Aargh, still no news.

So, I'm going to make myself busy today. Off to Portobello Road in a bit, to pick up an Aidan Moffat album from Rough Trade, and do some shopping in the market. It's a mild winter's day, so I'll take the scenic route - over the Grand Union at Harrow road, then down the back streets. Lovely.
Philippa's got to go the Acupuncturist later, so we're going to explore Kensal Rise as well, there's some new shops that need to be checked out. And after all of that? A Spotify session in the evening, maybe. Was fooling around with it last night, genuinely impressed by the range of old Reggae/Rocksteady stuff.

Just a wonderful day....

Really sunny, crisp, fresh and beautiful.
The blossom is out on the trees, the daffodils and crocuses are in bloom, the air smells sweet and clean. I walked through the streets to the north of Golborne Road, dropped down along the Portobello Road, then cut through Pembridge Crescent to Notting Hill Gate, to meet Jeff for a Sunday Lunch, then a leisurely exploration of the bargain basements of the Record & Tape branches, seeking out weird and wonderful vinyl. We had a pint in the Castle, flicked through the racks of sevens in Rough Trade, and checked out Intoxica. I came back with a Stupids album,and a repress of the first ever Studio One album.
As soon as I got back home, this was on the stereo:

It's been a weekend of cooking too - vegetable soup, meatballs in tomato sauce, home-made bread - I've been slaving over a hot stove, and I've loved every second.

Still dazzled by the sunshine....

I'm blinking my eyes and looking out over West London, even loving the smell of Diesel from the buses nine floors beneath me - today is just one of those days when everything seems OK. Well, there's plenty of time for that to unravel, I guess, but for now - all's good.
I'm just about to head off to do more voiceovers for the Travel Channel, which is always fun. If you want to hear what I sound like, check this out. Then it's off to Southwark for the final radio show of the week, then some leisurely cooking to round off the day. I love how the promise of a day can put a smile on your face.
The weekend should be good too, Jeff's over from Cleveland, so there will be pints in the Portobello road, and some leisurely shopping for bargains in the basement of Record & Tape. Life doesn't get much better than ale and vinyl. Musically, today is soundtracked by the wonderful First Aid Kit.

Portrait of the artist as a young man (in a big coat, somewhat obsessed with The Smiths)

That's me, outside Our Price Records, Watford High St, in 1987.

Last night...

Went to see Bob Mould play at Koko. The location of the gig was rather important actually - Koko used to be known as The Camden palace, and on May 14th, 1985, Husker Du played a televised live gig from that very same place. So, last night was a bit of an emotional return, the first time Bob has played there since Husker days. The DVD of the camden palace gig was released a year or so ago , and is highly recommended, though there are also separate snippets on Youtube (where else?) Here's the opener of that gig (and the closing song of last night's show!) "New Day Rising"

The entire staff of the Rough Trade shop took the day off to go and see the Camden Palace show, the only time the shop's ever been shut on a weekday! It's a measure of the esteem in which they held Husker Du, and was very evident when I worked there - that's where I learned to love the band, as the albums were always on constant rotation in the shop.
Last night's show was especially wonderful as it gave me a chance to get back in touch with an old friend, Jason Narducey (ex of Verbow), who was a great friend from Jesus Jones days, and who I've not seen in 17 years (eeep!). He's now playing bass in Bob's band, and was absolutely rocking last night. The entire show had so much power it nearly took my breath away, and the fact that they attacked "New Day Rising" at the end of their show with as much energy as Husker Du started theirs, 23 years ago is testament to how good it was...
Tonight? more booze, I'm afraid - there'a Twitter meet-up in Soho! Better go get ready....

Record fairs! Don'cha just love 'em?

Well, I do :)
Went to the record fair in Brighton yesterday; there's truly no more restful and cathartic way to spend your Sunday morning than flicking through piles of old vinyl....
So what did I buy? Well, a trio of singles for a pound a pop. Firstly, the true punk/pop GENIUS that is "Animal World" by The Last Words. Australia's first real slice of Independent Punk, it came out on a small label in Oz in 1978, and was re-released on Rough Trade here in 1979. Check the video, this is one of those lost Punk classics that EVERYONE should own.....
If you need a copy on CD, it's on this compilation, which has loads more Aussie Punk and Post-Punk gems on it......
But for me, it's the joy of getting old Rough Trade singles that puts the icing on the cake: as a record collector, they're just....amazing. I love the light green labels, the over sized grooves, the "Porky's" scrawl in the run-out...and the actual vinyl always seemed to be somehow more substantial than other indie labels...
With Rough Trade as well, you were buying things from a label which continually confused and amazed you, with it's breadth of styles and statements. Within just a year or so of releasing "Animal World", Rough Trade were releasing the next one of the singles which i bought yesterday: "Are You Glad To Be In America?" by James "Blood" Ulmer. From DIY garage punk to...well, to a slice of No-wave industrial alt-jazz - there's change for you.
I can just imagine Nigel in the Rough Trade Shop, back in 1981, slipping copies of this into customer's bags, with a cheery recommendation of "you'll love this, it's great!" and then when they got home, those self-same customers would have one of those "WTF?" moments, and send the single off to the Record+Tape...
Well, the joke's on them; because, you know what? It turns out Nigel was right all along- it is a great record. Ulmers vocals have this ghost-like, haunting bluesy wail, that suits the dense concrete-jazz stew behind him perfectly...it's a record that could only have emerged at the turn of the 80's when the experimental approach of people like The Red Crayola's Mayo Thompson (who produced the single) was at it's peak. It's a record that is defiantly of its time, and all the better for it.
Last of the three singles was a copy of "Life's A Gamble" by Penetration. I know I've blogged about my love for this record in the past, and it seems my love affair with it continues unabated, as this was a "double"....I've already got it on 5 separate compilation Cd's, the CD of "Moving Targets" , FOUR copies of it on the Luminous vinyl album issue of "Moving Targets", and I've already got a copy on 7". But this one had a Picture sleeve, so it was time for yet another copy. Will I ever learn? I sincerely hope not.
The rest of my haul? A bunch of cheap 12"s, Baby Ford "Oochy Koochy (because it was the Remix), some old Woodentops stuff, a Blancmange single (no, i'm not sure why either) and a picture disc of "So Hot" by the Haines Gang.
I'll say it again, I LOVE record fairs :)

