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 #66 - The Greedcast

    Today I am angry at Capitalism.  Partly, funnily enough, I am angry

    at Capitalism because in many ways I myself am a Capitalist.  The
    problem I have with Capitalism is not really the theory, but the
    practise.  So many people and companies who chant the free market
    mantra simply are not free marketeers.  They want isolationism and
    protectionism as much as the most paranoid Marxist when it will protect
    their interests, but they won't for a second entertain the economic
    theory behind that sort of behaviour - gosh no!

    So there is plenty of paranoid ranting in this week's podcast,

    railing against people who talk all Capitalist whilst not actually
    being Capitalist, people who are moral and honorable in their personal
    lives but who turn into voracious whores as soon as they put on a suit
    and, erm, well generally there's lots of pish to be talked, sorry.

    Still, at least it's marginally better than last week.

    Podcast #66 - The Greedcast

    01. Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (03.27)

    02. Billy Bragg - NPWA (16.27)
    03. Eric Bachmann - Liars & Thieves (21.30)
    04. The Zincs - Moguls' Wives (28.04)
    05. Tom Lehrer - Selling Out (34.24)
    06. Depeche Mode - Everything Counts (39.16)
    07. The Clash - Bankrobber (45.07)
    08. Tom Waits - God's Away on Business (54.07)
    09. Billy Bragg - To Have and to Have Not (65.56)

    1 hr 9 min
  • Toadcast #65 - The Clustercast

    As you might expect from the title, this is one ungodly clusterfuck

    of a podcast.  It was recorded well into the early hours of the morning
    with Dylan, Neil and DC
    who were all in the house by virtue of Homegame being imminent
    (happening already by the time you hear this) and the Meursault EP
    being in the final stages of completion.  DC stopped by the house on
    his way to Fife, Neil was around to put CDs into card envelopes and
    Dylan, er, just likes beer I think.

    There's was also some heinous

    Norweigan anus cheese being eaten as well.  Toffee-flavoured cheese. 
    Fucking toffee-flavoured fucking cheese.  Honestly, it is the most
    disgusting substance known to man and looks just a little bit like
    brown plasticine.

    Anyway, please don't expect anything coherent

    or, frankly, even anything listenable.  Four of us sat around and
    bellowed incoherently into a microphone for a couple of hours, and
    frankly that's exactly what it sounds like.  There are some good songs,
    though, and somereally good new music but, erm, honestly you might want to skip the talky bits.
      Actually, you know the first time anyone talks any sense whatsoever
    on this podcast?  The last link.  Really.  We get drunker and drunker
    and more incoherent, and then right at the end there's an utterly
    shocking outbreak of common sense.

    Toadcast #65 - The Clustercast

    01. Eels - Fresh Blood (02.27)

    02. Jeffrey Lewis - Don't Be Upset (10.10)
    03. Slim Twig - Young Hussies (17.07)
    04. Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows (21.04)
    05. Dame Satan - Suffering Daughter (33.03)
    06. Eagle Winged Palace - Hand of Doom (36.21)
    07. Arab Strap - Fucking Little Bastards (43.49)
    08. Graffiti Island - Wolfguy (53.47)
    09. Graham Coxon - In the Morning (66.12)

    1 hr 15 min
  • Toadcast #64 - The Welshcast

    It's been a longish week, but believe me this weekend is going to be

    worse.  I am offering up my poor old Volvo for sale, which breaks my
    embittered little alcoholic heart, so it does.  I am going to miss that
    car, we've had some wonderful times pottering about in her and I am
    going to miss the silly old girl, really I am.

    This is a joint

    podcast, seeing as how I was in the pub with Dylan and the poor whelp
    seemed to have nowhere else to go, I invited him back to the house to
    add his own particular brand of incoherent nonsense to this week's
    podcast.  Because lazy racial stereotyping is something of a stock in
    trade around here, I find myself making several lame attempts to bring
    up Welshness and national identity and all that pish, but ultimately
    this is just two drunk people chattering about music. 

    More or less the usual, then.

    Toadcast #64 - The Welshcast

    01. Billy Bragg & Kirsty MacColl - A New England (05.12)

    02. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Miniature Kingdoms (14.54)
    03. Manic Street Preachers - From Despair to Where (18.53)
    04. M.J. Hibbett & the Validators - The Fight for History (27.46)
    05. Broken Records - And They All Fell Into the Sea (35.50)
    06. Drunk Country - The Rain That Almost Drove the Windows In (44.44)
    07. Meursault - William Henry Miller (49.34)
    08. Super Furry Animals - Into the Night (57.24)
    09. Supergrass - Moving (65.15)

    1 hr 10 min
  • Toadcast #63 - Sprrring is Here!

