The Underground of Happiness

27 tunes to mark the 27th anniversary of Serge Gainsbourg's death in March 1991. The Provocateur Extraordinaire. Playlist Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – Je t’aime (moi non plus) Serge Gainsbourg – Le poinconneur des Lilas Mick Harvey feat. Anita Lane – The song of slurs Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot – Initials B.B. Serge Gainsbourg – Mambo miam miam Jane Birkin – C’est la vie qui veut ca Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – Ballade de Melody Nelson Jean-Claude Vannier – La girafe au ballon Charlotte Gainsbourg – Le chat du café des artistes Mick Harvey – Intoxicated Man Jean-Claude Vannier – Danse de l’enfant et du Roi des Mouches Anna Karina – Roller girl (from the soundtrack of the film Anna ) Michael Stipe – L’hotel Beck – Wave Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest Serge Gainsbourg – New York USA Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – 69 Année Érotique Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier – La Horse (from the soundtrack of the film La Horse )

Robust and inspiring folk instrumentals (mainly) from the rural Yorkshire/Derbyshire border of the north of England. 6 or 12 string guitar takes the lead for the most part and with some authority. The album reminds me a little of William Tyler. There’s a similar endearing feel of immersion in the simple joy of playing. Like the gorgeous opener ‘Home for Moss Valley’ with the genius addition of a string section behind the guitar picking for added lilt and bounce. The sublime harp accompaniment in ‘Cwm elan’. The momentum of perfectly judged percussion and (what sounds like) bodhrán in ‘Bramley Moor’. The beautiful wash of guitar drones at the beginning of ‘Fortingall Yew’. A bleed of melody. And that song’s climax when the strings rise up to take a lead from the guitar and add the seriousness or gravitas of classical music. The wonderful communal vocal moment of ‘Phoenix Works’. A documenting. A flying of a flag. Double bass and a great drum stomp. A sense o

It's Serge Gasinsbourg's 27th anniversary this month. Time to mark the occasion although no excuse is needed. The ageless 'Bonnie & Clyde' with Brigitte Bardot and a lovely late years version of 'La Javanaise' by Jane Birkin . A beautful hushed Yo La Tengo number sung by Georgia. Breezy jazz pop from the top drawer from The Sea & Cake . And lush power pop from Mr Ben Montero of Melbourne via Athens. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 483 Tues Mar 27 2018 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/FsG4qg Playlist Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot – Bonnie & Clyde Jane Birkin – La javanaise Katie Von Schleicher – Glad to be here (

A spellbinding a capella lament from four young women based between Belfast and Dublin. Ghostly trails of natural reverb hang from long wordless vocal drones. It is traditional but there’s a strong element of avant garde about the treatment. Dissonance. Bent notes. Every audible breath put to use. Medieval sacred choral music comes to mind. Folk music of unknown provenance is invoked. Bulgarian female choirs maybe. The sigh of existence. Bleaching Bones by Landless

The second album from Caroline Sallee – from Alabama by way of Austin – following quickly on from last year’s wonderful 50,000,000 Elvis fans can’t be wrong . It picks up on that album’s most interesting (to me) thread. Banks of backing vocals. Cooing and swooping in unexpected ways. As on her debut album much more than a background affair. In many ways more expressive than the lead vocal which has a deadpan quality. It’s very lovely for that. Maybe hushed would be a better word. In fact the press release informs that the album was recorded in Sallee’s apartment with the vocals often done late at night. Sometimes a necessity can become a virtue. Elsewhere there are baroque touches reminiscient of Grizzly Bear. For example the jarring but melodic intervention at the opening of the 2nd verse of ‘First song’. Also the sublime use of a soul sample on ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. The excellent itchy hi hat work on ‘Rip off’. The sheer deadpan stoicism of the whole thing.

Beautiful. Trippy. Sojourn into inner space. Tell me everything you know about consciousness. Like the sound of a move from Texas to the west coast. (She has.) Huge open skies and ringing guitars with reverb. A dreamy voice of optimism and wonder. I see the white.

Satisfying garage rock is a thing. In this case with the general legacy of The Kinks about it. Which is a great thing in itself. Clean muscular guitars. Riffs intertwining like two lovers cavorting. Plus a lovely mandolin style guitar part. As an afterthought. Although it seems to hold more weight than its intriguing cameo. Love with a downbeat edge. And yet uplifting. Which may be the essence of garage rock. Drag yourself up off the floor. A wonderful thing in under 3 minutes.

Caroline Says is an artist whose debut album we loved last year. Her ( Caroline Sallee ) 2nd album is coming soon and we heard a gorgeous track from it. A hushed intimate wall of sound with banks of swooping backing vocals. Flights of Helios are a band from Oxford. 'Embers' is a beautiful building drone pop song with memorable backing vocals. The Altered Hours are a top class psych rock band as you know. They are currently touring UK/EUR and have a new EP out. Excellent live also. And one of the greatest uplifting/downbeat tunes of all time from 1983 and The The . 'This is the day' - an anthem for your personal development for sure. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 482 Tues Mar 13 2018 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on t

Surf noir they’re calling this and the reality is as good as that label sounds. There are somewhat expected guitar breaks over a major to minor foundation. Mysterious dream laden vocals carry a message of desire? transcendance? other things? However the core of the tune is an absolutely killer bass line so good it keeps me coming back every time on its own. It’s the definition of stalking but somehow not threatening. Propulsive certainly. Savage momentum without doubt. You’ll be humming along to it within 5 seconds upfront and centre in the mix as it is. Honourable mention to the excellent churning organ stabs which ride shotgun and complete the picture. Catch this wave now.

A bit of a baroque kick on the show this week. Lake Ruth is a Brooklyn 3-piece with wonderful flourishing melodies and shimmering arrangements around treble-y basslines and analogue synths. Jean-Claude Vannier – famous collaborator with Serge Gainsbourg – patented a brand of baroque pop with those up front basslines once again. This is one of his vault treasures as issued by the Finders Keepers label some years back. Charlotte Gainsbourg has a new album full of great melancholy arpeggios. A kind of downbeat baroque pop. Also some exotica. From the past Eden Ahbez . A dream of a life of freedom that shimmers. From the present The Saxophones . A dream of pop music with flutes. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 481 Tues Mar 6 2018 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8

Another winning piece of leftfield pop from the Belgian Freaksville stable. Benjamin Schoos has hit gold before especially in collaboration with Laetitia Sadier and showing a gift for matching his songwriting to the singer’s particular qualities. So where a sumptuous orchestral pop suited Ms Sadier here we have a more mid tempo jam drawing from white soul and perhaps lounge a little all the better to work the strengths of Dent May’s wonderful laconic drawl. Sensuous.

From Kiev – which is possibly a first for this show... ...packing a lovely rudimentary Silver Apples style aesthetic meets punk funk itch. Let me join in welcoming our new friends from the glorious east. Nisantashi Primary School by Nisantashi Primary School