Blind as a post

There are not many tunes that I would post before I've even listened to but when I find Jurassic 5 have a new song then I will post it. That was just a a thought, but by complete coincidence here is a new track by J5 that I am only just listening to for the first time.

Jurassic 5 - Hood in the USA (produced by Large Professor)

If you like previous tracks where they do a singsong chorus then this is for you. This style of harmony is a clear nod to the freestyle fellowship. For a excellent taster of them go to missingtoof for a selection of downloads and a loada knowledge.

Jilted John Shuttleworth

Imagine my delight when two of my musical comedy...erm, favourites, became one. Today I was looking up some of the comedy I enjoy listening to on BBC 7. I googled John Shuttleworth as his thoughtful but ridiculous northern comedy makes me chuckle when I'm tucked up on an evening. Then I went to his website and low and behold, John Shuttleworth is Jilted John of Jilted John fame.

In 1978 Graham Fellows provided the soundtrack for my mum's day trip to Silverstone with 3 of her male friends with his alter ego's number one hit, Jilted John. Many years later, listening to her old Blue Oyster Cult and Sham 69 tapes I discovered this one hit wonder. Then I found it on 7 inch and my sister saw it on one of channel 4's awful 'top 100...' shows (one hit wonders). Nowadays, an older John is regularly gracing the airwaves as John Shuttleworth, a sheffield born 'Versatile singer/organist' who sings about everyday occurences in a serious manner.

John Shuttleworth - Two margarines

Jilted John - Jilted John

www.shuttleworths.co.uk - for loads more videos/audio

http://punkmodpop.free.fr/mp3.htm - for more mod/punk music of the time

www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7 - for to find out when you can listen

UK Hip Hop - 'We are the unknown'

Any Hip Hop head dwelling in Great Britain worth his/her salt will be a fan of UK Hip Hop. I am a great believer in what is sometimes termed as Brit-Hop and I honestly prefer it over the majority of the products of our American counterparts.

Now let me counteract some common retorts to that statement before they are said; I don’t like ALL UK Hip Hop, I like what I deem to be GOOD UK Hip Hop. Let’s put it this way, just because it’s on Channel U it doesn’t mean I like it. I could get on Channel U if I wanted, they show anything.

In this post I aim to provide a sample of some excellent Hip Hop that may have passed by even the most avid fan’s radar. There are obvious acts that would be recognisable by many, even those who have just scraped the surface of UK talent; Skinnyman, Blade, Klashnekoff, Sway, The Streets, Roots Manuva, Jehst, Rodney P, Blak Twang and erm… Goldie Lookin’ Chain. Getting hold of UKHH is hard - simply because it’s so much more expensive to buy.

Chester Copperpot – Moneygrip ft. Braintax – Not 100% British as I believe Copperpot resides in Roxbury, US, but featuring Leeds born label owner/vinyl presser/MC/UKHH legend. Braintax spits his usual easy on the ear and witty lyrics over this funky beat.

Asaviour – Money in the bank (remix) ft. Kyza & Yungun – 3 great British MC’s here; Yungun being my favourite mainly for his quotable lyrics. You should def listen to his album ‘The Essance’. This track is produced by Jesht so best believe it’s good.

JTWR – Backlash ft. MCD – There may be a reason why this guy went unnoticed but I do like him. His moniker stands simply for John the White Rapper, cool eh? No. However, this track featuring one of the UK’s stalwarts is just goodness.

aRRO - 1066 – Yes! A medieval knight rapping about rescuing princess and killing folk who rape and pillage in his village. This is concept rap at it’s best and although I’ve heard a couple of other similarly themed tracks since I think this was first. The chorus even contains battle sounds! This Geordie born, one time leeds resident would be the first round my round table should I ever create one.

Inertia – Hostile Takeover ft. Analyst, Gentleman & Trotter – Rap from red rose country, Lancaster to be precise. I met Inertia whilst at uni and I don’t just like his music cos I know him. Check it out, he’s talented on the mac and the mike. Listen carefully to analyst’s verse, this guy is funny and has a quick mind; his freestyles are possibly better than his written lyrics. Check the website.

