The Sunday Alternative is a free podcast made for the love of discovering and sharing new music. I do it for free and am happy to do so. However, if you have enjoyed it then please do consider making a donation using this PayPal button. This will enable me to continue with this podcast and also to make other free entertainment, both in the fields of music and comedy, which I will make freely available online.

There is of course no obligation, but many thanks in advance if you do.

If everyone who hit this podcast paid one pound a month it would make a massive difference.

Monday 3 December 2012

Top Wave Radio Pilot

The Sunday Alternative might have found a new home on Top Wave Radio, this edition broadcast today at 7pm

The Birthday Party 'Mr Clarinet'
Golden Curtain 'Everything's Fine'
The Petebox 'Lithium'
Emily Needs 'Creep'
Joe Strange 'Ever Since The Day'
Rebel Soul Collective 'Modern Medicine'
The Cult Of Dom Keller 'Worlds'
The Smiths 'Jeanie'
Pop Rivets 'LamberettaVespaScooter'
The Vanity Claus 'The Scream'
Pop Will Eat Itself 'Get The Girl Kill The Baddies'

Monday 26 November 2012

Pocket Sized Podcast 2

Dog Is Dead 'Teenage Daughter'
Bleed Electric 'A New Reason'
Vamoise 'Come With Me'
The Cheek Of Her 'Beauty Queen'
Hank C Burdette 'Rocking On Down The Line'
Blue Pearl 'Love In Stereo'
Rebekah Delgado 'Trying To Forget'
The Cellophane Flowers 'Rock n Roll'

Monday 19 November 2012

Pocket Sized Podcast 1

I might not have a radio show but that doesn't mean that The Sunday Alternative shouldn't carry on. Hopefully I'll have time to carry these on, as half hour little episodes so that I can continue to share my music collection.

The Lancashire Hotpots 'Uncle Bernard'
Dave Days 'California Dreamin''
Eddie And The Hot Rods 'Quit This Town'
Captain Sensible 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'
Nina Smith 'Come Home'
Chris Pope 'Mutiney On The Thames'
Nya 'You Are'
Calling All Astronauts 'What's So Good About'

Tuesday 6 November 2012

I have resigned from Trent Sound as of today. Below is a copy of the email I sent to the station controller and all of my colleagues.

I have decided that the time has come to resign from Trent Sound, with immediate effect. At first I wanted to try and ignore all the behind the scenes shit and continue to produce my usual standard of radio, but having listened back to my recent shows I can detect from my voice that the enjoyment has gone. Once the enthusiasm dies then the only thing to do is to move on. By occasionally making pre-recorded programmes, I felt that I was doing the right thing so as not to have to rely on replacement presenters, and maintain the continuity of The Sunday Alternative. As I don't believe in bullshitting the audience, I felt it the right move to admit when a pre-rec was being broadcast. I listen to a lot of radio and can tell if a show is live or not, so there is no merit in pretending otherwise. Getting shit from it on Facebook, a public forum, from the station's manager, was unacceptable in my mind and showed me how I was really thought of in Andy Lloyd's eyes. For your information, I have no more or less of an ego than anyone else at the station and it doesn't hurt to be proud of what you do on the radio, I certainly don't need help. The subsequent email exchange that took place between us was just childish. While I regret 'biting', the response only helped to strengthen my feeling that I should quit while I'm ahead.
 
The Sunday Alternative name will live on. For the time being, it will continue as a podcast that will appear every Sunday morning on the show's Mixcloud account, until I find a new radio home for it. The Steve's LP Box segment will also continue.
I will also continue to present The Sound Of Nottingham UK, (the home of Robin Hood on Robin Hood Radio) for Connecticut based Robin Hood Radio, which broadcasts twice over the weekend, (6am Saturday and 6pm Sunday UK time).
 
I have mostly enjoyed my time at Trent Sound, and I hope that the friendships I have made will continue. You all have my number and Facebook/Twitter details.
 
The Sunday Alternative is something I am very proud of, and I know that the show is good enough to continue for a long time to come.
 
I am sorry to have had to resort to this action, I sincerely hope that Trent Sound continues to provide the service that it is committed to. After all, TS is Nottingham's only independent local radio station and local radio is very important. It is genuine when I say that I wish all the very best of luck to all involved at 'Trent Towers'.
 
Thanks must also go to Penny Reeve, Chris Underwood, Erik Petersen, Andy Haynes, Bainy, and Jason Loftus for co-hosting and deputising. Thanks also to Bainy, Andy, and Callum for producing my live music sessions.
 
Regards
Steve Oliver
 
PS- As with everyone else who has left the station, I fully expect to be slagged off until a new target is found. Frankly, I don't fucking care.

Monday 5 November 2012

Live Again!

9pm-10pm

The Two Gilberts 'Do Shrimps Make Good Mothers?'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
New Model Army 'Vagabonds'
Ministry 'Every Day Is Halloween'
Reel Big Fish 'Ghostbusters'
Angelic Upstairs 'Kids On The Streets'
Billy D And The Hoodoos 'Whyya Do It?'
Toots And The Maytalls 'Pressure Drop'
The Maytalls 'Water Melon'
Dog Is Dead 'Talent Show'
DH Lawrence And The Vaudeville Skiffle Show 'Penn Station'
The Lemonheads 'Into Your Arms'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE

Thursday's Child
The Dreamers
Yassasin


10pm-11pm

Max Bygraves 'Decimilisation'
Wedding present 'Interstate 5'
Captain Sensible 'Happy Talk'
Grandmaster Flash 'White Lines (Don't Do It)'
The Paragons 'The Tide Is High'
John Otway 'The Highwayman'
Seven Little Sisters 'Promised Land'
The Locos 'Don't Worry Be Happy'
Catch 22 'American Pie'
Bill Flagg 'Rockabilly'
The Muffs 'Sad Tomorrow'
Porno For Pyros 'Freeway'
Crass 'Big A Little A'

Sunday 28 October 2012

Branch Out and John Peel

I recorded this week's show this afternoon as I wanted to attend as much of the Branch Out Festival as possible. The pre-record was fairly easy/lazy as I had already prepared the John Peel Day section that was going to take over the whole second hour. As a fan of Fuzzbox, I obviously wanted to play a song in tribute to Jo Dunne, who died two days ago. I gave the rest of the first hour over to Nottingham's finest, who were all performing today.


9pm-10pm

Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Fuzzbox 'Pink Sunshine' (played in tribute to Jo Dunne)

Captain Dangerous 'Everything Beautiful Reminds Me Of You'
Marc Reeves 'Holding On'
The Smears 'Halloween'
Practical Lovers 'Put It Bluntly'
Will Jeffery 'Dorothy Jean'
Emily Martin 'Guide Me Home'
Breadchasers 'Hold 'em High'
The Afterdark Movement 'Since I've Been Here'
Barnum Meserve 'Stay Awake'
Nina Smith 'I Won't Forget You'
Kappa Gamma 'Just Another'
Hhymn 'These Hands'
Sleaford Mods 'Wage Don't Fit'


10pm-11pm

Intro: John Peel
Mitch Benn 'A Minutes Noise For John'
John Peel introduction: The Undertones 'Teenage Kicks'
The Cure 'Killing An Arab'
The Specials 'Gangsters'
Misty In Roots 'Poor And Needy'
The Wedding Present 'Once More'
Billy Bragg 'A13'
Principle Edwards Magic Theatre 'Sacrifice'
Bogshed 'Spencer Travis'
John Peel introduction: The Ramones 'I Wanna Be Sedated'
Joy Division 'Transmission'
John Peel introduction: Eddie And The Hot Rods 'Teenage Depression'
The White Stripes 'Baby Blue'
The Buzzcocks 'Promises'
The Fall 'The War Against Intelligence'
The Vibrators 'She's Bringing You Down'
UK Subs 'Keep On Running'
Mudhoney 'Here Comes Sickness'
The Slits 'Love ind Romance'
John Peel "Goodbye"

Sunday 21 October 2012

I Am The Wind

I had the most appalling wind this evening, but thankfully I'd blown it all out before my guest arrived. Adam Clarkson (Red Bear) came in to play a couple of songs and talk about his upcoming gigs, including the final Captain Dangerous show of the year next Sunday as part of the Branch Out Festival. Next week's show will be a pre-record for this reason.



