Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 13. Mental Floss For The Globe by Urban Dance Squad

April 20, 2011

Peanut’s Playground is my bi-weekly verbal diarrhea. Every other Wednesday I plan to ramble about stuff I like (in my typically screwed up version of English) and hope you will like too. And in case you don’t… mweh.

Number 13 in my series of Forgotten Classics:

Mental Floss For The Globe by Urban Dance Squad (1989)

Hi guys. Sorry that I missed my slot two weeks ago. Life suddenly caught up with me and well, that’s just how things go sometimes. But rest assured, I’m making it up with a whopper of a classic today! One that you’ve probably never heard of before but hey, what else is new.

Forget about mainstream acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Rage Against The Machine. Urban Dance Squad were the true original crossover pioneers. The Utrecht (in the Netherlands) based group combined rock (guitars) with rap (vocals) and old-skool (scratching) and turned it into something completely new.

They actually had some moderate success too. Not over here in the Nether Regions, but in the States. Deeper Shade Of Soul from their debut album actually made it all the way to #57 in the Billboard Hot 100. Which to Dutch standards is really really fucking succesful.

Anyway, this band doesn’t do their thang no more (whatever the hell that means), so digging into their back catalogue is all that’s left now. And there’s no better place to start than here. Because if you don’t like this album, there is seriously something wrong with your hearing.

Download Mental Floss For The Globe here

1. Fast Lane

2. No Kid

3. Deeper Shade of Soul

4. Prayer For My Demo

5. Big Apple

6. Piece Of Rock

7. Brainstorm On The U.D.S.

8. The Devil

9. Famous When You’re Dead

10. Mental Floss For The Globe

11. Hitchhike H.D.

12. God Blasts The Queen

See you in two weeks!

- Martin

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 12. Neon Golden by The Notwist

March 9, 2011

By Martin

Number 12 in my series of Forgotten Classics:

Neon Golden by The Notwist (2002)

It was way back in 2002 that Neon Golden by the Germans of The Notwist was named Album Of The Year by the good people of the Dutch (aren’t I the multinational blogger) music magazine OOR. At the time I had no clue whatsoever what this album was all about and why in god’s name it should be crowned ‘King Of 2002′. After all, wasn’t this the same year that also saw the release of instant classics like (amongst others) Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights, The White Stripes’ White Blood Cells and Cody ChesnuTT’s The Headphone Masterpiece?

Being fashionably late it took me more than two years to finally discover why so many people liked this album. Because it’s fucking awesome, that’s why! Look here, even the acid pissing wankers of Pissfork listed it in their top 10:

Realizing that The Notwist started out as a (mediocre) post-hardcore outfit makes the musical journey that Neon Golden takes you on all the more amazing. Nothing on the band’s previous four full length releases could’ve hinted at the greatness they would achieve with their fifth album. The fluency in the fusion of (subtle) electronics and guitar-driven pop music is impressive to say the least. The closest comparison I can think of is what Radiohead achieved on Kid A, but with a lot less experimentation.

The focus on the songs make the album a lot more lovable at first listen than its experimental counterparts, and somehow without becoming boring after repeated listens. Even after almost 10 years. Hell, Consequence is still one the best songs of the 00s!

So if you happened to have missed out the first time around (like I did), make up for it now. Check out the sample songs and spend your cash on a great album. You will not regret it.

Download Neon Golden here

1. One Step Inside Doesn’t Mean You Understand

2. Pilot

3. Pick Up The Phone

4. Trashing Days

5. This Room

6. Solitaire

7. One With The Freaks

8. Neon Golden

9. Off The Rails

10. Consequence

11. Scoop

12. Propeller 9

13. Formiga

See you in two weeks!

- Martin

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 11. Sugar – File Under Easy Listening

February 18, 2011

By Martin

Photography by LittleFlair…

Hüsker Dü means nothing to me. Bob Mould means nothing to me either. That is to say, the music that the Dü and the Mould made/make isn’t really the music that I like the Bob to make. The music I love is this:

Sugar – File Under Easy Listening (1994)

1994 was a great year in music, and File Under Easy Listening (or F.U.E.L.) was one of its highlights.

