Looking back... after almost a year...

Well what do you know. I am totally astounded. Like blown out of the water confused. When I started doing this blog it was because... well because, I didn't really have anything else to do with my free time other than the 'Albion' show! It was just an off the cuff "why not" sort of thing... it just seemed to make sense to share music with folks!

Recently, however, this blog thing has started to seem a lot bigger than I had ever expected. I'm not saying that Noel Gallagher is calling me up and saying "I really don't like the nice things you have to say about Damon Albarn" but... I mean there are more people reading this blog than just me...

For example... I get emails here and there saying "hey, I like your blog... can you check out my music?" and sometimes I do (obviously) check it out and then put it on the site. Other times I have larger entities (I realize I'm covering ground that has been touched on recently but not EVERYONE reads this blog like you do dear reader) like labels or magazines or stuff like that ask me to post things and sometimes I do that as well. Other times new companies or websites approach me saying "hey, can you help expose us to your readers"...

That stuff is all just way weird to me, but I gotta say I think it's wayyyyy awesome... However, I also wanted to let y'all know that the most awesome thing since I started doing this, the moment that really mattered to me most (the first thing that made me really proud of doing this)... was when Palms Out Sounds said they would put me on their blogroll. I read Palms Out Sounds religiously, like every day, and for them to say "yeah, we like your blog" made my year. Those guys have an amazing thing going there and I see nowhere to go but up for them. Someday I hope to be half was awesome as they are! (P.s. They have a store in NY *and online*... you need to go check that out). So please go take the time to check out their blog and make a point to keep going back...

Also, in the process of looking back over the last year and taking in all of these awesome experiences, I wanted to take a second here to say THANK YOU to you the reader!

THANK YOU TO YOU DEAR READER FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO READ MY RAMBLEY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT MUSIC! I mean, this blog ain't Rolling Stone... I don't even try to write with any objective or intelligent stance (most of my posts are like "FUCK YEAH THIS IS AWESOME! WAY FUCKING AWESOME!" or "Pete Doherty is like Jesus! Like Jesus I tell you!") so I appreciate you taking the time to come here even though it's not exactly the most professional joint out there... I'm just some dude who loves music... a lot...

Because I've realized how much some of you appreciate this blog I am going to come at the blog with renewed interest here in 2007 and really try to take things up a notch. I know that Charles (from "The Spirit Of Albion" Radioshow that I do) and I have talked about doing a bunch of stuff for the Albion show and the Albion site so I'm going to try to do loads of crossover stuff and make sure that no matter whether you are just a blog reader, or just a radio listener, I've got you covered! I know change has been slow to come but you gotta bare with me...

So, to thank you guys for being so rad I'm going to do an intense Dance/Rock post over the course of this week just for you!

I thought I'd start out with this awesome Charlatans vs Chemical Brothers E.P. I found on eMusic... Hopefully I'm not the only one old enough to remember how awesome it was to listen to Chemical Brothers remixes on the way to a rave thinking "What ever would have made them think to do that to this song? It's so awesome"... Shit, I still think the same thing now! I just got so nostalgic listening to this old bigbeat stuff I had to post it... so hopefully you enjoy this...

The Charlatans UK vs The Chemical Brothers- "Nine Acre Dust (Chemical Brothers Remix)"

This one isn't SO dancey but it's a product of the same era... I thought I remembered this song having words... are my headphones fucked up?
Ian Brown- "Dolphins Were Monkeys (UNKLE Vs South)"

While on the subject of Dance/Rock I wanted to point out that, thank god, for the first time in a long while we are back to the point where we are getting consistent dance remixes for most rock bands with a pulse... of course this isn't ALWAYS a good thing but usually it is... the best example of the merging of both worlds (of course) is my dear Klaxons who I've been championing since I started this blog...

Klaxons- "Forgotten Works"
Sorry folks... had to take that one down... wasn't looking forward to talking to the Klaxons legal team.. seems to be that every one who has posted Klaxons stuff doesn't have a working blog right now!

And I'm sure by now you've been over to I Was There for the most anticipated cover of the year... (which is pretty good but also kind of sounds like a high school talent show, not the greatest dance band in the world; but then again I doubt they were being very serious)... but IF you somehow haven't made it over there here's a link to the song...

Klaxons- "My Love (Justin Timberlake Cover)" zShare

Then, I can't remember if I posted this one when I first came out... but either way I want to post it again... just because "Golden Skans" is on my iPod nonstop...


So, once again thank you, and please check back soon because I'm going to keep running with this vibe and should have a bunch more awesome stuff... feel free to leave comments as it helps me get a feel for what you all want... I'd write more but I gotta go to class... peace...




P.S. Do you guys think that I should start trying to maintain some sort of real "journalistic" standards? Or should I just keep rattling on as I always have? I'm just wondering...

Help vs Help (plus other good news)

VS

WOO HOO!!! Charles and I are at the WIDR meeting right now and let me tell you... LET ME TELL YOU... there are big exciting things coming! Live playlists, new soundboard for live music, WIDR week... all sorts of shit! ALSO on the heels of that great news, Charles and I are going to be pimping out the show/website/blog/myspace during 2007 to make your listening experience even better. How you ask? Well how about with podcasts, t-shirts, and other fancy new things? You like... I know you like!

So... a few days back I posted Blur's "Eine Kleine Lift Musik" from the epic Help! charity compilation that came out in the mid-90's during the Britpop era... and today I went back to take a look at it, and the newer Help! comp that came out about a year ago, and decided it was going to do another post with some of the songs.

DO NOT GET ME WRONG! I am not saying "here you go, ignore the fact that these are supposed to be for charity and download to your hearts content"... I posting these songs because a) we American's have probably (for the most part) not heard these songs and b) because of that it's easy to forget they exist at all! I thought I would get this out here and HOPEFULLY it will convince you to pick the album up and also remind you how awesome these comps (and their charities) actually are!

Here's one from the new Help!...
Babyshambles- "Bollywood To Battersea"

And one from the old Help!...
Massive Attack- "Fake The Aroma"

On the first one Radiohead put "Lucky" (from Ok Computer) out to rave reviews... then they went and put this one on the new one...
Radiohead- "I Want None Of This"

Then here's another one from the first comp...
Suede- "Shipbuilding"

So I hope you guys dig that... PLEASE go out and actually purchase these... both albums have shitloads of tracks (20 on the original and 22 on the follow up) and lots of your favourite bands! I mean if you frequent this site then most of them probably are your favs... I mean probably not Keane but you know what I mean! Which ones do you guys think is better? I'm not sure because I haven't listened to both all the way through but... I'm interested to see what you guys think...

Anyway... make sure you come back and check for new posts! Now that I've got this new computer the posts are going to be more frequent... speaking of new computer....

Best days of my life...

The last 48 hours or so have been two of the best days in my life. I got my new lappie that I DESPERATELY needed (the lowest grade MacBook which I will trick out once I get that record contract). I got to sleep in this morning and then go over to Sam's house to work on music. Sam came up with a brilliant name for our electronic work (we will now be known as State Crime) today. I got a call earlier this evening from the guy at Soccerzone and I offically got the job. I got to go out to lunch today with Heather and not freak out about going to work (and potientially lose my job for no reason, which is how it's been since I got there) which was a seriously a relief. Everything has been totally ace.

I'm also really happy with being able to come back here and get the music back out to all you folks. On top of just regular posting I have to say the one thing that I've really dug since I've gotten back into writing this blog is the people who contact me about posting stuff. Big and small I love them all! From major labels to tiny little indie bands I love posting stuff. So now I am going to take the time to get around to somethings I've been too busy to attend to.

First off is Saturna... they contacted me a minute back but I was way to busy to fuck with it then. So I will bring them to you now. Their song kind of defies explanation... best I can come up with is that their single "Pop Rocks" is an amalgamation of Oasis with bits of the Stone Roses thrown in for good measure PLUS a bit of that "90's sound" that has been so sorely missed by me recently. Funny part is they aren't British at all; they live in Portland (I know it's against format but it at least KIND of is still within it)! My favourite part of their song is from 2:30 to the end where it gets all psyched out and then goes back to rocking. They undoubtedly have a bright future ahead of them (and when they blow up you can say "oh yeah, I heard that shit on Albion"). I also wanted to note, their sound is amazing. I don't know if it's paying for a good studio, or maybe they just know how to rock the software studio real well but they sound great...
Saturna- "Pop Rocks"

Then we've got ist. This is the kind of band that makes me smile. They released a straight forward punk rock song called "I'm Jesus (And You're Not)" AS A CHRISTMAS SINGLE!!! How insane would it have been to have that as the Christmas number one? Fucking bonkers. But if you only have 60 seconds to listen to a song today I would suggest this one. It's got a surf rock low-end, punk guitars, and... well that's about it I mean how much can you fit in on minute! It does contain the fastest sing-talking I've heard since "End Of The World As We Know It"! Check it out... if you don't end of getting it here it's being re-released on VALENTINES DAY!
ist- "I'm Jesus (And You're Not)"

Look out for other indie hopefuls Cuckoo Canoe on the site here in the future... at this point that one is probably "in the mail"...

Hey! Before I lose your attention... While you're here why not check out this interview with Amy Winehouse.. right? Why not! Tres random over here at Arcadia...
AOL Interface w/ Amy Winehouse

Or maybe these Lily Allen sessions?
Lily Allen AOL Music Sessions

Or maybe the new Clinic?
Clinic, ‘Visitations’

Ok I wish I could post more but I HAVE to go to class.. I'll see you cats later...

The Good The Great and The Fantastic

Well today has just about been the best day ever. After the internet blackout for a while (due to work cutting me off) I have finally recieved my MacBook in the mail! Now I can blog in bed and life is perfect...

On top of this good news I (basically) got a new job today... I'm waiting another 24+ hours for confirmation but the guy who did the interview with said I'm the man for the job (which is nice because I'm sick of being treated like dog shit at my current job). This makes life SO much better...

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL THE GOOD NEWS! As an extra little icing on the cake... for you and me both... I've got some more stuff on The Good The Bad and The Queen to share with you via THE FADER.

I've always really liked THE FADER as I kind of felt like they were the American equivalent of The Face (the best magazine ever that is now defunct) which is a pretty big compliment. Their content has helped usher in a new era where you have indie kids that listen to grime, real hiphop heads who know who Interpol is, and a forum for new 'stars' like M.I.A. who really don't get cover status anywhere else (not unlike other coverstars Clipse, Icarus Line, W.I.T., and others). Shit, in fact I love THE FADER so much that back in the day I used to keep a copy of the Neptunes issue on my person at all time like it was the Bible. For real though.......... and last time I checked my peeps Flosstradamus were doing a mixtape or something of the sort with those cats from THE FADER so I gotta love it!

I don't want y'all to think that this blog has become a completely Damon Albarn-centric blog.... it's just that fucking man has taken the music world by storm and loads of people have said that TGTB&TQ album is about the most important shit in rock music this year! And why not? When you've got bits of Blur, The Clash, The Verve and Africa 70 together that is a force to be reckoned with! I hope y'all are going to check out that album (especially since Parlophone and I gave you those two tracks) because I know you are going to wish you had already bought it once you read the new FREE PDF issue of THE FADER and listen to the accompanying podcast.

ON said podcast you've got Kanye West's homie GLC (who was featured on "Spaceship"), Aloe Blacc, Mavado, Vybz Kartel, and loads more... and of course TGTB&TQ with "Kingdom Of Doom"... and if I read the email correctly Damon Albarn himself is also on the podcast as well. It's so pretty wicked shit and totally more than worth the price of FREE... I mean how are you going to turn down free songs?!?!?! And the free magazine??!?!?! Shit I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't buy The Fader last Friday at the news stand because I didn't have enough money on me.. and I couldn't be more psyched that I just got it for free! I'm sure you all will feel the same way...

The magazine is HERE and the podcast either there or HERE.


Now (to tie in to all this) I would feel pretty awful giving away another TGTB&TQ track without permission so instead I'm going to give you a track off the legendary HELP! War Child album from Damon Albarn's OTHER band Blur (I'm sure you've heard of them before). This was originally made to help children affected by the war in Somalia... I imagine it still is, so if you like this track check out the rest of it and help someone in need (because I don't need "screwing over kids in war torn regions by giving away free songs" on my conscience!)... the song and album are over @ eMusic.... I'm sure I don't need to tell you if you join eMusic from the image below I make money and YOU get a free trial... cause I'm sure you knew that already....

Blur- "Eine Kleine Lift Musik" from HELP!

Ok... so I got the new computer things should be back to normal... if I don't have anything posted keep checking back or... I dunno.. go over to Palms Out Sounds or something! And if you guys could please leave some comments... it at least lets me know peopel are still stopping by lol... peace!

LIMITED EDITION... Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

Well... things have become SO pathetic over the last couple days. I'm staring down the barrel for a gun (for no good reason except the owner doesn't like me) at work... because of this I have no internet at work... I've had to scramble to get classes for this semester by begging my teachers to let me into their classes... I haven't done any work on the album... and I have just barely talked my girlfriend. Fucking garbage.

BUT despite adversity I still bring you a new Arcadia post? Why bother you wonder? Because Chris over at Parlophone has sent another track in this direction... which of course is always a good reason to post.

The song is by Siobhan Donaghy. I don't really know too much about her (I mean obviously I know the Sugababes) but here's the low down...

Siobhán Donaghy (born 14 June 1984 in London, England), is a female singer-songwriter. Until September 2001, she was a member of English pop group, the Sugababes, after which she was replaced by new member Heidi Range. After her departure from the Sugababes, Donaghy released three solo singles and an album. She still lives in Eastcote, Middlesex, with her family, which includes her sisters Bevin and Roisin.

Now normally I don't go for straight up POP songs... but this song is pretty straight... and the Sugababes (and now-former-member-Donaghy) have become a British institution and it's worth taking note of what goes on with them and their (former) member's careers... yeah? I doubt it's the last time you hear about Donaghy (or the 'Babes) on Arcadia...

The track itself is actually a pulsing throbbing house track done by Medicine 8... I don't know what the actual song sounds like but this remix is wicked... what's even cooler about it is that it's going to be released on super limited edition 12" BUT YOU GUYS GET TO HEAR IT HERE!!! (For you mp3 based Djs... you're welcome...)

Here's the stream for this track...
Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

Here's the download...
Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

You can check out more at her Myspace or at her website... AS USUAL COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED... the more you guys say the more Parlophone listens (from what I gather) and the more tracks they give me to give you! Good news yeah?

Well anyway... I will try to be back on here as soon as humanly possible... but right now I have to deal with the Thought Police and it's hard to get around that... keep checking back...

Well I've got good news, and I've got bad news...

Let's start with the the good news, shall we? The good news is that whilst talking to my father yesterday he agreed that I needed help getting a new laptop as BOTH my computers are held together by shoestrings (as some of you may remember my other laptop's screen went out and the replacement screen was going to be the cost of the computer, and my Mac is running 128mb of RAM and a 30 gig hard drive).

Ready for the bad news?

They pulled the internet at work. Which is where I did most of my posts (usually on my break I might add). So this REALLY sucks. The only reason I really kept this job was because I could do stuff like work on the internet or download stuff for my show. Now, apparently, they feel they can't trust me (which is such a load of garbage). It all stems from the fact that my last boss painted me as a heathen so that she could explain why work wasn't getting done in her department.

So, long story short... I will soon be doing posts (and working on my album) from bed! So things WILL go back to normal here at Arcadia... just as soon as that new comp gets here!

Anybody got suggestions for a new job? Because I have to think they are trying to force me out without firing me.

First news was "there's Americans on the shore! Maybe, now we're all going to war!"

Here's the 2nd half of the Babyshambles post I promised you... apparantly you guys DUG the last one because my traffic was way awesome... I think it was close to 600 or something for Thursday (which is crazy because my weekend numbers are usually SO much better)... and the numbers we also way high for the random post from WIDR studios! Hope y'all enjoyed that as well...

So back to Babyshambles... What do I think of the new songs? WELL LET ME TELL YOU! I think they are fucking faboo. FABOO! Obviously the older ones (last post) have gotten little tweaking and still work as well as they used to, but these new ones are just as good....... they seem full of an energy that seemed to pop up when Pete wrote 'Sedative'... or at least they all piggyback on that vibe (I mean that in a good way)...

