Real Cool Time

Ron Asheton (1948 - 2009)

2009-01-08T14:44:00.005Z

This blog has been quiet for quite some time, for which I apologise. The longer it's been left the harder it has been to return. That said, the news I spotted today compelled me to shake the dust off and say a few words regarding the sad news of the death of Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, one of my personal musical heroes. I have loved the sound of his guitar, the simplicity, the energy and sheer

The Ethereal Drains - Hibernation Video

2007-08-06T00:35:00.002Z

Wow this a real find for me, and takes me right back to the heady days of MP3.com circa 2001. I won't ramble about my love of the old MP3.com here, but I wrote about what it meant to me back in 2003 when the once great site closed down, and if you're interested, you can read it here. I still love the music I amassed during those days, and it still

Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye Video

2007-07-07T11:19:00.000Z

I've been enjoying a splurge of new LPs the last week or so, one of the stand-outs so far has been the new LP Carnavus from the Silversun Pickups. They weren't a band I'd ever heard about before a friend said he was going to see them live. On the back of this I picked up the record and gave it a spin. At first it didn't really sound too hot, but

Public Image Ltd - Public Image Video

2007-06-27T08:28:00.000Z

The first Public Image Ltd LP, First Issue has been a favourite of mine for years. The dense guitars and Lydon's angry lyrics compliment each other perfectly. I'm not a big fan of their later work, but for that one LP they managed something one song short of perfection (you know which one...) Sparkled with flashes of darkness, inventive instrumentation

Editors - Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors Video

2007-06-25T11:27:00.000Z

Bang up to date for a change - Editors have a new LP out today An End Has A Start, much anticipated around these parts after 2005's excellent The Back Room. Editors are up there with my favourite bands of the last few years. Their music harks back to some great 80s stuff infused with some smart modern streaks and production. As well as creating a

Throwing Muses - Soul Soldier Video

2007-06-18T14:58:00.000Z

I can put a finger on when my tastes skewered away from the fairly mainstream, chart based tastes of a typical mid-teenager to a more alternative viewpoint, it was around the end of 1987 beginning of 1988. During that time, the first real indie LP I bought was the Throwing Muses' excellent mini-LP The Fat Skier. It was like nothing I'd ever heard

Loop - Collision Video

2007-06-11T14:31:00.000Z

Take one riff, play it lots, play it hard and solo over the top of it. Whilst sounding very simplistic, it's the formula that Loop used to make a couple of the essential indie LPs of the 80s - Fade Out and Heaven's End. It's hard to think of any other musical artists that have come close to what Loop did with their music, there have been echoes of it

The Swell Maps - Let's Build A Car Video

2007-05-27T23:45:00.000Z

I have to admit, until about a month ago I'd never heard of The Swell Maps. Funny thing is, I was looking for a fairly obscure shoegazer band from the late 80s called Jane From Occupied Europe on eBay, and instead, The Swell Maps kept showing up. Then a couple of weeks ago I tried the same at YouTube, and whilst the band I wanted failed to appear, The

The Chameleons - Up The Down Elevator Video

2007-05-25T10:35:00.000Z

The Chameleons are one of those bands who's influence has reached far and wide. There's been a big slice of their sound in quite a few bands doing the rounds the last few years, Interpol, Editors and She Wants Revenge instantly spring to mind - and all have drawn comparisons with the Manchester band. The Chameleons do a superb line in big and anthemic

Sex Gang Children - Sebastiane Live

2007-05-24T14:46:00.000Z

Since I first picked up the LP Song and Legend - the band have been a regular fixture on my play lists. It surprises me that they haven't got more of a reputation or standing, as for me they were one of the few Goth bands that transcended the clich�s of the genre and had a much wider appeal. Maybe the name was enough to turn people off them. Apparently

Hey Paulette - I Really Do Love Penelope Video

2007-05-18T22:43:00.000Z

I've got some rips of cherished teenhood tapes on the old hard-drive. I picked up one today that I hadn't heard for a while, a nice compilation of Peel Sessions from around 1989. The quality's not great, but the music is. One of the sessions on there was from an Irish band called Hey Paulette, not a band I knew beyond this tape but I thought, let's

The Band Of Holy Joy - Tactless Video

2007-05-02T08:30:00.000Z

I first heard the band through the Melody Makers' seminal (for me at least) compilation cassette of 1988 called Gigantic. I'd been vaguely aware of them through the years but never really jumped in. I loved the video for their song Tactless - that was on another compilation I owned and loved, and that was it. I never got any of their albums or dug

Lift To Experience - These Are The Days Video

2007-04-30T12:31:00.000Z

I have to admit I owned a T-Shit before I'd ever heard of the band, I can't remember how and to my great shame they played locally a couple of times and I missed them. It was a few months after that my fellow musical contributor told me to check them out and being the sort that loves a tip, I did. I've not looked back since, and it seems in all that

