Delorean – Stay Close
This is another uplifting dance tune by a band with a name that is linked to my home land. Perhaps there is a trend to be started? Can anyone suggest some Belfast-centric named bands? I will put my mind to it.
The track is a euphoric slice of summer and it sped my journey home this evening. I also love the fact it was released on Mushroom Pillow Records.
The Crusaders – Street Life
I thought it was about time I posted a Disco classic. I love this, it is so smooth and funky and the vocal, courtesy of Disco-royalty Randy Crawford (see picture below, thank you Wikipedia), is truely amazing.
I listen to this and wonder why people were so anti-disco back in 80’s. I can’t think of anything more fun that giving it stacks on a dancefloor to a tune like this.
Solomon Burke – Everybody needs somebody to love
After being inspired to post Brian Wilson after seeing him on Jools Holland I was moved to mine YouTube for some more BBC musical gems and I came across this. Pretty good.
I have wanted to post it for a while anyway, as it is a classic soul tune. A great version also features in a favourite movie of mine – The Blues Brothers. Check out Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi MOVE.
I need YOU, YOU, YOU. Just to see me through.
Suede – Beautiful ones
I have recently been a little fixated by Britpop and warmly reminiscing about the mid-90’s. As such, I have wanted to post this for a while. It features one of my all time favourite intros. Taken from the excellent Coming Up, which was released at Britpop’s zenith in 1996.
Gil Scott-Heron – The Bottle
Sorry I have been slack in posting over the past few days. It has been a hectic week.
I was sorry to hear that Gil Scott-Heron had passed away last night. He was one of the pioneers of rap music, making socially conscious and challenging music. The revolution will not be televised made a big impression on me the first time I heard it as a very green teenager unaware of much outside my bucolic immediate surroundings.
This, however, is my favourite track of his. It strikes the perfect chord between funky and profound.
Elliot Smith – In the lost and found
I needed somethign mellow this morning to soothe me after what has been a long week and I came to this. It is taken off the excellent, if bleak, album Figure 8.
Elliot Smith was a talented but troubled guy. Posting Joy Division a few days ago made me think of him.
I wanted to post something more modern today having gone quite retro recently. This is pretty fresh and I have been enjoying it over the past couple of days. I hope you do to.
/RjK
Wilson Pickett – In the midnight hour
This was the first electronica song that really made me sit up and take notice of the genre. I had never heard a song so smooth and poised. It is taken off the groundbreaking album New Forms, which blew me away.
Roni Size is another of the Bristol crew I have posted recently and was a real pioneer of the drum and bass genre. He paved the way for more recent artists such as High Contrast. London Elektricity and pendulum.
Donald Fagen – I.G.Y. (What a beautiful world)
I thought I would post a bit of further nostalgia today. Being at home always puts me in wistful form. It is nice to remember times gone by once in a while though.
This is another favourite from the mythical mix tape which is a distillation of several long car journeys taken to the continent and back on childhood holidays.
Donald Fagen was half of Steely Dan and this is the high point of his excellent 1982 debut solo offering The Nightfly.