Entertainment For Lively Minds
Word Podcast 169: Mark Ellen has a busy week in 1978 - guest appearances from Delta Maid and Daniel Tashian
We're still talking about the delicate politics of people who turn up on stage to "jam", moving on to look at the single week in August 1978 when Mark Ellen saw twenty-four groups and dutifully wrote about them all, wondering why so many songwriters are unwilling to explain where they got the idea for a song from and answering your questions.
Plus we've also got a guest appearance from Delta Maid (right) who talks to Mark Ellen and Kate Mossman about how you can get the blues in Liverpool and plays a song from her first album "Outside Looking In". Her song "Running On Empty" is featured on the CD that comes free with the current issue of the magazine. She's on tour through late April into May. Dates are here.
In addition we've been visited this week by Daniel Tashian (pictured top, with your host), the leader of The Silver Seas from Nashville, Tennessee, described by Danny Baker this week as "the best band in the world." Daniel's been in town to co-write some songs and play one small gig. He found time to pop into the Pod, play a couple of songs and talk about what it's like to be a member of a band who demand "a very high thread count".
You can follow this link to get the podcast every week or stream this new episode below.
Funny how
the three words "from Nashville, Tennessee" can automatically stop me from checking any music out featuring that description.
Well, I listened to the two tracks featured on the podcast by the Silver Seas, really enjoyed them and went to Spotify to check out the current album. I've since downloaded (legally) the new album plus the "blue" version, will be checking out the first two sets, and on the strength of the track featured from it, am looking forward to the "Arthur" solo album.
And for those like me who assumed it would be some dreary alt-country nonsense, I'm pleased to say it most definitely isn't.
I've tried with the Silver Seas
but my problem is the reason that Mr H and the Candyman like them - they sound like mid 70's US radio friendly pop hits (ie ver Dan, ver Mac etc). Thats not my bag, baby.
There's nowt wrong with liking a band cos they remind you off old bands you used to like thou. People should shout 'do us some new old' at their gigs
Ooh!
"they sound like mid 70's US radio friendly pop hits ie ver Dan, ver Mac" ...count me in!
Sounds good to me too...
Off to investigate now
Four days later...
...and some heavy Spotify rotation confirms they're fantastic. Hoorah!
My first thought was it sounded like
"Happy" by The Stones.
I liked it a lot.
Jane
is a summer in a tune. I really like them - may have had something to do with sitting in the sun listening to them but its great to my ears.
The only one I can think of
The only song that I can think of about a dead dog, country or otherwise, is this one:
My big beef about the whole country snobbery thing is that we're always being told - implicitly or explicitly - that, although something's a bit countryish, we're allowed to like it anyway. It is utter nonsense. George Jones or Charlie Rich's material didn't change just because they started dressing differently. One of those Exile On Main Street documentaries that were on last year featured Mick Jagger saying that, whenever the Stones did a country song, they would always go for a bit of a pastiche angle. Yeah, you know why, Mick? 'Cause you didn't have the balls to play it straight. For the Stones' glory years (1968-1972) he wanted to sound like Gram Parsons ('Dead Flowers', 'Dear Doctor', 'Country Honk', 'Sweet Virginia'; take your pick) but had to do it tongue in cheek just in case people thought he sounded too conservative. As soon as you're trying to tell an audience how to feel because you're scared of committing to the material without making fun of it, you're in trouble.
Sorry. Glad I got that off my chest. Great podcast.
Dripping from a dead dog's eye.
Jim Reeves has a great B-Side titled Old Tige. It tells the story of a soldier boy returning home from the war in thick fog. His trusty mutt appears as he steps off the bus and guides him through a treacherous swamp in near zero visibility, only to vanish as he reaches the old homestead.
He explains all this to his mom and, yes, you guessed it, Old Tige died three years previously.
Spooky! And yet somehow quite moving.
Also features on the
Bonzo's "Pour L'Amour Des Chiens" LP intoned by Phil Jupitus
Isn't this
about a dead dog?