Roaring guitars. Loud guitars. But also, beautiful melodies. A combination I’ve gotten to love, and few albums have gotten it better than F.U.E.L. Bob Mould’s voice has never been angelic or smooth or anything like that, but who knew how well it would fit melodic songs instead of just raging rockers. His gritty vocals over the infectious grooves and chords are exactly what keep this album interesting.

Every song is memorable. Memorable in such a way that even after listening to it only once it will have you singing along full force! The song structures are, without exception, simple and easy to grasp. But simple does not equal dull. It’s never dull! Better still, it keeps on surprising you, more than 16 years after its release.

All the traits of a timeless classic if I’ve ever heard one.

DOWNLOAD FILE UNDER EASY LISTENING HERE

1. Gift

2. Company Book

3. Your Favorite Thing

4. What You Want It To Be

5. Gee Angel

6. Panama City Motel

7. Can’t Help You Anymore

8. Granny Cool

9. Believe What You’re Saying

10. Explode And Make Up

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 10. The Dears – Gang Of Losers

February 9, 2011

By Martin

Photography by shinelikestars00…

I was going to write about The Dears’ new album Degeneration Street but I opted to do a forgotten classic post instead. This is number 10 in my ongoing series honoring wonderful and often underrated albums:

The Dears – Gang Of Losers (2006)

The reason I’m not writing about the new album is because I really need to listen to it some more before judging. I already know it’s good but I still have to decide how good it really is. For Gang Of Losers I already made up my mind back in 2006.

Of all albums released in the noughties only two have made my all-time top 20 list, and this is one of those two. And in contrast with how many of my favorite music has captured my attention, this time it was the lyrics that pulled me in.

Frontman Murray Lightburn sings about being homeless. Being discriminated. Being deemed a loser. But also about optimism. About the things that are good in the world. And what makes his stories all the more impressive, is the fact that he’s live through it all. He’s actually been there, living on the streets, getting shit dumped upon him. And somehow, someway, this man has managed to make a series of fantastic albums of which Gang Of Losers is (imo) by far the most impressive.

Every song here is memorable. Instantly. And while most of the time this is a bad sign; this time it’s not. I’ve revisited this album at average at least twice a month since its release. And even now, almost five years later songs like Death or Life We Want You and There Goes My Outfit still give me goosebumps, and this is the main sign of a classic if you ask me.

DOWNLOAD GANG OF LOSERS HERE

1. Sinthtro

2. Ticket to Immortality

3. Death or Life We Want You

4. Hate, Then Love

5. There Goes My Outfit

6. Bandwagoneers

7. Fear Made The World Go ‘Round

8. Gang of Losers

9. Whites Only Party

10. Ballad of Humankindness

11. I Fell Deep

12. Find Our Way To Freedom

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Sweep, Swoop, Swept And Mondo Amore By Nicole Atkins

February 2, 2011

By Martin

Photography by SimonSawSunlight…

If there’s one lady in music who has swept me of my feet it’s this one!

Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore

Besides the fact that Nicole Atkins is one great chica (check out her twitter if you don’t believe me) she also makes some bloody fantastic music as well!

Her 2007′ album Neptune City is among the very few albums from my year-end-list of that year that I actually still listen to. Listen to a lot actually. The combination of grand orchestration, lush arrangements and huge but lovely vocals has proven to be seriously addictive. That she’s able to add really memorable melodies to that mix makes her even easier to love.

Where Neptune City was like the pop-music version of a Vaudeville show, Mondo Amore is Nicole dragging the whole shebang over to the Jersey shores and kicking the crap out of the can-can dancers! Sure there’s her trademark swooping ballads to be found here (Hotel Plaster, Heavy Boots amongst others) but the majority of this album kicks ass and promisses to be just as addictive as her earlier work.

Go check her out if you haven’t done so before, you know you want to!

Download Mondo Amore here

1. Vultures

2. Cry Cry Cry

3. Hotel Plaster

4. You Come To Me

5. My Baby Don’t Lie

6. This Is For Love

7. You Were The Devil

8. War Is Hell

9. Heavy Boots

10. The Tower

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Gimme Some By Peter Björn And John, Something To Love That Is!

