Quite frankly, I find it hard to criticise David Bowie in any way. As I outlined last year in my 65th birthday love letter to him, even the dreadful offerings of Tin Machine and the Tonight album serve a vital public service in making us all feel a bit less inadequate that we are not David Bowie and he is. Â However, I am mildly miffed that His Nibs Jones saw fit to release his first single (though not strictly his first new material as the popular press seem intent on telling us) in 10 years a mere 10 hours after I had recorded this week’s show – the first in the new time slot of 9pm on a Wednesday – therefore leaving my hour’s offering notably shy of Where Are We Now. Â He could have told me first. Â Thanks a bundle, Dave – and I call you Dave knowing full well that you don’t like people calling you Dave, just as I come out in hives whenever anyone refers to me as “Pat”. Â Eugh.
Show up at Glastonbury in June and I’ll consider letting you off. Â And indeed I’ll call you “David” again.
For those of you still stuck with your head in an ignorance bucket, here’s Bowie’s rather lovely comeback offering:
And here’s the Bowieless playlist for this week’s show:
Over the festive season I finally got round to watching something that has been patiently waiting my attention for several months. That is the Faraway Close DVD that comes with Parallel 41, the 2012 album by Barbara De Dominicis and Julia Kent. Â Watch the trailer here:
If you are inclined to do so you can stream the whole show. Â This is what I played:
Wave Machines – “Home” (LP – “Pollen”) (Neapolitan)
Steve Mason – “Fight Them Back” (LP – “Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time”) (Double Six)
Julia Holter – “Marienbad” (LP – “Ekstasis”) (Domino)
Roots Manuva – “Banana Skank (WAFA Remix)” (“Banana Skank EP”) (Big Dada)
Woody Guthrie – “Do-Re-Mi”
Cave Painting – “Leaf” (single and LP – “Votive Life”) (Third Rock)
Former Utopia – “A Love Like Infinity” (“Colapsar E.P.”) (Damnably)
The Creole Choir Of Cuba – “Tripot” (LP – “Santiman”) (Real World)
Barry Adamson – “If You Love Her” (single and LP – “I Will Set You Free”) (Central Control International)
Ducktails – “Letter Of Intent” (single and LP – “The Flower Lane”) (Domino)
The La’s – “Feelin'” (LP – “The La’s”) (Go! Discs)
Barbara De Dominicis and Julia Kent – “Voiceless Laughter” (CD + DVD – “Parallel41 + Faraway Close”) (Baskaru)
For the same reason that last week’s show was not a special festive edition, this week’s is not a special new year show. Would you rather I had varied things a bit? Let me know if so, either in the comments here, or on Twitter. I just want to get as much new music into my show each week as I possibly can. I do have one or two ideas for special features, which I might introduce over the next few weeks, but otherwise I will just stick to my “here are some new releases I think you should hear” formula.
If you’ve been listening to this show for a few years, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Max Richter. Here’s a new tune of his, composed for for Random International’s ‘Rain Room’ at the Barbican Centre, down in that London:
Caitlin Rose, who has a cross-generational appeal in our has, is back too, and here’s her new single:
PAWS – “Miss American Bookworm” (LP “Cokefloat!”)
Jamie Lidell – “What A Shame” (single and LP – “Jamie Lidell”) (Warp)
Tame Impala – “Mind Mischief” (single and LP – “Lonerism”)
Heathered Pearls – “The Worship Bell” (LP – “Loyal”) (Ghostly International)
Caitlin Rose – “No One To Call” (single)
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba – “Kele magni feat. Khaira Arby” (LP – “Jama ko”) (Out Here)
Flying Lotus – “All In / Getting There” (single) (Warp)
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “Holy Roller” (single) (Ribbon)
Max Richter – “Rainlight”
Rachel Zeffira – “To Here Knows When” (LP – “The Deserters”) (RAF)
Electric Ills – “Thanks But No Thanks (Hookworms remix)”
Concrete Knives – “Wallpaper” (single b/w “Greyhound Racing”) (Bella Union)
Mazes – “Bodies”
Euros Childs – “Be Be High” (single) (National Elf)
Yo La Tengo – “Well You Better” (single)
Sum Of R – “Growing Into Something Special” (LP – “Ride Out The Waves”) (Storm As He Walks)
No Boxing Day special show for me this year. This wasn’t for any “bah humbug” reasons, but simply because I still have a backlog of new music that I want to air. I know that if you want Christmas music, you are clever enough to find ways of hearing it all by yourself. I don’t mean that you’re too dim-witted to unearth the tunes in my show, I mean….oh, I could get myself into a hole here. I’ll quit while I’m only marginally behind and just show you what I played…
There is a new single coming out early in the new year by Roots Manuva. This is certainly cause for excitement.
