The Toadcast - the weekly podcast from Song, by Toad

Yep I feel a bit like I'm emerging from hibernation at the moment. Something about the way Christmas and New Year fell this year completely obliterated two weeks, and this week has been spent mostly trying to slow the levels of alcohol intake from Oliver Reed levels down to about George Best ones.

I've also been trying to force my sleep patterns to return to something vaguely resembling normality as well. I have been an absolutely appalling weakling in the face of that 'oh just one more episode' syndrome you develop when you have access to entire series of TV shows at once, so I've been staying up until five and six in the morning watching one absolutely terrible TV show after another. 

I can't even claim it was something decent like The Wire or Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, it's all been absolutely dismally shallow and repetitive crime and supernatural series. Fucking dreadful. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY BRAIN? Anyhow, you can see how I am having a little bit of trouble getting back into gear for the new year, can't you.  Fucking hell, WAKE UP, BOY!

01. Clem Snide - Delight (00.22)
02. The Left Outsides - The Third Light (04.47)
03. Brown Brogues - Split Disc (Toad Session) (11.17)
04. Samantha Crain - Paint (14.39)
05. Water of Life - Sources and Springs/Abercrombie, 1949 (21.57)
06. Falling Stacks - White Wild Hare (27.37)
07. Waylon Thornton - Mustache (33.42)
08. Deathcats - Cowabunga Surf Jam (35.32)
09. The Twilight Sad - The Wrong Car (Live with the RSNO) (41.50)
10. Clem Snide - The Ballad of St. Paull (51.24)
11. Mothersday - Motion Sickness (59.25)

Yup, as you know, Song, by Toad Records is five years old so I thought a brief spin through the history of the label would be in order because, well, why the fuck not. There's quite a lot of stuff in the vaults here which has long since vanished into the mists of time, and it's interesting to look back at how we started, in two senses.

Firstly, the roster was very obviously unrecognisable, primarily because it didn't really exist yet. We had a couple of pals who were willing to let us try and help promote their self-recorded bits and bobs, and some folk we thought were talented and knew were unsigned, but had no idea what they would make of us suggesting we try putting out their music for them.

And secondly, there is the ambition. We started out expecting to do little more than assisting people with a self-release. We assumed we'd be working with scrappy little demos and bits of home-recorded EPs and things like that - just trying to get the bands a little bit of extra publicity which they didn't necessarily have the time to try and achieve for themselves.

It think it's safe to say that, looking back five years later, I absolutely never in a million years dreamed we'd end up where we are now. Nor did I have the slightest understanding of how much we'd have to achieve, just to only get this far! But Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say. Apparently it took ages.

01. Meursault - The Furnace (00.20)
02. Uhersky Brod - Seeing Ben Lomond (07.37)
03. Nightjar - Lady of the Calico (14.47)
04. The Savings and Loan - Swallows (18.07)
05. Jesus H. Foxx - I'm Half the Man You Were (25.57)
06. Loch Lomond - Elephants and Little Girls (33.06)
07. Cold Seeds - The Perfume of Mexican Birds (41.19)
08. Trips and Falls - And in Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants (50.53)
09. Yusuf Azak - The Key Underground (55.15)
10. Rob St. John - Domino (1.03.30)
11. Waiters - So-S0 (1.12.31)
12. Sparrow and the Workshop - Autumn to Winter (1.19.40)
13. The Leg - A Rat's Health (1.26.00)

