I Taught Myself How To Grow Old explores the genius of Kiss And Make Up - including talking to the man who wrote the song, Bob from the Field Mice, on his relationship with the Saint's version:
BW: I haven't heard it in a very long time and although it's always a compliment when someone covers one of your songs my heart does sink a little every time it's reissued because the publishing has never been straight forward for Kiss and Make Up.
The Field Mice. Springing from the at-least-for-a-while seven inch fetishists at Sarah Records, some of the back catalogue has moved into CD form - so has it completed the journey and popped up online?
For our next round, can we find September's Not So Far Away online?
Spotify: Oh, Spotify. You poor, poor beast. Not only does it boast a single Field Mice track (although rather more from the Toxic Field Mice, who sadly aren't an evil alterego band), but the album it comes from, Sarah Records compilation Electric Common has got the names of the songwriters where the title tracks should be. This is what a fail sounds like. Minus one.
Last FM: Eleven pages of Field Mice tracks, half of which have had a single scrobble. CBS might want to invest some money in finding ways to tidying up their data, mightn't they? Anyway, just four full tracks, and not even a thirty second burst of September's Not So Far Away. Zero points.
iTunes: Two (count 'em) identical versions of the song to choose from. But because the software is buggering about with an update, it's going to lose a point. Nine.
we7: Did you mean the Field Mob?
No.
Zero.
YouTube: The Field Mice might be a difficult ask for YouTube - the didn't come from a label which invested heavily in promotional clips; and while their fans were obsessive, coming before iMovie and Windows Movie File Manipulation Tool, there's not likely to be many home-made videos... is there?
No! Here it is - with an admission that "the copyright is owned by artists & corresponding record companies" - and perhaps a less-than-inventive visual:
Ten points. Minus one, to be given to the artists, and one, to be given to corresponding record companies.
Amazon: Amazon has a surprising amount of Field Mice mp3s, including September's Not So Far Away. Ten points.
Imeem: Having been a bit of a let-down so far, Imeem comes up with the goods this time, thanks to someone who's uploaded the whole of Field Mice compilation Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way. And they've also got My Little Airport's song When I Listen To The Field Mice, too. Eleven points.
eMusic: If eMusic's claims to be the kings of the indie mp3 are to have any value, they're going to have to score here. And they do: besides the compilation, they've also got other gems from the Field Mice's work. Twelve points.
So, let's have a look at the old score board:
Amazon - 35 iTunes - 24 YouTube - 18 Last FM - 12 Imeem - 12 we7 - 09 Spotify - 09 eMusic - 08 Sweeping The Nation - 0.5 The Internet As A Whole - -10
We'll be back later this evening with the greatest band ever to hail from the home of Oliver Cromwell.
Framestore CFC tell Creative Review about making fish dance for the Chemical Brothers - and the fakery:
For Sammy, who is a squirrel fish, we also went to the fishmonger and bought fish that we then scanned for scales and textures. This is because we struggled to find any good reference for squirrel fish. So we scanned a red mullet chosen mainly because of its size and colour.
Trembling Blue Stars post an in-depth interview Bob Wratten gave to Supernova:
I also, think of The Field Mice as being like baby pictures; we were learning and it's not something I really want to look back on.I'd never want to listen to a Field Mice record whereas although I'd rather not I could stand to listen to a TBS record if I had to! If I were to be judged on anything I'd want it to be TBS. I think the songs are better and the records are better produced and more adventurous.The Field Mice was all over so quickly. From the release of our first record to our last gig was three years.It was very concentrated.Now things are much slower; there are three years between each album!
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