Scots Whay Hae!

It's that time of year where Ali, Ian and Chris park themselves round the kitchen table on the High St and ponder the past 12 months in terms of book, film, music and other miscellany. There is the annual missive from Scots Whay Hae's Dr Books, Ronnie Young, who pokes Chris with a Thor shaped stick, and once more give us his list of the best of the blockbusters of the year. Where else could you find and hour or so of discussion that touches upon Alan Warner, Johnny Greenwood, the use of Doric in a Pixar movie, electro/pop, David Byrne and the joy of silence.

The latest podcast sees Ian and Ali joined by writer Catriona Child who talks about her terrific debut novel Trackman. During the chat they cover the healing power of music, the brilliance of Watership Down, the importance of a good name, and the enduring appeal of The Great Escape. Ali also details how he psychologically scarred his wee brother when they were kids. So, something for everyone!

The second series of Scots Whay Hae! podcasts kicked off with live music and chat from one of Ian and Ali's favourite musicians, Eugene Twist. He played a couple of tracks, including one exclusive, before joining Ali and the returning Chris Ward to tell us about his new album, his endless search for new sounds, and the importance of a musical education, before the chat turned to the joy of soundtracks. All this and a mention for The Wild River Apples! | Tracks by Eugene Twist are Halloween Drama Queen and It's Down To You. http://www.eugenetwist.com

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast sees man of the moment, Ewan Morrison, join Ali to ostensibly talk about his latest book ‘Tales From the Mall', but as expected the conversation turns to many topics which are troubling the Morrison mind. Publishing, the myths of social media, the future for the novel, the behemoth that is Wamazon are all discussed, and much more besides.  So strap yourself in for a breathless podcast that'll get you thinking. And that's got to be a good thing; right?

After a brief break to gather our thoughts and set up new guests, the Scots Whay Hae! podcast returns. Number 18 sees Ali talking to TV's Colin McCredie about the best from Scottish Telly past. It's a big subject to cover, but we manage to touch on programmes from the 1960s to the present day. I'm sure we missed many people's favourites, but hopefully there's enough of interest to please everyone from casual watchers to Telly Addicts.

For the latest podcast Chris, Ian and Ali are joined by the fabulous Arran Arctic who played live for us, and you, before joining in with a chat about the importance of Record Store Day, memories of early music purchases, and those ‘lost' albums which didn't fit the neat narratives of popular culture. But the main reason for listening is to hear Arran play and sing, something very special indeed. Music by Arran Arctic: 1st track is 'All That I Can Do', 2nd track 'Always About You' and the final track is 'Keep'.

The 16th podcast is our second attempt at an interview with writer Rodge Glass. We initially tried to do so at the launch of his latest novel ‘Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs' but electronic gremlins got the better of us. What we have following the interview is some live footage from that night of Rodge reading from the book and it makes for a great listen. But then I would say that.

Scots Whay Hae! went on the road to Portobello to interview writer, journalist and musician Doug Johnstone for podcast number 15. Once we made it through the Haar we talked indie music, art versus craft, and novels old and new, while avoiding being bitten by the patrons of The Espy.  *No animals were harmed in the making of this podcast...

Interviews from Cargo Publishing's Margins Festival at the Arches in Glasgow.

In this, the epic 14th podcast, Ali and Chris are joined by Scots Whay Hae's favourite music journalist Nicola Meighan to help them come up with a final five top Scottish albums of all time. Hear accusations of ungallant ganging up, feel the pain as Chris grits his teeth so much they squeak, and sit back, pour yourself a drink, and relax as the running time is a record 1 hour 40 mins plus. All this and so much more. If you disagree with us let us know, unless you are going to be abusive, in which case don't bother.

Lucky for us podcast 13 has Ali in conversation with writer Kapka Kassabova. They talk tango, travel, Bulgaria, broken hearts and belonging as Kapka takes us through her physical and psychological journey's around the world before finding contentment in Edinburgh. It's the most interesting hour that we've had in some time, and we hope that you agree.

Welcome to Scots Whay Hae's first 'Burnscast' which has Ali talking to Ronnie Young about the man, the myth and the poetry and Cammy Goodall on the phone to explain how celebrations the of the Bard have changed and grown over the years. Add in some poetry and a wonderful version of 'Green Grow the Rashes, O' sung by Jennifer Scammell then I hope you'll agree that this is one of the most entertaining podcasts yet.|| http://ScotsWhayHae.co.uk ||

The first podcast of 2012 is No11 and sees Ali chatting with Cargo Publishing's Grand Poobah Mark Buckland. They talk about the past, present and future of publishing, what Cargo has planned over the next 12 months, and Mark confirms the line-up for this year's Margins Festival.

The 8th Scots Whay Hae! podcast sees Ali interview writer Louise Welsh about her writing, other people's writing, silent movies, the importance of collaboration, the genius of Psycho, and a shared love of Asterix. You want to know her favourite book, writer, film etc? You're just going to have to listen. http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

Lucky number seven for the Scots Whay Hae! podcast sees Ali Braidwood talking to Kirsty Neary about her latest novel 'Abstract/Concrete' and editor Sam Best about the new literary magazine 'Octavius'. Whose favourite film has an Elton John soundtrack? You'll have to listen to the very end (or scroll ahead) to find out.http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

In the 6th Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali Braidwood and Chris Ward are joined by the good Dr, and friend of the pod, Ronnie Young to help them settle on the five greatest Scottish Novels ...Ever. Listen as they agree, disagree, then agree to disagree, before deciding it's not worth taking it outside. http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

The fifth Scots Whay Hae! podcast is an hour of interview with novelist, playwright, and performer Alan Bissett who talks about his novels Boyracers, The Incredible Adam Spark, Death of a Ladies Man and, particularly, his latest novel Pack Men before moving on to a fascinating discussion about contemporary Scottish writing. There are discussions on sectarianism, gender, class and the merits of the musical career of Bruce Willis. Where else would you get all this?http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

In the 4th Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali interviews author Allan Wilson about the publication of his collection of short stories ‘Wasted In Love' and along the way they talk Trocchi, Kelman, Bukowski, Arab Strap and the current Scots literary landscape. Hear Ali's brain melt as he realises that he can no longer function after only four hours sleep, try and work out who says the phrase ‘I think' the most, and, if you're name is Alan Bissett, blush as you are praised to the heavens. http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

In this, the 3rd Scots Whay Hae! podcast, Alistair and Chris are joined on the phone by Alex Scroggie as they discuss the life and work of Iain (M) Banks. See if you can spot the deliberate mistake in the first 10 minutes. The first person who does wins a copy of Ron Butlin's 'Night Visits' from the Scots Whay Hae! prize cupboard. http://scotswhayhae.co.uk

The second Scots Whay Hae! podcast has film expert and writer Kirsty Neary joining Ali Braidwood and Chris Ward in an attempt to come up with the top 5 Scottish films of all time. Includes pre-pod waffle, deliberate mistakes, 'Bill' confusion and the threat of at least one hissy fit as the three manage to fulfil their task in just under an hour.http://scotswhayhae.co.uk