Coughlan & Haines are coming together

There's going to be North Sea Scrolls dates in Ireland. This explains more:

The North Sea Scrolls have long been a bone of contention amongst historians, theologians and people shouting at bins in car parks. The Scrolls are believed, in certain quarters, to record a parallel, semi-hidden history of these islands. Now, a triumvirate of unlikely questers has at last pinned down the full story of these legendary documents. They are; Luke Haines, who has recorded as The Auteurs,
Baader Meinhof, Black Box Recorder and solo; Cathal Coughlan, who has recorded as Microdisney, Fatima Mansions, Bubonique and solo; Andrew Mueller, journalist and author.

This dauntless trio are now ready to share the terrible knowledge they have disinterred. In song. The parchments reached the hands of messrs Haines, Coughlan and Mueller by means which need not trouble us, and have been meticulously distilled and tactfully rewritten into fourteen new songs by Mr Haines and Mr Coughlan, to be performed on guitar and piano, and accompanied by the cello stylings of Audrey Riley. The songs will be linked by explanatory footnotes read by Mr Mueller.

The truths contained in the scrolls are at once profoundly disturbing and peculiarly reassuring. Certainly, they answer many long-pressing questions. How did a Dublin criminal overlord become an imperial
viceroy? Is England really just two counties – Northshire and Southshire? Could it be that the guttering violence of Northern Ireland is caused by terrorist tribute acts from Australia? Who is Tony Allen? How did Tim Hardin end up commanding a nationalist militia in Cornwall? Can it be true that Morris Men, far from the prancing buffoons of popular repute, are murderous vigilantes – a Cotswoldian thugee cult? Was Chris Evans really burnt at the stake? If not, why not? Is Jim Corr actually right about everything?

The places to be are:

Friday 2nd December, Triskel Christchurch, Cork
Saturday 3rd December, The Sugar Club, Dublin

Why would you be anywhere else?

Free on Thursday night?

Are you in London?

Only Cathal Coughlan and The Grand Necropolitan Quintet are playing.

Cathal Coughlan: New release

Yes, if you cast your eyes just to the right, you'll spot this:


Cathal Coughlan - Rancho Tetrahedron

Download Rancho Tetrahedron

That would be a new Cathal Coughlan album. (Technically, a new Cathal Coughlan and the Grand Necropolitan Duo album.) I think that deserves a little more of a shout.

Cathal Coughlan Weekend: Dusty In Here

Moving into Cathal Coughlan's solo era, now: here he is, covering the Go Betweens, in Dublin:



[Part of Cathal Coughlan weekend]

Cathal Coughlan Weekend: Only Losers Take The Bus

If non-fans recall The Fatima Mansions, we'd guess it would be for this song - Only Losers Take The Bus - rather than any of the others. It wasn't a top 40 hit or anything, but it got played on Snub TV and we remember it making a deep impression on the people we were flatsharing with at the time. Not a good one, mind. But deep.



[Part of Cathal Coughlan weekend]

Cathal Coughlan Weekend: Blues For Ceaucescu

Of course, when the Fatima Mansions did this on a Peel Session, a nervous BBC made them change the line about "Dickie Mountbatten" into "somebody famous" - almost as if linking a senior member of the Royal Family to the Kincora child abuse scandal was going to be a problem of some sort. This story never gets mentioned when they make programmes about banned records on Radio One, perhaps because it doesn't feature Mike Read; or, more likely, that nobody much wants to mention 'Prince Charles' godfather' and 'child abuse scandal' in the same breath.

Wonderfully, under the video on YouTube someone has posted this angry comment:

What does this have to do with Ceausescu?

Bah! Just when I was hoping for some footage of a despotic madman overseeing parades and throwing the mentally ill into orphanages, I get some pop music instead...

Assuming you know what you're after, here's the video:



[Part of Cathal Coughlan weekend]

Cathal Coughlan Weekend: Singer's Hampstead Home

We'd like to think that had Boy George taken on board Microdisney's critique of him, his clique and his lifestyle, he might have avoided the downward spiral that followed. Perhaps someone could have played it to Robbie Williams, too - actually, 'singer's LA football pitch' might be overdue.

This isn't the greatest live recording ever, in terms of quality, but some things are more important than audiophilia.



[Part of Cathal Coughlan weekend]

Embed and breakfast man: Cathal Coughlan weekend

There's not many people who you would feel pride knowing they spat on you, but - especially since it was accidental - I've always viewed the spit-spattering that I got in the front row of the Fatima Mansions at Liverpool Poly during a particularly rousing Blues For Ceaucescu as one to tell the grandchildren about.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet and YouTube, you can enjoy one of Ireland's most politically-astute songwriters without the need for a sneeze guard and - of course - without incurring a story which will just lead your children's children to look at you in a confused and frightened manner before having you put away.

To get us underway, Microdisney doing Birthday Girl live - complete with an pre-watershed introduction from the great Ivor Cutler:



More Cathal across the weekend:
Microdisney - Singer's Hampstead Home Live
Fatima Mansions - Blues For Ceaucescu
Fatima Mansions - Only Losers Take The Bus
Cathal Coughlan - Dusty In Here Live

Elseweb:
Cathal Coughlan official site
Cathal's MySpace
Cathal Coghlan on Wikipedia

Purchases you could make:
Microdisney double CD anthology
Fatima Mansions - Viva Dead Ponies
Cathal Coughlan with the Grand Necropolitan Sextet - Foburg

Don't stop thinking about what to borrow

Hilary Clinton is having trouble choosing a song with which to trumpet her campaign for election. So she's throwing it open to a popular vote:

"I hope people from across the country will go to my website and vote for the song they feel best represents our message of change and their hopes for a better America," Hillary said. "And I promise to leave the singing to the professionals."

Perhaps she ought to not leave the drawing up of a shortlist to consultants, though. These are the tunes that are being considered:
* City of Blinding Lights - U2
* Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall
* I'm a Believer - Smash Mouth
* Get Ready - The Temptations
* Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks
* Rock This Country! - Shania Twain
* Beautiful Day - U2
* Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones
* I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers

Hilary, Hilary, Hilary - you can't use KT Tunstall, not unless you want a thousand "is KT Tunstall a lesbian - and does that mean Hilary is as well" aimless debates sparking up across the internet. The Dixie Chicks is an interesting and provocative choice, as they've actually had the balls to stand up to Bush. Which - besides U2 being a dull, predictable and bombastically empty choice - is precisely why Bono shouldn't be given a sniff.

Interesting to see Jesus Jones on there, with an actual, political song - albeit one which shares its central thesis with Francis Fukayama and, as such, was wrong and surely from the other team anyway? Perhaps you might consider the other tune written at the same time which also considered Francis Fukayama's claim that we were living through the end of history - now which Cathal Coughlan song was it that chanted a sinister, sarcastic "history is at an end - we've won" at the finish?

Or how about My Old Man Said Follow The Van?