TVS

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:43

Page 1

AFW 56 2009

£FREE

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:44

Page 2

TVS

Worried about your sexual health?

Got an embarrassing problem ‘down there’?

Help is at hand at The Liverpool Centre for Sexual Health We offer a free, confidential and comprehensive service to men and women worried about their sexual health or contraception.

TVS Magazine is property of Enterprise Marketing and Publishing Services Limited. All rights reserved.

With dedicated male and female clinics, our experts are on hand to offer advice, guidance, testing and treatment.

Editorial and Design by DEFNETMEDIA.COM Editor: Paul Tarpey defcondiy@hotmail.com Design: Joe drywah@hotmail.com

We have daily walk in clinics, with no appointment or referral required.

Get tested now: it’s quick, free and easy.

4 5 6 7 8 10 12

INDEPENDENT LIVERPOOL SPECIAL Post Music News From Nowhere Homelife Bombed Out Church The Maybes? goFASTER>> Jayne Casey

14 18 20 22 28

CULT MUSIC SPECIAL How to write Pop Nancy and Lee, William Shatner Rachel’s Top 5 Enigmatic Albums Bacharach/David

You can find us on the first floor of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Prescot Street.

Clinic times Mon

10am – 1pm

3pm – 6.30pm

Tue

appointment only

1.30pm – 4pm

Wed

9am – 12pm

1.30pm – 4pm*

Thur

10am – 1pm

3pm – 6.30pm

Fri

9am – 12pm

clinic closed

* the service is closed on the first Wednesday afternoon of the month We also provide an outreach service run by our nurses at Merseyside Brook Clinic on a Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon.

What we offer Our team of specialist doctors, health advisors and nurse practitioners provide a range of general and specialist sexual health services including: • sexual health advice and information

• emergency advice and preventive treatment if required following sexual exposure to possible HIV infection (PEPSE)

• testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (with examination if needed)

• HIV testing and care • pregnancy testing • contraception including condoms, pills, emergency contraception, coils (IUDs), Depo injections and implants

• cervical smear tests and management of abnormal smears

Ring us on 0151 706 2620

www.rlbuht.nhs.uk

Article Ilustrations: Emma McMorrow www.emcmorrow.blogspot.com mcmorrow.emma@googlemail.com Cover Art: Sean Wárs huytonrocksh1tty@hotmail.com

Song Moments: Chris Lee, Robert McTaggart and Paul Tarpey

Publishers & Advertising For advertising ask for Frank on the numbers below Tel: 0151 708 6822 Fax: 0151 708 6872 empsltd@btconnect.com

Contributors: Chris Lee Phil Lee Robert McTaggart Paul Tarpey Jennie Tsai

Published by Enterprise Marketing and Publishing Services Limited.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of each and every publication. However, under no circumstances can the publisher accept liability for loss or damage which may arise or result from errors or omissions in any advertisement or editorial relating to wording, space, position, artwork or telephone numbers. All opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of TVS Magazine.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Siouxsie and The Banshees - Album: Juju.

Isaac Hayes - Album: Kimono My House.

Track 1: Spellbound: 1 min 41 secs

Track 1: Theme From Shaft 3 mins 57 secs

A possessed Siouxsie coldly narrates a child's tormented fantasy. The music chugs enigmatically along till... “take them by the legs and throw them down the stairs”... and Budgie cuts and pastes a drum beat that takes us tumbling into insanity with them.

You are already wondering how you can possibly have deserved all this, and a gentle curtsey to end would be fine, but...bah bah bah bah bah.... bah bah bah bah … bah... baaah...bah bah bah bah bah..bah bah bah bah... bah ..baaah....repeat and...fade

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:44

Page 2

TVS

Worried about your sexual health?

Got an embarrassing problem ‘down there’?

Help is at hand at The Liverpool Centre for Sexual Health We offer a free, confidential and comprehensive service to men and women worried about their sexual health or contraception.

TVS Magazine is property of Enterprise Marketing and Publishing Services Limited. All rights reserved.

With dedicated male and female clinics, our experts are on hand to offer advice, guidance, testing and treatment.

Editorial and Design by DEFNETMEDIA.COM Editor: Paul Tarpey defcondiy@hotmail.com Design: Joe drywah@hotmail.com

We have daily walk in clinics, with no appointment or referral required.

Get tested now: it’s quick, free and easy.

4 5 6 7 8 10 12

INDEPENDENT LIVERPOOL SPECIAL Post Music News From Nowhere Homelife Bombed Out Church The Maybes? goFASTER>> Jayne Casey

14 18 20 22 28

CULT MUSIC SPECIAL How to write Pop Nancy and Lee, William Shatner Rachel’s Top 5 Enigmatic Albums Bacharach/David

You can find us on the first floor of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Prescot Street.

Clinic times Mon

10am – 1pm

3pm – 6.30pm

Tue

appointment only

1.30pm – 4pm

Wed

9am – 12pm

1.30pm – 4pm*

Thur

10am – 1pm

3pm – 6.30pm

Fri

9am – 12pm

clinic closed

* the service is closed on the first Wednesday afternoon of the month We also provide an outreach service run by our nurses at Merseyside Brook Clinic on a Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon.

What we offer Our team of specialist doctors, health advisors and nurse practitioners provide a range of general and specialist sexual health services including: • sexual health advice and information

• emergency advice and preventive treatment if required following sexual exposure to possible HIV infection (PEPSE)

• testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (with examination if needed)

• HIV testing and care • pregnancy testing • contraception including condoms, pills, emergency contraception, coils (IUDs), Depo injections and implants

• cervical smear tests and management of abnormal smears

Ring us on 0151 706 2620

www.rlbuht.nhs.uk

Article Ilustrations: Emma McMorrow www.emcmorrow.blogspot.com mcmorrow.emma@googlemail.com Cover Art: Sean Wárs huytonrocksh1tty@hotmail.com

Song Moments: Chris Lee, Robert McTaggart and Paul Tarpey

Publishers & Advertising For advertising ask for Frank on the numbers below Tel: 0151 708 6822 Fax: 0151 708 6872 empsltd@btconnect.com

Contributors: Chris Lee Phil Lee Robert McTaggart Paul Tarpey Jennie Tsai

Published by Enterprise Marketing and Publishing Services Limited.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of each and every publication. However, under no circumstances can the publisher accept liability for loss or damage which may arise or result from errors or omissions in any advertisement or editorial relating to wording, space, position, artwork or telephone numbers. All opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of TVS Magazine.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Siouxsie and The Banshees - Album: Juju.

Isaac Hayes - Album: Kimono My House.

Track 1: Spellbound: 1 min 41 secs

Track 1: Theme From Shaft 3 mins 57 secs

A possessed Siouxsie coldly narrates a child's tormented fantasy. The music chugs enigmatically along till... “take them by the legs and throw them down the stairs”... and Budgie cuts and pastes a drum beat that takes us tumbling into insanity with them.

You are already wondering how you can possibly have deserved all this, and a gentle curtsey to end would be fine, but...bah bah bah bah bah.... bah bah bah bah … bah... baaah...bah bah bah bah bah..bah bah bah bah... bah ..baaah....repeat and...fade

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 4

Words Are Weapons LIVERPOOL WELSH CHORAL

Come and Sing!

LWC......

What?......

Where?.....

When?.....

How?.....

Simply Dynamic!

Everything!

Liverpool, New York, Cologne, Dublin Wednesdays 0151 632 4860 / 0151 489 6695

www.lwcu.co.uk

POST MUSIC - DINGLE CINEMA SESSIONS For the past few months in a disused cinema at the point where Park Road welcomes Aigburth Road, a massive group of Liverpool's finest bands have been recorded in a stupid level of DIY experimentation.

For the past few months in a disused cinema at the point where Park Road welcomes Aigburth Road, a massive group of Liverpool's finest bands have been recorded in a stupid level of DIY experimentation.

No-one knows how long the building can be used in this way but the indoor rain, pigeon shit and endless debris is starting to give way to just indoor rain. They are working with bands such as: Indica Ritual, a.P.A.t.T, Action Beat, The International, The Problem With People Is, Stignoise, Crisp & Dry, Stignoise, The Laze, Barberos, Trouble With Books We will let them explain: “I knew I wanted to use it.. and I knew that whenever an opportunity like this presented his head then I would want to do a project there.”

“I wanted to simply fish from the balcony... the whole building was full to the brim with random random stuff.... piles and piles and piles of....”

“The longer we have the building and the longer its taking to document all the bands we are hoping to film/record... the cleaner and less sinister it is looking too.”

News From Nowhere has represented a defiant independence in Liverpool now for thirty five years. It has stood by and watched similar ventures collapse, and managed to seem invulnerable. This is largely the extent to which they have made themselves much more than a bookshop, and become an essential tool for the city's communities. Of course anything built with a radical motif is very vulnerable, and it has been hit hard by recession, internet shopping and possibly by Liverpool Council's determination to sanitise the city.

They are staying though, and Mandy who was there at the start explains how and why.

“News From Nowhere was started in 1974 by Bob Dent, a friend of mine. He got a little shop on Manchester street near the tunnel entrance. At that point the mainstream bookshops weren't stocking anything unusual or alternative at all, and it was set up to fill the gap.

The bookshop grew and moved to bigger but dilapidated premises on Whitechapel and started to become very much a centre for people who were involved in campaigns. At the same time we were broadening out to a wider audience that was looking for any kind of different view on life from what the mainstream were offering. Having said that we were one of many then so after Bob left we consciously became a women's collective and wanted to provide employment for women as well as business skills.

“When we moved to Bold Street, away from the rats and the fascists that were plaguing us in Whitechapel, we had a much higher profile and had become by default the only radical bookshop in Liverpool.

Now we are one of the few independent bookshops because there has became such a decimation of the book trade. One of the reasons we have survived, apart from the dedication of the staff, has been because of the support of Liverpool and all its communities.

“We probably do exploit ourselves, we work for minimum wage and many many hours above that voluntarily, and we have volunteers who come in as well. But we are only dedicated like that because we absolutely love our jobs. When I've been on holiday I am glad to get back to work, there are very few jobs you could say that about. I think if there is something to kick against then Liverpool will do it, and people like to have somewhere like News From Nowhere where they can come in and meet with other people to make things happen, and have the literature there to back them up.

“Post music isn't the building its the people inside.”

“I think we making a very very very personal and wonderful looking documentation of part of the Liverpool music community.”

“We are just trying to get a label going in the cheapest way possible, we cant afford to press a lot of records so this enabled us produce a large body of fucking cool looking and sounding artists.”

Join postmusic.info. Look at http://www.myspace.com/postmusicrecordings

“We definitely have people coming in who have different opinions from us. As long as they come in and engage with us then we welcome that. We did one day have two people come in, one accusing us of having too much Jewish literature and the other for being critical of Israel. We see a complete difference between Jewish people, Israeli people and the Israeli Government, in the same way we saw a complete difference between British people and Thatcherism.

“Having said that we are here to reflect opinions, we do have our own specific opinions, which is partly why we have survived. We are clear about our politics. We have a lot of difference within our collective but we are against oppression, we are anti-sectarian, and, in a very broad sense, libertarian bordering on anarchist. None of us have ever been party-aligned, which is not to say someone would be excluded if they were but our policy as a bookshop is to be non party aligned, although we will obviously still stock literature by these parties.

“It always makes me proud when people come in that don't know the bookshop and find something that was really important to them. I think its a very safe place for lesbian and gay people to come out.

This is probably true of a lot of issues, and our role in this is really important.

“We are going to be struggling through the recession as people are not spending money on things they see as non-essential. But I would like to say that a book for seven ninety nine is much better value than a night out and in the morning you have the book rather than a hangover. But we are determined to stay here and we have had a massive show of support from our customers, which will always keep us going.”

“POSTMUSIC is a group of friends who like wonderful music, exquisite art and fun. We spend our time running a label, club night and a social / analogous network. We're about D.I.Y. community, unity, experimentation and exploration.” “but I don't like it... its a spooky horrible rainy cold bastard.”

“if there is something to kick against then Liverpool will do it”

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Sparks - Album: Kimono My House.

Van Morrison - Album: Astral Weeks.

Tr 1: This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us: 1min 48 secs

Track 4: Cyprus Avenue. 4 Mins 46secs

A song that piles magic upon magic still manages a moment that transcends all others. The song breaks and builds, then Russell suddenly wails for no good reason as the bagpipe guitar sound has a fit trying to drown out random gunfire.

An effortlessly beautiful but meandering song is starting to lose itself in its own foggy memories. Then a harpsi chord picks up the melody in defiance of the mood and seems to surprise Van into a moment of joyful vocals.

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 4

Words Are Weapons LIVERPOOL WELSH CHORAL

Come and Sing!

LWC......

What?......

Where?.....

When?.....

How?.....

Simply Dynamic!

Everything!

Liverpool, New York, Cologne, Dublin Wednesdays 0151 632 4860 / 0151 489 6695

www.lwcu.co.uk

POST MUSIC - DINGLE CINEMA SESSIONS For the past few months in a disused cinema at the point where Park Road welcomes Aigburth Road, a massive group of Liverpool's finest bands have been recorded in a stupid level of DIY experimentation.

For the past few months in a disused cinema at the point where Park Road welcomes Aigburth Road, a massive group of Liverpool's finest bands have been recorded in a stupid level of DIY experimentation.

No-one knows how long the building can be used in this way but the indoor rain, pigeon shit and endless debris is starting to give way to just indoor rain. They are working with bands such as: Indica Ritual, a.P.A.t.T, Action Beat, The International, The Problem With People Is, Stignoise, Crisp & Dry, Stignoise, The Laze, Barberos, Trouble With Books We will let them explain: “I knew I wanted to use it.. and I knew that whenever an opportunity like this presented his head then I would want to do a project there.”

“I wanted to simply fish from the balcony... the whole building was full to the brim with random random stuff.... piles and piles and piles of....”

“The longer we have the building and the longer its taking to document all the bands we are hoping to film/record... the cleaner and less sinister it is looking too.”

News From Nowhere has represented a defiant independence in Liverpool now for thirty five years. It has stood by and watched similar ventures collapse, and managed to seem invulnerable. This is largely the extent to which they have made themselves much more than a bookshop, and become an essential tool for the city's communities. Of course anything built with a radical motif is very vulnerable, and it has been hit hard by recession, internet shopping and possibly by Liverpool Council's determination to sanitise the city.

They are staying though, and Mandy who was there at the start explains how and why.

“News From Nowhere was started in 1974 by Bob Dent, a friend of mine. He got a little shop on Manchester street near the tunnel entrance. At that point the mainstream bookshops weren't stocking anything unusual or alternative at all, and it was set up to fill the gap.

The bookshop grew and moved to bigger but dilapidated premises on Whitechapel and started to become very much a centre for people who were involved in campaigns. At the same time we were broadening out to a wider audience that was looking for any kind of different view on life from what the mainstream were offering. Having said that we were one of many then so after Bob left we consciously became a women's collective and wanted to provide employment for women as well as business skills.

“When we moved to Bold Street, away from the rats and the fascists that were plaguing us in Whitechapel, we had a much higher profile and had become by default the only radical bookshop in Liverpool.

Now we are one of the few independent bookshops because there has became such a decimation of the book trade. One of the reasons we have survived, apart from the dedication of the staff, has been because of the support of Liverpool and all its communities.

“We probably do exploit ourselves, we work for minimum wage and many many hours above that voluntarily, and we have volunteers who come in as well. But we are only dedicated like that because we absolutely love our jobs. When I've been on holiday I am glad to get back to work, there are very few jobs you could say that about. I think if there is something to kick against then Liverpool will do it, and people like to have somewhere like News From Nowhere where they can come in and meet with other people to make things happen, and have the literature there to back them up.

“Post music isn't the building its the people inside.”

“I think we making a very very very personal and wonderful looking documentation of part of the Liverpool music community.”

“We are just trying to get a label going in the cheapest way possible, we cant afford to press a lot of records so this enabled us produce a large body of fucking cool looking and sounding artists.”

Join postmusic.info. Look at http://www.myspace.com/postmusicrecordings

“We definitely have people coming in who have different opinions from us. As long as they come in and engage with us then we welcome that. We did one day have two people come in, one accusing us of having too much Jewish literature and the other for being critical of Israel. We see a complete difference between Jewish people, Israeli people and the Israeli Government, in the same way we saw a complete difference between British people and Thatcherism.

“Having said that we are here to reflect opinions, we do have our own specific opinions, which is partly why we have survived. We are clear about our politics. We have a lot of difference within our collective but we are against oppression, we are anti-sectarian, and, in a very broad sense, libertarian bordering on anarchist. None of us have ever been party-aligned, which is not to say someone would be excluded if they were but our policy as a bookshop is to be non party aligned, although we will obviously still stock literature by these parties.

“It always makes me proud when people come in that don't know the bookshop and find something that was really important to them. I think its a very safe place for lesbian and gay people to come out.

This is probably true of a lot of issues, and our role in this is really important.

“We are going to be struggling through the recession as people are not spending money on things they see as non-essential. But I would like to say that a book for seven ninety nine is much better value than a night out and in the morning you have the book rather than a hangover. But we are determined to stay here and we have had a massive show of support from our customers, which will always keep us going.”

