Tag Archives: late junction

Call your Mother!

March 27, 2020New Song!apocalypse, BBC Radio 6 Music, burke, call your mother, corona, earthquake, end of the world, late junction, pull out the plug, thunder, vincent, vincent burkeadmin

Something’s coming? Something’s here!

I recorded this last Friday. Without over explaining the song is about uncovering good stuff when things break down. I just typed it out and right now despite some inaccurate Morse Code at the end I think it’s my best lyric. It goes like this:

call your mother

if you took,

all the darkness in me

you could whittle it down to the shape of a key

it would fit,

in the red of the rock

and release all the lava and stop all the clocks.

something’s coming,

distant drum, drum, drumming

earthquakes,

thunder,

call your mother.

If I swam,

to the depths of the sea

I would pull out the plug

just to see what I see

and the coral,

would rise up just like trees

as we struggled for breath

on our blistering knees,

something’s coming,

distant drum, drum, drumming

earthquakes,

thunder,

call your mother.

When the walls,

have all crashed to the ground,

When the trumpets have blown

When the sky has come down

I will stand,

and applaud to the sun

for the end of the world

could be something begun,

something’s coming,

distant drum, drum, drumming

earthquakes,

thunder,

call your mother.

dit dit dit dit dit dit dit dit, dit dit dit dit, etc

dot dot dot dit dit dit dash dash.

For the film I was lucky to find a great film on Creative Commons to chop up for my own ends. If you’d like to see the original here it is (smile) https://youtu.be/QieZx_Elbb4

Please Share it if you like it!

Stay Well and speak very soon!

1,2,3,4!

October 29, 2019Uncategorized1, 1234, 2, 3, 4!, BBC Radio 6 Music, burke, children, late junction, max reinhardt, over here in the trees, Radio 2, radio 3, Randy Newman, suzanne vega, The Jam, the Muppets, vincent, vincent burkeadmin

Autobiograpical innit?

Wrote this in Nathaniel’s bedroom which may be why it become something about the 4 of us.

Last week in wet October me and Laurie, (or possibly Laurie and I) did the video, having gone through one phone and 2 cameras I finally figured out we could yank the computer about on extension lead and do the stop motion like that. A lot of it worked pretty well and some of it didn’t but that all got cut!

it’s available at https://vincentburke.bandcamp.com/track/1234

and here are the words for the hard of hearing:

1,2,3,4!

I’m
just no good
I can’t sing
I can’t chop wood
friends cast me out
but I’ve got1,2,3,4
something to be sure about
early combinations led me to a cold war
I’m in
I’m ready to begin
something to be sure about

I
can’t be found
all my hits
go underground
file them away
because I got

1,2,3,4
something to be sure about
early combinations led me to a cold war
I’m in
I’m ready to begin
something to be sure about

I didn’t know too much about the world before
I used to sit at home and observe the floor
I want more

so here I am
here’s my wife
here’s my pram
time slips away

but I got
1,2,3,4
something to be sure about
early combinations led me to a cold war
I’m in
I’m ready to begin
something to be sure about.

credits

released October 29, 2019

the truth about a woman and a man

July 27, 2019New Song!A woman and a man, Adam and Eve, Afican, battle of the sexes, BBC Radio 6 Music, children, late junction, South African, the Muppets, The Truth, vincent, vincent burkeadmin

Well! – this one happened the way I like it – no messing about

Wrote the tune – the words took a few days.

Originally after the Adam and Eve verse I had one for Samson and Delilah, and another one for Oedipus and his Mum, but I dropped the obvious humour, and kept it as ironic advice for a young man.

2. Figured out how to play it – Recorded it, and well I was walking around in time listening to the play-back I saw my feet in the mirror and had the idea for the video, so,

3. first sunny day Carol and I worked on the dance routine (and painted our toenails) and when the kids came home we recorded it, the memory was full on her phone so we only had one go at it. (I cut out the bits where I was out of time).

I think it looks nice and sunny, hey! have a good Summer!

you can download it here if you like it 🙂

https://vincentburke.bandcamp.com/track/the-truth-about-a-woman-and-a-man

and the videos here!

track 4: can I just explain?

April 2, 2019Uncategorized6music, BBC Radio 6 Music, burke, can I just explain?, late junction, radio 3, row, unfaithful, vincent, vincent burkeadmin

nice photo hu? (thanks Jonathan)

After the optimism of the previous ‘wedding’ song comes this,

a marriage gone sour.

It’s not my most popular, but it is one of my best – both the lyric and the melody hit the spot for me and Late Junction on Radio 3 played it last year

(they’re in the process of being cut by the way, so sign the petition here if like me you want a place for adventure and experiment on the radio).

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-late-junction

About the song though, I wanted to write something that used the things people really say as opposed to what gets said in songs. To that extent it’s kind of kitchen sink drama – half a conversation, the male half, explaining how his cheating was partly her fault – there is a level of irony 😉

I’m not talking about my marriage by the way (we’re still all good, honest!), but the fact this guy’s talking like an idiot doesn’t mean I don’t feel it when I sing it.

song and lyrics here!: https://vincentburke.bandcamp.com/track/can-i-just-explain-2

track 3: on the event of…

March 26, 2019over here in the treesBBC Radio 6 Music, burke, children, late junction, Nick Drake, Paul Simon, rocking chairs, vincent, vincent burke, weddingadmin

I wrote this one for our wedding,

…or more probably, the words slipped in when that was filling my head; anyhow it was all finished for the day (which was by the way great).

