- The Human League: August, 1978

I recently acquired this Peel session in mp3 format and was keen to share it with you all. If anyone is interested, I'll make the mp3s available in some format or other. If not, just enjoy this video montage.

- YouTube Mining: The Soul Survivors - Mama Soul

The key to YouTube mining is to go with your instincts.

'YouTube mining' is a term I've devised to define my hobby of searching for new and previously unheard music on the video website. It's actually quite a simple notion: Listen to something that you haven't heard for ages and then choose something you've never heard before from all those videos that are displayed on the right hand side. This can be tricky, as all you're going on is the thumbnail picture chosen by the uploader. It is, however, incredibly rewarding when you find something truly majestic, as is the case with today's offering.

 

I'd never heard of 'The Soul Survivors' (they basically had one fairly big hit in the late 60s) and all I had to go on was the image of the magnificently afro-haired woman enticing me to click on a song called 'Mama Soul'...

As far as I can ascertain, this track was never even released as a single. I've found very little information about this song, although it apparently featured on their 1967 album of the same name.

- 22nd December, 1995

A 46-minute segment of the pre-Christmas show. I'm extremely pleased about this one as it features the epic song 'Flesh' which I myself played in one of my podcasts. At the time I was in the 'difficult' second year of university, you know the one where they kick you out of halls and you have to live in a house much worse than your parents'. Thanks to alanforduk for this gem:

New Bad Things - Like
Henry & Louis - Instilled Dub
The Fall - The Chiselers
Gagarin Kongress - Astralleib
Polvo - Bombs That Fall From Your Eyes
The Geckoes - The Old John Peel
Ken Nordine - Flesh
New Decade - Broken Keys
Girl Of The Year - Halo
Jackie And The Cedrics - Banzai Diamond Head
Prince Far I & Creation Rebel - No More War
Loren MazzaCane Connors - Stilled Wind
The Fall - This City Never Sleeps At Night

Download here.

This is what TV adverts looked like in 1995. Glad to see that someone was still using Quo to sell car parts, while it's amazing to see what Bruce Forsyth would do if, er, the price was right. Did the internet really look like that back then?

BRUNO MARS – THE NEW MUSIC ICON

Peter Gene Henandez commonly known by his stage show name Bruno Mars  is an American singer, song  writer and record producer. He has a family background of musicians. At a very young age Bruno Mars started doing his stage shows. After his graduation, he moved to Los Angeles for pursuing his musical career.

One Saturday night on his stage show at Barlays Centre while   Bruno Mars was busy singing romantic slow jam  “ If  I knew” he  halted unexpectedly for a comic movement. He had an eye to eye stare at a lady sitting in the  front  row  by the name India and offered his intention to sing for this lucky lady. He with his unique Hawaiian  style  acknowledged  and  began his song named” R & B 101” after introducing himself to the lady and started with words “ I’m the guy on the ticket”.

This marks Mars’s  down  to earth attitude towards his fans. His talent as a musician is more than enough to admire him. Just with two albums to his name ( recently  “Unorthodox Juke box” of 2012) he has already made a mark in the world of pop music.

The technique with which Bruno Mars shifts the styles and genres is effortless.  In the first hour, his mix of styles starts from disco-funk licks of “Treasure” to  Jamaican  rhythms called reggae of “ Show Me” to a heavy notes of “Runaway Baby” in a spur of moment .His unique ability is like an iPod with which  Mars shuffles between the songs of  Barrett Strong’s “Money(That’s What I Want)”, Ginuwine’s pony and  small notes of Prince’s “Purple Rain” with great ease.

It is Mars who is the whole and soul  behind  the show, but it is the team effort and coordination of the members of his band is behind its success . The eight member band comprises not  just  people who are hired by him but are his best friends who are dancers and rappers who share the best on stage chemistry. The unity among them is seen on the fact that all wear same red suits, leopard –skin vests and gold chains. This resembles the pimp culture usually seen in New York  as  they  started playing  “Shaft”.

