The Listening Club - 30th July 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. Another patchy week here in Amsterdam, plenty of grey and wet, which is rather impinging on seasonal outdoor pursuits, it must be said. Hoping it will clear up before next weekend, as here it's both Pride, and also Dekmantel festival, both of which means much outdoor dancing and joy, and they both deserve sunny days, for sure...

Last Sunday it was @saucer in the chair, hitting quite the curve ball with his pick of "Together" by Jackpine Savage (aka Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson) from 1971, which got the assembled scratching their heads and psychedelicizing in equal measures, which is most probably the desired effect. Thanks to Mr. S for the pick, and for sailing the frisb back here to @nessiest, who has an extra week to ponder because...

Yep, we're all going on a #vacationvortex - a sweet selection of your snappy holiday tunes, cheerfully gathered and assembled by @akx - thanks to him for the effort!

Download here: google or direct, stream's below:

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1) for playback.

The Listening Club - 23rd July 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. Soggy week here in Amsterdam and another forecasted for next week, seems like this part of Europe has got all the rain that the southern countries are lacking right now, which is a shame on both sides - a little more heat and a little less moisture would be welcome here, but the weather gods never listen. Still, as long as there's the occasional stooping moment, all is not bereft, at least inbetween continuing to kick my old server around (some success now thanks to Ubuntu, as all flavours of Windows have refused it, since you ask). 

Also, don't forget it's #vortex time next week, so get ready to pitch your theme ideas tonight, we need 'em!

Last Sunday, hey, it was me, @kleptones, getting you all to have a seasonal bop with my pick of Underground System's 2018 debut album "What Are You", which got the assembled grooving in a satisfactory way, as far as I could see. Thanks also to @saucer for grabbing the frisb, here he is with tonight's intro...

"Tonight it's a short album, and appropriately so given its original target audience. You'll figure that out in the first few seconds.

Was a bit unusual the way this treasure came in over the transom. A while ago, while scouring all sources for songs to submit to some vortex or another, I stumbled on a quirky EP of moralistic children's hymns from 1720, set to original music. Great EP, but nothing from it has made its way to LC yet, and tonight's pick is not it.  

But... alongside the super dark half-originals on that EP was one cover song that very much intrigued me. Tonight's pick is the (short) album that contains the original of that cover. 

All clear?

So, last week when @kleptones tossed the frisbee to Colorado, @iamwhal suggested I "dig deep" for my pick. I hope tonight's selection fulfills the wish!

Snacking club suggestion: Matcha tea white chocolate covered almonds."

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

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1) tonight.

The Listening Club - 16th July 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. A peaceful week here in Amsterdam, weather is a bit hit or miss, so, apart from a little obligatory stoop sitting, the order of the day has been kicking around an old media server to see if it will come back to life and service the current needs of the household, or if it's going to be left outside for the magpies of the parish. We shall see, dear readers, we shall see...

Lasy Sunday in #LC land, we saw @soundclamp hitting hard with his selection of Už Jsme Doma's 1993 LP  “Hollywood”, which went down pretty dang good it seemed. Thanks to him for the pick and for sailing the frisb across to, hey!, it me! @kleptones, so... *dons fake moustache*

"Hola, mes amigos! 

*fake moustache falls off* 

Ah well, never mind. Still not quite sure how this album fell into my orbit, but at first listening, it did seem like it was custom made to accomodate quite a few of my current tastes. A little bit of this style, a little bit of that style, some very shimmy-able grooves, enough variety and strong arrangements to stop it getting boring, a characteristic vocalist and some cheeky lyrics here and there. Quite impressive, tbh.

Not much to go on there for you lot, though, I admit, but I will say that they're from New York, which once you've heard it, makes total sense. And apparently they're excellent live (ditto). Unfortunately, although this album is from 2018, they've yet to deliver a follow up, which, for whatever reason, is a damn shame, as this really is a great starting point for some major bops. Well, I would say that, wouldn't I?

So, just imagine you're bumbling around at a festival after a few quality ciders, and you happen to chance upon these folks coming on stage. Hope you stay for their whole set, enjoy and have a dance!

