Record club regular, Keith, took control in November. He went with a theme of “Being Difficult”—that is, artists which have challenged the status quo by being “difficult” in some way.

Just to be difficult, Keith messed with the format for this event, so rather than pick three complete albums, he played side 1s from six different albums.

• The Residents: ‘Meet the Residents’, 1974
• Tangerine Dream: ‘Rubycon’, 1975
• Holger Czukay: ‘Movies’, 1979
• Sonic Youth: ‘EVOL’, 1986
• Test Dept.: ‘The Unacceptable Face of Freedom’, 1986
• My Bloody Valentine: ‘Loveless’, 1991

Records:

EVOL

Artist:

Sonic Youth

Year:

1986

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

After the success of Death Valley ’69, Sonic Youth set their distorted re-tuned guitars on stun and knock out an album of beautifully dischordant tunes. It’s Pop, Jim, but not as we know it.

EVOL on Wikipedia

Loveless

Artist:

My Bloody Valentine

Year:

1991

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

The record that nearly bankrupted Creation, recorded in 19 different studios over two years, provided a no-compromise vision of music as how it really sounds in your head. A very influential album, they found it almost impossible to follow up, but they did, 22 years later!

Loveless on Wikipedia

Meet the Residents

Artist:

The Residents

Year:

1974

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

Featured in the ‘Being Difficult’ event, this album cover upset the Beatles’ label. The Residents’ first album set their manifesto: throw away everything you learned about making music, and start again. No genre is safe from deconstruction or parody.

Meet the Residents on Wikipedia

Movies

Artist:

Holger Czukay

Year:

1979

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

Can’s bassist and engineer goes solo, and shows off his avant garde qualifications as a former student of Stockhausen and early adopter of World Music and Sampling.

Holger Czukay on Wikipedia

Rubycon

Artist:

Tangerine Dream

Year:

1975

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

Widely regarded as one of their best albums, this second outing on the Virgin label capitalised on the success of Phaedre, but with a more hypnotic and rhythmic result.

Rubycon on Wikipedia

The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom

Artist:

Test Dept.

Year:

1986

Event:

November 2012: Being Difficult

This collective of political artists prefer metal bars, industrial materials and hammers to musical instruments and produce a surprisingly musical result.

Test Dept. on Wikipedia

Sandwiched between the year defining events of 2012, the Jubilee and the Olympics, July’s event had a Jubilympics theme.

Here’s what YOU did…

You picked out some records that were released in either a Jubilee and/or Olympicyear, and that you wanted to hear at the July Record Club.

So WE selected some of them for the vote.

So YOU voted and you chose the records below.

Again it was a lovely intimate night, with record talk, nostalgia, good company and a fine bar (even if we were a bit more disorganised than usual).

Lovely to see both new and returning faces. Thanks to Daz for the photos

If you have ideas for future events tweet, or email us.

Records:

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Artist:

Sex Pistols

Year:

1977

Event:

July 2012: Jubilympics!

At last a Jubilee record. God save the Queen!

Like many albums you think you know, for some of us this was the first time of hearing it all the way through. Intersting to hear it 35 years on, and trying to work out what all the fuss was about back then!

Never Mind the Bollocks on Wikipedia

Seventeen Seconds

Artist:

The Cure

Year:

1980

Event:

July 2012: Jubilympics!

This was a big one for a few of us in our teenage years.

Winner of the Jubilympics vote, personally I was quite surprised. It had made it into the vote on a whim and went on to win it.

 

Seventeen Seconds on Wikipedia

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Artist:

David Bowie

Year:

1972

Event:

July 2012: Jubilympics!

A popular choice that came second in theJubilimpics poll.

The instructions on the sleave read “Play at maximum volume” so we did. (Well obviously that would have been too loud – but it did sound good cranked up a bit!)

Ziggy Stardust on Wikipedia

A box of records was given to the Record Club by a couple who were moving, and needed to get rid of their vinyl collection (long ago copied to digital). The records in the box include Hendrix, Dylan, Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention, Martin Carthy, Madonna, Velvet Underground, Yes, Steeleye Span, Carly Simon, John Mayal, Cream, and more.

We put a few of these to the vote in order to pick 3 albums for the main event. Hendrix, The Velvet Underground, and Ian Dury canme out on top.

The box of records was available for people to pick through at the event, so we played a few tracks from the other records in between.

We also had Steve turn up with an ace collection of singles, so we were treated a few great 45’s fropm his collection. Maybe he’ll come and curate an evening for us in the future.

Records:

Axis: Bold as Love

Artist:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Year:

1967

Event:

June 2012: A Box of Records

This was voted as one of the records to be played at our June event.

David said: “Because our impression of Hendrix has probably been formed by many different influences, it’s interesting to listen to an album in full, and Axis has many great songs that you might not think would be the kind of thing Hendrix and co. would do.”

