Your Starter For Ten

Happy New Year bloggers, blogettes and browsers. Hope you had a goody without overindulging too much. How are you naming new year? Personally I can't bring myself to say twenty ten, so it'll be the large format two thousand and ten for me..

We had The Elms Annual CD Swap last week, where a few music loving ol' gits ( Coops, Piley and I, plus others) got together for a few scoops and to swap CDs of our handpicked highlights from 2009. My selection box was probably too heavy on the vintage vibes rather than new finds, but one name that cropped up across comps was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz, an album that's had regular run outs on my trusty ol' Creative Zen last year..

If you haven't heard It's Blitz yet, there's a taste test here..If you have, you may want to lend an ear to to this stripped down alt.take.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Soft Shock(Acoustic Version)



On a similarly wintery theme, why not try Nancy Wallace's folky refit of Cliff's hit..

Nancy Wallace - We Don't Talk Anymore

Rock Around the Clock

What are you doing New Years Eve?

Cork-popping, good-footing, leg-shaking, shindigging? If so I'm sure you've got your tunes sorted. If not, allow me to lively up you night with a full five hours worth of New Year's Eve floor-fillers and foot-stompers. Mixing new tunes and old acquaintances into a punch bowl of funky covers, soul shakers, new wave nuggets, theme tunes, rock 'n' rollers and rip roarers where anything and everything goes from Primal Scream to Peggy Lee, Sammy Davies to Sly Stone, Bo Diddley to Belle and Sebastian.

Fill your boots with bangers, bankers and belters below..

Rock Around the Clock 1
Sparkly, bubbly ice-breakers to soundtrack the to-ing and fro-ing



Rock Around the Clock 2
Tunes to warm up the room



Rock Around the Clock 3
Tunes to lively up your legs



Rock Around the Clock 4
Rocking the roof right off..



HAPPY NEW YEAR and see you in the sci-fi sounding 2010!!!

Clocking Off For Christmas...

View from our upstairs window last Friday..

Well that's almost it from me for this decade..Happy Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Mele Kaliki Maka to everyone who's chipped in with contributions, comments, recommendations or link ups. And a discreet nod to those stealthy footed silent types who read but never write..

I say almost, as I'll be back on the 31st. Having been asked to do the tunes for a New Year's shinding, I've rattled up a roll call of 'bangers', 'bankers' and rootin' tootin' tunes - running to a total four CDs worth. Tune in New Year's Eve and you can grab the full set for a limited period only...

So that'll be me blogging off, logging off and leaving you with two tunes used in the last poddy - The Ventures (soundtracked our cracker test) and Big Tiny Little (the piano madness used to close the 'cast). So until then, have yourselves a swinging little Christmas playmates and go easy on the scoops and stodge..

Big Tiny Little - Tiny's Christmas Medley



The Ventures - Jingle Bell Rock



If you haven't checked it out yet, you must get your snow-boots over to Fades In Slowly, where Adam has created a 'bloggers of the world unite' selection box in the style of Peely's festive 50 with between tune links from St John of Peel...

Podrophenia 7 - Christmas Podding

Artwork by Paul Oddsock

Following in the tradition of festive specials Piley and I bring you a bumper edition for the Christmas Podrophenia : 10 tinsel tunes, 8 celebrity messages (can you spot them all) and 2 special guests as Marmite Boy and Coops join us for a sleigh ride through cyberspace..

Brian Setzer, Sufjan Stevens, Shonen Knife and Barbara Streisand are a few of the tunes hand-picked for the playlist. While in other news there's a cracker consumer test, possibly the most miserable Christmas song ever, retromania with Burley aftershave, Ronco adverts and Avon Boosters. A Wood Watch update and find out which one of us has, ermm, 'fiddler's fingers' ~ I say!

It's perhaps rowdier than our usual poddies as assorted other halves, 2 Mini-Mondo's and 1 Tiny Piley add some background clatter to the goings on ..

Serving suggestion - play it while you're writing or delivering cards, wrapping prezzies, enjoying a glass of egg nog (what is egg nog?) or trimming the tree. Whatever you're doing fill your boots and raise a glass ~ or is it fill a glass and raise your boots? ~ for Christmas.

