Transcript
Speaker: I just wish my life could be as strange as a conspiracy. I hold out, but there's no way of being what I want to be. Dragons blow fire, angels fly, spirits wither in the air. I'm just me, I can't deny. I'm neither here, there, or anywhere.
Speaker: Welcome to another episode of the This Art Johnny Domino podcast, wherein myself, Steve, and my brother, Giles, listen and talk about songs, what we did in the past, what we are doing presently, and what we may do in the future.
Speaker: Hello, Stephen. How are you? How's things going? It's all right, man. How are you? Yeah, I'm all right. I'm all right. Ready to go. Good, good, good. New episode. We've left it a bit. It's been a while. It's been a while.
Speaker: I'm sure people are fine, though. I think they're crying out for it, man. I can feel a hole in the universe and we're going to fill it. So the lyrics today. Yes. No idea. Literally no idea. No.
Speaker: Oh, it's a song. That's a story of an alienated creative person. Okay. Somebody use on the outside, but wants to be on the inside. It's a song primitive painters. Oh, 1984 band felt.
Speaker: by the band felt Some of our listeners will have known that immediately. Do you think? Yes, I think quite a few of them will. I had no idea.
Speaker: You're not as fond of felt as I am. no No, no, no. But um I'm not averse. I'm not felt averse. I'm not phobic. No, you're not felt phobic. No, but I'm quite happy.
Speaker: The Lawrence film is still one of, seeing that in the cinema is still one of my great joys. Absolutely. Let it be known that I like felt. And i recently bought some vinyl. I bought Goldmine Trash, which is a compilation of the early stuff, 1980 to 1985. And it's got primitive painters on it, which I think, i still think is...
Speaker: An amazing song, actually. It sounds like the first thing that you ever want to hear. sounds like the last thing you ever want to hear. It sounds like a band that could be massive.
Speaker: but they don't really become massive. And the story of its recording is quite cool because I think they wrote the song and then it was being produced by Robin Guffrey of the Cocteau Twins. Oh, yeah, yeah. And Elizabeth Fraser was upstairs reading on her bed and Robin just went up and said, come come on, yeah we need you to sing on this.
Speaker: And she just went downstairs and just improvised that bit. Yeah. up it which is the sound of genius, yeah in my opinion.
Speaker: One of the things I want to talk about today is who do you think the best singer is? Who do you think the best singer is? Don't just mean on on that song, but just generally. To be honest, my favorite singer, one of my favorite singers, is Lawrence from Phelps, a man with extremely limited...
Speaker: perhaps a minimalistic range in terms of vocal expression. little bit Lou Reed, a bit Dylan maybe. yeah And I really like it. it's is I just, I really like that sound. It contrasts really well with the the guitar playing.
Speaker: And I think that's it. It's the setting. yeah The way it fits in with the setting. So but I'm going to say that he's one of my favourite singers. Well, good for you. I think we're probably going to have a similar sort of take on favourite singers because there's a line by one of my favourite singers, which is, all my favourite singers couldn't sing.
Speaker: and And that is the great, late David Berman of Silver Jew's Purple Mountains fame. And he's one of my favourite vocalists and he really can't sing. Well, not in a... In the classical sense, yeah.
Speaker: We're going circle back to this at the end of the podcast, man. Right? I want to know who the best singer is, though. The best. Who's the best singer? I'm saying Lawrence. Okay.
Speaker: Is the best singer in my universe today. Excellent. Felt, though. Just go away and listen to some felt. You know, get into Morris D. Banks' amazing jangly, shimmery guitar that was a major influence on Mr. Johnny Marr.
Speaker: And they were a band of a limited sound, I thought. Mm-hmm. They kind of like kept things quite limited in terms of sonically what they did. And I was listening to another band, the new album by the band West Side Cowboy.
Speaker: yeah. Yeah, which I know you haven't heard But you know the band and their work, right? Yeah, I've heard a few tracks off the album and think... It's working in limitations, and I think that's important. And I think that was always important in our home recordings as well. It was. To bring it back to the topic of the podcast.
Speaker: But, yeah, you know what I mean? It's no longer the topic of the podcast. But it kind of is a lot the time. But, you know, it's people being creative, people working within limitations, and I think that's really quite useful.
Speaker: If you've got a limitation, it actually makes your brain work harder. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they keep it simple, don't they, West Side Cowboy? I mean, when I first heard of them, I thought maybe they'd sound a little bit like a mixture between West Side Story and, you know, the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy, but they don't.
Speaker: No, they don't. They sound like the end of what goes on by the Velvet Underground. They do a bit. They also sound a bit like a matador band from the 1990s that didn't exist. I was listening to Super Chunk and thinking Super Chunk were a bit are yeah a bit like West Side Cowboy, oh but not quite as good. West Side Cowboy are like a really good version of a matador band from the 90s. A really good version of Super Chunk.
Speaker: Yeah, that's West Side Cowboy. And they seem like very nice people.
Speaker: Hey, Steve. Hey, man. How doing? I'm good, thanks. What's up, man? ah Just ringing to say I finally listened to the West Side Cowboy album. Yeah, what do reckon? em You know it's all right, but one thing I really like is the fact they've got the the male and the female vocal kind of in unison. Yeah, man. Yeah, I really like it, but it reminds me of someone.
