Mahoney’s Guide to the 70′s: 1971

A brief look at what happened in ’71 plus my favourite records & films

1971

What was happening in ’71

• A stairway crush at the Rangers vs. Celtic football match in Glasgow, Scotland kills 66.
• Charles Manson and three female “Family” members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders
• Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden.
• Jim Morrison, leader of The Doors is found dead in his bathtub in Paris, France.
• Val Venis, American professional wrestler is born

Favourite records of 1971

01: The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers 

Arguably their greatest album with every single song being a complete classic. The sound of the worlds greatest ever rock n roll band at their absolute best.

02: T. Rex – Electric Warrior

The album that made Marc Bolan a superstar & the album that caused the glam-rock era in the 70’s. Electric Warrior has always been seen as T-Rex’s finest work (though I prefer The Slider), fun, sexy, groovy songs topped off with Bolan’s uniquely bizarre lyrics. A stone cold classic.

03: Lee Hazlewood – Requiem for an Almost LadyAn underrated gem by a hugely under appreciated artist. Requiem for an Almost Lady originally was only released in the UK & Sweden which is goes a long way to explain why it isn’t widely considered one of the great records of it’s era. A record of heartbreaks & relationships gone wrong delivered with Hazlewoood’s usual wit & humour. Without a doubt one of Lee’s finest LP’s.

04: Al Green – Al Green Gets Next to You Outside of ‘Call Me’ this is my favourite record of Al Green’s. I’ve never been overly keen on the cover of Light My Fire but the rest of the record is pretty much perfect. What a voice.

05: Leonard Cohen – Songs of Love and HateHave recently got into the work of Leonard Cohen & this was the record that turned me onto him. I can’t think of a better album title in terms of trying to describe what’s on the record. The simplicity of these songs are what make them so appealing to me.

06: John Lennon – ImagineMost people seem to prefer Plastic Ono Band but for me this is Lennon’s best solo work & I’d go as far as to say it’s up there in terms of quality of some of The Beatles best work. I know people can be put off by the title track, it’s one of those famous songs that is almost as big as the artist that created it but I still absolutely fucking love it, lyrically it’s such a simple ideal that anyone with half an inch of soul inside themselves must of at least thought about a few times in their life. ‘Oh Yoko!’ also gets some stick partially because it’s a cheesey love song & also because most people don’t like Yoko but still as far as cheesey love songs go it’s one of my favourites. The rest of the record being top notch also.

07: Curtis Mayfield – Roots
08: David Bowie – Hunky Dory 
09: Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head
10: Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
11: Sly and the Family Stone – There’s a Riot Goin’ On
12: Alice Cooper – Love It to Death 
13: Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin [IV] 
14: Faces – A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse 
15: Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On 
16: Gil Scott-Heron – Pieces of a Man
17: Joni Mitchell – Blue 
18: Rory Gallagher – Deuce
19: Can – Tago Mago
20: Groundhogs – Split

Favourite Films of 1970:

01: Straw Dogs [Sam Peckinpah]One of my favourites of all-time. Hoffman at his best, Susan George at her hottest. Always felt the final 10 minutes felt a bit needlessly ‘Hollywood’ though the rest of the picture is a psychological masterpiece.

02: Vanishing Point [Richard C. Sarafian]Vanishing point pretty much defines what a cult movie should be. IMO the best car related film theres ever been. Kowalski trying to deliver a car on time being chased across America by the cops, such a fucking blast.

03: A Clockwork Orange [Stanley Kubrick]Just one of many of Kubrick’s films considered a masterpiece. I assume everyones seen it, if you’ve not sort your life out.

04: The Panic In Needle Park [Jerry Schatzberg]Not one of the first films people would mention when thinking of Al Pacino but for me it’s one of his best. A dark, bleak miserable film about drug addiction, happy days.

05: Duel [Steven Spielberg]Who’d of thought the directer of such huge hits as Indiana Jones, Jaws & E.T would of started out making a carsploitation film made for TV. Spielberg shows his talent with this simple film which is essentially a truck chasing a car for 90 minutes, astonishingly impressive the levels of tension built up with such a simple premise.

