My radio show Amazing Songs & Other Delights #80 – The These Are a Few of My Favourite Songs edition is now on available to listen to on mixcloud.
Amazing Songs & Other Delights airs every other Monday, 3-4pm (gmt+1), on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app).
Amazing Songs & Other Delights #80 – The These Are a Few of My Favourite Songs edition features 17 of my favourite songs, including my favourite song, Will Your Me Tomorrow sang by The Shirelles, and three songs I would have love to have written, Sometimes I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake, A Lady of a Certain Age by The Divine Comedy, and Canção de Amigo by Um Zero Amarelo. Of course I would have loved to have written all the other songs. 🙂 You can read about the songs and my choices here.
Tracklist: 01: Julie Andrews – My Favourite Things 02: The Shirelles – Will Your Me Tomorrow 03: The The – Sometimes I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake 04: The Ramones – Baby I Love You 05: The Devine Comedy – A Lady of a Certain Age 06: Josh Rouse – James 07: The Rolling Stones – Under My Thumb 08: Um Zero Amarelo – Canção de Amigo 09 Elvis Presley – (Marie’s The Name) of His Latest test Flame 10: The Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) 11: Mick Harvey – October Boy 12: Mark Lanegan – Don’t Forget Me 13: Ben Watt – North Marine Drive 14: Tiwiza – At u Azeka 15: Erica Buettner – True Love and Water 16: Butler-Blake-Grant – Bring An End 17: Queens of the Stone Age – Mosquito Song
My radio show Amazing Songs & Other Delights #80 – The These Are a Few of My Favourite Songs edition airs Monday 2nd, 3-4pm (gmt+1) on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app).
This edition has a self explanatory title. Some of my favourite songs, from different time periods, in one radio show. I have many more favourite songs, and could fill 24 hours, or more with them. But, here, there are 17, including my favourite song, Will Your Me Tomorrow, sang by The Shirelles.
Will You Love Me Tomorrow is also known as Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, title that, to me, gives a better view of the longing, fear, expressed by the lyrics. It was written by Carole King, and her by then husband and co-songwriter, Gerry Goffin and first recorded by The Shirelles in 1960.
Sometimes I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake is, if not thee song,is a song I would like to have written. It’s brilliant. I would love to have written A Lady of a Certain Age by The Devine Comedy, and Canção de Amigo by Um Zero Amarelo. And all the other choises, of course.
Baby, I Love You was originally performed by The Ronettes in 1963. It was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, produced by Spector. Phil Spector produced The Ramones’ End of the Century, released in 1980, in which the band cover of Baby, I Love You appears.
North Marine Drive, Ben Watt’s debut album from 1983, is one of my all time favourite records. I could have picked any of the album songs. I went with the title track.
Aftermath ranks top on my favourite Rolling Stones albums, and Under My Thumb is without a doubt my Stones favourite song.
On the department of favourite albums, there is also Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs For the Deaf. Mosquito Song is the hidden song on the cd version of the album. And eerie, gentle, yet macabre, acoustic song, sang by Josh Homme, with Dean Ween, of Ween, on acoustic guitar, that grows in crescendo and ends with a bang.
Tracklist: 01: Julie Andrews – My Favourite Things 02: The Shirelles – Will Your Me Tomorrow 03: The The – Sometimes I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake 04: The Ramones – Baby I Love You 05: The Devine Comedy – A Lady of a Certain Age 06: Josh Rouse – James 07: The Rolling Stones – Under My Thumb 08: Um Zero Amarelo – Canção de Amigo 09 Elvis Presley – (Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame 10: The Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) 11: Mick Harvey – October Boy 12: Mark Lanegan – Don’t Forget Me 13: Ben Watt – North Marine Drive 14: Tiwiza – At u Azeka 15: Erica Buettner – True Love and Water 16: Butler-Blake-Grant – Bring An End 17: Queens of the Stone Age – Mosquito Song
My radio show Amazing Songs & Other Delights # 78 – The Debuts & More edition The Debuts & More edition.is now available for listening on mixcloud. Amazing Songs & Other Delights airs every other Monday on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app).