Speaker: What you remind you of, dude? Reminds me deep in blue.
Speaker: Would you say that the Minuteman had a limited sound palette? They had a limited palette. You know, it's like one guitar, one bass, drums, vocals. yeah That's it. You know, and that's all they needed.
Speaker: And they had limit self-imposed limitations. They had to jam Ikono. That was the thing, wasn't it? Jamming Ikono. Which meant what? It basically meant that if you go on tour, it's just the three of you in the van. You don't need any more flash or anything else. It's basically you guys. You get your own gear in, you get your own gear out and all that kind of stuff. It's yeah it's it's your classic American punk rock thing.
Speaker: DIY. Yeah, but I think it also carries over into the music they did because can't pretend that I've heard everything by Minutemen. However, what I have heard, it is a limited palette and they work within it and that's what they that's what they have to play with. Absolutely. So the reason we're talking about Minutemen is because this month...
Speaker: The Minutemen have been the subject to the often mentioned on this podcast PRF monthly tribute series. Yeah. And they've been the band of choice and various artists have been and are, as we speak, recording songs to do with the Minutemen, versions of Minutemen songs and creating an album for your listening pleasure on Bandcamp. And we've...
Speaker: put one together as well haven't we Steve? Yes we did. We did a version of History Lesson Part 2. Our band could be your life. Real names be proved.
Speaker: Lo-fi music changed our lives. We learned indie in Derby. Drove up from Elson. We were fucking Ginsters pasties. We'd go drink and shamble.
Speaker: Mr. Pharmacist This is Marky Smith to me Our story could be their songs I'm his shoulder child Our band is four track rock
Speaker: But I was Kim Deal, Ricky Wilson, back, Jonathan Richman. Me and Steve Domino, playing guitar....
Speaker: Man, I really like the Minute Men. i really Well, I really like that album, Double Nickels on the Dime. It's classic. It's an absolute stone cold classic. Yeah, man. I mean, they were a punk band, but not in the sense of like punk as the sort of the sound of punk music. But they were punk in that sort of original sense.
Speaker: I think definitely in American music, where it's more about, like what like we were saying, it's more about the attitude, the DIY. And they're also like very kind of working class kind of attitude, weren't they?
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. And that's the the interesting thing about American punk, isn't it? It's not about the sound of your band. It's like the SST roster had Husker Do, it had Black Flag, it had the Minutemen, it had the Meat Puppets.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. So really varied. And a thousand Greg Ginbans, however. But, you know, it was a much more varied thing. It was is more about your attitude. Yeah, punk was about doing what you want to do, wasn't it, really? yeah. I was listening to an old WTF episode. They're all online. yeah And Mark Maron was interviewing Mike Watt in 2015. And ah I'll just point you towards it. It's a good one to listen to. He's a crazy sounding His mind's all over the place. But he's talking obviously about D. Boone and still affected but at that point by sad death in 1985.
Speaker: He died in a van accident, didn't he, I think. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, he's got some great stories talking about playing with Iggy Pop and that whole kind of attitude of like this sort punk community, I suppose, in America.
Speaker: And I think the the first time we really kind of learned anything about it was that book, Our Band Could Be Your Life, quoting quote in the song that we just did a weird version of by Michael Azarad. And there's a good chapter on the Minutemen there, isn't there?
Speaker: Yeah, I think I've got the book and I bought the album. I'm not sure. i could so I've got it on vinyl. I think I bought it you on a CD as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, back to the PRF Monthly yeah Tribute Series. I mean, we did our thing there. You know, we did what we normally do, which is... Turn it into a song about ourselves.
Speaker: Not because we're like massive egotists, but because cause it's funny. But there's some other interesting ones on there. I mean, Friends of the Podcast, Marco, he did West Germany, which is kind of interesting. my Motorcade one's done one.
Speaker: King of the Hill, which is a song that... I'm not really that aware of, I wasn't aware of, but i thank him for introducing it to me because yeah I really like that song. But there's a couple of ah really interesting ones that have just gone up.
Speaker: A band called Kathy's Sealing have done a medley of 15 tracks, 21 minutes long, basically a medley of Minutemen songs. Is it 15? Is it 16? Have you listened to it? Yeah, it's amazing. It's really good. I mean, it's like recorded live-ish, I think, isn't it? But man, they can play.
Speaker: They must be a Minutemen tribute band. I mean, if they're not, They should be. It's pretty fucking faithful, isn't it? I tell you what, that is a tribute act that I would personally go and see. Yeah.
Speaker: Can we get in touch with them? Yeah. I mean, that version of Vietnam, they've got George Hurley's drum rolls like completely down. It's like just rolling through them. It's on the note.
Speaker: It's an astonishing piece of work. It's really good. I mean, surely we could get them to come and play Derby or something at Dubwreck. I don't know. but You can put them up. Yeah, definitely. They can stay on our floor. It's cool.
Speaker: But that's really good. Go and listen to that, people. Yeah, And also, there's another one that's gone up today. don know if you listened to it. No. By a band called Victims of Leisure. Okay. And they do a version of This Ain't No Picnic, which is a great song anyway. Yeah, yeah. But they do it like a nineteen nineteen eighty s sort of thrash metal style. Cool.
