Ahh, yeah. I knew there was something that I was supposed to do.

Well, Summer's back apparently. Looking out of the window today, there is a beautiful blue sky, it's warm and it's as if that weather we were holding out on for the last couple of months is back. For a couple of days at least.

Aaanyway, been a bit of a hectic couple of months since the last one as getting ready for our impending parenthood is the number one priority. We seem to be ready - we've got all the kit, the nursery is decorated, birth plan is completed and we've finished our ante natal classes, so all we need now is a Little Person in our lives to share it and we'll be laughing. No movement at the moment though, so it's down to good old patience.

So, PJ Harvey won the Mercury prize then. I was a bit disappointed with the nominations - same story every year really - as I was expecting the see Skying by The Horrors and/or One Thousand Pictures by Pete & The Pirates which are easily the two albums by British artists that were eligible I like best. Ho hum, there's no accounting for taste, is there?

If Scroobius Pip's Distraction Pieces isn't in the list next year, then I know for definite that something's wrong somewhere. It's a great album, backed up by a phenomenal live show that I got to witness at a tiny gig last month. It's also the first album since the Pete & The Pirates one that I had genuine pre release flutters, just like the old days, while counting down the days to release. When it dropped on the proverbial (mouse) mat and I got to hear it, I was wowed good & proper. Definitely my album of the year so far.

And while a lot of the world has recently commiserated each other over the split of R. E. M., I'm a little bit heartbroken at the demise - for the second time, I may add - of The Middle East. Some of you might remember their track 'Blood' from a previous episode and in memory or their passing, I've slipped one of their more recent tracks into this one. Shame really, but while one Australian band leaves, another enters. Watch out for Nantes. I predict big things.

So, what else have I got for you to listen to this time?

This episode's tracklist is as follows

# ARTIST / TITLE
Scroobius Pip ft POS & Sage Francis / Let 'em come
The Fair Ohs / Baldessari
Russian Red / The Sun The Trees
Mister Heavenly / Bronx Sniper
Library Voices / Generation Handclap
Falcon / Say Goodbye
Hooded Fang / Tosta Mista
Priory / Wait
Ghostpoet / Lines
Waines / Time Machine
Hugo / 99 Problems
The Middle East / Land Of The Bloody Unknown
Admiral Fallow / Squealing Pigs
Nantes / Fly
Eleanor Friedberger / My Mistakes
BOAT / Forever In Armitron
My Goodness / Blackout Baby

You can either subscribe to the podcast using the links at the top of the page, through the iTunes podcast directory or download it direct from here. (Right Click, Save As)

As is usual, if there is anything on this podcast you like, please remember to support the artist(s) by buying a track or two or even go and see them live. If you are an artist that has a track on this podcast that you would like removed, please get in touch with me and it shall be done without prejudice.

Until the next time....

Thanks for listening.
It's good to listen.

Rob
xxx

Oops, I did it again..

Well, I'm a bit late this time but I think I have a reasonable enough excuse. For the last couple of months, I've been helping out some old friends at Planet Angel by coordinating the music for the *Chilled* In A Field festival that was held last weekend in a field in Sussex. It's been great to get back on the horse as it were and despite some typical British summer weather - rain, wind, thunder - we pulled it off with a great lineup of DJs and live acts. As a result of that, I've managed to get hold of a load of new music from people I previously hadn't had the pleasure of listening to, so expect to hear some of that in the near future.

Look out for the festival next year, it really is a nice, family friendly couple of days in a field with great food, excellent choice of ales & ciders, several music, performance and workshop areas and an incredibly happy vibe.

In a previous missive, I bemoaned the fact that because of some strange twist of fate - read inter EU beauacracy - I couldn't get hold of the Scarlet Chives album, but Brian from the band got in touch and as a result, I am now the happy owner of a copy. You can download yours from the Sureleaf Records website. Go on, take a punt. If you like the music on the podcasts - The Horror featured earlier in the year - I guarantee this is one of the best albums of the year so far and could well be one of those hidden treasures that you see in end of year lists. Cheers Brian, you are a true gent and I wish the band and the label much success in the future. If only other labels had the same positive attitude to customer service and satisfaction, the music world would be in a much friendlier state.

So, what have I got for you to listen to this time?

