Blog Rockin' Beats

This Site Has Moved

2008-10-01T12:00:00.001Z

I'm moving on and now you can follow me on http://www.djkub.com/...

Digital 'Double Shot' Kicks 026

2008-09-27T12:00:00.004Z

A big hello to all you listeners out there and welcome to Digital Kicks 026. I'm your host-with-the-most DJ Kub. This month's mix is a special one because it features double shots of some of the best artists making some of the best music around.

Things kick off with Olaf Gutbrod, who goes by the artist name of Ohm G. He is currently the resident DJ at Atzaro in the lovely island of Ibiza. When he isn't spinning dance grooves on the wheels of steel, he is busy recording chilled out ambient music with the knobs and dials of style. Here he is with two tunes of heavenly synths and silky beats.

01. Almost Alive - Ohm G
02. La Fleur De Vie (Ambient Mix) - Ohm G

Next up we move to the man with a plan who puts the bass in your face. It's Julien Jabre and his unique, deep House sounds. His tracks have something for your body and your mind.

03. That Day - Julien Jabre
04. Deliverance - Julien Jabre

Our next double shot takes us back to the halcyon days of the late 1970s. Gary Numan and Paul Gardiner met in 1977 in the 'Big Smoke'. They played in both Punk and New Wave Bands together before accidentally discovering synthesizers and their shared love of science fiction. 1979 saw the release of their second long playing album, 'Replicas', which made them Electro pioneers and eventually, when combined with bad fashion sense and dodgy haircuts, became a major influence for the New Romantics.

05. You Are In My Vision - Tubeway Army
06. Are 'Friends' Electric (Early Version) - Tubeway Army

Now we are gettin' serious people. Listen up. From a seven piece group singing to an eight piece group rapping, you better give it up for the Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game Clan. And they ain't nothing to f' wit. They are the Wisdom, Universe, Truth, Allah, Nation and God Clan. And I am telling you they ain't nothing to f' wit.

07. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing To F' Wit - Wu-Tang Clan
08. Shame On A Nigga - Wu-Tang Clan

Two songs! Seven piece band! Them playing! You listening! Don't touch that dial! It's Los Campesinos!

09. We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives - Los Campesinos
10. It Started With A Mixx - Los Campesinos

You are listening to Digital Kicks. I am DJ Kub, playing all the platters that matter and dropping the beats from the streets, including these two tracks from the hippest, sharpest dressed man in all of Hip Hop today

11. Flashing Lights - Kanye West ft Dwele
12. I Wonder - Kanye West

Let's take it down a notch now with some heartbroken Soul music from Adele Laurie Blue Adkins. Adele has said that she was influenced by Etta James and Dusty Springfield by complete accident. She claims that she went to HMV one day and was looking through the sales section for some ideas for a new hairstyle when she discovered CDs by both artists. She bought them, took them home, played them and started singing immediately. Now if she could just do something with her hair...

13. Right As Rain - Adele
14. Chasing Pavements - Adele

This month's Digital Kicks wraps up with a couple of legends. Ella Fitzgerald grew up listening to Jazz records by Louis Armstrong. In 1956 the pair teamed up and released an album of standards called, 'Ella And Louis' on the Verve label. Both these tracks are taken from that recording.

15. A Foggy Day - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
16. Cheek To Cheek - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Thanks very much to all of you for listening. I would like to leave you with a quote from the great Ella Fitzgerald herself: "It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts."

The Way Of The Dragon

2008-09-10T20:35:00.002Z

Martial Arts
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco in 1940 and grew up in Hong Kong. He was introduced to martial arts by his father and began formal training at the age of 13. He excelled in Wing Chung Gung Fu and was eventually trained privately for several years by his master, who greatly influenced him. In addition to studying Gung Fu, he also boxed and became a champion at the age of 18, beating many of the best amateur fighters his age in Hong Kong. Lee's brother, Peter, was a champion fencer and Bruce learned the techniques of the sport from him. This wide range of influences and abilities helped Lee formulate his own style of Kung Fu later in life.

Lee's father forced him to move back to America when he was 19 after getting into a fight and severely injuring his opponent. Upon returning to the States, he moved to Seattle and began teaching martial arts. He modified what he had learned and improvised techniques in an effort to develop his own system with an emphasis on practicality, flexibility, speed and efficiency.

By 1965, he originated Jeet Kune Do whose symbols indicated that 'using no way as the way' and 'having no limitation as a limitation'. He threw out the formalised approaches that he felt held back the traditional styles of martial arts. He adopted and emphasized 'the style of no style'. He lived his life and taught his students how to exist outside of parameters and boundaries.

Lee met and taught several famous people in his studios, including:
Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Steve McQueen
James Coburn
Roman Polanski
Chuck Norris

Physical Abilities
Lee's philosophy and exceptional training program meant that he was able to achieve a phenomenal level of fitness and perform exceptional physical feats, which included:

* Achieving striking speeds of five hundredths of a second from three feet away with his hands down by his side.

* Lifting a dime off a person's open palm and leaving a penny behind before they could close their hand.

* Performing push-ups using only his thumbs.

* Performing up to 50 repetitions of one arm chin-ups.

* Throwing a grain of rice in the air and then catching it in mid-flight with a pair of chop sticks.

* Thrusting his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola.

Acting
Lee began acting (if you can call it that) at the age of only three months and continued throughout his entire life. He died shortly after filming completed for 'Enter The Dragon'.

Here is a list of his film credits:

Childhood
1940 - Golden Gate Girl
1946 - The Beginning Of A Boy
1946 - The Birth Of Mankind
1946 - My Son, Ah Cheun
1958 - It's Father's Fault
1958 - The Orphan

Adulthood
1969 - Marlowe
1971 - The Big Boss / Fists Of Fury (US)
1971 - Fists Of Fury / The Chinese Connection (US)
1972 - Way Of The Dragon / Return Of The Dragon (US)
1972 - Game Of Death (completed and released after his death)
1973 - Enter The Dragon

Philosophy
Lee was believed to have more than 2500 books in his personal library and his eclectic philosophy was a result of borrowing something from everything that he read or studied. Ultimately, he believed that any knowledge led to self-knowledge and that each person had a chosen method of self-expression based on their knowledge.

Quotability
"A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard."

"A glass that is half empty is better than a fully broken glass."

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer."

"Balance your thoughts with action. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."

"Cease negative mental chattering. If you think a thing is impossible, you will make it impossible. Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed."

"Don't fear failure. Not failure but low aim is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail."

"If you always put a limit on everything you do, it will spread into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them."

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

"Know the difference between a catastrophe and an inconvenience. To realise that something is just an unpleasantness is part of coming into your own, part of waking up."

"Optimism is a faith that leads to success."

"Simplicity is the key to brilliance."

"Take inventory of everyone with whom you have contact."

"To be perfectly frank, I really do not. I believe in sleeping."
- When asked if he believed in God.

"To me, the function and duty of a quality human is the sincere and honest development of one's potential."

"Use only that which works and take it from any place you can find it."

"We all have time to spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever."

"We are always in the process of becoming and nothing is fixed."

"What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become."

"Your best move is the one you regret not doing."

Music
Kick or chop here to listen to the Bruce Lee mix.

01. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 1) :: Bruce Lee
02. The Dragon :: Homeless Balloon
03. Bruce Lee :: Underworld
04. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 2) :: Bruce Lee
05. Kung Fu Fighting :: Karl Douglas
06. Martial Beat Arts :: The Quiet ft DJ Silent
07. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 3) :: Bruce Lee
08. China :: Red Rockers
09. Karate Stance :: The Combovers
10. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 4) :: Bruce Lee

Digital Kicks 025

2008-08-25T20:00:00.003Z

25 volumes
21 songs
01 mix

Here we go...

01. Colder Than The Coldest Winter Was Cold - The Dandy Warhols
02. Maybe Lately - Miracle Fortress
03. Ankle Injuries - Fujiya & Miyagi
04. Death To Los Campesinos! - Los Campesinos!
05. I Want To Be In Husker Du - Let's Wrestle
06. Fast Cars - Buzzcocks
07. What'cha Gonna Do About It - Small Faces
08. Sunshine Superman - Donovan
09. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive - Bing Crosby & The Andrew Sisters
10. Move It On Over - Hank Williams
11. Ghost Hardware - Burial
12. If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
13. (What A) Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
14. Mighty Power Of Love (Lars Behrnoth Deep Subtle Koffee Mix) - Leee John
15. No Communication, No Love (Devastating) (Original Version) - Charles Schillings
16. Rock - DJ Spinna
17. American Boy - Estelle ft Kanye West
18. Blacker (Album Version) - Ballistic Brothers
19. Hold Me Now - Johnny Logan
20. Song About Traveling - The Innocence Mission
21. Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches

Colder Than The Coldest Winter Was Cold - The Dandy Warhols
CBS News anchor and documentary show host Bill Kurtis narrates this opening track to the Dandys fifth album 'Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars' and Kub's 25th Digital Kicks.

Maybe Lately - Miracle Fortress
From the Montreal outfit Miracle Fortress comes 'Maybe Lately', a lo-fi song that combines exactly the right amounts of the Beach Boys and Phil Spector without too much of either one.

It's a lovely little slice of Pop music that makes the world seem like a much better place after you hear it.

Sparkly, shimmery, summertime Indie Pop that will make even the most hardened of cynics smile (maybe even tap their feet).

Ankle Injuries - Fujiya & Miyagi
A record player brand name + the guy from 'The Karate Kid' = a couple of guys who like to combine 70s Krautrock and 90s electronic music.

The group apparently met a Sunday league football match, while warming the bench and discussing their mutual admiration for world heavyweight wrestler Kendo Nagasaki.

After spending several years in obscurity, they finally got noticed with the album 'Transparent Things' featuring the song 'Collarbone' and this little gem.

Death To Los Campesinos! - Los Campesinos!
Aleksandra, Ellen, Gareth, Harriet, Neil, Ollie and Tom are Los Campesinos! Roughly translated as The Farmers! or The Peasants! in Spanish.

This track is from their debut album 'Hold On Now Youngster...'. Although it may not be the most cohesive piece of work out there it has a lot of catchy tunes, great musicality and proper from-the-heart type Indie music. They are one to watch. That is to say, listen to.

I Want To Be In Husker Du - Let's Wrestle
Don't we all?

This is the B-Side to this London trio's first single, 'Song For Abba Tribute Record'.

Described as a couple of knock-kneed Indiepop fans with a love of Pop music, who sound like a mixture of Los Campesinos! and Pavement with just the right amount of The Wedding Present thrown in.

If only John Peel were alive today to hear them...

Fast Cars - Buzzcocks
Pete Shelly and Howard Devoto formed The Buzzcocks in Manchester in 1975.
In February 1976, they went to London to see the Sex Pistols.
In July of that year they opened for them at their second gig in Manchester.
At the end of the year they recorded and released 'The Spiral Scratch' EP by themselves, making it the very first independent record released.
Then Howard Devoto left the group. He would go on to form Magazine.

Two years later they released their first LP, 'Another Music In A Different Kitchen', that begins with this track. 'Fast Cars' contains the guitar riff from 'Boredom', one of the tracks that put them on the map and featured on their previous EP.

Their strong craftsmanship of Pop songs combined with their rapid-fire Punk energy made them very popular and a huge influence on nearly every band that formed in the 1980s.

The name of their album was based on a piece of art by performance artist Linder Sterling called, 'Housewives Choosing Their Own Juices In A Different Kitchen'.

And that is the buzz, cocks.

What'cha Gonna Do About It - Small Faces
Small Faces or The Small Faces were from East London and had a huge love of American Rhythm & Blues music. James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Ben E King were just a few of their massive influences.

They are one of the most acclaimed Mod groups and are acknowledged as one of the biggest influences of the Britpop movement in the 1990s.

Things got off to a rough start when the band started playing live. They were kicked out of their first 'away' gig in a working men's club in Sheffield. Feeling rejected, they walked next door to Mod-oriented Mojo Club and played for free. They went down a storm, creating a huge buzz and they soon had a residency in Leicester Square with support from Sonny & Cher.

Their name comes from the fact that all of the band members were around 5'4" and of the girlfriend's remarked that they all had "small faces". The name stuck because the word 'face' is Mod slang for a popular, trend-setting individual.

This track is their first single from their first album, 'Small Faces', released in 1966.

Sunshine Superman - Donovan
Having begun his musical career as an acoustic Folk musician, Donovan was keen to move on by the mid-1960s. He met Mickie Most and John Cameron, adopted the hippie 'flower power' image, immersed himself in Jazz, Blues and Eastern music and discovered Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead.

The result of all this was 'Sunshine Superman' - an eclectic blend of Folk, Rock, Pop and Jazz that was innovative and one of the very first psychedelic Pop records of the 1960s.

It made him a superstar, selling hundreds of thousands of records in both the UK and the US. To this day it remains an essential recording from the short-lived (but much-hyped) psychedelic era in Rock music.

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive - Bing Crosby & The Andrew Sisters
Ac-cent-tchu-ating the positive was (in 1944), is (now) and always will be the key to happiness.

Good advice.

Move It On Over - Hank Williams
The hard drinkin', Honky Tonk man sings about sleeping in the doghouse after a night of heavy boozin' in this, his first major Country hit.

Ghost Hardware - Burial
Burial is a Dubstep musician from London. Apparently.

He has released two albums that have received large amounts of critical acclaim. But no one really knows who he is. He has claimed in anonymous interviews that only five people know he makes music.

It was reported in the news earlier this year that his name is William Bevan - the name used for the credits on all of his songs. But it seems that William Bevan is the name of a funeral director in London.

I wonder who this 'mystery' man really is?

If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
'If You Really Love Me' is from Stevie Wonder's 1971 groundbreaking album 'Where I'm Coming From'. It was a very important album for Wonder because it was the first in which he had complete artistic control in the production. It was also the last album in his very first contract with Motown.

Signed as a child prodigy nine years earlier, Barry Gordy had kept very strict control over his company's productions and his artist's careers. But that all changed in the early 1970s. Wonder, along with Marvin Gaye, wanted to expand his music with new styles and techniques. When he turned 21 (in 1971) Wonder was approached by Gordy to renegotiate his contract, but thanks to a clause contained in the document he was able to void the agreement and force Motown to accept whatever he recorded.

The result was 'Where I'm Coming From' and it foreshadowed what was to come in his next four albums, which would be referred to as his "classic period" and make him one of the most successful and critically acclaimed musicians of his time.

(What A) Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
Considered by many to be the 'King of Soul', Sam Cooke recorded and released this song on his first album, 'Sam Cooke' in 1960.

It was one of his amazing 29 Top 40 singles in the US between 1957 and 1965.

In addition to his huge contribution to Soul music, he was also a savvy businessman. He founded a record label and a publishing company as an extension to his 'day' job as a singer and composer.

He was so astute he even added the 'e' to his name because he thought it was classier.

Mighty Power Of Love (Lars Behrenroth Deep Subtle Koffee Mix) - Leee John
Timeline:
1957 - Leee John born in Hackney, London
1970(s) - John works as a back-up singer for The Delfonics, Chairman Of The Board and The Velvettes
1980 - John forms Imagination (the name is a tribute to John Lennon) with Ashley Ingram and Errol Kennedy
1981 - They release the track 'Body Talk', which is a huge club hit, goes to Number 4 in the UK Singles chart and sells 250,000 copies
1983 - John appears on Dr Who1996 - John releases 'Mighty Power Of Love', which becomes an underground club hit
2000 - Ben Watt releases 'Lazy Dog' - a compilation of his favourite tracks from the Lazy Dog club in Notting Hill that features 'Mighty Power Of Love'. Kub buys the compilation and really likes the track.
2004 - 'Mighty Power Of Love' is remixed by Lars Behrenroth and re-released.
2008 - Kub downloads the Behrenroth remix from eMusic and includes it in 'Digital Kicks 025'.

No Communication No Love (Devastating) (Original Mix) - Charles Schillings
This track is lifted from Schilling's excellent 2001 Electro-Acoustic album 'It's About...'

The album reflected his experiences during six years of DJing around the world as well as his varied musical tastes, ranging from House to Techno to Disco to Funk to Groove to Easy Listening and back to House again.

At the time of it's release, Schillings was championing the French Touch scene, producing, recording and DJing all over the world. Basically he was busy being one of the biggest names in Dance music.

I first heard this song on the compilation 'La Mezzanine del Alcazar', where it was featured on the second disc, mixed by Shade. It's a quality piece of chilled House that is equally suitable for dance floors as well as armchairs. Pure grooving.

Rock - DJ Spinna
Born Vincent Williams, Spinna first started experimenting with turntables at the age of eleven.

Since then he has recorded, produced, remixed, collaborated and DJed - all with great success. Despite all of his talent and achievements, he has remained largely underground during his career.

This song displays his love of Soul, Funk and Hip-Hop music blended perfectly to create his own unique sound.

American Boy - Estelle ft Kanye West
Song: American Boy
Writer: Will.I.Am
Singer: Estelle
Guest: Kanye West

Her biggest record to date, 'American Boy' was a hit in 18 different official charts around the world earlier this year. In the UK, it debuted at Number 72 and jumped 71 places to Number 1 the following week.

That sort of success can buy a lot of Ribena and Penguin bars...

Blacker (Album Version) - Ballistic Brothers
Ashley Beedle, Darren House, Darren Rock, David Hill and Uschi Classen are the Ballistic Brothers.

This song mixes pieces of 'Brother' by Gil Scott-Heron and 'Chameleon' by Herbie Hancock to create a chilled, electronic, Downtempo, Trip Hop, Jazz masterpiece.

Hold Me Now - Johnny Logan
Johnny Logan is the most successful artist in the Eurovision Song Contest, having won a total of three times between 1980 and 1992.

'Mister Eurovision' burst on to the scene in 1980 when he took the top prize at Eurovision for the song 'What's Another Year', which was a huge hit all over Europe and went to Number 1 in the UK.

But his massive success was quickly followed by massive failure when his management team made a huge mistake by releasing two follow up singles simultaneously. Since radio stations had no idea which song to play, both of them flopped. Attempted comebacks in 1983 and 1986 also failed to return the singer to his previous triumphs.

In 1987, he entered Eurovision again with this song and he won for the second time! 'Hold Me Now' went on to be a huge hit and million seller. After his second bout of success, he decided to solely concentrate his career in Ireland and Europe.

1992 brought him his third win in Eurovision when he wrote the winning song, 'Why Me', for Linda Martin.

Last year this track featured in a McDonald's Eurosaver Menu ad and introduced a whole new generation to his biggest hit.

Song About Travelling - The Innocence Mission
Husband-and-wife musicians Don and Karen Peris formed The Innocence Mission in the late 1980s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after meeting at a Catholic secondary school during a production of 'Godspell'.

Coincidentally, Lancaster is my home town and the secondary school where they met is Lancaster Catholic High School, which is also my Alma Mater.

They began recording in their make-shift studio in their basement but quickly progressed and by their third album, 'Glow' (one of my personal all-time favourites), they were selling records and being featured on numerous soundtracks.

This tune comes from their seventh album, 'Small Planes', which was recorded during 'Glow' but not released until 2001.

Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches
The band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who began recording in 1999 and then went on hiatus in 2004. Possibly because they released the album 'The Moldy Peaches' on September 11 2001 that contained a song called 'NYC Is Like A Graveyard'. Or possibly because the guitarist, Aaron Wilkinson, left the band and subsequently died in 2003 from a heroin overdose.

Regardless of the reason for the break, this song brought them back from wherever they were when it appeared in the film 'Juno' last year and was released as a single on Rough Trade records.

MTV - Day One

2008-08-01T06:00:00.019Z

Date: 01 August 1981
Time: 00:01 EST
Place: New York City, NY
Purpose: To play music videos (no, really it was).
Slogan: "I want my MTV!"
VJs: Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson and Martha Quinn

With the words, "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll", a crunchy guitar riff and footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing (with the US flag replaced by an MTV flag, of course), MTV was born.

Even though only a few thousand people from a single cable channel system in New Jersey saw the initial transmissions, a revolution was started.

The format when MTV began was modeled after a Top 40 radio station. But instead of DJs (disc jockeys), MTV had VJs (video jockeys). The original five eventually became superstar celebrities and were, collectively, the face of the station.

Most of the early videos were very crude and usually consisted of either promotional footage or concert footage of the band. But that didn't matter. Now you could SEE the music as well as HEAR the music.

Rock, Alternative and New Wave were the flavour of the day. A lot of the bands that made this kind of music and, indeed, some of the biggest bands of the 1980s can attribute their success directly to the amount of airplay they received on MTV in the early part of the decade. But when the president of CBS Records complained about the lack of black artists being played, especially his heavy hitter Michael Jackson, things began to change.

'Billie Jean' was the first video by a black artist to be shown and by the end of 1983, when the 14 minute epic 'Thriller' was released the entire format was changed from Rock to Pop and R&B.

For the next five years MTV ruled the airwaves. Everyone had it. Everyone wanted more. And everyone talked about the bands being played. It was a great time to be a kid in the 'know' and a music fan.

In 1984 the MTV Video Music Awards started. 1986 saw the introduction of the Alternative show '120 Minutes'. 'Headbangers Ball' started in 1987 and 'Yo! MTV Raps' in 1988.

The early 1990s saw the beginning of other shows such as, 'MTV News', 'Club MTV', 'Remote Control', 'MTV Unplugged' and 'Liquid Television'.

Unfortunately, all of these conventional shows, as good as they were, began to take away from the time that videos could be shown. And the demise of the station began.

By the mid-1990s nearly all of the programming was non-music or reality based. MTV still carries on today but now they have had to start several other channels (MTV2, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and mtvU) in order to show any music at all.

But fear not! I am going to take you all the way back to the beginning. This mix includes some of the songs that were played on MTV on 01 August 1981. I must admit a few tears were shed in compiling and mixing this set and lots of memories came flooding back. I hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as I did creating it.

Shout at the top of your lungs 'I want my MTV!' to hear the mix.
Click on each of the track names to see the video.

01. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
02. You Better Run - Pat Benatar
03. You Better You Bet - The Who
04. We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard
05. Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
06. Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
07. Just Between You & Me - April Wine
08. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
09. I Wanna Be A Lifeguard - Blotto
10. Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
11. Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
12. Rapture - Blondie
13. Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie
14. Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads
15. Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
16. Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
17. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
18. While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood

Video Killed The Radio Star
This was the beginning. Ground zero. The video that started it all. At 00:01 on 01 August 1981, MTV aired this video and ushered in a new era in music. Ironically, it was also the one millionth video that MTV played nearly twenty years later on 27 February 2000.

The tune was originally released on the LP 'The Age Of Plastic' in September 1979 and it became the first Number 1 song for the Island label in the UK.

The band featured Trevor Horn, who had previously been in Yes and would go on to be a highly respected producer, working with numerous Dance acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

You Better Run - Pat Benatar
This was the second video that MTV ever played and it highlights their early fondness for Rock music.

The song is from Benatar's second album titled 'Crimes Of Passion', which featured her biggest single, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot'. The album spent more than 90 weeks in the Billboard Album charts, including a month at Number 2, and earned her a Grammy for 'Best Female Rock Vocal Performance'.

You Better You Bet
This song is from 'Face Dances' and was the Who's last crack into the Billboard Top 20 singles.

The video was shot in black and white for 'artistic' reasons and featured the band performing on stage.

We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard
This song marked a big comeback for Cliff Richard and was his biggest selling single worldwide. The single was released just before his 40th birthday and before the announcement that he was to receive the OBE for services to music.

It was Number 1 for four weeks in the UK in August of 1979, Number 1 in Germany for five weeks and peaked at Number 7 in the Billboard Singles chart in America.

Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
This was the breakthrough hit for Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, even though Hynde didn't like the song after it was recorded and didn't want to release it.

The title was lifted from an expression that Hynde overheard someone from a support band say one day when he was trying to find his money.

The video was cheesy enough and featured Hynde as a waitress serving 'specials' to three gentlemen (the rest of the band) in a cafe.

Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
The band who took their name from a flatbed truck, used the initials (REO) of the founder of Oldsmobile and are renowned for their 'power' ballads also got a shout out on the first day that MTV hit the airwaves.

'Take It On The Run' was from the album 'Hi Infidelity' that spent three months at Number 1 in 1980 and 1981.

Just Between You And Me - April Wine
This tune was played on MTV's first day of broadcasting and owns the distinction of being the first video by a Canadian band to be played. It was also the first video that the station repeated (most likely when they ran out of videos to show).

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Released in January of 1981, 'In The Air Tonight' was Phil Collins' first solo single. It was atmospheric. It was menacing. And it was big.

The song was an instant hit. It has been used in numerous advertisements through the years as well as featuring in the pilot episode of 'Miami Vice'.

I Wanna Be A Lifeguard - Blotto
These guys were quirky. Really quirky. They were:
Broadway Blotto
Sergeant Blotto
Bowtie Blotto
Cheese BlottoLee Harvey Blotto

There was also (at different times throughout the years)
Bert Blotto
Johnny Blotto
Bluto Blotto
Scott Blott (the only one without an 'o')
Chevrolet Blotto
Blanche Blotto
Clyde Blotto
Hammerhead Blotto
Ink Blotto
Juan Pablo Blotto

They formed in Albany, New York and always did their best to combine music and humor. Not always in equal parts though.

The band rose from the ashes of what was the Star Spangled Washboard Band, a post-hippie, comedy jug band.

They were New Wave. They played and released comical songs. They made a video for this track and MTV loved it, putting into heavy rotation for months after bringing music to the world of television.

Despite some exposure and recognition from the song on MTV, they broke up in 1984 and, thankfully, only ever recorded enough music to fill one CD. It's called 'Collected Works'.

Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
The song that almost got away.

During the recording of 'Armed Forces', this song almost got dropped from the album but was rescued after the keyboardist wrote the piano part, which he based loosely on 'Dancing Queen' by Abba.

Good thing too. The song went all the way to Number 2 in the UK charts.

Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
This album, 'Tusk', was the quirky follow-up to the massive LP 'Rumors'. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham had discovered 'New Wave' music and he convinced the band to be a bit more experimental with their music. He was also allowed to use more creativity in his writing, which resulted in the twenty song double album.

But the critics didn't like it and neither did the fans. Where 'Rumours' had managed to sell over 30 million albums worldwide, 'Tusk' could only manage four million. The label saw it as a failure and blamed Buckingham. The band, however, blamed a major radio station for playing the album in it's entirety prior to the release and allowing people to copy it. Indeed, home taping was killing music.

Rapture - Blondie
'Rapture' was a New Wave pop song that featured a Rap section released by Blondie at the beginning of 1981.

It was the third song to feature Rap and place in the charts but it was the first to go all the way to Number 1. Previously, 'Rapper's Delight' by The Sugarhill Gang and 'The Breaks' by Kurtis Blow were the first Rap songs to have some commercial success.

After this single, Blondie took a break but the record made strong headway into the world of Hip Hop. Grand Master Flash used pieces of it in his classic single 'The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel' and it has been sampled or used as the basis for several other tracks.

Ashes To Ahes - David Bowie
'Ashes To Ashes' was a song about space men becoming junkies written in the style of a nursery rhyme. Due to the lyrical content, it is believed to reference Bowie's previous work including, 'Space Oddity' and the album 'Low'. In his own words, the song "wrapped up the seventies really well."

The video was one of the most expensive at the time, costing over 250,00 pounds to make. It featured solarised shots, black-and-white shots and Bowie in a Pierrot costume, which made the clip one of the most iconic of the early 1980s.

Once In A Lifetime
This track was released in October 1980 on the album 'Remain In Light'. It was written by David Byrne and Brian Eno after they heard a preacher speaking on the radio while driving through New York. It's a song believed to be about a middle age crisis and the inevitable sacrifice of youthful ideals and dreams for more conventional success.

The video features Byrne dancing and moving like a marionette, flinging his arms and tapping his head. It was choreographed by Toni Basil (of the hit song 'Mickey' fame) and inspired by footage of people suffering from epilepsy.

The video is another that was on heavy rotation for many months on MTV and was also on exhibition in the New York Museum of Modern Art for a period of time.

Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe doesn't mind change.

He was once referred to as 'Basher' because of his rough and ready aesthetic and approach to production.

He began his recording career in the mid 1960s playing Country and Blues Rock. Then he switched to ironic Pop and animated Rock in the mid 1970s.

This track was released in 1979 - the same year that he married Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash). It was part of another transition into more mainstream Pop music.

Then he became a millionaire in the 1990s. '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding' was covered on the soundtrack to 'The Bodyguard'. The album sold 15 million copies and since Lowe wrote that song, he received a lot of money in royalties.

In his own words, Lowe said that his greatest fear was, "sticking with what you did when you were famous". In an effort to avoid that, he continues recording today and still incorporates different kinds of music into his sound.

Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates began their recording career in 1972 with the album 'Whole Oats'. It flopped. So did their second and third albums. The problem was they couldn't settle on a particular style or sound and jumped from Folk to Soul to Rock to Pop and back again.

However, the song 'She's Gone' did appear on their second album and, despite any real sales, received a lot of airplay on the radio.

Their fourth, self-titled album contained 'Sara Smile' and that was a Top Ten hit for them. Things began to change and they had more hits in the following two years.

Then, in 1978 they hit a wall. They struggled for two years with producers and musicians who didn't understand their musical tastes and visions. So, they ditched LA, moved to New York, started producing their own records and recorded the album 'Voices' in Electric Lady Studios. It was a massive hit.

'Kiss On My List' went all the way to Number 1 in April of 1981 and they never looked back from there. By 1984, the Recording Industry Association Of America declared them as "the most successful duo in the history of recorded music".

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
In the late 1970s, everyone jumped on the Disco bandwagon. Even Rod Stewart. But not without controversy.

His Disco song 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy' angered Brazilian musician Jorge Ben because he claimed that it was derived from his song 'Taj Mahal'. He filed a lawsuit and Stewart agreed to donate all the royalties from the song to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Stewart was also slated by the Rock press for 'selling out' and betraying his Blues-oriented Rock roots. But the song was a huge hit. It spent one week at Number 1 in the UK and four weeks at the top spot in the Billboard charts in America. And MTV played the video more than most others in the early days.

While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
The 1980 album 'Arc Of A Diver' produced this breakthrough hit song for Steve Winwood and made him a successful, viable solo artist.

It was another heavily played video that reflected MTV's early affinity to Rock and Pop music.

Digital Kicks 024

2008-07-23T20:53:00.006Z

01. Beautiful Summer Day - Mother
02. 54B - Mudd
03. Back In The Days - The Defloristics
04. Midnight Surprise (Radio Edit) - Lightspeed Champion
05. Down But Not Yet Out - Felt
06. This Charming Man (New York Vocal Version) - The Smiths
07. Hands In The Dark - The Chromatics
08. Rolling Down The Hills - Glass Candy
09. Where Are You - BRS
10. Food Stamps - Leaf
11. Boxe Et Violence - Daniel J White
12 Swan - Tomboy
13. Brain Leech - Alex Gopher
14. Why Don't You Take Us - Sky King
15. Don't Take Your Love - The New Sounds
16. Around And Around - Chuck Berry
17. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive - Hank Williams
18. I Get A Kick Out Of You - Frank Sinatra

Set the controls for here to listen to this mix.

Beautiful Summer Day - Mother
This space has intentionally left blank.

54B - Mudd
Recorded by Paul Murphy (AKA Mudd), released by Rong Music, compiled by Tom Middleton and featured on Renaissance 3D, this tune is a cracker.

A perfect example of 'chilled out' music that doesn't make you want to go to sleep and proof that Mr Middleton is a master at finding and presenting some of the best music around.

Back In The Days - The Defloristics
The Defloristics are Robert Hardt and Harry Zier. They began their careers working with artists like Chaka Khan and Keith Sweat. But now they deliver chilled, polished, electronic Jazzy breaks infused perfectly with Deep House.

This song (and the accompanying album) is an example of music that does not disappoint but that you are unlikely to come across without a recommendation. Well, now it has been recommended. Essential late-night listening.

Midnight Surprise (Radio Edit) - Lightspeed Champion
Devonte Hynes used to be in a band called Test Icicle. But then he changed directions entirely.

In early 2007, he went to Omaha, Nebraska to record his solo debut album with one of the members of Bright Eyes. He stayed for a few months and hung out in a guest house. Lots of musicians came by and they all ended up playing on the resutling album, 'Falling Off The Lavender Bridge'.

According to Hynes, the album consists of two halves, mixing both dreams and life experiences. This Radio Edit of 'Midnight Surprise' is a shortened version of the ten minute track that features on the album.

Down But Not Yet Out - Felt
Ten singles. Ten albums. Ten years.

This is the history of the band Felt. They were from Birmingham, recorded for the labels Cherry Red & Creation and influenced numerous bands, including Belle & Sebastian.

Their sound, defined by an atmospheric, delicate guitar playing, is a perfect example of the Indie scene captured by NME on the C-86 compilation.

This Charming Man (New York Vocal Version) - The Smiths
Arguably, 'This Charming Man' is the best and most popular Indie tune of all time.

This version is from the original vinyl release and is a stretched-out, slightly altered remix by the House legend Francois K. Thankfully, he gets it just right and manages to remix the song without losing the plot.

Very good and very obscure.

Hands In The Dark - The Chromatics / Rolling Down The Hills - Glass Candy
Two songs. One compilation. 'After Dark' highlights artists who have embraced Italo-Disco, Giorgio Moroder-style, synthesizer music following the Dance-Punk and Electroclash trends.

Creating real atmosphere without the cheesy Eurodisco element, these are two of the stronger tracks from the collection.

Where Are You - BRS
This BRS does not stand for Bristow Group, Ballistic Recovery Systems, British Racing School, Brotherhood Of Railroad Signalmen or the Bureau Of Rural Sciences.

This BRS stands for British Rhythm Services, who formed in 1998. They are DJ Ben Vacara, Rob Evans and Mr Mulatto. They make Downtempo, Deep House like this song that is from the album 'Gravity', released in 2002.

Food Stamps - Leaf
Using the leaf as a stamp, press it down carefully onto the white paper. Hold it in place and gently rub the construction paper so that all areas hit the white paper.

Carefully remove the stamp and repeat this process with your other leaves and colors.

Allow to dry completely.

Boxe Et Violence - Daniel J White
Thanks to Mr Thing this little underground break has been restored from obscurity on 'Strange Breaks & Mr Thing'. It is 116 seconds of pure groovy jazziness.

Swan - Tomboy
Tomboy is Danish producer Tomas Barfod. He makes seriously funky little biscuits like this one. When he's not busy producing, he plays drums for WhoMadeWho.

Brain Leech - Alex Gopher
Alex Gopher entered the music scene in a pop band known as Orange. He played alongside Etienne De Crecy, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel. When they broke up, they all sold their guitars to buy turntables. De Crecy and Gopher released the infamous French Touch compilation 'Super Discount', while Godin and Dunckel formed Air.

After enormous amounts of success with 'You My Baby And I' and 'Wuz', it seems that Gopher decided to sell his turntable to buy a guitar. The result is this song, which appears on his 2006 self-titled album.

Why Don't You Take Us - Sky King
Another little beauty uncovered by Mr Thing and included on his strange breaks compilation.

Don't Take Your Love - The New Sounds
Wigan. Empress Ballroom. Mike Walker. 1973-1981. Northern Soul. Queues around the corner. All nighters. '3 before 8'. Drugs. Downfall. Thousands of compilation CDs.

Around And Around - Chuck Berry
This tune was originally released as the B-Side to Johnny B Goode in 1958, which was an autobiographical tale of a coloured boy, who could "play a guitar just like ringing a bell".

Rolling Stone magazine ranked 'Johnny B Goode' as the 7th Greatest Song of All Time and it was chosen as an achievement of humanity for the collection of artifacts placed in the Voyager space craft.

On the flip side, 'Around And Around' describes how "the joint was rockin" and has been covered by David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and The Greatful Dead among other artists.

I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive - Hank Williams
Indeed he didn't.

This was the last single to be released during his lifetime and it reached Number 1 in the Country Singles chart posthumously in January of 1953, after his mysterious death.

I Get A Kick Out Of You - Frank Sinatra
'I Get A Kick Out Of You' was originally written by Cole Porter in 1934.

This was the first version that Sinatra recorded in 1953 just before his Oscar-winning role in 'From Here To Eternity'. After this his career would take off and his life would never be the same again.

Yo! Kub Raps

2008-07-17T22:00:00.002Z

Memba them good ol' Yo! raps...

01. Weak Become Heroes $ The Streets
02. Still A G Thang $ Snoop Dogg
03. My Name Is (Explicit Version) $ Eminem
04. Can It All Be So Simple $ Wu-Tang Clan
05. 21 Questions $ 50 Cent
06. Accordion (Fourtet Mix) $ Madvillain
07. It Was A Good Day $ Ice Cube
08. That's The Joint $ Funky 4 + 1
09. Straight Out Of The Jungle $ Jungle Brothers
10. Montego Slay $ People Under The Stairs
11. Life's A B***** $ Nas
12. Coming Of Age $ Jay-Z
13. Hate It Or Love It $ The Game ft 50 Cent
14. Pop Shots $ Ol' Dirty Bastard
15. Hypnotize $ Notorious BIG
16. Pop Goes The Weasel $ 3rd Bass
17. Fight The Power $ Public Enemy
18. Touch The Sky $ Kanye West
19. Baby Got Back $ Sir Mix-A-Lot
20. More Bounce To The Ounce $ Zapp
21. Small Talk At 125th & Lenox $ Gil Scott-Heron

Weak Become Heroes $ The Streets
This track is from the 2002 album 'Original Pirate Material' and is sung / rapped by a twenty-something white kid named Mike Skinner from Birmingham who sings / raps with a 'mockney' accent.

The album blends Electronica, UK Garage and Hip Hop with Skinner's take on what-was-then modern day living and clubbing. Even the Rock and Indie peeps liked it.

Even though it really should not work, it does. Who says white men can't rap?

Still A G Thang $ Snoop Dogg
Some things you may not have known about Snoop:

* Snoop was nicknamed Snoopy by his mother.
* He was born in Long Beach, CA.
* He was playing the piano at the age of five.
* He began rapping when he was in the sixth grade.
* He was a member of the Crips.
* His cousin is Nate Dogg and his best friend is Warren G.
* He was discovered by Dr Dre when he heard a mixtape with En Vogue's 'Hold On' that was rapped over by Snoop.
* He was taught how to structure lyrics and separate his songs into verses, hooks and choruses by The DOC from NWA.
* 'Snoop Speak' was based on words in the song 'Double Dutch Bus' by Frankie Smith.

Izzle kizzle, fo' schizzle. My nizzle, what you sizzle?

Fo' schizzle bizzle, my nizzle...

My Name Is (Explicit Version) $ Eminem
Dr Dre produced this song and the album 'The Slim Shady LP' in 1999. He wanted to use the Labi Siffre song 'I Got The...' as the basis for the rhythm of 'My Name Is' but Siffre refused when he heard the lyrical content.

He felt that Eminem was taking the easy way out and attacking the usual scapegoats in his rhymes. Eminem took the criticism on board and rewrote the lyrics. Siffre cleared the sample.

A 'clean' version was released as a single and on subsequent compilations and this explicit version was the one contained on the album. It was Eminem's first major success and helped him establish his unique style.

Can It All Be So Simple $ Wu Tang Clan
Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game...

This is the third single lifted from 'Enter The Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)' and is considered a classic by most fans of the group.

It features Raekwon and Ghostface discussing the hardships of growing up in New York in the 1980s and rapping over a sample of 'The Way We Were' by Gladys Knight & The Pips.

21 Questions $ 50 Cent
Even the toughest of rappers have a soft side. It seems.

Here is an apparent conversation that took place between Fiddy and Dre in the studio during the recording of 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin':

Dre: "How you gonna be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?"
Fiddy: "I'm two people. I've always had to be two people since I was a kid to get by. To me that's not diversity, that's necessity."

I'm sure both Fiddys were delighted with this song. It was Number 1 in nearly every Singles chart in America and placed in Singles charts in sixteen other countries.

Accordion (Fourtet Mix) $ Madvillain
MF Doom and Madlib are Madvillain and they take a very unique approach to Hip Hop. They write short songs with obscure lyrics that contain few choruses and are generally 'unfriendly' to radio stations.

Foutret got their hands on this track and made it slightly more melodic. All the other awkwardness remains.

It Was A Good Day $ Ice Cube
Ice Cube was born O'Shea Jackson and began his career as a founding member of NWA, one of the groups that helped originate Gangsta Rap.

In 1992 he converted to Islam and slowly began to drift away from hardcore Rap and focused more on acting.

That same year he released 'The Predator', which contained this song. The album was recorded during the height of the LA riots and went straight to Number 1 in both the Pop and R&B Album charts. It was the first album to ever reach the top spot in both charts.

The track contains a sample of 'Footsteps In The Dark' by the Isley Brothers and was written as a reflection on the good times that he had during his rise to fame and wealth.

Despite being his biggest, most successful song, he lost a lot of credibility and his audience began to diminish after this song and album.

That's The Joint $ Funky 4 + 1
They formed in 1979 and were the first Hip Hop / Rap group from The Bronx, New York.

They featured a female MC, Sha Rock.

After the success of 'Rappin' And Rockin' The House', when most of the group were only 17, they released this track on Sugarhill Records in 1980.

They were also the first Hip Hop group to appear on national television when they were guests on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1981.

Unfortunately, differences with the record label led them to split and quickly disappear into obscurity.

Sugarhill Gang may have followed and been bigger and better. But these guys were first. And first is forever.

Straight Out Of The Jungle $ Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers were first off the mark with a couple of things.

They pioneered the fusion of Jazz and Hip Hop that later went on to form the basis of Drum 'n' Bass.

They were also the first Hip Hop artists to use a House music producer (Todd Terry) on their debut album 'Straight Out Of The Jungle'.Their first few albums received critical acclaim but didn't sell very many copies and were largely ignored by Hip Hop audiences. However, without them and their music, one could argue there would be no De La Soul or A Tribe Called
Quest.

Montego Slay $ People Under The Stairs
Thes One met Double K in Los Angeles, they formed People Under The Stairs (or PUTS) and quickly started recording their first album, 'The Next Step'.

They recorded it themselves and had to sell it on the street from backpacks until it was eventually released in 1998.

The head of OM Records, Chris Smith, heard it, gave them a deal and two years later they released 'Question In The Form Of An Answer'.

The second album received a warm welcome and they began touring more intensely. Two years later they released OST, which provided twenty little gems, including this track.

Thes One described it as, "An album made up of old records and personal experiences. No more, no less." Check it.

Life's A B***** $ Nas
This tune is lifted from his first album, 'Illmatic', which features Pete Rock, Q-Tip and DJ Premier (among others).

On this laid-back, jazzy track, AZ raps with Nas and his father, Olu Dara, plays the cornet. It samples 'Yearning For Your Love' by The Gap Band and 'Black Frost' by Grover Washington Jr.

Seven years after it's release, the album was certified platinum and was still selling over three thousand copies a week.

Coming Of Age $ Jay-Z
'Reasonable Doubt' is Jay-Z's (Sean Carter's) debut album and is considered, by some, to be his crowning achievement.

It has been classified as 'Mafioso Rap' because of the strong references to crime throughout all of the songs.

Production was handled by DJ Premier, Clark Kent and Ski. Kent worked on this track that contains a sample of 'Inside You' by Eddie Henderson.

'Coming Of Age', like all the tracks on the album, feature what have been called Carter's "effortless, unaffected cool, disarming honesty and acrobatic rhymes."

Pop Shots $ Ol' Dirty Bastard
Enough Said.

Hypnotize $ Notorious BIG
'Hypnotize' was released in April of 1997, after Biggie Smalls had been killed. The song had been a huge hit on the radio and when the single was finally released, it went straight to Number 2 in the charts. A week later, it was Number 1.

Biggie became the fifth artist to have a Number 1 single in the charts posthumously. The track was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

Pop Goes The Weasel $ 3rd Bass
This track was released in 1991, brought on by the success of white artists bringing Rap into the mainstream.

Ironically, the success of the song was due to the criticism of such white artists, in particular Vanilla Ice. The track attacks the artists for being culture thieves and watering down the sound of rap in order to make it more accessible to the mainstream audience.

'Pop Goes The Weasel' features elements of a JB's song and a Stevie Wonder song as well as sampling 'Eminience Front' by the Who and 'Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel.

Fight The Power $ Public Enemy
Chuck D. Flava Flav. PE.

This track is considered by most to be PE's defining song. Their anthem. It is also one of the most popular and influential Hip Hop songs of all time. It's from the album 'Fear Of A Black Planet' and features in Spike Lee's joint 'Do The Right Thing'.

The classic lines from the song are:

Elvis was a hero to most But he never meant sh*t to me
You see, straight-up racist that sucker was simple and plain
Mother**** him and John Wayne

Yo! Bum Rush The Show.

Touch The Sky $ Kanye West
When you cross the sharpest dressed man in Hip Hop with the flyest brother in Soul, how could you NOT have a massive hit and sell millions of records?

From West's second album, 'Late Registration', that Rolling Stone called, "an undeniable triumph" and Spin magazine described as, "ornate and bloated just like West's ego", comes 'Touch The Sky'.

The song samples 'Superfly' by Curtis Mayfield and features Lupe Fiasco. The video is a short movie about Evel Kanyevel and his attempt to fly a small rocket across the Snake River Canyon.
Not bad for someone who dropped out of Chicago State University.

Baby Got Back $ Sir Mix-A-Lot
The original Bumpasauraus who hails from Seattle, Washington and introduced the world of Hip Hop to deep bass.

This track was his biggest. It won him fame and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1993. However, following this success he struggled to try and repeat it. Eventually, he fell out with his record label and disappeared for several years.

During the break, he apparently collaborated with The Presidents Of The United States but nothing was ever released.

Recently, he has been featuring as a guest on tracks for several artists, including Nas in 2007 with 'Where Are They Now'.

More Bounce To The Ounce $ Zapp
Zapp were five brothers who formed a Soul and Funk band in 1978. This track highlights their style, hand-clapping drum beats and the use of a talk box.

The band only had a couple of hits but have influenced numerous artists in West Coast Hip Hop and G-Funk (Gangsta Funk).

Small Talk At 125th & Lenox $ Gil Scott-Heron
The Black Arrow is back on djkub.com with another insightful, articulate, no-nonsense poem that spoke to the political consciousness of those in the know in the early 1970s.

Digital Kicks 023

2008-06-25T10:00:00.008Z

And now for something completely different.

01. Fire (Original Mix) - Soul Khula ft Miss Identity
02. Anywhere You Are - Sunshine Jones
03. Cherry (Jay's Nude Vocal Mix) - Lisa Shaw
04. Midnight Love - Tennishero
05. Superstar - Lupe Fiasco
06. Stop Complaining (Morcheeba & Capricorn II Remix) - Lyrics Born
07. Sex Education: Ghetto Style - Gil Scott-Heron
08. Pretty Girl With A Crooked Smile - DJ T-Rock & Squashy Nice
09. Morning Child - 4 Hero
10. Appetite - Chin Chin
11. Tomorrow Never Comes - Club 8
12 Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
13. Vespa - Mike Sammes
14. Up On The Roof - Kenny Lynch
15. Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison
16. Old Man Atom - The Sons Of Pioneers
17. Touch And Go - The Cars
18. Tokyo Moon - Windmill
19. You're All I Have - Snow Patrol
20. Scream Team - Deerhoof
21. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon

Fire (Original Mix) - Soul Khula ft Miss Identity
Soul Khula are two studio-boffin-DJ types and a very talented singing sista, all from Johannesburg South Africa. I have a remix of this song on a Cafe del Mar compilation, which I didn't even realise until I came across this version, the original, on eMusic.

Very good, very chilled and just a little bit deep.

Anywhere You Are - Sunshine Jones
Sunshine Jones was one half of Dubtribe Sound System (along with Moonbeam) in his previous life.

But first he was a punk rocker from the Bay Area in San Francisco. Then he was in to Hip Hop. Then he heard House music. Then he went to Ibiza. And then he formed Dubtribe Sound System, touring non-stop for several years and playing live in an effort to eschew the DJ-centric dance world.

Now he is making deep, melodic House music and still featuring on compilations all over the place, like this one.

Cherry (Jay's Nude Vocal Mix) - Lisa Shaw
This is a Beatport download that I was delighted to find. I first heard this track two years ago on 'Es Vive Ibiza 2006' but it was a mixed effort by Mark Doyle and I couldn't find the original song anywhere. Until Beatport.

Shaw moved to New York from Toronto in the mid 1990s and quickly found her way in the underground House scene. She guested and sang on tracks for several high profile producers / DJs and finally released her own album, also called 'Cherry', in 1995. This song as well as 'Always' and 'Let It Ride' have featured on dozens of compilations and have been championed by DJs all over the world.

Midnight Love - Tennishero
Tennishero hail from Stockholm and produce quality, chilled out music.

There are debates about whether their name is pronounced 'Tennis-hero' or 'Tenni-shero'. But one thing is for certain - this song, lifted from Hed Kandi's 'Kandi Lounge' compilation is a cracker.

Superstar - Lupe Fiasco
Lupe is a Muslim from Chicago. His birth name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco and he is the fifth of nine brothers and sisters.

He has won four Grammys, been called a "breath of fresh air" by Jay-Z and hangs out with Jay, Kanye West, NERD and Pharrell.

This track is from his second album, 'The Cool', and features Folk singer-songwriter Matthew Santos.

Stop Complaining (Morcheeba & Capricorn II Remix) - Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born is called Tom Shimura by his parents, who are one part-Japanese American and one part-Italian American. Growing up, he lived in Tokyo, Salt Lake City, Berkley and Tampa.

His music encompasses everything, ranging from Hip Hop to Pop to Rock to Funk. His rhyming style is very complex, using techniques such as phonemes and internal rhymes.

He cites the Sugarhill Gang and Ice Cube as influences and has collaborated with artists such as, DJ Shadow, Blackalicious and Jurassic 5.

This song is a remix of the original live song that appears on his 2006 release 'Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live'.

Sex Education: Ghetto Style - Gil Scott-Heron
Poet, musician, spoken word performer and, in some circles, the godfather of rap. These are some of the descriptions placed on Gil Scott-Heron.

He hails from Chicago and was writing, singing, talking about controversial topics long before anyone else was or thought it was cool to do so.

His first album, 'Small Talk At 125th And Lenox', was mostly spoken word pieces. And very volatile ones at that. His second album, 'Pieces Of A Man', kept the proto-rap approach but combined it with more instrumentation and formal song structures. His third album, 'Free Will', was a combination of both. The first side was a musical experience, while the second side was, more or less, a rap session accompanied by a flute and some percussion.

This scathing attack comes from that second side and epitomizes his no-holds-barred, no-topic-is-taboo approach to making music and political statements about society.

Pretty Girl With A Crooked Smile - DJ T-Rock & Squashy Nice
DJ T-Rock was voted "Best God Damn DJ of 2003" by the legendary independent label Hip Hop Slam in San Francisco.

He was also called "The Best DJ You've Never Heard" by Bomb Hip Hop, who have introduced most of today's popular scratch musicians to the mainstream.

Since then he has created a bit of buzz with his recordings and extensive touring schedules though out America and Europe.

In the last decade he has worked with, Afrika Bambaataa, Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys), Z-Trip (Linkin Park) and Cut Chemist.

He is known for his eclectic blend of music and extreme turntable trickery. When asked how he does it, he replied, "It's simple. There's no trick. It's just a simple trick".

Morning Child - 4 Hero
4 Hero are 4 lads from North London. They formed and began recording in 1990. Since then, they have covered a lot of ground. Their music began as Breakbeat House and Techno, progressed to Jungle and Drum 'n' Bass, and has now settled on Broken Beat and Nu Jazz.

This track is from their most recent long player, 'Play With The Changes'.

Appetite - Chin Chin
Chin Chin are the non-Hip Hop group who record on the Hip Hop label Def Jux.

This tune is from their self-titled release and features their "tighter than your boss with a raise" playing style.

Tomorrow Never Comes - Club 8
Club 8 are a Swedish group, who carefully tread between and experiment with different sounds. They have been known to play Dub, Indie, Trip Hop, Chill Out, 80s Alternative and Bossa Nova.

But instead of sounding like a car crash they manage to hold it all together and produce beautiful, slightly melancholic Anorak Pop.

This track would fit perfectly on any C-86 compilation.

Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
'Barbara Ann' is a cover version of the Regents 1961 hit. The Beach Boys released it in 1965 with Brian Wilson and Dean Torrence (who was one half of Jan & Dean) on lead vocals.

The song appeared on the album 'Beach Boys Party!', which was their third LP released in 1965. It came out during the Christmas period and consisted entirely of cover versions.

Vespa - Mike Sammes
Mike Sammes was a musician and vocal session arranger. In 1955 he brought together a core group of singers called, (funnily enough), 'The Mike Sammes Singers'.

They began working four sessions a day, six days a week and for nearly 15 years provided almost every single note of backing vocals on pop music recorded in Britain. They worked with dozens of singers, including the Beatles on 'I Am The Walrus' and 'Good Night'. They recorded soundtracks, did radio work and sang thousands of radio jingles.

A lot of their jingles, like 'Vespa' can be heard on the collection entitled 'Music For Biscuits'.

Up On The Roof - Kenny Lynch
"When this old world starts getting me down,
And people are just too much for me to face -
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space..."

This is my favorite song in this mix. It really gets me every single time that I hear it.

'Up On The Roof' was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded by The Drifters in 1962. Although they didn't have much success with it, Lynch's version, released around the same time, was a Top 10 hit in the UK.

Kenny Lynch is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and actor from London. He is best known for numerous appearances on variety shows in the 1960s and his never-ending charity work.

Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison performed and recorded music for years with quite sporadic success. However, in 1959 he hit the big time with 'Kansas City'.

The song was written in 1951 and became a Billboard Number 1 record for Harrison. It won a Grammy 'Hall of Fame Award' and has been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's '500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll'.

Old Man Atom - The Sons Of The Pioneers
The Sons of Pioneers were an American cowboy singing group founded in 1933 by Leonard Slye, who later took the screen name Roy Rogers.

Their smooth, harmonic western style music was influential and used in several films in the 1950s. Eventually, in 1980, the group were elected in to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

This song is a cover version of the Sam Hinton original and was released by RCA Victor in 1950.

Touch And Go - The Cars
The Cars formed in Boston in 1976. Following the release of their debut album, 'The Cars', in 1978, their follow-up, 'Candy-O', in 1979 and huge amounts of critical acclaim and success, the band were faced with the 'difficult' third album.

In typical fashion, they decided to change direction and go with a more experimental recording, 'Panorama', in 1980. It didn't really work. Fans were disappointed. Critics didn't like it. In fact, Rolling Stone described the album as, "an out-and-out drag". But it did contain this little gem of a tune.

It didn't matter though because bigger success would follow with 'Shake It Up' in 1981 and, after a short break, with 'Heartbeat City' in 1984, which produced five Top 40 singles and sold four million copies.

Tokyo Moon - Windmill
Windmill is Matthew Thomas Dillon. Although he is largely unknown, when he released 'Puddle City Racing Lights', the comparisons to Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev were immediately made. And it's easy to see why.

The song begins with a simple piano riff, then strange, somewhat heartbreaking vocals come in, followed by huge drums and an orchestra arrangement that would give any of the bands listed above a run for their money.

'Tokyo Moon' is melancholia at it's very finest.

You're All I Have - Snow Patrol
Released in 2006 'You're All I Have' is the first track and single from 'Eyes Open'; the fourth album by Snow Patrol.

The band formed in 1994 and have gradually shifted (or slid) from Indie Rock to Alternative Rock, as heard on 'Final Straw' and this song, before plummeting into Power Pop territory with the likes of 'Chasing Cars'.

Perhaps their last great tune, 'You're All I Have' signalled the end of their rocking with the cool kids and the beginning of their rocking with the dads.

Scream Team - Deerhoof
Deerhoof are from San Francisco. They are often introduced as Satomi Matsuzaki (who usually sings and plays bass), John Dieterich (who usually plays guitar), Ed Rodriguez (who usually plays guitar as well) and Greg Saunier (who usually plays drums).

I'm not really sure what that means other than they must be able to switch instruments and places between recordings, between gigs or even between songs.

But never mind that. The more confusing thing is trying to explain their sound. I have seen them classified as Indie Rock or Noise Rock. I have seen their music described as distinctive, unassuming, hyper-expressive, elastic, odd, harmonic, sophisticated, disjointed, condensed, asymmetrical, unconventional, raw and improvised. And that was just one review.

'Scream Team' is the ninth track on their seventh album and sums up everything great about the band in a very concise 160 seconds.

You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon
Since 1994 Spoon have released six studio albums, five EPs and 18 singles. They have been dropped by labels, fought, lost members, gained members, disappeared and reappeared.

This song is from the album, 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga', which has received a lot of good press and placed them ever-so-slightly on the radar.

But even recording the album was hard. 'You Got Yr Cherry Bomb' is a song that the band really struggled with. In the end three versions were recorded and this is the one that appears on the album. It was all probably worth it though because Rolling Stone named proclaimed it Number 16 in the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

Digital Kicks 022

2008-05-28T10:00:00.017Z

01. I Will Follow - U2
02. Seeing People You Know - The Young Republic
03. Vodka - China Bear
04. Faust Arp - Radiohead
05. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead
06. Empire Song - Killing Joke
07. Get It On (Work In Progress) - T Rex
08. I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore - Woody Guthrie
09. Country Trash - Johnny Cash
10. Lively Up Yourself - Bob Marley & The Wailers
11. Apply Some Pressure - Mark Ronson ft Paul Smith
12 Mr Pitiful - Otis Redding
13. Do You Believe In Love - Huey Lewis And The News
14. Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann
15. Casual Sub (Burning Spear) (45 or 33? Radio Edit)
16. Good Feelin (TNT Bonus Mix)

Click here to listen to the mix.

