The Music Review Challenge

An Apology.

Joe Adamson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:21:32 +0000

Due to the fact that virtually the whole month of December – and the few weeks prior – is all taken up by extensive school work and ‘necessary’ revision for mock GCSE’s, I am making an apology for the distinct lack of posts that you will see and already have seen. Think of it as a short-term hiatus of sorts. After the new year I should hopefully be back and doing it properly again.
Thanks.

Sirens (Chase & Status Remix) – Dizzee Rascal (29-11-09) (Day 210)

Joe Adamson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:30:04 +0000

Oh those pesky Chase & Status boys, messing round with classics again. And once again, absolutely killing it. In the greatest way possible.
If I’m honest, the original probably should’ve been made like this in the first place. I’m not saying anything bad about it but this is just so much better, more outrageous etc. etc.

I’d love to go on and on about the way that Chase & Status remix songs and how amazing they are at it but I realise that I’ve done it so often before I’d just be repeating myself. I’d also say something about Dizzee Rascal being very versatile but I’ve done it so often before I’d just be repeating myself. So this is a bit long and is a bit samey when you compare it to a lot of D’n'B but it’s bloody heavy and absolutely bloody amazing. Now if only Dizzee Rascal hadn’t gone and made a shitload of pop rubbish…

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij8UQU-Tp34
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Riverside – Sidney Samson (25-11-09) (Day 206)

Joe Adamson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:22:02 +0000

Firstly, I just want to apologise for the shocking progress that I’ve had on the blogging front recently. Due to a mixture of mock GCSE’s and just generally being busy, the free time I have at time gets less and less. So please be accepting of me if I am continually sketchy. Just blame the government.

I have definitely, definitely, definitely heard this song before. God knows where but I have. But anyway, if you haven’t heard it, then you’re missing out. I even know of people who hate electronic music but love this song. And there’s no reason not to. It’s stupidly catchy and has no words to offend/bore/make people’s attention divert from what is actually happening. And what is actually happening has just come at the right time.
For multiple minutes it bounces continuously and your head mysteriously follows suit. How this hasn’t made it onto daytime radio I’ll never know. If you forget that it says ‘motherfucker’ loudly before every drop. Audio genius this is.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V775PPuBc7Y
Follow: http:///www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Brother Sport – Animal Collective (22-11-09) (Day 203)

Joe Adamson — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:37:32 +0000

I must say that I’m fairly new to Animal Collective. They’ve been around for ages and they’ve always been there for me to listen and suggested – on the radio, through NME, Last.Fm etc. – but I’d never really bothered. Same goes with Bombay Bicycle Club really. But through the magic that is Spotify (and of course a little bit of Zane Lowe) I managed to stumble across this gem. God knows how to describe it or what genre to put it under. It is samba, electro, LSD inspired and a ridiculous collaboration of everything else all pushed into 5 mintues. The amount of layers they must have had to make this boggles the mind as it’s everything but simple; I’ve said for a long time that my favourite types of music and nice and simple. But this is an exception. Listen to it and be confused. Very confused.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NncmILE_7mQ
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Let The Bass Kick In Miami – Chuckie (17-11-09) (Day 198)

Joe Adamson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:57:45 +0000

For the past week or so, this song has been going around the internet like the plague, as part of a video that stupid fat-man Chris Moyles (who if I must say I don’t actually mind) dances round with his cronies in a sort of trying to take the piss but looking like he’s being genuine kind of way. If you can ignore his large face and actually listen to this song, it’s not too bad. In fact it’s bloody catchy.
But it does get quite boring quite quickly. Even where there should be a drop, the same thing is just played over again. Which is possibly the biggest anti-climax possible. There’s a huge build-up to where things should get amazing and a little bit crazy. In actual fact it doesn’t and you’re left feeling a little deflated.

So in conclusion, I can only ever imagine this song being played as a sort of 1 minute clip in a DJ set and Chuckie will probably never have mainstream success again, if past similar hits are anything to go by. Great.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fguu3ooSS2Q
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Run This Town – Lil Wayne (15-11-09) (Day 196)

Joe Adamson — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:55:13 +0000

I am almost definitely going to be hated for this, but I prefer to this to the Jay-Z version. This is from the new Lil Wayne mixtape No Ceilings which is an OK-but-not-exceptional attempt at trying to compete with other people. I say this because a lot of it is sub-standard, especially for Lil Wayne. But this I really, really like. It loses the boring Rhianna vocals, loses the boring Kanye West vocals and loses the frankly boring Jay-Z vocals.
What he says is even more attractive too. I’m not too sure how to explain. But credit to Jay-Z for the beat though because that is the best thing about the whole song. A mixture off oddly distorted guitar and an assortment of other Garage Band sounds all come together. But that’s how it is these days. Most songs are made on FL Studio or something similar and then released to the internet immediately. Despite my despise for a lot of, I love the super fast turnover of hip-hop. Something may happen and within hours there will be a response in form of a song. Maybe other people could learn a lesson from that.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORLcHSDtn4o
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Watching The Planets – The Flaming Lips (13-11-09) (Day 194)

Joe Adamson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:51:04 +0000

Prepare yourself to be really really freaked out. But in an amazing away. The video to this song is one of the most wondrous pieces of art you will ever say. And the song is good too.

