5 from Kurt and Nirvana

Thirty years ago, I was 18-years old and desperately looking forward to seeing Nirvana live at the SECC in Glasgow. I had queued for hours to get a ticket from Virgin Records on Union Street. 

Then, in early March 1994, Kurt overdosed in Italy, resulting in the original Glasgow date of 28th March being postponed. There was widespread concern for the health of Kurt, Courtney and young Frances. I remember reading an interview in the Melody Maker by Everett True, friend and champion of Kurt and the band where True wrote of his concern for the way Cobain and Love were living. It sounded utterly chaotic and unsustainable. Later documentary footage of the duo at home around this time is truly harrowing and heartbreaking. 

On 8th April 1994, news broke that Kurt's body has been found. I was in King Tuts to see The Pastels play as part of Glasgow Sound City. In a time before mobiles and the internet, there were pre-gig whispers/rumours around the room. The Pastels came on stage and dedicated the show to Kurt.

I had parked directly outside King Tuts and after the gig my friend Grant and I got into the car and turned on Radio 1 to hear John Peel, but Peel wasn't there. It was just Nirvana song after song, then a pre-recorded message to say that John wasn't able to broadcast and the show was dedicated to Kurt.

From memory, I don't think Grant and I spoke much on the way home. We must have been in shock. A hero had died. Did I grieve? Or just throw myself into more music? I honestly can't remember. I had only just turned 18. I think my grief was over quickly, maybe within a couple of weeks. Music ... and life ... went on. 

It's better to burn out than to fade away is what Kurt wrote in his suicide note. Cobain certainly burned bright and my friends and I would regularly talk about what the next Nirvana album was going to be like following their seminal MTV Unplugged performance. There were rumours that Michael Stipe wanted to write with Kurt.

On reflection, Nirvana got too big, far too quickly. They were a punk band with punk beliefs, but Kurt loved melodic guitar pop - from The Beatles to The Vaselines. Cobain's songwriting quickly developed from the release of debut album Bleach in 1989 to Nevermind and in 1991. Smells Like Teen Spirit took Nirvana to the mainstream, where they were eaten up and spat out, playing to 'jocks' and people that they were always against.

Geffen expected Nevermind  (released in September) to sell 250,000 copies, the same as Sonic Youth's Goo. By Christmas of 1991, Nirvana were selling 400,000 copies per week, fuelled by the phenomenal success of Smells Like Teen Spirit. As a result, the follow up single, Come As You Are, wasn't released until March 1992.

When it came to recording the follow up, Cobain broke from the polished sound of Nevermind, working with producer Steve Albini and writing songs with puns in the title (Radio Friendly Unit Shifter) and cries for help in the lyrics.

I've been listening back to Nirvana quite a bit recently and thought I would blog on 5 of my favourite songs by the band. 

At the time of writing, I chose;

About A Girl

The third song on debut album Bleach and the opening song from the MTV Unplugged performance and album. About A Girl was an early indication of Kurt's sense of melody, very much at odds from the heavy riffing and obscure song titles that dominated Bleach. In comparison, the title said it all. This was a love song about a girl (Tracy Marander), written back in 1988 after Kurt spent an afternoon listening to Meet The Beatles. Kurt had to go into the cafe that Marander worked in to see here. Hence the line I can't see you every night for free.

There is a fizzing guitar solo and a passionate vocal, the first real evidence that Kurt could sing and not just scream. The Unplugged performance sounds even better, Kurt's voice is so beautiful despite years of straining, screaming and singing with gut wrenching emotion. The fizzing guitar solo is much more mellow and allows the groove/rhythm a little space to breathe.

MTV Unplugged version

Lithium

Lithium is the sound of Nirvana perfecting the quiet /loud / quiet / loud / explosive sound.  

Perfectly structured, Lithium begins with a cool melancholic riff for the verses and Kurt singing I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends, they're in my head. Cobain doesn't sound happy though.

Things kick in for the yeah, yeah, yeah bridge, with Kurt's vocals straining in that beautiful way that entranced a generation and the second verse contains the brilliant line I'm so horny, that's OK my will is good. Then the second bridge builds to an explosion.

Even now, the relentless power of the I'm not gonna crack double chorus absolutely blows me away. 

I like it, I'm not gonna crack

I miss you, I'm not gonna crack

I love you, I'm not gonna crack

I killed you, I'm not gonna crack

Wow! At the time of writing, this could be my favourite Nirvana song. Listen to the lift into the second double chorus. As a teenager, cranking this up on my on my stereo with sub woofers and dancing around my bedroom was an absolute joy.

Official video

All Apologies

Or maybe All Apologies might just be my favourite Nirvana song! The groove, the riff, the melody, Kurt's voice ... he reportedly recorded all his vocals for In Utero in just 6-hours. The song dates back to 1990, Dave Grohl recalls hearing a 4-track demo and thinking; 'this guy has such a beautiful sense of melody, I can't believe he's screaming all the time.'

This could be the home demo released on the Sliver - Best of the Box / In Utero boxset.

All Apologies - home demo

Kurt revisits this version in his Unplugged performance. It's still mellow and melancholic as the closing song on In Utero, but the use of cello really comes out on the Unplugged version. Kurt's guitar solo is gorgeous.

MTV Unplugged version

Lounge Act

Outstanding guitar power pop. Kicking in with a bass groove, Kurt then produces warm guitar sounds and a flowing vocal melody over the top, finding the chorus in 32 seconds. 

