blue plastic bags

first mixtape of 2010

2010-06-03T09:12:00.001-07:00

as is always the case with the first show of the year, i fluffed my lines something rotten during the beginning of broadcast and there was also a few technical errors...one which was particularly catastrophic, but as things progressed i managed to find my, ahem, groove...

anyway, here's the playlist - note to self: stop saying "anyway"

david bowie - let's spend the night together
elliot smith - stupidity tries
super furry animals - the very best of neil diamond
lcd soundsystem - all i want
king creosote - 678
belle and sebastian - the blues are still blue
black sabbath - war pigs
mos def - quiet dog
broken bells - the mall and misery
jamie t - the man's machine
arctic monkeys - old yellow bricks
new order - your silent face
leonard cohen - famous blue raincoat
toots and the maytals - 54-46 that's my number
bobby womack - california dreamin'
COVER TRACKS: bob dylan - one more cup of coffee
COVER TRACKS: the white stripes - one more cup of coffee
marvin gaye - mercy mercy me
the cure - a forest (acoustic)
eels - fresh blood
jackie wilson - (your love keeps lifting me) higher
roots manuva - witness (1 hope)
the beatles - and your bird can sing
iggy pop - nightclubbing
mull historical society - animal cannabus
steppenwolf - born to be wild
ash - girl from mars
hot chip - shake a fist
cat stevens - father and son
MIXTAPE CONFESSIONS TRACK:take that - back for good
the beach boys - wouldn't it be nice
guided by voices - hold on hope
mgmt - flash delirium
del shannon - runaway
the temper trap - sweet disposition
errors - bridge or cloud?
howling bells - into the chaos
basement jaxx ft. lightspeed champion - my turn
nick cave and the bad seeds - there she goes, my beautiful world

this month I have been mostly listening to...

2010-04-26T06:15:00.001-07:00

Broken Bells - Broken Bells

i picked up this album with no real idea of what it was going to sound like. just knowing that it was the product of the shins' james mercer and dangermouse working together produced enough curiosity for me to purchase it.

i'll be honest, I've never listened to a great deal of the shins. not for any particular reason or dislike of their music you understand, i just never really got sucked in by what i heard. dangermouse, on the other hand, created 'the grey album', a feat of such musical fantasticness it was illegal, a bona-fide international smash hit with gnarls barkley's 'crazy', produced, amongst others, one of my favourite bands (the rapture) and collaborated with so many quality musicians and artists across such a variety and range of genres that you just know the guy has one hell of a record collection. plus his real name is brian.

i'm glad my interest was piqued because the slight leap of faith i made with my cash has provided me with what must be my favourite album of the year so far (excluding the 3rd lcd soundsystem album, which isn't officially out yet. more on that later).

the whole album has a rather nice, laid back feel to it and will potentially be the soundtrack to many a barbecue this summer. in some ways however this is also one of the albums negative aspects. as wonderful as the album sounds, it is often hard to distinguish between tracks, the ambiance of the album being somewhat too dream-like to cement individual songs in your head. the wonderful exception to this is album closer 'the mall & misery' which begins with it's feet still firmly in dream-pop territory but mashes in post-punk guitars, chanting and a hum-a-long chorus to end the album on a high point. some of the tracks, particularly 'the ghost inside', sound like gorillaz' better output (hardly suprising given dangermouse's involvement with 'demon days) and 'trap doors' is a perfect summation of the band's head-in-the-clouds-but-feet-on-the-ground sound.

8.5/11

The Beatles - Revolver

not exactly a contemporary album but, as the post's title suggests, this has been aiding the onset of tinnitus for me this month.

i think most music fans would be hard pressed to find their favourite beatles album, given the "classic" status bestowed on, well, all of them, but i reckon at a push i would go for 'revolver'.

'sergeant pepper' is great but paul's contributions lean towards his crappier, cornier, over-earnest efforts. i adore 'the white album' but it is maybe a bit too experimental. genre-spanning, progressive and a fantastic album yes, but lacking any sort of coherence, making it less an album and more of a collection of songs and experiments. all the early stuff, cracking pop records they may be (and life would be so much duller without 'day tripper', 'she loves you' and the beatles version of 'twist and shout' in it) are just that, pop records, not the mixture of pop, experimentation, musicianship and songcraft that the later albums are. 'rubber soul' comes close but for me, 'revolver' is the ultimate beatles record.

where 'the white album' seems to chuck everything at the canvas and see what sticks, 'revolver' is less jackson pollock and more salvador dali. still very left-of-centre and unconventional but everything is intentional, every riff essential, every drum fill deliberate (or in dali's case , every melty clock intentional, every spindly-legged elephant essential. not the best of comparisons but you get my point). nothing could be cut from this album to improve it, it is, dare i say it, perfect.

the opening salvo of 'taxman', 'eleanor rigby' and 'i'm only sleeping' is an excellent triptych of songs, showcasing and encapsulating the album's intent, quality, range and feel in under 8 minutes. 'i'm only sleeping' is a particular favourite of mine, one of the beatles most criminally underrated songs, which, frankly, should be taught to kids in primary school, much like 'yellow submarine' is.

yes, 'revolver' has 'yellow submarine' on it. not the most critically revered of beatles songs but you know what? fuck it. i like it. and anyway, as mcartney himself has pointed out: "it's a happy place, that's all. you know, it was just...we were trying to write a children's song. that was the basic idea. and there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song."

cheers paul, couldn't have put it better myself. or could i?

if you don't like 'yellow submarine' you are most likely either a) a snob, b) dead inside or c) a victim of child abuse...

yeah, i like that way more.