“POSTMUSIC is a group of friends who like wonderful music, exquisite art and fun. We spend our time running a label, club night and a social / analogous network. We're about D.I.Y. community, unity, experimentation and exploration.” “but I don't like it... its a spooky horrible rainy cold bastard.”

“if there is something to kick against then Liverpool will do it”

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Sparks - Album: Kimono My House.

Van Morrison - Album: Astral Weeks.

Tr 1: This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us: 1min 48 secs

Track 4: Cyprus Avenue. 4 Mins 46secs

A song that piles magic upon magic still manages a moment that transcends all others. The song breaks and builds, then Russell suddenly wails for no good reason as the bagpipe guitar sound has a fit trying to drown out random gunfire.

An effortlessly beautiful but meandering song is starting to lose itself in its own foggy memories. Then a harpsi chord picks up the melody in defiance of the mood and seems to surprise Van into a moment of joyful vocals.

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 6

TVS DIY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2009

HOMELIFE

THE BOMBED OUT CHURCH

A MAD WALTZ THAT NEVER ENDS When a DIY ethic produces something so exhilarating that you have to strap yourself in, you often find that the chemistry is assumed to be good fortune. It never is of course, and the great bands and ideas always disclose a strict counsel being quietly enforced. This is certainly true of Manchester's Homelife. It has featured up to twenty of the most innovative musicians that Manchester and beyond can offer. And they all get it. And they all know what is expected. Within those loose shackles though there is nothing but creative freedom, and both their recorded output and live performances are full of situationist magic that is always inspirational. Even when you are not quite sure what's going on.

Homelife was conceived in 1997 and drew in so many people that recording them all at once from the bedroom studio they were using would have been impossible. Despite these logistical and physical problems their gigs were stunning and their albums attracted immediate attention and influence.

The practilaties of working with so many people meant that Homelife is currently the responsibility of two people, Tony Burnside and Paddy Steer, and predictably they seem to be the most polarised of all the musicians involved. But that may be the point.

Their new album, Exotic Interlude, has a simpler foundation to much of their previous work, but you don't have to look too far beneath its soulful surface to find a disjointed brilliance that they both clearly relish. It is a collection of music that the two of them have been working on for a few years, and Tony, lyricist and guitarist, explains the differences in how this and the previous albums were formed, and what is involved in working with the unconventional mind of Paddy Steer.

“It's a bit similar to how our other albums were made really, I suppose the difference with this album is that we had a lot of ideas before we started, whereas with a lot of the others we didn't really know what we were going to be doing and just put it together as we went along.

“It's nice to work with someone like Paddy cos I know nothing is written in stone and he is allowed to express himself in his own wacky way. But when he has a song to go with it then he has to work with those constraints and that's really interesting for both of us.

“We enjoy taking things to pieces and changing them around, and then if they don't work throwing them away. A lot of it is spontaneous when we are recording, but if that's not happening you can't force it.

You can't force emotions, they are either there or not.”

Tony's lyrics seem highly personal and evocative, but he doesn't see a clear emotional theme in the album, and is careful to avoid any traces of self indulgence.

“Everyone who writes stuff has got to find something close to how they feel about every day things that happen to them. I will just feel a certain way that day and that's what I write about. I've got a bullshit detector within myself. Its nice to be personal but its got to belong to everyone else too. Once you've released it or people have heard it then it is their song. I throw a lot of stuff away so by the time it gets to Paddy he knows what I'm singing about.”

Funded by and for the people of Liverpool

“we enjoy taking things to pieces and changing them around” Homelife's music draws on so much and yet maintains a stubborn undefinable originality. As soon as you can trace an influence it scurries away and something appears in its place. But despite its scope and unusual methods the music is never meant to be experimental.

Located on the corner of Berry Street and Leece Street opposite the top of Bold Street. It was designed by John Foster and construction of the building began on 9 April 1811, with consecration taking place on 12 January 1831.

On Monday, 5 May 1941, St Luke's was hit and burned by an incendiary bomb.

The bombed out church has been Liverpool's heart and soul since then. A place to meet or the place to reference if you meet. How all meeting places are judged.

The church has allowed Urban Strawberry Lunch to conduct its business for a short while, and you are invited in with a word of caution.

“You can't fight the building. The building will always win. She dictates what works and doesn't work. It has a presence and a character and if you respect that it gives you back in kind. It has a charm that really gets to people. It can really get to people emotionally, but it is her decision and she will decide whether to allow it to work.”

Think you can cope: usl@usl.org.uk www.usl.org.uk

“We've been playing a long time and we've listened to a lot of music.

All the influences and music that you've ever listened to just becomes a part of you. Part of your subconscious. It becomes embedded in what you do. I don't know if it's strange, but it doesn't sound strange to us. Once it's out there, then it's how they feel about it and what they take from it. Some people may think it's strange but I don't.”

Boss Place!

Over 58,000 visitors since May 2007 Last remaining bomb site in Liverpool Home to theatre, film, music, visual art 2009 totally funded by public donations (average 50p!)

Winner B&Q One Planet Living award 2008 Liverpool’s only DEDICATED and REGULAR outdoor venue

Those who have been a part of, or seen Homelife, often talk as though it is something that has given them the belief to wander without shame down their own offbeat path in life. And like all anarchic plots its real influence may never be known.

“That's what attracted us to it and everyone else who worked with Homelife. The freedom to do whatever you like. I don't see anything particularly subversive in that. I think it's given people the confidence to go out and try stuff they may not have done because they've heard us or seen us live. And that's a really good thing. I'm glad we did that. To have released that in people even in a small way is a good thing.

“We are just going to carry on doing what we are doing, and hopefully more people will get it, which will make my life easier anyway.”

Members and collaborators from past 10 years still include/and have included Graham Massey, Seaming To, Semay Wu, Simon King, Faron Brooks, Richard Harrison, Pat Illingworth, Rosie Lowdell, Justin Lingard, Matt Batty, James Ford, Steve Chadwick, Bob Dinn, Sasha Pushkin, Andy Diagram, Rina Aroyo, Sally Steer, Owen Bourne, Howard Jacobs ‘Exotic Interlude’ is available from shops now. http://www.timec.net/ninjatune/index.php/Homelife for full discography

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sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 6

TVS DIY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2009

HOMELIFE

THE BOMBED OUT CHURCH

A MAD WALTZ THAT NEVER ENDS When a DIY ethic produces something so exhilarating that you have to strap yourself in, you often find that the chemistry is assumed to be good fortune. It never is of course, and the great bands and ideas always disclose a strict counsel being quietly enforced. This is certainly true of Manchester's Homelife. It has featured up to twenty of the most innovative musicians that Manchester and beyond can offer. And they all get it. And they all know what is expected. Within those loose shackles though there is nothing but creative freedom, and both their recorded output and live performances are full of situationist magic that is always inspirational. Even when you are not quite sure what's going on.

Homelife was conceived in 1997 and drew in so many people that recording them all at once from the bedroom studio they were using would have been impossible. Despite these logistical and physical problems their gigs were stunning and their albums attracted immediate attention and influence.

The practilaties of working with so many people meant that Homelife is currently the responsibility of two people, Tony Burnside and Paddy Steer, and predictably they seem to be the most polarised of all the musicians involved. But that may be the point.

Their new album, Exotic Interlude, has a simpler foundation to much of their previous work, but you don't have to look too far beneath its soulful surface to find a disjointed brilliance that they both clearly relish. It is a collection of music that the two of them have been working on for a few years, and Tony, lyricist and guitarist, explains the differences in how this and the previous albums were formed, and what is involved in working with the unconventional mind of Paddy Steer.

“It's a bit similar to how our other albums were made really, I suppose the difference with this album is that we had a lot of ideas before we started, whereas with a lot of the others we didn't really know what we were going to be doing and just put it together as we went along.

“It's nice to work with someone like Paddy cos I know nothing is written in stone and he is allowed to express himself in his own wacky way. But when he has a song to go with it then he has to work with those constraints and that's really interesting for both of us.

“We enjoy taking things to pieces and changing them around, and then if they don't work throwing them away. A lot of it is spontaneous when we are recording, but if that's not happening you can't force it.

You can't force emotions, they are either there or not.”

Tony's lyrics seem highly personal and evocative, but he doesn't see a clear emotional theme in the album, and is careful to avoid any traces of self indulgence.

“Everyone who writes stuff has got to find something close to how they feel about every day things that happen to them. I will just feel a certain way that day and that's what I write about. I've got a bullshit detector within myself. Its nice to be personal but its got to belong to everyone else too. Once you've released it or people have heard it then it is their song. I throw a lot of stuff away so by the time it gets to Paddy he knows what I'm singing about.”

Funded by and for the people of Liverpool

“we enjoy taking things to pieces and changing them around” Homelife's music draws on so much and yet maintains a stubborn undefinable originality. As soon as you can trace an influence it scurries away and something appears in its place. But despite its scope and unusual methods the music is never meant to be experimental.

Located on the corner of Berry Street and Leece Street opposite the top of Bold Street. It was designed by John Foster and construction of the building began on 9 April 1811, with consecration taking place on 12 January 1831.

On Monday, 5 May 1941, St Luke's was hit and burned by an incendiary bomb.

The bombed out church has been Liverpool's heart and soul since then. A place to meet or the place to reference if you meet. How all meeting places are judged.

The church has allowed Urban Strawberry Lunch to conduct its business for a short while, and you are invited in with a word of caution.

“You can't fight the building. The building will always win. She dictates what works and doesn't work. It has a presence and a character and if you respect that it gives you back in kind. It has a charm that really gets to people. It can really get to people emotionally, but it is her decision and she will decide whether to allow it to work.”

Think you can cope: usl@usl.org.uk www.usl.org.uk

“We've been playing a long time and we've listened to a lot of music.

All the influences and music that you've ever listened to just becomes a part of you. Part of your subconscious. It becomes embedded in what you do. I don't know if it's strange, but it doesn't sound strange to us. Once it's out there, then it's how they feel about it and what they take from it. Some people may think it's strange but I don't.”

Boss Place!

Over 58,000 visitors since May 2007 Last remaining bomb site in Liverpool Home to theatre, film, music, visual art 2009 totally funded by public donations (average 50p!)

Winner B&Q One Planet Living award 2008 Liverpool’s only DEDICATED and REGULAR outdoor venue

Those who have been a part of, or seen Homelife, often talk as though it is something that has given them the belief to wander without shame down their own offbeat path in life. And like all anarchic plots its real influence may never be known.

“That's what attracted us to it and everyone else who worked with Homelife. The freedom to do whatever you like. I don't see anything particularly subversive in that. I think it's given people the confidence to go out and try stuff they may not have done because they've heard us or seen us live. And that's a really good thing. I'm glad we did that. To have released that in people even in a small way is a good thing.

“We are just going to carry on doing what we are doing, and hopefully more people will get it, which will make my life easier anyway.”

Members and collaborators from past 10 years still include/and have included Graham Massey, Seaming To, Semay Wu, Simon King, Faron Brooks, Richard Harrison, Pat Illingworth, Rosie Lowdell, Justin Lingard, Matt Batty, James Ford, Steve Chadwick, Bob Dinn, Sasha Pushkin, Andy Diagram, Rina Aroyo, Sally Steer, Owen Bourne, Howard Jacobs ‘Exotic Interlude’ is available from shops now. http://www.timec.net/ninjatune/index.php/Homelife for full discography

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sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 8

THE NORTH WILL RISE AGAIN THE MAYBES? The Maybes? have been impossible to ignore for some years in Liverpool. They have been powered by a self assured independence that for once the band could back up. Their live shows and then a handful of powerful singles gained them a fervent following and the industry started to drool. But they kept all their smarmy suitors at bay and did things in their own time and method. They are not a model of how to do it yourself because nothing was that contrived, but their determination that what the public got was honest and what the band got reflected their ability, is a story we should all tell with passion.

When their first album, Promise, came out expectations were immense. Its elaborate mix of emotional assault, full on riffs and intricate melodies delighted and confused, but didn't bring them the wider attention that had been anticipated. It still seems just a matter of time though and the second album is imminent.

Lead singer and guitarist Nick explains where they are at.

“Its completed recording wise. The songs are more straightforward in terms of what they are about. We wanted to write about relationships in terms of one thing to another. Characters, places, situations that have happened over the last two or three years have all been thrown into this project.

“We spent a lot of time on the first album trying to get everything right. We knew what we wanted to do, but not exactly how it would turn out. Which is why it sounded so eclectic. This time we are very aware of the outcome, and how to make an album quickly on our budget.”

A significant line up change also meant changes in how they worked.

“On the first album I was working with Nicholas who I've been friends with since I was four, and so your working with someone you know inside out. This time it was a case of finding something new. Developing new ideas and a new idea of ourselves. It was emancipating and educational to us.”

Their stance against the industry and passing time meant the first album had to reflect the anticipation surrounding it.

“People were expecting it for a long time and I think they got tired of waiting. But when it arrived they seemed happy because it was such a strange musical journey. We weren't into the way the industry was working and decided we wanted to be paid properly, which is a basic human right. People got it confused with being arrogant and pushy. Well we were but not in a derogatory sense, in the sense that we were trying to achieve something through fighting for it. It is inevitable that we had to work with the industry but its a question of how to do it.

Basically, we care about what we are doing and who we are singing to. It's our main source of energy because we have been doing it for such a long time.

“Our live show is about hi-energy and mass communication by

Caring Services est 1988

Students looking for work?

We Urgently Require “hi-energy and mass communication by whatever means necessary” whatever means necessary. We have to connect right down to the very bottom of the soul. Otherwise we haven't done our job.

The record was more reflective, something for people to relate to. There was a strange reaction to some of those subtleties and some of the stronger songs people never really got onto.

“We were very conscious of the first album making this one. It's like saying if your mind is open to that, lets take it a bit further.

It's come out in a unique way. It is strange making a record because you don't want to repeat what you have done, but you've got to relate it to it.”

Nursery Nurses & Assistants Babysitters & Nannies Classroom Assistants

0151 924 2073 0151 924 0161

Specialist suppliers of Artist’s paint & equipment

Quailty picture framing, canvas stretching Student Discount of 15% available til the end of November 2009

www.caringservicesagency.com carlingservices@btconnect.com 5 Roehampton Drive Liverpool L23 7XD

The belief of the band and the belief their fans have in them is unaffected by everything that surrounds them and fuelled by why music matters in the first place.

“When you have people come up to you on the street, and talk about the music and the words. They are taking their world in your context and you have a whole new meaning for it. On the other hand when you see someone live just jumping up and down totally emancipated from their everyday lives then you know you've done the purest you can do for the right reasons. Its a basic human need. The ways and speed we can communicate nowadays are amazing, and yet we struggle to do it on such an every day level on a one to one basis.

“The music is quite poppy for such a rebellious bunch of people.

But the best form of rebellion is education. If you are focussed with your energy and knowledge then you can change the world.”

The Maybes? Final show of the decade will be on Fri 4th Dec. @The Masque Theatre. Forthcoming LP; 'The Love Story' available from March 2010 www.myspace.com/themaybesliverpool

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Big Star - September Gurls.

1min 26 secs "Ooh, when she makes love to me..." cries Alex Chilton, teetering onthe brink of declaring a teenage rapture he can't quite explain. Andthen, and then...quicksilver guitars chime like church bells the day the Lord himself is risen. Jubilation beyond words.

Denise’s Tea Rooms / Cafe 1st Floor of Sohos (used to be Jeffs).

80 Bold St, Liverpool Home made soups (with roll) - £2.75 Variety of home made cakes - from £1.30 All panini’s (with salad) - £3.30 Baguettes (with salad) - from £2.60 Sandwiches (with salad) - from £1.60 We also make cakes to order. Wedding cakes, novelty cakes and birthday cakes.

Fulwood Arms 0151 728 9038 308 AIGBURTH ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L17 9PW

DRINK OFFERS: LIVE SPORTS: MONDAY ARE QUIZ NIGHTS @9PM

NIGHTS

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Patti Smith Group - Album: Horses.

Track 7: Land. 0.57secs

To order call Denise: 0792877 6632 (day) 0151 280 2429 (night)

After a quietly spoken start, 'Suddenly, Johnny'....Jolting clarity. He is staring at something that he knows he shouldn't believe to be happening, but he believes.....

'HORSES, HORSES, HORSES, HORSES'

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 8

THE NORTH WILL RISE AGAIN THE MAYBES? The Maybes? have been impossible to ignore for some years in Liverpool. They have been powered by a self assured independence that for once the band could back up. Their live shows and then a handful of powerful singles gained them a fervent following and the industry started to drool. But they kept all their smarmy suitors at bay and did things in their own time and method. They are not a model of how to do it yourself because nothing was that contrived, but their determination that what the public got was honest and what the band got reflected their ability, is a story we should all tell with passion.

When their first album, Promise, came out expectations were immense. Its elaborate mix of emotional assault, full on riffs and intricate melodies delighted and confused, but didn't bring them the wider attention that had been anticipated. It still seems just a matter of time though and the second album is imminent.

Lead singer and guitarist Nick explains where they are at.

“Its completed recording wise. The songs are more straightforward in terms of what they are about. We wanted to write about relationships in terms of one thing to another. Characters, places, situations that have happened over the last two or three years have all been thrown into this project.