01. I Will Follow - U2
Track one, album one.

U2 burst on to the scene with this song in October 1980.

Bono wrote the song only weeks before the band went into the studio to record 'Boy'. He has said the song is about his mother, who tragically died at the funeral of her father.

The song is one of their most enduring tracks and has been included in nearly every live show they have ever played.

02. Seeing People You Know - The Young Republic
The Young Republic come from Boston and consist of eight lads, who are equally adept with rock and classical instruments.

This song is a non-album track and highlights their happy, poppy, country-tinged, orchestral-infected harmonic sound. Listen and smile.

03. Vodka - China Bear
I lifted this song from a 'City Lounge' compilation (number 3 to be exact) and included it because of the groovy, laid back vibe it contains. It makes for great lounge music and was also quite a popular track in Ibiza last year, featuring on a couple of compilations created by those peeps who are supposedly "in the know."

04. Faust Arp - Radiohead
05. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead
The band and the album are so good that I had to include two tracks. Both are from 'In Rainbows', released on the interweb last October and in shops this January.

One, two, three, four...

'Faust Arp' was a bit of an enigma before the release of 'In Rainbows'. It began initially as an interlude and then transformed into a proper song as recording progressed. The song features Thom's voice, guitar and strings blended together perfectly to produce a brilliant, little acoustic tune.

'Jigsaw' is a tight, quirky song that reminded everyone of the now pre-electronic, classic Radiohead sound. The track was the first single from 'In Rainbows' and made a decent impression in the charts on both sides of the pond. The video also features the entire band together on camera for the first time in years. The technique of using head cams to produce the black and white video just adds to the tense, edgy nature of the song.

06. Empire Song - Killing Joke
Killing Joke started as a Post-Punk Rock band in 1979. Their dark, Gothic sound combined heavy guitars with danceable rhythms that influenced numerous bands and grabbed the attention of a lot of people. One of them was John Peel. He loved them and played them constantly on his show.

Their third album featured 'Empire Song' and it became one of Peel's favourites. Despite the recognition and airplay, the band started to lose the plot. Several of the members became heavily involved in the occult and moved to Iceland in an effort to avoid and survive what they called the 'inevitable apocalypse'.

Of course the apocalypse never happened and they all eventually copped on and moved back to England where they continued to record and tour until the 1990s.

07. Get It On (Work In Progress) - T Rex
'Get It On' or 'Bang A Gong' (if you bought the record State side) is one of the most well known T-Rex tunes and arguably the biggest song from the Glam Rock era.

The track is from 'Electric Warrior' and was Marc Bolan's attempt to emulate one of his heroes, Chuck Berry.

This version of the song is a bonus track from the extended 'Electric Warrior' CD and contains some in-studio banter between Bolan, the band and the engineers during rehearsals.

08. I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore - Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson 'Woody' Guthrie aka 'The Dust Bowl Troubadour' is one of the greatest American songwriters and folk musicians of all time.

He was born in 1912 and traveled extensively across the States, looking for work, in the 1930s due to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

The Dust Bowl or 'dirty thirties' was a period of severe dust storms that swept across the prairie lands in middle America and Canada during the early 1930s. Extreme crop damage and drought forced many men to travel west in search of work.

Guthrie was one of these men and he spent his spare time writing songs and singing about the working people he met.

This track is from 'Dust Bowl Ballads' which Guthrie recorded in New York in 1940. It was his first commercial recording and the most successful album that he ever made.

09. Country Trash - Johnny Cash
From the 'Dust Bowl Troubadour' to the 'Man In Black', Johnny Cash sings about 'Country Trash'.

Another man all too familiar with pain and hardship, some of Cash's songs exude feelings of loss and suffering from every single line.

'Country Trash' was recorded later in his career and can be found on 'American III: Solitary Man'.

In the song Cash sings, "My hands don't earn me too much gold, For security when I grow old. But we'll all be equal under the grass, And God's got a heaven for country trash." Amen brother.

10. Lively Up Yourself - Bob Marley & The Wailers
'Lively Up Yourself' is the first track on the politically charged 1974 album 'Natty Dread' and is a blues influenced song that captures the spirit of the Rastafarian Movement.

Marley is by far the most widely known and revered performer of reggae and ska music. He is also known for his unwavering beliefs in the Rastafarian way of life. In fact those beliefs cost him his life.

In 1977 he was diagnosed with cancer when a malignant melanoma was found in an old football wound on his right toe. He refused amputation (believing the body must be 'whole'), all other surgical possibilities and perceived doctors as deceivers. Within three years the cancer had metastasized to his brain, lungs, liver and stomach. Four years after being diagnosed, Marley died at the incredibly young age of only 36. His parting words to son Ziggy were, "Money can't buy life."

11. Apply Some Pressure - Mark Ronson ft Paul Smith
Mark Ronson. Producer. DJ. Cover artist. He's won a few Grammys and BRITs. He plays at celebrity private parties. People either seem to like him or hate him.

'Version' is the album this song is from and, as the name suggests, is a disc of cover versions.

In an unusual move, Ronson enlisted Paul Smith, the singer with Maximo Park, to sing on this tune. The result is a not-so-different-than-the-original cover version. Slightly brassier. Slightly more polished and produced. But every bit as cool as the original.

12. Mr Pitiful - Otis Redding
'Mr Pitiful' first appeared on the 1965 album 'The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads'.Then it surfaced as a reference in the fictitious dance song 'The Crunge' by Led Zeppelin.Next, it was featured on the soundtrack to 'The Commitments'.

And now it appears again on Digital Kicks 022. It's a musical journey.

13. Do You Believe In Love - Huey Lewis & The News
I was watching 'The Wedding Singer' a few months ago and heard this track for the first time in years. I used to really like Huey Lewis when I was a kid and this song would have been one of my favourites.

After seeing the film, I scanned my hard drive, found this track buried on a compilation, dusted it off and included it in this mix.

14. Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann, who is originally from South Africa, formed a band in London at the end of 1962. Inspired by the Blues scene championed by the Stones and Yardbirds, the group toured non-stop for nearly a year. They signed a record deal with HMV in early 1963 and struck gold with this tune, which was their third single. It went to number one in both the UK and the US. Proof that the third time really is a charm.

15. Casual Sub (Burning Spear) (45 or 33? Radio Edit) - ETA
'Casual Sub' was released by ETA in 1997 at the height of the Big Beat scene. It samples 'Burning Spear' by Burning Spear, who is a Jamaican born singer and musician.

The song was released as a five track EP and contained this original version as well as some really good remixes. The name comes from the fact that the song can either be played at 33 rpm (for a chilled out vibe) or at 45 rpm (for more of a party, get-down type of vibe). Either way the song is big and it grooves!

16. Good Feelin (TNT Bonus Mix) - Swing Kids
Swing Kids is a moniker for Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez of Masters At Work fame. He used the name when he produced, recorded and remixed this tune in 1991. India's singing is a perfect match to his classic four-on-the-floor House music.

This track is one of his personal favourites and, by his own admission, very rarely leaves his record box. I lifted it from his brilliant collection, released last year on NRK, called 'Back In The Box'.

Drum 'n' Bass 1ne

2008-05-08T21:45:00.004Z

Drum 'n' Bass started as a tangent of the UK rave scene in the early 1990s and is electronic music characterised by two unique elements. First are the fast tempo, broken beat drums, largely programmed by the use of a Roland 808 drum machine with the dial set to about 160 - 180 bpms. The second are the gut-wrenching, chest-pounding sub bass lines that are usually sampled or created by the use of a synthesizer and looped.

The genre began as and remains an underground phenomenon, although a couple of tracks did make an impression on the charts during it's peak. As an ever changing style of music, it reflects the many and different elements in it's roots from ragga, dancehall, electro, funk and hip hop through house, jazz, reggae and rock to techno and trance.

These diverse influences helped shape the style that covers the entire spectrum of sounds from heavy, hardcore, industrial electronic music all the way through to the jazz-influenced use of acoustic instruments.

Drum 'n' Bass is probably best listened to and experienced in a club. However, that is not where I first heard the music. When I arrived in Dublin, fresh-faced and innocent, in 1997 I wandered into Tower Records on Wicklow Street for the first time and came across a compilation called 'Earth II'.

Packaged in a copper coloured box and curated by LTJ Bukem (Danny Williamson) it intrigued me. I listened to it and was blown away. The jazzy atmospheric electronic music blended perfectly with the heavy drum beats. This was some dope shit and nothing like what I had been listening to in America.

I worked hard and saved my punts for about two months so that I could by the CD. 'Earth II' was the very first album that I bought in Dublin and I spent many months and lots more money on the output of Good Looking Records.

This mix is my take on the genre. There are some obvious tunes and some not-so-obvious that may or may not really be Drum 'n' Bass. But the intention was to push the boundaries a bit and create an interesting listen.

Drum 'n' Bass 1ne

01. Fictions // Rollercone
02. The Sun Rising (Tom's Drum & Bass Mix) // The Beloved
03. A Festa // Truby Trio
04. Sweet Sunshine // Ils And Solo
05. Nightlines (Original Mix) // Alexkid
06. Rainfall // LTJ Bukem
07. Heroes // Roni Size Reprazent
08. Sugar Is Sweeter (Drum 'n' Bass Mix) // CJ Bolland
09. Distorted Reality // Bjorn
10. Inner City Life (Album Version) // Goldie

Things kick off with an excerpt of Roni Size's 'Heroes', serving as an introduction.

01. The first full track in the mix is 'Fictions' by Rollercone, which is the first track on 'Earth II' and seemed like the best place to start.

02. The Beloved's track 'The Sun Rising', released originally in 1989, got a loving re-work several years later by Tom Middleton and has appeared on more compilations than you could shake a stick at.

03. 'A Festa' by Truby Trio is a song released on the Compost label that reflects the group's love of Downtempo, Breakbeat and Bossa Nova music.

04. Ils And Solo recorded several tracks for Good Looking Records in the mid 1990s. 'Sweet Sunshine' is a perfect example of Intelligent Drum 'n' Bass and appears on 'Points In Time 004'.

05. Alexkid is a French knob twiddler with a love for all things dance-y. 'Nightlines' is from his album 'Bienvenida' but I came across it on 'Cafe del Mar Chillhouse Mix 3'. It is a really unique tune that connects the dots between Deep House and Drum 'n' Bass. All in less than seven minutes.

06. No Drum 'n' Bass mix would be complete without an LTJ tune. I chose 'Rainfall' in an effort to shy away from the obvious. But believe me it was tough. There were about another two dozen other songs I would have loved to include by him.

07. 'Heroes' is one of the biggest Drum 'n' Bass songs ever recorded. Full stop. A stone cold classic.

08. Is it House or is it Drum 'n' Bass? Is it both? Who cares? It's a fucking great song. CJ Bolland does his best Alexkid impersonation by combining Deep House and Drum 'n' Bass to perfection with 'Sugar Is Sweeter (Drum 'n' Bass Mix)'.

09. Bjorn recorded and released a handful of 12" singles on Good Looking Records and Cookin' Records. 'Distorted Reality' can be found on 'Earth III' and is a tune that HAS to be heard LOUD.

10. Released in 1994 'Inner City Life' is the biggest selling and probably most recognizable Drum 'n' Bass song ever recorded. The song has sold over 15,000 copies on vinyl alone. The album, 'Timeless' is the considered the best Drum 'n' Bass album of all time. Both have made Goldie famous and a bit of a household name for a couple of years.

And that's it. There you have it. Drum 'n' Bass 1ne. Enjoy...

Digital Kicks 021_A

2008-04-08T22:00:00.004Z

I've been hard at work this month to bring you the latest Digital Kicks. In fact it is bigger and better than ever. So big in fact that this month it had to be split into two sides.

Move your cursor here to listen to Side A.

ID - DJ Kub
CODE - DK
SEQ_NO - 021:A
MIX_NAME - Digital Kicks
DESC - Chilloutdowntempogroovyloungecoverversionsoul-
drumnbassfunkpoprockjazz
LNGTH - 57:31
FMT - mp3
BR - 192 kbps
TOT_NO - 14
FILLER - 0

FILES - A: The 'Reverso' Side

01. Finger Painting - DJ Part
02. Promises (Reverso 68 Remix) - Badly Drawn Boy
03. Shine - Deep Dive Corp
04. Dizzy - The Royal Blue
05. A Hard Day's Night - Peggy Lee
06. Something's Got A Hold On Me - Etta James
07. Trespassing (Chalice Mix) - Cujo
08. Woman Of The Ghetto - Marlena Shaw
09. One More Time (Instrumental Version) - Peven Everett
10. There's Something On - 808 Funk
11. Drunk Chicken / America - U2
12 I've Gotta Get A Message To You - Bee Gees
13. I Love The Rain (Acid Rain Remix) - The Real Tuesday Weld
14. Petootie Pie - Ella Fitzgerald

DATA - Behind the notes

Finger Painting - DJ Part
Shadow Records started in 1995 as a sub-label of Instinct to focus on the more organic side of electronic music. They partnered with Ninja Tunes and released lots of cool, hip ready-made electronica perfect for chilling out and introducing to your mates. Just like this track by DJ Part.

Promises (Reverso 68 Remix) - Badly Drawn Boy
Recipe for a great track:

A. Take the vinyl/download release only song 'Promises' by Indie singer/songwriter Badly Drawn Boy
B. Take the remix duo Reverso 68 (otherwise known as Phil Mison and Pete Herbert)
C. Combine the two in a studio
D. Play and mix the song during a slow steady process of layering, building and (re)constructing
E. Repeat as necessary until you have a re-worked, chilled piece of music that soothes while maintaining a groove that makes you smile and nod your head
F. Give permission to Kenneth Bager to release the track on his fifth installment of the Luftkastellet series
G. Stock the CD in all good music shops with better quality and a discerning ear

Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner!

Shine - Deep Dive Corp
Deep Dive Corp are called Bjorn Gerhard and Peter Musebrink by their family and friends. They have quite a beefy output of albums and 12" singles on various finger-on-the-pulse type labels.

This track is lifted from the very same Luftkastellet compilation mentioned above. And I'm not sure which I like more - the woozy, drunken mumblings or the Pete Hook-esque bass line.

Dizzy - The Royal Blue
Grooooovy baby!..

'Dizzy' is a song that was recorded by the All-American, clean-cut, Buddy Holly-inspired, singer Tommy Roe in 1969. It has been the number one single in the US once and the UK on two occasions. The first time was in America in March of 1969 by Tommy Roe. The second was the same version in the UK in June of 1969. The third time was in the UK when the Wonder Stuff covered it with Vic Reeves in November 1991.

This is a lounge version, which I am fairly certain, did not go any where near the charts. I swiped it from a cheesy cocktail compilation that I picked up in America last summer, subsequently lost on the road and sub-subsequently found again when I got back to Dublin. It's a musical journey...

A Hard Day's Night - Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in North Dakota in 1920. From her childhood years singing for food on the radio all the way through to her last performances in the 1990s, Lee was a wonder and a successful singer, songwriter and actress. She was the favourite singer of millions of people throughout the years, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland.

This cover of the Beatles' classic was also taken from the same cheesy lounge compilation as 'Dizzy' but originally appeared on Lee's 1965 album 'Pass Me By'. My advice to you is don't pass her by.

Something's Got A Hold On Me - Etta James
For the second month running, Etta is back with another killer tune. She's really just too much woman for only one track.

Trespassing (Chalice Mix) - Cujo
Cujo is the Drum 'n' Bass moniker of Brazilian DJ/producer Amon Tobin. He took the name Cujo from the Stephen King novel and he took the name Tobin from his Irish stepfather. After moving to England, he released several EPs and then signed with Ninja Tunes in 1996. Six critically acclaimed albums followed as well as his superb live shows. He is renowned for using sampling in his records to a degree that no one else can even come close to. But when he plays live he takes everything to another level. He only uses a 7.1 surround system for his gigs and with the use of layering and texturing techniques, usually makes the records he plays sound even better than the original studio versions. This track is a great introduction to his work.

Woman Of The Ghetto - Marlena Shaw
Marlena Shaw was signed by the legendary Soul label Chess in 1966 and released this song, probably her most famous, in 1969. Although the live version is probably the definitive one, I prefer this original studio version.

In 1972, Marlena moved to Blue Note and in doing so became the Jazz label's first female artist. When Disco began gathering steam in the mid 1970s, Shaw moved away from her Soul roots, adopted the new style and released the very first 12" single for Blue Note.

The live version of this song from the 'Live At Montreaux' album was sampled by St. Germaine and used for his song 'Rose Rouge'.

One More Time (Instrumental Version) - Peven Everett
Peven Everett is a singer from Chicago who is probably best known for singing 'Gabriel', one of the seminal House records from the 1990s, with producer (and mate) Roy Davis Jr. The song sold over 250,000 copies and has been referred to as a 'classic' by nearly every single DJ who wants to be taken seriously (including me) and sound like they know what they are talking about when it comes to House music.

I heard 'One More Time' on Sirius satellite station #35, otherwise known as 'Sirius Chill'. A quick search on emusic.com brought up a link and in only thirty seconds I had purchased the song. Is there anything the interweb can't do?

There's Something On - 808 Funk
808 - refers to:
The Roland TR (Transistor Rhythm) 808 Rhythm Composer drum machine. The TR-808 was only produced from 1980 - 1984 and (by most accounts) was not a very good machine. It sounded nothing like a real drum. But it was cheap, featured more sounds, had more controls and offered more memory than it's predecessors.

It was embraced and only used by a handful of musicians during it's production. Perhaps the most famous of them was Marvin Gaye, who used the Roland TR-808 on his song 'Sexual Healing' in 1982.

Ironically, when the machine had gone by the wayside in the late 1980s someone discovered that it could actually produce a very deep sub-bass sound. Exactly what early House and Hip Hop producers were looking for. Enter the first phase of DJ and dance culture...

Funk - refers to:
a) body odor or the smell of intercourse
b) the blend of soul, jazz and R&B into a slow, groovy, loose, riff-oriented form of music
c) the genre that was started by James Brown in the mid-1960s, expanded into jazz territory by George Clinton and Parliment in the early 1970s, copied by EVERYONE (and their brothers) in the mid-to-late-1970s and then replaced by machines (including the TR-808) in the early 1980s

808 Funk pay a proper tribute to both parts of their name with this tune.

Drunk Chicken / America - U2
Bono is known, and often derided for, his incessant rambling about most things political. But it is his incessant rambling that actually creates this song, which is an out-take from the Joshua Tree recording sessions and can be found on the 20th Anniversary Collector's Box Set.

In the song he speaks/mutters, complaining about America and to America. But by the end of the song (about 90 seconds later) he admits that despite all of it's shortcomings, America is actually an incredible place that he can't stop being obsessed about.

I'm not sure what a chicken has to do with it and (it seems) he may, or may not, have been drunk when he recorded it.

I've Gotta Get A Message To You - Bee Gees
Before the polyester, gold chains and bad hair cuts the Bee Gees were regular guys. Before leading the way during the Disco tidal wave in the late 1970s they were a Soft Rock band in the 1960s. And a good one too.

The three brothers, Barry, Maurice and Robin, grew up in Australia, where they sang and performed at numerous resorts while releasing a couple of singles a year during their adolescence.

Before returning to their home in England in the late 1960s, a demo of theirs found it's way into the hands of the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. A five year contract with Polydor followed and the hits started flowing. This tune is from their third album and went to #1 in the UK and #8 in the States.

During the next 35 years, the band would go on to sell an amazing 225 million albums, placing them only behind Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney in all-time record sales.

I Love The Rain (Acid Rain Mix) - The Real Tuesday Weld
The real Tuesday Weld was an actress born in the 1940s and who starred in a film about rock 'n' roll called Rock, Rock, Rock. She also acted beside Elvis, Steve McQueen, Bing Crosby and Jack Nicholson (to name a but a few). She also won a Golden Globe Award.

This Tuesday Weld is a British band fronted by singer Stephen Coates. The band are named after the actress because Coates had a dream about her one night. His nocturnal meanderings influenced him and led to a very unusual, offbeat jazzy cabaret-style of electronica music. One that Coates refers to, himself, as "antique beat".

My only problem with the song is that I, unlike Stephen, do not love the rain.

Petootie Pie - Ella Fitzgerald
Q: What do you get when you combine Ella Fitzgerald, who was called the "First Lady of Song" with Louis Jordan, who was called the "King of the Jukebox"?

A: A hit record! The two of them sang together and this song and it went to #3 in the charts in 1946. With that much talent, how could it not have been a hit?

Digital Kicks 021_B

2008-04-08T11:00:00.003Z

More Digital Kicks. Move your cursor here to listen to Side B.

ID - DJ Kub
CODE - DK
SEQ_NO - 021:B
MIX_NAME - Digital Kicks
DESC - Chilloutjazzhouseloungepopdowntempocheesyswing-
nudiscodeephousetechno
LNGTH - 61:57
FMT - mp3
BR - 192 kbps
TOT_NO - 12
FILLER - 0

FILES - B: The 'Rosemary' Side

01. Shake - Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause
02. Sax - H & H Soul Survivors
03. Easy Love - Louie Austen
04. Love Goes (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Wayne Newton
05. On And On - Eon
06. Never Gonna Give You Up (Cake Mix) - Rick Astley
07. Winchester Cathedral - Nelson Riddle
08. Fast Freeze - My My
09. Bless You (Album Version) - Lulu Rouge
10. Community (Fish Go Deep Vocal Mix) - Audio Soul Project
11. New Way - From P6027. 5:05 (Selway Lightwave Remix) - Llana

DATA - Behind the notes

Shake - Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause
In 2004 Deepak Sharma mixed and released a compilation called 'Boogaloo, Brooklyn, 3:23pm'. It contained a track that he loved by Dieter Krause. The two met, became friends and started a label together. Hidden Recordings doesn't conform to rules or guidelines. The two boys release whatever they want. Whatever they love. That means music from all different genres. Minimal to Deep. Chill to Tech. House to Techno. 'Shake' is an absolutely brilliant track. Here's to being different and not sticking to formulas. Here's to Hidden Recordings.

Sax - H & H Soul Survivors
There's not much about these guys on the world wide net web. They have a myspace page but details about them are sketchy at best. It seems they met about seven years ago. They shared a love of old Soul, Funk and Jazz. They shared the same influences such as Herbie Hancock, Earth Wind & Fire and Quincy Jones. This track does just what it says on the tin - combines sax with
smooth, chilled House.

Easy Love - Louie Austen
Louie Austen is the Austrian, classically-trained, bar-crooning jazz singer who moved into electronic music a few years ago - by accident. He meet a producer in the studio who thought that contrasting his Frank Sinatra(ish) voice with experimental electronic tracks would yield some good results. And it did.

Austen is quoted as saying, "I decided there and then to resign from all other jobs and to completely dedicate myself to this new project for two years. If I'd find myself on the street after two years, I'd have to go back to my old jobs. But I wanted to try under all circumstances - I simply had to."

Five albums, three EPs and numerous singles later, he is still working at his 'new' job. His tracks are played in clubs all over Europe and have been on numerous compilations, including Luftkastellet and Hotel Costes. There is something slightly OTT about his stuff but it works. And that is all that really matters.

Love Goes (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Wayne Newton
From one kitschy crooner to another, the mix moves into Wayne Newton's cover of 'Love Goes'.

Newton was born in 1942 and by the age of six was able to play the piano, guitar and steel guitar. He was discovered by an agent while in secondary school and was whisked away to Las Vegas for two weeks worth of shows with his brother. He ended up performing there for five years, doing six shows a day!

He worked with every single entertainment icon in the 1960s and 1970s. He was given a headline show at the Flamingo and became part owner of the Aladdin Hotel in 1980. By 1994, he had performed his 25,000 solo show in Las Vegas.

But it all ended in tears and bankruptcy when he sued NBC for libel and went over twenty million dollars into debt.

Newton has remained a prominent figure in Vegas and still performs there with a big band as well as consistently appearing on TV and playing festivals around the world.

On And On - Eon
Google these guys and you will get over 9000 results. None of which seem to have anything to do with this song. There's information about a leading energy company, a geological designated period of time, sponsors of a biathlon World Cup, virtual reality software, outdoor decking systems, business banking and financial services. Well, the list just goes on and on...

Never Gonna Give You Up (Cake Mix) - Rick Astley
This song (and others like it) remind me of my youth and the state I was in at that stage of my life. It takes me back to a time in my life when I didn't judge or analyze music. I just liked it because I liked it. I wasn't concerned with whether it was cool or not.

Clearly this song was not (and is not) cool. But I like it. Call it a guilty pleasure.

And the best part is that, as you listen to it, you can take comfort in the fact that Rick will never:

Give you up
Let you down
Run around and desert you
Make you cry
Say goodbye
Tell a lie or hurt you

Winchester Cathedral - Nelson Riddle
I could probably dedicate an entire blog to what Nelson Riddle achieved during his life. He was a bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned nearly 40 years. During that time he worked with just about everyone who had a song to sing.

'Winchester Cathedral' is a song originally released by The New Vaudeville Band in 1966. Here Riddle does his loung-y, hammond-y, string-y interpretation of the tune. To great effect.

Fast Freeze - My My
My My are actually three dudes. Two Germans and one Englishman.

Carsten Klemann was born in Berlin and started DJing in 1999. His favourite artists include the Velvet Underground, Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush.

Lee Jones was born in Essex and began his life in music as Hefner. He moved to Berlin in 2002 and signed as part of My My to the Playhouse label in 2004.

Nick Hoppner DJed around Hamburg and Berlin. He used to work as an editor for Groove magazine. He is also a bit of a metal head and listens to Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica.

Despite the different tastes and backgrounds, the three lads prove that the sum is usually greater than it's parts.

Bless You (Album Version) - Lulu Rouge
Lulu Rouge are a couple of dudes on top of the Scandinavian Chill Electronica scene. They hang out with Kenneth Bager and record for Music For Dreams.

If you check out their story on bigchill.net, you will see them described as:

'Lulu Rouge is vibrant and playful yet extremely well orchestrated deep dubbed chill that always flies over the neighborhoods of Basic Channel meets Massive Attack before taking off, pushing the frontier further out into the big vast indefinite space.'

Strange days indeed...

Community (Fish Go Deep Vocal Mix) - Audio Soul Project
Audio Soul Project is Mazi Namvar. He's a prolific producer, having released 80 records in only five years. He's a remixer. He's based in Chicago. He's DJed for over ten years. And he has two record labels.

Fish Go Deep are two Irish lads, who have been resident DJs at a club called Sweat in Cork.

Combine the two artists and you have a BIG track. This song has been on just about every single dance compilation released in the last two years. And yer man (on the track) offers some good advice about music as well. Can you dig it?

New Way - From P60
Zoltan Nagy brings us deep House from Hungary. I first heard this track on a compilation called 'Koh Samui', named after the island and reflective of the underground club scene there. It's best described as music for your body and your mind.

5:05 (Selway Lightwave Remix) - Llana
Llana Ospina is a producer. John Selway is a DJ, remixer, producer and all around electronic-type music guru. He has played, recorded and released just about every kind of dance music you can think of. This song would probably be classified as Techno but it touches on deep, minimal, tech and chill during it's 7 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Young Knives - Whelans, Dublin, Easter Sunday 2008

2008-03-25T22:20:00.002Z

Words: Paulo
Tunes: Kub

When one mentions this band, I find myself drifting back to the summer of ’07 and the U.S. Road trip I did. It was in a quality little music establishment called “Grimey’s”, Nashville, Tennessee (another story!) that I came across the wonderful first album “Voices Of Animals And Men”. It was my good mate, Kub, who encouraged me to buy it and for this I say “Cheers lad”.

Anyway, back to the present! I found myself at the infamous music venue that is Whelan’s of Wexford Street on a cold Easter Sunday accompanied by the aforementioned Kub. Having picked up the second album “Superabundance” earlier in the week and found it to be as good if not better than the debut, I was naturally excited about hearing the tunes live. I hadn’t witnessed them on stage before so I was curious and buzzing!

A newspaper article on the previous Friday had recommended the gig and advised, in particular, that anyone in attendance should pay special attention to the ‘in-between-song-banter’!

The venue quickly filled up and both Kub and myself were happy to see the back of the support band (called Unicorn something or other). We moved down towards the stage, took up our positions next to the sound desk and watched as the roadies meticulously put the bands gear together.

