A late photo update from Mike Only, Jim Lockey and Mike Scott

Mike Scott ...and master of none

I am always very excited when Mike Scott releases something new, he is, in my opinion, one of the most important protest singers in the country. ‘…and a master of none’ does not disappoint. This latest EP shows a progression in Mike’s musical style and a general development in his solo music.

From the beautiful vocal balance within the opening track the feel of this EP is very different from previous efforts. The balance in the female vocal and Mike’s trademark snarling is a welcome change and adds an awesome dimension to the track. As the EP progresses there is a more mature feel to both lyrics and vocals, and unlike many artists this maturity has not been balanced out by a lack of passion.

Mike retains his snarling vocals that are delivered with passionate venom and has added a bittersweet element in parts. In many cases I hate covers but when it comes to Mike Scott I know he has very carefully chosen every cover, and chosen something relevant to the record. The version of Neil Diamond's much covered ‘Solitary man’ is delivered with tender emotion and shows a slightly softer side. The bitter vocal on ‘Extra Something’, which was originally recorded by Kevin Seconds, contrasts with the other cover perfectly.

Lyrically Mike continues to write in an honest intelligent fashion and considering the political nature of his lyrics, opinions are surprisingly balanced. I would say this EP is the most mature record Mike Scott has released to date and shows progression from the previous EP’s (which are all most definitely worth listening to) which makes me eager to hear a full length very soon.

You can listen to and download this EP at a price you choose (this can be nothing but should be hundreds) from Disconnect Disconnect Records HERE 

Mike Scott and Ben Childs Split EP

This is a record that got me truly excited both artists used to be in bands I was inspired by in my younger years (Mike sang for Phineaus Gage and Ben was one of the founding members of Sonic Boom Six) so to hear what their solo work sounded like was going to be a treat.

This excitement was not wasted as from the first few bars of  Ben’s opening track of the album you can tell you are going to be in for a treat. I was surprised to hear the large folk influence within Ben’s six tracks but it totally works the addition of violin and banjo in parts creates an authentic folk feel. This folk influence combines beautifully with elements of reggae, which mostly come through from distinctive vocals and political and personal lyrics.

This first half of the split is perfect for summer and the general cheery musical style suit Child’s voice superbly. There are moments of raw emotion, passion and completely danceable passages overall this is the perfect showcase for what this artist can and will continue to do. Each track flows faultlessly into the next making this piece of work incredible for both individual tracks and  as an entire record. 

If New-Folk is the future of alternative music expect Ben to be at the fore front of the genre as it develops. These are the first six songs to be released by Ben Childs and to be completely honest they blew me away with a mixture of surprise and pure joy. If this is to be the style that solo work keeps to I will very much look forward to hearing what’s next.

Ben’s half of the split is beautifully balanced out with the more pessimistic style of Mike Scott who presents acoustic punk rock in a passionate honest style. Mike’s snarling vocals are backed by raw acoustic guitar and occasional backing vocals. Mike’s lyrics are political throughout his six tracks, two of which are perfectly selected covers (The Connells  and Propaghandi). Mike’s observational lyrics are inspiring and depressing in equal measure, his reverse political analysis makes it impossible not to continue thinking after listening to each track.

The honesty projected through lyrics and Mikes voice create an enchanting six tracks that seem to float by in a matter of moments. The balance of songs is again near perfect showing an incredible amount of thought has gone into song selection, the track listing flows smoothly and creates a varying array of emotion throughout giving this EP a real sense of longevity.

Although Mike Scott has a completely different approach to acoustic music to that of Ban Childs this creates a split, which is a thing of beauty and wonder. The contrasted styles fit together beautifully and this record has been a regular on my CD player and Ipod in the last month or so and I can see it staying there for a long time. I can only recommend that you go and buy this record and support this countries DIY scene.     

A Beginers Guide To Punk

I totally agree with the popular opinion that punk died in the eighties when bands like The Exploited and GBH took the torch. The death of punk was the birth of every great sub genre that now exists, making punk as diverse as it now is.

Again the history of punk is very important as was the case with the last post about Ska. The start of the punk scene is something that will always be debated were The New York Dolls responsible for the birth or was it the Stooges, MC5, Ramones or even the Velvet Underground. I personally do not like the NY Dolls or MC5 so will be leaving them out and sticking with the other three. The UK scene is far less debated with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Undertones, Buzzcocks, Sham 69 and Stranglers all pioneers of the genre.

As the scene developed further the 80’s style seemed to kill off the genre as it sounded in the 70’s. Bands like the Misfits, Bad Brains, Joy Division, David Bowie and The Velvet Under Ground breathed new life into punk taking it to new levels and creating new genres. These styles were followed up by the birth of the sounds now classified as punk The Decedents opened the doors for NOFX, Rancid, Greenday and Bad religion to create Pop Punk and Skate Punk.

The hardcore scene also evolved into a more melodic style through Hüsker Dü, Satanic Surfers and Strike Anywhere. The melodic hardcore and pop punk scenes also combined to become Emo which in turn has a long list of sub genres.

