Bomb in the city

The bomb squad (not a job I'd enjoy) are on their way to Coventry city centre as an unexploded WWII bomb has been unearthed in the centre this morning during the construction that is currently being undertaken on the new Belgrade Plaza site. This isn't much of a shock when you consider the amount of bombs dropped on Coventry during the blitz. Shoppers and local employees have been evacuated from the vicinity. Upper Well Street and Radford Road are closed to traffic and Junctions 1 and 8 on the ring road are shut. This has meant my wife has spent some of her working day in Starbucks. Unfortunately her car is trapped in the danger area, hopefully we can retrieve it later. I'm also hoping the ring road is open when I head towards home.

MP3: The Bomb Inside The Bomb - We are Scientists 
Last FM | Buy | Wikipedia

Just up the road from the city centre is the Memorial Park. It will, again, be the venue for the  Godiva Festival 2008. This will be held over the weekend of 4th - 6th July. This will be the 11th festival.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly @ The Kasbah Coventry

Last night we went to see Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly supported by Emmy The Great at The Kasbah (formerly The Colosseum), (formerly The Tic-Toc for the truely ancient amongst us).
Arriving a little later than planned we grabbed a drink and headed for the main room as the main act had already took to the stage. The refurbishment to turn the Colly into The Kasbah seemed to focus on Morrocan arches painted in black around studded doorways, the main room was adorned in similar decor. Basically same old venue, with a new lick of paint. There was a new armband that was required to get a drink at the bars!!!
Pushing as far as we comfortably could into the main room we found that we hadn't missed much of the main act and enjoyed the rest of the performance, it included Call me Ishmael, I spy, War of the Worlds and the new single Find the time that will be available from 3rd March.

The tracks below are live from last years Reading festival.

MP3: I spy (live at Reading 2007)
MP3: War of the Worlds (live at Reading 2007)

album | website

Up the river

Another album I've been listening to on my iPod is Stage Names by Okkervil River, They are a indie/folk outfit from the US and have become highly recommended listening. 

MP3: Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe - Okkervil River 
from the album Stage Names

A Grotesque romp

I have enjoyed listening to Of Montreal a fair bit lately recently. One track that has really  caught my attention is the epic rolling romp The Past Is A Grotesque Animal, it appears on the  2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?  

oooooOOOOooooo....

MP3: The Past is a Grotesque Animal - Of Montreal

Polyvinyl Records | iTunes | Napster

That Beep Beep song

If you like the music that accompanies the Audi R8 TV advert as much as my baby son - you know the one about 'synchronized feet'- your probably going to enjoy the track below.
When that advert comes on the TV my son stops in his tracks with his mouth hanging open and then claps when it finishes - and then goes about his destructive way. 

Well the song in question is called The Beep Beep Song  from the album I am the man (2007) and is by Hawaiian born Simone White. So there you go.

MP3: The Beep Beep Song - Simone White

Febuary already

So I’ve been a little lax with the posts in January. The month slipped past quiet unoticed by me until I needed to ask the date. I then discovered that half the food in my fridge was probably out of date and that it was, infact, already Febuary.
So, as I drove home from work yesterday, in the most furocious and short lived snow blizzard I have ever witnessed, I got to thinking about what good music had I come across during January. I decided the answer could be pretty much summed up in three tracks.

MP3: The Drones – The Millers Daughter
Title track from their 2006 album The Miller's Daughter
MP3: Sons and Daughters – Johnny Cash
From their 2003 album Love the Cup. Their new album This Gift has recently been released.
MP3: Foals – Mathletics
This is my favouite of their tracks its better, I think, than their recent single balloons.

I have also just seen the draconian Glastonbury Festival ticket registration you have to go through just to be in with a chance of winning buying a ‘golden’  ticket. It’s akin to applying for a passport, except you will probably get one of those. Details of your registration will be kept for future use and a specifically sized photograph of you will be required with your registration. The lucky few who progress to become ‘ticket holders’ will be met by Micheal Eavis at the gate of Worthy Farm and he will lead them on a journey into a musical wonderland of hippy umpa lumpas and mud.

I have registered.

I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me

So the wheel of the new year has started to turn once more and the Godess has given birth to the Sun God and we head into the light of the coming summer.
In the seasonal spirit of rejoicing the new year here is my choice for a New Year Eve tune. A message of defiance for any hardship we may face.

MP3: This Year - The Mountain Goats 

Xmas#2

My second, and personal favourite, christmas tune is by a country and western singer from Nashville, Tennessee called Brian Beathard. Damn it I'm Vixen was a single taken from his Debut CD. both are available to buy on his website.

Damn It, I'm Vixen! was written for those people who feel like its always someone other than them in the lime light and that somebody else always seems to get the credit for the things they do. It is important to remember that Rudolph wasn't the only reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh.
ref: link

MP3: Damn it I'm Vixen (full HQ) - Brian Beathard

Xmas#1

My first festive offering is a cover of a Christmas classic that will be (and rightly so) played to death over the next few weeks. But to offer you something you may not have heard before I thought I’d post this Christy Moore live version. I believe I found it on a blog somewhere a few years back at about this time of year, so it's time to pass it on.

MP3: Fairytale of New York – Christy Moore (live)

Its gets dark early now

MP3: In my mind (rare acoustic) - Radiohead & The Pixes

Boom!

An appropriate track for today from one of my favourite local bands called Death by Miss Adventure. This is the title track from their Fireworks EP. Enjoy.

