The Listening Club - 16th February 2025

Salutations folks,

Hope you're all doing as good as can be expected. Amsterdam is still mostly clear and chilly, although a pocket of warm air is apparently about to decend on us, which should make next weekend very enjoyable indeed. Despite the chill, a definite vibe of "early spring cleaning" is in the air, as freezers are defrosted and computers treated to an overdue backup (and in one case a complete virtualization, something I've never done before, looking forward to seeing how that turns out). A gentle and positive activity anyways, maybe in personal retailation to the unpleasentness of the daily news? It's very possible.

Timely reminder that, as February is a shorty, it's already time to pick a #vortex theme, so get your thinking caps out and pitch your ideas later tonight...

Last Sunday saw @ogili in the chair, getting highly verbal with his pick of John S Hall & Kramer's collaborative album "Real Men" from 1991, which got a mixed bag of reactions, as one would expect from an admittedly "marmitey" pick - nothing wrong with that either. Thanks to Oliver for the pick and for sailing the frisb across the sea to @faberfedor, who's here with the intro to tonight's selection...

"Another one from the back of the closet.

I don't remember when or how I got turned onto this album but the eponymous song is one of my all-time faves. I like the whole album _except_ for two tunes. While good tunes, I don't think the fit the rest of the album. But what do I know? One of those songs was the only (minor) hit from the album.

In researching the album, I was surprised that it didn't do all that well commercially. It eventually went gold, then platinum, and then double-plus-good and all that but it _has_ been around for awhile.

This will be a laid-back session (except for those two damn songs!). Pour a glass of your favorite libation, get comfortable, and relax."

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight.

The Listening Club - 9th February 2025

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing okay and keeping safe. Another clear and cold week here in Amsterdam, which is very welcome, even though hype cat, being solar-powered, is starting to believe spring is just around the corner and is therefore now enthustically digging around any available hole for recently de-hibernated mice. We shall see if he is successful - An early spring would be very welcome indeed, all things considered. 

Last Sunday saw @eryngium in the chair, dealing a psych-out in the shape of The Black Angels' "Wilderness Of Mirrors" from 2022, which did the trick for the assembled, so it seemed. Thanks to Eryn for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @ogili, who's here with tonight's intro...

"I’ve got into the bad habit of doom watching dystopian films late at night.  While I did discover that the post-apocalyptic absurdity of The Bed Sitting Room (featuring Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and other post war British comedy types) is available to stream.  I also stupidly watched Children Of Men again.  I mean it’s amazingly shot, and expertly realised, but its portrayal of a crumbling Britain with caged and beaten refugees is just so depressingly believable as a warning from the near future.  Listening to the soundtrack took me to this album….

No, scratch that.  F*ck wallowing in dark dystopian music right now.  It’s not healthy.  The world is grim enough already.  

So I’ve gone for this. I discovered this album in ‘91 or so.  It’s the artistic collaboration between  the man behind a cult underground New York label, and a Brooklyn born performance poet/author/singer/lawyer.  The latter was in an avant-garde band whose biggest hit was a song about a removable bodily organ.  It’s by turn, absurd, funny, weird, and f*cked up. But it also hides some serious points underneath the monologues and musical soundscapes. 

It will be a marmite pick, so be warned.  

Oh, and If you have children in earshot, save yourself having to dodge a lot of questions you really don’t want to have to answer by listening on headphones. 

Drink?  Yes, some form of intoxication would probably help. "

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight.

The Listening Club - 2nd February 2025

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing good. Happy to see February arrive if only to categorize the crap stuff of the year so far into "January" and hope for improvements. Weather has been clear yet cold here in Amsterdam, but one out of two ain't bad, so we've been doing some much needed perambulating around town and dealing with the household external greenery's pre-spring haircut. Everything's looking a lot neater now, so we can pour ourselves a restorative glass and look forward to an early spring, wouldn't that be grand? (crosses fingers firmly)

Back in the land of #LC last Sunday we were celebrating the man, the myth and the hair that was David Lynch with a #LynchianVortex, which saw a fine variety of sounds and emotions on display. Many thanks to everyone for chipping in a tune or two, and king size thanks to @JimMcCauley for the mixdown. Looking back to regular programming, we find @eryngium holding the frisb with this to say by way of introduction to tonight's pick...

"Things in my part of the world have been overwhelming these last couple weeks, so I’m a bit low on energy and focus for an album introduction. I thought I had decided on a selection last week, only to change my mind multiple times at the last minute because nothing felt right. I finally ended up with this one because the album title, along with some of the themes and lyrics in the songs, reflect some of my feelings about this moment in time." 

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight, I hope.

The Listening Club - 26th January 2025

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Nearly at the end of January and just as well, not got much good to say about any of it, apart from making it through to the other side. Congrats to you for any achievements this month, that's good going. Still, the days are starting to brighten up and there's even been the odd hour or two of sunshine, so I think I'll go back to focusing on that, if it's all the same to you...

