Rage Against The X Factor

Firstly, I'd just like to apologise for us not updating this blog as regularly as we should have. In case you missed it Thunder Child wrote in a recent post of his that we're taking a break from blogging over Christmas and New Years. If you're lucky, we might be able to whip something tasty up for New Years Eve but we don't get much time off from writing so we're lapping up this newfound freedom. Expect regular content to start running sometime in the beginning of the New Year.

If you've been paying attention to the outside world, and the charts, in particular, in recent times, you will almost definitely have noticed the Rage Against The Machine VS The X Factor chart battle for the Christmas number one. I was initially going to write about it just before the winner was announced but due to other things coming up I didn't get around to it. In an unprecedented shock victory, Rage Against The Machine took home the Christmas number one with the frankly overplayed and overappreciated Killing In The Name.

When I first heard about this campaign, I was immediately skeptical, both of the intent and the reasoning behind such a campaign. Originally, I thought the idea was somewhat preposterous, primarily due to the fact that I just didn't believe a Rage track could loosen the vice-like strangehold that Simon Cowell's glorified karaoke machine had over the UK music scene. On top of this, I didn't particularly agree with the song choice, because aside from it being easily one of the most overly accentuated tracks of the entire Rage disography, there was a certain overarching sense of irony in choosing this particular track. Firstly, through the slogan "fuck you, I won't buy what you tell me" coming from a group telling visitors exactly what to buy, and secondly, through the fact that the entire point of the song is the promotion of independent thinking. Add to this the fact that Rage Against The Machine are on the same record label as industry mogul Simon Cowell and his X Factor cohorts and there is a good chance he not only has investment in the label, but possibly is a shareholder as well, and to me it seemed like a recipe for disaster; a musical statement by the stateless. Had they chosen Know Your Enemy, which in my opinion is much more lyrically befitting of such a campaign than Killing In The Name is, I would have backed it straight away without hesitation and no questions asked. They didn't, instead favouring a song we've all heard a thousand times individually. I bowed out of contributing but secretly anticipated the results.

While I have nothing against The X Factor as a whole and I'm sure it is quality entertainment for those who sit down to watch it on a Saturday night, I don't think it is really bringing anything new to the music industry. 90% of the artists featured on it make their names through covering other people's songs, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if there is one thing the music industry has taught me its that covers are destined to do well no matter who they're done by. People love a classic song and are willing to lap it up regardless of how many times they've heard it in the past. This has been proven time and time again over the years. Remember A1's cover of Take On Me? Number one. How about Madonna's cover of American Pie? Number one. Or what about Five's shambolic rendition of We Will Rock You? Number one. To add insult to injury, how about Westlife's cover of Uptown Girl or Sam & Mark's cover of With A Little Help From My Friends? Both covers, both number ones. The list goes on and on. The simple truth is that as long as you're relatively known, if you cover a classic song, no matter how old or overplayed, you're almost destined to be number one. Record executives have been tapping into this source for years and Simon Cowell is no stranger to it. This is the reason why every single X Factor finalist releases a cover just before Christmas time. The show is strategically set up to end just as the Christmas boom begins. Everyone knows that the Christmas number one is the most lucrative and prestigious of all the number ones, and again, Simon Cowell knows it. I don't despise him for it either. Business is business.

My opinion on the Killing In The Name campaign did drastically change, however, when a certain Joe McElderry made his frankly unfounded opinions known to the world: "I wouldn't buy it. It's a nought out of ten from me. Simon Cowell wouldn't like it. They wouldn't get through to boot camp on The X Factor - they're just shouting." Firstly, just because a hard rock band wouldn't get through boot camp on The X Factor doesn't in any way hinder their creative or artistic influences. Each member of the band is known to be extremely proficient on their chosen instruments and they're one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the last two decades. Just because Simon Cowell doesn't like it doesn't mean that it's bad. Let's not forget that he is the person who brought the Teletubbies and Zig and Zag into the musical world. I honestly believe that if an unknown Paul McCartney had auditioned for The X Factor, he most definitely wouldn't have made it to the finals and may not even have made it past the first round, due in large part to him not having the look or the sound of the direction pop music has taken. With regards to the 'they're just shouting' argument, I believe that sometimes shouting is a good way to get across the point you have to make if you want people to listen to you. All my life I've been greeted with people who dismiss anything that isn't within a specific genre, claiming it to be noise or just shouting. If you don't get it, fair enough, but don't automatically come to the assumption that it has no artistic merit because you don't see the appeal in it. Is shouting not a form of expressionism? The worst part of McElderry's comments is that Killing In The Name actually doesn't involve that much shouting aside from the ending, which is actually cut off in the non-explicit version. Say what you want about Rage Against The Machine but they are still one of the few bands out there who haven't compromised and have made some very important messages - messages that more people should pay attention to. Aside from the context behind their music, Zack De La Rocha has one of the most unique voices in the business and has flow like very few others. It is clear hip hop has a huge influence on the way he sings and only an idiot would think otherwise. I'd imagine the same idiot might throw darts at a rival singers picture as an ill-fated publicity stunt but that's a debate for another day.

Another main reason I decided to throw my 30p into the mix and buy the single is due to the fact that not only would it be a huge victory for the internet but it would also make a Rage Against The Machine track of all things the last Christmas number one of an entire decade. Serious business, indeed. To me, it is one of the most interesting social experiments to take place in a very long time. Who would have thought that a random guy and his wife could almost singlehandedly command the number one spot with no financial support or backing. It is an incredible achievement in all honesty, made even better by the fact that a large portion of the proceeds are going to charity and Rage Against The Machine are doing a free UK celebratory concert - a concert I most definitely hope to attend. I was shocked at just how motivated I became over this chart battle as I usually couldn't give a damn, but what is most fascinating is that ever since Rage hit the top spot, very few people have been talking about it, proving that more than anything it was a social experiment undertaken by those supposedly real fans out there. Regardless of your reasons for picking up the single, there is no denying that history has been made and it is always something people will be looking back on in years to come. Shock victories like that don't happen very often. I still think they should have went with Know Your Enemy but at the end of the day, the lesser of two evils won. I don't know how I'd feel about the world if a Miley Cyrus cover of all things claimed the Christmas number one spot.

Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy

Easy Like Sunday Morning #11

Ok, so Fridays post was missing. Long story cut short I left my house on Thursday to pre-swall for soulwaxmas and I returned home on Saturday evening, on the Friday between I went to ASIWYFA's gig and went to a ludicrous house party the same night (people were arriving when I was leaving at 9am and it was the most active part of the party). ASIWYFA blew Belfast apart, I missed soulwax and Tiga on the Friday (forgot ticket and had to go back) but mix hell blew the roof of the place, 2manydjs however just did the exact same thing they did at Belsonic, it was rubbish the first time and it was rubbish again if you were to listen to the two sets you'd be convinced that no music had been released in the past 6 months as they were pretty much the same. Because of all this my body clock has been all off, I slept a good bit of today as I didn’t go to bed until lunchtime.

For the first post of the day I'm going to be posting Air's - Ce matin là from their stunning album Moon Safari. If I were to try and explain what Easy Like Sunday Morning was about to someone who didn’t get the title (ie a complete idiot), I would just give them a copy of Moon Safari and they would instantly understand what we were trying to show people. I honestly think that this is possibly the most organic sounding album every made and if I were trying to determine if a pair of speakers were worth my money or not, this is the album I'd use. Ce matin là is constantly a song I find getting stuck in my head, I'll find myself on a bus, train or walking around town/uni just humming the infectious brass lead over and over again. Everything from that typical air-esque bass to the steel sounding guitar are perfect in this track. I'm really actually surprised that I haven't posted this track earlier as it is my favorite Air track from what I personally think is the dynamic duo's best work. I urge you to get a copy of this album by any means necessary even if it means robbing it from a shop (I don't condone any criminal activity, this is clearly a sarcastic comment meant to raise a cheap laugh, however if you do decide to do this just use the ten tracks on the album as your defense and the jury will understand and probably let you off), the reason I urge you to listen to this album is that you will almost definitely find a different favorite track to mine, it's just that sort of album. I discovered this album when I was in my 3rd or 4th year of school during the height of listening to metal bands such as Megadeth and going through a typical stage of not wanting to conform (by ironically conforming to something else…), but that alone says a lot about the album, as it is something especially at that time which I would not have expected to like and it is without a doubt beside Grandmaster Flash one of the two key elements in the change that made me listen to music the way I do today. This is definitely, for me, an in bed sort of album, one to go to sleep to and one to wake up to, its therapeutic in ways that therapy could never be and proves that simplicity is one of the keys to perfection. I could go on and on about why this album is one of the best made and why it's so good but i'd rather let you discover it for yourself than let me impose learned habits in regards to how and why you should listen to it. Ce matin là by some sort of beautiful coincidence means "That Morning".

