Friday Music

Back again after a brief hiatus. Didja miss me?

I had already typed up this entire post, and then my browser crashed (which only happens once every 3 months or so, and always when I’m typing up these posts, it seems.) So, I’m going to try to remember all of the links (since I deleted them already….SMART).

Gnarls Barkley is a fictional singer. The project is a collaboration between DJ Danger Mouse (the guy responsible for the brilliant Beatles/Jay-Z “Grey Album” mash-ups) and Atlanta-area rapper Cee-Lo. Given the presense of a skilled DJ and a rapper, you’d expect some smokin’ hip-hop tracks, right? WRONG. They have combined to produce perfect retro/neo soul….sounding for all the world as if Al Green or Bill Withers had gotten into a studio with 21st century producers. This stuff is amazing: Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy.”

Neo-soul puts me in the mood for classic soul, so here’s one of my favorite tracks from the early 70s: The Spinners – “I’ll Be Around.”

While I’m on the topic of great production– The producer behind Roisin Murphy’s solo album (which I posted several tracks from last year) has an album of his own out (with Roisin providing additional vocals), and it’s the same jazzy/funky mix of electronics and orchestration. Herbert – “The Movers & The Shakers.”

I was looking for some more French hip-hop for , but found this great rock track instead. The band is called Noir Désir (“Black Desire”), and this is from the album 666.667 Club: Noir Désir – “Un Homme Pressé”

I don’t know anything about Mellowdrone, aside from the fact that they are a brand-new band, and I really, really like their music. I’ll be trying to find out more over the next week or so: Mellowdrone – “Oh My.”

The Roger Sisters are a NYC band that sound like early B-52s (“Rock Lobster/Private Idaho” period, rather than “Love Shack/Channel Z” period). Here’s a lovely little ditty about climate change and the end of the world: The Roger Sisters – “Zero Point.”

There you go. Only six tracks this week. More next week, I promise.

5 Replies to “Friday Music”

  1. Noir Desir

    I’ve been listening to Noir Desir for years. Unfortunately we probably won’t be hearing anything else from them now though as the lead singer is currently in jail over in Lithuania serving a murder sentence.

    It caused a media circus in France because he killed his girlfriend (a famous French actress) at their hotel whilst both were very drunk. There was some political manouvering to get his sentence transferred to a French prison but I don’t think that’s gone through yet.

    For an article on his trial from the Guardian Newspaper:
    http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1171016,00.html

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