Zionnoiz – And What? – Look, their name spells the same both ways; clever! This London collective are all professing Christians and both versions of this are heavy, party orientated slices of rap.

DJ Pager – The Product ft. Ironbridge – A tuba loop and a scratched chorus with witty simile and metaphor laden raps from Ironbridge, a duo from somewhere in this country. Jibberish is probably the fastest rapper in the UK - fact.

SK Crew – I wreck the Mic – First time I saw the SK Crew live supporting Adam F they did a track along the lines of ‘If you go down to the clubs today’, based on…you guessed it, Teddy Bears Picnic. Then in their DJ/freestyle set after they rapped about me. Then I discovered Stoopid Ill was actually the cousin of a girl on my course, so I invited them to perform at the hip hop night I had. Again, great, hilarious freestylers and always with tongue firmly in cheek. Go to theirspace.

Infinite Potential – I excel ft. Amber MC – From Brighton’s Catskills records comes this short track featuring lots of scratching and some rhyming about how Amber MC is better than all the rest, classic Hip Hop fare.

Mark B – Ya know we don’t stop ft. Tommy Evans – Wooo, another Leeds born MC, this came off the flip of radio played ‘Move now’. A more classical driven beat here, some solid hip hop.

Mr. Spleen – 1st Class Delivery – As far as I can work out, Spleen is the producer of this Andrew Lloyd Webber raiding, fast paced banger. Various MC’s and a DJ provide verses and scratches. Some Yorkshire rappers here too.

I guess the main reasons I like UK Hip Hop are it's fun, fresh and closer to home.

Every other household's got PCs

Downloads are killing music. How many times have you heard that? And do you agree? Have you actually thought about the implications of such an accusation? Why are MP3s apparently heralding the end of music in more tangible formats? Is it because all the kids are downloading illegal files for free and not contributing to the industry? No, in a word.

Little Johnny gets an MP3 player (its not an i**d, just a regular, generic MP3 player) for Christmas because they’re cool and his mates have them. He wants some music, he’s only 13 and hasn’t built up anything resembling a record collection. His choices are 1) get dads CDs and rip them, 2) go out to buy a CD, or 3) get on that computer and get loads of good tunes for free. We all know which one he opts for, but before we continue, lets explore his other choices:

Dad’s music; yes he likes it. The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, Black Sabbath – a brilliant musical grounding for any aspiring music fan – but in front of his friends; No way Jose (as I believe all the ‘hip’ kids are saying these days).

A trip to HMV; he doesn’t get enough pocket money, he doesn’t have a paper round and mum certainly aint gonna buy him that Eminem album even though she can pick it up at Sainsburys for £7.97 along with the weekly groceries.

Downloads; yes he downloads. This kid is not ruining the economy, without the internet he would simply just not be listening to music. He would have no means of doing so. This child does not represent the people who buy actual CDs. He represents a new cross section of society; the youth who now have access to almost everything they want. Pre internet he’d be playing the CDs he got as presents or after a big save over and over again. And he would be appreciating it.

Appreciation. LP. These words are synonymous in my life. There are probably only two albums (and only one actually springs to mind) that I regret buying. The rest I cherish and enjoy for one reason or another. The complete embodiment of an artists work is a treasure. I remember sitting in my room with liner notes; scrutinising the artwork, production credits, who did the scratches, who played slide guitar on one track, how the line up changed for that particular song – I still do it now and it is nothing short of satisfying.

I contrast this to myself post-mad download spree. First 10 seconds - Whack. Next track – hmmm, OK I suppose. Delete or keep? Yeah I’ll keep, might not listen again. Next track – forgettable. Oooh this tracks good, I’ll remember that one but…let’s see what else I got. Skip. 30 seconds. Skip…and so on. An average mp3 player now will contain tracks in their thousands. How can one teenager possibly listen to and love all of these? They can’t, portable audio collections have meant music becomes a backdrop – it becomes another element of overall fulfilment that people seek in multiple pleasures. Will these kids ever sit down and devour the text and images whilst listening and consuming a whole product? Or will they be content in their skittering, whimsical, non-committal competition to have as many days worth of music on itunes as possible? Will they appreciate an artist and their work this way? I don’t think so. I have cherished and loved the albums I have bought. Many of them were the result of hard work, anticipation and deliberation. When downloading is as easy as right click, save target as, save; the personal value is immediately deleted, along with 50% of the downloads that didn’t sound good after 30 seconds.

The lack of appreciation leads to the increasing popularity of bands and artists being 'the next big thing'. These days anyone touted so is pretty much destined to fall off the conveyor belt before reaching anything resembling a career pinnacle. Their heady ascent to a plateau someway below the peak is their highlight, it is their achievement. The modern consumer wants more, wants it new and they want it now. Artists, and indeed albums, are not given the chance that past generations would have afforded them to mature. They are now flung into the spotlight in front of a baying crowd who 6 months down the line will reject them and will have had flirtations with numerous bands and several musical crushes since.

Downloading isn’t all bad, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Album buying comes with a greater degree of certainty once you’ve heard a couple of cuts of it. Finding a tune or group you absolutely adore is easier now you can afford to explore. But don’t let these advantages put you off buying an actual product that you can hold in your hands. Multi-sensory stimulation is not a thing of the past; the internet is not the only medium available to us. You are depriving yourself, it wont affect the artist; they’re probably minted already, it’s only CEOs who care about their sales figures. And anway, if artists do want more money, they should do more shows instead of flooding the entire world with second rate product called ‘mixtapes’.

What do you think? Am I barking up the wrong end of the stick? Hit me up with some comments.

Ain't a problem that we can't mix

Popes on dope mix

The Hermit and I spent last night mixing a bit of electro up, here for you, is the result.

Track listing - this is also in the lyrics section of the ID3 Tag for you itunes users.

The Knife – Silent Shout
Scroobius Pip – Thou shalt Always Kill (Live on XFM)
Booka Shade – In White Rooms (Neo mix)
Metric – Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT remix)
Knightlife – Ambopop (demo)
Kavinsky – Testarossa Autodrive
Busy P – Rainbow Man (K.Christmon's Slight Tamper)
MSTRKRFT – Paris
Celluloide – Audio Therapy
Audio Bullys – The Things

Just download, that's why you're here

Here are some tracks that have been making waves down my ear canal in the last week.

Paul Wall - Bangin' Screw - Pauls charm is in his effort to be a cool southern rapper, this is hot though, don't get me wrong.
Royce da 5'9 - Hit 'Em - Royce seems to fall on and off the radar but he's pretty consistent and this is good hard hip hop.
Skyzoo - The Paper - Unashamed about why he raps, he wants to make money, at least he's honest.
Prodigy - Raining Guns And Shanks - Wow! The best of the bunch here, what is this beat? It's amazing!
Young Jeezy - Mr. 15 - Good album, good track.
MED - All I Know - Produced by Madlib, this is a heater.
Clipse - Nightmares ft. Bilal and Pharrell - Chilled out track from Virginias finest cain slingers.
Sway - Sky is Falling - Didn't make the new EP but tis truly great Brit Hop

Free file hosting from File Den

Surfin with a boy in your mouth

Part 2- Will it ever - Electro type dancehall with female vocal

Lotek Hi-Fi - Ram Dancehall Ft. Earl J - Gorillazesque Electro dancehall

Justice - The Party Ft. Uffie - What you'd expect, a silly girl talking over some electro

Lyrical Darkness - Subzero - The Anthem - Electro beat American Hip Hop

Leyode - Isabelle - Chilled out instrumental hip hop with reversed samples

DJ Mehdi- I Am Somebody (Paris_Version) - Ooooh, this must be headed for stardom

Hood Surgeon - Daddy Was A Dr - Dr. Dre's son joining The Game in idolising his dad

Busdriver - sunshower remix - More crossover, like Hadouken! but the American way.

Shadowless Tomz

Futuristic and old school seem to be the same thing at the moment. A trend slowly gaining momentum since Rick Rubin produced '99 Problems' for Jay Z and The Neptunes did 'Drop it like it's hot' for Snoop. The Cool Kids are doing it right now and so is Birmingham's own Shadowless Tomz.

Shadowless Tomz matches these electro-ish future/old school beats to MC's lyrics and comes up with something totally fresh. A simple google search reveals remixes galore by this producer, worth checking out I'm sure.

Shadowless Tomz - Rock Ova

Shadowless Tomz - Round here

Shadowless Tomz - You Don't know

I'm not sure who the lyricists are or if it is actually Shadowless Tomz himself, I'll look into that.

I'm giving up on the formatting on this, every time I add a picture it messes things up.

Arghhhhhh

Blogger seems to have a mind of it's own coupled with selective publishing and it is intent on annoying me. I keep editing that flippin' Beastie Boys post but to no avail. Here are the three mp3 links it refuses to include:

They got it going on...

Some of the very perceptive readers (or just those who know me) may have picked up on the fact that this blog owner is a fan of the Beastie Boys. I feel it’s about time to openly admit this (not that I hide it – I love to sport my Beastie Boys T-Shirts) and provide you with some Beastie Boys goodness. For some of you this may constitute a whistle whetting, for others; a reminder of how great and all encompassing they are.Fandom for me began when ‘Hello Nasty’ was released; receiving that cardboard foldy outy sleeved CD for my birthday has most likely changed my musical life for ever. My first Beastie Boys purchase was actually ‘Intergalactic’ on tape single and for anyone unacquainted is definitely a great way to begin liking the group (I also now have it on vinyl thanks to Oxfam). After you realise how amazing this track is, buy the whole album. Hello Nasty has some great Hip Hop, Reggae, Bossa Nova and instrumental tracks and a well meditated tracklist.

The year I was born was the year the Beastie Boys rudely exploded onto the rap scene and along with stable mates LL Cool J and Run DMC at Def Jam (and Rick Rubin) they pretty much changed the sound of the rap game. We all know that sound; heavy, simplistic drum breaks infused with heavy, simplistic guitar riffs. For sheer chauvinistic pleasure and comedy value (and also a small chance for me to brag) I have chosen to give you ‘Girls’. I have a copy of this on 7” vinyl, still wrapped in plastic (although it is opened at the end) with a free tour patch. I have never seen this version of the single anywhere as I guess most people would have taken off the patch to wear with pride on their faded denim jacket.

Well, I’m not going to go through Beastie history because I promise I am attempting to make my posts shorter but I will point you in the direction of some good tracks. If you have never got into the Beastie Boys and would like to then I would NOT recommend ‘Solid Gold hits’ or ‘Sounds of Science’. If you buy either, you will be satisfied with the material and will never want more and there is so much to be found elsewhere. Buy any of their albums, if you’re patient and shop at HMV then you can usually get them for around a fiver each in their (decreasing in quality) numerous sales.

To sample the varying sounds of the Beastie Boys cop these for yourself:

Hold it now, Hit it – from Licensed to Ill – Rick Rubin beat with a whistle scratch

Groove Holmes – from Check your head/ - …groovy, funky instrumentation

Sabotage – from Ill Communication – The Boys playing their instruments=great rock

Get it together – from Ill Communication – Featuring Q-Tip, a v. cool track

Root down (Free Zone Mix) – from Root down EP – my favourite B.B. track

Crawlspace – from To the 5 Boroughs – a slithering bassy beat, laid back lyrics

Extras:

So Watcha Want ft. B-Real – the boys with another favourite MC

Hey Ladies (Green mix) – from New York State of Mind mix by DJ Green Lantern

Triple Trouble (Graham Coxon remix) – indie rock remix by Blur guitarist is nice

Brr Stick em (Ever Hopeful remix) – one I made

Country Delight – from Country Mike’s Greatest Hits – thought I’d rip this one for y’all

Triple Take - McSleazys mash up of Franz Ferdinands 'Take me out' and 'Triple Trouble'

There’s always remixes flying around on the net because the Beasties have/had all their acapellas available for download on their newly designed website. As any blog reader worth his salt will know, the Beastie Boys are bringing out a new instrumental album which I’m looking forward to so keep eyes peeled for that. I feel like I’ve posted too many mp3s but this still only represents a small portion of the BB’s body of work and I urge you to go and buy some of their albums. Finally check out Mic to Mic, a blog dedicated to the good ol’ Boys.

