Saturday Shuffle 99

 

Given the unseasonably sunny weather we have been having recently why don't you join me for a 99  as we celebrate Saturday Shuffle 99.

Were Todd Snider to have a 99 his preferred venue would be From a Rooftop . It would be a pleasant treat to commemorate his Shuffle debut.

The Stray Cats have appeared here with Dave Edmunds and Brian Setzer has appeared in a solo capacity. This is the first time that they have appeared on the Shuffle in their own right. That's surely worth Strutting to.

The B 52's are no strangers to the Shuffle but it is the first time for Private Idaho 

Who will be shouting from the rooftops, strutting there stuff or marching next week when the Shuffle celebrates it's Centenary?

Todd Snider - From a Rooftop

Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut

B52's - Private Idaho

Radio Radio 2

 

After last week's best of British New Wave this week we head across the pond to catch up with some of our Americana friends. Whereas Britain has some national stations given the size of America that is not really feasible and there tends to be more local stations.

Jon Langford, for instance, extols the virtues of Nashville Radio whereas Dave Alvin is more of a Border Radio man. Steve Earle on the other hand is just happy with a Satellite Radio.

We will be twiddling with the frequencies again next Friday.

Jon Langford - Nashville Radio

Dave Alvin - Border Radio

Steve Earle -Satellite Radio

Blog Country 120 - Western Sahara

 

Not unlike Palestine there is a debate as to whether Western Sahara is a country or not..

It is a disputed territory with around 20% controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the other 80% occupied and administered by Morocco, Surprise ,surprise  Britain is sitting on the fence for this one as it does not recognize Western Sahara as a sovereign state, nor does it recognize Morocco's claim to the territory.

It popped up on my Blog stats so therefore it counts

For a more detailed account I refer you to Ernie the font of all things African.

Apologies Ernie if my selections are similar to yours but it was pretty hard to find stuff out there.

I do actually own one track courtesy of the Sahel Sounds Label Sampler 2. Here are El Wali with Long Live The Sahrawi Army

Next up I have Saint Levant with Sahrawi. Group Doueh feature at Ernie's place. Here they are accompanied by Cheveu with Tout Droit.

I conclude with Luali by Martir Luali and Nayim Allal with  Tiris.

There is every chance that I have got some of this wrong and have mortally offended our Western Saharan friends. If so I profusely apologize.

Hopeful the next one will be less controversial but I suspect that sourcing some music will be equally tricky 

El Wari - Long Live the Sahwari Army

Saint Levant - Sahrawi

Group Doueh & Cheveu - Tout Droit

Martir Luali - Luali

Nayim Alal - Tiris

Let's Dance

 

Seeing a picture on Bluesky from someone I follow of a few purchases including the above album and hearing the title track on the radio had me giving David Bowie's 1983 album Let's Dance a spin in it's entirety.

From 1983 it is his 15th studio album and as was often the case with the great man it was a considerable change in direction. Co-produced by Bowie and Nile Rodgers and featuring members of Chic and Stevie Ray Vaughan it has been described as  a post disco album.

It is quite possibly the first time that I have played it this Millennium but I recognised most if not all of the songs and I found myself singing along on occasions.

On June 28th 1983 he played the first ever stadium concert at Murrayfield in Edinburgh to promote this album with support from the Icicle Works and the Thompson Twins. The internet tells me that it was raining all day prior to Bowie coming on stage not that I noticed as I was in the pub for most of that time.

My memories of the day are therefore a bit blurred but I remember becoming separated from my pals, getting on a bus to Glasgow and seeing them from the window as we passed by.

Not his best album by any stretch of the imagination but it was good to hear the songs below again.

David Bowie -Modern Love

David Bowie -China Girl

David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

A Spanish Acquisition

 

A  few weeks ago I wrote about attending a recent gig with Dropkick as the lead act

One of the support acts were Star Trip from Valencia who have been described as the Spanish Teenage Fanclub.

They were excellent but unfortunately there was none of their merchandise for sale. Undeterred I headed to Bandcamp where their most recent album 2024's Velocidad  on Pretty Olivia was available for a very reasonable price. The postage was reasonable too and it was duly purchased.

It turned up the other day and has been on heavy rotation since. Yes, there are clear comparisons with the Fannies but lets face it that's no bad thing. It is a pretty short record but again that is no bad thing.

I have already shared this with Brian as I knew it would be right up his street and I thought I should also share it with you.

One from Cara A and one from Cara B I think. 

Star Trip - Velocidad

Star Trip - Algo Especial

Rose City Band at Stereo

 

Last Wednesday saw me braving the Glasgow heatwave and heading to the sweaty basement at Glasgow's Stereo to see Rose City Band.

I got there around 7.30 (supposed door opening time) to find the support band Sons of Sevilla already on. From Featherstone and led by brothers Henry and Rueben Smith they are now based in the mountains of Southern Spain.

Given the early start people were beginning to shuffle in and the band were met with indifference. This resulted in the band understandably perhaps going through the motions which was a shame as I thought they had some potential.

On the other hand Rose City Band were rapturously received. There was little interaction with the audience save for the occasional thank you. They just got on with the music. It was not easy to pick up the vocals but the musicianship was off the scale. Special mentions to Ripley Johnson on guitar and vocals, John Jeffrey on drums and Paul Hasenberg on keyboards. Plus it is always a pleasure to see a pedal steel guitar on stage.

They started early and so we were out before 10.00 which it pretty much unheard of. It was good though as it was extremely hot plus I got back in time for the football highlights.

A solid 9/10 and my gig of the year so far.- I've been to two! I have none scheduled so far but I doubt any I end up at would better this.

Sons of Sevilla - Driving North For Summer

Rose City Band - Open Roads

Rose City Band - Sunlight Daze

Bombastic Fantastic

 

We have been spending a lot of time at Mrs CC's mums recently. This means that we have been watching Emmerdale and Coronation Street for the first time in ages.

In a recent episode of Emmerdale a scene was featured involving a number of the cast participating in a Paintball game. To accompany this the song Cherry Bomb by The Runaways was blaring out much to my enjoyment.

Some Cherry songs I thought but a quick check  showed that I have already done this in August 2022.

Bombs it is then. In addition to The Runaways  I give you The Jam, The Clash and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Bombastic Fantastic indeed.

Hello Dad, Hello Mum ....

The Runaways - Cherry Bomb

The Jam - ' A' Bomb in Waldour Street

The Clash - Spanish Bombs

The Blind Boys of Alabama - Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb