Hot Lunch: March 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Latitude Ireland "will not happen this year"

Latitude - not coming to a country near you soon

The proposed Irish staging of UK festival 'Latitude' at Belvedere House Gardens and Park in Mullingar, Co. Westmeth over the weekend of July 18 -20 has been postponed.

Although the venue, which has played host to the Hi:Fi and Midlands Music Festival in recent years, was booked for Latitude and plans were submitted to its owners, Westmeath County Council, by Festival Republic (which Irish giants MCD have a share in) the festival was called off earlier this month.

A Council spokesperson told Hot Lunch that Latitude "will not happen this year" or possibly any other year for that matter. The local authority and the management of Belvedere are said to be devestated that the high-profile maiden voyage for the festival has been nixed. Earlier this year there was THREE music festivals booked for Belvedere, which is undoubtedly the finest festival site in Ireland. Now, it looks like there will be none. As On the Record said last week, the Irish festival market is in a state of flux, with some high profile casualties including both the Midlands Music Festival and Garden Party for POD Concerts, who are rumoured to have lost money on both. MCD, their main rivals, even struggled to shift tickets for the teenage rite-of-passage that is the Oxegen festival. It's line up was pitched at the oldies and, it has to be said, is the one of the weakest Oxegen line-up in years with plenty of old timers on stage to confuse the kids who have made this festival a no-go area for most self respecting music fans in recent years.

But POD have an ace in their sleeve, and that is the peerless Electric Picnic, the line-up of which is being announced tomorrow (Wednesday). Latitude itself was modelled on the Picnic (or Leccy Piccy as Hot Press inanely call it) and with Latitude falling by the wayside, and MCD not able to tie in acts for a twin festival (as they do with T In The Park/Oxegen) that now isn't happening it's technically been 'open season' for a number of acts on the UK Latitude bill, which no doubt means we'll be seeing Sigur Ros, Franz Ferdinand and the brilliant Elbow play the Electric Picnic this year.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Delorentos tour hell

Delorentos, who should have won the Choice Music Prize last month, are in the US of A at the moment. Well, kind of. Have a read of their tour diary here

It's quite brilliant.

Hot Lunches Electric Picnic predictions part 2

Dear God, please get your favourite band Slayer to play the Electric Picnic.

Ok, two days to go until the announcement of theElectric Picnic line-up and Hot Lunch is going to take a punt at predicting some of the bigger acts.

Before we begin, let me be the first to announce that Portishead will NOT be playing in Stradbally this year, contrary to much rumour.

(As good as) definites: My Bloody Valentine, Sex Pistols (meh), Moby, Tindersticks, Underworld, Super Furry Animals, Fat Boy Slim, The Breeders, Elbow, CSS (now living in Ballinasloe by all accounts), George Clinton and a load of random people pretending to be one of his bands, Chic featuring Nile Rogers, Gary Numan, The Human League, 808 State, The Orb, Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Faust, Neon Neon, Jamie Liddell, Foals, Lee Scratch Perry, Baaba Mal, The Wedding Present, Sebastien Tellier, Henry Rollins, Billy Bragg, Marty Mulligan, Saul Williams, Booka Shade, Transglobal Underground, Two Gallants, King Creosote, Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, Damien Bloody Rice, The Duke Spirit, Crystal Castles, Tinariwen, Red Snapper, Fuck Buttons, Micah P Hinson, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Fish Go Deep, Grand National, Lisa Hannigan, Cinephile, Kings of Convenience, David Kitt, Donal Dineen, Gemma Hayes, Gossip, Plaid, Kevin Rowland, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Two Gallants blah blah blah.

Good Chance: Fat Boy Slim, Massive Attack, Paul Weller, James, Bloc Party, Fat Freddy's Drop, Mighty Boosh (they really need to shake up the comedy tent this year and lose Des Bishop et al), Cornelius, Buzzcocks, DJ Krush, Supergrass, The Coral, Bonnie Prince Billy, Notwist, Goldfrapp, Calexico, Jimmy Cliff, Robyn, Hayseed Dixie, Low, Dirty Three...

Long shots: The Cure, Paul Simon, Flaming Lips, Sigur Ros, Mercury Rev, Cypress Hill.

Fingers Crossed: The KLF (one-off reformation?), Masters of Reality, Cinematic Orchestra, Slayer and, er, John Shuttleworth.

Garden Party a goner

Garden Party, that fabulous little festival at Ballinlough Castle, County Westmeath, is no more. Like the dead parrot that is the Midlands Music Festival, it has ceased to be.

Held amidst the walled gardens of the Nugent estate in Ballinlough, the festival arrived in style over the June Bank Holiday in 2006 with a savage little line-up that included the ubiquitous 2 Many DJ's, The Orb, Asian Dub Foundation, Super Discount Live, Andy Cato, Carl Craig, Tony Humphries, Buck 65, Fat Freddy's Drop, Sean Rowley and Guilty Pleasures, AIM, Scrath Perberts and loads more besides. A sort of mini-Electric Picnic, it featured the small-scale Body & Soul Area, loads of good food and drink and a beautiful laid-back atmosphere. The sun shone all day too which obviously led to the erection of the 'sold out' signs and led to the feelgood factor that Garden Party would return in 2007 as a two-day festival! It was everything Hi-Fi, who took place a month or so later, wasn't. It reminded me of the first Electric Picnic in 2004, like it was your own secret festival with an up-for-it crowd and a deadly buzz in the car park, the hallmark of a good festival. It also had what is without doubt the best outdoor/indoor tent I have ever seen at an Irish festival. I'll try and scan a pic of it in later.

The following year Daft Punk were lined up to headline one of the two nights of Garden Party 2007 and everything was looking rosey in the garden. Then, the French lads were poached elsewhere and the line-up below them began to crumble. It was back to the drawing board and it became a one-day event once again, but even though it had camping, a boisterous car park and the sunshine (the only day the sun shone in June as it turned out) it had a terrible line up with Von Sudenfed feat. Mark E. Smith, Hot Chip, Vitalic and Pet Shop Boys the only decent 'names'. Below them was muck like Carl Cox, and a load of Irish DJ's on a reduced number of stages. But again, the vibe was fantastic and in the walled garden in particular it was something to behold. But the absence of a large swathe of the Body & Soul crew was noticable, and there wasn't the same extras and attention to detail that one had grown accustomed to after the first Garden Party and three Electric Picnics. There was no way it was making money either.

Still, it was a cracking night all told, and again promises were made for a two-day event in 2008. However, I suppose there's only so many losses you can take, and POD have parked it for this summer, alongside the Midlnds Music Festival. It's a tragedy really, for Meath and Westmeath where the events were held, and for the greater good of the Irish festival scene. Mantua and Life in Galway (which has an awesome line up this year - http://www.life-festival.com ) will no doubt take over and, if they are organised properly, eclipse Garden Party, but the organised chaos that happens at Life is a little scary, you never know when the crust will crumble, whereas at something like Garden Party, you kind of knew you were in safe hands, and the vibe was all good. It'll be missed that's for sure, and like Midlands, we can only hope that it returns next summer.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Old man not playing in Cork shocker!

D'yawan hash or E's?

Not every rock dinosaur is playing Cork this summer. Paul "Al" Simon is only playing at the Electric Picnic! Or maybe he's playing Kilmainham? Anyway, POD have him and he won't be playing in a big top in Cork.

Also in the frame for the Electric Picnic: Coldplay! The chaps are weighing up their summer festival options and Picnic is one of them. They've stuck with MCD in the past so if Latitude doesn't happen in Belvedere this July then they'll probably end up in Malahide or Marlay Park. So maybe you didn't read it here first.

