Town Trip Part II: Upstairs, Downstairs

So, after picking The Killers shirt and briefly flirting with the idea of getting a Velvet Underground one (which I didn't in the end) it was time to see what records to buy. This was when my plans sort of went out the window. I wanted to get Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails. Did they have it? Not at all - in fact they had no Nine Inch Nails records whatsoever. Great.. Hm, what to buy? I checked the DVD section for Simon & Garfunkel's Central Park show - no luck. So I just went with the CD version of the concert. Decided to look for Fleetwood Mac's The Dance live album. Gone (although stupidly enough, they had put it by the till. I only found it once I had paid). What a stupid display move that was. Then I remembered I had spied Route 19 Revisited, which was a book about the making of London Calling. Was it in still in the display where I found it? Nope! So, back downstairs I went to the book section. Found it, along with two other Clash books. Joe Strummer & The Legend of The Clash and The Clash Talking to were the titles. I've been considering purchasing the latter, but I've never seen the former in town before though I knew of it. Stupidly I forgot to look inside Joe Strummer &The Legend of The Clash although it has good reviews. As for The Clash talking it was a stupidly dear price - £12 if I remember - for a rather short book that is just a compilation of quotes. I want it, but £12 just seemed excessive, I can get it online much cheaper. Anyway, back upstairs and I still wanted more records. Then I remembered I had liked Vampire Weekend's new album. They didn't have that either. Honestly I think they were in the midst of doing a display revamp or something. Then I remembered Disclosure's debut. Surprisingly I found the deluxe edition of that for a decent price, so I snapped it up. Then I spotted The Essential Paul Simon. I have Songwriter ripped to my hard-drive because I bought it for my Dad for Father's Day, but this collection had a lot of songs on it absent from Songwriter. I only have Graceland & The Rhythm of The Saints on CD myself. By this point, I had about enough money left for two postcards, and to my surprise they had a new Clash one in. Ironically, the first Clash item I ever got was a postcard from HMV. The only other one that caught my interest was the Nevermind cover. After that - I just wanted to get out. HMV can be very draining. I do love what I got (I always do), even if it was a slightly unexpected batch though!

Collection: Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.

This is a shining example that sometimes it's the story behind an item that makes the item special. This particular one is the 1972 compilation Greatest Hits, by Simon & Garfunkel. It's just a standard copy, there's nothing noteworthy in that regard.What makes this mean that little bit more to me however is the stories attributed to it. How I acquired it for instance, but moreover what the potential symbolisation of that is. More on that in a minute. Then there's also the impact on my musical taste it has had. Then on the most basic of levels - the fact it was the first CD of theirs I had. Anyway, I mentioned earlier how I ended up with this CD is significant, to me at least. What happened was that I had been meaning to check Simon & Garfunkel some months back, after being a fan of Paul Simon for a number of years. It was as if fate then stepped in. About a week or so later a family friend came to see my mother. She had a CD with her, which contained a song she wanted her to hear. The CD? Simon & Garfunkel's greatest hits. I never did find out what the song was although because we were going through personal issues at the time, I've a sneaking suspicion it was Bridge Over Troubled Water. Mum already liked Simon & Garfunkel and because she knew I wanted to listen to them, she gave the CD to me. Naturally, I was pleased. I'm always looking to expand my music collection after all. I can remember listening to this for the first time so clearly - I was laying in bed. Mrs Robinson came on. I liked it, wasn't blown away but I wanted to keep listening all the same. Then a song called For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her started. By that point, it all became crystal clear. As crystalline as Art Garfunkel's beautiful vocal performance, which left me weeping (and that's not exaggerating). I could see why Dad had said for years about how great they were. From then on I was a fan. They've made some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Even though a lot of the music is melancholic, it still is guaranteed to put a smile on my face. Paul Simon is a beautiful lyricist, and Art Garfunkel is a beautiful singer. The irony? I became a fan during very unhappy circumstances. Although in a way, it was those very circumstances that made me a fan. I mean my mum's friend giving us this CD most certainly acted as a catalyst. I might not be a fan if I didn't have to go through that particular situation. It's funny how things work out. I guess every time I look at this CD I'm reminded that even the darkest of circumstances can yield beautiful things.

Town trip part II: The rejuvanated HMV.

