Things I've Learnt Watching YouTube

Number 2:

The video for Come Around by Daryll-Ann was filmed on April 5th 1994, the day that Kurt Cobain died.

Anyone making any sick jokes about them both being shot on the same day can see me later!



(I've not got an mp3 of this song handy at the moment but if there's any sort of demand for it I can stick it up here on Monday, when I should have access to the CD. So pipe up if you're interested!)

Fakes, Rattle & Roll

A gorgeous slice of ethereal dream pop in the vein of The Innocence Mission and Mazzy Star for a Friday afternoon*, courtesy of Melbourne combo The Fakes. Bloody marvellous this is. (N.B. Any resemblance to a Del Amitri song title is purely coincidental.)

The Fakes - Always The Last To Know mp3

The Fakes on MySpace

Buy The Fakes downloads at Klicktrack

*other days and times of day are available. Please see your local calendar/clock/wristwatch/sundial for details. Times and conditions apply.

Sealey Love Songs

A Dee C. Lee post on this blog? I never thought I'd see the day. *chortle*

Dee C. Lee - Come Hell Or Waters High mp3

Dee C. Lee - The Paris Match mp3

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact 1: Although the above two songs are cover versions - written by Judie Tzuke and Paul Weller respectively - Dee C. Lee wrote the song for which she's most famous herself. Which must have been some kind of consolation, royalties-wise, when Girls Aloud massacred See The Day in 2005. (I've not actually heard the Girls Aloud version, by the way. I'm just assuming they massacred it.)

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact 2: Dee C. Lee's real name is Diane Catherine Sealey. Which kind of makes sense when you think about it. (Although quite what made her think that "Lee" would be a more showbizzy surname than "Sealey" I don't know. Then again, "Dee C. Sealey" would probably have proved a bit cumbersome.)

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact 3: Cheryl Baker of Bucks Fizz's real name is Rita Crudgington. Which has little or nothing to do with the matter in hand, admittedly, but it's a fact I like to trot out whenever possible. Rita Crudgington! *snigger*

Trevor & Simon Podcasts

Podcasts: everyone's doing them nowadays. Well, not everyone, obviously. I mean I'm not, and you're probably not either. But then again, perhaps you are. We just don't know. Well, you might, but I don't. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Podcasts: everybody's doing them nowad-

Bugger. Shall I start again?

*cough*

Amongst the seemingly endless lists of comedy podcasts doing the rounds these days, one that you never see advertised* is that of Trevor & Simon, the erstwhile Saturday morning TV comedy duo par excellence. In fact I wasn't even aware of its existence until yesterday - despite the fact that their podcast has been running since February (not continuously, obviously. I mean they've probably taken naps and the odd toilet break here and there).

But anyway, yes, Trev & Simon's podcast is my new favourite. I listened to the first one last night and it made me laugh a lot. But then I'd not expect anything else from two funny (ha ha, not peculiar) blokes who've known each other forever and have such a great rapport. Their producer Andrea chips in with some great lines of her own too. All in all its a marvellous way to pass an hour or so.

Here, filched from their blog, is a list of the stuff they talk about in that first episode:

Smiley Culture
Pob v Bod
What the podcast is going to be called
What we’ve been up to over the last ten years
Me (Simon) saying “Swing your pants” and annoying Trev
Outed by Jonathan Ross
Obama’s rubbishy car
Ghosts (Roman ones, poltergeists, ghosts who say ‘hello’)
Phantasm (the film)
Hammer Horror films
Raquel Welch and Fred Trueman
Marc Bolan
Trev’s family collection of porno (from when he was a child) versus my family’s Football Pink
Cake
Belief
Coronation Street is real
My blog- Mummified Fox
A question from Bruce

And here's the download link

As you can possibly tell, it made my day discovering this! I think they've done another eight podcasts since that opening one, too, so if you don't see much of me on here for a while you'll know where I've disappeared to!

Before I bugger off, here's some classic Going Live-era T&S Theatre Shop action.



And relax!

*I've subsequently learnt that T&S's pod has made both the Guardian's and Dave's top ten podcast lists, so forget what I said there about it not featuring anywhere. Just me spouting ill-informed rubbish again!

How Tikkled I am

Any band signed by the venerable A West Side Fabrication have to be worth a listen - and so it proved with Tikkle Me, a winsome electro pop duo from Ekilstuna in Sweden, who recently released the rather fab Butterflies In My Tummy single on the label. Here's the also-ace promo vid!



You can download Butterflies In My Tummy for 80 piffling pence from Klicktrack.com

Tikkle Me's MySpace

Now That's What I Call A Christmas Album

Christmas is coming
The goose is getting fat
A Very Cherry Christmas 5 is here
Let's take a look at that!



Track listing:

1. The School - Let Me Be The Fairy On Your Christmas Tree Tonight
2. Das Wanderlust - Someone To Pull Crackers With
3. Allo Darlin' - S P A C E Christmas
4. The Lovely Eggs - Tyrannosaurus Rex for Christmas
5. The 10p Mixes - Christmas Number One
6. Fever Fever - Little Drummer Boy
7. Detox Cute and the Beauty Junkies - Unhappy New Year
8. Sparky's Magic Piano - The Escape From Aled Jones
9. Persil - Dear Santa
10. Mia Vigar - What the Hell
11. Tiger MCs - The Way That You Arrived
12. Hearts! Attack - It Was Christmas That Killed Us
13. The Gresham Flyers - Mistletoe Misadventure
14. Foxes - Christmas Gifts
15. The Bobby McGee's - Sub Santalales
16. Shrag - Stop The Revelry
17. The Hi-Life Companion - Brockweir Winter Reverie
18. Doris and the Jumpers - Murder Under The Mistletoe
19. Humousexual - Come Take My Hand In Winter
20. The Shrieking Violets - Jethro (Song For)
21. Rebecca Wilmott - A Christmas Echo
22. The Pocket Gods - KFC (Kentucky Fried Christmas)
23. Master Solo - The Last Xmas Of Achiebald Sterling
24. Everett True - A Christmas Tale
25. Marble Krusher - Summer Toys (Winter Version)

A Very Cherry Christmas Volume 5 is released on November 15th, but you can pre-order your copy right now for six festive quid (plus a pound postage) from Cherryade Records

Things I've Learnt Watching YouTube

#1 - Twiggy had a pop career!

