Griff says; snow has fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

Yes indeed, snow has certainly fallen on snow in Scotland this week, and perhaps it's the effect of that, or perhaps I am softening in my old age. But I, usually the most, unwilling of Christmas celebrants (insert rant here re. monstrous orgy of Western self-indulgence etc etc) am going to take a leaf from the book of dear, old, cuddly Gordon (Mr. Twinkly Christmas Magic, himself) and write about some Christmas songs.


Firstly, The Innocence Mission (pictured), a dream pop/folk group from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, centred around husband-and-wife songwriters Karen and Don Peris, have made a couple of new recordings for Advent and Christmas that they are offering for free download on soundcloud, along with a third, older Christmas recording. Grouped under the title of ‘December 2010′, the release features new recordings of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Joy To The World’ (see below), Advent hymn ‘O Lord Of Light’ from their 2000 album Christ Is My Hope, and a guitar instrumental of ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’ from Don Peris’s solo album Brighter Visions Beam Afar. You can also hear, but not download, ‘Gentle The Rain At Home’. This track is from the excellent album My Room In The Trees, released in July of this year. If you're not familiar with them, try to have a listen. It's well worth it, if only for the mesmerising quality of Karen's vocals.

In the Bleak Midwinter by the innocence mission



Joy to the World by the innocence mission


In the Bleak Midwinter is my favourite Christmas carol and I really love that version of it. I have always been entranced by this melody, composed by Holst to fit the irregular metre of Christina Rossetti's poetry, but it's really the poetry itself that made it stand out amongst all the other Christmas songs. I vividly remember singing this at primary school and suddenly understanding exactly the landscape conjured by the similes of the first stanza.

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

I wouldn't have expresed it that way at the time, of course, but this song definitely represents one of my first introductions to the beauty and mystery of words and poetry. I also used to love the noble humility expressed in the final verse and would sing it in a strangled childhood treble with a lump in my wee throat and a sheen of tears in my eyes (you must remember I was an unusually sensitive mite. As a child my hero was not some flashy footballer but doomed to failure, Scottish missionary; David Livingstone)

What can I give him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him —

Give my heart.

Anyway, that's quite enough of that, don't know what came over me there. This next offering couldn't be more different. Today sees the release of 'Seasonal Greet', a Christmas EP from legendary Scottish miserabilists, and Streetlamp favourites, The Just Joans. As usual, the EP can be ordered from the WeePOP! site and, also as usual, they are offering a free MP3 of one of the tracks; Card From A Multipack, to give you a little taster. I must admit, I've not heard the whole EP yet but I can tell you that Card From A Multipack is absolutely brilliant; a typically wry and melancholy Just Joans gem. Listen to it here or here. Now I'm going to get a hold of the EP and I suggest that you do too.

Griff
xx

Griff says; Ready, Aim, Fireflies!

This month seems like a good time to bring the music of Lisle Mitnik to your attention. Lisle has been a presence on myspace since 2004 and throughout the last six years he has been steadily releasing his self-produced, twee, lo-fi, dreampop under the name of Fireflies. In September, Fireflies also became a presence on bandcamp. Currently, Fireflies have three albums and two EPs up on the site and you'll be delighted to learn that the EPs; 'Strange' from March 2008 and 'Butterscotch' from March 2009 are available as free digital downloads (the albums are also very reasonably priced).






The good news is that Fireflies attempt to grab the attention of the indie-pop world continues apace during October. I'd like to introduce you now to the Bubbletone Club 7 Digital Singles Club. What is it? Well, essentially, on the first day of every month Bubbletone release one, sometimes two, freely downloadable digital single(s). That's right, just like a seven inch single, except for the inches. So go ahead grab one for free right here, it's all yours. Enjoy and share with your friends and family. The Fireflies tracks featured are 'New November Leaves' and 'Pale Flashing Light'. We here at the Streetlamp are especially fond of the latter. Have a listen below:



And there's more! As you will hopefully be aware the lovely people at EardrumsPop have recently made a commitment to release a free digital single on the 10th and 20th of every month. Every single will include two songs by the band, and in addition several will include a cover-version of a song the band think deserves more attention. The cover art will be made by the label's favourite illustrators, and they would like the public to see the single as a split-release between the band and the illustrator. For this release the beautiful cover illustration comes courtesy of Minkee. The singles will vary in style, from acoustic folk-songs to noisy indiepop and covering everything in between, but always warm and melodic. The 10th of October saw the release of ePop005 by Tiny Fireflies. You may remember Tiny Fireflies featuring on EardrumsPop’s 'Between Two Waves' compilation earlier this year. Basically, Tiny Fireflies are Lisle (from Fireflies) and Kristine (from Tiny Microphone). Indie know-alls may also recognise that both are also members of Chicago-based weePOP! band Very Truly Yours. Those self-same indie know-alls will also recognise three superbly crafted dreamy pop-songs when they hear them and will rush to download this here. My own personal favourite on the single is the otherworldly cover of 'The End of The World' but then I've had a soft spot for this particular song for a very long time. Have a listen:
Tiny Fireflies - ePop005 - digital single by EardrumsPop



So there you go, two brand new releases and a wonderful back catalogue to boot. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Fireflies (and Tiny Fireflies)!

Enjoy.

Griff
xx

Griff says; "Dear Joan, Why are we so lonely?"

So, you're probably not already wondering, who are Griff's all-time favourite Scottish band? From the perspective of someone whose life has taken him across central Scotland from Stirlingshire, to Renfrewshire, to Ayrshire and then back to Renfrewshire, what speaks most to him about his life?
Is it the sublime, ethereal sparkle of Cocteau Twins?
Is it the visceral, energising wall-of-noise of The Jesus and Mary Chain?
Perhaps the literate, sophisticated new-wave pop of Aztec Camera or the romantic, sweeping, pop landscapes of Camera Obscura?
Nope, all good, but guess again.
Ok, what about the post-punk, twee-pop precursor that was Altered Images, the quirky, glam-punk of The Rezillos, the urgent, rumbling folk-rock of Sons and Daughters?
All of these have a place in my heart but you're still not right.
Sigh, OK, Ballboy then?
Close, but that's still not it. Come on, which band have more plays than any other on my last.fm profile page?
Aaaaaaah, is it The Just Joans?
Bingo!

Let me try to explain why. As all Scots know, there are two Scotlands. The first is a vision of a romantic, heather-clad glen, a landscape rich with mystery, but bereft of life but for the haunting strains of a lone piper wafting down from somewhere high on the hillside. This is the vision dear to the heart of our American tourists. The other Scotland is the sort of place that never makes it into VisitScotland's glossy brochures. This is the Scotland of the self-destructive, macho posturing of the self-loathing hard men. It's about the small-town, judgemental post-Calvinist, obsession with, and criticism of, your neighbours. It's about trying to get to your reluctant, soon to be ex-, girlfriend's house past the chip-shop and the rampaging, drunken 'young team' ready to "plunge ye, ya walloper" on the basis of your religion, or what football team you support, and of course, both are inextricably linked anyway. It's about a November of endless night and incessant freezing rain and you're sitting on the bus to your house as it takes it's circular, halting route through all the schemes. And you're on your way back from Uni with no money and a growing sense of lost potential, and all the people you were at school with are getting on and off the bus too, coming back from their hopeless, soul-destroying day jobs in tertiary industry and you drift off into a dream of comforting, pointless nostalgia. And that, my friends, is the Scotland which is soundtracked so beautifully and almost uniquely by The Just Joans.
I'm going to insert two videos now (below) which should illustrate precisely what I'm getting at above. Both videos nicely showcase The Just Joans special blend of folk-pop, kitchen-sink realism and should adequately demonstrate why they are to central Scotland what The Smiths and The Kinks are to Northern and Southern England respectively (why The Joans remain virtually unknown alongside these more illustrious bands is a subject for another day). Please note, the following videos so accurately, penetratingly and cruelly display scenes from the actual lives of Gordon and I that they are almost painful to watch.






Rather fittingly, perhaps inevitably, The Just Joans hail from the hideous, post-industrial wasteland of North Lanarkshire. Named after the infamous and egregious agony aunt of Scotland's unfathomably popular, red-top rag The Daily Record, the original lie-up was composed of frontman David Pope and guitarist Chris Elkin. Later the duo recruited keyboardist Dougie Cameron, vocalist Rowan Smith, bassist Fraser Ford, and David's sister Katie in an effort to expand their sound.

In 2005, they released their debut album 'Last Tango in Motherwell' through Ivan Lendil Music. In 2007, they released two EPs, 'Virgin Lips' and 'Hey Boy - You're Oh So Sensitive!' through Streetlamp favourites WeePOP! Records.