06: Get Carter [Mike Hodges]
07: Diamonds Are Forever [Guy Hamilton]
08: Dirty Harry [Don Siegel]
09: Fright [Peter Collinson]
10: Two-Lane Blacktop [Monte Hellman]
11: Play Misty For Me [Clint Eastwood]
12: Shaft [Gordon Parks]
13: A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck You Sucker [Sergio Leone]
14: Il gatto a nove code [The Cat o’ Nine Tails] [Dario Argento]
15: The French Connection [William Friedkin]

Breaking Shit Horse News

It has been revealed today that Rolling Stone legend Mick Jagger is a huge fan of the Soapbox’s favourite new band Shit Horse.

You can buy Shit Horses EP from Odessa records here

Frightfest

I’ve always been a big fan of horror movies so I decided to attend this years annual Frightfest in Leicester Square at the Empire cinema. At first I was worried it was gonna be full of geeky looking fat blokes in Metallica hoodies with black fingernails but thankfully that wasn’t the case & the crowd were really sound & the vibes were all good. I never imagined you could get a good atmosphere at a cinema, usually my idea of atmosphere at a cinema is everybody shutting the fuck up & not as much making a noise with that bag of crisps but due to the type of films that are on show at FrightFest the audience get alot more involved, kinda cool to hear cheers and an applause when seeing somebody being hacked to pieces with an axe.

I only went to the first two days of the festival, here’s some thoughts on the films I saw. I’ll try to keep them as spoiler-free as possible but don’t quote me on that.

Hatchet II

So FrightFest 2010 kicked off with the World Premier of Hatchet II. The first Hatchet I’d seen & wasn’t that keen but the follow up surprisingly packed a punch & ended up being the absolute perfect choice to open a Horror festival. A typical slasher but a damn good one, alot of fun, alot of great death scenes with tons of gore that had the huge audience cheering for more. Also Hatchet II worked because it had a really likable cast of people lined up to be killed, most modern horror films seem to include the most despicable bunch of wankers that you can’t wait to see the end of but the director Adam Green really got the cast spot on. Obviously not a masterpiece but an ideal friday night popcorn flick that I’d recommend to anyone who likes the Friday The 13th series of even The Evil Dead. Like I say, made the perfect opening for the festival so I’d give it an 8 though if I was to watch it at home probably a strong 7 Was a Q&A with Adam Green & the cast which included Kane Hodder (Jason/friday the 13th) & Tony Todd who played Candyman which was entertaining.

Primal

Up next was Primal, an Australian Virus movie that is very similar to Cabin Fever but alot better. Simple plot, six friends camping out in the woods to investigate some ancient rock paintings when one of them decides to go skinny dipping but there’s something up with the water that turns her into some kind of flesh eating predator & goes after the other five. This film was alot of fun for the first hour then unfortunately the best character in the film dies then it lost it’s way a little, also for some daft reason they decided to throw in some really bad CGI cave monster shit at the end which seemed like a total afterthought but minus those complaints this was a pretty good film, again recommended Friday night popcorn entertainment. 7

Dead Cert

I’m still laughing about this one now, it was complete shit but one of those bad movies that is so obviously rubbish that by the end of it you’ve actually had a great time with it. The easiest way to describe this film would be Lock Stock meets Dusk Till Dawn. I’m always wary of any British horror films mostly because they tend to always be shit & this was no exception. It stars DAN SULLIVAN from Eastenders FFS, the film had some hilarious dialogue, you’ve got vampires killing people left right and center then dialogue such as ‘lets fackin chop their ed’s off’, it had me in stitches plenty of times. I’m going to mention the fact this shit again but as soon as it hits TV I recommend checking it out for a giggle. Also, the poster advertised this with DANNY DYER in the cast, this is true but he has two lines at the end of the film in possibly the worst cameo I’ve ever seen, it’s like they thought hold on this could actually be a big box office smash let’s throw a new character into the mix with 30 seconds left of the film & line ourselves up for a sequel. For the shits & giggles I got out of this I’m gonna give it a 5.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Day two started with a showing of Tobe Hooper’s obscure picture Eggshells, I never got there in time for this though from what I heard I should be glad I turned up late. Next up was original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I shouldn’t need to say anything about this, a classic in horror cinema & IMO one of the best films of all time. Was really cool to see this on the big screen, due to the movie being such a low budget picture I wondered if it would be any different to watching it at home but it was really worth catching, the scenes with the family around the table seemed even more horrific than ever on the big screen. The film followed with a Q&A with director Tobe Hooper which I must say was really disappointing. It was kinda short, the questions thrown to him by the interviewer were given in a way where he could really only answer with a yes or no & also Hooper never seems the most interesting guy in interviews anyway, he’s hardly someone like John Carpenter who you’d struggle to shut up. The only interesting part was hearing him talk uncomfortably about his relationship with steven spielberg whilst working on Poltergeist.

