Radio Podrophenia - the letter R , with live rocking 'n' rolling....

Tonight's edition of Radio Podrophenia is sponsored by the letter R: Lou Reed. Rod Stewart, Little Richard and Rocket 88 are possibles for the playlist -

We'll also be asking for your recommended Rock and Roll reads, with live music winging your way from Estuary legend Steve Hooker ..



Being Halloween we'll have some horror related rollouts. Join us from 8pm live at Ship Full of Bombs - or chip in for a chatterbout at Chatwing

And for previous Podrophonic spook and spell, grab our ghoulish goings on here...

Podrophenia Halloween Special (open, then right click and save as)

Radio Podrophenia - with horror author Syd Moore

Vive Le Reviews

Forget the NME's 500 shades of Arse albums list - instead, grab the blockbusting new Vive Le Rock. 

Steve Marriott, Jesse  Hector, Small Wonder Records and Gary Numan are all featured within, as well four reissues reviewed by me: Alice Cooper, Dr Feelgood, Mickey Jupp, Status Quo. 

The Shuffled scores are 6/10, 4/10. 6/10, 8/10 - but who gets what? All is revealed in the reviews section.

Grab your copy here....

Keeping it Peel: Peel Band Name Generator and The Sessions of The Damned

Teenage Dream achieved - interviewing The Damned about their 35 year career

It's a double helping of Peel themed treats for this year's John Peel Day. Find your own unique Peel Band Name, and two Peel session exclusives  from The Damned...

The Peel Name Band Generator..

How does it work? Dead simples. Take...

A) a charity you support - National Trust 
B) a parents job - Newsagents

Bolt them together - and there's your Peel Band name - National Trust Newsagents
Examples submitted include....

Mind Cleaner
Leprosy Reps
Macmillan and Housewife
Guide Dog Librarian...

Either post your Peelers here. Or if you're a Twitterer - Tweet and tag your answers #keepingitpeel to @Foundpeelbands

Full @Foundpeelbands story here


Damned Doings

As a bonus what have we got for tricks and treats? Two cover versions never committed to vinyl, and only ever appearing during John Peel sessions from long haul faves of the PM blog - The Damned.

From 22nd October 1979: Cream's I'm So Glad - refitted as I'm So Bored, meddling together nods and nudges to Gary Numan, The Specials and John Du Cann

I'm So Bored - Peel Session



The complete 79 session is below.....



From the 7th July 1984: a clobbering version of the Stone Rollers...

We Love You - Peel Session



Back in the pre-digital dark ages I had both of these cuts rendered to hissing ol' tape, by some late night nifty fingered clicking on play/record.. possibly replaced by a booty from Kensington Market later

Further reading 

Dig back for these previous Peel releated run-outs



A Podrophenia special with Roman Jugg talking about, Bowie, the Sex Pistols, The Damned and Phantom Chords - the vid above comes from Podrophenia (with Piley and I doing the spoken word middle section) - download the show below

Podrophenia Roman Podcast

And the The Damned tell me all about 35 years of Anarchy Chaos and Destruction. A blog exclusive

Damned interviews...

Autumn interlude... part 4: Gone to Ground

Alfa 9 drifted onto my listening post around October last year, when a promo copy of their second album Gone to Ground landed on my Plectrum The Cultural Pick review pile. Originally scheduled for an autumn/winter release,  but, as album launches often do - the date slipped with GtG  dropping into the pop-o-sphere in early 2013. And splaining  the 2012 references in my review and Vive Le Rock end of year round-up..

There is a theory that in sixties Britain, a geographic divide developed between the song-writing of northern and southern musicians.

Groups below the Watford Gap were Thames based blues-beaters, reworking Mississippi and Chicago influences into the slab-handed riffing and pentatonic rolling of the Stones, The Who and The Yardbirds,
Whereas in the north - Country and Western albums, imported through the docks informed the niftily fingered arpeggios of The Beatles, The Hollies then later The Smiths, Stone Roses and The La's.

The source of Gone to Ground's ringing chordal peels are firmly rooted in the northern hemisphere, but warmed by a gulf stream of blue-sky, tie-dyed harmonies breezing across the Atlantic from Laurel Canyon.

