The Soundtrack To My Life. 09/11/2012.

Record: Lonerisim. (2012).
Artist: Tame Impala.
My Advice To You… I got ‘Lonerism’ after hearing the excellent taster single ‘Elephant’ a couple of months ago and honestly, the album is not nearly as good as that single.

I found myself just counting down the songs and minutes until ‘Elephant’ which is track 9.

Record: Addams Family Values. (2012).
Artist: Battery Face.
My Advice To You…This album is free so why the hell not?

Free music is always a good thing my friends!
It seems to be the way to do it these days. “Have my music for free just now and later, if you want to, buy it!”
– I really like that approach.

I read about Battery Face in some magazine. I liked their name and I liked the idea of an album called Addams Family Values but this has almost nothing to do with The Addams Family. A good way to get people to hear your music if a little sneaky.

Don’t expect creepy, kooky, spooky music. Expect noise. Loud noise! I like noise and I like my noise loud and I took the time to listen to this record but in the end it just didn’t do it for me.

Being a member of Battery Face is probably hugely satisfying but I’m not and so, “Addams Family Values” just sounds like a long, direction-less band jam in a garage which is locked off to the likes of me.

Record: Sally Can’t Dance. (1974).
Artist: Lou Reed.
My Advice To You… I like to take a chance and buy a record simply because I like the album cover. Okay, I know and love a lot of Lou Reed’s music but sometimes he can churn out downright rubbish so buying “Sally Can’t Dance” was a gamble for me. But it definitely paid off. I especially liked this number:

Record: Roseland NYC Live. (1998).
Artist: Portishead.
Why You Should Get It…I really wish I’d seen Portishead live. They were fucking mesmerisingly special!

Record: Louis Armstrong: Volume I & II. (Compilation).
Artist: Louis Armstrong.
Why You Should Get It…It’s Louis Armstrong. Just get it. You need it. Everybody does!

Record: Seed Of A Memory. (1976).
Artist: Terry Reid.
Why You Should Get It… Rob Zombie introduced me to this guy. Not personally of course but through his soundtrack for “The Devil’s Rejects” which doesn’t contain a bad song. It’s early days but so far, so far this is my favourite track from ‘Seed of Memory’:

Record: Raging Bull (OST). (1980).
Artist: Various.
Why You Should Get It… Martin Scorsese has exquisite taste in music and the “Raging Bull” main title theme is the icing on the cake of the films’ beautiful opening credits…

Record: 40/40. (2009).
Artist: The Carpenters.
Why You Should Get It… 

Record: The Sophtware Slump (Deluxe Edition). (2011)
Artist: Grandaddy.
Why You Should Get It… The acoustic Demo for ‘Hewlett’s Daughter’ is worth the price of this Deluxe Edition alone.

Record: Re-Ac-Tor. (1981).
Artist: Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
Why You Should Get It… Like a lot of Neil’s records, Re-Ac-Tor is underappreciated…

Record: The Original Rumble. (1958).
Artist: Link Wray.
Why You Should Get It… One of the very first rock records. Not Rock & Roll, ROCK!

Even ol’ Jimmy Page loves ‘Rumble’!

The Soundtrack To My Life. 06/08/2011.

Prince’s mysterious and hard to find acoustic album “The Truth” (1997):

The Cramps, “A Date With Elvis” (1986):

The soundtrack from “The Devil’s Rejects” (2005):

The Misfits’ “Night Of The Living Dead” Single (1979):

ZZ Top’s “Eliminator” (1983):

Cab Calloway’s “Are You Hep To The Jive?” (1994):

This is what I’ve been listening to whilst clearing out my flat all week and I must urge you to go out and find that Prince album at the top of the list.
“The Truth” is mainly an acoustic album from Prince and it was released as a sort of bonus disc to his 3 Disc “Crystall Ball” Collection in 1998.

“The Truth” is nothing short of sheer magic all the way through and I’ve been telling everyone I know about it ever since I managed to find a copy in a second hand record shop years ago. For me, the stand out track is the title track which features an alarm clock and the loudest, longest, most over the top scream from Prince that you’ll ever hear from anyone in your life!

A close second favourite of mine is the track “Dionne” which will blow your mind away with it’s multi layered harmonies, simple acoustic guitar and lots of other little studio surprises which leave you on the floor thinking “What?”
If you can find it, get yourself “The Truth“.

My favourite song of the week comes from the soundtrack to “The Devil’s Rejects” and it’s called “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” by Elvin Bishop. I must have listened to that 20 times this week already!
I don’t know anything about Elvin Bishop but I’m off to see if I can find out.

The Soundtrack To My Life. 22/07/2011.

Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three’s “Riverboat Soul” (2010):

The Shangri-Las’ “Myrmidons Of Melodrama” (1995):

Led Zeppelin’s “Led Zeppelin II” (1969):

Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures’ self titled album (2009):

Roy Orbison’s “Crying” (1962):

I’ve really loved Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three ever since I happened to see them play live at the Celtic Connections Festival a couple of years ago.
They’ll have you stomping the floor and occasionally shouting out “YES!” at the top of your voice.
They have a new album out called “Middle Of Everywhere” but I’ve yet to hear it.
“Riverboat Soul” is from 2009 and gets played often in my place.

The Shangri-La’s are maybe my favourite girl group behind The Chordettes and I could happily listen to them all the time.

I dug Led Zeppelin’s second album out last week because I decided that I wanted to learn “Heartbreaker” on the guitar.
I thought it would be really satisfying to be able to play that song on the guitar and it really really is!

Ever since it came out, I really liked Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II”.
No seriously, I did!
It was over the top and brutal and trippy and you know what else?
I even liked the white horse stuff in it.
Yeah that’s right, I even liked that but I only realised at the start of the week that the fictional band from the film “Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures” are an actual band! With an actual album!
Whoo Hoo!
It has “Transylvania Terror Train” on it which appeared in Rob Zombie’s film and that’s the track I’ve played most so far.
Cartoon Horror!

“Crying” is the only non greatest hits Roy Orbison album I have but you’d think it was a greatest hits collection what with all the…great…er, hits.
Actually, maybe it is a greatest hits collection.
I dunno, but it’s dark and sad and brilliant.

Rob Zombie In Glasgow: 20/02/2011.

We went to see Rob Zombie live in Glasgow.
What we’re talking about here folks is FIRE & TITS.
A helluva lot of fire and tits.

Then after that, we’re talking about ROCK & ROLL, a helluva lot of pyro & blood & screaming & monsters & horror & death & tits & dead girls & tits & dead girls’ tits & Satan & fire & fucking chainsaws & fire & Nazi’s & corpses & Werewolfs & graveyards & tits & Vampires & John 5 on guitar & robots & machine guns & strippers & cartoons & violence & autopsies & beer & epilepsy inducing animation & sweat & skulls & explosions & zombies…
…with tits…
…on fire.

And at the front of all that was ROB ZOMBIE.
Here’s a photostrip from the gig:

The rest of my photos are HERE.

The Jesus Frankenstein Intro to this gig was cool as fuck!
The whole thing was brilliant!
One big Rock & Roll Horror Monster Show!
…on fire…
…with tits.

Rob Zombie In Glasgow 2011.

Guess what I’m doing next February?
Yup!

Going to a FUCKIN’ ROB ZOMBIE CONCERT MAN!

He’s playing the O2 Academy in Glasgow.
Here’s how excited I am: