Eternity

Timeless dance tracks don't come around too often. In fact of all the genres 'dance', and I use the term in its most generic form, you understand, suffers at the hands of the aging process in the most cruel ways. autoKratz's 'Always More' looks like it'll be keeping itself fresh with aural skin-cream for decades to come.

Meanwhile Druamatic Twins actively embrace the aging process with 'Back To The Old School' (Note the correct spelling of 'School', tick).

Well done both.

Eternity

Coverville

I've come across a couple of covers today. Both brilliant for their own reasons. But also brilliant for one reason which most, if not all covers do: surprise.
Discovery's take on a timely classic caused me to do an aural double-take, if that's possible. It starts and I'm thinking, 'What's this?' Then, 'Oh, it's that... IT'S THAT?!'.
Then this afternoon I stumbled across this by Jumbonics. I heard it in a dreamy-drop-off-to-sleep moment, listening to John Kennedy's X-Posure last week and did a double-take in my sleep, I think. Or perhaps I dreamt that.
I've purposely not mentioned either of the track names so if you can avoid looking at them when you click you can indulge in the surprise too. Exciting.

Coverville

June 2009

As summer sends us giddy. This month’s music has only gone and done the same.

Fredo Viola will melt your heart.

Animal Collective will bring sunshine to midnight.

And Miike Snow will have you pining for a paddling pool.

Check out the whole delicious collection here. Leave a comment, big it up, love it dearly.

And if you're quick enough, you'll see it's only gone and got featured on the home page.

June 2009

Thursday 25th June 2009

Remember like this

Thursday 25th June 2009

The Troxy

Somewhere in darkest, deepest East London, the streets outside the Troxy spilled-over with Cocker-ites. You could spot the locals in the next-door pub a mile off. And you smiled politely...
Inside, the venue - usually home to cage-fighting - we bounced across the plush carpets, through the art-deco room towards the neon 'bar' sign. A bottle of red wine under the arm we headed to the front.

A suited Jarvis Cocker took to the stage with a cane, raised it like a snooker cue and declared, 'He pots the black.' Launching into a small routine before the opening track, the wirey Yorkshireman is funnier that most stand-ups. More compelling than a million frontmen. Eventually, the 'Pilchard', kicks things off, musically. Though an instrumental the crowd were transfixed by the singer: throwing legendary Cocker-shapes all over the stage. Being Iceland's national day, there was a small quiz with prizes after the opening song.

The set was 'Further Complications'-heavy. With Jarvis transforming into a matador for one track, collecting bras thrown to the stage for another. Seriously. And explaining his prejudice towards the saxophone for the Batman inspired 'Homewrecker!'.
I was surprised to find a huge toilet queue and bog dwellers at Troxy. The name of the venue confused Jarvis. 'We're playing the Trocodero?' 'Do you mean the Roxy?' Thinking someone was northerizing the name of the Lime House location. 'We're playing at t'Roxy'.

The second encore included 'Don't Let Him Waste Your Time'. To the local rag reviewer who said he didn't play it, stick around next time, 'gig reviewer.'

The third encore, do you get better VFM?, crowned the night with the wonderful euro-titled 'You're In My Eyes (Discosong)'. A track he introduced, refering to t'Roxy's (doesn't work) glitterball and likening the effect to floater you get in your eyes: they're bits of dead skin, he told us. So I learnt something too.

More Pulp songs wouldn't go a miss. Why do artists insist on being so stuck-up about their back-catalogue? But the performace was, as always, on cue. (Or some other snooker pun, you see...)

Songkick the gig here >

The Troxy

The Brown Riviera

Summer's arrived in Battersea-by-sea, on the 'Brown Riviera'. No, it has. Actually, it looks like it really has. It's 23 degrees today, according to my new iPhone. (Ahem...) And true to form, the summer tunes have come out in full bloom. Here's a couple of three that are particularly bright and shiney this June.
'Something Good Can Work' by Two Door Cinema Club. The more blatant 'Summertime Clothes' by Animal Collective. And Johnny Foreigner's 'Feels Like Summer'. Shades on. Arm out the window. Stereo turned up as your drive through town soaking up the stares. Because you're not playing the regulation RnB.

The Brown Riviera

Summer In The City

There's little, if not nothing, that I actually know about Moderat. But my dear friend, Richard, who lives at AllHale in the blog-o-drome, wagged his finger in this direction and I'd have been a fool to have not looked that way. He presides over a wonderous musical delicatessen which proffers everything from Plaid to Girls Aloud. (Oh, talking of which.) Moderat is closer to the Plaid end of the counter. It's fresh, monumental dubsteb that will soundtrack the working day perfectly. While dubstep tends to lurk around the shadowy corners of south London at 3am this strolls proudly down Oxford Street on a sunny afternoon. Tipping its hat to the Sinner Winner Man and the Hare Krishna folk. What I do know is that the self-titled album is gold. And 'Rusty Nails' is a good in. So get in.

Summer In The City