oops, how rude...

you haven't been introduced to the new poster yet now have you? you've probably spied it over to the right, but that doesn't excuse my tardiness. not one little bit. please accept my apologies. this is the july poster:"hello"

"hello july poster"

"see you on the 18th for my first birthday party?"

"yeah, alright"

x

bottle rocket june round up

tis the morning after the done-ing and dusted-ing of bottle rocket's 12th (!) full club night! which makes next month an extra-special anniversary month, which we shall celebrate in the appropriate style: bottle rocket will forget until the last minute, causing a massive argument only rectified through lashings of make-up sex.

er, i mean we'll have a bacchanalian party the likes of which the world has never before witnessed! we'll great-gatsby glasgow to pieces!

well, we'll have a party at any rate.

but since this is all still 39, 495 minutes away (and that's a fact cos i mathed it), let's discuss last night's bottle rocket!

ta to all that popped along and danced with us. it was a learning experience. we learned that:

a) linday lohan is, in fact, a recording artist as well as an actress/party-girl, and her recordings are deemed requestable.

b) people really like the safety dance. apologies to mike for dissauding him from playing it so many times before...

c) st elmos fire is fucking rad.

d) we need to get a single-edit of common people. cos my legs aint feeling too good after six minutes of frenetic dancing/hopping around.

and e) attempts to put kenickie in a cd player will always result in punka being played, even if the user intended to play pvc. it's just too bloody tempting.


here're the songs:

1. holy fuck - lovely allen
2. m83 - kim & jessie
3. yacht - psychic city
4. passion pit - sleepyhead
5. grandaddy - a.m. 180
6. dinosaur jr - i want you to know
7. sonic youth - sacred trickster
8. dressy bessy - electrified
9. dandy warhols - cool as kim deal
10. danananaykroyd - black wax
11. the thermals - no culture icons
12. love is all - big bangs, black holes, meteorites
13. the brownies - fight night
14. the vapours - turning japanese
15. franz ferdinand - no you girls
16. yo la tengo - big day
17. ballboy - you can't spend your whole life hanging around with arseholes
18. lucksmiths - t shirt weather
19. suburban kids with biblical names - funeral face
20. jens lekman - i saw her at the anti-war demonstration
21. mgmt - electric feel
22. kate bush - running up that hill
23. dubstar - not so manic now
24. sambassadeur - final say
25. blondie - heart of glass
26. the cure - inbetween days
27. electric light orchestra - don't bring me down
28. the undertones - the kids don't like it
29. the specials - little bitch
30. toots and the maytals - my daily food
31. the beach boys - wouldn't it be nice
32. michael jackson - beat it
33. chromeo - fancy footwork
34. vv brown - crying blood
35. the pipettes - pull shapes
36. camera obscura - french navy
37. the raveonettes - my boyfriend's back
38. eddie floyd - knock on wood
39. jonathan richman - roadrunner
40. the clash - train in vain
41. pavement - cut your hair
42. magnetic fields - chicken with its head cut off
43. belle and sebastian - me and the major
44. violent femmes - blister in the sun
45. au revoir simone - night majestic
46. helen shapiro - walking back to happiness
47. prince - raspberry beret
48. madonna - papa don't preach
49. men without hats - safety dance
50. yeah yeah yeahs - off with their heads
51. los campesinos - ways to make it through the wall
52. kenickie - punka
53. pixies - gouge away
54. death from above 1979 - blood on our hands
55. the stooges - search and destroy
56. john parr - st elmo's fire
57. neon neon - i told her on alderaan
58. omd - electricity
59. orange juice - satellite city
60. the smiths - what difference does it make?
61. patrick wolf - the magic position
62. the strokes - last night
63. weezer - buddy holly
64. pulp - common people
65. dexy's midnight runners - there there my dear

hooray!

oh, and we completely forgot to take any snaps this month, so here's a dinosaur instead.


xxxxxxxx

what you up to?

tonight i mean?

do you, like, wanna go out or something? maybe go and have a drink?

