Cutting it down to the wire here aren't I? As it stands I may not get to episode 50 this year. My work obligations for christmas are going to be more cumbersom than I thought this year. I know that it is only to more episodes to make it to number 50 but we will see what happens with december. I will be sure to post on FB (if you are friends with me) and Twitter (PurelyHim) when those last to episodes are released, if they are released though, you can be sure about that. You can always check my twitter feed which usually is only updated when I post a new episode.
On with the show...
This is the second
compilation album from R.E.M. (The first greatest hits album). It was released
in 1988 and was the last release from the band on the I.R.S. label. With the
release of the album Green the group had signed with Warner Bros. There are a
few rare versions of songs that are included with this collection. This is a
good over view of their work with I.R.S records, their early work as it is.
This album does have the alternate title of File Under Grain. The album
Document had the alternate title File Under Fire and the album Reckoning had
the alternate title File Under Water.
Since it is a greatest hits album I will just talk about the three
different tracks on the album. The first is an alternate version of Gardening
At Night from the Chronic Town EP. The track is actually labeled as Gardening
at Night (Different Vocal Mix). The vocal mix is only slightly different and if
you are not listening for it you will not catch it. The next song is called
Romance. This song is taken from The soundtrack for the movie Made In Heaven. I
have not seen this movie but fits as a great rare song on this collection. The
soundtrack for the movie was never put out on CD that I am aware of. The last
song is called Finest Work Song (Mutual Drum Horn Mix). This is obviously a
different mix on the drums and Horns. Both of these different remix versions
are good but don’t seem to stand out as something super special. The rare song
on the album that was included on the sound track is a very cool song with a
fun bouncy bass line but doesn’t seem like your average R.E.M. song. I like it
because it is different. I wouldn’t say that everyone should own this
compilation though since there are more current compilations or best of album
that are out there. I was lucky to find this for 50 cents on cassette. I
thought it would be a fun listen but did not want to spend a ton of money on
it. It is a good collection of songs but unless you are a big fan of the group
I would probably not recommend getting the album. If you are like me, you may
just happen to run across it purely by coincidence. 
This is the first album from Squarepusher, A.K.A Tom Jenkinson.
The album was released in 1996. Squarepusher is a brilliant bassist and drum
machine programmer. All of the music on this album is completely electronic or
electronica as the genre has labeled it. This is one of my favorite album from
Squarepusher. There are some very beautiful sounds that are used along with
some brilliant jazz ideas. The very first track on the album, Squarepusher
Theme, showcases his electric bass chops and overly technical drum programming.
This song would probably be way to much for most people but this is where I
took my cue to write drums on my first two albums. I loved the myriad of drum
hits that were programmed not only on this song but the whole album. It is
brilliant, technical and overwhelming at times. The next song, Tundra, slows
the music down quite a bit. This is needed after first track really. The
opening synth lines are a wave wash of sounds. The drums slowly kick in and
start bashing the beats against those waves. It is really a great contrast
piece though. Then the song completely changes. The synth line becomes more
melodic and the drums almost drop off but come back with a simple rock beat but
over time become more full and beat heavy. This is a great track when you want
a good beat but still want to relax. My next favorite track on this album, Dimotane
Co, starts out in the most annoying way,
a single tone for one minute. Then the song kicks in and you are so glad you
waited for that annoying song to stop and the actual song to start. It is all
drum and bass electronic but man it keeps you so interested in what is
happening with the song. The bass breaks remind me of the music that I used to experiment
with on the computer when I first got one of my own in 1996. I did not have
access to the instruments and software that Squarepusher had or maybe I would
be in a similar position as he, or maybe not, who knows. Anyway, this is yet
another track that, now that I have heard it, I don’t think I could live with
out. Goodnight Jade is another track that I really like for its simplicity. It
is a smooth slow synth piece with nothing on the drums but a steady one hit at
the start of every riff. It reminds me of a night where there are hazy clouds
out with a full moon giving the sky a really cool green tinge with maybe a London sky line from the
country side. It is really beautiful. The last track that I really like from
this album is also drum laden with great sounding synth keyboard sounds is
called Kodack. There are great shimmery sounds that over lay some simple synth
keys and the classic technical electric bass and programmed drums that
Squarepusher will have become known for. This is a great peek at what he will
do in the future with music. it is also a great place to start if you like
electronic and jazz music fused together. I would recommend this album all day
to every one!
