglophiles, conspiracy theorists, and especially anyone who has recently read Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" will all be sitting and nodding their heads throughout.

Must...do....radio show

2008-02-27T13:59:00.001-08:00

Must...do....radio show
Originally uploaded by BenACS

This is what I typically look like at 7:59pm on the night of my show...

Radio action

2008-02-27T13:58:00.001-08:00

Radio action
Originally uploaded by BenACS

Print out a copy of this photo and tape it to your radio...hey presto, it's TV!

Valentines Day Show -- Feb 13th

2008-02-22T17:46:00.000-08:00

This is for all you lovers out there, etc etc.

Divine Comedy -- If I Were You I'd Be Through With Me (A Short Album About Love)
Smiths -- What Difference Does It Make? (Hatful Of Hollow)
Franz Ferdinand -- Michael (Franz Ferdinand)
Amy Winehouse -- Back to Black (Back to Black)
David Bowie -- Soul Love (Ziggy Stardust)
Erasure -- Respect (The Innocents)
The Coral -- Dreaming of You (The Coral)
Art Brut -- Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
The Pipettes -- Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (We Are the Pipettes)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Made of Bricks)
New Order -- Bizarre Love Triangle (Substance)
Mika - Grace Kelly (Life in Cartoon Motion)
Madness -- It Must Be Love (Divine Madness)
Blur -- You're So Great (Blur)
The Cure -- Pictures of You (Disintegration)
Reindeer Section -- You Are My Joy (Son Of Evil Reindeer)
James -- She's A Star (Singles)
Real Tuesday Weld -- I Believe (The London Book of the Dead)
Jens Lekman -- I Saw Her In The AntiWar Demonstration (Oh, You're So Silent Jens)
Ballboy -- You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Round With Arseholes (A Guide For The Daylight Hours)
Guillemots - Made Up Lovesong #43 (From The Cliffs)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's A Miracle (Weightlifting)
Stars -- Elevator Love Letter (Heart)
Elbow -- Powder Blue (Asleep at the Back)
Streets -- Dry Your Eyes (A Grand Don't Come for Free)
Lightning Seeds -- All I Want (Cloudcuckooland)

Playlist -- January 16th, 2008

2008-01-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

As the echoing strains of Guy Garvey's voice fade from the airwaves, I'm posting this playlist. How's that for immediacy?

Buzzcocks -- Ever Fallen In Love (STarry Eyes)
Franz Ferdinand -- Tell Her TOnight (Franz Ferdinand)
Libertines -- Can't STand Me Now (Libertines)
Pulp -- Common People (Different Class)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- Spanish Dance Troupe (Spanish Dance Troupe)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Stars -- Ageless Beauty (Set Yourself on Fire)
Carina Round -- Take the Money (Slow MOtion Addict)
Divine Comedy -- Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
Richard Hawley -- Tonight the STreets Are Our (Lady's Bridge)
Amy Winehouse -- Tears Dry on Their Own (Back to Black)
Goldfrapp -- Number 1 (Supernature)
St. Etinenne -- Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
Black Box Recorder -- The English Motorway System (Facts of Life)
Hot Chip -- The Warning (The Warning)
Streets -- The Irony of It All (Original Pirate Material)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Single)
MIA -- Paper PLanes (Kala)
The Go! Team -- Do It Right (Proof of Youth)
Mabuses -- Seasider (Mabused!)
Fields -- Skulls and Flesh and More (Everything Last Winter)
Caribou -- Sundialing (ANdorra)
MAps -- Elouise (How We Create)
Maximio Park -- Signal and SIgn (A Certain Trigger)
Ned's Atomic Dustbin -- Grey Cells Green (God Fodder)
Editors -- Smokers OUtside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Elbow -- Switching Off (Cast of Thousands)

Morsemusic

2008-01-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

A music-obsessed friend of mine named Chris has started his own music blog, called MorseMusic, on which he will be spouting off on matters musical and giving you all kinds of bands and CDs to get excited about (in general, the kind of thing I meant to do with this blog but have only been able to find time to do intermittently...) His music tastes, while being a tad Prince-centric, are impeccable, and he is a damn fine writer and all-round good egg.

Check him out. You could do a hell of a lot worse. (How's that for a ringing endorsement!)

Best of 2007 Show Playlist

2008-01-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

It's far from comprehensive, as many of my favourite albums or tracks of the year were from bands based outside the UK (and also I just realized that I didn't play Badly Drawn Boy's "Degrees of Separation," which just might be the loveliest song of the year...) Nevertheless, here's what I played to wrap up the year.

