With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – February 2022 March 1, 2022

Filed under: Mayhem Top 20 Chart — justwilliam1959 @ 1:17 pm
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On the last Mayhem Top 20 post, I mentioned that I was changing how it would be published. Instead of waiting for Obscurify to tot up listens on a seemingly random date, I will now take a snapshot at the end of each month. So the Top 20 for February is the first of those. Many of you know that I am a keen user of a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I achieved a level of 100% more obscure than other users in the UK. 100%, is that even possible? Either way, I am proud of it! Anyway, regular readers will know that it also lists my most obscure artists, (the top two of which have been there since I began doing these posts) which currently are;

Woke Up Dead (One of the two bands that have been ever-present in my obscure list and an excellent band to boot!)

Promethium (This metal bunch continue to fly the flag for great British rock and like Woke Up Dead have been ever-present in this obscure team)

Tommyrot – (One of York’s finest young bands, check out their new EP, ‘Turkey Vulture Of Drug Culture‘. They appear at number 23 in the extended chart)

Black Acacias -(I have no idea how I found this lot. Their album came out in 2008 and they have 4 monthly listeners on Spotify. There seems to be no information about them online, apart from the music on Spotify. If you were in Black Acacias or know anything about them please contact me. They appear at number 13 in this week’s chart)

Folk The System – (folky protest and frankly great songs, this lot make their second appearance in the obscure list. They appear at number 27 in the extended chart)

As for the February Top 20, only Dame David and Kate Bush remain from the last chart. Other classic artists include Suede, Arctic Monkeys, Glen Campbell, Alison Moyet, Culture Club, Bob Dylan Dionne Warwick, and Frank Turner. Bruno Skibbild makes his second appearance and there will be another post about him very soon. Nine Inch Nails crash in at number one, I have just read a great book about their album ‘The Downward Spiral’, lookout for a review of that on these pages sometime soon. The rest of the top five is The Skinner Brothers, Hawksley Workman, Heartsink, and the aforementioned Kate Bush. Four of the artists who feature in the February Top 20 are current contenders for my album of the year for 2022, can you guess who they are? Who knew that there was a band called Diamond Dogs? I didn’t until now. Gonora Sounds from Africa produce some of the most uplifting music that I have heard in a long while! Here is that all-important top 20. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

1 Nine Inch Nails
2 The Skinner Brothers
3 Hawksley Workman
4 Heartsink
5 Kate Bush
6 David Bowie
7 Glen Campbell
8 Paul Draper
9 Bob Dylan
10 Alison Moyet
11 Gonora Sounds
12 Culture Club
13 Black Acacias
14 Dionne Warwick
15 L.A.B.
16 Diamond Dogs
17 Suede
18 Arctic Monkeys
19 Frank Turner
20 Hurray For The Riff Raff

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The WJAHOM Interview Podcast – Millie Manders! January 25, 2021

Filed under: Interview,Podcast — justwilliam1959 @ 6:00 pm
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Last week I had the honour, privilege and pleasure of interviewing the wonderfully talented Millie Manders of Millie Manders and the ShutUp . What did I learn from interviewing Millie? Well it is clear that she is a smart, affable raconteur and frankly a first class human being! Click here to take a listen to the interview on Spotify and afterwards check out some ace Millie Manders and the ShutUp videos. Then click here to avail yourself of some rather spiffing Millie Manders merch!

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My 2020 On Spotify And Some Deeper Listening Stats! January 17, 2021

Filed under: Observation,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:54 pm
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I thought I would share some of my Spotify listening habits. Apparently I listened to Spotify for more than 12 days last year, I wish I knew how much time I listened to vinyl, CDs, MP3s, radio and other on line sources too. I discovered 577 new artists, wow! My most listened to song was David Bowie’s version of “Wild Is The Wind” and unsurprisingly Bowie was my most listened to artist once again (996 minutes, nearly 6% of my total Spotify listening time) I was also in the top 0.5% of Bowie listeners. The other artists in my top 5 were Biffy Clyro, the Streets, Ella Fitzgerald and Woke Up Dead. I listened to 1,286 artists. My top decade was the 1970s, again no surprise there. Top genres were Rock, Soul and Dance Rock. Rather fascinatingly my music is more obscure than 80% of UK users, what on earth does that mean? I also found a few rather amusing, to me anyway, graphs and charts to accompany this post!

Since starting on this post I have also discovered a few sites on which you can regularly update your Spotify statistics split between artists and tracks and then last 4 weeks/ current, Last six months and all time within that. My favourites among these sites so far are Favourite Music Guru, Obscurify Music and Stats For Spotify. Have you used any of these or can you recommend others?

In case you’re interested in my warped eclectic taste these are my top artists on Spotify (Current, Medium Term and all time) The top songs follow those lists. Incidentally the Kunts and Jarvis Cocker feaure strongly on the tracks lists simply because I did my bit to get them to be the Christmas number one in the UK these last two years!

