Blog: Irk The Purists

They're back! And I couldn't be happier. I'd written them off as a one-off, but Neon Neon are back, back, back. Hooray. This time around, they're biographising (hey, did I just invent a word?) Giangiacomo Feltrinelli . Okay, I'll admit I was unaware of him, but he was apparently an Italian publisher and activist. If that's not enough to tempt you to give the new album a spin, it features Sabrina among its guest stars. Yes, that Sabrina . Here's the new single, less than 2 minutes long: [...]

Congratulations to the BBC for perpetrating a great April Fool joke today. I awoke this morning to be told that a shonky 20-year old single by PJ and Duncan was a new entry at Number One in the charts. Hilarious, right up there with the Spaghetti Trees of Switzerland and the Isle of San Seriffe . Bwah, hah, hah! Hang on a second..... What did you just say? It's not a joke?

There were few revelations in the BBC's documentary about Nile Rodgers on Friday night , but it's always entertaining to hear the man talking, and even better to hear others talking about him (and Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson). And the sight of Johnny Marr on stage in Montreux jamming with what's left of Chic reminds one that for all Morrissey's considerable talents, you'd much prefer to spend time with Marr. I mean, can you really picture Morrissey yucking it up with a disco group? I say there were few revelations, but there [...]

A very enjoyable interview with Steve Reich here , conducted by the genial Alexis Petridis. I always forget the fact, but it's salutary to be reminded that he and Philip Glass once ran a removal company. On the subject of Reich anecdotes, I love the story that used to be told about The House of Love. It's probably apocryphal; I really hope it isn't. Apparently when Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers of the aforementioned combo were rising stars (c. 1988), they let on that they were big fans of Steve Reich. Their [...]

RIP Cleotha Staples 1934-2013

Jobson Sir Edmund Hillary In similar vein, I was astonished to see that former Skids frontman Richard Jobson [...]

Weatherall Moore Have curmudgeonly comics supremo Alan Moore and only marginally less curmudgeonly record [...]

RIP Mark Kamins 1955-2013 http://www.redbullmusicacademy .com/magazine/mark-kamins-rip

This is so great, and despite being brand new would have been right at home on Trevor Jackson's Metal Dance ( see below). It's not by any German metal bashers though; instead it's by a beardie American guy whose most recent offering before this one was recorded with Midlake. Ladeez and gennelmen, Mr. John Grant.

Best book There have been a few that are worthy of mention; Matt Thorne's Prince biog was worth a look but flawed by a) its earnestness and b) the equal weighting it placed on all phases of his career. Normally, I'd be praising the latter quality as a sign of even-handedness, and the biographer as having the correct amount of detachment from the subject. But even his least ardent supporters would argue that the years 1979 to 1987 are the only ones that count in the Prince story, and that these are the ones [...]

2012 Irk The Purists Story of the Year Just sneaking in under the wire at 10pm on 31st December, this was the strange sighting of Tim Burton and Helena Bonham-Carter at an Angus leisure centre. The reasons for their appearance are a little unclear at the time of writing (and while I'd love to see Willie Wonka and the Haunted Squash Court , I think we can safely discount the possibility that they were there for research purposes), but I'm keenly watching http://www.facebook.com/thecou rieruk [...]

Apologies for anyone who has been waiting for the annual Xmas round up from all of us here at ITP (there may well be some, you never know). However, normal service has been interrupted by a complete lack of home Internet access since December 21st. And we were just in the middle of watching the final of Junior Apprentice too. Nuts. It's still not been turned back on, which is a clear violation of my 21st century human rights, and Ban Ki-Moon will be informed. An engineer is coming out tomorrow morning, so with luck I might just be [...]

I know mashups are so yesterday, but I was quite taken by this... Blondie vs Philip Glass (The Daft Beatles)

• DAFT BEATLES - Blondie vs Philip Glass - 'Heart of Glass' - @daftbeatles MASHUP

Forget Cream, forget Blind Faith, forget The Power Station, forget Rocket Juice & The Moon... this is a supergroup. From 1980-something, Wogan (introduced by Jonathan Ross) featuring Hugh Laurie, Phoebe Legere and the late, UKIP-supporting xylophonist Sir Patrick Moore. While I can't be 100% sure of the year (and can't be bothered Googling it), I'm pretty sure it's circa 1987, as I remember seeing it at the time and being aware that Phoebe Legere had recently tinkled the ivories on that year's Dirtdish by Wiseblood, aka Clint Ruin, aka Jim Thirlwell. [...]

And talking of sound-alikes, am I only person who, every time he hears the first 10 seconds of Foals' newie Inhaler on the wireless, thinks he's going to be treated to a burst of Follow You Follow Me by the mighty Genesis?

I may not have mentioned this before but here at Irk The Purists Towers we have an annual "Sounds Like Ladytron" competition for the song that most accurately apes said group but which isn't actually Ladyton. This year's current leader (and unless things change dramatically in the coming 4 weeks, it will probably be crowned this year's winner) is Goods by iamamiwhoami ( "crazy name, crazy guys "-Ed). These Swedish funsters have almost certainly pipped previous winners such as Chicks On Speed and Fischerspooner to this coveted title. They've also got the "Most Horrific Fake [...]

You don't need me to tell you that Manchester's huge musical legacy (Take That, the Ting Tings and some lesser-known groups such as the Happy Mondays, the Smiths and New Order) has cast something of a pall over the city's creativity in recent years. And while I'd happily accede to the notion that Peter Hook has earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants in his hometown, even I can sometimes get a bit tired of the endless recycling of the city's glory days. Of course, there is genuine new activity going on if you [...]

Another reason I've been away from the blogging is the immense amount of reading I've been getting in, including Dave Simpson's The Fall ( en ), Matt Thorne's new biography of Prince, Lindsay Reade's book about her life with Tony Wilson and the excellent history of Rough Trade by Neil Taylor . I've just finished Bruno Tonioli's autobiog, but we'll draw a discreet veil over that. I've also been making my way through Alex James' new book. It's always difficult to warm to autobiographies [...]

If I haven't been posting much recently, it's in part thanks to Homeland, Gary Tank Commander, Jewish Mum of The Year, The Thick of It, Fresh Meat and Strictly Come Dancing. Apologies. I've also veen listening to quite a lot of Wesley Willis. Who hell he, you ask? I first came across Wesley in a (great) bar , where I was accosted by an imposing African-American with an unkempt appearance and a pair of expensive headphones permanently affixed to his ears. I was instructed to say "Rah" and headbutt him. Being a timid, skinny white boy, I [...]

I was very excited to see the return of Strictly Come Dancing to our screens on Saturday night. I was even more excited to see that Ralf Hutter (above) has shed his reclusive image and opted to participate this year, alongside the likes of Lisa Riley, Sid Owen and Jerry Hall. Tanz, tanz, tanz! Yowzah, yowzah, yowzah!