a short playlist for mid December

Here's a short playlist I compiled this afternoon:

Tindersticks — People Keep Comin' Around
The Roches — Pretty and High
Mouth Music — Snowgatherer
Van Morrison — Snow in San Anselmo
John P. Strohm — Tangelo
Stalk-Forrest Group — Gil Blanco County
The Coal Porters — Idiot Wind
The Johnstons — The Tunnel Tigers
Tri Yann — Complainte Gallaiset
Al Anderson — Without Your Love
Exlovers — Wicked Game
Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo — Pause

Music in Belfast

In September, we visited Belfast for a short break. This was the first time I had been to Northern Ireland and I will definitely be visiting again and hopefully many times. I felt instantly at home in Belfast, which quickly became one of my very favourite places. While there we came across from great music and you can find a link to some videos I shot below:

Johnny McCarney - The Road

Gerry Norman - I Bit The Bullet

Tristan O'Meara - Feels Like Home Again

My latest cdr compilation

After listening to music in the car from a usb stick for a couple of years and usually random playing hundreds of tracks,  I'm now driving a car that has only a CD player. It's made me be more actively creative and below is the tracklist, comprising just under 80 minutes of music of my latest CDR compilation.


It Ain't Easy - Claudia Lennear
Shake It - Terence Boylan
I can't Live Without You - Jimmy Clif
Bad Time - Grand Funk Railroad
Staying Awhile - Isaac Guillory
Deep Water - Grapefruit
Flying -Robert Walter's 20th Congress
When I Was A Cowboy - Harper's Bizarre
Sit Yourself Down - Genya Ravan
Tired Of Trying, Bored With Lying, Scared Of Dying -Manfred Mann
I Will Be A Pilgrim - Arch Garrison
Crawling Kingsnake - Elvin Bishop
Working On A Building - Richie Havens
Long Handled Shovel (Take 8)- Pacific Gas & Electric
Know Me When I'm Gone - Quarter After
Genuine Imitation Life - Jackie Lomax
Save Our Ship - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Always Another Train - Brian Short
Down By The River - Jill Sobule With John Doe
Desperation - Calvin Russell
Sixteen Days - Tristan O' Meara

Nacht En Ontij

I first heard Nacht En Ontij by Boudewijn de Groot when a friend in den Haag played it to me many years ago. I've been playing it again a lot recently. There really is no other record quite like it for evoking a particular atmosphere. Even though I hardly understand a word it doesn't matter at all. The music and vocal performance are pure brilliance. I think this is one of the truly great records.

Jacco Gardner at the 100 Club

At the end of April I went to see Jacco Gardner at the 100 Club. I recently heard Jacco's music for the first time and became an instant fan. He plays a psychedelia for the 21st Century that channels the 1960s with real flair. Young enough to be the grandchild of the musicians who originated psychedelic rock,  he brings his own uniqueness to the genre. This is music strongly rooted in the Dutch psych tradition and was played by a superb band. I was very very impressed. A nice bonus for the evening was the support band VENN. Playing only their fourth gig they made a big impression me and I will go and see them again.

Subcutaneous by Dansfabriek

Subcutaneous  by Dansfabriek is the new project from Edwin de Herder.

Edwin continues to be a musical innovator and this new collection of arty, atmospherically impressionistic dance music takes you on a unique trip.

My favourite track has to be ' A Work of Art'

Listen here:
https://subcutaneous.bandcamp.com/releases

a compilation tape from the 1980s

I started making compilation tapes of tracks from my record collection on 90 minute cassettes in the early 1980s.

Unfortunately I've lost all of the many I made and didn't keep any record of the tracklists.

Recently through I found one of those tapes, which I think dates from 1983/84.

This is the tracklist:

Side 1

Foolkiller - Mose Allison
Autumn is a Bummer - Gordon Alexander
American Gothic- David Ackles
Nothern Boundary - Gregg + Duane Allman
Archy the Robot -   Amon Duul 2
Good Vibrations -   The Beach Boys
Golden Lion - Bloomsbery People
Alligator Man- Boa Constrictor + Natural Vine
You are My love - Bobbi Dazzler
Green Onions Booker T + the MGs
Banana Republic - The Boomtown Rats
8 Miles High - The Byrds
Fool On The Roof - Guy Clark
Prolathamium - Judy Collins

Side 2

Those were the days - Cream
Find the cost of freedom  - CSN+Y
Four Horsemen - Fable
Chalk on the wall - Fairfield Palour
Fight on xtians, fight on - John Fahey
House on the Corner - Fat
Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac
Elephant Candy - The Fun + Games
Single Saddle-the Dillards
Hippies Graveyard-Johnny G
Tinkerbell's Mind - The GlitterHouse
Why We Came-Gospel Oak
Spirit In the Sky-Norman Greenbaum
King Midas in Reverse - The Hollies
Now and Then - Arlo Guthrie
My Animal - the Human Beinz

First Forgotify discoveries

Last week I came across a New York Post website article on Forgotify, a website that randomly plays any of the 20% of tracks (around 4 million in total) on Spotify, that  have never been played by anyone.

Intrigued, I visited to the website and was immediately drawn in.

The playlist I've compiled is the result of skipping 100s of pieces of music and playing many others during the last week. It covers quite a number of genres and styles,ranging from to folk to avant garde, from jazz to film music and more.

Forgotify has quickly become my favourite method of music discovery.  

First Forgotify discoveries

Jim Byrnes – Stranger Blues
Joe & Bing – Summer Sound
John Lyle – My Cold Is Gone
Ingo & Floyd – Slow Motion
Secret Sounds - Full Moon On The Warpath - Live
Bent Patey – Extra Terrestrial Visit
Sundef – Sunrise
Roger Matura – New York (You're Bringin' Me Down)
Tom Parrott – Autumn Time in Grenada
Baird Hersey & David Moss – From the Tower
Orriel Smith – Over the Hills
Beaver Harris – Love And Hate
The Halifax Three – San Francisco Bay Blues
Pi Xprnc – Serenity
Steve Ashley – Monkey Puzzle Tree
The Folksmiths – Go Down, Old Hannah
Jimmy Carroll Percussion Ensemble – Speed the Parting Guest
Lubomír Brabec – Preludium
The Neurotics – Local News
Jennifer Ferguson – Eugene Speaks In White River - Today more than dogs are burning
Bhaskar Gupta – Naina Barse Rimjim
The Tycoons – Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings – The Odd Fellows
Liz Getz – Where Does It Lead?
Lizzie Higgins – Beggar Man Dressed In Green
The Rings – Uh-Oh - Here I Go Again
Rustichelli Carlo – Tra i canyons
Traiters – Mexico
Gérard Guillemot – La soupe au lait
Cleveland Watkiss – Puss In Boots
Jad Fair – O.K. 19
Mark Spoelstra – Poor Boy
The Trio feat. John Surman – Billie the Kid
Ma Kelley – Welcome Home(to the homeless)
Fool's Child – Killer Force
Kevin Roth – Farewell to Tarwathie / Sheebeg Sheemore (medley)
David Earle Johnson, John Abercrombie & Dan Wall – Frozen Moments
Dinah Washington – Resolution Blues - Single Version