“You can kill a man, but never the idea“

With its crunching guitars, blues howl and of course the booming voice of your new favourite rapper of all time, B. Dolan “King Bee” (preview video above) was an obvious first single from the eagerly awaited “House of Bee’s Vol.2” mixtape.
However after [...]]]>

“You can kill a man, but never the idea“

With its crunching guitars, blues howl and of course the booming voice of your new favourite rapper of all time, B. Dolan “King Bee” (preview video above) was an obvious first single from the eagerly awaited “House of Bee’s Vol.2” mixtape.
However after the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch Dolan ripped up the plan and instead went with what felt right.

“Still Here” was originally written as an ode to his father who passed away after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010.  So as a mark of respect for Yauch and of course his father Dolan decided to leak a song that’s truly fit to honour his passing and the moment.

I have to say I’ve only met B Dolan once but the generosity of spirit he showed turning up as a surprise guest at some random bloggers (me) charity gig, then getting a train back to Reading from deepest North London at ridiculous o’clock having stayed till the bitter end seems to me to be a mark of the man. If you couple that with the sheer jaw dropping quality of the music he’s releasing right now, and with each new tune seemingly raising the bar higher still, you can’t help but think his dad must have been a very proud man!

The work of his producer Buddy Peace on “Still Here” is key too. I’ve absolutely no idea what the looping bag pipe sounding refrain actually is but good god its addictive…I’ve listened to this a dozen times on repeat since downloading it.

What’s more its available for FREE so download it by clicking on the little cloud in the bottom right of the player below, and spread the word if you can.

Here’s what B. Dolan has to say about “Still Here” :

“In 2010 my father was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of lung cancer and died within the span of 8 months. All of this happened at the same time SFR released ‘FALLEN HOUSE, SUNKEN CITY’, and I embarked on the most ambitious touring schedule of my career.

Needless to say, that year was devastating in every way. For the first time since age 12, I found myself questioning what I do and considered walking away from it. I’ve always taken pride in the ‘dues paid’ for my art, but in the face of a loss that great, everything can suddenly seem too awful, too futile, and too difficult to continue doing.

The beat used for “Still Here” was literally one of the most important parts of finally pulling myself out of that tailspin… Something about those bagpipes or whatever that sound is that Buddy sampled. I remember listening to it for the first time and feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up. ‘They haven’t killed me yet.’ is the thought I immediately had when the beat dropped, and everything followed from there.”

Rest in Peace to MCA and all of our dearly departed. Through the impact they’ve had on our lives and the legacy they’ve given to the world, they’re Still Here.

Physical pre-orders & package deals now on sale at:
http://tinyurl.com/HouseOfBeesVol2

Digital pre-order now on sale at:
http://tinyurl.com/HOB2Digital

http://www.Facebook.com/BDOLANSFR
http://www.twitter.com/BDOLANSFR
http://www.StrangeFamousRecords.com

BOBAFATT 60 MINUTE MCA / BEASTIE BOYS TRIBUTE MIX

There’s been a slew of tribute posts and mixes but I’d add BobaFatt’s 60 minute mix comprised of a variety of noises that NYC’s Beastie Boys released over the past 30 or so years to the list of absolutely essential listens.

“It feels good to play a little music / Tears running down my face ’cause I love to do it”
Adam Yauch – “Root Down”

Beastie Boys – “I Don’t Know”

Adam Yauch who lost his three year battle with Salivary Gland cancer on Friday (4th May) certainly [...]]]>

“It feels good to play a little music / Tears running down my face ’cause I love to do it”
Adam Yauch – “Root Down”

Beastie Boys – “I Don’t Know”

Adam Yauch who lost his three year battle with Salivary Gland cancer on Friday (4th May) certainly crammed a lot into an all too short 47 years. A Buddhist, Tibet freedom campaigner and concert organiser, film distributor, director, magazine and label owner but above all, the irrepressible MCA, one third of one of the all-time Hip-Hop groups, The Beastie Boys.
Only a couple of weeks ago The Beasties were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. Yauch was too ill to attend but sent a letter dedicating the honour to his fellow B-Boys, “who have walked the globe with me“. Ad-Rock and Mike D in turn paid tribute to Yauch, “It was to MCA’s parents’ house in Brooklyn where I remember I would go every day after school to make a damn god awful racket”
The pair declined to perform without their friend and who knows if they ever will again?

BEASTIE BOYS – “INTERGALACTIC (PSYCHEDELIC SINGH REMIX)” – Thanks to Amarik for posting this for me!

Rewinding a quarter of a century and 40 or so million record sales, The Beastie Boys first burst into my consciousness in a flurry of tabloid outrage. The Sun led a campaign to stop the heinous and in their eyes violent trio getting visa’s to enter the UK (although as The Beasties & Run DMC complain in the video below the claims were overblown). Once here, a 20-foot, motorized inflatable penis, and go-go dancers in cages caused a bit of a fuss, and headlines ranging from throwing bottles at their audience to abusing disabled children accompanied their every turn. The youth of the nation responded by gleefully ripping the badges off VW cars in their honour.

Beastie Boys – “Rock Hard” (1985)

The craze even reached the wilds of Carlisle where a 15-year-old me wasn’t quite brave enough to strip cars of their insignia, but Foggy, my mate up the road, built up quite a bounty of shiny VW’s, despite preferring Stock Aitken & Waterman. To my dad’s horror the family Morris Minor was stripped of its badge – thieved presumably by a confused Morris Minor & The Majors fan – while in a bid to halt the mini crime epidemic VW desperately offered to send a badge to any kid who wrote and asked.

