The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

By Mr. ToadMusic
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The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad episodes

  • Toadcast #96 - The Excast
    The Excast is so named because I am playing a lot of people's former
    bands.  There's Shane MacGowan's Nipple Erectors, Phil Chevron's
    Radiators, Shilpa Ray's Beat the Devil and Billy Bragg's Riff Raff.

    I concentrate so much on new music these days that I often decide

    whether or not I like a band on the basis of a handful of demos, maybe
    a single, sometimes a debut EP, stuff like that.  And of course, bands
    don't stumble into the world fully-formed, it takes some of them ages
    to become brilliant, and a lot of the time the initial forms of a band
    can be really strange, presumably because the people in question were
    still casting around a bit for their sound.

    So there's a bit of that here, but it's not all that rigid a theme,

    and the playlist is a bit messy but, erm, well never mind.  There are
    some great songs, so enjoy!

    Toadcast #96 - The Excast

    01. Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - Beating St. Louis (04.07)

    02. Beat the Devil - Plea Bargain (11.09)
    03. Bright Eyes - Neely O'Hara (19.56)
    04. Richard Hawley - Naked in Pitsmoor (26.16)
    05. The Young Republic - The Alchemist (33.20)
    06. Construction & Destruction - The Signal (41.24)
    07. The Nipple Erectors - Nervous Wreck (48.34)
    08. The Radiators - Walking Home Alone Again (50.39)
    09. The Pogues - Lorca's Novena (56.37)
    10. Riff Raff - You Shaped House (63.33)

    1 hr 8 min
  • Toadcast #95 - The Craigcast Pt.2
    I think it would be only fair to describe this podcast as a little bit messy.  We recorded it immediately after first Craigcast two weeks ago, and so by the end of it we were all fucking hammered.

    I promise I have tried to edit out as much of the madness as I

    could, but it was difficult.  The problem with incoherent drunken
    rambling is there don't tend to be a lot of natural breaks, so it was
    devilishly hard to cut down.

    Anyhow, this won't be the first or last time you listen to a load of

    mental old nonsense on the Toadcasts, so I am going to just have to
    wish you luck and let you get on with it.

    Toadcast #95 - The Craigcast Pt.2

    1. Mississippi Fred McDowell - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (04.31)

    2. RL Burnside - Fireman Ring the Bell (12.22)
    3. RL Burnside - Don't Let My Baby Ride (22.08)
    4. Junior Kimbrough - Stay All Night (24.59)
    5. Charles Caldwell - Old Buck (34.31)
    6. Robert Lucas - Miss Being High (40.35)
    7. Steve James - Grain Alcohol (45.22)
    8. Kelly Joe Phelps - House Carpenter (57.06)
    9. North Mississippi Allstars - Circle in the Sky (66.57)
    10. Buddy Guy - Baby Please Don't Leave (75.50)

    1 hr 24 min
  • Toadcast #94 - The Not-Notcraigcast
    I know I promised the Notcraigcast last week, but it didn't happen I'm afraid.  After last week's amazing Craigcast
    Neil and I were intending to introduce Craig to all sorts of modern
    music which we thought continued some of the traditions of the blues
    music he was describing to us, but circumstances have rather conspired
    against us unfortunately.  Neil is off on tour with Meursault playing
    his songs, and Craig is off on tour with his liver, taking it around
    the watering holes of Edinburgh and giving it a good, hard kicking in
    each one.

    Consequently I've sort of cobbled together a podcast from fragments of the Pantscast

    and the stuff I'd intended to play for Craig.  It's largely folky, but
    that wasn't wholly by design, more to do with the fact that listening
    to the really early blues stuff Craig played for us sent me back to
    listening to old Smithsonian Folkways
    stuff and so there are a couple of songs from there, as well as a
    couple of modern things which those recordings brought to mind.

    Smithsonian Folkways, incidentally, is a non-profit record label run by the Smithsonian Institute to preserve

    and support a truly epic amount of our musical heritage.  Just go and
    have a browse through their archives - it's amazing how much incredible
    stuff these guys are looking after on everyone else's behalf. 

