Pintachan is the name of the artist responsible for the winningly cute picture, above. It was bought from Brighton's most aesthetically pleasing toy shop Rocket Science. If I'd had unlimited funds and hadn't been heading to London for the Chickfactor* shows I would've bought a few more examples of Pintachan's wonderful art. On gloomy days such as this, "Love Boat" is a reminder of a brighter, softer world. A simple pleasure. If you see me wearing a flower badge or one with an endearingly vacant little spaceman, they're Pintachan, too.
* - Have you got your new issue yet? It comes highly recommended! Glaswegians can snag a copy from Monorail Music. Where else?!
Gaylord Fields' on stage introductions to the various acts at Saturday's Chickfactor show were smashing. In fact, he was a warm, funny and endearingly enthusiastic presence throughout the weekend and his sunshine pop selections upstairs in The Lexington on Sunday were real heart-swellers. The only one which I plucked up the courage to ask him about turned out to be by Heaven Bound - a 1971 group who recorded songs by Roger Nichols and Neil Young amongst others. Happily, their records can be bought for sums which don't have you living on beans till payday; £1.49 + p&p was all it took to secure a 45 of "He'd Rather Have The Rain":
If ever a song was destined to be enjoyed by Duglas T Stewart, it's this one! It would make a terriffic BMX Bandits b-side, I reckon.
Recently, when it looked like redundancy might be a very real prospect, I did the immature, counter-intuitive thing and went on a bit of a trolley dash, snapping up a bunch of records that I figured I wouldn't be able to afford if I lost my job. I knew at the time that it was probably a bit silly and that the smart thing would be to look after my money but, I guess, we all deal with uncertainty in different ways. One of the (many - whoops!) 7"s I bought was an (allegedly) unplayed copy of this Seymour Stein produced masterwork from 1968:
"Something's Gone" was new to me when I heard it play over the closing credits of Paul Kelly's "Take Three Girls" nearly a year ago but its melody lived on way beyond the curtains closing in the cinema and I'd frequently catch myself singing it in the car or on lunchtime walks so finding a nice copy felt imperative. It came, therefore, as a sweet and moving surprise to hear The Pastels quoting its plaintive "Something's gone from my heart" refrain in"Over My Shoulder", which closed their immensely beautiful Chickfactor: For The Love Of Popset at London's Bush Hall on Saturday. Special moments like that, the blistering, beercan slide enhanced rendition of "Baby Honey" and hearing a new song (yes!) - its title has gone already in a haze of return-to-work blues - sure justified the trip down from Glasgow . Their new album is pencilled in for March, 2013. If that thought doesn't see you through the winter, I fear nothing will.
With Indietracks and the London Olympics both now (warming, nourishing) memories, Not Unloved was in dire need of something to look forward to. Chickfactor's recently announced November weekend of pure pop joy. therefore, couldn't be more welcome. Saturday, 17th November is shaping up to be a day to remember: The Pastels are my favourite group ever, Amor de Diasmade my favourite lp of 2012 and Bush Hall looks like a smashing venue. Phew! The Sunday line-up, too, is a studded with diamonds: Tender Trap's new lp has been receiving great notices, Would-be-goods were classy and lovely at the Hangover Lounge weekender earlier this year and there's a rare chance to catch Pipaslive. Tickets are sure to shift quickly so best head here and here before too long for tickets!
Every day my commute to work takes me past a road sign for Blackburn, West Lothian. Recently, that sign's been a daily reminder to snap up Blackburn Recordings' lp from New York's Sweet Bulbswhen it finally shows up in Scottish stores. Blackburn Recordings scored big round these parts last year with Big Troubles' zinging"Freudian Slips" and Sweet Bulbs are set to do the same. Their My Bloody Valentine by way of the Lilys (Slumberland / Spin Art era) /TheSwirlies sound was always going to set this heart racing and my mind casting back over giddy days spent reading and re-reading each new issue of Chickfactorwith Parasol Records' printed updates close at hand. Sigh, I miss circling too many records in red biro and then whittling them down to a barely affordable few based largely on Pam Berry, Gail O'Hara and their pals' reviews. Great days, those.
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