Tim Westwood who back then was a Pirate Radio DJ fervently plugging Hip-hop as he still does to a wider audience today posted this fantastic video from the 1986 “Raising Hell” tour. The Beastie Boys along with LL Cool J perform amidst utter chaos, ending with MCA flinging himself head first into the crowd.
It’s also easy to forget just how terrified parents were of The Beasties back then. The episode of Oprah below gives a hint and is worth watching anyway for the simple pleasure of hearing Tipper Gore say “20 foot inflatable penis“.

“In those days hip-hop was truly from the streets and everyone rapping was black and then all of a sudden these 3 punk rock white kids appeared..” Chuck D speaking at Video Vangard Award (Youtube)

PE's very 1st show Passaic Theater backstage License To Ill Tour April 1 1987

Chuck D: “Last night, I took a 14 hour flight to Sydney, Australia from LA, embarking on PE’s 80th tour in 25 years. I just landed to 65 texts with the news. Adam and the Boys put us on our first tour 25 years and 79 tours ago. They were essential to our beginning, middle and today. Adam especially was unbelievable in our support from then ’til now, even allowing me to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I consider myself a strong man and my father says be prepared to lose many in your post-50 path of life. Still, I’m a bit teary-eyed leaving this plane. R.I.P. Adam aka MCA.”

Fab Freddy interviewed The Beasties on Yo! MTV Raps remembers Adam trying to set him up with Drew Barrymore
“I remember when I was at this restaurant and it was a bunch of us hanging out. Then I got a drink from this young lady. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was Drew Barrymore. So I’m sitting there trying to see this lady who sent me the drink, so when I went over there to see what’s up. I was like, ‘Thanks for the drink’ and she said, ‘I didn’t send you a drink, you sent me a drink,’ and I look over and see this guy laughing hysterically and it’s Adam. It’s moments like that that I will miss most.”

Beastie Boys on Joan Rivers show

Beasties, Lee Roth & Penn

Public Enemy may have got their first live break supporting The Beasties but by 1989 they were in their pomp and destroying all comers while a day-glo De La Soul had the student halls sewn up. The Beastie Boy’s meanwhile had been written off as a flash in the pan novelty and had split with their label Def Jam and producer Rick Rubin.
What they did next surprised everyone, or at least it would’ve if anyone had been paying attention. With The Dust Brothers producing, The Beasties created “Paul’s Boutique” an ahead of its time soup that melded three Beatles tunes, Chic and Bernard Herrmann among a myriad of samples. Despite or perhaps because of its innovative sound, it was such a commercial flop that their new label Capitol gave up promoting it shortly after its release.

Lyrically it was a half way house between the early and later Beasties, combining hilarious lines like “Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair
So I can climb up and get into your underwear” with the Sly Stone sampling “Shadrach” which refers to the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Shadrach also had an ace music video courtesy of Klasky Csupo, who’d just produced a bunch of teaser cartoons called The Simpsons for the Tracey Ullman show.

Paul’s Boutique release party 1989

By Check Your Head (1992) and Ill Communication (1994) the boys had travelled a long way from the days of being chastised by LL Cool J for their lewd behaviour (youtube) or of Yauch telling Playboy that Southern girls were renowned for their dick sucking abilities. On the opening track “Sure Shot” Yauch delivers what could be construed as an apology for earlier misdemeanour’s.

“I want to say a little something that’s long overdue/ The disrespect to women has got to be through/ To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends/ I want to offer my love and respect to the end.”

In ‘92 I finally had enough money to buy some turntables and I’d while away hours scratching up two copies of the Frozen Metal Head EP. The B Side Original Original version featured Yauch in a cutting frenzy on the Technics, and allowed even a terminally hopeless DJ like myself to sound like a genius.

Beastie Boys – “Jimmy James (Original Original Version)“

There’s a bootleg album “Double Check Your Head” that overlays The Beasties with all the tracks sampled on Check Your Head.
Download – Double Check Your Head LP

Of course Ill Communication also contained Sabotage, better known for possibly the greatest music video ever. When it lost to REM’s Everybody Hurts at the video awards Yauch dressed as Nathan Hornblower predated Kanye West’s strop, getting on stage to protest at director Spike Jonze missing out on an award. Danny Boyle was apparently such a fan he based the opening of Trainspotting on it, although that may be an urban myth..

You can download an audio commentary of The Beasties talking about each track on Ill Communication from their website for free.

Grand Royal, The Beasties fabulous but short lived magazine. The poster with dozens of turntables on it was on my wall for about 10 years.

Yauch converted to Buddhism in ’94 (article) and co-foundered the Milarepa Fund, which presented the Tibetan Freedom Concert series.

After the attacks of September 11th, The Beastie Boys not only headlined a benefit concert “New Yorkers Against Violence” but penned the perfect love letter to their home “Open Letter To NYC”. It’s also a celebration of the racial diversity and immigration that makes NYC, and indeed cities like London what they are. On hearing of Yauch’s passing the NY Mets paid tribute by playing a Beastie’s track each time they walked to the plate.