Air - Ce matin là

The next song I'm going to post is another obvious one that has somehow eluded me up until now, Simon and Garfunkel's always atmospheric The Sound of Silence. Anyone who goes to the cinema even semi-often or enjoys film will recognize this track as it is used on a seemingly regular basis within film. The best use of this track is clearly from the film The Graduate, the song plays at a time when Hoffmans character has finished his time at university, graduated and is having off time discovering who he is before he decides to tackle the world. The song very appropriately plays when his family are bothering him about his future and he lies in his pool then immerses himself underwater, hence the song being used (lots of symbolism going on here film fans). The song is a herald to what Simon and Garfunkel used to be before their constant break-ups and reunification's (as of writing this they are together…kinda). The song opens with simplistic guitar work that progresses throughout the song and is backed by the perfect and typical harmonizing voices of Simon & Garfunkel.

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence

The next track I want to post is a slight progression for the blog as I don’t think we've talked about the genre yet. Like the track above, most people will probably be familiar with this track through film. The track is Brian Eno's Deep Blue Day which methodical film fans may be familiar with as the track that plays during Trainspotting when Renton dives into the toilet. There's not really much to talk about historically for this track other than it was purportedly first used and written for a documentary by NASA called For All Mankind. It’s a very Caribbean themed track so hopefully it'll warm you up in this shockingly cold winter we're having.

Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day

The next track I'm posting is one everyone should be familiar with, as it was Christmas number one a few years ago, I think it was the last xmas number 1 before x factor began(kudos to rage btw, really didn’t think it was even remotely possible, the internet continues to surprise me). The track also featured in what could perceivabley be my favorite film (after The Trilogy). The song, as the pub-quiz enthusiasts would probably know by now is Gary Jules' Mad World (originally by Tears for Fears). Video game fans may will be familiar with the track through its appearance in one of the trailers for the first Gears of War game (which I personally think completely misled people about what the game would be like). The track is great and one that should definitely be listened to in a relaxing manner (otherwise you'll probably over think it and make yourself depressed) I don’t like to tell people how to listen to music but I'll make an exception here by saying to concentrate on the piano, the keys keep this song alive.

Gary Jules - Mad World

To finish up today, as it's the last Sunday post before Christmas, I thought I'd throw in a Xmas treat for you all to appreciate on this fine Sunday evening. From the nature of the post and what I've just said, some of you may have already guessed that the track I'm going to post; none-other than Oceansize's cover of Walking In The Air. The reason I'm posting this is very specified, so bear with me (in honesty the song justifies itself, kind of making the rest of this post irrelevant, but there is reasoning). Covers to many are a loved thing, to others they can seem gimmicky; I stand somewhere in the middle, mainly because not all covers work and a lot are indeed gimmicky. To me covers can be a work of genius, if done right. The reason for this is that they instantly make genres of music that others may not be familiar with, or willing to explore, very accessible. It gives people an understanding of the track as the cover version will add a "what if?" element to the songs they are applied to. Now I'm obviously talking here about cross-genre covers, covers that try to perfectly emulate the same sound end up sounding shite. Some work (check for Chris Cornell's live acoustic version of Billie Jean, the one he recorded for Carry On just didn’t work imo) and some don't (ie Will Young desecrating The Doors legacy - im not even linking to this one). This is something that works and can easily be enjoyed by all, it's an upbeat and completely original look on a classic that everyone is familiar with, if you want someone to become a post-rock fan this Christmas then show them this, they may just thank you for it.

Oceansize - Walking In The Air

One Troublesome Tuesday

Regulars will have noticed the omission of Mondays post this week, I'd like to say there was a pre-planned reason for this but simply put I was having computer issues. Still not entirely sure what was wrong but a day of stress and a system restore later and everything appears to be fine again, which leads me to believe it may have been a system update of some sort that did the damage. I was going to make the post from my laptop, but it lacks in music and the only thing even resembling metal on it was in fact rock (Soulwax's "Any Minute Now" album for those who are curious). As it is no longer Monday it would go against the blog's ethos to post a Metal article. However the rock genre is going to be a theme within today's post. What I'm going to do is post 10 more than memorable rock/metal mash-ups. Some of these will be mashed with dance, some with other rock/metal genres and even some hip-hop, all of them are classics and I feel that they all are relevant to a lot of the goals this blog is trying to achieve.

Dj schmolli - Scream Aim Dance (Bullet for Lady Gaga) 
Ruff Muff - La La Her Madly (The Doors vs. Goldfrapp)
Jimmi Jammes - Sgt. Pepper's Paradise (Beatles vs. Guns N' Roses) 
Cheekyboy - Smells Like Compton (N.W.A. vs. Nirvana) 
DJ Moule - Black Sabotage (Beastie Boys vs. Led Zeppelin) 
DJ M.I.F. - Tricky Sandman (Run-DMC vs. Metallica) 
Go Home Productions - Don't Hold Back, Sweet Jane (Chemical Brothers vs. Velvet Underground vs. U2 vs. Sugababes vs. MARRS) 
Divide & Kreate - Always With You (Willie Nelson vs. U2 vs. MARRS) 
The Illuminoids with Donita Sparks - Pretend We're Alala (L7 vs. CSS) 
DJ Topcat - More Than On Point (House of Pain vs. Boston) 

It's also likely that with the Christmas break approaching this weekend the blog may decide to take a short break, this however hasn't really been discussed and may not happen. As regulars know the last Friday of every month is home to the blog's essential Mix, however the last Friday of this month is Xmas Day. We hope to get an extra-special essential selection up on the 25th that will more than likely deviate from previous selections. I hope you enjoy the tracks as they are something slightly different from what has went up previously and are something that will more than likely re-appear in the future.

Easy Like Sunday Morning #10

I am definitely getting worse at this weekly blogging business. Sorry, my internet access has been acting up for quite some and while I was attempting to get it fixed I got caught up in other more pressing matters (damn you Burnout 3!). I hope this post can make up for any lost time on my part. Also, on another more brighter note, you may have noticed the return of Thunder Child. Though he'll only be here for a few weeks until his January semester exams start, his return provides a much needed break from overtime for myself. It'll be good to see someone else collaborating for a change.

The first track I'm going to concentrate on is Holy Fuck's Lovely Allen. In spite of their frankly obscene name, Holy Fuck are an electronica outfit who press all the right buttons. Having been making waves since 2004, it is only in recent years that they've been making headlines, almost entirely because of their choice of name. On this topic, the band have stated “It’s been pretty annoying, but it’s gotten us a lot of publicity, so we can’t complain about that." Although listeners may automatically assume that exposure based on a name featuring profanity will almost entirely be bad, the band do well in showcasing a rather synchronous parallel between the positive and the negative. Of course, any negative should be self-explanatory but, as previously mentioned, the positive is without a doubt the free publicity. Thankfully, Holy Fuck aren't another band who leave a licentious trail of destruction in their wake, hoping for the flash of a photographer's camera or a glimpse of adoration from their fans. As a substitute to such shenanigans, instead they produce such a high level of relevant output that their music speaks for them. Lovely Allen is perhaps the auditory embodiment of such productions because in some senses it smacks the listener as being idealistic in nature. As expected, such observations could be considered looking too far into it, but there are no preconditions to my allegories, this is how I feel every time I listen to it. I know I don't speak for myself either, judging by the rapturous reception that hook received when I saw them live. Call it over-analyzation, but I think this song exhibits expansive yet optimistic traits that few songs released in this decade have came close to inventing or even recreating.

Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen

For the second song, I've decided to lower the tempo a little bit with Radiohead's Street Spirit (Fade Out). I don't know what it is about Radiohead but they are one of the few bands out there who can attract a truly diverse audience yet simultaneously attract a large segment of pseudo-intellectuals. Call my accusations unfounded, but nine times out of ten when I'm introduced to a stranger whose favourite band is Radiohead, I am forced to sit through at least twenty minutes of reasoning as to why they are the best band on earth and why I should listen to them. Naturally, I tend to avoid interjecting on my own behalf to state that I've heard the majority of their body of work and find them an extremely interesting band who are mildly depressing at the best of times. If you're wondering why I avoid such actions, its because I have been in this situation more times than I'd like to recount and it always ends the same way. If you haven't heard them, you need to listen to them. If you have heard them, firstly why are they not your favourite band and secondly you obviously don't get it. I know not every Radiohead fan is like this but unfortunately there are quite a few who are. When people listen to music, they do so in order to both entertain themselves and experience its emotive vibes. These emotions can range from tranquility to anger and virtually everything in between. While depressive qualities wouldn't typically be something I would aim myself towards, there are plenty of others in the world who are able to channel such desolation or despondency into something positive or manage to use it to help them envisage or perhaps even clarify past discretions. From this perspective, it is easy to see exactly why Radiohead's appeal is so widespread and Street Spirit (Fade Out) serves as an extension of this engagingness. On one level, it shows their overall competency as a band, on another, it illustrates their songwriting ability and continuing pertinency in the 21st century.

Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Away)

On a more lighthearted note, the middle track is You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. Like most people, I'm not overly familiar with much of Paul Simon's work after himself and Art Garfunkel parted ways. It isn't a matter of prejudice because I feel the same way about Art Garfunkel's later solo work, but I do think that had they initially continued as Simon & Garfunkel as determined as they had previously been for even a few years more, the world would be a better place for it. Nevertheless, when your time is up your time is up. Unless you're The Rolling Stones, thats just the way the cookie crumbles. When I think of You Can Call Me Al, I think of two things: a huge departure in style and Chevy Chase. Admittedly, the latter is one of the most recognisable aspects of the track due in no small part to his flawless lip-syncing in the now famous video. So much so, in fact, that it could be argued that the track wouldn't quite have been as famous as it became without his contribution but that's a debate for another day. You Can Call Me Al opens with an immediately warm and fuzzy synth hook that provides the blueprint for the entire track from the outset, which is soon wrapped up with a relaxing yet accomplished bassline that is later played in reverse. Though there is little doubt that this song gets hardly anything wrong, I think its allure lies in its upbeat and friendly presentation. This is pop music at its best.

Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al

Fourth up is The Kinks' Living On A Thin Line. Of all the places to be introduced to a song, I was introduced to this one in The Sopranos, which may not seem like that bizarre a place except the song is the type of thing you would never imagine to be associated with a show about La Cosa Nostra. While I consider it to be one of the greatest television series ever made, The Kinks aren't a band I would expect to be featured throughout it, particularly with regards to the context within which they were used. In retrospect, like much of the music selected to be featured within the show, I consider it to be a stroke of genius and it makes me appreciate it even more. Although I have been a big Kinks fan for many, many years now, Living On A Thin Line was a song that was able to slip past my musical radar so I'm glad it got a second lease of life even it was through a television show. Even though The Kinks are considered to be a hard rock act, Living On A Thin Line highlights another side to them. Whilst fundamentally being a rock song, it defies conventions by showcasing their ability to not only show a softer, more melodic version of themselves but also demonstrate just how proficient they were at writing what could later be perceived as contempory classics of an older generation.

The Kinks - Living On A Thin Line

Lastly we have Coldcut's True Skool. Despite listening to Coldcut almost fanatically in 2006, listening to them now feels like two estranged friends meeting coincidently ten years after they originally seperated. I guess you could estimate that this says something about the amount of time I spend listening to music, but there are few acts that alienate me as adequately as Coldcut do and I really don't know why. Sure, I haven't given them a proper listen in a number of years now but thats the case with a lot of different artists and yet few leave me feeling as isolated as Coldcut seem to. You could say I'm being dramatic and I probably am in order to give more weight to the situation, but things like this don't happen to me very often which is why it is so surprising. Although I haven't exactly been faithful to them in recent times, I have made a few attempts at reconnecting to no avail. This is why I'm posting True Skool. It gives anyone who is reading and/or listening the chance to familiarise themselves with the music while the author does the same. With British rap pioneer Roots Manuva on vocal duties and an eastern-influenced beat backing him, this is a track bursting at the seams with creativity and flavour. Oh, and did I mention that I would consider it a sublime addition to laidback Sunday listening. Get on it ASAP.

Coldcut - True Skool

Return of the King

When The King passed there was a rare occurrence of international mourning, we can all say where we were when we heard the news. I was sitting playing Counter Strike with a friend when The Last Junker rang me and told me that there was very strong speculation that the man had died. I told the friend that I was playing with what had happened, he was gutted and we both went off the game. Needless to say it was a very long 2 hours of internet speculation, with rumours flying left, right and center over what had happened and all news sources quoting other news sources over the "death" to keep themselves safe in case it was just a rumour. The news was finally confirmed and the world was left with one less icon.

Shortly after I got wind that Snoop Dogg was doing a live video podcast (I'm still not entirely sure where or how I heard about this) where he'd be playing Jackson songs and doing his thing. I had lost a lot of respect for Snoop over recent years as he took selling out to a whole new level, his music suffered and he just wasn’t the musician or person he should have become. This changed that night as he bust out classic after classic, old Jackson with new Jackson and lots of less familiar tracks. When I joined the video chat there was only 50 other people watching (there was a counter of all the people in the room), at the height of it there was well over 2000 people watching the stream and, more importantly, listening to the songs.

Even before his death we were hearing Jackson tributes all over the place, he was a man who had so much influence that nearly everyone wanted to show their gratitude. After his death there was many, many more, some good and some bad, with memorable ones being Sways's "The King Full Stop" and Cymarshall Law's "R.I.P. Michael Jackson". People were also dedicating entire albums to the man and many mixtapes were released, which is essentially what I am here to talk about.

The first mixtape I want to talk about was released a few years ago and was a collaboration between Rhymefest, Mark Ronson and to an extent, Michael Jackson (I remember hearing somewhere that he'd actually approved it, though I can't seem to find the source now). The mixtape, entitled Man in the Mirror, consists of Jackson songs being used as backing tracks for Rhymefest who is spitting about his life, times, Jackson and his influence on him. They also have some samples of Jackson talking, taken from various interviews and sources, that they have then talked over to form the illusion that Jackson is in the studio with them, which makes for some funny conversations between the three. After Jackson's death Rhymefest re-released this mixtape with 3 bonus tacks added. Both versions were released as free downloads and the re-release is al available as a CD for those who wanted to have a hard version of the mixtape. Both are available here.

The second mixtape was released at the end of October and I finally got round to listening to it recently. This one is brought to us from the masterful DJ Jazzy Jeff, who most will remember as being the Fresh Prince's DJ and also appearing as himself on the show that most people grew up with. This one will probably be a lot more accessible to Jackson fans than the previous mixtape as it is essentially just a huge playlist of Jackson songs. The mix contains a few rare remixes that don't stray too far from the original versions, it should also be mentioned that this doesn’t play that many remixes and stays on course by playing mainly Jackson originals. The list contains lots of songs that many people would not expect to see on the list that would be unfamiliar to the more mainstream Jackson audience, This however doesn’t mean that there is no classics that we've all come to know and love on the list. Jazzy Jeff brings us a perfectly lengthened mixtape here that seems to tick all the boxes and will certainly have Jackson fans applauding his efforts. Mixtape available here.

TFI Friday #9

Another week over, another TFI Friday post in circulation. I don't know about you guys but I have relatively few plans for tonight. There are two reasons for this: UFC 107 is on tomorrow night and Soulwaxmas is next week, so I'm taking it easy, saving some money and preparing myself for the onslaught that is inevitably going to come. Hopefully any of you who are reading this have better plans for tonight. Either way, whether you do or you don't, here are some dirty tracks to pump you up or ease the burden depending on what you have planned.

OldSchoolReunion - Bring Me The Acapella
AC Slater - Jack Got Jacked (Jack Beats Remix)
GRUM - Go Back
Digitalism - Home Zone (The Proxy Remix)
The Body Snatchers - Call Me (Blende Remix)

Ke$ha VS Uffie

I don't know if any of you are familiar with this new artist who has just entered the charts, but her singing style and general music sound suspiciously familiar. She presents herself as an independent woman who doesn't care about anything. The extent of this self-imposed independence can be found in the lyrics to her hit single, Tik Tok, where she exclaims that when she wakes up she "brushes her teeth with a bottle of Jack" and how "when she leaves for the night, she ain't coming back." I know how she feels but who brushes their teeth with whiskey? It sounds to me like this is her attempt at radio-friendly controversy, because while she is not necessarily saying anything that is too vulgar, there are definite implications to how wreckless she is or can be.

The main reason for this post, however, is not to concentrate on this newfound representation of girl power. Instead, it is to highlight certain comparisons between someone who a lot of you may be familiar with, Uffie. Although the original Little Miss Don't Give A Fuck has slipped off the radar in recent times, leading many bloggers to come to the assumption that she was a gimmick used by Ed Banger to keep them in the spotlight, it is difficult not to spot the similarities between the two. In fact, this newcomer Ke$ha sounds so eerily similar to Uffie that it leads me to believe that record executives took a look at the original popularity of Uffie and decided to clone her with certain mofifications in order to appeal to a larger audience and, shock horror, it worked. It is no surprise that there is a market for this type of music. Cute lead singer? Check. Catchy electro-esque backing music? Check. Raunchy lyrics preaching female self-sufficiency? Check. I shouldn't be surprised but I am. In response, I don't feel like posting Tik Tok, so you can check the Youtube video here to see for yourself. I will, however, post a few Uffie tracks because while I feel like she was a bit of a fad, some of her tracks (and the tracks she was featured on) weren't bad. It's a shame she has ultimately disappeared into obscurity, but last I heard she had a feature length debut album in production with DJ Feadz so we'll see what happens.

Uffie - Ready To Uff
Justice - Tthhee Ppaarrttyy (featuring Uffie)

Metal Monday #9

With this Metal Monday post, we've hit a bit of a milestone. I know it isn't much but this is the 50th post to be made on this blog, so here's to hoping that we can continue on with the same amount of consistency and flavour in the future. Meanwhile, I'm unusually tired so you'll have to bear with me for this post.

For the first track I'm going to go with something a little bit different to what you've become accustomed to. It isn't a huge leap in differentiation or anything but it might have some metalheads scratching their heads. The artist is Disturbed and the track to be featured is Stupify. I know there are many Disturbed haters out there but I can't help but like them. Their original album, The Sickness, is just one of those albums that never gets old. Practically every track on there has some degree of merit if that's what you're into. I think most people dislike them because of how successful they've been, selling over 11 million albums and debuting three consecutive albums at number one in the US. I don't understand this logic. Although there have been justified accusations of bands "selling out" (see: Metallica post-1991), the majority of them are entirely unfounded. When a band achieves widespread success they should be congratulated for such a feat, not ostracised. The reason I have chosen Stupify over the likes of Down With The Sickness or The Game is because I wanted to place emphasis on the overall quality of the album rather than the more well-known tracks. The Sickness itself is one of the most congruous and undeviating albums I've heard. Honestly, I had great trouble picking one track because each of them were potential candidates. I went with Stupify in the end because I think it best summarises the early years of the band. I wouldn't say it was the standout track on the album or anything but it contains many of the elements that make Disturbed who they are.

Disturbed - Stupify

The second track is by none other than All That Remains. This was an incredibly tricky one but I decided to go with And Death In My Arms, primarily because of the accoustic/classical guitar opening. All That Remains are a band who are split right down the middle in terms of a love/hate meter. The main reason for this is their album This Darkened Heart. With the release of this album, many considered the band to have engaged in a departure of style, due primarily to the fact that they adopted the use of clean vocals for it. Admittedly, the use of clean vocals in metal bands is something that leaves me a little disillusioned and underwhelmed (this is half the reason I'm not a huge Killswitch Engage fan), but All That Remains do it right by keeping the clean parts to a bare minimum and that's what I'm here to demonstrate. And Death In My Arms is just a great little number and it is one of their tracks that originally made me stand to attention. Like I mentioned earlier, the accoustic/classical guitar opening is just something I've always loved ever since hearing Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets. Thankfully, All That Remains have a similar template to Metallica in this respect, because the track jumps straight from accoustic to a relentless barrage of metallic music. While the drums aren't anything to write home about, they keep the tempo and the ruthless riffage does the rest. Though the vocals will most likely turn some heads, it is difficult to argue that they don't suit the music perfectly. Usually I'm not a fan of that metalcore style but even I have to admit that All That Remains really nail it. To make matters even more unyielding, there is a huge breakdown near the conclusion of the song which just kicks it into overdrive and takes this song to the next level.

All That Remains - And Death In My Arms

The middle track for today is by none other than Nevermore and it is the opening track of their album Dead Heart In A Dead World, Narcosynthesis. I've been meaning to write about Nevermore for quite some time but just haven't got around to it. There are few metal bands out there who can attest to the originality of this band. They could be described as the culmination of a melting pot filled with metal subgenres, as they incorporate aspects of thrash, power, neo-classical and progressive metal into their music. I'm not sure why I went with Narcosynthesis over any of the material from my preferred album, Enemies Of Reality. Don't get me wrong, Dead Heart In A Dead World is a fantastic album but I was introduced to the band through Enemies Of Reality, which got a serious amount of airplay on my CD player after its release in 2003. I guess I went with Dead Heart In A Dead World and Narcosynthesis, in particular, because the opening track not only does a lot of justice to the band as a whole but is also quite an uncompromising and forceful track, which is what the band are all about. People can glorify Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen all they want, but when it comes to hardhitting metal few play the guitar better than Jeff Loomis, a true underdog of the virtuoso musical world, especially given the fact that he plays a seven-string guitar and has an extraordinary sweep-picking technique. The track Nacrosynthesis makes use of this technique as well as odd time signatures. The rhythmic approach to the track is compelling because of these time signatures as it manages to keep the listener alert and on the edge of their seat contemplating what's coming next. The drums also add to this approach as they seem to have a mind of their own on this track, delivering a rudimentary pattern while still maintaining the flow, which makes the track stand out amongst the crowd.

Nevermore - Narcosynthesis

The fourth track is Deadworld by Shadows Fall. An interesting bit of trivia regarding this track is that whenever I get a new MP3 player or speakers, it serves as my 'test track'. I don't know why this is but it has become a recent tradition ever since I tried it out on an old IRiver MP3 player around the 2004/2005 mark. Deadworld isn't technically distinguished or anything. In fact, in spite of the level of proficiency within the band, this track chooses to go down the heavy as fuck route in favour of a skullcrushing riffs over abstract guitar techniques and pedal functions. While there is no denying this isn't for the faint of heart, you never really know until you try. It opens with a ferocious yet exceedingly well-composed guitar riff that sets the tone from the outset. The drums are concomitant to this guitar line because while they are fundamentally important to the structure of the song, they never protrude far enough to take the focus away from the guitar. On the vocal front, frontman Brian Fair does a good job of channelling and transcending this musical energy in the form of melodic death metal. Although personally I would consider his vocals to be a little on the soft side for the death metal part, don't underestimate just how low he can go. Deadworld is a good demonstration of how thorough his vocal range is.

Shadows Fall - Deadworld

The last track to be posted today is Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I know this track has become a bit overplayed in recent years but that doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve to be posted. Whilst I will be the first to admit that, with the exception of Pretty Hate Machine, many Nine Inch Nails albums are comprised of a lot of filler material, that doesn't in any way lessen their creative or artistic appeal. Closer serves a nice little manifestation of this appeal, because although like I said previously, it has become a little bit played out in recent years, it is still a great track that pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable in this day and age. In spite of the song being lyrically obscene, this level of obscenity is endorsed by the grinding industrialism of the track itself. Credit where credit is due; Trent Reznor is a genius of the musical world and one of the few people who is able to get alternative dancefloors dancing. Closer is a perfect example of this with its unusual musicality. Even in terms of industrial music, this track is just off the wall. Like much of the work of Nine Inch Nails, every time I listen to it I never know what to expect. It maintains a sense of contemporary descant amongst the surrounding chaos and turmoil.

