Frankly, I’ve no fucking idea what Friday is this week.  Between our Electric Circus gigs (yes, good guess, the second of which is indeed tonight, and look, only a fiver in – what value!) keeping up with the blog and the minor matter of actually trying to run a record label I don’t know whether I’m bloody coming or going at the moment.

One of things I like about putting on gigs at the Electric Circus is that I get to DJ inbetween and after the bands.  It’s much like writing a blog, releasing records or putting on gigs – effectively you’re trying to insist to everyone how awesome all the music you like is.  I don’t know if the actual audience enjoys it as much as I do, but umm… well, they were very patient with me at the gig on Wednesday anyway.

I am also just about managing to preserve a sliver of Festival bonhomie, despite the associated bollocks, but it is hanging on by the skin of its teeth.  There is fun, to be sure, but the whole thing is such a carnival of over-priced commercialism I can’t help but wonder if it might start to suffer from the malaise afflicting many of the big music festivals this year.  The Fringe has become such a juggernaut that people felt obliged to start the Free Fringe, just so the Fringe would itself have some sort of Fringe – sort of a festival ouroboros in a sense.

Ah well, balls to that.  Get thee down to the Circus tonight and we’ll have drinks and party like it was early June.

1. If you were DJ what would you insist on playing that no-one would really get.
2. What was the last thing you slept through and shouldn’t have.
3. Name a really pointless album reissue.
4. And a really good one.
5. What’s made you laugh recently?

This week’s five songs are daft cover versions:

Richard Cheese – Rape Me

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Clem Snide – Beautiful

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The Lance Gambit Trio – Barbie Girl

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Me First & the Gimme Gimmes – Stand By Your Man

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The Flaming Lips – Can’t Get You Out of My Head

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The Spacecast is yet another podcast dreamed up in the pub, this time between myself and Dylan, the official Song, by Toad photographer.  And again it’s one of those podcast which could have gone on for over two hours quite easily, but we don’t do that anymore, not around here, we’re disciplined these days goddammit.

So I’ve missed off about a million other suggestions and come up with a combination of songs genuinely about space, and few that use space as some sort of metaphor and then a few which just stick a few spacey words in the title.  And of course, it starts with something rather splendid… but you’ll have to listen to find out what it is.  Alright, it’s not that special.  Just mildly amusing.

Toadcast #54 – The Spacecast

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01. Me First & the Gimme Gimmes – Rocket Man (03.52)
02. David Bowie – Space Oddity (07.06)
03. Bob Geldof – Thinking Voyager 2 Type Things (15.09)
04. Inspiral Carpets – Saturn V (24.49)
05. The Only Ones – Another Girl Another Planet (28.30)
06. Shirley Bassey – In Other Words (Fly Me to the Moon) ( 32.36)
07. Yann Tiersen (Black Session w. Neil Hannon) – Life on Mars (36.04)
08. Riff-Raff – I Wanna be a Cosmonaut (41.34)
09. The Holy Modal Rounders – Mr. Spaceman (42.59)
10. Tom McRae – 2nd Law (48.29)
11. Blur – Far Out (51.46)
12. Queen – Flash Gordon Theme (57.30)

This evening is my last show of the term on Fresh Air, and I’ve managed to persuade Mrs. Toad to join in with me. So we will be co-presenting a selection of choices, mostly by her, from 8.30pm-10pm (BST). I haven’t managed to get myself thrown off the station by myself, so let’s see if my little nightmare can do it for me, eh?

Here, in no particular order, are a couple of songs that, althought they aren’t on the playlist, give a flavour of what might be. To listen to the show itself, just go to freshair.org.uk and click on the big green Listen Live button on the right hand side. Easy peasy!

Me First & the Gimme Gimmes – Rocket Man
The Clash – I’m So Bored With the USA
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 (Don’t ask!)