Blog: galactic mystery solvers

New Orleans as Hellespont redux? Continuity and contiguity in the poetry of Lord Byron and Lil' Wayne

Jan 21, 2008, 5:50pm galactic mystery solvers
Lord Byron "She Walks in Beauty" Poem movie animation
"For me, degenerate modern wretch, Though in the genial month of May, My dripping limbs I faintly stretch, And think I've done a feat today." Byron, 'Written After Swimming From Sestos To Abydos' "I'm pro'lly in the sky, flying with the fishes, Or maybe in the ocean, swimming with the pidgeons, See, my world is different." Lil' Wayne, 'Ride 4 My N****s', Drought 3 This week, GMS was interested to read the following quote, from bumfluff-sporting anticon nerd-rapper Sole: "When I was living [...]
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representing the uke...

Jan 20, 2008, 9:12am galactic mystery solvers
representing the uke... do you live in leicester? if not, you have slightly less than three weeks to get there, in order to catch william tombs' what the lobster shouted as it boiled: a mystagogue expounds , the best one-man philosophical ukulele show i think i've ever seen. lookee here, i even said so on my blog . it's at the midas cafe on saturday 9th february, as part of leicester's internationally renowned comedy festival, so it is. read this in order to obtain "more info", then to "buy tickets". hurry up!
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"anger, identity and reward": rap in the pre-steroids era

Jan 18, 2008, 5:34am galactic mystery solvers
U-MV166 - Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul - Fallin'
before the trade in anabolic steroids caused rappers to lose their tempers and made their shirts fall off, our favourite mcs had to earn their gigantic bodies filled with rage. hence the boo-ya tribe. boo-ya tribe & faith no more - 'another body murdered' (from judgment night OST ) what were the boo-yas so angry about? water rights for the indigenous peoples of [...]
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'97 mentality: the last stand

Dec 16, 2007, 8:12am galactic mystery solvers
'97 mentality: the last stand Galactic Mystery Solvers is on hiatus for a month of festive cheer. hence this '97 mentality series has to wrap up sharp-ish. 1997>2007 Exhibits V, W, X, Y and Zee Five of this year's best albums were made by people who made five of 1997's bes t albums. Longevity kicks ass. I reckon that the 1997 ones were better. But basically this is just a list of ten cracking albums . I expect that'll do. Go and search [...]
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covered inglory: the complete top ten

Dec 15, 2007, 9:53am galactic mystery solvers
covered inglory: the complete top ten over the past couple of weeks GMS has identified the ten best cover versions of the century so far. we haven't heard them all, and sometimes we weren't concentrating, so they might be wrong. but then again, they might be right. anyway, here they are, all in one place! 1. easy star allstars - 'no surprises' (radiohead cover, from radiodread ) original post 2. richard hawley - 'some candy talking' (jesus & mary chain cover) original post [...]
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covered inglory #10 - wilco 'comment'

Dec 14, 2007, 6:53am galactic mystery solvers
a few months ago, sasha frere-jones caused a bloggish furore (no animals or real people were harmed) when he identified a parting of the ways between lascivious, bass-heavy black music and uptight, strangled, funk-free indie. he laid most of the blame on dr. dre and (good lord!) pavement's second drummer. to illustrate the parlous state of music in 2007 he used arcade fire as his favoured sorry-ass lame-o pale-faced whipping-boys. but wilco, whose records have dominated year-end lists and marked the shifting tastes of indie fans for almost fifteen years, could have fitted just as easily. this year's [...]
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Link Text:wilco - 'comment (if all men are truly brothers'
File Name:11 Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers).mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

covered inglory #9 - rodrigo y gabriela 'wish you were here (live)'

Dec 13, 2007, 7:06am galactic mystery solvers
Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here (live)
it shouldn't work. dublin-based mexican duo rodrigo y gabriela's main appeal is their combination of lightspeed acoustic fretwork (huh) and a goofy, friendly connection with the crowd, honed during their days as buskers. they throw in the odd novelty cover, but these are generally OTT pickings from the rococo end of the indie and metal spectra - metallica and the white stripes get frequent airings. pink floyd's 'wish you were here' doesn't fit. it's slow, pompous, and although it has a bit of a guitar solo, that's also a bit slow and pompous. the first time i saw [...]
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Artist:Rodrigo y Gabriela
Title:Wish You Were Here (live at Glastonbury 2007)
Link Text:rodrigo y gabriela - 'wish you were here' (live at glastonbury 2007)
File Name:Wish You Were Here (live at Glastonbury 2007).mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2007

martin carthy's wellington concert online

Dec 11, 2007, 8:17am galactic mystery solvers
martin carthy's wellington concert online the university of southampton has put martin carthy's 'songs of wellington wars' online for video streaming. it's well worth your time, if you can get past the vice-chancellor's introduction. for the full gig, go here . for the lowdown from GMS , head here .
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'97 mentality

