Monthly Archives: October 2016

film review

I Daniel Blake (2016)

i-daniel-blake-3Ken Loach has a knack for making extraordinary films about otherwise ordinary subjects. And yet again, he has hit the mark.

Daniel Blake is a lifelong carpenter who has had to give up work due to a heart attack. He is then thrown into the mincer and has to deal with a benefits system that, contrary to the opinion of his GP and his Consultant, tells him he is fit to work.

It is fair to say that the film depicts someone going through a ‘worst case scenario’. But the fact is, what he goes through is not uncommon. There are lots of people that have to go through this humiliating process – having to appeal on line, even though they don’t know how to switch a computer on; having to claim Job Seekers Allowance, even though they are not fit enough to seek a job and wading through the bureaucratic treacle that moves at a glacial speed. Continue reading I Daniel Blake (2016) →

radio shows

LISTEN AGAIN- Peppermint Iguana Radio Show # 130 – John Peel Special

john-peel-headerThe greatest and most important radio DJ that ever lived, went to the great after party in the sky on 25th October 2004. For our Peppermint Iguana Radio show on 25th October 2016, we opted to doff our sonic hats to the great man, to mark the 12th anniversary of his passing.

We could fill several dozen shows paying tribute to the man, and still only have scratched the surface of his importance. But with only two hours to fill, we opted to pick some of our favourite ‘Peel Sessions’, alongside tunes that we caught on his show for the first time that left a lasting impression on us. We also snuck in some brand new releases and demos – which we think John would have approved of. This gives us plenty of options if we end up doing a show for his birthday!

To listen again, clickety click on the cloudcast below

1. Dot dash: BY FAT BOY SLIM
2. No fun: BY THE ORB – Peel session from 12/05/92 peel session
3. Pickin the blues: BY GRINDERSWITCH – When Peel’s previous vehicle Top Gear came to an end in September 1975, rather than have a specially recorded theme (as the Nice had done for the aforementioned show), John merely chose something from what one assumes was his own collection. ‘Pickin’ The Blues’ subsequently topped and tailed almost every show from 29 September 1975 and can still be heard introducing the 29 February 1992 show. However, it was eventually dropped, to be replaced by Corporation-manufactured items.
4. Pusherman: BY GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN
5. New England: BILLY BRAGG – Peel Session from 27/07/83
6. Folk the police: BY THE PEATBOG FAIRIES
7. Coronation street dub: BY IZZY ROYAL
8. TV Stars: BY THE SKIDS – Peel Session from 16/05/78
9. Another girl another planet: BY THE ONLY ONES – Peel Session from 05/04/78
10. Change: BY KILLING JOKE Peel Session from 05/03/80
11. Jolene: BY DOLLY PARTON – in the days before cd peel often accidentally played vinyl songs at wrong speed. This is intentionally payed at wrong sped and is arguable better than it is at the correct speed.
12. Can’t take the heartbreak: BY NOVA CODA
13. Bankrobber: BY ANHREFEN AND ONE STYLE MDV
14. Political thing: BY ZION TRAIN
15. Brand new life: BY YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS Peel session from 18/08/16
16. I saw batman in the launderette: BY THE SHAPES
17. Dub on leaf street: BY THE CO-OPPERATORS
18. City of lights: BY VIVA ZAPATA
19. Velociraprute: BY CYBERNETIC WITCH CULT
20. In a flat field: BY BAUHAUS Peel Session from 03/01/80
21. Halloween: BY SKINNER AND TWITCHETT
22. Devil at your door: BY THE BASTARD JOE KELLY
23. Johnny remember me: BY JOHN COOPER CLARKE AND HUGH CORNWALL
24. Anti-pope: BY KING Peel Session from 11/07/78 (rare recording of Captain Sensible project between the Damned first splitting up and reforming back in 1978)
25. Charlie Jones: BY JOHNNY CAGE AND THE VOODOO GROOVE
26. Woolf man howl: BY THE VIBRATORS
27. Teenage kicks: BY NOUVELLE VAGUE
28. Rain: BY LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

First broadcast on www.dapperfm.co.uk on 25/10/16

Show sponsored by UNISON Cwm Taf Local Government Area Branch

blog

S.H.A.T.ting on the dock of the bay.

DSC_0584
“Mirror, mirror, on the walll. Where’s them bloody young uns”?

Old punks never die, they just start going for leisurely strolls with their mates.

And so it was, that on 22nd October, the 40th anniversary of the release of New Rose by the Damned, the first ever punk single, SHAT (Socialist Hikers + Anarchist Treckers) were up at the crack of noon for a wander around Cardiff Bay.