i mean, if you're busy that's totally fine, i just thought it might be fun, y'know? cos you said you like dancing, and i saw this club called bottle rocket and thought you might be into it. it's mostly just a bunch of dancing and stuff, but it's really good fun.

no pressure, obviously, but if you fancy checking it out then, y'know, get back to me or something. or i could totally just see you there. i'll be the one dancing badly to electric light orchestra and triple school.

xxxxx

Jarvis Cocker, ABC, 12 July

here's some words about mr jarvis cocker's recent gig at ABC, recently added to the skinny's website:




Jarvis (****) is in a generous mood this evening, gifting the crowd such tasty treats as a banana, jelly babies and red wine. But the most enthusiastically received gift is Jarvis himself, his comic cool ensuring that even extended jam intros (padding out a set drawn only from his two solo records) are welcomed as opportunities to enjoy his iconic, gangly vogue-ing. With his Britpop celebrity calcified into elder-statesman pop-oddity, he now works from a de-Pulped clean slate which gives him carte blanche to do, well, whatever the hell he wants. Angela’s grungy rock-riffs and Leftover’s wry crooning show off new album Further Complications to good effect, and while Jarvis himself mocks surprise at where these explorations have taken him (“I never thought I’d be sharing the stage with a saxophone” he rues), he continues to play to his strengths throughout: big choruses, witty repartee, and, of course, plenty of loose-limbed, arse-waggling dance moves.

five sleeps till

bottle rocket radio r.i.p.

bottle rocket radio is dead, but let's not rule out a zombie-style resurrection in october. till then, i invite you to click here and listen to one of our 31 archived shows if you should ever have the urge to hear some crap banter, outdated gig info and lovely music. over the last nine months we played:

a... the acorn... ryan adams... barry adamson... advantage lucy... air... lily allen... alphabeat... anamanaguchi... and you will know us by the trail of dead... andersens... the angels... animal collective... the animals... ash... asobi seksu... au revoire simone... badly drawn boy... ballboy... the ballet... battles... the beach boys... beastie boys... beirut... belle and sebastian... ben butler and mousepad... ben folds five... beta band... black kids... black lips... bloc party... blondie... the bluetones... blur... bmx bandits... bon jovi... bonnie 'prince' billy... david bowie... the breeders... british sea power... the broken family band... broken records... brontosaurus chorus... v.v. brown... bubblegum lemonade... the buggles... built to spill... butcher boy... buzzcocks... david byrne... cake... camera obscura... mariah carey... pelle carlberg... neko case... casiotone for the painfully alone... cats in paris... nick cave and the bad seeds... claude channes... the charlatans... clinic... eddie cochran... jarvis cocker... lloyd cole and the commotions... concerto caledonia... the colourful band... copy haho... elvis costello... cryptacize... the cure... the cribs... crocodiles... css... the dammed... dananananaykroyd... danny and the juniors... de la soul... death cab for cutie... decemberists... the deer tracks... deftones... devo... chris difford... dirty projectors... rose elinor dougall... doveman... doves... draco and the malfoys... drever mccusker and woomble... the duke special... eagleowl... elbow... elle s'appelle... errors... the faint... the fall... familjen... far... felt... the field mice... liam finn... the flaming lips... fleet foxes... 4 bonjour's parties... jesus j. foxx... franz ferdinand... friendly fires... frightened rabbit... fugazi... fujiya and miyagi... future of the left... findo gask... fuck buttons... future pilot aka... galaxie 500... gang of four... ginny and the weasleys... girls against boys... girls aloud... the go away birds... the go-betweens... god help the girl... the gothic archies... grizzly bear... guillemots... the gutter twins... half man half biscuit... glen hansard and marketa irglova... harry and the potters... isaac hayes... health... hello saferide... help stamp out loneliness... herman dune... the hidden cameras... hillary and the democrats... micah p. hinson... hjaltalin... hockey... the hollies... horse feathers... hot chip... hot club de paris... the housemartins... how to swim... the hussys... frida hyvonen... billy idol... isosceles... bon iver... jackie-o motherfucker... je suis animal... johnny foreigner... daniel johnston... the joy formidable... the killers... kings of leon... kleerup... ben kweller... ladyhawke... ladytron... laka... lambchop... the late cretaceous... cyndi lauper... jens lekman... les savy fav... the long blondes... lords... los campesinos... the lost brothers... darlene love... low... the lucksmiths... lucky soul... lykke li... lynyrd skynyrd... m ward... m83... kirsty maccoll... the mae shi... the magnetic fields... maher shalal hash baz... manic street preachers... aimee mann... marmaduke duke... dent may and his magnificent ukulele... melanie... melt banana... the mendoza line... meursault... mew... mgmt... mia... ming ming and the ching chings... modest mouse... mogwai... mono... mountain goats... stuart murdoch... music go music... my latest novel... my vitriol... nena... neon neon... neutral milk hotel... new end original... the new pornographers... a.c. newman... no age... noah and the whale... north american halloween prevention initiative... the notwist... conor oberst... of montreal... okkervil river... the only ones... orange juice... original cast of evil dead: the musical... the pains of being pure at heart... the pan i am... pavement... peter bjorn and john... pit er pat... the pink mountaintops... pixies... pizzicato five... plaaydoh... plastic bertrand... the pogues... emma pollack... prince... the psychedelic furs... pulp... punch and the apostles... rancid... the raveonettes... jay reatard... lou reed... relaxed muscle... rem.... remember remember... the rezillos... jonathan richman... alasdair roberts... miles benjamin anthony robinson... rolo tomassi... rumble strips... sakert... sambassadeur... santa esmerelda... santogold... polly scattergood... second hand marching band... semaphore... sally shapiro... she and him... shearwater... the shirelles... shonen knife... shout out out out... sigur ros... silver jews... nina simone... simple minds... 6 day riot... the 6ths... sky larkin... smith... elliot smith... patti smith... the smiths... the snow fairies... someone still loves you boris yeltsin... sonic youth... sons and daughters... southerly... sparks... the specials... spencer davis group... the spinto band... spiritualised... dusty springfield... bruce springsteen... squarepusher... st etienne... st vincent... marnie stern... stiff little fingers... the stills... styrofoam... sucioperro... super furry animals... superchunk... take a worm for a walk week... talulah gosh... tattie toes... teenage fanclub... terrorvision... thee silver mt zion... the thermals... they came from the stars i saw them... tracey thorn... those dancing days... yann tiersen... tilly and the wall... tindersticks... toots and the maytals... tortoise... triple school... thomas truax... tv on the radio... ultravox... vampire weekend... chad van gaalen... paul vickers and the leg... violent femmes... vivian girls... voo... andrew w.k... the waitresses... wake the president... jeremy warmsely... we were promised jetpacks... weezer... bill wells... whipping boy... the whispertown 2000... wild mocassins... wire... withered hand... patrick wolf... wolf parade... bobby womack... woodenbox with a fistful of fivers... wreckless eric... xtc... yacht... y'all is fantasy island... yeah yeah yeahs... james yorkston... young marble giants... zoey van goey... the zombies...

and a shitload of J-park.

xxxxxx

last show...

it's our last bottle rocket radio show of the academic year this afternoon. it is an EVENT. since it is an EVENT, i have decided it must be COMMEMORATED with a special newsfeed. its like twitter, cept not live and even more pointless. still, gives us something to do in the studio between songs...


14:10 mike is revising. he has an exam at three. but he is just so bloody dedicated to bottle rocket radio he's in the studio regardless. what a hero.

14:11 mike has noticed the newsfeed. he has stopped revising.

14:15 felt is about to finish and we're gonna start talking.......NOW

14:17 turns out she is from sweden after all. woop!

14:26 don't speak Bosnian? then read our handy laka translation!