Beastie Boys – “Open Letter To NYC”

In the 2003 outraged by the Bush administration’s 9/11 fuelled war on Iraq they released “In a World Gone Mad,” as a free download in protest with MCA rhyming, “In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right / So much violence hate and spite /Murder going on all day and night / Due time we fight the non-violent fight.”

To The 5 Borough’s contains 3 tracks directly attacking Bush, as well as tackling issues like gun control, with Yauch addressing Bush’s post 9/11 acts in an interview with the Toronto Sun “I already thought he was jackass but that definitely took it to a whole other level, the things he’s done since then”. 2004’s B-side “This Government Needs A Tune Up” continued the theme.

YAUNCH – THE FILM MAKER

Often going under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch was a film lover and film maker, founding Oscilloscope films, distributing films along with producing over 50 titles including Banksy’s documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop”.
He directed The Beasties “Awesome; I F–kin’ Shot That!” concert film as well as the 30 minute “Fight For Your Right (Revisited)” parody featuring a roll call of celeb guest appearances, like Will Farrell.

Adam picks his favourite 10 films for Criterion.

Beastie Boys – “Breezeblock Mix on BBC Radio1” (MP3)

The samplers become the sampled with many an artist plundering The Beastie Boys back catalogue for sounds. MCA told Wired magazine how the Beastie’s approached sampling and his view on others pilfering from them:.

“It’s totally context. And it depends on how much of our song they’re using and how much of a part it plays in their song,” he said. “We might take a tiny little insignificant sound from a record and then slow it way down and put it deep in the mix with, like, 30 other sounds on top of it. It’s not even a recognizable sample at that point. Which is a lot different than taking a huge, obvious piece from some hit song that everyone knows and saying whatever you want to on top of that loop.”
The Pharcyde brilliantly nicked the phrase “mmmm drop” from Ill Communications “The New Style” – Incredible video too by Spike Jonze (who also produced Sabotage for the Beasties)

The Pharcyde – “Drop”

Kathala 72 Vs The Beastie Boys

The Beasties last performed live together in 2009 at Bonnaroo, closing with Sabotage, and then cancelling their headline set at Lollapalooza to allow Adam to have treatment.

Yanch is survived by his daughter and wife Dechen Wangdu, who he met at a speech by the Dalai Lama.  When they married in 1998 Yauch sprung a wedding surprise by asking Dechen’s favourite band, Rancid to play.

“I think every person has the ability to effect change. I think we’re often led to believe that it’s just celebrities have some ability to effect change but I think that what’s important for us to realise is that everyone of us affects the world constantly through our actions, through our every smallest action, through our every thought, our every word, the way that we interact with other people we’re constantly affecting the world”
Adam Yauch

MORE TO READ:
Adam “MCA” Yauch: Rest In Peace – Former Def Jam director of publicity Bill Adler eulogises Adam Yauch, remembering how he evolved from angry young man to agent of peace. – Complex
MCA (What Does It Mean?) – Questlove and Respect To The End – The Roots’ ?uestlove shares some Beastie memories. – Okay Player

At the Queen Elizabeth Hall there’s a loud clanking gear shift crowd wise, as the heavy coats and grey hair of a Beethoven Cello Sonata audience push [...]]]> The joys of spring. Its been pelting with rain for 36 hours straight and The Southbank Centre, London’s concrete edifice to art is looking fairly bleak.

At the Queen Elizabeth Hall there’s a loud clanking gear shift crowd wise, as the heavy coats and grey hair of a Beethoven Cello Sonata audience push up their umbrellas and scurry into the rain, an assortment of hairstyles and slightly hipper folk arrive for the launch of the Kwesachu 2 mixtape. The first 200 punters snaffle an upfront cassette of the mix to treasure, and quizzically ponder if they know anyone that still owns a tape deck (they could of course download it here).

Charming is the word I’d use to describe Kwes, declaring himself “chuffed” that people have braved the monsoon weather to come down. He’s said he doesn’t savour being the centre of attention but his music ensures he will be. In the last year he’s produced Speech Debelle’s new LP, worked with Damon Albarn in Africa, and braved the spotlight live with his solo material.

Picture by @deanbryce

Kwes clearly loves collaborating with like-minded people both on record and with one-off live events. After providing a deliciously sparse remix of The Invisible he’s now playing a one-off joint show with them and of course tonight marks the 2nd chapter of his 2009 collaboration with Micachu, “Kwesachu“.

Watching the video (below) about the recording of “Kwesachu 2” what comes across is the mutual admiration that Kwes and Micachu have for each other. It’s also a chance to rope in a load of talented friends, a steady stream of which pop on stage across the course of launch night (with the notable exception of Ghostpoet who’d just got off a plane and didn’t quite make it).

Kwes & Mica are joined by the phenomenal drummer Kwake Bass and Shabaka Hutchings who adds another layer to the sound with some incredible sax work. Kwake Bass and Mica have previously teamed up to create another mixtape last year (download).

At 7pm Speech Debelle was tweeting that she needed to learn her verse but by the time she joined Del for a Big Dada double-header on “Plastic Coins” she’s flawless. A fleeting appearance and a reminder that I really need to see her full live show.

Dels is the mainstay of the evening featuring on three tracks, including the excellent “Bird Milk“. He deadpans the line “Some say I’m just anxious, but I just think I need to eat cheese less” while Bella Wilde brings a touch of glam to the night rocking a pair of zippy PVC trousers and heels while delivering the song’s chorus.

