Chart Music Podcast

[Durance Vile]

Blimey, Suzi and Len really were the superannuated Bonnie and Clyde of glam rock by then. Not only had they liberated Sorrow for Short Dick Man or whatever it was called, but Lipstick was a note-for-note copy of Gloria. How the fuck did they not get sued for that?

[Camp Tramp]

Blimey, Suzi and Len really were the superannuated Bonnie and Clyde of glam rock by then. Not only had they liberated Sorrow for Short Dick Man or whatever it was called, but Lipstick was a note-for-note copy of Gloria. How the fuck did they not get sued for that?

Not this surely?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMvpP9Rq3t4

[famethrowa]

Hearing Taylor absolutely laying waste to the Beatles cover was a joy, I could have guessed what was coming and he did not disappoint.

[Epic Bisto]

Dollar's re-imagining has a bit of a proto-When Doves Cry sound to it.  David Van Day & The Revolution, if you will.

Who would have thought that Christopher Neil would've been the most important cog in Chart Music's eightventies engine.

[Cardenio I]

Really boring query here, but is there an episode of Chart Music where they discuss Legs & Co. dancing to "I Feel Love", or am I getting mixed up with ep. 23 when they discuss L&C dancing to Moroder's "From Here to Eternity"?

[Crabwalk]

The latter, I think.

[Dusty Substance]

Anyone remember if they've covered the mighty Boney M on Chart Music? I know from Taylor's old blogs that he's a fan and I recall them getting mentioned once in one of Al's quizzes and Taylor responded with a very enthusiastic and positive "Yes!" at the mention of their name. Would love to hear them go in deep on them (The "M").

[non capisco]

Talking of which I only recently realised during my Top Of The Pops odyssey that the "ma ma ma maaaa" vocal hook on Lady Gaga's 'Pokerface' is a direct steal from Boney M's 'Ma Baker'.

[Dusty Substance]

Talking of which I only recently realised during my Top Of The Pops odyssey that the "ma ma ma maaaa" vocal hook on Lady Gaga's 'Pokerface' is a direct steal from Boney M's 'Ma Baker'.

That never occurred to me until right now! I think Ma Baker was their biggest (or only) hit in the U.S.

[jamiefairlie]

I liked Taylor's point when discussing The Regents that the context of alternative music from this period is crucial to understanding the music , and that just listening to it as a piece of music in isolation misses the majority of the point.

[Brundle-Fly]

I adored 7Teen. The Regents girls were like a prototype, Human League Joanne and Susan

Quite a sad ending to the singer and guitarist.
http://randomramblingsthoughtsandfiction.blogspot.com/2015/02/tracking-down-regents-desire-higher.html

[non capisco]

'Seventeen' is a cast iron banger. Been playing it loads since discovering it through the last episode. It's not quite 'Twilight Cafe' by Susan Fassbender in the undersung Eighventies dazzlers stakes but it's pretty damn close.

[Funcrusher]

I think Neil said that when he went to stay with relatives in India the only record he had to play was Boney M's Night Flight To Venus.

[non capisco]

Oh yeah, for some reason Taylor's description of Noel Edmond's 70s haircut being like "the drooping wings of a dead kestrel" popped into my head the other day and made me laugh out loud again on the bus, like the podcast equivalent of an acid flashback. 

[Jockice]

Oh yeah, for some reason Taylor's description of Noel Edmond's 70s haircut being like "the drooping wings of a dead kestrel" popped into my head the other day and made me laugh out loud again on the bus, like the podcast equivalent of an acid flashback.

Not connected but I went for a swim yesterday and nearly drowned from laughing when the thought of the Brandon Block/Ronnie Wood stand-off at the Brits in 2000 came into my head.

[Johnboy]

loved the latest episode

If I ever re listen i'm going to go for P Team Eighventies

anybody done any relistening, i'd say it's rewarding

[Satchmo Distel]

Al was at his mum's last week, so I wonder if family commitments are slowing down the rate of episodes?

[Brundle-Fly]

It must take ages to put these CMPs together though. Firstly, he and the guests have to research each artist/ single and think about what they/ it means to them. Then, Al has to arrange all three of them to be around at the same time to chat on the phone/ Skype for anything up to four hours. Next, he has to edit out all the dead space/ ums and ahhs/ toilet breaks/ slander. Edit in the music/ clips and devise the post-show easter egg.  You can't just toss these off, I suppose?

[badaids]

They always go on about the battle and differences between NME and MM but I used to see them as pretty much interchangeable when I bought them in the 90s. I would just get whichever one(s) had the most interesting front cover or free tape

I used to buy both, and most of the time they were interchangeable.  At the time I sued to prefer the NME, not just because it was more orthodox and mainstream in it's taste and outlook, and I was too, but because NME looks and sounds better and Melody Maker is a shite name.  With hindsight though, the Maker shat all over NME; it was funnier and more diverse and had less cunts writing for it.

[McChesney Duntz]

At the time I sued to prefer the NME

That seems a bit extreme.

[MiddleRabbit]

I used to buy both, and most of the time they were interchangeable.  At the time I sued to prefer the NME, not just because it was more orthodox and mainstream in it's taste and outlook, and I was too, but because NME looks and sounds better and Melody Maker is a shite name.  With hindsight though, the Maker shat all over NME; it was funnier and more diverse and had less cunts writing for it.

I was the same, apart from I found MM a bit more self-reverential, which might have been down to Steve Sutherland, who later left to edit NME.  I found NME a bit less desperate and hanger-on-y.  Everett True was embarrassing in his desperation to be 'in' with Oasis and, as I recall - perhaps inaccurately - MM were always trying to manufacture scenes at were all about how marvellous MM were.  Jonh Wilde tried far too hard, as did Taylor Parkes.  NME had the prophet of woke writing for them, who died fairly recently, but he seemed to be used more for comic relief.  Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick.  It wouldn't be the first - or last - time.

