May 26, 201015 yr Running from Main Street was my compilation. Looks like we got a straight swap there. :D The artwork for the compilation was taken from the Japanese anime Paprika, I couldn't resist putting it in. The playlist was as follows: 1. The Delays – Wanderlust: They used this song to open their live set, which is why I chose it to open the compilation. 2. Chapterhouse – Pearl: early 90s indie disco indeed. Chapterhouse were one of the leading lights of the short lived ‘shoegaze’ scene of the period. It was also a big influence on the Big Pink’s Dominos. 3. Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Hiway: a top 40 hit back in 1999, produced by David Fridman, who plays bass on the track and was also responsible for producing The Flaming Lips and MGMT. 4. Washed Out – Feel it All Around: Perhaps the defining anthem of the so-called ‘chillwave’ scene. It probably would’ve worked better as an instrumental in hindsight, but I still love it 5. Suede – Superstar: I couldn’t not include these guys, could I? This was the b-side to their ‘Positivity’ single, and is perhaps the most ‘pop’ single they’ve ever written. Didn’t notice the similarity to Strong until you pointed it out. Glad you enjoyed this one. 6. Rams’ Pocket Radio – Dogs Run in Packs: RPR is a Belfast based group whom I’m rather fond of, so it’s a pity you didn’t enjoy it. It was no.9 in my favourite songs of 2009. 7. Harper Simon – Berkeley Girl: amazingly, this song is from 2010. Harper Simon is the son of Paul Simon, so I’m not surprised you thought it was a S&G track. 8. Barclay James Harvest – Titles: This song was constructed using only titles of Beatles songs for the lyrics. Also the oldest song on the compilation, dating back to 1976. 9. Rialto – Dream Another Dream: These guys arrived too late to capitalize on the Britpop scene, but they did give us a stunning self-titled debut album. This is the best track on the album, and the most Beatles-esque. 10. Geneva – Tranquilizer: more Britpop also-rans, although more in the Suede/Manics mode than the Oasis/Blur. They released two great albums and deserved a lot more success than they deserved. 11. Paul Shevlin – Goodmorning: He’s an 18-year old Bangor based singer/songwriter. Great stuff. 12. The Voluntary Butler Scheme – Tabasco Sole: my 2nd favourite song of 2009, this one gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it. 13. Lucky Elephant – Reverend Tisley & His Magic Lantern: They’re signed to Rob da Bank’s record label and is quite retro. It’s a real marmite song, you either love it or hate it. 14. The Perils – The River: they’re an unsigned Brighton based rock group, and the heaviest song on the album. 15. Master in France – Yn y Ddinas : The song is in Welsh, not Italian. 16. Night Marchers – Whose Lady R U?: This was a last minute addition, and in hindsight I should’ve left it off. 17. Eels – Last Stop: This Town: this is from their 2nd album Electro-Shock Blues. The album deals with the deal of frontman E’s sister and mother in quick succession, and in this song he imagines his sister taking one last look at her hometown before passing on. 18. Teenage Fanclub – Kickabout: this was the b-side to their ‘Ain’t that Enough’ single, and was also used in Glastonbury highlights at the time. 19. Codes – This Is Goodbye: yeah, I submitted this into the Unknown Pleasures back in 2008, but the song was too good to leave there. I recently interviewed the guys for my radio show, and they’re the loveliest bunch of guys you could hope to meet. 20. Team Fresh – Last Orders: Portrush based rap/rock seven-piece. I couldn’t find an appropriate place to fit this into the compilation, hence its status as a ‘BONUS TRACK.’ Knowing that you’re more into your dance and pop than rock and indie, I was a bit worried when you ended up with my compilation, but I’m glad you found some bits on it that you enjoyed. Some good stuff on there I must dig out Chapterhouse's blood music album again