“We spent a lot of time on the first album trying to get everything right. We knew what we wanted to do, but not exactly how it would turn out. Which is why it sounded so eclectic. This time we are very aware of the outcome, and how to make an album quickly on our budget.”

A significant line up change also meant changes in how they worked.

“On the first album I was working with Nicholas who I've been friends with since I was four, and so your working with someone you know inside out. This time it was a case of finding something new. Developing new ideas and a new idea of ourselves. It was emancipating and educational to us.”

Their stance against the industry and passing time meant the first album had to reflect the anticipation surrounding it.

“People were expecting it for a long time and I think they got tired of waiting. But when it arrived they seemed happy because it was such a strange musical journey. We weren't into the way the industry was working and decided we wanted to be paid properly, which is a basic human right. People got it confused with being arrogant and pushy. Well we were but not in a derogatory sense, in the sense that we were trying to achieve something through fighting for it. It is inevitable that we had to work with the industry but its a question of how to do it.

Basically, we care about what we are doing and who we are singing to. It's our main source of energy because we have been doing it for such a long time.

“Our live show is about hi-energy and mass communication by

Caring Services est 1988

Students looking for work?

We Urgently Require “hi-energy and mass communication by whatever means necessary” whatever means necessary. We have to connect right down to the very bottom of the soul. Otherwise we haven't done our job.

The record was more reflective, something for people to relate to. There was a strange reaction to some of those subtleties and some of the stronger songs people never really got onto.

“We were very conscious of the first album making this one. It's like saying if your mind is open to that, lets take it a bit further.

It's come out in a unique way. It is strange making a record because you don't want to repeat what you have done, but you've got to relate it to it.”

Nursery Nurses & Assistants Babysitters & Nannies Classroom Assistants

0151 924 2073 0151 924 0161

Specialist suppliers of Artist’s paint & equipment

Quailty picture framing, canvas stretching Student Discount of 15% available til the end of November 2009

www.caringservicesagency.com carlingservices@btconnect.com 5 Roehampton Drive Liverpool L23 7XD

The belief of the band and the belief their fans have in them is unaffected by everything that surrounds them and fuelled by why music matters in the first place.

“When you have people come up to you on the street, and talk about the music and the words. They are taking their world in your context and you have a whole new meaning for it. On the other hand when you see someone live just jumping up and down totally emancipated from their everyday lives then you know you've done the purest you can do for the right reasons. Its a basic human need. The ways and speed we can communicate nowadays are amazing, and yet we struggle to do it on such an every day level on a one to one basis.

“The music is quite poppy for such a rebellious bunch of people.

But the best form of rebellion is education. If you are focussed with your energy and knowledge then you can change the world.”

The Maybes? Final show of the decade will be on Fri 4th Dec. @The Masque Theatre. Forthcoming LP; 'The Love Story' available from March 2010 www.myspace.com/themaybesliverpool

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Big Star - September Gurls.

1min 26 secs "Ooh, when she makes love to me..." cries Alex Chilton, teetering onthe brink of declaring a teenage rapture he can't quite explain. Andthen, and then...quicksilver guitars chime like church bells the day the Lord himself is risen. Jubilation beyond words.

Denise’s Tea Rooms / Cafe 1st Floor of Sohos (used to be Jeffs).

80 Bold St, Liverpool Home made soups (with roll) - £2.75 Variety of home made cakes - from £1.30 All panini’s (with salad) - £3.30 Baguettes (with salad) - from £2.60 Sandwiches (with salad) - from £1.60 We also make cakes to order. Wedding cakes, novelty cakes and birthday cakes.

Fulwood Arms 0151 728 9038 308 AIGBURTH ROAD, LIVERPOOL, L17 9PW

DRINK OFFERS: LIVE SPORTS: MONDAY ARE QUIZ NIGHTS @9PM

NIGHTS

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Patti Smith Group - Album: Horses.

Track 7: Land. 0.57secs

To order call Denise: 0792877 6632 (day) 0151 280 2429 (night)

After a quietly spoken start, 'Suddenly, Johnny'....Jolting clarity. He is staring at something that he knows he shouldn't believe to be happening, but he believes.....

'HORSES, HORSES, HORSES, HORSES'

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 10

goFASTER >> goFASTER have been tipped to 'make it'. The kind of thing that usually goes to many a young band's head but they found their sound with the help of Liverpool producer Andy Fernihough.

Andy and Richie from GoFaster explained via a local music forum how and why the relationship has worked. tvsmag 7:15 pm ok...a question for both of you...what made you realise you could work together andy f 7:18 pm I think they had a very unpretentious attitude which proved quite infectious...there was a lot of farting around in the studio the first time they came in, they just really seemed to enjoy themselves. That shows in their live gigs too...

RichSpacey 7:21 pm Well we knew A ndy from gigging together locally with his former band NO. We really liked the demo's he recorded and produced for them - so it was natural to ask him really. It's really hard these days to find people who can produced really well for an unsigned band's budget, and who really care about the quality.

A ndy's also really open minded when it comes to music regardless of style, and often suggests parts and ideas in the studio like a good producer always should. He's just very laid back and easy to get on with, which really suits us!!

I think it's crucial to be honest - you've got to feel comfortable with the people you're recording with. If we were session musicians then fair enough you need to be solely professional and keep a barrier between everyone. When you're relaxed with someone then the results are often better as you're more likely to be more creative andy f 7:26 pm Well, when they first came to record, I'd known them from previous bands anyway. They had no expectations at all, they didn't even realise how good they were!

A pparently noone had ever picked out the vocal in praccy, so I imagine even Rich was taken aback with how good his vocals sounded.

I think, had they been less down to earth or more bigheaded they'd have recorded with someone else. tvsmag 7:28 pm do you feel it needed someone who understood th context of the lyrics to make sure it came across as well as it should. andy f 7:32 pm I don't ever interfere with lyrics unless they're really, really bad. With Rich I suppose I just had to have a sympathetic ear because he changes stuff right up to the last second. z tvsmag 7:34 pm but the lyrics and attitude seem a major part of the appeal, and that may have been missed if they were produced by someone just because they were signed RichSpacey 7:35 pm I guess the lyrics help, but it's pretty upbeat music anyway, the lyrics just help it along. It just gives the song an extra dimension in case anyone is interested - there's usually some kind of message there tho we don't just sing about sex being on fire or any of that shite

andy f 7:40 pm A ll I tried to do was make the vocals sit right in the mix without too much reverb. That's really not rocket science! The main thing for me was that Rich was happy with the delivery, tone, whatever. A nd it never takes him too long to get what he's after.

RichSpacey 7:41 pm I guess the lyrics wouldn't come across as well if we were over produced with loads of unnecessary things the detract away from them. So in that context you're prob right because andy makes us sound really organic and listenable and not like U2 tvsmag 7:43 pm do you feel it is a mistake many bands make just looking to be signed and not looking to work with people who get them RichSpacey 7:49 pm A t the end of the day you are what you are. If bands want to go around trying to be something they arn't and doing something a certain way in the hope of someone liking them, then fair enough. But count me out! If it means us not getting a major deal then suits me fine. I would say some of the best indie bands the last few years have signed to indie labels who care more about the music - foals, good shoes, futureheads, even maximo park. I think the control is switching a lot more to the independents anyway... andy f 7:50 pm Sorry, can't answer that myself. But I can make bands sound like U2 if they want, and I have on a few occasions - that's the job.

I think it is a bit sad, the desperation to be signed that you see sometimes. I'd never advise any band to fork out loads for a "name" to work with, but plenty seem convinced that that's what'll propel them into the big time. tvsmag 7:54 pm do either of you, both of you see yourselves as flag bearers for a diy ethic RichSpacey 7:55 pm Definitely. I think too many bands worry about chasing the industry for a deal and running around after them.

Don't give them the pleasure, let them come you. The most important thing is to work on your sound and your songs and hopefully everything will come to you. We were really lucky with A ndy because he 'got us' straight away so it was a big weight of our shoulders in that sense. A ll we had to worry about was writing good songs. andy f 8:05 pm I don't have an ideological standpoint...at the same time it seems ludicrous to me that anyone should need the approval or "permission" of the industry to do what they want to do!

So if you want to sing, go out and do it, don't sign

up for a fucking talent show. If a label/A &R fella doesn't like you, stop blubbing, it doesn't matter!

Unfortunately, when talking about bands to other bands, (e.g. goFA STER>> - lots of bands are into them), the question always arises : "A re they signed?" It's like they're asking if they're worth taking an interest in or not. I don't think that should be the point, but unfortunately for some it is. tvsmag 8:10 pm gofaster seem to be in a long tradition of bands like half man half biscuit who are probably reflecting a side of the city that the mainstream are convinced noone wants to buy into and yet the public are clammering for andy f 8:13 pm The technology available today, and the training too (there are lots and lots of young people on music technology courses) means you do not need a company to advance you a load of cash to go into a top studio.

You don't need a top studio. Your mate can do it.

The flipside of course is that you have to be really fucking good. andy f 8:17 pm I don't know what the public are clammering for! But I think you're right GF fit in nicely with that tradition tvsmag 8:21 pm by the way this is the first time ive conducted an interview and managed to order a curry in the middle. this is really just a question for andy...how easy is it to nurture a band knowing you may not be a part of the process in the long term. and i suppose similar question for rich... how much sense of loyalty is there with bands in terms of who they work with in the long term RichSpacey 8:22 pm I dont think we've ever had the desire to become part of the mainstream tho. To be honest we just see ourselves as a bunch of mates dicking around who accidently became half decent - so we're made up to have had stuff released by indie labels. Half my record collection is stuff released by independents so already I feel like we've really achieved something. Just because we haven't appeared on the paul o grady show, it doesn't mean we've 'failed'. It just depends how you see things as a 'success RichSpacey 8:28 pm

Well I guess that varies with different bands. For us we're happy to work with people who we're comfortable with around and who understand where we're coming from.

So there's never been any reason to look beyond A ndy.

Why fix it when it's not broke so to speak.

Right chaps, I've got to shoot haven't had my tea and I'm starving! speak soon, it's been a pleasure! andy f 8:31 pm It's never an issue while you're working with the band, building the relationship, but problems do arise later.

GF have been particularly loyal...there must be loads of producers who have approached them they don't tell me about and they have constantly come back to record with me in Crash.

(That's not to say there's any obligations at all Rich

)

tvsmag 8:32 pm ok hes gone..i suppose we will never know andy f 8:47 pm See ya rich bon appetit Sorry guys, I type so slowly.

I'd really like to answer that question without it becoming a rant. There are bands who see themselves moving up the food chain - it's gutting for anyone to invest time and effort and then be cut out of the story. It happens more than I'd like, but on the other hand there are enough bands I work with who appreciate what I can do - it balances out. (A s you've gathered, GF are not careerist like that in the least....however, those guys have done so much work with me, if they ever did move on to other producers/studios I'd just be grateful to have been involved in the first few records. Seriously.)

To find more out about Andy's work visit: www.myspace.com/ajsonic www.myspace.com/gofasterband Andy also worked with Go Heeled and The Bo Weevils www.myspace.com/goheeled www.myspace.com/theboweevils He’s performing with Stuart Todd at his Album Launch on 23rd November at; Parr Street Studio 2

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:45

Page 10

goFASTER >> goFASTER have been tipped to 'make it'. The kind of thing that usually goes to many a young band's head but they found their sound with the help of Liverpool producer Andy Fernihough.

Andy and Richie from GoFaster explained via a local music forum how and why the relationship has worked. tvsmag 7:15 pm ok...a question for both of you...what made you realise you could work together andy f 7:18 pm I think they had a very unpretentious attitude which proved quite infectious...there was a lot of farting around in the studio the first time they came in, they just really seemed to enjoy themselves. That shows in their live gigs too...

RichSpacey 7:21 pm Well we knew A ndy from gigging together locally with his former band NO. We really liked the demo's he recorded and produced for them - so it was natural to ask him really. It's really hard these days to find people who can produced really well for an unsigned band's budget, and who really care about the quality.

A ndy's also really open minded when it comes to music regardless of style, and often suggests parts and ideas in the studio like a good producer always should. He's just very laid back and easy to get on with, which really suits us!!

I think it's crucial to be honest - you've got to feel comfortable with the people you're recording with. If we were session musicians then fair enough you need to be solely professional and keep a barrier between everyone. When you're relaxed with someone then the results are often better as you're more likely to be more creative andy f 7:26 pm Well, when they first came to record, I'd known them from previous bands anyway. They had no expectations at all, they didn't even realise how good they were!

A pparently noone had ever picked out the vocal in praccy, so I imagine even Rich was taken aback with how good his vocals sounded.

I think, had they been less down to earth or more bigheaded they'd have recorded with someone else. tvsmag 7:28 pm do you feel it needed someone who understood th context of the lyrics to make sure it came across as well as it should. andy f 7:32 pm I don't ever interfere with lyrics unless they're really, really bad. With Rich I suppose I just had to have a sympathetic ear because he changes stuff right up to the last second. z tvsmag 7:34 pm but the lyrics and attitude seem a major part of the appeal, and that may have been missed if they were produced by someone just because they were signed RichSpacey 7:35 pm I guess the lyrics help, but it's pretty upbeat music anyway, the lyrics just help it along. It just gives the song an extra dimension in case anyone is interested - there's usually some kind of message there tho we don't just sing about sex being on fire or any of that shite

andy f 7:40 pm A ll I tried to do was make the vocals sit right in the mix without too much reverb. That's really not rocket science! The main thing for me was that Rich was happy with the delivery, tone, whatever. A nd it never takes him too long to get what he's after.

RichSpacey 7:41 pm I guess the lyrics wouldn't come across as well if we were over produced with loads of unnecessary things the detract away from them. So in that context you're prob right because andy makes us sound really organic and listenable and not like U2 tvsmag 7:43 pm do you feel it is a mistake many bands make just looking to be signed and not looking to work with people who get them RichSpacey 7:49 pm A t the end of the day you are what you are. If bands want to go around trying to be something they arn't and doing something a certain way in the hope of someone liking them, then fair enough. But count me out! If it means us not getting a major deal then suits me fine. I would say some of the best indie bands the last few years have signed to indie labels who care more about the music - foals, good shoes, futureheads, even maximo park. I think the control is switching a lot more to the independents anyway... andy f 7:50 pm Sorry, can't answer that myself. But I can make bands sound like U2 if they want, and I have on a few occasions - that's the job.

I think it is a bit sad, the desperation to be signed that you see sometimes. I'd never advise any band to fork out loads for a "name" to work with, but plenty seem convinced that that's what'll propel them into the big time. tvsmag 7:54 pm do either of you, both of you see yourselves as flag bearers for a diy ethic RichSpacey 7:55 pm Definitely. I think too many bands worry about chasing the industry for a deal and running around after them.

Don't give them the pleasure, let them come you. The most important thing is to work on your sound and your songs and hopefully everything will come to you. We were really lucky with A ndy because he 'got us' straight away so it was a big weight of our shoulders in that sense. A ll we had to worry about was writing good songs. andy f 8:05 pm I don't have an ideological standpoint...at the same time it seems ludicrous to me that anyone should need the approval or "permission" of the industry to do what they want to do!

So if you want to sing, go out and do it, don't sign

up for a fucking talent show. If a label/A &R fella doesn't like you, stop blubbing, it doesn't matter!

Unfortunately, when talking about bands to other bands, (e.g. goFA STER>> - lots of bands are into them), the question always arises : "A re they signed?" It's like they're asking if they're worth taking an interest in or not. I don't think that should be the point, but unfortunately for some it is. tvsmag 8:10 pm gofaster seem to be in a long tradition of bands like half man half biscuit who are probably reflecting a side of the city that the mainstream are convinced noone wants to buy into and yet the public are clammering for andy f 8:13 pm The technology available today, and the training too (there are lots and lots of young people on music technology courses) means you do not need a company to advance you a load of cash to go into a top studio.

You don't need a top studio. Your mate can do it.

The flipside of course is that you have to be really fucking good. andy f 8:17 pm I don't know what the public are clammering for! But I think you're right GF fit in nicely with that tradition tvsmag 8:21 pm by the way this is the first time ive conducted an interview and managed to order a curry in the middle. this is really just a question for andy...how easy is it to nurture a band knowing you may not be a part of the process in the long term. and i suppose similar question for rich... how much sense of loyalty is there with bands in terms of who they work with in the long term RichSpacey 8:22 pm I dont think we've ever had the desire to become part of the mainstream tho. To be honest we just see ourselves as a bunch of mates dicking around who accidently became half decent - so we're made up to have had stuff released by indie labels. Half my record collection is stuff released by independents so already I feel like we've really achieved something. Just because we haven't appeared on the paul o grady show, it doesn't mean we've 'failed'. It just depends how you see things as a 'success RichSpacey 8:28 pm

Well I guess that varies with different bands. For us we're happy to work with people who we're comfortable with around and who understand where we're coming from.

So there's never been any reason to look beyond A ndy.

Why fix it when it's not broke so to speak.

Right chaps, I've got to shoot haven't had my tea and I'm starving! speak soon, it's been a pleasure! andy f 8:31 pm It's never an issue while you're working with the band, building the relationship, but problems do arise later.

GF have been particularly loyal...there must be loads of producers who have approached them they don't tell me about and they have constantly come back to record with me in Crash.