(Don’t come down from the stabbur)
(I was told by Laka, the singer)
(Don’t rattle with sandals)
(Don’t pretend to be a lady)

(Don’t come down from the stabbur)
(Personally Laka told me)
(Don’t come down from the stabbur)
(Until your love is strong)

With my favorite trick
I spoof fauna and flora
that life wasn’t created in the sea
but out of love
love, love
Out of love

How many days we’ve ran over
lying down, eating bananas
so we fell onto lower branches
Without love
love, love
Without love

I will try to kiss you and you act stupid
I will try to kiss you and you act stupid
I will try to kiss you and you act stupid
I will try to wake you up and you pretend to be awake

true dat.

14:33 "right now i'm typing what ahm saying."

14:34 what a stupid idea this was. i suggest you scroll up and have another look at the picture of the dinosaur at the top. it's better than this drivel.

14:36 talulah gosh or mendoza line? mendoza line or talulah gosh? WHY NOT BOTH?

14:37 he's revising again. sheeesh, what a square...

14:40 and now he says he has to bloomin go early. scratch what i said about his dedication, he's WELL FLAKEY

14:40 this is michael now. I HAVE A BLOODY EXAM CHRISTOPHER. GIVE IT A REST.

14:45 ah, it was talulah gosh. of course.

14:50 and he's off. now what do i do? only ten minutes left chris, KEEP IT TOGETHER...

14:55 byyyyyeeeeeeeee (sniff)


and if you can't follow all that gibberish, the songs were:

- andersens - alaska
- pizzicato five - sweet soul revue
- superchunk - hyper enough
- felt - my darkest light will shine
- frida hyvonen - dirty dancing
- sakert - sanningsden
- laka - pokusaj
- melanie - what have they done to my song, ma
- the field mice - if you need someone
- the mendoza line - triple bill of shame
- talulah gosh - talulah gosh
- the gothic archies - smile! noone cares how you feel
- relaxed muscle - billy jack
- sparks - dick around

click here to listen again. farewell subcity!

xxxxxx

june skinny

the june edition of the skinny is kicking about scotland as we speak so be sure to pick up a copy. i don't have many words in there this time round, just a review of the colourful band's debut ep and a review of the specials at 02 academy back in april.

my album reviews may not have made it into print, but they're dotted about the skinny website. there are appraisals of franz ferdinand's dub mix of the tonight album (***), james blackshaw's new one (**), laroca's 'valley of the bears' (***) and, er, the new paolo nutini record. which really wasn't my cup of tea (**).

that's the lot, cheerio

xxxx

last chance radio jamboree

and so it goes...

bottle rocket radio fast approaches its final show of the academic year (but hopefully not calendar year - fingers crossed for a relaunch in october...)

it's your last chance to listen in (well, there'll be listen again options up for a while longer, but you know what i mean...)

and it'll be the last chance for some of our favourite bands to get an airing on the subcity digi-waves. it'll be an hour filled with some top bands who've somehow never cropped up on any of subcity's many splendid radio shows. we've a surprising amount to choose from, but since there's still 3 days before we say goodbye i don't wanna jump the gun by naming any - after all, i'd look like a right eejit if i say 'oh, we'll play superchunk probaby cos they're ace and no one else has' and then someone plays them tomorrow, thereby blowing a massive truth-hole in my unintentional lie. so i'll keep schtum, and you'll just have to listen in.

we probably will play superchunk though.

go here thursday, 2pm!!!

book me

last saturday i DJed a hen-night at the Buff club (congratulations connie!). i played this bunch of stuff:

1. the zombies - time of the season
2. urge overkill - girl, you'll be a woman soon
3. midlake - roscoe
4. neil young - burned
5. herman dune - i wish that i could see you soon
6. danny and the juniors - at the hop
7. virginia wolves - stay
8. cliff richard - high class baby
9. withered hand - new dawn
10. the ronettes - baby i love you
11. postal service - such great heights
12. orchestral maneuvers in the dark - electricity
13. chairlift - evident utensil
14. hot chip - ready for the floor
15. robyn - konichiwa bitches
16. the knife - heartbeats
17. the spinto band - oh mandy
18. tilly and the wall - beat control
19. okkervil river - unless it kicks
20. arcade fire - rebellion/lies
21. the psychadelic furs - pretty in pink
22. the housemartins - five go fighting
23. joe jackson - pretty girls
24. beach boys - wouldn't it be nice
25. blondie - one way or another
26. the cure - inbetween days
27. kirsty maccoll - they don't know
28. the bangles - manic monday
29. bright eyes - four winds
30. wilco - monday
31. creedence clearwater revival - bad moon rising
32. chuck berry - johnny b. goode
33. jerry lee lewis - great balls of fire
34. the everly brothers - wake up little susie
35. chairman of the board - give me just a little more time
36. jens lekman - the opposite of hallalujah
37. bruce springsteen - born to run
38. jackie wilson - higher and higher
39. spencer davis group - gimme some loving
40. dexy's midnight runners - seven days too long
41. v.v. brown - crying blood
42. the pipettes - pull shapes
43. girls aloud - call the shots
44. yeah yeah yeahs - heads will roll
45. st etienne - he's on the phone
46. madonna - into the groove
47. the mae shi - see you again (vs. miley cyrus)
48. los campesinos - you, me, dancing
49. the primitives - crash
50. billy idol - dancing with myself
51. dusty springfield - i only want to be with you
52. france gall - poupee du cire poupee du son

like it? then i do weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthdays and tuesdays. book me.
AND I'M NOT EVEN JOKING

xxxxxxx

patrick wolf review

i wrote some words on patrick wolf's gig at the classic grand (29th may) which the skinny have just put online. here they are...


Cooler-than-cucumbers Yacht (**) might sound awesome at one a.m. in a sweaty Optimo, but as early-doors support they're exposed as no-substance nonsense. The duo gamely gurn and gyrate to their bass-y backing track, but often look lost in front of a largely disinterested crowd, who only really waken up to play with the liberally distributed balloons.

Patrick Wolf (***) has himself been accused of style over substance, but daubed in glitter and adorned with a head-set microphone for maximum posing opportunities, he wears his narcissism well. Of the new material, Battle is the crowd-pleaser, less for its repetitive war-cry chorus and more for Wolf's acrobatic forays into the crowd via railings and ledges, his proximity triggering ecstatic convulsions from at least one starry-eyed fan. Such devotion ensures that even appalling sound problems can't dampen spirits, but a niggling doubt remains. Beneath the cocksure looks and amiable banter, Wolf no longer seems as weighty a talent as was once promised, his showmanship not enough to distract from a dragging first half. But when The Magic Position's violin refrain kicks in at the close, the excellence of which he is capable reappears with conviction.

today's tunes

bottle rocket radio entered its final seven days today with our penultimate hour of net-broadcast. next week we're going to break from our 'format' (i use the term extremely loosely...) for an end-of-year special thingy. maybe we'll even manage to get through it without any technical hiccups (a preposterously far-fetched hope - don't go pinning your dreams on it...)

if you listened today you heard:

- wild moccasins - fruit tea
- the colourful band - easter road
- 6 day riot - go! canada
- the beach boys - wouldn't it be nice
- johnny foreigner - feels like summer
- whispertown 2000 - atlantis
- alasdair roberts - unyoked oxen turn
- my latest novel - the reputation of ross francis
- v.v. brown - crying blood
- yacht - psychic city
- m83 - kim & jessie
- tortoise - high class slim came floatin' in

if you didn't listen but would like to, then there's this thing called 'listen again' you see. clicking it allows you to listen again. it's all rather splendid.

for some reason the show isn't available just yet, but check back here and it should appear sooner or later...

penultimate radio (for real this time...)

our subcity-tenure is definately ending this time round (unless we're wrong again). just two shows to go, but they're sure to be doozys!

mike's found a andrew wk-curated mix tape which might get a (brief) airing - it's not very good you see - but we have plenty of other good stuff to offset it. stuff like alasdair roberts, vv brown and the whispertown 2000.

so that's tomorrow (thursday), 2-3pm at subcity.org. or listen again after that whenever you ruddy bloody well please!