Monthly Archives: January 2011

Scottish Pop Song of the Day #11

Posted on January 31, 2011 by

Deacon Blue – Raintown (1987) This one’s a tribute to Glasgow and Edinburgh’s ace Let’s Get Lyrical festival, which starts tomorrow (February 1st). Hear the song, read my earnest rambling story and get more info on the forthcoming lyrical festivities here. (UPDATE: woops, … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #10

Posted on January 28, 2011 by

Nick Robertson feat. Maria McKee – Pride & Joy (1992) There is next to nothing about Nick Robertson on the internet, so here are the facts as I vaguely recall them. Robertson was a young Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter who bore a vocal … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #9

Posted on January 27, 2011 by

Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells – (If You) Keep Me In Your Heart (2011) As the sun is largely prone to ascending, and bears are inclined to defecate in forestry, so Aidan Moffat is guaranteed to observe the floral trimmings of … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #8

Posted on January 26, 2011 by

Boards of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy (2005) Following two cardinal albums wound around vintage synths and discombobulating samples, (1998′s ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ and 2002′s ‘Geogaddi’), electro-diviners BoC embraced the vestiges of rock for 2005′s ‘The Campfire Headphase’. It infused their psychedelic machine music with … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #7

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

Swelling Meg – Baba Yaga (1998) In 1998 I was living in London, flogging imported Dutch happy hardcore for a label whose dominant revenue sources were The Outhere Brothers and Living in a Box. But my musical interests lay elsewhere, … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #6

Posted on January 24, 2011 by

Big Country – Look Away (1986) This blustering anthem was the biggest hit for a much-loved Dunfermline band who bridged the gap between seventies punk-pop / post-punk (via The Skids) and jock rock’s mid-late eighties imperial period (Simple Minds, Deacon … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #5

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

Future Pilot AKA feat. Karine Polwart – ‘Shenandoah’ (2007) Before the wonderful Burns Unit, there was this: a wistful, shimmering-folk psalm from two BU protagonists. It provided one of many highlights on Future Pilot alias Sushil Dade’s ‘Secrets From The Clockhouse’ album … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #4

Posted on January 20, 2011 by

The Phantom Band – Everybody Knows It’s True (2010 / 2011) This is the greatest bone-rattling, choral-rock sea-shanty in the universe. It’s being released as a single soon, but it first reared its (hydra)head on last year’s magic album, ‘The Wants’, (review from The List below), and … Continue reading →

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Scottish Pop Song of the Day #3

Posted on January 19, 2011 by

Arab Strap – There is no Ending (2006) By way of celebrating the euphoric news that Messrs Moffat and Middleton are to bunk up close on a tour bus one more, here’s the bygone duo’s sing-a-long swansong. It’s a swaggering, air-punching anthem in thrall to apocalyptic paranoia; … Continue reading →

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James Yorkston – It’s Lovely To Be Here

Posted on January 18, 2011 by

Here’s a recent chat I had with James Yorkston for The List, in advance of his Glasgow and Edinburgh gigs, and the publication of his first-ever (excellent) book. He reflects upon the creative differences between being a songwriter and being an author, … Continue reading →

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