I know a thing about lovers - lovers want the moon...

The Go-Betweens - Love Goes On!



16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens is one of those records that strikes me in a very subtle way; I've had it for about 18 months now, give or take, and while it's not one that I make a point of digging out, or going "I MUST listen to 16 Lovers Lane", it's an album that I find myself playing at least once a month. For the past week, it's become at least once a day. I'm not really sure why, either. The two impeccable songwriters behind the band, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan (RIP) were, like all great songwriting duos, very much a ying and yang. It's embarrassing to admit that I only learnt which was which (in terms of who wrote which songs), but now I can at least say that McLennan is my favourite Go-Be. He was the "pop" one, at least, in comparison with Forster's more angular, miserable tendencies - allegedly, 16 Lovers Lane was recorded as Grant was going through a purple patch with his girlfriend, while Forster was mid-break-up - and it's his songs that have been lodged in my head a little bit more for the last seven days.

'Love Goes On!' is the opening track to the album which was to be the swansong for the band's original line-up, and it remains a striking piece of music; as catchy as the band ever got, there's nothing about it that's obvious in any way. For example, the reason it's one of Forster's favourite Go-Be's songs, is apparently because "There's nine chords in a row, which he doesn't repeat. It's so him." The song sounds like pure, undiluted Australian sunshine which, at their best, The Go-Betweens were capable of writing in their sleep. If you've never heard any Go-Betweens, do yourself a favour and download this song, if only to tide you over until you hit the record shop tomorrow to get 16 Lovers Lane.

Why should I care? I'd rather watch drying paint...

Electronic - The Patience of a Saint



Looking back on my first term at university, I've realised I've fallen into a bad way; not only am I conforming to the stereotype of being a student and falling in love with New Order (a band whose name, in conversation, I had previously followed with vomit noises), but I've befriended a group of people who actively indulge and encourage this filthy, filthy habit...that is to say, it's got to the extent where I now own an Electronic album. For those of you who don't know (or can't tell from the picture), Electronic were a part-time supergroup, comprising Johnny Marr (a man whose name, in conversation, I continue to follow with a Wayne's World-esque "We're not worthy" bow of worship) and Bernard Sumner, writer of some of the most gloriously appalling lyrics in the history recorded sound. Together, they sound...well...much like a Peter Hook-less New Order. The lyrics are better, but aside from the rather wondeful 'Gangsters', and singles 'Getting Away With It' and 'Get The Message', it's pretty pedestrian stuff.

The best track on the album, as with 'Getting Away With It', was co-written by a third love of mine - the almost perfect Pet Shop Boys*. 'The Patience of a Saint' sounds like it could have come from the PSB's most accomplished album, Behaviour, which is a masterclass in elegiac synthpop that few others have matched. The track is an understated beauty, a totally different beast from anything Sumner had previously worked on (aside from maybe 'Your Silent Face' from Power, Corruption & Lies), and more in line with Marr's minor-key miracles from his work with The Smiths. The lyrics seem to sit somewhere between Sumner's and Tennant's, with a certain clumsy but caustic charm that sounds convincing from either of them - "If I drove a faster car, I'd drive it bloody well".

Were it Just Another Song from any of the three parent bands, 'The Patience...' would not be nearly as special, but even 15 years after Electronic was first released, it still remains thrilling to hear three of the most singular talents of the 80's working together on at least one track that goes beyond their previous achievements.

A x

*On certain days, I'd probably go as far as saying they're better than The Smiths, but in some (most) quarters of the world, I'd get lynched for it...

This is shit, that is shit and being shit is great...

Malcolm Middleton - Total Belief
Ignoring all of the hype surrounding his bid for chart glory (last I heard in the midweeks, a disappointing number 26, with a bullet EDIT: a respectable 31), it's easy to forget that Malcolm Middleton is one of the most underrated songwriters of the past few years. The new mini-album Sleight of Heart is a much lower-key affair than the massive-sounding A Brighter Beat, which is a damn good thing; although it was interesting to hear him go that way, it didn't really suit him. Sleight is closer in sound to 2005's Into The Woods, which did the pop thing without being exhausting.

