I didn't do my usual show on Saturday due to having had a complete git of a week during which I did no preparation at all for it and also had a major attacks of the miseries. Thankfully the wonderful Nikki stood in at very short notice and delivered a cracking show. I've been trying to find time all week to type up Nikki's playlist and can only apologise that it's taken me until 5am on Thursday to get this up here. I'll type it up fully later & add some links but here's the playlist, better late than never (sorry Nikki):
I haven't written a blog post for a wee while although I was tempted to start another blog anonymously where I could describe how being a chronic depressive made you lethargic and idle. But I couldn't be bothered. I don't intend to go into that sort of detail here; might get round to the other blog one day but as an attack of the miseries fades there doesn't seem to be much point in re-visiting the Dark Side.
I suppose the fact that I'm feeling inclined to write a blog post again is a good sign that I'm on the mend, even if it is likely to turn into a bit of a rant about charity shops. Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not against charity shops per se and indeed I'm a huge fan of grabbing a bargain whilst also helping out a good cause. In fact given that Mr Cameron and his cabal of cocks are seemingly determined to freeze (i.e. reduce) my pay until I retire, I may well have to rely on charity shops just to keep me clothed. So, given that I applaud their aims, love a bargain and may well end up clothed in cast-off brown slacks and cardies, what could I possibly have to rant about? I think if I had to give my gripe a name I'd call it the 'Oxfam effect'.
I'll start with an example. I recently spotted the album Jerusalem by Alpha Blondy & the Wailers at a charity shop in town at the price of £6. Not a bad price for a good album in decent condition but given that pennies are tight I didn't buy it immediately. I don't begrudge the charity concerned the money, I was just a bit hard up & decided to wait and see if it was still there on pay-day. However, having mentioned it to a mate at work who also collects records I discovered that the Oxfam shop further up the same road had the same album for £20 (in slightly worse condition). Now I had to have it; my reasoning being that someone would see it in Oxfam then wander down the road and see it for less than a third of the price and snap it up. A search on Popsike didn't throw up any results for the album but I would say £6 was a good price but £20 was ridiculous; either way how on earth can Oxfam justify charging more for vinyl than you'd pay at a record fair?
Here's another example, admittedly it's hearsay but the chap who told me this tale is a decent bloke who was genuinely shocked at his treatment: John took 2 boxes of books into his local Oxfam shop; at a conservative estimate they would fetch upwards of £100. They took his donation gracefully enough and he left wallowing in the glow of self-satisfaction from a good deed done well. On the way out of the door he spotted a book he fancied priced at £1. He checked his pockets - 80p. "Can I have this book for 80p?" "No." He remonstrated that he'd just given them at least a ton's worth of books but they were unmoved. They patiently explained that their shop was run as a business and it wasn't their policy to give discounts. Fair enough if he'd just wandered in on the scrounge, but given the circumstances I'd say there was a distinct lack of charity in their attitude.
I'm no expert on the charity shop industry but I always understood that they had business rates waived due to their charitable status. Again, I must stress that I'm not against these shops doing their best to maximise the amount they raise for their respective charity but there does seem to me to be something of a contradiction in charity shops being run along the same lines as any other money-grubbing, profit driven, capitalist venture. If I want to pay top-dollar for records there are any amount of places I can buy it, I'd rather like charity shops to remain the cuddly, lovable emporiums of bargains they on the whole are at present. I'd really miss the well-meaning but slightly befuddled pensioners who staff them if they were replaced by thrusting young retail-warriors. I'd miss the 'oh, have you got a gramophone' style comments I sometimes get (repeatedly from one particular lady!) My worry is that the other charity shops will see the prices Oxfam are charging and fancy a piece of the action. Shopping for music is miserable enough when you're skint without the Mrs Miggins Home For Wayward Cats shop pricing me out of the market too. I'm not scaremongering either, my favourite source of bargain vinyl now has a 'music guy' who prices up the records. Thankfully he know bugger-all about anything about but heavy metal so the decent stuff still gets priced sensibly & shoved away amongst the Jim Reeves albums. As a final thought, does anyone, anywhere actually own a Jim Reeves album that they bought and hung on to? I am absolutely convinced that every single charity shop that has more than 20 records in a box has at least one copy of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves'.
Here's a couple of my recent charity shop bargains, hoping there will be many more:
So, here's the playlist for tonight's show. Typing this up and listening back at the same time - to see where I went wrong! Didn't feel like one of my better shows for some reason. Spilling coffee everywhere half way through probably didn't help to be fair!
Played two tracks by ska bands from Indonesia; both good tunes but I have absolutely no idea what they were singing about. Not that that really matters, after all, how many opera fans speak fluent Italian (or whatever language operas are in) and actually understand what they're warbling about? Hoping to collaborate with another SFR DJ on a one-off pre-recorded World Music show at some point - not on a Saturday night though - watch this space as those with very little imagination say.
More Rocksteady than usual in this week's show, possibly reflecting a busy week & me choosing more laid-back music to listen to in the evenings. Also played more cracking tunes from the Do The Dog label; pay-day soon - feel a little shopping spree coming on (sale now on). Enough waffle - here's the playlist:
It's the Brit Awards tonight. I know this to be true because my Twitter timeline is full of people (myself included) slagging off the annual attempt by the media machine to pretend it gives a shit about music and not just the money to be made by feeding us the same tepid, uninspiring, pseudo-edgy cack they celebrated last year, and the year before that. The BBC News website's lead story on the Brits at this precise moment tells us "Adele, Ed Sheeran, Florence and the Machine and other big names from the music world gather for the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London." Dull, dull, dull.
Despite living in an area not exactly blessed with opportunities to see 'big names from the music world' perform, I personally wouldn't give up a Tuesday evening to watch that parade of pap. Not that such a bonanza of the boring would ever be held in the provinces; heaven forbid the London-centric world of media-friendly mediocrity ever venturing out of their cosy little world of back-slapping banality.
There will be the usual Brit Awards clichés trotted out tonight. Expect some 'outrageous' behaviour by some fame-hungry wannabes who mistake getting pissed and making an arse of yourself for actually making a statement about something. This is the musical equivalent of mediocre boxers trading handbags at a press conference: something for the media to froth at the mouth about but with as much genuine feeling as an air-kiss from a distant aunt at a wedding you didn't want to attend in the first place.
Apparently Coldplay are nominated for an award too but don't ask me which one. I made the effort to look up the nominations but really couldn't be bothered to read beyond the first two so I didn't get as far as the category Coldplay are in, 'Band most likely to make you become Amish' perhaps? Even the Outstanding Contribution to Music award failed to make me feel any more favourably towards the Brits. I'm aware that some people will violently disagree with me on this, but Blur have not made an outstanding contribution to music. Don't get me wrong, they're OK and have made some agreeable enough music, but personally I'm not a big fan. They are in good company though; previous winners include Cliff Richard, Status Quo and Queen. They're all safe but dull too.
There are wonderful things happening in the real world of music. There are people out there making music for the love of it. There are people making music that matters - music with a message. Others make tunes that are quite simply joyful. I wouldn't expect to see either of these on the Brits.
So I'm avoiding this year's Festival of Faeces. I'm avoiding Twitter for the rest of the evening. Much as I'd love to join in the slagging of the Brits I fear I'll just end up irritable and ultimately as bored by the slagging off as I would have been by the event itself. As soon as I've finished this little rant I'm off to put a film on. About now, actually. T'ra.
ps Seems I missed James Corden too. That's cheered me up!
I had the great pleasure of following my son Danny onto the 'airwaves' tonight. My playlist duplicates his a little - we both played Bombskare, The Specials, The Maytals & Prince Buster. I like to think this shows we both have incredibly good taste rather than a lack of imagination!
I couldn't resist playing the version of Double Barrel from TOTP introduced by Tony Blackburn that I referred to in an earlier post this week; likewise the following 2 songs from Nicky Thomas & Freddie Notes were in a similar vein. I also referred to Drewvis in a blog post this week & played him tonight just to remind everyone how brilliant his stuff is!
