I had almost neglected to do this. My iTunes library hosed itself yesterday morning, and only by a miracle was I able to recover the data for the majority of my library. And then the lovely gentleman Stanley has beaten me to the punch on my own concept.
But lo, we must persevere! And by we I mean I!
Joga by Bjork, off Greatest Hits
Bjork is one of those artists who for years I had a passing appreciation of. I believe the phrase I’ve used before is “wouldn’t go out of my way to buy an album, but wouldn’t turn them off on the radio”. I nabbed Bjork’s greatest hits album a few months back, and while I was on the way to work the other day, this came on and just blew me away. Bjork’s voice has always impressed me as to how well it works with various instrumental backings, and this song uses some very sorrowful strings for great contrast. Quality track, here.
Born Slippy 2003 (12 Inch Version) by Underworld, off Born Slippy 2003 EP
1996 was a fairly good year for techno and trance. Besides the US “explosion” of electronia (read: Prodigy and Chemical Brothers getting high profile releases), things began to filter into the general populace a little more. And this was the year Underworld appeared on most everyone’s radar, as Born Slippy NUXX appeared prominently in Trainspotting.
Come on, you know the song – the “DUNN, Dunnn, dunnn, dunnn….” of the melody, the driving drums, Karl Hyde’s hypnotic vocals. The new EP in question here, the 2003 mix, replaces the melody with some echoing pianos, giving the track an entirely new feel.
Of course, there’s also three other new remixes on the EP, so it’s worth picking up for any Underworld fan.
We Don’t Care by The Audio Bullys, off Ego War
I’m sure you’ve heard this if you’ve played SSX 3. In the game, it’s just a sort of thumpy-thumpy house tune. On the OST, on the other hand – and also on the original CD – it grows some balls. It’s a fun, unapologetic house song that you just can’t help but to like. It’s being labeled as “hooligan house” by some media outlets, and given how much I dug The Streets, it’d be hard not to dig this.
Recommended for anyone who likes The Streets or hard house in general.
6 by Stereoprimer, off SID Tunes
SID Tunes is an album full of low-tech dance music made with Commodore 64s. If I need to explain to you why this is logically a good album, you’ve lost all hope.
Come On, Ghost by The Pillows, off Thank You, My Twilight
I hadn’t even heard of The Pillows until Steve Tze handed me one of their albums after he got back from Japan. They’re a light J-Rock band, and while I haven’t crunched through all of their album, this track has stood out thus far as having a nice hook and good brain-sticking ability. Check it out if you can.
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