Fairwell and rest in peace Steve Albini

 I  was fairly shocked and very much saddened when I read about the untimely death of Steve Albini this afternoon.  He has been a hero of mine since I heard 'bad penny' by Big Black on a mix tape when I was about 13.  That tape also contained my first fugazi, minor threat, black flag, butthole surfers, sonic youth and many other life changing bits of music.  I was a fan of the dead kennedys but I didn't know all this other music was out there.

Albini was among the best.  I was a bit surprised when a couple of years later he produced a Nirvana album.  It's not my favourite Nirvana album and it's not my favourite Albini record but I suspect he will mainly be remembered for 'in utero'.  It was nowhere near his best work.  The Jesus Lizard 'pure' and 'goat' spring to mind.  People will point to 'surfer rosa' or the Breeders or 'songs about fucking' or something else  and they will all be decent choices.

When I was 16 I travelled down tot he phoenix festival in stratford upon avon to see shellac with a couple of friends from school.  it was great.  it was well over a decade before I had a chance to see them again and I can't be sure how many times I saw them after that - maybe another 4 or 5 times - but they were always good.

He was a great thinker and a great speaker.  He talked sense about music and other things in a calm and logical way.  He was 61 when he died which is far too young for this world.

RIP

'I'M A PLANE.  I'M A PLANE'

'...and the plane becomes a metaphor for my life...'

Bob Dylan - Live at the SEC Armadillo Halloween Night 2022

 The last time I saw Bob Dylan was in the SECC in 1998 when he was supported by Van Morrison (who was not great).  That night was almost a Dylan greatest hits show with fairly faithful versions of tracks like 'Blowing in the wind' and as a 20 year old I loved it.  For a variety of reasons it took me nearly 25 years to see him again.  My memory of that last show is ghostly faint but positive.  Tonight was crystal clear and very different.

Dylan played an upright piano all night.  His band was just brilliant.  A great drummer, great guitarists, a great bass player and a multi-instrumentalist on steel guitar and others.  Tone, sound and music was everything tonight with Dylan's voice, his vocal tone, another lead instrument.  He played some big songs from his past but the versions while musically excellent were almost a parody of the more familiar versions.  When I paint my masterpiece, gotta serve somebody, most likely you go your way and I'll go mine and I'll be your baby tonight were just tossed out, taken apart and rebuilt in very different.  This was not a pop hits night, this felt like an improvised jam band that was punching above it's weight.

The bulk of the set was from the excellent Rough and Rowdy Ways and I was glad to hear that album live.  Dylan is 81 and I'm not sure that he will play Glasgow again.  Surely the never-ending tour must pause with time.  I would love to see him again but I'm not hopeful.

Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records by Jim Ruland

 I spent a lot of time as a teenager listening to music released on the SST label.  Black Flag, Minutemen, Husker Du, Descendents, Bad Brains and many more released music via SST in the halcyon days of the 1980s.  Then it all went wrong.  The good bands stopped releasing music or moved to another label and eventually SST ground to a halt.

This book highlights how successful SST actually were at their peak and documents the fall.  It's not totally clear what precipitated the fall but the departure of key team members such as Chuck Dukowski and Mugger seems to have played a part.  Greg Ginn is often cast as a pantomime villain in events although I'm  not sure how accurate this is.  Certainly, early on, he did a lot of good for these bands and gave them a step up to better things.

I was an American hardcore/alternative enthusiast when I was younger but this book contained viewpoints I was unfamiliar with and has introduced some music that I did not know.  I was left pining for a world where SST signed Nirvana and managed to keep Sonic Youth happy/release Daydream Nation.  That may have been an exciting world.

What does the future for the SST bands hold?  Will we see reissues and remasters with unreleased material?  Has it all been lost?  Do they even have decent tapes of the 1982 Black Flag demoes. 

Ian MacKaye took a very different, archivist approach with Dischord and we will have much of the DC scene for posterity.  The LA scene may just be degenerating, covered in some green mould.

Bright Eyes at the Glasgow Barrowlands

 I've listened to Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst a lot since 2004.  Some of these records contain some of my favourite music.  Oberst is genuinely gifted and Bright Eyes sit with Fugazi, Dylan and Neil Young as perennial favourites.  I've managed to see Oberst solo a couple of times and with the Desparadicos but I've never managed to see Bright Eyes.  When they last played Glasgow in 2011 I was working In Dundee and I couldn't get through.  Life sucks sometimes.

The show tonight should originally have happened in 2020 but was rescheduled twice due to the pandemic.  Glasgow was dark and busy as Celtic were playing Real Madrid at Parkhead, just up the road from the Barrowlands.  We arrived late so we missed the support act.  The venue was not too busy and the crowd were fairly mild mannered.

The band tonight were great.  Besides the 3 core members there were an additional 5 players on stage producing a rich sound.  This was the last night of a month long European tour so they were well practiced and tight.  Bright Eyes as a group compared with Oberst solo are different prospects.  Solo, Oberst seems more precise or subtle but with Bright Eyes there are more sample driven soundscapes and improvised jams.

Oberst appeared to drink from a bottle of wine onstage.  His speech appeared slurred at times but he was able to play piano or guitar with perfect timing immediately after the apparent drunken rambling.  Oberst as part of Bright Eyes might be a bit of a character at times.  He had been tattooed by a member of the support band before the show.  Pictures were posted on Facebook afterwards.  Twitter contained a lot of concern for Oberst but I think he probably had a good night.

I always struggle to remember the names of Bright Eyes songs.  I often know all the words but I can't remember the titles.  Thankfully SetlistFM exists and can tell you the titles of the 18 tracks that were played.  Personal highlights included I believe in symmetry, Lover I don't have to love and Mariana trench.  A cover of Double Joe by Simon Joyner was enjoyable too.

So, overall, I loved this gig and I could watch Bright Eyes recurrently and be happy.

Bruce Dickinson - What does this button do?

 I never liked Iron Maiden.  I just never for into them. I liked lots of other heavy metal stuff over the years but Iron Maiden just never floated my boat.  I think it's the way they dressed.  They just didn't do it for me.   I was never really a fan of Bruce Dickinson either.  I have vague memories of him messing about on the BBC Heavy Metal Heaven season in the eighties.  In retrospect he must have been channelling Spinal Tap.

I listen to audiobooks a lot.  When I'm commuting I like to use the time to do something and audiobooks seem efficient when I can't be bothered with music or the kindle. Using Audible you can often get an unexpected gem of a book for a couple of quid.

Which is how I found What does this button do?

Dickinson narrates his autobiography himself and he is funny.  He is very funny.  He doesn't take himself or anything else seriously.  Between his boarding school education, his adolescent interests and his general positive mental attitude this is a real feel good book.  He did very well with Iron Maiden and he became a pilot flying commercial airliners while on a break from music.  Eventually he was flying Iron Maiden around the world in 'Ed Force One',

He is, sadly, a 'Brexit wanker' although I do see that he has expressed dismay at the impact of Brexit on UK musicians which is good.  Thankfully we don't get any Brexit stuff in the book.  Just fencing, beer making and Spitfires.

He would be a better Prime Minister than the one we have.

we often forget how lucky we are

 on a Friday night I'm often knackered after a week at work.  A week at my well paid, comfortable job.  after putting the baby down to sleep I'm often sitting and, as always, I feel a bit brain dead.  sometimes I listen to music.

This evening I was listening to some jesus lizard music and remembering the great times when I saw them play live.  Then I realised that I was once lucky enough to see scratch acid play.  And then I remembered seeing the elephant 6 orchestra play enlightenment by sun ra. twice. and that was really fucking special.

and then i remember how fortunate I am.  how lucky I am.  I have a great wee family and a nice house and a good job and i've had amazing experiences over the years and nothing is perfect but it's important sometimes to just remember how good things actually are.

I hope all of you out there get to feel this good some times.

Mogwai number 1 album shocker

 It's very odd when someone you know ends up having the best selling album in the UK.  I've known members of mogwai for nearly 30 years and it's just amazing to see them do so well.  Hard work pays off!

Black Country, New Road - the stage school Slint?