Krautrock legends Faust will keep me happy. They've confirmed they are goiung to play! The Orb, who were brutal at Garden Party 2 years ago are also confirmed and you can bet good money that Portishead will be there too. Cash hungry on their last legs "punks" Sex Pistols are another cert. Underworld are also 100% certs to be headlining either the Main Stage or one of the tents on the Saturday night. The lovely Elbow are also back, Tindersticks are also lined up, as are Supergrass. Repeating 2005's line up Flaming Lips (if they don't do Lovebox) and Fatboy Slim are set to play. Another returning act is the mighty Mogwai. The Cure's name has been mentioned too, as had Cypress Hill which would be fucking mega. Gemma Hayes, Henry Rollins, Saul Williams and Billy Bragg are also playing. There's loads more but none of them will probably turn up so I'll stop now.

Oh, most importantly, the eight colouredy squares on the website have now multiplied.

The whole thing will be launched on March 26th.

The cinema tent better show 'Midnight Run' this year that's all I'm sayin'...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Going to Malahide or Cork in June?

Neil Young. Where does one begin? I dunno. Anyway, he's here in the summer and I'll be at both shows the big sap I am. I had an awful fear about the Malahide show as it's the height of the summer, it's outdoors and you know, it's just not right is it? So i bought some Cork tickets as well. I've enjoyed gigs at both venues over the past few years (Roger Waters in Cork being the zenith Leeside, and the little reggae tent at Lovebox last year being the highlight of Dublin's great outdoors) but I'd much rather see him in a darkened tent in Cork than the daylit display that is going to be an outdoor show at the end of June.

If you need some homework in advance, as if, then check out the great man in Amsterdam last month here

One of the best reasons to sign up for a Rapidshare Account

Shoegazing special part 2

Slowdive (left) - great fringe action

Listening to (and Youtubing) Ride the other day got Hot Lunch all shoegazey and since then the flour and food splattered speakers of the Hot Lunch kitchen stereo have been put to a test of Titanic proportions with extraordinary amounts of reverb, floppy fringes and assorted old cassette compilations all vying for aural attention. If Alan McGee called over to collect a few royalties he'd be going home armed with enough dough to buy a sliced pan.

The teatowels were removed from their pins to soak up a few tears when Slowdive evoked beautiful long drives to Galway and around Connemara, and magical, mystical nights in a charming kip of a house in Wellpark. Slowdive were a band I managed to miss twice when I had a clearcut chance to see them, and boy do I regret it. They toured with Ride in '92 too, what a gig that would have been... Anyway, there's a couple of live shows recorded for posterity here There was a cracking American site up a few years ago that was full of unreleased and rare stuff but it's, eh, gone.

After the release of the compilation "Catch the Breeze" in 2004, all of Slowdive's studio albums - "Just For a Day!, "Souvlaki" and "Pygmalio" - were reissued in 2005 with a raft of extra tracks etc. They're well worth picking up somewhere or other.

After Slowdive, a few of them got together as Mojave 3 who have released five fine albums on 4AD, whilst solo-wise Nick Halstead released one of the finest singer/songwriter albums with 2001's "Sleeping on Roads", again released on 4AD. It's an awesome disc with "See You on Rooftops" the nearest thing you'll ever get to folky showgazing. If you find it anywhere, do not hesitate in picking it up. He has a couple of tracks, including "...Rooftops", up on his myspace He toured Ireland back in 2001, but he didn't get very far as a certain person in MCD at the time was looking for outragous guarantees to put him on. He's touring again this summer, so hopefully we'll see another solo album soon. It'll be hard to top the sublime "Sleeping on Roads".

Swervedriver were another good Creation band from back in the day (before McGee's egomania and Oasis came in a destroyed the label). They never attained the greatness of Ride, Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine, but they had their moments, especially on debut album "Raise" and it's follow-up "Mezcal Head". Rather nicely for the fans, Swervedriver have made the choice cuts from hundreds of bootlegs available on their website, with the album running orders faithfully reproduced albeit in live form. You can download them from here The band has reformed for a tour this year, hopefully it'll swing by Ireland though that's highly unlikely...

Some of their solo and side-project stuff since their first split has been good, particularly the Toshack Highway spin-off which featured Sophia and God Machine stalworth Robin Proper-Shepard on a couple of tracks. Their best bits can be found on 'Everyday, Rock'n'Roll Is Saving My Life Vol. 2'

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Ride - OX4 (live)

And here's Ox4 live at Brixton Academy.

