"Things I very much liked indeed ... back in 2004!!" ... Pt. 3

Good afternoon to you,

today a bit of a novelty for me here on Sexyloser, and, consequently, for you too: Rap Garage. A sort of genre I normally wouldn't listen to, but I was blown away by this tune upon its release in 2004. I am pretty sure all of you are familiar with it, but then again it's good to hear it again every once in a while.

It is from the band's second album, 'A Grand Don't Come for Free' which is a concept album about a short period in the protagonist's life. The events depicted include losing a thousand pounds, the start of a new relationship, going on holiday, breaking up, and eventually finding the grand again.

Obviously the song tells us a tale from the "holiday - era" ... and here it is:

The Streets - 'Fit But You Know It' ('04) (mp3)

Great stuff, ey?

Cheers,

Dirk

"Things I very much liked indeed ... back in 2004" ... Pt. 2

Good morning friends,

sorry, it took me a few days to post this follow-up, but there was too much to do in real life lately, as well in the office as at home, so I didn't find the time to sit down and write a little something. Also I couldn't be arsed to do it late in the evening, that's why you had to wait until today.

As you might or might know by now, I am a bit of a sucker for cover versions, and what a fine example of that did I dig out for you today, that's for sure! I'm pretty convinced you all know the Dead Kennedys' original by heart and love it to no degree, so here's what Nouvelle Vague made out of it:

Nouvelle Vague - 'Too Drunk To Fuck' ('04) (mp3)

It would be interesting to receive comments from my female readers (if such creatures exist at all) and learn what they made out of this version! Camille's vocal talents will most surely meet with the male readers' approval, I'm willing to have a small bet here. Well, either that or the story she tells in the song. More likely the latter, I assume.

Enjoy ... and let me know what you think, yes?

Dirk

"Things I very much liked indeed ... back in 2004"

G'afternoon all,

dunno yet whether this is the start of another dull series of posts of me looking back in time or not. As per today it is just me passing on to you something I come back to listening to fairly frequently, just because it is a mighty tune indeed. I mean, below version is outstandingly brilliant, the same is true for the original by Pulp, of course. But what really is worth having a look at this link which leads you to a live performance on the Jay Leno show: just priceless! It really is hard to tell indeed whether Shatner (aged 73 (!!) at the time of this performance ... if I am even half that fit and/or angry then, I'll be a happy man!) is the living coolness or whether it is Joe Jackson: either way, both of them, as far as I'm concerned, are legends of our time .... albeit for completely different things. Obviously.

I do trust you enjoy this a great deal, friends. Any comments are of course highly appreciated.

William Shatner (with Joe Jackson and Ben Folds) - 'Common People' ('04) (mp3)

See ya,

Dirk

"1985 - That Golden Year!! - Pt. 6

Hi there,

the following was shamelessly pasted from Wikipedia, but do I care? No, I don't!! This says it all about today's tune, I would imagine:

Breaking Circus was a postpunk band from the 1980s, based in Chicago and later Minneapolis, led by guitarist and vocalist Steve Björklund.      

Björklund had earlier been a guitarist and vocalist for Strike Under; after a short stint in Terminal Beach, Breaking Circus was his next project, which initially also included bassist Bruce Lange. Breaking Circus signed to Homestead Records for their first release, The Very Long Fuse (1985), which used the Roland TR-606 drum machine. The EP included the song Marathon, which has been cited as "stuck in several thousand heads" and a "college-radio favorite."

Well, it certainly is a favorite of mine, ever was in fact, and I do sincerely hope it'll become a favorite of yours too, 'cos this is what this blog is intended to stand for!

Breaking Circus - '(Knife In A) Marathon' ('85) (mp3)

Enjoy (a great deal!!),

Dirk

 

"1985 - That Golden Year!!" - Pt. 5

Dearest friends,

one of the bands that highlighted 1985 for me were the utterly fantastic Brilliant Corners from Bristol. You may or may not know their 'Brian Rix' from 1987, rather frequently airplayed and featured on various compilations. But their debut album, 'Growing Up Absurd' on SS20 Records, is really fine and I think I listened to it like a hundred times back in 1985!