    Toadcast #94 - The Not-Notcraigcast

    1. Micah P. Hinson - She Don't Own Me (02.57)

    2. Hem - The Cuckoo (11.13)
    3. Saint Etienne - Like a Motorway (16.52)
    4. White Antelope - Silver Dagger (22.15)
    5. The Boggs - Plant Me a Rose (28.00)
    6. Willard Grant Conspiracy - River in the Pines (31.47)
    7. Berzilla Wallin - Conversation With Death (Oh Death) (39.22)
    8. Samamidon - O Death (44.26.)
    9. Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby (49.21)
    10. Alela Diane - White as Diamonds (Daytrotter Session) (54.09)
    11. Sandy Denny - By the Time it Gets Dark (59.07)

    1 hr 3 min
  • Toadcast #93 - The Craigcast
    I have a friend Craig who works in Waterstones and is an obsessive about old American folk music and, more specifically, blues. He has been making Neil Meursault mix CDs for ages, which I've heard and consistently found myself asking what the hell I was listening to.
    I usually hate the tedious collections of old blues music which seem to always adorn Uncut covers when they ask bands to name their formative influences, but some of the really scratchy old recordings Craig put on his CDs were amazing, so erm... this is the podcast I guess.
    At last - someone who actually knows what he's talking about!
    01. Blind Boy Fuller - Rattlesnakin' Daddy (02.57)
    02. Charley Patton - Pea Vine Blues (12.34)
    03. Big Joe Williams - Baby Please Don't Go (18.54)
    04. Willie Brown - Future Blues (22.16)
    05. Skip James - Hardtime Killing Floor Blues (31.32)
    06. Robert Johnson - Hellhound on My Trail (39.57)
    07. Muddy Waters - I Can't Be Satisfied (50.54)
    08. Muddy Waters - Trouble No More (57.16)
    09. Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful (59.54)
    10. Mississippi Fred McDowell - Fireman Ring the Bell (71.15)
    1 hr 16 min
  • Toadcast #92 - The Pantscast
    This podcast is a little bit random, I have to say.  There are songs
    which follow on from the like folk/hate covers posts which have
    appeared over the course of the last week or so on the site, a couple
    are related to the fact that Mrs. Toad is once more away in God Bless
    America shooting illegal aliens, chewing gum, whistling Dixie, or
    whatever the fuck it is they do over there, while most of the first
    half is related to the fact that my friend Andrew is coming to visit
    this weekend.

    They do sort of relate to one another, the songs, at least.  Or

    there's a bit of overlap anyway.  I never keep much track of it, but
    this is at least the second version of Blues Run the Game we've had on
    the podcasts, and I have no idea if I've ever actually repeated a song
    on these things.  I wouldn't be surprised if I had, because I'm bloody
    disorganised when it comes to this kind of thing.

    Anyhow, no scary metal bastards making your ears bleed this week,

    just a lot of lovely folky stuff and a couple of scratchy indie bands. 
    Oh, and Jack White.  I'd say that he was an egomaniacal dick, but he's
    massive and would probably kick my arse, so I won't.  Recent stuttering
    aside, though, he's produced some cracking tunes, whatever you think of
    the guy.

    Toadcast #92 - The Pantscast

    01. Soul Asylum - New World (04.17)

    02. The Tragically Hip - Pigeon Camera (10.29)
    03. Beck - Guess I'm Doing Fine (14.47)
    04. The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself (24.46)
    05. Elbow - Fugitive Motel (29.57)
    06. Billy Bragg - Wishing the Days Away (Alternative Version) (34.53)
    07. Tortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy - Thunder Road (43.15)
    08. Christopher Bell - Pretty Thing (53.53)
    09. Nick Drake - Blues Run the Game (55.33)
    10. Fairport Convention - Crazy Man Michael (60.52)

    1 hr 6 min
  • Toadcast #91 - The Metalcast

    Well the Funkcast was probably about as gentle a 'tell me about this

    genre' podcast as you're likely to get.  This, on the other hand, is
    not gentle.  I suppose it was never likely to be - there's only so
    gentle an introduction you can give to this kind of music.

    Basically,

    I was becoming increasingly curious about the number of alt-folkies I
    know who come from heavy metal backgrounds.  Loads of my friends here
    who I know because we all listen to indie rock or alternative folk or
    all sorts of things inbetween seem to have been really into metal when
    they were young.  This doesn't entirely make sense to me because I see
    very little connection between the two kinds of music, and for so many
    people to have made that transition it must be a strong connection.

