It's the moment you've really not been waiting for, yes folks, it's time for me to share with you all my favourite albums of the past twelve months. I fully appreciate that what I say doesn't really matter all that much and nor should it, but hey indulge me a little. This is now the fourth year that I have found myself compiling these lists. Back in 2008 and 2009 I came up with a Top 50 for each year which just seems insane to me these days. This year I have stuck with a top ten, mainly because I [...]
Today sees the release of singer/songwriter Peter Kelly's new and by far and away best album to date, 'The White Feather Trail'. Better known to the world as Beerjacket, this latest offering sees the Glasgow based singer really stepping up to the plate. Having been treated to some of these first hand in the intimate surroundings of the Hidden Lane Cafe session gig we put on back in May, it has the sound of a man who feels very comfortable in his on skin. As we start to approach that time of year when folk start discussing their potential albums [...]
Welcome to the four edition of New Music by Region . Every fortnight we aim to present the best new music in 8 major cities and regions from across the UK. With the help of regional correspondents, we plan to present our shortlist of new music in Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Norwich, Manchester and Oxford. New Music by Region #3 can be found here ! [...]
Whenever I get in a conversation about songwriters with friends, inevitably I bring up the fact that I think Bruce Springsteen is one of the best ever. I don't say it to be cute, funny or different. I say it cause it's the damn truth. Beneath the schmaltz, tight jeans and dancing Courtney Cox is a man who possesses an ability with the pen that isn't matched by many. The problem, of course, is that we hear these songs with all that 80s excess and don't really think about how depressingly real the words are that Springsteen uses. For instance, [...]
A selection of photos from Sons and Daughters ' show with Beerjacket and She's Hit at SWG3. All photos taken by Julia Stryj . More of Julia's work can be found here , and Steve McGillivray's review of the gig can be found here
I guess it safe to say that sessions play a major role in the... erm popularity of this blog, I very much doubt that the majority of folk that come on here do so for my ramblings. If it's tune that you are after, then it's tunes that you shall have (good tunes at that). Back in March myself and Sean, who we have to thank for making this all happen, put on our second ever live session night. I have previously posted the session that Michael Cassidy performed, so now it's time for the main course, a live session [...]
Once again I am not going to be In Glasgow this weekend, sadly I won't be gigging elsewhere. Instead I'll be down in Inveraray at a wedding, for those of you who know me in real life, you'll probably already know that this is where my wife is actually from and it's also where we tied the knot many moons ago. We haven't been back in ages, so I am looking forward to getting out of the city for a few days, there's something quite tranquil about being next to a Loch. Sometimes I toy with the idea of moving [...]
Randolph's Leap In case some of you missed my post a couple of weeks back, myself and Halina from the Glasgow Podcart have decided to team up together to set up our own we label, Olive Grove Records. Our first release is going to be with the fabulous Randolph's Leap, who's EP 'Battelships & Kettle Chips' comes out a week on Monday (15th). As a wee taster of what you can expect, the band have posted all of their back catalogue to date up for free download on their Bandcamp page. You can also stream the [...]
The days grow short enough to burn at both ends; it's dark when I wake, still dark when I leave for work, and dusk when I return. In today's rain, it was darker still: hard to find the school building in the thick, clouded air; dismal on the return trip, wind whipping wet leaves across my path as I crested the hill into the mist towards home. I'm hardly home, of course. Play rehearsals in the looming darkness of the local town hall take their toll, as do late [...]
'They Shoot Music Don't They' regularly film the world's best new bands on the streets of their hometown Vienna. Recently they visited Scotland to capture some of our finest musicians in unusual places. This week, Beerjacket in a phone box and a barber shop on Sauchiehall Street. They Shoot Music Don't They Goes to Scotland #5 -- [...]
The Twilight Sad The 'Sad boys recorded a session for LimeWire (when did LimeWire go legit?), they're currently giving away "Cold Days From The Birdhouse (Live At Lime)" as a free download here . Jenny & Johnny Perhaps you might know them better as Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley fame (does anyone know if they've officially split up?) and her Glasgow born boyfriend, Jonathan Rice. Well they've decided to make an album together, as a wee preview they're giving away a free download of their song ' Scissor Runner '. Pleasant [...]