KT Tunstall -- Little Favours (Drastic Fantastic)
Bat for Lashes -- Tahiti (Fur and Gold)
Manic Street Preachers -- Autumnsong (Send Away The Tigers)
Fratellis -- Flathead (Costello Music)
Mabuses -- Mirth (Mabused!)
Tunng -- Bullets (Good Arrows)
Hard Fi -- Suburban Knights (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Klaxons -- Golden Skans (Myths of the Near Future)
Radiohead -- Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
The Go! Team -- Do It Right (Proof of Youth)
MIA -- Jimmy (Kala)
Kate Nash -- Foundations (Foundations)
Carina Round -- Stolen Car (Slow Motion Addict)
Amy Winehouse -- Rehab (Back to Black)
Annie Lennox -- Ghosts In My Machine (Songs of Mass Destruction)
Jens Lekman -- The Opposite of Hallelujah (Night Falls Over Kortedala)
Richard Hawley -- Tonight the Streets Are Ours (Lady's Bridge)
Sondre Lerche -- She's Fantastic (Phantom Punch)
Babyshambles -- Delivery (Shotters Nation)
Bjork -- Innocence (Volta)
PJ Harvey -- The Piano (White Chalk)
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)
Magic Numbers -- Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Editors -- Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Start)
Bloc Party -- I Still Remember (Weekend in the City)
Arcade Fire -- Keep the Car Running (Neon Bible)

Long Time No Write...

2008-01-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

I'll be posting the playlist from my Best of 2007 Show in a wee while (the Spice Girls reunion notably absent...) but as a placeholder, here is the greatest animated Christmas film ever made, in its entirety (until it gets taken down) -- have a hankie handy for Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman"

Viewer's guide:

1) Skip the live-action opening (1 minute or so)
2) Pardon themiddling quality of the recording itself
3) Imagine me, aged 5 (or 6, or 7, or 8...) sitting curled up in front of the TV on Xmas eve with a mug of hot cocoa.
4) Dig that irrepressibly downbeat ending...

Playlist for November 7th

2007-11-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Ballboy – Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Smiths – What Difference Does It Make? (Singles)
The Thrills – Big Sur (So Much For The City)
Teenage Fanclub – It’s All In My Mind (Man-Made)
Sondre Lerche – She’s Fantastic (Phantom Punch)
Jens Lekman – I Saw Her In The Antiwar Demonstration (Oh You’re So Silent, Jens)
Divine Comedy – I’m All You Need (A Short Album About Love)
Ute Lemper – The Case Continues (Punishing Kiss)
Hidden Cameras – Builds the Bone (Missassauga Goddam)
Caribou – Melody Day (Andorra)
Belle and Sebastian – The Chalet Lines (Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant)
Beautiful South – I’ll Sail This Ship Alone (Welcome to…)
Blur – Out of Time (Think Tank)
Tunng – Bullets (Good Arrows)
Erasure – In My Arms (Cowboy)
The Traveling Wilburys – Heading for the Light (Volume 1)
Trashcan Sinatras – I’ve Seen Everything (I’ve Seen Everything)
Mojave 3 – All Your Tears (Out of Tune)
Turin Brakes – Average Man (Ether Song)
Athlete – Tokyo (Beyond the Neighborhood)
PJ Harvey – When Under Ether (White Chalk)
Radiohead – Reckoner (In Rainbows)
Richard Hawley – Tonight The Streets Are Ours (Lady’s Bridge)
Heavenly – C Is The Heavenly Option (Le Jardin de Heavenly)
Lush – Hypocrite (Ciao!)
Life Without Buildings – The Leanover (Any Other City)

Playlist for October 10th

2007-11-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (L&GWAFIS)
Divine Comedy – Tonight We Fly (Promenade)
Rolling Stone – Tumbling Dice (Exile on Main Street)
Mclusky – To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc. (Demon Days)
Goldfrapp – Number 1 (Supernature)
Death in Vegas – Dirge (Contino Sessions)
Plastiscines – Zazie Fait de la Bicyclette (LP1)
Stereo Total – Comme un Garcon (Stereo Total)
Caribou – She’s The One (Andorra)
Badly Drawn Boy – Born in the UK (Born in the UK)
Hard Fi – Suburban Knights (Once Upon a Time In The West)
Tunng – Bullets (Good Arrows)
Inspiral Carpets feat. Mark E. Smith – I Want You (Saturn 5)
Mother and the Addicts – Watch the Lines (Science Fiction Illustrated)
The Mabuses – Dark Star (Mabused!)
Radiohead – Wolf at the Door (Hail to the Thief)
Tricky – Makes Me Wanna Die (Pre-Millennial Tension)
Joy Division – Atmosphere (Substance)
Nick Drake – Hazey Jane 2 (Bryter Layter)
Kinks – Waterloo Sunset (Something Else By…)
Tears for Fears – Mad World (Gold)
Doves – Snowden (Some Cities)
Mojave 3 – Running With Your Eyes Closed (Puzzles Like You)
Pulp – Help The Aged (This is Hardcore)
Ute Lemper – Little Water Song (Punishing Kiss)

