"Blow My Own Trumpet"

Distance 5km(ish). Time 23:24

Good strong midweek run on a full stomach. Felt above my usual pace throughout although the time was a little disappointing. I had expected closer to 23 minutes. No worries though, still a decent run. Interval training tomorrow which I’m now starting to really look forward too as I reckon it’s doing me some good in terms of strength and stamina.

Great Genius playlist tonight too. A few iPod glitches that skipped a few tracks but what it got right it really got right for the short run.

I’d been rooting through my vinyl today and found The Eight Legged Groove Machine album by the Wonder Stuff and although I didn’t start exactly from there it gave me an idea…

The Wonder Stuff – Welcome to the Cheap Seats – From their much maligned, folk-flavoured “Never Loved Elvis” album. I played it to death. They were, at their peak (of which I reckon this was) the best English pop band going. Quirky, successful, punky in attitude, psychedelically melodic and playful.

Pop Will Eat Itself – Def Con One. Another Kirk classic. From a time when no one really knew what samples were (possibly why they got away with so many classics). It differed from a lot of the other sampling based music in that it took, for one, The Stooges killer riff from “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and spliced it all up with The Twilight Zone theme, Lipps Inc’s Funky Town amongst a host of others.

Dodgy – Saying Out For The Summer – Britpop’s also rans. They never got the success their lesser able peers got, possibly because they didn’t really sell an image loaded with attitude and seemd to be more about having a good time and making classic pop/rock. Their first three albums are as good as anything from that period if you want Beatlesy pop of the highest order. Great playing, harmonies and arrangements.

Saint Etienne – You’re in A Bad Way – As good as they got this one, for me. A sound that evokes Joe Meek’s spacey future-pop with kitchen sink lyrical references and crystal clear production. I listened to these a lot in the early to mid 90s but it wasn’t until their classic album Tiger Bay that I thought they really nailed it consistently on an LP. Their early efforts seemed more like sketches and collages but then a lot of pop was a bit unfocussed in those post-acid years. Their latest album Words and Music is pretty decent although I’ve yet to give it a real chance.

Suede – Metal Mickey – A sound that. In hindsight, wasn’t too far removed from that of Oasis in their early days More sophisticated and, indeed, syncopated but relying on those thrashy, trashy guitar strums. It took me a while to really get into thses and it was The Wild Ones that did it from their Dog Man Star album. I think it may have made me cry. Anyway, the follow up album Coming Up was a favourite of mine, despite it not having the undoubted skills of Bernard Butler on board. It was, again, just great pop music and they managed to rein in some of Brett’s vocal extremities which I always found a bit contrived. Kenneth Williams sings David Bowie.

Black Grape – Reverend Black Grape – Highlight of the playlist. I saw these at the Leeds T&C in the mid 90s and it is still one of the best gigs I’ve seen. Heavy, locked in funk and a unique sound generally. It still sounds pretty anarchic despite it’s obviously derivative elements. Would probably still rather listen to these than much of Happy Mondays output, although I have my love for some of that too.

Julian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth – I’m still convinced this is the template Kurt Cobain used for Smells Like Teen Spirit. Check out the structure/arrangement – other than the drums included on the intro it’s pretty bang on for the first couple of minutes at least.

Anyway, Copey can do much wrong in most people’s ears but when he’s right all else is wrong. There are a couple of great tracks from this album too. Trampolene is a cracker as Frank Carson may well have said.

I’ll probably add all of this stuff to the final playlist I create for the marathon for a mid–to-late run boost. Nostalgia? It’s just how I remember it.

Genius of The Kirk

Weekly distance - 19 miles. Long run 8 miles. Time 1 hr 8 mins 33 secs.

I've been attending a mid-week interval session at Hemlington lake with a mixed group of runners and it's been great for building up a bit of stamina and speed. There are a fair few working up towards marathons too but seem to be a few miles ahead of me (heading out for 13/14 miles today). My long run was an 8 miler for which I headed out to my dad's house and my childhood home. I only ever ran the loop once while I lived there but knew it was 8 miles pretty much to the metre. I wasn't sure if I had it in me to be honest, psychologically speaking more than anything. i had originally intended to head out later in the day to coincide with a meeting in the village I had planned but I got the itch in the morning and, strangely, through a post on newsreader Susanna Reid's twitter feed (@susannareid100), got motivated to get out a bit earlier. She can motivate middle-aged men to do almost anything I bet. A bit of a grim day outside and a vague chance of snow but sometimes these are the best conditions to get out in for long runs as they keep you cool. A hearty breakfast of eggs and muffins, a glass of odd-tasting tap water (that might come back to haunt me) and a sports drink for the run and I was set.

The run takes the form of an essentially square route out along country roads. A few dips and troughs but nothing too taxing. I trundled along at a steady pace, unsure if it was right. Had a few moments when I thought I'd maybe pushed too hard but managed to correct myself and avoid the train crossing being closed too (last time I ran I had to wait about half an hour mid run for the barrier to raise). I finished with a sustained, strong half mile which surprised me as I thought I was probably spent. Maybe it was the soundtrack...

SOUNDTRACK

Genius mix.

Having tried the shuffle a few times with varying results I set a genius playlist off starting with Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down". I'd been listening to their Steve McQueen album during the parkrun yesterday and was struck by the spacious production, subtle detail and mid-tempo songs. Nothing too "motivating" in terms of speed. Good for a prolonged run. The mix that genius spat out was great today, give or take one or two. It reminded me very much of what used to get played at The Kirk (The Kirklevington Country Club) in the mid 1980s. I also thought a lot about how most of this stuff came about from the post-punk scene which is excellently documented in Simon Reynolds book "Rip It Up and Start Again"

WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN - PREFAB SPROUT

OBLIVIOUS - AZTEC CAMERA

WOOD BEEZ (12" GREEN VERSION) - SCRITTI POLITTI - Didn't really get these at the time but this is great.

LOST WEEKEND - LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS

LOVE ACTION - THE HUMAN LEAGUE

E=MC2 - BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE - I always remember Gary Davies playing this twice, back-to-back on the radio. I forgive him all other sins for that alone.

THE CUTTER - ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN

PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE - SIMPLE MINDS

RIP IT UP - ORANGE JUICE

SAME OLD SCENE - ROXY MUSIC

GOODBYE LUCILLE #1 - PREFAB SPROUT

PRETTIEST EYES - THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH

KISS ME - STEPHEN TIN TIN DUFFY - This song tries everything to be liked. Contrived key changes, "up-to-date" production. Brilliantly cynical.

STEP ON - HAPPY MONDAYS - slight surprise this one but I suppose they have more in common, in terms of influences with a lot of these bands than say, The Stone Roses.

LOVE SONG - SIMPLE MINDS - This brought me home in great style. Much maligned in later times but their early stuff is great.

The thing that stands out with almost all of these is the faultless production and arrangements. Many of the post-punk bands (I'm not saying all of these are/were post-punk) were genuinely breaking new ground in terms of arrangements and embracing new technology. The emergence of the club scene through disco, electro, early house etc gives a lot of this stuff a groove based appeal.

Next week 10 miles. I'm catching up Susanna!