tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-230625162024-03-17T07:10:59.784+11:00Cassettes & Chocolate MilkCassettes & Chocolate Milk examines and defends passionate pop antics in essays and podcasts devoted to the punks, mod revivalists, lovers of synth and mad devotees of British pop. Don't forget to leave some <b>love</b>.Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-84779248568298136792024-02-02T06:56:00.003+11:002024-02-11T09:29:28.100+11:00<p>It's my third year of doing Jamuary, and it's the one occasion where I really throw myself into creating synthpop on Ableton for <a href="https://brianfunk.com/mpc" target="_blank">Brian Funk's Music Production Club</a>. It's a big priority in my heart but I don't think about creating "real" songs, I think about the compatibilities of sound: <i>is this too much? What am I expecting to hear? What happens if I hold back? What happens if I drop away?</i></p><p>I've uploaded this year's Jamuary sessions for download on C&CM. They're scrappy and DIY, and I tend to prefer the <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%40missy_el%20%23jamuary2024&t=Y-8zbNWVSO4o2UqKLz0ZkA&s=09" target="_blank">lo-fi versions</a> on my socials. I love to detect an influence seeping in, accidentally working out how to do Italo Disco, Amiga demos, or even Bloc Party. There's a kind of thrill in creating music in such an instinctive way, working towards a sense of what "feels" right.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.playtronica.com/products/playtron" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2600" data-original-width="4328" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXrOt5KNCpAAafWbn0qRLmZRTiJYVwEuTvNNjrZpzOwMkihQDgEbpOJ8e7iJgm9evyPMqYuWNZ1SmIUe6hGrZQPvN0itV9nX6s1jm9k_A4Ixoop1sWkuvxC0OHdk34HFPDZuQvRS_lJcRHqeWjai1-HMfp9l5mLdCgfKZQimnCd9ggxEHhbt8CA/s320/playtron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Hacked Playtron</i></b></div><div><br /></div>My videos typically feature a <a href="https://shop.playtronica.com/products/playtron" target="_blank">Playtron</a>, which I also call "the motherboard". It's a reworked midi controller used to trigger audio samples on <a href="https://output.com/products/arcade" target="_blank">Arcade's Output</a>. The motherboard needs to be ground with a silver ring, attached by an alligator clip to my finger. Of course, this is not to be confused with the "acid harp", a lyre which overwhelms everyone with its resonance.<div><br /></div><div>I might show you how the scrappy DIY jams are made one day, but perhaps that's a thing for another year (or decade)...<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/Missy%20El's%20Jamuary%202024.zip" target="_blank">Download Missy El's Jamuary 2024 (304 MB)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xMyf2Jkuw4&list=PL8aa9oxZ3SZrrBPtOnqtEStYmolvpZl2G" target="_blank">Watch the live jams on YouTube</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8aa9oxZ3SZrrBPtOnqtEStYmolvpZl2G" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGJKfSUfp6xa29-wUmLsnXTEjn9K9HS4QPqpXF5gCG_4dQBWxNAtNNJ-uGcAMlrG4NK0mS9Qkv8T3f0Lq9WlCIVtjzb7spFDX5wf9-ne8hzFMbsMBYsfm2UTwFhM3325h1fz0OLN4XRUx4YoVsb_llVOptfJQ_y3BV4idxWnFIyEfRMfH0QMXWw/s320/jamuary-gif.gif" width="180" /></a></div><div><p><br /></p></div></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com4London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-63545804814011506732023-10-17T09:11:00.008+11:002023-11-08T03:22:54.712+11:00Announcing C&CM x FOTW's Halloween Listening Party 2023<p>It's time for C&CM's show for <a href="https://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com/" target="_blank">FOTW Radio's Halloween Listening Party</a> for 2023! Tune in for an hour-long special of macabre synth-pop, indie obscurities, Italo Disco and much more! Tune in live at <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com">halloweenlisteningparty.com</a></p><p>For listeners in Sydney, you can listen in on Tuesday 31st October at 10pm.</p><p>For listeners in London, you can listen in on Tuesday 31st October at 10pm.</p><p><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meetingtime.html?iso=20231031&p1=240&p2=136&p3=137&p4=179&p5=248" target="_blank">Find out what time to listen in your timezone.</a></p><p>You can listen to the 2022 show <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2022/10/c-x-fotws-halloween-listening-party.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>You can listen to the 2021 show <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-return-of-c-takeover-hour-for-fotws.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>You can listen to the 2020 shows <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2020/10/c-saturday-night-takeover-on-fotws.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr-EbL4nuWTGrHIZU2mK_c7t1xwMbcM1PdXnv3xwOGgj338jzG_hfZt_oJURxLTQWgUN7LXssJX5kM4utn78SddxvsVLTm6MeQHXZ8kVkDcdEtxl0SYqm1PHV5HonhsQi25cbXnWGBQcScGs3Oc-HaTQ_qfN4oL4QRoZnv2cvTXUslZLGK52V6Q/s320/halloween2023.jpg" width="288" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com">halloweenlisteningparty.com</a></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>[UPDATE]</i> </b>You can download the 2023 C&CM x Halloween Listening Party for FOTW show here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20x%20FOTW%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%202023.mp3" target="_blank">Download (137 MB)</a></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-28974243268345646362023-10-08T20:00:00.051+11:002023-10-08T20:00:00.153+11:00<p><i> "Now you're gone, there's nothing left to go on, to go on..."</i></p><p>In May 2017, I took a night bus to Ghent with the grand ambition of writing a song. I had written one just a few days before on my guitar. I had been keen to incorporate a term that we used at the hostel, so I called it Check Out. The lyrics cited the well-honed seduction techniques from our local Lothario: <i>"Leave tonight with glow-sticks in your shoes, it's a sign you're just another conquest, just another conquest..." </i>It only really meant something to those who were there.</p><p>The idea of songwriting tourism came about when I reflected upon one former colleague who locked herself up in an Amsterdam apartment to write an EP. I knew I couldn't do anything like that, I'm too much of a tourist to refrain from going to the castles and the op shops. I need to go to the record shops and hassle the record store owners about the local scene in the 1980s. I need to go to the clothing shops and Shazam every song. I talk to too many people. I make too many friends. No way could a song materialise from that...</p><p>I did try on that trip to Ghent though. Between the frantic tourism, I went from coffee shop to coffee shop, writing Pat Pattison-style boxes containing lyrical narratives in my flimsy cahier. Nothing materialised. It wasn't until I came upon Le Bal Infernal, a used book cafe, when something changed. I sat in the corridor, watching a silent film flicker on the creamy stone walls, probably creating a fire hazard. An inter-title flashed up and stung me: <i>"My heart's broken. I must be alone with my thoughts." </i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyb8YxPTBd-sx7YftFvHCXAPxZSpPcqkMPZ3YkfSfcEhSaAVaSb97wA-gmxmQfaoNfDFsoHyVEXiIh5bgICbWDrPi9KgZTNKnnB7OwWEOw1416YzVlqJw_J_kqpi2CbNNw12WZd8SaCuk_cQoGWiU-zTxgsawcCgU_mfrUQoP-IkTiRakjWpQeg/s4128/20170519_162519.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2322" data-original-width="4128" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyb8YxPTBd-sx7YftFvHCXAPxZSpPcqkMPZ3YkfSfcEhSaAVaSb97wA-gmxmQfaoNfDFsoHyVEXiIh5bgICbWDrPi9KgZTNKnnB7OwWEOw1416YzVlqJw_J_kqpi2CbNNw12WZd8SaCuk_cQoGWiU-zTxgsawcCgU_mfrUQoP-IkTiRakjWpQeg/s320/20170519_162519.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Making sense of your false concepts...</i></b></div><p></p><p>I ordered at the bar. I sat down with a mocha and Trust Accounts arrived.</p><p>I worked out the chords and keyed in a primitive melody on Caustic, a synthy app on my phone. I wrote lyrics down in pencil, fearing a mistake but it fell out intact. The people on the next table asked me, "What are you doing?!" I laughed. You would have thought I would feel embarrassed or annoyed but I felt totally elated. Randoms witnessed this outpouring of frantic MIDI coding and my god, I had never identified as a songwriter, but these strangers just saw me writing a song.</p><p>Certain lines of Trust Accounts felt like a Jessie Ware song to me: <i>"Why must we act as if this is forever when love expires at the end of the night? Why must I care and hope and wish whenever you say that we can talk and share despite..." </i>It wasn't about any one person, it was about a pattern that rolls on in perpetuity: men demanding trust in an intrusive way.</p><p>My version of Trust Accounts is not the definitive version. <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/Marcella%20-%20Trust%20Accounts%20(Missy%20El%20cover).mp3" target="_blank">My friend, Marcella Wright of the synth duo Silent Income recorded a cover of it</a>. She sends me videos of her singing it on stage in Melbourne: <i>"Demand accounts, you can talk, you can trust me..." </i>If it wasn't for her, Trust Accounts would have lived and died as an unheard scrappy demo, but she arranged it and transformed it, giving it this beauty and iridescence.</p><p>The lyrics still sting, but I love that. I love how it honoured, and still honours, my truth.</p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Consequential Lyrics Fan Podcast #76</b><br />Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWeppF9fEMGSgxHBHgBvUNK8abWbiY8-G" target="_blank">David M. Green's VHS Revue</a>)<br />Faunts - M4, Pt. 2 (<a href="https://wordtweak.substack.com/" target="_blank">Word Tweak's Substack</a>)<br />Brand New - Seventy Times 7 (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/mygirlfrienddolly/" target="_blank">Jessa Stephens' My Girlfriend Dolly</a>)<br />New Order - Subculture (<a href="https://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com/" target="_blank">IJ Wilson's Halloween Listening Party on FOTW Radio</a>)<br />Echo and the Bunnymen - A Promise (<a href="https://twitter.com/SilverDraws" target="_blank">Mark Silver's Twitter</a>)<br />Sparks - Equator (<a href="https://www.mildscribbling.com/" target="_blank">Rebecca Sheedy's Mild Scribbling</a>)<br />Paul Simon - The Obvious Child (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Shot97">Shot97's YouTube</a>)<br />Belle and Sebastian - Desperation Made a Fool of Me (<a href="https://twitter.com/Teatlemania" target="_blank">Teatles' Twitter</a>)<br />Pink Floyd - Time (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWeppF9fEMGSgxHBHgBvUNK8abWbiY8-G" target="_blank">David M. Green's VHS Revue</a>)<br />Bloc Party - Plans (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharronswims/" target="_blank">Sharronswims' Instagram</a>)</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Consequential%20Lyrics%20Fans%20Podcast%20%2376.mp3" target="_blank">Download (154.2MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-75 here</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_30.html" target="_blank">More about Consequential Lyrics</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com3Ghent, Belgium51.0500182 3.730335122.739784363821151 -31.4259149 79.360252036178849 38.8865851tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-15476020408306180092023-09-08T19:00:00.093+10:002023-09-08T19:00:00.144+10:00<div>I think if you were to describe the <a href="https://youtu.be/KXV5-GkKUsk?si=KHA1X_cWY3fnRa75" target="_blank">Budbrain Megademo</a> to someone who had never seen it, you would sound a bit deranged: "there's this constipated man who flies off the toilet and these beatboxing baby chicks, and then there's this multi-part film about an intruder...?" You'd invariably trail off, but that doesn't detract from how rad it is. My older brother and I would watch it together and it was crucial he was there, because he had to turn off the Amiga before the dick jokes appeared.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was six when I first saw Budbrain and I immediately fell in love with the KAOS sequence. It's like your own private nightclub, where the Dr Baker mashes with Technotronic and Coldcut, synthy stabs are synchronised with a seemingly infinite array of flashing images: a punk baby and a foot-tapping Elvis. It's cool in the most confident sense of the word... and although it may be difficult to faithfully describe it, anyone who knows it has the tendency to agree.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK81sFaWZJfKbk2VlBM0LYoxQfh1XdPhAXkZ3ScqXpNcTjbwjmlgEUTzJhKoCPCy_LRTCY9zsDByX7_8h62nYm9DO8dWAmDF-_MCChJLjTk7sf31h25FtM__qdXxkpxA3j2nB5KMjzv_aaHMa5QnVEz0Jr0_ift1EzvPW7HFc7DsxRmSZBQoTKQ/s400/kaos.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="400" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK81sFaWZJfKbk2VlBM0LYoxQfh1XdPhAXkZ3ScqXpNcTjbwjmlgEUTzJhKoCPCy_LRTCY9zsDByX7_8h62nYm9DO8dWAmDF-_MCChJLjTk7sf31h25FtM__qdXxkpxA3j2nB5KMjzv_aaHMa5QnVEz0Jr0_ift1EzvPW7HFc7DsxRmSZBQoTKQ/s320/kaos.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Is2lZKVyav8?si=OzW65sZmCiZ-76ng" target="_blank">KAOS</a></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Amiga Podcast #75</b></div><div>Jester - Elysium</div><div>Karsten Obarski - Rallye Master</div><div>Frog - Angie S.</div><div>Mulperi - Crystal Hammer (Mulperi Remix)</div><div>Captain - Space Debris</div><div>Wobbler - DNA Dream (Vanilla Roachford Remix)</div><div>Piepie - STAG 2</div><div>daXX - BA1 (D4XX 2005 Remix)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Amiga%20Podcast%20%2375.mp3" target="_blank">Download (89.7 MB)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-74 here</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://fusionretrobooks.com/collections/zzap-amiga" target="_blank">Buy ZZAP! AMIGA Magazine</a></div></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-2924425795866179202023-08-08T20:00:00.257+10:002023-08-16T06:43:03.479+10:00<p><i>"Tonight you'll see how love can stay here forever, when all you want is just the one last time..."