Pedestrian Music

Hooray for Earth//No Love (True Loves, Dovecote, 2012) Nice...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:00:06 +0100

Hooray for Earth//No Love

(True Loves, Dovecote, 2012)

Nice experimental big pop song from New York band. It’s the chorus that grabbed me really. And that it just doesn’t sound like a lot of stuff around at the moment.

In a good way.

Prince and the Revolution//When Doves Cry (Purple Rain, Warner,...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:10:03 +0100

Prince and the Revolution//When Doves Cry

(Purple Rain, Warner, 1984)

Apparently Prince/symbol doesn’t want his music on you tube, which is why this was hard to find. Anyhoo, stand up and dance. Gloriously languid vocal with an ice cool 80s keyboard riff and the drum machine make up minimalist pop masterpiece.

Go on, do the robot. You know you want to. You’re fine, nobody can see you. Promise.

Utah Saints//Somthing Good 08 (Something Good 08 single, Data,...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 08:15:30 +0100

Utah Saints//Somthing Good 08

(Something Good 08 single, Data, 2008)

Happy weekend!

It was the freshest move I’ve ever seen. It was like he was walking on air!

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood//Summer Wine (Nancy &...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 06:00:06 +0100

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood//Summer Wine

(Nancy & Lee, Reprise, 1968)

Another oldie…I’m turning into a big softie. Lee Hazelwood’s croaky performance is great in this - another mellow baritone.

(The song’s a warning, though - don’t go drinking wine chaps, or Nancy Sinatra will have away with your silver spurs and, um, a dollar and a dime. It may not be actual wine. It might be a metaphor)

(For, ah, shagging.)

Edit: Just read the wikipedia analysis…snigger:

…the subtext of which being they experienced intercourse and as repayment she misappropriated them (them being his “silver spurs a dollar and a dime”).

The National//Lemonworld (High Violet, 4AD, 2010) This is a...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:04:05 +0100

The National//Lemonworld

(High Violet, 4AD, 2010)

This is a song that always makes me stop what I’m doing. Something to do with the simple riff, maybe, or the way the brass builds in the chorus. But most likely it’s the rich baritone it’s sung in. Now that’s a voice.

The National are one of my favourites. High Violet is well worth a listen, and exploring their back catalogue is high on my to do list.

Kyla La Grange//Vampire Smile (Vampire Smile - Single, Chess...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0100

Kyla La Grange//Vampire Smile

(Vampire Smile - Single, Chess Club, 2012)

Aw. A little bit of lo-fi country for Tuesday. Kyla is unknown to me but I’m sure she has a great future in front of her.

(Probably not, unfortunately. She’s great but these singer-songwriters with raspy voices, dark little melodies and killer production are two a penny nowadays.)

The B-52s//Private Idaho (Wild Planet, Warner, 1980) This always...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0100

The B-52s//Private Idaho

(Wild Planet, Warner, 1980)

This always feels like the precursor to the punk call and response/harmony style that you see with Green Day and Sum 41 etc. Always works better with a guy and a girl, I reckon.

Anyway, nice upbeat song for a monday morning! No clue what the lyrics mean. Is Idaho a place?

Martha & the Vandellas//Heatwave (Heatwave, Gordy,...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 06:00:06 +0100

Martha & the Vandellas//Heatwave

(Heatwave, Gordy, 1963)

It’s the first warm weekend down South, and Heatwave is an excellent way to mark the feeling of sun on your back and the anticipation of long hazy summer weekends to come. Craig Charles just played it on 6music & and it made me smile.

Note the unsophisticated mime to a backing track & the early finish - you’d never get away with that nowadays.

Better HQ verion here. You have to skip the ad though. Sigh.

Orbital//Dr Who (Live, Glastonbury, 2010) Orbital two days in a...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Orbital//Dr Who

(Live, Glastonbury, 2010)

Orbital two days in a row? Why not. Love this remix of the Dr Who theme.

Matt Smith appearing is a bit cheesy though…but there’s something a bit cool about him in those trademark Orbital torch-specs.

Edit - actually the Matt Smith version is here. Can’t believe how cheesy he is. “Let me hear you cheer!” Can you go back to being ace please Matt?

Orbital feat Zola Jesus//New France (Wonky, label tba,...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:00:06 +0000

Orbital feat Zola Jesus//New France

(Wonky, label tba, 2012)

Bang up to date with new stuff from Orbital (that sounds a lot like old stuff from Orbital but what the hey). Awesome lion/destroying innocence of childhood/ravey-based video.

(Apologies for the ad - press ‘skip this ad’ as soon as you can!)

Shibuya//Brian Reitzell & Roger J. Manning Jr (Lost in...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:22:42 +0000

Shibuya//Brian Reitzell & Roger J. Manning Jr

(Lost in Translation Soundtrack, Emperor Norton Records, 2003)

From the soundtrack to Lost in Translation, a 2003 Sofia Coppola which I alternately love and get fed up with - sometimes I can get lost in the music and loneliness of it all, sometimes it’s just a bit too pleased with itself and major boring.

Anyway, Shibuya suits the post nights mood today, I’ve finished a night shift and not envisaging doing anything more energetic than downloading a movie and going to bed.

Laura Marling//Needle and the Damage Done (unreleased) Mixed...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:02:06 +0000

Laura Marling//Needle and the Damage Done

(unreleased)

Mixed memories, this one. I have strong memories of a guy playing us this in Varanasi in India and being aghast that I hadn’t heard of Neil Young (a situation long since rectified).