BTW... I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT ALL OF THESE SONGS CAME FROM ALBION ARKS which is the first and foremost place to pick up rare and unreleased Babyshambles material. I just am jacking them and throwing them up here... so if all the downloads are out and you still want these tracks then you should probably head over there! (They were originally posted on href="http://www.frenchdogblues.com">French Dog Blues which is the official homebase for Babyshambles fanatics!)

Babyshambles- "Crumb Begging Baghead"

Babyshambles- "Unstookietitled"

Babyshambles- "Carry On Up The Morning"

Babyshambles- "Cuckoo 1440"

Babyshambles- "Delivery"

Here is a song titled "18d" which ended up being 'Delivery' from the sounds of it... or maybe it's the other way around... I can't tell!

I would really like you know what you all think of this stuff... it's been pretty comment lite here for a while... if you guys want 'Shambles tracks before anyone else gets them you gotta comment or Parlophone won't give em to me lol (only half serious)...

Well, I've gotta get back to work... I'm really tired today... writing this album is kicking my ass... hold tight until next time!

Just a couple quick random ones...

I figured there had to be a couple random songs over at the radiostation that you guys could get into and I figured I'd just quickly throw them up.... the first is a BoC remix for cLOUDDEAD, and the second and WICKED live version of an Elastica favourite... I can't really type much because we are on the air but make sure to keep checking back for the 2nd half of my Babyshambles post! VIVE L'ALBION!

cLOUDDEAD- "Dead Dogs Two (Boards Of Canada Remix)"

Elastica- "2:1 (Peel Session Version)"

Babyshambles Triumphant Return!

You know what can kiss my ass? My songs not showing up on the Hype Machine. Now I know there are a few of you who read the blog no matter what but most of the traffic on this site comes from being listed on the Hype Machine. Recently it's been droppping tracks or turning them into numbers on the listing which is no use to me..... and they never reply to my emails about this. Does anyone know how to stop that? Am I doing something wrong? Well anyway, I can't stay too upset... tonight is TACO NIGHT IN THE ARCADIA HOUSEHOLD and that means there is nothing wrong with the world if only for tonight... because taco's a fucking awesome.

You know what else is fucking awesome? Wait for it....

NEW BABYSHAMBLES DEMOS!!! That's right! Apparently after the massive success (and the immediate bidding war allegedly started by) by their "Blinding E.P.", Pete & Co are at it again with a new selection of tracks called the Stookie And Bumfest Demos. Apparently these were posted at one point on Pete's site French Dog Blues and the demand for them was so great it crashed their server (and that fucking thing still isn't fixed I don't think).

I got these copies from good old Albion Arks which is always the best place to get any Libertines/Babyshambles/etc related bootlegs. I haven't really gotten a chance to really listen to these closely, and therefore don't have a lot of constructive criticism about these songs... BUT I can say they sound REALLY REALLY REALLY good and it's looks as though Pete is poised to show all of his detractors what's really up! I'm just going to post the songs I already know are awesome right now, and will get to the others when I have something to say about them (i.e. tomorrow or the next day)...

Babyshambles- "There She Goes (A Little Heartache)"

Babyshambles- "New Loves Grows On Trees"

Babyshambles- "Unbilotitled"

Here's another new one apparently titled "14.40"...


In other interesting (personal) news... I figured out last night how to sequence drums in Reason... now writing my album is going to be SOOOOOOO MUCH EASIER! I have spent five years trying to figure this out and finally got it last night! It was so simple I can't believe I didn't figure it out before... anyway, I think you guys will be very pleased with these new songs I'm working on.. and I will post some before Sam and I go down to Miami in March for the Winter Music Conference...

The word on The Streets...

SO I'm really surprised to see there is a (possibly) new track by The Streets on the Internet? I mean it's a little confusing... because there are a few tracks here and none of them are STRAIGHT Mike Skinner tracks... they are with his singer Leo The Lion and himself... and sometimes with grime MC Kano.

There is a groovy live version of Leo singing the hook to Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc" on Radio 1 with Kano, and then there is a track called "She's Got It All Wrong" that has Leo singing and Mike (and someone else) rapping (this is the one I would imagine is a Streets track), and then there is a song (that is a Kano release) called "Nite Nite" that has Mike Skinner, and Leo from 2005. They are all really cool (especially if you are a big fan of The Streets like I am).

