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2005.11.22Jason Forrest - My 36 Favourite Punk Songs
Breakcore-tastic
Jason Forrest aka Donna Summer manages to answer that age old question 'How can I fit as many musical references as possible into one track?'. In the wise words of Pop Will Eat Itself 'Sample it, loop it, fuck it, eat it & spit it out'.
Forrest's hyperactive mind takes 36 tracks and condenses down into one 2 minute sonic assault. Part of the fun of this track is working out where the samples are from, part of it is just freaking out to it. Give a muso this album for Christmas and they can make 'spot the sample' their after lunch game. And it will get granny's blood pumping.
It's taken from his album 'Shamelessly Exciting' released on the Sonig label. The albums very very varied in style, but all using the same premise. It's a lot of fun.
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2005.11.20
MC 900ft Jesus - Adventures In Failure
Damn, I hate this job.
Mark Griffin doned his MC 900ft Jesus pseudonym after hearing an American Christian evangelist tell as story of how he had seen a 900 ft tall Jesus and used it to hustle for money.
'Adventures in Failure' is taken from his second album 'Welcome To My Dream' released in 1991. It's lyrical drawl and drole storytelling appealed to imediately, with the album moving through a range of stories and jazz influences in a truely engaging way. The humour in his lyrics, and the music, never fails to make me smile.
His previous album, 'Hell With The Lid Off' (with DJ Zero) was more hip hop and electronic in it's influences, but also darker and more gritty. The later 'One Step Ahead Of The Spider' was a more bouncy - but still equally twisted - affair, taking influences of the then emergent drum & bass scene.
The sad thing is after so much promise in three excellent and original albums Mark had enough with the music industry and got out of the business, and is training to be come a pilot. Let's hope he has some inspiring visions whilst he's up there.
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2005.11.19
Brian Eno & Davide Byrne - America Is Waiting
'America Is Waiting' is taking from the seminal album 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' which was produced in 1979/1980 by composer Brian Eno and David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame). To me this record always sounds fresh and interesting - despite some dated sounding synthisizers on it. It's testament to the compositional skills of the two players, and the skills of the musicians the employed to work on it.
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2005.11.17
TV On The Radio - The Wrong Way
Cancelled.
When I decided to put TV On The Radio as today's track it was because I was going to go and see them tonight. But the gig has been cancelled due to the unexpected death of Tunde's father. My sympathies are with you.
The Wrong Way is taken from their album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes on 4AD. It's a corker of an album that's got me through a couple of backstage at photo shoots periods for SHOWstudio this year.
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2005.11.16
Plaid - Shackbu
A dancefloor favourite
Anyone who has heard me DJ my hip-hop/electronica set in the last 6 years - not that I do that very often anymore - should recognise this. It's one of my favourite crossover tracks.
Plaid are one of my favourite artists in the Warp Records family. They've never had the critical acclaim or attention of Boards of Canada, which is a shame, as they deserve to be seen as equals, if not as the influencing elder brothers.
Shackbu is taken from their second album, Rest Proof Clockwork, released in 1999.
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2005.11.15
Barry Adamson - Jazz Devil
This has been a tough choice. I've listened to every Barry Adamson album today looking for a track, after coming across Jazz Devil last night whilst listening to iTunes on Random. After that entire excursion I decided that, whilst there are stronger Adamson tracks, I do really like this one and should just put it up. This isn't, after all, about picking the creme-de-la-creme of music here, it's about putting up things I've been listening to and enjoying. So there.
Jazz Devil is taken from As Above So Below released on Mute in 1998. It is, like all of his albums, rather good.
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2005.11.14
Christoph Poppen - Sarabanda
Partita d-Moll BMV 1004 für Violine solo
Putting up todays entry has been a learning experience for me, and reminded me why I love the internet. I'm not au fait with the ways of Classical music. I didn't pay attention too much to my music teachers at school, and was more interested in guitars, synthesizers and record decks than violins and orchestras. I regret that now. A few searches and I realise that.
Today's track is from the Morimur composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Did you know that there is an indexing system specifically for Bach's work?
To me this piece is a story told through music. A deep, resonant and moving solo violin, with a message part sadness and part joy.
Some searching around explains what it's all about. If the thesis is correct it explains why I find it so moving.
I think I'm going to have to try and get hold of the copy with the 80 page booklet to find out about that thesis.
The quote on the back of the CD is also of interest:
Ancient art has a specific inner content. At one time, art possessed the same purpose that books do in our day, namely: to preserve and transmit knowledge. In olden days, people did not write books, they incorporated their knowledge into works of art. We would find a great many ideas in the works of ancient art passed down to us, if only we knew how to read them.
G. Gurdjieff
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2005.11.13
Etta James - Mellow Fellow
Etta James is an artist who needs no introduction, especially from me when others can do it so much better.
I first heard today's track, Mellow Fellow, early one morning after a late night out. It woke the souls in the room that were starting to slumber. Dancing ensued.
I thought I'd put it up this morning as I needed a similar kind of waking up.
This track, as far as I can find out, was released in 1964 as a B side to the single "Bobby Is His Name".... I eventually found it on the Chess Club compilation "Chess Club Rhythm & Soul" which is a collection of classics from that label that is worth several listens. I'm not sure if it's available anywhere else on Etta's numerous albums and compilations.
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2005.11.12
Chris Watson - Ol-Olool-O
Music to my ears
Chris Watson is probably best known for his contribution to music as a member of electro pioneers Cabaret Voltaire. Whilst the Cabs rate highly in my musical collection today's track 'Ol-Olool-O' by Chris isn't music as most would expect it. It's a collage of sounds made by him from recording made during his work as a sound recordist on natural history programs. The depth in the sounds he uses is amazing. The sounds of thunder and rain beautiful and emotive. It makes you listen to the world around you in a different way
This track is taken from his album Weather Report on Touch Records. Also worth checkin out is Outside The Circle of Fire which contains a selection of his isolated wildlife recordings. Listening to Tiger's purring, or Owl's marking their boundaries, is a wonderful experience. Especially wandering around London with your iPod on.
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2005.11.11
The Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Taken from the Slits often overlooked 'Cut' this cover version is one of those songs that I first heard and went 'where have you been all my life?'. The Slits fusion of punk and reggae asthetics with Ari Up's amazing vocal gymnastics really bring this song to life in a way the original could never imagine.
I was originally turned onto this by Tony Morley one night at the Autechre curated All Tomorrows Parties a few years ago.
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