Tracklist: 01: Agrupamento Musical Os Tais – Liga Pra Mim 02: Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles – Stranger 03: Beirut -Guericke’s Unicorn 04: Bill Fox – Terminal Way 05: Butler, Blake & Grant – The 90s 06: Calvin Harris – Smoke The Pain Away 07: Courting – After You 08: Flávio Torres – Vamos 09: Màiri Morrison and Alasdair Roberts – The Bonny House of Airlie 10: Mark Fry – Not On The Radar 11: Mister Romantic – Dream 12: Model/Actriz – Doves 13: Oh Bobby – Sweet Peace 14: Reb Fountain – He Commands You To Jump Into The Sea 15: Sex Beat – This Machine Kills No One 16: The Hard Quartet – Lies (Something You Can Do) 17: The Ophelias – Salome 18 Tunde Adebimpe – God Knows 19: Trey Calloway – The Ballad of Righteous and Wrong
My radio show Amazing Songs & Other Delights # 78 – The Debuts & More edition airs Monday, 7th, 3-4pm (gmt) on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com(or on the app).
How many times will I write debut album is anyone’s guess. Other than debut album, collaborations, a couple of super groups (oh mine! are the 70s back?… ) and nineteen songs can be found on this edition of Amazing Songs & Other Delights. Scots abound too. Can you slop them all?
The musical genres are varied, at times in the same song. Folk, folk adjacent, dance music, americana, indie noise, hip-hop, romantic music, gentle pop, and some other flavours. Agrupamento Musical Os Tais’s Liga Pra Mim and Calvin Harris’ Smoke The Pain Away are examples of musical cross pollination.
Agrupamento Musical Os Tais are rappers Mike El Nite and the duo João Não & Lil Noon. Agrupamento Musical Os Tais is one of those things that to fully grasp you may need to be Portuguese and aware of our bandas de baile (electric ball bands that played, and still play, local clubs, associations, our equivalent of workers men’s clubs, fetes, carnivals and the likes). Liga Pra Mim is from their debut album Dance, Romance. Dance, Romance has shades of everything, from pimba (wikipedia is your friend), to kizomba, through hip-hop, house, a dash of pop, all wrapped in deliberated tacky elegance.
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles is Alan Sparhawk of Low and bluegrass-folk band Trampled by Turtles.
The 90s is the third single by super group Butler, Blake & Grant. Super group being a bit of a joke. No stadium tours and 20 gear trucks, or Spinal Tap drama in sight. Butler, Blake & Grant are musician, songwriter and producer Bernard Butler, Norman Blake, of Teenage Fanclub, and James Grant of Love and Money fame. Their debut album has just come out. The 90s is sung and written by Bernard.
Sweet Peace was written by me and Bill Rivers for my 3rd anniversary 3rd anniversary show and is now on Swim the Universe the new Oh Bobby (Bill Rivers & Simon Hayward) album.
Mister Romantic is actor John C. Reilly musical alter-ego. Dream, a romantic, 1920s vibe song, is the first single from debut album What’s Not To Love?
Scottish singer and musician Alasdair Roberts teamed up with another Scot, Scottish Gaelic singer Màiri Morrison to sing The Bonny House of Airlie, a traditional Scottish ballad of the XVII century. As is traditional in these sort of ballads The Bonny House of Airlie tells a tragic real story, the burning of the castle of the Earl of Airlie castle and the murder of his family.
Lies is a song by The Hard Quartet, another super group, formed by Stephen Malkmus, of Pavement, Matt Sweeney of Superwolf, Emmett Kelly and Jim White.
God Knows by Tunde Adebimpe, of T.V. On The Radio, and Trey Calloway’s The Ballad of Righteous close the show. The Ballad of Righteous is a classic americana tradition storytelling song.
Tracklist: 01: Agrupamento Musical Os Tais – Liga Pra Mim 02: Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles – Stranger 03: Beirut -Guericke’s Unicorn 04: Bill Fox – Terminal Way 05: Butler, Blake & Grant – The 90s 06: Calvin Harris – Smoke The Pain Away 07: Courting – After You 08: Flávio Torres – Vamos 09: Màiri Morrison and Alasdair Roberts The Bonny House of Airlie 10: Mark Fry – Not On The Radar 11: Mister Romantic – Dream 12: Model/Actriz – Doves 13: Oh Bobby – Sweet Peace 14: Reb Fountain – He Commands You To Jump Into The Sea 15: Sex Beat – This Machine Kills No One 16: The Hard Quartet – Lies (Something You Can Do) 17: The Ophelias – Salome 18 Tunde Adebimpe – God Knows 19: Trey Calloway – The Ballad of Righteous and Wrong
Amazing Songs & Other Delights #71 is the The Desert Blues and Not Just edition has a repeat Monday 7 3-4:30pm (gmt+1) on Yé Yé Radio: yeyeradio.com (or on the app). This a longer, special edition.
