My videos of Indietracks 2012

I went to a music festival the other weekend, Indietracks 2012. Its like twee indiepop and steam trains at the same time, and this it had parrots and owls too.

Anyhoo, at these things I usually shoot a few videos, I'd like to present them all to you here in one blogpost.

This is a short 4 minute taster of the whole weekend


This is Darren Hayman and The secondary Modern playing a cover of The Bee Gees' I started a Joke
 

 This is The Just Joans playing a cover of Kenickie's Come Out 2Nite
 

 This is Fulhast playing Prison Pizza
 

 This is Allo Darlin' playing a cover of The Just Joans' If You Don't Pull

And this is Elizabeth from Allo Darlin's encore, their classic Tallulah



And for those of you with plenty of time on your hands this is a 30 min compilation of the weekend.


On reflection, I should have titled it up with the name of all the bands. That would have taken an hour or so, and I was in a rush to get it online first, not sure why.

I think with these videos for me it is a popularity contest, can I get more views on YouTube than I did the other year. The quality isn't great, but it's good enough for YouTube, and what do you expect with a Canon IXUS 50 from 2005 (it used to be cutting edge, I could have been a contender...). For the past few years there's been folk mincing about at Indietracks with professional cameras, whole film crews, and I'm never sure what happens to the footage, a five minute local news item perhaps, or a limited release indie movie, who knows.

This year a band called The Birthday Kiss had a video up pretty quickly here, although I've got to say, eight seconds in the commentary contains what could be a tribute to the end of my 2008 video. Good research there chaps, appreciated.

Yeo Dairy

I don't watch X-Factor very often, but staying at my brother's place this weekend, it was on TV. Gotta say, this advert for Yeo Valley milk was the best thing on.

The Plan - The continuing journey

Its been about a fortnight since I set off on my latest music career. You'll have read the first blogpost about it here, and undoubtedly will have watched some of the videos.

Here's the viewing stats

• Wake Up Boo - 61 views
• Keep the circle around - 21 views
• 100,000 Fireflies - 24 views
• Tiny Tears - 15 views
• If you don't Pull - 8

Its the law of the jungle round here, survival of the fittest, and so the weakest video gets eliminated from my setlist.

I've finally gotten myself a power supply for my wee Marshall amp, so I've plugged in my guitar, turned up the tone, and rerecorded the set, and added two new songs.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Until next time, enjoy!
The Greedy Ugly People
Dear Stephen Hawking
Tiny Tears
100,000 Fireflies
Keep the circle around
Wake Up Boo

Possibly the greatest thing ever

A kitten riding a tortoise.

The Plan - The Voyage Begins

Its been the best part of a month since I did that blogpost about my plan to get from here with no musical career to somehow getting to play next year's Indietracks.

I have made progress, this is the first step, the first series of videos.

I've recorded five songs, uploaded them to YouTube for your delectation, the songs are the following covers:-

• If You Don't Pull
• Tiny Tears
• 100,000 Fireflies
• Wake Up Boo
• Keep the Circle Around

and by a process of survival of the fittest, after a week, I shall eliminate the least popular from the set and replace it with more songs, be it covers or originals. I plan to re-record the more popular songs, better, with guitar plugged in, with different instruments, arrangements, effects and backing singing.

Its like evolution, the weakest is eliminated whilst the more successful change and adapt.

So without further faffing about here are the videos.





Comments and abuse welcome.

Indietracks 2010 videos

And here's a running list of all the Indietracks 2010 videos I can find on YouTube

Allo Darlin
Kiss Your Lips (psychodave0)
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)
My Heart is a Drummer (zondasights)
Tallulah (Galazoaimatos)
Lets go Swimming (ScaredToDanceClub)
Silver Dollars (ScaredToDanceClub)
My Heart is a Drummer (timothyahall)

Antarctica Takes It
Dunno (briantheoyster)

Ballboy
What's a girl to do (monkeyheads)
I've got pictures of you in your underwear (vegetubleman)
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)
dunno (vegetubleman)
Sex is Boring (pranceydog)
Indian Summer (pranceydog)
I don't have to stand here fighting with you about the size of my dick (pranceydog)
Essential Wear for Future Trips to Space (pranceydog)

Be Like Pablo
The Post-It Song (hipmat)
Julianne (eolrindebara)

Betty and The Werewolves
David Cassidy (acoustic) (randomname83)
1 of 4 (eolrindebara)
2 of 4 (eolrindebara)
3 of 4 (eolrindebara)
4 of 4 (eolrindebara)
Dunno (zondasights)

The Blanche Hudson Weekend
dunno (Galazoaimatos)
1 of 4 (eolrindebara)
2 of 4 (eolrindebara)
3 of 4 (eolrindebara)
4 of 4 (eolrindebara)
Crying Shame (thesage38)