Dec 9, 2007, 7:54am galactic mystery solvers
Master P-Make Em Say Uhh
1997 vs 2007 Exhibit U How Master P played basketball in 1997: seizure-inducing strobes a gold-plated tank a gorilla costume comedy sound effects people shouting "uhhhhhh" mind-melting stupidity How Master P plays basketball in 2007: grainy black and white film rural poverty ku klux klan robes wheelchairs some borderline-handy no-name guest rappers belligerent political outrage [...]
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covered inglory #8 - absentee - 'my dead wife / you're the one that i want'

Dec 8, 2007, 11:15am galactic mystery solvers
You're the One That I Want - Grease - WIDESCREEN
absentee pitch themselves somewhere between the maudlin restraint of current indie favourites the national and the the lavish melancholy of british veterans the tindersticks . their calling card is to inject a streak of bitter, black humour into this elegant mix, spicing their red-wine-sodden romanticism with references to alcoholic indiscretions and grubby toilet-sex. both elements work together on 'my dead wife' from 2005's donkey stock ep. the first section is a barely coherent, mumbled fragment from the perspective of a mourner - "some kind of memory, you were beautiful, [...]
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Artist:Absentee
Title:My Dead Wife
Link Text:absentee - 'my dead wife'
File Name:03 My Dead Wife.mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2005

convered inglory #7: six organs of admittance 'thicker than a smokey'

Dec 7, 2007, 8:46am galactic mystery solvers
convered inglory #7: six organs of admittance 'thicker than a smokey' sometimes, and only very occasionally, something unexpectedly poignant appears on an album's sleevenotes (no, i don't mean "peace to my dead homies"). on slint's spiderland there was an appeal for female vocalists to get in touch for auditions - something that never happened, as slint disbanded and committed themselves to mental institutions on completing the harrowing record. i'd love to know what they'd have sounded like with a proper singer. a similarly poignant story, but with a happier outcome, appeared on the sleeve to psych-folk outfit six organs of admittance's 2005 album school of the [...]
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Link Text:six organs of admittance - 'thicker than a smokey'
File Name:07 Thicker Than a Smokey.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:Gary Higgins
Link Text:gary higgins - 'thicker than a smokey'
File Name:01 Thicker Than A Smokey.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

the way we "wire"

Dec 5, 2007, 9:56am galactic mystery solvers
The Wire Prequels - When Bunk Met McNulty (2000)
for those of you "addicts" "fiending" for a "fix" of the wire , here's a "pre-up", wherein we head "back in the day". "rad". collins & harlan - 'back, back, back to baltimore' (from edison cylinder recordings, 1905-12 ) omar little, 1985 proposition joe, 1962 mcnulty meets moreland, 2000
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Link Text:collins & harlan - 'back, back, back to baltimore'
File Name:Back, Back, Back to Baltimore - Collins & Harlan.mp3

live review - martin carthy sings songs of the wellington wars @ southampton university

Dec 4, 2007, 7:46am galactic mystery solvers
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick - Byker Hill
long before bob dylan realised the potential of playing around with identity, arthur wellesley, 1st duke of wellington, was shape-shifting his way through seven decades of british cultural history. he was a young officer rising through the ranks in india, a military hero who "liberated europe" on the fields of waterloo, a disastrous and short-lived prime minister, an unshakeable presence at the horse guards as commander-in-chief, an irascible elder statesman holding court at apsley house on hyde park corner (aka no.1, london), a pillar of the establishment who came out of retirement to defend london against chartist protesters in 1848, [...]
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Link Text:lal waterson - 'the welcome sailor'
File Name:03 The Welcome Sailor.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

covered inglory #6: wondermints - 'the porpoise song'

Dec 3, 2007, 3:03pm galactic mystery solvers
The Monkees - Porpoise Song (Theme From HEAD)
currently brian wilson's backing band, the wondermints made their name recreating the sound of the beach boys, circa pet sounds . what elevated them above similarly myopic musical revivalists like ocean colour scene (a 1990s bluesbreakers) or cat power (currently failing to update dusty in memphis ) was their nerdy love of the sounds of mid-60s LA, wantonly and unconditionally uncool but all the more joyous as a result. plus, they had the ability to write songs that could rub shoulders with the originals. 2000's wonderful world of the wondermints made the logical step [...]
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Link Text:wondermints - 'the porpoise song' (monkees cover)
File Name:01 Porpoise Song.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

covered inglory #5: bonnie prince billy & tortoise - 'thunder road'