 Referring to a band as the stage school Slint is pretty cruel.  It's also unfair because their first album, 'For the first time' is actually pretty good.  Listening to it there are hints of Slint and Nick Cave and probably the Tindersticks all of which are positives in my mind.  

Musically they sound like they would be fun live although I don't think we will be seeing any live music for a while now.  This is probably more of an issue for me as the 43 year old father of a one year old.  I think my gig-going days are on hold for a while anyway.

The music has nice instrumental sections and some fairly funny lyrics.  Not much distorted guitar but some good dynamics.  Worth a listen.

Mining youtube

I'm on holiday (whatever that means in COVID times) and the baby and my partner are in bed.  I've been listening to old nineties indie music on youtube and I've found a couple of curios.  A version of 'Dicso 2000' by Pulp with Nick Cave on vocals and beyond that, a pub rock version of the same.

The world is indeed a strange place.  

I was also watching some old Travis videos and Iw as struck by how young they all look.  They are all 4 or 5 years older than me but they looked like children in 1999, at the height of their success.  Odd.

It's late now and I better head to my bed.  I'll have stuff to do in the morning but the internet is a strange and interesting place at times.

Kiss at the Glasgow Hydro

It's taken me about a week to get round to writing about this show.  I saw Kiss in 1996 at Donington which was their first gig with the original line-up in many years.  This time I think Kiss were playing Glasgow for the last time.  I don't remember much of the 1996 show (although I can find the setlist online and a video of the whole show on youtube).

I didn't like kiss when I was younger.  I only really got into them after hearing Nirvana cover 'Do you love me?' and Anthrax talking about them.  I remember picking up cassette copies of Destroyer and some of the other early albums (probably Alive!) in Lost in Music in the mid nineties.  Great stupid rock although I've never been a massive fan of the later eighties stuff.

Tonight the show was amazing, from the opening fireworks through the lights, balloons, zip slides, mid crowd stage and cherry pickers.  It looked great and kept me entertained.  The sound was decent and the set list was fairly good.

I realise that a couple of the original members weren't there but the band were tight enough.  I'm glad I made the effort to go.

Sadly I probably won't get to see them again.

Brave in Concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

I had a good day today.  I did some business in the morning then I met my partner and her mum for lunch in town.  We were eating in the cafe at the Royal Concert Hall when my partner noticed an elderly neighbour.  We went over to say 'hi' and a friend of the neighbour appeared and asked us if we wanted to see the show.  We weren't sure what the show was and then we found out that it was the world premiere of a live orchestral version of the Disney Pixar film Brave.

We are very lucky people.

The music to Brave was written by a man from Uddingston named Patrick Doyle.  Our neighbour knows him well.  He wrote the music for many films including Carlito's Way, East/West, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  He even wrote some music for the last Thor film.  When he was asked to do Brave, the producers hadn't even realised he was Scottish but he was a perfect choice.

He gave a short speech at the show, detailing the genesis of his work on Brave.  He also, touchingly, paid tribute to our neighbour and then the Scottish Symphony Orchestra began to play the score for Brave as the film started.

I thought I had seen Brave before.  I hadn't.  I must have watched the first 10 minutes before falling asleep.  Fairly standard for me.  It's a great film, and I loved it.  Billy Connolly is one of the main voice actors and Kelly MacDonald is another.  The story was good with a lot of the Pixar magic.  The live orchestra was amazing.

Again, I have to say, I'm a lucky bloke.  A brilliant unplanned day.

For any Scottish readers, see this if you get a chance.  Well worth it.

The time I met Billy Connolly

I met Billy Connolly once, I think in summer 1997.  I was living in a scummy student flat just off of Great Western Road in Glasgow, near the botanic gardens.  I was with two of my pals, on the way to an immunology exam.  It was a sunny afternoon and as we turned the corner we bumped into Connolly coming out of a local chiropractors office.

We were of course delighted to meet him.  I think he was slightly less chuffed to meet us. We all expressed out affection for him.  I'd actually recently seen him do a show at the King's Theatre in Glasgow and I still had the ticket in my wallet.

