The great British "forgotten songs" post (Simian, So Solid Crew, and more)...

Seeing as I didn't "do" Halloween, this picture is my attempt at making up for it. Me in a bright coloured LRG-ripoff hoodie in a Detroit parking garage two months ago...

But anyway, I haven't been around much. You guys know why. School problems. Work changes. Girl issues. Two parents with serious problems. Just TOO MUCH STRESS! But during all this I've had a chance to listen to LOADS of music and find some stuff that I forgot about.

First off, y'all know how I love Simian Mobile Disco. I loved them when they were Simian. My ex, Megan, and I took a long drive to northern Michigan once listening to Zero 7, Princess Superstar (close friend of my future friend Larry Tee), and the first Simian album. Since it was such a long drive we drove these CDs into the dirt but it was a fun time. Then I didn't listen to any of those albums for quite some time... NOW I have rediscovered all three but, much to my excitement, I also rediscovered this gem. Simian did a remix of Zero 7's mega track "Destiny" giving it the most bizarre (and interesting) rework imaginable. Here I present it to you in all it's glory! From what I can tell the blogosphere has ignored this one entirely so bask in it's awesomeness...

Zero 7- "Destiny (Simian Remix)" YSI

Around that same time I was torturing this girlfriend with lots of rap music, and even more So Solid Crew. See, I liked that poppy MJ Cole 2 step stuff, but I also liked the insane macho craziness of the Crew. I recognize most people in the UK actually hate them because they started fights with other artists, half of them went to jail, and brought fan violence to new never before seen levels. In fact they may have ruined the country that year there were so many of them. BUT I really really loved them at first in an "ironic" way and eventually in a a real way. I'm no Ali G but we used to drive around Chicago BANGING this Playgroup remix like what. The Kelis one also got CONSTANT rotation. I used to play them on my radioshow all the time and... well if you disliked them back then, maybe this will give you new perspective, because it's good stuff (p.s. if anyone knows how to get a copy of the album in mp3 form please let me know!)...

Kelis- "Young Fresh and New (So Solid Crew Remix)"

Playgroup- "Number One (So Solid Crew Remix)"

Then in the 'new arrivals' corner we've got dear Kate Nash doing a cover of Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" which is fucking crazy awesome. I've really been getting into Ms Nash recently which is refreshing because I haven't been listening to enough music made by girls for whatever reason. I like her, I dig that she's dating a Crib because I like them as well (which you know, of course, since I posted that CSS remix after I met them at Lollapalooza) and I feel like she's taking music in the right direction... more person, more authentic, and more awesome :)

Kate Nash- "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (Black Kids Cover)"

LASTLY... and this is kind of random but bare with me... My good friend Caitlin got canned a couple weeks back at work. It hurt because she is one of my closest friends and I spent more time with her than anyone around me. I take my job VERY seriously (always want to be the best, work like it's my own company always trying to do what's best, basically trying to beat my own record week after week) so it was hard to see her go. I still miss her quite a bit but thank GOD the person who replaced her is awesome... I just wish she had gotten to stay and work with him. His name is Pat... he's a white, suit and tie man, over the age of 35 who at first glance would make you worried that you couldn't meet up to his standards. In reality he's the nicest guy I've ever met, a fantastic mentor, and the type of boss who gives us hope even when the chips are down (no matter how rough the situation is). Thing is he really has a thing for R'n'b, especially bluesy stuff. This ranges from Keisha Cole to Billie Holiday. He had mentioned he really loved this song by Martha Washington called "Teach Me Tonight", which was more or less her signature song. While I couldn't get my hands on that I played him Amy Winehouse's version from LATER... with Jools Holland (presumably recorded during her first album since she was sans beehive) and he loved it. I threw Audacity up and grabbed the audio from the video for him to satiate his love for this song. Now I've got him very much into Mrs Winehouse SO much so that he played the album until I BECAME a fan of Winehouse lol. Anyway, here's the song in all it's glory...

Amy Winehouse- Teach Me Tonight (Martha Washington cover from 'LATER...')"

And that my friends is that for now. Join eMusic and make me $6. It's awesome trust me. Their new layout is great, they have shitloads of dubstep, random shit you'd never imagine, newly added audiobooks of like EVERYTHING and... it's a good buy where you support the artists you love and care about... as well as me lol... see you soon!

Where do we go from here?

