Public service blogging

We live in an age where it's possible to call up even the most risible, meaningless song lyrics in a matter of seconds, thanks to the plethora of websites serving that purpose which clutter up the internet; but is it possible to find the words to old Faith Brothers classics online? Is it bollocks.

At least that's the case as far as personal favourite A Stranger On Home Ground goes. Can't find it for looking. Unlike the albums the Faith Brothers later released - which included printed lyrics for all the songs - there was no sign of any song words transcribed anywhere on the sleeve of this single-only release. In which case, I shall now give you my interpretation of them! (Please do let me know if you think I've gone wrong anywhere, and I'll amend them accordingly.)



Egos soar as glasses crack
And promises weighed by the pound
Greedy fingers slapping backs
As strangers walk on my home ground

And greatness by association
Would seem to be an easy thing
The world's a lie that love defies
Believe me when you hear me sing
Only love can stop me now
From stumbling like a stranger on home ground

Strangers always call too late
Handshakes always let you down
What is worthy I shall take
But nothing gained is like love found

And greatness by association
Would seem to be an easy thing
The world's a lie that love defies
Believe me when you hear me sing
Only love can stop me now
From stumbling like a stranger on home ground

Strangers always call too late
Handshakes always let you down
What is worthy I shall take
But nothing gained is like love found

And greatness by association
Would seem to be an easy thing
The world's a lie that love defies
Believe me when you hear me sing
Only love can stop me now
From stumbling like a stranger on home ground

Faith Brothers - A Stranger On Home Ground mp3

I don't like 'I Don't Like Mondays'

Hey, national and local radio station playlist controllers - look! There are some day-appropriate songs you could give a spin on a Monday morning other than I Don't Like Mondays!

It's a crazy idea, I know, but it might just work. Some of the songs below aren't even about massacring blameless colleagues or school friends either, so possibly act as less of a subliminal advertising campaign to any of the more unhinged members of the populace. Just a thought.

(Tegan & Sara)






And that's without even mentioning "Monday" songs by New Order, Candyskins, The Bangles, Duran Duran or the Leningrad Cowboys. (That last one would wake people up of a Monday morning if nothing else!)

Season's Grating

You won't thank me for posting this here, but I feel everyone should have the full horror of the new Littlewoods Christmas advert inflicted on them at least the once. Brace yerselves...



Jarvis Cocker - Running The World mp3

They think it's all over...

A song to celebrate the end of the latest interminable international football break today. My goodness those things are annoying (international football breaks, I mean, rather than songs, which can often be quite agreeable). Just as the fitba season's getting going in the top two divisions, the whole thing's halted for a fortnight for the benefit of one, or possibly two, tiresome qualifiers (or even worse, friendlies) played by your national side.

Which is all very well if you support Germany or Spain, or any other countries whose teams play an aesthetically-pleasing brand of football; but when you're lumbered with England - who put fewer passes together than a reformed philanderer - it feels more like a jail sentence.

Oh, and don't suppose all this ends here; there's another international break coming up (of course there is) next month to disrupt the rhythm of the season once again. The egg chasers have got it right as far as I'm concerned, continuing with their domestic rugby seasons despite the fact that the rugby World Cup also happens to be going on simultaneously in New Zealand (or wherever; can't say I've been paying all that much attention).

Anyway, all that pointless yet strangely theraputic ranting was leading up to this, the superb Football, Football by the Edmundo Ros Orchestra, from (I'm guessing) the early 1950s. Heard this on the wireless a couple of weeks back and fell in love with it immediately. Truly, they don't make 'em like this any more (more's the pity).

The Edmundo Ros Orchestra - Football, Football (Calypso) mp3

Funny peculiar

There now follows a pair food-related jokes I made on Twitter this week, both of which, alas, died on their arse (as do most of my tweets). Vanity and a misplaced sense of pride dictates that I shall continue to repeat these gags until some bastard laughs at them.

*clears throat*

JOKE #1 [After Tiger Woods had had a hot dog thrown at him during a golf tournament at the weekend]

"I asked for a sand wedge, not a hot dog"

JOKE #2

How does Bob Marley like his doughnuts? He doesn't. The question's redundant.

Thanks, I'm here all week.

Chumbawamba - Add Me mp3

Quite Fonda this

Despite the fact that they've been around since the late nineties, I'd never heard of Californian duo Fonda until Lito posted recent single Better Days over on Lito Music last week. It immediately caught my ear anyway as it's one of the best slices of shoegazey dream pop I've heard this side of 1992. See what you make of it.