I asked for an autograph, and the Big Yin, clearly grumpy and wanting to escape started making excuses about not having a pen.  I promptly pulled out a pen and a ticket and a signature was duly obtained.  I still have that ticket somewhere.  It's a treasured possession.  I feel a bit sorry for the bloke as he can't even walk down a street in Glasgow without being annoyed by a bunch of spotty students.

I really enjoyed the Made In Scotland documentaries that have been on over the past couple of weeks.  I've got a pile of his old vinyl LPs from the seventies and a few of his DVDs somewhere.  He's an inspiring guy.

I saw him live again at the Armadillo a few years back.  He was excellent again.  We are lucky to have lived at the same time as him.

Beastie Boys Book

I've been digesting the Beastie Boys Book for the last month or so.  It's amazing, disjointed and brilliant just like the band.  I've been listening to the audiobook due to my lack of free reading time.  It's one of the best audiobooks I've ever encountered.  They have invited a stellar cast of narrators including Snoop Doggy Dogg, Kim Gordon, Chuck D, Will Ferrell, Bette Midler and Steve Buscemi as well as many many others.

The narrative jumps about from their childhood, through early punk adventures, Bad Brains and Black Flag concerts, New York Discos, career low-points (Def Jam), clothing labels, recording with Lee Scratch Perry and lists of equipment, recipes and mix tapes.  Everything is in this book.

Much of the book is a tribute to Adam Yauch, MCA, who died in 2012 from parotid cancer.  His fellow Beastie Boys clearly and understandably miss him.  In some ways he appears to have been a pathfinder for the band and is credited as being the Beastie who made things happen.

The physical release is beautifully illustrated with photos and comics strips reminiscent of the old Grand Royale magazine from the 90s.  It's a thing of beauty but the audiobook is worth your time too.

A fitting legacy for a great band.  Sadly, I never saw them and I deeply regret it.  I am glad I had their music (and their music videos).

Finding Joseph I: The HR From Bad Brains Documentary

The Bad Brains were co-headlining the second proper gig I saw, playing with Fishbone at the Glasgow Barrowlands in 1993.  Sadly H.R. was not with them that night with vocals from Israel Joseph instead.  It was still mind-blowing but I would have loved to see them with H.R. at their peak.

Bad Brains made amazing music but they were troubled at times.  H.R. was an amazing frontman but, as this film makes clear, he had problems.  His story is told by his brother, friends, bandmates, colleagues and fans. Humorous anecdotes eventually become sadder and the reality of the situation becomes clear.  At times H.R. (or Joseph as he is sometimes called) is homeless and making bad decisions.  He hears voices.  Onstage he can be seen visibly hallucinating and interacting with voices.  Eventually his wife manages to get him proper medical attention and anti-psychotic medications.  He gets better after that.

I learned stuff about HR that I didn't know through this film.  I heard some of his non-Bad Brains music (although I've had a few of his post-Bad Brains SST solo records for decades).  It compiles some great live footage.

Enlightening and sad, it ends on a positive note.

Paul Simon - Live at the Glasgow Hydro

On Radio 4 on Saturday morning they have a section called 'Inheritance tracks' where people talk about music they have been given by their parents.  When I was a kid I didn't think my parents listened to much music but they had Johnny Cash albums, Bob Dylan stuff, the Beatles and Paul Simon.  When Graceland came out, my dad had the cassette and I essentially stole it.  I just listened to it constantly and I loved the words.  I would have been 9.  It's still a favourite.

Later on I went for the Simon & Garfunkel stuff.  As a teenager I got into them as I was listening to Dylan.  I liked the melodies and the words.  I taught myself how to play the Sound of Silence.

Every now and then I reach for some Paul Simon but I'd never seen him.  When I saw that he was playing a farewell tour I bought tickets with some trepidation.  However it's better to regret something you have done than something you haven't done.

We had good seats near the front and we got in about 15 minutes before he came on.  He does look like he has had some botox at some point.  He opened with America and played about 26 songs over two and a half hours.  He had rearranged a few songs and he did a fairly unique version of Bridge Over Troubled Water, in a key more suited to his voice.  Even though it was a big venue he managed to make it seem intimate.  He did a great version of Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war.  I think he may have played a couple of new songs and some of the arrangements sounded a bit like Lazarus era Bowie.

