The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

Here we are at the penultimate podcast of the year, and the one immediately preceding Christmas.  I really don't like 99% of Christmas music so there's pretty close to none of it at all on here, although I have made a couple of exceptions as a lazy sort of nod to the season.  Let's face it, if the druids can be arsed dancing about like idiots around Stonehenge and people can fall out over half-defrosted turkeys then I can probably make the effort to shove a couple of token musical nods onto a single podcast, can't I.



I actually take a lot of this podcast from my recently-published albums of the year list, and from my as-yet-unpublished Festive Fifty, so it's a bit of a yearly roundup as well.

And in fact, seeing as Christmas is a Sunday, I won't actually be posting until Boxing Day now, so this will be the last post before Christmas so umm, in the off-chance I don't bump into you on Facebook, Twitter or down the pub, I better wish you Happy Christmas now, hadn't I.

01. Tom Lehrer - A Christmas Carol (00.23)
02. The Black Tambourines - Bad Days (05.09)
03. The Low Anthem - Boeing 737 (10.42)
04. Timber Timbre - Woman (13.31)
05. Sons of Joy - Pig (20.25)
06. The Japanese War Effort - Our Land Could be Your Life (24.51)
07. Jonnie Common - Hand-Hand (31.37)
08. Earth Girl Helen Brown - Girls of My Dreams (35.39)
09. Weird Era - Garage Honeymoon (41.37)
10. The War on Drugs - Your Love is Calling My Name (47.46)
11. Sons of Joy - In the Bleak Midwinter (58.07)
12. Sons of Joy - Coventry Carol (60.00)

The baubles in question would be twofold:

Firstly, the Song, by Toad readers are awarding their own baubles for the year's musical endeavours, both in terms of anointing their song and their album of the year.

And secondly, the very second I post this I am heading up into town to Kid Canaveral's Christmas Baubles, their second of what I assume will become an annual Christmas knees-up, this time hosted at Edinburgh's rather amazing Summerhall.

This week on Song, by Toad I will be publishing my own top twenty albums of the year, and then moving on to the Festive Fifty - basically your average predictable blogger's December rituals.  If you don't like it I guess you're a bit stuck until the new year I'm afraid.

01. Mongrels - Massive Cunt (00.25)

02. Tom Waits - Face to the Highway (06.14)

03. Waiters - Tomorrowland (14.27)

04. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Bats in the Attic (Unravelled) (24.03)

05. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The Copper Top (27.33)

06. Hookworms - Medicine Cabinet (34.56)

07. Grant Lee Phillips - Josephine of the Swamps (45.21)

08. The Dears - Lost in the Plot (50.49)

09. Warpaint - Billie Holiday (60.27)

PHEW!  Thank fuck that's (more or less) over.  This year has been a bit full-on, I have to confess, but the bulk of the hard work now seems more or less over.  Our last release (Lil Daggers) came out last week, and our label Christmas Party is now done and dusted which leaves me a relatively comfortable run into the Christmas period from now on, which is some for which I am quite grateful.

Nevertheless, The Leg album, the Jesus H. Foxx album and the second album by Yusuf Azak are all on the menu for early next year, so those need to be nudged into motion, so it's not exactly like my feet are going up and my hands reaching for the remote control and a bag of popcorn.

Well maybe, but mostly between Christmas and New Year, I can't really bring myself to work then!

Next week I'll be going through the Song, by Toad readers' top five songs and albums of the year vote, so if you want to chip in then just fill in your top albums of the year on this week's Friday Five.

01. Coolrunnings - Rusk (00.04)
02. The National - I Need My Girl (09.35)
03. Islet - This Fortune (15.44)
04. Saintseneca - Acid Rain (20.45)
05. Doe Paoro - Can't Leave You (25.46)
06. Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song (32.47)
07. Micah P. Hinson - My God, My God (40.30)
08. Liars - Scissor (43.17)
09. Jackson C. Frank (51.43)
10. Monster Rally - Creeping Ghost (58.22)
11. Monster Rally - Sahara (59.57)
12. Monster Rally - Crystal Ball (62.09)

Bleerch, bleurgh...  I feel completely disgusting. I had a really good sleep last night, but that translated into a day spent wasting my time fannying about and just lolling in that way that seems like a good idea at the time, but invariably ends up making you feel completely disgusting by the end.

Also, to make matters worse, we ordered pizza, which is something we hardly ever do and something which we absolutely always regret.  So here we sit on a Friday evening feeling bloated and slightly soiled and wondering whether at this time of the night there's any point really trying to redeem the day, and perhaps it's best just to forget it and wait for tomorrow.  Bleuch.

