Monthly Archive

Yesterday an article I read some time ago rolled out off the bed inside my noggin and got naked busy. The article was about the history of “Apache”, which, unless you’ve been wandering the musical wilderness for more than two decades, you probably know as the Sugarhill Gang’s semi-classic.

But, do you know where it evolved from and where it went to?

If not, this is your chance to sample some of that evolution.

From guitarist Bert Weedon’s 1960 original to the …

  Incredible Bongo Band cut, progenitor of hip-hop bombs, to the …

    homages in The Roots’ “Thought @ Work” and NaS’ “Made You Look”.

And you’d be a fool not to school yourself on this bit of musical history by heading to Soul Sides and reading the complete “All Roads Lead To Apache” by Michaelangelo Matos .

   Bert Weedon - Apache (1960) Your Pop Pop’s Poptastic
   Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (1973) Your Daddy’s Poptastic
   Sugarhill Gang - Apache (1981) Your Poptastic
   The Roots - Thought @ Work (2002)
   NaS - Made You Look (2003)

And for those that just can’t get enough of the ever-poptastic “Apache”, here is the longer than a frickin block party Grand Master Flash remix:

   Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (Grand Master Flash Remix) (2003)

Oh my god, it has started. We are well into the 21st century and I’ve been waiting for my jetpack and funny robot servant in the style of Rosie The Robot for years now. Hiroshi Ishiguro has put us one step closer to my vision of the future with his robotic clone. It’s called Geminoid and it frowns when you poke it, it also breathes and its face moves on its own! It won’t be able to replace Mr. Ishiguro in the workplace yet, but I’m sure that technology is just around the corner.

Now that the android ball has finally started rolling I wonder if they’re really gonna be as great as I imagine. I’m just a little bit scared of what’s gonna happen when some Lex Luthor type evil genius gets his hands on the android and the footage of Ishiguro and Geminoid together totally creeps me out.

Check out videos of the Geminoid on pinktentacle.com.

   Das Wanderlust - I Wish I Was A Robot

I thought it was going to be impossible to follow up an album that was lauded as much as Funeral was, but Arcade Fire pulled it off with Neon Bible. I can only imagine how intimidating it must have been to create something that would be compared to such an instant classic.

I love their massive, soul hugging sound so much. They manage to fill your ear to maximum capacity without ever going over the top. Choirs, church organs, orchestras, they use them all but they also know when to cherish the quiet moments. It’s daunting. Some bands make you want to start a band yourself and others make you feel like you shouldn’t even try, because you’ll never come close to even touching their level. Arcade Fire belongs to the latter category.

You can hear Neon Bible in full over on nme.com.

Here is an earlier version of “Intervention”, it’s not as orchestal and booming but its simplicity reveals a sweet vulnerability that is at least as impressive as the latest version.

   Arcade Fire - Intervention

The single of the month would have to be The Bees’ “Who Cares What The Question Is?”. I say that like the choice was an easy one, but it was a toss up between The Bees, The Rakes and the Kings Of Leon, to be honest. They’re very different but equally good, so I found it impossible to choose between these three lovely songs. It’s a bit weak, but the reason why The Bees became the lucky winners is simply because I haven’t read that much about this single and it more than deserves a mention on the odd blog. It’s a fun, silly but seriously good pop song with a twang and it happens to have a cool video too. Check it out:

And here’s the wonderfully melancholy but danceable “We Danced Together” by The Rakes:

You can still watch Kings Of Leon’s video for “On Call” here.

I’m gonna cheat even more on top of revealing the top three contenders for single of the month, I’m going to add an EP to my favorite picks of the month. Before you bask in my rebellion, I have to admit that I’ve already mentioned how much we love Bright Eyes’ Four Winds so that saves me having to explain why this is worthy of a top spot. Let’s say laziness is part of my charm. Here’s my attempt to tell you why Four Winds is one of the best things to have happened to my ears last month with a link to a song.

This is a new theme day here at 100b. Those Zany Charts is a bi-weekly free for all for whichever of us is doing the write up. Depending on who’s writing and what they feel like focusing on, you could be witness to any of the following: A rant about the charts. Looking into a type of music in the charts or a specific genre’s chart. What’s interesting in charts other than the U.S. or U.K. In a nutshell, it’s a theme day, so it’s potluck as long as we stick to the theme.

I never really watch the MTVs, VH1s, etc anymore and don’t often listen to radio featuring Top 40. As a result, I realized I don’t really have a grasp on who’s lighting up the charts and getting airplay. Anymore, most of my knowledge of the musical landscape comes from blogs and word of mouth and tends to lean towards the indie and underground more often than not. (Yes, I know I sound a bit like those people that don’t watch television because it’s for idiots. Fuck that, I love television. I just don’t watch music television much anymore.)

So, to get in touch with the current charts, I decided to buy five singles appearing on the U.S. Billboard singles chart. I currently split my time between the U.K. and The Netherlands, so this means the U.S. charts are slightly different for me. The first problem I encountered? What the hell are these charts? No, seriously, what do they mean?

Example.

