The Wall Of Pussy 12" on Wall of Sound/Pussyfoot is okay, though a bit
overly trip hoppy here n' there... but I really like the last cut called
"G-Shock" by Shock G (Jony Rockstar from the Pussyfoot fold, I believe)...
a nice uptempo dance number with a lot going on and the 'jazz' existing in
the atmosphere.
The Nearly God single (which, y'know, is Tricky) is just okay, too...
overboard on the caved in atmospheres but the lyrics are interesting
(yipes- me, listening to the lyrics???). Tricky tries to sing a bit. More
of the same, really. I wonder what Tricky's going to do with his Island
funded Durban Poison label...
Flexistentialism is mostly a fine compilation... the best and worst tracks
are courtesy of Wagon Christ/Luke Vibert, methinks. Luke's "Get Your Head
Down" is an excellent journey of funked up rock n roll beats and 'hip hop'
referencing vocals. The Wagon Christ mix of 2 Player's "Extreme
Possibilities", however, could almost turn me off to jungle. The drum
programming is soulless and filled with silly tricks (the going up the
keyboard with the snare sound thing is so annoying)... I feel like I should
do the Deiter dance to this. Hrumph. by the way, for all of you upset about
the extra tracks on the US issue of Flexistentialism (which is going to be
called 'Earthrise.Ninja.2' just to confuse you), it also off the Luke
Vibert track but retains the 2 Player. Oh well. At least the Fila Brazilia
mix of DJ Food is on there...
I'm sorry... drum n bass is still exciting me the most. I listened to that
Everything But The Girl "Walking Wounded" single 3 times in a row today and
it still startles me with its brilliance and beauty. A fantastic extension
of Tracey Thorn's work with Massive Attack... should be examined closely by
all fans of that work (as well as EBTG's, obviously). The Logical
Progression compilation is tops, too, with all of the best Good Looking
singles (though mostly in edited, shortened form). This sucker flows, and
has an incredible jazzy ambience on every track. Supreme and a definite
inspiration. And the new Tango single on Creative Wax... get it! It's more
'acid jazz' than 80% of the acid jazz out there.
Kruder + Dorfmeister alert... there's a remix of theirs on the latest David
Holmes single (for "Gone"). It's pretty good, a way downtempo affair with
guitars and bongos and some seriously trudging drums... not one of their
best but worth a gander. Check out the PFM mix for another brilliant mix...
anyone else out there convinced of the genius of the duo called PFM? Oh,
yeah, they're drum n bass, too. Check the Logical Progression compilation I
talked about above for some of their best tracks ("One + Only" and
"Western"). Time for me to sign up to the breaks list, I guess.
What did everyone think of Howie B's "Music For Babies"? I was massively
(uh oh) disappointed... I'll give it another listen and see if it grows on
me... I can't imagine being so let down by Howie so I'll give him another
chance.
Anybody hear the DJ BMF debut EP for New Breed yet?
Someone asked about songs that appeared on more than one compilation and
how this phenomenon is allowed to happen. As I understand it through my
limited experience, the two types of contracts that you can sign with a
label are 'exclusives' (you sell your song to the label) and
'non-exclusives' (you just license the song... they borrow it for use). You
get a lot more money for an exclusive contract, but its not a good idea to
do so because the song won't be yours anymore. You could turn on the TV and
see your song used in a Bob Dole campaign commercial and there'd be nothing
you could do about it. But, you could also sign as many 'non-exclusive'
deals for the same song as you want. And who would turn down the
'non-exclusive' chance for extra money and exposure on more than one
compilation? Certainly not Tosca, whose "Chocolate Elvis" may be the AJ
compiation appearance king! This is sort of a 2nd grade explanation of this
song licensing thing, but you get the idea I hope.
That's all for now... basically just checking in. Real busy here, a lot of
things in the pipeline. Until then... PEACEs!
Michael
AKA QBurns Abstract Message
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