9pm-10pm

Lesley Holmes 'He Played The Ukulele As The Ship Went Down'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Reel Big Fish 'Monkey Man'
Jake Bugg 'Lightning Bolt'
Jake Bugg 'Saffron'
Bob Dylan 'Subterranian Homesick Blues'
The Animal Jack Band 'I Can't Strip My Lambretta Down In The Kitchen'
Captain Dangerous 'Everything Beautiful Reminds Me Of You'
Redbear 'Gather All The Animals' (live)
             'Merrow Song' (live)
Captain Dangerous 'Forgive Us We're British'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE: (only time for two this week)
Station To Station
TVC15

10pm-11pm

Theme from Happy Days
The Who 'Magic Bus'
The Madeline Rust 'When The Sugar Dies' (live at The Maze)
Dog Is Dead 'Hands Down'
Jerry Reed 'She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)'
The Levellers 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia'
Dead Kennedys 'Pull My Strings'
Derrick Harriot 'Monkey Ska'
Captain Dangerous 'Be Careful Who You Lend Your Heart To'
                            'Cheerio'
Calling All Astronauts 'What's So Good About'
Sleaford Mods 'Five Pound Sixty'
The Smears 'Rise Of The Liars'
Will Jeffery 'The Beasts'
Practical Lovers 'Textbook Romance'

Monday 15 October 2012

I'm Not Here

By radio magic, I managed to be both on air providing the best possible musical choices and across town at The Rescue Rooms at the same time. It's not actual magic, it was a pre-recorded show because I was watching The Beat.

I'm the one on the left.


9pm-10pm

The Cats 'Knees Up Mother Brown'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
The Beat 'Mirror In The Bathroom'
The Procession 'The Simple Things'
The Afterdark Movement 'Made In Britain'
The Exploited 'God Save The Queen'
The Sex Pistols 'God Save The Queen'*
Captain Sensible 'Damned On 45'
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts 'I Hate Myself For Loving You'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
Absolute Beginners
Rebel Rebel
Teenage Wildlife

*Possible feature, Same Title Different Song. Maybe not.

10pm-11pm

The Mufftones 'It's Hard To Say I Love You'
Faith No More 'War Pigs'
Alice In Chains 'Rooster'
Carter USM 'Rent'
KLF 'What Time Is Love'
The Levellers 'Just The One'
Redbear 'Gather All The Animals'
Ian Dury And The Blockheads 'Itinerent Child'
Morrissey 'Ouija Board Ouija Board'
Skid Row '18 and Life'
Evil Jack 'Happy Valley'

NOTTINGHAM 3:
Will Jeffery 'Bucket And Spade'
The Smears 'Handcuffs And Powderpuffs'
8mm Orchestra 'Kevin Spacey's Box Of Mystery'

Sunday 7 October 2012

All By Myself

Penny should be glad of her perfect timing, as a weekend of Goose Fair food had given me the most powerful wind that I just couldn't contain. An airtight studio was not the ideal place to see out my weekend. Talking of Goose Fair, the rock and roll medley at the beginning, and the song 'Band Of Gold' at the end are in honour of fairground music.

9pm-10pm

Lily Morris 'He's Only A Working Man'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Del Shannon 'Runaway'
Bill Hayley And The Comets 'Rock Around the Clock'
Buddy Holly And The Crickets 'Oh Boy'
The Champs 'Tequila'
Plague Of Ares 'Rising Sun, Dying Star'
We Are Avengers 'Revolution'
Nina Smith 'Everybody Hurts' (live at #Nottingham Rocks, Saturday 22nd September)
Gene Lamarr and The Blue Flames 'You Don't Love Me Anymore'
L7 'Stuck Here Again'
Mudhoney 'In And Out Of Grace'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
Looking For Satellites
Pictures Of Lily
Loving The Alien

10pm-11pm

Sid James 'Double Bunk'
Mikey Dredd 'Barbershop Saloon'
Sex Presleys 'Heartbreak Hotel'
Sex Presleys 'I Can't Help Falling In Love With You'
The Ex-Pistols 'Sex On 45'
Plan B feat John Cooper Clarke 'Pity The Plight'
John Cooper Clarke '(I Married) A Monster From Outer Space'
The Trashmen 'King Of The Surf'
The Madeline Rust 'Red Mist' (live at The Maze, 29th September)
Half Man Half Biscuit 'You're Hard'
UK Subs 'I Live In A Car'
Limozine 'Tokyo 1970'
Eddie And The Hot Rods 'Wooly Bully'
The Vejitables 'Hide Yourself'
Tommy Danton And The Echoes 'Twenty One'
The Baboons 'Drinkin' Gasoline'
Peter And The Test Tube Babies 'I Wanna Rob A Bank'
Freda Payne 'Band Of Gold'

Sunday 30 September 2012

A Reeve And A Reeves

Penny's final outing as my co-presenter went very well and without tears. She will be back occasionally to fill in (having already been asked by Bainy to join him on Notts Live) and so will maintain a relationship with the station.


9pm-10pm

Squeeze 'Goodbye Girl'
Jimi Hendrix 'All Along The Watchtower'
Andy Williams 'Can't Get Used To Losing You'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Harry Champion 'A Little Bit Of Cucumber'
Jessie Wallace (as Marie Lloyd) 'My Old Man Said Follow The Van'
The Thrills 'Nothing Changes Around Here'
The Strokes 'Under The Cover Of Darkness'

'Judgement Day'
'Chameleon' (live)
'I Need You' (live)
'Easy Way Out'

David Bowie 'Heroes'

10pm-11pm

Peter Cook And Dudley Moore 'Goodbye'
David Bowwow 'Quite Ahead Of My Time'
PIL 'Poptones'
William Shatner 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Eric Weissberg and Steve Mande 'Duelling Banjos'
Alison Krauss 'Dimming Of The Day'
Earl Scruggs 'Fireball Mail'

Joy Division 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
Swimming 'Neauton Wireless Crystal'
Kate Bush 'Wuthering Height' (played under sufferance, listen back on Mixcloud for the full context)

NOTTINGHAM 3:
Joshua Keogh 'Stone'
Frankie Rudolph 'Heart On Fire'
Marc Block 'Cradle Of Sunshine'









Sunday 23 September 2012

The Penny-ultimate

Penny broke the news to me tonight, as soon as she uttered the words "I need to talk to you", I knew. It was the same "I need to talk to you" tone of voice that you use to dump someone. I'll be sad to see Penny go as she made a big improvement to the show when it was in danger of jumping the shark, but having given some thought to the situation, I am looking forward to the challenge of doing it alone.

