The Listening Club - 14th May 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. Sunny and warm here in Amsterdam, with yesterday definitely winning the award for "Start of the summer" as it was nicely simmering. Kinda odd as we've had a very late spring (the wisteria is finally out and looking lovely, a good few weeks later than usual), but not complaining, afternoons spent lazing around in parks on picnic blankets drinking beer and watching the herons nesting high above us is, well, always time well spent in my opinion...

Worth a note that I'll be away in a couple of weeks time (weekend of 28th May) which will also be a vortex, so reaching out in the customary channels for assistance. Will also be away end of June also, as it's that Pilton party again, so there's a very advance heads up. Nice to be on top of one's diary for once.

Last Sunday I was off getting my ears smashed in in the best possible way watching Gnod, whilst the #LC assembled had @faberfedor laying Bruce Springsteen's legendary lo-fi bonanza "Nebraska" at their feet. Much boss conversation was had, so thanks to Mr. F for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @aqidraco, who has this to say by way of introduction to tonight's selection:

"I had my audio file all ready and uploaded online on Wednesday. It did not quite feel right. It was more a selection of availability rather than choice. I had all these criteria, one specifically, of wanting to share something German which that first one was. I listened to more German options throughout the week but none really quite felt like the “one”. Then today, Saturday, I nixed it and uploaded the album I really wanted to share and listen with you together on Sunday. You probably know a number of their more famous songs. This album is more, well, experimental. It is an album I discovered through Mastodon only a few months ago. I keep coming back to it.

As choice of beverage, I dare you to try something new, something experimental, outside of your usual choice of beverages and invite you to join me on this soundscape escape.

Happy Mother’s Day, please thank your mother for listening to that same chord / music over and over and over again."

Right then. Download's here, stream's below:

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

The Listening Club - 7th May 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. Sunshine and showers here in Amsterdam, but the temps are staying up, so at least I'm sat here typing this in a t-shirt (no hoodie), which is a definite improvement. Kinda enjoying having a little breather, as it's been an intense month for activities and visitations, and although those things were all awesome, it's nice to have a few quiet days, if only to catch up on laundry and mop the floor... Still, quiet days actually aren't all that quiet, as we're off to see GNOD tonight, so you'll be #LC-ing without us...

Last Sunday we went deep into history with the #songsyourparentslovedorhatedvortex (or #syplohvortex for short), which went down a treat with all concerned, it seems. Thanks to eveyone for chipping in tunes, and to @akx for the collection and assemblage. Looking up, we see @faberfedor dusting off his jacket and declaiming this, by way of introduction to tonight's pick...

"If you were around for @zensolo 's selection, you know @woj is expecting Queen 1 or 2, so those are out. They have this other album that would work...man, I forgot how much fun that album is to listen to but still, too obvious. 

Then it hit me. There's this album that is quite good IMO and it meets each of the ZenSolo Criteria: 1. Big name artist; if you're of a certain age and American, you almost had to have this artists' big album in your vinyl collection. 2. This album was released just before The Big One. 3. Relatively obscure; I haven't heard the album in 30, 40 years, it hasn't shown up on my radar since, nor has it *ever* come upin any conversation I've ever had about this artist. Perfect!

So, I'm doing my Monday morning doomscrolling with bagel and cream cheese, when I see a post an author of a new book about this exact album! I think That's freaking weird, eh?

So I go looking to buy the mp3 on line--not as easy a task as I expected--and I kept coming across post after post saying how this album is the artists' most impressive and enduring of their career, a true tour-de-force, beloved by millions of fans... and I'm all like da'FUQ?!

It's still too early in the day to deal with this so, here's an album.

See you at $LOCAL_LISTENINGCLUB_TIME!"

Right then. Download's here, stream's below:

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

The Listening Club - 30th April 2023

Greetings folks, 

Hope you're all doing good. Sunny and warm-ish here in Amsterdam, which is very welcome after a stack of unsettled forecasts cast doubt over our Kings Day shindig. Fortunately the weather came good, the ground remained dry, the sun came out, folks donned orange and bounced around happily like loons. Really awesome to have @emmaprice and @eastvanhalen along for the ride too. Same time next year? we shall see... ;-)

Last Sunday in #LC land, @zensolo hit the assembled with a classic, but not as well known to some, it emerged, in the shape of The Who's "Sell Out" from 1967, which hit the spot with many, and surprised a few more. Thanks extended for the pick, and for sailing the frisb over to @faberfedor, who has an extra week to ponder, because..

