episode 2 - did somebody say "-fi"?

ahh... lo-fi. fifteen or sixteen years ago when i was a mere tyke, counting and collecting drag city catalog numbers in glasgow record stores, lo-fi was my stock answer whenever someone asked me what music i was interested in. sadly my reply was generally met with a blank stare. being a hardcore enthusiast of the output from siltbreeze or k records or homestead was akin to being a part of some sort secret society. you saw the same few faces in the smattering of an audience that would attend shows and you would be greeted with knowing nods when someone recognized that dead c shirt that you never took off.

these days lo-fi is a different beast. myspace- or-the-internet-or- whatever-cappuccino- drinking-marketing-mogul who is in control has tagged the term lo-fi to mean pretty much whatever they want to sell. the old lo-fi pioneers, on the other hand, have been investing in studio time and we've seen some really well produced records by bands like sebadoh, pavement and guided by voices over time.

anyway - my plan with this podcast was to cover some of what i consider to be high points in what pitchfork media calls lo-fi. i shall warn you: it's a very indulgent podcast. there's some 80s xpressway classics along with music from the reformed siltbreeze label. i hope you enjoy it and i hope that i managed to capture some of the magic that those kids with their 4-tracks and boomboxes were able to give us.

i've omitted a bunch of artists who i'd have loved to include such as jandek, gate and newcomers, sic alps, because i simply ran out of time. i used to be far better at making mixes.

vive 1994!

sentridoh: i am not mocking you ('sub pop singles club' 7". sub pop, 1993)

thanks be to max wood for this selection. an oft-overlooked track from an unlikely sub pop singles club release. good call, dude. straight as an arrow.

plagal grind: marquesite lace ('plagal grind' 12". xpressway, 1990)

plagal grind was a short-lived dunedin supergroup comprising of alastair galbraith, robbie muir, david mitchell and peter jefferies. this was their only release unfortunately and three of the songs are reworkings of alastair galbraith solo classics. although not as, erm, lo-fi as galbraith's solo output, i included this as i relish any opportunity to spread some plagal grind love.

guided by voices: shocker in gloomtown ('the grand hour' 7". scat, 1992)

the first guided by voices song i ever heard and i still reckon their most powerful. the breeders did an awesome version of this on their 'head to toe' 10".

modest mouse: dukes up ('blue cadet-3, do you connect?' 7". k, 1994)

i'm really not much of a modest mouse fan, but i do like this one particular e.p. they're too important a band to leave off this mix.

butterglory: alexander bends ('alexander bends' 7". merge, 1992)

the solo! many a night i spent in my bedroom playing air guitar to this and leaping about my imaginary stage. why this band weren't as big as pavement is beyond me.

pavement: debris slide ('perfect sound forever' 10". drag city, 1991)

speaking of pavement... i miss the energy of these early pavement recordings. if you listen to this alongside 'terror twilight' or even 'brighten the corners' you can tell the difference between a band making music because they can't help themselves and a band making music because they have to pay the rent.

the pastels: classic line-up ('mobile safari' lp. domino, 1994)

glasgow favourites, the pastels. this was the second pastels lp that i bought and the first one that i listened to. it still remains my favourite from their back catalogue. i've never heard stephen sing with as much urgency as he does on this song.

some velvet sidewalk: boardwalkin' ('shipwreck' lp. k, 1994)

i bought this record because the pastels covered 'boardwalkin'' on the b-side of the 'yoga' 12". al larsen sounds JUST LIKE stephen pastel. scary, huh? the pastels and al larsen from svs collaborated on an e.p. under the name 'sandy dirt'. i think it's still in print on domino records. it's definitely worth dropping a few pounds/dollars for a copy of it. amazing release.

beat happening: cat walk ('jamboree' lp. k, 1988)

i struggled to pick a beat happening song for this podcast as nearly everything this band has put to record has been a highlight. cat walk seemed like as good a choice as any.

