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by Tom Southam | 21/07/10

I was reunited with an old friend the other day. I’d last seen my race bike when she was swept away from me and put up on the roof of the team car a good few months ago while I gulped down big hazy lung full’s of painkilling gases. I’m pretty sure I heard her say at the time, not to bother calling until I had sorted myself out, and I knew how to look after her properly.

Well, after what seemed to be the slowest recovery in history, I thought the other day it was time to rekindle relations. So just in time for pretty much the end of he racing season, and thanks to Beth, I got back to it, and you know ‘deixar os cavalos livres’. Anyway, despite the pain, and it was painful; making race efforts when my body has grown really quite accustomed to not making them at all, I really quite enjoyed myself.

So to mark the joyous occasion of me getting back together with my lovely, if a little scarred, racing machine; a celebration:

Walking On – The Slackers. I am a sucker for this kind of thing, at first I thought it was Van Morrison playing a ska tune, but thanks to Shazam – that thing really works-I discovered these guys, and I do think I have had impure thoughts since listening. That’s how good it is.

The High Road – Broken Bells. Everyone seemed to know about this before me, so I am playing catch up a bit, I was won over by this opener from the instant it hit my ears.

Bring it on – The Gaslight Anthem. Possibly my essential album from 2010, the Gaslight Anthem’s American Slang has been on constant rotation since it came out at the start of June. This is one of those songs I thought would pass me by, until that is, one line in particular knocked me right off my feet and had me go back and realise just how good the whole tune really is.

Ne me laisse pas l’aimer – Bridget Bardot. A slice of fun stolen from someone clever at the Mother London ad agency, the folks in charge of the Stella Artois commercials, I’m not sure why I like this, but I enjoy every one of its 150 or so seconds.

England – The National. ‘you must be somewhere in England, You must be loving your life in the rain’. Quite. Talking of the National, the award for finding the best gig of the year goes to Lappers, who just happened to pop over to Lyon to see these guys play an outdoor amphitheatre at dusk on a perfect summers night. The bastard.

Always on my mind – World Party. I warn you; this gets a bit wordy in places, I’m not quite sure how or why Wallinger needs to cram quite so many words into some of his lines, but it kind of works and somehow veers between witty and downright moving.

Tighten Up – The Back Keys. One of those rare tunes, that to me, sounds good in all locations and indeed I used to open the last actual mix-tape I made.
Crabs in my Pants – Dillinger I’m sure this slice of Reggae is about the need to dance, as opposed to the genital difficulties the title seems to talk of, whatever the case, it sounds good.

Exit the Dragon – Lee Perry. This tune has been kicking around in a happy place in my mind for a long, long time, coming as it did though from a reggae compilation CD someone gave me many moons ago, with no track listing (really why would you be so cruel?), now that I know it, I won’t be doing y’all the same injustice.

Revolucion – Sgt Garcia. I love what Sgt Garcia does with the Clash’s Revolution Rock here, it took me a while to work out what it was when I first heard it back in France in 2003, but since finding out I’ve loved it. It’s not only that, this song also taught this phrase in Spanish: todo el mundo viene a cantar, quite useful I think you’ll agree.

Jungle Law – Babyhead. The tin says; ‘This is Skank rock! 8-piece dub-rap-reggae phenomenon. Live and direct from Bristol UK’. Enough said really, doing it for Bristol.

This Train – Bunny Wailer. To play us out, nice and steady now, I have to thank whoever chooses the music for Monday nights at Canteen http://thecanteenbristol.wordpress.com/ Come one, come all, Casey (Munro) and I are there every Monday.

You can sew it up, but you still see the tear.

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