(That's not to say there's any obligations at all Rich

)

tvsmag 8:32 pm ok hes gone..i suppose we will never know andy f 8:47 pm See ya rich bon appetit Sorry guys, I type so slowly.

I'd really like to answer that question without it becoming a rant. There are bands who see themselves moving up the food chain - it's gutting for anyone to invest time and effort and then be cut out of the story. It happens more than I'd like, but on the other hand there are enough bands I work with who appreciate what I can do - it balances out. (A s you've gathered, GF are not careerist like that in the least....however, those guys have done so much work with me, if they ever did move on to other producers/studios I'd just be grateful to have been involved in the first few records. Seriously.)

To find more out about Andy's work visit: www.myspace.com/ajsonic www.myspace.com/gofasterband Andy also worked with Go Heeled and The Bo Weevils www.myspace.com/goheeled www.myspace.com/theboweevils He’s performing with Stuart Todd at his Album Launch on 23rd November at; Parr Street Studio 2

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HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? Jayne Casey dissects the long term legacy of 2008 The cultural feeding frenzy of 2008 has subsided and many of us are looking for a hook. Maybe the story of how a teenage punk runaway saved the city's floundering authorities from humiliation is a little too Hollywood. It is very Liverpool though. Its real heroes have always been driven by a desire to challenge perceptions and to right wrongs.

These qualities seemed to be in short supply as plans for the year of culture were being finalised. And that is where Jayne Casey came in.

Jayne's CV was, of course, a little more than her role in punk legends Big In Japan. She has been heavily involved in Liverpool's cultural scene for three decades, most notably as co-founder of Cream, and the setting up of Liverpool's Independent District. Her role as artistic director for the opening ceremonies should have been a natural choice but it would not have happened without a last minute personal intervention.

“The Australian theatre director Nigel Jamieson had been approached by the culture company to deliver the creative vision for the 08 opening. When he was offered his role he said; 'I'll accept the job if I can have Jayne Casey as Co-Creative Director.'

“When he talked to me about it he used the same blackmail tactics.

It was scary stuff, the city was in a mess and it wasn't a situation that I would have chosen to walk into, but I knew I couldn't turn it down. I was thrilled to work with Nigel and my hope was that I could go in, snatch the award, give it back to the artists and get out alive.

“The original brief was to create a ticketed show for the new arena but I felt really strongly that a ticketed show for 10.000 people was a really bad move given how isolated the people of the city were feeling. Also, it would have been impossible to create the type of world wide media images that were needed.

“So I bought the city round to the idea of a big peoples' opening. We then had 8 months to create an arena show and a large scale outdoor event. It was such hard work but it was worth the extra effort because as predicted it was the 'The Peoples' Opening' that attracted the media. The show was eventually broadcast to 400 million people worldwide and within a few hours 'Liverpool' became the most searched for word on Google.

“When I arrived the Culture Company were under attack and the CEO was on the verge of being sacked. To add to their misery the national press were camped on the doorstep and having a field day. Jason Harbough who was the CEO at the time recently said in a radio interview that; 'from the minute Jayne Casey walked through the doors of Millennium House all the criticism stopped ' So although I wasn't necessarily their type of person they appreciated the respite and they were respectful and listened to what I had to say.

“The thing I am most proud of is that we created a dialogue over the opening weekend that shifted the emphasis from the City Council and the Culture Company and back onto the achievements of people and the artists of the city.

Pink Military days

“the city was in a mess and it wasn't a situation that I would have chosen to walk into” “Being the only Liverpool person on the opening team, I knew I would be the flak catcher if it all went wrong. This really influenced my management of the situation so if an idea didn't work for me- it didn't work - end of story. My attitude was 'those who lived the story own the story'.

“2008 was really important in terms of audience development - I think more people in the city are open to arts and culture then they were before. The big cultural organizations worked together and used the year to develop their infrastructure, which sadly didn't happen in the independent sector.

'The Independent District' was my personal legacy project for 2008, and its seems to be going to plan. The estate which includes 40.000 sq. ft of warehouse property has just been handed over to an independent trust. The Independent District will hopefully go some way to securing/developing independent culture in the future.

“In the future I think there will be a massive backlash against corporate capitalist culture and music and independent culture will be the vanguard. I hope that the road map my generation of artists have left behind will be of some use to practitioners in the future.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison.

Billy Paul - 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul .

Track 1: Folsom City Blues 0 mins 38 secs

Track 5 Am I Black Enough 0mins 10 secs

Is this the sad tale of a good boy who didn't listen to mom..shit no.. “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”, then a dash of self centred remorse and the twangi est guitar solo ever.

A daft messy jazz funk keyboard stops in its tracks, then kicks in again with a tip toeing beat and some rasping brass announcing that its business time

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Page 12

HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? Jayne Casey dissects the long term legacy of 2008 The cultural feeding frenzy of 2008 has subsided and many of us are looking for a hook. Maybe the story of how a teenage punk runaway saved the city's floundering authorities from humiliation is a little too Hollywood. It is very Liverpool though. Its real heroes have always been driven by a desire to challenge perceptions and to right wrongs.

These qualities seemed to be in short supply as plans for the year of culture were being finalised. And that is where Jayne Casey came in.

Jayne's CV was, of course, a little more than her role in punk legends Big In Japan. She has been heavily involved in Liverpool's cultural scene for three decades, most notably as co-founder of Cream, and the setting up of Liverpool's Independent District. Her role as artistic director for the opening ceremonies should have been a natural choice but it would not have happened without a last minute personal intervention.

“The Australian theatre director Nigel Jamieson had been approached by the culture company to deliver the creative vision for the 08 opening. When he was offered his role he said; 'I'll accept the job if I can have Jayne Casey as Co-Creative Director.'

“When he talked to me about it he used the same blackmail tactics.

It was scary stuff, the city was in a mess and it wasn't a situation that I would have chosen to walk into, but I knew I couldn't turn it down. I was thrilled to work with Nigel and my hope was that I could go in, snatch the award, give it back to the artists and get out alive.

“The original brief was to create a ticketed show for the new arena but I felt really strongly that a ticketed show for 10.000 people was a really bad move given how isolated the people of the city were feeling. Also, it would have been impossible to create the type of world wide media images that were needed.

“So I bought the city round to the idea of a big peoples' opening. We then had 8 months to create an arena show and a large scale outdoor event. It was such hard work but it was worth the extra effort because as predicted it was the 'The Peoples' Opening' that attracted the media. The show was eventually broadcast to 400 million people worldwide and within a few hours 'Liverpool' became the most searched for word on Google.

“When I arrived the Culture Company were under attack and the CEO was on the verge of being sacked. To add to their misery the national press were camped on the doorstep and having a field day. Jason Harbough who was the CEO at the time recently said in a radio interview that; 'from the minute Jayne Casey walked through the doors of Millennium House all the criticism stopped ' So although I wasn't necessarily their type of person they appreciated the respite and they were respectful and listened to what I had to say.

“The thing I am most proud of is that we created a dialogue over the opening weekend that shifted the emphasis from the City Council and the Culture Company and back onto the achievements of people and the artists of the city.

Pink Military days

“the city was in a mess and it wasn't a situation that I would have chosen to walk into” “Being the only Liverpool person on the opening team, I knew I would be the flak catcher if it all went wrong. This really influenced my management of the situation so if an idea didn't work for me- it didn't work - end of story. My attitude was 'those who lived the story own the story'.

“2008 was really important in terms of audience development - I think more people in the city are open to arts and culture then they were before. The big cultural organizations worked together and used the year to develop their infrastructure, which sadly didn't happen in the independent sector.

'The Independent District' was my personal legacy project for 2008, and its seems to be going to plan. The estate which includes 40.000 sq. ft of warehouse property has just been handed over to an independent trust. The Independent District will hopefully go some way to securing/developing independent culture in the future.

“In the future I think there will be a massive backlash against corporate capitalist culture and music and independent culture will be the vanguard. I hope that the road map my generation of artists have left behind will be of some use to practitioners in the future.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison.

Billy Paul - 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul .

Track 1: Folsom City Blues 0 mins 38 secs

Track 5 Am I Black Enough 0mins 10 secs

Is this the sad tale of a good boy who didn't listen to mom..shit no.. “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”, then a dash of self centred remorse and the twangi est guitar solo ever.

A daft messy jazz funk keyboard stops in its tracks, then kicks in again with a tip toeing beat and some rasping brass announcing that its business time

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27/10/2009

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Page 14

HOW TO WRITE A POP SONG I have come across people desperate to find a formula for the perfect pop song. They study The Beatles, The Smiths, and if they have been particularly disruptive they might be asked to stay behind after class and study Keane. One thing that's as certain as weather is that they are the least likely people to discover anything about anything.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

SINGSONGS MUSIC LIMITED QUALITY BACKING TRACKS FOR VOCALISTS AND MUSICIANS www.singsongs.com

Half Man Half Biscuit Album: Four Lads Who Shook The Wirral.

Track 8: A Country Practice: 5 mins 24secs Pretty much everything is covered in this late nineties opus. Equal drops of wit, dignity and sadness are splashed about till.. “they reckon the last thing that she saw in her life was...Sting singing on the roof of the Barbican”.

Almost too chilling.

This doesn't mean it isn't worth the rest of us looking though. But we need to do it in the right way. Try to remember why we spend time in odd smelling boxes in odd smelling charity shops scouring through endless James Last albums or bad eighties compilations in the hope that someone somewhere has not realised that you never get rid of a Stevie Wonder album from the mid seventies. Unless, of course, it is part of a ransom deal involving all of your family (not just the rubbish ones). It is a glorious emotional folly. And that is the secret to the great pop song.

So simple, isn't it. Take five minutes with this revelation and you should have worked it out. Back? Okay, well I imagine what we will find is that you have got it wrong. Not because you don't understand, but because the life experiences you bring to this pursuit are all wrong. They are yours, not mine.

Despite this I am pretty sure that a massive chunk of the songs you will have mistakenly picked will have one thing in common. Defiance. The song will have an upbeat message, probably an upbeat sound, but it will be tinged with something sad. Something that makes us appreciate what it is to be happy. We will survive, do it our way and bend me, shake me.

The greats either know this, or they just do it anyway. Abba songs are relentlessly cheerful in tone and structured to be thrown away, but they would not still live on in the way they do if the band themselves weren't going through hell in their relationships with each other. Even Dancing Queen has an element of forgetting your troubles about it.

on/Sat Open M m 12-10p pm y - 12-8 Sunda That most cynical of pop engineers Pete Waterman would claim to be the exception to this theory. He talks as though he can throw up a hit or two whenever he feels like it, and it is all to do with simple equations.

But I don't believe him. Watch him on TV. The bursts of tense anger, the weary eyes.

This man has been hurt. And will be again hopefully.

So, then. What is the best pop song ever?

You will kick yourself. It is....... ‘Move On Up’

by Curtis Mayfield.

Hopefully most of you will have realised why, and can stop reading. But for those who are still unclear lets look at the rules again. It is effortlessly catchy and upbeat.

Brilliantly crafted using all the things that always work; swaying strings, driving

rhythms, an infectious brass section and beautiful vocals. Then they are all mushed up into a seamless blast of a tune. This structure was perfectly copied by the best pop song this century, Beyonce's Crazy In Love. But it is not the same because let's face it if Beyonce has struggled in love, then I think she has come to the wrong people for sympathy. But you can believe Curtis. Life is tough. Just keep going and it will all be worth it.

Add this to the fact that a simple message in the song hides a much bigger meaning when the social climate it was written in is taken into account, and we have a timeless, moving pop masterpiece that won't be bettered. Not until Keane have suffered enough anyway. Which is obviously something we can all work on.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Vashti Bunyan - Album: Things Just Stick In My Mind.

Public Image Limited - Album: First Issue.

Track 4: The Coldest Night Of The Year - 2mins 30secs

Track 1: Public Image – 0mins 10 secs

Carnal cravings roasting on an open fire are the order of the day in a neglected little beauty that's essentially "Baby it's cold outside" with the off putting grovelling replaced by honest to goodness emotional blackmail. And when Vashti submits to temptation with a breathless "OK, why not", surely every hot blooded male utters a barely suppressed "YES!"

The greatest intro in the history of popular music begins with a bassline with muscles like Charles Atlas, drums by the four horsemen themselves and Lydon's snide, snide greeting, before perfection is completed by Keith Levene's shards of...is that a guitar? Or some kind of dark delicious magic?

Pa r - U Book ty p to ing s 6 we 0 pe lco o me ple

Vulcan Studios

DJP AUTOCARE

♫ Rehearsal & Recording Studios ♬

NISSAN SPECIALISTS AND GENERAL MAKES OF CARS

Open 11am to 11pm everyday 0151 236 2724

Telephone: 0151 726 1952

Car Sales, Servicing and Repairs

11 Aigburth Vale Liverpool

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Page 14

HOW TO WRITE A POP SONG I have come across people desperate to find a formula for the perfect pop song. They study The Beatles, The Smiths, and if they have been particularly disruptive they might be asked to stay behind after class and study Keane. One thing that's as certain as weather is that they are the least likely people to discover anything about anything.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

SINGSONGS MUSIC LIMITED QUALITY BACKING TRACKS FOR VOCALISTS AND MUSICIANS www.singsongs.com

Half Man Half Biscuit Album: Four Lads Who Shook The Wirral.

Track 8: A Country Practice: 5 mins 24secs Pretty much everything is covered in this late nineties opus. Equal drops of wit, dignity and sadness are splashed about till.. “they reckon the last thing that she saw in her life was...Sting singing on the roof of the Barbican”.

Almost too chilling.

This doesn't mean it isn't worth the rest of us looking though. But we need to do it in the right way. Try to remember why we spend time in odd smelling boxes in odd smelling charity shops scouring through endless James Last albums or bad eighties compilations in the hope that someone somewhere has not realised that you never get rid of a Stevie Wonder album from the mid seventies. Unless, of course, it is part of a ransom deal involving all of your family (not just the rubbish ones). It is a glorious emotional folly. And that is the secret to the great pop song.

So simple, isn't it. Take five minutes with this revelation and you should have worked it out. Back? Okay, well I imagine what we will find is that you have got it wrong. Not because you don't understand, but because the life experiences you bring to this pursuit are all wrong. They are yours, not mine.

Despite this I am pretty sure that a massive chunk of the songs you will have mistakenly picked will have one thing in common. Defiance. The song will have an upbeat message, probably an upbeat sound, but it will be tinged with something sad. Something that makes us appreciate what it is to be happy. We will survive, do it our way and bend me, shake me.

The greats either know this, or they just do it anyway. Abba songs are relentlessly cheerful in tone and structured to be thrown away, but they would not still live on in the way they do if the band themselves weren't going through hell in their relationships with each other. Even Dancing Queen has an element of forgetting your troubles about it.

on/Sat Open M m 12-10p pm y - 12-8 Sunda That most cynical of pop engineers Pete Waterman would claim to be the exception to this theory. He talks as though he can throw up a hit or two whenever he feels like it, and it is all to do with simple equations.

But I don't believe him. Watch him on TV. The bursts of tense anger, the weary eyes.

This man has been hurt. And will be again hopefully.

So, then. What is the best pop song ever?

You will kick yourself. It is....... ‘Move On Up’

by Curtis Mayfield.

Hopefully most of you will have realised why, and can stop reading. But for those who are still unclear lets look at the rules again. It is effortlessly catchy and upbeat.

Brilliantly crafted using all the things that always work; swaying strings, driving

rhythms, an infectious brass section and beautiful vocals. Then they are all mushed up into a seamless blast of a tune. This structure was perfectly copied by the best pop song this century, Beyonce's Crazy In Love. But it is not the same because let's face it if Beyonce has struggled in love, then I think she has come to the wrong people for sympathy. But you can believe Curtis. Life is tough. Just keep going and it will all be worth it.

Add this to the fact that a simple message in the song hides a much bigger meaning when the social climate it was written in is taken into account, and we have a timeless, moving pop masterpiece that won't be bettered. Not until Keane have suffered enough anyway. Which is obviously something we can all work on.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Vashti Bunyan - Album: Things Just Stick In My Mind.

Public Image Limited - Album: First Issue.

Track 4: The Coldest Night Of The Year - 2mins 30secs

Track 1: Public Image – 0mins 10 secs

Carnal cravings roasting on an open fire are the order of the day in a neglected little beauty that's essentially "Baby it's cold outside" with the off putting grovelling replaced by honest to goodness emotional blackmail. And when Vashti submits to temptation with a breathless "OK, why not", surely every hot blooded male utters a barely suppressed "YES!"

The greatest intro in the history of popular music begins with a bassline with muscles like Charles Atlas, drums by the four horsemen themselves and Lydon's snide, snide greeting, before perfection is completed by Keith Levene's shards of...is that a guitar? Or some kind of dark delicious magic?

Pa r - U Book ty p to ing s 6 we 0 pe lco o me ple

Vulcan Studios

DJP AUTOCARE

♫ Rehearsal & Recording Studios ♬

NISSAN SPECIALISTS AND GENERAL MAKES OF CARS

Open 11am to 11pm everyday 0151 236 2724

Telephone: 0151 726 1952

Car Sales, Servicing and Repairs

11 Aigburth Vale Liverpool

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10:46

Page 16

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ADVERTISMENT

THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF...

