Wednesday 30 December 2009

Happy New Year

So the Noughties are almost over. What's the next decade going to be called, do you think? Answers on a postcard to some other fucker please.

What's this year brought? Good and bad, like every other year I've experienced, I suppose. Generally more good than bad, so that's a big plus. I've always had a problem remembering much past what happened last week, so I'm going to let 2009 just pour out and we'll see what I recall.

Arctic Monkeys third album, good - slow burner, but ace. Same for Kasabian. Jamie T was great, best so far, by far. Fukkk Off was wonderful, as was Fuck Buttons. Best album of the year was Phoenix 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix', which leaked for what seemed like a decade, so I heard and enjoyed it in bits for ages. The Hurt Locker wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, Star Trek was brilliant (best line 'Get out of the chair!), Monsters versus Aliens was funny enough, kids loved it. Fear of Tigers did one of the best remixes of the year, with Sound of Arrows and then released one of the best albums, for free - sweet. Boys Noize finally got the recognition he deserved and 'Waves', with Erol was one of the best tunes of the year. Inglorious Bastards was weirdly great and like no war film I've seen before, or maybe it's a cross between The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes and Catch 22, but nastier. Viva Tarantino! The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassuss was my film of the year and also the one whose title I could never remember, Two Door Cinema Club and Crystal Fighters restored my faith in Kitsune (not that I actually lost faith in them, I just wanted them to do something). Ellie Goulding is just the female voice from my dreams (sorry Sarah Cracknell). Ed Banger did nothing (did they? apart from Mehdi), Poney Poney Run Run, Exit Calm, White Belt Yellow Tag, 3oH3! Acid Girls! Acid Girls were just brilliant - the video for 'Numbers' is one of the best videos of the year, only pipped by the Spike Jonze video for Unkle 'Heaven', because I can watch it again and again. I didn't see enough films this year. The Wire was the best thing I've EVER seen on television and I don't know why. DeadWood is the second best thing I've seen. Peep Show is consistently the best show on UK telly. Loved that RATM was Christmas number 1, just because it shows that with enough organisation we can turn back the tide of shit that sometimes threatens to swamp us. Politicians are fucking awful greedy bastards, but we have to vote for one of them, or stupid racist wankers like Nick Griffin will get more power. We don't want that to happen. Bankers royally fucked us and didn't even 'give us a reacha round' and we'll be paying for that for years. Twats. Grasshopper died (weirdly), as did Jacko. John Hughes died, Karl Malden died, Molly Sugden dead. Obama became president, which was a fucking brilliant (and I still owe Stu fifty quid, betting him that it would never happen), John Stewart the Daily Show is still good. Iyaz 'shorty like a melody in my head' was officially the catchiest tune of the year. As was 'shorty on the dancefloor' by Sean Kingston (a sharty theme?) Deadmau5 album was good ('Ghosts and Stuff', top), Joaquim wasn't that good. Vitalic delivered after four years, some misses on there, but mainly heeeets and beats. The Macabbees album was superb. Metric album, great. SMD 'Audacity of Huge', haven't given the album a proper listen yet. I've been busy!!

Christ I'm going to forget loads here...

Frankmusik...

Jay-Z 'Empire State of Mind' - never been to NYC, but when I do I want this playing in my headphones when I leave the airport. Hurts are going to be big, if the number of hits the video of 'Wonderful Life' has got is anything to go by. The Arthur Baker remix of 'Wonderful..' was triffic. Chester French and Erik Hassle were good. Renaissance Man, Laidback Luke, Burns, Riton, Primary 1, Run Riot, Brodinski, Soulwax, Felix da Housecat, Japanese Popstars, Designer Drugs, Fake Blood, Miike Snow 'Black & Blue', Echo & The Bunnymen, Kings Of Leon 'Sex on Fire' (sorry, but it's a sexy mother of a tune), Big Pink 'Dominoes'..fuck it was quite a year, all in all.

This post may well be a work in progress. I'll be crawling on line at 3am to add - Yuksek! Dada Life, D.I.M 'Lyposuct', Dizzee 'Bonkers', Calvin Harris on X-Factor, Don Rimini, Ian Brown album, ace. Prodigy killed it live, haven't danced so much in years. Tiga's album was ok, the SW stuff being the best. Van She album, was that this year? Oh I don't know - ha!

Have a great 2010. If someone could keep notes from now on, that might make things easier for me this time next year.

X

Saturday 26 December 2009

Thursday 24 December 2009

Oh Alright...


Merry Christmas!!




Friday 18 December 2009

Dogs

Dogs have been around for a few years now and they're still one of the best live acts I've seen. Their gigs are electric, incendiary affairs, enough even for Dave 'Don't Mention The Sex Pistols' over at shitboyfriend to imagine 'this what it must have been like watching the Pistols' when we saw them in a sweaty, fucking hot Bar Academy in Brum, just after the release of their debut album. 'Turn Against This Land' was released in 2005 and was a cracking gem of a release, full of punk indie tracks that were stripped of any bollox and just rocked out. Their second album 'Tall Stories From Under The Table calmed it all down a bit and featured Mr Paul Weller, no less. It featured some great tunes, 'Little Pretenders' is ace, but it didn't have the PUNCH of the debut.