At approx. 9.30pm the lights went down and a cheer went up as the band took to the stage. Lead singer Henry Dartnall said a quick hello and they were off, opening with the snappy “She’s Attracted To”. I was also off, getting straight into gig pose with air guitar/bass/drums at the ready (sorry, I probably look like a twat but I can’t help it and those who know me well understand what the music buzz does to me!). Having finished the first tune Henry thanked the crowd and dived straight into the ‘in-between-song-banter’ I mentioned earlier. “We’re gonna be playing a lot of songs from our new album which is called Superabundance. We will of course also be peppering the set with all of our chart topping hits!” I turned to Kub and smiled. The tone was set for the evening!

They breezed through singles “Terra Firma” and “Turn Tail” with gay abandon and you could tell they were enjoying themselves. Henry then quipped that it was “great to be back in Whelan’s” and went on to introduce the band – “on bass we have the wonderful House of Lords! And on drums is Oliver”. Now, I was aware of the fact that the bass player held this quirky title but on the night, the lead singers’ reference to him was particularly humorous. What was even more comical was the fact that a few songs later the lead singer went about introducing the band again at which point The House of Lords interjected to inform the “slightly chubby” (he referred to himself as this) Henry that he had already done this. “Oh did I” was his reply, “Well you obviously didn’t say anything when I did as otherwise I wouldn’t have forgotten!” which brought a hearty laugh from the enthralled crowd.

Upon introducing one of the “chart toppers” the lead singer blasted “This is another one of our singles. One of our chart topping, best selling singles. Singles... Singles shmingles… what does it matter? Singles shmingles. I’m not even Jewish by the way”. The House Of Lords then pointed out that his remark was rather racist which led into a lengthy and clown-like debate on racism between the two front men. Henry made some comment about how the House Of Lords doesn't speak much to him and then comes out with that attack. Without missing a beat, HOL replied, "I can't ever talk to you backstage because you always have your head buried in 'Mein Kampf'!" Ouch. All Henry could say was "touche". “Why can’t all gigs be like this” I thought to myself.

They continued to bang out the tunes with the crowd getting more and more involved as they did so. “Fit 4 U” was then announced as the next song at which point I let out a roar of appreciation that came out very high pitched, sounding like a teenager whose adult vocal chords were breaking in! But I didn’t care. My favourite song of the new album was played to perfection by the boys and it made my night!

Henry then announced that time was closing in on them and that they were coming to their final two tunes. The crowd sighed with disappointment! “However, there is a line drawn under these on the set list with 3 more songs underneath”, he cheekily chirped (one of which was Adam & the Ants ‘Stand & Deliver’ – legendary!). The crowd went bananas and all was OK again!

They finished off with the harmony-tastic “The Decision” and bounced offstage to a barrage of applause and cheers. It left me longing to see them play live again very soon. Whelan’s is just a great little venue too… if only it could play host to every band!

Hot summer… here’s hoping! Hot band… ooooooooohhhh yeah!!!! Mother Nature sighs with relief… for now!

The set list was:

01. She's Attracted To
02. Counters
03. I Can Hardly See Them
04. Coastguard
05. Terra Firma
06. Rue The Days
07. Rumor Mill
08. Dyed In The Wool
09. Turn Tail
10. Fit 4 U
11. Up All Night
12. Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)
13. Current Of The River
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14. Loughborough Suicide
15. Stand And Deliver
16. The Decision

If you want to learn more about this English three-piece, tweed-loving group of geek rockers, go here.

If you want to hear some of their quality tunes (listed below) mixed by Kub, go here.

01. Turn Tail
02. The Decision
03. Walking On The Autobahn
04. Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)
05. Fit 4 U
06. Dyed In The Wool
07. Here Comes The Rumor Mill
08. English Rose
09. Terra Firma
10. Flies

Finally, Henry in his own words (courtesy of www.myspace.com/theyoungknives):

Thursday, March 13, 2008

"Our new album "Superabundance" is out this week. This is the week to make a difference. If you are sick of rubbish music then stand up and be counted. If it is your birthday next week and you were hoping someone might buy it for you , don’t wait, they have probably bought you a Sugababes (nothing wrong with this, just not the same) record, so get Superabundance immediately. If you think that maybe Young knives have gone a bit crap on their second album, then rest assured, it’s a pretty good record, so take a chance and splash out on Superabundance. If you thought you would just download it for free from the internet, then just don’t, it ruins music for everyone, buy Superabundance (and everyone else’s albums that you were considering stealing). If the tone of this message has put you right off buying our album then a) I’m sorry and b) never pay attention to the pish that spews out of musicians mouths, judge them purely on their music (ie, buy Superabundance). "

The Rebirth Of The Cassette

2008-03-12T13:47:00.003Z

Roll tape...

In addition to my monthly serving of new tunes, called Digital Kicks, I am now beginning a new series called Cassetricity as a means to introduce you, my beloved readers, to even more music and to share some interesting (perhaps useless) stories about the music and my life.

The culture of cassettes and mixtapes began in the late 1970s and peaked in the mid-1980s, enabling every single person who had a few slabs of vinyl to record, make, package, distribute and share the best bits and their favourite pieces from their music collection. It was total DIY. It was no to low budget. It followed on the heels of punk and was the driving force behind the post-punk ethos. There were no rules and anyone could do it. Everything is digital now but I believe the spirit of compiling and sharing good music lives on. The mixtape will never, ever die.

I have chosen to post, as my first installment of Cassetricity, a cracking little mix of Chillhouse tunes called the 'Foundations' mix. Each of the songs have been carefully selected, sequenced and lovingly mixed to entertain and provide some background to how my love of house music was born and nurtured.

Enjoy the mix and remember that they used to say home taping killed music. Respect the artists and their work! If you hear something that you like, go buy it or download it (legally).

First, the geek stuff.

The equipment / resources used to create this mix was:

01. A Dell XPS M1210 laptop - my stereo and general music container.
02. A Western Digital 250GB external hard drive - stores all of my music in mp3 format.
03. Traktor DJ software - the original and in my opinion still the best DJing software. I bought this in 2001 and have never looked back. I use it to edit and tag all of my music and to compile and store my endless amounts of playlists. I DJ with it as well as record and mix all of my compilations and podcasts.
04. Sennheiser HD 202 headphones - my favourite pair of 'cans'.
05. CD-DA Extractor software - this is the file converter. Once the mix is recorded and exported to a WAV file, this application converts the file to .mp3 format.
06. www.podomatic.com - a good hosting site that is (slowly) getting better. All of the .mp3 files are uploaded to this site and hosted for free. The once agonising slow upload speeds are getting better and I just may eventually start paying for the service to avail of all the extra bells and whistles.

And now, the music:

Normal Bias
Noise Reduction - IN
EQ-70us
C-46

Click here to listen to: Kub - MXT - 001

Side (A) - 'Chill' Side

Orange Sunshine - Superstars Of Rock
Cafe del Mar, Sunset Beach, San Antoni, Ibiza. This is the beginning. Ground zero. Square one. The original chill out. Jose Padilla was the first resident DJ in Cafe del Mar and he will always be the best. When the 'English' invasion began and dance culture was born in the late 1990s, Padilla sensed that things were changing and he left before they went pear shaped. Exit Jose, enter Bruno. Mr. Leparte became the new resident spinner of all things chilled and quality. He had big shoes to fill but he held his own and took Cafe del Mar to even bigger and better things.

'Orange Sunshine' kicks off this mix and is an acapella song that I first heard on a Bruno-compiled and blended CD called Real Ibiza. It is by a crowd called Superstars Of Rock, who as far as I can tell, are not superstars and have nothing to do with rock music. They are, however, a collection of very good producers and musicians. Guest singer Yvonne Leybold talks about "the music, the lights, the sweat and the uncontrollable urge to laugh." Welcome to Chillhouse.

Thru 2 You (CJ One Vocal Mix) – Echomen
When Bruno stepped in to Cafe del Mar he had a huge task ahead of him. The question - how was he not only going to DJ every night but be able to create the same atmosphere as Mr. Padilla while the sun was setting? The answer - do the same thing but do it differently. He compiled and released a couple of Real Ibiza CDs and he carried on the Cafe del Mar CD series as well. But he started a new series called Chillhouse, which took the chill side of the bar scene and combined it with four-on-the-floor House music. The result is what I heard the first time I went to Ibiza in 2001 and it blew me away. I bought Volumes 1 and 2 in the Cafe del Mar shop, played them non-stop for about three months and fell in love with House music. They were like nothing I had ever heard before. The music was up-beat but down-tempo. You could play it in the morning, the noon or the night. You could listen to it anytime and no matter what you were doing or how you felt it was a total lift. A real pick-me-up.

'Thru 2 You (CJ One Vocal Mix)' is actually a brilliant tune from the equally brilliant third volume in the Chillhouse series. The Echomen are Chris Scott and Anton Fielding. They are from the north of England. They make fantastic music that is deep, minimal and overflows with funk. It is the kind of House that is sometimes hard to find but always easy to listen to.

Lone Cat - Ben Watt
Ben Watt has had quite a career. In fact, he has had quite a life.

He began recording in the early 1980s for the legendary independent label Cherry Red. In 1982 he met Tracey Thorn and began life as Everything But The Girl, recording together for eighteen years. In 1995 they took a turn away from their alternative, folk, acoustic focus and embraced dance music. The result was the song 'Missing', which was remixed by Todd Terry and turned to gold. They were a great example of an overnight success that took over 12 years to achieve.

During this time Watt grew very sick and after a long time was finally diagnosed with Churg-Strauss Syndrome. The disease begins with allergy-type symptoms, progresses into acute asthma and eventually attacks the organs. Watt was unlucky because it took so long to properly determine the cause of his declining health but he was lucky because the disease did not affect his lungs. It was treated and he recovered with the only side effect being a permanently restricted diet. The book 'Patient' was written by him and tells his story about the battle with the disease.

In 1998, after recovering, Watt established a Sunday club night with his mate Jay Hannan in Notting Hill called Lazy Dog. The night (in the Notting Hill Arts Club) and the club-based compilation CDs were massive. A cult following developed and the queues to get into the bi-monthly gigs became more famous than the club itself. After an unbelievable five years of sell-out nights, the two decided to part ways and move on to bigger projects.

Ben started remixing. Then he started producing. Then he founded his own label called Buzzin' Fly and toured all over the UK and Europe. When Buzzin' Fly started, the great records came thick and fast and the compilation CDs followed. 'Lone Cat' is a track from the first CD and, like it says on the tin, proves to be 'replenishing music for the modern soul'.

That first Buzzin' Fly CD didn't leave my player for several weeks after I bought it. And it proves what a master Watt is at his craft - selecting and mixing killer tunes with incredible skill. It is one of my favourite tunes because it crosses the (barely trodden) line between House and Rap. Yo.

Long Time - Inland Knights
This track is from an album that had a huge impact/influence on me while I was putting together my first demo in 2001. During that time, I was buying a lot of dance music - mostly mixed House compilations. The reason is because I was learning how to mix and beat match two songs. Part of the process is listening to the pros do it and these guys do it better than most.

Inland Knights aka Laurence Ritchie and Andy Riley are both from Waterford, Ireland. They met and started their careers by organising and promoting free dance events in the 1990s. When the underground dance scene was hit with heavy, curtailing legislation in an effort to stop these massive parties, they moved on. They continued DJing and promoting, started producing and founded their own label, Drop Music, which has seen lots of quality releases over the years.

'Long Time' is lifted from an album called 'Creative Spaces' which I bought in Carbon Records in Urban Outfitters, Temple Bar. I used to shop there all the time and had become friendly with the lads in there who all DJed and knew the score. Basically, I would go in once a week or every two weeks and look for the albums that I had heard about or read about. Then I would ask them what else they could recommend and 'Creative Spaces' was one of the suggested gems.

The CD is mixed but it is in no way boring. The Knights know how to put together a great piece of dance music - good beats, funky bass lines, deep keyboard sequences and interesting vocal samples. They keep things minimal and make house music for both people who love house music and for people who don't like house music (but secretly want to).

I have since bought a few more of their compilations and found them on eMusic and Beatport. 'Long Time' is the only track I have thus far been able to buy from 'Creative Spaces' in it's original, unmixed glory. Listen and be amazed.

Get Deep – Lorenzo
Lorenzo are Joachim Schafer, Tim Bernhardt and (sometimes) Linda Mathews. They make deep, minimal House with other chillful sounds and refreshing beats. Although they are dedicated to the dance floor, they remain very suave and stylish in all of their records.

When I was compiling the songs for this mix, I came across 'Get Deep' and thought that it fit in perfectly beside the Knights' tune. It's funky somewhat filtered sound is also very characteristic of the kind of music that I was trying to find and listen to in an effort to understand the art behind beat matching back in 2001 and 2002.

There is an intentional five second gap in the mix to facilitate the switch from Side A to Side B.

Side (B) - 'House' Side

Finally (Original Album Version) - Kings Of Tomorrow
What can I say or write about this song that has not already been said or written? It is one of the biggest House tunes of all time. Full stop. You couldn't go anywhere - any bar, any club, any cafe, any high street shop or any house party in the early 2000s without hearing this song. It was also featured on every single two-bit dance compilation released by the likes of Hed Kandi, Ministry Of Sound, Defected and Warner (to name but a few). And it became a seminal, Balearic wave-your-hands-in-the-air tune that any DJ worth his weight carried in his record box and caned to death summer after summer after summer after...It has also been remixed about 1300 times by every single producer / DJ looking for a sure fire hit.

Sandy Rivera had been a professional DJ and producer for about eight years when he enlisted Julie McKnight to sing on his new track. In an effort to become a bit more radio-friendly, Sandy dropped his name and adopted the Kings Of Tomorrow (KOT) moniker. It worked and the rest is, as they say, (House music) history.

Music Sounds Better With You (Sinclair Remix) – Stardust
Another larger than life song. This track did every single thing that 'Finally' did but two years earlier. It is one of the tunes, if not THE tune that created the entire 'Superstar DJ' movement in the late 1990s. I heard that entire bands were selling all of their equipment (guitars, drums, keyboards, amps, mics, etc) to buy turntables after hearing this song. I personally have never known anyone who does not love this song and I personally have never seen anyone not turn immediately happy and start moving when the song is played in a bar or a club.

Stardust were Alan Braxe, Thomas Bangalter (half of Daft Punk) and Benjamin Diamond (French singer). The song sampled the Chaka Khan's 'Fate' which was buried deep on her 1981 album 'What Cha' Gonna Do For Me'. And, perhaps most importantly, the song was a one-off. There was no album, there was no second single, there was no tour. Stardust were a true one hit wonder and that has probably only added to the love of the song.This version was reworked by Bob Sinclair and gives the song a darker, deeper sound. It's a great tune to break out after midnight when the night starts to move on.The is quite good as well and was directed by Michel Gondry, who as a quick aside, directed 'Be Kind Rewind' - a film I would also recommend (if you were to ask me).

Deep Smoove (Original Mix) - Chuck Love
It is said that people who know Chuck Love often wonder how can so much soul fit into one skinny, little white dude. I would argue that people who don't know him wonder the same thing. I know I do.

Chuck hails from Minneapolis and is, by some accounts I have read, a certified whiz at almost any instrument. There must be something in the water there since Minneapolis also produced the amazingly talented Prince.'Deep Smoove (Original Mix)' was recorded for the label OM after Chuck signed for them in 2006. It is a track that perfectly combines jazz elements with soul elements with dance elements. Exactly the ingredients required for Chillhouse. Bruno did not include this track on any of his CDs but he should have. It is pure quality and, if you are like me, the long outro will leave you dying for more...

Digital Kicks 020

2008-03-02T23:00:00.004Z

Hello. Welcome back to Blog Rockin' Beats (after a long, long layoff) and to a brand new, updated, revamped Digital Kicks. It's hard to believe that I am already on volume 020. Not all of the compilations / mixes have seen the light of day but I can assure you they were all lovingly put together on my laptop and saved for posterity.

Some of you may remember previous editions of Digital Kicks. The premise is pretty simple - I trawl through all of my new music each month, select my favourite tracks and present them to you sequenced and mixed with love. I have had a long think about the approach and nearly decided to change the format beginning with volume 020. But since I want to avoid trouble and potential lawsuits, I am going to continue with the same formula.

So, I have still made my way through all of my new music for this month. I have still selected and sequenced the killer tracks with love. And to help you along the way, I have written a little bit about each song so that you know more about what you are hearing.

I give to you the first Digital Kicks of 2008 and number 020 in the series.

To listen to the mix, click here to go directly to my Digital Kicks podcast page.

Enjoy the compilation!

The track listing for this month is:

01. I Still Remember - Bloc Party
02. We'll Live And Die In These Towns - The Enemy
03. Tonight The Streets Are Ours - Richard Hawley
04. You Dream In Solid Gold - Future Kings Of Spain
05. My Babe - Little Walter
06. Let Me Blow Your Mind - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
07. I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James
08. Secret Stealth - Stealth 3
09. The Clapping Song - Shirley Ellis
10. The Preacher & The Bear - Golden Gate Quartet
11. Green Door - Wynder K Frog
12. Days Go By (Paul Oakenfold Vocal Remix) - Dirty Vegas
13. Spliffhead - Ragga Twins
14. Smile And Receive - Swayzak
15. Das Spiegal - The Chemical Brothers
16. Operation - Jamie T
17. Crumble - Dinosaur Jr
18. You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover - Bo Diddley
19. Ain't Got No One - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
20. The Imperial March - John Williams
21. Midnight Funk Infinity - Soulphiction
22. Fragment Two (The First Picture) (Jesse Rose Instrumental Remix) - Kenneth Bager

I Still Remember - Bloc Party ¦ Vision
Bloc Party. Yer man, Kele, is a bit of a douche but I still think that the band haven't made a wrong turn. Yet. Musically, I'm a huge fan. I've even seen them live twice and they certainly don't disappoint. This mix kicks off with 'I Still Remember' from 'A Weekend In The City'. It's a song about regret. A song about what could have been. A song about lost love. And maybe, just maybe a song about two boys. I haven't quite worked that out yet. Give it a listen and judge for yourself.

We'll Live And Die In These Towns - The Enemy ¦ Vision
While I would like to give my mate, Mark, credit for introducing me to this song (he is always about 5-6 albums ahead of me when it comes to anything Indie), it was actually on 'Tom Dunne's Essential Selection 20007'. From what I know about these guys (which isn't very much) they are a bit of a slow burner. They have been touring for a while and most people who have seen them (not me) reckon they have improved a lot since the beginning. They have had their fair share of press in NME but then again what young, up-and-coming English band hasn't? And apparently the Manics really dig them. I just like this tune (even if it is the only one that I know - to date). I think I mostly like it because the singer sounds like Paul Weller and they really remind me of the Jam. And since I am too lazy to go and copy all of my Jam CDs on to my iPod, I have been listening to this tune a lot lately.

Tonight The Streets Are Ours - Richard Hawley ¦ Vision
Another artist that I know nothing about. And another tune courtesy of Mr. Dunne and his essential selection. Hawley apparently worked as a session & supporting musician for years before slowly building an audience of his own and a bit of respect from those people who claim to know something about music. This is a great song and if I am to believe what the interweb says, a departure from his normal sound. Still, if you are a bit fed up with your town or city, you will love the way he sings about getting out of 'this town' with an overflowing amount of youthful optimism. And you can never go wrong with a song that sounds like it was written by Burt Bacharach and produced by Phil Spector.

You Dream In Solid Gold - Future Kings Of Spain
I was asking a good friend of mine about these guys the other night. "Are they really princes?" "Are they from a long line of royalty?" "Are they actually Spanish?" It turns out that the answer to all of these questions is no. They are in fact Irish. And they are from Dublin. And one interesting thing about them is that they played their first ever gig in support of J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) in the The Temple Bar Music Center. So, now you know.

My Babe - Little Walter
Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs) started his music career as a guitarist. But he was a much better harmonica player. While trying to earn a living as a musician, he grew very frustrated because he (and his harmonica) were continuously being drowned out by electric guitars. So, he had a clever idea. He held a small microphone in his hands when he played and plugged it into an amp. Suddenly, everyone could hear him. He went on to experiment with the harmonica and developed radical new techniques and effects that had never been heard before. After joining Muddy Waters and playing on most of his hits throughout the 1950s, he started recording his own material. This song went to number one in 1955 and marked his second time at the very top of the charts.

Let Me Blow Your Mind - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Cover tunes are not everybody's thang. Some may say that they require no creativity. Some may say they are used as filler or for when writer's block strikes. But others may say that they offer a chance for an artist to throw a curve ball and develop a song further by doing their own take on it. That's just what Shawn Lee did with this Eve and Gwen Stefani track. As a kid growing up in Kansas, Shawn probably stood out a bit from the crowd. His musical tastes were satiated by 70s funk and blaxploitation songs. He moved to LA as a teen and learned to play multiple instruments. Then he moved to London and recorded an album that never got released. But he perservered and eventually recorded another album called 'Monkey Boy' that was released (and applauded). Fast forward to 2004 and Shawn released the first album featuring his Ping Pong Orchestra. They wrote songs for the cinema that were inspired by classic library records. I'm not quite sure what that means but I read it on his website, so it must be true. Their third album is full of funktastic, groovilicious covers like this tune. Check him out!

I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James
Etta James began singing at the age of five and never looked back. She worked hard through the 1950s, releasing several successful singles, which eventually led to her signing a recording contract with Chicago's infamous record label, Chess. One year later she released her most popular and enduring album 'At Last!', which featured six chart singles and this song. She continued singing and recording until the mid 1990s when a long-time drug problem and obesity forced her to stop. But, in fairness to her, she didn't let those problems end her career. She sorted herself out and lost an amazing fourteen stone. (Her heaviest weight was an unbelievable twenty-eight stone!) She has been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, received a Grammy Lifetime Acheivement Award and is regarded as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Secret Stealth - Stealth 3
Google 'Secret Stealth' and you will get pages and pages of hits back about bombers and fighter programs. But if you dig a little deeper you may find a bit more information about these guys. They are two English producer-DJ type boffins that have been around a while and involved in numerous different projects. One site I read describes them as being reminiscent of Kool & The Gang with their electro-funk-soul-proto-disco flavour. I have tried for days now to remember how I came across them and I have no idea. But I suppose where you get new music from isn't as important as the fact that you do, in fact, get new music. I am thrilled to have this tune. And now you can have it too!

The Clapping Song - Shirley Ellis ¦ Vision
I took this little ditty from a Chess Records compilation, even though it was recorded on the Congress label in the 1960s. Weird. Supposedly, it is a really difficult song to find on CD, so I am just happy that I managed to get my hands on it. The story goes that Shirley met Lincoln Chase in the early 1960s. He was an experienced singer and song writer. He did not have very much success at either. Still, she married him. And then, like magic, the duo started turning out the hits. 'The Clapping Song' is one of them. The lyrics sound very much like a nursery rhyme and the song was one of her last big hits, released in 1965. She subsequently retired from the music business three years later in 1968. The song has survived though. It has featured in some ads through the years and was a favourite among early Hip-Hop DJs spinning at block parties.

The Preacher & The Bear - Golden Gate Quartet
Despite their name, this quartet were actually from Norfolk, Virginia. They formed in 1934 and had several hits, including this one in 1937, that combined barbershop quartet-type arrangements with blues and jazz rhythms. This tune is about a preacher that goes hunting. After he shoots a quail and a hare, he is confronted by a bear, who chases him down the road and up a tree. Another cool little ditty with a mighty fine story to boot.

Green Door - Wynder K Frog
Although it is a cool name, Wynder is not the real name of this talented keyboard player. His parents call him Mick Weaver and he was a sessions player who was in a slew of bands in the late 60 and early 70s. By most accounts he was a bit of a master of the Hammond organ. But he seemed to have some weird obsession with frogs. His solo work consisted of albums named after frogs or that had pictures of frogs or contained songs about frogs. This particular tune is on a compilation CD that I bought in Bangkok (at a very reduced price) called 'Last Night A DJ Saved My Life'. It is the companion CD to a book of the same name and one that I have read numerous times. He may be totally obscure and unknown but this song deserves to be recognized as a true funk nugget.

Days Go By (Paul Oakenfold Vocal Remix) - Dirty Vegas
Oakie - you either love him or hate him. Lots of people hate him. Then again, he is rich and famous so lots of people must love him. After an auspicious beginning producing the Monday's killer album 'Thrills 'n' Pills...' his career has been mostly about pleasing the masses. True, he did introduce the general public to trance and has done some great remixes but most hardcore people think he spends far too much time on the wrong side of the mainstream fence. This mix (like many of his) isn't much of a stretch. OK, it's no stretch at all. He seems to have added a drum loop to the original song, thrown in a few extra vocal bits (hence the name of the track) and Bob's yer uncle. But it is still a cool song. And yes, I picked up his greatest hits CD, which is where I got this track from. And while some of his stuff is too dumb or too big or too obvious or just plain wrong, there is enough quality to please me. Especially considering the 'on sale' price I paid for the disc.

Spliffhead - Ragga Twins
Flinty Badman and Deman Rocker were a couple of MCs who decided to get together and make some dance music. They ended up creating to a sub-genre of jungle called ragga. This song was one of their big hits and was highly influential. I reckon that Goldie may have been furiously taking notes the first time he heard this track. It's also another tune lifted from the 'Last Night A DJ Saved My Life' compilation.

Smile And Receive - Swayzak
Swayzak are James Taylor and David Brown. They have been releasing deepy, dubby, techy, moody, angular house music for over ten years. Personally, I think a lot of their stuff is a bit too hectic but they do have a soft side, typified by this track. I downloaded this tune from emusic.com after coming across it accidentally. It turned out to be a great mistake.

Das Spiegal - The Chemical Brothers
Messrs Rowlands and Simons released their sixth studio album last year. Even though they may not be the Kings of Big Beat anymore, they can still pack a bit of a punch when they want to. And this tune proves it. I have not heard the entire album just yet - Paulo, I'm waiting for a copy because I know you picked it up in America! But I read the other day that some of the tunes on the album actually sample some tracks from their previous albums. That's very interesting. Either they have completely run out of ideas and are just getting lazy or they are trying to start the next trend in sample-based music: quit digging in the crates for funk and soul rarities from the 60s and 70s and just start using your own songs (which probably contain a sample of a 70s funk or soul rarity anyway).

Operation - Jamie T
Jamie T(reays) is from Wimbledon but don't let that put you off. His album 'Panic Prevention' is literally all over the shop. It ranges from punky, raw stuff to somewhat dancey-type stuff with lots of acoustic folk thrown in. He also likes to sample - everything. Lines from movies, self-help tapes and even pieces of stuff he recorded himself where he just chats to friends and family. This song is no exception and is well worth checking out.

Crumble - Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr are one of the oddest bands you could ever find yourself wanting to like. On paper they don't promise anything that great: high gain, loads of feedback, distortion, reverb and whiny, low-key singing by Mr. Mascis. And even though it shouldn't, it works. It totally works. Now, I can do without all of the distortion and feedback but every album they release contains a few tunes where Jay turns the dial down from eleven to a more reasonable number and they belt out a glorious pop tune. 'Crumble' is the lastest in a long line of those tunes. Probably my favourite tune by them since 'Feel The Pain' way back in 1994.

You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover - Bo Diddley ¦ Vision
Bo Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates in Mississippi. There are different stories about where his stage name came from but one claims that it is from a black slang phrase meaning nothing. As in, 'he ain't bo diddley'. Although there may be uncertainty about his name, there is none about his musical ability and influence on rock 'n' roll music. He, in fact, created a style of music captured on his 1958 album 'Bo Diddley' called (originally enough) Bo Diddley Beat that used instruments to imitate the sound and rhythm of people slapping or patting their arms and legs. In 1955, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and infuriated the host by not playing the song that he had agreed to. It didn't matter. After his performance, all of America knew who and what Bo Diddley was. He released this song in 1962, one of a long line of musical triumphs.

Ain't Got No Home - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
What a tripped-out cat. His influence was Fats Domino. He did talent shows and wore a wig with braids. He opened about twenty concerts for the Beatles when they toured the States in 1964. He played in the Bourbon Street strip in New Orleans for nearly twenty years. And then there was his voice. Some have said it was 'freak unique'. Others probably said it was just 'freak'. But it is brilliant. He developed a trademark croak that was never better than in this song. He sings the first verse like a man, the second like a woman and the third like a frog (croak and all). It is beyond description. It is fucking brilliant. Get this tune into your life - right now!

The Imperial March - John Williams ¦ Vision
I was born in 1970. I grew up with Star Wars. I had all the toys as a kid and saw the original three films more times than you could possibly imagine. I love everything about the films. But not the new ones, just the originals. One day, while surfing emusic.com, I typed in 'Star Wars' and found this song. It's deadly, dark and evil. And it is a great seque way into the next song...

Midnight Funk Infinity - Soulphiction
Soulphiction (aka Michel Baumann) likes to release music. Since the mid 90s, he has put his own blend of hip-hop, soul and jazz on slabs of vinyl for four different labels! I downloaded this tune from emusic.com after hearing a few of his tracks on a German house compilation called Inhouse. It's quite laid back and jazzy and the vocal bit at the beginning is pretty cool. A very good warm-up record if you ever find yourself on the decks.