‘Some Velvet Morning’ by Lee Hazlewood First time I heard Some Velvet Morning it was a particularly sleazy version by Rowland S Howard of Birthday Party fame and Lydia Lunch. Lydia was a screaming, spitting, razor-edged punk icon, Howard was a wiry charge of self destructive cool, at odds with a band who looked at odds with themselves. But all this erotic potential was still swamped by the sheer oppressive simmering sexuality and beauty of the song. Primal Scream and Kate Moss tried it, amongst others, always going for a 'look at how dangerously sexy we are'. Fools.

It was written by the great Lee Hazlewood in 1968 and originally sung by the man himself and Nancy Sinatra. Their performances acknowledge the song's seductive secrets, but they sing it like they are slightly scared of its power. In their hands it sounds like a strange mystic chant. Who knows what could be unleashed if they don't treat the song with proper respect.

Lee Hazlewood was always a quirky songwriter, but even by his standards this is a bizarre departure. Written in two parts a male and female vocal, aware of each other but not responding directly. Telling their own tales of...Well this is where it gets

Situated close to the Liverpool One development on Hanover street, Gostins Shopping Mall offers a refreshing alternative with it's range of independent shops, cafe and art gallery. Enter the deceptively small entrance and you are greeted by Bluecoat Books and art supplies on the ground floor. Here you will find thousands of discounted books and art materials. Carry on up the stairs where Route 69 unisex hairdressers is situated. Route 69 offers competitive prices and alternative hairstyles are a specialty.

Opposite the hairdressers you will find Mookow Army.

They offer beautiful and unique designer handmade jewellery at bargain prices. There is a large range of goth, emo, kitsch and more traditional designs available. By now you will have noticed the walls of the mall display many pieces of original art works. Offering artists working locally the opportunity to display their work and the chance for the public to purchase a unique piece for their homes.

Carrying on around the corner you will find Rojeans Crystals offering a wide range of bespoke 2d and 3d photo crystals and jewellery. Photo restoration and engraving on plaques, drumsticks and snooker cues are also on offer here. Time for a break and a sit down.

really weird. It's about a woman called Phaedra and whatever the hell she's up to.

Suggestions are that she is the embodiment of female sexuality and the song is about how her powers will always dominate the weaker, simpler male version. It could just be a scary date.

Added to all this weirdness is a simplistic musical score. More of a theme for each

character. Frustration and curiosity are taken over by overpowering desire as the voices and scores merge and fade.

I actually have no idea what makes this one of the best songs if not the best song ever written, but all the surveys that have ever been produced indicate that it is, so fuck off.

Paul Tarpey

‘Has Been’ by William Shatner I am actually quite surprised at the number of people who have no idea about William Shatner's music 'career'. Who? Shatner?

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? A raging inter-galactic ego trip? Of course his cover versions of sixties classics were no more than absurd (but also fucking hilarious) and by no means pushing forward a new wave generation of progressive beat poets.

But some 25 years later we arrive at another album, and we assume another pile of kak. However, Ben Folds (who I actually really like) has been drafted in to introduce some accompaniment to Shatner's babbling along with the likes of Henry Rollins and other people of the big wide music world.

GOSTINS SHOPPING MALL

The first track takes Jarvis Cocker on with a cover of Common People and actually puts some balls behind it resulting in something that quite rocks. Bill's grating chants of "watching roaches climb the wall" may even have you shouting along with him. Then we enter un-chartered territory...original material. Ben Fold's balmy melodies give the songs structure and smiley sing along chorus's combine with Shatner's melodramatic bullshit nicely. He tackles subjects such as long lost fatherdaughter relationships and death which tire, but some of the tracks are actually quite compelling.

I still can't decide after listening to this album a fair few times what he is trying to say. His sunshine state paranoid bitterness shines through in the title track Has Been, where he puts forward the 'look who's laughing now I’ve made a comeback' card.

And the slightly pompous 'Real', directing a degrading sneer at the dumb ass fans who actually think Bill will one day save the world. But there is still some positive feeling to the music and does sometimes make me believe that maybe he has got something to say? Or is it just the glossy tunes that are softening the reality? Or maybe I shouldn't be wasting my time analysing a William Shatner album?

Phil Lee

Enjoy a cuppa and a snack in Bren's cafe where the walls display more original art work all for sale at affordable prices. Opposite you will find Barry's collectables with a range of football, militeria, Corgis, Dinkies, T.V. and sci-fi memorbilia offered for sale.

Continuing on you will find Transalpino the UK's number one old school trainer shop also selling unique T-shirts and men's jackets. Opposite is Gostins tattoo artist if body att is your thing.

Appointments are not always necessary here.

Next you will find Collage, the shop inspired by Sir Peter Blake. An Aladdin's cave of collectables including cameras, record players, radios, ceramics and glass alongside art, prints and cards all individually produced by artists and crafts people working locally. If finding that special piece that no one else has is your thing, this is the place for you.

At the end of the mall lies Dragon Indulgence. Here you can treat yourself to some traditional chocolate or candy.

Also stocking vegan, vegetarian and gluten free confectionary, a range of crystals, candles, incense and new goods, ace native American crafts and alternative women's clothes.

If you are tired of the usual high street shops and are looking for something a bit different and special, then Gostins Shopping Mall is well worth a visit

32-36 Hanover Street Liverpool Li 4LN

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27/10/2009

10:47

Page 18

ADVERTISMENT

THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF...

‘Some Velvet Morning’ by Lee Hazlewood First time I heard Some Velvet Morning it was a particularly sleazy version by Rowland S Howard of Birthday Party fame and Lydia Lunch. Lydia was a screaming, spitting, razor-edged punk icon, Howard was a wiry charge of self destructive cool, at odds with a band who looked at odds with themselves. But all this erotic potential was still swamped by the sheer oppressive simmering sexuality and beauty of the song. Primal Scream and Kate Moss tried it, amongst others, always going for a 'look at how dangerously sexy we are'. Fools.

It was written by the great Lee Hazlewood in 1968 and originally sung by the man himself and Nancy Sinatra. Their performances acknowledge the song's seductive secrets, but they sing it like they are slightly scared of its power. In their hands it sounds like a strange mystic chant. Who knows what could be unleashed if they don't treat the song with proper respect.

Lee Hazlewood was always a quirky songwriter, but even by his standards this is a bizarre departure. Written in two parts a male and female vocal, aware of each other but not responding directly. Telling their own tales of...Well this is where it gets

Situated close to the Liverpool One development on Hanover street, Gostins Shopping Mall offers a refreshing alternative with it's range of independent shops, cafe and art gallery. Enter the deceptively small entrance and you are greeted by Bluecoat Books and art supplies on the ground floor. Here you will find thousands of discounted books and art materials. Carry on up the stairs where Route 69 unisex hairdressers is situated. Route 69 offers competitive prices and alternative hairstyles are a specialty.

Opposite the hairdressers you will find Mookow Army.

They offer beautiful and unique designer handmade jewellery at bargain prices. There is a large range of goth, emo, kitsch and more traditional designs available. By now you will have noticed the walls of the mall display many pieces of original art works. Offering artists working locally the opportunity to display their work and the chance for the public to purchase a unique piece for their homes.

Carrying on around the corner you will find Rojeans Crystals offering a wide range of bespoke 2d and 3d photo crystals and jewellery. Photo restoration and engraving on plaques, drumsticks and snooker cues are also on offer here. Time for a break and a sit down.

really weird. It's about a woman called Phaedra and whatever the hell she's up to.

Suggestions are that she is the embodiment of female sexuality and the song is about how her powers will always dominate the weaker, simpler male version. It could just be a scary date.

Added to all this weirdness is a simplistic musical score. More of a theme for each

character. Frustration and curiosity are taken over by overpowering desire as the voices and scores merge and fade.

I actually have no idea what makes this one of the best songs if not the best song ever written, but all the surveys that have ever been produced indicate that it is, so fuck off.

Paul Tarpey

‘Has Been’ by William Shatner I am actually quite surprised at the number of people who have no idea about William Shatner's music 'career'. Who? Shatner?

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? A raging inter-galactic ego trip? Of course his cover versions of sixties classics were no more than absurd (but also fucking hilarious) and by no means pushing forward a new wave generation of progressive beat poets.

But some 25 years later we arrive at another album, and we assume another pile of kak. However, Ben Folds (who I actually really like) has been drafted in to introduce some accompaniment to Shatner's babbling along with the likes of Henry Rollins and other people of the big wide music world.

GOSTINS SHOPPING MALL

The first track takes Jarvis Cocker on with a cover of Common People and actually puts some balls behind it resulting in something that quite rocks. Bill's grating chants of "watching roaches climb the wall" may even have you shouting along with him. Then we enter un-chartered territory...original material. Ben Fold's balmy melodies give the songs structure and smiley sing along chorus's combine with Shatner's melodramatic bullshit nicely. He tackles subjects such as long lost fatherdaughter relationships and death which tire, but some of the tracks are actually quite compelling.

I still can't decide after listening to this album a fair few times what he is trying to say. His sunshine state paranoid bitterness shines through in the title track Has Been, where he puts forward the 'look who's laughing now I’ve made a comeback' card.

And the slightly pompous 'Real', directing a degrading sneer at the dumb ass fans who actually think Bill will one day save the world. But there is still some positive feeling to the music and does sometimes make me believe that maybe he has got something to say? Or is it just the glossy tunes that are softening the reality? Or maybe I shouldn't be wasting my time analysing a William Shatner album?

Phil Lee

Enjoy a cuppa and a snack in Bren's cafe where the walls display more original art work all for sale at affordable prices. Opposite you will find Barry's collectables with a range of football, militeria, Corgis, Dinkies, T.V. and sci-fi memorbilia offered for sale.

Continuing on you will find Transalpino the UK's number one old school trainer shop also selling unique T-shirts and men's jackets. Opposite is Gostins tattoo artist if body att is your thing.

Appointments are not always necessary here.

Next you will find Collage, the shop inspired by Sir Peter Blake. An Aladdin's cave of collectables including cameras, record players, radios, ceramics and glass alongside art, prints and cards all individually produced by artists and crafts people working locally. If finding that special piece that no one else has is your thing, this is the place for you.

At the end of the mall lies Dragon Indulgence. Here you can treat yourself to some traditional chocolate or candy.

Also stocking vegan, vegetarian and gluten free confectionary, a range of crystals, candles, incense and new goods, ace native American crafts and alternative women's clothes.

If you are tired of the usual high street shops and are looking for something a bit different and special, then Gostins Shopping Mall is well worth a visit

32-36 Hanover Street Liverpool Li 4LN

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

RACHELS ‘Art cannot be modern; Art is primordially eternal’ wrote the Austrian Expressionist artist Egon Schiele in 1912, and certainly his own work defiantly lives up to this statement. Indeed, Schiele’s short life coincided with one of the most stimulating periods in modern art, the Expressionist movement, in which he played a vital part as one of its most dynamic and striking personalities. As his bold statement suggests, there is art that is of its time, and there is art that somehow transcends its time, defying critical categorisation.

I would say that the haunting and lyrical music of Rachel’s succumbs to such definition. It is pointless, I think, to categorise their music although they have been variously described as ‘ambient’, ‘post-rock’, and ‘modern classical’.

My first encounter with their music was with their 1996 album ‘Music for Egon Schiele’ I was instantly intrigued by the title, particularly as I had admired and liked the art of Schiele for a long time. I think what I was especially drawn to in Schiele’s work was the way in which many of his subjects, whether they be human figures, landscapes, flowers or plants, seemed imbued with a sense of melancholy yearning, an intimation of mortality and death, and reflecting a certain mood, atmosphere, mental or emotional state.

If you listen to Rachel’s ‘Music for Egon Schiele’, you will hear such feeling and states poignantly encapsulated in beautiful classical compositions. Rachel’s wrote this album originally as a live musical accompaniment for a 1995 theatre-dance production about Schiele’s life, and it stands as a fitting tribute to the artist’s life and work.

The core members of Rachel’s are guitarist, Jason Noble, violist, Christian Frederickson, and pianist, Rachel Grimes. Superficially, their music is primarily influenced by classical music, especially socalled minimalist music of the late 20th century such as the 20th century composer Philip Glass, which works on the basis of consonant harmony, slow transformation and reiteration of musical phrases and motifs, and repetitive structures, droning techniques, and a moving, circular pattern and rhythm. The influences of minimalist music can be heard in many bands including the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Sonic Youth and Mogwai, Tangerine Dream, and even in electronic dance music such as The Orb, Orbital and Aphex Twin.

The music of Rachel’s however is much more than this. They were formed in 1991 in Louisville, Kentucky by Noble, who had previously played in post-rock bands, and they soon expanded their recordings

10:47

Page 20

“It is pointless, I think, to categorise their music” and performances to include a varying ensemble of musicians, who play a range of string instruments: viola, cello, violin as well as piano, guitars, electric bass guitar, contra bass, a drum set that includes a large orchestral bass drum, clarinet and keyboards.

Their first album ‘Handwriting’ in 1995 is a set of seven, extremely elegant classical compositions recorded over several years along with help from members of Shellac, and various symphony orchestral musicians. The music has a poetic quality; some of the tracks are moody with a dark, brooding and soulful quality, whilst others are more delicate and reminiscent of Debussy in their ability to transport and entrance the listener. My favourite on this album is the ‘Frida Kahlo’ track, a simple, two minute piano solo, named after the Mexican artist, and appropriately conveying the beauty and tragedy of her art.

‘The Sea and the Bells’ recorded in 1996 takes as its inspiration, the poetry of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, and the album title itself romantically reflects the impressionistic and evocative quality of the music.

‘Selenography’ followed in 1999, and shows Rachel’s further deepening and developing their sound as a chamber music collective.

Their fifth musical experiment ‘Full on Night’ in 2000 is a split EP with the electronic band, Matmos. Here, the Rachel’s show a desire to experiment and reinterpret earlier material. The EP includes two tracks, ‘Full on Night’ which originally appears on their first album ‘Handwriting’, and ‘The Precise Temperature of Darkness’. ‘Full on Night’ incorporates changes which the band introduced during improvisation whilst performing it on tour. It is a darker, spookier and more experimental version of the same song. It begins recognisably as the same song, but then begins to take on a freer form.

The second track, ‘The Precise Temperature of Darkness’ is 18 minutes long, and it is exhilarating in its weirdness and eeriness, full of strange noises and distorted samples. The final moments of this track disintegrates into a blistering whirlwind of sound, which jolts, jars and stirs. There is some temporary respite from the avalanche before it ends in an electrifying and cacophonous way with a dazzling mixture of noises and spiralling, whirling sounds.

‘Systems/Layers’ in 2003 is Rachel’s richest, and most varied album to date. Developed in collaboration with the experimental SITI theatre company and recorded over a period of two years, it is a wondrous and enigmatic concept album that illustrates the ways in which the group utilise different genres, and musical styles. It

includes material performed live with members of the theatre company, improvisations, snatched conversations, field recordings from friends and fans, which all combine to create a hypnotising and dream-like aural landscape of different and atmospheric textures and melodies. It’s a testament to the ways in which Rachel’s are committed to exploring aesthetics and ideas in many forms of art. There are so many tracks here that are captivating to listen to, and there is a sense of subtle mystery that pervades the whole album as it moves and changes.

‘Last Things Last’ with vocalist Shannon Wright, with tender lyrics, which include, ‘I hope that last things last past these first charms/these pale charms/I hope that last things last/a hook or a flake/to hold on so you don’t break’.

There are exquisitely crafted musical compositions, mainly using bass, cello, viola, contrabass, French horn and piano such as the cryptically titled opening track, ‘Moscow is in the Telephone’, ‘Water from the Same Source’, and ‘Unclear Channel’ You get glimpses of urban city life, through the use of sounds and voices. ‘Wouldn’t Live Anywhere Else’, for example, makes use of bird song, the magical sounds of ice cream vans, children playing and the inarticulate mumblings of people on the street. There is a lovely song called

Discography

If you are seeking an inspirational accompanying soundtrack to the mysteries and colours of the autumn season, then you need look no further than to any album by Rachel’s.

Jennie Tsai

Handwriting (1995, Quarterstick Records) Music for Egon Schiele (1996, Quarterstick Records) The Sea and the Bells (1996, Quarterstick Records) Selenography (1999, Quarterstick Records) Full On Night with Matmos (2000, Quarterstick Records) Systems/Layers (2003, Quarterstick Records)

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Pere Ubu - Final Solution

Human League - Album: Dare.

3mins 30 secs

Track 4: Cyprus Avenue. 4 Mins 46secs

the second guitar solo and this may well be the joyous sound of discovering you can go back in time and realis ing it is probably a suicide mission for you and the world.

Just in case the message isn't simple enough the song strips down to a plodding drum machine and Oakey summarises...New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times.

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

RACHELS ‘Art cannot be modern; Art is primordially eternal’ wrote the Austrian Expressionist artist Egon Schiele in 1912, and certainly his own work defiantly lives up to this statement. Indeed, Schiele’s short life coincided with one of the most stimulating periods in modern art, the Expressionist movement, in which he played a vital part as one of its most dynamic and striking personalities. As his bold statement suggests, there is art that is of its time, and there is art that somehow transcends its time, defying critical categorisation.

I would say that the haunting and lyrical music of Rachel’s succumbs to such definition. It is pointless, I think, to categorise their music although they have been variously described as ‘ambient’, ‘post-rock’, and ‘modern classical’.

My first encounter with their music was with their 1996 album ‘Music for Egon Schiele’ I was instantly intrigued by the title, particularly as I had admired and liked the art of Schiele for a long time. I think what I was especially drawn to in Schiele’s work was the way in which many of his subjects, whether they be human figures, landscapes, flowers or plants, seemed imbued with a sense of melancholy yearning, an intimation of mortality and death, and reflecting a certain mood, atmosphere, mental or emotional state.

If you listen to Rachel’s ‘Music for Egon Schiele’, you will hear such feeling and states poignantly encapsulated in beautiful classical compositions. Rachel’s wrote this album originally as a live musical accompaniment for a 1995 theatre-dance production about Schiele’s life, and it stands as a fitting tribute to the artist’s life and work.

The core members of Rachel’s are guitarist, Jason Noble, violist, Christian Frederickson, and pianist, Rachel Grimes. Superficially, their music is primarily influenced by classical music, especially socalled minimalist music of the late 20th century such as the 20th century composer Philip Glass, which works on the basis of consonant harmony, slow transformation and reiteration of musical phrases and motifs, and repetitive structures, droning techniques, and a moving, circular pattern and rhythm. The influences of minimalist music can be heard in many bands including the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Sonic Youth and Mogwai, Tangerine Dream, and even in electronic dance music such as The Orb, Orbital and Aphex Twin.

The music of Rachel’s however is much more than this. They were formed in 1991 in Louisville, Kentucky by Noble, who had previously played in post-rock bands, and they soon expanded their recordings

10:47

Page 20

“It is pointless, I think, to categorise their music” and performances to include a varying ensemble of musicians, who play a range of string instruments: viola, cello, violin as well as piano, guitars, electric bass guitar, contra bass, a drum set that includes a large orchestral bass drum, clarinet and keyboards.

Their first album ‘Handwriting’ in 1995 is a set of seven, extremely elegant classical compositions recorded over several years along with help from members of Shellac, and various symphony orchestral musicians. The music has a poetic quality; some of the tracks are moody with a dark, brooding and soulful quality, whilst others are more delicate and reminiscent of Debussy in their ability to transport and entrance the listener. My favourite on this album is the ‘Frida Kahlo’ track, a simple, two minute piano solo, named after the Mexican artist, and appropriately conveying the beauty and tragedy of her art.

‘The Sea and the Bells’ recorded in 1996 takes as its inspiration, the poetry of the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, and the album title itself romantically reflects the impressionistic and evocative quality of the music.

‘Selenography’ followed in 1999, and shows Rachel’s further deepening and developing their sound as a chamber music collective.

Their fifth musical experiment ‘Full on Night’ in 2000 is a split EP with the electronic band, Matmos. Here, the Rachel’s show a desire to experiment and reinterpret earlier material. The EP includes two tracks, ‘Full on Night’ which originally appears on their first album ‘Handwriting’, and ‘The Precise Temperature of Darkness’. ‘Full on Night’ incorporates changes which the band introduced during improvisation whilst performing it on tour. It is a darker, spookier and more experimental version of the same song. It begins recognisably as the same song, but then begins to take on a freer form.

The second track, ‘The Precise Temperature of Darkness’ is 18 minutes long, and it is exhilarating in its weirdness and eeriness, full of strange noises and distorted samples. The final moments of this track disintegrates into a blistering whirlwind of sound, which jolts, jars and stirs. There is some temporary respite from the avalanche before it ends in an electrifying and cacophonous way with a dazzling mixture of noises and spiralling, whirling sounds.

‘Systems/Layers’ in 2003 is Rachel’s richest, and most varied album to date. Developed in collaboration with the experimental SITI theatre company and recorded over a period of two years, it is a wondrous and enigmatic concept album that illustrates the ways in which the group utilise different genres, and musical styles. It

includes material performed live with members of the theatre company, improvisations, snatched conversations, field recordings from friends and fans, which all combine to create a hypnotising and dream-like aural landscape of different and atmospheric textures and melodies. It’s a testament to the ways in which Rachel’s are committed to exploring aesthetics and ideas in many forms of art. There are so many tracks here that are captivating to listen to, and there is a sense of subtle mystery that pervades the whole album as it moves and changes.

‘Last Things Last’ with vocalist Shannon Wright, with tender lyrics, which include, ‘I hope that last things last past these first charms/these pale charms/I hope that last things last/a hook or a flake/to hold on so you don’t break’.

There are exquisitely crafted musical compositions, mainly using bass, cello, viola, contrabass, French horn and piano such as the cryptically titled opening track, ‘Moscow is in the Telephone’, ‘Water from the Same Source’, and ‘Unclear Channel’ You get glimpses of urban city life, through the use of sounds and voices. ‘Wouldn’t Live Anywhere Else’, for example, makes use of bird song, the magical sounds of ice cream vans, children playing and the inarticulate mumblings of people on the street. There is a lovely song called

Discography

If you are seeking an inspirational accompanying soundtrack to the mysteries and colours of the autumn season, then you need look no further than to any album by Rachel’s.

Jennie Tsai

Handwriting (1995, Quarterstick Records) Music for Egon Schiele (1996, Quarterstick Records) The Sea and the Bells (1996, Quarterstick Records) Selenography (1999, Quarterstick Records) Full On Night with Matmos (2000, Quarterstick Records) Systems/Layers (2003, Quarterstick Records)

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬

Pere Ubu - Final Solution

Human League - Album: Dare.

3mins 30 secs

Track 4: Cyprus Avenue. 4 Mins 46secs

the second guitar solo and this may well be the joyous sound of discovering you can go back in time and realis ing it is probably a suicide mission for you and the world.

Just in case the message isn't simple enough the song strips down to a plodding drum machine and Oakey summarises...New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times.

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:47

Page 22

THE TOP FIVE ENIGMATIC ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

to plead with you to listen to this as one of the most significant antidotes to the many empty hippy platitudes committed by musicians. Many of them by Sly himself.

Paul Tarpey

3. ‘DRAGNET’ by THE FALL

(or the best albums ever that don't define an era, a mood, don't seem to appear in most people's lists and just happen to be brilliant despite this)

"Paranoid stories of being stalked and creating new regimes"

5. ‘THROWING MUSES’ by THROWING MUSES “a weird caustic vibe seeps out from the music” This was the Throwing Muses first LP, 1986 it appeared. They used to tour with Pixies in the late 80's. I would have loved to have seen a couple of those shows. I managed to catch them early 90's, not sure the LP they were promoting, my memory is a bit hazy and I'm too lazy to force it. What stood out for me was the figure of main vocalist and songwriter Kristen Hersh. She appeared to be in some heightened state of hypnosis, if that's not an oxymoron. Then again, I remember someone telling me that the real state of hypnosis is akin to a heightened state of awareness, that conventional thinking has things upside down.

Anyway, Kristen looked locked in a battle with her own emotions and thoughts, her singing being the device that cut through the chaos to get to some sort of safe haven, for the time being. Yeah, that was definitely the woman who had mesmerised me on that first LP. I listened to this LP everyday for a time, immersing myself into a type of music I had not really been aware of before. You could call it American college rock, I suppose, because they made an impression on those radio stations. They also would have been called alternative rock at the time, and a lot of the American music under that banner tended to have folk music influences. This is where The Throwing Muses were coming from, with even some hillbilly thrown in at times.

Maybe that partly explains the weird caustic vibe that seeps out from the music.

That vibe can also be explained by the state of Kristen Hersh's mind, who suffered from the condition of bi-polar. Like Ian Curtis there is an unsettling stark isolation to her vocals and song themes, and like him she sounds as though there is a desperate need to communicate.

Herch's half-sister Tanya Donnelly provides one song on the LP, the forlorn sounding love song 'Green', which is excellent and doesn't sound too out of place among Hersh's other nine. 'Green' has sufficient melancholy but runs a smooth course compared to the tempo shifting fury,

It might seem odd to be suggesting a mega selling album from a multi-mega selling band is an under-appreciated album.

However, even though this weird, messy, low-fi, downbeat funk classic had an immense effect on so many artists it's possible that if any other band had produced it at any other time it may have wriggled into a corner of cultdom that even cults shied away from.

despair and downright otherness of the Hersh songs. 'Call Me' starts the LP, with twanging nervous guitar and bass riffs moving quickly with the confused Hersh vocal eventually confessing to digging herself into a deep hole and worrying about being stared at. It ends with a dream-like feel, which is common to the LP, arpeggio guitars riffs working off each other. 'Rabbits dying' starts with that dream-like air and Hersh lamenting the legs of rabbits giving way as they run from an unnamed foe. Then it jerks into a fast rockabilly riff, this time with the vocals imploring the rabbits to run faster and follow her home.

Label mates Pixies honed and crafted their own soft loud tactic in alternative rock, but the Throwing muses found their own version, which is almost opposite to the Pixies comic book rock. The contradictions on this LP give a real edge of sanity feel.

On 'Hate My Way' jagged rhythms and instruments accompany Hersh as she imagines her own hate in different identities; "I could be a smack freak and hate society, could be in a holocaust and hate Hitler, I could hate God and blame death".

She was trying to connect to the world in ways that most musicians wouldn't feel the need to. I suppose this is because Hersh had genuine mental health issues and her songs sound so arresting because she had the prodigious musical ability to express those issues.

The stand out tracks on the LP in my opinion are 'Vicky's Box', 'Soul Soldier' and 'Delicate Cutters'. Each one has enough gravel to sink most indie rock and enough beauty to make it not mind. "He wont ride in cars any more, it reminds him of blow jobs, that he's a queer", is a classic line in 'Vicky's Box' but I wouldn't take her lyrics on face value. The literal is mixed with strange images so much so that you don't know if she's singing about herself or someone else. Its all very surreal at times.

And hidden thoughts, and cranked up and forced down emotions. Unlike on later Muses LPs, which sound a bit lazy at times, the rest of the band work perfectly with the Hersh sensibilities, creating a gem of a record.

Chris Lee

4. ‘THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON’ by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE “Sly's mental health collapsed and his cynicism and disillusionment flourished” Before There's a Riot Going On, Sly Stone had produced so many classic slabs of funk that he was likely to be forgiven anything by his adoring public. He decided to test this faith to its limit.

After the highly successful and upbeat Stand! the follow up took two years to make while Sly's mental health collapsed and his cynicism and disillusionment flourished. His fan base found themselves at concerts waiting for hours. Often to no avail. Then There's A Riot Going On emerged to a reaction of bewilderment, annoyance and confusion, and that was just about the cover.

Sly's head was full of drugs and frustration.

He was bombarded with political expectations, many people within the civil rights movement implying that his up tempo calls for peace and unity were not militant enough. But an album that could have been an angry 'call to arms' was tempered by his personal angst and inability to musically express anything louder than annoyance. It was a strange concoction.

This album might as well be encased in mud. Bass lines that sound like minor bruising barely wrap themselves around some of the most sarcastic and depressed lyrics you'll have heard. Even after innumerable listens the album sounds like its about to disintegrate at any point. Its arrangements seem designed to disguise the wafer thin funk with instruments and vocals tossed in almost haphazardly.

The man is, however, a genius, and this genius emerges triumphantly through.

Possibly because he has been removed from the restraints of 60s pointless positivity for the first time. Give it several listens and you'll see how much it has influenced, more from its carefree despondent anger than anyone's ability to reproduce what remains a unique sound.

Despite all I said earlier it's genuinely hypnotic and totally enthralling. you may be watching a man drown but it's about as good as that gets. In fact I just might have

For a long time now I have asked myself: why are the vast majority of Fall records so good? What are the elements that make them stand out from the output of almost every other band that existed since rock 'n' roll started? Of course there are many reasons; Mark E Smith's inventive, rhythmic and utterly commanding use of language; the compelling repetition of drums and bass; the spiky and at times weirdly detuned guitar riffs; and the overall uncompromising expression of who they are and where they come from. Their second LP Dragnet, released in 1978, of course has all of these elements, but for me also has something more, which I'm going to attempt to understand more through writing this article.

The technical ability of the Fall's musicians couldn't have been much more basic on Dragnet. This is especially true of drummer Mike Leigh, whose attempts at fills are pretty funny at times. A friend who saw the Fall in 1978 said Mr Leigh was at least fifteen years older than the rest of the band , had a Teddy boys haircut and played like a bad cabaret drummer. To me it sounds like The Fall invited in a non-player and he learned to drum in a couple of weeks. But it makes sense because all the musicianship is refreshingly loose, and this approach suited Mark E Smith whose extraordinary vocals and storytelling are allowed the space required. On the first track 'Psykick Dancehall' he sings about Rockin on the psykick dancehall and about his vibrations living on when he is dead and gone, the surreal nature of his musings coming to the fore. The music is so simple with an almost sloppy execution but the young Fall lads had such an acute sense of how great music moves. I find this so exciting, that innocence of the playing combined with a perception of how to put musical pieces together to dramatic effect.

It shows how such perception can lift your spirit and jolt you even without some sort of precise power playing.

Its clear from Dragnet that part of The Fall's musical perception is their belief in listening to and complimenting each other.

Original musical combinations abound but there is no isolated meanderings, just a sense of communal spirit. The tracks 'A figure walks behind you' and 'When the moon falls' portray this spirit. Both are slow and dark two chord numbers which allow Smith's paranoid stories of being stalked

and creating new regimes to take shape.

The simple instrumentation of bass and two guitars loop around each other to lift and fall in turns to create strange tensions.

These musicians had no fear of their instruments, instead they put their fears and tensions through the instruments. And their humour is always there, whether its responding to blatant jokes or the dark irony of Smith. 'Dice man' and 'Printhead' are particularly funny. Mark E saying music should not be like reading a story of love, he wants to read a horror story, and then talking about a live review of the fall and the journalist saying how The Fall went to pieces, in a stupid babyish voice.

This variety of everyday emotions, frustrations, humour and petty and justified anger that flow through Dragnet make the accusations levelled at The Fall of everything sounding the same appear stupid. Every song is it's own thing, no one a pale extension of another. For me it is one of the reasons why The Fall stand out so much from so many other bands, they managed to condense all the interesting aspects of everyday reality into their records. The exorcism tale of 'Spectre vs Rector' is simply a very weird but still normal everyday occurrence in the hands of The Fall. And Dragnet much more than Witch Trials set out the ethos of making an LP full of unique songs. Although it was probably not a planned ethos, just simply who they were. Maybe that is why I see it as very special. They quickly moved away from the punk sound of Witch Trials and from the ideas that punk was meant to have particular stances and sounds. Their stance was to do their own thing, to be defiantly independent within an environment of bands desperate to portray a limited image of themselves. himself.

Chris Lee

2. ‘THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION’ by ABBA “Abba's singles are fit to take their place in the great firmament of bona fide musical genius” Apparently, it's OK to like Abba. Granted, it's still mandatory to smirk at those 'outrageous' seventies fashions and pile on the IKEA, sex and suicide stereotypes, because Abba are (tee-hee) Swedish, and could never possibly be as sussed as us knowing Anglophones. Still, that grudging acceptance that they might actually have been pretty nifty songwriters has been around for quite some time now. Obviously not up there with the real contenders, but a good, you know, "pop" group. Well done, funny foreigners. Well, obviously this is just damning with faint praise. Covering yourself lest anyone think you actually take them seriously, perish the thought. I blame Alan Partridge.

sent TVS 56 1a:TVS 45.qxd

27/10/2009

10:47

Page 22

THE TOP FIVE ENIGMATIC ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

to plead with you to listen to this as one of the most significant antidotes to the many empty hippy platitudes committed by musicians. Many of them by Sly himself.

Paul Tarpey

3. ‘DRAGNET’ by THE FALL

(or the best albums ever that don't define an era, a mood, don't seem to appear in most people's lists and just happen to be brilliant despite this)

"Paranoid stories of being stalked and creating new regimes"

5. ‘THROWING MUSES’ by THROWING MUSES “a weird caustic vibe seeps out from the music” This was the Throwing Muses first LP, 1986 it appeared. They used to tour with Pixies in the late 80's. I would have loved to have seen a couple of those shows. I managed to catch them early 90's, not sure the LP they were promoting, my memory is a bit hazy and I'm too lazy to force it. What stood out for me was the figure of main vocalist and songwriter Kristen Hersh. She appeared to be in some heightened state of hypnosis, if that's not an oxymoron. Then again, I remember someone telling me that the real state of hypnosis is akin to a heightened state of awareness, that conventional thinking has things upside down.

Anyway, Kristen looked locked in a battle with her own emotions and thoughts, her singing being the device that cut through the chaos to get to some sort of safe haven, for the time being. Yeah, that was definitely the woman who had mesmerised me on that first LP. I listened to this LP everyday for a time, immersing myself into a type of music I had not really been aware of before. You could call it American college rock, I suppose, because they made an impression on those radio stations. They also would have been called alternative rock at the time, and a lot of the American music under that banner tended to have folk music influences. This is where The Throwing Muses were coming from, with even some hillbilly thrown in at times.

Maybe that partly explains the weird caustic vibe that seeps out from the music.

