A bit early perhaps but Spring is definitely in the air, and as usual I am in love with that feeling. Turning a corner of a street and suddenly being blinded by a higher, happier, healthier sun, the slower sunsets, generally more light leaving looonger days. It's dangling the carrot of things to come this summer, and with more saliva inducing festival line-ups than I can shake a stick at this year I've swiftly aligned myself with two uncompromising choices, one tried & tested, one previously pined for (July=Garden Festival!!!!! September=Bestival!!!!!).
So far 2011 seems to be more promising in terms of my ongoing music education than bygone years. Without ignoring the fact that as my tastes change and mature in time the net widens and the fact I've become ever bolder at trawling the stratosphere of the internet for facts unknown/songs unheard/dishes never cooked before, it is music particularly that is
winning.
Ruining it for the rest of us, the BBC
James Blake, Jessie J and Clare McGuire (repress the shudder - can't stand it) have jumped the barrel a bit after their early pip by the BBC et al, and will no doubt be heaved back up again for recognition at the close of the year but have lost me for what is the here & now. It's unfortunate that some are plucked out for overkill because I was, and still am, very pleased to have been introduced to James Blake. The Wilhelm Scream takes the prize so far for - perhaps unintentionally, which is even better - sexiest music video. Easily.
Themes of the moment
- The slow, quiet, building intro's of songs from an increasing influx of Folk branded bands into the mainstream - Beirut (old but loved), Lia Ices (Daphne with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver), Cage The Elephant (Shake Me Down's video brought tears), Lord Huron (see Stranger below), and really new finds
Foster The People,
Gauntlet Hair, The Chord and The Fawn.
- Crudely sexy r'n'b that manages to strike an unstoppably appealing balance by clashing filthy lyrics & with sentimental backing and smooth as molasses voices - Frank Ocean (but he gets his own paragraph), Kid Kudi's new album, Miguel (girl with the tattoo), Mos Def (still bitter that I slinked off to watch the mess that was Gorillaz instead of him at Glasto last year).
- Songs that remind me that some music was made to have fun with - Disco has bloomed back into my life like a forgotten trinket from childhood (more appreciated now than when it was blasted aloud by mother) but now has an ever exciting bolster in House, which is supplying the soundtrack to my weekends.
And so, to Folk
The Chord And The Fawn having been compared to Coco Rosie, Dent May, and, [by myself] Kate Bush, the American cousins are currently underrated,
Sex, Love, and Rock-n-Roll is a great little number.
I Was Thinking by Gauntlet Hair is immediately Fleet Foxes-esque and very easy on the ears. A v
ery summer sound. Lord Huron - The Stranger, a lovely live version of a beautifully building song & a Fargo-esque video:
I can't resist....
...
Frank Ocean. His mixtape
Nostalgia, Ultra with it's Songs For Women, Swim Good, There Will Be Tears, American Wedding, Strawberry Swing and the one that first dragged me in
Nature Feels is what you would expect from a mixtape in it's execution and production. Impressive though is the intimacy, tone of voice, and eclectic choices that work so perfectly for me in what I love listening to. Samples of Hotel California, Coldplay, and Mr Hudson reveal an broad appreciation for musical devices and provide interesting platforms for the personal delivery of subjects both graphic and tender, frivolous and wise, sad and sexy. It's a jumbled collection that manages to cover a relatable romantic timeline of adolescence to broken heartedness. The lyrics, especially of Swim Good have this amazing storytelling quality that differentiates Frank Ocean from the masses. Free downloads are floating about, but I shouldn't really tell you that...
Friday Night/Saturday Night Warm Up
Boogie Boogie Boogie. Fantastic stuff.