The current 2nd generation Melodic Hardcore coming out of the ashes of Satanic Surfers in the form of the Enemy Alliance and Indecision Alarm is going further towards the punk sound and slightly away from the melodic style. This Is A Standoff have also developed in style after the break up of The Belvedere taking a step towards Hardcore. The retro sound currently being carried by The Gaslight Anthem and Zatopeks is yet to be given a name but with the success both have achieved it won’t be long before they are fronting a scene of there own

The Punk genre has spilt off into so many sub-genres you could almost connect it to every type of music released after 1976 and most music before will have a connection if you look hard enough. With this in mind the essential bands to offer inspiration have to be:


The Stooges
Velvet Underground
Ramones
Sex Pistols
Stranglers
Clash
Buzzcocks
Missfits
Descendants
Satanic Surfers
NOFX
No Use For A Name
Rancid
Anti-Flag
Belvedere
Captain Everything
Mr Zippy
The Bronx
At The Drive-In
Enemy Alliance
Indecision Alarm
Gogol Bordello
Gaslight Anthem
Zatopeks

A Beginers Guide To Ska

I personally think Ska is one of the most important of all music genres (partially because I love it). As a genre it is completely multi-cultural and responsible for a change in mindsets within music. Ska has developed over the past 30 years moving from the slow reggae style of the Skatalites and other Jamaican Ska bands, to the Specials, Bad Manners and Madness who were at the fore front of the UK scene in the 70’s and 80’s, to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones developed the Skacore/Ska Punk sound paving the way for the next generation of Less Than Jake, Rancid and Mad Caddies in the USA and Capdown, Adequate 7, Howards Alias in the UK.

As far as looking into Ska with an eleven year old girl in mind there are 2 bands that were essential in my love of Ska Less Than Jake and The Specials. Both are fantastic bands and offer very different styles but will ultimately inspire the listener.

To accompany this playlist I’m also going to make a copy Ska Is Dead from Household Name Records which is a sampler that covers all the bases. Unfortunately some tracks will have to be substituted as I do not want to face the wrath of my Mum when she hears bad language coming out of my sisters room (or mouth).

As mentioned the play list will start at the beginning and work from there although not everything will be in chronological order as each track should move onto the next nicely. The Playlist will include all of the following:

Skatalites
The Toasters
Madness
The Specials
The Clash
Mighty Mighty Bostones
Less Than Jake
Mad Caddies
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Streetlight Manifesto
Rancid
NOFX
Chris Murray
Howards Alias
Capdown
Adequate 7
Dead 60’s
Buck O Nine
Sublime
Sonic Boom Six
Shootin’ Goon
Farse
The Pie Tasters

If you want to suggest tracks or artists that should be included please give me a shout.

A Beginners Guide to ….

These next few posts follow on from last week where I mentioned educating my little sister in good music. I am hoping to nurture her into listening to a varied diet of music with as many genres as possible. As an education each genre will start from the beginning and will pretty much become a musical history lesson. If you think I have missed any artists give me a shout and I will get them on the list.

The only thing to remember is my sister is an eleven year old girl so I need to find tracks that are free of swearing and risqué themes. It is safe to say there will be no beginners guide to gansta rap and I’m not sure she is ready for New York hardcore (or any hardcore for that matter) just yet either.

Keep your eyes peeled for the play lists in the next few days.

Help Save The Youth Of Today From Exploding

Please excuse the Less Than Jake misquote in the title, I took the title for this post from the Album one of the most influential records I owned as a teen. I bought the double pack which included ‘Hello Rockview’ and ‘Loosing Streak’ in one box, after recent rediscovery I still can’t decide which is my favourite as they are both fantastic albums.

The shuffle feature on iTunes has a habit of reminding me of great albums I have not heard for a long time, I recently rediscovered ‘Milo Goes To College’ by the Descendents which is one of the best punk albums ever made. However the record is not the best value for money considering all 15 tracks are over within 23 minutes with only 3 tracks over 2 minutes on the whole album. I also recently rediscovered my two favourite punk albums of the 90’s (‘Underground Network’ by Anti-Flag and Rancid’s ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’) looking back on albums I loved as a teen made me wonder if taste in music is nature or nurture.

As a kid I listened to the music my Dad played me, luckily this was pretty good mostly the Clash, Jam and Stranglers all of which I still listen to now. My Uncle also had a huge influence with Lou Reed, The Specials, Velvet Underground and Ramones. As I grew up popularity influenced my music tastes, as most peoples Dad’s were older than mine Dad music was known to be shit so I didn’t want to disagree. When I was about 12 I went through a stage of listening to gansta rap mainly because my older cousin from USA was into it and I wanted to be ‘cool’ like him. After that my friends at the time who were all NME/Melody Maker readers had an influence on me and lead me to Indie, Steve Lamaaq and John Peel. Through this I discovered the Ska and Punk scene that was developing mainly through going to local gigs.

At this time I saw some of the best gigs I have ever seen with line ups I still dream about, my personal favourite was an all dayer featuring Captain Everything, Adequate Seven, Howards Alias and Kenisia. This gig blew me away so I pledged allegiance to Household Name Records and got myself to a barber for a Mohawk. As I grew older and wiser I realised that music was so broad it was crazy to stick to one genre and developed into the well rounded music snob I am now.

I often feel my music taste is superior and try to nurture people into listening to my favourite bands to mould them into better people. This musical arrogance tends to surface after a few pints but the thoughts are constantly at the back of my mind. I am lucky enough to have a sister who is 11 and as with my youth I want to be a positives influence on her musical choices. So when she realises that Dad music which she currently listens to is un-cool with her friends she can look to the ‘cool’ older brother for an escape from terrible pop music.

With this in mind to save her from the chart dance or any other rubbish I want to introduce her to the music I love genre by genre. I believe with any kind of music you have to start from the beginning or at least include the influential old stuff. For example what would a ska compilation be without the specials or punk without the Clash.