...featuring Get Back Guinozzi, Fuck Buttons, City of Satellites, Vampire Weekend, The Soundcarriers, music from the soundtrack of the film The Road by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, as well as Christmas fare from Nat King Cole, Dean & Britta and Cocteau Twins ....
...to mark the 54th Cork Film Festival (Nov 1-8 2009), featuring Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Joe Hisaishi, Doris Day, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, not to mention other music from Cinecitta, Hollywood and Lollywood. Enjoy.
And the Long Songs Special (6 minutes plus) is available here
...lots of great stuff in that set including Cork heroes Stump, Five Go Down To The Sea and Microdisney, and pop gems from Dubs Rollerskate Skinny, Autamata and The Last Post.
Naim Amor - Precious second
4AD Sessions featuring Tune-Yards
Telekinesis - Tokyo
OMO - Oversized
The Carpenters - Rainy days and Mondays
Chairlift - Planet Health
Gilberto Gil and Os Mutantes - Domingo no parque
Efterklang - Illuminant
The Ronettes - Be my baby
Bjork - Who is it (carry my joy on the left, carry my pain on the right)
Bernard Herrmann (Vertigo opening sequence)
The Go-Betweens - Spring rain
Influences
Dusty Springfield, Os Mutantes, The Stylistics, Martha & the Vandellas, The Rolling Stones, Phil Spector, The Andrews Sisters, The Stone Roses, David Bowie, Prefab Sprout, Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Dylan, Bjork, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Yo La Tengo, Jack Nitzsche, Film music, Joanna Newsom, Camera Obscura, Sam Cooke, The Trash Can Sinatras, Cornershop, The Carpenters, The Beach Boys, Esquivel, The Smiths, Super Furry Animals, Curtis Mayfield, Hem, The Delfonics, The Cardigans, Emmylou Harris, Glen Campbell, Depeche Mode, Jimmy Webb, Human League, Bernard Herrmann, Lou Christie, Tortoise, Can, Lambchop, Peter Broderick, Dean Martin, The Last Post, Andy Warhol, Sufjan Stevens, The Velvet Underground, The Supremes, The Ramones, The Chiffons, The Beatles, Ponytail, Sly & the Family Stone, Hanne Hukkelberg, Happy Mondays, The Go-Betweens, Lee Hazlewood, The Byrds, Efterklang, Music blogs, Angelo Badalamenti, Michael Nyman, Jason Falkner, Nick Drake, The National, OMO, Oen Sujet, Edwyn Collins, Julie Andrews, Cat Power, Pop Art, Musicals, Caetano Veloso, Ennio Morricone, Johnny Cash, Sigur Ros, Big Star, T-Rex, Lucinda Williams, Guided by Voices, Daniel Johnston, Burt Bacharach, Crystal Stilts, Petula Clark, The Wizard of Oz, The Chills, Record shops, Talking Heads, The Beta Band, Frank Sinatra, Regina Spektor, Ronnie Spector, The Monkees, Pavement, Hal David, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Singin in the Rain, Gilberto Gil, Smokey Robinson, Howe Gelb, Rollerskate Skinny, Vertigo, The Ronettes, Gene Clark, The Specials, Colleen, XTC, Stars, Talk Talk, Henry Mancini, Prince, Juana Molina, Kate Bush, LCD Soundsystem, Led Zeppelin, St Vincent, Microdisney, The Walker Brothers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Maximo Park, Alela Diane, Record labels, John & Jehn, Bobbie Gentry, Low, Luna - need I say more?
17/12/2009: So I put some thoughts together about my favourite music of the last year of the first decade of the 21st century. I thought last year was a great one for pop music and it turns out I thought pretty much the same about 2009, when I put my mind to it. This list is a bit longer than last year's - I'm an instinctive hoarder, there's some items I just can't dump. Check the blog up the page for details of the list.
A couple of observations: female artists are well represented (close to half in the albums list, if you include lead vocalists), showing that, aside from the "A-list" pop divas (you know who you are), there's still plenty of great pop music being produced by women. Nice to see a broader geography too, taking in Italy, France, Germany, Sweden via Pakistan, Denmark (on residency rules), Africa and Australia. And I suspect that when it comes to looking back, from a few years further down the line, at the best or most influential music of this decade, at least a few of the albums below will feature. Just a hunch.
A reminder that quite a few (about 16) of the artists below will be featuring in the first show after Christmas, Jan 5th, my round-up of the year in pop music.
On a sad note, terrible to hear that Cork's last indie record store, Plugd, is to shut its doors after Christmas. It's been a true gathering point for music obsessives since 2001 and stalwart in terms of the broad range of musical styles and genres stocked. Albert and Jim, we're going to miss ye. Best of luck with future ventures.
Until 2010,
All the best,
Conor.
