Supporters of the Indistinguishable Appellations,

I’m always writing down names of bands. My notebooks usually feature some silly words. I have scraps of paper littered around with names on them, then they end up in other people’s possession and they must wonder why I’ve written “Shit Disco” on a bit of paper. Usually, I like the bands and I would hope to follow up on them, sometimes I just write down the name.

On this A4 sheet in front of me, there’s The Poems, that new single, Sometime Somewhere Someone Should Say Something, is soothing, it breaks no boundaries but no one said it had to.

Below that is The Wave Pictures, they're so literal. It's quite unusual in pop. Gideon Coe and Marc Riley have played them a fair bit.

Then there's Robyn Hitchcock, who is a seasoned campaigner, who I will finally give a chance to after hearing a song called High on Yourself, which is on a new album called Shadow Cat (or something superhero-like).

There's some things that I'm trying to pick up on the cheap, possibly via evilBay: New Pornographers and Figurines. I've drawn a line through Voxtrot because I've already bought that one.

Ross Clark is on this piece of paper. Glasgow Ross seems talented and as a solo indie-folkster is probably better than those is London village who get more attention. William Douglas is similar, but from Embra, and perhaps more wistful.

The Phantom Band are due to release an album on Chemikal Underground. They're like some sort of Scottish version of the Secret Machines without the vocals, that doesn't make them Mogwai, they're somehow chunkier than them.

Sometimes twits and guitars kick out an irresistible single, Jake Summers by Fight Like Apes is just that. Olympic Lifts have an interesting, if not amenable, sound.

I have wrote "Cancel the Astronauts", it appears almost as an order. They seem to be a good indie rock outfit. Also from Embra, are Broken Records; they are probably on the verge of greatness, they work guitars and strings together brilliantly.

Sometimes I can't remember why I wrote something down and I can't even recall the song that made me do it, I have no idea who played an Anathallo record. I think I must have thought there was some echoes of Sufjan Stevens in this sound.

The Travelling Band are from Manchester, their county stylings are just right for duffers.

I will probably buy Samamidon's latest record, he's another solo folkster who I think drags in other musicians for larger compositions.

I keep meaning to follow up my initial delight at the fact that anyone would continue to peddle the music of Lynette Morgan and the Blackwater Valley Boys, there needs to be a place for rockabilly on the radio. Mark Lamarr had them in session ages ago.

Of course, I'm always appreciative to the great DJs who make me use up pens and paper.

Signers of the Non-Alignment Pact,

A major benefit of attending gigs is that new songs can be heard and we can leave excited about the next record. Currently, the wait is on for what should be a monumental My Latest Novel album, but thankfully, the wait for Colin MacIntyre’s new album is over.

The Water has been released to a blaze of no glory, I’ve haven’t heard anything about it on the radio; it’s a pity because this is the work of a pop genius. Colin certainly has a problem with those who are famous and perhaps the lack of promotion is some sort of statement, but maybe he’s occupied and I’m going off at a tangent.

The Water has 12 songs, each song is as good as the next. In many ways, it is textbook; the rhythms and melodies are right, his lyrics are witty, meaningful and audible, the structures of the songs are simple and he knows how to write a chorus. There are no annoying bits or dodgy time signatures. The Water is just an album that fits together perfectly.

You’re A Star is single material, but then so too is Be My Saviour. The Water is a great album track, it’s a bit slower but the medieval chords give a special identity. I Can I Will is classic Mull Historical Society stuff.

Famous for Being Famous is Colin’s rant against your Pete and Amy types but the song may have its roots in the past, every generation has people who get unnecessary attention. I’m glad Colin has referred to them as famous, because they do have fame yet should not really celebrated as they haven’t achieved anything.

