Clor man's new project

Barry from Clor (RIP) is back, now under the guise of Barringtone. From early signs on the MySpace player it doesn't sound dramatically different from the blueprints set out by Clor. Fast intricate guitar passages, electro beats, effortless charm. Very exciting. No mp3s to share as yet but check out the Barringtone MySpace page for some tasters.

'Plan reunion gigs footage.

I've been scouring YouTube for videos of the previously reported J Robbins Benefit gigs for which The Dismemberment Plan temporarily came out of retirement. Most of the footage is really bad but there's a few that communicate a portion of the excitement that must have bounced around those sweaty walls with gay abound.

'Face of the Earth'


'The Other Side' (mainly because of the awesome drumming)


'Spider in the Snow' (full song)

Nick Cave/Grinderman... again, sorry.

Just because I finally bought the Grinderman album and I really like it.



Mp3:
Grinderman - 'When My Love Comes Down' (for a very limited time)

Buy 'Grinderman' here.

Fast and bulbous...

I recently started exploring Captain Beefheart in a bigger way than I had previously thought necessary. I'd been sat down and made to listen carefully to career defining 'Troutmask Replica' in its entirety a few years back. It scared me. Obviously it was quite an achievement, but what a headfuck.

Anyway I heard the Beefheart album 'Clear Spot' the other day at work and really enjoyed it. It comes a little after 'Troutmask...' in the period when Beefheart was veering a touch closer to the middle of the road in his ramshackle backfiring psychedelic dune buggy. The song that really got me was 'Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles' which must be one of his most pretty moments. You might recognise it from the Big Lebowski soundtrack.

Mp3:
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - 'Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles'
Buy 'Clear Spot/The Sunshine Kid' here.

I also found a great old BBC documentary about him called 'The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart' which someone has kindly put up on Google Video. It's narrated by John Peel and hearing his voice instantly filled me with a cosy nostalgia.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:

John & Beverly Martyn

On thursday night we counted every single piece of the 106,000 bits of stock in the shop I work in. Mind-numbing tedium that sent most of us into a bizzarre state somewhere between manic and zombie. We wired my colleague's iPod into the stereo to sooth our aching heads but the strange mix of 60s psychedelic folk and Scott Walker merely added a surreal edge to our hypnotic states.

Anyway, this song was appeared and really stuck with me. It's by folk legend John Martyn and his then wife Beverly from 1970's 'Road to Ruin', the second of two albums they put out together.

Mp3:
John & Beverly Martyn - 'Auntie Aviator'

Buy 'Road to Ruin here.

Ahem...

The Cribs

I heard this song on friday when the DJ played it just before my soundcheck. My buddy and I instantly thought 'Ooh Sonic Youthy'. Turns out it's The Cribs from Wakefield BUT with Lee Ranaldo (SY guitarist) guesting with a spoken word vocal. It reminded me a bit of Popular by Nada Surf, only darker and more raucous. I've hardly stopped listening to it since. The new album 'Men's needs, women's needs, whatever...' is dead good too. Produced by Alex Kapranos no less, but don't let it put you off...

Mp3:
The Cribs - 'Be Safe' (expired)

Buy their new album here.

Their website.