Video – Vimeo – YouTube Photos – Flickr Session tracks - Soundcloud - zip download (right click – save as) Interview podcast – mp3 – iTunes – Mixcloud (playlist at bottom of page) Wait a second, haven't we already done a Sparrow and the Workshop Toad Session? Why yes we have, and it is here. But if you follow that link you may well understand why we've recorded another one. Basically, back then I didn't really have any idea how to record and mix things, I had no idea how to export video properly, and YouTube was in a 640x480 format, meaning that everything looks like it should have been embedded on a Geocities site, not a swish, modern music blog. So we sat down with Broken Records, Meursault and first Sparrow and the Workshop and did whole new Toad Sessions with them because, well because they live locally and we're all friends and fuck it, we can. So this is the second Sparrow and the Workshop Toad Session. The photos were by Nic Rue, as is becoming increasingly traditional, and her fella and fellow long-time Session veteran Rory helped record and also film, along with Ian Greenhill. Gavin White, who also filmed the session, was kind enough to edit it for us. His stuff is on Vimeo under the name of Full Fridge Video. podcast 01. Sparrow and the Workshop - The Gun (Toad Session) (00.07) 02. The Rosy Crucifixion - Don't Water Dead Flowers (15.06) 03. Thee Oh Sees - Nightcrawler (18.37) 04. Sparrow and the Workshop - Medal Round Your Neck (Toad Session) (23.13) 05. Lal Waterson - Midnight Feast (34.42) 06. Richard Dawson - Poor Old Horse (38.23) 07. Sparrow and the Workshop - Shock Shock (Toad Session) (54.45) 08. The Roches - Hammond Song (58.48) 09. Country Teasers - Golden Apples (1.04.18) 10. Sparrow and the Workshop - Flower Bombs (Toad Session) (1.14.55)

I was in Aberdeen this week, and I happened to leave town at about half three, on my way home, at which point it was pretty much fucking pitch black already. Because the Gulf Stream keeps the UK cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter you tend to forget just how very, very far North we really are.

Anyhow, between that and the cold which overtakes my office during the day because it feels indulgent to have the heating on I am definitely in my Winter mood at the moment. I like Winter, though. I like the dark and the cold and the whole 'nights drawing in' thing. I suggests time with the record player and lots of red wine, and maybe a fire as well. All good things.

So yes, I am uploading this and then going off to do just that. A new restaurant has opened just down the road from us and Mrs. Toad and I are going to toddle along and try it out tonight. After some gin and records, of course. Go us!

01. Absolutely Free - On the Beach (00.06)
02. Min Diesel - Mother (11.39)
03. Pinact - Beauty Freak (16.13)
04. Tarsiers - Camel (demo) (20.33)
05. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (live) (30.50)
06. Dire Straits - Private Investigations (35.06)
07. Los Angeles Police Department - Enough is Enough (44.06)
08. Soft Drinks - West Suckers (45.42)
09. Meursault - Dirt and the Roots (51.34)
10. Sam Amidon - Fiddle Mayhem (Toad Session) (55.02)
11. Glass Animals - Psylla (1.03.02)

I can't believe I've never recorded a Lovecast before, but honestly, I looked back through the old titles and it didn't come up. So here we go, the counterpoint to last week's Hatecast is this. I am full of the joys of life, relaxed and happy. Would you believe it?

Actually, the reason this podcast exists is not because I feel some need to eradicate the rage of last week. I like to live by the words of Clem Snide: "don't be afraid of your anger". I am not afraid of my anger. I actually love my anger. My anger, inner rage, permanent sense of simmering resentment - whatever you want to call it - is what makes me who I am, what drives me on, and what makes me enjoy what I do. Fuck it, you can deal with my anger.

Instead, this podcast simply exists because last week's ragefest has genuinely lifted the black cloud which it represented clean away from my life. I feel refreshed and released by having got it off my chest and am in a genuinely good mood these days. Who'd have thought it!

01. Plastic Animals - Sheltered (00.10)
02. Naked - Lie Follows Lie (09.13)
03. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street (16.12)
04. Mark Lanegan - You Only Live Twice (22.51)
05. Lady Lazarus - Never Ever Anna (28.29)
06. Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside (36.50)
07. Post War Glamour Girls - Johnny and Mary (39.55)
08. Le Thug - Swam (48.15)
09. Rob St. John - Stainforth Force (54.13)
10. Sharon Van Etten - I'm Wrong (1.04.13)

I am pretty pissed off at the moment. It's not particularly obvious - in fact it tends to manifest itself more as a smouldering sulk than any sort of rage, but you may believe me, the anger is under there somewhere.

