Roots Manuva and The Streets on Jools Holland

So Roots Manuva, DJ MK and Ricky Ranking tore down the Jools Holland show this week alongside a few live musicians and did a fine interpretation of 'Again & Again' which seemed to go down well with the audience. Stick with me and I'll rip the audio cos it's worth a few more listens even without the visuals.

Mr. Safo and Mr. Smith must have made a really good impression; next week Mr. Skinner will be on the show. Now I know he's not strictly UK Hip Hop but he's as close as it gets...and that's three UK MC's on that show in three weeks. When will this madness end? Hopefully never! Hats off to Jools Holland for being consistently fresh!

'Everything is Borrowed' - The Streets (album review)

Turns out Mike Skinner only pawned his soul sometime during the making of ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’. ‘The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living’ then went on to sell a few copies, leaving Skinner with enough cash to get his soul back from the pop demons. Sounds like he’s pleased with the reunion too; he’s ploughed it all back into his latest LP ‘Everything is Borrowed’, a title which complicates the metaphor further – maybe the soul wasn’t ever his, maybe he’s borrowed it back. Who knows? Just be glad he’s back on form.

His lyrics are introspective, his voice sounds humble once more and even some of the production is a la ‘Original Pirate Material’. Where production differs, Skinner displays punk, folk, modern electro-indie and 30’s Western bar music influences with some openly poppy leanings. The track titles seem to be taken from a phrase dictionary making for interesting subject matter.

'The Strongest Person I Know' doesn't do anything for me but sadly, it'll probably be loved by your everyday radio listener. Mike Skinner shouldn't do singing - he can't (apart from the bit on 'Love You More' when he sings about drawing).

A listening session is a joyous occasion; Mike is innovative 11 times. From the jerky strings of the title track, through the disco funk of ‘Sherry End’ to the anthemic ballad ‘The Escapist’, ‘Everything is Borrowed’ is a leisurely paddle through the cream of musical genres, albeit mixed with that original Streets flavour that we first tasted in 2001.

There seems to be a few videos too, go to The Beats' Youtube page for those.

The Streets - The Sherry End

New The Streets Album 'Everything Is Borrowed'

Not heard anything off this yet but I hope Mike returns to his original (pirate) material. That album and 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' were quality, the second less than the first and the last one, in my opinion was nowhere.

Anyway, this album cover caught my eye as it features a waterfall in Iceland, Skógafoss, that I visited a few years ago. The favourite part of my trip was when I sausage-rolled all the way down the hill on the right side of the waterfall. Knew you Hip Hop heads would enjoy that tale...

Myspace is still good for one thing and that's the music. This is the first time I've noticed them actually paying artists to provide free downloads and here's to hoping they continue along these lines. (Click the banner for the link)

Freshly Mixed is a good site for downloading mixes by your favourite DJ's and artists. For example, here's one with Prof Green and Ghetto. (Click the pink tape for a link)

On that tip, The Beats, the label that is home to The Streets, The Mitchell Brothers, Professor Green and Example is closing down. Check the news over at the HHC blog. You can download their last mixtape 'Absolutely Dame Judi Dench' here or you can buy a copy from the HHC website.