The major success comes from the show of new wave rock song “Locked Out of Heaven”.  It is a feather in his cap. This is not only Mars best tunes but has become the great pop songs of the decade. Even after being criticised by many critics that this song has Police being mostly referred, it is rocking all over by making people dance  to its  tunes .  Mars acknowledges the love for his fan following by throwing the golden glitters into the crowd and by performing his drum solo.

Bruno Mars is a performer and entertainer in true sense as his show is a complete package of humour, catchy and rhythmic songs. One cannot get away with Mars’s mesmerising music which will make a mark not only on  ones’s   mind but also on one’s soul.  Tonight Mars  is  going to  rock in Prudential Centre Newark with his performance.

- Cover Versions Special: 13th July, 1991

Thanks very much to Alan for making this one available. I haven't even downloaded it myself yet so can't comment much. The downloads cover almost the full three-hour show, in four parts, and feature sessions from Party Dictator and Scientist.

Available for download here (part 1 47 mins), here (part 2 44 mins), here (part 3 46 mins) and here (part 4 31 mins). If anyone wants to do a tracklisting, feel free.

Will return with more festive 50s soon.

Looking to hire a live band?

What do you do when you want to put on a really great event such as a party, wedding, or even just a really memorable family get-together? For the longest time it seemed really difficult if you wanted to hire a live band to come and perform at such an event. Where could you even begin trying to find a band? What style would they play and would it be appropriate for your party? How much would it cost to hire them? Were they reliable or was there always that nagging risk that they would let you down on the big day?

All these questions and many more were exactly the kind of things going through people’s minds when trying to book live entertainment and find bands for hire in the past. With all of the innovations in the music industry that have taken place over the past decade or so, it would seem impossible that no one would have thought of a better way to bring such live performers to the attention of those who wish to hire them. If you’d reckoned that someone would have come up with just such a solution, you’d now be right!

Finally, there is an online service that allows people looking for bands to get an idea online: hire a band from earcandy liveentertainment. You are able to view acts and read testimonials about all of the bands, so earcandy bands for hire gives you a really great idea of exactly what you are going to get when you have that fantastic party in mind. In addition to a wide number of bands, the earcandy website also offer a wide selection of DJs and contacting the site is very easy. Earcandy really has taken the worry and stress out of the process of finding the right live performers for your special event.

I miss doing this!

To all those who used to drop by here, I should say that I really miss writing this blog and hope to resuscitate it soon.

Just sayin...

- Real life CSI

CSI is an awesome program. I’ve often wondered what goes into computer forensic investigation and, after a bit of research, I’ve found it’s just as interesting in real life. Computer forensics is basically an examination of computers which is conducted during criminal investigations. While police are examining files and data on the computer during the investigation, they utilize the art of computer forensics.

Basically, if you need to examine a suspect's computer to learn whether or not they are taking part in hacking or industrial espionage case, or if the computer in question is being actively used to commit the crime, you will be involved in computer forensic investigation.

So much CSI work is data recovery training and support. In this day and age, almost all data is managed and manipulated by computers and therefore it is completely possible to lose data in any number of ways. You might accidentally delete your data, or it may become inaccessible due to an unfortunate a computer crash. Of course, in some cases, people have gone to great lengths to purposefully hide data. In any given state of affairs, lost data can easily be recovered by using contemporary data recovery techniques. Indeed, data recovery tools, software and hardware are now commonplace parts of any data recovery investigation.

- Getting your customised T-Shirt

Nothing in this world changes faster as the fashion. What constitutes today’s styles and fashion may become totally obsolete by this time next week. For a lot of people, meeting one’s own clothing needs means turning to customised clothing. This basically means getting garments personally made according to one’s needs.

So, how can you get customized clothing that suits your style? The traditional way was to buy a piece of cloth and pay a visit to your local tailor’s shop and then get the item of clothing that suited your desire. Fortunately, we now live in the twenty-first century and this, even though the results may be stunning, is no longer necessary (check out Billy's Savings Club for ideas).