9pm-10pm

Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Elsie and Doris Waters 'Please Leave My Butter Alone'
Snuff 'I Will Survive'
Roxanne De Bastion 'Red And White Blood Cells'
Sham 69 'You're A Better Man Than I'
Damn Vandals 'This Amazing'
Damn Vandals 'Trouble With Jesus'
PJ Harvey 'Let England Shake'
Porcupine Time 'Arriving Somewhere, But Not Here'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
Repetition
Fantastic Voyage
Sweet Thing

10pm-11pm

Charlie Drake 'I've Lost The End Of My Yodel'
Fields Of Nephilin 'Mourning Sun'

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
The Best Of Bluegrass 'Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms'
JD Crowe And The New South 'Flint Hill Special'
New Generation Bluegrass 'Three Rusty Nails'

New Order 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' (Live at Festival Number 6)
The Procession 'Stopping Time'

NOTTINGHAM 3:
Fresh Eyes For The Dead Guy 'Blue Harbour'
Baby Godzilla 'Power Boat Disaster'
Georgie Rose 'Retribution'

Monday 17 September 2012

Another Year Older

The bunting was cleared away, the last bit of cake has been eaten, and we've broken all of our new toys. This was back to business as usual for The Sunday Alternative, a year older but none the wiser.

9pm-10pm

T-Rex 'Hot Love'
T-Rex 'Telegram Sam'
Brian Fahay Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
George Formby 'Under The Blasted Oak'
The Toy Dolls 'Lazy Sunday Afternoon'
Shonen Knife 'I Am A Cat'
Detroit Cobras 'Cha Cha Twist'
The Donkeys 'Born With Stripes'
Flipron feat Neville Staples 'The Comet Returns'
James J Turner 'Let Love Into Your Heart'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
Please Mr Gravedigger
Silly Boy Blue
Cygnet Committee

10pm-11pm

Monty Python 'I Bet You They Won't Play This Song On The Radio'
Bauhaus 'Bela Lugosi's Dead'

Penny's Bluegrass Jamboree:
Iron Horse 'Ain't Talking About Love'
Little Big Town 'Born This Way'
The Pigs 'Doncha'

Bernard Butler 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' (acoustic)

City and Colour 'Sleeping Sickness'
The Fall 'My New House'
The Cure 'A Forest'

Nottingham 3:
Amusement Parks On Fire 'Road Eyes'
Rapunzel M.A.P. 'I Want You Back Again'
Ryan Thomas 'Hangover Blues'

Sunday 9 September 2012

Happy Birthday To Us!

It was like introducing your ex to your current partner, (not that you would do that), when Chris Underwood turned up to join in with the birthday fun. He had to stop doing the show because family time took up a large chunk of his Sunday, (and rightly so). At least he had the decency to tell me rather than just not turning up and ignoring messages. Penny was back from her holiday too, and Rapunzel M.A.P. popped in to talk about her upcoming one-off 'comeback' night busk. She also brought a home-made card and a pork pie with a candle in, (a call-back for the really loyal listeners).
 

If the little cartoon of me looks familiar, look at my blog profile picture! Brilliant detail there eh? My girlfriend Mandi even made us some birthday cakes for the occasion.

The true radio fan will know the significance of the first track played, I'm shocked it hasn't ever come up in a pub quiz.

9pm-10pm

Max Wall 'England's Glory'
PIL 'Flowers Of Romance' (part of a birthday message from our punk rock colleague Steve Hardy)
The Undertones 'Teenage Kicks' (the favourite song of John Peel, the reason I work in radio. I am proud to be carrying on his work)
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
The Chameleons 'Don't Fall'
Jesus Jones 'Who Where Why'
Rapunzel M.A.P. 'Hologram Girl'
Eagles Of Death Metal 'Cherry Cola'
Tom Waits 'Big Black Mariah'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
I'm Afraid Of Americans
Magic Dance
The Laughing Gnome

10pm-11pm

Peter Sellers 'Bangers And Mash'
The Damned 'Smash It Up'
The Barnum Meserve 'If You had A Heart It Would Be Made Of Glass'
The Barnum Meserve 'Broken Window'
Riot Squad 'I Take It We're Through'
The Birthday Kiss 'Starting To Come Back To Life'
Jake Morley 'Pondering On A Scenario In Which I Am The Hero'
Paul Young/Honeyroot 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' (our new game Paul Young Will Tear Us Apart, Penny won this week)

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
The Gourdes 'Gin And Juice'
Hayseed Dixie 'Walk This Way'
Bad Livers 'Lust For Life'

NOTTINGHAM 3:
Will Jefferey 'The Day Off'
Captain Dangerous 'Executing Elliott'
The Golden Troubadours 'Sunshine Eyes'




Sunday 2 September 2012

The One Before The Birthday Show

All alone again, with Penny on holiday, with nobody to stand in I did the show alone and rather than talk to myself, I bombarded the lucky listener with some of the best music that was ever made.

"Music you don't hear on the radio, on the radio"
Thinking of getting car stickers made with that on. I should also get stickers made with the quotes on; "the best BBC 6Music show that isn't on BBC 6 Music, yet", and my favourite comment, "the reason computers have speakers".

The show started with tributes to Hal David and Max Bygraves.

9pm-10pm
Bomb The Bass 'Say A Little Prayer'
Sandi Shaw 'Always Something There To Remind Me'
Max Bygraves 'Tulips From Amsterdam'
The Stranglers 'Walk On By'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Florrie Ford 'Down At The Old Bull And Bush'
The Wonder Stuff 'It's Yer Money I'm After Baby'
Black Flag 'Black Coffee'
Happy Mondays 'Rave On'
John Otway 'Beware Of The Flowers'
The Wedding Present 'Back For Good'
Skyway 'Fast Car'
The Monks 'Nice Legs Shame About The Face'
Jerry Reed 'When I Found You'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
1984
You've Got A Habit Of Leaving
Cat People

10pm-11pm
Max Bygraves 'Pink Toothbrush'
Jonathon Richman And The Modern Lovers 'Ice Cream Man'
Sebastopol 'All Eyes'
The Chantays 'Pipeline'
Link Wray 'Ace Of Spades'
Liz Lawrence 'Oo Song'
Louis 'Monkey Girl'
Flipron featuring Neville Staple 'The Comet Returns'
History Of The Trade 'One Arms Length'
The Trade 'Do You Want It?'
Gary Numan 'She's Got Claws'
Circus Envy 'Three Score And Ten'
Damn Vandals 'Can't Go Dancing When You're Gone'
Captain Dangerous 'Executing Elliot'
The Golden Troubadours 'Road Of Bones'

NOTTINGHAM 3
Practical Lovers 'Textbook Romance'
Blindsight 'With Open Eyes'
One Girl One Boy 'This One Boy'

Sunday 26 August 2012

All Alone On My Birthday Eve

No Penny this week, and this was my final show as a 35 year old! Joe Strummer would have celebrated his birthday this week, hence the abundance of The Clash, and Neil Armstrong died so the first track was for him.