The singer and the bassist, by the way, formed The Experimental Pop Band in 1995 and I have a 2001 album of theirs at home which I haven't listened to since ... oh, 2001, I suppose. But I will change that tomorrow, I think.

But, here today, from 1985, from said debut album:

The Brilliant Corners - 'One Of These Days' ('85) (mp3)

Enjoy, enjoy!

Dirk

"1985 - That Golden Year!!" - Pt. 4

Hello friends and followers,

The Sacred Cowboys - again - come from Australia (mind you, there's tons of stuff from Australia here on Sexyloser recently, isn't it? More or less deliberately though ...) and were formed in 1982. The first song of theirs I heard was a version of Dylan's 'Highway '61' back in 1985 ... problem back then was that it was only available on a New Rose -label - compilation called 'La Vie En Rose', two pink LP's in a thick cardboard box ... a very nice item, but rather expensive, even back then.

 I remember very well that I spent all afternoon in the only reliable Indie record shop in town, contemplating whether I should buy the item or not. Buying it, of course, would have meant that I won't have the money for further purchases ... and quite a few cool things were for sale in 1985 and that's for sure!! Apparently I decided to go for it, something I don't feel bitter about some 27 years later, I must say.

But judge by yourself:

The Sacred Cowboys - 'Highway '61' ('85) (mp3)

All the best,

Dirk

"1985: That Golden Year!!" - Pt. 3

Good morning ladies,

I think I listened to quite a lot out of Hüsker Dü's back catalogue, but to be absolutely frank to you, I can't agree with everything they've done. No question that 'Candy Apple Grey' is a total classic, also 'Zen Arcade' has some glorious moments, but by and large the rest of their works, especially the early stuff, is something I can't really cope with. By the way: the early Grant Hart solo recordings, mind you, are really really good and worthwile checking out indeed!

This here has always been a favourite of mine and somehow I can't tired of listening to it: from - obviously - 1985's 'New Day Rising', here's for you to enjoy:

Hüsker Dü - 'Books About UFOs' ('85) (mp3)

Take good care,

Dirk

"1985: That Golden Year!!" - Pt. 2

Hola amigos,

a very quick one today as I am still at work and wanna go home very very soon. Another one from 1985, as this post's title suggests and a cover version of a 60's classic, The Outcasts' 'I'm In Pittsburgh (And It's Raining)' as done by The Vibes, about whom I couldn't tell you nothing at all, even if I had the time to do so!

The Vibes - 'I'm In Pittsburgh (And It's Raining)' (mp3) ('85)

Cheerio,

Dirk

"1985: That Golden Year!!"

Good morning friends,

first of all sorry for the fact that I didn't find the time to post something over the weekend, but I spent all my free time with Little Loser, which was fun fun fun ....

Great news in our house, 'cos Mrs Loser has now become an approved product tester, which basically meant to me beforehand that she'd get sent a lot of womanish nonsense to test and then to write silly reviews about. But to my great surprise I was wrong, because a few days ago a sound bar, as pictured above, arrived in the post. Now, believe it or not, this thing normally costs more than 800,- (!!) Euros, but it was given to her for free. The only thing she had to do is to write a lenghty review and to post that on the seller's site. What might happen though is that the supplier wants it back after six month, but apparently - so the other reviewers say - they never want their stuff back as those review gain them more attention than anything else.

For me, having grown up with cassettes and vinyl, this sound bar just looked pretty nice, but that was about it, to be frank. According to Mrs Loser by and large it can do everything you want it to, once you have connected it with the telly, apart perhaps from doing the ironing ... and indeed this turned out to be the case and therefore Mrs Loser spent a lot of time in front of it and was highly amused all way through. I, on the other hand, wandered around in the kitchen, mumbling to myself, because I had to endure her shitty music all day, which of course didn't put me in the best of moods, until she left the house together with Little Loser. So I stood in front of this masterpiece of craftsmanship all alone and thought to meself "okay, give it a try". I went upstairs and quickly loaded a few tunes on an USB stick, put this into the sound bar .... and I must confess the result really blew me away! The sound was unbelievably clear, much much better than everything I have ever experienced in all of my life, especially compared to what I get when listening to me records on my old amplifier.

