Friday Music

It’s getting difficult to do these — with as much time as I’ve been spending on the novel recently, I’ve been listening to a TON of music. Trying to keep these Friday Music posts down to a reasonable size, rather than just hitting you with everything that’s floating my boat right now….

Here’s a rarity for you Queen fans out there. In 1983, Brian May had a jam session with Eddie Van Halen and a few studio musicians. They recorded it, and the result was a hard-to-find EP called “The Starfleet Project.” The main track on the EP, which I give you here, is a re-working of the theme song of an early-80s UK kid’s show, Star Fleet, which May watched with his kids. So you have two of the best guitarists in the world, jamming along to a sci-fi TV series theme, with wonderfully over-the-top lyrics like: “Send a message across the sky – Alien raiders just passed Gemini.” Love it. Here you go: Brian May + Friends – “Star Fleet.”

I haven’t heard the original version of this song, but I love the remix, so here it is: Test Icicles – “What’s Your Damage (Alan Braxe and Fred Falke Remix)” That synth hook is just too good.

This is some nifty stuff. It’s part of the soundtrack to the recent Takeshi Kitano remake of Zatoichi. The composer mixes modern electronica with Japanese folk and, in this case, taiko drumming. Suzuki Keiichi – “Festivo.”

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any mash-ups, and I’ve recently found this one, which I like quite a bit. It’s a mash of the Beatle’s “For No One”, Scissor Sisters’ “Take Your Mama”, George Michael’s “Freedom” and Aretha Franklin’s “Think.” DJ Earworm – “No One Takes Your Freedom.”

Grime is a musical genre out of the UK, which is similar in many respects to hip-hop, but has its roots in the UK Garage electronica scene. Garage MCs mostly just engaged in crowd-pumping chatter during sets, but some started laying hip-hop-style full-length rhymes over the fairly dark electronica, usually with ragga-influenced vocabulary, and often at what would be considered breakneck speeds for US MCs. One of the tops in the genre right now is Lady Sovereign, a short 19-year-old white girl from northwest London, whose flow, as the hip kids say, is SICK. She has an EP out called “Vertically Challenged”, and her debut album, “Straight Up Cheeky” is on the way. Lady Sovereign – “Ch Ching”

When I first heard this song, the piano hook completely….well, er….hooked me. This is a track from the album “Rocinante” by Ester Drang…and any group that is willing to name their album after Don Quixote’s horse is cool with me. Ester Drang – “Valencia’s Dying Dream.”

This is some really good electronic pop out of Venezuela, which I’ve been playing over and over again: Todosantos – “A Veces.” Spanish speakers — help me out here: I know the group name translates as “All Saints”, but what about the lyrics?

More international hip-hop for . This is Alliance Ethnik, a group of French MCs, who have recorded this track with Cheb Mami (the Rai singer who most Americans know for his backing vocals on Sting’s “Desert Rose”). Alliance Ethnik feat. Cheb Mami – “Parisien Du Nord (Remix)”

I picked up the new album, “Pictures” by genius electronica DJ Timo Maas, his first artist album since 2000’s “Loud”. Excellent stuff, as expected. He’s got another collaboration with Kelis on it, and others, including Neneh Cherry. My favorite track on the album, though, is this one: Timo Maas – “Big Chevy.”

So there you go. Enjoy!

7 Replies to “Friday Music”

  1. Spanish speakers — help me out here: I know the group name translates as “All Saints”, but what about the lyrics?

    Not that I consider myself a Spanish speaker by a long shot, but I couldn’t understand anything that guy was saying/singing. It took me a few times to be able to pick out even the words of the title. I tried looking up the lyrics on a google search, but no dice. Lo siento.

    Loved the song, though.

  2. STAR FLEET

    Fucking ROCKED!

    Gerry Anderson meets Anime.
    The X-bomber, the sheer campiness!
    Some people do have copied recordings for sale here and there on fansites on the web, if you can find them.

  3. Spanish question: I ran into the same problem as posted above. I’m fluent, but I only picked out a couple of words and they don’t make sense. However, “A veces” roughly translations as “sometimes”.

  4. Re: STAR FLEET

    I nearly wet myself when I heard this. Absolutely amazing…had to forward it to a few friends. :)

    DJ Earworm: “No One Takes Your Freedom” rates as my fave mash-up, beating Dean Gray: “Dr Who on Holiday”, IMHO.

  5. THANK YOU!!

    for posting the Starfleet link. I just got it on cd myself. My record player died years ago & I’ve been missing the album. My favourite track is “Let Me Out.”

    “Don’t go sleeping
    Don’t go hiding
    Give yourself a holiday
    Say you’re leaving
    Sunday driving
    Pack your bags up & shout
    ‘Let me out!
    Let me outta here.’
    We can fly away tonight,
    No-one will know….”

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