May 26, 201015 yr Running from Main Street was my compilation. Looks like we got a straight swap there. :D The artwork for the compilation was taken from the Japanese anime Paprika, I couldn't resist putting it in. The playlist was as follows: 1. The Delays – Wanderlust: They used this song to open their live set, which is why I chose it to open the compilation. 2. Chapterhouse – Pearl: early 90s indie disco indeed. Chapterhouse were one of the leading lights of the short lived ‘shoegaze’ scene of the period. It was also a big influence on the Big Pink’s Dominos. 3. Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Hiway: a top 40 hit back in 1999, produced by David Fridman, who plays bass on the track and was also responsible for producing The Flaming Lips and MGMT. 4. Washed Out – Feel it All Around: Perhaps the defining anthem of the so-called ‘chillwave’ scene. It probably would’ve worked better as an instrumental in hindsight, but I still love it 5. Suede – Superstar: I couldn’t not include these guys, could I? This was the b-side to their ‘Positivity’ single, and is perhaps the most ‘pop’ single they’ve ever written. Didn’t notice the similarity to Strong until you pointed it out. Glad you enjoyed this one. 6. Rams’ Pocket Radio – Dogs Run in Packs: RPR is a Belfast based group whom I’m rather fond of, so it’s a pity you didn’t enjoy it. It was no.9 in my favourite songs of 2009. 7. Harper Simon – Berkeley Girl: amazingly, this song is from 2010. Harper Simon is the son of Paul Simon, so I’m not surprised you thought it was a S&G track. 8. Barclay James Harvest – Titles: This song was constructed using only titles of Beatles songs for the lyrics. Also the oldest song on the compilation, dating back to 1976. 9. Rialto – Dream Another Dream: These guys arrived too late to capitalize on the Britpop scene, but they did give us a stunning self-titled debut album. This is the best track on the album, and the most Beatles-esque. 10. Geneva – Tranquilizer: more Britpop also-rans, although more in the Suede/Manics mode than the Oasis/Blur. They released two great albums and deserved a lot more success than they deserved. 11. Paul Shevlin – Goodmorning: He’s an 18-year old Bangor based singer/songwriter. Great stuff. 12. The Voluntary Butler Scheme – Tabasco Sole: my 2nd favourite song of 2009, this one gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it. 13. Lucky Elephant – Reverend Tisley & His Magic Lantern: They’re signed to Rob da Bank’s record label and is quite retro. It’s a real marmite song, you either love it or hate it. 14. The Perils – The River: they’re an unsigned Brighton based rock group, and the heaviest song on the album. 15. Master in France – Yn y Ddinas : The song is in Welsh, not Italian. 16. Night Marchers – Whose Lady R U?: This was a last minute addition, and in hindsight I should’ve left it off. 17. Eels – Last Stop: This Town: this is from their 2nd album Electro-Shock Blues. The album deals with the deal of frontman E’s sister and mother in quick succession, and in this song he imagines his sister taking one last look at her hometown before passing on. 18. Teenage Fanclub – Kickabout: this was the b-side to their ‘Ain’t that Enough’ single, and was also used in Glastonbury highlights at the time. 19. Codes – This Is Goodbye: yeah, I submitted this into the Unknown Pleasures back in 2008, but the song was too good to leave there. I recently interviewed the guys for my radio show, and they’re the loveliest bunch of guys you could hope to meet. 20. Team Fresh – Last Orders: Portrush based rap/rock seven-piece. I couldn’t find an appropriate place to fit this into the compilation, hence its status as a ‘BONUS TRACK.’ Knowing that you’re more into your dance and pop than rock and indie, I was a bit worried when you ended up with my compilation, but I’m glad you found some bits on it that you enjoyed. I don't remember seeing any artwork when I unzipped the Zip file. :o I do remember track 14 being corrupted or something. :lol: Still glad you were able to resend that one track seperately. There are a few acts included who I've been aware of from over the years, but have never delved deep into their albums to discover hidden gems. I guess my tastes are a lot more commercial than yours. I've been listening to 'Kickabout' several times and I actually thought it might've been The Go! Team instead. I'm surprised I didn't recognise Brett Anderson's vocals as I think he's got a distinctive voice - I guess the not knowing who the artist is can throw you slightly. Harper Simon sounds like an interesting artist. Is his album similar or does he have a range of different styles? Edited May 26, 201015 yr by Hitstastic
