Category Archives: Eclectic Mainline

Matters relating to Albert Freeman’s Eclectic Mainline show.

Eclectic Mainline 11th November 2009

It’s not every day that I get to announce a piece of music called Coral Larvae – Arabesque for Flatworms but today I had that pleasure.   Forgive my brevity, but this is the full list of last night’s show:

Trashcan Sinatras – People
We Fell To Eearth – Deaf
Alela Diane – Tatted Lace
Soulsavers – Unbalanced Pieces
Animal Collective – Brother Sport
Brakes – Worry about it later
Internet Forever – Cover The Walls
Life On Earth BBC TV series – Coral Larvae – Arabesque for Flatworms
Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire
Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM
Grizzly Bear – Fix It
Archie Bronson Outfit – Rituals
The Antlers – Two
Fool’s Gold – Surprise Hotel

3 days: 3 gigs; 1 session

DAY 1 – GRIZZLY BEAR & ST VINCENT @ LEEDS MET STUDENTS UNION

St Vincent at Leeds Met

St Vincent at Leeds Met Students Union

Drowned in Sound absolutely adore St Vincent, and having seen a clip of her in soundcheck on said website a few weeks ago I was intrigued to learn that her support slot on the Grizzly Bear tour was solo. Apart from supplementary guitar on one song by Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen, it was just Annie Clark, a looping pedal, and some sequenced backing. I must say I was surprised by how diverse she could be within those limitations. As Sam commented to me after The Strangers, she somehow managed to go seamlessly from 40s jazz guitar to an onslaught reminiscent of Joe Satriani in just 30 seconds. Songs such as Save Me From What I Want worked really well with her looping backing vocals along with herself, and during the more frenetic passages of Marrow she had the appearance of a manikin suffering a seizure. Her cover of The Beatles’ Dig A Pony was a pleasant surprise too. I was very impressed, and would like to know how these songs come across with a full band.

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Eclectic Mainline 4th November 2009

What a few days lie ahead for gigs in the area!  Tonight (Thursday) there is Grizzly Bear + St. Vincent at Leeds Met Students Union.  Friday night there is Daniel Johnston + Laura Marling + The Wave Pictures at the Brudenel Social Club.  Then on Saturday back at Leeds Met again, Choir Of Young Believers are supporting Mew!  And of all the above, what with it being Fireworks Night, it would seem most appropriate to suggest you watch the marvellous video for Grizzly Bear‘s Two Weeks:

And last night, this is what I played in my show: Continue reading

Flaming Lips album competition

This week you can win the new album by The Flaming Lips, called Embryonic. To enter simply email studio [at] bcbradio.co.uk and tell us which city BCB broadcasts from.  Simple, ins’t it?!

The competition closes midnight on Saturday 7th November and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 11th November.

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Eclectic Mainline 28th October 2009

I will be VERY brief this week, because within the next hour there will be another blog post on this here Untitled Noise with details of how you can win the new album by The Twilight Sad!

This is what I played tonight:

Vegas Nights – It Came As No Surprise
Colourmusic – Yes!
The Twilight Sad – Seven Years Of Letters (acoustic version)
The Flaming Lips – Convinced Of The Hex
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Higher Than The Stars
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou – Malin Kpon O
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends – Twist The Knife
Madness – Bed And Breakfast Man (Peel Session)
Blockhead – Which one of you jerks drank my Arnold Palmer?
Japandroids – Wet Hair
J. Tillman – A Year In The Kingdom
The Gun Club – Eternity Is Here
Animal Collective – Brother Sport
The Twilight Sad – Interrupted (acoustic version)

Eclectic Mainline 21st October

I’ll be brief today because to be frank – I want to get home!  I was saddened today to learn of the death of Liam Maher of Flowered Up, so in honour of him I finished my show with a Flowered Up classic.  Also in tonight’s show was a tune so peculiar as to make listeners think the CD was scratched, that tune being Russell Haswell‘s version of Cabasa Cabasa.  Anway, as I said, I want to get off, so here’s the list:

The Brothers Movement – Standing Still
Local Natives – Camera Talk
Russell Haswell – Cabasa Cabasa – from Warp20 (Recreated)
The Gun Club – Bad Indian
Tilly & The Wall – Falling Without Knowing
James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players – Mary Connaught & James O’Donnell
The Twilight Sad – Seven Years Of Letters
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – hidden track from I Speak Fula
Marseille Figs – Jumbo
Kraftwerk – Tour De France
Neil McSweeney – Glencoe
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – 103
Daniel Johnston – I had lost my mind
White Tag Yellow Tag – Dalliance
Flowered Up – It’s On

Eclectic Mainline 14th October 2009

Half Man Half Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit

Well, in my last blog post I spouted off about the new album by Fuck Buttons, so I won’t go on about that again now.  There are a few wonderful things out at the moment:  Daniel Johnston‘s new album has whetted my appetite for seeing him at the Brudenel in Leeds on 6th November;  the b-side to the new Slow Club single (Trophy Room) is a hidden gem; a new EP by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart is a welcome surprise; and the new single by Frightened Rabbit bodes well for the third album; and to top it all Half Man Half Biscuit are playing at the Stylus in Leeds tomorrow night!

