I’ll refer you to a posting back in 2016 as to why I am grudging in giving space to Mull Historical Society.
But, the time has come in this long-running/never-ending alphabetical weekly run-through of Scottish singers or bands that appear on the hard drive.
mp3: Mull Historical Society – Barcode Bypass
The debut single, released back in 2000.
I did ask yesterday if anyone wanted to hear the various b-sides to the singles by Mull Historical Society. David said he would.
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Some You Win, Some You Lose (b-side of I Tried)
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Naked Ambition at the E.P.A. (fron CD2 of Watching Xanadu)
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Sad Old Day To Be Found (from CD2 of Watching Xanadu)
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – The Final Arrears (single version)
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Stay Something (from CD1 of The Final Arrears)
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Citizen Fame (from CD1 of The Final Arrears)
Enjoy. Some of these are rather good.
Nope. I’m still in a cunt of a mood. What follows is what passes as a rant from me….
Some of the folk who read this blog will have the pleasure/misfortune to have been at gigs alongside me. They, more than any others, will know that mere words cannot get across how mad I get when someone close by decides they’d rather talk loudly to their mate/partner/total stranger standing beside them than pay attention to the live performance.
Indeed, I have been known to get violent on occasion with the worst probably being at a Malcolm Middleton gig a few years back in Glasgow when some arsehole came down towards the front of the crowd about three-quarters of the way through the gig specifically to talk to his mates who up until that point in time had been enjoying Malky and his band – I think my elbows took two of them out in due course and got them to shift away but I ended up having to punch the new arrival to get him to shut the fuck up after he’d ignored three glaring looks. I wasn’t proud of what I’d done but content that the right action had been taken to prevent the spoiling what had been a tremendous night.
Incidentally, and I’m not being sexist about it, but the problem is often at its worst when females are involved. I often get the impression that groups of females at gigs very often have one or maybe two who are there to be part of a night out rather than specifically to see the singer or band and inevitably when they get bored they start yakking. I’m not saying blokes don’t do the same but they are more likely to say to the rest of their mates that they’re off to the bar and everyone can meet up later. Females tend to try to stick together at gigs……
I suppose what I’m saying is that incessant talking at gigs is an offence that should be met with instant death.
Which is why I have great difficulty in offering any sort of praise for Mull Historical Society when in fact I’m fond of some of their material.
It all stems from when I went to see Tindersticks in the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh back in June 2001, a night much-anticipated as the aforementioned MHS were the support act. They delivered a really enjoyable set and got a great reception from the packed sell-out crowd and then we all settled down to await Tindersticks.
Now you’ll know that the main act are a band whose best moments are often of the quieter type and in the main the audience recognising that tends to be pretty reverential. Except on that night, one later arrival close by just wouldn’t shut up and the three folk he was surrounded by were hanging on to his every word. I waited till the end of one particularly lovely song that had been ruined and shuffled past a few folk specifically to have a word….only to discover to my horror and amazement that it was Colin Macintyre, the lead singer/songwriter of MHS. This only made me more angry as I explained, in what can only be described as an expletive ridden rant, that having given his band full attention and not ruined his performance by yakking throughout then I would appreciate if he’d do the same for the main band.
I couldn’t believe it when he tried to justify his behaviour on the grounds he was just telling his mates how much of a thrill it had been to perform tonight and anyways if I really wanted to hear the band I could move elsewhere in the venue. In response I swore at him again and by now, with Tindersticks about to start their next song, there were now a few anxious looks from other audience members that it was going to get out of hand…at which point Mr MHS clammed up and he and his mates headed off in the direction of backstage which is where of course he should have been having the conversation in the first place.
So that’s why T(n)VV doesn’t make much mention of a very fine Scottish indie band of the early 2000s, but since I’ve resolved to be a bit more tolerant in 2016 I thought as a nice gesture that I’d post some of their singles that sit amidst many other CDs:-
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Barcode Bypass
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Mull Historical Society
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – I Tried
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – The Final Arrears
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Watching Xanadu
PS : If anyone is really interested, I’d be happy to post the b-sides…..
Enjoy.
PPS : This was highlighted in an e-mail to me earlier today from a reader by the name of Duncan Elliot. 39 seconds of genius that perfectly complements all of the above:-
From wiki:-
Colin MacIntyre is a Scottish singer, song-writer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released most of his work under the name Mull Historical Society
MacIntyre coined the name Mull Historical Society after seeing an advert for an organisation which has since changed its name to the Mull Historical and Archaeological Society. His first album under the name was ‘Loss’ in 2001. It was inspired by the death of his father and his upbringing on the Isle of Mull, and contains samples from a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry and the waves on Calgary Bay in Mull. In 2000-01 MacIntyre played support for Elbow and the Strokes,and in 2002 for R.E.M. and the Delgados.
After ‘Us’ (2003) his record label, Warners, dropped him. ‘This Is Hope’ (2004) was inspired by a two-month visit to the United States, ending in New Orleans, listening to David Bowie, Lou Reed and Television. One of its songs is about the death of David Kelly. The album also includes a recording of his grandmother.
The first release under his own name was ‘The Water’, released on 4 February 2008, and produced by Nick Franglen from Lemon Jelly. MacIntyre had produced the first three albums himself. The last track, “Pay Attention to the Human”, features a poem written and performed by Tony Benn.He wrote the album in New York, his wife’s home city. In 2009, Irvine Welsh used the track “You’re a Star” from The Water in his comedy Good Arrows.
MacIntyre’s fifth album ‘Island’ (the second under his own name) was released in the UK on 6 July 2009. The first single “Cape Wrath” preceded it by a few weeks. In 2012, MacIntyre returned to the Mull Historical Society name for his sixth album ‘City Awakenings’.
This is taken from he debut LP and was the third single lifted from it:-
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – I Tried
mp3 : Mull Historical Society – Some You Win, Some You Lose
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 