This episode's tracklist is as follows

# TITLE / ARTIST
Yes! - Colourmusic

Family Tree - Black Lips
Surf Hell - Little Barrie
Send Them Kids To War - The Burns Unit
Iron - Woodkid
I Need Your Mind - Singing Adams
The Honest Truth - Typhoon
Helen - The Loom
Desire - Anna Calvi
The Mountain - Les Jupes
United - Pete And The Pirates
The Coming Days - Hello Echo
The Wishbone - The Veils
There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight - Cloud Control
Top Drop - Secret Music
Drops - Jookabox
Still Life - The Horrors
No Nostalgia - Agesandages

You can either subscribe to the podcast using the links at the top of the page, through the iTunes podcast directory or download it direct from here. (Right Click, Save As)

As is usual, if there is anything on this podcast you like, please remember to support the artist(s) by buying a track or two or even go and see them live. If you are an artist that has a track on this podcast that you would like removed, please get in touch with me and it shall be done without prejudice.

Until the next time....

Thanks for listening.
It's good to listen.

Rob
xxx

It's spring again, I'll bring again, tunage from London town.

Here in London, the city has gone Bill & Kate crazy. I wish them all the best as I would any other young couple setting out on a life together. If I was their wedding DJ, they wouldn't be getting too many genre classics like "The Birdie Song", "Come On Eileen" or the ubiquitous "Stars on 45" medleys. Instead, they'd probably get a set something like this month's podcast, music that's been filling my ears for the last couple of months.

After a quite barren - as is usual - January and February, March and April have kicked up a whole load of good stuff as well as some that have less than impressed me.I was rather disappointed; after the return to form that was "In Rainbows"; with the new Radiohead album, but have been extremely impressed with albums by Erland & The Carnival, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, The Kills and Younger Brother. I've just got hold of an album by Colourmusic which will no doubt feature in the next episode. It's brilliantly bonkers and puts a big old smile on my face. Really looking forward to the new Pete & The Pirates album coming out next month. Could be a contender for album of the year? The first couple of singles off it have shown promise, see what you think. And there's a new Fleet Foxes record out soon, and what I've heard of that sees a continuation of the brilliance of the first one.

So, I'm off to find some more. I like long bank holiday weekends, me.

Happy wedding day Bill & Kate. I hope you're as happy in the future as you seem to be at the moment.

You can either subscribe to the podcast using the links at the top of the page, through the iTunes podcast directory or download it direct from here. (Right Click, Save As)

This episode's tracklist is as follows

# TITLE / ARTIST
Money and Run (feat. Nick Cave) - U.N.K.L.E.
Hookers - Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers
Satellite - The Kills
Love My Name - The Young Knives
Come Home - CHAPPO
Lotus Flower - Radiohead
Shine - Younger Brother
I Can Make You Feel It - Home Video
This Is Not - VETO
Lost & Found - Jukebox Collective
Come To The Bar - Pete And The Pirates
Hit 'n' Miss - Capsula
Haunting at 1300 McKinley - The Black Angels
White Fox - Ham Sandwich
On the Run - The Amsterdams


As is usual, if there is anything on this podcast you like, please remember to support the artist(s) by buying a track or two or even go and see them live. If you are an artist that has a track on this podcast that you would like removed, please get in touch with me and it shall be done without prejudice.

Finally, I'd like to dedicated this one to Anna and LP, my better half and our baby due at the end of September. Anna makes me the happiest man in the universe on a regular basis, but having the guts to love me and all the baggage I come with and now to be carrying our child takes my love to the power of infinity. Thank you sweet thing, I love you dearly. I just hope LP likes music, really :)

Until the next time....

Thanks for listening.
It's good to listen.

Rob
xxx

It's all working again!

Hello :)

Hope you are all well and the winter has been kind. Spring is officially (I think) here; at least the daffodils and snowdrops in our garden seem to think so. This is A. Good. Thing!

Been having a few technical problems of late, but I've finally managed to get it all working again. Thought it was going to cost me an arm and a leg, but ended up with me only losing some marbles and a bunch of time. Thank dog for that.

It's been a good year so far and some great music is coming out from all across the world. I can heartily recommend the new albums by Elbow, James Vincent McMorrow, The Boxer Rebellion, Agesandages, Tom Williams & The Boat, The Joy Formidable and Chapel Club.

I've been having some battles though. I really can't understand why some albums are only released in certain countries. Take the James Vincent McMorrow album as an example. This amazing record was released in Ireland last year, but only available legally in the UK on Monday of this week. That's a whole year. A whole year where I haven't been able to pay the artist the respect he deserves. I've now got the same problem with an album by a Danish band called The Scarlet Chives. Brilliant music, but I am not allowed to buy it unless I pay nearly £30.00 for a CD (that I don't want as I am trying to be media free) and shipping.