Micachu herself takes main vocal duties on “Awol/Amen” which recalls the poppy accented swagger of Jamie T at his best (and I honestly don’t mean that as an insult). Kwes’s production skills are equally adept to this pop gem as they are to the much harder electronic rap featured elsewhere.

Picture by @emmettcruddas

It’s the unassuming Tirzah who steals the show, wandering on as if she’d got the call while she was on the sofa watching The Voice. Previously she’s appeared with Micachu on “Go” which has a slightly batty video featuring Tirzah’s head nodding like the Churchill dog. That gave no hint of her voice, she holds the mic almost apologetically away from her mouth and looks as if she’s barely uttering words, but out floating over Kwes’s rumbling backing comes this divine voice.

Micachu + Kwes = Kwesachu = one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a long time. Heart/head/feet thoroughly moved. Ta @M_A_T_H_E_S @kwes xx

— Mara Carlyle (@MaraCarlyle) April 29, 2012

Aaahhhh WOW.@M_A_T_H_E_Swere AWESOME. Great set from Micachu and the Shapes. Awesome Kwesachu night.
— Hannah Dilkes (@HannahDilkes) April 28, 2012

Apparently Viv Albertine of The Slits was there and she was equally glowing:

Micachu wonderful Great songs, melodies, structure, lyrics, guitar playing, voice, drummer, keyboards Can’t praise enough Check her out

— Viv Albertine (@viv_albertine) April 29, 2012

The mixtape itself contains a version of “LGOYH” from Kwes’s Meantime EP. Who else but Kwes could so sweetly sing “I mean it when I say you’re beautiful” and “worthwhile love is a handful“?

The unenviable task of following Kwesachu fell to Conscious MC, who was also hamstrung by the sound system failing mid-way through his set.  With the help of drummer Kwake who gamely declared “let’s go acoustic” and the ever adaptable Shabaka on sax he rose to the occasion until the scrambling techie got it all working again. A guest appearance from Sound Of Rum’s Kate Tempest is always a good trick to have up your sleeve, and when she wasnt on stage she was hollering support from the front row.

Listen:
Download Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.2 here

Download Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.1 on Bokkle website
The Invisible – Kwes Rework from RCDLBL

Kwesachu Mixtape Vol 2 – Tracklist:
‘HCHMWBIA’ – ft. Ghostpoet/Grant Armour of CLOUT!
‘DJ Set’ – Micachu & Kwes.
‘Beast’ – Raisa.K ft. Evian Cafun
‘Awol – Amen’ (Micachu & Pete Wareham)
‘Plastic Coins’ – ft. Speech Debelle/DELS
‘(Ripped) Blossomshoes (excerpt)’ – w. CLOUT!
‘Visual Mind Control’ – ft. Speech Debelle
‘Bird Milk’ – ft. DELS/Bella Wilde
‘So What’ – ft. Bang On! & Scott
‘Nothing’ – ft. Tirzah
‘Glub (excerpt)’ – Dorovio Bold
‘Papertigers’ – Action Pyramid
‘LGOYH (alt)’ – ft. Dels/Kwes./Elan Tamara/Hebe Jones/Evian Cafun/David Okumu of The ‘Invisible’
’7-5 (Change)’ – ft. Coby/Grant Armour of CLOUT!/Elan Tama

—–

Awkward journeys in a lift for Kwes’s Bashful single:

Thankfully Ghostpoet [...]]]> I’d like to claim I’ve been keenly following the music of Fabiana Palladino from the second I heard her voice on Ghostpoet’s “Survive It” last year. Unfortunately though I simply loved the tune, swooned at the gorgeous vocals and then didn’t bother my arse finding out who was responsible for said voice.

Thankfully Ghostpoet places more value on the people that made his debut such a success and tweeted a link to Fabiana’s new demo late on Sunday night. And what a demo!

it’s got fretless bass on it WOAH. 80′s throwback ting

— FABIANA PALLADINO (@fabipalladino) April 22, 2012

Fretless Bass alert! As Fabiana herself put it in the tweet to the right “Young Thing” has a wonderful 80′s soul feel courtesy of the lesser spotted fretless bass. And if you’re going to feature a bass player it could be described as good fortune to have Pino Palladino as a father. Pino’s bass playing stretches back as far as Paul Young’s “No Parlez” LP, but in the 90′s he pretty much supplied the bottom end for the entire Neo Soul movement with his work on D’Angelo’s classic “Voodoo“ album along with Erykah Badu, Bilal and Common.

The bass is one thing but as any good chef will tell you it’ll count for nowt if you dont get what’s on top right and thankfully “Young Thing” is a treat. Palladino is blessed with a beautiful voice, the song is understated but reels you in and the production has more than a hint of Paisley Park.

Fabiana Palladino – Facebook / Tumblr / Twitter / Soundcloud
Listen: Download her first EP “Long Nights Of War“ for free on Bandcamp.
Embers – “Soft Rain” (Soundcloud) – a track from Fabiana’s other band

A few extra Fabiana goodies…
Ghostpoet feat Fabiana Palladino – “Survive it”

Fabiana & Ghostpoet on Jools

Fabiana doesn’t feature on this special Ghostpoet performance for Channel 4′s Random Acts series but Ill take an excuse to post it as its flippin’ brilliant.

And finally to hear some of the music Fabiana’s inspired by read her Tumblr blog – the highlight of which has to be this old Prince produced stormer from The Family. What a TUNE!!!