Y'see, in the music industry, you're always supposed to maintain some sort of level of politeness - never burn any bridges, never lose your rag, you never know when you might need to be friends with someone. But you know what, bollocks to that. I spend so many hours of my life working on making things good - artwork, endlessly repetitive PR stuff, designing posters for gigs, trying to drum up some sort of interest in our gigs, our releases, our bands, and you know what - FUCK PEOPLE.

People are just fucking wrong about music. They approve of shite bands, they listen to garbage they're too lazy to move beyond, they write about bands they already know are popular rather than ones which are new and might be interesting, and they generally just don't give a shit and then pretend that it's your fault for not grabbing their lazy, indifferent attention. So fuck people, fuck music, and fuck you. Welcome to this week's podcast.

01. PAWS - Winners Don't Bleed (Toad Session) (00.21)
02. Billy Bragg - Some Days I See the Point (08.19)
03. The Leg - Silver Dog (16.43)
04. Trips and Falls - You Should Really Get Yours (20.35)
05. Yusuf Azak - Swim (28.17)
06. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Early Hour (32.56)
07. Eef Barzelay - Well (44.47)
08. Brown Brogues - (48.42)
09. Meursault - William Henry Miller (Part 2) (Single Version) (54.21)
10. Trips and Falls - The Freedom of Homogeneity (1.00.15)
11. FOUND - Mullokian (Toad Session) (1.09.04)
12. The Leg - Celebrating Love (1.14.03)

This is called the Unioncast because I have had a really bad habit of working into the evenings recently, as well as all bloody weekend, and I am starting to thing I need a union representative to protect me from my own boss. Who, rather sadly, happens to be me. Stand up against myself for the downtrodden worker!

I had no idea what I was going to play this week, but it turned into a surprisingly good playlist, including personal highlights from SWF and the awesome new EP by Shilpa Ray.

Right, enough blabbering about this one, I am off up to the Pleasance to see Rob St. John, Adam Stafford and Ian Humberstone. It's an amazing venue, so I am really looking forward to it. And there's the mega double-blowout label showcase next week as well, so all sorts of musicfuns for you to take advantage of.

01. Lambchop - Hey, Where's Your Girl (00.22)
02. Basketball Shorts - The Reaper (06.56)
03. Vikesh Kapoor - The Ballad of Willy Robbins (13.45)
04. Lesley Riddle - John Henry (18.30)
05. Temple Songs - I Can't Look After You (24.51)
06. Los Angeles Police Department - The Only One (27.57)
07. Shilpa Ray - Posted By Anonymous (35.07)
08. SWF - Turtle Brain (39.10)
09. Octopuses - Ghost in the House (43.51)
10. Boardwalk - Crying (49.17)
11. Doc Watson - John Henry (54.29)

Video – Vimeo – YouTube Photos – Flickr Session tracks - zip download (right click – save as) Interview podcast – mp3 – iTunes – Mixcloud (playlist at bottom of page) This session was recorded back in March, so once again I find myself apologising to the band for taking so long over it. I blame Beer vs. Records, Sparrow and the Workshop and the Pale Imitation Festival for taking such a lot of time and work that I ended up distracted. The same old disorganised shite as usually happens, in other words. The Yawns emerged late last year when they released their debut album as a pay-what-you-want download to pretty much no fanfare at all. Slowly but surely, however, word seemed to spread around the internet and it turned out that a lot of people were really into the record. I was released on tape by one label, then vinyl by another and actually ended up doing better than loads of stuff people put all their time and energy into promoting. I loved it too, of course, so I asked them to play in Edinburgh in January, and then I enjoyed the show so much a Toad Session ensued. And this is it. Many thanks to the team once again - Gavin, Rory, Matthew and Ian who helped with the filming, Rory who took the photos, Neil who recorded it and Mrs. Toad who made AWESOME brownies! And, I suppose, to the cats, for not massively disrupting everything like they usually do.  Puss-tards.

