Jody And The Creams – "Jody And The Creams" (Cordelia Records – Ericat 026(C) 1988

Oh Fuck!.....I just inexplicably sat through two hours worth of Mad Vlad Putin spouting endless conspiracy theories straight outta the Q-Anon phrasebook....and I paraphrase :"We (the Degenerate West) are all pedophiles in same sex marriages who defile the sacred scriptures in league with Satan, and a corrupt,but secret Elite."...even the Anglican Church got name-checked for daring to suggest that their fictional deity might not have a gender!? ...I'm sure The Chinese self-imposed leadership agrees with that. So the fate of the free world lay in the hands of the slightly crazy population of the USA.

If Trump,or an endorsed version of said cunt wins ...or even loses it seems, the next US election, we are fucked,rather than our kids,who will likely be doing a lot of the shafting;and Q-Anon and its off-shoots win. Like the 1978 remake of 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers', they know what we're thinking because they will decide for us and ultimately replace us. The conspiracy is the Conspiracy,and Putin, himself part of an untouchable Elite,is their Pin-Up boy.

Some of it is based on fact,for example we are obviously ruled by an untouchable Elite,and have been since the dawn of history,some could even be called 'Evil'?..But i tend to be somewhat skeptical about so-called Satanic child abuse by,for example, the Clintons, and Hilaries quaffing down gallons of Baby's Blood binges in the nineties. (I like how they pop the word Satanic in there,like Christian Sexual Abuse,and there's a lot of it about,isn't so bad?)

So this calls for more indie rock escapism with some untitled cast-offs by the prototype Jody and the Creams back in '88.

I suspect that this is just Alan Jenkins, on guitar and drum machine,but maybe I do hear some Blodwyn P. Tea Bag on her organ.

It doesn't quite work without those surreal lyrics,but there is a thankfully word-less version of Peter and Gordons hit ode to suicide, "I won't Live In A World Without Love" ,which seems more relevant today than ever.....living in a world without internet crazed bigots is more on the mark methinks.

Remember what Mad Vlad said about Gay rights?.....no?....let me remind you...."We must protect the children")...chilling. Que(-anon?), the return of the Nazi's Pink Triangle which must be worn at all times.

nb:

Especially interested in what Die or DIY?'s in-house conspiracy Junkie, Sandi Hook, has to say about this in the comments section.

Sandi?

Track Listing:

Side A:

1. Untitled # 1

2. Untitled # 2

3. Untitled # 3

4. Untitled # 4

5. Untitled # 5

Side B:

1. Untitled # 6

2. Untitled # 7

3. Untitled # 8

4. Untitled # 9

5. Untitled # 10

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Jody And The Creams – "Lords Of The Gromet Canning Factory" (Cordelia Records) 1998

Two slabs of almost seamlessly segued Indie collage experimentation from Deep freeze mice relations, the Creams with Jody,before they dropped the 'Jody' part and went all full cream on us.

Eight years after the debut long player,the formula has not changed,a lump gravy collage,furtively recorded girly chat,mixed up with some funny noises and half finished art pop numbers.Featuring the farewll appearances of Ariadne Metal-Cream Pie,and Ruth 'Po!' Miller.

The charming Blodwyn P. and her Organ.

Alan Jenkins and Blodwyn P. Teabag would carry it on in the Jody-less Creams,whom I understand were almost popular at some stage?

NB:

A sense of humour is required.

Tracklist:

A - Some Music By Jody And The Creams (19:17)
B - Some More Music By Jody And The Creams (22:06)

DOWNLOAD the creme de les creams HERE!

Jody And The Creams – "A Big Dog.n" (Cordelia Records Ericat 028) 1990

 

That's NOT Dennis Nilsen bottom right by the way!

Yet another LP with ever widening Deep Freeze Mice connectivity, featuring Ruth (Po!) without her refrigerator on singy duties, another appearance of Blodwyn P. Teabag, (She's the one who looks like Green in his squatting days but as a Lady) and a debut for Ariadne Metal-Cream Pie; the latter two wrote nearly all the tchoons.

Don't be afraid, the Dennis Nilsen-a-like is the prolific Alan Jenkins(Deep Freeze Mouse number one) himself, if you've never seen him before? Here pictured in the Producer's role.I suppose this was intended as a 'Girl Group' project?

It all starts off with a bang,with the best anti-monarchy song I've probably ever heard.It alone, is the best reason why the Monarchy should remain exactly as it is or we would have one less thing to moan about,and no more anti-monarchy songs as clever as this.....Monarchy for the UK.