So, after finding the Joe Strummer badge I went into Centra for some chocolate and discovered the Clash mentioned on the cover of Q magazine - hence why I bought it today. Then I went into HMV. Funnily enough as I walked in and said "wouldn't it be brilliant if they have brought in new shirts and got Clash ones?". Well, they had actually! I near died because I've never seen The Clash in the shirts section in the one in town in my life! It was a London Calling cover shirt. They also had a new Battle Born Killers one which looked beautiful and a True Faith New Order one, which were new to me. They've also cut their prices away down because of Head, which is great because prices in HMV were getting ridiculous. Although they were selling a rather bog standard Blondie best of compilation for £12 which I thought was an insane price. Anyhow today I could have gone nuts: it's ironic that they finally got Bleach (Special edition) by Nirvana in. I think I may need to make an exception in the CD hiatus rule and buy that. They did however have three gems that I couldn't resist, Parallel Lines is my first Blondie CD, Simon and Garfunkel Live In New York City is a great live album I heard for the first time a few weeks back and Loaded by The Velvet Underground is my first Velvet Underground studio album. I've heard it in full too and I remember really liking it, although I now can't remember any of the tracks that didn't feature on their best of compilation that I own! I'll be especially interested how that goes. I have to say that today has been my most succesful day in town for a while, for the Joe Strummer badge alone I'd say!

Simon & Garfunkel - Live From NYC 1967 (First Impressions)

So, I've listened to a few new albums today. Two of Blondie, and this live album by Simon & Garfunkel. I've still got a few more official releases of theirs to listen too, mostly live. For whatever reason I started off with this live recording from New York, in 1967. At this point in their career they had released three studio albums: Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme being the most recent. Interestingly though the setlist for the concert definitely concentrates more on their first two albums. Truthfully told they're my least favorite albums of Simon & Garfunkel (although I still really like both of them). That doesn't take away from the excellence of this performance though. Their live performances are so good that songs I hadn't cared for previously often take on new life when performed live. An example from Live From New York City is He Was My Brother which I particularly loved here. The only song that I really wish was performed live was April Come She Will, because it's probably my favorite song of the first two albums. Although they have so many great songs it's just a minor qualm for me. It's also always very charming for me to hear the between songs chat, when there is any. Mostly due to my age. It's amazing hearing them talk as young men, still probably very much unaware of the legacy they'd leave behind. It's also quite stark that within three years from this performance it'd be all over. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed listening to this. And because it's on Amazon for a very cheap £3.87 (bargain!), I'll almost certainly add it to my CD collection. An excellent performance.

Musical discovery of the year: Simon & Garfunkel

We've all got those musical interests that grab you by surprise. You know what I mean, those that creep up ever so subtlety. We've all got them. Yet before you know it - you're listening to their records on loop. And then, you wonder why on earth it took you so long to find this gem of an artist. For me, Simon & Garfunkel have become a foremost example of that.

It's especially funny, because if ever someone asked me was I a folk fan my response would be "not at all". In fact it's a genre of music that I'd consider one of my least favorites. And therein lies the beauty of Simon & Garfunkel. They had such beautiful harmonies and exceptional lyrics, that I don't need to be a folk fan to appreciate them. Excellent songwriting is excellent songwriting and it will transcend the confines of categorisation. In short - it's timeless music.

Perhaps rather unusually, I've listened to Paul Simon years before Simon & Garfunkel. Since about fourteen or fifteen. I've got to thank my father for that. He introduced me to his work, and I particularly loved Graceland. The African rhythms created quite a sound-scape for me. It practically transported me into another world. One that served as a complete contrast to my native Belfast.  Some further exploration followed suit and I came to really like Paul Simon's solo work. But Simon & Garfunkel? I wasn't so sure if they were for me. I mean - they're folk music. As I said earlier, I don't care much for folk music.

That view began to alter a few months ago. I was in the car with my parents: and Bridge Over Troubled Water came on. I know, overplayed but it is still a beautiful song. Besides, whilst I've always liked it I've never killed it with repeated listening. This time though, it hit me differently. It'd been a good few years since I last heard it, and I could appreciate more. All those little fine nuances lost on my younger ears. Like I could appreciate just how much of a beautiful voice Art Garfunkel had. And also, how his harmonising with Paul was equally as beautiful. Even the lyrics left more of an impression on me. "Hey, maybe I should think about checking them out!" was a thought that started to look quite appealing. After all - at an older age I could now appreciate the solo lyrics of Paul Simon better too. As we all know, Paul Simon was the songwriter of Simon & Garfunkel. Surely Simon & Garfunkel could offer me something then?

Amazingly, something rather remarkable happened. Maybe it was fate or destiny, I honestly don't know. Although it was quite a coincidence. Within days of hearing Bridge Over Troubled Water, my mum said she had a little something for me. It was a random surprise. It turned out, a family friend had been in and for whatever reason had bought mum a gift. What was it? Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. You couldn't make it up! Mum knew I wanted to investigate them, so she gave the album to me. Time to try them out properly...