Camelot Revisited is a nice pop ballad. I Don’t Have You to Ask is in one of those classic Mull Historical Society moulds, it’s cross-referenced under slow, brooding, wistful but eventually uplifting. If I had to choose a favourite, it might be I Have Been Burned, “by someone who looks a little bit, who talks a little bit…like you” is the lyric that sticks in my head the most, all the time in the background, the band are striking up the brass and string sections.

Stalker was played for a brief time on the radio back in 2007, it may have been something to do with an expected release date for this album or a filum soundtrack – it has a mean riff, perfectly apt for recounting the movements of a nasty stalker. Future Gods and Past Kings surpasses anything that those in the “twits and guitars” movement like These New Puritans, Damn Shames or Foals have can do, Colin takes them on at their own game in this one , ranting about urban life is their usual theme, and puts them to shame.

Faith No. 2 starts off in an almost Cocteau Twins-esque vibe but thankfully it gets buried under some of Colin’s rueful thoughts, “it’s almost impossible not to believe in a war, it’s almost impossible just to believe in you, it’s almost impossible not to be sold anymore”. Finally, Colin ends it all in the way befitting of his most political and poignant album to date, with Pay Attention to the Human, he and Tony Benn drill home the message that we got ourselves into this mess and that we have to power to fix it. Justice in the world of music can be best be delivered by purchasing this album.

Broadsword Calling Danny Boy,

In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, BBC 6Music should not be employing George Lamb. His initial employment was dubious; he first worked a slot on the station that although low-profile had potential. There is always potential in a 10pm until late slot when a DJ has a passion, intelligence and some freedom; one only has to listen to the output of Lamb’s successor in the 2200-0100hrs slot, Gideon Coe, their rival, Colin Murray on Radio 1, or remember the work of Mark Radcliffe in the past to realise what can be achieved in that slot. DJs can form a special bond with a night time audience, that bond can even extend to the BBC playback audiences of the modern day. George Lamb did not achieve this bond whilst he was in charge of his first BBC 6music slot, and I’d even argue that one of his failed predecessors, Joe Mace, almost managed to create a bond with the night time audience, at least, he came closer than George Lamb. George Lamb repelled.

The merits of initially offering him a contract at BBC 6music were at first unapparent, the issue now is the honouring of that contract. I’d say he is monumentally lucky to still be employed; he has committed offence after offence as a DJ at a music-driven station. He is utterly repulsive. His lack of commitment to the records is intolerable. His lack of knowledge is intolerable. His lack of respect to guests and listeners is intolerable. His speech is intolerable. He plays 18 songs in 3 hours. KEXP can play nearly 50 in the same period and their DJs speak amply, although efficiently.

BBC 6music controller, Lesley Douglas, was called up by BBC Radio 4’s Feedback programme to answer listener complaints. She pulled a huge smokescreen to divert the nation’s attention away from the fact that she has committed a major blunder herself in employing Lamb by claiming that his introduction is due to the fact that women and men listen to music differently – women listen emotionally, men listen intellectually. This debate has received many column inches without even referring the reason for its existence – GEORGE LAMB IS INAPPROPRIATE. I’ve just watched BBC Reporting Scotland, the evening news bulletin on our local BBC television station, where this listening style nonsense was given a small report. Lesley Douglas was not named but referred to as “an expert” in the report which also filmed two customers in Ripping Records, Embra, they both disagreed with our expert, Lesley. The final remark of the report was “music is music”.

Lesley Douglas has cast her web of spin very far on this issue. The BBC is the one media outlet that we should be able to trust in this country thus I find this ssssssickening. BBC 6music has several great DJs: Marc Riley, Gideon Coe, Guy Garvey and Tom Robinson. They deserve to be backed up by competent colleagues and not fools.

I include the text from BBC Radio 4's Feedback's correspondence page as it will be deleted come next week:

In last week’s Feedback Lesley Douglas, controller of 6music, discussed The George Lamb Show, which has replaced Gideon Coe in the mid morning slot. Her remarks about the different relationship that male and female listeners have with music incensed quite a lot of you:This is feedback about Feedback!

