A good friend asked my opinion on music to play in a coffee shop - she’d already got it pretty sorted, IMO - Cat Power’s ‘The Greatest’ and Solal’s ‘Moonshine Sessions’ are just the kind of sounds I’d like to hear while slurping my morning pick-me-up.. but I made a few additional suggestions.

Good music but understated was the brief, but not so understated it’s ignore-able. Last year’s excellent ‘Raising Sand’ album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss was an instant (little coffee pun there) hit. I’d have no problem with Bonnie Prince Billy’s ‘The Letting Go’ keeping me company while I browsed the newspaper rack, not forgetting Nina Nastasia and Jim White’s ‘You Follow Me’, a Captain’s Pick from 2007.

Then one of those little coincidences.. a pal in England tipped me off to a class act by the name of Eilen Jewell - he’d seen her live (and lent the band his amp for the evening). He was wowed, and so am I. ‘Letters From Sinners and Strangers’ swings, gets the blues, aches your heart.. it’s low key, sure, but it nags at you subtly.. “Hey, listen to me”…

Hey, listen to this. Mine’s a latte in a bowl and an almond croissant.

Share This

Just a quick mention of the absurdly punctuated ‘Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!’ - the profoundly loveable Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album surely destined for each and every home, with a sloppy grin plastered over its grimy, neon-highlighted, hungover face. “Look, Ma, we’re occasionally challenging and deep but they finally spotted our sense of humour and they like us!”. Or something like that.. the critics swoon too. Blixa might disagree, but what’s not to like? Turn it up:

Chuffed with my second-hand find of the month: a copy of the extremely radio-friendly Jesus and Mary Chain album ‘Automatic’ for the princely sum of 50c NZ (20 English pence, 40c US). Ok, the Reids weren’t beating the bejasus out of each other on stage and everything in the JAMC camp was relatively rosy at the time, but it’s still a good record. Result.

Why didn’t I already have it?

Share This

On Saturday April 19th, pop down to your local record emporium and buy something. Buy something tangible, with a cover you can lovingly caress.. something with great music inside. Just like we used to. It’s Record Store Day.

Because if you don’t, one day, you’ll wake up, look around and the friendly record store geezer, your sonic shaman, your music mentor, won’t be there any more. And that would be a great shame.

As Uncle Nick Hornby says:

“Yes, yes, I know. It’s easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what’s playing on your favourite download store when you walk into it?

Nothing, that’s what. Who are you going to meet in there? Nobody. Where are the notice boards offering flatshares and vacant slots in bands destined for superstardom? Who’s going to tell you to stop listening to that and start listening to this? Go ahead and save yourself a couple of quid. The saving will cost you a career, a set of cool friends, musical taste and, eventually, your soul. Record stores can’t save your life. But they can give you a better one.”

Hear hear.

Share This

It’s Elvis Costello week here at Riverboat Towers.. all the albums all the time (well, all but ‘Goodbye Cruel World’, does anyone have that one?), a listening session sparked by my re-reading of two books.. the wonderful ‘Big Wheel’, by Attractions bass man Bruce Thomas, one of the finest tales about touring with a band, and the rather more workaday biog ‘Complicated Shadows’, by Graeme Thompson. Buy the Bruce one.

Here’s Elvis live, 1978 and 1985:

Share This

OK,OK, I’ve been away.. it’s summer, no rain (please, rain a little bit, the house has dried out so much the damn front door sticks), just right for a few sunny sounds in the car or on the boom box (you do still say ‘boom box’, don’t you?).

So here are a few early runners and riders attracting my attention:

Mrs. Captain bought me a fine reggae album by the Otara-based combo Three Houses Down, called ‘Dreadtown’. Now some of yer actual professional music journalists will tell you this album is a bit powderpuff, a bit lightweight. But The Captain says just listen to those horns blast and the message will slowly sink in: there’s all kinds of reggae in Aotearoa and a decent portion of it is a little bit… pale. Know where I’m coming from? Thought so. But THD are kosher, and ‘Dreadtown’ is easy on the ear and done ‘live’ in the studio. I only wish they had a web site I could point you at.. if you do Bebo, you can check them out there.

Up next, as fine a slice of alt-Americana as I’ve heard in a long time. Former Test Icicles guitarist Devonte Hynes now goes out as Lightspeed Champion, after claiming he never liked the Icicles music anyway. Mebbe so.. the new venture fortunately isn’t giving me as much of an ear bashing as the old stuff. Run off to the MySpace page, and listen to ‘Falling Off The Lavender Bridge’ in its entirety. Then go and buy it. Fans of Bright Eyes and pedal steel guitar should be first in the queue. Quality song titles too. ‘Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk’.. ha!

And finally, Cyril.. last year’s tip for the top the Ruby Suns released their sophomore effort ‘Sea Lion’ this month, and wonderful it is too. Less Brian Wilson, more focus. After the interim and in places quite baffling EP ‘Lichen Ears’, I thought head Sun Ryan McPhun and his friends were about to go all weird on us, but no! Stuffed full of world music rhythm and sound, the attractively packaged (for you marketing and promotion fans out there) new waxing is a corker. Catch them on tour in the US soon. Listen at MySpace or the wonderful Lil Chief site. If you don’t find yourself singing along to ‘Oh, Mojave’ or dashing into the kitchen to find something to clank during ‘Tane Mahuta‘, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Or a Sea Lion’s sister. Or something.

Download ‘Tane Mahuta’ here, courtesy of the band and Sub Pop.

Share This

Somethin’s happenin’ here, what it is, is now pretty clear.. for what it’s worth, here are the Captain’s Picks for 2007, the stuff that’s really floated my boat.

Four whacking great ‘big act’ albums at the top - I don’t know what that says about me. Am I becoming more mainstream? Can’t be a pioneer all your life, though, if indeed I ever was. All I know is this bunch of records is probably the most consistently enjoyable set I’ve bought for quite some years. Classics in the making, no less.

You can argue with me if you like, or just let me know what you think. Click the comment link.

If Arcade Fire do a secret pre-Big Day Out gig, my year will be complete. Watch the Kings at YouTube.

One more thing - a festive plea: support your local specialist retailer!

Share This