BritPopCoruncopia #17: Top 3 reasons I wish I was at Glasto this year

Alas, there any many cosmic arguments as to why I should've been at Glastonbury this year. Here are the top three in order of importance:

NUMERO UNO, of course: Blur closed the whole. damn. show. And it was epic.

*Sigh*



Dear blur, please just come to the Netherlands when I'm there, okay? Don't go to the U.S. if I haven't seen you there! It will seriously break my heart. And my tears will fall like those Ghanaian tomatoes, Damon:

Love, Em

Numero dos:

Ah, Noisettes, my new favorite band of the moment. Their frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa (that's her during their performance at Glasto above) is an ultra-ferocious blend of Kathleen Hanna, Bjork, and Lily Allen in her incomparable vocal delivery. I am rocking out to their last album What's the time, Mr. Wolf? and I can't wait for the release of their latest Wild Young Hearts in August. Their dancefloor hit single "Don't Upset the Rhythm" is already shaking the bootysphere in their native England.



Memo to Noisettes: Let's also get the timing right, please. Whether it's Amsterdam or S.F. be there when I'm there. Alright.

Numero tres: The Tong, his bandmates and their ever-lovable antics:

BritPopCornucopia #16: Pleeeeeese let it be true, please let it be true, please let it be true...

Will I finally see Blur live in all their totality? If the word out is true, let us hope the answer is a resounding YES-YES-YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure, I've had Graham Coxon put his arm around my shoulder and do feral things(Ask me for the story if you've not heard it). I've certainly witnessed both the Gorillaz and the Think Tank era greatness that is Damon Albarn and co. But never have I ever seen them on the same stage together all at once. It's about damn time.

Let's party people and make it happen!

BritPopCornucopia #14: Elvis Does Paddy, Damon does Elvis

Some rarefied "my favorites do my favorites" cover treats for you:

One of my favorite Prefab Sprout songs, and indeed one of my favorite songs ever, "Cruel", covered by one of my favorite artists, Elvis Costello.

And one of Elvis's songs, "Oliver's Army", as covered by Blur.

BritPopCornucopia #12: Banana Bread

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett lift the curtain on Gorillaz in a doccie directed by Ceri Levy (who also produced the Blur behind the scenes drunkfest Starshaped)that takes an insider look at the virtual band, revealing funny moments dicking around as well as insights into the creative process. Levy spent 6 years following them.

Le trailer:



"No disrespect to Pink Floyd, but we've got tunes." Ha.

As the official PR says:

"Babelgum announced last week that "Bananaz",the documentary that removes the secretive, mucky walls of Gorillaz - the cartoon band created by artist Jamie Hewlett & musician Damon Albarn - will have its online and mobile global premiere on Babelgum.com on April 20th 2009.

Bananaz will be available to stream alongside a Gorillaz channel featuring the Demon Days live concerts, videos, two new games, a Go Bananaz fans competition and exclusive preview clips from the documentary

Babelgum announced last week that "Bananaz",the documentary that removes the secretive, mucky walls of Gorillaz - the cartoon band created by artist Jamie Hewlett & musician Damon Albarn - will have its online and mobile global premiere on Babelgum.com on April 20th 2009.

Bananaz will be available to stream alongside a Gorillaz channel featuring the Demon Days live concerts, videos, two new games, a Go Bananaz fans competition and exclusive preview clips from the documentary www.babelgum.com/gorillazgobananaz.

Bananaz is set for DVD release on June 1st 2009 - the DVD extras will include the Bananaz Home Movie Club, which has up to an hour of outtakes from the film including; Clint Eastwood, Live in Japan, The Sneeze, Hello America, Bill Murray featuring The Bees, and Food Chain amongst others.

Bananaz is set for DVD release on June 1st 2009 - the DVD extras will include the Bananaz Home Movie Club, which has up to an hour of outtakes from the film including; Clint Eastwood, Live in Japan, The Sneeze, Hello America, Bill Murray featuring The Bees, and Food Chain amongst others."

My favorites clips from the site so far are the ones with Dennis Hopper. Especially when they talk about the word "castrophony."

BritPopCornucopia #10: Raunchy lederhosen with Coxon

Graham Coxon has quite a wardrobe:



OMG, he's so art school sometimes.

I also love that in Alex James' autobiography he says that Graham got really depressed when Audrey Hepburn died. Aw.

BritPopCornucopia #9: St. Johnny-be-good

Kate St. John is amazing. No one has ever looked sexier wielding an accordion:





I know, it looks like she's barely playing it. But Kate St. John is the real deal. Plus, her backup vocals remind me a lot of Prefab Sprout's Wendy Smith. I'll probably do something on them later.

