From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V9 #308 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Monday, December 25 2006 Volume 09 : Number 308 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: [idealcopy] REWIND 2006 ["Keith Knight" ] [idealcopy] 2006 bye bye [PAUL RABJOHN ] [idealcopy] 2006 bye bye [PAUL RABJOHN ] [idealcopy] end of yr faves ["Keith A" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:52:45 -0000 From: "Keith Knight" Subject: RE: [idealcopy] REWIND 2006 I saw this in a bookshop the other day and thought it looked potentially interesting. So, I assume it is? Another the Keith - -----Original Message----- From: owner-idealcopy@smoe.org [mailto:owner-idealcopy@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Fergus Kelly Rebecca Solnit: Wanderlust (A History Of Walking) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:54:52 +0000 (GMT) From: PAUL RABJOHN Subject: [idealcopy] 2006 bye bye ah well , another year almost over. not such a bad one personally , but i think not such a cracker culturally as corporate-dom seems to encroach ever further on the music scene / high street / things in general. but as ever , plenty of fun to be had if you look hard enough.... albums well i don't specifically hunt out new stuff over old , a lot of what i end up listening to is new to me rather than the world in general. nevertheless i thought a couple of old timers did some great returns to form in luke haines "art school bop" and nightingales "out of true". these acts seem off the radar of the monthly and weekly press so i'll give em another plug. also really enjoyed the hot chip and aphex twin albums plus thom yorke weren't bad either. gigs well there were several good ones (radiohead , hot chip , luke , scritti) but maybe the most enjoyable for me was the nightingales/stewart lee / falling leaves / theoretical girl bash at the spitz in about january. really good night. duff gig was my decision to contribute #35 to new order's pension fund. that is the last time i see those guys , half hearted going through the motions at its worst. movie borat or hidden i guess wire-world bit quiet really , apart from the 27/11 gigs at the end (both excellent). i gather more are planned , really worth attending. then i guess we have some activity around the new githead album ; looks like that IC meetup should be on the cards. and wire as a collective? well , who knows ;-) wanker of the year well you can take your pick from much of the "angular post punk scene" (jesus wept) or the legion of coldplay-lites , but (despite close competition from the vines and the killers) the winner by a long nose is johnny borrell who must be the biggest irritant to emerge in a decade. please please let his dismal career nosedive in the most rapid fashion. still , there is some justice. i just heard on the news that Boner's knighthood was all a terrible mistake. in fact the honour has gone jointly to the dream team rhythm section of adam clayton and larry mullen for (i quote) "25 years of consistently innovative , technically challenging , much imitated and endlessly inspiring service to the UK music scene". i'll raise a glass of mulled wine to that. toodle pip and happy festivities. p ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:54:19 +0000 (GMT) From: PAUL RABJOHN Subject: [idealcopy] 2006 bye bye ah well , another year almost over. not such a bad one personally , but i think not such a cracker culturally as corporate-dom seems to encroach ever further on the music scene / high street / things in general. but as ever , plenty of fun to be had if you look hard enough.... albums well i don't specifically hunt out new stuff over old , a lot of what i end up listening to is new to me rather than the world in general. nevertheless i thought a couple of old timers did some great returns to form in luke haines "art school bop" and nightingales "out of true". these acts seem off the radar of the monthly and weekly press so i'll give em another plug. also really enjoyed the hot chip and aphex twin albums plus thom yorke weren't bad either. gigs well there were several good ones (radiohead , hot chip , luke , scritti) but maybe the most enjoyable for me was the nightingales/stewart lee / falling leaves / theoretical girl bash at the spitz in about january. really good night. duff gig was my decision to contribute #35 to new order's pension fund. that is the last time i see those guys , half hearted going through