Ratty Christmas

Wes[Wolverhampton] · House on Fire

Ratty Christmas

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Have a cool yule. May 2014 be as good as 2013, great year of the rats!

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

Christmas wishes to you and everyone here too. Year of the Rat II for 2014.

kirjen3112 · She's So Modern

And a very Happy New Year 2014 to everyone out there!!

Mark L · Loudmouth

Happy New Year 2014

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Belated Christmas greeting to everyone. Managed a short 'holiday' in the Netherlands, and spend rest of Christmas listening to The Teardrop Explodes and The Black Keys.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
...listening to The Teardrop Explodes and The Black Keys.

Now you're talking! I have mainly been listening to the Rats Live. Son was laughing at all the profanities uttered by Geldof when we were driving around.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

ArrGee wrote:
noelindublin wrote:
...listening to The Teardrop Explodes and The Black Keys.
Now you're talking! I have mainly been listening to the Rats Live. Son was laughing at all the profanities uttered by Geldof when we were driving around.

I think my 3 favourite songs in the world right now are Passionate Friend, Bouncing Babies and Treason. Have only heard the first Black Keys album and it's pretty good though not earth shattering.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
ArrGee wrote:
noelindublin wrote:
...listening to The Teardrop Explodes and The Black Keys.
Now you're talking! I have mainly been listening to the Rats Live. Son was laughing at all the profanities uttered by Geldof when we were driving around.
I think my 3 favourite songs in the world right now are Passionate Friend, Bouncing Babies and Treason. Have only heard the first Black Keys album and it's pretty good though not earth shattering.

Which one is the first? All I really know are Brothers and El Camino which are a few down the line.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

I was listening to El Camino , and I thought it was their first album! I'm not as in the know as I once was about music (or at least thought I was) smile

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
I was listening to El Camino , and I thought it was their first album! I'm not as in the know as I once was about music (or at least thought I was)

Personally, I prefer Brothers, its predecessor. El Camino is the seventh album I haven't delved too deep into their back catalogue, still now I will start listening to them via spotify...

As for not being in the know, although I have heard about Blurred Lines and the attendant bans, I have not knowingly heard the song nor seen the video. Looking at the top 40 biggest selling records, there are only 5 I can recall. A couple mainly cos they are covers and I was incredulous at how p!ss poor the covers were, one cos it was on The Voice which the kids insist on watching, and only two that I actually have heard on the radio.

http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-singles-of-2013-2709/

1 BLURRED LINES ROBIN THICKE/TI/PHARRELL
2 GET LUCKY DAFT PUNK FT PHARRELL WILLIAMS
3 WAKE ME UP AVICII
4 LET HER GO PASSENGER
5 LA LA LA NAUGHTY BOY FT SAM SMITH
6 ROAR KATY PERRY
7 THRIFT SHOP MACKLEMORE/RYAN LEWIS/WANZ
8 JUST GIVE ME A REASON PINK FT NATE RUESS
9 COUNTING STARS ONEREPUBLIC
10 MIRRORS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
11 POMPEII BASTILLE
12 WAITING ALL NIGHT RUDIMENTAL FT ELLA EYRE
13 CAN'T HOLD US MACKLEMORE/RYAN LEWIS/DALTON
14 LOVE ME AGAIN JOHN NEWMAN
15 BURN ELLIE GOULDING
16 WHEN I WAS YOUR MAN BRUNO MARS
17 I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE TAYLOR SWIFT
18 SCREAM & SHOUT WILL I AM FT BRITNEY SPEARS
19 I LOVE IT ICONA POP FT CHARLI XCX
20 DEAR DARLIN' OLLY MURS
21 HO HEY LUMINEERS
22 STAY RIHANNA FT MIKKY EKKO
23 SUMMERTIME SADNESS LANA DEL REY VS CEDRIC GERVAIS
24 ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (TEENAGE KICKS) ONE DIRECTION
25 TALK DIRTY JASON DERULO FT 2 CHAINZ
26 THE MONSTER EMINEM FT RIHANNA
27 I COULD BE THE ONE AVICII VS NICKY ROMERO
28 WE CAN'T STOP MILEY CYRUS
29 WHITE NOISE DISCLOSURE FT ALUNAGEORGE
30 RADIOACTIVE IMAGINE DRAGONS
31 HOLD ON WE'RE GOING HOME DRAKE FT MAJID JORDAN
32 I NEED YOUR LOVE CALVIN HARRIS/ELLIE GOULDING
33 BANG BANG WILL I AM
34 SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW LILY ALLEN
35 NEED U (100 PERCENT) DUKE DUMONT FT AME
36 PLAY HARD DAVID GUETTA FT NE-YO & AKON
37 WHAT ABOUT US SATURDAYS FT SEAN PAUL
38 WILD JESSIE J/BIG SEAN/D RASCAL
39 THE OTHER SIDE JASON DERULO
40 DRINKING FROM THE BOTTLE CALVIN HARRIS FT TINIE TEMPAH

http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-artist-albums-of-2013-2708/

I did better with the LPs having heard Emile Sande (actually from 2012), Arctic Monkeys, Les Mis and Bowie. Also seem to have heard most of Jake Bugg as well.