Monday - Blue Sky Archives were the meat in this weeks Peenko sandwich Tuesday - Teenage Fanclub 's session for 6Music and Rachel Sermanni 's session for Vic Wednesday - the rather delicious eagleowl took the plunge into the great big Scots Way-Hay pool, plus Glasgow folksters Trembling Bells session for Marc Riley Thursday - nowt happened as I was up in Inverness, I am planning to write a wee post about my adventures, that probably won't be [...]
Meursault God Don't Like it have a free Download of Meursault's ' Crank Resolutions ' up for grabs. It's taken from their 2nd album "All Creatures will Make Merry" which is due out at the end of May. Wounded Knee I caught Drew aka 'Wounded Knee' last week at the warm up to the Dead Parrots 3rd birthday bash, alongside the ever fabulous RM Hubbert. Both of them put on top performances, so I must admit that I was well chuffed when I stumbled across his newest release, The Ayrtime.Org EP, it's [...]
Suzanne Shaw is one courageous cookie. Whenever the St Andrews musician plays a gig, she morphs into PANDA SU , heart-crushing singer extraordinaire decorated chin to forehead in black and white paint to cover up the tear stains. Naming your music output after a creature of the wild may seem like a very modern trend, but it's nothing new. The biggest band the world has ever seen was named after a garden inset after all. But Panda Su is not like the rest. [...]
Forget the jewellery, walk away from the crotchless panties, put down the designer wallet. The best Valentine's Day gifts are the ones where clearly some deep thought has gone into it, an original idea, that special personal touch. Unfortunately, this requires two qualities that not everyone acquired in the gene pool - imagination and creativity - so the next best thing is the trusty custom-made romantic mix CD, which we've just gone and made for you to download and burn onto a single CD-R. As you will no doubt have already [...]
The "customers who bought album X also bought album Y" recommendation model tends to work a treat with music consumers because most bands sound like the bastard child of their influences. However, there are three acts currently enjoying healthy popularity who must have been let out of a padlocked room after being forced to listen to one album on repeat. What's most strange, though, is that when you hear these clones you will soon discover that this is not a bad thing . OWL CITY [...]
It has been just over 14 years since I went to my first ever 'Tuts gig. It was only my third ever gig, the first two being at the Barras (Stone Temple Pilots and Terrorvision in case you were wondering), as a bright eyed 16 year old I don't know if I was more excited about the gig or the fact that I had gotten into a proper bar with my dodgy fake ISIC card. Originally I had gone out for the night to queue outside the Barras in the hope that [...]
From day one of The Pop Cop , this blog has directed readers to the MySpace page of any artist we've written about. The social networking site's instant ability to let fans hear streamed songs packaged in a consistent, practical set-up made it a much more reliable alternative to linking to a band's custom-made website. Recently, however, it has been pretty hard to resist the urge to hunt down the people who run MySpace and give them a right good kick to the crotch. They seem hellbent on making the experience increasingly annoying for everyone. Musicians are [...]
King Post Kitsch I really meant to post this ages agao, but in the clutter that is my mind it got buried under something useless, so please accept my belated apologies for not sharing this with you a fair bit sooner. KPK has posted a free download of his debut EP over at their Bandcamp page. I have been listening to this a fair bit this week, I hope you'll like it too. Beerjacket Another week and another Beerjacket freebie, Peter Kelly is one helluva kid fella, this weeks [...]
We're Only Afraid Of NYC I really meant to catch these guys at Tuts a couple of nights back, sadly I couldn't convince anyone to leave Sleazys in time, useless twat that I am. Bit of a pisser on my part, on a brighter note they've put a few of their songs to download for free here . Camera Obscura I know you are probably sick of Christmas already (seriously when the fuck is the sodding snow going to melt), but that's still [...]
Peenko
The 405
The Ruckus
Muso's Guide
Cover Lay Down
Dear Scotland
The Pop Cop
![Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/l2f6UbMnlq4_130.jpg)
Drake ft. The Weeknd - Crew Love (Shlohmo Remix)
Music Singles Chart #95
Foo Fighers – Rope (Deadmau5 Remix) : Must Hear Remix + Grammy Performance
