AND HERE’S ANOTHER 5 :: THIS WEEKS HITS :: WEEK MIDDLING 21ST AUGUST

Current mood: A LITTLE SORE
Category: A LITTLE SORE Music

So, onwards to Part 2 and another 5 fresh acts from the garden...

Raberabe are punky and a touch smooth and tight jagged. There's a bit of The Fall and I loved the first track on their spazzer player. Sadly, the players are mullered at the moment, so I can't name it, but it's a fine and tough jumpy number. Go have a listen and hope Technogeek Tom gets his act together proper quick for the name..

EU is somekind of sci-fi heavy pop thing. They're a bit Nine Inch Nails, a part Numan, a bit 80s cult theme tune. It's not my type of thing, but I've become endeared with it for a reason I don't quite get. I think I'm probably enjoying the comedy aspect. I find this whole lets dress up like sci-fi characters thing very amsuing and I like lyrics that discuss practical matters - I like to respond to them as I type..

EU: 'Sitting back on my dick, should i take a shower, or a shit'
PG: Whatever you need, knock yourself out, the bathroom's second door on the right...

Imperial Empire are another electrotechnolike act. They've got that dark detroit electro sound going on and I'm a sucker for that sound, so even though I can't see them as being that original, I'll give them a good nod...

Unlike the previous 2, Things In Herds are right on a calm and proper peaceful tip. Yes boss, this is another relaxed day out in the country. Very soothing, very peaceful and extremely minimal with both..

Lastly, Grizzly Bear are a multi-layered band and I like them a lot.

After runnning through the tracks, I scrolled down and discovered they were on Warp. I find this whole Warp shift onto the more acoustic, guitary angle quite a wierd thing. I mean Maximo Park have always struck me as being a bit of a ridiculous kids band. This lot are a whole lot better. They remind me a little of Of Montreal, a bit Boo Radleys, a bit someone else who's name is just out of reach of my early morning memory..

THIS WEEKS HITS :: WEEK MIDDLING 21ST AUGUST

Current mood: ROOPY DO
Category: ROOPY DO Music

Woah waoh wowzer!!

It's been a great week for the hits. Yes boss, I've found or been fluffed so many interesting acts this last week I'm gonna have to farm them into several separate batches...

So let's start with a broad mixture of 5...

The first on the list is Baku Llama. Shit, I don't even remember this lot - hold on a minute...

Right, well what we're hearing here is a strange brew of fairly laid back liquid tinkling and some chuncky guitars. The there's some pretty clear, rather folky vocals and some almost Doors like meandering. There's an edge of the New Age going on here, but don't hold that against it. I reckon it's interesting and the tracks are fully downloadable..

Next we have Hamish Black. This is a quite different blast. It's one young guy in Scotland playing his guitar. And Hamish plays it proper with plenty of drive and noise and screeches and bangs. There's a good talent going on here...

Mr Cube is, on the surface, another bloke paying homage to electonic machines with some plinky plonk. But take a closer ear and there's some proper clever feel in this guys work together with some very nice rhythms...

With Christine Hoberg we're talking a very stripped down, but versatile and challenging voice with - in some tracks - very little else besides. It's drenched, versatile and clever...

And lastly for this edition, how about GNG? Nice and clever electronics always gets my boat and this is no exception. Nicely produced, neat, playful and jumpy. This could well be my favourite of the lot...

7:02 PM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Mog Hartley	Some good stuff. particularly like Miss Hoberg, A bit wierd, lo fi and atmospheric. Posted by Mog Hartley on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 9:27 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yes, I think the most interesting playing and teasing with the voice I've heard since Bjork... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 9:35 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Baku Llama	Thanks for the Baku Llama mention... nice words! Posted by Baku Llama on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:03 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

Time Traveler

Hey there.. I liked Baku Llama best. A little mellow like me.. ;) Posted by Time Traveler on August 22, 2007 - Wednesday at 1:13 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

ALBUM REVIEW :: OPERA DOG - PORNO

Current mood: TIMING
Category: TIMING Music

A beautiful thing just happenned...

I was listening to Porno by Opera Dog AKA Clinker and i went onto the Clinker website to get some more details to facilitate this review. I remembered that when I'd downloaded this LP for free from the site, there was some blurb about how Porno was a general stab at political correctness, and I wanted to quote it exact...