January 29, 2011

By Martin

Photography by complejo…

Everyone that has read more than one of my articles over the past 5 years will already know that this Swedish three-man-band has been one of my faves ever since discovering them.

So there should be no surprise to learn that I was extremely excited about their new album:

Peter Björn And John – Gimme Some

If you happen to be unfamiliar with Peter Björn And John’s music (which wouldn’t be that surprising), then I suggest you hop over to their website asap to get some free sample mp3s and videos: PBJ.com and then return here to read on a bit.

Go on.

I’ll wait.

*dumdidumdidumdidum*

Oh hello! Welcome back!

I can only imagine that you’re just as amazed as I was when first hearing their music. If you aren’t, well frankly I think there’s something seriously wrong with you and you should stop reading this and every other future article I write.

Gimme Some is the band’s 6th album (5th proper one) since their start in 1999. Their first glimpse of fame came when their track Young Folks (the whistling song) from 2006′ Writer’s Block was picked up by a massive amount of websites and radiostations. To date they have yet to deliver a bad piece of music, although I will admit that their 2008′ instrumental release Seaside Rock was sub-par to say the least.

After the bit more adventurous Living Thing from 2009 for Gimme Some the band have returned to what their good great at. Making energetic guitar driven pop/rock with hooks that are all over the place. The album is filled with potential singles, the best one of which has just been released as just that. Second Chance is one of the best songs you’ll hear this year, trust me on that one, and the rest of the bunch ain’t too shabby either. Enjoy!

Visit the band’s website to stay updated

1. Tomorrow Has To Wait

2. Dig A Little Deeper

3. Second Chance

4. Eyes

5. Breaker Breaker

6. May Seem Macabre

7. (Don’t Let Them) Cool Off

8. Black Book

9. Down Like Me

10. Lies

11. I Know You Don’t Love Me

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Yeah, I’m kinda obsessed with Dye It Blonde by Smith Westerns…

January 27, 2011

By Tsuru

Photography by effie-fay…

Let’s keep this one tight and to the right, shall we? Played this once on a whim, liked some songs, threw one on a mixtape, moved on, forgot about it. Until this week when I had that “oh yeah, forgot about you!” moment scannin’ ye ol’ iPodaroni. Then I pushed the play button and a little obsession of sorts took over. Yeah, I’m kinda obsessed with Dye It Blonde by Smith Westerns…

When it first gets going with one of their “singles” “Weekend”, you think to yourself, “alright, alright, not too shabby-dabby… not too shabby-dabby at all”. But then “Still New” gets going, and it kiiinda has the same vibe, that is until that lead guitar comes in dripping of 70s rock-operatics, beyoooo be-be-beyoooo! Then the jaunty “Imagine Pt. 3″ continues the feel. And so it goes. What’s interesting his just how, though it contains that hazy pop sunset overall aesthetic, the album seems to get more and more theatric the deeper we go!

Not sure how to explain it… Individually, the songs play as simple pop songs. But taken as a whole, it almost comes off as a rock-musical! Seriously. Don’t know another way to say express it. It feels like there’s a story here. Now, I haven’t quite got into the lyrics, so I could be completely full of shitake mushrooms, but it’s just wonderful.

Listen to the singles below, but really grab the whole thing, turn it up loud, and see for yourself!

DOWNLOAD DYE IT BLONDE

01. Weekend
02. Still New
03. Imagine Pt. 3
04. All Die Young
05. Fallen In Love
06. End of the Night
07. Only One
08. Smile
09. Dance Away
10. Dye the World

Smith Western love: Myspace? Really Smith Westerns? Time to get your shit together, you are too good for myspace.

Cheers,
Tsuru

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 9. Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley

January 26, 2011

By Martin

Photography by VexingART…

Everybody and his brother’s dog knows Queens Of The Stone Age. Well fuck Queens Of The Stone Age! There’s only band that Josh Homme should be known for and that’s:

Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley (1994)

There isn’t a band in history that has earned weirder tags than Kyuss. ‘Stoner rock’. Ehh what? Stones that rock? Sure. ‘Desert rock’. Last time I checked the desert it was quiet as fuck, so this makes no sense whatsoever. Oh wait, they had jam sessions in the desert you say? Well I sing in the toilet, so maybe that explains why I make shitty music…

1992′ Blues For The Red Sun might have gained the ‘classic’ label but this here Welcome To Sky Valley is truly the real deal when it comes to Kyuss. It hasn’t got anything close to something that could be considered a single candidate (although Demon Cleaner has appeared in the latest Guitar Hero game) but when it comes to fulfilling the potential that Kyuss had you need not look any further.