In a way the song felt part of a new beginning too. Having said goodbye to the band and the vague ambition of being on top of the pops a few years before, I realised I was still writing music without any audience and I quite liked that; some people tinker around in sheds I was still messing about with songs, and when friends did finally start to hear them they tended to say they sounded more genuinely like me. For a long time I couldn’t sing the lines,

‘…all the happiness that we can share

’til we look up from rocking chairs

at grown up children on the beach

and swapping smiles from each to each.’

without filling up a bit,

fortunately after a few listens Carol liked it too, even though, like nearly everything I make up, you can’t dance to it….

…well enjoy the picture of our feet anyway, here’s a link 🙂

https://vincentburke.bandcamp.com/track/on-the-event-of

over here in the trees – the album cover explained…

February 26, 2019Uncategorizedalbum, album cover, buried, late junction, man in hole, middle aged man records album, over here in the trees, radio 3, Randy Newman, talking heads, the Muppets, trees, vincent burkeadmin

well yes I did dig a hole – none of your photoshop fakery here.

then I got in it

various pop star poses were adopted

the artistic process was observed

it went on a while…

The idea came from a dream I had where I was walking round these suburban streets pointing out things like a big pot and telling a friend how everything was art (even asleep he’s pretentious). I turned around and in this grass verge of a very normal front garden, a Spanish looking man was buried to the waist standing; as I watched two woman walked from behind and put a marriage veil over his head.

Obviously I woke up and thought that will do for the cover. The hand is held up to resemble the international sign of greeting (I kept my trousers on).

I chopped it up a bit to add a hint of dis-orientation and off-set that with a ‘learning to read’ primary school font in lower case, because it’s nice to look at new things like 7 year old does.

As for the title: ‘over here in the trees’ refers to my finally drawing some attention to myself after all this time (and that joke with the punchline ‘over here on the swings’ – I’ll tell it to you some time 🙂 )

he paid to have himself murdered – from the album ‘over here in the trees’

January 8, 2019Uncategorized6 Music, BBC Radio 6 Music, black humour, Ello Smith, he paid to have himself murdered, late junction, spiritual, story, The Jam, trainadmin

ah – track 2 from the album ‘he paid to have himself murdered’

it’s not autobiographical

if you want it to download and can’t wait for the whole album it’s here! he paid to have himself murdered

or if you want to see a dodgy and distracting video for the hard of hearing https://www.powtoon.com/c/djcdJEIOXd7/2/m

(it’s not the youtube one – it’s different!)

beneath the floor

November 17, 2017Uncategorizedbeneath the floor, drugs, Elliot Smith, heroin, Jan Švankmajer, late junction, pe teacheradmin

Here’s a song I wrote a while ago

Click here for the Video: beneath the floor

I don’t want to say to much about what it’s all about – hopefully that’s clear enough and the lyrics are below.

The Arrangement was fun now I’ve got a new set-up I can bash harmony on and work pretty quickly.

Same thing with the Video which I did in one night smashing up

– Jan Švankmajer’s animation (1971)

zooming/cutting and re-ordering bits

it all fitted surprisingly well

so I let it out

you

first time you hit the ground

you fall and float without a sound

and it feels so good

you wanna shout out

it feels so good!

next time you want some more

you wanna get beneath the floor

and it feels so good

you wanna do it

it feels so good

no one talks about tomorrow

no one slaps your face with sorrow

no one tramples on your light and

no one talks about tomorrow

what you beg and who you borrow

no one cares about tomorrow

no one cares at all

next time you ask for more

you wanna shoot you wanna score

and it feels all right

and when you do it

it feels alright

next time you’re on the bed

you’ve got a puncture in your head

but you feel alright

you gotta do it to feel alright

no one talks about tomorrow

no one slaps your face with sorrow

no one tramples on your light and

you go to another place where

people move out into spaces

pyramids and broken water

fall out of the moon

no one talks about tomorrow

no one slaps your face with sorrow

no one tramples on your light and

no one told you about tomorrow

what you beg and who you borrow

no one walks into the mist and

disappears from view

Another Win!

February 15, 2016radiolate junction, max reinhardt, radio 3, valentines dayadmin

Late Junction (Radio 3) played me again on Thursday!

Flattered as always to be on the undisputed best show on radio. That’s 4 different songs Max Reinhardt has played of mine now so over the moon really – although shouldn’t I be rolling in money by now?

“vincent burke South Londons wry singer-songwriter and chronicler of our times has been busy cooking up a demo to make sure the chocolate hearts (on Valentines day) are bitter sweet – can I just explain?”

link to Thursdays Late Junction:

the video:can I just explain?

…just to say great start to the new year being played on Late Junction Radio 3!

Last time my home recording sounded a bit weedy and I winced a bit, but this one seemed to come through pretty well. I was in the bathroom when it came on and the rest of the family rushed in to hear it – nice moment.

Thanks to Max Reinhardt there and Tom Robinson at Radio 6 for continuing to play my new songs. Let’s see if anything good emerges this year!

here she comes

Vincent Burke Music

Music, Film Work and News

Tag Archives: late junction

Call your Mother!

1,2,3,4!

credits

the truth about a woman and a man

track 4: can I just explain?

track 3: on the event of…

over here in the trees – the album cover explained…

he paid to have himself murdered – from the album ‘over here in the trees’

beneath the floor

Another Win!