New Sourpatch video

Lots of exciting news from Happy Happy Birthday below, but if buy one more record before Grimsby Town lose their Football League status, make sure it's Sourpatch's 'Crushin'', details of which below.

Here's the beautiful 'I Want You Either Way' from the album.



How good is that? You can download a demo version of Sourpatch's 'Water Without Land' here. Thanks, Andy, for finding it.

Also, there's the free single from WIAIWYA, which is ace.

Here's the rest of the HHBTM news:

Hey folks,
First off the Tunabunny / Hulaboy split 12" is in and available and ready to ship right now. I have roughly 30 copies. Tunabunny is a true Athens band... danceable, minimal, care freee, Hulaboy is the combination of Hula Hoop and Boyracer. The version of this 12" on HHBTM comes in a silkscreen sleeve while the 555 Recordings version comes in a letter press sleeve. Both versions of the 12" comes with a CD-R of the record.

You can now download the Marshmallow Coast albums "Times Square" & "Coasting" with bonus tracks and the regular version of "Seniors & Juniors" via emusic, itunes, or your favorite download service. Andy is currently reworking Seniors & Juniors into "Super Seniors & Juniors" which will feature more guests than you could imagine. Look for a CD / LP release in summer 2010. There might also be vinyl reissues of Times Square and Coasting as well to follow shortly before or after.

Cars Can Be Blue are currently writing a new album which will come out next year. Their debut album "All the Stuff We Do" will be back in print on vinyl in early 2010 with a much bigger pressing this time around. All the Afternoon Naps pillowcases and Bunnygrunt dolls for the special pre-orders are gone.

Currently at the pressing plant is the debut album "Crushin'" by Sourpatch which will come out in January 2010 on both CD and LP. To celebrate this fun little pop record we are doing a pre-order like always and a contest. The pre-order will start on Monday November 9th. The pre-order will consist of either the CD or LP and the bonus goodies will include a silkscreen Sourpatch tote bag, a button, and a CD-R EP. We will choose a random name from the pre-order and this person will receive a mix tape from the band, a 3 color poster, postcards, stickers, a letter, and a phone call on their birthday. I'd get in on the pre-order early as the Bunnygrunt and Afternoon Naps ones didn't last long. The Sourpatch CD will ship in mid-December while the LP will ship in early January.

CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS
If you haven't joined the HHBTM newsgroup yet then you really should. You can join the newsgroup or news list by going to the site and clicking the newsletter button at the bottom of the site. Each Friday I pick a subscriber at random and send them free stuff. The last two winners have received the new Tunabunny / Hulaboy split 12" or the 08-09 HHBTM CD catalog. The next giveaway will be next Friday with the winner get a mix CD box set.

NEW VIDEOS
There are three new videos up at the website in the media section, or you can use the links below....

Cars Can Be Blue "Eyeballs" from the album Doubly Unbeatable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ckA4s8T_A

Casper & the Cookies "Little King" from the album Modern Silence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irh8p7vJkQ0

Sourpatch Fun" from the album Crushin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d07AnZ3q4b8

NEW ITEMS IN DISTRO
Charlie Mcalister - Turn of the Century Photograph (unread)- South Carolina banjo spaz pop...imagine a very southern fried Dan Deacon minus the schtick and keyboards. cassette $4.00
Charlie Mcalister - Creosote (unread) LP $12.00

SHOWS
Afternoon Naps
11.13 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
12.10 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom

Bunnygrunt
11.21 - St Louis, MO @ Casa De Black
11.27 - St Louis, MO @ Schlafly
12.4 - Columbus, OH @ Used Kids Records
12.4 - Columbus, OH @ Treehouse
12.6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls
12.12 - St Louis, MO @ KSHE Klassics
12.26 - St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway

Casper & the Cookies
11.7 - Athens, GA @ the Secret Squirrel

Lovely Eggs
11.13 - Birmingham, UK @ Autumn Store
11.20 - Manchester, UK @ Star & Garter
11.27 - Lancaster, UK
12.7 - Preston, UK @ the Continental
12.8 - Manchester, UK @ Sake Bar
2.6 - Newcastle, Uk @ Popklubb C86 Festival

