Gist - Greener Grass
The Specials - Raquel
Orange Juice - Blue BoyI was digging around the old iTunes '80s playlist this morning and came across something I had forgotten I had - the
NME C81 compilation. Originally a cassette only release, it was given away free with two coupons and £1.50. Compiled by the NME and Rough Trade Records, it contained a a great array of acts and styles, both established and up and comers. It was the first of several of these compilations by the NME, the best known being
C86.
C81 proved wildly popular and sold out quickly. It veers from artsy electronic experiments (Cabaret Voltaire) to blues funk (James Blood Ulmer) to ska (The Beat) and post-punk (Buzzcocks). It also marked some of the earliest appearances by several Postcard Records acts - Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and Josef K. In the post-punk primer
Rip It Up & Start Again author Simon Reynolds refers to
C81 as "post punk's swan song". It is a fun, occasionally challenging listen. Today I offer 3 diverse tunes - The Special assault you with ska punk fury, Orange Juice bring the Velvets jangle, and Gist (Philip and Stuart Moxham, who went on to form Young Marble Giants) deliver a gorgeous instrumental.
________________________I'm a big fan of chef/author/TV show host Anthony Bourdain, so I have posted a few links over at
siart.tumblr.com for you to peruse. Both are audio interviews - one with another celeb chef, Andrew Zimmern, and the other with Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot from NPR's Sound Opinions.
________________________I made a new
muxtape - go have a listen...
Landscape - Einstein A Go-Go
Scars - All About You
Crystal Castles - Air War
Grateful Dead - Estimated Prophet
Cameo - Back and Forth
David Bowie - Space Oddity (1980)
Sly & Robbie - Don't Stop The Music
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Boz Scaggs - Lowdown
Elvis Presley - Crawfish
Average White Band - If I Ever Lose This Heaven
Panico - Transpiralo (featuring Crazy Girl)
Kraftwerk were ace. They started on time and played most everything I hoped for - except for "Pocket Calculator". The sound was good and the visuals were great - yay, robots! Florian Schneider was not with the band (his replacement even had his own robot), so only Ralf Hütter was left from the original four. It was a real thrill for me to hear these songs played live, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. The band plays Coachella this weekend - enjoy the show!
It's Tuesday, so that means a bunch of new releases in stores today. Here are a few of note; Barry Adamson's Back To The Cat, Cinematic Orchestra's Live At The Royal Albert Hall, Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid, Lyrics Born's Everywhere At Once, Tokyo Police Club's Elephant Shell, and expanded remasters of The Replacements' Sorry Ma Forgot To Take Out the Trash, Stink, Hootenanny and Let It Be. Also out today in the US is the excellent sophomore record by Young Knives. Called Superabundance, it is the follow up to Voices Of Animals & Men, a memorable collection of distinctly British and slightly odd post-punk. The follow up picks up where they left off, but on a grander, more experimental scale. The fab vocal harmonising remains intact, as do the quirky riffs. The subject matter is often bleak, a reflection of the world today, but it is a captivating listen. Turn Tail is an epic, full of strings and menace.
Today is Record Store Day. Hundreds of independently owned record stores all over the US and the UK will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally. You will find a list of all participating stores at the Record Store Day site. A bunch of bands are also releasing exclusive limited edition 7"s to be sold today, including Built to Spill, R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, the Black Keys, Vampire Weekend and Stephen Malkmus + Jicks (who have a 10" EP with 3 exclusive tracks). Go support your local music store and your favorite artists. If you live in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area, be sure to check out The Electric Fetus.
"Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!"
A brief rundown - M83 are back and feeling a bit mellower and dancier than before. Glass Castles bring the blippy noise. Robyn is produced by The Knife, nuff said! D-Train is a stone cold classic electro disco anthem. Germany's Munk bring the DFA-ish funk with special guest Asia Argento. Ditto for Zero Cash & Khan. Padded Cell is Richard Sen (Bronx Dogs) and Neil Beatnik (Dirty Beatniks), and their album Night Must Fall is great -post-punk/funk/electro, and not a whiff of big beat. Sahara All Stars are straight outta Nigeria, delivering a sweet slice of Afro-funk. And then theres Kraftwerk.
The latest web/music/playlistism thingie buzzing around the internets is to make a Muxtape ("a simple way to create and share mp3 mixtapes"). It's ultra basic but works very nicely for streaming audio. Create an account, upload some songs and tell your friends to listen to your hot new mix. Listen to SIART's Muxtape, which features Hercules And Love Affair, Herb Alpert, The Skids and ZZ Top, some Italo, some electro and a few more choice morsels.