It started well, with the ‘11am by the fountainy mirror thing opposite the Millennium Centre’ start drifting on to an 11:30 start. Needless to say it was the youngest and fittest of the crew that were late.

The old folks that arrived on time, were well prepared and all kitted out for the walk and post walk drink (well, the drink) in their finest goth, punk and mod gear. There were even two of us that did not have bad backs or dodgy feet! Continue reading S.H.A.T.ting on the dock of the bay. →

blog

OLD ROSE: Forty years of rejecting the past

new roseToday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of New Rose by the Damned, widely regarded as the first ever punk single. Yes, forty years of a brand new music that changed the world for ever.

This raises several issues.

Firstly, was it the first ever punk rock single? Well, it depends on your definition of punk rock. Many would argue that punk rock was born the other side of the pond, with bands like The Stooges, the New York Dolls and the Ramones. Even if you stick to this side of the pond, The Hollywood Brats, The Hammersmith Gorillas and The Pink Fairies, all arguably punk rock, beat the Damned on to vinyl by several years. Even over in Australia, a continent oft forgotten about when early punk is discussed, the Saints released (I’m) Stranded, an indisputably punk rock record, in September of 1976.

The difference with New Rose though, was that it was the first single from a band that were part of the new scene that had developed with the recognisable identity of what we call today Punk Rock. The Pink Fairies were scruffy hippies and the New York Dolls were – well, they were garage. Continue reading OLD ROSE: Forty years of rejecting the past →

radio shows

LISTEN LIVE: Peppermint Iguana Radio # 130 – Right Time, Wrong Speed – A tribute to John Peel

john-peel-headerThe next Peppermint Iguana Radio show goes out live on 25th October. The anniversary of the departure of the greatest radio DJ the world has ever seen.

John Peel died suddenly at the age of 65 from a heart attack on 25 October 2004, on a working holiday in the Inca city of Cusco in Peru.

We can but dream of one day being fit to lace his boots, but we can pay tribute to him on this week’s show. So we will.

Back in the days when it was acceptable for young boys to go to school in the morning and proudly announce they had been hidden under their bedsheets with a ‘tranny’, many of us will have spent many an evening listening to the John Peel show on a little transistor radio when we were supposed to be getting a good night’s sleep.

Who amongst us did not find ourselves scrabbling for pen and paper after hearing a tune that flicked our switch for the first time.

It is fair to say, over the years, he played an awful lot of crap, but you knew that somewhere on the show you would hear a tune that would change your life.

So this week, alongside the new releases from the underground that John would want us to champion, we will also feature some of the tunes that ‘Uncle John’ turned us on to. We will also try to dig out a few of those legendary Peel Sessions that could often make the career of young hopefuls.

To listen live, tune in to www.dapperfm.co.uk from 8pm o’clock UK time on Tuesday 25th October 2016.

As usual, high five to our sponsors, Cwm Taf Local Government Area Branch of UNISON.

film review

HYPERNORMALISATION – Do not adjust your set

hypernormalisationWe are living in strange and chaotic times. Brexit, loonies on the verge of becoming president of the USA, the Middle East in chaos. But how did we get here? Hypernormalisation is Adam Curtis’ attempt at explaining all in one bite sized (166 minute) chunk.

This is not his first bite of the cherry. In recent years he has made a string of documentaries that take moments from history that would otherwise just be random dots on the pages of the past and joining them up for it all to make sense. Taken as individual works his films present thought provoking works that push the viewer into questioning everything they have been told and to rethink how the world works.

Events that most people would not connect are presented as pieces of a jigsaw that create a new picture of the world when laid next to each other. Continue reading HYPERNORMALISATION – Do not adjust your set →

book review

FESTIVALIZED – Ian Abrahams and Bridget Wishart

festivalized

Festivals are a respectable and integral part of a British summer these days, but it aint always been that way. This is the story of those that died in the festival wars so people could wander around farms in designer wellies and big foam hats without getting arrested.

Not quite the definitive history of the UK free festival scene of the 70s/80s/90s, more a snap shot – an oral history with a collection of anecdotes from people who were there at the time.

