Morning.  Fucking brilliantly awesome get tae fuck good fucking morning to you all.  Grrrmpf.  You know those days which start out fucking shite from the very get go and before you answer a single email or deal with a single individual you’re already within a whisker of just telling everyone to piss off because you just can’t be fucking arsed with them?  Yep, one of those I’m afraid.  Hopefully El and Brian will cheer me up on Fresh Air this afternoon.

This is the last show on Fresh Air this entire term, I think, so we’ll be playing a combination of Christmas tat and end-of-year favourites, I believe.  And after that I shall be scuttling off for a much-deserved pint.

On air from 3:30pm UK time – listen live here

In the meantime, after the hugely successful song of the year vote, we are at that time of year, where I ask you to tell us all which albums you have loved the most this year.  I’ll add them up as we go along and on Monday I will announce the winner.

This is of course the perfect opportunity to de-lurk and say hello.  It’s always nice to hear from people I had no idea were reading, and of course our readership is orders of magnitude larger than our commentership* so I am forever wondering who these shadowy thousands are who read the site regularly but hang about in the shadows saying nothing.  Make today the day!

So, simply, just list your five favourite albums, in no particular order, preferably in the format band – album so I can tally them easier, and we’ll see who everyone’s been enjoying the most in 2011.  And the tracklisting for the radio show will appear live below as we go along, once the show starts at half three.

1. Ian Humberstone – The House on the Hill
2. Seth Faergolzia – Weird Old Toad
3. The Leg – Witch on the Speakers
4. Jesus H. Foxx – So Much Water
5. Louis Barabbas & the Bedlam Six – Away in a Manger
6. Meursault – Christmas in Kirkcaldy
7. Warpaint – Billie Holiday
8. Tom Lehrer – A Christmas Carol
9. Yusuf Azak – Swim
10. Plastic Animals – Post-Rapture Blues
11. Trapped Mice – Just Like Christmas (Low cover)
12. Waiters – Tomorrowland
13. Battles – Ice Cream
14. Easter – Damp Patch
15. Hookworms – Teen Dreams
16. Dead Rabbits – All You Need
17. Sons of Joy – Go Tell it on the Mountain

*My sincere apologies to the English language.

One thing about going away on holiday is that I seem to have lost all grip on my Facebook invites.  And whilst I know that Facebook invites have become just another form of tedious spam for most of you, for me they are still a pretty handy way of staying on top of the week’s gigging activities.

The week’s gigging activites are relatively thin on the ground this week, however.  There is, of course, the BBC Scotland SXSW documentary tomorrow at 9pm.  There is plenty of Withered Hand, Kid Canaveral, Rachel Sermanni and Unicorn Kid to go around, as well as the likes of Vic Galloway, the Twilight Sad and of course my good self.  My parents will be watching and will no doubt very proud.  Or at least, hopefully a little less ashamed than usual.

As well as that there are a couple of gigs on, and the return of Born to Be Wide, whose sync panel takes place on Thursday.

Thursday 7th July 2011: Born to Be Wide Sync Panel at the Electric Circus.

Sync deals in adverts and TV shows are probably one of the few ways left for bands to make grown-up money in the modern music industry, but as a consequence, there are now a fuck of a lot of people rather greedily eyeing that money.  Giving us some advice on pinching a little for ourselves will be: Gerry Farrell (creative director of the Leith Agency), David Harron (Executive producer at BBC Scotland), Caroline Gorman (Rage Music), David McGinnis (A&R and head of licensing at Mute Song).

Thursday 7th July 2011: Alex Cornish at The Caves.

Alex starts his UK tour this week, and anyone who saw his amazing performance at the recent Song, by Toad house gig will presumably be up for this one, performed with a full band at Edinburgh’s snazziest venue.

Friday 8th July 2011: Plastic Animals Dark Spring EP launch with Trapped Mice & Yusuf Azak at The Wee Red Bar.

