The Listening Club - 4th February 2018

How do folks,

Hope you're all good. Amsterdam is fully in "oh so you think Winter's fading?" mode, so we're looking forward to a week of mega-brr (for here, anyway). So for us groundhogs, hibernation continues, making our way through the films and series of the year, as it is and always shall be...

Last week in #LC land, @Saucer was up to his old tricks with his pick of Broadcast's "Tender Buttons", which beeped and crackled the assembled to mostly positive effect. Thanks to him for the pick, and for flipping the frisb across the pond to @ohmyliver, who is here with this week's intro...

"So the frisbee has come my way this week. 

As always, I’ve had to fight my way through the albums that I’m currently caining, but I can’t pick because surely everyone knows them.  I’m looking at you Scott 4, the only album to have made me and go out and buy a film and to feature a track about the rise of neo-stalinism in Eastern Europe,  Or the albums that I really want to love, but miss the mark a little, I’m looking at you, album of garage punk covers of 80s Detroit Techno/Electro that is Party Store by The Dirtbombs, doubly annoying because I’ve wanted such an album to exist since ‘93.  

Anyhoo, on through to the inner circle of choices.   

I would have picked the ‘if Marx and Spencer did early 90s on the cusp-of-Jungle ‘ardcore’, that is The Modern Warfare 1-3 E.Ps.by Special Request.  A well produced smoothness to the clatter of breakbeats, and neon electric piano riffs, in place of the rough mania that characterises a lot of ‘back in the day’ tracks, but has a lot of the dynamics of ardcore,I prefer it toi Luke Vibert’s recent UK Garave side project, which occupies a similar sonic territory. Possibly because it's less knowingly clever about it.  But whilst I really love some of the tracks on it, at least 3 tracks are a bit weak.  It’s also a bit unfair to not listen to it on a big soundsystem at 3AM. 

I could have picked the recently release/reissue Any Other Way, by the reclusive Jackie Shane.  Her then hidden transexuality adds a subtle difference, and a fragility which really works against the early to mid 60s soul backdrop.  But I’ve only just discovered it, and I need to listen to it more.

So I’ve gone with this one.  

It’s the best English translation of an German 20th century jazz influenced opera about the corruption of capitalist London.  The composer’s songs have been covered by a large number of people, Bowie, The Doors, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and even Robbie Williams.   My love for the excellence of it’s translation, capturing the bile and menace of the original better than other translations, is almost the inverse of my loathing of the various Rat Packy covers of the most famous song from this opera.  The song’s subject is an amoral corrupt murderous shit, not some sort of genial wiseguy for crying out loud.  I was introduced to this opera by my father who used to rely upon my support to overrule my mother’s mild dislike of having to listen to it on cassette on long car journeys. It’s setting of the seedy side of London exciting to my 12 year old ears.

As the Anglosphere slowly crumbles and buckles under the tensions of greed, corruption, and petty nationalism, sit back and listen to the jazz influenced atonal venom of this opera.  You might want to have something uplifting and poppy queued up for after though."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the streamydereamy HearThis is below:


See you at 8pm GMT!