Everyone hates Mark Ronson. We get it, don't get it twisted; it's that ubiquity, that smirk, those horns, the fact that he's a good-looking chap with some nice threads. But at the same time, it's weird because he's made some pretty great songs - the majority of Back To Black, for example - and he clearly knows his stuff, but at the same time he's easy to dismiss.
Whether you like him or not, his new album, Record Collection, is shaping up to be pretty interesting. Featuring a host of guest vocalists - including Boy George, The Drums' Jonathan Pearce, Santigold, Miike Snow and many others - it also features vocals from Ronson himself and no cover versions. A few weeks ago the first taster was released in the shape of 'Circuit Breaker', which as the title and the video suggests, is heavily influenced by the music to all those old console computer games.
OK, so it sounds exactly like the music from an old computer game and that's not exactly a good thing, but it's not the official first single so calm down. 'Bang Bang Bang' features a guest rap from Q-Tip and vocals from Yeah Yeah Yeahs' touring keyboardist (the glamour!), MNDR, and it's a stuttering, synth heavy little ditty that claws its way into your memory bank on the second listen. Not a horn in sight.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO IT PLEASE
A little bit like The Go Team you say? Yes, you're right. 'Bang Bang Bang' is released in July and the album is out in September.
Showing posts with label The Drums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Drums. Show all posts
Monday, 24 May 2010
Monday, 5 April 2010
New Musick Monday
We trust you've had your fill of Easter and are now settling down to read this with belly full of chocolate and mind full of tales of men on crosses, caves and Mel Gibson's idea of what it all means. But, dear reader, it's the fiery depths of hell for our three brave entrants from last week as Erykah Badu and Dum Dum Girls both missed the top 40 on the album charts and, most surprisingly, The Drums did the same on the singles chart. All this despite blanket music press coverage and the fact that 'Best Friend' is literally a million times better than the current UK bestseller (we can't bring ourselves to mention them here, so if you do wish to know who we're on about then pop over to google and do some searching yourselves). Anyway, force down another Wispa bar and read this...
BUY THIS
All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu by Rufus Wainwright
Not, as the title might suggest, a homage to the short, flame-haired Scottish singer, but instead a tribute to the death of his own alter-ego and the death of his beloved mother (it says something about Rufus Wainwright that those two things should be mourned on the same album, but there you are). Gone are the orchestral flights of fancy and instead it's just Wainwright, his piano and his musings on family ('Martha'), America ('Who Are You New York?') and the loss of his mother, who died shortly after the album was completed but who Wainwright was already mourning. There are also three Shakespeare sonnets put to music, which should push the pretentious quota off the scale but somehow he manages to pull it off.
BORROW THIS FROM SOMEONE KOOKY
Volume Two by She & Him
Zooey Deschanel is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and the mere mention of her name causes young men of a certain age to stop breathing and collapse in a heap of corduroy and plaid. With M.Ward she's managed to carve out a successful music career to go alongside her acting one and this second volume of songs is as lightweight, breezy and downright cute as the first one. Don't buy it expecting searing emotional terrain or ear-bleeding noise, but do buy it if you're feeling a bit bummed and, like, you know, just a bit 'meh'.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Radar Detector' by Darwin Deez
On the surface there's much to hate about Darwin Deez. For one, his hair is appalling, a strange mix of corkscrew perm and footballer's hair band and for two, this song is so naggingly catchy you might need therapy to have it removed from your brain. But, we're here to celebrate music and this is music and it's mindless but it's fun and sometimes, especially at Easter, that's all that matters.
BUY THIS
All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu by Rufus Wainwright
BORROW THIS FROM SOMEONE KOOKY
Volume Two by She & Him
Zooey Deschanel is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and the mere mention of her name causes young men of a certain age to stop breathing and collapse in a heap of corduroy and plaid. With M.Ward she's managed to carve out a successful music career to go alongside her acting one and this second volume of songs is as lightweight, breezy and downright cute as the first one. Don't buy it expecting searing emotional terrain or ear-bleeding noise, but do buy it if you're feeling a bit bummed and, like, you know, just a bit 'meh'.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Radar Detector' by Darwin Deez
On the surface there's much to hate about Darwin Deez. For one, his hair is appalling, a strange mix of corkscrew perm and footballer's hair band and for two, this song is so naggingly catchy you might need therapy to have it removed from your brain. But, we're here to celebrate music and this is music and it's mindless but it's fun and sometimes, especially at Easter, that's all that matters.
Monday, 29 March 2010
New Musick Monday
Last week was a good one for a certain Laura Marling, whose album crashed in at number 4, despite the lead single missing the top 75. She loses points for pulling out of an interview scheduled for last Thursday at the very last minute, leaving someone very close to this blog utterly bereft. We forgive her though, not least because her success manages to transcend an oddly cack-handed shout out from a certain Jo Whiley ("it's not pop music, it's more than that" or something). Unfortunately, James Murphy and Gonjasufi both missed the charts, but you'll be glad to hear we managed to pick up a copy of one of those Galaxie 500 reissues we were banging on about, so it's not all doom et gloom. Let's move to the present shall we?
BUY THIS
New Amerykah: Part Two: Return Of The Ankh by Erykah Badu
Whilst Part One of Badu's current incarnation as America's First Lady of sprawling, densly packed R&B was suffused with pre-Obama paranoia and malaise, this follow-up finds her dissecting relationships of the romantic kind. Love is shown, simultaneously, to be a joy ('Umm Hmm') and a curse, as on 'Fall In Love (Your Funeral)'. Throughout, Badu displays her amazing vocal versatility, whilst producers such as Madlib and, er, J Dilla (he died a long time ago, how is it possible to keep making beats?) create an always interesting musical bed of warm beats and choice samples. It may not be as experimental as its predecessor, but Part Two continues what's shaping up to be some renaissance.
BUY THIS FOR US
I Will Be by Dum Dum Girls
Having ventured to the local music emporium to purchase some albums this lunch time, we returned only to find we had completely forgotten to buy this album. This is why we're not in charge of running a country or healing people; we're too forgetful. Anyway, from what we've heard this album is really very good indeed. Recorded by just one Dum Dum, Dee Dee, I Will Be (amazing) is a lo-fi collection of scuzzed up garage rock with a pop core that will fill the hole until the Best Coast album comes out in the summer.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Best Friend' by The Drums
The Drum Drum Boys (ahem) are back with their first proper single, the lovingly melancholic, Best Friend. It's hard not to like a song that starts with the line, "You're my best friend / And then you died", and even if that doesn't do it for you then the repetitive vocal sample and catchy as hell chorus should just about seal the deal. Chances are the wave of hype will drown them by the time their debut album drops on 7 June, but we've heard some songs from it and it's sounding really rather good so put your daggers away evil critic bastards.
BUY THIS
New Amerykah: Part Two: Return Of The Ankh by Erykah Badu
Whilst Part One of Badu's current incarnation as America's First Lady of sprawling, densly packed R&B was suffused with pre-Obama paranoia and malaise, this follow-up finds her dissecting relationships of the romantic kind. Love is shown, simultaneously, to be a joy ('Umm Hmm') and a curse, as on 'Fall In Love (Your Funeral)'. Throughout, Badu displays her amazing vocal versatility, whilst producers such as Madlib and, er, J Dilla (he died a long time ago, how is it possible to keep making beats?) create an always interesting musical bed of warm beats and choice samples. It may not be as experimental as its predecessor, but Part Two continues what's shaping up to be some renaissance.
