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Songs to Learn and Sing: Christmas 2004 Compilations
I found two old compilations from 2004. A few words on Songs to Learn and Sing taking in: Christmas 2004 compilation mix CDs, 20 years of tunes, streaming, and more.
Top 10 Irish Albums of 2024
Top 10 Irish Albums of 2024. Best Irish Compilation of 2024, Best Irish Single of 2024 and two Special Mentions. Songs from all ten of these albums were featured on Songs To Learn And Sing on 103.2 Dublin City FM throughout 2024 and Episode 990 featured some of my favourite songs from these albums.
Top 10 Vinyl Finds of 2024
A Top 10 of secondhand #VinylFinds I purchased in 2024. These were picked up in record shops in Manchester, Sydney, Tarragona, Dublin and Cork. There are a couple rare collectables here but mostly it’s just a bunch of records I couldn’t leave behind.
The Chariot Race
A few words on The Chariot Race by Alexander von Wagner taking in: Ben-Hur, Gladiator, MacMillan’s Class Pictures from 1932, Victorian-era paintings, The Lady of Shallot, the Empire Marketing Board, Margaret Clarke, how memory plays tricks on us and why “the pig is the great friend of the Irish peasant.”
Peel Sessions
On the 20th anniversary of Peel’s passing, a few words on John Peel Sessions taking in: Irish bands recording Peel Sessions, Irish Trad and Folk, Punk and beyond, Strange Fruit Records, The Smiths, The Go-Betweens, New Order, Joy Division, Microdisney, Jubilee Allstars, Billy Bragg, Stump, The Would Be’s, Finbar & Eddie Furey, LMNO Pelican, Na Filí, The Fall, Five Go Down to the Sea? and more.
Songs to Learn and Sing: 20th Anniversary
A few words on 20 years of Songs to Learn and Sing taking in: Dublin City FM, community radio, commercial radio, Irish music quotas, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen, and John Porter producing ‘How Soon is Now?’.
Spadgietown
A few words on: Nine Wassies From Bainne’s The Knock Bonya Express and “Spadgietown” - Cathal Coughlan’s short story about Five Go Down to the Sea’s Finbarr Donnelly.
Another Spark
A few words on Another Spark taking in: The Go-Betweens, Microdisney, Five Go Down to the Sea?, The Moodists, Billy Bragg, Andy White, The Jazz Butcher, Eyeless in Gaza, The Box and Roger Quail’s My Life in the Mosh of Ghosts.
SKiN and BONE
A few words on Skin and Bone taking in: John Robb’s Death to Trad Rock, the post-punk mid-80s fanzine scene, Five Go Down to the Sea?, The Mekons, The Membranes, The Fall’s Brix Smith and Craig Scanlon, A Witness, Big Flame, and more.
Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus
A few words on Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus taking in: Paul Hanley’s Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks Changed Manchester Music (and me), Joy Division, Buzzcocks, The Fall, John Cooper Clarke, The Lobby bar, Leeside Music on Cork’s MacCurtain Street, price stickers, Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’ and Joe Dolce’s ‘Shaddup Your Face’.
Oasis - Knebworth setlist
An Instagram post by Alan McGee mentioned that today was the 28th anniversary of Oasis’ gig at Knebworth. Oasis played two shows at the famed venue on the 10 and 11 of August 1996 to a combined audience of 250,000, a weekend that is often described as the climax of the Britpop movement. After Knebworth the band flew to Cork for two gigs at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 14 and 15 August.
The Chills’ Martin Phillipps - An Appreciation
Martin Phillipps taking in: The Chills, ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’, ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’, music videos, American tourists, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Kelly’s of Portrush and Mount Errigal. I was planning a blog post about how a few of my favourite musical artists had filmed music videos in Ireland and I was going to mention how The Chills filmed the video for their ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’ at the foot of Mount Errigal in Co. Donegal in early February 1990. Martin Phillipps of The Chills passed away two days ago. He was only 61.