2/12/2009: Great debut album from Tune-Yards arrived last week, Bird brains. Merrill Garbus is the woman responsible - what a singer she is, whether up close and breathy or standing back and opening her throat. And she plays all the other instruments too. Including ukulele a lot. These tunes will worm their way into your head. M.I.A. has been mentioned as a comparison, which is valid. Sunlight reminds me a bit of Talking Heads, which is a good thing obviously. You'll find her session for 4AD across the page - I recommend watching every episode, it's brilliant stuff. One of the albums of the decade?
18/11/2009: Interview with Conor from Dublin band Villagers is available to d'load now. In a 20-odd minute conversation, topics ranged from
Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii to Don Bluth animation An American Tail, and Leonard Cohen's view of women to signing with Domino Records...and not forgetting the importance of throat exercises!
go here
http://rapidshare.com/files/305991753/Villagers_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
12/11/2009: Listening to the new album from Windmill (Matthew Thomas Dillon mostly) on the Melodic label. Great, epic pop music. Compared in the blurbs to Arcade Fire and Mercury Rev, also reminds me of Mull Historical Society. All good reference points in any case. The album is called Epcot Starfields, it's a concept album about the Epcot Centre in Florida. Go Epcot! Ellen save our energy is going down a bomb in my house for the last few weeks.
4/11/2009: New links for some of the interviews we've had on the show, as follows:
Peter Broderick
http://rapidshare.com/files/301048860/Peter_Broderick_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
Anni Rossi
http://rapidshare.com/files/299654357/Anni_Rossi_interview.mp3
John & Jehn
http://rapidshare.com/files/299684409/John_et_Jehn_Interview.mp3
AU
http://rapidshare.com/files/301067147/AU_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
15/10/2009: Went to a gig on spec last week, Telekinesis supported by The Rosebuds. What a pleasant surprise. Killer pop tunes and the nicest people. A drummer who sings out front always sticks in the mind. Both bands are touring around Europe for the rest of October. Video for Tokyo is across the page - main man Michael wears a Devo coat in it, how cool - I guarantee you'll be humming it in your sleep after hearing it once.
In other news, I'm belatedly listening to the new Taken by Trees album, East of Eden. Singer Victoria Bergsman headed off with engineer to Pakistan to record much of the backing tracks. It sounds like a strange mixture but what a gorgeous piece of work it produced; it's like a little piece of Swedish northern soul transplanted to Asia.
9/9/2009: I want to tell you about a band. They're called OMO (check them on my friends list). They're a bit like your new best friend. They play what I would call deadpan, electro-pop, with songs about tennis, tea and overeating (the video for Oversized is across the way). You might smile at first, but you'll come to treasure this band I think (anyway, what's wrong with smiling). Their new album, The White Album, comes out on Sept 21st on LoAF. Treat yourself.
31/8/2009: Some new interview download information to give you:
Alela Diane (13m25s, 15.3MB, first broadcast Sept 8 2009)
...taking in Sandy Denny and her father's Grateful Dead covers band...
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/273858265/Alela_Diane_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
Polly Scattergood (12m05s, 13.8MB; Note, a telephone interview; first broadcast May 12 2009)...
...taking in Neu, Joni Mitchell and Portishead...
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/273865796/Polly_Scattergood_UOH_Podcast.mp3
Extra Life (32m19s, 37MB; first broadcast July 15 2009)...
...taking in Carl Jung, Swans and John Zorn...
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/273048690/Extra_Life_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
Gregory & the Hawk (26m44s, 30.5MB; first broadcast July 22 2009)...
...taking in The Beach Boys, Nick Drake and playing classical violin...
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/273848541/Gregory___the_Hawk_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
27/7/2009: Must mention a very special gig I was at last week - Alela Diane in Cyprus Avenue in Cork (on her way to supporting Bon Iver in Galway the night after). She was something else. If you haven't heard of her, check out her first (on this side of the world anyway) album The Pirate's Gospel, a sparse but gorgeous affair, finger-picked guitar and voice mostly, or her latest, To be still, which features more varied instrumentation in the form of cello, violin, pedal steel and percussion. Both albums are outstanding. Her voice has a bit of Sandy Denny, some Emmylou Harris too. In fact, at the gig last week I started thinking about Gram Parsons' work with Emmylou Harris, when Alela's father Tom kicked in with some beautiful electric guitar licks. It was a gig to remember. I interviewed her beforehand, and that piece will be going out on the show in September.
10/7/2009: The full interview with Thomas Truax is available to download now as an mp3 (27m08s, 31.0MB, first broadcast June 30 2009, although this file contains a good bit more footage than went out on air initially)...
...in which Thomas talks about some of his musical influences, which include groundbreaking composers Bernard Herrmann and Raymond Scott...
