Junior Boys Vs. Caribou





Birthday (Manitoba Mix) is a gorgeous, wistful tune taken from the bonus disc that comes with the US version of this album. You probably already know that these Canadians have made a splash with this debut. It's blend of very modern dance music (you'll see a lot of mentions of glitchy and Timbaland in reviews) with the classic melodies and sounds of the best of '80s synthpop. The original is a lush synth pop song that reminds me a bit of The Postal Service - it's the melancholy melody. Caribou (nee Manitoba) keeps the songs beauty of a hook and grimes up everything around it. The beats pound harder, there's static-y scratchy noises, and some cool windchime bells. The rest of the second disc is rounded out by a Fennesz mix of "Last Exit", another version of this tune called "Unbirthday" and "A Certain Association".

Funky Friday - Dance To The Music


I played the 2 disc Essential Sly & The Family Stone at work today - it's always a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Here's Dance To The Music, a joyous call to get down and boogie. The version here is an extended mix taken from a 1979 Epic Records Mixed Masters 12" - it's remixed by famed disco DJ John Luongo. He takes it from it's stomping soulful roots and turns it into a 6 minute and 32 second disco plate, emphasising the bass riff and the beat. Fantastic remix of an already great tune.

Apples And Oranges




Dogs Die In Hot Cars released their debut LP Please Describe Yourself in the US this week. They are another one of those new British bands that are paying tribute to the early '80s UK literate pop and new wave scene I love so much. They owe XTC a huge debt - singer Craig Macintosh does a very good Andy Partridge. You'll also hear bits of Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Dexy's Midnight Runners, David Bowie and even a whiff of '90s Britpop band like Blur and Pulp. While I was reading the liner notes on the CD I noticed the album was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley - they produced so many of those orignal bands of that era. Apples And Oranges is a synth infused, slightly psychedelic pop tune that sounds like Talking Heads meets Split Enz meets The Futureheads (it's the uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh's!) - lot's of melody and great vocal harmonising. A fab tune from a pretty good album.

Bush Hater

Eminem has decided to put his considerable talents to use to incite the youth of America to do something about their country, instead of covering his usually more juvenile territory. Mosh is a scathing attack on the Bush administraton, the war on Iraq, and in particular GW himself. What really hooked me about this tune is it's video. Put together by the people from The Guerrilla News Network (where you can download or watch a stream of the vid - you can also get the video from Mr. Gilbert over at The Big Ticket), it's an animated video mixed with live footage, and it's pretty brutal in it's portrayals. I won't give details as you really should see it for yourself - you won't be seeing it on TV! I have always thought that Eminem had the skills - it's good to see him using them to talk about something as big as next week's election. A very controversial little movie - I love it.

Double Take - Josef K & Propaganda

Josef K were one of famed Scottish label Postcard Records' rising stars of the early 80's indiepop scene. Alongside Orange Juice and Aztec Camera they released a handful of classic records combining edgy guitars with pop song sensibilities. Sorry For Laughing is a great little song - full of jangly, skittery guitars and singer Paul Quinn's big crooning voice. They never quite capitalised on the hype, and broke up - Paul went solo and guitarist Malcolm Ross joined Orange Juice, and then Aztec Camera. Their influence would be felt for many years to come - bands like Franz Ferdinand name check them today. (Taken from Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 1 compilation)

Propaganda covered Sorry For Laughing on their fantastic 1985 debut LP "A Secret Wish". Instead of the loose indie jangle, they add their ZTT approved sonic electronic sheen (patented by Trevor Horn) to the song, and in the process transform it into a stomping, rhythmic synth pop gem. The beats are big and pounding, there are great washes of organ in the chorus, and suddenly it's no longer a scratchy little tune, but a Teutonic epic.

Heavy Rotation - K-os, Le Tigre, Mos Def & The Zutons

The Zutons are a Merseybeat four piece who just released their debut in the US. Titled Who Killed......The Zutons?, I picked it up on a whim - I liked the name, had read a few things and decided to take a chance. It's a mix of all kinds of things - classic '60s rock, a bit of disco and new wave, some country and a bit of ska. Singer David McCabe calls it "soul-funk-voodoo-vibe". Producer Ian Broudie (The Lightning Seeds) gives everything a super crisp sound. Zuton Fever kicks off the album in fine form with a huge, twangy guitar riff and a very memorable vocal, as well as some great sax. I love it when one of those impulse buys pays off!

