Excuse me for foisting a split infinitive on you this early in the morning, but that particular thought popped into my head last night, and it’s a curious one.  I was walking home from Black Bo’s in the centre of town and it was pissing down with rain (I assume 2am, half cut, walking in the rain is usually when this sort of cod-profundity pops into people’s heads) and I walked past two or three flats Mrs. Toad and I nearly moved into, before buying the place we’re in now.

I think I’ve mentioned before that this house is the longest I have ever lived anywhere in my whole life.  My previous record was three years when we lived in Singapore as kids, and three years in the same place in Glasgow, albeit split over two spells, but Mrs. Toad and I have been in the place we’re in now for as long as we’ve been married which is a little over four years now.  This, in itself, is a slightly strange thought.

Anyhow, we bought a couple of years before the housing bubble really burst, and at that time in Edinburgh most things sold through a blind bidding process in which a house was listed at an ‘Offers Over’ price, everyone interested made a bid, and the highest bidder got the house.  It was a massively frustrating process, not least because the actual Offers Over premium over and above the listed price seemed to be over twenty percent on everything we bid on, and we ended up making something like fifteen unsuccessful offers before we finally got the place we did – and even then we only got that because we whisked it out from under someone else’s nose.

Anyway, being in this house has allowed us to do so much that the other places would not, not least recording sessions in the living room which have, on a few occasions, included live drum kits.  Also, as much as we have shaped the house very much to suit our own personalities, there are many ways it has shaped the way we live in return.  The garden, the layout of the kitchen and dining room, the big, dark, North-facing living room… it’s always an oddly symbiotic relationship when you live somewhere, so it was strange to walk past two or three places we so easily (for want of another five or ten grand – so not that easily, but you get my point) might have lived.

It’s funny to walk past and look up and imagine that that might be your living room window, for example.  And funny to think how shit some of the places look to me now, in comparison to where we are – or indeed how some of them still look really inviting, too.  I would personally have chosen Leith, I think, if choosing an area – it’s scruffier and a bit more like what I am used to, I guess – but where we are is a lot swankier than that and I do wonder how that shapes things too.  Funny.

So yes, de-lurking amnesty day as per usual.  And I am going to play 5-a-sides this evening and then repair to the King’s Wark for scran.  Splendid.  Fuck the pissing rain, who cares!

1. What is your favourite antidote to torrential rain?
2. Name a good rain experience.
3. And a shit one.
4. Which place have you lived which least represented your personality?
5. Wettest you have ever been, not counting baths or swimming.

Fleetwood Mac – Farmer’s Daughter

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The Everley Brothers – Be Bop a-Lula

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Jens Lekman – Shy Phenomenon

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Taken By Trees – Watch the Waves

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David Bowie – Oh, You Pretty Things

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Welcome back to the Song, by Toad Fresh Air show, with the lovely Ruth.  This week we have Russell from Mammoeth live in session, although the poor bugger’s already done a brilliant session for us before Christmas which was unfortunately swallowed by the Fresh Air computers, which are a bit like a suspiciously special needs version of Hal most of the time.

Last week’s Session with The Last Battle can be found at the bottom of the page, in the form of downloadable session tracks, a podcast of the interview and session videos.  The sound is really nice considering there were six of them and we only have two microphones.

Live on Air 8pm-9.30pm – Listen live here.

I’ll fill in the playlist live below from 8pm onwards, so please come and say hello, shout mindless abuse or whatever else it is you internet people spend your time doing.

1. The Besnard Lakes – Chicago Train
2. Liars – Scarecrow On A Killer Slant
3. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – Revenge
4. Bjork – Generous Palmstroke (Live)
5. Mammoeth- Scrambled Eggs (Live in Session)
6. Dirty Projectors – Two Doves
7. Mammoeth – Trigonometry (Live in Session)
8. Berzilla Wallin – Conversation with Death (Oh Death)
9. Sparklehorse – Heart of Darkness
10. Mammoeth – I’m Glad That I Died Today (Live in Session)
11. Mammoeth – Lap Dog
12. Fleetwood Mac – Honey Hi
13. Mammoeth – Wendy House (Live in Session)
14. Blur – Out of Time
15. Joanna Newsom – ’81

Last week’s session can be found after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, it’s Fresh Air time again, and Ruth is back from the bring of death and ready to chatter away once more.  This week we have Russell from Mammoeth playing live in session for us.  He has an album out on Mini50 Records some time in the relatively near future, so we may try an weasel a preview out of him if we can.

We’ve also got some interesting new stuff – Eels released a new song from their forthcoming album just the other day, and we’ll be playing the phenomenal new eagleowl single as well.  We are recording a Toad Session with them in December, which is also really fucking brilliant news.

On air 7pm-8.30pm GMT – listen live here.

This week’s playlist:
1. Modest Mouse – Float On
2. Taken By Trees – Anna
3. Mammoeth – Latin Scribe (Live in Session)
4. Dr. Dog – The World May Never Know
5. Mammoeth – Scramble Eggs (Live in Session)
6. Brian Eno & David Byrne – Strange Overtones
7. Belle & Sebastian – She’s Losing It
8. Arthur Russell – Love is Overtaking Me
9. Mammoeth – Writing on the Walls (Live in Session)
10. Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere

And as always we have last week’s session below the fold – it was with the Pineapple Chunks, and we have downloadable mp3s, and interview podcast and four live videos for you to check out. (All our videos can be found on our Vimeo page.) Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know if there is another group of more low-life lizards on the face of the planet than gaybashers, particularly those who make a song and dance about gay marriage being some sort of issue.

There are more evil and more psychopathic people, for sure, and more cynical and dishonest. Even the Iraq war cheerleaders are responding to the clear and serious danger of terrorism, albeit in the most insane way I can imagine. But at least the issue is real.

Gay marriage opponents who pretend that allowing other people the same rights they enjoy is in some way a threat to ‘families’ are basically using the relentless persecution and alienation of people who have done nothing to them as some sort of whipping boy (Rrowrr!) on which to inflict all their own insecurity, fear and self loathing. They are pathetic and they make me sick.

Mrs. Toad’s best man was gay. I have been to more gay weddings (two) than straight ones (my own) and the idea that this ‘gayness’ can in any way affect myself and my young lady’s desire to spend the rest of our lives together and raise a couple of irritating little gob-shites is so utterly farcical as to barely warrant a response.

So these disgraceful fucking lizards use their religion as little more than a stick to beat other people with and get all het up about the danger posed to families by people wanting to actually make more families. And yet, with a sort of depressing inevitability, there is nary a whisper heard about what our culture of entitlement and instant gratification might do to people’s determination to stick it out through the good times and the bad as their lover grows old and fat and wrinkly. I’m not making any claims, of course, but it seems a little more relevant than sticking your nose into the relationships of people who have absolutely no involvement in your life whatsoever.

What brought this on? Well apparently gay marriage represents a threat to families and children, but this sort of idiotic stunt doesn’t. Right. In the words of Wendy Leach: ‘Well thank you for popping in and protecting us.’

Beck – Sexxlaws Yes, I know, the obvious one.
Fleetwood Mac – Family Man Don’t whinge. I’m not a massive fan, but I heard this quite a lot growing up so I don’t hate it as much as my inner indie snob thinks I should!
Iggy Pop – A Family Affair
The Magnetic Fields – When My Boy Walks Down the Street