FYI our fearless editor Mary is currently on holiday (sort of, she says, since she'll be working on blog-y things for most of it) in Britain and the site won't be as updated as frequently until she returns stateside after the 23rd of May. Don't worry though, we'll be busy this month going to festivals (Liverpool Sound City, the Great Escape) and loads of great content is on its way!
By Mary Chang on Wednesday, 21st September 2011 at 12:00 pm
Ben Duffy, the frontman for electropop band from Kings Cliffe Fenech-Soler, did double duty for us here at TGTF. Not only did he answer our Quickfire Questions, he also gave us some further moments of his time to answer some more queries of the soul-searching variety. His answers to the Quickfires are below – bet you didn’t know that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, or that his preferred vocation was doing something high up in the sky, did you? – and stay tuned, the rest of our interview with him will post on TGTF very soon. And if you like gigs, catch Fenech-Soler on tour starting next week in Peterborough (all the details here). And after the Quickfire Questions, I’ve added in the winning fan entry by Alex et Ol to a video competition Fenech-Soler ran for their song ‘Golden Sun’. Very nice.
1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
Going to watch my dad at bluegrass festivals in America. He toured with people like Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, so Ross and I lived in Dallas when we were younger.
2. What was your favorite song as a child?
I remember getting a drum kit when I was very young and drumming to the Crash Test Dummies over and over. Not very cool but it was probably one of the tracks off that album.
3. What song makes you laugh?
Ross and I DJ quite a bit now and there is a club track that we don’t play out but did make us laugh. It’s called ‘Breakfast’ by LeLe. The Mercury remix.
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love? (It’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
Starland Vocal Band – ‘Afternoon Delight’…always gets me.
6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry? (Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
I don’t know the name of the song but whatever Lil Wayne did at the VMAs recently. [Editor's note: He did 'How to Love' and 'John'.]That made me angry but then I just laughed. Really bad.
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
Rachmaninov’s 3rd Concerto.
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.) Chris Thile. He’s a songwriter from my Dad’s field of music. He made an album 4 years ago called ‘Deceiver’ which I listen to all the time. Amazing mandolin player and lyricist.
9. If you hadn’t become a singer/musician/songwriter/etc., what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
I’d hope a pilot. I was going to train as a commercial airline pilot but then the band started getting too busy. If it all ends tomorrow then that’s what I’ll try and do. Bruce Dickinson style.
10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
‘Thriller’ – Michael Jackson.
By Mary Chang on Monday, 12th September 2011 at 12:00 pm
Kit Monteith, drummer for the Oxford alt-rock/dance (err, is that a good description?) band Trophy Wife (and incidentally your #5 band to watch for the TGTF 10 for 2011 poll late last year), kindly answered our Quickfire Questions just prior to the band shoving off for Bestival. (Isn’t he sweet?)
Also included below, after the Quickfire Questions, is a stream of a brand new song from Trophy Wife called ‘Canopy Shade’. Pure gorgeousness. It was produced by the band and London electronic duo Plaid. It’s the first taste of Trophy Wife’s forthcoming EP ‘Bruxism’ to be released on 17 October as the inaugural release on Blessing Force‘s newly launched label. Oxford represent!
1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
The ‘Planet X’ setting on my dad’s Emu synth.
2. What was your favourite song as a child?
‘Man in the Mirror’ – Michael Jackson.
3. What song makes you laugh?
‘Stomachache Due to the Sincere Belief That the Rest of My Band is Trying to Kill Me’ (‘video’ below) or ‘No-one Likes a Grumpy Cripple’ by Rumah Sakit (an instrumental band from San Francisco).
4. What song makes you cry?
‘Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes’ – Beck.
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love?
‘Islands’ – Arab Strap.
6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry?
‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ (Nirvana cover).
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
‘Music for 18 Musicians’ by Steve Reich. (Editor’s note: there seems to be a lot of TGTF’s favourite bands who idolise Steve Reich. I do not think this is merely a coincidence.)
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
Donald Barthelme.
9. If you hadn’t become a musician, what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
It wouldn’t matter, whatever it was, I’d be neglecting it and tweeting instead.
*Note: he didn’t answer #10 (If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?) so I endeavour to ask them what they’d answer with when I finally see them live. (Hopefully before the end of 2011…)
By Mary Chang on Friday, 9th September 2011 at 12:00 pm
Hannah Clark, aka the woman behind FOE, gave her answers to the TGTF Quickfire Questions…
Read John’s review of ‘Deep Water Heart Breaker’ here.
