If you'll indulge me...

The A-Z on the Art Of Noise blog has reached I.

For this I have provided a missive on 'indulgence'.

This sits proudly alongside work on The Icarus Line, Iron Maiden, [Whitley Bay] ice rink, 'In A Silent Way' by Miles Davis, inCulto, interaction, iPod random shuffle and “I love you” compilations.

'J' will occur in a couple of weeks once the compiler has moved gaff. Lack of encyclopaedic commitment, if you ask me.

Box re-opened

After burning out on theatre and comedy reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, Box Social finally has some new review content. I can hear the sighs of relief being breathed.

Insomnobabble. Liverpool Unity Theatre. 21jan06.

In many ways, it was an Edinburgh preview as they plan to stage the show up there. Check it out if you're heading to Scotland this summer.

VP new reviews - 20jan06

The following have been added to www.vanityproject.co.uk

Album Reviews
*Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (City Slang).
*Cracking Amy – Loved To Death.
*Dragonflies Draw Flame – Harboured Safe (Stressed).
*The Fallout Trust – In Case Of The Flood (At Large).
*Zorch Factor – One Last Shower In The Dirt.

Single Reviews
*The Crimea - Lottery Winners On Acid (Warner).
*The Exits – Neon City EP.
*iForward Russia! - Twelve (Dance To The Radio).
*Frosthold – Winterswar.
*Hellcyon – Demo.
*Jack Viper – Sleazy Listening EP.
*StrangeTime – Demonstration No. 1.
*Sweetedge – Eucalyptus Sun.
*Swetbox – Swetbox.
*Vic Demone - Collectors Item.
*White Demons – White Demons.

Live Reviews
*Delta Fiasco. Liverpool Barfly Loft. 17jan06.
*Mono Taxi. Liverpool Barfly Loft. 17jan06.
*The Research. Liverpool Barfly Loft. 17jan06.

Zine Reviews
*Lip Gloss Zine #1.
*Organ Zine Dec/Jan 05/06.
*Shadowplay #16.

Stop your train / let a hobo ride

This week's contribution to The Art of Noise A-Z centres around Howlin' Wolf. Only recently has his power really hit me, but when it did, it truly did knock me sideways. I'm no blues head, mind.

You can read it here, along with stuff about:

*hair
*Heart Of Glass – Blondie
*Hector’s Bunyip
*Help
*Heroes – David Bowie
*High Fidelity
*Hit the North
*Hockey Night

Catching up with the alphabet

I'm delighted to be joining in with the musical blogging types over at The Art Of Noise, in their attempts to build an idiosynchratic A-Z of music.

I've been a bit late to volunteer my services, coming in this week at 'G', which means endless frustration at having missed the opportunity to gush on the subjects of The Fall, Captain Beefheart, Cardiacs and, err, Eiffel 65. Ah well. Maybe when they've got to Z they might start again.

My Woody Guthrie contribution sits alongside fine work on G4, ‘Gay Bar’, Gene, ‘Girls And Boys’, Glasgow, Glen Campbell and Goldie Lookin’ Chain.

VP writers' best of 2005

In the following 3 posts, you will find the Top 10s (or thereabouts) for 3 of VP's regular contributors.

You can scroll down or link directly, should you have ended up in this post and are not sure how.

Skif's Top 10's

Grebo's Top 10's

David Adair's Top 10's

On his own blog, Silent Words Speak Loudest, another of our contributors has supplied extensive personal listings for 2005.

SWSL Top 10 Albums

SWSL Top 10 Singles

SWSL Top 10 Gigs

Ben also provides a host of links to other end of year music lists across the blogging community.

VP writers' best of 2005: Skif

Albums of the year 2005
Steveless – Popular Music In Theory
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll
Quintron & Miss Pussycat – Swamp Tech
Linda Draper – One Two Three Four
The A-Lines – The A-Lines
Scaramanga Six – Cabin Fever
Fireworks Night – It’s A Wide, Wide Sea
Magnetphone – The Man Who Ate The Man
Baikonour – For The Lonely Hearts Of The Cosmos
Oceansize – Everyone Into Position

Singles of the year 2005
Stuffy/The Fuses – Where’s The Captain?
Deerhoof – Green Cosmos EP
Various – We Are Legion
Iodo – Note To Self EP
Who Made Who – The Loop
The Heart Strings – Try Fly Blue Sky EP
Signal Generator – Output EP
Stereolab – Kyberneticka Babicka Pts 1 & 2
The Fallout Trust – When We Are Gone
Yacht Club – YC001

Gigs of the year 2005
The Magic Band. Liverpool Carling Academy 2.
Architecture In Helsinki. Liverpool Barfly Theatre. 08jul05.
Schwervon. Liverpool Zanzibar. 21feb05.
Cranebuilders. Liverpool Carling Academy 2. 10mar05.
Thee More Shallows, a.P.A.t.T. Liverpool Hev’n & Hell. 01apr05.
Cardiacs. London Astoria. 11nov05.
Arcade Fire. Manchester Academy 1. 04may05.
Barb Jungr. Edinburgh Pleasance AceDome. 29aug05.
Sing Zimbabwe! Edinburgh St Georges West. 27aug05.
Misty’s Big Adventure. Manchester Dry Bar. 01oct05.
Laura Cantrell. Liverpool Academy. 22sep05.
Melys. Liverpool Cavern Club. 06mar05.