BUY THIS FOR US
I Will Be by Dum Dum Girls
Having ventured to the local music emporium to purchase some albums this lunch time, we returned only to find we had completely forgotten to buy this album. This is why we're not in charge of running a country or healing people; we're too forgetful. Anyway, from what we've heard this album is really very good indeed. Recorded by just one Dum Dum, Dee Dee, I Will Be (amazing) is a lo-fi collection of scuzzed up garage rock with a pop core that will fill the hole until the Best Coast album comes out in the summer.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Best Friend' by The Drums
The Drum Drum Boys (ahem) are back with their first proper single, the lovingly melancholic, Best Friend. It's hard not to like a song that starts with the line, "You're my best friend / And then you died", and even if that doesn't do it for you then the repetitive vocal sample and catchy as hell chorus should just about seal the deal. Chances are the wave of hype will drown them by the time their debut album drops on 7 June, but we've heard some songs from it and it's sounding really rather good so put your daggers away evil critic bastards.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
I'll be there for you
We're big fans of The Drums despite the fact that their youth and beauty makes us want to hate them as much as we hate Geri Halliwell. Unbelievably, the debut play of their brand new single, 'Best Friend', passed us by completely, which is quite shameful.
If you're able to forgive us, here it is on a handy Radio 1 player thing (don't worry, you don't have to listen to half an hour of Zane Lowe, it starts at the beginning):
It's not as immediate (or as good really) as some of the stuff on the Summertime EP and it's a tiny bit limp, but we like the echoey intro and the strange looped gasps that you can hear if you listen closely, but the rest of it is merely 'good' and not 'amazeballs'.
If you're able to forgive us, here it is on a handy Radio 1 player thing (don't worry, you don't have to listen to half an hour of Zane Lowe, it starts at the beginning):
It's not as immediate (or as good really) as some of the stuff on the Summertime EP and it's a tiny bit limp, but we like the echoey intro and the strange looped gasps that you can hear if you listen closely, but the rest of it is merely 'good' and not 'amazeballs'.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Out on a limb: Our hopes for 2010
HAPPY 2010 MUSICK LOVERS!
Apologies for the time between posts, we spent the New Year in a drug-induced coma having stumbled upon a warehouse party in East London. Basically, all you need to know is the Police came, the guy will be out of hospital soon and yes, your inner most fears being played out on the inside of your eyelids like a movie for 48 hours is more terrifying than death itself. Ah, fun times.
So, let's kick this new decade off with another list shall we? This time, let Musick guide you through the next twelve months by picking out five new acts to keep an eye on. Haven't the BBC done something like this you say? And nearly every other respectable publication this side of the NME? Well, yes, but there ain't no party like Musick party, right? Right.
Les Corps Mince de Francoise
Three Finnish beauties with a difficult French moniker, make childish, hyperactive dance-pop to make you smile.
Listen to: 'Something Golden'
Francis and the Lights
Slick, Prince-inspired funk from idiosyncratic white soul boy. The dancing in the video below is not recommended to those with weak knees.
Listen to: 'The Top'
The Drums
Obvious really, but no less valid. Their debut EP, Summertime, is one of the best things released in recent memory. Sun-kissed melodies + infinite sadness = The Drums.
Listen to: 'I Felt Stupid'
Theophilus London
We've written about him before, but having seen him live recently we're even more excited about his debut. Fusing vintage hip-hop with icy electro, expect Theophilus London to appear in a lot of magazines and sell very little, but still be amazing.
Listen to: 'Humdrum Town'
Marina & The Diamonds
Born in Greece, raised in Wales and as feisty as pop stars are allowed to be these days, Marina makes opulent pop songs overflowing with piano, jaunty melodies and a clever, knowing centre.
Listen to: 'Hollywood'
WARNING: OTHER POP STARS ARE AVAILABLE.
Apologies for the time between posts, we spent the New Year in a drug-induced coma having stumbled upon a warehouse party in East London. Basically, all you need to know is the Police came, the guy will be out of hospital soon and yes, your inner most fears being played out on the inside of your eyelids like a movie for 48 hours is more terrifying than death itself. Ah, fun times.
