The Listening Club - 21st February 2021

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay and keeping safe. Amsterdam is in the throes of a weird weather turnaround, as we go from several weeks of sub-zero icing to a week of 15°C with not much in between (and officially the hottest Feb temps here ever). So a bit of unexpected promenading around the city has been in order, even if most shops and bars are still locked down (socially-distant walking-with-a-beer is definitely the Amsterdam thing-du-jour), and today a bit of early spring gardening and general pruning, sweeping and tidying outdoors, and the place is feeling all the better for it....

Also to note that next Sunday is the second #vortex of the year, this time a #coversvortex, which someone pointed out we hadn't had for 7 or 8 years (time, eh? sigh) so please get the upload location from @akx and depostit a couple of cracking cover versions as soon as you can, and we'll boogie down with them next Sunday.

Last week, we had @doctorx34 in the chair, double debuting in fine style with their pick of Battles debut album "Mirrored" which had the assembled grooving in a variety of time signatures. Thanks to Mary for the selection, and for sailing the frisb back across to these shores to @nessiest, who has this to say by way of introduction to tonight's pick...

"I’ve always wanted to listen to this with you lot some Sunday. A cornerstone of its genre by a genius. Assuming most of you know it and won’t mind revisiting, and I’m hoping it might be a discovery for some tonight. 

Get something deep, smokey and soothing to consume, get comfortable (pajamas are a good idea) and let yourself get carried away however you want."

Direct download's here, stream's below:

See you at 8pm GMT.

The Listening Club - 14th February 2021

Greetings folks. Shit, is that the time already? Amazing how fast the day goes sometimes, especially in the middle of a lockdown, with a curfew, in a house surrounded by super slippery ice. Not that any of that has fazed the Dutch, who have been skating up and down the thin iced canals happily, bless 'em.

Last Sunday, chez #LC, @emmaprice was in the chair, with a dose of The Avalanches newie, "We Will Always Love You", which seemed to go down pretty good. Thanks to Emma for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @doctorx34 for their debut pick, and here's their intro...

"How do take your Rock Vicar? Prog, Heavy with Metal, Nu Metal, Cock, with a bit of Roll, how about with a bit of Pop, a smidgen of Grunge, or maybe throw in some Art, what about a dollop of the mighty Krautrock, we also have some Glam or could we interest you in some Math Rock?

In the end Rock is just Rock, in whatever guise it comes in right?...or is it? Just when you think a genre cannae be pushed, pulled, tweaked or evolved beyond its perceived limits some pesky upstart humans come along and laugh in your face and go where you could not think possible. 

Rock made in Protools? NO! I hear u cry but hell yeah! Brimming with a myriad of ideas it pushes at the boundaries and beyond. And one of the things that I love about this album is that sometimes when I listen to it I don't even know if I like it - but I am glad that it exists...and ain't that something...xx "

Okaydoke. Download's here, and the stream's below:

See you 8pm GMT.

The Listening Club - 7th February 2021

Greetings from snowy Amsterdam, as the streets whiten for the first time in a few years, and with sub-zero forecast for the forseeable, it's going to be an icy week here. Will be interesting to see how it affects the cat, who has so far declared himself uninterested in the new cold white thing, and can we get it removed sharpish please?

Last Sunday in #LC land, twas the most excellent #WeirdJanuaryVortex, which lived up to its name in all three ways. Thanks again to @saucer for helming the voyage, and everyone that chipped in tunes! Looking on, we see @EmmaPrice smiling and waving, with this to say...

"Greetings all,

Well 2021 has been an odd year so far. Who had a state organised riot, redditors confounding Wall Street and a parish council meeting being the 'must see' event on their bingo card?

When I look back on 2020 the one thing that brought me consistent joy was music. From DJ's doing late night streams, twitch clubs or just having a bit more time to go delving in the virtual crates of my collection. When all around was a confusing maelstrom, music came through and brought us together.  So tonight, I'm sharing an album that hit me with a sheer sense of joy and wonder and had me dancing round the room from first listen.

During one of the brief periods when we were allowed in the vicinity of other human beings, I ventured out to pick this up on launch day. I was excited to be transported to another time and place and to think of something bigger than our current omnishambles/clusterfuckery.  I wasn't disappointed.

This album will be no surprise to a bunch of you. But I think it's worth a listen."

Okaydoke. Download's here, stream's below:

See you at 8pm GMT.

The Listening Club - 31st January 2021

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay and keeping safe. Much thanks to @JimMcCauley for stepping in at a moments notice last Sunday to host this here shindig, and yep, I am feeling better, thanks for asking!

Last Sunday the very same @JimMcCauley was in the picking chair, sailing a classic in the shape of Kate Bush's "Never For Ever" across to the assembled, who responded decidedly positively, so it seemed. Thanks to Jim for all of the above, and for sailing the frisb over to @EmmaPrice, who has an extra week to ponder their choice because...

