A couple of weeks ago the lovely Monorail Music folks posted my 2018 faveson their Twitter. Yo La Tengo scooped the #1 (of course the numbers are arbitrary!) lp mainly because it had the stupendously beautiful "Shades of Blue" on it and because when it came out, I immediately put the download on my phone and listened to it constantly while working which says a lot about how and when I listened to much of my music this year. In retrospect, the lists below aren't truly representative of what I listened to most (apart from YLT) as I listened to lots of other quiet music while working such as the ace Pendant lp (aka Huerco S), Lucrecia Dalt's gem "Anitclines"and Annelies Monseré's sombre "Happiness Is Within Sight". Being prone to hyperbole and rash claims, I've told anyone who'll listen that The Goon Sax's incredibly touching "Strange Light" is Not Unloved's favourite song of 2018. Of course, I've also told the same people that Amy Rigby's unique, thoughtful "From philiproth@gmail to rzimmerman@aol.com" is Not Unloved's favourite song of 2018 which inevitably results in me claiming the same of her husband's (Wreckless Eric) monumental "Wow & Flutter"and so on. What fun!
The above was submitted in early December so, just for fun, here are Not Unloved's fave lps bought since then:
AMOR - Sinking Into A Miracle (Night School) Blades of Joy - s/t (Melters) D. Rothon - Nightscapes (Clay Pipe) Red Red Eyes - Horology (Where It's At Is Where You Are) Ethers - s/t (Trouble In Mind)
Most years, there's nothing I like better than to be asked what my favourite records have been. This year, however, it was a little tricky as, although I bought a lot of (okay, way too many) records, I didn't always find the time to listen and absorb them so a lot of what I listened to was whatever made it onto my phone which is a bit silly when virtually everything I bought was on vinyl. Enough excuses, though; here are the lists I submitted when Monorail Music kindly asked for my thoughts a few weeks ago. There are some shameful local omissions e.g. AMOR's two12"s for Night School or Golden Teacher's self-released lp. That's what happens when you use the first thought=best thought approach to compiling these lists, I guess. LPs:
1. The Clientele"Music For the Age of Miracles" (Tapete)
2. Kelly Lee Owens"s/t" (Smalltown Supersound)
3. The Luxembourg Signal"Blue Field" (Shelflife/Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten)
4. A Certain Smile "Fits and Starts" (My Lil Underground)
5. Mope Grooves "Joy" (See My Friends)
6. Sacred Paws"Strike A Match" (Rock Action)
7. Spinning Coin"Permo" (Geographic)
8. Rat Columns"Candle Power" (Upset The Rhythm)
9. The BVs "Speaking From A Distance" (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten)
10. Ekin Fil"Ghosts Inside" (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
1. Dion "Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965" (Norton)
2. Look Blue Go Purple"Still Bewitched" (Captured Tracks)
3. William C Beeley"Gallivantin'" (Tompkins Square)
4. Jackie Shane"Any Other Way" (Numero Group)
5. 14 Iced Bears"s/t" (Optic Nerve)
This year while deciding what should go in my top 10 albums list (and top 5 reissues and top 3 singles) for Monorail Music's annual poll, I felt like a football manager who doesn't know his best eleven. So many records could have and should have been on the list and I have guilt in my heart that they aren't. Some I purchased too late to make the cut, such as the ridiculously pretty Vic Mars"The Land and the Garden" lp (Clay Pipe) or Heather Leigh Murray'sunique and eviscerating"I Abused Animal" (Editions Mego). Based on repeated plays alone, Four Tet's euphoric "Morning/Evening" (Text) would probably have made off with the first place garland. Why it doesn't appear below is a mystery! Michael Kasparis's Night School Records had an extremely strong year releasing ace material by the likes of Paper Dollhouse, Apostille, Liberez and Molly Nilsson. Any one of them would've made a worthy addition to my top 10. Oh, and Night School's reissue of Rose McDowall's "Cut With The Cake Knife" deserved a spot on my top reissues list.