Don't, tell me what I wanna hear

Afraid of never knowing fear

Then at 90-seconds, Kurt brings out that voice. Stretched to the limits, Kurt goes for it with a verse and double chorus. There is no let up and it's all over in 2 minutes 36 seconds - glorious!

Truth, covered insecurity

I can't let you smother me

Son Of A Gun

I try not to include cover versions when writing features on 10 (or in this case 5) favourite songs by favourite artists, but given that covers feature so prominently through Nirvana's career - from debut single Love Buzz, through Peel sessions and to the legendary MTV show, it's hard not to feature one.

I was going to include Nirvana's cover of Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World as, personally, I think it is way better than the original. The thing that gets me about Bowie's recording is the percussion instrument that is turned up WAY TOO HIGH IN THE MIX in my opinion. It does my head in!

Kurt and Nirvana are not quite 'unplugged' for the fizzing guitar riff that opens their version. Kurt's voice has that beautiful aching feeling to it. No wonder so many people fell for Nirvana, no wonder their Unplugged performance was broadcast almost on a loop.

However, I'm going for Nirvana blitzing their way through The Vaselines for a John Peel session in 1990. This is pre-Teen Spirit and the post Nevermind craziness. I bought The Kurt Cobain Diaries in 2002 and poured over them. I loved Kurt doodling band logos, setlists, artwork and I loved reading his letters to Eugene Kelly from The Vaselines.

Kurt declared his love for the band. It's kind of amazing how he discovered The Vaselines EP's out in Seattle. The two form a bond, exchanging letters and records. In one unposted note to Eugene, Kurt says he is living in his car, passing on Krist's number. It was the same week Teen Spirit was released!

Playing a cover of a band he loved on a radio show by a DJ who fell for his own band just feels so Nirvana. So punk rock. Kurt would always champion his favourite underground acts, by wearing t-shirts by them, or covering their songs. Whether BMX Bandits, Daniel Johnston or The Meatpuppets (Kurt not only covered their songs but invited them to join Nirvana for Unplugged). For those he covered, royalty cheques made a huge difference to their lives and art.

Back to Son Of A Gun. Grohl's drums have a pounding punk Motown feel, Kurt's guitar fuzzes beautifully, Krist holds it all together and the vocals are almost bubblegum punk pop. And Cobain singing that chorus over and over just melts my heart every time. 

Please also see my 2015 blog - Nirvana play The Vaselines

Girls & Boys

30-years ago 
Girls & Boys by Blur

Release date - 7th March 1994

Britpop exploded in the spring of 1994 and went technicolour with the release of Blur's Girls & Boys. This single well and truly put the POP in Britpop, reaching number 5 in the charts and catapulting Blur to new heights.

Never mind song titles like Metal Mickey or Animal Nitrate, this was pop in its purest form. Girls who want boys, who want girls ... that's been the case since the dawn of time and even The Beatles hadn't captured this in such a bold way. 

Girls & Boys is almost ridiculously catchy. The synth riff, disco beat, funky (Duran Duran - according to Alex James) bass and Damon Albarn singing about love in the nineties, is paranoid (I always thought it was it's paradise).

Albarn wrote the song after holidaying in Magaluf with his girlfriend Justine Frishmann from Elastica. He couldn't believe the way girls and boys would just meet up in pubs & clubs to get off with each other.

On sunny beaches

Take your chances 

Looking for ...

It's easy to look back at the nineties through rose-tinted glasses (and believe me ... I do!) but it's easy to forget that Labour didn't come to power until May 1997, in the dying embers of Britpop. Albarn beautifully captures some of the challenges faced by the youth of the day in a line that is almost thrown away at the start of the second verse;

Avoiding all work

Cause there's none available

The song is just two verses and that incredibly catchy chorus that is repeated joyfully again and again and again. But just to give you something else to sing to, Albarn throws in an extra little hook while Graham Coxon pushes a phaser effect on his guitar and cranks it up. 

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Girls & Boys is energetic, contagious pop music, this was the Britpop klaxon sounding loud and clear. If Suede kicked down the door then Blur were the first to steam through.

Official video

Live on The Word

Pet Shop Boys remix

Introducing Dead Pony

BBC Scotland has recently stepped up a gear in terms of promoting new young bands / artists. Their TUNE programme on iPlayer and TV channel has introduced me to a number of acts that I'll feature on the blog. 

Dead Pony filmed a performance by the docks in Greenock. I was immediately taken by singer Anna Shields crystal clear voice and melodies, almost in complete contrast to the grungey riffs and noise being created behind her.

Yet somehow it works ... it works well.

Dead Pony - Anna Shields & Blair Crichton

Shields used to busk regularly on Buchanan Street in Glasgow (I'm pretty sure I have a CD somewhere) before going on to form Crystal and then changing their name to Dead Pony.

While (being honest) I much prefer the name Crystal, I imagine there might have been a number of bands across the world stumbling across that name. I'm not sure there will be another Dead Pony, it does stand out!

So does their music. It's almost like Courtney Love fronting Nirvana. Think of Love's poppier songs and melodies, like Malibu or Celebrity Skin and then add in the energy and riffs spilling from Nirvana between Bleach and Nevermind, and you're probably not a million miles from where Dead Pony are. Shields cites her love of pop in interviews, including the likes of the wonderful Dua Lipa (one of my favourite albums from 2020).

Elsewhere Crichton (who wears a Nirvana t-shirt in the Tune episode) shares his influences through the riffs and noises he generates from his guitar. 

Sharp Tongues, their September 2020 single is under 3-minutes of ferocious punk grunge pop, it doesn't let up and I'd love to hear and see them rip through it in a live environment. The hooks come thick and fast.

I've had a little taste of something I cannot forget

I know you're a little bit easy

This was swiftly followed by another single 23 Never Me in November 2020. Shields and Crichton create a glorious blitz as vocals and guitars collide to create a brilliant buzz of energy. The chorus is a frantic blur before things stop almost completely to allow melodies to come pouring through. 

Can't save me from another problem

Never let your feelings show

Crichton then attacks his guitar as if his life depends on it before the band tear though the chorus at breakneck speed for the final time.

Shields demonstrated her commitment by getting the title tattoo'd on her arm.

Dead Pony sounds like they are ready for the next stage - whatever that might be for them. I can imagine they must be chomping at the bit to play live. I'm not sure who has produced them to date - they've done a grand job, but I wonder what a future producer(s) could do with Shields voice, lyrics, melodies and hooks over cool noisy riffs and beats. There is a lot to work with if they get enough time in the studio.

That could well happen. Dead Pony already have the backing of LAB Records who have established a fantastic track record of being a stepping stone for young bands going on to bigger things. In addition, they have management and a booking agent.

One to look out for on the Glasgow scene and way beyond once live shows resume.

Website

Sharp Tongues video

TUNE - BBC Scotland feature

Lola

Cover version of the month #64

The Raincoats cover The Kinks

Lola by The Kinks is a magnificent example of Ray Davies songwriting skills. There is a story full of humour, delivered with a dash of mischief. You can imagine Davies smiling with a gleam in his eye as he wrote the song.

The playfulness in the lyrics is there from the off, warm chords turn to a finger picked riff and Ray introduces us to the setting of where he met Lola, cheekily and a little outrageously spelling out cola in the first verse. It's so cool, so simple yet so clever, and so effective - you're hooked immediately.

I met her in a club down in old Soho

Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola

C-O-L-A, cola

Davies doesn't let up, the song flows easily with his humour spilling into every verse, almost every line. There is some exaggeration as he tells the story of meeting Lola who has a deep voice who nearly breaks his spine when she squeezes him.

The fourth verse is just hilarious, leading to an even funnier break where Davies introduces the imagery of Lola picking him up and sitting him on 'her' knee.

I'm not dumb but I can't understand

Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man

Ray Davies is in sensational form, in his element as he continues his tale. My favourite section is probably the flowing break where he sings;

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls

It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola

Davies continues his tale to conclusion;

Well I'm not the worlds most masculine man

But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man

And so is Lola

La-la-la-la Lola

Lola was released in 1970, a full 2-years before Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side opened with Holly plucking her eyebrows and shaving her legs and then he was a she. I would have put money on Lou's song being released first.

This is just genius songwriting, an artist completely in the zone. The inspiration for Lola has generated a few stories down the years, but regardless of whether it was a band member or Davies himself, the result is undeniable - a story beautifully, hilariously and vividly told via the form of pop music, full of a vibrant energy, Davies sounds excited by his tale, excited by the song.

How on earth do you cover it?

What an amazing picture! Couldn't find a credit but how cool

do The Raincoats look? Like a real gang!

Well, in 1979 the punk band The Raincoats decided to cover it on their eponymous debut album. The brilliant picture above is how I imagine the song being played, the band close together, bashing it out and having fun. The Raincoats formed around Art School and the London squat scene in 1977, with Ana da Silva and Gina Birch as the central members.

The difference is quite staggering, a band feeling their way through the song. The zip and confidence that shines through The Kinks original is replaced by a young band sounding extremely raw, yet still managing to put their own twist on it.

Ana knew a couple of chords and I could sing along with a few hymns and rock n roll tunes - Gina Birch, The Raincoats

I definitely prefer the original version, but there is something I admire and love about The Raincoats version. The beats sound almost primitive at the beginning, the vocals start very deadpan before lifting in the second verse, then lifting further in the third verse when harmonies kick in. 

At times the band sound like they aren't sure what the chords are, then at times the band flow as they all sing and inject urgency into their version. I believe one of the main reasons that so many punk records have stood the test of time is precisely because a lot of the bands were far from technically great, but the rawness in terms of musical ability and production, matched with passion, creativity and energy created magic.

Well I left home just a week before

And I'd never, ever kissed a woman before

Lola smiled and took me by the hand

And said little boy I'm going to make you a man

I would have seen The Raincoats in 1994 supporting Nirvana at the SECC in Glasgow. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan. Sadly the show never happened. Kurt's love of The Raincoats, The Vaselines, The Meat Puppets and even the likes of Daniel Johnston helped propel these artists to worldwide audiences. Cover versions, t-shirts in pictures and regular mentions in interviews.

Cobain visited Da Silva in the antique shop she worked in while he was in London in 1992, asking her if she could replace his worn out version of their debut album. 

When I listen to The Raincoats I feel as if I'm a stowaway in an attic, violating and in the dark. Rather than listening to them, I feel like I'm listening in on them. We're together in the same old house and I have to be completely still or they will hear me spying from above and, if I get caught - everything will be ruined because it's their thing. They're playing music for themselves.

Kurt Cobain, extract from the liner notes to the reissue of The Raincoats debut album

The Kinks original version + live version

The Raincoats version

Click here (or search for) Everything Flows cool cover versions on Spotify for a playlist of the covers I have blogged about and read on for a full list and links to previous cover of the month blogs. 