9pm-10pm
REM 'Man On The Moon'
The Clash 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais'
The Clash 'Bankrobber'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign On The Swinging Cymbal'
Flanagan And Allen 'Run Rabbit Run'
101ers 'Key To Your Heart'
Skanatra 'Fly Me To The Moon'
The Trojans 'Stand By Me'
Louise And The Pins 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'
Bobby Fuller Four 'I Fought The Law'
I Hate My Ex 'Baby Baby Baby'
Soulthrower 'Bad Romance'
Danny Kaye 'Inchworm'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
Magic Dance
Underground
There Is A Happy Land

10pm-11pm

John Shuttleworth 'Betty Turpin'
Nine Inch Nails 'We're In This Together'
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes 'Nothing Compares To You'
Guns and Roses Vs The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper's Paradise City'
Parastatic 'Where's Your Base?'
James J Turner 'Let Love Into Your Heart'
The Clash 'Janie Jones'
The Clash 'White Riot'
The Tuesday Club 'They May Look Cute'
Inspiral Carpets 'Tainted Love'
Orelander 'Boys Don't Cry'
The Ramones 'Judy Is A Punk'
The Undertones 'You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It?)'
The Wonderstuff 'Blackberry Way'

NOTTINGHAM 3
Royal Gala 'The Wren'
In The Teepees 'Arranged Allies'
Redbear 'Song For The Unknown Bear'

Thursday 23 August 2012

Greatest Hits: 'Louie Louie'

This is an edition of The Sunday Alternative's Greatest Hits, which is basically a way of recapping certain areas of the show so far. I like to try and keep the show as fresh as possible, and dropping regular features in favour of new ones is how it happens.

The feature Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll was an airing of my collection of cover versions of 'Louie Louie', 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and 'I Love Rock and Roll'. As you'll remember, there were a lot of them. This edition of The Sunday Alternative's Greatest Hits is only for the very patient. Or mad.

The tracklist is in chronological order of the songs being played on the radio:

The Kingsmen
Richard Berry And The Pharohs
Motorhead
The Clash
Toots And The Maytalls
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts
The Navarones
Paul Revere And The Raiders
Jeff And The Rfs
The Beach Boys
John Schroder
The Sonics
The Sandpipers
MC5
Iggy Pop
Black Flag

Listen to the podcast here.

Monday 20 August 2012

It Was Brian Eno!

Last week I played a popular jingle known as 'the computer turny onny offy sound', which goes like this. You hear it in your house and at work every day, but does anyone know who wrote it and the others? As nobody heard last week's show due to the Olympic closing ceremony, I attempted to play it again. The faders didn't work so I couldn't play it, so I snapped and just said "It's Brian Eno". If there was a prize, then I would have won it.

With no Olympic closing ceremony to stop us, we managed a really tight two hour show. What better way to welcome back our millions of listeners after they deserted us for a week?

9pm-10pm
Scott McKenzie 'San Fransisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Miss Piggy 'My Old Man Said Follow The Van'
Guitar Wolf 'Summertime Blues'
The Blueveils 'Come My Way'
The Tuesday Club 'Dolly Dynamite'
Hey Sholay 'Dreamboat'
Ringo Ska 'Can't Buy Me Love'
Nerina Pallot 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'*
Sebastopol 'Suffer Fools'
Joe Strummer 'Walk On The Wild Side' (a shit joke follows)
Half Man Half Biscuit 'Paintball's Coming Home'
Splodgenessabounds 'I've Got Lots Of Famous People Living Under The Floorboards Of My Humble Abode'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE: Covers special
Nirvana 'The Man Who Sold The World'
Peter Noone 'Oh You Pretty Thing'
Ian McCulloch 'Changes'

10pm-11pm
Lonnie Donegan 'My Old Man's A Dustman'
Peter And The Test Tube Babies 'Spirit Of Keith Moon'

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Lee Morse And Her Bluegrass Boys 'Nobody Cares If I'm Blue'
Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys 'Southern Flavour'
Honeywagon 'Billie Jean'

Jilted John 'Jilted John' (a really nice version, taken from the album)
Blakcan 'Dark Daze'
The Griswolds 'Psychobilly In Love'
The Swallows 'It Ain't The Meat'
Queen 'One Vision' (snippet for John Deacon's birthday)

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
The Petebox 'Where Is My Mind'
August Actually 'Vampire'
Injured Birds 'Forest' (live in session on Nottingham LACE)

*It is not a feature.

Monday 13 August 2012

One Dog, No Listeners

We didn't have the audience we have become accustomed to tonight, and it was hard going doing the show with that in mind. The Olympic closing ceremony blasted us out of the water, so I recommend a visit to our mixcloud to put things right.Sam, the Trent Sound dog, also came in to see us. Penny became a cooing mess for a while but we managed to pull it back. I have to admit he is adorable.

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Max Miller 'La-De-Da'
Cypress Hill and Slash 'Paradise City'
Green Day 'I Fought The Law'
Jim Bob 'Mr Blue Sky'
Elbow 'On A Day Like This' (the recording on mixcloud starts at this song for some reason, so you don't miss the joke that I wrote in about 2004 and have used ever since. Penny thought it was funny, but my girlfriend Mandi pointed out that she hasn't heard it a million times. Also, we played this before the BBC played it during the ceremony).
Frank Zappa 'Muffin Man'
The Gonads 'I Lost My Love To A UK Sub'
Toy Dolls 'There's A Trollop Up Elmwood Street'
Them Crooked Vultures 'New Fang'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
The Gospel According To Tony Day
Take My Tip (Davey Jones And The Mannish Boys)
And I Say To Myself (David Bowie And The Lower Third)

10pm-11pm
Monty Python 'The Money Song'
At Vance 'Money Money Money'

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Seven Little Sisters 'Where The Wind Blows'
Sarah Jaroz 'Come On Up To The House'
Alison Krauss And The Union State 'Choctaw Hayride'

Susanna And The Magic Orchestra 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'*
Bull Moose Jackson 'Big Ten Inch'
Eighty Eight 'BS I Love You'
John Frusciante 'Unreachable'
Desire 'Under Your Spell'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
Jake Bugg 'Lightening Bolt'
Riff Bastard 'Doom With A View'
The Afterdark Movement 'Made In Britain'

*It isn't a feature!

This show was followed by my documentary about David Bowie's album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, you can hear that here.

Monday 6 August 2012

The Ultimate Hoax

To celebrate Penny's few days in the week visiting Southend, a place very close to my heart, I played a couple of songs from Southend bands. The music scene in Southend was, (and I hope still is) almost as vibrant as Nottingham and I was proud to be a part of it.

I also managed to deliver a hoax bit of information dressed up as fact, that fooled the entire nation, and possibly the world as nobody contacted the show to say that they had spotted it*. As radio moments go, this is on a par with Orson Wells in 1938.

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
George Formby 'The Ace Of Spades'
Motorhead 'Ace Of Spades'
David Bowie 'Sell Me A Coat'
David Bowie and The Lower Third 'Can't Help Thinking About You'
(the above two songs played in absence of Steve's Big Bag Full Of Bowie this week)
Toots And The Maytalls '54-46 Was My Number' (I also played a snippet of 'Street Tuff' by Rebel MC to demonstrate the sample)
Bob Marley And The Wailers 'I Shot The Sheriff'
The Cure 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
Joanna Newsome 'Cosmia'
Breadchasers 'Things Will Be Better'
Eddie And The Hot Rods 'Teenage Depression'
Dr Feelgood 'Milk and Alcohol'
Flock of Seagulls 'I Ran' (This week's Dad Rock Classic)

10pm-11pm
Max Miller and Lonnie Donegan (a song that I can't think of the title of)
Wedding Present 'Interstate 5'
Richard Cheese 'Welcome To The Jungle' (played to plug the documentary about Appetite For Destruction coming up after the news)
Lonnie Donegan 'Cumberland Bap' (played a snippet to illustrate a joke)
Morrissey 'First Of The Gang To Die'
Half Man Half Biscuit '24 Hour Garage People'
Bill Hayley And The Comets 'Rock Around The Clock'
Bill Hayley And The Saddlemen 'Rock This Joint' (played both together to illustrate how the two songs are identical)

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Willie Nelson 'He Was A Friend Of Mine'
Dailey And Vincent 'On The Other Side'
Mindy Smith 'One Moment More'
(Penny's Bluegrass Jamboree was squeezed in this hour because we are only doing two hours)
Redbear 'Song For The Unknown Bear'
Dan Le Sac and Scoobius Pip 'Letter From God To Man'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
The Golden Troubadour 'Sunshine Eyes'
Tom Wardle 'California Here I Come'
The Money 'Star'

(The show was followed by my 25th anniversary celebration of Appetite For Destruction. You can hear it here).

