British Week, Day IV: Random

CHAMPION NIBBLE
Mr. Scruff
Trouser Jazz 2002
[Download] [Buy]

DRAGON
Beta Band
Hot Shots II 2001
[Download] [Buy]

NOTHING BUT GREEN LIGHTS
Tom Vek
We Have Sound 2005
[Download] [Buy]

AMERICA'S BOY
Broadcast
Tender Buttons 2005
[Download] [Buy]

LA BREEZE
Simian
We Are Your Friends 2002
[Download] [Buy]


Aagh. No time for meaningful posting today, so just a random assortment of Limeys will have to do. Back tomorrow for the grand finale, perhaps my favourite song of all-time from the motherland.

British Week, Day III: Mics and Tables

SOUND SO COOL
Verb T
Backhand Slap Talk 2004
[Download] [Purchase]

THE RULERSHIP
Kashmere the Iguana Man
Technical Illness 2004
[Download] [Purchase]

PISSED UP IN SE1
AFX
Analord 02 2005
[Download] [Purchase]

CHUNKS
Squarepusher
Music is Rotted One Note 1998
[Download] [Purchase]

ORANGE ROMEDA
Boards of Canada
Warp Records: We Are Reasonable People 1998
[Download] [Purchase]

TELEMETRON
Hexstatic
Solid Steel Presents Hexstatic: Listen and Learn 2002
[Download] [Purchase]


I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square.
- Oscar Wilde

It was a foggy day in London, and the fog was heavy and dark. Animate London, with smarting eyes and irritated lungs, was blinking, wheezing, and choking; inanimate London was a sooty spectre, divided in purpose between being visible and invisible, and so being wholly neither.
- Charles Dickens

England is the ideal place to live.
- General Augusto Pinochet

A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping, Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping In sight, then lost amidst the forestry Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy; A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown On a fool's head--and there is London Town.
- Lord Byron

In dealing with Englishmen you can be sure of one thing only, that the logical solution will not be adopted.
- Dean Inge


For once, I won't bore you with what I think it all sounds like. Today, it's yr turn. Back again tomorrow for Day IV of British Week: Odds and Ends.

British Week, Day II: Noise from the North West

NEW TOWN DISASTER
The Dead 60s
The Dead 60s 2005
[Download] [Purchase - Beware the Copy-Protection CDs!]

BREAK MY HEART
Malcolm Middleton
Into the Woods 2005
[Download] [Purchase]

BLACK AND WHITE TOWN
Doves
Some Cities 2005
[Download] [Purchase]

FAR FROM THE CROWD
The Coral
The Invisible Invasion 2005
[Download] [Purchase]

MILES END
Gomez
In Our Gun 2002
[Download] [Purchase]



With the exception of Mr. Middleton, I'm trying not to stray too far from home. Aside from a quick jaunt down the M62, today puts us firmly in my beloved Liverpool town. While it's been some time since I lived there, and despite all that it may have witnessed since my last visit, it will always remain frozen in 1999 when I locked that door one final time.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not about to romanticize it. It was a hard life, for the most part, grafting and toeing the line between its ill-fitting entrepreneurs and the seedy underbelly. Both were equally doused in Tennent's Special Brew (24 oz. cans) and enough curry to drown a small ocean liner, and the things I lived through were enough to make me who I am.

The one story I'll never forget involves a kid I used to know. S.B., if yr out there, this one is high on the all-time list of "Unbelievable Fucken Things I ever Heard/Saw/Lived Through."

---

He was arrested one day coming home from school. Seems fairly benign, but his mother was the one who called them. That day, a man was walking down Queens Drive (Mossley Hill), not entirely sure of where he was. It was around that point that a brick landed on his head and knocked him to the floor. There was no construction site for miles around, and needless to say, the event caught him off-guard.

My friend, S.B., knew exactly where this brick had come from, as he had watched it fall, dropping from his outstretched hand while perched in a tree some fifteen feet off the ground. Once it landed, S.B. instinctively leapt from his verdant perch, landing at the man's side. It was a quiet autumn afternoon, and no cars flashed past while he tended to the supine figure bleeding on the pavement.

He loosened the man's shirt to give him more breathing space, and relieved his wrists of the tight gold jewellery so that he could maneuver him with more ease. He also relieved the man of his designer jacket, his leather shoes, his wallet, his watch, and his matching designer trousers.

Upon arriving home, his mother was certain that something was amiss, as he strolled in the door wearing his new-found outfit. With no job, no discernible source of income, and no real fashion sense to speak of, the police were soon called and one by one, the dots of the afternoon's events were slowly connected.

