dance in the madhouse

Friday, February 6, 2009

stephen fucking colbert

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

There are many artists tipped for the top in 2009 and, in my honest opinion, most of them sound fucking terrible (I'm looking at you Florence and The Machine). However, there are a few things to be excited about and the debut album from Here We Go Magic is one of those things. It's the brainchild of musician Luke Temple who with the aid of a guitar, a few analog synths and a 4-track recorder has managed to craft a record that sounds in part like Grizzly Bear ate Sigur Ros.

As bizarre as that may sound the result is beautiful and very different from your usual singer-songwriter fare.

Here We Go Magic - Fangela

Here We Go Magic - Tunnelvision

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

raekwon - wu ooh

new mp3

In 1995 Raekwon became the third member of the Wu-Tang Clan to release a solo record when he dropped "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...". It marked a shift away from the RZA's trademark sound - comprising of dark dirty beats and kung-fu samples - into slightly more cinematic territory with strings replacing the grime and a gangster motif running through the middle of the album. It became a critical success and paved the way for mafioso themed hip hop albums by the likes of Jay Z (Reasonable Doubt) and Nas (It Was Written). It was this album which also began hip hop's love of Cristal with references to the high life synonymous with the drink peppered throughout. The RZA's production technique of speeding up soul samples would resurface in Kanye West's debut album (The College Dropout) and be described as 'chipmunk soul'. A hugely influential classic album.

So now 14 years later Raekwon is about to release "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II" and I, for one, couldn't be more excited - especially after hearing "Wu Ooh" which features Ghostface Killah and Method Man sounding like he's fresh from recording his own 1994 masterpiece "Tical". Head noddingly addictive; this bodes well people.

Raekwon - Wu Ooh (feat. Ghostface Killah & Method Man)

Monday, February 2, 2009

london is snowed in, fucked, creative

There once was a land of noblemen, footballs and invention. This land was once very powerful and ruled the seas for miles and miles. However, time passed and whilst its power waned it was still considered a strong and influential place. The bedrock of this great strength was a place known as Londinium.

One day, a terrible cloak of fine white powder descended on fair Londinium and brought it to its knees. This fine white dust, which people named snow, brought joy and smiles to children of all ages who made statues and weapons out of this strange and magical substance. However, it gave nothing but sadness to the mechanics of the city as all transport and much productivity ground to a halt. Some said that many millions of Londinium's inhabitants could not perform their daily duties.

How could this be so? How could a friend to the children defeat such a behemoth as Londinium?

I do not know the answer, but I did experience this snowy phenomenon firsthand, and whilst the infrastructure couldn't cope some people made the best of it; or more specifically, some people made snow sculptures.

This one lives across the road from me.