More Welsh pop news

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 15 May 2006 11:58:21

Saturday saw the arrival of a package from Ankst records (www.ankst.net) in Pentraeth, Ynys Mon, which contained a whole host of goodies.

Firstly there was the two Datblygu cassettes. Imagine Mark E. Smith, having a really, really bad day, in Wales.

Then add some more doom and gloom but a bit more coherence to the lyrics.

Stir well.

Et voila, the twisted genius that is David R. Edwards. Their last ever album ends with him stomping away from the mic grumbling "F*** off, Talwrn y Beirdd" (see previous entry). Splendid stuff.

Another great ranter is Ifor ap Glyn, who pops up on an Ankst compilation singing "Fydd y chwyldro ddim ar y teledu gyfaill" (The Revolution Won't Be On TV, Friend - which I suspect is a slightly sardonic title, given that the only industries in Wales at the moment are tourism and the media, so the revolution will have to be on telly, because that's the only place people live. But I digress)

Amongst Ifor's splendid spleen-ventings are:

"The revolution won't be on the TV, not even on S4C a week after it was shown on Channel 4 and introduced by Melvyn Bragg"

and

"The revolution won't be a repeat,
a translation
or an adaptation
of a tenth-rate idea thrown out by Thames TV
in 1973."

And then there's the compilation of Radio Cymru sessions that various Ankst bands did (including Rheinallt H. Rowlands' cover of a Joy Division track - now THAT'S depressing, Wood), a record that proves (a) all good things come to an end (the show was axed pretty soon after the compilation came out) and (b) Catatonia were ok but hugely over-rated.

On the same day, got hold of "Cusan Dyn Dall / Blind Man's Kiss", Menna Elfyn's book of poems published bilingually by Bloodaxe. She really is very, very good.