Hang Me Up To Dry

It's nice to have stuff to look forward to but I seem to be a bit spoilt for choice at the moment. Perhaps I deserve it this week though as I managed to get paint in my eye (and everwhere else) while doing some decorating. It's not the most pleasant experience although it did leave me looking like a kind of reverse-but-equally-scary-Clockwork Orange Alex with one very white eye which was quite fun.

To begin with, its the start of the Football Season on Saturday! It seems a bit weird to be kicking off in what seems like only the very beginning of summer but thats Murdoch for you. Despite the unnervingly nice weather, the first day of the season is one of the most exciting for fans of all clubs no matter their level as we all begin as equals, each with our own individual aims and desires. Over the next 9 months some teams will rise while some will fall but at 2:55pm on Saturday the optimism and wonder at what will lie in store over the season will be the same from Carlisle to Plymouth. Unless you're a Leeds fan that is. In that case you'll have to pray.

Anyway, on my way to Edgeley Park on Saturday for what is clearly the glamour tie of the day to watch my beloved Stockport County take on Dagenham & Redbridge in their first ever league match, I'll probably be listening to Malcolm Middleton's 'A Brighter Beat' record. It's overall bleakness dotted with moments of absolute elation always put me in the right mood before a match. On the train home after if we've won I can smile to myself at the wry lyrics (also probably at a fat and angry away fan realising they're in Stockport and have a massive journey ahead of them) and if we've lost I can wallow in another Malcolm's despair.

Malcolm Middleton - We're All Going To Die

I've got a couple of other reasons to be cheerful this week as straight from the match on Saturday I'm going straight up to Edinburgh to see a wee bit at the festival, a proper treat. We've got tickets booked for curly wonder Simon Amstell on Sunday for which I'm very excited having just watched that Buzzcocks where Preston walks off but not much else. I know that Texan guitar man and general legend Seasick Steve is playing on Tuesday night so I might try and get to that. But if I don't then its not too much bother because he's also playing at The Green Man Festival which is next weekend! Every time I look at the line-up I seem to spot something else I want to see. A couple of really annoying clashes too Joanna Newsom vs Tunng, Devandra Banhart vs Herman Dune. Argh!

I think thats enough boasting for now. I'll leave you with a track from Manchester's own The Beep Seals, one band I'll definitely be seeing at Green Man. They got 8/10 for their new single 'Stars' on Planet Sound on Channel 4 which is high praise indeed. It has that kind of 60s group feel to it but its also really soulful. Check it out. Also everyone should also go and buy Headlines new single 'Takeover', out on September 17th, another brilliant Manchester band who I should have seen at D-percussion. Having said that they were ace at the Night and Day on Monday. Phew! longest post so far that one I think! This will be a lot easier when I'm back at uni and not on bloody dial-up!

The Beep Seals - Chariot Song

A Long Process

So yesterday was the annual descent on Castlefield by 8000 Mancunians of all shapes, sizes and in varying states of inhebriation for the last ever D-percussion festival. This state of impending closure seemed to encourage a LOT of extra people to turn up and despite Castlefield being an excellent, atmospheric location for the festival to take place, especially under the railway arches and in the roman gardens, some of the walkways were so narrow it made walking between stages a bit of a pain so trying to grab a spot of green for a sit down rather than fight your way through the crowds seemed a more attractive option a lot of the time. This meant that my festival was experienced in a kind of Waiting For Godot way, trying to make it to different stages chasing different acts but never really catching any of them.

Despite this, I managed to catch and thoroughly enjoy The Answering Machine on the main stage, playing their first gig with new addition Ben on drums. I reckon it was probably their biggest ever audience but their Strokes-y guitar pop sounded just as good in the open air as it has done in little Manchester clubs over the last year or so. The live drums really suited the festival atmosphere, adding a soaring, anthemic element to the songs.