01. Joanna Gruesome - Madison (00.27)
02. The Mutton Birds - Anchor Me (06.36)
03. Monster Island - Pilot Whales (14.42)
04. Former Bullies - It Might Be Okay (17.36)
05. Video Thrills - Our Plush Selection (21.05)
06. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking (Peel Session) (25.16)
07. Bottle of Evil - I Can See Your Face (31.20)
08. The Black Tambourines - White Album (39.37)
09. Dolfinz - Teenage Doom (42.47)
10. The Ramones - Psycho Therapy (48.50)
11. Samoan Punks - Everyday (51.42)
12. Waiters - Black Stuff (59.27)

 First things first, I must inevitably apologise for the horrendous lateness of this podcast.  Between my mum visiting, the gig on Sunday and the Samantha Crain Toad Session we recorded on Monday there just hasn't been enough time to catch up.

It's that end of year time, too, when lists are being made, accounts submitted, the last releases of the year tended to and plans for next year being finalised, so just when I thought that I could coast into Christmas, it turns out I actually have just as much work now as at any other time of the year.  Ah well, whinge whinge, etc.

This podcast is called the Saxcast because I happened to be listening to Timber Timbre the other night, and one of their songs features the saxophone quite heavily.  It occurred to me at the time that not only does almost no-one use that instrument at the moment, but despite the eighties ending over twenty years ago, it still seems almost completely taboo, within the kind of musical circles I move in anyway.  Needless to say, this was all it took for me to devote an entire podcast to the instrument.

01. Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band - It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City (Live) (00.27)
02. Timber Timbre - Do I Have Power (09.02)
03. Quiet Americans - Summer House (16.54)
04. Samantha Crain - Two Sidedness (20.02)
05. Hazel O'Connor - Will You (25.09)
06. Woodenbox - Twisted Mile (33.42)
07. Monster Rally & RumTum - Raindrops (39.53)
08. My Tiny Robots - Guild of Defiants (42.37)
09. David Tattersall - The Typewriter Ribbon (47.51)
10. Mark Knopfler - Going Home (Theme From Local Hero) (58.30)

Cakecast? Yes, the Cakecast, because I turn thirty-six today, and in the absence of a real cake and in honour of the fact that I have a gig tonight at the Wee Red and will hence be working, I decided that at least a picture of some cake was in order. I don't worry about age particularly, but I have to confess that thirty-six sounds suspiciously more like 'nearly forty' than it does like 'thirty-something'.  Curse you time and your unrelentingly linear nature!

Anyhow, as I said, tonight we have Gummy Stumps, Weird Era and Battery Face at the Wee Red Bar for a fiver, so those of you wishing to come along and help me get pished and make a fool of myself will have plenty of opportunity to do so.  A can of Red Stripe will do the trick, there's none of your fancy micro-brew pish at the Wee Red.

01. Clem Snide - Happy Birthday (00.16)
02. The Quiet Americans - Be Alone (07.10)
03. Bottle of Evil - The Boatman (11.52)
04. Tropic of Cancer - Distorted Horizon (15.55)
05. Islet - This Fortune (21.20)
06. Samantha Crain - Traipsing Through the Aisles (Daytrotter Session) (29.54)
07. Bos Angeles - Beach Slalom (35.16)
08. Ghost Outfit - I Was Good When I Was Young (38.11)
09. The Sleepy Jackson - Tell the Girls That I'm Not Hanging Out (49.29)
10. The Louche FC - Hands (56.42)

So, the 200th podcast.  I remember a couple of years ago when the 100th ticked past, it happened to be a Toad Session, and as those are pre-recorded with little idea when they'll fit into the sequence of Toadcasts I never really marked the milestone in any sort of a way.

This time around I was very much conscious of it, but still couldn't really think of a way to make it interesting and, on Thursday night, with no real plan, I just sat down to have a go at editing a compilation consisting of at least one swear word from each podcast.  It took fucking hours, and in fact had to be finished over a combination of Saturday and Sunday evening, which is the reason the podcast is so late this week.

For some reason though, it seems kind of fitting, because in amongst the swearing there are some bits and pieces which remind me of events now quite a surprisingly long way in the past.  We have the first Toad Session, the first time Mrs. Toad joined me on a podcast, various long-forgotten birthdays, the passing of the legendary Floyd and all sorts of other things.  The kind of things, in short, which make this whole load of bollocks a lot more personal than just a music blog and a record label.