1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
Playing Beatles covers with my dad
2. What was your favourite song as a child?
For some reason I can only remember ‘Park Life’ by Blur.
3. What song makes you laugh?
‘My Only Fascination’ – Demis Roussos.
4. What song makes you cry?
‘Exit Music (For a Film)’ – Radiohead.
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love? (It’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
‘Exit Music (For A Film)’ – Radiohead.
6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry? (Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
‘Senza Fine’ – Gino Paoli. Cheers me up.
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
I simply cannot answer that!
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
Roald Dahl
9. If you hadn’t become a singer/musician/songwriter/etc., what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
I’d probably be busking on the street.
10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
Anything I’d choose would probably get me sent to hell, hahaha.
By Mary Chang on Thursday, 8th September 2011 at 12:00 pm
The singer / guitarist / keyboardist of Bear Hands, Dylan Rau, was kind of enough to answer our Quickfire Questions, and his answers are below. Read on.
he band will be going on tour with We Were Promised Jetpacks in the autumn here in DC – not sure if they’re supporting WWPJ in Britain.
1. What song is your earliest memory?
‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ by The Bangles. My pops was always into female singers and this was pretty early on. He was a big Alanis Morrisette fan too. He’s a gynecologist.
2. What was your favourite song as a child?
‘Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand’ by Primitive Radio Gods. Lots of alternative one hit wonders I guess. I used to bootleg songs off the radio with a tape recorder. I’m fucking old (26).
3. What song makes you laugh?
‘Fake Patois’ by Das Racist.
4. What song makes you cry?
‘Parasite’ by Nick Drake.
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love (it’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
I get down to ‘Heartbeats’ by The Knife I guess. ‘Motivation’ by Kelly Rowland with Weezy also very sexy but no personal experience.
6. What song makes you think of being upset/angry? Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
Oh dear. I don’t really like to feel angry; it makes me anxious. I mean, spite is fun and all, but real rage is just overwhelming. That being said, ‘War Pigs’ by (Black) Sabbath is dope. ‘Raining in Blood’ by Slayer. ‘The Times They Are A-Changing” by Dylan, because they didn’t.
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
‘Cry Baby Cry’ by the Beatles.
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
Camus, Fanon, whoever writes the Gawker Jersey Shore recaps.
9. If you hadn’t become a musician, what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
Walking around and looking for coins in parking lots.
10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
‘Ready to Die’ by the Notorious B.I.G.
By Mary Chang on Friday, 2nd September 2011 at 12:00 pm
Autumn is shaping up to be a very busy time for Scots We Were Promised Jetpacks. Their hotly anticipated second album, ‘In the Pit of the Stomach’, will be released on the 3rd of October on Fat Cat, after which time the band will go on tour in both the UK and America. Before the madness hits, we managed to pin down guitarist Michael Palmer to answer our Quickfire Questions. There’s a song that makes him quite angry…read on to find out which one it is…
1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
Watching a tape my dad’s band playing on The Old Grey Whistle Test, and me accidentally taping over a little bit of it. Whoops.
2. What was your favourite song as a child?
My gran once shouted at my mum because I was running about singing ‘Teenage Kicks’ (the Undertones).
3. What song makes you laugh?
’1942′ by George Dawes.
4. What song makes you cry?
‘Woe is Me’ by Mr. Krabs (of Spongebob Squarepants fame).
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love? (It’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
‘Business Time’ – Flight of the Conchords. Sorry.
6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry? (Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
‘If I Were a Boy’ by Beyonce. it makes me quite angry. It’s just so fucking horrible from start to finish. Who let her do that? Who?
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
Ooooh toughy. You’d want it to be a pop number, for sure. but something classy. Hmmm. ‘Trick Me’ by Kelis, maybe?
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
i’m going for film/tv writer here and saying Aaron Sorkin.
9. If you hadn’t become a musician, what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
Something pointless, for sure.
10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
‘All Day’ by Girl Talk. Truly great album! He’s a genius, that dude (Gregg Michael Gillis).
