Required Records

Acoustic ladyland - skinny grin

2006-12-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm really crap. I totally neglect this blog. It's a shame because I think music is amazing and that good music is one of the best things in the world that you can share with other people and I like to get goddamn evangelical about the whole thing. I should put in more effort because I hear amazing music all of the time.

Which brings me to acoustic ladyland.

Acoustic Ladyland are four piece modern jazz band from London led by Pete Wareham on sax with support from genius drummer Seb Roachford among others. Their sound is a mix of jazz, hardcore punk, Napalm Death, Madness and Massive Attack. They are very good. Skinny Grin is their third album.

The album features guest vocalists on several tracks. Track4 'paris' is one of the best. It is sung by a woman whose partner appears to be trying to recreate an uncomfortable scene from 'last tango in paris' (maybe it's just my sick mind). The dynamic noise of the first trck is also great.

The band are part of the F-IRE collective and more can be found at www.acousticladyland.com

Polar bear are good too. I saw them by accident in Bath. I wrote about that on the main Drphunk blog.

happy listening

phunky

Metarie by Brendan Benson

2006-10-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

This blog has been neglected like a red-headed stepchild in recent months (b.t.w my head was bright red when I was a kid but I've never been a stepchild). That been due to poor internet access and a general lack of being arsed. However I'm now using blogger beta so my inspiration is renewed.

My musical muse today is a song by Brendan Benson. It is the second track on his 2002 Lapalco album. Another version can be found as an uncredited secret track at the end of the CD.

The song is a Teenage Fanclub style slice of gender politics about a guy who introduces himself to an attractive woman before being shot down in flames by the girl who is worried about what her friends may think.

It starts with an acoustic guitar -

met a girl,
introduced myself
asked her to go with me
and no-one else
Then female backing vocals come in
I'd really like
to see you everyday
but I'm afraid of what my friends would say
You need a bath
and your clothes are wrong
You're not my type
We wouldn't get along

Back to solo male voice

I just laughed
What else could I do
Then her friend chimed in
Get a clue
Get a life, put it in your song

Then it all kicks of in a George Martin/Beatles style climax

There's something I've been meaning to say to you

The main protagonist home is pissed off so he storms off and buys porn mags, wine and a pack of cigarettes before going home to watch TV. He fantasises about leaving town and changing his name and just generally being much more chilled out.

It's a great song - funny, well-produced with good dynamics. Should have been number one and it will appeal to any guy who's had a knock-back (believe me, I've had fucking millions)

Check it out

funky

music is alive, sometimes it grows on you - KC rules ok by King Creosote

2006-08-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Music is amazing. It's one of the best things about being alive. It's a mixture of art and science. Chord changes are like maths but they can have an emotional impact as real as a slap in the face or a hug. The same music can affect one person in different ways at different times in their life. I hated Jeff Buckley the first time I heard him and now I think he is a genius.

I didn't really like King Creosote the first time I heard him. I knew who he was. Weirdly, I had heard his old band the scooby doo orchestra (it's not spelt like that but I can't remember how it should be spelt) and liked them. I also knew that his brother was Gordon Anderson (a.k.a lone pigeon)who had been an original member of a prototype Beta Band before leaving for health reasons. I bought the album but I did not fall in love with it immediately. It was not love at first listen.

Music needs space to breathe.

I picked up the KC rules OK CD again today and this time it worked. Everything clicked into place. I'm in the right mood for it today (a sorta happy, chilled mood having just passed a stressful exam and not working too hard right now).

It's a chilled out record. Very acoustic and lo-fi with some good songs on it. Highlights include not one bit ashamed and bootprints. There is a more conservative Beta Band feel to a lot of the stuff. It's been out for a while so you might already own it.

phunkee

Lily Allen - Alright, still

2006-07-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

This is a summer-sun style cheap throw-away pop record. Lily Allen is like a female version of the Streets. A private school educated, London based, female of the Streets.

The songs are funny, bitchy and catchy. The music borrows from the Specials and the Happy
Mondays. Much better than Girls Aloud or the Spice Girls or whatever the young 'uns listen to nowadays.

funky

Recent records that were not too good

2006-07-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

I've been really lax with this blog. Partially my laziness has been because of being busy with work, etc. That has not been the only problem. At times I have lacked inspiration. A few dull albums have been released that I hoped would be good.

Time to quickly name and shame.

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium - Nearly 3 hours of boredom. There is probably a good 40 minute album in there somewhere but nobody I know can be bothered to find it. I'm not sure that i have ever managed to sit through the entire thing. It's a monster. I thought this album would be good cos Rick Rubin has worked with them in the past to good effect (bloodsugarsexmagic) but it just didn't happen. Avoid at all cost. Just listen to bloodsugar.... and californication as you cry in the corner of your room.

2. The Raconteurs - Broken boy soldiers. Good single. Good pedigree. High hopes (this album was hailed as the 'next nevermind' for a year before it came out). Dull album. Next!

3. Muse - Black holes & revelations. Stick your queen records up your arse! I only like some of their stuff a bit but not this. It just annoys me in an existential way.

4. Primal Scream - Riot city blues. Not really that crap but just not amazing. They wrote Screamadelica. And Vanishing Point. I've seen them 8 times. They can do better than this. C'mon.