Fonda - Better Days mp3 (right click)

You can download Fonda's five-song Better Days EP for $5 at Bandcamp

Funny old game, Saint...

John Hegley - Greavsie mp3

(Just pretend it's 1988 or something)

Up Thee AHs!

Thee AHs are a bunch of Canadian teenagers who play a thoroughly agreeable brand of lo-fi pop. Just been listening to their 12-track album Nation and it is consistently very good indeed. In an age where we're constantly besieged with images of spoilt numpties warbling and emoting for all their worth on those ubiquitous yet completely unedifying TV talent contests, it's more refreshing than ever to hear a bunch of youngsters making music on their own terms and for the fun of it. Here they are with Nation lead track Onion in my Pocket.



Buy Thee AHs Nation LP for $5 as a download or $8 for the CD version at Bandcamp.

I discovered Thee AHs via Xanthi's perenially excellent songs for girls to sing blog, from where you can read this much more informative post about the band.

Säkert! På engelska

Dare you watch this video?



Read more about the Can I Project at Annika Norlin's Säkert! blog

The 11-track album Säkert! På engelska is out now on Razzia Records

Pat's the way I like it

I'd been listening a lot to the Very Most of late, and thinking how fab they were, when I finally remembered to check the TMAP email account (it'd been a while) - and what should I find in the inbox, but an email from Mr Very Most himself, Jeremy Jensen, telling us all about the band's latest five-track EP, Patricia. And, true to form, it's an absolute gem. Here's the promo vid for the title track.



Other songs on the EP include the brief-but-brill Gleaming The Gleam, a sweet Jonathan Richman tribute called, unsurprisingly, Jonathan Richman, and two fantastic female-sung versions of the Pixies' classic Here Comes Your Man. And all this can be yours - yes, yours! - for a mere $1.50 from here (for the mp3 version) or for $5 from here (for the vinyl version). Can't be bad.

Song of the Day

Wonderful.



Buy Paulusma stuff

Thank god he left Goldie at home...

A truly astonishing clip for you today. In 1982, Blue Peter sent presenter Simon Groom to visit the Shambala Preserve, a big cat sanctuary run by actress and star of Hitchcock's The Birds and Marnie, Tippi Hedren, in California. So Simon met Tippi, her partner and several fully-grown male lions, a tiger, a leopard and a 'tigon' - and somehow lived to tell the tale!

(embedding's been "disabled by request" but please do click on the link below to view)

****Polite notice: Soundtrack contains elements of Tight Fit. Do not listen if easily offended****

Simon Groom somehow avoids being eaten by various big cats

Shill loves you yeah yeah yeah

Hilarious piece of advertising dressed up as an interview with the Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero in the Guardian today. In the picture accompanying the article Aguero is decked out in Puma sportswear (with logo to the fore) whilst kissing a conspicuously (some would say hideously) bright green pair of Puma football boots. There follows an interview ostensibly about his team's debut appearance in the Champions League against Napoli on Wednesday night - but with the following hideously unsubtle piece of corporate shilling crowbarred in:

The only time Agüero sets his ball aside comes when he reaches for his new Puma boots – which he will wear for the first time against Napoli. Draping them around his neck, and clutching them happily, Agüero says: "If I could score a goal with these boots against Napoli it would be a great debut for me and City in the Champions League."

Pffffft! I wonder what the stipulations of that interview were? I realise that it's the way of the world nowadays that big stars will only agree to be interviewed if they (or their people) are allowed to dictate terms beforehand, but really, I'd expect better from the Grauniad.

Bobby Conn - Never Get Ahead mp3

Katz and dog

Tip-top Norwegian girl band Katzenjammer perform ace new single I Will Dance (When I Walk Away) live on German breakfast TV - but there's a friendly dog loose in the studio! What could possibly go wrong?



And here's another live, acoustic version of the song sans comedy interruptions!



Katzenjammer's official website

The Sweptaways Video Show

Longer-term readers may recall me raving (on & on) about The Sweptaways Show a couple of years ago. Well, did you know that ver Sweptaways made videos for all twelve tracks on the album (which featured guest appearances from the likes of Jens Lekman, Robyn & Pelle Almqvist from The Hives)? Because they did. And you can watch all twelve right here. Go on, treat yerself! It is Sunday, after all.



Download The Sweptaways Show

A life less ordinary

This is lovely. Day One are a really underrated band.



If you've got 40p spare, why not buy the album? It also features the gobsmackingly brilliant In Your Life, which you can hear below.