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As we approach the end of the Trash Can Sinatras weekend, here's a glorious clip from a Scottish TV programme, Square Meals, which sees the band getting made a square meal. It dates from 1995, but we are assured they have had proper food since then:
[Part of The Trash Can Sinatras weekend]
Recorded live in Brel, Glasgow in 2003, with Francis' sister popping up to offer supporting vocals:
[Part of Trash Can Sinatras weekend]
Recorded live during an instore (or rather, just outside store) at Criminal Records in Atlanta, Georgia:
[Part of Trash Can Sinatras weekend]
Some acoustic action from the TCS now - from May 1996, VH1:
[Part of Trash Can Sinatras weekend]
Inspired this week by the Urban Woo's summation of Glasvegas as "a retread of the the Trash Can Sinatras", this weekend the video rummage is diving for slices of literate Scottish pop. (Or, if you'd rather "stuff by the Scottish Housemartins".)
My abiding memory of the band was their support slot at Ride's triumphant ULU breakthrough gig, where the audience seemed bemused by the band wandering on in Sou'Westers to the sound of Dancing Queen. It was whatever the opposite of a braggadocio stage taking would be called and while it didn't quite work in seizing the crowd's attention, the gesture was appreciated.
It's something of a surprise to discover that the band have been in more-or-less continuous existence since they started in 1986; I'd assumed that their recent activity was a comeback rather than a ramping-up - it kind of underlines how politely quiet they are they can manage to be going for the best part of two decades without even people who love them noticing a lot of their work.
So, for this weekend, some shouting.
This is the big hit: Obscurity Knocks. (A title to view with a degree of ironic detachment, of course.)
Buy
Cake - the first album
Weightlifting
A Happy Pocket - an Amazon customer notes "I'd never head of the Trash Can Sinatras before this CD came out and Ive never heard of them after it either."
Apparently there's about to be a re-release schedule through Universal's catalogue department.
More online
Official site
Band blog
MySpace
Last FM
Wikipedia
More videos across the weekend
Twisted And Bent - acoustic on VH1
All The Dark Horses - live in store
Tonight You Belong To Me - live in Glasgow
Square Meals
Americans who wish to turn their living rooms into a simulacrum of a British University bar on a Saturday night sometime round the arse-end of the last century, all you need to do is pour some cheap lager over the carpet, stub some ciagrettes out on the windowsill, and reach for Rhino Records four CD Britbox. This, disc by disc, takes a trip through the more populist end of British indie and faux-indie from 1985 to 1998. Some of the choices are very good indeed:
01 The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?"
02 Cocteau Twins - "Lorelei"
03 Felt - "Primitive Painters"
04 Shop Assistants - "Somewhere in China"
05 The Mighty Lemon Drops - "My Biggest Thrill"
06 The Cure - "Just Like Heaven"
07 Echo & The Bunnymen - "Lips Like Sugar"
08 The Jesus and Mary Chain - "April Skies"
09 Spacemen 3 - "Walkin' With Jesus (Sound of Confusion)"
10 The Primitives - "Crash"
11 The Wonder Stuff - "Unbearable"
12 The Stone Roses - "She Bangs the Drums"
13 The Charlatans UK - "The Only One I Know"
14 Happy Mondays - "Step On"
15 Primal Scream - "Loaded" [single version]
16 Inspiral Carpets - "This Is How It Feels"
17 The Trash Can Sinatras - "Obscurity Knocks"
18 The La's - "There She Goes"
19 The Sundays - "Here's Where the Story Ends"
Disc 2:
01 Ride - "Vapour Trail"
02 Pale Saints - "Sight of You"
03 My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
04 Lush - "For Love"
05 The Telescopes - "Flying"
06 Chapterhouse - "Pearl"
07 Catherine Wheel - "I Want To Touch You"
08 Bleach - "Trip & Slide"
09 Curve - "Coast Is Clear"
10 Five Thirty - "You"
11 Moose - "This River Will Never Run Dry"
12 The Family Cat - "(Thought I'd Died) And Gone To Heaven"
13 The Dylans - "(Don't Cut Me Down) Mary Quant in Blue"
14 Thousand Yard Stare - "0-0 A.E.T. (No Score After Extra Time)"
15 Ned's Atomic Dustbin - "Grey Cell Green"
16 Birdland - "Shoot You Down"
17 Manic Street Preachers - "Stay Beautiful"
18 Teenage Fanclub - "Star Sign"
Disc 3:
01 Suede - "Metal Mickey"
02 Swervedriver - "Duel" [radio edit]
03 Eugenius - "Breakfast"
04 Superstar - "Barfly"
05 New Order - "Regret"
06 James - "Laid"
07 Nick Heyward - "Kite"
08 The Boo Radleys - "Lazarus"
09 Saint Etienne - "You're in a Bad Way"
10 Stereolab - "Wow & Flutter"
11 Blur - "Tracy Jacks"
12 Oasis - "Live Forever"
13 Pulp - "Common People"
14 These Animal Men - "Speed King"
15 Mega City Four - "Wallflower"
16 Echobelly - "Insomniac"
17 Gene - "Sleep Well Tonight"
18 Menswe@r - "Sleeping In"
19 Supergrass - "Alright"
20 Cast - "Alright"
21 Elastica - "Stutter"
Disc 4:
01 Dodgy - "In a Room"
02 Ash - "Girl From Mars"
03 Sleeper - "Sale of the Century"
04 Marion - "Sleep"
05 Kula Shaker - "Tattva"
06 Ocean Colour Scene - "The Riverboat Song"
07 Babybird - "You're Gorgeous"
08 The Bluetones - "Slight Return"
09 Super Furry Animals - "Something 4 the Weekend"
10 The Divine Comedy - "Something for the Weekend"
11 Cornershop - "Brimful of Asha"
12 Silver Sun - "Service"
13 Spiritualized - "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space"
14 Mansun - "Wide Open Space"
15 Hurricane #1 - "Step Into My World"
16 The Verve - "Lucky Man"
17 Rialto - "Untouchable"
18 Catatonia - "Mulder and Scully"
19 Placebo - "You Don't Care About Us"
20 Gay Dad - "Oh Jim"
Last Friday, BBC 6Music spent a long time trying to work out what went wrong with Britpop in 1997 - that this album comes to an end with Gay Dad would have been the whole answer right there. Indeed, with Hurricane Number One, Kula Shaker and Silve Sun, that last disc shows the marketing departments slowly wheeling in and killing off the creativity. We're relieved, but surprised, that there's no Kingmaker there; we're equally surprised, but delighted, the vastly undervalued Trash Can Sinatras have been included. And it's nice to be reminded of the time when, briefly, Nick Heyward looked like he might just pull off a spell of indie credibility. Unfortunately, he timed his leap to Creation just as Creation was abandoning its credibility.
No Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, though.
