With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“It takes two to tangle, takes two to even compete” September 30, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 6:14 pm
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Once again I have some rather sad news to impart; Sylvia Robinson has died aged 76 of congestive heart failure. She was perhaps the first person to see the commercial potential of rap music. She had a long career in the music industry before her involvement in the development of rap.

Her first hit came in 1957 with partner Mickey Baker (they were billed as Mickey and Sylvia). The song was “Love Is Strange” which still gets a reasonable amount of airplay even today. I know that song very well but I particularly remember her for the classic 1973 single “Pillow Talk”. This was a stone cold classic sultry, sexy and soulful song which was probably a massive influence on Donna Summer’s early career. Notably her 1975 hit “Love To Love You Baby”

Sylvia was born in New York as Sylvia Vanterpool and she said that her first exposure to what I suppose you could call proto-rap was at a club gig by DJ Lovebug Starski. He was calling out over a set of R & B sounds and eliciting great responses from his audience. Similar to the Jamaican Dance Hall and Sound System DJs who were known as Toasters.  Later she was quoted as saying “A spirit said to me, ‘Put a concept like that on a record and it will be the biggest
thing you ever had” So that is exactly what she did! In 1979 she pulled together a few DJs and MCs that at the time were not well-known outside of New York; Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike and Master Gee. She produced their first song “Rappers Delight” which made great use of a sample loop from Chic’s disco classic “Good Times”. It started life as a truly wonderful 15 minute epic tune and was then edited to around 7 minutes for release as a single. It was a massive hit in  both the US and the UK. Whilst arguably it may not have been the first recorded rap song it was certainly the first commercially successful rap song. Robinson  went on to co write the Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel hit “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”

She set up the Sugarhill record label in 1979 which sadly closed in 1986. Her New jersey studio burnt down in 2002. Someone so talented and influential will be sorely missed. My thoughts go to her family, friends and fans all over the world. To remember this great lady please enjoy some classic Sylvia and Sylvia related moments;

 

“I’ve been told that you’ve been bold with Harry, Mark and John” September 23, 2011

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 10:40 pm
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Apologies for the lack of any posts for the past few weeks, but I do have a good excuse; honest! I finally made an honest woman of Catherine (aka Catwoman). We got married on 3rd September in York and have just returned from a terrific honeymoon in Mauritius. There will be a few upcoming posts about the music we used at the wedding and maybe even a picture or two. But for now I would like to focus on a couple of recent news stories that have caught my eye.

Firstly you are probably well aware of the impending crash of a NASA satellite into earth today. (In fact it has probably already crashed
as you read this post!). Apparently NASA are unable to say exactly where it will come down until a few hours before it does and even then there is a margin of error of up to 6,000 miles! But don’t worry as there is only a 3,200 to 1 chance that any of this space junk will actually hit a person. Which means that I still have more chance of having my head caved in by a component of a redundant satellite than I do of winning first prize in the UK National Lottery (odds for that lottery win are 14 million to 1. The BBC also quotes a NASA
spokesman as saying that there is even less to worry about despite the low odds of a person being hit as the odds of a specific person being hit are 21 trillion to 1. Confused? I am! Can anyone explain that in simple terms to me, I am just a blogger of very little brain; thanks to A. A. Milne for that quote)? I very much hope that none of us have body altering surgery as a result of a collision with a piece of space junk, but if you do here are a few related songs for you to enjoy while you recover;

Secondly it’s yet another science related story. Researchers at Cern in Switzerland may have found something that travels faster than the
speed of light. After thousands of experiments over three years it seems that some sub-atomic particles (Neutrinos I believe) may have the ability to break the science speed limit which was effectively set by Albert Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity. I wonder if that brings us closer to time travel or being able to build a Star Trek type transporter. Beam me up Albert! Before I bring you some science and scientist related songs I would like to state categorically that if any of the scientific elements in this post are incorrect then I apologise and hide behind the fact that I am not a scientist. I have documentation to prove this as well. I failed all my science GCSE O levels back in 1975! So onto those aforementioned songs;

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 3 – The Pictures September 1, 2011

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:52 am
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And now for Day 3!

