'Travelling Light' - Tindersticks (1995)

"Do you remember, how much you loved me?"

My nan has always said that if she won the lottery, she’d give half to the Tindersticks. So they could play a live show in her back garden. She's longed to see them for years, but feels she's too old to travel to their gigs - and they have yet to do a live DVD. So this way she hopes they'd come to her.  

This would be the best gig ever! (Yes, better than Live Aid). It would need to be early evening as my nan gets tired past nine. Some time between ‘Deal Or No Deal’ and ‘Corrie’ would be ideal. And we’ll need to keep everyone off the flower beds, obviously. But I can ‘t see any other complications. Oh, limited parking out in the road, I suppose.

The perfect end to the show would be ‘Travelling Light’ – my nan’s favourite. In fact, it would be the perfect start and middle too. They could just play this one song and the show would be the best ever. "Better than Live Aid, Michael?" Yes, weren’t you paying attention earlier?   

My nan’s always had a soft spot for men with a deep voice. Nick Cave. Leonard Cohen. The Mysterons. (I made that last one up.) But Stuart A. Staples from the Tindersticks is her absolute fave. I so hope this show happens one day. Guess I better go get this week’s lottery ticket for her.

      

Spotify linky :

Tindersticks – Travelling Light

‘Supervixen’– Garbage (1995)

(Ooh … what’s this? It’s the first Garbage album. Pressed as 7-inch singles. In a box. Oh, and Tickle-Me Elmo - it'll all make sense in a minute.)

“Come down to my house,
And stick a stone in your mouth.”

Ever been woken in the night by a giggling Elmo? No? Just me, then. Well, actually not just me, as at the time I was living with someone (yes, I know … me … living with someone … I’m not making this stuff up). We’ll call her Charlotte. Because that was her name. And she woke me one night seriously spooked by one of my toys that had started laughing uncontrollably. (Yes, I collect toys … deal with it.)

The thing with Elmo is that he should only laugh when you squeeze his tummy. Since Charlotte was already convinced that our Hammersmith flat was haunted by an old lady, she was immediately freaked out. I suggested we simply take his batteries out. But then rather unhelpfully pondered how creepy it would be if he continued laughing with no batteries.

Charlotte suddenly had another idea. She raced across the room, grabbed Elmo and headed for the kitchen. When I caught up, I found Elmo stuffed in the oven. Apparently, this way we could gas him or cook him. Poor Elmo. I guess he realised Charlotte meant business, as he certainly behaved himself after that. I still live with the toys. The same isn’t true of Charlotte. Read into that what you will.

Garbage is the pick of the day, for Charlotte, who used to listen to them continuously and styled herself after Shirley Manson in our Hammersmith years. If I was being mean I could have picked ‘Stupid Girl’ (how rude! – and only joking! – and only because she loved that song). But instead I went for my own fave track from their debut.

Spotify linky:
Garbage – Supervixen