Vladislav Delay – “Kellute” (LP – “Kuopia”) (Raster Noton)
Joshua James – “Willamette” (LP – “From The Top Of The Willamette Mountain”) (Free The Sun)
Roots Manuva – “Natural ft. Kope” (“Banana Skank EP”) (Big Dada)
Villagers – “Nothing Arrived” (single) (Domino)
Kreidler – “Deadwringer” (LP – “Den”) (Bureau B)
Little Richard – “A Little Bit Of Something (Beats A Whole Lot Of Nothing)” (VA CD – “The Northern Soul Story Vol. 1: The Twisted Wheel”) (Sony BMG)
Ergo Phizmiz – “Bernard and The Genie” (single and LP – “Eleven Songs”) (Care In The Community)
The Creole Choir Of Cuba – “Llegada” (LP – “Santiman”) (Real World)
Concrete Knives – “Greyhound Racing” (single) (Bella Union)
Pinkcourtesyphone – “Sans Motif / Closer To Here Than You Care To Be” (LP – “Elegant and Detatched”) (Room40)
Field Music – “Is This The Music?” (single) (Memphis Industries)
Hauschka – “2AM (Pattern Remix)” (LP – “Salon Des Amateurs Remixes”) (Fat Cat)
Piano Interrupted – “You Don’t Love Me Yet” (LP – “Two By Four”) (Days Of Being Wild)
For a few years now, my dad has been blogging about things that interest him. Recently, he has taken to reading poetry. The first of these efforts to appear on Soundcloud was featured in my show tonight:
Now, from parents to children (although not mine) and this tune by Melody’s Echo Chamber, that I also played in tonight’s show:
Feel free to listen again to tonight’s show if that is your will. Â This is what you would hear:
M83 – “Steve McQueen” (single and LP – “Hurry Up, We’re Dreamingâ€)
The Raveonettes – “She Owns The Streets” (single)
Moon Duo – “Circles” (single)
Simon12345 & The Lazer Twins – “Make Up Tips” (LP – “If I Stay Here, I’ll Be Alone…”) (Doumen)
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding – “Footscray Station” (single)
Melody’s Echo Chamber – “Be Proud Of Your Kids” (LP – “Melody’s Echo Chamber”) (Weird World)
Christopher Owens – “Here We Go” (single)
The Walkmen – “Heaven” (single) (Bella Union)
Peter Household – “The Collar” by George Herbert (poetry reading) (free download from )
She & Him – “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (single) (Double Six)
Crocodiles – “Bubblegum Trash” (single)
Ulrich Troyer meets Georg Blaschke – “Back From Serbia” (LP – “Somatic Soundtracks”) (4Bit)
Sylvain Chauveau – “Situation Finale” (LP – “Simple”) (Fat Cat)
The Child Of Lov – “Heal” (single) (Double Six)
Neil Halstead – “Tied To You” (single) (Sonic Cathedral)
Some Institute – “M’Ling – Blake’s Last Tape Mix (Dollboy mix) (free download from www.frontandfollow.com) (Front and Follow)
I’m starting to feel a little Christmassy now. Â As is Neil McSweeney. Â He has recorded a couple of festive covers with David J Roch, including this lovely version of John Prine’s Christmas In Prison:
Away from the Christmas theme, here’s a gorgeous piece I played tonight by Billow Observatory:
If you are keen enough to want to listen back to tonight’s show, you will find it on today’s page of the BCB Listen Again service. Â And this, dear listener, is what you would here:
The Julia Holter album, Ekstasis, which was released this week on Domino Records, includes this beauty, which I have sung along with and jigged to in the kitchen (take my word for it):
Also available this week, now that pre-orders are being taken for the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album, is this:
King Creosote – “On The Night Of The Bonfire” (EP – “It Turned Out For The Best”) (Domino)
Wild Nothing – “Only Heather” (single and LP – “Nocturne”) (Bella Union)
Jesse Boyskins III & MeLo-X – (“Schwaza” ft. JoeKenneth) (LP – “Julu Guru”) (Ninja Tune)
Snow Palms – “Snow Light” (LP – “Intervals”) (Village Green)
Yeasayer – “Reagan’s Skeleton” (single and LP – “Fragrant World”) (Mute)
Bee Mask – “Scanops” (LP – “Vaporware / “Scanops”) (Room40)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “We No Who U R” (LP – “Push The Sky Away”) (Nick Cave Ltd)
Sticky – “Pedal Riddim” (single) (Big Dada)
Julia Holter – “Goddess Eyes II” (single and LP – “Ekstasis”) (Domino)
Elmore James – “Rollin’ & Tumblin'” (MOJO magazine CD December 2012)
Joshua James – “So Did I” (LP – “From The Top Of The Willamette Mountain”) (Free The Sun)
Father John Misty – “Only Son Of The Ladiesman” (single and LP – “Fear Fun”) (Bella Union)
Melody’s Echo Chamber – “I Follow You” (LP – “Melody’s Echo Chamber”) (Weird World)
An excellent Roll The Dice / Pole remix 12″ came out last week. I played “The Skull Is Built Into The Version” tonight, and here is another track from it:
I also played one of the queerest cover versions I’ve ever heard. Â I have Phil Cope to thank for this, seeing as he brought it to my attention when he played it in his show last week. Â See what you think of this:
Here is where you will find the BCB Listen Again option for tonight’s show. And this is what I played:
Dead Can Dance – “Opium” (single and LP – “Anastasis”) (PIAS)
Tilly and the Wall – “Defenders” (single and LP – “Heavy Mood”) (Team Love)
Dobie – “I-Anomaly” (EP – “…But Fear Itself”) (Big Dada)
James Yorkston – “Just As Scared” (single and LP – “I Was A Cat From A Book”) (Domino)
Dinosaur Jr. – “Piercing The Morning Rain” (single and LP – “I Bet On Sky”) (Play It Again Sam)
Jamie Lidell – “What A Shame” (single and LP – “Jamie Lidell”) (Warp)
The Cryin’ Shames – “Please Stay” (single) (Decca)
Beach House – “Wild” (single and LP – “Bloom”) (Bella Union)
Cheval Sombre – “Someplace Else” (single and LP – “Mad Love”) (Sonic Cathedral)
Chapterhouse – “Pearl” (single and LP – “Whirlpool”) (Dedicated)
Roll The Dice meets Pole – “The Skull Is Built Into The Version” (12″ – “In Dubs”) (Leaf)
DJ T Ty featuring Sarah – “You Are The One That I Want” (self-released download)
