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YULTIDE 2015-16


21 December 2015
2:29:11




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It’s Yuletide again!

  • Tom has put his Yulelog in the fireplace.
  • Our respective Christmas traditions.
  • The pacing of our episodes in 2015, and how the situation with Tom being gone for five months affected us.
  • Speakpipe from Alan Anbari.
  • Looking back at the 2015 episodes of The Great Divide.
  • Tony Butler’s comments when hearing about “The Great Unknown” episodes.
  • Speakpipe from Kenny Henderson.

We highlight five bands each which we came to through some level of connection with Big Country music.

  • Tom: Kate Bush (sample: Cloudbursting).
  • Svein: Horslips (samples: Sword of Light, Trouble With A Capital T).
  • Tom: Eisley (sample: Marvelous Things).
  • Svein: Eluveitie (sample: The Call of the Mountains).
  • Tom: Hüsker Dü (sample: Charte).
  • Svein: Strawbs (samples: Lay Down, Witchwood, Starshine Angle Wine).
  • Tom: Yeah Yeah Yeahs (sample: Maps).
  • Svein: Runrig (sample: Gamhna Gealla).
  • Tom: Rage Against the Machine (sample: Freedom).
  • Svein: Alestorm (samples: Keelhauled, The Sunk’n Norwegian).

Questions and Answers, various topics, and Yuletide content:

  • Speakpipe from Cara Cuiule
  • Question for both (Abner Deveraux): What do you think the band will do in 2016, and what do you hope they will do?
  • Question for both (CJ Wade): How do you manage without me?
  • Speakpipe from John and Jackson Lewis
  • Question for both (Neuren Pietersen): Seeing as you have both done BC covers, have you considered collaborating?
  • Question for both (Lee Waterton): You can borrow the Tardis for a day. What BC event in history would you go back to see?
  • Speakpipe from Arlin Bartels, including a soundclip of The Greatest Norwegian Rant In History (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rge_Lillelien#.E2.80.9C
    Your_boys_took_a_hell_of_a_beating.E2.80.9D
    )
  • Question for both (Nick Gachovicz): With the recent release of The Skids – The Virgin Years 6CD boxed set, do you think you will do a podcast about The Skids at some point? If not, what is your favourite Skids album/song?
  • Question for both (Kenny Henderson): What is both of your favourite albums of the year?
  • Speakpipe from Andrew Braidwood
  • Question for both (Andrew Braidwood): What is your non-audio favourite Big Country memorabilia?
  • Question for both (Paul Barker): Have you managed to listen to any of the recordings Mark has done with Bruce Foxton and Pete Townshend this year, and what do you think? Also, would you be willing to raise the topic of crowdsourcing to the band again, to be able to send them to your neck of the woods and further?
  • Question for both (Doug Mitchell): Who in the whole world of music that have come on the scene in the past five years do you think has the same magic and longevity as Big Country? Give us a track name so we can judge – harshly if needed.
  • Question for Tom (Kenny Henderson): Who would you rather have doing back-up vocals on your next album: Svein or the singing ladies?
  • Question for Svein (Abner Deveraux): You’re given only three things to change about the Steeltown LP. Which things would you change, and why?
  • Question for Tom (Abner Deveraux): If you could go back in history and re-storyboard any Big Country video, which would it be, and why?
  • Question for Svein (Arlin Bartels): I know that Svein’s normal musical fare is metal. I want him to justify his apparent like of a-ha other than the Norway connection. Guilty pleasure, perhaps?
  • Question for Tom (Arlin Bartels): What do you think of the Redskin’s playoff chances?
  • Merry Yuletide and a Happy New Year!

Auld Land Syne” – from the Homecoming DVD, 1983/84
The Christmas Hog” – a Yuletide song by Thomas Kercheval