From the new issue of Plan B magazine, which should be at your newsagents now. As you can see, the cartoon is excellent!
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Aidan has recorded a few promotional videos for the forthcoming album, I Can Hear Your Heart. You can watch them below or click on the image to go to YouTube where you can leave a comment if you feel the need.
Here you go:
It’s been a year since Arab Strap played their final notes together, so the Official Arab Strap site is now closed. If you go the address, you’ll find a new title page with links to this site and that of Aidan’s former musical partner, Malcolm Middleton, and for a limited time only, a FREE DOWNLOAD OF A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG! It’s a live version of their only Christmas song, To All A Good Night, recorded somewhere in Europe years ago with the 7-piece, Monday At The Hug & Pint-era line-up. The track was originally intended to be part of the Ten Years Of Tears farewell retrospective but was replaced with the studio version. Technically, this is Arab Strap’s final release, and you can download it here:
Is it too early for nostalgia? You decide:
The mini-site for Aidan’s forthcoming album, I Can Hear Your Heart, is now live and features an excerpt from the album’s written introduction, ‘Poop,’ streams of four album tracks and two EXCLUSIVE FREE DOWNLOADS of previously unreleased, non-album tracks! It also features Send To Friend and mailing list features should you want to spread the word. A little warning, though - it really is for adults only. Although if you’re reading this, you probably know what to expect.
Find the site at:
http://www.chemikal.co.uk/icanhearyourheart/
And for more details, scroll down!
As mentioned before, Aidan recently discussed his love of comics with Scottish author Ian Rankin, who guest-edits the new edition of The List magazine, where the interview appears. The List is an arts and events guide for Glasgow and Edinburgh and is in shops now, but for those of you who don’t live in Scotland or find the very thought of buying a paper document tragically old-fashioned, you can read the interview online at:
http://www.list.co.uk/article/5379-ian-rankin-interviews-aidan-moffat-about-comics/
Aidan makes a brief appearance in Ken Garner’s excellent new book, The Peel Sessions, a definitive history of the legendary John Peel radio show. The author asked him to offer some exciting background story behind any of the three Peel Sessions that Arab Strap recorded in their ten-year lifespan, but Aidan was at a loss - it appears that Arab Strap took the recording of these sessions seriously and rock ‘n’ roll behaviour was at an absolute minimum (although session track “The First Big Peel Thing” was a version of First Big Weekend with new lyrics that documented the journey to Maida Vale studios in a transit van with cheap cider so foul that it had to be mixed with even cheaper cherryade to make it vaguely palatable). Instead, Aidan’s tale of winning a raffle is part of the “A Listener Writes...” series of asides that can be found throughout the book. It’s only a third of a page, but we thought we should let you know and recommend a wonderful book that also includes a complete list of all Peel Sessions ever recorded and a full run-down of the Festive 50’s. Buy it!
The second song to be released by Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs, “Your Hands Are Cold,” is available now on the Worried Noodles compilation from Germany’s Tomlab label. The album features 39 songs by various acts based on lyrics by Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley from his previous “empty sleeve,” the Worried Noodles lyric book that Tomlab released in 2005. Some of the other bands and musicians included are Franz Ferdinand, David Byrne, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear, Liars, Hot Chip, Deerhoof and many, many more. For more info, go to:
http://www.worriednoodles.com/
Quick, get your credit card! The Aidan Moffat Shop is NOW OPEN! To launch the shop, we have a brand new t-shirt that’s GUARANTEED to make you sexually desirable – KISS MY BEARD. See below for a sample of the design! ORDER NOW WHILE STOCKS LAST!
Unbeatable prices: http://www.resonancestore.com/aidanmoffat/
The Barnes & Noble website now have the Upstairs At The Square event feauturing Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs in video form. It’s an edited, 30 minute version (the whole show was an hour long) so there’s only 2 songs but you can still hear the missing song, “Big Blonde,” on the audio version.
Go to:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writers_cds2.asp?PID=12211
Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs played their first ever show last week on Thursday the 12th of April in New York City. The brief performance was part of Upstairs At The Square, a monthly event staged at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Union Square which brings together writers and musicians. For this event, The Best-Ofs joined Ian Rankin, who talked about his new book and his recent collaboration with the band for the Ballads Of The Book compilation. The pared down band played 3 songs: Big Blonde, Atheist’s Lament and the aforementioned collaboration, The Sixth Stone (which Aidan managed to fuck up). You can hear the whole event for yourself – it’s available in audio form for download from the Barnes & Noble website. Go to:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writers_cds2.asp?PID=12211
The first song by Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs, “The Sixth Stone,” will be released on Monday the 3rd of March as part of the “Ballads Of The Book” compilation on Chemikal Underground. The album features 18 collaborations from contemporary Scottish writers and musicians and the lyrics for the Best-Ofs song were written by none other than Scotland’s premier crime novelist, Ian Rankin! For more details and streaming audio of “The Sixth Stone,” have a look at the excellent mini-site :
http://www.chemikal.co.uk/ballads