All of the Graceland era hits were aired as well as some stuff from Rhythm of the Saints.He spoke about E.O. Wilson, his favourite scientist and his book Half Earth.  He spoke a bit about retiring to do other stuff.

We played The Sounds of Silence at my dads funeral so I was happy that Simon closed the night with this song, by himself, with his acoustic guitar.  My dad wasn't a man for concerts but he may have enjoyed the music tonight.  I'm glad I went.

The Glasgow ABC - a great venue

I love the ABC as a music venue.  I, perhaps against mainstream opinion, think it's the best music venue in Glasgow.  I actually like the ABC more than the Barrowlands.  I'm heartbroken that it has been damaged in the fire that has affected the Glasgow School of Art.

Looking through this blog I've seen a lot of bands there.

The Butthole Surfers
Modest Mouse with Johnny Marr
Battles
Conor Oberst
TV on the radio in 2011 and 2008 and downstairs in ABC2 in 2006
Crystal Castles
The Vaselines
Shellac
Sonic Youth playing Daydream Nation
Slint
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Low
Bonne Prince Billy
Bob Mould
Belle and Sebastian
Supergrass (which I had totally forgotten)
My teenage idol - Jello Biafra

I've seen many other great gigs there too - Ministry, Dag Nasty, Television, Afghan Whigs, Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr (who were very loud), sleater kinney and many many more.  The sound was good, the views were great.  When I was younger I even went to the nightclub.  The staff were really nice.

I hope that the venue can be salvaged and that they get it repaired.  Glasgow needs the ABC.  Hell, I even remember seeing all the Police Academy films there with my dad when I was a kid and the first Batman film back in 1989.  The though of the building being damaged in a fire like this is just sickening.

My respect goes to all the firemen trying to put out the fire.

Morrissey, where did it go wrong?

I first became aware of Morrissey when I was about ten.  I saw album covers by the Smiths (specifically Meat is Murder).  I liked the cover of Meat is Murder as it had a man wearing an army helmet which I thought was cool.  At the time I was only starting to listen to music and I liked Metallica and Anthrax.  If I heard the Smiths then I was not immediately stricken.  I remember an aunt asking me if 'I liked that Morrissey' because 'he was miserable'.  Obviously I said no.
?
I guess I started to like the Smiths a few years later when I heard This Charming Man and How Soon is Now?  The music was good, the lyrics were funny, Morrissey seemed like a troubled young man, a bit of a social reject.  You could feel sorry for Morrissey.  He was misunderstood.

But, around 1992, he started to do odd things with flags.  He seemed to be a bit too keen on sidewalks.  He was disco-phobic.  It got worse.  National Front Disco.  What the fuck? It progressed. More and more stupid comments.  A slightly odd autobiography that should have been edited.  Views that became more jingoistic, more English nationalist, more stuck in the past, more gammon, more racist.

Now he defends the leader of the EDL and comes across as a racist Brexiteer.

The Smiths were good but Morrissey, where did it go wrong?  What scared you?  What changed you?   Why are you afraid of the other?  Are we not all the same?  What would the New York Dolls think?

Morrissey, where did it all go wrong?

Belle and Sebastian at the SWG3 Galvanisers Yard

The SWG3 complex is expanding.  Tucked away in a former industrial site behind the Yorkhill Hospital campus the complex has now taken over an old yard that is perfect for outside concerts.  Charitably it backs onto student flats which allows them to watch acts like Belle and Sebastian or LCD Soundsystem for free.  I've only been to inside shows to see Shellac, Godflesh and Loop so an outdoor show was a new experience for me today.

We arrived to find that most of the street outside the venue had been closed off for the show and a herd of Portaloos had been planted outside the yard.  There is also a larger indoor venue on the site that can host bigger shows that the small upstairs room.  A couple of food vans and a beer tent helped turn the outdoor area into a festival site.

We tried some food from the burger van.  The burger was better than the hotdog.  The first support band sounded a bit Morrissey-Like and the second group were more in the CHVRCHES pattern.  It was a pleasant May evening which is unusual in Glasgow.

