R.I.P 120 Minutes

A year ago today the highly influential music program 120 Minutes shut its doors seemingly for the last time. Having ran on and off since 1990, the show had build up a reputation of not only playing the latest and most cutting edge artists, but also the most innovative artists in the rock, electronic and leftfield genres. To the delight of music lovers in Europe, the program featured no commercial or MTV promotional breaks. The reason it was able to get away with pushing the boundaries so far out was because of the time slot: 1am - 3am. It was quite literally two hours of non-stop alternative music which could range from hip-hop to avantgarde and anything in-between. There were no conventional limitations in what was played and although some of it tended to be hit and miss, the good frequently outweighed the bad. As clichéd as it might sound, there was something for everyone and many new discoveries were made through this program alone.

Out of nowhere then came the announcement that 120 Minutes was to shut up shop. The move prompted much criticism of MTV and though there was a petition made to save it, ultimately there was little anyone could do. Given the unusual time slot and the overall popularity of the show, its cancellation shocked and appalled many regular watchers who deemed the move as 'the death of unconventional music television'. Although due to university commitments, the majority of developments regarding the situation passed me by and I was unable to watch the final episode, coming back to the realization that it is not here anymore has left me feeling disillusioned with the state of music channels on the whole. It is no secret that its absence has left a void within music television that may never heal properly. It is only when it is gone do you realise just how little there is to watch on the music channels at night. R.I.P. 120 Minutes, it was good while it lasted and we may see eachother somewhere down the line.

As I'm dedicating this post to the program, I've decided to go with some of the most influential and innovative artists or tracks I discovered through the show. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

65daysofstatic - Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here
Au Revoir Simone - Fallen Snow
Cornelius - Drop
DJ Mehdi - I Am Somebody
Elektrons - Get Up
Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive
RJD2 - Work It Out
UNKLE - Burn My Shadow

Easy Like Sunday Morning #3

In march of 1978 when avid fans came home and put the needle on the record that succeeded exodus, the first track they heard was "Easy Skanking" by Bob Marley and The Wailers. I personally don't listen to an excessive amount of Bob Marley as in some respects a lot of his tracks just aren’t my thing due to my belief that a lot of his work is tarnished by constant overplaying, which creates a cliché and tackiness that ruins the majority of them. However, I was introduced to Kaya about 4 or so years ago on a camping trip with friends, and the album stuck with me ever since, so it's probably more of a nostalgic thing to listen to. The track I associate the majority of the album to is Easy Skanking, the first song on the album which is essentially a song about dancing, taking it easy, slow and relaxing which is why it is perfect for this playlist.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Easy Skanking


Au Revoir Simone are an indie orientated synthpop group that have found themselves being featured on Kitsune compilations and being played late night on the now defunct 120 minutes. They seem to generate a more organic sound than the other indie-electro based groups out there, which is one of the reasons why they stand out from the crowd. The girls seem to emanate a presence within their music, which probably originates from the airy vocals that are present with the majority of the tracks.Coming from the Brooklyn based trio, this instrumental is an ambient that track speaks for itself, just give it a listen.

Au Revoir Simone - The Winter Song


I was introduced to this track when I heard it playing in a bar, I went up to ask the dj what it was called, the funny thing being he didn't know; skip forward a year and I come across is again on a blog by coincidence. The track is very limited in release terms, and I'm led to believe that it may have just been a white label. For me this track is all about the bass and the deep voice that predominates the track, that is beautifully complimented by keys that stink of 80's funk. The Rainbow Brothers are a duo who originate from france and are better known as the groundbreaking ambient electronic band Air.

Rainbow Brothers - 818.323.01


Hailing from L.A, Lucas MacFadden, Cut Chemist, found his fame when he joined the unity committee, who would later join the Rebels of Rhythm to for the internationally successful Jurassic 5. Cut chemist collaborated with J5 on 3 studio albums, before departing the band to pursue his own career.Tolling in as the third track on cut-chemists first full length studio album, The Garden is a very ethnically themed which seems to be a homage of sorts to Bollywood cinema and the filmi genre of music contained within those films. The song, which is a great balance between old and new, the goal that most turntableism artists try and achieve, has an ambiance to it, achieved through bass and high-hats, that flows throughout the song and compliments the vocals and string based instruments harmonically.

Cut Chemist - The Garden


A song which comes to us from the last days of The Doors, Riders of the storm is purportedly the last song recorded by all 4 original members of the doors, before Morrison's death. The song is suitably inspired by and partially based upon the famous Ghost Riders in the Sky, a western telling of a cowboy who must change his ways. Riders on the Storm also has allusions to a non-fictional murdering hitchhiker (a killer on the road) who Jim was interested in and also based a screenplay on his actions for a purposed film. The song is one of the doors most atmospheric songs, this is clearly thanks to the use of the storm sound effects contained throughout; it's also partially attributed to Morrison's whispering the whole song as well as singing it and then having both tracks played over each other. I actually think that this is a track is more suited to Sunday evening rather than Sunday morning, this is mainly due to the more relaxed nature that the song conveys through the bass and dropping keys on Manzarerk's instruments and the subtle changes of key within Morrison's signature style; that is why I'm leaving this song for last, to round up your Sunday and lead you back into your day to day life, hope you enjoyed the weekend.

The Doors - Riders on the Storm