Playlist for Sept. 26 -- The Inaugural Webstream Edition

2007-10-10T14:39:00.001-07:00

Badly Drawn Boy -- Degrees of Separation (Born in the UK)
Trashcan Sinatras -- I've Seen Everything (I've Seen Everything)
James -- Pressure's On (Wah Wah)
Elbow -- Scattered Black and Whites (Asleep at the Back)
Lloyd Cole -- Margo's Waltz (Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe)
Camera Obscura -- Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken (Let's Get Out Of This Country)
British Sea Power -- It Ended On An Oily Stage (Open Season)
Nouvelle Vague -- The Killing Moon (Bande A Part)
Mojave 3 -- Sarah (Ask Me Tomorrow)
Nick Drake -- Northern Sky (Bryter Layter)
The Cure -- Plainsong (Disintegration)
Oakenfold, feat. Nelly Furdato and Tricky -- The Harder They Come (Perfecto Chills 1)
The The -- Helpline Operator (Dusk)
The Fall -- Sparta FC (The Real New Fall EP)
Go! Team -- Doing It Right (Proof of Youth)
Ronson and Amy Winehouse -- Valerie (Ronson Version)
Manic Street Preachers -- Indian Summer (Send Away The Tigers)
Carina Round -- Come To You (Slow Motion Addict)
Bat For Lashes -- Prescilla (Fur & Gold)
Caribou -- Melody Day (Andorra)
Tunng -- Bullets (Good Arrows)
Editors -- Racing Rats (An End Has A Beginning)
Ballboy -- Day In Space (Club Anthems)

Listen to WEFT Online!

2007-09-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

WEFT is now available on the apparently-here-to-stay Internet. Go to the station website to select the player of your choosing.

Playlist from Sept. 12th

2007-09-25T12:22:00.001-07:00

Black Box Recorder -- The English Motorway System (Facts of Life)
Cocteau Twins -- Calfskin Smack (Milk and Kisses)
Slowdive -- Alison (Souvlaki)
My Bloody Valentine -- Only Shallow (Loveless)
Ballboy -- Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
British Sea Power -- Fear of Drowning (The Decline of...)
Eurythmics -- Thorn in My Side (Revenge)
Magic Numbers -- Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
Morrissey -- Now My Heart Is Full (Vauxhall and I)
XTC -- Life Begins at the Hop (Drums and Wires)
Libertines -- Time for Heroes (Up The Bracket)
Kingmaker -- Queen Jane (Sleepwalking)
Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison -- Gimme Some Truth (Instant Karma)
Sean Lennon -- Headlights (Friendly Fire)
Delgados -- Coming in from the Cold (Hate)
Beth Orton -- I Wish I Never Saw the Sun (Trailer Park)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffer's Guide to the Flight Deck)
Kate Bush -- How to be Invisible (Aerial)
Futureheads -- Hounds of Love (Futureheads)
Editors -- Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has a Start)
Ed Harcourt -- Fireflies Take Flight (From Every Sphere)
Belle and Sebastian -- Take Your Carriage CLock and Shove It (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Amy Winehouse -- Tears Dry on Their Own (Back to Black)
Passengers, feat. Luciano Pavarotti -- Miss Sarajevo (Orignal Soundtracks, Vol. 1)

At Long Last: The Much Anticipated Marmite Post

2007-09-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I tell someone I'm British, it seems that convsersation invariably turns to either Monty Python (complete with their extensive recitations of memorized sketches, performed in a dodgy English accent) or Marmite. I don't think anyone needs Python explained to them, so let's have a little background on that manna of the gods, Marmite.

What is Marmite? Well, as the jar says, it's Yeast Extract. That means it's...some sort of thing...extracted from yeast. Or something. Wikipedia described it as a "sticky, dark brown paste with a distinctive, powerful taste," and I guess I'd agree with that, although I'd probably add the word 'salty.' It's very much an acquired taste, but if you go about it in the right way, it's impossible not to acquire.

I think the problem with many Americans' introduction to Marmite is that they have no idea to go about using it. They slather it on way too thickly and stagger away after half a bite, with the (perfectly understandable) feeling that the stuff is overpoweringly nauseating. Here's a foolproof way to introducce yourself to Marmite:

1) Get your hands on a jar of Marmite. (If you live in Champaign-Urbana, they sell it at Schnucks, World Market, World Harvest, Euromart...)
2) Also needed: one very good crusty white baguette (again, for C-U residents, I recommend getting yer bread from Pekara or Strawberry Fields), some butter, and a toaster.
3) Cut your baguette lengthwise and cut off some toaster-sized slices. Toast the bread until it is well browned but not burned.
4) Add butter almost immediately, while the toast it still very hot. Use a bit more butter than you would usually -- it should be flowing around quite liberally.
5) Open the Marmite -- resist the urge to sniff too deeply from the jar, as the strong taste might put you off. Dip the tip of a knife into the Marmite (just a half inch or so, remembering that with Marmite, 'less is more'), and spread it thinly throughout the butter.
6) Eat while hot, preferably with a cup of tea. (P.G. Tips, for maximum authenticity)

Another cracking serving suggestion is to spread a lot of cream cheese on some bread, add a thin wash of Marmite, and then top with sliced cucumber. There aren't too many other ways to use it (although there is a cookbook), but there aren't too many ways to use peanut butter and nobody seems to hold that against it...