</i></p><p>I remember how I felt when I first realised that <a href="https://youtu.be/12cLQSTHj7g" target="_blank">the Hurricanes' Only One Night</a> beared a lyrical similarity to <a href="https://youtu.be/wfXPXKLQdW4" target="_blank">Hot Chip's I Feel Bonnie (House Mix)</a>. I realised there was something in these songs that could be made into something, a podcast discussing parallel lyrical themes: two songs that were musically unrelated, but they used the ephemeral nature of music to enhance the meaning of the lyrics.</p><p>Both songs look at the concept pleading for "one more night", using it as an anthem for temporary lovers: <i>"I only want one night together, in our arms, this is the only night, we're meeting arms to arms..." </i>The lines would loop over and over again and the repetition of it echoed its madness, suggesting that despite its insistent lyrics, that one night would never be enough.</p><p>Daydreams for such projects ring out while on walks, but they're rarely meaty enough to materialise into anything real. They faintly echo the preoccupations of <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_30.html" target="_blank">Consequential Lyrics</a>, a project I did actually complete in August 2013. It involved playfully pasting up lyrics and gushing about personal meanings in episodes about <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/consequential-lyrics-1-queen.html" target="_blank">Queen</a>, <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/consequential-lyrics-2-beatles.html" target="_blank">The Beatles</a>, <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/consequential-lyrics-3-depeche-mode.html" target="_blank">Depeche Mode</a>, <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/consequential-lyrics-4-pet-shop-boys.html" target="_blank">Pet Shop Boys</a>, <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/consequential-lyrics-5-smiths.html" target="_blank">The Smiths</a>, <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/consequential-lyrics-6-erasure.html" target="_blank">Erasure</a> and <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/consequential-lyrics-bonus-episode.html" target="_blank">Roxette</a>. There was also a <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/consequential-lyrics-8-fan-episode.html" target="_blank">fan episode</a>, made up of contributions from musicians, writers, broadcasters, and fans.</p><p>It had to constantly remind myself that there had to be some value or even charm in recording the way people find these poetic dimensions in pop lyrics. These stories would become a precursor to the life I would lead at the hostel, sharing songs and lyrical associations with guests, late into the night. I sometimes wonder whether these lyrics were meaningful because we didn't read enough poetry, or whether we were just incapable of admitting how we truly felt.</p><p>As the hostel life moves further away from me, I wonder about those daydreams for projects that ring out. It's much like child tugging on my leather jacket, pitching ideas in vain. I'm left asking whether it's really my responsibility to do all this, to reveal personal stories with nauseating levels of vulnerability. My confidence wavers. Did I faithfully remember those lines that stung? Did I just make it all up?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_30.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Consequential Lyrics artwork by Antonio Sanciolo" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDS2ZTB4Nas2t0stsbNdHTxwf5Sq5XLM7jW-eKpiTwgHwYXeURpagNFC72kcFxwoyLJTvOjcpw5COP_XdBNVvAJD9nCmPUb8rirYXP1ijp_IRjDFXcgnpx3sLw1LSnzsVNwzHUeYgg_g306P7SlwfhWWag-x71tsb8NNccBWbKq1I6Z56hvBmgw/w320-h320/consequentiallyrics-10years.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://whitetigergrafiks.com/?tag=antonio-sanciolo" target="_blank">Consequential Lyrics artwork by Antonio Sanciolo</a></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Consequential Lyrics Podcast #74<br /></b>Fleetwood Mac - Isn't it Midnight<br />England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love to See You Tonight<br />Sam Cooke - Desire Me<br />Sohn - Artifice<br />Nils Bech - Glimpse of Hope<br />Alexandra Savior - Crying All the Time<br />Boy Jr - Are They Actually Attractive?<br />Emma Pollock - If Silence Means that Much to You<br />Jim Croce - A Long Time Ago</p><div><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Consequential%20Lyrics%20Podcast%20%2374.mp3" target="_blank">Download (81.5 MB)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-73 here</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Submit your voice recording of your Consequential Lyrics - quote its lyrics and expand on its meaning - for a future fan episode of C&CM. Please include the song title, personal story and relevant lyrics in your voice recording: <a href="mailto:consequentiallyrics@gmail.com">consequentiallyrics@gmail.com</a></div><div><br /></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com2London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-48885068894591029162023-07-08T19:00:00.021+10:002023-09-05T07:07:04.544+10:00<p><i>"The pureness and simplicity must come across so people can hear the human part of the song. That is everything."</i></p><p>I came across that quote and I immediately thought of the bonus mini-zine that <a href="https://twitter.com/Teatlemania" target="_blank">Teatles</a> made called Beautiful Beatle Moments. It features contributions by tweet to the question: "Does anyone have a favourite moment in a Beatles song? A second or two where it all gets perfect?"</p><p>The quotes are abundant and anonymous: "The pause in the middle of <i>She Came in Through the Bathroom Window</i>, just before the "She said she'd always been a dancer." Each moment is spliced into a micromoment, conveyed in only a handful of words but it takes you straight to a heart-buzzing vocal take or an instrumental that makes you feel vast levels of love and gratitude. Intense emotions are cited, "John's high-pitched desperate 'pleeease' at the end of <i>Don't Let Me Down</i>."</p><p>In any Beatle-related conversation, it is common to bandy around the term "perfect". It's convenient for the hyperbolic gushy types like myself, but it's also helpful to convey a certain sense of gratitude that everything managed to transpire as it did. It's also helpful that to have community of people who can identify these "moving" micromoments of happiness, something barely detectable that somehow reveal the humanness, the laughter and mistakes of this band: "George fudging the solo in <i>All You Need is Love </i>- I know it was live. All these add to their greatness rather than detract from it."</p><p>Others run towards the raw expression and I can feel the beauty of these moments too: "Oh, how could I forget this? John baring his soul and almost sobbing the vocals, five years prior to the Plastic Ono Band album, "But it's my pride, yes it yes, yes it is, yes it is." It's beautiful to recognise something that could have been characterised as a therapeutic release, despite the evident levels of pain. We like to think we know what John had been going through and detecting these small dimensions of grief help us in some way. They help, because we miss him. It also provides a small hope that this music was cathartic for him too.</p><p>It's strange but that kind of vulnerability was mentioned only today, when I watched Paul analyse his photographs for the NPG's exhibition, <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/paul-mccartney-photographs-1963%E2%80%9364-eyes-of-the-storm/" target="_blank">Paul McCartney, Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm</a>. Paul looked up at his photograph of John sitting in the back seat of a car, his hand folded to cover his mouth. "I forgot how he used to do that all the time..." I recognised that self-soothing gesture within myself, as a former thumb-sucker. You cover up on your month in moments of stress and you do so without even thinking about it, and then you realise you're doing it all the time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYj0KD0_RWBNr_0ZeRrlx3vGzCxLOxXHP_njEWEdMxBtLSNoSZxFHDfD1zZ-0Qo-vnrjexcZoBB14YDgw5D-GTFoa1gaDEvOCIFdQo2mtnkMK_1p5LyfxMHas5FgJd11GnW1fvDmSJUwFX2n8YN6poKKbalvGwjcYAd4Gc5vX0w4WItZ9xSKRPSA/s800/john-hand.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="800" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYj0KD0_RWBNr_0ZeRrlx3vGzCxLOxXHP_njEWEdMxBtLSNoSZxFHDfD1zZ-0Qo-vnrjexcZoBB14YDgw5D-GTFoa1gaDEvOCIFdQo2mtnkMK_1p5LyfxMHas5FgJd11GnW1fvDmSJUwFX2n8YN6poKKbalvGwjcYAd4Gc5vX0w4WItZ9xSKRPSA/s320/john-hand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Got to be good looking 'cause he's so hard to see</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>In <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24961198M/Music_and_Imagination" target="_blank">Music and Imagination</a>, Aaron Copland wrote about how difficult it was to seize the musical experience and hold it. "Unlike that moment in a film when a still shot suddenly immobilises a complete scene, a single musical moment immobilised makes audible only one chord, which in itself is comparatively meaningless." It might be easier to look at Paul's photograph of John and extrapolate the character of a man we feel like we know, but it's still fun to challenge Copland. We're each attempting attempt to seize the musical experience, as fleeting and granular as it is. The joy is in the attempt.</p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Early 90s Pop Podcast #73</b><br />The Adventures of Stevie V - Dirty Cash (Money Talks) (Sold Out 7 Inch Mix)<br />Ace of Base - Happy Nation<br />Split Mirrors - The Right Time<br />Peter Gabriel - Digging in the Dirt<br />Oingo Boingo - Dream Somehow<br />Leevi and the Leavings - Turkmenialainen tyttöystävä<br />The Beloved - Time After Time<br />C+C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Early%2090s%20Pop%20Podcast%20%2373.mp3" target="_blank">Download (87.8 MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-72 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-81349849924671195712023-06-08T19:00:00.090+10:002023-09-05T07:06:44.948+10:00<p><i> "What would you do if you got to him?"</i></p><p>I had just returned from a night out at the BFI Mediathque. I meet Glynne there from time to time and we generally watch a lot of 1970s television together. Weird stuff mostly, some puzzling game shows, some awkward children's television. We had recently been preoccupied with a show called London Bridge. It was a Saturday morning TV show, designed for teenagers, made between 1974 and 1975. It's hilarious and stilted, quite often, featuring a cavalcade of stars and heartthrobs that would have made the average 70s teenager wheeze.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5qZQcn_x_bhOS0aYeBhS48GA1xzMHDsCLZXjgVpnP0J2LX4F85WvpbmbHAQYra0QqBPUCUkoXLrbjbGBo-d40C4uYKI7_ldCLa77rk9Mp6kT3C2hadRW-wqqv0ssRrpXRpRzZU3jlXvtM8d0h78IYYDK_QcUvGESsdOyZSuO7Ay4XRvHzyI/s1837/london-bridge-k.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1837" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5qZQcn_x_bhOS0aYeBhS48GA1xzMHDsCLZXjgVpnP0J2LX4F85WvpbmbHAQYra0QqBPUCUkoXLrbjbGBo-d40C4uYKI7_ldCLa77rk9Mp6kT3C2hadRW-wqqv0ssRrpXRpRzZU3jlXvtM8d0h78IYYDK_QcUvGESsdOyZSuO7Ay4XRvHzyI/s320/london-bridge-k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Calm thyself...</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>The distinction between adult and teenager becomes increasingly apparent when watching this show. Every segment is a kind of heavy-handed suggestion of something kids can "do" with their lives, whether that's journalism, nursing, veterinary science or acrobatics. They have a team of teenagers, sitting on the set, politely waiting their turn to ask their carefully-crafted question in a soft cockney whisper. Occasionally they are forced to step up and volunteer themselves for garish haircuts and/or makeovers by overbearing adults, often pushing weird or problematic agendas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwQHZePH2iU0G47HJPhDF85bElHLOgoReesC739VdKi773GlumnCdxBGINMUDTeWSsKr2oVBE8ia55qM2rK9FQTQx1YyodIUtmYSy-m8ltC6Q8Llys9o8nF2LP0xOcCSPcRv79dHpnToVzz3hwcLrU1c4kqa9u8J-D_a-DVQcELzGF_Znkus/s2048/london-bridge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1335" data-original-width="2048" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwQHZePH2iU0G47HJPhDF85bElHLOgoReesC739VdKi773GlumnCdxBGINMUDTeWSsKr2oVBE8ia55qM2rK9FQTQx1YyodIUtmYSy-m8ltC6Q8Llys9o8nF2LP0xOcCSPcRv79dHpnToVzz3hwcLrU1c4kqa9u8J-D_a-DVQcELzGF_Znkus/s320/london-bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>The sacred clapperboard</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>One specific episode struck me and I promptly made notes about it as soon as I came home. It was an episode where the Bay City Rollers were guests in the studio. The girls on set were especially jittery, their cheeks glowed a purplish red as they pawed nervously at their tartan scarves. They were, after all, sitting thigh by thigh with their favourite pop stars. You would have thought it would have been like any other interview, but then the bodyguards of the Bay City Rollers were introduced to the show.</p><p>The host cut to clips of the Bay City Rollers stepping out onto the tarmac, being greeted by legions of hysterical fans, just as if it were ten years before with John, Paul, George and Ringo (or maybe six months before with Freddie, Brian, Roger and John?). You couldn't help but cackle at the sheer scale of it. No offence to any Bay City Rollers fans but the hysteria seemed disproportionate to the actual handsomeness of the musicians concerned, but then, I am especially shallow and hard to please.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sc6_EbyoYi2KrohSGWcK3yCrKpsQLuAdhSh4axrYKGRLNpWjClQlqA1evKHEMCeRUeRFED_oFGq29RLLGGYAdJnrQWJxPos-SR1rDIslijvkJ2LxyXkoDzEsHM23PnbsxzBYwpIAQHW_AxtdqWwnnQ804TraHTZT3ODJjj0GJ0tkaThQ-fM/s1789/rubbish-london-bridge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1349" data-original-width="1789" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sc6_EbyoYi2KrohSGWcK3yCrKpsQLuAdhSh4axrYKGRLNpWjClQlqA1evKHEMCeRUeRFED_oFGq29RLLGGYAdJnrQWJxPos-SR1rDIslijvkJ2LxyXkoDzEsHM23PnbsxzBYwpIAQHW_AxtdqWwnnQ804TraHTZT3ODJjj0GJ0tkaThQ-fM/s320/rubbish-london-bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Rubbish</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>Instead of asking any questions to the fans or the group, the host looked to the band's bodyguards, questioning them about how you become a bodyguard and what it is like to travel from city to city, protecting pop musicians. The discussion turned to the rabid behaviour of the fans, throwing themselves onto cars and crying. One of the bodyguards turned to one of the girls and said, <i>"What would you do if you got to him?" </i>She stuttered, almost tearfully, <i>"I don't know, I just love him..."</i></p><p>It was a diabolical scenario, what maniac thought this up? What would it have been like to be seated with your favourite musicians, only to be confronted by thuggish henchmen? How could you possibly account for the rabid behaviour of other teenage fans, when you're containing your lust so calmly? <i>"What would you do if you got to him?"</i>. I wouldn't dignify that question with a response, after all, such a prompt is worthy of scrutiny only among the closest of friends, lying in the darkness on the floor of a sleepover.</p><p>Such discussions would no doubt involve detailed scenarios, dreams of what it'd be like to be face to face, hip to hip, cheek to cheek. Such admissions featured in Fred Vermorel's sociological study, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Starlust-Secret-Life-Fans-Comet/dp/0863790046" target="_blank">Starlust: The Secret Lives of Fans</a>. Published in 1985, the anonymity of the admissions revealed the depth, the meaning and the clarity of those daydreams. Usually, but not always, that fangirlism provided solace against the backdrop of terrible grief and loneliness.</p><p>If I could go back and advise those girls on London Bridge, I would tell them not to be rattled by those bodyguards, not to fazed by their bullish interrogation tactics. I would give them permission to obliterate their calmness and scream, <i>scream their lungs out</i>, just like the girls on the tarmac. They had just met their favourite band! They had just sat alongside them! Knees touching knees! Feet touching feet! This will be a day they'll remember forever. </p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Baroque Pop Podcast #72<br /></b>Jethro Tull - Bourée<br />Amazing Blondel - Highwayman<br />Cat Stevens - Moonstone<br />Carpenters - Mr Guder<br />Paul McCartney - Dear Boy<br />Andrew Bird - Roma Fade<br />Vashti Bunyan - Come Wind Come Rain<br />Enya - Caribbean Blue<br />Lindisfarne - Lady Eleanor<br />Jacqueline Taieb - Ce Soir Je M'en Vais</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Baroque%20Pop%20Podcast%20%2372.mp3" target="_blank">Download (87.2 MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-71 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-72253003983478336282023-05-08T19:00:00.006+10:002023-09-05T07:06:24.618+10:00<p>I was listening to the audio commentary of PG Roxette's latest album, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7gzsDjrm9Mz2zXvodNPijz?si=y8e59W9LQ4uBlEKjpGLXwA" target="_blank">Pop Dynamo</a> and Per said something like, "I'm a melody guy..." and I agreed enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, I know what you mean, Per. I, too, am a melody girl."</p><p>I approached the prospect of making a 1980s Eurovision episode with the mindset of a "melody girl". I perpetually seek out catchy vocal lines and synthy hooks, but I also lack the patience to watch whole competitions. So scrubbing song after song, competition after competition, I realise that I am looking for something super specific. I want something upbeat in a minor key. Needless to say, my favoured entries came from Belgium, Finland and Turkey.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq0arPtlLoc5n4p7LZ1pVuEP0uG0CK6IjiIuGu3Wj2Gxlsr8vyLjz-DKl-FWNQA83Pcpqcuxqj-dxjjQqYPWvDiJ0-NPvPO-aLT2nHH_drViQ_zwQEzcMhiA_OnJHWmbMi0oa7wgJoZDPUkGp-jf5najydq8BzueaBjK0OrpPDICKy4-ZRR0/s400/eurovision-conductor.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq0arPtlLoc5n4p7LZ1pVuEP0uG0CK6IjiIuGu3Wj2Gxlsr8vyLjz-DKl-FWNQA83Pcpqcuxqj-dxjjQqYPWvDiJ0-NPvPO-aLT2nHH_drViQ_zwQEzcMhiA_OnJHWmbMi0oa7wgJoZDPUkGp-jf5najydq8BzueaBjK0OrpPDICKy4-ZRR0/s320/eurovision-conductor.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Turkey in Eurovision, 1989</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>A more naturalistic approach would be to watch the whole competition among my friends back home in Australia, and cackling heartily with a bucket of hummus on my lap. There'd be sarcastic comments, but it would never be mean. After all, we're on the same mission to find some perfect Europop. We'd have our phones out, making notes on our favourites, perpetually reminding everyone of who we liked until the voting process destroyed our pop hopes and dreams.</p><p>I did attend Eurovision one year, back in 2016. It was a surreal, awe-inspiring affair but nothing like the hummus-cackling. The smallest things transfixed me like the speedy changes between acts and the LED lanyards that illuminated in sequence with the rest of the stadium. The first semi-final, I found a perfect piece of pop: <a href="https://youtu.be/PQqUTigWKHY" target="_blank">If Love was a Crime, Bulgaria's entry by Poli Genova</a>. Since then it's been my go-to recommendation for any doubters.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEr5dfVjHbKmG8vCZkJ2sF2tMc4k80T-7N_u69vF5gsML94eM5CUljNyqpYXn_BeCPTKS_3sy57zmyeoBuvJkqPbQ5xwevvPjieKyFKy0KDLKZL2aI6uZQEOPJZ8RZ8-i37bBoliKLn0B0DN2qwKOg8Hv5a5rJsqMWHsLdHkTYZqfibG2upM/s3264/eurovision2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEr5dfVjHbKmG8vCZkJ2sF2tMc4k80T-7N_u69vF5gsML94eM5CUljNyqpYXn_BeCPTKS_3sy57zmyeoBuvJkqPbQ5xwevvPjieKyFKy0KDLKZL2aI6uZQEOPJZ8RZ8-i37bBoliKLn0B0DN2qwKOg8Hv5a5rJsqMWHsLdHkTYZqfibG2upM/s320/eurovision2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Eurovision, 2016</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>I'll be going up to Liverpool for this year's competition soon. In typical ritualistic fashion, I haven't listen to this year's entries and perhaps that's a part of being a "melody girl". For me, Eurovision requires another kind of pop sensibility, "dethroning the serious" as Susan Sontag would say. "Camp taste is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation - not judgment." The month of May is my time for just that, for the campness and the revelry, for friendship and that earnest search for perfect pop.</p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: 1980s Eurovision Podcast #71</b><br />Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (UK, 1981)<br />Ofra Haza - Hi (Israel, 1983)<br />Pas de Deux - Rendez-vous (Belgium, 1983)<br />MFÖ - Didai didai dai (Turkey, 1985)<br />Pan - Bana Bana (Turkey, 1989)<br />Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie (Belgium, 1986)<br />Liliane Saint Pierre - Soldiers of Love (Belgium, 1987)<br />Sonja Lumme - Eläköön elämä (Finland, 1985)<br />Vicky Rosti & Boulevard - Sata salamaa (Finland, 1987)<br />Cadillac - Valentino (Spain, 1986)</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%2080s%20Eurovision%20Podcast%20%2371.mp3" target="_blank">Download (77.8 MB)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.mixcloud.com/missyel85/ccm-mixtape-eurovision-favourites-2008-2014/" target="_blank">Listen to the C&CM Mixtape - Eurovision Favourites (2008-2014)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-70 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, 16 Monarchs Quay, Liverpool L3 4FP, UK53.3974959 -2.991553525.087262063821157 -38.1478035 81.707729736178848 32.1646965tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-73941326573290300982023-04-08T20:00:00.036+10:002023-09-05T07:06:03.072+10:00<p>Whenever I queue up the <a href="https://youtu.be/zAo1Ur3YBw8" target="_blank">YouTube of Oingo Boingo, live at the Ritz in 1985</a>, I'm typically met with a familiar feeling that I shouldn't be doing this, not again. Yet, whatever sense of dread I feel is aligned with the doom-laden humour of <a href="https://twitter.com/oingostruggles?lang=en-GB" target="_blank">Oingo Boingo Struggle Tweets 2</a>. Incredible awe is met with inevitable dread. I carcrash my passions. I overindulge and reach a saturation point with my listening practices.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomuY5uoqBzJCpJjF9Pjdc46kTINihV200gAMlBDS999BzLCknlYO0wBH5MX0L2vyJLkAnykTLNMD6YUHVPcGHYv6m_ojDYSgg1ie7QQc12vN6kAmFvNJoJ995Xac3MfFurpC2v1B2LcPd06EorttxUm_bWv9cL4a4lz4pMkZhdwEu47iqXOo/s400/ritz-boingo.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomuY5uoqBzJCpJjF9Pjdc46kTINihV200gAMlBDS999BzLCknlYO0wBH5MX0L2vyJLkAnykTLNMD6YUHVPcGHYv6m_ojDYSgg1ie7QQc12vN6kAmFvNJoJ995Xac3MfFurpC2v1B2LcPd06EorttxUm_bWv9cL4a4lz4pMkZhdwEu47iqXOo/s320/ritz-boingo.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"Live from the Ritz, Oingo Boingo..."</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>Unsurprisingly, I first came across Oingo Boingo at a Halloween party years ago. I shazammed Dead Man's Party not once, but twice, and it seemed that my fascination with that one song sustained me for a long time. I still haven't tired of its bombastic horns and the snide Frakenstein-cries: <i>"Don't run away! It's only me!"</i> I make it my business to shoehorn it into every <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com/" target="_blank">FOTW Halloween Listening Party x C&CM show</a>.</p><p>Saying that, I fell in with Boingo slowly, mostly finding one-off tracks and listening to them on solitary walks around Hampstead Heath. Grey Matter, Only a Lad and Just Another Day became so apart of that rona-ritual of walking, thinking and keeping the hell away from other people. When Spotify Wrapped comes round with ever-increasing frequency, I tend to foreshadow it with the obvious, "I mean, surely it's just all Oingo Boingo?"</p><p>Nowadays, I make it a habit to listen to the <a href="https://boingopodcast.buzzsprout.com/" target="_blank">Oingo Boingo Secret Appreciation Society</a>, a podcast which dives deep into its recurring lyrical themes and connections, and it's a humbling thing to be at the beginning of my Boingo fandom. The episode of Not My Slave especially had this fascinating analysis about relationship dynamics. I love how they cooed over the poetics of the line: <i>"With deafening sound, whisper, "I love you"..."</i></p><p>I like to listen, not to be an expert, but to figure out where these songs sit within myself. Finding whatever aspects that resonate, holding them to the light and thinking about why that is. It's much like walking on the Heath and pursuing whatever paths I want to take. I present interesting Boingo bits I find to my friend, Bec at <a href="https://www.mildscribbling.com/" target="_blank">Mild Scribbling</a>. She also watches that performance of Oingo Boingo, live at the Ritz in 1985.</p><p>We talk about the gestures and Danny's maniacal expressions, how maddeningly raucous it is. I feel grateful that despite my predilection to carcrash everything, I can share my thoughts with my very own Boingo friend.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mildscribbling.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1439" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNma5zOcK566KhSlkHC3btm5DS8Ac36Mt2qfxA5mj2wLDULVq9rcxfmF0brugOlX7-ZIIt7nHgxNp75ak5WeIae_fcjRCPvkhaSocv1vDwy15JgXkBV1OHuz2zCjFaA4RlKYW82V7UDWdBjhDCVTyxwq3OENyrdAi2K55-OVC45jnLEpzNQWQ/s320/oingo-bec.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Oingo Boingo at the Ritz by Bec </i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>(<a href="http://mildscribbling.com">mildscribbling.com</a>)</i></b></div><br /><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Disco Podcast #70</b><br />Vivien Vee - Alright<br />Patrick Cowley - Tech-No-Logical World<br />Miquel Brown - So Many Men, So Little Time<br />Michael Zager Band - Let's All Chant<br />Tim Curry - Paradise Garage<br />Bucks Fizz - Shine On<br />Village People - Magic Night<br />PFO Pilgrim Fathers Orchestra - Touch Me Don't Stop (12" Extended Mix)</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Disco%20Podcast%20%2370.mp3" target="_blank">Download (64 MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-69 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com3Hampstead Heath, London, UK51.5608294 -0.16294163.7935544583024097 -70.4754416 90 70.1495584tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-70282656035564737882023-03-08T01:19:00.008+11:002023-09-05T07:05:45.932+10:00<p>It hadn't been the most active research pursuit, but I had always willed a connection between Freddie Mercury and the V&A Museum. Perhaps it was a fanciful wish to link the two, since it's the museum I love and work for. It wasn't an implausible link either, there was that story about him taking the band to the Tate Britain to see <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dadd-the-fairy-fellers-master-stroke-t00598" target="_blank">Richard Dadd's The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke</a>, so why wouldn't Freddie drag his friends to the V&A? I think we've all done it.