Pardon. What didn't you say.

This reading between the lines of conversations is a terrible thing don't you think?
It's really quite a waste of time.
You know what I'm talking about don't you?
Or do you?
Maybe right at this minute you are thinking 'I know what he is saying, but I wonder what he really means'.
The truth is that I'm a plain speaking sort of guy so when I say something it's out there just as it is.
There's no unspoken hidden clues as to what I really mean.
No one should treat a conversation with me as if they are approaching a Dan Brown novel.
There is nothing to be divined from a plain and simple comment.
No mystery to solve and very little is said with a nod and a wink.
I'll give you an example of what I mean.
Say for instance you asked me if I wanted a sausage roll from Greggs and I declined with the response that I wasn't hungry.
From that you can take that I am not hungry. Nothing more.
I don't have an upset stomach.
I don't have an allergy to sausage rolls.
I'm not boycotting Greggs.
I'm not a vegetarian.
I'm not playing the 'opposite day' game and really mean I want a sausage roll.
I haven't shagged the lady serving and now looking to avoid her.
I haven't been banned from Greggs and just don't want to mention the incident with the doughnut to you.
None of these, or any more that you can think of, are applicable to my refusal of the offer of a sausage roll.
It honestly will be because I wasn't hungry. Nothing more than that.
You can work that out from me saying so. It really is that simple.
Just out of curiosity how many times in a week do you make a statement and someone responds with 'what you mean is....'?
How many minutes are taken up with having to explain that the first thing you said was all that you meant?
How many misunderstandings are rooted in someone walking away from a conversation with the impression that what you said was a hint at something else entirely.
Women appear to indulge in this more often then men.
While making a cup of tea say to your wife, partner or female friend 'You want sugar in this?' and they will reply 'are you saying I need to go on a diet', and probably follow that with a comment about the pot and the kettle.
Nothing was mentioned about weight, diets or their appearance at all, but in a weeks time if you ask them what was said they will emphatically tell you that you said 'I'll leave the sugar out as it's goes straight to your hips' and when you deny that they will say 'but that's what you meant'.
There's no going back from it either because how can you disprove something that another person claims you thought.
All you can do is deny it and the more you do the more they think they were right.
Men aren't immune to communicating like this either though.
Ask a man if he wants a soft drink when you are going to the bar and he will hear you loudly proclaim in front of anyone in earshot that you consider him to be a lightweight drinker and therefore are challenging his sexuality in the public arena.
He may even want to fight you for not saying something.
It's all bollocks isn't it.
Maybe I'm the only one who notices this though, but I do yearn for a simpler way of communicating.
Similarly I've noticed that people often don't even respond to the question at hand.
Ask someone if they want to go out on Monday night and they might say that they are going out on Friday in reply.
Why?
Personally I'm not that interested in their plans for any other night other than the Monday so why are they telling me this, and in doing so they haven't really answered my initially question.
Unless of course they want me to read between the lines and what they mean is.
I can only afford to go out one night a week.
My wife says I've not to associate with you any more.
I don't socialize on any day with the letter M in it.
I get a pedicure on a Monday and I don't want to share that as you may feel that it's a bit strange but I love the felling of it and I'm not giving that night up for anyone.
Or maybe Mondays are pre-booked and he spends them plotting my downfall with all the other people who said they can't go out on a Monday night with me.
...and now I'm back to where I started.
Do you see how confusing all of this is.

Stars of the Silverscreen - S/T

There must be something in the water in Sweden, because whenever the world needs a rock and roll band to come forth and keep the flame burning you can always rely on them to throw forth one who will tick all the boxes and deliver when no one else is doing it.
So right at this moment in time step up 'Stars of the Silverscreen' with their self titled debut to show us all how down and dirty rock and roll with screaming guitars and a shit load of attitude should be played.
The album may have original surfaced in 2009, but here in the UK we better be quick and play a bit of catch up and get behind these guys.
They're not reinventing the wheel, but that argument is a moot one as the wheel doesn't need reinventing, and neither does this style of rock and roll.
There's plenty of evidence here to show that they've got the guts and passion needed to carry it of, and then some.
Given half a chance these guys will provide you with the only soundtrack you will need for a full on party.
So crack open a bottle, crank it up and get into the groove with them.
If you want thirteen rockers that will reaffirm your faith in rock music then this is the album that will do it.
Bloody fantastic.

http://www.starsofthesilverscreen.se/

Matt Scott, Tragic OHara, Nicky Smith, Masters of the Sea, Taylor Buntain - Jollys 14/10/11 (Kilmarnock)