Fragment Two (The First Picture) (Jesse Rose Instrumental Remix) - Kenneth Bager
He's a Danish guy who used to manage a record label. Now he owns one called 'Music For Dreams'. He has an album or two knocking around and he is the force behind the Luftkastellet compilations. I reckon you have never heard of him or Luftkastellet. The compilation series is now five releases in and is one of the best kept secrets in electronic music. The name comes from a Danish night club and Mr. Bager knows how to compile music. He combines well known artists with up-and-coming ones. His selections range from eclectic to quirky. The beats range from chilled to tech-soul, passing through dubby on the way. And the best part is he doesn't mix anything! I'm not sure why but for me decent song selection and high quality don't need to be mixed. Each track can stand on it's very own. So, hat's off Mr. Bager - keep them coming!

Thanks for listening and remember to respect all of the included artists' work and talent. If you really like something, go buy it!

Kub

I've Temporarily Moved

2007-07-12T05:15:00.000Z

Hi. I am currently traveling in America and will not be posting to this blog for several months.

However, if you would like to follow my travels and see what I have been doing, you can go to:

www.tarmacsoul.blogspot.com

Have a nice day.

Kub

Giddy Up

2007-05-17T09:24:00.000Z

Armstrong ponders about how he may be able to use the hurling stick on Jake Glynenhal.

A Dark Horse

2007-05-15T15:06:00.000Z

The Irish general election campaign is well under way. The date for the next general election is 24 May, which was chosen when the current (29th) Dail was dissolved on 29 April.

The members of the 30th Dail will be elected by the public on 24 May and then convene on 14 June to elect the next Taoiseach.

While everyone is currently discussing Bertie Ahern's financial affairs, debating reasons behind the date that the election was called / campaign was commenced and arguing about what day of the week voting should take place, a new independent candidate has emerged - a dark horse...

John Bracken for Taoiseach 2007

The Man In The Arena

2007-04-26T09:38:00.000Z

On April 15 professional cyclist Stuart O'Grady made his dream come true by winning 'The Hell Of The North'. Arguably the most difficult one day race in the whole of cycling, Paris-Roubaix has been a major goal of Stuart for his entire career. Like most professionals, Stuart has had his fair share of disappointment and setbacks but 2 weeks ago he finally conquered the 260 km and 28 sections of cobblestones to be crowned the 2007 champion.

Riding for the Danish team CSC, Stuart works closely with team director Scott Sunderland (a former professional cyclist himself) in preparing for races as well as executing strategies during races in an attempt to be victorious. On April 15 the strategy worked.

For most cyclists Paris-Roubaix is an unrealistic goal but for a few (like O'Grady) who are suited to the race ,winning can be a career long ambition. In addition to the rich cycling traditions surrounding the race, there is also strong historical character associated with it. In Roman times, troops would march along a lot of the cobble stone roads that feature in the race. For many, the imagery of gladiators is used to describe the cyclists fighting for victory and attempting to conquer the many difficulties the race presents.

As is customary, Team CSC posts a race day schedule priory to an event, detailing times and itineraries. The day before Paris-Roubaix Scott Sunderland included the following quote from his race diary on the schedule. It apparently inspired the team and set the tone for victory the next day.

"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

'I Don't Give A F*ck Who He Is'...

2007-04-23T10:15:00.000Z

One of my girlfriend's best mates told this story to a group of us recently. A friend of her father was actually there and saw it with his own eyes. I will do my best to try and tell it in the same way that she heard it and told it to us.

Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones has a house in Co Kildare, Ireland. Not far from his home is a pub called Furey's. By most accounts it is a lovely pub and serves excellent food every day of the week. One night last year to celebrate his birthday Ronnie decided to visit the pub with some of his close friends and a small entourage.

That very same night the friend of my friend's father was also in Furey's. As soon as Ronnie appeared almost everyone in the pub recognised him but (in typical Irish fashion) didn't make a very big fuss. The night progressed as usual with everyone drinking, laughing and telling stories.

At closing time with only a small number of people left in the pub (including Ronnie and his gang), the publican announced that there would be a lock-in. The shutters came down, the doors were locked, lights lowered and the remaining few were able to carry on with their evening for a few hours longer. Realising there was only a few people left and because it was his birthday Ronnie decided to take out his guitar and sing a few songs for his closest mates.

Seconds after hearing the first chord, the publican jumped out from behind the bar and announced to the small audience that there was a strict no music policy in his bar. No exceptions. As the story goes, everyone had a good chuckle before someone stepped up and said to the publican, "sorry, there mate but do you not know who that is?" And the publican replied (with a totally straight and irritated face) "I don't give a fuck if that is Ronnie Wood of The Stones! He can't play his guitar and sing in my pub and that's that!"

The entire place (including Ronnie) broke their shite laughing at the irony. But apparently, Ronnie was a good sport, respected the publican's wishes and put his guitar away.

Rock & roll stars. I guess they can't really do everything they want to and sometimes are put in their place...

Applications > Accesories > Terminal

2007-03-28T15:20:00.000Z

[root@brb ~]#
[root@brb ~]# whoami?
DJ Kub
[root@brb ~]# cd djkub
[djkub@brb ~]# more Why haven't I posted anything in a month?
[djkub@brb ~]# mv I left HP and started a new job.
[djkub@brb ~]# ls
The new job is hard.
I have to think a lot.
I don't have very much free time now.
My head hurts all the time.
It is a very different experience for me.
I have to use a Linux machine now - there is no Windows.
I am almost always confused.
[djkub@brb ~]# clear

[djkub@brb ~]# declare But I will be back soon.
[djkub@brb ~]# free I just need to make a bit more time each day.
[djkub@brb ~]# exec A new Digital Kicks is currently being compiled & recorded.
[djkub@brb ~]# command Thanks for reading and keep checking for updates.
[djkub@brb ~]# exit

[djkub@brb ~]# shutdown

Digital Kicks 009

2007-02-21T12:13:00.004Z

It has been a couple of hard knock weeks for me here at Blog Rockin' Beats. In early January, I found out that both of my gigs (The Sitting Room and my guest spot at Soul Food World Beats) were being cancelled. Then a month ago I found out that my contract in HP was not going to be renewed and that I had to begin looking for another job.

This explains my prolonged absence from the blog and the reason that I have not been posting. I have not had any gigs to share with you and I have been talking to the man, looking for a job.

But, thankfully I have found a j-o-b and this week I finally made some time to compile and mix another installment of Digital Kicks.

So, here you are - the 9th Digital Kicks podcast.

In order to listen to it, you can click on the embedded player below or you can go directly to http://www.disco_dave.podomatic.com/ to either download or listen to the podcast.

As always, all of the tracks are chosen from the music that I have collected during the last month. Once the tracks are selected, I try to arrange them in a somewhat coherent manner that, while crossing different genres and styles, flows well. Because I have not marked and separated each track in the mix, the numbers following the '/' indicate the elapsed time in the podcast that the track begins.

Enjoy!

The tracklisting for this podcast is:

01. Black Betty - Lead Belly / 00:00
02. Breathe In - Frou Frou / 01:53
03. Pure - The Lightning Seeds / 06:24
04. Love Won't Leave Me Alone - Kenneth Brager ft Nikolaj Grandjean / 10:09
05. Straight, No Chaser - Thelonious Monk / 18:33
06. Capital Radio Two - The Clash / 21:28
07. Fight Academy Songs - Mission Of Burma / 24:45
08. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - The Slits / 27:53
09. Don't Care - Klark Kent / 31:48
10. Let's Dance - Ramones / 33:53
11. Heart Of Glass (Instrumental Version) - Blondie / 35:46
12. I Believe - Small World / 40:55
13. Golden Touch (Connie Prince & The Keystones Mix) - Blue States / 45:16
14. Destinations - Nomad / 50:16
15. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters / 55:57
16. Singing The Blues - Tommy Steele / 60:26
17. Wearin' That Loved On Look - Elvis Presley / 62:47
18. Just You And Me Darling - James Brown / 65:29
19. 22 Grand Job (Elliot James Lunch Hour Re-Edit) - The Rakes / 68:13
20. Cruel Youth - Pepe Deluxe / 72:32

Swashbuckler Team 2007

2007-02-07T13:21:00.000Z

LANCASTER, PA, Feb 05 - The Swashbuckler cycling team has appeared at it's first race of the 2007 season - complete in their brand new team kit. The updated look was designed by member 'Sez' and is meant to reflect the squads attitudes and preferences.

When asked, Sez explained, "the new look is intended to reveal our uncertainties as well as to provoke thought and reflection about us. Firstly, it's not really a question of are we gay? but more a question of just how gay are we? or how many of us are gay? or which of us (if any) are NOT gay? Then, things can be extended a bit further to include our cycling abilities and raise questions like, "how much do we really suck? or "will we ever achieve any results?"

The team is said to be in good spirits (despite their confusion about several key issues), however none of the other members were available for comment.

Hey Ho Let's Go

2007-01-16T10:53:00.000Z

L to R: Dee Dee, Joey, Tommy and Johnny

Released in April 1976, Ramones was arguably the very first punk rock album and one of the most influential records of all time. The band recorded the album in only 17 days for a grand sum of $640. Most of the 14 tracks were recorded in one take and the longest song on the album clocks in at 2:38.

The record did not have a hit single, never got anywhere near the charts and has sold less than 500,000 copies to date. But it was the first record to reject the arty pretensions of 1970s progressive rock. There were no long introductions, complex instrumentals or guitar solos. All the songs were fast, primitive and anti-social dealing with feelings of alienation, frustration and isolation.

Some interesting facts and information about the Ramones:

* The band used the same engineering techniques that the Beatles did for their early work, placing the guitar in one channel, the bass in the other and the drums in the middle.

* During the bands 22 years together from 1974 to 1996 there were a total of 8 Ramones: Joey, Johnny, Tommy, Dee Dee, Marky, Richie, Elvis and CJ. They played a total of 2263 gigs.

* The Ramones pseudonym was started by Dee Dee and inspired by the fact that Paul McCartney used the name Paul Ramone when he checked into hotels.

* Tommy was originally an employee of the studio that the band rehearsed in. When the band was auditioning for a drummer, he would often take to the kit to demonstrate how the songs should be played. Eventually, it was decided that he was the only one who could play the songs properly and he joined the band as the drummer.

* The band played live for the first time in March of 1974 and after a few months they became regulars at CBGB's. Their sets were so short (usually 20 minutes) that they often had to repeat them twice during a show.

* The Ramones first concerts in England were on July 4th & 5th, 1976. Their impact was enormous as the audience was full of musicians who played their first gigs immediately afterwards. These included The Damned (July 6th), The Clash (July 10th) and Buzzcocks (July 20th).

* Joey died in April 2001, Dee Dee died in June 2002 and Johnny died in September 2004. All three were the founding members of the band.

Reading, Writing And Listening

2007-01-12T17:08:00.000Z

So, it's a new year and that offers the promise of many new, exciting and interesting things in every one's life. I am back after a long break from Blog Rockin' Beats and am looking forward to several things this year.

Like most people, I make a few resolutions each new year and (also like most people) don't really keep them. I try for a bit but then get bored or distracted and just stop trying. However, one thing that I have promised myself is to read more this year. I used to love to read and somehow in the last couple of years I have just stopped. I find myself with little to no free time and have been unable to make my way through any book that I have started.

But it is a new year and I am going to try again. Another resolution I have for myself is to listen to more albums. The invention of the iPod and my busy DJing schedule have left me with very little time to put aside and enjoy an album from start to finish - the way an artist intends for you to hear their work.

In a clever move, I found a way to remain true to both of these resolutions. I bought the book 'Fear Of Music: The 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk And Disco', written by Garry Mulholland. He is a music journalist who wrote 'This Is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk And Disco' in the early 2000s. I really enjoy his style and although I would never agree with all of his picks for either book they are both very entertaining. He has the ability to mix personal anecdotes, historical references, facts and figures into each of the essays he writes for every album and single.

In skimming through the book, I found that I have nearly half of the albums that Garry has chosen as the best of the last 30 years. The other half contains albums that I can not wait to buy and listen to, albums that I might buy and listen to and albums that I would never ever buy or listen to.

And you, my fortunate readers, will benefit from my resolutions because I plan to post something on this blog about all the worthwhile albums that I listen to.

Happy 2007. Keep reading BRB and keep listening to quality tunes.

Digital Kicks 008

2007-01-11T11:01:00.004Z

Digital Kicks is back for 2007!

You can find it on www.disco_dave.podomatic.com and do one of the following things with it:

1. Click on the green play button to listen
2. Click on the send to a friend link and email the Podcast URL
3. Click on the download link to download it to your local device (when I tried this it automatically linked to Quick Time)
4. Click on the permalink link to create a permanent link to the Podcast URL
5. Add a comment (only nice things please)

This is the 8th mix in the series and is just over 88 minutes long, 120mb in size and in the standard mp3 format with a bit rate of 192kbps.

In addition, by clicking on the link below this post called Podcasts you can go to a page that contains all my previous poscast posts and their respective track listings. If you are interested in listening to any of the first 5 podcasts, let me know and I can send the file to you.

When you download or listen to the file please be aware that it appears as one long single mp3. This is because I do not have software yet to insert markers into the file at the beginning of each new song. But I am working on it. In the meantime...

The track listing for Digital Kicks 008 is (please note the time indicated beside the name denotes how far into the mix each particular song begins):

01. A Fly In The Hand - Alice Russel / 00:00
02. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob / 04:40
03. Exploration - Karminsky Experience / 11:24
04. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo / 16:54
05. Keepin On (Piano Cut) - Lazybatusu / 22:39
06. Saratoga (Remix) - Ultramarine / 28:33
07. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue / 33:26
08. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub / 35:13
09. We've Only Just Begun (TM Juke Mix) - Lee McDonald / 38:34
10. No Depression In Heaven - The Carter Family / 43:28
11. People Come Running (Needs Remix) - Taxi / 46:19
12. Sunday Memories - Frankman / 51:38
13. Love & Music (Joshua & Iz Remix) - Rithma / 60:26
14. The Magic Shag Carpet (Dee-Liteful Mix) - Vijaya Anand (Dancing Is Beautiful) / 66:25
15. Extraordinary People - Harmonic 33 / 74:04
16. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star / 77:36
17. Breezin' - George Benson / 82:23

Enjoy and thanks for listening!

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' But They Do

2006-12-22T16:49:00.000Z

December is silly season and the week before Christmas is just totally bananas. That's why I was happy to be playing Soul Food World Beats last night - I knew there would be a good crowd. And there was. I started out in the usual SFWB vibe by playing some reggae tunes but I was quickly given the nod to play anything, even commercial. I decided to play I Don't Feel Like Dancin' and to my surprise everyone did! A few people moved to the dance floor and it kind of freaked me out. I mean this was new territory for a Thursday night gig in Bia. However, rather than go for broke and peak too early (it was only 9:15), I decided to hang back and mix in some obscure tracks along with the more well known stuff. After about 30 minutes I played the Stereo MCs and there was no turning back. The floor was packed.

It was the most fun I have had playing in Bia and sadly I found out (after the gig) that it was the last ever Soul Food World Beats night in the bar. At least I can say I was part of the night and I was there at the end.

The set list was:

01. Shaft - Cedric Im Brooks
02. 54-46 (Was My Number) - Toots & The Maytals
03. Waterfall (Justin Robertson's Mix) - Stone Roses
04. Hound Dog - Betty Everett
05. Melting Pot - Boris Gardiner
06. Mirror In The Bathroom - The English Beat
07. Nite Club - The Specials
08. One Nation Under A Groove - Chaka Demus & Pliers
09. A Fly In The Hand - Alice Russel
10. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
11. Funk da Virada - Antonio Pinto & Ed Cortes
12. Get On The Good Foot - James Brown
13. If It Ain't Broke... Break It! - The Limp Twins
14. Got To Be Real (12" Version) - Cheryl Lynn
15. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue
16. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
17. We've Only Just Begun (TM Juke Mix) - Lee McDonald
18. Step It Up - Stereo MCs
19. Holiday - Madonna
20. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
21. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
22. For Your Precious Love - Jestofunk
23. Superfly - Curtis Mayfield
24. Groove Is In The Heart (12" Version) - Dee-Lite
25. Weirdo - The Charlatans
26. Rocks - Primal Scream
27. Rude Boy Rock - Lionrock
28. Sunshine Of Your Love - Spanky Wilson
29. White Lines (Don't Do It) - GMF & Melle Mel

2006 Crackin' Christmas Countdown

2006-12-20T10:37:00.000Z

And so, it has been tradition for many, many years in Dublin that the lads sit down, have a think and choose their 'Best Of' for the last 12 months. I have been reading / taking part for the last few years and this year I decided to post all of my choices for everyone to see.

I give you The Best Of 2006:

Albums

Bande A Part: Nouvelle Vague - The second offering by the French outfit that isn't quite as strong as the first but still stands above a lot of the albums released this year. The Cramps and Heaven 17 never sounded so cool.

The Afterlife Lounge: Afterlife - The latest album by 'the lads' from Ibiza. A couple of boffin producers plus Cathy Battistessa on vocals equals total quality. The disc features compilations with all the big names in Ibiza and never fails to chill.

News & Tributes: The Futureheads - Bigger, faster, stronger and sexier than The Futureheads. It has enabled me to keep my faith in rock music for a little while longer.

With Love And Squalor / Crap Attack: We Are Scientists - The debut album by the American group from New York. I have also listed Crap Attack as it is a great disc of B-sides, remixes and covers that together with the album offers a nice body of work. In the day of the 'next big thing' being released and applauded nearly every 2 weeks, these guys may actually stand the test of time. Just good old fashioned rock music played by dudes who take the piss out of everything (especially themselves).

Compilations

Big Chill Classics (Compiled By Mr Scruff) - A wonderful compilation by a regular at the Big Chill festival since it started in 1995. The festival takes place every August in Herefordshire and features a 'leave no trace' policy in an attempt to preserve the land as it is normally used as a deer reserve. Mr Scruff has a good ear and knows how to 'dig out' some really quality tunes. Several tracks from this collection feature in my gigs such as 'Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love' by Odyssey (the rock outfit, not the disco outfit), 'Back A Yard' by 'The In Crowd', 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' by D'Angelo and 'Moondance' by Grady Tate.

Cafe Mambo Ibiza 2006 - Pete Gooding decided to pack his records up and leave Cafe Mambo at the end of last summer after a 10 year residency. I'm not sure why he left but fortunately he is still releasing CDs. Earlier this year he teamed up with Afterlife to compile the latest version of the Mambo series CD. And to my surprise he didn't mix it! Maybe he saw no need now that he is retired but I finally was able to get my hands on some really hard to find tracks that aren't lost in a DJ mix. It is quite reflective of his sets in Mambo and includes lounge, chill out, soul and house tracks. Most of them you wouldn't hear or find anywhere else. The stand out track (and one of my favourite that is featured in most of my sets) is 'Crik Crack' by The Lovers.

Cafe Solo: Jose Padilla - Unfortunately it is a mix album but it was put together by the legend Jose Padilla. He was the first DJ to play in Cafe Del Mar, invent chill out and put Ibiza on the map. He even recognised where it was going to go and legged it the summer after Pete Tong played there for the very first time. His ability to find the best tunes from every single genre under the sun is second to none. Mixed or not, I buy every single CD released with his name on it.

Esudio Del Mar - I don't know much about this other than it has Ayia Napa stamped on the front of it and was released by a German label called XYZed Music. I found it in Abbey Discs on Lower Liffey Street where all sorts of treasures can be unearthed for those who are willing to take the time and look. It hardly ever left my CD player this summer and was my first choice for after hours listening. I have played several tracks from it in my Sitting Room sets especially 'Bedtime' by Naoki Kenji and 'Still Here' by Aural Float.

Right Time Wrong Speed 1977-1987 - The latest John Peel tribute disc released in October to mark the second anniversary of his death. It's two discs of everything that he loved including punk, folk, reggae, hip-hop and Britpop. Not a duff track in sight. The highlight is 'O Superman' by Laurie Anderson. A track that I loved when it was released in 1982 but have been unable to find on CD ever since.

Serve Chilled: A Return To The Brighter Side Of Chill - A return to the style that started Hed Kandi records in 1999. When the founder of the label, Mark Doyle, left last year there were a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what would become of Hed Kandi. Fortunately they have carried on and released some of their best compilations ever this year. Serve Chilled was the very first compilation and this one is nearly as good. It's focus is a bit broader than previous versions so the boundaries of 'chill' are sometimes a bit blurry but almost everything included on here is pure quality. 'Crazy Girls' by True Stories has gotten the most play during my Sitting Room sets.

Songs

Binary Love: The Rakes - The bright spot from their album 'Capture / Release'. They have been compared to Joy Division, Wire, Bloc Party, The Clash, Buzzcocks, well, you get the idea. One of my favourite tunes of the year.

Crazy: Gnarles Barkley - The coolest pop song in recent memory. I even heard it played at Cafe Del Mar in August.

Get Together: Madonna - Yes, I know it is Madonna. And no, I am not a fan of her last album. In fact I think it is terrible. But this is a great track - one that I am sure appeals to a lot of house heads like myself.

Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix): Grandadbob - A gorgeous song. It is the track I discovered on the Es Vive mix CD released by Mark Doyle this summer. It is also the first track that I downloaded after joining emusic.com. It is the track that I have played the most at The Sitting Room. And it is the track that most reminds me of my summer with Zoe. All in all, my song of the year.

I Don't Feel Like Dancin': Scissor Sisters - Pure, quality cheese. It's camp and every one loves it. A guaranteed crowd pleaser that appeals to everyone from 20 to 60.

In The Morning: Razorlight - One of the better tunes from the whole generation of new New Wave bands.

It Hurts To See You Dance So Well: The Pipettes - It wasn't a single but it should have been. One minute & eleven seconds of pure pop mag-ic from the girls who are obsessed with Phil Spector. And they are from Brighton. The coolest girl group since The Go-Gos.

Over And Over Again (Lost And Found): Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - American geeks who are a total throw back to 80s New Wave. Your man has the edgiest voice since David Byrne. A Sitting Room classic.

Rally: Phoenix - Going slightly against the grain, I will choose this instead of 'Consolation Prize' from the quirkiest French band ever.

The Warning: Hot Chip - Great track from a couple of lads based in London who like making music with computers. Also, one of my favourite tracks to play at The Sitting Room.

True Love Weighs A Tonne: The Research - Melancholy track from a UK band that sound almost exactly like The Monroes (if you remember your obscure New Wave bands). A gem of a song that I found buried on some Indie compilation.

You Only Live Once: The Strokes - Not actually a single. But definitely the best track on their third (and very disappointing) album First Impressions Of Earth.

Young Folks: Peter, Bjorn & John - That 'whistle' song that was in the Budweiser ad. The tune that you just CAN'T get out of your head every time you hear it.

DJ Kub Gigs

Bar Cock 008 - The gig that Prince Felipe came to. Yes, the actual Prince of Spain. Not too many DJs can make that claim. And no, I did not play anything by Prince. Nor did I play 'God Save The Queen'.

The Brazil Gig - The make benefit gig for the girls in Harrington Street Garda Club. Despite the unlikely venue, it was a great night. Lots of food, drinks, dancing and laughs. And of course loads of dosh raised for their trip.

Carnival - The birthday gig for Michelle & Viv. And of course the night that I met Zed. It was a bit of a messy night but everyone had a great time and it produced Dublin's 'sexiest' couple.

The Sitting Room 001 - The gig that started my current residency in Bia Bar. It was on the 5th of November and was a really good night. Lots of people turned up to support me and everyone enjoyed the set.

Soul Food 001 - My 'breakthrough' gig in Bia. After two months of ground work I was given the nod and played my first gig for Remedy on the 17th of August. It went so well that the lads told me to keep playing and I ended up doing an extra 40 minutes.

Professional Gigs

GMF - The mother fuckin' legend. No need to say anything else. Check out the post 'I Was There. I Saw The Legend'.

Maximo Park - A fantastic gig in The Olympia. Their performance was incredible and meeting them all afterwards wasn't too bad either. The full story is posted as 'Maximo Park In The Olympia'.

Ned's / Keb Darge - Finally, I got to see the 'baggy' legends in Kentish Town (not quite Kent). It was one of the best weekends of the summer that provided loads of laughs and of course the 'birth' of Kub. The Ned's gig was followed by a Keb Darge set. Thanks to the quality tunes and a whole lot of Red Stripe the infamous Kub vs. Keb story occurred. You can read all of the sordid details under 'Kub vs. Keb'.

Paul Buchanan - A wonderfully surprising gig in Vicar Street. I have always been a big fan of Blue Nile so I jumped at the chance to see Paul. I was blown away. He and the band were phenomenal and they played all of the best Nile songs. Perhaps the most chilled out gig I have ever been too as everyone was seated and quietly sipping bottles of wine throughout.

Radiohead - I went to see them in Marlay Park. Although they were very good they didn't do much to lift my spirits. At least it didn't rain.

Films

Borat - What is there to say about this film other than it is best film in 2006 for make laughter in people. I like very, very much.

Little Miss Sunshine - A very critically acclaimed film that can make you want to burst into tears and then laugh hysterically all in the space of about 45 seconds.

The Departed - Finally, Scorsese is back on form! A brilliant film that actually has made me begin to like Leo Dicaprio. Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg are all outstanding as well.

Mmm... Of The Year

* Buying a decent road bike
* Cycling to work again
* Discovering The Wedding Present
* DJing and promoting my own night in Dublin
* Drinking double vodkas & tonic
* Figuring out how to create a podcast
* Finding the 'Manchester' bar in Barcelona
* Going to Brighton for the first time
* Hearing Pete Tong play in Cafe Mambo in August
* Learning how to cook
* Meeting Zoe and being able to spend time with her
* Seeing the 'real' Ibiza by renting a car and driving all around it
* Signing up with emusic.com
* Spending May in The States with my family & friends
* Starting this blog
* Studying photography in The Gallery Of Photography
* Supping my first Guinness in The Pub in Achill during Easter weekend - truly manna from heaven
* Renting my own gaff in Dublin
* Taking another Spanish class and actually understanding what the hell is going on in class
* Watching the sunset at Cafe Del Mar in August

Aaarrrggghh... Of The Year

* Dublin Bus
* Dublin taxis
* Having to replace 2 motherboards and another screen on my laptop
* (Fucking) HP
* Injuring my heel while running in June and not being able to run since
* (Fucking) Madrid
* Operation Puerto & The Floyd Landis scandal - now NO ONE trusts cycling and EVERYONE thinks that EVERY cyclist they see is on drugs
* Receiving a spanner as my Kris Kindle gift from some fecker in the office
* Trying to race my bike in America for the first time in about 4 years

Lucky Number Seven?

2006-12-18T15:41:00.000Z

I played my seventh Sitting Room gig last night and it was the last one of 2006. I was out with the work crowd on Thursday night, and then did some more hard core drinking both Friday and Saturday nights with my mates, so I was totally shattered as I walked to the bar. To be honest, I am looking forward to a few weeks without a gig to let my head clear a bit.

But it was a great night. From the beginning, there were always a few people in the bar that I knew and by the end of the night a decent little crowd had formed. And they were really up for it as well. There were a good few requests and every time I played them there would be approving nods, air drumming, air guitarring and the occasional cheer or woo hoo. I ripped through the set and rarely had any trouble choosing the next tune.

It was a nice way to finish off the year and gives me optimism for 2007. The question is will 7 be my lucky number? I have some ideas for January and ways to try and get more people to come in. I have placed flyers all over town. I have been fortunate enough to have it listed in the gig section in the most widely read paper in Dublin and even had a quarter page ad printed in the paper last Friday. Next year, I am going to have posters printed and continue pushing the flyers. But I think last night may prove more successful than all of those things in getting more people in. Word of mouth is extremely convincing and I am hoping that all the lads who were in last night will tell their mates and they will tell their mates etc, etc. Of course it would help if they had seen a flyer or an ad previously because then there is a stronger association.

So, I have another Soul Food World Beats gig on Thursday and then I am on holidays for 2 weeks. No work, no gigs and hopefully lots of r 'n' r to recharge the batteries for 2007.

