$UCCE$$



Theme of the day. Check out his new "pay what you like" affair here.

MP3 Cadence Weapon - Unsuccessful Club Nights

How apt.



I love the Genius playlist feature in iTunes. Sometimes, I break it, as I'll be playing some bedroom remix of something obscure that there's no data on, but generally, it's top. Here's what it's thrown at me this morning. Meets my mood well.

MP3 Nas - Where are they now

MP3 Artful Dodger and Craig David - Woman Trouble

MP3 Jay Z - December 4th

MP3 Pharoahe Monch - Push

"Might be a permanent thing. Could be a meaningless fling."



I felt the urge to listen to Brendan Benson's second album "Lapalco" when in the shower earlier. Can't figure out why, Maybe I missed it? I have spent a lot of hours listening to that record over the years. Hmm.

MP3 Brendan Benson - Pleasure Seeker

Somersaults.



I've written about Sky Larkin before, and it's no secret that I bloody love them. Their debut album, "the Golden Spike", dropped in last week, and it's been on constant rotation since. It's an album absolutely chock full of singles, and while it's titled inline with the "Gold" naming trend many bands fall into at the moment, it's certainly going to be up there at the end og the year as one of the best rock albums of the year. They're playing the Night and Day in Manchester on Tuesday night, so get yourselves down.

MP3 Sky Larkin - Somersault

Smugness.



After finally getting my top ten albums of 2008 done (boy, was that tough), I'm now able to go back to filling the blogosphere with half cocked attempts at thematic work, and generally moaning about little points in my life with accompanied by a suitably none-emo soundtrack. That said, I've precious little to whinge about at the moment, and in fact, one could say I'm the smuggest motherfucker in town. To accompany my feeling of uber-smugness the other day, I decided to begin listening to as much Arthur Russell as I could find in my collection. My obsession with the DFA mix of 'Springfield' is well documented, yet I've found myself drawn to his more downbeat material over the last few days, if anything to help bring my ego back down from the dizzying stratespheric heights it's been circling. Or maybe that's just arrogance? Whatever really. Fuck it.

MP3 Arthur Russell - This is how we walk on the moon

Best of 2008: #1 - TV on the Radio: Dear Science



This is the winner. Why? Because it is. There wasn't an album that topped this for me in 2008, and for certainly the last quarter of the year, was the record I returned to most frequently. Yeah, it's arty, it's avant garde, but in all fairness, that's no reason to avoid it. In fact, it's what makes it such an essential record. As band, TVOTR continue to move from strength to strength, and have gone far further than their unfortunate description as a "Black Radiohead" suggests. Absolutely fucking essential, and a piece many will be talking fondly about in years to come.

MP3 TV on the Radio - DLZ

Best of 2008: #2 - Hercules and Love Affair: S/T



Hey everybody, disco is back. Thanks to Hercules and Love Affair, in 2008 the music world got it's collective groove back, and learned to shake it to those disco house sounds again. Antony (of the Johnsons) turns in a star turn on the record too, possibly showing that full on disco-divaism is a role he suits better than that of morose troubadour. Singles such as 'Blind' and 'You Belong' have set the pace, and have shown true crossover potential, while 'Hercules' Theme' and 'Athene' have found their way into many an end of year best of. Can the band ever record an album as complete as this again? The jury might be out on that, but for a real reflection on where dance music was at in 2008, then this serves as its best document. A triumph.

MP3 Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules' Theme


Music posted up here is for evaluation only, and only online for a limited time. If you're an artist, band or label that would like something removed, please get in touch. Otherwise, enjoy the blog!

About me

  • I'm jonthebeef
  • From Manchester, North West, United Kingdom



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