    Spring makes a fucking colossal difference, doesn't it.  People have

    been tripping around Edinburgh with a spring in their step for the last
    week, when the sun has come out and the air, whilst it may still be a
    little chilly, is notably warmer.  It's gentler, I suppose, is the main
    difference.  There's something of a release about Spring, as if all the
    uncomfortable restraint of Winter no longer has to be acknowledged. 
    Does anyone remember that episode of Northern Exposure when the ice
    melted?  Everyone went nuts, and the relieved exhalation we all express
    on the coming of the sunshine does remind me in many ways of a tame
    version of the exact same mania depicted in that episode of, erm, a
    serialised drama from the, er, mid ah nineties...  anyone still
    reading?  Never mind.

    In any case, this is a purposeless but

    musically excellent podcast which is something of a lazy one, if I'm
    honest.  Frankly though, I think I deserve it after the effort put into
    the Pictish Session, so fuck you if you have an issue with that.  Tee
    hee.  There's a lot of new release stuff on here, a couple of bands
    reviewed recently on the site, and a couple who are going to be
    reviewed later this week. Next week I'll think of a theme. Promise.

    Toadcast #63 - Sprrring is Here!

    01. The Soft Pack - Right & Wrong (01.33)

    02. Maxwell Panther - A Shade Away (08.24)
    03. Phil & the Osophers - They Threw a Shoe at You (11.16)
    04. The Felice Brothers - The Big Surprise (15.34)
    05. The Empty Set - Alice & Bob (Forlorn Photo Love) (24.01)
    06. The Van Allen Belt - The Revolution Will be Merchandised (27.24)
    07. Meursault (no, not that Meursault) - Blindfolds (33.31)
    08. Outlaw Con Bandana - Rainy Season (37.16)
    09. Dame Satan - Ghost Dance (39.25)
    10. Peter Doherty - 1939 Returning (49.30)

    53 min
  • Toadcast #62 - The Pictish Trail Toad Session
    This Toad Session has been a wee while coming, but frankly I think
    it's fucking superb.  The videos have turned out wonderfully, Neil and
    Gav have done an amazing job with the sound, Fee and Dylan have taken
    some great photos.  I'm happy as a pig in shit, quite frankly.  Johnny
    Lynch (Mr. Pictish Trail) had plenty of time to kill, so we drank some
    beer, took our time and talked a monumental amount of shite.  The
    podcast is really strong this time around, I think.  We talk a lot but
    I think it's pretty decent stuff for the most part, not random blather,
    so I really think it should be an enjoyable listen.  Hopefully, anyway.

    Johnny picked really nice songs, too.  He's recorded a couple of

    unreleased ones, and a Lone Pigeon cover, as well as his Top of the
    Pops hit single Winter Home Disco.  It makes for a really nice mix.  As
    per usual the songs are all available for downloading, hotlinking and
    sharing around, the videos can be watched below, on our YouTube (yeuch) page or our Vimeo page, and the photos are all to be seen as a slideshow here or on the general Song, by Toad Flickr page here.  Go to Blueback Hotrod
    for more of Dylan's live music photography.  And enjoy the podcast - it
    can be played below, and the tracklisting is at the bottom of the
    page.  I'm really proud of this, people, so I hope you enjoy it.

    Toadcast #62 - The Pictish Trail Toad Session

    The Pictish Trail - Winter Home Disco (Toad Session)

    The Pictish Trail - I Will Pour it Down (Toad Session)

    The Pictish Trail - You Covered the Earth With Your Thumb (Toad Session)

    The Pictish Trail - Won't You Take Me Back (Lone Pigeon Cover) (Toad Session)

    And now the videos, starting with the overall session video, and then the ones we made for the individual songs:

    01. The Pictish Trail - Winter Home Disco (06.04)

    02. Bonnie Prince Billy - Today I Started Celebrating Again (17.33)
    03. Adam Beattie - Bank Street (22.12)
    04. The Pictish Trail - I Will Pour It Down (34.37)
    05. Judson Claiborne - Song For Dreaming (38.30)
    06. Amadou & Mariam - Sabali (43.35)
    07. Why? - The Song of the Sad Assassin (48.51)
    08. The Pictish Trail - You Covered the Earth With Your Thumb (62.31)
    09. Preston School of Industry - Walk of a Gurl (69.03)
    10. The Pictish Trail - Won't You Take Me Back (Lone Pigeon Cover) (76.42)

    Thanks folks, hope you enjoyed that.

