And some more new music...

Well after throwing a barrel of older tracks at you for the bulk of this blog it feels good to offer some more new music, although as with The Herbaliser, that dont necessarily mean I am saying they are essential. Just that they have tweeked my interest.

Back to the music. I used to visit and download from the blog, Chromewaves, before it became a struggle to keep up with the quantity of posts especially when the quality got very inconsistent.

However, one track I revisit is by the Swedish group, El Perro Del Mar. It was a quirky Kate Bush inspired pop moment. So when I was rummaging around the net the other day I came across their new album, From The Valley To the Stars.

16 tracks and there are probably only about 4/5 tracks I would say I got into. The big thing for me was how much the structure of the album and its tracks reminded me of the The Beach Boys (hence the photo). I know lots and lots of artists sounds like The Beach Boys or don't really hide their influence on the music but I feel that sometimes this works and sometimes it feels a bit derivative.

How Did We Forget is a really beautiful song and one you can imagine Brian, Carl or Denis Wilson weeping into a microphone. Inside The Golden Egg echoes all those wonderful mini-instrumental tracks from Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile or Surf's Up. Finally, Into The Sunshine, is as close of El Perro Del Mar come to Beach Boys pop track.

Maybe I am creating smoke where there is no spark but hey I noticed something and shared.

El Perro Del Mar - How Did We Forget

El Perro Del Mar - Inside The Golden Egg

El Perro Del Mar - Into The Sunshine

The Herbaliser's....

....debut album Remedies was the the first Ninjatune album I bought. I think way back in 1996.

It was and still is a great album. Listened to it not so long ago and even though there are a few scratches in essential grooves (thanks Justine! whereever you are) its blend of funk, Hip Hop and cine-samples fully reflecting the developing Ninjatune ethos.

However, The Herbaliser also represent Ninjatune's descent into a pretty standard and stale sound. Its experimentalism is......well I don't wont to go on about Ninjatune right now as this post is not about them and I don't want to slag off a label that made such great sounds.

Anyhoo, The Herbaliser, always promised lots but delivered relatively patchy albums and recently plain disappointing efforts. However, I still hold a fondness for them as each time I have seen them live they have been excellent and the nights, be it Art School, Sub Club or Arches have always been jumping. So thanks Herbaliser.

There new album is called Same As It Never Was and its out on the excellent German label K7!. I have added a couple of tracks from the album below. The album itself perfectly the description above. Tracks give glimpses of great ideas and directions but ultimately finish at same competent but not exciting place.

I chose Game, Set and Match because I felt it sounded like and reflected an untapped Gypsey-Hip-Parissihop sound. I close with the stand out track from their latest partner in rhyme (get it!!), Jessica Darling. A right thumping hand clapping tap along. Yeah!

The Herbaliser (feat. Jessica Darling) - Claps Your Hands

The Herbaliser (feat.more or les) - Game Set and Match

Cookie Monster

I like many folk on this side of the pond find American politics fascinating. I think its because there seems so little actual real politics taking place.

It's full of glam, vague aspirational visions and of course our opinions are safe in the knowledge that we don't have to choose between fraudulent democrats or vicious republicans......I know we have Labour and the Tories but aleast there a few smaller parties we can consider opting for.

Anyhoo, with American politics comes satire and for many of us, The Daily Show with john Stewart, was the show we got to see on tv. I think The Daily Show is very average with Stewart's iwttering in-jokes missing the mark.

However, The Colbert Report, which is a spin off with a character starting on Stewart's show, is one of the most hard hitting and hysterical shows coming out of America. Stephen Colbert does not play himself but a character. Mocking the Fox based Bill O'reillys and Sean Hannitys. Right Wing lunatics whose shows are editorialised lies attacking any progressive force in the USA.

Last week after a few average shows, the Colbert had its best guest so far, Cookie Monster. Defending his changing stance on cookies, the big blue cuddily idol stands firm against Colbert's pro-cookie agenda. Check it out.

Your dessert is a DJ Food take on a Sesame Street classic.

dj food - sesame st pinball number count

Links Effect

Hey. Not putting up a track today but just wanted to say a little about the excellent blogs on there which have inspired to try out the sharing of thoughts and music.