Buy Licensed to Ill here for £4.99

Buy Hello Nasty here for £9.99

Buy To the 5 Bouroughs for £10.99

What's another word for pirate treasure?

I've been on some sort of a plundering mission and many blogs and websites have been ravaged. This weekend I shall be putting in for port, I will be dropping anchor and taking stock. I have downloaded millions of mp3s since my last post and alot of them have been very good. I just now need to find the all important diamonds in amongst all the gold (the wheat/chaff thing doesn't fit with the whole pirate analogy).

If you're up for listening to a collection of hip hop gems purloined from various locations in the vast oceans we call the internet then come back in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I'll be sitting in my lair gleefully sifting through the piles of booty, letting the beats and rhymes fall carelessly through my fingers and tossing the flows and rhythms up in the air and letting out 'arrrs' of delight as they rain down on me.

Being a helpful sorta piratey type, I'd like to share just a couple of things with you just to keep you sweet. If you're planning to sail the 7 seas then you'll need some mixtapes to slot into the deck. For an excellently mixed chronological history of Hip Hop then go download these ones from The Rub here. There are 11 altogether going from 1979 to 1989 and they will school you in all the essentials of the rap games roots. Also check out Jaguar Skills's's 'Who is He?' mixtape. If you like hearing your favourite acapellas from the likes of Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie and Lupe over what seems to be every instrumental and break ever made in quick succesion then download this. If you like the normal boring mashups (that I am now just about pig sick of ) then this will be a shock to your system and for most should be a welcome change.

The answer is: Booty (Just ask the Beastie Boys)

You said it wasn't art, so now we're gonna rip you apart

Click on the links for the mp3's.

The thing, I realised recently, about Hip Hop, unlike many other genres, is that it’s never really been hackneyed into lots of different sub-genres. Admittedly there are genres within Hip Hop or Rap but these labels never ever define the source of musical inspiration. Hip Hop samples or takes concepts from Jazz, Blues, Rock, Soul, Funk, Ska, Classical, Electro, Reggae and all other native musical styles. Any instrument can provide a sound suitable for use in hip hop. The diversity is immense, dive in and get immersed. It’s also an amazing springboard for listening to other genre’s of music; hear a sample, listen to the original. I have grown to love many old tracks by this method. The CD comes in roughly hewn blocks today and takes you through a few differently influenced areas of hip hop with a predominantly summery vibe.

We start with 4 dramatically orchestral tracks. Carl Orff (and presumably his orchestra) kick off the proceedings in fine style and gets me well up for hip hop type firey heaters. Jedi Mind tricks come unrelenting and urgently over this beat that would provide a perfect backdrop to a medieval battle, get your shiny armour on now. Australians have made an extraordinarily nice life for themselves considering they are descendents of criminals and they also have a very healthy hip hop scene down under. If you didn’t know Clandestien were Australian you would wonder what the chaff their accent was about, it’s like a Swedish person trying to rap in American via Birmingham. Weird. Weird but good. Check out that third guy; vicious. (Amazing Lyric: ‘Buck Buck Teeth, you rappers sound like you got…’). In an attempt to cut the tension of the CD the last of the first four is 4th Avenue Jones with ‘Why do we?’. A nice radio friendly classical sample here (can’t remember what the original is, my Grandad would know), the only annoying bit is that bird off ‘The Sound of Music’ warbling over the tune. Check out more from the Sphere of Hip Hop collective here.

The next two tracks are just some nice hip hop tracks that don’t rely on snares and kicks. Joell Ortiz, Dre’s latest signing, brings us a piano and string driven reminiscent sounding tune simply entitled Hip Hop, I’m definitely feeling this and I want to hear more. The second is a total headnod piece from Organized Konfusion (Pharaoh Monch and Prince Po back in the day). Large Professor brings the funk on this summery tune, really one for the BBQ here.