May 26, 201015 yr I don't remember seeing any artwork when I unzipped the Zip file. :o I do remember track 14 being corrupted or something. :lol: Still glad you were able to resend that one track seperately. There are a few acts included who I've been aware of from over the years, but have never dealved deep into their albums to discover hidden gems. I guess my tastes are a lot more commercial than yours. I've been listening to 'Kickabout' several times and I actually thought it might've been The Go! Team instead. I'm surprised I didn't recognise Brett Anderson's vocals as I think he's got a distinctive voice - I guess the not knowing who the artist is can throw you slightly. Harper Simon sounds like an interesting artist. Is his album similar or does he have a range of different styles? Oh, sorry. Here is the album cover then: http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7654/paprika1.jpg The Harper Simon album is worth checking out. Berkeley Girl is the only guitar/vocal song on the album, with the other songs having a full band arrangement. Kickabout is definately not a typical Teenage Fanclub track, in that it uses prominent samples and is almost devoid of rich harmonies, but it's nice to see a band able to do something different to what is their norm. Edited May 26, 201015 yr by Brett-Butler
May 26, 201015 yr Kickabout is definately not a typical Teenage Fanclub track, in that it uses prominent samples and is almost devoid of rich harmonies, but it's nice to see a band able to do something different to what is their norm. I've been trying to figure out which song it was with those lyrics for ages and I was vaguely sure it was TF but couldn't remember for certain. Thanks for solving that mystery for me. It's only been about 12 years or so!! Is there any possibiity of a link as well, pretty please?
May 26, 201015 yr I've been trying to figure out which song it was with those lyrics for ages and I was vaguely sure it was TF but couldn't remember for certain. Thanks for solving that mystery for me. It's only been about 12 years or so!! Is there any possibiity of a link as well, pretty please? And a link would be much appreciated in this part of Dorset too :D
May 26, 201015 yr As a casual observer, I can officially state Yoko Ono - Open Your Box to be immense.
May 29, 201015 yr I've now listened to Running From Main Street so thanks brett-butler :) I hadn't heard that Mercury Rev track for ages. Still sounds good. I liked the Ram's Pocket Radio track. It reminded me a bit of Ben Folds although with a very different vocalist. Paul Shevlin was similar too but his voice was a little more like Ben Folds. The Harper Simon track was good. His voice almost sounds more like Art Garfunkel's then his dad's but he's certainly inherited a very similar style judging by this song. I'd be interested to hear more. The S & G albums are part of my dad's very small non-classical collection. I wouldn't have guessed that the Barclay James Harvest track was by them. I assume it's from their Octoberon album but I don't remember Nicky Horne playing that track on his Capital Radio show at the time. Good to see Geneva appear on two of these CDs - including the one I received - and I don't think I need to say what I thought of the Suede track :wub: I can see why Hits thought of Vampire Weekend when listening to The Voluntary Butler Scheme. There's certainly a similar slightly bonkers style. VBS become another band I need to hear more of. Just a couple low points. I didn't like the Washed Out track at all and wasn't too impressed with Night Marchers but the Eels and Teenage Fanclub songs straight afterwards helped to make up for it.
May 29, 201015 yr Wait Washed Out is a them? Feel It All Around doesn't seem to have much to it and yet took a while to realise that i wanted to listen to it over and over again, eh.
May 30, 201015 yr To whoever made Lust For Life - I've tried playing all the tracks, but for some reason tracks 1 and 12 aren't opening and playing? I don't know if it's my laptop, but all the other tracks have opened and played fine? I've tried re-downloading but no joy?
May 30, 201015 yr To whoever made Lust For Life - I've tried playing all the tracks, but for some reason tracks 1 and 12 aren't opening and playing? I don't know if it's my laptop, but all the other tracks have opened and played fine? I've tried re-downloading but no joy? :/ That was me, if it's any help I can send you a pm with links to track 1 and 12?
May 30, 201015 yr :/ That was me, if it's any help I can send you a pm with links to track 1 and 12? Yeah if you could, that would be good thanks. I'm planning on sitting down this weekend and listening through! I should have realised who it was though, track 11 did make me wonder!