The Billboard Hot 100. This clearly looks to be the overall singles chart, because Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” is sitting at #1. But, then, what is the Billboard Pop 100? If you compare the Hot and Pop 100s, they look pretty much the same. I gave up trying to figure it out today and decided to dive into the Hot 100. Well, actually, the Hot 50. You need to subscribe to view the complete current Top 100. I’m not going to subscribe just to see 50 more songs that’ll probably bum me out (you’ll understand that snooty comment by the end of this).

U.S. Billboard Hot 100

•   #2  Timbaland ft Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, “Give It To Me”
          Last wk #1, Peak #1, 11 wks on chart

    #6  Gwen Stefani, “The Sweet Escape”
          Last wk #5, Peak #2, 19 wks on chart

  I ain’t buying either of these here two singles today. I’ve already got both of the albums. I haven’t listened to Shock Value yet and, if I’m honest, the totality of The Sweet Escape is a wee disappointing. These two tracks, though, are solid. It’s nice to know I have unique tastes like everyone else.

  Five purchases to go.

    #8  Mims, “This Is Why I’m Hot”
          Last wk #6, Peak #1, 14 wks on chart

  Based on the iTunes preview, I downloaded this one. Mims’ lyrics and style aren’t anything special. However, it’s worth it for the mid-track shifts to different recognizable regional hip hop beats. Catchy.

  Four purchases to go.

    #10 Gym Class Heroes ft Patrick Stump, “Cupid’s Chokehold”
          Last wk #9, Peak #4, 16 wks on chart

  I enjoyed the Download.com “Papercuts” and “Taxi Driver” freebies off the 2005 The Papercut Chronicles, so it was nice to see them break and I bought this album yonks ago. This is an excellent tune with an instrumental hip hop twist. Whenever I hear it, I end up singing the ‘bah-da-da’ bit over and over and over, making myself and anyone within earshot crazy.

    #11 Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”
          Last wk #15, Peak #11, 34 wks on chart

  Apparently, using the word hoes is bad in hip hop, but it’s fine for Carrie Underwood to sing weak ass country about ripping and smashing her man’s car to pieces because he cheated on her. Must be because this hoe ain’t nappy. … And why has all life and tasty stuff been leached out of popular country? Prosecution Exhibit A: Martina McBride (#32). Exhibit B: Rascal Flatts (#50). This is just not country to me.

    #24 Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around”
          Last wk #16, Peak #1, 20 wks on chart

  Already done gave brother Justin the nod by purchasing FutureSex/LoveSounds some time back. His big return was reason enough.

  Damn it! Still four tracks to buy.

    #29 UNK, “2 Step”
          Last wk #29, Peak #29, 11 wks on chart

  Sigh. As much as I enjoy gettin’ crunked, “2 Step” and “Walk It Out” (#42) both strike me as very plain and too similar. Crunk is becoming the new country.

    #36 DJ Khaled, “We Takin’ Over”
          Last wk #45, Peak #36, 4 wks on chart

  A typical Terror Squad type offering, but DJ Khaled ft T.I., Akon, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Lil’ Wayne, and Baby was finally a single I was going buy. Note, I said going to buy. Couldn’t. It’s not available in the U.K. yet because the music industry can’t pull its thumb out, resolve international copyrights, and get things released worldwide more quickly. If they wanted to, they could. So, this one’ll have to wait for a few weeks, I guess.

That’s it. I bought one single I didn’t already have and those I did have were really the only worthwhile songs there. I didn’t want to be too much of a music snob going into this write up, but this spin through the Billboard Hot 100 (nee 50) made me feel like one.

What else did I learn upon my return after being as close to oblivious to the current chart toppers as I’ve ever been?

That Daughtry (#20 “It’s Not Over” and #23 “Home”) sound a helluva lot like Linkin Park (#17 “What I’ve Done”) who sound very close to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (#26 “Face Down”) which strike me as close enough to Hinder (#31 “Better Than Me”) than is necessary. “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” by Fall Out Boy is the best of the lot and has dropped down to #49 now after peaking at #2 during its 14 week run.

That R. Kelly is almost a parody of himself, which at least sort of makes him funny in a sideshow freak sort of way. But, not funny enough to warrant spending money on the singles he’s current fronting or featured in.

That 50 Cent’s got a new album. It’s called Rich Boy (#33 “Throw Some D’s”).

Well, there’s always next time.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Baby 81 will be out in just a few short days, but if you can’t wait that long, the whole album is available for previewing on their blackrebelspace. (Though, given how quickly the Kings Of Leon’s preview was taken down, I’d go there straight away if you’re interested.) I’ve given it a quick listen - it sounds like they’ve picked up where they left off on Take Them On, On Your Own. I think Howl is their best album by far - as unexpected as it was, I absolutely loved hearing them play more bluesy/folksy stuff. On the other hand, when they rock, they rock harder (and with more brains) than almost anybody. Hmm, I guess I’m just a big BRMC fan, no matter what kind of music they’re doing.

Preview Baby 81 while you can, and go buy it on Monday.

Sweet Baby Jesus, just smack me dumb!

Jack and Meg White have hit us with another slammer of a single in “Icky Thump”.

What did I do just about first thing this morning? Duh. No group makes me as excited about music like The White Stripes, so, of course, I dug around for a listen to the new track. I found a rip from the radio right away and didn’t even wait to import it into iTunes before giving in to the sonic temptation.