Podrophenia 7 - Christmas Podding



Or via iTunes (should be up later today)

Breaking A Birthday Rule....

For the first time - EVER. I'm lumbered with working on my birthday. I never work birthdays - it's just not done is it? And, really, shouldn't they be public holidays anyway?

Historically it's booked off and I'll indulge in one full day of lazing and loafing broken only by a trip to Wah Hing for a lunchtime special (L3 - sweet and sour chicken with rice). But, due to some annual leave confusement, I'm here in the office. Ho hum.

Hopefully I'll be able to swing a late(ish) start, an early(ish) finish and an extended trip to Orbital or Gosh comics with spot of Denmark Street window shopping in between.

So what do we do for tunes? Perhaps a few about someone I share birthdays and barnets with...

The Sonics - Roll Over Beethoven



Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven

Funky Friday - The Hardest Working Man In Snow Business

It's a Pop Quiz - I can guarantee - guarantee, you won't unmask the secret Santa performing the opener from today's sackful of goodies. Although, in all fairness he's mainly famous in the States. Full marks to Coops for putting this slice of fleet-footed festive funkery on my 'sleighdar'. Santa's Got A Brand New Bag is a cracker that shimmies and shakes likes James Brown on ice..

So what else is on the Christmas list today? The Godfather Christmas of Soul shaking a festive leg with Shrek and Boogaloo Santa busting full bearded moves.

? - Sock It To Me Santa



Brat - Funky Christmas



J.D. McDonald - Boogaloo Santa Claus

Countdown To Christmas - Ho, Ho, Ho-down

The spirit of the season and a Christmas tingle finally took hold over the weekend. Fired by a medley of : the New York Dolls tinsel, glam and glitter at Friday's gig - how loud? Choco Girl popping by with homemade cards and crocheted tree trims. Piley, Coops and Marmite dropping round to record the Christmas podcast. A trip to my favourite pub decked out in festive finery and a rewatch of Scrooged starring NY Doll David Johansen as the cab-driving, stogie-chewing Ghost of Christmas past. All lit by a low-lying golden December sunlight.

All of which means it’s time to unwrap some winter warmers and set the yule blog ablaze by way of a blugrass shinding on Christmas Time's A Comin, and a ragtime tear-up on the jolliest, jauntiest version of Here Comes Santa Claus

The Grascals - Christmas Time's A Comin'



Big Tiny Little - Here Comes Santa Claus






Oh and the newly remastered It's A Wonderful Life has been bought and tucked away for a closer-to-Christmas treat..

Funky Friday - These Are A Few Of My Favourite (Soul) Things...

As featured in Kill Bill

You may remember a while back we posted Keith Mansfield's 'Lola' sound-a-like Soul Thing on the blog. It's a track that's popped, shuffled and randomised it's way into becoming one of my most played tunes of the year. Which, is why when Adam from Fades In Slowly kindly invited me to find five tunes for his Festive Fifty - Soul Thing was a shoo-in.

Digging deeper into variants of Soul Thing becomes a cat's cradle of endless editions: orchestral, strings, stereo and mono madness. However, I won't slump your shoulders with every available flavour - but, guide you to selection of covers, reworks and highlights..

James Royal's Vocal version! With lyrics n'everything

James Royal - House of Jack



Tony Newman's Hammond fired hip-shaker

Tony Newman - Soul Thing



Keith Mansfield retitled versh. Refitted with funkmungous breaks and brass

Keith Mansfield - Funky Fanfare



And the theme to 'The Queen Street Gang'? No, me neither

There's No Business, Like Seventies Show Business

Had a visit to the local 'Unseen 1963' exhibition recently, possibly the most historically-boggling photography collection I've ever seen. Piley's got all the info on it, but in essence, 'Unseen 1963' is over fifty candid, posed and offstage shots of sixties Pop Stars snapped at Southend's Odeon cinema. A mixture of dead-legends and heavy-hitters including The Beatles, the Stones, Cliff, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, the Everlys and The Kinks all caught backstage or meeting and greeting local competition winners in our very own Southend cinema .