Boy Genius
dunno (neonpike)
Scatterbrain (thedyingfly)
dunno (neonpike)
Ramona Saves the Day (thedyingfly)
dunno (vegetubleman)

The Calles
dunno (vegetubleman)

The Cannanes
Misery (antonyahall)

The Cavalcade
dunno (Galazoaimatos)
1 of 2 (eolrindebara)
2 of 2 (eolrindebara)

Clint (Play People)
1 of 9 (peterjh100)
2 of 9 (peterjh100)
3 of 9 (peterjh100)
4 of 9 (peterjh100)
5 of 9 (peterjh100)
6 of 9 (peterjh100)
7 of 9 (peterjh100)
8 of 9 (peterjh100)
9 of 9 (peterjh100)
dunno (eolrindebara)

David Tattersall
Dunno (neonpike)
Dunno (neonpike)
Dunno (neonpike)

Everybody was in the French Resistance... Now
With or without you (Galazoaimatos)
1 of 3 (zondasights)
2 of 3 (zondasights)
3 of 3 (zondasights)

The Felt Tips
dunno (alexbummer)

Foxes!
1 of 2 (eolrindebara)
2 of 2 (eolrindebara)

The Give It Ups
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)

Gordon McIntyre
1 of 6 (eolrindebara)
2 of 6 (eolrindebara)
3 of 6 (eolrindebara)
4 of 6 (eolrindebara)
5 of 6 (eolrindebara)
6 of 6 (eolrindebara)
Leave the earth behind you and take a walk into the sunshine (pranceydog)
Public Park (pranceydog)
I lost you but I found country music (pranceydog)
Independent Popular Music (pranceydog)

The Hillfields
dunno (eolrindebara)
Dunno (zondasights)

Internet Forever
dunno (hipmat)
dunno (pranceydog)

Jam on Bread
1 of 4 (zondasights)
2 of 4 (zondasights)
3 of 4 (zondasights)
4 of 4 (zondasights)

The Just Joans
I won't Survive (illandancient)
Why are we so lonely, steven (vegetubleman)
Wee Helen Got Married (timothyahall)

La La Love You
Sabes que te quiero (vegetubleman)

Linda Guilala
Dunno (zondasights)
dunno (rotherhams)

The Loves
1 of 2 (rotherhams)
2 of 2 (rotherhams)

The Millipedes
untitled (neonpike)
Zombies (neonpike)

MJ Hibbett and The Validators
1 of 4 (eolrindebara)
2 of 4 (eolrindebara)
3 of 4 (eolrindebara)
4 of 4 (eolrindebara)
My Boss Was in an Indie Band Once (ScaredToDanceClub)

Onward Chariots
dunno (neonpike)
dunno (neonpike)

The Orchids
dunno (Galazoaimatos)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Come Saturday (hipmat)
Heaven's gonna happen now (tillernet)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (psychodave0)
1 of 2 (eolrindebara)
2 of 2 (eolrindebara)
Gentle Sons (Scared To Dance)
Come Saturday (suziecreamcheese1967)

The Parallelograms
dunno (Galazoaimatos)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
1 of 5 (zondasights)
2 of 5 (zondasights)
3 of 5 (zondasights)
4 of 5 (zondasights)
5 of 5 (zondasights)

The Pooh Sticks
On Tape (thedyingfly)
Susan Sleepwalking (thedyingfly)
Who Loves You (thedyingfly)
Heroes & Villains (thedyingfly)
Cool in a crisis (thedyingfly)
dunno (eolrindebara)
dunno (rotherhams)

The Primitives
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
Dunno (zondasights)
dunno (rotherhams)

Red Shoe Diaries
dunno (eolrindebara)
dunno (discobloguons)

Sarandon
Good Working Practise (neonpike)
dunno (neonpike)
Massive Haircut (neonpike)
Their German Disco (neonpike)
dunno (neonpike)

Secret Shine
Dunno (eolrindebara)

Shrag
Mark E Smith (timothyahall)

Slow Club
Giving up on Love (Niceaction)
dunno (Galazoaimatos)
Wild Blue Milk (ScaredToDanceClub)

The Smittens
1 of 9 (zondasights)
2 of 9 (zondasights)
dunno (vegetubleman)
What Do We Do Now (timothyahall)

Standard Fare
Wow (timothyahall)

Stars in Coma
1 of 4 (zondasights)
2 of 4 (zondasights)
3 of 4 (zondasights)
4 of 4 (zondasights)

The Sunny Street
What is Love (thesage38)
Penguin Pool (emmapropella)
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)

Tender Trap
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)
Do you want a boyfriend? (thedyingfly)
Dansette Dansette (thedyingfly)
1 of 3 (zondasights)
2 of 3 (zondasights)
3 of 3 (zondasights)
dunno (rotherhams)