Speaker: It sounds a little bit like... Megadeth kind of Rust in Peace era Megadeth Metallica or something off like an early Amphrax album yeah Man it rocks
Speaker: But it's a shame, really, that this is a month where nobody gets voted the winner because it's been pretty interesting, especially with, I think, Cathy's ceiling would win. yeah Definitely, because just the chocks on display yeah and the 20 minutes on... By the way, doing my my copious notes and research, Cathy's Ceiling, do you know where the name of the band is from?
Speaker: Please tell me. It's from the lyric of Take 5D, one of the songs on the... Is that the one where it's just a list of chores? Yeah, something like that. Yeah, cork must be redone or something. Yeah, on Cathy's Ceiling. Nice. Yeah, it's a banger.
Speaker: We're making a podcast in the face of certain doom. We are this, our Johnny Domino. We're making a podcast and we're playing up skill tunes.
Speaker: This is this, our Johnny Domino. We're brothers, we wear glasses. We've got medical conditions.
Speaker: We've both been alive for a while.
Speaker: We're making a podcast in the face of certain dew. It's time for this on Johnny Domino. Oh, something like that. Anyway. Next song today, Steve. Previously on the podcast, we have featured the work of a recording artist from Los Angeles, California, who goes by the name of Esteban Obando, because he is doing a project where he records a song a month.
Speaker: on a Tascam 424 Porter Studio. The Tascam 424 Porter Studio that we use on a lot of Johnny Domino recordings. And he is still motoring through his years work and he keeps putting up some really good stuff.
Speaker: Yeah, he does. And it more and more on ah on the social media, he's he's kind of doing a lot of stuff about how, like his process. Yeah. Which I think is a good thing to do. I think it's the way forward, isn't it, really? You get you get people interested these days by putting up videos like that.
Speaker: BTS, behind the scenes. Behind the scenes, man. Yeah, but he's doing some good stuff. And this is a song by Esteban Arbando, and he put it out, I don't know, a month or so ago, and it's called Burning Toast.
Speaker: Burning Toast on Sunday morning
Speaker: Got distracted, something you said So long ago I don't remember
Speaker: Missed the exit, almost crashed out Left the blinker clicking left
Speaker: Cars behind me let me have it And I don't know why I did Oh, I love you
Speaker: Except with you it never ends. Burning toast on Sunday morning. Convince myself that you love me.
Speaker: Still unhappy that I did Oh, I love you You said it, bent your head down I love you
Speaker: Oh, it's so hard to let you go when you're part of me. Oh, it's so hard to let you go.
Speaker: Guess I know.
Speaker: That's really cool. I really like that. He's still doing the good stuff. I'm looking at his Instagram. He's doing some stuff in Pro Tools. Oh, so he's moving away from just doing it on the four track. I don't think he's, but that might be a slightly different project he's working on, but he's definitely, you know, that was definitely recorded on a four track.
Speaker: And um you can kind of tell, and I just like the fact he is purposefully working within limitations. He is again, isn't he? Yeah. Simple song, simple poetry. Lovely. You know, kind of lovely.
Speaker: And about burning toast, about burning some toast when you get distracted by something. We can all relate to that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's what do you have on toast? What's favorite thing on toast? What's the weirdest thing you've had on toast? What's the weirdest thing had on toast? What do you mean weird thing I've had on toast?
Speaker: What's an interesting thing that you've had on toast? don't... Toast isn't for interesting things. No? I don't think so. It's peanut butter and jam. You know, and that's not interesting. Do you put the peanut butter on first or then the jam?
Speaker: Peanut butter. Peanut butter first, then the jam? Peanut butter first, then the jam. yeah yeah I had start eating peanut butter for some medication that was on and I had to force myself to like it so my peanut butter and jam are That's not hard Well no but I didn't like it at all and It took me a while to get into it My first attempts were necessarily heavy on the jam but now it's it's more of an an equal situation I've got going on What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten on toast?
Speaker: When we were at university. Oh, Jesus. And we didn't have any money. Oh, God. We used to have just of salt on toast because we didn we ran out of water or margarine or anything. Salt on toast was all right. It's just it's like it's like a crisp.
Speaker: like ah It's something like a crisp, you see. I do like a bit of hummus. Yeah, yeah, yeah, me too. And really, one of my favorite comforting things to have with toast is some jam and cheese.
Speaker: Interesting. A bit of strawberry jam, extra mature extra mature cheddar cheese. Beautiful. Is it like a party in your mouth and everyone's invited?
Speaker: Well, ah yeah, man. It's great. Is everything seen all right? How you doing? That kind of thing. You know, you're my brother. Yeah, yeah everything's all right, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Summer's been all right. Yeah. You know, um a couple episodes ago, I had like a cosmic thought about money.
Speaker: and ah the fact that sort of like basically just some bloke said, right, here's a bit of metal, I hammered it into shape and it's worth something. And then that's kind of carried on and then then it was paper that had been printed and in a special sort of way. Yeah. yeah I remember you were getting philosophical about money. had another one the other day.
Speaker: Yeah, go on there. I was looking at the garden. Obviously, we've had a couple of incredibly, incredibly hot weeks in this country. You know, horrible fires.
Speaker: All over Europe. Great national beauty and in in this country, which is horrifying. But... I looked at our lawn and we've had a couple of days of rain and our lawn's looking really good. And it reminded me that ah I saw something couple of years ago that said, when in hot weather, don't bother watering your lawn, your lawn will sort itself out.
Speaker: And it did. And then I started thinking, right? Yes. Cows eat grass. Yes. And they they live quite well just eating grass. Yes.
Speaker: And I thought, why don't humans eat grass? And it's because people can't make any money off it. we could probably we could probably We could probably survive on grass. on grass yeah good But the man yeah keeps that from us. Okay.
Speaker: Well, I'm going to want you to have a go at that to tomorrow rob and you report back, you know, whether that works out for you, eating grass, Steve. Yeah, I'm going call you from the toilet. Yeah, man. That's good.
Speaker: I've been away. We went away in the van. yeah Yeah. Are there any interesting stories from your time away, Giles? We had some interesting stories. We drove through Belgium and the Netherlands. Oh, yeah, the Netherlands. and Do you stop anywhere in particular in the Netherlands? Do you want to just stop now?
Speaker: Okay. i'm I'm getting there, man. Cool. All right. Okay. So yeah, and it was good. it was really nice. One thing that you notice is that the roads are just like, it's like riding on a freaking magic carpet compared to this country. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Just things seem to be running quite well over there. i don't know whether it's just me thinking the grass is greener or, but it just seemed, it seemed like things a bit more solid, really.
Speaker: People seem to know how to run things. And we did have a lovely time. But I have got a salient story to tell about something that happened. And before I go into it, I would just like to say, you know, obviously, we've talked about this in the podcast before.
Speaker: Health content. Here we are. Health content time. yeah And as long-time listeners will know, i have been and I'm still under treatment for prostate cancer, ah which involves me taking some rather nasty or having some rather nasty hormone-suppressant drugs. which kind of fuck you up big time. and I'm not moaning. they They're probably doing something good.
Speaker: yeah But one thing I want to tell you, some people might criticize me for talking about this on the podcast. I don't know, maybe. But, you know, I've got to do it because it's like public health and stuff, is mixing your prescription drugs with other things,
Speaker: is not good. It's not good and can lead to very bad things. And I did a really silly thing when I was in the fine city of Amsterdam. And I've written a poem about it, Stephen.
Speaker: Well, pray, do tell us. And it's called, it's called rather ominously, Nearly Died in Amsterdam.
Speaker: Funny story, not. I had some cake and nearly died in a coffee shop. In Amsterdam, suddenly out for the count. Pixelated Poundland people, platform scrolling past.
Speaker: Neon snakes tracing round square windows. And I'm fitting in and out like a golden boy, sitting plastered. Died, not like in an arcade game.
Speaker: nearly died. A tragic, embarrassing news story death. Englishman, 55, Dutch coffee shop, whose heart went pop.
Speaker: And in that moment, I wish there was the man who smiles and waves in the middle of the tram in Amsterdam and gets paid for it. And as I drowned on that fateful bench, I gazed into your moon face, white and floating and right, happily resigned to my final sight.
Speaker: And it's a light in the darkness and I moved towards it and, and, this is not fun anymore.
Speaker: Slow kind people bring me sugar, water in a saucer, And feeding like a butterfly, I start to climb slowly, glitching back and then back into the world.
Speaker: catching the wind of being able to stand on my feet. I am on your arm, and we set sail on an odyssey through streets soiled and hopeful.
Speaker: End of night people, chaotic and broken, McDonald's open, wasted words spoken, and 15 years later, we'll get there to our hotel bed, your face beside me.
Speaker: And I want it to be the last thing I ever see. But not today. Time to go home. Time to go home. Time to go home. I nearly went home.
Speaker: I nearly went home. Sing it away. Drop it.
Speaker: Do you know what? I'd really like, at this point, Steve, one of your adverts. Coming right up. I was a kid, I loved to wear bandages just to get attention.
Speaker: But now I use Band-Aid Brand Clear from Johnson & Johnson. It's the bandage with the see-through strip, so people hardly notice I'm wearing a bandage at all. Which is nice, because now that I'm grown up, I want people to notice me.
Speaker: Not my bandage. Only Johnson & Johnson makes Band-Aid Brand Clear clearly the best looking bandage ever. Help us help retarded children. Look for Johnson & Johnson coupons in Sunday's paper.
Speaker: yeah Yeah, the Arsler. Dear, oh dear. That was a good that was of its time, wasn't it? You think, yeah, yeah. 1980s, it's like an entirely different world. It's a different world, but that's where a lot of the music we're talking about, this episode, is coming from, man.
Speaker: That's what they were up against. Anyway, I enjoyed that. We don't need to go into it, though. A friend of the podcast. Friend of the podcast. MJ Hibbert. Yes. Who is a a busy, busy man. He's a polymath. He is a freaking polymath. And he's created this thing called Data and Doctor Doom, which I need you as listeners of this podcast to be aware of.
Speaker: Working backwards here, yeah he's put together an album called of songs which is music from a five-week podcast that he made of a book that he wrote that is based on his phd thesis yes about comics and it's called data and dr doom and it's from his fervid mind basically yeah and he is an actual doctor he likes to say that He's an actual doctor of Dr. Dinn. Well, he's the doctor of comics. Yeah. And I mean, i was listening to the podcast today. It's highly professional, Stephen.
Speaker: It's highly professional and extremely academical. And and i'm I'm going to say something. Are you trying to make me jealous? No. Back off the mic a little bit there, Steve. Bit distorty. trying to talk because I'm angry.
Speaker: It's a peculiar mix of rigor and whimsy. There you go. That sounds like MJ Hibbert, yeah. There's a quote for the back of his the second edition of his book.
Speaker: Great. A peculiar mix of rigor and whimsy. you know tis very interesting, I would say. what I like as a person who's familiar with MJ Hibbert's work is that it's quite keyboard. Well, it's entirely keyboard-based music, which I quite enjoy, actually.
Speaker: And you know the gist of it... And he he actually does a miraculous thing because he talks depth about... ind depths about his theory of how he analyzes these comics, which, you know, you can get into if you listen to it.
Speaker: But in these post-truth times where anybody can say anything and basically you don't have to back anything or it's just saying what you feel, what he's doing is dealing with facts and data.
Speaker: And that it turns out these days is pretty radical. It's pretty radical and pretty punk rock thing to do, I think, really, especially when applied to the culture and the arts.
Speaker: So you should definitely give it a go and listen to it. Certainly will. We're going to play a song, which is from said podcast and album. And it's called, Steve? It's called Many Hearts.
Speaker: You need letterers, you need pexers and you need editors You need writers, you need inkers, distributors, designers and printers All comics creation is collaboration, drawn by many parts And that's true of all art Every poet needs a muse, every anchor needs the muse A director needs a script, every pop star needs a hit The act of creation is collaboration, born by many parts And that's true of all art.
Speaker: What people will tell you I cannot be made by committee but they're wrong. All throughout history has been made by groups of people who will say that the act of creation is collaboration born by many hearts.
Speaker: And that's true of all art.
Speaker: There you go.
Speaker: It reminds me of Go Kart Mozart in a very pleasing way. Yeah, musically, definitely. It's coming from that that kind of universe. yeah I played, well, as I sent it to Turkey Paul.
Speaker: Hello, this is Turkey Paul. a Turkey pool it took Paul likes it. I said it's a bit geeky. And he said, no need to apologize for geekiness. As God walked away and left us to find our own meaning to our existence, I reckon geekiness is genius.
Speaker: Cool. Yeah, that was Turkey Paul's review. And he yeah, he looked at it. So you might like it too. i really like that song, so I will give it a bit of a listen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interestingly, in a completely coincidental happenstance, yes we got a review sent to us, and it's amazingly, I i think it must he must have found it through MJ Hibbert. It's from Robert Downey Jr., who, as you know, going to be Dr. Doom in a future Marvel film.
Speaker: A review? It's a review. Of what? Well, it's a review of our podcast, and I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, um so I'm going to play it to you now, okay? Fingers crossed he likes it. This is the most obnoxious group of money-hungry, low-IQ, high-energy, jackrabbit, fucking wannabe, big-time, small-time, shit-talking, bothersome, irritating bunch of motherfuckers I have ever had to endure for more than five minutes. Oh, that's a shame. That's a shame, isn't it? He didn't like it.
Speaker: Didn't like it at all. he didn't like it. Do you remember the MJ Hibbert story?
Speaker: Which MJ Hibbert story? The one about me going to see MJ Hibbert. Do you remember? you remember? you remember the one that you always talk about? No. I do remember. I do remember. Yes, I do remember. And it was at Rosie's Tea Room. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, you you went there because he was being supported by the Frankie Machine Band. Yes, where you were playing. I was playing on a tiny little keyboard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. but describe it Steve I actually really like MJ Hibbert and I really like his music but at times in my life I've thought it was a bit twee and annoying anyway what happened Well, you saw the Frankie Machine Band play.
Speaker: I can't remember. They were supporting somebody else. and But MJ Hibbert was on next. And he was doing a song called the Gay Train, which is all about a ah ah gay pride march, which...
Speaker: MJ Hibbert got caught up in and, you know, he was fully enjoying his time there. And he talks about, you know, his experience being on what he calls the gay train. And he gets to, there's like a big centerpiece as part of the, the event and they release a series of balloons into the air.
Speaker: And he relates this in the song. It's like a kind of breakdown section, gets very quiet and he goes, uh, and each of those balloons, uh, I represented someone who had died of AIDS.
Speaker: And I turned to look at you because you were standing next to me. I turned to look at you and you were gone. I'd gone, man. I'd gone, man. He'd lost me at that point. Yes. And nothing, you know what? And that's not because I've got any problem with him as a person or anything, any problem with the song Gay Train, which I think is, you know, I like to go to a pride march. I'm happy with that, man.
Speaker: But I just, you know, it was It was overload. off week it was ah It was MJ Hibbert overload. i had to leave. But the thing what thing is I've always said about MJ Hibbert is, we've yeah know we've seen bands, we've played with bands, and we probably like bands who are completely pretending to be something that they are not.
Speaker: MJ Hibbert 100% himself. In a way which is similar to like Jad Fair or Jonathan Richmond. You know what I mean? He is 100% that guy.
