65

 It's my birthday today.

I'm taking the day off!

Saturday Shuffle 154

 

Welcome to Saturday Shuffle 154.

We start with a young whipper snapper making his debut in this series. From the compilation Red Hot Rockabilly- 50 Hard Hitting Rockabilly Classics I give you Elvis Presley with Good Rockin' Tonight.

Compared to Elvis, Nadine Shah is a Saturday regular. Wasps Nest from her 2020 album Kitchen Sink is her third contribution to this series.

For our final act we go back to 1965 with another debutante namely Unit Four Plus Two with Concrete and Clay taken from Jon Savage's 1965 The Year The Sixties Exploded

Elvis Presley - Good Rockin' Tonight

Nadine Shah - Wasps Nest

Unit Four Plus Two - Concrete and Clay

Bellshill Bands - BMX Bandits

 

Welcome to my new Friday Series  Bellshill Bands

I'm pretty sure that somebody, somewhere has already done this and if so I apologise  if I've stepped on anyone's toes.

For a small town in North Lanarkshire Bellshill (population approx 20,000) has constantly punched above it 's weight when it comes to churning out Indie bands

The first band to feature are the BMX Bandits a band who have been active since 1985. During that period they have gone through a large number of band members (some of whom will feature here later) with Duglas T Stewart here being the core member and primary songwriter. He is a legendary figure on the Scottish independent music scene. You will see him at many a gig.

They were a band that I was aware of over the years but I didn't really know that much about them (if that makes sense).

It is primarily  through my Blogging chums and the likes of Big Gold Dreams - A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977- 1989 that I gradually became more familiar with them.

In 2021 Last Night From Glasgow re-released a copy of the band's 1991 album Star Wars and I saw them play at the Hug and Pint around then. It was the first, and as things stand the only piece of vinyl, I own by the band

They are quirky, a bit twee and well worth checking out.

Tune in next Friday for part two.

BMX Bandits - Kylie's Got a Crush on Us

BMX Bandits - Strawberry Sunday

BMX Bandits - That Summer Feeling

Blog Country 146 - Mauritania

 

Relatively speaking it was just a hop, skip and a jump from the last Blog Country Togo to today's Blog Country Mauritania - a mere 1864 KM

Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest..It is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world; 90% of its territory is in the Sahara desert.

As usual when it comes to Africa I am contractually obliged to refer you to Ernie's African Odyssey. I try not to step on his toes but on this occasion I may have grazed his little toe.

I very nearly started with Laura Beg who I have just discovered is actually from Mauritius as opposed to Mauritania. Clearly, you have to be careful while searching on Google

It looks as if Ahmedou Ahamed Lowla is definitely a Mauritanian. Indeed  he is one of the country's biggest stars. Performing in lavish weddings of Nouakchott with a troupe of percussionists, Ahmed's signature style is dynamic and ambitious, shredding over the keys with flourishes (like playing with his elbows and head!).Here he is with Bembara

There are plenty of clips on line of Bakha Tokha but precious little information about him. I'm reasonably sure (but not quite 100%) that he is Mauritanian. especially when the song Bakha Gambia Kota references another African country!

Daby Touré is a Mauritanian-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has built a career bridging African traditions with global sounds.  He grew up between Mauritania, Senegal, and France, later settling in Montreal. His offering today is Oma

Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba provide Moorish Music From Mauritania here Try saying that after a couple of pints. They have turned up at Ernie's place but not as part of the Odyssey. Art's Plume is today's offering.

We conclude with DJ Dhaker who Google describe as a music maker .He  is a self-taught producer and composer whose releases are popular throughout Mauritania with videos that have millions of views online some presumably referencing Desert Amapiano.

We are off to the Caribbean next time round

Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla - Bembara

Bakha Tokha - Bakha Gambia Kota

Daby Toure - Oma

Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba - Art's Plume

DJ Dhakar - Desert Amapiano

Just My Luck

 

I am finding it increasingly harder to pick up CDs in Charity Shops. So much so that my raison d'etre is increasingly under threat.

For example I visited a handful of charity shops in Clarkston, Troon and Prestwick recently and came away with nothing. As I pointed out recently I went through 500 plus CDs in Kinder Handl in Battlefield and came away with two. Two!

I'm blaming streaming and Spotify. Those that remain on the shelves tend to be Robbie Williams, the Corrs and any number of X Factor finalists

And yet very occasionally I'm in the right place at the right time and come away with a great haul. Trips to Debras in Shawlands and Marie Curie in Newton Stewart spring to mind. 

I'm trying to be more discerning due to space issues but it can be a bit soul destroying.

I think what I'm saying is that unless in the unlikely even that things improve there will be less and less posts of new charity purchases

Kim Richey - Just My Luck

Eddie Hinton - Hard Luck Guy

Jason & the Scorchers - Gettin' Nowhere Fast

Don't Cry For Me Argentina

 

Sunday night saw a victory for football versus anti-football in the World Cup Final with Spain triumphing over Argentina after a war of attrition.

Argentina were an absolute disgrace and the rest of the world surely rejoiced in their defeat. They did beat England though!

As an added bonus Trump, Infantino and Javier Milei will be well pissed off

Spain were worthy winners having conceded only one goal throughout the tournament which is an astonishing achievement.

They have reached an unprecedented streak of 38 matches unbeaten. The last team to beat them? Scotland of course!

To celebrate their magnificent achievement here are two songs by Spanish artists followed by some Spanish related songs

Star Trip - Velocidad

Hinds - Chili Town

Mink De Ville - Spanish Stroll

Ray Wylie Hubbard - The Knives of Spain

Eleanor McEvoy - He Never Spoke Spanish to Me

Cash Covered

 

I'm pretty sure that the Mojo CD Cash Covered  could not accurately be described  an Americana Compilation.

However I am pushing for 50 entries in this series ( this is 42) and there are a number of Americana artists contributing. as confirmed by the attached setlist

My blog, my rules

Michelle Shocked perhaps slightly pre-dated Americana but I think that I an justified in including her fantastic version of One Piece of Americana.

Were you to look up Americana in the dictionary the entry might simply read Steve Earle. Although Hardin Wouldn't Run  was written by Johnny himself it is easy to imagine Steve writing this or something similar

Willard Grant Conspiracy never came across as a particularly happy band so I Still Miss Someone is probably appropriate.

Again it is fairly easy to associate Robbie Fulks  with a song like Cry Cry Cry.

We may, or may not , return next week with number 43

Michelle Shocked - One Piece At a Time

Steve Earle -Hardin Wouldn't Run

Willard Grant Conspiracy - I Still Miss Someone

Robbie Fulks - Cry Cry Cry