By Shari Fedak on Wednesday, 31st August 2011 at 12:00 pm
For the last day of August, we bring you the Quickfire Question answers from our Baltimore via Canada writer…
1. What song is your earliest musical memory?
Lionel Ritchie – ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’. When I was very small I used to demand that I watch a show on CTV called “Video Hits” – it was the 80s, so music videos were being shown even on mainstream television. I very clearly remember the video, it made an impression on me, I suppose. I remember trying to walk on the walls afterwards. It didn’t work out.
2. What was your favourite song as a child?
Either Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ or anything from Billy Joel’s ‘Glass Houses’. When I was, again, very small, my younger sister and I used to divide up my mother’s record collection – I got Blondie, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, she got Dire Straits and Bryan Adams. I also really liked Corey Hart, had a poster of him that came with his record on my wall when I was 2 or 3. Think it was the first record that I owned wholly by myself. Requested it for Christmas.
3. What song makes you laugh?
The Replacements – ‘Kids Don’t Follow’. The beginning part, particularly. I do an excellent impression of it. I’ve been threatening to do it on stage with my band so many times it’s become a bit of an inside joke, which makes it funnier to me. Then the guitar part starts and I pretend I’m Bobby Stinson minus the drinking in my head even though I can’t play guitar. What a song.
4. What song makes you cry?
‘Married to a Lazy Lover’ by the Auteurs. It’s probably not supposed to make you cry, but there’s this part of the song when it crescendos and the organ comes in and I get weepy. I’m probably repressed. Anything by Journey. Not because I’m actually sad, but because I just would really like you to turn it off.
5. What song reminds you of the first time you fell in love? (It’s up to you if you want this to be sweet, naughty, etc.)
Well, the song that I’ll always attach to my first real boyfriend is the Sneaker Pimps’ ’6underground’. No special occasion, it’s just the sort of thing I was listening to at the time. As an addendum, Death From Above 1979′s ‘Sexy Results’ is the dirtiest song I know. But that ain’t got nothin’ to do with love.
6. What song makes you think of being upset / angry? (Example: maybe you heard it when you were angry with someone and it’s still with you, and/or something that calms you down when you’re upset, etc.)
Now, my anger is actually a fairly rare thing, but I think !!! (pictured at top) – ‘Pardon My Freedom’ sums it up fairly nicely. Or perhaps Luke Haines’ ever-simmering disdain would be more along the lines of my anger. I hardly ever get to ‘Pardon My Freedom’ levels.
7. Which song (any song written in the last century) do you wish you’d written yourself?
Absolutely too many to count. Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’? That’s about my songwriting level. I’d be bathing in cash right now. Although I secretly suspect most pop songs are written by computers nowadays anyway.
8. Who is your favourite writer? (This can be a songwriter or ANY kind of writer.)
Neil Gaiman or Robert Jordan! I’m a nerd. I mean, I really do read perfectly scholarly real literature, as I love reading, but sometimes you just want a story. Actually, Neil Gaiman really should be considered real literature (in comic and written form) if he is not. Just brilliant.
9. If you weren’t writing for this blog right now, what job do you think you’d be doing right now?
Well, currently I’m a legal secretary now. I’d rather a) like to quit my job and do music full time, b) be the next Martin Hannett minus the drugs and the weight problem, or c) be a synthesiser technician. I cleaned up the insides of a Hammond Condor RSM unit (it’s a frequency to voltage converter, basically, with various footages and vibrato/tremolo control) and tweaked the trim pots and made it sing again the other day. It gave me so much joy. See above comment in re: nerd. I make no apologies.
10. If God said you were allowed to bring only one album with you to Heaven, which would it be and why?
I swear this changes ever month. Right now it’s Wire’s ‘Pink Flag’; maybe next month it’ll be the Modern Lovers; perhaps Richard Hell or Talking Heads. Maybe something by the Replacements or New Order. Perhaps I’ll discover a brand new band with a brilliant new album next week. I suppose it would be a bit egotistical to take recordings of my own band to Heaven with me, right? I’m pretty sure I’d miss my band a lot.
There Goes The Fear is where we tell you about the latest tours, gigs, and music we love and think you should too.
We love music that has its heart on its sleeve, tells a story, swims around our head all day or makes us dance like idiots.
The blog is edited by Mary Chang, who is based in Washington DC. She is joined by writers in the UK and America. It was started up by Phil Singer in Bristol, UK.
All MP3s are posted with the permission of the artists or their representatives and are for sampling only. Like the music? Buy it. If you want a track removed, email us and we'll sort it ASAP.
