Earworms 16 July 2018

“Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”

Thank you for your Earworms on the theme of Courage. Let us boldy go … If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send it to earworm@tincanland.com, together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be places of worship. Many thanks to all contributors.

Roy Harris – Saucy Bold Robber – AliM: – Also known as The Jolly Bold Robber; apparently an early 19th century robber ballad, it was published in Cecil Sharp’s English Country Folk Songs. Whoever the jolly saucy chap was, he made a big mistake.

Sly and the Family Stone – Brave and Strong – severin: From the There’s a Riot.. album. Only the brave and strong survive and from the stories about the making of the album he may have had a point.

Royal Crown Revue – The Contender – Ravi Raman: the title track of a lovely album. Song’s the tale of a boxer who has taken a beating and needs to find something (he thinks it’s salvation) between his “left and the right”.

Guru Kalyan – Acham Thavir – Ravi Raman: Inspired by the Aathichoodi and Puthiya Aathichoodi poems that are two (rarely three) word maxims and also used to teach the Tamil alphabet. (Acham Thavir means “cast off fear”.)

Sinead Lohan – No Mermaid – tincanman: Irreconcilable differences in a relationship are usually about finances or having kids or some other weighty matter, but it can also be because one of you is a wimp.

Be Brave – Wheat – vanwolf: From their 1999 album Hope and Adams which has a nice laid back sound throughout.

London Grammar – Strong – AliM: A bit of a shoe-in perhaps. I first came across this at random on TV, a Top of the Pops Christmas Special, or something. I was absolutely entranced by the seeming vulnerability of Hannah Reid and the strength of her voice. Also, it is one of the few songs that I can sing along to in key and with passion. Apart from that glorious high note on “you”. I have “you” envy.

Be Brave – Section 25 – vanwolf: A more sinister sounding piece of post punk in contrast to the lyrical references to happiness. “We brave the climate of doom, our love will see us through, you need courage to try, to even ask why?” (Abahachi we miss the Doom Jazz. Ed.)

Earworms 9 July 2018

Good morning – can’t say I’m enthusiastic about this week’s topic, being the sort of person who wouldn’t go to the foot of our stairs to watch sport, but having said that I’m enjoying the football this year and I understand that other people think sport is wonderful, so thank you for taking time out to send in your earworms. If you have an earworm you’d like to share, please send an .mp3 or a link to earworm@tincanland.com, together with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week’s theme will be courage.

Roy Milton – Hop Skip and Jump – severin: Well, they called it a sport when I was at school. Blatant shoehorning but it’s a good record so wot the hell?

Cream – Anyone for Tennis? – AliM: First thing that popped into my head, so I downloaded it, only to find I had already got it. Looks like Doubles, then.

Prefab Sprout – I Never Play Basketball Now – vanwolf: Off the brilliant Swoon. From the vinyl so expect a few clicks 🙂

Kenny Rogers – The Greatest – Ravi Raman: The “it’s so uncool to like” Kenny Rogers tells the story of how a star sportsman was born. Or could be a great politician’s origin tale!

Seth Lakeman – Race to be King – AliM: Another shoe-in, but it will have you dancing around the kitchen. Or wherever.

Fufanu – Sports – vanwolf: Off the album called Sports. The song doesn’t seem very sporty but the video was so that’s good enough for me.

Sounds on Sunday 8 July 2018

Well, I haven’t done one of these since last year, and I had complaints about the poodle, but a few people have asked me to resurrect it, and as England are through to the semi-finals, it seems churlish to refuse. Sorry I’m time poor, but I hope you like this brief selection of new sounds, and many thanks to all the artists who shared them with us.

Emily Lee – Sleep with a Stranger: From her forthcoming new record, “Dance My Demon Away”. On Saturday 1 September she will be playing her new record in full at The Lexington in Islington, featuring songs from her “Don’t Forget To Love” EP and brand new songs that have never been heard before. Emily is self-funded, so your support would be welcome. Please book ahead to avoid disappointment. There will be no tickets available on the door, but you can buy them here!

Monkey Warhol – Bongo Booty – from the sublime to the ridiculous, the very catchy and potentially irritating “Bongo Booty” takes us to a different level. Just not quite sure which one.

Uma and the Wandering Stars – One Second – Recently released third single from their excellent EP, “Trapped”.

Kin – At What Cost – London based 3-piece KIN’s third single in as many months ’At What Cost’. “Written about “the cyclical life of someone who can never settle”, new single ‘At What Cost’ arrives ahead of 7 more tracks – set to be released on a monthly basis until the end of the year, with live shows and more to be announced very soon.”

BlackWaters – Pick Me Up – Excellent single from their debut EP People Street, Sheffield’s BlackWaters are now on tour. Catch them here:

09.07.18 – Southampton – Heartbreakers

11.07.18 – London – Sebright Arms

12.07.18 – Derby – The Venue

13.07.18 – Reading – Purple Turtle

14.07.18 – Stoke – The Sugarmill

16.07.18 – Manchester – Jimmy’s

17.07.18 – Leeds – Oporto

20.07.18 – Guildford – The Boileroom

Tickets on sale now: http://www.seetickets.com/tour/blackwaters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earworms 2 July 2018

A themeless week this week, resulting in a random selection of brilliantness. This weekend I’ve been helping out at the Holywell Music Festival, which was fun; highlights for me were Steve Tilston (what a nice man he is), who has a new retrospective CD out soon: “Distant Days” (it’s excellent, he gave me a copy; my life is complete!), and Sunjay, an excellent folk and blues singer who doesn’t look anything like a folk and blues singer. But “enough about me”, as Cupid Stunt used to say. If you have an earworm you would like to share, please send an .mp3 or a link to: earworm@tincanland.com. Next week’s theme will be sport, as it seems to be that time of year. Thanks to all!