(on a side note, check out roots manuva's, um, different cover here and sebadoh's charmingly lo-fi (read: fucking shoddy) cover here)

'and your bird can sing' is a another high point, a demonstration in quality pop songwriting with some excellent guitar lines from harrison and is very much a lennon piece. which leads me to another interesting point of 'revolver'. as the beatles progressed mccartney and lennon's song writing partnership became increasingly polarised. everyone knows this and it is almost blatantly obvious on the later albums but on 'revolver', whilst it is noticeable, you can hear the songs going in different directions but simultaneously reigning each other in. none are in conflict with each other, the songs sound like they all belong together, something which is necessary for an album to work as an album, rather than, as mentioned before, a collection of songs.

the album closer 'tomorrow never knows' is, apparently, the first psychedelic song, something i doubt and believe is giving the beatles far too much credit, but i digress. it is in complete contrast to the opener 'taxman' and thoroughly satisfies as an ending to the album.

terms like 'muscial journey' are incredibly wanky and not something i would ever like to use myself however that is the feeling one is left with after listening to 'revolver', like you've been on a journey. one that you are more than happy to repeat.

11/11

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

right, this isn't out until next month but, you can stream the entire album on the band's website or even download it illegally, if you are naughty, or, like me, love LCD and are really impatient.

i don't want to sound hyperbolic here and i know i will but everything james murphy does is brilliant, the man can just simply do no wrong. 'this is happening' is just what you would want from a third effort.

it still sounds like LCD soundsystem, none of the tracks would be out of place on the first two albums. murphy still wears his influences very much on his sleeve (the fall, talking heads, bowie, disco and post-punk) but always err on the side of tribute, "nod towards" or "knowing wink" rather than rip-off or tired pastiche. track four 'all i want' for example sounds awfully like bowie's 'heroes' with its krautrock drums and a guitar refrain that is so close to stealing it is indecent. it never feels like murphy is attempting to directly imitate his forebears however. it is more like he picks and chooses what he feels are the best bits of his record collection and re-arranges them into something fresh.

opener 'dance yrself clean' even references previous album 'sound of silver's opener 'get innocuous' beginning quietly and then bang! where 'get innocuous' kicked in with a beast of a drum beat, 'dance yrself clean' does the same with an added synthline which benefits immensely from being played at volume. the majority of tracks come inbetween the 6 and 9 minute mark, the exception being lead single 'drunk girls' which, much like 'daft punk is playing at my house' will play at many a house party and indie disco over the coming years.

the length of the tracks, whilst unusual, is not a misstep and none outstay their welcome. in most cases the songs add layer upon layer onto themselves, starting simplistically but ending/peaking with drums and basslines practically hugging, synths squealing tunefully and murphy's stoic delivery contrasting nicely with nancy whang's shouty-but-ever-so-cute backing vocals. as i write this, i've only listened to 'this is happening' a few times but unlike broken bells' debut, which was initially pleasing to the ear but took a few listens to fully absorb, 'this is happening' is immediately rewarding for both the ear, brain and hips (if i was a dancer that is). do yrself a favour (see what i did there?) and immediately gain 1000 cool points by getting this album.

10.5/11

and here is the rest of my recent listening, in one sentence or less.

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

soulful, groovy and unique in comparison to mainstream hip-hop.

Iggy Pop - The Idiot

bowie was obviously holding iggy's hand throughout but this only improves the record.

Art Brut - Art Brut Vs. Satan

more embarrassing, touching and hilarious escapades from eddie argos' life set to roughshod guitars and yelping

Errors - Come Down With Me

great on record, but admitedly better live, this crosses the genres of post rock and electro and quite nicely it does it too.

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

finely treads the lines between country rock, proto-grunge and fret-wanking excess and singer-songwriter introversion.

i have also, on and off listened to the following tracks:

eels - the look you gave that guy
roots manuva - witness (1 hope)
frank black and the catholics - true blue (not a madonna cover sadly)
joy division - isolation
jarvis cocker - running the world (cunts are still running the world to be precise)
the faces - ooh la la
coldplay - life in technicolor ii (hate to admit it but i like this)
lady gaga - bad romance and poker face (see above)
hot chip - shake a fist
buzzcocks - moving away from the pulsebeat
sonic youth - kool thing
the twilight sad - that summer at home i had become the invisible boy

the new (well, not that new) frightened rabbit and hot chip albums are in my purchasing crosshairs and shall be reviewed next time...

that's all folks and happy listening!

My sympathy and apologies...

2010-04-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

...to the people of Poland for the tragic plane crash that occurred early on Saturday morning.

I would especially like to apologise for the frankly pathetic lack of coverage of this event within Britain's print media, given not only its significance but the large Polish population living in the United Kingdom.

Apparently Kerry Katona is more newsworthy.

Fuck.

That.

blu-mental!

2010-04-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

Heston's Roman Feast (46 mins)First Broadcast: 9PM Tuesday 24 Mar 2009 Channel 4

Includes detailed scenes of pig butchery which are not for the faint hearted.

Heston's Tudor Feast (49 mins)First Broadcast: 9PM Tuesday 17 Mar 2009 Channel 4

Includes a frog being killed and skinned and pig butchery, both of which some viewers may find distressing.

Heston's Medieval Feast (48 mins)First Broadcast: 9PM Tuesday 10 Mar 2009 Channel 4

Includes a head-to-tail slaughter of a blood-sucking eel.

Heston's Chocolate Factory Feast (49 mins) 9PM Tuesday 06 Apr 2010 Channel 4

Some strong language.

has Heston been asked to tone down his shtick? say it ain't so!

dun de dun, dun de dun, dun de dun, dun dun de dun!!!!

