The Toadcast

The recovery in the title of this podcast is down to the fact that I actually managed to spend a full, undisrupted week in the office last week.  Whilst that is a ludicrously banal thing to be celebrating, getting things back on the rails, or at least moderately close to being back on the rails, does feel like something of a relief at this stage.

The accounts desperately need doing as well, which is another little rock 'n' roll tidbit for you.  I can keep this up all day - there's loads more fascinating little insights where this came from. Did I tell you the one about how I need to move a pile of our stock from the downstairs hall to the new shelving I've assembled in the office?  Fuck me it's going to be thrilling.

Actually, after all this I really do feel the need to go out and inject heroin into my eyeballs or punch a tiger in the face or something, just to resurrect some pretence of excitement for anyone (myself included) who might expect the coal face of new music production to be a slightly more exciting place.

01. Cold Pumas - Fog Cutter (00.26)
02. The Lemonheads - Malo Cup (08.11)
03. Pillars & Tongues - Dogs (10.25)
04. Shelter Point - Braille (19.29)
05. Nadine Shah - Aching Bones (27.25)
06. R. Ring - Fallout & Fire (32.35)
07. Playlounge - Sweet Tooth (36.14)
08. Fear of Men - Mosaic (38.33)
09. Blur - Strange News From Another Star (45.10)
10. Hiva Oa - These Hands (51.36)
10. The Twilight Sad - Nil (Liars Remix) (57.17)

Given how little time I've had to do anything recently, I certainly haven't been able to make time for new music.  So this means that this week's podcast is a little backward-facing really, looking at some of the 80s and 90s music I was into at the time - not the most famous stuff, just some of the stuff I personally liked the best, of course.

Back when I was at Uni in the 90s, when 80s music was utterly reviled, I remember making a tape of 80s music I thought was good, and really, really enjoying it.  Had I made a similar tape for the 90s a few years back, when they too were taking their turn at the bottom of the pile, then bands like Arnold, The Delgados (although they straddled the 90s and the 00s), Yo La Tengo, Eels and Clem Snide would have been right in there.

I can't quite bring myself to do the same for the early 2000s just yet, but they too will inevitably be hated in their turn. If you doubt me, just mention The Killers, Razorlight, The Ordinary Boys, Hard-fi or The Libertines to any self-respecting music snob!

01. Morrissey - You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side (00.57)
02. Yo La Tengo - Big Day Coming (10.20)
03. The Delgados - Pull the Wires From the Wall (19.17)
04. LeThug - Lux (25.03)
05. Magic Eye - Holy Male (30.25)
06. Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - From the Hip (35.27)
07. Eels - Not Ready Yet (42.04)
08. Clem Snide - 1989 (46.35)
09. Arnold - Fleas Don't Fly (52.09)
10. Hazy & the J's - It's Fantasy Man (57.48)

The Stagcast is a confused, late and distinctly creepy podcast.  There are a few reasons for this, and they all sound vaguely like the making of inadequate excuses but umm… well, I hope you'll hear me out.

Firstly, and most creepily, this was recorded in a small flat in Holland surrounded by sleeping people.  So to avoid waking anyone up I ended up speaking largely under my breath.  The result, instead of the tact and sensitivity for which I was hoping, was pretty much the radio debut of the Toad Paedo Voice.  Hooray.  Super.

And on top of that, just to make things even more awkward, there is some Bon Jovi.  I think - or at least I dearly fucking hope - that this is a first for the Toadcasts, but nevertheless you can believe me when I say that this makes me as uncomfortable as it does you.  Want to know who to blame?  The fucker getting married next weekend who will probably prevent me getting next week's podcast done punctually as well.  What a bastard.

01. The Pixies - Where is My Mind (00.16)
02. Ryan Adams - Come Pick Me Up (07.42)
03. The Reservations - Dogs in the Day (19.12)
04. Manners - Will Pt.1 (22.22)
05. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built (28.21)
06. The Wilderness of Manitoba - The Ark (34.31)
07. Apostille - Wrong (41.00)
08. Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark (49.06)
09. Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer (53.17)
10. The Lemonheads - Style (59.33)

Yes, mosherama!  This podcast draws its name, slightly sadly, not from the fact that I have been in one insane moshpit after another this week, which might have been quite cool, but from the rather more mundane circumstance that I have simply been to quite a lot of gigs.

I did mosh, in a sense. In the fat, sad old man sense that I stood sort of in the middle and nodded my head vaguely in time to the music.  I know, I know, who will save society from such excess? This must be a job for Carol Vorderman.

Defeatist self-mockery aside, I genuinely did see three fantastic gigs one after another this week, so the podcast is going to reflect this.  Once again we have multiple Grandaddy songs, which means my fandom is probably tipping the balance into sad, slavering fanboy territory but umm... well, it's too late for me to make a last-minute scramble for dignity anyway, so fuck it, they were absolutely fucking amazing and you are just going to have to sit through it and pretend to love them as much as I do.

01. Grandaddy - Stray Dog & the Chocolate Shake (00.21)
02. Mark Lanegan Band - Strange Religion (07.21)
03. Thula Borah - Skye Falling (18.44)
06. Pinact - Into the One (23.33)
05. PAWS - Homecoming (32.49)
06. Eagulls - Moulting (36.21)
07. Noun Verb Adjective - Inside of You (42.52)
08. Dalton - Wood Frames (47.42)
09. Mark Lanegan - The Winding Sheet (52.10)
10. Grandaddy - For the Dishwasher (1.01.32)