A handful of (mainly) Sixties French Pop, in no particular order...six for now, ten for later.
Francoise Hardy - Tous Le Garcons Et Le Filles
Great great song. Brilliant Video.
Sylvie Vartan - L'oiseux
An obscure bit of French pop put my way by DJ Justin Spear
Nino Ferrer - La Telefon
I shake my head and think, is this real? Is this serious?
Brigitte Bardot - Contact
Psychedelic pop don't get much better than this. What a groove!
France Gall - Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son
If only Eurovision kicked ass like this now.
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - La Decadanse
Wouldn't it be great if people did "La Decadanse" at the Two Pigs?
Monday, 26 April 2010
Doctor Feelgood
Doctor Feelgood - You Shouldn't Call The Doctor (If you can't forget the bills)
I just saw the Feelgood movie "Oil City Confidential" on iplayer, and it's well worth watching. This footage is from a particularly legendary gig in Southend in 1975. Whatever you want to call it, R&B, Pub Rock, Punk Rock, in their heyday this band were stunning. Wilko Johnson is one of the most exciting guitarists ever -his style was hugely influential on people like Andy Gill from Gang Of Four, who themselves became very influential a few years later. Watch the man move! And that stare! And no less striking is the late vocalist Lee Brilleux, one of the most intense frontmen i've ever come across on screen. I love the fact his suit is a complete utter mess and he doesn't seem to care. There's some sort of attitude here that's really sorely missed these days. Or maybe i'm not looking in the right places. Or i'm too old to see it.
I just saw the Feelgood movie "Oil City Confidential" on iplayer, and it's well worth watching. This footage is from a particularly legendary gig in Southend in 1975. Whatever you want to call it, R&B, Pub Rock, Punk Rock, in their heyday this band were stunning. Wilko Johnson is one of the most exciting guitarists ever -his style was hugely influential on people like Andy Gill from Gang Of Four, who themselves became very influential a few years later. Watch the man move! And that stare! And no less striking is the late vocalist Lee Brilleux, one of the most intense frontmen i've ever come across on screen. I love the fact his suit is a complete utter mess and he doesn't seem to care. There's some sort of attitude here that's really sorely missed these days. Or maybe i'm not looking in the right places. Or i'm too old to see it.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Such a nice day to be alive, such a bad day to be working on.
LEE DORSEY - WORKING IN A COAL MINE
THE ANIMALS - INSIDE, LOOKING OUT
BO DIDDLEY - SIXTEEN TONS
LEADBELLY - TAKE THIS HAMMER
SILHOUETTES - GET A JOB
JIMMY CLIFF - THE HARDER THEY COME
MISSISSIPPI STATE PENETENTIARY INMATES - ROSIE
THE ANIMALS - INSIDE, LOOKING OUT
BO DIDDLEY - SIXTEEN TONS
LEADBELLY - TAKE THIS HAMMER
SILHOUETTES - GET A JOB
JIMMY CLIFF - THE HARDER THEY COME
MISSISSIPPI STATE PENETENTIARY INMATES - ROSIE
Friday, 9 April 2010
Five x Friday
THE NEW YORK DOLLS - PERSONALITY CRISIS(LIVE 1973)
The sad passing of Malcolm McLaren brought this to mind today. The New York Dolls were managed by McLaren for a time around the mid-70s before he found mega-fame as the mastermind behind The Sex Pistols. I remember seeing em on the Old Grey Whistle Test repeats on BBC2 when i was a teenager and being horrified(i was a strange teenager, sorry) - I remember thinking they were nothing more than a sloppy version of the Rolling Stones who didn't know how to dress. David Johansen does looks like Mick Jagger badly(yet so perfectly), and Johnny Thunders pulls all his best Keith Richards moves like it's a competition! But hey! I love this now. Such a great song.
For the original Old Grey Whistle Test performance that had me reeling - take a peek here. It's a helluva lot of fun. For their music, this compilation is a pretty good introduction, but to be honest, you could also just pick up their self-titled debut. My gut feeling says stay clear of the reformation stuff, i've not heard it, but it's just not going to be anywhere near as good and essential as this.
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND - BIG EYED BEANS FROM VENUS
This song is unstoppable. It's almost too much fun. I've just been reading John "Drumbo" French's Through The Eyes Of Magic Biography , which is an illuminating read, but often quite at odds with the fun in this music. This is from The 1972 album Clear Spot, which is a great introduction to a neophyte, along with Safe As Milk. Drumbo doesn't play on this track(stand up Ed Marimba), but as Drumbo is one of my favourite drummers ever, there'll be a lot of him and Beefheart later on.
Here's a 1980 live tv recording of the song:
JOHN CALE - PARIS 1919
John Cale is a hero to me. He was a member of the greatest band ever, plays on the greatest album ever made, produced The Stooges, Nico, Patti Smith and The Modern Lovers, worked with Nick Drake, and also played avant garde drone music with the likes of Tony Conrad & La Monte Young. One hell of a CV. And i hadn't even mentioned he is WELSH!
I've been really digging John Cale's 1973 album "Paris 1919" quite a lot recently. It took me years to get round the fact that most of Cale's solo output didn't have scraping violas on them, and were actually, ahem, a bit pop and "produced". But the combination of near-inpenetrable lyrics, singalong choruses and stately arrangements has now got the better of me. This is the title track from that album.
