TEN4SE7EN »

Ryan (StopMe): I’ve spent every minute I could spare this weekend either watching Wimbledon, watching Glastonbury or indulging in the odd glass of ice-cold Pimms. From my armchair, the highlights of the festival seemed to be every second of Florence & The Machine’s set, Springsteen’s surprise appearance with The Gaslight Anthem, Lady Gaga’s smashed-mirror-dress-Glam-Pop-extravaganza and Dizzee Rascal sending the crowd literally ‘Bonkers’.

There probably aren’t many bands that would think of writing a delightful Pop-Folk song touching on the subject of cum (Except maybe The Hidden Cameras). Well, Avi Buffalo did and ‘Summer Cum’ is a music box ditty with some truly strange yet charming lyrics.

‘Dimestore Diamond’ is the explosive opener to Gossip’s superb new ‘Music For Men’ LP. It’s got the meaty power of an Ali right-hook with sizzling Bass and Beth Ditto’s vocals are like velvet.

One of the best things I saw on this weekend’s Glasto coverage was Jason Mraz’s performance of ‘I’m Yours’. It’s a Pop song filled to the brim with good vibes and sunshine

‘International Broadcaster’ is from Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s latest album. It brings to mind a Hip-Hop remix of The Special’s ‘Ghost Town’ with Roots Manuva and L.S.K contributing fantastic guest spots.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry featuring Roots Manuva & LSK – “International Broadcaster” (MP3)

Lord Cut-Glass’ Folk delight ‘Holy Fuck’ features sublime lines like “The truth to me seems fair, a Faustian despair, that I love you much more than you can bare”. It’s like a beautiful summer meadow… with razorblades hidden in the grass.

The Patrick Alavi Remix of ‘Faites Vos Jeux’ ditches the Electronica of Modernaire’s original in favour of distinctive Tribal minimalism. It retains the incredible Indie-Rap vocal which features some of the best sounding lyrics I’ve heard all year. like “Apparently murder is out of fashion, so I got put away for a crime of passion”.

Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens deliver pure vintage Gospel on the Daptone label. You can hear the church Organ, see the pulpit and smell the prayer books on their heavenly version of The Swan Silvertones’ ‘Trouble In My Way’.

Regina Spektor keeps coming up with goods year after year. Her own brand of quirky and thoughful Piano ballads just keep getting better and ‘Laughing With’ is no exception.

Robert Pollard featured in last week’s TEN4SE7EN with his Cosmos project. This week I’m adoring a solo cut called ‘It’s Easy’ that channels the best of sun drenched 60s Psychedelic Pop.

‘Don’t Know What Love Is’ is the first thing I’ve heard by We Rock Like Girls Don’t since the legendary sonic assault of 2005 single ‘I Just Wanna Stick My Head In The Bass Drum’. It’s got the same Grunge fury and sneering feline vocals that I loved in the first place.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A ZIP CONTAINING ALL TEN MP3s

Avi Buffalo MySpace
Gossip MySpace / Purchase
Jason Mraz MySpace / Purchase
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry MySpace / Purchase
Lord Cut-Glass MySpace / Purchase
Modernaire MySpace / Purchase
Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens MySpace / Purchase
Regina Spektor MySpace / Purchase
Robert Pollard MySpace / Purchase
We Rock Like Girls Don’t MySpace / Purchase

Here’s a great live video of Jason Mraz performing ‘I’m Yours’ (His Glasto version was better but I can’t find it yet):

Also, here is the wonderful video for Regina Spektor’s ‘Laughing With’:

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News and MP3s »

“I am in mourning for your face/ The one I used to love to see/ Leaping, glowing upon the stage/ The mike eager…/ Thrusting in your fist.
I am in mourning for your face/ the shining eyes/ the happy teeth/ the look that said/ I am the world/ and aren’t you glad/ Not to mention deeply in luck…
Oh, my pretty little brother. Genius. Child. Sing to us. Dance./ Rest in Peace.”
taken from ‘Natural Star‘ by Alice Walker

Questlove – “I think its time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. –that is the MJ i will forever remember.”
Quincy Jones: “I’ve lost my little brother today, and my soul has gone with him.”

