Old records and a few pints = THIS

Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: (download tbc)

Created & released: December 2011

Tracklisting: 

Family - Winter
Crazy Elephant - Pam
The Jaggerz - The Rapper
John Barry - Rodeo
Rachel Sweet - B-A-B-Y
The Pathfinders - To Love Somebody
The Five Stairsteps & Cubie - Stay Close To Me
Lulu - The Boat That I Row
David Bowie & The Lower Third - Can't Help Thinking About Me
Cat Stevens - Bitterblue
The Flamin' Groovies - Feel A Whole Lot Better
The Everly Brothers - Love Is Strange
The Open Mind - Cast A Spell
Chicago - 26 Or 6 To 4
The Greatest Little Soul Band In The Land - Something For My People
Etta James - Tell Mama
The Bar Kays - Knucklehead
Phil Upchurch - The Way I Feel
The Shadows Of Knight - Shake
Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus - Quick Joey Small
Ohio Express - Try It
The Monkees - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone
Jacques Dutronc - La Fille Du Père Noël
Os Mutrantes - A Minha Menina
The Dakotas - The Cruel Sea
Y Niwl - Tri
Jerry Keller - Here Comes Summer

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I just realised, I neglected to post this on here, even though it's been on the internet for a couple of weeks.  So I'll rectify that.  This me and a friend, playing records on record players, fuelled by Guinness and a desire to see what was going to come next.  There's no tricky mixing, no uber-raers, no scratching (well, not that kind of scratching, anyway) or any of that shite.  Just an hour and a bit of really brilliant music, with each record getting played because it felt like it was the right record to play.  There's all sorts in here, although it's got quite a bit of a '60s slant with a fair smattering of soul and a good dollop of Buddah bubblegum.  If that sounds like your 'bag', you might like to listen.  Well, that's the hope.

In the next programme, we will look at 'reggae'...

Something you probably missed. In fact I'd go so far as to wager you definitely missed. Robert Popper & Peter Serafinowicz's music for series one of 'Look Around You' was done under the moniker 'Gelg'. Very lovely all of it was, too. But all very short. So, here's my favourite snippet, made longer. It's still short, but not as short as it was... Obviously, for full effect this should be playing on an Akai reel to reel player, with some coloured disco lights shining on it.

Gelg - Reggae (Soundhog Extended Edit) by soundhog

Allez Allez mix. Again...

Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)

Created & released: August 2011. 

Yeah, I know this has been up not long ago, but it turns out that the Allez Allez duo are going their seperate ways and their website is going to vanish very soon.  Probably my fault.  So, I thought I might as well upload it somewhere else to preserve it for future generations.  Yeah, right...  Anyway, Mixcloud and download links are above, should you not have heard it already.  By my calculations, I'm about 6,789,999,800 listens short of the world's population...  this could be an uphill struggle.  Shame, as it's quite good.

Tracklisting: 

Paul McCartney - Darkroom
Throbbing Gristle - Persuasion (Motor Remix)
Atomic Rooster - The Rock
Meat Beat Manifesto - Guns N' Lovers
10cc - The Worst Band In The World
Serge Gainsbourg - Danger
Tricky - Suffocated Love
Yes - South Side Of The Sky
Manassas - Isn't It About Time?
Reverend Ether - Eighteen Sixty Two B.P.
Boards Of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Living Sin
Nasty Habits - Shadow Boxing
The Normal - Warm Leatherette
Cabaret Voltaire - Digital Rasta
Argent - Hold Your Head Up
Frog - Witch Hunt
Add N To (X) - Invasion Of The Polaroid People
Beach Surgeon/Dave Prescott - Mouth Like Homicide
Mandingo - Mandingo
Die Verboten - Live In Eivissa
Edgar Broughton Band - There's No Vibrations, But Wait
MRR-ADM - Untitled 3
Soft Machine - Bone
The Beatles - Helter Skelter (Soundhog Remix)
Paddy Kingsland - Sequence
Frank Zappa - Creationism
Agitation Free - Rucksturz

Mix90 #5 - "...Be Unapproachable..." - NEU! NOUVEAU! NEW!

Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)

Created & released: September 2011. 

After nearly three and a half years, I've decided (for some reason) to do another Mix90 compilation tape. Despite the pathetic amount of listens my other recent uploads have gained, I figured it was worth doing. No, I don't understand that way of thinking either. Anyway...

There's all sorts in here: some great pop music you may not be familiar with, some nice bits of electronic library music, some obscure TV theme and testcard tunes, early '70s rock, a little bit of soul and funk and other lovelies. I've also thrown in a few old radio/TV ads, snips of presentation and other odd little bits and bobs from my ridiculously haphazard archive of sonic stuff. Some of it has been recovered from seriously knackered old audio and video tapes, so I make no apologies for the lack of 'high fidelity' in parts. I also make no apologies for the fact that Neil Innes appears twice.

Listen online in mushy Mixcloud quality, or download two spanking 320kbps mp3 files.  Either way is fine with me. 

Tracklisting: 

Judas Jump - John Brown's Body
The Zipps - Chicks & Kicks
The Move - Beautiful Daughter
Keith Mansfield - Team Work
Bonzo Dog Band - You Done My Brain In
Mr Bloe - 71-75 New Oxford Street
The Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds - Taurus
The Horn The Hunt - Old Town Cow
The Models - Bend Me, Shape Me
Colin Blunstone - Andorra
Deirdre Wilson Tabac - Get Back
Denton & Cook - Quiller (sH edit)
Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know
Anthony More - Industrial Drums

Jonsey - Ricochet
Nucleus - Song For The Bearded Lady
Certain Lions & Tigers - El Soul Condor
Voices Of East Harlem - Wanted Dead Or Alive
Richard Schneider Jr. - Samba Trip
Theme - Paint Along With Nancy
Claude Denjan - Kiss This
Jeff Britton & The Spitfires - Rub Out
Neil Innes - Hard To Get
Peter Howell - The Shock Of The New
The Advisory Circle - Modern Through Movement
Blossom Dearie - I Like London In The Rain
Pat Prilly - Sky Rocket
Cliff Hammer & His Golden Spinnet - Dancing On A Saturday Night
Herman's Hermits - It's Alright Now
Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra (ft. Sam Browne) - Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)

Record to a low noise C90 compact cassette for best effect, and keep Dolby noise reduction switched off.

New mix! No, seriously... @ http://allez-allez.co.uk

 I asked the chaps at Allez-Allez if they'd like me to do something for their blog.  They said 'yes', so I did.  And it took ages to do.  But it's done, and it's online.  You can download it in zingy 320kbps mp3 quality from their website, http://allez-allez.co.uk ... It's an odd one, quite dark in tone which was probably reflecting my general mood when making it.  A good head-nodder, though.  If you like it, let me know, let them know and perhaps let other people know.  Who knows, I might do another one at some point. Oi, stop laughing.

Tracklisting:

Paul McCartney - Darkroom
Throbbing Gristle - Persuasion (Motor Remix)
Atomic Rooster - The Rock
Meat Beat Manifesto - Guns N' Lovers
10cc - The Worst Band In The World
Serge Gainsbourg - Danger
Tricky - Suffocated Love
Yes - South Side Of The Sky
Manassas - Isn't It About Time?
Reverend Ether - Eighteen Sixty Two B.P.
Boards Of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Living Sin
Nasty Habits - Shadow Boxing
The Normal - Warm Leatherette
Cabaret Voltaire - Digital Rasta
Argent - Hold Your Head Up
Frog - Witch Hunt
Add N To (X) - Invasion Of The Polaroid People
Beach Surgeon/Dave Prescott - Mouth Like Homicide
Mandingo - Mandingo
Die Verboten - Live In Eivissa
Edgar Broughton Band - There's No Vibrations, But Wait
MRR-ADM - Untitled 3
Soft Machine - Bone
The Beatles - Helter Skelter (Soundhog Remix)
Paddy Kingsland - Sequence
Frank Zappa - Creationism
Agitation Free - Rucksturz