So, let's kick this new decade off with another list shall we? This time, let Musick guide you through the next twelve months by picking out five new acts to keep an eye on. Haven't the BBC done something like this you say? And nearly every other respectable publication this side of the NME? Well, yes, but there ain't no party like Musick party, right? Right.
Les Corps Mince de Francoise
Three Finnish beauties with a difficult French moniker, make childish, hyperactive dance-pop to make you smile.
Listen to: 'Something Golden'
Francis and the Lights
Slick, Prince-inspired funk from idiosyncratic white soul boy. The dancing in the video below is not recommended to those with weak knees.
Listen to: 'The Top'
The Drums
Obvious really, but no less valid. Their debut EP, Summertime, is one of the best things released in recent memory. Sun-kissed melodies + infinite sadness = The Drums.
Listen to: 'I Felt Stupid'
Theophilus London
We've written about him before, but having seen him live recently we're even more excited about his debut. Fusing vintage hip-hop with icy electro, expect Theophilus London to appear in a lot of magazines and sell very little, but still be amazing.
Listen to: 'Humdrum Town'
Marina & The Diamonds
Born in Greece, raised in Wales and as feisty as pop stars are allowed to be these days, Marina makes opulent pop songs overflowing with piano, jaunty melodies and a clever, knowing centre.
Listen to: 'Hollywood'
WARNING: OTHER POP STARS ARE AVAILABLE.
Monday, 12 October 2009
New Musick Monday
Woah, last week was a bit of a disaster. Due to an unforeseen administrative error (which is ironic considering), we said that the new Fuck Buttons album was out last Monday when every single fool with a computer nearby knows that it's actually out today. So, this means you've had a week to think about buying it and if you've not made your mind up by now then we can safely assume it's not going to happen. The Air album, incidentally, charted just inside the top 40, whilst The Drums single missed out altogether but who cares because their new EP, Summertime!, is amazing (that's out today too, but it's not really an album or a single so it misses out...*pauses to listen to the tears of their record label*).
BUY THIS
She Wolf by Shakira
Shakira!? Shakira!? Are you out of your mind, etc. Look, we know she's madder than a cage full of mildly psychotic tarantulas, but this Neptunes-assisted collection is up there with the best of 'em when it comes to R&B bangers about sex. There's a run of 5 songs at the beginning of the album that immediately sets it apart from similar fare by Nelly Furtardo or Gwen Stefani, with Shakira's mildly terrifying lyrics ("Every night I pray that you don't knock her up/ Because I still want to be the mother of your child... I really hope you have a horrible vacation") reminding you that this woman is as unique as she is predatory. It also sees a return to form for the Neptunes who deliver four expertly produced examples of why we loved them in the first place. Aaaawwhhhooooo!
LISTEN TO AT LEAST HALF OF THIS
Embryonic by The Flaming Lips
Double albums are always criticised for being overly long, which is kind of an obvious thing to say. No-one makes a double album because they want to be concise or because the recording process has gone ever so smoothly, and this is the case with The Flaming Lips. Struggling to follow-up their run of relatively accessible recent albums, they've decided to shred the rule book, including the chapters on 'song structures' and 'tunes'. A lot of it is a mess, but sometimes the mess sounds exciting, daring and a little frightening. Guests include MGMT, some German mathematician and Karen O pretending to be an animal.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Bad Boys' by Alexandra Burke
Shakira AND Alexandra!? Have you gone mad, etc. We know this song is essentially not very good - the verses don't fit with the chorus, Flo Rida's on it - but there's something about it we can't quite shake. We almost love it's precision-tooled-ness, the way it has been laboriously worked on by a crack team of producers who Simon Cowell keeps locked in a basement somewhere. "If this single isn't number 1 in the UK you will all be mutilated and/or forced to listen to Robson & Jerome on repeat until your bowels give in. The choice is yours" he probably says. Alexandra meanwhile, knows how to deliver a song as this performance clearly shows.
