I was equally surprised to see that Alan Vega is 70 years old. I know this isn't news: I first heard it last year, but dismissed it as a typo, reasoning that he couldn't possibly be over 60 (plus, most biogs, like this one , claim his birth year as 1948). However, I looked at the Blast First (Petite) (i.e his own record company) website recently, and that's proclaiming that this is Alan's 70th year on the planet, so I guess if they're saying it, then it must be true. And, now I delve [...]
I was pleasantly surprised (and gratified) to see VV Brown (she of the ozone-layer defying quiff-- am I the only one that thinks it should be even higher?) waxing lyrical about John Cage, LaMonte Young and Ryuichi Sakamoto in the Grauniad yesterday . Crikey.
A sign of the times. Or something like that. Kids today, etc. I was in a mid-range clothing store in Edinburgh yesterday ( Reiss , if you must know), one of those stores that the pundits tell us will fail in the current recession while the providers of merchandise at either end of the price spectrum (Primark, Prada) will thrive. Anyhoo, the men's section was empty so I fell into small talk with the sales assistant. He was young, extremely good looking, and, naturally, well-dressed. That staff discount comes in handy, I imagine. [...]
And especially this . Is it too obvious to call it Kraftwerk meets Ride? Yes? So sue me.
Also greatly enjoying this .
In tribute to Walter Cronkite, recently deceased U.S. newsman, and one of the chroniclers of 20th century America, here's Steinski and the Mass Media's The Motorcade Sped On , featuring the voice of the aforementioned Mr. Cronkite and, thanks to this first-rate fan video, his image too. The song has nothing to do with Coldcut, incidentally, despite its title.
Some nice tributes here from David Stubbs, Terry Staunton and others.
Am I missing something here? Couldn't disgruntled purchasers simply, er, use the volume dial on their equipment to (to use the technical parlance) "turn it down a tad"? Story below. http://www.guardian.co.uk/musi c/2009/jul/09/dinosaur-jr-reca ll-new-album
MJ (see below) will be remembered in part for knocking the unfortunate Farrah Fawcett off the front pages (which makes Farrah the Mother Teresa to Jacko's Lady Di). Steven Wells' death on Tuesday, meanwhile, barely rated a paragraph in most newspapers. However, his will be the loss I'll feel most keenly. Wells, who wrote for the NME in its (read: my ) glory days, alongside the likes of Dele Fadele, Stuart Maconie, David Quantick and Barabara Ellen, was the sort of critic who, like Julie Burchill, often said things you disagreed with. But [...]
If you've a penchant for left-field and, in many cases, ultra-obscure post-punk, with an occasional foray into early hip-hop (and if you don't, why not?) then head over to a fantastic blog Everything Starts With an A , where the likes of Sudden Sway, Frank Chickens, Chakk, 400 Blows, Sophie and Peter Johnston, Set The Tone and Vice Versa await your perusal.
There's not a whole lot more to be said about Michael Jackson's death at this juncture, given that there are acres of newsprint and billions of bytes all devoted to the subject. But it always struck me that whatever there was of the real Michael Jackson died about 25 years ago. I'm not just talking simplistically about corporeal concerns, though, of course, his physical persona began to metamorphose into the freakish waxwork that he became at roughly that time (and how many tributes featured his more recent pale, ghastly visage as an accompaniment to their obituaries, as opposed [...]
Despite the continuing presence of George Lamb, the digital airwaves of BBC 6Music continue to throw up interesting and informative shows, at least when its presenters are freed from the tyranny of the playlist. In the past week we've had Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone 's post-punk special, which, endearingly, eschewed the usual suspects (for the most part) and instead showcased the lesser lights of the genre, such as Kleenex, Family Fodder, the Flying Lizards and Swell Maps. It also found house room for the earliest incarnation of the Human League, of whom more in a [...]
Jarvis Cocker 's new album hit the shops last week, and more than one reviewer has referred to it as "lo-fi" (see here for example). Well, it may feature more fuzz guitars than the average Pulp album, but it's certainly not lo-fi. Can we please get this straight? Of all the people on the planet, Steve Albini, who was in charge of recording Further Complications , is one of the most concerned with absolute sonic fidelity. Don't believe me? Take a look at his Chicago studio, Electrical , where the album [...]
These things (below) live or die by the accuracy of their editing. Luckily, this is a superlative example of the genre, and the lip-synching is totally on point. Enjoy. I did.
I haven't posted any mp3s for a while, so let's rectify that right now. How about some glitch-tastic sounds by Oval , those wacky Germans with a penchant for electronic noodling? From their 1998 album Dok on the peerless Thrill Jockey , this is Vitra Desk. For the full holistic experience you can stare at this pic of a Vitra desk, designed by the equally peerless Jasper Morrison . Download Vitra Desk by Oval (mp3)
This is just so brilliant. As are the rest of this photostream on Flickr. Old album covers re-imagined as Pelican books. See more here .
Stiller Zola Separated at birth- Ben Stiller and Gianfranco Zola.
I'm late to the digital table, I know, but I've finally gotten around to using Spotify this week. And I'm amazed. My jaw is still on the floor. The digital dream that all those Wired journalists have been touting for a decade, where all music ever made is available on-demand at no cost at all times, is 75% here. I say 75%, and that's my entirely unscientific estimate based on a few days searching of Spotify, but most of what I've looked for has been available to stream instantly, on demand. [...]
Strange news on Tuesday this week, announced on 6Music at 7.30pm, just as I was doing the washing-up. Marc Riley announced that Tommy Scott of late 90s scallies Space had popped his clogs at the tender age of 37. A great shame, as, while they were never going to change pop history, they were a competent observational pop combo, a little bit like a Liverpudlian Madness. Searching the internet a few hours later revealed little about Scott's death. I only found one news story (at Gigwise ), and the link was broken. [...]
And, as if to prove the point, in crash Keane. Their new single sounds exactly like Ashes to Ashes in a blender at 56 rpm. It's as if they'd taken the David Bowie original, chopped it into pieces, thrown the pieces in the air and then reassembled them. I can almost imagine Tim Rice-Oxley (the guy with the none-more-rock 'n' roll name) grabbing Andre Previn by the lapels and grunting "I am playing the right notes....just not necessarily in the right order."
Irk The Purists
Bison - Quill
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Mr Fogg - Eleven