Probably goes to show that listening to XFM Gold (sic) offers no exposure to any new music whatsoever.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

The last two musical items I purchased, a few weeks ago, were The Teardrop Explodes collection, 18 track 'hits' bought in Tower, Dublin , and Crosby Stills and Nash Greatest Hits cd from charity shop!

I've heard a few good bits and pieces on magazine free cd's like Van Dyke Parks and Shelleyan Orphan which warrant further investigation, but with so much music around I don't care when it was made, only that it is good and worth listening too.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
The last two musical items I purchased, a few weeks ago, were The Teardrop Explodes collection, 18 track 'hits' bought in Tower, Dublin , and Crosby Stills and Nash Greatest Hits cd from charity shop!
I've heard a few good bits and pieces on magazine free cd's like Van Dyke Parks and Shelleyan Orphan which warrant further investigation, but with so much music around I don't care when it was made, only that it is good and worth listening too.

Last CDs I bought were the two Suede live CDs plus Elton John off Concert Live on their 3 for £15 offer. Santa gave me the Rats ones. Also picked up the Style Council Box Set on CD.

Got the Bowie LP as a yule present, and bought Arcade Fire LP a while before that. Also got the Suede LP box, Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys LPs this year. Nothing else new, just loads of second hand LPs from the Oxfam shop and eBay.

Have done a few downloads of the £1.99 albums on Amazon as they were effectively free with the £2 voucher.

PS Teardrop Explodes first two LPs are well worth getting. There are extended special CD versions, but the originals are best, though take care to get Kilimanjaro with Reward on it, the first pressings omitted it. Also confusingly both albums have two different covers.

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

Style Council REALLY God I give up, The Jam yes and even some of his solo work. But anything But that. I would put that down to him going through a mad time in his life

suss · In the Long Grass

Drifting into 'other stuff' I realise but I really liked some Style Council stuff, not that I explored in any depth. Paris Match and Waiting are both excellent slow tracks, and Walls Come Tumbling Down is a favourite 'upbeat' track. Also really liked Come To Milton Keynes. I'm sure there are others but not got CDs to hand.

As for the top 40, not sure if I should be ashamed to say all familiar and about 35 in my CD collection one way or another (no pun intended0. There is some good new stuff, even in the charts, but just feels like the dross:great ratio is increasing year on year.

Happy New Year to all,

V.Meldrew esq.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
Drifting into 'other stuff' I realise but I really liked some Style Council stuff, not that I explored in any depth. Paris Match and Waiting are both excellent slow tracks, and Walls Come Tumbling Down is a favourite 'upbeat' track. Also really liked Come To Milton Keynes. I'm sure there are others but not got CDs to hand.
As for the top 40, not sure if I should be ashamed to say all familiar and about 35 in my CD collection one way or another (no pun intended). There is some good new stuff, even in the charts, but just feels like the dross:great ratio is increasing year on year.

Shout To The Top and Walls Come Tumbling Down were songs that I seemed to play constantly at the time. Don't remember much else from the time that was of interest.

Wow, you have them on CD!!! Grandad! I think the days of Brit-influenced Guitar based bands are over. Look at NME covers. All old farts. Strummer, The Who, McCartney, Lennon, Stones, Bowie, Stone Roses, Pixies, Nirvana, Primal Scream, Smiths, Joy Division, Oasis and Libertines all there in last year or two. Same for XFM Gold.

http://www.nme.com/magazine/offset/12

noelindublin · Loudmouth

manatthetop wrote:
Style Council REALLY God I give up, The Jam yes and even some of his solo work. But anything But that. I would put that down to him going through a mad time in his life

I agree with you there, The Style Council never appealed to me either. 'Governments crack and systems fall/coz unity is powerful'- trite slaganeering, embarrassingly simplistic notions, not how the real world works Mr Weller. But Britain eventually got a Labour government so maybe Wellers dream came through?

