With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 12 “Twelve Drummers Drumming” December 24, 2024

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 11:21 am
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Are you ready for day 12 of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts. Yes, the final one is here, how has it all happened so quickly? The fat bearded bloke is doing the final sleigh checks. The elves are finishing off the final presents. The reindeer are having a pre-journey rest and Mrs. Claus is printing the definitive nice and naughty lists. In case you didn’t know, these posts revolve around a theme. This series is based on the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas.” Did you know that as the gifts were cumulative there were 364 gifts in total? What gift was presented on the twelfth day of Christmas? It was of course Twelve Drummers Drumming. The link to today’s tune is really obvious and not particularly tenuous.

The song I have chosen for Day 12 is “My Drummer’s Girlfriend.” This song is by a band that I think will be absolutely huge next year. I certainly hope that they are. I am talking of course, about the magnificent ALT BLK ERA. Since they started to break out they have released some incredible singles, including this one. They have worked with some great artists including Delilah Bon and Wheatus. Their first album is due out early next year. I expect it to appear in my albums of the year list next year. Obviously I promised you a playlist once we got to Day 12 and you can find it below.

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“Santa Claus Hates the Poor” – Mr. Strange December 23, 2024

Filed under: Christmas,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 5:18 pm
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I seem to mention Christmas a lot in my posts, but I rarely post Christmas songs. So let me change that, at least for now. This one is too good to miss in my opinion. It has a great title, “Santa Claus Hates The Poor” and is brought to you by Mr. Strange. Who is, or are Mr. Strange? Well according to their Spotify bio this is them. “Profound idiocy. Mr. Strange are a four-piece Electro-Rock / Alternative / Art-Rock outfit from the Isle Of Wight (UK) that formed in 2006. Relentlessly weird and not really fitting in anywhere, this bunch of oddballs have a trademark fondness of switching up and twisting musical genre’s whenever the mood takes their fancy …which is often“.

If this doesn’t whet your appetite then check out their stated influences. “Oingo Boingo, Alice Cooper, Mr. Bungle, Gary Numan, Dr. Steel, Electric Six, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, David Bowie, Mushroomhead, XTC, Marilyn Manson, Queens of the Stone Age, Danny Elfman, PiG, Twiztid, Depeche Mode, Faith No More, Insane Clown Posse, and a whole host of New Wave / Post Punk bands from the late 70’s – early 80’s.” If that doesn’t make you want to listen then I am not sure what will! Check out the video for “Santa Claus Hates The Poor” below. On YouTube the song is described as “A dark and mean spirited Christmas song heavily inspired by the likes of Danny Elfman and the Cardiacs.” That is a pretty accurate description in my opinion. The song comes from a dark festive EP called ‘The Festive Misery EP’. The Spotify link for that is below, I think you’ll love it. I do! Does Santa Claus actually hate the poor? I don’t know but that is a strong hypothesis.

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A Christmas Message From Taylor Grace Of Not Now Norman

Filed under: Christmas,Christmas Message — justwilliam1959 @ 3:44 pm
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So tell me, are you on the nice list or the naughty list? Either way may I say a big hello to all the nicies and all the naughties! You have probably noticed a change since COVID. I have let the annual Christmas messages from bands and artists slip a little. These are the bands and artists we have featured or reviewed throughout the year. But now they are back. They kicked off a few days ago with the delightful Herorangecoat. Now, we have a very special Christmas message from rock powerhouse Taylor Grace. Taylor fronts a fabulous UK metal band called Not Now Norman. They play plenty of other stuff too. They are simply a great band.

We reviewed their new album ‘GO HARD OR GO HOME!‘. It also made it into our top 20 albums of the year. We love a bit of Not Now Norman here at Mayhem Towers. You need them in your life too.

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Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 11 “Eleven Pipers Piping”

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 9:28 am
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Here comes day 11 of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts. Santa is oiling his beard and the elves are packing for a long holiday! The theme for this series of posts is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the eleventh day of Christmas? It was of course Eleven Pipers Piping. The link to today’s tune is not very tenuous and features an actual piper, of the bagpipe variety!

Today’s tune comes from Ally The Piper a.k.a. Piper Ally a.k.a. Ally Crowley-Duncan. She is from New York and she plays the bagpipes like she was born to it. Despite my Scottish background (I am half Scots) I have never liked the bagpipes much. But the way Ally plays and what she plays is something special. She began as a YouTuber. Her mission in music seems to be the modernisation of the Great Highland bagpipe. She blends classic rock and heavy metal with Celtic influences, captivating audiences worldwide. She covers metal and contemporary songs alongside traditional tunes and really is a joy to listen to. She has received support from the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden, to name just a couple. Ally is a bit of a multi instrumentalist too, when it comes to traditional musical instruments in particular. This post features her take on the classic “Crazy Train”

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one. In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already and ready for unwrapping tomorrow. What do you think the final song will be tomorrow?

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On This Day Ronnie Raygun Gets Stiff And Stays Quiet! December 22, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 9:53 pm
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Stiff Records released an album in the UK on 22nd December 1980. It was called ‘The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan.’ The entire disc contained 40 minutes of silence. Although it does have a track list. Side 1 is The Wit Of Ronald Reagan. Side 2 is The Wisdom Of Ronald Reagan. If you did something similar for Donald Trump you would need at least a 10 LP box set.

