Man I am getting pretty shoddy when it comes to posting these weekly cover versions, I might have missed posting something up last weekend but I reckon I have a pretty good excuse in that I spent most of the weekend meeting up with folk to do some plotting. There are plans afoot for a wee bloggers project involving myself, my old partner in crime Jim Aye Tunes and the relatively new kid on the block, Neil from Scottish Fiction to join forces to put on a regular gig night in Glasgow. At the moment we're still very much at the planning stage, but hopefully if all goes according to plan we should be putting on our first gig together at the end of October. I'll let you know a bit more about that once things have been formalised and we've actually got some bands booked.
I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Adam from Randolph's Leap last Saturday, again to do some more plotting. I might have mentioned before that they've got an EP coming out on Fence in the few months and that they're currently working on their debut album proper. So I think it's safe to say that there's more than enough going on to keep things ticking over, but if you're Adam though. The talented wee bugger has been continuing to write new material, which he's been recording in flat in Partick. Much as in the same that his last offering 'Randolph's Leap and The Curse of The Haunted Headphones' came about, he's been sending me a few songs which we'd initially thought might turn into an EP, but seeing as he can't stop coming up with new material, the EP has now been expanded and is now going to be released as a mini-album through Peenko Records at some point in the next few months. We're not 100% as to when that might be, but again I'll let you know more about that once things have been agreed. I have listened to the mini album to death and I really can't wait to be able to share with you guys n gals. That being said, at the moment I am enjoying having it all to myself.
On a completely different note, apparently the Internet has decided that wear currently seeing the death of the music blog. Or at least that's the bandwagon that everyone seems to be jumping on at the moment, then again if there's a bandwagon to be jumped on your average blogger will be right there. When I first started this site I did find myself following the trends being set by the likes of your Pitchforks and your Stereogums, however, I made a bit of conscious effort to move away from following the hipster crowd and do my own thing, which was to look at was going on in my backyard. That's not to say that I haven't been guilty of getting caught up in the hype that the Scottish music scene is sometimes guilty of. Then again I guess that's the problem with music blogs, the need to be at the forefront of discovering new and exciting bands means that we barley have time to digest a bands music before we're off looking for something sparkly and new. Upon reflection I guess that is one of the reason why I decided to take a break from blogging as much as I did. That constant need to find something new just wore me down, I just wanted to spend more time going back and properly listening to music that I knew I already liked, instead of sifting through stuff that I didn't.
Which I guess brings me back to my original point about the death of the music blog, I can't see blogs dying out in the short run. There are always going to be people like me who are passionate about music and want to shout about what they love on the Internet. Hopefully what we're going to see is a move away from this fast paced culture of everyone following the same trends, posting the same shit about the same bands and basically copying what everyone else does. When I first started reading music blogs it was because they offered something different to what I was being offered by the mainstream press. That however seems to have gone full circle, with loads of bloggers just talking about the same over hyped artists.
I know that the Scottish blogosphere has been guilty of over Scottish hyping bands, more recently there's been a bit of backlash from some disgruntled folk that the word 'amazing' gets used far too often. Which I guess is a fair criticism if you take it in the context of comparing Scottish bands against everything else that is going on in the world. I have thought a lot about this as it really pisses me off when folk start taking snide wee jabs at folk who are just talking about stuff that they love. If a blogger says that they think that something is amazing then I reckon you should take their word for it, if you don't agree then what are you doing wasting your time reading their site. I think that folk need to put things into context, the majority of the time when I am talking about how good I think a Scottish band is I will be looking at them in comparison to what is going on in my own scene. I am not taking them an comparing them with the likes of your Arcade Fire's of this world. Music blogs at this level should very much be seen as a first foot on the ladder, if the band is good enough then you will tend to find that more sites will talk about you. I guess the problem that we have nowadays is that everyone ends up talking about the same thing, which is quite frankly boring. The rise of the blog came about as folk were looking for something new and exciting, now that things have become so saturated with everyone regurgitating the same shit, I am of the opinion that the loss of some sites might not be a bad thing.
Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on such a ramble there. Nic and Erin are away out which means I had peace and quiet to rant on the web. On a lighter note, I have been pretty amused by this spoof blog which mashes up old interviews from various Scottish music blogs and sites. You might not find it funny, but it amused me somewhat.
Anyway, back to the point of this post which is really about sharing a cover version with you all. This weeks cover versions come from Emma Pollock and Beerjacket. I decided to go with these two tracks as they are both going to be playing at the Old Hairdressers in Glasgow this coming Wednesday (29th August) at an event called 'What’s so funny ‘bout Peaceniks, Love & Understanding?'. The night which is being put on by Rodge Glass (author/Burnt Island) is in aid of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, featuring an array of talent which includes the aforementioned Beerjacket and Emma Pollock, plus appearances from the likes of Rick Redbeard, Alasdair Gray, Alan Bissett, Ewan Morrison, Paul M Carlin, Kirstin Innes, Allan Wilson and Peenko favourite, Adam Stafford. It promises to be one hell of a night, plus it's also doubling as Rodge's leaving night as he's heading for ventures new. It's only £5 to get in and you'd be doing your bit for charity, so essentially it's a win win situation. You can find out more information on the gig by clicking on the poster for it below.
Right I am now going to get myself ready to head out as I am heading through to Edinburgh for the day with some friends to drink myself stupid and hopefully go and see Kid Canaveral. Although that will depend on a) if I can persuade my friends that this is a good idea and b) whether I can still stand by then. For now though here are two cracking covers from two cracking artists, enjoy!
Emma Pollock - New Amsterdam (Elvis Costello cover)
Beerjacket - Wake Up (Arcade Fire cover)