There are a few more charmingly witty indie pop numbers,or to paraphrase blodwyn or Ariadne.... 'lo-fi vintage english agit-pop'.There's also a side long sound collage like a more listenable but twee-er version of the side of Tago Mago no-one plays called "N.",or 'Lumpy Gravy', and there's another inevitable Frank Zappa homage with a couple of Suzy Creamcheese moments as if the GTO's came from an English suburb.....in Shropshire(?).

"Margery is Dead" reveals a possible Joe Meek obsession by someone in the room, like the theme to an unmade Gerry Anderson pilot from 1961.....can't go wrong there methinks.

Absolutely one of the better releases on Cordelia Records by a yard or two, in Imperial measurements.Don't ask me what that is in Metric!

That's something you can thank the Royals for,that and Lsd ?!.....For those born after decimalisation,that stands for Pounds Shillings and Pence,the single most absurd money system ever thought up by one of God's relatives on Earth.

Tracklisting:

1 The Queen #1 1:34
2 Margery Is Dead 1:27
3 Moulted Fur From A Labrador 2:27
4 Tree Rings 4:38
5 Appleseed Alley
Written-By – Ruth* 3:07
6 Hi Felicity 1:40
7 Shropshire 4:18
8 N. 31:35
9 The Queen #2 1:41
10 Blue Moon 2:04

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The Chrysanthemums – "Is That A Fish On Your Shoulder Or Are You Just Pleased To See Me?" (Egg Plant Records – Two Eggs) 1987

The Chrysanthemums were Deep Freeze Mouse main man Alan Jenkins,whom I previously had decided sounded like Robyn Hitchcock on this one;with frequent collaborator Yukio Jung,also known as plain old Terry Burrows,best selling author on the subjects of Music History, Theory and Tuition.

Smart arses stick together it seems.

Yes this is the one thst sounds like The Soft Boys...only cleverer.The stuff that the lazy noun 'Art Rock' was invented for.

And this is what I was listening to as I wrote about The Deep Freeze Mice's 1989 album "The Tender Yellow Ponies Of Insomnia",which I likened to ...er...The Soft Boys(?)....;when they actually don't.Whereas,The Chrysanthemums do.....geddit?...'cus I don't!

Suspected Zappa fans ,DFM ,are far more DIY neo-Psychedelic in their cleverness than the abstract Indie mud-skipper dragging itself out of the primeval soup left behind by the shiny boots of Punk Rock,that is The Chrysanthemums.

Yet again more great song titles on this one,that tend to be better than the songs which can be overlooked merely for the recorded use of a Bassoon alone;but the fact that DFM and their many derivatives provide Further proof that Leicestershire is certainly not an illusion.....it really is like that!.....unlike Gloucestershire.

Tracklist:

1.Gloucestershire Is Just An Illusion 3:09
2.Bullshit 3:28
3.Mouth Pain 4:35
4.Geraldine 2:09
5.Logical Fish 2:10
6.The Unpronounceable Finn 2:53
7.The Holocaust Parade 2:15
8.You Are A Serbian (And I Like You) 2:59
9.The Ten Foot High Trim-Phone 1:14
10.Another Sacred Day 3:50
11.The Lawn 2:52
12.Geraldine (Reprise) 1:23
13.I Wish Marvin Gaye's Father Had Shot Me Instead 5:16
14.Buzzing Unobtrusively 2:42

DOWNLOAD if you are just pleased to hear this HERE!

The Deep Freeze Mice – "The Tender Yellow Ponies Of Insomnia" (Cordelia Records – ERICAT 027) 1989

I wrote this unintelligible blurb whilst unintentionally listening to
The Chrysanthemums' – "Is That A Fish On Your Shoulder Or Are You Just Pleased To See Me?" LP from 1987;which i had earmarked for this slot,and confusing myself somewhat in the process that I was listening to a Deep Freeze Mice album, namely the one entitled above.

An easy mistake to make,as both bands shared certain members.

So,as I can't be fucking bothered to write it again, I will review The Chrysanthemums as I listen to "The Tender Yellow Ponies Of Insomnia",following this utter bollox-up!

So keeping faith with the Bryon Gysin cut-up technique, and in the grand traditions of experimental literature,It remains as so,which keeps in fitting with the surrealism of yer average Deep Freeze Mice tchoon? Yes?

I know this maybe an insult, but there are times when The Deep Freeze Mice (The Chrysanthemums in fact!?) sound like The Soft Boys?

Apart from The Soft Boys being a better band name,of course  this is generally piffle Sidney ...oh no,they've got me at it now, all this surreal random sentence construction; for the sake of this blog...I like to think of it as YoOuR Blog, or in this epoch of gender re-assignment and pro nouns, maybe even Their blog?