Isle Of Dogs

By far the worst film I saw over the two days. First of all seemed a totally odd choice of film to put on for a cinema packed full of blood thirsty horror fans, minus a sliced off arm & someones head being run over by a car there was nothing to suggest that this was a horror at all. That I didn’t mind but the film was useless, felt like a bad ITV drama at times & seemed to lack direction as if the directer/producers had no idea what kind of film they wanted to make. Some shocking acting, daft plot, was really glad when this one ended. The only good thing was the Spaghetti western looking credits at the start of the film. 3

F

F, a British horror & actually surprisingly decent! A bunch of free-running hoodies haunting a school at night killing off the staff. For me it could of done with having a few more visual killings, alot of times the hoodies would surround somebody, they give back the look of fear and film would cut to the next scene but this was well thought out, well paced, well acted & all in all a decent little flick. 6

Red Hill

Again I thought this was a slightly odd choice to put on for Frightfest but it didn’t matter in the slightest because this was by far the best film I saw in my two days at the festival. I’d describe it as an Australian version of No Country For Old Men but with a much simpler plot & leaning heavily towards classic Leone Westerns. Was a bit worried it would be a bit rubbish as going into it all I knew is that it stared somebody from True Blood but I’m glad I stuck around for this one. A convicted murderer escapes and heads back to the small town to kill the people that put him away but we find out there is more to his revenge than meets the eye. I highly recommend checking this one out, check out the trailer. 8

I’m a little disappointed I never saw something in the horror genre that will go down as a classic as in recent years they have shown the likes of The Orphanage & Martyrs & I also wanted to see something controversial that would divide opinion for sometime to come such as Antichrist, Irreversible or Audition. A Serbian Film was being shown on sunday & from what I’ve read would of ticked both of those boxes but FrightFest was told they would have to show a version cut by 4 minutes a few days before the festival so decided to axe it from the lineup.

So that was my thoughts on what I saw at Frightfest, I’ll definitely return next year and hopefully do more than two of the five days of the event.

A top 10 of Sylvester STALLONE

I’ve been a fan of Stallone ever since I saw my first Rocky picture at the age of 5, ever since then I’ve been hooked on all things Stallone. Sure he’s not the best actor ever but Sly makes up for this by giving us pure entertainment. You know when you stick on a film with the word Stallone on the box you know you are in for a hell of a ride.I’m also over the moon to see the success the Stallion has had in recent years. After making his name in the 70s with Rocky Stallone became arguably the biggest star on the planet in the 80s with blockbuster after blockbuster. The 90s however were not as kind to him, whilst still having reasonably large box-office results the fans did no connect with the likes of Judge Dredd, Assassins & Daylight in the same way they had his previous work. The early 00s saw even less hits for Stallone & it looked like the great mans time was up to everybody except Sly himself, like a great fighter Sly bounced back with reboots of Rambo & Rocky which not only were enormous box-office smashes but were loved by the fans, Sly was back! Now we have the epic Expendables which has been another big hit for Sly & talks are already on for a follow up. Also in the pipeline we have another Rambo & a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Death Wish. At 64 it seems there is no stopping the Stallion & here is to hoping that he continues for another good few years yet.
So out of respect to the great man, I give you my top ten Sylvester Stallone Flicks. I’ve gave myself a limit of only two Rocky films. I love them all (minus rocky V of course,) and all could of contended for this list but I wanted to draw attention to a few other of his pictures that most probably are sitting in the sale-bins in DVD stores as we speak.

10: Tango & Cash [1989]

I was a big fan of this film when I was a child, I’d probably rank it higher but I’ve not seen it for a good ten years yet I remember so many of the scenes so clearly. Simple plot, Stallone & Kurt Russle are framed, thrown into prison & must escape. A typical action flick of it’s time, I need to pick this up on DVD again & give it a blast ASAP.