So, I got onto the site and navigated my way to the page and the built in audio player kicked in and beat matched the version of Porno I was already playing off the hard drive

It was flawless, absolutely flawless...

So enough metaphysical mystical magical bullshit - How is this LP?

Well one thing i like in life is a positive response. I therefire like bands and acts that have responded to the mp3 death of royalties thing by giving away their music for free.

Yes boss, despite all that's said, I can't but help but think that Myspace, Napster et all has done nothing but further denigrate the cash flow to proper musical cleverness...

Sure, Myspazz allows any half cut cunt to have 100,00 friends and 200,000 plays but what's so damn good about that???

Myspace is a hustlers charter. If you hustle and bustle attention, you get attention no matter the size of your talent. If you're the reclusive genius type, you're position remains the same as before at best, and most likely worse because such folk don't hustle that well as a general rule and their genuine talent is greater submerged by all the crap..

So, like i was saying, the good guys can get sad and down about this or they can think "FUCK THE WORLD AND THE MYSPACE REVOLUTION!!! I'M STILL GOING TO PRODUCE MY DAMN MUSIC AND NOW I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE IT AWAY!!!'

This is genius, and this is what Clinker have done. They've uploaded their old material in full onto their website from where you can download the whole diversity of their LPs for free...

It's the kind of attitude that solicits immediate love, and when the LPs are wonderful as well, I get more excited..

Yes boss, Porno is a very decent piece of work. It's a proper mix up. There's plenty of chugging along in a kind of rhythmic shuffle. There's dub and groove and samples. Then there's the changes of direction and pace. It drifts off into thought musation land, then returns to punchy along - and yes, it offers the odd porno sample in order to shuft the feeling..

So, I like this a great deal and am now moving on to download further LPs.

Meanwhile, Viva Opera Dog Viva Clinker and Viva music for love not money!!

(Oh, and here's the quote...)

It's more about this PC shit, than 'Porno' In my heart anyway. I didn't like being told to think. I have my own mind thank you!
Porno is a product of that...

CLINKER

Currently listening : St. Valentine’s Porno Bar By Hypnoise Release date: By 05 June, 2006

4:23 PM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Clinker

Gee, thanks Paul. Glad you like it, enjoy the rest (from ropey recordings to...well...better). Pete Posted by Clinker on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 5:39 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

RETROSPECTIVE :: THE BOO RADLEYS

Current mood: WOKEN UP!!
Category: WOKEN UP!! Music

So, Brit Pop is over, was dead, was a marketing concept, existed?

Who knows. The Paul Giovanni opinion was there was some interesting things going on and they were hijacked by a lack of imagination that steered the attention away from these interesting things into more of the bleeding same dullard rock, - rock of which we're still suffering by the caseload some 12 years later..

Yes boss, regular readers know how I rant about the 4 boys in a band thing. You know I think it's way beyond stale. You know I think Quoasis should have blown up after 2 albums to have been anything at all. And maybe you know I wish someone would kick Liam Gallagher senseless and leave him to gurgle through his broken teeth about how working class and REAL he really is...

It's all very serious and I'm not really very serious, but like Bono Vox I'm bothered by unfairness and one band I felt made their own unfairness, by way of their admirable refusal to play the game, were The Boo Radleys..

Yes boss, of all Alan McGees bands, I feel The Boo Radleys were one of the strongest and most original outfits he promoted. From the bizarre daytime TV pop of Wake Up Boo, to the genius of the LP Giant Steps, to the self willing kick in the commercial teeth that was their penultimate LP C'mon Kids, The Boo Radleys were always interesting, and though it was possible to sell Giant Steps on cd for £30 in the late 90s, The Boo Radleys now seem to have been largely forgotten which seems like something of a crime...

So, for those of you unfamiliar with The Boo Radleys, here's a little background courtesey of their still existing fan site


The Boo Radleys formed on the Wirral in 1988, and originally consisted of guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, vocalist/guitarist Sice, bassist Tim Brown, and drummer Steve Hewitt.

The band released their first album, Ichabod and I, on local label Action Records in 1990; Hewitt was replaced by Rob Cieka after the release of the record.