For a very limited time only, 100b is making the same 83 XFM radio rip available for you to slobber over as well. For hours only and it’s coming off. Prepare yourself for the purchase of the single and album! The … countdown … has … begun.

The White Stripes are back!

   The White Strips - Icky Thump

Update: I was so excited to listen to and then share “Icky Thump” I forgot to credit the blog where I found it. Now, because I have a weird surf history clearing routine, I can’t even dig it out. If it was you, good blogger, I apologize!

I could name at least a dozen bands/artists or albums that turn out not to be as great as it first seemed. You know what I’m talking about - you get an album and think it’s great, but then the excitement kind of fizzles out and you notice a month later that you’d forgotten you even had it. The Shins, so far, have followed the exact opposite pattern, as you can see in the graph below.

If the orange line represents Chutes Too Narrow and the blue line is Wincing The Night Away, you can see an estimate of the frequency with which I’ve listened to these two albums since their releases. (A few notes about the graph: 1. I’ve not included Oh, Inverted World because I didn’t buy that until well after I’d already fallen in love with Chutes Too Narrow, which therefore excludes it from this study. 2. Time Passing data for Chutes Too Narrow is not proportionally correct on this graph, as including the appropriate space between the release of the two albums would have made it far wider than your browser window and totally messed up our column layout.)

Let’s have a look at the data, shall we?

Like every album ever listened to by man, The Shins do take dips in my listening habits. This usually starts with new releases that dominate my stereo for a while, which lead to other albums being played, etc. The interesting thing to notice is that, once The Shins get into my stereo, the Listening Frequency always climbs steadily. They don’t get played once here and there and then get put away again. I attribute this phenomenon to those things that make The Shins unique. Their lyrics are one of the few current bands (that I know of) that could just as well be read on paper as poetry - there’s no rhyming love and dove, they write about the world as they know it with a mastery of the English language that most bands could only dream of. James Mercer’s phrasing inspires compulsive listening - his voice never quite does what you expect it to, which you only really notice the more you hear him sing and makes him fascinating to listen to. Their combination of country, pop, and indie sounds make them suitable for any listening occasion - while working or reading, traveling, dancing, singing out loud and proud, nursing heartbreak, or quiet contemplation.

Although it’s not clear (see note 2 above) from the graph, Chutes Too Narrow’s Frequency climb was relatively gradual. But by the time Wincing The Night Away was released, I knew to expect greatness and, as a result, its rise to the top was much more rapid. In addition, the release of the newer album caused a bump in the Listening Frequency of the older one.

So what have we learned? Listening to The Shins just makes me want to listen to them more. Which makes them a very special (and rarely found) band indeed.

   The Shins - Turn On Me

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to announce what our loyal readers may have already noticed.

With the acquisition of onehunderdb.com, our small corner of the universe now has a more permanent presence on the Internets! This is a big deal around the office here.

You may scoff.

But this is Step 2 in our takeover of the entertainment industry.

   Ja’net Du Bois - Movin’ On Up (aka The Jefferson’s Theme)

Sometimes I try to recall how and when I got switched onto hip hop. I can clearly picture Grand Mixer DXT on Herbie Hancock’s “RockIt” and Kurtis Blow schooling us about his favorite sport while in fourth or fifth grade at Liberty Elementary in Pittsburgh. But, that ain’t special; a lot of those at the tail end of Generation X can probably conjure up the same memories.

Overlapping fifth and sixth grades was a rock phase. While I had posters and pictures on my walls and wore a Van Halen t-shirt, I can’t really recall listening to any specific groups outside of Van Halen, Quiet Riot, and, yes, Ratt, though only because I got a promotional copy of Out Of The Cellar a few years old even then. It must have been a very short-lived exploration because the Beastie Boys arrived and I can clearly remember listening to them all the time and memorizing their lyrics. Then I tried to learn to breakdance. Breakdancing is especially difficult to learn from How To books. Believe me, I tried. Like millions of others, the soundtrack of my high school freshman and sophomore years was written by U2, primarily The Joshua Tree and Rattle And Hum. So far, hip hop didn’t really have a hold on me yet.

Then, from what I remember, hip hop just kicked the door of my musical world in, set up shop, and never left. I don’t only listen to hip hop now, but there was a period beginning in early-1988 and running through 1992 or so where I rarely listened to, let alone spent my meager student earnings on, anything outside of hip hop. Four years of buying tapes meant I accumulated an impressive collection encompassing much of the Golden Age.

Regrettably, I don’t have those well-worn tapes anymore, having lost them in a 1995 break up. Sometimes I think about the groups and artists I listened to nearly two decades ago. One of them was 3rd Bass. If you don’t already know, 3rd Bass was fronted by two white guys (MC Serch and Pete Nice), which inevitably lead to a bit of mild derision from those who felt, being white, they had no place in hip hop and clearly influenced their lyrics and style. However, they had a place and I, for one, felt they deserved it. From my sophomore year in high school to well within the year off I took mid-way through my second season of college I worked in a public library. I can remember shelving books in the restricted areas of the library with The Cactus Album pumping out of my chunky yellow Walkman Sport. The old 3rd Bass stuff is a bit dated now, but it plays well and brings back the smell of the dusty shelves and the heat of those past summers.

