Redneck town, two dogs in a sack
You burn it all down and it all grows back
Stars in the night, their light don't lie
I'll see you up there
When they fall from the sky
1. Even by current standards, this week has been pretty uneventful. Lacklustre being the best way to describe it. A lively discussion at work about which lettuce is the best lettuce was (sad to say) one of the highlights of the last 7 days. Yeppers, it's been that bad. Romaine lettuce got the vote though just in case you were wondering. Anyhow, we've reached our favourite time and just like each weekend from the previous 43 weeks (effin heck!) The Horse & Feather is serving up a hearty musical stew. Truth be told, I've been in a traffic jam tonight and I put most of the tracks you'll hear together whilst crawling down the M53 motorway so it was daylight when I left work and pitch black by the time I got home. I'll play this Foals song first as it pretty much encapsulates the mood I was in and it played well a couple of hours ago so I think it will serve us just fine. I shall try and add a little more colour. For those a bit further afield (hello my Hong Kong friends) the M53 runs alongside The River Mersey and drops into Ellesmere Port which has a heavy industrial landscape (oil refineries, manufacturing plants etc etc.) I listened to this whilst taking in this weird view of acres of distant yellow lights and furnace flames in the mist. The song seems to be about being somewhere you don't want to be. It sounds weary and spent. I just wanted to get home.
1. Foals
London Thunder
2. I've toyed with playing a Jim Sullivan track on our Barfly Sessions before but for one reason or another decided against it. Tonight I thought we should. I played this earlier tnight in the car and it convinced me that this track easily merited a place on this evenings listings. Very mysterious circumstances surround Jim Sullivan. He disappeared from Santa Rosa, New Mexico in 1975. Some even say he may have even been abducted by aliens!!! His body was never discovered and others have wondered if he'd faked his death to begin a new life somewhere else. He had just two albums to his name at the time of his vanishing but years later, his work began to get discovered by more and more people. It clearly takes time to build up a cult following so there's still hope for this blog yet. Jim if you are out there somewhere, The Horse & Feather salutes you.
2. Jim Sullivan
U.F.O
3. Perhaps you stumbled into The Horse & Feather with a crazy assumption that you are gonna hear some 60's African Jazz. Well let me be the first to congratulate you as that's exactly what we're going to play next. Jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela released this in 1969. A time that was a hotbed of political unrest. It is a giant of a record amidst such tensions and I would very much recommend heading deep into these jazz waters. There is much to discover.
3. Hugh Masekela
Riot
4. The Fox is back with us this week and as per normal (whatever that is) he has sent us his song recommendation for track 5. I kind of had Stelfox in mind with my own song choice here though. The track is by an Australian singer called Carla Geneve and hasn't been out for a great length of time but I was struck by the video which showed her playing a guitar in her bedroom and I know The Fox will testify to doing the same for many years before becoming quite the accomplished musician. The lyrics also mention mixing different tablets with alcohol and I do recall a drinking session with The Fox in Manchester that went long into the early hours of the night. The Fox prescribed Codeine to knock the hangover into touch and the next day, in a blissed out state, we floated through Manchester visiting museums and exhibitions. I mark that down as a good day Fox.
4. Carla Geneve
The Right Reasons
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5. So here we are with The Fox's choice for us this week and it's a Clapton classic cover of J.J Cale's "Cocaine." Clapton released this in 1977 and it's everything you'd expect of him. Cream last week. Clapton this week. Looking forward to seeing where you take us next week my bushy tailed partner-in-crime.
5. Eric Clapton
Cocaine
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6. We seem to have veered towards a theme of narcotics so I'll play this and then we'll head back to steadier ground so we can get home safely. Let me tell you about William S. Burroughs. He was an acclaimed writer during the 1940's but was a notorious addict. At a gathering of friends in 1951, Mr Burroughs wanted to demonstrate his prowess with his revolver. In a William Tell style stunt, his partner Joan Vollmer allegedly placed a glass (not an apple) on top of her head and Mr Burroughs took aim... badly... and killed her with a bullet to the forehead. This is your tenuous link to our sixth song tonight which comes from the Scottish band Chvrches. We haven't had too much in the way of synth pop in here so why not? It's a truly great record. I'm a massive fan of unique voices and Lauren Mayberry sure has one of those. Here's to Glasgow.
6. Chvrches
Gun
7. We'll finish with this and you may recognise the track from the TV show which shares it's name. Did I mention I watched the Netflix film The Dig very recently? Maybe I didn't. Anyways, it's a quite brilliant film about the true story of how the Anglo Saxon treasure hoard of Sutton Hoo was found. In a strange coincidence (at least I think it is) the singer of this song plays a soldier in this very film. Well worth checking out. Back to the song itself though, it's a nice way to close off this session. Got that nostalgic and sentimental feeling about it which always hits home after a few drinks. "There's a place, follow me/Where a love lost at sea/Is waiting for you." So that's yet another week done. Blessings and thanks for stopping by friends. Musical therapy. Yes I think so. That's what we're doing here. Mind how you go until next time. x
7. Johnny Flynn
Detectorists