The Stooges - The Weirdness Promo Documentary

2007-04-22T21:56:00.000Z

I have to admit I've not picked up the new Stooges album, or made any plans to see the reformed band live. Part of me would dearly love to, and the other part of me is the part that's glad I didn't see the Velvet's during their reunion, or the Pixies. Why, well, I don't know - to be honest. Maybe I'm a bit worried it won't be any good. I know every

Fields Of The Nephilim - Moonchild Video

2007-04-11T13:49:00.000Z

The Nephs were one of those bands that the music press loved to pillory and take the mick out of at every given opportunity. It even got the point where there was a weekly Ned's Corner in Melody Maker that followed the hilarious adventures of the band's daft drummer and the many misunderstandings he caused with the bands arcanely mystical singer Carl

Jamie Says - Machine Video

2007-03-26T15:05:00.000Z

It feels like Jamie Says have been around for years, though many won't of heard of them - yet. I chanced across them when they were initially a one man (Kyle Hill and a 4 track) solo project - I downloaded a couple of tracks from their site and was hooked. I bought their first homemade CDR LP - The Silver Screen And The Stanley Blade that day and it

New Kingodm - Cheap Thrills Live

2007-03-24T13:52:00.000Z

Ah, back in June 2006 I posted a couple of clips that I really wanted to see and hadn't showed up yet. I still haven't spotted the Iggy Pop one, but finally the other most wanted has appeared - New Kingdom live on the 90s late night Channel 4 show 'The Word'. I say finally, it was added before Christmas, but I've only just spotted it. As for the band,

Explosions In The Sky - Greet Death Live

2007-03-04T08:57:00.000Z

The band have one of those names that just make you want to check them out, and I have to admit, the name made me pick up one of their albums without actually knowing their music. It's an evocative name, Explosions In The Sky, apocalyptic and full of post-rock promise. I wasn't disappointed - they do a great line in cinematic instrumental rock - full

His Name Is Alive - Can't Go Wrong Without You

2007-02-25T02:19:00.000Z

As a record label, 4AD is home to some of my all time favourite music. One of my favourite bands from their roster are His Name Is Alive, the much ignored and under-appreciated Michigan band with a magical repertoire. There first few albums are just sublime, equal parts space-rock goth, avant-garde cut and paste and indie pop, I can't get enough of

Slowdive - Souvlaki Space Station Live

2007-02-22T15:16:00.000Z

Slowdive have featured around these parts before with the video to Alison - the storming opening track off their 1994 album Souvlaki Space Station. The album made my 1995 top ten for it's swirling blend of dreamy shoegaze and pop. One of my other favourite tracks of the album was Souvlaki Space Station, a bubbling and dubby space-rocking mantra with

The Telescopes - 7th # Disaster Video

2007-02-20T14:11:00.000Z

For me, The Telescopes were one of my favourite bands around the end of the 80s. A series of superb 12" EPs and an awesome d�but LP stand as testament to one of the noisiest and catchiest shoegazer bands you'll ever hear. Fusing everything from Jesus and Mary Chain like wall of feedback to ambient experimentalism, the band's sound was unique and a real

Alan Vega - Wipeout Beat Video

2007-01-25T23:08:00.000Z

For my money, the high point of Alan Vega's long and under-rated solo career was 1983's Saturn Strip. Featuring production by original Suicide producer Ric Ocasek and some keyboards by a very young Alain Jourgensen (yes, him of Ministry fame) the album is pretty ear-catching. There's lots of 80s synth and polish with futuristic imagery a plenty and

The Barmitzvah Brothers - Car Number 7

2007-01-20T00:26:00.000Z

Don't you love it when you get something for nothing? That's the joy of buying direct from indie record labels, you quite often get more than you bargained for. Flyers, posters, personal messages and free discs have all featured in my adventures in mail order land - all of which welcomed. Anyway, before Christmas I ordered the first Great Lake Swimmers

GG Allin - Bite It You Scum Live

2007-01-19T23:47:00.000Z

You'd be amazed what you can pick up at our local library. Way back at the start of the 90s I finally rented out the mean looking cassette that had sat in the same place on the rack for a long time. I'd never heard of GG Allin at the time, but within a listen, I was hooked. Not to mention shocked, outraged and utterly rocked in equal turns. The music

Happy 2007 - Here's My Best From 2006

2007-01-01T00:48:00.000Z

I'd like to wish the people who've dropped in here and enjoyed the music a happy and prosperous 2007. I'm hoping to post a bit more often during the new year, it's not a lack of music that's the problem, it's the time to do so! Now, the last few years I've made a point of having my own top ten list for the stuff that's been my favourite over the past