File Under Pop

The most influential punk DJ, John Peel of the BBC, has died of a heart attack while on holiday in Peru. Until this sad event, Peel was still going strong over at the BBC, but he is best known for hosting the show to get played on for UK punk/diy bands of the late 70s/early 80s. A band could press a thousand 7"s themselves, send one to Peel, get enthusiastic play on his show, and that would mean they could get a distribution deal with Rough Trade or Cartel; and their indie cred of the day would be established. They could even get called in for a live radio show, and they would have a Peel Session to add to their credentials. Maybe they could even get signed to Rough Trade. Those were the days.
No one man's taste was more influential than John Peel's. He championed bands no one would give the time of day to (think of the Television Personalities), and he often made their careers. If you look at the International Discography of the New Wave by B. George and Martha DeFoe, most of the UK 7"s in there come from John Peel's collection. So, in a sense, a band doesn't exist if they didn't send their record to Peel. God speed, John

While looking through my sitemeter hits, I found this page. Apparently, Google has the ability to do some sort of automatic translation, and someone had my blog translated into French. I am now published in two languages. I just got my high speed hook-up at home, so I should get back to substantive blogging soon. In the meantime, practice your French. The best part is the band names, which just really get messed up.
Erase Errata=Effacez Les Errata
All Girl Summer Fun Band=Toute la bande d'amusement d'été de fille
Fat Day=Gros Jour
Magnetic Fields=Champs magnétiques
Teddy and the Frat Girls=Nounours et les filles de Frat
Beep Beep=Signal sonore de signal sonore
Fiery Furnaces=Fours ardents
I really thinks some of the bands should consider the change.

I have moved. I have no home internet service (or phone for that matter, and I only just got power yesterday). I live in a new building, so the cable company says it may be a couple weeks before I can even get a hookup. I am still largely living out of boxes. In short, the blog won't start back up again for a bit. You will, however, notice the new name (although I am keeping the residual address so as not to lose all my google linkage). If, in the comments, you can explain what the new name is referencing, you will win nothing but have my admiration.