Top Artists — Short Term (4 weeks)

  1. The Beatles
  2. Yusuf / Cat Stevens
  3. Eagles
  4. London Symphony Orchestra
  5. Evie Sands
  6. Rumer
  7. Jackson Browne
  8. David Bowie
  9. Bobbie Gentry
  10. Harry Styles

Top Artists — Medium Term (6 months)

  1. David Bowie
  2. Biffy Clyro
  3. Gregory Porter
  4. The Avalanches
  5. John Lennon
  6. Eminem
  7. Stevie Wonder
  8. Stephen EvEns
  9. Ella Fitzgerald
  10. The Beatles

Top Artists — Long Term (years)

  1. David Bowie
  2. Bob Marley & The Wailers
  3. Biffy Clyro
  4. Frank Turner
  5. Bruce Springsteen
  6. Four Tops
  7. Eminem
  8. Johnny Nash
  9. Elton John
  10. The Streets

Top Tracks — Short Term (4 weeks)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Billy the Kid, Ballet Suite: I. The Open Prairie — Aaron Copland, London Symphony Orchestra
  3. True Faith ’94 — New Order
  4. Jamaica Say You Will — Jackson Browne
  5. Everybody Used to Love You — Silverjet
  6. Raison D’Être — Stolen Dead Music
  7. Wear A Mask — Sing Sing Rabbit
  8. Three Points on a Compass — Martin Rossiter
  9. Drag Me to the Light — Miles and the Chain Gang
  10. Alfred – Intro — Eminem

Top Tracks — Medium Term (6 months)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Taking It Slow — Heartsink
  3. Concorde — Gregory Porter
  4. Freakin’ At the Freaker’s Ball — Dr. Hook
  5. Pepper — Butthole Surfers
  6. Career Criminal — Stephen EvEns
  7. Close — The Islas
  8. Belladonna — Spunsugar
  9. Make Us Eat — The Shining Tongues
  10. Smiling — Alanis Morissette

Top Tracks — Long Term (years)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Running the World — Jarvis Cocker
  3. Star Treatment — Arctic Monkeys
  4. (red, white, and blue) Cheerfulness — Perry Farrell
  5. Balance, Not Symmetry — Biffy Clyro
  6. Future Legend – 2016 Remaster — David Bowie
  7. Deep Sea Dreaming — Ocean Flaws
  8. Loser of the Year — Woke Up Dead
  9. Three Points on a Compass — Martin Rossiter
  10. Wild Is the Wind – 2016 Remaster — David Bowie

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Yet More Lockdown Playlist Mayhem! April 30, 2020

Filed under: Playlist — justwilliam1959 @ 6:36 pm
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Here’s another new Spotify Playlist this time the focus is on Brit Pop and other related great hits. Give it a spin, but it is designed for shuffle play! I should warn you that there are eleven hours of tunes here 🙂 It is called ‘With Just a Hint Of Mayhem does Britpop and other 90s greats. Click here (or just below) to roll with it in your country house! Let me know if you think I have missed your favourite.  playlist (see below)

So put on your best dancing pants and get mad for it!

Here are all my other playlists. Feel free to share them!

If you want to suggest any tracks to be added then let me know!

Billy Does Glam & other early 70s pop – get your platforms on!

Billy’s Best Snotty Punk Tracks – who doesn’t love punk?

Billy’s Ranking Reggae Rockers – everybody loves reggae right?

Billy’s 70s Soul, Funk & Disco Selection – right back to my youth! Get on your flares and get dancin’

Billy’s 60s Soul Selection – I dare you not to enjoy and dance to this lot!

Billy’s Barbecue Belters – this started as a nice backdrop to a summer barbecue that has, thanks to some musical brain farts, grown to a whopping 461 songs that helped shape my life in some way!

FACK TRUMP! – largely political and mostly protest songs

SASH Gig 3rd January 2020 – this was the music played before and between all the bands at the first gig, I ever promoted back in January. Big thanks once again to Lost Trends, My Wonderful Daze, and the Receivers – all of whom feature on this playlist. Probably more of a brain dump from me is this one!

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Lockdown playlists! Stay indoors and get your party trousers on! March 21, 2020

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 11:01 pm
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Here are a few playlists that I have created on Spotify over the past few years. They might help you get through the lockdown and take your mind off these very strange days! Feel free to share them!

If you want to suggest ant tracks to be added then let me know!

Billy’s Best Snotty Punk Tracks – who doesn’t love punk?

Billy’s Ranking Reggae Rockers – everybody loves reggae right?

Billy’s 70s Soul, Funk & Disco Selection – right back to my youth! Get on your flares and get dancin’

Billy’s 60s Soul Selection – I dare you not to enjoy and dance to this lot!

