OUR FRIENDS ELECTRIC (Part 2)

So here I go again, drawing attention to some of the links listed on the right-hand side of this blog in the hope you'll pay them a visit every now and again - I'm sure you'll be entertained.

This time round, I'm going to highlight a few things which are not music blogs per se....indeed some of them don't feature any mp3s at all. But they are all wonderful in their own way.

(1a) Armagideon Time

Some of you will recognise that this blog takes its name from a song that is best known as a great b-side by The Clash. What many folk don't realise is that the Clash song is in fact a cover....

This blog is the work of Bitter Andrew who lives in the Boston area (that's Boston, Massachusetts and not Boston, Lincolnshire).

Armagideon Time, at first glance, might seem to be something that is obsessed with comics as there are loads of entries looking at comic-book culture going back over the decades. But.....look beyond the captions and the pictures and you will often come across some of the finest and cutting-edge writing there is anywhere out there in blog-land.

In just the past couple of weeks alone, there has been a wonderful and critical analysis of the Russia/Georgia spat, an analysis of how America changed after it dropped the atom bomb, musings on the continued development of his home city, as well as the most rounded tribute I've read to the late Isaac Hayes.

Oh and every now and again, you'll get an update on the feral cat colony that Andrew and his wife Maura look out for in the local neighbourhood....

Every post will get you thinking one way or another...many of them will have you laughing as well. And to top it all off, every post comes with appropriate tunes drawn from every musical genre imaginable, and from all the way through the past 40 years - many from acts/bands that most of us will be hearing from the first time. For instance, in the posting on the atom bomb, Andrew let us listen to Crass, Dr Strangelove & The Fallouts, The Cure, The Epoxies and Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup. (no, I haven't heard of all of them either.....)

Quite simply.....I think Armagideon Time is joint 1st in the best all-round blog I've the pleasure of visiting on a regular basis. Why not find out for yourselves??. And when you do, I'd insist that you go read the old posts from weeks and months back and you'll soon see how talented a writer and how astute a commentator Bitter Andrew really is....

mp3 : The Clash - Armagideon Time
mp3 : Elvis Costello - Leave My Kitten Alone

(1aa) Sunset Over Slawit

Another thoroughly entertaining, informative and enlightening read, this comes from the fingertips of Rol Hirst who lives in Slawit, which is a village in Yorkshire, not that far from Huddersfield if my memory serves me correctly. And it shares joint 1st position with Armagideon Time as best all-round blog...

Right now, Rol is in the middle of a project which is breath-taking in its ambition. It's entitled 'My Life In Music' in which he highlights his favourite album from a particular year, beginning in 1972 (the year of his birth). As he says:-

"I've tried to be honest while putting this list together - rather than just cool. You can be the judge of whether or not I've succeeded..."

Some of us might be appalled at the early choices - its dominated by Bruce Springsteen and there's space for Meat Loaf and Queen. But then as the 80s take shape, its The Smiths, Billy Bragg and Elvis Costello & The Attractions who begin to dominate things. Every single choice is argued for in an entertaining and enlightening way - as the man says, you might not agree with him - but I promise you'll enjoy reading the way he makes the case.

But its not just the current writings that make Rol and Sunset Over Slawit such essential reading here at Villain Towers. In a way that is similar to Armagideon Time, this is a blog where you never know from day to day what you're going to encounter. You'll get book reviews, film reviews (Rol is both an avid reader and movie buff), philosophical questions, imaginary conversations and comics (Rol produces his own comic and you can buy a copy direct from him). Oh and you'll soon find your way over to another site that Rol is involved in....one where his writing talents come to the fore.

I have to own up and admit that until yesterday, I haven't made too many visits to Slawit in recent weeks. Its not that I don't want to - its just that work and all sorts of things in life have meant I haven't had the required time to do so. But I went to Slawit for over 3 hours during the course of the weekend - and in a way it was like making a visit to a wonderful and favourite record or book store where time flies by...

I've now subscribed to Slawit meaning I'll get an e-mail every day which should, in theory, make it easier to keep up with things. In theory. Oh and I also at long last, ordered a copy of Rol's comic....

mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Poppies In The Field

(3) A Sweet Unrest

A relatively new kid on the blog, I first became aware of Greer and A Sweet Unrest when she left behind some nice comments at TVV a few months back. When other bloggers leave comments, it can be a simple task to find out where their own site lies...so I tracked down where Greer hung out.

I discovered that A Sweet Unrest was a poetry blog. Now that would normally be enough to turn me off as I never quite got the hang of that particular art when I was younger. But I soon realised that this was a user-friendly blog of the highest order. Sure there were poems, or extracts of poems, but unfailingly, they appeared along with an interpretation and explanation from Greer herself. Things made a lot more sense that way....

And while Greer is another who doesn't by habit post any mp3s herself, its real easy to see she has fine taste in music with her weekly contributions to the Contrast Podcast. In particular, she is one of the world's biggest Roddy Frame fans, so this one is for her:-

mp3 : Aztec Camera - Salvation

This originally appeared as a track on the 10" version of the single The Crying Scene. It features a backing vocal by an uncredited female singer. Roddy was asked this question by a fan over at the wonderful Killermont Street site, and in reply he said:-

"She was the assistant or intern as you Americans would have it. She seemed pretty shocked. She was a lovely french girl whose name escapes me... isn't that dreadful! I think her singing was perfect."

In other words, it was someone who was asked on a whim and whose name has been forgotten. Which is a real shame given how wonderful her performance was on the song.

So that's another 3 cyberfriends described in a bit more detail. But in all honesty, all of the blogs and sites over on the sidebar are worth some of your time. And in due course - although it may take a while - I'll highlight what it is I particularly love about all of them.

Happy Reading (and listening).

PS : Re Songs for Colin's trip to Paris.

The deadline has had to be brought forward to this evening as I've arranged to meet him tomorrow afternoon to hand over a stacked i-pod.....

Thanks to all of you who sent tunes over the weekend....I'll give the full-run down in due course.

JC : Monday 18 August : 9am (BST)