'Total Belief' has been a fixture of Middleton's solo shows for the whole year, and apparently wasn't good enough to make it onto A Brighter Beat (though he probably just couldn't find a way to make it a full band extravaganza with whistles, bells and a children's choir). It's far jauntier than his usual efforts, while the lyrics, as usual, straddle the fine line between candid and stupid. The track's pulled off with too much charm for it to ever lapse into self-parody, which seems to be a talent Malcolm Middleton is extremely good at. How the album will fare following the 'We're All Going To Die' pallava remains to be seen, but this is certainly not going to disappoint the faithful.


The Mountain Goats - Lovecraft In Brooklyn
The Mountain Goats - Source Decay

On top of the Middleton album, I managed to find a promo of the new Mountain Goats album. My theory on the Mountain Goats, at least as far as the newer, 4AD material is concerned, is that they alternate in quality. Tallahassee - great. We Shall All Be Healed - meh. The Sunset Tree - amazing. Get Lonely - alright. They were due another near-classic, and good Christ have they delivered. With Heretic Pride, John Darnielle may have just written his best batch of tunes since All Hail West Texas.

Lovecraft In Brooklyn is the heaviest thing on the album, and probably the heaviest track he's ever penned. It was also the one that struck me the most when I gave the album a cursory listen on the way back from work - the first Mountain Goats song you can dance to...if you aren't too busy listening to the lyrics, that is. Purists may be appalled at how much more produced it is, even than the rest of Darnielle's recent output, but it's nice to hear JD going in a slightly different direction from the introspective musings of Get Lonely. YET another of the first great albums of 2008.

Oh and Malcolm, seeing as you say you still can't get your head around them, let's see if the other track can change your mind. Source Decay is an older track from the boombox days of 2002's album 'All Hail West Texas'.


British Sea Power - No Lucifer
Aside from the absolutely glorious production, the best thing about Do You Like Rock Music?, the album this comes from, is hearing Hamilton (whose shaky, almost-twee delivery underpinned earlier tracks like 'Blackout' and 'The Land Beyond') come completely into his own with his songwriting and vocals; the three best tracks on the album are his, and he sounds far less scared of the microphone than he ever did before.

The whole LP is an epic pop monster - it merges The Decline Of...'s spiky punk temperament with Open Season's pastoral grandeur, and emerges as the most confident collection of songs the band have written yet. While Yan's songs veer into more epic territory (witness new single 'Waving Flags' or the multi-part epic 'Lights Out for Darker Skies'), Hamilton is writing the (relatively) straightforward anthems that cry out to be heard by more people. This is probably the best of the lot - hell, it's probably the best track BSP have ever done. If they don't release this as a single, they're even barmier than I thought...


Rivers Cuomo - Wanda (You're My Only Love)
It's common knowledge that Rivers Cuomo wrote at least 25 of the best songs of the 90s. His new collection of old demos, Alone, is essential for hardcore Weezer fans and innocent bystanders alike, and shows that there are plenty more waiting in the wings. This, originally intended for the soundtrack of the film Angus (no, me neither...) but pulled at the last minute), crops up on the album in the middle of the much-coveted run of demos from the aborted Songs From The Black Hole album, which appears to take attention away from the fact this song exists at all. A heartfelt countryish lament for lost love, 'Wanda' seems a little out of step with the rest of the demos on the album, which mostly sound like classic Weezer fare (aside from This Is The Way's dire excursion into synthpop and Crazy One's Elliott Smith-esque chug), but deserves a place in the hearts of any Weezer fans who didn't give it a chance the first few times they spun the record.


Longpigs - Jesus Christ
This one's really just a personal indulgence. The past few months of my life have been soundtracked by very little else but the first Longpigs album The Sun Is Often Out, and this has fast become one of my all-time favourite songs, and a compilation tape staple. It's got thrash, bite, guitars that sound like dying pigs and most importantly, a fucking fantastic chorus. TSIOO is easily one of the finest records of the 90's, and one that most bands nowadays could do with listening to before deciding whether or not they should even bother.

A x

Welcome to the monkey house

Evening all,

This would be an inaugural post in what I hope will become one of your new mp3 blogs of choice. Kiss Me I've Quit Smoking is going to be a place where I ramble about music like an annoying drunk in a pub, if only because I have nowhere better to do it. There'll be new stuff, old stuff and a few things that are a bit out of the ordinary, if only because it has no place else to go. If it sounds boring now, believe me, it won't be once the music starts.

Hope you enjoy it.

A x


NB: As with most of these things, the mp3s will be kept up for about a month each (unless I'm otherwise instructed to do so), so you have plenty of time to delve into them. Please do attempt to support the artists involved. Lord knows I do...