Veronica Falls
1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
3 of 3 (eolrindebara)
Beachy Head (alexbummer)
Starry Eyes (alexbummer)

Yokoko
Alex Party cover (YokokoLIVE)
Cold Black Heart (YokokoLIVE)

Other Indietracks videos
Winkball
Mark Zonda
HDIF
HDIF 1 of 3 (eolrindebara)
HDIF 2 of 3 (eolrindebara)
HDIF 3 of 3 (eolrindebara)
Story of Sarah Records
Super Summer indiePop Photo Montage (psychodave0)
Have you ever heard a digital accordian (suziecreamcheese1967)

The Just Joans - Indietracks

Eeeep!!! Last weekend was Indietracks 2010, everyone's favourite indiepop music festival based at a railway museum in the Midlands.

And here's a video I took of The Just Joans playing their song I Won't Survive



Usually I record loads of video and string it all together to try and encapsulate the whole festival experience, but alas this year I was unable to.

Still, The Just Joans are great aren't they.

Last Night From Glasgow: The Movie

Almost Famous was on TV again last night, I love that film, it brings back memories of when I was a music journalist for The Strathclyde Telegraph the internationally-acclaimed student newspaper. I was there back stage with all the best bands of the era, Idlewild, Soulwax, Toploader, Queen Adreena and the mighty Animal House, poised with a dictaphone and notepad. Whilst it was fun there and then, I don't recall if any of my interviews and writings were ever published.

When it came to writing up my notes I just couldn't come up with anything that I thought people would want to read.

Sure I can write "The Crazy Adventures of when Chris Gilmour met Meg White at a Soledad Brothers gig" but its hardly a compelling piece about either of the bands.

But every time I watch Almost Famous, I feel that urge, that calling to envisage what my movie would be like, what scenes would stand out. Not the mainstream bands of the day as previously mentioned, but those smaller bands that I've followed religiously.

Because all it would be would be a series of scenes strung together, without any story or plot as such, maybe a bit of narration and fourth wall breaks explaining the Pete Frame-like rock family tree links between bands.

GLASGOW INDIE EYESPY: THE MOVIE

01 Int: 13th Note basement, Glasgow
Hector Collectors on stage (drummer from Camera Obscura, bass player from Dananananaykroyd, guitarist from Just Joans)
Adam Smith meets 'Craig' as the first person to come to a show who isn't a school friend or family, Craig downloaded a song from the internet (AudioGalaxy) and thought he'd come down, in effect, their first fan.
video link

02 Int: Cottiers Theatre
Camera Obscura gig, 'Craig' notices people in crowd from Hector Collectors. Also Bowlie internet messageboard people
video link

03 Int: Strathclyde university students Union, Glasgow
Plimptons at the games room bar, Adam and Martin recruit 'Craig' as their manager, all parties are pretty clueless as to what this involves

04 Int: Woodside Social Club, Glasgow
At National Pop Winchester League Club night, Gav from Camera Obscura and The Hector Collectors plays the first Plimptons single, crowd includes Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos who starts tapping his foot, and Belle and Sebastian.

04.1 Int: Craig's bedroom
After spending days hunched over his computer rigging a vote on the BBC website The Plimptons single wins record of the week or something, beating another called Glasvegas who later go on to have a number one album.
video link

05 Int: Starka, Motherwell
Plimptons album launch, They sell lots of copies to friends and family. MJ Hibbett is the support act, Adam introduces him to 'Craig'

06 Int: Cavern, Liverpool
The Cardiff Loves are on stage. 'Craig' has driven down to see them, as Simon Love introduces the band and something about a Peel session, 'Craig' gives them the evils.

07 Int: Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow
'Craig' takes to the stage at the packed acoustic open mic night, straps on the guitar, tries to play one of his own compositions and shits a brick

08 Int: Pleasure Unit, London
Gresham Flyers play the Bowlie Alldayer, 'Craig' has used his well leet internet powers to wrangle himself a slot at the Bowlie internet messageboard's all day gig thing. 'Craig' takes to the stage, launches into one of his own composition, goes down like a turd birthday cake

09 Int: 'Craig's bedroom
Craig hunched over his computer and printer, churning out copies of the Glasgow Indie Eyespy fanzine (Glasgow Indie Eyespy was a celebrity and scenester spotting game, you got points depending on who you'd scene)

10 Ext: Botanic Gardens
Big Belle and Sebastian gig, with people in the crowd playing Glasgow Indie Eye Spy
video link video link

11 Int: Woodside Social Club
Bowlie takes over, people still playing Glasgow Indie Eyespy

12 Int: Students union, Edinburgh
Data Panik on stage, Plimps back stage, Adam introduces Craig to Dave JJoans, who hands over demo tape

