Archive for April, 2010

Hey girls, hey boys

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Radiohead once declared Anyone Can Play Guitar. Foolishly, I actually believed them.

But a dozen or so wannabe rock star tantrums, several bruised and bleeding fingers, and the fact that the only function of my disowned acoustic instrument is to provide shelter for Horace (The Pop Cop’s rent-dodging spider) is proof that their message was utter bollocks.

Now, if Radiohead had called that song Anyone Can Be A DJ it would have made a whole lot more sense. I mean, what could be easier than playing other people’s records? Pick a tune. Press play. Line up the next one.

Bands are primarily judged on the quality of their songs, so surely it’s not over-simplistic to say that DJs are only as good as the selection of records they play.

Well, it’s time to put this theory to the test.

On Friday, April 30, I’ll be making my DJing debut at The Flying Duck nightclub in Glasgow as part of their monthly Pin Up Nights. The organisers have branded the event Bloggers Delight as they have also invited representatives from Radar, Peenko, 17 Seconds and Glasgow PodcART to strut their stuff on the decks.

I think we’re each getting an hour-long slot so until then I’ll be blitzing my record collection in preparation for the most important playlist of my part-time pop career.

Any requests?

April 30, The Flying Duck, Glasgow (also features local bands Louise Against The Elements, Kung Fu and Carmine playing live)

The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl

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Radiohead – Anyone Can Play Guitar

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Music Alliance Pact – April 2010

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

In case you missed it, last month The Guardian published a feature on this thing we do called the Music Alliance Pact, which is well worth a read.

Here’s how they explained the concept of MAP (for anyone who doesn’t already know what it is): “On the 15th day of each month, [the MAP bloggers] cross post an identical list of every member’s local band of the moment, accompanied by a description and sample mp3. MAP is a monthly global compilation tape from a not-for-profit musical cartel, one that exposes the bands (most untouched by A&R or PR people) to new audiences.”

This month we’ve recruited another new international blog, 78s, so if you’ve ever wondered what music from Switzerland sounds like then wonder no more.

The Pop Cop’s handpicked Scottish choice for the April 2010 edition is the excitable WASHINGTON IRVING, so scroll down and treat yourself to a free download of their song The Magician. You can also watch a high-quality live video of the band playing another of their excellent songs here.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Washington Irving – The Magician
Named after the American author who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, the music of this Glasgow-based group isn’t as bookish as their moniker might suggest. Instead, they deliver irrepressibly wild, rambunctious folk-rock that taps into the raw energy of The Pogues, which explains why Washington Irving’s live shows never fail to win them new fans. The band have just finished recording a new EP which will be released this summer.

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All over the shop

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

I feel a bit hypocritical extolling the virtues of Record Store Day – the annual, global celebration of independent music shops which takes places this Saturday for the third year running.

Most music lovers treat vinyl as hallowed slabs of black magic, yet I regard them as impractical eyesores; while hardcore fans spend their savings accumulating every morsel of their favourite band’s back catalogue, I’m down to my last crate (of seven) in a decade-long mission to offload every CD in my possession. Indeed, the last time I felt any inclination to buy anything in a record shop was five years ago, and even then it was while flicking through the DVD section.

This, incidentally, is coming from a person who worked in HMV for the best part of two years, and loved every minute of it. You can’t beat the adrenaline rush of haring down Union Street on a crisp Sunday afternoon chasing a Reebok-clad shoplifter clutching a handful of Now 57s.

But despite my current indifference to record shops, I do appreciate their place in society as a focal point for like-minded music obsessives who feel songs ought to exist in a form other than binary code.

Such are the challenging conditions that record shops now find themselves in, they have had to adapt just to survive. Stores such as Avalanche sell a significant portion of their stock via Amazon Marketplace (which, funnily enough, makes them my competition) and they are increasingly encouraging bands to play instore sessions to help bring in the punters.

It should therefore come as no surprise that free live performances are a big feature of the day-long events going on all over Scotland to mark Record Store Day, so we’ve rounded up some listings for April 17 to get your Saturday sizzling:

MONORAIL (Glasgow)
14.30 RM Hubbert
15.15 Make Love
16.00 Ripley (Wooden Shjips) DJ set
17.15 Moon Unit
18.00 Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai) DJ set
- also: home baking, a quiz, and kids stuff.

AVALANCHE (Glasgow)
10.00 The Sundancer
13.00 Fran Schoppler
15.00 Super Adventure Club
17.00 You Already Know
- customers are encouraged to bring a percussive instrument to jam with You Already Know; also: Subcity Radio DJ sets, ‘rock icon’ face-painting (so you can look like Kiss, David Bowie or Panda Su) and album artwork cakes.

AVALANCHE (Edinburgh)
12.00 The Sundancer
15.00 TV21
17.30 DesertersDeservedeath

CODA (Edinburgh)
12.00 Salsa Celtica
12.45 Steve Byrne & Mark Dunlop
13.15 Dean Owens
14.30 Catriona McKay & Chris Stout
15.15 Jenna Reid & Kevin Mackenzie
15.45 Inge Thomson & Martin Green