… is well underway! Not only do we have Tom Critchlow links knocking around but we now have our second picture uploaded which has a much better URL (I completely forgot about the URL for the first one). So, if you would all be so kind as to drop some links to this tom critchlow image it would be much appreciated.
Edit – also uploaded to flickr. Flickr is a great site to look at photos of people, for example here’s a photo of tom critchlow on flickr
I know the subscriber base of this blog is pretty small anyway, but please excuse this post while I try and rank the below image for a Tom Critchlow search on them thar interwebs (mainly Google to be fair)
So here’s the photo of Tom Critchlow. For those of you who know him, this is spot on I think 
If anyone has a blog and fancies helping me out on this one then if you could drop a few links to the image with the anchor text Tom Critchlow, or Tom Critchlow Photo that’d be greatly appreciated.
Just like this Tom Critchlow folks.
Big thanks goes to Boogie Magoo for his great mix ‘Wild & Beautiful Sista Voices‘ which is a collection of soul/funk tracks with sista vocals. Great music!
This is the highlight of the mix for me – this track has been going round and round in my head over the past week or so and I just love it!
Recently I’ve been getting in a few fights with people about how bad iTunes and iPods are so I thought I’d spell it out for people so I can refer back to this post later. If anyone has anything to add please feel free to add things in the comments.
Let me preface this rant by saying that I’m never buying an apple product ever again.
edit – I couldn’t be arsed typing out my long rant again so I just copied and pasted from a facebook wall conversation I had. I’ve edited out the really offensive stuff but it’s probably still a little offensive so please use reading discretion. Or something.
Dear god let the horror please stop. Are you really truly honestly trying to tell me that I have to scroll through 80gb of music by starting at A and spinning my thumb like a teenager confronted with a clitoris for the first time? Blindly hoping it’ll give me what we both want but in fact causing deep emotional scaring (and a little friction burn).
HOW ABOUT LETTING ME USE SOME MANNER OF FUCKING DIRECTORY NAVIGATION. Did microsoft’s invention of windows pass you by? Too busy shaving your balls I imagine to pay attention to such things as usability.
And how about being able to scroll from A to Z, like without having to go through all those other letters in between. It is a click-WHEEL after all. a WHEEL. That’s a round object that spins freely in EITHER DIRECTION. I don’t buy a wheel for my car and get asked “which direction of wheel would you like sir?”.
And how about the ‘Album’ list. One might think it’s a list of all the albums in my music collection.
…But you’d be fucking wrong. Instead it’s a list of all the albums, that all the songs in my collection belong to. So let’s say for example I’m not 12. Or a flea ridden fucking designer who shaves his armpits. Assuming I’m not ENTIRELY a sheep I’m going to have music (yes, Apple, that probably belongs to an album) WITHOUT THE REST OF THE ALBUM. Dear heaven’s watson what on earth are we going to do with them? Apple: SHIT, I’m scared by this free thinking, let’s just ignore them.
Again – the cover flow. Nice idea apple except when I have 80gb of music. You really expect me to scroll through several months worth of music by looking at pictures. Only if all the albums had a picture of steve jobs dead on them.
Oh yeah – and if you’re GOING to have a database, allow me to create one to many relationships, like assigning a song to more than one artist so that when I’m browsing by artist I can find the song numerous different ways. But that’s like a nice to have. Make it USABLE first.
Then there’s the little things – and I could go on a long time here, but things like allowing me to play an individual folder in shuffle. OH NO FUCKING WAIT YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN FOLDERS. THEY MUST BE THE FUCKING ANTI CHRIST OR SOMETHING. Cos I swear to god apple are pissing me off about as much as c********s right now. The ignorant irrational stupid idiots.
Or what about allowing me to change the size of the text on the screen? So if, for example, I’m not blinded by my own stupidity and can actually READ then let me fit a few more lines on each screen. That way it might take me a little less time to scroll through my entire music collection each time.
There’s an ending involving grease fires and dying and alters and crosses and c********s and apple fans somewhere in there but I’m worried it’s offensive so I’ll leave it up to your imagination.
And don’t even get me started on iTunes.
What is it about remix CDs? Some of my favourite albums of recent years have been remix and b-side albums. Bonobo’s
Husky Rescue – Other World: Remixes and Rarities
If you already own more than one Husky Rescue album (aka – both of them!) then you really need to check this one out. Just like Bonobo’s ‘one off remixes & b-sides’ this is a collection of remixes by Husky Rescue, and remixes of Husky Rescue – along with a few acoustic versions of some of their tunes and even some new unreleased tracks. Although it’s essentially a collection of tracks it holds together really well as an album and is perfectly listenable all the way through just like the 3rd Husky Rescue album.