*I played a spoof recording at the start of the show, apparently George Formby singing 'Ace Of Spades'. As I always start with a music hall song, I think I got away with it, as the listeners expect to hear that sort of thing. I then played the Motorhead version and announced that it came from an album called Metal Does Music Hall, and that the Formby version was the original. Listeners were informed that the album was long out of print, but that they could see Deep Purple's cover of 'Boiled Beef And Carrots' on YouTube. Not one single person got it!

Sunday 29 July 2012

The Return Of Penny

I've been thinking about the structure of the show, and while we were pre-recording the third hour we came up with doing Steve's Big Bag Full Of Bowie to close the third hour. The only way I fucked up a little, is that Penny sent me some song choices a couple of days ago and it was too late as I was going to a gig and missed the deadline. I assumed she would be using last week's choices, so it was resolved. It was hardly a crisis that threatened to bring down radio, but I fucked something up and I don't like that.

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Harry Champion 'Boiled Beef And Carrots'
Bow Wow Wow 'Go Wild In The Country'
Spunge 'Kicking Pigeons'
Wire 'I Am The Fly'
Bush 'Swim' (we had just seen on Twitter that Rebecca Adlington had won a medal and panic-selected the first song we came across by typing 'swimming' into the computer's search system. We couldn't have picked a more inappropriate song if we'd tried).
Deer Tick 'Into The Storm'
The Flaming Lips 'Race For The Prize'
Jack White 'Blunderbuss'
Choking Susan 'Someone Else's Face'
Choking Susan 'Liar Liar'
The Radiacs 'She's My Witch'
UK Subs 'Down On The Farm'
Twisted Sister 'We're Not Gonna Take It' (DAD ROCK CLASSIC)

10pm-11pm
OK Go 'Theme From The Muppet Show'
The Who 'Won't Get Fooled Again'
The 101ers 'Keys To Your Heart'
I Hate My Ex 'Baby Baby baby'
Inspiral Carpets 'Paranoid'
The Decemberists 'This Is Why We Fight'
The Boy Most Likely To 'Be Gentle With Me'
Dave Gahn 'New Rose'
The Jam 'Give Me Just A Little More Time'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
Georgie Rose 'For Him'
Long Dead Signal 'Black Waltz'
Rob Green and Nina Smith 'Bad News'

11pm-12am

PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs 'The Ballad Of Jed Clampett'
Carolina Chocolate Drops 'Trouble In Your Mind'
Hank Thompson 'The Wild Side Of Life'

Kitty Wells 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels' (played once again to show how it was written as a response to the Hank Thompson song)
Rebekah Delgado 'Little Boy Blue'
Spaceships Are Cool 'Gingerbread House'
Eddie And The Hot Rods 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'
Metallica 'Disposable Heroes'
The Soho Dolls 'Stripper'

STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
I'm Afraid Of Americans
Let's Spend The Night Together
Rebel Rebel

Sunday 22 July 2012

All By Myself

Penny rang in sick tonight, and I couldn't get anyone to take her place, so I had to forget that I dislike doing solo shows. Actually, I think you could probably tell the moment that my confidence kicked in. With nobody to talk to, I let the music do the talking.

9pm-10pm
Kitty Wells 'Heartaches By The Number'
Deep Purple 'Speed King'
Deep Purple 'Black Night' (Played in tribute to Jon Lord, and Kitty Wells)
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Stanley Holloway 'With Her Head Tucked Under Her Arm'
Snuff 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads'
10,000 Maniacs 'Everyday Is Like Sunday'
Half Man Half Biscuit 'Time Flies By'
Gang Of Four 'I Found That Essence Rare'
Rebekah Delgado 'Trying To Forget'
Rebekah Delgado 'Sing You Through The Storm'
Barenaked Ladies 'If I Had $1,000,000'
Dr Hook 'Roland The Roadie and Gertrude The Groupie'
Choking Susan 'Thimble Tits'
Choking Susan 'Touch Me'
Whitesnake 'Here I Go Again' (this week's DAD ROCK CLASSIC)

10pm-11pm
The Krankies 'Fan Dabi Dozi'
Sisters Of Mercy 'More'
Granville Sessions 'Pubsteppin'
Blak Magic Society 'Our Time'
The Toppers 'Baby Let Me Bang Your Box'
The Fireballs 'Torquay'
The Chantays 'Runaway'
Slash and Miles Kennedy 'Sweet Child Of Mine'
The Human League 'Black Hit Of Space'
The Farm 'Don't You Want Me?'
Curtis Magee 'Everybody's Making It Big But Me'
Spunge 'Down Under'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
Saint Raymond 'Shadows'
Joshua Keogh 'Stone'
Barnum Meserve 'Autumn Park'

11pm-12am
STEVE'S BIG BAG FULL OF BOWIE:
The Man Who Sold The World (Acoustic)
Pablo Picasso
The Bewley Brothers
Life On Mars (piano)

The Fall 'The Classical'
Ella Fitzgerald 'Summertime'
The White Stripes 'Baby Blue'
Ian Dury And The Blockheads 'Reasons To Be Cheerful' (live)
The Misfits 'Dig Up Her Bones'
Rancid 'Let Me Go'
Showbizheroes 'Thinking and Drinking'
Anti-Knowhere League 'Streets Of London'
October Sky 'The Message'

Monday 16 July 2012

The Swear Box Is Filling Up

A very strange show tonight, I didn't have the motivation to begin with and felt as if I wasn't firing on all cylinders and had left my best fight in the gym, to mangle two expressions together. Penny has taken part in a fifty mile cycle ride today for charity, (sponsor her here) and was rather giddy. I found it a struggle for some reason, even though we had a guest; Darren Patterson from Nottingham Live, who is writing about the station. During the final hour of the show, which is confusingly recorded before the first two hours are broadcast live, Penny told me to fuck off. During the live show, Andy was refreshing the computer system from his office, and I couldn't control the studio PC. During a song, I forgot to switch the microphone off before complaining that Andy was 'fuck-arsing' around with the computers.

9pm-10pm
Queen 'Bicycle Race'
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Mike and Bernie Winters 'Batman'
The Jam 'Batman'
The Bodysnatchers 'Ruder Than You'
Band Of Horses 'Is There A Ghost'
Future Island 'Long Flight'
Butthole Surfers 'Who Was In My Room Last Night?'
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci 'Hush The Warmth'
The Clash 'I'm So Bored'
The Beatles 'Come Together'
Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing'

NB- Dire Straits was this week's 'dad rock classic'. Although I started the feature as a 'guilty pleasure' slot in which I could ironically enjoy woefully uncool songs. This has backfired a bit, as tonight's show proved as myself, Penny, and Darren were all sat in the studio singing along.