With the support of influential British disc jockey John Peel, the band signed with Rough Trade Records with whom they released the Every Heaven EP in 1991 - a record which made it into the lower regions of the UK charts.

Rough Trade folded shortly after the release of Every Heaven, and The Boo Radleys moved to Creation Records, releasing Everything's Alright Forever in 1992.

The album was also released in the US through Creation's association with Columbia Records, but didn't gain much attention in America. In England, it received favorable reviews and the group began to build a fan base.

Topping several 'best of the year' lists, including those in Melody Maker and Select, 1993's Giant Steps was a critical success in England and sold respectably. In America, the record launched the alternative hit Lazarus and led to second-stage spot on the Lollapalooza tour in 1994.

Released in England in the spring of 1995, the more pop-oriented Wake Up! was the band's commercial breakthrough, debuting at number one.

The bright, horn-driven single Wake Up Boo! entered in the top ten and stayed on the charts until the early summer, preventing the follow-up single, Find the Answer Within, from charting higher than the top 30.

The Boo Radleys returned in the autumn of 1996 with C'mon Kids, a self-consciously loud and arty album designed to shake off the band's newfound pop fans.

It worked - the album debuted in the top ten but soon fell off the charts, despite overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Early in 1997, the band finalized an American contract with Mercury, and C'mon Kids was released in March, a half a year after its initial British release.

Kingsize followed in late 1998, and was again met with favourable reviews, but the Boos officially broke up months later, just weeks before the title track was set to be released as a single.

Martin Carr began working on his solo project bravecaptain in 1999, and has released several critically acclaimed albums since. Sice provided guest vocals on 2004's Good Life.

Currently listening : Giant Steps By The Boo Radleys Release date: By 22 January, 2001

3:27 PM - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Clinker	"Giant Steps" is one of the best albums ever. Awesome album. Took Pet Sounds into the 90s. Marvelous stuff. Also I recommend the less popular "Everythings Alright Forever". Similar in epicness, but less commercial. "Wake Up Boo" was a bit too poppy to me, but "C'Mon Kids" was a return to the adventurousness I loved. Other top Creation bands for me are My Bloody Valentine and Primal Scream. Posted by Clinker on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 4:53 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Everythings Alright Forever didn't quite grab me in the same way as Giant Steps did, but then in my view none of their other Lps came close to that kind of quality.. The strange thing with Wake Up Boo is it's a very uncommercial LP, but the single comes from nowhere. Jesus - it could be a daytime TV theme, but whereas The Lighthouse Family did that kind of thing on loop, The Boo Radleys just knocked that one out and were done with it all... I'm not sure about either Primal Scream or MBV. I like them both in places, but I've never been a huge fan of either... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 5:01 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Clinker	You mention "daytime tv" and I remember seeing the Boos doing C'Mon Kids on Big Breakfast and they even got away with the cunt word at 8.00am (around then). I video taped it (yeah I know...but I just did ok?) so I checked it and he did. That beats Peter Gabriel getting sperm on TOTPs anyday. Primal Scream....a bit buy that one, miss that one but...all forgiven for "Screamadelica" and "Xtrmntr". MBV...are you mad??? I am a fanatic though. Posted by Clinker on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 7:22 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Well MBV are lurking in my collection and like The Fall did recently, they could emerge as a favourite if i hear them on the right day and suddenly get it, but up to now I've not been grabbed... Incidentally, I was just reading an interview with Martin Carr of The Radleys and he was singing the praises of MBV.. I think I'm getting a good breakdown of how the whole McGee empire worked and why certain bands did better with him than others... I'll be doing a piece on Creation soon... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 8:02 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	(not a groupie)	The only Boo I have is from the Help compilation. I liked it. I've wanted more. Thanks Paul. Posted by (not a groupie) on August 22, 2007 - Wednesday at 4:51 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

There's never been a better time to pick up Radleys stuff on ebay. It's all going dead cheap..) Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 22, 2007 - Wednesday at 8:01 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

CLASSIC ALBUM RE-REVIEW :: AIR - MOON SAFARI

Current mood: CALM
Category: CALM Music

One of the many things that makes music great - at least in the mind of the individual - is the time and place of it's finding, and the memories it evokes of that time and place.

