A roundup of the finest music, freshly stumbled across in the last seven days. PALACE - Facebook / Twitter Thanks must go to Beatnik online for tipping us the wink on Brighton based four piece, Palace. All three demos on their soundcloud page are worth a listen but the wistful bluesy " Veins " is the standout. They state their main influences as "White Denim, Kraftwerk, Wu Lyf, Jeff Buckley, Foals, Wu Tang Clan and Nigerian Blues" [...]
Last month we were collectively up all night getting lucky as a Nile Rodgers assisted Daft Punk (pictured) returned to conquer the globe using only the power of disco music. Aprils cup truly runneth over so here's 50 of the finest sounds in handy playlist form. I say 50 because that's the limit of the Why.com widget below. There are actually almost 60 ridiculously good tunes on the full Whyd playlist , and almost as many on Soundcloud if that's your preference. Follow the monthly playlists on WHYD.COM or [...]
Last month, those Blackburn based purveyors of Bluesy Rock N Roll, Sky Valley Mistress almost made it to Glastonbury and now they have until April the 26th to take a step towards Donnington's Download festival. With days to go, the threesome of Maxwell Harvey William Newsome III, Squire and vocalist Kayley " Hell Kitten " Davies are hovering precariously at number 85 in the online vote, with only the top 100 making it through to the judged stage. Can you spare one click to keep them in the hot 100, and give them a chance [...]
Is it possible to will a record to success just by concentrating really really hard? Internet research and common sense (not always closely linked) suggests it's about as likely as moving an object with mind power alone (one presumably American commente r claims to have " pooped their pants they concentrated so hard "). But for Benin City I'll take that risk! Their last single " Baby " strolled to the summit of MLD's Top 200 tracks of 2012 , and on the basis of what Ive heard so far, their debut album " Fires In The Park [...]
Record Store Day is upon us bringing a wallet worrying number of limited edition releases and hosts of bands playing at independent record stores across the globe. For a comprehensive list of who's playing where, visit the Record Store Day website. 1. RECORD STORE GAY The inaugural Record Store Gay compilation was one of the highlights of last years Record Store Day and Irish shoppers will be able to buy a fresh collection of 'gay anthems' covered by the finest new bands this Saturday. All proceeds go towards [...]
Harry Zephaniah Johnson, the former insurance salesman, reggae producer and studio owner, better known as Harry J passed away on April the 3rd. It took DJ WrongTom posting his remix of Harry J's most ubiquitous classic " Liquidator " to give me a gentle shove into posting a brief tribute. Tom describes his remix as a " mess of synths, bleeps, and overlaid drum tracks " but keeps Winston Wright's famous Hammond riff at its heart. To me at least the original is the sound of the Waltzers, stick it on and subconsciously I'm 15 and hurtling [...]
Britain is awash with the giddy joy of people celebrating the death of an 87 year old woman. With unseemly haste the Tory " Britain isnt working " slogan has morphed into a queue to " piss on her still to be dug grave " . It's not that I don't understand the emotiveness Thatcher has always bred, I just don't get the point. Her death wasn't at the hands of a baying mob outraged at the inequalities of her rule, it was at the end of a long, happy and prosperous life. Dance on her grave [...]
A few favourites from last month wrapped up in a playlist for your listening pleasure. Follow Music Like Dirt on Whyd for more, or theres a playlist on Soundcloud too. Here's a Soundcloud playlist with some of the tracks although there's many more on Whyd. A few videos from this months favs, including the mighty Public Enemy. Lion Babe - "Treat Me Like Fire" The Fat [...]
Comedy meet music... Comedy Central meet Steve "Steinski" Stein, the Thomas Edison of remixing (and by that I mean he's a true pioneer, not that he ripped off some English bloke). While recuperating from surgery Steinski was approached by American comic TJ Miller with the idea of creating a series of sound collages/remixes based on his Comedy Central show, Mashup . The resulting works of genius are now available for FREE DOWNLOAD over on Steinski's website. The trademark Steinski sound effects and production techniques that had [...]
Making the video for the 1st single As a non-bearded Englishman Buddy Peace is something of an oddity for Sage Francis' Strange Famous Records. The label is packed with such hirsute talent that the artist roster resembles a scene from the International Bear convention (and yet somehow Vibe magazine failed to mention a single SF act in their 20 coolest beards in Hip-hop list ). Buddy's latest Strange Famous release pairs him with Rhode Island emcee Prolyphic, who despite his name has kept fans waiting five years for the follow up to 20082s [...]