Ever since I heard the dulcet tones of her oboe on Blur's song "Starshaped" I have loved her. I have loved her before I knew it was her too:



I didn't figure it out til YT put this as related, but when St. John was in The Dream Academy, they did a cover of the Smiths "Please Please Please let me get what I want" and this instrumental version was used in "Ferris Bueller", as you just saw. I remember thinking that tune was so pretty. I love me some oboe (and cor anglais). What an underrated and underused instrument!

Here's another favorite song of mine that also features oboe. Aside from this tune (Jordan Knight?! Really? Yeah, the beats are hawt, there's time signature changes, and Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis production. Almost enough to forgive the sexist lyrics...) and this aural beauty (Wiki says they were an influence on Knight, go figure), I can't think of many others that have employed it so well in pop, except maybe David McCallum's instrumental work with David Axelrod (Again, more musical genius to be addressed later). Anyone else have any good double reed pop examples to shell out?

Watch this interview with The Dream Academy. Nick Laird-Clowes is a bit of a self-indulgent pedant, but the love of music is quite nicely articulated by all of them. In fact, I realize dream pop is a bit of a pansyish thing to like, but their explanation of the new romantics as a reaction to punk makes a lot of sense. The same way Cool Britannia was a reaction to American grunge.

For more on Kate, the Queen of all double reed popstars, go to her website to see all the people she's worked with, including several other Britpop artists.

BritPopCornucopia #7: Albarn luv 4eva

This is a great article praising my longest running rock star crush. Do you even need to to ask who it is?

Seriously, I couldn't have written a better tribute.

Not only that, he was also recently showered with Ghanaian tomatoes in the name of fair trade.

BritPopCornucopia #6: Who cares about an unwritten 6000 word paper that is due in two days when this is afoot!

Okay, this is the most promising news I've heard in months about my beloved favorite band!

BritPopCornucopia # 5: He lives in a house, a very big house in the country!

It seems that life indeed imitates art. With a 10 year waiting period.

Yes, it was in 1995 that Blur released the album The Great Escape, which was actually the very first Blur album I purchased, having been addicted to the track "Charmless Man" at the tender age of 12 . It so happens that the same album featured a track entitled "Country House", which when released as a single caused a huge tabloid stir in the UK, ignited a chart war with Britpop on-off foes Oasis.

And it is that song, Country House, which has proved prophetic for Blur's bassist Alex James.

Gone is the hard-partying AJ Sexmeal. Say hello to the Farmer and Cheesemaker.

BritPopCornucopia #1: Kick Horns o' plenty

I have decided to start a series on this blog that features Britpop and its sources, tributaries, and distributaries. It is not meant to be an update on news of the britpop world so much as it is a place to feature little funny observations and factoids about a musical genre that I love. It is also a genre that I have outgrown a little too, but I assure you, the love remains steadfast.

Given that many britpop ditties feature horns or were influenced by horn-using musical acts, and that britpop has a wealth of interesting stuff you can say about it...I think that just about explains it.

Well, this first entry in this series pays tribute to a great ensemble:

THE KICK HORNS

Ah, the legendary Kick Horns. Not only have they worked with Britpop forefathers like the Rolling Stones and The Who, but most essentially in my opnion, collaborated with Blur on their studio albums to great effect during the creative triumvirate, the "Life Trilogy"--an output of three albums (Modern Life is Rubbish, Parklife, and The Great Escape) that were to set the standard of the britpop aesthetic.

I was lucky enough to catch this kick-ass brass ensemble at the 606 club in London. My, what a treat. It was one of many Blur related pilgrimages I made while there, and I will share some of those other pilgrimages in later posts, perhaps. But I highly encourage anyone going to London the check out a gig at this particular establishment.

A well known jazz club, 606 is an extremely intimate space, and the entry is not readily apparent. In fact, you have to find the entrance and then ring a doorbell to get in. They buzz you inside and you go down a stairwell into a warm cavernous space. There's a kitchen where they serve food and when I was there the audience was a nice mix of the moderately cool looking people, young and old.

Joined by my friend Hilary, we sat at a table for two and soaked up the blast from trumpets and saxes. They did everything from classic improvisational jazz stuff to a heady dose of their famous ska-inflected sound. And that sound so familar to me from listening to the "Life Trilogy" countless times came through much to my enjoyment. Check out their incredible list of collaborators in the full discography.

*Please note that the picture does not feature all of the personnel that have played as a kick horn.