Desert Island Discs

miss annie

All of my heart - ABC, Burning love - Elvis, Common people - Pulp, Sympathy for the devil - Rolling Stones, God only knows - Beach Boys, Tainted Love/Where did our love go - Soft Cell, Hurt - Johnny Cash, Read my mind - Killers And for my book The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. Ideally I'd like Holding out for a hero by Bonnie Tyler too. The idea of Arkady bopping around to Hooked on Dylan will keep me amused all evening.

andy

David, that is one hell of a tune

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David

One of my hero's that man. In a sea of poprap and US imitation he showed the way.

sophie

roots manuva once let me squeeze his bicep and touch his bling.

graeme

[.]

Arkady

Death Letter Blues - awesome. Ayn Rand though?

ADGS

I think that discussion should probably go across to the politics thread.

graeme

[.]

ADGS

Come to think of it, Randians do often remind me of a monkey with a miniature cymbal.

Arkady

Brilliant.

David

I'm jealous Sophie. I got up close at a gig on my 30th many moons ago but think asking to squeeze his bicep would probably have been declined.

sophie

he was so completely off his face that i think he would have let anyone do anything. he couldn't even do the gig. he went on stage and started almost crying, then went to stand at the back where everyone ignored him. i went up to speak to him and he asked me for some blow. i just responded with the touching request. this was four years ago, i think he's back to his usual self now (though wikipedia says he lives in sheffield!?).

andy

You did, indeed, witness his fitness.

kreuzkav

Always hard to know what my favourites are but here is a sample:

The Dammned - Eloise
Suede -Beautiful Ones
Grace Jones- I've seen that face before
Mind Electric - Dirty Cash (Dirty South mix)
Babes in Toyland-Catatonic
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa - Vaccum Blow (mirror FX mix)
The Beatles - While my guitar gently weeps
Marc Almond-The Days of Pearly Spencer
David Bowie- The Bewley Brothers
Princess Tinymeat - Wigs on the Green
The Human League-These are the things that dreams are made of

mikecabic

Definite 80s/90s split in some peoples favourites. Definite trend to indie and away from trip hop/Brit hip hop in the 90s tunes too!


Mr. manuva is not mad anymore, apparently, a relative works with him.

mikecabic

Hmmm. Favourites

• Junior Kimborough - You better run
• John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat - Boogie Chillen no2
• Ashburnam - Ashuburnam
• Viex Farka Toure - Diabate
• James Brown – Blind Man can see it (extended mix)
• Congos – Ark of the covenant
• Harry J Allstars – the liquidator
• The Smiths – This Charming Man

Songs that remind me of people and times are perhaps different –
• Stones Roses - Resurrection
• Fairport Convention – Who knows where the times goes
• Bad Company – the Nine
• Ed rush & optical – alien girl
• Faith no More – Epic
• Dj Krush – Code 4109 mix
• Roots Manuva – movement or witness the fitness
Mr Scruff

Arkady

@ Mike - great selection. Love Mr Scruff. Have you heard Ali Farke Toure & Tourmani Diabate's record *Heart of the Moon*? Phenominal. I've yet to hear Ali's son.

mikecabic

Yes, i used to have it, but deleted it in a periodic spring clean to ecnoruage myself to carry on searching for new music. That Vieux Farka Toure track is actually a collaboration with Toumani (I think).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV_4L9Qdl1A

I used to live in Manchester and there was a malian kora player/band that busked in the main square pretty much very day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcMBJsYehJo

Was great to just go along and relax for an hour, the kora and drums are so loud it really affected the whole atmosphere in the square. (the video is just the kora player). Quite a few people used to go down regularly. Just show how popular stuff can be if it gets playtime outside of Radio 4!

sophie

@mikecabic yeah, i saw him at the rage against the machine gig in finsbury park and he was on excellent form. i wish i was his friend.

mikecabic

i think you might have witnessed the fitness too soon.

kreuzkav

I've gone through my mid life crisis I think as I'm nearly 40. I remember a few years ago hanging out with 20 somethings, going to Libertine's gigs at the rythm factory etc and even ending up at Pete's flat after befriending his drummer and others in his entrourage.

What I'm saying is that I'm now a grumpy guy who complains about noise from the neighbouring chav bar and now wants some peace and quiet to watch Herzog films, listen to Kraut rock and read some literature. So my taste is a bit old.

Saying that, I went to a good rockabilly gig in a small bar in Whitechapel tonight. Young band, young crowd. After the recent protests I live in hope of a non X-factor world.