2010-04-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

so, finally, after a year of being teased by some, in my opinion, decidedly underwhelming specials and a fairly naff christmas swansong for tennant (despite the involvement of the always wonderful john simm and bernard cribbins) dr. who is back baby!!!

i must admit, i do miss the heady days of "season 3" doctor who when i would watch with my flatmate and we would both cheer as the opening titles began, as opposed to now, when i cheer on my own and just get an incredulous look from my better half (my theory is, as she is polish and therefore dr. who isn't ingrained in her nation's pop culture as it is here, the whole thing is pretty flummoxing to her. that said, she has clasped other british institutions to her chest, mainly tea, the smiths, "the office", stephen fry and indian takeaways, so i'll put it down to tennant's gurning and the OTT, incoherent, almost stream of conscientious plot of the christmas specials.) anyway, new who kicked off where we, um, left off with the tardis crashing down towards london and the doctor almost getting castrated by big ben...

i really like the new credits, which are apparently intentionally retro, which is nice...the new version of the theme is far more subtle than the oom-pa-pah of the massively OTT, orchestrated theme of season 4 and just sounds like a sci-fi theme again...only quibble about this is that the aforementioned dun de dun's, my favourite part of the who theme, are fairly quiet and almost unnoticeable in the myriad of sounds in the mix. this has made me realise quite how petty and insignifigant my life has become. the fact that i am moaning about part of a tv show's theme song depresses me immensely but then i remember: "hey! it's dr. who!" and everything is ok again! thank goodness for my inner child!

NOT THAT ANYONE ACTUALLY READS THIS OR ANYTHING, BUT IF YOU ARE, AND YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE ELEVENTH HOUR YET, BE WARNED, HERE BE SPOILERS

the first portion of the episode, with the doctor and a 7-year old amy pond, was a pretty good introduction to smith's doc, with a typically who like comedic farce involving different food stuffs and the doctor settling on a meal of fish fingers with custard. i can hear the pitter patter of numerous complaints to "points of view" from miffed parents whose children now refuse to eat their greens (or bacon, beans, apples, yoghurt or bread and butter for that matter) and insist on a nutritious diet of birdseye and ambrosia.

for a while i hoped that maybe the doctor would have a precocious 7 year old as his companion, which could actually have been a lot of fun, but i'm sure post-madeleine mccann this would absolutely never happen as the party pooping spoilsports at the daily mail would be up in arms and down the beeb's throat in an instant...

anyway, straight back to business for the doctor, with an extra-terrestrial crack in the scottish tyke's bedroom (or something)...i enjoyed the running gag in the episode about the doctor's timekeeping and i do think i like smith in the role. my only sore point regarding him is the fact so far he still seems a bit too much like tennant, although at this stage that may be intentional.

the episode as a whole was decent, if not noteworthy, who and it seemed to set up a nice new bunch of characters for the doctor and amy to interact with when they're are back in/on present day earth...namely the lovely annette crosbie, rory, amy's boyfriend/fiancee who i hope will be more than just a "white mickey" and a bloke with a laptop called jeff who could potentially be brilliant comic relief.

amy seems like she will be a decent companion and it's nice to have a scot as a regular cast member...although her occupation as a "kiss-o-gram" is a tad suspect as i can't see that being a financially viable career choice! could the doctor's companion actually be a stripper? or worse? i can imagine that there will be some very dubious fan fiction appearing online very shortly, exploring new uses for a sonic screwdriver that have yet to be covered in what is essentially a kid's show!

all in all, it was rather good and i have high hopes for the rest of the series...frankly i can't wait to see the return of the weeping angels, a dalek in world war 2 and, possibly best of all, a guest appearance from, oh yes, bill nighy!

i love saturdays again!

movie reviews by haiku #1

2010-03-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

this week i have mostly been watching...

the wrestler - 6.5

mickey rourke, has been

daughter not like very much

ending bit rubbish

this isn't quite as

depressing as requiem for

a dream...oscars please?

terminator salvation - 6

christian bale, dour

sam worthington, tough as fuck

mcg not shit shock

hey look it's arnie!

your pretty fucked now bale,

dun dun, dun, dun dun!

the graduate - 8

anne bancroft is hot

dustin, very fresh faced

as good as the book

K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider

is Dustin Hoffman's father!

spinoff potential?

donkey punch - 6.5

original plot!

sex plus drugs equals bloodshed

death by flare looks sore

jaime winstone hot

looks a bit like her dad though

which is off putting

back with a vengeance

2010-03-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

right, in the spirit of my recent (and mostly succesful) aspirations to "get stuff done" rather than procrastinate or play "just one more" game of canyon defense (because that is NOT procrastination) I have decided to actually write to my blog for once in a while and maybe, just maybe regularly...

the things that's really grinding my gears right now is the bbc's current plan to axe both 6 music and the asian network, unsuprisingly the loss of 6music being my primary concern. frankly the decision has shocked me. part of the beeb's remit is to provide an alternative to commercial stations which is exactly what 6 music does.

the proposed cuts are to put an emphasis on "quality over quantity" which makes the decision to lose 6music baffling as the word quality is one generally associated with it (george lamb being an obvious exception, naturally.

it is also cutting it's funding towards buying imported shows to push original content. whilst the bbc has many great original shows (mock the week, buzzcocks, QI, HIGNFY, gavin and stacey, dr who, being human, live at the apollo, anything involving charlie brooker and such) we can expect to lose mad men and heroes from the schedules (boo!)

i have made a complaint to auntie (ooh! how grown up) and you should too or 6 music will be gone this time next year...

and that will be shit

the orange jobs website is a piece of shit

2009-10-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

after trapsing going through a bunch of form filling, cv uploading and answering stupid questions like "How would you ensure you meet your individual and team targets?" * it took me back to the beginning of an endless cycle of form filliing...

also, how come it's advertised as a 30+ hour on the job centre website but only 25 hours on the orange one?