They disapeared off the radar after that, for me anyway, but they're back now and they need our support, godammit. They're going to release an EP in 2010 and they're looking for pledges to make it happen. You can go here, make a pledge, be it a signed CD for 15 quid, a chance to drink the bands rider for 55, right up to them performing a gig at your house for a grand! Whatever it is you pledge, pledge something because we need to keep bands like Dogs around.



Monday 14 December 2009

The Vault

We have a vault here at SS, that doubles as a panic room. I quite often get a bit panicky. It's my age (and my doctors refusal to prescribe me diazepam anymore. Once every twelve months, apparently. Quibble, quibble...). We've decked the vault out with all the things you need if you're locked away for a few days, feeling a bit tense - beer, some food (crackers and yoghurt), DVDs and of course music.

I was in there recently, during the X-Factor final and happened to unearth a gem from a few years back. "Rocker' by Alter Ego was remixed by Erol Alkan in 2004 and appeared on the original 12" single. I remember the first time I heard it out and when I had it on repeat on the pod the other day, my jaw was grinding like a mother. Erol keeps you waiting for quite a while until he lets the thing go, but once he does it's still a monster. It's also one of the only 8 minute remixes I can listen to all the way through.

So - without more ado here's the first in, what I hope will be a series of In The Vault tunes. That's if the DMCA don't close me down...

Sunday 13 December 2009

Just A Bit Of Christmas

It would be remiss of me to ignore Christmas altogether, much as I'd like to. Not my favourite time of year, if I'm honest. Too much forced bohomie and pressure on the bank account to make it the 'season to be jolly' at SS. Get the fucker out of the way and get ready for New Year, that's my plan.

One of the things that pisses me off about this time of year is the Christmas WMD that is the Christmas song. There's been a few good ones I can think of, Kirsty Maccoll and Shane McGowan's 'Fairytale Of New York' of course, a few of the classics, 'White Christmas','Jingle Bell Rock' etc, but generally they're a big bag of shit. My worst nightmare is being stuck at work when the local radio station decides to dedicate the whole day to Christmas songs, 'to get everyone in the mood!!' For what? Shooting strangers?

Horrible.

Mew 'She Comes Home For Christmas' on the other hand is quite ace. It's not really got much to do with Christmas, as far as I can tell, apart from it was released around Christmas time in 2002, the title mentions Christmas and one of the final lines is 'she came home for Christmas'. Actually that's quite a lot of Christmas. It's enough for it to qualify as Squeaky Sneakers only, officially endorsed Christmas song. Here it is...



And that's enough Christmas...

Wednesday 9 December 2009

This May Not Be Uptown Jamaica...


Off to see Madness on the 17th. The first album I owned on vinyl was One Step Beyond, so the Nutty Boys and me go way back. They've been touring much of this year, with appearances at Glastonbury and Pinkpop. They performed twice at Rock En Seine festival when the Bonehead Gallagher brothers had a scrap and they stepped in to fill their slot. I'm looking forward to seeing them alot


Hurts

Hurts are doing a session tonight on the Huw Stevens show on Radio 1 between 9 and 10. Catch them if you can.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Right, so we've got mice. As usual I'm approaching the problem, as I have every problem I've encountered since moving to the country, with extreme violence. I've brought rat traps, because frankly mouse traps didn't cut it. We laid mouse traps all around the house to start with, but the crafty little rodents managed to snaffle the bait, without setting the traps off. I had to marvel at their ingenuity. How do they eat a lump of peanut butter without tripping the trap? If I walked passed it a little heavily, it snapped shut. My admiration quickly waned though, after another broken nights sleep, listening to them partying in the loft, so I went out and bought the biggest mother fucking trap I could find. It's a monster. If you mess up setting it, it will take off the top of your finger.

Anyway, we're getting a mouse a day with one trap. One day we got two, which was impressive and though everytime I place their little broken body into a plastic bag and lob it in the bin, I wonder if there might not be a more humane way to do the job, I remind myself that rodents carry germs and that if we just leave them to their own devices they will BREED. I don't need that kind of shit in my life. We've now got three traps, so expect lots of DeadMice ( I wish I had a tune by the rodent headed one to post now. That would give the story a point at least)

What I do have is Ponyrex, from Mexico, who have some great hooks and a love of synths. I gather this sound is known as dream wave. Whatever it is, I like it - it's good. See if you can spot the Paul Young homage in 'Hologram'.

Ponyrex - 'Hologram'

Ponyrex - 'Freq'

Technicolor Fabrics - 'Render (Ponyrex Remix)'

Saturday 5 December 2009

Fanny Funnel

Miss SS Christmas present sorted