I dunno how we got to posting more gentle mad-cap DFM madness,I was trying to indulge y'all in my new fascination with shoe gazing Twee-Pop,and its dreamy derivatives.

Well a couple of DFM members were in Ruth's Refrigerator,not literally IN her fridge,the band; which was quite Twee in places,but they're a Leicester band,and i don't need any excuses for a shaht aht for the old home town. I once wanted my mortal remains scattered onto the playing surface at Filbert street, but, like a lot of other iconic buildings ,pubs and places, It ain't there no more!!!The King Power ain't the same.....for a start its exactly the same design,\and just as soulless, as Southampton's St Mary's stadium, that replaced the very much missed,but eccentric 'Dell'.Bizarrely, that was my last match at Filbo (Filbert Street),at home to going places Southampton.....we lost 4-0,and i left early to a chorus of abuse from the home section expectorated in my general direction,when one irate young man shouted "Fuck Off Then, see you again when we're top of the fucking league.....Cunt!"

I was used to this kind of targeted heckling ,when i had the misfortune,or fortune, to pass my exam and get allocated a place in a Grammar school in those good old days of streaming and shameless elitism.Me being resident in the circle of scum that invariably forms around most cities,the ones left behind didn't take kindly to being labelled 2nd class,but didn't want anyone to leave ,or have any chance to"better themselves"...so i was frequently threatened with violence,and sometimes they even delivered on the threats, and referred to 'moi'as "That Fucking Posh Cunt"......to use a comedy catchphrase from the cult "Friday Night Dinner" comedy series..."SHIT ON IT". Hence the bitter prick I am today.

But....the Deep Freeze Mice is definitely the collective work of several persons who obviously passed their 11+ exams,and maybe a couple who didn't need to (Thinly veiled Trustafarian reference there), and boy do they want us to know it?

Yeah that singer does sound like Robyn Hitchcock don't he?...Only better,with better lyrics,better song titles and no future Eurovision song contest winners in their ranks.

Tracklist:

1 A (Dog Found A Stick In A Park With Such Magical Powers That A Bark Caused A Marvelous Pie To Drop Out Of The Sky And The Doggy Would Grin Like A Shark) 3:25
2 Ariadne Metal Cream Pie 3:43
3 The Postman's Dry 2:09
4 The Cake Of Conversation 3:26
5 Programme Controller Flowers 1:52
6 I Don't Have A Horse 2:53
7 Poodle Haddock: Part One 0:31
8 Poodle Haddock: Part Two 1:59
9 Conversation Gap Panic 2:32
10 Buzzing Unobtrusively 2:12
11 The Amphibious Nun 0:51
12 Love You More 1:54
13 Janis 3:10
14 Into The Valley Of Death Rode The Six Hundred Shouting "Dig It" 1:12
15 Don't Eat Aluminium 7:14
16 To Hell With It, Let Her Keep The Chicken (The Postman's Dryer) 2:09

Extra Tracks:

17 The Delicious Little Green Roosters Of Insomnia 29:00
18 Into The Valley Of Death (Demo Version) 1:09
19 The Grindy Track 6:30

DOWNLOAD mice and Chrysanthemums from the deep freeze HERE!

Ruth's Refrigerator – "Suddenly A Disfigured Head Parachuted" (Cordelia Records – CD072) 1990

Ruth and her Refigerator...note the standard indie bowl-cuts extreme left and right.

Escaping the the Twee-Dream pop minority of Leeds to the civilised end of the M1 motorway;leaving behind the last vestiges of the "North", lies the naturally Twee city of Leicester.....which,as if you didn't know, is my home town.Akin to an empty rugby players bath,it has nothing in the center ans a ring of scum around the outside.

No, it wasn't quite that empty in the center,it wasn't Coventry after all;but i did grow up amongst the ring of scum,of which i am proudly one.One has very hazy memories of seeing lots of these Twee Dream pop Shoegazer groups at the various venues on offer, a case of if you remember the earl 90's you weren't there,unlike Britpop,which if you remember that you definitely were there and trying to forget it.

of course, the leicster had our own Twee Pop combo's,the most celebrated of which being peel fav, Yeah Yeah Noh!

A Sense of humour certainly required The rather zany Ruth's Refrigerator,being a fine example.

Including various members DIY legends Deep Freeze Mice and, Po! and other indie hangers-on.

The lyrics are of the too clever by 'arf variety as preferred by such tiresome smart arses as Morrissy and Cocker, but as i have mellowed in the past decade i'll say, what's wrong with that? I fact they are pretty funny.Like the opening couplet of Dear Prudence re-write "Red Queen" for example:

"There Was A Girl,

She Was a Raving Psychopathic Killer.......in my eyes."

