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 #35 - Meursault Toad Session

    It's been a while since the last Toad Session, but this one is a bit

    good and thoroughly worth waiting for. Meursault's debut album is one
    of my favourite of the year, and their acoustic set is easily as good.
    This is the first session to be held in our house too, which brought
    its own challenges and then some. Mrs. Toad's preposterous cat makes an
    appearance at one point, and the videos look very, very, erm... green?
    Blue? Whatever fucking stupid colour it is we've painted our living
    room.

    Anyway, the recordings have come out really nicely, and I think the

    videos are good too. I've posted a few here, but the whole lot can be
    found on the Song, by Toad YouTube page. The photos turned out rather well too, so go to the Flickr page
    for the ones we liked. And, without further ado, here is the Meursault
    Toad Session podcast (the track listing is at the bottom of the page):

    Toadcast #35 - Meursault Toad Session[audio http://media.libsyn.com/media/songbytoad/ToadcastNo35.mp3]

    Here are the individual songs:

    Meursault - The Furnace (Toad Session)[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/ToadSessions/Meursault-TheFurnace-ToadSession.mp3]

    Meursault - Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues (Toad Session)[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/ToadSessions/Meursault-PissingonBonfires-KissingWithTongues-ToadSession.mp3]
    Meursault - The Dirt & the Roots (Toad Session)[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/ToadSessions/Meursault-TheDirtandtheRoots-ToadSession.mp3]
    Meursault - Nothing Broke (Toad Session)[audio http://www.matthewjamesyoung.com/ToadSessions/Meursault-NothingBroke-ToadSession.mp3]

    Toadcast #35 - Meursault Toad Session Playlist:

    01. Meursault - The Furnace (Toad Session) (06.14)
    02. Meursault - A Few Kind Words (09.33)
    03. Eef Barzelay - Ballad of Bitter Honey (14.54)
    04. Withered Hand - Religious Songs (18.22)
    05. Meursault - Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues (Toad Session) (30.11)
    06. The Postal Service - Nothing Better (34.29)
    07. Meursault - The Dirt & the Roots (Toad Session) (37.52)
    08. Tenniscoats - Baibaba Bimba (40.40)
    09. The Cave Singers - Seeds of Night (47.11)
    10. Samamidon - Wild Bill Jones (55.41)
    11. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone - Young Shields (60.56)
    12. Meursault - Nothing Broke (Toad Session) (68.49)

    1 hr 14 min
  • Toadcast #34 - The Portland Podcast

    This is the podcast to accompany all the Portland and Pickathon

    things I've been slowly but surely writing up over the course of the
    last couple of weeks.  With all the video to edit it may take a while
    to get it all sorted, but just follow this Pickathon search and you'll find it all.  My full review of the festival is here.

    This is a musical journey through our trip, from the Shaky Hands and

    The Builders & the Butchers who got us out there, to Eef Barzelay
    who we saw in Portland, several bands from the Pickathon Festival and
    even a song from Ray Rude's Gameboy pop outfit Operation Mission.

    It's rather shorter than usual, but that is part of a new strategy:

    shorter podcasts more often.  I am going to try and go for once a week,
    and make them a maximum of an hour long.  I can't promise anything, but
    I am going to try, and I think this might be a better approach for all
    of us, frankly.

    Toadcast #34 - The Portland Podcast

    01. The Shaky Hands - A New Parade (2.20)

    02. The Builders & the Butchers - When It Rains (08.47)
    03. Eef Barzelay - Numerology (12.21)
    04. Operation Mission - Aqueous (19.30)
    05. Lackthereof - Choir Practise (23.22)
    06. Langhorne Slim - Restless (31.20)
    07. Bombadil - Cavalier's Har Hum (40.47)
    08. Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers - Beloved, We Have Expired (43.26)
    09. Oz St. Fossils - Jeweller's Daughter (53.54)
    10. Loch Lomond - Tic (59.49)
    11. The Cave Singers - Cold Eye (66.34)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 10 min
  • Toadcast #33 - The Popecast

    Fear not, this isn’t quite as horribly overbearing as it could have

    been. The ranting is actually fairly under control, and the
    self-important pontificating not quite as reckless as it could so
    easily have been, partly because I wasn’t quite as liberal with the gin
    as I have been in the past.

