Crayon Fields, Marmoset

I am in Michigan, the roads are dark and carpeted with flattened wildlife. The air is muggy and there are many shades of green, though leaves are beginning to blush.

I ordered the Crayon Fields album from Japan (extra songs), it's rather lovely. Singer blokey must be in love, he addresses "you" so often that it's almost blush-worthy. This song is a little Moose-esque, don't you think? A little.

The new Marmoset is good, too. They're a mysterious and curious-looking bunch.

The Crayon Fields - Disappear
Marmoset - You, Blueberry Muffin

Thank You, Friends

If the forthcoming Big Star box set strikes you as a bit pricey, maybe this compilation on Ace/Big Beat will tide you over 'til you can scrape together the readies? It's full of good stuff, from oddball one-offs (stately/eerie instrumental "The Batarang") to early Chris Bell projects (Icewater) and implausibly neglected power pop (the Hot Dogs); the first disc plays somewhat like a garage/psych comp with crisp, clear, inventive production (anathema to some garage fans, I suppose), while the second is devoted to Big Star and their fellow-travelers.

The Avengers - Batarang
Icewater - Feeling High
The Hot Dogs - Let Me Look at the Sun

Two girls...

...one shadowy, one missing.

Gentle Despite were on Sarah Records; beyond this, I know very little about them. I picked up their "Torment To Me" EP at the Matinee sale. The A side is nothing to write home about, but the B side is a piece of slow-burning loveliness.

A.C. Marias was (is?) Angela Conway, a video director associated with Wire; Bruce Gilbert was also involved in their album. It's minimal stuff - tick-tocking drum machines, effects-laden guitar loops, ghostly choirgirl vocals - and sometimes a little too somnolescent for its own good. There's some loveliness here, though.

Gentle Despite - Shadow of a Girl
A.C. Marias - One Of Our Girls Has Gone Missing

PS: while searching for an appropriate image for this post, I stumbled across this site, which appears to be the work of, um, invisible woman fetishists...

Shameless self-promotion

I entered a travel writing contest (theme: "oasis" - not the late, unlamented Mancunians) and I'm through to the second round. To get to the finals, I need a bunch of votes in the next week or so. You can, if you're feeling implausibly altruistic, sign up for an account here and vote for me.

They just need a name and email, not your detailed family history, so it's a fairly swift and painless process.

Then you can click here and click the green "add to wishlist" button beneath the photo to vote for me.

Here are the links to cut and paste if you'd rather do it that way:

http://www.trazzler.com/signup

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/tate-modern-in-camberwell-greater-london-se1-9-gb

Pimping over, back to the usual, increasingly sporadic posting.