silver jews: secret knowledge of backroads ('the arizona record' 12". drag city, 1993)

this was the first jews song i heard. it was playing in the record dept of john smith's bookstore in the west end of glasgow when i walked in one day way back when. i thought it was pavement and ran to the counter excitedly thinking that there was a new pavement release. close enough. i still reckon that 'the arizona record' is one of the silver jews strongest releases (second only to 'the natural bridge'). most folks disagree, but then most folks are wrong (hehe).

songs: ohia: dogwood gap ('songs: ohia' lp. secretly canadian, 1997)

this is a vinyl only bonus track from the first songs: ohia lp. jason molina is one prolific mother. there seemed to be a new songs: ohia record out every few months for a while. he still hasn't committed a bad album to vinyl yet though. this recording is more stripped down than some of his later output.

the sundowners: turkey vulture ('goat songs' 7". sea note, 1994)

this 7" was a treat to find. it's will oldham recording as the sundowners. there are five fairly funny, rambunctious ditties on this 7". bill callahan from smog took the helm for the next sundowners 7" and the final one in the series of three was a movietone recording.

the mountain goats: cubs in five ('nine black poppies' ep. emperor jones, 1995)

where do you start with the mountain goats? john darnielle has been charming us with songs of personal, social and imaginary dysfunction for nearly 20 years now. it's hard to pick a classic mountain goats song. i chose this over 'no children', 'going to port washington' and 'going to georgia' because my friend jim always gets a kick out of the tampa bay bucs reference.

smog: a hit ('a hit' 7". drag city, 1994)

watch and learn, kids. this is how you do self-deprecation. bill callahan was a master at self-loathing. this single was released not long after his 'julius caesar' lp and is actually a fairly hi-fi recording for him.

the yummy fur: plastic cowboy ('plastic cowboy' 7". guided missile, 1996)

long forgotten, but nevertheless fantastic. the yummy fur were one of those local bands in glasgow who played non-stop and never played a bad show. i remember them putting on spontaneous shows around the city in art spaces and empty buildings, selling beer out of shopping trolleys. it's hard to describe their shows, but imagine something ten times camper than their recorded music. and super-super fun.

daniel johnston: grievances ('songs of pain' cassette. stress, 1991)

the king of the boombox, daniel johnston. this man wears his passion for life, love and music proudly on his sleeve. be that for better or for worse, his fans are lucky enough to reap the benefits of this and enjoy his prolific and consistently moving output. this is the first song from his first release and i think is the best example of his music.



(link to mp3 file)

episode 1 - coast road

i've thought for a while that writing and curating a blog would be a worthwhile endeavour, but i have been sorely unable to think of a single subject in which i could really inspire and compel a readership to continue beyond the opening sentence. then someone turned me on to podcasts. so, here i am, subjecting you all to the music which excites and inspires me each day (or, for the purposes of this podcast, each week). the best thing is that i barely have to write anything.

ultimately i intend on formatting these podcasts as one would a radio show with me talking between tracks, etc. right now, it's all i can do to make the confounded thing adhese to the internet in a music only format. i keep throwing mp3s up here and they keep falling down again. hopefully by the time i go to bed, anyone who is interested will be able to listen to:

dick gaughan: bonnie jeanie o'bethelnie (from 'gaughan' lp)
alasdair roberts: andrew batann (from 'you need not braid your hair for me, i have not come a-wooing' ep)
lau nau: kuula (from 'kuutarha' lp)
erik enocksson: think of me as the sea (from 'with its dark tail curled 'round the garage' lp)
ben reynolds: here toucheth blues (from 'ben reynolds' 3"cd-r)
six organs of admittance: it was written (from 'it was written' 7")
afrirampo: kairaku do re mi (from 'kore ga mayaku da' lp)
park attack: toes (from 'half past human' lp)
essie jain: glory (from 'we made this ourselves' lp)

should i write a little about these artists and their tracks? i can. let me know. i'm a total novice at this lark.

anyway - enjoy and please give me feedback because i want to make this as interesting for anyone who cares to listen as it is for me.

thanks!

(woah - you can subscribe to this in itunes too! awesome!)


(link to mp3 file)