Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 111 (1980s special)

 

This Spaghetti Tree volume is a little different, consisting entirely of songs released in the 1980s, a decade which my old pal moonglum insists is the worst ever for music. Yes, there were plenty of awful artists/songs in the 1980s, just like any other decade, so I compiled this "80s special" as my argument against his claim. I think he was just listening to the wrong music...!
The cover art was inspired by the lovely Sarah, joing up 2 photos taken by her, which I've manipulated somewhat. Hope you all enjoy this latest volume!!


Disc 1:
  1. Opal - Supernova (4:17)
  2. Bird Nest Roys - Ain't Mutatin' (2:42)
  3. Zag and The Coloured Beads - Truckhouse (2:33)
  4. Modern Art - Light Comes Down (3:17)
  5. Daevid Allen - Afraid (2:00)
  6. Bobb Trimble - When the Raven Calls (6:35)
  7. Moral - Juice (3:18)
  8. Au Pairs - Love Song (2:48)
  9. Big Black - Kerosene (6:01)
10. Sardine v - Minutes (5:06)
11. Mekons - Dora (4:38)
12. Plasticland - No Shine for the Shoes (2:27)
13. The Mommyheads - Cactus Farm (3:28)
14. The Chills - The Great Escape (2:28)
15. Viv Stanshall - Terry Keeps His Clips On (3:37)
16. Violeta de Outono - Declínio de Maio (4:59)
17. Dark Day - The Metal Benders (2:46)
18. The Ex - Kachun-K Pschûh (3:40)
19. Guided by Voices - The Qualifying Remainder (2:55)
20. Mick Wills - She Looked Down (9:40)

Disc 2:
  1. Marden Hill - Masque (2:51)
  2. Crispy Ambulance - We Move Through the Plateau Phase (5:41)
  3. Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - Sue Egypt (2:53)
  4. The Green Pajamas - I Feel That Way All the Time (4:11)
  5. Throwing Muses - Hate My Way (4:03)
  6. Bill Laswell - Lowlands (4:18)
  7. Colin Newman - Alone (3:57)
  8. The Kiwi Animal - Blue Morning (2:16)
  9. Solid Space - Tenth Planet (2:52)
10. Camberwell Now - Working Nights (7:41)
11. A.R. Kane - Suicide Kiss (3:35)
12. Spacebox - Session Groove (3:49)
13. This Kind of Punishment - After the Fact (4:44)
14. The Durutti Column - People's Pleasure Park (4:55)
15. Edu Passeto & Gui Tavares - Menino de Pindorama (3:55)
16. Family Fodder - Cold Wars (3:36)
17. The Bats - North by North (4:04)
18. Pauk - Pozlilo od Strasti (2:51)
19. Tangle Edge - The Approaching Triptykhon Sunset (3:42)
20. Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians - Goodnight I Say (3:10)

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Best of 2025 mix - Volume 2

 

  1. Citrus Citrus - Ivory Crumbs (2:51)
  2. Gloria - Eleusis (4:26)
  3. Automatic - Don't Wanna Dance (4:26)
  4. Soft Hearted Scientists - Hello Hello (5:12)
  5. The Len Price 3 - Dead Man's Island (2:06)
  6. The Miracle Seeds - What You Know (3:56)
  7. Sons of Zöku - Energia (3:50)
  8. Cate Le Bon - About Time (3:29)
  9. Ty Segall - Buildings (4:11)
10. Lost Crowns - She Didn't Want (5:56)
11. Mekons - Before the Ice Age (3:24)
12. Lake Ruth - The Next Level (3:04)
13. Lorelle Meets the Obsolete - Palabra (5:59)
14. Ashinoa - Monstera (4:34)
15. Midlake - Lion's Den (3:41)
16. Gwenno - Y Gath (4:04)
17. Jumble Hole Clough - It's Time to Go Home (2:40)
18. The Bats - A Crutch a Post (2:55)
19. Midnight Rodeo - Cleanshirt (3:07)
20. Eggy - Are You Not Entertained? (5:01)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 100 (Man Erg Special)

 

Here, at long last, is volume 100 of Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree. As I started off DJing back in the day with Man Erg, for this special volume I asked him to pick a few of his favourites from the past few years/decades/century. Hope you enjoy!


