Tuna Day

Benny Profane-Skateboard to Oblivion

ukenaut — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:59:45 +0000

Creak….hello…hello…hello? Anybody here? Blimey it’s dusty in here. Well here we go. Tunaday is back. For how long, who knows?

Thought I’d kick off with a lost and forgotten gem that I found on Spotify the other evening from late 80s Liverpool band, Benny Profane, Skateboard to Oblivion.

Spotify Link:Benny Profane-Skateboard to Oblivion

I’m curious if this is one of those bands that nobody has ever heard of. I’m not being wilfully obscure here. I’ve got both their albums Trapdoor Swing and Dumb Luck Charm on vinyl and they used to get played a lot. I did enjoy their witty lyrics with literate and movie references. I saw them a couple of times in about ,89. At the time I just liked it without considering why, but then I was very scratchy guitar and jangly indie C86. Listening to it now you can Teardrop Explodes and Wah! influences. In fact other tracks on the album such as Here Comes The Floor owe a massive debt to Cope’s Reynard the Fox. This is why Spotify is so great. It’s unlikely I would have dug the records out but I’ve really enjoyed hearing this again.

Tom Waits – Chocolate Jesus

ukenaut — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:33:56 +0000

Happy Easter.

From my favourite Tom Waits album, Mule Variations. I’de been aware of Tom Waits for ages but never bothered too much until I heard Jonathan Ross play the strange What’s He Building In There on his Saturday morning Radio 2 show, and had to go find out more. Great megaphone action.

Keen eyed followers might notice that it’s been a week since I posted a track. I’ve been busy. I might fill in the gaps later. I might not.

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (feat Posdnous) – Thou Shalt Always Kill (De La Edit)

ukenaut — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:00:02 +0000

I picked up on Scroobius Pip a few days back because of the name. It comes from the Edward Lear nonsense poem. I love it when I find something that I missed out on in the recent past. This is from 2008 and I don’t know how I missed it. This version, the De La Edit features Posdnous from De La Soul.

Been listening to the album Angles a fair bit as a result. Scroobius has a way with the words.

The Primitives – Crash

ukenaut — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:40:48 +0000

I went for a haircut this evening. Whilst in the chair and chatting about bands and music, my hairdresser (yes, I know, not a barber) told me that his friend was in The Primitives. His friend is Tracy Tracy. I didn’t tell him that I had a bit of a schoolboy crush back when this first came out.

Mad Capsule Markets – Pulse

ukenaut — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:11:47 +0000

A few years back we went to Ozzfest at Donington and got stuck in traffic trying to get there. It worked out okay though because we got there just in time for Mad Capsule Markets who came on just as we walked through the tunnel under the racetrack to hear their crazy blend of Japanese hardcore metal electronica.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnLIJSY1vY]

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicols – Rattlin’ Bones

ukenaut — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:49:41 +0000

One of those tunes you hear on the radio (Bob Harris Country) and have to go find what it is.

Took ages to track the album down. Think I ended up buying it on import.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6PoDVE0hr4]

Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

ukenaut — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:56:58 +0000

There’s something lacking from the mix on this version though.

The Bothy Band – The Kesh Jig

ukenaut — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:43:40 +0000

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6YJAFbJPrA]

Echo and the Bunnymen with Billy Bragg – Run Run Run

ukenaut — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:33:46 +0000

Back in 1985 BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test did an all-nighter show called Rock Around The Clock. It was hosted by Word Magazine’s Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, with a bit of help from Andy Kershaw.

I remember staying up and seeing Echo and the Bunnymen joining up with Billy Bragg to play a rather shambolic version of The Velvet Underground’s Run, Run, Run at about 3 in the morning. I’d just discovered The Velvet Underground for myself and it felt like being a member of an exclusive club. In a pre-Amazon and MP3 world, just getting hold of their records was a challenge. To see two of my favourite acts teaming on a Velvet’s cover was tremendously exciting.

I hadn’t seen or heard it again in nearly 25 years until I found this on YouTube. In the intervening time I had thought about this version, and being a bit of a guitar geek, I remembered distinctly that Billy Bragg was playing a Telecaster f hole Thinline and that Will Sargent of the Bunnymen was playing a Bond Electraglide. A very 80s high tech guitar, made with carbon fibre with digital controls and readouts and a stepped rather than fretted fretboard. Very much of it’s time and technology in a guitar that never really caught on. Mick Jones played one in Big Audio Dynamite. The Edge probably played one too.

Dan Walsh – Every Day Is A Better Day

ukenaut — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:41:18 +0000

A few weeks ago Dan Walsh played at the Hare and Hounds on one of @moseleyfolk‘s Lunar Society events. I heard he was great but I missed it as I was at Symphony Hall for the excellent Transatlantic Sessions.

Last night though I caught some of his fine banjo playing, accompanied by Will Pound on harmonica on Moseley’s own, Janice Long’s, Radio 2 show. It’s available on iPlayer for a week the next week.
During the show they let slip that they will be playing at the Moseley Folk Festival in September. Hardly surprising, but good news. First sneak peak at any of the line-up I’ve been able to glean.

This is my favourite track from his quite excellent album, Tomorrow’s Still To Come.