POP THE CHAMPAGNE CORKS

It’s strange how some things often happen to coincide in various walks of life.

Today is the 3,000th posting on The (New Vinyl Villain) which means it has lasted longer and offered up around 500 more posts than could have been found over at the original site.  My thanks to everyone who has been part of this community over the years, whether in the guise of guest contributors, commentators or simply happy to drop in occasionally for a peek.  A huge thanks……..it’s knowing that folk are interested that keeps me motivated to ensure a posting appears every day, even if some of them are repeats from days of old.

Today also happens to be my 58th birthday.  For once, I’ve no plans in place to do anything special – Mrs Villain is actually away this weekend with some friends to one of the Scottish islands, a trip that has been much postponed and the next few days were one of those rare occasions when diaries allowed everyone to hook up.  Besides, I would have been pleading my case to stay indoors anyway as tonight sees the much awaited England v Scotland match in the European Championships.

I’ve thought long and hard about which songs to post today, and I’ve changed my mind on umpteen occasions. In the end, I went for the SWC and Tim Badger approach. Pick up the i-phone, hit shuffle and pause it on the songs that come in at #58 on the next ten occasions thus creating a wholly random birthday ICA. Note…there were 45,000 songs on this particular i-pod, so the odds of landing lucky were quite high.

Side One

1. Bettie Serveert – Hell=Other People (alternative version)

Bettie Serveert are an indie band from The Netherlands. Hell=Other People (alternative version) is from their 2006 album, Bare Stripped Naked, and is a cross between the softer side of The Cardigans and Camera Obscura.

2. Client – Pornography

Electronic pop from England. There were five albums between 2003 and 2014. Client originally consisted of Kate Holmes (ex Frazier Chrous) and Sarah Blackwood (ex Dubstar), but performing as Client A and Client B, specialising in the visual elements of performing as much as the singing. It’s all a bit complicated, so click on this wiki page for more. Pornography was a single released in 2005, and features a guest vocal from Carl Barat (The Libertines). I’ve a 7″ copy of the single which, in reaching #22, was their biggest hit.

3. XTC -Grass

As featured here, previously back in August 2017, as Part 22 of the XTC singles series

4. Dead Kennedys -When Ya Get Drafted

From the debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980).  Just 84 seconds long., so you best quickly get jumping around and working up that sweat.

5. Pet Shop Boys – Girls Don’t Cry

A more than decent b-side to I’m With Stupid, released in 2006 and which reached #8 in the UK charts.  I’m tempted, at some point, to have a Singular Adventures look at PSB….

Side Two

1. Aswad – It’s Not Our Wish (John Peel Session)

The lack of reggae on the blog over the years will give away the fact that I’m not the genre’s biggest connoisseur. Aswad, a London-based group, are the most successful reggae act to emerge from the UK, and are still have been on the go having formed in 1975. This was included on Movement, a 41-song compilation CD featuring John Peel Sessions between 1977 and 1979. It’s Not Our Wish was recorded on 10 October 1978 and broadcast on 18 December 1978.

2. Joe Jackson – One More Time

The opening track from the debut album Look Sharp (1979). A genuine classic of the post-punk/new wave genre that has been aired on many an occasion in Villain Towers and previous dwellings over the past 40+ years.

3. Sexy Boy – Franz Ferdinand

I’m not all that surprised that a cover came as one of the random songs given how many I have on the hard drive. This take on the breakthrough hit single (1998) by Air was recorded by the Glaswegian popsters as a b-side to the single Walk Away, which reached #13 in December 2005.

4. Something’s Got To Give – Beastie Boys

A wonderfully understated effort which is tucked away in the middle of the third album Check Your Head (1992). I’ve always pictured folk listening to this while they looked to unwind to this after a hard day at work (spliff is optional).

5. How Did This Happen?! – Bodega

The opening track on the critically acclaimed debut album Endless Scroll (2018). I wonder if Bodega will emerge unscathed from the COVID situation. They were making a real name for themselves much further afield than their native New York City, touring hard all across the globe, but their momentum was obviously halted and they might well find that everyone has moved on by the time they get back into the studio.

So there you have it. A sort of birthday ICA that is really more like a random jukebox, but hopefully there’s just about something for everyone, whatever your tastes.

JC