Sky Valley is split up in three ‘suits’, otherwise known as three Roman numerals on the back cover of the album. Seriously, there ain’t nothing more to it than that. And be glad for that! Most albums that work with ‘suits’ turn out to be pretentious and unlistenable pieces of crap, and this is not.

The sound is all over the place but at the same time it’s 100% Kyuss and unique in that way. Thrashing, laidback, psychedelic, rocking and thunderous. This has got it all. And all of this accompanied by the Southern wail of John Garcia and Josh Homme’s guitar played through a bass amp.

Welcome To Sky Valley is a unique and amazing album by a band that would’ve been completely relevant had they still existed today. In case you overlooked Kyuss back in the early 90′s, here’s your chance to redeem yourselves.

DOWNLOAD WELCOME TO SKY VALLEY HERE

1. Gardenia

2. Asteroid

3. Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop

4. 100 Degrees

5. Space Cadet

6. Demon Cleaner

III

7. Odyssey

8. Conan Troutman

9. N.O.

10. Whitewater

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: How Something New That Seemed To Be Shite Turned Out To Be Quite Good And Mine Is Yours By Cold War Kids

January 23, 2011

By Martin

Photography by iNeedChemicalX…

Now this is a release that I have been waiting for like fucking forever! Well actually the wait’s only been a little less than 3 years but it sure felt like forever to me, but finally FINALLY it’s here:

Cold War Kids – Mine Is Yours

And fuck what a disappointment this album was at first listen!

Wanna know why? Lemme tell you why.

I saw Cold War Kids play live at the Amsterdam Paradiso somewhere in 2006, and they were the most intense act I had ever witnessed on stage. These guys were nothing less than possessed! The drummer was pounding away. The singer ripped his lungs out and the guitars seared with emotion drenched in blood, sweat and tears. They were in one word, amazing!

This is the kind of amazing that I’m talking about:

Imagine my surprise when the first song from Mine Is Yours that actually draw my attention was this one:

Finally Begin

WTF??!! This can’t be the same band!

Don’t get me wrong here; I like this song. I actually like it a lot, but it sounds like something that George Michael could’ve released. And the sound of Ol’ Georgiakis Michaelopopopopoplis isn’t exactly what I had expected from these here guys.

Anyway the initial surprise eventually turned into utter disappointment. Disappointment made me stop listening to the album. Even more so, disappointment actually made me afraid to listen to the album any further. I was actually afraid of the fact that I might start to like this new direction that Cold War Kids had gone into.

In the end it was the sheer quality of Finally Begin managed to steer me to the dark light side and I decided to push on, and what I found surprised me.

Sure there were more songs in the same vein as Finally Begin (read: darn right cathcy/poppy) but not as much as one might expect. Four songs turned out to be ‘new style’. The other 7 could’ve fit in snugly with the band’s previous releases. Intense songs, firmly rooted in blue-collar American rock traditions. And I like ‘em!

All in all this turned out to be a wild ride for a devoted fan like me, but with a happy ending after all. I see this album spinning in my iTunes for quite some time to come. Go check it out!

Download Mine Is Yours Here

1. Mine Is Yours

2. Louder Than Ever

3. Royal Blue

4. Finally Begin

5. Out Of The Wilderness

6. Skip The Charades

7. Sensitive Kid

8. Bulldozer

9. Broken Open

10. Cold Toes On The Cold Floor

11. Flying Upside Down

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: And Yes He Also Listens To New Stuff, Like Slippery Slope By The Dø

January 12, 2011

By Martin

Photography by winxyarianna…

A duo from France (him) and Finland (her). If you like Beach House chances are you will love:

The Dø – Slippery Slope

The Dø (pronounced ‘Dough’) are a multi-culti indie-pop duo who took there name from the first letters of their first names (Dan and Olivia). Apparently Dø means all kinds of things in some languages. I’m not sure what, and if you’re interested just check out Google Translate. What’s more important then their name is their music, and that my friends, is pretty amazing!