One of the faces, I recognized was Samantha Jones. Originally one of The Veronons Girls, a group orbiting in shadow of The Beatles early career. Samantha eventually went solo, becoming something of a hit with the Lowlanders in Belgium, the Netherlands and winning the Knokke-Heist music festival. During the seventies she settled into the showbiz circuit of clubs, cruises and occasional TV appearances.

So what does she sound like? Well there's two sides of Samantha on offer today

A cheeky hotpants, Bakers Boy hat and suede boots sounding slinky piece of pop-funk. The sort of tune you'd get during a disco scene in Please Sir

Samantha Jones - Today Without You



And a belting evening-dress and show-closer 'Handbags and Gladrags' type soul ballad

Samantha Jones - Do I Still Figure In Your Life



Morecambe & Wise


Wheeltappers & Shunters (it's well worth watching this clip to the close, for the 'all together now' sing-a-long of Show Me The Way To Go Home)



That's Samantha, sat on Macca's lap..

Funky Friday - The Damned United and Tamla Motöwn

I don't know how I ended up deleting this post for an entire afternoon but I did. Anyway -back now

I won't get on my when-will-The-Damned-get-the-respect-they're-due soapbox yet (although I've been meaning to since I started this blog). But instead, would ask that you put any prejudice, previous dislikes or received wisdom along the lines of 'Class Clowns of Punk' to one side and lend an impartial ear to a few tunes.

If you've only time for one track today, make it Stranger On The Town, a song I literally obsessed over after moving from my childhood town to somewhere I knew nobody. It's simpatico but celebratory tone hit the target at the time, and had me manhandling who-knows-how-many college mates into the nearest record shop to buy the accompanying album Strawberries (a work of depth, genius and yours for a fiver). So, then...

Stranger On The Town - which, sees The Damned going The Doors meet Motown backed by Stax style horns (and you must check out the hammond freakout at starting at 4:50).

Nobody But Me - The Damned in disguise as Naz Nomad and the Nightmares (there's a thread waiting to happen: Secret Bands) as part of the eighties psych-revival.

And Finally a 1966 appearance from Lemmy (on guitar not bass) with his first band The Rocking Vicars and a Shel Tamy produced B-side

The Damned - Stranger On The Town



Naz Nomad and the Nightmares - Nobody But Me



The Rocking Vicars - I Don't Need Your Kind



Motör town - the classic 'head line up covering Holland-Dozier-Holland



PS - in case you're wondering what all the hi-deaf and decibels are about on a Friday! - It's inspired by seeing Motorhead, The Damned and Girlschool live in Southend on Tuesday..

Podrophenia 6 ~ Try This For Size

Who is she and what is her connection to My Life Story? Find out in Podrophenia...

The latest podcast from Piley and I comes fitted around the theme of sizes and sees us squeeze in ten tunes tailored for all types: Fatboy Slim, Little Barrie, One Inch Rock and Big Ten Inch.

There's all the usual natterings and banter touching on ~ celebs spotted in unlikely locations, a Wood Watch update, Cynthia Plaster Caster novelty merchandise, Little Big Man and Piley's parallel world of light entertainers..

And We've got our first competition! Two copies of Big Boss Man's Full English Beat Breakfast to be won..

Podrophenia 6 Sizes



Or via iTunes if you prefer..

Funky Friday - Cocktails With the Jet Set

We've got a guest blog-spot today! So grab your boarding passes, pack your dancing trousers and prepare to be both shaken and stirred as Cocktails from Cocktails and Records takes us on a world tour of pan-continental funk and groovy global warmers….

Hello folks and thanks to Mr Mondo for letting me take over his fabulously Funky Friday! spot this week.

Winter may be seeping through the doors and windows, and summer holidays a distant memory, but not this Funky Friday!. For today, I'm taking you on a trip around the dance floors of some of the worlds sunnier climes. And as an added twist, we've got a time machine and we’re going back to the 70s. So come on, climb aboard - lets go!

First up we're in India. It's 1971 and Bollywood's favourite playback singer, Asha Bhosle, is belting out 'Dum Maro Dum', a classic track about er... pot-smoking (and if you don’t believe me check out this link..