Speaker: And you've got to respect that. Yeah, and we have been guilty of being a little bit too cynical. Well, we're all trying to find ourselves, Steve. a journey, man. It's a journey. And I'm happy to look back at things that i did work which weren't cool.
Speaker: and ah And walking out of an MJ Hibbert gig without telling you, doing the old Irish goodbye was one of those things. But I'm the one who's listened to the whole of his podcast and listened to the album. And I've been listening to the album on repeat good over the last few days. So MJ, if you're listening, big fan.
Speaker: Big fan work. Beautiful. Take that! You AI motherfucker!
Speaker: Well, it's a On the Derby scene, isn't it? Oh yeah. On the Derby scene. On the Derby scene. Where have you been? Keep going. On the Derby scene.
Speaker: i just want to be seen. What musical cuisine? Can Stephen Giles play to us today? Yeah, here we are on the Derby scene again. and um the 90s Derby scene.
Speaker: Derby scene, yes. And we've got a treat for you today, listeners. Yes. Previously featured on our podcast was a band of young books called Plans and Apologies.
Speaker: ah You may remember from an episode whose title I do not know, but I will insert at this point.
Speaker: Episode 48, The Herbal Stench of Juvenile Rebellion.
Speaker: We related a story about us doing a gig with them in London and on the bus drive home, they effectively tried to get me and my girlfriend of the time, now my wife, booted off the bus. Your wife?
Speaker: My wife. ah They effectively tried to get us booted off the bus yeah because they were smoking weed. Marijuana. Marijuana. And they nodded back to us and said, oh, it's those guys at the back.
Speaker: It was a good story. It was a good story. It was a good story. I think this song that we're going to play today is one of the greatest songs that came out of the Derby scene. It's from their first album that they've just recently put onto Bandcamp.
Speaker: They have buffed it up. The album called... Torn Out Pages from the Middle Ages. Indeed. This track is called Ginger Jimmy Jackson, and I think it's a bit of an epic.
Speaker: It's a thing of beauty. So sit back, relax, and have a snack.
Speaker: Wait for me when you get there Cause I think that I'm several pieces behind your lady in the room Swore today for the first time
Speaker: Baby let me know
Speaker: Cause I'm getting scared and I want your skin. I felt stupid when I heard this way.
Speaker: Everyone knows it, knows how to do it They've seen it in cinemas, read it in spring They've seen it all fired, heard it on radio Three hash and whisper, we're always the same Always the same, always the same
Speaker: Spun on a loop, slicing my wire You spit at me, but I'm dying Away from here, I'm dying
Speaker: There's the big party There's the little scotting Who won't let them go They've seen it all us And had it already They'll strike off Always in hope it's dream Everyone knows it And knows how to do it They've seen in a cinema It's ready to stay They've seen all by us And had it already They'll strike off Always in hope it's a dream Everyone knows And knows how to it They've seen it in a cinema It's ready to stay They've seen it all by us And had it already They'll strike it off Always in hope it's a dream
Speaker: In the back lane of your God I will hear you in the dark I will hear you in the dark In the back lane of your God In the back lane of your God
Speaker: I will hear you in the dark I will hear you in the dark In the fighting flame of your God In the fighting flame of your God
Speaker: in the dark.
Speaker: And in the course of listening to that song, we obviously realised that the album that song was taken from, Torn Out Pages from the Middle Ages, was first released in the year 2003. So, not in the the ninety s Derby scene.
Speaker: but Yeah, but it's coming spiritually out of the... and yeah Who cares? In the back way of your garden, I will hear you in the dark is a very nicely enigmatic lyric, isn't Beautiful. It's a beautiful line. I think that's so such a great tune. I've listened to it a few times recently. I'm kind of starting to hear sort of like kind of influences and stuff that I think they maybe have.
Speaker: It's a little bit paranoid android, isn't it Yeah, in a kind of indie epic sort of way. way there's ah There's a bit of, um they will probably hate this, but they did try and get me thrown off a bus. So I'm going to say it's a bit emo in in ways. it That kind of American football, very clean, interlooking guitar parts. I mean, they were they were just disgustingly talented. They were ridiculous. I mean, they they remember they were like 17, 18 when they recorded that, man. that's like that It was so good. And I remember at the time thinking, shit, they're so good. But going to have to listen to some American football, man. i've not I've not heard much of that. I think I might like it. Yeah, you may well like it.
Speaker: It's perfectly good. It's perfectly good. Perfectly good. I don't know what to say, really. Yeah, you should give them a listen.
Speaker: Join us and we'll go To the place that will embrace you
Speaker: Beautiful, man. Tell us about that thing you were talking about. this ah You found an interesting thing about records. Oh, Jesus, yeah. Now, we are very similar in a lot of ways.
Speaker: We are not similar in the way that we look after records. That's fair enough, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, all right. I think you're quite lackadaisical about it. You think I'm anal.
Speaker: So let's just call the whole thing off, right? That's an understatement of the situation, yeah, but go on. It's more extreme than that, I believe. but what So I look after my records and you paint near them.
Speaker: I don't lend you records. tell me ah to Talk about the thing that you found. It's interesting. It's a thing called Alliance Authentic. I can't even remember how i found it. Something just popped up on on Instagram or something. And it's a thing where you can buy copy of a record.
