Tag Archives: Sparklehorse

Buffet #40 (with added Betty action)

We welcomed the gorgeous Bet Lynch Mob to the studio this week (well, two thirds of them). They are delightful young ladies, if somewhat cheeky. They not only danced about in the studio, but Betty Bird half-mooned us through the BCB studio glass partition. No photographic evidence I’m afraid, but here they are having a boogie in trademark gold hotpants:

You can listen again if you click this link – it starts about 5 minutes in after some sport gubbins: http://www.podcast.canstream.co.uk/bcb/index.php?id=8413

And this is what we played:

1. THE STRANGLERS – No More Heroes
2. DOPE BODY – Enemy Outta Me
3. DIRTY PROJECTORS – Offspring Are Blank
4. DEERHOOF – Break Up Song
5. BONNIE TYLER – Total Eclipse of the Heart
6. CAT POWER – Ruin
7. TEN KENS – Mousetrap
8. SPARKS – Amateur Hour
9. NENEH CHERRY – Too Tough To Die
10. SPARKLEHORSE – Saturday
11. CALIFORNIAN WIVES – Purple
12. SUZI QUATRO – Devil Gate Drive
13. MICACHU AND THE SHAPES – Easy
14. WYE OAK – Spiral

 

 

Eclectic Mainline 10th March 2010


Efterklang – The Soft Beating

Well, I’m still coming to terms with the fact that Mark Linkous shot himself on Saturday. But his music will always live on, and I played some tonight, along with, it has to be said, some marvellous new tunes. These were they:

Soulsavers – Some Misunderstanding
Nice Nice – Big Bounce
Sparklehorse – Spirit Ditch
The Loves – Sweet Sister Delia
Liars – Goodnight Everything
Carter Tutti – Too Much, Too Much (from Liars ‘Sisterworld’ album CD2)
Archie Bronson Outfit – Run Gospel Singer
Mahalia Jackson – Come on children, let’s sing
Efterklang – The Soft Beating
Autechre – d-sho qub
Field Music – Share the words
Fursaxa – Poplar Moon
Sparklehorse – Hey, Joe
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Deanna

Mark Linkous RIP – looking backing

Mark Linkous (1962-2010)

Mark Linkous (1962-2010)

Oh the power of a major label marketing campaign.  Yes,  even an indie kid like me succumbed to them in my youth.  In 1992 Parlophone sent me a postcard suggesting I might like the debut EP by a new band of theirs called Radiohead.  I bought it for 99p and never looked back.  Four years later Parlophone sent me another postcard suggesting that the debut album by another new band, Sparklehorse,  might tickle my fancy.  As the postcard alluded to Radiohead’s admiration for this new band,  I thought it was worth a speculative purchase (this was of course before the days of the free 24/7 listening post on the internet).  Again,  I never looked back.  Sparklehorse and Radiohoead ended up collaborating on a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”,  and I think it’s a pity no smart alec at Parlophone sent me a postcard about that.

And so, I’m afraid that’s the only gag in today’s blog entry by me.  For it was with great sadness that I learnt that last weekend Mark Linkous, the heart of darkness that drove Sparklehorse, took his own life.  I still can’t quite believe he’s done it, even as I write this.  When Elliott Smith killed himself in 2003 I felt a similar sense of shock and upset.  Yet I have to admit that in the case of Both Smith and Linkous, there was a thought that ran through my mind along the lines of “it’s not a total surprise“.  But I do need to qualify that statement by saying that I didn’t know either man personally, and it is only based on what I knew of their music, on record and live, that makes me think that way.

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