May 30, 201015 yr Yeah if you could, that would be good thanks. I'm planning on sitting down this weekend and listening through! I should have realised who it was though, track 11 did make me wonder! Yeah track 11 is pretty much a give away. :heehee:
May 30, 201015 yr 'From Days To Days' One: This one starts off with a simple drum beat which I kind of like, but then within a split second of the vocals starting I recognise Kirsty MacColl’s voice singing her song ‘Days’. I am not the biggest Kirsty MacColl fan, but I prefer her to many female vocalists, this isn’t my favourite track by her, but neither is it my least favourite by her. 7/10 Two: This track sounds pretty interesting, quite a cluster f*** of notes though, I sort of feel like I recognise the voice of this male vocalist, sort of sounds like the guy from Elbow, and possibly is, the lyrics are quite cool too. The music starts getting more interesting at about half way through introducing new instruments and movements, makes me like the track more. The vocalist starts holding his words for longer which is when his voice starts reminding me of Mr Hudson, I’m not exactly a large listener of Mr Hudson or Elbow, why those two names have come to mind is beyond me, probably someone else completly. 7/10 Three: This track starts off very interesting with its use of beats, but I recognise this interestingness, its Vampire Weekend, from the most recent album, I believe the track is ‘Diplomat’s Son’. I like this track quite a bit, the singer’s voice is very good in it as well, and I love the multi-layering of this track. At 6 minutes this track does start getting a bit boring, but about half way through the pace changes more, making it more listenable for 6 minutes, I do think there isn’t enough in this track to keep it at the 6 minute mark though. 7.5/10 Four: This track starts off with some very interesting drumming, and then goes into some trumpets and then some reggae style singing, I approve, defiantly sounds like the country of origin is Jamaica, and has a nice little guitar line going throughout the track too. 7.5/10 Five: Starts off with a good bass line, backed by drum machines, then adds some synth and male vocal, I don’t recognise the voice, I quite like it, sounds sort of like Patrick Wolf but younger and nowhere near as good, possibly my favourite track on this CD so far. 7.7/10 Six: Starts off with a synth line that keeps getting interrupted by a worse synth line, not a good start, but when the vocals start I like it a bit more, sounds like something I would listen to if it was done right, but it just sounds a bit poor. I get a bit bored of the track half way through as well, but the artist does nothing to bring me back into the track. Worse track of the CD so far. 6/10 Seven: Sounds very generically indie, I do quite like it though, I’d take a guess that this is from the nineties as well, I don’t recognise it though, not keen on the chorus though. Would be a better track if it wasn’t so generic. 7/10 Eight: Starts off with a really tacky rhythm, then continues to add some tacky vocals, the track is a bit of a joke to be honest, oh and half way through it adds some tacky backing vocals, I’m hoping it’s a parody of the style. 5/10 Nine: This starts off alright with drums, sounds quite eighties or early nineties, the vocals start in a spoken word style, can’t say I’m too keen on, he then introduces a female vocalist who sings in an almost opera like style, which doesn’t really go with the music, and then moves into more natural vocals for the track, which makes it better but I’m still not keen. 6.6/10 Ten: This starts off with a pretty cool use of guitars and bass, then goes into wither a girl with a manly voice or a guy with a girly voice, it’s a pretty cool punk style indie track, I like it quite a bit. 8/10 Eleven: This sounds promising from the start, then goes into female vocals, some sort of female fronted indie band it sounds like, I probably wouldn’t listen to it if it wasn’t for this CD, but I do think it is a good track. 7.2/10 Twelve: This is Gorillaz – ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, I know it straight from the sample at the start. This is a great track, has some brilliant rapping from De La Soul and has a neat little bass line too, I’m not overly keen on the chorus of this song, but overall it’s a great track from a great album. 8/10 Thirteen: Another quite generic sounding nineties indie track, I have a small feeling it is R.E.M, however not too keen on this track, doesn’t sound very original at all. 6.9/10 Fourteen: Starts off with a nice piano line, with quiet drums in the background, and then comes in a male vocalist who again sort of sounds to me like the guy from Elbow, it’s a pretty good track, it gets a lot better once the violins come in, the track becomes more interesting then. 7.5/10 Fifteen: Now this is a cover of track one, but this time by a male vocalist, it’s alright, it has quite an atmospheric backing track at the start which I quite like, but I’m not majorly keen on the vocalist, not really as good as the Kirsty MacColl version, not keen on the choir vocals either. 6.8/10 Overall: 7/10