Sonny Landreth – Congo Square – Ravi Raman: one of the beauts listed during RR New Orleans. Some absolute gems came up that week. Another group I discovered then was Cowboy Mouth.

The National – Guilty Party – tincanman: From last year’s Sleep Well Beast, which I’m pretty sure we’ll end up remembering as their best written album. On first listen a breakup album, it may be more about the midlife blehs than having chosen the wrong person.

Saindhavi – Pibare Rama Rasam – Ravi Raman: A pop-ish version and one of the standout tracks from an album called This Is Carnatic Fusion Vol.3.

Olivia Chaney – Shelter – severin: Her again. Title track of the new album and it sounds like this. “Luminous” was one reviewer’s description. I reckon that’s about right.

Animal Liberation Orchestra – Maria – DsD: Cropped up on shuffle from my Walkman today, and it dawned on me that it was a perfect accompaniment to driving along with the windows (or top, if you’re lucky enough) down, on a sunny, warm day, when you’ve nothing pressing in the diary.

Roger & The Gypsies – Pass The Hatchet (w Eddie Bo) – tincanman: This obscure bit of New Orleans Latino funk from 1965 briefly received a wider audience when used on the soundtrack to the 1995 Antonio Banderas adventure movie Desperado. It’s a fun film, with several star turns and music by Los Lobos.

Mashup James Brown vs Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Sex Machine – DsD: “D’yunno what?, Let’s mix Sex Machine and Whole Lotta Love together. Two such iconic songs: what could possibly go …” right? Yes, I know I know, I really should HATE this. Somehow, I don’t. But be warned, once it’s in your head, it’s impossible to get it out again.

Uma and the Wandering Stars – new single – One Second

Uma & the Wandering Stars are releasing their 3rd single from their EP ‘Trapped‘ on July 6th.

Their previous singles were played on shows such as:
The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio, The Alternative on RTÉ 2FM , The Rock Show on Planet Rock and BBC Introducing in London.

In addition, they were featured on official Spotify Home Bound playlist and various music blogs, getting rave reviews. (And hon. mentions on The ‘Spill, too).

‘One Second‘ is an excellent indie-rock, dance-punk track which adds one more jigsaw piece to the puzzle of songs from the EP that create the essence of feeling or being Trapped. They’ve kindly shared the preview with us, above. Give it a listen!

Earworms 25 June 2018

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less …” (John Donne). I think he was right, though Jah Wobble might disagree. Anyway, you’ve excelled yourselves this week, with a wonderful selection of songs about islands. If you have an Earworm you’d like to share, please send it to earworm@tincanland.com, along with a few words about why you’ve chosen it. Next week will be themeless, as I have one or two worms in the pipeline, but more would be welcome. Many thanks to all contributors.

Helta Skelta – Island – vanwolf: Relatively recent Aussie punk off a nice album.

Idlewild – I Don’t Have The Map – vanwolf: Stuck on an island? The chances are there’s a reason you’ve been left there, so use the time for introspection!

Al Di Meola – Island Dreamer – Ravi Raman: A Jan Hammer composition that is in Di Meola’s Scenario album. Oh and that’s Phil Collins on the drums here.

Bob Dylan – Belle Isle (without overdubs) – severin: This is the version from Another Self Portrait. “The bloomin’ bright star of Belle Isle”.

Richard Thompson – Mingulay Boat Song – tfd: RT sometimes does request shows, where you write your request on a bit of paper and he pulls ’em out of a hat. Apparently once in the US he was bemused because Mingulay Boat Song kept coming up – he thought it was a fix, and one person had found a way of voting lots of times. But I would totally request it.

Ane Brun; Koop – Koop Island Blues – AliM: I have Fuel to thank for this gem from Koop, an electronic jazz duo from Sweden, here assisted by Ane Brun.

Matt Andersen – Coal Mining Blues – tincanman: Canada’s best bluesman wrote this ode to coal miners on his adopted Cape Breton Island, a scenic island off Nova Scotia in Canada. I had extra time to dig deep for Earworms this week because my wife is on a hen week in the Caribbean. Jamaica?
No, she chose to go.

Paul Brady – Island – DailyVeged: Erm, does “The Island” by Paul Brady count? Sad, evocative and uplifting …

Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart – Everyman’s an Island – severin: And the tide is coming in. So let that be a warning to you. Is that Sinead O’Connor speaking? It surely is.

King Crimson – Islands – CaroleBristol: This track is from Crimson’s fourth album “Islands”, released in 1971 and not generally hugely well-received at the time. However, in the intervening decades, I think that more people have come to appreciate it. Me, I’ve always loved it, and this track has always been a favourite. I find it poignant, emotionally charged and beautiful.

Who the Hell is Emily Lee? Dance My Demon Away

Heads up for a beautiful new song from London-based singer, songwriter and guitarist, Emily Lee. This is the tantalising opening track to her new record. Check it out!

I have seen Emily play, and can vouch that she is feisty, ferocious, fragile and funny, and a great performer. On Saturday 1 September she will be playing her new record in full, with a full band, at The Lexington in Islington, featuring songs from her “Don’t Forget To Love” EP and brand new songs that have never been heard before.  Emily is self-funded, so your support would be welcome.

Tickets are limited due to the venue’s capacity so please book ahead to avoid disappointment. There will be no tickets available on the door, but you can buy them here!