Song, by Toad

Ah, the embarrassment. What a fool I was, but such was the inevitability I can’t really feel all that ashamed. Basically, I bought my first record player since I was 17 about four hours before our housewarming party on Saturday, and you can imagine the rest. I’ve been so excited about this ever since I made the decision a couple of months ago, that I have accumulated a pretty decent stack of vinyl in the meantime, giving Scotland’s second hand shops a pretty good scouring, with plenty more to come.

So, having left my whole music collection on random through most of the party, due to not having enough time to throw together even the most rudimentary of playlists, I inevitably failed to resist the urge of old Stones singles, some Jam, some old Motown, something by The Beat, Elvis Costello and so on and so on. Of course, being a music nazi to begin with, and being all the more excited to play with my new toy, I was in no mood whatsoever to let anyone else play at all.

Unfortunately, most of my music is not party music, especially not my vinyl purchases, so inevitably as I got drunker and less concerned with everyone else, the music got more and more maudlin. Billy Bragg, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, James Yorkston, even Leonard Cohen may have made an appearance. It got to the point where I insisted on trying again and again to play a Bruce Springsteen record that clearly had something wrong with it.

The only saving grace was that I was so exhausted after working from 8am to 1am virtually all week to get the house ready and so drunk from quaffing at the sort of reckless pace that giddy relief brings that I passed out some time at, apparently, three or four in the morning (it may have been earlier – I was pretty wasted). This left the remaining heroes of booze a good two or three hours of uninterrupted access to my month and a half’s worth of music, and freedom was theirs at last!

What a fool. But I slept the sleep of the contented that night, I tell you!

Something I played really early on: Edith Piaf – Mon Légionnaire
Something I was asked to play but I think I forgot. Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost
Something I probably played far too often: The Beat – Tears of a Clown

A little like Beirut, Band of Horses have released a superb ‘as you were’ follow-up to a hugely successful debut album.  Not much has changed here at all, in the sonic sense, although the songs are quieter for the most part and the overall atmosphere is a little more sombre than their previous effort.

I can’t tell you much about them that you don’t know already.  Their grand, sweeping brand of epic Southern rock ‘n’ roll is much the same as before, almost like a cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Lift to Experience, in a slightly odd way.  The quieter tracks have an almost gospel air to them, and the guitars, when they really hit them, chime like church bells.

Their slightly apocalyptic brand of indie rock gets downright dreamy and wistful on occasion, which is a nice counterpoint to tracks like Is There a Ghost.  Funnily enough they start with that song, which seems like an offering to their fans to ease them into the new, more contemplative Band of Horses.  It’s right off Everything All the Time, that one, but things change pretty quickly with Ode to LRC which is lovely, but never quite kicks off, despite threatening to do so on numerous occasions.  By the time you get to the lovely No-one’s Gonna Love You you know well and truly that you are dealing with a rather different animal.  Excellent stuff.

Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost
Band of Horses – No-one’s Gonna Love You

website | hype | amazon

There’s no real theme to this week’s podcast, but there’s plenty of splendid new music. Basically I felt so guilty about the crazy rant that the Pink Podcast descended into that I have tried to say as little as possible in this one.

I’m off to the End of the Road Festival this weekend, which is why I recorded an advance post, so you’ll be enjoying this while I’m away getting rained on. The lineup is just phenomenal actually, so it should be really quite a splendid weekend. Tim from the Daily Growl will be there, as will Jamie from the Runout Groove and I believe possibly Sweeping the Nation as well, so it may turn into quite a blog-in. Tragically, however, I will be without my Midget Companion. Mrs. Toad is away in Australia (jammy bitch) with work and doesn’t get back in time to come along, so I will be taking a book and enjoying the pleasure of my own company as best I can.

There was at least one inevitable balls-up though – when describing the Catherine Howe song I said ‘I can’t believe this is current – it sounds so old-fashioned!’ and I have since discovered that in fact it is a 2007 re-release of a 1971 record which may just explain that. In the process I also discovered that I am something of a fucking idiot.

So, End of the Road, and in the meantime, enjoy the podcast – Toad on his very best behaviour!

Toadcast #11 – Not Sure What This One’s About[audio http://media.libsyn.com/media/songbytoad/ToadcastNo11.mp3]

01. A.A. Bondy – Vice Rag (00.52)
02. White Rabbits – The Plot (03.39)
03. The Courteeners – Cavorting (08.19)
04. Alaska in Winter – Close Your Eyes/We Are Blind (11.46)
05. Beirut – Fork & Knife (La Fete) (18.32)
06. Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost (21.57)
07. Nathan Lawr & the Minotaurs – We Go Down (26.52)
08. David Dondero – Rothko Chapel (30.34)
09. Jackson C. Frank – Blues Run the Game (38.15)
10. Calexico – All the Pretty Horses (41.45)
11. Catherine Howe – In the Hot Summer (48.53)
12. Little Name – How to Swim & Live (53.31)
13. Emma Pollock – Adrenaline (56.36)
14. George Pringle – Fellini For Prime Minister (63.52)
15. Octoberman – By the Wayside (67.27)
16. The 1900s – When I Say Go (74.54)
17. (The Real) Tuesday Weld – Kix (79.44)