DROP 5

It's about time for a drop of soul, don't you think? There may be those of you who doubt that soul has very much to do with the very middle-class and very white genre (if you will) of indiepop, or simply independent pop music. You couldn't be more wrong. The influence of the 60's weighed heavy on the shoulders on all your early indie bands. From the TVP's (who were esentially a psych-pop band) and everything released on Dan Treacy's label Whaam!/Dreamworld, to Orange Juice (mixing The Byrds with stomping soul), to the whole early Creation era (named after one of the greatest british acts of the 60's) and associated bands like Hurrah! who were kind of the The Action of the 80's. The whole formation of what we call 'indiepop' happened very much in tandem with the 60's revival (labelled the Paisley Underground in the States) and several bands landed somewhere in-between, like The Times, The Groove Farm or 14 Iced Bears. End of rant. What it comes down to is that it's the same sort of feeling you get from holding a copy of The Clouds' "Tranquil" 45, as from holding a copy of The Brogues "I Ain't No Miracle Worker", as from holding the fine northern soul 45 from which this tune comes. You can't feel any better about yourself than while listening songs like that. This one was released in 1966 and if you're not in a space where people might look at you curiously, try sliding your feet to this blistering tempo!

DROP 5
The Orlons - Spinning Top

Me and My Paisley Tie

The band Me and Dean Martin sung about ripping up all of one's clothes (including your paisley shirt) or doing whatever it would take to make the girl you love come back. I haven't got a paisley shirt, but I've got a tie I just got at a vintage clothes shop round the block. I managed not to rip it up last night though, when I went to the legendary NPL - the National Pop League - for the first time. But it was very hot! You know how it is a Retro? It was was worse than that, and still the place is ten times as big and they even had two enourmous fans (the mechanical things, not people), why has no-one thought of fans in Sweden? Anyway, I've heard a lot of good things about NPL and it really was that good. It's really just one guy, John, who arranges it and plays records. The Woodside is a very good place for clubs. It's very big, but this club is popular enough to fill all the chairs and tables AND the dancefloor. You should come visit the next time it is, which is October 27th. Hopefully it's gotten colder by then!

Here you can't "dance to The Smiths on your own".

I also went to see The Pipettes, who played The Garage on Tuesday. It was a fine evening, if you leave everything exept The Pipettes out. I didn't get a very good impression of the venue, which is quite a mainstream club right on Sauchiehall street. Gwen called it "a step up" but I'm not so sure... It looked dreary at best, with all brown brick walls. Lots of kids were there. There were two support bands: The Hot Puppies who were ok and another band I can't remember the name of, but no matter cause they were really rubbish! Probably the worst I've seen this year. What a contrast, coming from the best gig of the year the day before to this shite. They were trying to be cool rockers, jumping around like I dunno what. I can't believe they really thought they were as good as they seemed to think they were. You even got frisked before you could come into the club! And then the security men practically kicked everyone out, right after the show. I didn't get a chance to say hi to Gwen, Rose and Becky but I did talk to two of the Cassettes for a bit. They said they've played Brighton as well, so I guess Antonia saw them too. She moved there about same time I moved here, hope she's doing alright. You should have a listen to her music on www.myspace.com/komonkomon.

Strawberry Monday

This Monday has been a bank holiday over here and I've just come back from seeing the best gig this year. BMX Bandits played at the Oran Mor as a part of a mini-festival! You lucky bastards who were able to go to Pop Revo in Århus surely had a fine time seeing them too. And you got to see Harper Lee too!! Keris says that was their last gig... But hey, I got to see Gordon McIntyre from Ballboy. That's not so bad aye? He played here tonight as well, as did another band called Ten to Five Project. They were pretty decent, but I left before the last band called Glasvegas because I heard they weren't very good. But Thee BMX Bandits! What can you say? Duglas and Rachel were so cool, such great stage personalities! They played lots of old songs, but I think I enjoyed "I Wanna Fall In Love" best. Stevie Jackson stood next to me. He really enjoyed the old school distorted guitar solos, which were kind of cheesy but in a cool way. You should invest in the new album called My Chain. Another one, entiltled Bee Stings, is coming soon!

DROP 4

I saw The Felt Tips yesterday. I really enjoyed it although the bar, called The Vale, was a bit strange and lit up by UV lights. Sarah's boyfriend Neil plays the bass, but the singer is the only one gets to write songs. They (the songs) are quite amusing and have inventive titles like "My Girlfriend Tried to Run Me Over" (apparently, she has quite a temper), which the crowd seemed to appreciate. Perhaps more than the actual performance. They've only been together for a few months, I think, but they've got quite a few gigs already. The next one is in a week! For more tunes, pay them a visit on MySpace.

