Prince - When Doves Cry

I'm sitting here listening to the most perfect pop song ever written. It's bringing back some serious memories - the pulsing simple drumbeat, the complete lack of a bassline and more importantly THAT melody.

When i was in year 3 at Flagstaff Hill Primary in the Adelaide hills, I remember a corridor next to our homeroom that we all hung out in during recess and lunch. It had a boombox that kids would come and put their fave tunes on. My parents bought me this wild double cassette best of 1980 whatever, and this song was doing me in. I would listen to it on repeat - rewind, listen, rewind, listen. That and "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth.

It was so raunchy, if I even knew what that word meant then - I just knew that it was different and it made me feel really weird inside when he said "touching" and "kisses"............sexy. I sauntered up to the boombox and dropped this shit on this bunch of children.

Listen to it now. The crazy intro octave guitar sounds like it would break a child in half. i sat back and waited for the same adulation that usually accompanied kids putting on various Disney tracks and whatever goddawful pop hit was on the radio.

I remember everyone staring at me like I had a booger coming out of my nose. "Touch if you will my stomach"... they were completely dumbfounded. Touching? What the fuck is this song? i was always weird but after this, people stopped asking me to be on their soccer team. I remember a moment when everyone was going to play soccer the day after and i was resplendent in a horrible green and gold adidas tracksuit with glasses and dunlop volleys on, and the motherfuckers completely thwarted me. Sorry. There's too many people on the field, and you played that "touching song" yesterday.

This song changed my life. For real. I think it's my favourite song of all time.

Honesty videoclip

The lovely Tayte (Toddy's better-half) made us a videoclip. One day she just posted and said "Hey i made this hope you like it", and it blew my mind. It's very very good. Tayte also takes wonderful photos. An all-round very talented lassy. Enjoy!

Free demos from the vault

Ola!

I have quite a few demos collecting dust on my hard drive so I thought i'd keep slinging them up here. Most will probably never get a release, some might make it - who knows? I wish i could put out everything I have ever done as a way to satisfy the creative urges, and now with the technology of the world wyld webbb i can!

Lemme know what you think.

Breaking Myself (DEMO) by simonjcarter

Sun Rights (unreleased DEMO) by simonjcarter

FBI "Dusty Fingers" playlist

Ola!

I guest programmed Marty Doyle's "Dusty Fingers" on FBI last week and had an absolute ball. It's not often someone gives me free reign over a radio show and it was fun to bust out a selection of my fave stuff from my rekurd collection!

Thanks Marty!

Aegian Sea - Aphrodites Child
In The Wilderness I Wept - Simon Carter
Brooklyn Zoo - ODB
Strawberry Letter 23 - Brothers Johnson
Secret Life Of Arabia - David Bowie
You Dropped A Bomb On Me - Gap Band
Devil Eyes - Tim Buckley
Lost Due To Incompetance - Yesca
The Hunter's Moon - Simon Carter
Summer Hills - Japanther
I Zimbra - Talking Heads
So Ruff, So Tuff - Roger Troutman
I Get Lifted - George McCrae
ST Elmos Fire - Brian Eno
Abdulmajid - Bowie
Evening Shade - Dolly Parton
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Blue - The Verve
Christine - Siouxsie & The Banshees
House Of Flying Daggers - Raekwon

Images....

Eating Horse?

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/horses-for-courses-as-diners-eye-off-equine-entrees-20100708-101ws.html

You have to be kidding me.

Horses are a bastion of regality; an animal that while not as intelligent as, say, a dolphin, still exude an air of such grace that to kill one in the name of food is just simply wrong. If you have ever looked a horse in the eye, you will know that there is an intelligence there that cannot be denied. Behind those eyes are memories; thousands of years of mankind treating their steeds like members of the family. It is an ancient acknowledgement that our lives and theirs are forever entwined. Do not forget that mankind has existed side by side with horses since 3500BC.

These beautiful, graceful, INTELLIGENT animals have no place on a dinner plate. You wouldn't place your dog on your dinner plate. Horses are infinitely more regal and important to the human race.

This is WRONG. Oppose it wherever you can. I pity those that think that a horse is right for a dinner plate. Why are human beings so goddamn stupid sometimes?

s.

Pre Release album rundown #1: HOLD YOUR HORSES

For anyone that's interested, I thought I'd start to talk about the songs from our forthcoming album THE BLACK BOOK OF THE UNIVERSE. It's due for release next week (hopefully - at the moment there's a backup at the pressing plant). The album is definitely NOT contemporary, ha ha.

HOLD YOUR HORSES:

This is the second song i wrote for the album. It was written in my former apartment on a day off. I was just sitting on the couch listening to sounds reaching me from other apartments, the background hum of traffic etc etc. That started me off. I really wanted to encapsulate the feeling of solidarity I was feeling - being shut of from everyone else - in this case being a solo artist for the first time without having a band or management or record label - basically being right back at the point i was when I was 18 and first started out in bands.

I got the first half of the song pretty easily - just an acoustic ditty, but when i got to the end of the second chorus i realised that the song needed to go somewhere else. I'd been listening to a lot of early Genesis which completely threw the rule book of songwriting out the window, and i decided to just fuck it up and go wherever my mind took me. When i'd finished the thing i liked most about the entire song is that it just lurched from this quasi-medieval jaunt into a rock opera esque number. At first it seemed a bit too weird. but after repeated listens it really grew on me.