BUY THIS
She Wolf by Shakira
Shakira!? Shakira!? Are you out of your mind, etc. Look, we know she's madder than a cage full of mildly psychotic tarantulas, but this Neptunes-assisted collection is up there with the best of 'em when it comes to R&B bangers about sex. There's a run of 5 songs at the beginning of the album that immediately sets it apart from similar fare by Nelly Furtardo or Gwen Stefani, with Shakira's mildly terrifying lyrics ("Every night I pray that you don't knock her up/ Because I still want to be the mother of your child... I really hope you have a horrible vacation") reminding you that this woman is as unique as she is predatory. It also sees a return to form for the Neptunes who deliver four expertly produced examples of why we loved them in the first place. Aaaawwhhhooooo!
LISTEN TO AT LEAST HALF OF THIS
Embryonic by The Flaming Lips
Double albums are always criticised for being overly long, which is kind of an obvious thing to say. No-one makes a double album because they want to be concise or because the recording process has gone ever so smoothly, and this is the case with The Flaming Lips. Struggling to follow-up their run of relatively accessible recent albums, they've decided to shred the rule book, including the chapters on 'song structures' and 'tunes'. A lot of it is a mess, but sometimes the mess sounds exciting, daring and a little frightening. Guests include MGMT, some German mathematician and Karen O pretending to be an animal.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Bad Boys' by Alexandra Burke
Shakira AND Alexandra!? Have you gone mad, etc. We know this song is essentially not very good - the verses don't fit with the chorus, Flo Rida's on it - but there's something about it we can't quite shake. We almost love it's precision-tooled-ness, the way it has been laboriously worked on by a crack team of producers who Simon Cowell keeps locked in a basement somewhere. "If this single isn't number 1 in the UK you will all be mutilated and/or forced to listen to Robson & Jerome on repeat until your bowels give in. The choice is yours" he probably says. Alexandra meanwhile, knows how to deliver a song as this performance clearly shows.
Monday, 5 October 2009
New Musick Monday
After the unbelievable high of recent weeks comes the crushing low of last week. The Girls album missed the top 75 despite much love from all quarters, and the 'big in 2008' tag that still hangs round Kid Harpoon's neck seems to have strangled him as he misses out too. The Veronicas, however, made up for things slightly with their single '4Ever', which moved up to no.17, but seeing as they're currently on Radio 1's A-list this is something of a disappointment. Still, there was positive news in that Mika's album dropped out of the top 10 after just one week. Good job his record label haven't spent oodles of cash on his comeback, huh?
BUY THIS
Tarot Sport by Fuck Buttons
We can't condone this kind of language. What is the world coming to when a nice couple of lads can't come up with something a little less profane than Fuck Buttons. Whatever happened to names like Selfish Cunt or Pissed Jeans? You know, nice names that don't make you hide your eyes for fear that you'll never be the same again once you've seen it written down. Still, Fuck Buttons are alright because they make music that's all light and fluffy and very easy on the ear...oh no, they don't, they make noisy, sometimes aggressive sometime beautiful dance music that will slowly put you into a kind of trance. BAN THIS FILTH!
ENJOY BITS OF THIS
Love 2 by Air
It's been a bit of a struggle for Air since Moon Safari. Such was the ubiquity of that near perfect album that anything since has always been compared to it. Never mind that follow-up 10,000Hz Legend was actually pretty amazing and their soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides certainly had it's moments. This follow-up to the disappointing Pocket Symphonies is better than its predecessor but not as good as Talkie Walkie, which in turn is not as good as 10,000Hz Legend or The Virgin Suicides, which are both arguably as good but not as culturally significant as Moon Safari.
DOWNLOAD THIS (and buy on 7")
'Let's Go Surfing' by The Drums
This was out last week as a download but is also out on 7" vinyl (VINYL!?) this week. Theoretically we should have done this song last week is what we're saying, but we forgot and it's so good that we decided to break all our strict rules and put it in this week. It's the best single to feature whistling since Peter, Bjorn & John's 'Young Folks', but will hopefully not find itself soundtracking a run of DFS adverts. Fingers crossed.