</p><p>I was watching a Freddie documentary earlier this week when the anecdote I had longed for materialised. In <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000v5hx" target="_blank">A Life in Ten Pictures</a>, Freddie's former girlfriend, Rosemary Pearson, spoke of their visit to the V&A together to see a ballet exhibition. It was a part of a project they had been working on at the Ealing School of Art. I had to wind it back a couple of times to see if I hadn't misheard anything. Had I found my story of Freddie at the V&A?</p><p>I looked back at the history of the V&A's exhibitions and calibrated the dates - the only ballet exhibition that could have coincided with Freddie being at the Ealing School of Art was <i>Ballet Illustration: 1581-1940</i>, which was on between 13 April and 1 October 1967. I checked the catalogue out at the British Library that night.</p><p>When I sat down at my desk, I wondered what on earth I expected to find exactly. Through all these elaborate set designs and elegantly drawn lithographs, there was some desire for an uncovered link, a moment that hadn't been fettered by some other fan or documentarian.</p><p>Page after page, there were smatterings of familiarity, but that was to be expected. So much of it seemed to be connected with Queen's aesthetic, whether it was sumptuous rococo stylings or the checks of the Harlequinade. I turn the page: <i>Scharamuza</i>. I flip back to the description: "Scaramouche brings on to the stage two small baskets, in which are concealed two small scaramouches. He then dances a measure, at the end of which he opens the baskets and is surprised to see what they contain..." Could that be the Scaramouche from Bohemian Rhapsody?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTVFVob3ERhR9bSf41aYEBArDCqQp7G2Ck4eB0Pw2yAujR1Bd2mExuZRYSGrZYkMxsLG5yUV1zU1TRZvfKFkKSRcbUvEgfDV3k9cBWxXzndo4fumiOn36xXn4AJsyDrJbG9su9PBzg6fGlDYS-FiF4gN4P1YfH2C5lzz5tM1881x45EsKBCE/s1132/scaramouche.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTVFVob3ERhR9bSf41aYEBArDCqQp7G2Ck4eB0Pw2yAujR1Bd2mExuZRYSGrZYkMxsLG5yUV1zU1TRZvfKFkKSRcbUvEgfDV3k9cBWxXzndo4fumiOn36xXn4AJsyDrJbG9su9PBzg6fGlDYS-FiF4gN4P1YfH2C5lzz5tM1881x45EsKBCE/s320/scaramouche.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Johann Georg Puschner, Scharamuza, 1716</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>As I approached the end of the catalogue, towards the early 20th century designs with the Ballet Russes, I came across a costume design by Alexandra Exter from Don Juan in 1927. It was black with a band of white, assymetrically cut across the chest. The resemblance was startling, it's just like a costume Freddie wore on stage in 1973. There were slight modifications to the trousers and the right sleeve, but it looked almost the same. The influence was there and I couldn't deny it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O130809/design-for-a-costume-of-costume-design-exter-alexandra/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamVjP1iK-FXWy-7eA5p1JecP8sVzscqnxQgCYBI7KKjUYimJ9csJ9nT9c0KiBAENm2Z7FXpDx8IRrrCzRH3NgsOlNUGJSkRh8WZla_4SgqF08358SvgYD-qgMGqPpmNNYuEPHl6wJZ1wz9t79Z5vkhsgBghiwfigF7SCkDhutLY5ev-YtxUA/s320/alexandra-exter.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Alexandra Exter, Don Juan stage costume, 1927</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicAmG8P28YrDnkaK13QmI4NspNQcVtTGLfh7LL7CCAxrVAMg3MZLbY0t55B7SFU0lfbzrpKPaRwPFytTvw4Bq_Bc8636DWT6cilTh_b2deThZYNx-usM9Pqe8DF6ZgUc3976DAmgnBuuR8aAmMvqczpO25uE4cMDUn2UnKYRH_RedkSFq-9M/s1538/imperial-college-1973.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="1030" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicAmG8P28YrDnkaK13QmI4NspNQcVtTGLfh7LL7CCAxrVAMg3MZLbY0t55B7SFU0lfbzrpKPaRwPFytTvw4Bq_Bc8636DWT6cilTh_b2deThZYNx-usM9Pqe8DF6ZgUc3976DAmgnBuuR8aAmMvqczpO25uE4cMDUn2UnKYRH_RedkSFq-9M/s320/imperial-college-1973.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Freddie Mercury at Imperial College, 1972</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div></div><p>I sought out <a href="https://www.roserosefineartresearch.com/" target="_blank">Rosemary Pearson, now known as Dr Rose Rose</a>, and asked about her recollections about their visit. She kindly sent over her memoir, but there wasn't any detail about gallivanting through the Cast Courts, not as I had imagined it. Instead she wrote about the two of them poring over that same exhibition catalogue. She described how Freddie became entranced by its contents, crying out: "Bakst, Balanchine, Diaghilev, the names sound so delicious – so are the costumes! God, there's so much androgyny here. I'm going to swoon, DARLING! Catch me in your arms as I faint, it's all too perfect... and so CAMP!" </p><p>In what seemed like a living scene in the middle of the studios of the Ealing School of Art, Freddie became entranced by the costumes of <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1154274/sch%C3%A9h%C3%A9razade-drawing-valentine-gross/" target="_blank">Nijinsky's Scheherazade</a> and <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1254882/lapr%C3%A8s-midi-dun-faune-drawing-valentine-gross/" target="_blank">Diaghilev's Après-Midi D'Une Faune</a>. He pretended to pass out on the studio floor, swooning: "Dancing in that gear must have really challenged male-female boundary stuff, even in the theatre!" The chapter ends with a painting of that moment of inspiration at the Ealing School of Art, mythical figures spring to life in the middle of the studio floor.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3HbE1BaobNEtGOE-gqIqIuWEUSeV7tmGDxB4FqaPlu2XYsQCmESMeJbszz8GKOVRKi0PYRTCCUVOgSeoxokXZojDOobU1b8r-vK7mbYX_zVGQLN4WxZSEEl1mPeDgfAfl8UfOrq-b8xBEsPgnDiLxHkAjtlyag4EaxC8u0I2w6oJP02DrUY/s800/rose-rose-ealing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="800" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3HbE1BaobNEtGOE-gqIqIuWEUSeV7tmGDxB4FqaPlu2XYsQCmESMeJbszz8GKOVRKi0PYRTCCUVOgSeoxokXZojDOobU1b8r-vK7mbYX_zVGQLN4WxZSEEl1mPeDgfAfl8UfOrq-b8xBEsPgnDiLxHkAjtlyag4EaxC8u0I2w6oJP02DrUY/s320/rose-rose-ealing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Dr Rose Rose, Painting of "Taking inspiration from the V&A Exhibition visited with Freddie: Ballet Designs and Illustrations: 1581-1940"</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div>In the documentary, Dr Rose Rose wrote about Freddie's fascination with <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1462052/animal-locomotion-photograph-eadweard-muybridge/" target="_blank">Eadweard Muybridge's photographic series of two semi-nude men wrestling</a>. In an odd coincidence, I just written about Muybridge at work. I hadn't realised this photograph represented another pang that Freddie's sexual curiosity, but there are many moments like this in the memoir. Suddenly you are very close in to this relationship filled with contradiction and nuance. <p></p><p>It became very intimate, and whereas before I asked, did they even come here? I was left asking, should I even be here?</p><p><b>Addendum: </b>Here is a portrait of Freddie in Rose Pearson's V&A travelling exhibition poster, <i>Gothic Woodcarving in England</i>. It was submitted as an end-of-year-project at the Ealing School of Art in 1969.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCUNruSGRu_qkpUOnPR_2oQCbRynLI77qvZi03T2IjxmSTMU-I1_mb-EDMyqLqWdfpIRv9L7EQZR6k7FzGewe3Lfi-R5vrzz-wVkwbcDA2QiT8LG-b6my_PMqWSlAUFs3-8SHrmjy1tU6k8c6pZ1r3PyUDKxsIetpfuCUPnLvifQpeoifDOE/s426/1969.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCUNruSGRu_qkpUOnPR_2oQCbRynLI77qvZi03T2IjxmSTMU-I1_mb-EDMyqLqWdfpIRv9L7EQZR6k7FzGewe3Lfi-R5vrzz-wVkwbcDA2QiT8LG-b6my_PMqWSlAUFs3-8SHrmjy1tU6k8c6pZ1r3PyUDKxsIetpfuCUPnLvifQpeoifDOE/s320/1969.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Italo Disco Podcast #69</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Vivien Vee - Americano (12")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Creatures - Hard in the City</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Retronic Voice - Deciding the End</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Alter Ego - Just Like a Star</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dua Lipa - New Rules (Initial Talk 80s Rules Remix)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Den Harrow - Mad Desire</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Hurricanes - Only One Night</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Vanelle - Tell Me (Radio Remix '22)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Vincenzo Salvia - Night Signs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Michael Maltese - It Isn't Changed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20-%20Italo%20Disco%20Podcast%20%2369.mp3" target="_blank">Download (72.5MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-68 here</a></div></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-48098478312319097432023-02-08T22:00:00.045+11:002023-05-01T10:23:11.984+10:00<p>When I visit Liverpool, I'm prepared to go anywhere <a href="https://twitter.com/Teatlemania" target="_blank">Teatle Huw</a> is willing to take me, and on this occasion, it's the exterior of an abandoned tea warehouse where the Beatles once posed for a photo shoot. He furnishes the photographs of the Beatles in question, like we are gumshoe detectives familiarising ourselves with the case at hand. I don't recall ever seeing these photos before, but I clocked that it must have been early, and it was, 1962, in fact. There they stood in their suits, amongst the overgrown grass and the rubble.</p><p>The backdrop is cold and austere and were it not for the Beatles, it could be a photograph from the 1890s. There are variations of the photo at hand, in one they look more taciturn, standing several feet apart from one another, Ringo holds his drum sticks in vain, I imagine he is ready to attack if any unscrupulous characters were to approach. <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/beatles-cackles.jpg" target="_blank">In another shot</a>, they are much more lighthearted, John is mansplaining something to George, Paul is visibly cackling and it's just beautiful. Ringo looks on in amusement. You wonder what they were talking about, you wonder why they were there... </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33bViZmenb1fwRktKpHiVcRpegejWJ9_Yif9todTjhQoIT464iUQGCLO_oJDL8xyJoQpwRTwZjCQjZ0C-B6fCPl1HVJdRfK_t_OKY3ZZKfmq5EKyoKwcHrXjOsD-vpsOQbYFxg1YHyKSUVU5lN6T7JkGKU4zdFgQ2nREm19O5-0oqls9SGD4/s1200/beatles-tea-factory.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33bViZmenb1fwRktKpHiVcRpegejWJ9_Yif9todTjhQoIT464iUQGCLO_oJDL8xyJoQpwRTwZjCQjZ0C-B6fCPl1HVJdRfK_t_OKY3ZZKfmq5EKyoKwcHrXjOsD-vpsOQbYFxg1YHyKSUVU5lN6T7JkGKU4zdFgQ2nREm19O5-0oqls9SGD4/s320/beatles-tea-factory.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><b><i>A magical Teatle time for all...</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><p>We approach the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/WBaGHxb7h7ZwtKHZ8" target="_blank">site in question</a>. It isn't far from the docks. We quickly realise the sightline is obstructed by the back of one-storey industrial estates on Saltney Street, so we take a closer look on Dublin Street. Teatle Huw informs me that this was not only a Beatle location, <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/bob-dylan-urchins.jpg" target="_blank">Bob Dylan came here</a> too - his photos reveal a much more Victorian outlook, interacting with the scene and posing with street urchins. The building itself looks more dilapidated - sprigs of greenery appear from the jail bar windows and corroded copper doors. There's illegible graffiti tags, but it's a million miles from the loving inscriptions at the wall at Abbey Road Studios.</p><p>Teatle Huw takes <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/teatle-tea-pilgrimage.jpg" target="_blank">a photo of me by the factory</a>, allowing a sunflare to dramatically filter through. Teatle Huw would later use his stealthy Photoshop handiwork to scale himself down so <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/beatles-with-teatle-huw.jpg" target="_blank">he is very, very far in the background</a>, gleefully photobombing the band. I <a href="https://twitter.com/missy_el/status/1557808741625495552" target="_blank">tweet</a>: "Today we investigated an abandoned tea factory where the Beatles made their own Teatle pilgrimage!" It's a thoroughly farcical prospect, but posing it in such a way seemed rather plausible, especially given their undeniable love of tea.</p><p>Less than a month later, I am in the audience for a preview of Mark Lewisohn's talk, Evolver '62. Late in the talk, this very photo comes up on the screen (although Teatle Huw is unfortunately omitted from the background). I hold my breath as I hear the truth behind this rare Teatle pilgrimage: it was actually a photoshoot to promote their first single, Love Me Do, which had just been released by Parlophone in October 1962. The curious thing about this photograph is that although John Lennon is actually standing in the spot where his great-grandfather James Lennon had settled with his future wife, Jane McConville. Around 1849 they had settled in Saltney Street. There, they lived in cramped squalor, where typhus, dysentery and cholera swept through the community.</p><p>But why were the Beatles there in 1962? Lewisohn said something to the effect that it looked cool, and I suppose that's reason enough to do anything. Despite the lack of tea in their real motive, the photoshoot suddenly take on a poetic dimension: <i>The Lennons survived, this is who John became, little did he know what he was about to become...</i></p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Yugowave Podcast #68</b><br />Neki to vole vruće - Teška Vremena, Prijatelju Moj<br />Data - Neka Ti Se Dese Prave Stvari<br />Oskarova Fobija - Beli Dekolte<br />Videosex - Videosex<br />Max & Intro - Beogradska Devojka<br />Oliver Mandic - Smejem se a plakao bih<br />Denis & Denis - Ja sam lazljiva<br />Stil - Fiks Ideja</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Yugowave%20Podcast%20%2368.mp3" target="_blank">Download (75.2 MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-67 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-53696348815176151672023-01-28T08:44:00.000+11:002023-01-28T08:44:20.712+11:00C&CM Conversations: Shaun Micallef<p> "What happened when you talked to Shaun Micallef, did you combust?" What a term! I took note of it because, yes! I was reduced to a big pile of ashes!