One of the things I've noticed since I started working in the music industry is how much fun it has been. Sure it's a challenge, and there are times when it can get you down, but fuck, you go to gigs all the time, you hang out with your pals, you have a few drinks, you share awesome experiences together at amazing shows, and even the dreadful ones generate a sort of camaraderie based on mutual awkwardness. It's fun, it really is fucking fun. It's culture too. Not high culture of course, and there's no way you could [...]
I think that the readers of this website will be more aware than most of the direct correlation between the obscurity of the music they listen to and the overall quality of a person's character. In fact, never mind correlation, I think it's fair to say that there is almost certainly a direct causal link. No one can argue, surely, that ceasing to listen to chart music will improve your soul - in much the same way that no longer reading the NME will liberate your brain and give you a wonderful feeling of clarity and, more importantly, [...]
Apart from the number of my friends who work there, it's difficult to feel any real sympathy for the lumbering dinosaur that is HMV. Nevertheless, I do find the company's struggles quite fascinating, and they really do seem to be on death's door at the moment. Generally when I end up discussing this with anyone it tends to be solely within the context of music retail. What will the slow death of HMV do for smaller independent shops? What will it do for music sales when the only remaining large high street retailer finally vanishes? These [...]
Jesus ear-fucking Christ this fucking hurts to listen to. The Willow Garden is a song I first came across as a b-side to Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I didn't know it was a traditional song at that point, but I didn't care where it came from. I didn't even know who Warren Ellis was, but the fiddle playing on the song was some of the best I had (and still have) ever heard. It's amazing - managing to sound mournful, morbid and creepy all together. Like [...]
I don't know how to turn this site off like I am supposed to, but many internet-based companies, including the likes of Wikipedia , are staging a blackout today in protest against a bill being proposed in the States which effectively allows people to have entire websites shut down on the mere accusation of copyright infringement. The mere accusation - not a hint of due process of law to be found. Now, I run a record label, and we are constant victims of copyright infringement when people make our releases available for free download without our permission, [...]
See that image on the right, there? That's the egg of what is known as a cowbird, a bird which, a little like a cuckoo, tricks other birds into raising its young and therefore is able to avoid doing any fucking work itself. I hope you can see how I would think this a suitable image to illustrate a rant about fucking remixers. I was actually intending to use a picture of a parasite to illustrate this particular post but, honestly, I couldn't stomach the Google image search. It would have more accurately illustrated how I [...]
Man man man man man this was fun. And it sounds fucking brilliant! Yesterday afternoon was spent at Toad Hall recording half of the songs for the Split 123 we'll be releasing in roughly April or May this year. I described this on the Song, by Toad Records 2012 podcast we posted on the weekend, and included songs by all but one of the bands (for the fourth, see this podcast ). The plan, simply enough, is to record four songs by four bands we happen to think are brilliant, [...]
I am not doing predictions, mostly because I can't. I have no idea what is going to be big this year and what isn't, and even if I think a band is going to release something amazing that probably doesn't matter, because bands I love rarely ever get all that famous anyway. But in any case, and in no particular order, here are some things I liked about last year, and some things I didn't. Some stuff I'd like to see more of and some things I am looking forward to, and some things I am not. "Something [...]
Here we go; the first post of the New Year. For a couple of minutes I was thinking of simply reposting last year's post , because it basically says what I want to say (again). Summed up that is: a) Work sucks b) No New Year's resolutions but... c) I will try to keep this blog alive for another year d) I will try to stop whining e) Work sucks Happy New Year and hope a few of you will stick around for 2012!
Well, after last year's neck-and-neck battle between Meursault and The National, this year's Song, by Toad Readers' Top Five Albums was something of a stroll by comparison. Although the field behind this album was congested, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins' Diamond Mine was a comfortable winner in the end. Whilst I doubt this quite makes up for missing out on the Mercury Prize to P.J. Harvey, it's interesting to note that after a very strong initial showing, she didn't even make the top five of this particular list. And you can bet your arse she won't [...]
"Yes, but are you happy? " said with that kind of inflection, usually accompanied with a sideways head-tilt, is such an odd question. Firstly, it always seems to imply, at least a little, that the person asking it already thinks they know the answer. Particularly if the head-tilt makes an appearance. Secondly, as I have recently discovered, I am actually incapable of answering it. If I answer it literally, I am answering it dishonestly, and if I try and answer it honestly... umm, well I find it almost impossible. People have [...]
Well here we are again, with lists this time generated by yourselves rather than me. With one exception none of these songs would have been anywhere near my personal Festive Fifty, and the one which would have made it is forbidden due to an obvious clash of interests. It's weird, but it does at the very least go to show that the idea of the blogosphere being just a great big mutual back-slapping exercise, with everyone telling everyone else just how awesome they are most of the time, isn't entirely accurate. Still, just because I am an opinionated [...]
WIB CRACK-A-MANDIBLE APPROVED!!!!...The man is back with another batch of fire for your pleasure... As the last two tapes where solid and now we have the newest..."Plethora"... To me the homie's craft has been approving, now with this one, It's just Suhnraw proficient...Been following him for a minute now, so its recommended that you cop his other two beat tapes... Seriously tho, if you a beat freak than you know what my ramble is all about...Take heed and listen, be proactive and do me a headnod or maybe drop a comment... Show love and support this composer...the future is bright, [...]
It's tough to do this kind of thing off the top of your head, so I thought I should probably warn you about the Song, by Toad readers' Best Of votes this year, so you can have a wee think before the spotlight falls upon you and you have to make a choice. This Friday: Top 5 Songs On the Friday Fives this week, instead of the usual nonsense, I will be asking you to list your five favourite songs of the year. Then I will add them up, and on Sunday afternoon I will [...]
I'm sorry that this blog has become a bit of a platform for me to rant about political shit rather than music recently. I know it's not really what Song, by Toad is supposed to be here for, and I am aware that I really had better get some music recommendations out there soon, but... well, fuck it, this shit needs to be said, by everyone, really fucking loud, so those stupid twats get the fucking point eventually. For those who wish to skip the ranting, please go here immediately and do your part to protect both equality [...]
Well the BBC have their list, the BAMS sort of have theirs and now we have ours: hot tips for bands to make it big in 2012, in this case as chosen by a selection of music bloggers designed to give a decent cross-section of opinions and some sort of reasonable alternative to the pap peddled on the Beeb. Now, to be entirely fair, although it is easy to make fun of the BBC's Sound of 2012 list ( here it is , so you can compare, contrast and make snide remarks on Twitter), it's not something I [...]
Anthony from God Don't Like It has decided to call it a day, and as a salute to the years of excellent work, he has decided to make the posters from his gig nights down in London available to purchase, on nice heavy paper. Sort of as a souvenir from the old days for those of us who had the pleasure of working with him, or for those of us who just like pretty posters. The one above - from a gig next week, if you look closely - is amongst the available ones, and for [...]
[This is long and about politics. Don't bother reading it if you don't like ranting.] A lot like the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, I feel I have to express my admiration and support for those on strike yesterday. The 'hit to the economy' is of course one we should all be happy to bear as it is done far more in the national interest than the utterly pointless hit the economy faced because two entirely run-of-the-mill rich people decided to get married earlier in the year. Now, there are of course very good arguments [...]
(paper bags image from here) I have had some real great stuff float across my inbox, twitter feed, facebook timeline and overall discovered from my never-ending scouring of the world wide web. Thought I would share as some of this stuff is just soo damn good that we all need to be listening (if you aren't already - you Slowcoustic readers tend to be ahead of the curve in the first place...let's be honest here). Lotte Kestner is more than a musician, she [...]
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