Earlier on this week my friend Callum asked me to compile him a “shoegaze” type mixtape that he could play at a gig that he is hosting. Just something that could act as a noise filler before, between and after the bands have played. I was undecided about whether or not to make it an hour and a half or 2 hours so instead settled for the standard 1 hour and 18 minutes to allow the mix to be transferred to CD if needed.
When it came to making this mix i wanted to make sure i incorporated all elements of shoegaze stylings in the music. There’s the heavy and quiet sides, an electronic element throughout, some less traditional styles of shoegaze, some well known, some lesser known, some shoe-pop or indie-gaze such as Radio Dept and The Rosebuds and onto the ridiculously cool side of shoegaze known as HTRK. There’s also a few audio samples from films included as usual and there’s a slight curveball at the end in the form of Maybeshewill remixing Minnaars. Techno-shoegaze-core anyone? God i hate genralization.
Anyway, it’s basically just a big effects laden, fuzz filled 80 minutes. Hope you enjoy and feel free to download from Soundcloud or Mediafire. Links are below the setlist.
THE KIDS WANT SHOEGAZE 1. 93 Million Miles From The Sun – Step Into The High 2. A Place To Bury Strangers – In Your Heart 3. Screen Vinyl Image – Cathode Ray 4. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Degenerate 5. Ringo Deathstarr – Swirly 6. Singapore Sling – Overdriver 7. The Band In Heaven – Dreams (cover of The Cranberries) 8. Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill 9. Rraaiillss – Red Strings 10. Manhattan Love Suicides – Skulls 11. Mixtapes And Cellmates – Soon 12. The Radio Dept – Ewan 13. Team Ghost – Only You Can Break My Heart 14. M83 – Teen Angst 15. Autolux – Turnstile Blues 16. HTRK – Ha 17. Stuck In The Sound – Zapruder 18. The Rosebuds – Border Guards 19. Tired Irie – Freeze Me A River (Maybeshewill remix) 20. Minnaars – Spelt With A K (Maybeshewill remix)
I’ve decided i’m keeping with the Halloween theme until it arrives so for the rest of the week there’ll be posts assosciated with Halloween type stuff.
It was the Phantoms turn yesterday so today it’s time to open up the old “do you believe in them or not?” debate….
I had fun searching through my hard drive for “ghostly” songs. I had a lot more than i thought i would’ve. I picked a select few and tried to keep the musical styles as varied as possible. Just right click and save as to download.
This will be my last post for a few days because as of tomorrow i’m off to Newcastle for the weekend. I’m due back in Glasgow at sometime on the Sunday night and then i’m off to see Maybeshewill play at Stereo this Monday night. So i’ve got a busy few days ahead.
I was due to go see Crocodiles play this Saturday in The Captains Rest. I bought my ticket ages ago, way before the Newcastle trip had been arranged. Obviously i won’t be able to make it now but fortunately i managed to find a taker for it. Chris is going in my place, he knows a few other folk going along anyway so he won’t have to do what i usually do when i go to The Captains Rest and stand on his lonesome! Seriously, out of the last 5 gigs i’ve went to in The Captains Rest i’ve had to go to 4 on my own! The only time i’ve had company there in the last few months was when Luisa came to see Wild Nothing play there with me. Wild Nothing co-incidentally are playing @ The Arches real soon. My ticket’s already sorted.
Anyway as i said Chris has taken my Crocodiles ticket. I’ve asked him to gimme a review of it and i might stick it up here. All depends on how drunk he gets!
Here’s some Crocodiles and Wild Nothing to get your teeth into….
When i come back from Newcastle on Sunday night it’ll be straight to bed so i’m fully fit and not tired for the Monday and the Maybeshewill gig. If their gig is even as half as good as the last time they played here in June (at The Admiral Bar) then it will be an amazing night.
Looks like i’ll be going to see Maybeshewill on my own as well. I’ve asked a few folk but so far there are no certainties. Even my flat mate can’t make it along cos he’s going to see Hurts play on Monday night. I hate when good gigs clash. I’d love to see Hurts live again but when it comes down to it my loyalties lie firmly in Maybeshewill’s camp. The gig venues aren’t far apart so i suppose at the very least we can grab a few pre and post gig drinks together. Fingers crossed i find a Maybeshewill gig companion though.
I’ll be back posting on Tuesday. I’ve got a lot of new music i want you to hear and a few cool ideas for posts and new sections i plan on introducing next month. I’ve also been meaning to get a review of the excellent new acoustic EP by Ex-Libra’s up. Cut(s) was released at the beginning of the month. It’s mind blowingly haunting. Full review will follow sometime next week.
I’ve posted this video before but i could watch and listen over and over and over and over………
First off i’d just like to say that this weed i’m smoking right now is fucking amazing. Kudos to Simon for the heads up.
Moving on, i’m really sorry for the complete lack of posts recently. Hopefully this one should make up for it.