---

Liverpool is not always like this, but it has its moments. Aside from being a tough town, it breeds one of the more vibrant music scenes in the UK, something I always enjoyed from my own early music-playing days (rhythm guitar, Bileena Pill -- to this day I never found out what our name meant). The Zutons, the Coral, the Dead 60s, the Crescent to name but four. Casting the seed slightly further afield, Salford's (just outside of Manchester) Doves do an excellent job on the indie/mood tilt, and Southport, Merseyside's Gomez have been flying the eclectic folk/blues/rock flag in the US for some time now.

Malcolm Middleton graduated from perhaps the world's most depressing band ever (also named after a type of cock ring), Arab Strap, to foist a brand of Scottish-lilted strumathons in Into the Woods. It's not bad; this track opens the album with a bang, but after repeated listens, I'm trying to find the meat underneath the skin. This song, however, makes it hard not to keep trying.

---

Tomorrow
British Week continues with Day III: Electronica and Hip-Hop from the Motherland. See you then.

The Crumpet has Landed

OUTSIDERS
Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better..... With Franz Ferdinand 2005
[Download It] [Pre-Order It Roight Roight]

MIDDLE EASTERN HOLIDAY
Hard-Fi
Stars of CCTV 2005
[Download It] [Oi Buy This Shite Here You Wanker]

POSTCARD OF A PAINTING
Maximo Park
A Certain Trigger 2005
[Download It] [Snag It and Bag It You Soft Arse]



Back from the UK with a suitcase full of stuff, and FMGT shall be the home of said stuff. This week is British week, a roundhouse kick of new and old tunes from the motherland that'll land heavy like a roundhouse kick to your collective solar plexus. Today is Day of the Giants, with the latest hot tracks from cross-continental superstars, as well as the big things in England at the moment. It's the heavy-hitters to sock you in the face and buy you a pint after the fact. No time for folk-spun soliloquys today, chiefs and chiefettes, so let's get started.

---

What better place to start than the "Lords of the Scene" at the moment, Franz Ferdinand. Seriously though, that "Take Me Out" song has been spun more time than an 8 year old playing hide-and-seek, but hey, let's let bygones be bygones. It's time to move on, and their new release is about a lamb's nutsack shy of hitting marketstalls, t-shirt shops and car stereos all across the world.

They're not exactly difficult to spot -- shaggy hair, foppish demeanors, you know, rail-thin and clad in suit jackets and tight pants. Thankfully, after the cold shoulder I gave their debut album, their second effort is also just as conspicuous. After repeated listens, it does a good job of distancing the quartet from those other "flavour of the week" types that have sprouted up all across the musical garden. Andy Partridge of XTC recently sniped at this loose style conglomerate, referring to them as Future Dogs Die in Kaiser Ferdinand's Hot Hot Car Party. Not any more, Mr. Partridge, as FF have pulled themselves out of this image-driven collective.

This track closes out YCHISMB.....WFF nicely, and perhaps ironically, with an XTC-type sound. Synths echo behind choppy guitars and a solid backbeat, confident lyrics, slap bass. It's a ballsy track, perhaps one of many, and while the album at times feels a little too intense -- you wonder where their non-singles or hit songs are -- because there's such a force behind it that even trying to imagine their first bust might be too much to bear. Either way, FF have, as you all might have expected, "done it again."

---

Hard-Fi have captured that English sound, following in the footsteps of the Jam, the Specials and just-about-anyone-else-you-can-name. Like any good band-from-the-suburbs of Staines, their day-to-day experiences take center stage with the lyrics, and this song has enough guitars to fuel a thousand rock-filled revolutions. This entire album is just so damn catchy, in every respect; arena-rock hooks, pop radio thrills, choruses that'll have you chanting and shouting during even the most painful traffic jam or commute. Put it on and feel yer eardrums shake until they break, and may your last moments of hearing be filled with their "dulcet" tones. Whether on a booze-filled stomp through the downtown bar scene or a defiant solo stand against the world, Hard-Fi might well feel your pain.

---

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is known for many things -- Byker Grove, Brown Ale, and a shite football team. But they're also known for Maximo Park, an unusual find on London-based Warp Records. Normally home to everyone's favourite demure electronicans, MP are a reminder of what good rock/post-punk should sound like. Their album, A Certain Trigger, achieves the simplest goal of the new post-punk scene: it's dance-y as fuck. It takes a song or two to warm up, but once it hits stride, heaven help you, as you'll be throwing yourself around the room like a wrestler doing his warm-ups.

This is bouncy, aggressive, melodic, slightly eccentric post-punk, but believe me, it's worth the search.

---

So here it is. The limey alarm has been sounded, and this tectonic trio represents Day One. From here, maybe more cuts from these albums, but perhaps a level or two deeper into the bands that might not see an American morning. Some electronic stonk, some recent classics, and of course, some homage to the Grandfathers of the UK scene. Cheerio for now, enjoy your evenings with these cuts blasting a hole through your temples, and we'll meet back here tomorrow.

Talk is Cheap

Imagine This
Wax Audio
Mediacracy [2005]
[Download] [Wax Audio Home Page]

Here is an interesting tune with an obvious political angle. A testament to the state of unrest found in the current geo-political scene as well as a display of what one can do with a little audio editing and a desired message to communicate - Tom Compagnoni's [a.k.a. Wax Audio] 'Imagine This' could serve as both a breath of fresh air and slap in the face, depending on your own political philosophy. Think of it as SNL's Fun with Real Audio, taken to the next level.

It's amusing and concerning to hear Mr. Bush linguistically explicate [to a beat] his plans for peace - a concept originally advocated by John Lennon in 1971. Mr. Lennon, however, was a different man entirely and of course this is why it's so disturbing to hear his thoughts come from the ultimate talking head.

Technically, this track is a daring feat. The regurgitation of samples and beats are vast and the sheer time that it must have taken to record Mr. Bush stating each of the words is an incredible undertaking unto itself. It's worth a listen for both a laugh and a cry.


Next Up on FeedMeGoodTunes: The British Invasion!!
Stay Tuned...

"What you gonna do to stop me this time, baby?"

Get Off My Spaceship Bitch
RJD2
1976 [EP] 2004
[Listen Up] [It's Out of Print, But Here's a Reference Point]

Following a trend of tunes with a moody presence, today's special is an offbeat track from breakbeat-turntablist-hip-hop-sampling-Kami of sorts: RJD2.

RJD2 - born, Ramble Jon Krohn - has a reputation that precedes him. Debuting to the general public as producer of Megahertz; also known for laying down the backbone beats for quality lyricists from the likes of Blueprint to Cannibal Ox (his version of 'The F-Word' is incredible!!); as well as creating signature beats from dust-bin vinyl-gems which can be found compiled in his solo releases Dead Ringer [2002] (from which JT previous posted another excellent moody track, 'Smoke & Mirrors') and Since We Last Spoke [2004]. If you're a fan of DJ Shadow, then you will surely enjoy RJD2 - This however, is said far too often and I want to make it clear that while there are definite similarities between the two, they each have a distinct sound and production style that in no way mirrors the other. It all depends on how you're feeling when you choose to digest your tunes. Technically, DJ Shadow might be a bit more on the solid side, but RJD2's creations have a little more soul that can create some incredible emotion between your ears (which doesn't come from Josh all that often).

'Get Off My Spaceship Bitch' is a dark and moody track. Following in the aesthetic style of yesterday's somber theme, today we've got a track that facilitates a 'don't fuck with me b/c I've found my purpose, and nothing is going to stop me' attitude. You might have trouble finding the actual release for purchase, though. It's featured on the 1976 EP, named for the year that he was born - but like artists with such unique style, this print too, is hard to come by. I can particularly appreciate the production style here - featuring a healthy dose of drop punches to the beat [where the music drops out entirely for just a moment, but works with the beat - silence can be used as a music note too ya know]. This is a feature that I usually abuse when playing on my own decks, but here it's done just right. It's a solid track that could influence you to take your anger and turn it into motivation.

Or, perhaps I'm just indirectly speaking about myself. Oh well, Enjoy it.

sombereality

Doves
Darker
Lost Souls 2000
[Listen] [Buy]

The Minibosses
Kraid (Yeah, The Metroid Jam)
[Earphoria]

Feast your ears on today's dark duo of somber rock, featuring two bands that don't have very much in common outside of the audio aesthetic invoked by our respective selection du jour.

The first track is my favorite song by Doves [apparently incorrect grammar to say "the Doves" - please advise]. They are a solid band from Manchester with a decent selection of music, though Darker is the only song of theirs that has ever struck me with any sort of emotional reaction. As the name would imply [making my commentary a bit easier] the song is very dark, with dream-like vocals some how reminiscent of Hooverphonic. Worthy of multiple listens.