Tracklist: 01 – Mdou Moctar – Imajighen 02 – ANOHNI & The Johnsons – Breaking 03 – Tiwiza – At u Azeka 04 – Bombino – Mahegagh (What Shall I Do) 05 – Rui Veloso – Sayago Blues 06 – R.L. Burnside – See My Jumper Hanging On the Line (live at home, 1978) 07 – Tarwa N-Tiniri – Taryet 08 – Tom Verlaine – 5 Hours From Calais 09 – Dead Combo – Lisboa Mulata 10 – Fatou Seidi Ghali (Les Filles de Illighadad) – Telilit (live from Story of Sahel Sounds) 11 – Manu Chao – Tu Te Vas Feat. Laeti 12 – Felt – The Stagnant Pool 13 – Boubacar Traoré & Ali Farka Touré – Duna Ma Yelema 14 – Buzz Ayaz – Buzzi Ayazi 15 – Soledad Brothers – This Guitar Says I’m Sorry 16 – The White Stripes – Suzy Lee 17 – Etran de L’Aïr – Imouha 18 – Ben Watt with Bernard Butler – New Year of Grace (Upstairs at the De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill 5th April 2016) 19 – The Legendary Tiger Man – Keep it Burning 20 – Majid Bella’s – Daymallah (feat. Rachid Zeroual, Khalid Kouhen, Paolo Radoni, Marc Lelangue) 21 – Tinariwen – Sastanàqqàm 22 – Tom Hiddleston – I Saw The Light (with Mark Kermode on double-bass, live in the Wittertainment studio)
My Amazing Songs & Other Delights # 75 – The A New Season Begins edition is now available for listen on mixcloud.
As the name says it’s the start of a new season of shows, as well as an edition filled with new music. You can read more about this show here.
Tracklist: 01 – Rialto – No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive 02 – Edwyn Collins – Knowledge 03 – Tom Gunn Nash – Grown 04 – Chioke – Life Could Be This Way 05 – Manic Street Preachers – People Ruin Paintings 06 – Sam Amidon – Golden Willow Tree 07 – Bob Mould – Here We Go Crazy 08 – Edith Frost – Hold On 09 – Andy Bell feat. Dot Allison and Michael Rother – I’m in Love… 10 – The Velveteers – Bound In Leather 11 – Hayden Thorpe – Doom Orchid 12 – The Twist Connection – Concentrate 13 – Um Corpo Estranho – Canção da Paciência 14 – The Jesus Lizard – Westside 15 – Ray – Man On Fire 16 – Sehore – Vals 17 – Leatherette – Itchy 18 – Butler, Blake & Grant – Bring An End
My best of 2024 are records, concerts, a book and an exhibition that filled my soul, touched me, or left a strong impression. Art forms that early this year still resonate, and remain close to my heart.
In late April 2024 I wrote an essay with Deep Emotions, a single from Good Grief, Bernard Butler third solo album and his first in 25 years as starting point. It was my second essay for Mondo. Along with, earlier in 2024, the listening parties of Rafael Toral’s Spectral Evolution it was the beginning of marvels, emotional perils and tribulations, and new paths.
The albums by Rafael and Bernard are healing records. Basalto merges melancholia, drama, romanticism. Vini Reilly is a Record Store Day re-issue of the 1989 album by Durutti Column. If there is a musician, composer, guitarist that has been with me since I’m a kid and has an influence how I see, approach, the electric guitar, Vini Reilly is him. I become aware of Ned Swarbrick when Bernard made a shout-out for support acts, and I liked Ned’s music. His ep has been a constant since.
As the Universe would have it, in 2024 Bernard played in Portugal for the first time, solo or otherwise. It was an amazing concert. 2024 was also the year of Old Jerusalem’s last concert. Old Jerusalem and Francisco Silva, the man behind it, have been part of Mondo’s favourites for decades. Francisco also begun being part of mine, in a different capacity, in 2022 when we wrote our first song together. Old Jerusalem last concert was intimate, poignant, a gathering of friends.
