Death In Vegas

Ok so I am going to go old again. (I swear if I get something new that is fab, I'll post it asap. I just don't want to leave things hanging for too long.)

Death In Vegas won me over with their first record and have since kept things at pretty high level of success. This is from their second to last record, but I think most of them are worth buying. But obviously what makes this track so important to me is Liam Gallagher. If you know me well you'll know that I actually consider this one of the best songs ever. Yes literally best ever.

So in case you have never heard what I consider one of the best songs ever, behold:

Death In Vegas- Scorpio Rising

Thee Snuff Project

OK so new stuff that I am loving is getting hard to come by of late. So I will give you some old tunes.

Thee Snuff Project was a band outta DC that broke up as quickly as I fell in love with them. (Some of the members have a new band, but I have yet to hear more than a couple of tracks, so no judgement passed yet.)

What Thee Snuff Project did was revitalize my love for punk rock. Not in a Clash/Pistols way but in a visceral Stooges way. You forget how great screaming can be in a rock song. The songs were about sex and drugs and butterfly knives. They were scary and sexy. They had it all, so of course the demise was the only way. Lived fast and died young.

But they left behind one record, Dyin' Ain't Much of A Living, which I give a total 10. Since I am sure it would be very hard to find, I'll give you a few tracks here. All of which are great. 10s all around.

Selections from Thee Snuff Project's Dyin' Aint Much Of A Livin'
Intro To Every Black Widow
Better Drugs
I Contact
Gorilla Pills

Lily Allen Companion Mix

So I have been planning this forever, but finally sat down and got it sorted. This is by no means a response or anything to Music Like Dirt's assessment of the Lily Allen samples or a definitive statement of any nature.

I basically found that the real reason I love Lily Allen's Alright, Still is because it reminds me so much of other UK artists I love. It is almost a document on the breadth of the British musical palette in one slick candy coated pop gem.

But I also know that lots of folks might miss out on these allusions so I thought I'd do a public service by putting together a companion mix. In my opinion, the following tracks greatly inform the album in some way or other. Some have similar hooks, some have similar subject matter or ethos and others were simply important cultural moments that musically educated a hip twenty-something Londoner like Lily Allen.

I have not included the Lily Allen songs in this mix, (for best results) go buy the record then create an Ipod playlist in this order.

Lily Allen Companion Mix
Lily Allen- Smile
Saint Etienne- Split Screen
LA- Knock Em Out
The Streets- Fit But You Know It
LA- LDN
Bodysnatchers- Let's Do Rocksteady
LA- Everything's Wonderful
Morcheeba- Love Sweet Love
LA- Not Big
Neneh Cherry- Buffalo Stance
LA- Friday night
The Specials- Gangsters
LA- Shame for you
Portishead- All Mine
LA- Littlest Things
Saint Etienne- Sylvie
Happy Mondays- Loose Fit
LA- Take What You Take
Robbie Williams (featuring Kylie Minogue)- Kids
LA- Friend of Mine
The Clash- The Guns of Brixton
Junior Murvin- Police and Thieves
LA- Alfie
Madness- House of Fun

Honestly, I wanted to avoid using Saint Etienne twice but those two fit too well to avoid. Hopefully this exercise helps people understand my love for Lily and also turns you on to stuff you might not know and/or reminds you of some songs you haven't heard in a long time. Enjoy!

R. Kelly

Obviously, I am not above loving the cheese. But I never could have predicted that I would say the following: R. Kelly is a saviour. Yes, I think he does a disservice to his entire race, and I am still flabbergasted to know that he has songs called "Feeling on Your Booty" and "I Like the Crotch on You" that pass for love songs.

But I have finally realized that of late, the R. is saving records for established stars. If it weren't for his tracks on both the newest Jeezy and Snoop records, they'd be worthless. I love the Big Tymers Big Money Heavyweights record on its own merits too, but his cameo is the jam amongst jams.

Young Jeezy feat. R. Kelly- Go Getta (Gets an 8)

Snoop Dogg feat. R. Kelly- That's That (A solid 7.5)

Big Tymers feat. R. Kelly- Gangsta Girl (A strong 9)

And, yes, Trapped in the Closet is a masterpiece of indulgence and THE melodrama of the modern era.