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 2 – The Pictures

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:11 am
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And here comes the shots from Day 2!

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 1 – The Pictures

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:06 am
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Here we go good people a few festival pictures taken with my Nokia. This is post 1 of 3. I hope you enjoy 🙂

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 3 – Sunday 28th August August 29, 2011

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:20 pm
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First up today were Dananananaykroyd; they’re wild and they’re from Scotland and it is hard not to like them. next we saw the Original Rude Boys on the BBC Introducing Stage. Three Irish lads who were here because they were messing around at home a few months back and wrote a song which they recorded and put on YouTube and it took off from there. they’re acoustic with some great Irish rapping. They played a great cover of Gnarls Barkley‘s “Crazy”.  Back to the NME/ Radio 1 stage next. So tell me a fat bald beardy bloke and a band that looks like students? Sounds fucked up? Well it is Fucked Up and they are fucking amazing! Does he ever get on stage?

The BBC Introducing stage set by Funeral Party was ok and Taking Back Sunday brightened up the rain from the Main Stage. Frank Turner was very possibly the best act of the day for me! Massive sing along opportunities. the Little Comets were good when I saw them at Fibbers in York a while back but now they’re great! Appropriately for a Sunday I saw Chapel Club next. What are they like? Well fuck genres these guys are just fucking good! Enter Shikari were truly earthshaking once again! Friendly Fires are like Enter  also from St Albans and very, very funky.

Panic At The Disco; a great set from the boys and as they in the US these guys rock! Death From Above 1979 loud powerful and your Gran probably won’t like them. But as far as I know I’m not your Gran and I like them! It appears by the miracle of sunlight streaming through a gap in the tent stage that 7:30 on Sunday will from now on always be the festival solstice! Why? well I had an illuminated bald head, but not just illuminated, it was like a light Mohican. (There may well be a film from Mr H of that very episode soon).

The Streets; Mike Skinner a true street poet genius. Dry your eyes indeed mate for this is the last ever Streets show. Big respect to Mr Skinner for a superb send off! Caught a couple of songs from Flogging Molly, still Irish, still have a punk attitude and frankly bloody good! 2manydjs OMFG now that is what I call DJing! Definitely worth missing Muse for! (Although I hear they were bloody good once again) Would I have enjoyed that more with some E and a glow stick? I doubt it. Now let me finish with something that Mike Skinner said; “Reading you look like you’ve been rocking for days”. Well we have and we will again next year!

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 2 – Saturday 27th August August 28, 2011

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:04 am
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Hello again people and here is the dispatch from the muddy fields of the Reading festival after day 2. Firstly I have to mention a rather funny comment I made on the way to the main arena today. Which strangely enough for me was said completely innocently. My feet were sticking in the mud quite a lot so I said; “If this mud gets any more sticky my boots will be sucked off”. It made Nick and me laugh and if you’re not laughing then maybe you had to be there or you have a much cleaner mind than ours. Or maybe you’re just too mature!

We only caught Funeral Party’s last song in the NME/ Radio 1 tent they sounded pretty good though. Yuck were in the NME/ Radio 1 tent next and were recommended by my friend John Hayhurst who is usually at the Leeds festival but unfortunately can’t make it this year. It was a bloody good tip as it happens! I would describe them as shoegazers with a young Bob Dylan lookalike as a singer. But a great band I will be downloading their album on Monday night. Oh and I almost forgot also the drummer looked like my old boss Bazza Hutton with added afro. Castrovalva were on the BBC Introducing stage, we didn’t see much of them but they definitely need to look at their audience more.

Next was our first visit to the Main Stage, where we spent most of the day eventually. Joined by a supporting cast of really nice and mad in a nice way people from all over the world; South Africa, Brazil and Brighton at least. It was hard to refuse the offer of a free beer from the South African blokes and even shhhhh…… whisper it; a small toke on one of their spliffs! The Pigeon Detectives were on for me they are  just bland identikit indie pop. Although Nick wouldn’t agree with that. In their favour they are very hardworking. Seasick Steve was next up on the Main Stage. What can I say? Well for starters he is a supreme talent with way more charisma and stage presence than Liam Gallagher even when sat down. Amazingly he was joined on stage for most of his set by none other than John Paul Jones off of Led Zeppelin. We saw a couple from Tribes who were pretty good. we then paid our daily visit to the comedy tent to see Michael Fabbri who was very filthy and very funny.

