Biding time till I write up the next Halloween Horror Fest movie review, here’s five songs that stood out last week:
Bring Your Own Vinyl Day
Civic Hall, Connah’s Quay
Saturday 24th September 2016
It’s been a while since I wrote about a Bring Your Own Vinyl Night. What with holidays and other commitments, the Mold event has been a no go for me recently. Not to worry though – the fine people at VOD Music ecord fairs would come to the rescue!
The record fair organised in Connah’s Quay Civic Hall also hosted Halcyon Dreams, organisers of the very fine Bring Your Own Vinyl events. And this time, what with the timing of the record fair, this would be a day time event.
As I was at a record fair, I didn’t bring along any vinyl from my collection at home to play. Instead I decided to wing it and just spin a few discs that I bought on the day. This could be risky as I wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with the tracks.
I spent a long time perusing the various record stalls and making several purchases. Whilst this was going on, the Halcyon Dreams decks were spinning all manner of wondrous delights.
Eventually I took my place at the turn tables, and made a few quick decisions on what to play.
Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere
My first problem was following a 12″ of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Propellerheads. An absolute killer track. I went for “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads, from their “Little Creatures” LP. I’d been after some Talking Heads for a while, and this only cost me £3 for a nice copy. Great song – and I think I got away with the mix! The vocals at the start were a nice contrast, and soon one or two people seemed to be enjoying it. 
Next there was a brief gap in my set, as one of the dealers asked us to play one of his singles for a potential buyer. I think it was a group called The Jackson Sisters; early 70’s rare soul. The cost? £85. But I can attest to the fact that it was DAMN fine track: funky, danceable groove – if only I had the money myself!
Eddie Cochran – C’mon Everybody
I followed up the 85 quid 7″ single with one that cost me 50p. It was a re-issue from 1988 of the rockabilly classic, “C’mon Everybody” by Eddie Cochran. I thought this would add some variety to my planned set, in style and age. I remember becoming familiar with this song from the Sid Vicious cover, however Eddie’s version is superior. It’s a stone cold classic. I do love these 1980’s jean commercial promotional tie-ins, don’t you? Classic song for next to nowt.
Stormtroopers of Death – Kill Yourself
And so, how should I conclude the set? With a bit of egging on, I knew it had to be S.O.D. I’d just picked this up for a nice price – most expensive purchase of the day, but worth it – as it was on my vinyl wish list. Nasty thrash metal/hardcore with horrid lyrics (that I understand are a joke) – this Anthrax off shoot rounded off the set in scuzzy style. It was a bit of a shock, anyway.
So there you have it – a great day’s record buying and some awesome tracks. I’m already looking forward to the next Bring Your Own Vinyl Night!
You can check out the Halcyon Days blogspot here.
The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
The VOD Music website is here.
Well then, I missed a week out on this fascinating weekly musical review. And this latest edition is late. Oh well – this isn’t about sticking to rules and regularity. It’s all about the joy – and freedom – of music.
Here’s five songs from last week that resonated:
Dozens of songs listened to, here are five that stood out:
It’s been a long while since I shared a random playlist with you.
I recently went out for a skate, split between riding my Mindless longboard and spending some time on a classic old school Santa Cruz Street Creep. Whilst skating around, I switched the iPod onto shuffle and these are the tunes I heard.
Not a bad selection by the iPod there.
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 8th April 2016
Got a record collection? Want to spin those discs on a nice turntable for an appreciative bunch of vinyl enthusiasts? The Bring Your Own Vinyl Night is for you!
Held monthly in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, North Wales, this event goes from strength to strength. The idea is simple: each participant gets 15 minutes to play whatever records they want. That’s vinyl only; no CDs, MP3s, cassettes or whatever else. Just have a beer and enjoy the music.
My pal Adam was back on the decks tonight, and was the first of our crew to step up. He played a great set of songs from movies, that went something like this:
A special prize if you can name the films these songs are from! A great set from Adam, I think one of his strongest. In particular, I thought “Sleepwalk” was an exceptional track.
Then it was my turn:
Suicidal Tendencies – Possessed to Skate
Regular readers will know the story of my Suicidal records. Here’s a quick recap. Going back to the height of my skateboarding days in 1988 (or thereabouts), my friend Kelvin Bedford gave me the album “Join the Army” by Suicidal Tendencies. A few years later, as a broke student, I sold that album and another ST record to my mate Graham. Now fast forward to the recent past, and although I had the CDs, I was kicking myself for not having the vinyl anymore. They were easy enough to buy off Discogs. However, sadly Kel had passed away a couple of years ago, so I thought it would be great to have the copy he originally gave me back. I contacted Graham, and he gave me the records for free. What a gentleman! I bought him a beer or two as a thank you.
Not so brief that recap, but now you have the background. I wanted to play a track off the classic “Join the Army” record, as it was back in my collection, and this had to be it. Many fun memories of my old skateboarding days always come flooding back with this fast paced punk rock/metal hybrid. And I still listen to it when I skate nowadays (which isn’t often enough). “Possessed to Skate”. RAD.
Iggy & The Stooges – Gimme Danger
The next song is a favourite I was introduced to in my university days. I was already a fan of the early Stooges albums, but hadn’t heard “Raw Power”. It’s a superb record, full of barely restrained energy and chaos. “Gimme Danger” is a the second song on the album, lulling the listener in to a false sense of comfort after lead track “Search and Destroy” decimates your speakers. “Gimme Danger” still has an air of menace, however – a sense that anything can, and will, go wrong. Decadent and beautiful, a masterpiece.
Chris Isaak – Wicked Game
And so on to Chris Isaak. I have the “Wicked Game” album on CD, so I can regularly bask in the warmth of Isaak’s voice and imagine desert roads, truck stops, motels and neon lights. This version is on a 7″ single that Greeny gave me for Christmas, and I’m so glad I have it. Timeless Americana that always carries a hint of David Lynch, thanks to the song being included in “Wild at Heart”. I usually drunkenly sing along to this at 2am. I’ve also attempted “Wicked Game” at Karaoke a couple of times; I think I got away with it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Sexy Mexican Maid
One of my favourite RHCP songs ever, you can find this sensual little number on the fantastic “Mother’s Milk” record. It’s a slow funky groove that deserves to be heard more often, from one of their greatest albums. “Sexy Mexican Maid” shows the Chili Peppers exploring their sound and developing towards “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”, whilst still happy to languish with their sexually charged lyrics.
So last up was Ben the Swede, who recently moved house and now had access to his full vinyl collection. The theme was bass, of different types:
And there you have it: another great night with some great songs and some very cool people.There were some killer tracks from PIL, Perrey & Kingsley, Elvis Costello and more. You can see the full playlist on the Halcyon Dreams blog here.
Thanks all – looking forward to the next Vinyl Night!
You can listen to this Bring Your Own Vinyl Night (and previous ones, too) on the Mixcloud page here.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
Thanks Graham!
RIP Kelvin Bedford
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 26th February 2016
Welcome back to the Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales! Get yourself a pint and make yourself comfortable, ‘cos you know what time it is. That’s right, it’s Bring Your Own Vinyl Night again!
Remember the rules: there’s a fifteen minute slot for each person; play whatever you like, so long as it’s vinyl.
Only Greeny and myself made it this time – Adam and Ben the Swede were both unavailable. No theme for my set this time, just a few songs I really had a yearning to play…
Ennio Morricone – The Ecstasy of Gold
This song is of course from the soundtrack for the classic Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. My version came from an album called “This is Ennio Morricone”. You don’t need me to tell you how great that film is. And Morricone’s soundtrack is stylish and ground breaking. In particular, this track (which plays while Eli Wallach’s character runs frenziedly through a Civil War graveyard) is sheer class. It builds magnificently and captivates the listener. A bit over the top, I admit, as the first song in my set – but never let it be said that Platinum Al doesn’t do drama.
Ramones – Surfin’ Bird
If I was going to recommend a Ramones album for a novice to start their education of NYC’s finest, I’d go for “Rocket to Russia”. I thought that this frenetic cover of the Trashmen’s surf rock gem would be a suitable place to go, after the majesty of the last track. I love the Ramones and this song was a ton of fun to play.
Soundgarden – Fresh Tendrils
This song, from the simply fantastic “Superunknown” album, is probably my favourite Soundgarden song ever. And I’m a bit of a Soundgarden nerd – I’ve collected tons of their stuff. Rather than play a more obvious, well known song, I decided to go with my top tune. “Fresh Tendrils” has an epic, classic rock sound that I love. No idea what Chris is singing about, however. The version I played was from the “Spoonman” 12″ single (on clear vinyl!).
Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues
Originally I was going to play a Stooges song, but then I remembered that 26th February was Johnny Cash’s birthday. So I decided to play a song by the Man in Black. “Folsom Prison Blues” is a legendary track, one of Cash’s best. And I’ve already stated how big a hero this guy was to me. The album this came from – “Original Golden Hits Volume 1” – was my Gran’s. After she passed away, it was given to me. I’d heard a lot from bands I was into how Cash was an inspiration, so I checked the record out. I loved it, and my Johnny Cash fandom was born. The first Cash record I heard, but not the last!