Brighton’s own eccentric mentalists Monkey Sons continue the summery theme in a triptych of tracks that are built around horns. This uptempo track cannot be hated on, it’s just so fun and honest. The filling in the sandwich is ‘Pablito’s way’ by Motion Man and Kutmasta Kurt. If you had or heard the Linkin Park Remix album these two hombres did the excellent cut up rework of ‘In the end’. This has a spanish/mexican vibe will have you throwing on your sombrero and sipping on a Corona or a Sol. Mavrik rides in on a similar heatwave with ‘Walk around it’. The highlight of this funky slice of the sun is the big fat horn stab on the 8th beat of each set of 16 beats, it’s almost comical.

Here’s a twosome that will yet again get your head nodding along in a syncopated manner. Motion Man and Kutmasta Kurt provide ‘Confidence’ for your delectation, they should make some waves in the hip hop ocean, so long as they don’t get written off as dross just cos they don’t appeal to those odious chavs.( Plus sampling Chali 2na on the chorus gives them marks in my book). Brainpower, if I remember rightly IS Swedish but thankfully the verse he’s cheekily slipped into this European sounding remix of 'triple trouble' by the Beastie Boys is in his native tongue.

Pigeon holed (on his own?) in the ‘concious rap’ genre is Common (although check HHC this month for the story of his radical makeover). Here he comes as conscious as any man could be by sampling the good Reverend Martin Luther King on, you guessed it 'A Dream'. The track is well produced and is nice for humming along to. On the theme of sampling vocals and in the vein of Baby J and Kanye West, Pigeon John samples some 80’s pop/rock jollity on ‘Weight of the world’. PJ takes on the character of one who tries to conform to the American Dream by ignoring reality and putting on a brave face. This is an interesting little bit of social commentary rapped up (sorry…Bec, you got nothing!) in this fun little track. I can’t tell you how much I want to get my hands on ‘The Weatherman’, the new LP from Evidence (of Dilated Peoples fame). This track, 'All said and done' is what you would expect from someone who had a hand in bringing such classic albums as ‘The Platform’, ‘Expansion Team’ and ’50:50’ to the worlds attention. I’m thinking this is an Alchemist production who is a wiz at building a sample into a hot track and he doesn’t fail Ev here.

Nas - Where are they now? (80's remix)

Nas - Where are they now? (Westcoast remix)

Hip Hop is dead. Is it? I don’t think so. There seem to be a lot of MC’s on Nas’s remixes of ‘Where are they now?’ who disagree and are about to prove him wrong. I cannot get enough of these two tracks. Put all the big rappers of today (by big I mean the ones who sell the most and are more widely recognised) on a big posse cut like this and you would get bored so soon. Put all the big MC’s from the west’s past on a track and I can’t get enough of it. Put all the big MC’s from the 80’s on a track and I can’t get enough of that either. The 80’s MC’s really know how to ride this break, putting Nas to shame – I didn’t like the original on the basis that his flow sounded awkward over the JB sample. These tracks induce a huge grin and make me hope some of these MC’s will give hip hop another chance, highlights are too many, the best thing to do is to listen to it all – over and over.

Cool down time again and keeping it old school. Like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest? Get some Digable Planets in your life, put it on your £4.97 mp3 player from Tesco and go skate and reminisce about the old skool days. Kool Keith provides the finale; ‘Voicemail, pagers; these are the things that robots carry’ – ‘I’m seein’ Robots’. A diss track to everyone who follows trends is always relevant as the cool kids are always jumping on something, tackling it, flooring it and rubbing it’s once cool face in the dirt. Take note kids, being different en mass makes you the same as the rest; Robots.

Bone shakers...

Pic: The original bone shaker

The title of todays first track could prove to be extremely apt. I start a new job on Wednesday and although i'm looking forward to getting some dough, the possibility of going postal is never far away in part-time employment. It could be the mindless tedium, sucking away at your soul while forever burning the synapses of creativity so that the next time you come to write something all you can muster is 'Uhhhhhh, stuff n that?'. It could be the endless parade of customers who seem to ask you questions that although you know the answer to, you find it more amusing to feign ignorance. Either way, at least I have music to keep me sane. Which brings me to:

MP3: Busdriver - Kill Your Employer

No don't. Well, only if they really deserve it. Seriously though, don't. This track provides the bedrock of the post from which the other two songs cling to in the hope that they can live out their bassy dreams vicariously and hope to not get lost in the wash. Well that wouldn't happen because all songs posted on this site are pure quality. Busdriver has a good name and if this track is anything to go buy he will have a very bright future. More or less defines the Bone Shaker genre (which i just created).