10. Bel Étage"Quiet Town" (Where It's At Is Where You Are)
Try as I might, I couldn't limit myself to 3 singles - there were just too many belters released in 2015 for that to happen! I saved Spinning Coin's "Albany" for next year when the Geographic 7" is released despite the fact that it graced a cassette single in 2015. Oh, and the Expert Alterations 12" on the mighty Slumberland Records would definitely have been on this list had I not been too stingy to pay the postage from the US. Sorry, Mike!
I suspect that when I finally have Gloria Ann Taylor's "Love Is A Hurting Thing" in my hands I'll have a rethink and Golden Teacher's compilation of their first three e.p.s appeared in the racks too late to qualify.
Monorail Music's inaugural A Weekend Abroad festival at the CCA was a complete blast. Unfortunately, due to prior pop commitments (more on this later), I wasn't able to witness Night School Records' evening of interplanetary oddness, wryly observational synth pop and dreamy dance floatbut I did get to enjoy The Pastels and friends bring warmth and good humour and ENERGY to the sometimes sterile main performance space. Normal Love's debut showcased hit after hit with Roxanneand Eilidh's voices combining to moving effect. One song, I'm guessing called "Angela", was supernaturally beautiful. Recordings must follow! Next up were Spinning Coin who rampaged through their set with conviction and heart. They never sounded better. Debsey Wykesand Paul Kelly's Birdie were as endearingly funny and melodically rich as I could have wished, the tinge of melancholy in Debsey's voice making it the perfect autumn sound. The Pastels closed the evening with yet another reminder that when they're on it and their subtleties can be heard, few can match them. What a night!
To mark the occasion some friends (see below for more from them) and I produced a little fanzine. J and I assembled 105 in all in an assortment of autumn leaves colours. As an altruistic gesture, we gave them away for free. All the physical fanzines are now gone but there's a digital copy here for those that missed out.
Once again Monorail Music asked a bunch of their regular customers for their top 10 lps, their top 2 singles/tracks and their top 2 reissues. As ever, reviewing the year's purchases was a whole heap of haphazard (my memory isn't what it used to be!) fun.
LPs
1. Comet Gain"Paperback Ghosts" (Fortuna Pop)
2. The Hobbes Fanclub"Up At Lagrange" (Shelflife)
3. The Muffs"Whoop Dee Doo" (Burger / Cherry Red)
4. Literature"Chorus" (Slumberland)
5. The Luxembourg Signal"s/t" (Shelflife)
6. Dean Blunt"Black Metal" (Rough Trade)
7. Weed Hounds"s/t" (Katorga Works)
8. Ex Hex"Rips" (Merge)
9. Mad Nanna"In Glasgow" (Golden Lab)
10. The Bug"Angels and Devils" (Ninja Tune)
A combination of going out more than is healthy or, as I like to call it, supporting the vibrant local music scene (ha!) and buying more records than is decent or even manageable meant that there wasn't really a record that took residence on the Not Unloved turntable. The mp3 version of Comet Gain's record, however, soundtracked many a splash through puddles on the way to and from whichever gig venue was hosting that night's entertainment. Its bruised romanticism never failed to make me feel. "Up At Lagrange" is such a pure record. It's a neat, perfectly realised and beautifully sung collection of heartfelt songs that yielded my favourite lyric of the year:
"I made a collage of our favourite bands To say I love you I knew you'd understand"
A one hour commute by car and The Muffs' latest album on cd combined to make it my most listened to record of the year. Kim Shattuck's full-throated scream was one of the most thrilling sounds of 2014 - prime Courtney Love would've struggled to outdo her. Literature's pristine guitars served their softly sung melodies beautifully in a way that made me ache for the days when the Parasol Mailorder dropped onto the mat stuffed with little label American pop. Likewise, The Luxembourg Signal sounded timeless but fresh and provided further evidence that Shelflife was havingthe year of its life. It's certain that it would have been in higher in my list had I got it earlier, too. "Black Metal" found its way into my consciousness through its clever deployment of a Pastels samplebut proved attractive on so many levels. With each successive listen it earned a bigger place in my heart. It wouldn't sound out of place in the Les Disques du Crepuscule catalogue. Weed Hounds were a brilliant tip from the perennially searching Did Not Chartblog. 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the record's opener, "Harbor", I was scrambling, all fingers and thumbs, to login to my Paypal account. Mary Timony and her Ex Hex bandmates made an irresistibly stomping lp that, along with the aforementioned Muffs record and The Vaselines' "V For Vaselines", proved that you don't need to be a teenager to make fizzing, melodic power pop/punk. The memory of Mad Nanna's appearance at the much missed Volcanic Tongue shop still makes me smile. I worried that when Golden Lab released the straight-to-TDK document of that night on vinyl, it might tarnish the memory. I needn't have worried! The Bug had the good sense to collaborate with Liz Harris and Warrior Queen.Intruth, I enjoyed Andy Stott's "Faith In Strangers" - especially the sparse, sublime "Violence" - just as much but I could only pick 10 records.