Nine Inch Nails - Closer

Always Outnumbered But Never Outpunned

Today I have a very special post for you, indeed. It comes in the form of two brand new tracks and one not so new track, all of which can be a bit of a bastard to find unless you know what you're doing. I've been planning this post for a while but unfortunately it has taken me longer than I'd have liked tracking down and obtaining the tracks in question. Many thanks to Chemical Jump, a good samaritan on Youtube and the random punter who decided to upload one of the songs on Zippyshare after any blogs who were willing to upload it got told to cease and desist. It is becoming harder and harder in recent times to run any service that provides music in this day and age due to emerging yet ever-present copyright raids. Although naturally we want to expand and develop over time, sometimes being an under the radar blog has its advantages. After all, if we were any major blog on the circuit right now we would be unable to post these tracks without some form of backlash or removal order.

First up is one I've spent the past couple of weeks tracking down, RackNRuin's Skitzo VIP. You may know this track from the recent Orange Rockcorps ad - the very same place I first spotted it myself. I don't know what it is about Orange but they have some of the best song placement in advertisements there are. This track is no exception either, starting seemingly slow but beginning the build up within the first ten seconds. This build up has to be one of the best I've ever heard because it manages so much despite being so compact. It concentrates on somewhat laidback (if you can call it that) synth work that loops while similar keyboard samples start creeping in only to be complimented by a smooth drum lick, something which phases out as emphasis is placed almost entirely on that synth hook as it builds and builds and then explodes into some of the most contaminated beats you've ever heard. The rhythmic approach to this track is something which I've been missing in recent times that singlehandedly closes the gap. I expect big things from RackNRuin in the future.

RackNRuin - Skitzo VIP

The second song to be posted is Duck Sauce's The Motion, a track which I can already hear you exclaiming has been ripping up clubs and, to an extent, the charts very recently. So how is it rare? Like anything, there is very little that is rare in this world if you know where to look. Unfortunately it looks as if Armand Van Helden and A-Trak are expecting big things from this track because almost every blog who has tried to host it has been asked to remove it. This may not seem like that big a deal but searching on Hype Machine for it comes up with zero, nada, zilch. Thankfully Chemical Jump aren't on the Hype Machine and they seem to have gotten away with hosting it. To be honest, I can't really fault the Duck Sauce boys for wanting to keep this one out of the hands of us internet pirates because this has sure fire success written all over it. The reemerge of disco in recent times has been giving the dance genre a much needed kickstart, especially when artists start blending it with French house hooks. Even if you had no ears you could probably see why The Motion has been setting clubs on fire and making just about everyone in the vicinity get up and break out a boogie. After all, providing you're nothow could you not feel like dancing to this track?

Duck Sauce - The Motion

Lastly is Cold Blank's 2012, a tune that admittedly it hasn't taken me that long to find. I first heard about this track a while ago and I acquired it not long after. Unfortunately even Chemical Jump has its boundaries and despite hosting it a few weeks ago, it was subsequently removed due to the artists request. This is where Google becomes really handy because there is almost guaranteed to be a link out there somewhere, the problem is finding it. I mean, are you really willing to trawl through pages and pages of dead ends in order to get your hands on one track? The answer is that you don't have to because I did it for you (although admittedly in this case it was like the third link on the first page but still). One of the main reasons I love this song so much is because of the sample used within: Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi. There are few things I love more, with the exception of maybe Parisienne baguettes and Michael Biehn, than classical music being dropped into dance music to full effect. It worked with Soulwax's A Fifth Of Beethoven, it worked with Miles Dyson's Live In Mexico and it most definitely works within the structure of this song. Not only do they drop Messa da Requiem early on but they keep it alive through chopped up samples that are accompanied by a bassline that has a dirty, almost primitive quality that'll make you wanna beat your bare chest like Tarzan and howl into the night. Maybe that's just me though. Enjoy the tracks.

Cold Blank - 2012

(Edit: Ironically enough, during the time I have been sitting on this post we actually got a DMCA complaint about one of our TFI Friday posts. We expected this to happen sooner or later but not this soon. Are we starting to get noticed? Who knows. What I would like to point out to anyone who wants their song taken off here is that we will be happy to do it ASAP if you contact us directly. The email address is in the side bar and we'd be more than happy to oblige. Contacting Blogger may seem like the appropriate choice to make, but although the complaint was registered, none of the writers were emailed it, despite Blogger saying an email had been sent. Each of us has checked every email we have and the blog's email itself and there is nothing there, which basically means that the post in question is now in blogging purgatory until we're able to resolve this issue. Next time, if you want a song taken off, please contact us directly. It will make both our lives a lot easier.)

Metal Monday #8

The past couple of days have really flown by, to the extent that they feel surrealistic in retrospect. That's the only way I can explain it. Once you get involved in mass toking sessions you can expect any concept of time and scheduling to disappear. It is the unfortunate truth and it is the main reason (besides dying for a few days after a houseparty) that this wasn't updated at its correct time. Fear not, however, as here it is in its full glory, albeit a little on the late side. I hope you enjoy the tracks.

First up is a real treat by one of the 'big four' of thrash metal, Megadeth. Fascinatingly, the song to be featured is as equally about the Northern Irish troubles as it is about the popular comic book antihero The Punisher. Of course, the track I'm referring to is Holy Wars... The Punishment Due, a song whose origin is to some extent blurred. Although Megadeth founder, vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Dave Mustaine, has stated in an interview with Guitarist magazine that the story behind the song was that during an Ulster Hall show he noticed bootleg Megadeth t-shirts on sale but was persuaded not to remove them as they were helping 'The Cause', there are discrepancies regarding what transpired after this action. In spite of these differing accounts, the most widely accepted report is that for some reason only known to himself, Mustaine shouted something along the lines of "give Ireland back to the Irish." Given the sensitive climate of Northern Ireland at this point in time, it is no surprise that both Mustaine and the rest of his band had to leave in a bulletproof bus. It was after this show that Mustaine decided to write about the Holy Wars of this country. The song itself is one of my favourite Megadeth tracks due in large part to its relentlessness and overall structure. It is one of the few tracks from this era to really captures the essence of thrash metal and although it isn't their most popular track, few songs get a crowd going as much as this one.

Megadeth - Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

The next track to be posted is a heavy one: Feed The Gods by White Zombie. Of all the places and all the things to introduce me to this track, it had to be one of my least favourite films, Airheads. It is difficult to express exactly how much I hate this film. As a kid, I'd heard a lot of good things about it from numerous different reputable sources (or at least sources I considered reputable at the time) but when I watched it I don't think I've ever cringed so badly throughout an entire film in the manner I did with it. There was one good thing to come from it though, this track. Surprisingly, White Zombie actually recorded Feed The Gods for the soundtrack of Airheads and can actually be seen playing it at Whiskey a Go Go during the film, so I suppose technically if I hadn't seen this film, there's a good chance I wouldn't have heard the song in the first place. Don't underestimate me when I say that this one is heavy. It is really heavy, which is exactly what you should expect from a White Zombie track. Herein lies a problem though; it can be quite a burdensome track to write anything constructive about. The only thing that really comes to mind is a significant emphasis placed on conveying an overarching sense of brutality. The drums come crashing down hard from the outset, the distortive effects placed on the guitar provide a necessary blueprint of savageness and Rob Zombie bellows above it all on a borderline incomprehensible scale.

White Zombie - Feed The Gods

The middle track to be posted today is more for nostalgic purposes than anything else. It is The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears by Machine Head. It is at around this point that you're probably wondering where this sense of nostalgia stems from, considering they still release albums on a regular basis and play at an international level pretty frequently. Unfortunately these days I hardly ever get around to listening to Machine Head anymore. They will still get a look in every now and then but it is becoming less and less frequent in recent times. Although some people lumped them into the nu metal bracket, I don't really agree. Whilst there is little doubt that they burst onto the scene when this subgenre was at exploding point, they ticked all the right boxes for a decent thrash metal band and could even be considered part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The song to be posted today, The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears serves as a nice little reminder of a bygone era. It was just one of those tracks that absolutely everyone was listening to when it came out. The vocals were intimidating but not in the same way that the vocals in Emperor or Immortal are. There is definitely crossover appeal because while it is undoubtedly a heavy track, the vocals don't intrude too heavily and the riff is simple yet extremely effective.