In time honoured Husky Rescue fashion – this album has a magical floaty quality to it over a dark and brooding tunes which combine to give a very atmospheric but entirely listenable sound which is their own. Stand out tracks include the Bonobo mix of ‘new light of tomorrow’, the new tune Last Dance.
Like everyone else and his dog in the UK, I first heard Vashti Bunyan on the famous T-Mobile advert which featured just another diamond day. After hearing that, and a friend raving about how good she was (who incidentally had been listening to Vashti for years) I took the plunge and bought Just Another Diamond Day. I loved it. A lot. So, when browsing FOPP in london (fopp lives!!) I saw “Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind – Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967″ and knew I had to buy it.
Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind – Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967
First things first – this is a double CD so there’s plenty of value to be had here. Secondly – although these singles and demos are remastered they’re still no where as near high quality recordings as Just Another Diamond Day. There’s crackling, scratching and odd sound levels. But that’s the charm.
Much more than on her first album you can feel the gypsy element – you can imagine her turning up at the studio with guitar in hand, recording the tracks and then heading out onto the road once more. For me though – this makes it a beautiful collection of tracks. It’s got a lovely nostalgic feeling and wraps you up in a blanket of authentic goodness.
Having said all that – a lot of it is quite same-y and listening to two CDs straight of this will tire you out but you can be assured that tracks off here will be featuring in upcoming mixes.
Wow!
Just a quick note to say that I started working from home around August time. Since then my digital music collection has grown from around 18gb to around 40gb. My CDs have grown very little (comparatively. Maybe 15 new CDs since the Bigchill?)
2.5gb has been downloaded this week alone in Mixmaster Morris DJ sets…
Something to ponder for you all.
I’ve been meaning to write this post for some time now – basically what follows is a list of all the resources and places I use, visit and read online to make sure that I’m constantly surrounded by an aural wave of fresh music that I love. Hopefully some of this will be helpful for you too. In no particular order:
Purple Radio – The Online Radio Station of the Bigchill Forums
Purple radio is a fantastic project, it’s free, it streams at a high quality online and it’s 24/7. During the evenings and weekends it has live DJs and during the day it has archived mixes from bigchill members (if you listen for long enough – some of my mixes will appear!). Sometimes chilled, sometimes funky but always awesome you should listen if you in any way are interested in the bigchill. It has some big names like MixMasterMorris playing but the real beauty is that it’s home grown with talent just lifted straight off the bigchill forums and everyone involved gives through a pure love of music. View the schedule and listen in here.
B00mb0x – An Online Mixtape Community
Do you remember the days when you used to spend hours crouched over a tape deck pressing stop/record at just the right time to make your perfect mix only to have it listened to by your cat? Well now of course people use fancy technomological mp3 mixes and a nice little community has developed around people sharing their latest creations. There’s a strong theme of electronica and alternative music but you can find allsorts on there. The community is really friendly and my first mix got over 100 listens! Find my mixes here.
Motel De Moka – A Music Blog Putting Out Mini-Mixes
I can’t even remember how I found Motel De Moka now but ever since I found them I’ve subscribed to their posts religiously. There’s a bunch of contributors but they all put out music which is alternative, fresh and excellent. From free jazz to japanese pop there’ll be something for everyone and personally I find myself downloading all of their mixes. It keeps my listening habits fresh and varied and I’ve found some real gems on there! Visit here.
Lossless – One Man’s Mission To Be Like Me
Ok, so James Seo isn’t trying to be like me (I don’t think) but his personal site covers everything I could ever want: Wong-Kar-Wai appreciation and awesome music mixes.He doesn’t put out his mixes very often but if you subscribe to his blog you’ll be kept in the loop about all the latest stuff.
Low Light Mixes – Ambient Mixes For Late Night Listening
I found Low Light Mixes via a link in the Bigchill forums (you can tell I spend a lot of time on there right?!) and instantly fell in love. You can tell when the mixes are put together with care and love and these certainly have those qualities in spades! In particular, a drift on the signal is my personal favourite – it’s mellow ambient style music interspersed with some haunting short wave radio sounds which gives it an eerie and ethereal sound. Almost like someone is broadcasting from beyond the grave! Check it out here.
One On Twoism – If You Lke Boards Of Canada You’ll Like this
I have no idea who is behind this project. The website has an about page which is cryptically obscure, referenceing Twoism message boards which I can’t find, websites which don’t exist and people I’ve never heard of… That only adds to the magic though of this sublime mix. Based loosely on the Twoism album by Boards of Canada it has a similar feel. Beautiful obscure music you’ve never heard of! I really like this mix and listen to it a fair amount, full of wierd sounds and samples which somehow pull together to form one seamless coherent mix which really hits the spot late at night. Visit the beautiful site and download either a single mp3 or a lossless collection of files.
