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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Arrested Development – Tennessee

I went to the cinema today (You’d nearly need to remortgage your house) and bought a jumper in American Apparel too (same story as the cinema really) , so of course it was only after parting with this money I stumbled across a flyer for an Arrested Development gig in Dublin. Next week. IN DUBLIN!

Arrested Development are one of my favourite hip hop acts, their albums would be up there with MF Doom and The Roots for me, you know those great hip hop albums white people who like indie rock end up owning for no real reason. A late 80s/early 90s act, it’s so often forgotten they scooped a Grammy Award or two and delivered a few U.S top ten singles. They were the anthesis of ‘gangsta rap’ which was on the rise at the time, and their feel good brand of rap was simply timeless. The influence of blues and soul music on the group was always evident, and Mr. Wendel and Tennessee in particular are tunes you still here frequently in clubs today. The group have been on the go once more since 2000, and are a rare thing in music: A reunion that isn’t totally crap.

They play The Button Factory on October 20th, which is next Wednesday.

Oliver Stone, you owe me nine quid.

Arrested Development – Mr. Wendal

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The good lads from the Alphabet Set have brightened up the Dublin Friday night skyline with ‘Roots Pon De Corner‘, a new night focusing on the best of “vintage roots, revival, rubadub & steppers” based in The Dark Horse Inn beside Tara St. DART station.

Brigadier JC (Roots Factory, Limerick), Tuathal & t-woc (Alphabet Set, Dublin) are the vinyl selectors on hand. Doors open at 8pm and the music winds down at 12:30am, which gives you ample time to head to that birthday/office/emigration party that you have to show your face at.

It’s free admission (you can’t argue with that) and pints are at a very reasonable €4.

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In the city.

There’s plenty out there in Blogland on the Hard Working Class Heroes festival which kicks off Thursday. barrygruff across the way has a pretty substantial preview of what to check out over here, and the festival site has the complete line-up.

Of much interest to me and cheap people all over the city however is the ‘HWCH and the City’ portion of the festival. It brings the place to life, with free gigs taking place at a number of locations from Thursday through to Saturday. These range from Oxfam shops to DIT. With this and the recent Culture Night, not to mention Heritage Week, you’d have to feel a bit spoiled for free days out.

The free list is over here, I’m hoping to pop in to see Windings on Friday, based on their excellent opening for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists recently, and I’d pity the fool who misses Grand Pocket Orchestra in Music Maker at 1 on Saturday.

Grand Pocket Orchestra – Basketballs by gpo1

windings: Old Like J by OOAL

If you’re all into like….paying money into stuff (which can be good too, in all seriousness the likes of HWCH deserves our support in the form of twenty euro notes and the kind, otherwise there wouldn’t be freebies now would there?), the one I’d get along to is Talulah Does The Hula in the Workman’s Club Friday. Great fun that stuff.

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On December 22 1967, a group of schoolboys on their holidays began transmitting music and stories across the airwaves. The Irish Times noted that the transmissions had come from “somewhere south of the Liffey” and that the young boys had made two one hour broadcasts, at 8am and 12.30pm.


“…pop music programmes were interspersed with greetings from the announcer to school-friends. The transmissions also featured excerpts from the satirical magazine, Private Eye”

At 1.30, a young boy in fits of laughter told listeners that if they wanted to hear the news they had come to the wrong place and needed to turn to Radio Eireann.

The Department of Posts and Telegraphs didn’t see the funny side in this schoolboy prank. A spokesman warned the youngsters that they would track the schoolboys down. As far as I can see, the promised second day of broadcasting never came from Radio Jacqueline, and the boys probably went back to school in January with an excellent story to tell about how they made the national media through their DJ exploits.

A much more infamous station preceded Jacqueline, and that was Radio Juliet from Cork. A newspaper report into it in 1964 described it as the nations first “non-political pirate radio station”,and it was also the work of a small group of schoolchildren. They numbered a dozen or so. A spokesman for the group (in which the average age was 16) remarked that after a few days in operation over the summer holidays of ’64, it was becoming “too hot to handle” and it was time to wrap up operations. The boys had made a six shilling investment in the station, the cost of a transmitter which one of them built.

Amazingly, on the Cork station, the Irish language featured too.

“One third of the announcements were made in Irish, he said, and this was an ideal way of promoting the language”.

The late 1970s and early 1980s of course saw an explosion in pirate radio stations, not least in working class pockets of Dublin. In the summer of 1981 several Fianna Fail TDs and Ministers landed themselves in hot water for using pirate stations to advertise political message. Liam Lawlor used a Ballyfermot Pirate Station to thank the hugely popular Peace Corp youth group there for their efforts and a “great day” he’d enjoyed in their company.