Red Pony Clock
11.17 - Los Angeles, CA
11.20 - San Francisco, CA @ Amnesia
11.21 - Merced, CA @ Partisan
11.22 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records
P.O.Box 742
Athens, GA 30603
www.hhbtm.com
mike@hhbtm.com
www.happyhappybirthdaytome.blogspot.com

There's more to life, but not much more

There are some bands that just get better and better with each release. In recent times there's been Math and Physics Club, Electrip Pop Group, Northern Portrait, Pocketbooks... and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

Add to that list Allo Darlin' and The Middle Ones, who both have new singles which take them way beyond anything they've released before.

I'm sort of scared at how brilliant Allo Darlin' are, and could be. Disarming and self-effacing they might be, but when they smack you square on the nose with a pop song so instantly loveable as 'The Polaroid Song' it makes my jaw drop in awe. I have a new favourite single almost weekly, but this has been my most cherished song of the year so far this week. It has everythng; delicately plucked guitars; girl group backing vocals; a really, really, ramshackle guitar solo; and even a flute. At least I think it's a flute.

You can hear 'The Polaroid Song' and its b-side 'Will You Please Spend New Years Eve With Me' (which I might add is the finest anti-New Years Eve song every recorded) on All Darlin' myspace page, and you can - you must - buy it in December from Fortuna Pop!

The Middle Ones' new single is the kind of brittle folk pop that they've been gently building over the last couple of years. Their eponymous, debut ep is a 10" single in hand made scrapbook sleeve. The tracks are 'River Song, 'Slow Bridge, 'Courage' and 'Young Explorer'. I've heard the last track there and it's gorgeous.

This is another must-buy before Christmas, I think. You can get the record from Rough Trade or by emailing John and WIAIWYA, who are releasing the ep.

Interview with Souvenir

I've rambled on about Souvenir on here before, and so after Ed at Sheflife sent me the couple of records he put out by the band, and after I'd listened to them to death, I thought I'd get in touch with Jaime and ask him a few questions.

I sort of lost contact with the band after the records you put out on Shelflife in the early 00s. Were you happy with those records, and what happened after them?

We were really happy with them, and the fact that they were licensed in the US by Shelflife and in Japan by Tone Vendor made us really proud! We had formed the band in 1999 and it felt great to have our songs heard abroad, and to be asked to take part in compilations like the Marina Records tribute to Brian Wilson (Caroline Now!) alongside bands such Saint Etienne, Alex Chilton, members of Teenage Fanclub and Belle And Sebastian… The original idea was to do French Pop songs in a contemporary context but with the spirit of the 60s. Then we started integrating other influences, the sound of bands such as The Go-Betweens or The Pale Fountains, and things like surf music…. Anything that we liked at that moment, really.

You sound seems to have changed a lot over the years - why is this?

It’s part of that impulse for integrating new elements all the time… we get bored easily, so after a couple of records we started dropping the yé-yé elements and looking more at other types of music we loved. So our third and fourth records (Recto/Verso, 2003, and Des équilibres, 2005) had elements of indie pop, electronica, 80s, country music… In 2007 came the biggest change, though. We had grown a bit tired of being tagged as ‘melancholic pop’ and we needed to do something totally different. So in 64 (2007) we embraced electronica and techno pop. In this year’s record (Drums, Sex and Dance) we’ve kept on that path because we feel really comfortable with what we’re doing now.

Are you big popstars in Spain?

Ha, ha, well… not really. I wish we were! We’re an indie band, and one that sings in French too… down here most of the indie bands sing in Spanish or English, so we’re a bit like freaks in a way. That said, I have to say that we’re really happy about our situation in the current alternative scene… we’ve got great reviews in the media for all our records, our songs are played very often in Radio 3 (the only Spanish radio station which plays independent records) and we feel really appreciated. Our label takes care of us, we’re playing love more than ever, we get to do nice videos… we’re happy. But we’d love to be more popular abroad, because we think that what we do could be appreciated in other countries.

I love the video to 'Monkey See Monkey Do'. What's the story behind that?