And Laura Marling (who is just great) did this version for the 6music (the only music radio station worth listening to!) 10 year celebrations this weekend.

So it all ties together!

A Real Hero//College & Electric Youth (Drive Original...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:02:06 +0000

A Real Hero//College & Electric Youth

(Drive Original Soundtrack, Lakeshore, 2011)

Another synthy/floaty vocal number. From the Drive soundtrack, one of the best movies of last year.

PJ Harvey//The Words that Maketh Murder (Let England Shake,...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0000

PJ Harvey//The Words that Maketh Murder

(Let England Shake, Island, 2011)

OK, it’s probably about time for a little feminity again. Although Polly Jean’s ditty about the Afganistan war probably doesn’t count. Love the mocking ending chant…“why don’t I take my problem to the United Nations?”. Let England Shake won PJ Harvey her second Mercury PRize, proving the award isn’t the kiss of death it’s often thought to be.

Final word to Rolling Stone:

“Fairly peppy for a PJ Harvey song about murder, this folky shuffle finds Polly Jean warbling about dead soldiers while hand claps and horns add to the oddly catchy melee.”

(The actual song starts about 40s in)

The Smashing Pumpkins//Disarm (Siamese Dream, Virgin, 1993) From...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:08:05 +0000

The Smashing Pumpkins//Disarm

(Siamese Dream, Virgin, 1993)

From when Billy had hair. Good times, Billy. Before it all got a bit weird.

I’m a massive Pumpkins fan and Disarm’s one of my favourites. Love a bit of tubular bells. Everyone knows the stories from the recording of Siamese Dream, but they produced an immense album that I’ll always come back to. They went onto the sprawling double album Mellon Collie (what a great single album that would have been!) and then downshifted and faded away, although there’s some good stuff on the Machina albums and Zeitgeist. OK, maybe not Zeitgeist. They seemed to be trying to be REM there.

Ash//Return of The White Rabbit (A-M, Atomic Heart Records,...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:03:05 +0000

Ash//Return of The White Rabbit

(A-M, Atomic Heart Records, 2009)

I had lost touch with Ash and thought they had gone a bit eccentric with the A-Z singles/albums/concept etc. But then I saw them in Bath a few months ago with a self confessed Ash groupie and my flabber was gasted, as they say (as nobody says). They were great, mixing in old with new and happily digging out the old hits for a very appreciative crowd with grace and style (unlike a certain other band we went to see… could you play buck rogers…please? )

So because they’re so cool and because it’s such a tune, I’m putting up a newish one, Return of the White Rabbit - starts with a massive bass riff and continues that pounding power throughout. And live - where they’re best. The rest of the A-Z stuff is as good and worth pursuing.

Editors//Munich (The Back Room, Kitchenware, 2005) Munich was...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0000

Editors//Munich

(The Back Room, Kitchenware, 2005)

Munich was the first song I heard from Solihull’s Editors - a pacey, powerful tune with a monster chorus. I managed to grab the last few tickets to see them at the Birmingham Barfly before they went big - incredible night, everyone on form, and crowd up for it.

They’ve gone a bit ravey and synthy of late, and while I love the synth, it doesn’t seem to sit comfortably with them. It’s brought big success though, always what they deserved. Swings and roundabouts.

White Lies//From the Stars (To Lose My Life, Fiction,...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0000

White Lies//From the Stars

(To Lose My Life, Fiction, 2009)

Easily one of the best under the radar bands of recent years, I saw White Lies supporting Florence on a NME tour. They were cool and aloof, with killer tunes and a super tight rythmn section, and gave the headliner a run for her money.

From the Stars is one of the best on To Lose My Life, a big epic sounding song with a proper story to it. This performance is slightly lacklustre - the album version is much better.

The next album, Ritual, was never quite as good as their first and you just hope the next one will be as good as their first.

Get Better//dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip (The Logic of Chance,...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:00:05 +0000

Get Better//dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip

(The Logic of Chance, Sunday Best Recordings, 2010)

Man I love the Scroob (and dls of course). Awesome beats, awesome lyrics. Some of his stuff definitely comes across as a bit cheesy and patronising, and Get Better can be interpreted like this. But he is undeniably positive and passionate and the song shows genuine faith in humanity, definitely missing from masses of commercial hip hop and a lot of popular music.

If you like this check out their two most commercial albums, The Logic… and Angles. They’re all standout tracks, really, but I love Letter From God to Man, a song that pictures a disappointed God looking at the legacy of his (her, yes I know) creation to a Radiohead backing. Angles, Magician’s Assisstant, Great Britain, all bona fide hippity hoppity with a true conscience.

Lamacq’s 6music Family Tree 2011 Something a bit different...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:00:06 +0000

Lamacq’s 6music Family Tree 2011

Something a bit different today - it’s the tenth birthday of 6music, a UK digital radio station run by the BBC that plays essentially all of pop music aside from most current commercial music. It was threatened with closure a few years ago, and thankfully avoided that.

It’s marked out by it’s presenters - people who really care about the music they’re playing, and who see it as valuable, eschewing cynical mass produced pop music for something with a bit more thought, a bit more imagination.

Popular music, from the most bland commercial pap to the deepest of deep house and the deathiest of death metal is probably one of the few industries where this country genuinely leads the world. It certainly does in wit, charm and inventiveness, although in commercial success it probably comes a close second to the States. This is why 6music needs to be treasured and looked after for the next ten, twenty, one hundred years - it’s role in pushing music forward in this country, and therefore globally, cannot be underestimated.