Being realistic, I wouldn’t say ‘Prime Minister’ Pete Nice is one of the all-time greatest MCs. Back then, though, he was the fucking bomb and I still think his flow is strong. I don’t know if it was his shtick or what, but those smooth, gangsteresque clothes and the menacing walking stick seemed to accentuate the grip he always had on both his mic presence and verses. Following the release of the second 3rd Bass album, Derelicts Of Dialect, the Serch went his own way and Pete Nice continued to work with 3rd Bass DJ, Richie Rich (Daddy Rich), releasing Dust To Dust in 1993. That’s the last I heard of him. Recently, I wondered what happened to the ‘Prime Minister’. Powered by the Internets and earphones thumpin out vintage 3rd Bass, I did some digging.

So, what happened to ‘Prime Minister’ Pete Nice, Nice, Nice?

Pete Nice, born Peter J. Nash, was apparently no dumbass. Before his 3rd Bass career, he attended Columbia University on a basketball scholarship. After 3rd Bass broke up and Dust To Dust was released, Nash created a short-lived record label - Hoppoh Records - and continued working behind the boards. As music seemingly slipped into the background, another of Nash’s passions moved to the fore - baseball history.

Nash now lives in Cooperstown, New York, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, where he worked to get the Cooperstown Dreams Park started and, based all I could find as recently as 2006, was well-underway on founding and building the Baseball Fan Hall of Fame, where the game’s greatest fans would be enshrined. He’s also written two books, Boston’s Royal Rooters and Baseball Legends of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetary, the former of which he’s produced as a documentary (Rooters: The Birth Of Red Sox Nation) likely to air this summer. This is a man after my own heart. A life grounded in hip hop and a true passion for baseball!

And that’s what happened to ‘Prime Minister’ Pete Nice.

   3rd Bass - Product Of The Environment
   3rd Bass - Microphone Techniques (ft Nice & Smooth)

Sigh, it’s been two years since we’ve even heard from Interpol. Their website kept teasing us with its never changing message and after a while it directed us to their forum, which had a lot of speculating fans on it, but nothing solid. Just when I was about ready to have a search party out for them I recently came across a little interview with Daniel Kessler on BBC radio saying that their new album is due to come out at the beginning of Summer, aiming for June. Oop, Bean pointed out that our bitchin’ release list has been saying that the new Interpol CD will be out on June 4th for a while now. Woo! He didn’t reveal an album title yet, but he did say there’s probably going to be a song called “Mammoth” on it. I’m sure it’s going to be as big as that sounds, but for now I’m just happy they gave us a sign of life.

Listen to the brief radio interview:

   Daniel Kessler on BBC Radio

Why we love them in the first place:

   Interpol - Untitled

Update: For more information about their new album titled Our Love To Admire including the complete tracklisting go to clickmusic.com.

I wanted my very first Classics post to be über special, so I chose Hank Williams “Ramblin’ Man”! I have a soft spot for Hank’s pliable voice and gritty, simple approach to early country. In 1950 - two years before he died under mysterious cicumstances at the age of 29 - he recorded fourteen songs as his alter ego Luke The Drifter. Luke The Drifter was a compassionate, wise, traveling man who had seen it all. He gave all the good advice that Hank himself seemed to ignore at the time.

I don’t know how they thought the audience could miss the obvious Hankness of his voice, but these songs were recorded under a different name because Hank Williams and his people weren’t sure his fans would accept these bluesy, preachy songs. The majority of his hits by then were sweet, fast poppy country songs to tap your feet to, like “Move It On Over” and “My Bucket’s Got Hole In It”. The Luke The Drifter songs stay with you longer. They’re the religious musings of an experienced man who has struggled with sin and came out older and wiser. Actors often say that crawling into someone else’s skin makes it easier to tap into certain emotions, which would explain why, as Luke, Hank sounds like he is really able to pour his heart and soul out into these songs.

My favorite, and probably most popular, Luke The Drifter song is “Ramblin’ Man”. It is an apology to Luke’s lover for not being able to settle down, because like a cursed man he is compelled to roam the land. A guitar and a fiddle quietly keep a rhythm going, while Hank Williams’ heartbreaking voice takes center stage. It has so much depth and feeling that I just can’t understand how country went from this to the Nashville sound. But that’s a whole other story.

   Hank Williams - Ramblin’ Man

And a few new bands that do Luke The Drifter proud:

   Drakkar Sauna - Glissade Pressee
   Two Gallants - Untitled II (Daytrotter Session)
   Poorboy Johnson & The Goddamn Rattlesnakes - Did You Ever Know Boy

If you dub yourself the, um, rap Morrissey, you deserve attention. If you walk around with a mustache lifted from Dali or the Kaiser and a shaggy lion’s mane, well, you crave attention. If your brit hop has a unique sound, damn it, you demand attention!

I bumped into Welsh hip hop artist Akira The Don’s site around a year or so ago in the midst of a post-iPod-acquisition downloading frenzy. Because he had free samples of his music available, I gave him a whirl, naturally. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his work immensely. Even better, he regularly updated both his blog and his music page. By the time his debut was released I was pump-primed to purchase When We Were Young. (Note to the Big Music companies. Most of us want to actually buy the music! We simply like to know what we plan on spending our hard-earned ducats on and we can’t carry MySpace with us!)