    The reason it’s called the Popecast is because of this amazing little story

    about Catholics in the States issuing death threats to a kid who took a
    communion wafer out of the church with him.  The hilarious PZ Myers
    then got involved, threatening to show them what real desecration would look like, and the pandemonium reached all new levels of shrillness.

    The thing that really got my goat about all this was not so much

    that Catholics took offence, but more the level of the hysteria and the
    language of persecution.  It was honestly described as kidnapping
    and as a hate crime by various loonies, and there was nothing like
    enough ‘Oh fucking grow up and get the fuck over it’ being said. 
    People seem to be seeking all sorts of odd legal protections for their
    crazy superstitions these days, and I am flabberghasted that a
    particular kind of idea is being so fucking mollycoddled as to be
    deemed immune from criticism and contempt.  Come on, people, fuck your
    religious convictions and learn to deal with the fact that most of the
    planet thinks they’re crazy - and that applies to atheists as well.

    Anyhow, I promise this doesn’t take over too much of the podcast, and that the music is given plenty of space to breathe.

    Toadcast #33 - The Popecast

    01. Vatican Broadside - Half Man Half Biscuit (00.07)

    02. Beck - Profanity Prayers (02.27)
    03. Punch & the Apostles - Nouveau Gypsy (10.20)
    04. I Said Yes - The Town Crier (15.07)
    05. Albert Hammond Jr. - GFC (20.47)
    06. Bonnie Prince Billy - So Everyone (23.51)
    07. Tom Lehrer - Vatican Rag (33.53)
    08. The Savings & Loan - Catholic Boys in the Rain (37.12)
    09. Derek Meins - The Gin Song (42.57)
    10. Holly Golightly & the Broke-Offs - Devil Do (48.47)
    11. Ghostkeeper - Solid Gold (56.02)
    12. Forest Fire - Fortune Teller (60.44)
    13. Silver Jews - Strange Victory, Strange Defeat (70.22)
    14. Sparrow & the Workshop - Magic Tricks (77.55)
    15. The Just Joans - Hey Boy, You’re Oh So Sensitive (79.43)
    16. Roy Zimmerman - Ted Haggard is Completely Heterosexual (85.41)
    17. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Evening Mass (97.16)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 44 min
  • Toadcast #32 - The Tribecast

    Hello, more Toadcastery.  I've, erm, focussed on Dadrock for this

    one.  Not too much of it on the playlist, fortunately, although there's
    a couple of well-known names on there.  In my defence though, I
    couldn't bring myself to feature Coldplay, so I was forced into the
    compromise of playing an almighty butchering of one of their songs by
    the splendid Richard Cheese. 

    Basically I spend most of this

    podcast trying to justify the presence of so much bland music in the
    charts and how the hell that came to pass.  There's plenty of chatter
    about how music is used as a sort of social glue as well, in which case
    the quality of the stuff becomes almost secondary.  There are some
    really good new bands on this as well - The Velcro Quartet are
    particularly brilliant, as are the songs by Mumford & Son, Yoshimi!
    and Honeytrap.  Enjoy responsibly.

    Toadcast #32 - The Tribecast

    01. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules Theme (01.32)
    02. The Velcro Quartet - Dead Dog's Hill (07.53)
    03. Seabear - Teenage Kicks (11.17)
    04. Athlete - Shake Those Windows (21.02)
    05. Richard Cheese - Yellow (30.31)
    06. ESL - Czarne Oczy (31.59)
    07. Emiliana Torrini - Me & Armeni (39.50)
    08. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (43.24)
    09. Snow Patrol - Last Ever Lone Gunman (48.11)
    10. The Killers - All These Things That I've Done (58.17)
    11. The Pictish Trail - All I Own (66.52)
    12. Mumford & Sons - White Blank Page (73.01)
    13. Honeytrap - Song For Nona (82.18)
    14. The Velcro Quartet - How to Kill Your Wife (87.04)
    15. Yoshimi! - Song For Suzy (Demo) (94.34)
    16. Frank Turner - The Outdoor Type (100.34)

    Song, by Toad

    1 hr 43 min
  • Toadcast #31 - The Newcast

    There’s not much of a unifying theme to this podcast, but there are

    a healthy number of breaking tracks in the playlist, so I guess calling
    it the Newcast will suffice for want of anything more inspired.

    There’s new tracks from the impending singles by Kid Canaveral and

    The Left Outsides, a good few new bands you’ve never heard of, a couple
    of JC’s selections for the Toad Records Launch Night and some of the
    tracks from the sampler that I gave away at the party itself.