Ride OX4

Possibly Ride's finest hour, though I'm not so sure of the grunge kid returns home video..

Up until they blew it with the Andy Bell-fest that is the misfiring 'Tarantula' Ride were probably the finest of the showgazing bands, and certainly one of Creation Records most astute signings. MBV were just too aloof, whilst Slowdive only occasionally made good their early promise, but Ride gripped in a way both of these never could. There was a best of both worlds vibe to them in that they embraced the wildness and fuzziness you'd expect with a bank of effect pedals and floppy fringes, but they also had real heart, as "Ox4" from the masterly "Going Blank Again" album demonstrates.

It's a song that forever invokes my last ever day at college, coming on as it did on a compilation tape as I confidently walked out of an exam hall into near certain unemployment. Ahh, happy days...

Everytime I hear RIDE these days though I always wonder what if? And I still wonder what possessed Andy Bell to join Oasis in the arse end of the 1990's. After years of wondering I managed to ask him when Quoasis played Marlay Park, and he politely rubbed his fingers together...

Ride - Leave Them All Behind (The Word)

It lacks the killer intro, but how's about this for shoegazing gold?

Friday, March 7, 2008

Careful With That Axe Eric, here's some more Zeppelin

Further to the ongoing Zeppelin live shenanigans, the excellent Quality Boots blog has some outstanding Flac files (be warned, they take up acres of hard drive space) from some of the best Zepp bootlegs going. It also has a rare Roger Waters live bootleg recorded during the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour when Eric Clapton was playing guitar with him. Waiting to get into the office to download the Zepp stuff, but Waters/Clapton is decent quality. Not great mind you but it does the job. Have a bouse here: http://qualityboots.blogspot.com/

Breeders

Good interview with Kim Deal in Today's Irish Times. This may be of some value to you if you like 'em... If you're asked for a p/word then 77775

MC5 demos, rarities

Get your kicks with these hard to find MC5 kicks... or something...

01 Baby Wont Ya (1970 unreleased version)
02 Sister Ann (Sonic on vocals)
03 I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver (27th Oct 68)
04 Ice Pick Slim (26th May 68)
05 Train Music
06 The Pledge Song
07 Baby Please Don't Go
08 Looking At You
09 Power Trip

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Page and Plant in Paris

Further to the Led Zeppelin reunion bootleg (below), here's a Page and Plant concert from Paris in 1998. Quality is ok, they were better in Dublin mind you!

Disc 1 One
Disc 2 Two

McSpaced

The horror, the horror! One of the finest ever UK sitcoms, Spaced, is getting the US remake treatment. Perhaps not surprisingly Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Jessica Stevenson - the show's creators- are not involved in it in any way at all. In fact they weren’t event told the remake was happening until the deposit was paid to the landlord. All three have come out against what they're calling "McSpaced".

Charlie's Angels director McG (who?) is in the directors chair whilst Will and Grace star Debra Messing with take on the 'Daisy' role and balding former child star son of an Irish American arms dealer and star of 'The Mike O'Malley Show' (no, me neither) Mike O'Malley will become wannabe 2000AD artist Tim. No word yet on who’ll be portraying ‘Wheels’, the moadouva courier, but my money’s on David Holmes. No doubt they'll turn Mike into a Harlem globe-trotting Iraqi war vet with a heart of gold and Tony Danza is sure to pop up somewhere, probably as Bilbo Bagshot...

Simon Pegg is not too pleased with the remake, although with one eye on his burgeoning Hollywood career he gives it a cautious welcome in his official statement (below).

'Spaced' was an absolute gem of a series, and like all the great sit-coms it was retired early by its creators - after only two series. Pegg and Wright went onto the movies and lived happily ever after, and Pegg will soon turn up as Scotty in the upcoming Star Trek movie. Even though 'Spaced' absolutely reeks of the 90's in parts, it's humour hasn't dated a bit and it stands up to repeated viewings, and alongside the overlooked and exceedingly under-rated 'Early Doors', 'Fr. Ted' and the 'Royal Family' it's probably the nearest thing we've come to 'Fawlty Towers' in the last 20 years.

