Charity Shop Treasure (3)

I picked up this very nice old 2CD copy of Hank Williams '40 Greatest Hits' the other day for the princely sum of £1.99. It comes in that kind of clunky, boxy, double opening packaging that seems to have died out these days but gives something of the feel of a proper gatefold. Plus it's the basic, definitive, all-you-need, properly packaged set of Hank originals in all their unvarnished, desperate, mono glory.

The one underneath is 'A Guide For Daylight Hours' by Scottish indie-popsters, Ballboy, from 2002. They're less twee and more mordant and maudlin than Belle and Sebastian but not as cynical and a bit more pop than Arab Strap (and with a nifty line in early-Gedge-like song titling - I think 'You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Round With Arseholes' is probably my favourite.) I'd been meaning to check them out for a while and then the Vinyl Villain had this in his favourite fifty albums the other day and it turned out to be going second hand for a whole 56p on everyone's favourite tax-avoiding internet retail behemoth. Cash well spent. Anyway, here's a very cool little song from the latter purchase that's obviously relevant to the former too...