Goodbye everyone

Sadly I have decided to close this blog and dedicate myself fully to the launch of my PR agency Little Red Rooster.

I have had so much fun writing this blog and have met a huge amount of amazing people.

Never say never to a return but for now...

Best of luck for the future.

Victoria - Over and out.

Apologies!

I have been away travelling across SE Asia. Just back. Need to catch my breath. Will then post pictures.

Love the little one x

The Divine Comedy , Fin De Siecle. The Most Underrated album of the 90s?

PopJunkieTV and Victoria’s Jukebox has been asked by those lovely people at the free, legal music sharing site We7 to nominate our most underrated albums of all time. Sean is filling in for PopJunkieTV and has put forward Gene with Drawn to the Deep End. Nice choice but my money is on the magnificent The Divine Comedy and their 1998 album, Fin De Siecle.

The foppish image, but not the suit, was ditched for this more somber album although ironically its biggest hit, the jaunty "National Express", a song about the national coach operators, belied its more intimate, soul-searching tone.

Some people felt that The Divine Comedy lost their way with this album I am not one of those people. I consider Neil Hannon a genius in many ways and with this album it is obvious they made one hell of a journey. They took in elements of the classical music world and fused a classical orchestra (The Brunel Ensemble) with their own band.

Couple that with the acerbic wit and sarcasm that will have you splitting your sides in laughter as you marvel at Hannon’s incredible lyrical ability and you are on to a corker…and definitely a contender for most underrated album of all time!


Track highlights include the wittily, vicious attack on the paparazzi, the tabloids and all the muck spreaders who use sex to sell – generation Sex. It’s a classic album opener and I love the juxtaposition of the women nattering over the delicate harpsichord.

Eric The Gardener is often regarded as the weakest song on the album but once again I disagree it is a searing song about the Britain around us and how we often take it for granted…albeit with tongue firmly in cheek it always makes me a little tearful

The one that everyone remembers is of course “National Express” and comes with achingly funny lyrics, a brilliantly catchy chorus hook, and a quite bitingly sarcastic broadside on everyone's favourite coach company. Top my friend! The fade out into the reverb on each track is very clever, but maybe I'm the sort of person who likes good production...most people just love the song.

"On the National Express,
There's a jolly hostess,
serving crisps and tea...
She'll provide you with drinks,
And theatrical winks,
For a sky-high fee:
Mini Skirts were in style
When she'd danced down the aisle
Back in '63 -
But it's hard to get by,
When your arse is the size
of a small country...!”

So there you have it. My only criticism is that I wish it was longer. The songs are mesmerizing and no-one upon no-one has written anything like it since, sadly not even The Divine Comedy. Hannon and Talbot are master songsmiths, the performances by all the ensembles involved are first rate, the production is very fine, and the vocals are truly something original.

Search it out and then go back me on We7 as this little baby deserves to win!

POPJUNKIETV.com LAUNCHES

Hey everyone. It's all been a bit quiet on the Jukebox front and thats because I've been working on a new project with me pals Ashley Norris and Sean Hannam.

After spending months recording our weekly PopJunkie Episodes we have finally put together a site. Ladies and Gentlemen I welcome you to PopJunkietv.com!

In spite of the infantile nature of some of the posts, we are just about grown up enough to know what we like. So, if you like 60s beat and psych bands, cheesy listening crooners, earnest 80s indie miserabilists, glam French girl singers and Shed Seven – you have just discovered your favourite new site.

As well as loads of features, album reviews, top tens etc we’ll also be doing our fortnightly vidcast which will feature the delightful Victoria basically ripping the piss out of the less than delightful Sean. The old episodes are on the site too. My favourite is the one in which Sean and I do a pastiche of the Rolling Stones / Marianne Faithful Redlands bust

The original PopJunkie site featured loads of piss-takey reviews of ‘lost classic albums,‘ where we championed The Bay City Rollers over The Ramones and Cliff Richard over Elvis. We have put them on the site too, just don’t take them too seriously.

Anyhow hope you enjoy PopJunkie both the vidcast and the site.

Also please feel free to join us on Facebook and Myspace.

Here is our latest vid where we are proper fed up with all this reunion nonsense:

I watched the Stones documentary "Gimme Shelter" last night. Amazing documentary and really worth watching if you are into your rock history.

Probably one of the most famous Rolling Stones gigs ever. It has the most amazingly, beautiful cinematography of Mr Jagger. Not my fav Stone normally, that honour is reserved for Mr Richards but the man is positively ethereal in this film. Also funny footage of crazy Americans hounding the Stones in their tiny caravan type thing - no huge Winnebago's for them in those days, the fat chick who tries to get on stage whilst they are playing and the acid nutter who is clearly flipping out on stage whilst the Stones are playing - who then gets promptly thrown into the baying masses but the ever so nice Hells Angels.

And then lastly of course there is the infamous footage of 18 year old Meredith Hunter being stabbed by a Hells Angel. Jagger's reaction to seeing the footage is really touching.

Here is a clip of the last section...

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?, released on November 3rd, is the lovely second single taken from Volume One, the glorious debut from She & Him released in July. Formed of Zooey Deschanel(she) and M Ward(him), the duo make music the old-fashioned way, achieving the warmth and charm of pop and country records from the early and mid part of the twentieth century.

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? is a pure nugget of joy, reminiscent of 60’s girl group pop, full of longing and self-deprecation. Ward’s unique arrangements and guitar and piano playing paired with Deschanel’s affinity for vocal harmony make it an instantly classic, sing-a-long, pop song. She & Him have recently completed an extensive North American tour and have made a video for their single with respected director, Ace Norton.

Watch the rather fab video here:

Swervedriver at Club AC30, Scala – Tuesday September 16, 2008

With a season long agenda of festivals, it was a welcome change to hear the swirling guitar drones and monumental drum rolls of the highly talented, utterly modest middle-aged, shoegazers that are, Swervedriver. Playing there toys with smiles on there faces - constantly flicking on one pedal and then flicking on another you could see these guys were doing what they have always done and what they have always believed in.

You couldn’t hear any words amongst the arsenal, but at the same time you didn’t care, these are the songs you get lost in, and you can make your own words. Hats off to Club AC30 and the Scala who pulled off an incredible sound and concreted my decision not to see My Bloody Valentine at Benicassim or the Roundhouse. Pulling off a sound that perfect is a real coup. The soundsystems at those other venues could not deal with the delicate textures of 6 strings being strummed frantically through a chain of effects.

Bring on the Shoegaze revolution!