#DrinkingClub - A strong yet summery cocktail, or another one of those aforementioned festival ciders, obvs"

Download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1) tonight!

The Listening Club - 9th July 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope all is going good for you all. Hot dry week here in Amsterdam, at least until about an hour ago when the thunder started and the place got an overdue soaking, always lovely to see a midsummer storm (from a safe distance, natch), even if the cat doesn't quite agree...

Last Sunday @EastVanHalen was in the chair, blasting out any in-ear cobwebs with her pick of NoMeansNo's "Wrong" from 1989, which seemed to go down splendidly, which in itself was equally splendid. Also splendid was the frisb toss over to @soundclamp, who's here with tonight's intro...

"Get in fanatics, we're heading to the Czech Republic today! This LP is one of many treasures in my collection falling under the loose category of "it came from aQuarius RecOrds". Thanks, Windy!

Founded in 1985 during the Communist era, they weren't legally permitted to perform publicly or make records then, but that never stopped them. Thanks to wily schemes, an intense work ethic, and sheer willpower, they managed to get shows in clubs across Europe and eventually North America and Japan.

Their music defies description. I've heard it called, "Wagnerian ska", which is kinda true? It is wild in a punk way. Urgent, yet the composition is complex and elaborate with timeless lyrics. Their trademark is an incredible tempo and high energy punctuated with trumpet sound."

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

see you 20:00 BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 2nd July 2023

Greetings,

Hope you're all doing good. Yeah, @kleptones back again from the Somerset fields, mostly in one piece, and with a multitude of experiences to add to the "did we really?" bank. The Big G's not for everyone, but for me, as u kno, the combination of music, art, booze, food, mates and loons is the best in the world. So feeling decidedly over-fortified, on y va we go...

Last Sunday, whilst we were pondering the age old question, "Elton John or Queens Of The Stone Age, or maybe neither?", y'all were festivising on your own, in the shape of the traditional #SummerVortex, bringing together some fine live performaces. Many thanks to @saucer for gathering and assembling, @JimMcCauley for doing the do, and everyone who chipped in a tune or two. Sounded like a fine selection to these ears.

Looking further back, in matters of regularly scheduled programming, we see @EastVanHalen clutching the frisb with this to say by way of introduction to tonight's pick...

“So, what was punk like in Vancouver?”

Found myself feeling weirdly stumped by that question when I was sojourning Chez Kleptones this past spring, trying to think of Vancouver bands that had made it across the pond that someone around my age might remember. My very first LC selection Pointed Sticks (maybe not exactly a punk band, depending on where you land in the running “pop-punk: pop, or punk?” debate) signed to Stiff Records, suffered a disastrous studio escapade with Police producer Nigel Gray, came home and broke up. D.O.A., which arguably originated the “hardcore” subgenre, has been active since the 1970s and still tours with original singer Joe Keithley. Vancouver Subhumans and UK Subhumans are still the topic of an occasional friendly “our Subhumans were better, fuck you” pissing match. 

But ultimately the local-ish punk band that made the biggest impact in the UK and Europe isn’t from Vancouver: they came from just across the Georgia Strait, in BC’s capital city of Victoria. Formed initially by two brothers as a duo on drums and bass, they released an EP, added a guitar player, and turned into a funk-punk-thrash powerhouse. They played Vancouver all the time - I saw them as a two-piece, a three-piece, and a four-piece (including a surprisingly successful gig with two drummers). They were here so often that “oh, [Mystery Artist] again” was a running joke in the early-80s punk scene - and the last time I saw them, not long before they finally packed it in in 2016, a bunch of us remembered that joke and laughed about what self-satisfied dumbasses we’d been.

This is their fourth album, recorded as a three-piece; on guitars is current Amsterdam resident Andy Kerr. A lot of people think it’s their best. My two favourite tracks are 9 and 10. 

This is louuuuuuud, but the singing isn’t shouty, so everyone who wasn’t huge on Fucked Up might still be down with this. For #drinkingclub, a PunkRauch beer (if you don’t already know who the mystery artist is and you look that up, it’ll give it away). And if anyone comes to visit BC, we should go on a field trip to the Wildwood in Powell River (ditto).

Enjoy!

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

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1) tonight.