10pm-11pm
Peter Sellers 'A Hard Days Night'
Eric B and Rakim 'Paid In Full'
Chris Cornell 'When I'm Down'
Sleaford Mods 'Five Pound Sixty'
Gene Vincent 'Race With The Devil'
Tommy Steele 'Singing The Blues'
David Bowie 'When I Live My Dream'
The Shivers 'Kisses'
Super Furry Animals 'God Show Me The Magic'
Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
Royal Gala 'Blue Rinse'
Adam Peter Smith 'Already Here'
Ronika 'Clock'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Chris Reeve 'Fortune Favours The Brave'
Issac Moore 'White Oak'
Kruger Brothers 'Down In The Willow Garden'

Blondie 'Louie Louie' (for some reason I didn't play this during the run of Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll)
Soup Dragons 'Mother Universe'
Adam And The Ants 'King Of The Wild Frontier'
Passion Pit 'Little Secret'
She Keeps Bees 'Gimme'
Imelda May 'All For You'
The Big Bopper 'Little Red Riding Hood'
Nine Inch Nails 'Closer'

Wednesday 11 July 2012

My First Avatar

Not a great deal of uptake on the request for people to send us their first ever Myspace profile picture. Thanks to Rebekah (top) and Dawn for being brave!

You can send your very first Myspace profile picture to thesundayalternative@gmail.com

Monday 9 July 2012

Yourspace Or Mine?

The top picture was randomly taken from Penny's Myspace site, and the one below it is my very first Myspace profile picture. The conversation started because one of Penny's song choices, 'Step Into My World' by Hurricane #1, was her profile song. I asked one on air if it still existed and Penny didn't know. During the song I did a quick search and found Penny's defunct Myspace page. She hasn't touched it for about four years, which I think is about average. I was quite late abandoning Myspace, and went the whole hog and deleted it completely. I threw out the question of when was the last time you logged in to Myspace, and the most recent answer was two years! It is hard to believe that once upon a time it was the only social networking site, in my opinion it was always the best and would still be if they hadn't changed it around.

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey and his Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
Harry Champion 'At The End Of My Old Cigar'
Pop Will Eat Itself 'Can You Dig It'
The Quarrymen 'In Spite Of All The Danger'
The Willowz 'Something'
Hurricane #1 'Step Into My World'
Dr Hook 'Cover Of Rolling Stone'
David Bowie and The Lower Third 'I'm Not Losing Sleep'
The Pastels 'Baby Honey'
The Tyde 'Psychedelic Pill'
Galaxie 500 'Don't Let Your Youth Go To Waste'
Marillion 'Kayleigh' (this week's dad rock classic)

10pm-11pm
Avenue Q cast 'It Sucks To Be Me'
Cream 'Sunshine Of Your Love'
Pond 'Moth Wings'
TSAR 'Calling All Destroyers'
Vaccines 'No Hope'
White Denim 'Shake Shake Shake'
Smashing Pumpkins 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings'

NOTTINGHAM THREE:
Harleighblu 'Casanova'
Manieres Des Bohemians 'Romanian Train Song'
Sleaford Mods 'Showboat'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Kitty Wells 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'
Chubby Wise 'Peacock Pig'
Doc Watson 'Peach Picking Time In Georgia'

Calling All Astronauts 'Someone Like You' and 'Winter Of Discontent'
Chuck Berry 'Memphis'
Cryogenics 'You Will Never Know'
Davie Jones and The King Bees 'Louie Louie Go Home' (that's David Bowie in one of his earlier guises. This song is doubly interesting as it was written by Paul Revere as a sequel to 'Louie Louie', I should have played it while I was still doing Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll.

Forever Never 'We Close Our Eyes'
Camera Obscura 'French Navy'
Proper English Gentlemen 'Friend Of A Friend'
The Cult Of Dom Keller 'Worlds'

Monday 2 July 2012

Goodbye Mr Disco

Sad news today, as it was Daniel's (he is the one in the middle) last day as a member of the Trent Sound family. He will be missed by all the presenters, as he was the one we turned to for jingles, technical help, and he was above all else a great person to have around for reassurance in case something did go wrong. Aside from that, he is a good friend and I think I speak for Penny too when I say that we'll miss his company on a Sunday night.

9pm-10pm
The Cranberries 'Dreams' (played in tribute to Nora Ephron)
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals' (intro)
Harry Champion 'A Little Bit Of Cucumber'
Toy Dolls 'Fisticuffs In Fredrick Street'
Sonic Youth 'Kool Thing'
Shel Silverstein 'You're Always Welcome At Our House'
UNKLE 'Burn My Shadow'
David Bowie 'Uncle Arthur'
Sippie Thomas 'I'm A Mighty Tight Woman'
Neutral Milk Hotel 'My Dream Girl Don't Exist'
The Pogues 'Maggie May'
Link Wray 'Ain't That Loving You Baby'
Bryan Adams 'Summer Of 69' (A Canada day 'dad rock classics' special)

10pm-11pm
Ronnie Corbett 'Fanny'
Johnny Thunders 'You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory'
Dick Venom And The Terrortones 'Science Friction'
Teenage Fanclub 'Alcoholiday'
The Coasters 'Poison Ivy'
Jimmy Lloyd 'I've Got A Rocket In My Pocket'

NOTTINGHAM THREE: (new feature)
Cantaloupe 'Hot Water Balloon'
One Hot Slice 'Drinks From The Bottle'
Natalie Duncan 'Sky Is Falling'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK AND ROLL:
Black Flag 'Louie Louie'
Blanks 77 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
Joan Jett and Queen 'We Will Rock and Roll You'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Frank Wakefield 'The Old Cat Sneezed'
Dawn London 'Young Folks'
Steve Earle and Danny McCoury 'Pilgrim'

Amber Pacific 'Video Killed The Radio Star'
Shifting Buffalo 'Step By Step'
Louise Quinn 'Ghosts From The War'
They Might Be Giants 'How Now Dark Clouds'
Purity Ring 'Fireshrine'
Inspiral Carpets 'She Comes Into The Fall'
Shoot The Dead 'The Rage'
Emmy The Great 'Canopies and Drapes'

Let's see Daniel in full disco dancing action once again.

Monday 25 June 2012

Talking A Lot Of Toilet

Penny returned to The Sunday Alternative tonight, having been away in Brighton last weekend. The conversational tone didn't leave the smallest room in the house for a great percentage of the time, but it was a lot of fun trying to steer Penny away for her to go right back there. It gave me the idea that we should record our conversations during songs when the microphones are off, to release as a separate 'bonus' podcast. It was nice to have Penny back, as we work really well together, I didn't really feel on form tonight but I like to think that we still pulled a great show out of the hat.

We were of course severely hampered by the fact that England were playing, and then went into extra time and penalties. It will serve everyone right that they missed the show to see England die on their arses once again. The show is one of Trent Sound's most downloaded 'listen again' programmes, which does make me wonder about doing it live. Live feels better though. As soon as this particular edition is available to download, I anticipate a surge on the National Grid, and the Internet to melt.

