Lieber rated

R.I.P. Jerry Lieber (1933-2011)

Cherry Coloured Funk

Also great. Available on Toddla T's new album on Ninja Tune:

Incidentally, both Mute (who released the S.C.U.M. single below) as well as Domino, Wall of Sound, 4AD, Thrill Jockey, Warp, Southern Fried and countless other labels whose artists have been mentioned on Irk The Purists) were badly affected by the arson attack on Sony/PIAS's warehouse in Enfield. You can help them continue by buying their products in digital or physical format.  

S.C.U.M.my Man

I was wondering what Valerie Solanas was up to these days...Do you get the impression they may have heard a Ride LP or two?  Despite that, I'm really enjoying this.   Now you too can enjoy Amber Hands by S.C.U.M. Oh, and the single apparently features mixes by Sonic Boom and Silver Apples. Yes, the Silver Apples.

X Factor

He's been mentioned more than once here (most recently in January of this year), but Richard X really is value-for-money. His Black Melody site is always worth a look, and today it directed me to the below, which I'd never seen before.  It's hilarious, apparently the result of Kelis not being available for a TOTP appearance. Instead, viewers were treated to the Blackburn wunderkind rattling a cocktail shaker, and a load of rollerskaters.  The bit where he looks momentarily into the shaker, before pouring out the contents and then winking at the recipent, is improvisational comedy genius. And it bolsters Alexis Petridis' contention that "if Peter Kay scripted a show about a hip dance producer, you suspect that he would closely resemble Richard X."

I Am Curious Yellow

And talking of coming late to the table, I only just noticed yesterday when watching TOTP2  (27+ years after the event) that Holly Johnson was sporting a yellow handkerchief in his back pocket while performing Relax on the original Top of the Pops back in 1984, a few weeks prior to its infamous ban.

This is something that escaped my attention when I was a teenager.  It's clearly also something that escaped the attention of the Beeb at the time too, and if anyone had realised its meaning, it would have made the subsequent furore created by Mike Read look like a vicar's tea party.

Shore thing

They used to say that an intellectual was someone who could hear Rossini's William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger.

I only mention this as I've just come back from a holiday and finally got around to reading The Beach by Alex Garland (only 14 years after everyone else).  And for some reason I couldn't read a paragraph without thinking of Pure Shores by All Saints.  Consequently I've had the tune in my head for the last 3 weeks.

To exorcise said tune (not that it's a bad one, far from it), here it is for you, in its remixed "2 Da Beach U Don't Stop" format. Ahem.



Download Pure Shores (2 Da Beach U Don't Stop Remix) by All Saints mp3 (deleted Dec 11)

Bald truth

I've been greatly enjoying the Balding Celebrities website, in part for its subject matter (male celebs who feel the need to hide thinning hairlines by means of wigs, weaves, combovers etc.) and in part for the cool, measured writing style of its author, who appraises the offenders in a detached and objective style (the Norwood rating giving a slightly scientific air to the whole exercise).  Unless he's talking about the various thinning footballers of Chelsea FC, when a note of invective creeps in.  Just read his take on John Terry. I laughed out loud at the comparison with "transexual Lucy Smith".

On a similar note, the story of Stephen Ireland, which not being a football fan I'd never heard, has to be one of the funniest and saddest things I've read this month.  Boys, eh?