Sometimes I just get in the mood for some stadium-sized, anthemic Britrock, and recently I've been getting my fix from The Enemy 's debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns . The Coventry-based trio's disc was released in their native UK last July, where it went straight to #1 on the album charts and spawned three top-20 singles ("Had Enough" charted highest at #4). All of this means, of course, that it's never seen the light of day on our shores, and I owe the breathlessly-hyped coverage in Q & NME thanks [...]
Here's what's new in stores and worth your time this week: Duffy, Rockferry The newest of the UK's retro-soul queens, Duffy, washes ashore with her debut album, which reached the top of the British album charts & yielded a number one single, too ("Mercy"). Her sound is equal parts Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield, and the Welsh singer teamed up with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler to craft this solid disc of 60's cool. Worth a look-see via iTunes , which is offering [...]
Sorry for the delay, folks - springtime sinus infections can lay to waste the best of plans. Anyway, here's what's new in stores and worth your time over the last 2 weeks: The Roots, Rising Down Illadelph's finest return with another sharp, pointed album that's blissfully (and consciously) filler-free. ?uestlove's organic production and crack rhythms are a treat, and Black Thought continues to impress with his rhymes ("75 Bars (Thought's Reconstruction)" is killer). The music's tight and vibrant, and the lyrics are smarter than [...]
When I began combing through my collection for my most-loved remixes, I realized that a host of them had become the de facto version of the song that you and I know and love - somehow, the second stab at these tunes was universally a step up (next week I promise a list of the originals so you can appreciate the transformation yourselves). Here, then, is a list of remixes so good that they've supplanted the original mixes in my library: Primal Scream, "Higher Than The Sun" I loved [...]
...And you got your instrumental in my acappella! Let's see how it tastes! This month's Selection proved to be problematic for me, but only in an "embarrassment of riches" kind of way. For you see, I kinda collect remixes. A large portion of my large collection of music consists of hip-hop and techno, two genres that really must support more remixes than every other genre combined. This is basically because they're the easiest to remix; hip-hop acappellas can easily be thrown over just about any other music without worrying about key or pitch, and [...]
(a.k.a. "To remix is to reimagine" - thanks be to anagrams!) Unlike U.N.K.L.E. Matt, I'm not a big collector of remixes. Dunno why, really, because I like many of 'em. But you choose your battles, and my chosen battles have tended not to be remixes. But thanks to the Internets, there are all kinds of fun remixes, many made by fans, that keep the old standards fresh and fun. Granted, I don't have many of the fan-based ones on this playlist (perhaps another day), but some of these really "reimagine" (to borrow a [...]
Ahh, remixes. CD single filler? ("You mean I get both a 9-minute Junior Vazquez remix and a 10-minute Chris Cox remix plus the original of Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" with this $10 import CD single?!? Awesome!") Irritating trend? (DJ Sammy in the studio: "You know what the world needs? A cheesy eurodisco version of an overwrought Bryan Adams ballad!") Or legitimate, creative awesomeness? (Danger Mouse's The Grey Album is one of the most creative things you'll ever hear) In any case, it's a topic that's come up in conversation with [...]
A new Nine Inch Nails song hit teh intarwebs last night, and it's solid stuff. "Discipline" probably won't win Reznor any new fans, but it's a great combination of the sounds of NIN's last two studio albums: its radio-friendly beat and melody make it a second cousin to With Teeth 's "Only" and "The Hand That Feeds," but the sound and (believe it or not) vocal restraint is very Year Zero . The best part? He's giving it away. Head to http://discipline.nin.com , and in exchange for your email address and zip code you'll [...]
Here's what's new in stores and worth your time this week: Flight of the Conchords, Flight of the Conchords New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk paradists, fresh off their Grammy win , are back with their first full-length on Sub Pop. With foreign tongues firmly planted in-cheek, Bret & Jemaine dip their toes into electro, hip-hop, folk, reggaeton, psychedelia, and soul, and you're guaranteed some hearty belly laughs. Try this non-album track on for size, taken from the free [...]
Do you like free music? Do you like Gnarls Barkley? Do you like listening to recordings in reverse for hidden, often Satanic, messages? Well, I have the website for you: http://www.fronttobackbacktofr ont.com/ In exchange for some easily faked, mostly non-intrusive contact information, you'll be given a free download of ELPUOC DDO EHT, a 44-minute long mp3 of Gnarls Barkley's new album The Odd Couple in complete reverse. Enjoy, kids - I'm waiting for the inevitable "Cee-Lo is dead" hysteria to sweep the blogosphere...
