Good evening, blogwatchers, MAN, IT'S COLD. I just had to open with that. It's easily forgotten how arduous January can be, and I'm sure you're all being reminded of it as you desperately clamber into your houses, where the heating is on, and press against your living room radiators for all you're worth! I have just done exactly that, after going to see Faux Feet play at The Sugarmill. Chatting to their frontwoman Sian about songs afterwards, in response to me enthusing about one of their songs called 'Tribes' (which I can't share with you as it's not been recorded or filmed yet!), and I started to tell a story, which I never got to finish, which is, in part, why I'm telling it here. I react really strongly to songs. My earliest memory of this is going back quite a few years to when I was living with my parents, a silly-headed lad in my late teens (approaching my twenties). I was really starting to listen to music, and had fallen very much in love with Crowded House. They were songs that evoked strong imagery, had soaring choruses, and just embedded themselves in my subconscious. 'Distant Sun' was a song that was so uplifting in it's choruses and harmonies that, one night, that optimism and beauty just went straight into my heart, and I found myself crying, happily. The next time that happened was under a strange setting. I was, once upon a time, engaged, and was staying at my fiancee's parents' house for a week (they lived quite a way away, it's a long story). I got on well with them, despite some quite serious ethical issues with what was a simple-yet-complicated situation, and had, in the course of that week, discovered Eels' 'Electro Shock Blues' record. The thing I connected to with Eels (especially with this record) was this one man who had suffered so much grief, yet although these songs said "Things have never been worse", they also said "but they will get better". There we sat, in a living room heated by a small log fire, in the middle of the Welsh hills, television on, and I was trying to be happy whilst fuming so vociferously at aspects of the world, that I put my new copy of 'Electro Shock Blues' on my CD walkman, in company, and stared at the TV, wondering how this whole thing would ever straighten out into something resembling happiness, when 'Climbing To The Moon' started. The corners of my mouth started to twitch, and I couldn't swallow properly, and I had to leave the room. I lay in the spare room with the lights off and cried as quietly as I could. I know that I wasn't crying just at the sadness of the song, but at the beauty with which it was articulated. It is a beautiful song, no doubt about it, and the emotion of it (and subsequently the whole last half of that record) is there and very, very real. The main crux of what I was trying to say to Faux Feet's Sian (and it is curious going from that previous part of the narrative to this, as there is a shared name involved, which has just amused me no end) revolved around the band Jimmy Eat World. I daresay most people in the UK's introduction to them was the record 'Bleed American' (which was, for some reason, renamed to be an eponymous record), and this was certainly my introduction to them. I found it to be loud and exciting, and tender, by turns. Stirring is probably a good word to use, and the same goes for their next records, 'Futures' and 'Chase This Light'. Digging backwards to their previous records, though, wasn't especially revelatory, save for two songs ('For Me This Is Heaven' and 'Just Watch The Fireworks', both of which can send me into reverie). This week I bought their most recent album, 'Invented'. It's just as musically tight and well-produced as ever, but it lacked, for me, the emotional punch and the weight of those previous albums. But I know that feeling when it comes, when a song is bursting with life and feeling, and that Faux Feet song, 'Tribes', is loaded with it, because every time they play it, a small flutter goes from my chest to my throat, and I smile. It's funny how different songs can get into your head and affect the way you feel, and how other songs just don't do that at all. It's even more amazing how one can be moved enough to write music oneself. The songs I write, for example, I really hope that they strike a chord (sorry) with whoever listens to them. Each one comes from a personal place in one way or another (yet have I to master the art of writing narrative songs that tell a story not belonging to me, and I couldn't honestly say it's a skill that I can imagine myself learning - I am in awe of the Colin Meloys and Tom Waits' of this world for that reason), and they tend to wear my heart on all their sleeves. It is the music that has made me cry, and laugh, and think, that has made me want to keep writing and playing songs. It has, in various songs over the years, shown me true feelings, and in doing so hand-delivered a way for me to keep expressing myself in turn. It's almost as if music, that almost intangible force, is passing a message on, and has been for centuries, through all the myriad people that have put pen to paper, and hand to instrument (although quite what happened as far as speed metal goes, is a bit beyond me). I'd like to raise a glass to all the music makers, the people who make us happy, sad, and most of all, not so alone in the world. It's these reflections of life that give us hope, tell us everything is going to be okay, and that it doesn't matter if we worry, so long as we know that things work out in the end. I couldn't go a week without hearing the songs that make me stop and have a bit of a happy sob. I've listed some of them below, why not list yours in return? Goodnight, sleep well, and keep singing. Love, John xxx
Music that has made me go a bit wobbly
Crowded House - Distant Sun
Eels - Climbing To The Moon
Barenaked Ladies - War On Drugs
Ben Folds Five - Selfless, Cold & Composed
The Mutton Birds - Last Year's Shoes
Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me, For Me This Is Heaven
Jeff Buckley - So Real, Grace
Erin Mckeown - Aspera
Lamb - Gorecki
Bright Eyes - Landlocked Blues
Queens Of The Stone Age - Everybody Knows That You Are Insane (that bit in the middle where Josh Homme sings "I feel nothing, am I better yet?" is just powerful)
Gemma Hayes - At Constant Speed, Keep Running
Cathy Davey - Sing For Your Supper (those harmonies!)
