Tag Archive for 2000’s

Raphael Saadiq* – Never Give You Up featuring Stevie Wonder and C.J. Hilton

Guest blogger Jimmy T highlights some silky smooth Neo-Soul

Raphael Saddiq is the inventor of Gospeldelic, and Stevie Wonder is a genius. In this track they team up to brilliant effect, I have never had the chance to listen to the full album in which this song appears, probably because this song is so good that I can never get beyond it.

I think that because he is blind Stevie manages to express more through his music than is possible otherwise. He is a legend in the truest sense of the word.

Raphael Saadiq:

Raphael Saadiq/JT

*Artist #614

Common – The 6th Sense featuring Bilal

This track, from Chicago rapper and actor Common, is taken from his excellent 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate.

It is an oldie but it has been on my mind for a while now. It came on my MP3 player while on shuffle and a couple of the lyrics really stuck with me. I liked them because they were profound, which is a rarity when it comes to rap. I like plenty of rhymes that are boisterous or funny but very few that are deep:

I start thinking, how many souls hip-hop has affected? How many dead folks this art resurrected? How many nations this culture connected?…

It also helps that the beat is amazing, with production from the legendary DJ Premier.

Common – Like Water for Chocolate:

Like Water for Chocolate

/RjK

Destiny’s Child* – Say my name | (GPF)

Having posted Jay-Z earlier in the week, it seems fitting to post Destiny’s Child who featured Beyoncé AKA Mrs.Carter his better half.

The other reason they have been on my mind is that they LIT IT UP at halftime during the Super Bowl on Sunday night. In small doses I am an utter sucker for razzmatazz. It feels really strange to say this but I was struck by how it is of “my time” which made me feel properly old.

My final point is that Destiny’s Child must be right up there with TLC as one of the best all time names for group of this (or perhaps any) genre.

If you ain’t runnin’ game say my name, say my name…

DC:

Destinys Child/RjK

*Artist #604

Doves – There goes the fear

Having spent the weekend with two old school friends there are two reasons to post this classic track from favourites Doves. Firstly, it was a track I listened to endlessly during those days. Secondly, the fear is very much something I am feeling today…

It is taken from their excellent 2002 album The Last Broadcast. My final point about Doves is that they are one of the best live bands I know. If you ever get the chance to see them, I strongly recommend you take it.

/RjK

Björk – Unison (live at the Royal Opera House)

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been listening to lots of 90’s music recently. In the ‘Best of’ playlists I listen to and read Björk features prominently. While she did produce much great music in the 90’s it somehow doesn’t seem to fit with the other tracks. It just sounds so stark and futuristic. It is hard for me to process the fact that Play Dead was recorded before Girls and Boys.

This track is typical of what makes Björk so utterly great. If I was to try and summarise it I might suggest the depth of feeling and emotion along with the magnitude of imagination.

I don’t often find myself drawn to live versions of songs but, for a couple of reasons, I made an exception for this. I love the scale that setting together with the choir and orchestra gives this already epic track.

Bjork:

Bjork/RjK

 

The Knife – Pass this on


This summer, The Knife will tour for the first time in 7 years. And even then, they only ever toured once in that incarnation. I missed out on tickets for the London show this May, which would have been handiest for me as I live there, but managed to get tickets to see them in Berlin instead. It appears I’m going on holidays.

Anyway, ticket-bragging aside, I want to talk about Pass This On from their 2003 album Deep Cuts. This album became popular after Jose Gonzales covered its opening track Heartbeats and it was featured in a Sony ad. Their follow-up, 2006’s Silent Shout is one of the best albums of that decade.

What I like most about Pass This On is those calypso drums. They’re so mesmerising. The song is poppier than anything else The Knife have done and it would be easy to bop along to this without getting too deeply involved. The lyrics are on the playful side too – I’m in love with your brother/ What’s his name/ I thought I’d come by to see him again. There’s no escaping a dark undertone that always exists when Karin Dreijer sings and that lurks on the edges here.

I rediscovered this song a couple of years ago through Jamie XX’s BBC Radio 1 Mix, which I played relentlessly for months and features Pass This On mixed seamlessly with Jamie’s own Far Nearer. I rediscovered lots of tracks off the back of that mix actually, most of which deserve their own posts. In fact, that mix deserves its own post.

Over the years, I’ve been a fan of other tangential Knife projects, such as Olof Dreijer’s Oni Ayhun EPs. OAR003-B is a particularly enjoyable 10 minutes of minimal techno.

This post has veered off on many tangents, but I suppose that’s the nature of writing about The Knife. Everything they touch is gold.

/HC