Here we go, cats & kittens…. the last Friday Music of November:
First up, another great track from Kate Nash. The more I hear, the more hooked I get. This is her single that’s coming out on December 17th (making it a fairly strong contender for the Christmas No. 1 in the UK, by all accounts, despite the lack of a Christmas theme). Kate Nash – “Pumpkin Soup.”
More of the brilliant work from Mark Ronson’s album Version. He’s joined on this track by brass ensemble The Daptone Horns (the guys providing the brass on Amy Winehouse’s album), doing an *amazing* retro-instrumental cover of a Coldplay track: Mark Ronson (Ft. The Daptone Horns) – “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face.”
The Daptone Horns are from Brooklyn’s Daptone Records. The core of the brass are known as the Dap-Kings, and do brilliant retro-soul on the label, with front woman Sharon Jones — Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings – “100 Days, 100 Nights.”
Kyllie Minogue is going to be guest-starring on the Doctor Who Christmas episode, Voyage of the Damned. Some Who-fan DJs, under the name “Fast Ood Rockers” have done this mash-up of her “2 Hearts”, Goldfrapp’s “Strict Machine” and The Timelords’ “Doctorin’ The TARDIS”– you will LOVE this: Fast Ood Rockers – “Song 4 Kylie — I’m In Love (with a Girl in a Time Machine).”
While we’re on the subject of mashups, I stumbled across this bit of brilliance, which mixes a TON of stuff around the frame of Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero” and Bob Segar’s “Turn The Page,” including bits of Kid Rock, Rush, The Doors, NIN and Tomoyasu Hotei, among others… all it lacks is a clever name (the DJ really let us down on that). DJ John – “Juke Box Hero Project.”
Proof that Celtic music doesn’t have to be limited to céilí or Pub seisun….a quick reminder that there were Celts in coastal France as well. This track is one of my favorites, a sure cure for the umpteenth hearing of “Whiskey in the Jar” — it’s a folk-rock track from the 1970s, sung entirely in the Breton language: Alan Stivell – “Tri Martolod (Three Sailors)”
Blondie was approached by the producers of the James Bond films to do the theme for For Your Eyes Only, and so they did, showing up at the studio with a song ready to go. “No, no…” said the producers, “We just wanted Debbie to sing the song we’ve got here.” Pointing out that if they wanted Debbie, they should have asked for Debbie and not Blondie, Debbie and the rest of Blondie walked, taking the song with them. The producers got Sheena Easton to sing their song (which was a hit), but I often wonder what could have been, with the original theme…. Blondie – “For Your Eyes Only.”
Lastly, a nice bit of second-wave, two-tone Ska, from my favorite band of the era: The (English) Beat – “Click Click.”
Enjoy.
DJ John
That was a very interesting take – I really like it!
+DJ John
It’s a totally awesome track. When you say a TON, you mean it. A few unmentioned highlights for me include Pink Floyd, Digital Underground and Sir Mix Alot.
Thanks!
I’m at work, but you should be able to find it on YouTube.
Someone put the Blondie song over the Sheena Easton credits. It’s kinda cool.
“Click Click” is great – one of the best Beat songs from their brilliant first album!
There were Celts all over France actually, they just got heavily Romanized (hence why our language is basically funky Italian today). Bretons are Celts from the British Isles that got kicked out by English invaders (Angles, Saxons etc). One more reasons us Frenchies support Scotland and Ireland anytime over England.
Tri Martolod is a traditional song that was covered by various trad-folk bands in the 70s (Tri Yann is another big one). Alan Stivell wrote some badass arrangements for it but didn’t like it when crossover French rap band Manau sampled them to make La Tribu de Dana (wait for the chorus). Gamers loved this version because its lyrics don’t have anything to do with 3 sailors going on a voyage but tells the story of an epic fantasy battle.
Manau’s rapper is below average, check out http://www.yolala.org for a more accurate picture of French rap.
Here are some of my favorites by Stivell:
Pop Plinn
Suite Irlandaise
Suite des Montagnes
Suite sudarmoricaine
Broceliande
Brezhoneg Rack
Overall, his album “Renaissance de la harpe celtique” is a major milestone in Celtic music.
I prefer Tri Yann’s version of “An Alarc’h” though, it works better with strong, deep voices harmonizing.
Big fan of French rap (as you probably remember) — MC Solaar, Clotaire K, etc.
And THANK YOU for that Manau track. That’s really cool.
Yeah, I’ve been listening to Stivell for about 25 years now. I started with Journée à la Maison and Grand Succès.
You’re welcome :). They did another adaptation of a Breton classic “Mais qui est la belette”, covering “Le loup, le renard et la belette”, which was more upbeat. They kinda were a French, cleaner-cut version of House of Pain.
I guess I’m just re-posting the link to get Solaar out of your head :)
*bows respectfully* I guess I even listened to his stuff as a foetus but my parents weren’t too keen of him because he’d often show up on stage completely drunk (Bretons share alcohol and weather issues with other Celts).
I heartily recommend Tri Yann, though their 80s stuff is a bit hard if you’re scared of cheap keyboards. One of the cool things they do in their songs is comment on current political events in medieval French and Breton. They usually have to provide explanations in the booklets but it’s the kind of cultural mashup that I love.