Friday Music

Hey there.

A bunch of us went out for drinks with China MiĆ©ville last night, and the conversation ranged over a wide array of subjects. At one point, China was talking about Grime, the current Next Big Thing raging in London, so I figured I’d post some examples.

For those unfamiliar, Grime is a UK-specific brand of hip-hop that comes into the genre through electronic music (specifically Garage) and Caribbean Dancehall, rather than the US path of Soul and Funk.

Two artists specifically mentioned by China:

Wiley – “Wearing My Rolex.”

and

Dizzee Rascal – “Dance Wiv Me”

The track that I mentioned (which I’ve posted here before):

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip – “Thou Shalt Always Kill.”

Moving on–

One of my favorite bands of my high school years, Echo & The Bunnymen, have a new album, The Fountain coming out in October. This is the first single, releasing next week. I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it yet. On the one hand, it definitely has the unique Echo sound, but on the other hand, Ian McCulloch’s vocal sounds… I don’t know. Like maybe he’s trying too hard? I’m not sure. Echo & The Bunnymen – “I Think I Need It Too.”

I’ve been playing the hell out of the new Muse album. I’ve already shared my favorite track (“United States of Eurasia”) and my second-favorite (the current single, “Uprising.”). This is my third. Muse – “Unnatural Selection.” I cannot get over how good this album is.

Lastly, a track from 2002 which is still one of my favorites — propelled forward by a great vocal from Kelis paired with a Theremin sample from “The Day The Earth Stood Still”: Timo Maas – “Help Me (feat. Kelis).”

There you go, kids. Enjoy.