Not sure who, how many or why folk may look at this blog. It may just be Jackie and Allan along with a few lost souls searching for exclusives. However, I hope that anyone who does make the effort to read what I've written and listen to my choice cut, also takes a little time to explore the links on the right handside of the blog.

Some are blogs that i have followed for a good few years while others are new to me but no less exciting. Felt inspired to mention these guys because of Foeweel which during my weekly run through of the blogs in my favourites, has put up three mixes by Boards of Canada. If you don't know me then you will not know how important BOC are for me. Short answer: very.

Anyhoo, I am adding Foeweel to my links along with some others I have been regularly bisiting lately. There is a huge variety of motivations and music in these blogs which deserve recognition so take an hour and head on out there.

Damn it. Have decided to play a little song...

Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own

Baby Talk

Ah babies. Just want to get this out of the way. me and my lady aint expecting. This post is in honour of one of my work colleagues who let it be known today that she is expecting a baby.

Couldn't be happy for her. Just means I need to a get a new job before she leaves on maternity leave and a huge knowledge gap in the department.

Anyway I had to choose the greatest baby ever, Miss Maggie Simpson. A real heroine. Clever. Funny. Wild. And a lifesaver to Homer on more than one occasion.

Speaking of the Simpsons, and I generally do, a fellow devotee of the springfield five, Steve, gave me a shout about the Midnight Juggernaughts. Kinda a LCD System cum Justice cum Daft Punk cum etc. Been listening to the new album and although I would not say its a classic, its a lot better than much of the nonsense out there. LIKE HOT 'FOOKIN' CHIP.

In addition I thought its always to play a little dance and X-Press 2 fits that role to the smallest decimal point. Hope you enjoy it like I did french film, Priceless, at the GFT tonight. C'est Bonne.

Midnight Juggernaughts - Shadows

X-Press 2 - The Answer

Back....great

A lovely lovely and I may say, lovely holiday.

Beautiful weather, beautiful food, beautiful wine, friendly people, clear ocean, high cliffs. Amalfi is a really great place tol go and recharge amongst some really sensation scenery.

It may be hot in Glasgow at the mo' but it aint the same. Dreading going back to work on Monday but then again I dread going to work every evening.

Feeling a little fat due to the mounds of pasta I ate but already burngin it off cleaning the flat and awaiting the a visit from mon pere et mon mere.

The first photo is a clip from the Sunday night where the there was a huge fireworks display after a regatta. The second one below was this sensation dressed japanese tourist. It's something out of a nightmareish spaghetti western made in tokyo.



Anyway will organise some newer musicfor the next post. In meantime this is the opening track from the classic The Italian Job.

Quincy Jones & Matt Monro - On Days Like Like These

Holy Day

Yup, it's that time friends. Holiday is about from a booking to a reality. Me and the little lady is heading east and south tomorrow. No, not Berwick but Amalfi in Italy. On the coast south of Naples and although the weather is not predicted to be amazing I sure we will have a great time and eat some amazing food.

So this will be the last post until I get back and can post some pics of the holiday and the music that best fits it. Until a couple of randomn tracks.

The first is by Funky Monkey. Its extremely hard to find info about this guy or guys on the net. Some comments about them mention they were part of the 'Big Beat' wave of the mid to late nineties but that would be really unfair. Chucking them in with Bentley Rythm Ace, Propellerheads, Mekon and other such acts is an insult in my opinion.

Their album, Come Together People Of Funk, is great blend of sampnology and electro-funk. Peaceman is the final epic track of the album and is a real closer. It starts slow with strings, whispered samples and then builds and builds into a righteous call to funk, sang by Primal Scream collaborator Denise Johnson (think that's right).

The second track is a piece of hardcore NYC street rap from The Flight of the Concordes. Hip-hopopotamus vs Rhymenocerous is right on its wrong. Check out the video here. Hilarious.

Funky Monkey - Peaceman

The Flight of the Concordes - Hip-hopopotamus vs Rhymenocerous