I heard Mrs Robinson. Liked it. Wasn't blown away, but I wanted to keep listening. The next track was called For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her. It was also a live version of the track. Again, I liked it. Until I got to the ending. The last lines when Art Garfunkel sings "I love you girl, oh I love you" knocked me for six. Seriously - I knew he could sing already, but that.... totally unexpected and unlike anything I've ever heard before. Angelic vocals. And I mean every syllable of that. That was the song that demonstrated to me just how good they were. Following that, I started to see just what I'd been missing out on all these years.Then, I was hooked.

From then on, I've been completely converted. I heard all their albums and loved them all. Bookends; Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme and Bridge Over Troubled Water becoming particular favourites. I've already purchased The Columbia Studio Recordings boxset which has all of their albums. I've listened to them on a daily basis since becoming a fan. The last time I was this enamoured with a band was The Clash. And we all know how much I love The Clash and Joe Strummer, right? Honestly, I don't know why I took so long to listen to Simon & Garfunkel. They are just that good. The moral of this story? Always be prepared to challenge yourself musically and try new styles and artists. I did it with Simon & Garfunkel and I've never looked back.

First Impressions: Simon & Garfunkel Miami 1969 (bootleg)

The other new piece of music that I listened to today, it's a bootleg. It also can be found under the title Back To College. It's a recording of Simon & Garfunkel at the Miami University in 1969. It's just prior to the release of their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. I'd heard so many great things about this particular show - that it was one of the best concerts they ever did - so I was keen to find it. I actually found it along with another bootleg I've been long searching for: The Clash at Bond's Casino. Anyhow, I listened to the show in full earlier. It was incredible. Just so very good. They actually were playing with a band onstage, which was something I hadn't heard before. Not with one of their older shows at least. Best of all, some of the songs sounded even better live. A particular example of that being So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright. The show not only boasts truly exceptional sound quality (it sounds like an official release) but it's also a true treasure listening to an older show of Simon & Garfunkel. I honestly never thought I'd be able to hear something like this! Being able to hear their between songs chat with the audience and in particular Art's introduction of Bridge Over Troubled Water was fantastic. It's truly one of the best experiences I've ever had with bootleg and it's one of the few bootlegs I can truly say is an essential listening experience. Once I brush up on my Simon & Garfunkel I'll be sure to post a proper review of this bootleg. Although it comes highly, highly recommended!

Sound of the week: Songs

Evening all and it's hard to believe that (yet again) it's the end of another week. Especially scary that we're now over halfway through 2013... what on earth. Anyhow, this week I've actually got two sounds of the week, so let's get cracking.

First of, we've got Keys To Your Heart by The 101ers. They're a group more than familiar to Clash fans - it was Joe Strummer's group before The Clash, back when he was known as Woody Mellor. This is the second version (and my favourite) of Keys To Your Heart. I love this song - and The 101ers - in general. They were a great pub rock outfit and probably could have gone on to big things... then a group called The Clash happened. Funny how things like that can occur in life. I'd have to regard Keys To Your Heart as the first great Strummer composition (even though he wasn't known as Strummer when he wrote it). I'd definitely recommend The 101ers if you have any inkling of an interest in The Clash. Especially so if you like pub rock style music. It's fascinating to hear how Joe always sang the way he did - it wasn't a singing style put on for the punk scene. I don't have Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited, although listening to this moreso this week has made me keen to get it. I think it's encouraged me to purchase it this week really!

The second track is Simon & Garfunkel (can you tell I'm loving them?). Again it's not something I heard for the first time this week, but it's a song that's particularly grown on me this week. It's from Bookends, I was listening to the album a few days ago because I purchased a boxset with all their albums and truthfully I think Bookends is now my second favorite Simon & Garfunkel record. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme is first and I've denoted Bridge Over Troubled Water to third place (for now). Anyhow - what I love about Old Friends is the gorgeous and serene atmosphere it has. Reflective and oh so peaceful. The lyrics make me really think about growing older too even though I'm still a rather young 19. I can't help but think of a certain friend when I hear this song who's also fond of Simon & Garfunkel. My longest friend actually - we've been best friends for 15 years. Since the age of four. It really does make me wonder what we will be like when he hit seventy (as the song describes) and how we'll have changed. By that point we'll have been friends for 66 (!) years. Scary thoughts really, but a gorgeous song.

Saturday night viewing (a day late)

Afternoon everyone and I hope all my UK readers are enjoying Father's Day. I've already given my Dad his gifts: a Tom Petty live collection as well as Paul Simon's Songbook. I must admit I'll definitely borrow his copy of Songbook so I can rip it to my hardrive.