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt

14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine

16. California Soul

18. Wonder wall 

19. Dancing In The Dark

20. Always On My Mind

21. Ceremony

22. Heroes

23. Different Drum

24. Wild Horses

25. Respect

26. Mr Tambourine Man

27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine

28. Superstar

29. Twist and Shout

30. Purple Rain

31. Baker Street

32. Not Fade Away

33. Stop Your Sobbing

34. I Don't Want To Grow Up

35. Serious Drugs

36. Dancing With Myself

37. How Does It Feel To Feel?

38. Love Buzz

39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash

41. Discoland

42. Varshons 2 by The Lemonheads

43. The Langley Schools Music Project
44. Witchi Tai To
45. Our Lips Are Sealed
46. Sunshine Of Your Love
47. Here Comes The Sun
48. I Think We're Alone Now
49. Don't Let Me Down 
50. It's Oh So Quiet
51. Alcoholiday 
52. Summer Holiday
53. Who Do You Think You Are?
54. Head On
55. Nothing Compares 2 U

56. Hey Jude

57. Seven Days Too Long

58. L.O.V.E Love

59. Into Your Arms

60. Heart Of Glass

61. Take Me To The River

62. We Can Work It Out 

63. Talking In My Sleep

Britpop memories part 1

 2020, at least for me, was 25-years since peak Britpop. A quarter of a century!!!

1995 was a remarkable year for British pop music, you had the bands that, looking back, were the real Britpop heavyweights; Supergrass were Alright, Pulp were Sorted for E's & Whizz, Oasis scored their first number one and then went stratospheric with the release of Wonderwall which propelled their dizzying rise to uncharted heights worldwide, there was the Blur v Oasis battle, the return of Shaun Ryder with Black Grape, Elastica released their debut album and The Charlatans eponymous album was a belter. 

Outwith that you had Radiohead surging ahead with the incredible The Bends, Teenage Fanclub displaying exceptional songwriting on Grand Prix, Tricky and Massive Attack creating what seemed like a new kind of music, The Verve shooting for the stars with A Northern Soul, the Chemical Brothers and Leftfield releasing huge electronic albums with massive beats, Paul Weller released Stanley Road.... good music was everywhere.

If Britpop peaked in 1995 - and I mean in terms of quality of music - when did it start? When did it end? What were the highlights?

The Drowners, the debut single by Suede

Looking back, I'm amazed it didn't make the top 40. 

But it made a mark, a big one.

For me, Britpop started with Suede in 1992, leading to a peak in terms of musical quality from 'Britpop' bands in 1995, before dying in 1997 as a number of Britpop bands moved forwards and notably Oasis went backwards. 

During that time I went from being at school to working and gigging regularly in Glasgow, taking in Oasis shows from the Tramway and the Cathouse through to Knebworth. It was a remarkable ride.

As a 19 year old in 1995, Britpop was exciting, there was new music to buy every week. So much good British music was released in 1995 (not all Britpop by any means) that I'm in no doubt that it was peak Britpop; classic albums and singles that have stood the test of a quarter century; Yes by McAlmont & Butler still bursts with energy, Pulp's singles were incredible and Wonderwall must have been played in every pub across the country, uniting people from all walks of life in song.

In a year where I couldn't get out to gigs, I spent some time looking back at the Britpop phenomenon. It sure was a good time to be alive. This is by no means exhaustive, John Harris' The Last Party is a good place to start if you want to do a deep dive into this period of time.

With Part 1, we'll start at (what I think is) the beginning and travel through to March & April 1994, two of the biggest months in Britpop when so much seemed to happen, leading to an explosion of British guitar pop music.

Britpop memories part 1
1992 - April 1994

The start - Suede's early singles

Suede kickstarted Britpop with their image, ambition and pop sensibilities demonstrated on their first 4 singles; the remarkable run of The Drowners, Metal Mickey, Animal Nitrate & So Young.

By April 1993 Suede had released the first 3 of the quartet and Brett Anderson appeared on what has become an iconic cover of Select Magazine with the title Yanks Go Home.

Suede were kind of on their own in 1992 going into 93, talking about bi-sexuality, Bowie & The Smiths in a post Madchester/Rave world with the music press being largely fixated on Nirvana and the grunge scene.

Suede were distinctly British and they kicked down a door. The floodgates opened. You can check this previous BLOG on the first 4 Suede singles.

Looking back, Suede kept up a remarkable pace throughout the 1990's; releasing singles every year except 1998 and 4 albums. The line-up that burst on to the scene with Brett Anderson on vocals, Bernard Butler on guitar, Matt Osman on bass and Simon Gilbert on drums just looked and sounded incredible. 

1992 through 1993 was their time; the singles, the imagery, the endorsement from Morrissey (which meant something back then), the album ....

Modern Life Is Rubbish

Blur had a link to Suede. Justine Frischmann had been in Suede, also dating Anderson, before leaving to form Elastica and date Blur's Damon Albarn. Brett Anderson cites her as a huge influence on the first Suede album.

This bizarre love triangle is pretty central to Britpop. Look at the change in Blur's look and sound from their 1991 debut Leisure to 1993's Modern Life Is Rubbish! All of a sudden it is Fred Perry polo shirts, blazers and doc martin boots. It wasn't quite as simple as that, there was 1992's Popscene single and an extensive tour of America that left Albarn yearning for England. Perhaps there was also the realisation that Leisure wasn't very good and that with There's No Other Way they had jumped on the Madchester bandwagon.

You could easily argue that Blur jumped to another bandwagon, only this time they were in from the start through Frishmann and Suede. 

