Detroit takes over football! Really.

I was watching the dreadful Italy-England quarterfinal Euro 2012 match this past Sunday at my friend's place. (Rooney is rubbish by the way). We could hear the football chants of course and someone remarked that it sounded like the White Stripes. Huh? But I was too busy gripping the arm of the sofa from nervousness, to think about it further at that moment.

After England inevitably got kicked out, the football chant was stuck in my head on the way to the train. And I realized, that it did sound like the guitar riff from "7 Nation Army". But I thought nah, that's a coincidence, the English fans were just singing something similar.

And of course I was wrong. Completely wrong. Turns out, it was the ITALIAN fans and they were ACTUALLY singing "7 Nation Army" by the White Stripes! How did I find out? For some reason the chant was in my head again today, so I looked up "football chant white stripes" today on Google and I found this article. I learned that its the unofficial anthem for Italian football fans.

Well isn't that just amazing? I think it's great that this Detroit garage rock band has this tune that sports fans sing the world over. Here it is.

And here's some video of Italian fans singing the song, to prove this actually happens. This is after Italy stole the World Cup from Zidane's France (can you tell I'm not a fan of the Italians?) But it's cool that this is their chant.

Oddonomy

I take the subway to work here in DC and, most mornings, I pick up the free rag that's handed out at the stations, the Express.  The paper has a music column on Tuesdays, written by Christopher Porter.  Almost every week I find myself shaking my head at whatever he's written about -- usually some obscure 90s local hardcore, which I'm pretty sure almost no DC commuter cares about -- yet somehow he still retains his column!  Last week was different though, and I found myself slightly intrigued.  The column was about a young local MC/producer who goes by the name of Oddisee.  What intrigued me was his real name, Amir Mohammed el Khalifa -- a Muslim, like me!  Or at least that's what his name implies.  The column went on to detail some of Oddisee's work, which only intrigued me further, as it sounded like he had some pretty eclectic tastes.  So I looked him up, and found out that as well as being a local artist, he spends a lot of time in London!  After that I ended up listening to some of his music, reading some articles, and even checking out his thoughts on gentrification.  I was well impressed all round . One of his tunes really stood out to me, and I'm going to stick it in below.  It's off the "Odd Renditions" EP, which can be downloaded for free at bandcamp, and it samples a Metronomy song I hadn't heard before: 


I really like the way he uses the Metronomy sample in this track -- it sounds more like a collaboration than a sample.  The original Metronomy song, which I heard after the Oddisee version, now sounds like something's missing from it to me:



Oddisee has already put out a lot of work, as a solo artist, a producer, and as part of local hip-hop trio Diamond District.  He seems to be one of those artists who's a lot bigger abroad then he is even in his hometown, let alone the States as a whole -- in my experience that usually equals quality.  He's just put out a new solo album, People Hear What They See, and is currently on tour in Europe. 

Gratitude

Couple of new things to highlight.  First up is a new remix by Gold Panda.  It's a little different from what I've heard from him in the past, a little more uptempo, dark, and glitchy.  The remix is of a track by Night Works, a new outfit started by the former bassist of Metronomy.  They sound quite intriguing themselves, so I'll try and check out more by them and hopefully do a post. 



Next is a new(ish?) track by Burial and Four Tet.  I saw Four Tet in DC recently (I don't think I posted about it, but my memory isn't what it used to be), at U Street Music Hall.  I was in two minds about going but it turned out to be a good decision.  It always seems like a bit of a gamble going to a live dance music event but it almost always pays off.  Thoughts of "it's just a bloke with a laptop" evaporate when the music starts, mostly cos the soundsystems make such a massive difference, as does the experience of being with a crowd of dancing people.  But the fact that the musician is there, playing the music in one form or another (Four Tet was definitely not just pressing play on a laptop), does make a difference -- and it definitely makes a difference from a DJ'ed show, a difference that to me is positive.  The DJ has his place too, but there's something about listening to a live set that appeals to me more.  Anyway, enough of that; the collaborated track is called 'Nova', and here it is:



Finally, RIP MCA.  I can't say I was ever a massive Beastie Boys fan, but I did like them and enjoyed having my life punctuated by a new Beasties track every few years.  The singles from Ill Communication will always remind me of my teenagerhood, as will the amazing videos.  Adam Yauch seemed like a decent person, and 47 is very young. 

Georgie Porgie

Hello,
I haven't posted anything in ages mostly because I started to make a mix here and there, and that's where I throw in tunes that I'm listening to. But Fahad still blogs so I thought I'd give it another go.

I used to put my mixes on Mixcloud, but I've switched to SoundCloud instead. SoundCloud seems more fun, interactive, and easier to share and listen to. I don't think I'm very good at the mixing in my mixes (heh) since I'm not a DJ, just a massive music nerd, but people do say they like what I've put together :-D So this is my latest mix below:



One way I think a lot of music heads find new music is by listening to mixes. This mix by George Fitzgerald released last year has become one of my fave mixes for the last few months, you can listen to it here.

From that I discovered some of his tunes, which are really something else. Have a listen. He does a great job at meshing up a lot of genres together, and I think that's something all my favourite producers do in one way or another.

Graham Coxon, the Chemical Brothers, and buying records in Yemen

Graham Coxon's got a new album out, called 'A+E', and there's a stream where you can hear the whole thing. I haven't heard it properly yet but I'll put it up for any Blur fans out there:


There's also a stream up for the Chemical Brothers' soundtrack for their live film 'Don't Think'. Not sure if a film is the best way to get the Chem Bro's experience but the live album's not bad, and can be found here. Glad the Chem Bro's are still doing their hedonistic drug-fueled party thing. Well, apart from the drugs part.

