40 pints of wallop a day
Will keep away the quacks
Its only eight pence hapenny
And one and six in tax
1. Come in from the cold. I've been waiting for you. It's been a long slog of a week so I've been looking forward to this weekend where I've got some more tracks, new and old to play and yes... I think you'll like them... so grab your drink of choice and lets do it once again for this, our twenty ninth Horse & Feather Barfly Session. This week we celebrated Bonfire night but also my mum's birthday too so we'll honour both these occasions as the night goes on. Now Bonfire night has long been one of my favourite times of the year. I guess this goes back to being a kid knocking on people's doors collecting their unwanted shit (from mattresses to wooden chairs) to put on our DIY bonfire. If we were lucky enough to keep our bonfire in tact for the big night (rival groups of kids loved setting other folks bonny's alight to sabotage their fun) we'd have a decent crowd out by 8pm and somehow, by hook or by crook, a few cans of Kestrel and maybe a bottle of Woodpecker or QC sherry would appear for us to share well out of sight from the pesky adults. I still have the scar on the palm of my hand from when a firework blew up before I'd let go of it but I wouldn't change those days for a single minute. Here's tonight's first track to get us started and it's by the Glasgow musician Gerry Cinnamon who the lads in our garage workshop have been listening to a lot lately (and loudly.) Here is Mr Cinnamon with his take on his own song.
"In Scotland a bonny is slang for bonfire but the song isn’t to be taken literally it’s not about an actual bonfire. "The Bonny"’s just a metaphor for dreaming something into existence and building it bigger, and even if you don’t care enough about yourself to do it for your own good, maybe try doing it for the people you love. When I was a wee guy I predicted a lot of the stuff that’s happened in the last few years. I told my pals all this shit was going to happen before I could even afford a proper guitar. They thought I was mental. But for some reason I was daft enough to hold on to the ridiculous dream. And here we are, Bonny’s blazing. The sad part you need to learn to accept is that the bigger your bonny gets the more the usual suspects try and piss on it. But if you build it big enough there’s no cunt getting near it."
1. Gerry Cinnamon
The Bonny
2. If there was a song I could use as a feeling to describe these Barfly Sessions and what they are about, I think I'd probably choose this by British jazz saxophonist Alabaster DePlume. It works for pretty much any occasion you like, be it painting your skirting boards or washing the dishes from your Sunday roast but for simply daydreaming out of your window there isn't much else better to take you to wherever your little mind wants to go to. Just over 2 minutes of genius musical perfection. Whisky Story Time is our next piece of music tonight.
2. Alabaster DePlume
Whisky Story Time
3. In many ways, I'm very much a musical scavenger. Always with one ear open and on the hunt for new sounds. When I hear something I like, I sniff and dig around it like a metal detectorist hoping he's unearthed not just one shiny coin but maybe a hoard of them. This was exactly the case last week when I was watching TV with the wife. The song "Tut Tut Tut Tut" came on and I was transfixed. A little bit of my own detective work found the singer was Gillian Hills who released a number of French albums in the 60's. I was instantly hooked and I'm currently in the process of hunting these old albums down. For this session though, I've added the song we heard on our tellybox. C'est magnifique.
3. Gillian Hills
Tut Tut Tut Tut
4. This is another song that I only fell upon quite recently but it's been out a couple of years now. It's another tale of a forgotten great being rediscovered. Ural Thomas was almost 80 when this album was put together and until this point he'd pretty much packed away his singing jacket until a Portland record label re-released some of his old 60's and 70's singles which brought about some local attention as word got round. It was enough for Ural Thomas to be brought out of retirement and to create a backing band. They then delivered an album called The Right Time from which this song is taken. Here. See what you think of this.
4. Ural Thomas & The Pain
Smouldering Fire
5. Definition of Sound
Moira Jean's Cafe
6. A few weeks back, an old pal of mine came round to The Horse & Feather for a couple of hours and we sat outside by the fire talking about this and talking about that. He informed me he'd been listening to Arcade Fire lately so I told him to watch this space as they could well appear on a future Barfly Session. Well tonight Matthew, that time is now upon us. This one's for you. There are a few thought provoking lyrics in this track but "Every song that I've ever heard is playing at the same time" is a line that encapsulates the non-stop chaos of current times. Where is the off switch, if only for a brief moment?
6. Arcade Fire
Everything Now
7. Our night is almost done but we've got one last song to play before we turn the lights off. I always think of my lovely mum when I hear this. I couldn't even begin to count how many times she has come to my rescue. For tending to my cuts and bruises. For picking me up from places I probably shouldn't have been. For hugs. Forty one years of it now. "You were there. Puncture repair." Well you've always been there Mum, even when I've been miles and miles away and I love you for it. Thank you for everything. Happy Birthday. Goodnight everybody and see you next time.
7. Elbow
Puncture Repair
