So, erm, yes, this podcast should really have happened on Sunday, but it was so unspeakably bakingly hot (alright, in all honesty it was only about 28 degrees, but it felt much fucking hotter, okay) that there was basically no fucking chance it was going to happen.
I’ve also been adjusting to not having a day job, which in its own way made this easier. I’d write posts when I could during the day, but at the moment my only job is Song, by Toad so I have focussed entirely on the important jobs, not on the day to day business of posting on the site.
Also, this is late and it may be (early) Thursday, but there will still be a podcast on the weekend, but I thought this was an opportunity which should not be passed up. It’s Glastonbury for fuck’s sake, and it really did need its own podcast pretty sharpish, even if just to wonder why on Earth Glastonbury needs its own podcast when there are so many better festivals out there!
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01. Radiohead – Idioteque (06.55)
02. Flaming Lips – God Walks Among Us Now (19.26)
03. Eels – Looking Up (24.06)
04. The Avett Brothers – Murder in the City (39.57)
05. The National – England (42.57)
06. The Books – A Cold Freezin’ Night (57.02)
07. Devendra Banhart – The Charles C Leary (70.57)
08. Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (shoreline) (73.34)
09. Wild Nothing – Your Rabbit Feet (81.06)
10. LCD Soundsystem – All Your Friends (96.59)
By the time this is published I will be lying in bed in Toad Hall with a hangover like a nasty case of death warmed up. The Song, by Toad Christmas Party was on Friday 5th December, and given how exhausted I am at the moment I would imagine that about two or three gins into the evening I will be whistling Waltzing Matilda out my fucking ears.
Still, the Meursault album will be out, the party will be sorted, the Song, by Toad Records publicity juggernaut will be chuntering along comfortably and I will be able to begin the gentle slide into Christmas relaxation. Finally finally finally. I am so fucking exhausted from all the bloody time I’ve thrown into this since the Summer, and over Christmas there will be two weeks off with little to do but move this site all over to self-hosting and tinker a little with the design.
I’ll be trying to make the sessions and Toad Records things a little more prominent, and generally poking about in general. The problem is that my CSS is so piss-poor that I really am limited in what I can do, so I’ll just have to hope it turns out okay. I am loath to pay someone to redesign the thing for me though, because that seems to be somewhat contrary to the Spirit of All Things Toad.
The Spirit of All Things Toad, of course, being gin.
Toadcast #49 – Hangovers
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01. The National – Fake Empire (01.30)
02. Doveman – Teacup (06.05)
03. Samamidon – Wild Bill Jones (12.53)
04. Phil & the Osophers – High Art (22.43)
05. Miracles of Modern Science – MR2 (26.15)
06. Radiohead – Idioteque (32.49)
07. Chopps Derby – Down the Dogs (41.22)
08. The 1900s – Age of Metals (47.01)
09. Alela Diane – White as Diamonds (50.12)
10. The Wave Pictures – Leave the Scene Behind (58.07)
We are bloody well homeless, which is making it very tricky to record podcasts at the moment, so I apologise for the enormous wait since the last one. I promise I’m not losing interest, it’s just been a logistical nightmare to find the time and space to actually sit down and record of late. It takes a few hours, not least because my computer is depressingly slow, so please bear with me.
I’ve got a couple of new singles by The Indelicates and The National, as well as a couple of groups I’ve seen live recently, and then some more esoteric stuff towards the end including the highly uncharacteristic Nicole Atkins and a potentially naughty sneak preview of the new Raveonettes album. Enjoy, Toadlings, enjoy yourselves all to pieces.
Toadcast #15 – The Homeless Podcast
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01. Dragons – Here Are the Roses (01.50)
02. Killing Joke – Eighties (08.28)
03. The Indelicates – Sixteen (13.42)
04. The National – Apartment Story (18.30)
05. Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) (21.51)
06. The Parish Music Box – Heavy Drinkers (30.40)
07. Rick Redbeard – Dreams of the Trees (35.45)
08. Loch Lomond – Tic (41.49)
09. Over the Rhine – Don’t Wait For Tom (48.10)
10. Ravens & Chimes – The House Where You Were Born (52.10)
11. Siberian – Islands Forever (59.27)
12. Ice Cream Socialists – Mr Crazy (65.42)
13. 586 – Rags & Tags (71.47)
14. Nicole Atkins – Brooklyn’s On Fire (75.03)
15. The Raveonettes – Aly Walk With Me (82.22)
16. The Sugars – Monsters (88.27)
I know that Alligator was supposed to be The National’s big breakthrough album but I never bought it. I had a quick couple of listens, decided I wasn’t really all that grabbed, and moved on. You can’t buy everything, no matter how obsessed you are, there just isn’t enough time in the day or money in the piggy bank.
Listening to Boxer I was pretty much immediately onside because of the pre-release leak of the excellent Fake Empire. No matter how objective and pure you claim to be, it always helps to listen to an album for the first time when you’re in the right frame of mind.
If The Willard Grant Conspiracy were shuffled with the Jesus and Mary Chain, you might be dealt The National. They are deep, morose and dark, with layered textures of piano, guitar and horns building a sort of emotional atmosphere around the song that fits perfectly with the deep thick voice of lyricist and singer Matt Berninger.
The first reaction of one of my colleagues here at Proper Job was ‘Christ, that’s depressing’ until he heard a single song by itself on a playlist, and asked me who this excellent band were. This sums the album up nicely, I think. It may be a bit much all at once, at least the first time through. But as you listen more the glittering piano and hopeful horn sections drag a bit of optimism out of the music, and suddenly the morose atmospheres have a subtly uplifting quality to them that you never expected.
You can actually preview the entire thing on their MySpace page if you want to, but make sure you take the time to let it sink in, because it’s worth it. A really lovely, intimate album.
The National – Start a War
The National – Ada
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