tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:11:44 +0000http://www.londonlee.com/chipshop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)Blogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-806069890081017860Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:52:00 +00002008-07-20T15:53:51.285-04:00 I was going to defend my choice of this record by writing a thoughtful post about enjoying records that would be considered a bit naff and cheesy by some people, and not in any smug, ironic way either but genuinely and honestly appreciating them as good music. But as I was trying to articulate those thoughts and how they relate to this record I just kept hearing this evil voice inside my head http://www.londonlee.com/2008/07/dark-side.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-2364641893924446358Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +00002008-07-17T06:00:02.861-04:00 If anyone tried to visit this blog yesterday they would have noticed that it wasn't available. Bit of a cock-up at my end I'm afraid, I forgot to renew my account with my web hosting service and by the time I realized I missed the due date they'd taken me down. So I had a whip round and did some busking to raise the necessary funds and I'm back again. Though posting has been a little on and off http://www.londonlee.com/2008/07/please-do-not-adjust-your-set.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-7575898434615333456Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:33:00 +00002008-07-11T14:33:51.408-04:00 Some warm and luscious indie pop from 1999, and a nice pic of Charlotte Rampling too. Download: Folk Singer - Birdie (mp3) Buy: "Some Dusty" (album)http://www.londonlee.com/2008/07/something-for-weekend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-2662577358706457423Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:15:00 +00002008-07-09T09:16:19.320-04:00 I'm just about old enough to remember a time when The Beatles were still together and making records but while they might have been bigger than Jesus back then they weren't a major presence in our house when I was growing up. The only record of theirs my Mum had was a 45 of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" which I don't remember her ever playing (though years later I would discover the lovely "This Boy"http://www.londonlee.com/2008/07/my-sisters-records.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-2657398935805633910Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:01:00 +00002008-07-03T09:03:09.796-04:00 Lord, I wish I was that suave.http://www.londonlee.com/2008/07/ding-dong.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-925540012095321961Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:38:00 +00002008-06-30T16:41:49.889-04:00 The other day I started writing a post about The Teardrop Explodes and went to dig out my old 7" of their single "Treason" (the original one on Zoo Records) with a view to recording its b-side for inclusion here but discovered that I didn't have it any more. Not only that but I didn't have any Teardrop Explodes on vinyl, all their other singles and both their albums were gone too, I'd completelyhttp://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/you-disappear-from-view.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-991961141790686446Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:39:00 +00002008-06-26T13:39:54.015-04:00 The hippies liked to sneer at the older generation for being too uptight and square to ever tune in, turn on, and get high. But just because they didn't sit in a field with flowers in their hair didn't mean they never got spaced out — they just did it with different drugs. My mother was very partial to the occasional Cinzano Bianco and popped a Valium or two whenever the pressure of raising two http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/my-mothers-records.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-194310266351705839Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:00:00 +00002008-06-20T06:00:00.671-04:00 Ahhh, the first day of summer. I lived in Florida for several years and a hot, sunny day means nothing there, it's hot and sunny every day which gets a bit boring after a while – ho hum, another day in paradise. But now I'm again living in a place that has actual seasons I get that same wonderful feeling I did in London when the sun finally comes out after a long, cold, miserable winter and the http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/sun-has-got-his-hat-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-3216025871571858179Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:45:00 +00002008-06-17T15:45:42.739-04:00 Some old groups resist nostalgic rehabilitation, being just too irredeemably naff to ever be reclaimed by the passing of time allowing a new appreciation of their talent. There have been times when, for example, Abba, Barry White, ELO or disco-era Bee Gees have made me cringe with embarrassment but when the dust of youth settles you look back and see incredible pop craftsmanship and forget that http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/my-favourite-record-age-13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-1426942204244159987Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:05:00 +00002008-06-13T09:05:19.903-04:00 This was a request from my wife's friend David, sadly I don't have the record so here's a video instead. I'd forgotten all about this and it's still bloody funny (though Americans might need subtitles).http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/something-for-weekend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-1091396163993886788Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:25:00 +00002008-06-11T15:25:52.683-04:00 I remember my mother coming back from the pictures one night in 1969 and telling us she'd been to see some film called "Midnight Cowboy." She never told us what it was about (imagine telling a seven-year-old "well it's about this man who goes to New York to sleep with women for money...") and for years I literally thought it was a Western, and then somewhere along the line I also thought Glenn http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/youre-best-joe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-7111837516120290194Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:14:00 +00002008-06-09T22:14:54.367-04:00About time I did another one of these. Download: (If You Think) You're Groovy - P.P. Arnold (mp3) Download: Teenage Rampage - The Sweet (mp3) Download: I'm In The Mood For Ska - Lord Tanamo (mp3) Download: I'm Beautiful Now - Girls At Our Best! (mp3)http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/tribes-of-britain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-4817608880937498301Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:50:00 +00002008-06-05T14:50:29.524-04:00 Download: Hands Off, Stop Mucking About - Kenneth Cope (mp3) Under the crushing weight of another deadline at the moment and barely have time to draw breath. Sadly, blogging doesn't pay the mortgage.http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/lucky-dip_05.