Bob Mould – Oran Mor, Glasgow

 

“I didn’t want to play the songs/That gave people so much hope” sings Bob Mould on ‘The Descent’, the stand-out track from his latest album Star Machine. It sums up one of the contradictions of his fascinating career – a man never quite comfortable with his own achievements. He spent years running from his legacy as a member of seminal 80s hardcore legends Húsker Dú, only to find massive success with his next band, the mighty Sugar. But the Mould of 2013 is a different animal. relaxed and – whisper it – seemingly having fun up there, he’s delving into his unrivalled back catalogue and threatening to blow the fucking roof off this place.

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Gig Preview – The Abyssinians, Glasgow ABC May 16

aby1Many musicians are given the sobriquet “legends”. Very few deserve it quite as much as roots reggae’s enigmatic Abyssinians. Formed in 1968, the group reunited in 2004 and have been touring the worlds stages, defying their years ever since.

Launching themselves on Jamaica and the wider world via Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One with their first single release Satta Massagana, they’ve influenced artists as diverse as Bob Marley, Damon Albarn, The Clash and Bruce Springsteen.

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New to you – Poor Things

483396_633233053357665_838308126_nNostalgia is a bastard. Things were never what they used to be and it’s silly to keep harping back to some imagined era when everything was as you want it. There’s a reason for that and it’s because it only exists in your mind.

But 90s guitar bands were better than today’s that’s just a fact. No, it is. Shush.

Let me explain; it wasn’t that every band was great, or that every modern one is rubbish. Indeed, thanks to the wonders of Spotify you can find some wonderful music you probably wouldn’t have access to. But in the 90s, weird stuff was mainstream. Teenage Fanclub, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. had hits. Actual, chart hits. They were on Top of the Pops. There was a Top of the Pops. Radio One was actually, genuinely, really good. Sigh….

So things have changed, and Perth 3-piece Poor Things may never get to hang out in the Met Bar, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are really, really good. Charmingly angular pop which will resonate with anyone who has ever drank a pint of cider – with no fucking ice – in a grotty mosh pit wearing a Nirvana t-shirt. They have a new EP out on June 10 called Hurricane Poor ThingsGive it a whirl.

‘ELM Presents – It Crawled From The South’ sells out!

He is, he is, he is SupermanYes, ELM joins the ranks of Harvey Goldsmith, Bill Graham and, erm, that Scottish guy who does T in the Park as hugely successful rock and roll promoting moguls. Our latest extravaganza saw a sell-out crowd hit Glasgow’s exceedingly cool 13th Note for a superb show headlined by It Crawled From The South. The band, a tribute to IRS-era REM, delivered a burning 18-song set which went down well with the die-hard Stipeistas in the crowd. Highlights were a rocking ‘Begin the Begin’, an emotional ‘Harborcoat’, and a magnificently funky take on’Exhuming McCarthy’. Check them out when they next play.

They were joined at the end by talented support Craig McKerracher, who was in surprisingly rude health for a man who celebrated his 21st the night before, for an encore run-through of New York Dolls classic ‘Pills’. A great night and thanks to all who made it such a success.

REM Week – From the Vault

hindulovegodsThe latest in our series of unbelievably wonderful live events takes place Saturday 20th April at the 13th Note in Glasgow. The event is headlined by It Crawled From The South, a celebration of IRS-years era REM. We’re marking the occasion with a special REM week here on Extreme Listening Mode. Today, we look at a productive  partnership from back in that period.

For a band with such a delicious sense of mystery about them, REM weren’t slow to help out their fellow musos during the 80s. For a while, it seemed it was compulsory for at least one record in the Melody Maker to have featured a member of the band. By the decades close, their quality control was being called into question, with NME nailing it brilliantly by describing the raggle-taggle of acts they guested with as ‘the sad friends of REM.’

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REM Week – The IRS Years albums

IRS-logoThe latest in our series of spectacular live events takes place Saturday 20th April at the 13th Note in Glasgow. The event is headlined by It Crawled From The South, a celebration of IRS-years era REM. We’re marking the occasion with a special REM week here on Extreme Listening Mode. Today we look at the IRS albums.

Although they found fame on the massive Warner Brothers label, it was on the boutique International Record Syndicate (IRS) label that REM first came to prominence. The independent record scene had taken a bit longer to take hold in the US than in Blighty – to be fair, it’s a pretty big place – but IRS were one of the trailblazers of the post-punk, College Rock scene that spawned so many seminal bands.

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ELM Presents – REM Week

rsz_icftsThe latest in our series of spectacular live events takes place Saturday 20th April at the 13th Note in Glasgow. The event is headlined by It Crawled From The South, a celebration of IRS-years era REM. We’re marking the occasion with a special REM week here on Extreme Listening Mode. To start off, we asked all the members of It Crawled… to share their favourite REM tracks with us.

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