Speaker: which is unplayed. It's unplayed virgin record, sealed in plastic, as in it's sealed in a solid piece of plastic. And on the outside of the plastic, there is a readable, like a scannable thing that says, this record is guaranteed. It was printed on this day. It has never been played. Mm-hmm. And they cost about $180. Jesus. Okay.
Speaker: On their website, they say, now this, I think, is is horrible. Some collectors buy vinyl to- today. They do it to keep certain records sealed, untouched. To them, there is a difference between a record you play and a record you keep forever. Alliance Authentic exists for this collector.
Speaker: Oh, wow. So what what what kind of records do they are there? what kind of record Give us an idea of some of the things that you could buy. Whatever you want. You can get anything that you want and they will source it for you.
Speaker: You know, you could get like an unplayed copy of, i don't know, Surfer Rosa or something like that. What's the point of having a record that you can't play, that you don't play? You can have a record and play it and it will give you joy for the rest of your life.
Speaker: Yeah. ah But having something that's sealed up, it's... it's It's ridiculous. I like listening to records. i don't fetishize them to the level that i'm being that I don't fetishize them to the level that I'm going to keep one sealed in plastic. like that that's That's the word that was in my head. It's the fettic ah it's the fetishization of the object, isn't I see if you'd say. And I feel, I think this is like the the logical end point of your way of looking after records, you see. it's not. I don't want to be, i don't let me paint a picture for the listener here of Steve putting a record on, right? i' but but I'm going to give you the alternate view afterwards. Carry on. steve Steve putting a record on, right?
Speaker: He will bow. to his record collection. then will You're mocking a disabled person who has mobility issues. but they Carry on, carry on.
Speaker: but Do it. And you'll you'll get out the sleeve with your fingertips and very deftly, again, with your fingertips, take out the inner sleeve hardly touching the vinyl, you'll give it a wipe, you'll give it a clean, and then again, solemnly, you'll place it onto the spindle on the record player.
Speaker: And it's almost like a sacrament being taken here with your fingertips. You'll be, again, lifting your needle forward. And it's it's it's just that very soft movement.
Speaker: And it gets closer and closer to the vinyl. And then finally he touches it. And the record is on. It's like a religious ceremony. It's like being in a Catholic church, man, watching you put records on. Now, can I give It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. I'm not dissing you. yeah, yeah. I'm just... Yeah, yeah, go on.
Speaker: Right. Okay. This is you. You've got a record and the sleeve's falling apart. And then the inner sleeve's falling apart. And then the record that's inside is not actually the record, which is the same as the sleeve. It's the sleeve. Yeah. So it's a completely different record. So you have to panic about trying to find something else. More exciting in that way. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And you've got paint on your hands and you get paint on the sleeve and you get the record out. You sort of like smear paint all over the vinyl and then you get your record and there's like, it looks like you've shaved a sheep with your stylus and you sort like put it on the, on the paint and it just plays and it's just like a piece of shit. The thing is records are very expensive at the moment. I want ones that I can listen to yeah for as long as humanly possible.
Speaker: Yeah. They are so expensive at the moment. Yeah, yeah. So I don't just go, I'm going to buy a record. i'm going to buy that record. I'm going to try that. You have to so like be very careful about the records you buy. And I look after them. I get it. But it's like it is like the fetish it is the fetishization of the object. i I'm not, though, am I? No, it absolutely it is. You're talking about some music, right? But like it's the object that is a precious thing, right? And you make a collection of them. And that's fine, right? But it's what it is. It's like it's it's making something special, which is the secondary thing. The actual music is the special thing. You're talking about the the delivery device, right?
Speaker: Anyway, I'm not saying you wrong. I'm just saying i'm ah um i get i get very annoyed about the fact that all of my records jump. And I sometimes wish i was you, but can't change who you are, man.
Speaker: No, you can't. You see, what I like about records is is the inconvenience and the expense. Exactly. Great. great I preferred it when I just used to tape all of my stuff off you.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. And that's the thing that you did very cleverly. When I was 13, said... we had this album, The Queen is Dead, by the Smiths. And then he planted a seed. yeah And then we got into B-52s and you kind of went, ooh, I wonder where the albums go. i You know, I had all the things to spend money on.
Speaker: You know. Oh, God. Tabs and alcohol. Anyway, right. Advert time. Advert time.
Speaker: There's no to this train, spotted lark. There's one. There's another. nowday no doubt you must tell bossum must big noting him st yeah Not the licensed buffet. its perfect presentation of our famous Banksy's beer. Oh, a bath platform. It's a boat.
Speaker: Loddy, you saved the day. How can we ever repay you? You can save your bankses. I'll have a point of bankses. Did that make any sense to you whatsoever? No, but it was definitely Slade. It was definitely Slade. It was Noddy Holder of the band Slade in an advert for Banks as Bitter. I think you can still get Banks as Bitter.
Speaker: I'm sure you can. Steve, um ah I want to make it up to you. Choose a song. I've already chosen a song. i was i was so upset with you. I've chosen a song that is a Jimmy Dorito. It is Johnny Domino song.