Read:
BBC News – Obituary
Guardian: the child star haunted by fame and scandel / the natural successor to Elvis
Lisa Marie Presley says Michael worried he’d die like her dad – “I’m afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did“
Paul Gambaccini looks back on Jackson’s life
A tribute to my friend, Michael Jackson by Deepak Chopra
The Secret behind the Moonwalker lean dance move (its all in the shoes)
How Perez Hilton reported the news – “either he’s lying or making himself sick… he’s pulled this stunt before”

Listen:
BBC 1Xtra – 30 minute documentary looking at Michael’s life, from the early years up till now. (Click to listen)
Jackson 5 – “Its Great To Be Here” (MP3)
Michael Jackson – “I Can’t Help It (tangoterje mix)” (MP3)
Shinehead – “Billie Jean” (MP3)
Justin Timberlake – “Cry Me A River” (MP3)

Listen below to Warning! Heat Ray! covering “Beat It” in 6/8, then read Ash’s thoughts on MJ “Fuck Cynicism, This Is Tragic”

The Game feat. Diddy, Chris Brown, Polo, Mario Winans Boyz II Men – “Better On The Other Side (MJ Tribute)” (MP3)

Video of Dwele covering Human Nature as a tribute to MJ (Lovely stuff)

Look:
Some beautiful pictures of MJ
BBC Audio Visual slideshow – MJ in his own words

Watch:
Newsnight Special on MJ’s death / Newsnight Review discuss MJ
Michael getting all geeky and admiring a film crews HD cameras…oh the Panasonic one is cool. (Nice vid)
Roberta Flack & Michael Jackson in 70’s kid film – He likes what he looks like, and doesnt have to change at all

The Making of Thriller (45 Minutes) (You.ju)

Fred Astaire stars in MJ’s Smooth Criminal – Video showing Astaire’s influence on MJ

The Origins of The Moonwalk

Louis, Martin & Michael – Louis Theroux documentary – trying to interview Michael Jackson (BBC)

James Brown, Michael Jackson & Prince (Google Video)

Michael Jackson – “Man In The Mirror”

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Featured, Live music »

Almost 10 years after they last performed as a four piece Blur announced their first two tiny reunion gigs via an unheralded email sent out to anyone subscribed to their mailing list. Inevitably they sold out in minutes, leaving many fans disappointed that getting ticket owed more to luck than dedication (personally I didn’t even know I was on the Blur mailing list!)

Since then more “secret” gigs have come and gone, with Rough Trade Records, Brixton Academy and Southend squeezed in between the original nostalgic double header of The East Anglian Railway Museum where they made their debut in 1988, and this show in the Student Union of Coxon, James, and Albarn’s old college, Goldsmiths.

And so at 7pm a queue snaked into Goldsmith’s Tienanmen building (the Winnie Mandela block was double booked) as a couple of hundred lucky people eagerly held out their arms for the blue plastic Blur wrist bands.  Inside the bar was five deep and by half past the beer taps were dry, leaving the NME’s reviewer to report that “many were forced to drink bottled cider or spirits“.  Quite how 200 thirty-something Blur fans out-drunk the student unions regular clientele remains unanswered?
According to the press a smattering of celebs were also in attendance including Jude Law, David Walliams melting in a suit, and Emma Watson moshing.  More impressively, the not remotely famous but very talented Pictish Trail was not only in the crowd, but after the gig caught two trains and two buses to take him back to Anstruther, Scotland by daybreak.  Now thats dedication! Check out his myspace here.

Even as someone who only “quite likes” Blur, the buzz of anticipation as 8pm approached was electrifying.  If asked I’d have denied taking Oasis’s side in the great BritPop war of 95, I’d have glossed over posting a track on this blog called “Damon Albarn is a pompous c**t” and I certainly wouldnt have mentioned that it was impossible for this gig to better the night at the Elephant & Castle Coronet when Oasis came on to the strains of “Youll Never Walk Alone” directly after Liverpool won their 5th European Cup.  My attitude to Blur has always been coloured by my terrible class chip, so while I made and enjoyed a Blur compilation, its title was “Mockney – The best of Blur“.  What I could never deny though was just how bloody talented Albarn is, not to mention having seen him with The Good, The Bad & The Queen what a great frontman he is. Not to mention his jaw droppingly good record label and shop! I still agree with that song title though.

Alex James has talked about how reforming felt “a bit like putting the Blues Brothers back together.  We had to break Rowntree out of law school and I’m smelling cheese somewhere in Oxfordshire“.  As they arrive to predictable hysteria its clear the years have been kind both musically and physically.  Albarn bounces on his toes like a boxer ready for the fight, his face pretty much as it always was, Coxon seemingly improved by age, and James who’s clearly cut back on the cheese for the reunion spent much of the night coolly posing on top of his monitor.

“I remember this place being kind of cavernous, and running around like an excited kid when there was music on.
It seems a lot smaller now.” (Youtube)

So said Damon after starting with a storming version of “She’s So High“, the first track from their first album.  Gazing out in disbelief at the room described by The FT as “a dark, foetid place that resembled the hold of a particularly dismal passenger ship“ he looked genuinely shocked to be there.  Barely a second passed however between finishing his sentence and the band setting off the first pogoing session of the night with “Girls & Boys” unmistakable opening refrain.

