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.