Well, this guy who directs videos and films contacted us to try and work with us. We met in Barcelona and he came with this huge notebook full of crazy ideas for a video. We discussed all the options and we went for that idea, a weird late night story about a boy and a girl monkeying around… The filming was done one hot night in August in Barcelona and we had a great time with all the crew and some friends who came to take part as extras… the video is a bit unusual, but we really wanted to do something different after a couple of videos (Allô, allô and Ta Machine) which were ‘nicer’. We wanted something a bit rougher.

Tell me about your new album - are you happy with it?

We’re really happy. It’s the first record we’ve made entirely in our studio, so our vision hasn’t been biased by having to use a producer and someone else’s studio. For better or worse, it sounds exactly as we wanted - and it’s taken us 10 years to get there! The sound is less polished than in 64, the beats are heavier but there’s still room for melody. These are the songs that work better with the audience when we play live.

As far as I'm aware, you've never played in the UK. Would you like to?

No, you’re right, we haven’t. We’d love to!

Who are you current musical heroes?

Vince Clark, Lux Interior, Ellie Greenwich, Bat For Lashes, Radio Futura, Duane Eddy, Suicide, Brigitte Bardot…

Is the band your full-time job, or do you have a dull proper job like the rest of us?

We have dull proper jobs, yes… nursing and teaching pay the bills! But we love our jobs, though. Plus they guarantee a certain artistic freedom – we make records because we want to, not just because we have a band we depend on to make a living.

And what's next for you?

We’ve sort of finished the 2009 leg of our tour. We’re hoping to have more gigs in 2010. We’d definitely love to be able to play live abroad. In any case, in 2010 we’ll start working in new songs for a forthcoming album and keep playing with our other bands too. So no room for boredom really!

Indiepop killed the video star

To my mind there should be more indiepop videos. I remember watching a great video called 'Carry on Disarming' that NME put together in aid of CND, that had amongst other ace clips, the video to The Bachelor Pad's 'Country Pancake'. It was something of an epiphany after being subjected to a diet Curiousity Killed the Cat videos coming out of the telly, and it made me think more indiepop bands should make videos.

Here's the Bachelor Pad video.



Of course these days, just about anyone can get their video seen what with that there YouTube and the rest, but not many bands either have the time or the money or the inclination to make something fun.

Tender Trap have, though, for their download-only single 'Fireworks', and whilst it might be slightly more high-tech than the Bachelor Pad effort up there, it's no less disarming. So, more indiepop videos, please!

Afternoon Naps interview

If you didn't already know by now, then The Afternoon Naps album 'Parade' is probably the finest record released this year. You can buy it now at the Happy Happy Birthday to Me records website.

Here's a little interview I did with Tom. Is that an appearance at next year's Indietracks he's hinting at?

How happy are you with Parade? I think it's probably the best album made this year.

I am very pleased with how it turned out. It took a while to finish and was a lot of work in some parts, but the end result i feel is a good representation of us.

What's the difference between your first record and 'Parade'?

The biggest difference is the sound quality. Sunbeamed was recorded in a basement with semi-decent equipment compared to what 'Parade' was done on. It was produced by the same guy, and he has a great ear for getting good sounds no matter what he's using. Stylistically weve grown a lot since then. We were only a band for 3-4 months when we made the first record. With Parade, we constructed an LP over a years time, plus the arranging had gotter better. This time around, we wrote and arranged in the studio and really took our time.

What's the scene like in Cleveland? Who are you favourite local bands?

Its a pretty fun scene here. Kinda random. Lots of good bands doing their own thing. Not a lot of indiepop bands like us. As Clevelanders I think alot of us have an Us vs The rest of the World mentality... ha!

Do you think you'd be more famous if you were from Brooklyn?

Hmmm... maybe that's a "the grass is always greener" sorta thing. I think living seperate from such a massive scene of music, like that one, was good for us in a way 'cos it allows us to develop on our own. Brooklyn/NYC is such a big crazy place that I'm sure lots of great bands probably get lost in the shuffle there. But on the other hand the opportunities there are big, too.

Will you come and play in the UK, please?

I would love to come play the UK. That is in the works actually. Hopefully we can make it happen next summer. I'm pretty sure it will so look out!