Lead single For Tomorrow shows that Albarn was significantly developing as a songwriter. There is no doubt that Blur changed and developed massively with the Modern Life Is Rubbish album and Albarn gained huge confidence.

Creep

Radiohead are definitely not Britpop, but their name continues to be linked with it, largely because of Creep and the way they developed and left the genre as far behind as they possibly could, progressing from debut Pablo Honey in 1993, through The Bends in 95 to OK Computer in 97. It is a mind blowing development!

Creep was and is an incredible song, looking back, has Thom Yorke ever sung so directly since? When he takes off with the raaaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnn section I still get a tingle down my spine.

Creep was a super cool song in 1992, the use of swearing is just perfect, and listening back now, of the first time in well over a decade, it is still super cool. 

Radiohead have to be mentioned when reflecting on Britpop as they were so different and the way they worked on their songwriting, musicianship and creative energy is in direct contrast to Oasis over the same period. They stood out a mile.

I wish I was special, so f**king special

But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo

Do You Remember The First Time?

Jarvis Cocker's Pulp were building a head of steam. The 1992 release of Babies didn't chart but it seemed to mark a change in the band that led to a string of singles leading to the His n Hers album in 1994.

Do You Remember The First Time did chart though, it was Pulp's first top 40 single. It perfectly showcased Jarvis Cocker's humour, style, edge and fascination with sex. All of a sudden Pulp had found an audience and oh how Jarvis Cocker loved to play to an audience!

Pulp released their first single away back in 1983, now in March 1994, they finally made the top 40 and a few months later they even made it to Top of the Pops to perform a re-released Babies.

There will be more about Pulp later.

Elastica enter the stage

Elastica formed in 1992, releasing a limited edition single, Stutter, in 1993, but then picked up a head of steam in 1994 with the release of the Line Up and Connection singles.

The importance of Justine Frischmann to Britpop can't be understated. Although it became very lad orientated, Frischmann brought a love story (and triangle) to the table. Justine quickly became a pin up. I certainly wasn't the only teenager in Britain to have her picture blu-tacked to my bedroom wall.

Elastica burned brightly, too brightly. They burned out from 2-years of constant activity and attention and a lot of books on the era, particularly John Harris' The Last Party, document guitarist Donna Matthews descent from a quiet Welsh indie girl to someone reliant on drugs to get through or waste the day.

Girls & Boys

Britpop went technicolour with the release of Blur's Girls & Boys in March 1994. It was pure pop; simple and ridiculously catchy. With lyrics like love in the 90's, it's paradise, on sunny beaches, take your chances it felt very much of the times and a spring release meant that it became a summer anthem for people going on holiday to ... Greece.

Blur were exceptionally prolific through the 90's, releasing a staggering 22 singles and 6 albums. The run of Modern Life Is Rubbish (93), Parklife (94) and The Great Escape (95) along with the singles released leaves me exhausted just reading it.

But back to Girls & Boys, this was real Britpop kicking in. The single reached number 5 in the charts. Britpop was set to go mainstream, Blur were set to go massive.

Stay Together

This somewhat inappropriately named standalone single by Suede was released in March 1994, the last single with Bernard Butler in the band. Suede would veer slightly off their initial course with the release of the Dog Man Star album in late 1994. Widely regarded by fans and critics as a real highlight, in late 1994 it was a marked contrast from the Britpop sound and look that was exploding around them.

I'm a big fan of Butler's guitar sound and playing on the early Suede recordings and Stay Together is one of the bands most commercial songs. It got to number 3 in the charts and it is noticeable that the singles subsequently released from Dog Man Star stayed around number 20 in the charts.

April 1994; 

- Kurt Cobain's suicide

- the debut single by Oasis and the Wibbling Rivalry interview

- Blur release Parklife

Looking back, March/April 1994 is a kind of pivotal time in the world of Britpop. So much happened to propel Blur & Oasis to the fore of a new 'movement'. Although Noel and Oasis would always distance themselves from indie & Britpop.

Why was it pivotal?

Blur took things up a notch with the aforementioned Girls & Boys, Oasis made their TV debut on The Word with Supersonic, Kurt Cobain overdosed in March and then tragically committed suicide in April, Supersonic came out, Oasis gave an interview a million miles away from anything Kurt Cobain ever did. They had a song called Live Forever that was the complete opposite of Kurt singing look on the bright side, suicide or naming a song (even ironically) I Hate Myself And I Want To Die and Blur released Girls & Boys and then their 3rd LP Parklife.

The death of Kurt Cobain on 5th April rocked my world. I've mentioned a number of times in previous blogs that I was at King Tuts to see The Pastels playing, rumours were abound that something had happened but in a pre-internet (indeed pre mobile) world you couldn't just check the news instantly. The Pastels came on stage and dedicated the show to Kurt, on the way home the Peel Show was just back to back Nirvana.

2-days later I saw Oasis for the first time.

I'd been into Nirvana in a big way, I had a ticket (that I still have) for their show in Glasgow at the SECC, but all of a sudden Oasis were calling me and they spoke to me in a way that Nirvana couldn't. Noel's early songs of dreams and escapism just lifted me.

Oasis were the band I was waiting for. In April 1994 they arrived with the release of their debut single, appearing on The Word and on Radio 1 for Glasgow's Sound City where I caught them supporting The Boo Radleys at the Tramway. You can read about that HERE

Later that night, Liam and Noel held court in their hotel room with John Harris from the NME, resulting in a hilarious insight into their relationship and personalities. This was not long after Oasis had been thrown off a ferry to Amsterdam for fighting. Noel was mortified and wanted Oasis to be about the songs, Liam was into the whole rock n roll package and totally up for it ....or as we quickly found out ... mad for it.