The Minibosses are an entirely different story. This Phoenix based band is FMGT worthy because they only perform instrumental covers of the best music from videogames featured on the Nintendo Entertainment System [I had to fit videogames into the day's offerings, didn't I?]. There's something to be said about hearing almost pixel perfect rock renditions of your favorite games - vicariously representing a formidable piece of my youth. That [thing to be said] is "very cool." Kraid is a re-composure of various melodies found in the N.E.S. game Metroid. For those who have never played it, Metroid, featured the exploration of the planet Zebes [Zebeth? Aeris, Aerith? What? - If that doesn't make sense to you then just read on and forget it ^_^] by bounty hunter Samus Aran - who at the game's finale takes off his helmet to reveal that he is actually a woman - Kick ass indeed. It was one of the first games to really convey a sense of solitude to the player while he[she] explored vast caverns created by the great Gunpei Yokoi [R.I.P.]. The music of the game was nothing short of spectacular, as far as the N.E.S. sound chipset was concerned at the time. The Minibosses took all of the best themes from the game and have assembled them together in this somber compilation of 8-bit brilliance that literally is a perfect conversion. It's a great listen even if you've never played the game.

Holidays are Golden

DON'T DIE JUST YET (THE HOLIDAY GIRL SONG) - Arab Strap Remix
David Holmes
On the Decks
[Download It]

HOLIDAY
The Kinks
The Songs we Sang for Auntie: BBC Sessions 1964-1977 2001
[Download It] [Purchase]

HOLIDAY SONG
The Pixies
Death to the Pixies 1987-1991 1997
[Download It] [Purchase]

HOLIDAY
Happy Mondays
Pills, Thrills n' Bellyaches 1990
[Download It] [Purchase]

HAPPY HOLIDAY
Jim O'Rourke
Eureka 1999
[Download It] [Purchase]

I'm on holiday this week, sunning myself from the grime and gloom of grey England. Visiting the family, the sister's wedding, a giant piss-up at the White Horse Tavern, and general English music acclimatization are all on the cards. In the meantime, some holiday songs, or rather, songs with holiday in the title that may or may not have anything to do with the subject.

Back to the USA on tuesday, although there might be room for one more before that. Cheers.

Feed Me Good Tunes - Vol. 74

R.S.V.P. (Made In Japan Live At The Budokan Double Live Gonzo Frampton Comes Alive And Dangerous At The Filmore East Apollo 440 Remix)
Pop Will Eat Itself
Familus Horribilus [EP] 1993
[Download & Listen] [Search for it]

2Πr
Clint Mansell
Π Music From The Motion Picture 1998
[Download & Listen] [Buy it!]

Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out!
Bentley Rhythm Ace
Bentley Rhythm Ace 1997
[Download & Feel the Groove] [Con$ume!]

Here's a kickback to the days when EMF and Jesus Jones ruled the charts (at least here in the 'states). Everyone was singing 'Right Here, Right Now' and rocking out to samples of Andrew "Dice" Clay. But between the lines there was another group of guys that didn't get the same high exposure in the 'states that they received in their homeland of England. This lesser known/weller known band (depending on your point of view and perhaps geographic location) was Pop Will Eat Itself (a.k.a. PWEI).

I've mentioned before that I'm an avid gamer and addicted to the futuristic hover craft racing game series known as Wipeout. As I have mentioned in previous posts, UK based design firm, The Designers Republic, did a great deal of the design work for Wipeout, Wipeout XL/2097 & Wipeout 3 - all appearing on Sony's Playstation. The look and feel of Wipeout XL was probably their best work of the three. The Designers Republic didn't just pop out of no where - they do a great deal of design work for a multitude of music artists - specifically, album art. In 1996 I was in Newbury Comics in Boston and a CD caught my eye that looked just like the design from Wipeout XL - that CD happened to be the PWEI Familus Horribilus EP. I hadn't even heard of PWEI at that point. But, I bought the CD on the basis that The Designers Republic was involved. A good purchase indeed. Unfortunately, by that point the band had already split up.