I was very disappointed to hear the Radio 6 controller display such casual gender stereotypes in her defence of a new DJ. She said that men have a more intellectual reaction to music while women have a more emotional reaction, and she justified the inclusion of talk sections on fashion as an attempt to attract women to the station. This is utterly offensive to me as a woman, as it suggests that I am likely to be un-intellectual and more interested in fashion than serious music, and also offensive to my husband through her statement that he is less likely to 'feel' the music because he is supposed to be more interested in what studio it was recorded in. This is sexism pure and simple and should not have been left unchallenged.

RMW

Lesley Douglas is way out of touch with 6 music listeners. I am an avid music listener and am appalled that she assumes females aren't interested in the minutiae of music and all things related to music. I was appalled when 'mint' was dropped from the schedules a while back. Daytime radio on 6 music is pretty much unbearable at the moment, George Lamb being the most moronic presenter to date. Interesting to read the 6 music message board, it seems I am not alone. Leslie Douglas should take a long hard look at it!

From Marnie Giddings

Dear Feedback,

I have just listened to the controller of 6Music (who I think I heard is also in charge of radio 2 - I don't see how one person could effectively control both) trying to defend George Lamb's breakfast show, saying that the focus of the show had not moved from music to 'chat'. She implied that one of the reasons that George was selected for 6Music was to encourage more female listeners.I was one of 6Music's female listeners. I loved the station so much that I bought 3 DAB radios for my house and went to the expense of having one fitted in my car. This was at the time when Phil Jupitus was doing the breakfast show, Andrew Collins had his own show - in which I might add there was a lot of chat, but it was entertaining, political, very funny and intellectual - and all the DJs on the station I respected. Since the arrival of George Lamb who sounds like a stand in for the appalling Chris Moyles and 'The Queens of Noise' - or Noize as I suppose its spelt - who seem to think if you say something in a stupid voice it becomes funny; I no longer listen to 6Music. I know Mark Riley is still there and a few other note worthy presenters but it has become obvious that the station IS changing its remit. And I can tell you one thing for certain, as a female, George Lamb offends me greatly. His formulaic programme with his 'friends' chipping in every second as if they are just there for the fun and not getting paid (a formula which is well suited to R1 eg. Moyles and sometimes R2 eg Chris Evans) is not suitable for the 6Music that many loved.6Music used to have many many listeners who loved the station; I should imagine that is no longer the case. 6Music as was is dead.

Emily O'Shea

So "women relate emotionally" and "men relate intellectually" to music? I don't normally listen to R6, preferring R3, R4, or my own collection of a variety of musical styles, but babble versus intellectual comment always loses me, instantly: and I'm a woman. Lesley Douglas's false, ignorant dichotomy categorising male and female responses to music ties in neatly with shari'ah: strict fundie Islam also thinks women aren't really as intellectual as men. Shame, shame, shame: how can the BBC justify spending my license fee hiring anyone as stupidly ill-informed about society as Lesley Douglas?

Katherine

Is there really any point in interviewing people like Ms Douglas? If even one of the stream of controllers, editors or whatever who come on the programme to justify themselves would say "Your listeners could be right, I'll think again...", then perhaps so. Fat chance. What they do say, in effect, is "This is the way I'm going to do it, I know best, your listeners can get stuffed."John BushIn your article in today on 6 Music in was suggested that it had in fact become Radio 1 1/2. Too late, that title fell to Radio 2 when it was mangled by Lord Moyle (Moyles?) If anything the stations would be more aptly entitled; Radios 1a, 1b, 1c. Some months ago your contributors suggested that more should be available for the older audience perhaps with 50s music or in the manner of the old Radio 2 days of Jimmy Young, Gloria Hunniford & Stewpot. A trend that passed into oblivion after only two airings. Pop was the backbone but interspersed with light classical and film music also. Not these days. Apart from Wogan and to a lesser extent, Ken Bruce the station is plagued with 'modern music' and format as delivered in the afternoons by someone called Stephen Team. In the discussion regarding the demise of certain digital stations, another of you correspondents suggested the BBC buy one to play jazz. A better acquisition would be for use in reviving the old Radio 2

Terence Basting

Andover

Bearers of the Nocturnal Lost,

A badger lay dead at the side of the road, bloody and never to return to its friends at the set. Those friends will notice the absence. I was just a man in a car.