...he also talks about his current album Songs from the films of David Lynch, and about his retro taste in shoes!
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/250738993/Thomas_Truax_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
24/6/2009: Great new albums by Andrew Morgan, Oen Sujet, Patrick Watson and soundtrack music from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Also interviews with Thomas Truax and Gregory & the Hawk in the last few weeks, coming soon. Must mention one song on the new Julie Feeney album too, it's called Impossibly beautiful and it lives up to its name. And Magic Arm is covering Serge on the B-side of his new single, c'est si bon.
16/6/2009: The interview with Brad and Kyle from Crystal Stilts is available to download now as a zip file (23m22s, 26.7MB, first broadcast June 9 2009, although this file contains a good bit more footage than went out on air initially)...
...in which they talk about some of their musical influences, which include legendary English producer Joe Meek and Rocks in Your Head record shop in Soho in New York (where Brad used to work), also their friends Cause Co-motion and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart...
...and how their next record could sound a bit like Bo Diddley
here = http://rapidshare.com/files/243401241/Crystal_Stilts_UOH_Interview_Podcast.mp3
10/6/2009: Eventually, belatedly, some thoughts on Primavera Festival 2009.
Day 1: The Vaselines, Yo La Tengo, Andrew Bird, My Bloody Valentine, Ponytail, Wooden Shjips
Day 2: Crystal Stilts, Bat For Lashes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Art Brut, Jason Lytle, Sunn O))), The Mae Shi, Jarvis Cocker, Dan Deacon Ensemble
Day 3: Chad Van Gaalen, Shearwater, Michael Nyman, Neil Young, Oneida, Deerhunter, Sonic Youth
here = http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=229401725
5/6/2009: The interview with Luke Wyland from AU is available to download now as a zip file (27m40s, 117MB, first broadcast June 2 2009, although this file contains more footage than went out on air initially)...
...in a wide-ranging conversation, Luke talks about some of his musical influences, which include the classical composer Ravel, minimalist master John Cage and jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, as well as the challenges of taking his ensemble sound on the road...
...and how the damp climate in Portland, Oregon is conducive to music production!
here =
http://rapidshare.com/files/240864279/AU_UOH_Interview_Podcast.rar
3/6/2009: The Primavera hangover has set in. Great weekend, wonderful bands, head spinning from the whole wonderfulness of it. Once I get my head together, I'll post more detail on my highlights (hint: they include The Michael Nyman Group, Wooden Shjips and Dan Deacon Ensemble) I also managed to catch Crystal Stilts, Ponytail and Extra Life for a quick chat - those interviews will be going out on the show (download afterwards) in the next few weeks.
20/5/2009: Excitement on the rise ahead of Primavera. I'm putting arrangements in place for what will hopefully turn out to be a few interviews while in Barcelona. More news when I have it. New record this week by NLF3 (came out in March but only reached me this week). Elements of Tropicalia and musiche kosmische (krautrock), mostly instrumental, beguiling stuff.
14/5/2009: Several interviews recently, the first of which, Peter Broderick, is podcasted now (see below; the others are with Luke from AU and Polly Scattergood, both coming up soon). Peter was charming and very interesting to talk to. The gig in the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork was inspirational I thought. Some people there thought it was a bit short but to be honest it didn't feel that short to me (let's measure music in terms of quality, not quantity). I think the highlight was the crowd singing his own refrain back to him as he left the stage. After the gig, Peter gave me a copy of his soundtrack to the dance piece Falling from trees, which premiered in London last January. It's great work, a collection of instrumental tunes scored for piano and violin only, recorded by Peter in his father's barn. If you like Michael Nyman, you'll almost certainly love this; if you hate Michael Nyman, you might still love it. Recommended, it's on Erased Tapes.
The Peter Broderick interview is available to download now as a zip file (18m28s, 74.5MB, first broadcast May 12 2009)...
...in which Peter talks about some of his musical influences, including Arvo Part and Max Richter, how he hooked up with Efterklang and Bella Union and about his hometown of Portland, Oregon...
...he also talks about his little known remix for Midlake!
here = http://rapidshare.com/files/232882544/Peter_Broderick_UOH_Interview_Podcast.rar
15/4/2009: Another Hidden Shoal band to tell you about, Sankt Otten, from Osnabruck in Germany, current album Wunden gibt es immer wieder (it always shows wounds) - shoegazey/ambient, for want of a better pigeonhole, it's gorgeous stuff. Two-part preview of the Primavera Festival in Barcelona coming up in mid-May. And looking forward to seeing Peter Broderick in Cork on May 1st.
Love the new HC-B album, Italian band on Hidden Shoal label - post rock, mostly instrumental, gorgeous. Also what I've heard of A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island is great, that's on the LO label, various artists - all manner of weirdness and genre bending, with catchy tunes thrown in.
