Great new music from independent labels and artists all around the world

IntroHappy – Jimmie Bratcher (Missouri, USA)www.jimmiebratcher.comJane – The Loved Ones (California, USA)To be memorable a band must live the fight, believing that their record—front to back, first song to last—could be it, their one chance to truly move people and make a connection.Enter THE LOVED ONES.www.fatwreck.com/A few minutes of relative sanity and certainly a seriously…

Sorry, a short and rather different show because of my mum’s serious ill-health.I’m expecting to be going up to Norfolk after I call the hospital this morning. I’ve just selected a few tracks that I’m damn sure Pat would have enjoyed. Thanks for your tolerance. Hopefully SnC will be back to normal next week. Meanwhile…

Recovering from a day of eight solid hours of intensive music and new media networking in London yesterday with some of the stuff that floats on the top of the cream of music podcasting. You’ve heard of Podcamp and PodcastCon well now we have Podcrawl 08 which in an unprecedented gesture of defiance was held…

Another hand-picked if not to say improbable selection, largely culled this week from the Podsafe Music Network and Jamendo bringing you the finest new music that you’ve never heard. Music also, that you’ll be unlikely to catch on mainstream radio.This wonderful old cigarette vending machine (right) is in Ruislip station. 2 x 10p coins for…

Some refreshingly quirky sounds from Canada, Italy, UK, South Africa, Taiwan, USA and France. My smugness about it not being so cold has come back to bite me on the bum and we are forecast a sprinkling of snow overnight and tomorrow. This may make my journey to west London interesting tomorrow, especially since the…

Ready to wake up again?There’s nothing like stopping for a few hours to make you think about what you are doing and what you really should be doing.Great music again this week with tracks from North America, Europe and Africa. "Every one a winner"Note from my chum Malcolm in France (where he has some beautiful…

An all French and all Jamendo special this week with music from around that great country. Introduced from a wonderful 70 year-old restaurant in the centre of Boulogne, on the north coast. It was spectacularly cold with a thick frost and freezing fog, neither of which quite cleared all day. Even the brisk walk back…

It is becoming increasingly difficult to tip-toe through the Podsafe Music Network avoiding all the so-called "holiday" music. Most of which, I have to say, is utterly dire. How many more times do you want to hear a country/punk/metal/sugar laden sweet or novelty version of Jingle Bells?Happily the show is (and will remain) a mercifully…

By total co-incidence an almost entirely American show tonight with just one stunning interjection from France. Stay tuned and hear me eat two helpings of humble pie!It’s Tuesday night now and I’m due in London again tomorrow. At 5pm I was asked to stay on for a second day (Thursday) – screwing plans to produce…

Tunes "ancient and modern" this week from Canada, New York, and California as well as a couple of tracks from the UK. Meanwhile, I’m agitating to have this train (at Liverpool Street Station in London) named Suffolk ‘n’ Cool because I seem to have spent a lot of time on it just recently. It was…