ADGS

I saw one of the early Libertines gigs at the Rhythm Factory too, when they played my friend's club, Pierrot Lunaire. They weren't very good. They were meant to play the next one too, but their producer had said they had to stay home and rest their voices. Diddums. This has made me rather less convinced than I might otherwise have been about their supposed rock'n'roll debauchery.

tomp

@ KREUZKAV

What was the band name? (the rockabilly one) researching some london rockabilly stuff at moment for a friend

thanks

kreuzkav

@tomp. It was a spur of the moment decision to go onto the bar after meeting a few friends for a Christmas dinner down that way, so I didn't go there specifically to see the band in question. The bar is called 'Indo' and it's opposite Whitechapel Mosque. It's a small bar and free to get into. A bit too many hipsters in there but that's the way that area is now. Still a great bar! I've been frequenting it off and on for about 15 years. It was last Thursday evening and maybe if you ring the bar they can tell you the band's name. I tried to look on the net but couldn't find anything. I'm a bit tired as I've just got up as I went to bed early due not feeling well. They were more garage psychobilly than rockabilly.

@ADGS.I agree The Libertines were a bit overrated but I had great nights at the Rythm Factory. This was pre-hipster East London and before the red coats and lads got involved. Often it was just the atmosphere and friendliness that I liked. I also felt that after the well crafted music of the early 2000s (Mercury Rev etc.) it was a relief to see some energetic bands. Although some of them reached for the rock n roll cliches too easily, the messiness of it all was intoxicating.

ADGS

It pissed me off when they started wearing the red coats - I've got a coat like that which I've had since the late nineties and used to wear for romo purposes (or to fancy dress parties as Flashman), and then suddenly everyone thought it was a Libertines thing. Not really worn it since.

The rock'n'roll messiness too often seemed to be regarded as simply an excuse for or celebration of incompetence and slovenliness. This reached its nadir in (bringing it back local) Nambucca, where they regarded the smell of damp, the cockroaches and the fact that it might or might not be open for an advertised gig as badges of honour.

Anyway, getting back to Desert Island Discs, it occurs to me - in the normal classical format, people can have a symphony as one choice, right? In which case albums are definitely OK. Album = symphony, song = movement.
(To choose a Greatest Hits would, however, be the mark of a scoundrel)

kreuzkav

Yes, the messiness was a smokescreen for bad musicianship and non appearance at gigs. I used to go to Nambucca too, but not very often. This would be around 2005-2006. I did see the Long Blondes there (2005), although I thought they were not so good live compared to the debut album which I didn't buy for nearly a year or more later. Like at the Rythm Factory I always had a good time there and didn't notice the general dirt of the place. The intoxification of that scene wore off around 2006.

Something I was going to do when I was on here earlier was compile a favourite album list. I've had more sleep so here goes (I will probably edit this later):

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Einstürzende Neubauten - Pictures of OT
Pulp - A Different Class
To Rococo Rot - The Amateur View
Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
The Long Blondes - Someone to drive you home
The Human Leauge- Dare
Coil - Love's Secret Domain
Loop - A Gilded Eternity

ADGS

That first Long Blondes album was phenomenal. Some of the second, too - I didn't see them live until around then, foolishly.

I don't know a lot of Coil but I was still sad to hear of Sleazy's death recently, and I do like that seasonal favourite, <a href="">their take on 'Walking in the Air'</a>. More shops should play this instead of Cliff Richard et al.

David

Yeah i was worried about quoting a symphony. Think I'd have to take the third movement of gorecki's 3rd to keep it in line with a song. While not the longest movement of the symphony and therefore betraying my reason for having a symphony in there in the first place its probably the most moving of three very moving pieces.

kreuzkav

Thanks ADGS for the link to the Coil track. I'd forgotten about it. Coil were an amazing band, although they started to produce so much music in the last five years of their existence that didn't seem as strong. It still had depth and was interesting though, I think their goals were different which often is a sign of a good musician/artist. I was also sad to hear about Sleazy's death a few weeks ago. It's a bit of a blow that both members of the band died (Jhon who was also Sleazy's long term boyfriend passed away six years ago). However, I think they both burnt so brightly and their light will linger on for so long.

The album 'Love's Secret Domain' featured Marc Almond and Annie Anxiety on it. I had the pleasure of meeting Annie 13 years ago through my then boss. We got on well and flirted a bit but she was heading back to New York the next day.

mikecabic

I love that Tangerine Dream record, Mysterious Semblance was a last minute substitution out of my top 10 list.