“Our exclusive pictures show the star had the confidence to go all the way even as a 16-year-old schoolgirl“.

The surprise for me [...]]]> Another day, another former acquaintance of a celeb flogging their old pictures to a red top. This time it’s The Sun with a front page “picture exclusive” splash of unseen Adele.

“Our exclusive pictures show the star had the confidence to go all the way even as a 16-year-old schoolgirl“.

The surprise for me was that one of the six “exclusive” shots supposedly taken by her former Brit school classmate Allan Rose was actually taken by me.
Captioned “Early hit…singing ballad Daydreamer for classmates” as if it dated back to 16-year-old Adele’s school days, in reality it’s an 18-year-old Adele in a support slot at the late lamented Luminaire venue in Kilburn, North London.

The pic in TheSun.com's most read story of that day

I’m not sure what irked me most, The Sun blatantly stealing my photo without permission or consent, concocting a fictitious story about where the picture was taken or that “Copyright The Sun – OUR LAWYERS ARE WATCHING” (their capitals) was emblazoned across the piece and my photo (not to mention an email address offering the picture for syndication).

Clearly there wasn’t much I could do about its use in print but I emailed News International requesting the photograph be removed online.

“I am contacting you regarding today’s “Adele Picture Exclusive” as trailed on your front page and featured online and in print.

My original photograph of Adele in 2006

Both articles include a picture that is in breach of my copyright, and that you do not have permission or a license in place to use.

I require The Sun to cease and desist from using the image immediately especially given that currently the image identifies itself online as copyright News International (and the end of the article states “OUR LAWYERS ARE WATCHING!” (your capitals).

The picture in question is labelled “Early hit…singing ballad for classmates”, it was in fact taken in Kilburn in front of about 8 people in 2006.

I have the original photo in RAW format, along with others taken by me on the same night and from the same angle. The image on Flickr also clearly states that “All right are reserved” and that it should not be used without permission or credit.”

To their credit, The Sun responded the next day:

“Hi Neil
The pictures were published in good faith, and as you can see the chap who talks to us in the article assured us they were his.
Whilst I wasn’t involved in this, I would be grateful if you could call me direct to resolve this matter”.

“The chap” in question is Allan Rose, an aspiring singer songwriter who’s yet to match his classmates success and who it would be east to paint as the scoundrel in this story. Selling his former friends early days for a bit of loot and publicity while assuring the trusting Sun that all the pictures were his.
On Facebook Rose gushed at how EXCITED he was waiting for a Sun photographer to take photo’s for a ‘lil story about HIM. Could anyone really be naive enough to believe the article would be about him?
I have a mental image of a weary Sun photographer going through the motions of taking Rose’s photo then deleting them as soon as the door closed and they’d got their mitts on his Adele piccies.
The lack of a follow-up post from Rose saying “I’ve been duped, this wasnt the article I expected” seems self-explanatory.
I’ve contacted Allan but even if he did assure The Sun all the photos were his, surely the responsibility for checking copyright rests with The Sun?
I emailed back:

“Is “these are my photos, honest” really the level of journalistic rigour you apply to image use? A 5 minute browse on flickr brings up both my photo and the black and white picture which I remember Adele herself using on her myspace back in the days people used it, so I doubt that picture is the chaps to sell either. In short it’s not acceptable to buy the results of a google search and slap “picture exclusive” and copyright notices all over them”.

The trouble is it’s much easier, not to mention cheaper for News International to just publish any picture they stumble across irrespective of ownership. If the owner doesn’t notice, it costs them nothing, if they do, just offer the standard amount you’d pay for a stock photograph.
It’s a case of Win Win, institutionalised thievery.

Hi Neil

Hopefully when you return you will be able to send me a full hi res version of the photo which will satisfy me that the photo is indeed your copyright. Any other pictures from the sequence to back this up would also be helpful.

I’m sorry but I am unable to accept a Flickr site with Neil365 as sufficient proof.

Flickr appears to be a site, where anybody can post photos.

Whilst I am sure it is great for showing people photographs, it is not one we use on a regular basis.

We are more accustomed to using sites like Rex, IDS, Camera Press, AP, PA, Reuters, EPA, Splash, or one similar where professional photographers tend to post their work.

The copyright notice appears at the bottom of the story and refers to the text and not the photographs.

The Sun is always happy to pay for any photographs we use.

Fortunately I had a copy of the original on my laptop so I sent that along with a link to other pictures taken the same night. I did however take issue with the slightly comical line – “Flickr appears to be a site, where anybody can post photos”

“It’s true Flickr is a site where anyone can post images, although as two out of the six exclusive pictures in The Sun Adele story originate from Flickr does that make The Sun a website “that posts anyones photos” with or without permission. Flickr has a deal with Getty images and clear copyright restrictions next to every picture.
As a newspaper that as you say is used to dealing with the big picture agencies and professional photographers I’m surprised that you have absolutely no system or interest in checking the origin and copyright of photographs you publish. As I said in my previous email I found an earlier copy of the black and white picture you’ve used in about a minute. Is some bloke assuring you the photos are his really enough of a check for a professional newspaper.

Also as a side note I’m surprised that the picture desk of a national newspaper hasn’t heard of the largest picture hosting site in the world with over 40 million users (and owned by yahoo)”.