Machine Head - The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears.

The fourth track to be posted is by a band I quite honestly haven't properly listening to in years: Kreator. Unless you're truly into your metal, its unlikely you know of these guys. Alongside Overkill, I would consider them one of the most underappreciated thrash metal bands out there. Like Destruction and Sodom, they are credited with helping to create the Death Metal genre by containing certain elements that later became a staple of that genre. This aspect alone should pique your interest. The song I have chosen to go with for this post is an old favourite of mine, Slave Machinery. I don't know what I like most about this track but what I do know is that its a toss up between the consistently balanced drum licks and the skullcrushingly vicious guitar riffs. The drums are so stereotypically metal its not even funny, keeping the flow but preserving a rough but diverse parimeter. Though I'll be the first to admit that the vocalist of Kreator, Miland 'Mille' Petrozza can be a little grating at times, he is the type of metal vocalist you get used to after a prolonged period of listening. Slave Machinery combines each of these aspects to create one of their overall better tracks.

Kreator - Slave Machinery

Lastly I've decided to go with something a little bit different, Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine. I know what you're thinking, what a clichéd track. I partially agree. There is no doubt that Bulls On Parade has been played out, but no more so than Guerrilla Radio, Bombtrack or Killing In The Name Of. The reason I've chosen Bulls On Parade is because out of all the Rage Against The Machine albums, I feel Evil Empire gets the least amount of recognition and I have no idea why. For me, each of the albums are up there as some of the best released by a modern rock group, yet for some reason Evil Empire always seems to get neglected when people talk of the band. Admittedly, the album has a very different approach, concentrating primarily on bass riffage and seemingly building the tracks around it. Aside from this, the political messages are the same and it is musically tight throughout. Bulls On Parade is a good example of this factor because while some could dismiss its simplistic approach, its riff is such a hardhitting one that it is a difficult song not to nod along to. While I wouldn't necessarily say its their best (what is?), it is a nice little reminder of the overall competence and songwriting ability of the band.

Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade

Easy Like Sunday Morning #8

Last night was a rarity of sorts. What started out as a simple trip into Belfast city centre to get Soulwax tickets and a few pints descended into multiple pints, countless shots of tequila and a few double vodka and cokes. I have only vague recollections of busting some serious moves on the dancefloor but that's where it ends. We somehow ended up in a houseparty packed to the brink with a lot of strangers and a lot of people we know. We didn't leave till 9am and needless to say I've been feeling it today. You may notice this post is a little on the late side. This is primarily because I have spent most of today sleeping or reeling in agony. At least Ghostbusters was on to cheer me up.

On the concert front, one of my biggest regrets is not going to see Jason Mraz when he played here. Although I was and sort of still am a little unfamiliar with with his main body of work, I'd heard enough of his material and been impressed enough with it to warrant a ticket purchase. For some reason I didn't go ahead with it and to this day it bewilders me. The track I'm going to concentrate on today is a catchy little number by him entitled I'm Yours. Surprisingly, I was first introduced to this track via a Halo 3 montage. This is possibly why it stood out so much. Granted, it was employed as credit music, but even then it was hugely different to what most people use as their choice of background music for these types of things. There is a simple yet innocent quality to it. I don't know about you, but I find something about a man and his guitar to be very endearing. Rather than coming across as contrived or overly elaborate, instead, Jason Mraz adopts a much more D.I.Y approach to his music. When most people think of D.I.Y they envision an assortment of tools making suitably distracting and unnerving sounds in order to achieve production. When I think of D.I.Y with regards to music, and in particular, music from singer-songwriters, I think of hard work and good song structure. Mraz doesn't disappoint on this front, offering a brightness that would no doubt make Jack Johnson stand to attention if he heard it.

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

For the second song I'm going to break a self-imposed rule. Given the fact that we've all been busy with a variety of different things over the past while, unfortunately we haven't been able to cover all the genres we'd like to cover in this blog. Hip-hop is one such genre. Long-time readers may have heard me referring to this in previous posts of this nature, and though this is a rule I've primarily implemented for myself, in actuality, there have been tracks of a hip-hop or rap nature posted by me on this very blog. The simple truth is that when you feel like a track fits the bill, you gotta go with it regardless of what type of music it is. The main reason we've been saving tracks is so we can do a huge post on the genre itself and our favourite tracks from it in the near future. With this factor in mind, I don't feel quite as guilty about posting this next one: Eye Know by De La Soul. The reason I don't feel guilty about this is because I a song by them which is quite possibly one of my favourites of all time stored for later, and no, it isn't The Magic Number. You'll just have to wait and see. As for the group themselves, De La Soul are one of the most inspirational and original rap groups out there, blending an extensive mix of jazz influences with unconventional sampling and creative and stylistic wordplay to help create one of the most cherished and highly respected genres in the world, alternative hip-hop. You may not know the style by name but it has been heralded and adopted by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers and Jurassic 5 which should give you some degree of indication as to just how critically and commercially acclaimed it was and remains to be. Refusing to conform to existing rap stereotypes, the basis behind alternative hip-hop was to blend styles and draw from differing genres proportionately. This is half the reason I decided to go with Eye Know, the other half is because it has been regular Sunday morning-to-mid-afternoon listening for me for many a year now.

De La Soul - Eye Know

The middle track for today's post is by a band many of you will undoubtedly be familiar with, Explosions In The Sky. While I didn't have a chance to catch them on their most recent tour of Ireland, I did get to see them in Dublin a year or so ago and they were overwhelmingly awe-inspiring. Like Mogwai's Hunted By A Freak, the song I have decided to go with could be considered one of their bigger tracks, a breakthrough release if you wish. Of course this is a matter which is debatable amongst fans, largely due to the fact that neither First Breath After Coma or its containing album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place ended up breaking the sales charts when they were released, but they have subsequently recieved critical accolade as well as First Breath After Coma being featured in multiple ads and even in the Michael Moore film, Capitalism: A Love Story. Though many could argue that First Breath After Coma isn't the standout track some hail it as, I'm inclined to both disagree and agree. The reason behind this concurrence is because Explosions In The Skys' material is so typically of high standard that it is difficult to place any of their work above the rest. From an alternate perspective, however, First Breath After Coma is above all a manifestation of the spirit of post-rock with its simple yet sufficient rhythmic melodies and sentimentalist ambience.

Explosions In The Sky - First Breath After Coma

Fourthly, we have a song by a band who I can almost guarantee you wouldn't expect us to post: The Korgis. Who are The Korgis I hear you asking? Well, the simple answer is that they were one of the better British pop groups of the late 70s to early 80s. It is unlikely most readers will be familiar with the majority of their material, but I'd be surprised if anyone reading hadn't heard Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime and what a tune it is. It is such a widely covered song that there are some covers and reinterpretations which are actually more well known that the original. Everyone, from Erasure to Vanessa Carlton to Glasvegas have covered this track. I suppose it isn't really that surprising given that it is assuredly one of the best pop songs out there. I don't know about you, but most pop tracks in this day and age get on my nerves. I don't mind other popular hybrids but most of what is considered pop music as a genre is just lazy and uninspired. Unknown singers continually pop out of the woodwork and with the help of a producer and a little bit of audio technology they can release number one singles, providing they have enough backing from music television channels, of course. I don't mean to sound cynical or in any way dismissive but unfortunately we're at a point where it is difficult for anything but the latest new thing to reach the masses. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule but I personally think that the popular music machine is due for a shake-up very soon. For now, we'll just have to settle with The Korgis unparalleled structuring, simplicity and transparent purity.

The Korgis - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime

Lastly we have a track by possibly one of the most underrated rock bands of them all, Failure. You could say I've saved the best to last in this respect because, like Karma To Burn, they are a critically lauded band who narrowly failed to find a worldwide audience despite being fantastic at their respective instruments and as a cohesive unit. During their career from 1990-1997, they were often compared to the likes of Nirvana and Mudhoney, especially due to the fact that grunge had such a foothold on mainstream society at this point. Contrary to these suggestions, however, they were a breed of their own, distinguished by scrupulous attention to production, engineering and textural sonic detail and by the development of an unconstrained sound that was not typically associated with rock bands of this generation. Being the talented individuals that they are, Failure are one of the few bands out there who manage to retain the basic framework of their style on every album yet also make each production significantly different in a number of ways. The track to be posted today, Failure - Another Space Song, is a good example of this cross between contrast and coordination. While it is very much a Failure track, they expand enough with it for it to be considered not only a new but a worthy addition to their catalogue. This is how their music befits them.

