The Sunday Shuffle – #25

Seagull – Ride (1990, Creation Records)

I dropped my iPod Nano today.

 It hit the wooden floor in my lounge with a clunk, bounced slightly, flipped and then clunked on the wooden floor again.  I was about to go for a run.  I only moved to grab my keys and the stupid thing slipped out of my hand.

I picked it up, these things are hardy little chaps I told myself it will be fine.  The screen is black, but it was switched off before I dropped it.  Was it always that black? I ask myself with a shiver.  I press the little button on the top expecting to see the little apple symbol appear and then it slowly burst back into life. 

But there is nothing. 

I do a reset or try to.  Nothing.

I rub the screen, thinking that it will make a difference, I try the on switch again, I turn the volume up and then down again.  Still nothing.  

I decide to leave it for a bit, its probably just dazed.  I go for my run and when I get back, I do all the above again and then I plug it into a laptop which tells me with an angry sounding beep that “The Device is Not Recognised”. 

Shit.

The iPod Nano is buggered. 

It’s one of my most precious possessions, we’ve travelled the world together me and that Nano.  We’ve run around the back streets of various towns, villages, cities, fields and tracks together.  We’ve clambered up rocks on Dartmoor together, we’ve walked around the chaotic old town of Tbilisi, we’ve watched street magicians in New Orleans, travelled in a lift to the top of the Calgary tower, we’ve watched the mist roll in across Lyme Bay as I sat on a well positioned bench and nibbled a Chelsea Bun. 

And I dropped you. 

Today’s track is therefore chosen by my phone and it was followed by this

The Dark of the Matinee – Franz Ferdinand (2004, Domino Records)

But frankly I’m not in the mood today.

The Sunday Shuffle #8

Formed A Band – Art Brut (2004, Rough Trade Records)

Todays shuffle comes courtesy of Alexa. This is what came on first, when at around half past ten last night I said “Shuffle my music”.

When Art Brut first arrived on the scene back in 2004, the band were quickly lumped into a scene that the NME had (again) invented. This scene was called ‘Art Wave’ and other members of the scene apparently included The Rakes, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. I have no idea why it was called ‘Art Wave’ possibly because all the bands went to art school and their music had a distinct New Wave feel about it. Who knows?

I only own two songs by Art Brut, this, obviously, and a cover version of a Cure song (‘Catch’) that they did for the aforementioned NME about ten years ago (which Songwhip doesn’t have, sorry). The band have a kind of spiky guitar sound (which is probably best described as ‘post punk’) that fits in with the singing style of their singer, Eddie Argos. Argos kind of half sings and half speaks, something that is very popular in music at the moment.

I hear a lot of what Yard Act and to a lesser extent bands like TV Priest are doing right now in what Art Brut were doing fifteen or so years ago (but Fall fans would have said the same thing in 2004 about Mark E Smith I suppose, curmudgeonly trailblazer that he was).