Miles away, a cafe manageress awkwardly tried to arrange the funeral of man she never knew. The man left no one behind and thus it fell to the manager who made him a cup of tea on a daily basis to deal with an absence that will be felt by nearly no one. I am just going to be a man in a car.

I was about to discuss the two extremes with someone, beforehand, I asked them how things were; they were just about to leave for a funeral. I was glad that I did not get around to talking about the badger. I understand that comparing a badger to a human could offend some people.

Salamanders Chased for Wanton Album Artwork,

If reviews could be conducted on the basis of album covers, it might be safe to start with Falling Off the Lavender Bridge by Lightspeed Champion. The offending cover features the man himself, Dev Hynes, clutching what appears to be a rabbit. Backtrack just over a year and Jeremy Warmsley could be seen on promo posters and album covers posing with a canary. Skip to 2009, will Jay Jay Pistolet or the like be seen cradling a piglet? They’re all from that London-type mob that sound all very delicate and seem cool because they can wear horizontally-striped t-shirts and those cardigans. One of their redeeming qualities is their appreciation of Semifinalists.

I was inspired to buy this album by the song, Galaxy of the Lost, it has a McFly quality. That’s not a bad thing and I don’t own any McFly records, but I respect them a little more than many because they seem to play their own instruments. They cater for a market and tailor their lyrics for their fans. If McFly were to aim at a slightly older audience, those who can begin to appreciate language and musicianship, they could have knocked out Galaxy of the Lost. There are some lovely strings and keys, and nice changes of tempo on this track.

Other than that, which was effectively the first song, the only other songs worth listening to are Tell Me What It’s Worth and Midnight Surprise; the two other single releases. Congratulations must be offered for the marketing strategy but unfortunately, the rest of the album sounds rather unfinished and one-paced. The recording quality is debatable. I even began to lose interest during Midnight Surprise, this song was edited from its 10 minute album track length for single release.

The rabbit on the cover is quite unclear; I had to take a decision on whether it was a rabbit or a black jacket; usually rabbit identification decisions involve hares or at the worst, guinea pigs. At least, Jeremy Warmsley held what was quite clearly a canary, not a budgerigar and not a woodpigeon. Jeremy’s product was much better, he had the same range of instruments and similar spectacles so if I was to recommend making one man a little richer, it’d be him. Dev Hynes could polish up this recording; I guess he sounds quite good live; or he could go back to being one of those ‘twits with guitars’ who make abrasive rackets like he did with those Test Icicles.

Goats Heading to a Vampire Weekend,

Sunlight is something that I've been thinking about. It's so easily taken for granted despite the fact that in Scotland, we do without it for a couple of months. We were subject to a ridge of high pressure on Wednesday; although the temperature only reached 7 degrees C, the sky was clear. I had planned to go for a run over lunchtime, just to be outside during some relatively decent weather. Unfortunately, my services were required for a hastily arranged friendly football match in the evening and my energy had to be conserved. My new plan was to have lunch at my desk but I could not ignore light shining through the windows and I ventured out for a walk.

I often become lost around St Andrews. It plays tricks with my mental compass - it must be something to do with the big magnets they keep in the university. As the duffer who reignited national interest in the declining sparrow population (not Pete Masson), I was delighted to discover that on the cliffs by the harbour, there is a decent fulmar population. I may have been alerted to this by one of those helpful boards put up for tourists but seeing something that looked like a gull (the kind of bird that has replaced the sparrow in the back garden) but was not a gull (the kind of bird that knows its boundaries) was quite absorbing for a while.