    1 hr 20 min
  • Toadcast #61 - The 1990s
    Well, as DC pointed out on Five Friday Fatwas,
    the 90s revival is not quite upon us yet.  It's both totally inevitable
    and somewhat due, so it will be here sooner rather than later, but for
    the time being it has yet to entirely arrive.

    So in anticipation

    of the inevitable, I thought I might just make a podcast which partly
    tried to anticipate the revisionism and partly talked just a little
    about what I myself might remember when the 90s revival hits full swing
    in a couple of years.

    I wouldn't describe myself as a child of

    the 90s, but I think that I might be wrong in neglecting to do so. 
    When they started I was 15, just moved from Singapore back to Vienna
    and very much a kid.  By the time they ended I had finished my Master's
    degree and spent a long time pouring pints waiting for a proper job,
    which in some ways I suppose might just make you an adult. It was an interesting era for me personally and when the revival arrives
    , as it inevitably will, I am downright fascinated to know what the
    younger generation will make of the music with which I grew up.

    Toadcast #60 - The Blandcast

    01. Pearl Jam - Go (03.47)

    02. R.E.M. - Oddfellows Local 151 (11.05)
    03. Cocteau Twins - An Elan (18.16)
    04. Gene - Sleep Well Tonight (21.46)
    05. Counting Crows - Omaha (30.33)
    06. Supergrass - She's So Loose (38.37)
    07. Echobelly - King of the Kerb (41.33)
    08. Alice in Chains - Nutshell (47.47)
    09. Pavement - Gold Soundz (53.22)
    10. Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra - Eggshell Miles (59.01)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 2 min
  • Toadcast #60 - The Blandcast

    This week I welcome you to the absolutely 100% guaranteed

    non-controversial podcast.  Nothing to see here. Move along.  Although,
    it might be slightly controversial, just possibly, around two thirds of
    the way through if you are excessively religious or perhaps if you have
    some objection to pointing and laughing as Jade Goody dies of cancer or
    Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse slowly expire in the full and relentless
    gaze of the public eye.

    Has anyone seen the film Deathwatch? 

    It's set in Glasgow in the 1980s and almost entirely obscure, despite
    an amazing cast: Romy Schneider, Harvey Keitel and Max von Sydow.  What
    it amounts to is that a woman discovers that she is going to die, and
    then a TV company ask to buy the rights to film her last weeks.  It's a
    bit over the top at times, but a pretty visionary movie nevertheless. 
    It's always disconcerting where something like that makes a prediction
    which proves to be so uncannily true.  I think the scariest thing about
    1984 is how utterly determined the species seems to be to make sure
    that it comes true.

    If you can find a copy, I'd recommend that you watch it.  It's pretty hard to track down though - we had to get ours from Amazon France for some bizarre reason, so good luck to you.

    Toadcast #60 - The Blandcast

    1. Belle & Sebastian - Women's Realm (04.41)

    2. Clem Snide - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievience (09.00)
    3. Pree - Light Falls (17.05)
    4. Frivolous Laura - A Lullaby (20.22)
    5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Statues (27.27)
    6. The Low Anthem - Oh My God Charlie Darwin (37.18)
    7. Kill It Kid - Burst its Banks (41.31)
    8. Pete Doherty - The Last of the English Roses (49.03)
    9. R.E.M. - Perfect Circle (59.41)

    1 hr 4 min
  • Toadcast #58 - The Livecast

    Live recordings - in fact, specifically, live albums - came up in a

    recent post on Song, by Toad and the idea of doing a podcast composed
    entirely of live recordings really appealed to me because there are so
    many great ones. 

    That said, on the post in question there arose a debate,

    one voice expressing my deepest hatreds of the genre, and another being
    perhaps over-generous in the other direction.  Frankly, I despise the
    vast majority of live albums.  Mostly they are shit recordings of songs
    we already know, released for the sole reason of fleecing fans whose
    devotion has already been established, and whose wallets can clearly be
    plundered for a few more empty sheckles. 

