rolling stones - 'mother's little helper'

Tweet

Get her through her busy day.

sneaker pimps - 'six underground (nellee hoopers edit)'

Tweet

...and chill.

saint saviour - 'tightrope'

Tweet

I finally got round to giving this album a proper listen and it is an absolute belter. It's got to be in a lot of "Best of 2012' lists or I shall get very upset. 

marissa nadler - 'no surprises'

Tweet

Bring down the government. They don't speak for us.

leaders of the pack

Tweet

Is there a finer way to start the morning than with a few 60s girl band songs?

Betty Everett - 'Shoop Shoop Song'

The Angels - 'My Boyfriend's Back'

Twinkle - 'Terry'

controversial video corner

Tweet

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips has revealed that he would like to re-make and re-cast the controversial video of  'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' which originally starred Erykah Badu and her sister in the nude. Coyne and Badu have fallen out over it apparently but Coyne hopes that he can patch things up and also enlist Amanda Palmer (not exactly a shrinking violet herself) for a second version. Watch this space.

In the meantime here is the original. A word of warning though, it is definitely not suitable for work.

sugarcubes live in concert alabama 1988

Tweet

I spent a large part of my student grant following them around the UK leg of this particular tour and it was money well spent in my opinion. It was following the release of their sublime first album, 'Life's Too Good'. I think that along with Depeche Mode, New Order, St Etienne and possibly Portishead no other band has changed my life in such a big way as the Sugarcubes. To me they were the Captain Beefheart for my generation. They weren't just off the wall, they were away from the floor and off to some place too surreal to describe and they opened my eyes and ears for the first time to Scandinavian music and it's been a passion of mine ever since. 

Part 1

Part 2

the lunatics have taken over the asylum

Tweet

How depressingly prescient.

when saints go machine - 'mannequin'

Tweet

This is a bit of a double treat here. Firstly, the official video to the first single from the new album followed by Planningtorock's remix. 

janelle monae releases 2 new tracks

Tweet

Oh yes. The little lady with a massive talent is back in business and I for one am very happy about this. she's planning 2 separate albums due out by the end of this year and as a little teaser here are 2 that, hopefully, will feature.

 'Electric Lady'

'Dorothy Dandridge Eyes'

alt-j - 'breezeblocks (b-ju remix)'

Tweet

The more I listen to this remix, the darker it gets.

sulk station

Tweet

I'm going to sign off tonight with a quite remarkable find, they're called Sulk Station, they are a downtempo electronica/trip hop duo and they're from Bangalore. Apparently they also mix in more traditional Indian music but I can't find much evidence in this beautiful album. It's more a sultry, jazz compilation that would easily find a place at Ronnie Scott's on a Saturday night...or indeed my rented lodgings in Bristol on a Wednesday evening! Good night.

i might be wrong man but i think you're paranoid

Tweet

XStone - Paranoid (Digital Mix)

frankie valli - 'the night'

Tweet

I am very envious of my friends who are off to see Frankie Valli at the Royal Albert Hall tonight. I did have tickets but unfortunately work commitments in Bristol means that I've had to give up my ticket. I am genuinely gutted about not going as Frankie Valli is a musical legend by any definition of the word. Here he is with a great Northern Soul anthem.

gimme one edge

Tweet Tracy Chapman v Koan Sound gimme some chilled out Glitch Hop. Sometimes a tune really hits the sweet spot and perfectly echoes your mood. This is one of those moments. 

ourvinyl - top 20 of 2012

Tweet

Those good people at ourvinyl have compiled a top 20 records of 2012. There's quality throughout the entire collection, Well worth a listen in my  opinion!

elvis costello - 'watching the detectives'

Tweet

Back when the music he made was relevant and spoke to people.

daniel steinberg - 'aribaba'

Tweet

He's temporarily ditched minimal techno for a more mainstream disco/house sound. It's a lovely light tune with humour and funkiness in equal measure.

para one - lean on me (feat. teki latex)

Tweet

If you thought dream pop was the preserve of fey 80s English bands and, latterly,  of achingly cool Swedes from Gothenburg then prepare to re-assess those thoughts. Here's French band Para One with a quite exquisite little number. They've taken the genre and fused it with what sounds like a proto-UK garage sound. It works so well that you wonder why it wasn't tried before.

Postscript - Thanks to the band for getting in touch with me to let me know they are French and not Japanese as I previously reported. I'm sorry about that and happy to correct the error.

lace curtains - 'bedroom honesty'

Tweet

The album is out next month, in the meantime have a taster of what will be a massive band with a bit of luck and a lot of vinyl justice.