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Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 10 “Ten Lords A-Leaping”

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 6:19 am
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Here comes day 10 of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts. Mrs. Claus is mucking out the reindeer stables and an elf has been sent to get new batteries for Rudolph’s nose! The theme for this series of posts is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the tenth day of Christmas? It was of course Ten Lords A-Leaping. The link to today’s tune is not very tenuous at all!

The song is “Lord Lucan Is Missing” by the often and wrongly ignored and underrated Black Box Recorder. Lucan was a Lord. It seems that he leapt off the planet back in 1974. This is why I chose this for day 10. The song is a cover of a song originally written and recorded by the Dodgems. It was issued as a B-Side or extra track on a CD single. Was it released with “The School Song”? I can’t remember! Black Box Recorder were Sarah Nixey, Luke Haines (from the Auteurs), and John Moore (from the Jesus and Mary Chain). I have a few of their albums. This particular track is included in ‘The Worst Of Back Box Recorder.’ It’s a collection of B-Sides and the like from 2001.

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already. I will unwrap it soon for you! What do you think tomorrows song will be?

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A Christmas Message From Herorangecoat December 21, 2024

Filed under: Christmas,Christmas Message — justwilliam1959 @ 8:50 pm
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Hello all you people on the nice list, and I suppose some of you on the naughty list too! Since COVID I have let the annual Christmas messages from bands and artists that we have featured or reviewed throughout the year slip a little. But now they are back kicking off with the uber-talented HerOrangeCoat. She released a fabulous EP, ‘Ballads For This Age’ which has been on constant rotation here at Mayhem Towers. It is a beautiful collection of songs. We will be interviewing HerOrangeCoat early in the new year and I am so looking forward to that! I haven’t seen her play live yet, but that is on my list for 2025! I hope to have another couple of Christmas messages coming soon, but I plan for their to be an abundance of them in 2025.

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Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 8 “Eight Maids A-milking” December 20, 2024

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 10:23 pm
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It is now time for day 8 Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts. So Christmas is now well and truly on the way, Maria is fully defrosted and Noddy has said “IT’S CHRIIIIISTMAAAS”! By now I hope you know that this year, once again, the theme is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the eighth day of Christmas? It was of course Eight Maids A-milking. The link to todays tune is as expected very tenuous.

The song is “Milkshake” by Kelis, well the song does talk about a milk based product right? Plus in olden days Kelis might have been seen as a maiden. Equally I could have chosen something by Iron Maiden or perhaps Be Bop Deluxe’s “Maid In Heaven”, maybe next time? “Milkshake” was a huge success for Kelis back in 2003. It hit number one in Ireland, number two in the UK and top five in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The song was written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo a.k.a the Neptunes. Kelis has said that the song is about “something that makes women special”. What do you think it’s about?

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already. I will unwrap it soon for you! What do you think tomorrows song will be?

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 7 “Seven Swans A-swimming” December 19, 2024

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 11:46 pm
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Day seven of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts is upon us, well as I type this it is technically nearly over. So Christmas is now in the fast lane and Chris Rea is on his way home! All of you regular readers (thank you for sticking with me and welcome to all the new readers too) will know that this year, once again, the theme is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the seventh day of Christmas? It was of course Seven Swans A- Swimming. The link to todays tune is not as tenuous as some of the earlier entries.

Today’s track is by Public Image Ltd and it is “Swan Lake” from the ‘Metal Box’ album. The song was originally released as a single called “Death Disco” in 1979 but was remixed and retitled “Swan Lake” for ‘Metal Box’. Guitarist Keith Levene said this of the track “I realised that this tune that I was bastardising by mistake was “Swan Lake”, so I started playing it on purpose but I was doing it from memory. You can hear that I’m not playing it exactly right. It just worked. There’s a few versions of that. The one on Metal Box is version two, which is very different from the simpler, original 12-inch version.” The lyrics are based on John Lydon’s mother dying of cancer he has spoken about the lyrics many times and said “When I had to deal with my mother’s death, which upset the fuck out of me, I did it partly through music. I had to watch her die slowly of cancer for a whole year. I wrote “Death Disco” about that. I played it to her just before she died and she was very happy. That’s the Irish in her, nothing drearily sympathetic or weak.”. In addition to Lydon and Levene another member of the classic PIL line up played on the song, Mr. Jah Wobble. The melody comes from what many consider to be the finest ballet ever written, “Swan Lake” composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already. I will unwrap it soon for you! What do you think tomorrows song will be?

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 6 “Six Geese A-Laying” December 18, 2024

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 10:19 pm
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It is the halfway point of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas posts which means it is day 6. Which in turn means that Chrimbo is tantalisingly close! All of you regular readers thank you for sticking with me and welcome to all the new readers too) will know that this year, once again, the theme is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the sixth day of Christmas? It was of course Six Geese A-Laying. So that probably means eggs for breakfast, right? Another rather tenuously linked tune is the order of the day again!

The song is “goosebumps” by Jacques Bermon Webster II a.k.a Travi$ Scott. kendrick Lamar also features on the track. It was the third single from Scott’s second studio album ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’ which was released in September 2016. It hit number one in the USA and number 19 in the UK album chart. Apparently Travi$ Scott broke a Guinness World Record in 2017 for the most consecutive performances of a song during a show after he performed “Goosebumps” 15 times in a row. Seriously? Why?

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already. I will unwrap it soon for you! What do you think tomorrows song will be?

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linkedin, and EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.