The Answering Machine - Oh Christina

The next couple of hours were spent wandering aimlessly and drinking outrageously priced lager before a large and intruiged crowd gathered at the high voltage stage to see tipped manc duo The Ting Tings, only to be told they had cancelled at the 11th hour. I had been looking forward to seeing them since the piece on them during the BBC Glastonbury coverage so that was a bit annoying really but there you go. Our original aim was then to go and catch Twisted Charm and maybe The Whip but instead we settled in Dukes 92 for a welcome sit down and some even more welcome pints of cider. Rested and refreshed we strode out across the site, deciding to check out the more interesting fare on display at the roman gardens stage, anything but The Courteeners! This turned out to be the best idea of the day with a whole range of weird and wonderful things on display, ranging from burlesque dancers, showgirls and best of all (well, maybe not better, but equally good) Dr Butlers Hatstand Medicine Band, playing some good old fashioned 50s swing complete with Ukelele. It made such a nice change to the macho posturing of the more typically 'Manc' groups on some of the other stages and fit the mood perfectly for a warm summers evening.

Dr Butlers Hatstand Medicine Band - No Good Woman

Some chips and a quick jig to the end headliners' The Sunshine Underground and that was it, the end of D-percussion perhaps for good. Despite my complaints about the overcrowding it was really nice to see so many music-loving Mancunians of all ages having a good time. I've always thought that Manchester has lacked a decent music festival and with this gone you can't help but worry for the state of music in the city. On the other hand this day showed that Manchester certainly does have a great deal to offer. Polytechinic and Cherry Ghost are just two shining examples (despite the fact I missed them both) playing later on in the day, D-percussion allowed them to play to big crowds, convert more people to their music and to mix with fellow mancunian artists. More than this though, D-percussion was just about getting together with your mates and having fun and hopefully it can return in some way or another next year.

Mercury Rising

When critics look back on the musical output of the last year what will it be remembered for? Most probably for Klaxons' multi-coloured, synth-bashing, self-shitting explosion into the mainstream along with a host of other indie-dance acts like SMD and Datarock under the abysmally embarrassing banner of 'nu-rave' This was confirmed the other day as Klaxons 'Myths of the Near Future' LP was nominated and then installed as favourite to win the Mercury Music Prize in September. I was pretty disappointed with the nominations really with Fur And Gold by Bat For Lashes being the only record I could truthfully say I have heard, enjoy, continue to enjoy and feel deserves to win. The Cribs woz robbed!

Bat For Lashes - Priscilla

Having said that, whilst I'm not the biggest fan of Klaxons music to say the least it actually wouldn't be a travesty if they were to be awarded the prize. At least they have made a relatively interesting record and done something new while also inspiring loads of kids to change their clothes and hairstyles and all that. This is in comparison to bands like The View and New Young Pony Club, whose records, while they aren't particularly poor, are just a bit...dull.

Anyway, the point of this blog was to look at the other, gentler success story of the last year or so running in parallel with this idea of 'nu-rave' which has been the re-emergence of the quirky singer/songwriter epitomised by Natasha Kahn's nomination. Artists like Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newsom have made the idea of the singer-songwriter cool again which can only be a good thing as people who wear jumpers and don't like bright colours need music too.

Lucy And The Caterpillar is just one of the thousands of kids picking up and having fun with an acoustic guitar (caterpillar) again. Her blog never fails to put a smile on my face so you should all go and leave her nice comments. She reminds me of Regina Spektor in a sort of way. It might be the way Lucy says 'sweets' and the way regina says 'juicy' I'm not sure. There's also a bit of Kate Nash in there, but a lot less cockney and annoying.

Lucy And The Caterpillar - Red Red Wine

She's also playing at the last ever D-percussion festival in Castlefield on August 4th for which the line-up is now complete and can be viewed here! I'll probably be looking out for Beans for most of the day and then smiling like a fool for about an hour after his set. Will be a fun day whatever I'm sure.