13 Ext: Motorway - night
Craig driving,pulls over to listen to JJoans demo

14 Int: Tchai Ovna, Glasgow
JJoans album launch gig, Craig selling caseloads of the album
video link

15 Int: 13th Note
A promoter (JohnDMc) offers Plimps and Craig the Woodside for a night

16 Ext: Glasgow
Putting up posters all over town for Plimptons club night

17 Int: Woodside Social Club
MJ Hibbett on stage, three people in the crowd, 'Craig' stood at door looking sheepish

18 Int: 13th Note basement
The London Loves on stage (Pnos no longer in the band), Plimps, JJoanses and 'Craig' in crowd

19 Int: 'Craig's Bedroom
Montage of Last Night From Glasgow webcasts with various bands playing in 'Craig's bedroom
video link

20 Ext: Glasgow
Craig and bands getting drunk round town during the day

21 Int: Cottiers - night
Band formerly from Last Night From Glasgow now on stage.

22 Int: 'Craig's bedroom - night
Something on computer screen, 'Craig' necking bottle of vodka

23 Ext: motorway - day
'Craig' driving, bottle of vodka by his side
video link

24 Ext: Ditch by motorway - day
'Craig' wakes up in drivers seat, car has drifted off road

25 Ext: Buffalo Bar, London - evening
People queuing up, 'Craig' drives past

27 Int: Buffalo Bar
The London Loves on stage, people in crowd, 'Craig' stood at back, weeping
video link

Its not much of a story, but it has its moments. I dunno whether to include things with girlfriends, that's too personal, but would make some of scenes thread together better. And should I include The Owsley Sunshine? Or would they be superfluous to the story?

Or even, should I just scratch out all the real bands and use made-up ones like Stillwater and Humble Pie?

Videos of Indietracks bands 2010 - part 1

There's only a few days left to buy earlybird tickets of Indietracks, earlybird tickets being slightly cheaper then regular tickets, and Indietracks being an indie music festival at a railway museum near Derby on the 23rd to 25th of July.

As with last year, I haven't seen or heard many of the bands playing at this year's Indietracks music festival. So, to help me, and you to chose which bands to check out, I'm putting together a list of all the bands and their videos from YouTube, trying to find three videos for each band.

Its going to take me ages, but, well, this is what I do.

Bands with videos on YouTube

'Allo, Darlin'




Ballboy




Betty and the Werewolves




The Just Joans




Mexican Kids at Home




MJ Hibbett and The Validators




Veronica Falls




Bands I haven't yet found videos for

Be Like Pablo
The Blanche Hudson Weekend
Boy Genius
Burning Hearts
The Callas
The Cannanes
Cineplexx
David Tattersall
The Felt Tips
Foxes!
The Give It Ups
The Hillfields
Jam on Bread
Internet Forever
La La Love You
Lime Chalks
Linda Guilala
Love is All
The Loves
The Middle Ones
The Millipedes
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Paisley and Charlie
The Pooh Sticks
The Primitives
Printed Circuit
Onward Chariots
Pale Sunday
Sarandon
Secret Shine
Shrag
The Smittens
The Specific Heats
Springfactory
Standard Fare
Stars of Aviation
Stars in Coma
The Sunny Street
This Many Boyfriends
Urbantramper
White Town
Winston Echo
Yokoko

Any better offers of videos cheerfully accepted, its going to take me ages to get all the bands.

iPod Daleks

I can't say I'm that impressed with the latest episode of Doctor Who, not quite naff, but getting there.

Even last week I was put off with the idea of a historical figure phoning up the Doctor for an urgent/non-urgent thing, that just didn't happen in Doctor Who, its the sort of thing an American who'd never seen the program would suggest, ten minutes into a brain-storming session.

It doesn't even make sense, historical figures know about the Doctor and have his phone number, but somehow don't remember the daleks. Someone's crossed the timestreams.

Anyhoo, the new daleks, now available in colours to match your iPod, how very 2010.

Sure, I accept the unsurpressed need to redesign all the monsters for every series, it worked for the cybermen, but somehow the design process for these new daleks in just uninspired.

Sure, they're bigger and sleeker than their older cousins, but they're thundering hulks, rather than anything sinister, and they have a hump back.

I would have preferred more variations on a theme like the old Rememberance of the Daleks heavy weapons Dalek, or the glass Dalek. More of that sort of thing please.

Besides all the ones in this evening's episode seemed a bit rattley, they'd shake when they were talking, and wobbly when they moved. That's just not right. If the Doctor can fend them off with a jammy dodger, surely he can point out that they're made of plastic with a wee man inside pedaling a tricycle.

Like this...