Speaker: one we haven't played before and it's called rock me harder faster now mama see what's what's what kind of what kind of music is this steve where are we coming from with this what was the vision for this well well the vision the first lot of songs we recorded asked jimmy dorito it was a wet bank holiday we wrote a list of eight songs we wrote and recorded them and four hours and you you can tell we didn't sort of like belabor them or particularly kill ourselves trying to get them perfect and this is one we just had the title and we wrote a song that sounds like this
Speaker: minute man Huh?
Speaker: You look so fine, you taste like wine Your legs are strong, your hair is long You look so fine, you taste like wine Your legs are long, my head is gone Rock me harder, Mammazita Rock me longer, make it laster Rock harder, Mammazita Don't ever tear yourself away
Speaker: There you go. Some juvenalia from the Johnny Domino files there. Yeah. Bit Minuteman. It was a bit Minuteman. And at that point, we had definitely not heard. Well, I certainly hadn't heard the Minuteman at that point. I don't know if you you might have heard some fire hose when you were university. Yeah, but I don't know. a We were going for, I don't know what we were going for there. i don't think think I think I was trying to go Steve, do something that sounds a bit Mexican.
Speaker: A bit Mexican, and a bit sort of like Pixies-ish. yeah But so I remember recording that guitar bit was was really hard. I've never had to move my arm up and down so many times in my life.
Speaker: Now, is that true, Colin? Is that true, Colin? It was a thing, and we had fun. We did have fun. We did have fun. And that's what this podcast is all about, isn't it, Stephen? It's about fun. Yes. And I would just like to say, at this point in the podcast, remember, listener, if you want to get involved in the this old Johnny Domino podcast,
Speaker: We are open to submissions. Send us some stuff. Send some stuff for the Eternal Halls of 4-Track Gods, where we play stuff from your youth, from things that you recorded a long time ago, maybe on a tape deck, maybe on a 4-Track.
Speaker: You can send us some stuff that you're doing now, that you know you're kind of like rediscovering your creativity and your dotage. Join us in this wonderful journey.
Speaker: Get involved that we are on. What have we learned today? What have we learned today? That I am a freak who looks after his records. Yeah, I'm rude. I'm i'm a bit rude to MJ Hibbert. I was a bit mean to MJ Hibbert.
Speaker: Plants and Apologies were young. ah Younger and better than us. Younger and way better than us. And we like the Minutemen. Esteban is still doing the good stuff on the four track. He's still good.
Speaker: And PRF Monthly Tribute series continues apace. and And we've been recording some jingles and having fun, haven't we? We have. You probably have heard some of them.
Speaker: Yeah, possibly. So who's the best singer? Who's the best singer? Right. I mean, generally. What? Are you talking about like my best singer? Who's the best singer for you, man? That's just that's the question. Who's the best singer? For me, it's, ah I love Tom Waits. I love Tom Waits. Oh yeah, man.
Speaker: I like his later period where he sounds like he's having an argument with a trash can in a tip. That's what the Tom Waits that I like. She's gonna be there.
Speaker: That one. Yeah, especially because he coughs up a lung at the end of that song. Yeah, that one, right? Mm-hmm. All right, so he's the he's the best singer. He is for me. Yeah. What about you? Well, earlier in the episode, it was Lawrence of the band Felt.
Speaker: But now... Oh, you changed your mind. As my butterfly brain flies in a different direction, my favourite singers, it's the people who recorded the song Duke of Earl, the first version. A band called the Duke A's and the lead singer, Gene Chandler.
Speaker: The song Duke of Earl. Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl. That one. I've been listening to the lot doo-wop, man. Good stuff. It's been my doo-wop summer.
Speaker: And Gene Chandler's vocals on Duke of Earl are exquisite. I've also been enjoying key texts like Coney Island Baby by The Excellence and I Wonder Why by Dion and the Belmonts.
Speaker: I just love a bit doo-wop. Can you remember this one of Dad's B-sides, one of his singles? It's the B-side of Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee. Pretty Little Angel Eyes. The B-side is called Gee How I Wish You Were Here. That is an astonishing piece of work. Can we have a bit of a listen to some of it?
Speaker: Can we just play a snippet? Gee, gee, gee, gee,
Speaker: To love me Angie How I miss you tonight
Speaker: And also there's another one which we used to listen to in the back of friend of the podcast, our mate Dick, Dickie Rock. And we used to listen to it in his Land Rover, probably on a tape that I did for him. It was by a band called the Hollywood Flames.
Speaker: It was a song called Tabarin. Oh, that's a good one as well. That's a great one. You're giving me some more great songs to add to my Do What playlist. Go for it, man. Have those. yeah So for me, at this moment, the best singer is anyone doing Do What, basically. it's basic Especially the bass the bass man.
Speaker: Very nice. Anyway, are we going to go? is that it are we going leave it? Have we done enough recording for today? That that seems perfectly adequate. Yeah, all right. Well, you know what? We'll we'll be back.
Speaker: Yes, we'll do it sooner. In a few weeks' time. Get involved. Send us some stuff. We might get off our arses and actually do some stuff on social media at some point and actually try and grow this podcast. But at the moment, we're carrying on. We've got loads of stuff to talk about. Join us again on the This Our Johnny Domino podcast where me and Steve will do some more stuff.
Speaker: We love you very much. Goodbye. Bye-bye.
Speaker: Don't ever tear yourself away