</p><p>What was nice about interviewing Shaun is that I've managed to live through it a couple of times, editing out the half-second pauses and some of the more disruptive cackles. It's a little faster now and marginally less shambolic...</p><p>Timing comes up a lot, whether it's dealing with an uncertain Channel Nine audience or film dialogue from 54 years ago. It's an aspect of rapport I didn't really appreciate before. Speed comes into it. Wit, speed and responsiveness.</p><p>It could have all gone terribly wrong. You only need to think of the name, "Gigi Rosetti" to remind yourself of the agony of the Micallef Programme interviews. They were fake, sure, but it's better to observe conversational cul-de-sacs and poorly-managed snobbery from a safe distance.</p><p>I'll leave you with the conversation I had with Shaun (or at least a sped-up version of it), as well as a selection of songs from his ancient iPod.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Conversations%20-%20Shaun%20Micallef.mp3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1080" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxyhdXxgDEF795T2OB4jzRaoGIIe5VAkLU0SYqReYwziZ0uoSYV_rSp_hH_kpHfR86F1Te3F4MXR0E9iH1CP1CDw2Eb1ldnohkZC-oogCqEhccZ5kWK-pSpMZFORW5a63I5DwPh0K8E5KrfkENnqEGVzAUprD2FdBdq26eXHN477AymyAVpQ/s320/shaun-el.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Conversations%20-%20Shaun%20Micallef.mp3" target="_blank">C&CM Conversations - Shaun Micallef (57.8 MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/Selections%20from%20Shaun%20Micallef's%20iPod.mp3" target="_blank">Selections from Shaun Micallef's iPod (65.9 MB) (tracklist in comments)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/tripping-over-myself-shaun-micallef/book/9781743797983.html" target="_blank">Shaun's new book, Tripping Over Myself</a></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-57459562480870640922023-01-08T11:00:00.790+11:002023-01-09T02:28:49.835+11:00<p><i>"Crafted music negates genuine emotion..."</i> I flip through my notebook to see who said this. John Lydon of the Sex Pistols. Ah.</p><p>It reminds me of an interaction that happened in 1977, down the road at Wessex Sound Studios in Islington. Queen were recording News of the World when the Sex Pistols' bassist, Sid Vicious stumbled in and said, <i>"So, you bringing ballet to the masses then, Fred?"</i>, to which Freddie replied, <i>"Ah Simon Ferocious! We're trying our best, dear..."</i> </p><p>It's a story that's been told so many times that the tone of the encounter varies from the playful to the menacing. Sometimes Simon Ferocious is Stanley Ferocious, sometimes Freddie mocks the safety pins on Sid's jacket. In some versions, Sid steps up: <i>"So what you gonna do about it?". </i>Freddie then grabs him by the collar and throws him out of the control room.</p><p>Queen may have been the less authentic group, according to John Lydon's exacting standards, but Freddie, the delicate underdog, had won this time... </p><p>It would appear that they're two groups in musical opposition, both in class and in style, but it's more complicated than that. Queen delve into different musical genres and place unsuspecting songs side by side, even exploring punk at one stage. Their efforts never felt cod or inauthentic, Brian breaks a guitar string from all the thrashing, <a href="https://youtu.be/APZdj3fT48o" target="_blank">live in Paris 1979</a>. Freddie even knocks over a speaker stack.</p><p>"Genuine emotion" doesn't mean much when you look at Queen's lyrics and see how the emotional and the analytical sit side by side. I don't think anyone has really analysed that in Queen's lyrics before, how they describe what you should feel (<i>pietas</i>) compared to what you do you feel (<i>furor</i>). They're good at those contrasts, how for every heavy song, there is a frothy and frivolous romp. The meaningless sits alongside the meaningful. It makes for interesting listening, but it's hard to convey to mansplainers.</p><p>Those contrasts and contradictions are a part of me, somehow. They play into my humour and sensibility, my desire for high culture to mix with the low. It all reminds me of a story from when I approached a group of punks hanging out by the play equipment in Burnham Park. I was five at the time, but I was compelled to ask them, <i>"Do you like ballet?"</i>, they were bemused and gushed back at me, <i>"Oh yeah, we <b>love </b>ballet!"</i></p><p><i></i>I was thrilled. Finally, I had found some kindred spirits.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/-4F9NloP1zQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaH-IpkwWGIXsJK2SZaXKyW684WLAPhhj3fC24RRJh2do_7c6xAaaC3R5kyIv2zivsuHATCbwxN18F43hZOHl1Uj614SHno4GiR7TEkQd2NHmTfWp9GmsVs7vVAMM2h3hhSqWObG5QzvLBN9XNF00ZfKynGCNtkyag2XIVtssqMH_ZBLl8B5E/s320/my-melancholy-blues.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>My guess is I'm in for a cloudy and overcast</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: 1980s Australian Podcast #67<br /></b>Boom Crash Opera - Great Wall<br />Australian Crawl - White Limbo<br />INXS - Black and White (Extended Mix)<br />The Models - I Hear Motion<br />Midnight Oil - Sleep<br />James Reyne - Fall of Rome<br />Darryl Braithwaite - One Summer<br />Split Enz - Doctor Love</p><p><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%2080s%20Australian%20Podcast%20%2367.mp3" target="_blank">Download (93.5 MB)</a></p><p><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-66 here</a></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-25663853320118350192022-10-19T08:46:00.002+11:002022-11-15T04:39:46.613+11:00C&CM x FOTW's Halloween Listening Party returns for 2022<p>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk returns for Halloween 2022 for <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com/" target="_blank">FOTW's Halloween Listening Party</a>. There'll be much synth-pop, jangly '80s music and macabre tunes to get your hearts racing. Tune it at <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com">halloweenlisteningparty.com</a></p><p>For listeners in <b>Sydney</b>, you can listen in on <b>Monday 31st October at 11pm</b>. See your local time <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20221031T23&p1=240" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>For listeners in <b>London</b>, you can listen in on <b>Monday 31st October at 10pm</b>. See your local time <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20221031T22&p1=136">here</a>.</p><p>You can listen to the 2021 show <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-return-of-c-takeover-hour-for-fotws.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>You can listen to the 2020 shows <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2020/10/c-saturday-night-takeover-on-fotws.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwc-WhFbWQaI81U6vZxqejSd8iHSKtGLeI8S9Njn9unl8d1eB2NzMBxOf9aalFXMzn1j4abmBOW1xyIofCzxdJQ4rOfC6cFmqvyR_kfCvjJQ894NBlz7qgolbHpLnFqa5XeIrZJN1XyYUGbuwENjZUeiqrfyT3daMAu_RuT4kseWIN4_dwCY/s320/halloween2022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com">halloweenlisteningparty.com</a></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>[UPDATE] </i></b>You can download the 2022 C&CM x Halloween Listening Party for FOTW here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20x%20FOTW%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%20(2022).mp3" target="_blank">Download (137MB)</a></div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-19383924451476677352022-01-13T23:02:00.002+11:002022-11-04T11:08:23.655+11:00Missy El on I Am The EggpodMissy El and Chris Shaw return to 13th January 1969 and discuss Day 8 of Peter Jackson's Get Back on <a href="https://iamtheeggpod.com/" target="_blank">I Am The Eggpod</a>.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://iamtheeggpod.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="671" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlTWEfIci4o46RzIDsLwNAsEYNtLmNl3P6u1nqS7ueolJwc6a9YorN7BpD_KX8Fv753epDVzDEiGkXuBepLsAepsMLXY7bDNRqNFCxF57buw3-tt5WlDgJ0AOhaBLrdLw-cCmiRvp6pXA0te0VSEjXj_tBJAq_IHhT-2IPMu-CRakmJQXdJ7I=s320" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Listen on <a href="http://iamtheeggpod.com">iamtheeggpod.com</a></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Edit: You can also read an interview I did with <a href="https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/" target="_blank">Music Musings and Such</a> on the occasion of Paul McCartney's 80th birthday <a href="https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/musicmusingsandsuch/2022/3/9/feature-paul-mccartney-at-eighty-paul-mccartney-and-me-the-interviews-eleanor-gray-62cp4" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-37837917840658760392021-10-25T08:50:00.003+11:002021-11-10T06:54:58.651+11:00The return of the C&CM Takeover Hour for FOTW's Halloween Listening Party<p>Join Cassettes & Chocolate Milk for the premiere of a new episode created for <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com" target="_blank">FOTW's Halloween Listening Party</a>.</p><p>For listeners in <b>New York </b>and <b>London</b>, you can listen in on <b>Saturday 30th October</b> at <b>11pm</b>.</p><p>For listeners in <b>Sydney </b>and <b>Melbourne</b>, you can listen in on <b>Sunday 31st October</b> at <b>11pm</b>.</p><p>You can also listen to the 2020 episodes of C&CM x FOTW <a href="https://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2020/10/c-saturday-night-takeover-on-fotws.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MLZUJOXEkjU/YXXT9S1P-TI/AAAAAAADXLk/0plYB-n0CawdV6t9HC6UcOzbOWEfk8FkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s720/cncmxfotw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="halloweenlisteningparty.com" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MLZUJOXEkjU/YXXT9S1P-TI/AAAAAAADXLk/0plYB-n0CawdV6t9HC6UcOzbOWEfk8FkgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h400/cncmxfotw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com">halloweenlisteningparty.com</a></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-style: italic;">[UPDATE] </b>You can download the C&CM x Halloween Listening Party for FOTW here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20x%20FOTW%20-%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%202021.mp3" target="_blank">Download (137MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can read all about <a href="https://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com/the-best-of-the-halloween-listening-party-2021/" target="_blank">the best of the Halloween Listening Party for 2021</a>. Thank you IJ Wilson for letting me be a part of the fun!</div><p></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-27482217234250277642021-07-29T21:59:00.008+10:002021-07-29T22:16:01.300+10:00<p><i> "The listener memorises a performance as a revelation, a phenomenon, while the artist only terms of skill and sound." </i>- Mateusz Torzecki and Łukasz Słoński</p><p>This line appeared in a chapter about <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Made_in_Poland/Q07ADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=lipstick+on+the+glass+made+in+poland&pg=PT187&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank">female performers in the 1980s Polish rock scene</a>. It was specifically about Kora, the lead singer of Maanam, one of the bigger groups of the era. It followed visceral descriptions of their performance at the Opole Festival in 1981. Witnesses described how Kora sang with such confidence that it completely redefined how local punk musicians should act and present themselves. Comments on YouTube would reinforce the idea of this performance as a complete revelation, and they would all be balanced by Kora's own assessment of the show: "The sound was terrible but more to the point, I just couldn't hear anything."</p><p>I watched the clips and the sound is screechy and atonal, far too raucous for my sherbet-sweet tastes. A person commented how they had this song on a cassette, a friend bought it for them from a music shop in Shinjuku and they listened to it over and over again. They never thought they would be able to see this actual performance but it was here! I understood that shock and that overwhelming gratitude, seeing your "perfect song" materialising from the archives with a video you never knew existed. Suddenly, the chasm between perfect and imperfect could never seem greater than the fan and the artist's impression of their own performance.</p><p>I love the absurd idea of a career-defining performance that the performer couldn't even hear. However, I find it irksome to imagine that Kora, as a leading punk figurehead, would be preoccupied by notions of "skill and sound". It's just so crazy and neurotic, it superimposes this perfectionist attitude that clashes with basic punk ideology. I truly believe that you can tell when someone is performing from an entirely free and unconcerned state. That's what makes performances like Maanam at Opole 1981 so extraordinary. You are witnessing an artist in a supreme state of commitment to their own artistry. When you see something like that, you finally realise that perfectionist angst is for amateurs. It is more important to show up and will your art into existence.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/KLoDF2ldRjY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="400" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2O3UWA7PD-Y/YQKOXmi9FeI/AAAAAAADRog/wjw6TeNKYAMHc0dWCTTJJF3HSQi1qOAZACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/maanam.