Archives for November 2011

 

Singer songwriting firebrand Frank Turner, takes control of Now Playing @ 6 Music, interacting with his fans online to shape a playlist of his musical influences and current favourites.

As well as Frank, we had The Line of Best Fit on the blogger takeover, and we rounded up the rest of the week's digital goings on.

Tracklist:

Frank Turner – The Road

#DigitalDigest
* Sharon Von Etten’s new track Serpents has been getting a lot of people excited, on top of Hype Machine – listen here.
* Gary Numan has done an exclusive mix for the Quietus. You can hear the hour long session, which includes tracks from Grace Jones, Kraftwerk & Nine Inch Nails, over on their Mixcloud Page.
* After the launch of Google Music last week Spotify are upping their game with a press conference announcing a new direction on Wednesday. No one's entirely sure what this means – so stay tuned.
* Paul Weller made his return this week, posting the first single from his upcoming album Sonic Kicks – it’s called 'Around The Lake and you can hear it at Stereogum.
* Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs takes over the 6 Mix this Sunday and has made a brand new track 'Dream On' available as a free download from his official website.

#Now Viewing
* In a celebration of Bob Mould’s contribution to music, a host of musicians such as Dave Grohl, Ryan Adams, and the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn took part in the See a Little Light concert – have a look on Pitchfork.
* Charli XCX’s latest video for Nuclear Seasons has been getting a lot of attention – see why on , she may well have a chance. Go catch it on her YouTube channel.
* Animal Collective have posted a six-minute video documenting their three hour performance piece, Transverse Temporal Gyrus, on their Facebook page.
* Bjork gave a rare TV performance on Later with Jools Holland this week – with Crystalline in particular getting a lot of coverage. Watch it again on the iPlayer.
* And The Weeknd released the video for his new track, The Knowing, earlier today and its impact was so great it was a trending topic on Twitter. Have a watch here.

#MPFree
Cass McCombs – The Same Thing

#fthc6music – playlist picked by Frank Turner
Frank Turner – Wessex Boy
The Band – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Townes van Zandt – To Lives to Fly
Refused – New Noise
The Weakerthans – Plea from A Cat Named Virtue
Aphex Twin – Film
Against Me – I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Reuben – Stuck in My Throat
The Hold Steady – Magazines
Lemonheads – The Outdoor Type
Danny & The Champions of the World – Henry the Van
Loudon Wainwright III – Career Moves
NOFX - Linoleum

#Blog6Music – tracks picked by The Line of Best Fit
Flying Burrito Brothers – Older Guys
Wilco – Art of Almost
Kathleen Edwards – Sidecar
Korallreven – Coming Closer
Friends – I’m His Girl
Lindstrom – De Javu

You can also get your suggestions in the week via #FTHC6Music , Facebook, email and Twitter and if you’re a Frank fan, make sure you’re tuned in this Friday night from 7pm.

 

What an incredible night of the very best hip-hop, soul, R&B, funk and grooves on Now Playing this week as we welcomed Roots Manuva and We Are SME onto the show. The picked an incredible array of tracks – and was really not something to be missed.

As well as this we rounded up what has been going on over the past seven days online, such as the latest Radiohead remix, the new video from MGMT and Kate Bush’s album streaming ahead of release.

Tracklist:

Coldcut ft. Roots Manuva - True School

#Digital Digest
* Deadmau5 has been the latest to remix Radiohead – he’s had a go at Codex and it’s up on Soundcloud.
* Google Music has just launched to rival Apple and its iStore. Android users can but, store and stream mp3 files and share them – to some extent – with their connections in Google+.
* Cameron Crowe enlisted Jonsi to score his latest movie We Bought a Zoo – and while he was at it, the Sigur Ros frontman wrote two new songs. The first is called Gathering Stones and is on NPR.
* While also at NPR you can stream the new Kate Bush album in full, called 50 Words for Snow.

#NowPlaying

Leftfield - Release the Pressure

#NowViewing
* On MGMT’s Late Nigh Tales compilation was their cover of Bauhaus’ All We Ever Wanted Was Everything – and now there’s a video for it on the Hit Fix.
* The Big Pink’s new video for Hit the Ground (Superman) is up on their Vevo.
* Feist has revealed the video for first single from her new album, Metals. It’s for track How Come You Never Go There and is also on Vevo.
* Will Sonic Youth continue after Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon’s recent split? There last scheduled gig from last Monday in Brazil is now up on YouTube and could be the last chance you get to see them.
* And the video for Tim Burgess rated Factory Floor and Two Different Ways is now on YouTube.

