Five Thousand

Today is the occasion of post number five thousand. When I started this blog in January 2010 I thought I'd give it a year and see how it went. That deadline passed and I just kept going, and here we are today, five thousands posts in. I don't have any songs (that I can think of) about the number 5000 so instead here's some song title maths- five times a thousand. Nothing too difficult- this isn't the number round on Countdown. 

The first is from the best band to come out of Burnage, Factory's Stockholm Monsters. Five O'Clock is from Alma Mater, released in 1984, the deliberate greyness of early 80s Factory beginning to be coloured in- a keyboard part and a drum machine ticking away, and some brilliantly untutored vocals. 

The second is from 1992 and Pale Saints, the 4AD signed shoegazers who rode in to massive acclaim with their debut in 1990 and the Sight Of You single. Their follow up, In Ribbons, closes with this wonderfully dreamy song A Thousand Stars Burst Open.  

Five O'Clock

A Thousand Stars Burst Open

Vaughan Oliver

Vaughan Oliver died yesterday aged 62. He was the man responsible for the creating the artwork that graced the sleeves of a slew of bands in the 1980s and 90s and the entire visual identity of 4AD. The selection above shows how distinctive, eye catching and beautiful his work was but also how varied. It helps that the music contained within the 12" by 12" squares above was always of the highest calibre- Lush, Pixies, This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, Ultra Vivid Scene, MARRS, Colourbox, Pale Saints (and also Throwing Muses, The Breeders, AR Kane, Belly... the list goes on). From the days when buying records based on the label they were issued on was commonplace and when the artwork mattered as much as the music.

Here in 1991 are Lush performing their single Sweetness and Light at The Dome, shoegaze pop with a Manchester swing to the rhythm. Vaughan Oliver RIP.

Sight Of You

There's no getting away from it- Pale Saints 1989 song Sight Of You is shoegazing with a capital S. And very plummy, choirboy vocals. I haven't heard this for years and it doesn't quite match up with the song it was in my head, but it's still good enough for a Thursday night.

Sight_Of_You.mp3