Life is not all despair. I have heard some great records recently. These include;

The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional
TV on the Radio - Return to cookie mountain
The Smiths - strangeways here we come
Fatboy Slim - hits comp
Johnny Cash - American V
The Verve - Northern Soul (for nostalgic reasons - holds up)
Nuggets - classic '60s psychadelic punk comp

Check them out

I might write about some of them if I remember

Funky

TV on the radio - desperate youth, bloodthirsty babes

2006-04-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.hotfreelayouts.com/music.php

This album is great. I picked it up a couple of years back. Just added it to my ipod tonight. the second song on it can be heard at my myspace profile (www.myspace.com/dr_phunk) It's a mix between barbershop quartet style vocals and indie noise. A bit like my bloody valentine at times and in some ways totally unique. It's an album that can always make me smile.

Opening track the Wrong Way is amazing as is Staring at the sun and dreams. This album will take you to different places. lie back and stare at the sky.......

brilliant

phunky

More classic album covers

2006-04-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!

Classic album covers

2006-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!

The flaming lips - at war with the mystics

2006-04-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

The flaming lips have been going since 1983. They started off as a drug addled psychadelic punk band in ohio. They were influenced by the Butthole Surfers and quickly made a name for themselves with their high impact live shows. Their initial records were not very good.

Over the years they got better. The line-up changed many times with only two constant members. Luckily singer Wayne Coyne is a very determined man and kept the band going. They started to produce great songs (like 'can't exist' on oh my gawd....), they great albums, hit singles (she don't use jelly) before a series of classic albums including the soft bulliten and yoshimi battles the pink robots. The live shows continue to be spectacular.

Now we have 'At war with the mystics'. The same but different. I have heard this album described as prog rock but that doesn't fully cover it. Opening song 'the yeah yeah yeah song' is great. It's an attack on george bush (like every second american song seems to be now) with lyrics like 'if you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch would you do it?' before a computerised muppet voice sings 'yeah yeah yeah'. It also has the pay off 'if you could make your own money and give it to the masses would you do it?' followed by 'no no no no'. Basically this is a song about how power corrupts and geroge bush is extemely powerful.

Free Radicals and The W.A.N.D continue this political commentary. Past lips records have been more about human relationships, feelings and big questions but this album is about NOW! as seen through the eyes of Wayne Coyne.

A good album. A unique sound. You should hear it.

phunky

1001 albums you must hear before you die

2006-03-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

1001 albums you must hear before you die is coffee table book that might have been written for me personally. I have spent most of the past few months fondly looking at a copy in a local bookshop. Last week I had to buy a crate-load of books for my next professional exam from amazon and I noticed that it was half price. I bit the bullet and bought it. It's great.

Of the 1001 albums listed I own around 312 (I counted - I am a sad bastard) and I have heard several more. Most of the choices are pretty sound. Each album is reviewed with some biographical information about the band/artist involved.

It does pretty well on rock, jazz, punk and hip-hop although I thought the reggae section was a bit week (no toots, no max romeo, no lee perry). I would argue about some minor points (eg Husker Du - why warehouse.... and not zen arcade) but all in I think this is a tasteful and intelligent guide to modern music. The last entried include the MIA album and the last white stripes record.

If you are a music geek like me, you will love it.

Da funk

Nick Cave is rather good.

2006-03-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a friend (well, boyfriend of a friend, same thing) about Nick Cave at the weekend. He was telling me that he could never like someone who doesn't like Nick Cave. I don't really go for that degree of musical facism now. A few years back I realised that I wasn't going to meet many girls who really loved the dead kennedys so musical facism went out the window. However, I know where he is coming from.

Nick Cave is rather good.

I think the first time that I heard Nick Cave was on a peel sessions cassette that came free with vox magazine. It featured 'Big-Jesus-Trash-Can' by The Birthday Party, his first internationally successful band. In Australia he had been a member of Boys Next Door but they weren't great. I liked Big-Jesus-Trash-Can because it reminded me of the Jesus Lizard who really floated my boat back then. I kept my ears open for more Birthday Party stuff.

I eventually got The Birthday Party 'hits' cassette on 4AD. Again it kicked ass, with tracks like 'nick the stripper' and 'release the bats' standing out in my memory. At that time I didn't really connect Nick Cave with The Birthday Party. To me, the Birthday Party were a mutant punk band while Nick Cave was, as far as I knew, an old goth.

I really started to like Nick Cave when I saw him play some tracks from the murder ballads album on Later with Jools Holland on BBC2. I think they played 'Stagger lee', 'Curse of Millhaven' and something else. I had videotaped the show and I watched it several times. I don't know if it was the intensity of the performance or the gleeful use of the word 'motherfucker' in 'stagger lee' but my schoolboy heart was pierced by Cupids arrow.

As I was a schoolboy I didn't have much money so I borrowed the CD from the local library and made a cassette copy of it. I listened to it many times. It was good.

Over the next few years I picked up a few more of his records. 'Kicking against the pricks', 'live seeds' and the inevitable 'best of' CD. All of them were rather good.

I saw Cave live for the first time at a solo show in Edinburgh in August 1998. It was him, a piano, a violinist and book readings. He played 'into my arms' which was amazing and 'love letter' which he had just written was memorable.

'The boatmans call' was a great album but the next couple of records weren't so good. I feared that Cave had lost his touch. Luckily, I was wrong.

