Podrophenia - Unwrapped! Finds From 2023

Free from dodgy bots, wacky algorithms and AI supplied playlists, Podrophenia unwraps and reveals our fave finds of 2023. With Ian Pile Steven Hastings and the other one, hand-picking treats from tracks, albums and gigs... 

Plus two Pod quizzes: Madley or Partridge? And curious connections! What links David Bowie with Smokey and The Bandit. And Southend United with The A Team?

DL HERE

Podrophenia X Mass

DL at SFOB Podbean: Podrophenia brings you, a seasonal cocktail of 'X' themed songs (band, artist or tune) and the occasional Christmas tune.. 

 There's a Pod Quiz - guess the film - from it's international release title. A messy Persuaders challenge, and Spotify Wrapped roundups.. 

 Dig in and DL here or stream below

Old Mondo's Almanac

An annual tradition where local paper the Essex Echo asked locally-sourced bods and whatnots for reviews, rear views and a reading of the musical tea-leaves for 2015. Have a squizz and scan above and you'll find my findings and future doings for '14 and '15.

And what's that at the bottom of question 3 - a new single on Podrophenia Records! Watch this space, and Happy New Year playmates.....

The Planet Mondo Annual 2013

Boys, girls, inbetweeners and whatnots - here for your listening ears and grooving legs is the Planet Mondo Annual 2013, prepared for the festive Sadlads CD meetup of Piley, E F Rice, Jack Gestures, Paul Glasses and self. To recap on the rules....

1. Circulate to everyone a CD no longer than 80 minutes in length, containing tracks for new groups you have either got into for the first time this year or established artists you have perhaps picked up an old track/album for this year.

2. You may have more than one track for an artist on the CD (although 80 mins of Springsteen would be pushing it)

3. You supply all those taking part with a CD including a full track listing.

So what has 2013 pitched into my PM playlist?

Beard Rock - Kadaver

Nu Blues - The Strypes. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages

Local talent - Eight Rounds Rapid, David Woodcock. Plantman, The Glass Brides

Newly sifted Soul gems - Lonnie Lester, The Dells. The Precisons

The full list is below, rendered as a screen shot to avoid those pesky DMCA types... click on the pic for the complete t-list

Planet Mondo Annual 2013



During the 70-ish minute mix - listen out for appearances from Steve Lamacq, Edith Bowman and Courtney Taylor-Taylor. The PM Annual back issues can be collected hereabouts - except the 2012 edition, which will be wing-dinging its way to us soon-ish

So until then have yourselves a rocking New Year, and perhaps use this mix for prepping music should you be Hootanannying or Hogmanaying it up tonight...

PS one on the subs bench - a Breaking Bad related beauty

The Radio Podrophenia New Year's Honours List

Cat's Eyes, Little Barrie and The Bottletop Band not pictured (downloads)

Happy New Year bloggy chums. Putting a musical toe into 2012, the first Radio Podrophenia of the year brings you a round up of the best of 2011. Twelve Hand-picked personal faves from the combined collections of Piley and the other one. So what's on the list? A mix of six tunes culled from the above bundle of thumpers and thunderers, new releases which hit the record racks last year (ish)...

We're live from 9 tonight and spinning our New Year's revolutions...

Tune in to Chance and let us know your hits, highlights and must haves of last year, or perhaps any predictions for this one.

A seasonally themed vid' (the full 11 minute versh) from the Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (pictured top left)

Dear Diary:1980 - December. The Last Post

It seems fitting that after two years and 24 posts, as Dear Diary reaches it's last entry - so we finish on King of the Blingers, Jimmy Saville who also bowed out with a closing coda this year. Light on entries but heavy on celebrations (three birthdays,  Christmas and New Year's Eve) -  a couple of moments to note include...