Lastly, just read a disappointingly short but still interesting article on buying records in Yemen here. There are some tracks up there that are worth a listen. I'll be off to the mid east soon myself but I've got a feeling that I won't be finding many record shops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, or Saudi Arabia. Will hopefully have some luck in Turkey though!

MEGA POST

This is what happens when I don't blog enough -- I end up with a mega-post trying to catch up with everything! Having a sprog at home means I don't really get time for this but I'm making it happen tonight, wooooooh! Yeah. I'm going to split this up into new tune, old tune, albums, soundclouds, and a mix.

NEW TUNE

Ok, been hearing this on BBC Radio 6 a lot, you've probably heard it if you're into things, but I only heard it this week. It's a great glam-rock stomper, and it's by the Black Keys:



I've not heard much Black Keys but I think I'll have to check 'em out now.

OLD TUNE

Just a random track that's been in my head lately. I miss these slinky sounds. MJ Cole always got great reviews so it may be worthwhile picking up his album (or at least the one this track is off of):

ALBUMS

Couple of artists I like have put out new albums recently and handily stuck them up on Soundcloud to be previewed for free. I quite like that tactic, it allows fans to hear things and then decide if they want to buy but without having to mess around with illegal downloads. I at least would consider buying an album I liked properly, on a physical format, as I think the sound is better and I'm over being cheap and trying to own everything that gets a good review. So, I recently checked o out the new Tindersticks and the new Scuba. Entirely different types of music but there you go. I can't really comment on the Tindersticks yet as I've only heard it once and need to give it some more time, but I tried Scuba's album, 'Personality', a few times. It definitely sounded better at home, played at a good volume through some good speakers, but it still left me a bit cold, like something was missing. Just didn't move me fully, but there are some good tracks and it's worth a listen -- but only if you've got a good way to listen; don't rely on computer speakers, everything'll sound bad that way.

SCUBA
Scuba - Personality [HFCD007] by Hotflush

TINDERSTICKS
The Something Rain - TINDERSTICKS by Constellation Records

SOUNDCLOUDS

A couple of other Soundclouds I've checked out and enjoyed recently have been Gold Panda's and Graphics'. Both are electronic artists, Gold Panda being a bit more dreamy while Graphics is a bit harder. Good to stick on a decent stereo while you go about your business. I'd just go direct to their pages, hit play, and let Soundcloud go through the tracks if were you.
GOLD PANDA
GRAPHICS

MIX

Lastly, a mix by Aeroplane, who I did not see when he played U Street Music Hall recently (other act I didn't see: Carl Craig). He puts up a mix on his Soundcloud every month but I listened to a few last year and didn't really like them. Randomly came across the Februrary 2012 one though and got into it so I'm putting it up here. Much dancier than what I'd heard before, which is what I like -- I don't mixes which are supposedly dancey but then are too eclectic and start off with a bunch of weird stuff that you can't really dance to. No point, other than to try and create an out there setlist that may impress people. Can't be easy coming up with good mixes though, when everyone's at it. I wonder how these DJ's come across good tracks to pick that haven't been played out already? Hmm.
Aeroplane February 2012 Mix by Aeroplane (Official)

Things I've Heard and Liked Recently: Leonard Cohen, Shigeto, some others.

I'm still processing my current relationship to music. I think this process is taking so long, and seems important to me, because music previously was such an important part of my life. And I think that's what's changed now -- it no longer seems as important, and, sadly, it no longer seems as enjoyable. Not that I don't come across something every now and then that stands out. Those occasions are few and far between, but here are a few things that I've smiled at recently.

Ghostly is an electronic-music orientated record label out of Ann Arbor, MI. Their location, as well as the quality of their music, led me to stick myself on their email list, which is how I came across one of their artists, Shigeto. He's also out of Ann Arbor and released his latest EP, 'Lineage', on Tuesday. I liked what I heard straight away, the instrumental tunes making think of trip-hop with a jazzy tip -- like something on a Ninja Tune compilation I owned years ago, but my memory's pretty hazy. Anyway, I think the EP is well produced, without the throw-away quality of some of the electronic stuff I've been hearing over the last couple of years. I think it's because there's an organic feel to it, and it doesn't sound like it was simply made on a laptop. You can hear samples here.

Leonard Cohen is, of course, a Very Famous Musician. But he's one of those musicians who I've always heard of and known about but never actually listened to. Until now. He's just come out with a new album, 'Old Ideas', and the Guardian has handily been streaming the whole thing. I quite like it -- I like the age to his voice and lyrics, and I think I can take him seriously because he's been around so long. Again, it doesn't sound like someone just doing it, just mouthing some meaningless cliched lyrics -- it sounds like someone who actually means it, like the lyrics matter to him. I especially like the first track, 'Going Home'. I think I will listen to some more Leonard. As long as it's up, you can check out the stream here. And just in case, 'Going Home' is below.



Those are the most recent things I've listened to and enjoyed. I've also recently checked out the best of John Lennon and the best of Fleetwood Mac -- both had good songs on them and were enjoyable for a time, but neither has really got me feeling anything. Especially when listened to in the car, I just don't have the patience for things so poppy (referring strictly to Fleetwood Mac there actually; didn't try Lennon in the car). Funny, cos the car used to be where I did all my listening. I even bought some music a week or so ago -- 'Some Girls' by the Rolling Stones, used. Heard it once or twice in the background at home, barely paid any attention. I should probably try a bit harder. What I've really enjoyed are some classical cd's I got from the library that are aimed at kids. I got them for my kid, even though she's young, but I was inspired when I learnt that David Bowie had narrated a version of 'Peter & the Wolf'; from there I went to the Carnival of Animals and anything else that sounded cool. Yet to get tired of any of that stuff! God, I feel old. Just to prove I'm not a complete codger, couple of tunes from the summer that I still like are below.