I loved the duo’s 2008′ debut A Mouthful a lot when it came out, and still do actually. The band has managed to create a sound that is at times light and poppy, while at the same time there’s darkness below the surface and musical experimentation is all over the place. They remind me most of the lighter side (musically speaking) of Beach House, while the trippy- and weirdness sounds a lot like the latest work by (the wonderful) Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Check out the samples below and be convinced.

Visit the band’s website for downloads

1. Dust It Off

2. The Wicked And The Blind

3. Gonna Be Sick!

4. Too Insistent

5. Bohemian Dances

6. Smash Them All (Night Visitors)

7. Leo Leo

8. Slippery Slope

9. The Calendar

10. Was It A Dream?

11. Moon Mermaids

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Oh my, Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine, the complete stream…

January 6, 2011

By Tsuru

This is the stream of the full album by Iron & Wine called Kiss Each Other Clean, played live yesterday on NPR. Straight through. I haven’t heard the actual album yet, but I’ll tell you what…. can we just make THIS the album?

Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean (Full Album Live via NPR)

Oh my, right? Here’s the viddy…

I think the actual album is supposed to be a bit more “e-lectronical” or something, but god, this should be it. Thank you NPR (again).

Cheers,
T.

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 6. Caesar – Caesar

October 12, 2010

By Martin

Photography by PollyMass…

Today’s selection is not so much a Forgotten Classic, but rather just Forgotten…

Caesar – Caesar (2003)

Amsterdam’s own Caesar were in one word: amazing! Were? Yes. Were. They no longer exist. But when Caesar were active the world was the better for it (not that more than 500 people realized it). Because they were nothing less than stellar when they existed.

Releasing 4 full albums before there demise, their eponymous fourth was from 2003. The reason I’m writing about it is because I fetched it from the garage last week, ripped it, and fucking loved it! Again. Their particular brand of guitar orientated pop is – in my opinion – the best ever made in the Nether Regions. I must admit, that isn’t that hard since most music that originates from here sucks balls, but still. Caesar were very very good. Easy when they wanted, manic when it was needed. But never ever dull or unoriginal.

Since this album is almost impossible to get a hold off when you’re not from my neck of the woods, I’ve posted a few more songs than usual. Check ‘em out. Be amazed (because you will). And mourn with me about the demise of one of the true unknown bands of heroes.

GET CAESAR HERE

1. Supersonic

2. Stop That Girl

3. El Cat Race

4. In Flames

5. Twist

6. I Know I

7. Dark Matter

8. C.I.A.

9. She Likes My Way

10. The Safeworld

11. Lives Of Mary Lane

12. Please Go On

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Where Love Comes From, Your Loss And Postcards From A Young Man By Manic Street Preachers

September 26, 2010

By Martin

Photography by vampire-zombie…

Today’s selection is a new release. Finally. And it’s a release that all you Yanks and Canucks probably won’t care less about. Your loss. It doesn’t make it any less of an essential release for 2010 whether you care or not.

I do happen to care about:

Manic Street Preachers – Postcards From A Young Man

My love affair with Manic Street Preachers started way back in 1991. I went to some kind of fair with my then girlfriend. On the way to the fair they played Motorcycle Emptiness on the radio and I fell in love with my date right there and then. Not just puppy love, but the head-over-heels-you-will-haunt-my-dreams-for-years-to-come kind of love. I thought about the girl for years after we separated.

Was she that special you might ask? Well…no, she wasn’t but it took me years to figure out that my mental image of her was scored by that one particular song…

So what’s there to say about Postcards From A Young Man, the band’s 10th studio album? Not much if you’re unfamiliar with their back-catalogue, and most of the readers of this website probably are. It boggles my mind that albums from a band as big as the Manic Street Preachers actually need to be specially imported to reach the North American shores. And all because these guys had the guts to be lefties and played a concert for Fidel. As stated above: your loss.