Back I went to the office, it was a long walk. This could potentially be the reason why I struggled to last 90 minutes in that evening's match. It was a 3-0 defeat versus a side from the top division, it was a friendly so 'rolling substitutes' was at play, but somehow I was the only player made to play all of the 90 minutes. I didn't feel that I did well but many people said that I did. Football is a game with many opposing opinions, this is accepted but it's difficult to understand why so many people are so wrong, so much of the time.

Sunlight, fulmars and football have been discussed so far. I also have issues with electric leaf blowers but I'll take them on another day.

Attenders Against Uremia,

British Sea Power have produced an insert booklet that is better than the accompanying record, Do You Like Rock Music?. Their third album is not a bad album, it’s quite good but at the end of their careers, we’ll all look over their work and say that this one was only just of its time. British Sea Power have not “sold out” but I feel they’ve tried to combine the traits of their 2007/08 contemporaries with the sounds of the traditional British Sea Power institution. The echo and feedback effect on this album is quite different from on the previous two albums – in this one, it clouds affairs, and it obscures that absolutely distinctive British Sea Power guitar sound. I feel that the producer may have been swayed by the populist liking for groups like Arcade Fire and has tried to make the group sound bigger. I accept that there are 4 of them; they can’t play all the instruments that these mini-orchestras can and ultimately, fake depth is worthless. And (let’s begin a sentence with ‘and’ for emphasis) they’ve even used some chanting styles and riffs that have been rehashed and bashed around too much by those in the twits and guitars genre recently.

Whilst I have my gripes, there are some fine songs on this album. I like Lights Out for Darker Skies because it’s something that I’d love to be able to do – think about an issue and present my argument artistically. The problem of light pollution has never been brought to the public domain so beautifully. “Lights out, baby, for darker skies, there really is no reason that you need to ask why”, is as good an argument as is needed. The night sky is a wonderful thing but something that we take for granted. It’s possible to go out on any night and see stuff that amazes; I meant to write a while back about a brilliant meteor I saw on December 17. I was sitting on the couch and I looked out at the right time to see a brilliant meteor.

No Lucifer is a unifying rally call that begins with a silly “Easy. Easy. Easy.” chant. In many ways, that’s what this album is all about – the band have thought about the future and decided that the human race needs to pull together. It’s well-documented that Waving Flags is a greeting to immigrants, “Don’t be scared cos you are only here for a while, and it’s all a joke” can refer to any version of “here” and my “here” is Earth and life thus this song qualifies for my favourite type of song – those which contemplate our mortality.

Canvey Island is a good one too, British Sea Power bring to our attention the impending doom that we’ve inflicted upon ourselves by our callous behaviour through the ages. It’s a song about climate change not sung by Chris Martin.

A Trip Out is a bit of fun musically. It has a jolly riff but lyrically, the band really explain the meaning of the rest of the album, “there is so much that you can loath and I can’t stop thinking about it, and I can’t stop working it out”, that’s a case of insomnia and a half.

Atom is something twits and guitars like The Wombats might spit out. I think it lacks British Sea Power characteristics. The Great Skua is a decent instrumental titled after a big sea bird, I’ve never liked skuas. I doubt I’ll ever see one but their appearance and characteristics that I’ve gleaned from by ornithology literature have always repulsed me. Open the Door is a relaxed pop tune that winds the album down to the instrumental that it has become popular, if sometimes unnecessary, to have at the end of records.

Do You Like Rock Music? is a stream of consciousness (this is becoming a cliché) that is endearing as a style of writing if not always satisfying when accompanied by their chosen music. The words are very clever, they continue into the insert booklet. There are several marvellous songs on this record and I guess on the whole, it’s a success for the band. There’s much about British Sea Power to like and I hope and expect there will be more in the future.