All of these are (or perhaps 'were' by the time you get to them, as these things tend to go) for download over at Leo The Lions Myspace. OR if you rather RIGHT HERE ON ARCADIA! If anyone knows the origins of "She's Got It All Wrong" let me know so I can properly label it.

Kano- "Nite Nite (feat The Streets)"

The Streets- "She's Got It All Wrong"

Leo (from The Streets)& Kano- "Feel Good Inc (Live @ Radio 1)"



Leo (for those of you who don't know) has sung on many of The Streets tracks ("All Goes Out The Window" for example) and sings on ALL of them while on tour. Generally speaking at some point during his performances he also exposes his near perfect physique by taking off his shirt... which probably makes sense in England (where Grime/2step/etc is just like hip-hop here) but did't make so much sense in America when he did it to a crowd full of scrawny indie kids *cough Intonation Festival 2006*.. to each their own I suppose.

Anyway.. go add Leo on Myspace... check out Vice Records for more info on The Streets and make sure you keep checking back for more music here at Arcadia!

MORE TGTB&TQ!!!

Here at Arcadia, we LOVE Parlophone records. Solid release after solid release after solid release. Between them, and their offshoot Regal, we've been able to bring you stuff from Babyshambles, Tiny Dancers, and The Good The Bad & The Queen far before their release date. It's good for you guys because you get in on the new stuff early, it's good for me because it keeps you guys coming back lol!

Given the fact that they are so nice to us I suggest you guys actually pick up these albums... the Babyshambles EP was so amazing I would be surprised if you guys HADN'T gotten it, Tiny Dancers have gotten a lot of hype since we posted em (Radar in NME, and a session with Steve Lamacq), and OBVIOUSLY this TGTB&TQ album is going to be bonkers awesome. So please, support the labels who are playing ball with us here and prove to the majors and bigger indies that file sharing, blogs, and the like are PART of the future of music and not just a hindrance that should be done away with!

So if you've been paying attention, I'm sure you picked up the last track we posted from Damon Albarn (member of Blur and Gorillaz) and Paul Siminon's (formerly of The Clash) new project The Good The Bad & The Queen called "History Song". It was the amazing first track off their forthcoming album that hints at the same magic that we've seen in other Albarn efforts of the recent past. NOW WE'VE GOT THE 2nd SONG! And it's just as cool as the last one! Make sure you leave comments because I really want to know what you guys think of it.

Here's an AWESOME little video that can give you a better overview of the project and the music... just in case you didn't see the bio excerpt I posted last time...


And without further ado...

The Good The Bad And The Queen- "80's Life" YSI

The Good The Bad And The Queen- "80's Life" zShare

Here's a live video for "80's Life"...


As I mentioned last time, you can preorder the album from 7 Digital, and if you do before 15 January, you can listen to 5 tracks off the album before it is released on 22 January! You can also pick it up at Amazon US or Amazon UK. Make sure you also pop by their website and their Myspace. Please pick up the album and show your support! This song will be up for a week and then I gotta take it down so get it while the gettings good!


ON A QUICK POLITICAL NOTE: Since I mentioned something earlier about people wanting to do away with things on the internet... I don't know if you are aware but the Internet is AT RISK of being taken over by the super huge companies out there and turned into a mindless commercial wasteland. Can you imagine in Internet where AT&T had control over all the content on it? I assure you there would be no more pictures of young ladies birthing plastic dolls out of their hoo-hoos' (and other pervy things like that) but you undoubtedly would end up with lots of political things getting censored as well. It is not worth it to give up our privacy and our control for better internet browsers on our phones and cheaper cable modems. Please sign a petition, send a letter to your representatives, and keep an eye on this or we may end up with merely a 'ghost' of what the internet once was. PROTECT NET NEUTRALITY!!!

Here's what Moby has to say about it... whatever your feelings are about him it's a very informative video! When you're done with that head over to Save The Internet to make a difference!

New Year, New School!

New years was pretty straight. Heather and I went downtown and watched the fireworks go off at midnight, but kept it pretty low key all weekend. Which was nice. We don't get to do that too often and it was BLISSFUL. Fucking fantastic. This year is starting off with a bang! A BANG I TELL YOU!