The reason i haven’t been posting recently is because we still don’t have the internet connection sorted in the new flat yet. I never thought 2 weeks without the internet would affect me in the way it has. I miss Cracked.com the most. That was my daily read. I’ll be permanently back online by the beginning of June but until then it’ll have to be random posts whenever and indeed wherever i find the time and space. http://www.cracked.com/
I’m writing this post from my parents house (i came to visit my mum tonight). She made me my dinner tonight, her cooking is still unsurpassed. Still the best.
I’m really enjoying staying on my own and finally getting to dip my toes into the dark waters of the big bad world. But i’d be lying if i said that i don’t miss “home” and my old bedroom in particular. It wasn’t the biggest, it wasn’t the nicest but it was mine.
Not much has changed in the two weeks since i’ve moved out. I think my mum and dad are planning on changing the room into some sort of spare room for when little Emily stays over. But until then it remains undisturbed. Everything i chose to leave behind is still there, still stationed exactly where i left it.
The trails of blue tack still grace the walls like confusing dot to dot puzzles. Just pieces of blue lumps attaching themselves to the wallpaper free at last of gig tickets, stolen posters and memories. The carpet bares the scars of many a drunken night, it lies in anticipation, waiting for the only pair of trainers that it’s familiar with to come trodding over it and plant themselves behind the door. The TV unit still occupies the far corner and still slowly and wilfully gathers dust like sand on a beach. The shelves remain committed to the walls, almost frightened to let go, scared to part. The cupboard door still jams slightly if it reaches more than a 60 degree angle and i’m still the only one who knows how to open it properly without tearing the rug from the floor. I take a strange kind of comfort in that fact.
I suppose it’s only a matter of time before this rooms loses it familiarity but right now it still kinda feels like home. A home from home if you like. The history still and always will remain yet somehow i sense it’s ready for a new beginning but at the same time i know it won’t forget the past…and neither will i.
Now it may come across that i miss “home” like hell. That i’m inconsolable about moving out and want to return. In fact that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, i miss home, i miss my village but this is a new chapter in my life. One that’s only just begun and has many pages still to turn.
The area that i’ve moved too ( Kelvinside/Maryhill) is a nice place. It has a certain naivety about that i can’t quite put my finger on just yet but i’m sure i will soon. The locals are mainly students and businessmen and women although i have seen a few semi famous footballers strolling around so far.
I’ve kinda fell in love with the Botanic Gardens and the Kelvin Walkway in particular. It’s scattered leaves and chirping birds breed a feeling of tranquillity. It’s woozy charm, distinguished smells, welcoming benches and green outlines have pulled me in. I walk it twice a day. To and fro work. Each morning and night soundtracked by a different album. Populated only by cyclists, dog walkers and the occasional jogger it’s uneven, winding paths are a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Glasgows busy West End streets were students and workers alike roam around like cattle and cars shuffle along from traffic light to traffic light. Red, amber, green. Red, amber, green.
I’ve already spent a few nights down in the depths of the walkway. Sitting amongst the shards of bark and the singing birds. Being alone down there with some good weed and my Ipod is pretty much heaven to me. It clears the headspace and inspires.
As for the flat itself, i’m over the moon. I mean obviously i like it or i wouldn’t have moved in but i find it more and more comfortable as each night passes. After two weeks it’s truly starting to feel like MY house. Whether i’m lying in bed watching a DVD, lying on the couch eating Doritos and playing the PS3, relaxing in the chair with a book and a bottle of rum or even simply doing the dishes. Either way it doesn’t matter, it feels like my own place. It feels nice.
My favourite moment so far was Saturday morning just past. I woke up at 9:30am, had a shower and took a wander over to the local shop and bought the essentials. Newspaper, milk and bread. £2.30. I then plundered back up the stairs to the flat, put the kettle on, slid to slice of Hovis into the toaster and waited. Toast ready. I spread the butter onto the now crispy and golden brown surface and apply the perfectly sliced cheese. Then it’s the coffees turn. Two dollops of Nescafe followed by the water and a splash of milk. A quick stir and i’m ready to go. I was ready for the table by the window.
Once seated i wet my thumb and proceed to skim through newspaper whilst at the same time slowly yet eagerly devouring my coffee and toast. When i’m finished i reach for a Marlboro light, open the window and puff away till my heart’s content. All the while gazing out the window onto the buildings around and the streets below. Gazing out to the place i now call “home”. That’s when it kicked in….” I live HERE now, this is MY house, MY street”. It’s the simple things.
