A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #63

2026-07-17
Categories: substack

Substack
A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #63

This week I had another flying visit down south to visit my dad for his 86th birthday. I can get from my door in Whitley Bay to my dad’s in Arundel in six hours or so, most of which is sat on trains listening to music, most of which was “comfort listening” - The Beatles, Fairport Convention, The Zombies, Squeeze - so much of my listening these days seems to be of the comfort variety.

It doesn’t help that last week we turned off (almost certainly temporarily) our access to music streaming services since we have been finding them all so frustrating. The last one to get switched off was Qobuz which unquestionably has the very worst search I’ve encountered. Amazom Music wasn’t much better, Spotify is too tied in with the rubbish that isn’t music, Apple will never get any (more) of my money because they annoy the crap out of me, I can’t remember what made us give up on Tidal but we did.

Now I know there are many issues for creators around streamed music - Damon’s secondary (possibly primary) career is involved in trying to improve that, but there are also issues for the consumer, and obviously some cross-over between the two.

A few years ago I digitised most of my collection so have my own streaming music server sitting under some shelves in the hall and while the 30,000+ tracks is nowhere near the millions offered by the others, the quality is much, much higher! However it becoming my primary service has surfaced some music I haven’t listened to for ages, some I have forgotten about, and a surprising amount I have no recollection of. As well as the comfort food I have recently listened to Joker’s Daughter, The Kingsbury Manx, Sidi Bou Said, and Lotti Golden, none of whom have troubled my ears for many years.

The other thing I’ve listened to this week is the lovely little documentary series The Dawn of Music on BBC Radio 3 which examines how humans became the species that makes music, and makes things to make music.

On the Dean & Britta Patreon Dean has just shared a live version of their “stoner” cover of Luna’s Friendly Advice recorded in Buenos Aires last month. Obviously this is for subscribers but if you can afford it it is well worth throwing money at.

We try to do something very different with it, slow it down and enjoy the lower volume and the extra space, it's sure fun to sing that way. We played to a keyboard drone that glues it all together and Roger and Britta played it real groovy.

Friendly Advice -- Live in Buenos Aires (Patreon)

My record collection [369] Pearls Before Swine - Constructive Melancholy (CD)’

In 1997 Tom Rapp was lured back to music at the first Terrastock festival and this was followed in 1999 by a new album, A Journal of the Plague Year and by this compilation album.

For the most part Constructive Melancholy was a collection of Pearls Before Swine songs that had previously been released on the band’s Reprise albums between 1969 and 1973. Obviously if that was all this was it wouldn’t warrant a place in my record collection but as well as those Reprise recordings there were two more recent additions that both feature Damon and Naomi and were produced by Damon.

The album opens with I Saw The World/Another Time which starts with the I Saw The World segment that has Naomi and Tom chanting with a harmonium and finger cymbal accompaniment before going into a reworking of the beautiful Another Time that had previously been released on One Nation Underground in 1967.

The other new track turns up midway through the album and is a short Gregorian chant update of Miss Morse (called Miss Morse Update).

When Tom came out of retirement in 1997 I knew nothing at all about him or Pearls Before Swine so Bob, from The Galaxie 500 Mailing List, sent me two cassettes to fill me in. I’ve only just noticed that Bob gets a credit on Constructive Melancholy.

The CD has a quite lengthy essay written by Byron Coley (who has also written sleeve notes for Galaxie 500). The tiny brown text on a greeny-brown background means I’ve only skimmed it. My poor old eyes just aren’t up to CD-sized sleeve notes any more!

I sadly missed the opportunity to see Tom live at Terrastock London when scheduling changes, and childcare responsibilities meant I arrived after his set (and only just in time for Damon & Naomi’s performance) - I was however lucky enough to chat to him after the show and stayed in sporadic email touch with him.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/095
Artist: Pearls Before Swine
Title: Constructive Melancholy
Format: CD

Previously in my record collection:

My record collection [370] Angel Corpus Christi + Dean Wareham - Je t’‘aime (I Wanna Boogie With You)’

Angel and Dean’s Je t’aime (I Wanna Boogie With You) was released on two seven inch singles, this was the second put out by Spanish label Munster in 1998.

Angel + Dean - Je t'aime (I Wanna Boogie With You)

This is a single I’d resigned myself to not having, it’s been in my Discogs wishlist for a while but I was always too mean to pay the shipping costs which means I feel a little bit guilty about how it came into my possession, basically letting someone else suck up those postage costs (and indeed the record costs).