MP3: R.A. The Rugged Man - Lessons

Self-professed legendary Rugged Man proves that not only can white men jump, they can spit a verse or two too. Having worked with a smorgasbord of Hiphop's leaders for years he released Die, Rugged Man, Die in 2004 and this is one of the singles taken from it. Whip smart lyrics combine with a slick beat and a delivery that bristles with talent. 'People wonderin where the fuck i been - at the VIP section they aint lettin me in'.

MP3: The Knife - Got 2 Let U (Paul Kallman Remix)

I'll leave the description of this track up to the boys of 20 Jazz Funk Greats, who descibe it far more eloquently (and vividly) than I ever could.

"Paul Kallman takes the bouncy elastic fun from the original and replaces it with speaker throbs in dark alleyways outside German techno-sex clubs. The beats sound like samples from bones snapping and it has this zombiefied Grandmaster Flash eating Crockett and Tubbs effect throughout. Pastel skies with arcs of blood spurting across in slow motion. Favouring the "male" vocals of the original gives it more sex-perv chic too. In short, its amazing."

Spill your brains then.

Cash in hand

Apparently Aidan is 'addicted' to posting stuff on this blog... or maybe just addicted to pigeons. Either way, here's something else. (By the way thanks for posting the Joni Mitchell MP3 and artwork - all you readers out there can now find out what all the fuss was about - woopee!)

(Also, don't ask what the title means - it was just the least bad pun I thought of.)

Musical biopics seem to be all the rage these days, what with Jamie Foxx injecting some extra life into Ray Charles' legacy (not to mention Kanye West's bank account). But any director will find it hard to top James Mangold's superb effort, 'Walk the Line', starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

I liked Ray, but it's kind of like the Orlando Bloom to Walk the Line's Johnny Depp in PotC. (Except I don't like Orlando Bloom at all. But never mind.) I wasn't the biggest Johnny Cash fan before watching it, probably because my dad really liked his stuff so I was bound by the laws of adolescence not to - but that all changed upon viewing.

Yes, the script and screenplay are great, the cinematography leaves nothing to be desired and all that. But really you walk away from this film bowled over by the performances of the main characters, with Phoenix and Witherspoon topping the credit list.

First, they both sing everything, which is pretty darn impressive in itself. Second, they're both utterly convincing, with Phoenix depicting Cash's rise, fall and recovery with excruciatingly tragic transparency. Witherspoon defies anyone who would pin her down to saccharine chick flicks by putting in one of the most rounded performances I've ever seen, portraying June Carter's simultaneous fragility and resolve, combined with an extravagantly gracious character.

The story is sad but has a happy ending, which doesn't feel like a cop-out because it's actually true. And the music is great, involving a lot of shootings, prisons, women and of course the blues. You'll get shivers down your spine when you see him picking out the nascent chords of 'Folsom Prison Blues' (those three words basically sum up the lyrics content of everything he's ever done) and hear those words 'I hear the train a-comin'...'

In a word: Fancashtic.

(Sorry.)

Pigeon perfect

I’ve started getting jealous of my pal over at Eclectic Hermit, what with his wonderfully themed posts. My first themed post totally kills all of his though. Check this out readers: Pigeon related music! Ahhh man, I can’t tell you how proud of myself I am, I’ve totally excelled myself here. Never could so many genres come together and unite over what is basically a be-winged rat. This is a feast for any pigeon fancier, read and listen as I lay a tasty spread before you.

Goh Nakamura – Pigeon Toes

We’ll start off with the sensible, advice giving pigeon tune. Don’t go out wearing those shoes just cos they match your eyes girl. Wear the comfy ones and you’ll be happier later on, and so will everyone else.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Stool Pigeon

Funkeee! This tune is all about walking around just like our feathery fiends, you stick it on before you go out and get on down, but only for a hot minute mind.