FilmFact: Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell both auditioned for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). There is even a reference to Jabba The Hutt in this movie.

09: Cobra [1986]

Such a ridiculously fun, Over the top piece of 80s action. Contains possibly the best Tag-line for a movie I’ve ever seen in ‘Crime is the disease. Meet the Cure’, tons of great one-liners from Sly such as ‘This is where the law stops and I start’ & Sly responds to a terrorist threatening to blow a supermarket up with ‘Go Ahead, I don’t shop here’. Cobra also has probably the best (or worst, however you look at it) cheesey 80’s soundtrack ever, just youtube cobra soundtrack, sit back & drown in the funky sax sounds. Did anybody ever actually like music like this?

FilmFact: Sylvester Stallone was signed to play the lead in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), he did a lot of work on the screenplay, turning it into an action extravaganza that the studio couldn’t afford. He eventually left Beverly Hills Cop and channeled his ideas for that project into this movie.

08: Nighthawks [1981]

In his first role playing a cop Stallone must stop an international terrorist played by one of Hollywood’s best bad guys, Rutger Hauer. Very underrated, dark film which despite coming out in ’81 feels much more like a 70’s picture with a similar feel to movies such as Dirty Harry & The Mechanic. also Stallone sports a sexy beard throughout.

FilmFact: Stallone describes the scene where he Hangs from the cable car as the most dangerous stunt he has performed in his entire career.

07: The Expendables [2010]

So The Expendables is finally here, the biggest collection of action-movie stars ever assembled. Jet Li, Dolph Lungren, Jason Statham, Steve Austin & Micky Rourke all star alongside Stallone with cameo’s from Bruce Willis & Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Finally we see Arnie & Sly share the screen together even if it is only for a few minutes. The Expendables really does deliver everything you could hope for from a modern action-flick & I’m so glad that Stallone has had success with a new idea rather than a reboot of his old ideas. Personally I’ve never been a big Statham fan but he stole the show in this film though Stallone still holds his own at the age of 64 (yeah, sixty-four!). There is bound to be a sequal due to it’s success, I just hope Sly can get even more stars on board next time around.

FilmFact: Stallone approached Jean-Claude Van Damme, Wesley Snipes & Steven Seagal for roles in this film but all three had to turn Sly down for different reasons.

06 Escape To Victory [1981]

Ever wanted to watch a dream-team of Pele, Bobby Moore, Ossie Ardiles, Mike Summerbee, Michael Caine with Sylvester Stallone in goal? Where here’s your chance. Sly & the gang are held up in a World War II camp where they are to take on an All-star Nazi side in a propaganda event which the prisoners will use as a means to escape. Escape To Victory feels like an remake of The Great Escape though of course not quite as good though is still a very good film. The closing twenty minutes are a little daft but they are very memorable, the Allied prisoners are being stuffed by the German’s at half time, when they return to their dressing room the tunnel has been dug for them to escape but the team decide to go back to the field to turn the match around & guess what, they turn it around & get in front but give away a penalty in the dieing seconds. If you’ve not seen the picture I think you can guess who comes off the hero here.

FilmFact: Sylvester Stallone received training from England’s World Cup winning goalkeeper, Gordon Banks. Initially, Stallone paid little attention to Banks’s advice as he didn’t think the training was necessary, and recklessly threw himself around on the first day of filming the match. Eventually, he hit the ground so hard that he dislocated a shoulder and broke one of his ribs, putting him out of action for several days. When he returned, Stallone paid much more attention to what Banks was telling him, but still sustained a number of minor injuries over the course of filming, including another broken rib. After production was finished, Stallone commented that the experience had been harder than fighting in the Rocky movies.

05 Lock Up [1989]

Another under appreciated Gem starring Stallone. Like Tango & Cash this is another prison film where Sly is banged up for not doing alot wrong though where Tango & Cash is often played for humour & often feels light-hearted Lock Up see’s Stallone put through the pain barrier pysically & emotionally. Donald Sutherland is superb playing the evil prison general who will stop at nothing to make Stallone’s life a complete hell.

Filmfact: Lock Up was directed by John Flynn who also directed one of Stevan Seagal’s finest movies Out For Justice & also directed one of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite movies Rolling Thunder.

