General Article - And Now What? Acts of ex-The Go-Betweens Members

After their initial split in 1989 and the cessation of the band after Grant McLennan's death (2006) the various band members of The Go-Betweens went onto form various bands/acts/solo projects. This article looks at a few of my favourite acts involving ex The Go-Betweens members that have blessed my collection over the years.

General Articles: Bands at Madrid Popfest 2018

The doctrine of certain religions compels followers to embark upon pilgrimages to their respective 'holy lands'. For old indie/jangle pop devotees like myself, the Madrid Popfest is rapidly earning the right to be considered 'our' holy land.

Starting with humble beginnings in 2011, the weekend of 02/03 March sees the start of a new era for the festival, with a much larger venue secured to cope with an ever increasing popularity and arguably the best line up that the indie-pop public of Madrid has ever seen.

The Fake Compilations Series Vol.2 - The Complete Works of Bag O Shells (1988-1990)

Age does not diminish the ability to spot a good single. However, like an old car you can only really afford it classic status if it still serves you decades later. Once such single for me is Markers by Bag O Shells (see below) which has always been my record of choice when trying to explain the concept of jangle-pop to the musical retards that still walk among us.

                                                                       Markers

The Les Fradkin Guitar Showcase

The old adage of you can do anything if you 'really' want to (can't you just see your parents/sports coach/teacher's neck sinews strain slightly as they place sincere emphasis on reeeeaaaaalllyyy?)  is absolute nonsense.

After hearing my fathers recordings, particularly on our annual ten hour journeys to Cornwall in the late seventies (for those not from the UK, this is the only place in our 'sceptred isle' that affords holidaymakers the remote possibility of a glimmer of sunshine) there was no one I 'really' wanted to be other than Les Fradkin (or a bat catcher...another story altogether).

So when I got my first paid job, my initial purchase was a guitar and lessons. In true Bryan Adams style I played 'until my fingers bled' for approximately seven years. At this point mutual teacher/pupil consensus concluded that I was to the guitar, what Donald Trump is to race relations. It was a constant battle of opposites.

Documentary Review - REM: Out of Athens produced by Ken Sweeney (RTE Radio)

Producer Ken Sweeney is plainly a R.E.M fan. You can just feel it in his voice as he narrates the links between interviews with band members and Athens 'scenesters' in this hour long documentary (Soundcloud link of full documentary below). Perhaps this enthusiasm is engendered from a heightened appreciation of the R.E.M craft arising from his time spent as the front man for early 90's Dublin jangle-pop band, Brian (Click here for Brian bio).

His is a genuine infectious enthusiasm that hints at all things fanboy without crossing that line into 'gushing' (one of my biggest documentary/interview pet hates) as he delivers a superbly sequenced series of anecdotes that offers plenty for both the most committed R.E.M fan to those that have just began to take an interest in the four piece from Athens.

Shimmering obscurity - 15 'single single' 1980's jangle-pop bands.

I love youtube. Not only is there bag loads of music on there, but the contributors seem to see it as their personal mission to prove that the bands they know are the most obscure that the world has never seen.

 It is akin to an apposite my 'dads bigger than your argument', in which the winner proves just how unknown and pointless 'their bands' are in order that they garner the most 'obscurity credence' among their peers.

Not to be outdone, the following 15 bands are the most obscure I can find from the confines of the 1980's jangle-pop genre. All of these bands released just one single and nothing else. If they mustered an EP together, or some obscure label from the depths of the East Gregarian smigwiggly islands re-issued lost cassette demo tapes, they are excluded for being too prominent/famous. We don't want such braggarts in these parts!

A Tribute to Pat DiNizio (1955-2017)

I was extremely saddened this morning to hear of the passing of Pat DiNizio, the front man and creative impetus behind The Smithereens, a band who have been at the forefront of many things guitar/jangle-pop for over 30 years.

When you have been accompanied by someone's music for such a large part of your life it can be easy to fall into the trap of writing gushing personalized tributes stating what a wonderful person he was. I never him personally so I will respectfully leave such deeper tributes to his family and friends whose lives he may have touched on a personal level. 

What I do know from seeing him in live gigs is that there appeared to be a genuine personal chemistry between him and the rest of the band and indeed with the fans of the band (as some of the following video will testify). I also know that I have nothing but gratitude towards him for the music he enhanced my life with. 

So my simple tribute as a way of thanks is just to post versions of my favourite top 10 tracks (no particular order) from both his solo work and from The Smithereens for everyone to enjoy.

RIP Pat DiNizio and thank-you.

An Interview With A Lobster: Andrew Burnett (Part II)

Part II of the 1998 interview with the Andrew Burnett the Close Lobsters front man is below (Click here for Part I) and sees the Lobster talking disdain for the Queen Mum, Common Agricultural Policy, not being beaten up by Stephen Pastel, reasons why you should not throw your grandma off a bus and why music journos are just 'petit bourgeois bastards'...enjoy.

The full interview clinging for life at this old Geocities fan site (Click here)

1998 Interview with Andrew Burnett (Close Lobsters)

The following interview was done in 1998 with Andrew Burnett the lead singer of the superb late 80's jangle pop / post punk outfit Close Lobster. It was posted on an oocities.org fan site for the band which has now been moved to the oocities archives.

There is lots of great information on the site (link below), however many of the links are now broken so I am posting the two interviews with Andy Burnett (see part II in a separate post at a later date) with  as I am bit concerned the interviews may be lost. The interview has been copy and pasted from the original site and only the formatting changed.

Sounds Familiar - Decent The Smiths Copyists

As much I love this Smiths, I never felt inclined to try and 'be' them.

Much of this could be down the fact that I have exactly zero talent from a musical perspective (although I can sing The Flying Pickets version of Yazoo's 'Only You'...which the wife says sounds quite nice if I am 'in a room that echoes') and also due to the fact that there is absolutely nothing about me that is cool enough to pull off running around with daffodils hanging out of my back pocket or morally astute to stop eating the flesh of my fellow mammals, so for me, I just continue my 30 year unrequited love affair with them.

However for some that is not enough and the obsession runs deeper as they try to develop The Smiths sound within their art and as such garner much consternation.