'Girl You Captivate Me' by ? and the Mysterians

We popped in to the Handsome Llama leaving party - yes folks it's closing... so that's sad as it was a great place to rehearse and record...but Will's got new plans and I'm sure he'll do well - anyway he mentioned this band and funnily enough Susan had this song in her head earlier on. It's brilliant.

'Going to Germany' Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers

I love this lament - partly for the ace harp by the legendary Noah Lewis and partly just for its mood, its brilliance its unrivalled...you get the idea.'Oh play it Mr Lewis..play it for me now'.

Houston Stackhouse 'Canned Heat Blues'

Stackhouse, one of the King Biscuit Boys, talks about canned heat and then plays his hero Tommy Johnson's song that gave its name to a band.

There was a Fungus Among us

I guess this is the original version. I post this as it's a very mushrooomy autumn over here - warm and wet, everywhere is mushrooms. There's a game that you could play, which I invented though I have yet to play it, with this song as its theme - kind of based on Murder in the Dark...one person at a party is given psylocibin mushrooms in their tea and all the rest of the party guests have to try and ascertain who is 'the fungus among us'.

Animals and Men at the Free Music Archive

Here are the tracks that are on our 12 inch ep on Convulsive recorded at the Handsome Llama. Sad to hear the Llama is closing.
If you are wondering what the Free Music Archive is about this explains it I think
The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads. The Free Music Archive is directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America. Radio has always offered the public free access to new music. The Free Music Archive is a continuation of that purpose, designed for the age of the internet.
Every mp3 you discover on The Free Music Archive is pre-cleared for certain types of uses that would otherwise be prohibited by copyright laws that were not designed for the digital era. Are you a podcaster looking for pod-safe audio? A radio or video producer searching for instrumental bed music that won't put your audience to sleep? A remix artist looking for pre-cleared samples? Or are you simply looking for some new sounds to add to your next playlist? The Free Music Archive is a resource for all that and more, and unlike other websites, all of the audio has been hand-picked by established audio curators.

Happy Halloween

Bea just carved a Watchmen pumpkin which put me in mind of this song...

Bill Murray and the Little Theatre

This image was shown to me by Bea who is a big Little Theatre (Bath) fan - she was saying to me - 'it's a picture of Bill Murray asleep by the Little Theatre' and I thought she meant Bill Murray asleep by A little theatre and I was thinking 'so what' but it actually staggering...it is a model of Bath's own indie cinema The Little Theatre! WTF! Apparently some of the sets in Fantastic Mr Fox are based on sites around Bath...anyway now you know what a cool little cinema the Little Theatre is!

Bright Star

Susan and I are going to see this at a preview screening at the Little Theatre Bath. It's the new film by Jane Campion and is based on Keats the poet and his relationship...well watch the trailer - it looks really worth seeing. And no cannons in it!

Lee Dorsey 'Working in a Coal Mine'

A contender for the greatest record ever made by anybody. I always associate it with Radstock as when I was a kid and we'd come here visiting relatives back in the 60s the song was about the only frame of reference I had for the industry so it always popped into my head as we drove past the pits and stuff. I'd like to cover it but it's been done by Devo - not as good as this version of course - but its been done. I keep waiting for someone to upload the clip of Lee Dorsey miming and mining to it on a programme with Jools Holland on about New Orleans. Anyone out there got it?

Chi-Lites 'Are you my woman'

I am getting a bit of an education on songs I don't know too - listen to this and see what big hit of recent years took elements from it. I'm shocked!

Johnny Littlejohn 'Bloody Tears'

WFMU played this last night on their rock and soul stream - I was moved - I love this song and it's great to know you're not alone in appreciating this great 1968 song - muscular blood stained and a piece to prove that some 1960s blues was up there with the best.

Taking Woodstock trailer

The new movie by Ang Lee looks fun. 'A man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969'.

The Shirelles 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow'

A live version from 1964 complete with raunchy guitar in place of the strings, perfectly demonstrating the point that the Beatles owed a great deal from their early pop sound, that propelled them to fame to the Shirelles.

Dionne Bromfield 'Mama Said'

It's been a while since I had a current pop video on this blog but this goes on for it being a great rendition of the Shirelles' hit - it's always been the case that the Shirelles haven't really had the recognition in recent years as they should have (considering the beloved Fab Four took a lot from them) and this proves that their sound is still enjoyable. This is a spirited version and I am sure it's going to charm its way to the top.