04 Cop Land [1997]

I can hear the WTF’s & ‘how can you rank this so high?’ coming at me right now but I don’t care. I’m a huge fan of Cop Land. Not only does it have a superb cast with people such as Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro & Robert Patrick but it also has one of Stallone’s best ever performances. Anyone who thinks Sly is all about the muscle’s & incapable of giving a good performance I urge to watch this film. ‘Cop Land’ is a safe haven for all of New York’s cops, far away from the crime & filth that they are used to working with on a daily basis. Stallone plays Freddy, Freddy always wanted to be in the big-time, in NYC but due to him being deaf in one ear has held him back so he is stuck in charge of Cop-Land. Stallone’s character is very fragile & he’s made to feel useless by the NYC cops. As Cop-Land goes on Freddy slowly becomes the main character in a tale of corruption & Murder & Stallone shines in his roll. I wish he had taken more parts like this where he could show off other sides to his talent, highly recommend this film, Sly gives one of his best & the film itself is a near classic.

FilmFact: Stallone gained 40 pounds to add realism to his portrayal of the police officer. He also was only paid SAG minimum wages. By the time that re-shoots were required, he had lost the weight again.

03 Rocky [1976]

So here is where Stallone made his name for himself. I don’t need to say much about this one, we’ve all seen it & we all love it. Rocky turns from zero to hero in 90 minutes, from having nothing to getting the girl & taking on the world champion. It’s the classic underdog story & Sly’s character is the lovable every-man that we can all see a little part of ourselves in which is probably why so many millions of people can identify with the series in the way that they do. Sure Taxi Driver deserved the Oscar that year & if you want a realistic & harder hitting portrait of a boxer watch Raging Bull but nothing can beat the over dramatic feel you get when watching a Rocky film. Alot of respect has to be given to Bill Conti who’s score is just as iconic as the film it’self. YO ADRIAN

FilmFact: Although Sylvester Stallone famously wrote the first draft of the script in 3 days, it went through nine sizable rewrites before it was purchased by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff. Originally, Stallone’s much darker script depicted Mickey as a bitter old racist, and the film ended with Rocky throwing the fight after realizing he did not want to be part of the professional boxing world.

02 First Blood [1982]

The story of a special forces soldier haunted by his time in Vietnam returning to an America which shows him little respect for the service he’s done for his country. A sheriff gives Rambo a hard time for no other reason than him not liking his look to the point where Stallone retaliates & gets himself arrested. Stallone breaks free & then First Blood becomes a bloody, action-packed thriller with literally hundreds of officers trying to hunt Rambo but they soon find out that Rambo is no originally soldier. First Blood still holds up as a great film, the titles of the follow up’s always make me giggle. So, the original is called First Blood. The follow up you’d think would be First Blood II right? No. They decided Rambo: First Blood Part II’ would be better. So you are thinking the third must be Rambo: First Blood Part III right? Wrong, they decided on just Rambo III. Then there was a reboot of the series in 2008 where even then they couldn’t decide what the fuck to call it, in some countries we had Rambo IV, others John Rambo & in others simply Rambo. I bet they wish they had just named the original Rambo now.

Filmfact: Sylvester Stallone hated the first cut of the film so much that he tried to buy the film back and destroy it. When he couldn’t do that, he suggested that the producers cut much of his part and let the rest of the characters tell the story. That cut the movie time in half and set a precedent for future action movies.

01 Rocky IV [1985]

So here it is, the first Stallone film I ever saw & to this day by far my favourite. Some people think that by Rocky IV the films had become too over the top, that the character of Rocky had run it’s course & should be hanging up his gloves but I love the fact that Rocky IV is by far the most over the top blast of the entire series. Just look what happens in IV, you have the death of Rocky’s friend & trainer Apollo Creed, Rocky & Adrian’s relationship looks like it could be falling apart, you have James fucking Brown singing Liviing in America. You have a talking robot that is in love with uncle Paulie, you have Rocky’s biggest & toughest opponent yet in the Steroid freak of Ivan Drago & then you have THEM training scenes in the USSR which are without a doubt the best training montage scenes in a movie ever.I get goosebumps just thinking about some of the shit that goes down in Rocky IV, then theres a cheesey 80’s soundtrack that could even match that of Cobra. Rocky IV has everything that made the III before so successful but turned up the hurting bombs X1000. Apparently over 8,000 people turned up to audition for the roll of Ivan Drago, I can’t ever imagine anyone other than Dolph Lundgren playing him, a sensational performance that unfortunately always shadowed over anything else he ever attempted in his Hollywood career.