May 30, 201015 yr 'From Days To Days' One: This one starts off with a simple drum beat which I kind of like, but then within a split second of the vocals starting I recognise Kirsty MacColl’s voice singing her song ‘Days’. I am not the biggest Kirsty MacColl fan, but I prefer her to many female vocalists, this isn’t my favourite track by her, but neither is it my least favourite by her. 7/10 Two: This track sounds pretty interesting, quite a cluster f*** of notes though, I sort of feel like I recognise the voice of this male vocalist, sort of sounds like the guy from Elbow, and possibly is, the lyrics are quite cool too. The music starts getting more interesting at about half way through introducing new instruments and movements, makes me like the track more. The vocalist starts holding his words for longer which is when his voice starts reminding me of Mr Hudson, I’m not exactly a large listener of Mr Hudson or Elbow, why those two names have come to mind is beyond me, probably someone else completly. 7/10 Three: This track starts off very interesting with its use of beats, but I recognise this interestingness, its Vampire Weekend, from the most recent album, I believe the track is ‘Diplomat’s Son’. I like this track quite a bit, the singer’s voice is very good in it as well, and I love the multi-layering of this track. At 6 minutes this track does start getting a bit boring, but about half way through the pace changes more, making it more listenable for 6 minutes, I do think there isn’t enough in this track to keep it at the 6 minute mark though. 7.5/10 Four: This track starts off with some very interesting drumming, and then goes into some trumpets and then some reggae style singing, I approve, defiantly sounds like the country of origin is Jamaica, and has a nice little guitar line going throughout the track too. 7.5/10 Five: Starts off with a good bass line, backed by drum machines, then adds some synth and male vocal, I don’t recognise the voice, I quite like it, sounds sort of like Patrick Wolf but younger and nowhere near as good, possibly my favourite track on this CD so far. 7.7/10 Six: Starts off with a synth line that keeps getting interrupted by a worse synth line, not a good start, but when the vocals start I like it a bit more, sounds like something I would listen to if it was done right, but it just sounds a bit poor. I get a bit bored of the track half way through as well, but the artist does nothing to bring me back into the track. Worse track of the CD so far. 6/10 Seven: Sounds very generically indie, I do quite like it though, I’d take a guess that this is from the nineties as well, I don’t recognise it though, not keen on the chorus though. Would be a better track if it wasn’t so generic. 7/10 Eight: Starts off with a really tacky rhythm, then continues to add some tacky vocals, the track is a bit of a joke to be honest, oh and half way through it adds some tacky backing vocals, I’m hoping it’s a parody of the style. 5/10 Nine: This starts off alright with drums, sounds quite eighties or early nineties, the vocals start in a spoken word style, can’t say I’m too keen on, he then introduces a female vocalist who sings in an almost opera like style, which doesn’t really go with the music, and then moves into more natural vocals for the track, which makes it better but I’m still not keen. 6.6/10 Ten: This starts off with a pretty cool use of guitars and bass, then goes into wither a girl with a manly voice or a guy with a girly voice, it’s a pretty cool punk style indie track, I like it quite a bit. 8/10 Eleven: This sounds promising from the start, then goes into female vocals, some sort of female fronted indie band it sounds like, I probably wouldn’t listen to it if it wasn’t for this CD, but I do think it is a good track. 7.2/10 Twelve: This is Gorillaz – ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, I know it straight from the sample at the start. This is a great track, has some brilliant rapping from De La Soul and has a neat little bass line too, I’m not overly keen on the chorus of this song, but overall it’s a great track from a great album. 