A band once described by Peter Paphides as "art-wank" but with the caveat that he's also "a big fan of art and wanking", dEUS ought to be elevated to the pantheon of Word-friendly bands.

The latest album was somewhat overlooked in the plethora of end of year lists, maybe because they're from Belguim ("the most boring country in the world" - The S*n), but probably because they're not 'popular' or 'fashionable'. Ever the rebel, I love it, and I think others on here will do too.

Their back catalogue is worth investigating too. They've come a long way since the heady days of Suds & Soda, and arguably have created their best material in their latter period. Here's a couple of cuts from last years Keep You Close....

The Massive is great isn't it? That's a rhetorical question, no need to answer. Anyway, although I don't blog so much, I visit this site everyday (when I can) and I occasionally comment (when I have time). It occurred to me recently though that I don't know anybody else who reads the Word. No one. Not a sausage. I don't know any other members of the Massive either. Well at least I don't THINK I do, but you never know what with all these strange pseudonyms. Of course, this could easily be rectified by attending one of the (North West) meet ups, something that I may just do one day (when I develop physical attributes akin to Buster Gonad). From reading the blog however, I gather that the meet-ups have instigated new friendships between some of our brothers and sisters on here. And upon reading Excitable Boy's 'how to choose your favourite album' thread, and learning that DogFacedBoy was also in attendance at Robin Hitchcock's get together, I wondered if any members knew one another before they joined the gang? Did one introduce the other to the Word and the blog?

Genuine interest here, I won't be making any 'clique-y' accusations. Honest!

In recent weeks, after digging out my copy of Kilimanjaro, I've found myself going Julian Cope crazy. Not, I hasten to add, by frying my brain, dressing up as a turtle and visiting neolithic sites the length and breadth of the country. No, I've merely been playing the aforementioned Teardrops album to death. As my interest has been duly piqued, I paid a slightly-more-than-I'm-comfortable-with-price for (an admittedly very good condition ex-library copy of) Head On/Repossessed. I've even ordered the new deluxe edition of Kilimanjaro for the extras.

The rest of his output, however, seems to be a bit of a minefield. I've got Wilder lined up next, but expect some disappointment following the glories of Kilimanjaro. Fried languishes somewhere amongst the boxes of CDs that surround me, purchased on the strength of 'Sunspots' but rarely listened to. In years gone by friends have pushed Jehovahkill and Peggy Suicide my way, though to my then-immature ears I just didn't get them. Are they worth the effort? Any other Copian delights to be found out there? Advice would be warmly welcomed.

As an aside, I'm a bit of a fan of that music the Germans might call 'Kosmische', and I've often tried & failed to obtain Cope's Krautrocksampler via that crusher of dreams we call eBay. Tonight I (whisper it) 'obtained' a PDF on the world wide web, which has only gone and made me want it even more. Does anyone here own a copy and are you willing to sell it for a reasonable price?

After all my ramblings, it's only fair to play you a song now.

Well, well. Who'd have thunk it?

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2010/06/29/matador-21-in-las-vega...

Barring a lottery win, I won't be attending. I can only hope they stick together and visit the UK.

Heard this song again this morning and it's been fuzzing around my mind all day. Loved it back then, still love it now. Felt compelled to share this with you all...

This album was brought to my attention by my father in the early 80's. I find it quite inspiring, and it still sends shivers down my spine. I love it.

In recent years I have bought three seemingly 'lost' albums (or in one case, 'a collection of recorded material', rather than an album). All of them, in my opinion, range from at least very good to excellent, so surely the artists deserved more recognition in their own time. Have record companies/music-industry types always been so blind?

Remarkable stories envelop each album and their eventual release. I'll not go into great detail as these tales are told elsewhere far more eloquently than I could ever tell them. Let's just say fires, lost masters and lost artists are involved somewhere and somehow.

The three albums are The Dragons - 'BFI', Rodriguez - 'Cold Fact', and Pisces - 'A Lovely Sight'.

My question is simply, does anyone know of other 'lost' albums that were eventually released years after being recorded? Or maybe even some that still haven't seen the light of day?

Watching The Street last night, I noticed the central character of this episode had a copy of The Word on his coffee table. Given that he began the episode as a racist bigot, and was (kind of) redeemed by the end, and in light of Bricameron's recent post, it may be suggested that a Word subscription for all could cure the nation's ills.

The Beatles have been at the forefront of my mind for the past few days (can't think why), and today it dawned on me that, of the Fabs solo material, I have really only concentrated on Lennon's output. I have a few McCartney tracks, and a couple of Harrisongs, but no Ringo. Am I missing anything?

I know the obvious things I'm overlooking such as Band On The Run, Ram, All Things Must Pass, The Frog Song, etc. but is there anything really worth investigating, e.g. that Ringo recorded, or any Harrison gems on lesser known albums?

In recent weeks I have been enjoying a few gems of modern German cinema. I finally managed to see The Counterfeiters and The Lives Of Others this week, and also watched The Baader Meinhof Complex recently. In the past I have watched The Edukators and Run Lola Run, and I have Goodbye Lenin and Downfall lined up to view in the very near future.

Can the Massive recommend any other German films?

This is my first blog, so let's keep it simple. What were the last few gigs you attended?

Here's my last baker's dozen, in reverse order:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Manchester Academy 1 - 22/4/09
Penetration - The Witchwood - 18/4/09
Bat For Lashes - The Ritz, Mancheste - 7/4/09
Howling Bells - Club Academy, Manchester - 15/3/09
The Phantom Band - The Deaf Institute, Manchester - 13/3/09
Magazine - Manchester Academy 1 - 17/2/09
The Black Angels - Ruby Lounge, Manchester - 15/12/08
dEUS - Manchester Academy 3 - 14/10/08
Spiritualized - Manchester Academy 1 - 11/10/08
The Duke Spirit - Club Academy, Manchester - 29/9/08
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Manchester Academy 2 - 1/7/08
Radiohead - Manchester LCCC - 29/6/08
My Bloody Valentine - Manchester Apollo - 28/6/08