On the other hand, it's a bit like Multicoloured Swap Shop vs. TISWAS to me.  With hindsight, you get these people who firmly nailed their colours to one mast or another but everybody I knew used to flick from one to he other, depending on what was on at any given moment.  I certainly had no loyalty to either, and I didn't with NME or MM either, they both got bought every week.

[badaids]

I was the same, apart from I found MM a bit more self-reverential, which might have been down to Steve Sutherland, who later left to edit NME.  I found NME a bit less desperate and hanger-on-y.  Everett True was embarrassing in his desperation to be 'in' with Oasis and, as I recall - perhaps inaccurately - MM were always trying to manufacture scenes at were all about how marvellous MM were.  Jonh Wilde tried far too hard, as did Taylor Parkes.  NME had the prophet of woke writing for them, who died fairly recently, but he seemed to be used more for comic relief.  Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick.  It wouldn't be the first - or last - time.

On the other hand, it's a bit like Multicoloured Swap Shop vs. TISWAS to me.  With hindsight, you get these people who firmly nailed their colours to one mast or another but everybody I knew used to flick from one to he other, depending on what was on at any given moment.  I certainly had no loyalty to either, and I didn't with NME or MM either, they both got bought every week.

The Swap Shop / Tiswas analogy is a good one.

A thing I miss is the anticipation of the day that NME and MM came out (I think it was a Wednesday).  The week didn't start until then.  Down to the newsagent and bollocks to the reviews (unless there was a favorite band like Tindersticks or Gorky's in there), straight to the gigs section and plan who was playing and what you were going to see.  Even in an average week in London you might get to see Quickspace somewhere, There Animal Men in the Mean Fiddler and Corduroy at Dingwalls.  You had to plan how far your money would go, including travel and if someone was playing in Reading or the Old Trout in Windsor that would fuck it right up.  You can shit on Britpop as a musical scene as much as you want, but it disguises the fact in a month there would be a dozen genuinely brilliant bands you could see for not much dough.  We'll never see a rich musical scene like that again.

[MiddleRabbit]

The Swap Shop / Tiswas analogy is a good one.

A thing I miss is the anticipation of the day that NME and MM came out (I think it was a Wednesday).  The week didn't start until then.  Down to the newsagent and bollocks to the reviews (unless there was a favorite band like Tindersticks or Gorky's in there), straight to the gigs section and plan who was playing and what you were going to see.  Even in an average week in London you might get to see Quickspace somewhere, There Animal Men in the Mean Fiddler and Corduroy at Dingwalls.  You had to plan how far your money would go, including travel and if someone was playing in Reading or the Old Trout in Windsor that would fuck it right up.  You can shit on Britpop as a musical scene as much as you want, but it disguises the fact in a month there would be a dozen genuinely brilliant bands you could see for not much dough.  We'll never see a rich musical scene like that again.

Britpop hasn't been remembered fondly by the cool kids, but as it was all about (p)optimism -at least to begin with - it wouldn't, would it?  Optimism dates badly, inevitably.

On the other hand, it was also about things like 'authenticity' too, at least in terms of bands who wrote their own songs and who played live too, which wasn't really the case in terms of chart pop music immediately prior to that, hence the sudden prevalence of live music shows on telly cropping up then.

Gigs were dead cheap, too.  I saw the Bluetones/Supergrass tour in about 96(?) and that was about £3.50.  As unlikely as it sounds, Cast were really good to start with, by which I mean before they put any records out.  They played the Hull Adelphi every month for about a year (about '93-94) and they were fucking great.  I know, I do.  I rushed out to buy Fine Time in he Monday of its release and it was delayed.  When I finally got it on the Wednesday and played it, I couldn't believe how bad it was.  I had a cassette of their demos and it was fantastic.  I can barely believe it myself.

[Neomod]

Everett True was embarrassing in his desperation to be 'in' with Oasis and, as I recall - perhaps inaccurately

Wasn't Everett True the Nirvana guy and Paul Lester the Oasis guy. Basically serving the same roles with different bands and all a bit cringey.

[Brundle-Fly]

Wasn't Everett True the Nirvana guy and Paul Lester the Oasis guy. Basically serving the same roles with different bands and all a bit cringey.

Who was it that Paul Moody was always championing? Was it Blur? Regular Fries, obv.

[DrGreggles]

Who's to blame for Menswear though?

(please don't say Top Shop)

[MiddleRabbit]

Who's to blame for Menswear though?

(please don't say Top Shop)

First mentioned in Select, front cover of MM prior to any records released.  Take your pick, I suppose.

[Brundle-Fly]

Wasn't crazy about them, but never had a problem with Menswe@r. The Sigue Sigue Sputnik of the nineties pop.

[gilbertharding]

You can shit on Britpop as a musical scene as much as you want, but it disguises the fact in a month there would be a dozen genuinely brilliant bands you could see for not much dough.  We'll never see a rich musical scene like that again.

Nearly.

...there would be a dozen bands of distinctly variable quality at whose gigs you would nearly always have a great time almost regardless...

I think. There's only a few I'd listen to now, but I'm not going to deny how exciting it all seemed at the time. When I was young.

[gilbertharding]

Wasn't crazy about them, but never had a problem with Menswe@r. The Sigue Sigue Sputnik of the nineties pop.

Agreed. Several (3?) very serviceable songs, and a terrific 'popkids' image. Anyone who bought the album deserves everything they got though. To take them seriously is just a category error.

See also: Shed 7.