    Then,

    of course, it turns out that loads of people whose music I listen to -
    alt-folk, once again - also grew up listening to metal.  The Mountain
    Goats' John Darnielle, Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie and, more locally,
    Dan from Withered Hand and Neil from Meursault.  So, having been round
    at the house doing artwork for their single releases I asked the Neil
    and Chris from Meursault and Matthew who helps out with the label to
    put together a metal podcast.  It might not be quite as pleasant to
    cook your bacon sandwiches to on Sunday afternoon, but erm, well I
    never made any promises with these bloody podcasts anyway - just deal
    with it, we'll probably be back to the alt-folk next week.

    Toadcast #91 - The Metalcast

    01. Half Man Half Biscuit - Vatican Broadside (0.00)
    02. Withered Hand - Takeaway Food (05.03)
    03. AC/DC - Whole Lotta Rosie (13.17)
    04. Slayer - Jesus Saves (17.25)
    05. Mount Eerie - Wind's Dark Poem (24.21)
    06. Nirvana - School (35.13)
    07. Dinosaur Jr. - On the Way (37.50)
    08. Lightning Bolt - Ride the Sky (42.59)
    09. Richard Cheese - Rape Me (47.47)
    10. Children of Bodom - The Trooper (53.50)
    11. Meshuggah - Autonomy Lost (57.05)
    12. The Mountain Goats - No Children (62.01)
    13. Anal Cunt - You're Old (Fuck You) (73.27)
    1 hr 14 min
  • Toadcast #90 - Honeytrap Toad Session
    We'd already recorded the FOUND Toad Session earlier this same day, and Honeytrap had just recorded their session with Off the Beaten Tracks. 
    So basically, the sun was baking and we were all absolutely
    shit-faced.  Consequently, to describe the interview as any sort of
    conversation as opposed to some kind of deranged, cataclysmic
    cluster-fuck would be to massively flatter it.  In all honesty, this is
    a complete and completely splendid mess - enjoy!

    Again, all the videos can be seen on the Song, by Toad Vimeo or YouTube pages, and the photo galleries can be perused on our Flickr page. 

    Dylan from Blueback Hotrod took all the photos, and the set he has
    posted has a few more pics than the one on the Toad Flickr page, so go
    and have a look to view the full set.  The whole interview is below, in
    the podcast file, and after that there are all the session mp3s which
    you are welcome to pass around as you see fit.  Good luck with the
    interview; it's fucking mental.

    Toadcast #90 - Honeytrap Toad Session
    Honeytrap - Roslin is a Cylon (Toad Session)

    Honeytrap - Death Before the Silver Screen (Toad Session)

    Honeytrap - Hours With the Masters (Toad Session)

    Honeytrap - Broken Violin (Toad Session)

    Now we have the increasingly chaotic session video first, and then

    three session videos for Roslin is a Cylon, Death Before the Silver
    Screen and Hours With the Masters.

    01. Honeytrap - Roslin is a Cylon (Toad Session) (8.15)

    02. Kate Bush - Army Dreamers (14.08)
    03. Jack Charman - Wibbly Wobbly Walk (16.54)
    04. Honeytrap - Death Before the Silver Screen (Toad Session) (25.03)
    05. The Sequins - Let's Go Drinking in the Morning (28.43)
    06. Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - Knotty Pine (31.39)
    07. Honeytrap - Hours With the Masters (Toad Session) (41.29)
    08. Beach Boys - Honkin' Down the Highway (50.22)
    09. Prince - Raspberry Beret (52.57)
    10. Honeytrap - Broken Violin (Toad Session) (66 39.)

    1 hr 12 min
  • Toadcast #89 - The Latecast
    This podcast is unconscionably late once more and again I am going
    to plead that there is a perfectly good reason for this.  Today has
    been taken up with constant recording here at Toad Hall, and I myself
    have been finishing the video for the Honeytrap Toad Session which
    finally, finally will be making an appearance this time next week.  My job is virtually finished, and it's messy, but it will be a corker.