Why is everything so great? Well first off I got my new keyboard in the mail (well UPS... R.I.P. Ford) today... brand spanking new fresh out the box... and it came with Ableton Live Lite, which I have desperately been seeking. I'm going to home and fucking go wild with that thing. Y'all don't even KNOW! I'm going to write a song that's going to bring peace to Israel and Palestine... seriously. Seriously.

I also heard from the GM of my absolute favourite record company ever today. Not about anything that would be interesting to you guys. Just heard from him. Which I thought was way cool... because that's the shit that makes your day/week/month. I mean, when someone who doesn't really even need to pay attention to you gives you the time of day, that my friends, is true kindness. So having said that please pick up something from Hot Chip, Sia, The Chemical Brothers, Air, Fatboy Slim, DFA, Phoenix, Placebo or one of the other amazing albums that Astralwerks has to offer... because you and I both know that America has not seen a label with that much talent since the 60's and they deserve our support through thick and thin.

OK... on to the post. As I've been working on my album I've been kind of going through everything I possibly can to get a feel for what music should sound like in 2007. Although I haven't figured it out what MY music should sound like, I can tell you the sound of 2006 was dubstep... in full effect... and the leaders of this burgeoning new school movement are easily Kode 9, Burial, and Various.

Dubstep, in case you didn't know, is a combination (obviously) dub and 2step/hip-hop. Here is what Wikipedia has to say...

Dubstep is a genre of music which takes its name from the largely South London-based dark 2step sound that originally came out of productions by El-B (as part of both Groove Chronicles with Noodles and then the Ghost camp), Zed Bias, Horsepower and Steve Gurley in 1999-2000.[citation needed] Like another garage hybrid, grime, it uses dark sounds, but differs from grime in being largely instrumental. It also predates the evolution of grime by several years.

Interesting yeah? I cannot claim to have some thorough knowledge of the genre at all. I can tell you a lot about 2-step... and I can tell you a fair amount about Grime... but dubstep is something I've been largely out of the loop about until Pitchfork started doing their column this last year (which I only recently have really gotten in to). Said column (This Month In Grime/Dubstep) has announced the scene's 'crossover into the indie mainstream' and therefore it's about time you got up on this shit! UNLESS you really really got into the XLR8R article in 2002 and you already know everything about dubstep (I remember listening to something from Horsepower Productions back then and thinking 'this is cool, but this could very well be the new 'hip-house'... a rad genre with few records to it's name and an even shorter life span'... obviously I was WAY wrong)!

To bring you up to speed.. here's a little documentary the BBC did...

And here's one from MTV:


Various have been hailed as the post-millennium Portishead, and have more or less made good on that label. They have become of the darlings of the scene so much so that Thom Yorke recruited them to do a remix of 'Analyse' for him. The album goes from harsh, to light-folksy-depressing, to buoyant dub, to epic singles and it just keeps delivering over and over. It's a well polished, and near perfect, debut. Here's ONE of my faves and that Thom Yorke remix (courtesy of Dead Air Space):

Various- "Lost" YSI

Thom Yorke- "Analyse (Various Remix)" YSI

Thom Yorke- "Analyse (Various Remix)" zShare


Kode 9 (with The Spaceape MCing) has made a classic with his album 'Memories Of The Future'. It's everything you want out of dubstep... it's dark, it's minimal, it's fucking experimental but it's still accessible. It's a dream come true and you need to get up on that shit like yesterday! I listened to this album about 5 times yesterday...

Kode 9- "9 Samurai" YSI

Last off is Burial who is on the Hyperdub label along with Kode 9. Burial has also been hailed as one of the greatest in the genre and it's easy to see why. I'm not going to post Burial's singles (and therefore best stuff) but I thought you might be interested in this b-side to the 'Distant Lights' single. It shares more with So Solid Crew, tempo wise, than these other sort of 'narcotic' beats.

Burial- "Pirates" YSI

Hope you guys dug this dubstep stuff. It's goooooooood. I can't get enough of it! If there are any other English dubstep artists you think I should cover (or you are one) let me know! You can find all these artists on, my favourite place on the internet, eMusic! And if you join eMusic from right here, not only do you get free songs and a free trial, but I also get a little kickback! Which would be much appreciated!



Anyway, I will be back soon with more music!