'Dum Maro Dum' - Asha Bhosle (from the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna)



Next we're off over to Thailand for some groovy and distinctly Thai flavoured dance floor funk by Bualuang OST.

'Singto' (Thai for 'Lion') - Bualuang OST]



And finally, after a trip across the Indian Ocean, we're in Nigeria in 1978 where William Onyeabor is putting the worlds to rights in this 8-minute long Afro-funk wig-out.

'Better Change Your Mind' - William Onyeabor

Tronik Tagging and Blog Meetings

Had a hook-up with Miss Ally and the boy Tronik last week for the Carnaby Street Christmas switcheroo - which, unfortunately, was all a bit Austin Powers in places and had poor ol' Eddie Pillar press-ganged into playlisting sixties hits instead of his usual purist tunes - meaning more time was spent in the pub than at the parade "What a shame" they chorused.

Banter about a possible blog-meet has been buzzing around the blogs since, with the idea of a pre-Christmas/post-new year snifter. So if you're based in London/South East/prepared-to-travel-further and fancy a Bloggers of the World Unite scoop or two, drop me a line at Planetmondo@gmail.com

Oh, and I've been tagged by Chocolate Girl, with the rules that...

1. You have to post a song that makes you happy.
2. You can tag as many people as you want, there is no limit.
3. Say at least one thing about each blog you tag, that will make them smile, something nice about their blog that makes you smile when you read it!

1 - I'm posting my brother's latest single (and vid' which he produced too) - available here, .

Tronik Youth - Disko Suks On Beatport





and wouldn't this Tronik tee make a perfect Christmas stocking-filler.


2/3 - I'm tagging Piley, as we haven't had one of his peachy pop treats for a while, and I'm keen to see what randomness (or Podrophenia outtakes) lurk in the crates.

Funky Friday the 13th - In Case of Emergency...

Like park keepers, comb-overs, weigh-your-own-cereal shops and Sunday morning car mechanics Public information films seem to have been left in the Land That Time Forgot. Perhaps I'm just not there when they air, as PIFs were the last piece of the programming puzzle, scrunched into some scheduling oddspot. Typically lunchtime and closedown, or used to glue up gaps in the listings.

Classic PIFs are pin-sharp snapshots of their time reflecting fashions, fads, interior/graphic design and date-stamped health and safety concerns: Polystyrene ceiling tiles, seat belts, Rabies

So whatever you're up to this Friday the thirteenth - get in the swim, look left and right before crossing the road, and follow the country code or it could go...

The Creation - Biff Bang Pow



The Alan Bown Set - Emergency 999



G. Davis & R. Tyler - Hold On Help Is On The Way





Billy Blunders - son of Mr and Mrs Blunders, possibly the neighbours from hell. Watch the ol' charmer in action at 00:26

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy

So what's new on the Big Boss Menu? Full English Beat Breakfast, that's what. An all you can eat buffet of gut-busting beats, full fat fruggery, hot footed floor-fillers and continental flavours from the Latin vibes of Full Brazilian to the Riveria cool of Black Eye and C'est Moi's . FEBB is an urelenting rush of concorde riffing, jazz percussion and neatly-trousered, swish-hipped shakedowns, served spry, crisp 'n dry from the deep funk fryer.

But, more than this, it's almost a soundtrack for tomorrow's world where sci-fi goes spy-fi and the Men from U.N.C.L.E boogie down with Booker T on Beat Breakfast, while Clown Face comes across like George Clinton jamming with George Jetson.

If retro-futurist flavours and finery tickle your taste buds you really must have a munch on Big Boss Man's Full English Beat Breakfast. It's an album that's been sizzling away on my stereo since being released, and, being the cheeky blogger I am, thought I'd fire a few questions BBM's way.

How would you describe Full English Beat Breakfast and the Big Boss Man sound to anyone who hasn't heard the band.
The Big Boss Man’s sound is a cauldron mix of a Bongo-Hammond-Fuzz-Boogaloo Party in Timothy Leary’s head.

