Nostalgia's not what it used to be

So another year shudders to an end. Hooray! To be honest for a lot of reasons 2007 wasn't all that memorable. Certainly in this country the abiding sensation was mainly of being very wet. Musically there were a lot of very good second albums, but probably not as much new stuff to keep me excited as usual. In fact most of the music that's given me the horn has been looking way backwards - with the welcome renaissance of disco, and a whole host of people re-editing long lost classics. The main disappointment is that i've not heard much of that when i've been out... maybe i'm going to the wrong places, and i've certainly missed a few nights that I should have ventured out to.

But in many ways i've reason to be optimistic about 2008. I think i've finally figured out what to do with my life, and while there are always loads of new & exciting sounds to enjoy, I have a good feeling that next year might bring something special.
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Most years I do a compilation CD for friends in lieu of christmas cards, with a round-up of some of my favourite tunes of the year. So as a New Year's present to y'all i'll stick it up to download for a short time. The sleeve isn't as good as usual, but tough shit. The image on the back is by the excellent No/Fi.




DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE (130MB)



For what it's worth, my favourite albums of 2007:

1 Italians Do it Better - After Dark
The album i listened to most. Just perfect, shimmering disco. Glass Candy will be huge next year.

2 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
The more it was remixed the better it got, culminating in the brilliant Gucci Soundsytem mix of 'Time to Get Away'. DFA were again consistently amazing, and get me buying vinyl more than anyone else.

3 M.I.A. - Kala
So much going on, and so many ideas. Nearly all of them very good indeed.

4 Burial - Untrue
Something akin to genius, like Aphex you can't actually imagine someone writing this stuff. The sound of 5am.

5 Maps - We Can Create
There's a few people trying to revive shoegazing, but only Maps seems able to turn the waves of sound into achingly beautiful tunes.

6 Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck
Who'd have thought that improvised, experimental krautrock could be such fun.

7 Battles - Mirrored
One of my favourite moments this year was seeing a room full of distinctly non 'indie' people go absolutely apeshit to Atlas when I played it at a party. Who'd have thought that experimental mathrock could be such fun.

8 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
They've still got the tunes and the sharp lines. "Who wants to be a man of the people, when they're people like you"

9 D*I*R*T*Y Soundsystem - DIRTY Edits Vol. 1
Some of the Pilooski's consistently amazing edits make it to CD. Can anyone explaing to me why 'Beggin' wasn't a huge hit?

10 Justice - Cross
It's impact was lessened a bit through most of it being all too familiar by the time it was released. It definitely worked well as an album though, and displayed a lot more craft & subtly than I was expecting. Plus it was packed with great tunes of course.


Hopefully i can return with a bit more regularity in 2008. Happy New Year!!



Oh, and if you're still alive NEXT weekend, come to Turnmills where i'll be bottomlining the upstairs room. David E Sugar will be there as well, which should be very good indeed!

And what if there's nothing?

It's hardly 'fresh on' from my last post any more, however here's some kind of follow up, with a mix by Big Face that will surely be causing a little trouble on the dancefloor in months to come. Originally an exclusive for the (is it still?) trendy Boombox club, it's Botox Face herself given a little electroclash workover. I say little, but there's nothing small about the monstrous growling bassline, while Kylie's ability to say very little, but to say it rather saucily is ideally suited to a dancefloor track.

I don't quite understand why she's demanding to be given OCD. Are her towels not straight? But that quibble aside it's a bit of a tune.



KYLIE MINOGUE - BOOMBOX (BIG FACE PARTY MARTY REMIX)

A couple of christmas specials for you now. If you're in the UK, you probably know that Malcolm Middleton is doing his Bad Santa best to get to christmas #1 with 'We're All Going to Die'.



Of course it'll probably wobble up to number 25, while we see Leon from X-Factor crooning some crap or other on the Christmas Day Top of the Pops, but it's a noble aim all the same. Full marks to his campaign to spread a little christmas misery.

Here's a remix by Sportsday Megaphone.

MALCOLM MIDDLETON - WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE (SPORTSDAY MEGAPHONE REMIX)


Maps isn't trying to hit the charts as far as I know, but the producer of one of my favourite albums of the year has his own little christmas gift with this cover version of East 17's own christmas #1 'Stay Another Day'... inspired by "taking 12 E's and running myself over in my own car"



MAPS - STAY ANOTHER DAY


Blamma! Blamma! also sent through a christmas gift, with the track from the Boots advert cut up with Jay-Z. It's better than that sounds! Actually on second thoughts that does sound good.

BLAMMA! BLAMMA! - MERRY XMAS JIGGA MAN, WE GOT YOU SOMETHING FROM BOOTS


I didn't intend this to be some kind of christmas post (Bah! Humbug!), but it seems as though it is now. Something christmassy I have also enjoyed this week, is this version of 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' produced by Rich Aucoin. He's written an album of indie-pop gems to sync up with the cartoon, and it works fantastically IMO. The visuals don't kick in until 2 minutes in, but it's well worth sticking with. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I Knew You When You Were Happy

I was emailed this track by Big Face back in May, and it was one of those things I had every intention of posting up here, but never quite got round to. I then got another email about the band last week, for it seems they have a single coming out on Kitsune. Now the single's pretty good in an electro-ey guitar band way, and is backed with some nice remixes from David E Sugar & Data.... but I much prefer the track I heard originally.

I suppose it's a little reminiscent of Digitalism.... a great rocking tune surrounded by a synthesised assault on the senses. But rather less German.



BIG FACE - BIG FACE RIDES THE FRONT SEAT

Here's the video for the new single:



Also on Kitsune is some new stuff from Cazals, who i've previously only known & loved from their excellent track 'Poor Innocent Boys' on Kitsune Maison 2.

That was some time ago now, so i'd kind of expected to hear something else from them before now, but it seems they've been holed up making an album... 'What of our Future?', and only now are the first fruits dropping from the tree.



Out next week is a cover version of Spandau Ballet's 'To Cut a Long Story Short' (with remixes by Vicarious Bliss & Autokratz), but i'll post up a track from the album.

'Somebody, Somewhere' hardly has the cutting edge electronic sound you'd associate with Kitsune (although a casio beat does pop up occasionally in a nod to the future past), but you can't deny the conviction with which this gang of East London fashionistas bash out a tune.

CAZALS - SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE Removed by Request

If you're in Japan you'll see 'em supporting Daft Punk!

Ah look I seem to be youtubing today. Here's the video for 'To Cut a Long Story Short'.




I've not posted anything from Moshi Moshi records for a while, but they're still quietly being London's best record label. Their latest signings are The Mae-Shi, all the way from Los Angeles. Theirs is that peculiarly American brand of "everything but the kitchen sink" psychedelia that's reminiscent of Flaming Lips amongst many other American eccentrics.



They would be the ideal house band for a childrens party that served up mushroom milkshakes. Perhaps Roald Dahl could be on hand to do a bit of story telling.

If he wasn't dead.

THE MAE-SHI - RUN TO YOUR GRAVE

Since we're enjoying scratchy guitars and sensitive boys today, let me also introduce Damn Shames, whose guitars are amongst the scratchiest in planet pop.



Currently in the midst of a glamourous world tour (Hull; Wakefield; Glasgow; Aberdeen), this is their pretty brilliant debut single. I was tempted by the rather more classically tuneful indieness of side-B (a very good track by the way), but frankly it's not scratchy enough. This sounds like the guitar's being played with a coat hanger... and what's not to like about that.

DAMN SHAMES - FEAR OF ASSAULT