Getting a Customized Clothing is not a new trend but it’s prevalent ever since the man has started using clothes. CafePress custom t-shirts is now recognised as being the world's favorite place to find or make unique T-shirts and gifts. Tailors have been serving people since the beginning of time, but the advent of the internet has made this practice much more widespread. CafePress truly offers the best assortment of personalised gifts as well as unique t-shirts, clothing, mugs, art and even posters and Christmas ornaments. CafePress has millions of designs from around the world that range from funny to cool to designs for promotional use.

- The Chico School of Rock!

So, you think you'd like your kids to be able to learn to play a musical instrument with competent music instruction? Remember that there are many benefits to learning to play a musical instrument. For example, music lessons help children in subjects such as maths and languages. What’s more, learning anything new is always a good way to build new neurological pathways. Additionally, because not all of us can play a musical instrument, this is a great hobby for future resumes. Keeping those benefits in mind will help you through those early, noisy and very, very bad practice sessions.

If, like me, you’re a parent who wants to get his young ones started in music, finding a fun music instructor seems like a sensible place to begin. It's really imperative that the person teaching your kids to play a musical instrument keeps the sessions appealing and pleasurable, especially in the beginning. Remember: it doesn't cost you any more to find an instructor who actually likes to teach! The Chico School of Rock in Chico, California, aims to fulfill such a role. The school was the brainchild of local musician and mentor Sid Lewis way back at the turn of the century, and has since given more than fifteen thousand music lessons, guitar lessons, children’s concerts, and has enabled many, many kids to grasp their musical dreams.

The syllabus at the Chico School of Rock is based around the three tenets of creativity, pleasure and hands-on experiences in making music. The Chico School Of Rock enables children of every age to focus with a positive attitude and buid team spirit as well as their confidence. Among the successful bands who’ve made their start at the school are the teen band Jet Fuel Only who were recently featured in People Magazine and received coverage on the Rachael Ray Show, Many other of their students are also now performing and recording their own music.

- Introducing... The Green Police

American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., who blended satire, black comedy, and science fiction, was well known for his humanist beliefs and was the honorary president of the American Humanist Association. Indeed, in Vonnegut's final work, the short story, ‘Armageddon in Retrospect’, the Oklahoma town of Verdigris is featured as the headquarters of the United Nations Demonological Investigating Committee, or UNDICO. The town is named after the Verdigris River; the name being derived from the French words for ‘green’ and ‘gray’. Nearby Claremore, in contrast, takes the name from an Osage chief called ‘Gra-moi’. French traders in the area pronounced the town’s name ‘Clairmont’, which means ‘mountain with a clear view’. OK, geography lesson over.

From these origins come The Green Police, a four piece garage rock band composed of Duss Rosencutter on vocals and guitar, Drew ‘the Screw’ Wilson on guitar, Chris Pixley on bass and Evan Campbell on drums. Although you can hear the influences of archetypal punk bands like the Buzzcocks, their style also pays homage to the classic garage and surf music of the 1960s. Go a little beyond this and you even hear the spirit of Johnny Cash in their fast paced songs. They not be, as their name suggests, the environmentalists of the future, but their music is energetic and a lot of fun. Learn more about the Green Police.

- I really have moved

Thank you to those of you who keep commenting on posts here, but I'm not reading them because I've moved the blog here. Please drop by and say hello.

- I've moved!

Hi everyone. Thanks for dropping by in your many numbers over the past couple of years. FiS has now moved to a real proper site: fadesinslowly.com and all future activity will take place over there. Come and join me.

- 2nd September, 1986

Here be the link. Only 30 minutes of the show and and seven and a bit tracks.

Were you watching this in September, 1986?

- The Vivian Girls

Imagine, if you will, that it is March, 2007 in Brooklyn, New York, and the trio of Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katy and Frankie Rose have become The Vivian Girls. Ramone and bassist Kickball Katy form after first coming together in high school, meeting at a Weezer concert. After only having been a band for a matter of weeks, they have recorded their first a demo which includes five original songs and a one cover (the band cites the Wipers as their one big influence, other than Burt Bacharach), and have begun to play the local Brooklyn scene as well as around the state of New Jersey.

Within weeks they have developed a strong following, supporting acts as renowned as Sonic Youth, as well as finding camaraderie among other local bands like Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts, and Woods, with whom they share many bills, thus helping to build up a local music scene to which the band is still very much connected.