I really should write the reviews within a couple of days of the gigs.
All the little mental notes I make seem to have slipped away between then and now, but here goes.
This was the first of a couple of gigs that my good friend Wullie B has organised to raise funds for the McMillan cancer charity. A very worthy cause as I'm sure everyone would agree.
First performer of the night was Taylor Buntain who I have come to know since giving a less than positive review many moons ago.
He's a nice guy and technically the best guitarist that we have locally.
His drifting is very well done as is everything else he does as his fingers dance across the frets. Think of John Butler or Newton Faulkner for a reference point.
I'm sure that fellow musicians must sit slack jawed in admiration when watching him, but there is a problem and that is that his voice isn't managing to match his skills on the guitar and banjo.
No matter how good the material is it is always going to have attention drawn away from it due to the vocal delivery.
Within another project, out-with playing solo, his abilities would allow him to shine more.
I would love to sing his praises from the rooftops, but as long as it's a one man show I don't think I'll be able to.
He has said that he is exploring other options so it is probably only a matter of time until he can come across with the goods. The talents there. It's just a matter of getting it across to an audience in a form that they can get on board with.
Now this is where my memory fails me.
Was it Masters of the Sea next or Nicky Smith?
Lets just say it was Masters of the Sea.
It's been a while since I've seen such a drunkenly consummate performance and I loved it.
Friends have been urging me to see these guys, and all their superlative praise has been underplayed to an extent.
Simply saying a band are great and you need to see them doesn't really convey just how great they are. Even within a stripped down acoustic set what they do is rock solid.
There's very little point in trying to offer a name forth that could allow someone to get a rough idea of who they sound like because they don't sound like anyone apart from themselves.
Of course the music is in a recognisable framework and they aint banging randomly and discordantly on things, but instead what they have done is taken a bunch of influences and distilled them through their own take on what a song should sound like and what they have come up with works.
The fact that their front man could barely bite his fingernails never mind remain balanced on a stool added to the performance rather than detracted from it and his drunken state was really on apparent when talking between songs.
As soon as he was need to sing and play guitar that drunken part of his brain must have been sectioned off and his fingers and vocal chords went on and done their thing.
There playing again soon and I'm now gagging to see the full electric experience.
All hail Masters of the Sea.
Nicky Smith who was up next was another surprise.
Just guitar and vocal, but very well done and while much of the performance has slipped from my head I did enjoy the set and have mentally logged the name away to check out again.
Tragic OHara followed Nicky and once again anyone witnessing his slot must be left asking when is he going to make that leap into the wider public's eye.
Everything is in place. It really must just be a matter of time.
Due to the headline act 'All my logic' failing to make an appearance through reasons unknown to me local artist Matt Scott assumed the position, but unfortunately by this point the downing of pints and shots had laid waste to may of the audience and Matt was left to perform his set in front of a crowd who were paying him scant attention.
It was there loss as he really is a fantastic talent.
There's some Tom Waits in there. A bit of Dylan and Springsteen and a whole lot of Frankie Miller.
Yet he isn't a patchwork quilt of their talents, and instead has his own personality to push.
I've missed blues imbued vocalists who have the rock and roll attitude, and now with Matt we have one of our own.
Note his name down and keep an eye out for him playing.

Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials

Whenever anyone makes the blanket claim that the charts are bereft of anything worth listening to I'm never short of examples that I can use to shoot their statement down in flames.
Of course much of what the mainstream provides is a tad vacant and does appear to be created to entertain those who want a quick fix of bright and shiny unchallenging nonsense.
Fast food for the ears so to speak, but there are exceptions.
I think Bruno Mars is a talented and soulful sounding young man for a pop star, and Ed Sheeran is without a doubt well endowed with song writing skills, and I feel completely comfortable in saying that as I don't consider myself a music snob bogged down in genre loyalties.
Another who never fails to impress is Florence with her Machines.
The first time that I heard her I was taken aback by the power of her vocal performance, and then when I seen her live I was equally impressed.
Since then her debut album caused a bit of a stir and she even has managed to gatecrash the mainstream party without diluting her art.
MTV hits and award show appearances along with festival slots was the order of the day and she dealt with it all with a great deal of casual aplomb.
Now she's back, and back with a bang, and anyone who hitched themselves to her wagon during the 'Lungs' period will love 'Ceremonials' as it has enough of that sound to maintain a level of familiarity.
However, unlike many who have garnered success over the last decade and attempt to maintain it by simply releasing the same album again and again, Florence is not standing still.
She's a modern day Kate Bush with all that reference entails.
If Lungs was a template then Ceremonials is the prototype, and in years to come we can be assured that with each and every release there will be something new to savour.
Only time will tell if this can emulate the success of Lungs, but if not I don't really think that will matter.
Similar to a band like the Arctic Monkeys, Florence will be an artists that that will maintain a solid fan base through releasing quality material.
Hit singles are for the here and now and in Florence we have a an artist who will be defined by her whole body of work rather than her 15 minutes of fame.