I know that Angel Corpus Christi reads AHFoW since she emails me occasionally so maybe I was unconsciously (or subconscoiusly, or… consciously) hinting e.g…

The track was also released on a Munster 7” which I don’t own… yet!

[006] Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham - Je t'aime / I Wanna Boogie With You (7")

This is Angel’s fourth entry in this series, and there is (currently) still one to come… although I’m still looking to fill a gap so hopefully two more to come!

[297] Angel Corpus Christi - Louie Louie (CD)

I think this is Angel’s last appearance in this series unless I can track down a missing single without having to pay twice as much again in postage!

[359] - Angel Corpus Christi with Dean Wareham - You / I Want Everything

A couple of weeks ago a package landed unannounced on my doormat and inside was this beauty, signed by Angel. There was also a lovely telephone shaped promo of Angel’s glorious White Courtesy Phone album. So I guess I finally wore her down!

The a-side is Angel and Dean’s medley of Gainsbourg’s smutty gem Je t’aime (moi non plus) coupled with Lou Reed’s I Wanna Boogie With You:

Originally, we planned to do "Je t'aime (moi non plus)," but when we got to the studio, Angel told me she'd rather cover Lou Reed's "I Wanna Boogie With You," hence this slightly odd medley. Angel is… how can I put it? Yes, that's it, obsessed with Lou Reed! She even wrote a song called "Lou Reed's Hair."

Google translation of Dean Wareham – La lune dans le caniveau

Dean also mentioned the single during a Radio 1 interview in 1995:

Actually we were supposed to do a Serge Gainsbourg song, Je t'aime, but she couldn't find one of the chords on her accordion so she decided to do I Wanna Boogie With You which is this obscure Lou Reed track, and so she sang that and I sang Je t'aime and it's a bit of a mess.

Xmas countdown 4: Luna on Radio 1 in 1995

I have to disagree with Dean about the “bit of a mess” comment - it is remarkable how well these two muddle together.

The b-side doesn’t involve Dean and is an ACC instrumental original called Wild Bill.

Thank you so much Angel for the beautiful surprise.

I wrote about Angel’s AHFoW connections a couple of weeks ago - when I thought we’d seen the last of ACC in this series.

https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/connections-2-angel-corpus-christi

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 11/084
Artist: Angel + Dean
Title: Je t’aime (I Wanna Boogie With You)
Notes: Munster release
Format: 7”

Previously in my record collection:

This coming week in history

22nd July 2010 - Dean & Britta - The Greene Space, WNYC

This was a short live streamed show for WNYC featuring Dean & Britta as a duo performing a couple of songs from 13 Most Beautiful (with the films) - this is quite funny because for the second song whoever had the DVD remote pressed the wrong number and I Found it Not So which should have had Mary Woronov’s cool stare instead has Jane Holzer brushing her teeth. The look on Dean’s face as they start the song is rather priceless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0OH7rSBZ2M

Dean Wareham 22nd July 2022 - London / 23rd July 2022 - Worthing

The twice cancelled Dean plays Galaxie 500 shows finally arrived in the UK (although since Dean had released an album between the shows first scheduled dates and when they actually happened they were not entirely Galaxie 500 shows) - my “reviews” at the time were rather cursory:

There was a big crowd in London, people kept telling me it had sold out… but I didn’t believe them, but, if it wasn’t sold out it was pretty damn close - certainly the biggest crowd I’ve seen Dean Wareham play in front of (except I guess maybe ULU with Galaxie 500).

Opened with a few new tracks, played On Fire (not in order) and encored with covers of Scott Walker’s Duchess and Joy Division’s Ceremony - they were then hauled out for a second encore - Fourth of July.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFYC9DlSMlQ

The venue was a chapel that had been repurposed as an arts venue and it too was a very well attended show. I dragged my dad along for his second Dean show (after one in Brighton a few years back).

Again opened with some tracks from the new album, On Fire (not in order), encore of Victory Garden and a blindingly good Don’t Let Our Youth Go To Waste. No second encore… we should have tried harder - although it would have been hard to follow that as a set closer!

The Worthing show was my dad’s second, and so far last Dean show.

And that’ll do for this week - here’s my regular appeal for contributors. If anyone thinks they have anything AHFoW related that they think others might want to hear please get in touch.

SubstackA Head Full of Wishes newsletter #63