The set list last night was:

01. Stargazing - Tayla
02. Don't Leave (Floating) - Faithless
03. Me & Mrs Jones - Billy Paul
04. Playing Your Game Baby - Barry White
05. Brown Sugar - Akasha
06. The Sulphur Man (Rebelski Remix) - Doves
07. Waterfall (Justin Robertson's Mix) - Stone Roses
08. Lullaby (Alternate Mix) - The Cure
09. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths
10. Freedom Of '76 - Ween
11. Forever My Friend - Ray LaMontagne
12. The Great Escape Under The Sea - We Are Scientists
13. Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann
14. Suzuki - Tosca
15. Thieves Like Us - New Order
16. Let Me Go - Heaven 17
17. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - Ramones
18. Roadrunner - Johnathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
19. Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground
20. Sound & Vision - David Bowie
21. The Light 3000 - Schneider TM vs Kaptain Michi Ga
22. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys
23. In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
24. Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash
25. Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
26. Mean Son Of A Gun - Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
27. Let's Stay Together - Boris Gardiner
28. Speaking Of Happiness - Gloria Lynne
29. Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby - Dinah Washington
30. Nobody But You - Esther Philips
31. Am I The Same Girl - Barbara Acklin
32. I Idolize You - Ike & Tina Turner
33. Mirrorball - Nightmares On Wax
34. The Girl's Insane - The Januaries
35. Night Fever - Bee Gees
36. Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band
37. Every 1's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
38. Don't Think - Lali Puna
39. Let's Dance - The Futureheads
40. The Coast Is Always Changing - Maximo Park
41. Welcome To The Working Week - Elvis Costello
42. Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe Jackson
43. Sunday Girl - Blondie
44. Swimmers - Broken Social Scene
45. Made Up Love Song #43 - Guillemots
46. Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
47. The Warning - Hot Chip
48. Over And Over Again (Lost And Found) - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
49. The Boy With The Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian
50. You Didn't Love Me Then - The Hit Parade
51. Forever Lost - The Magic Numbers
52. Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
53. Fresh Feeling - Eels
54. The New Pollution - Beck
55. Chicken Payback - The Bees
56. Consolation Prize - Phoenix
57. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
58. Brakhage - Stereolab
59. Riders On The Storm (Pink Solidism) - Yonderboi
60. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
61. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart
62. Rappers Delight - Sugarhill Gang
63. Car Wash - Rose Royce
64. Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack
65. Street Life - Randy Crawford
66. Groovin' At The Go-Go - The Four Lads
67. I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix) - Jackson 5
68. Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
69. Raspberry Beret - Prince
70. Girlfriend Is Better - Talking Heads
71. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
72. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
73. Fariytale Of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

El 34 Disco Mas Vendido De Los 70 - Born To Run

2006-12-13T14:43:00.000Z

Después de que sus dos primeros discos tuvieran unas ventas decepcionantes, Springsteen revisó la línea de su groupo de acompañamiento, la E Street Band, y realizó una gira por todo el país con conciertos de tres horas mientras escribía material nuevo. Su tercer trabajo, Born To Run, con su conmovedor tema central de la desoloción y la redención, consolidó firmamente la reputación del cantautor nacido en New Jersey. La canción que da título al disco llevó a Springsteen ante un público enorme a ambos lados del Atlántico. Born To Run, grabado en La Record Plant en New York, fue el primer disco de Springsteen en entrar en las listas tanto norteamericanos como británicas: en las primeras alconzó en numero 3, mientras en las británicas conseguió un más modesto numero 17. El disco vendidó más de 700,000 copias en las semanas siguientes a su lanzamiento en EE UU. Se convirtió en disco de oro el 8 de octubre de ese año y se convirtiría en el primer álbum en conseguir el nuevo certificado de disco de platino otorgado por la industria discográfica norteamericana.

Dos sencillos del disco entaron entre las 100 mejores norteamericans: 'Born To Run' que alcanzó el numero 23 y 'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out' que llegó al numero 83, aunque ninguno de ellos consiguió puestos altos en RU. El éxito del disco colocó a Springsteen en la primera página de Time y Newsweek. John Landau, uno de los productores, se convertiría más tarde en el manager de Springsteen.

Now for those of you that do not know Spanish you may be wondering what the hell I am doing posting this story in Spanish. Well, I am still sort of trying to learn the language. Not too much. Just a little bit. I figure that it will come in handy when I make that left turn at Mexico next year.

So, in addition to the odd class and a bit of homework, I have decided to dig out a book that I bought when I lived in Madrid. The book is called Los 100 Discos Más Vendidos De Los 70 - The 100 Best Selling Albums of The 1970s. The book contains articles for each of the albums that offer all sorts of meaningless information about the biggest records of the 70s - exactly the kind of rhubarb that totally interests me.

I try to read one article every few days, translating as I go along and making a list of all the words that I don't know. I'm not sure that it will help me much in my quest to learn Spanish but at least, when I am stuck, I can talk about all sorts of trivial nonsense from the music of the 70s.

There were several things that I found interesting about this article. First, Springsteen was under a bit of pressure to sell some albums as his first two were basically commercial flops. So, before he recorded Born To Run, he changed the members in his E Street Band and scheduled a massive nation-wide tour where he started playing his famous 3+ hour marathon shows. During the tour he wrote all the songs for Born To Run. The album was recorded in New York and 10 days before it's release on 25 August 1975 he began a five night stand at The Bottom Line club.

By the time the album was released there was massive public interest and (despite the lack of a hit single) the record went gold (500,000 copies sold) in only 6 weeks. It then went on to become the very first album ever to achieve platinum status (1,000,000 copies sold), which the recording industry had only introduced earlier that year . He became so popular from the record that he was on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week (27 October) in 1975. It is the record that put him on the map. It is the record that made him 'The Boss'.

Swan Lake

2006-12-12T14:51:00.000Z

Last Friday night I went to the ballet to see Swan Lake performed by the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre. They are without a doubt the best ballet company in the world and most people would argue that Swan Lake is the most popular ballet in the world. It was absolutely phenomenal.

The story is about Prince Siegfried who falls in love with the Swan Queen Odette who is a woman that has been transformed into a bird by an evil sorcerer. She is cursed to remain a composite creature until she can be rescued by a man's undying love.

The story begins in the royal court where the Prince must declare a wife. Upset that he will be unable to marry for love he leaves the ball and goes into the forest to hunt. He sees a flock of swans and as he prepares to shoot one of them Odette lands directly in front of him. After she tells him of her curse, he takes pity on her and falls in love with her.

He returns to the castle to attend a party in honor of his 21st birthday. There he meets Von Rothbart (the sorcerer) and his daughter Odile, whom the Prince believes is Odette. He pledges his love to her but realises quickly that he has been tricked by the sorcerer. Distraught, he returns to the lake and battles Von Rothbart, destroying his powers by tearing off one of his wings. Afterwards, he and Odette are reunited and the curse is broken.

Swan Lake is considered to be a very technical ballet due mostly to an Italian ballerina named Pierina Legnani. She danced the central role of Odette / Odile and was able to perform 32 fouettes (a fast whipping turn on one foot) in a row. Ever since, the public expectation is that any other ballerina that performs the ballet must also be able to perform the 32 fouettes.

The SPBT was founded in 1994 by Konstantin Tatchkine and features Irina Kolsnikova in the lead, demanding role as Odette / Odile. She is a prima ballerina and is regarded by many to be world class technically brilliant legend.

The sets were fantastic, the costumes were beautiful and the music was superb. The orchestra was directed by Alexander Kantarov who is the founder and principal conductor. Both he and Irina received standing ovations when the ballet finished.

The Mendoza Line

2006-12-11T16:04:00.000Z

The term Mendoza Line is widely known and used in baseball circles. It refers to the figurative boundary in the batting averages between those batters hitting above and below .200. When a hitter is struggling and manages to pull his average above .200 then he is said to have crossed the Mendoza Line. The phrase is named after Mario Mendoza who was a short stop and played between 1974 and 1982 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. His career batting average was .215.

Funnily enough there were many other terms used earlier in the 19th century to describe less-than-stellar hitters. Some of the better ones were:

- 'tapperitis hitter': one who hits tappers
- 'can't hit a balloon'
- 'can't hit a bull in the ass with a shovel'
- 'buttercup hitter'
- to not 'hit one's weight'
- to 'have a hole in your bat'
- '10 o'clock hitter': you hit the ball hard during morning batting practice but then do little during the game

There is a Mendoza Line in Bia Bar and I am currently struggling to keep my head just above it. The manager has a figure that he needs to take in behind the bar to justify The Sitting Room and we are just barely making it. Last night was the sixth week of The Sitting Room and the set list was:

01. Private Session (25th Mix) - Lovers Lane
02. Warm Weather - Pieces Of A Dream
03. Pure Joy - Dab
04. Uschi's Groove - Ballistic Brothers
05. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
06. B Mine - Jimpster
07. Hello, It's Me - John Legend
08. Blue Lines - Massive Attack
09. Never Had A Love Like This Before - Tavares
10. Natural High - Bloodstone
11. Marriage Is A State Of Vibes - Dave Hamilton
12. Here Is Love - Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band
13. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
14. She's Losing It - Belle And Sebastian
15. Being Around - The Lemonheads
16. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
17. Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
18. Sugar - Fun Lovin' Criminals
19. Rock With You (DI Extended Mix) - D-Influence
20. Brakhage - Stereolab
21. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
22. Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground
23. Patience - Guns 'n' Roses
24. Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
25. Underwater Love - Smoke City
26. Before Today (Chicane Remix) - Everything But The Girl
27. Where Have They Gone - Harmonic 33
28. You're No Good - Dee Dee Warwick
29. Downtown - Petula Clark
30. Wishin' And Hopin' - Dusty Springfield
31. Danke Shoen - Wayne Newton
32. Crazy Girls - True Stories
33. My Love Don't Come Easy - Jean Carn
34. Ain't Nobody - Rufus & Chaka Khan
35. Let's Stay Together - Boris Gardiner
36. Gimme Little Sign - Brenton Wood
37. I Hate Hate - Razzy
38. Respect - Otis Redding
39. Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
40. I Fought The Law - Bobby Fuller Four
41. Tequila - The Champs
2. Take This Job And Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
43. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
44. Float On - Modest Mouse
45. La Ballade Du Georges - Sebastian Tellier
46. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
47. It Hurts To See You Dance So Well - The Pipettes
48. Textbook Under The Sea - We Are Scientists
49. Back A Yard - The In Crowd
50. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
51. One Step Beyond - Madness
52. Save It For Later - The Beat
53. Summertime Cowboy - Husky Rescue
54. Fascination - St Etienne
55. Sacre Francais - Dimitri
56. Beat Goes On - The All Seeing I
57. Yes It's True - Taxi
58. Keepin On (Piano Cut) - Lazybatusu
59. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
60. Crik Crak - The Lovers
61. House Of Bamboo - Earl Grant
62. Still Here - Aural Float
63. Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby (Rae & Christian Remix) - Dinah Washington
64. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Dean Martin
65. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
66. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
67. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
68. My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - Everything But The Girl
69. Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente

Survival

2006-12-06T16:10:00.000Z

When you DJ some gigs are legendary. You can just do no wrong no matter what you play. Some gigs are really good - they contain a few 'off' moments or tunes but no one really remembers them. And then there are some gigs that are just about survival. I have had two of the latter type in the last 3 days.

Sunday was the fifth night for The Sitting Room. And it was quiet. Really quiet. In order to have a good gig you need an audience and you need to know or understand your audience. If you understand them, then you know that people go to a bar for different reasons:

* To socialise
* To pull
* To listen to the music
* To hang out and show their support (mates)
* To get hammered and forget about their problems
* Purely by chance
* Because they have to (accompanying someone they know)

The first 4 groups are relatively easy to play to. Especially if you know some of the people. You play stuff that you know they like and their enthusiasm / happy mood spreads throughout the bar.

The people who are there to get hammered usually don't even notice the music and you could play almost anything. But you do get the odd belligerent drunk who thinks he knows everything and won't leave you alone. Note: I am NOT that person when I am out drinking - really...

The people who are there by chance almost never take any notice to what is going on and the people who are there because they have to be are usually indifferent as well.

So, I know all about audiences. Now I just need one in Bia...

The set list for Sunday night was:

01. Jammin' In My Head - Intense & Molly Duncan
02. Umi Says (Ritual Session) - Mos Def
03. What Games Shall We Play Today? - Chick Corea
04. The Look Of Love - Dusty Springfield
05. Pure Joy - Dab
06. Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague
07. Catch - The Cure
08. Ease Your Feet In The Sea - Belle & Sebastian
09. Knuddlemaus - Ullrich Schnauss
10. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
11. Sneakin' In The Back - Tom Scott
12. Revival - Martine Girault
13. Feel Like Making Love - Marlena Shaw
14. Where Have They Gone - Harmonic 33
15. Juicy - Notorious BIG
16. Runnin' (Rae & Christian Mix) - The Pharcyde ft Mark 1 & FF
17. Can't Stay With You Baby - Jimi Tenor
18. Keepin On (Piano Cut) - Lazybatusu
19. Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love - Odyssey
20. Nobody But You - Esther Philips
21. They Can't Take That Away From Me - Frank Sinatra
22. Let There Be Love - Nat King Cole
23. Magic Moments - Perry Como
24. Almost Like Being In Love - Vic Damone
25. Breezin' - George Benson
26. Relax 2 The Max - Ohm-G
27. The Great Escape Under The Sea - We Are Scientists
28. Thinking Of You - Paul Weller
29. In Space - Royksopp
30. Take Yo' Praise - Camille Yarbrough
31. Husband - Ashley Slater
32. Happy People (Rhodes Remix) - Static Revenger
33. Cette Planete - JP Juice
34. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
35. Pets - Porno For Pyros
36. After All - The Frank & Walters
37. Everyday Is Like Sunday - Morrissey
38. Under The Milky Way - The Church
39. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
40. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

Last night I had a gig playing at a Christmas party in a private bar called Odessa. It is a really good spot and the times that I have been there have always been fun. I got the gig through a mate who recommended me. It has been a while since I played a small party and I must admit that I had forgotten how much of a pain in the swiss roll it can be.

Aside from the usual problems and hassle setting up things went pretty well and I was ready to go at about 9:00. But the meal took longer than expected and I had an hour to chill out and drink a few beers. At 10:00 the lads started to filter up and the party began. As always I started off with a bit of jazz and lounge. Most people need a few minutes to check the place out, get the bearings and of course go to the bar for a drink. Trying to hit them with a 'killer' tune from the very beginning is never a good idea. I thought I was on to a winner and even had a few requests but things started to go pear shaped fairly quickly.

What I realised is that there were a wide range of ages throughout the crowd but there were two distinct groups: the lads and the women. No matter what I did or how hard I tried I was never going to please both groups with one type of music or one song. The lads wanted to hear rock, indie & hip-hop. The women wanted to hear chart, disco & 80s. And NO ONE (surprisingly) wanted to hear cheese. Needless to say it was a tough crowd and a hard night. But I earned a few bob and got to drink for free, so it wasn't all bad.

These are some of the conversations that I had throughout the night:

The night was only about 15 minutes old and I was playing 'Beyond The Sea' by Bobby Darin when this dude approaches me.

Drunk arsehole #1: Do you have anything more lively?
Me: Yes, of course.
A #1: Well, could you play it?
Me: Yes. You do realise that not everyone is here yet and people are just arriving, getting there first drink.
A #1: So? This is so lame. Can you not play something with a bit more energy?
Me: Do you have any suggestions?
A #1: No. Just something more lively than this.
Me: Well, would you like to have a go at the music?
A #1: No.
Me: OK. Thanks for the input (fucking idiot).

After playing about 30 songs almost all of them from the 70s and 80s I played 'Crazy' by Gnarles Barkley. Straight away this dude comes up to me.

Drunk arsehole #2: Do you think you could play something else?
Me: Like what?
A #2: I don't know. Something from the 70s.
Me: Well, I just played a load of stuff from the 70s and I don't want to get stuck in a rut for the entire night.
A #2: Yeah, but everyone here is old. They like the 70s.
Me: OK. Do you have any song in mind. I mean, it was a long decade.
A #2: No. Just something from the 70s.
Me: Grand. OK. Thanks for the suggestion (douche bag).

I played '9 To 5' by Dolly Parton. He wasn't impressed.

I then played some 80s tunes and everyone seemed happy. People finally started dancing. I dropped 'Billie Jean' because everyone loves that song, right? Wrong. Not this fucking crowd. The floor clears and another dude comes up to me.

Drunk arsehole #3: Hey, do you think you could play some hip-hop?
Me: That depends. What would you like to hear?
A #3: How about some Rawcotiks?
Me: I don't have anything by them (that was a lie I have one tune but would never play it to this crowd).
A #3: How about some NWA?
Me: Sorry, nothing by them either (another lie).
A #3: Any P-Diddy?
Me: Nope (the truth).
A #3: Well, I don't care. Anything. It's just the lads are really bored. We need some hip-hop to liven things up and get the party started.
Me: OK. Thanks. I'll see what I can do (fuck off).

I cued up 'When The Shit Goes Down', looked around the room and decided that I would be hung if I played that. So, I just played 'Loaded' by Primal Scream and everyone loved it. That, despite the fact that it is a really bad segue to go from Wacko Jacko to The Scream. Anyway, it worked and I just played indie and rock for the last 45 minutes. Finally, I had gotten through to them.

Now, you might think it is incredibly rude of me to speak to people like this and write about them in this way but it is not. They were all drunk and totally annoying. Maybe it is karma - I have given my fair share of abuse to DJs through the years. But at least I know what the hell I am talking about (I am kidding - I usually don't have a clue). I have actually heard guys DJing say to punters, sorry we don't play THAT kind of music here, you will have to go some where else. And then put their headphones on and completely ignore them. At least I have the manners to talk to them (a little bit). But despite the pain, it is actually good to have a gig like this every once in a while - it keeps you on your toes.

The set list was:

01. Sookie Sookie - Grant Green
02. Nem Vem Que Nao Tem - Wilson Simonal
03. Light My Fire - Astrud Gilberto
04. The Lady Is A Tramp - Buddy Greco
05. You Make Me Feel So Young - Frank Sinatra
06. Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin
07. Comin' Home Baby - Mel Torme
08. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
09. Respect - Aretha Franklin
10. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Otis Redding
11. Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
12. I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles
13. Louie Louie - The Kingsmen
14. Night Train - James Brown
15. Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
16. ABC - Jackson 5
17. Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang
18. Kung Fu Fighting - Karl Douglas
19. Dancing Queen - ABBA
20. Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
21. Rappers Delight - Sugarhill Gang
22. Pop Muzik - M
23. Viva Las Vegas - Elvis Presley
24. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
25. Rock The Casbah - The Clash
26. Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
27. Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
28. The Lovecats - The Cure
29. This Charming Man - The Smiths
30. Footloose - Kenny Loggins
31. Holiday - Madonna
32. Crazy - Gnarles Barkley
33. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
34. Upside Down - Diana Ross
35. Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
36. Let's Dance - David Bowie
37. Got To Be Real (12" Version) - Cheryl Lynn
38. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
39. Loaded - Primal Scream
40. Step It Up - Stereo MCs
41. Groove Is In The Heart (12" Version) - Dee-Lite
42. Girls And Boys - Blur
43. Groovy Train - The Farm
44. Lump - The Presidents Of The USA
45. Last Nite - The Strokes
46. The Bucket - Kings Of Leon
47. Mr. Brightside - The Killers
48. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
49. Smiley Faces - Gnarles Barkley
50. Outside - George Michael
51. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
52. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
53. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues & Kristy MacColl

Food Minutiae

2006-11-28T13:00:00.000Z

Did you ever wander how much food the average person will eat in his lifetime?

The answer is about 80,000 pounds or 36,363 kilograms or 5,174 stone or 8 tonnes.

This amount is (roughly) equivalent to:

8 elephants
31.5 Mini Coopers
5,330 Colnago C50 bicycles
80,000 paperback novels
240,000 80GB iPods
360,000 mobile phones
2,400,000 CDs

This information is a fairly accurate guideline unless of course you are Flick.

I reckon Flick ate that much food during the 9.75 years of his college career. And an alarmingly high amount of that food was probably chicken wings.

In addition, I don't want to begin filling this blog with YouTube stuff but if you have 2 minutes free check out this story about a sick dog. If you have more time (about 10 minutes) check out this story about Batman & Robin. Both are really, really funny.

The Sitting Room 004

2006-11-27T13:20:00.000Z

Monday mornings are hard. Especially when it is cold, dark and raining.

I played my fourth Sitting Room gig last night to a decent crowd. There was a steady stream of people in the bar all evening and most of them seemed really happy with the tunes. But I am paying for the effort this morning. I am absolutely shattered. And my laptop is knackered - again...

I use a Creative Extigy external sound card when I DJ so that I can listen to tunes in my headphones before I play them. The internal sound card is set up as the monitoring device and I plug the headphones directly into it. The external sound card is set up as the master device, connects to the mixer via a Y lead and provides the sound for the PA. This set up enables me to control everything (except the master volume) with the DJ software I use. It also allows me to listen to anything I want without disrupting what is being heard through the PA.

On Friday I bought a Creative Live! 24 bit sound card. I figured it was time for an upgrade and the fact that it is only 1/4 the size of the Extigy and doesn't require a power lead means I have less to carry around with me.

Saturday morning I installed the driver and software for it. Saturday night I tested it at a friends house and it worked - no problems.

Last night I got to the bar, set up for the gig, plugged the headphones into the laptop and there was no sound. Typical. I checked all the settings, checked all the leads and rebooted the machine 2 times. Nothing. Fortunately, I was able to ask my girlfriend to bring in the old sound card. After she arrived, I set that up, plugged the headphones in and... no sound! Bollix! I was eventually able to get the sound card working as the master device but the internal one would not work. So, I spent the night just playing songs without listening to them first. It went well but I played conservatively because I didn't want any 'surprises' if I happened to play the wrong tune.

After uninstalling all the Creative software and drivers on my machine, uninstalling the sound card driver, reinstalling the sound card driver and searching all the help files for an answer I still can not get the damn thing working again. It looks like I am going to have to get on to Dell - again. Laptops are such a pain in the arse.

Monday mornings are hard. But they are unbelievably hard without any tunes.

My set list last night was:

01. Lift Off - Groove Collective
02. Playing Your Game Baby - Barry White
03. Superstition (Instrumental) - Ahmad Jamal
04. Sugar - Fun Lovin' Criminals
05. Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
06. Cartwheels - The Reindeer Section
07. Float On - Modest Mouse
08. Where Does The Past End And The Present Begin - Ian O'Brien
09. Kung Fu Fighting - Karl Douglas
10. We Can Work It Out - Stevie Wonder
11. Just My Imagination - Donald Byrd
12. Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground
13. Brakhage - Stereolab
14. Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn & John
15. The Warning - Hot Chip
16. Over And Over Again (Lost And Found) - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. China Girl - David Bowie
18. If She Wants Me - Belle & Sebastian
19. Northern Sky - Nick Drake
20. There's Something About Mary - Johnathan Richman
21. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
22. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
23. Polk Salad Annie - Tony Joe White
24. Ode To Billy Joe - Nancy Wilson
25. Am I The Same Girl - Barbara Acklin
26. Spooky - Dusty Springfield
27. Do You Know The Way To San Jose - Dionne Warwick
28. Danke Shoen - Wayne Newton
29. Fever - Peggy Lee
30. Fly Me To The Moon - Julie London
31. The Lady Is A Tramp - Buddy Greco
32. Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens - DJ Cam
33. Weak Become Heroes - The Streets
34. Extraordinary People - Harmonic 33
35. One Starry Night (Funk's Drum n Bass Kettle Version)
36. Romeo (Acoustic Version) - Basement Jaxx
37. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
38. Giraffe Walk - Quantic & Mr Scruff
39. No Rhyme No Reason (Black Piggy & Pluton Kid's Remix) - LTJ X-Perience ft Jackson Sloan
40. The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
41. Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) - Billy Ocean
42. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
43. Centerfold - J Geils Band
44. Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr
45. 17 Days - Prince
46. If It Ain't Broke... Break It! - The Limp Twins
47. Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
48. Let's Get It On (Simpson & Dalto MPG Groove Mix) - Marvin Gaye
49. Yes It's True - Taxi
50. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue
51. Soul Freedom - Ray & His Court
52. Lady (You Bring Me Up) - The Commodores
53. Borderline - Madonna
54. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
55. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
56. What The World Is Waiting For - Stone Roses
57. Still Here - Aural Float
58. At Night (Afterlife Mix) - Shakedown
59. It's My Life - Talk Talk
60. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
61. Hallelujah Here She Comes - U2
62. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow - The Soggy Bottom Boys
63. No Depression In Heaven - The Carter Family
64. One - Ohm G & Bruno
65. La La Means I Love You - The Delfonics
66. My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - EBTG
67. Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente

I Was There. I Saw The Legend.

2006-11-27T13:18:00.000Z

Friday, 24 November 2006
Tripod, Dublin

Grand Master Flash walks out on stage. He picks up the microphone, says hello and then asks everyone to make some noise. After walking back & forth across the stage, raising his arms he says, "OK y'all. When you come to hear GMF there are 3 rules. The first rule is: when I tell you to make some noise, you make some mother fuckin' noise." The place goes wild. "Alright, alright. Rule number 2. When I tell you to raise your hands in the air... you raise your mother fuckin' hands in the air." Again - madness. He must of been caught up in the moment because there was no third rule. But it didn't matter because he dropped 'The Mexican' by Babe Ruth and we were off.

Surprisingly he let that song play for about 2 minutes before he rewound it and stopped it. Just to be sure he said "Is everyone having fun yet?" Screams. "I can't hear you. Tell me again, is everyone having fun yet?" Louder screams. "Now, I want all of you to sing this song. I want you to put your mother fuckin' hands in the air and sing this mother fuckin' song." He drops 'Everyday People' by Arrested Development and it seems like the place will collapse from the noise. Everyone is singing and dancing. Sorry, everyone is mother fuckin' singing and mother fuckin' dancing.

This all continues for about 10 minutes. He drops a song, lets it play for about a minute or two, asks the audience to mother fuckin' do something and then drops the next song.

But, he has someone on stage with him. I can't remember his name - DJ D or DJ Demon or DJ Dread. It doesn't matter. Whoever he is he has been trained by GMF and is his protege. More accurately, he is his be-atch. They both go to the back of the stage and return with a stack of records. Flash scratches the current tune, be-atch has his arms extended with the records, Flash takes the one on top, puts it on the turntable and within 5 seconds has it cued, scratches it and goes to the next song. He does this with about 10 records in less than 2 minutes. He is a fucking legend. And that is what I came to see. He never misses a beat, he never makes a mistake. He is unbelievable. He is a legend.

While he is letting some of the music play a bit longer, he cleans all the records he is about to play. In fact they played an interview with him before he came out on stage and he said that he never, ever touches the grooves on a record unless he is mixing / scratching it on the turntable.

The rest of the show is him sharing time with DJ be-atch. He played some new stuff but mostly old school tunes (as you would expect) while DJ be-atch played the newer stuff.

Some of the highlights were:

He was playing a song, started scratching it and says "I don't care what anyone says. He IS still the mother fuckin' King Of Pop." And drops 'Billie Jean'. The place goes wild. He mixes in 'Don't Stop Til You Get Enough' and then plays 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. He tells the crowd to sing and is able to perfectly loop (on the decks) the bit where he says ma ma se, ma ma se, ma ma coo sa over and over again, killing the song to let the crowd sing it as well. Then on the other turntable he starts the song over from the beginning. Quality.

He played 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie and then stopped the music to tell a story. He explained how he has travelled all over the world and has bought records in every place that he goes to. He is always on the lookout for a new song, a new beat. And, "It doesn't matter where the record is from or who made the record. If it has good mother fuckin' beat then Flash will play it." He then dropped 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' followed by 'Seven Nation Army'. Absolute quality.

There was only one 'mistake' made all night. He went to start a record and nothing happened. Silence. He took the record off the deck and said, "Yo, DJ be-atch will you get me a new needle? This mother fuckin' one is dead." And just started the next tune.

His real name is Joseph Saddler and he was born on January 1, 1958 in Barbados. When he was young his parents moved to New York and he grew up in the Bronx.

He became part of the early NY DJ scene and played illegal parties outdoors with Kool Herc, Pete Jones and Kurtis Blow. He took the art of scratching records to a whole new level and he invented cutting. Cutting is when he loops a break by playing the same record on each turntable. He cues each one up at the same place and then uses the cross fader to cut back and forth between them while back-cueing the other to play the break again. This rhythmical manipulation and repetition of a record is what made him famous. He was the first one to do it and it blew everyone away when they heard it. He claims he invented it becuase he just got bored of listening to DJs play entire songs and having to wait for the best bit - usually the drum break.

He also used what he called "The Clock Theory" quickly find and cue a particular section of a record. He would study records and then mark sections on them with either tape or crayon.

After playing for a few years, he began to assemble MCs to keep the crowds going. Apparently his skills and the way he played was so captivating that people would just watch him and forget to dance. He brought MCs along to ensure that the crowd kept moving and didn't get distracted.

His nickname was given to him in high school because he hung out with some dude called Gordon (Flash Gordon). And he was called Grandmaster by someone at a party who told him that he was the equivalent of a chess grandmaster.

In 1980 he signed to Sugar Hill Records and in 1981 released 'The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel'. It was the first single that displayed his talents and used 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen, 'Good Times' by Chic and 'Rapture' by Blondie as the main parts of the song. In 1982 he released 'The Message' with Melle Mel & The Furious Five and in 1983 they released 'White Lines'. Unfortunately in 1984 the group fell apart and did not record any more records.