10. LAPSfeat. Golden Teacher, S Young & D Young "Mojo" (Clan Destine)
"I'll Call Your Bluff" sidesteps accusations of being simply an nth generation retread by having the catchiest guitar line this side of 60s Carnaby Street and an emotional directness that feels entirely honest.
Reissue
1. Milk'n'Cookies"Not Enough Girls In The World" 7" (Captured Tracks)
2. The Moles"Flashbacks & Dream Sequences" 3*lp (Fire)
Maybe the 7" I played most this calendar year was Milk'n'Cookies kinda wrong/totally great slice of weedy-voiced, Big Star-esque glam pop. I sang it in the kitchen at work when nobody was listening. I sang it when I walked home from gigs in the rain. I sang it at the top of my lungs on many a seemingly endless commute. By now, a lot of people are scunnered with Record Store Day but this year's will live long in my memory thanks to that 45 and its ludicrously lascivious refrain: "Ten girls, twenty girls, I want more! Forty girls, fifty girls just because there's not enough girls in the world". Monorail Music's full top 50 list (along with my photo of the Aphex Twin blimp above Mono/Monorail Music - *beam*) can be pored over on their facebook page.
(thanks to Katrina for taking such a flattering picture!)
Record Store Day 2013 at Monorail Music was immense! I bought some great music (the megalithic Half Japanese box set, the killer new Vic Godard and The Subway Sect 7" etc.), chatted with so many lovely folks (the place was heaving) and got to play some records to the throng with the lovely Jenny Rollo (from the fab All The Ragenight). Unfortunately, the first hour and a half of our slot was blighted with technical issues. Jenny bore the brunt of it but she and Dougie (the sound man) did a great job working through the issues - thanks, guys! - and Jenny's iPad sure came to the rescue. Of what I played, Girl One and The Grease Guns was certainly the hit; I wrote three notes for curious folks. The Seeds Mr Farmer (GNP Crescendo) The Bang(le)s Getting Out Of Hand (Downkiddie) Dangerloves Young Pretender (Static Shock) Shoes Tomorrow Night (BOMP!) Thomas and Richard Frost Where Did Yesterday Go? (Liberty) Baby Lemonade The Secret Goldfish (Narodnik) Don and The Goodtimes I Could Be So Good To You (Epic) Alpaca Sports I Was Running (Duffelcoat) Ringo Deathstarr Rip (Club AC30) Pat Lewis No One To Love(Beecool) The Squires Going All The Way (Crypt) The Springfields Tranquil (Summershine) The Yellow Balloon The Yellow Balloon (Canterbury) Flowers When You Lie(Cloudberry) Girl One and The Grease Guns Driving Without Headlights (Once Again) (Squirrel) Mikki Farrow Set My Heart At Ease(Kent - Pied Piper series) The Stems Tears Me In Two (Citadel) The #1s I Wish I Was Lonely (Art For Blind) The Nightblooms Crystal Eyes (Fierce) The Hush Puppies Hey, Stop Messing Around (Playboy - grey area reissue?) Kids On A Crime Spree Creep The Creeps (Slumberland) Delphine La Fermeture Eclair (Feral Child - grey area reissue?) Motions It's The Same Old Song (Havoc) East Village Cubans In The Bluefield (Sub Aqua) Television Personalities I Was A Mod Before You Was A Mod (Overground) Blank Realm Hey, Little Child (Negative Guest List) Veronica Falls Teenage (Bella Union) Sandi Sheldon You're Going To Make Me Love You (Starburst reissue) The Volcanos Storm Warning (Arctic) Burning Hearts Night Animal (Shelflife) The Wake Talk About The Past (Factory) The Go-Gos Our Lips Are Sealed (IRS) The Supremes Where Did Our Love Go (Stateside)
Alpaca Sports' recent-ish Duffelcoat 7" seemed to fit the mood of the afternoon with its light, summery feel:
Thanks again to Dep, Stephen, Russell, Mark and Tara from Monorail Music for making Record Store Day such a great occasion and for asking me to be part of their big day.