Axis: Bold As Love on Wikipedia

Do it yourself

Artist:

Ian Dury & The Blockheads

Year:

1978

Event:

June 2012: A Box of Records

“I can’t help thinking that the title is probably a bit rude, knowing what Ian Dury was like” – Daz

Do It Yourself on Wikipedia

The Velvet Underground

Artist:

The Velvet Underground

Year:

1969

Event:

June 2012: A Box of Records

“I had this compilation album Diving for Pearls for years, with some great tracks on it, and Pale Blue Eyes is on there by Edwin Coillins and Paul Quinn. It wasn’t until I dug this out of our gifted box of records that I realised it was a cover” – David

The Velvet Underground (album) on Wikipedia

In May, we played the vital vinyl that you’d rescue from the flames if your house was on fire.

For this event the turntable was at the mercy of the Record Club audience/members/punters. What would they save and why?

We had 8 people lined up, including: @boemason, @LeeGoater, @Mezandy, @Danbliboos, Nagbea, Paul, Brian, and Bill, bringing along about 30 minutes worth of music on vinyl, to show, tell and play for the rest of us.

We ended up with Nagbea, Bill, Paul, Brian,  Andy, @boemason and  @LeeGoater. Set lists below:

Nagbea played:

1. Sweet Gene Vincent (Ian Dury)
2. King Creole(Elvis)
3. Hot Diggity Dog(1910Fruit Gum Co)
4. Cuz it’s You Girl (James Walsh Gypsy Band)
5. Natural Mystic(White label Band Mix) (Bob Marley)
6. Rudi’s in Love (Locomotive)
7. Life of Copntradiction(Joe Higgs)
8. 20 Seconds to Comply (Silver Bullet Band)
9. Young Americans(Bowie)
10. Groovy People (Lou Rawls)

Bill played:

1. Joy Division – Transmission
2. The Sisters of Mercy – Marian
3. Grant Hart – All of my Senses
4. Sonic Youth – Hyperstation
5. Bob Dylan – Boots of Spanish Leather
6. Throwing Muses – Hate my Way

Paul played:

1. Stan Freberg – John and Marsha
2. Faust – Exercise with several hands on a piano
3. Faust – Exercise with voices, drum and sax
4. Faust – Faslhback Caruso
5. (All from The Faust Tapes)
6. The Fall – War
7. The Fall – Cab Driver
8. Cabaret Voltaire – Just Fascination
9. Devo – Social Fools
10. Devo – Turn Around
11. Stan Freberg – The Word is Waiting for the Sunrise

Andy (@Mezandy) played:

1. Bob Tilton (side one of “wake me when it’s spring time again” 7″ ep) songs – My very own rope & Ring o’ roses
2. Policy of 3 (side one of the “American woodworking” 7″) song – Nine years old
3. Polaris (side one of the Polaris/ Baby harp seal split 7″) song – Monkey puzzle
4. Bob Tilton (side two of above) songs – Veronica & Gears Turn
5. Baby Harp Seal (side two of split 7″ with Polaris) song – If you Saw me
6. Voorhees (split 7″ with Stalingrad) Song – Powertrip

Any questions? Contact us, or leave comments and suggestions below.

Records:

Gleatest Hits

Artist:

John Otway

Year:

1986

Event:

May 2012: House is on Fire

This is the album that gave us the title for the House is on Fire event in May 2012.

It will probably never get played in full at the record club – more’s the shame. I only got this recently, but had it on tape from about 1987 I reckon.

John Otway on Wikipedia

Author, historian and “former vocalist with legendary local rock gods Phobia”, Gary Cavanagh hosted our April event.

His book, Noise of the Valleys, is all about Bradford’s music history between the years of 1976 and 1987.

But for this event he played 3 records from the Munich based ECM label. With 3 albums at his disposal he chose to play albums by the following artists:

• Keith Jarrett
• Terje Rypdal
• Miroslav Vitous

With the exception of one or two people, the label and some of the artists were all new to most of us. Great to see some ECM, (and other vinyl) carried through the door by people coming to the event.

As usual the Record Club evenings are as much about good conversation, good company, and a good bar, as it is about the music. I think it’s fair to say that the music was loved by some, tolerated by others, but universally discussed and debated by everyone.

Next month we have the ‘House is on fire’ event. If you want to play some vinyl there,get in touch.

Records:

Journey’s End

Artist:

Miroslav Vitous

Event:

April 2012: Noise of the Valleys

Another of the albums on ECM from bassist Miroslav Vitous.

Journey’s End on Wikipedia

The Survivors’ Suite

Artist:

Keith Jarrett

Year:

1977

Event:

April 2012: Noise of the Valleys

This record has only 2 tracks, one on each side of the record.