Le Tigre's major label debut This Island was released last week, and I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet. It's a much more polished sounding record than the previous ones, and I get the feeling that I've heard it all before. I do like New Kicks, essentially an anti war anthem. Over a crunchy beat, and amid chants of "peace now" are all manner of samples recorded at the "The World Says No To War March" in NYC back in Feb.2003. Included are comments by Al Sharpton, Susan Sarandon and Ossie Davis. Fight The power!

A couple of rap records have caught my ear over the last couple of weeks. Mos Def's second album The New Danger is a sprawling, 18 track rock-rap beast. It's got a bunch of rock tracks with his band Black Jack Johnson, whose members include Doug Wimbush and Bernie Worrell. It's a smoking band of great pedigree, but somehow the rock tracks sound a bit dated. The hip hop tracks are ace, several featuring production by Kanye West. The Rape Over is a raging indictment of those who rule the music industry - "old white men is running this rap shit" - a minute and 34 seconds of fierce beats and fiercer rhetoric.

Canadian rapper K-os caught my attention a couple of years ago with his debut release. I saw a few of the vids and liked what I heard but never got the record. A few weeks ago I saw the video for his new single "B-Boy Stance" and was hooked. Joyful Rebellion is a very nice blend of beats and real instruments, with a bit of rock and reggae thrown into the mix. It fits into the whole "conscious rap" scene - definitely not hard core. There's lots of positivity, and dude not only raps but can sing too, so the end result is a very melodic, fun record. The Love Songs rides a nice mid tempo beat, and features piano riffing, sitars, and a cool string sample with a very Asian feel.

Funky Friday - Pop Muzik


When I was at the record store earlier this week I stumbled across a 2004 reissue I had no clue about, M's 1979 album New York•London•Paris•Munich. It's been put out by Razor & Tie Records, and features 5 bonus cuts on it. The classic hit single everyone knows is Pop Muzik. Over a funky, percolating disco beat Robin Scott extolls the joys of pop. It features some great, twangy guitar, some cool sax and it's vocals are unforgettable - his manic new wave delivery, the girls singing the "shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-wops". The band on this recording is interesting too - Wally Badarou on keys, Gary Barnacle on sax and Phil Gould (from Level 42!) on drums. Sure it's got that "one hit wonder"/novelty song thing going on, but it's so damn catchy and poptastic I can't resist, and neither should you!

Prefab Sprout

Left Of The Dial : Dispatches From The '80s Underground is a great 4 CD set that came out last week. It's a really diverse line up of bands that populated US college radio during that decade, mostly British and American acts (very few Aussies and no New Zealanders are represented). It's a fantastic mix of new wave, punk and early alternative music. Buried in between Suicidal Tendencies, The Pixies, Ultravox and Bauhaus I spied the name Prefab Sprout. God, I loved that first record of theirs - Two Wheels Good if you lived in the US, Steve Mc Queen everywhere else. It's been a few years since I listened to it so I pulled it out, and it's blend of smart, melodic pop seduced me all over again. Produced by Thomas Dolby (who also played synths on it), the album still sounds good today - it's songs have something of a timeless quality to them. Appetite was the first track of theirs I heard, and it remains one of my favorites. It's got great bouncy bass, gorgeous swirling synths and piano, and fantastic harmonising from Wendy. I love all of the different guitar bits too - jazzy in places, rockin' during the chorus. A very memorable tune from a great album.

Heavy Rotation - Moving Units & Duran Duran

The Moving Units finally released their debut LP this week and it's getting a fair amount of play on the old hi-fi. Dangerous Dreams may have arrived too late to cash in the on the whole second wave of post punk thing, as so many people would appear to be over that scene. It's too bad, because I almost think that these guys are one of the better bands of the bunch. I know for sure that I'd rather listen to this record than The Rapture's Echoes - it's got many of the same ingredients, but is a good deal grimier, and not so concerned with the electronic sheen. There is a wee bit of that, but it doesn't detract from the drums-bass-guitar thing going on. Bricks & Mortar starts of with a tight beat, some dubby echo, and then slams into one of the best jams James Chance / White never wrote. A huge bass riff and some shreddingly sharp guitar made this track jump out at me right away. Fierce.