Fluidnation – just.beautiful.music
If you ever had to write a thesis on chillout music you would have to make sure you referenced Ben Mynott. One half of fragile state, DJ, music journalist and all round stellar guy he brands himself as Fluidnation. You can download some of his mixes here, you can listen to his weekly radio show here, you can catch him on real radio here and you can see him DJ in real life here. Phew – he’s a busy guy and he knows his chillout. If you’re a fan of the genre you will certainly be a fan of Fluidnation.
Aurgasm – The Best Music You’ve Never Heard
There are a bazillion music blogs out there, most of which output rubbish. Aurgasm is different. Paul puts out some really good, unknown artists and gives them a chance to shine. I’ve found some gems on there and always pay close attention to what he says. It’s also a very well put together blog with clean design and nice working links. There’s a wide range of music but you can be sure it’ll be good music.
Last.fm – The Social Music Revolution
One of the best web 2.0 sites to grace the face of the internet. I love last.fm it’s that simple. Make sure you download the scrobbler and it quietly sits in the background while you play your music then compiles recommendations for you, shows you people listening to similar things to you and generally is awesome. In the same way that Amazon recommends books to you that you didn’t even know you liked Last.fm recommends music to you you’ve never heard of but that you love. Add friends with similar music tastes and find out what they’re listening to. The real power though is that you can listen to music through their player before you buy it. Create radio stations around your favourite artists and so much more. The awesomeness just goes on! View my profile and add me as a friend here.
Elbo.ws – Music Search Engine
Just like with music blogs, there are plenty of music search engines out there that are quite frankly terrible. This is the only one I’ve found which does a decent job of actually finding you tracks you’re looking for. If you hear a track on an advert and want to hear the whole thing or get recommended a track by a friend and want to check it out this is your baby. It can also find music blogs which talk about specific artists/tracks too which makes it even more powerful than a simple music search engine. I don’t use this too often but when I do it always comes up spades. Search away my friend!
Firstly let me say that Ben Mynott has never given me any money, he has never paid me a single penny nor has he ever persuaded/bribed/asked me to spread the word about Fragile State. Now that’s out the way, let me assure you that my Fragile State EVANGELISM is due to one thing and one thing only: the sheer brilliance of the music.
First the facts: this is a 3CD product containing both original Fragile State albums (‘the facts and the dreams’ and ‘voices from the dust bowl’) and a remix CD with remixes both for and by fragile state. It’s available on amazon for only £8.99. It will be the best value for money product you’ll ever buy.
Now the dreams: I recall I first purchased my first Fragile State album (the facts and the dreams) back in 2004 (2005 maybe?) after finding it on someone’s Amazon listmania list. I read about it, thought I might quite like it and so decided to purchase it but it wasn’t until a few months later when I was in HMV that I spotted it and went to buy it. On the way to the counter I spotted Koop’s ‘Waltz for Koop’ and oh so nearly bought that instead. THANK THE LORD I WENT WITH FRAGILE STATE.
Fast forward a few months and I’ve purchased the second album (voices from the dust bowl) and they have both helped me through my finals revision at university. It’s about this time I discover the BigChill festival and book tickets to my first every festival (incidentally with the same good friend I was in HMV with when I purchased my first album). So I turn up to the BigChill not really knowing what to expect but on the first afternoon one of the first bands I saw was Fragile State. A sensational live set which it turned out was their last ever live performance! Since that day I’ve been a devout Fragile State fan and rave about them whenever I get the chance.
So, enough gushing about how much I love them – onto the music! Let me re-state something: for £8.99 you get 3CDs of pure aural chilled funky AWESOMENESS. The first two original albums are really chilled but at the same time funky and motivating. Ideal for listening to when you’re run down – they’ll sooth your brain and warm your innards and then when you start to relax they pick you up and make your head nod with some funky beats. No vocals so to speak but some vocal effects. Both albums are full of tracks which meld together perfectly while each track maintains an individual texture. Unlike a lot of chillout albums which fade into obscurity as you listen to them over and over – this one really stands out as fresh and unique and brilliant every time you listen to it.
Then there’s the newly released 3rd CD of remixes which really exceeded my expectations. I’ve never been a huge fan of remixes in general but this CD is like the long lost studio album from Fragile State where they were playing around a little more and experimenting with different genres. Having said that – the CD really delivers and has some amazing tracks on it such as the Digitonal remix of Song Of Departure.
I simply cannot rate this collection highly enough. If you’re in the slightest fan of chillout then you’ll love these albums. In fact if you have a pulse then you should consider buying this – if you don’t like it I can guarantee you one of your friends will.
PS – you can read my review on Amazon of this here.