Thinking about this debate between the loud, in your face acts like Klaxons and the more understated artists like Bat For Lashes I was just listening to Jeffrey and Jack Lewis being interviewed by Marc Riley. Marc asked about the variation of loud and quiet tracks on Jeff's records to which Jeff replied that both screaming and shouting and quiet, acoustic tracks can be equally cool which I think is true. It's easy to scoff at anything louder than Belle And Sebastian but everyone loves a bit of 'Anarchy in the UK' once in a while. In other exciting Jeffrey Lewis news, he's got a new record coming out! It's called '12 Crass Songs' and will be released in September along with a UK tour. go to his wonderful website and have a look

While its the summer holidays and there's nothing much to do in the rain I'd rec recommend the Hacienda exhibition thats just opened at Urbis (although it is on til February so no rush!) there are loads of cool old posters, flyers (they regularly used to play Gary Glitter!) and videos. So yeah, I'm off to play Metal Gear Solid!

thats a great shot...

Over the last couple of days I've been at the mercy of the television. Wimbledon is on once again and being a closet tennis geek I've been studying the action fairly closely and ranking the players on attractiveness....not Mauresmo though.....oh no.........not even if you paid me.

Kudos to Feliciano Lopez for silencing the flag-waving "Come on Tim!" brigade by banishing him for another year today. I don't know what kind of sordid holes these people emerge from each summer but I wish they'd take their Straw Boaters, Fray records and facepaint and fuck off home. If Tim Henman, a man so insipid and boring can inspire such unremitting devotion, what could a government convince us to do? Exploit the earth's resources, upgrade nuclear weapons, go to war perhaps. Oh wait....

Despite all this, watching his last ever PMQ's on Wednesday, I realised with a twinge of sadness that this was the end of an era for the pair of us. Tony Blair has been everpresent throughout my formative years and they have been pretty wonderful. Perhaps they will be followed by a Cameronian collapse. Who knows? I hope not.

Anyway, MUSIC! I can't stop listening to Kitty Daisy and Lewis, three stupidly young kids from London backed by their parents playing 50s rockabilly like there's no tomorrow. With so many people praising the likes of Justice and Simian Mobile Disco for taking music forward, there's great reward in taking it back too! They were in the Observer Music Monthly thing on young talent last week alongside people like Cajun Dance Party and Laura Marling who are alright, but in my opinion KDAL are really something special. I love the way they seem immersed in a completely different world to most of us, making them a bit of an enigma. And I like enigmas.

Kitty Daisy And Lewis - Mean Son Of A Gun

Having lived near Manchester for the whole of my life I've always been a bit disappointed at its lack of a yearly festival. Nottingham has Dot to Dot, Middlesbrough has Middlesbrough Music Live, Edinburgh has the fringe and so on. Someone must have been thinking the same as the stupendously-ace-brand-new-first-ever Manchester International Festival begins tomorrow! Even Newsnight Review are doing a special on it. So it must be all good and proper an that. There are apparently 25 world premieres over the next couple of weeks in theatre, music and film. There are lots of really exciting people playing gigs like Lou Reed, PJ Harvey, Damon Albarn and most excitingly, The Fall who I'm going to see on Sunday at The Ritz!

There is an amazing array of new music going on at Academy 3 over the next two weeks too. The Noisettes and Late of The Pier are playing together on July 4th, Squelchy, synchronised dance from Metronomy on the 6th, The amazing Bat For Lashes who will hopefully be sporting some fancy headwear is playing on July 12th while Final Fantasy rounds things off on the 14th. That all looks pretty cool doesn't it. There are a million and one other things going on too so get out there and explore!

Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming

Final Fantasy - This Lamb Sells Condos

If I was a whale I'd be happy...

So its quite late and I probably should be tucked up in bed ready for a day of jobhunting tomorrow but we just watched 28 Days Later and I don't really fancy being in the dark for a bit as I'm terrified of of them zombie things, Phil Jupitus' drunk Glastonbury presenting is much more appealing. I don't know if its really worth it anyway. My hunt for employment is currently similar to Cilian Murphy's lonely and increasingly desparate search for survivors through London's deserted streets. He only finds looted shops and people who want to kill him, on second thoughts maybe it was filmed in Stockport.

