Sloucherzine

The bit that you skip #101: Laura Branigan – Self Control

As a kid of the 80s, I had the stupidest crush and her name was Laura Branigan. Even if the video for Self Control freaked the fuck out of me, I found her eyes enthralling, and her crystal vocals soothed my fidgety nature. Years later I would find out that William Friedkin, as in, William "I fucking directed the exorcist" Friedkin.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/11/the-bit-that-you-skip-101-laura-branigan-self-control/

The bit that you skip #116: Thrice – Firebreather

It's a cliché to grab to loud, brash music when things go wrong, but at the worst of times, it's loud music what helps take away that seething feeling. I always get pinned down as someone who listens only to metal genres and their ilk, but I seldom do. Thrice's Fire EP from the Alchemy Index has two tracks that marked two low points in my life.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/26/the-bit-that-you-skip-116-thrice-firebreather/

The bit that you skip #113: Thrice – Night Diving

The last trip I took with my parents was in 2011. I was living in Sheffield and we went on a tour bus around the UK. Even a bit of Wales, but only Cardiff and that Llanfair place. It was september, so we did get drenched in Glencoe, Aviemore, and in Skye. We had whisky. I had to do massive data crunch on Excel and I barely had any sleep due to work.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/23/the-bit-that-you-skip-113-thrice-night-diving/

The bit that you skip #107: Electrelane – The Valleys

I have got a brother that lives in the US, and my parents loved him quite a bit. We only met during christmas, but once I got out of uni and started working, my dad saved up money to do at least one annual trip to the US and go on holidays with my brother. It usually was during Memorial Day, which is a long weekend but traveling isn't as packed as Christmas or Thanksgiving.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/17/the-bit-that-you-skip-107-electrelane-the-valleys/

The bit that you skip #228: Starsailor – Four to the floor

Ask most Britpop fans and they'll say the scene died in '97, with Oasis' charliefest Be Here Now and Blur's course-correcting selftitled. Some might even say Princess Di's death marked the end of Cool Britannia and that took Britpop out as collateral damage. Whatever expiration date you assign to the scene, it's clear that by the beginning of the new millenium, British music was in a weird state, at least from…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/16/the-bit-that-you-skip-228-starsailor-four-to-the-floor/

The bit that you skip #229: Marc Cohn – Walking in Memphis

You might not believe it, but my first interaction with Cohn's music wasn't this bonafide classic, but the heart tugging Silver Thunderbird. That's a song that hits harder once you reach that stage when you've lost your father. Ghost trains was the next track of his I heard. It was on a music channel available in Mexico only through satellite dish.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/17/the-bit-that-you-skip-229-marc-cohn-walking-in-memphis/

The bit that you skip #96: The Icicle Works – Whisper to a scream (birds fly)

There's an oft-quoted phrase by John Nathan Turner, former producer of Dr Who, used to disqualify fan opinions. "The Memory Cheats". It can be a little off-putting once you are the target of it, but strip away its attachment to Who Fandom, and you get a short but sweet rebuttal to misremembered facts. It was March of 2012 and while trawling on the snowy Weston Park, an old song pop in my head.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/06/the-bit-that-you-skip-96-the-icicle-works-whisper-to-a-scream-birds-fly/

The bit that you skip #223: Elastica – 2:1

Justine Frischmann once said that Elastica should've been a one-album band, and to some of their most ardent fans, they really were. It's a shame, because The Menace has some great ideas, but it does feel as far from their 1995 release as Gorillaz is from Blur. The impact of Connection in Mexico was tremendous but somehow pegged the band (unjustly) as one-hit wonders.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/11/the-bit-that-you-skip-223-elastica-21/

The bit that you skip #117: Sparta Red.Right.Return.

