James Blake // Lil Wayne A Milli (remix)

You may have noticed an attempt to hit up a few more London acts recently. So it is about time we got around to James Blake. I only have a passing interest in dubstep. Never really got into Lil Wayne. But this is somehow one of the best things I've heard in a while.

Lil Wayne : A Milli (James Blake remix)

Herzog

Herzog play a blend of indie reminiscent of the late 90s/early millennium that I can't quite put my finger on. I want to say Lit, but I think it would put you off. Their album Search is out on August 2 on Transparent.

Herzog : Paul Blart And The Death Of Art

Panther Hands // Young, Gifted and Brown

Yup, it's a white dude. But doing a dancefloor reworking of Joe Bataan's original classic.

Panther Hands : Young, Gifted and Brown

TMGTWS (TOAOBOUWLAOB)

I saw this the other day - a self-admittedly premature declaration of the 'Best Indie Album of 2010'. The winner of this dubious award? Yeasayer's Odd Blood. Have a listen. It's good:

Yeasayer : Ambling Alp

But it's not that good. It lacks a certain something. A je ne sais quoi. There are more languages out there, but you get my meaning - that which takes something from good to great. So, by reference to two of our favourite bands (The Hold Steady and Sunset Rubdown), I hereby present...

The MOTS guide to writing songs (that one and/or both of us will like and/or buy):

1) Write a belter of a chorus. 'Beltz' have three characteristics -
i) have a certain ambiguity that allows for a deep and varied philosophical reading;
ii) have no break between the end of the verse and the start of the chorus - get straight in there; and
iii) MOST IMPORTANTLY, they MUST have plenty of oh-oh-oh's, ooh's, ah's or la's. (They may contain NO 'Rubies'.)

Sunset Rubdown : Idiot Heart
The Hold Steady : Chips Ahoy

2) Don't rely on the chorus to carry the song.
3) Verses/breakdowns/intros/outros should all have hooks as well.
4) Songs should tell stories.
5) Repetition is very effective if (and only if) each repetition has slight variation.
6) I want to sing and cry and feel loved all at the same time.

Sunset Rubdown : The Men Are Called Horsemen There
The Hold Steady : Hostile, Mass.

Easy.

////

And in the spirit of Wimbledon (and good music):

Tennis : Marathon
Tennis : South Carolina

Duck And Cover

In case you missed it the first time around.

Yelle : Qui est cette fille (Robyn cover)

ceo

Every time summer comes around I reach for a Cut Copy record. In the current state of affairs, however, I'm not expecting a new one any time soon. So imagine my delight when I listen to the track "Come with Me" by ceo, which fills the empty Cut Copy shaped hole in my life, at least for the time being. It even has the exact same little fill from "Feel the Love."

I believe ceo is the side project of Eric Berglund from The Tough Alliance. Well Sweden is home to many good things, sadly no longer the Hellacopters. I'd recommend the track and will certainly be checking out the record White Magic when it drops.

Mid-week news - Chris and I saw Harlem at the Flowerpot. Short but sweet. I liked it, they were a good raucous three piece, not necessarily staggeringly inventive but well put-together. Also some crazy instrumentation swappage going on.

On another note, I feel this is the perfect time to mention a couple of new bands: Chico Fellini, who play what has been described as "Sleazy Bowie" (a great epithet, if perhaps verging on the tautological) and Secret Colours, a psychadelic-ical band from Chicago. Thanks to Mr. Jeffrey Smith for the shouts on these. One day, God willing, they will earn their own blog post. But judging from the protracted nature of this post, I think we might be waiting a while.

ceo - Come with Me
Chico Fellini - Give it to Me
Secret Colours - Jellybean

Shirley Brown // Woman To Woman

Way before waves of feminism became misconstrued as Sex and the City, women always sang nice soul songs about fighting for their men. And that is almost a fact.

Shirley Brown : Woman to Woman

Ways to begin your morning

There comes a point in everyone's month where they just want to listen to a song replete with sickly sweet melodies, pop-til-I-die vocal riffs and the sing-a-long chorus of the decade.

Which then has a key change.

Head Automatica : Beating Heart Baby

Oh My God It's The...

Today.. the absolutely huge Funkin' for Jamaica. Instantly recognisable for any EPMD/garage fans (and probably a lot more).

Tom Browne : Funkin' for Jamaica

And the amazing Jackie Moore's This Time Baby, which surely has one of the best sleeves of all time.