Part of the ECM event, hosted by Gary Cavenagh.

The Survivors’ Suite on Wikipedia

Whenever I Seem to Be Far Away

Artist:

Terje Rypdal

Year:

1974

Event:

April 2012: Noise of the Valleys

This was Gary Cavaenagh’s final album of the night at the April 2012 event, and this was the record that turned him onto the German ECMlabel that inspired the whole of that event.

Whenever I Seem to Be Far Away on Wikipedia

With Gary Cavenagh’s slot moving to April, we subbed in Record Club regular, Bill, to bring us a fine evening of vinyl music.

Bill said, “To give the American indie a whirl you can’t go far wrong with Come on Pilgrim by the Pixies, which is IMHO by far their best record, and at only 8 songs not too long. My favourite R.E.M. album is Murmur, which does stand up to being played right through, and conveniently contains a song called Pilgrimage – starting to see an emerging theme here…”

He also selected 3 other albums from Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, and The Stone Roses, to be put to the vote for the final album of the night. Revovler came out on top, but we managed to slip in some tracks from the other albums as well.

Great to have a few tracks from those people had brought along as well, includingRock Lobster, and tracks from Zounds, The Cure, DJ Shadow, Husker Du,Curve, and many more.

Records:

Come on Pilgrim

Artist:

Pixies

Year:

1987

Event:

March 2012: A Vinyl Pilgrimage

“To give the American indie a whirl you can’t go far wrong with Come on Pilgrim by the Pixies, which is IMHO by far their best record, and at only 8 songs not too long.” – Bill, Record Club

Come On Pilgrim on Wikipedia

Murmur

Artist:

R.E.M

Year:

1983

Event:

March 2012: A Vinyl Pilgrimage

“My favourite R.E.M. album” – Bill, Record Club

Murmur on Wikipedia

Revolver

Artist:

The Beatles

Year:

1966

Event:

March 2012: A Vinyl Pilgrimage

Selected with 58% of the vote, Revolver was the last album of the night in March 2012.

From snatched bits of conversation: Ringo’s drumming on Tomorrow Never Knows got praise; there were calls to play the whole thing again; some people cited it as their favourite Beatles album.

Revovler on Wikipedia

February’s record club was delivered in style by the good people at Buffet.

They picked two cracking albums, and the rest of us chose Blondie’s Parallel Lines as the third album via online vote.

Another relaxed evening of good company, good music, and fine refreshments. The Buffet crew experimented with some visuals which looked impressive, and even with some new fangled technology (a mixer!).

About Buffet

Buffet is a supersonic disco.
We’re called Buffet cos we put on a nice spread, including music, formation dancing (with resident dance troupe The Bet Lynch Mob!) and cheese on sticks. You can listen to us on the radio via http://www.bcbradio.co.uk – we deliver an hour long show channelling the vibes of Cheggars Plays Pop with a dash of Calendar.

• On BCB: http://www.bcbradio.co.uk/details.php?details=174
• Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/29714536491/
• Twitter: @buffetdisco @bloodynoradj @jennyjetharris @emmabob3
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BUFFETDISCO

Records:

Last Splash

Artist:

The Breeders

Year:

1993

Event:

Feb. 2012: Fanny Power!

Maria‘s choice for the Feb 2012 club:

“I’ve always wanted the Deal twins to adopt me as their triplet. I was torn between choosing this and Pod, which boasts triple Goddess action with Tanya Donelly on lead guitar. However, Last Splash is a more obvious crowd pleaser and features the mosh-masterpiece Cannonball, as well as other brilliant songs that range from total noise pop to the fantastically angular and odd. The Deal sisters ROCK, and Kelley knits handbags – what more do you need?!”

Last Splash on Wikipedia

Parallel Lines

Artist:

Blondie

Year:

1978

Event:

Feb. 2012: Fanny Power!

This was chosen as the third album for our Fanny Power event by quite a large majority, both online and in the room. It beat off competion from other great albums . Tracks from the contenders, PJ Harvey, Goldfrapp and Sister Sledge also got played!

Parallel Lines on Wikipedia

The Kick Inside

Artist:

Kate Bush

Year:

1978

Event:

Feb. 2012: Fanny Power!

Jenny Jet‘s choice for the Feb. 2012 club:

“When I was in Sixth Form all the boys had this album alongside Iron Maiden and The Clash (think it was something to do with the leotard-clad TOTP appearances) so I avoided it like the plague. But someone played it to me on my first day at Uni and was one of those amazing album moments when you know the world will look differently once the record finishes. She’s a complete musical genius and true maverick. Sensual World and The Dreaming are also great albums so it was hard to choose to be honest (the new album has its moments, but it also – sob – has Elton John…)”

The Kick Inside on Wikipedia