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Maanam at Opole, 1981</i></b></div><p></p><p><b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Polish Pop Podcast #66<br /></b>Papa Dance - O La La<br />Roxa - A ona tańczy<br />Maanam - Lipstick on the Glass<br />Tilt - Mówię Ci że<br />Kapitan Nemo - Twoja Lorelei<br />Andrzej Zaucha - Byłaś serca biciem<br />Papa Dance - Czy ty lubisz to co ja<br />Ex Dance - Powrót Donalda</p><p><b><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Polish%20Pop%20Podcast%20%2366.mp3" target="_blank">Download (73.2 MB)</a></b></p><p><b><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore C&CM Podcasts 1-65 here</a></b></p>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277583-27.349818846568191 -140.7527583 90 140.4972417tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-5141357567003388332020-11-18T12:40:00.002+11:002021-07-29T22:14:09.832+10:00C&CM Takeover Hour on FOTW's Halloween Listening Party<p>On Saturday nights throughout October, <a href="http://halloweenlisteningparty.com" target="_blank">FOTW'S Halloween Listening Party</a> showcased the <b><i>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk Takeover Hour</i></b>, recorded exclusively for FOTW. As anticipated, C&CM featured all the best in dark 'n macabre 80s synthpop, Italo Disco, powerpop, indie obscurities and more...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com/" target="_blank">Not just for Halloween... listen to FOTW's Halloween Listening Party now</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.halloweenlisteningparty.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jVWehhSdavA/X3uegdr6BwI/AAAAAAADCVE/TpfWWdzTqBM1-VjGeIuKE2dY6yEOIrdjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/robertsmith.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Show ya fangs</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>[UPDATE]</i></b> Did you miss out on C&CM x FOTW's Halloween Listening Party shows? Fear not, you can download all four episodes here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20-%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%20%231.mp3" target="_blank">Download Episode 1 (140MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20-%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%20%232.mp3" target="_blank">Download Episode 2 (138MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20-%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%20%233.mp3" target="_blank">Download Episode 3 (140MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20-%20Halloween%20Listening%20Party%20%234.mp3">Download Episode 4 (142MB)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tracklists are in the comments. Thank you to Iain FOTW for hosting C&CM!</div>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-48736416023939020472020-05-25T02:16:00.002+10:002023-09-12T21:55:41.529+10:00<i>"It's the imperfections - the faintly out of tune guitar, the voice, the rasp that creeps in, the garbled lyric, the sigh, the unexpected drum fill played by human hand, these are the things I gravitate to in my favourite music... the humanness of it."</i> - Susanna Hoffs<br />
<br />
This line reminded me of a mix I had put together called <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cgowVyVmylYqpslTBKlAU?si=mhagdRP0TOOcE2VG8ASK0Q" target="_blank">Dancing on the Night Wire</a>. It features copious amounts of Per Gessle demos and sketchy Kino recordings, all reminiscent of a bedroom recording from 1984. It features human imperfections, but I seek out another kind of clumsiness. It's in the thin production, the super gawky synths, the tinny drums and the double tracked <i>oohs </i>in the background.<br />
<br />
The dream would be to analyse each of these songs, to take them apart in order to figure what kinds of instruments they use and what kinds of hooks they employ. I'd even bask in the lyrical themes and dramatic lexicon. I'd slavishly strive toward a perfect kind of imperfect, all while being mindful that at some point, I would need to stop replicating these other artists and accept my own unique brand of mediocrity.<br />
<br />
I store these songs in some imagined dream space in my mind, somewhere between Sweden and the USSR in the 1980s. It only just occurred to me that the midpoint between these two countries is Finland. Perhaps that's one reason that I came back with <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.com/C%26CM%20Finnish%20Podcast%20%2365.mp3" target="_blank">C&CM Finnish Podcast #65</a>. The country exists as another kind of dream space, one where the days never really got dark, back when it was still possible to go outside and cackle together for hours.<br />
<br />
To some listeners, some demos would be too shabby to exist, but for me, so many of these rough sketches reveal a modest kind of beauty. The recording is created when the artist is in a state of flow, yet the imperfection of the recording betrays an uncomfortable creative midpoint. I wonder how these demos came into existence. I wonder how is it possible to press record when the inner-perfectionist never leaves you alone?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Finnish%20Podcast%20%2365.mp3" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGXcOABrKKo/XsqTQNjvhaI/AAAAAAAC3i8/hTteIR42oe4ByV3--skwNx_4_qysBbgnACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_20190627_024614_470.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Dancing on the night wire, Turku</i></b></div>
<br />
<b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Finnish Podcast #65</b><br />
Leevi and the Leavings - Pohjois-Karjala<br />
Kaseva - Mari<br />
Jukka Nousiainen - Jukan tehdas<br />
Litku Klemetti - Sinä tiedät sen<br />
Digital Dance - Cairo C<br />
Dingo - Autiotalo<br />
Eppu Normaali - Joka päivä ja jokaikinen yö<br />
Leevi and the Leavings - En tahdo sinua enää<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Finnish%20Podcast%20%2365.mp3">Download (84.7 MB)</a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/p/c-podcasts.html" target="_blank">Explore Podcasts 1-64 here</a></b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-30004858894807386812018-10-04T09:10:00.000+10:002018-10-04T10:06:05.285+10:00The first thing we did when the concert was uploaded was look for ourselves in the crowd. It was a surprisingly stressful experience for many of us, the cameraless fans who were suddenly in the presence of Paul McCartney in Studio Two of Abbey Road Studios. Yet, the fans made sure to link up with one another, to add and follow and like each other after the show. That night, we gathered up whatever photographic evidence we had: the crumpled setlist, the sweaty green wrist band and the poster of Egypt Station and we made sure we posted all we could to the socials. I uploaded a screenshot from the Abbey Road webcam, captured by my brother, Andrew, diligently spying from his computer in Melbourne. I didn't tell him where the show was, but <a href="http://beatlesinstudio.blogspot.com/2013/10/virtually-in-studio-2.html">I gave him a very firm tip off</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pqHvI_WjZfI/W7VB3ZLzjcI/AAAAAAAB9CQ/PgERcgkQOvsB3S8WCVOpfh4i2QgfuHl5QCLcBGAs/s1600/DizIEXGXcAAyioW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="554" height="181" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pqHvI_WjZfI/W7VB3ZLzjcI/AAAAAAAB9CQ/PgERcgkQOvsB3S8WCVOpfh4i2QgfuHl5QCLcBGAs/s320/DizIEXGXcAAyioW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I was on limited data on a primitive replacement phone when the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWVvMxmMKHa4i?si=6ZGrPgGyQjSjucd8eZAH2w">Spotify gig was finally released</a>, but I made sure to watch the show as soon as possible. "The Green Wristband Bunch" memorialised the show in degraded screenshots of us euphorically singing, smiling and grasping each other. During the show itself, I had no particular sense of anybody else around me. I was entirely focused upon what was going on the stage. At times, the girls around me would reach out to touch my arm and ask if I was OK. I assured them that everything was fine but then, there were times when I was visibly shaken. I had to embrace the sheer euphoria of it, to be in the room where the Beatles recorded, with a Beatle performing a few feet in front of me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2e5SN4c3HxA/W7VCierfghI/AAAAAAAB9CY/bmFCyjRpw-UOpwBmnQvUaXtD6hzr0BOKgCLcBGAs/s1600/ohdarlin18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="704" height="181" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2e5SN4c3HxA/W7VCierfghI/AAAAAAAB9CY/bmFCyjRpw-UOpwBmnQvUaXtD6hzr0BOKgCLcBGAs/s320/ohdarlin18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I had recorded a video of myself before I set off to Abbey Road, privately acknowledging what this show actually meant. Much of my musical life is preoccupied with Beatles research, whether it is reading books or watching documentaries or <a href="https://twitter.com/Teatlemania">just seeking out photos of the Fab Four with teacups in the background</a>. The fascination exists an escape valve and I relish how much we all seem to know about John, Paul, George and Ringo. I live so much more in every conversation where we can contribute an insight or a feeling about the Beatles. There is such purity in that love that we share, yet when I am forced to qualify my place as a "true" fan, I feel completely inadequate.<br />
<br />
My guilt about winning that place to see Paul led to discussions with friends about the <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2011/07/if-ever-there-was-pithy-demonstration.html">hierarchies which fans impose to determine the sincerity of other fans</a>. That pressure to be a musical expert undermines my desire to publish anything, particularly on C&CM. Despite my neverending research, I feel that I will never know enough to tell you about it authoritatively. In a material sense, I have no shrine and I have no tattoos and yet I still think about them more than most things. I think about the competitive nature of their creative partnership and I think about how we can characterise and identify Paul's songs as opposed to John's. I think about them so much of the time, because I'm still learning about the Beatles.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kaVEacYoxpU/W7VEsAir1lI/AAAAAAAB9Ck/VyzZ-ul5EN8YisnDdh8yjP9yZ3qSzKGTgCLcBGAs/s1600/Eleanor%2BGray%2B1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="179" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kaVEacYoxpU/W7VEsAir1lI/AAAAAAAB9Ck/VyzZ-ul5EN8YisnDdh8yjP9yZ3qSzKGTgCLcBGAs/s320/Eleanor%2BGray%2B1.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/Shot97Retro">Shot97</a> for beautifully crafting this gif...</i></b></div>
<br />
When I look back at that show, I feel that there is something so incredibly pure in those intermittent shots of my friends in the crowd, particularly with Jon and Mel freaking out together. At an early point in the show, Paul was describing the first time they entered Studio Two, being "little Beatles" who were only allowed to enter only the tradesmens' entrance. Paul described George as having a black eye as a result of a fight at the Cavern. At that moment, the camera cut to me, with smudged black eyeliner and tears streaming down my face. I suddenly felt so overwhelmed to hear one of those whimsical stories I had been collecting for decades. The casual nature of it broke my heart.<br />
<br />
I didn't feature predominantly in the show, but I was grateful that they captured that particular moment. It was the moment that I felt the most love and awe, the most gratitude and sadness. I'm not embarrassed to admit that it was a kind of existential grief, one that owed to the fact that despite all our love, that moment had to pass. As fans, we can dwell and we can document. We can retreat and virtually live in a year that predates our birth by two decades... but it's all so ephemeral. Nothing can ever contain that awe or gratitude we carry. We just have to find a way to feel it. We just have to find a way to learn to be thankful for the way such moments materialise.Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-10007161645391842682017-06-14T13:31:00.005+10:002022-11-04T11:02:35.904+11:00It was in the East Wing of Somerset House where I spotted Brian May down the white marbled corridor. I calmly weaved around the arty types, standing by the trestle tables with their stacks of hardcover photography books. All the while, I felt quietly stunned that even from across the room, his expression seemed to suggest that he knew that I had come there for him. In my dramatic retelling of the encounter, I wave my hands about to indicate that it must have been my slinky 1974-era Freddie Mercury aesthetic which had given my intent away. The crowds parted as I came up to him. I smiled shyly, held out my hand and laughed: "It's been twenty-five years leading to this moment."<br />
<br />
The truth is that I had come to terms with the idea that I would never meet Brian. As a Queen fan, I had heard the stories of friends eagerly waiting at airports and stage doors, often armed with their own replica Red Special guitar to be scribbled on with black marker. There have been stories of a friend holding the real Red Special in a studio, recalling "the neck was too thick and he didn't drink the tea I made for him". Yet, for all the premieres and launch parties I had managed to wrangle my way into, I could never actually make it happen. It seemed like behind every velvet rope was another velvet rope... and behind that velvet rope was a VIP area that excluded my types from entering.<br />
<br />
"What would you ask, if you had the opportunity?" I had years to meditate on this point, but I never managed to articulate a single question for him. I would always say that I just wanted a meaningful dialogue, an ordinary encounter except with my greatest creative influence. There'd be certain qualities that I'd hope for, a kind of warmth and a genuine interest, even if it was a momentary thing. I can only assume this is what we're looking for when fans share these types of stories with one another: a vicarious joy and curiosity when you hear of the circumstances that transpired in meeting the musician you love. You want to hear of every detail, if only to say, "You are so lucky, I'm so insanely happy for you!"<br />