That vibe can also be explained by the state of Kristen Hersh's mind, who suffered from the condition of bi-polar. Like Ian Curtis there is an unsettling stark isolation to her vocals and song themes, and like him she sounds as though there is a desperate need to communicate.

Herch's half-sister Tanya Donnelly provides one song on the LP, the forlorn sounding love song 'Green', which is excellent and doesn't sound too out of place among Hersh's other nine. 'Green' has sufficient melancholy but runs a smooth course compared to the tempo shifting fury,

It might seem odd to be suggesting a mega selling album from a multi-mega selling band is an under-appreciated album.

However, even though this weird, messy, low-fi, downbeat funk classic had an immense effect on so many artists it's possible that if any other band had produced it at any other time it may have wriggled into a corner of cultdom that even cults shied away from.

despair and downright otherness of the Hersh songs. 'Call Me' starts the LP, with twanging nervous guitar and bass riffs moving quickly with the confused Hersh vocal eventually confessing to digging herself into a deep hole and worrying about being stared at. It ends with a dream-like feel, which is common to the LP, arpeggio guitars riffs working off each other. 'Rabbits dying' starts with that dream-like air and Hersh lamenting the legs of rabbits giving way as they run from an unnamed foe. Then it jerks into a fast rockabilly riff, this time with the vocals imploring the rabbits to run faster and follow her home.

Label mates Pixies honed and crafted their own soft loud tactic in alternative rock, but the Throwing muses found their own version, which is almost opposite to the Pixies comic book rock. The contradictions on this LP give a real edge of sanity feel.

On 'Hate My Way' jagged rhythms and instruments accompany Hersh as she imagines her own hate in different identities; "I could be a smack freak and hate society, could be in a holocaust and hate Hitler, I could hate God and blame death".

She was trying to connect to the world in ways that most musicians wouldn't feel the need to. I suppose this is because Hersh had genuine mental health issues and her songs sound so arresting because she had the prodigious musical ability to express those issues.

The stand out tracks on the LP in my opinion are 'Vicky's Box', 'Soul Soldier' and 'Delicate Cutters'. Each one has enough gravel to sink most indie rock and enough beauty to make it not mind. "He wont ride in cars any more, it reminds him of blow jobs, that he's a queer", is a classic line in 'Vicky's Box' but I wouldn't take her lyrics on face value. The literal is mixed with strange images so much so that you don't know if she's singing about herself or someone else. Its all very surreal at times.

And hidden thoughts, and cranked up and forced down emotions. Unlike on later Muses LPs, which sound a bit lazy at times, the rest of the band work perfectly with the Hersh sensibilities, creating a gem of a record.

Chris Lee

4. ‘THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON’ by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE “Sly's mental health collapsed and his cynicism and disillusionment flourished” Before There's a Riot Going On, Sly Stone had produced so many classic slabs of funk that he was likely to be forgiven anything by his adoring public. He decided to test this faith to its limit.

After the highly successful and upbeat Stand! the follow up took two years to make while Sly's mental health collapsed and his cynicism and disillusionment flourished. His fan base found themselves at concerts waiting for hours. Often to no avail. Then There's A Riot Going On emerged to a reaction of bewilderment, annoyance and confusion, and that was just about the cover.

Sly's head was full of drugs and frustration.

He was bombarded with political expectations, many people within the civil rights movement implying that his up tempo calls for peace and unity were not militant enough. But an album that could have been an angry 'call to arms' was tempered by his personal angst and inability to musically express anything louder than annoyance. It was a strange concoction.

This album might as well be encased in mud. Bass lines that sound like minor bruising barely wrap themselves around some of the most sarcastic and depressed lyrics you'll have heard. Even after innumerable listens the album sounds like its about to disintegrate at any point. Its arrangements seem designed to disguise the wafer thin funk with instruments and vocals tossed in almost haphazardly.

The man is, however, a genius, and this genius emerges triumphantly through.

Possibly because he has been removed from the restraints of 60s pointless positivity for the first time. Give it several listens and you'll see how much it has influenced, more from its carefree despondent anger than anyone's ability to reproduce what remains a unique sound.

Despite all I said earlier it's genuinely hypnotic and totally enthralling. you may be watching a man drown but it's about as good as that gets. In fact I just might have

For a long time now I have asked myself: why are the vast majority of Fall records so good? What are the elements that make them stand out from the output of almost every other band that existed since rock 'n' roll started? Of course there are many reasons; Mark E Smith's inventive, rhythmic and utterly commanding use of language; the compelling repetition of drums and bass; the spiky and at times weirdly detuned guitar riffs; and the overall uncompromising expression of who they are and where they come from. Their second LP Dragnet, released in 1978, of course has all of these elements, but for me also has something more, which I'm going to attempt to understand more through writing this article.

The technical ability of the Fall's musicians couldn't have been much more basic on Dragnet. This is especially true of drummer Mike Leigh, whose attempts at fills are pretty funny at times. A friend who saw the Fall in 1978 said Mr Leigh was at least fifteen years older than the rest of the band , had a Teddy boys haircut and played like a bad cabaret drummer. To me it sounds like The Fall invited in a non-player and he learned to drum in a couple of weeks. But it makes sense because all the musicianship is refreshingly loose, and this approach suited Mark E Smith whose extraordinary vocals and storytelling are allowed the space required. On the first track 'Psykick Dancehall' he sings about Rockin on the psykick dancehall and about his vibrations living on when he is dead and gone, the surreal nature of his musings coming to the fore. The music is so simple with an almost sloppy execution but the young Fall lads had such an acute sense of how great music moves. I find this so exciting, that innocence of the playing combined with a perception of how to put musical pieces together to dramatic effect.

It shows how such perception can lift your spirit and jolt you even without some sort of precise power playing.

Its clear from Dragnet that part of The Fall's musical perception is their belief in listening to and complimenting each other.

Original musical combinations abound but there is no isolated meanderings, just a sense of communal spirit. The tracks 'A figure walks behind you' and 'When the moon falls' portray this spirit. Both are slow and dark two chord numbers which allow Smith's paranoid stories of being stalked

and creating new regimes to take shape.

The simple instrumentation of bass and two guitars loop around each other to lift and fall in turns to create strange tensions.

These musicians had no fear of their instruments, instead they put their fears and tensions through the instruments. And their humour is always there, whether its responding to blatant jokes or the dark irony of Smith. 'Dice man' and 'Printhead' are particularly funny. Mark E saying music should not be like reading a story of love, he wants to read a horror story, and then talking about a live review of the fall and the journalist saying how The Fall went to pieces, in a stupid babyish voice.

This variety of everyday emotions, frustrations, humour and petty and justified anger that flow through Dragnet make the accusations levelled at The Fall of everything sounding the same appear stupid. Every song is it's own thing, no one a pale extension of another. For me it is one of the reasons why The Fall stand out so much from so many other bands, they managed to condense all the interesting aspects of everyday reality into their records. The exorcism tale of 'Spectre vs Rector' is simply a very weird but still normal everyday occurrence in the hands of The Fall. And Dragnet much more than Witch Trials set out the ethos of making an LP full of unique songs. Although it was probably not a planned ethos, just simply who they were. Maybe that is why I see it as very special. They quickly moved away from the punk sound of Witch Trials and from the ideas that punk was meant to have particular stances and sounds. Their stance was to do their own thing, to be defiantly independent within an environment of bands desperate to portray a limited image of themselves. himself.

Chris Lee

2. ‘THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION’ by ABBA “Abba's singles are fit to take their place in the great firmament of bona fide musical genius” Apparently, it's OK to like Abba. Granted, it's still mandatory to smirk at those 'outrageous' seventies fashions and pile on the IKEA, sex and suicide stereotypes, because Abba are (tee-hee) Swedish, and could never possibly be as sussed as us knowing Anglophones. Still, that grudging acceptance that they might actually have been pretty nifty songwriters has been around for quite some time now. Obviously not up there with the real contenders, but a good, you know, "pop" group. Well done, funny foreigners. Well, obviously this is just damning with faint praise. Covering yourself lest anyone think you actually take them seriously, perish the thought. I blame Alan Partridge.

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Actually, I blame Saint Bono, which is always far more fun. Witness his nauseating display of ersatz humility before Bjorn and Benny at a U2 Stockholm gig, before launching into a predictably smug rendition of 'Dancing Queen' without so much as a single iota of the charm of the original. Well...duh, Bono. As far as I'm concerned Abba have always been up there with the Velvet Underground.

then I hear it again and I'm back in the family kitchen, eating Marmite on toast and hearing it on the top forty for the first time, the start of a 33 year love affair. It's something irresistible, the wide-eyed innocence of its idea of disco glamour, a beautiful, uncynical thing, a soundtrack for "having the time of your life." And why ever not, for God's sake?

Naturally, it's equally verboten to pick a greatest hits collection as a classic album. So here I am, doing exactly that, partly out of my customary sheer bloody-mindedness, but mostly a long and firmly held belief that a staggering proportion of Abba's singles are fit to take their place in the great firmament of bona fide musical genius. Each one a master-class in song writing, arranged and produced with consummate sophistication, and blessed with harmonically perfect, yet absolutely instinctive and frequently unflinchingly honest vocal interpretation.

1977 was their peak. "The name of the game" and "Knowing me, knowing you" reached number one within mere months. Two perfect encapsulations of love...the former - "I'm a bashful child" the sweetly tentative beginnings, the latter - "In these old familiar rooms, children would play" - a devastating and, as it turned out, prescient image of divorce.

Granted, there's a few blips, indicators of Ulvaeus and Andersson's rather unfortunate penchant for the West End theatre lights which ultimately resulted in "Mamma Mia, the Musical" (I haven't seen it, I honestly daren't), as well as those forays into that curiously North European phenomena known as Schlager. But for every 'Thank you for the music', there's a 'Ring Ring', a 'Honey Honey', an 'On and On and On'. So, enough bitching, let's talk about the songs...

There are many wonderful things about "Together", Lukas Moodysson's warmly affectionate tale of seventies commune life, but the great big football match in the snow which ends the film is the most unforgettable. Clearly Moodysson is one man who understands Abba. The melancholy of the verse, the poignancy of the delivery, belied by a chorus which erupts like a firework celebration, it's the use of "SOS" that really makes that scene.

Do I really need to explain "Dancing Queen"? I admit there have been times when it seems just a bit too familiar, too obvious. But

A couple of years ago Stephen Fry listed Abba among his guilty pleasures. He said all the right things about their arrangements and exhaltant choruses. But then "I know they're camp and ridiculous and the sentiments behind them are hardly profound". Oh, Stephen, you were doing so well. Surely you can't listen to Agnetha's soul-bearing performance on "The winner takes it all" and simply brush them off as something trite. This poor girl's blues are almost unbearably, as she outwardly accepts her fate while her voice betrays every bit of naked emotion - jealousy, abandonment, the sheer hellish injustice of it all. And it's made even more harrowing when you realise the lyrics she's singing are penned by the source of her agony. And at the very end, "The day before you came", surely one of the most extraordinarily bleak pop records of all time. With a lyrical adeptness that would put most English native speakers to shame, no reassuring chorus, just a litany of ennui-soaked reminisces as Agnetha tries to remember the tediousness of her life before she met her (presumably ex-) lover.

"There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see". It would almost be funny, if it wasn't so heartbreaking.

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Actually, I blame Saint Bono, which is always far more fun. Witness his nauseating display of ersatz humility before Bjorn and Benny at a U2 Stockholm gig, before launching into a predictably smug rendition of 'Dancing Queen' without so much as a single iota of the charm of the original. Well...duh, Bono. As far as I'm concerned Abba have always been up there with the Velvet Underground.

then I hear it again and I'm back in the family kitchen, eating Marmite on toast and hearing it on the top forty for the first time, the start of a 33 year love affair. It's something irresistible, the wide-eyed innocence of its idea of disco glamour, a beautiful, uncynical thing, a soundtrack for "having the time of your life." And why ever not, for God's sake?

Naturally, it's equally verboten to pick a greatest hits collection as a classic album. So here I am, doing exactly that, partly out of my customary sheer bloody-mindedness, but mostly a long and firmly held belief that a staggering proportion of Abba's singles are fit to take their place in the great firmament of bona fide musical genius. Each one a master-class in song writing, arranged and produced with consummate sophistication, and blessed with harmonically perfect, yet absolutely instinctive and frequently unflinchingly honest vocal interpretation.

1977 was their peak. "The name of the game" and "Knowing me, knowing you" reached number one within mere months. Two perfect encapsulations of love...the former - "I'm a bashful child" the sweetly tentative beginnings, the latter - "In these old familiar rooms, children would play" - a devastating and, as it turned out, prescient image of divorce.

Granted, there's a few blips, indicators of Ulvaeus and Andersson's rather unfortunate penchant for the West End theatre lights which ultimately resulted in "Mamma Mia, the Musical" (I haven't seen it, I honestly daren't), as well as those forays into that curiously North European phenomena known as Schlager. But for every 'Thank you for the music', there's a 'Ring Ring', a 'Honey Honey', an 'On and On and On'. So, enough bitching, let's talk about the songs...

There are many wonderful things about "Together", Lukas Moodysson's warmly affectionate tale of seventies commune life, but the great big football match in the snow which ends the film is the most unforgettable. Clearly Moodysson is one man who understands Abba. The melancholy of the verse, the poignancy of the delivery, belied by a chorus which erupts like a firework celebration, it's the use of "SOS" that really makes that scene.

Do I really need to explain "Dancing Queen"? I admit there have been times when it seems just a bit too familiar, too obvious. But

A couple of years ago Stephen Fry listed Abba among his guilty pleasures. He said all the right things about their arrangements and exhaltant choruses. But then "I know they're camp and ridiculous and the sentiments behind them are hardly profound". Oh, Stephen, you were doing so well. Surely you can't listen to Agnetha's soul-bearing performance on "The winner takes it all" and simply brush them off as something trite. This poor girl's blues are almost unbearably, as she outwardly accepts her fate while her voice betrays every bit of naked emotion - jealousy, abandonment, the sheer hellish injustice of it all. And it's made even more harrowing when you realise the lyrics she's singing are penned by the source of her agony. And at the very end, "The day before you came", surely one of the most extraordinarily bleak pop records of all time. With a lyrical adeptness that would put most English native speakers to shame, no reassuring chorus, just a litany of ennui-soaked reminisces as Agnetha tries to remember the tediousness of her life before she met her (presumably ex-) lover.

"There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see". It would almost be funny, if it wasn't so heartbreaking.

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Perhaps we should remember the good times. Those early singles, those goodnatured vignettes about ballerinas, boomerangs and crushes on the teacher.

And the gleefully dumb, fast-rockin' "So long"...if you don't like this, then I'm afraid you officially hate fun. "Ahoo, honey-hon, honey-honey-honey." It's Swedish for "A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom".

Robert McTaggart

1. ‘THE MODERN DANCE’ by PERE UBU “David Thomas is a big man with a lot to say for himself ” When the big wigs from Pere Ubu's record label first heard The Modern Dance, sometime in 1977, they naturally asked each other, and the band themselves, what the hell are those noises?, why are they there?, and, do you really think we are going to release it?. That fact that it was released means we thankfully have one of the great gems of American rock to listen to. Those noises created by synthesizer player Allen Ravenstine are on first listen the most jolting aspects of The Modern Dance. But in reality they are just essential elements carefully layered into songs of outstanding originality, beauty, confusion, anger.... in fact almost anything else a bunch of young, disaffected and perceptive musicians are capable of expressing.

Pere Ubu came from Cleveland USA, an industrial city in decline, and those strange and unsettling sounds are maybe there as partly a reflection of their city's fate. But the noises, like the rest of the music, are as much a reflection of the musicians many cultural interests. Some of those noises echo sounds heard on 50's sci-fi films, and there are so many musical influences from not only America but European avant guard, Jamaica and Africa. But the really great bands rise above their influences and create snap shots of the worlds they inhabit. So the influences don't sound like they are just shoved in for the sake of showing off but integral and natural parts of who and what the musicians are and how they feel. The Modern Dance achieves this with ease, and even could be described as cinematic, just like in the way a great book or film could be described as musical. The musicianship and songs are all geared towards mood, feel, drama and tension, and like a great film pulls you inside.

Joy Division, one of the most revered British bands these days, often get described as a band that reflected their environment in such a powerful way that their music pulls you inside and helps you feel their world, particularly the album Unknown Pleasures. The influence of The Modern Dance on Unknown Pleasures is most strikingly apparent in the production;

the strange industrial sounds, glass being smashed, the surges of sound that are followed by the feel of things falling apart, beautiful and sometimes eerie moments of reflection. Both great albums but The Modern Dance has dated slightly better I would suggest, it just sounds less naïve to my ears.

On the vocal side of things David Thomas was a singer of true expression and complexity. He was /is a big man with a lot to say for himself. You can tell he was very

well read, maybe well educated as well, but as with the music he doesn't sound like he was making a conscious effort to be clever or arty. In fact although his voice is quirky and very nasal on Modern Dance he still manages to sound honest with a real concern for the ambiguities of life.

I wouldn't claim greatness for most of my favourite records. It's just personal taste.

But The Modern Dance is a great.