Liam Finn - Second Chance
Nerina Pallot - Learning To Breathe, Human, Blood Is Blood, and the entire 'Year Of The Wolf' record
Dead Radio Society - Untitled #2
Bon Iver - Towers
Lisa Hannigan - I Don't Know
The Do - Too Insistent
Clint Mansell - 'Welcome To Lunar Industries (Three Year Stretch)' from the 'Moon' score (I think soundtracks deserve their own separate hall of fame, which I can't be bothered to do, as I've been writing this for a while now, and it's late/early, depending on your perspective. Can you measure a person's personality by how they view this time of day? A bit like the glass half full/half empty, if they say it's late or early at 2am, what must that tell you about their personality? If a person just says "It's 2am!" that could either mean they view things in a very literal context, or it could mean that they've been trying to sleep and it's probably time to stop playing the drums.)
Happy New Year, Blogwatchers! My customary cup of tea is by my side, and I have lost my voice. I was to have done a webcast on my Ustream channel tonight, but since that's out of the window, I shall prattle and rave and bellow from behind my computer keyboard. (Behind? Or am I in front of this thing? It's all down to what you perceive the back of this computer to be, a conversation for which my appetite dwindles by the very second.) I dimly recall shoving a few of my favourite 2011 musical moments at you this time last year, so I shall do something similar here now, while I wait for my voice to return. Stuff I Loved Doing This Year 2012 started off with me playing an extended guest slot at The Rigger's open mic night, which was a jolly way to begin it (and it produced a really nice recording of 'Imagine If We Fell In Love' that I use on a for-sale-at-gigs CD), and my giggery continued in a steady vein throughout the year, seeing me make appearances on Moorlands FM radio, and the Stoke Sounds show on 6 Towns Radio. 2012 also saw the birth of 'Song Club', an idea from Andrew Tranter (who sings in a group called 'Headsticks' - more on them later), for an evening of music at the Old Brown Jug in Newcastle-under-Lyme, with local songwriters and bands, original songs only - no covers, and as stripped-down as possible. There were several of these during the year, nearly all of which I attended, and some of which I was lucky enough to play at, and I hope there's going to be more this year. My favourite one to play was in October where, despite having had a raging cold, I made myself well enough to play, it being on my birthday. Andrew made me a set of t-shirts and a hoodie to give away as part of a Birthday Raffle, and I bought a few locally sourced CDs, along with board games, so the prizes were a bit super. It was such a fun gig, and completely worth waking up the following morning with a voice similar to the one I've got now. During 2012, Andy staged a couple of Song Clubs in other venues - one at The Albion during Newcastle's Jubilee Music Festival, and one at Middlewich Folk And Blues Festival, the latter being a bit worrisome as our arrival prompted to the staff to have not known anything about it, and then (once they discovered that we were on the bill), insist there wasn't a PA system for us. Well, not until they remembered there was one. It swiftly turned from a gig we were going to want to forget, to an afternoon of much fun and good music. I salute Mr. Tranter for making an intimate, cosy evening of music. He worked bleedin' hard to make all those Song Clubs happen. Another favourite gig of mine was the Stoke Sounds Sessions concert in August, held at The Sugarmill, Hanley. This was only my second gig with my new guitar (named 'Lola' by Bryony, who co-manages my internet faffery), and was on the Sugarmill's roof terrace. There were local acts playing either on the main stage indoors, or on the roof, and the weather held (despite some menacing cloud action), and among all the acts playing, I got to see Aaron Mobberley and Faux Feet (with whom I'd shared the billing two days previously, at 6 Towns Radio's 'Oatcake Day' charity event - more on them later), and so in the space of 72 hours, made some new friends. Night landed pretty swiftly during my set, which was quite amusing until I realised I couldn't see the markings on my guitar neck. One highlight as I was playing was the intense silence as I was about to play 'Imagine If...', which I remarked upon, then two chords into the song, someone emptied a skip for glass bottles. It was also good to see a dedicated venue set up in Burslem, Stoke, this year. Bad Edit, situated at the Old Post Office Gallery (where I went to college in 1996-98 for a BTEC in Performing Arts, interestingly) next to the Queens Theatre, set up a base of operations to become a home for live music and art installations. Carl, from Bad