Abbatoir blues/the lyre of orpheus was a startling return to form. It might even be his best work. Line-up changes resulted in an amazing new energy. Songs like 'get ready for love', 'there she goes, my beautiful world' and 'nature boy' just make me smile. I like smiling. It's good.

I saw Cave and the Bad Seeds Live at the Glasgow Academy in November 2004 and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Members of a London Gospel Choir provided backing vocals. The stage was filled with scary old goths. The music was loud. Red right hand was amazing.

I haven't seen the propostion yet and I haven't got round to reading 'and the ass saw the angel' but I hope i do.

Required records
1 - Abbatoir blues/the lyre of orpheus
2 - Murder ballads
3 - Let love in

Required records for Jesus Lizard fans
1 - The Birthday Party - hits

check 'em out. I could still like someone who didn't like Nick Cave. I could even love them but I would probably really annoy them by listening to his records loud. Then they would leave me. That's a nice negative thought to end on. ;-)

funky

Giant drag - hearts and unicorns

2006-03-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

I guess this record is derivative but it rips off records that I like. It's a dreamy mix of Loveless by My bloody valentine with the Breeders seductive vocals. It's loud and unfocused.

Giant drag are a duo, Annie Hardy and Micah Calabrese. Hardy was initially a singer/songwriter sort-of girl before being introdued to micah by her mum (according to the interview I read anyway). They got together and made some music. Find out more at www.giantdrag.com

Anyway, the album is good. It has a cover of wicked game by Chris Isaak. I like it. Check it oot.

Funkls

The 3rd album by the Velvet Underground

2006-02-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

Most people say that the Velvet Underground were a great band. I agree with most people. The velvets were amazing. It is possible to argue that they were better than the Beatles. Difficult, but possible. They created at least two truly great albums. The first album, The velvet underground and Nico is the popular classic. The Andy Warhol bannana cover is iconic and the music is everywhere. Songs live Heroin, Venus in Furs and I'm waiting for the man are an integral part of rock music history. But these songs do not tell the whole story of the band. The third album is, in my opinion, another classic.

The third album is untitled. The cover is a simple black and white photograph of a very young, very normal looking band. The decadance of the first two albums is not apparent. Can these fresh-faced young people really be the sleazy perverts who gave the world Venus in furs?

The music is gentler too. There is less distortion and more acoustic guitar. The songs seem to be more like traditional love songs. As Lou Reed is the writer, things aren't that straight forward but he is using different methods here. Songs like Jesus, Pale Blue Eyes and I'm set free are just beautiful. Classics.

I like this record a lot. You might like it too.

Angry music for boys

2006-02-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I was really into hardcore punk. I loved bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, the Dead Kennedys, the Bad Brains and the Descendents. Although I did get to see the Bad Brains (and ALL who were the descendents with a different singer) I was too young to see these bands live. They all broke up when I was about 10.

I made up for it by going to see all the equivalent bands that were on the scene in the 1990s. Madball, Quicksand, Sick of it all, the Ramones, the reformed Misfits, the Rollins Band and the Jesus Lizard. I saw plenty of more progressive/less hardcore bands like Fugazi, Girls against Boys, Shellac and Sonic Youth. I also went to see bands like the Charlatans, the Stone Roses, Black Grape and Oasis. And legends like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, BB King and James Brown. And I went to a few jazz clubs too.

Basically, I went to every gig in Glasgow. I'm wandering away from the point of this post. I've got a heavy cold and my head is a bit fuzzy. I want to write about some CDs that I've bought from Ebay recently. CDs that I think are great but won't be everyones cup of tea. These CDs are for men who at some stage in their life have enjoyed angry guitar based music and at some point have 'adolescent moments'.

Which brings me to Graveyard Rodeo and their album 'On the verge'. I guess that most of the people who read this thread will not have heard of Graveyard Rodeo. Their music is difficult to listen to and they were never popular. This CD came out in 1994 and was not a success at the time. The band (as far as I know) quickly split up. One of my best mates gave me a tape of the album back then and it just struck a chord with me. I love the low quality recording of fast, loud, distorted guitars and the vocals that are evocative of a pissed off dalek. The lyrics are very negative but somehow it all works. Somehow it makes me happy, it makes me smile. I will stick it on my iPod with basement jaxx, the arcade fire and bright eyes. It will make my portable music collection more complete. If you, dear reader, have ever liked angry male music, try ebay. It only cost me £4.

The next album that I want to talk about is Among the living by Anthrax. This was the record that first really got me into music. It came out in 1986 when I was 9 and I guess that I first heard it when I was 10 or 11. I was a big comic nerd (as I still am) and I guess the 'in' was I am the Law, a song about Judge Dredd, the science fiction/dirty harry hybrid that is the lead strip in 2000AD. It's a great song on a great album. Loud, fast guitars and truly geeky songs. Two songs are about Stephen King stories (I started reading his books when I was about 10). On top of this there are a couple of overtly pollitical songs which I guess were good to hear at an impressionable age. One world is about the environment while efilnikufesin/NFL is an anti-drugs song(read the title backwards). Best of all is Indians about how the pioneers and the good ole USA fucked over the native Americans. It's a great album that started me thinking when I was 10 and I would happily give it to any child of mine.

