The band grabbing the ‘B’ in the A-Z of New Music, thanks to @nembow, is Boy Mandeville…..
A miserable rainy day outside has not stopped Boy Mandeville from transporting me into the summer. A great indie-pop outfit that creates a truly summer sound thanks, in part, to fantastic calypso sounds, take a listen to ‘Steel Horse’ and you’ll either be on a beach in the Caribbean or at the Notting Hill carnival (without the knives of course). Their last single, released last summer, ‘Gorilla’ is definitely worth a listen, as is ‘Killing the Work’. But my favourite, given that I’ve only been listening to them for the morning, would have to be ‘Christina’, an example of a slightly more ‘indie’ Boy Mandeville. So if you fancy listening to some afro-beat and wonky pop then Boy Mandeville should be your first stop….
Boy Mandeville overall grade a B – for me a bit too much calypso….
Today’s blog has been brought to you by the letter B…
March’s project, with @davidmarples in mind, gets off to an indie pop feel – although I also like the idea they have been described as ‘twee poppers’….may I present……..Allo Darlin’….
A great start to March’s project!
Allo Darlin’ are a great little band, their self-titled album Allo Darlin’ (which I downloaded after listening to a few tracks on myspace) is packed full of fun little melodies, using ukuleles and tambourines, in a Noah and the Whale styley. ‘The Polaroid Song’ would have to be my favourite, closely followed by ‘Woody Allen’ and ‘My Heart is a Drummer’. Although some older ‘stuff’ is well worth a listen, ‘Henry Rollins Don’t Dance’ is a catchy little number.
I’ve now added them to my must see gig list. Take a look….
Allo Darlin’ overall grade A* – top of the class!
Today’s blog has been brought to you by the letter A……
Well that’s it….it’s over! I have managed to run every single day of January! Woop woop!
Today’s run was a club training night:
Warm-up
5 x 1km reps with 90sec recovery
Cool-down
Summary
******
Distance: 4.32mi
Time taken: 00:35:44
Average/Max Speed : 7.25/10.42 mph
Average/Min Pace : 00:08:17/00:05:45
Calories: 493
Total janathon mileage = 133.37 miles
Overall it has been a great month, legs are really looking forward to tomorrow’s REST DAY! Well done to all janathoners! It has been fantastic reading everyone’s blogs, and a big thank you to everyone who has bothered to read this blog (and comment).
Well done everyone who ran a #janathon letter (fab organisation by @timcnicholls) and a big thanks to @copy7t for the final runart collage (I ran the wiggly last ‘N’), click here for more details (including a few variations):
…..and a final jokeathon me thinks…
One man’s hobby was running, he spent all his weekends on the park trails, paying no attention to weather. One Sunday, early in the morning, he went to the park as usual. It was still dark, cold and raining, so he decided to return back to his house. He came in, went to his bedroom, undressed and laid near his wife. “What terrible weather today honey,” he said to her. “Yes,” she replied “but my idiot husband still went running!”
Billy Bragg and the new lyrics for ‘Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards……
It may have been Camelot for Clegg and Cameron
But on Coalition Cul-de-Sac there’s not much business going on
Youth unemployment’s rising and factories are failing,
Public servants marching, Europeans need help bailing
Things have not been this bad since the days of Margaret Thatcher
So keep calm and carry on watching X Factor
In the former Soviet Union the citizens demand
To know why they’re still the target of Strategic Air Command
And they shake their fist in anger and respectfully suggest
We take the money from Trident and spend it on the NHS
High up in the Stock Exchange they’re knocking back the champers
While Boris Johnson Boulevard has been colonized by campers
Who want to ask some questions about the way that we do business
In the twilight of the capitalist system
The world wide web is wonderful if you’ve got something to sell
But opinions often summon up a focus group from Hell
Best not to be distracted, stay focused on your goals
And take my advice – don’t feed the trolls
Jumble sales are organized and charity shops open
The Tories keep on telling us that it’s Britain that is broken
Time to get active with the activists so switch off World of Warcraft
And start working for the Great Leap Forwards
One leap forwards, two leaps back
Chuck out Berlusconi and put in a technocrat
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Here comes the future and you can’t run back from it
If you’ve got a smartphone, I’ve got an app for it
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
In a perfect world we’d all sing in tune
But this is reality so switch off the auto-tune
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
It’s a mighty long way down rock’n’roll
From Top of the Pops to Strictly Come Pole Dancing
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
If no-one out there understands,
Start your own Occupation and cut out the middleman
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
So join the struggle while you may
The revolution is just a tea towel away…
Lengthorn's Blog 