9pm-10pm
The Flying Pickets 'When You're Young And In Love' (played in tribute to Brian Hibbard)
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'/Peters and Lee 'Welcome Home' (I faded the usual intro into 'Welcome Home' as Penny had returned to the show)Binnie Hale 'A Nice Cup Of Tea'
The Vapours 'Turning Japanese'
Manic Street Preachers 'Motorcycle Emptiness'
Violent Femmes 'Color Me Once'
Kingmaker 'Armchair Anarchist'
The Given Motion 'Blink'
Nightmare Arcade 'Underworld'
Redbear 'My Name Is Kieran'
Portugal The Man 'Guns and Dogs'
Gold Panda 'You'
Tom Cruise 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' (this week's 'dad rock classic' chosen because I saw Rock of Ages in the week)

10pm-11pm
Ken Dodd and The Diddymen 'Where's Me Shirt'
Sultans Of Ping FC 'Where's Me Jumper'
(We both realised that we should have played 'Donald Where's Yer Troosers' to make a trilogy of trying to get dressed and not being able to find anything)

The Brian Jonestown Massacre 'Feel It'
Cryogenics 'You Will Never Know'
Pree 'Lack Of Fight'
POND 'Moth Wings'
Tray Electric 'Don't You Wish'
Long Dead Signal 'A Question Of Violence'
Will Jeffery 'Dorothy Jean'
(the above three all played at yesterday's Waterfront festival, and form a now regular triple whammy of Nottingham acts. Incidentally, you can see Will Jeffery perform 'Dorothy Jean' on the show here or in 3D here)

Crystal Castles 'Crimewave'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK AND ROLL:
Iggy Pop 'Louie Louie'
Dave Wallace 'Ska Like Teen Spirit'
Joan Jett with The Sex Pistols 'I Love Rock and Roll'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Chris Reeve (no relation to Penny) 'Just Like Red Wine'
Screaming Jay Hawkins 'I Put A Spell On You'
Natalie Merchant 'Down On Penny's Farm'

Attila The Stockbroker 'The Bible According To Rupert Murdoch'
Billy Bragg 'Never Buy The Sun'
The 45s 'Couldn't Believe A Word'
Leadbelly 'House Of The Rising Sun'
Jimmy Edwards 'Love Bug Crawl'
Nick Harper 'By My Rocket Comes Fire'
Metric 'Black Sheep'
Sapphire Lane 'Huntdown'

Monday 18 June 2012

Which Trent Host Has Broadcast The Most?

Penny was away this week, so in stepped Trent Sound's very own super-sub Andy Haynes to join me for The Sunday Alternative. We have always had a good rapport, but have never done a show together, so tonight was a lot of fun. As we have both presented other shows as cover, we decided to work out who had broadcast the most hours on the station. I thought it would be close, but I also knew that he would win. He did!

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal' (intro)
Ella Sheilds 'Burlington Bertie'
Dead Kennedys 'Kill The Poor'
New Order '5-8-6'
The Amber Herd 'Thursday'
Age Of Chance 'Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Noise'
Sham 69 'Hurry Up Harry'
Splodganessabounds 'Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps'
Black Sabbath 'War Pigs'
Black Sabbath 'Paranoid' (both used as this week's 'dad rock classics'for my dad who loves Black Sabbath, and I have him to thank for the early development of my musical taste)

10pm-11pm
Cannon and Ball 'Everybody's Making It Big But Me'
The Busters 'We Are The Champions'
PIL 'One Drop'
Bad Manners 'My Girl Lollipop'
Calling All Astronauts 'Winter Of Discontent'
Yuck 'Get Away'
The Vaselines 'You Think You're A Man'
The Passmore Sisters 'Difficult'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK AND ROLL:
MC5 'Louie Louie'
Beki Bondage 'Smells Like teen Spirit'
Greencard 'I Love Rock and Roll'

11pm-12am
ANDY'S PHYCADELIC PSUNSPOT: (A one week only replacement for Penny's Bluegrass Jamboree)
The Greencoats 'Away In A Dream'
Tame Ipala 'Solitude Is Bliss'
The Orange Alabaster Mushroom 'Tree Pie'

Ned's Atomic Dustbin 'Happy'
The Frank and Waters 'This Is Not A Song'
Blak Magik Society 'Our Time'
The Smears 'Wrath'
Ben Dalby 'Tact'
The Jesus Lizard 'Whirl'

Monday 11 June 2012

And The Clothes Stayed On

Another brilliant show, the studio was as hot as ever. Penny wasn't telling the truth when she announced on air that we were broadcasting the show naked. I'm not sure I'd have been allowed to post that photo to the blog.

9pm-10pm
Brian Fahey Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals' (intro)
Vesta Tilley 'It's Part Of A Policeman's Duty'
Michael Monroe 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'
Damn Vandals 'Revolution/Rehearsal'
The Stranglers 'Peaches'
Evans The Death 'Catch You Cold'
The Tornadoes 'Telstar'
Heinz 'Just Like Eddie'
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds 'Into My Arms'
Eddie and The Hot Rods 'Gloria'
The Bad Shepherds 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight'
Jayne's Addiction 'Summertime Rolls'
Steel Panther 'Eye Of The Panther' (This week's 'dad rocker')

10pm-11pm
Harry H Corbett 'Like The Big Guys Do'
Cinemawave 'Projektmusic'
Ulysses Storm 'Franska The Bear'
Dick Venom And The Terrortones 'Cycledyke Blues'
Jimmy The Squirrel 'How I Go'
Alexa Hawksworth 'No Place Like Home'
The Avalanches 'Frontier Psychiatrist'
The Pixies 'Caribu'
Pree 'Lack Of Fight'
Mark Lanegan 'Hit The City'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK AND ROLL:
The Sandpipers 'Louie Louie'
The Wounded 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
Hello 'I Love Rock and Roll'

11pm-12am
Penny's Bluegrass Jamboree:
Mountain Quickstep 'In Isanbul'
The Osbourne Brothers 'Somehow Tonight'
First Aid Kit 'Emmylou'

Killing Joke 'Wardance'
Rebellious Jukebox 'Killer On The Dancefloor'
Jake Bugg 'Saffron'
Cast From The Big Stiff Tour 'Be Stiff'
The Travelling Wilburys 'End Of The Line'
Bad Manners 'Lip Up Fatty'
The Antlers 'Two'
Autopsy Boys 'Rich Kids Playground'
Curtis Whitefinger 'Why Do You Treat Me So Good?'
Wax Audio 'Thunderbusters'

Sunday 3 June 2012

Who's Got The Cutest Cat?

Why are we in the little studio? The one where we do pre-recorded content?
Why are we reading Saturday's paper?
Why is this blog being posted on a Saturday?

It's as if we came in on Saturday to pre-record the show. Actually, that is exactly what we did. Penny is at the Dot to Dot festival tomorrow, and I am in need of an early night in order to go and collect my daughter on Monday. The weirdest thing about doing a pre-record, (we record in three blocks of 58 minutes, to slot the shows in after the news) is that we could do the show in order. Normally, we do the third hour first as a pre-record, before doing two live hours.

One of the things we riffed on was our cats, and who has the cutest.

Penny's cat is the top one, the other two are mine.