Liqud Radio Mix (2003)

Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)

Created & released: 2003

Tracklisting: 
Uncanny Alliance - I Got My Education

Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Indian Ropeman

Missy Elliott - For My People

Landscape - Einstein A Go-Go

Danni Minogue - I Begin To Wonder

Goldfrapp - Train (Ewan Pearson 4/4 Instrumental)

Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

Dee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart

Spirit - Fresh Garbage

Basement Jaxx - Do Your Thing

Jaydee - Plastic Dreams

Shannon - Let The Music Play

M*A*R*Y - 73 Club

Rocker's Revenge - Walking On Sunshine

Alan Hawkshaw & Brian Bennett - The Name Of The Game

Beyonce Knowles - Work It Out

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More old shit.  This was done in mid 2003, for someone I used to get on with, when he used to guest on a programme that used to be broadcast on a radio station that used to exist.  This was a mix made out of several unfinished ideas, rather than something meticulously worked out, and just poppy dancey fluff really, but a reminder of a time when all this was up for grabs... I should've grabbed it, eh?

Helter Skelter - Soundhog Remix

Mop-tops material always seems to bring out the worst in those with negligible talent to start with, for some reason.  I didn't realise that the various tracks from the 'Rock Band' game had been doing the rounds, until I started to notice a trickle, then a flood of utterly shit remixes and m@$hups featuring The Fab Four starting to pollute various areas of the internet.  So, I tried to make something worthwhile instead.  One for those who like very loud drums... and lots of them. I ended up with a right headache after working on this for two nights...

Frank Sidebottom's alter ego does the ZX81 / 7" single interface thing...

Something which isn't mine (at all), but I did put the component parts together after doing a load of work.  Here's a video, and below I'll tell you all about it...

In 1983, Chris Sievey (soon to find fame as Frank Sidebottom, and formerly of The Freshies) released a 7" single on his own Random Records label. The A-side was the song 'Camouflage'. Chris had recently started programming on the Sinclair ZX81 home computer, as so many of us did at the time, and included three of his programs on Side-B of the 7", as audio data recordings - exactly as they would sound when saved onto a cassette for storage.  Apparently the single got reissued on EMI soon after, but I've never seen a copy.  Anyway...

Two of the programs were versions of a game called Flying Train, for the 1K and 16K machine respectively. (Note: contrary to what's been written several times on the internetover the years , the ZX Spectrum version of Flying Train was never pressed onto vinyl. Sievey distributed this on cassette, probably for the reasons alluded to below, and would chuck in a copy of the single as well...)

The third file was an animated (albeit very basic, and BASIC) pop video for the song on Side-A. I'd seen this demonstrated on TV some time after its release, possibly on Whistle Test, alongside Pete Shelley's XL-1 which came out in 1983 as well. I never tracked a copy of the record down at the time. Nearly 30 years later, I found an unplayed 7" on eBay (the seller seems to have a few of them, in fact, at the time of writing), so set to work.

Quite a few people experimented with cutting computer data tones into vinyl, or even flexidiscs, in the early 1980s. The success rate of loading any of these was pretty bloody dismal, and there are letters/articles bemoaning that fact in several of the computer magazines of the day. One scratch, mark or even a bad mastering/cutting job at the pressing plant would scupper everything. In this case, even though the record was effectively new, it still needed a good clean (using PVA glue, my weapon of choice) to remove some muck lodged in the groove before I could get a good enough recording of the data with no odd noises, pops or clicks. I then had to filter off the unwanted frequencies at either end, fiddle with the levels and blah blah blah.

The program had to be run on an emulator on the PC, as my ZX81's 16K RAM pack went missing in the last ice age. The visuals didn't sync up with the music at all, probably as a result of the emulator not being 100% accurate, so I chopped, stretched and edited it all over to (hopefully) fit properly, as Mr. Sievey had intended. It may not be the most sophisticated bit of computer animation you'll see today, but this was visionary stuff nonetheless... You know it is. It really is.