Finally, I picked up a black flag tribute CD called black on black. It is interesting because it features a couple of songs by the Dillinger Escape Plan who are the scariest band that I have ever seen live. They opened the Glasgow Gig on the Green festival a few years ago with one of the most extreme sets I have witnessed. The singer seemed to have a serious desire to kill himself or the crowd. Allegedly the last time that he played in Glasgow someone had knocked his teeth out and he wanted revenge. He started throwing bottles and cans of beer into the crowd of several thousand unwashed slipknot fans whilst shouting abuse about both the audience and the other bands on the bill. The crowd joined in with the spirit of things by throwing everything they could find at the singer. He topped this by lowering his trousers, defecating in his hand and throwing it into the crowd. Just like a monkey. Pleasant.

I watched this from the safe distance of about 500 metres but it was one of the few concerts that I have been at where I was actually scared that someone would be seriously injured. Their music was great. Like dissonant jazz. They later recorded a version of come to daddy by aphex twin but that show was scary. The singer was either needing jail or a psychiatric unit. Their songs on the black flag tribute are OK.

Anyway, that's enough about angry boy music. I bought 'hits' by joni mitchell today and I seriously thought about getting the new neil diamond record. Heavy metal is all about hairy sweaty guys touching each other really.

phunky

Obscure album review - Elf Power - nothing's going to happen

2006-02-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just got this little gem from amazon. Elf power are part of the elephant 6 collective that includes Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control. There is such a degree of cross-pollination between these bands that I can't be bothered to work it out. Basically they all play on each others records.

I picked this CD up because it is a covers album (not always a good thing) that features several of my favourite childhood/adolescent/now songs.

These include

Bad Brains - Pay to cum - the speedpunk reggae classic
Husker Du - never talking to you again - I never stop talking about how much I love this song
Misfits - hybrid moments - a danzig classic
Roky Erickson - I walked with a zombie - also done by REM
Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside down - from my home town
Sonic youth - cotton crown
Flaming lips - felt good to burn

plus songs by the buzzcocks, t-rex and tubeway army. All done in a low-fi, semi-acoustic way that showcases the songs in a new way. The original versions of many of these songs are pretty heavy listening so it is nice that they have been made more accessible.

A pleasant diversion.

8 outta 10

fhky

Ballad of the broken seas - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

2006-02-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

Nick Cave is a very influential guy. This album really underlines that idea. I just think that Campbell wishes she was singing with Cave and Lanegan wishes he was Cave. Lanegan is kinda Cave-lite. Still good but not quite the same.

This album was a risky idea for me. I love the stuff Campbell did with Belle & Sebastian. Is it wicked not to care? is one of my favourite songs ever. Campbell wrote it. I haven't heard any of her solo stuff until now. Lanegan I am less keen on. I saw him live in 1998 and he was pish. Some of his solo stuff is OK (the sub pop albums). The Screaming Trees were Ok. I've just never 100% connected with him in the way that I do with other, similar singles.

I wasn't sure what this mixture would be like.

It's quite a lazy, dreamy album with a hint of darkness and evil lurking in it. The music is quiet and relaxed. Rock is a stranger here. It reminds me of the Nick Cave/Kylie single a fair bit.

It's Ok. There is a rip off of scarbourough fair/elizabeth, my dear which is kinda nice. It's ALL kinda nice but I don't hear a single, I don't hear a hook. I don't really have a reason to play it again although I hope I do.

It's ok. 3 out of 5

funky

Arctic monkeys - whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not

2006-02-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

I really, really wanted to hate this album. I tried hard. In theory, it should suck. This band shouldn't be any good. It's not right. Good bands don't sell records. Good bands are always underappreciated. Only crap bands sell. Only crap bands reach number one.

Every rule needs an exception, like I before E except after C. I guess that would make the first arctic monkeys album C. It's good.

It's better than the first Oasis album. It is a very strong first attempt. It feels more real than the first Franz Ferdinand album which I did (and do) love. The lyrics are literate and the songs are energetic. They talk about a life that I can relate to with a guitar sound that I like. This just isn't right. I'm an indie snob.

A recent magazine article compared the band to the Jam and, for me, that comparison is bang on. The songs have the power and insight of in the city or eton rifles. They are less 'cosmic' than the Stone Roses (who I loved) and less '6th form sensitive poetry' than the Smiths (who had one or two good tunes).

So, here we are. Good commercial modern rock. Fuck me, it's a flying pig. Stand out tracks? Mardy bum, fake tales of san fransisco and vampires....

You cannot imagine my self-loathing....

funk

Clap your hands say yeah

2006-01-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

This might be one of the albums that will soundtrack 2006 for many people. The hype! train has been carrying this group through the music press for some time. They have been touted as the next Arcade Fire.

Clap your hands say yeah self-released their eponymous debut album last year. Their small initial pressing sold out very quickly. They have now been picked up by Witchita records in the UK to make the album more easily available.

It's good. Once you get past the idiosyncratic singing it is good. The music is propulsive enough to power the hype! train. Sheets of warm fuzz guitar with kraftwerk/neu style drums. Half-heard lyrics that create unusual pictures in your mind.

Stand out tracks for me include the skin of my yellow country teeth, is this home on ice and upon this tidal wave if young blood.