Edit, said that they aim to be as malleable as possible for whoever wants to use the building, so that whatever they want to do, within reason, can be staged at the venue. It looks like a brilliant hive of creativity, with art projects in progress in the back room, a stage and PA in the main room, which can potentially be rearranged any which way to facilitate music and art. My band & I can't wait to play there. Oh! My band. That's the big thing I'm taking from 2012. I speak of them often, and 2013 will be a year in which we come and play lots of music for you, I hope. Paul Hancock, back in 2011, was asked by Paul Oldfield (former presenter of Moorlands FM's music show) if he knew anyone who would want to do a session and interview, after someone had pulled out at the last minute. He suggested me, pointed him at my Facebook and I accepted the invitation. I often cite that moment as the thing that made concentrate on music again, after quite a while in hibernation. It's rather lovely that, a year and a half later, he and Angela Lazenby asked if I was still on the hunt for musicians, because not only does it make the 2011 radio story somewhat serendipitous, but in bringing Angela into the group he has managed to make everybody happy that it's all happening. Matthew Tyrer and I were plotting ventures of some sort together in the interim, so when this came up, the timing was perfect. He and I have played together a lot these last three years (three years?!) and I don't think I could have conceived him not being involved. These three people have given me great cheer this year, musically and personally. I've made new friends, and it's just been a joy to see the music connecting people together. I love them. Paul, Angela & I supported Headsticks at the start of December, in The Rigger, and as first gigs go, it was pretty memorable. Made more so by the police doing a whistlestop tour of Newcastle-under-Lyme on a series of drug raids. We were three songs into our first ever set, when an overabundance of fluorescent jackets filled the pub and a sniffer dog went around the premises (they also, I am told, went to The Cherry Tree and interrupted 30 teachers having a Christmas do, during which the dog put its nose up someone's dress). We waited ten/fifteen minutes to resume the set, by which time the mood needed a bit of reigniting. Cracking stuff! There have been an awful lot of exciting and charming gigs that I've played in 2012, and can't thank the people who asked me to play them heartily enough. Greg Murray, Nicola Jayne Chirnside and the Venombase crew, Headsticks, Annette Bellyou, Charlotte Lunt from Stoke Sounds, Carl at Bad Edit Studios, Tami Gomez at The Rigger, Nick Bayes, Matt Taylor at The Full Moon, Lee Barber at Radicals Rising, Terry Bossons from 6 Towns Radio, Steve at The Grapes in Stafford, Hayley Gaftarnick at Verve Bar, Leeds (who kindly gave me somewhere to sleep after my last set there, much to the surprise of her housemate, who had lost her phone and didn't know I was staying - sorry!), Michael Linford, Glyn Andrews and Gary Wilcox (not to mention Paul, John and Kirsty) at Moorlands Music, Chris Wilson at The Sugarmill, Bryony Mounter, and anyone I've missed from this extensive list of nice people. Thank you for being a pleasure to know. [There will now be a break while I eat pizza] [I am returned, having scoffed a 6-slice pizza, which lasted precisely the amount of time it took to watch an episode of Tom Baker's Doctor Who serial 'Pyramids Of Mars', which always acts as a timely reminder that no matter what the production values, suspension of disbelief is an absolute must, or you will point and laugh at bad accents and odd costumes. Also, sometimes it's good just to point and laugh at bad accents and odd costumes.] Stuff I Loved This Year Where 2011 was a year when a lot of my favourite bands/musicians released new (and brilliant) albums, 2012 was a year where artists previously unknown to me released albums and I loved them. It also saw me being introduced to local musicians for the first time, and loving their work. Some of the music I present in this blog entry may not have been made in 2012, but it was the year when I happened upon it, and clasped it to my very bosom. Hope you enjoy it. 11: Dumb Ways To Die I will start this off with something adorable, grim, and funny. It's catchy as well, so it ticks more boxes than one would think previously existed. From the Australian Metro safety campaign:
10: Regina Spektor - 'All The Rowboats' My friends Jenny and Antony enthused about this song when it appeared on Soundcloud, and I listened to it and was similarly gripped. The album, 'What We Saw From The Cheap Seats', is superb, with some real moments of playfulness, and very clever songwriting. This song itself is a brilliantly dark and left-field piece.