FilmFact: When shooting the film, Sylvester Stallone decided that for the shooting of the fight, he and Dolph Lundgren should hit one another for real, so as to increase the intensity of the scene. After doing three takes of Rocky taking shots to ribs, Stallone felt a burning in his chest, but ignored it. Later that night, he had difficulty breathing and was taken to a nearby emergency room. It was discovered that his blood pressure was over 200, and he had to be flown on a low-altitude flight from Canada to St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, where he remained in intensive care for eight days. What had happened was that Lungren had punched him so hard in the chest, Stallone’s heart had slammed up against his breastbone and began to swell, cutting off the blood supply and restricting the oxygen flow throughout the body.

Thanks for reading. What are your favourite Stallone movies? Do you prefer Arnie? Join the message board & let us know, all I have left to say in the words of the great man himself is…

You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish

Your new favourite band…

SHIT HORSE

The band are called Shit Horse, the E.P is called They Shit Horses, Don’t They? They are the most exciting Rock N Roll band I have heard since I first heard The Black Lips a few years back, they sound like a blend of garage-rock/post-punk & fucking noise with Howling Wolf or Captain Beefheart style vocals.

Check them out, see what the fuss is about, let Shit Horse into you life

The EP is available from on cassette & digital download from Odessa records

omg you like kings of leon?????

Above is the question I wonder if one day I’ll be asked by someone when mentioning Kings Of Leon. Of course my response will be yeah, but only the first three albums but should they go on gaining popularity & putting out records as dull as Only By The Night & eventually achieve what they have set out to do (become the new U2) in 20 years time will people even remember that once they were a pretty exciting band when they started or will the years of arena/stadium tours & churning out big studio records that nobody in their right mind should buy make people forget about the early part of their career? I hope they can turn it around but I’m fully prepared for the worst with that band.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to bands & artists which you mention you are a fan of & peoples response is REALLY? YOU LIKE THEM??

1. Bee Gees

You hear the two words Bee & Gees and automatically think of those silly squeaky voices, the flairs & the super huge hits they had, possibly the biggest Disco hits of all time so it’s quite understandable that people would raise an eyebrow when somebody mentions they were a top act. What alot of people are unaware of is that the Bee Gees in the late 60’s were essentially the Australian Beatles. They moved to London & put out a string of psychedelic records with pop sensibilities and were actually rather damn good. I recommend checking out their debut album which it appears they couldn’t be bothered to name as they called it 1st.

2. Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper A.K.A Vincent Damon Furnier. The master of Shock-rock is seen as a bit of a freak show & more of an entertainer rather than a genuine artist, a star who’s become more famous for being Alice Cooper than for making music & somebody who has continued to put out rock records on a regular basis to suit whatever is popular at the time but still always sounding a little out of touch. Now I’d just like to make the point, I have a soft spot for Alice Cooper, I was into his late 80’s hair-metal songs when I was a kid & let’s face it, he’s pretty fun when you are young. However, when Vincent started his career Alice Cooper was the name of his band rather than his on-stage personality which it later became. Whilst the theatrics of Alice Cooper have always existed the band put out some pretty damn good records in the early 70’s which sounded like a mix between The Stooges, The Stones & Black Sabbath. I’d recommend the Love It to Death album, a very strong LP. Alice Cooper, we’re not worthy.

3. Dexys Midnight Runners

To most people Dexys will always & forever be known as the band that did Come on Eileen & that’s it, maybe if they are clued up slightly they will know Gino but for the most part you mention Dexys & people see that fucking video with the denim gypo look & either think you are a poof or a right weird cunt. I’m going to defend Eileen here, sure it’s cheesey as fuck & one of those songs you will forever hear at a bad party or on some 80’s hits program but fuck me it’s infectious, I want to hate it but simply can’t. Either way Dexys put out just three records in the early 80’s before splitting, all three totally different in sound & all three worth hearing but it’s their debut Searching For The Young Soul Rebels which I’m going to recommend here, for my money one of the greatest records ever made & even if Dexys had carried on for another twenty years making Eileen’s on a regular basis Kevin Rowland would always be a genius in my eyes for creating the Soul Rebels LP, a true masterpiece which unfortunately will always live in the shadow of Eileen.