    There’s also the first Recorded and Produced by Toad song in the

    world: Fearing Lothian by Uhersky Brod.  The band are friends of mine
    and we used the Toad Sessions recording equipment to put togethera demo
    for them.  It’s the first time I’ve ever recorded anything, so I
    presume there must be all sorts of issues with it but, well, you’ve got
    to start somewhere.  It’s a cracking song, whatever I’ve ended up doing
    to it.

    So I hope you enjoy this rather disjointed collection of songs,

    because for all the lack of any real coherence it’s a good collection
    of songs nonetheless.

    Toadcast #31 - The Newcast

    01. Cinerama - Health & Efficiency (03.57)

    02. David Cronenburg’s Wife - My Ukrainian Girlfriend (12.39)
    03. The Ukrainians - Batya (Bigmouth Strikes Again) (16.14)
    04. The Lucksmiths - T-Shirt Weather (21.34)
    05. Porlolo - There is No I in Athens (26.22)
    06. Uhersky Brod - Fearing Lothian (33.17)
    07. Sparrow & the Workshop - Grizzly Bear (38.46)
    08. The Futureheads - The Beginning of the Twist (43.24)
    09. Kid Canaveral - Teenage Fanclub Song (47.11)
    10. The Left Outsides - Deep Rivers Move in Silence, Shallow Brooks are Noisy (Found Remix) (53.15)
    11. King Creosote - Ear Against the Wireless (61.34)
    12. Eagleowl - Blanket (64.50)
    13. Rob St. John - Domino (72.22)
    14. Les Enfant Bastard - Plastic Bag (79.27)
    15. Dinosaur Pile-Up - My Rock ‘n’ Roll Demo (85.43)
    16. Computer vs. Banjo - Give Up on Ghosts (95.06)

    1 hr 39 min
  • Toadcast #30 - Alela Diane & Mariee Sioux Toad Session
    Hello and welcome back to the Toad Sessions. I was a little drunk when I noticed that Alela Diane was playing in Edinburgh as part of the Triptych Festival, so the idea of emailing her label and inviting her to do a Toad Session didn't seem quite so preposterous. In the morning, I thought I was mad and would be laughed at, but amazingly they agreed, and now here it is.
    This one was also recorded by Nick at Bananarow and he's done another amazing job - the songs sound absolutely gorgeous. Dylan's pictures can be found at the Flickr page, and we have some more videos at the Song, by Toad YouTube page. Here's the interview podcast, with the tracklisting at the bottom of the page.
    Toadcast #30 - Alela Diane & Mariee Sioux Toad Session
    Here are the sessions tracks themselves. The Cuckoo is a traditional song, and Dry Grass & the Shadows is from Alela's new album which should hopefully be out later this year. Mariee's songs are Flowers & Blood from her recent album Faces in the Rocks, whereas the gorgeous Icarus Eye is an old song from a home release.
    Alela Diane - Dry Grass & the Shadows
    Alela Diane - The Cuckoo
    Mariee Sioux - The Icarus Eye
    Mariee Sioux - Flowers & Blood
    Here are the videos, all hosted at the YouTube page. Again, the interview is going to have to go up later because I seem to have entirely lost Morgan, my resident editing expert, so I've had to cobble these things together myself. I am going to work on the interview movies as best I can, so they should hopefully be available in a week or two.
    Alela Diane - Dry Grass & the Shadows movie.
    Mariee Sioux - The Icarus Eye movie.
    01. Alela Diane - Dry Grass & the Shadows (Toad Session) (04.51)
    02. The Shaky Hands - Summer's Life (08.36)
    03. Johnny Cash - I See a Darkness (11.45)
    04. The Holy Modal Rounders - Hesitation Blues (20.42)
    05. Neutral Milk Hotel - The Communist's Daughter (24.10)
    06. Mariee Sioux - Flowers & Blood (Toad Session) (26.07)
    07. Hem - Half Acre (32.29)
    08. Bonnie Prince Billy - No Bad News (41.41)
    09. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Twistification (46.05)
    10. Vashti Bunyan - Glow Worms (53.35)
    11. Mariee Sioux - The Icarus Eye (Toad Session) (58.10)
    12. Alela Diane - The Cuckoo (Toad Session) (62.56)
    Well I hope you like these. The next session is going to be with local band Meursault, and will be the first one to be recorded in Toad Hall. Very exciting!
    1 hr 6 min
  • Toadcast #29 - The Summercast

    The missus and I got pished and did a podcast! Huzzah! It was a lovely Summery day on Wednesday and we sat out and had a meal in the back garden and then when it got chilly we came inside and did a podcast.

    There's not much of a theme this week because I can get a little bored of them, and from time to time it's nice to just throw some tracks together that you like. And then get hammered and ramble on about them at interminable length. Sorry about that.

    Toadcast #29 - The Summercast

    01. Lemonjelly - Nice Weather For Ducks (01.47)

    02. Elbow - Station Approach (10.47)

    03. The Eighteenth Day of May - Cold Early Morning (19.08)

    04. Aberfeldy - Tom Weir (25.56)

    05. Tiny Tim - Tiptoe Through the Tulips (27.48)

    06. Uncle Moon - Pepper (34.41)

    07. Lo-Fidelity Allstars - On the Pier (41.32)

    08. The Boo Radleys - Find the Answer Within (48.18)

    09. The Libertines - The Good Old Days (56.41)

    10. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (65.51)

    11. The Von Bondies - C'Mon C'Mon (68.11)

    12. The Builders & the Butchers - Spanish Death Song (76.41)

    13. The Walkmen - The Rat (82.59)

    14. Calexico - Corona (93.33)

    15. Lloyd Cole - You're a Big Girl Now (106.46)
    1 hr 52 min
  • Toadcast #28 - The Fencecast

    The 28th Toadcast is all about the Fence Collective.

    People who read this site regularly must know them, I assume, but I’ve
    been intending to do this post for a while as they might be my
    favourite label in music at the moment.

    After Kenny Anderson’s last band fell apart about ten years ago or

    more, he started releasing his own stuff on hand made CD-Rs under the
    name of King Creosote and between him and his brothers and some of the
    other local musicians he’d grown up with in Fife, a collective started
    to form which has grown and grown. Now, thanks to the spotlight cast
    their direction by Kenny’s brother Gordon’s involvement with The Beta
    Band and The Aliens, the success of King Creosote and James Yorkston,
    and the rising of KT Tunstall (also a Fence alumnus, believe it or not)
    Fence Records have turned into one of the most beloved record labels in
    the country.

    And actually, I think their approach of building a community rather

    than just pimping product might just have the potential to make them
    one of the success stories of Music 2.0, although that’s another story.
    So this podcast is all about Fence Records and the bands I have
    discovered due to their hard work, and why I think they’re great. What
    an arse-kisser I’ve turned into.

    (Warning: I’m drunker than I sound and there is way too much talking in this one.)

    Toadcast #28 - The Fencecast

    01. Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra - Our Last Needle (03.17)

    02. King Creosote - You’ve No Clue Do You (09.21)
    03. James Yorkston & the Athletes - St. Patrick (16.33)
    04. Art Pedro - Joanne (21.19)
    05. MC Quake - It Feels Good to Be In Scotland (27.57)
    06. Down the Tiny Steps - Handstand (36.44)
    07. Adam Beattie - Bank Street (46.39)
    08. Player Piano - Mercy (AC Mix) (49.35)
    09. Candythief - A Good Day (56.47)
    10. Rob St. John - Tipping In (60.06)
    11. Adrian Crowley - Star of the Harbour (65.11)
    12. Eagleowl - This is Not Your Lucky Day (67.47)
    13. OLO Worms - Fingers & Thumbs (77.04)
    14. HMS Ginafore - You Built a City Inside of Me (85.41)
    15. Gummi Bako - She’s the Carrot & I’m the Stick (87.44)
    16. The Pictish Trail - Words Fail Me Now (94.39)
    17. Rich Amino - Chicken & Chips (99.02)
    18. Sara Lowes - Uniform Days (104.22)
    19. Magic Arm - Outdoor Games (108.11)
    20. King Creosote - I’ll Fly By the Seat of My Pants (115.32)

    2 hr
  • Toadcast #27 - Europop

    Well, perhaps Europop isn't quite the right term. Eurindie perhaps.

    This podcast is stuffed full of splendid tracks from the rest of the
    European continent which we, as marvellously parochial and
    narrow-minded Brits, seem to forget exists half the time.