Toadcast #279 - The Yawns Toad Session by Song, By Toad on Mixcloud

01. The Yawns - Diamond (Toad Session) (00.17) 02. Sean Armstrong - Dying in the Garden (08.50) 03. Battery Face - Cider Says (10.23) 04. The Yawns - Jean Thumb (Toad Session) (16.41) 05. Dolfinz - Yeah Right (23.51) 06. The Side Pony - Repeat and More (26.27) 07. The Yawns - Rome Done (Toad Session) (32.44) 08. Mac DeMarco - Stars Keep On Calling My Name (36.34) 09. The Clean - Getting Older (39.01) 10. The Yawns - Butterfleyes (Toad Session) (47.17)

Smash as in smash hits, of course, we don't condone vandalism here at Song, by Toad! No, this week we have a podcast full of what can really only very tenuously indeed be described as banging number one smash hits. Or, perhaps more accurately, a lot of single releases.

We've the next 7" from Gerry Loves Records, some new stuff by Vadoinmessico, the new single from local favourites Honeyblood and Halfrican, and the something off the new Black Tambourines album. I add to the smash hit single vibe by including a couple of absolute corkers from varying degrees of yesteryear, in the form of The Animals and the Shout Out Louds, largely because they've been on tapes in the car while we were driving to France and back to visit Mrs. Toad's family.

While I was there I took the opportunity to mix a whole pile of new Toad Sessions, and they're all awaiting editing now, so I thought I'd also include one from the recent Old Earth Session as well. I think you've heard stuff from The Yawns and Sparrow and the Workshop already, so I figured something new might be interesting for you. And there you go, that's pretty much the lot. Pour a big ol' gin, as I am about to, and wrap yer lugs round this little lot.

01. The Animals - House of the Rising Sun (00.44)
02. Honeyblood - Bud (08.34)
03. John Knox Sex Club - Animals (13.44)
04. Over the Wall - Tell Her I Love Her (18.26)
05. Old Earth - Themes and Alarm (Toad Session) (28.27)
06. Halfrican - Cocksucker (36.17)
07. Vadoinmessico - Perfect Strangers (42.25)
08. The Black Tambourines - Out Cold (46.07)
09. Dim Peaks - Reason (52.53)
10. Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have to Leave it (1.01.29)

It's, erm, okay to make fun of old people injuring themselves isn't it? I mean on the internet, not in real life of course, that would be barbaric. But on the internet this shit is okay, right? I mean, we even let the Daily fucking Mail on here, we can't be that picky.

I only ask because the reason this is called the Ribcast is in salute to my cantankerous old father, who managed to fall off a ladder the other day and break a couple of ribs. This, like most rib injuries, has proven to not be all that dangerous, so all we have is a bad tempered old man in lots of pain, unable to laugh, roll over in bed, cough or - heaven forbid - sneeze!

I've cracked ribs myself, before, although never broken them, and it really is an incredibly painful injury. Coughing and laughing are everyday occurrences, but holy shit you fucking notice them when this happens to you. Sneezes are terrifying, because holy crapsticks they fucking hurt! But as long as it's not life-threatening then pain is quite funny, right?

01. The Leg - Chicken Slippers (00.24)
02. Trips and Falls - Destruction is Always More Exciting (07.03)
03. Monoganon - Arc of the Tuna Fish (15.35)
04. Joanna Gruesome - Lemonade Grrrl (24.24)
05. Brown Brogues - Baby, it's Alright (26.34)
06. David Wax Museum - All Sense of Time (33.35)
07. Belgian Fog - You Drive Me to Madness (37.47)
08. Fascinator - Girl I Want You (41.55)
09. Pool Whales - What Was Her Name (50.27)
10. Honeyblood - Bud (55.51)
11. Willard Grant Conspiracy - Incident at Mono Lake (1.02.53)