And while we're doing nostalgia....

This photo is from a history of the Wonderstuff that I've been checking out online. That picture must have been taken some time in 1987, when I was working at Rough Trade/Slam City. Martin and Miles were regular visitors to Slam, and I used to give them free clothes- Martin and Malc are wearing the shirts I gave them...
I'd not seen this photo for 20 years, but seeing it now, I can remember handing those shirts over, checking the sizes (Martin wanted a red shirt in XL)...
It's very hard for me to think that Martin is no longer with us; I loved him to bits, and seeing things like this always leave me a little tearful. RIP, fella, I love you to bits.
x

I've spent most of my life in record shops....

So news like the passing of the Fopp chain makes me incredibly depressed. What seems to have finished them off was the bullish acquisition of the Music Zone shops they bought back in February. Expansion was a catalyst, not for change, but for the fall of the entire company. All of this is taking place against the planned expansion of Rough Trade into its huge new flagship store in Brick Lane; I'm keeping everything crossed that similar problems don't befall the greatest record shop in London (IMHO).
For those of you who don't know, I worked for Rough Trade back in the late 80's, heading up their mail order department, until the rapid resurgence of skating, and the ensuing rapid rise of Slam City Skates, meant I ended up selling decks and trucks instead of vinyl and CD's. Previous to my tenure of employment in Talbot Road, I'd worked for Our Price in various locations across North London (deep breath: FOUR stores in Watford, also Harrow, Wembley, St. Albans....) but frankly, it was brain-numbing stuff. however, as a fully paid-up vinyl junkie, I still spent most of my time off trawling other record shops for the things i couldn't find in Our Price's over-commercially stacked racks. My area of choice was always Notting Hill and Portobello Road. It was the first place I'd ever seen in London when I visited the city for the first time as an awe-struck 13-year old kid: and the love affair had continued and blossomed. in 1978, there was only one Record And Tape Exchange (on Pembridge Road) now there were several, and Rough Trade had moved from the slightly dingy shop I remember buying the first Cabaret Voltaire EP from (at 202 Kensington Park Road) to new premises just round the corner, even closer to the Portobello Road.
So, I knew they were looking for staff back then in 1986, but I never really thought that I could do the job. One Saturday, I was in Rough Trade and Nigel House (who still helps run the shop) said to me "Hey, Iain, are you still at Our Price?" I sighed, deeply. "Afraid so" .He smiled at me: "Why don't you come and work for us?" He gave me a copy of the form that applicants had to fill in. And in that moment, I realised that all the stupid stuff I'd been building up in my head, all the music that'd been filling my ears, the trivia I used to bore others to tears with.....it was actually useful!
Some of the questions were (IIRC)
Will Imran Khan be missed? (they were mad on cricket in the shop, you had to be able to talk about it or you were no use to them)
Who was C.S. Dodd? (this was West London, the reggae roots ran very deep)
We don't stock any records by the Stranglers, can you tell us why?
Can you still get LBong12? Or ANY LBONG for that matter?
What's your favourite TV Personalities record?
Who (or what) was "friendly as a hand grenade"

And on........and on........and on.
I rattled out the answers, passed with flying colours, and i was in. I had the best time of my record shop assistant life in Rough Trade, but it was the feeling of belonging that I cherished, and that feeling came from realising that the knowledge I'd developed had a real and quantifiable value. My passion could be turned into a job, a wage, a career. Ever since then, I've sought out ways to turn what I know into what I can do. It's a really simple lesson, but it's been the one which has shaped my life more than any other choice I've ever made.
So, in the light of all the developments with Fopp, I wish Rough Trade the best of luck. They, more than anyone else, realise the value of passion, enthusiasm and knowledge, and I pray to God that passion never ends up sacrificed on the altar of ambition and expansion.