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A six song selection for Saturday, some strange bedfellows, but all committed to the groove. Fortran 5 were formed from the ashes of I Start Counting, record label Mute perhaps hoping for a smidge of commercial success, given the proliferation of sample-heavy dance music in the popular charts. It didn't happen, and Fortran 5 remain an under appreciated gemstone compared to the diamond brightness…
I loved Friendly Fires ' debut album in 2008, kind of missed their follow up Pala in 2011 and was completely oblivious to their third album Inflorescent in 2019. To be honest, in 2026 I thought that Friendly Fires were no longer a going concern. So, the arrival on Wednesday of new single Lose All Your Friends was as unexpected as it was welcome. Co-founder Jack Savidge has departed, leaving Ed…
No, Elmo, today’s post is brought to you by the letter S and the number 3! Hello, Spacemen 3 ! In July, the wonderful No Badger Required blog ran a series counting down Rock's Greatest Number, that is, bands or artists with a number in their name. I had the privilege of making nominations and casting votes as a member of the Musical Jury. That said, the role doesn't presume any expertise,…
I'm constantly fascinated by and drawn to Daniel Avery 's music, whether his own creations or his reworkings of other artists. Daniel is experiencing a particularly productive period with the latter of late, so much so that it's hard to keep track of it all. Last week's release of Out Of My Reach by Jehnny Beth was the latest addition to a dizzying and varied collection of Daniel Avery remixes.…
Someone wisely advised not to rely on the first line of a song as the inspiration for blog post titles. However, when the above is the opening line of the opening song of Robyn HItchcock 's new album, The Confuser, it would be remiss of me not to! The Confuser actually came out a month ago yesterday and it was Monday's posting of the video for Wasted, the album's closing song and fifth single,…
Happy birthday to Linton Kwesi Johnson , born 24th August 1952. Following on my LKJ post a couple of Fridays ago, here's 47 minutes of his words and music to celebrate his 74th birthday. Dennis Bovell is inevitably by his side, as well as an early collaboration with Misty In Roots , and 21st century team ups with Manu Chao and, perhaps surprisingly, Alan Wilder aka Recoil and Paul Marshall for a…
Time to paws and relax with some sunny Sunday sounds from the last half-century. A mix of familiar and unfamiliar, old and new, borrowed and blue, the common theme is that this top notch dub, perfect for soundtracking a day of doing as little or as much as you like. Notably fewer complaints from the neighbours when this is booming from the Casa K sound system, too... 1) Rock In Dub: The Roots…
An hour of music created or remixed by Kris Needs , topped and tailed with his collaboration with Wonder Schneider as Secret Knowledge and Delta Lady . [Apology: I'm currently experiencing technical issues, more sleeve notes to follow!] 1) Sugar Daddy (Original Full Length Version By Kris Needs, Jagz Kooner & Gary Burns): Secret Knowled ge (1993) 2) Anything You Want (Volume Vocal Mix By Kris…
But It Is by The Proclaimers nails it, a blistering, brilliant, un-tinted unstinting critique of the global shitshow that we're all bit part participants in. The video is also excellent, revisiting the world that John Lennon Yoko Ono dreamed of in their song and video Imagine, back in 1971. "The spirit of 85-year-old John returns to find the hypocrisy of Western countries and the tragic and sad…
I dip into the Beat-Club channel on YT often for it's archive gems, but it's served up a treat this week, with half a dozen songs performed by Billy Preston from 1972, the final year of the German TV show's transmission. These may be completely out of sequence from the original broadcast, but none of that detracts from the soul power emanating from the screen and speakers. Billy is on top form,…
It's Wee Rule Wednesday today, featuring the Wee Papa Girl Rappers . Wee Papa Girl Rappers were London-based hip hop duo and sisters Sandra Lawrence aka Total S, and Samantha Lawrence aka TY Tim. The group name was inspired by their father, originally from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and prone to using the French Creole expression "Oui Papa", which the sisters phonetically adapted into…
Dipping into my blog archives for a review of the 1998 Grace Jones compilation, Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions, which I reviewed on 14th August 2005 and rejigged and expanded slightly on 18th August 2026. Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions is a 26-track 2CD collection, covering Jones’ work with Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin and Sly & Robbie between 1980 and 1982, with the addition…
This started off with Ever So Lonely by Monsoon shuffling into play the other day, and became a bit more of a deep dive into other appearances by Sheila Chandra on YouTube. Ever So Lonely was a key song for me in the early 1980s, like Living On The Ceiling by Blancmange, introducing this curious kid to Indian instruments in pop music, Monsoon having the advantage of Sheila as frontperson, a…
Last month, I travelled to London to see Scritti Politti at the Southbank Centre in London. It almost didn't happen. Again. Long-time readers may recall my heartbroken post on Saturday 2nd October 2021, when I had to pass up the opportunity to see Scritti Politti perform Cupid & Psyche 85 in its entirety at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. As in 2021, I'd bought multiple tickets, planning this as a…
More top tunes from this year so far, including a few from last week's Bandcamp Friday haul. I like to imagine that there's someone out there who rips my selections onto a CD or cassette, which is why most of my compilations hover around the 45 to 60 minute mark. Today fits the bill, with 10 songs at a smidge under 47 minutes, spanning multiple moods and genres. I always look forward to new music…
Linton Kwesi Johnson performing his poem Inglan Is A Bitch on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1980. It was another five years before I was exposed to LKJ's writing, thanks to an inspirational English teacher who saw some glimmers of hope in the rag tag jumble of spotty teens facing her. I can't remember which selection of poems she chose, though it's fair to assume that Inglan Is A Bitch may not have…
It's twenty years since Q magazine celebrated it's twentieth anniversary with a cover mounted CD of cover versions. Q folded in 2020, apart from a brief resurrection as an online publication in 2023-24, so there won't be a fortieth anniversary follow up. i've dusted off my review from 2006, including one of the worst opening lines I think I've ever committed to page or screen... Crudely speaking,…
Two from Ian Dury & The Blockheads , from 1978. What A Waste! followed by Wake Up And Make Love With Me. 'Nuff said.
I still haven't made up my mind whether I like Nouvelle Vague 's cover of Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode. On paper, the pairing of Skye Edwards from Morcheeba and Larry Love from Alabama 3 is inspired and yet, after a few listens, it's just not doing it for me. The prospect of an entire album of covers - A Date With Depeche Mode - therefore doesn't immediately appeal. However, it inevitably…