Anyhow, last night I was feeling lazy and didn't bother my backside to share with you the two things I watched. First, we have the concert. Well concert implies it's of any great lenght, which frankly it's not. It's Simon & Garfunkel's brief set at the Kraft Music Hall, which aired in January 1968. They perform seven songs in a twenty minute set. This is actually the show that contains my favourite version of For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her. I also far prefer the version of Patterns here to the studio version. In general, this has to be Simon & Garfunkel at the peak of their powers. This performance is pretty much faultless, and I seldom use that word. Also, I've even seen some gorgeous colour footage of their performance of The Sounds Of Silence from this show. I've never seen any of the other performances in colour though but I'd love to. I don't think this has seen an official release actually, but I really hope it does in the future!

The documentary I watched was especially fascinating. Finally getting The Smiths Complete has made my interest in The Smiths and Morrissey resurge, and I finally watched my first documentary (shocking) on Morrissy last night. This is called The Importance of Being Morrissey and it aired in 2002 in the UK on Channel 4. It's fascinating not least because it contains interviews with Morrissey himself and even shows you inside his LA home. It also features J.K Rowling, Kathy Burke and Noel Gallagher (amongst others) being interviewed. The highlight for me was the incredible footage of him
 with David Bowie, but really the whole documentary is essential viewing for fans. Watching it, I actually felt he came across a lot better than I expected him too. Not to mention he's incredibly intelligent and just a very interesting man in general. Definitely something I really recommend people to watch!

So that's it for last night's viewing, and all being well I should be able to watch more stuff later. I'll be back later with my sound of the week post though!

Amazon Order has arrived!

So finally, my much discussed Amazon parcel has arrived! Left to right starting top I got The Police (2CD compilation); The Clash US (different from the UK release of the album), The Smiths Complete (which is all their studio albums, a live album and three compilations); Simon & Garfunkel's The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings; and last but certainly not least Joe Strummer & The Mescalero's first album Rock Art and The X-Ray Style (the remastered edition of the album). It really wasn't as dear as you'd think to get all this but I'm still going to not buy CD's for a bit so I can save some money (primarily for The Clash boxset). I''ve gone from just owning a singular greatest hits compilation each for The Smiths and Simon Garfunkel to getting all their studio albums in one go. At least I haven't duplicated any albums though as I will with The Clash in September (much like I've done with Pet Shop Boys previously too). I've also now finally completed my collection of studio albums for Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros too, and The Police compilation is my first CD by them, they are a fantastic group though. Looking forward to listening to these over the coming days! (and Clash collection picture will be coming very soon).

Last Night's Viewing: Simon & Garfunkel - Songs Of America

Good evening all from a gloriously sunny (once again too) evening here in Belfast. It's the sort of weather that leaves me feeling a bit inspired writing wise. That and also the fact I have quite a lot of updates to make, a few of them being posted tonight hopefully. First of all - something that I actually watched last night. I was in the mood for a documentary but one that offered a little more than a mere chronological history documentation of a band. So, as you know I've been listening to a ton of Simon & Garfunkel these past two or three weeks. With that in mind, I fancied watching something a little in depth about them. I figured a good place to start would be Songs of America. Well, documentary might not be the best term to describe it, its more of a TV special I guess. It doesn't really deal with the making of any specific album or even the history of the group. It aired on CBS in 1969 and contains footage of them on tour: the live performance of For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her I loved (rather predictably). Added to this it has backstage interviews of Simon & Garfunkel and historic news footage. I have to admit, because I'm not American a lot of the news footage made minimal sense, although I obviously recognized figures such as President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. It's very interesting to watch as a sort of time capsule, although for a history of Simon & Garfunkel you might want to watch something else!

Song of The Week: Simon & Garfunkel - For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (Live).

So, here we are folks. I've actually been able to make a post on my sound of the week this week! As I've mentioned in a previous post I've been busy these past few weeks, so my apologies for not being able to share with you all my sound of the week these past few weeks. So now we've got that out of the way, time for my song of the week.

This probably won't come as any surprise to those of you who regular read my posts: I had mentioned in a previous post that I'd been listening to the back catalogue of Simon & Garfunkel this week non stop. I've heard all their albums now and I've really liked them all, particularly Bridge Over Troubled Water and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme. I first began my investigation of their work after listening to the copy of their Greatest Hits CD that I - by some good fortune - had ended up with a free copy of a few months ago. The second track on that album is a live recording of a song called For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her. I listened to it, and I was blown away; mainly thanks to Art Garfunkel's delivery of what is frankly, some of the most beautiful song lyrics I've ever heard. No joke - his voice literally made me weep at the crescendo ending. Seriously, I lay in bed with shivers soaking my spine and tears in my eyes. What an image, eh? And this is coming from someone who doesn't view vocals as the be all and end all. Sure, I love a good vocal performance but its one aspect of a song for me. Anyhow, I had liked what I knew of Simon & Garfunkel (which admittedly wasn't a lot) prior to this; but that live recording was what really demonstrated to me just how good they were. Once the song had finished my first thought was "Bloody hell; he can sing!". So - a live video of  For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her is the feature of this post. I've been listening to Paul Simon's solo work (thanks to my Dad introducing me to him) since the age of about 15, so I had never really experienced how good Art's voice was. Although my Dad did used to tell me to listen to them too because of his voice (he saw them live actually, not jealous at all). Truth be told I was always dubious because I'd have to say folk music is one of my least favorite genres. Now, my only regret? Not listening to them sooner! I honestly think they've joined the ranks of my all time favorite artists. It's early days yet I know, but in a few weeks I really do think I'll purchase their The Collection boxset. It's their five studio albums plus a DVD of their reunion concert at Central Park in New York (which I've seen some clips of and it looks brilliant) - all for £12! Seriously, that's a gem of a price if ever I've seen it! Just watch the video though - its mesmerizing music. Sublime stuff from a sublime group really.

Soundsystem.

Evening all, its slightly late here over in UK but I decided it was time I knuckled down and wrote an actual post as opposed to yet another update.

I've been busy here this past week: buying an iPad Mini no less (wonderful machine) and treating myself to some new CDs in the process, namely M.I.A's Kala album and the Ramones live album It's Alive. I've also heard Daft Punk's new Random Access Memories and truth be told I don't think its as good as everyone says it is, but that's for another post . In terms of what's been dominating my listening the past few days I've been having a serious love affair with the back catalogue of Simon & Garfunkel, an amazing group (and I'm not even a folk fan by any means). I really like Paul Simon as a solo artist, so I decided it was time to investigate where it all started. In all honesty, Art Garfunkel is now one of my all time favourite vocalists - the phrase "voice of an angel" may be branded about too much - but in his case I feel its certainly applicable. The scary part? I'm singing their praises already and I haven't even heard all of their albums yet. A new addition to the all time favourites list perhaps!

Anyhow - the big story for me these past few days has been the announcement of the long awaited boxset of The Clash, entitled Sound System. I love special editions, boxsets and all that fancy stuff so I had high hopes for this - I have to say it looks tremendous (the art for the boxset is done by Paul Simonon). It consists of their five albums  remastered (omitting Cut The Crap) including an extra disc of their various non album singles. There's also rarities/unreleased tracks  and a DVD to boot which I love. One of my favourite Clash songs is The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too and I was ecstatic to discover this much underrated track is finally going to get an official release. As is standard with such a boxset there's also merchandise galore: stickers, a poster and badges to name some of it. All stuff I will treasure because being 19 I missed out on a lot of merchandise and Belfast doesn't stock much in the way of Clash material at all, believe me. The real gem for me though merchandise wise though is the reprinted copies of the Armagideon Times fanzines that will be in it (along with a new edition). Again, I missed out on these being born years after they broke up. I love fanzines and the like so this shall be a real treat. The boxset comes out on September 9th here in UK, it's pricey at £110 but the group have made such an impact on me this past year that I really can't wait to buy the boxset. In fact, there's a chance my family might be buying two copies because one of them has turned into a big fan also (thanks to my constant playing).

Now I have that off my chest, its not even the only Clash release that's been announced: there's a new compilation coming called The Clash Hits Back (I love that title). I already have all their albums and even their singles boxset, so truth be told I'm indifferent to a compilation coming out but I have to admit the track listing isn't far off my personal ideal one in all honesty. It's been a busy month for me in my Clash fandom really, particularly on the purchasing front. I've ended up with two copies of their official book (see a previous post), the two disc edition of Rude Boy on DVD not to mention receiving their singles boxset as a 19th birthday present. It doesn't stop there, if all goes to plan I'm getting the US edition of The Clash next week along with my first Joe Strummer T-shirt, which I'm really excited about as the T-shirt comes from the Strummerville charity. When all of that arrives (give it two weeks), I'll be sure to do a post on my Clash collection.

Long winded post I know, but there's just been so much lately, its crazy! I will try and write a post on Daft Punk's new album (well initial thoughts) at least tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to do that along with sharing some musical gems I've found. Until then I'm going to unwind now, listen to more Simon & Garfunkel and start the latest season of Big Bang Theory. Adios for now!