As an aside, The Don was apparently dropped by Interscope after concerns about the content of “Thanks For All The AIDS” on the debut. If true, we can’t accuse Interscope of having a spine. Their loss and Something In Construction’s gain.

If you’re interested in hip hop that comes at you from a different angle and has a message without being overly bludgeoning, be sure to give Akira The Don a test drive. The man is creative and different, exactly what you expect from the underground. For those that like to sample before purchasing, here are a few of The Don’s older tracks I enjoy the most.

   Akira The Don - Dreams (ft Nasty and Swiss)
   Akira The Don - Gitmo! (ft Narsty)
   Akira The Don - Living In The Future

If you like what you hear, you can catch more on The Don’s MySpace page. And you can read about his adventures on his blog, as well as downloading some of the mix-tapes still available. Akira, you need to make more available!

I wasn’t sure what to listen to on this beautiful lazy Sunday afternoon, but I felt like something more cheerful than clowns and confetti, which is when The Sw!ms caught my ear. I don’t know if they officially spell their name with an exclamation point, but for some reason it is fitting. Their sixties power pop inspired sound seems to be made to celebrate these first few happy days of sun! Learn more about these guys over on their official site.

Here are three songs from last year’s debut CD Ride Of The Blueberry Winter via theswims.com:

   The Sw!ms - We Need Lava
   The Sw!ms - Depth Charge
   The Sw!ms - Vermillion Archer

The last few days the Bean and I went to see three cool bands and one band with a whole lotta attitude play in the Melkweg. Wednesday was Good Shoes and The Rakes night. We always have so much fun at The Rakes’ gigs, part of that is due to the crowd’s crazy energy and the singer Alan’s excellent moves. They may not have taken Holland by storm yet, but the fans they do have here are hardcore. I thought I loved their music, but the audience, including the Bean, LOVES them. And deservedly so, their new songs sound even better live and for a smallish band they put up an amazing show.

Check out The Bean’s review of their latest album Ten New Messages.
Watch the concert in full over on Fabchannel.

We were so lucky to have Good Shoes support The Rakes, as they are a 100b New Band Day favorite. It’s nice to see a band who is still genuinely surprised to see people singing their songs back at them, but they seemed way more comfortable being on stage now than the first time we saw them last year. I’m still amazed at how these boys manage to create a new exciting, poppy but arty sound that’ll have you dancing on the ceiling like a bad Lionel Richie flashback.

   Good Shoes - We Are Not The Same

Yesterday it was Maxïmo Park’s turn to dazzle us, but first we had to get through the support act, Hasselhoff. We always support the support even when their music is not our thing at all. We actually thought that the band was good at what they do, so it wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have more bravado and hubris than ten Howlin’ Pelles combined, except without the irony and good music. They came off so contrived, it got a bit painful to look at them.

Maxïmo Park more than made up for the support. They’re the kind of band that’s great on record, but really blows your mind live. Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious and they always make us feel like it’s the first time anyone has ever appreciated their music the way we do. The audience sang, danced and screamed along with Paul Smith like he was their cult leader. We’ve seen them play a couple of times now and they’re always a concert highlight for us. Here is a new and an older favorite of mine:

   Maxïmo Park - Nosebleed
   Maxïmo Park - Fear Of Falling

In October 2006, The Bird & The Bee (Inara George and Greg Kurstin, respectively) released their four-track EP Again and Again and Again and Again, including a Peaches remix of “Fucking Boyfriend” that topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart the week of December 2, 2006 (my preference is for the original).

Now, George and Kurstin have a complete jazz-influenced and often retro-sounding long player, The Bird And The Bee, released on Blue Note Records. The three tracks from the EP - “Again & Again”, “I’m A Broken Heart”, “Fucking Boyfriend” - found their way onto the debut, along with seven new creations.

One thing I read somewhere (I can’t remember where, but it must have been The Album Club notes accompanying the CD) is something you should listen for. In the chorus of the languid R&B-like “Because” the word prostate nearly slips past you. Prostate? Did Ms. George mean “a gland surrounding the neck of the bladder in male mammals and releasing prostatic fluid” lying on the ground? Methinks, instead, she meant “lying stretched out on the ground with one’s face downward.” Accidentially mixing up the two in a presentation? Oops. Conceivably having this digitally preserved for all eternity? Priceless. Naturally, because I knew about it my brain searched it out like a tongue to a sore tooth. Now, you, too, can share. It’s my gift to you.

In all seriousness, prostates aside, The Bird And The Bee is a lot of fun. The mix of tracks is different enough to suit whenever you’re likely to listen to it. Over the past few days I’ve listened to the entire album a number of times in an effort to see if the languid, chillout tones of a few of the tracks wouldn’t work for me. I really couldn’t find a time and place the album didn’t leave me satisfied. Early in the morning? Good. At work? Good. In the evening while reading or tapping away on the laptop? Even better.

The duo doesn’t have a MySpace page! Sike! To sample four of the tracks from the album head over to The Bird & The Bee at MySpace.

