Even with its hairy hand sized spiders scuttling in through the windows, crazy legged crane flies floating into your face and snoozy ol' wasps looking for a last fling sting, autumn remains my favourite season.
And these two pieces of misty morning pop are as autumnal as conker battles, leaf fights, blackberry picking and hearty hot pots.
I’ll be posting part 2 of my Autumn Almanac over at Channel Mondo next week.
Ronnie lane - Harvest Home.mp3
If you held a super strength stethoscope to my head when I’m thinking of all things autumny - Harvest Home is the sound you'd hear. According to friends there at the time (as documented in the marvellous Passing Show DVD ) Harvest Home was recorded live and outdoors at Ronnie Lane's farm in the Shropshire hills - just ‘Plonk' and a few mates sitting round a camp fire strummin’ as dawn is breaking and the tweety birds are starting to stir. All of autumns colours are captured in this glorious instrumental.
XTC - Harvest Festival.mp3
Andy partridge IS an underrated genius - the Syd Barret of the 'old wave of new wave'. And Harvest Festival is his autumn anthem for school hall assemblies. Tinned fruits, packet soups, squeaky chairs, recorders and long lost loves. It’s like Charlie Brown on Friends Reunited. And if the melody doesn’t melt you, the word play will make you fold like a fallen leaf.
You can read Andy P's notes on Harvest Festival over at the highly recommended Chalkhills and Children website
9 comments:
Ah, how often have I chortled at the strange and comic wooziness of late summer wasps: well noted Mondo. Top tunes an all.
XTC = Ecstasy!!
Great stuff from the lost maestro of pop.
They should have been HUGE
Glad the tunes have got thumbs up from a highly qualified pair of pop boffins.
DH - And why aren't DD Long Legs more scary they're almost like flying spiders, but just seem like clumsy drunks. Check out from the Late to the Early on 'Mahoneys Last Stand - instrumental version' a Lane/Wood tune for more magic.
MB - Anyone who rhymes festival with best of all is a genuine Genius. And Colin Moulding can turn out a top tune too. Have you read Chalkhills and Children the XTC bio? put it on your Chrissy list if not.
XTC's Oranges and Lemons is on heavy rotation on the Axe platter. as for Ronnie Lane, I love The Poacher best of all. And I still don't have a copy!
Love Oranges and Lemons Pink Thing, Merely A Man, Mayor of Simpleton and with fantastic fret work from Dave Gregory - one of the most overlooked and under appreciated British guitarists, and a great guitar geek too. The Dukes' albums are bankers too
Have you seen Ronnie Lane How Come on the Basil Brush Show, it's right
here
there was a smashing ronnie special on elms the other day - nice scarf too.
x
*gnashes teeth* I missed it, Bah!
I did meet his brother Stan'Happines Stan' Lane recentley at a Small Fakers gig in Carnaby St - What a gent'.
I've got a scarf like that I wear occaisonally - made by the good people at Tootal
I wouldn't be seen dead in anything other than a Tootal scarf my dear Mondo.
How about 'The Poacher' just so I can nick a copy?
If you can uncover the the hidden vid on Autumn Almanac part 2 over on Channel Mondo.
I'll post it up for you
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