An Olympian effort

Off to China on business tomorrow so blog silence for a couple of weeks. Went to the Olympics this week, what a fantastic experience, great atmosphere and brilliant facilities. Proud to be British. Let's bottle it, keep it, and get some of it out when the times get tough over the next few months and years.

A rough trade indeed

Excuse the absence from blog land, I didn't really feel strongly enough about anything to write it down, plus the Olympics, work etc etc.
But...today I was out on my weekend long run and I listened to the Stiff Little Fingers debut album 'Inflammable Material'. Released in 1978, it's easy to forget what an impact on the music scene these upstarts from Belfast made at the time. Yes they wrote great tunes, yes they had bags of energy... what singled SLF out from the crowd were the lyrics. Heartfelt and hard-hearted, tales from young men living through the nightmare of the Ulster troubles. Here were guys brought up in an environment where Catholics and Protestants were enemies purely because of their religion. And whilst fellow countrymen The Undertones wrote sweet pop tunes about bubblegum and girls to forget the Troubles, SLF confronted the bigotry and hatred HEAD ON. They exposed the people who were meant to be representing them and let out a youth scream for peace - but they didn't beg, they demanded action.
So...listening to 'Inflammable Material' again, it's lost none of it's raw power and emotion. Jake Burn's gutteral singing was from the heart, no-one ever doubted that. The single 'Suspect Device' and 'Alternative Ulster' were hook-laden chart material with a dark underbelly, just listen to those lyrics. The epic trawl through Bob Marley's 'Johnny Was', adapted and delivered for Belfast instead of Kingston, but listening to it again you can't help but think it still applies to Damascus today. 'Barbed Wire Love' is the closest you get to an SLF love song, but it's a bitter sweet tale delivered with venom. I don't know why but my favourite track is - and always has been -  'Rough Trade', a tale of how SLF were treated when the big record companies started to sniff around them (Island Records in particular). How the corporate lies in London are no different from the religious bigotry back in Ulster.
I admit I'm biased, SLF were one of my favourite bands from the late 70's, I saw them at Portsmouth Guildhall, and live they really did cut it, but the album is one of the few that retains the power of a live performance and transfers it to vinyl.
And where are today's Jake Burns?

Worth Thinking About

Very partial to the new Chemical Brothers DVD/CD package "Don't Think". The reviews said that it was the next best thing to being there and that's about right. I've seen the Chemicals a few times and it's always 'an occasion' and a bit of an assault on the visual and aural senses. The DVD is beautifully filmed and captures the way the music and fantastic visuals combine in an almost hypnotic way. I watched it first time listening loud on headphones and it did take me back to the Brixton Academy a few years ago. The songs - particularly the newer stuff such as 'Swoon' and 'Horse Power' are great. Probably the best live DVD since Talking Heads 'Stop Making Sense' - and that's a few years ago! Now all we need is LCD Soundsystem to release their long-promised last concert DVD 'Shut Up And Play The Hits' - due later this year?

Beyond Belief

Meant to be seeing Elvis Costello & The Imposters tonight - in Basingstoke on the last day of their UK Revolver tour. Haven't seen him for several years so was very excited. Got a text from the venue saying it's been postponed because he isn't well. Very frustrating. Hopefully we'll be able to go to the re-scheduled date,

Things That Really Annoy Me - Part 3

When you put the toothpaste on your tooth brush, put it under the tap to make it wet, and the force of the water washes the whole blob of toothpaste down the plug hole.
And as you get older, your reactions get slower so you're never quick enough to save it...and you get really annoyed because "it's a waste of good toothpaste".

The Only One I Know

Just finished the recently published autobiography of Tim Burgess of The Charlatans - 'Telling Stories'. And very good it is too. It helps if you like their music (which I have done for getting on for twenty years!) but not essential. A cracking read, but you wouldn't want the kids to read it.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Telling-Stories-Tim-Burgess/dp/0670921289/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335896666&sr=8-1

Back home

Been in China for three weeks, so no blogging I'm afraid - more on that soon. In the meantime, I realised how much I miss the Broken Family Band. Check this out (right-click, 'save as'):
https://www.box.com/s/6f9dfb59561fdb6ccdc3