SIMON’S OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING THE US SPACED

Now that the pilot has been officially announced, I thought it might be a good idea to clarify my position on the subject. The whole affair seems to have inspired some spirited debate and some heartening displays of loyalty and love. All this for a show which is almost 10 years old, is all rather wonderful and a vindication of all the blood, sweat and tears (both of joy and pain) we shed in the show’s creation. It was always our aim to create a comedy which spoke to its audience on such a personal level, it almost felt one on one. It would seem the fan reaction to the news that Fox has appropriated the format, confirms at least, that we succeeded.

As far as remaking TV shows for different territories is concerned, I don’t have a problem. The Office remake being a perfect example. Yes, the original British version is a wonderful and compact piece of comedy writing and performance, but I think it’s bit much to expect a large scale American television audience to fully relate to the minutiae of day-to-day business life in an obscure British suburb. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you are the type of person who takes pleasure in the variety of entertainment you enjoy, relishing the differences between our various cultural touchstones but there is a massive audience out there, which perhaps isn’t as culturally savvy (euphemistic phrase for ‘geeky’) as we are and need their signifiers to be a little more familiar. So, Slough is replaced by Scranton, and the office archetypes become a little more archetypal to an American audience. The spirit of the show remains intact. The performances are uniformly great and the show scores big ratings and wins EMMYs, whether we as comedy purists prefer the original or not. The success of the remake is born out by it’s undoubted success and appeal.

My main problem with the notion of a Spaced remake is the sheer lack of respect that Granada/ Wonderland/Warner Bros have displayed in respectively selling out and appropriating our ideas without even letting us know. A decision I can only presume was made as a way of avoiding having to give us any money, whilst at the same time using mine and Edgar’s name in their press release, in order to trade on the success of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, even professing, as Peter Johnson did, to being a big fan of the show and it’s creators. A device made all the more heinous by the fact that the press release neglected to mention the show’s co-creator and female voice, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson). The fact is, when we signed our contracts ten years ago, we had neither the experience or the kudos to demand any clauses securing any control over future reversioning. We signed away our rights to any input in the show’s international future, because we just wanted to get the show made and these dark days of legal piracy seemed a far away concern. As a result, we have no rights. The show does not belong to us and, those that do own it have no obligation to include us in any future plans. You would perhaps hope though, out of basic professional respect and courtesy, we might have been consulted. It is this flagrant snub and effective vote of no confidence in the very people that created the show, that has caused such affront at our end. If they don’t care about the integrity of the original, why call it Spaced? Why attempt to find some validation by including mine and Edgar’s names in the press release as if we were involved? Why not just lift the premise? Two strangers, pretend to be a couple in order to secure residence of a flat/apartment. It’s hardly Ibsen. Jess and I specifically jumped off from a very mainstream sitcom premise in order to unravel it so completely. Take it, have it, call it Perfect Strangers and hope Balkie doesn’t sue. Just don’t call it Spaced.

It’s a shame, since the pilot is now a certainty, whether we like it or not, a simple phone call and a few reassurances might have helped to at least curtail the tide of indignation from fans and creators alike. I have, as of yet, heard nothing.

Simon Pegg

Science explains Amy Winehouse's face

Oxegen bound, collapsing doll dancing Amy Winehouse (left) has been diagnosed with the comtagious condition impetigo. Here's a scientific definition of the disease:

"Impetigo starts as a red sore that quickly ruptures, oozes for a few days and then forms a yellowish-brown crust that looks like honey or brown sugar. The disease is highly contagious, and scratching or touching the sores is likely to spread the infection to other parts of the body as well as to other people."

Wow. What a classy, healthy lady to be around. Wonder if Paddy Power are giving odds on her not showing up at that other scabby skin fest in July?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Erm...