Records: Bernard Butler – Good Grief (355 Recordings) Rafael Toral – Spectral Evolution (Moikai/Drag City Records) Basalto – Blunt Knives (self-release) The Durutti Column – Vini Reilly (rsd2024) Ned Swarbrick – Michelangelo EP (self-release)
Good morning with our Middle of the Week Song – Bring An End by Butler, Blake & Grant. These days, where Bernard (Butler) gets involved emotions I’m not used to pour out, and feel within, of me. In Bring An End is Norman Blake’s beautiful voice, and the lyrics, that bring me the most chills. The expressive guitars have a part in it too. Along with James and Bernard voices.
I like that Bernard, Norman and James are writing beautiful love and redemption songs. Bring An End music comes from fragments Norman had, the lyrics from James’ notebooks.
The gorgeous video features Scottish landscapes and St. Margaret’s Braemar, a church in Braemar, Scotland, turned arts venue.
Maybe there is a new essay from me on the way…
Butler Blake & Grant Tracklist: Side One Bring An End (Norman Blake) One And One Is Two (James Grant) The 90s (Bernard Butler) Down By The Sea (Norman Blake) The Old Mortality (Bernard Butler)
Side Two Girl With A Little Black Number (James Grant) Writing’s On The Wall (Norman Blake) Rosus Posus (Instrumental) Seemed She Always Knew (James Grant) There’s Always Something You Can Change (Bernard Butler)
Butler Blake & Grant debut album was home recorded in Norman Blake’s cottage loving room, mixed in London by Bernard Butler, and mastered by George Shilling. The album is out March 28th on 355 Recordings.
words: Paulo Carmona (edited by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Telma Mota
I knew that Bernard Butler was a guitar genius due to his creativity and originality.
I confess I didn’t knew he was such a communicator. He is very humorous, entertaining and truthful in his discourse, not even shying away from self-deprecation.
His pop rock is of a singular richness and his ease in transposing it on stage is, to say the least, appreciably comforting. I can feel colours from all shades of the rainbow in Butler’s songs, coated in intense, personal and introspective lyrics. It’s not hard to see yourself in one song or the other, and that’s why it’s easy to navigate his world.
In this concert at Casa da Música, Bernard’s first ever in Porto, he presented Good Grief, his new album in 25 years, gave us songs such as Deep Emotions and Pretty D, and obviously iconic songs from People Move On, such as My Domain, and the closing Not Alone.
From his collaborations with other artists he brought songs like Although (McAlmont & Butler) and Shallow The Water (Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler).
A solo concert so intimate, just the man and his guitar(s), that you could talk to the musician and sip the stories from his Gibson ES-355, which, in his hands, almost speaks.
I was delighted by the riffs, sometimes intense, sometimes soft, but all of them imbued with charismatic melodies. Butler is a storyteller and a speaker of the sensations that come from those stories. What’s impressive is the way in which those same sensations fit, in a perfect symbiosis, with the dynamics of his songs. It’s a gift.
My Amazing Songs & Other Delights #72 – The Ecosystem edition is now on mixcloud.
Of late, I’ve been coming upon the word ecosystem from different sources. Or happen upon lyrics, or otherwise that mention the concept that we’re all one, we’re connected, that we depend on each other.
That concept is part of Body Count’s Comfortably Numb version of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb the song that opens this edition. Ice-T writes and says: “Listen… ’cause I’ve been on both sides of the gun As you stand before me we’re all here as one We gotta come together or our chances are none Maybe I’m just a dreamer, too many obstacles” (full lyrics here)
An ecosystem implies environment and those in it interacting, forging connections, relationships, one thing leading to another. That is how both Mondo and Yé Yé came to be. The longer text about My Amazing Songs & Other Delights #72 – The Ecosystem edition can be read here.
Tracklist: 01: Body Count – Comfortably Numb (feat. David Gilmour) 02: Raveloe – Passing Place 03: 12 Roads – Waiting For JB 04: Rowland S. Howard – Shut Me Down 05: Ned Swarbrick – Somebody, Something, Somewhere Else (live York City FC) 06: Mick Harvey – October Boy 07: Johnny Marr – New Town Velocity 08: The Birthday Party – The Friend Catcher 09: Saint Sappho – Grass is Gold 10: Oh Bobby (Bill Rivers and Simon Hayward) – Are You Still There 11: Sorry Monks – One Rule For Them 12: Paradise Lost – The Last Time 13: Harry Howard And The NDE – Sensitive To The Cold 14: Mark Robin White & Adam Lato – Rabbit Hole (Tranquility mix) 15: The Courettes – Shake! 16: A Resistência – Maré Alta
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 