To cut a long story short, the below was on the stick as well, hadn't heard it for a long time and it still sounds perfect to me.

The Chameleons - 'Looking Inwardly' ('85) (mp3)

Actually I seem to have put a handful of songs from 1985 on this stick and, thinking this over, it indeed was a good year for music .... so be prepared to probably hear more from 1985 this week.

If I remember I will let you know whether the manufacturer wants the sound bar to be sent back to him in half a year or not .... and indeed about the other stuff Mrs Loser will get sent for free in the future.

Have fun,

Dirk

"You left your notes on lesbian sex on the fishtank in the hall, it took me all afternoon to read them all ..."

Hello my lovelies,

today a little something from a band I always admired a great deal, Edinburgh's finest perhaps, Ballboy. There ain't pretty much to say about them apart from the stuff you can read on Wiki anyway, so the only thing I can do is to urge you to buy as many Ballboy music as you possibly can, because everything they released over the years is especially good!!

Years and years ago, singer Gordon used to put up a little podcast on the band's website, rather randomly, I should add. But either way, each time a new podcast was posted, it turned out to be really good, because in it he would include acoustic versions of a few Ballboy tunes, but also one or two new songs. Here are but two of those and if you have not listened to the podcasts back then, the tracks should be new to you ... or at least these versions thereof:

Ballboy - 'Disney's Ice Parade' (acoustic) ('07) (mp3)

Ballboy - 'Sunday League' (acoustic) ('06) (mp3)

Have a nice weekend, okay?

Dirk

Special Request Edition: Albert Whelan (for Swiss Adam)

Hello folks,

there are just a handful of (music) blogs I visit on a daily basis, one of them being 'Bagging Area' which is run by the mighty Swiss Adam. Tons of good stuff to listen to each and every day and always accompanied by a some more or less informational rant .... exactly the way it should be. Too much Weatherall though for my liking, but you can't have everything in life, can you?

 Now, SA recently requested a song which I mentioned in another post and naturally I am very happy to oblige, as your will is my command, dear visitors of Sexyloser!

There ain't pretty much I can tell you about this song, nor about the singer, Albert Whelan. Apparently Whelan was born in Australia in 1875 and moved to Britain at the turn of the century where he became relatively famous. So, from the flipside of "We All Go Oo, Ha, Ha! Together", a Shellac 10" which plays on 78 RPM, released on Imperial back in 1931 (and no, I don't owe a copy of that!), here's to you, SA:

Albert Whelan - 'Pass! Shoot!! Goal!!!' ('31) (mp3)

Enjoy,

Dirk

Sexyloser's Lottery .... Pt. 1

Hi there,

so here comes the third and final part of the Sexyloser household - lottery .... and what fun it was for everyone, to be sure! After wife and son made their picks, it was my turn ... and - not surprisingly - I ended up by picking the dullest of the three songs, one you all know by heart and can sing along to easily. Then again, it could have been worse .... I mean, who knows, perhaps even there is one lonely reader living in the outskirts of  nowhere who has never heard this in all of his young life: this person will of course be more then delighted about what I found. Then again he - or she - will perhaps be more delighted because the tune contains a rude word .... which is something that usually attracts attention:

Dinosaur Jr. - 'Freak Scene' ('88) (mp3)

Enjoy,

Dirk

Little Loser's Lottery ... Pt. 5

Hello friends,

further to yesterday's post (please scroll down a bit to see what this is all about, I'm too lazy to explain it all again), here's to you what Little Loser chose. I must admit that his eyes were not really closed, so you might say he was cheating a bit ... then again the boy is three years old and can't read anyway, so don't complain too heavily, okay?

Little Loser chose something really good and interesting, I think, something you don't hear all that often ... at least I hadn't heard it for ages:

Betty Davis - 'Anti Love Song' ('73) (mp3)

Enjoy,

Dirk

Lady Loser's Lottery ... Pt. 5

Good afternoon friends,

the first one today of three in a row: yesterday I forced meself and the rest of the Sexyloser household to sit right down in front of the computer, the aim was to pick one song each with more or less closed eyes.