<br />
It was a disjointed encounter, with VIPs continuously tugging at his sleeve for attention. He'd return to me though, as I would madly flip through my mental filing cabinet to recall every Queen anecdote that might be of some vague interest to him. I told him of my brother's ability to identify the specific location of where Queen photographs where taken in Japan in 1975 and 1976. "How does he do that?" Brian asked. "By analysing the buildings and the topographical details of each photograph. He can come back to me within the hour with a link to where the photo was taken Google Street View." Before I'd get any response, we'd be interrupted...<br />
<br />
"So, what about you? What do you do?" I laughed and I panicked, in much the same way that I do when anyone asks such a confronting question. "Well, I live this pseudo-bohemian lifestyle where I live and work in this youth hostel in Bloomsbury but then I travel and go to museums and I write essays about music and relationships..." We were interrupted again by an older, more important man. Brian would come back to me with that dialogue still intact. "It doesn't sound like you're pseudo-bohemian, it sounds like you're a proper bohemian." Of course, there's a retrospective agony in using that word, bohemian, as if I used it as a knowing reference...<br />
<br />
It was like an awkward Tinder date where all the silences would be filled with speedy anecdotes of how I have attempted to analyse and honour his band for literally decades. I felt embarrassment, as every utterance seemed to straddle the fine line between the gushy and the academic. I'd be spouting these seemingly endless stories of my own creativity, hoping for an apt reply or connection, while knowing that Queen isn't his central priority anymore. His interests lie in astronomy, animal conservation, stereo photography and politics, quite simply in another universe well beyond the scope of this little band that was established nearly five decades ago.<br />
<br />
Yet like any good fan, I guard memories of those tiny interpersonal details, like how he had hot pink nail polish painted on his left ring finger: "I have no idea how it got there." Randomly enough, I had gold nail polish painted on my right ring finger. There was a sweetness and warmth in asking how to spell my name and then signing his own, marking a little cross and then looking up to smile at me. When we went in to pose for a photo together and how we laughed after I said: "You would tell me if I had something on my face, yeah?" Among all the well wishes and hopes that we would meet again, I shook his hand and then he placed both his hands on my upper arms and kissed me on both my cheeks. I blushed wildly.<br />
<br />
They're the details that get conveyed in frantic post-meeting phone calls and notebook ramblings, but they never really get conveyed when you upload a photo to Instagram. On Tumblr, a certain sweetness was recognised: "So wonderful. That gentle hand on her shoulder 💜" Perhaps it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but it's interesting to think about these sorts of encounters and what they mean to fans. How can you possibly manage the awkwardness and the luxury of such a moment when you've had a lifetime to imagine what you could say. There's a risk they could be disinterested or there's the chance that you could articulate the enormity of it. More than likely, you'll just get the chance to say what we've all said: thank you for your time, thank you for your music.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jKLLtr12lVY/WUCjXRfdnZI/AAAAAAABAX4/5eLdD_v0fsgvXoz2rIWL6IwTF_iRqsvhACLcBGAs/s1600/18589052_1327871463935139_2841112366754726791_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jKLLtr12lVY/WUCjXRfdnZI/AAAAAAABAX4/5eLdD_v0fsgvXoz2rIWL6IwTF_iRqsvhACLcBGAs/s320/18589052_1327871463935139_2841112366754726791_o.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Scandipop Podcast #64</b><br />
Peter Bjorn & John - Second Chance<br />
Kakkmaddafakka - Restless<br />
Veronica Maggio - Vi Mot Världen<br />
Fallulah - Out of It<br />
Per Gessle - Galning<br />
The Mary Onettes - Lost<br />
Susanne Sundfør - Slowly<br />
Simian Ghost - A Million Shining Colours<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Scandipop%20Podcast%20%2364.mp3">Download (44.8MB)</a>Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-76738328263122556732017-04-14T23:02:00.006+10:002021-02-04T13:17:04.497+11:00C&CM MixtapesLongtime followers of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cassettesandchocolate/">Cassettes & Chocolate Milk on Facebook</a> may be aware of the occasional gift of a mixtape, a digital rip of a cassette destined for the tape deck of the Volvo. They're a little similar to the podcasts that you may find on here, except they're free from verbal interference and genres tend to be a little mashed and indistinct. They'd inspire conversations during late night drives, where a friend would say: "El, El... I can't identify any of these synthesizers. What's going on?" To which, I'd have to chuckle, "They're <a href="http://www.ruskeys.net/eng/synths.php">Soviet synthesizers</a>. I don't think you're meant to identify any of them."<br />
<br />
Readers of <a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/search/label/The%20Milk%20Diaries">The Milk Diaries</a> may already know that for the past two years, I've lived without cassettes, a car and a desk. I've actually lived without most of my possessions, opting for Dickensian existence in a cave (with an en suite cave) in the epicentre of London. When I returned to Melbourne some weeks ago, I flipped open through the glovebox to find ever-familiar cassettes which I have been told are still on super high rotation. When I listened to Tarzan Loves the Summer Nights II, I couldn't help but feel that this was never meant to become the past.<br />
<br />
I'll leave you with a collection of ten C&CM's Mixtapes to download. They were all designed to be mixes for late night drives, where the tape would flip over and over and over again, inspiring lengthy neverending discussions where neither party had to look at one another.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, you can hear my latest musical preoccupations on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/missy_el/playlist/4hbs1dGPm6WRmzNSohVZuD">Spotify</a>!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/c-mixtapes.html">10 C&CM Mixtapes after the jump</a><b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<b>
<b></b></b>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Undisclosed Destinations (March 2015)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KcsIJ5WIcKM/WPC-FddeIBI/AAAAAAAA78w/o6ENLqwjfc8wWOoxLn2lIbe5wHHO7-rrQCLcB/s1600/IMG_20150327_235545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KcsIJ5WIcKM/WPC-FddeIBI/AAAAAAAA78w/o6ENLqwjfc8wWOoxLn2lIbe5wHHO7-rrQCLcB/s320/IMG_20150327_235545.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Foster the People - Helena Beat<br />
Metronomy - On the Motorway<br />
Ratcat - Holiday<br />
Phil Wilson - Ten Miles<br />
The Voluntary Butler Scheme - Split<br />
Aline - Regarde Le Ciel<br />
Skytone - Paris<br />
Alvvays - Adult Diversion<br />
<b><br /><b>SIDE B:</b></b><br />
Perfume - Handy Man<br />
Clean Bandit - A&E<br />
Mecano - Me Voy De Casa<br />
Split Mirrors - The Right Time<br />
Ace of Base - Giving it Up (Remake)<br />
Stromae - Ave Cesaria<br />
The Bird and the Bee - Love Letter for Japan<br />
Frou Frou - Holding Out for a Hero<br />
Selena Gomez - Love You Like a Love Song<b><br /></b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Undisclosed%20Destinations.mp3">Download (81.6MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtapes - Eurovision Favourites (2008-2014)</b><br />
Loreen - Euphoria (Sweden, 2012)<br />
Andreas Kallay Saunders - Running (Hungary, 2014)<br />
Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din moldova (Moldova, 2009)<br />
Kejsi Tola - Carry Me In Your Dreams (Albania, 2009)<br />
Suzy Quero - Ser-Tua (Portugal, 2014)<br />
Kalomira - Secret Combination (Greece, 2008)<br />
Mariya Yaremchuk - Tick-Tock (Ukraine, 2014)<br />
Jedward - Lipstick (Ireland, 2010)<br />
Yohanna - Is It True? (Iceland, 2009)<br />
Lena - Satellite (Germany, 2010)<br />
Compact Disco - Sound of our Hearts (Hungary, 2012)<br />
Pernilla - När Jag Blundar (Finland, 2012)<br />
A Friend in London - New Tomorrow (Denmark, 2011)<br />
Witloof Bay - With Love Baby (Belgium, 2011)<br />
Sebalter - Hunter of the Stars (Switzerland, 2014)<br />
Lego Pollaponk - No Prejudice (Iceland, 2014)<br />
Pasha Parfeny - Lautar (Moldova, 2012)<br />
Alex Swings, Oscar Sings! - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Germany, 2009)<br />
Zdob Shi Zdub - So Lucky (Moldova, 2011)<br />
Teo - Cheesecake (Belarus, 2014)<br />
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Eurovision%20Favourites%20(2008-2014).mp3">Download (90.1MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b><b>C&CM Mixtape - Caustic Aspirations (July 2014)</b></b><br />
Au Pairs - We're So Cool <br />
Excel - Summer of '42 <br />
The Flys - Love and a Molotov Cocktail <br />
The Spivs - Boys of Desillusion <br />
The Fuzztones - Strychnine <br />
The Stems - At First Sight <br />
The City Limits - Morse Code Messages <br />
The Popguns - Waiting for the Winter<br />
Inspiral Carpets - Dragging Me Down<br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Caustic%20Aspirations.mp3">Download (39MB)</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Oh Those Russians (April 2014)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UkBT4wyS1TE/WPC-mTXOu4I/AAAAAAAA780/LZybxNXwvf0oCFgBT14lhPsY4CzjtPEuACLcB/s1600/SAM_3657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UkBT4wyS1TE/WPC-mTXOu4I/AAAAAAAA780/LZybxNXwvf0oCFgBT14lhPsY4CzjtPEuACLcB/s320/SAM_3657.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Kino - Red and Yellow Days<br />
Forum - Maternal Anxiety<br />
Electroclub - Dark Horse<br />
Kino - A Place to Step Forward<br />
Electroclub - You Marry Him, Do Not Go<br />
Forum - People Say<br />
Kino - Eighth Grade Girl<br />
Forum - What Beats Youth<br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
Forum - Computer<br />
Kino - Life in the Grass<br />
Forum - Island<br />
Kino - The Last Hero<br />
Forum - Are You Kidding Me<br />
Kino - Your Number<br />
Kino - Star<br />
Forum - Door with a Code<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Oh%20Those%20Russians...mp3">Download (81.6MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Tierce de Picardie (June 2013)</b><b> </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oAlk0VZXSN0/WPC-3bQ9faI/AAAAAAAA784/uJex6KWxjCg4AXMdKxzN66p1AEtuNQwqACLcB/s1600/BNMONTFCQAEkC4k.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oAlk0VZXSN0/WPC-3bQ9faI/AAAAAAAA784/uJex6KWxjCg4AXMdKxzN66p1AEtuNQwqACLcB/s320/BNMONTFCQAEkC4k.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Fitz & The Tantrums - Spark<br />
Summer Camp - Better Off Without You<br />
LR Rockets - Renee Loves Losers<br />
The Bird and The Bee - Man<br />
Indochine - Canary Bay<br />
Lena - Satellite<br />
Forum - Door with a Code<br />
Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block<br />
Annuals - LOXTEP<br />
Modern Talking - Atlantis is Calling (SOS for Love)<br />
Piepie - Enigma<br />
Howard Jones - Like To Get To Know You Well<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tierce%20de%20Picardie%20(Side%20A).mp3">Download (62.5MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
Marina and the Diamonds - Bubblegum Bitch<br />
Chromatics - Back from the Grave<br />
Marcella - Origins<br />
Ace of Base - Voulez Vous Danser (Original Demo)<br />
The Mynabirds - Let the Record Go<br />
Acid House Kings - Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?<br />
REM - Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)<br />
Kino - Last Hero<br />
The Fans - You Don't Live Here Anymore<br />
Tegan & Sara - Hell<br />
Jeremy Messersmith - Organ Donor<br />
UB40 - Where Did I Go Wrong?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tierce%20de%20Picardie%20(Side%20B).mp3">Download (56.4MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - What We Did Wrong (March 2013)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gGO2w2jlYcE/WPDEB77IPSI/AAAAAAAA79I/JPO8DDamdbALS5rUuGavl-wBqrkZAwKRQCLcB/s1600/894579_482516128470681_1286353808_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gGO2w2jlYcE/WPDEB77IPSI/AAAAAAAA79I/JPO8DDamdbALS5rUuGavl-wBqrkZAwKRQCLcB/s320/894579_482516128470681_1286353808_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
The Go! Team - Milk Crisis<br />
Marina & The Diamonds - Mowgli's Road<br />
Cat Stevens - The Laughing Apple<br />
Elvis Costello - The Beat (Live)<br />
Rotjoch - Too Many Weirdos<br />
Bloc Party - Secrets<br />
Forum - What Becomes of Youth?<br />
Cliff Richard - Wired for Sound<br />
Hell on Wheels - The Soda<br />
Beezerk - Final Fight<br />
Janet Jackson - Love Will Never Do (Without You)<br />
NKOTB - Hold On<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20What%20We%20Did%20Wrong%20-%20Side%20A.mp3">Download (61.2MB)</a> <br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
Willy Moon - Yeah Yeah<br />
Backdoor Men - Out of My Mind<br />
Joe Goddard - Gabriel (feat. Valentina)<br />
Simple Minds - Speed Your Love To Me<br />
2NE1 - Hate You<br />
Frankmusik - When You're Around<br />
Human League - Sound of the Crowd<br />
Ace of Base - Hypnotized (Demo)<br />
