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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A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #51
[345] Various artists - Rutles Highway Revisited (LP)
My previous post for the CD version of the fabulous Rutles Highway Revisited was mostly a love-letter to the late and still much missed Neil Innes so I’ll try and keep on topic this time.
I do love most of the tracks on this album but, like The Beatles, The Rutles were better when they were being sweet, so it’s the sweet songs that work better for me. So… here are what are probably my favourite three tracks on the album (that aren’t Galaxie 500), although that does involve leaving a lot of ones I also love off the list.
pic lifted from April March’s Instagram
pic lifted from this page with a 1990 session the duo played for KCRW which opens with a lovely version of I Must Be in Love.
OK, maybe that’s not conventionally sweet but it’s effing Shonen Knife so… it is unconventionally sweet! Here’s a fantastic video of them playing Goose Step Mama in London in 2013.
I bought the LP in 2018 as a collection filler having had the CD since release.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/080
- Artist: Various artists
- Title: Rutles Highway Revisited
- Format: LP
- Bought from a Discogs seller for £6 in 2018.
- Galaxie 500’s track can be found on ‘Uncollected’ on Bandcamp.
[346] Damon & Naomi - The Navigator / Awake in a Muddle
This is a lovely seven inch single released by Earworm Records in April 1997 and contains two Damon & Naomi tracks that would later appear on Playback Singers, their own The Navigator and their cover of Ghost’s Awake in a Muddle.
The sleeve is a gorgeous green concoction designed by Naomi and another of my favourites.
I’m not too sure where I bought this… but I do know exactly when since I posted to the Galaxie 500 Mailing List that “I picked up the new Damon & Naomi single yesterday” on the 12th April 1997. I also mention that the single can be bought mail order from Earworm for £2.50 and that their next release would be by Yo La Tengo - it was their Blue Green Arrow single and I own that as well.
I saw Damon & Naomi twice in 1997 - the first time shortly before the single was released at the tiny 12 Bar in Denmark Street. When I wrote about the show on the mailing list I described the a-side as “a new song that’ll be coming out as a 7” on Earworm soon”. The second time in October, also at the 12 Bar, and they opened the set with The Navigator.
I just read back my review of that first show and I was very rude about the support act, I hope they never saw it.
Here’s my abridged(!) review:
From: Andy Aldridge
Date: 20th March 1997
Subject: A night in with Damon & Naomi
I sometimes hate how much of a fan I sound at times - I decided this as I stood "chatting" to Naomi afterwards "you're wonderful...you're great...I love everything...etc." I cant help it - that's the way I am, and they WERE wonderful AND great, and I do love everything...
The 12 Bar is a tiny venue - the stage takes up a quarter of downstairs - and the table Jonathan had reserved for us was right at the front of the stage - I fumbled my way in as Damon & Naomi where half way through their opening number and rather embarrassed sunk down into the tiny wooden chair.
Damon & Naomi sat on stage, Damon playing acoustic guitar and Naomi alternating between bass (what beautiful noise she got from that bass - it's so nice to hear a bass as a melodic instrument!) and a fascinating Indian squeeze box which made an incredible controlled drone (a sort of Stereolab box - all that lovely drone without having to plug it in).
The first set - I didn't make notes so this is of the top of my head - included (in no particular order):
This Car Climbed Mt. Washington
How Long
New York City
Information Age
Forgot To Get High
...and a couple of others
...and off they went - in the bar between sets I ineptly introduced myself "Oh we're afraid of you" said Damon - which I found amusing because I was scared stiff of them (it's traditional for me to be scared of my heroes) - after some fumbling words from me off went our heroes to be entertained elsewhere while I slunk back to my seat red-faced and settled down to [the support act].
