Death Is Not The End

Having heard Green Man (Rum & Black Mix) on XL Recordings: The Third Chapter, and in various other remixes in clubs etc., it was with some confusion that I contemplated this CD whilst standing in yet another charity shop.

The reason for this confusion? I did not have my iPod with me, so I was not sure if this was the Shut Up & Dance that I thought it was; this combined with the odd album title, even odder cover artwork, and even odder still the inner sleeve shot (see below) which made me think that this could be some sort of jazz-funk nightmare or the like.



Having taken the chance, I'm glad I did because:

a) They are the Shut Up & Dance I thought they were.
b) It's a really interesting mix of dance, rap and hard to describe music.

It's hard to pick out favourites here because it's so eclectic, so it depends on what mood you're in. So, based on my mood at the time of posting, I'd recommend Here Comes A Different Type Of Rap Track, Not The Usual 4 Bar Loop Crap and Down The Barrel Of A Gun.

Java Bass will suit you whatever your state of mind, great bass line...

1. Death Is Not The End
2. Raving I'm Raving (Remix)
3. Autobiography Of A Crackhead (Acoustic Version)
4. Cape Fear
5. Here Comes A Different Type Of Rap Track, Not The Usual 4 Bar Loop Crap
6. The Green Man
7. Java Bass
8. So What You Smoking?
9. Runaways
10. Blue Colour Climax
11. Pure White Black Life
12. The Art Of Moving Butts
13. Down The Barrel Of A Gun
14. My C-Lab Crashed & Did This

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Way In My Brain (Remix)/Drumbeats

Another CD single acquired in Swindon, but at a different time and in a different shop to On A Ragga Tip.

Apart from track 3, the others sounds somewhat dated, and dare I say it formulaic?

Anyway, this one is dedicated to Musical Coco Basket, who has, apparently, had to sell music for food in the past. Hope this fills your stomach...

1. Way In My Brain (Remix Edit)
2. Drumbeats
3. Aftershock
4. S.L.Ectro

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On A Ragga Tip

Having posted XL Recordings: The Third Chapter, thought I'd see what I've got by any artists that were on it, and it turns out to be not much.

The one exception to that is The Prodigy, but it's not as if millions of others haven't posted on Liam and co., so I'll not bother.

The second exception is SL2. Although I'm not personally a huge fan, nor do I normally post anything but vinyl rips, wanted to post this CD single (picked up in a charity shop in Swindon of all places) for The Double K, in recognition of his kind comments.

For my money both tracks 2 and 3 are better than the title tracks - maybe that's just because I've heard On A Ragga Tip too many times.

Here it is:

1. On A Ragga Tip (Edit)
2. Pleasure (Original Mix)
3. Changing Trax (Original Mix)
4. On A Ragga Tip (Original Mix)

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Kingdom

This is the last of the vinyl that I have which was purchased as a result of my original Live At The Brain acquisitions. As mentioned earlier, I thought there was more, but if there was I don't know where it's gone.

I really (and I mean really) like British Summertime, a true classic if ever there was. The album it's from (Every Man & Woman Is A Star) is pretty damn good too, and I bought the album as a result of hearing British Summertime on Live At The Brain 2.

I applied the same logic to this purchase, but sadly the results do not compare. I know that Nolan Micron feels this is a ground-breaking piece of work, and I have to admit that I am not overly familiar with the 'folktronic' movement.

However, in my humble opinion, this is a piece of over-indulgent, pretentious, up-its-own backside piece of work if ever there was.

So, having given you every reason to not bother checking it out, here it is.

Utter tosh, but posted for completeness...

A1 Kingdom

B1 Goldcrest
B2 Kingdom (Extended Mix)

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Truly Ashamed...

...it's been over two months since my last post.

Got the turntable back on it's feet, so will post in the next day or two...

Due To Unforeseen Circumstances...

...currently unable to post vinyl at present, due to the fact that an unknown individual in my household has separated my Numark TTUSB turntable's tone arm from its stylus. With extreme prejudice.

Anyway, conscious that I have been a bit quiet of late, and that recent posts have been more driven by squaring the Live At The Brain circle than by quality, thought I would share a discovery.

As you can see from earlier posts, I am more than a little keen on Pop Will Eat Itself. Whilst searching for the same, came across Castles In Space, which is a real blast from the past. Very keen on Nolan Micron's musical tastes, in particular The Orb, The KLF, Orbital and System 7.

Strongly suggest you check out Nolan's musings. If Nolan keeps up the prodigious posting rate, we should all be in for a treat...

Power/Knowledge

Looking back at my earlier posts, I may have given the impression that I had quite a number of 12"'s by the artists that appeared on Live At The Brain Volumes 1 & 2.

I honestly thought I did, but having stared my vinyl collection squarely in the eye, it appears my memory is not what it used to be.

In fact, the only three are this, Catch-22 and Kingdom by Ultramarine (of which more in the next post).

There can be no doubting that these four tunes come from the same hands as Inflating Plastic Explodable on Live At The Brain, with a number of samples/tracks seemingly re-used here. The less charitable amongst us might conclude that Mr. Monday could have done with a larger collection of vinyl; the more generous of nature simply that he had some favourite tunes which needed to be repeatedly shared with the wider world.

Given his track record, and not being a DJ, I fall into the latter category...

Ironically, I think the strongest track here is on the B-side: Listen 'N' Weep. I Can't Breath When I Look At You is definitely B-side material; filler not killer. Still can't make my mind up about the A-side:

A1 Busy Going Crazy
A2 Daybreak

B1 Listen 'N' Weep
B2 I Can't Breath When I Look At You

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