Of course you had to be there,but you get the gist.

As top Deep Freeze Mouse Alan Jenkins is in the group, you're gonna get mad cap song titles and surreal university life sentence humour in droves,all backed up with jangly twee indie psych Wimsey.

I have been less than kind to the voice of Me Jenkins during my angry years;bracketing him with such of the likes of Steve Solomar of Spherical Objects......i now know this to be plain wrong,as do I the Deep Freeze Mice, whom I have reassessed as rather good,and i even like Alan's voice too now.....but not as much as Ruth's.

So my previous reviews of DFM albums are but a window of time in which i was obviously very pissed off.....Ruth-less....haha..see what i did? (Smart arse!) 

Tracklist:

1 She Lies In State 2:16
2 Your Dog Is Rich And Your Cat Is Good Looking 2:40
3 Alan's Refrigerator 2:12
4 He Needs A Dog 2:19
5 Picasso's Problem 1:56
6 The Red Queen 2:49
7 Mind The Paprica, Joe
8 Gro Harlem Brundtland Wants Some Fish 1:57
9 On A Western Shore 2:58
10 Innocent Boy 2:26
11 Hello Anne Of Green Poplars 3:47
12 Examine The Insects And Hit Them 1:02
13 Hi Felicity 1:42
14 Fish In The Air / Birds In The Sea 7:31
15 Spot The Bear Theme 1:01
16 Hello Anne (With A Better Guitar Solo) 3:13
17 The Red Queen (With Robyn Singing) 3:12
18 I Am Big Chief Radio Luxembourg 5:15
19 She's Not There 2:02

DOWNLOAD from the deep freeze to the fridge HERE!

Deep Freeze Mice - " The Gates Of Lunch" (Mole Embalming Records MOLE 3) 1982

More clever titles, splendid artwork, and indie psych from The Deep Freeze Mice.This time its their third lp, on their own Mole Embalming Records, "The Gates Of Lunch".

Nothing more to say, you know what I think of DFM if you bothered to read my review of the first two DFM records preceding this.

It's not that bad I suppose.

Tracklisting:

A Red Light For The Greens 4:05
You MIght Need Me And This Winchester Curly 0:59
A Ten Legged Beast (Or An Eight Legged Beast With Feelers) 2:04
Fishing 1:17
I Lay A Green Egg. It Explodes On Tuesday 2:27
Bottles 3:36
The Gates Of Lunch 1:05
Bottled Reprise 0:36
Brain Dead Baby 4:36
Godzilla Loves Me. I'm An Ashtray 22:59

DOWNLOAD the gates of lunch HERE!

Deep Freeze Mice - " Teenage Head In The Refrigerator" (Mole Embalming Records MOLE 2) 1981

Another ever so crazily titled 2nd album from Leicester's own ,Deep Freeze Mice. Oh these guys crack me up!
This one I actually bought at the time,and i think I played it only once in maybe thirty years!
So,I have dug it out and re-listened to it three times to see if my ears have become attuned to it's irritating studentia feel.But, I did enjoy the amusing Rock Family Tree insert, which links the DFM to all of Rock'n'Rolls royalty.Erm....very clever.
I can now safely say that I never want to listen to it again! In thirty years time I will be dead anyway, but if there's a God (which there almost certainly is NOT!), don't send me to a hell where they play non-stop Clever-Clever Indie like this for aaaaaaalllllll eternity!!!!!!!....you can't kill yourself in the after-life......unless there's an after-after life(which almost certainly there is NOT!)


Tracklisting:

I Like Digestive Biscuits In My Coffee 3:52
Dr. Z 3:39
The Letter Song (Scrib) 3:18
My Geraniums Are Bulletproof 4:13
Peter Smith Is A Banana 2:05
Hegel's Brain 0:55
Esther 3:29
Vera 5:51
God 3:28
Path To You 6:02
Dictatorship Of The Proletariat 2:13
Teenage Head (In My Refrigerator) 3:38

DOWNLOAD a teenage head to your refrigerator HERE!

Deep Freeze Mice - " My Geraniums Are Bulletproof" (Mole Embalming Records MOLE 1) 1979

Leicester's most prolific DIY band were The Deep Freeze Mice. Unashamedly immersed in University humour, they churned out shed loads of indie-psych with "silly" titles for most of the eighties.
I myself, find this stuff immensely irritating, but if you like self-consciously "Clever" indie music, this is the band for you.
Having said that, they did produce an attractive product,with plenty of artwork, to stand out in the early DIY era.They were probably one of the first Indie style bands on the planet.
Group Leader,Alan Jenkins,is still active today,and has been in many groups over the years,like Ruth's Refrigerator, The Chrysanthemums, etc.