Here's the trailer for a new movie called Pathology.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Led Zeppelin at the O2

According to the NME, Led Zeppelin are not going to tour despite obscene amounts of money being thrown at them from all directions. I'm kinda happy they're not, really, as I've always enjoyed Percy Plant's solo career and preferred the 'Unledded' set he did with Jimmy Page to much of the more bombastic Zeppelin stuff. Everyone wants the bombastic Zeppelin back, and whilst this is no bad thing, I feel the recent 'Mothership' best-of set was a let down as it concentrated more on this side than on the more acoustic, progressive and bluesy side. It creates such an expectation that if they went out and reimagined a lot of the songs as they did with the unplugged thing (and to a lesser extent with the subsequent Page and Plant tour - which was one of my Top 10 Point Depot gigs and the only time I've fainted at a concert) they'd be bottled off the stage. Well, maybe not, but there'd be a lot of shuffling of feet to the bar.

According to the NME: "Led Zeppelin will not play live again together, according to a source close to the band’s singer, Robert Plant.The Sunday Mirror newspaper quotes an anonymous source as saying that the band have turned down a £100 million offer to tour, with Plant’s own non-Led Zeppelin musical plans the reason for the decision.The newspaper quotes the source as saying: “Despite the enormous offer, the decision did not come down to money. They always said they would do the one-off show and then see how they felt.“Jimmy [Page, guitarist] enjoyed the concert in December enough to want to tour. He argued they still had something to offer. He likes the idea of another chapter in the band – the grown-up tour. “John [Paul Jones, bassist] sided with Jimmy. He loved making music with the others again. But Robert [Plant] wanted to leave last year's concert as their legacy. They had proved they could still do it and that was enough.“He has other commitments and is happier looking forward to those. Robert put the mockers on the tour.”

So now. Saying all that I would have loved to have been at the O2 show, especially just to see/hear what Jason Bonham was like behind the kit. The last place I'd seen him was in some awful reality TV metal show with Ted Nugent, Scott Ian from Anthrax, that Bach twat from Skid Row who won't say what Jon Bon Jovi really did to him and some dude from Biohazard with a serious porn problem so he had a lot of making up to do. Although I think he faked an injury to get out of that particular show...

I've heard a few bootlegs of it to date but this one is probably the best I've found. Again, it's from that mighty source of live sets, Big O. The best live review of that show was a gorgeous piece from Mark Ellen in The Word, perhaps the only review to give Bonham Jr a bit of credit.

Richard Hawley for Oxegen

Balls! Not only is it snowing outside and NOT sticking, but now Richard Hawley has become the straw that broke the camel's back and looks like dragging me to a racecourse in Punchestown for three days in July. I always say I'm not going, and I always go anyway, but this year was going to be a definite no-no. Then they started announcing acts and I got very tempted. And now today, with Hawley and Battles joining another handful I want to see I'm very, very tempted.

Good to see that tradition is being maintained and absolutely feck all Irish acts have been announced. How did Ten Spee.. Future Kings of Spain manage to become the first of all TWO acts annonced thus far?

Anyway, Hawley joins the fakest band in the world, the frankly ridiculous Editors with their annoying pretend-spa frontman Tom Shit, ginger crusty Newton Faulkner, Kate Nash, The Zutons, The Hoosiers, Scouting for Girls, Roisin Murphy, Pendulum, Lightspeed Champion, Bowling For Soup, and previously announced Kings of Leon, R.E.M., The Verve, Rage Against The Machine, Kaiser Chiefs, The Prodigy, The Fratellis, Interpol, Chemical Brothers, Counting Crows, Stereophonics, The Raconteurs, Ian Brown, Hot Chip, Justice, Panic At The Disco, The Feeling, Aphex Twin, Band Of Horses, Seasick Steve, The Courteeners, Future Kings Of Racer, Alabama 3, DJ Koze, Kaz James, Crookers and Battles (how did they get Battles?) in Punchestown in July. I see they're doing day tickets again. Good call MCD. Hopefully you'll sort the fucking parking out this year.

Check in on Shane Meadows' website for a couple of Hawley vidz and some behind the scenes malarky.

