Before my brother abandoned music and confined his musings to film alone (Take Me To Your Cinema blog) every week he would pick out 10 tracks for Music Like Dirt. He was a good musical foil, enlightening me to countless sounds I would otherwise never have noticed, but perhaps its time for another crack at more regular roundups again.
So here are 10-ish current-ish tunes rocking my world, all handily wrapped in a playlist from the new music sharing site whyd.com or a truncated (not all available) Spotify list. There may be another list along in a week or there may not…
B DOLAN – “Which Side Are you On?”
On Wednesday Dolan arrived in the UK for a Hip-Hop Tour like no other featuring a 20 piece marching band, drag acts, burlesque, bounce and vaudeville freak shows. If you’re not keen on hip-hop, or hate rap you should probably still book a ticket or two right now.
Due to a promoter screw up the first night of the tour in Glasgow was cancelled at the last-minute so Dolan did what few others would and opened the doors to the venue for free.
Which Side Are You On, confronts Hip-Hop’s all to common attitude to homosexuality full on, as highlighted by a Busta Rhymes interview featured in the video below.
“It feels like it’s time in my life for a song like this, and I believe it’s also that time in the world around us. Desmond Tutu said, “if you are neutral on situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” As a working class heterosexual white man, as a feminist, anti-racist, LGBT ally, as an emcee and an American citizen, I feel that it’s my duty to be clear about whose side I’m on“.
While I think of it if you love Hip-Hop you should definitely download the unbelievable Solid Steel “three years in the making” Beastie Boys mix. Grab it here.
WOODPECKER WOOLIAMS – “Sparrow”
Gemma Williams was an auxiliary maternity nurse and midwife before a severe illness ended that career but gave birth to another. Woodpecker Wooliams was born while recuperating in the calm of Devon, waitressing and – as you do – hiring a harp.
Learning to play the harp and sing, she originally operated in fairly folky waters but on “The Bird School Of Being Human” her new album (due September 10th) she’s moved towards a more electronic sound. “Sparrow” in particular is all kinds of wonderful.
Woodpecker Wooliams – Facebook / Twitter / Website
