Dust

1. Dead Tongues – Dust

Another Bandcamp discovery for me. There are some sort of post-covid vibes on this.

Possibly my album of the year (2022) – I can’t remember what else I bought that year, but this must surely be up there.

2. The Times – Big Painting

This is from their earlier ArtPop! phase – they’re most famous for their song I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape. Later they went to a more e-trippy rave genre – maybe we’ll have some of that another day.

“I put an advert in the Times, inviting my friends to paint
the World in lots of different colours, and switch on flashing lights.
A splendid time was had by all, satisfaction was guaranteed.
I dreamt it all in technicolour and sold the copyright.”

3. The Mekons – Ghosts Of American Astronauts

Such a brilliant song, sung gorgeously. The song references the moon landing, Vietnam and conspiracies, musing on the links between the Apollo program and the Vietnam war. “A flag flying free in a vacuum” – would that be a moral vacuum ?

4. The Farmers Boys – The Wailing Wall

This is from their first album, when they were the critics’ darlings. On their 2nd album they went more poppy (covering a Cliff Richard song In The Country) and that was the end of that.

On my record the title of this track definitely includes the definite article, but all the online references now seem to have stripped it off. Outrageous !

5. Delbert McClinton – Special Love Song

His biggest hit was Two More Bottles of Wine which he wrote – unfortunately it was a hit for Emmylou Harris, not him.

This song finds him in a more sentimental mood. As he sings himself “it may sound mushy” – it does !