The interview was later released as a 7-inch single and it is absolutely hilarious. You can sense the edge between the 2 brothers, the edge that made them stand out from others.

I would look forward to Oasis interviews as much as their musical releases. So did the music weeklies and monthlies as they generated huge sales. Oasis and the Gallagher brothers brought a working class mentality and reality to the weekly music press and to music fans. There was absolutely no bullshit about them. They wanted it, they were going to have it.

On 25th April Blur released Parklife, a swift follow up to Modern Life Is Rubbish and on the back of Girls & Boys. Playing with more classic British imagery, the band took the NME to the dog track to discuss their sound and ambitions.

All of a sudden 'indie music' was going mainstream. More on Parklife in part 2. 

Staying Out For The Summer

T in the Park 1994

Britpop anthems kept coming and in July 1994 Dodgy released the impeccable Staying Out For The Summer single. Looking back, I'm amazed it only reached 38 in the charts! This was sunshine pop, feel good music to sing-a-long to immediately. Relatable to many with its lyrics of working in factories, being low on luck & confidence, of love lost and mourned, Staying Out For The Summer was perfect for the sunshine summer of 1994

You see I work in a factory (I need the money)

I don't want to be late (though I hate this place)

I got my debts to pay for (free me from this race)

They're gonna have to wait

Speaking of which;

The sun shone on the first ever T in the Park with Blur, Oasis, Elastica and Pulp all playing. Outside you had the Main Stage, in tents you had what felt like the here, the now, the future.

I was 18 and everyone I know that went to the festival wondered if it would even go on. It happened. Although I think I saw all the bands mentioned above, I only remember Oasis. They played to a packed tent and played football on stage. They were outstanding, I'd love to see footage of the gig if it exists.

Check some highlights from the first ever T in the Park HERE

Part 2 coming soon

Eugene Kelly at The Doublet

I really love The Doublet bar in Park Road, Glasgow. It's handy for Kelvinbridge Underground, Kelvingrove Park, Woodlands, Great Western Road and Gibson Street. But it's still just nicely out of the way to stand on its own.

The Doublet is a traditional old boozer, beloved by musicians and artists. So, when they announced they were putting Eugene Kelly with support from Molly Linen on in their upstairs function room, I knew I would have to be quick to grab a ticket.

Eugene is an artist I fell for back in my teens and I guess I have been extremely fortunate that a lot of the bands and artists I discovered back then have had long careers; Teenage Fanclub, Eugene and The Vaselines, The Pastels, BMX Bandits, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr ... all still making music.

Upstairs at The Doublet holds 50 at a squeeze, so this was a special intimate show. Molly Linen played a beautiful set, her voice is gorgeously pure and her guitar playing is intricate, clever and melodic. Linen released a 10-inch EP via Lost Map at the end of 2019 and I will certainly be checking that out and hoping to see her again in the future.

On to Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, or one-time of Captain America until Marvel Comics threatened to sue him, so he changed the band name to Eugenius 'which no-one could spell or say.'

People were literally sitting (on the floor) at the feet of a Scottish indie legend last night. The intimate setting was informal and friendly and Eugene dove way back into his catalogue to play songs of love, lust, frustration, bitterness, tenderness and humour.

The opening Wow! and Bed In from the Captain America days translated easily to an acoustic performance, making me appreciate them all the more.

New songs, School Sports Day and Dogs Best Friend, made me long for a follow up to Eugene's 2003 album Man Alive, from which he played a number of songs. Eugene brilliantly combines raw punk energy with brilliant pop melodies, riffs and hooks and it was thrilling to see him perform in such an intimate setting.

Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam is a song that has traveled around the world thanks to Nirvana covering it on their Unplugged album, here we were watching its author perform it in his local pub - a joy.

New song Is She Into Me? was brilliant - hilariously brilliant. The lyrics and melodies flowed as Eugene told a story about a guy doubting himself through a string of events. I so hope he records it.

Eugene ended with classic Vaselines songs Mollys Lips and Son Of A Gun to rapturous applause. This was a very special show from someone who displayed his very special talents.

My only disappointment was that Eugene didn't have time to play If I Could Talk which he co-wrote with Evan Dando and The Lemonheads recorded.

But hey, what a night!

500,000 page views

Page views on the morning of 13th September 2019

Everything Flows Glasgow has reached 500,000 page views.

I have no idea if this is good or terrible, but it is a landmark for me!

It works out at an average of 680 per blog. I'll take that. Blog views these days tend to be from anything as low as 50 to 500. Occasionally they will go higher - see below for reasons why.

I began the blog simply because I enjoy writing about music. I wanted to be a journalist as a kid and loved the weekly buzz of walking the long way to school to buy the NME and Melody Maker on a Wednesday morning. I used to devour Uncut, Mojo, Select, Record Collector and many more. I must have spent a fortune on magazines in my teens and through to my mid-20's.

If just one person finds my blog and discovers something that they haven't heard before, or something that makes them go back to check an old song or album they haven't listened to in ages, then that is ultimately what makes me happy.

Feedback is always welcome. Someone once bought me a pint in Stereo because of my blog - thank you if that was you!

