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 #64
A fairly quiet week after last week’s trek down to London - I went to see the Tish Murtha exhibition at The Baltic - which was oddly shared with another photographer whose work didn’t really appeal and the presentation was a little haphazard. But her photos are a stunning document of the past.
I also went to see The Odyssey which was OK but nowhere near as brilliant as Jason and The Argonauts!
My record collection [371] Luna - Superfreaky Memories (CD)
Superfreaky Memories was the first single from The Days of Our Nights and was released in the UK by Beggars Banquet on 12th April 1999. I previously looked at the 7” single version.
The CD version of the single came with one extra track - The Bad Vibe Merchant - which I think was only ever released on this single, and, with Neon Lights, as a bonus track on the Brazilian release of The Days of Our Nights.
When I first picked up Superfreaky Memories on release I was rather cool on the third track:
Well it's certainly out in the UK I picked up a copy yesterday and very good it is too frankly if, as someone (Carsten?, Chris?) said, Superfreaky Memories is one of the weaker tracks on the album then we're sure in for a treat!
The cover of Kraftwerk's Neon Lights is fascinating it took me a bit of getting into but I do like it a lot it's a very clever interpretation. The third track is a touch forgettable.
Wed 14 Apr 1999 17:52 ✉ Andy Aldridge
Although I back-pedalled quiet considerably a couple of days later
OK I think I was a bit harsh on "The Bad Vibe Merchant" I'd still say it was the third best track on the CD but it is still a pretty good track and it was the one I found humming to myself around Sainsbury's this morning.
Thu 15 Apr 1999 17:27 ✉ Andy Aldridge
And listening to it right now I can’t help but thinking that I hadn’t back-pedalled enough. The Bad Vibe Merchant is certainly one of the best of Luna’s lost tracks.
Since Beggars Banquet rather messed up the upload of the track to YouTube I’ve just uploaded a correction:
Superfreaky Memories is of course actually the best track on Days….
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/084
- Artist: Luna
- Title: Superfreaky Memories
- Packaging: Digipack
- Format: CD
- Bought in April 1999, not sure where.
Previously in my record collection:
My record collection [372] Street of the Love of Days - Amor de Días
While The Clientele were on hiatus Alasdair Maclean of the band released two albums of gentle folk music with Lupe Nuñez-Fernandez (of Pipas) as Amor de Días. Damon and Naomi guested on the first of these, Street of the Love of Days, in 2011.
The sleeve notes list Damon and Naomi’s “help” on “percussion” and “bass” but don’t specify on which tracks they appear.
The album is so beautiful (as is the follow up, The House at Sea).
Amor de Días toured with Damon & Naomi quite a lot during around the time of this release and I saw them a few times because of that the first time at Cafe Oto in September 2009:
Amor de Dias is the new project of Alasdair MacLean of The Clientle and Lupe Núñez-Fernández of Pipas. They played a short but very beautiful set of tropic-tinged folk guitar music accompanied on a couple of tracks by "Anne" on a huge recorder. Alasdair introduced the first track as "someone born in Aberdeen trying to play guitar like Caetano Veloso." I think a couple of the numbers were tracks from Bonfires on the Heath, the new album by The Clientele coming out next month.
Review: Damon & Naomi @ Cafe OTO, London
The second time was at the lovely and still missed The Luminaire in Kilburn:
While touring with Damon & Naomi the members of Amor de Días would often join them on stage. Here are both Alasdair and Lupe guesting with D&N on their cover of the Rolling Stones’ Shine a Light in 2011.
The CLientele started making music and touring again in 2017 and have released two albums since then and an Instagram post from a couple of weeks back showed them back in the studio “tracking strings, brass and.. ourselves”… so more coming, which is always good news.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/166
- Artist: Amor de Días
- Title: Street of the Love of Days
- Format: CD
- Bought direct from the band for a tenner.
Whis week’s anniversaries
26th July 2014
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-dean-wareham-at
28th July 2022
Dean finally arrived in my new hometown…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3cnN8q8gBE
30th July 2010
13 Most Beautiful at the Barbican in London
Sitting further back gave the opportunity to see the whole show rather than having to switch between band and film - I certainly noticed the films more this time. Noticing that Paul America and Edie Sedgewick above all the others lived up to the "beautiful" tag... noticing that Dennis Hopper seemed to be looking down at the band... noticing that Billy Name was just trying too too hard.
The band returned to the stage for an encore of Galaxie 500's Strange and then, all too soon, it was all over. Hopefully they'll be back at the end of the year for a whole evening of Galaxie 500.
Review: Dean & Britta – 13 Most Beautiful – The Barbican, London
31st July 2015
Bewitched was beautiful, there's something very special about being in a room full of Luna fans because my online life tends to keep them at a distance. But to hear folk around me singing along to Bewitched almost brought me to tears.
The set was nicely mixed up and finished with a storming Friendly Advice followed by 23 Minutes in Brussels. An encore of a couple of covers, Blue Thunder and then Indian Summer, was a perfect ending.