The most enormous difficulty with recording this podcast was that it was monumentally, wonderfully, amazingly sunny and hot outside.  So there we were, stuck in our house, trying to play songs and conduct an interview while we were all secretly (and not so secretly) longing to just be out in the back garden.  Mrs. Toad was making burgers, you know.  Gaaaaah!

I remember when FOUND recorded a show with Marc Riley recently and I got plenty of emails saying that they really weren’t very talkative.  Which is odd really, because I didn’t entirely get that kind of impression as we recorded this session or about them in general, but then I listen back to it again and the first few interviewy segments really do take a while to get going.  I guess it took a while for Ziggy (who I’d never met before) and myself to figure out exactly how to talk to one another and whether or not we really got on.  So that whole dynamic makes for a really good podcast, which gets more and more interesting, from my point of view anyway, as the thing progresses.

They even hint at the mighty Cybraphon, their recent creation, but like a fool I don’t really press them on it too much, having no idea what a splendid great behemoth it was going to turn into.

As usual, all the videos are embedded below and can be seen at the Song, by Toad Vimeo on YouTube pages, along with a portfolio of photos by Dylan from Blueback Hotrod, and Fee on Flickr here.  The session tracks can all be downloaded below, and the main interview podcast itself is immediately below.  Have fun Toadlings.  I am going to sleep like a freshly-slaughtered corpse.

Toadcast #82 – FOUND Toad Session

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FOUND – Mullokian (Toad Session)

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FOUND – You’re No Vincent Gallo (Toad Session)

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FOUND – Medley (Toad Session)

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FOUND – Anti-Climb Paint (Toad Session)

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FOUND – Gifted (Toad Session)

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Now we’ve got the main session video below, followed by the videos we made for the individual songs (Vimeo are being fucking useless at the moment, but eventually that main video and Gifted won’t be on YouTube).

01. FOUND – Mullokian (Toad Session) (05.11)
02. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (09.27)
03. The Avett Brothers – The Greatest Sum (Acoustic) (13.26)
04. FOUND – You’re No Vincent Gallo (Toad Session) (20.39)
05. Animal Collective – Brother Sport (20.32)
06. FOUND – Medley (Toad Session) (36.00)
07. Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (44.20)
08. Lambchop – Your Fucking Sunny Day (49.11)
09. FOUND – Anti-Climb Paint (Toad Session) (64.29.)
10. FOUND – Gifted (Toad Session) (72.25)

Well we’re finally back into the swing of things after a slightly stuttering start to the new year, here at Toad Hall.  We have a Samamidon session in the bag, which we’ll be hoping to largely sort out this weekend.  And those videos from the live show are amazing, if you ask me.  The HD quality may be slow to load, but even as heavily compressed as they are (and they really are) I still think the quality is fantastic.  We are likely to acquire one of those cameras for the Toad Sessions on a permanent basis, so we should be able to make some really good videos from now on.  The Fence Collective’s Homegame Festival in March should produce some cracking stuff with a bit of luck, although the more footage the more editing etc etc.

Anyhow, it’s Friday and we are about to go to the pub for a couple of pints and a good meal.  Our favourite haunt, the King’s Wark, has been shut down for a few weeks so we’re a bit homeless at the moment.  And Shonagh, our favourite King’s Wark bartender, has been banned from reading this site at work so the fates are trying to separate me from my favourite watering hole at the moment and I shall not let them!

In other news, Tim from the Daily Growl, who has just penned a lovely Meursault review, tipped me off to a gorgeous Samantha Crain Daytrotter Session which you all might rather like.  Her new album is getting ever closer and I am as excited as a small child at five o’clock on Christmas morning.

Anyone who wishes to contribute Five Friday Favourites just get in touch, but whatever the weather, here are this week’s five for your shameless time-wasting pleasure…

1. Really good song by a group you really fucking hate.
2. Really cringeworthily bad song by a group you love.
3. Favourite crap film.
4. Public figure who is a total dick, but whom you quite like anyway.
5. Some really good news you’ve had recently – share the joy, it’s fucking Friday after all!

Right, I’m starting with something great, because this is going to become bad pretty damn quickly.  I really dislike The River overall, and I think it’s generally one of Bruce Springsteen’s worst albums.  This song is amazing though:
Bruce Springsteen – Independence Day

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But this one is abysmal.  Can’t fucking stand it:
Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart

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Michael Jackson is both deeply sinister and a total fruit loop.  But you can’t argue with this sort of thing:
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean

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Inexplicably, I liked both of these last two songs when I was young, and because of that I still have a faint affection for them that I can’t quite purge.
Simply Red – A New Flame

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No, I really wasn’t very cool when I was twelve.  But why has Phil Collins never been enjoyed in the full flower of cheesy 80s retrospection?  I know that personally he’s a total cock, but musically he’s no worse than loads of the stuff which has been celebrated with ironic glee, surely?
Phil Collins – Don’t Lose My Number

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You have to wonder whether I really have the credentials to take responsibility for the running of things here at Casa Del Toad while Matthew’s away. Perhaps Rrandy’s (sic) comments about me following The Vines review were right after all.

I mean, I have terrible taste in music. It’s frankly embarassing. There are truly awful songs out there which, despite their terrible-ness, remain capable of putting a huge grin on my face, getting me jiggling my wobbly bits, and howling along ecstatically but no doubt sounding like a cat in a deep-fryer.

And here I am at the helm of a respected, well-regarded and popular music website. It simply beggars belief.

But we’re all a bit like that though, aren’t we? Is anyone really so despicably cool that they don’t secretly love a bit of Madonna? Or Kylie? Or Cradle Of Filth?

If it wasn’t for the crap music we love we wouldn’t be human, we’d be inescapable bores. We’d be saddo muso anoraks with no mates and no sense of humour. It’s our ability to say “Fuck you, I like this. And I’m going to blast it out at 3am and sing along at the top of my voice and you can’t stop me, officer!” that brings balance to our appreciation for music overall.

If I meet someone who claims to only like the most achingly cool new stuff that fourteen people have heard of, I immediately lose my trust them, and not just in musical terms.

So, to restore your faith and belief in me, dear readers, here’s some godawful shite that I absolutely love. It’s totally inappropriate content for a website such as this, and Matthew will kill me for this, but I bet you love them too, really.

Philip Bailey & Phil Collins – Easy Lover
Men At Work – Overkill
Van Halen – Why Can’t This Be Love?