Tell me a secret about the band that no-one knows.

Here's a few: Two of us are massive sports fans... two of us work in hair salons... one of us collects pez dispensers... Leia puts on puppet shows for her solo project... and Orange Paw is named for my cat, who has one orange leg.

Killing the bland

I was in Fopp earlier today, killing some time. Is there anywhere on earth less soulless to buy music from? Casting your eyes across the £3 Kasabian, Black Crowes and (gulp) Morrissey albums is like looking at the frozen chicken section in the supermarket. Here are all these records that were probably cherished by someone on their release, now piled high and available for less than a city centre pint. It makes me feel a bit dirty looking at them.

Was it always this way? I don’t remember it being so, I don’t think. Even the cover art on most of the pile ‘em high albums in Fopp is a slightly different shade than the original release. It’s like those Smiths t-shirts they sell these days with the day-glo green on the Meat is Murder cover.

Where I’m going with this is fairly well-trodden territory, of course. The albums in Fopp are generally considered by the twatterati as “classic”. And as anyone who reads the Guardian music pages will know, you simply have to have these albums in your collection, whether you like them (or even play them) or not. You have to. It’s the law.

This makes me a little sad for a number of reasons. Mainly because Fopp – one of the few remaining high street record shops – takes up square foot after square foot of shovelling out shit for next to nothing. They could be using that space to push new music. Whatever you think about the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (and the jury is very much not that fussed around these parts), I’d rather see rows and rows of their album ready to be bought than frigging ‘Harvest’ by Neil Young. Fucking Neil Young…

Time was, of course, when you could wander into any record shop and have a good look through the vinyl to find what you were after, and bugger me, tucked away in the back corner of Fopp in Nottingham was the new Pains of Being Pure at Heart single. Well done, Fortuna Pop, I suppose. Never mind that it was right next to the posters of Jesus smoking a spliff. Well, the students are back in town.

Fopp, of course, has nothing on HMV, which gave up pretending to be interested in music and has turned its biggest Nottingham store upside down. Now you walk into a fucking HUGE wall of ‘buy three DVDs for £15’ banality. If you’ve never seen Napoleon Dynamite, you will this Christmas. Tucked away downstairs are some cds, if you remember them? You don’t? Oh, well.

Oh, yeah, and you can buy lots of games for something called an ‘X Box’ in HMV. It’s like some kind of tarted up cash and carry, really.

There were rumours a while back that someone had bought the name and premises of Selectadisc in Nottingham, and were planning to reopen it. A sign went up in the window to that effect. That sign’s gone now, and it’s been replaced by some agent’s boards which scream ‘TO LET’ at every passer-by of this once great haven for the music lover.

When Selectadisc went a little bit of my history went with it. When I first moved to Nottingham from Grimsby, I’d hardly ever seen a double decker bus, never mind a chop so chock full of records that you only ever read about every Thursday. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I can ‘t say I ever feel thrilled about going into Fopp or HMV. Terrified, maybe…

For the record I bought ‘George Best’ by The Wedding Present from Fopp today. My vinyl copy has worn out. A bargain at £3.

Go get organised

At the risk of sounding organised, we now have a running order and stage times for the 2nd annual Nottingham indiepop all-dayer.

Naturally this will all go horribly awry and the panic will set in at around 4.35pm when I run to the front of the stage and make the throat-slitting sign at whoever is unfortunate to be playing at the time, but here goes:

10.00pm - The School
9.00pm - Just Joans
8.00pm - Mascot Fight
7.15pm - Red Shoe Diaries
6.15pm - Tender Trap
5.20pm - Standard Fare
4.30pm - The Rocky Nest
4.00pm - Elizabeth Allo Darlin'
3.30pm - Of Mice and Mental Arithmetic

Doors aare at 3pm, and all we ask of you is to get there early so not to avoid disappointment. And before we run out of change on the door. That lying, cheating Facebook is saying that over 100 people are turning up, and in hindsight selling tickets might have been the order of the day. But we like flying by the seat of pants and pushing the envelope with our shirts off. Going forward.

Only three weeks to go!