Damon and Naomi returned and announced that they were unprepared for two sets and proceeded to repeat a lot of the first set - they did a new song that'll be coming out as a 7" on Earworm soon - they did a cover of Colin Palmer's (ex-Incredible String Band) "Spirit Of Love" - they smiled and joked (and had a moan at the people on the balcony who insisted on talking through the set!) - and on the whole made my night - it was all too beautiful - exactly what I hoped it would be - only more so.
At the end this inarticulate fan chatted with Naomi for a short while "you're wonderful...you're great...I love everything...etc. etc." - it was nice for my ego to know they knew of me - we talked of upcoming events - a long interview in the Ptolemaic Terrascope ("probably the longest ever") a track on a Pearls Before Swine tribute album and a single on Blue Rose Records, the Earworm single featuring a cover of a Ghost (Japanese Krautrockers) track on the flip side (I didn't catch the name of the a-side). More Sad Hits will be re-released by Sub Pop at the beginning of May. Damon was very pleased about the live Galaxie 500 album getting released ("I always liked that tape").
I shook their hands (again) told them they were great (again) and told them to come back soon (god did I really say that) - and lamely walked away. I'm so pleased that these two of my heroes were really nice people - I just wish they'd play here more often.
- Andy
The release on Blue Rose that Naomi mentioned was supposed to be a split single with Neutral Milk Hotel containing Kinetoscope but it never materialised. Kinetoscope arrived on Playback Singers.
The “live Galaxie 500 album” was, of course, Copenhagen.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/031
- Artist: Damon & Naomi
- Title: The Navigator / Awake in a Muddle
-
Format: 7”
- Both tracks are on Playback Singers which can be bought on Bandcamp.
This coming week in history
24th April 2011 - Dean & Britta play Galaxie 500 in London
Dean & Britta for this tour are back to playing as a four piece with Anthony LaMarca on drums and Miguel Matalin on guitar, and while I loved seeing the three piece in Brighton it sounded better as a four piece. This was my third “plays Galaxie 500” show and the band were comfortable with how it all worked (despite this being their first performance with this line-up) - things were all going swimmingly until the technical gremlins conspired to bring the show to a halt once more while Dean frantically plugged and unplugged pedals trying to get things back on track… eventually things kicked off again and it all ramped up beautifully. Setlist as expected, gem-packed and impeccably delivered."
Dean announced that their show at Truck Festival in July would be the last time they’d play the “plays Galaxie 500” shows in the UK - “maybe we’ll do it again in 20 years”
It was actually eleven years... and by my counting he has played 12 "plays Galaxie 500" shows in the UK since Truck.
No complaints here though!
25th April 2020 - 28th April 2020 - Dean & Britta live from home
This week during the COVID shitshow Dean & Britta started playing live streams from their home on Instagram and Facebook…
On the 25th April Dean & Britta played Tugboat and Moon Palace, live on Instagram from their home in Los Angeles, one of a number of ad-hoc live appearances on social media platforms over the year. Sadly the time difference between Dean and Britta’s Echo Park home and mine in London meant that I very rarely was lucky enough to catch these live.
Los Angeles was in the midst of a heatwave, and Dean played the set topless. It was also the first opportunity we had to see that Dean was going down the route that many of us did in those early days of COVID of growing out some facial hair.
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-dean-and-brittas
26th April 1997 - Damon & Naomi - Terrastock
The first Terrastock took place this week 29 years ago in Providence - here’s a lovely clip from the festival. It opens with Damon & Naomi performing The New Historicism from their second album The Wondrous World of Damon & Naomi. This is then followed by them being joined by the late, great Tom Rapp for their wonderful cover of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ws0Z4r3qQ
26th April 2015 - Luna - Casa da Musica, Porto
I finally got to see the reformed Luna when they played Casa Da Musica in Porto in 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiEjkmmoe_g
Happy 10th birthday to Britta’s lovely Luck or Magic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOpkUxhntE
Links
Damon published the transcript of the What’s Past is Prologue listening party on his Substack
https://dadadrummer.substack.com/p/whats-past-is-prologue-live-at-cafe