Fast forward to March of 2008, they have released ‘Wild Eyes’ as a single on the ‘Plays With Dolls’ label. Despite low key promotion and little in the way of distribution, the single has become an indie hit, appearing on many college radio play lists and acquiring many a positive internet review.

Their eponymously-titled debut album is recorded during the same session and released on the ‘Mauled by Tigers’ label. The initial pressing of the album sells out in a mere ten days, during which time the group sign with ‘In The Red’ Records. The album is subsequently re-released in October of that year, although the band had undergone a minor lineup change, with new drummer Ali Koehler replacing Frankie Rose in July.

Move on to October, 2009 and their second album, ‘Everything Goes Wrong’ has just been released. Song titles include the likes of the majestically titled ‘I Have No Fun’ and ‘I'm Not Asleep’, and the ladies have doubled their studio recording time for this album; they have spent a long, grueling six days recording this time round, instead of the three that it took to deliver their debut.

So, would you call them cute? Do so at your own peril, although possibly their utmost claim to fame is that they were part of a recent Jeopardy question about really cute Brooklyn bands. The band's name actually comes from an epic work by outsider artist Henry Darger, called ‘The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion’ (a 15,000-page epic the band admit to not having read). Darger, whose work ranks among the most celebrated examples of outsider art, created in his Vivian girls some of the most slick and yet disquieting figures in contemporary culture, making the band's appropriation of the monicker all the more apposite.

Listen to the Vivian Girls here.

- New Wedlock album

 Artwork For The Album Continuity

October is now upon us, meaning that memories of summer are drifting away and the leaves, even here in Istanbul, are turning. One thing that's keeping me going is the knowledge that North Carolina’s Wedlock have a new, 10-track, full length release coming out this month, entitled, Continuity, as with their pervious release, on Kounterfeit Records.

Those of you with better memories than I may remember that I while back I blogged about the Chapel Hill based electronic pop band and their 2008 album Exogamy. Well, the band are back with a new release, and for those of you who wish to look and listen, here’s a You Tube video clip promoting the album's release.

 Wedlock Promo Clip For Continuity

This could prove to be the moment that the band makes it big and seems to be an opportune time for a new album release, as their previous album, the aforementioned Exogamy, is currently riding high at number 20 on the GBLT chart at outvoice.net. For me there is definite progression from their last album and in particular from their 2006 debut EP, The Matrimony Ep. I sense development in the cultured nature of their songs and the lyrical content which is now growing into a more comfortable partnership with their electronic sound. Having said that, Continuity is still a fitting title as you’ll be able to recognize the band’s style as a continuation of earlier releases.

As is custom in these modern times, the band have given you the chance to listen to the new material before you decide to buy it. Listen to Continuity here and please leave a comment below to tell me what you think about the band. Continuity will be widely available online at all the regular joints such as iTunes, Amazon, and many other other online retailers, also directly from the band's online shop.

Those among you of a voting disposition, and I know there are one or two, will be pleased to know that the band currently has the most votes in MusicEmissions.com's ‘Indie Band of The Year’ award for 2009 for the upcoming Continuity, currently rated a whopping 4 out of 5 by Music Emissions. If you’ve been convinced by me, you’ve got until October 31st to help determine the winner.

- 70 songs (Vol. 6)

Getting fed up of waiting? Well, I've been having a load of problems with my audio editing software of recent and it's taken me longer than normal to cobble this one together. I am getting dreadfully close to the magic 70 now, one more collection of songs should do it.

Here's a track list for all the faithful who've stuck with me while I've been putting these together, indeed for all those who've visited the blog over the past two and a half years.

