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Music Times - June 2006

Ahh mixtapes. Unfortunately, while I was born in the 80s, I am not a true 80s kid, and don't have the full memories of the mixtape days, when teenagers everywhere would spend hours making the perfect mixtape of their favourite songs. But the tradition has kept on, through the days of compilation CDs and, finally, mp3 playlists. In commemoration of this tradition I have decided to create a monthly MusicTimes Mixtape, of the best new songs of the month, and some old ones to mix it up a little. So here;s part one:


Mogwai - Come On Die Young


1. Mogwai - Punkrock
From "Come On Die Young"
Amazon

The intro track from the 1999 album is definitely a good way to start off the album. A simple guitar riff, ambience, combined with an unknown conversation about punk rock and general music between two intellectuals, focusing on the importance of independent music over commercialism and corporations' monopoly on pop music. Listen to this song closely, and try and understand what they say.

"What sounds to you like a big load of trashy old noise, is in fact, the brilliant music of a genius"


Atomic Swing - The Broken Habanas


2. Atomic Swing - The Flasher
From "The Broken Habanas"
Amazon

Unfortunately, the only partially good song on the latest album from the 14-year-old Swedish pop group. Like the rest of the album, it is kind of generic, but has its up moments.


Boy Kill Boy - Civilian

3. Boy Kill Boy - Six Minutes
From "Civilian"
Amazon

Revisiting the indie group's debut LP, I finally understand what critics are talking about - the album seriously doesn't change its tempo in the slightest throughout the entirety of the fast songs. Nevertheless, this song remains a good one, full of perfectly timed repetition, a catchy tune, and that nice combination of the Killers and the Bravery.


Forward Russia - Give Me a Wall

4. Forward Russia - Thirteen
From "Give Me a Wall"
Amazon

Another debut album, the opening track from this totally random British indie group is a smasher, opening with a synth riff, before breaking into a true punk beat. The whiny vocals of Tom Woodhead are not for those in search of soothing music, but it will, in the name of their own label, get you to dance to the radio.


Muse - Blackholes and Revelations

5. Muse - Starlight
From "Blackholes and Revelations"
Amazon

A track from Muse's new album was inevitable on this mixtape. But, of the many excellent tracks on the album, Starlight is a standout, mixing the heavy distorted bass so characteristic of the British Alternative Rock group with what I can only describe as a David Bowie-piano riff, and Matthew Bellamy's trademark vibrato. The song is catchier than their others, but it doesn't at all detract from the song, since it continues to retain all the very established characteristics of the brilliant Devon band.


Mylo - Destroy Rock 'n' Roll

6. Mylo - Destroy Rock 'n' Roll
From "Destroy Rock 'n' Roll"
Amazon

This song is so simple and yet its so good. Consisting merely of a looping narration track, a simple beat and reversed piano riff, Mylo has exhibited his genius as a DJ to make a dance song out of almost nothing. This is definitely a shiner from the album, and his most unique track.


Athlete - Vehicles and Animals

7. Athlete - Vehicles and Animals
From "Vehicles and Animals"
Amazon

An extremely simple, yet catchy ballad from the 2003 album of the southern British band Athlete. In a similar strain to Keane and Coldplay, Athlete go even simpler, sticking simply to acoustic, though always willing to mix things up with out-of-time electronic beats, and whatever unique synth noises they can come up with to add extra dimensions to the band. This song definitely has a British pub feel to it, exemplified in the last chorus, with a choir joining in, in the least structured way possible.



Ben Harper - Both Sides of the Gun

8. Ben Harper - Better Way
From "Both Sides of the Gun"
Amazon

Another classic from the Harpmeister, and my favourite on his latest offering of schizophrenic reggae/acoustic rock. While the zitar and the screaming halfway through both caught me unawares, they fit into the song extremely well. The political tendencies of Harper shine through on this song, but the screaming tends to shroud this slightly.