The copyright notice wasn’t just relating to the text, and it also offered them for syndication.

If you click on my picture on The Sun website this message comes up “Copyright 2008 News Group Newspapers Ltd and/or its licensors. No use without permission. Contact enquiries@nisyndication.com“. So not only does the copyright notice refer to the picture it also offers my photograph out for syndication!
Can I reiterate for the third time, that I still require The Sun to cease and desist from using the image immediately. The image has been used without my permission or consent.

At the third time of asking the image finally came down:

I will ask for the photo to be removed as quickly as possible.

I think Flickr’s deal with Getty is only with photographers, who pre select to opt in to their service, and isn’t blanket coverage.

We have a subscription service with Getty which gives us rights to use their library images.

I would urge you to place you picture with an agency who can pay you royalties, as such an early picture of Adele would be a source of revenue for several years to come.

If you care to pass me your details I will ensure you get paid.

Despite the punning title of this piece, telling me how much revenue I could make kind of misses the point, I didn’t want the photo used. Especially not by News International, and without any consent.
I’ve not yet found out what “We’ll make sure you get paid” means but I imagine it means what they’d pay for a stock photograph if they had sought permission.
Such a large company will always feel it can get away with paying for the theft of an image with what the image would originally have cost (if it was available in the first place).
Why not try out their approach down your local retailer? Fill up your shopping basket, sneak out the door and happily quaff your ill-gotten gains. If the shop keeper happens to notice you on CCTV simply let him know he’ll be paid for the goods. Simple!

When they removed my photo online they filled the space lef t behind by doubling the size of the black and white image I’d already informed them wasn’t taken by Allan Rose either.

It took me exactly 1.3 seconds to find out the picture wasn’t his or The Sun’s copyright (using Tinyeye.com) but as no one had complained they’re not interested. I vaguely recalled the photo from Adele’s Myspace back in 2006, and sure enough after a tiny bit of digging I found an old archive with it Adele’s own Myspace, and credited to Overview.

Obviously it’s only an Adele picture, and by the scale of News International’s well publicised problems with journalistic standards it’s but a drop in the ocean. Also I’m a music blogger so lectures from me about copyright have to be taken with a slight pinch of salt.
And besides stealing photos and making up what they show can be fun!

Rupert Murdoch catches up on The Sun's latest batch of fresh voicemails

The latest reason to love Mr Common comes in the form [...]]]> Jonnie Common is a Glasgow-based sonic boom of majestic devilry forged in the pottery kiln fires of Highland Perthshire, or so says his website, and since being introduced to him via SongByToad I’ve not found any reason to dispute that description.

The latest reason to love Mr Common comes in the form of an unlikely poignant ballad about the love that exists between a boy and a T-800 Series Model cybernetic organism otherwise known as The Terminator.

“I’ll Be Back” is a tribute to the film that made Schwarzenegger’s name, and hopefully its just the kind of charming, slightly oddball gem that’ll spread the word about Jonnie Common. It’s surprising how lines “you came and you saved me from untimely death… by a razor spike through the head” get stuck in your head. So please forward the video below to friends, retweet it, facebook it…and all the that social media malarkey.

If that tickled your fancy then be sure to go directly to last years “Master Of None” album (BUY), its on Manchester’s Red Dear Club label who also put out Young British Artists “Everything In Front Of You“.
“Photosynth” (below) was No.28 in my end of year countdown, and provides the answer to the question no ones been asking “What would Kraftwerk sound like if they lived in Glasgow?”. The opening bars alone almost make up for the hours I spent fruitlessly trying to get tickets for their 8 night residency in MoMa, New York.

Jonnie Common – Facebook / Twitter / Website / Soundcloud

Red Dear Club have also posted an alternate version of another standout tune from the album “Summer Is For Going Places“. It’s a harmonica tinged pop delight that starts out quite traditionally before mutating into Jonnie’s trademark off kilter electronic-folk-pop mishmash.

Lastly, each year Jonnie compiles a Mixcloud of his favourite tracks of the previous 12 months. Last years kicks off with a brilliant take on Eric B & Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul” in the style of a sea shanty.

However as it’s the 7th year Ive engaged in this ludicrous pastime it’d be a shame to let it sit in “draft” status forever, even if it [...]]]> Like a 2011 Annual, pasted with price reduction stickers and sitting forlornly in the bargain bin, my end of year list may have slightly missed its moment.

However as it’s the 7th year Ive engaged in this ludicrous pastime it’d be a shame to let it sit in “draft” status forever, even if it is the equivelent of being given a creme egg on halloween.

Someone once said that in the obsessive effort to try and hear everything, they’d managed to lose the joy of listening to anything. As my original 1000 song shortlist expanded rather than contracted through January I almost began to feel the same.

But these are 200 songs I absolutely adored in 2011. The order is a little suspect, and listening last night to a few between 100 and 150 almost had me tearing up the whole thing and starting again.
But “Best Of’s” are supposed to be individual, arbitrary, and of course hugely self indulgent. As an ex once said of the whole concept of having a music blog “why dont you just put up a picture of you blowing yourself“.

Visit the Music Like Dirt page on Facebook and let me know what tunes Ive criminally overlooked? Theres also Twitter or the comments section of this page.

You can watch/listen to a 200 song Youtube playlist featuring most of the top 200 (and a few excellent standins), I’ll possibly look into Spotify at some point.
There’s also a ZIP featuring some tracks.