Tracklisting:

Minstrel Radio Yoghurt 2:44
I Vote Conservative (Cos I'm In Love With You) 2:29
Emile Zola 3:17
Phylis Is A Protozoa 3:31
Embalming Fluid Future 4:07
I Met A Man Who Spoke Like An UCCA Form 4:57
The Octagonal Rabbit Surplus 26:26

DOWNLOAD some bulletproof geraniums HERE!

Various Artists - "Where The Hell Is Leicester?" (S+T Records STAB 1,1981)

1	Leicester	44	37	96
2	Burnley	44	34	89
3	Derby	44	30	81
4	QPR	44	15	76
5	Wigan	43	15	70
6	Reading	44	12	67
7	Brighton	44	12	66
8	Nottm Forest	44	7	65

As I type this, my Favourite Football team, the magnificent Leicester City FC, are seconds away from claiming the Championship Trophy, following their well deserved promotion to the English Premier League.
As a Football club, Leicester have a lot in common with the DIY music genre, like; Lack of Ambition, working on a minuscule budget, poor skills made up for by honest passion, all played out in front of a small but fanatical audience.
Unlike DIY music, following Leicester City is not a choice,as this is the place of my birth.Choosing to support Man United,would be like buying One Direction singles above a Danny and the Dressmakers cassette,just a no-brainer!?
Especially now that Man United will never win the Premership for at least another twenty years!
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!......its full time, Bolton 0 - 1 Leicester!
We are the champions.......and as you can see from the handy table above, local rivals Derby are stranded in the play-offs, and the reprehensible Forest are doomed to stay in the Championship for alllll eternity...Pleease!?

(I had better update this!....for anyone who lived in a cave for the last three years.....Leicester defied the odds and actually WON the premier league in 2016!!!!...by ten points only losing three games all season!!!....only now am I able to cope with this information!....i better stop typing before i start crying again!)

Final Premier League Standings 2015/16

Pos Team                    P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Leicester                 38 23 12 3 68 36 +32 81
2 Arsenal                   38 20 11 7 65 36 +29 71
3 Tottenham               38 19 13 6 69 35 +34 70
4 Manchester City     38 19 9 10 71 41 +30 66
5 Southampton          38 18 9 11 59 41 +18 63
6 Manchester United 38 18 9 10 46 34 +12 63

Therefore, I will now dedicate the following days to Bands/artists from this fair city, as a celebration.Starting with the legendary "Where the Hell is Leicester Compilation from 1981.

(Note for Americans: Football = Soccer, and Leicester is pronounced - Less- ster, not, Lie - cest - er!)

At the time of this compilation lp,Terry 'the housewives favourite Radio 2 DJ' Wogan's current running joke was........ ,and it is hilarious, that nobody knew where Leicester was! As with most 'jokes' there is a certain element of truth involved in this, as most people don't really know where it is,and they all think we (yes i am from Leicester,and i know where it is), speak with a Birmingham accent(the brummy accent stops after Coventry at the end of the M69 ,and before Hinckley). Hence the title of this record.
Leicester always had a thriving music scene, producing such greats(*I'm being ironic here) as Family, Kasabian*, Yeah Yeah Noh, Prolapse, Gaye Bikers On Acid, Crazyhead, Volcano The Bear, Bomb Party, Basement Jaxx, Englebert Humperdinck, Scouts of Uzbekistan, and the greatest of the lot, Showaddywaddy. Also represented on this comp are the groops on the edge of it all, including DIY legends, The Deep Freeze Mice; who even feature on the annoyingly trainspottery Nurse With Wound list. But i am mystified at the absence of anything from cassette legends The Midnight Circus ( see previous post of Angst In My Pants)and,or, The Barron Balls!. Not quite in the league of the two Manchester compilations posted earlier,but it has its moments, like the 'Modern Living' track, and Ronnie Slicker and The Banditz,etc.

"Where the Hell is Leicester?"......in the facking Premier League Mate!

Track Listing:

The Danceable Solution - You Don't Know My Name
Tribal Games - Plastic Jah
Amber Squad - Six Of Me
Deep Freeze Mice - Minstrel Radio Yoghurt
Ronnie Slicker & The Banditz - Disco Music
Mental Notes - Is He Such A Fool?
The Silent - Ambition
Modern Living - Drink Is A Drug
Last Resort - Stepping On The Cracks
Observers - Crisis
New Age - Can't Get In
Future Toys - R.C.U.

DOWNLOAD TO FIND OUT WHERE LEICESTER IS HERE!