Widespread Panic - Pigeons

This is the pigeon tune perfect for a summers evening (on your way into town for a pint) in your car with those windows rolled right down. A great funky rock tune complete with jammin’ organs, screaming guitars and superstition-esque grooves. You just hope there are no pigeons on your roof.

Colin MacIntyre – Pigeon fancier

You arrive at chosen pub and get comfortable in the beer garden, perfect. And then this tune comes on, so summery, so upbeat and so pigeony.

The Tradgically Hip – Pigeon Camera

That other pub starts blaring out songs about other sorts of birds so you decide it’s time to leave. Wise move because the pub three doors down has a live act playing beautifully melodic, bluesy tunes with dire straits lead guitar about something boring, but it’s OK as you and your mates spend your time wondering what in the world a pigeon camera is. If you know, please tell me.

Kent Newsome & Ronnie Jeffrey – I’m not your pigeon

The difference between a pigeon and a turtle dove is a fine one. Comparisons can obviously be drawn by country singers as a means of explaining how relationships break up when one of the couple make the mistake of misidentification. I’ve seen this happen on a night out, a pre-warning, don’t get drunk, you’ll end up with a pigeon who ‘craps all over you’ and not a beautifully cooing turtle dove. And that would be sad.

Cannibal Ox - Pigeon

Hip Hop night time, after all, that’s what we’re all here for isn’t it? The rap tunes.
You arrive early though, things haven’t heated up, some rookie DJ (probably me) is spinning some of the more alternative sounds from the world of beats and rhymes. You chill out and sip on a pint of Guinness (you figure you might as well complement the track with something equally as heavy and hard to stomach).

Pigeon John – Do the pigeon

Sure fire party starter. You’re now doing that dance, nodding head as practiced at home with Kid Creole. Your practice paid off, the floor is yours, of course, along with members of the opposite sex loving your moves. Clubs jumping now, but crikey, that bar is busy…you check out the other room to get a quick pint of water and maybe some Alize. (And yes, the DJ does play the obvious pigeon related Hip Hop track, and yes I do own it but no; it's not on here - you know that one already)

Venetian Snares – Masodik Galamb

Say what? Breakcore? Mentality in audio form! ‘Pigeon, why do you frighten me?’ You stay, some sort of eclectic mix going on here, ‘what’s next?’ you wonder whilst secretly hoping it’s another pigeon related track. You are initially disappointed until you discover the ridiculously stripped down but compelling electroness that has come on is actually…

Leopold Gregori – Pigeon dance

You know the score by now. Pigeons are everywhere in the music world, you wonder if they will appear at the festival you are attending tomorrow. (If you haven’t got it by now, they WILL appear at the festival tomorrow, the suspense is for effect only and you shouldn’t let it get to you)

Coach said not to – Be my pigeon

‘You are everywhere, everywhere’, funny we were just saying that last night, pigeons are certainly everywhere.

Urban Barnyard – Pigeon

Ok, this festival is called pigeonfest, who am I trying to kid? This not very up and coming garage band (in the sense that they practice in a garage) sing a lovely ode to our favourite bird.

Big Black – Pigeon kill

Amidst much cheering this electro-metal band grind out a song about…why am I bothering?

The Pigeon Detectives – I found out

Headliners and the next big thing are only there because of their name, great name though. Maybe pigeon detectives use pigeon cameras for taking pictures of evidence or specimens or something. Lovely slice of indie pop with oasis kind of guitar solos and a riff that sounds suspiciously like ‘Stand by me’, not the Oasis one though, the other one; you’ll see what I mean.

Alela Diane – Pigeon Song
Pigeon Hole – Cross-Eyed Leslie

Your on your way back from a tiring day listening to amazing pigeon associated music but you just need a couple more to chill out to and these two more than suffice.

If you’ve read all this, then you must be so bored. That or in love with our filthy flying friends. If you skipped to this last paragraph all I have to say is download this, and burn this CD in the same order as I have instructed. Let it fly you away.

P.S. – watch out for my next concept post based on raps obsession with a certain small furry creature.