Madness or should that be Mudness (thanks for that one Nick) were next on the Main Stage. When I first read that they were on the bill some months ago I wondered whether they would be able to really pull it off. Well I am happy to report that they did in bucketloads. This was probably the best ever loved up party vibe I have ever seen in 20 odd years of going to this festival at Reading. It even included a mosh conga. Jimmy Eat World were next; they were very good but who could have followed Madness? The National were an excellent chilled out close to the afternoon session and a good precursor to Pulp. If the members of the Doors were born in the 80’s they may have sounded like the National and I will have to download some of their stuff soon too.

Pulp, who were sharing top billing at the Festival with the Strokes were next on the Main Stage; from the simply stated laser phrase show at the start to the brilliant and perfect closer “Common People” they were truly fucking awesome. Jarvis Cocker is a certified genius who has immense stage craft and worked the audience to perfection. Richard Hawley was also on stage with them.  The Strokes closed the day and as expected were very, very good, but for me not quite as good as Pulp. Jarvis joined them for a great version of the Cars’ “Just What I Needed”. So sadly only one day to go now but it looks like a good one!

 

Reading Festival 2011 – Day 1 – Friday 26th August August 27, 2011

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:37 am
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So here we are again then, the first day of the Reading Festival. I’m here with my good friend Nick Horslen and I am aiming to post a review of each day for you. Obviously I expect some comment as I doubt that you’ll agree with everything I say. Incidentally some of the opinions in the blog were suggested by Nick. I just wanted to make sure I gave him equal credit!

The Bronze Medal were first up for us on BBC Introducing Stage, they sounded ok, but personally I don’t see them scaling great heights. The Blackout were next up on the Main Stage, with a magnificent backdrop that said ‘Fuck The Blackout’. Personally I’d rather not as I didn’t find them that attractive! But they were pretty good and pretty heavy. Bizarrrely they dedicated what they called their heaviest song to all the sluts in the audience, so I guess we didn’t qualify for that. Miles Kane was in the NME/ Radio 1 tent. He is like an animated Liam Gallagher with a guitar. He was also very bloody good. New Found Glory were on the Main Stage, I thought that they were accomplished but perhaps not as good as they were. However they did a great cover of Sixpence None The Richer‘s “kiss Me”.

We then caught a part of Hugh Lennon‘s act on the Alternative Stage, he is a rather amusing hypnotist. After that we opted for Dry The River on the Festival Republic stage, definitely a good band. They have a  bit of Biffy Clyro with added violin. Pity they couldn’t dry the skies though! It was pissing down again by then and parts of the ground were covered in mud with the consistency of melted chocolate. We then saw Cerebal Ballzy, we were initially attracted by such a brilliant name. What were they like? Ballsy (or perhaps I should say ballzy) punk from Brooklyn! Al Pitcher kept us out of the rain and not only that he was a brilliant comedian. He was followed by Dead Cat Bounce, we felt that their name was better than their act!

Foster The People gave us electro pop via Tom Tom Club and  Talking Heads. An immense band, definitely best of the day for me. I will be downloading their album when I’m home on Monday. The crowd went absolutely mental for them!! The  Antlers came next and their singer gave us soundcheck yodel! Their sound is a kind of tripped out psychadelic space vibe. The Deftones were on the Main Stage, they were heavy and reliable and did what it says on the tin.

Anna Calvi, hmmmm, what can I say, definitely a little strange. Percussive blues,  operatic type vocal and unintelligable lyrics. The Offspring were excellent value for money and still pretty fly for white guys! They have aged well and are still pretty good but definitely not pretty. Noah and the Whale completely rocked the NME/ Radio stage. An incredible build up using an orchestral version of Bohemian Rhapsody; who’d have thought that we’d be singing that song at Reading this year? They truly are  a great fucking band a bit like Vampire Weekend with more orchestration and less African style guitars. We hung around for the White Lies and it was worth the wait. These guys used to come to Reading as teenagers and clearly they’ve learnt a lot! Bloody good band. Then it was the much anticipated Beady Eye, which frankly is really Oasis without Noel isn’t it? They were like an Oasis tribute band playing songs they had written in an Oasis style. Liam’s voice is clearly not what it was either and his stage presence is way past it’s sell by date. We headed for the exit and glimpsed My Chemical Romance who seemed to have quite a small crowd for a Main Stage headline act. Anyway time to sign off for now and get ready for day two!

