Josh Ritter

Welcome to the new dawn. It has been a fun time. Moved house in November and within 48 hours I was snowed in for 3 weeks.  Now today just as the dirty frozen snow has all but gone it is snowing big nasty flakes again. So just in case I am snowed in again it's time for a post. At Christmas we almost ran out of cat food, due to the fact we were eating it, now with the cat food gone, the snow falling and hungry humans in the house if I was the cat I would hide less he find himself in the new year stew.

Anyway followers of the great 'Never get out of the boat' blog will be delighted that it has not gone for good and it can now be found here:
http://ngootbredux.blogspot.com

Ok so now it's time for a quick post, live from the Record Exchange in Boise Idaho recorded in 2006 it's the great Josh Ritter. Boise Idaho, if i'm not mistaken is home to the great Modest Mouse.  I have been enjoying this much. An interesting chap born in Moscow, Idaho, studied in Scotland and ended up in Ireland where he seemed to kind of almost make it, nearly.

My lady just said to me: "Do you ever, while typing 'Andrew', end up typing 'Andrex in arrivals'. Err no, love, never. I thought that it would be nice for you all to have a quick glimpse into my domestic bliss.

So on that note here is the great Mr Ritter with some great performances. Enjoy: As usual links are in the comments.

B.A.F moving house again

HI gang.

Yep moving house again so I am packing up my vault of tunes once more. I expect to be moved into 'dream house' one month from now and just in case I can't manage to post some more crackers for you before then or indeed between then and Christmas then please come back in the new year and have a look.

I have more 'fridge style' classics waiting in the wings and a few more similar interesting nuggets lined up as well as some joyous stuff in the pipeline.

Follow me in the mean time and check back for updates and feel free to comment or request anything, you never know your luck.

Prince: Dirty Mind live & in 3D

Prince

Dirty Mind: Live & in 3D

1981-1982

224kbps

- dirty mind (live in Paris 81)
- when you were mine (live NYC 81)
- do it all night (live NYC 81)
- gotta broken heart again (live Paris 81)
- uptown (live Saginaw '82)
- head (live Saginaw '82)
- sister (live Paris 81)
- partyup (live Saginaw 82)

Ok, I maybe lied about the 3D bit, however I have decided to give one of my favourite Prince albums, and one of my favourite albums period! (I said period!) The Big American Fridge treatment.

Too long have I lived with 1980's classic Dirty Mind album with it's brilliant songs but with it's frustratingly colourless sound. Too long I say.  It's Time to Fridge it up!

I have scoured my vast, but by no means complete, vault of Prince material and I have chosen MY favourite versions of these songs. Taken from 3 different concerts. The Ritz NY, March 22nd 1981; Paris, France June 3rd 1981 &  Saginaw MI, February 4th 1982. I know that the live mix from the Paris show is not brilliant but the performance is spectacular. By then the band was so tight they they could relax & just play the songs. Listening to gigs from the Dirty Mind tour you can hear Prince's first  transformings into the great god he would later become.  It is an outstanding period. (I said period again!)

So those of you unfamiliar with Dirty Mind prepare to be blown away, those of you who are familiar with the great album, it is like an old black and white movie been given the full colour 3D IMAX treatment.

Hang on to your sock folks! O and if you like this, go and buy the original. Cheers.

Link is the first comment, just click it.  Feel free to add your comments too. Thanks!

Film School

Film School
On & On E.P.
2005
256kbps

- on & on

- plus 1

- february

A few years ago, living in London with a girlfriend in Manchester meant every other Friday after work a drive North for several hours. As spring turned to summer turned to autumn turned to winter there were a few constant companions with me, my minidiscs and the crappy weather. Every journey, no matter the season, would be in headlong into gales and lashing rain and grim northern darkness.

One night I remember the rain was so heavy visibility was almost nothing. My wipers were on full speed but not shifting anything, there was nothing else on the road, fortunately I was in the outside lane as I came round a bend on the road just before the dip then the hill that first reveals Birmingham to you, all lit up like some 50's ideal of the future or should that read some child's drawing of a space city, through the darkness I sped past 2 guys pushing thier car off  the M6 in a panic. It could have been only a second or two between seeing them and flying past them, The song that was playing was plus 1 by Film School.

For a brief moment I felt like I was in a movie, and immediately shook my head cartoon style, did that really happen? If I was not in the outside lane we would all have been toast.

I love Film School they make soundtracks to the movies inside. 

If you like this, buy their albums and go see them. They are touring in the U.S. right now.

Link in comments.

Prince's 28th Birthday

Prince & the Revolution

Prince's 28th birthday party gig; Cobo Hall Detroit June 7th 1986.
160kbps

-around the world in a day

-Christopher Tracey's parade

-raspberry beret

-controversey

-mutiny

-happy birthday

-anotherloverholenyohead

-I wanna be your lover

-head

-pop life

-life can be so nice

-whole lotta shakin'

-mountains

-kiss

I remember seeing this concert on Channel 4 back in 1986. My obsession with Prince had started a year or so before, an obsession that remains unmedicateable to this day. It was an eye opener to say the least, and when I stumbled upon the concert a few weeks ago on another website I was delighted. Some utterly amazing performances, even an outing of a Family song; Mutiny.

I extracted the audio, so I could listen in the car, and decided to share this with the world tonight as I have never seen it shared in audio-form anywhere before.

It was my first go at this sort of thing but despite the bitrate being a bit low it still sounds pretty good, better than 90% of the Prince live stuff that's out there.

If you take it away remember to say thanks.

Link in comments.

Blow Your Speakers with this

Blow Your Speakers with Sludge Nation.  

-released 1996.

-320kbps

I really don't have much information about this one at all. Hopefully someone out there can fill in the gaps.

This cd was given to me in around 1997 by my mate Jonny Rawkstar. Probably purchased for a quid at Camden market. I have since misplaced the disk in the recent house move but 4 remain.

-rock city

-centennial

-what I want to hear 

-introvert (way down)

I quit like it. It's crunchy but mostly melodic. It has a kind of European feel to it with obvious heavy American influences. It reminds me of 746 Hero although much rougher round the edges. Listen and enjoy.

Link in comments.

Test blog

Hello friends.

Finally got ma finger oot and giving this a go. Emailed a great blogger, Willard from http://nevergetoutoftheboat.blogspot.com

who told me it's easy so here goes.

First post is just a test really, 'Local Hero' Susan Boyle performing Cry Me a River long before she became a household name. It's not a particularly great performance but it's just a test.

If this works I will figure out how to put an album up and once that works I will be rocking.

Link in comments.

Yo You guys.

Here is my first blog.

Moving house in a couple of weeks, after that will get this in gear and share some happiness wi'cha'll.