DROP 4
The Felt Tips - A Nasty Piece of Work

Raining In My Heart

I've just made a new mix-cd (or whatever it's called), and since I've made both a summer-themed one and a christmas one I thought it's about time for an autumn mix! The autumn here seems to be especially autumn-like, and most of the songs are probably about rain rather than the season itself, but it'll do. The title is from an ep by The Pretty Things and also seems to be an old standard (sung by Buddy Holly amongst others), but I don't know if it's the same song... The front cover, which you can see here, is a tinted (by me) photograph taken by someone in the Partick Camera Club during their photographic survey of Glasgow in the fifties. It's the Anniesland Cross, here in the West End, not TOO far away from where I live. If you want a copy, just leave a comment and I'll put it in the mail. The songs that are on it are:

The Cat’s Miaow – Autumn
The Pines – October Gin Again
Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes – The Rain Fell Down
Brighter – Summer Becomes Winter
The Orchids – An Ill Wind That Blows
The Clientele – The Evening In Your Eyes
The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience – Shadows
The Sea Urchins – Please Rain Fall
Hurrah! – If It Rains
The June Brides – In the Rain
The Wolfhounds – Rain Stops Play
The Desert Wolves – November
Melodie Group – Raincoat
The Go-Betweens – The Sound of Rain
Glo-Worm – One Million Rainy Days
Felt – Autumn
Postal Blue – Rainy Day
Harper Lee – Autumn
The Castaway Stones – Autumn II
Snowbirds – Rainy Day Boy
The Budgies – Summer Come Back!
Go Sailor – Windy
The Chesterf!elds – Shame About the Rain
The Submarines – Grey Skies Blue
The Close Lobsters – Going to Heaven to See If It Rains
Love Parade – Under the Weather
East Village – Black Autumn

It doesn't get much better than that! You can turn anything into something positive - even the autumn.

I'm Drinking Irn-Bru and I'm Thinking of You...

...you've got the sunshine in your eyes. Well, you know what I'm talking about. And me who thought Irn-Bru was a beer. It's actually a Scottish soft drink. Tastes like what we call sockerdricka in Sweden, only it's light brown. It's very sweet, so that's what makes the metaphor good. It's no good if people associate you with the taste of beer (which is usually bitter as you may know). Anyway, I miss you all and I think about some of you every now and then. What's happening in Sweden? I'm going to see The Felt Tips this week. You should check them out on MySpace!

I went to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum the other day, can't believe the place's been closed for three years! And I can't imagine how people must have missed Sir Gordon the Elephant. No, seriously, there were a lot of great artworks. I discovered a new love, a Scotsman called Pringle who did the most amazing oils in the early 20th century. He was an optician and obviously affected by pointillists like Seurat. You can see a detail of one below, it's not him though. The Scottish Colorists were fab as well. Not to speak of the work by The Four displayed there. There's a Mackintosh festival just now, so there's a lot more to see in that area.

Oh by the way, it's ok to order the Budgies live cd now. I just sent of the first two yesterday!

You'll Have to Put and End to Them

I heard about the election results back in Sweden... I just can't believe it! Some people can be so stupid. Voting for a right-wing "alliance". I mean, we gave them a chance to destroy the country's economy back in 1994 and they did one hell of a job of it. This must be the worst thing that has happened since I dunno, since 1994 I guess. It makes me so angry! What will I have to return to in June next year? I feel sympathy for you, who'll have to put up with not three but four years of it. I don't know what else to do than to give you the most sarcastic song I know: "Now's the Time For an Iron Hand" by McCarthy. If there was ever a time for revolution in Sweden, this is it.

DROP 3

The Sea Urchins was one of the best bands on Sarah I think, together with Brighter and The Orchids. Just like bands such as East Village and 14 Iced Bears they were closely linked to the 60's garage scene. I've got a live bootleg where they play two covers by The Eyes e.g.. As they became more dedicated to pursuing this influence people started to turn their backs on them and they had to find other labels to release the singles. Still, the Sarah singles collection Stardust is one of the greatest records of all time. After the second Sarah single however, the made a short detour to Fierce (The Pooh Sticks' label) for the release of a one-sided 45 (Fierce were known for trying to get as much money as possible for as little as possible). This single is quite rare, I assume. It hasn't even got a name. All it says is: Recorded 30.10.88. It's a dazzling song, really sounds as if it'd been recorded in 1966.

DROP 3
The Sea Urchins - Untitled

Glasgow vs SKWBN

Yesterday we had the first rainy day since I came here, but today the sun is shining again and my termometer shows 17.4 degrees celsius. Yesterday I also went to the uni for the first time, they've got an orientation program for international students. And there really were a lot of them! A met a Swedish girl and she told me she'd met several other fellow countrymen. The campus area is really beautiful and kind of isolated from the rest of the West End, I'll show you some pictures later. Now I'm really convinced I'm going to like it here. There's no counterpart to the Swedish "nation" though. There are only two student unions and they don't seem much fun. And I've got the flat properly cleaned out now! I also found a nice mirror from the 60's or early 70's at the Salvation Army shop. For only £4!

