An episode about the darker side of fame, one way and another.
Let me introduce you to a few new friends on this edition of the podcast.
Scott Walker was an American-British singer-songwriter and record producer, known for his somewhat histrionic emotive voice An unorthodox stylistic path took him from being a teen pop icon in the 1960s to an avant-garde musician from the 1980s to his death. Championed by Julian Cope, he released an album called ‘The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker’. The Guardian once commented: “Imagine Andy Williams reinventing himself as Stockhausen.”
Folly Group are a “rising East London chaos collective”. I’ve noticed quite a few of the newer singers have this drunken slurring approach to their singing now. Model/Actriz and Isaac, the ex-lead singer of Black Country New Road, come to mind. Is Ian McCulloch to blame/thank?
Pat at Rocksteady Records had J Dilla’s Donuts on his wall when I was in there last week and it reminded me to tweezer ‘Workinonit’ into this episode. It is sampled from the fantastic ‘The worst band in the world’ by 10cc (not “60s soulsters, Them” as it says in the uncorrected Pitchfork review).
The Popguns formed in 1989 and have periodically returned over the years. According to themselves, they “ran out of steam in 1996, then in 2012, due to faintly audible popular demand regrouped … and show no sign of going away”. I like their style.
According to Wikipedia, Hop Along began as an acoustic freak folk solo project known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004. While their original ID might have performed better in a search engine, I do feel that was a heavy price to pay for such a cumbersome name and fully endorse the switch.
The Reds, Pinks and Purples have my favourite title of the episode: ‘Too late for an early grave’. They are essentially Glenn Donaldson. He’s also collaborated with Loren Chasse, Steven R and others in such projects as Thuja, The Skygreen Leopards, The Blithe Sons, and Flying Canyon as well as his solo projects. In addition, he’s a prolific collage artist and photographer. A life well lived.
Then there’s Prince, making his debut, He must have wondered if his time would ever come.
We welcome some old friends of the podcast as well.
Setlist:
Jackie, Scott Walker
Fewer closer friends, Folly Group
Workinonit, J Dilla
Revolution blues, Neil Young
The best ever death metal band in Denton, The Mountain Goats
Caesar, The Popguns
Lord Lucan is missing, Black Box Recorder
Dead pop stars, Altered Images
Tibetan pop stars, Hop Along
Too late for an early grave, The Reds, Pinks and Purples
Fan club, The Damned
Diamonds, fur coat, champagne, Suicide
All the critics love u in New York, Prince
Antarctica starts here, John Cale
Dress up in you, Belle and Sebastian