Everything Flows Glasgow - most viewed blogs

Higher page views tend to happen for the following reasons;

a) luck - it happens to get RT's or shared by the right person or the bands involved. Example - one of my highest viewed blogs is on Hot Chip, band members individually RT'd as did the bands account and their side projects.

b) timing - writing a live review immediately after a gig can really help with views (see The The in my highest viewed blogs), however I don't always do that and sometimes leave it far too late to even bother. I really should have blogged on Martha Reeves playing Glasgow in June!

c) the subject - One of my blogs that still gets regular views is on Nirvana covering The Vaselines, it is the kind of thing people google regularly. Likewise with the Stone Roses Amsterdam show I attended when Reni walked off the stage.

Meeting Mani in Amsterdam back in 2012

d) all of the above - the prime example being my blog on Gerry Cinnamon last summer. Gerry doesn't do media, so the mainstream media don't tend to write about him. As a result my blog is probably one of the few places his fans can read anything about him. On a daily and weekly basis this blog still generates page views.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog. I intend to keep it going for a while yet and I'd love to try and get into the habit of doing a monthly podcast.

Current regular/semi- regular features include;

• Cover version of the month - approaching the 50th blog on cover versions
• Never Ending Mixtape - regular round up of songs added to my Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify, now at 1,142 songs
• Trust me - just a song and the lyrics (I might start to add in a little commentary)
• 10 from - newly introduced feature that started this month with The Vaselines

I'll write about anything I like - live show, old band, new band - whatever I enjoy and very largely depending on time. So please don't be offended if you send a press release through for an album review. You'll see from my blogs that I really don't do that many.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any feedback.

Many thanks
Murray

10 from The Vaselines

I always enjoy lists of bands, songs and albums. So welcome to a new feature where I'll choose a favourite band or artist of mine and then list and discuss 10 of my favourite songs from their career. 

First up - The Vaselines

I remember going into Missing Records on Oswald Street in Glasgow to buy The Way Of The Vaselines, a compilation of all previous releases by the band. It came out in 1992 when interest in the band was reignited thanks to Nirvana, one of the biggest bands in the world, covering Son Of A Gun and Molly's Lips on their Incesticide album. I was a mere 16-years old and the cool girl that served me seemed pretty impressed that I even knew who The Vaselines were, never mind that I was asking after their album. If Kurt Cobain and this cool girl in Missing were into the band then they must be good! The Vaselines had a new fan.

The Vaselines had already broken up by the time I got into them. Eugene went on to form and lead Captain America/Eugenius and release a brilliant solo album, Man Alive (definitely need to do a blog on that at some point) before getting The Vaselines back together with Frances in 2006. Since then they have released two new albums and played shows all around the world.

A number of years after buying the album I went looking for it in my then alphabetised CD collection and it was missing! I hated my brother or sister taking stuff without my permission but I was pretty impressed to find that the CD was in my sisters room along with some other great albums she had 'borrowed'.

Somewhere along the line, a few years later, my sister Carla emailed Eugene out of the blue to ask if would contribute to a dissertation she was doing at Art School on pop music and pop art. She was amazed that he replied and since then they have become really good friends, playing numerous shows together and recently Carla JOINED THE VASELINES as their keyboard/synth player.

AMAZING!

The Vaselines are such a fun band. There early material is pure punk pop. Some songs sound like they were almost made up on the spot and that has helped their songs sound fresh decades later. Their post reformation songs and albums definitely keep the fun and innuendo at the heart of everything, but there is a more mature sound to songs like the gorgeous Single Spies. Live, the bands warm guitars and onstage banter between Eugene and Frances can't help but bring a smile to my face.

So The Vaselines are one of my favourite bands and here are 10 of my favourite songs that they have released to date;

Teenage Superstars
All 4 songs from The Vaselines 1988 Dying For It EP released on Stephen Pastels 53rd and 3rd Records feature on this blog. They are raw, pure and in many cases, including this one, they are electrifying. The beat is primal, Eugene lets rip on his guitar and sings lyrics mixing sex, religion and youth rebellion leading to an incredible closing 80 seconds of  Frances and Eugene yelling I'm a teenage Jesus superstar with the energy leaping out and grabbing you. This is brilliant punk pop that sounds raw and dangerous.

Molly's Lips
The great thing about early Vaselines material is that they really sound like they were in their own world not giving one f**k about anything else going on in the world. Molly's Lips is well under 2-minutes yet there is time to pack in 3 verses, 3 or 4 choruses, a horn and a great break to a guitar solo.

High Tide Low Tide
The lead single from 2014's V for Vaselines album. This is so catchy. I love Eugene singing about playing hard to get, there are bah bah bah bah bah's, warm noisy guitars, a video with Eugene and Francis in leathers, on scooters, hoola hopping and playing crazy golf. Pretty much everything I love about the band in song and on film!

Single Spies
With Single Spies The Vaselines capture something quite beautifully in a way I don't think they ever have before. Absolutely sublime. Almost mature - in a Vaselines way of course! Eugene and Frances voices combine and entwine so naturally.

Stop denying

That it meant nothing

You're lying

Sex With An X
The Vaselines 2010 comeback single and album. Frances dressed as a nun and Eugene as a vicar in the video! This is a delicious romp of a song with The Vaselines innuendo and sense of pop pushed to the fore. It's like it is just one big long chorus with a glorious guitar solo and handclaps. Brilliant. Their comeback show at the ABC in Glasgow around this time was a joy.

I Hate The 80's
From the aforementioned 2010 comeback album, Eugene and Francis display their knack for catchy punk pop by filling it full of brilliant observations with pure cheek. You put a bullet in a Beatle, started beating on the people is an incredible lyric! The where did that girl go, what did that boy know hook is infectious, as is the it wasn't all Duran Duran Duran Duran line.