The new album has an inter-continental flavour and a menu of Latino tempos, Euro-vintage synth shufflers and sci-fi meets spy-fi. Was there a masterplan of varying the vibes - and how do you write, as a band or does someone bring in a riff or fully formed track.
No master plan, but we do have many influences the world over; 60’s Funk, ye-ye, Psyche, cool movies, anything groovy! Some of the tracks on 'Full English Beat Breakfast' are written by Nass on his own, some with Trev, and some with Trev and the Hawk. For a few tracks we had a band party – filled the place with grog and set up the 8-track recorder.

I read there were scenes of Big Bossmania in Russia - what's the story
The first time we went to Russia, to Moscow, we were invited by Art Troitsky – the Russian John Peel. Then more recently we did a mini-tour of Tinkoff Brewery/music venues which was mental, the kids had never heard our sort of Hammond-groovyness so it freaked them out. We had to take quite a few internal flights on very historic aeroplanes – which was not for the faint hearted!

Fantasy jam band. If you could jam with anyone (dead or alive), who would you choose and why.
Here’s who we want in our fantasy jam band and crew:
Jimmy McGriff & James Brown (playing avant-garde)at the Hammond Organ,
Ray Barreto : Congas
Buddy Miles: Drums, Bernard Purdey: Drums
Tito Puente: Timbales
James Jameson: Bass
Jimmy Smith: Vocals
Cissy Houston and The Sweet Inspirations: Backing Vocals
Lee Perry: Sound
G Fawkes: Lighting
Billy Idol: Tour Bus Driver
Bob Marley: Catering
Pussy-Cat Dolls: Roadies
Bez: Runner
G Haystacks + B Daddy : Security
Peter Grant : Management
Shakira: General Assistance

Any favourite fry-up cafes, and are you a brown or red sauce person
Sauce: both+ English mustard
Cafes: Tasty Shop – Bristol, Tasty Plate-Newbury, Tasties – St. Paul’s,
Bristol.

Vampyros Twist is a cracker - have BBM ever considered covering an entire soundtrack and which would you choose : The Italian Job, Vampyros Lesbos, Get Carter or something else of your choice..
Vampiros Lesbos would be good, but we have been working on our own film 'Get the Vampiros Italian Lesbos Job'

Have you ever DJ'd and what are your banker tracks
We all DJ a bit (except Des)
Hawk: Tainted Love – Gloria Jones
Nass: Any Meatloaf or All About my Girl – Jimmy McGriff
Trev: Charge! –Dreams Band

Are you purist about equipment - is vintage best, and have you bagged any ebay bargains, or own a cherished or collectable piece of gear.
Hawk – I just cover everything in Leopard skin to hide any disgrace.
Nass: Hammond D100, Yamaha L45, Farfisa Compact Duo, Wurlitzer EP200
(electric piano) Hofner Clavinet, Korg Mono-polly, Yamaha CS15, Leslie 122, Roland 101,
Rhodes 73, Elka Rotary cabinet X 2, Leslie 147, + 825, I could go on!

The band have played at Blow Up's new location 4 Denmark St - where you aware of the venues Rock pedigree - (formerly Regent Sound Studios where the Stones, Hendrix, and Stevie Wonder recorded)
We rocked out the last time we played there, maybe it was the spirit of Hendrix jamming with Lil’ Stevie and the Stones that took us over

Where and when can we expect to see BBM on tour and any plans for Southend dates...
We play Camden Zoo on 13th Nov, Mr Wolf’s in Bristol on 21st Nov, Maybe New Years eve in Moscow (to be confirmed) then in February we tour France and March 1 to 14th we tour Spain. Paul from Blow Up was thinking about having a new Club night in Southend, so hopefully we’ll make it there next year if not before.

And how about a taste test of Full English Beat Breakfast?

Big Boss Man - Clown Face



Full English Beat Breakfast is available from Blow Up Records or for download via Amazon or iTunes


Big Boss Man Official Website

Big Boss Man on Myspace

Come On Baby, Light My Bonfire

Did you have a favourite firework? I'm wobbling between the Roman Candle and Traffic Light. Not the Catherine Wheel though, which for all it's hi-propulsion promise, typically stopped-started, spluttered about-a-bit at random angles, eventually fizzling out for a flat tyre finale.

And What's your preference for bonfire fun?