This entry definitely did have a point. It was to say a few words about my favouritest band of 2007 bar none, the wonderful Slow Club. Hailing from Sheffield and barely out of their teens it would be easy for a jaded hack reading a press release to conjure up images of four lads in tracky tops singing about things like 'lasses in chip shops' and so on but thank god NO! Charles and Rebecca seem to be lost in a world of their own. They cite on their myspace their influences as not their fellow, more famous inhabitants of Steel City, nor any well known, Detroit-based two-pieces you could care to mention but instead simply, Leonard Cohen (the later years) and Rod Stewart (All the years) This wit and playfulness carries through to the duo's music which is a riot of intertwining vocals, jangling guitars and imaginitive percussion (Rebecca hits chair legs and empty bottles during performances) Slow Club's inventiveness and youthful optimism is what really makes them appeal to me. I stumbled across them in January when they supported Hot Club De Paris and they just had great big grins on their faces and just seemed really humbled by the occasion and the overwhelmigly positive reaction they received that night. Offering tea and cake to their fans as well as homemade Slow Club bags on the merch stall its great to see two people who are clearly having fun making music together, aren't bothered about looking 'cool' or jumping on any bandwagon and don't look like bloody Milburn. Long may it continue I say.

Their debut single 'Because We Are Dead' is out on Moshi Moshi TODAY (timing or what eh?) and I'm sure it would put a similar smile on your face if you bought a copy and played it at the right speed (or the wrong one, probably) on a turntable so go on, do your bit. Theyre also playing at a load of festivals over the summer, most notably Green Man in Wales (because I'll be there!) but also Latitude, Bestival and End of The Road and others, all the dates are on the myspace. Speaking of the end of the road I think its time for me to go to bed but I'll leave you with an mp3 off the first demo and the b-side to the single. It's called 'Sunday' and is absolutely lovely. Hopefully the zombies won't get me xxx

Slow Club - Sunday (Demo)

I'd rather cut my arms off than see you going out with him

It's been a fair while since I last posted but unusually I've good reasons to support my lackadaisical work ethic rather than a lack of enthusiasm as is usually the case, it seems like I've actually been keeping myself busy for a change. After exams were finished and pens fell to desks in celebratory clatters I dusted off my NX2 card (£1 fares!) in the hope of travelling to sunnier parts of these fair isles with the intent of drinking cider/seeing some music/trying to forget I've a summer job to find.



First port of call was a rain-soaked Nottingham for the sixth annual Dot to Dot Festival. Highlights of the day included an exhausted but typically exhilarating set from Foals currently in the studio recording their debut album but who will be emerging, blinking into the summer sun with polished bleeps and beats to play a bunch of festival dates, Fred Les Inc's howling with his new band Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man seeing probably the worst band I've ever seen in the form of We Smoke Fags, seriously like an even worse Towers of London, an amazing plate of curly fries and being uncharacteristically incandescent with rage with a 14 year old in a bono must die t-shirt (nuff said) throwing glowsticks at Gary's head during The Cribs' set. I felt bad because he looked like he might cry after I'd told him off but glowsticks+aggression toward a Jarman is in my book akin to pulling the tail of a very large, angry lion with respiratory problems. Only disappointment of the day was missing Annuals who were on at Nottingham Trent but we feared if we stepped outside we might literally have been engulfed by a whale or some other scary sea-being such was the ferocity of the rain.

After an incredibly uncomfortable nights "sleep" on a mates uni floor and a day of rest back in Leeds I had my head against the bus window again on my way to London to see The Cribs at the Astoria. It was at this gig, amongst lots of excitable children that me and my fellow attendees realised with a quiet sadness that we don't want to be the ones down at the front getting elbowed in the face and covered in sweat and other bodily fluids anymore. I'm content to stand at the back appreciating the onstage banter, any knitwear a musician might be sporting and grumbling about 'kids these days'. The new Cribs tracks sound amazing live, I think Ancient History is my favourite because of the speedy-up bit at the end that sounds like Sonic Youth, plus they have great flashing lights now that accompany it, its like theyre a proper band or something, like on Jools Holland when they were in the same room as Simply Red, I feel proud and a bit maternal.