SETLIST (with links to Youtube footage where available)
‘She’s So High’
‘Girls And Boys’ (Snippet)
‘Tracy Jacks’ (Youtube)
‘There’s No Other Way’ (Youtube)
‘Jubilee’
‘Bad Head’
‘Beetlebum’ (Youtube / YouTube2 / Youtube start)
‘Out Of Time’
‘Trimm Trabb’
‘Coffee And TV’ (Youtube / Brief clip good quality
‘Tender’ – (YouTube / YouTube2 / YT3 Brief clip but great quality)
‘Country House’ (YouTube / YT2 Brief good quality)
‘Oily Water’ (Youtube)
‘Chemical World’
‘Sunday Sunday’
‘Parklife’
‘End Of A Century’ (Youtube)
‘To The End’ (Youtube)
‘This Is A Low’ (Youtube)
ENCORE:
‘Popscene’
‘Advert’
‘Song 2′ (Youtube – 1 min in)
‘For Tomorrow’ (Youtube)
‘The Universal’ – (Youtube)

Other vids: Damon Crowd surfing / Damon talking about size of venue

“Tracy Jacks“, “Jubilee” and “Bad Head” followed from their commercial highpoint “Parklife“, sandwiched around “Theres No Other Way“, a tune which always has me thinking “oh I thought that was the Charlatans/Inspiral Carpets (insert various “baggy” bands)..?“  After “Tracy Jacks” Albarn beaming from ear to ear warned the over excited mass that they “should probably pace yourselves ’cos there’s a long way to go”.  He wasnt joking… there were 24 tracks to come over the course of almost two hours.

Its probably heresy to say it but I always preferred their later work, the sound of Blur imploding, of creative tensions, emotional breakups, and the influence of Albarn’s love for other cultures. “Beetlebum” with its twin inspirations of Heroin and the Fab Four was immense, while “Tender” featured the crowd and Damon singing acapella.
“Out Of Time“, the bands first single without Graham Coxon is especially beautiful, although to Coxon’s credit he more than compensated for the missing Morrocan orchestra by adding his own subtle “shivering arcs of feedback”.  Alburn meanwhile plucked out the solo on a small acoustic guitar.  Absolutely beautiful! Had they segued into “No Distance Left To Run“, the heartbreaking tale of Damon’s split with Elastica’s Justin Friechmann I would have had to break for a good interval blub.

Lily Allen recently apologised for her dad splitting up the band (Graham twittered her back saying “hey! I’ m sure you’re dad didn’t do too much damage, dear! x”), but what stands out about “Country House” shorn of its “wacky” Keith Allen video is its actually a good song.  Moved by the audiences response Albarn declared the gig as “…truly what it used to be like“.

Further testing the energy reserves of the audience, a muscular “Parklife” came next setting off what the Times described as a “Proustian avalanche measured out in the finger-jabbing zeal“.  All I know is I’d headed to the bar for something to ease the unbearable heat, and upon my return the chaos set off by “Parklife” ensured most of the pint ended up down my already soaked t-shirt.  This was by far the sweatiest gig I’ve been to in years.  Initially lines of sweat marked their path down the wall and beam directly above the stage, but by “Parklife” perspiration literally dripped from the ceiling like salty rain.

“I didn’t think we’d ever do this kind of gig again” Said Albarn “I’m pleased we have, thanks for coming.“

The Telegraph summed the night up perfectly:

Over the next two weeks the reformed Blur will play to around 500,000 people at Glastonbury and in Hyde Park. So to see them in a pokey room of a few hundred people was a chance to see if the magic – musical and personal – was back.

Well, it was. This was a night of pure joy.  It was the little looks between them, the smiles, the sweat. We could see the whites of their eyes.

Blur Website
Other reviews:
The Telegraph loved it so much they reviewed it twice – here and here
The Guardian had me looking up the word crepuscular with their five star review
The NME were forced to drink bottled cider
The Times celebrates 5 stars of imperishable magnificence.
R Music sang church hymns for the britpop generation
The Mirror’s showbiz column were busy celeb spotting.. ooo Emma Watson moshing
The Financial Times gave it five stars.

Listen:
Blur – “Out Of Time” (MP3)
Blur – “Tender (Cornelius remix)” (MP3)
Blur – “To The End” (MP3) – Little Boots YouTube cover here too (not sure she understands the song)
Damon Albarn – “I Need A Gun” (MP3)

“Music Is Your Radar” – Compilation of tracks from Damon’s superb label, Honest Jon’s – Download ZIP

Visit here to download “Parkspliced” a 2004 Blur bootleg mashup album (can’t vouch for its quality though)

Look:
崚楠 took some brilliant pictures of the night on flickr

Watch:
Interview with Blur discussing the reunion
BBC Video about Blur reforming & looking ahead to Glasto performance
Blur on Rock Profiles – yes Im working class, rub a dub dub, apples and pairs, gor blimey

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TEN4SE7EN »

Ryan(StopMe): I seem to have gone mad this week and bought nine or ten albums (And a few singles). Dammit, there is just too much great music out there. Here is yet more evidence:

Alela Diane’s voice is like Joni Mitchell singing a lament from a porch on the prairie in the chill of the moonlight. The powerful strings on ‘White As Diamonds’ underline the graceful clarity of the vocals.