Billy’s Barbecue Belters – this started as a nice backdrop to a summer barbecue that has, thanks to some musical brain farts, grown to a whopping 461 songs that helped shape my life in some way!

FACK TRUMP! – largely political and mostly protest songs

SASH Gig 3rd January 2020 – this was the music played before and between all the bands at the first gig, I ever promoted back in January. Big thanks once again to Lost Trends, My Wonderful Daze, and the Receivers – all of whom feature on this playlist. Probably more of a brain dump from me is this one!

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‘Saccharin EP’ – Writer’s Rain July 5, 2019

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 2:36 pm
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I first heard Nina Sundstrom when she was on backing vocal duties for Rosalind and Wounded Bear at the Crescent in York back in April. I had a brief chat with this lovely lady that night and she told me that she had an EP coming out. Well, it has been out a while and I finally got around to reviewing it and I can state categorically that it was worth the wait. Nina goes by the wonderfully clever name Writer’s Rain and the EP is called “Saccharin”. She first came to York three years ago from Bristol to study for a degree in neuroscience, so clearly, her talents stretch beyond just her innate, natural musical ability. She has worked hard playing small open mic gigs in York and all that effort has paid off with such a strong first release. If you like singer-songwriters of the classic school, like Carole King and Joni Mitchell or more modern artists like Lisa Hannigan, Lucy Rose or Feist, then you really ought to give the ‘Saccharin EP’ a spin. It took one listen to convert me into a fan of Writer’s Rain.

The songs feel simple in their construction and performance with some relatively understated instrumentation. The production is crisp and brings out the best in Nina’s voice which at times has the angelic clarity of Karen Carpenter. Her lyrics are far more mature than her age might suggest. The EP kicks off with “Interested” which I think is a put down of an overpowering, pushy, braggart of a man. The title track, “Saccharin” is, no pun intended, one of the sweetest songs here. I can also sense the young Joni Mitchell influence here in her tone and phrasing. Have you ever fell for someone because you simply both ‘clicked’? The third song on this collection “Click” is all about that and it is a beautiful tune and my wife loves it! The EP closes with “Nervous” which has a soft folky feel and is a song that wouldn’t be out of place in a Laura Marling collection and is reminiscent of Mary Hopkin at times. Click here to check out the ‘Saccharin EP’ on Spotify, if it doesn’t leave you feeling good then you need to get your head checked out!

 

 

 

InFade “Embers” Single Launch – 360 Club, The Lending Room, Leeds – Friday 28th June 2019 July 3, 2019

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:31 pm
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This was a night to celebrate the launch of “Embers” the new single from InFade, click here for my review of that tune from last month. But before I tell you more about InFade there were three other bands bringing their music to the 360 Club at the Lending Room in Leeds, which is possibly one of the coolest and most intimate venues in Yorkshire. First up were We Make Waves, this Leeds five-piece rocked as though they were auditioning to be Asgard’s house band. They passed that audition with style and a bass that was as thunderous as Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjolnir! Bass player Olli Rawcliffe even sported hair and beard close to that of the Thunder God. Amy Kennedy’s vocals backed by such a strong band made me think of what perhaps the Foo Fighters might sound like if they had a female singer. It is also so refreshing to see another female fronted band. Apparently, We Make Waves are in the middle of recording a couple of songs, with which they closed their set. The last of these, apologies I didn’t get the title, was truly epic! Click here to check them out on SoundCloud.

We Make Waves

Next up were Lords Of Power, also from Leeds. Now I don’t believe that they are actual Lords, but fuck do they have some power! It struck me that this might be what Black Sabbath could have sounded like if Paul Rodgers replaced Ozzy Osbourne as lead vocalist, Dave Sowden’s singing is that good! Lords Of Power appear to have been carved from the great oak of British rock lineage; Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company and many more. Sowden even introduced a really amusing Yorkshire Freddie Mercury crowd chant; “ayup, aaayyyyuup”. Every one of the three band members plays a vital part in giving them their almost off the scale power. It was a shame to hear that bass player, Dan Sugden was playing his last gig with the band. The “Computer Game Loading” was very engaging too. The high point of their set, for me, was “The Devil Wears Shoes” which would fit rather nicely into an episode of Netflix’s “Lucifer”. Click here to check the Lords Of Power out on SoundCloud.

Lords Of Power

The penultimate band tonight was CPSD an eclectic, engaging and highly talented three-piece.  If you like funk, punk, blues, electro, heavy metal, Prog Rock or even dubstep, these guys have it all. When they fire up their full sonic assault they don’t sound like a trio, they sound like a full orchestra. There is a sniff of Slaves and the WhiteStripes about them at times and I mean that in a good way. They sound great in recorded form but they take it to another level completely in the live setting. They smash their way into your brain with power that could split a planet in two, just like a rock version of Quake from “Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D”. Click here to check out one of their songs on SoundCloud, but also get yourself to one of their gigs. You will not regret it!