...yep, it's end of the month, which means #vortex time, and this time, maybe triggered by the above album pick, following some intense discussion we ended up with a #songsyourparentslovedorhatedvortex (or #syplohvortex for short). So here's a bunch of tunes, collected together by @akx - it's going to be interesting figuring out ift hey songs that were loved, or songs that were hated for sure.

Download's here - gdrive or direct, stream's below.

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

The Listening Club - 23rd April 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. We're busy bees here in Amsterdam, as we get ready for another marathon Kings Day DJ session. After last years warm reception from the neighbourhood I'm hoping it goes as well again, although the weather is looking a bit chilly, at least it's forecast to stay dry. Also we have a couple of roaming guests, as @emmaprice is due any day, and, a few years later than originally planned (thanks, covid), @eastvanhalen is finally on tour in the continent... hoorah! All that and it's my birthday too, well, it was yesterday, thanks to all for the greetings and messages.

Reminder: Next Sunday is the last of the month, so we're looking for #vortex themes as usual! 

Last Sunday we had @iamwahl in the chair, diving into his aide memoire of bargain-bins-he-has-known-and-loved to bring us Maggie Bell's debut album "Queen Of The Night" from 1974, which got the assembled grooving in their bell bottoms quite successfully. Thanks extended for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across to... nope, I've no idea where he is this week, but he's got internet, so here's @zensolo with tonight's intro...

"Big emotional factor around making a selection this time was the fact my late brother would have turned 67 on April 15th-- tax day, USA!-- In some numerical palindrome more maths-minded members might explain, it's been 56 years since 1967, my brother having been born in 1956.

The upshot is that I've identified at the very least three albums among my current, digitised and available musical holdings released late in that year, in the wake-- hangover?-- of the Summer of Love-- and the landmark Sgt. Pepper's album by the Beatles, released on the Spring threshold of that Summer.

One, I've had ready to share, if memory serves, since the second time I caught that glowing frisbaton. I notice all my selections have had a strong New York connection-- even the Gran Combo album, in which they took a musical leap from their usual more traditional Cuban Guaracha/Puertorrican Plena y Bomba-inflected Salsa to dive into the Latin Soul style. This album is, on the contrary, very much an LA product. Maybe that's why I keep postponing it as a choice?

The other two...well, there's interesting contrasts as well as connections between them, which, again, members with a deeper knowledge of the era-- and, especially, the music business in the UK, where they both originate-- might parse out for us. The runners-up sit or loiter in the appropriate folder waiting for the right occasion for another ride on the wayback machine...

All to say, I'm flipping a coin to choose the third studio recording by this band, their first effort at a conceptual album. As I have an expanded 2009 edition at hand, I did a bit of editing to add only a number of the bonus tracks. Maybe I should have just shared the hour and a half?

Both acts were favourites of my late brother's, although the one whose record remains waiting in the wings was one he was a rabid fan of. I believe he may have had a live bootleg or two of the artist in his possession, it's a longstanding thorn in my side that I wasn't more determined in visiting his apartment in the wake of his passing to claim and take possession of a number of mementoes...

No more! Hope you enjoy, or if not, can share your misgivings in the usual inimitable Listening Club manner!"

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

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 16th April 2023

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing good. Busy week here in Amsterdam, as it's the annual Minimal Music Festival, which normally throws up at least one excellent must-see concert, but this year has outdone itself, so we've been lapping up Steve Reich's "Reich/Richter" (truly awesome), Ryoji Ikeda's "100 Cymbals" (visually fascinating if musically a bit thin), Bitchin Bajas (quirky and hypnotizing in equal measures), finishing off in a few hours with a concert from a group led by Oren Ambarchi. So as you'd expect, I'm in a pretty happy place right now... and will be even happier if I make it back in time for #LC tonight.

Speaking of which, thanks to @JimMcCauley for stepping in and flipping some links last Sunday to support @ogili's pick of the first two albums from Yellow Magic Orchestra (that's "Yellow Magic Orchestra" from 1978 and "Solid State Survivor" from 1979), which seemed to go down a treat. Thanks to Olli for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across the Atlantic to @iamwahl, who's here with tonight's introduction...

