Temporary inability to post...

Hey ho, just a quick note to apologise for my absence lately. The blog is NOT defunct, but unfortunately my house is a building site at the moment, meaning everything - including my computer - is out of action. Obviously I'm on someone else's at the mo...

Rest assured this should be sorted out soon (the wallpaper's looking lovely I must say) and we'll be back with a bang, a fanfare, and lots of rather good music.

See ya soon,
Love n hugs,
Musicus Eclecticus

Whipping Boy - Heartworm

Every now and again you stumble upon an album so astonishing in its brilliance, that you assume it must have sold by the truckload and somehow just passed you by. Sadly of course, this is often not the case. Music's illustrious history is liberally scattered with great albums which just didn't make it out into the wider consciousness, for one reason or another, and sometimes it just makes no sense.

Sometimes an album simply has the misfortune to be released at the wrong time. Such is the case with Heartworm, the second album from Irish indie-rockers Whipping Boy. Their debut effort, the long-deleted Submarine, could scarcely have sold fewer copies had they not released it at all. It offered nothing to suggest that Whipping Boy would be anything other than tiny fish in the crowded indie pond.

However, then came the startling, dark and emotional (not to mention briefly controversial) sophomore album that was Heartworm. Released in 1995, it was perhaps just a couple of years ahead of its time. Certainly, you only need to get halfway through opening track (and first single) "Twinkle" to see where Snow Patrol got their ideas from. Had this album come out in 1997 or 1998 (or perhaps later), it's not inconceivable that Whipping Boy would have been huge stars by now, and Snow Patrol would be dismissed as mere copyists.

It is perhaps unfair to labour the Snow Patrol comparisons. Whipping Boy's output is far darker in tone than Snow Patrol, not least on "We Don't Need Nobody Else", an almost spoken-word piece which delves into the dark heart of domestic violence. Lyrics like "I hit you for the first time today" (a chillingly-worded line if ever there was one) and "That really hurt, you said / Yeah / And you thought you knew me" led to misguided accusations of misogyny (presumably from critics who hadn't actually listened to the song). This is one of those rare songs that can send a shiver down the spine.

Both of those songs are included for download below, alongside "Users", another songwriting masterclass ("Remember how not long ago, we screwed away the pain").

Grab them all, and listen carefully. This lot really were as good as I say they were.

Download: Whipping Boy - Twinkle
Download: Whipping Boy - We Don't Need Nobody Else
Download: Whipping Boy - Users

There is an official website for Whipping Boy here but it doesn't appear to have been updated for a while - still worth a look though.

Most importantly, you can buy Heartworm here at Amazon UK (and it's pretty cheap too!) or at HMV (also cheap!) or wherever else you prefer to shop!

That's all for now, folks...

Cover Lay Down

Occasionally I stumble on another MP3 blog which is so astoundingly good that I want to tell everyone about it. Can you see where I'm heading here?

Last night I happened to find the truly excellent Cover Lay Down blog. This US-based site showcases, "Folk covers of familiar songs" and "Reimagined versions of folk song". Now, this is so far up my street it's virtually living in my back bedroom. I have an unhealthy level of interest in cover versions and as regular readers will know, I'm an unashamed folky to boot. Have a look at Cover Lay Down - it's a fantastic site with some great tracks to listen to.

Inspired as I am by that swanky blog, I thought a nice way to accompany this hefty plug would be to post a couple of cover versions myself (that's not cheating, is it?).

First up is Christy Moore covering Woody Guthrie's The Ludlow Massacre. This emotive song tells the story of the 1914 Ludlow Coal Massacre, at which the Colorado National Guard attacked a colony of striking miners and their families, killing 25 people - including 12 children. A cheery story it may not be, but it's a startling song and needs to be heard. Also worth looking up is Ramblin' Jack Elliott's version (and Guthrie's original, of course). Christy's version comes from his first solo album, 1972's "Prosperous".

Download: Christy Moore - The Ludlow Massacre

Whilst trawling through the Cover Lay Down archives yesterday, I came across Patti Smith and her sublime version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. That reminded me of another excellent version of the same song.

In 1992, Tori Amos released the 5-track EP, "Crucify". Three of the five tracks are cover versions (Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones are the other two). As a whole, it's a fine record, but the standout track is easily Smells Like Teen Spirit, wherein Kurt Cobain's grunge megalith is transformed into a stark piano/voice ballad. It might not be genius, but it's not far off...

Download: Tori Amos - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Finally for today, here's a slice of classic psychedelia from 1968. This is Deep Purple, from their very first album "Shades Of Deep Purple". Those unfamiliar with the Purple's first two albums may be surprised at the sound - it would be a while before they evolved into the rock behemoths behind Smoke On The Water and Black Night. Anyway, here they are doing a song by some band called The Beatles.