Check this great live version - live on KEXP.

Dying For It
I kind of like to think of Dying For It as a garage nuggets pop punk tribute to Motown....by way of Glasgow. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks of it like that but the way Eugene and Francis sing the hook I'm hanging out, baby I'm hanging out really does make me think of the kind of hooks Motown would produce. A glorious racket with pop melodies. The sound of a band having fun.

The Day I Was A Horse
Possibly my favourite live Vaselines song. They fizz through it and the kiss off line on the chorus I think I'm on a f**king trip is sheer brilliance. This is 90-seconds of catchy punk pop brilliance that sounds fresh, energetic, fun and vital.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
For me this is one of the most beautiful songs ever by a Scottish band. The handful of chords, stunning vocal, the imagery in the lyrics, the cello and the whole feel to the song - just perfect. Listening back to some of the early Vaselines material, they really captured something on the recordings - there is a rawness and purity to them, beautiful.

Son Of A Gun
Eugene and Frances at their very, very best. The way this song flows is perfect, so perfect that I think I could listen to the chorus on repeat all day long. The whole song is super catchy, the verse is like a nursery rhyme, but that chorus ... with Frances singing;

The sun shines in the bedroom when we play

And the raining always starts when you go away

Love Buzz

Cover of the month #38 - Nirvana cover Shocking Blue

I recently watched the Nirvana documentary Montage of Heck accompanied by a few bottles of beer. I was transported back to my teenage years and the wonder of falling in love with the power, punk soul and melody of Nirvana and the charisma and attitude of Kurt Cobain.

The sheer energy that Nirvana generated live as they were breaking was incredible. One of the live performances shown in Montage of Heck was their cover version of Love Buzz by The Shocking Blue. I was captivated.

Krist Novoselic was seemingly lost and fixated on the bass groove, Dave Grohl looked young and ferocious on the drums, hair everywhere. And Kurt ... well Kurt is being Kurt; driving his band on by attacking his guitar, spinning around the stage and simultaneously inspiring and antagonising the crowd.

I have included 3 films of Nirvana playing Love Buzz in this blog to highlight the power and intensity of Nirvana's live performances around this time and the brilliant way they transform the original.

1. Live at the Paramount, Seattle, 31/10/91
Kurt is almost throwing his guitar around as he plays, looking to inject extra energy, urgency and sound. Meanwhile Novoselic and Grohl highlight how tight they were with Krist just grooving on the bass riff and Grohl matching both Kurt's energy and the groove of the bass.

Kurt looks and sounds like he is trying to dismantle his guitar at one point, scratching and pulling at the strings as the rhythm section groove on, they bring it all back together with his guitar miraculously still relatively in tune for one final blitz on the riff.

This is top class live footage with someone on stage really capturing the movement and ferocity of the performance. Breathtaking.

2. Dallas, Texas, 19/10/91
With the stage set dangerously close to the audience, with no real height to offer protection, Kurt plays with added intensity. A couple of bouncers try to deal with stage invaders and crowd surfers as Kurt rips into the riff and screams into the mic. At 2 minutes and 8 seconds something snaps and Kurt launches himself over the heads of the front row, he is hoisted aloft and somehow still generating sounds from his guitar as a bouncer tries to pull him back to the stage. For reasons we'll never know, Kurt strikes out at the bouncer with his guitar before being dragged back to the stage and receiving a hefty blow to the head by the bouncer.

Krist and Dave jump in and Kurt is back on his feet almost immediately as his mates try to defuse the situation.

 The full show is available on the second video. Kurt has issues with the sound and after Polly he smashes the sound desk with his guitar at around 34 minutes 50 seconds in. By the time of Love Buzz Cobain's frustrations boil over and he launches himself into the crowd- as above.

Cobain pics his guitar up and plays what sounds like the riff of Something In The Way before tossing his guitar high and into the drums. There is a lot of noise and confusion before Nirvana play again with Kurt's guitar way out of tune for Penny Royal Tea.

Then in a remarkable show of resilience and character after the fight, Kurt and co tear in Negative Creep and On A Plain as bouncers/stewards gamefully try to keep people from invading the stage. The band end by ripping through Territorial Pissings. It is remarkable footage!

3. Live At Reading 1992
The above footage is incredible, both from October 1991, just a month after the release of Nevermind. Fast forward to the summer of 1992 and Kurt takes the stage at Reading in a wheelchair and hospital gown to take the piss out of rumours about his health.

The energy, passion and punk attitude from the above shows is still there as Kurt throws, smashes and detunes his guitar and then somehow manages to play it again. His unpredictability means that you just cannot take your eyes off him.

So Love Buzz is a favourite of mine, the energy leaps out of the song and the rhythm of Krist and Dave is sensational.

The original was released by Shocking Blue in 1969. The riff is there, but Nirvana electrify and magnify it, recognising its power and transforming it to their advantage. The original also has a bit of a crazy section before bringing the riff back in, but again, Nirvana take that to another level and Kurt's rasping vocal is just incredible.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul
18. Wonder wall 
19. Dancing In The Dark
20. Always On My Mind
21. Ceremony
22. Heroes
23. Different Drum
24. Wild Horses

25. Respect
26. Mr Tambourine Man
27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
28. Superstar
29. Twist and Shout
30. Purple Rain
31. Baker Street
32. Not Fade Away
33. Stop Your Sobbing
34. I Don't Want To Grow Up
35. Serious Drugs
36. Dancing With Myself
37. How Does It Feel To Feel?