Give it a try. Then leave a comment.

Wake Up Boo!

2007-09-07T12:32:00.001-07:00

Scientists, gawd bless 'em, have apparently developed a formula for the perfect feel-good song. The study explored how upbeat songs create the feel-good factor, and after much careful consideration and lots of experiments with bunsen burners and pipettes and plastic eye protectors, a winner was announced.

Ladies and gentlemen, scientifically proven to be the most cheerful upbeat song ever recorded (and frequently played on my humble show): "Wake Up, Boo!" by the Boo Radleys!

(Of course, regular listeners would know that my choice would be "Pure" by the Lightning Seeds:

Playlist From August 29th

2007-09-07T12:25:00.003-07:00

8/29
James – Ring the Bells (Seven)
Beth Orton – Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Magic Numbers – Undecided (Those the Brokes)
Beautiful South – You Play Glockenspiel, I’ll Play Drums (0898)
Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good (Back to Black)
Eurythmics – When Tomorrow Comes (Revenge)
Smiths – What Difference Does It Make? (The Smiths)
U2 – Acrobat (Achtung Baby)
Prefab Sprout – Goodbye Lucille (Steve McQueen, Reissued)
Prefab Sprout – Desire As… (Steve McQueen, Reissued)
Elbow – Great Expectations (Leaders of the Free World)
Snow Patrol – Set the Fire to the Third Bar (Eyes Open)
Maps – To the Sky (We Can Create)
Editors – Escape the Nest (An End Has A Beginning)
The Go! Team – We Just Won’t Be Defeated (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Let’s Make This Precious (Too Rye Ay)
Mclusky – To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Ride – Twisterella (Going Blank Again)
Lloyd Cole – She’s a Girl, I’m a Man (Don’t Get Weird on Me, Babe)
Art Brut – I Will Survive (It’s A Bit Complicated)
Suede – Moving (Suede)
McAlmont and Butler – Yes (The Sound of…)
Guillemots – Trains to Brazil (From the Cliffs)

Playlist From August 15th

2007-09-07T12:25:00.001-07:00

8/15
The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset (Something Else By…)
Badly Drawn Boy – You Were Right (Have You Fed The Fish?)
Divine Comedy – In Pursuit of Happiness (A Short Album About Love)
Elvis Costello – Sulky Girl (Brutal Youth)
Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (We Are The Pipettes)
Traveling Wilburys – Handle With Care (Volume I)
Teenage Fanclub – Near You (Howdy!)
Beth Orton – Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Joss Stone – Jet Lag (Mind, Body, and Soul)
Editors – Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors (An End Has A Beginning)
Maps – Elouise (We Can Create)
The View – Superstar Tradesmen (Hats Off To The Buskers)
Jamiroquai – Blow Your Mind (High Times: The Best Of…)
Art Brut – Sounds of Summer (It’s A Bit Complicated)
Magic Numbers – Take a Chance (Those the Brokes)
James – Born of Frustration (Seven)
David Bowie – New Killer Star (Reality)
Maccabees – First Love (Colour It In)
Travis – Selfish Jean (The Boy With No Name)
Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (Send Away The Tigers)
Fields – Feathers (Everything Last Winter)
Horrors – Count In Fives (Strange House)
Maximo Park – Our Velocity (Our Earthly Pleasures)
Placebo – Every You, Every Me (Without You I’m Nothing)
Snow Patrol – Spitting Games (Final Straw)
Pulp – Do You Remember The First Time? (His and Hers)

Supergrass and the Florida Mermaids

2007-08-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

This article about a legal action against the Weeki Watchee Mermaid Attraction ("a perfect piece of roadside kitsch") in Florida, reminded me of one of the loveliest music videos of recent years. Supergrass travelled to Weeki Watchee and made a sort of short film/music video that manages to make the whole surreal and trashy enterprise appear extremely moving and lovely.