Part 1:
  1. The Clean - Point That Thing Somewhere Else (5:25)
  2. Broadcast - The Book Lovers (3:32)
  3. Markley - Little Ruby Rain (2:59)
  4. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore - The L.S. Bumble Bee (2:42)
  5. Supersister - She Was Naked (3:42)
  6. Wire - Outdoor Miner (2:48)
  7. Television - Days (3:11)
  8. Cockney Rebel - Such a Dream (5:00)
  9. Hüsker Dü - The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill (3:04)
10. The Chills - Flamethrower (3:12)
11. Traffic Sound - Simple (3:29)
12. The Search Party - The News is You (4:39)
13. Another Sunny Day - Kilburn Towers (3:07)
14. The Action - Brain (4:21)
15. Keith Christmas - Forest and the Shore (7:03)
16. Mighty Baby - Egyptian Tomb (5:28)
17. Subway Sect - Ambition (3:07)
18. Delia Derbyshire & Anthony Newley - Moogies Bloogies (2:24)
19. Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains (2:51)
20. Shudder to Think - Rag (3:11)
21. Tapir! - On a Grassy Knoll (We'll Bow Together) (4:17)


Part 2:
   1. Faust - Jennifer (7:08)
  2. Magick Brother & Mystic Sister - Echoes From the Clouds (4:06)
  3. The Mice - Little Rage (4:47)
  4. Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action (3:34)
  5. Bird Nest Roys - Joringel (3:18)
  6. The Beautiful Daze - City Jungle (5:39)
  7. Susan Christie - No One Can Hear You Cry (2:20)
  8. Kevin Ayers - Song for Insane Times (4:01)
  9. A Certain Ratio - Do the Du (Casse) (2:49)
10. Look Blue Go Purple - Cactus Cat (3:18)
11. Downliners Sect - White Caterpillar (2:27)
12. The Factory - Try a Little Sunshine (3:32)
13. The Chesterf!elds - Ask Johnny Dee (2:57)
14. The Moles - Bury Me Happy (3:02)
15. Stereolab - Ping Pong (3:01)
16. The Poets - That's the Way It's Got to Be (2:33)
17. Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations (3:19)
18. Anona - The Boy and the Lion (5:40)
19. Love - August (5:03)
20. The Fall - New Face in Hell (5:39)

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Man Erg's ∞th Monumental Mix

 

Happy New Year, everyone! To kick off 2025, here is Man Erg's ∞th Monumental Mix, a selection of some of his favourite artists and tracks from 2024. While Man Erg and I have quite similar wide tastes in music, each year his song selection features a few artists I'm not familiar with, plus a few I somehow missed. I'm never disappointed, and need to check out their other releases. I hope you enjoy diving into this mix as much as I loved putting it together. Here's to discovering new favourites and celebrating another year of amazing music. Cheers!

Part 1:
  1. Louis Fontaine - Insalata Russa (4:05)
  2. Kit Sebastian - Odyssey (3:40)
  3. Astral Bakers - Within a Heartbeat (3:40)
  4. Isobel Campbell - Do or Die (2:34)
  5. Beak> - Hungry Are We (5:00)
  6. Magick Brother & Mystic Sister - The Tower (3:15)
  7. Brown Spirits - Mind Rocker (Part 1) (3:34)
  8. Stick in the Wheel - Steals The Thief (7:20)
  9. Jane Weaver - Happiness in Proximity (3:44)
10. BaBa ZuLa - Arsiz Saksagan (Cheeky Magpie) (6:10)
11. Goat - Dollar Bill (5:46)
12. Trust Fund - New University (3:03)
13. The Greek Theatre - Who Was That Man (4:58)
14. Kim Deal - Summerland (3:01)
15. SHOLTO - The Pony (3:05)
16. Aquaserge - Le Saut du Tigre (3:08)
17. Sababa 5 & Yurika - Empty Hands (3:20)
18. Julia Holter - Who Brings Me (3:30)
19. Club Kuru - Before the World (5:43)

Part 2:
  1. Asher White - Downstate Prairie (4:02)
  2. The Rowan Amber Mill - Keep On (6:10)
  3. La Luz - Poppies (3:29)
  4. The Panturas - Lasut Nyanggut (4:20)
  5. Beautify Junkyards - Here Everything is Still Floating (3:58)
  6. Cosmic Analog Ensemble - The Patterns of a Hand (2:14)
  7. The Bookshop Band - Dirty Word (3:40)
  8. anaiis & Grupo Cosmo - Toda Cor feat. Luedji Luna (3:47)
  9. Mdou Moctar - Imouhar (5:06)
10. Georgian - Soleil (3:28)
11. Fievel Is Glauque - It's So Easy (2:08)
12. Cabane - Italian Mysteries feat. Kate Stables (3:25)
13. Christopher Owens - White Flag (5:01)
14. Stephen Pastel and Gavin Thomson - We Have Sex (2:56)
15. Dummy - Minus World (2:32)
16. The Soundcarriers - Wider Arcs (3:45)
17. Bananagun - Free Energy (4:35)
18. Chrysanths - Fleet (3:49)
19. Laetitia Sadier - Une Autre Attente (2:38)
20. Tapir! - Mountain Song (7:12)