In 2009 they released the excellent 'Love and Other Hideous Accidents' EP, again through WeePOP! Unfortunately, these have now sold out although a quick trawl through the WeePOP! sites back catalogue will still happily provide you with an essential taster to the greatness of The Just Joans via a few free, digital-download, sample tracks.

So, why am I mentioning them now? Why, because , their fourth EP on WeePOP!'Your pain is a joke next to mines' is officially released on September 27th. It is limited to 300 copies, in the usual hand-assembled WeePOP! way but, early-birds take note, it's already available to pre-order right now. As usual, to whet your appetite, the nice people at WeePOP! are giving away a free digital-download of one track; this is the evocatively titled, and typically Just Joan-like, 'Stuart Had A Dirty Book'. I've inserted a live performance of this song (below) along with another track from the new EP 'Why Are We So Lonely, Steven?'.
I think both tracks are a wonderful addition to the Just Joans oeuvre and demonstrate the wonderful, sly humour that leavens their ostensibly grim subject matter, which is why, along with 'Gregory's Girl' this is the art that defines my life.
Enjoy!





Griff
xx

Griff says; Don't let these slip under the radar.

I've a mixed goodie-bag of cracking tunes for you this evening. These are all songs I've been enjoying for the past week which I wanted to ensure got a little exposure on Streetlamp.
First up is a reminder to check out the latest releases from WeePOP! Records. As promised previously, WeePOP!'s bumper summer of great music continues with EPs from folk-pop exponents Stars of Aviation and wistful, indie-poppers Let's Whisper. As always, the kind people at WeePOP! have provided a free MP3 track from each of the EPs for your listening pleasure. You'll find both on the release page 'here'.

Next up is an EP from februaryrecords. The Almost Verbose EP by Brilliant at Breakfast is a fantastic slice of breezy, twee-pop from Indonesia. The band aims to "take bedroom musicianship further with cheap instruments, cookies and coffee, and riddles with no answers", and the EP has been a particular favourite of both mine and Ray's this week. I'm not sure why there are so many great twee-pop bands from this part of the world at the moment. Perhaps the Streetlamp should do a South-East Asia twee-pop article sometime soon to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, you can download the EP for free 'here'.

Last, but not least, is an amazingly good, unheralded, single release, which I came across on both Soundcloud and Bandcamp. The song is called 'Think Big, Henry' and there's little to no detail on either site about the musicians involved except for the song-writers' names; M Hentges and J O'Nym. I suspect that this is a late flowering of the song-writing talent of Meg Hentges - formerly of "the lesbian Beatles", Two Nice Girls - and her song-writing partner Judith. Two Nice Girls were a lesbian rock band who released a couple of albums on Rough Trade all of twenty years ago. This song, however, inspired by the Nixon/Kissinger phone tapes, is a wonderful piece of thoughtful, folky, indie-pop. Given the sheer volume of free music downloads flooding the internet, I'd hate to see this overlooked as it really is very classy indeed. Have a listen below:

Think big henry mix 02 by hentges-o'nym


Griff
xx

Griff says: Get yourself some 'Awesome Sneakers'.

With the release yesterday of 'Awesome Sneakers' by The 1959 Hat Co., now would seem like an excellent time to introduce you to the marvels of WeePOP! Records. In their own words;

"WeePOP! is a lo-fi indiepop diy record label out of london. We're dedicated to limited run, lovingly hand-crafted, assembled and numbered, wee tactile packets of lo-fi POP! A label for all us record geeks, who still love to hold something in our hands, something collectible, something special and tactile - something to awe over, to read and thumb through while listening to our newly purchased music! Powered by bedroom diy ethics, this is our love for music and bands and our love of being music fans, doing something for the bands of whom we adore their music. This is about us giving something back, and about having fun doing it."

WeePOP! have a busy Summer scheduled. In the next couple of months, as well as The 1959 Hat Co. EP, they also plan to release new work by Stars of Aviation, Let's Whisper, The Just Joans and Lê Almeida.

However, the Summer bonanza starts with the aforementioned 'Awesome Sneakers', a 3-track EP by The 1959 Hat Co., whose music has been described as; "Breezy indiepop that fits snugly between the Postcard sound of Orange Juice/Aztec Camera and that of their American counterparts, like Honeybunch, Allen Clapp and True Love Always".

Presented in beautifully hand screenprinted covers, the Awesome Sneakers EP was officially released on June 5th and can be ordered from the WeePOP! release page now. The title track is also available as a free MP3 for listening and downloading on the release page.

WeePOP! can also be found on myspace and last.fm

Griff

xx