Are you a fan of any bands who had drastic career changes? Any acts which perhaps you would rather not mention you like for the ridicule you will suffer from uttering their name? Do you think Kings Of Leon will make another worthwhile LP again? Join the message board & let us know.

Lo-fi acoustic bollox

Lately I have been inspired by the artist known as Wintersox (see his work by clicking here) to create my own art. Obviously I cannot compete with a man who has created so many pieces of art, so many songs, so many paintings & all of such a unique & outstanding quality but he has installed the belief in myself to at least to attempt to create, so for this I dedicate this post to you ‘Sox.

This is the first time I’ve ever attempted to write lyrics so please be gentle, obviously the actual playing & vocals are shit but this is soul music, I ain’t a pro, just doing it for the kids.Recorded on my phones voice memo’s for ultimate lo-fi/punk/DIY production values. I also ruin a classic song on the B-side. Let me know what you think of it, good or bad. If it gets positive reviews I might get Eno in to produce it, a string section, some gospel singers & drag it out to 12 minutes.

Download

Farewell Sky Sports News

So as of the 23rd of August Sky are removing their Sky Sports News channel from freeview. This has upset me greatly as I barely watch any T.V anymore & when I do it’s either Family Guy at 11 at night (when I should really be going to sleep) or throughout the day Sky Sports News. Essentially SPN was just an advert for the sports channels & I guess that was the reason Sky decided to let the channel show on FreeView for so long however they’ve decided to remove it probably in hope that people like me will sign up for the new football season with the full Sky package. Well fuck you Sky, I’ll continue to watch all your big football matches on your channel but for FREE on the internet, you’ll never suck me in.

I’m very gutted about this situation, SSN was like a comfort blanket I could put on a few times a day so I could hear how many seconds there is until the transfer deadline or to find out just who Rotheram have signed on Loan. Then there was Soccer Saturday which is always entertaining with the mighty jeff stelling which I’ll also be waving goodbye to.

This I can live without however it’s the babes of SSN that I will really miss, they are always there when I get home from work with their lovely smiles on their faces whilst keeping me updated on Kent’s 2nd innings against Sussex or what the conditions for surfing are like this morning. So in memory of these wonderful women (they will be as good as dead to me in a few weeks time) I give you my top 5 currrent babes of SSN & I say…. Thank You For The Good Times, Before The Good Times Fly Away.

SKY SPORTS NEWS TOP 5 CURRENT CRUMPET

5: Alex QuinnWell there had to be a number 5 didn’t there? Never shuts up about her fucking Horse tips & without a doubt wears a Wig in fear of us noticing she’s infact a bald Horse herself. Still she’s put in the hours & gets stuck with what must be the dreaded Saturday morning slot so fair play to her. Goodbye!

4: Georgie ThompsonIn at number four we have  Georgie Thompson, alot of peoples favourite, I can never make my mind up about her. Some days she looks a tidy piece, others I really don’t know what’s going on. Is currently fucking Ant Or Dec, I don’t know the difference but I’d imagine from that smile it’s the one with the biggest cock. Probably SSN’s most famous babe.

3: Charlotte Jackson Despite having the strangest eyebrows I’ve ever seen in my entire fucking life she has to make the top 3, why you ask? Cos she’s a fucking slag. You give her 30 quid she’ll dance about in her knickers if she thinks it’ll give her a bit more fame, surprised she isn’t shagging anyone famous yet. Not the best SSN presenter but you get the feeling she’ll get them out if the price is right.