    Despite that, of

    course, there are some truly stunning live recordings.  In fact, I'd
    argue that some of the most memorable, legendary recordings of all 
    time are in fact live ones.  Bob Dylan live at the Free Trade Hall in
    Manchester in 1966.  Bruce Springsteen pretty much any time in the
    seventies.  Basically, for all live recordings are mostly rip-off
    bollocks, there are some truly phenomenal live albums, ones which open
    your eyes to the artist, ones which fill in that artist's musical
    upbringing, and some which are just genuinely amazingly wonderful
    recordings in their own right.  Therefore we bring to you the
    Livecast.  Enjoy, Toadlings...

    Toadcast #57 - Production Values

    01. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - 10th Avenue Freeze Out (04.09)
    02. Andrew Bird - Why (11.47)
    03. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Papa Won't Leave You Henry (16.22)
    04. The Moulettes - Country Joy Song (25.29)
    05. Colin Meloy - Blues Run the Game (32.49)
    06. Quasar Wut-Wut - The Partisan (35.45)
    07. Jeff Mangum - Two Headed Boy (43.04)
    08. Tom Waits - Diamonds on My Windshield (54.37)
    09. Billy Bragg - Days Like These (DC Remix) (56.46)
    10. Ben Folds Five - Satan is My Master (60.15)
    11. Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone (64.16)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 13 min
  • Toadcast #57 - Production Values

    After a week spent debating it, how about a podcast embodying the

    discussions we've been having about production values I thought a
    podcast which sort of pulls all the disagreements and moans and
    whingeing and so on into one big mp3 of joy would be a good idea.

    So we've got some Big Production, some demo scratchy stuff and a few

    bands who have dabbled with both.  I fart on about production values as
    if I have the faintest idea what I'm talking about, which of course I
    don't.

    I'm not sure how well it works as a playlist - it might be a bit

    disjointed - but in general I like it.  I like the debate in general, I
    like the thought process we've all gone through together this week, and
    in general, by association, I like this podcast.

    Toadcast #57 - Production Values

    01. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA (Original Nebraska Sessions Demo Version) (04.31)

    02. Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place (11.13)
    03. Enfant Bastard - Vessel (20.19)
    04. Half Man Half Biscuit - 1966 and All That (22.37)
    05. U2 - Red Hill Mining Town (29.56)
    06. Snow Patrol - Last Ever Lone Gunman (37.40)
    07. The Divine Comedy - Life on Earth (42.10)
    08. Yann Tiersen - Geronimo (Black Session w. Neil Hannon) (46.07 )
    09. The Wave Pictures - A Long Way Away From Me (53.34)
    10. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, 1975) (57.35)

    1 hr 8 min
  • Toadcast #56 - Valentine's Schmalentine's

    We both hate Valentine's day and have no desire to take part in its

    consumerist pantomime.  It seems to have created its own little rituals
    in our house though: we have an annual Valentine's hate-fest, which
    lasts a couple of days, where we pour scorn on both the event itself
    and anyone who takes part in it.  The problem is, in doing so, we have
    sort of made ourselves part of what gets on our own nerves.  Fucking
    people and their fucking stupid valentine's traditions like, er... this
    one.

    This is probably only the second in what will probably

    become an annual Valentine's Scorn-o-rama, but it already feels like a
    time-honoured tradition.  So if you're single, generally antagonistic,
    miserable, lonely or just plain indifferent then this is the podcast for you.  We even have an odd conversation where we wonder what the point of marriage is - a slightly bizarre thing for a married couple to start wondering about.  But that's the Toadcasts for you.

    Toadcast #56 - Valentine's Schmalentine's

    01. Nirvana - Rape Me (00.57)

    02. Weeping Willows - Failing in Love (06.39
    03. Cherry Poppin' Daddies - When I Change Your Mind (13.36)
    04. The White Stripes - Conquest (16.04)
    05. Tammy Wynette - D.I.V.O.R.C.E. (22.38)
    06. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - She's Leaving You (25.32)
    07. Yo La Tengo - Stockholm Syndrome (35.26)
    08. Aidan Moffat & the Best Ofs - Oh Men! (42.33)
    09. The Avett Brothers - The Ballad of Love & Hate (45.36)
    10. Arab Strap - There is No Ending (59.09)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 5 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…