Parodies of International Marketability,

I finally managed to read the 2006 Costa Book of the Year, The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney.

It is 1867, Canada and there’s been a murder. Jim Taggart is 58 years away from being born on the wrong side of the Atlantic. The victim is Mrs Ross’s next door neighbour and her son has vanished. Basically, Mrs Ross must solve the murder herself to clear the name of her son.

The Tenderness of Wolves is wonderfully written, there are so many well-developed characters. Each chapter focuses on a different character and these characters have several chapters dedicated to them, only Mrs Ross’ chapters are told through the first person. The style works well, and the killer is only revealed in the final pages of a 450 page epic.

The setting challenges our imagination and modern perception of time and distance. Travel between villages is an ordeal that lasts days in horrendous conditions. Stef Penney manages to capture this, yet does not allow the story to be slow and arduous to read.

The Tenderness of Wolves is a marvellous book and I’d recommend it to all, it’s apt for enjoyment or study.

Proles With Sovereignty Over Their Ears,

Sometimes I have to go where I’m told to. I visited the country of England on Monday, and more specifically, the city of Nottingham, in order to attend a meeting and present some work. Firstly, I did not feel comfortable presenting the work; the findings were a bit old, it had been presented before in skeletal form and I didn’t want to seem like one of lassitude, secondly, I had to go to England – a strange country where life is lived at a stupid pace, it’s fleshed out with noise and weird roundabouts.

The flight from Embra was at 0830hrs which meant that we arrived into East Midlands Airport (a place of absolute idiocy) hours and hours before the meeting in Nottingham. Nottingham is surprisingly large, the street pattern is messy, I guess that many small boroughs probably amalgamated haphazardly. We took a taxi to the city. I keep writing “we” but in reality, I was dozily following, I have become something of an insomniac who listens to the USA presidential race events during the night on Radio 5Live. The taxi driver was typically erratic. We arrived at the meeting venue with around 3 hours to spare. I read for a while before walking down to the lake in the university grounds. I saw some coots and moorhens, I also survived the Canada geese (I did have images in my head of a brutal mauling by geese).

The meeting progressed, I gave my presentation, and there were no hecklers this time. After all the presentations, we had to wait again for over an hour, sometimes outside in the cold, until another taxi took us to the restaurant. I ate some stuff and then waded the brutal streets of Nottingham in search of a taxi to take two of us to the hotel whilst the others went off to some bar. I finally made it to a bed at 2215hrs not that this solved anything. The room was not supplied with tea bags and the bedside lamp on the side of the bed that I wanted to sleep on did not work. Even though I was knackered, I couldn’t sleep again. I saw the clock at 0130hrs. I rolled around, I mulled over almost everything that had been said for weeks. I imagined the football training session I missed whilst I was in England. I doubted the bed, I considered sleeping on the chair or the floor. I decided grudgingly to read myself to sleep, it seems like an obvious thing to do but I did not want to put the light back on.

I charged down for breakfast just after Everybody Loves Raymond, I hastily retreated to my room when the only other member of the consortium present in the breakfast bar was someone who would have made for awkward company. On my return five minutes later, I was relieved to see some other folk were already baring the brunt of that supposed intellectual power. More meetings were held; they were formalities that I witnessed jadedly rather than contributed to. By now I was really exhausted; I had wanted to come home almost as soon as I left Methil. We eventually made it back to the hideous East Midlands Airport where we had to wait for nearly 2 hours. It was quite obvious that the aeroplane was destined for Scotland, the Scottish people are quite distinctive in appearance – it struck me for the first time. Many of them need to lose some weight.

I was glad to make it back to my vehicle and play a CD. The noise we choose to live at is something we take for granted. In the restaurant, it was too loud. In the hotel room, it was too quiet. Without a radio or an ipod, I had no control over sound and that antagonised me. It was a relief to slap on a Classic Cuts compilation CD. I went home to face the barrage of questions and be cranky during a game of five-a-side football.