The Listening Club - 29th December 2019

Greetings and seasonal compliments to you all.

Hope you've all been indulging in a little (or a lot) of what you fancy over the ascribed period. Here in Amsterdam it's been a gentle time, fine food and drink has been consumed and a most welcome and much needed annual decompression has been had. Although I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, personally the last year has proved to be an annoyance and a disappointment in quite a few ways (can't win 'em all), so it's been good to have the headspace to consider some course corrections for the year (and indeed the decade) ahead. As far as the decade goes, I cannot complain on the whole, the choices I've made have proved to be good ones, so here's hoping that good fortune continues for the next ten years and more.... for everyone. *raises glass to you all*

Week before last, in regular #LC land, @faberfedor was in the chair, taking us back to his formative years with his pick of Santana's "Santana III", which percussed the assembled quite successfully. Thanks to Faber for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across to @brainspiritus, who has a good length of time to consider their options because first...

Yes, it's the 2019 #festivevortex. A cracking 24 tune selection, all over the shop as usual, but with one or two common threads running through, as you will hear. Thanks to all who chipped in a tune or two!

Direct download is here (backup link here if needed), and the stream is below.


Charge your glasses, and see you at 8pm GMT tonight!

The Listening Club - 15th December 2019

Greetings folks.

Well, that was depressing. Plenty I could say on the subject, but this is not the place for it. Suffice to say that deciding on the spur of the moment to go see Madness the night of the election was a really fucking good idea, providing a well needed dance (even if hearing this did reduce me to tears). All things considered, I'm looking forward to drawing a line under this year soon, for sure.

In administrative #LC mode, as we're heading up to the festive season, I'd like to propose taking a little break next Sunday for festive prep and travel, and return on the 29th for the customary #FestiveVortex - Yes, as always, I'd like a couple of your favourite tunes of 2019, we'll jumble them all together, crack open a few bottles, and dance the year into submission. So get thinking, folks...

Last Sunday, @holette was in the chair, delivering an early xmas cracker in the shape of "Joia!" by Carwyn Ellis and Rio 18, which got everyone grooving beautifully. Thanks to Sarah for the pick, and for sailing the frisb back across the ocean to @FaberFedor, who is right here with tonight's intro...

"On the first day of Mr. B.'s music class, he would give a test to see how much music we knew. He would play about 30 seconds of a song and we were to write down the song title, the artist and/or genre. I got about 50% on the test. I found it incongruous that he expected 13-year-olds in a small Western PA coal/steel town to have heard of Debussy and be able to tell the difference between Beethoven and Mozart. And who the hell is John Cage?

But there was one song where the drumming enthralled me. I had to have that song! I went out looking for that weekend and found it, naturally, at George's Song Shop. This is one of the first
three albums I ever bought; the first was "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and the other one was "School's Out". This is still one of my faves.

This album hit #1. The artist didn't have another #1 album until 30 years later.

A coupla' months ago, my town held its first "Diversity Fair" and I was quite chuffed to hear two songs off this album being played live. 

So, in the long and hallowed #listeningclub tradition of seasonally inappropriate albuns started last week by @holette, I give you this week's pick."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the stream's below:

See you at 8pm GMT tonight!

The Listening Club - 8th December 2019

Greetings folks,

Hope all is good. Another grey week here in Amsterdam as per usual, but we gained a wonderful flash of musical colour on Thursday night courtesy of !!! (or Chk Chk Chk, as their parents call them), who seriously produced the Fraggle Rock vibes, allowing us to dance our cares away quite successfully for an hour or so. Sometimes dancing really is the best revenge.

Goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, those in the UK, or from thereabouts, you know what you have to do on Thursday. Please, for the sake of the country's future, vote as tactically as you can, and encourage those around you to do the same... we cannot let these absolute cunts stay in power any longer.

Right then, last week @xpollen8 was in the chair, bringing us Bob Wiseman's 1995 album "Accidentally Acquired Beliefs", to a glowing positive response. Thanks to him for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across to a power-cut-hit house in deepest Snowdonia, where @holette tapped this out in morse code by way of introduction to tonight's pick:

"Here in the UK, this seemed an appropriate week to celebrate music that embraces internationalism, marginal cultures, music without borders. 

The album came out this year and the artist/producer link up was brokered by Chrissie Hynde of all people. This multi instrumentalist artist tours and plays on records with many more mainstream artists. This is one of his own projects, partly recorded with musicians and a producer in Brazil. It's a beautiful curiosity. 

There's a real warmth and charm to the music. I  don't have a translation for the lyrics but I read that loosely they address "non explicit anti Brexit / anti Bolsonaro" themes. 

Whatever the actual words mean,  there's a sense of joy and positivity and some amazing musicianship.  So here's wishing you a little bit of joy in the season of goodwill."

Download's here, stream's below:

See you at 8pm GMT.

The Listening Club - 1st December 2019

Greetings folks, pinch and a punch and all that.

Hope all is fine with you all. Delighted to report that Aldous Harding was truly excellent on Wednesday, a stunning performance indeed. And got a few decent gigs lined up for December, which should chase away the grey chills, I should hope...

Last week in these environs, @adam_steinert was in the chair for his debut pick, Roland Kirk's 1961 set "We Free Kings", which bopped the assembled quite nicely. Thanks to Adam for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across the sea to @xpollen8, who's right here with tonight's intro...

"I've been holding this one back for some time and only realized how SHORT it is after reviewing it.  If you want more, check out the 'tube.

Today's artist has graduated to film composition and music teaching, but in his younger days he produced music and had his own bands.

This selection is packed with ideas and the skills to execute.  I saw him once in a dingy club in San Francisco and it still ranks among my most memorable shows. He's that good. And funny, too."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the stream's below.


See you tonight at 8pm GMT.