___________________________________________________

*how can i fucking answer that question a) when i don't know what these mysterious targets are and b) without resorting to jobspeakbabble nonsese with 'commitment', 'drive' and other such words dotted around random sentences made only to fit these words in

i'm terrible...

2009-07-01T10:35:00.002-07:00

...at updating my playlists...

so apologies for that, anyone who cares (so, well, me then) will see them all soon but i just want to leave a quick blog about things in general...

my two cents on MJ's death: bloody shit...for many reasons, 1) he has left an amazing musical legacy behind him and it's a damn shame people won't be able to see his stint at the 02 arena

2)i, and my girlfriend feel really guilty for enjoying, and indeed, pissing ourselves with laughter, at the south park michael jackson (sorry, mr jefferson) earlier that week

blah blah....anyway...

i'm working for the beeb again this weekend which is nice, and come tuesday i should finally get the cap on my tooth which means i can smile again without looking like a wannabe shane mcgowan...

the end of me-fm this year has made me a bit sad but! it might not be the end! i can say no more, but i'll keep y'all posted...

musically, i am currently loving the royal we, polish band myslovitz, the gun club, barry adamson (and film scorers generally IE: ennio morricone, lalo schifrin and angelo badalmenti, jack white's new band the dead weather and, oddly, tom jones

in other "stuff kyle has loved recently" news, i REALLY enjoyed "whatever happened to the man from tomorrow" by alan moore, i normally can't stand superman but that was a cracking story...

a shiteload of playlists...

2009-06-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

ok, i've been disgracefully lazy updating the playlists so this will include all the buggers from friday 5 june to monday 15...yes i know, bad me...

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I HAVEN'T FINISHED ADDING ALL THE PLAYLISTS YET...BEAR WITH ME

today...good show with colin 'roach' farquar, our epic fail of a film critic and a brief appearance by the lovely marta cygan...

-pixies - gigantic
-the music - take the long road and walk it
-malcolm middleton - blue plastic bags (source of the title of this very blog!)
-the clash - comeplete control
-p.j. harvey - dress
-snow patrol - ask me how i am
-new order - ceremony
-jimi hendrix - spanish castle magic
-tv on the radio - dancing choose(some dodgy tech difficulties here, sorry TOTR fans)
-the archies - sugar sugar
-the horrors - sea within a sea
-!!! - hello? is this thing on?
-orbital - chime
GUILTY PLEASURE TRACK:-lionel richie - hello
-belle and sebastian - lazy line painter jane
-django django - fire water
-future of the left - fuck the countryside alliance
90s TIME TRAVEL TRACK:-shed seven - chasing rainbows (shudder)
-david bowie - changes
-mystery jets ft. laura marling - young love
-beastie boys - intergalactic

that's all for now, the other playlists are scribbled down on various bits of paper at home...

oh, and i'll get some more of the mighty william of shatner on soon, i promise and alison? i will NEVER, EVER play fucking blue, so there...

kx

finally a half decent show! ;-)

2009-06-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

ok, started just me, but was gradually joined by aly, loo and marta...

banter included who we'd go gay for, incest, innuendo (in YOUR end o!) and such...anyways...tracklisting

-franz ferdinand - the fallen
-willy mason - oxygen
-mungo jerry - in the summertime
-otis redding - i can't turn you loose
-isaac hayes - (theme from) shaft
-curtis mayfield - move on up
-yeah yeah yeahs - heads will roll
-bjork - possibly maybe
-david bowie - life on mars?
-cherry ghost - here come the romans
-grandaddy - 180 A.M.
-the cribs - you were always the one
-datarock - fa fa fa
-jose gonzalez - heartbeats
-radiohead - nude
-del shannon - runaway
-death from above 1979 - romantic rights
-bruce springsteen - born in the U.S.A.
-cut copy - time stands still
-jj72 - october swimmer
-M.I.A. - paper planes
-barry louis polisar - all i want is you
-GUILTY PLEASURE TRACK - rick astley - never gonna give you up
-brakes - all night disco party
-lily allen - the fear
-marmaduke duke - rubber lover
-the ukelele orchestra of great britain - johnny b. goode
-simon & garfunkel - cecilia
-90s TIME TRAVEL TRACK - dodgy - if you'r thinking of me
-daft punk - da funk
-flaming lips - bad days

now, day off tomorrow, but a brief show on friday 12pm-1.30pm

mind and listen on 87.7fm or on www.mefm.co.uk and the e-mail address for requests, complaints, compliments or just straight abuse is mixtape2009@hotmail.co.uk

the playlist for the mixtape june 2 2009

2009-06-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

not much to report from today's show as i had no co-presenter to bounce off...

anyways, here's the playlist...