-"you're falling straight in our hands" I've always loved rainy weather. When I was a kid, hot weather would make my head throb and I would need to lie down. Rain would soothe this pain, and I would be able to be "human" again. In autumn of 2007, it was a different story, rain didn't help me. I was supposed to leave Mexico for Sheffield, but the University used a middleman-like company in Mexico to work out all…

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/27/the-bit-that-you-skip-117-sparta-red-right-return/

The bit that you skip #111: People in planes – Mayday (M’aidez)

When I arrived in Sheffield, the plan was to do a new route PhD. What this entailed was one year of taught MSc, and then full independent research. On the side, I started writing for Forge, the student newspaper, and Fuse, the entertainment and arts supplement. My first articles never went to print, and I understood that, it was the first time I was writing for someone else, and strict guidelines and…

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/21/the-bit-that-you-skip-111-people-in-planes-mayday-maidez/

The bit that you skip #108: Ace of Cups – Afro Blue

Getting screwed over by the algorithm is as much of a cliché as getting a surprise keeper from it. It has happened to me so many times, and I'm all for it. I'll take 30 bad recs for one good band whose songs I'll fall in love with. Strangely enough, Ace of Cups wasn't recommended directly. Instead, I was watching videos about San Francisco in the 60s, specially about Hunter S.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/18/the-bit-that-you-skip-108-ace-of-cups-afro-blue/

The bit that you skip #219: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Spring 1993. I'm leaving a THX theatre with my parents and my brother. The mood is indiscernible. We just watched Barry Levinson's Toys. I'm 100% sure my dad hated it, as he never had patience for Robin Williams. My mum probably disliked it too, since she didn't mention a single thing on the walk back home. My brother has always been quiet and never breaks that tradition.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/07/the-bit-that-you-skip-219-frankie-goes-to-hollywood-welcome-to-the-pleasuredome/

The bit that you skip #95: Silversun Pickups – Rusted Wheel

I'm a sucker for introspection, and although people tell me I'm too hard on myself, I think the opposite. As the great Ice Cube would say "check yourself before you wreck yourself", and there's too many bad decisions I've taken that could've been avoided by some carefully thinking. Or any thinking at all. Getting stuck on those bad decisions and the aftermath seems to be an evergreen source of regret.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/05/the-bit-that-you-skip-95-silversun-pickups-rusted-wheel/

The bit that you skip #226: Spacehog – Never Coming Down (Pt. 2)

A strange side effect of the Cool Britannia wave of late '95 until 2000 was the re-appraisal by a younger (back then) generation of mod culture and early 70s films. It's fascinating that Michael Caine ended the 60s with The Italian Job, a "relax, it's just a flick" affair that is stylish, fun, and entirely unbelievable and switched gears in the 70s with the downbeat Too late the hero and the epitome of…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/14/the-bit-that-you-skip-226-spacehog-never-coming-down-pt-2/

The bit that you skip #115: Thrice – A song for Milly Michaelson

D.A.R.Y.L. The flight of the navigator. The boy who could fly. We had this stretch of movies in the 80s focused on the outcasts of society in the suburbs. Yup, I identified with their protagonists. The boy that could fly had Jay Underwood and Fred Savage. Jay was the titular character, a quiet loner with a power that the USA government wanted for itself.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/26/the-bit-that-you-skip-115-thrice-a-song-for-milly-michaelson/

The bit that you skip #97: Icehouse – Electric Blue

All that time before I used MTV latino as a music discovery tool, my only source could be either the radio or whatever my family was listening to. Maybe a song from a movie or tv show, but that was seldom the case. The one radio station I used to listen to while doing homework was Azul 89, an easy listening station that had pop hits, and the odd MOR track.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/08/the-bit-that-you-skip-97-icehouse-electric-blue/

The bit that you skip #217: Metallica – Frantic

As a kid who was bullied daily for 3 years straight in junior high school, I was relieved the moment I graduated and moved as far as I could from the school I was enrolled in. My experience was so bad that any music the bullies enjoyed I ended up disliking for ages. Metallica, El Tri, Caifanes, and a few more were on the verboten list, so I never had much love for them.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/05/the-bit-that-you-skip-217-metallica-frantic/

The bit that you skip #114: Thrice – The Earth isn’t humming

There are two opposing camps regarding covers: one accepts covers as reinterpretations or recontextualizations of songs, famous or not. The other camp treats all covers as cheap cash ins. I think it's a case per case basis. And even then, the cheap cash ins can work, even if they are as cynical as Weezer's Teal Album (which I listen to regularly).