That’s my list for the night. There were may great songs played through out the evening, though. Budgie! Hawkwind! Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy! Anthrax! Check the link below for the complete list.
Wax is back – get spinning those tracks! Thanks for a great night!
I’d also like to thank my old mate Graham, who turned up with a couple of Suicidal Tendencies records for me. You see, I’d sold these two exact albums to Graham some twenty years ago, when I was a broke student. Although I could’ve tracked the records down on eBay, I decided to message Graham and see if he’d sell them back to me (if he still had them). The reason being that one album, the awesome “Join the Army”, had been given to me when I was 15 by my friend Kelvin Bedford, who I used to skateboard with every day. Sadly, Kel passed away a couple of years ago. So it was cool to get that actual copy back in my record collection, as a nice memory. It even had the same plastic protective sheet over the album – and the selotape strip I patched up the inner sleeve with many, many years ago! Graham gave me both records for free – so I bought him a pint or two. Thank you!
The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.
The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 4th December 2015
Unlike the last event, I didn’t have a theme for Bring Your Own Vinyl Night this time around. Just some tunes I fancied playing. I hadn’t even decided exactly what they would be till the show was on.
For anyone still uninitiated, the night is hosted in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, North Wales. There are two turntables and each participant gets to play 15 minutes of whatever music they want, vinyl only.
I had myself a couple of beers and rattled out this selection:
Motorhead – Ace of Spades
When you buy your first Motorhead album, you know you’ve entered the world of grown up music. Big, nasty unapologetic rocking grown up music. A song that never gets old, I was introduced to “Ace of Spades” when the band performed it on the classic “University Challenge” episode of The Young Ones. It’s just a non-stop, joyous racket that simply will not stop or slow down for anyone. Absolute perfection. I played this in memory of drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, who sadly passed away recently.
The Vapors – Turning Japanese
A New Wave/Punk Rock classic, I was donated the brilliant “Turning Japanese” by a friend. Thank you, Simon. It was supposed to be part of a tribute set that I’m still working on. It was going to be hard to follow up the adrenaline rush of the previous song, The Vapors pulled it off here though. A great power pop song that kept the pace of the set nicely.
Dinosaur Jr. – Freak Scene
A slight fast forward to the late 1980’s for this next track. The first track on Dinosaur Jr.’s album “Bug”, this track nicely covers the appeal of early American alternative rock. Born out of punk and hardcore, with one foot in old Black Sabbath and one in jangly pop; Dinosaur Jr. constantly delight. Reminds me of my skateboarding youth.
Beastie Boys – Sabotage
I couldn’t decide which track to play last, so I let the audience choose the album. The Beastie Boys “Ill Communication” won hands down, and I chose “Sabotage” as the track to play. Another unrelenting monster of a song, “Sabotage” has a funky groove delivered with a rocking style. Again, a song I never tire of. Plus the Spike Jonze video, with it’s 70’s cop show homage, is a work of genius. It’s been over twenty years and I still want to dress up and play Sabotage Cops for a day.
My buddy Adam strode up to the decks next, and delivered another fine set. It went something like this:
Four top songs from Adam there, the Queen track was a load of fun and had me doing my world renowned Freddie Mercury impression. It was nice to hear a modern song on vinyl too, with the Ronson/Mars number.
Great night, great songs – well done all on another fine evening’s entertainment. I’m currently stumped what to play next time. I’ll work on it.
The Halcyon Dreams blog is here, where you can find listed (very helpfully) all of the songs played on the night.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
Melvins + Big Business
Friday 9th October 2015
Gorilla, Manchester
I had been waiting for this for a long time. As a long time fan of the Melvins, it seems inexplicable that I’ve never seen them live before. But then I rarely travel to Manchester for gigs. 2015 has been the year of live music for Platinum Al; as such the planets aligned, the tickets were bought, the wheels were rolling towards the big city and it was on. Finally, I would witness the wonder of the Melvins.
And not just the Melvins – the support slot went to Big Business, a two piece of bass and drums in a similar mould to the mighty headliners. Of course, anyone who knows their Black Flag from their Black Sabbath will tell you that Jared and Coady of this band also perform with Buzz and Dale to create the steaming sonic soup with lumpy riff croutons that is the Melvins. 