White Lines

2006-11-27T13:16:00.003Z

Here is the video for 'White Lines'. Flash and Melle Mel are not in the video but it stars Laurence Fishburne and was directed by Spike Lee.

The Sitting Room at Bia Bar

2006-11-23T13:48:00.000Z

The Sitting Room
Bia Bar, Lower St Stephens Green, D2

Every Sunday night from 6-10pm.

Menu specials including: 2 pizzas 12 euro or a pizza & pint 10 euro

Drink specials (all night) including: 2 for 1 cocktails and specialty bottle beers 4 euro

The finest music anywhere in Dublin featuring lounge, soul, funk, pop, disco, new wave, house, indie and all of the bits in between played by DJ Kub and guests!

Paul Buchanan At Vicar St

2006-11-22T09:43:00.000Z

Paul Buchanan (of The Blue Nile) played in Vicar St last night and I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a ticket. It was without a doubt one of the best gigs that I have ever been to.

Vicar St is a great venue - there are lots of small tables on the ground floor, three sections of slightly elevated seats along the left, right and back walls and a balcony above with seating along all three walls.

The atmosphere was very warm and intimate. Most of the people there were middle aged and drinking endless bottles of wine. Paul chose coffee and honey as his drink for the evening.

When he came out on stage he was quite subdued but he warmed up after a few tunes and was actually very engaging and very funny. He responded well to the good natured heckles and had lots of little quips throughout the gig. The best one was, after forgetting some of the words to an earlier song, he commented that he was sure he wouldn't remember all the words to the next song. He decided to put his glasses on and read the lyrics off of a pile of papers he had beside him on stage. He asked "how do I look in these specs?" And then said that his tour was actually being sponsored by SpecSavers. He then said "they asked me to remind you that if you buy one pair, then you get the second pair free" to loads of laughter and applause.

The stage was a very simple set up - just the instruments and a blue curtain placed behind the band. The lighting was also simple, consisting of blue, green, red & yellow lights. But they were used effectively and complimented all of the songs that were played.

The band consisted of 6 members but only one of them (the bass player) was one of the members of The Blue Nile. Paul's voice is fantastic and the band actually sounded as good (and at times) better than they have on record.

The Blue Nile formed in Glasgow in the early 80s and over the course of two decades have only released four albums: A Walk Across The Rooftops (1984), Hats (1989), Peace At Last (1996) and High (2004). Their music has been described as '4am songs', consisting of lush, atmospheric pop combined with velvety vocals and minimalist arrangements creating sublime and heartfelt songs. I couldn't agree more. Every bit of that came across in the live performance.

The set list for the night was:

01. Over The Hillside
02. Happiness
03. She Saw The World
04. I Would Never
05. Because Of Toledo
06. Heatwave
07. Saturday Night
08. Runaround Girl (New Song)
09. A Walk Across The Rooftops
10. Tinsel Town In The Rain
11. Easter Parade
12. Start Again (New Song)
13. Meanwhile (New Song)
14. Sentimental Man
15. Downtown Lights
---------------------------
16. High
17. Strangers In The Night

One other funny note: I was having a pint with my mate Mark before the gig when he said that we would probably see some famous people during the night.

After he returned a few minutes later from a quick look around he said, "I knew I would see someone. I just saw Luka Bloom."

To which I replied, "Oh really? I have no idea who she is."

Mark laughed and said, "That is pure quality! She is a man. Luka is Christy Moore's brother!"

We had a good laugh over that one...

The Sitting Room 003

2006-11-20T12:53:00.000Z

A cold, wet and windy Sunday evening does not make for a large audience or a brilliant gig but I played anyway and survived the night.

The tunes were:

01. La Maison - Gabin
02. Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin
03. Ready - Charles Webster
04. Playing Your Game Baby - Barry White
05. Love Unlimited - Fun Lovin' Criminals
06. Girls, Girls, Girls - Jay-Z
07. Places And Spaces - Donald Byrd
08. That Girl - Stevie Wonder
09. Closer Than Before - Nostrum 3
10. You Make Me Feel So Young - Frank Sinatra
11. A Lot Of Livin' To Do - Sammy Davis Jr
12. Fly Me To The Moon - Julie London
13. Downtown - Petula Clark
14. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
15. Mean Son Of A Gun - Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
16. Love Me Like You - The Magic Numbers
17. The Warning - Hot Chip
18. Over And Over Again (Lost And Found) - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
19. Genius Of Love (Long Version) - Tom Tom Club
20. Bug Powder Dust - Bomb The Bass
21. Afternoon Love-In - Prefuse 73
22. The Light 3000 - Schneider TM vs Kpt. Michi Gan
23. It Could Be Sweet - Portishead
24. Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
25. You Know How To Make Me - Two Kings In A Cipher
26. You've Made Me So Very Happy - Blood Sweat & Tears
27. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago
28. Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Swede
29. Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheels
30. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) - Looking Glass
31. Lowdown (Album Version) - Boz Skaggs
32. Easy - Faith No More
33. Zoom - The Commodores
34. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
35. Juicy - Notorious BIG
36. Hate It Or Love It - The Game ft 50 Cent
37. Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens - DJ Cam
38. B Mine - Jimpster
39. Close - Kaskade

The 'Gem' Tune

2006-11-17T10:10:00.000Z

There is always one tune in every gig. The one that grabs people's attention. The one that makes them happy and decide to stay for another drink. The one that they remember when they tell their friends about the night. My mate refers to that song as the 'gem' - the one that he recognises from an entire 2 hours of music. And every good set needs at least one gem.

I played in Bia Bar again last night - it was my second gig at Soul Food World Beats and as far as I could tell it was a really good one. The bar was very busy and everyone was in great form. I was in a bit of a flap on the way in but I arrived (relatively) on time, set up quickly and got stuck into the tunes. I played about an hour or so of lounge and reggae because there were some people eating and I wanted to keep the manager and promoter happy. Then I moved into some funk for the second hour and threw in a few familiar songs to engage the crowd. As any good DJ would, I looked for reactions to the music and then played to two groups of people. One was a large group sitting right in front of me who were all smiles most of the night, nodding their heads and tapping their feet to the music. The second was a group of lads from the office who had come in to hear me play. Making one group of people really happy creates a positive response. And that response can become infectious and spread throughout the entire bar. That is what makes a really good gig. That and of course a few 'gems'.

The songs I played were:

01. Breakfast Club Di Milano - Giacomo Bondi
02. Back A Yard - The In Crowd
03. Nem Vem Que Nao Tem - Wilson Simonal
04. Scene At The Open Air Market - Thievery Corporation
05. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
06. Teenage Kicks - Nouvelle Vague
07. Take Me Over - McKay
08. Long Shot Kick Da Bucket - Pioneers
09. Light My Fire - Astrud Gilberto
10. Los Palmas 7 - Madness
11. Lady (Acoustic Version) - Modjo
12. Flute Thing (45 Edit) - Seatrain
13. 54-46 (Was My Number) - Toots & The Maytals
14. Peckings - Ballistic Brothers
15. Daytripper - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
16. Spanish Grease - Willie Bobo
17. Funk Da Virada - Antonio Pinto & Ed Cortes
18. Limon En La Cabeza (Quantic Dub Mix) - Gecko Turner
19. Soul Bossa Nova (Original Mix) - Quincy Jones
20. Beat Goes On - All Seeing I
21. Anti Love Song - Betty Davis
22. One Nation Under A Groove - Chaka Demus & Pliers
23. Sunshine Of Your Love - Spanky Wilson
24. The Bottle - Gil Scott-Heron
25. A Fly In The Hand - Alice Russel
26. Kiss - Prince
27. Money In The Bag (K&S Remix) - Kraak & Smaak
28. I Changed My Mind (Stereo MC's Rattlesnake Mix) - Lyrics Born
29. I'm Free - The Soup Dragons
30. For Your Precious Love - Jestofunk
31. Groove Is In The Heart (12" Version) - Dee Lite
32. Bailando - Alaska Y Los Pegamoides
33. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson

Only In America

2006-11-15T10:28:00.000Z

Heart Attack Grill, Arizona, USA

It has four slabs of beef, each weighing half a pound. It's packed with slices of crispy bacon, has six layers of cheese and contains over 2000 calories.

And just to make you feel healthy, it contains a token leaf of lettuce and can be ordered with a Diet Coke.

This is the Quadruple Bypass Burger and it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Where can you get your hands on this greasy temple of fat? At the Heart Attack Grill, of course, where your dreams of an early death come true. The fast-food joint in Arizona is cooking up a real storm with its brand of kamikaze dining.

With dishes like Flatliner Fries - cooked in pure lard, you better be ready to visit the hospital afterwards.

But you could be forgiven for thinking you're already in the hospital's A & E. Once the Burger Surgeon has whipped up your grub, it is whisked to your table by sultry waitresses in figure-hugging nurse uniforms.

Needless to say, the Arizona State Board Of Nursing has threatened the burger bar with legal action, claiming it depicts nurses as 'bimbos'.

The Sitting Room 002

2006-11-13T13:05:00.000Z

After a good gig last Sunday evening, I have been given the chance to play a weekly gig every Sunday in Bia Bar. Last night was my second one and it also went well. This despite the fact that I was very tired and not really in the best of form. Every once in a while I have an 'off' night where I struggle to come up with songs to play and directions to move. However, my friends that came in really enjoyed it and said they didn't even notice that I was having difficulty.

I am now in the process of putting together my ideas for the night. The first step is getting the word out on the street. I am calling it The Sitting Room and will be working with a friend to design some flyers / posters this week. The idea is to provide a chilled soundtrack for a relaxing evening. Everyone is always wrecked on Sundays and I want Bia to become a spot to unwind, have a bite to eat and listen to some quality music as the weekend winds down. I will be posting full details for the night when everything is sorted out.

My setlist for last night was:

01. Jammin In My Head - Intense & Molly Duncan
02. Pure Joy - Dab
03. Let's Stay Together - Michelle Williams
04. It's Only Love Doing It's Thing - Barry White
05. Not Just Anybody (Atjazz Remix) - Rae & Christian
06. Crazy Girls - True Stories
07. Blue Lines - Massive Attack
08. Pictures Of You (Extended Dub Mix) - The Cure
09. Suedehead - Morrissey
10. You Happy Puppet - 10,000 Maniacs
11. If She Wants Me - Belle & Sebastian
12. White Lines - Barefoot
13. Where Have They Gone - Harmonic 33
14. Fucco Fatuo (Performed By Koop) - Nicola Conte
15. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) - The Beatles
16. Paul's Pal - Paul Hunter
17. Bird Song (Earthbound Remix) - The Underwolves
18. Riders On The Storm (Pink Solidism) - Yonderboi
19. Everybody Loves The Sunshine - D'Angelo
20. Breezin' - George Benson
21. Where Are We Going? - Marvin Gaye
22. You Know How To Make Me - Two Kings In A Cipher
23. Back A Yard - The In Crowd
24. Rodney Yates - David Holmes
25. Set Adrift On Memory Bliss - PM Dawn
26. Groove Holmes - Beastie Boys
27. Do What You Wanna - Mr Scruff
28. The Force - Aim
29. The Seventh Son - Mose Allison
30. (I Can) Deal With That - Dee Edwards
31. Am I The Same Girl - Barbara Acklin
32. Think - Aretha Franklin
33. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
34. Come - Eddie Warner
35. Sunshine Superman - Mel Torme
36. Oh What A Woman - Glenn Campbell
37. I'm A Loser - Marianne Faithfull
38. Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
39. Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack
40. Moodswings - LTJ Bukem
41. Rhodes Royce - Plastyc Buddha
42. Before Today (Chicane Remix) - EBTG
43. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Mix) - Grandadbob
44. Come Together (Edit) - Primal Scream
45. Going Down - Stone Roses
46. Give My Love To Kevin (Acoustic Version) - The Wedding Present
47. Circle Square (Acoustic Version) - Wonder Stuff
48. There She Goes - The La's
49. Fall On Me - REM
50. So Here We Are - Bloc Party
51. NY (Chris Coco Remix) - Doves
52. At The River - Groove Armada
53. Into My Arms (Acoustic Version) - The Lemonheads
54. Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente!

Digital Kicks 007

2006-11-09T11:24:00.003Z

For your aural pleasure - check it out here.

Tracks included in this podcast (and their corresponding start times) are:

01. Peaceful Morning - Paul Hunter / 00:00
02. The Seventh Son - Mose Allison / 03:11
03. Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love - Odyssey / 05:47
04. A Short Acoustic Song - Semifinalists / 09:20
05. My Favourite Color's Red - Dosh / 10:40
06. Dirty Talk - Klein & MBO / 13:35
07. Ain't No Nigga - Jay-Z / 17:18
08. Love You Wholeheartedly - Jackie Dee / 21:16
09. Taxman - Junior Parker / 23:36
10. Back A Yard - The In Crowd / 27:18
11. Window Shopping - The Friday Club / 33:46
12. New Rose (Original Version) - The Damned / 37:35
13. Back To The Sea - The Futureheads / 40:16
14. You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It - The Undertones / 43:31
15. Music's Made Of Memories - Treva Whateva / 46:06
16. Come - Eddie Warner / 57:53
17. Sea Groove - Big Boss Man / 55:25
18. Sometimes I Feel It (Radio House Mix) - Sonic Tool / 59:48
19. I Know You're There (EK's Extended Mix) - Xenon ft Bonnie Bailey / 65:19
20. Hear What I'm Saying (Disco Chill Mix) - Aircraft 72 / 73:03

The Sitting Room (Demo)

2006-11-06T10:49:00.000Z

Last night was my first gig in Bia Bar on my own. I have been given Sunday nights to try and bring some people in and liven the place up. Everything is still in the planning stage but it seems that the night is going to be called The Sitting Room (At Bia Bar). My intention is to just play quality music - full stop. The bar does really good food, so there will be menu specials and drink specials. I also have a few ideas that I am chasing up and may decide to feature one live act each week as well. Whatever happens, I am very excited because it is my first crack at running and promoting my very own night.

Things kicked off with a (marathon) 5 hour set last night including:

01. Sure Thing - St Germaine
02. Elevator (Original Version) - Jaffa
03. I Just Got To Know - Bennie Johnson
04. Illicity (Part 1) - Extended Spirit
05. Keepin On (Piano Cut) - Lazybatusu
06. Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love - Odyssey
07. Let's Stay Together - Boris Gardiner
08. Fastlove (Summer Mix) - George Michael
09. My Love Don't Come Easy - Jean Carn
10. Little Green Bag - The George Baker Selection
11. The Magic Number - Bob Dorough
12. Just A Gigolo - Louis Prima
13. I Want To Hold Your Hand - Al Green
14. Crazy Girls - True Stories
15. Silent Sigh (Acoustic Version) - Badly Drawn Boy
16. Decatur Or A Round Of Applause For Your Step-Mother - Sufjan Stevens
17. If She Wants Me - Belle & Sebastian
18. Juxtaposed With U - Super Furry Animals
19. Summertime Cowboy - Husky Rescue
20. Blue South - Afterlife
21. Not Just Anybody (Atjazz Remix) - Rae & Christian
22. Everybody Loves The Sunshine - D'Angelo
23. Sun Worshipper - Mylo
24. Back A Yard - The In Crowd
25. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club
26. It Must Be Love - Madness
27. Sunbeams - UKO
28. Float On - The Floaters
29. White Lines - Barefoot
30. I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin
31. Wonderwall - Paul Anka
32. Crik Crak - The Lovers
33. Moondance - Grady Tate
34. Montego Slay - People Under The Stairs
35. O-o-h Child - The Five Stairsteps
36. California Soul - Marlena Shaw
37. Chuchottement Del La Plage - Kemiri
38. Fragment One (And I Kept Hearing) - Kenneth Bager
39. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
40. Happy People (Rhodes Remix) - Static Revenger
41. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
42. I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (12" Mix) - Hall & Oates
43. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
44. Copacabana (At The Copa) - Barry Manilow
45. Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin - Inner City
46. Windy City Theme (I'll Tell You What It Is Later) - Chi-Sound Orchestra
47. Rapture - Blondie
48. Give Me The Night - George Benson
49. Do You Dream (Kraak & Smaak Mix) - Ikon
50. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
51. Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague
52. You Hear That? - DJ Format ft Abdominal & D-Sisive
53. Autosoul (Original Mix) - Dubtribe Sound System
54. Beat Goes On - The All Seeing I
55. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3
56. Burning Spear - SOUL
57. Light My Fire - Erma Franklin
58. Space Funk - Manzel
59. I Wanna Be Your Lover - Prince
60. At Night (Afterlife Mix) - Shakedown
61. Bedtime - Naoki Kenji
62. Keep On Searching - Kraak & Smaak
63. We've Only Just Begun (TM Juke Mix) - Lee McDonald
64. LIPSTICK - Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band
65. Close - Kaskade
66. Jungle Light (Urban Groove Mix) - Ohm G & Bruno
67. Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
68. Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente!
69. My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - EBTG

CD86 - Protein Coding Gene Or The Birth Of Indie?

2006-11-02T09:47:00.000Z

In some circles, CD86 refers to a protein coding gene that is a member of the immunoglobin family. It binds with CD28 antigen and signals the activation of the T-cell. It also binds with cytoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4, regulating T-cell activation and diminishing the immune response.

However, on this blog CD86 refers to a newly released compilation of early indie tunes.

The name is taken from a cassette compilation released by NME in 1986 simply called C86. The tape was compiled to reflect the new music scene of the time and ended up becoming the name for an entire genre of music. Although the original compilation showcased indie bands with a punky edge (due to the influence of early 80s post punk) the genre eventually became known for jangly guitars, catchy pop and a very melodic sound.

Many people argue whether the tape was the most indie thing ever or if it was completely unrepresentative of what was actually happening. One thing C86 did (and CD86 remembers) was to introduce new music from the explosion of new bands that combined punk attitudes and DIY ethics with a totally new sound. All of the bands included did everything themselves from making the records, doing the artwork, gluing the sleeves together, releasing the records and posting them out to shops. The bands even wrote their own articles for magazines and fanzines because the press had no interest.

Although most bands have been forgotten, some survived and went on to achieve huge success. Some of the bands that emerged from this scene are:

Aztec Camera
Belle & Sebastian
My Bloody Valentine
Pop Will Eat Itself
Primal Scream
The Groove Farm
The Jesus And Mary Chain
The Soup Dragons

So, 20 years on this CD is a good way to look back at the only truly independent thing that happened in British rock between The Smiths & The Roses.

Welcome To The Machine

2006-10-26T09:03:00.000Z

I was talking to my lovely girlfriend the other night about work. The reason was because for the first time in months I had to actually do something important and discuss some things with an engineer from IBM. In other words, I had to have my "game" face on.

I was telling her a story about IBM and that most of the people I have met and worked with from the company over the years are complete boffins. They are trained and conditioned to just look at things in a totally different way than normal people. That is how they solve difficult problems.

About 4.5 years ago, I was working for a bank that had just moved to a new location. Working in IT I was able to witness and take part in the logistics behind moving millions of euro of hardware and reconfiguring it in the new building. Needless to say we had quite a few teething problems during the first few months and were frequently visited by engineers from IBM to assist us. I was very friendly with all of them but one in particular, John, spent a lot of time in the bank and we would often discuss the problems that had occurred and their solutions.

One day, we were having difficulty with a machine that we referred to as "the robot". It was a very big piece of kit that was used to store and manage the tapes that were used to back up all of the bank's customer data every night. The robot consisted of several large storage units that contained rows and rows of slots where the tapes were kept. The tapes were about the same size and shape of 8-track cartridges and the robot could hold about 850 of them. It also contained a sliding platform with an "arm" attached that could move up & down, side to side and was used to retrieve tapes from and place them into their proper slots. We would use a console to issue commands, telling the machine what action to perform but the real brains behind it was a laptop computer that the engineers used to ascertain what the problems were and fix them.

On this particular day John was having a difficult time. He was normally very relaxed and methodical while he was working. He took his time to examine things and was very rarely ever wrong with his assessments. However, after spending some time reviewing the message logs & diagnostic tools he couldn't figure out what was wrong with the robot. I approached him to ask how things were going and he just said that he didn't know. He then told me that he was going to go have a cup of tea, sit down and do some thinking.

He returned about 30 minutes later and told me that he had the solution. He then asked if he could have a small sheet of computer paper. I found some for him and followed him into the computer room very curious about what he was going to do.

He explained to me that there were no error messages in the laptop logs but there was something that was preventing the arm from moving properly inside the machine. After giving it some consideration, he realised that the laser, which was mounted on top of the arm, used to scan the tapes and identify their unique ID number was being disrupted. He then remembered that the machine was situated near a window and it was a particularly bright day with a lot of natural light coming through the window. He proceeded to place the sheet of computer paper on top of the robot (which had a glass panel that stretched across the entire top of the machine), rebooted the laptop, issued the start command and the arm started to move!

I was very impressed and asked John how he figured that out. He turned to me with a slight grin on his face and replied in a serious tone, "I just reflected on the situation and thought like the machine would for a while."

Right Time, Wrong Speed

2006-10-25T13:06:00.000Z

"Are teenage dreams so hard to beat?
Everytime she walks down the street
Another girl in the neighbourhood
Wish she was mine, she looks so good"

Today is the two year anniversary of the untimely passing of John Peel. Everyone knows that he DJed on Radio 1 for over 35 years, was the first British DJ to play reggae & punk, and consistently championed cutting edge music until the day he died.

But did you know?:

01. His real name was John Robert Parker Ravenscroft.

02. He was one of the original DJs on BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and the only one still on air at the time of his death in October 2004.

03. His housemaster at Shrewsbury School once wrote:
"Perhaps it's possible that John can form some kind of nightmarish career out of his enthusiasm for unlistenable records and his delight in writing long and facetious essays."

04. He began working for a radio station in Dallas in 1961 and when Beatlemania struck the US he got a job as an official Beatles correspondent since he was from Burton, near Liverpool.

05. After JFK was shot, he passed himself off as a reporter for the Liverpool Echo in order to attend the arraignment of Lee Harvey Oswald and can be seen in the background of several photos taken in the police station.

06. His first program was called The Perfumed Garden which he hosted from 12am - 2am while working on the pirate station Radio London in 1967. This program is also when he first began using the name John Peel as suggested by his secretary.

07. In 1976 he was the first DJ to play Bob Dylan's album Desire despite the fact that Capital Radio had struck a deal with CBS to be the first. He played the album in full with a reggae song in between sides while he turned the record over.

08. He was renowned for playing records at the wrong speed (sometimes intentionally) and leaving very long gaps between songs on air when he became distracted by something else in the studio.

09. John was a regular presenter of Top Of The Pops between 1982 - 1987 and was noted for his caustic remarks. Once after playing the George Michael & Aretha Franklin song "I Knew You Were Waiting" he said "You know, Aretha Franklin can make any old rubbish sound good, and I think she just has."

10. He was named DJ of the year 11 times by Melody Maker.

11. In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time. Peel was voted 43rd.

12. He once auctioned a kidney stone for charity minutes after passing it while DJing at a student party.

13. In 1990 he appeared on the BBC Radio program Desert Island Discs. He chose songs by Roy Orbison, The Fall, Rachmaninoff & of course 'Teenage Kicks' by The Undertones (his favourite record of all-time).

14. He had a box of 142 singles that he claimed he would have carried away if his house was on fire. Of all the songs that he chose on Desert Island Discs, only Teenage Kicks was said to be in that box.

15. You can read more about him and listen to some of his broadcasts on the Radio 1 website.

RIP John

Music Sounds Better With A Laptop

2006-10-20T16:23:00.000Z

Bia Bar, Lower Stephens Green, D2, Soul Food World Beats.

So, the lads in Remedy have decided to change musical directions. Well, actually they have only really changed lanes. They used to run a night called Soul Food in Bia Bar on Thursdays and now they are calling it Soul Food World Beats.

I was fortunate enough to play 2 gigs during the 'old' Soul Food days and last night was my first monthly appearance at Soul Food World Beats.

Bia is a great bar. The lighting is very warm (mostly red), the atmosphere is chilled out and the staff are quite attentive. It is a bar that I really enjoy playing in because nearly anything goes with the music.

Normally when I play in a bar on a regular basis I try and find a core group of tunes (usually about 5-10) that just define the place. Songs that match the atmosphere and feel like a big warm hug when you hear them. I haven't found those tunes yet for Bia but I'm starting to get a feel for the place. In order to find those tunes I need to experiment and play a lot of different types of music. Watch the crowd, look for a reaction, a smile, a nod or a foot tapping. During the first 2 gigs I pretty much stuck to the menu - funk & soul.

But last night I decided to have a bit of fun. I have secured a regular, monthly slot at SFWB and figured it was time to begin asserting myself a little bit. The great thing about music is that it can say many different things on many different levels. Some DJs just play music but good ones play music for a reason. I play music sometimes because I want to share it. I want to introduce people to a song that they have never heard of or would never be able to find. Sometimes I want to evoke an emotional response. Sometimes I want to remind people of a song they haven't heard in years. And sometimes a song is just so damn funky it just has to be played out. Whatever the reason may be, the music I play is always saying something.

I must admit that I was quite nervous last night before I started playing. I think because it was a slightly new music policy and I always need a few gigs to get my bearings. Find my way around musically. See what works and what doesn't. The fact that I didn't set up properly and only had silence when I pressed play didn't help my mood. Then when I got the music going I sort of fucked up and didn't choose a very good first song. Actually it wasn't a bad song (Jungle Music by The Specials and Rico) but it just didn't grab anyone's attention. It was also a bit too 'fast' to start off with since the tempo was in the mid 130s. Tempo is a funny thing. It is very subtle but very very noticeable if you make a mistake (for example playing a song with 100 bpm and then playing one right after at 130 bpm). But it can be used to your advantage if you know how. Staying with a steady tempo and progressing slowly (about 5 bpm every song) lets you play really diverse music back to back without sounding like a car wreck.

So, I got off on the wrong foot. The manager even came over and reminded me that people were still eating. In other words - keep it chilled for a bit. But I got back on track and quickly settled in. I changed directions a few times without derailing and much to everyone's surprise and delight played Thriller by Michael Jackson (it is Halloween next week). I also dropped Waterfall by The Roses because it was requested. Even though neither of those 2 songs have anything to do with World Beats everyone loved them. And they worked.

The full setlist for the night was:

01. Jungle Music - The Specials & Rico
02. Light My Fire - Astrud Gilberto
03. Breakfast Club Di Milano - Giacomo Bondi
04. Teenage Kicks - Nouvelle Vague
05. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
06. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
07. Lady (Acoustique) - Modjo
08. T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye
09. A Vida Em Seus Metodos Diz Calma - Di Melo
10. See-Line Woman - Nina Simone
11. Daytripper - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
12. Crik Crak - The Lovers
13. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
14. Exploration - Karminsky Experience Inc
15. Funk da Virada - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
16. 54-46 (Was My Number) - Toots & The Maytals
17. Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret - The Beat
18. One Nation Under A Groove - Chaka Demus & Pliers
19. Spanish Grease - Willie Bobo
20. Guanabara - Dom Salvador & Banda Abolicao
21. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
22. Thriller - Michael Jackson
23. To Be In Love - Tito Puente & India
24. Brazil 2030 (St Barth Mix) - Oscar
25. Call Me (Dlugosch Edit) - Dino
26. Rude Boy Rock - Lionrock
27. Waterfall (12" Remix) - Stone Roses
28. Police & Thieves - The Clash
29. Vida de Otario - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
30. Don't Joke With A Hungry Man (Part 2) - Quantic Soul ft Spanky Wilson
31. At the Speakeasy - Speedometer
32. Hit The Road Jack (Pena Estrada) - Mo' Horizons
33. Summer Sun (Markus Enochson Remix) - Koop
34. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
35. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue

Peace...

Gormandizing & Number Crunching

2006-10-12T10:15:00.000Z

Since my last post about CBGB, I have been thinking about the fact that I am probably a gormandizer (of music). I devour it. I live it, breathe it, collect it and obsess over it. I am always looking for a new tune - something that I haven't heard before. Searching every music shop, every new release rack, every bargain bin, every second-hand store. Reading music websites, searching lists of latest releases and checking out every magazine article about music that I can get my hands on.

And when I'm not doing all of that I am usually looking for something that I remember hearing as a kid that I have not been able to find since. The 'lost' song that maybe was on the radio recently or that I heard in a bar or at a gig. The song that I was reminded of by another song that I may have just come across. The song that someone mentioned and I decided that I just had to go and find.