the motions at its worst. movie borat or hidden i guess wire-world bit quiet really , apart from the 27/11 gigs at the end (both excellent). i gather more are planned , really worth attending. then i guess we have some activity around the new githead album ; looks like that IC meetup should be on the cards. and wire as a collective? well , who knows ;-) wanker of the year well you can take your pick from much of the "angular post punk scene" (jesus wept) or the legion of coldplay-lites , but (despite close competition from the vines and the killers) the winner by a long nose is johnny borrell who must be the biggest irritant to emerge in a decade. please please let his dismal career nosedive in the most rapid fashion. still , there is some justice. i just heard on the news that Boner's knighthood was all a terrible mistake. in fact the honour has gone jointly to the dream team rhythm section of adam clayton and larry mullen for (i quote) "25 years of consistently innovative , technically challenging , much imitated and endlessly inspiring service to the UK music scene". i'll raise a glass of mulled wine to that. toodle pip and happy festivities. p ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:17:35 -0000 From: "Keith A" Subject: [idealcopy] end of yr faves I've heard people say that they thought that 2006 was a great year for music, but personally I thought it was one of those rubbish years like 1985 when only albums like Psychocandy, Meat Is Murder, Lowlife, Don't Stand Me Down and, er, the June Brides LP relieved the tedium. So I can only conclude that I've been hearing the wrong stuff, or these other folk are wrong! So without further ado, here's my faves... Albums... RINGLEADER OF THE TORMENTORS - Morrissey Not the glam-fest that was to be expected of a Morrissey album that was produced by T.Rex / Bowie knob-twiddler Tony Visconti (I'm not saying I was expecting a dour Mancunian take on Metal Guru exactly, but...hey maybe I was!!)., but this string-laden, predominantly downbeat set is a great Moz LP all the same. OK, it won't win over the unconverted, but for anyone who has ever liked the man, be it alone or in The Smiths, this is pretty essential stuff. Ringleader opens with the awesome I Will See You In Far-off Places and peaks about two thirds of the way through with the epic Life Is A Pigsty (with its Magazine-like intro and singalong finale) and the heartfelt I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now. HELLO YOUNG LOVERS - Sparks Innovative, inspired, silly. Love it. Yep, the oddball Mael brothers are on a roll. Following the poppy Balls and the almost symphonic Lil Beethoven, Sparks deliver their third great album in a row. True originals. OUT OF TRUE - The Nightingales First new album by The Nightingales for something like 20 years, and fans of their 80's albums like Pigs On Purpose might be amazed to find that this is fit to be mentioned in the same breath. Tracks like Hard Up (Buffering 87% Completed) and the truly bonkers UK Randy Mom Epidemic are full of wonderful Beefheartian riffs, Company Man marries one of these slightly left of centre guitar lines with an almost irritatingly catchy chorus, whilst The Chorus Is In The Title opens with a Mony Mony beat and is the only song I can think of that mentions glam rock also-ran's Blackfoot Sue. Perhaps best of all though is Rocket Pool Via Rough Hills, which features an Eddie Cochran riff and a beat to die for. Wonderful stuff! A CALL AND RESPONSE - The Longcut Three years after their excellent demo and two years after their debut ep on Deltasonic, these Manchester lads finally got round to releasing their first album. And very good it is too. Those of you who have bought their two ep's will know something like 50% of it already, but no matter. The Longcut, with their long instrumental passage and short bursts of shouty vocals, are probably the best young British band around for me. Unfortunately, the word on the street in this cut-throat era is that they are now label-less, though I'm sure someone else will snap them up soon. IN THE MAYBE WORLD - Lisa Germano A head-on collision of soft, melodic and beautiful with eerie, haunting and - at times - disturbing, this album has some unique qualities. And I don't use the world 'unique' lightly. FAB FOUR SUTURE - Stereolab I guess it's tempting for some folk to dismiss this as just another Stereolab album, and question whether you really need another. Well when they're this good I guess