"I first heard this album a couple years back after finding it as a “Promo copy, not for resale” vinyl LP, in one of the thrift stores I occasionally check in at when I’m staying on the Sunshine Coast, usually hoping (at best) to add a new (used) Hawaiian shirt or unique drinking vessel or dish to my cupboards. Records of note are rare these days in these shops—although I did find a couple T-Rex albums in this store a few more years back as well (but I digress). It was in surprisingly good condition, given that most of the vinyl in these haunts have generally spent years of neglect (if not downright abuse). I was completely unfamiliar with the artist, and it was only after getting the record home and doing some research that I discovered I would have heard their voice on several records already in my collection. From the first track I was delighted that I stumbled on, and hadn’t passed on picking up, this surprising record. I recognized many of the songs, by some of my favourite song writers or performers, but I’d never heard them like this. The production is of the era, so the fi is not exactly hi (when compared to most current sonic offerings), but without question it was the best $1.00 I spent that day…!

My previous pick for #ListeningClub was released in this, our most recent decade, so this time I thought I’d invite you to join me for a ride on the wayback machine. And now, here we are; settle in, pour a whiskey—neat (or whatever beverage makes you feel a bit of a rebel, frees your rugged individual spirit, or turns you into a full-on rock’n’roller), TurnItUp, feel free to play your air-guitars, and listen to a unique and remarkable debut album…"

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

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

The Listening Club - 9th April 2023

Greetings, and Happy Easter, or Chocolate Jesus Day, or whatever else you celebrate at this time of year.

I'm tapping this out early as I'm off on a day trip with the family. There's train problems here in the NL unfortunately, so I'm hoping I make it back in time, but if I don't, and there's no links below, please go to the Mastodon channel to find everything you'll need for tonight, ok?

Last Sunday we had @corin_ja in the chair dealing up a slice of widescreen twang in the shape of The The's "Dusk" from 1992, which got the assembled swinging satisfactorily. Thanks to Corin for the pick, and for sailing the frisb across South London to @ogili, who has their pick info and blurb online, so head to our Mastodon channel for the info...

[ENTER @JIMMCCAULEY, CLUTCHING AN MP3]

Hey there listening chums, bit of a cock-up on the music front it seems; I've just had this through in an unexpected email and I'm uploading it to the places as I type. Anyway, here's Oli to explain himself:

"Well, this pick was difficult. I’m writing this just 3 hours before the LC hour. I had it nailed on, before a last minute, wait it’s actually Easter Sunday, should I pick something related to that? Thanks Jesus. 

"Anyhoo. I went with this. Hugely innovative and influential band. 2 members of which died relatively recently. I know that a large chunk of LCers will recognise who it is within minutes. But I’m amazed that this band hasn’t been picked before. 

"I couldn’t decide between two albums, so as they were quite short, I’ve stuck ‘em together. 

"Drink? Something futuristic, served by robots, or late 70s arcade game sprites."

Scuba dooper. And as if by magic, here's the download, and an impressively quickly generated embed is just down there.

[EXIT @JIMMCCAULEY]

And hope to see you at 20:00 BST (GMT+1) for playback!

The Listening Club - 2nd April 2023

Greetings folks,

Happy day after April Fools, I dunno, "Serious Sunday" or something? Anyways, there's some nice broken sunshine creeping through the windows which is very welcome, as it's been very grey, wet and cold this week, still waiting for the full plunge into springtime and hoping it happens soon, my seasonal affective disorder is developing sub-disorders of it's own...

Last Sunday, as it was the end of the month, we found ourselves in vortex territory, specifically a #TechnoFearVortex, or for some it was a #TechNoFearVortex. @saucer was on hand to gather the components and artfully solder the board, with mighty fine results. Thanks to all for chipping in tracks. Back in regular programming we find @corin_ja with the frisb, and this to say by way of introduction to tonight's pick...

"There was one album by this band I was obsessed with as a teenager. For some reason I never really engaged with any of their other records at the time. A couple of years ago I saw them live for the first and only time and it really opened my ears to the rest of their catalogue, and this record became my new Absolute Favourite. Just goes to show, always check out the rest of an artist’s work."

Download's here, stream's below:

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