Just consider the following list of numbers to illustrate my point:

3 - weeks since my last gig
4 - iPods that I own
5 - hours (approximately) that I spent compiling / recording my last demo CD (1 month ago)
17 - times I have played Billie Jean at a gig
19 - Miles Davis albums that I own
71 - gigs that I have played to date
92 - days (approximately) that I spent compiling / recording my first demo CD (during the months of Nov 2001, Dec 2001 & Jan 2002)
116 - songs I played at my longest gig ever
647 - GBs that I have to fill with music
1,332 - albums (in mp3 format) currently on one of my hard drives
11,743 - songs currently on my laptop hard drive

CBGB

2006-10-10T14:12:00.000Z

The infamous music club CBGB that opened in The Bowery in December 1973 will be closing it's doors on 30 October 2006. Sadly, after 33 years the New York City nightclub is shutting because the lease has expired and the owner, Hilly Kristal, has been presented with an eviction notice.

The full name of the club is CBGB OMFUG which, according to the owner stands for Country Bluegrass Blues & Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers. Although the word gormandizer is usually used to describe someone who can not stop eating, in this case it refers to an eater of music.

Despite the fact that the club was originally meant to feature CBGB music & poetry, 5 months after opening it began to attract unsigned bands playing original music and quickly became the birthplace of American punk.

Televsion were the first band to obtain a residency in CBGB and shortly after they started playing in March of 1974 other "street acts" followed such as Patti Smith, The Stillettoes (featuring Debbie Harry from Blondie) and of course the Ramones.

These bands as well as Talking Heads and numerous hardcore punk bands found a home in CBGB because it was the only venue in New York that had one rule for unsigned bands: all original music and no covers.

Now that the club is facing closure, Kristal claims to be looking at another venue in Manhattan but has been rumored to already have made a deal to open the club again in 2008 in Vegas!

In the meantime, he is said to be preparing to take every single possible thing he can carry out the door with him when he shuts the place down. Whether he intends to just open another club with the original furnishings or try to sell them all on eBay remains to be seen. Either way October 30 will be a sad day and the end of an incredibly important piece of music history.

Bands such as The Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads owe their careers to CBGB but other bands that played there through the years include:

AC/DC
The B-52s
Beastie Boys
The Clash
Elvis Costello
The Dandy Warhols
Green Day
Guns 'n' Roses
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
The Libertines
Pearl Jam
The Police
Smashing Pumpkins
The Strokes
They Might Be Giants

Digital Kicks 006

2006-10-05T12:59:00.003Z

Well, dear readers Digital Kicks is back again after a brief hiatus for a sixth installment and can be found here.

This edition like the previous few was compiled and recorded at my desk in work. Now, you may be wondering - why wasn't I working? It just so happens that with my current workload and my multi-tasking abilities I can do both!

If you believe that, let me tell you about...

This month I have decided to take a bit more time with this sixth edition and tell you a little about each of the songs and where I actually found them or more accurately where I heard them.

01. Breakfast Club Di Milano - Giacomo Bondi
So, the mix kicks off with a great piece of lounge music that has a brazilian feel to it (even though it's about Milan). I found this song on a compilation called Breakfast Club: Milan when I was back home in May.

As a fledging DJ, I am always on the lookout for new music. Every day. Every hour. And compilations usually offer the best value for money (as long as they are not mixed). While I was in Pa, I drove to York to visit the Border's shop there and that is where this CD turned up. It was a great discovery as most of the 16 tracks on it are very good quality and I have played several of them out at gigs this past summer.

02. Wonderwall - Paul Anka
Although this was released last year by the lounge legend on an album full of cover versions called Rock Swings, I picked it up elsewhere on a compilation.

Cover tunes are extremely popular at the moment and for me the further they are in style and sound from the original the better. I think Mr. Anka does the Oasis classic serious justice.

03. Rock This Town - The Stray Cats
As part of my quest for new music, I also try to find all the tunes that I listened to and loved as a kid. This track has eluded me for a while but I found it on an 80s compilation back in the States.
It reminds me of MTV's early days and was actually considered New Wave at the time even though it was nothing more than 1950s Rock 'n Roll. I owned the album on cassette when I was 12 years old which also contained the hit Stray Cat Strut.

04. Scrawl - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
What a song! What a group! What a shame it took me 35 years to discover them! Still, better late than never. I lifted the CD this is from called 511 from Paulo a few months ago. They even played it at their gig in London in July. Indeed, nothing was cool that night...

05. Too Late - Tavares
OK. At this point in the mix you are probably rolling your eyes thinking what the hell is he like!? Well, I happen to like cheese. There, I admitted it. I like cheese! Especially when it reminds me of being a kid. My father liked Tavares and one Christmas I gave him their greatest hits on CD. While I was visiting my parents in May, I came across the CD and just had to copy a few of the tracks. Tavares had bigger hits with Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel and a cover of More Than A Woman from Saturday Night Fever but this track is a bit rockier and one of my favourites by them.

06. Seventh Space - Peter Dahou
Another lovely little slab of chill out from the Breakfast Club: Milan CD.

07. Copacabana (At The Copa) - Barry Manilow
More cheese that I picked up from my parents. Actually, my mother. She has no idea but I copied Barry's Greatest Hits from her collection. He was always on in my house during the mid to late 70s and hearing him brings back lots of memories of my family just hanging out together.
Coincidently, he was on The Today Show live when I was home and ALL of the women in the audience loved him. I played this song at several house parties this summer and ALL of the ladies (in their 20s & 30s) loved it! Lads, take note...

08. Rouge - Frontera
This track comes from the compilation Cafe Mambo released earlier this summer. It was compiled (and for once not mixed) by long-time resident DJ Pete Gooding. Sadly, he left Mambo at the end of last summer after 10 years but at least he is still putting out quality compilations.

09. Rally - Phoenix
This french band have been around for about 6 years and although they started out as part of the French filtered disco wave (thanks to Stardust) they actually included some retro rock songs on their first album. This song is from their third album and all along the way they have maintained a high standard of MOR 70s soft rock music. Quite unusual for a group of French lads.

10. The Warning - Hot Chip
I must admit that I wasn't a huge fan of their album when I heard it despite the fact that (for the most part) it is quirky electropop. However, this track stood out and is my favourite from the London group.

11. Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us - Ollie & Jerry
Another gem from the early 80s that I used to love but actually never owned. I found it in America on a cheap compilation of tunes from 80s films. What more could you ask for?

12. Sweet Suffering (DJ Sin Plomo Ambient Mix) - Asheni
Another track from the Breakfast Club: Milan CD. I think I saw DJ Sin Plomo play live when I was in Ibiza this summer. I mean I think because I went to the restaurant called L'Elephant in San Rafael where he is the resident DJ. I just didn't ask him his name when I was there.

The great thing about Ibiza is how music pervades every single aspect of life. Sitting in a lovely restaurant, overlooking Sant Antoni, eating absolutely gorgeous food and listening to quality tunes played live by a DJ. I can't think of many things better in life.

13. I Like The Way - Kaskade
I heard about this group (well, producer) from a couple of different dance compilations. I believe they are American as they record for the OM label based in San Francisco. I got this song from the album called Here And Now (which I also bought in Borders in York). It is all really good, down-tempo, deep house music and suits anytime or place for listening.

14. The 3 R's (The Magic Number) - Jack Johnson
I got this song on a free CD that came with Q magazine. I don't normally buy Q (really) but I can't resist when there is a CD of quality covers by artists you would never expect.

15. I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
This was on a 90s Number 1s compilation I bought and oh what memories it brought back! It reminds me of my days in college, wandering around Indiana, Pa (usually drunk) and looking for a party. When the song was released it was everywhere - you couldn't get away from it. I remember one night being out with some friends and passing a fraternity house where it was blaring from. We had a good laugh at the brothers because we thought they were totally gay. Of course the next house party we had we played the damn song about 5 times. Why? Because the ladies loved it!

16. Alone - Tennishero
This is a great song that I found on the latest Serve Chilled CD from the Hed Kandi label. I was a bit worried when I heard that the founder of the label, Irish DJ Mark Doyle, left at the end of last year because I thought that the compilations would no longer be any good. But thankfully the lads have kept the quality high and keep releasing great CDs. Serve Chilled was the very first CD ever released on Hed Kandi and this year's edition is every bit as good.

17. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
I don't know where I got it. I don't know why I like it. But I do. Build a bridge.

18. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
A great tune that I stole from a mate of mine. I was never really into Ozzy but you can't help liking this song. A true air guitar classic!

19. I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor - Sugababes
With all the backlash now cast upon the Artic Monkeys I think that it is hilarious (and brilliant) that the Sugababes recorded a cover of this tune. Recently, the original was named the number one all-time student anthem (I didn't realise that there were more students now with louder voices than those of us from the 80s & 90s) but this version isn't too bad. Also found on the free Q magazine CD full of cover tunes.

20. New York Groove - KISS (Ace Frehley)
I don't know what the story is - this song was released by Ace Frehley in the late 70s but credit is given to KISS on the CD. I thought the band had taken a break and all 4 members recorded solo albums that were released around the same time. I think this was actually the only good song of the entire lot and I remember sitting by my radio as a kid waiting to hear it again.

21. Dream Of you - Secret Stealth
Another relaxing tune from the Hed Kandi crowd on Serve Chilled.

22. What's Going On (Instrumental)
When I was in the States, I came across a CD of greatest hits by The Funk Brothers. For those of you who don't know they were the house band for Motown in the 60s and early 70s. They have supposedly played on more number one records than Elvis, The Beatles and The Stones combined! This is the instrumental track for the Marvin Gaye tune which is one of my favourite songs of all time.

Thanks for listening. Until next time...

Racing Clean

2006-10-02T11:45:00.000Z

According to a recent newspaper article in a Swiss paper Jan Ullrich (and perhaps all the other cyclists implicated in Operation Puerto) are actually racing their bikes clean:

Detergent Enzyme To Mask EPO? Ullrich Named

Urine samples being tested for EPO are supposed to show a certain amount of EPO, which is naturally produced in the body. But what if the sample shows absolutely none? This is happening more and more frequently, according to the Neue Züricher Zeitung, and allegedly some cyclists are using some sort of powder to affect their urine tests. The paper reports that Swiss TV SF1 has identified this powder as protease, an enzyme in laundry detergent which usually works as a stain remover, giving a whole new twist to the term "racing clean". And a familiar big name is mentioned in association with the new problem - Jan Ullrich.

The theory goes this way: The athlete puts a little of the powder in the pockets of his pants. Before urinating, he puts his fingers into it, and urinates over his fingers at the control, so that the enzyme is mixed with his urine in the container. This little amount is sufficient to destroy the protein, and therefore the EPO, in the urine. "Protease is simply easy to use, cheap and available without prescription - and thus an almost perfect aid for the deceptive athlete," says the NZZ.

The process doesn't seem to have become too popular yet. Marial Saugy, director of the Lausanne doping laboratory, said that "less than 10 percent of the samples" showed a zero EPO value. This did not necessarily mean that protease was being used, but the lab is currently testing the enzyme. "We should have legally acceptable evidence within a few months," he said.

Matthias Kamber, head of the antidoping department of the Swiss federal agency for sport, was reportedly the first to identify the problem. He noticed that over the last few months, more than a dozen doping samples containing no EPO at all were delivered. He listed the cases and noticed that some of them matched certain athletes. "That led us to suspect manipulation," he said. After conferring with other experts, he came to the conclusion that protease was involved and turned the matter over the Lausanne lab in spring 2006.

According to SF1, one of the doping samples without EPO belonged to Jan Ullrich and was taken in South Africa in December 2005. The NZZ reported that there were at least two other similar samples form Ullrich according to its sources, and that a link to the evidence uncovered in Operation Puerto was possible: Certain documents uncovered by the Spanish Guardia Civil relating to Ullrich repeatedly used the word "polvos" - powder.

Hurricane Paulo

2006-09-27T13:37:00.002Z

DUBLIN, September 27 - Last night a tropical depression named Paulo formed in Dublin city center in The Olympia. Despite the hot and humid conditions during the Maximo Park gig there just wasn't enough time or space to sustain any dangerous air guitars or scissor kicks.

However, Declan Murphy from Met Eireann has warned that the storm is far from finished. "We have been keeping a close eye on this storm during the last few weeks and we think that there is a very high potential for some serious damage. There have only been a few disturbances during the last couple of weeks but we have reason to believe that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. After the Maximo gig last night the depression settled down but it looks to be gaining strength again today and we fear that it will increase to a tropical storm by about 9pm this evening. Paulo is a lot more concentrated on The Bluetones in The Village and we think he will be able to relate to the band and feed off their set a bit better than Maximo. We are also very worried about the larger venue which of course provides the opportunity for prolonged bouts of air guitar and more violent scissor kicks".

Following tonights gig it seems that the storm will head south to Spain by the end of the week and could create some chaos down there for just over 7 days. Then, if the predictions are correct, the following 3 weeks should be fairly quiet with just a few tropical disturbances here and there most likely on the weekends. But the big fear is October 30th - the bank holiday Monday night.

"Oh, it will be very, very bad" says Declan. I think last night was a teaser and tonight will be a bit of a taster but make no mistake Paulo will attain hurricane status for the We Are Scienists gig in The Ambassador on October 30th. This storm will be extremely organised and disturbed with perturbations and gale force winds that we have not seen since the Ned's gig in London last summer. It will be a major, intense hurricane and we can not even estimate the amount of air guitar playing, windmills and scissor kicks that will occur. There is also the extreme possibility of tsunami-like effects from prolonged, sustained crowd surfing. Ned's was bad but Paulo is really, really focused on this gig. The damage from WAS will be extremely widespread and the destruction could be enormous".

The management team from The Village have taken the warning on board and are said to be taking some precautions for this evening. However, the management from The Ambassador were unavailable for comment.

Maximo Park At The Olympia

2006-09-27T11:29:00.000Z

I went to see Maximo Park last night in The Olympia in Dublin and it was a crackin' gig! The band are full of energy and frontman Paul Smith and keyboardist Lukas are total loo-las. They only played for 75 minutes but it was absolute quality. I was reminded by the lads that I had stated last year their album A Certain Trigger was so good that it could change your life. Perhaps that is a bit of an overstatement but it is fantastic none the less.

Their new album is currently being recorded and set for release next March.

Their setlist for the night was:

01. Girls Who Play Guitar (New Song)
02. Now I'm All Over The Shop
03. Graffiti
04. Postcard Of A Painting
05. A Fortnights Time (New Song)
06. I Want You To Stay
07. By The Monument (New Song)
08. Limassol
09. I Want You To Leave
10. Signal And Sign
11. The Coast Is Always Changing
12. The Night I Lost My Head
13. Once, A Glimpse
14. Going Missing
-------------------------
15. Kiss You Better
16. Nosebleed (New Song)
17. Apply Some Pressure

After the gig we ambled next door to Brogan's for a pint or two of the black stuff (because it would just be down right rude not to). While we were sitting there the keyboardist came in for a drink but the bar had stopped serving. We finished our pints and had an idea - if he was wandering around maybe the other lads were as well.

We walked back up to the Olympia and spotted the bassist Archis who happily signed a setlist sheet for us. Then the guitarist Duncan appeared and was also very obliging. After about a 15 minute wait the singer Paul emerged and he too was a really sound guy who was more than happy to sign an autograph.

Who says that rock 'n' roll stars can't be nice guys?

Celebrating Victory

2006-09-26T13:54:00.000Z

The cycling World Championships were held this past Sunday in Salzburg, Austria. In typical fashion the 265km race came down to the last 700 meters in a sprint finish. The Italian Paolo Bettini took advantage of a Spanish leadout and beat the German Erik Zabel and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde to become the new champion.

Afterwards on the podium the two lads decided to celebrate by tossing Bettini into the crowd:

The Ryder Cup also concluded on Sunday with the European team making a right show of the Americans. The undisputed hero of the European team was the Irishman Darren Clarke who won all three of his matches including the singles match on Sunday on the 16th hole and broke then down in tears. It was an unbelievably emotional moment and I can tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the entire pub.

Later, in full celebratory mode he had a bit of fun. First he drowned the European captain Ian Woosnam in champagne:

Then, he downed a pint of Guinness in one:

I think it would be quite interesting to combine both celebrations. Something like downing a bunch of pints and then tossing around the smallest guy you can find...

What Is Funk?

2006-09-22T14:16:00.000Z

Funk is a many splendored thing.
Funk is a nasty vibe, and a sweet sexy feeling.
Funk is a high, but it is also down at the bottom, the low-down earthy essence, the bass elements.
Funk is hot, but funk can be cool.
Funk is primitive, yet funk can be sophisticated.
Funk is a way out, and a way in.
Funk is all over the place.
Funk is that nitty-gritty thang that affects people when things get heavy.
Funk is what you say when nothing else will do.
Funk is whatever it needs to be, at the time that it is...

Sadly, last night marked the last Soul Food gig in Bia Bar. After a year plus of quality Thursday nights of lounge, funk and soul the lads have decided to change directions with the music and will be introducing a new night featuring latin, reggae and drum & bass. Fortunately, I was invited to play one last time at Soul Food and did my best to get the "funk" out. Thanks to those of you that came to listen to me and show your support.

My set for the evening was:

01. Mission Impossible Theme - Lalo Schifrin
02. Coming Of Age - Jay-Z
03. Cold Bear - The Gaturs
04. It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To) - Marva Whitney
05. Let The Music Take Your Mind - Kool & The Gang
06. Go With The Flow - Pete Rock & CL Smooth
07. Wicky Wacky - Fatback Band
08. High - Freeze, Mr Blue, Hotdog, DL Swift
09. California Soul - Marlena Shaw
10. This Is Soul - Paul Nero
11. Soul Kitchen - The Doors
12. Honky Tonk (Part 1) - The James Brown Soul Train
13. Advice - Sly & The Family Stone
14. Got Myself A Good Man - Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers
15. Can I Get A Witness - Barbara Randolph
16. If It Ain't Broke... Break It! - The Limp Twins
17. Vida de Otario - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
18. Neighbor! Get Your Own - The Rimshots
19. Superfly - Curtis Mayfield
20. Sunshine Of Your Love - Spanky Wilson
21. Make Me Believe In You (Beedle / BSO Re-Edit) - Patti Jo
22. The Magic Number (Chad Jackson Hip Hop Mix) - De La Soul
23. Groove Is In The Heart (12" Version) - Dee-Lite
24. Superbad (Parts 1 & 2) - James Brown
25. Hypnotize - Notorious BIG
26. Addicted - Only Child ft Veba
27. Milk - The Basic
28. Tuxedo Rap - People Under The Stairs
29. Bust A Move - Young MC
30. White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grand Master Flash & Melle Mel
31. Hate It Or Love It - The Game ft 50 Cent
32. South Soul Party (South Soul Scat) - Montana
33. Giraffe Walk - Quantic & Mr Scruff

Puesta Del Sol Musica I

2006-09-01T14:28:00.000Z

'May peace, love & music be the message...'

You can listen to this mix here.

The songs included are:

01. Private Session (25th Mix) - Lovers Lane / 00:00
02. Breezin' - Boris Gardiner / 04:44
03. Sunbeams - UKO / 08:07
04. Warm Weather - Pieces Of A Dream / 12:24
05. Get A Life (Album Mix) - Rae & Christian ft Bobby Womack / 16:22
06. Montego Slay - People Under The Stairs / 19:59
07. Closer Than Before - Nostrum 3 / 23:55
08. Monika's Summer - Future Loop Foundation / 30:04
09. I Just Can't Help Myself - Terry Callier / 36:09
10. Invisible - M-Seven / 39:19
11. Love Unlimited - Fun Lovin' Criminals / 44:25
12. Sunset - Lonnie Liston Smith / 47:43
13. Close Cover - Wim Mertens / 51:52
14. Romeo (Acoustic Version) - Basement Jaxx / 55:04
15. Cette Planete - JP Juice / 58:32
16. Another Day - Kings Of Tomorrow / 64:38
17. LIPSTICK - Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band / 69:17
18. The Gift - Way Out West / 72:28

The picture was taken at Cafe Del Mar, San Antoni, Ibiza on 15 August of this year.

This mix is dedicated to my mother, who is celebrating her birthday today.

Robert Förster: "If my body is my fortune, then today I am broke"...

2006-09-01T09:57:00.000Z

I think that Robert Forster has become my favourite cyclist. With all of the doping scandals and bad press that plague the sport now it is very easy to become completely jaded and just presume that everyone is on dope (which I believe to be true). But Robert seems (from what I have read) like a really normal dude who is racing clean. He has an on-line diary on www.radsportnews.com but unfortunately it is all in German. Luckily because he is very funny and never short of a story or two there are often quotes and excerpts of his entries on www.cyclingnews.com

Three of the most recent stories are about the Vuelta (Tour Of Spain) which is currently taking place.

On the meal after Stage 06...

Don't be surprised if the rest of the peloton does everything it can to stay away from the Gerolsteiner riders in Friday's stage of the Vuelta a España, says Robert Forster.

It's not that they're worried about crashes, have personality conflicts with them, or anything like that; it all comes down to what the Gerolsteiner guys ate for dinner last night.

On Thursday night, totally out of the blue, Rene Haselbacher started eating garlic, and the others joined in. "There was sort of a paste, we put it on everything, on noodles, on meat, absolutely everything," Forster told www.radsport-news.de. "The theory was, if we all ate it, we wouldn't smell it ourselves... We emptied the bowl. Well, garlic is good for your health, isn't it?"

On the Vuelta: Stage 05...

Needless to say, the mountain stage was not at all to the liking of Gerolsteiner sprinter Robert Forster. On the second climb he found a small group with "...the usual suspects, my homeboys like Backstedt and Renshaw." He even found an advantage in riding so far back. "The good thing when you ride alone off the back is that you never have a problem getting something to drink. In the field it's always a big thing until you've made your way through all the autos. You have to look at it positively!"

With 8 km left, he worried about making it to the finish within the time limit. "So I went to work: I rode up as if in a delirium," and made it with minutes to spare. His summary of the day: "If my body is my fortune, then today I am broke!"

On the amount of water needed for a stage in the Vuelta...

It's a good thing that Robert Forster's team sponsor is in the bottled water business: the Gerolsteiner rider and his teammates needed it in Monday's Vuelta stage. "It was total chaos back by the team cars, because thousands of riders were constantly getting water," he wrote in his Vuelta diary on Radsportnews.com. "I asked one of our helpers: we nine Gerolsteiner riders used 280 bottles today! The most of them were to drink, of course, but some of them we poured over our heads But you'd better not do it like the British rider Wegelius did: He took a bottle from another team, and poured half of it out over his head before he noticed that it was coca-cola... We all laughed like crazy!"

The average temperature in Spain that day was 39,5 degrees, at times underway it was well over 40. "It was so hot already at the start that we didn't want to get out of the air-conditioned bus."

And when 'Frosi' got to the hotel after the stage, he knew it couldn't be good news when someone asked him, "Have you heard the news?" Turns out that his and his roommate Marcel Strauss' suitcases got left behind in the last hotel...

Hot Tamale (A Second Hand Conversation)

2006-08-31T12:32:00.000Z

I don't normally post things on my blog that I see on other blogs (especially when it is a friend's) but this post is so funny that I had to share it with those of you on this side of the pond.

It is from a mate's blog in the States and it is a conversation that took place last weekend between him and another one of my college buddies.

Hot Tamale

I talked with a buddy this weekend and he passed along this story..

Steve: I was at a barbeque this weekend and later in the evening I went over to get something to eat and the host told me to be careful with the hot sauce that was out because it was especially hot. Some big 6 foot 2 in , 220 lb black dude was standing there all drunk and said something along the lines of, " That shit's from a grocery store, it can't be hot". The dude then grabbed the bottle and poured it onto his burger like it was catsup...drenching the bun and burger with this sauce.So the host tells him, " hey man I warned you", but the guy was undeterred and slurred, " I LOVE hot stuff" and started wolfing down the burger. Well about 30 seconds after finishing the burger the dude went totally white.Flick: Wait a sec. I thought you said that he's a black guy.Steve: Yeah, he is....like I said, the motherfucker when white. Then for the next half hour he walked around in a circle sorta like his left leg was 4 inches shorter than his right leg. And he was sweating....bad.

Dude: Holy poop !

Steve: Yeah...then he threw up. And he threw up loudly. Then he passed out and laid there twitching and stuff.

Dude: Holy cow. What did you do?

Steve: What did I do ? Well I thought, " I gotta try me some of this shit !" And I went back over to the table.

Dude: Get the fuck outta here.

Steve: No seriously, I figured if this shit put this dude down, I had to try at least a little bit of it. So I went over and put it on a plate. I grabbed some nacho chips, dipped it in the stuff, sniffed, and gave it a taste.

Dude: Well ?

Steve: The shit was mind blowingly hot. I ate one chip and in the next half hour I drank 13 plastic cups of water.

Dude: ahahahahhahahahah

Steve: Yeah, well that's not the end of it.

Dude: Uh-oh

Steve: Yeah, since I drank all that water I had to take a wizz. So I went into the bathroom and took a piss...but I didn't wash my hands ahead of time.

Dude: Oh no...don't say it...please to say it.

Steve: Well I went to the bathroom, and left, and went back to the party, no problems.

Dude: whew

Steve: Then about ten minutes later it started. First is was a mild itching...then some discomfort...then suddenly my penis was completely on fire.

Dude: What the fuck ?!?! How the fuck does that happen. You didn't stick your finger in your pee hole did you.

Steve: NO MAN !

Dude: Well do you think it rubbed into your underpants and then you were walking around....

Steve: Dude, I'm telling you this shit was like lava. Like habeneros grown in Malaysia or some crazy ass shit. I think the stuff was so nasty that it freakin soaked through my shaft and right down to the urethra. At least that's what that shit felt like !

Dude: What the hell did you do ?

Steve: Well I ran into the dude house and stuck my dick in his sink.

Dude: HIS KITCHEN SINK ?!

Steve: No no no...I went into the bathroom. I didn't want to get my pants and shit wet so I took all that stuff off, then kinda gussied up to the sink. I couldn't quite get it under the faucet, but I could redirect the water enough to get some relief.

Dude: Wait. So you ended up, no pants, no underpants...naked from the waist down...in some dude's bathroom...with your nuts on his porceline and your dick in his sink ?

Steve: This is so going on the blog isn't it.

Dude: Dude, I might have to start a new blog just for this story.

Warming Another House

2006-08-28T14:09:00.000Z

Bear is the latest one in the group to buy a house and Saturday night was his house warming party. As you can see above he was delighted to see the number of people that showed up, bringing booze and gifts for his new gaff.

The spread was great - lots of food, beer, wine and of course music. As is customary, the entire party took place in his kitchen. After we ate it was time to get down to the serious business. Thanks to a (ahem) 'borrowed' projector, we were able to watch Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD (an Oct 94 gig from the Division Bell tour) on the main kitchen wall. Paulo took to the decks first and knocked out some 'proper' dance tunes while everyone settled in for a long night. After a while the crowd started growing restless and the whispers started, quickly developing into chants: "dance off, dance off, dance off, dance off"...

After Paulo's 'warm up' I took over the decks and provided the tunes for the dance off that turned Bear's kitchen into the closest thing to a 1970s Manhattan discotheque that one could hope to find in Dublin.

By most accounts Joe (pictured here) was by far the best and busted enough moves during the dance off to upstage Tony Manero on his very best night in his very best suit. It must have been the magic in that bottle of Smirnoff Lemon Vodka and the tea towel head gear.

The tunes were:

01. Soul Kitchen - The Doors
02. Magic Bus - The Who
03. Gimme Some Lovin' - The Spencer Davis Group
04. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Otis Redding
05. Night Train - James Brown
06. Soul Man - Sam & Dave
07. Let's Spend The Night Together - The Rolling Stones
08. I Can't Explain - The Who
09. Be My Baby - The Ronnettes
10. Louie Louie - The Kingsmen
11. Twist & Shout - The Beatles
12. You Really Got Me - The Kinks
13. Start! - The Jam
14. Too Much Too Young - The Specials
15. Mirror In The Bathroom - The Beat
16. One Step Beyond - Madness
17. Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash
18. Ghost Town - The Specials
19. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
20. Mickey - Toni Basil
21. I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
22. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C+C Music Factory
23. Superfreak (12" Version) - Rick James
24. 1999 (Album Version) - Prince
25. Footloose - Kenny Loggins
26. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
27. Copacabana (At The Copa) - Barry Manilow
28. Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
29. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
30. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns 'n' Roses
31. Turning Japanese - The Vapors
32. Cars - Gary Numan
33. Genius Of Love (Long Version) - Tom Tom Club
34. Juicy - Notorious BIG
35. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
36. Billie Jean (Original 12" Edit) - Michael Jackson
37. Kiss - Prince
38. Holiday - Madonna
39. Groove Is In The Heart (12" Version) - Dee Lite
40. Groovy Train - The Farm
41. I'm Free - The Soup Dragons
42. Can You Dig It? - The Mock Turtles
43. Weirdo - The Charlatans
44. Whip It - Devo
45. Pop Muzik - M
46. Emotional Rescue - The Rolling Stones

Best of luck Bear and we look forward to your next shin-dig and dance off. I hope the gaff is nice and toasty now...