... it's the return of #regularvortextime! As pitched, poked, prodded and produced by @Saucer, we're proud to present the #weirdjanuaryvortex. Of which the very same @Saucer says "Well, that was weird. Not sure I put the jigsaw together correctly, or even if all the pieces came from the same box. But I hope you enjoy." Thanks to everyone who chipped in some tunes, it's time to get strange...

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

See you 8pm GMT.

The Listening Club - 24th January 2021

Surprise guest host alert! It is I, @JimMcCauley, stepping in at the last minute as @kleptones is a bit under the weather today. Hope you feel better soon, homes. It's been a while since I last sat in, back when we used to do stuff and go places, and since then Blogger seems to have revamped its UI, so bear with me while I clamber back into the saddle and figure out what buttons to push.

Little reminder that we're back on a Vortex tip this year; next Sunday it's the #weirdjanuaryvortex with @saucer doing the biz; DM him for details on where to send your picks.

Last week @faberfedor was on the decks and twisting the collective melon with his pick of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention's Freak Out!, which certainly did the job. So thanks to Faber for the pick and for spinning the old frisbaton at me, as a consequence of which I will now address you in italics.

"One of my medium-sized regrets is that I was driving to Gloucestershire to take photographs of water voles on the morning I should have been booking tickets to see tonight's artist live. You can imagine my vicarious joy at seeing assorted friends' photos from outside the venue. Some of them even went twice, the sods.

"The opening number's unmistakable; you're all going to name that tune in one, and I'm sure some of you will quietly seethe along with me at its brace of infuriating grammatical errors. But anyway, this is my other half's favourite of this artist's albums, and she definitely has a point.

"It's the work of an artist who's just started taking full creative control of their output; a noticeably different sound to their previous albums, with lots of pointers towards where they're going next. I've just done one of my occasional listens to their entire back catalogue and it's totally one of the highest points along the way; deliciously dark in places but still reassuringly bonkers. Enjoy!"

Fair enough. Direct download's here, and the stream's just down there:

See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 17th January 2021

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay and keeping safe. A little frosty here in Amsterdam, as yesterday we had the first snow we've had in a couple of years, which resulted in a quick flurry of snowball fights before it all melted again. Ah well. Also the first trickle down personal effects of Brexit are being felt, as deliveries from the UK are now costing a lot more, and are also now subject to customs charges over a certain value - that is if the companies can even still deliver at all, depending on what they sell. Net result = less business for small companies (who probably need it more than ever during the pandemic). Way to go, UK! :(

Don't forget in two weeks time will be the return of regular vortexes, in the form of the #weirdjanuaryvortex - @saucer will be helming that, keep an eye out on the twitter feed for details, or send tunes to me and I will forward them on, okay?

Last Sunday, chez #LC, @AngelaKlaus was in the chair, digging back to simpler times with her pick of "The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes", which was warmly received on all sides. Thanks to Angela for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @faberfedor, who's got this to say by way of introduction to tonight's selection...

"From texts betwen @AngelaKlaus and me talking about her pick of last week: 

My immediate pick was a debut album from a 1970's SF underground band. Has two of my favorite songs on it. After playing them, I listened to the whole album and was rather surprised; the first half sounds nothing like the second half and was reminiscent to another 70s band that I don't think will go over with some people in here. *Everyone looks towards the Pacific Northwest* 

I had a coupla' other entries but none of them were "sideways" enough. You'll see what I mean. 

So this week's pick is another debut album from the same time period as last week's pick (mid to late 60s). It's considered a cult classic on this side of the pond, a bigger hit on the other side, and heavily influenced many European bands including some guys from, I think, Liverpool. 

I really can't think of any #drinkingclub suggestions. I could suggest some other substances though..."

Okaydoke. Download's here, and the stream's below:

See you at 8pm GMT!

The Listening Club - 10th January 2021

Greetings folks,

Well, that was a week, wasn't it? And next week looks like more of the same. Oh 2021, you card, you. *repeat x 52, sigh*

Last week chez #LC, @zbendr was in the chair, trying to get the year off to a positive start with his pick of Maggie Rogers' "Heard It In A Past Life", which got the assembled swinging in both senses of the word. Thanks to Ben for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @AngelaKlaus, who's here with tonight's intro...

"Hi Everybody,

Many thanks to @zbendr for flinging the frisbee my way (all best wishes that you are feeling better this week).  After some searching, I finally landed on my pick.  I sorted through my vinyl, but couldn't find anything suitable.  My CD collection revealed that I bought a lot of CDS in the 1990's, but again, I came up with not much.  I did some internet searching and finally hit on my selection for tonight.  This artist had a strong influence on some of the best music from the late 60' and 70's.  Enjoy!"  

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, Stream's below...

See you at 8pm GMT tonight!