Failure - Another Space Song

The Essential Selection #3

Like I mentioned yesterday, rather than having two posts on the same day I decided to go with TFI Friday on the Friday and The Essential Selection on a Saturday. Despite both posts being based around a Friday, I figured, for this month at least, that it'd be better to have two individual posts on the last weekend of the month so both get enough exposure. Hopefully from here on in The Essential Selection will be taking over the last Friday of the month but nothing is set in stone, so we'll keep you posted as it happens. Enjoy the tracks and also what's left of your weekend.

Bill O'Reilly - DO IT LIIIIVE!!!!!!!!1111 (DiscoTech Mix Version 2)
The Japanese Popstars - Face Melter
Vandal And Blende - Healthy Boy (Re Edit)(Elite Force Sampler Ep)
D.I.M - Is You (JFK Remix)
Groove Bandits - Sing Hallelujah
The Bloody Beetroots - Cornelius
Wolfgang Gartner - Flashback
Deadmau5 - Slip
Moby - Disco Lies (The Dusty Kid's Fears Remix)
Justice - D.A.N.C.E (Stuart Price Remix)

Tiga

Hailing from Montreal, Canada, Tiga is a name that evokes a simultaneous sense of fear and anticipation whenever it is uttered. Having been DJing since the early 90s, Tiga has created a fierce reputation on the live circuit. He is responsible for the promotion of countless rave parties in Montreal and for the formation of the world renowned club SONA. In spite of these accomplishments, he was still uncontent and eventually he opened a record store entitled DNA Records and later created his own record label, Turbo Records.

Even these humble beginnings provided the blueprint for success on a much larger scale, because to some extent they demonstrated exactly what he was capable of. There is little doubt that, like a certain 00 Agent, Tiga is a man whose main priority is to get the job done. While his own solo material didn't exactly set the world on fire, he really shone through on his remixes and covers. The former has led to many faithful reinterpretations from artists ranging from Felix Da Housecat to Scissor Sisters. His cover of Corey Hart's Sunglasses At Night also often sneaks its way onto sets by many world-class DJs. Another notable cover is his body-popping cover of Public Enemy's Louder Than A Bomb, arguably the best of his solo work.

The songs I'm going to focus on today are Move My Body (Boys Noize Remix), You Gonna Want Me (Tocadisco Remix) and What You Need (The Proxy Remix). Move My Body is a fairly old remix but one of Alex Ridha's better ones. It has been making the rounds for several years now and never fails to get the dancefloor bouncing. Both You Gonna Want Me and What You Need, however, are my tied favourites in this department because they're both infectious and really showcase their respective artists' abilities. Tocadisco really lets it rip on You Gonna Want Me, adding a beat which is arguably on the verge of electro-house which is complimented by those catchy vocals from the original. It is just one of those rare tracks that can bring a smile to your face amidst the chaos of a dance set. On the other hand, The Proxy does what he does best on What You Need providing an absolutely filthy but very Proxy-esque bassline that drops like a ton of bricks on your head. Highly recommended.

Tiga - Move My Body (Boys Noize Remix)
Tiga - You Gonna Want Me (Tocadisco Remix)
Tiga - What You Need (The Proxy Remix)

Bonus:
Tiga - Mind Dimension (Gingy Edit)

Metal Monday #7

My external harddrive passed away a week or two ago after many years of service. Interestingly, another harddrive which I had backed the majority of my stuff up on had stopped working roughly a year ago, which left me in a bit of a predicament. By a miraculous coincidence, the data on the latter HD has been managed to be salvaged which means that though some of my stuff is unaccounted for, the majority of it has been saved. Honestly, I would probably have killed myself if all my music got deleted. Anyway, enough with the chit-chat, lets get to the point:

The first track to be posted is by Chimaira and it is taken from their album The Impossibility Of Reason. The track itself is one of their more underappreciated efforts, Cleansation. Out of all the bands under the banner of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Chimaira have to be my favourite, because simply put, there is no band like them. They're able to combine some of the heaviest and most brutal riffs with vocals which are not only appropriate to the music being played but that often adapt to fit the style which the band is conveying. The track Cleansation is no different. It has one of the most storming openings I've ever heard, with drum and guitar patterns that refuse to harmonise with eachother, instead approaching the track with their own individual methodology that plays off eachother. Another notable aspect of this song is the almost eastern vibe the guitar gives off at around the 2:30 mark which builds up to the shredding solo, with Mark Hunter's impenetrable and enigmatic vocals providing a much-needed layer over the top. Their name, in particular, is perhaps one of the most fitting parts of the band as they are named after a creature from Greek mythology, the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster. The reason why this is so befitting is because their music to some extent corresponds with this mythological beast due to the sheer power and competency of the band as a whole. Cleansation is a good demonstration of this dynamism and proficiency.

Chimaira - Cleansation

Secondly we have Derek Sherinian's Day Of The Dead. You may or may not know Sherinian depending on whether you're a fan of keyboardists or not. If you are, there is a good chance you're a fan of his already due to the volume of accomplishments he has made throughout his career. If not, allow me to introduce him: Derek Sherinian has to be one of the most dynamic and technically proficient keyboardists in the business, playing with a vast aggregation of artists, ranging from the likes of Kiss to Alice In Chains. On a more progressive front, he has also played with Dream Theater and is the founder of the band Planet X, who to an extent serve as a influence to his own solo work. Day Of The Dead is a good example of this significance because it plays upon the blueprint created by Planet X. This blueprint stems from the relentless nature with which they became attributed. Sherinian doesn't play it down either, citing the reason for the formation of Planet X as a band who "played their instruments so fiercely, that they would strike fear in the hearts of all musicians". His solo work builds upon this manifesto, with some of the most skullcrushing and downright grinding riffs to ever feature on solo material of this type. Listening to the track Day Of The Dead itself, it is hard to believe that it is taken from the solo album of a keyboardist, as there is heavy emphasis on the guitar work from the outset. It is only when you take a closer listen that you realize that a lot of this supposed guitar work is actually achieved through different settings on his equipment. There are many notable collaborations on his albums with guitarists and drummers but much of what you originally perceive as being from a guitar isn't actually so, which demonstrates just how versatile and creative Sherinian is. Day Of The Dead is one of those songs it is difficult not to like because although it is a little on the long side, there is enough material in it to sustain multiple listens.

Derek Sherinian - Day Of The Dead

The middle track of todays post is System Of A Down's P.L.U.C.K, taken from their self-titled album. Unless you've been living in a cave for your entire life, there is no doubt that you've heard of System Of A Down, especially their multiplatinum record Toxicity. In the early 2000s, there were few metal bands who could evoke such critical and commercial acclaim internationally, yet although they are on a hiatus, in more recent times they appear to have lost their touch. In spite of being perhaps the most iconic member of the band, their lead singer Serj Tankian has taken more of a backseat in recent productions. Instead, guitarist/backing vocalist Daron Malakian took more of a hands-on approach with the band, singing in many of their tracks, despite not being the greatest singer in the world, and as a result, they lost some of the impact they originally had. I'm not saying Serj Tankian was excluded but he most definitely played less of a part in the overall structure of the band and as a result they became less and less an original and contemporary band with a valid message to put across. This is the reason I have chosen to go with P.L.U.C.K over their newer material. It embodies the ideals and stylistic traits on which the band was founded and although their self-titled album doesn't quite hit the pinnacles of Toxicity, it is still a great album in its own right because of songs like Soil, War? and of course P.L.U.C.K.

System Of A Down - P.L.U.C.K.

The fourth track to be posted is by a band who I'm surprised haven't been featured in this weekly segment yet; Devin Townsend's sideproject, Strapping Young Lad. The track to be featured is Love? from their Alien album. An interesting bit of trivia regarding this album is that in order to prepare for recording it, Townsend stopped taking medication prescribed to him in order to treat his bipolar disorder. He described the reasons behind this in a statement saying that "I think that as an artist, in order for me to get to the next plateau, I kind of feel the need to explore things and sometimes that exploration leads you to places that are a little crazy," concluding that "Alien was no exception with that." The track Love? is prominent for two reasons. Firstly, its video is heavily inspired by the Evil Dead franchise, and secondly it has an extremely accessible opening riff. It was chosen as the lead single from the album due to a possibility of commercial metal appeal though I think that is more to do with the other tracks on the album rather than Love? itself. I wouldn't say that this is the strongest of all the Strapping Young Lad tracks but it is a good example of what the band are capable of and that's why I chose it.