I wanted to write a little bit about my favourite new band from Leeds, The Rosie Taylor Project a drummerless 5-piece I saw supporting Camera Obscura last weekend who have obviously realised that what you lose in a drummer, can be more than made up for by being actually able to hear the other instruments, which is nice. Shuffling onstage to a silent and initially sceptical audience, we were treated to 40-0dd minutes of beatifully layered folk-pop and by the end, whoops of glee could be heard throughout the venue, not bad amongst a crowd whose cardigan:person ratio is higher than your average gig. They've got a single called 'Black and White Films' out on Bad Sneakers records in a couple of months so yeah, get it!

This weekend will mostly be spent in front of the BBC coverage of Glastonbury trying to convince myself I don't want to be there but I know when I see the first shots of Mark Radcliffe flying around in a helicopter trying to spot Michael Eavis' beard I'll be jealous of everyone. Anyone with the post-Glasto blues should definitely come to Cafe Saki on Monday and see Dananananaykroyd pummell a smile into your lovely face. It's not to be missed! I promise to spend more time on here and less time learning Larry David quotes, maybe...

Save all of your kisses cos Mr I'm your Mrs...

So I'm a bit of a fan of Glasgow. Really a combination of the people, the accent, the Botanic Gardens. the Clyde, sledging in Rouken Glen, the buses, the Art School, the West End, Ibrox and a love of pretty much all the music its produced during my lifetime.

Obviously Franz Ferdinand raised the city's musical profile after a few lean years but it's the new wave of bands that have been spawned by the Franz foursome that I'd like to write about. I imagine most will have heard of Bricolage, signed to Creeping Bent records, this foursome have had two wonderfully jerky singles out in the last few months. I'm hesitant to compare their sound to FF but their influence is clearly present along with the likes of Television and Gang of Four. They seem to be keeping a fairly low profile at the moment but with an album hopefully on the way it shouldnt be long before we hear back from them.

Not to be outdone, assorted girlfriends and chums of the aforementioned Bricolage have gone on to form The Royal We, a wonderful collection of oddballs who look like they've spent too much time in the library. With all the charity chop chic of The Long Blondes but without the po-faced posturing, The Royal We actually sound like they're enjoying themselves on record which is a nice change! Speaking of their records they're a multi-headed singing ball of energy and their gleeful pop bounces along like Los Campesinos! They have a violinist too, which is nice.

In close geographical proximity to the aforementioned bands but at the other end of the musical spectrum are DANANANANAYKROYD, a duel-drumming, all-singing/swearing/dancing MACHINE and I emphasise MACHINE. I was lucky enough to see them live in January and although its only April I can't imagine I'll see a better performance all year. They threw themselves around the stage with youthful abandon, inviting audience members onstage to sing, dance and generally have a good time while blasting out frenetic doses of sonic adrenaline. It's the only gig I've been to this year where I've left with a smile on my face, in the knowledge that people still do enjoy making music and playing to a crowd. Promising to gig anywhere if you'll give them a home for the night, DANANANANAYKROYD are even better than their name, and that's saying something.

Greenock's My Latest Novel might not have fun at the top of their agenda but their Arcade Fire-esque orchestral pop more than makes up for their lack of knock-knock jokes. Their debut album 'Wolves' would easily make it into my top 10 of this century. Fragile at one moment and unstoppably powerful the next, Wolves is a masterpiece and a blueprint you wish bands like Keane would follow when after a 'powerful' track, then you wouldn't end up with soppy shite like bedshaped.

So there we go, an all too brief rundown of what Scotland's second city currently has to offer. I'd like to go on for ages but essays are calling me, and they're using swear words. Here's some MP3's for yis

The Royal We - All The Rage
DANANANANAYKROYD -Some Dresses

My Latest Novel - Hope Edition

toodle pip!