2012 MAD MACKEREL’S 100 FAVOURITE SONGS PART 5: 20 – 1

And so the moment to reveal Mad Mackerel’s final favourites of 2012. Here are numbers 20 down to top spot. Dig in and enjoy. 20 OF MONSTERS AND MEN – LITTLE TALKS Duelling male / female voices from Iceland’s finest and bitter sweet lyrics (only with igloos and saunas instead of pubs and football). They also shout “Hey!” a lot which can’t be a bad thing. … Continue reading 2012 MAD MACKEREL’S 100 FAVOURITE SONGS PART 5: 20 – 1

Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (7th September)

Well she doesn’t dribble anymore, but perhaps that will start again with the advancement of teenage years after one shandy too many – who knows?! Daughter sprat swam to big school this week with a song in her heart (one from King Charles, actually) and a spring in her step, in her hugely positive and wholly optimistic way. I miss her already. Little Sprat and … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (7th September)

Mad Mackerel’s Best Of The Month: July 2012

You know the score. Some of our favourite downloads from the past month neatly parcelled up into one tasty mix and decorated with a few new tunes too. Nearly forty in all. Jump in! Download Wye Oak – Spiral mp3 (from Adult Swim Singles Series) A change of approach and tempo from experimental folkies Download Unnatural Helpers – Hate Your Teachers mp3 (from Land Grab) Raging. Ferocious. Punk Download … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best Of The Month: July 2012

New Felice Brothers Record – $5 Download

At midnight last night, the wonderful Felice Brothers released God Bless You Amigo – a new ‘album’ of 20 songs (eight traditional folk songs and twelve originals the band have always liked “but never had a chance to put on record“) as a digital download from their website for a paltry $5 minimum purchase. They are adamant it is not a follow up to Celebration Florida, … Continue reading New Felice Brothers Record – $5 Download

Daytrotter Reaches 2,000

The wonderful Daytrotter recently announced their 2,000th session and managed to get none other than Country music legend Glen Campbell in to record it, followed swiftly by a new session from the brilliant Delta Spirit. For those that don’t know Daytrotter sessions are typically four songs in length, recorded live to quarter-inch tape in a matter of a couple hours, with no overdubs. They are then made available … Continue reading Daytrotter Reaches 2,000

Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (4th May)

Last Saturday night way up yonder where the North wind doth blow, in an Italian restaurant (suppressing the urge to quote Billy Joel here for fear of reprisals), I had a little tête-à-tête with MON. My blushing was off the scale on the rouge-ometer but he was every bit as erudite, charming and utterly splendid as I thought he would be. Renounce your team and … Continue reading Mrs Mackerel’s TFI Friday (4th May)

Live Review: The Felice Brothers / Craig Finn

And so it was to Birmingham and the HMV Institute to see the rescheduled, and still hotly anticipated, Felice Brothers gig with the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn as support replacing the previously scheduled AA Bondy. We parked in a back street, bathed in the blue neon of a tired looking Adult shop with its tatty handwritten sign, “No drugs. No hats.“. Headed off, Popper, Barry-Sean, Analyse this … Continue reading Live Review: The Felice Brothers / Craig Finn

New Free Track From The Felice Brothers

It is fair to say that we are more than a little excited about going to see the Felice Brothers next week in Birmingham – this being a rescheduled tour after the unfortunate cancellation of the original dates back at the tail end of 2011. To coincide with their European jaunt the band have made a new song available for free download from last year’s … Continue reading New Free Track From The Felice Brothers

Mad Mackerel’s Albums Of The Year: Part 3 (10 – 1)

And so here we have our top ten albums of the year. To be honest the order is fairly arbitrary – on another day it could be a completely different as really these ten records have so little between them in turns of the pleasure and enjoyment they gave us. If you’ve not acquainted yourselves with any of these then we’re pretty sure you won’t … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Albums Of The Year: Part 3 (10 – 1)

MM’s 2011 Top Ten Series: No 8 Mad Mackerel

So, the penultimate entry before Mrs Mackerel finishes off this year’s set of Top Ten postings tomorrow is my very own. Without further ado… 10. Milk Music – Beyond Living Although it was released early in the year, I only discovered it recently. A full on, no holds barred, nihilistic 70s punk attitude and the very best of the heavyweight riffs of the grunge era is … Continue reading MM’s 2011 Top Ten Series: No 8 Mad Mackerel