Only a week to go! I'm really looking forward to it as I've bought some wondrous stuff from Monorail Music (The Wake lp box, Fame Records singles box, 7"s by The Scientists, The Electric Eels etc.) and seen some great music in Mono (Edwyn Collins, The Membranes and more) on previous Record Store Days. This year's Monorail Music programme is startlingly good: Vic Godard and The Sexual Objects playing a set of Velvet Underground covers (gasp!), World Peace (Sinead from Palms' other group who come highly recommended!) and unique sonic traveller Ela Orleans:
I'll be proudly wearing my Slumberland SLR badge and clapping along like a loon while it's spinning. If you're there, please feel free to join me!
There's a facebook page for RSD 2013 @ Monorail Music here
Update! Jenny Rollo from theAll The Rageteam will be joining me on the decks. She has top taste so this is great news! Unfortunately, she was added a little too late to have her name added to this smashing poster:
In a Brighton a few weeks ago I had a fun (we were wailing at each other above some polite folk music played at Stooges-appropriate volume) but ultimately gloomy conversation with the proprietor of Borderline Records. While complimenting him on his shop - it's great, if you're in town it's well worth a visit - I told him that even now I judged a town or city by the quality of its record shops. His resigned response was that it was just as well that I had come in 2012 as Borderline and some of the other independents may not be there in 2013 due to the harsh trading conditions and proposed rate rises by the City Council. When I said, "How will I judge towns when all the record shops have gone?", he replied, "They'll all just be shit, won't they?". It may have been a bit melodramatic, but he was right. Given this, the recent 10th birthday of Stephen Pastel and Dep Downie's much cherished Monorail Music seems even more like something worth celebrating.
When Monorail Music opened in 2002, I couldn't have been happier. Glasgow was in desperate need of somewhere for people to buy new independent records. John Smith's bookshop had closed their fabulous record department and Missing Records wasn't what it had been. There was talk for a while of Rough Trade opening a shop in the west end but those plans foundered due in part, I believe, to Glasgow's prohibitive business rates. I've been a regular customer since it opened and it's impossible to overstate just what a positive influence it's had on my life. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's been good for my mental health over the years. The staff are uniformly lovely and have become friends and I've lost count of the number of brilliant records which each of them has brought into my life. One of the things I love about Monorail Music is that it's spotless; it's the kind of place where you want to spend time. The records are displayed lovingly (card stiffeners, plastic sleeves, not crammed into the racks) and the staff handle them respectfully - none of them has ever cockily slam-dunked my precious vinyl into the bag. For me, Monorail Music makes Glasgow a better place to live and, if the testimonies from the many bands (Crystal Stilts, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vivian Girls etc.) and friends from out of town are any guide, a better place to visit.