My First Concert: Adam and the Ants at Chelmsford Odeon (13th) - as we've mentioned previously an absolute skull-cracker of a gig, during the brief transitional shift when Adam was slowly shedding the hardcore of mohicans and kilted fans that had dragged around behind him as the shadowy Ant People - before the pre-teen/ Televisual crowd massed on the now cavalary jacketed Adam (with newly installed songwriting team-mate Marco Pirroni). The Chelmsford audience for this date was a sweaty swell of ructious skins and punks snarling, scrumming and thumping lumps out of each other at stage front, to a point where Adam had to stop the performance midway through one number - to bark at a hot-spot of rucking punks/skins..

The Shadow of The Damned: from the earliest Dear Diaries well May 79 - the as it happens (not in  the Jimmy Saville sense) output of those first-past-the-post(s) punks have been rendered and recorded with regular entries. December 80 sees The Damned at their most dynamic - a one off Christmas curiosity single - There Ain't No Sanity Clause and the widescreen genius of double LP The Black Album. Not surprisingly my second gig and follow-on to the Ants outing was The Damned at the Lyceum 5th July 1981 for their fifth anniversary gig with a setlist supporting the Black Album (details here)..

Now and then: all singles bagged December 1980

The Quinn Martin style epilogue: If, back then, some anonymous bod, had told me  'in 2011 you'll write the sleevenotes and interviews for Marco Pirroni's latest album (The Wolfmen - Married to the Eiffel Tower), and rattle off 8 pages of overviews  and interviews for a magazine cover feature on The Damned' - it really would have scrambled my teenage brainwaves. In fact it scrambles my middle aged brainwaves now.. I mean, really, who'd a thought?

To borrow a question from Marc Bolan - whatever happened to the teenage dream? Well in this case, it came true!

So that's it chums - we're all done with Dear Diary. If you've been in from the beginning, a huge thank you is due for sticking around - if you've been a dipper-in or occasional grazer of these scribbled bits - a tip of the titfer is due to you too.

What's next - there's a new monthly motif possibly lined up for 2012. A magazine based take on vintage times - but more on that in Jan. So until then, have yourselves a hoot for hogmany, a knees-up of a New Year's Eve - and I'll catch you next year x

The singles list is fairly sprightly, but beware the album chart - a giddy mix of nutty comps, new wavers and A O R-tists

Top 75 singles

Top 75 albums

The Damned - There Ain't No Sanity Clause

Happy Neu! Year

Photo by Clive Parnell

Happy New Year all you bloggers and browsers. Stepping softly and slowly into 2011, how about a couple of nicicles to add a frosted glaze to the goings on: two Teutonic tunes from art rockers Neu! - fitting the fluish, foggy mood of the mo'

The brisk, beaty and wintery instrumental of Isi (with an under-bubble of Deck the Halls) is something that soundtracked my slippery steps to the station and back during last January's drifts.

Neu! - Isi



Is it me or is there a touch of Dirk Wears White Sox meets Little Drummer Boy about Seeland



So far I've only got Neu! 75 - so any recommendations on where else to dip into the Krautrockers catalogue would be much appreciated

All the way to 11

As the song goes what are you doing New Years Eve? If there's a whole lotta leg-shaking and shindigging going on, I've got some ready made pulses pumpers and foot-tappers ready to roll ...or perhaps use as music to to boost your mood, while dandifying yourself for a night out

A repost of over 6 hours worth of wall-to-wall wallop via 5 mixes available for a strictly limited period only - they're here today and gone tomorrow...

Whatever you're up to - raising a glass, shaking a leg, swishing a hip (or anything else that wobbles) - have a good one and I'll see you on the other side...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OFFLINE FOR NOW
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..

Rockadoodledoo
Rock, roll, mod 'n' soul...

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!!!

The Carnival Is Over

Hats off and Happy New Year - but, ho-hum what a heavy effort lumbering yourself back to the same ol', same ol' after a full two weeks of naught but loafing, lazing and lie-ins - however there is a way of lightening the load - simply soak yourself in the blue eyed soaraway soul of Bobby Sansom, who, has fine eye for a barnet, and the look of one of those rug-u-like photos used in Gent's barbers..

Bobby Sansom - Handbags and Gladrags




Normal service should be resumed by Friday