In hip-hop circles Skull Snaps is best known for the 1973 funk protest cut “It’s A New Day” appearing on their one and only album. While they, almost literally, disappeared from the musical scene after their debut, the opening beat of “It’s A New Day” lived on through sampling by Gang Starr, Mr. Lif, Peanut Butter Wolf, Hieroglyphics, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, The Pharcyde, Camp Lo, Lords of the Underground, and Diamond D. to name but a few later artists. Prior to the 21st century re-release of Skull Snaps by the original artists on their own label (Ten12 Records) the, by then, legendary album was selling for upwards of $300.

But “It’s A New Day” tis not the focus here. Another track on the album, “I’m Your Pimp”, drew my attention on the weekend. It’s so straight funkified and has such ridiculous lyrics you can’t help but crack a smile. I mean, come on, how can you not consider Poptastic a song with these opening lyrics? “I’m your pimp. I wear my hat to the side and walk with a limp.” And for good measure, “Dontcha dare talk back to me. You better listen when I speak.”

Considering the affirmative message in “It’s A New Day”, holding up “I’m Your Pimp” as supremely Poptastic probably does it a disservice. To be fair, upon closer listening there is a message beyond how to be the best pimp you can be. I can’t help it, though. It’s funny! At least I didn’t post this for Soundtrack Day. If this was the soundtrack to my life, then we’d have problems.

This track - combined with the historic “It’s A New Day” - makes the re-release well worth a purchase for hip-hop aficionados and the casual fan of funk.

   Skull Snaps - I’m Your Pimp

Shitdisco is cool and the song is nice and all, but the “Ok” video is fan-freaking-tastic! I love pop-up books. I think more kids would read if we could get, say Wuthering Heights as a pop-up book! Hey, if we can have a stupid squirrel butcher Wordsworth, a pop-up version of The Great Gatsby is not that far off …

If you, like me, have been stuck behind a computer the better chunk of your day, when you’ve been eating, sleeping and pulling your hair out at your desk and you know you’re nowhere near done staring at that stinking screen, you might need a way to keep from going cuckoos nest crazy. Here’s what helps for me:

Every once in a while when you feel like you’re about to crack listen to “The Clapping Song” and enjoy how much sense it doesn’t make. Then make up a silly dance to it and get all those petrified muscles working. It works even better when you’re on a six cup instant capuccino caffeine high. It’ll keep your brain from shutting down at least 2 more hours.

   Anita Harris - The Clapping Song

When Tam and I go to concerts, there’s always at least one song that the DJ plays that we know but can’t figure out where from. Sometimes one of us will remember and blurt it out, but we usually have to give up so as to not drive ourselves insane. Earlier this week, I listened to The Spinto Band’s Nice And Nicely Done for the first time in months. I got that album not long after it came out but, as much as I enjoy it, I’ve only listened to it a few times. I kind of forgot I had it. So I was pretty surprised to find that at least half of those songs that Tam and I puzzle over are Spinto Band songs! I didn’t realize exactly how many great, catchy songs they’ve got on there. This is one I definitely knew without having any idea who sang it and, as my punishment for being so ignorant, I’ve had it stuck in my head on and off all week.

   The Spinto Band - Japan Is An Island

A few weeks ago, I took a little nap in the afternoon and I had the craziest dream. I dreamt that something devastating had happened (I don’t know what) and I was very upset about it. I was in this beautiful apartment in what seemed like New York City looking out at this incredible view, crying my eyes out. (No, it wasn’t a happy dream.) And I was listening to Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up”. In the dream, I thought, ‘Damn, The Magic Numbers would do an awesome cover of this song’. I wasn’t half awake thinking it, it was all in the dream, I swear. I have no idea where it came from but it’s definitely true, The Magic Numbers would sound great doing “Come Pick Me Up”. It wouldn’t be drastically different, the way that some great covers are (The White Stripes’ “Jolene”, for example) - in my head, it sounds very similar to the original but with a little more jangle and a little less country and that crazy keyboard-kazoo instrument (I have no idea what it’s called) replacing the harmonica parts. But with those Magic harmonies, it sure would be beautiful.

   Ryan Adams - Come Pick Me Up
   The Magic Numbers - Slow Down (The Way It Goes)

I’m not a massive fan of poetry, which, I’m sure, is probably because, like opera, I just haven’t been educated enough regarding its finer points to fully appreciate it. But, this isn’t about poetry. It’s about defiling a perfectly good artform I do understand. This is the music curmudgeon in me coming out.

If you’ve paid attention to the news the past two days, you may already know what’s coming. If you haven’t been paying attention to the Happy News segments, then you don’t already know the Cumbria county tourism bureau has come up with what they feel is an innovative way to bring one of their past luminaries to the attention of a whole new generation.

Apparently, those in Generation X, Y, and Z can only understand and relate to William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” - commonly known as “Daffodils” (see, I’m not a total dimwit, though I did have to access the Internets to learn the actual title) - when a large demented squirrel translates and raps it for us.

For reference, here is the original “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”:

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.

Now, for those of you who simply can’t relate to that, here’s the updated translation. This will be filed under Novelty Rap, Dumb. Right next to Rapping, see Rappin’.

Holy jabberwocky Batman, I’m so infatuated with this insane band from Cardiff, I can’t see straight. You have to check out Threatmantics’ debut single “Don’t Care”! It is the freaking bee’s knees, the dog’s bollocks, the cat’s meow, if you will. I haven’t been this excited about a song in a long time. It’s half in Welsh with a chorus saying “I don’t know what you just said” - which is very true in my case and accompanied by a viola, drums, a bass and a singer who sounds happily deranged.

