I adore The Bug Club. The whole album is back to back bangers interspersed with cute and fun little spoken word tracks that build a whole lot of character. Itās at points touching, the punchy and exuberant, then reflective and sincere. It shouldnāt be missed, in my opinion.
Jan 16, 2025
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Way back when this first came out in the Big 80s, I learned "The Bugle Sounds Again" for the little acoustic set my dumb band did during our sets, a smoke break for the rhythm section. (It's gorgeous and not the easiest guitar part ever; I can't imagine actually playing AND singing it).
My then-roommate called it "dorm room music" -- his take was that Scotland's Aztec Camera were for students, bedsit people, moody folks with lots of extra time on their hands.
I suspect Roddy Frame would have appreciated hearing his cerebral-yet-shiny indie-pop music described that way.
The man also did a killer (totally straight-faced) version of Van Halen's "Jump" that must be heard to be believed.
Jan 29, 2025
If you didnāt grow up in Canada itās likely youāve never heard of this Band.
If you did, like me, well you might have memories of your parents playing their 1980 debut album āCognac & Bolongaā on repeat and have formed a deep nostalgic tie to that LP cover bizarrely adorned with mustard dripped stacks of bologna.
Fronted by former magazine cartoonist Doug Bennett - an everyman with the appeal of a quirky used car salesman and a distinct golden voice - they had something truly special going on that sadly went under the radar outside of the great white north.
Doug And The Slugs have an overall style
thatās hard pin down, itās rock but itās playful pop, itās soulful, complex and at times itās even a little bit influenced by ska and reggae but not in the most obvious of ways.
Their music videos were always comedic and quirky and really well thought out. They reminded me a bit of monty python sketches. A blue collar guy at work gutting fish, an trip through classic tv shows, a gang of sci-fi space rangers sticking it to the music corporation and team of on call sex therapists for when you need help āmakinā it workā
As silly as they could be they had a poetic depth evident on tracks like āDangerousā and āPartly From Pressureā - a song Iāll quote to close off my ramblingsā¦
āTell me another tale
Of how a man succeeds
I know the way he fails
You're on your way to what it means
Partly from pressure
Feelings undefined
Don't follow me you'll throw it all away..ā
May 26, 2025
Beautiful Scottish jangle pop album from the 1980s. āI Kiss the Flower in Bloomā is mesmerizing. Recommended if you like The Sundays, The Laās, Teenage Fanclub, etc.
Apr 30, 2025
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No screen Sundays. If I want to listen to music its CDs or radio. If I want to watch a movie, no I donāt. If I want to see a friend, I will make plans with them on Friday or Saturday to meet up. As a result, I read more, write more, and sit with questions like ādid Citizen Kaneās 50 year winning streak in the Sight and Sound critics choice survey end in 2012 or 2022? When did Stephen Merritt come out? Whats the etymology of Whitsun?ā
This is something that I have practiced off and on for many years but Iāve been doing it every week since December and I love the way that it just allows me one day of true freedom and rest.
Jan 22, 2025
Mar 3, 2025
My calendar this year has 52 of these week at a glance pages but I donāt think that way. So, I've been inspired by Ross Gayās Book of Delighs to start recording the little moments and sensations that bring me joy throughout the day. An analog pi.fyi, if you will.
heres some of what I have so far:
- Waking up to the sound of my upstairs neighborās footstep. It sounded nostalgic. Felt like company.
- Strawberry jam
- feeling tender for strangers: their lips, nail colors, their small wrists. Thinking of all the lives we hold gently.
- A young girl bought an LP at the bookstore just before I left. She stroked its cover with love
- Green tiles āthe mint shade always makes me think of Jancie
- Charlieās little bop and punch dancing to some German language punk
- lunch with Katherine, curry Brussels sprouts
- small talk at the photo studio. The photographer's brother was named after their dad, stole his identity, bought jet skis.
Jan 13, 2025