Also getting max exposure on my stereo is Astronaut, the new album by the recently reunited original lineup of Duran Duran. It's fun to see and hear the guys again. The music isn't a quite up to par with those first 2 records from the '80s - as my bro pointed out to me, the music is not too far from the records that Simon and Nick and Warren recorded as Duran in the '90s - they rock, they funk, and there are some ballads.If you're a fan of the band you know that the lyrics are going to be goofy and some of them are. Bedroom Toys is one of the tunes that I liked right off. It's co-produced by Nile Rodgers so it's not a surprise to hear the very Chic-like rhythm guitar. A mid tempo funker, it's got typically poppin' John Taylor bass, cooing backups, and a silly Simon rap. I love it. Not a patch on Planet Earth but it'll do.

Classic 45's Week - Old School Funky Friday

Today's tunes come from a freebie 7" given away with the Record Mirror in 1988. It's a Rhythm King versus Jive Records split, and it showcases the two different labels pretty well - edgier, more experimental fare on from Rhythm King and pop rap from Jive.

Side A kicks off with Bomb The Bass' Megablast in it's original rap version, featuring Merlin on vocals. It's five minutes of beats and scratching with a great rap about the track's fierceness - not much melody or even a tune, but still rocks hard. Track A2 is S'Xpress' Coma, "specially written and produced" for this EP. Essentially it's 2 minutes and 40 seconds of measured breathing and a diagnostic machine beep. It's art, man.

Side B starts off with The Wee Papa Girl Rappers' You Got The Beat - new jack swing beats, the squealing horn sample, and another rap about how fresh their tune is. This is followed by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Here We Go Again, which is totally goofy and self promoting, but then most of their tunes were. The music is ace - great keys and bass samples. Guaranteed to make you smile (or turn it off!).

Classic 45's Week - Gary Numan

Gary Numan had obviously taken notice of what Japan were doing when he released Music For Chameleons in 1982. The trademark sound of Japan was not just David Sylvian's voice, it was also Mick Karn's fretless bass playing. Gary Numan hired ace bass sessioneer Pino Palladino to play the part, and the result is a typically icy yet tight and funky song. What I dig about this 45 is the B side, Noise Noise. It's a rougher edged track notable for featuring the talents of Thereza Bazar on vocals and David Van Day on "helpful hints". These two are better known as shiny UK poptarts Dollar, who rode a wave of Trevor Horn produced singles to chart success around the same time. They were the ultimate air brushed duo, so it it was intriguing to see their name on a Gary Numan record. As a little bonus treat (and a chance to compare how different the two artists really are) here's one of Dollar's biggest hits, Hand Held In Black And White. I would put them in the "guilty pleasure" category - this song is such a cheesy pop tune, but for me the trademark big production by Trevor Horn and Bruce Wooley make it sound so great I can't resist!

Classic 45's Week - Eddy Grant

Eddy Grant began his career in the late '60s with multi-racial combo The Equals. By the late 70's he was a solo star in Europe, creating records that were political and anti-racist, as well as having pop appeal. They sounded unlike any others around at the time - a blend of reggae, rock and pop with lots of electronics, all played by the man. It wasn't until 1983 that he got the attention of the US, and it was with monster single Electric Avenue. Everybody knows the tune - it's brash, growling riff, the spongy synths - you couldn't escape it at the time, it was everywhere. The beauty of this little 7" is it's B side pairing with a previous single from 1979, Walking On Sunshine. This is one funky ass tune, IMO one of the best things he did - disco reggae beats, smooth horns, and much sunny positivity make me shake it every time I hear it. As a little bonus treat here's the brilliant 1982 cover of Walking On Sunshine by Rocker's Revenge, which boosts the disco with a sweet electro sheen. Arthur Baker is at the controls, so it's chock full of NYC electro goodness.