The Flaming Lips have long been known for being a bit more ‘alternative’ than most other bands. For example, climbing into large bubbles and drifting through their crowd. Or making large statues of pink karate-doing robots. But this is a whole new level of weird. Think a huge load of naked bodies erupting from what can only be described as a vaginal orifice, while other naked people ride towards them on 1940′s bicycles. That kind of weird. This isn’t for the faint-hearted this one. But as I said, the end result is definitely some warped idea of beautiful.

The song fits the video very well oddly. And I say oddly because in my head I cannot think of one song that could fit the lead singer from the Flaming Lips rolling round in a large bubble before being stripped naked and carried into the vaginal orifice. It is a mass of heavy percussion and very reverb-ful vocals. It reminds of something Beck would do actually. Take that anyway you want.

If you have a problem with seeing many completely naked, skinny hippies – don’t watch this video. But if you don’t, do. The experience is worth it on it’s own.

Listen: http://www.nme.com/video/bcid/49582897001/search/NME
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Watcha Say – Jason Deluro (12-11-09) (Day 193)

Joe Adamson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:34:36 +0000

For gods sake. Flo Rida has already proved that taking sample of good songs and then using them awfully doesn’t sound good; nobody needs anyone else to do it too. The original was Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap – someone I’ve expressed my love for before. It’s an amazing song and if you haven’t heard that go an listen to it because what this Jason Deluro has done to it does it no justice whatsoever. His voice corrected with auto-tune and once again talking about girls, it’s as predictable as you’d expect. And worse.

I found this comment on a youtube video for this song, and it virtually sums my words up exactly:
This song was made upon a sample of Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap.
The original was so much better, and didn’t need remaking.
I believe this was just a money-making, getting his name known based track.

He’s right. Once Jason Deluro has got his name out into the open, all he needs to do is make 11 other songs full of auto-tune and completely underwhelming beats and he’ll be loaded. Sorted for life. This is the type of person that isn’t going to care about the product, just the money. He’s like the Katie Price of music.
When hip-hop next evolves, please stay away from lovely songs. Make the new hip-hop as original as can be. It will avoid shit like this being made again.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQa60u1zPdE
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Machine – Mars Argo (11-11-09) (Day 192)

Joe Adamson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:02:33 +0000

I am so happy that I stumbled across Mars Argo. Because I have grown to absolutely love them. Two pretentious art students living in Chicago who make beautiful music and films.
It’s the type of music that would be in a weird dreamy indie film. And really dreamy. Every song is so dazy but so oddly melancholy.

Without a record label or other means of promotion, they have managed to gain a cult internet following by often posting short and sometimes frustratingly inquisitive videos and backing them with their own music. For months they made these videos, and last week, the music has finally been released onto an album. Called Technology Is A Dead Bird, it is self produced, self marketed and completely self indulgent. But since I bought it a mere two days ago, it has infected my mind and has become one of my favourite albums of this year.

What an amazing example of the powers of the internet. When I first subscribed to Mars Argo on youtube, they must have had about 300 subscribers. And that was only 3 months ago. 5,700 subscribers later and they’re becoming ever more popular. I would be prepared to hear more about these on the internet. Because songs like this are beginning to creep into more blogs and twitter feeds than ever before. The haunting and ridiculously-confusing-to-figure-out guitar acts as a sort of third harmony to the already gorgeous vocals. And on top of that, the only instrument is three notes on a synthesizer at the chorus. Yet more proof that simplicity works best.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ZikdQ4HRo
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe

Sirens (Nick Kief remix) – Dizzee Rascal (10-11-09) (Day 191)

Joe Adamson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:28:13 +0000

The intro to this song automatically makes it sound like a gimmick. Like one of those awful youtube videos where people think speeding songs up so that the vocals sound like that of a chipmunk is funny and somehow makes a song good. It doesn’t of course. But fortunately it isn’t like that.
I never bought the single of ‘Sirens’, but this was the B-side. And I have no idea why, but it reminds me of that Babycakes song. You know, the one with the weird video with lots of cream. It’s an odd mixture off upbeat head-nodding drums and wobbly dubstep bass. It’s like Jewish dubstep. There you go; I’ve just made a new sub-genre for to people get up the arse of.
Jewish Dubstep.

So it’s a little bit long and hardly changes whatsoever, but I am really quite fond of this. I can hardly foresee a DJ playing it in it’s full 4 minute glory however, but maybe a minute long snippet and it’s very catchy and wouldn’t be a bad interlude.
It’s Jewish Chipmunk Dubstep.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1tAe1dXTE
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/hallojoe