The Big Business set was extremely impressive in it’s own right. As I said, the band is just bass and drums, yet the almighty noise they make is astounding for a two piece. They play a solid set that could’ve been a main course of the evening’s entertainment. Big grooves, pounding drums and awesome sound scapes create a fine appetiser.
Gorilla in Manchester is some sort of restaurant/bar thing, with a stage at the back for live shows. It’s seems more in scale with stand up comedy gigs, but despite the modest size it’s a great place to see the band – close up, good views and sound. The beer is a bit expensive, but I got a Melvins (official!) t-shirt for a tenner! Yeah!!!
So anyway, the Melvins arrive on stage as a four piece – Buzz, Dale, Jared and Coady – and we’re off. It’s a gig unlike any I’ve experienced ever before. There’s no breaks; no chat with the audience; no introducing the songs – the band just plough through their catalogue of fantastic songs and drag the audience along with them. The audience follow willingly, of course – and the band don’t ignore us – it’s a unique unspoken agreement that we’re all along for a hell of a musical journey.
The music is heavy, sludgy, intense – exactly what I expected and wanted. There are several songs from newer albums (“The Water Glass”, “Evil New War God” – both superb). Older classics like “Sweet Willy Rollbar” and “It’s Shoved” are given a welcome play too. The absolute high light for me though is “Civilised Worm” – what a riff!
The power of the riff is what the Melvins are all about. Buzz’s guitar is astoundingly heavy, yet also shines with artistic flourishes and strange sounds to keep the listener guessing. The bass is relentless yet groovy, hammering home the riffs. Add dual drummers and ears were ringing for days.
It was a truly intense live experience and one I’m really glad I saw. Unlike anything else and worthy of the hype, the Melvins are a unique band and I love them.
Did I mention I got a t-shirt for a tenner??!!
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Queen’s Head, Mold
Friday 2nd October 2015
For this month’s Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, I decided to have a theme for my set. Although it was only early in the month of October, I decided to opt for a Halloween theme. My music choices would have a horror element, or something dark and macabre.
If you’re not familiar with vinyl night, here’s the basic outline:
Adam was first up tonight, his set list went as follows:
Then it was my turn…
Bobby “Boris” PIckett and the Crypt-Kickers – Monster Mash
What better way to start than with this ghoulish classic? I found this album a few months ago in a charity shop, and couldn’t believe my luck. It was only a couple of quid, and worth the investment even though I don’t usually spend more than a pound! This is of course the sixties gem that sound checks various monsters, with Pickett impersonating Karloff (and Lugosi too). It’s great fun and essential for any Halloween party!
The Damned – Nasty
The first time I ever heard the Damned was when “Eloise” got to number 3 in the charts. The second time was this fast paced, tongue in cheek ode to horror movies, on the brilliant Young Ones horror spoof episode “Nasty”. The Damned appear and play this song in the Young Ones’ kitchen. I was hooked straight away, saved up some money and bought an album with both tracks on it. Given the exposure this song had, it constantly amazes me that “Nasty” was relegated to a B-side and hardly ever shows up on Damned compilation albums. I’ve seen the band live more times than any other, but only saw this song performed for the first time a few weeks ago! Anyway, the Damned are another essential for a Halloween theme. Still a great song.
Danzig – Sistinas
Although not a horror related song as such, I couldn’t resist the chance to play something by the Dark Lord of rock himself, Danzig. Instead of a more obvious bone rattling heavy rock number, I chose this incredible ballad that was hidden away on Danzig III: How the Gods Kill. Glenn shows off his great vocal abilities here on a song that is more Roy Orbison than Black Sabbath. Appropriately dark and wind swept, this is a morose beauty of a song.
The Misfits – Vampira
To be honest, I was spoiled for choices for a horror theme, there are tons of songs I could’ve played. Despite risking a Glenn Danzig overdose, I just had to spin a Misfits song. This band took the horror punk template established by the Damned, the Ramones and the Cramps and ran with it, off into a creepy cemetery populated by every 1950’s B-movie monster ever. “Walk Among Us” is one of my favourite albums ever, and this short sharp song dedicated to proto Goth babe Vampira is one of their best.
So there you have it – another triumphant evening for Bring Your Own Vinyl Night. There were old songs, new songs, obscure and obvious songs. There’s always something to make you go away and research another band, that’s the beauty of these nights. My personal favourite was hearing “Gut Feeling” by Devo! Already looking forward to the next one. A theme? We’ll see…
The Halcyon Dreams blog is here, where you can find listed (very helpfully) all of the songs played on the night.
The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.
Platinum Al's Virtual Hot Tub 