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/24/the-bit-that-you-skip-114-thrice-the-earth-isnt-humming/

The bit that you skip #100: Alice in Chains – Rooster

Wow, a hundred days of writing! It's been a while since I've managed to write every day, but it was a new year's proposal and I plan to stick to it. I had another song ready, but I decided to leave it for post two hundred. Besides, it seems that destiny chose Alice in Chains. How so? After re-listening to Nelly Furtado's explode for yesterday's post, YouTube's autoplay went for an Alice in Chains song.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/10/the-bit-that-you-skip-100-alice-in-chains-rooster/

The bit that you skip #233: Christopher Cross – Ride like the wind

For a brief period of time, Christopher Cross was as ubiquitous as Phil Collins was in the 80s. Specifically, the period between Sailing and All Right, with a quick shove by Arthur's theme (best that you can do), feels like he had a Midas Touch. Revisiting those first two albums shows why: Cross has an ear for a good tune and a guitar prowess that galvanises sentimentality with technical skill.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/21/the-bit-that-you-skip-233-christopher-cross-ride-like-the-wind/

The bit that you skip #103: The Charlatans – Up at the lake

Is there a friendship after a relationship ends? It's a pickle and I don't believe there's a catch all answer. It's a case per case situation and even when it seems a friendship could be an option, it might be a fragile one. I'm fifty fifty on the topic. Some have become great friends, others, well, that's life and it's okay.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/14/the-bit-that-you-skip-103-the-charlatans-up-at-the-lake/

The bit that you skip #94: Veruca Salt – Shutterbug

In the summer of '97, I had an emergency surgery. It was my first time staying at a hospital and it was terrifying. It was a family condition regarding my gall bladder, as both my aunt and my grandad had theirs removed. On my father's side, his youngest brother also had an emergency removal. So on both sides, it seemed on the cards.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/04/the-bit-that-you-skip-94-veruca-salt-shutterbug/

The bit that you skip #218: Weezer – Hash Pipe

It's a well-worn archetype that a band's worst enemy is their fanbase. I don't think this is endemic to music. You see, I watch Dr. Who, so I know about fanbases that can be passionate about what they love. How that passion comes through varies in levels of adjectives. Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and Arcade Fire seem to cohabitate with Weezer that strange strata of fanbases.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/06/the-bit-that-you-skip-218-weezer-hash-pipe/

The bit that you skip #106: Trespassers William – Lie in the sound

After the fire, sifting through ashes. -Remember how we met? -The 50s throwback burger joint. Jane told me to go with her because she didnae want to be a billy no mates. -Yeah. I was starstruck by your eyes. -I noticed and that's why I was distant. - Playing hard to get? That's so not you. -Ow, watch the sarcasm, mister.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/16/the-bit-that-you-skip-106-trespassers-william-lie-in-the-sound/

The bit that you skip #109: Iggy Pop – The Passenger

There are songs that simply fit too perfectly a time and space in your life. The Chemical Brother's Star Guitar always plays in my head when I board a train. The Passenger by Iggy Pop, my second fave song of his, does the same if I go into a tram. Tram's used to be ubiquitous here in Mexico City, but they eventually faded out, replaced by loud and obnoxious buses.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/19/the-bit-that-you-skip-109-iggy-pop-the-passenger/

The bit that you skip #221: La Ley – 1 800 Dual

-For Vanessa a.k.a Rita. When I first mentioned liking La Ley, my dad raised an eyebrow. He swore I would never listen to rock en español due to having bad experiences with the usual fans that were in my immediate circle (i.e. bullies). Four years had passed since I was in junior high school. I chose a university as far as possible from the worst people in my previous school.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/09/the-bit-that-you-skip-221-la-ley-1-800-dual/

The bit that you skip #230: Kenny Rogers – The Gambler

I always correlate Kenny Rogers with family gatherings. As the youngest kid in my family, I was used to getting squished in the family car, whether precariously placed between my parents and keeping a yoga like position to avoid getting hit by the shift stick, sandwiched between my brothers on the back, or on the large boot with clear windows on the back of the Datsun B210 or the Dart K station wagon.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/18/the-bit-that-you-skip-230-kenny-rogers-the-gambler/

The bit that you skip #98: Letting up despite great faults – postcard

Supposedly, trends repeat each other every 20 years or so. That value changes, though. I remember the wave of rockabilly acts in the 80s. The 90s had on its first half the 60s and 70s resonating heavily in alternative and grunge, then went for a big band revival that I enjoyed quite a bit, since it was my grandmother's fave music.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/08/the-bit-that-you-skip-98-letting-up-despite-great-faults-postcard/

The bit that you skip #102: Broken Social Scene – Almost Crimes

Picture this. It's a saturday in 2008. You're unemployed but have some money from odd jobs. You managed to score a ticket for one of the hottest gigs in town. You have no idea of 5 out of the 6 bands that night, and you go with a couple of friends you will no longer be friends with in less than four years.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/12/the-bit-that-you-skip-102-broken-social-scene-almost-crimes/

The bit that you skip #227: Pulp – This is hardcore

Not everything from Cool Britannia was charlie, pints of lager, WKDs, and dancing. Sometimes, the tale of the consequences of an all night bender is as important as the partying itself. When you're Pulp, you focus more on that side, as their kitchen sink sensibilities have always been their major strength. From my perspective, it seemed that Disco 2000 was a bigger hit in Mexico than Common People, but I assume time…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/15/the-bit-that-you-skip-227-pulp-this-is-hardcore/

The bit that you skip #112: Dido – hunter

Roswell's theme tune. That's all. That's how I heard of Dido for the first time. Then a friend told me she used to be a part of faithless. That was enough to make me a fan. If the majority of her audience missed Roswell, they sure as heck didn't miss the ubiquitous sample for Eminem's Stan, another song where it's all about him.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/23/the-bit-that-you-skip-112-dido-hunter/

Minty fresh: Failure, Modest Mouse, Beck, American Analog Set

Orestes takes care of new bands, I go for legacy acts. That's the intro for y'all. Failure - The rising skyline Not a pairing I'd imagine, but it works quite well. Failure's new song, The Rising Skyline, has Hayley Williams (formerly from Paramore) going on a star surfing slice of space rock. A slow acoustic that yields away into Failure's signature explosive sound.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/23/minty-fresh-failure-modest-mouse-beck-american-analog-set/

The bit that you skip #234: Glenn Frey – You Belong to the City

When I was a kid and heard on TV shows about "nights out", I always imagined something like the video for Glenn Frey's You Belong to the City. Busy streets, marquees with incandescent bulbs following patterns, arcades, and stores ready to close and crawl back home, backs broken from working all day. So when I was old enough to just saunter about by myself, I would think of this song, without ever knowing…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/22/the-bit-that-you-skip-234-glenn-frey-you-belong-to-the-city/

The bit that you skip #224: Suede – Jumble Sale Mums

As I get older I get it: Suede is better than both Blur and Oasis. If I could tell something to my younger self it would be "you placed your chips on the wrong horse, kid!" My story with Suede is weird. I wanted Man Dog Star when it came out, but one of my parents vetoed it due to having a naked dude on the front cover.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/12/the-bit-that-you-skip-224-suede-jumble-sale-mums/

The bit that you skip #110: Afroman – Because I got high

Weirdest of things happened to me with this song: I heard it during the closing credits of Jay and Silent Bob strike back and thought nothing of it. A novelty song on a flick that was going to be an obscure reference in Mexico for 95% of the population. The only Kevin Smith View Askewverse movie shown in cinemas here. …

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/20/the-bit-that-you-skip-110-afroman-because-i-got-high/

The bit that you skip #216: ‘Til Tuesday – Coming up close

I've got a weird story with Aimee Mann's beautiful music. I was living in Nottingham, and had a video rental place a couple of blocks from my student accommodation (Albion House). On my hour long walk from my gaff to the Environmental Science department, I would listen to a lot of music, most of it bands that I missed growing up, and whatever soothed my nerves.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/04/the-bit-that-you-skip-216-til-tuesday-coming-up-close/

The bit that you skip #222: Blur – Sing

Not gonna lie, the first days after arriving to Nottingham, solitude hit me like a tons of bricks. Perhaps all the walking and roaming around the campus and town was more to find some sort of solace, someone to converse with, to feel again. It's a strange feeling, loneliness. I joined a few student societies, with varying results. Although I had sworn off religion, I somehow decided to join CathSoc too, and attend mass, something…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/10/the-bit-that-you-skip-222-blur-sing/

The bit that you skip #104: The Stone Roses – Your star will shine

The Stone Roses are on that Venn diagram with Creed, Red House Painters, and The Smiths: fantastic musicians, shit person on vocals. You don't need to be fastidious to find out everything wrong with Ian Brown, Scott Stapp, Mark Kozelek, and Moz. Even so, I try to listen to the music without giving much thought to their faults as persons.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/14/the-bit-that-you-skip-104-the-stone-roses-your-star-will-shine/