    This podcast has no real theme, but I did let Neil choose most of

    the songs, so that gives the podcast something of a character of its
    own.  I did make him be on a podcast with a Noah & the Whale song
    on it though.  Ha haaa!  That'll teach the trendy little bastard!

    Toadcast #89 - The Latecast

    01. Sunset Rubdown - I'll Believe in Anything You'll Believe in Anything (02.09)

    02. King Creosote - Homeboy (09.14)
    03. Rob St. John - Domino (Live) (18.13)
    04. Noah & the Whale - The First Days of Spring (23.05)
    05. Melanie - What Have They Done to My Song, Ma (31.35)
    06. The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Stop! (39.42)
    (Interlude music: The Divine Comedy - Theme From Casanova)
    07. The Notwist - The Devil, You & Me (45.53)
    08. Mum - Green Grass of Tunnel (49.26)
    09. Sol Seppy - Hafiz, a Mime (60.18)

    1 hr 4 min
  • Toadcast #88 - The Manchester Podcast
    Right, given we've come down to Manchester for the Meursault gig, I
    thought I might make a podcast based around the two years I spent
    living here.  As I mentioned on this week's Friday Five, however, those
    were really not very happy times so basically this podcast is just a
    great big hour-long whinge about how shit my life was a couple of times
    a few years ago.

    Nah, not really.  I mean, I do describe why life was tough then but

    it really isn't just a great big moan, I promise.  For some reason the
    music in my life at those times seems to have really stuck in my head
    and become incredibly strongly associated with the period in question. 
    Partly, I suppose, because the emotional succour you get from music
    when things are a bit rough is something you're grateful enough for for
    it to really form an important connection.

    The other aspect is that on both those occasions I had so little

    music with me that the stuff I did have got played over and over again,
    so a really small amount of stuff really dominated my listening habits
    at that point, and became incredibly strongly intertwined with all of
    my memories of the time.  So, er, yes.  Here you go: The Manchester
    Podcast.

    Toadcast #88 - The Manchester Podcast

    01. Pearl Jam - Dissident (03.16)

    02. The Newcranes - Box of Shadows (08.53)
    03. James - Say Something (17.17)
    04. The Lemonheads - Into Your Arms (20.30)
    05. Blur - Clover Over Dover (27.00)
    06. Yo La Tengo - On Our Way to Fall (39.47)
    07. Moby - Southside (41.31)
    08. Calexico - Removed (48.10)
    09. Jolene - Constantinople (51.46)
    10. The Magnetic Fields - Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (57.57)

    1 hr 1 min
  • Toadcast #87 - The Paincast
    Well this podcast has been recorded from my sick bed, given my
    current immobility.  Actually, recording the Toadcast from bed was
    quite pleasant, once I got over the slightly unusual surroundings. 
    Imagine me in my pants and scratching my balls whilst talking to you
    and you'll pretty much have the ambience down pat.

    I sort of

    intended this to be a selection of poppy little tunes from my inbox,
    because all the last podcasts have been so heavily themed, but instead
    it's ended up a little bit on the experimental side, through no real
    intent of my own.  Nevertheless, if you're happy to listen to the growl
    of Polvo, the monologues of George Pringle and the peculiar
    electro-experimentalism of Mark Linkous and Fennesz all in one podcast
    then, fuck it, you're in the right place.

    Toadcast #86 - The Paincast

    01. Langhorne Slim - I Love You But Goodbye (03.11)

    02. Cast Spells - Glamorous Glowing (07.39)
    03. The Pineapple Chunks - Art Storage (13.02)
    04. The Leg - A Rat's Health (17.04)
    05. Polvo - Fractured (Like Chandeliers) (22.40)
    06. Vandaveer - A Might Leviathan of Old (29.22)
    07. Sparklehorse & Fennesz - If My Heart (from In the Fishtank #13) (40.13)
    08. George Pringle - SW10 (45.03)
    09. X Lion Tamer - Tugboat (52.40)
    10. Kurt Vile - Blackberry Song (59.54)

    1 hr 4 min

About The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

From the publisher's feed

Every couple of weeks I sit down with a couple of gins and talk you through the new music that's caught my ears in the last fortnight. There'll be a few classics and a few mainstream bands but the…