Mylo - Destroy Rock 'n' Roll

9. Mylo - Sunworshipper
From "Destroy Rock 'n' Roll"
Amazon

Another one from Mylo's genius mind, this song is much more traditional, yet still retains that essential Myloness. A simple electronic beat, jazzy electronic piano and recurring narration make this song sound like it was created by a DJ, but a DJ with something to prove, trying to escape the stereotype of DJs simply planting dance beats under songs. This track places Mylo as one of the best DJs out there at the moment, breaking the mould every single time he comes out with something.


Boney M - Nightflight to Venus

10. Boney M - Rasputin
From "Nighflight to Venus"
Amazon

In my mind, this song simply had to be on the album. The disco group Boney M are only famous for a couple of hits, but this classic hit from 1978 exemplifies their ability to churn out catchy and instantly popular tracks. If you haven't heard this song, you've been living on Mars, but this is one of those songs you either love or hate. Personally, I can't naught but love it. You know you want the Funk.


Stay tuned for part two tomorrow...
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Muse are streaming

June 29th 2006 13:37
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Coldplay Concert
The Sydney Entertainment Centre

[ Click here to read more ]
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Return to Glory

June 27th 2006 04:36
Just a quick note to let you know that the guys down at Orble have done some fixing with the the Anonymous comments system and now I am finally able to enable them again. Comment away!

Oh, and I'll put up a gig review of last night's Coldplay concert when I get round to it. Still sleepy from a night of Coldplay, tears, embarrassing losses and myself being torn between two cultures in the most important battle known to man - the World Cup.
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Sigur Ros - Victory Rose?

June 26th 2006 03:08
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In searching for a video/free mp3 of the recently released trance version of Tainted Love by Milk Inc. (yeah, sorry, but I like it), I stumbled across this video on YouTube - another of Soft Cell's singles. All I can say is, no wonder their only hit was a song written by someone else. This single is called What. Anyways, enjoy.

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I thought that I'd put to rest the side-argument that occured within the comments of my Chili Peppers Plagiarism article. It turns out that Tainted Love is a song originally composed by Ed Cobb and performed by Gloria Jones in 1964. However, it wasn't truly popular until it was covered by the true one-hit-wonders, Soft Cell. Yeah, so here's one of the video clips released with their cover.

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Fifty Cent Apple = gMac?

June 20th 2006 03:12

Fiddy Cent
The man who made millions from a lack of singing or rapping ability


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Keane
Keane - Coldplay ripoffs or true genii?


[ Click here to read more ]
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A Change in Protocol

June 17th 2006 05:24
Thought I'd let everyone know - thanks to an increasing amount of spam comments on my blogs, selling products no one wants, or needs, I have decided to disallow Anonymous comments for the time being. If you want to leave a comment from now on, registration is compulsory. I will allow it again once a better system is in place.
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And another piece of musical history. This time its Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. The similarities between these guys and the Bravery are actually a little scary. Viva la 80s.

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Whip it Good

June 16th 2006 03:10
YouTube never fails to amaze me. That's why today I have decided to share a piece of classical music history, with none other than the 80s song, Whip It by Devo. Enjoy.


[ Click here to read more ]
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The Hype Machine

June 16th 2006 03:02
Hate how there are a billion MP3 blogs out there and you have to visit every single one? No longer, because yesterday I discovered The Hype Machine, a website that aggregates (I like that word) mp3s from various mp3 blogs and puts them on the one website, organising them by date and blog. Seriously, could you get any better than that?

So anyways, I'm officially halfway through my exams, and hopefully my cold is going away sooner than expected. Yesterday I picked up Muse's Absolution Tour DVD, and so I hope to get a review of that up soon. Heck, I'll even do one of U2's Slane Castle DVD for the total number of two people in the world who haven't seen it.