I can see where the Arcade Fire comparisons come from but I'm not totally convinced yet. However, the album is a grower and I will keep listening.

phunky

Jukebox review - Nice 'n' Sleazy's, Glasgow

2006-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

Sleazy's was my favourite pub for years. I started going there when I was about 15 to see bands and do some underage drinking. For a long time it was a focal point for me and my mates. We used to sneak in bottle of MD 20-20 and drink them under the table. I saw some cool gigs there over the years. Fabric. Mogwai. Arab Strap. I played a couple of gigs there myself and I had fun. I used to know some of the bar staff and sometimes I would even get a free pint.

That was all a long time ago. Now it's almost a decade later and things have changed. It's a bit cleaner and I feel older. Younger kids are cooler than me now. I'm a mature adult with a real job. I don't even drink much now.

One thing hasn't changed. The jukebox. The best goddam jukebox in the world ever.

Last night I played -

Mudhoney - touch me, I'm sick
Sonic youth - teenage riot
Sons & Daughters - the red reciever
Arab Strap - packet of 3
TV on the radio - staring at the sun
Butthole surfers - jimi
Belle & sebastian - the state that I am in
Pixies - broken face
Violent femmes - blister in the sun
Arcade fire - Neighbourhood number 2

And I could have played a hundred songs that I like - PJ Harvey, Dinosaur Jr, Minor threat, fugazi, jesus & mary chain. They all live here, in this box.

I spoke to Mig, the proud father of the jukebox. He's been involved with the organizational side of sleazys for years and the jukebox is his baby. He ordered it years ago and proudly told me how psychocandy by the mary chain is the oldest CD in the box. You can tell because it has a typed track-list.

When they ordered the jukebox the suppliers had trouble sourcing the CDs that Mig wanted and psychocandy is one of the few that they could find. The cover of the Whale album was hand drawn by Mig one afternoon as he only had a promo copy in a cardboard cover. The sons&daughters 'love the cup' mini album has a unique cover featuring a photograph of his mother.

He loves this jukebox like a child. And I would adopt it.

If you are in Glasgow, go to sleazys and spin some tunes. jimi by the Butthole Surfers is my favourite.

funky

10-22-02 Birmingham UK The Sanctuary - the Fugazi live series

2006-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Fugazi are one of my favourite bands and I would advise anyone who even pretends to like rock music to try and hear one of their songs. Their influence is immense. Their CDs are cheap.

I'm writing about this particular CD because it is an official live recording of a concert that I was at in Birmingham in 2002. It was a very good show in an old converted church. Fugazi are a band from Washington DC and at the time of this show some very crazy people were driving around Washington and shooting random people. The band were worried and angry about the situation in their home town (they talk about it on this CD) and they played an extremely energetic show. This CD is good but being there was better.

Fugazi run their own record label (www.dischord.com) and have sold hundreds of thousands of CDs over the past 16 years. They tape all of their shows and their drummer, Joe Lally, started selling cheap official live CDs from a website a couple of years ago. The cds cost around 8 quid for a concert (usually 2 cds/24 songs). The CDs are as-is with no post-production. They are really for hardcore geeks (like me) and can be found at http://www.fugaziliveseries.com/

I've seen them 3 times and they have been very good each time. If you haven't heard the band and want to check them try 13 songs or in on the killtaker. It's intelligent angry music that has been copied a million times. Not to everyones taste but worth a try.

nerd out time is over

funky

Not all records are required - Hard-Fi - stars of CCTV

2006-01-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

Not all records are required. Sometimes you are just wandering around the supermarket and you see a CD for 6.99. You know one of the songs is OK and you take a chance. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's less than good.

Stars of CCTV by Hard-Fi is a record like that. Impulse bought, a bit like chewing gum or Cadburys Easter Eggs at the checkout. A quick buzz but it doesn't really add much to your life.

Good bits first. I like Cash machine, one of the singles. It has some interesting sounds on it, a slight dub influence, good lyrics. It's about being a wage slave and life being a dull series of minor failures. I can relate to that sometimes. Everyone can, sometimes. It's ok.

Other songs were less good. For some reason the song hard to beat reminds me of late '80s pop-pish Wet Wet Wet. I'm not sure if it's the guitar sound, the general production, the singing or the keyboard stabs but something about this track sends a shiver down my spine. It's uncanny.

I'm just generally indifferent to this CD. I might listen to it again, I might not. I have many better CDs to listen to so I should probably invest my time elsewhere. Life is short. I would not like to be stuck on a desert island with this CD.

Last years Coral.

6 out of 10

phunk

sonic youth - hold that tiger

2006-01-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

just recieved this CD through the post from amazon today. It is a recording of a live gig by the young youth in chicago in 1987 and it rocks. the band are on fire.

sonic youth have at times been described as an overly intellectual band but at this CD they just rocked out (more so than when I saw them in glasgow on the washing machine tour). The set list is composed of tracks from sister, EVOL and bad moon rising. And 4 ramones covers (loudmouth is dedicated to big blacks steve albini in an 'i'm gonna whup your ass' hip-hop stylee). Thurston does a Henry Rollins impression as he sings white cross.

The sound is a bit mucky but fuck it, it makes it warmer.

A good one for sonic youth obsessives (like me)

phunky

Obscure punk classic - Johnny Thunders - So alone.

2006-01-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

I just bought this CD today, partially inspired by the Punk: Attitude DVD but mainly inspired by the fact that 'Chinese Rocks' is one of the greatest songs ever (so great, in fact, that it was namechecked by Nick Cave on the last Bad Seeds album).