This is the fifth studio album from beck. It was released in
1996. I remember that I was about to start college and was playing music with a
couple of friends over the summer. There were five singles released from this
album. It is still a very popular album. The album was produced by the Dust
Brothers who had previously worked with many hip-hop artists. The first single
from the album is the super famous Where It’s At. I really liked this song and
it was the reason that I bought the album. The track starts out with a great
intro on a Rhodes keyboard, yet another reason
for me to love the track as much as I do. The song is so catchy it is hart to
say that you don’t like it. The next single from the album is called Devil’s
Haircut. This song is also the opening to the album. There is a cool bass line
with a simple and constant guitar chord that plays through the song. There are
also some very cool guitar solos that happen on the song none of them are the
same and it keeps the song fresh. Beck has said that the song is about how an
outsider may view our greed and vanity in our current times (1996). The third
single released is called The New Pollution. This is a great drum driven track.
Easily danceable and the video featured 60s style dancers in the background, to
illustrate my point. There is also a great saxophone solo in this song. The
next single from the album is called Sissyneck. This track has a country song
feel to it. This feel is overlaid on an electronic sound. The fusion of the two
genres actually works quite well. But then beck has always dabbled in fussing
different genres. It is not one of my favorite tracks from the album but it
does work well. The last track released from this album is called Jack-Ass. This
is a slow song for the album. There is a lot of vibrato used in the
instrumentation of the track giving the listener time to think about what is
being played and said during the song. It has been said that this song is
really a lead-in for a future album from Beck called Sea Change, previously
reviewed. I would agree with this statement really. It is a beautiful track albeit
a little rough around the edges. I would like to add that my absolute favorite
track from this album is not a single. It is actually the track called High 5 (Rock
The Catskills). There is something special about this song for me. It is very
different with a little rap mixed into the electronic rock that the song is.
The chorus sings, “High five, more dead than alive/rockin the plastic like a
man from the catskills.” There is just something that is so engaging for me
about the way that it is sung. The album was reciently reissued as a deluxe
album with two CDs, the second CD containing remixes and B-sides from the
singles. This is another one of those great albums that everyone should hear at
least once!
This is the first full length album from the French duo Air.
It was released in 1998. It is an electronica/down tempo album. I first found
out about the group when they did the soundtrack for the movie The Virgin
Suisides. I loved that soundtrack and wanted more from them. This was the only
album that they had done previous to that sound track. There are only three
singles off this album. The first is called Sexy Boy. I remember hearing clips
of this track on an MTV2 channel check clip. I always thought to myself that is
a very cool sound clip. I wonder who the artist is. I never did the research to
find out though. It was not until after the sound track came out that I bought
the album and realized who the artist was, after listening to the music on the
CD of course. The music has a great bass line that sounds so cool. I think it
has some sort of vocal component to the bass line to give it that human/organic
sound that attracts the listener. The female vocals help as well. The second
single, called Kelly Watch The Stars, also has a great bass line but doesn’t
stand out as much as the first single. The vocals on this track are covered up
with a vocoder that makes the music blend very well. The vocals are not covered
up but are instead linked directly to a keyboard. The lyrics are mainly just
the repeating of the title of the track but that doesn’t make it any less of a
great song. The third single is called All I Need. This song was co-written with
Beth Hirsch who also sang the lyrics on the song. The bass line on this song
was taken from their song Les Professionnels that can be found on their first
EP, reviewed earlier this year, Premiers
Symptômes. The album as a whole is very good. If you like down tempo or want an
album to relax to, this is a good album to accomplish that with. The whole
album is a great chill out record.Radiohead - TKOL RMX 8
I have reviewed the original seven remix records that the group have released. After the seventh and final remix album was released the group decided to put out three additional tracks on download only.You can get them at The King Of Limbs store and only at the store. The first track is the third part of the Jamie xx Rework. This is an amazing version of Bloom if I do say so my self. The second track is a second part remix from Anstam of the track Separator. This is pretty good but not the best. The third and last remix is from Nathan Fake. This track is a remix of Morning Mr Magpie. It is labeled as Harshdub RMX. This if actually very interesting version. Thom Yorke listed these tracks as they didn't make it in to us in time to be pressed on wax. Good music, check them out if you are into that sort of thing. They can be heard for free before buying them at the Dead Air Space web site.
Hopefully I will be able to get the last to out before the end of the year.
That is all for now...
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