Part One

01 Lonnie Donegan - Lost John
02 Toots and the Maytals - Louie Louie
03 The Cure - A forest
04 Camper van Beethoven - Take the skinheads bowling
05 Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect device
06 The Fall - Lay Of The Land
07 Public enemy - Rebel without a pause
08 My bloody valentine - Soon
09 Disposable heroes of hiphoprisy - Language of violence
10 Pocket Fishrmen - The leader is burning

Part Two

11 The smiths - There is a light that never goes out
12 The Fall - Mr. pharmacist
13 Symarrip - Skinhead Moonstomp
14 Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Big eyed beans from venus
15 The Damned - New rose
16 Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The message
17 The Sugarcubes - Birthday
18 The Sundays - Can't Be Sure
19 Happy Mondays - Step on
20 Lo-Cut A Sleifar - Sefyll Fel Un

Part Three

21 Andy Capp - Popatop
22 Free - All right now
23 Inspiral Carpets - she comes in the fall
24 Inspiral Carpets - Directing traffic
25 Buzzcocks - What do i get?
26 David Bowie - Heroes
27 New Order - Temptation
28 PJ Harvey - 50ft queenie
29 Mazzy star - Fade into you
30 Daft Punk - Rollin' & Scratchin'

Part Four

31 Von Südenfed - Fledermaus can't get it
32 The Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles
33 Joy Division - Transmission
34 The stooges - I wanna be your dog
35 The Beatles - strawberry fields forever
36 The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
37 Eric B. and Rakim - I know you got soul
38 M/a/r/r/s - Pump up the volume
39 Pixies - Debaser
40 The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds

Part Five

41 Scotty Moore Trio - Have guitar will travel
42 Future Sound of London - Papua New Guinea
43 The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the Sun
44 James - Hymn from a village
45 Hüsker Dü - Makes no sense at all
46 The Fall - Hit the north (part 1)
47 sugar - A good idea

(The all-new) Part Six

48 David Bowie - Queen bitch
49 The House of Love - Christine
50 PJ Harvey - Angelene
51 James Taylor & Joni Mitchell - That song about the midway
52 Nirvana - About a girl
53 Pavement - The classical
54 The Cure - One hundred years
55 The smiths - What difference does it make?

Part Seven to come any year soon.

- Lightning Bolt in session

Rhode Island’s Lightning Bolt are known for their ‘guerrilla gigs’, preferring to play on the floor of the venue rather than the stage, creating a tight circle of spectators around the band. They have also been known to start playing only a few seconds after the opening band finishes, often taking the audience by surprise. In 2004, Lightning Bolt played on the doorstep of John Peel's lodgings at noon during the ‘All Tomorrow's Parties’ festival, about which neighbor Steve Albini commented, ‘Best alarm clock I've ever had.’ They have also staged concerts in kitchens, on sidewalks (pavements to the British among you), and in parking lots (car parks to the British among you). 2009 perhaps has brought about the first time that Lightning Bolt have ever been seen onstage, having performed at Primavera Sound Festival on stage, hooked up to a professional sound system. Here they are in session. I've had to return my copy of Ken Garner's Peel Sessions to the uni library and owe them a lot of money in fines, so please fill in the details that are lacking until I pay my penalty and can get the book back again.

- New York Musical Theatre Festival 2009

Along with my love of (nearly) all things music, I’m secretly also a bit of a theatre and musical buff, which is why I thought I’d make a quick post about the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Every year, during a three-week autumnal festival, the theatre festival does for theatre what JP did for music, showcasing in excess of 30 new musicals at locations in New York City's theatre district. In fact, over half of these productions will have been chosen by leading theatre artists and producers via an open-submission procedure, while the other shows are requested to take part by the Festival's artistic team.

Vacation Rental Deals make it easy

During its first three years, the festival saw seven of its shows 'promoted' to off-Broadway commercial runs, with four more being picked up by regional theatres, while many others secured financing as a result of being in the festival. The New York Musical Theatre Festival has evolved into the largest annual musical theatre event in the United States. This year’s festival will run from September 28th to October 18th. One of the main benefits of the festival is that it gives upcoming artists the chance to perform in front of a live audience that includes directors, well-known actors and other recognised components of the theatre profession. During the course of its life, the New York Musical Theatre Festival has been a great success, with over 40 shows making the leap to become successful productions on Broadway, off-Broadway and elsewhere around the world.

- 70 songs (Vol. 5)

Will this ever end? Well, yes, actually, a couple more and I should be done. As ever, it is available to download or you can listen now...