Music
Not Forgotten – The Bonzo Dog Band – The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse
One of my favourite anecdotes from the history of rock music recalls the Bonzo Dog Band touring the USA in the late 60s and their minibus being stopped by a local Sheriff. The law officer asked if they were carrying any firearms or drugs. When they denied possession of either (preferring alcohol to drugs at …
Track: Pete Fij / Terry Bickers – Downsizing
I’ve tried to write songs, with no success at all. I can play music all right, but every time I try and write songs, they sound, at best, faintly embarrassing. So I have the utmost respect for those who carve a career in this most mysterious of skills (to me at least). It seems like …
See: Cold War Kids new video for Tuxedo
I’m not like Cold War Kids. I go days without noticing messages my wife has left me around the house, you know the sort of thing, Can you make sure there’s a babysitter for so and so, or we need more milk – that sort of thing. Or I see this new shop that’s opened …
Track: Eyezon – Rubies and Raindrops
Saying goodbye is always hard. The baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell found a good way around it. ‘It’s time to say goodbye’ he said ‘but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure’. Eyezon, the South African native and Northern California resident is also saying goodby to hip-hop …
NOT FORGOTTEN – TORI AMOS – STRANGE LITTLE GIRLS
I must have stood here, staring at my CD collection for half an hour or so. I had known I’d wanted to do an ongoing series of articles for Backseat Mafia that would build up to be an A to Z of unfairly overlooked and forgotten albums through the decades, but I just didn’t have …
See: Until the Ribbon Breaks – Perspective (ft. Homeboy Sandman) New Video
In my day, and with my technical skills, we didn’t make mixtapes, we made compilation tapes. I used to hover over my favourite radio shows, making endless tapes of unheard of and unremembered bands on the John Peel show, or piles of African music that Andy Kershaw used to play, or Reggae, or just about …
Interview: Rowetta from The Happy Mondays
The Happy Mondays are well and truly back. Playing live and rumors of a new album, we caught up with the queen of Madchester, Rowetta to see just whats going on…. BM:The Happy Monday comeback is well and truly in full swing. The gigs have been getting great reviews and you are just getting ready …
New Music: Fatboy Slim – Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat, plus tour news
I grew up with Fatboy Slim. Not in a literal sense you understand, that would be rather silly. But I copied his basslines off my Housemartins ‘London 0 Hull 4‘ cassette, fell in with dance music and one of the first things I bought was his Pizzaman LP (without even knowing it was him), Beats …
Album Review: Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals
Far from being bitter rivals, Sleigh Bells third album actually shows they may be working towards more equality. The Brooklyn duo, singer Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Miller met when he served her and her mother at a restaurant. According to legend (admittedly not the most famous of legends, but a legend none the less) …
Feature: Okay, now I REALLY want to see Atoms For Peace live…
It’s not like I didn’t want to see them live before, but after watching them play on The Daily Show I have become a devout fan. Amok I believe will end up being one of my very favorite albums this year. I knew this would be the case after living with that record for a …