Ourself Beside Me is the band formed by Yang Fan, formerly of all-girl garage punk band Hang On the Box. Beginning as a minimalist, jangly, indie-punk outfit several years ago, the Beijing-based trio has evolved into a more psychedelic, expansive, and experimental project. Its self-titled debut album (produced by P.K.14’s Yang Haisong) shows influences as [...]
What happens to artists that get famous? It’s not a situation I have any direct experience of, but with thousands of documented responses, it isn’t hard to piece together a general picture. Fame is an extreme circumstance, one that makes daily tasks most of us take for granted as “doable” well-nigh impossible. Fame is interesting largely because of its extremity; that it sets...
Sometimes I don’t allow certain things to go live on readersheds.co.uk because they are not technically a shed, but this one I allowed as the concept could be turned into…
Often cited as a holy grail of early Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd television footage, the band's performances of See Emily Play on the BBC's Top Of The Pops weekly music programme [click thumbnail, right] have long been missing. The BBC had a disastrous policy of wiping recordings in the earlier days of the corporation, so that they could re-use the tapes as a cost-cutting measure. Many classic performances...
The idea of the band This Mortal Coil is quite ingenious, really. Ivo Watts-Russell, who founded the label 4AD Records (probably past, present or future home of some of your favorite bands) started a band in the early 80s whose original purpose seems to have been to promote his label. The band featured [...]
As the UK is in the grip of X-factor fever, 1Click2Fame reveals the fame capital of the UK is Lancashire producing more superstars per capita than anywhere else in the country.
Lou Reed with his classic Sweet Jane, live in Paris in 1974. Somehow the musicians all look as if they're straight out of a 70's porn movie. Tsk. Another one for the Old Fart Competition .
Syd Barrett's Shed . This shed is from the garden of the house Syd Barrett spent the last 30-odd years of his life living in. It has been painted oxblood and cream inside by Syd and contains furniture he built and painted himself; a press with two opening doors, a hose reel, a shelf and several other adaptations, the most curious of which is a device for retrieving his house keys even when he had...
You may have read about the next installment of Beck's Record Club - taking on the odd & obscure classic album Oar by Skip Spence and recruting help from Wilco, Feist and Jamie Lidell to do it. Spence, for those of you unfamiliar with him, was a founding member of Moby Grape and one time drummer for Jefferson Airplane. He often gets lumped in to the small group of mysterious, puzzling, creative...
"Lower Leg" is the new single from stripped-down, angular UK post-punk trio Wetdog's forthcoming second album Frauhaus . (They recently toured with the Slits, which makes perfect sense.) For the "Lower Leg" video Billy, Rivka, and Sarah focus on the "wet" part of their moniker, along with various lower legs. Sonically, you'll want to reference the Raincoats because people...
The third installment of Beck's Record Club project begins today, as video of Beck, Wilco, Feist and Jamie Lidell covering Skip Spence's "Little Hands" has hit Beck's website. For those not aware of obscure Californian psych-rockers, Skip Spence, who was often called the American Syd Barrett, was a member of Moby Grape and Jefferson Airplane, and recorded one solo album, 1969's Oar . Spence...
Just a quick reminder that Anthony Reynolds , formerly of this parish (oh, he's back again), will be performing Syd Barrett songs at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff (Saturday, 14 November, 9pm). I'm a big fan of Reynolds' Jacques Brel-esque oeuvre so I'm curious to see how he'll tackle Barrett's particular brand of English psychedelia. I understand the songs will be given a classical emphasis. Intriguing....
Peter H. Donnelly's Mental Health Blog (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
In order to understand Syd Barrett’s so-called madness, we last but not least, need to have a fairly good understanding, of his visions - or his creative and innovative perceptions - and how he experienced them with his mind, and with other people. His visions, were first and foremost visual, as before he became a musician and songwriter, he was an art student at university. These visions - or...
Snapshots of late PINK FLOYD rocker SYD BARRETT are to be sold at auction to raise money for charity.Mick Rock captured the singer/songwriter at his London home in the...
As the UK is in the grip of X-factor fever, 1Click2Fame reveals the fame capital of the UK is Lancashire producing more superstars per capita than anywhere else in the country.