CAN - I WANT MORE
And talking of pop - avant garde collisions, german group Can did this better than a lot. I'm much more a fan of their earlier stuff(see Monster Movie, Soundtracks, Ege Bamyasi, Tago Mago, Future Days, Soon Over Babaluma = ESSENTIAL), but this is irrestistable. Can go Disco, on Top of The Tops at that. Some fans of Can get a bit snobby over this, obviously they don't have dancing bones.
ARTHUR RUSSELL - PLATFORM OVER THE OCEAN
Talking of avant garde-disco collisions, i just thought i'd bring up this incredible artist. Like John Cale, Arthur Russell was classically trained, had ties with the avant classical scene, and had worked with the Modern Lovers(he booked them for a gig in New York). However, he was most well known for making some really influential records on the New York disco scene at the turn of 80s, under various pseudonyms(Dinosaur L, Loose Joints). He also tried to bring both disciplines closer together with an amazing album released under his own name (World Of Echo), recorded with just a cello, vocals and an effects unit. Russell sadly died of AIDs in 1992 and since then a lot of unreleased unfinished material has been finding its way out into the public domain. "Platform Over The Ocean" sounds like it comes from another planet, and is one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard. You can find it on the collection "Calling Out Of Context". Another Thought's also great - and contains "A Little Lost" a truly transcendent collection of 0s and 1s that makes me tearful every time i hear it. Time to cry, kids...
ARTHUR RUSSELL - A LITTLE LOST
I can't speak for the homemade video here, as i haven't seen it.
More posts soon. Fare thee well
xxx
The sad passing of Malcolm McLaren brought this to mind today. The New York Dolls were managed by McLaren for a time around the mid-70s before he found mega-fame as the mastermind behind The Sex Pistols. I remember seeing em on the Old Grey Whistle Test repeats on BBC2 when i was a teenager and being horrified(i was a strange teenager, sorry) - I remember thinking they were nothing more than a sloppy version of the Rolling Stones who didn't know how to dress. David Johansen does looks like Mick Jagger badly(yet so perfectly), and Johnny Thunders pulls all his best Keith Richards moves like it's a competition! But hey! I love this now. Such a great song.
For the original Old Grey Whistle Test performance that had me reeling - take a peek here. It's a helluva lot of fun. For their music, this compilation is a pretty good introduction, but to be honest, you could also just pick up their self-titled debut. My gut feeling says stay clear of the reformation stuff, i've not heard it, but it's just not going to be anywhere near as good and essential as this.
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND - BIG EYED BEANS FROM VENUS
This song is unstoppable. It's almost too much fun. I've just been reading John "Drumbo" French's Through The Eyes Of Magic Biography , which is an illuminating read, but often quite at odds with the fun in this music. This is from The 1972 album Clear Spot, which is a great introduction to a neophyte, along with Safe As Milk. Drumbo doesn't play on this track(stand up Ed Marimba), but as Drumbo is one of my favourite drummers ever, there'll be a lot of him and Beefheart later on.
Here's a 1980 live tv recording of the song:
JOHN CALE - PARIS 1919
John Cale is a hero to me. He was a member of the greatest band ever, plays on the greatest album ever made, produced The Stooges, Nico, Patti Smith and The Modern Lovers, worked with Nick Drake, and also played avant garde drone music with the likes of Tony Conrad & La Monte Young. One hell of a CV. And i hadn't even mentioned he is WELSH!
I've been really digging John Cale's 1973 album "Paris 1919" quite a lot recently. It took me years to get round the fact that most of Cale's solo output didn't have scraping violas on them, and were actually, ahem, a bit pop and "produced". But the combination of near-inpenetrable lyrics, singalong choruses and stately arrangements has now got the better of me. This is the title track from that album.
CAN - I WANT MORE
And talking of pop - avant garde collisions, german group Can did this better than a lot. I'm much more a fan of their earlier stuff(see Monster Movie, Soundtracks, Ege Bamyasi, Tago Mago, Future Days, Soon Over Babaluma = ESSENTIAL), but this is irrestistable. Can go Disco, on Top of The Tops at that. Some fans of Can get a bit snobby over this, obviously they don't have dancing bones.
ARTHUR RUSSELL - PLATFORM OVER THE OCEAN
Talking of avant garde-disco collisions, i just thought i'd bring up this incredible artist. Like John Cale, Arthur Russell was classically trained, had ties with the avant classical scene, and had worked with the Modern Lovers(he booked them for a gig in New York). However, he was most well known for making some really influential records on the New York disco scene at the turn of 80s, under various pseudonyms(Dinosaur L, Loose Joints). He also tried to bring both disciplines closer together with an amazing album released under his own name (World Of Echo), recorded with just a cello, vocals and an effects unit. Russell sadly died of AIDs in 1992 and since then a lot of unreleased unfinished material has been finding its way out into the public domain. "Platform Over The Ocean" sounds like it comes from another planet, and is one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard. You can find it on the collection "Calling Out Of Context". Another Thought's also great - and contains "A Little Lost" a truly transcendent collection of 0s and 1s that makes me tearful every time i hear it. Time to cry, kids...
ARTHUR RUSSELL - A LITTLE LOST
I can't speak for the homemade video here, as i haven't seen it.
More posts soon. Fare thee well
xxx
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