The bit that you skip #225: Oasis – Columbia

"Is that the edition with the orchestra song?" asked my dad, pointing at the double album edition of Definitely Maybe. We were on holidays in Spain, my nose spent the previous day bleeding all the time (I'm not good in warm weather) and my birthday was nearing. "Yeah, it's only a single, though" I replied and he just grabbed it and placed it in his basket with FNAC logo on the side.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/13/the-bit-that-you-skip-225-oasis-columbia/

The bit that you skip #93: Gazelle – At last, friend

Many songs tend to remind you of your childhood. Another quantity, perhaps greater, hark back to your teenage days. Then there's songs that make you think of your early adulthood. The wide eyed rookie days. Wages are minuscule, possibilities are endless, and nothing is written in pen. After Headlights broke up, I trawled for everything related to the Fein clan.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/03/the-bit-that-you-skip-93-gazelle-at-last-friend/

The bit that you skip #99: Nelly Furtado – Explode

I might as well start with this: I'm not a fan. I tried, but I don't find myself liking Nelly Furtado's albums at all. However, there's always the one track that I really like. In some cases, more than one! The Missy Elliot remix of Get your freak on is not one of them. It does make sense on the Tomb Raider album, though, so on that context, it flows great.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/09/the-bit-that-you-skip-99-nelly-furtado-explode/

The bit that you skip #220 Dave Stewart and Candy Dulfer – Lily was here

My aunt owned a satellite dish in Tampico. It had a decoder and you could "acquire" a code to open up many channels at a local market called "macalito". The name "macalito" was a deformation of the word "pequeño McAllen" (small McAllen), which was one of the closest US cities to Tampico, the other being Brownsville. If you wanted imported goods, like clothes, perfumes, food, and toys, macalito was…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/08/the-bit-that-you-skip-220-dave-stewart-and-candy-dulfer-lily-was-here/

The bit that you skip #231: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Sunburst

When I started this daily writing challenge I never thought I'd made it this far. I gotta admit I've had a few duffers in this collection, and other bits I've found both satisfying to write and quite cathartic. In the end, the purpose of writing daily is more an exercise on forcing myself to write than producing full quality writing everyday, which I don't believe is humanly achievable.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/19/the-bit-that-you-skip-231-bob-seger-the-silver-bullet-band-sunburst/

Herding up #1: Mystery machines and broken glasses

New-ish year, new-ish singles column. My name is Orestes P. Coltrane and I've curated this list of singles. We've got a new header that DOESN'T MATCH THE NAME OF THE COLUMN. We suck. But we are funny too. Quick aside, are you enjoying the daily blogging stuff my quartermaster Sam is writing? Personally, I think he's overdoing the nostalgia thing and I hope he gets back to brass band tacks and starts reviewing new music.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/18/herding-up-1-mystery-machines-and-broken-glasses/

The bit that you skip #105: Mazzy Star – Fade into you

Mazzy Star's Fade into you had that 70s-based imagery that permeated many 90s acts. Go figure, Gen X obsessed with childhood memories of long road trips on petrol-guzzling monstrosities. It really clicked with me. I never thought much about the tambourine until I heard this song. Then I grew to respect it, up to the point that I once got invited to play tambourine on stage at The Grapes during a Repo Man gig.

http://sloucher.org/2026/04/15/the-bit-that-you-skip-105-mazzy-star-fade-into-you/

The bit that you skip #215: The Lemonheads – Into your arms

The subject of covers is always fraught with deadend bickering. Who sang it better. Which one is "true". What is even originality any more? I love all covers of The Beatles' She's so heavy, especially IO Echo's expansive gloom and doom, but I really think it's a question of taste. Saying that, I wasn't aware that The Lemonheads' Into your arms was a cover.

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/03/the-bit-that-you-skip-215-the-lemonheads-into-your-arms/

The bit that you skip #232: Blue Öyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

This is a song that feels eternal. Not because of the running time but because it feels it's always been there, besides you, just like its subject matter. Inescapable and same for all but through different means. (Don't Fear) The Reaper is a song of two audiences: the ones whose memory is attached to a particular moment in pop culture (SNL, Halloween, The Stand, Scream) or those who got blown away…

http://sloucher.org/2026/08/20/the-bit-that-you-skip-232-blue-oyster-cult-dont-fear-the-reaper/