-blur - stereotypes
-wilco - impossible germany
-pavement - shady lane
-the clash - rock the casbah
-dexy's midnight runners - come on eileen
-the strokes - heart in a cage
-carl perkins - blue suede shoes
-radiohead - my iron lung
-bat for lashes - daniel
-beach boys - wouldn't it be nice
-marvin gaye - i heard it through the grapevine
-blood red shoes - you bring me down
-gomez - whippin' piccadilly
-R.E.M. - the sidewinder sleeps tonight
-neon neon - i told her on alderaan
-the rolling stones - gimme shelter
-lupe fiasco - kick push
-lcd soundsystem - all my friends
-smokey robinson & the miracles - tears of a clown
-warren zevon - werewolves of london
-90s TIME TRAVEL TRACK - space - neighbourhood
-violent femmes - blister in the sun
-manic street preachers - suicide is painless (theme from mash)
-the special aka - gangsters
-GUILTY PLEASURE TRACK: - starship - nothing's gonna stop us now
-stone roses - she bangs the drums
-stevie wonder - superstition
-elvis costello - pump it up
-the who - pinball wizard

that's all folks except to remind you tune tune in from 5pm tomorrow on 87.7 FM Aberdeen or online at www.mefm.co.uk

and the e-mail address for the show is mixtape2009@hotmail.co.uk

first night difficulties; the playlist for the mixtape june 1 2009

2009-06-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

oh my! despite insisting it was just like riding a bike (probably a poor metaphor to use as i can't actually ride a bike!) there were a few balls ups on the mixtape's triumphant return to 2009...

1)barely 20 minutes in, despite promising to himself, his mother and i that he'd be good, aly dropped a madeline mcann shaped bomb on proceedings...to be fair, it was quite funny...

2)there was 2 accounts of swearing, not from us, but one by a song i had not vetted properly (dj format's we know something you don't know) and one from a song i'd completely forgotten there was swearing on (popup's chinese burn)

woops

3)there was a couple of technical hitches, thankfully none major, which resulted in a few brief stints of dead air, but these creases shall all be ironed out...anyway...

-camera obscura - french navy
-the beatles - yellow submarine
-she & him - why do you let me stay here?
-super furry animals - ice hockey hair
-tunng - bullets
-bob dylan - the times they are a-changin'
-dj format ft. chali 2na &a akil - we know something you don't know
-william shatner - mr. tambourine man
-vampire weekend - a-punk
-GUILTY PLEASURE TRACK - simple minds - (don't you) forget about me
-the fresh prince and jazzy jeff - boom shake the room
-martha reeeves and the vandellas - dancing in the street
-happysad - milowy las
-art brut - emily kane
-hot chip - ready for the floor
-90s TIME TRAVEL TRACK: - kula shaker - hush
-kasabian - club foot
-sons and daughters - rama lama
-popup - chinese burn
-echo & the bunnymen - killing moon
-bill haley and the comets - rock around the clock
-sam and dave - hold on i'm comin'
-the velvet underground - venus in furs
-wilco & billy bragg - california stars

next show is today 11am-1pm where i'll be flying solo so there will be much less chat and more music...hopefully i can focus more on avoiding dead air and sweary songs, at the very least,i wont be making any maddie jokes! :P

remember, 87.7 fm in aberdeen or online at www.mefm.co.uk

the show's e-mail address is mixtape2009@hotmail.co.uk

and here's some pics and a video...

2009-05-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

i've just joined a bunch of anti-george lamb groups...

i should explain my hatred...

if this fuckwit was on radio 1, and i had no access to a digital radio, i reckon i'd probably like his show, better than moyles anyway...

however, a mockney twat that has apparently fuck all knowledge about music (he didn't know the super furry animals were welsh and when he interviewed sons and daughters his info was a year out of date, in other words, a quick google search, 15 minutes before the interview wasn't even done) does not belong on a MUSIC station

shaun keveany yes
nemone yes
steve lamaq yes
don letts yes
craig charles yes
bruce dickinson yes
tom robinson yes
gideon coe yes
bob dylan (obviously!) yes
guy garvey yes
cerys matthews yes
huey morgan yes
stephen merchant yes
adam and joe yes
hell, even jon richardson and queens of noize yes

but george lamb? FUCK OFF NO! you sfx playing, irritating, inane, cunt of a human being, fuck off and die!

2009-05-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

meh, i'm still feeling tired as a) i was mucking about on t'net til 3am (my fault) and b) couldn't get much mattress space/duvet last night (marta's fault) can you intravenously inject caffeine? could be an idea...anyway

bbq plans are beginning to take shape, however a few necessary guests may not be able to make this sunday...maybe next? dunno, this weekend is only going to be a tester bbq anyway, rather than a full blown one...

me-fm is launching on monday and i'm looking forward to it more than gene hunt looks for his next nonce to bash, followed by a hot dinner...

that said, i have to have a "SCARY OPERATION" TM on wednesday (never you mind you nosy fuck!) which i am most definitely not looking forward too...

anyway, anyone who would like to be a guest presenter on the mixtape just give me a shout via e-mail, blogger, myspace, bebo, facebook, twitter etc etc and that...you will be more than welcome...

cooking is fun!

2009-05-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

with the lashings of free time that comes hand in hand with being unemployed, one must find something to fill it with...in my case this has involved various experiments in the kitchen that, somehow, have all produced tasty results!

roast mushroom and garlic, caramelised onion and olive pate
poached salmon pate with smoked salmon chunks
chicken and mushroom stroganoff
banana and peanut butter cake (a happy accident if ever there was)
pierogi ruskie (a traditional Polish dish which i helped my gf make)
carrot cake with orange and coconut icing

i also made a really fine pasta dish the other night but it was just your basic white sauce job...

this week i have mostly: been loathing job hunting, gone to duthie park and the beach with the missus and maybe, just maybe, eventually getting round to finishing american psycho...

oh, i also joined twitter, i ąm not sure if this is a good or bad thing

good weekend

2009-05-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

had a fantastic weekend just past, it went thus...

i cooked a scottish dinner for my girlfriend (stovies, with chicken meatballs (which aren't scottish) and cranachan for dessert (which she loved).