the answer is yes, you do. ENSEMBLE - Ensemble Ensemble mainman Oliver Alary has worked with Bjork in the non-too-distant past and it's easy to see why the Icelandic wonder was attracted to his work if this is anything to go by. There's that same sense of spaciousness to proceedings, even when it's under-pinned by lots of clattery beats. Lou Barlow's (Sebadoah) and Cat Powers Chan Marshall heartfelt vocals bring out the best of One Kind To Mind and Disown Delete respectively, but the highlight for me is All We Leave Behind where the Mileeses's vocals are little short of gorgeous. RATHER RIPPED - Sonic Youth This has met with a mixed response, but I like it. There's several great SY guitar flights of fancy, and a great pop song in Sleeping Around that in an ideal world would probably trouble the charts. DRIFT - Scott Walker I'm not actually sure I actually like this, to be perfectly honest. And I'd be lying if I said I prefer hearing a man who is perhaps the finest vocalist I've ever heard, caterwauling over a percussive joint of meat rather than hearing him croon about Plastic Palace People or even telling us to make it easy on ourselves for that matter. But.well I sure as hell admire Walker pursuing this determined, singular vision when it would so easy to make a fortune re-living those old Walker Brothers favourites in Vegas. Drift is intense to an almost scary degree and isn't one to play at your family gatherings. Unless your surname is Addams, of course. MISH MAOUL - Natacha Atlas My favourite living female singer comes up with the goods once again, mixing all that ethnic instrumentation and wailing with dance beats, rapping and - as always - moments of real beauty. I don't mean to sound like some sexist pig, but she could belly dance in my kitchen anyday. Compilations /Re-issues / live etc (A-Z) THE FUTURE CRAYON - Broadcast PARIS 1919 - John Cale CONCERT CLIMAX - Julian Cope JEHOVAHKILL - Julian Cope ALL AMERICAN ALIEN BOY - Ian Hunter SPUNK - Sex Pistols LIVE AT THE LEIGH ROCK FESTIVAL 1979 - Various Artists (Joy Division/ACR/OMITD/Teardrop Explodes) THE FINAL CUTS - Marc Bolan & T.Rex A WHOLE ZINC OF FINCHES - Tyrannosaurus Rex LIVE AT THE ROXY / LIVE AT CBGB THEATRE - Wire Singles of the Year It's definitely been a poor year for singles s far as I'm concerned, but here's ten I liked. Arty-farty abstract types look away now! SORRY - Madonna MINIMAL - Pet Shop Boys CRAZY - Gnarls Barklay LET'S THINK ABOUT LIVING - The Nightingales YOU HAVE KILLED ME - Morrissey I'M WITH STUPID - The Pet Shop Boys WORLD HOLD ON - Bob Sinclar LIKE A PEN - The Knife JUST LIKE THE RAIN - Richard Hawley OLD FOLKS - Peter Bjorn & John Gig JULIAN COPE (Manchester Academy II) I've been to some good gigs this year - Sparks, The Nightingales, and Morrissey's final Sunday Night at the London Palladium deserves a special mention, and my lads band were on fine form in their final gig as Movement, but this Cope show is the gig of the year for me. Taking in all areas of his career, from the early Teardrops fave Books (now complete with wailing guitar solo's!) to the likes of She's Gotta A Ring On Her Finger from his recent Dark Orgasm album and ending with the big hit single World Shut Your Mouth and the epic wig-out that is Reynard The Fox, the great man delivered one of the best Cope gigs I've seen. And that's apart from the womnderful banter. Absolutely fabulous stuff!! DVD's SGT BILKO - 50TH Anniversary DVD 18 episodes (I think) of my favourite ever TV show and various bits and bobs. Bliss! T.REX ON TV - Marc Bolan & T.Rex There's something like three hours of the Bopping Imp to get your teeth into here. A documentary, the T.Rex In The Round special, and a fab live version of Dandy In The Underworld on some kids TV show recorded a few months before Bolan died are all well worth watching. But it's obviously that glorious run of hits from Ride A White Swan to 20th Century Boy a couple of years or so later that you're going to keep coming back to. Best Film Seen This Year (may have come out last year) The Squid & The Whale Best Books Read (Fiction) SLAB RAT - Ted Hellor THE LITTLE WHITE CAR - Denuta De Rhodes THE STATEMENT - Brian Moore Best Book Read (Non-fiction) ON AND OFF THE FIELD (cricket) - Ed Smith ) Books (from this year) WHITE BICYCLES: MAKING MUSIC IN THE 1960'S - Joe Boyd ME:MOIR - Vic Reeves Have a happy xmas and a great new year, Keith ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V9 #308 *******************************