I thought it was about a dead rat
or is that an urban myth?
Yes, it was
the theme song to the film of the same name about a boy and his pet rat.
Ben was the sequel to the movie Willard
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068264/
Reading 78
Interesting to hear the stories about the 1978 Reading Festival. There are some photos and stories at http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/reading-78.html (lots of other pages about festivals from the past as well). As David mentioned, the Greg Kihn Band played on Saturday.
Is it just me...
...or do lots of people see only a blank letterbox shaped space where the 'play this now' feature of these podcasts should be? Sometimes - like the immediately previous podcast - there IS a visible/useable play function (with the play arrow and the LED slope etc visible), but mostly, including with this one, its just that blank letterbox on my screen. As its not really convenient for me to download the podcast (no mobile phone etc), I suspect I'm missing out on some fascinating chat every week...
It's a bug
But it's usually easy to overcome. Just click through to the individual entry page (like you did to post a comment). If it hasn't appeared then, click back to the homepage again, and it should appear. If it doesn't, update your flash player.
I, too get the problem with the divshare link.....
....sometimes I can see it and sometimes not...it's a strange one.
Now, this is absolutely none of my business but I was wondering about your "not really convenient for me to download the podcast" comment. If you don't mind me asking, then.."Why is it not convenient?"
You don't need a mobile phone.
You don't need iTunes.
You don't need anything other than a computer and a set of speakers and as you post on here, and sometimes post youtube clips, I assume you have this equipment.
There are many ways to get the podcast but the most simple way is to click on the podcast link at the top of the page, or simply click here -
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/WordPodcast
Now, ignore all the technical gubbins and scroll down a little bit to "Current Feed Content". Underneath this is the latest podcast, and underneath that one are all the podcasts ever made on this site. Click on Play Now and the podcast will stream out of your speakers. Or, if you right click on the bit that says Word Podcast 169 Delta Maid etc etc and select "save target as" then you can save the podcast to anywhere you want on your computer, which enables you to transfer it to an mp3 player or burn it to CD etc etc. If doing the "save target as" method, the file downloaded is named like gobbleydeygook eg 164grik--sleim.mp3. Simply re-name it to Word Podcast 169 or whatever.
So, no need to miss out anymore. Hear them all falling in love with Clare Grogan, laughing about Van's harmonica and Mark crapping himself ordering beef whilst sitting next to Chrissie Hynde. Only 169 to go!
Oops...I meant to say I'm using Windows...I don't know the instructions for other operating systems.
No player issue
I find this is an internet explorer thing. If you use firefox the player's always there so you can just click and play.
Ah, okay -
...thanks Fraze...
I had to fast forward
through the Delta Maid interview after a couple of minutes for two reasons:
a) The constant "like....like...like...like...", which annoys me no end (and yes, I realise this makes me sound fogeyish, but I don't care), and
b) The phrase "I grew up on a diet of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline". Its the 'roots music' equivalent of "I grew up listening to my parents' Joni Mitchell/Nick Drake/John Martyn records" and just as annoying.
"Like"
It's a Scouse thing, and quite normal in that part of the world. But then I love the accent, and the "likes" are very much part of the charm for me, always have been. And I don't see what's wrong with claiming you grew up listening to Hank Williams & Patsy Cline - surely that's the most likely explanation for the way she sounds - especially for someone of her age? Where else would she get to hear such music?
It couldn't be
a diet of Conway Twitty and Barbara Mandrell though, could it....
It could
But that's a lot less likely.
*Bristles slightly*
She speaks exactly the way every young girl brought up in her part of the world does. And if you listen past the accent, she makes a lot of interesting points about how and why she grew up listening to what she did. It's nothing out of the ordinary in certain parts of Liverpool and yes, it most likely would be Hank Williams and Patsy Cline.
And isn't it something to celebrate, a young girl taking those influences and creating interesting music as a result - rather than becoming yet another Atomic Kitten wannabe like so many of her contemporaries?