01. Song, by Toad Swearing Omnibus #1 (00.20)

02. The Shaky Hands - Whales Sing (11.27)

03. Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster (18.11)

04. Song, by Toad Swearing Omnibus #2 (20.54)

05. The 63 Crayons - Spoils for Survivors (25.09)

06. Broken Records - Out On the Water (Toad Session) (35.18)

07. Meursault - The Dirt & the Roots (42.47)

08. Song, by Toad Swearing Omnibus #3 (46.20)

09. Dusty Springfield - What Good is I Love You? (51.53)

10. Thelonius Monster & Tom Waits - Adios Lounge (60.12)

11. Mike MacFarlane - Done For (70.01)

12. Song, by Toad Swearing Omnibus #4 (72.43)

This is called the Barfcast because I feel like utter, unmitigated shite this morning, after another awesome evening with Mrs. Toad getting scooshed and playing records.  I think I had Weald on at the maximum volume our amp can actually manage.  Which, for the record, is pretty fucking loud.

So now I am off to get ready for not one, but three gigs.  Firstly the Ides of Toad at Henry's, then Lach and Viv Albertine after that, and then Flamin' Hott Toadzzz! in Anstruther tomorrow.  When the chance to have a good sleep comes, I think I will have earned it!

Sometime this week I will figure out what the fuck to do with the 200th podcast. Or at least, I'd better!  There have been a good few calls to get Mrs. Toad back on, which is a lovely idea, but will depend very much on whether or not she can possibly be arsed, which I wouldn't take for granted.

01. Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought the Law (00.26)
02. Evan Dando - $1000 Wedding (Gram Parsons) (04.41)
03. Easter - Damp Patch (07.39)
04. Preston School of Industry - So Many Ways (13.52)
05. Sparklehorse - Piano Fire (18.57)
06. The Black Tambourines - A Lot of Friends (26.31)
07. Ghost Outfit - Tuesday (30.47)
08. Loch Awe - I Will Drift into 10,000 Streams (35.33)
09. Lil Daggers - Dada Brown (42.32)
10. Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea (44.45)
11. Dan Mangan - About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help at All (55.56)

This particular podcast was somewhat railroaded by two different things, and hence has very little of the new music/inbox harvesting stuff you may have come to expect from Song, by Toad.

Firstly, I went to see Jeffrey Lewis on Wednesday.  He was supported by Seth Faergolzia from Dufus and covered 2+2=? by the Bob Seger System, which explains two of the songs.

Secondly, I went out to visit a couple of pals on Thursday night.  That resulted in an epic Pearl Jam-a-thon, so I was looking for some Pearl Jam to play today, only to happen across an old compilation with Pearl Jam, Luna, The Magnetic Fields, Yo La Tengo, Beck and others on it, which explains a couple more songs.  As for the rest, well, there's just no excuse really, is there.

01. Soulsavers - Revival (00.16)

02. Pearl Jam - Bu$hleaguer (08.47)

03. Seth Faergolzia - Weird Old Toad (16.40)

04. Bob Seger System - 2+2=? (19.53)
05. Lords of Bastard - Chant (25.24)

06. The Blue Runes - Stream Fog (31.59)

07. Beck - Golden Age (37.54)

08. Luna - Black Champagne (42.24)

09. The Eagles - Outlaw Man (52.25)

10. Honey Train - Yo Toad/Deepness (Demo) (58.37)

This is called the Changecast because, in an absolutely stunning turn of events, it is not packed full of lo-fi garage rock for a bloody change.  Considering the racket you've had to put up with for the last year or so, it seems I have kindly granted you the respite of three songs you'd probably vaguely describe as Americana and a couple which are most unmistakably pop!  I know! Get me!

Tonight is of course the Rob St. John album launch down at Pilrig St. Paul's in Leith.  He will be joined on the bill by Viking Moses, Meursault and eagleowl, the latter of whom just happen to be recording their debut album at the moment, which is rather exciting.

So, I will post this, attempt to get some nice lunch somewhere and then commence that uncomfortable 'no-one's coming no-one's coming no-one's coming... oh thank fuck' dance I inevitably end up doing whenever I am promoting a gig.  Why I put myself through this all the time I just don't know.

01. Cub Scouts - Evie (00.20)
02. Horsecollar - The Thrill of Never Being Satisfied (06.53)
03. Yoofs - John Actor is Monkfish (14.39)
04. Youthfall - Guard it Like a Fortress (18.01)
05. Rollor - Jekyll Island (22.37)
06. The Lovely Sparrows - National Monuments (33.07)
07. Ohbijou - Niagra (39.42)
08. Milk & Biscuits - Rivers (44.10)
09. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar (50.45)
10. The Twilight Sad - Sick (58.25)