Favourite album of the last few weeks is Where hearts go broke by Hotels, a Seattle band, on the Australian Hidden Shoal label - beautiful mix of shoegaze, folk, lounge and some other nice things. Lots of other cool bands on that label too by the way. Check friends list for more info.
New albums by Anni Rossi, Fredo Viola and It Hugs Back arrived this week...all great, expect to hear on the show.
The Chairlift interview is available now as a podcast (18m49s, 89MB)...
...http://rapidshare.com/files/299675452/Chairlift_interview.mp3 ...
...to listen to Caroline, Patrick and Aaron.
I interviewed Chairlift before their gig in Cork on November 23rd - charming people they were - to talk about their musical influences, which it turns out range from Led Zeppelin to Roxy Music, taking in Radiohead and Meredith Monk along the way...
...you can hear that interview on the show in January, after which it'll be available as a podcast...the gig was great too, check out Planet Health across the page, great tune...
The Juana Molina interview is available to download now as a zip file (26m23s, 80MB, first broadcast Oct 21 2008)...
...in which Juana talks about her musical influences, taking in Stewart Copeland, Ravel's Bolero, James Brown, Indian drones and The Beatles...
...not to mention her dislike of Argentinian tango!
http://rapidshare.com/files/299703654/Juana_Molina_interview.mp3
The Anni Rossi interview is available to download now (11m33s, 32.1MB)...
...in which Anni talks about her musical influences, ranging from Bartok to Laurie Anderson, The Cardigans to Ghanaian drumming...
...as well as her love of Ace of Bass
http://rapidshare.com/files/299654357/Anni_Rossi_interview.mp3
The John & Jehn interview is available to download now as a zip file (7m33s, 25.8MB)...
...in which they talk about one of their heroes, Serge Gainsbourg, his life, his work, his influence on their music, and the fat, sexy bass sound on the classic Histoire de Melody Nelson album
http://rapidshare.com/files/299684409/John_et_Jehn_Interview.mp3
***THE SHOW***
The Underground of Happiness is a show which takes place once a week on Cork Campus Radio, hosted by me, Conor O'Toole (that's me with the tache).
The playlist consists of uplifting pop music of every shade and variety, from across the spectrum. That might mean Northern soul, shoegaze, girl groups, Motown, Elvis, The Beatles, space pop, folk rock, house, film music, power pop, psychedelia, easy listening, country, Tropicalia, gospel, dance rock or whatever - you get the picture. Check out the playlists in the blog entries above for more detail. Basically, if it's uplifting and it's got a tune, I'll play it.
You can listen to the show on 98.3FM, every Tuesday from 11am - 12.00pm, that's if you're in the Cork city area. If not (and even if you are), you can also tune in online via the Cork Campus Radio website, www.ucc.ie/ccr (follow the instructions for the live stream).
You can get in touch with the show by e-mail on radio@ucc.ie, or by text on +353 86-1778197 (mark messages "uoh").
the underground of happiness's Friend Space (Top 40)
Black Sun at the Granary Theatre
Dec 5th
Blood Stereo, Fuaimbhac, Gryn Brvs, HereHareHere...
Experimental film programme by Max Le Cain (Cork Film Centre)
8pm
Its been selling faster than we expected, and we currently only have around a quarter of our stock left - so we thought we'd better you all know that if you want a copy then now would be a good time to pick one up! If you buy it from the link above then you're buying it direct from us, the label aren't taking a cut - so its a bit like Fair Trade for struggling musicians.
International mail-order is available, just follow the instructions.
Thank you very much, and sorry for making a mess of your profile. If its any kind of consolation, we don't have a MySpace bot, so I'm leaving these comments the old fashioned way. Three -and-a-half thousand of them. My life is so exciting.
Andy Nice album out today – thanks so much for the support.
‘The latest instalment from pioneering UK label Front & Follow comes from Andy Nice, cellist with Tindersticks, who has performed across Europe and the US with them, and featured on their last album, The Angry Saw. Delightful, dark and ambient…’ (Record Collector)
July 31st: SCALEDOWN 5th Anniversary Celebration featuring John Butcher, Mike Adcock, The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra, Don Tempi, Alex Monk and Susie Hug [www.theorchestrapit.com/scaledown].
August 8th: The Orchestra Pit / V '68 Promotions presents This Ambitious Orchestra, The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra and John Bisset & Alex Ward live @ The Luminaire [www.theorchestrapit.com/luminaire].
August 13th: Country Dad (live @ Scaledown from 2008) - podcast on New Jersey station WFMU, courtesy of Kurt Gottschalk and his The Brother Lucy Show [www.wfmu.org/playlists/KU].
August 31st: new single release from Naïm Amor for The Orchestra Pit Recording Co. [www.myspace.com/naimamor].
Online Now!