Bang the Skillet favourite Life Is Good always goes down a storm on my show. They are touring the UK later this year & are looking for gigs to fill the schedule - if you know anyone who wants a brilliant ska band to play their venue, please point them in the direction of http://www.bangtheskillet.nl/ Plus, if you fancy helping a great ska band get their album out there, visit: http://www.sponsume.com/project/bang-skillet-mad-about-ska
Last, but perhaps most importantly, I got the opportunity to play my first track off the Specialized charity album: Urang Matang's brilliant interpretation of The Specials' Why. Please get behind this project with your tweets, posts & most importantly your wallets! It's going to be an awesome album & is for a very, very worthy cause. Full details at: http://www.specializedcharityalbum.co.uk/ - the line up is stellar & the clips & tunes I've heard so far have been absolutely brilliant.
My ten year-old lad Danny Buster (named after the King of Ska, not the shit Phil Collins film) made one of his infrequent but oh-so-enjoyable forays into the world of interweb-DJ'ing tonight, presenting an hour-long playlist on SFR before my Soundsystem show. Although anyone looking at his playlist may suspect that I 'helped' him to choose the tunes, I swear it was all his own work! His playlisting technique bears an uncanny similarity to mine, however: stick the media player on random & play the tunes that make you smile!
So here is Danny Buster's playlist:
Prince Far-I - Natty Farmyard
Roger Rivas - In This Corner
Physical Jerks - Slight Suspicion
Dreadzone - Fight The Power
The Selecter - Bomb Scare
Bombskare - The Day The Earth Stood Stupid
The Specials - Hey Little Rich Girl
The Maytals - Monkey Man
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
The Stranglers - No More Heroes
Reel Big Fish - Take On Me
Ocean Eleven - Stop That Train
Prince Buster - Linger On
Johnny Osbourne - Purify Your Heart
The Clash - Radio Clash
The Amphetameanies - Radio Spytime
Phineas & Ferb - Evil Love Song
Thanks to everyone who listened & gave such encouragement. He gets a real kick out of this, plus he makes his old Dad even more proud!
At first view the video below from Top of the Pops in 1971 would seem to suggest that Tony Blackburn was a big fan of reggae and chuffed to bits to see Dave & Ansel Collins at number 1. However all might not be quite as it seems. Before watching the vid have a read of this quote from Lloyd Bradley's brilliant Bass Culture: "Once reggae records were in the charts and presenters had no choice but to play them it was usually an excuse to abuse them. Tony Blackburn - who years later admitted the error of his ways, but never explained why he did it - was the worst offender: he'd lose no opportunity to denounce reggae as not being real music; he'd take records off half-way through because, as he'd theatrically explain, he'd had enough of them; or, if it was a cover, he'd play the pop cut immediately afterwrds and glowingly hold it up against the reggae version." Lloyd Bradley - Bass Culture, Viking p256-257
Leaving aside the possibility that our Tony might have been concerned that the girl stood to his right was wearing a jump suit made from her Gran's curtains, isn't there a hint of gritted teeth when Tony says 'particularly when it's as good as this'?
It must have been awful for poor old Tony, having to go on 'the Pops' and pretend to like stuff he really hated. Blackburn admitted that there 'might have' been an anti-reggae bias at the BBC in interviews for the BBC's History of Jamaican Music film. 'Might have'? Not perhaps being just a tad disingenuous there are you Tony? Thankfully the sorely missed John Peel was a little more candid:
The quote from Bass Culture above continues: "In 1970, Nicky Thomas even wrote and recorded a song called 'BBC', which took as its subject matter the Corporation's shameful treatment of reggae both on and off the brainwaves. And no, it didn't get playlisted." No surprise there then! Thank God there was also John Peel at the BBC playing stuff the Blackburns of this world wouldn't touch, even if he was tucked away at 10pm. Peel also did TOTP but you always got the feeling he did it because he was contractually obliged to and viewed the whole thing with a certain disdain. Peel threatened to come and break wind in your kitchen once on TOTP - the BBC received lots of complaints. He also disliked Chris Moyles. Wish he was still with us. Wish they'd left Tony in the jungle too.