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Top 10 Journey Songs

June 15th 2006 03:16

Insert Title Here
Biggest badasses in the music business


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World Cup Anthems

June 14th 2006 03:06
One of the most important aspects of any Football World Cup is of course... the theme song. Instead of spending their time on creating a decent logo, or mascots that didn't look like they came straight from Bear in the Big House (sorry can't remember the name of that show but you get the drift), the marketing team for Germany 2006 obviously spent the majority of their time on picking the theme song. Or should I say songs. Because, it appears that instead of one, they chose three theme songs. Don't ask me why, they just did. So to commemorate the World Cup in the most musical way possible, I've decided to share the videos for each of these three.

But first, I believe it's necessary to cause you to hark back to the distant past, the history of the World Cup Theme Songs. And of course, as soon as you mention World Cup Theme Songs, what comes to mind? Nothing but the infamous Ricky Martin song, Cup of Life, the theme song for France '98. Thanks to the glory of YouTube, and all those millions out there who have nothing better to do than to upload 8 year old video clips, feast your eyes.

[ Click here to read more ]
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An Homage to Rick Rubin

June 13th 2006 08:05
Thanks to a combination of an increasingly bronchitic cold, uni exams and most importantly, the World Cup, things have been a little slow as of late around Music Times. But, don't worry, because there is plenty in store for faithful readers. At the moment I'm listening to a barrage of new albums, from Keanes Under the Iron Sea as well as several new bands to add to my collection, Kubb and Hard Fi. I've also been trying to get my head around Muse's new album, Black Holes and Revelations which is certainly not the most welcoming for listeners both established and new, but it definitely has some potential. Expect reviews for all four very soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share yet more of the treasures that YouTube has to offer for people all over the world. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing a few videos based on certain themes. And today is the latest video clip from Spank Rock who, unfortunately, is foreign to me, but what drew me to this was the fact that the video is supposedly an homage to possibly the most influential producer of this generation, Rick Rubin. For those who don't know, Rick Rubin is possibly most famous for his latest work with Red Hot Chili Peppers from Blood Sugar Sex Magick until the latest effort, Stadium Arcadium. But Rubin's resume extends way beyond simply the Chili Peppers, spanning across hip hop with Run DMC, to heavy metal, folk/country, and pop - way too many to mention. This video supposedly focuses on Rick Rubin as a producer during the 80s, which can immediately be seen by the deliberate use of those corny corny effects. But I have to say the song isn't that bad, so feast your eyes and let me know what you think.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Sandi Thom is definitely Britain's answer to Missy Higgins. But damn she does a good job of it. Her current single, I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker is No.1 on the British Singles charts and, as much as I hate to say that I love a pop song... I love it. Maybe its her voice, maybe its the tribal beat, maybe its the bear poppiness of it. But I love it. Anyway, check out the video clip for it. The video isn't great and contains effects that I wouldn't have used if I directed it, but it was the only way I could get the song onto my blog without blatantly disregarding copyright laws. Let me know what you think.

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Muse... featuring Freddy Mercury?

June 10th 2006 03:35
Insert Title Here
Muse - Rock Opera Kings of the 21st Century


Ok, well that's not wholly true. But Stereogum have allowed yet another peek into Muse's forthcoming album, and all I can think of is Queen. First off, its galaxies better than their first single, Supermassive Black Hole and has really put the genre "rock opera" to justice. To be honest, I have never truly liked Queen - frankly I think that, while they are good, they are slightly overrated. But I am finding myself loving this song more and more and, if its a good sign of their new album, then I just can't help waiting for it to come.

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From Wikipedia
The Starting Line

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Gig Review

There's always been some types of music that I have never liked. Hip-Hop, R&B, beatboxing, and mainstream, overproduced pop - apart from pop, there's a distinct trend there. But of all the places I could have ended up last Saturday night, I went to a local musical event featuring none other than Joel Turner. Ok, truth be told, I actually had a hand in organising the event and, as a result, I was going to like it whether or not I really liked it. But, to my big surprise, I really liked it.

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