Chris Lee

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Tom Jobim and Elis Regina - Album: Elis and Tom. Aguas de Março: 3 mins 09secs This adorable little bossa nova cupcake would already be close to perfect, with the duo's intermingling vocals breathing a sun kissed melody. Then Elis simply collapses into giggling abandon, growling a positively tigerish "ZAZAZEEZA" and you wish you were in the studio with them.

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Perhaps we should remember the good times. Those early singles, those goodnatured vignettes about ballerinas, boomerangs and crushes on the teacher.

And the gleefully dumb, fast-rockin' "So long"...if you don't like this, then I'm afraid you officially hate fun. "Ahoo, honey-hon, honey-honey-honey." It's Swedish for "A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom".

Robert McTaggart

1. ‘THE MODERN DANCE’ by PERE UBU “David Thomas is a big man with a lot to say for himself ” When the big wigs from Pere Ubu's record label first heard The Modern Dance, sometime in 1977, they naturally asked each other, and the band themselves, what the hell are those noises?, why are they there?, and, do you really think we are going to release it?. That fact that it was released means we thankfully have one of the great gems of American rock to listen to. Those noises created by synthesizer player Allen Ravenstine are on first listen the most jolting aspects of The Modern Dance. But in reality they are just essential elements carefully layered into songs of outstanding originality, beauty, confusion, anger.... in fact almost anything else a bunch of young, disaffected and perceptive musicians are capable of expressing.

Pere Ubu came from Cleveland USA, an industrial city in decline, and those strange and unsettling sounds are maybe there as partly a reflection of their city's fate. But the noises, like the rest of the music, are as much a reflection of the musicians many cultural interests. Some of those noises echo sounds heard on 50's sci-fi films, and there are so many musical influences from not only America but European avant guard, Jamaica and Africa. But the really great bands rise above their influences and create snap shots of the worlds they inhabit. So the influences don't sound like they are just shoved in for the sake of showing off but integral and natural parts of who and what the musicians are and how they feel. The Modern Dance achieves this with ease, and even could be described as cinematic, just like in the way a great book or film could be described as musical. The musicianship and songs are all geared towards mood, feel, drama and tension, and like a great film pulls you inside.

Joy Division, one of the most revered British bands these days, often get described as a band that reflected their environment in such a powerful way that their music pulls you inside and helps you feel their world, particularly the album Unknown Pleasures. The influence of The Modern Dance on Unknown Pleasures is most strikingly apparent in the production;

the strange industrial sounds, glass being smashed, the surges of sound that are followed by the feel of things falling apart, beautiful and sometimes eerie moments of reflection. Both great albums but The Modern Dance has dated slightly better I would suggest, it just sounds less naïve to my ears.

On the vocal side of things David Thomas was a singer of true expression and complexity. He was /is a big man with a lot to say for himself. You can tell he was very

well read, maybe well educated as well, but as with the music he doesn't sound like he was making a conscious effort to be clever or arty. In fact although his voice is quirky and very nasal on Modern Dance he still manages to sound honest with a real concern for the ambiguities of life.

I wouldn't claim greatness for most of my favourite records. It's just personal taste.

But The Modern Dance is a great.

Chris Lee

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Tom Jobim and Elis Regina - Album: Elis and Tom. Aguas de Março: 3 mins 09secs This adorable little bossa nova cupcake would already be close to perfect, with the duo's intermingling vocals breathing a sun kissed melody. Then Elis simply collapses into giggling abandon, growling a positively tigerish "ZAZAZEEZA" and you wish you were in the studio with them.

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THE TVS GUIDE TO SONGS AND THE PEOPLE WHO DO 'EM THE MASTERS "I think we always tried to write up to the best of our ability. Not to what looked like it was going to be in the Top 10 on the charts because of what was happening at that moment, or what was the new fashion.

We just tried to write with as much integrity as we could, tried to write the best we knew how." Hal David Through every trend, every fashion, every false revolution, every reactionary blip. Through every band or artist claiming to define an era, only to seem vaccuous five years later. Through every false prophet and every bandwagon jumper. There has and always will be Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Few people will realize how many of the songs that made them feel, just for three minutes, that somebody understood, were written by this prolific duo. Between '62 and '72, their music was everywhere. A week would not pass without a Bacharach/David number appearing in the Billboard singles chart. They have a distinctive appeal, but no formula. Both Bacharach (music) and David (Iyrics) explored a dynamic range of words and sounds, textures and rhythms. Burt and Hal were proper craftsmen, but their songs were drenched with a sincerity and heart that their professionalism somehow amplified.

They met while David was writing lyrics at Famous Music in New York in the mid fifties. They continued to meet. Hal David would come in with some titles and some ideas for songs and lines. Burt Bacharach would come in with opening strains of phrases or what might be part of a chorus section. It would bounce around, back and forth till moments of touching genius such as “Anyone Who

Had A Heart”, “Walk On By”, or “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa”, were born. If I was to admit to crying to a song then it would have been these two men who induced it. If I was to admit to it.

Their choice of muse was always inspirational, although Dionne Warwick seems to have inspired them most. Maybe a song like “Always Something There To Remind Me”, that seems to have been cut from somewhere deep inside and healed out in the open, is probably safe in anyone's hands. But if this song wasn't written for Sandie Shaw then she seems pretty convinced it was.

I really wanted to write about where the pain and beauty that makes them so great came from, but there is so little written evidence of their private lives, that time and politness worked against it. Even a highly strained split during the writing of a score to Lost Horizon in 1972, seems to have been just professional pressure and they remained good friends.

Maybe it's an agreement we all have, and we have never discussed. Their music must sound like its been placed here for us, and they must remain a mystery. Their songs pushed boundaries in such effortless ways that commerciality never dimmed their effect. They will always be the real soundtrack to life.

“I was totally against world peace until I heard Bono” This is where I started to see him as one of the true giants of songwriting, and the real spirit of rock and roll. His lyrics were never glibly stating a desire to save mankind. One my favourite ever quotes from Mr. Newman is; “I was totally against world peace until I heard Bono, but he's really won me round.” Feeding the world is not something he sees as the duty of a musician to request. Lets face it, was anyone going to decide to do this anyway just because Randy said so. His duty was to reflect humanity, to give a voice to the people who didn't have one. You, me and your average child killer. We have to understand each other, not preach, and few people in the music industry have understood the human condition and all its blemishes the way he does.

I could just rattle through his back catalogue and quote various pieces of acerbic brilliance. I could talk about his second album released in 1972, the modestly titled 12 Songs, which is possibly the seediest little masterpiece ever released. His highly original, low key arrangements complimenting a lazy, blues tinged delivery as he tells tales of the most sordid sides of human nature with incredible wit and insight.

You can go to any of his albums and hear moments of tight, terse genius. And nothing is ever what it seems. The title track to "Sail Away" features stunning fluent orchestration and a pleasing piano melody conjuring up a sense of optimism as he croons about sailing towards the new world. But this beautiful little piece is about the slave trade; "In America you'll get food to eat, won't

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Goran Bregović - Album: Music For Films.

Track 2: Ederlezi 3 mins 30 secs

THE MAVERICK

Even detached from the extraordinary fire on the Danube mysticism this accompanies in Kusturica's "The time of the gypsies", the point where drums roll and the entire chorus joins in with the ethereal Romany keening, will still cause a beating heart to stop.

First song on Randy Newman's first album is called "Love Story". If you've watched any of the Disney films he's scored you'll recognise the wistful string section, the tinkling piano, then his sardonic voice as he starts to drawl; "I like your mother, I like your brother, I like you and you like me too." The guy couldn't be sweeter, bless him.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Julian Cope - Album: Peggy Suicide.

The first sign that something's up comes in the second verse; "We'll have a kid, or maybe we'll rent one, he's got to be straight, we don't want a bent one". Okay, it's not exactly Holiday In Cambodia, but it's unsettling, in fact you are never really clear from song to song what he means by anything. Simple laments proclaiming simple beliefs have to be carefully analysed in case you are listening to a bigot, a sex offender, a child murderer.

In the outrageously catchy, Short People, the Eagles croon; “all men are brothers until they day they die,” as a counter point to a guy who has a real problem with anyone he considers not tall enough for his world view. “They got little baby legs, they stand so low, you got to pick them up just to say hello." Both compelling arguments, but what the hell point is Newman making.

People took extreme views on Short People, his one big hit. Some hated it, burning copies in the street, while others decided it was clearly a clever condemnation of racial prejudice. Short people,

Track 5: ‘Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line’: 4min 02 secs Julian's confessional turmoil is peaking just as the abrasively catchy lead riff is set to kick in one last time. He can't quite cut it, his voice flounders and emphasises the songs beautifully flawed humanity.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Going To A Go Go 8: From Head To Toe. 0 mins 37 secs you see, being an analogy for all the groups that people really did hate. Thankfully he refuted this, and would only ever acknowledge that it was a joke. And it's surely that simple. Why can't we accept a song about a guy who hates people for such an apparently illogical reason? If you think these people aren't out there then you aren't paying attention.

Already seems to be making a case for catchiest song ever, but then its suddenly just drums and harmonies and the song starts to delight in a way that makes the heavens whistle.

have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet." The twisted truths he presents us are done without judgement, and are all the more touching as a result.

I kind of lost track after Born Again, his most bizarre album that has a cover with Randy in Kiss makeup, dollar signs on his face, and his new found fame with "Short People" seemingly confusing him to the point where his sense of irony allowed him to write a song about ELO. Much of his brilliance is down to the abilty to sing with feeling and honesty in the third person, expressing the opinions of the downtrodden and the deplorable alike with equal sensitivity. In many ways it is ironic that he has ended up writing movie scores, because this ability to allow every character their own voice is cinema at its best.

His career has been strange, he made little from his own early albums, but survived until the mid eighties on the royalties off a fairly ropey group of people performing some of his lesser work.

You will have heard one. People in the music industry always wanted to be his friend, and often found themselves in the middle of an elaborate joke at their expense.

Then along came Disney plus a few restrained but still classy albums. Has he sold out? I don' t think he ever saw himself as in a position to sell out. He was too sharp, too twisted, too brilliant to be accepted by the middle of the road market that he aimed his material for, and possibly too smart and too genuine and a little too straight looking for the leftfield world that he belonged in. So "Toy Story" it is, but also a legacy of endless mini masterpieces told with genuine wit and a sense of how to confront and challenge in a way that most rock icons can only dream of. And the final word goes to the man himself; "Listen all you fools out there, go on and love me, I don't care."

Paul Tarpey

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THE TVS GUIDE TO SONGS AND THE PEOPLE WHO DO 'EM THE MASTERS "I think we always tried to write up to the best of our ability. Not to what looked like it was going to be in the Top 10 on the charts because of what was happening at that moment, or what was the new fashion.

We just tried to write with as much integrity as we could, tried to write the best we knew how." Hal David Through every trend, every fashion, every false revolution, every reactionary blip. Through every band or artist claiming to define an era, only to seem vaccuous five years later. Through every false prophet and every bandwagon jumper. There has and always will be Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Few people will realize how many of the songs that made them feel, just for three minutes, that somebody understood, were written by this prolific duo. Between '62 and '72, their music was everywhere. A week would not pass without a Bacharach/David number appearing in the Billboard singles chart. They have a distinctive appeal, but no formula. Both Bacharach (music) and David (Iyrics) explored a dynamic range of words and sounds, textures and rhythms. Burt and Hal were proper craftsmen, but their songs were drenched with a sincerity and heart that their professionalism somehow amplified.

They met while David was writing lyrics at Famous Music in New York in the mid fifties. They continued to meet. Hal David would come in with some titles and some ideas for songs and lines. Burt Bacharach would come in with opening strains of phrases or what might be part of a chorus section. It would bounce around, back and forth till moments of touching genius such as “Anyone Who

Had A Heart”, “Walk On By”, or “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa”, were born. If I was to admit to crying to a song then it would have been these two men who induced it. If I was to admit to it.

Their choice of muse was always inspirational, although Dionne Warwick seems to have inspired them most. Maybe a song like “Always Something There To Remind Me”, that seems to have been cut from somewhere deep inside and healed out in the open, is probably safe in anyone's hands. But if this song wasn't written for Sandie Shaw then she seems pretty convinced it was.

I really wanted to write about where the pain and beauty that makes them so great came from, but there is so little written evidence of their private lives, that time and politness worked against it. Even a highly strained split during the writing of a score to Lost Horizon in 1972, seems to have been just professional pressure and they remained good friends.

Maybe it's an agreement we all have, and we have never discussed. Their music must sound like its been placed here for us, and they must remain a mystery. Their songs pushed boundaries in such effortless ways that commerciality never dimmed their effect. They will always be the real soundtrack to life.

“I was totally against world peace until I heard Bono” This is where I started to see him as one of the true giants of songwriting, and the real spirit of rock and roll. His lyrics were never glibly stating a desire to save mankind. One my favourite ever quotes from Mr. Newman is; “I was totally against world peace until I heard Bono, but he's really won me round.” Feeding the world is not something he sees as the duty of a musician to request. Lets face it, was anyone going to decide to do this anyway just because Randy said so. His duty was to reflect humanity, to give a voice to the people who didn't have one. You, me and your average child killer. We have to understand each other, not preach, and few people in the music industry have understood the human condition and all its blemishes the way he does.

I could just rattle through his back catalogue and quote various pieces of acerbic brilliance. I could talk about his second album released in 1972, the modestly titled 12 Songs, which is possibly the seediest little masterpiece ever released. His highly original, low key arrangements complimenting a lazy, blues tinged delivery as he tells tales of the most sordid sides of human nature with incredible wit and insight.

You can go to any of his albums and hear moments of tight, terse genius. And nothing is ever what it seems. The title track to "Sail Away" features stunning fluent orchestration and a pleasing piano melody conjuring up a sense of optimism as he croons about sailing towards the new world. But this beautiful little piece is about the slave trade; "In America you'll get food to eat, won't

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Goran Bregović - Album: Music For Films.

Track 2: Ederlezi 3 mins 30 secs

THE MAVERICK

Even detached from the extraordinary fire on the Danube mysticism this accompanies in Kusturica's "The time of the gypsies", the point where drums roll and the entire chorus joins in with the ethereal Romany keening, will still cause a beating heart to stop.

First song on Randy Newman's first album is called "Love Story". If you've watched any of the Disney films he's scored you'll recognise the wistful string section, the tinkling piano, then his sardonic voice as he starts to drawl; "I like your mother, I like your brother, I like you and you like me too." The guy couldn't be sweeter, bless him.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Julian Cope - Album: Peggy Suicide.

The first sign that something's up comes in the second verse; "We'll have a kid, or maybe we'll rent one, he's got to be straight, we don't want a bent one". Okay, it's not exactly Holiday In Cambodia, but it's unsettling, in fact you are never really clear from song to song what he means by anything. Simple laments proclaiming simple beliefs have to be carefully analysed in case you are listening to a bigot, a sex offender, a child murderer.

In the outrageously catchy, Short People, the Eagles croon; “all men are brothers until they day they die,” as a counter point to a guy who has a real problem with anyone he considers not tall enough for his world view. “They got little baby legs, they stand so low, you got to pick them up just to say hello." Both compelling arguments, but what the hell point is Newman making.

People took extreme views on Short People, his one big hit. Some hated it, burning copies in the street, while others decided it was clearly a clever condemnation of racial prejudice. Short people,

Track 5: ‘Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line’: 4min 02 secs Julian's confessional turmoil is peaking just as the abrasively catchy lead riff is set to kick in one last time. He can't quite cut it, his voice flounders and emphasises the songs beautifully flawed humanity.

♬ SONG MOMENTS ♬ Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Going To A Go Go 8: From Head To Toe. 0 mins 37 secs you see, being an analogy for all the groups that people really did hate. Thankfully he refuted this, and would only ever acknowledge that it was a joke. And it's surely that simple. Why can't we accept a song about a guy who hates people for such an apparently illogical reason? If you think these people aren't out there then you aren't paying attention.

Already seems to be making a case for catchiest song ever, but then its suddenly just drums and harmonies and the song starts to delight in a way that makes the heavens whistle.

have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet." The twisted truths he presents us are done without judgement, and are all the more touching as a result.

I kind of lost track after Born Again, his most bizarre album that has a cover with Randy in Kiss makeup, dollar signs on his face, and his new found fame with "Short People" seemingly confusing him to the point where his sense of irony allowed him to write a song about ELO. Much of his brilliance is down to the abilty to sing with feeling and honesty in the third person, expressing the opinions of the downtrodden and the deplorable alike with equal sensitivity. In many ways it is ironic that he has ended up writing movie scores, because this ability to allow every character their own voice is cinema at its best.

His career has been strange, he made little from his own early albums, but survived until the mid eighties on the royalties off a fairly ropey group of people performing some of his lesser work.

You will have heard one. People in the music industry always wanted to be his friend, and often found themselves in the middle of an elaborate joke at their expense.

Then along came Disney plus a few restrained but still classy albums. Has he sold out? I don' t think he ever saw himself as in a position to sell out. He was too sharp, too twisted, too brilliant to be accepted by the middle of the road market that he aimed his material for, and possibly too smart and too genuine and a little too straight looking for the leftfield world that he belonged in. So "Toy Story" it is, but also a legacy of endless mini masterpieces told with genuine wit and a sense of how to confront and challenge in a way that most rock icons can only dream of. And the final word goes to the man himself; "Listen all you fools out there, go on and love me, I don't care."

Paul Tarpey

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