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  • The bit that you skip #182: Wings – Band on the run

    A person that used to write for Sloucher once mentioned that Electric Light Orchestra was an alternate universe “what if The Beatles didn’t break up?” At first I thought it was the power of Tetley’s Bitter talking through this person, but the more I listened to E.L.O., the more I realised there was quite a…

  • The bit that you skip #181: R.E.M. – Bang and Blame

    My relationship with R.E.M. started on the wrong foot. I was not doing well on school, my usual good grades plummeted and I couldn’t concentrate at all. Every time I had a bad result on an exam, Michael Stipe crooning “I thought that I heard you laughing” tormented me, again and again. An intrusive thought,…

  • The bit that you skip #180: Filter – The Only Way (is the wrong way)

    By the time The Amalgamut released, Filter were in disarray. After a solid debut with Short Bus and a commercial monster with Title of Record, the band had tremendous pressure on them. Take a picture was a crossover hit and the label expected an album full of them. Probably never paid attention to the lyrics,…

  • The bit that you skip #179: Madonna – Into the groove

    Although I never owned a Madonna album back in the day, I was aware of how popular she was.  Sure, Michael Jackson was steamrolling all charts, but Madonna was a constant presence both in and out of the record stores. Shops that didn’t sell records had her posters and mannequins dressed in her particular style.…

  • The bit that you skip #178: U2 – Like a song…

    Once upon a lifetime, I interviewed a space rock band that is highly underrated. Chris, their amazing drummer, mentioned several expected influences, then he paused and said “and here’s one that always raises eyebrows: Larry Mullen Jr.” I asked about a song in particular and he said: “listen to War on good headphones.” So I…

  • The bit that you skip #177: The Smiths – How Soon is Now?

    A song with a strange lifecycle. Originally a B-side to William it was really nothing, How Soon is Now? carved a place of its own on indie darlings and their mixtapes. A song that you could dance alone to, specially if you were as terminally shy as the narrator. Sonically, it’s a far stride from…

  • The bit that you skip #176 – Death in Vegas – Dirge

    Rain in Nottingham (or any part of England for that matter) often comes without warning. You might be under a cobalt blue sky, feral pigeons strutting on the pavement, and the odour of burnt Gregg’s wafting akin to church incense. Drizzle starts, droning on dry newspapers and wrappers, then intensifying until you’re hit with a…

  • The bit that you skip #175: Talk Talk – It’s my life

    When Talk Talk released their sophomore album, It’s My Life, way back in 1984, things were just fine and dandy for the pop genre. Never mind the seemingly unstoppable force that was rock and the obligatory rock ballad, pop had the scene fully dominated, with the availability and wide range of synthesizers what drove many…

  • The bit that you skip #174: Modest Mouse – The Whale Song

    By the summer of 2009, Modest Mouse were in a strange position. The commercial success of Good News For People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank meant their well-deserved place on the spotlight was theirs, but fans of the older, brash stuff were quick to bandy the “sell…

  • The bit that you skip #173: Ray Lynch – Celestial Soda Pop

    Ray Lynch’s music is an interesting mix of ambient and new age, eerie synth lines with evocative, mantra like drones. The flutter of a song such as The Oh of Pleasure might awake a wanton feeling in some, sadness in other people. I’m the latter, not the former. Always found The Oh of Pleasure as…