BUY THIS
Tarot Sport by Fuck Buttons
We can't condone this kind of language. What is the world coming to when a nice couple of lads can't come up with something a little less profane than Fuck Buttons. Whatever happened to names like Selfish Cunt or Pissed Jeans? You know, nice names that don't make you hide your eyes for fear that you'll never be the same again once you've seen it written down. Still, Fuck Buttons are alright because they make music that's all light and fluffy and very easy on the ear...oh no, they don't, they make noisy, sometimes aggressive sometime beautiful dance music that will slowly put you into a kind of trance. BAN THIS FILTH!
ENJOY BITS OF THIS
Love 2 by Air
It's been a bit of a struggle for Air since Moon Safari. Such was the ubiquity of that near perfect album that anything since has always been compared to it. Never mind that follow-up 10,000Hz Legend was actually pretty amazing and their soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides certainly had it's moments. This follow-up to the disappointing Pocket Symphonies is better than its predecessor but not as good as Talkie Walkie, which in turn is not as good as 10,000Hz Legend or The Virgin Suicides, which are both arguably as good but not as culturally significant as Moon Safari.
DOWNLOAD THIS (and buy on 7")
'Let's Go Surfing' by The Drums
This was out last week as a download but is also out on 7" vinyl (VINYL!?) this week. Theoretically we should have done this song last week is what we're saying, but we forgot and it's so good that we decided to break all our strict rules and put it in this week. It's the best single to feature whistling since Peter, Bjorn & John's 'Young Folks', but will hopefully not find itself soundtracking a run of DFS adverts. Fingers crossed.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Drums Not Dead
Dear diary,
Sometimes it just feels like there's no point carrying on. Sometimes, when we've given all we can, we still feel that we're not getting anywhere, like life just keeps knocking us down just as we're getting back on our feet. Sometimes, Boy George beats you to the punch (and then ties you to a radiator) and you know what, it feels bad. It feels real bad.
So, we might as well mention this new band that everyone (including Boy George!) is raving about, even though it looks like we're bandwagon jumping. Hell, we're covered in splinters from all the jumping onto bandwagons. Anyways, this band, The Drums, are really good and you should listen to this, but listen knowing that Boy George got their first.
Also, as if to compound the pointlessness of our existence, The Guardian go and do a thing on Washed Out, who we were about to do a thing on. Now, we get that two websites can feature the same band, and we're hardly on the same scale in terms of readership, but once again it looks like we're just following where they lead.
Yeah, it's beautiful and atmospheric but it's tainted. We're seriously considering our future in this business. Do we need this kind of hassle, this kind of pressure? The only thing keeping us going is the knowledge that 20 people read this blog in Illinois and it's for them that Musick exists. Thank you Illinois. Good night.
Sometimes it just feels like there's no point carrying on. Sometimes, when we've given all we can, we still feel that we're not getting anywhere, like life just keeps knocking us down just as we're getting back on our feet. Sometimes, Boy George beats you to the punch (and then ties you to a radiator) and you know what, it feels bad. It feels real bad.
So, we might as well mention this new band that everyone (including Boy George!) is raving about, even though it looks like we're bandwagon jumping. Hell, we're covered in splinters from all the jumping onto bandwagons. Anyways, this band, The Drums, are really good and you should listen to this, but listen knowing that Boy George got their first.
Also, as if to compound the pointlessness of our existence, The Guardian go and do a thing on Washed Out, who we were about to do a thing on. Now, we get that two websites can feature the same band, and we're hardly on the same scale in terms of readership, but once again it looks like we're just following where they lead.
Yeah, it's beautiful and atmospheric but it's tainted. We're seriously considering our future in this business. Do we need this kind of hassle, this kind of pressure? The only thing keeping us going is the knowledge that 20 people read this blog in Illinois and it's for them that Musick exists. Thank you Illinois. Good night.
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