Johnny Thunders was guitarist and lead IVDU with noted transvestites the New York Dolls. After the collapse of that band he went on to form the Hearbreakers with Richard Hell, touring the UK with the pistols and the clash as well as introducing Sid Vicious to Nancy (and smack).

The heartbreakers album LAMF (like a mother fucker) includes chinese rocks (co-written with deedee ramone) and born to lose. Both of these songs kick ass but I haven't got round to buying the CD yet. It's meant to be good.

I picked up this album in FOPP today when I was meant to be studying. Thunders is backed by an all star cast including two sex pistols, seve marriott, phil lynott of thin lizzy and various members of the only ones.

The album kicks off with the surf guitar classic 'pipeline'. I've heard this song a million times but I can't remember where. Probably in a tarintino film. I'm humming it just now but that doesn't benefit you, gentle reader. Download an MP3 or something. You'll know it.

The next song is 'you can't put your arms around a memory'. Widely thought of as a classic it's a sad song about why being alive is better than being dead. It's a sentiment we can all share. Johnny Thunders often said that it was the best song he ever wrote. It's good but I prefer 'chinese rocks'.

'Great big kiss' was previously ripped off by the New York Dolls on 'looking for a kiss'. Here thunders plays the original version and pays overdue royalties to the writers.

'London Boys' is a reply to the Sex Pistols song 'new york' where johnny rotten sings about 'a poor little faggot, looking for a kiss'. Thunders puts the boot in. This album was recorded in 1978, when john lydon was public enemy number one and was getting the shit kicked out of him on a regular basis. Lydon is dismissed as a 'poor little puppet' who 'need(s) an escort to take a piss/He holds your hand and shakes your dick'. Handbags at ten paces!

So to summarise - this album is good. I'm glad I've heard it. You might like it but I would advise you to listen to 'never mind the bollocks...' by the sex pistols first. Also check out the ramones (especially their version of chinese rocks) and the Velvet Underground/Lou Reed. If that stuff turns you on, you might like this. If not, try something else.

phunky

note - guns and roses and their ilk (motley crue, skid row, ad nauseum) really like johnny thunders. I don't like their style of music but I guess if you do, you might like this CD.

new christmas music

2005-12-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

The grubby post-christmas haze is upon us and I have made my annual foray to Fopp to waste money on CDs.

New CDs I have bought include

Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness. A rather spiffing live set.
Bright Eyes - Digital ashes in a digital urn. Different. A bit 'pretty hate machine' era nine inch nails on first listen but I will listen again.
The national - Alligator. Pretty damn good so far. Needs more listens

From the £3 bargain bin I have indulged my inner ned with

Happy Mondays - Greatest Hits
Travis - singles (for the sensitive ned although I do like some of their stuff)
The streets - second album with long title. They were funny when I saw them in birmingham in march.

i also picked up some cool cheap DVDs - supersize me, rumblefish and the 'burbs but as this is required records i won't say any more.

i'll tell you more about the cds later

fnkstr

SST records - the best label of the '80s?

2005-12-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

This american indie label had an amazing roster and put out some of the best punk albums of all time.

These include

Black Flag - Damaged
Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Sonic Youth - sister
Dinosaur Jr - you're living all over me
Minutemen - double nickles on the dime
Bad Brains - I against I
Descendents - I don't wanna grow up

plus albums by soundgarden and screaming trees that I don't like but other people do.

Anyway, if you like 80s american punk this label was the best. Dischord were too regional, alternative tentacles too weird. Touch n go had some good stuff but they just weren't as influential as the SST bands.

In the UK creation didn't really peak until 1990 and factory were patchy. I know very little about postcard.

I think SST helped make good modern music sound the way it does.

Any thoughts?

funky

My albums of the year

2005-12-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year where music magazines come up with lists of alleged albums of the year. I want to get into the festive spirit. So here is my list of albums of the year.

Inclusion criteria - albums that I like that I have bought this year. Some of the albums might have been released last year but I won't take the piss and right about my favourite rolling stones albums and shit like that.

So, in reverse order (really no particular order)

9) TV on the radio - desperate youth, bloodthirsty babes. 2004 I think. My bloody valentine mixed with barbershop quartet style singing. And trumpets. I've just stuck it on the CD player cos I've remembered how good it is.

8) The go team - thunder, lightning, strike. I think this came out last year but who cares? Like a mix of the avalanches, belle & sebastian, sonic youth and the vaselines this kicks ass. Combine that with an attractive singer (named ninja), fender guitars and no sign of a new avalanches record, I like it.

7) Bright eyes - I'm wide awake, it's morning. Only really got into this one but it is good. I've mentioned it before. Anti-bush protest music. Even if he did say bad things about John Peel I can forgive him because of this album.

6) LCD soundsystem - LCD soundsystem. Catchy songs. A brilliant live show in Birmingham Academy that deafened my mate. Bonus cd of all the 'cooler than thou' 12" singles. Daft punk is playing in my house. Better than the rapture.

5) Franz Ferdinand - you could have it so much better. Less formulaic commercial rock from the almost glaswegian indie group.

4) Sons & daughters - the repulsion box. I've talked about this a lot. Energetic, fast and sexy. Like the nick cave you could shag and not worry about your sexuality (if you're a man)

3) Low - the great destroyer. They can rock. If they want to. Made many cold boring bus journies in the midlands less crap.

2) Nouvelle vague - nouvelle vague. Two french blokes and lots of female singers make old punk songs sound sexy and french. Don't know when it came out. Made popular by channel 4 fake lesbian kiddie drama 'sugar rush'. Best song is 'guns of brixton'.

1) The arcade fire - funeral. Everyone knows it came out in 2004 and I have talked about it before but it is fucking excellent.

stand out single tracks - the album was pish.

The futureheads - Hounds of love. Kate Bush made good (to my ears anyway)

The futureheads - Decent days and nights. Not geordies. They come from sunderland.

Anthony & the johnsons - hope there's sombody. The album is a bit heavy going but this song is great.

Gorillaz - feel good inc. For the 'windmill, windmill' bit. And the video. The album sux.

Gorillaz - dare. For shaun ryder. see above (apparently the song was called 'it's there' but shaun couldn't say it right).

MIA - galang. it mentions the pixies and the beasties. and it's kinda loud and energetic. and it was co-written by elastica (kinda uncool for from da streets of london sri lankan hip-hop but it is good)

MIA - sunshowers. Good video. she's pretty too

Bloc Party - so here we are. happy chill out music. good video.

Bloc party - banquet (streets mix). it's funny

Stuff I hate

Kaiser chiefs. pish.

So that was 2005. I'm right, you're wrong. Post abuse, praise or constructive criticism below. I'll only delete it if I think you're a wank or you make me cry.

I love you all, so much more than you could ever know

funkstr

Primal Scream - Shoot Speed (more dirty hits)

2005-12-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

My love affair with primal scream has been well documented. For a long time they were my favourite band. I've seen them live 8 times (at least) and I used to obsessionally buy their records.

I like them because
1) They have made some great music (I know some of it sucks though)
2) They are a great live band
3) They come from Glasgow
4) They have kept Mani and Kevin Shields off the dole
5) They are nuts
6) They have widened the boundaries of pharamceutical science with the amount of drugs they have taken. I know taking drugs isn't big and it isn't clever and it is dangerous. I don't take drugs and I hardly even drink alcohol now. It will kill you. But primal scream have turned drug abuse into an event at the comedy olympics.
7) Bobby was in the Mary Chain

This CD came out in Japan a couple of years ago. I bought it on import via amazon. It is just class. The more widly available Dirty Hits album was a bit of a let down for me. It had edited versions of classic songs that I had heard a million times before.

Shoot speed is an album for geeks and trainspotters. An album for people like me.

It highlights the screams' jangly side with classics like velocity girl and all fall down. It has the original non-album version of come together where bobby delivers some lovey-dovey drug nonsence lyrics. I love this version. It has a cover of the JAMC classic Darklands and 'so sad about us' by the Who.

Jesus is a great lost song. It was originally the b-side to star (also on this album) and is an almost perfect photocopy of the opiod-haze of the 3rd velvet underground album. The stone roses would just have been a smelly goth band in manchester if they hadn't ripped off velocity girl for made of stone and most of their first album.

This CD is the secret history of a great band that many people don't appreciate.

9 and a 1/4 out of 10. worth the 20quid I paid for it.

Dr. Phunk BSc (hons) MBChB

Neutral milk hotel - yes or no?

2005-12-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

If you answer yes or no to the above question you have an opinion on Neutral milk hotel. If you just saw 'what the fuck?' you have not been reading supertrendy music magazines. Shame on you.

NMK are an american indie rock band who existed about ten years ago. They (together with the olivia tremor control) were the most successful members of the elephant six musical collective. Trendy types have been dropping their name this year (franz ferdinand and the arcade fire). Their most popular album was in the aeroplane over the sea.

I first encountered NMK when that album came out. My strangest friend (sorry graeme) was well into them. He made me listen to them again and again but I just didn't get it. They were too gentle and soft for my fugazi loving ears but too weird for stone roses style indie boogying. They didn't work for me.

I'm older now and wiser so I picked up the reissue CD when it came out two months back. And it's ok. The first song king of carrot county is great. Weird lyrics about messed up families and formative experiences. It's folky and noisy and joyous and sad. And unfocused.

Sometimes I really like this record but sometimes it annoys me. Neutral milk hotel - yes or no? My answer is maybe. I want to hear some more

Ten records that are good and why I like them

2005-11-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

1. Air - Moon Safari. The singles. Relaxing. The whole frenchness of it.

2. Massive Attack - Mezzanine. Heavy bass lines. Impending doom. Liz Frasers vocals on teardrop and angels. Darkness. A brilliant live show at the Glasgow Barrowlands.

3. Basement Jaxx - Romeo. The video is a favourite of mine. Happy music makes me small. Cute female vocal.

4. Lee'Scratch' Perry - Arkology. Chase the devil. Police and thieves. I've lost the third CD and I'm gonna have to buy it again.

5. 1000 homo DJs - Supernaut. Not cool nowadays but still cool. The black sabbath version is good too.

6. Toots & the maytals - monkey man. Live in concert and the air was green.

7. Dead Prez - hip hop. One thing about music when it hits you feel no pain. And the bass line

8. Bob Marley - trenchtown rock - where dead prez stole their lyrics.

9. Fugazi - song #1 - 'everybody's talkin about their hometown scene and hurtin peoples feelings in their magazines and you wanna know what it all means.......it's nothing.' I used to sing that one in my kiddie punk band.