Historia De La Musica Rock (2002 to 2004)

Well, I might as well upload this I suppose...  This is a collection of some of the 'bastard pop bootleg things' I used to do in the first half of the last decade. I did my initial ones sometime in 2001 (so, happy 10th anniversary to me, eh?  Puh...) but none of them were 'good' enough to make it in here. In fact, when I put this compilation together back in 2007, I was already struggling to find 20 tracks out of the 100 or so I'd done by that point which I could still listen to without cringing. Today, that number is much, much smaller... but compared to the m@$hup crap that people churn out these days, they're all gold standard.  The Depeche Mode remix at the end might be my favourite thing I've ever done, actually.  I don't look anything like I do in the 'cover' photo anymore, by the way, and that Mercedes is long gone as well...  shame, it was rather ace.  Anyway, it's here and all free and that, so if you fancy hearing what my idea of what the 'bootleg scene' was/should have been about, click below...

Tracklisting:  52 Scrubs (Live At The Ruthin Enormodome), The Without Me Song, The Doves Are Mine, A Day In Tracy's Life, Black Freak, (Are You Gonna Be My) Dirrty Girrl?, An Egyptian Trick, One Phat Breeda, Charly's Anthem, I Feel You Really Caught Me On Edge, Bad Grey Rocker Girls, Double Freak, Slow (Remix), Hot Shots, Crazy Dick, Ein Atomkitten In Einem Kraftwerk, Shansun, Tainted Beyonce, Thinking Of No-One, Enjoy The Silence (Float Mix)

Link: Download (Mediafire)

.ZIP file, 122mb.  All tracks in mp3 format at 192kbps CBR.

Edwyn Collins + Goldfrapp + video = OMG VIDM@$Hez!!

Even though the actual track didn't exactly get much of a reaction, which I should have expected, I've wasted even more of what little remains of my life by putting the below visual accompaniment together.  So...

Imagine Goldfrapp & Edwyn Collins were making records in early 1969 (they weren't).

Imagine they made one together - vocals from her, music by him and his band (they didn't).

Imagine she went on the BBC1 pop programme 'Beatscene' - which never existed - to promote it (she didn't).

Imagine the 2" 405 line VT master was wiped, like most of the BBC's 1960s pop music coverage, and the only surviving copy was on a 16mm telerecording (it wasn't).

Imagine it was dug up by BBC2 for their 1991 retrospective series 'Sounds Of The Sixties' (it wasn't).

Imagine the show was repeated by BBC Four in the early 2000s (it wasn't... well, it was but it wasn't, y' know).

Well, it might have looked and sounded something like this:

Now, if I'd only badly sync'd up some live Beatles footage to some dance track or other instead, I'd be an internet sensation. Ah well. Sod it. I'll never learn...

*mp3 download*  http://www.mediafire.com/?8e8yta58wz3y62r

Theme from 'Quiller' - Soundhog Extended Edit

Another previously unreleased 'gem' from the vaults.  Richard Denton & Martin Cook were responsible for some of the most memorable BBC TV theme tunes in the '70s and early '80s... think The Great Egg Race, Tomorrow's World etc. And there's this, the theme for a 1975 adaptation of Elleston Trevor's Quiller thrillers. Originally a shade under 3 minutes long, I've done my trademark stretchy-out type stuff on an absolute masterpiece of brassy '70s synthy spy funk. Edited quite well, I think.  You could pass it around if you like it... maybe blog about it, if you do such things? I dunno... it'd be nice to get heard for a change.

Remember when this used to be fun?

I should really put a quick note here, informing you that the old Freelance Hairdresser tracks of mine are online again, thanks to Soundcloud. Pop here now and listen to the products of a time when I actually had a sense of humour left. Many of these things became more notorious than my 'serious' work, much to my chagrin... I should'a stuck them out as Soundhog tracks, that's what I should'a done.  An example:

 

One song to the tune of another...

Something I did last summer, and promptly forgot about until now.  Goldfrapp and Edwyn Collins combine forces to create a '60s pop smash that never existed.  This is not a m@$hup - it's far too good for that nasty little label, thank you very much.

