Wednesday, October 29, 2003
More odds & ends, all-music edition:
This week's (month's?) lost '80s pop gem ready for re-evaluation is the Blow Monkey's "Digging Your Scene." I remember that for about 6 minutes in 1986, leader Dr. Robert sounded like the future, smarter than Green Gartside and with even slicker pop instincts.
With each successive listen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Mixed Up World" hits my ears as the state-of-the-art electropop I believe it was always intended to. It might, just might, end up feeling more useful than (gasp!) Kylie's "Slow." But is it wrong that I find dsico's genius glitchcore Cuisinart reduction of SEB's "Murder on the Dancefloor" (retitled "Murdered Murder") more useful-cum-dare-I-say-essential? than both? [BTW, he too now has a blog, obviously (still makes me chuckle, though) named dsico suxxx.]
Dunno why it took me this long to realize that the rappers McEnroe reminds me of are Latyrx; McEnroe's song "Physics" (from his great 2002 album Disenfranchised) wouldn't sound out of place on their '97 Solesides one-and-only. It's got a similar lyrical flow to it, and similar, minimalist-never-simple production. I want more.
Listening to a Daft Punk BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix from 1997 today, I noticed the Oliver Cheatham record sampled on Take 5's UK-conquering "Make Luv" worming its way through the mix, back-to-back with Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots." This is why DP are Godlike.
I've never shied away from citing Robert Christgau as probably my most significant influence as a rockcrit - the man's too smart for his own good and writes it. As time has allowed today at work, I've been printing and reading his Pazz & Jop screeds through the years. Accordingly, my head kinda hurts, albeit in a good way.
I still say that the year's best rock album is Led Zep's it-came-from-1972-to-show-the-kids-how-it's-done triple live How the West Was Won. The fact that it was recorded 31 years ago doesn't dissuade me a bit; it came out for the first time this year, which makes it a new album in my view.
A coworker and I are heading to see Lost in Translation (she for the first time, me for the second) after work today, which reminds me to make a public plea: Matthew, please please PLEASE repost the mp3 of Bill Murray's character karaoke-ing "More Than This"! Please. I'm beggin' here, man.
This week's (month's?) lost '80s pop gem ready for re-evaluation is the Blow Monkey's "Digging Your Scene." I remember that for about 6 minutes in 1986, leader Dr. Robert sounded like the future, smarter than Green Gartside and with even slicker pop instincts.
With each successive listen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Mixed Up World" hits my ears as the state-of-the-art electropop I believe it was always intended to. It might, just might, end up feeling more useful than (gasp!) Kylie's "Slow." But is it wrong that I find dsico's genius glitchcore Cuisinart reduction of SEB's "Murder on the Dancefloor" (retitled "Murdered Murder") more useful-cum-dare-I-say-essential? than both? [BTW, he too now has a blog, obviously (still makes me chuckle, though) named dsico suxxx.]
Dunno why it took me this long to realize that the rappers McEnroe reminds me of are Latyrx; McEnroe's song "Physics" (from his great 2002 album Disenfranchised) wouldn't sound out of place on their '97 Solesides one-and-only. It's got a similar lyrical flow to it, and similar, minimalist-never-simple production. I want more.
Listening to a Daft Punk BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix from 1997 today, I noticed the Oliver Cheatham record sampled on Take 5's UK-conquering "Make Luv" worming its way through the mix, back-to-back with Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots." This is why DP are Godlike.
I've never shied away from citing Robert Christgau as probably my most significant influence as a rockcrit - the man's too smart for his own good and writes it. As time has allowed today at work, I've been printing and reading his Pazz & Jop screeds through the years. Accordingly, my head kinda hurts, albeit in a good way.
I still say that the year's best rock album is Led Zep's it-came-from-1972-to-show-the-kids-how-it's-done triple live How the West Was Won. The fact that it was recorded 31 years ago doesn't dissuade me a bit; it came out for the first time this year, which makes it a new album in my view.
A coworker and I are heading to see Lost in Translation (she for the first time, me for the second) after work today, which reminds me to make a public plea: Matthew, please please PLEASE repost the mp3 of Bill Murray's character karaoke-ing "More Than This"! Please. I'm beggin' here, man.
# posted by Thomas : 1:10 PM