Read/Listen to numbers 51-100 and 101-200

 

1. Adele – “Someone like you”
“Sometimes it lasts in love,
But sometimes it hurts instead”

Why do I feel like I need to apologise for putting Adele at No.1? The girl didn’t so much own 2011 as have it blindfolded, tied to the bed, and begging her to do as she please. Aside from the trifling matter of almost career ending throat surgery, Adele spent the year breaking records and hoovering up awards like cat hair. She even found herself a new fella, or album number 3 as he’s otherwise known.
And yet with success comes sneering. The Guardian declared her the leader of the New Bland, sitting astride a wave of beige pop that the paper somehow failed to notice during the preceding 40 years.
In January ’11 I saw Adele perform the song at a launch gig for the 21 album at Notting Hill’s Tabernacle. I’d not heard it before but instantly felt the same as I had when hearing her perform “Daydreamer” to a handful of people back in 2006 (my favourite track of that year).

“Don’t forget me, I beg,” – You haven’t really given me the chance, have you?

Please read The Quietus’s hilariously accurate critique of the lyrics to “Someone Like You” but while the article makes me chuckle I still think theres a no nonsense raw honesty to the lyrics. Back in January, she sang it barely a few feet from me accompanied by piano, lost in the words and by the end struggling to hold back the tears. Everyone present gave a huge gulp as it finished, breath taken by the beauty of both voice and words just as the audience at The Brits were later in the year (and by extension the 100 million viewers of that performance on Youtube).
HolyMoly who were also there summed it up better than i can, “Adele feels like an opened window on the sweaty bus of popular music. There’s no artifice, no bullshit“.

Not content with the ballad of the year Adele with a little help from Jamie XX, Heatwave and assorted MC’s also provided one of THE tunes of this years Notting Hill Carnival.

Adele – “Rolling In The Heat (The Heatwave Re-Fix)”

Without doubt I have my moments of musical snobbery but sometimes you just have to admit the most popular may also actually be the best.
You see that limited edition DJ Only dub plate remix you got from a friend on an amusingly shaped USB stick, well let me break it to you softly, the woman who buys 3 CD’s a year exclusively from ASDA with her groceries, well this year her tunes were better than yours.

2. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”
“How is it that the only ones responsible for making this mess
Got their sorry asses stapled to a goddamn desk”
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There were two or three tracks on Waits latest album that could easily have occupied this slot, particularly the joyous rockabilly stomp of “Get Lost”. In the end though the sheer ferocity, anger and inventiveness of “Hell Broke Luce” wins out.
Inspired in part by the story of Iraq vet Jeff Lucey who committed suicide on his return from the Gulf. To the sound of a military march Waits barks his fury as discordant percussion crashes around him,  machine guns fire and The Stone’s Keith Richards draws thunderous riffs from his guitar.

3. Flash Bang Grenada – “In A Perfect World”
“In a perfect world tomahawks blow up in a bouquet of penises”
Facebook / Twitter (Busdriver / Nocando)

LA Hip-Hop stalwarts Busdriver & Nocando have guested on each others records – notably Busdriver’s brilliant “Least Favourite Rapper” but Flash Bang Grenada (pronounced like the explosive, not the Caribbean island paradise) is their first and hopefully not last full length collaboration.
“If it was upto me everyone in the tea-party would be able to speak Farsi”
Busdriver packs more lyrical punch in one line than some do in entire careers, and “Perfect World” doesn’t disappoint. Listen to it on repeat to appreciative every quip filled couplet. The fact that it has the fattest squelchiest beat underneath doesn’t do any harm either.

Busdriver’s also back with his own new album too:

4. Speech Debelle – “Blaze Up A Fire (feat. Roots Manuva & Realism”)
“I am not a pop star I’m a mother fucking thug”

Speech Debelle wrote “Blaze Up A Fire” months before the English riots of 2011, but in the wake of them she felt compelled to release it as a free download in advance of her 2nd album.

Speech Debelle (read full statement):
“I feel it could give insight into the hearts and minds of some of the people that have taken part in, not only the peaceful marches for Mark Duggan in Tottenham and the Smiley Culture march for justice, but also I believe it speaks of the frustration of many young people who took part in the rioting and the consequent looting over London and areas of the UK. I am not attempting to condone, I’m attempting to be a voice of understanding.

It’s without doubt that what these young people have been doing is destructive and shameful….

These young people are not aliens dropped down from outer space on Friday night, they are our children….
Only people who cannot envision a positive future will take part in the destruction of their own community and if we acknowledge that, then we to ask the question why somebody so young feels they have so little to look forward to? I cannot allow myself to dehumanise these kids and see them as my enemy“.

5. Drake – Marvin’s Room (Shlohmo’s Thru Tha Floor Remix)” / Burial – “Shell Of Light (Shlohmo Remix)”
“I’ve had sex four times this week, I’ll explain, Having a hard time adjusting to fame”

LA’s Shlohmo has been turning out remixes to die for all year. His take on R&B colossus Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” is so laid back and soporific that putting it on a loop this morning transformed the hideous sweaty tumult of a London commute into something akin to chilling out in a floatation tank. Every shove, every bead of sweat, every disgruntled rustle of newspaper was nowt when given the unlikely soundtrack of Drake’s tale of 4 times a week sex and ill-advised hook ups with ex’s.