How is that in any way annoying?
Strongly agree
Tunes are good, and Ms. Maid's not entirely unpresentable, either.
25-year-old Liverpudlian woman
in "having accent like a 25-year-old Liverpudlian woman" shocker
I thought she sounded lovely
both when she sang and when she spoke.
But there's something about the Liverpool accent that, as a southerner I've wanted to know for a long time. There seem to be (at least) two very different Scouse accents. George Harrison, Cilla Black & others pronounce "hair" as "hurr," whereas Gerrard, Rooney & the lovely Delta Maid pronounce it as "hear." Is this a generational thing or does it depend which part of the city you come from?
It's an interesting one
And unfortunately even as a local* I don't know the answer to this.
I've remarked elsewhere on this site about George's accent and the presumption that it is 'proper scouse' when I'm not convinced it is.
The line in 'Beware of Darkness' where he sings:
"Watch out now - take curr, bewurr..."
often gets picked up on as 'Scouse' when any fule kno that 99% of locals would say:
"...take ceeeer, beweeeer..."
I suspect, though am happy to be corrected, that it is generational rather than local (George comes from Speke on the outskirts, Cilla from Scottie Road close to the centre) and is *probably* an attempt on the part of George and Cilla to moderate what wouuld be quite strong accents into something a bit more palatable to the rest of the country.
Such things were important (to some) back in the '60s, less so now.
Interested to hear any other views though.
(*all right, as a woolyback)
Why I love Wikipedia, part 6754542
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse
Thanks Paul & Fraser
That's exactly what I wanted to know. Interesting that such a radical vowel shift can happen so completely in such a short space of time. Incidently, proof that it's not just George & Cilla can be found here:
http://youtu.be/to1jDdbJznc
where Ken Dodd explicitly states that in Liverpool "hair" is pronounced "hur." Confusingly, later on in the interview he pronounces it in the standard way, whereas he pronounces "wear" as "wur."
In "She Loves You," the word "fair" is rhymed with "her," but I've just listened to it & the rhyme doesn't depend on either version of the Scouse accent. Both words are pronounced in the standard way, producing just a half-rhyme.
There's also an old Les Dawson joke
That goes something along the lines of:
"What language do hairdressers in Liverpool speak?"
Answer - "Urdu"
Just wouldn't work today the way it would've 30-40 years ago. (The answer today would have to be "Irdu" which doesn't work!)
Reinforces the likelihood it's a generational (and not an elocutionary) shift.
What I find surprising is the suddenness of the change
Why, within two generations, does the accent change so fundamentally?
Maybe it's to do with improvements in health? George, Ringo & Ken Dodd all sound like they have a serious sinus condition.
I'm making this up as I go along now
But bear with me.
Thinking about the Scouse way of pronunciation generally, the 'urr' sound seems like a bit of an anomaly - most 'Scouse' vowel sounds are all about extended 'a's and 'e's - "La", "Gerl" "Werld", even "Mersey".
So when speaking quickly, 'ceeer' flows better than 'curr'.
Maybe.
The accent's evolving in other ways too, I reckon. Back in the day, a collection of bound pages of reading material was a 'bewk' (or more accurately, a 'beuch'). Now, more often than not, it's a 'buck'.
See also ceuk/cuck and leuk/luck.
(There is, of course, only one true test of a real Scouser. Ask them what they call a frozen lump of juice on a stick. What the rest of the world knows as an 'ice lolly' is a 'lolly ice' in Liverpool. I have no idea why this is.)
What about the symmetry of the change?
Where Scousers used to pronounce "hair" as "her," they now pronounce "her" as "hair." I find that interesting. It's as if the two sounds are, for them, the same. Maybe there's a historical reason for that.
I heard recently that when we are babies we can discriminate a lot more sounds than we can as an adult & that part of learning our native language is the forgetting of a lot of those distinctions, so that sounds which are not part of our language all end up sounding the same. Maybe something like that is going on.