 I should explain that the folders in my explorer are set up in chronological order, the first one is called "1930" (although this folder contains just one song from that year, Albert Wheelan's 'Pass Shoot Goal', should you be interested), followed up by folders for more or less each year up to "2011".  So the wife had to scroll down the folders, double-click to open, scroll down the specific tunes in the folder she chose, double-click again ... et voila .... song chosen. All of that with (more or less) closed eyes, as I said.

Here's what she picked:

Sisters Of Mercy - 'Alice' ('82)

I can't make my mind up whether this is a neat choice or not: she certainly approves of the song, much more than I do ....

Tomorrow we'll have a look at Little Loser's pick, so stay tuned!

Enjoy,

Dirk

" .... Mr DJ - Man!!"

Time for a little ska, my beauties, one of my all time favourite songs in this genre. I lost track these days about what is named "First/Second/Third Wave - Ska", also I don't care pretty much: as long as it makes me move, I like it.

Providing the original Jamaican stuff from the 50's/60's is "First Wave", then this should head under "Second Wave", I would think, as it is from 1980. One of Britain's finest combos, although not as widely known as others are/were, perhaps, with their second single:

Arthur Kay and The Originals - 'Play My Record' ('80) (mp3)

And, astonishingly enough, they still seem to be touring in 2012!

Now move!

Dirk

Little Loser's Lottery ... Pt. 4

Hello friends,

quite some time since Little Loser was good enough to sort something out of the collection for me and you, today he managed to find an item which is a nice follow-up to yesterday's post, because again we have something from "down under", as they say. That's if New Zealand, home of The Chills, counts as "down under" as well. Or is it just Australia? I'm not sure, I must admit ...

Either way, he picked out a very nice Go-Betweens - compilation, titled "1978 - 1990", full of good stuff, which makes it hard to choose something particular. But as usual I keep coming back to the early stuff, so here's to you, what most probably is, my favourite song by the band:

The Go-Betweens - 'People Say' ('79) (mp3)

Enjoy,

Dirk

"It's A Weight Around My Neck While The Owner's Free ..."

Dearest Mods (I assume that after the last two posts millions of Mods must be visiting this site every hour!),

before you ask: no, there are no plans to turn Sexyloser into a fashion - blog, but I'm afraid that again I have to come back to clothing here and now: instead of a parka I much rather wear the one and only leather jacket I ever bought, a wonderful purchase: a Marlon Brando - style motorcycle jacket made out of really thick 'n heavy leather and it feels like it weighs 1500 tons (sorry, Joe, couldn't resist) .... and it's the only item in my wardrobe that reliably manages to hold back that monstrous swell which became of the six-pack that I called my own when I was still younger and pretty as a picture .... in other words: around the time that this came out:

The Chills - 'I Love My Leather Jacket' ('86) (mp3)

Peace,

Dirk

"I Used To Be A Punk, But Now That Punk's Sunk ... I've Got Me Parka ..."

... and speaking of Parkas [yesterday]:

The Sussed weren't really mods in the purest sense but they certainly tried to cash in the British revival of the late-'70s with their novelty single, "I've Got Me Parka," a silly tribute to the mods' favorite fashion accessory. Originally formed as a pub rock band, The Sussed consisted of lead singer Oscar, Roger Boden (drums), Dave Bass (bass), and Kevin Law (guitar). After one single for Shoestring in 1979, they switched to the more trendy mod-revival and issued "I've Got Me Parka" the following year for Graduate.

Personally I only once wore a parka meself, and that was when I attended my basic military training back in another century. After said training was finished, I became one of God's laziest creatures: an airforce aidman (33 Fighter-bomber squadron, should you be interested) ... where I did virtually nothing for the rest of the year and wore all white all day. Looked pretty smart though with the blue airman first class - epaulettes ...

The Sussed - 'I've Got Me Parka' ('80) (mp3)

Enjoy,

Dirk