9: Headsticks - 'Pay The Price' The work of Andy Tranter & co, Headsticks were a duo up until September 2012, when they decided to branch out and acquired bass player Nick Bayes and drummer Tom Carter. Even now, rumours persist of a fifth Headsticker, but as yet, this is shrouded in mystery. This is a song of theirs that always goes down well at their shows!
8: Lisa Hannigan - 'I Don't Know' You know when you hear a song that is so gleeful and soaring and positive that they sheer joy of it makes you do a happy cry? I know that feeling all too well, and this song got me. Specifically, this performance of it, as the shared enjoyment and friendship of playing songs with people who 'get' each other shines through. I love this video, and her songs are why Lisa Hannigan is one of my favourite finds of the year. Enjoy!
7: Marc O'Reilly - 'Get Back' I saw Marc O'Reilly at The Sugarmill, in a show he was co-headlining with Aaron Mobberley. It was just him on stage, and he wowed the audience with his dexterity on the fretboard, his soulful voice, and his wit. He is a brilliant songwriter, leaving you wondering which parts of his songs come first (he answers that in this video), but I think there's no doubt that he takes each idea and elaborates it as far as it will comfortably go, creating a complex and whirlwind performance. I really hope I get to see him again soon.
6: Aaron Mobberley - 'Unison Harmonies' Marc O'Reilly leads nicely to Mr. Aaron Mobberley, one of the nicest chaps I've met this year, a skilful guitarist and a great songwriter, which has been further underlined by the quality of his recently-assembled band. Having first seen him play a couple of acoustic sets, it was great to see a stage full of musicians let rip with his songs. There is a certain shyness to his stage presence, which makes the shows more human, as it really is about the music.
5: Lianne La Havas - 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' Finding Lianne La Havas was one of those happy accidents. A friend of mine had 'liked' her on Facebook, and curiosity of the "I've heard that name somewhere before" sort lead me to look at her music page, the most recent post on which was a link to the video for 'Is Your Love Big Enough?', which is a rather marvellous selection of clips from a recent tour (I love that sort of music video). The album, of the same name, was out not long afterwards, and it is a gorgeous record that has a good mix of pace and mood. Here's the video that started it:
4: Nerina Pallot - 'The Hold Tight' This song was revealed during a webcast on Halloween, a song which will most likely be on the record that she's currently working on. I love a good bit of 6/8 time, as my band have discovered in going through some of my songs in rehearsal (there's still another one that we haven't gotten to yet!), it's a time signature that really makes my legs move. And as always there's something about the lyrics (especially in the chorus, where, in addition, I love how the word "just" is used percussively, something that I really like about her songwriting). This performance of 'The Hold Tight' is from her Christmas show at The Tabernacle, Islington.
3: Faux Feet - 'Down' Faux Feet, one of the bands with whom I'm pleased as punch to have come into contact, have a heady mix of storming lead guitar, solid, powerful drums, and thumping, driving bass. Aided and abetted by Sian Matthews' synth, guitar and vocals, they have an ability to hit you with songs that leave you repeating a haunting lyric. Their song 'Tribes' is my favourite, but they haven't recorded it yet, so waiting for their next EP in the hope that it'll be there is excruciating. They're a great group of people, and this video is footage from a show in September 2012.
2: Alt J - 'Breezeblocks' I was in a car. The car was driving to Birmingham. Beside me was Matt Tyrer. In front of me was Romas Masteika. Driving the car was Sam Hayler. They put Alt J's album on the stereo. Parfait. I don't actively seek out new music, it has to be said (hence why a lot of my "discoveries" are at least a couple of years old - case in point Number 1 in this list, below), so to hear something new, and hearing the whole piece of work from start to finish was exciting. 'Breezeblocks' came on and Sam & Matt did the a wonderful vocal rendition of the closing part of the song. It was joyous. Unlike this video, which is a bit dark and very clever.
1: Janelle Monae - 'Many Moons' This is what I mean by finding stuff that's been out ages. I remember hearing 'Tightrope' on BBC 6 Music (back in the day where I used to get up early enough to hear some of the breakfast show before leaving the house), but never really investigated, so one day I walked past a copy of the album, picked it up, bought it, and took it home. Such a great record, with a fairly comprehensive concept and story. After listening to 'The ArchAndroid', I happened upon this song, from the EP that precedes it. The drum part for this song is still stuck in my head.
So there we are. All in all, it's been a good year, full of friendship and music, and I think I've laughed more this year than I did the year before. I have tried not to make this blog entry too punishing, and in the interests of fairness, it's only right that I leave off now. I hope you like these songs, and that you have enjoyed reading this. If not, refunds are available at the point of purchase. Lots of love, have a happy 2013! John xx