Sorry I haven't been posting loads over the last couple weeks. I mean I've been posting but not everyday like I was. Why? Well... I'm kind of confused as to were music is going. HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR: I am very well acquainted with what magazines want me to think is music is going. I think they would say it's roughly the sound of the summer still (The Kooks, Lily Allen), the old guard (Muse, Razorlight, Babyshambles, Dirty Pretty Things), the young bucks (The Fratellis, Larrikin Love), the egotistical 'working man's band' (Kasabian), and the rotating NME invented genre of the last 6 months (Thamesbeat.. just kidding! New Rave!) and the bands within that label that pretty much make up the whole things (errr... Klaxons?).

Don't get me wrong. I like every single one of those bands. Am I'm kind of poking fun because I use the 'New Rave' tag every five minutes. But it's also like... I feel like we are reaching the end of the line right now. Like something mega is going to break thru or... or... or... things will keep going the way they were at the end of the 'britpop' explosion... just, I dunno, staring around looking at the guy next to you wondering where to go or writing a bloated mess (see 'Be Here Now). I kind of balked at Lily Allen's assertion that DPT and The Kooks were writing the same old bullshit we've been hearing for years, but after thinking about it, it's close to the truth. It's not THOSE two bands but rather the bands that are surrounding them that are creating this problem. I liked "Two Left Feet" by The Holloways, but "Great Britian"? Not so much (maybe I'm totally off base.. if you really feel this is the case then alert me and I will investigate further.. until then I stick with this)... I don't think those guys are going to save British rock. I really liked Boy Kill Boy's "Last Of The Greats". But the whole of "Civilian"? Errrr no... they aren't going to do it either. And it's bands like that who are making up the bulk of the scene right now. And those bands want to be the aforementioned bands, and those bands cannot handle the burden of carrying rock music (as a whole) on their own.

In order for things to work going forward we have more innovation. Maybe that is 'New Rave'... and maybe my concern is unwarranted. But in my heart of hearts I think new rave is really just a novelty tag that revolves around the Klaxons, a handful of Van She remixes, and bands/duos/producers that are actually just dance music (Digitalism, Justice, Soulwax). I feel like what we really need right now are a couple of 'mature' albums (see Supergrass-'In It For The Money'), a couple of progressive albums (see Radiohead's-'OK Computer'), and a couple crazy classic albums (The Verve- 'Urban Hymns' and Massive Attack- 'Mezzanine'). SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE THE CURRENT EQUIVALENT OF 'THIS IS HARDCORE'!!! We need that.

Frankly? I've been listening to grime and dubstep recently. Those are two similar genres that are constantly breaking the mold. Unlike the coke-and-champagne-induced-insane-sugar-rush-spazzoid-sound of 2 Step Garage (circa summer 2002), where every song sounded the same, grime and dubstep songs are dramatically different from record to record. I mean fucking all over the god damn place. But in a good way!

I've been a big Dizzee Rascal fan since 'I Luv U'. I (unlike a lot of critics) also really liked Showtime despite the fact that it didn't sound like it was made in someone's bedroom. He's obviously the STAR of the whole game. He is like the Jay-Z of grime. Untouchable. I mean I liked So Solid Crew a lot but look where they are and look at where he is. He's the fucking master.

Dizzee Rascal- "Round We Go"

Also been digging some Kano recently. He is one of the artists who was kind of the in the periphery when I was listening to this stuff a lot and I never really got the time to get into him. I've been playing the shit out of a couple singles of his that I've got. I need to get the whole album!

Kano- "Mic Fight"


OBVIOUSLY I fucking love Es-Oh-Vee and will keep blogging about her until I pass out... so I will post something from her too.
Lady Sovereign- "The Broom"

Lady Sovereign- "Cha Ching (XXXChange Remix)

Then there is the crown jewel of the dubstep legacy thus far... of course I am speaking of 'album of the year' contenders Various. The World Is Gone is perhaps the most new school shit I've heard all year...

Various- "Hater"

And then as the icing on the cake is the So Solid Crew remix of Playgroup's electro-disco club pleaser 'Number 1' chopped and stripped like a dead hooker in a woodchipper. I know, I know. That was harsh. But that is how hardcore this song is. It even makes my words GANGSTAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Playgroup- "Number One (So Solid Crew Remix)"

I would have put videos up but I'm tired and YouTube was down... enjoy though!

p.s. Why are you sitting at home when you should be out purchasing the new Clipse album! THAT SHIT CAME OUT TODAY! PUSH IT TO NUMBER ONE! There is no fucking duo out there spittin more fire than them!