Bridget Wishart, member of the Hippy Slags and the only woman ever to front Hawkwind, is as well connected as anyone to collate these stories. The list of contributors reads like a who is who of UK counterculture. Nick Turner (Hawkwind), Swordfish (Magic Mushroom Band), Penny Rimbaud (Crass), Mick Farren (Pink Fairies and journalist) are just the tip of the iceberg of the contributors. Even our own Clint Iguana gets to have a say. Bridget Wishart herself is particularly open and talks of personal issues she had to deal with as a result of being involved with the scene. Continue reading FESTIVALIZED – Ian Abrahams and Bridget Wishart →

blog, news

REMEMBERING ABERFAN – Charity Single

Aberfan_digi_release_sleeve_600

There are only a handful of towns and cities in the world, whose name is so intrinsically linked with an event so tragic that it is invoked every time the place is mentioned. Sadly, there is one a few miles from where I live. Aberfan.

Fifty years ago this week (21st October 1966) ‘coal tip number seven’ slipped and engulfed the school at its foot. In doing so it took the lives of 144 people, 116 of them children. The story of this event is one of personal tragedy and outrage at the attitude of the government and the coal board.

In one morning the anonymous welsh village suddenly became known over the entire world.

I was only four years of age at the time but it is ingrained in my memory. As it probably is in anyone who was around at the time.

Much has been written of this event, and continues to be written. There is little meaningful or constructive I can add. But I post this to bring to your attention a single that has been released with the aim of raising funds for the Aberfan Memorial fund.

Amy Goddard is a folk singer who grew up in the Merthyr Valley and went to school in the neighbouring village to Aberfan.

Remembering Aberfan has been released as a charity single and £2 from the sale of each CD will go to the Aberfan Memorial Charity. You can purchase the single here 

radio shows

LISTEN AGAIN: Peppermint Iguana Radio # 129 – New bloom

iguana rose
iguana rose

Don’t panic comrades, the ginger might be gone, but Clint is still here to keep you up to speed with what is moving and shaking on the underground.

The new style show first bloomed live on 11/10/16 and can be listened to again by clicking on the cloud cast thingy below

 

Play list

1. New rose: BY THE DAMNED
2. Revolution radio: BY GREEN DAY
3. 2016: BY BEANS ON TOAST
4. Mind wash: BY CULTURE SCHOCK Continue reading LISTEN AGAIN: Peppermint Iguana Radio # 129 – New bloom →

radio shows

LISTEN AGAIN: Peppermint Iguana Radio Show – JOHN’S FAREWELL SPECIAL

John reminding us of his catch phrase (ignore the website, he cant even get that right)
John reminding us of his catch phrase (ignore the website, he cant even get that right)

And here we have it for those that missed it, Ginger Gone’s final show for you to listen again as you please.

We thought it had been lost in the bowels of the computer, but we have rolled up our selves, plugged ourselves into the matrix and gone deep into the hard drive of the station server and dragged it out kicking and screaming.

John’s departure also marks our fifth anniversary. In those five years we have done 127 shows, taking up over 300 hours of airtime (that is the equivalent of broadcasting nonstop for 12 and a half days) and we have played 3,500 tunes. We have had a dozen guests on the show, broken the system twice (well, Corky was to blame for one of those times) had over 500 disagreements and 35 full blown rows live on air including, on one occasion, John getting up and walking out in the middle of the show.

But here we have it, John’s last show – a three and a half hour special. It was a sort of greatest hits thing, John playing his favourite tunes from his time on the show and Clint playing his favourite new discoveries from the last half decade. Remarkably, we actually got on well for three of the three and a half hours.

To listen again, press the play button on the mixcloud widget below

And the play list was —

1. Rise up: BY THE MOB
2. Black lightening: BY THE BELLRAYS Continue reading LISTEN AGAIN: Peppermint Iguana Radio Show – JOHN’S FAREWELL SPECIAL →

radio shows

LISTEN LIVE: Peppermint Iguana Radio # 129 – Clint goes solo

DJ-Han-SoloAnd then there was one – Yes, Ginger John is now officially gone, but Clint is still flying the DIY flag and keeping the show on the road. The beat, as they say, goes on.

Now we can really get stuck into Clint’s extensive back catalogue of underground music from the last half decade and can feature more of those hot new releases and demos.

Without the ginger one constantly interrupting we will have time to get stuck into some proper experimental psychedelic funky dubiness and will be able to throw in more of those 12” mixes and album tracks that John used to whinge about.

Oh – and by coincidence, there has been a bit of a change in the sponsor department. Rhondda Cynon Taff UNISON, is no more, they have merged with Merthyr Tydfil UNISON and are now going by the name of Cwm Taf Local Government UNISON.

To listen live, go to www.dapperfm.co.uk from 8pm (UK Time) on Tuesday 11th October 2016