Tom Waits - Bad as me

I've had a fractious relationship with Tom Waits over the years.
I've never really fallen out of love with with him, but sometimes he's pushed it to the limits with his more avant garde wanderings.
Thankfully on 'Bad As Me' he's back to what he does best, and that's sing like a Broadway star who took a wrong turning and ended up on skid row with a bottle of bourbon and a handful of dreams to get him through the night.
Even if on 'Raised Right Men' he has steered far too close to Nick Caves 'Red Right Hand' I'll forgive him simply for getting some rockabilly swing going on in 'Get Lost'. It's as fine a track as he has ever put out.
Elsewhere there is a distinct feeling that he has come full circle and is now back to being the bar room troubadour that many of us know and prefer.
If you lost your way after his Asylum years, or started to struggle with the material post 'Swordfish Trombones' then this just might be the album that will entice you back.
It's been a while since Tom Waits has managed to hit as many of my buttons as 'Bad As Me' has, but with this I've finally got the proof that it was worth hanging in over the years keeping the flame alive.

Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu

When Lou Reed and Metallica announced that they would collaborate the world took a deep breath.
When they exhaled it was to say that the fruits of their labour would either be the worst or best thing ever.
As usual it's neither.
It's not the car crash in slow motion as the naysayers were quick to claim it would be, but neither is it an album that fans of Lou and Metallica will consider needs to be filed away as the best thing since sliced bread either.
Strip away the fanfare and hyperbole and what we have is an album that sound exactly what you would think that a Lou Reed and Metallica album would sound like.
Neither artist nor band have really pushed into new areas, but instead Lou does what Lou does and Metallica weave their bludgeoning magic behind the lyrics.
What I mean by that is take Lou out and what you hear is a Metallica album sans vocals and remove the music and it's a typical Lou Reed album.
So neither as bad, nor as good, as expected.
However fans of both are going to be far from disappointed in what they have come up with, and I'm sure in some quarters there will be some that will consider this to be something rather special.
Personally I'd rather have Transformer or Master of Puppets over this, but I'm not really complaining.

Luke Haines - 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s & early '80s

For people of a certain age* Saturday afternoon wrestling has nothing to do with the steroid heavy star spangled million dollar franchise that the world now considers to be the norm.
Instead wrestling is the key to the past. It's the ticket for the nostalgia train.
A single mention of Kendo Nagasaki, Big Daddy or Giant Haystacks is all that it takes for the rose tinted memories to come flooding back.
Saturday afternoons spent watching men - who wouldn't look out of place in your local pub - dramatically, and comically, throwing each other about dressed in what appeared to be swimming trunks was what it was all about.
Come Monday morning at school and the bouts of the weekend would be the talk of the playground.
Mick McManus was the anti hero who we loved to boo and hiss at. Oh what we would do to him given five minutes in an alley.
Catweazle was a bit of a joke, but we secretly loved him to, and what the hell was Gorgeous George all about?
Now in 2011 we have Luke Haines magically providing a concept album geared around those times, and when I slip it on it's like wrapping myself in childhood memories.
Every wrestler of note is lovingly woven into the story, and every single nuanced moment of this album appears to be designed to ease you into a time and place that no longer exists.
Through music time travel is indeed possible.
Forget the nostalgic compilations that proliferate supermarket shelves. Here is the real key to recapturing the past, and very cleverly it's also an album that's equally at home in the present to.
In writing this Luke Haines has created yet another work of genius and it's about time that the critical acclaim he garners is translated to public acclaim.
I would urge everyone to buy this and wallow in its working class grace.
Now where's my swimming trunks and dressing gown as I think I'm going to have to listen to it again.
* My age.