What about Fine Gael?
“We’re using them in relation to our youth policy and Dublin plan” said Mr. Bill O’ Herlihy, the RTE sports commentator who is working in Fine Gael HQ.

Radio Dublin makes the news, '78.

Efforts to shut pirate stations across the capital frequently led to the courtroom. In 1978 “Captain” Eamonn Cooke of Radio Dublin was hit with a £35 fine for running a pirate station out of Sarsfield Terrace in Inchicore, the famous Radio Dublin. An Irish Independent report into the court case felt it important to note that “During the entire two hour case Mr. Cooke was accompanied by Radio Dublin disc jokey, blonde Sylvia McKenna, dressed in tight grey jeans and a sweater”. Good journalism that.

(more…)

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I’ve never heard this song sung, though it is sung to the same air as ‘Who Fears To Speak Of 98’ and ‘Who Fears To Speak Of Easter Week’. I picked it up from the excellent 1913:Jim Larkin and the Dublin Lockout book (1964), the hard work of the Workers Union of Ireland.

“It is appropriate that the Workers Union of Ireland should sponsor such a book as Jim Larkin was its founder and first general secretary as he had been the founder of and the first general secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union”

If you’re wondering about the air, here is a version sung by Brendan Behan in relation to the 1916 rising that has been uploaded onto YouTube.

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In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I’d seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

Woody Guthrie, one of the greatest folk singers of all time, died a horrible death at the hands of Huntingtons Disease. At the age of 55, he passed on, and it would take others like Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to see to it the next generation would hear his words. His life, short as it was, was an exciting one. His influence is acknowledged by a wide variety of artists today, with Billy Bragg and Wilco putting some of his unsung lyrics to music, while Damien Dempsey mentions his “rebel heart” in his excellent ‘Teachers’, a song which lists his childhood musical influences.

Love Music Hate Racism and Sunday Roast have come together to stage a tribute night to Woody, as a fundraiser for the Huntingtons Disease Association of Ireland. It kicks off with a documentary screening (‘This Machine Kills Fascists’) at 6pm, which is a freebie. At 9pm, there will be a gig kicking off with a wide variety of acts. The doortax is a mere five euro, and it all takes place this Sunday at The Mercantile .

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(Note: This is our 400th post. Wow! Our birthday is coming up in November. Watch this space)

It may take a while before someone writes the definitive history of the rave/dance/club scene in Dublin. Until then, here’s some links to keep you busy:

Articles:

History of Dublin Clubbing, John Braineon, September 2000. Excellent overview covering the 1988 – 1990 Acid House period.

Notes on an Irish disco landscape, Paul Tarpey, September 2008. Well researched piece that covers the Dance Club scene from the early 1970s to the late 1990s.

Belfield’s 1980s Rave Scene, Sam McGrath, December 2009. While today Belfield is a vacuous musical wasteland of commercial electro-pop and RnB, in the late 1980s it enjoyed a healthy, organic dance scene.

Internet forums:

– Legendary 695 (!) page ‘Asylum/Oldskoolthread on Boards.ie which is still going strong after five years.

– 2005 Boards.ie thread on ‘Legendary Clubs/Raves’ and a short thread from 2009 asking posters to vote for ‘Dublin’s Best Ever Club’.

– A more recent 12 page thread on the Bodytonic forum about the “History of rave/dance music culture in Ireland”.

Other:

– A 1,636 strong Facebook group dedicated to the “Old Skool Ravers” of Dublin. Heaps of pictures, youtube links and reminiscences.

– A fantastic resource of flyers from Irish dance clubs (1988 – 2008)

Videos:

Sides D.C. (1986 – 1996)

The Asylum (1992 – July 1994)

The Olympic Ballroom (Raves; April 1990 – 1994)

The Ormond Multimedia Centre (Mid 1990s?)

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Dole TV.

Includes an interview with Sam Nolan (Trade Unionist)
Street Literature- Products Of Our Environment (1.48 in)
and Brian Cowen boozing around Dublin (8.00 in)

Well done to Dublin Community Television on this one, the first episode of Dole TV. Offering a fine mix of content, what begins with a great interview with Sam Nolan goes on to feature a great parody on the Taoiseach’s love for a good pint and an excellent hip hop effort from some younger Dubliners, in the form of Street Literature. Give it a watch.

We’ve briefly touched on the unemployed workers movement in Dublin in the fifties, about which Sam Nolan speaks here, before. The post I have linked to above includes video footage of a protest rally in 1953.

