Downstream - The Pink Room

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted and when I logged on I thought this was going to be a 'sorry, not sure when I'll be back' post.

You see, the Adblock crackdown finally came for me, and YouTube refused to work. Even after removing the Adblockers, I still couldn't get anything to play. And I mainly use YouTube and playlists for posts on this here blog.

Logging on today though and we've got some functionality. With ads, but stuff plays. Not sure what I'm gonna do when I need to play a playlist at the school. Pay for YouTube Premium you say? Over my cold dead body. Google has enough money.

Away from my YouTube fight, I've been to Porto, did a linocut class, and been rewatching Twin Peaks (on Blu-ray, no streaming issues or adverts there).

And here's that killer psych-rock dirge from Fire Walk With Me called The Pink Room...

Related post: It is happening again...

The Futureheads @ SWX

Saw The Futureheads in Bristol last night and it was a blast.

Most fun I've had at a gig in a long time. Great songs, Gower chat, a couple of quiz questions. The venue was alright too, first time in SWX, not baking, decent sightline from the raised bit on the side, £7+ for a pint though.

But The Futureheads were great, even the one acapella track was a bit spesh and they finished on Man Ray which was an absolute delight, windmilling away I was.

So yeah, it's a hard recommend for me if you can catch them on the rest of their tour. If you do go, swing by the merch stand as there's a rare-ish 7" for sale for £5 - Broke Up The Time (Field Music Remix), which according to Discogs was a "Giveaway 7 inch white label at King's College Gig 29th November 2007".

And the band may also show up there, I handed my fiver to Jaff the bassist for my copy.

Disintegration Bath

I'm not in a good place. No, not Llantwit Major, though it is less charming in winter when there's a v little to do. Mentally, I'm not in a good place. V low, v tired, v done with the world right now.

Life ain't great, though I'm not in trouble, which makes me feel worse. There are many, many people out there having it worse, what have I really got to complain about?

When in doubt, have a bath and listen to something. Today it was episode 69 (nice) of Sideways, Memento Mori.

Blurb: "The passing of time brings inevitable change - corrosion, disintegration and, eventually, disappearance. While the certainty of this process may seem like cause for despair, Matthew Syed explores the beauty that can be found in the process of decay."

Now there's something to lift the spirits.

It features stuff on abandoned buildings in Detroit but mostly it's on William Basinski and The Disintegration Loops. The Disintegration Loops is one of those albums I've always meant to get around to but never do.

Until today.

Now is the time, things have aligned.

Wish me luck.

Related post: Bathtime With Yamaneko

9 in 1 (45)

Wrapped in plastic.

Girl Ray - Give Me Your Love (Version Française - Edit)

Came across this on the Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 2022 comp, which I bought for £3 in the Bristol branch of that shop. One of the few CDs in there like. I can't be dropping £40 on a record, mate. Anyway, I don't know much about Girl Ray but Give Me Your Love has a nice Hot Chip feel to it.

Jeff Parker - Super Rich Kids

Jeff Parker got a mention in the new newsletter from NTS DJ Macca, whose One Glove show on Saturday mornings is always a good listen like. His newsletter is pretty good too. As is this sparse instrumental cover of the Frank Ocean banger. Think I read somewhere that Jeff Parker is in Tortoise.

Modern English - Gathering Dust

Scratchy driving thriving post-punk from 1981. My bread and butter.

Antipop Consortium - Bubblz

Future-facing hip-hop from 2002. I used to have Arrhythmia, the album this is off, but I've not a clue what happened to it. Great story, Sam.

Crystal Castles - Not In Love ft. Robert Smith of The Cure

Yeah, I know it's not on to post Crystal Castles in 2025. But it does bang. 36m views on YouTube too. So I'm not the only one.

Rustie - Raptor

I used to have this as my wake-up alarm when it came out in 2014. I can only now listen to it again.

Un-cut - Midnight

Liquid D'n'B at its most pop-focused, but what a roller.

Fred Everything and Stereo MCs - Soul Love (Clive From Accounts Remix)

Bit like The Streets and I'm up for a UKG revival this summer. Not to be confused with Fred Again or Colin from Accounts.

Capone - Music Love Song

Incredible, and I mean incredible cosmic disco from 1979 with this mad distorted guitar. Straight on my best things I heard this year list.

Original image: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

9 in 1 (44)

We continue...

Glowing Palms - Ask Me After Midnite

A slightly novel(ty) cover is my kryptonite. Here's a wonky take on Skream's classic Midnight Request Line. It's also a free download off Bandcamp as well, lovely stuff.

Joshua Idehen - Mum Does The Washing

The last track and this track featured on a recent show from Ruf Dug, apparently one of his last ones on NTS Radio, which is a real shame. Anyway, this is another wonky slice of something, mixing spoken word, humour, politics, and bubbly electronics. Into it. Might stick it on my 2025 list already, never too early to start.

Il Quadro di Troisi - Non Ricordi

Colder than cold coldwave that's actually from Italy in 2020 rather than Czechoslovakia in 1981. Still into it.

Aneka - Japanese Boy

Now this is definitely from 1981 and would in no way come out in the 2020s. Still kinda fun though.

D.D. Mirage - So Hot

Slick retro/Balearic disco from 2024. Australian appaz.

The B-52s - Dirty Back Road

Kinda surprised that this is the first appearance of The B52's on this blog. 

Kendrick Lamar - Squabble Up

Not a massive fan of GNX but Squabble Up is decent.

Vektroid - Hard Toys (feat. Siddiq)

Don't even know where to begin trying to slot this into a genre. Featured in one of those Autechre shows on 6 Music before Xmas.

Snow Strippers - So What If I'm a Freak

Is late-00s maximal electro back? Is this what they're calling indie sleaze? Is shit I remember already being recycled by the kids? Fuuuuck. Happy 2025. 

Original image: Malis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons