The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

This podcast is composed of songs which namecheck towns I drove through on my rather epic 7500 mile drive across American in March and April of this year.

Part 1 is places I drove through between collecting the van in Phoenix, collecting Meursault in Texas and then driving up to New York on their East Coast Tour. Part 2, which is coming next week, will be songs about places I drove through with Mrs. Toad on our way back to drop the van in Phoenix again.

Most of the connections are a little tenuous, honestly, tending to concentrate more on the fact that the song name-checks the town in the title rather than provides a touching insight into real life in that town, but you know, superficial is kind of what we do best here.

01. Bob Dylan - Romance in Durango (Live) (00.22)
02. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Christmas in Nevada (11.00)
03. Samantha Crain - Santa Fe (14.55)
04. Sleepy Horses - Lubbock Love Song (21.50)
05. Fastball - Sweetwater, Texas (29.47)
06. Micah P. Hinson - On the Way Home (to Abilene) (33.17)
07. REM - Texarkana (38.11)
08. Paul Simon - Graceland (43.07)
09. Steven Malkmus and the Jicks - Baltimore (47.57)
10. LCD Soundsystem - New York, I Love You, but You're Bringing Me Down (59.22)

Video – Vimeo – YouTube Photos – Flickr Session tracks - Soundcloud – zip download (right click – save as) Interview podcast – mp3 – iTunes – Mixcloud (playlist at bottom of page) Well if we can handle the racket of PAWS and the sheer numbers of Broken Records then fuck it, we can do Brown Brogues. In the two or three years since Mrs. Toad and I first saw these lads playing at an Irish pub in Austin at SXSW a couple of years ago they have become good pals, as well as DIY inspirations. Although totally fucking incapable of taking an interview seriously. For this one I handled the audio a little differently. Instead of mixing everything in Logic I actually mixed it on the live recording desk and then played it back through our reel-to-reel tape machine, overloading both channels slightly, and then recording the results into my laptop. It's the first time I've used the reel-to-reel, so I am still finding my way, and the results may be nasty as fuck but I really like them. One thing which doesn't sound so great, unfortunately, is the interview audio. The band used effects pedals on their vocal mics, which interfered rather badly with the recording of the interview, so I've ended up having to do the best I can with the tiny mics on the film cameras, which aren't the best. It's alright though - just not as nice as I would have liked it. The crew for this one was just Nic and Rory and myself, but Mrs. Toad made the most fantastic roast lamb for us all, so I should really be crediting her as well. It really was fucking tasty! Full interview podcast:

Toadcast #296 - Brown Brogues Toad Session by Song, By Toad on Mixcloud

Session tracks: Session track videos Podcast playlist: 01. Brown Brogues - Baby, it's Alright (Toad Session) (00.21) 02. Elvis Presley - If I Can Dream (08.24) 03. Harlem - Gay Human Bones (11.52) 04. Brown Brogues - Split Disc (Toad Session) (21.43) 05. Black Lips - Feeling Gay (32.15) 06. The Growlers - Gay Thoughts (36.03) 07. Brown Brogues - Shake It (Toad Session) (44.39) 08. Liars - Overachievers (52.57) 09. Oingo Boingo - Private Life (56.35) 10. Brown Brogues - AG From the Cradle (Toad Session) (1.05.36)

I will preempt your question: what the fuck is this?

Well, on the Sunday of SXSW this year, the Sunday of our traditional and traditonally chaotic SXSW podcast, I went off to record this podcast instead, with the awesome Draught Punk gents. WHAT? Ignoring our awesome annual podcast in order to hang out with new friends? Isn't that what happens just before massive comeuppance in every high school movie in history? Have you learned NOTHING from shallow, saccharine, moralistic cinema?

Well, as every cheating boyfriend ever would say, wait, I can explain. I didn't realise at the time that it would be an either/or situation, but after discussing excellent beer over the course of six or seven pints during the afternoon I got back to Peej's house and realised I was far, far too drunk to try and record anything at all. So I drank more margaritas instead, because of course I did.

Fortunately Peej stepped in to rescue matters and recorded this for us. Bless him. Although one or two bits had to be beeped out. Mostly me.

01. Willie Nelson - I Gotta Get Drunk (00.26)
02. Sparks - Reinforcements (08.17)
03. Sweet Baboo - Let's Go Swimming Wild (04.55)
04. Withered Hand - King of Hollywood (20.09)
05. EMA - California (23.59)
06. Fat White Family - Touch the Leather (31.17)
07. Cate Le Bon - No God (35.52)
08. Tony Joe White - Polk Salad Annie (41.47)
09. Eagulls - Possessed (47.37)
10. Big Tits - You Made Me Look (52.15)
11. Meursault - I'll Believe in Anything (55.34)

Umm, perhaps not as slick as the usual ultra-professional fare you’ve no doubt come to expect here at Song, by Toad, this podcast is nevertheless at least not quite as howlingly mental as our usual SXSW podcast.

Instead of recording the usual podcast, drunkenness compelled me to put it off, so we ended up recording one in the tour van a week later. I say ‘tour van’ but what I really mean is 30ft RV, which is what we’re actually travelling around the in instead.

Late confirmations meant we couldn’t confirm the trip until the last minute, so booking hotels would have been an expensive nightmare, and a regular van was looking to be twice the price, so we, er, ended up with this. Fuckwit caper of a lifetime!

01. Meursault - Was ist Das? (00.24)
02. Gary Numan - Are Friends Electric (19.04)
03. Fat White Family - Wet Hot Beef Pt.1 (24.25)
04. Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle - Gustavo (37.41)
05. Nirvana - Love Buzz (Live at the Milestone, Charlotte) (49.11)
06. Adam Faucett - Melanie (58.08)
07. Kevin Ayers - Religious Experience (Singing a Song in the Morning) (1.07.24)
08. Calexico - Black Heart (1.12.02)
09. Little Feat - Long Distance Love (1.23.28)
10. Viking Moses - Little Arms (1.32.40)

Adam Stafford Toad Session from Song, by Toad on Vimeo. Video – Vimeo – YouTube Photos – Flickr Session tracks - Soundcloud – zip download (right click – save as) Interview podcast – mp3 – iTunes – Mixcloud (playlist at bottom of page) Adam Stafford released his fantastic album Imaginary Walls Collapse on Song, by Toad Records early in 2013. You can buy a copy on vinyl here if you like, but it won't tell you quite as much about Adam as I am hoping this session might. Adam is a film-maker as well, and has a genuinely eclectic taste in music, of the sort that makes me feel really rather ashamed by my own tunnel vision. He made a rather fantastic mixtape for the excellent Gold Flake Paint a while back called Magnatory Baws Prolapse which (despite its rather rotten name) reminded me all too strongly of everything that is wrong with my own taste in music - as well as being brilliant to listen to, dammit! This session was recorded by myself, with photos by the ever-awesome Nic Rue, with the filming done by Gavin White and Ian Greenhill and the videos all edited by Gavin.   Full interview podcast:

Toadcast #293 - Adam Stafford Toad Session by Song, By Toad on Mixcloud

Session tracks: Session track videos Podcast playlist: 01. Adam Stafford - Imaginary Walls Collapse (Toad Session) (00.22) 02. Y'all is Fantasy Island - High Hopes, Lost Love & Ruined Lives (15.07) 03. Colin Stetson - Judges (19.16) 04. Adam Stafford - Cold Seas (Toad Session) (29.11) 05. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo - The Solitary Rabbit (39.27) 06. Siobhan Wilson - Te Petite Minette (42.43) 07. Adam Stafford - His Acres (Toad Session) (53.02) 08. PAWS - Violent Vicki Violet (1.08.20) 09. Toulemani Diabaté - Eylan Road (1.11.01) 10. Adam Stafford - Shot Down You Summer Wannabes (Toad Session) (1.28.32)

 Epicast because this is indeed epic. A double-length podcast - well, almost - and all for the reason that I simply have to clear the decks a little. Next week I go away to the States for SXSW and after that I shall be driving Meursault on their first US tour.

With next week's podcast being the Adam Stafford Toad Session, the week after that being our traditional SXSW one in Peej's back yard, and fuck knows what I'll manage whilst on tour, this means that anything not played this week will be both woefully out of date and quite possibly (shamefully) forgotten by the time I get back. Besides, my inbox will build up so much after a month in the States that I'll be overwhelmed with new things by that point and barely able to process anything else.

So yes, an epic podcast, almost two hours long, but if you have the patience for both the length and my drunken rambling, then one which will reward you with some truly excellent new music. This really takes me back to the early days of the podcasts, back when I would get utterly obliterated and play songs for hours until I could barely speak.  Awful for the listener, I imagine, but kind of nostalgic for me

01. Panda Kid - A Long Long Summer (00.26)
02. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams (06.47)
03. David Thomas Broughton - Problems (17.44)
04. Tissø Lake - Carnival (20.56)
05. The B-52s - Rock Lobster (27.44)
06. alansmithee - Half Measured Man (38.22)
07. Passion Pusher - Life in Transit (44.12)
08. iLLshORE - All Night (45.54)
09. Benjamin Shaw - Goodbye, Kagoul World (52.32)
10. Keel Her - Go (1.01.24)
11. Fear of Men - Luna (1.03.50)
12. Jargon Party - Lucy Melanie (1.10.32)
13. Miserable - Bell Jar (1.14.56)
14. Le Thug - Paints (1.22.17)
15. Magic Eye - Bollywood (1.26.55)
16. Sean Armstrong - Bright Review (1.33.03)
17. Glaciers - Cryptomeria (1.36.02)
18. Passenger Peru - Dirt Nap (1.45.31)

 God we're shit at this. Even the most romantic thing Mrs. Toad and I can usually bring ourselves to do on Valentine's Day - i.e. get pished and do a ranty podcast together about how we hate Valentine's Day - didn't work out this year for, erm, somewhat predictable reasons: we got a bit too jolly before recording it and it was a bunch of rambling, tedious nonsense.

So a week too late you get me by myself instead, recording a podcast stone cold sober in the middle of the afternoon. Romantic, isn't it. Ah well, never mind, I never did much like Valentine's Day anyway.

Anyhow, Mrs. Toad is off in the States at the moment, being all important and financey, and in actual fact by the time she returns I won't have seen her for about ten days, which is loads. It'll be worse when I go to SXSW with Meursault though, because that will involve us being apart for three fucking weeks, which is the most we have ever managed since the time when I lived in London and she lived in Edinburgh. Sigh.

01. The Divine Comedy - Geronimo (00.07)
02. The Magnetic Fields - Love is Lighter Than Air (06.15)
03. Blur - To The End (La Comedie) (with Françoise Hardy) (11.46)
04. Pet Shop Boys - Left to My Own Devices (20.33)
05. Meursault - No Children (Mountain Goats cover) (25.36)
06. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger Medley (35.31)
07. Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good (51.10)
08. The Ronettes - Be My Baby (57.56)
09. The Cure - Pictures of You (1.00.45)
10. Tom Waits - All the World is Green (1.12.59)

Video – Vimeo – YouTube Photos – Flickr Session tracks - Soundcloud – zip download (right click – save as) Interview podcast – mp3 – iTunes – Mixcloud (playlist at bottom of page) Todd Umhoefer from Old Earth came to Scotland on a sort of holiday/tour late last year and Song, by Toad collaborated with his UK label Mini50 Records to put on shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we also took the chance to record a Toad Session as well. Old Earth were actually spotted by Mini50 because of a post on Song, by Toad so it seemed rather fitting to work together to make the tour and the session happen. This was another one of those sessions which ended with Mrs. Toad making an amazing meal, and with us all drinking an absolute shitload of wine and playing records late into the night. There was something of a skeleton crew this time around, with Rory Sutherland helping me out with recording and cameras, and extra video help by Steven Tonge. Rory also edited all the video for us this time, which is why it looks rather more stylish than usual! Full interview podcast:

Toadcast #290 - Old Earth Toad Session by Song, By Toad on Mixcloud

Session tracks: Session track videos Podcast playlist: 01. Old Earth - Higher Th'n Houses (Toad Session) (00.21) 02. Mat Riviere - The Garden (10.51) 03. Hiva Oa - Badger (14.34) 04. Old Earth - The rest, who cares? (Toad Session) (22.50) 05. Land of Vandals - Wildfire (29.25) 06. Altos - Never Named (32.47) 07. Old Earth - Themes & Alarm (Toad Session) (43.19) 08. Williard Grant Conspiracy - Early Hour (51.31) 09. Now Wakes the Sea - Seven Apples (56.26) 10. Old Earth - Unhunted further, four each (Toad Session) (1.11.02)

 Tomorrow morning we start recording the new Meursault album: The Organ Grinder's Monkey. The only problem is, we have no idea whatsoever what's going to be on this album, just yet, but we're going to have a go nevertheless.

The album is actually being fan-funded, so we thought it should probably also be fan-chosen, so if you buy a copy of the album from our Kickstarter page, you then get to vote for five songs, Meursault ones or covers, and we'll record the most popular ones for the album - hence the title.

Anyhow, picking an album involving so many potential covers is a nightmare. So many great ideas, so many awful-but-brilliant ideas, so many just plain awful ideas, and you just don't know where to stop! So this podcast is a combination of the most popular tunes, the most popular bands, and some brilliant covers by bands who have already done an amazing job of this kind of shit. As to the final album - hell, who knows, you've about as much idea of how it'll turn out as I do!

01. The Flaming Lips - I Just Can't Get You Out of My Head (00.22)
02. Wolf Parade - I'll Believe in Anything (09.27)
03. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Bats in the Attic (16.44)
04. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Fare Thee Well (20.10)
05. Admiral Radley - I'm All Fucked on Beer (26.47)
06. The Japanese War Effort - Face Like a Lemon (Live on Fresh Air Radio ) (32.44)
07. Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie (35.37)
08. Dead Kennedys - Viva Las Vegas (45.40)
09. Clem Snide - Beautiful (51.49)
10. The Mountain Goats - Dilaudid (59.19)
11. The Magnetic Fields - All the Desperate Things You Made Me Do (1.01.27)

Welcome to our sneak preview of Song, by Toad Records' plans for 2014. For the most part this is the exact track listing in the exact order of the free sampler we'll be putting up for download soon, although there are a couple of little tweaks.

I've even snuck in a special wee preview of Bastard Mountain - a tune which won't be on the sampler - primarily because that spot will be taken by The Leg, but I've played quite enough from Shrunken Tina Turner in the last few months, so I thought I would give you an exclusive treat, seeing as you're one of the 4-500 people who download this thing religiously every week.

Actually, I suppose far fewer actually download it every single week - maybe you're one of the 8-900 people who download the podcasts 'when they think about it', which results in that regular listenership of about 500. Who knows how many 'kinda' fans you have to have to regularly get 500 listeners in the first week, but I bet it's a fuck of a lot more than 500. Anyway, however many of you there are, it's a wee treat for you. You're welcome!

01. Virgin of the Birds - Ilona, You Should Still Be My Vampire Attendant (00.22)
02. Jonnie Common - Photosynth (Split 12" version) (09.00)
03. Animal Magic Tricks - Sex Acts (16.30)
04. David Thomas Broughton & Juice - Yorkshire Fog (19.45)
05. Plastic Animals - Ghosts (26.42)
06. Siobhan Wilson - Dear God (33.00)
07. Meursault - Dirt & the Roots (2014 version) (39.47)
08. NAKED - In Heaven (43.27)
09. Bastard Mountain - Something on Your Mind (53.27)
10. Sparrow and the Workshop - One Brush (59.16)