The organised outdoor event, with it's inevitable delays (concerned silhouettes with tabards and torches, a'pointing and a'poking), that oohing-aahing collective of cold feet, dayglo do-dahs, and mob-scale shuffling and shivering. Soundtracked, God forbid, by the local radio OB unit counting down to blast off.

Or, an ad hoc back garden affair? Although home based high jinks with high explosives has the potential to end in a blackened bugle or fingers flying freestyle over the fence with match still clenched between thumb and forefinger.

Whatever you're doing, wrap up warm and why not try these three regroovings of a popular classic.

Erma Franklin - Light My Fire



Mae West - Light My Fire



Spanky Wilson - Light My Fire



The Shirley Bassey version can be grabbed over at Ally's place.

And you must, must, must have a peep at the UK Firework Museum site..with it's virtual box of seventies explosives here

Here's One I Made Earlier

I don't usually post home made tunes, in fact I've only tried it once before. But, given last minute glimmers of gold and green leaves can still be glimpsed before all fades to grey, and this autumn inspired acoustic tune popped into play on my Creative Zen last week, it seems appropriate to give it an airing.

Should you choose to lend an ear, a couple of things to point out on the playing: It's a very rough sketch of an idea, recorded about four years ago using one guitar.

The guitar is tuned to DADGAD. A tuning popularised by Davey Graham

It's a first or second take recording, so prepare for clunkiness in places

Typically I tend to play too fast, so it's a shade speedier than it needs to be

For a full bodied recording, the following would need to be added ; Second guitar (12 string see above), acoustic bass, some sort of soft shuffle rhythm and a lead acoustic for the skippity riff.

Country Acoustic

Freaky Friday - Podroscreamia

A grab-bag of ghoulish goodies feature in the Halloween Podcast from Piley and I. Local tales of terror from chilling urban myths to Essex hauntings, Southend werewolves to estuary based vampirism (did you know Dracula was an Essex boy – yes really!) Along with some recommended reads, fright night viewing and a playlist summoning up Nina Simone, Donovan, The King and a mystery band in their pre-glam period .

Oh and after being truly spooked by an electrical failure (two actually, I’ve found out since) thanks to that Eno/Byrne track, I forgot to credit Alma Cogan's Snakes and Snails, a Love Potion Number 9 meets Fortune Teller type stomper.

So draw the curtains, light the candles, form a circle and grab hands to make contact with our late night whisperings

Repeat after me... 'It’s only a podcast! It’s only a podcast!'

Podrophenia 5 - Halloween Special



Or on evil iTunes

Don't forget ghouls and gals last year's Halloween Mondo Mania Mix can be grabbed here

Variants cards are available at the Cobwebbed Room
or see the full set here

Wristory

One autumnal number I'd been hoping to place in last Sunday's Autumn Falls mix was Humble Pie's Wrist Job. An oddly titled outtake from As Safe As Yesterday Is. A performance rumbling along on a slow-shifting tidal swell of heavy Hammond, roof-raising gospel vocals and one runaway bass, all of which come crashing together in heady perfection between 3:00 and 3:30

As much as I love the track, it's just too, well, potent and powerful to sit alongside the soft footfall required for last Sunday's mix.

Humble Pie - Wrist Job



However, a Wrist Job-lite can be traced back to a track from Steve Marriot's previous band The Small Faces, where it had an instrumental run out under the title of The Pig's Trotters.

The Small Faces - The Pig's Trotters



Oh, and the tweety-bird samples bookending Autumn Falls come from this and this.

Lazy Sunday - Autumn Falls

Did you put your clocks back - and what are your plans for that extra hour? If you've nothing doing, lend an ear to one last blast of autumn colour by way of this homemade seasonal stew. A soft, smoky mellow blend harvested from autumnal acoustics, outtakes, alt.takes, oddities and obscurities. You could cosy up around a crackling fireside with a glass of something fruity to suit the tone of the tunes. Or perhaps stow it away red squirrel style for a splash of russet colur to brighten up the grey-day gloom of a bleak mid winter.

Autumn Falls



PS - the track list is in the comms to avoid being blog-whacked

PPS - In case you've missed them, the other seasonal Sunday sessions can be collected here : Winter, Spring and Summer