Well, it was news to me anyway. Note how the Twigster cleverly utilises the skills she picked up sashaying along the catwalk in her modelling career as she, erm, sashays down the Top of the Pops set mocked-up to look like a catwalk, at the start of the first clip. This discotastic track was produced by David Essex, apparently. Owsaboutthatthen guys and gals? Rattle-rattle-jewellery-jewellery etc.



This one's good too, in a Reader's Digest Love Songs of the 70s 5-CD boxset type-way.



Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy vs James Bond mp3

Hip hop in the house (on the hill)

A spot of old skool horror-film-inspired novelty hip hop for this Halloween night, mildly incongruous Captain Kirk samples and all. You can blame the previous post for putting the idea for this one in my head. So that'll be Lovebug Starski and Hutch, then! Ahem...

Lovebug Starski - Amityville (The House On The Hill) mp3

And if that's not enough to send a shiver down your spine, how about the following YouTube clip? It features Jamaican reggae stalwart Barrington Levy singing Under Mi Sensi live on Saturday morning kids' show No 73 in 1985, while Nicholas Parsons and host Sandi Toksvig cut a respective rug along to it on the dancefloor. Bizarre, incongruous, marvellous. Why don't they make 'em like this any more? Why?! Click here for the full horror. (The best bit occurs exactly two minutes in, by the way.)

Sweet (David) Soul Music

Billy Paul - Don't Give Up On Us mp3

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

No, not mine, silly. It's the title of the brilliant new single from MJ Hibbett & The Validators, and it's available to download at iTunes and other online purveyors of files musical - as is the album Regardez, Ecoutez et Repetez, which you can also buy on CD direct from the MJ Hibbett website. Hurrah!

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact: The titular boss (fnar fnar) is none other than Phil Wilson of the June Brides. Hear (or read, really) his thoughts on the subject at Fire Escape Talking.

We'll support you ever more

Top-notch pop news ahoy. The legendary I, Ludicrous have only gone and released a brand new download single. We're The Support Band (a new recording of an old favourite) is available from itunes and all the usual online suspects. Here's the FAB promo video!

Three of a Kind #100

A trio of cricket-themed songs, to bring up the Three of a Kind century. Lord's knows it's not been easy. We've maiden no ball effort to keep the partnership ticking over and, while we've almost been stumped a few times along the way and generally talked a lot of balls, we've never knowingly overstepped the mark or been caught out. It's been a good innings really; a real labour of glove. And this may sound like a silly point, but I think it's even made me a better all rounder person.

Righto ducks, time for a declaration I think. Over and out. (Extra information: the third track's a wrong 'un.)

The Duckworth Lewis Method - Jiggery Pokery mp3

Sherbet - Howzat mp3

The Commentators - N-N-Nineteen Not Out mp3

Song of the Day

Swissair - One Nation Under A Gloom mp3

Swissair's MySpace

New Tender Trap free download single

Not the most original post heading ever, I'll grant you, but I think it conveys the whole crux of the message pretty well. Anyway, yes, Amelia and chums are back (back! back!) with a brand new single, Fireworks, and a nifty accompanying video to boot.

Filmed in swanky Margate (in homage to Chas 'n' Dave no doubt) in their own inimitable style, here it is in its glorious entirety. Gercha!



Mildly Interesting Pop Fact: Tender Trap have been busy during the latest transfer window, securing the signings of not only Katrina "Police Cat/Sally Skull/Garden City Project/I've not actually heard of any of these bands" Dixon but also blog favourite Elizabeth "Allo Darlin'" Morris. Fancy!

Download Fireworks (plus b-side Grand National) for free at the Fortuna POP! website.

The worst TV programme of all time?

FEARNE AND PARIS HILTON

(Thursday 22nd October, ITV2)

Fearne Cotton lets all her inhibitions go and does a spot of pole dancing when she meets Paris Hilton for her new TV show.

The bubbly presenter unleashed her wild side for her ITV2 show Fearne and..., which sees her following around famous women to find out what makes them tick.

Wearing a short zebra print dress, the blonde giggles her way through the routine as Paris looks on in amusement.

But leggy Fearne shows she's more than a pretty face as she twirls around the pole before cracking up.

The Housemartins - We're Not Deep mp3

My Life Story - You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes) mp3

Three of a Kind #99

It's, like, three songs from the My So-Called Life album. Or whatever.

*sigh*

It's only the best angsty teen drama series ever (in my angsty perpetual teenager opinion)!

Daniel Johnston - Come See Me Tonight mp3

Frente - The Book Song mp3

Juliana Hatfield - Make It Home mp3

Now that's what I call music.

By the way, if you think Make It Home sounds suspiciously like Silent Night (which it does), then this is probably explained by the fact that it comes from the yuletide episode of MSCL in which Juliana Hatfield plays a sort of Christmas angel. Behold her dubious acting skills in this 'ere clip!



Buy the My So-Called Life DVD boxset - featuring all 19 fantastic episodes - for a ridiculously cheap £7.43 from The Hut.