A Head Full of Wishes

A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.

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Substack
A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #20

My record collection: Dean Wareham - Love is Colder Than Death (7” test pressing)

Nat at Sonic Cathedral was (and still is) very good to me, so would invariably send me a test pressing of Dean’s releases on his fabulous label. This is one of them.

Dean Wareham - Love is Colder Than Death (test pressing)
Dean Wareham - Love is Colder Than Death (test pressing)

This was sent to me along with my order of the single, and the test pressing of Emnacipated Hearts that I’ve posted about before.

Since I’ve written about the single here’s a few of my favourite Sonic Cathedral releases that have no (obvious) AHFoW connection

Some Sonic Cathedral gems
Some Sonic Cathedral gems
  • The very lovely Deary have been releasing their beautiful music on Sonic Cathedral, often in lovely limited editions that I’m rarely quick enough off the ball to catch - although I have managed to catch a couple… and just remembered to fill my digital boots with the gaps. Last year’s Aurelia is as good a place to start as any.
  • Gulp are Guto Pryce, of Super Furry Animals, and singer Lindsey Leven, and their first LP Season Sun was released by Sonic Cathedral in 2014.
  • Red Sunset Dreams was Mark Peters (of Engineers) second solo album and is an absolute gem, His first album Innerland is also very lovely.
  • Dot Allison released her 2023 album Consciousology on Sonic Cathedral - she also guests on Mark Peters Red Sunset Dreams.

There is of course so much more to love in Sonic Cathedral’s catalogue so take a look if you haven’t already.

  • Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/041
  • Artist: Dean Wareham
  • Title: Love is Colder Than Death / She Went Walkling in The Rain
  • Notes: test pressing
  • Format: 7”

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection: Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music (Video Arts Japan CD)”

And so to the NINTH copy of Galaxie 500’s This Is Our Music, this is the last in the set of four CDs released by Video Arts Japan in 2008 in lovely card sleeves.

Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music (Video Arts Japan CD)
Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music (Video Arts Japan CD)

As with the other releases (Today, On Fire, and Copenhagen) this was sent to me by Dean around the time of release, and he had signed each on the OBI strip,

The sleeve notes were once again written by Ryuichi Kanagawa and tells this story about Galaxie 500’s cover of Yoko Ono’s Listen, The Snow is Falling (translated by Google so apologies if it’s not 100% accurate)

... apparently Naomi was booed when she sang it on stage during her UK tour. Apparently some UK fans still had the impression at the time that Yoko Ono was "the woman who stole John Lennon," so the heartless booing from the audience was quite a shock to Naomi.

Extract from This Is Our Music sleeve notes by Ryuichi Kanagawa

I only saw Galaxie 500 play the song once, at ULU in 1990, and I can assure you that nobody there booed the song, I also have a recording of them playing it in Glasgow earlier that month, and… nobody booed the song there either. I do find it rather hard to believe that people in the UK booed the song - and if they did it was likely just one or two drunkards and not any reflection on the wider audience. The evidence of recordings of two shows is obviously far from conclusive, but I’ll throw in a couple of my own suppositions:

  • Most Galaxie 500 fans were probably, like me, only six or seven when The Beatles broke up so, like me, were unlikely to have particularly strong negative opinions about Yoko Ono.
  • This Is Our Music had been well reviewed in the UK inkies, and Listen, The Snow is Falling was picked out as a highlight - “Naomi’s celestial voice and the crackle of Damon sifting sea-shells through his fingers” (SELECT, November 1990)
  • John Peel had played Listen, The Snow is Falling on his show.
  • Galaxie 500 were headlining the tour, people knew the band, knew the album. and knew what to expect.

Here they are playing it at that ULU show in November 1990 - no booing, just some applause, and encouragement, and some very enthusiastic cheering at the end. This was at the end of Galaxie 500’s last UK tour, so I hope by then that Naomi left the country with a better impression of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcy8VQLMlTA

Previously in my record collection:

This week in history

… is Damon & Naomi heavy!

2nd September 1999 - Damon & Naomi at The Garage in London

After their show at Terrastock London Damon & Naomi played a show upstairs at The Garage

Another lovely D+N show, a small but respectful crowd were treated to a set featuring a healthy mix of new and old (including one, "Mirror Phase", receiving its live debut). A cracking "Laika" and "Information Age" were high points along with the beautiful version of Big Star's Blue Moon that they have been doing recently.

Andy Aldridge - Galaxie 500 Mailing List - 3rd September 1999 01:26

4th September 2009 - Damon & Naomi at Cafe OTO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8P3pcZLKH8

5th September 2000 - Damon & Naomi with Ghost released (US)

Damon & Naomi with Ghost was released 25 years ago today. A few months back Damon shared the 25th anniversary of the recording of it on his Substack:

https://dadadrummer.substack.com/p/nice-opening-duchamp

5th September 1997 - Luna at The Cat’s Cradle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ0K9hlE-00

6th September 2023 - Damon & Naomi at Cafe OTO

Damon & Naomi played their first London show in four years at Cafe OTO, and their last London so far - a lovely matinee gig:

I have to admit that a Sunday afternoon is a perfect time for a Damon & Naomi gig. No having to hurry, or worse leave early, to have to catch the last train, time to mill around afterwards and chat, and walking from a gig into the sunshine is a special feeling.

Damon & Naomi live in London

Damon & Naomi in London (2023)
Damon & Naomi in London (2023)

6th September - Happy birthday Damon!

It’s Damon’s birthday tomorrow, he’ll be a year older than me - but won’t look it! He has a new book coming out in a few weeks called Why Sound Matters

Interspersed with personal reflections from years of working in the music business, this book investigates sound’s role in the environment, its value as a material, its relationship to labor, and how it affects our interactions with one another. Krukowski invites you to hear the world anew and renew your relationship with one of our most precious natural resources. So listen up!

Why Sound Matters - promo

Discoveries and rediscoveries