True Stories

"I'm 6'3", and maintain a very consistent panda bear shape." - Louis Fyne

True Stories, apart from being a splendid album, is also an even better film. Directed by David Byrne and released in 1986, it profiles a small Texas town called Virgil and the collection of oddballs who live there. It doesn't have a story as such, it just drifts along towards the town's Celebration of Special-ness, a pageant where the towns folk perform various acts of varying quality.

Byrne appears as the nameless narrator, introducing us to the characters, but never really intruding on their lives, apart from when he goes to dinner with the happily married couple who haven't spoken for 15 years. The closest we get to a narrative is through Louis Fyne (played by the always excellent John Goodman), and his quest for marriage. We also meet 'the cute woman', the preacher, the woman who doesn't leave her bed, the voodoo practicioner, and 'the lying woman'. These characters were inspired by stories that Byrne read in the National Enquirer, and other tabloids.

But despite, a fairly shallow level of characterisation, they don't feel like characatures or freaks, but rather they are likable misfits, with a story that needs telling. They are people too, godammit...

And of course, there are the songs, which are tremendous, and are, with the exception of Wild Wild Life, performed by the cast. Not all of the cast versions are available yet, but below you can find two of them.

Talking Heads - Papa Legba (Pops Staples Vocal Version)

Talking Heads - Radio Head (Tito Larriva Vocal Version)

Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life (Extended Mix)

Person Louis Fyne

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And according to Roger Ebert's review here, there are 50 sets of twins in this movie. If that's not a reason to watch the film, then I don't know what is.

Buy them the cd and dvd here.

July 18th is the the day of the troubadour.

Creationism

Ah, the quandry of Creation records.

I have only just noticed that Alan McGee had been blogging for the Guardian, and the thought that passed through my mind was something along the lines of "What's the rampant self-publicist on about nowadays?" His blogs are only marginally insightful, and for the most part, rather pointless. I would imagine that this impression I have of him (and I don't think I'm alone) comes from three things: his cocky demeanour, that to be fair seems to be part of the whole svengali role that he inhabits (see Malcolm McClaren, Tony Wilson, Simon Napier Bell, et al), the fact that he discovered of Oasis and him having been the manager of The Libertines (the most overrated British band since Oasis).

For me, it was Oasis that killed Creation Records, not the massive overspend on My Bloody Valentines Loveless. After signing them, he only signed one more decent band (admittedly the fantastic Super Furry Animals). The money from Oasis could have been used to grow the label by enriching it with a diverse roster of signings, as has happened with Domino and the money from the Franz / Monkeys windfall, and to a lesser extent by Rough Trade with Arcade Fire.

Maybe Oasis made him lazy. If you can sit around surrounded pots of cash, then swan off to Downing Street, you are less likely to be found the next night trawling dingy Camden nightspots looking for the next big thing. Maybe too much success made the arrogance that is in part necessary, spiral out of control. Its amazing how he lost his ability to spot a good band (Heavy Stereo?!), especially when you consider the quality of his earlier signings for Creation.

And that's why I don't like to think about McGee as mouthy Britpop entrepreneur (even if it's true), but instead as the man who brought me some of my favourite music of the late 80's and early 90's. The albums released in that era make Creation one of the greatest record labels in the story of popular music, and that's not hyperbole. They released Screamadelica, Bandwagonesque, Loveless, Copper Blue, Fuzzy Logic, and Giant Steps. That's got to put Creation up there in the pantheon, surely?

Primal Scream - Don't Fight It, Feel It (from the album Screamadelica)

Teenage Fanclub - The Concept (from the album Bandwagonesque)

My Bloody Valentine - Soon (from the album Loveless)

Sugar - Hoover Dam (from the album Copper Blue)

Super Furry Animals - If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You (from the album Fuzzy Logic)

Boo Radleys - Lazurus (from the album Giant Steps)

Solid Gold Popular Music Number Four

Every week I post a song, for no reason other than it's fabulous. It may be old or new, obscure or over-exposed. No explanation, no fancy spiel, just solid gold popular music. Oh, and it's a secret, so you'll just have to trust me.

Solid Gold Popular Music Number Four

Takes 'n' Takes

On our recent trip to London, Bruna and I were lucky enough to squeeze in Adem's concert at the lovely Union Chapel. It was a happy coincidence as he is a mutual favourite of ours. Suffice to say, he was excellent in his natural setting, acoustically that is, as were we, not as religious folks but as puritans, enjoying the smoke, alcohol and div free environment.

Adem's latest album, Takes, is composed of twelve covers of his favourite songs from 1991 to 2001. It is tremendous collection, with just the right balance of old favourites (Bjork's Unravel), forgotten gems (The Breeder's Invisible Man), the obscure (Pinback's Loro), the uncool (lisa Germano's Slide) and the surprising (Aphex Twin's To Cure A Weakling Child + Boy/Girl Song). This last song is the standout, a fantastic and catchy rendition. Singalong-a-Aphex, who'd of thought it, eh?

Adem - To Cure A Weakling Child + Boy/Girl Song

The album never feels forced, you can tell that he chose these songs because he loves them, not because he wants to show off his record collection. There is nothing remotely hipster about it, which makes it fun for the rest of us.

And here, as an accompaniment, are the originals:

01 Bedside Table - Bedhead - 7” single 1992 (+the end of the day (beheaded1996))

02 Oh My Lover - PJ Harvey - Dry 1992

03 Slide - Lisa Germano - Slide 1998

04 Loro - Pinback - Pinback 1998

05 Hotellounge - dEUS - Worst Case Scenario 1994

06 To Cure A Weakling Child
Boy/Girl Song - Aphex Twin - Richard D James 1996

07 Tears Are In Your Eyes - Yo La Tengo - And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out 2000

08 Starla - Smashing Pumpkins - I am one 7” b-side 1992. (+Window Paine from Gish 1991)

09 Gamera - Tortoise - Gamera 12” 1995

10 Unravel - Björk - Homogenic 1997

11 Invisible Man - The Breeders - Last Splash 1993

12 Laser Beam - Low - Things We Lost In The Fire 2001

July 2nd is the day of firemen and hospitals