The Listening Club - 4th June 2023

Greetings folks,

Yep, @kleptones back again, after a sweet soujourn down to Paris, to eat, drink and swelter in unexpected high 20s heat. A little early in the year for a heatwave, but they do it differently down there, so it seems... 

Thanks to @JimMcCauley for minding the shop last week, and assembling a mighty fine #WorkingVortex whilst he was there. An impressive spread of tunes indeed, thanks to everyone who chipped in. Looking back, we find @woj with the fris, so over to them for tonight's intro...

"Today's selection comes from a band I only found out about in the past few weeks. Came across a song of theirs and the combination of instruments and styles and energy caused my head to explode and made them a slam dunk candidate for my next #ListeningClub pick. Unfortunately, that song turned out to be from a yet-to-be-released album. Fortunately, they released their debut album in 2021 and it's just as good as the song I did hear so that is what we are listening to today. Even more fortunately, the sophomore album arrives this coming Friday so if you dig this and want more, you won't have to wait long! Enjoy!"

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

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

The Listening Club - 28th May 2023

Hey there, listening chums! @kleptones is en vacances this weekend so it's me, @JimMcCauley, doing the do for the first time in quite a while. Unfortunately I won't be joining you this evening as I'm assisting at an audition (having actually auditioned for the same play last weekend), but maybe I'll be back in time for the last few minutes. Who knows?

Okay, so last week it was @simonlandmine at the decks with his pick of the soundtrack LP from the famous 1993 film, 'Judgment Night', a very-much-of-its-time blend of raps and loud guitars that I'd never heard of, despite it being right up 1993 me's alley. Needless to say it hit the spot, so thanks to Simon for the pick and for flicking the frisbaton at @woj...

Who, of course, has an extra week to think about a pick. You know the procedure as well as I do; it's vortex time! I've been spending the morning assembling the #WorkingVortex, shepherding, cajoling and occasionally strong-arming 27 tracks into more or less the right order. Thanks to everyone who lobbed in a tune or two!

Download it here, or stream it below.

Enjoy! 8PM BST and all that, maybe catch you later on. Cheerio!

The Listening Club - 21st May 2023

Greetings,

Hope you're all doing good. Nearly-summery here in Amsterdam, as it stays bright and dry, but there's one hell of a cool breeze harshing the warm mellow, and restricting the early wearing of shorts, which is a shame. Still, forecast is looking good for next weekend, which is fortunate, as I'm off for a long weekend trip down to the land of cheese and wine (and baguettes)...

...and it'll be #vortex week also, so all hail @JimMcCauley, who will be tending to things #LC related in my absence. And get your thinking caps on for #vortex ideas too...

Last Sunday we had @AqiDraco in the chair, who, despite not quite ending up with the album they'd intended, still managed to charm the assembled with the one delivered, "A Greater Good (History 1998–2008)" by Neuroticfish. Thanks to Aqi for the pick and for sailing the frisb across to @SimonLandmine, who's here with tonight's intro...

"This album is now about thirty years old, and likely seems like old hat now, but at the time, the concept was somewhat groundbreaking.

I've owned it since it came out, and it's been on my increasingly-misnamed 'shortlist' for quite some time, but a conversation a while back pushed it up several notches. I know that it's familiar to a couple of you, and there were a few singles that came from that got some club play in a few venues (and that I still play for folk occasionally), but hopefully Listening Club will appreciate hearing the whole thing this time.

Parental advisory: This album had that logo/sticker on the front cover that indicated that the lyrics included a few swears - some tracks more than others.

DrinkingClub: Pick something from the early 90s, possibly something that combines two unexpected ingredients and might be drunk in a borrowed Winnebago. Or maybe just gin and juice."

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

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

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)