New Rekkids & A Retirement

I mentioned the new Dresden Dolls record due out in May a few weeks ago which got me excited, but I've just heard that Maximo Park are heading into the studio to record their new magnum opus - it will be magnificent, I have no doubt. They've been writing lots of new songs and Paul says that his lyrics are full of place names, so that should be interesting. A new Maximos album will, of course, mean a tour. And maybe some promos. And merch. Watch this space!

The delightful Blood Red Shoes drop their first album in April, an event I'm looking forward to (I hope there are no ballads on it). They're playing the London Students Union place in Bloomsbury in a few weeks time and, much as I'd like to see them in all their redness I don't think I want to be surrounded by stoodents. BUT, their surprise guest at a gig in Germany this week was none other than the future of rock'n'roll themselves, Comanechi! What a fabulous gig that must have been. *tempted*

Beth Rowley is also due her first album in, I think, May. With a voice like hers it'll be a pleasure to listen to - I'm still enjoying 'Violets', her debut EP, especially her reggae version of 'I Shall Be Released'. It'll be interesting to see what songs she's chosen for this album and how she'll be promoted. She deserves to be big.


News Flash! *Zal Cleminson retires!*

This might not be news to you but it is to me. Eh? I hear you cry, the mighty axe warrior from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band retiring? Last I heard he was starting up a new band as a side project to SAHB. It's sad that he's retiring but good luck to him. At least I saw him one last time at the SAHB 'Framed' gig before Christmas, painted face and loud guitar riffs and all. All the best, Zal!

Linton Kwesi Johnson

I blogged about the ear-opening experience of listening to Linton Kwesi Johnson as an 18 year old a long time ago (click here to visit the past) so you'll understand if I'm just the teeniest bit excited to report that I have ordered tickets to see him at the Barbican in a couple of weeks time. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but neither do I care much... I want my fillings to vibrate with the reverb -erb -erb -erb... I hope there's some time travelling that night!

I was terribly disappointed this morning when I got on the bus, got out my iPod to plug in and while away the journey when I realised that somehow or other I only have three (yes, count 'em, a paltry THREE) Linton tracks on iPey! How on earth has that happened? I am ashamed. I am, even as I type, copying my Linton CDs so I can transfer them to my iPod.

So, instead of a Linton morning I embarked on a Jimmy Cliff festival to celebrate also ordering tickets to see the stage version of 'The Harder They Come'. Why on earth isn't Mr Cliff bigger? Irrespective of his musical genre, he wrote some very good pop songs over the years - why aren't his songs covered right, left and centre? They should be. Jimmy played the Jazz Cafe last year but it was sold out before I found out about it.

Vanity Fair at The National Portrait Gallery

This afternoon Chris took me to the Vanity Fair exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. I'm full of cold so not on top form, but it was nice to see the exhibition - well, it would've been nicer if they'd included the photo of Buffy Sainte-Marie and Richie Havens...

It's an odd exhibition, in a way, photos of the great and good next to photos of the merely famous next to photos of rich people's daughters and suchlike. It was also a strange selection of photos - why include a huge blow up of a pretty bog-standard photo of Maggie Thatcher or a large photo of Jennifer Aniston with half her face obscured so she could be any reasonably good looking young woman? A mixture of the iconic and the so what? Still, it was a nice way to fill in a damp Sunday afternoon.

My favourite photo is of our table in the cafe after the exhibition with muffins scoffed and coke and tea waiting to be drunk. This is my contribution to art of the future.

Was that Fenella Fielding?

I *think* I saw Fenella Fielding on the tube the other day. Those cheekbones, those lips, that hair... could it have been anyone else? There's an article in The Independent on Sunday today that ends with her getting on a bus, so she's not averse to public transport.

When I think of Fenella I think of 'Carry On Screaming' in which she plays the vamp sister to Kenneth Williams' mad scientist, and that's the film in which he utters the immortal Carry On line of 'Frying tonight!' as he sinks into a heated vat of gloop. And Fenella's big line is 'Do you mind if I smoke?' while lying on a couch and then clouds of smoke emerge from around her as she lounges and goes a bit orgasmic. You have to see it really.

If it was Fenella, then all I can say is coo!

BuffyFest Five

Day five of my own personal Buffy Sainte-Marie festival to celebrate her birthday. It's been nice listening to the different styles of music over the years but the thing that seems to have been constant is her stance on war, personal freedom and love. I blogged about 'Moratorium' last year so I won't blog again, but a similar type of song is 'Song Of The French Partisan'.

Song Of The French Partisan

I don't know why Buffy recorded 'French Partisan', a song about the second world war but I imagine it's a metaphor for what happened to the native peoples of North America, with Europeans invading the land and gradually hunting down the native peoples. It's a very sad song, of bravery and loss, the soldier/warrior losing his family and losing his friends as one by one they're killed. It's an emotional black hole depending on how you choose to hear it.