You get
both an up arrow from me, and this 3 1/2 minutes of joy which proves the Kitten weren't entirely pointless - this makes better use of an ELO tune than ELO did:
I should clarify a bit
I wasn't dissing 'ver Kitten, who were/are pure pop songstresses of the highest order, more the stream of wannabes who see an overdeveloped melisma and a spot in the heats of the X Factor as something to aspire to.
The fact that someone with a fair old degree of musical talent (and, let's be honest, with the looks to match) decides to shun that approach to fame and instead ploughs her own furrow, following her own particular muse, seems to me to be eminently praiseworthy.
Stupid Get
As used in "...and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get", appears to have died out.
To insult someone by calling them a "get" was in common usage when I was growing up in the north of England, but seems to have been superseded by "git" in recent years.
Not in Waring Towers
it hasn't.
Although 'soft get' or 'daft get' is as strong as it gets.
Mrs W gets upset otherwise.
Did I ever
complain about the accent? No - it was the constant repetitive use of the word "like" which was my point. I don't particularly like it when it's used by someone of the calibre of, say, Ferne Cotton, so why should it be any less annoying to me when used by someone who happens to appear on a Word Podcast?
There's a big difference
If Ferne Cotton says "like" it's because she needs to fill in gaps when she can't think of anything to say. Scousers use "like" because it's an established, natural part of the dialect. You say you're not complaining about the accent, but you are complaining about the way Scousers talk. It's a thin line.
Fine
Whatever you say.
Calm down, calm down!
Come 'ed lads
This is how it's done.
Note the White Album insert pictures on the wall.
Daniel Tashian seems like
a decent chap and very amiable on the podcast but his music here and on DB's radio show leaves me cold. It's all very meritorious but I can't see what would make them your "favourite" band it seems frankly unmemorable if not unremarkable.
You can't judge a book etc
Interesting how Daniel Tashian sounds absolutely nothing like he looks in the picture above.
If I didn't know better, I'd assume that Mr. Hepworth had just taken delivery of a package delivered by a white van man freshly driven from an industrial estate somewhere in the wastelands of Essex. On a fire escape.
In my head he looked like a typical super confident, blonde-haired American surfer dude. As it turns out, only the first part was correct.
Just saying.
Thanks for pointing out the microwave oven beeping...
...I thought there was something wrong with my car
The Silver Seas
Like them, love the harmonies.......just because it's good music does it always have to be given a tag. 70's US Friendly....so what! Much rather have that than Brit pop or Electro. Their songs are good, well crafted. Harmonies, hand claps and spell bindingly melodious. Also clever references to their influences such as ELO, lovely homage in the string section, but not crassly done. A tilt of the cap, if you will, which doesn't spoil the song and gives it charm. I agree with the Candyman and DH.
We forget how good some of this music was. Loved the Nick Lowe interview last week. Went to Youtube and reminded myself how good these guys were, particularly Rockpile, brilliant stuff...but for some unknown reason not Superstars......maybe a case of wrong place at wrong time...but for those who know, brilliant! Lest we forget and I don't mind being reminded.
"For some reason not superstars."
Two reasons, among possible others: firstly the name makes them sound like a dealer in industrial drills. Secondly:
A trifle facially challenged to be superstar material, no? They look like they've just finished a liquid lunch and are off back to the drill dealership for the afternoon. Apparently, Edmunds is on the verge of closing a deal for 300 RPD-425s to Balfour Beatty.
Silver Seas-The Best Band In The World
no that would be Everything Everything or Field Music or even at a pinch Dutch Uncles or Fleet Foxes
My favourite Silver Seas song is the one that namechecks ELO What's The Drawback apart from that not much stands out.
keep up the good work
If there's one thing more absurd than....
...calling somebody the best band in the world, it's denying it.
Sorry
it's only an opinion
Historical
History? Did I hear right?