Alfa 9 describe their sound as 'Dreamy psychedelia' and 'Spaghetti psychedelic country' - to these ears it's Syd Barret and The Byrds in nudie suits singing songs for swingers shoegazers. An album that would have David Crosby applying approving strokes to his walrus moustache, and wouldn't appear out of place alongside any of Island's (poppier) pink label era releases.

Winging in Myles Clarke (The Who/Pete Townsend) to oversee the mix brings an air of authentic hand-stitching to the project. With its union of two country styles: Nashville, and nature (repeat references to seeds, grass, rain and sunshine weave through the lyrics) I've no doubt, when 2012 closes out, Gone to Ground's joyous, jangling and ringing will be my album of the year, where every track is a pot of gold spilling rainbows in its trail

This review first appeared in PTCP issue 14

Autumn interlude... part 3: Gazing through the fog to the other side

The third serving in this seasonal selection comes from Blitzen Trapper - 'Blitzen who?'they chorused...

Geographically the Blitzen call Portland, Oregon home. Musically the Trappers are parked midway between Wilco and Teenage Fanclub - pitching out albums of country, power pop and almost bubbleglam on the glitzier bits of the back catalogue..

But today's BT taster comes from 2008's Furr - a country-noir tale of grim business and murderous jailbirds


 
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer from Luke Norby on Vimeo.

 And from the latest album VII

 

Autumn interlude... part 2 : Whispering Trees

Should you be thinking of a'wandering through the woods this weekend, strolling around on a twig-snapping, bramble-edged ramble, or soothing your way around the mud 'n' mushroom, russet wonderland with a scenic drive through the leaf-littered countryside - remember the country code, a tin of travel sweets - and a copy of Plantman's Whispering trees.

Fifteen tracks of the finest Essexarcana, patch-working and weaving whispered drifts, lapping and lulling acoustic tunery, high grade harmonies and melt in your mind melodies that make for the perfect autumn almanac. 

Behold the Plantman magic by way of Away With the Sun, and see what the Guardian had to say about our green-fingered friends









As an alt.escape and if you fancy hibernating away with rations and a good read - let me recommend to you - Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth. A post apocalyptic tale of wasteland survivors and hybrid kids.. A cross between Bambi and Cormac McCarthy's The Road

Autumn Interlude... part 1: Martyn Guitars

A seasonal salute is due to Davy Ghost for twitter-shouting these volumes from the autumnal archives

Autumn Falls

Autumn Tales

I'm overdue for the mix the third, but when I get round to harvesting in the acoustic goodies and golden strummings... this will be on the list



And worra result this morning - thanks to twitter catching itself aflame in an Amazon price-fault frenzy.

Mega-bargain! John Martyn the Island Years: a 17 CD box of studio albums, live, rare and unreleased, which should retail at 150 English... Some silius sodus had priced the MP3 DL at £7.50 - for 300+ tracks.

Luckily I bought and bagged it before they wised up and pulled the page...

 

Radio Podrophenia: tonight Shipful of Bombs Blows Up

 

People of Podrophenia, tonight we bring you the October edition of Podrophenia, wherein we celebrate twenty years of Blow Up -  the club, the label and the bands. A club with it's roots in the Southend Scene  - starting at the Monkey House, Croc's. and The Periphery

Piley and I will be joined by Blow Up's Generalissimo Paul Tunkin for some, natter chatter and tunes covering the club's back catalogue, current releases and at some point, hope to reveal a world exclusive on a new tune...

Kick off's 8pm Southend Central Time at Ship Full of Bombs, swing by and join us - or park up at our all new chat room (holding up to 7000 chatterboxes) to chip in...

Spot the sample - what was Herbie's bassline borrowed for?

TMFTL - imaginary John Peel bands

There's a new Twitter account in town TMFTL - Found Peel Band Names. A scrapbook of spotted oddities and inspirations that sound like imaginary John Peel bands .

First up Fat Panda (found at 22 Words). Who, could possibly be a Moby Grape era outfit, or something from the Madchester scene...

If you've got, any TMFTL suggestions - posts  'em hereabouts