    I have no real idea how much this music actually intersects with any

    of the local scenes to which it might belong, but it is certainly
    nicely in tune with the British scene as I know it at the moment.
    Scandinavia is inevitably rather over-represented, but I have managed
    to track down a Belgian, a little Dutch and something (tangentially)
    Italian to throw into the mix as well. And a special secret bonus
    surprise for right at the end, but wait for it patiently and don't ruin
    it for yourselves by peeking.

    The big thing I can't get over is

    just how much I had to leave out of this podcast actually.  I'd lazily
    assumed that it might be a little tricky to fill an entire playlist,
    but I could just as easily have filled two.  So don't whinge about
    what's not on there, because I know, I know! 

    Toadcast #27 - Europop

    01. The Divine Comedy - Europop (00.06)

    02. Mikrofisch - The Kids Are All Shite (05.52)
    03. A Classic Education - Stay, Son (10.40)
    04. Wolfkin - These Are Illusions (14.14)
    05. Tafra - Cheesy Epic View (19.47)
    06. Kottarashky - Chetiri (21.32)
    07. Teitur - Catherine the Waitress (29.40)
    08. Jens Lekman - No Time For Breaking Up (35.44)
    09. Shout Out Louds - Parents' Living Room (40.01)
    10. The Tellers - Hugo (45.34)
    11. Cats on Fire - Born Again Christian (49.47)
    12. Yann Tiersen - Ginette (57.21)
    13. Air - Alpha Beta Gaga (61.44)
    14. The Raveonettes - That Great Love Sound (70.33)
    15. Die Ärzte - Quark (73.41)
    16. Bettie Serveert - I'll Keep it With Mine (77.19)
    17. Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Doom City (82.46)
    18. Röyksopp - Remind Me (87.36)
    19. Sigur Rós - Untitled (?lafoss) (90.50)
    20. Snapline - S2 (102.59)

    Song, by Toad


    1 hr 47 min
  • Toadcast #26 - Broken Records Toad Session

    Here we go folks: the first ever Toad Session, with local band and all-round Toad pals Broken Records.

    These sessions are generally going to take place in my living room, but
    seeing as these guys were quite keen to record one and their single
    release is imminent, it seemed sensible to rush things a little. So
    given my equipment has yet to arrive, we went down to Banana Row Studios and recorded four session tracks and had a bit of chat, and this is the result.

    There's a full podcast, mp3s of the individual songs, a Flickr photo gallery and couple of videos

    of the whole business, so there's lots and lots of stuff to play with.
    I think in terms of workload I can possibly manage about one of these
    per month, so keep an eye out in the future.

    Toadcast #26 - Broken Records Toad Session

    The mp3s include their forthcoming single If the News Makes You Sad

    Don't Watch It, a couple of new tracks, Wolves and They All Fell Into
    the Sea, and a special Toad request, the truly beautiful Out on the
    Water.

    Broken Records - If the News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It

    Broken Records - And They All Fell Into the Sea
    Broken Records - Wolves
    Broken Records - Out on the Water

    The videos are all posted on the main Song, by Toad YouTube page. There are session videos of Out on the Water and Wolves,

    but the video of the whole session will be posted a little bit later.
    We're new to this, so the video editing is taking a little bit of time.
    It should be up in two weeks', hopefully, so you'll have to gird your
    loins until then I'm afraid, but I promise to let you know as soon as
    it makes an appearance.


    Toadcast #26 Playlist:

    01. Broken Records - If the News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It (03.34)
    02. Broken Records - A Good Reason (07.28)
    03. Micah P. Hinson & the Gospel Of Progress - Don't You Forget (14.33)
    04. John Cale - Paris 1919 (24.32)
    05. The Moulettes - The Cannibal Song (29.40)
    06. Yann Tiersen - Comptine D'un Autre Ete - L'apres-Midi (39.08)
    07. Broken Records - And They All Fell Into the Sea (40.21)
    08. Beirut - Elephant Gun (45.24)
    09. The Waterboys - Sweet Thing (52.11)
    10. Broken Records - Wolves (63.23)
    11. My Latest Novel - When We Were Wolves (66.34)
    12. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Love Letter (72.39)
    13. Broken Records - Out On the Water (83.16)

    If I have one slight issue with these it's that they're a little too

    polished and sensible, really. Not enough of the rude, random style I
    tend to think gives this site its character. Maybe recording them in
    the house will change this, but then the recordings won't be as good.
    Thoughts?  Too shiny?  Good like this?  Let me know what you think.

    1 hr 27 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…