I love having my socks knocked off unexpectedly, and a few weeks ago I had Detroit's The Hard Lessons to thank for that. I was at O'Brien's Pub in Allston to see headliners The Sterns with my pal Charlie, who hosts/produces Well-Rounded Radio , an excellent monthly podcast. The Hard Lessons were first on the bill, and after they left the stage there was really no reason to stick around - there was no topping them that night. I had no expectations for the opening act at a tiny club off the beaten path outside [...]
This year, how about letting Uncle Sam give you something on tax day for a change. How do free CDs sound? I've got discs to give away from two of my favorite new artists: The Duke Spirit's Neptune and The Wombats' EP . I've introduced you to them before, but in case you're not familiar, take a listen: Download: The Duke Spirit, "The Step and the Walk" (mp3) (Right-click/control-click link to download) Download: [...]
Here's what's new in stores & worth your time this week: The Wombats, The Wombats EP Last week's US release of their debut EP flew under my radar because it was iTunes-only and buried in the store, but The Wombats are finally legitimately available in the US - woo-hoo! If you're not familiar with these other lads from Liverpool, sample their wares in a couple of my earlier posts . The Wombats EP features five [...]
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! I'd like to thank everyone who gave me Nick Cave-related advice when I asked for it a couple of weeks back. I took your recommendations and, coupled with a lot of research, snagged the 1989 Best of comp and 2004's Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus , and have officially become a convert (one listen to "Into My Arms" and you'll cross over, too - it's simply one of the best songs I've ever heard). I've really [...]
Sorry for any bumps over the last 20-ish minutes - I just finished upgrading Selective Service to WordPress 2.5 . If you encounter anything that's more funky than functional, please drop us a line - thanks. More musical merriment tomorrow!
Despite the average reviews , I couldn't resist taking in the new Martin Scorsese/Rolling Stones concert doc at our local IMAX theater, and I'm happy to report that Shine a Light is a pretty darn good time. The critics are right, it's not Scorsese's most illuminating musical documentary work (do yourself a favor and rent The Last Waltz for that) but it's vibrantly shot, and the attention to detail in sound is fantastic. When the camera isolates a band member, the sound mix responds in kind - never before has each [...]
Whoops, sorry, I actually had this done on time, but April Fool's! It turns out Uncle Sam actually thinks I'm now grown-up enough to click "publish" all on my own! ...Click any key? I don't see any "any" key! Anyway, as I mentioned in the introductory write-up, this month's selections are all about proving it's not what you know, but WHO you know. I noodled with the idea of maybe instituting some kind of point sytem; he whose playlist mentions the most artists wins. But it's not whether you win or lose, it's how [...]
So I'm back - it's been a while, and I'm sorry that I left y'all hanging. But I return with this collection of name-check goodness. "A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Lyndon Johnson'd Into Submission)" - Paul Simon (from The Paul Simon Song Book ) One of Simon's most overtly Dylan-inspired numbers, "A Simple Desultory Philippic" was first seen here, on Simon's UK-only solo album from 1965. In this song, he sums up the life of a traveling singer-songwriter who has seen [...]
April Fool's! I know we'd promised regular 1st of the month playlists, and by delivering them 3 days late, we totally put one over on you guys. [Nelson Muntz voice] Ha-ha! [/Nelson Muntz voice] Anyway, this month's inspiration comes from UNKLE Matt, who laid out the challenge like this: The theme is the self-referential, the post-modern, what people are annoyingly calling "meta" these days. Songs that mention other recording artists by name, the more the merrier... The only stipulation ended up being that we could include only one rap song, as the genre is [...]
I need to be a better listener: I thought Matt said "no hip-hop" instead of "only one," so my list is heavy on the rock and/or roll side. Had I been paying closer attention, you might find something from Handsome Boy Modeling School below, but I still think my list is a good one. Hope you dig: 1. Alabama 3, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" My favorite acid house/country practitioners from Bristol (UK) penned this ultimate tribute to the Man in Black a couple of years ago, and it was probably my favorite single [...]
Selective Service
Bison - Quill
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Mr Fogg - Eleven
