You know those coppers in police programmes who stop worrying about catching criminals and worry more about box-ticking, stats and generally keeping within the process and staying out of trouble? For the last couple of weeks I have been the record label equivalent of exactly that. For the last couple of weeks I have been going through two years of paperwork, trying to add up costings for releases, getting the overall accounts in order for my tax return, and even sorting out our domestic filing. We are so shit with post that I found Christmas cards from 2008 [...]
Pay attention. This is important. I just got served. No, not in the "oh snap!" way but in the DMCA way. In case you're wondering it was the Married To The Mob soundtrack that got me busted. Just like last time I don't know WHO sent the DMCA because Google is run by a bunch of shitbags who won't let me read the DMCA that names me. For those of you keeping track at home this is the second DMCA notice I've been served with. I'm suspecting [...]
Andy Serkis, aka Gollum , scored one of his most anticipated post-LOTR roles recently as iconic British punk singer Ian Dury, and now the Playlist has unearthed the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll trailer from the YouTube masses. According to Billboard's piece on the film, Serkis comes through with a performance that features his own vocal chops (alongside the Blockheads) and an allegedly convincing rendition of a "surrealist path to relating the rocker's journey from polio-stricken kid to top-of-the-charts entertainer." I watched the trailer twice so far, [...]
Much has been said and written about Ian Dury and come to that, about his band The Blockheads. Indeed Ian Dury and The Blockheads live in concert were one cohesive unit that took the recorded material and rather than just replicate the songs seemed to breathe additional life and dimensions into everything. Ian Dury had a stage presence that was affected in part by his disability caused by polio as a youngster, but more because of his humour, artistic capabilities, and connection with the audience. The Blockheads added with skilled musicianship that seemed to be effortlessly [...]
There are those people who will tell you that as you get older, you will drop the habit of swearing. Swearing is for the young. It is for those people who do not know any better. This, of course, is bollocks. Swearing only gets better as you get older. It becomes more fun, you can do it better and appreciate it more. It's the shits. Swearing is wasted on the young. Other than the childhood polio incident, I don't know that Ian Dury was ever young. He never gave that [...]
Chas Jankel Without You Chas Jankel Ai No Corrida Chas Jankel Glad To Know You (Todd Terje Edit) I don't write about it all that much on this blog, but one of my deepest and abiding musical pleasures is post-disco and early 80's R&B, particularly when experienced performers and producers, looking for a sound beyond dead-as-nails disco, forged a new sound marrying the [...]
Here 'tis...the one thousand post mark (...AND some serious symptoms of carpel tunnel. Ow.) To celebrate this slightly auspicious milestone, we've got six of DC's hottest bands who'll be up in NYC next week, gigging and partying at CMJ. We corralled then the same way the folks at CMJ did— through their Sonicbids accounts—and all were please as punch to send us the low down on where they're buying their own records from in the District o' Columbia: True [...]
I reckon some of the tracks I've featured in this series looking back to an era that was decades ago haven't aged all that well. But that isn't something that can be levelled at today's bit of magic:- mp3 : Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3) This actually charted 30 years ago this week, entering the Top 40 at #6. Any song which came in that high usually took the top spot the following week, but it only reached #3 with the [...]
Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 – 27 March 2000) was an English rock and roll singer, songwriter, and bandleader who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music. He is best known as founder, frontman, and lead singer of the British band Ian Dury and the Blockheads, who, with other bands like the Talking Heads, ushered in the New Wave era.1. Reasons To
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Sweet Gene Vincent ( buy ) "I miss your sad Virginia whisper, I miss the voice that called my heart..." One of the most heartfelt tributes from one musician to another that I know. "White face black shirt white socks black shoes black hair white strat bled white died black..."
Am Anfang dachte ichoftwenigan dichimmer dannwenn ich an dich dachtesah ich dich im Wind stehenan einem Strandan einem Flusswarum auch immermanchmal dachte ichRucksack packenhinfahrenmich in den Wind stellenich hab es gatannicht zu feigenicht zu weitnicht zu gefährlichund dann kam alles ganz andersund viel besserund dann doch jede Menge Windneben dir, hinter dir, vor dirmit dirgegen den Sturmmit
Latest team news is that 'arry is going to throw them under the bus give the kids another run out in the UEFA Cup 2nd leg against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday. This gives us the chance to see the new Clown Prince of goalkeepers in action... Pictured above: Gomes in action where he knocked out one of his own players, pulled an injury of his own and conceeded a 2nd goal. All this happened in the same game . [...]
With less than 30 records in my to-be-recorded queue, my computer area is reaching a level of non-clutter that it has not seen in years. If I somehow manage to become totally caught up in my record recording I'm kind of scared as to what might happen. It could be crazy, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria. Or maybe I'll just finally find that copy of the Metropolis soundtrack again, who knows. Franz Ferdinand Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Remix) Ulysses (Mr. Dan Remix) [...]
MUSIC NEWS - The Blockheads return to the European stages this spring to support the band's new studio album, "Staring Down The Barrel ," (April 6 via EMI Records.). The tour kicks off at The Junction in Cambridge, U.K., April 1 with dates running through May 2 at the Palace Theatre in Essex, UK (full itinerary is below). Sta ring Down The Barrel makes the second studio appearance by the the punk and new wave-era British band since frontman Ian Dury died of cancer in 2000. The band was originally known as [...]
I was going to talk about the inaguration, but honestly, if you haven't heard enough about it by now then there is seriously something wrong with you. It was cool. Go Obama, good luck. Now don't fuck it up. In other news; people need to STOP asking for me to repost shit in my comment section. I understand if you want something I already posted but since removed but I can't put it back up just because you want it. If I did that for you I'd be doing it for everyone else and that kind of [...]
Photo courtesy of embellezca on Flickr Chaz Jankel - You're Too Funky (Ilija Rudman Remix) Back in March we saw the release of Chaz Jankel's "Get Yourself Together" single on Tirk Records with remixes by disco house denizens Hercules & Love Affair and Todd Terje. Despite being a native of Croatia, not exactly a stone's throw away from the ground where Paradise Garage once stood, producer Ilija Rudman has been dropping records that hearken back to the original days [...]
Ian Dury & the Blockheads: Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Perhaps we've all got somewhat irrational dislikes or bugbears in music... one of mine is Black or worse, Jamaican, accents affected by regular white guys. British band UB40 might've been the start of this in my limited musical world, I know Jagger's foolishness on 'Hot Stuff' did nothing to help. Enough it was to put me right off the headline band at a recent gig to raise money for Strummerville - the Racketeers opened with 'Kingston Soul Beat', complete with exaggerated faux-Jamaican spoken vocals; they were sunk for me. Adding repeated shouts of [...]
Before you read on, I need to make one thing straight…..this is not in any way intended to be a rant, a whinge or a moan. It's just a response to a couple of things that have happened in recent days… I think without exception, all of the folks whose blogs I enjoy reading the most are in a similar position to myself, in that their sites are written-up and looked after in among loads of other
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