i stayed at hers and we spent saturday attempting to find frozen spinach so she could make me polish spinach and cheese pancakes for lunch/dinner.

we then proceeded to have a fun journey in danny's jeep to mine (so i could change and pick up some nibbles which ended in aly mooning his ("not cute and not pert") arse at my dad). then we had a rollercoaster of a ride to al's in cults where i, marta, aly, al, lynsey, danny and jo enjoyed a wine and cheese evening culminating in watching cheesy videos on vh1 till 5 in the morning.

once we were up we had a fantastic breakfast of eggy bread, bacon, croissants, toast, jam, peanut butter and eggs in baskets for the veggies. then came some classic star trek viewing (god bless the shat) and then a trip to the beach which marta sadly missed as she had to go study :(.

we had ice cream, walked along the boulevard, the beach and fittie and found a gorgeous house up for rent/sale in fittie, right on the seafront. following this we unleashed our inner child and played in the park, climbed on rocks, paddled in the sea and as jo put it "tried to find some bi-valves"

the weekend ended with a prank going horribly wrong, aly and i sharing a pint of coke in tk's and an episode of "come dine with me" featuring two of the biggest tosspots i have ever witnessed...i then slept like a baby...good times!

radio clownage

2008-07-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

well, the end of our almighty reign on me-fm came to an end...

let me start by defending ourselves against the complaints we had!

to the person that complained about me saying "liam had gone to take a dump"...i apologise profusely to you directly...but i will also say don't be silly, that is an expression which appears in PG films...

with regards to the complaint (from northsound no less!!!) about us discussing burning the scottish flag...DIDN'T HAPPEN, myself, jim and liam are all proud scots and flag burning of any sort, let alone the scottish flag was NOT discussed on air...so pfft

with regards to the complaint about homophobia... i realise some of what was said could have been regarded as homophobic...but i made a point of stressing that me-fm celebrates diversity, whether it was ethnic, religous or sexual, immediately after the comments that could have been regarded as inflammatory...so, apologies to anyone who was offended...whilst what was said certainly wasn't in good taste it was meant in good fun!

and with regards to aly's comments about madonna...we were talking about a celebrity we found irritating...the expression "a face you wouldn't tire of punching" is a commonly used phrase, we were in NO WAY justifying abuse towards women...people read far too much into things...

i can understand why those complaints were made...it's just a shame folk have a hard time differentiating between taking the piss and being serious...

i'll quite happily discuss these issues with anyone that is still offended, but myself, jim and liam are all nice boys really, and we're all sorry if you were offended!

one love peeps!

PS: to our online listeners (bordering on 300, no less!) why didn't you e-mail/phone in?! our complaints almost matched our comp entrants! there wasn't even a competition! it was just free stuff! you fools!

double playlist action!

2008-06-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

right...myself, liam and jim are now in charge of the breakfast show!

cheers to the BM for my yummy smoked salmon and scrambled eggs! jim's pancakes and bacon! and liam's (dull) bacon and egg roll!

dinnae know the tracklist for the breakfast show, but it's just pop music, the odd alternative hit and meself, jim and the sex pest talking balls!

so today's mixtape went thus:

(shuffle suprise )-beth orton - daybreaker (roots manuva remix)
-idlewild - captain
-klaxons - magick
-bricolage - footsteps
-the coral - pass it on
-red mongoose - take my shot
-idlewild - in remote part/scottish fiction
-art brut - modern art
-the flaming lips - it overtakes me
-sons and daughters - goodbye service (i've play this like 3 times now, but i love cranking it up full blast in the studio)
-the blues brothers - everybody needs somebody to love
-the beta band - dry the rain
-the pictish trail - winter home disco
-elbow - grounds for divorce

right, here was the mixtape vs the showcase playlist (showcase jim magraw pulling some dirty tricks out of the bag as well! )

the W/L mean win/lose btw!

Jim: - Kids In Glass Houses - Raise Hell /W
Kyle: - Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights /L

Jim: - Head Automatica - Bleeding Hearts Baby (that silly git didnae even get the song title right...he should lose!) /L
Kyle: - David Bowie - Magic Dance (I had to pull this out of the sack, i was getting beaten by poor quality tunes!) /W

Jim:- Blur - Parklife /L
Kyle:- (going for the britpop slam dunk!) PULP - COMMON PEOPLE (i fucking trounced you with this one jim!) /W

Jim:: - Dropkick Murphys - Salty McHaggis-(Family Guy Clip) /W
Kyle:- The Pogues - Sally Macclenanne /L

Jim: - Something Corporate - Punk Rock Princess /W
Kyle: - The Long Blondes - Seperated by Motorways (again jim cheated by making me have to pick my song on the fly! he's the ric flair of dj comps!) /L

Jim:-Refused - New Noise (you suck jim) /L
Kyle:- Justice V Simian - We Are Your Friends (stick it right up ye! ) /W

J:- foals - cassius (shocked me with this but my comeback deserved some gooch licking!) /L
K: - MGMT - Time To Pretend /W

J:- The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love /L
K:- Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (in your face slim jim!) /W

J:- lost "boyband" prophets - shinobivsdragonninja W
K:- idlewild - when i argue i see shapes /L

J:-bloodhound gang - the bad touch /W
K:-south park - blame canada /L

shame on jim for his low blows and bringing novelty songs into this....

shame on his little frame...i still cannae believe liam chose shinobivsdragonninja over when i argue i see shapes...to all my friends...send e-mails to mefm.studio@hotmail.com to complain about this travesty!

playlist for the mixtape on friday 20th june 2008

2008-06-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

yay! scott came in for the duration of the show and aly came in for a bit! it was fun!