Last Sunday saw @soundclamp rock the assembled with "Beacon Of Hope" by Sea Scouts, from Hobart in Australia. Many thanks to him for the pick and for sailing the frisb over to @eryngium who has an extra week to ponder because...

Yeppers, it's #vortex time again, and given the events of last week, and well, the whole world at the moment, a #LynchianVortex seemed very appropriate. So here 'tis, many thanks to everyone who chipped in a tune or two, and extra mega thanks to @JimMcCauley for blending it all together.

Download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight.

The Listening Club - 19th January 2025

Hey folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Well, '25 just keeps on biting, eh? Barely two weeks in and if they're anything to go by I'm already kinda ready for it to end. Most everyone was aware that David Lynch was very unwell, but it's still been a massive shock (for me anyway) to wake up and find he will no longer be available to read us the weather report. Right now it feels like we need folks like David more than ever, to remind us, as many have said, of the beauty of the weird and the strangeness in the everyday, and to stop the world from sinking further into the humdrum. And we need to carry on doing that as best we can, in his name and to honour his memory. So long, Bud!

Don't forget also next Sunday is the last of the month, so we need a #vortex theme - pitch your ideas in the usual place later on, please!

Last Sunday saw @Corin_ja in the chair, treating the assembled to a classic slice of dystopian rock in the form of Pink Floyd's "Animals" from 1977, which got a variety of responses from outright love to outright dislike. Thanks to Corin for the pick and for sailing the frisb over to @Soundclamp who's right here with tonight's intro...

"Greetings, good morning, and some cases good nite! Are you ready for this? Of course not. But we're going to Australia for some do-or-die punk from this ferocious trio’s 1998 album. Ah yes, the nineties. When you could still get in the door in a cramped club to see five bands for five bucks (or sometimes less!) and all the fiddy cent beers you could handle. What a time to be alive. You thought the Cold War was over, but something else, something more insidious, was taking root. Now those chickens have come home to roost.

Drinking club: Something stiff because boy, you’re gonna need it.

Right then, download's here and the stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight.

The Listening Club - 12th January 2025

Greetings folks,

Hope you & yours are all doing okay. Sheesh, only one week in and look at the mess '25 is in. As many folks are saying, "didn't like the 10 day trial, how do I cancel the subscription?". Gonna have to go some to turn this year around, eh? *rolls up sleeves / cracks knuckles*

Last Sunday saw the first #LC of the year come at us from @akx, who rocked everyone's collective blocks off with his back-to-back pick of Joey Valence & Brae's "Punk Tactics" & "No Hands". Thanks to Aarni for the pick and for sailing the frisb down to South London, where @corin_ja is waiting with tonight's intro...

"So, I've gone for what I would call a 'stone-cold classic' this week (you may have a different categorisation). I was reminded of this record by a new release from a different band last year, that everyone compared with the artist I've picked here. I very nearly chose that new release for this week's LC but at the last minute thought, why not just go back to the source? Plus, one of the members of this band released a record last year which I personally thought was absolutely, insufferably terrible and I want to cancel it out by reminding myself of their glory days. This particular release I have a few observations about which I might mention depending on which way the discussion flows and the wind blows as we listen to it together. Drinking club: tea, definitely tea. Tea and a spliff."

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight!

The Listening Club - 5th January 2025

Greetings folks,

Happy new year I guess? Even though my sum total of the year so far has been dealing with the nasty cold that emerged in my body just before NYE and thence managing to pass it on to unlucky @nessiest, who is now looking paler by the minute, poor dear. Still, at least I have a low baseline to improve on as the year evolves, eh? Sigh.

Last Sunday though, I was in finer fettle, and enjoying the 2024 #FestiveVortex with you all, a journey that took in europop, black metal, Brazilian jazz and a whole crapton of other genres. I say it every year but the range of tunes seems to get more extreme than ever, and even though I curse that range as I try and thread it into a listenable mix, I'm still glad it's as wide as it is, so big thanks to you all for making it so. Long may our breadth of musical enjoyment continue! *raises glass and drinks*

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming, we find @akx with the frisb, and this to say to kick of the #LC 2025 season...

"Happy new year! Double feature today because these people pack a punch, please look out for the cassette noises to know when we're switching from side A to side B (i.e. the 2023 album to the 2024 album). Because I don't really know what else to say here, I'll just paraphrase the act's Wikipedia page:

> All of their music is produced and recorded mainly in  ████’s childhood Pokémon themed bedroom. [...] The song was compared to the music of the ███████  ████ [...] The music video for the song was entirely filmed on a Nintendo DSi.

#drinkingclub: these albums are maybe the worst pick for dry January, right after Flogging Molly, I guess."

Right then. Download's here (right click save-as!) and the stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT tonight.