Month: January 2014

Coming Attractions


It’s taken way too long but I’ve finally produced a second issue of Crying All The Way To The Chip Shop: The Magazine.

Featuring more pages, more words, more pictures (and costing more money as a result I’m afraid), and more razzamatazz! than the first one, I hope you think it was worth the time and effort.

On sale soon!

Download: Papercuts – Broadcast (mp3)

New Monday



This one slipped through the net last year, an oversight on my part (I’ve had it saved as a Draft since October – oops) now corrected because it’s very good indeed. Superhumanoids are a trio from LA who make shimmering pop with a hint of R&B and this is from their debut album Exhibitionists.

Be warned: the video is very NSFW (unless you’re in an office that is fine with you watching vids of people bonking)

Sleeve Talk


In case you don’t know (the type is tiny) this is the gorgeous cover of Astrud Gilberto’s 1969 album I Haven’t Got Anything Better To Do, and if the job of a sleeve is to convey what an album sounds like then this does the job beautifully — it’s so evocative you can hear the record in your mind just by looking at the photo: low-key, intimate, and sad. You almost don’t even need to listen to the record, but that would be silly because it’s wonderful, what Astrud called “my fireplace album.”

Download: I Haven’t Got Anything Better to Do – Astrud Gilberto (mp3)

The staring-at-the-camera pose is often used for emotionally-vulnerable albums like this, Phil Collins did it too but he isn’t as pretty as Astrud Gilberto and having a face like hers really helps with a sleeve like this. I imagine the designer didn’t want any type on it at all but the label insisted so he did it as small as he could get away with. A lot of the skill in being a designer is knowing what not to do, or doing nothing but hire the right photographer.

The “right” photographer in this case was Joel Brodsky who shot several very famous record sleeves including Astral Weeks, Kick Out The Jams, and The Doors, (plus that iconic portrait of Jim Morrison) so he has a hell of a portfolio, but his lesser-known work also includes another of my favourite sleeves:


This is another very evocative photo that tells a story but I’ve always had trouble figuring out exactly what it is. Her nakedness and cigarette suggest this is post-sex, but she also looks very pensive and lonely curled up on her own like that. Whatever’s going on, it’s a beautiful photo and her coffee-coloured skin and au naturel state are perfect for Callier’s laid-back, Jazzy-Folky Soul.

Download: Just As Long As We’re In Love – Terry Callier (mp3)