This is what I played tonight:

Chicken Feed – Lights Out (feat. Hazel Mills)
Neil McSweeney – Half A Mind
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Higher Than The Stars
Gable – I’m OK
Daniel Johnston – Queenie The Doggie
Fuck Buttons – Phantom Limb
Frightened Rabbit – Swim Until You Can’t See Land
Richard Hawley – For Your Lover Give Some Time
Hefner – Christian Girls (Boxing Version)
Slow Club – Thighs
Paper Planes – Doris Day
Emily Loizeau – La Femme a Barbe
Half Man Half Biscuit – Irk The Purists
Echo & The Bunnymen – Shroud Of Turin
Nancy Elizabeth – Bring On The Hurricane
The Horrors – Whole New Way

Greatest LPs of the Noughties (draft – to publish in 2011)

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

In the early summer of 2009 Pitchfork started to list its favourite tunes of the decade, and now we’re into the autumn numerous music magazines are feeding us with their lists of the decade’s best albums.  It’s not just a couple of months too soon for such lists, but A COUPLE OF YEARS TOO SOON!  I’m not naive, I know why they’re doing these lists now – it’s because there are so many such lists produced in the Web 2.0 age that they want to get theirs out before List Fatigue sets in among readers.  But really…we haven’t even heard all the decade’s albums yet, never mind had time to fully digest them.  Fuck Buttons have just released their fantastic second album Tarot Sport.   I’m not saying this is one of my favourite LPs of the decade, but neither am I saying that it isn’t.  I won’t know how I properly feel about this album until the thrill of listening to it has worn off and I can look back on it subjectively.   And I won’t know how I feel about this decade’s music as a whole until the dust has settled and we’re well into the teenies or whatever the next 10 years becomes known as.

As much as I think the concept of a Best Albums Of All Time Made In The Western World! list is flawed, the compilers do usually at least have the courtesy to exclude anything released in the previous 2 or 3 years because of the above mentioned factors.  And the same principles should be applied here.  There should be a Music Critics’ Charter drawn up that states any editor will be flogged at dawn if their publication is seen printing a list of the Greatest Albums Of the Noughties before 2011.

About Bradford

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia

About Bradford is not a music show, and let’s not forget that – it’s a daily 2-hour magazine show with topical interviews and features.  I’m not a regular presenter, but I sub for the regular presenter when they are off.  Today was one such occasion.  The most interesting guest from my personal point of view was Keith Thompson, who comes in fortnightly to talk about climate change.  Today his hot topic (literally) was Australia and how they are already experiencing the effects of climate change, and have just had record winter temperatures.  I usually learn a lot in those 10 minute slots when Keith comes in and today was no exception.

Now, between guests I get to play the odd song.  I can’t play stuff that’s quite as adventurous as what I play in Eclectic Mainline on a Wednesday evening, and have to tailor the show for a broader listenership, but I still play what I think is a decent variety, and today, this is what I played:

Choir Of Young Believers – Next Summer
Micah P Hinson – The Times Are A-Changin’
Mew – Repeaterbeater
The Duke & The King – Summer Morning Rain
Council Flats of Kinsbury – Louise
Fool’s Gold – Surprise Hotel
Richard Hawley – For Your Lover Give Some Time
Hefner – Good Fruit
Slow Club – Trophy Room (BCB sesion 2008)
Idlewild – Readers & Writers
Trashcan Sinatras – People
Haircut 100 – Nobody’s Fool
Fever Ray – Seven
Echo & The Bunnymen – Think I Need It Too

Eclectic Mainline – 7th October 2009

Pavement to curate ATP Festival

Pavement to curate ATP Festival

Tonight I’m rather excited by the news that Pavement are curating the ATP Festival next May, from 14th-16th May. Might get tickets on Friday, as soon they’re released. Or…. I might wait a week and find out who’s curating the other weekend, a week before. I imagine the one from 7th-9th May will either be a ATP vs The Fans type affair, or another 10th anniversary type affair. Anyone got any opinions?

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