10. Johnny Cash -hurt - Johnny was a massive hero of mine. My dad loves him as well. Hurt was a favourite nine inch nails song and he made it his own. You can hear the emotion in his voice. Progressive neurological illness and years of abuse taking their toll. Sadly beautiful.

9. Outkast - Hey ya! shake it like a polaroid picture. Fast, funny, joyful. Video full of pretty girls.

Albums in high rotation

2005-11-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

OK. I'm kind of against the whole autistic boy thing of writing lists about the top 10 of everything so I am kinda conflicted on this blog. Nothing is really the best ever. It's always just stuff that you like a lot at any one time. So with that disclaimer here's my current top 10 CDs that are in heavy rotation with a bit of explanation about each one.

1. The Arcade Fire - Funeral. This is just a brilliant record. It sounds different to most of the stuff you hear on the radio at the moment. The arrangements are inventive and the lyrical content is very emotional. It's an album about death that reminds you of the best parts of life.

2. Sons & Daughters - The repulsion box. Angry, fast and gothic. Female fronted Nice Cave style darkness. Energetic. (Gossipy aside - while this band are all indie cred and cool I know that Scott, the guitarist is a qualified dentist so if no-one buys their records he does have a solid career to fall back on. Buy it anyway.)

3. Franz Ferdinand - you could have it so much better - On repeated listening I like this album more than the first one. Walk away is a beautiful song.

4. Bright Eyes - I'm wide awake, it's morning - Dylan-style protest songs. Good when I'm on the bus to work in the morning watching the neds fighting.

5. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Abattoir blues/The lyre of Orpheus. His best album. He sounds unbelievably happy on this one. I saw them live in Glasgow on this tour. I actually travelled up from Coventry just for this gig and it was amazing. Get ready for love and There she goes, my beautiful world are both masterpieces. The line about Johnny Thunders being half alive when he wrote Chinese Rocks makes me smile every time.

6. Missy Eliott - Under construction. Work it and Gossip Folks are just class. She has such a sexy voice. If she asked, I would give her children

7. Modest Mouse - Good news for people who like bad news. It has a song about Charles Bukowski - 'yeah I know he's a pretty good read but who would wanna be, who would wanna be such an asshole?' Lit-crit in a punk song.

8. Low - The great destroyer. Just sounds really nice. Should be chart-toppers

9. The Replacements - Hootenany - another of the great '80s band that have been ripped off by everyone. Ryan Adams owes them his career

10. Bonnie 'prince' billy - i see a darkness. Heartwarming songs about the crapness of life. Timeless voice. Johnny cash even covered one of these songs before he died.

Ok, this is going past a top 10

11. Teenage fanclub - Grand Prix. Cos Mellow Doubt is the greatest song every about unrequited love.

12. Love - Forever changes - The 3rd greatest album of the 60s? If you like Belle and Sebastian you must hear this.

13. Ryan Adams - heartbreaker - To be young (is to be sad, is to be high) is one of those perfect songs. It's in the film 'Wonder Boys'

14 . Pavement - Crooked rain, crooked rain. It's just different. Stop breathing is class.

Honourable mention. MIA - london based Sri Lankan hip hop. The singles are great but the album doesn't really cut it. One for the Ipod.

oh and Grace by Jeff Buckley is always worth a listen

So that's a list of favourites. It's not an ultimate top ten but all this stuff is worth hearing. Ask questions if you have any and tell me what y'all think

Dafunk

One time I applied for a job

2005-11-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

One time I applied for a job in a cool record shop. It was back when I was a cool young punk. Now this record shop was so fucking cool, it was so fucking cool that you had to write a list of your ten favourite records of all time and if they were cool enough you would get a job.

Obviously I wasn't cool enough. (Thanks missing records, glasgow. You Bastards)

Anyway, I ended up working in Our Price. It was shit.

Back then my top ten was something like

1. Primal Scream - Screamadelica. Cos it is really cool, chicks dig it, it has a great cover and you can dance to it.

2. John Coltrane =- A love supreme - Just fucking listen to it man. Its so good.

3. Husker Du - zen arcade - brilliant. intense. Never talking to you again is amazing. Angry and just god-like

4. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - Sounds you can only dream of. Like being on drugs when you are not on drugs

5. Big Black - Songs about fucking - cos it's offensive and sounds like your head is in a shredder.

6. The velvet underground and nico - obvious. Lou reed is god.

7. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - my love of sonic youth is well documented on my main blog

8. Belle and sebastian - The boy with the arab strap - it was glasgow. It was 1998.

9. Black Flag - the first four years - explosive singles compilation with Nervous Breakdown. Angry Angry Angry

10. Public Enemy - It takes a nation of millions to hold us back. Mainly to sound cool but I have shook hands with Chuck D, I have got his autograph and Public Enemy are one of the best fucking live bands ever. On a good day.

Anyway, that was seven years ago but the list is still good. All those records are valid and really say something to me. I don't like top tens but people should hear these records.

More soon

Funky

The philosophy

2005-11-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

Ok. If I can be bothered and if (Big if) I have the time this site is gonna be a list of records I think are cool and that I think people should check out. I'm not gonna go into much detail but I'll try and say why I think each record is cool or put records into top5s or top10s.

A bit like hi-fidelity but more geeky