Su Casa - Anna Sweeney/Tragic O'Hara/Craig Ward/Seán & Robyn Gray/Folé. 13/10/11

Another Thursday evening and another smorgasbord of aural delights from Su Casa.
We arrived just in time to catch the end of the always entertaining Little Fire who even managed a little duet before handing the stage over to the very young Anna Sweeney.
She's a bit folk, a bit country and a whole lotta nervous, but there's a great deal of charm in her performance, and given some time and a relaxed environment to ply her craft in she could be onto something with her material.
Tragic OHara followed, and went straight into unveiling a couple of new songs, and in doing so showed the crowd why when anyone talks about big fish in small ponds it's Tragic, along with a few others, who are always mentioned.
After a period where things seemed to stall for him it now appears that all the hard work is starting to create some positive returns.
The recent personal request from Pete Docherty to support him being just one of them.
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that in the coming year all his dreams come true as he certainly has a talent and a work ethic that deserves to be rewarded.
Craig Martin Ward was the big surprise of the night though.
I'd heard good things, but what I was expecting and what I got were two different things.
There's a great deal of self effacing humour in his rapport with the audience and I liked that.
There's a good sense of you get what you see with him to. A distinct lack of artifice, and that transfers over into his material.
As singer songwriters go Craig isn't the run of the mill indie folk warbler, but something else entirely. I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it, but maybe it has something to do with the attitude.
It's a refreshing change anyway.
If you've been following the blog you will have read a review of the Fole ep that came out a couple of weeks ago, and prior to that a mention of the lead singer James doing a solo set in Su Casa where I was suitably impressed, but here they were and I was finally getting the chance to see the full band perform and that's a whole new deal in itself.
The material really comes alive.
If James solo was the start of a journey, and the ep is the midway point, then this is the final destination. All the pieces fall into place when they are performing together and once again Ayrshire has yet another band that is brimming with promise.
Brother and sister act Sean and Robyn Gray were the last performers we seen.
Their mix of traditional violin accompanied by some jazzy guitar is well played out.
While it wouldn't necessarily be the sort of music that I would normally indulge myself in I found myself enjoying them immensely.
Especially their take on Katy Dear.
A song that seemed to morph into being called Silver Dagger by the time it got the US many many years ago.
Maybe some will have heard Joan Baez or the Eagles sing it, but I was more than happy with this more traditional version.
Sadly we didn't get to see Alan Frew as time was rolling on and we had kids with us.
Once again I really can't fault the entertainment on offer, and if I had the time I would certainly grab a couch in Su Casa every single week.

Magazine. - No Thyself

Avoiding the pitfalls of being classed as purely a nostalgia project Magazine are back with an album of new material.
They're a band who I have a hate love relationship with.
I always initially hate what I'm hearing and then after allowing myself to be beguiled I end up in love with it all.
Similarly when I first heard 'No Thyself' I was unimpressed and loathed what Devoto had come up with.
Inside my head a voice was screaming 'WHAT! IT TOOK THIRTY YEARS TO COME UP WITH THIS?', but unsurprisingly after a few days I'm now past that and into the getting to know you part of my relationship with Magazine.
There's already some mutual points we can get along with, and while I'm not yet comfortable in letting my feelings out I'll tentatively admit that I may quite like some of this, but then again maybe not a great deal of it as it is taking longer than usual to bed in.
The keyboards are a bit of a stumbling block to be honest.
They're pretty much ever present and overbearing in eighties cheesiness, and no matter how much I try and get on board with them I just can't.
It's a frustrating process this and I'm very close to throwing in the towel
They are so omni present that I think that I'm just going to have to sit this aside and if anyone asks say that they should approach the album with caution.
Lets just say it isn't the return I expected after witnessing them in full flow live.
Less post punk and more prog rock, but not in a good way.

The Shell Corporation - Force Majeure

We seem to be on the cusp of a people power generated social revolution on a global scale, and arriving right on time to provide the soundtrack to those of us who are calling for a change is The Shell Corporation.
Featuring ex members of Time Again, A Wilhelm Scream, Madcap, The Briggs and Le Mu Le Pur they have hit the ground running, and running fast.
Similar to the Occupy Wall Street Movement there will be those who will ask what the message is within what they are shouting for.
Those who like it all neat and tidy will want an issue specific agenda to mull over. Something to pick at and consider from all the angles.
Well fuck that. What we want is change in itself. We want a new global community that cares. A clear line between what is right and wrong.
Don't starve people, don't enslave them, don't profit on the misery of others....just stop fucking with us.
The Shell Corporation manage to articulate that amorphous agenda with spit, anger, and punk rock hooks a plenty.
When I slip this on I can feel the blood rushing through my veins. I get the same feeling that I did when in my youth I first heard the Dead Kennedy's, and again when I heard The Redskins, Bad Religion, The International Noise Conspiracy, Anti-Flag and the World/Inferno Friendship Society.
This is socially conscious rock and roll at its best and if one person out of every ten who get to hear this reconsiders their world due to a lyrical nudge by The Shell Corporation, then the guys should be very proud that they have changed one life and that one person could change another persons.
They say that music can't change the world.
I say that's what they want you to think.
Grab a copy of 'Force Majeure' and think about it. What do you want to be? Part of the problem or the solution?