Song, by Toad

It’s time for some proper, quality, intellectual debate here at Song, by Toad and I have to admit that the chances of that ever issuing from the Pen of Toad are vanishingly small so I am going to do what every work-shy career weasel on the planet would do: exploit the work of others.

I would like to invite you to write a post for Song, by Toad. My brother has written a couple of excellent ones already, and I think this makes the whole thing a bit more interactive, and I’ve been trying to think of ways to get folk involved a bit more anyway. There have been some excellent discussions on this site and they often get a bit buried in the comments section so I think it would be excellent to bring it all up to the front page where it belongs.

I would like anyone interested to write a post about movie soundtracks (a few hundred words, I guess) and send it to me, along with the mp3s you have in mind, and I will publish the best ones on the site. Then we can argue about them as usual. I don’t care what you want to write – be creative. I have written two things that might apply already, which might qualify: a review of the Nick Cave/Warren Ellis soundtrack to The Proposition and a bit of a whinge about the complete lack of relation of the Spiderman 3 soundtrack to the actual movie. Anything along these sort of lines would be perfectly suitable. DC may wish to consider the soundtrack to Airport actually, now that I think about it.

So there we go, I’ll publish everyone’s stuff in about two weeks, if you’re up for it. I may even have a celebrity contribution from Ian of Broken Records if I ask nicely, as he’s been threatening to send me a soundtrack rant for a while now. And I shall, of course, have a stab myself.

So, to kick things off, two of my favourite tracks from the recent Dylan biopic I’m Not There, all involving much-adored indie heroes. Excellent – if slightly cynical – stuff.

Charlotte Gainsbourg & Calexico – Just Like a Woman
The Hold Steady – Can I Please Crawl Out Your Window
Stephen Malkmus & the Million Dollar Bashers – Maggie’s Farm

Buy the soundtrack to I’m Not There.

(Oh, and if you think this is a stupid idea and you’d far rather I stick to the writing and you to the reading, then feel free to say so.)

Morning you ‘orrible lot. My wench is away being important once more. She said to me the other day when she was trying to skive off work due to a hangover: ‘I can’t go into work in a bad state, I handle money.’ Haha, what bollocks. I love it when financial people get all delusional like that, so don’t worry I set her straight. I calmly pointed out to her that if I fucked up my last job someone might have found a small metal implant buried in their spinal column. This means dead or paralysed. She stopped, fortunately.

‘I handle money though.’ Yeah well, I handle my penis and every last little sperm is a potential human life, so don’t gimme that. The frustration’s setting in again, can’t you tell? This podcast has some news and some current things, and then explores the randomiser on my music library, doffing my cap to the recent Contrast Podcast episode which I was too slow to participate in. Gah.

It is also my birthday on Monday, thirty-two since you ask, and we will be down in London to celebrate the occasion with our Southern friends, so there’s a couple of birthday thingies in there too, most screamingly obviously the first track of course. Enjoy Toadlings, enjoy.

Toadcast #16 – The Birthday Podcast

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01. Clem Snide – Happy Birthday (02.18)
02. The Courteeners – Acrylic (08.56)
03. Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong – Sleazy Hughes (12.46)
04. Cloud Atlas – Cigarettes & Apricots (15.54)
05. Arab Strap – There is No Ending (24.04)
06. Malcolm Middleton – The Devil & the Angel (29.32)
07. Down the Tiny Steps – Photosynth (37.29)
08. Eef Barzelay – Make Another Tree (42.19)
09. Loch Lomond – Northern, Knees, Trees & Lights (51.35)
10. The Pogues – Bolero Del Perro Listo (59.23)
11. Crash Test Dummies – Sonnet #3 (The Cold is Here) (66.52)
12. Ben Folds – You’ve Got to Learn to Live With What You Are (68.44)
13. Cold War Kids – Hair Down (81.39)
14. The Hold Steady – The Party Pit (90.22)
15. Tom Waits – Diamonds & Gold (94.11)
16. Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra – Monsieur Le Charmant (100.18)

Yes, we’re back and this time we’ve relaxed a little.  There’s a bit less cussing and ranting in this podcast than usual – in fact virtually no ranting at all, which is probably as much of a surprise to me as it is to you.

I’m looking at late evening music this week because Mrs. Toad and I were recently talking about the Chillout craze which kicked off about six or seven years ago. It descended into electronic muzak unfortunately, but there were some good things in there at the beginning, so I thought I’d have a look at it.  I’ve thrown in some stuff I find nice and eveningy and relaxing as well just to stop it becoming too tedious.

Toadcast #7 – The Chillout Tent

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01. Groove Armada – At The River (01.31)
02. The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist (04.32)
03. Calexico – Human (10.31)
04. Cinerama – Diamonds Are Forever (15.14)
05. Jazzy Jeff – For Love of Da Game (19.02)
06. Fear of Pop – In Love (23.12)
07. The 18th Day of May – Cold Early Morning (31.11)
08. Lucinda Williams – Ventura (35.40)
09. Lemonjelly – In the Bath (41.51)
10. Sandy Bull – Carmina Burana Fantasy (48.28)
11. The Hold Steady – The Chillout Tent (54.04)
12. RJD2 – Ghostwriter (57.36)
13. Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose (63.22)
14. Marilyn Monroe – Through With Love (67.02)
15. The Divine Comedy – Theme From Casanova (69.50)