Alternate download link, now that Soundcloud is maxed out: http://www.mediafire.com/?8e8yta58wz3y62r

Mix90 - #1, #3 and #4 re-released.

I thought it might be nice to reupload the other three episodes in the short-lived (but it's six hours worth of stuff) Mix90 series, which I did a few years ago for some reason or other. Originally I'd intended to do some sort of, ahem, 'podcast' - i.e. more like a radio show - but despite having notched up something like 20 hours of talking on the actual BBC type radio about music and records over the last few years, I'm still not very good at it and I just can't stand the sound of my own voice. I'm not the only one, either.  Ha ha.  So, they're strictly me-less.

Each is a 2x45 minute rampage through my record, tape and mp3 collection, taking in all the things which make me glad that my ears still just about work.  Krautrock, TV themes, psychedelia, library music, easy listening, avant garde, freakbeat, moogy blues, post punk, electronic weirdness, prog, beat, and good old fashioned pop music, with more besides.  If you don't like any of those sorts of things (which is unthinkable to my mind but it does happen, and I've got the e-mails to prove it) then you'd best stop reading now, and go looking for some m@$hup crap or something elsewhere.

However if you do like those sort of things, or are just willfully open minded, I don't think you'll find many duffers in here.  This is the sort of music which doesn't send me diving for the radio/TV 'off' button, doesn't force me into leaving a shop without buying what I went in there for when it comes blaring over the PA system, and doesn't send me into a mad shouty rage directed at the nearest unfortunate human, even if they weren't personally responsible for the assault on my hearing.  There's way too much noise in the world these days.  Music should be something to be enjoyed, not endured.

There's no clever digital stretchy-wankery involved here, just some deft edits, interesting juxtapositions and tunes that go nicely with one other.  There are also some little curios - old adverts, bits of TV continuity, pirate radio broadcasts and other aural oddities - dotted around and about, as an added bonus of sorts.  It's all part of what makes me the person I am.  Yeah, well... 

I won't type out the tracklistings here as you can see them on the inlay cards beneath (click on the images for bigger versions if you can't read them).   There were also supposed to be extensive typed 'sleevenotes' about each track featured, rather than me bumbling on for ages in front of a microphone, but I only did this for mixes #2 and #3, spending bloody hours on them.  By the time #4 rolled around, the lack of any response to what I was doing ensured I couldn't be arsed anymore.  You'll find the text files in the download .zips of those mixes.  Don't take everything I write as gospel, though.  I don't quite know everything, so some details may be incorrect... but that doesn't bother most people who spout off about various subjects on the internet, so sod it.

The Mixcloud versions do sound pretty rotten I'm afraid, due to the low quality mp3s I had to transcode them into to get under the 100mb limit, but they should be ok for background listening. The mp3 downloads are 192kbps, so a much nicer experience all 'round. Your choice, should you choose to listen at all. You'll find #2 here, by the way, if you've not already got it and fancy the complete set. Right, without further ado, let's party.

Mix90 #1

Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)

Created & released: October 2007.

Mix90 #3


Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)


Created & released: December 2007. 

Mix90 #4


Link: Listen on Mixcloud
Link: Download (Mediafire)


Created & released: February 2008. 

Quick note: People that I'm not...

I've had a couple of people asking if I really like X, or really said Y on various parts of the internet. Well, it would seem that my 'nom de plume', after 10 years of me being the only one using it, has suddenly become slightly popular. So, I just thought I should make it clear that I am not:

'Soundhog' on Twitter.
'Soundhog' on Last FM (a fan of The Wildhearts - like, duh.)
'Soundhog' on Rap Vault (forum)
'Soundhog' on 'Back To The Old Skool' (forum)
'Soundhog' of 'Smithmonger & Soundhog' (Discogs: take note.)

Nor am I an 'app' for a mobile phone which tells you what horrible record you're being subjected to in the local pub, a silencer for a gun, or indeed a club for Harley Davidson owners.

If any more turn up I'll amend the list accordingly. Ok? Good. As you were.