‘Time I Was Gone’ is as intimate and warm as the reassuring sibling’s shoulder that the lyrics describe. Antony Harding (aka Ant) is like a wonderful Swedish version of Stickboy.

Bloc Party’s last album ‘Intimacy’ was too clinical for my tastes and it never really grabbed my attention. New single ‘One More Chance’ is the polar opposite, employing a super danceable House Piano line to not only grab my attention, but to wrestle me onto the Indie dance floor.

Cosmos’ ‘Nude Metropolis’ has a trippy Prog vibe cunningly tempered with an irresistible Pop beat. Cosmos is just the latest band featuring Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices and Boston Spaceships.

The Duckworth Lewis Method is the new cricket based project from Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh. If you are a fan of The Divine Comedy and The Real Tuesday Weld (So basically if you enjoy music full stop!) then like me, you’re gonna have ‘The Age Of Revolution’ on a loop. Quite why the subject of Cricket should inspire a mix of skankin’ Hip-Hop and 20’s Jazz… I don’t know.

Major Lazer’s ‘Hold The Line’ is another of those partly annoying records that samples phone sounds, but is once again so damn good that you love it anyway. Mr. Lexx’s deep Dancehall vocals are complemented by Santigold’s backing lines.

‘Box ‘n’ Locks’ employs a timeless sample of the riff from Martha & the Muffins’ ‘Echo Beach’. Just by creating a new mix with that sample would be enough for me to certify this track as genius but then you’ve got MPHO’s superb vocals and lyrics too.

Since the sad demise of Larrikin Love, Edward Larrikin has been busy creating music under the new title The Pan I Am (I had an early demo on this site back in 2007). After much anticipation his debut release proper is a double A-side single of brilliant Indie/Electronica/Folk for fans of Patrick Wolf. My pick has to be the second cut ‘O.R.L.D’.

Thecocknbullkid’s ‘I’m Not Sorry’ is a delightful mix of Soul and Eghties Synth-Pop. Thecocknbullkid is London’s Anita Blay and her debut single ‘On My Own’ is also available.

Willie Isz is a Rap duo comprised of Jneiro Jarel and Goodie Mob’s Khujo Goodie. ‘Gawn Jet’ fuses fuzz Guitars, pounding beats, crunching Synths and fantastic rhymes.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A ZIP CONTAINING ALL TEN MP3s

Alela Diane MySpace / Purchase
Ant MySpace / Purchase
Bloc Party MySpace / Purchase
Robert Pollard MySpace / Purchase
Major Lazer MySpace / Purchase
MPHO MySpace / Purchase
The Duckworth Lewis Method MySpace / Purchase
The Pan I Am MySpace / Purchase
Thecocknbullkid MySpace / Purchase
Willie Isz MySpace / Purchase

Here is the video for Alela Diane’s ‘White As Diamonds’:

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Podcasts »

MLD Radio Podcast 10 (1hr19m) - Subscribe itunes

 

 MLD Radio Episode 10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tracklist:

Julianna Barwick – “Bode”
Efdemin – “Acid Bells”
Windmill – “Airsuit”
Ghost – “From The Beginning” – read his blog (inc new The Heavy remix)
Akira The Don – “BNP DOA”
Jamie T – “Sticks and Stones”
Get Back Guinozzi – “Police and Thieves”
Screaming Females – “Boyfriend” – blog
Holger Czukay – “Persian Love”
Father Abraham – “HIAFC” – DL FULL ALBUM or check out his latest project, one new free song every week!
Skilf – “Slow Me Down (feat Michelle Ericsson)”
DOOM – “Still dope (feat. Empress Sharhh)”
Lee Fields And The Expressions – “Ladies”
Holly Throsby – “Would You? (feat Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy)
Player Piano – “Anything At All”
Julie Feeney – “Love is a Tricky Thing”
Major Lazer – “Hold The Line (Prince Zimboo Attacks)” – Twitter
Starkey – “Miracles”
Lone Wolf – “Next September”
Hermas Zopoula – “Courons Courez”
Cobblestone Jazz – “Fiesta”
Black Meteoric Star – “World Eater”
Jeffrey Lewis & Laura Marling – “Brain Damage” (Video Eminem cover version)

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