Song, by Toad

Back in the days of CDs, vinyl and cassettes music collections were nice and neat: you had a collection of albums and singles and a small stack of accompanying compilations. On the occasion you found stray songs from compilations, poor albums, samplers and the like then they ended up on the compilations which became records in their own right, with an identity, an atmosphere and a rhythm.

Now, especially since I have started reading mp3 blogs regularly, I have hundreds of isolated songs which don’t belong with other songs. This is a bit odd. I don’t think it’s a good thing, but I’m not sure about that yet – maybe I’m just taking time to adjust.

So this post is about a few things I can’t honestly fit into a proper, coherent post, don’t really know what to do with, but would like you to hear because you might well like them. Musical pick ‘n’ mix, so to speak – the legacy of the digital age.

The Chaos Emeralds have a song on the Tough Love Records sampler.  I have listened to some of their other stuff and not been as impressed, but I like this one.  They’ve split up now anyway, so this song is rather orphaned.  Give it a home, Toadlings.
The  Chaos Emeralds- Furious Trims, Unhappy Haircuts

Parts & Labour (sunglasses recommended if you follow that link) are a group I read about recently on mp3hugger.com and, having really very nearly stopped the song after thirty seconds, was subsequently so impressed I bought the album.  So far the album has yet to grab me, so this song may also be left a little stranded.  It starts out like a dance nightmare, but the minute that guitar kicks in, I’m converted.
Parts & Labour – Fractured Skies

There is a new Blanche album, Little Amber Bottles, approaching on the 18th of June.  I first came across their brand of ramshackle gothic Americana when they supported the White Stripes at the Alexandra Palace down in London, and was entranced.  Their last album was no better than very good, but their recent EP was excellent and I am looking forward to the new record.  I don’t think I convinced the Loose Records chappie that I was important enough to merit an advance demo copy, so you may have to wait until my finances can afford a legitimate copy to hear more.  In the meantime, this is from the What This Town Needs EP.  Enjoy.
Blanche – Child of the Moon

Another one from mp3hugger, this.   I am not an enormous fan of their EP, but I like Alanalda for the following reason: they write current political protest songs.  Not generic ‘the war is bad’ ones, nor ‘the government are all liars’ ones.  But songs like this one, angry about the surveillance culture and the fact that we can all be tracked twenty-four hours a day, from CCTV to credit card transaction records, to mobile phone bills.  It is surprisingly rare to hear people write these sorts of songs and I think they’re important.  Is there anyone else you can suggest – people who read the news, get angry and write songs about it?
Alanalda – Always Someone Watching