Take a few minutes to enjoy this video (oh, and it's a great song, too: "Low C")

Playlist From August 1

2007-08-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Ballboy – Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Reindeer Section – You Are My Joy (Son of Evil Reindeer)
Belle and Sebastian – Jonathan David (Push Barman to Open Old Wounds)
Jesus and Mary Chain – Down on Me (Darklands)
Franz Ferdinand – Tell Her Tonight (Franz Ferdinand)
Camera Obscura – Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
Echobelly – Great Things (ON)
Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World (DIY: UK POP 1)
Brakes – Heard About Your Band (Give Blood)
Arctic Monkeys – What if You Were Right First Time? (Brianstorm EP)
Thrills – One Horse Town (So Much for the City)
Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison – Gimme Come Truth (Instant Karma)
Art Brut – Late Sunday Evening (It’s a Bit Complicated)
Madness – It Must Be Love (Divine Madness)
Basement Jaxx – Lucky Star (Kish Kash)
Bjork – More to Life Than This (Debut)
Stereolab – Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
Stereo Total – I Am Naked (Do The Bambi)
Hot Chip – Over and Over (The Warning)
Rakes – Retreat (Capture/Release)
Electronic – Getting Away With It (Get The Message)
Fields – Skulls and Flesh and More (Everything Last Winter)
Maccabees – Precious Time (Colour It In)
The View – Superstar Tradesmen (Hats Off For the Buskers)
Cribs – Men’s Needs (Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever)
Baxter Dury – Lucifer’s Grain (Len Parrott’s Memorial Lift)
Mojave 3 – She’s All Up Above (Spoon and Rafter)
Elbow – Powder Blue (Asleep at the Back)

Playlist From July 18th

2007-08-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hot Chip – The Warning (The Warning)
New Order – True Faith (Substance)
Wonder Stuff – The Size of a Cow (Never Loved Elvis)
The Streets – Fit But You Know It (A Grand Don’t Come For Free)
Jamiroquai – Too Young to Die (High Times)
Lemon Jelly – Nice Weather for Ducks (Lost Horizons)
Divine Comedy – Booklovers (Promenade)
Blue Aeroplanes - …and Stones (Swagger)
Art Brut – Jealous Guy (It’s a Bit Complicated)
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Poodle Rockin’ (Spanish Dance Troupe)
The View – Street Lights (Buskers)
Maximo Park – Books from Boxes (Our Earthly Pleasures)
Field Music – Not Supposed To (Write Your Own History)
Maccabees – Mary (Colour It In)
Fields – If You Fail We All Fail (Everything Last Winter)
Bloc Party – I Still Remember (Weekend In The City)
Cribs – Men’s Needs (Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever)
Bryan Ferry – More Than This (Street Life)
Electronic – Get the Message (Get the Message)
Maps – Elouise (We Can Create)
Kate Bush – How to Be Invisible (Aerial)
Echo and the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain (Ocean Rain)
The Cure – Plainsong (Disintegration)
Blur – Sweet Song (Think Thank)

10 Best Pub Gardens in UK

2007-07-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article from the Guardian (a great paper, as it happens), listing the 10 best pub gardens in the country, according to them. It's hard to convey to an American audience how crucial the pub garden is to British society and culture. Perhaps a browse through this article will get it across.

A Couple of Great Songs

2007-07-17T08:21:00.001-07:00

Here are the videos for a couple of tracks I played on the last show. Thanks, YouTube!

St. Etienne - Like a Motorway

Super Furry Animals - It's Not The End of the World

Playlist, July 4th 2007

2007-07-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

Here it is, the playlist for the Independence Day (or, as we call it in England, "Wednesday") show. It took me a while to get this typed up, because as soon as I left the station my wife went into labour, and six or seven hours later I was the father of a lovely baby boy (Lucian Charles). Details to follow...

Trashcan Sinatras - Hayfever (Cake)
Squeeze - Up The Junction (Cool for Cats)
Teenage Fanclub - 120 Mins (Thirteen)
Belle and Sebastian - Expectations (Tigermilk)
Cribs - Men's Needs (Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever)
The View - Same Jeans (Hats off to the Buskers)
Maccabees - First Love (Colour It In)
Playwrights - Dislocated (London Version) (English Self Storage)
Gorky's Zygotc Mynci - The Humming Song (Spanish Dance Troupe)
Supergrass - St. Petersburg (Road to Rouen)
Aliens - I Am The Unknown (Astronomy for Dogs)
Elbow - Station Approach (Leaders of the Free World)
British Sea Power - Carrion (The Decline of...)
Art Brut - Pump up the Volume (It's a Bit Complicated)
Fields - Song for the Fields (Everything Last Winter)
Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison - Gimme Some Truth (Instant Karma)
Paul McCartney - Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full)
Sondre Lerche - Sleep on Needles (Faces Down)
Stereolab - Ping Pong (Mars Audiac Quintet)
Pipettes - I Love You (We Are the Pipettes)
Arctic Monkeys - Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend ('Brianstorm' single B-Side)
Travis - Battleships (The Boy With No Name)
Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block (Hour of the Bewilderbeast)
Black Box Recorder - Facts of Life (Facts of Life)
St. Etienne - Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
Super Furry Animals - It's Not The End Of The World (Rings Around The World)
David Bowie - Changes (Hunky Dory)

Esme in the Hizzy

2007-06-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Had to post a couple of these: pix of Esme talking to Champaign Urbana, right before she had her meltdown over the fact that I wouldn't play the whole Charlie and Lola album, and had to be escorted from the premises by security (i.e. my wife). Anyway, here she is...