9pm-10pm
The Smiths 'The Queen Is Dead' (suitable for a jubilee weekend)
Brian Fahay And His Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals'
George Formby 'I Wonder Who's Under Her Balcony'
Sex Pistols 'God Save The Queen'
The Coral 'In The Morning'
Killing Joke 'New Uprising'
Captain Dangerous 'Everything Beautiful Reminds Me Of You'
Injured Birds 'Clams'
We Show Up On Radar 'I'll Be A Ghost'
Golden Earring 'Radar Love' ('dad rock classic')

10pm-11pm
Status Squid 'Boring Song'
Sham 69 'Hurry Up Harry'
David Lee Roth 'California Girls'
Of Montreal 'The Party's Crashing Us'
The Correspondents 'Washington Square'
Sleigh Bells 'Infinity Guitars'
Cud 'Neurotica' and 'You Sexy Thing'
Captain Dangerous 'Heather and Tommy' and 'Forgive Us we're British'
Weird Al Yankovic 'Smells Like Nirvana'

(We, by which I mean I, fucked up the times and didn't have time to do Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll so I played this and was supposed to play another of his but had to wait until after the news).

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Eric Weissberg 'Duelling Banjos'
Fade To Bluegrass 'Enter Sandman'
Trampled By Turtles 'Widower's Heart'
Weird Al Yankovic 'I Love Rocky Road'
John Cooper Clarke 'Salome Malone' and 'I Married A Monster From Outer Space'
The Apples 'Chemical Sniffer'
Dick venom And The Terrortones 'Science Friction'
John Otway 'I Will Survive'
Gypsy Kings 'Inspiration'
Fighting Evil Is Cool 'Go On, Get Wasted'
Pink Floyd vs The Bee Gees 'Staying Alive In The Wall'

We also talked about the Captain Dangerous album launch gig that we went to last night. Last night being tonight, as we are recording the show for tomorrow. I hope we enjoyed it.

Monday 28 May 2012

It's Getting Hot In Here!

We had a lot to live up to after last week, we have already discussed when exactly we would jump the shark, but we aren't going to do it just yet. Tonight was another live music show, with Fighting Evil Is Cool (or three representatives) appearing in our very warm studio. It was so hot that we did our first outside photo. 9pm-10pm The Bee Gees 'Massachusetts' (once again I wondered if a cool and sexy alternative music show should play such a song. Once again I realised that the brothers Gibb are owed a huge debt by the music business, in addition to their own hits, they wrote for a whole wealth of singers. there are, according to one obituary, 6,500 cover versions of a Gibb composition published. Even I wouldn't be able to collect them all!)

Brian Fahey And His Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal'
Florrie Ford 'Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' (summer being the theme this week)
Fuzzbox 'Pink Sunshine'
Gregory Issacs 'Love You In The Morning'
Jake Bugg 'Lightening Bolt'
Fighting Evil Is Cool 'Bruce Campbell'

I interviewed the band, and they performed acoustic versions of:

'Gangsterfish'
'The Hobo Song'
'Propane Nightmare' (Pendulum cover)
'Dog Meat'

The interview and live session can be heard as a stand-alone podcast here.

Meatloaf 'Bat Out Of Hell' (this week's 'dad rock classic')

10pm-11pm
Barbara Windsor 'Grin And Bare It'
Sex Pistols 'Holidays In The Sun'
Refused 'Summer Holiday vs Punk Routine'
UB40 featuring Pato Banton 'Baby Come Back' This version of the song was Penny's choice, I wanted to play the original version. We had an on air arm wrestle, and I lost.
Arrested Development 'Mr Wendall'
Little Richard 'Long Tall Sally'
Rolf Harris 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport'
Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel 'Here Comes The Sun'
The Who 'Summertime Blues'
Mungo Jerry 'In The Summertime'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK AND ROLL:
The Sonics 'Louie Louie'
Bunny And Cloud 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
Shocking Lipstick 'I Love Rock and Roll'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys 'Southern Flavour'
Edgar Meyer 'Here and Heaven'
Evil Jack 'Untitled Banjo'

The Puppini Sisters 'Panic' (I'm considering a feature on Smiths covers when the well eventually runs dry of Louie Smells Like Rock and Roll covers)
Blind Guardian 'Mr Sandman'
Willie Nelson 'Bring Me Sunshine'
The Frames 'Revelate'
Maximo Park 'Hips and Lips'
The Lemonheads 'Big Gay Heart'
Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakley 'Together In Electric Dreams'
Regina Spektor 'Us'
Buena Vista Social Club 'Chan Chan'
Nina Simone 'My Baby Just Cares For Me'

No time for a mash-up this week!

Monday 21 May 2012

Depression + Nervous Energy = Great Show

I came very close to not turning up tonight, having been going through one of my episodes of depression just lately. Plus I was tired from last night's Guns and Roses concert which I had been up until six o'clock this morning wring the review for. But I am very glad I did come in, as we took part in perhaps the best show ever. Not just mine and Penny's best show, but the best edition of The Sunday Alternative so far!

Last night, Penny went to a gig. Last night, I went to a concert. Regular listeners will know the difference between a gig and a concert, and even though I prefer gigs, this was a concert I couldn't turn down. Anyway, I invited Guns and Roses to come in for a live session, and Penny invited Practical Lovers in. Only one band turned up.

To be fair, Guns and Roses have a concert tonight in Liverpool.

9pm-10pm
Crowded House 'Don't Dream It's Over'
Donna Summer 'Dim All The Lights'
(I didn't know whether we should play Donna Summer on an alternative music show, but I reasoned that her influence on popular music should not go unrecognised)

Brian Fahay and his Orchestra 'At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbals' (introduction talk over music)
Gracie Fields 'The Lambeth Walk'
Davy Jones 'Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner'
Squeeze 'Up The Junction'
Julia 'The Very Best'
Carter USM 'Billy Smart's Circus'

Practical Lovers 'Put It Bluntly'

Penny interviewed the band, as she knows them personally so I figured she would be more comfortable with it than I would. They also performed two tracks in the studio, 'Textbook Romance' (the new single), and 'Falling Down'. The entire interview and performance can be heard separately as a stand-alone podcast here. The videos of the songs can be seen here, and here.

We didn't have time for 'dad rock classic' this week as we ran right up to the news.

10pm-11pm
20th Century Coyote 'I'm Evil'
Guns and Roses 'Dust and Bones'

Practical Lovers 'Long Flight' (this week's topic was cover versions that in your opinion beat the original, so Practical Lovers agreed to stay on and perform this Future Island song). Hear it here.

Nouvelle Vague 'Teenage Kicks'
Marilyn Manson 'Tainted Love'
Billy Bragg 'That's Entertainment'
Johnny Cash 'Hurt'
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes 'Rainbow Connection'
Operation Ivy 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'
Gary Jules 'Mad World'

(Above tunes relating to our 'cover versions' theme)

Soft Cell 'Sex Dwarf'
The Cure 'Boys Don't Cry'

LOUIE SMELLS LIKE ROCK and ROLL:
John Schroder 'Louie Louie'
Bruthal 6 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
Dragon Ash 'I Love Hip Hop'

11pm-12am
PENNY'S BLUEGRASS JAMBOREE:
Old Crow Medicine Show 'Raise A Ruckus'
Earl Scruggs 'Fireball Mail'
Devil Makes Three 'Beneath The Piano'

Ozric Tentacles 'Space Out'
Fighting Evil Is Cool 'Ten Times More'
Obsessive Compulsive 'Man vs Machine'
Black Super Rainbow 'Sun Lips'
Wolfcrusher 'No Chance'
Redbear 'Forest Ambulance'
New York Dolls 'Personality Crisis'
Ladyhawke 'Back Of The Van'
Dick Venom And The Terrortones 'Terrortone Pheromone'
The Ramones 'Baby I Love You'
Rick Astley vs Nirvana 'Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up'