BBC Radio 32s ‘Baroque Remixed’ night at The Roundhouse featured a specially commissioned colla boration between the BBC Concert Orchestra, Charles Hazlewood and the vintage synths of Goldfrapp's Will Gregory. A Moog, Korg Monopoly and a Roland SH9 joined the orchestra for a beguilingly elongated take on the Sarabande from Bach’s Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV825. Walter Carlos's famous "Switched on Bach" is an obvious comparison but it has far more in common with the trippy ambience of Mixmaster Morris's Irresistible Force with of course Johann Sebastian weaving throughout. In an interview with SinfiniMusic , Gregory [...]
In the words of Willie Nelson " Ain't it funny how time slips away ", has this blog really stumbled, crawled and rambled it's way through 8 years of music? The Virgin Megastore from the first post is long gone (along with 10002s of other record shops) but there's still a tide of incredible music so Music Like Dirt will no doubt keep on keeping on in a vaguely unprofessional way. Enough self congratulation and on with what counts, the music and a few gems from last month starting with something French and exquisitely beautiful, courtesy [...]
Stuck for something new to listen to?? How about a playlist of 120 tracks from the finest unsigned acts from UK & Ireland, hand picked by 40 bloggers from over 8,000 entries to the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition? In January, thousands of new bands, like Sky Valley Mistress (above) entered Glasto's competition, by June one of them will stand beneath the most famous Pyramid outside of Giza. It is however a long road to Glastonbury's main stage, they first had to tickle the ears of Music Like Dirt [...]
Perfection can it seems be improved upon. Sohn's remix of Banks " Before I Ever Met You " is the Messi to the originals Ronaldo, it's General Zod in Superman II, or a skinheaded Sinead to Prince's Nothing Compares To You. The London-born but Vienna-based producer rebuilds the track from the ground as he did with Laura Mvula's ' Green Garden ' just a week ago. Banks - Twitter / Facebook There can't be many who've yet to hear Sohn's own "The [...]
As Londoners shuffle to and from work, buffeted by the chills of a 4°C spring, Mali basks in 38°C heat. Thankfully you can bring a little West African heat to your life, by turning the dial on your speaker system and blasting out the Sol Power remix of Malian superstar Cheick Hamala Diabate. Cheik is a master Griot who first picked up the Ngoni (a traditional West African stringed instrument related to the Banjo) as a young boy but is now recognised as something of a master. Here his Grammy nominated playing skills and imitable vocals meet [...]
"He's going to Memphis, Memphis... Memphis Industries" The new album from James Mathe aka Barbarossa moved that little bit closer with the announcement on Valentines Day that he'd signed to Memphis Industries. The label say its due " later in 2013 " and celebrated by releasing a new version of perennial Mathe favourite " The Load " as a free download. Simply head here and in return for a crisp email address they'll hand over an audio treat. “ I will [...]
I've always taken the lament, " Music's just not as good as it was when I was young " to mean " I'm just not as interested in music as when I was young ". Over the eight years this blog has run a 'best of', styles have come and gone but there's never a shortage of wonderful sounds. These lists are always subjective, personal and far from definitive. Having witnessed pedestrians breaking out into horse riding inspired dance moves as I took a vaguely embarrassing cycle rickshaw journey up Oxford Street with Gangnam Style blasting [...]
Womack & Womack - "Missin' Persons Bureau (Folk Version)" Cecil Womack - who has died aged 65 - was an accomplished producer and songwriter but is best known as one half of husband and wife pop soul duo Womack & Womack. Anyone growing up during their 802s heyday will be familiar with "Teardrops" and "Love Wars", in my case both the original and The Beautiful South's take on the classic. To say the story of how the couple got together is a complicated one is an [...]
The penultimate positions, 26-50, in the perennially late but musically still great end of year chart – sample 51-100 , 101-150 or 151-200 by doing the clicky thing. Alternatively pick a playlist below for the full fat streamable Top 200. Whyd.com (197 Tracks) / Youtube (170+ tracks) / Spotify ( Web / Player ) 50. City Brat - Moves / Yeah It's There Brooklyn based ‘City Brat’ are Alex Fippinger on drums and Jason Grad on vocals, guitar, keyboards, video direction, and [...]
Yes, I know it's February but here are numbers 51-100 in the tardiest end of year chart going - head here for 101-150 or treat your ears to 151-200 here . Alternatively pick a playlist below for the full fat streamable Top 200. Whyd.com (197 Tracks) / Youtube (170+ tracks) / Spotify ( Web / Player ) 100. Fiona Apple - Hot Knife " I'm a hot knife if he's a pad of butter. If I get [...]
music like dirt
NU DISCO | Louis La Roche – Say I’m Your No. 1
Prince ensaya con “Even Flow” de Pearl Jam
Listen to Prince really wail on a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow”