Adam

From Buffy's experimental 1969 album, 'Illuminations', a song by Richie Havens that I don't pretend to understand but love the sound. On 'Illuminations' Buffy played around with the technology trying to find new sounds and 'Adam' is one of those songs that stands out for me, marrying a traditional song structure to a more radical sound. It works for me.

For Free

Buffy's version of a Joni Mitchell song on her 1973 album, 'Quiet Places'. I like this song, a tale of a busker playing for free on a street corner while Buffy (at least in theory) plays for 'a fortune' in a concert hall, a song about 'the biz'. Buffy was an early supporter of Joni and recorded a few of her songs early on.

My Baby Left Me

I'll finish with a song that Buffy recorded that was also recorded a few years later by SLADE, my other heroes. Of course, the sound is very different but the similarity is the pace of the song that does it for me every time. Buffy and SLADE link here ...

There you have it, dear reader, a selection of the Buffy songs I've listened to this week. There have been a lot more, of course, but this selection might help give you an idea of the range of music Buffy has recorded over the years. And continues to record, with a new album due shortly!

Privilege

It's odd, the thoughts you have waiting to cross a road. I had a thought this morning while I waited for the lights to change at Victoria (that's code for 'it was a long thought because it takes ages to cross a road on Victoria Street'). I am one of the most privileged people in the world.

What I really mean by that is that I am one of the most privileged in terms of being in the top billion people in the world. That's because I'm a middle aged, middle class white man. My privilege points start stacking up when I add my education, my job and position (that puts me firmly in SEG B territory), my access to health and other support and, of course, I'm British and can turn on a reasonably good RP accent when needed.

I've had some very uncomfortable moments abroad, particular in places in India and Sri Lanka and, to a lesser extent, Thailand and Singapore. The sometimes deference has been awful and that's based solely on what I physically look like - a white male - without any knowledge of my accomplishments or skills or background. It's not like that in Africa, in my experience, where it seems to be a bit more egalitarian.

My world isn't perfect by any means, but, compared to the vast majority of my fellow human beings, I am privileged. And so, in all likelihood, are you, dear reader. That's a humbling thought. I suspect it's Buffy Sainte-Marie making me think these thoughts...

Jesus Of Cool - Nick Lowe

Just in case you thought I was lost in Buffy, it's my job to alert you to new records and things. In this case, the 'Jesus of Cool' himself, Mr Nick Lowe.

I went to a conference yesterday in Russell Square (and ended up speaking from the stage, but that's another story) so I rewarded myself with a browse round HMV. As ever, I entered the store, turned right to look at the new releases and staring back at me was the distinctive cover of 'Jesus Of Cool' by Nick Lowe ('Pure Pop For Now People' in America). Now, I've been picking up and putting down Nick's 'greatest hits' for a couple of months now (an imported doubler full of titles I've never heard of) but, including the bonus tracks, 'Jesus' actually contains all the songs I want.

For a couple of years in the mid-'70s everything Nick touched turned to gold, helping with the birth of Stiff Records and the many artists it unleashed on the world and he had a few hits himself. So I snapped it up - it's good to hear these songs again, catchy 3 minute pop songs. The packaging is a joy itself, with the pack folding out into cruciform style with a young Nick in a stained glass window. Go on, treat yourself!

BuffyFest Four

Day four of my adventure with Buffy Sainte-Marie, listening to her complete works on my iPod as I travel round London.

Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan

From 1976's 'Sweet America', this is one of the first 'pow wow rock' songs I ever heard with Buffy marrying pow wow sounds to pop/rock songs. It's quite a short song, limited words repeated and Buffy leading a pow wow chorus - I love it. Qu'Appelle Valley is where Buffy was born and in the song she invites us to walk the old way with her. I'd love to, heyo ha heya.

The Big Ones Get Away

A story of corporate greed and the rich men who can buy their way out of legal problems while the minnows are caught, one of the singles from 'Coincidence And Likely Stories' in 1992. Buffy produced a very simple but powerful video for this song that plays to the warrior in her soul when she sings the words,

And if I had a way to reach the sky
Grab that crescent moon
Wield it like a knife
Save you from the lies
From the ropes that bind you...

and you see her reach up to the moon and slash her hand down double-handed as if cutting ropes, a very potent image. Buffy is a poet and artist and seer, but she's also a warrior.

Darling Don't Cry

Another pow wow song from 'Up Where We Belong' in 1996. It's about what happens on the pow wow trail along the border between Canada and the USA and what happens when young people get together, a singer to the heartbeat drum and a dancer, and Buffy is the dancer. I like the closing lines, 'If you like I'll take you home, When I go back to Canada' because that's where I saw Buffy perform this song and the audience erupted, joining in the pow wow singing which was a wonderful experience and a privilege to be in that company.