Coincidentally, yesterday was the day for this month's Sounds of Sweden club, arranged by my friend Stacey. This time it was at a bar called The Admiral in the city centre, which was actually quite a nice place. Playing this night were Boy Omega, who I don't really like, and SKWBN, who I like although I'm not crazy about them. They did a good set though and the sound was very good. Next month it's Bobby Baby and, strangely enough, The Fine Arts Showcase. I mean, they're not very good, are they? I'm trying my best to do some lobbying...

Something to Call My Own

If you never bought Brighter’s Laurel you should get the new comp called Out to Sea: The Rest of Brighter from Matinée. It includes that, plus lots of hard-to-find stuff! On Saturday I was at The Winchester Club, which is at a place called The Woodside here in the West End. Strange place for a club if you ask me, looked almost like some old social club, good though. Dot to Dot, a great band that Richard is in, were playing. I’ve never seen them and they don’t play often enough these days, so it was a real treat. They might remind you a bit of Josef K. Mr Murdoch likes them as well so you don’t really have a choice on this one.

The support act was great too, a guy called Remember Remember. He basically just played his Fender Jaguar and looped it layer upon layer, except for some glockenspiel. A bit reminiscent of Durutti Column at times. You can’t go wrong with layered guitars! This was more on the droning, hypnotic side though – I almost fell asleep!


Well, it’s high time to tell you about the flat I just moved into on Monday! It’s just off Byres Road by Hillhead underground station, in a beautiful street with a private garden. It was more than a bit dirty, but it’s starting to look better. It’ll be great when I get the floor vacuum cleaned! Here’s the lounge/bedroom:


If you want to send letters the address is:
Flat 1/1
37 Athole Gardens
Glasgow
G12 9BQ
UK

And if you have some money to spend you can call to: +44 (0)7726 436584

It's a Good Day For Flying

A Sunny Day In Glasgow is probably an ironic band name, but the sun was shining when I arrived yesterday. The weather was great in both Gothenburg and Glasgow. I felt a bit lost and lonely at first, because there was no one to meet me at the station, and the hostel really isn't my kind of place... But the evening was much better. I went round to Stacey's flat and met Kate who's also looking for a flat and they were kind enough to give me some dinner! And then we went to Little League, which was at the RAFA - a place run by former RAF soldiers. Sudddenly I felt right at home, as we went in the door they were playing Talulah Gosh. So I got to dance to some good tunes. And it felt like I met all the people I met last time I was here all at once. And I met some Camera Obscura members, a Camera Obscura cover star and I had chat with Stuart as well. Here's him leanining menacingly over his new girlfriend:

Today I'm going flat hunting with Sarah from Sinister and this evening it's the Winchester Club with Dot to Dot! And the weather looks promising... Hope so, cause I haven't gotten myself an umbrella yet!

Feels Like Yesterday

So, I'm in Glasgow and doing well. But first let me tell you a bit about Gothenburg. I was there for two days before I took the plane, staying at my friend Lisa's flat. On Wednesday we went to Pustervik to see Sambassadeur and The Lucksmiths. That was very nice and I met some friends from Gothenburg I hadn't seen in a while. However, The Lucksmiths only played two songs they hadn't played in Lund - "The Great Dividing Range" and "Guess How Much I Love You". Then on Thursday we walked about town putting up flyers for Taramasalata which was yesterday. Lisa was playing records and Jyrki was supposed to as well, but he was off to Hamburg for Three Cheers For Our Side. I hope things went well for her and that lots of people showed up!

Now I'm Even Further Away

Last night was easily one of the best this summer. It was a bit sentimental as well, saying goodbye to everyone. Thanks a bunch all of you! The Lucksmiths played a brilliant set, actually as good as when I last saw them, at the now non-existant Café UFO in Malmö two years ago. And that is one of the best shows I've ever seen. I'll see them in Gothenburg again and Marty promised to play different songs. Yesterday they played these songs:

A Hiccup In Your Happiness
Take This Lying Down
The Music Next Door
Synchronized Sinking
Successlessness
Great Lengths
Sunlight In a Jar
Stayaway Stars
Camera-Shy
A Downside to the Upstairs
Young and Dumb
Now I'm Even Further Away
The Chapter In Your Life Entitled San Francisco
T-Shirt Weather
Midweek Midmorning
The Year of Driving Langourously

Perfect choice for the encore! The support acts were Like Honey from Malmö and Fred Astereo from Australia (aka the Lucksmiths merchandise guy). He was great too, and very funny. Me and Kajsa played these songs before and inbetween the gigs:

The Lighthouse Keepers – Ocean Liner
Remember Fun – Apple of My Eye
The Mayfields – Seasons Pass
The Submarines – Take Me Away
Felt – Riding On the Equator
The Tidy Ups – Death to the Tidy Ups
East Village – Kathleen
Cats On Fire – Crooked Paper Clips
St. Christopher – I Wish I Hadn’t Seen Her
Darrell Banks – Open the Door to Your Heart
The June Brides – I Fall
1000 Violins – Like One Thousand Violins
Belle & Sebastian – Rhoda
Soda Fountain Rag – Army of Silent Kids
The Desert Wolves – Passion In the Afternoon
The Besties – Zombie Song
Brighter – Wallflower
Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike – Norman & Narcissus
The Action – In My Lonely Room
A Smile and a Ribbon – A Little Late to Be Polite
The Excuse You’s – Florence
Chapter 5 – You Can’t Mean It
Amelia Fletcher – Wrap My Arms Around Him
The Bedtime Stories – Cinderella’s Boots
Diane Renay – Navy Blue
G.O.O.F. – All I Feel Is Love
Everyday Sensations – Action Action Go
Josef K – Chance Meeting
The Never Invited to Parties – Norma Jean
Pipas – Windswept Room
Sprites – George Romero
Another Sunny Day – What’s Happened?
Bare Knees – Fidelity
The Siddeleys – Falling Off of My Feet Again
Figurine – My Suitor
Hurrah! – Hip Hip
Hormones In Abundance – Champagnefrukost på sängen
The Chesterf!elds – Alison Wait
Language of Flowers – Who You’re With
Razorcuts – Snowbirds Don’t Fly
Hospitalet – Ge mig 5
Even As We Speak – Blue Suburban Skies
Lesley Gore – Look of Love
The Go-Betweens – One Thing Can Hold Us
Cats On Fire – Never Land Here
Tales of Jenny – Tuesday Girl
Pants Yell! – Your Feelings Don't Show
Where Gardens Fall – Search
Snowbirds – Yesterday’s Gone

This might be the last post before I leave, first to Gothenburg on Wednesday. So goodbye and see you later! If you're staying in Lund you shouldn't miss The Montgolfier Brothers, which is also at Emma's House.

DROP 2

And finally "Cinderella's Boots" has been recorded in an acceptable fashion. It was completed today and includes vocals and acoustic guitar plus electric guitar (doubling as bass) and drum machine courtesy of Goof, all recorded onto his porta. As it doesn't fit with my other songs at all, I've decided to release it under our previous moniker The Bedtime Stories. It will be included on the forthcoming (mid-September?) Brevgris 4 compilation together with songs from other bands/musicians from Lund. The title derives from the name of the block where most of the people involved live and/or hang out, which is Galten. That's the Swedish word for a male pig, which is easily turned into mailpig and if you translate THAT back to Swedish you get Brevgris - a flying pig that distributes letters (and records perhaps?). It wasn't my idea... Anyway, you can get the encoded version already, right here. It sounds very 80's, and The Pooh Sticks have come to mind during the recording. But... what do we know, anyway?

DROP 2
The Bedtime Stories - Cinderella's Boots

Set the Budgie Free!

So finally, the Budgies live cdr is released. It has as many as nine tracks, of which six are unreleased so far and two haven't even been recorded yet! Very exclusive, in other words. If you haven't seen The Budgies live (which you probably haven't if you don't live in Sweden or Denmark) you've certainly missed something as the songs sound even better than on the records. Listening to this recording it reminds me of live recordings I've heard with Talaulah Gosh, which is high praise indeed. The Budgies haven't released anything since the Summertime Obsessions EP last year and no one knows when the next record is coming out (apart from two songs to be included on upcoming compilation releases) so this is a must-buy. If you know Goof from the band he will have a few copies to sell - that's the most convenient way to get the cd. Otherwise you'll have to wait a week or so until I've made some more copies. They're numbered of course and how many will be made depends on how many orders I get. You can buy it directly from here and pay with PayPal. Just send $4 (shipping to wherever included) to this address.

The Budgies - Kaninkanon 2006 CDR

Tracklisting:
1. Think Small
2. The Theater Café
3. I Love You, What Should I Do?
4. Lucky Sunday
5. Secret Wish
6. Train Song
7. Summer Come Back!
8. Humblepie
9. X-Ray Boy

Turntable Friends

Yesterday I was at Indigo in Lund, the first club night this semster and the last I will be able to go to for a year... Sambassadeur played live and it was good to see them again, seems like it was ages ago. They DID play their magnificent cover of The Bats' "Claudine". The more I hear by the The Bats, the more I like them. Luckily I still have most of the Australia/New Zealand scene left to explore! My friends Kajsa and Anna were in charge of the turning of tables and they played enough of my favourites to make for a good night. And a golden star sticker for the matching dresses! Me and Kajsa will have to figure something out for Sunday... hard to beat, hard to beat.