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Best of 2024 mix - Volume 1

 

Another year draws to an end and here's my first volume featuring a few favourites from the past 12 months. Despite stating a year ago I hoped to be a bit more active on the blog this year, that didn't go exactly as I hoped! If anything I had more personal issues and work problems than last year, but hopefully (there's that word again!) the worst is behind me and I WILL be more active next year.
Volume 2 of my favourites should be on the blog before the year is out, or even before Christmas if I really put my mind to it, and will be much longer, most probably in 2 parts. Volume 1 contains what I like to call the "hits", volume 2 will be much more eclectic. After that, most probably early next new year, I'll be posting Man Erg's best of 2024 mix, I'm sure that'll be full of gems new to me and you.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and new year, and many thanks to everybody who has enjoyed my mixes/posted comments on this blog. Cheers!

  1. Heavy Meddo - La Mer (5:40)
  2. Mary Ocher - Sympathize (feat. Your Government) (3:01)
  3. Laetitia Sadier - The Inner Smile (4:46)
  4. The Love Explosion - Out to Sea (3:38)
  5. Elephant Stone - Lost in a Dream (4:25)
  6. The Folk Implosion - Right Hand Over the Heart (3:27)
  7. ORB - Karma Comes (3:38)
  8. Beak> - The Seal (6:10)
  9. Sababa 5 & Yurika - Halilim Halilim (3:47)
10. Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra - Tension (4:54)
11. Jane Weaver - Univers (5:07)
12. Giant Day - Ignore the Flood (3:11)
13. Dina Ögon - Milton (3:25)
14. Gruff Rhys - They Sold My Home to Build a Skyscraper (3:04)
15. Jon McKiel - Everlee (2:51)
16. Theodor - Guadeloupe (3:32)
17. Kit Sebastian - New Internationale (3:48)
18. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - The Human Race (3:41)
19. La Luz - Close Your Eyes (3:49)
20. Project Gemini - Lost in the Woods (Bacchanal) (3:52)

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The Memory Band - Time and Space

 

Bio:
The Memory Band is an English folk group founded by Stephen Cracknell, featuring a rolling cast of collaborators from across the musical spectrum. High profile members over the years have included Al Doyle, Adem, Simon Lord (from Simian and The Black Ghosts), Nancy Wallace and Lisa Knapp. Cracknell’s intention from the outset was for the band to be "an imaginary band, built inside a computer and made flesh by the contributions of numerous musicians. Live an acoustic band of ever changing numbers and on record a new approach to traditional music."

After releasing a couple of EPs in 2002/2003, they released their first self-titled album in 2004, which mostly comprised of re-recorded tracks from the first 2 EPs. Since then they have released several more EPs/singles and 5 more studio albums, plus an archival collection released this year which features alternative takes, mixes and arrangements of songs from the past 20 years.

 Click here for their Bandcamp page.

Although The Memory Band have been around for several years, I didn’t know much about them until I started compiling Manerg's Wyrdology mix in April 2021. Manerg included two excellent tracks from the band, prompting me to buy a couple of their albums right away. Then, just a couple of months ago, they offered their entire digital discography on Bandcamp for under £25, an offer I couldn't resist! I paid a bit more than the asking price to show appreciation, but it was still an incredible bargain, and I wasn’t disappointed. Every release is a delight. As for my favourites, I’d say the albums "Apron Strings" (2006) & "A Fair Field" (2016), plus the "Further Navigations" EP (2014) truly stand out.
As ever, origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest band anthology!


  1. Calling On (3:27)
  2. Catch As Catch Can (3:04)
  3. I Don't Believe in You (2:34)
  4. The Mason and the Lark (2:55)
  5. The Wearing of the Horns (Weyhill On My Mind) (3:04)
  6. I Wish I Wish (7:53)
  7. Blackberry Way (2:44)
  8. Hobby Horse [with Belbury Poly] (3:21)
  9. After Night (2:43)
10. Bells (1:58)
11. This Is How We Walk on the Moon (3:40)
12. Why (4:51)
13. Demon Days (3:17)
14. Green Grows the Laurel (Jon Hopkins remix) (4:12)
15. The Ballad of Imber Down [with Grantby] (5:48)
16. So Fleet Runs the Hart (3:15)
17. The Landscape Movement (3:00)
18. Children of the Stones (3:46)
19. A New Skin (2:38)
20. Voices (2:06)
21. Facing the Granite Country (3:36)
22. Time and Space (2:43)
23. The Poacher (2:58)

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