I don’t mean to jump the gun while we’re only halfway through the year, but I think they’re my favorite find of this year. They’re original, crazy, yet catchy and they do things with a fiddle I never heard before. Check out three more songs including the song that won me over on The MySpace.

Here’s the very sweet and strangely threatening “Little Bird”:

   Threatmantics - Little Bird

The Oranges (not to be confused with The Oranges Band, apparently), are a Japanese band of extreme goodness. Their album Young Now! (originally only released in Japan but given a US release in 2002 by Smile Records as Young Now! USA, technically) It is, from what I’ve heard so far, a wonderfully insane mix of Japanese pop and 60’s British Invasion influence. Here’s what Smile Records has to say about them:

“[The Oranges] have stumbled upon a fantastic formula with their shameless love of late ’60s/early ’70s rock via the Bay City Rollers, Hanoi Rocks, Beatles, and most importantly, The Monkees. They wear these lovely influences on their sleeves, which is fine by me, as they emulate them with such flair one can’t help but gladly go along for the ride.”

Ah, The Monkees - The Oranges are clearly a band after my own heart.

I think my very favorite thing about Young Now! USA is that all of the song titles are in English (”Miracle Child”, “Little Child”, and “White Rabbit”, for example) but the songs themselves are in Japanese, leaving me seriously wondering what these songs might be about. (I also wonder if the titles were in English on the Japanese release, but I haven’t been able to find that out.) I think not knowing makes them even better, I hope I never find out.

   The Oranges - Hot Chocolate

Almost a year ago I wrote about Crash Convention for New Band Day and today I learned they’re splitting up! Didn’t they just get together?!? Well anyway last year I said I was undecided whether I like the band or not, thinking I had plenty of time to make my mind up. I do know that I adored “Part Two” and “Obviously Apparently” even then. In spite of my reservations I did join their mailing list and I have to say that they were one of the most fan-friendly bands I’ve ever come across. They regularly posted new recordings on their members only page and the more I heard the more I leaned towards liking them. It’s sad they didn’t stick around long enough to prove my initial doubts wrong. I hope they continue making music somehow, so I’ll definitely keep an eye on any projects coming from the individual members of the band.

Here’s how they broke the news to their fans.

Three lovely songs:

   Crash Convention - Part Two
   Crash Convention - Obviously Apparently
   Crash Convention - Leaving Rose

I feel like I say this every time I post about it: I’m not pimping emusic. I get 100% of nothing in return for mentioning how great this download service is. And I always seem to have downloads remaining or refreshed as part of my monthly subscription, so I’m often listening to something from emusic. Apparently, sometime over the weekend, while I was catching up on albums I downloaded last week, I got my refreshed quota again. Don’tcha see? I’m swimming in emusic!

So, while digging through the emusic crates for interesting stuff last week, I ran across a few emusic-only albums members could download for free. One of them was a massive 37-track collection of the 2007 Independent Music Awards (IMA) winners. For free. You can bet your music-craving ass I downloaded that. This is one of the reasons music is oozing from my ears right now.

The IMA categories run the gamut from Americana to Pop/Rock to Hip Hop/Rap to Jazz to World Music, as you would except from a vehicle intended to give indie (in the truest sense of the word) a stage on which to shine. Having listened to the 37 tracks, I thought I’d publicize a few of the artists and songs that stood out.

Melissa McClelland won the Best Americana Song category for “Passenger 24″ from Thumbelina’s One Night Stand. This is a vaguely haunting track that forced me to sneak over to her website, where she’s aptly described as “a heroine you will not be able to get out of your mind.” So true. So true.

Not to be outdone by Ms. McClelland, Kristy Kruger won the Best Americana Album category for her entire fourth album, Songs From A Dead Man’s Couch. Kruger is currently touring all 50 U.S. states in homage to her brother, Lt. Col. Eric John Kruger, who died in Iraq in November 2006. As her press info quotes, “Since he died in the name of this country, I’d like the country to know his name. And I’d like to see America, the whole thing. I’d like to see what he died for.” The track available on the IMA collection is “Gold Rush” and after a listen I want to hop in a bruised and battered old car and go west without any maps or plans and just see where I end up.

If the story of how they formed is true, it, alone, would be reason enough to give them a whirl. Shana Halligan and Kiran Shahani lived one block away from each other in L.A., recorded just one wall way from each other, but never knew about the other until the Internets helped their paths cross. Don’t look at me like that. It’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Based on “Overdue”, a song from their Pop/Rock Album category-winning The Mating Game, this duo, known as Bitter:Sweet, was destined to be together thanks to Al Gore and those Internets. You can also hear Bitter:Sweet on the Devil Wears Prada soundtrack. It’s been a big year for these two.

   Melissa McClelland - Passenger 24
   Kristy Kruger - Gold Rush
   Bitter:Sweet - Overdue

If you’ve never heard the can’t-put-your-finger-on-it sound of Gogol Bordello, then you’re in for a treat from Ori Kaplan, Tamir Muskat and the up-to-nine man crew of Balkan Beat Box supplemented by various featured artists. Kaplan used to be the saxophonist for Gogol Bordello and both he and co-founder Muskat are originally from Israel while now calling Brooklyn, New York their home.