Playlist for June 20th, 2007

2007-06-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Smiths -- Panic (Singles)
Brian Eno -- Needle in the Camel's Eye (Here Come the Warm Jets)
Placebo -- Teenage Angst (Placebo)
Suede -- Trash (Coming Up)
Mclusky -- To Hell With Good Intentions (Do Dallas)
The The -- Dogs of Lust (Dusk)
Carter USM -- The Only Living Boy in New Cross (1992)
Charlie and Lola -- Theme Music (Favourite and Best Music Record)
Charlie and Lola -- Bestest in the Barn (Favourite and Best Music Record)
Charlie and Lola -- I Am Not Sleepy (Favourite and Best Music Record)
Camera Obscura -- Number One Son (Underachievers Please Try Harder)
The Chrysler -- What I Must Keep With Mine (Failures and Sparks)
Belle & Sebastian -- Jonathan David (Single)
Jens Lekman -- Rocky Dennis Farewell Song (Oh, You're So Silent Jens)
Art Brut -- Direct Hit (It's a Bit Complicated)
The Pipettes -- Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me (We Are the Pipettes)
The View -- Skag Trendy (Hats off to the Buskers)
Arctic Monkeys -- Brianstorm (Favourite Worst Nightmare)
Aliens -- Setting Sun (Astronomy for Dogs)
Macabees -- Precious Time (Colour It In)
Architecture in Helsinki -- Wishbone (In Case We Die)
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly -- Glasshouses (Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager)
James Morrison -- Wonderful World (Undiscovered)
Nouvelle Vague -- The Killing Moon (bande a Part)
Editors -- Blood (The Back Room)
Clinic -- Children of Kellogg (Visitations)
Jakob Dylan & Dhani Harrison -- Gimme Some Truth (Instant Karma)
Sinead O'Connor -- Mandinka (The Lion and the Serpent)
The La's -- There She Goes (The La's)

"Gordon is a moron!"

2007-06-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

No, not a reference to the about-to-be-PM of Britain, but rather to the fantastic song 'Jilted John.' A perennial favourite on the show, and a one-hit wonder from 1978 in which actor Graham Fellows adopted an embittered alter-ego for this punk ditty about a feeble young lad whose girlfriend chucks him for a good looking bloke called Gordon. An outstanding work.

And whatever happened to Fellows? Well, he resurfaced years later, unrecognizeable in a completely different persona: that of mild-mannered Yamaha keyboard troubadour John Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth's scratchy Sheffield accent and earnest easy-listening compositions are utterly unmistakeable. Here's a fine example -- the tragic story of a man who starts his dessert only to find that, had he waited, he could have finished off the rest of his daughter's unwanted dinner. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "I Can't Go Back to Savoury Now."

June 6th, 2007

2007-06-20T12:28:00.001-07:00

Elvis Costello – Accidents Will Happen (Girls Girls Girls)
Kingmaker – Ten Years Asleep (Sleepwalking)
Art Brut – Emily Kane (Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
Aztec Camera – Good Morning Britain (Retrospect)
Doves – Black & White Town (Some Cities)
Shed 7 – Where Have You Been Tonight (A Maximum High)
Forward Russia – Nine (Give Me a Wall)
Sondre Lerche – Airport Taxi Reunion (Phantom Punch)
Divine Comedy – Becoming More Like Alfie (Casanova)
Travis – Under the Moonlight (The Boy With No Name)
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly – Call Me Ishmael (Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager)
Klaxons – Totem on the Timeline (Myths of the Near Future)
The Horrors – Sheena is a Parasite (Stolen Transmission)
Paul McCartney – Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full)
Lightning Seeds – Joy (Cloudcuckooland)
Suede – Shipbuilding (HELP Warchild)
Love Spit Love – Am I Wrong? (Love Spit Love)
Playwrights – Why We’ve Become Invisible (English Self Storage)
Stars – Ageless Beauty (Set Yourself on Fire)
Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me (We Are The Pipettes)
Miracle Fortress – This Thing About You (Five Roses)
Pooh Sticks – World Is Turning On (Million Seller)
Portishead – All Mine (Live at Roseland NYC)
Moloko – Day For Night (Do You Like My Tight Sweater?)
Tricky – Makes Me Wanna Die (Pre-Millennial Tension)
Radiohead – True Love Waits (I Might Be Wrong)
Blur – You’re So Great (Blur)

Blue Jam

2007-06-07T07:34:00.001-07:00

Follow this link for complete archives of a dark, surreal slice of British Radio history.

The show in question is entitled Blue Jam, and a description is going to be a hard thing to pull off. It was the mastermind of a man named Chris Morris, and went out late late at night (3 a.m., in fact, so as to be as far as possible away from daylight) on BBC Radio1, a national station which plays, during the day, chart pop music aimed at the 14-24 age bracket.

