Everybody’s doing it, why not me

Best of my 2004
(records I played the most, no rationale involved)

* Declan O’Rourke – Since Kyabram
* U2 – How to dismantle an atomic bomb
* The Killers – Hot Fuss
* Robi Draco Rosa – Mad Love

Best of 2004
(records I should play more)

* Nick Cave – Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
* Morrissey – You are the quarry
* 90 day men – Panda Park
* Nancy Sinatra – Nancy Sinatra
* Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather
* The Dears – No Cities Left
* Ben Christophers – Spaces in Between
* Tim Booth – Bone
* Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters
* Interpol – Antics

Best re-release / compilation

* Japan – back catalogue
* Kylie Minogue – Ultimate Kylie
* Virgin Prunes – back catalogue

Disappointments
(records I wanted to play, but didn’t live up to expectation)

* George Michael – Patience
* Marianne Faithful – Before the poison

I don’t get it
(records other people recommended)

* Arcade Fire – Funeral

Eclipsed
(records that didn’t survive the hype)

* Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand

Choose Irish, choose Shag

Irish music magazine Hot Press are doing the Top 100 Greatest Irish albums poll and have shortlisted a number of albums. The list includes the Virgin Prunes’ … If I Die, I Die, but criminally ignores Gavin Friday’s beguiling solo works: ‘Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves’ (Island Records, 1989), ‘Adam ‘n’ Eve’ (Island Records, 1992) and ‘Shag Tobacco’ (Island Records, 1995).

I am mobilising all GF fans to add Shag Tobacco as their personal choice in the poll. And now I’m asking you, faithful readers of prolific.org, to do the same. You can pick 4 other albums from the list, or add them too. It would be lovely if you could throw a vote towards ‘…If I Die, I Die’.

Voting requires membership to the site, but you can get a special day pass just to vote.

Thank you, it means a lot to me. Drop a note in the comment box when you’ve voted and I’ll raffle a Gavin Friday album among you.

John Peel tribute on VPRO’s alt.3voor12

“For a few years he would come over to Holland every three weeks. He would do one show live, and record two. Afterwards, he’d stay at my place. He was a very strict vegetarian. If he had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, he would run through the kitchen. That’s where the cat food was. He found the smell so repulsive he would run away from it even in the dead of night.” (Jan Donkers, VPRO)

Luc Jansen, who incidently will be interviewing Gavin and Guggi at Ancienne Belgique’s Virgin Prunes matinee on Saturday in Brussels, presents a 3 hour John Peel special on VPRO radio. (real audio)

Peel made radio shows for VPRO in the mid-Eighties. In the first hour (‘uur 1’) – after a Dutch introduction, you can hear one of his ’86 shows, in which he calls Tom Waits a terrible old bore… then plays Husker Du’s cover of Ticket to Ride.

You’ll also find some lovely pictures of Peel and his son at VPRO’s old villa/studio.

Pig children 4 evah

I’ve been watching Virgin Prunes videos for most of the evening. All in the name of research, mind.

It’s almost unbelievable that the warped images on these videos depict men, no… boys not even 25. They wrote some heavy shit barely out of their teens.

If from now on I watched pap for the rest of my life, I’d still be allowed entry to music heaven. I’ve paid my dues watching 4th generation bootleg tapes of Dave-id Busarus vibeing out at a 1983 New York crowd. I’ve seen two men in quite queen-less drag jump each other, roll around in muck and scream: “Why. Should I. Be like you?”

I’ve paid 150 DM for a Japanese pressing of If I Die, I Die. I have all the early CD-releases. Twice. And I’d buy the upcoming remastered CDs if I wasn’t getting them for free this time.

That place in music heaven’s mine.

From Monday, we will be revealing the artwork and tracklists for five re-mastered Virgin Prunes CDs on Virginprunes.com. One CD per week until their release in September.

So come on all you Marilyn Manson fans, come see where Brian got his cue. Other Prunes adepts include The Sugarcubes (Björk), Michael Stipe and Kevin Shiels (My Bloody Valentine).

Look mum, our site’s linked from Mute.com.