I happened upon Balkan Beat Box’s inaugural 2005 album of the same name while surfing around the editor’s picks on emusic and, based on the previous association with Gogol Bordello and the description of the music, couldn’t resist downloading. And it’s worth it.

Want to feel transported to a time and place not quite the Old World and not quite the New? Like your music captivating for reasons you can’t quite explain while being nudged along by brass, woodwind and bass woven together in a superb tapestry? Then Balkan Beat Box is surely a can’t miss. It’ll invade and tickle your musical subconscious. Some tracks lean more to the traditional, which clearly informs their adventurous sound. Others are certainly more non-traditional without leaving you shrugging your shoulders wondering what you just listened to.

The second Balkan Beat Box album, Nu Med, is due out in May on JDub (U.S.) and Crammed (Europe). The group is on tour all over the place in the U.S. and Europe as I type.

   Balkan Beat Box - Adir Adrimi (ft Victoria Hanna)
   Balkan Beat Box - Meboli (ft Vlada Tomova)

Enjoy what you hear? Try more at the Balkan Beat Box site and Balkan Beat Box on MySpace.

DANG, the new Modest Mouse album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, is so flippin’ good, I couldn’t wait any longer to post something from it. I haven’t read any reviews or reactions yet so I don’t know how everyone else feels about the album, but I can’t imagine anyone not loving it. (Unless you didn’t like Modest Mouse in the first place but we can’t do anything about that.) It’s beautiful, wild, fun, angry and sad - it seems to me that Isaac Brock is a man who truly understands and feels the entire range of human emotions and expresses them like no one else, often all within one song. I’m not into writing a proper review of We Were Dead … , at least not right now, but if I did, it would be positively glowing.

If you need any incentive to go buy the album yourself, have a listen to this. Pretty much every track on this album is, of course, fantastically good, but this one has all the little things I love about Modest Mouse in one song.

   Modest Mouse - Steam Engenius

I was so excited when I first heard 747s that I started writing a New Band Day post straight away. Then I found out that they already have a full album Zampano out since september last year. Where was I?? Half the blogosphere has probably written, praised and launched them into a career of booze, broads and debauchery already, but I’m finally ready and laced up to shake my pom-poms for these guys.

747s make the sweetest pop songs, but I haven’t heard anyone do it quite the way these boys do. They’re from Ireland, Italy and Germany, but they’re based in Liverpool - I hope I got that right. They’re fifties inspired and dreamy and you’re gonna have to fight off your dear old dad over this one, but they can also do stompin’ rock as demonstrated by “Elaine”.

Listen to “Elaine” via their official site:

   747s - Elaine

The Bean and I went to see The Shins play at the Paradiso yesterday and it was excellent. We were expecting them to be great, but their support band Viva Voce, was the surprise of the evening. They easily won over the crowd with their big noise and sweet voices.

I have to admit I don’t own any of their three albums (yet), because I only knew one song and though I loved it, it soon got buried under a pile of new music yet to be listened to. Now that I’ve seen them live I want everything they’ve ever touched. Anita Robinson is my new hero, she is a guitar fiend!! She could make her instrument sing with the best of em and was very serious, whereas Kevin Robinson obviously loved entertaining the crowd. His super cool headband was not just a nice accessory, it was also sweat absorbent and Bean remarked that it had the added bonus of making him look like Richie Tenenbaum. On top of being a keen dresser, he is the first person I’ve ever seen play the guitar and drums at the same time. Last night they definitely made a believer out of me.

   Viva Voce - Alive With Pleasure

I was curious about what those Transgressive guys were up to, so I had a look at their list of releases to see if there was anything new. Mechanical Bride isn’t brand spanking new, but I didn’t know about her yet. Her myspace page describes her as “a young girl from surburbia, buried deep in the perversion of music, all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small”. Her music is described as “delicately experimental, folk/electro”, which seems accurate, based on what I’ve heard so far. The three songs that make up her “In The Throes EP” (released by Transgressive sometime last year but seemingly sold out) are available for listening over there at thatspace. “Chapel” and “Poor Boy” are quite lovely but the real gem there is “Love Is Lost”, a short and bittersweet song with a fantastic combination of folksy guitars and soft, floaty beats.

I was watching Christina Aguilera’s video for “Candyman” and both the song and the video are a really nice, sexed up tribute to The Andrews Sisters. I was never a big Christina Aguilera ehm enthusiast, but lately she’s been making some great pop songs and it’s wonderful that she put the popular trio from the forties in the spotlight like that. Check out The Andrews Sisters performing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (From Company B)” the song that inspired the pop diva’s sugary hit here.

When I was little I loved one of The Andrews Sisters’ biggest hits from 1945 called “Rum & Coca Cola”. Ironically, the original lyrics by a Trinidadian artist were about how the Yankees came to Trinidad and the local girls prostituted themselves to the soldiers who were very generous. Not exactly the soldier friendly stuff The Andrews Sisters were known for. It gives new meaning to the lyrics “Both mother and daughter workin’ for the Yankee dollar”, I thought it meant that they were selling drinks to American tourists.

   The Andrews Sisters - Rum & Coca Cola