The record label Secretly Canadian are re-releasing jj's first album, quixotically called 'No.2'. For those that haven't heard of jj they are an elusive Swedish band that make the best dream pop around. The album is quite short but sublimely good (as is the follow up album, No.3 - in fact I think it's even better). I remember hearing the first track "Things Will Never Be The Same Again" from No.2 and falling in love with it from the outset and I still often listen to both albums back to back.
There's also a free download of a brand new track here.
They've been very quiet of late with a short European tour but they've recently collaborated with Ne-Yo for the Adult Swims album. See what you think of this.
Our Broken Garden released my album of the year for 2010. It is stupendously good and I am very excited that I came across this stream of them live in concert. I can't wait to see them live. Interestingly, there seems to be some new material here so fingers crossed we'll have a new album or EP from them soon.
...what would it be referred as? Rule by the elite is an oligarchy, rule by priests is a theocracy, rule by the mob is ochlocracy and so on. So what would rule by the musicians be?
I ask because I read that Peru's most famous singer Susana Baca has just been made Minister of Culture for her country. An inspired choice I think for she has always been an inspiration for Peru's poor especially the minority of African descent. Susan has also in her time been a teacher as well as a Grammy winner and anyone with a passing knowledge of the campaigns that Susan has put her name to will know that she will take this role very seriously indeed. She's not the only South American to take this career path. Rubens Blades is/was Panama's Minister for Tourism.
I'd like to see the pattern repeated here in the UK but I wonder who we would have. Bono is disqualified immediately using the Groucho Marx clause about barring those who seek to join. Anyway, until he puts his not inconsiderable fortune where his considerably large mouth is I will take no notice of the man. Perhaps Billy Childish as Health Secretary, Robert Wyatt as Defence Secretary, Mark E Smith as Speaker of the House of Commons, Marianne Faithful in charge of prisons. We could have all sorts of fun with this. I've always felt too that if ever we became a Republic with an elected President that the man that everyone could truly love and feel inspired by is Rolf Harris. I'm serious, I think the man has the golden touch and we all know that he's a thoroughly decent bloke.
Enough frivolity, methinks. Let's get back to Ms Baca who above all else (for the purposes of this blog) is a fantastic singer. Let's have a couple from her to see us out of this post.
A very long train journey home tonight allowed me the chance to listen to quite a bit of music on the journey. The weather was uncomfortably hot and tempers were getting frayed so I stuck to the lighter music on my iPod. A few tracks, in particular, worked a treat in keeping my mood chilled even if the sweat on my brow told another story. I'll pick 3 from tonight's not so little playlist with a tenuous connection between them: all 3 are sung by females and you'll spot the animals in the descriptions too.
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - 'Butterfly Mornings'
I've just discovered this slightly odd cover version of the Chris Isaak classic ' Wicked Game'. It's a cover from a Swiss feminist collective called Les Reines Prochaines translated as future queens in English.
As the title suggests, some music for a Sunday chill-out. 3 new(ish) downtempo dance tracks from 2011 and a classic soul song from 1964. I hope you enjoy them.
This afternoon I shall mainly be listening to this Funerals remix of 'Nimrod Glacier' by plus/minus. In fact, I'm going to have it on loop as it sounds fantastic. Amazingly, it is available for free download. They really ought to have an option to pay what you think a song is worth as I'd happily part with some money for this excellent techno remix.
I'm currently stuck on a broken down train and listening to Steve Mason's excellent "Boys Outside" album from last year. I've listened to the album quite a few times but this is the first time I've actually taken notice of the lyrics. Take this song for instance 'Let Her In' where Steve contemplates loves he will never have and children he will never have nor hold.
Can I leave you with this very moody version of Ayshay's 'Warn-U' as remixed by Nguzunguzu? It's almost like an old skool drum and bass track but without the bass (if that makes sense). I've played it back to back about 4 times now. I think I ought to go to bed!
I think I have most of Bjork's output including the splendidly kitsch album she made when she was 11 years old and so was excited to read that the Omar Souleyman remix of Crystalline from her new Biophilia album is out now, in fact I think there's 3 or 4 sets of remixes of Crystalline out there to buy. I'm tempted to go for the complete set here. I can't stretch to the $500 ultimate set but will try to get a collector's edition of this album somehow.