Pop Will Eat Itself formed in 1986 in Stourbridge, England. The 4 man, er, foursome known for their style which fused Rock, Hip-Hop, Rap, Industrial and elements of Techno - a sound affectionately named 'Grebo' - which, for all intents and purposes lasted only as long as they did. But, then again, I am using it, right? The Rock, Rap & Industrial elements underscore the dark sound of today's first featured track - R.S.V.P, the Made In Japan Live At The Budokan Double Live Gonzo Frampton Comes Alive And Dangerous At The Filmore East Apollo 440 Remix. This track has so many elements that draw me in - from the blasting horn samples, the power guitars, the live drummer and the undeniably pissed off sound of Clint Mansell on the vocals. It puts out the kind of energy that makes you want to scream 'Fuck off!' in the same way that Henry Rollins can make you feel positive with a sound that can, at times, borderline upon the negative. Where else can you find a track containing elements of Big Band & Big Beat. The album version of this track can be found on Dos Dedos mis Amigos. Another PWEI notable release, actually a masterpiece, is This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This is This [1989]. Featuring samples as well as being named for the conversation between Robert DeNiro & Christopher Walken in the film Deer Hunter. This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This is This has a much more electronic feel to it, similar to Jesus Jones' album Perverse.

After the fall of PWEI, Clint Mansell went on to work with myriad artists including Trent Reznor. He went a step ahead to do what I feel would be one of the hardest but also the most gratifying experiences in the music industry - compiling and composing soundtracks for films. Enter Darren Aronofsky's mathematical thriller, Pi, the story of a mathematician on the verge of discovery, and simultaneously, insanity - a great flick indeed. Clint not only gathered a group of songs from critically acclaimed IDM [intelligent dance music] artists (which was a great feat alone considering the film) but he composed the score for the film as well. Clint's tracks are extremely dark, as is the film. The foundation of his work is based in heavy bass and that undeniable Jungle beat. The notes come stabbing in, accompanied by ambient cymbals that sound as if glass is continually being smashed over and over - in a pleasant kind of way though ^_^. It's the perfect theme for insanity - and goes strikingly well with Aronofsky's masterpiece [Which is far better and yet less disturbing than his more well known film, Requiem For A Dream].

After the disvolvement of PWEI - Richard March, PWEI's former bassist went on to form a project with Mike Stokes known as Bentley Rhythm Ace. - A funny personal note: I only stumbled upon Bentley Rhythm Ace for the first time 2 weeks ago while browsing a list of DJs on an event flier created by, you guessed it, The Designers Republic. - Bentley Rhythm Ace features a sound that's much more light hearted and happy than the previously mentioned tracks. Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out! is a good song for a bar atmosphere. It's got a electronic groove that floats somewhere between Mint Royale and Fatboy Slim. It's not the most notable track in the world, but it's got a nice progression and solid hook.

Definitely a solid amount of music coming from the UK this time, apparently they know a thing or two about design as well. Enjoy.

Return

AWAITING ON YOU ALL
George Harrison
All Things Must Pass 1970
[Download It] [Buy It]

TIME'S FLY
Time Machine
Slow Your Roll 2004
[Download It] [Buy It]

BEM QUERER
Seu Jorge
Cru 2005
[Download It] [Buy It]



The long weekend has come and gone, and the work in New Orleans is just beginning. Another week in Brooklyn kicks in, and a return to music and commentary can slowly begin.

---
Another incohesive, incoherent mixed bag again today. Lately my thoughts have been rather scatterbrained, so forming something more fluid has been an elusive skill of late. Attended a friend's wedding in PA over the weekend, and it helped lift a little bit of the cloud from my shoulders.

Three songs from three albums I can't stop listening to at the moment, for altogether different reasons.

'All Things Must Pass' fulfills that native obligation -- there must be something Beatles-related in my Scouse music rotation -- and it does about the best job that one could expect. It shows off Harrison in many forms: the pop superstar, the sonic inventor, the uplifting soul, the political cynic. Cheery guitar, horn washes and chorus lines deflect little from his charged words, and the litany of top guests just enrich the legend even further.

The Time Machine is another chunk of sound I cannot get enough of. It's only fitting that amazon.com offers this album in a package with Souls of Mischief's "93 'Till Infinity" -- these cats share more than a common interest. This DC-based bunch put out hip-hop of the most melodic strain. Reminiscent of Arrested Development, SOM, Funkdoobiest and Blackalicious, "Slow Your Roll" is a step to the past while striding into the future. This song, the album's opener lays a chopped-up jazz break and hip-waggling beat as the foundation for Jaysonic's warm, fluid rhymes. These cats incorporate the most soulful samples with infectious beats, and despite only discovering this in the last couple of months, I can see why this was near the top of many Hip-Hop Top 10s of 2004.