If you do decide to try it, a warning up front is in order. Postcards From A Young Man isn’t anything like last years opus magnum Journal For Plague Lovers. It’s just the album following that one. It’s not a follow-up to it of any kind. Far from it. Where Journal was dark, hard rocking and somewhat alienating (and brilliant!), Postcards is the band’s, and I quote, “last shot at mass communication.” There are lavish orchestral parts all over the place. The melodies are absolutely gorgeous. The ones that only reveal their beauty after several listens. Magical stuff.

I found this album to be extremely addictive, and played it over and over for days on end. That hasn’t happened very often these past years. There is always something new being released pushing older stuff out. But Postcards From A Young Man made it happen.

So yeah, I like it. I like it a lot. If you choose to ignore this band once more I couldn’t care less, but again, it will be your loss…

DOWNLOAD POSTCARDS FROM A YOUNG MAN HERE

1. (It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love

2. Postcards From A Young Man

3. Some Kind Of Nothingness

4. The Descent – (Pages 1 & 2)

5. Hazleton Avenue

6. Auto-Intoxication

7. Golden Platitudes

8. I Think I’ve Found It

9. A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun

10. All We Make Is Entertainment

11. The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever

12. Don’t Be Evil

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 5. Girls Against Boys – House Of GVSB

September 23, 2010

By Martin

Photography by gimmesympathy…

I really really tried very hard to get excited. Not in a sexual way of course (because everyone knows that ain’t a problem *wagga wagga*), but in a musical way. But still no luck in that department. I do have some new stuff in my iTunes worth blabbing about, but well, you know, it ain’t working out for me.

So it’s time for episode number 5 in my series of old crap in new jackets, also known as Peanut’s Forgotten Classics!

Girls Against Boys – House Of GVSB (1996)

‘Drone rock’. What the fuck is ‘drone rock’?? Apparently it’s the music Girls Against Boys used to make. Doesn’t mean much to me though, ‘drone rock’. I’d rather refer to them as bass-driven kick ass post-punk rock fuckers. Somehow that makes much more sense to me than ‘drone rock’ does.

House Of GVSB, the band’s 4th album, was released in 1996 and was their last on the indepent Touch & Go label before moving on to Geffen. The album holds everything that made this band unique. Double bass, ferocious rhythms, freaky synths, fuzzy guitars and completely inexcplicable lyrics. And with completely inexplicable, I mean COMPLETELY!

“When you got
nothing in the lemon
spiders on your ceiling
nothing satisfies

X-Head is X-Vibe
In dust we trust

When your ass
is in the fire
is it coming at ya live?
from all sides
can you decide?

X-Head is X-Vibe
In dust we trust
Super-fire”

Oh really Scott McCloud? Is that so? “X-Head is X-Vibe, In Dust We Trust”? Uhhuh, suuuuure….

Anyway I’ve wasted enough of ol’ Tsuru’s prepaid bytes already. Go and listen to an amazing album, that’s been in my all-time top 10 list for 14 years now, and see what you’ve missed out on way back in 1996.

DOWNLOAD HOUSE OF GVSB HERE

1. Super-Fire

2. Click Click

3. Crash 17 (X-Rated Car)

4. Disco Six Six Six

5. Life In Pink

6. TheKindaMzkYouLike

7. Vera Cruz

8. AnotherDroneInMyHead

9. Cash Machine

10. Wilmington

11. Zodiac Love Team

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 4. Urge Overkill – Exit The Dragon

September 17, 2010

By Martin

Photography by ibreathemusicc…

Have you noticed? There isn’t much new music that I can be bothered with at the moment. I listen to a lot of new stuff, and there is enough new stuff being released, but somehow nothing really grabs me. Not sure why that is.

The flipside of my current disinterest in modern music is that I am spamming the blogosphere with old shit, in this case installment number 4 in my Forgotten Classics series:

Urge Overkill – Exit The Dragon (1995)

Apparently Urge Overkill are reuniting to record their first new album in over 15 years. And that’s good news folks. For those of you who think they don’t know Urge Overkill, chances are, you probably do already. Just check out this here video first before reading on.