For me, Air's Moon Safari is resplendent with such memories: It reminds me of a whole bunch of people. It was one of the first albums I copied onto a CDR, then again onto mp3. It reminds me of the time I left a ring on the cooker on for 4 days and returned to find that the house hadn't burnt down….

But this LP being the key to memory cab files isn't the reason I rate it so highly.

I rate it because it's a very, very good record.

Yes boss, Moon Safari is a tranquil sea of peace and harmony, the like of which Bono might be able to install on Planet Earth if only he took his rose moral tints off.

Tracks like Remember & La Femme D'Argent are pure dreamtime bliss, rooted in the soil. They're both steady and reliable. In fact they sound almost agricultural, but beautifully human. There's melancholy, heartbreak, stomp, pop and feeling and you can't see the seems…

The problem with so many ambient records, is that they try oh so hard to define some kind of state of electronic bliss, yet they nearly all fail miserably. Sure they're full of gentle synth washes, blurpy blips and smooth vocals drenched in reverb, but few conjure up much other than chill out rooms in nightclubs or the strange world of a lazy robot party..

But much like The KLFs Chill Out, Moon Safari goes for the jugular without thinking about drugs or nightclubs. Moon Safari is like true and proper ambience; like a summer Sunday dreaming in the garden with acoustic instruments and a radio and birds and…

Basically, it's a good classic, and since emerging from the Brit Pop drenched late 1990s, Moon Safari has lounged alone on Tranquillity Island, since when no other leaky bastard ships have even come close…

Currently listening : Moon Safari By Air Release date: By 27 January, 1998

1:11 AM - 13 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Renate Müller II	I concur, with enthusiasm... Posted by Renate Müller II on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 12:25 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	BOSCH!! Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:18 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Emily	I associate Air with my first stabs at adulthood...I love Air, even 10,000 Hz Legend which apparently no one likes... Posted by Emily on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:14 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Clinker	Yea I agree totally too. I also love 10,000 Hz Legend, though not Walkie Talkie (thats when I lost heart). It's weird, when Moon Safari came out I was at first disappointed, because the songs didn't all sound like variations on Sexy Girl. It wasn't long before it had completely seduced me though. A brilliant timeless classic. Posted by Clinker on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 10:56 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	It stood out as an LP from all the heavily marketed 4 boys in a rock band thing that was going on. Indeed for my cash, the best albums to come out of the Brit Pop bands/ era were: Moon Safari (Air), Timeless (Goldie), Maxinquaye (Tricky) Different Class (Pulp) Giant Steps (The Boo Radleys) I think maybe the key to success for the Air record was it's completely drenched in memory sounds. It's all that reverb. The whole thing is very evocative and very smooth... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:29 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	I don't mind any of their albums since, but Moon Safari stands apart and above on Planet Paul... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:21 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	stephen	it does remind me of a special time too, and it's an amazing album. it shook me right out of the comfort zone i was in and in a lot of ways put me on the path i am still walking. nice one p.g. p.s. 'agricultural'???? you journos... Posted by stephen on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 2:12 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yep... An agricultural record that oozes like a gentle clay soil in flood.. Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:32 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Mog Hartley	I think I played it so much I got fed up with it and haven't listened to it for ages so time for a revisit maybe. It is pretty unique Posted by Mog Hartley on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:17 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yeah, mine got all separated up into different folders and i lost it 'as one' then i redownloaded it and this was when I wrote the review... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:36 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Aymi	I love singing and 'You Make It Easy' is beautiful especially as its followed by 'Ce Matin La'. Its just one of those guaranteed to relax you. My co-worker in Our Price had been singing their praises for ages and then I heard straight away what he meant when we first got the album in! :) Posted by Aymi on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:03 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Aymi	that was supposed to read at the start 'I love singing and 'You Make It Easy' is beautiful to sing along to...' apologies, when I read it back it looked like I'd made a 'random' statement about what I like to do! :) Posted by Aymi on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:06 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

I also love singing, but only when other people are doing it for me.. This album's most definately full of classic tunes. They keep coming one after another. It's like cheap dope. No, it's better than cheap dope. But combined with expensive, high quality dope it's even better still.. Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 3:25 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]