Simon Maltman Blogs

Here are a few of the tunes/ artists that are mentioned in my new book. I've created a playlist of them in You Tube that you can view all of through the link at the bottom.  Also, here is the book's namesake by the incredible Lee Morgan. I loved the name and the attributes of the snake being deadly and also able to hide in plain sight. I just thought- 'I'm having that title!' Playlist

Was having a wee think about my favourites from 2017- here they are!- Music- The Afghan Whigs- In Spades Books- Stuart Neville/ Haylen Beck- Here and Gone T.V- Mindhunter Film- Manchester by the Sea  -Loads of great stuff this year :) 

-There are so many to choose from- you could do a top 100 with Nick Cave alone! -Here are my faves- what are yours? 5. Mack the Knife Bobby Darin "Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth dear."  You can trace versions of the song back to 1928, but the most well known versions would be from Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra. It's a dark tale and it is really an unusual song to have been such a hit over the years. Check out the gravelly and stripped down Mark Lanegan cut from his Imitations album. 4. San Quentin Johnny Cash "I think I understand a little bit how you feel about some things, It's none of my business how you feel about some other things, And I don't give a damn about how you feel about some other things." So said Cash when introducing his new song to the world and to the inmates within San Quentin. This is my pick over the likes of Folsom Prison Blues , mostly because of this recording. You can hear the tension and the electric...

Wanna go for a ride? You sure will. New Album sees Dulli in fine form Gentlemen, Black Love, 1965 . Any fan knows that these are indeed the holy trinity. The comeback album- Do to the Beast splits opinion a little more. Personally, I think it's just alright. I'd take most of Dulli's non-Afghan albums over it. But, the new album,  In Spades is a very satisfying listen. From the opening track's largely string arrangement, it is clear that Dulli is not just making a 'Twilights plus John Curley' album. Other examples of really great song writing include  Demon in Profile and Toy Automatic . The final track- Into the Floor is a great one- almost Pink Floydy- with a very addictive melody hook. Dulli can be guilty of using the same patterns and progressions a bit too much, but even though there's some repetition here, it's still a really good collection of songs. He's mixed things up well- some classic Afghan scratchy guitar, a bit of clavinet...