Top 10 Irish Songs*
Top 10 Irish songs taking in: “best of” lists, subjectivity, lost 80s classics, cover versions, The Royal Showband, an orange and cream 1970s Fidelity turntable and keeping music evil. Last week the Irish Independent published a “best of” list titled “The best Irish songs of all time”. Their list was subtitled “ranked: the definitive top 50”. Let’s agree on one thing straight away, “best of” lists are ridiculous, they’re also simultaneously highly entertaining and incredibly frustrating.
*Today
Peter Watkins’ Privilege
A few words on Peter Watkins’ Privilege taking in: Paul Jones, Manfred Mann, Jean Shrimpton, Terence Stamp, Tom Jones, Patti Smith, Mike Leander, Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema series, Punishment Park and The War Game. “A film so bizarre, so controversial, it shall crucify your mind to the tree of conscience.” They don’t write taglines like that anymore.
The Smiths - Rarities
A few words on Smiths’ rarities taking in: Leeside Music on Cork’s MacCurtain Street, green and white price stickers, kitchen sink dramas, Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Rita Tushingham, Yootha Joyce, Colin Campbell, Murray Head, Terence Stamp, Viv Nicholson, Pier Paolo Pasolini and James Dean.
The Smiths - Singles
A few words on The Smiths’ singles taking in: Woolworths in Enniskillen, Prince’s ‘Girls & Boys’, Owen Paul’s ‘My Favourite Waste of Time’, Nina Simone, New Order, misheard lyrics, cover stars, B-Sides, Vinyl Matrix Etchings, 7” singles from 1986 and more. By 1986 I was spending all my pocket money on singles and in the first six months of that year I had bought four. Falco’s ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ had been a huge hit all over Europe in late-85 and hit the top spot In both Ireland and the UK in March.
The Smiths - Bootlegs
A few words on The Smiths taking in: vinyl bootlegs, CD bootlegs, Diana Dors, Doris Day, Margaret Sullavan, Hattie Jacques, Jean Howard, Glenn Miller and 1950s “Marlboro Baby” advertisements. The most beautiful bootleg in my collection is Unreleased Demos & Instrumentals a double LP that came out at the end of 2010 featuring previously unreleased studio demos, outtakes and instrumentals. The cover is a still of Diana Dors taken from 1956’s Yield to the Night. It’s a beautiful sleeve.
Steve Albini - An Appreciation
Steve Albini - An Appreciation, taking in: Big Black, Shellac, The Wedding Present, Pixies, Nirvana, Palace, Slint, Low, Connolly’s of Leap, Nancy Spains, Sir Henry’s, Bandicoot Promotions, Zeitgeist magazine, Adrian Crowley, Nina Nastasia, Palace Music, Magnolia Electric Co, Bikini Kill, Dirty Three and The Auteurs.
Morrissey - Bootlegs
A few words on Morrissey bootlegs taking in: The Smiths, Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Dublin’s National Stadium, The Stone Roses at Spike Island, FM broadcasts, cassette bootlegs, New Order, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lollapalooza 1992, vinyl bootlegs, DVDs, and “art vs. the artist”. Today is the 33rd anniversary of Morrissey’s second solo gig. His 27 April 1991 National Stadium show was his first solo outing since the December 1988 Wolverhampton Civic gig and the opening night of the European leg of his Kill Uncle tour.
Colin Blunstone and The Zombies
Colin Blunstone: “The Zombies were a school band really.” An archive interview with Colin Blunstone taking in: The Zombies; recording Odessey and Oracle in Abbey Road; 40th Anniversary celebrations of the album; recording his first solo singles in 1969 under the name Neil MacArthur; his first three solo albums (One Year, Ennismore and Journey); working on 1972’s ‘I Don't Believe in Miracles’ with arranger Christopher Gunning; good song-writing; taking care of his voice; the rights to The Zombies’ recordings and much more.