I first came across Plastic Animals only recently, but they were excellent supporting Milk Maid and PAWS at Henry’s a while back, and they have a new EP to promote as well, which you can buy here. It will also be a pleasure to see Yusuf Azak back in Edinburgh as well – he has a new album recorded and it’s bloody brilliant.

Plastic Animals – It Fell Apart

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This week’s live events will all have to get along happily without the encouragement of my excellent self, as my only live music experiences this week will be taking place in Anstruther, Fife, at the Fence Collective’s fucking marvelous Homegame Festival.

It actually looks a bit thin in my absence, I have to confess, but there are a couple of early gigs next week worth bearing in mind, because I might not get the chance to write this post in anything like a timely fashion on Monday, depending on how we do getting back from Homegame.

Next Monday 9th May, Josh T. Pearson will be playing with Drive by Truckers at the Queen’s Hall.  I know nothing whatsoever about Drive by Truckers, but Josh T. Pearson is incredible, and absolutely mesmerising live, so if you can go to that, then go.  Then the following day, on the 10th May, Domino Records’ latest signings Francois and the Atlas Mountains, This is the Kit and Babe will be playing at the Bristo Hall, upstairs at the Forest Cafe, from about half seven onwards.  This will be a BYOB event in support of the Forest Cafe, with corkage charged on the door.

This week, however, we have the following happening:

Friday 6th May 2011: Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, Matt Norris and the Moon & Trapped Mice at Cabaret Voltaire.

Woodenbox are an excellent live band, full of all sorts of stompy, raucous fun, a swinging brass section (‘swinging’, am I allowed to call it that without coming across as a bit of a dick) and a sense of enjoyment and energy matched by few bands on the Scottish scene at the moment.

Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers – Twisted Mile

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Saturday 7th May 2011: The Wave Pictures and My Tiny Robots at Cabaret Voltaire.

The Wave Pictures are a cracking band, and brilliant live as well.  Their music is so bloody simple as well and the lyrics, great as they are, sound like they could be part of any normal conversation. Highly recommended.

The Wave Pictures – Leave the Scene Behind

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After a weekend of alcoholic liver-punching with the awful cunts from Gerry Loves Records I find myself back in Edinburgh with Mrs. Toad off in Australia and nothing between me and an entire week spent on the internet in my pants with a jar of pickled onions and a jumbo packet of pork scratchings.

In fact, that sounds like a pretty good plan, all told.  Balls to dignity, self-respect and hygiene.

Wednesday 10th November 2010: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone & My Tiny Robots at Sneaky Pete’s.

If ever a band’s music were better described in their band name than anything any reviewer could write it is Casiotone. And if you don’t come along on Wednesday you will never see them again, ever.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Natural Light

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Thursday 11th November 2010: My Tiny Robots, Donna Maciocia & Enfant Bastard at the Caves.

This gig was very nearly a casualty of the collapse of the Settlement, but quickly found a home at the Caves, fortunately.  My Tiny Robots played smart acoustic pop songs the last time I saw them.  That was some time ago though, and I am looking forward to giving their new EP (for which this is the launch night) a good listen this week.

My Tiny Robots – Ghosts

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Friday 12th November 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Jesus H. Foxx & Trapped Mice at the Wee Red Bar.

The Scottish Enlightenment aren’t far from being my new band of the year, I think.  And I’ve only seen them once, which is a bit stupid.  St. Thomas is a fantastic piece of melancholy guitar music, and one which always seems to retain a sense of optimism and belief, and I am really looking forward to this gig.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Necromancer

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Friday 12th November 2010: Limbo, with Over the Wall, How to Swim & the Oates Field at the Voodoo Rooms.

Over the Wall also have a new album on the way, although far from the brooding of the Scottish Enlightenment, I imagine theirs will be just a little bit more bouncy and cheerful.  How to Swim may not approach their music with the same instruments, but that sense of manic exuberance is very much still there – perfect for wishing the Limbo lads happy third birthday.

Over the Wall – Shifts

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