Discover more

MP3: Fireworks

New material from the Verve

The Thaw Session is being given away by the NME. This quarter of an hour studio jam from  newly reformed The Verve is a taster of the haunting melancholy melodies, rolling drums and etheral vocals that we can expect to come.

MP3: The Thaw Session (32MB!)

Ukuelele Orchestra of Great Britain

I was introduced to this band of ukulele brandishing cover version fiends a couple of years ago when a friend played to me their album Secret of Life. At first I thought it was a novelty act but on listening closer I realised they where actually very talented. My favourite song from that album is Otis Redding’s Hard to Handle.
So I was pleased the other day when emitting from iTunes I suddenly heard a familiar twang of Ukulele’s covering Smells like Teen Spirit and I thought ‘hey’ that’s new and I was right it was. Well at least it was to me, and that is how I discovered their 2007 album Precious Little. It contains another classic Ukulele Orchestra track, which is the cover of Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer. Brilliant.

The eagerly awaited album of 2007.
Ukuleles are small and endearing. For the player, it's sometimes difficult to find the right ukulele.
Hence the title: Precious Little. It's precious and it's little.
Tracks include: Smells like teen spirit, Theme from Shaft, Bang Bang (you shot me down), Psycho Killer, and The Girl from Devizes, a possible Bebop classic. Jazz, rock, grunge, country and the unclassifiable. All played on ukuleles and nothing but.

Website: www.ukuleleorchestra.com

MP3: Psycho Killer

Back that up

I had to change the back up tapes for our company server today and I have the honour tomorrow as well. Unfortunately something had gone wrong and no back ups had been created yesterday and it didn’t look like it was going to happen today either. The bloody back-up tape kept ejecting itself after only a few minutes. An emergency back up was hastily created onto a hard drive somewhere on a computer I couldn’t find. Dodgy tapes have been blamed but I think it’s ‘gremlins’, little green buggers, it’s the only reasonable explanation.
Things haven’t been good on our servers since the IT guy left so I have saved a shed load of data onto my computer. Because the server will probably explode into a million glistening particles when I attempt to touch the tape drive tomorrow morning.

MP3: Computer Song - Jim Noir

Malamarismo

Favourite recent listening, for me, amongst others has included Malamarismo, the third album from Spanish hip-hop artist Mala Rodriguez. She is kind of the latino answer to Lady Sovereign. Sadly, I can’t understand a word she’s singing but I didn’t have to, to know it’s good. I believe this song has something to do with domestic violence.

MP3: Nanai

'I spy' - Highlight of Reading 2007

A lad I know who did the weekend at Reading remains unshaven and still has the armband tightly clamped round his wrist. I'm not sure if he realises that it's all over yet. He can occasionally be heard mumbling something about how lucky they were with the weather, but he's definately still dancin' inside. Below is my highlight of what I heard on the TV coverage, Get cape, Wear cape, Fly performing a classic festival audience sing-a-long moment, the sort that makes you impatient for summer when you listen to it in January. Local lads The Enemy also played another electric show.

MP3: I spy - Get cape, Wear cape, fly (live Reading 2007)

V2007 (without the rain)

Well I 've just watched Channel 4s afternoon coverage of yesterdays Chelmsford Vfestival and whilst annoyingly short it was quite a treat. The show contained performances by The Kooks, Snowpatrol, Just Jack, The Hoosiers, The Editors, Paolo Nutini, Pink (??? - main stage), Kanye West and the Foo Fighters. Despite the weather it looked like a day of music worth experiencing. It looked like the festival goers may have had some dry periods today, although, it is, at the moment, pissing it down in Coventry. Anyway here is, in my opinion, the best track from the coverage I have seen so far, a grand performance by what sounds on occaission like the 
Scottish Bob Marley - Paolo Nutini. A track from his 2006 album 
These Streets.

And yes, I would rather be there, than watching it on tele.

Text from V2007 - Stafford:
Just seen him mate (Paolo Nutini) very good. Killers were good last night. Pished it down all weekend.

MP3: Paolo Nutini - Jenny don't be hasty (live V2007)

Neon Neon

I only heard this for the first time today and I love it, definately track of the week. Neon Neon is another project between Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) and Boom Bip . Trick for Treat was released on 25th June 2007. I can't wait to hear the album, which also features Spank Rock, Yo Majesty and Fat Lip. (ref)

MP3: Trick for Treat - Neon Neon

reference for origin of mp3 | purchase track

Mid week blast from the past

A past classic from Carter USM. Their 7th single taken from the groups 1992 The Love Album.
Carter are reforming later this year for two shows at the Brixton Academy (Sold Out) & Glasgow Barrowlands.
You can download Glam Rock Cops from their myspace page and also listen to other tunes including Sheriff Fatman which is another bloody classic too.


MP3: The only living boy in New-Cross

Goodnight Irene

I've had this track for some years and somewhere along the way it got lost or formatted or was involved in some computer related disaster. Anyway whilst searching a rather knackered looking CD I rediscovered it. Finding it was like finding an old friend. Its Mike Seeds cover of Goodnight Irene a track originally realeased in the 40's by Lead Belly but has been covered by many others including Johnny Cash. I reckon this version blows the others out the water. The track now appears on his 2005 album Songs For The Wintering Show Troupe. Its a feel bad to feel good record and dispite the rather despairing lyrics it always leaves me chuckling.

Mike Seed peddles a unique brand of experimental folk, and it can be sampled on his SVC records page where other tracks from his solo albums are available to download free. You can also buy them for 3 quid which isn't bad is it.

MP3: Goodnight Irene

I also discovered that the Spoilt Victorian Child MP3 blog is back and I was well pleased with my days discoveries.