 

Reading Festival 2011 – The Preview August 25, 2011

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 9:34 pm
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So here we are then just hours away from the kick off of the Reading and Leeds festivals which means you’ll shortly get to hear my opinions on all that I see this weekend. Well I suppose that to some degree does depend on exactly what I see; some things that go on at festival stay at festival. So perhaps I won’t mention scotch eggs! I reckon some of you could put 2 and 2 together about that and not many of you would reach an answer of 4. I will be at the Reading end of the festival, despite living very close to the Leeds site. Why would I do this I hear you ask? Well because
Reading for me is the original annual rock festival. Plus it is my annual meet up with my good friend Nick Horslen. A kind of Grumpy Old Men do the festival kind of vibe.

The headliners are My Chemical Romance, Pulp/ The Strokes (joint headliners) and Muse. Of that bunch I am mostly looking forward to Pulp. Muse will be playing the whole of their ‘Origin of Symmetry’ album. It’s the 10th anniversary year of the release of that one. I have seen Muse three times before and loved them every time. However I am a little torn this time as their set clashes with a headline set in one of the tents by 2 Many DJs. I love their mash-up mix tape efforts and I have always wanted to see them.

I always like to check out bands with interesting names that I have never heard of as well. So this year I shall definitely try to get to see She Keeps Bees.

If there is anyone you think I should check out feel free to let me know and if you’re going to be at Reading yourself come and say hello.
It’s adios for now while I go to the darkest recesses of the shed to try to find my steel toe-capped wellies!

 

“If you need me call me, no matter where you are. No matter how far, don’t worry baby” August 23, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 6:06 pm
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A double dose of sad news comes to us music lovers today with the deaths of songwriters Jerry Leiber and Nicholas Ashford.

That's Jerry on the right with Mike Stoller on the left? Who's that in the middle then? 😉

Jerry Leiber was the lyric writing half of a massively successful song writing partnership with Mike Stoller. They wrote a number of songs which were recorded by Elvis Presley; notably “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”. It has been alleged that they never liked Presley’s version of “Hound Dog” and preferred the first recording of the song by Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton from 1953. They wrote one of my favourite songs, “Stand By Me” which was a massive hit for Ben E King and has also been covered by many other artists. They also had success with King’s old band the Drifters and the Coasters. Leiber died from a cardiopulmonary disorder aged 78, which by todays standards isn’t that old any more. RIP Jerry Leiber our thoughts go out to your family, friends and fans across the world.

Valerie Simpson with the sadly missed Nick Ashford

Nick Ashford forged a very successful career as a songwriter in partnership with his equally talented wife Valerie Simpson. The pair are probably most famous for the songs that they wrote for Motown, including the classics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”. They also crafted Diana Ross’s hit “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” But they also had success away from Motown; Chaka Khan recorded their song “I’m Every Woman”, another of my favourites. They also had a hit in their own right with their song “Solid”. The couple also have a co writing credit on Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry On Their Own” which samples “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. Nick died from cancer aged just 70, the age my Dad was when he passed away. RIP Nick Ashford our thoughts go out to your family, friends and fans across the world.

I will try and counter that sad news with something a little happier. I really am disappointed that I am a little late with this, but four days ago on August 19th, my favourite singer* Johnny Nash turned 71. Happy belated birthday Mr Nash! I want to know when all his albums will get a proper CD release. I have about 12 of his albums on vinyl and only three on CD, not including hits packages. Texan born Johnny I believe now resides in Jamaica. I will now have to go and listen to my favourite Nash album ‘My Merry Go-Round’ in celebration.

*OK joint favourite with David Bowie then!