I thought that membership of the EU meant free trade between the participating countries. Or are record companies exempt from those trade rules? Would you wait a whole year for your new TV or toaster to be delivered? No. You'd go and buy one from somewhere else! C'mon record companies, this is the 21st century FFS. If you really; and I mean really want people to stop stealing your product, at least give them the opportunity to buy it and not make them wait and wait and wait.

It seems that things never change and I will continue to love the music but hate the industry until my dying day.

As Ben Elton many moons ago would say, "A little bit of politics for you there". Rant over :)

So, a new year and a new podcast, hopefully the first of 6 bi-monthly ones for 2011 and beyond. You can either subscribe using the links at the top of the page, through the iTunes podcast directory or download it direct from here. (Right Click, Save As)

Tracklist is as follows
# TITLE / ARTIST
01 Don't Look at Me (I Don't Like It) - The Lovely Eggs
02 Shenanigans Of Old America - Deadlovers
03 Who's In Control - British Sea Power
04 Popinjay - The Joy Formidable
05 The Horror - Scarlet Chives
06 Spiral - Eins, Zwei Orchestra
07 The Runner - The Boxer Rebellion
08 Mexican Mavis - Boy & Bear
09 Civilian - Wye Oak
10 Mirror, Mirror - Dr. Dog
11 It's Raining Outside Today, Hooray! - Susan Gibson
12 Hit 'Em Up Style - Carolina Chocolate Drops ft The Luminescent Orchestrii
13 Cars - The Leisure Society
14 From the Woods!! - James Vincent McMorrow
15 Break/Hands - Cameras
16 Get Older - Tom Williams & The Boat
17 Souvenir - AgesandAges


Finally, if there is anything on this podcast you like, please remember to support the artist(s) by buying a track or two or even go and see them live. If you are an artist that has a track on this podcast that you would like removed, please get in touch with me and it shall be done without prejudice.

Until the next time....probably the end of April,

Thanks for listening.
It's good to listen.

Rob
xxx

The ones that nearly got away..

Nearly forgot, but didn't quite. Here's a bonus podcast of some tracks that didn't make previous episodes for whatever reason. The only thing they have in common is that I like them a lot.

The tracklist is as follows

Spanish Sahara - Foals
What's In It For Me - Avi Buffalo
If I Was - Young Rebel Set
Odessa - Olenka And The Autumn Lovers
There's A Storm A Comin' - Richard Hawley
The Water - Johnny Flynn & Laura Marling
February Flare - Blaudzun
Old Henry the Oak - Cocos Lovers
English Garden - Like Pioneers
Waterfall - Fresh And Onlys
Warpaint - Warpaint
I'm Not Human At All -Sleep Party People
Please Take - Wire
Let's Get Out of Here - Les Savy Fav
T.O.R.N.A.D.O. - The Go! Team
Greyhounds In The Slips - The Joy Formidable
Tales From The Doombox - Subsource
Ozzzzy - Drums of Death & Dan Le Sac vs Black Sabbath

You can either subscribe using the links at the top of the page, through the iTunes podcast directory or download it direct from here. (Right Click, Save As)

Also, as promised, my top 20 albums of 2010 are as follows. Only the top 5 are in any real order, the rest of them are just great albums and most of, if not all of the artists have featured on the podcasts in the last 12 months.

1. Erland & The Carnival - Erland & The Carnival
2. Wolf People - Steeple
3. Cloud Control - Bliss Release
4. Parades - Foreign Tapes
5. Sleep Party People - Sleep Party People
6. I'm Kingfisher - Arctic
7. Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill
8. Subsource - Tales from The Doombox
9. The Strange Death Of Liberal England - Drown your Heart Again
10. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
11. Bo Ningen - Bo Ningen
12. Sleepy Sun - Fever
13. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
14. The National - High Violet
15. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
16. Broken Records - Let Me Come Home
17. Menomena - Mines
18. I Am Kloot - Sky At Night
19. The Cherry Ghost - beneath This Burning Shoreline
20. Foals - Total Life Forever

As usual, your comments and track recommendations are always welcome, so please keep them coming, I really do listen to everything I'm sent a link to.

Finally, if there is anything on this podcast you like, please remember to support the artist(s) by buying a track or two or even go and see them live. If you are an artist that has a track on this podcast that you would like removed, please get in touch with me and it shall be done without prejudice.

Until the next time, wrap up warm and enjoy your detox/retox

Thanks for listening.
It's good to listen.

Rob
xxx