featured album of the year so far:- albert hammond jr. - como te llama
featured classic album:- wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot

-violent femmes - blister in the sun
-emma pollock - acid test
-wilco - war on war
-the kinks - lola
-grandmaster flash and the furious five - white lines (don't do it)
-beastie boys - sabotage
-flight of the conchords - foux da fa fa
-sons and daughters - goodbye service
-albert hammond jr. - in my room
-leonard nimoy - the ballad of bilbo baggins (technically today's cheesetastic track, but come on, it's genius!)
-the music - strength in numbers
-albert hammond jr. - victory in monterey
-wilco - jesus ect.
-love - everybody's got to live

what fun!

playlist for the mixtape on tuesday 17th june 2008

2008-06-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

today was a very special show so i'd like to thank chris and martin from aberdeen performing arts once again for coming in to talk about the lemon tree re-opening...cheers guys!

show was a good un' despite some technical hitches but i reckon i handled them pretty well, better than terry wogan anyway (and he has loads of lackeys, i was on my tod!)

so here goes!

featured album of the year so far:- hot chip - made in dark
featured classic album:- ac/dc - highway to hell

-red mongoose - take my shot
-the jam - a town called malice
-kansas - carry on my wayward son (today's cheesetastic track)
-new order - ceremony
-sebastien tellier - la ritournelle
-radiohead - nude
-king creosote - bootprints
-sons and daughters - rama lama
-blondie - heart of glass
-electric light orchestra - mr. blue sky
-idlewild - satan polaroid
-hot chip - ready for the floor
-the clash - complete control (all because scott T loves...)
-ac/dc - if you want blood (you've got it)
-joy division - no love lost (how did i manage to refrain from playing JD for so long?!)
-belle and sebastian - funny little frog (supposed to be track 1, got there in the end!)
-the black keys - strange times
-beastie boys - shake your rump
-the go! team - doing it right
-adem - statued
-hot chip - shake a fist
-ac/dc - highway to hell

yet another thanks to chris, martin and of course joyce for the fabulous trio of pairs of tickets we gave away today!

if you missed little jimmy b's show on sunday you missed himself and i talking about homo-eroticism in lord of the rings, paedophilia, incest, santa, sweeties and bob the builder...

if you missed it on monday, then you lost out totally, it featured me being force fed tuna, liam dancing like a tit on belmont street (and almost KOing a sweet, little, old lady in the process!), discussion of vibrators and the inclusion of, and i quote "i wonder how often big ben gets his bell end washed"

oh what fun!

tune in on friday y'all!

playlist for the mixtape on friday 13th june 2008

2008-06-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

well, i flew solo on todays show and it went pretty well, despite the now trademarked technical hitches!

Featured Album of the Year so far: - Holy Fuck - LP
Featured Classic Album: - Pixies - Doolittle
Featured Label: - couldn't really fit one in, was gonna be DFA, so, sorry...

-The Flaming Lips - Turn It On
-Ash - Kung-Fu
-The Fratellis - Mistress Mabel (for me paw)
-Franz Ferdinand - Jaqueline ('cause there was a technical hitch and i had to grab the first cd i had with a track 1 with no swearing!)
-Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen
-David Bowie - Life On Mars? (i had to play it at some point)
-Pixies - Debaser
-De La Soul - The Magic Number
-Hot Chip - Over and Over
-Brendan Benson - Good To Me
-King Creosote - You've no Clue do you
-Weezer - Only In Dreams
-Jesse Malin - Solitaire
-Holy Fuck - Milkshake
-Aberfeldy - Love is an Arrow
-Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf version)
-Sons and Daughters - Goodbye Service
-Parka - Disco Dancer
-James Brown - Sex Machine (Get On Up)

i had a few moments of nervousness, but generally it was a tip top show...and 7! that's right, 7! competition entrants!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow! it's gone 1-1-3-7! it's onwards and upwards peeps!

playlist for the mixtape on tuesday 10th june 2008

2008-06-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

today's show was an absolute blast with both liam and laura turning up to co-host the show...it was great fun and we played some quality choonage!

Featured Album of the Year So Far - The Futureheads - This Is Not The World
Featured Classic Album - Daft Punk - Discovery
Featured Label - Oops, we forgot to feature one!

-The Futureheads - The Beginning Of The Twist
-The Beach Boys - Feel Flows
-Flight Of The Conchords - Inner City Pressure
-The Jesus And Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
-Justice Vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
-Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
-The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
-Los Campesinos - Death To Los Campesinos
-Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug
-The Long Blondes - Century
-Sons And Daughters - Rebel With The Ghost
-Johnny Cash - Get Rhythm
-Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
-Franz Ferdinand - Outsiders
-Creedence Clearwater Revival - Mustang Sally
-Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block
-The Cooper Temple Clause - Promises Promises
-Pendulum - Granite
-Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
-Dan Sartain - Tryin' To Say
-Strike Anywhere - Chalk Line (not my choice, but hey, it was a promo for Liam's show!)

keep your ears peeled everybody for fridays show which will feature another yummy lunch for one at The Earl Of Sandwich...

tracklisting for the mixtape with kyle reid, friday june 6th 2008

2008-06-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

Right....