Seu Jorge, the bedraggled, guitar-slinging shipmate from "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," has become a preminent Brazilian double-threat. With a knockout role in "City of God" under his belt, his introduction to a wider audience in TLA served to give his music an opportunity to grow. This album is flat-out sexy; put this on in the kitchen, and washing the dishes takes on the same passion as scrubbing yr lover in a Parisian bathtub. This song is subtle, sensuous, soulful; Jorge's rough voice dances among the shuffling beat and nylon guitars.

--

Now back to work, and FMGT will return again tomorrow.

Short Hiatus

It is a little late in coming, and despite my inability to express myself completely, I want to take a short break from FMGT's regular posting to mention the growing issues in the Gulf. The Hurricane has caused unfathomable damage, and my posts this week have been slight in comparison. I know Si1ent K is in agreement with me, and I feel it only right to post a link to the Red Cross, where, if you have not yet already, you could consider making a donation. I made one yesterday, and while it may pale in comparison with what is needed, it is no excuse not to help should the mood and mind strike you.

I cannot really understand what is happening. A vast range of emotions are conflicted - anger, fury, shame, sadness, to name but a few - and I shall continue to reserve myself on this one given that it wouldn't help.

In the meantime, here is a link to the Red Cross website, where you have the opportunity to help out with the relief effort in any way you see fit. The music will return next week, and our thoughts and hope is with the affected states, and those places that are aiding the recovery.

THE RED CROSS WEBSITE


Cheers,


JT.

Slap Upside the Head

From Streetsy



MOUTHFUL
Themselves
The No Music. 2002
[Download It] [Buy It]

GET MODAL
El-P and the Blue Series Continuum
High Water 2004
[Download It] [Buy It]

ADVENTURE
Le Peuple de l'Herbe
Cube 2005
[Download It]



Still having a hard time comprehending what's happening down on the Gulf. Can't really put my thoughts into words on the matter, my own ineptitude sometimes is too great, so I will respectfully move along.

---
Jel was a good pick the other day. I don't say this just to champion the ear of my FMGT co-conspirator, but because it's just what I was looking for on my Tuesday. Needless to say, I'm taking the liberty of taking another step in this direction. After the tips from K.O., our first pick today is the highly-touted Themselves. Jel + Doseone = Heaven. It's that simple. This is off their 2nd full-length together, and it combines their skills to the highest point: the stuttering flow of Doseone set above Jel's mesmerizing samples and drum machine abuse.

Say no more.

---
El-P finally got his crack at the Blue Series in 2002, an unrelenting collection of jazz and hip-hop, but really everywhere in-between. The Blue Series is an amalgam of the Blue Series Continuum, a loose conglomerate of progressive jazzsters, and they pair up with various DJs. So far, El-P, DJ Spooky and the Anticon Pop Collective have all had a crack, and while any other opinions of this album are concerned, I feel it's the best of them so far. This album seems to be pretty divisive: some find it dirge-like and insipid, others tear-jerking and profound. I'm not sure if I would go that extreme, but it definitely takes the two genres in a different direction. Here, El-P allows the musicians to do what they do best, adding his own sonic textures to the finished compositions. It's remixing, but more immediate, more organic. While El-P's stamp does not entirely reign over the album at large, and despite a couple of weak tracks that unfortunately sit next to one another, the majority of it makes intriguing and powerful listening.

'Get Modal' takes the best of two worlds: the band hits their highest point musically, playing with aggression and flair. It is spoiled slightly by an annoying sample from El-P in parts, but it still pulses and rolls with intensity and verve.

The band: Daniel Carter (reeds), Roy Carter (trumpet), Steve Swell (trombone), Matthew Shipp (piano), William Parker (bass), Guillermo E. Brown (drums), and of course, the indomitable El-P himself.

---
Le Peuple de l'Herbe have been operating in their native France for some time. Comprised of DJ Pee, DJ Stani, Psychostick on drums and Zeng on trumpet (those crazy Frenchmen and their names), their style is saturated with everything Europe and the World has to offer. Jungle, hip-hop, ragga, house, funk, dub, drum n' bass -- there's nothing the quartet can't do.

They're good fun -- having won several awards in France for their late-night live act antics (check out their debut album Triple Zero), they're all-in-all a good time. I wouldn't mind getting a chance to sample the live act, and while their music itself isn't that incendiary or ground-breaking, they put their passions and their souls into the music, and it shows.

This track is just a fun representation of their abilities. It reminds me in a way of some of BRA (Bentley Rhythm Ace), Daft Punk and some older Fatboy Slim stuff -- kooky samples, a playful sound -- and it's not a bad way to close out Thursday.


More tomorrow, work deadlines permitting.