Download: Deep Purple - Help!

That's all for now, folks. Catch you again soon.

Artist web links:

Christy Moore
Tori Amos
Deep Purple

Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

Some 80-odd years ago, A.P. Carter (or to give him his rather flamboyant - though rarely used - full name, Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter) penned "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow". It is doubtful that he would have had even the slightest inkling that this song (and many of his other compositions) would become a folk standard. Yet, here we are today and it remains an extremely famous folk song, recorded by just about every man and his dog. Actually, in all fairness, I am not sure whether or not any dogs have ever recorded the song, but certainly quite a few human beings have. I may have made up the bit about the dog.

Anyway, I'm rambling, and I'm not dressed for it, so here we go. Here is the original version of the track, recorded by The Carter Family back in 1920-something.

Download: The Carter Family - Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

In 2003, Natalie Merchant released "The House Carpenter's Daughter", an astonishing collection of folk songs (traditional and contemporary) delivered beautifully, with that voice allowed to shine. It's a magnificent album, with some moments of genuine brilliance and not a single second of filler. It's THAT good.

A polished version of "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow" is one of the album's (many) highlights. Radically different to the Carter Family sound, it introduces some wonderful bluegrass fiddle into the mix and the result is a rollicking good listen.

Download: Natalie Merchant - Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow

Enjoy!

Sonic Dick Verucas!

Hello again, and here we are with the first batch of MP3s for the New Year. Yeah, it's 2008! Since the last post I've been music shopping again, and the latest Amazon delivery (when it gets here) will have some spiffing CDs by Sonic Youth (who I've long had a love affair with), Whipping Boy and most excitingly, a trip back in time with baggy demigods Flowered Up (the "Best Of", which has been on my Wants List for some time now).

All things considered (well, maybe not all things, but certainly the last paragraph for starters...) your first track for today would be the mighty Sonic Youth (pictured). Lifted from their "Dirty" album (their second for Geffen), this was a minor hit, and as such I really should've come up with something a little more inventive. But hey, this is a bit of a classic, so why not...

Download: Sonic Youth - 100%

Continuing in a similar alt.rock vein (and with an equally brilliant song), here's a track which I used to hear week in and week out when I worked in a certain nightclub in these parts. That nightclub was called "Spiders" and it was quite a significant part of my life (sadly, it's shit now, but that's the way it goes). There were a few tracks which used to get spun all the time. Some I loved, some I hated. This was one of the ones I loved, a forgotten gem from Veruca Salt.

Download: Veruca Salt - Seether

And finally (for now), as it's a New Year, let's make a wish. My wish - peace and love, etcetera. Best illustrated I feel, with some mid-80s U.S. hardcore, in the shape of the rather brilliant (and shockingly unknown) Dicks. This is the seminal "No Fuckin' War", and as an anthem to a new beginning, ain't half bad.

Download: Dicks - No Fuckin' War

Okaaaaaaaaaaay then. It's 2008.

Some heavy stuff here - next time I think we'll turn the volume down a bit and go for something a little more chilled... hmmm... what will it be...

Happy New Year!

Greetings one and all, and welcome back to Musicus Eclecticus.

Sadly as it's been holiday season we have not had time to update the blog, preferring instead to spend most of Christmas and the New Year drinking alcohol until blood seeped from our every orifice. No, of course not. That only happened the once. And it wasn't really blood, but rather some strange form of other-worldly ectoplasm normally only emitted by certain extraterrestrial lifeforms. Or was it all just a dream? Who knows?

On a musical tip, we did find time to see The Pogues and Billy Bragg live in Manchester, met three Pogues and one Bragg, and also (in a separate incident) somehow managed to agree to see Jack Penate sometime in February, which will probably involve being surrounded by nubile young students making this writer feel very old indeed. Ah... the things you do for love.

Through Christmas, onto our Welcome mat dropped CDs from Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Donovan, Gil Scott-Heron, JJ72 and The Carter Family, among others... as well as some nice shiny vinyl from the rather brill Reverend & The Makers.

Check back in a day or two for some nice MP3s for you to download. As they'll be the first of the year, we'll make 'em good ones.

Catch yez later.

House Of Love - Shine On

A bit of visual loveliness for you today, with (gasp) a music video instead of the usual MP3. I just thought it would make a nice change. Back to MP3s for the next one, probably.

Here, then (care of YouTube), is one of my all-time favourite tracks by one of my all-time favourite bands, the criminally-underrated House Of Love. The track, their finest hour, is "Shine On", a classic single from the golden age of jangly indie kids. They just don't make 'em like this anymore...