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-4290176277716396315Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:55:00 +00002008-06-03T16:58:29.739-04:00 Some days you just feel like listening to some Bobbie Gentry. Download: Casket Vignette - Bobbie Gentry (mp3) Though, as my wife will tell you, I have a lot of days like that.http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/lucky-dip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-6304693384206148733Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:08:00 +00002008-06-01T15:09:10.038-04:00 I was going to include this song in the bike post I wrote the other week but it didn't fit in with the tone of the piece, being rather more wistful and melancholy than that was and it's such a lovely tune I wanted to ramble on about it a bit longer. The Clientele always remind me of London, not just because they're from there (though curiously I think they're more popular in the States) but http://www.londonlee.com/2008/06/like-corners-of-my-mind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-5083338128606148423Thu, 29 May 2008 13:04:00 +00002008-05-29T09:04:36.376-04:00 Despite the blond Agnetha supposedly having the sexiest bum in pop music and being the choice of most blokes as the top Abba totty, I was one of those weird boys who preferred her singing partner, the brunette Frida. It might have been the minority opinion but I just like to think that my taste was a bit more refined than the average chap. Agnetha had the sort of Nordic, dairy-fresh look that http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/other-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-2510001899808320438Tue, 27 May 2008 16:44:00 +00002008-05-27T12:44:31.526-04:00 The great American artist Robert Rauschenberg died the other week and while I'm sure a lot of you are probably going "Robert who?" it was a big deal to me. When I first went to art college I knew nothing about Modern Art (or any sort of art really), like a lot of kids I went because I was "good at drawing" but I was more interested in Marvel Comics than Jackson Pollock and my secondary school http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/art-with-capital.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-6219211845432470453Thu, 22 May 2008 12:35:00 +00002008-05-22T08:35:00.636-04:00 Oh well. It's some consolation that I think we were the better team (and I'm not looking at the game through Blue-coloured glasses) but to come so close and then have the trophy slip away - literally! — was more heartbreaking than if we'd been crap. This wasn't the post I wanted to write today, but here's the record I was going to put with it anyway. Download: Chelsea Morning - Sergio Mendes http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/gutted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-1116989322801704615Tue, 20 May 2008 19:33:00 +00002008-05-20T15:33:40.711-04:00 Haven't had a cute picture of a kid in a while. Bless. Download: Boys Cry - The Distractions (mp3) I loved this single, The Distractions were one of the many Post-Punk/New Wave bands that came and went in the blink of an eye and ended up half-forgotten and gathering dust in the old singles box despite making some cracking records. They put out a few 45s on Factory before signing to Island who http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/kiss-it-better.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-5190060530885413411Wed, 14 May 2008 15:25:00 +00002008-05-14T11:26:42.256-04:00 Download: Saturday Gigs - Mott The Hoople (mp3)http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/lucky-dip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-6752162556142788897Wed, 07 May 2008 15:21:00 +00002008-05-07T11:21:06.862-04:00 Christ, I'm not getting anything done at the moment. Why don't we just call it a day and go to the pub? Download: Hurry Up Harry - Sham 69 (mp3) Funny how this song has gone from being laughably moronic to quite charming 30 years later. But I guess you can say that about a lot of things, myself included probably.http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/mines-pint.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-2289372513000980450Tue, 06 May 2008 12:51:00 +00002008-05-06T08:51:37.458-04:00 About 18 seconds into this "Carry On" clip a bloke lets out the most almighty, lusty Phwooooaaaarrrrr!!!! I have ever heard, he surely deserved an Oscar for bringing such gusto to the line. And at the end as soon as you see the guy eating a pear you know exactly what joke is coming, but it doesn't stop you laughing like a drain anyway.http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/you-dont-get-many-of-them-to-pound.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-346271816165086266Thu, 01 May 2008 16:50:00 +00002008-05-01T12:50:22.435-04:00 He was a good-looking bastard that David Essex, with his sparkly eyes and dimply grin, and in the mid-70s there probably wasn't a girl in England who didn't want him to be her boyfriend. He flirted shamelessly with that desire on his lovey-dovey ballad "If I Could" which painted a picture of romantic bliss in such humdrum, ordinary-bloke terms — going to the pictures, having tea, picnics in the http://www.londonlee.com/2008/05/my-sisters-records.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-8037096062338759672Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:50:00 +00002008-04-29T14:51:34.966-04:00 I never had a bike when I was a kid, I always assumed it was because my mother couldn't afford to buy me one (get your violins out) but I asked her about it recently and she told me it was because she was worried about my safety and didn't want me racing around the London streets on one. Nice to know she cared, though I don't know what she thought I was doing in the summer holidays when she was http://www.londonlee.com/2008/04/wild-in-streets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20347651.post-7581047712080509780Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:10:00 +00002008-04-25T09:10:57.990-04:00 I used to have a regular feature on my old blog called "Boogie Friday" and I've been trying to stay away from the soul and dance music end of things here because, well, you know, been there and done that. But the weather has been so lovely this week I'm feeling a spring in my loafers and want to knock the maudlin nostalgia on the head for a day and DANCE. These are all English records anyway, http://www.londonlee.com/2008/04/something-for-weekend_25.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (londonlee)