Snow is getting heavier, maybe it WILL stick! Holy fuck, it is sticking.

EDIT - It stuck for half an hour. I managed to eat some for lunch. It's now pissing hailstones. Or shitting hailstones or whatever swear word applies to them...

Jeff Healey RIP

I was shocked to learn this morning that legendary blues and jazz guitarist Jeff Healey has died aged just 41. The gifted Canadian had battled cancer his entire life, and lung and leg cancer got him in the end. Healey had lost his eyesight to a rare form of the disease, Retinoblastoma, at the age of one. He started playing guitar aged three, and slung the guitar unconventionally across his lap. His first band recorded when he was 17. The musician had performed with such acclaimed guitar players over the years as B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Mark Knopler and George Harrison. He had one of the biggest collections of 78rpm records in the world, and he got into the DJ's chair many years ago with a syndicated radio show like Dylan's one. He also appeared as the leader of the house band behind some chicken wire in the dumb fun kick-ass Patrick Swayze movie 'Roadhouse'. Even Beavis and Buttlead liked him. He was just about to release a new album 'Mess of Blues' and was due to appear on Jools Holland next month. R.I.P.

Here's a kind of best of. linky

the album Get Me Some

Sufjan Stevens?

Sufjan Stevens is strongly believed to be heading for the Electric Picnic. If you believe last FM, he's in the area that week. An announcement of sorts on the festival is to be made this Friday. Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, and Elbow are all set to return to Stradbally. There's talk of The Cure too. Hopefully with My Bloody Valentine on the bill they stick in a load of shoegazers, although i don't think they'll convince RIDE and Slowdive to reform somehow.

Whatever happened to Sufjan's proposed 'album per state' concept?

Anyway, here's where his father believes those albums are hiding...

Supergrass at the BBC

Supergrass have a new album out in the next wee while, so why not bask in some of their former glories? Below you'll find a soundboard recording of Supergrass live at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, on September 30th, 2002. There's plenty of classic Supergrass in it, up through to the slightly unfocussed 'Life on Other Planets' LP. Hence quite a bit of 'here's one from ou new LP'. They bounced back from that album in some style with the streamlined 'Road to Rouen' in 2005. It's a certified classic, although nobody bought it. Not sure what to make of the bits of new album 'Diamond Hoo Haa' I've heard thus far. There's a class of a video below.

Tracklist for the BBC Session:Grace; Rush Hour Soul; Pumping On Your Stereo; Moving; Seen The Light; Funniest Thing; Brecon Beacons; Prophet 15; Never Done Anything Like That Before; Richard III; Sun Hits The Sky; Caught By The Fuzz. Linky

This bollocks

<- How did this cunt get the job as RTE's Boxing Correspondant? Did they pick his name out from a hat or something? His lack of anything approaching a personality surely makes him the worst possible candidate to be sent out to Greece to follow the actions of Ireland's Olympic boxing hopefuls. His ineptitude is just plain embarassing.

Anyway, well done to John Joe Nevin on securing an Olympics berth. That's two Olympians from poor backgrounds in the midlands - and literally from the same Council estate in Mullingar - on their way to Beijing. Nevin joins long distance runner Mark Fagan on the plane over to the promised land.

The Nevin family name has been dragged through the mud in recent years by the actions of some members of John Joe's distant family - and some of their cousins - and he could easily have been led down a path which currently leads directly to a massive ongoing turf war in Mullingar, Athlone and Longford, but like Galway man Francie Barrett before him, John Joe and his father were not afraid to break the mould, and their dedication and belief in what they were doing has led them closer to the ultimate prize. Hopefully more will follow them over.

All in all, it's a terrific time to be involved in Irish boxing, with Dunne, Duddy, Lee and a host of others all impressing greatly in the past year, but why RTE (who have an enviable amount of talent in their sports dept) have chosen the most clueless, charmless, rural pitchside reporter, a king of inept, unimaginative, unthoughtout quips, to be their ringside man is beyond contemplation..

Hot Lunch