CPSD

After three immensely good bands could InFade raise the bar even further? Well, the answer to that question ladies, gentlemen, punks, goths, funkateers, and every other tribe is that yes they damned well can and they bloody well did! This was a mesmerising performance from a band that is fast shaping up to be one of Leeds finest. When I first met them they described themselves as some kind of a cross between Tool and Earth, Wind and Fire. That statement alone was enough to intrigue me and seeing them live proves that to be a true statement. They wear their funk hearts on their sleeves so proudly that their stage entry music was one of Nile Rodgers greatest songs; “Le Freak” by Chic. Interestingly Richard, the promoter for this gig does not announce the running order until late on, to ensure that the hardcore fan element for each band stick around longer. I never understood why people would come and see “their” band and then not bother to see the rest of the acts, but hey, to each their own right? It worked tonight as there was a pretty solid crowd throughout the night and for InFade. The boys hit the ground running with a punchy set that showcased their musical talents. Max’s vocals are emotional, soulful and show tones of an epic rock voice when belting out their anthemic tunes. Meanwhile, Carl and Jonny are a highly tuned Formula 1 engine that purrs loudly beneath some great tunes. The highlights for me were “Venom” and the aforementioned “Embers”. Like all the previous bands this evening InFade seemed to be having a lot of fun. Showcased brilliantly by Carl’s audience invasion towards the end of the set. This was a great night for all of those who took the stage, but I think InFade just about shaded it against some great competition. Click here to check out their stuff on Spotify and if you missed this gig they will be playing the 360 Club again on Friday 20th September!

InFade

Public Service Announcement: All pictures were taken by me! All videos were sourced from YouTube. If the video is yours and you would like me to credit you or take it down please let me know.

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“But I never wave bye bye” November 21, 2017

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 7:00 am
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Despite departing this mortal coil nearly two years ago David Bowie is still breaking records. He recently reached his billionth stream on Spotify. That is not the highest by any artist, I know that Drake has had more than ten billion streams of his songs. Ed Sheerhan’s “Shape Of You” has had more than a billion streams in its own right. But nonetheless a billion streams is a great achievement in my opinion. The top ten Bowie songs streamed on Spotify completely bypass anything released after 1983. The sixties has one entry, the eighties has two and the seventies a mighty seven.

david-bowie-4

In terms of albums represented by these ten songs, in reverse order it is;

Space Oddity (a.k.a. David Bowie) 1 track, Diamond Dogs (1 track), Heroes (1 track), Let’s Dance (2 tracks), Hunky Dory (2 tracks) and Ziggy Stardust (3 tracks)

The magnificent, late, great Mick Ronson was also a part of the original studio recordings of five of these tracks too.

  1. Heroes
  2. Let’s Dance (One of only two on this list to reach number one in the UK)
  3. Space Oddity (the second of two on this list to reach number one in the UK. But only after it was reissued in 1975)
  4. Life On Mars
  5. Starman
  6. Rebel Rebel
  7. Moonage Daydream (Never released as a single in the UK)
  8. Changes
  9. Ziggy Stardust
  10. Modern Love

David-Bowie

 

“Tryin’ to live without your love is one long sleepless night” May 13, 2015

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 2:05 pm
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jackson_fashion_10

A few months back I finally succumbed to the seductive ways of Spotify and I signed up for the premium service. Oh boy I wished that I had done it sooner. The amount of new albums that I have listened to lately is phenomenal. My current faves are ‘The Day Is My Enemy’ and ‘The Magic Whip’ by the Prodigy and Blur respectively. I have also rediscovered some classic old albums especially in the reggae genre; Culture, Peter Tosh and Third World to name a few.

jackson5

On top of all this there are countless playlists and it is these that I use for my workouts in the gym. Yes I have been a regular gym goer since January this year. Let me tell you I wasn’t just gifted with such a buff body, I have to work at it! Anyway the reason for this post other than to give Spotify yet more free publicity is to mention a song that popped up on one of those playlists in the gym last night. It was a kind of greatest hits of the 70s playlist and the song has always been one of my favourites.

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Hearing it once again made me think that perhaps it is one of the finest most timeless pop songs ever. I am talking about the Jackson 5‘s magnificent “I Want You Back”. Put aside any prejudices about what Michael became, before he became the weird, cartoon-like plastic surgeon’s Mr Potato Head he was a supremely talented young boy. His pre-adolescent vocals on this song are electrifying. On top of that you get the full might of the marvellous Funk Brothers who were the Motown house band. James Jamerson‘s bass line is sublime in my opinion. Berry Gordy Jr certainly rated it as he had a share in writing it. I would love to hear your opinion on the song and any other suggestions for the finest and most timeless pop songs.

Jackson_5_tv_special_1972

 

 

 
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