2: Millie Clode What a women. Always looks great, her SSN presenting skills are second to none so you may be asking why is a real heavyweight of the SSN world like Millie Clode not number one? I’ll tell you why, she’s dull. You’d have to really lay down the ground work with her to get anywhere, probably stick a ring on her finger before she’ll even think about getting them out. Sure she’d be by far the most perfect SSN presenter to bring round your mums for dinner but I’m sorry that is not enough Millie & for that very reason my number one SSN presenter is…

1: Natalie Sawyer The perfect SSN presenter, she’s got it all. I saw her handle transfer deadline day when Berbatov left spurs, she knew the world was watching her but she kept her cool, knuckled down & gave us the vital stats when we needed them most. Sawyer could easily pull off the mum visit but also she has that look of mischief in her eyes that you just know equals pure filth in bed. Perhaps has overdone it with the makeup from time to time & thee old fake tan syndrome has appeared a few times down the years but these are minor complaints, Sawyer has fast established herself as the top dog around the SSN office & will probably stay there for quite some time.

I’m going to tape Countdown everyday now so I can get my daily dose of  Jeff Stelling plus the best thing on TV right now, Rachel Riley. Live forever the babes of SSN, It’s better to burn out than to fade away xxxx

Mahoney’s Guide to the 70’s: 1970

First in a series where I will be talking about my favourite records & films from a particular year from my favourite decade, the 1970’s. The 70’s musically was such a diverse decade with the hangers on from the 60’s either sticking to their guns or trying to adapt, to prog, to punk, to reggae, to post/punk to all the great Soul music from that era. Also the 70’s is without a doubt my favourite era for movies, there is a certain gritty/downbeat quality about films from that period that simply cannot be matched. Expect to see alot of mentions of Neil Young & Cling Eastwood in future updates.

1970

What was happening in 1970?

• The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight
• The Beatles split
• Brazil defeats Italy 4–1 to win the World Cup
• The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 takes place in front of 600,000 people
• Jimi Hendrix & Janis Joplin both die aged 27Favourite records of 1970

1) Neil Young – After The GoldrushFor my money the best record Neil Young has ever made & without a doubt one of my favorite records of all time. Everybody has a different era or style of Neil’s work that they love, for me the country-folk style Neil adopted for this record is him at the very top of his game. Always an essential Sunday morning record when I’m nursing a hangover.

2) Lee Hazlewood – Cowboy In Sweden

Hazlewood left the states to live in Sweden at the end of the 60’s & starred in a TV program called Cowboy In Sweden which lead to him making the album of the same title. An absolute gem & I guess you could call it a lost classic. The record is a blend of old school cowboy tunes & country music blended with Lee’s unmistakable voice. I highly recommend this one.

3) Curtis Mayfield – Curtis

After Mayfield left The Impressions he came up with this masterpiece as his debut album. Seen as one of the essential soul records of all time ‘Curtis’ pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved in soul music, not only by creating something fresh sounding but also touching on the political issues of the time. Contains the monster hit Move On Up.

4) The Stooges – Fun House

Probably my least favourite of the three original Stooges LP’s which speaks volumes of the quality of those records. T.V Eye is one of the most exciting bursts of Rock N Roll energy I’ve ever heard.

5) The Who Live At Leeds

I used to prefer The Isle Of White performance to live at Leeds, I think because at the time I got into The Who I had the Isle Of White gig on DVD, still probably the best live act to watch visually & musically of all time. However after digesting in Live In Leeds more & more over the years it became clear that it was a much better performance, I wish the gig was captured on film.

Other released I enjoy from 1970:

Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – Lick My Decals Off, Baby
John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band
Stevie Wonder– Signed, Sealed, And Delivered
Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out
Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman
The Beatles – Let It Be
Bob Dylan – New Morning
The Velvet Underground – Loaded

Films of 1970:

1) The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Dario Argento)Not seen as one of Argento’s best films, more so a Director still trying to define his style I’ve always thought this was a terrific film & one of the better Giallo’s I’ve seen. An almost prototype for the Slasher movie’s that would become so popular in the 70’s/80’s in America.

2) Gimme Shelter (Albert Maysles / David Maysles) The Rolling Stones documentary which follows them on their 1969 tour ending in one of their darkest periods at the Altamont gig. A fascinating documentary & essential viewing even if you aren’t a huge Stones fan.

3) Two Mules for Sister Sara (Don Siegel)CLINT EASTWOOD…the deadliest man alive…takes on a whole army with two guns and a fistful of dynamite! Classic Clint

Also Recommended:

Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson)
Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh)
Yakuza Deka (Yukio Noda)
Cold Sweat (Brian G. Hutton)

Gruff Rhys vs. Tony Da Gatorra

In a room full of turtles you stood on a toad.