So along comes Morris with this show that is so utterly sui generis, not to mention surreal and nightmarish. Each episode is an hour long, and consists of monologues and sketches interspersed with music. If that makes it sound even remotely like a radio version of Saturday Night Live, banish that thought from your mind. Essentially it's a 60-minute aural fever dream, the kind of thing you might find floating through your head as you lie, shivering yet bathed in sweat, with a fever of 103, waiting for the antibiotics to kick in.

But in a good way.

Seriously, give it a listen.

Whenever I Think of Sporting Excellence, I Think of Jagged Pink Blobs

2007-06-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

So after months of anticipation and the expenditure of four hundred thousand pounds, the logo for the 2012 London Olympics has been unveiled. And it's shockingly bad. And the great British public, not being inclined to take these things lying down, has risen up and, with one voice, condemned it for the committee-derived piece of brand-building bollocks that it is.

First, here's the description from the Olympic Committee's website:

New brand launches

London 2012's new brand and vision were launched today by Sebastian Coe and London 2012 ambassadors.

The new Olympic emblem is based on the number 2012 - the year the Games take place and includes the Olympic Rings and the word London.

For the first time the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games emblems have been based on the same core shape.

Available in four colours – pink, blue, green and orange - the new emblem is modern and will be dynamic, evolving in the years between now and 2012.

It symbolises the Olympic spirit and the ability of the Games to inspire people to take part - not just as spectators, but as volunteers, in the Cultural Olympiad and more.

Launching the brand at the Roundhouse in North London, London 2012 Chair Seb Coe said: "London 2012 will be 'Everyone's Games', everyone's 2012. This is the vision at the very heart of our brand.

"It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world.

"It is an invitation to take part and be involved."

And here, by contrast, are a selection of reactions to it:

"a broken swastika"
"a toileting monkey"
"Lisa Simpson doing something unspeakable and pornographic"
etc.
etc.

The Englishest Photo You'll See All Day

2007-05-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

This photo, for me, is a kind of immersive synesthesiac experience. I can smell the grass, I can hear the sheep, I can feel the drizzle prickling my face, I can taste the...Marmite? Anyway, I think a photo like this would forever divide the world into two types of people: those who think "Ooooh, lovely!" (i.e. English people), and those who think, "Bloody hell, that looks grim" (everybody else). I, for one, am proud to be in the former camp.

As Promised

2007-05-24T08:08:00.001-07:00

Here'a that lovely video to the Divine Comedy song I played last night.

Playlist: May 23, 2007

2007-05-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ballboy - Avant Garde Music (Guide for the Daylight Hours)
Ash - Kung Fu (1977)
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Let's Make This Precious (Too Rye Ay)
Mclusky - Alan is a Cowboy Killer (Mclusky Do Dallas)
Radiohead - There There (Hail to the Thief)
Bloc Party - Helicopter (Silent Alarm Remixed)
Hot Chip - The Warning (The Warning)
Doves - There Goes the Fear (Last Broadcast)
Camera Obscura - Happy New Year (Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi)
Belle & Sebastian - I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
Stereo Total - C'est La Mort (Stereo Total)
Madness - Our House (Divine Madness)
Divine Comedy - Perfect Lovesong (Regeneration)
Beth Orton - Concrete Sky (Daybreaker)
Suede - Filmstar (Coming Up)
Elvis Costello - Sulky Girl (Brutal Youth)
Hidden Cameras - Builds the Bone (Mississauga Goddam)
Blur - Sweet Song (Think Tank)
The Chrysler - When Sara Came to Town (Failures and Sparks)
Portishead - Roads (Dummy)
Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar (Eyes Open)
Black Box Recorder - The Art of Driving (Facts of Life)
Morrissey - Every Day is Like Sunday (Bona Drag)

British Cultural Artifact #1: Alan Partridge

2007-05-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Where else could I start. The man is a national legend.

A brief life story: he is a fictional character played by comedy mastermind Steve Coogan, and he made his debut on a Radio 4 comedy show called "On The Hour." The show was a news satire -- not a satire of current events, but rather a satire of news itself, the way it is packaged and presented. Partridge was the rather hapless sports desk guy, and when the programme moved to TV as "The Day Today," he remained in that spot, and we could finally see the alarming comb-over and collection of pastel-coloured sweaters that we always suspected he was wearing on radio.

Following The Day Today, Partridge took flight, his fictitious career taking him next to the world of the talk show (or "chat show" as he would very insistently call it.) On 'Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge,' he hosted a chat show in which nothing quite worked -- guests (played by actors) would invariably end up being insulted or offended, and each show invariably ended awkwardly. The genius lay in the details, though: the fact that the staircase down which the guests descended had treads that were a little too wide to be taken one at a time, but a little too narrow to allow two steps on each, requiring guests to sort of stagger or limp down the stairs as they entered; the bemusement with which they responded to Partridge's welcoming catchphrase, "Ah haaaah!" (a reference to the ABBA song from which the show also took its title); and Partridge's passive-aggressive relationship with his bandleader, Glen Ponder. Here's a clip from a show in which he attempted to address weighty political issues, wearing a rather alarming mustache.