Samples of all these songs are available on the Buffy tribute site so head on over and take a listen.

BuffyFest Three

It's Buffy Sainte-Marie's birthday today, so happy birthday, Buffy, and thank you for singing to me again as I traipsed round London. Today I listened to some of the first Buffy songs I ever heard and to some of her latest songs. My iPod has impeccable taste, y'know!

Generation

I've mentioned before that I first came across Buffy in a half-hour programme about her music on BBC2 in 1975 or 1976 and one of the songs they played was 'Generation' from the 'Buffy' album in 1974. It was partly that song that entrapped me, but I didn't know what it was called. Years later, when Buffy's Vanguard records appeared on CD the 'Buffy' album remained unknown and still isnt available on CD.

When talking about Buffy to Chris I'd mentioned this song that stuck in my mind over the years with a chorus that went something like, 'Goodbye stars of Hitler and goodbye bankers trust, Aquarius is shining and your son is one of us...' (not quite the right lyrics, but that's what I thought I'd heard). He tracked down the vinyl album and burned it to CD for me for Christmas a few years ago - now that's a present a half! It features a soaring guitar solo but I've no idea who played it.

Native North American Child

Another song I heard on that BBC2 programme was 'Native North American Child', a song I simply must sing along to, even if it's under my breath on a crowded tube train. What do I like about it? I don't really know. But I *must* join in the chorus of,

Sing About your ebony African Queen
Sing about your lily white Lily Marlene
Beauty by the bushel but the girl of the hour
Is a native north American prairie flower

And Buffy is a prairie flower.

I also pride myself on singing along word perfect to the middle verse which lists the native nations but for some reason I always get the last verse wrong...

He's An Indian Cowboy In The Rodeo

This is the best song I've ever heard about a teenage crush - or unrequited love at any age. It tells of the excitement of a young girl who's going to see her hero again that afternoon, and he's an Indian cowboy taking part at the rodeo.

I *love* this song, it's perfect. It bounces along with the girl getting excited, getting ready to see her hero and then there he is with his big wide smile and big white hat ... It's lovely. I like the version on 'Up Where We Belong' that closes with some pow wow singing. I've seen her do this song live - coo!

We all have our own Indian Cowboy.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

A serious song, Buffy in full-on radical mode. The book of that name tells of the injustices of the native American nations in the nineteenth century but Buffy uses that to tell us that those injustices continue today except that the enemy isn't the cavalry, it's now the energy companies who want tribal lands for uranium. It's a harrowing tale with rock beats and pow wow voices.

Bury my heart at wounded knee
Deep in the earth
Cover me with pretty lies
Bury my heart at wounded knee

Happy birthday Buffy! And thank you for the music! As far as I know, this is the latest photo of Buffy (from a 'Vanity Fair' photoshoot):

BuffyFest Two

Buffy Sainte-Marie has been singing to me again today in the build-up to her birthday. I've had a lot of love songs on my iPod today, some country style songs and some experimental electronic music from the late '60s.

The Hashishin

This is an interesting track from the soundtrack to 'Performance' (yes, the Mick Jagger film). It drips drugs, a hippy-trippy melange of sitar and mouthbow that conjours up images of swirling dope and incense smoke in a room full of Indian shawls and stoned hippies... perfect for the film. It's a very atmospheric piece.

97 Men In This Here Town Would Give Half A Grand In Silver Just To Follow Me Down

That's possibly one of the longest titles to any song but part of me just loves this song. It's Buffy as sex kitten telling her man that he's lucky to have her, a tongue-in-cheek joke that I can almost see being part of a sketch on the 'Sonny & Cher Show' with Buffy teasing all the men dancers she'd be surrounded by and flirting with the audience. It's all just another aspect of the human condition that Buffy writes so eloquently about. I'd love to see her play this song live.

It's My Way

'It's My Way' is the title track to Buffy's first album from 1964 and it seems to be an ongoing manifesto for how Buffy lives her life. Buffy is still an activist and hasn't mellowed with age and it's still her way. It's a brave way too, leading to being blacklisted.

'I've got my own sword in my own hand
I've got my own plan that only I can know...
... Your day will come, your day alone...'

I like the way that Buffy turns it round to say that we too can have our day, that we too are a bit special

Sons & Daughters by The Neville Brothers

Buffy collaborates with other artists every now and then and one of my favourites that popped up on my iPod today was 'Sons & Daughters' with the Neville Brothers, a moody piece with Buffy singing in excellent voice in the second half of the song. It's a collaboration to die for.

Again, scoot on over to the Buffy tribute site to hear samples of '97 Men' and 'It's My Way'.