#68 – Some More Holiday Tunes

As promised, I’m back. I had another week off… Sorry about that! As much as I bitch about life and work and all sorts of other crap, I haven’t really got a leg to stand on when I can take two weeks off and the weather decides to shine down on me.

This is just another list of good songs I’ve been listening to over the last seven days or so. Considering just how sunny it’s been there’s a song by the Buena Vista Social Club that’s made the cut and it’s amazing. The whole song is good, but it comes alive around 2:15 or so (and again at 4:15ish). Meanwhile, the Major Lazer remix was one of the very first songs I posted when this blog started and I figure that since we’re almost a year down the line and summer is well and truly teasing us then it’s about time to put it up again. Just one final note on the song by The Kinks. I heard it on the soundtrack to The Darjeeling Limited which is an outstanding film. The whole soundtrack is worth listening to, so the [Buy] link after ‘Strangers’ will take you to the soundtrack’s page and not the Kinks.

Kanye West – Monster Feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver [Buy]

Buena Vista Social Club – Pueblo Nuevo [Buy]

The Kinks – Strangers [Buy]

#23 – Gentleman’s Dub Club

On Tuesday night a bunch of our friends finished their semester at uni and decided that it was a prime opportunity to go out and drink more alcohol than responsible future doctors ought to. Being the easily led fool that I am, I followed them blindly around until I too was somewhat drunk. We ended up in Tuesday Club where a live band were playing. Gentleman’s Dub Club have played plenty of times before but I’d never made it to one of the shows they were headlining. A nine piece band with horns, sax, great drums and some heavy, heavy bass, they played for an hour and a half and blew the place apart. I got it on reliable authority that it was the best set they’ve played at Sheffield. Apparently. The lead single at the moment is Fire, which starts out as a really empty dub/reggae song and breaks into a ska ending that it is impossible not to dance to.

#10 – Revolutionary Music

Vive La Revolution!

I’ve been in Bordeaux this past week and they’ve been making a right racket about these reforms to the pensions. In a nutshell, the government is trying to up the retirement age to 62 from 60, and up the age when you can claim a state pension from 65 to 67. Obviously the unions are pretty upset about it and so they’re doing what the French do best… Striking.

 

#3 – Ska

Blogs all over the web were lighting up over the latest Diplo creation that came out at the beginning of the month. The Major Lazer/La Roux mixtape was, I think we can conclude, a bit of a limp fish. Only really two or three songs on it were worth the hype, although that may still be a bit generous… I think the idea is good though. As a bit of a fan of Island music, anything that makes a song a little more summery is generally going to get at least a listen from me. So let’s consider Reggae’s big brother. Ska music is something that most people would often consider the territory of 14 year old kids with long hair who like running into each other at gigs, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s been around longer than Reggae and has played a part in both the Island and British music scenes since the early ’60’s. The constant upbeat, trumpets, organs, and generally dancey feel make it one of the most expressive and fun genres to listen to. It is impossible to keep your feet still when it’s on.

Here are a few examples of how Ska has developed, from the first wave of Jazz and Blues influenced songs, through to the second wave that took the British Mod culture by storm, better known as 2 Tone. This progressed to the punk tinged third wave that was popular in the ’90’s in the States and that a lot of people would probably associate with Ska these days. Finally I’m throwing in a gem that I can’t stop listening to. For me summer started when I found this tune in February!

Lord Tanamo – I’m In The Mood For Ska

The Coventry Automatic – Little Bitch

Goldfinger – Walking In The Dark

Major Lazer – Keep It Goin’ Louder (Ska Mix)