Shlohmo himself had this to say:

“I forgot i had this drake remix lyin around. this is seriously one of my fav songs of the year, if not ever. if youre one of those people that hates on pop music because you wear a backpack or smthing then plz chill out. try and appreciate shit even if u have to forget the context sometimes. good music is good music and u don’t have to front and pretend it’s below ur intellectual level“.

His remix of Burial’s “Shell Of Light” is if anything even better. Simply gobsmacking.

“been workin on this for the past few days. i just really couldn’t stop listening to the ending of “shell of light.” shit is so beautiful. so i did this so i could listen to it more. hope u like it ::)”

6.The Soft Close-Ups – “Fireworks” / The Melting Ice Caps – “Strike In The Dark”
“I was in love for at least six hours. You didn’t seem to notice.
I must be more subtle than I know.”
Facebook / Website / Download back catalogue free

David Shah’s The Melting Ice Caps have taken up permanent residency in my yearly Best of list, and with a new album due in Spring 2012 I may as well announce there’s only room for 199 others next year too.

His side project with Aug Stone “The Soft Close-Ups” also put out a collection and set of videos of their previously released songs this year and so qualify according to the strict “Its my list and ill do what I want to” rules.

“Fireworks” is my favourite, with its beautifully sparse production leaving little but a burbling 80′s synth to accompany David’s plaintive voice.  It’s even more special when coupled with a simple but very effective video.

The Ice Caps “Strike In The Dark” was hard to pick out from the “Strike EP, given that its up against the superb “Pavlovian Boy”.
I was lucky enough to have David and his Ice Caps play at my Oxjam gig last year. “Strike” in particular whipped the crowd up in to the sort of frenzy you only really get on a Wednesday in Walthamstow (video).

7. Willie Evans Jr. – “Nerd English”
“It’s okay if you’re just workin’ 9 to 5 my boy, actin’ like you in the streets ain’t fly boy“
Twitter / Facebook / Soundcloud / Billie Lotion LP Free DL

Willie Evans Jr,  Producer, Rapper and video cut-up artist, not to mention sounding the spit of MF Doom at times.

“Nerd English” features an absolutly stonking guitar sample (what is it??) and a snarled refrain of “You Dont Have To Lie”

In the video Evans mocks wannabe thugs or gansters while playing Dungeons and Dragons, X-boxes and Comic books. References to Ben 10, Ninja Scroll, Grand Theft Auto abound and when delivering his beat version of Aloe Blacc’s “Good Times” album Evans posted this message:

“The good people over at High Water Music asked me to stop playing Tekken 6 long enough to talk about Billy Lotion. Billy Lotion is essentially the product of Sucio Smash letting me hear Aloe Blacc’s most recent album and then saying “What if you made a beat cd out of this album?””

In between making his Aloe Blacc album, regular video cut-ups (like The Beatles Strawberry Fields and the incredible live cutup video (to the left)), he’s also lining up a street fighting video game themed tour, and of course dropping his debut album. When does the guy sleep?

8. Jóhann Jóhannsson – “Freedom From Want And Fear”

9. Roots Manuva – “Wha’ Mek”

10. The Caretaker: “Camaraderie At Arms Length”

11. Akira The Don – “Nothing Lasts Forever (feat. Envy)” / Akira The Don – “Living In The Future 2 (feat Scroobius Pip, Big Nastie, Eddie Argos…)
“I used to have a soul, but it got suck out… Cheers”
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2011 was a vintage year for Hackney’s one man multimedia empire, Akira The Don. His Stephen Hague produced pop opus of a 2nd LP “The Life Equation” burst into life, he got married (and shot a video dedicated to his wife on honeymoon), and to cap it all he headlined the Music Like Dirt Oxjam night in Walthamstow (actually that last one may have been one of my highlights, not his).

“Nothing Lasts Forever” joins the pantheon of classic duet breakup songs stretching from Fred & Ginger calling the whole thing off, Streisand admonishing Diamond for a total failure to visit Interflora right upto Dusty asking Neil Tennant what she’s done to deserve this?

Akira & Envy may break up with less 80′s pop gloss and syn drums than the similarly Hague produced Dusty & Pet Shop Boys but its none the less a straight out belter of a pop song.

“Living In The Future 2” on the other hand is an hillarious ode to the future and the past. Scroobius Pip plays the caveman with non internet enabled phone while Akira declares the revolution wont be televised itll be embedded (tshirts available) and Big Nastie’s RIP’s the floppy disk. The highlight though is Eddie Argos’s absolute need for Ghostbusters 3.

12. M83 – “Midnight City” / Lupe Fiasco – “The End Of The World”
“This one dedicated to the soldiers
Throw up peace signs in the face of bulldozers”

13. Psychologist – “Comes In Waves”


14. Dennis Coffey – “I Bet You”

15. The Vaccines – “Post Break-Up Sex”

16. Lil Wayne – “6 Foot 7 Foot (feat. Cory Gunz)”

17. Dave.I.D. – “Only Me I Can Save (The Horrors’ Tom Furse Remix)”

18. Daughter – “Youth”

19. Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”

20. Gablé – “The Stone and the Wolf”

21. Mogwai – George Square Thatcher Death Party

22. Govind – Dafli Wale Dafli Baja (Friction Lab Dubplate)

23. Seryn – “Untitled”

24. Paris Suit Yourself – ‘Sometimes’

25. Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks – Senator