Toadcast #47 – The Oldcast
I know it’s a bit obvious to do a podcast like this so shortly after my birthday, but it gives me the opportunity to ramble a bit and play some classics I might not otherwise have played.
There are so many wonderful songs about growing old, and I actually think I may have missed most of them. I have no fear of being old, but for some reason it feels a little more immediate this year but I don’t know why.
So goodnight people, it’s been a pleasure. Sleep well and don’t be too rough on yourselves. Take Kirsty’s advice and “don’t be too rough on my cold, cold heart; it’s all I’ve got left to me now.”
That may be the smart-arsed line, but the most important line in this song is the bit where she says that “there’s a light in your eyes tells me somebody’s in and you won’t come the cowboy with me”. It’s such a crucial judgment, isn’t it. You take a bet on someone, you throw in your chips and you hope for the best. So if you’re feeling brave, good luck to you. Look after her, I’ll be there anytime soon.
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01. The Rolling Stones – Mother’s Little Helper (00.01)
02. The Band – Rockin’ Chair (07.46)
03. Michelle Shocked – Memories of East Texas (11.21)
04. Hafdis Huld – Tomoko (20.57)
05. Baby Walrus – Some Dawns No Bird Will Sing (28.44)
07. Donny Hue & the Colors – The World Came Running (30.25)
08. Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (34.21)
08. Soko – The Dandy Cowboys (43.31)
09. Kirsty MacColl – Don’t Come the Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim (47.04)
10. Neil Young – Old Man (55.09)
11. Jeffrey Lewis – Back When I Was Four (58.12)
Jesus Christ on a fucking bike I was smashed. I can barely even speak English for fuck’s sake.
I like the last line.. I think mostly because I have no clue what it is supposed to mean!
Looking back, I have no idea what the hell I thought I was on about. That was the last G&T out of the bottle though, so I was probably really struggling at that point.
Always the best way, I find. Always the best way.
p.s. the fallout from the Fisk debacle continues apace – V.V. Brown’s pitched in with a stinging email regarding some of Fisk’s comments & in particular the ones aimed at her & her band on the show. I’m on half a bottle of Maker’s Mark as I type…
Fuck, seriously DC? Given how sound she was during her interview that’s a little surprising. I can’t remember anything too controversial from Fisk about them. What were the offending words?
Shit I just commented but it’s disappeared. Will try again…
Fisk aired some very ‘choice’ comments about her & her band, in the earshot of the wrong people, after her set & V.V. Brown tuned in to see what the offending Ida stuff was all about (thankfully all deftly removed in the edit) & to see what our thoughts on her & her music were.
Off tape, after the interview (& during for part of it) she expressed how refreshing it was to talk to someone like us who knew what they were talking about re: subject/interviewee (i.e. had done their research) & weren’t just lazy journalists who’ve automatically tagged her as a puppet for a label/front for a producer/eye candy for a transient music buying public. She went into depth abouut how certain aspects of the music press justbrish her off as another plastic failed wannabe & make no attempt at investigating, or even questioning, the fact that she came from very humble beginings & worked her fucking arse off for 3years or so (writing everything/producing everything) gigging all over the UK in shitty venues in order to establish her genuine talent & artistic credentials.
She also explained that she was in a bit of a battle with her label, which has seen the release of her LP put back to ‘09, over their planned release format (them: download only vs. her: physical release) & she was not prepared to budge. Plus she had made it quite clear to the label she was not about to stop gigging in the grotty venues that had established her in the early days, despite pressure from the label for her to do more & more TV fluff pieces to draw in the under 16s fashion obsessed girls & the fickle teen boy buying demographic.
Despite all of this being made abundantly clear to us, & me coming away very imprssed by her determination – no matter how softly spoken it is, Fisk deided very loudly that she was/is still just a contestant. &, of course, the wrong people caught wind of his flapping mouth.
Therefore, Fisk’s futher comments about her being X Factor & it is all “just an act” on the show struck a nerve very sharply indeed. & I just felt the rather heavy kick back.
p.s cheers for the shout out re: TWR &, yes, we re clatterig, but that’s the point. Anything slicker would make it Radio 6 & we certainly dont want to get into that area of arsehole inspection.
What is the story behind this Fisk thing? I think I’m missing something… namely, who is Fisk? Is it more than a coincidence that the word Fisk means to criticise in detail haha?
Yeah, I got into that with the sessions – not trying to compete with the Beeb here.
In terms of Fisk, well he seems to be being a little mean, but it came across as an opinion with which you pretty clearly disagreed, so I don’t know why she’s pissed off at you. I mean, in general the show didn’t come across as a hatchet job – quite the opposite in fact,
What is she saying, that she’s been stabbed in the back or just that she hates Fisk and thinks he needs to die?
Fisk is DC’s pal and co-presenter on the Waiting Room, and recently he got a little over keen on Ida Maria, an interviewee. So he apologised in excessive detail to her and the label and then apologised for the apology, basically making everyone involved think he was a creepy stalker. Then V.V. Brown tuned into the show to see what all the fuss was about. Fortunately DC edited out all the Ida Maria nonsense, but Fisk also made some slightly less than tactful comments about V.V. Brown on the same show, so now she’s furious with them as well. It’s like being trapped in some sort of surreal dream which takes place on the set of the Magic Roundabout.
I do believe you were a touch sloshed, Toad. Happy to see the first and last songs! And happy belated birthday, old man – can’t believe I’ve been reading this thing through two of your birthdays.
Hells bells, the complex world of blogging eh?
It’s twofold I think: a slight feeling of betrayal after me being very nice & respectful at the time of interview & Fisk saying how much he enjoyed listening to me interview her (& how he thought it was the best one TWR had done); & then, Fisk’s rather crass (&, frankly, ill-founded) opinion being allowed to be aired/said in the first place. I think, & I know we’re not 100% in the wrong here because we are, afterall, entitled to our opinions, we have hurt her feelings by questioning her credibility. Essentially, the problem is, she is a very open person & she allowed us in & trusted us enough to express her very personal thoughts on something quite, quite important to her i.e. her integrity. To have that then shat on by a very clumsy opinion has hurt her feelings rather a lot & further fuels her reason why she rarely speaks frankly to the press.
Like you, I take negative positions on musicians & bands very seriously & when I do toss out a dissing or a harsh word then it’s either (a) with tongue very much in cheek, or (b) with a very good reason backing up the opinion. Both Fisk & TWoTH are very much aware of that & whereas I encourage them to air their dislike of whatever music I play (because a 100% love it all fest is, at best, way too sugary for anyone to listen to) they always have to have a balanced, thought through & LOGICAL reason for their opinion. That’s why Fisk was there in the first place (& TWoTH) to balance out my views – I’m playing music I like so I’m bound to say it’s good. But I want an opposite opinion, too, to turn it into a conversation & away from a fawning session. If they both don’t have anything to properly explain their standpoint then they’re instructed to stay schtumn & move on because it becomes a pointless, mean-spirited execise in being negative for the sake of being negative & that doesn’t do our rep any good at all with the bands or lables or PR.
The Ida Maria thing is a perfect example of how you don’t spend a very long time gaining the trust & confidence of the management, label, PR, artist etc. to get an interview in the first place, only to have the interviewer abuse that postion by asking very inappropriate & deeply (misinformed, in Fisk’s case) personal questions AFTER that artist made it clear they were not prepared to dicuss certain subject matter. THEN go on air & explain why he lost interest in the interview half way through because he only wanted to pursue those areas on a private level because he felt a ‘connection’ (i.e. got horny & wanted to ’save’/'cure’ said artist with sex).
V.V.’s reaction may well be a little melodramatic or over the top, I’m not judging that aspect because I think she does have a right to complain in this case & is not being a prima donna, but it has concerned me a lot. It will all blow over, but Fisk has effectively overstepped the mark far too often in the space of 48hrs with 2 artists I spent a LONG time tracking down & convincing, despite the purpposefully shambollic appearances, we were professional & approached everything with respect. It’s fucked any chance of me meeting either of them in the foreseeable, & has very probably marked our cards as disrespectful & untrustworthy.
& what does Fisk do, knowing his Facebook was being checked up on by the Song BMG people pre & post interview/email mess? He publishes as his status: <B.fuck Sony, I love Ida Maria.
Liability just got a new mascot.
One of the reasons I am so leery of getting people to help me out here. The only thing you really have is your reputation, and anything which might mess with that is a worry. Moreover, I have no idea what this site would be if it wasn’t in my voice. So I may be perfectly capable of all sorts of fuck ups on my own, but I’d be terrified of allowing someone else to make them in my stead.
The problem is that this basically prevents growth. The limit I have at the moment is my own energy, and the site can never grow any bigger than I can manage on my own, but the flipside is that if you can’t deal with more interviews, features and so on then you have to accept that this is as big as you can get.
It’s weird because I am kind of ambitious for Song, by Toad and I know you are for The Waiting Room, but that extra step of trusting someone else to hold your baby is one I know I would find difficult. And this, I guess, is why.
Very nice tracklisting indeed!!! but what is it about Marcus Mumfords voice that is so irritating?? sound like a cliche’ of a distinctive voice?, “charred, huskey, burnt embers of something better” ha, or is their backing of Laura Marling maybe. I’ve got to say, an not just stirring, but word on the street is that they’re courting with Columbia… true.
Seriously? Well I have to say I’d be far from surprised. They have that sound about them that when Dylan and I saw them first we both instantly thought ‘heading for bigger things’. Mind you Columbia are cunts. The UK side are decent people, but their US side are rotten.
I know I’m a little biased, and I don’t really care.
I think ‘New Dawn’ by Withered Hand is one of the greatest songs about growing old you’re ever likely to hear.
Even just for the line:
“Is my grey hair just the first light of the new dawn?”
But I shouldn’t really quibble about your choice of tracks till I’ve listened to the podcast.
Yeah my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And Im crazy for love but Im not coming on
Im just paying my rent every day
Oh in the tower of song
would be my choice of a growing old song