We are putting out an appeal to all those talented video editors, graphic artists, writers, music producers and others to send in their media and ideas for inclusion in the show. Get them in. You can reach out at doletv@dctv.ie

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Our friend Garry O’Neill (author of an anticipated photographic book on Dublin youth culture) is trying to get in contact with any of the girls mentioned in the following news article. You can reach Garry at cru71(at)hotmail.com

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Punky Reggae Party (Vol. 8)

After a long summer break, the Punky Reggae Party makes a welcome return to the city to celebrate its first birthday and showcase its most special guest DJ yet.

To find out more, please click the image below:

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One of my very first posts on this blog (back in November 2009) was an appeal to the public to upload, digitize or give me a long list of 1st wave Dublin Punk/New Wave singles that were out of print and hard to find.

Surely but slowly these singles have been uploaded online and now are available to all to enjoy.

On February 11 2010, I uploaded The Blades’ fourth single ‘Revelation of Heartbreak’.

The Blades - Revelations of Heartbreak (1982)

On March 29 2010, I uploaded The Blades’ first single ‘Hot For You’.

The Blades - Hot For You (1980)

On June 5 2010, our close friend Conor McCabe from Dublin Opinion uploaded the 1983 single ‘Secrets’ from Autobop.

Autobop - Sercrets (1983)

Also on June 5 2010, Conor, got there before me and, uploaded The Rhythm King’s second single ‘John Wayne’.

The Rhythm Kings - John Waybe (1981)

On June 19 2010, I was finally able to get my hands on and upload the classic first and only single from D.C. Nien. (If anyone has their Red Tapes recording, please get in touch!)

D.C. Nien - Nightclub (1980)

On June 23 2010, I finally got around to uploading the 3rd single ‘Procession’ from The Atrix

The Atrix - Procession (1981)

On August 11 2010, Bristol Boy from the My Life’s A Jigsaw blog made my month by uploading the first and only single ‘Private World’ from The Teen Commandments.

The Teen Comandments - Private World (1981)

However, there are still a lot of classic singles still not online. If you have the following, please get in touch.

Alsatians:

5 Honours & A 175 / Denise Denise
7″ – Libra Records – LHS002 – IRL – June 1982 – PS

• I Wanna Be Your Man / Money Back
7″ – Libra Records – LHS003 – IRL – 1982

• I’ll Never Forget It (AKA Two Sucks) / Suicide
7″ – Scoff Records – DT028 – IRL – 2 September 1983 – PS

The Blades: (Note: I’m only looking for the B-Sides)

Ghost of a Chance / Real Emotion
7″ – Energy/Polygram Records – NRG-5 – IRL – 1981 – PS paper labels

Last Man In Europe / Sadlands
7″ – Reekus Records – RKS013 – IRL – 1984 – PS

The Boomtown Rats:

• Neon Heart, Etc.. (At Home And Away)
K7 – Demo – 1976

Camino Organisation:

• Human Voices // Executivity / The Bust Up Of Love
7″ – Reekus Records – RKS 004 – 1982 – PS

New Versions:

• Like Gordon of Khartoum / What You Want
7″ – Mulligan Records – LUNS 744 – IRL – 1981 – PS

Negatives:

• Love Potion No.9 / The Prize
7″ – WEA Records – K18420 – 1980 – PS

Pop Mechanics:

• Soldier Boys / It Feels Like I’m Alone Again
7″ – Polydor Records – 2078 144 – IRL – 1982 – PS

The Radiators From Space: (Note: I’m only looking for the B-Sides)

Enemies // Psychotic Reactions
7″ Chiswick NS-19 – 1977

Sunday World//(Why Can’t I Be) A Teenager In Love
7″ – CBS Records – 5527 – IRL – 1977

Let’s Talk about Weather//Hucklebuck //Try & Stop Me
7″ – Chiswick NS-45 & CHIS-113 1979

Kitty Rickets/Things (with Peter O’Brien)
7″ – Mulligan Records – LUNS720 – IRL – 1979

Revolver:

• Silently Screaming / On The Run
7″ – Rockburgh Records – ROCS203 – UK – 1978 – PS

The Romantiks:

• Said If You Needed Me / Little Queenie
7″ – G.I.Records – GI003 – 1978 – no PS

The Shade:

• 6:05 / Talk To Me
7″ – Juverna Records – JUV-001 – 1981 – no PS?

Watching You / Touch Sensitive
7″ – EMI Records – IEMI 5093 – 1982 – PS

Strange Movements:

• Dancing In The Ghetto / Amuse Yourself
7″ – Good Vibrations International – GVI GOT-5 – N.IRL – 1980 – poster PS

The Sussed:

Don’t Swim On The East Coast / I Wanna Conform

7″ – Dead Records – DEAD U2 – 1981 – PS

The Tabs:

Million Miles / Gotta Get Away
7″ – Vixen Records – FM001 – 1982 – PS

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Come see Mr. Carax DJ on Friday night at

Facebook event here.

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