Featured best album of the year so far:- MGMT - Orcaular Spectacular
Featured classic album: - The Clash - London Calling
Featured label: - Creation

MGMT - Time To Pretend
The Fall - Totally Wired
Art Brut - Emily Kane
The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
Phoenix - Run, Run, Run
Deathcab For Cutie - I Will Posess Your Heart
The Delgados - Everybody Come Down
Adem - There Are Your Friends
Radio 4 - Dance To The Underground (then major technical chaos ensued!!!!)
Five Finger Discount - Hope It Blows Up! (ha, that's right guys, i played you on the wireless!)
The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love
Sons And Daughters - Johnny Cash
The Clash - Clampdown
The Clash - Guns Of Brixton
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To?
Primal Scream - Swastika Eyes (Jagz Kooner Mix)
Super Furry Animals - God! Show Me Magic
My Latest Novel - Sister Sneaker Sister Soul
MGMT - Kids
Kenny Loggins - Footloose
The Clash - Train In Vain (Stand By Me)

remember to tune in on sunday 8 june 7pm - 9pm where i'll be filling in for lil' jimmy b on the showcase!

oh and for your further information, future prizes on the show will include vouchers for johnny come lately, more earl of sandwich lunches, possibly vouchers for it's kitsch and tickets for the belmont and CONFIRMED tickets to see Kenny "King Creosote" Anderson at the newly re-opened Lemon Tree...

one luv mon bravs

scary stuff

2008-05-30T13:17:00.001-07:00

right, purely for the sake of something to write about, i'm going to give you all my top 5 scary things, admittedly in no particular order...

No 5: the wheelers out of "return to oz"

not everyone seems to remember this film but this freaked me out as a child and still does now!

No 4: the gentleman out of "buffy"

just plain fucking creepy...

yikes...i was all growed up (well 17-18 or so when this was on and did NOT get expected to be scared by an episode of fucking buffy but goddamn those guys are creepy!

No: 3: New Doctor Who Series 3: Episode "Blink"

it's like the bit out of stephen king's original book of the shining with the hedges...bloody creepy

this video doesn't give it credit but sweet jesus it's creepy!

No: 2: Clowns, generally...

aye, clowns, FUCK OFF!

<

they are just pure creepy, and if they aren't creepy, they're just annoying cunts who squirt you with water...

and NO 1:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i haven't seen the american version as i refuse to but, the ending of of the first ring film...i'm sure anyone who has seen this will agree...

sweet jesus, that's fucking horrible!

in a really good way though , haha

reviewage!

2008-05-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

well, thursday the 22nd of may 2008 brought with it the 9th time i have seen sons and daughters live...

i don't want to sound like too much of a gushing fanboy but for fucks sake, they really are the most incredible live band i have ever seen...

the crowd wasn't that great, compared with the craziness of the last s&d gig in aberdeen but that was probably 'cause of a) the caribou gig at the tunnels and b) the fact all the students have exams right now...

i swear everytime i see "rama lama" live it becomes the greatest song of all time..."sigh"

i fucking love s&d, it's as simple as that...also, the news that ailidh lennon is pregnant is oddly interesting...admitedly on one hand it's all "aaawww shite, now i definitely don't have a chance!;)" and on the other "damn. that's going to be one pretty baby" and if it's not the fucking renaissance then i'm going to be upset! a child with sons and daughters and idlewild blood in it??? my two favourite bands ever creating a new human being? that kid better be the next bob dylan or else!

songs i'm loving right now...

2008-04-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

-holy fuck! - lovely allen

an incredibly pretty piece of music, sounds like it should be at the end of a really good, quirky, uplifting, indy film..

-holy fuck! - milk shake

totally different from the above piece of music, sounds like it would slay the dancefloor at snafu

-hot chip - one pure thought

hot chip, with added guitars, they are truly our generation's equivalent of new order

-john cooper clarke - evidenly chickentown

technically poetry, but still funny and poignant

-malcolm middleton - blue plastic bags

easily my favourite lyricist ever, the way he mixes quite depressing, everyman type lyrics with such a wicked sense of humour is astounding and the music is contradictally quite uplifting! if i was in anyway musically talented, i would strive to be malcolm middleton!

-team water polo - problematic girls

catchy indie pop, nothing special, but good none the less

-portishead - machine gun

i wasn't too phased by their return, in fact, i actually shrugged but this is an ace piece of spooky electro none the less

-the damned - new rose

ah, a nice refreshing blast of simple, old skool punk

-penguin cafe orchestra - music for a found harmonium

good background music, i think this was used in an advert...(boo!)

-lightspeed champion - midnight suprise (the full 9 minute version, nointch!)

just ace...relatable lyrics, good catchy tune and non-conventional (it is 9 minutes plus after all)

-sons and daughters - rama lama (live at the paradiso, amsterdam/hamster jam)

you can download this entire set from the boards on their website (www.sonsanddaughtersloveyou.com) or watch it on http://www.fabchannel.com/ (or net, i cannae remember)...but this is fantastic, S&D at their utmost prime...the entire set is amaziling! but this is my highlight...

first post, woohoo

2008-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

i don't have anything decent to post for my first blog so i'll just add my thoughts for the day...

-final week of course = stess

-third episode of series 4 of doctor who was ace!

-next weekend + days off work + gettng my overtime pay + celebrating/commemorating the end of college x (xbox360 + dead rising + GTA IV) x (mario kart wii x smash bros. brawl) = fuckin' A!

-gorgeous actresses who can actually act are the best thing ever (see maggie gyllenhaal, eva green, michelle monaghan, natalie portman, rosario dawson and so on...)

-the golden compass is one of the iffiest film adaptations i've ever seen...parts of it were ace (the visuals, 66% of the casting, the way the daemons were portrayed), others were awful (the chopping and changing of the story, lack of both gore and character development)

-iron man is out next week (giggles like a child)

in the future expect record reviews, reflections on music and pop culture, hopefully some decent band interviews (with audio!) and maybe even some short stories or poetry...hehe