VP writers' best of 2005: Grebo

Singles
*The Strange Death Of Liberal England - Stop/Go Happy/Sad Forward/Forward
*Little London - Small Town Coma
*Dragon Eye Morrison - The Official Pace Car Of The Apocalypse
*The Exits - Neon City EP
*Amplifier - The Astronaut Dismantles HAL EP
*Red Organ Serpent Sound - In Search Of Orgasmuz
*Weapons Of Mass Belief - Death Of A Nation
*Swetbox - Face Off
*Karn8 - Everything That You Despise
*The Kills - The Good Ones

Albums
*Turbonegro - Party Animals
*Colt - These Things Can't Hurt You Now So Throw Them In The Fire
*Ponies In The Surf - Ponies On Fire
*Kill Cheerleader - All Hail
*The Decemberists - Picaresque
*Thomas Truax - Audio Addiction
*DTX - One More Sinner
*Colin Clary - Sweater Weather Or Not, These Are The Songs I Got
*Lucifer Star Machine - Fire In Your Hole
*Big Squirrel - Escape From Squirrel Mountain

Gigs
*Cardiacs. Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms. 07nov05.
*Misty's Big Adventure, Retro Spankies. Portsmouth Frog On The Front. 15sep05. *Turbonegro. London Koko/Islington Carling Academy. 30nov05/19nov05.
*Motorhead. Southampton Guildhall. 23nov05.
*The Human League, Hoboken. Southampton Guildhall. 11dec05.
*Karn8, The Carter Affair, Chaser. Portsmouth Frog On The Front. 23sep05.
*Monkey Boy, Monkey Island. Southampton King Alfred. 14oct05.
*The Exits. Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms. 04oct05.
*Autons. Portsmouth Arts Centre, Portsmouth. 16apr05.
*The Filth Trinity featuring Little London, Mister Doom, Dragon Eye Morrison. Portsmouth Frog On The Front/Portsmouth HMC. 15jul05/25jul05/23dec05.
*The Good Time Charlies, The Sportiques, Room 99, The Missfits, Big Squirrel. Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms. 28dec05.

VP writers best of 2005: David Adair

Albums
Orange - Welcome To The World Of Orange
Chiodos - All’s Well That Ends Well
Magnet - Tourniquet
I Am Kloot - Gods And Monsters
Rufus Wainwright - Want
Elbow - Leaders Of The Free Worldd
Belle Orchestre - Recording Tape The Colour of a Light
Babyshambles - Down In Albion
Pellumair - Summer Storm
The Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir

Singles
Stephen Fretwell - New York
Kathryn Williams - Shop Window
Joseph Arthur - Even Tho
A - Better Off With Him
The Cribs - You’re Gonna Lose Us/ The Wrong Way To Be
Babyshambles - Kilamangiro
Dr. Dog - The World May Never Know
Funeral For A Friend - History
Gratitude - This Is The Part
Helen Boulding - Housework
                                                                      
Gigs
The Music, Warrington Parr Hall
The Coral + Arctic Monkeys, Manchester Ritz
Circa Survive, Manchester Academy 2
Thea Gilmore (SWAP Festival), Manchester Academy
Aberfeldy, Liverpool Carling Academy

Falling upwards

After our heavy Guardian bias in linkage today over at Hobo Tread, and the predominance of Fall related posts both here, here again and there, it seems entirely appropriate that I should up the Fall-posts to non-Fall-posts ratio on this blog, with the following link, recieved with thanks from Andrew McDevitt.

Dave Simpson has gone to obsessional lengths to track down some of the Fall ex-members. Some would argue that, like rats, you are never more than about 10 feet from one of them, and I saw an octogenarian lady this morning carrying a set of bongos in her shopping trolley that looked decidely suspect.

However, with some ex-Fallers lasting hours rather than years, it did turn out to be a hefty task. The results of which can be found here - Excuse Me, Weren't You In The Fall?.

Faint praise

VP Editor Blog Laws
4.2) At least 3 in 10 posts must refer to either Cardiacs, Captain Beefheart or The Fall.

Latest issue of Mojo includes an interview with Mark E. Smith, a man who has to deem you worthy of throwing laudation at him.

And they dare to call this man cantankerous. Pah!

"If I could afford it, I would put an injunction on every fucking group that said they're influenced by The Fall. I find it very insulting. I get wrried when some Jimmy & The Fucking Nosepickers say they're influenced by The Fall when they sound like fucking Talking Heads"

These and more anti-Franz-Ferdinand-isms are yours for the best part of 4 quid, or thereabouts.