And following that, his imaginary trajectory took a downturn. Partridge (we are to believe) is canned by the BBC and vainly struggling to get his career back on track. We follow him in a proto-reality show style, as he attempts to claw his way back up the ladder of light entertainment, while living in a tawdry motel. This most recent incarnation, "I'm Alan Partridge" contains some of the bleakest moments ever to go under the banner of 'Comedy,' and paved the way for worldwide mega-hit The Office. (See this clip, in which he has a crucial dinner with a guy from the BBC)

Playlist: May 9, 2007

2007-05-22T21:14:00.001-07:00

The Selecter -- Too Much Pressure (Too Much Pressure)
The Fall -- Sparta 2XX (The Real New Fall EP)
British Sea Power -- It Ended on an Oily Stage (Open Season)
Echo & The Bunnymen -- Stormy Weather (Me, I'm All Smiles)
David Bowie -- Suffragette City (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust)
Supergrass -- Richard III (In It For The Money)
T. Rex -- Metal Guru (The Slider)
Sugarcubes -- Walkabout (Stick Around For Joy)
Sondre Lerche -- She's Fantastic (Phantom Punch)
The Travelling Wilburys -- Handle With Care (Volume I)
The Beatles -- Hello Goodbye (Magical Mystery Tour)
Sean Lennon -- Headlights (Friendly Fire)
Yoko Ono -- Nobody Sees Me Like You Do (Yes, I'm a Witch)
Blur -- The Universal (The Great Escape)
Trashcan Sinatras -- It's a Miracle (Weightlifting)
Lloyd Cole -- Loveless (Lloyd Cole)
Magic Numbers -- Slow Down (Those The Brokes)
Divine Comedy -- I'm All You Need (A Short Album About Love)
U2 -- Red Hill Mining Town (Joshua Tree)
The The -- Lonely Planet (Dusk)
Arcade Fire -- Ocean of Noise (Neon Bible)
Jarvis Cocker -- Baby's Coming Back To Me (Jarvis)

Playlist: April 25, 2007

2007-05-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

St. Etienne -- Like a Motorway (Tiger Bay)
The Cure -- In Between Days (Head on the Door)
James -- Tomorrow (Whiplash)
Idlewild -- No Emotion (Make Another World)
Chemical Brothers -- Galvanize (Push the Button)
Gorillaz -- El Manana (Demon Days)
Lamb -- Gorecki (Lamb)
Flotation Toy Warning -- Popstar Researching Oblivion (Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck)
Guillemots -- Made Up Lovesong #43 (From the Cliffs)
Lightning Seeds -- All I Want (Cloudcuckooland)
Trashcan Sinatras -- Got Carried Away (Weightlifting)
The Smiths -- This Charming Man (Hatful of Hollow)
The Charlatans -- Jesus Hairdo (Up To Our Hips)
The Thrills -- Big Sur (So Much For The City)
Sondre Lerche -- Face Blood (Phantom Punch)
Youth Group -- Forever Young (Casino Twilight Dogs)
Field Music -- Place Yourself (Tones of Town)
The Cinematics -- Keep Forgetting (Strange Education)
The Good, The Bad and the Queen -- Green Fields (The Good, The Bad and the Queen)
King Crimson -- In The Court of the Crimson King (In The Court of the Crimson King)
Prefab Sprout -- Bonny (Steve McQueen)
Turin Brakes -- Average Man (Ether Song)
Waterboys -- The Whole of the Moon (Best Of...)
Magic Numbers -- Life's A Game (Magic Numbers)
The Beatles -- All You Need Is Love (Magical Mystery Tour)

'Ello, Guvnor!

2007-05-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Oh wait, nobody has said that since 1947. Instead, a simple Hello.

For about five years now I have been hosting the radio show Transatlantica ("An eclectic mix of the best of British music") on WEFT radio in Champaign, IL, and during that time we have also witnessed the rise of another, some would argue equally powerful, force on the media landscape. It's called The Internet, and after watching it for some time, I have finally become convinced it is here to stay.

This being the case, I thought I'd join the party by creating an Interblog of my very own.

This, dear reader, is that Interblog.

I'll use it for posting the playlist from each show, as well as miscellaneous other gleanings from around the Globewide Web, most of them pertaining to Britishness, music, radio, or adorable photos of newborn zoo animals. Perhaps the occasional record or film review. I hope you'll stop by and visit occasionally, leave a comment or suggestion, and just generally make yourself at home. Um. Actually, would you mind taking your shoes off? And here, let me get you a coaster for that drink before you leave a condensation ring on my coffee table...