Meow!

Wishing you all a very happy new year, my sweet little pussycats. Just keep doing the grind in 2014 ok? Cheers!

Andre Williams - Sweet Little Pussycat

Someone Has Been Smoking

"So I walked downstairs where I could clearly hear a band was steaming, they had hair to their feet and electrical beat and one of them was screaming..." A remarkable Dylan persiflage - or so it seems to me - from mr. Clark, the late ex-Byrd whose recently unearthed White Light demos caused many a jaw to drop around here.

Gene Clark - Please Mr. Freud

Never Off The Air

Bill and Earl Bolick were a country brother team made in heaven. Listen in today, folks, for it's the microphone of Jesus!

The Blue Sky Boys - Radio Station S.A.V.E.D.

Mic Masters

"Sounds good like you know it should..." Presenting a sizzling ten pack of the sharpest toasters from the island riding some of the hardest riddims of the roots era. If this won't get you through the festive season I honestly don't know what will, my irie brethren.

U Roy - The Same Song
King Stitt - Fire Corner
Trinity - Three Piece Suit
Jah Stitch - Greedy Girl
Big Youth - Cool Breeze
Tappa Zukie - Pick Up The Rockers
Dennis Alcapone - Shades Of Hudson
I Roy - Sidewalk Killer
Dillinger - Nebuchadnezzar
Prince Far I - Heavy Manners

Queen Takes Knight Pawn

Haven't heard a lot of hiphop this year to be honest, but this stark, minimalist mother caught my fancy alright. "I bear arms, now I'm in the pond catching salmon..."

Ka - Peace Akhi

Six Times Thirteen

I know you've been waiting for this: FTSOTS presents the cream of the 2013 crop. Six is the magic number, and eyes scan the path ahead. Here goes.

1. Bill Callahan - Dream River
2. Bonnie Prince Billy - Bonnie Prince Billy
3. Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw
4. Matthew E. White - Outer Face
5. Wooden Shjips - Back To Land
6. Golden Gunn - Golden Gunn

Golden Gunn - Let Me Shine (Deathhouse)

Bubblin' undah: Howe Gelb, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Willis Earl Beal, Bingo Trappers, Yo La Tengo, Bombino, Jonathan Wilson, Mark Kozelek & Desertshore, Israel Nash Gripka, and Arbouretum. New old stuff: Neil Young's Live At The Cellar Door, Gene Clarke's Here Tonight, Townes Van Zandt's Sunshine Boy, and Lee Perry's Roaring Lion. Not a bad year, I give you that. Did I miss something? Lemme know. The door is always open for you.

N For Night

All excited, as we're off to Groningen rock city to see Fred & Toody of Dead Moon fame perform at the Vera club tonight, and unplugged at that. "Never going home..."

Dead Moon - Dead Moon Night

And while we're at it, here's a couple of other bands Fred 'Deep Soul' Cole played in over the years. Dude's been going since 1964... History lesson starts now.

Deep Soul Cole - Poverty Shack
The Weeds - It's Your Time
The Lollipop Shoppe - Don't Close The Door On Me
Zipper - Bullets
The Rats - Burnside
Pierced Arrows - Let It Rain

And Still Stand By Me

An answer song of sorts to Tammy Wynette's immortal Stand By Your Man, and boy is it a good 'un. Conway swears he's trying to 'love only her, play with the kids and watch tv...' but deep down he knows he's just plain lying to himself. D.i.v.o.r.c.e. is just around the corner, old buddy.

Conway Twitty - How Much More Can She Stand

From Golden Hill

This fascinating series of slowly but surely improving That's The Way run-throughs shows that hanging out in the pastoral Welsh cottage of Bron-Yr-Aur sure brought out the best in the Zep fraternity. Dog yelping? Priceless. 'Cause that's the way it ought to be...

Led Zeppelin - That's The Way (outtake)

What You Shall Reap

Rejoice Jah people, for once more the sublime folks over at Pressure Sounds have managed to dig up some hitherto unreleased material from the Lee Perry vaults. Roaring Lion, subtitled 16 Untamed Black Art Masters & Dub Plates, is yet another wonderful showcase of the genius they call Scratch. Rarities galore, featuring Junior Byles, Augustus Pablo, Jah Lion, and the Fantels, an ensemble I had never even heard of before. Their Stand And Look shimmers just right.

The Fantels - Stand And Look

Listen Listen

"Je suis le voyageur du temps, je vous connais depuis longtemps..." As she did earlier with the Fairports  - remember how Dylan's If You Gotta Go, Go Now became Si Tu Dois Partir? - my fave British female vocalist of all time goes French on us. And that's très bon.

Sandy Denny - Ecoute, Ecoute

Back For A Taste

"The craving will nearly drive you insane..." Got two amazing anti-smack soul scorchers from the early seventies for ya today. Steal, borrow, beg!

Sam Dees - Signed, Miss Heroin
James Brown - King Heroin

Free And Clean

I never minded the mariachi elements on Pancho & Lefty, but to hear that immortal epic without any bells and whistles sure is a treat. Which goes for the majority of tracks on Sunshine Boy actually. One of the reissues of the year for sure.

Townes Van Zandt - Pancho & Lefty (alt. mix)

Sharp As A Razor

Just got the sad sad news that reggae singer Junior Murvin, of Police And Thieves fame, has passed away. Miss him, my brethren. I take it you're familiar with both that masterpiece and the punky reggae party cover by the Clash. So instead here are two interesting takes on the same riddim featuring Mr. Murvin's trademark falsetto, which never ceases to amaze.

Junior Murvin - Philistines On The Land
Junior Murvin - Bad Weed

Sweet Creature

Lush dreampop from Church foreman Steve Kilbey. "I'm as empty as a shell can ever be..." That's a whole lot of zen, my good people.

Steve Kilbey - Shell