Rick Redbeard / Adam Stafford Split 7"

The men behind Gerry Loves Records have a knack for getting money out of me. Despite having a barely function record or cassette player, they've managed to get me to buy everything they've released so far, all on those formats. With their latest split single they've got my hand in my pocket looking for a fiver again.

Rick Redbeard, who you may know better from The Phantom Band, takes on his side of the vinyl with Now We're Dancing. It's quite gentle, fragile and really rather pretty. Rick's deep, warm voice is a bit like the aural equivalent of a very welcome hug.

Adam Stafford takes the other side of the single, with Vanishing Tanks. Filled with his now trademark loops of guitar and vocals, with beatboxing thrown in. Add in a storming vocal on top, and a killer hook, and you've got one of the best pop songs I've heard all year. It's hardly a secret round these parts that I'm in love with Adam's stuff, this is just another reminder why, and I'll keep mentioning it until everyone listens to me.

To celebrate the launch of the single there's a few gigs on this week:
Thursday 21st June - Henry's, Edinburgh - Adam Stafford / Rick Redbeard, support from Wounded Knee Tickets
Friday 22nd June - Captain's Rest, Glasgow - Rick Redbeard / Adam Stafford, support from Yusuf Azak. Tickets
Saturday 23rd June - Cellar 35, Aberdeen - Rick Redbeard / Adam Stafford, support from Debutant. Tickets

The single is available to buy here now. The 7" comes with a free download, which includes an extra song from each artist.



More Information: Rick Redbeard - Adam Stafford - Gerry Loves Records

#EuroBAMS - Round One

Two years ago we ran a wee fantasy league for the World Cup. It was quite fun, so we're having one again for the European Championships.

With the end of the group stages yesterday and the next round starting tomorrow, now is as good a time as any to check in on how the league looks.

Click to make bigger, or move closer to your screen.

Some people have signed up, picked a team, and left it alone. Others, like myself, have been unable to resist tinkering, making full use of substitutions and transfers. With half the countries taking part now knocked out, this is the point where team changes are vital, or else you'll end up scoring no more points because all your Danish guys aren't playing again.

Competition has been feisty thus far, with the top reaches of the table changing drastically from game to game. Well, with one exception. Unless it happened on a rare occasion that I didn't check the standings that day, Birdhead's Stephen Donkin has led from day one.

With most teams just a good, or bad, performance from a key player away from each other, there's still all to play for. I'll check back in after the quarter finals have been completed, and we'll see how things stand then.

33.33 - Done

There we go, I'm 33 now.
That means I can end the posting spree, and have a wee break. Next task will be to catch up on all the stuff I ignored over the past month...

Anyway, to bring this fun and exhausting experiment to a close, three songs with a vague relation to today.

Eels - Sixteen Tons
Dark Star - I Am The Sun
Smashing Pumpkins - Thirty-Three

33.32 - Everything But...

This sink measures 33 by 27 by 7 inches.

The kitchen sink.

I could do this for another month and still barely scratch the surface of stuff I want to post. I won't though. Instead I'm going to throw a big ole pile of songs at you. All of this is stuff I love, and most of it is stuff I'd never get a chance to blog about normally.

Just press play.

AC Acoustics - I Messiah, Am Jailer
Arab Strap - I Saw You
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - Let's Get Tattoos
The Delgados - Pull the Wires From the Wall
David Holmes - Don't Die Just Yet
DJ Shadow - High Noon
Eels - Dog Faced Boy
Elliott Smith - Bottle Up and Explode!
Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You
Guided By Voices - Game of Pricks
Jason & The Scorchers - Lost Highway
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around
Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard
KRS One - Rappaz R. N. Dainja
Lambchop - The Man Who Loved Beer
Leonard Cohen - Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On
Longpigs - She Said
Martha Wainwright - Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
Money Mark - Hand In Your Head
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Into My Arms
Pavement - Stereo
Pulp - This Is Hardcore
Rocket From The Crypt - Used
Sebadoh - Flame
Sixto Rodriguez - Sugar Man
Glenn Danzig and the Power and Fury Orchestra - You and Me (Less Than Zero)
The Auteurs - Unsolved Child Murder
The Pogues - Rainy Night In Soho
The Wedding Present - Brassneck
Therapy? - Church of Noise
Tindersticks - El Diablo En El Ojo
Warren Zevon - Carmelita
Y'All Is Fantasy Island - With Handclaps

Believe it or not, this is an edited down version of the post...