noelindublin · Loudmouth

ArrGee wrote:
suss wrote:
Drifting into 'other stuff' I realise but I really liked some Style Council stuff, not that I explored in any depth. Paris Match and Waiting are both excellent slow tracks, and Walls Come Tumbling Down is a favourite 'upbeat' track. Also really liked Come To Milton Keynes. I'm sure there are others but not got CDs to hand.
As for the top 40, not sure if I should be ashamed to say all familiar and about 35 in my CD collection one way or another (no pun intended). There is some good new stuff, even in the charts, but just feels like the dross:great ratio is increasing year on year.
Shout To The Top and Walls Come Tumbling Down were songs that I seemed to play constantly at the time. Don't remember much else from the time that was of interest.
Wow, you have them on CD!!! Grandad! I think the days of Brit-influenced Guitar based bands are over. Look at NME covers. All old farts. Strummer, The Who, McCartney, Lennon, Stones, Bowie, Stone Roses, Pixies, Nirvana, Primal Scream, Smiths, Joy Division, Oasis and Libertines all there in last year or two. Same for XFM Gold.
http://www.nme.com/magazine/offset/12

I doubt if anyone under 35 ever reads the NME Website, never mind buying a hard copy of the rag, these days. There certainly is a nice little cottage industry catering for 'nostalgic' music fans. NME, UNCUT, Mojo and the various others fawning over yesterdays rock stars.

Someone should start a blog,and only listen to music brought out in 2014. It might be a good way of gauging what is going on out there and give us a break from all the hoary old names (Boomtown Rats excluded, of course!) the nostalgia press practise its necromancy on.

-- Edited by noelindublin on Wednesday 8th of January 2014 01:13:14 PM

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
...only listen to music brought out in 2014.
There's an interesting idea. Perhaps it should be only new acts. In 2013 I did listen to new material, but it was from Pulp, Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, Suede, Boomtown Rats, Arcade Fire, and Arctic Monkeys, so that shouldn't count.
Where can I find out what is new? XFM Gold is no use, just mentions Jack White and The Pixies http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/albums-singles/

suss · In the Long Grass

A good way to capture a snapshot of the year (and the way I obtained a high percentage of the 'top 40 for 2013') is to buy the Now compilations every 3 months.

For about £50 a year (approx £13 per CD) you get a fair flavour of the charts and what was new over the 12 months. They're not exclusively dance/R&B compilations, but accept you're unlikely to find anything edgy or alternative.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
A good way to capture a snapshot of the year (and the way I obtained a high percentage of the 'top 40 for 2013') is to buy the Now compilations every 3 months.
For about £50 a year (approx £13 per CD) you get a fair flavour of the charts and what was new over the 12 months. They're not exclusively dance/R&B compilations, but accept you're unlikely to find anything edgy or alternative.

I just want guitars!

One of the disappoinments of watching the recent Top of the Pops from the late 70s is how much cr@p there was around at the time. I associate those days with punk/new wave, yet the harsh reality was it was wall to wall Grease, Boney M and Abba.

Even the mid-nineties when I believed (falsely it appears) alternative/indie acts ruled the roost, checking Now That's What I Call Music! 31 shatters the illusion.

PS Featuring is a very popular act. Seems to be on almost every other track these days

daggerrat · Never In A Million Years

To be honest i can fully understand what you guys are saying. As a 17 year old fresh out of school the summer of 79 there was rock all to worship in music terms and then along came the Rats. Sitting on the river bank still having to put up with Earth wind and fire, Michael Jackson and poor imitations like the Vapors ( turning Japanese ) their 1 single the Rats were a breath of fresh air. Then came tonic for the turkey tour Xmas time followed by Surfacing the following year and were hooked for the rest of our lives.

Seeing the Rats last year at IOW, Cambridge, London bought back so many positive memories, lets hope 2014 is as good if not better.

A very happy and prosp[erous 2014 to all Rats followers

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

daggerrat wrote:
... poor imitations like the Vapors ( turning Japanese ) their 1 single

I really like The Vapors! There was more to them than the w@nking song. New Clear Days and Magnets were very good albums. Waiting for the Weekend, News at Ten, Spiders, Jimmy Jones, Civic Hall, Daylight Titans, Can't Talk Anymore, America, Spring Collection etc.

On the same theme and going back to the Now albums, I noted they had a Now 30 years in the shops today. The track listing was pretty depressing from the perspective of those who like guitar based indie music. No Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Smiths, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand... Not even a Kaiser Chiefs. Coldplay was as indie as it got and David Bowie was only on there with Dancing in the Street. It's as if Punk Rock never happened.

Wait until they do Now That's What I call the 70s. It'll be total sh!te. Probably have Billy Don't Be A Hero and Matchstalk Men on it.