#MPFree
Little Dragon – Little Man (Tycho Remix)

#Manuva6music – playlist picked by Roots Manuva and you
Roots Manuva – Witness (1 Hope)
Soul II Soul – Fairplay
Sugarhill Gang – Rappers Delight
Smiley Culture – Police Officer
D-Train – Keep On
Angie Stone – Wish I Didn’t Miss You

The Specials - Ghost Town

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message

Ghostpoet - Longing for the Night

Rebel MC - Street Tuff

Katy B ft. Ms Dynamite - Lights On

Roots Manuva - Watch me Dance

#Blog6Music – this week picked by We Are SME
StooShe – Betty Woz Gone
Frank Ocean ft. Wiley and Manga – Acura Integurl
J. Cole ft. Trey Songz – Can’t Get Enough
Drake ft. Rick Ross – Lord Knows
Clement Marfo & the Frontline ft. Ghetts – Overtime
ItsNate – City Lights

Roots Manuva is on Now Playing this week as our virtual guest. The iconic UK rapper will be on Twitter answering your questions and picking the playlist for the show with your help. 

For an hour from 7.30pm, Roots will be controlling 6 Music from the comfort of his own home. He’s already picked a couple of tracks which inspired him to make music, some all time classics, current favourites to kick things off – but a large portion of the playlist is empty, and he’s going to filter through your suggestions to fill it up.

Use #Manuva6music to get through to him on Twitter, but if you don’t use Twitter, you can still get involved by e-mail, Facebook, here on the blog or add to our collaborative Roots Manuva Spotify list - and we’ll pass your messages on.

Things you might want to get him to play:
• Gems from Roots’ back catalogue – Dreamy Days, Witness or maybe an album track or your favourite B-side
• Something from his latest album – 4everevolution
• Artists he’s collaborated with – Gorillaz, DJ Shadow, The Maccabees, Leftfield, Coldcut
• Other hip-hop artists
• One of his Big Dada or Ninja Tune label mates

Get your suggestions in now, ready for Roots on Friday, and be sure to listen to the show from 7pm, which will also feature the wonderful We Are SME who are coming back once again to play us some of the music which is currently getting their feet tapping.

There was also new music from The Horrors and Drake, a trawl through #nowplaying digging up a forgotten slice of early 90s hip hip from Arrested Development  and a 6 song playlist from continent straddling blog Cougar Microbes. 

What We Played 

My Bloody Valentine - What You Want 

#Digital Digest

*The annual US Music Hackday has come up with a fun -  if somewhat pointless -  Spotify & boozing mashup, called Drinkify.  

*The Antlers are the latest band to cover the xx. You can download their cover of VCR from Pitchfork 

*and talking of the xx, the Drake album has leaked - and - oh my, someone call the autotune police - he’s done a version of THAT Jamie xx tune.  

#Now Viewing

*The wonderful Andrew Weatherall has delivered a 90 min lecture on dance music, downloading and bouffant facial hair (Vimeo)

*Lana Del Ray’s been captured on video premiering a new tune, though be warned, it does contain some ripe language  (YouTube)

*the latest edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert features spectral Swedish sensation Jens Lekman  

*and The Horrors have gone all Thin White Duke on us, with a cracking cover of ‘Suffragette City‘ (via Abeano)

#NowPlaying

Arrested Development — Tennessee

#MP3 Free

Loney, Dear - Calm Down

Bouts - We Tried

Electric Guest - American Daydream

Monomono - Make Them Realise

Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (Penguin Prison remix)

#MBV6Music - a playlist celebrating My Bloody Valentine

 
My Bloody Valentine — Sometimes
Ride — Vapour Trail
Primal Scream — Accelerator
Teenage Fanclub — Neil Jung
Wire — Map Ref. 41 N 93 W
Hurricane #1 — Rising Sign (Kevin Shields Mix)
Iggy Pop — Livin' On the Edge Of The Night 

The Jesus and Mary Chain — Happy When It Rains
The Frank & Walters — Take Me Through This Life (Kevin Shields Mix)
Ringo Deathstarr - Imagine Hearts
My Bloody Valentine — Soon (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

#Blog6Music Takeover - Boaz from Cougar Microbes 

Friends — I'm His Girl
Tashaki Miyaki — Something is Better Than Nothin'
Kick Up The Fire — No Fun In London
Les Savy Fav — Sleepless In Silverlake
Alana Stewart — Boy Next Door
Casiokids — Det Haster
Alexander — TRUTH (RZA Remix)

 

Throbbing, powerful and intense, My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ was nothing short of a revelation when it was released 20 years ago this week.

Recorded in 19 studios over two years and costing a rumoured £250,000 - a staggering amount for a pre-Oasis Creation records to cough up - it still sounds as vital as ever two decades on.

Taking its cues from both the shoegazing movement and early 90s dance culture, ‘Loveless’ fused layers upon layers of buzzsaw guitar with an almost balearic rhythmic sensibility  and the woozy, melancholy vocals of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher. Oh and it was loud. Man, it was SO loud.  Released at the end of a vintage year for alternative music, ‘Loveless’ many not have made the commercial impact of Nirvana’s Nevermind, but it was arguably the most sonically innovative record of 1991.

Two decades on and…well, we’re still waiting for a follow up. Shields my have ploughed his own musical furrow elsewhere, but the hyperbole around the band’s reunion performances in 2008 demonstrated what an indelible mark they’d left on alternative culture. For those us who weren’t old enough to see them the first time round, watching them in their full pomp at London’s Roundhouse or, in my case, at a rain soaked Bestival, was a stark reminder just what an impact they made.    

So, in honour of ‘Loveless’ reaching its 20th birthday, we’re dedicating the middle hour of Now Playing to My Bloody Valentine - and we want your help curating the playlist. We want your suggstions of

*Favourite MBV  tracks, rarities and remixes (Weatherall’s mix of ‘Soon’ anyone?)

*The music which influenced ‘Loveless’ from Robert Fripp and Brian Eno to Sonic Youth

*Other Kevin Shelds collaborations from Primal Scream to J.Mascis via Sofia Coppola and Placebo

*Creation bands from the same era - The Fannies, Ride or maybe The House of Love

*Contemporary acts who’ve taken their cues from MBV - perhaps The Horrors, Smashing Pumpkins or Mogwai?

As ever you can email us your suggestions, post your comments on the 6 Music Facebook page, tweet us or drag tracks to our collaborative Spotify playlist

Wow - what a reaction to Billy Bragg, and what amazing choices he picked, with your help, from Elvis Presley to Toots and the Maytals and David Bowie. And then, just when you thought the tunes were about to dry up, The Quietus came with some tracks from artists you might not have heard about yet - but surely soon will!

Tracklist:

Billy Bragg – Sexuality

#DigitalDigest
* The Who’s Pete Townsend gave the inaugural John Peel Lecture on Monday which was blogged by David Hepworth, Bob Lefsetz and Mark Mulligan arguing over his views.
* A recording from a pre-Dave Grohl Nirvana gig in 1990 has appeared on Soundcloud.
* Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and cult masked rapper DOOM collaboration, Retarded Fren, is on Soundcloud.
* The Weeknd has remixed Lady Gaga’s Marry the Night which is up on her YouTube channel now.
* The xx launched a new blog this week and announced on it they’re recording their second album.
* Amy Winehouse’s posthumous track with Nas Like Smoke made its way onto Stereogum.

#NowPlaying
Visage – Fade to Grey

#NowStreaming
* ZZT – Partys Over Earth (Electronic Beats)
* Turbowolf – Turbowolf (Facebook)
* Atlas Sound – Parallax (New York Times)
* David Lynch and Dean Hurley Stool Pigeon Mixtape (Mixcloud)
* David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time (NPR)
* Laura Veirs - Tumble Bee (NPR)

#MPFree
MaG – Paper Airplanes

#Bragg6Music – a playlist picked between you and Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg – Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
The Redskins – Kick Over the Statues
Ry Cooder – No Banker Left Behind
Colm Mac Con Iomaire – Emers Dream
Simon and Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy in New York
Mel and Tim – Backfield in Motion
Toots and the Maytals – 54-46 That’s My Number
Stevie Wonder – He’s Misstra Know It All
Faces – Debris
Elvis Presley – If I Can Dream
Billy Bragg – The World Turned Upside Down
David Bowie – Kooks (BBC Session)
The Impressions – People Get Ready
Nick Lowe – The Beast In Me

#Blog6Music – picked by The Quietus
The Fall – Greenway
EMA – Angelo
Zun Zun Egui – Dance of the Crickets
Mastodon – The Creature Lives
Factory Floor – Two Separate Ways
Tyson – After You’re Gone (Legowelt Remix)