The “My Type of Music” series over at FontFeed usually focuses on good/interesting record covers. This time the serious critical eye is turned on gems of another type: My Type of Music – FontFeed – April 2013
Here’s an *excellent* primer on the history of Dubstep from Joseph Lately over at The Verge. The story touches on all the key points (Croydon, pirates, MAH, cheap software) and includes interviews with British and American producers and thinkers. There is a Soundcloud mix of some of the big songs (and some non-obvious) so you can listen along. Highly recommended reading and likely to become a touchstone in journalism about dubstep. Beyond lies the wub: a history of dubstep | The Verge. PS. The Verge is known as a gadget/consumer electronics site, but this shows that they were not kidding…
One of my most looked-forward-to albums this year: From the record label hype: sbtrkt’s debut album pulls off a series of impressive feats: it’s bursting with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar. it’s sound-patterns and rhythms can easily soundtrack the ecstatic hands in the air dance floor moments as well as reliving the monotony of the morning commute. its influences are incorporated with subtlety and sophistication: dense enough to interpret, light enough to dance to. while he has had multiple releases in single and ep forms, this is his first full-length, and about that he says “this release…
Interesting think piece : Has the internet killed local music scenes? Could this be said to explain the sameness of the Nike/Fader mixes we mentioned the other day?
That other list is out LPs 1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Domino 2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Glassnote 3. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone – Anti 4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! – DGC/Interscope 5. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca – Domino 6. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest – Warp 7. The xx – xx – Young Turks 8. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Part II – Ice H2O/EMI 9. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic – Warner 10. Girls – Album True – Panther Singles 1. Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys) – “Empire State of…
NPR: An important distinction: We’re not looking for everyone’s favorite albums or songs, but rather ones that had some sort of historical significance. These are the game-changers — ones that signaled some sort of shift in music, or ones that were particularly influential in some way. We’re looking for the albums and singles people will still buy, share, listen to and talk about for years or decades to come.” NPR: The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recordings is the plain, unadorned, list. You can see a written discussion of the list here. They take pains to say that these are “important”…
Simon Reynolds in The Guardian on the development of synth pop (in the UK in particular) Takes in quite a bit for a mainstream pub: One nation under a Moog | Music | The Guardian (Reynolds often publishes the uncut version on his site later.
The Mercury Music Prize is a “prestigious” prize awarded to an album made by a British or Irish act in the previous year. Current top 5: Florence And The Machine 5.00 Lily Allen 6.00 Bat For Lashes 8.00 Doves 8.00 Little Boots 8.00 I’m a little surprised by Lily Allen and Doves being so high up. Their stars had seemed to be declining. Florence and Doves apparently benefited from well-received performances at Glastonbury (despite the prize being awarded “solely on the basis of the music on the album”). You can see the full list at the: Ladbrokes betting line on…
RIP Swells – He was equally annoying and entertaining, and never pulled punches. His takedowns of pompous and self important NME faves were always worth reading. Steven Wells Says Goodbye (Philadelphia Weely)
Christgau on his recent peregrinations. Including Voice, stone, Blender and more. Really, theses days, who would want to be a writer? Poptastic Bye-Bye – ARTicles. (NAJP.org)
It’s that man Reynolds again. This time with an eloquent and informative breeze through his approach to the last 20 years of UK ‘ardcore. Remarkably readable and fascinating. Energy Flash – The Hardcore Continuum Theory and Its Discontents The text of a talk by Simon Reynolds delivered at FACT, Liverpool, Wednesday 11th February 2009. PLUS notes for points to be brought up during the dialogue segment with Mark Fisher but weren’t owing to time running out PLUS afterthoughts on the past, present and future of the hardcore continuum
An unofficial compilation of tracks sampled by Massive Attack showcases the group’s aesthetic through the songs that informed it – and provides fans with the thrill of discovering the originals. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/feb/26/sampling-epiphany-massive-attack (Simon Reynolds at The Guardian, UK)
Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? It’s meant to be a classic album, but all you can hear is a load of boring tripe … we’ve all felt that way. And so have the musicians we asked to nominate the supposedly great records they’d gladly never hear again Sgt. Pepper Must Die! (Guardian UK)