The new surroundings have also triggered a new sense of eagerness to start making music again. I’d been greatly uninspired for months but i find my thirst for making music returning slowly. Recently i picked up my guitar for the first time in weeks (months even maybe) and plugged in the old faithful pedal and strummed and picked away all night. I’ve decided to start a new project. I know how i want it to sound but i don’t know what i want to call it (suggestions more than welcome). I want the new music to sound ethereal. You know that dream like state, almost like elation. The feeling you get when you wake up on a Sunday morning knowing that you can go back to sleep. That’s what i want to encapsulate. I’ve already harboured a few ideas and garnered a few guitar sounds and loops together. I’ll be sure to stick some demos/samples up on here when i next get the chance.
Also as a random thing….i’m getting two goldfish soon. It’s something i’ve had in my head for months. I even have names planned now. One will be called Lemon and the other will be Jack. 30 Rock Obssession much?
So, what does the future hold for me and this blog? Well, with the blog i won’t be able to post regularly or even semi-regularly until June. But next time i’m near a computer i’ll make the time to get the Six Mix and Video Dose for May posted. I know i’ve mentioned the new mixtape a few times as well and that will go up some point soon in the next few weekends. There’s also so much more in the pipeline. Once i’m back online i’ll be pretty much posting non-stop. I’ll be sitting at the table, glass of rum in one hand and typing with the other.
As for my social life, that hasn’t been affected at all. I’ve made time for family and friends. I always do, they’re and always will be the most important thing in my life. I’ve paid numerous visits to people and had a few vistors myself. I’ve had friends over and had a few unplanned visits, mostly at weekends…coincidence? Drunken friends looking for somewhere to crash for the night! I know the deal, i’ve done it myself a hundred times, it’s fine. All part and parcel of being a friend if you ask me. The actual house warming party itself hasn’t been arranged yet and is looking likely to happen somewhere between the beginning and middle of June.
I’ve got a few gigs lined up as well.
22nd May at Various Venues in Glasgow is the Stag and Dagger festival. It’s choc-a-bloc with some truly eclectic and amazing artists and DJs. It should prove to be a classic night in the making.
Ok so a week into 2010 is a bit late for a “best of 2009” post but any regular readers (are there any?) will know i’ve had problems with hard-drives, my internet connection, my laptop in general and more recently some other stuff has came up that has prevented regular posting recently.
But back to the post..
Deciding on the songs and the order of them for this Top 30 was a hard decision (the Top 30 albums was even harder, post that at the weekend) to make. Basically there were only one rule when picking the list. The rule was that a band can not feature more than once in the list. If that rule wasn’t made then i’d have had the full APTBS album in there, shit, i’ve just gave away the identity of my album of the year haven’t i?
Apart from that it was pretty simple. 30 slots and hundreds of songs. Pick the best.
Remember though, having a song in the Top 30 songs doesn’t automatically mean that the artists will be in the Top 30 album countdown as well. Take for example Yes Giantess, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and Stuck In The Sound. In the case of YG and OELSP they won’t make the Top albums cos they don’t have one out yet and in the case of Stuck In The Sound its because their album just wasn’t good enough (imo) to be in the Top 30. The song i included here however “Zapruder” is pure shoegaze genius. There’s also the other side of the coin. Bands like The Prodigy, MSTRKRFT and many more brought up absolute brilliant albums in 2009 but even though their albums as a collective were amazing, none of the individual tracks managed to make it into the Top 30 songs.
Sorry i’m not very good at trying to get my point across. I think i might just be trying to justify the fact that i had to leave some amazing songs out of the Top 30. I would have made a Top 500 if i had the time!
So away from the mumbled jibberish that i just wrote, here is the list in countdown style 30 to Number 1
SOMEONE’S IN THE WOLF TOP 30 SONGS OF 2009
30. Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Death Suite (Bobermann Remix)
29. Paper Planes – Permanent Marker
28. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – Dance The Way I Feel
27. Freeland – Borderline
26. Nathan Fake – Basic Mountain
25. Stuck In The Sound – Zapruder
24. Mew – Introducing Palace Players
23. Tigers That Talked – Artificial Clouds
22. The XX – Night Time
21. Yes Giantess – Tuff N Stuff
20. Bat For Lashes – Daniel
19. Miike Snow – Animal
18. Russian Circles – Malko
17. IAMX – I Am Terrified
16. Maybeshewill – Co-Conspirators
15. Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang
14. The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (re-release)
13. Japandroids – Wet Hair
12. Tape Deck Mountain – Ghost Colony
11. Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill
10. A Place To Bury Strangers – In Your Heart
9. The Tupolev Ghost – Diagrams
8. Moderat – A New Error
7. Ex Lovers – You Forget So Easily
6. The Big Pink – Velvet
5. Cougar – Florida Logic
4. Zaza – Sooner Or Later
3. Lymbyc Systym – Ghost Clock
2. Passion Pit – Moths Wings
And the winner of Track of 2009 goes to
1. Ex Libras – Radar
Instead of making all these tracks available individually i’ve put them all in a ZipFile for anybody who wishes to download the list. The songs have been numbered so they should play in the correct order.
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Someones In The Wolf 