Last night Monorail took over Mono and held a party to celebrate its first decade. It was a great occasion. It felt like most everyone who should have been there, was and was smiling. There was a real feeling of a community coming together and I, for one, left with a renewed resolve to support Monorail Music and the culture I love so much.. After all, I'll never get excited by an mp3 the way I do for a perfect little 7" single. A lovely evening of DJs (Monorail's own Mark Hillier and Russell Elder) and bands (a particularly eccentric/funny Richard Youngs, Moon Unit, Sacred Paws) culminated in a full on set by The Pastels. Maybe it was the sound mix, but Katrina appeared to be really pounding her drums with venom. "Baby Honey" was just colossal. I was honoured (and I do mean 'honoured' because in a city like Glasgow there are lots of more talented, proper DJs who would have played wonderful sets) to be asked to play some records afterwards. Here's what made it from my trusty "Buba Box" onto the turntables:
I had planned to finish on Joan Jett and The Blackhearts' "I Love Rock and Roll" but Russell got the timing just right and dropped it just as The Pastels took to the stage. Thanks to everyone who said kind, supportive things about my selections - it was very kind of you! The Tidal Waves' rowdy, frat-rocking take on "Farmer John" sounded particularly great turned way up loud.
Happy birthday Monorail Music! Thanks for being there for the last 10 years. Lang may yer lum reek!!!
Read my pal Krister's thoughts on Monorail Music over at Record Turnover,
Today's challenge: name a prettier 60s tune than Triste Janero's airy, jazz-flecked"In The Garden":
...I knew you couldn't! With a honeyed tone pitched midway between Tracey Thorn's andDebsey Wykes's, my heart was always going to flip for Barbara Baines's voice. Original White Whale issue copies in Not Unloved friendly condition go for around the 50 pound mark so I had to plump for a second hand copy of the Jazzman reissue which coupled it with the nowhere near as lovable "Baby True" by Gettysburg Address and was mine for a much more modest 2 pounds*. Joe Foster's Rev-ola reissued the group's "Meet..." lp on cd a few years ago (although it doesn't appear in this discography, for some reason). I saw it in Monorail but somehow it never quite rose to the top of my lust list so I don't own it. I'll rectify that someday, I'm sure.
* - It was actually the second time I'd bought it. Unfortunately, however, the first copy was lost in the post - just one of the many drawbacks of buying records mailorder.
(Thanks to James Caddenfor the use of the picture!)
Not long now till Record Store Day 2012 and the fine, fine folks behind Monorail Music have assembled quite a list of entertainment. From their recent mailout:
We will be opening at 9am prompt for brisk business but we'll be promoting a friendly, family vibe with home baking, children's activities, an art show, and live music from
It's gonna be grand! Thanks to everyone at Monorail for giving me the chance to drop some carefully selected vinyl on their turntables. I feel like I've been capped at international level :) If I'm on early doors when people will be excitedly chatting about their lovely purchases, this is almost certain to get a spin as its giddiness perfectly embodies the excitement of buying a new record:
In the autumn Monorail Musicannounced via Twitter (@Monorail_Music) that they'd added a bunch of garage cds to their second hand racks. On went my coat and I was there within 25 minutes. (I'm convinced the staff were working me by remote control!) I dithered and hummed and hawed about which ones to buy so (recklessly! profligately!) bought all the ones I didn't already have; 13 discs in total. It's taken a while to fully digest such a bounteous haul but with uncommon certainty I can now say that this song from "Teenage Shutdown: Nobody To Love" was the best of the lot:
With a killer intro and a joyful, almost gospel refrain of "I saw Abba late last night!" it's catchy to the point of madness. There's some wise advice amongst its lyrics, too:
She said git your hair cut boy
Come on and get it outta your eyes
Stop your drinking and smoking boys
And tellin' all of them lies
The little Bobby Gillespie fade in the singer's voice on 'eyes' is a magical detail. Even the squarest of the squares must've punched the air with delight when they heard "Abba" at the college dance! It sounded great across the PA in Heavenly* the other night but would've totally killed at 15 times the volume.
As expected, original 45s are stupidly rare and hence command quite a price.
* - Apologies to anyone unfortunate enough to hear me wailing it and, er, to anyone who witnessed my air punching. Like I said, even the squarest of the squares....