Hugh Bullen - Alisand<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20What%20We%20Did%20Wrong%20-%20Side%20B.mp3">Download (56.6MB)</a> <br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Tarzan Loves the Summer Nights II (January 2013)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LLpibw8MRXE/WPDEVYsnUgI/AAAAAAAA79M/vw5p3i5ZL7kkxryPKQmrNZ_TvQ--KXtgQCLcB/s1600/735720_450771341645160_1756083799_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LLpibw8MRXE/WPDEVYsnUgI/AAAAAAAA79M/vw5p3i5ZL7kkxryPKQmrNZ_TvQ--KXtgQCLcB/s320/735720_450771341645160_1756083799_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Clio - Eyes<br />
Bucks Fizz - Shine On<br />
Santigold - Disparate Youth<br />
Metronomy - Corinne<br />
Ashlee Simpson - L.O.V.E.<br />
N.E.R.D. - My Drive Thru<br />
Key Franzes - Shadow in the Night (Special Club Mix)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tarzan%20Loves%20The%20Summer%20Nights%20II%20-%20Side%20A.mp3">Download (42.3MB)</a> <br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
daXX - Lotus III Shamrip<br />
Sally Shapiro - Save Your Love<br />
NKOTB - Summertime<br />
Esavu - Sia Siou<br />
Riccardo Maggese - Boschima<br />
Hugh Grant - Meaningless Kiss<br />
Sabrina - Boys (Summertime Love)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tarzan%20Loves%20The%20Summer%20Nights%20II%20-%20Side%20B.mp3">Download (40.6MB)</a> <br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Legacy (July 2012)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9tFBu86NI0/WPC_t3J8b-I/AAAAAAAA788/1437jHoaKAMDSDTermZTAMvaQaZJLZXsgCLcB/s1600/legacy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9tFBu86NI0/WPC_t3J8b-I/AAAAAAAA788/1437jHoaKAMDSDTermZTAMvaQaZJLZXsgCLcB/s320/legacy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Eggstone - Wrong Heaven<br />
The Popguns - Waiting for the Winter<br />
Jacqueline Taieb - Le Coeur Au Bout de Doigts<br />
St Louis Union - East Side Story<br />
Accessory - One of those Guys<br />
Jay Reatard - Don't Let Him Come Back<br />
The City Limits - Morse Code Messages<br />
Interpol - C'mere<br />
The Cloud Room - Blackout!<br />
Peter Gabriel - Digging in the Dirt<br />
Yeasayer - Tightrope<br />
Whitest Boy Alive - Dead End<br />
Belinda Carlisle - Always Breaking My Heart<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Legacy%20-%20Side%20A.mp3">Download (60.1MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
The Radio Dept - Freddie & The Trojan Horse<br />
Modest Mouse - Dashboard<br />
Butterfly Foucher - I Can't Make Me Love You<br />
Hell On Wheels - Soda<br />
The Stills - Yesterday Never Tomorrows<br />
Roxette - Fading Like a Flower<br />
Savage - A Love Again<br />
Erasure - Waiting for the Day<br />
The Dears - Warm and Sunny Days<br />
The Beatles - Real Love (Demo)<br />
The Blacklights - Girl's Don't Cry<br />
New Order - Let's Go<br />
Ratcat - Don't Go Now<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Legacy%20-%20Side%20B.mp3">Download (65.8MB)</a><br />
<br />
<b>C&CM Mixtape - Tarzan Loves the Summer Nights (February 2012)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WyeQz2Hryag/WPDBlvbjhPI/AAAAAAAA79E/sl13AMkfq3EYMupw3tqTpM0agHgLhwf3ACLcB/s1600/DSC04638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WyeQz2Hryag/WPDBlvbjhPI/AAAAAAAA79E/sl13AMkfq3EYMupw3tqTpM0agHgLhwf3ACLcB/s320/DSC04638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>SIDE A:</b><br />
Jimmy & Susy - Come Back<br />
Body Language - Social Studies (Plastic Plates Remix)<br />
Hercules in New York - Nightlight<br />
Shakira - She Wolf<br />
Buzzer - Complications (Moar Cowbell Remix)<br />
My Mine - Hypnotic Tango<br />
Bomb the Bass - Megablast (DaxxTRS Remix)<br />
Roxette - Sleeping Single<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tarzan%20Loves%20the%20Summer%20Nights%20-%20Side%20A.mp3">Download (42.1MB)</a> <br />
<br />
<b>SIDE B:</b><br />
Savage Garden - Chained to You<br />
Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You<br />
Gyllene Tider - Det Är Över Nu<br />
Ace of Base - Mr Replay (Feat. Lex Marshall)<br />
Miko Mission - The World is You<br />
Modernaire - Faites Tes Jeux<br />
Streets of Rage - Fighting in the Street<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cassettesandchocolate.co.uk/C%26CM%20Mixtape%20-%20Tarzan%20Loves%20the%20Summer%20Nights%20-%20Side%20B.mp3">Download (41.2MB)</a> Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-3084792427842960072016-03-22T05:17:00.000+11:002016-07-24T05:08:42.879+10:00The Milk Diaries: MemoirsMelbourne's Wheeler Centre had the good foresight to bootleg an event I wish I could have attended: <a href="http://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/podcasts/the-wheeler-centre/carrie-brownstein">Carrie Brownstein in conversation with Myf Warhurst</a>. Early on, Carrie began to describe how, as a kid, she would stage performances for her parents. It was an anecdote which highlighted an early compulsion to perform. I thought to myself, but surely we all did that? Didn't we sit various sets of parents down for the endless performances of singing, dancing and/or prancing?<br />
<br />
The anecdote made me think of musical memoirs and how they manage to detail these various fan behaviours and activities. I often think of Giles Smith in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Music-Giles-Smith/dp/0330339176">Lost in Music</a>, perpetuating this mythology surrounding his first 7" inch record. He had always insisted that his first disc happened to be the Beatles' last, but then upon searching for Let It Be, he found that he had never actually acquired the record. It's a story that charms me, in that it reflects a need to create this poetic narrative around the music, but upon closer inspection, it all falls apart.<br />
<br />
The musical memoirs that remain with me capitalise on that balance, between the heady and the reverent, the silly and the extremely serious. I think of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Modfather-Life-Paul-Weller/dp/0099476592">The Modfather</a>, where David Lines collapsed in a newsagency upon hearing that the Jam just split up in 1982. There is a sincere sympathy with that boy on the floor with a bloody nose, but at the same time, there is this absurd portrait of this boy with a completely ridiculous musical obsession. The reader can affectionately chuckle, but the source of the humour comes from the recognition between writer and reader. <i>We know, cause we've gone bananas over a band too.</i><br />
<br />
I try to remain on good terms with the musical and personal past and I try speak of tastes and activities with an odd sardonic fondness. What I have to remember is that this kind of enthusiasm is hardly unique to myself. When fans talk to other fans about fandom, I think it is important to remember that love is an analogy: while I can talk of painting my left fingernails black in tribute to Freddie Mercury, I cannot inadvertently dismiss the dedication of another fan. The skill in it comes from crafting a story which illicits a glimmer of affinity and acknowledgement. The point is not only to honour the past but to encourage others to share their stories.<br />
<br />
We all have a musical past and in the most idealistic sense, it would be so wild if more people developed the confidence to describe their relationship with music in blogs and zines. There are other ways to share obviously, only the other day, the Museum of London invited original punks to come down with personal objects for <a href="http://punk.london/">punk.london</a>. They sat and described the significance of studded leather jackets, band buttons and weathered Doc Martens. If anything can be learned from that afternoon, it can be that physical things can be the best starting point.<br />
<br />
So if you think you might want to begin, think of those band t-shirts (à la <a href="https://vanessaberryworld.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/the-band-t-shirt-zine/">Vanessa Berry</a>), ticket stubs, plectra, posters or your drawer of mixtapes, with dozens of romantic sentiments untapped. Write down anything that you would say to a friend who would care. Write quickly. Write every day. <a href="http://facebook.com/cassettesandchocolate">Share</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nZSlZmKUKqU/VvA20f0-wOI/AAAAAAAAX80/MBSrYVCmxeQa3gByblZoC3Ru7HBZ136bA/s1600/20151225_011555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nZSlZmKUKqU/VvA20f0-wOI/AAAAAAAAX80/MBSrYVCmxeQa3gByblZoC3Ru7HBZ136bA/s320/20151225_011555.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bag-Im-Underground-1960-1990/dp/1908714263">This Bag I'm In</a></div>
<br />Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-70557772372195760662016-03-16T02:21:00.000+11:002016-03-26T11:27:47.056+11:00The Milk Diaries: Oblique StrategiesI remember it was in the great musical text, <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/191794423880?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=1006886&poi=&campaignid=207297426&device=m&adgroupid=13585920426&rlsatarget=pla-131843276226&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=122&ff19=0&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F710-134428-41853-0%252F2%253Fipn%253Dicep%2526icep_id%253D67%2526mtid%253D1673%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D50600204586_563391%2526icep_item_id%253D191794423880%2526itemid%253D191794423880%2526icep_meta_categ_id%253D267%2526icep_etrs%253DN%2526icep_epid%253D176842643%2526icep_ctlg%253D610%2526icep_cond%253DNew%2526targetid%253D131843276226%2526rpc%253D0.10%2526rpc_upld_id%253D65487%2526device%253Dm%2526icep_msku_flag%253Dn%2526icep_cbt%253Dn%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D1006886%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D207297426%2526adgroupid%253D13585920426%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-131843276226%2526gclid%253DCj0KEQjwwpm3BRDuh5awn4qJpLwBEiQAATTAQWVuUNfpPrGF7TaA2dn-UyAo9jDGKJ74N_n6U1M8SwcaAtke8P8HAQ%2526srcrot%253D710-134428-41853-0%2526rvr_id%253D997438275492&ul_noapp=true">Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters</a> where Ray Davies encouraged the use of unfamiliar instruments during pop composition. I think about this a lot, that when you are adept at playing an instrument, whether that be piano, guitar or violin, your fingers tend to fall back in the same places.<br />
<br />
The idea that Ray Davies presents offers hope to those who are not particularly dexterous on their pop instrument of choice. It relies upon that theory that creative acts can actually result from technical or physical limitations. On a personal level, it warms me to think that ridiculous contortions to avoid barre chords could ultimately result in something interesting and unique.<br />
<br />
I recall Brian May saying something similar, that he preferred to make up melodies away from the guitar as he had shared a similar tendency to return to the same, comfortable places. The concept led me to think that perhaps what is pivotal is not what you can play, but what you can imagine. It reinforced a theory I developed when I jammed with vocalist Marcella back at Casa Hawksburn.<br />
<br />
What impressed me most was her incredible ability to instantly invent and vocalise a melody over any given loop or chord progression. It was akin to a stream of consciousness practice, where all expression is experimental, yet still thoroughly valid. The process was be inspired yet straightforward, where the memorable melodies were later developed into full tracks with synths and lush string arrangements.<br />
<br />
On some level, these songwriters might not have a scientific understanding of their own creative process. These musicians might just be offering oblique strategies for the pop curious. Perhaps it is a naive thing to suggest such things, particularly when pop can be broken down into its most formulaic components. For me, however, there is some comfort in the idea that regardless of your musical skill, it is the trust in your first thought which might be the most inspired thing.<br />
<br />
<br />Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062516.post-37223583573773483102016-03-13T12:56:00.000+11:002016-03-13T12:56:37.597+11:00The Milk Diaries: Leftover Love<i>“I succeed very well, by not looking at the world around</i><br />
<i>By not looking at myself</i><br />
<i>Going on, moving, constantly.”</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
Dyva - Leftover Love</div>
<br />
I felt a desperate need to listen to this song, lying across some seats on a local bus to Cirencester. It was some years ago and I was with my family. We were all stuck in traffic and I felt lousy. I knew only emotional early Italo Disco would assist with whatever ailed me. I sought out the bouncy bass and cloudy vocals and I wailed along under my breath:<br />
<br />
<i>“People can’t invent,</i><br />
<i>Their lovers and friends,</i><br />
<i>It’s life which gives these</i><br />
<i>And also takes them away sometimes.”</i><br />
<br />
It’s not the most articulate of lyrics, but it reminded me of a friend who once described the appeal of Italo Disco. He said it was the language barrier which makes for more pure, expressive lyricism. It was an insight that, for me, added so much to a genre that is so commonly dismissed as disposable. Leftover Love is lyrically clunky, but it captures a desperate level of sincerity:<br />
<br />
<i>“I want to say yes,</i><br />
<i>Want to say yes to life!”</i><br />
<br />
It's been a long time since that bus ride in Cirencester, but I occasionally think of Leftover Love and how meaningful lyrics needn't be particularly poetic or articulate. There can be something in the simplicity of expression which can make a song quite profound, even though it is hard to believe such meaning was ever really intended..<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="284" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gaICzqhwhEA" width="378"></iframe></div>
Eleanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01059714155210664700noreply@blogger.com3