Music is a vital part of the ritual of the Candomblé religion and Vincent Moon's short film of Alessandra Leao leading the singing here is a wonderful primer to its sounds and rhythms.
Even if you are not a believer, you've got to appreciate the beauty they bring to their faith. Great stuff.
The news of Amy Winehouse reminded me of Liam Maher, lead singer of Flowered Up and the video he made about his own heroin addiction. I'll let the video do the talking.
I remember seeing Flowered Up back in about 1990, Liam was on top form. Boy, was that bloke a natural born star. When he died in October 2009, I played this track by Spiritualised an awful lot. I have no idea why but it just seemed to fit.
Every life is precious, even those who fuck it up so spectacularly. Rest in peace Liam and Amy.
No - I'm not making this news up. Apparently, the Primitives are recording their first new album since 1991. It's a collection of covers of obscure female fronted 60s bands. I'm hoping it's something akin to Anika's album last year.
Guitarist Paul Court posted recently: "Hopefully there'll be a new Primitives release pretty soonish, we've been in the studio recently having fun with vintage fuzz and marimba. A couple of brand new songs have been recorded. A cute little heart-melter called 'Never Kill a Secret' -- imagine the Carpenters gatecrashing the 'Banana' album, and 'Rattle My Cage' -- a fuzzified girl-pop stomper."
I, for one, cannot wait and I've managed to locate a sneaky preview of one of the songs too.
I must share this video with you before I go to bed. It's 'Young Gold' by Mechanical Bride, the nom de plume of Lauren Doss, a Brightonian who is sure to make the big time soon if her output continues to be of this quality. It's taken from her new album 'Living With Ants', available from all good record shops. The video looks like it was shot in location at least partly in Brighton and the surrounding areas. I love spotting my home town in music videos. It reminds me of why I love this town so much (and its football team). We're the hippest place in Britain and this is a very hip video by a very hip lady. (I'll stop here. Any more references to hips and I'll start with the awful puns).
There's a little game being played on Facebook at the moment where someone gives you the name of a band and you have to name a song of theirs that you love, a song you like and a song you dislike. I was given Talking Heads and have just chosen my 3 tracks. I'll repeat them below but also try to expand a bit on why I have named those.
Love: Psycho Killer. I could have been clever here and gone from an obscure album track but the truth is that sometimes a band's most popular hits are their very best. I think so with this. The bassline alone deserves a round of applause as Tina Weymouth pounds the beat, at that time looking way too small for that guitar let alone the relentless drone by which the rest of the song hangs. I love the way the band looked, back then. Bearing in mind they were CBGB darlings at this time and that the punk look was de rigeur for any rock band in 1977, they were all so preppy 30 years before Vampire Weekend re-invented the style. This is a fantastic song to sing along to. You don't even need to learn the words, it's all mapped out for you.
Like: Listening Wind. David Byrne was experimenting with world music long before this album but 'Remain In Light' released in 1980 and produced by Brian Eno was definitely a mainstream album whilst drawing heavily from African sounds especially the West African beat. They paid homage to the legendary Fela Kuti quite openly and with a lot of respect. It includes 'Once In a Lifetime' but my favourite from this album has to be the choice here. There's a slight melancholy to the music as all the best African music seems to have yet it is at the same time uplifting, inspirational even.
Dislike: Big Daddy. The band had run out of ideas by 1988 and Byrne had disappeared quite a way up his own arse by this stage so it is no surprise that "Naked" was their last album. The production had a "freeform" feel to it, a risky decision even when a band is at the top of its game and unsurprisingly it failed with this album on so many levels. The album is a self-indulgent mess and Big Daddy is perhaps the worst offence. The title is a bit crap as well.
If anyone wants to carry on playing this game then let me know in the comments below and I'll give you a band to choose your 3 songs from.
If the music doesn't seduce you then the cinematography will. Most people are familiar with the title song 'Windmills of Your Mind' from the film the Thomas Crown Affair but have a listen to Galt MacDermot's lesser known 'Coffe Cold'. It's surely as good, if not better and Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen's chess-playing take coolness to near absolute zero temperature.