8/10 Thirteen: Another quite generic sounding nineties indie track, I have a small feeling it is R.E.M, however not too keen on this track, doesn’t sound very original at all. 6.9/10 Fourteen: Starts off with a nice piano line, with quiet drums in the background, and then comes in a male vocalist who again sort of sounds to me like the guy from Elbow, it’s a pretty good track, it gets a lot better once the violins come in, the track becomes more interesting then. 7.5/10 Fifteen: Now this is a cover of track one, but this time by a male vocalist, it’s alright, it has quite an atmospheric backing track at the start which I quite like, but I’m not majorly keen on the vocalist, not really as good as the Kirsty MacColl version, not keen on the choir vocals either. 6.8/10 Overall: 7/10 From Days To Days was mine :D Here are my original notes with a few comments added after reading your review. 1 Kirsty MacColl - Days. The late great singer with her version of a Ray Davies song. A top 20 hit in 1989. She’s best known now for the brilliant Fairy Tale Of New York but this song helps to illustrate what a fantastic voice she had. 2 Peter Gabriel - Mirrorball. Another cover version, this one from 2010. Peter Gabriel has been a favourite of mine since the 1970s. This is one of the best tracks from his album of cover versions, Scratch My Back and is a cover of an Elbow song so you were half right. 3 Vampire Weekend - Diplomat’s Son. A band who can count Peter Gabriel as one of their influences. Their second album, Contra, is every bit as good as their debut, perhaps even better. This is one of the stand out tracks. 4 Youssou N’Dour - Immigres. A Senegalese singer (not Jamaican) who has worked with Peter Gabriel and was championed by Charlie Gillett who died earlier this year. He’s best known for Seven Seconds with Neneh Cherry (who has already appeared on a different compilation) but fans of Mr Gabriel will have been aware of his work some time before that. 5 James - It’s Hot. From their 2010 album The Night Before. Still making great music nearly 20 years after their commercial peak with songs such as Sit Down. I suppose there is a bit of a Patrick Wolf sound but James are more sane. 6 Soft Cell - The Girl With The Patent Leather Face. This links into the next few tracks by being a little dotty. The song appeared on a compilation album showcasing new (at the time) acts on the Some Bizzare label which also included an untitled track by The The (back to the Neneh Cherry link). It’s a very early track from a band who went on to enjoy huge success for a while and does sound a bit cheap. 7 The Frank and Walters - Fashion Crisis Hits New York. Now we’re getting really daft. This Cork trio were a brilliant live act in the early 1990s who once had Radiohead as their support act. Their live version on Love Is In The Air was always a highlight of their shows. 8 Sparks - Suburban Homeboy. It gets dafter. The band have been around since the early 1970s but this is from their 2003 album Lil Beethoven. Gloriously OTT and, yes, a certain amount of self-parody. 9 Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly. Continuing on the rather whacky theme the late punk guru with a rather different take on opera. Definitely something of a Marmite song. 10 Bennet - Mum’s Gone To Iceland. Starting to move back towards sanity with some 90s indie-pop. They did release one album but it didn’t sell very well. 11 Belly - Feed The Tree. More 90s indie with one of Tanya Donelly’s bands - she was also in Throwing Muses (with her step-sister Kristin Hersh) and The Breeders, sometimes working with more than one band at the same time. 12 Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish. Back up to date with a song from Gorillaz’s 2010 album featuring Gruff Rhys on vocals. 13 Kitchens of Distinction - Quick As Rainbows. The 90s again and a band I saw many times in that decade - joined on one occasion by David McAlmont. Never got anywhere but released some great tunes. They played the odd “secret” gig as Toilets of Distruction (sic). When I saw them in that guise they played a set of Abba covers. They were supported by A House (who appeared on the compilation I received) at one of their gigs as the Kitchens. 14 Elbow and the BBC Concert Orchestra - Mirrorball. A mirror image of the start of the CD with Elbow performing with an orchestra and choir in what was to become the most-watched musical performance on the BBC red button. So, yes, it is Elbow this time. Interesting that you didn’t notice it was the same track which shows how Peter Gabriel did something very different with it. 15 Ray Davies and the Crouch End Festival Chorus - Days. As with the previous track, a reworking of the song by the original artist, in this case one of the UK’s greatest songwriters. Kirsty MacColl had a hit with it but it was originally a Kinks song. And that completes the journey from Days to Days.
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