B&S opened with Dog on Wheels and dribbled a few classics throughout the set. We were beautiful, She's Losing It, The Wrong Girl, Get me away from here I'm dying.  All West End Glasgow anthems.  There were newer songs that I am less familiar with that were pleasant.  As always, Boy with the Arab Strap was an anthem and the stage filled with dancing fans.  My partner had only ever seen B&S in a small venue before and she enjoyed the stadium show.

Belle and Sebastian accept all shapes and sizes.  They aim to entertain.  They want us to learn their new songs and they are happy to bring out the classics.  They don't have the live power of their local contemporaries like Mogwai but that's not really the point.  That's not what they want to do.

It's nice to see a Glasgow band on a sunny day in Glasgow.  Ned free.

Neil Young

Like many things Neil Young gets better with age and in many ways we do not appreciate him enough.  I've seen him play live twice I think, once in 1995 at the Reading festival with Pearl Jam and a second time, a year or so later, at the SECC.  As always, my memory of these things is a bit fuzzy.  The Reading Festival show is particularly hazy due to blood loss after breaking my nose and immature scepticism related to my adolescent dislike of Pearl Jam.  I have subsequently forgiven Pearl Jam a bit.

Young has made a lot of music in the last 50 or so years.  He's played with lots of bands and released a lot of albums.  He's also recorded many albums that have not seen the light of day.  Some of these albums only seem to be appearing now, often decades after they were created.

I find that there are Neil Young songs I am familiar with and amazing Neil Young songs that I have never heard or live interpretations of standards that bend exciting new shapes into my ears.  Often, when I have listened to Young I haven't really focused on the lyrics.  This is embarrassing when you think of a song like Ohio.  I've been listening to Ohio for more than 20 years, and while I know it's about the Kent State massacre it seems like I'm hearing the words for the first time.

His words are like stealth bombers, sneaking in with the fury of his music.  He can rearrange his songs and play them live in twisted new shapes.  The version of Tonight's The Night on the Bluenote Cafe set is stunning.

I listened to Chrome Dreams II for the first time last night.  It's a diverse set which pulls together songs from different periods in his career and finally gave a studio release to Ordinary People that was being played live 20 years earlier.  Ordinary People is a great song but it is typical of Young to leave good tracks sitting on the shelf for decades.  In terms of output and reinterpretation he is almost on a level with Dylan.

The original Chrome Dreams remains officially unreleased.

I have tended to focus on the 'classics' in his catalogue but I realise that this approach perhaps overlooks some of his better songs.  Young has followed his own path with his career and released the music he felt was right at the time.  He spent much of the eighties in a very public feud with his record label and I wonder what would have happened if he was given creative control back then.  We may have been given many of these great songs earlier if he had been allowed to do what he wanted.

The world is different now.  Music is no longer controlled by record conglomerates and the internet has levelled the playing field.  Websites like Bandcamp let musicians present as much music to the public as they choose, whenever they want.  Young may have had a very different career if this technology had existed in the eighties and he is embracing this now with the Neil Young archives.

The online archives probably represent a good opportunity for fans to truly explore the 70 or so releases he has put out since the sixties.  There is certainly a lot to explore.

Young has followed his own path for decades.  He has kept moving, innovating and evolving.  He has inspired other interesting artists such as Sonic Youth.  He is an acquired taste but certainly worth exploration.

Lost in France - DVD review

Lost in France has been out for a couple of years now.  I've only just got round to watching it tonight. It's a documentary about the mid to late 1990s Glasgow music scene that revolved around Chemikal Underground Records and the 13th Note/Kazoo Club.  It focuses on some of the bands from that era, including Mogwai, the Delgados and Arab Strap as well as other important figures on the scene such as Alex Huntley (later Kapros) and Hubby.

I spent a lot of my formative years in Glasgow at this time, buying records, attending shows, writing songs, practicing with bands and playing gigs.  It was a great time to be 16 to 23 in Glasgow and looking back, I'm so glad I was there.

The old footage from back then is great.  I kept looking for myself in the background but I couldn't see myself.  It's nice to see the old posters and record sleeves too.

I almost feel a bit young for this sort of nostalgia but I'm glad the film has been made.