The spoils of today's record hunt. I had the two Erasure records in my old vinyl collection, so it was nice to find them! Shame the 2-Tone 7"s aren't in the labels' iconic sleeves, but you can't have everything.
It's not often i love a new album enough to play it on repeat - not since my late twenties any rate - but that's what happened when i put my Eco-vinyl copy of IDLES Crawler on the turntable. After the deliberate self parody of last year's Ultra Mono Joe Talbot and co. have taken a bold step forward: Crawler largely dispenses with the political sloganeering and post-punk moshpit anthems and reaches within for inspiration. Talbots' well documented 14 year struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, and his long road to recovery are the dominant themes here, in all their ugly details, but with a life affirming sense of redemption. The music is largely quieter and more measured too. Opener "MTT 420 RR" is a slow burning electronic textured track which represents the crash that saw him at his lowest point, the spare and eerie atmosphere over which Talbot recites the details in gruesome honesty. "Car Crash" sounds exactly like just that: a minimalist dubby, g...
Record labels aren't just businesses, or just a channel between musicians and the public. They're an identity, an aesthetic, and an iconic part of the mythology of music. Motown, Stax, Virgin, Island, Columbia, Blue Beat, Postcard - all names that will instantly bring to mind the artists signed to them, and the eras and genres associated. Thinking back to my introduction to music as a kid, the paper label in the middle of the 7" single was just as interesting to me as the music itself. The record company logo, the artwork (if there was any), the information about the artist and song too. Delving through my parents collection (mainly my Dads), certain labels became attached to certain types of music. The Bell and Rak record labels are forever attached to Glam Rock, the former being the home of the now disgraced king of glam, Gary Glitter, as well as his backing group, The Glitter Band, who had several big hits on their own, whilst the Mickie Most-owned RAK, with i...
11th March, 2002 marked the beginning of a new national radio station, the first in 32 years. BBC 6 Music was the first of the BBC's digital stations to be launched as part of the gradual switch over from analogue broadcasting. But it was far more than that. 6music was a station with a different attitude. Not only was it dedicated to playing a broad spectrum of alternative music from punk to indie to soul to jazz to trip-hop to electronica and dance, from the past and present, but the presenters were people who were genuinely passionate about the records they played, and were given far more free reign than usual. Amongst the presenters were several musicians: Suggs, Bruce Dickinson, Brinsley Forde. The rest of them were well known music writers and seasoned DJ's such as Stuart Maconie, Janice Long, Bob Harris, Liz Kershaw, and the guy who would open the station at 7am, Phill Jupitus, who had spent many years as a punk poet, compere, DJ on LBC, comedian, tv personality and well ...
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