Dec 3, 2007, 7:23am galactic mystery solvers
Thunder Road 1976 Bruce Springsteen
will oldham's collaborative covers album with chicago's beard-stroking raised-eyebrow post-rock jazz-boffins tortoise came in for some stick on its release in 2006, especially for their cover of bruce springsteen's 'thunder road'. detractors complained that oldham's strangled, ghostly vocal performance, and tortoise's decision to replace the original's surging piano rolls with sterile guitar lines leeched all the passion and urgency out of the song. round gms' house, we reckon that's the only interesting way they could have taken it. the original 'thunder road' wasn't a straight-up, Born In the USA -style anthem - it gestured towards [...]
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Link Text:bonnie 'prince' billy & tortoise - 'thunder road'
File Name:02 Thunder Road.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:Badly Drawn Boy
Title:Thunder Road
Link Text:badly drawn boy - 'thunder road' (buy some badly drawn boy)
File Name:01_Thunder_Road.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2007
Artist:Bruce Springsteen
Title:Story of Thunder Road (live 05)
Link Text:bruce springsteen - 'the story of thunder road'
File Name:Bruce Springsteen - Story of Thunder Road (live 05).mp3
Bitrate:192 kbps
Year:2005

covered inglory #4: joan baez - 'motherland'

Dec 1, 2007, 9:05am galactic mystery solvers
Joan Baez, Phil Spector Big TNT Show
looks like the polls closed over at berkeley place for cover version of the century. but none of the top twenty coincided with anything i was planning to post, so on we go: joan baez has spent more than four decades covering other folks' material. she's pretty good at it. her 2003 album, dark chords on a big guitar saw the 60-something-year-old covering songs by no depression -era alt. country songwriters like gillian welch, ryan adams, josh ritter and steve earle. the album stood out amongst a slew of [...]
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Link Text:joan baez - 'motherland'
File Name:05 Motherland.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

covered inglory #3: ukulele orchestra of gb - 'wutherng heights'

Nov 25, 2007, 6:56am galactic mystery solvers
The Ukulele Orchestra - Wuthering Heights
no introduction necessary. gigging tonight at the oxford c***ing academy. incidentally, hands up anybody who remembers the lumpy oi-punk version of this by mid-nineties brit-rock also-rans china drum? radio 1's evening session's novelty cover of 1995, no less. shite.
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'97 mentality

Nov 23, 2007, 1:42pm galactic mystery solvers
'97 mentality 1997 vs 2007 Exhibit S Meet Tiger. In 1997 Tiger released a bunch of sparky, odd-shaped, buzzing pop, to mild acclaim. But NME hounded them out of town because they wore mullets, played 2-string bass and put weird naive artwork (courtesy of frontman Dan Laidler) on their records. Tiger - 'Race' (from We Are Puppets ) If their debut album, We Are Puppets , had been released in 2007, it would be in most critics' [...]
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Link Text:Tiger - 'On The Rose'
File Name:07 On the Rose.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Link Text:Tiger - 'Race'
File Name:03 Race.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Link Text:Ultrasound - 'Cross My Heart'
File Name:01 Cross My Heart.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Link Text:Ultrasound - 'Floodlit World'
File Name:03 Floodlit World.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

covered inglory #2: richard hawley - 'some candy talking'

Nov 22, 2007, 6:40am galactic mystery solvers
Some Candy Talking- The Jesus and Mary Chain
richard hawley doesn't really need cover versions - his recreation of a 'lost' sound somewhere between scott walker and duane eddy locates him obviously enough, the trick being that his original compositions are as good as most of the songs he loves. hawley's cover of the jesus and mary chain's 'some candy talking' is fish-in-a-barrel stuff, but that doesn't detract from its power. the original already had the doomed romanticism, the spector nods, the layers of harsh and melodic guitar. hawley's deep voice merely adds gravity, while the sinister edge of the lyrics save it from pastiche. [...]
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Artist:Richard Hawley
Title:Some Candy Talking
Link Text:richard hawley - 'some candy talking'
File Name:Richard Hawley - Some Candy Talking.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2006

covered inglory #1: easy star allstars, 'no surprises'

Nov 21, 2007, 6:34am galactic mystery solvers
covered inglory #1: easy star allstars, 'no surprises' three factors ensured that the easy star allstars' radiodread: a reggae tribute to ok computer rose above the status of summer 2006 blog novelty. first was the quality of the source material - ok computer was the last great radiohead album, the last one that felt human and that mined interesting tension between the human and the mechanical, the last one that you could enjoy without buying into the myth of radiohead as 'transcendant' artistic visionaries. [...]
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Link Text:easy star allstars - 'no surprises'
File Name:21 No Surprises.mp3
Artist:Bim Skala Bim
Title:Brain Damage
Link Text:bim skala bim - 'brain damage'
File Name:20 Brain Damage.mp3
Bitrate:112 kbps
Year:2007
Artist:Radiohead and Sparklehorse
Title:Wish You Were Here
Link Text:radiohead & sparklehorse - 'wish you were here'
File Name:12 Wish You Were Here.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Year:2007
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