Ghislain Poirier

I haven't heard his full length release yet, but a pal sent me this mix by Ghislain Poirier. At first I assumed it would be the usual and it actually took me a while to actually listen to it. But once I did, it became a Friday afternoon staple. For entertainment value, it gets a 9, for "originality and newness" it gets a 7. But it's fun, no matter what. Try it out and see what ya think. I was just excited by the presence of Neneh Cherry. Yes!

Ghislain Poirier- Bounce Le Remix

PS: I have also decided that even tho, people are describing Lily Allen in terms of Mikey Streets, that she's more like Neneh Cherry than anything else. And yes that's a compliment.

Nouvelle does Echo

The first Nouvelle Vague record was very enjoyable. Great covers of great songs with a very unique flair/twist. In case you don't know, NV is two french producers and a handful of singers, doing new wave and punk covers in bossa nova style. It so happens that "bossa nova" means "new wave" which in French is "nouvelle vague." Get it?
Luckily, even though the project could have just become a one trick pony, Bande A Part, their latest release, has dropped some of the more "bossa nova" stylings and stipped things a bit. And it still works. My fave is this Echo and the Bunnymen cover. It gets an 8 and so does the record. Enjoy it on the way to work, it's a great morning starter.

Nouvelle Vague- The Killing Moon

White Rose Movement

I heard about White Rose Movement from a friend who was friends with one of the band members. Even then, although I enjoyed the songs for their basic catchiness, there's an issue. In fact, the first few times I heard them, I kept calling them Two Years Too Late. If this had come before the Killers and before the Bravery, the world would be a very different place.

Basically they have the right touchstones, a great look, great style and can write a good song, but ya know sometimes that's just not enough. I think this song gets a 7, but on the whole I just can't get excited about it. But listen to it and try to tell me this isn't better than all of those other bands people actually like. But then again, those bands aren't very good.

I'll give WRM a chance though. They are young and this is their first stab. Hopefully they'll invest in some early Ministry records and some Nitzer Ebb 12"s. That should do the trick.


WRM- Love Is A Number

Freestylers? Really?!

So for a moment in the post big beat mayhem that was the late 90s, a handful of breaks/big beat/uk hip hop acts had their US moment. The Freestylers were in that lot, and were basically a blip on the radio/mtv scene, with no hope for more success. But in the rest of the word they still have fans and still seem to sell a few records. In the case of this singles demise in the US, I think it's just a case of no label $, no promotion and no outlets. Cuz this song is the jam (I give it a 9). Part Prince, part Michael, and part BBD, I thought this song coulda been a hit. Proving once again I know nothing about music.

The Freestylers- Push Up

Elastica

They were once on top of the world. Then they lost, returned and finally delivered a follow up record most of us completely forgot about. Honestly, it wasn't horrible, it just wasn't memorable.
But when Elastica put out thier BBC Radio Sessions album, they actually put out some under the radar gems, including "I Want You." The crazy part is that this track sounds great now and would fit perfectly with h Rapture, and al their dance rock brethren. Maybe this one was just before its time. As far as Elastica tracks go, it's up there with the best. The Sessions record gets a 7, but this track gets an 8. Enjoy!

Elastica- I Want You

Cut Copy/Chromeo

For some reason, certain records get released to no attention and then a year later people finally start talking about them. Such is the case with Cut Copy. After releasing their debut a couple of years ago... crickets. But last year, all of a sudden, people decided to pay attention. Styled like Air with a penchant for Abba as much as Human League, this Aussie group straddles dance rock better than most and do it with a sexy understated style. The debut was produced by Phillipe Zdar (of Cassius/Motorbass/La Funk Mob) and has oodles of French disco fingerprints all over it, but remember: this is a band, not DJs. The record is a grower but you'll find it's one that works almost anytime. I'd give Cut Copy's Bright Like Neon Love a 9.

But since Iike to give you some bang for your buck, I'll throw in a remix by another dj -friendly band: Chromeo. I'll probably give you some more of them later. They deserve their own entry. For now, this remix gets an 8.

Cut Copy- Future (Chromeo Remix)

and as with the lily allen mix, if you have the bandwidth, grab this Cut Copy mix... it's killer.

Cut Copy- DJ Mix

Noel = 10

As usual, Noel Gallagher explains it all. And he's basically right, again. Can't believe he's friends with the Italians though. And obviously, I love the mention of the Mexican team. Viva El Tri!

Noel Gallagher on the World Cup

Not Lush, Emma, Sing-Sing

One of my fave showgazer bands of all time was Lush. Miki and Emma had great vocals and songwriting wit and really had a better run than most britpop bands, putting out a good amount of above par records for most of the 90s. For a long time I heard and read that Emma had a new band called Sing-Sing, but not much came of it.
Lo and behold a year or two ago, a friend asked me to listen to a CD by a friend of hers, and it just so happened to be be Sing-Sing. It ended up that she had begun an emial relationship with Emma Anderson and was trying to get people to hear some of her music. I ended up listening to the Madame Sing-Sing EP and found that with her new partner, Lisa O'Neill, she hadn't missed a beat. The songs were still sweet and the msuic was still great.
I ended up speaking with Emma once for an intervew, and what struck me the most was her attitude toward the whole "career" side of music. She had been through the big label push, the next big thing and the pitfalls of those worlds as well. At this point, all she wanted to do was make music, not for the chance of "breaking," but just because that's what she loves most. But the duo was a bit short on cash so they couldn't afford to go into the studio to record their second record. So they put out a call on their website and to thier newsletter subscribers to buy all the merchandise they could to raise the money to record. And it worked. They raised the money, recorded and released Sing-Sing and I in July of last year and I rate it a solid 7. If you can find it, get it. I'm sure you can download it at Itunes as well. Do the right thing and if you like it, pay for it. It acually makes a difference sometimes.

Sing-Sing- Modern Girl
Sing-Sing- Lover

The Ordinary Boys

So there are tons of bands that I love that do very well in the UK, but can't even get label deals in the US. One of the more glaring examples is the Ordinary Boys. These kids write perfect British music, be it ska or anthemic Britpop. They have 2 records out in the Uk and I love both, which just happen to have been produced by the same person who produced the Smiths back in the day.
They somewhat languished in UK obscurity as well, until their lead singer Preston appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. Their sales actually went up 10x in one week after the first few episodes. Sure it helps that the boys are cute, but honestly with their song writing it would have happened eventually. Now if anything they have to live down the popularity, but it's still about the music. I give both Over the Counter Culture and Brassbound 9s. If you are a fan of British music you would do well to pick either or both up. Here's a sample:

The Ordinary Boys- Life Will Be The Death of Me