Strapping Young Lad - Love?

Lastly, we have Pantera's 5 Minutes Alone, a track which seems to constantly grow on me the more I listen to it. Maybe its the utterly compelling bass lick or it could be Phil Anselmo's imperative vocals, I honestly don't know. My only real complaint of Pantera as a band is that there tends to be a hell of a lot of filler on their albums as opposed to stone-cold classics such as Cowboys From Hell, Walk or even the featured track 5 Minutes Alone. Admittedly, the album which 5 Minutes Alone belongs to, Far Beyond Driven, isn't quite as bad for this as some of their previous albums but it makes you wonder exactly what they could have been had they spent more time crafting their material. This isn't a slight against the band, as they are one of the greatest metal bands of all time and obviously there were a lot of issues between the band members on the inside, but unfortunately we will never know exactly what the band were capable of due to the untimely murder of lead guitarist Dimebag Darrell. For now, you'll just have to be happy with one of the best breakdowns in metal history at just under the 4:00 mark.

Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone

Easy Like Sunday Morning #7

As Thunder Child briefly mentioned in his last post, TFI Friday, he will be taking a leave of absence over the next couple of weeks to concentrate on university work. This means that I will be undertaking the majority of the weekly posts until he returns. There is a good chance he will be able to draw something up for the TFI Friday posts but we'll take that as it comes. You may be wondering why I'm forced to do this singlehandedly. Well, the truth is that the rest of the writers either have internet problems or are too lazy to do anything. Admittedly, I'm inclined to lean towards the latter because three months is a long time to have not contributed anything but what can you do. This is also the reason that there are sometimes missing gaps or posts, particularly with regards to the weekly segments. The simple fact is that it is difficult to bestow faith or trust in other people because people are flawed. Don't take it as a reflection of the blog itself but rather those who fail to update it. On a brighter note, there is a good possibility not only that Mr. JazzCigarettes will be returning to help me with a weekly segment in the coming weeks but that he will be posting a new article this week. You should remember him from his And Now For Something Completely Different post, a refreshing yet affectionate look at the singer/songwriter genre. On a similar level, I am hoping to get a new writer in to cover one of the Metal Monday posts in the coming weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks.

First up is a track by a duo who amazingly haven't been featured in this segment yet, despite perhaps being the most representative aural personification of easy Sunday morning listening. The artist is, of course, Air. The track I have decided to go with is Alpha Beta Gaga, a song you have no doubt been introduced to sometime since its release in 2004 but most likely just didn't know its name or who it was by. This is the beauty of Air, they make some of the catchiest and uplifting electronica songs yet most people wouldn't be overly familiar with their work. Allow me to (re)introduce you. The song Alpha Beta Gaga has a flavour that wouldn't sound out of place in an advertisement. I'm not talking about the McDonalds 'I'm loving it' jingle but rather something more refined and original such as the Orange or Guinness advertisements. Surprisingly, to my knowledge, it has never been featured in an advertisement but it is easy to make this mistake, especially considering it contains somewhat of a transcendent semblance that most recent artists wouldn't even dream of capturing. Like many great songs, whether you've heard this track before or not is irrelevant, it will instantly have an immediate and familiar quality to you in a similar way Royksopp's Eple might. I'd assume this is due to the interlinking nature of the main hook and the correlating whistling which compliment eachother faultlessly. It is this parallel which makes Alpha Beta Gaga not only instantly recognisable but also essential Sunday listening, particularly if you want your spirits lifted.

Air - Alpha Beta Gaga

The second track to be posted today is Samon Kawamura's Right Here, a song which also features the brother of hip-hop pioneer Madlib, Oh No. Like last week's Common Market track, I've been sitting on this one for quite some time. Unlike last week's track, however, there is no grand plan for this one. I simply forgot to post it. Hopefully this post can make up for my forgetfulness though as I figure now is as good a time as ever to get it uploaded. Samon Kawamura is a relative unknown in most circles. This could be for many reasons but is most likely due to the fact that it is incredibly difficult to discuss or analyse exactly what he does. While it should be noted that he is a hip-hop producer first and foremost, many of his beats retain an electronic yet traditional feel to them. The only person I could really compare him to is DJ Krush because whilst he produces hip-hop beats, many of his tracks are instrumental with the odd guest vocalist laying down some lyrics for only a handful of tracks. Speaking on comparisons and influences, he states "basically I more and more like people with an electronic approach, who nevertheless have an analogue feeling in their music." It is a difficult line to tread because while the analogue/electronic argument is a source of contention amongst many DJs and producers, here is a producer not siding with one or the other but rather making it his perogative to draw influence from both. Thankfully it really works because though some listeners may find his material unappealing at first, once you hit that sweet spot there is no going back. I chose Right Here because it is a fresh beat advocated by Oh No's rapping and because it is something a little bit different compared to what we usually see on these pages.

Samon Kawamura - Right Here

Continuing on the 'little bit different' theme, I have chosen a track which at first glance will have most people wondering where my sanity went. The song is Chaos & Julia Set's Atmosphere (Sub Base Field Remix), a nice little cross between old school Hardcore. Drum and Base and the Detroit Techno movement. I know what you're thinking, can dance music really be easy listening? Well, the truth is it can. Just listen to Orbital's Belfast or The Future Sound Of London's Papua New Guinea and you'll see what I'm talking about. It is extremely unlikely you'll have heard of Chaos & Julia Set before this point unless you've been an avid follower of the underground UK dance scene over the past twenty years. Personally I have no idea when or where I was introduced to Atmosphere (Sub Base Field Remix) but I have a feeling my good friend Hostile Product showed it to me, so props where props are due. This song is definitely a pick-me-up type tune. While it builds and builds, the beat never strays too far from the source material, ultimately leading to what could be considered a tribute to a bygone era. It is never too relentless or flamboyant, it is what it is and that's what I like the most about it.

Chaos & Julia Set - Atmosphere (Sub Base Field Remix)

As mentioned several weeks ago, the next track to be featured will be a Moby track. You may remember when I took the reigns a few weeks ago I mentioned that I will be focusing on roughly two or three tracks from the album Play in order to demonstrate just how versatile Moby is. I decided at the last minute last week to mix it up a bit and take some focus away from this artist but I feel that enough time has passed in order to display another track from this album. At this rate, expect the next installment (if there is one) within the next couple of weeks. The track I've decided to go for this week is The Sky Is Broken, predominantly because it is quite a unique track in its own right. While it starts out as a bit of a slow burner, with a relaxed drum pattern and synth work that sounds like it was composed underwater, they are soon joined by a man speaking rather than singing. Interestingly, the dryness of his tone is what makes it so immersive. It just fits. Near the end of the track we are greeted by a brief yet captivating segment where the synth really develops and comes into its own.

Moby - The Sky Is Broken

Lastly we have one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands, the Incubus track Drive. The band themselves have to be one of the most misunderstood bands in history. Whereas those who don't really know them automatically attribute their music to cookie-cutter rock bands such as Alkaline Trio or Three Doors Down, in reality they couldn't be further from the truth. The reason for this is because upon first glance most people will notice that the vocals have a tendency to be a little bit softer. This is just the type of band they are. In terms of musicality they are on their own level. Honestly, there is little to no bands doing what they're doing right now: blending what could be perceived as commerciality with relentless funk and instrumental accomplishment. Though Incubus may appear to be a certain type of band on the surface, if you even give them the slightest window of opportunity you will no doubt come out feeling very differently about them. Few bands can reach the level of popularity they've reached doing what they do without compromising their artistic integrity along the way. With Incubus, each album stands out from the crowd and, rather than losing their touch, they seem to be improving with age. The song I've chosen for this post is a little more radio friendly than many of their other songs but don't let that deter you, it is still a great song that might open you up a bit. Listen to it with a clear head and hopefully you'll feel the same way I do.

Incubus - Drive