UO’s 1995 album Exit The Dragon is easily their best one and also their last to date. It’s not that their other albums aren’t good, because they are. But Dragon’s overall laidback feel while the subject matters are overly dark make for a classic album. And there aren’t many of those around are there?!

I can remember that this album was criminally overlooked back in 1995. Now UO wasn’t much (if any) of a name over here in Europe, but even after the whole Pulp Fiction thing there wasn’t a single review to be found over here, let alone a positive one. At the time we didn’t have a world wide web worth crap, so no allmusic.com or anything to help out. I checked out the AMG-review some years later and it got 3 stars or something, nothing special. I checked it out again today and it actually has 4,5 stars now. Just goes to show that it’s not just booze that improves with age…

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD EXIT THE DRAGON HERE

1. Jaywalkin’

2. The Break

3. Need Some Air

4. Somebody Else’s Body

5. Honesty Files

6. This Is No Place

7. The Mistake

8. Take Me

9. View Of The Rain

10. Last Night / Tomorrow

11. Tin Foil

12. Monopoly

13. And You’ll Say

14. Digital Black Epilogue

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 3. Faith No More – King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime

September 16, 2010

By Martin

Photography by krmenxa…

Time for an album of which I know every single word by heart. Well, except for that gibberish in Caralho Voador perhaps. This is an album that dragged me through the dark times after high school, and number 3 in my series Forgotten Classics!

Faith No More – King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime (1995)

On King For A Day… Faith No More perfected their patented “Fuck you, you suck and we are fantastic”-attitude. And with ‘perfected’ I mean PERFECTED.

There isn’t a bad song among the 14, and even better, every single song has its own unique identity. Hard rocking (Get Out, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, Ugly In The Morning), soultripping (Evidence), jazzynova (Star A.D., Cuckoo for Caca), poppy (Ricochet, King For A Day), pastich cliché (Take This Bottle, Just A Man), it’s all here.

And furthermore, I’m betting you have never heard any band ever take the piss more than FNM on this album! Some sample lyrics:

I deserve a reward
’cause I’m the best fuck that you ever had
and if I tighten up my hole -
you may never see the light again

- The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies

Sky is clear tonight
Sky is clear tomorrow
A star is out
I reach for one to sparkle in my hand
A star is out
I will not touch you, I am just a man

- Just A Man

Well whatever. You had to be there. Or something. Just listen, you’ll know what I mean. Also notice the ‘loud-soft-loud-soft-loud’ sequence the songs have. Cool.

DOWNLOAD KING FOR A DAY, FOOL FOR A LIFETIME HERE

1. Get Out

2. Ricochet

3. Evidence

4. The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies

5. Star A.D

6. Cuckoo for Caca

7. Caralho Voador

8. Ugly In The Morning

9. Digging The Grave

10. Take This Bottle

11. King For A Day

12. What A Day

13. The Last To Know

14. Just A Man

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and shit).

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics – 2. Judgment Night OST

August 31, 2010

By Martin

Photography by vampire-zombie…

I’m on a roll here on TSURURADIO! Or as Ol’ Tsuru would say: “Peanut’s on fyarrrr!”

All right. Now that we’ve established that I’ve actually had somewhat of a series of posts for the first time in quite a while, what’s next? I’ll tell you what’s next! The second installment in Peanut’s Playground: Forgotten Classics that is!

And in typical fashion it’s a truly uninspired choice as well. People, please direct your attention to:

Judgment Night OST (1993)

Whaaaaat? A soundtrack? From 17 years ago? Are you nuts!? And it’s filled with music that’s never been featured on TSURURADIO before?? Peanut seriously. What. Were. You. Thinking…

And I haven’t even mentioned that the movie this soundtrack belongs to sucks balls. And I mean big-time Chuck Norris sized balls here! I actually saw it in the cinema with some girl, and all that remains from that night is a memory of her performing CPR on me during the halftime break. Man, that movie sucked!

So imagine my surprise when the soundtrack that went with it was actually quite good. To say the least. Besides the fact that this album was the first truly accomplished collection of (rock+hip/hop) crossover songs, it was also a excellent album. Even though each and every song is written and performed by different artists, as a whole they work really well together.

Most, if not every song is a classic in the genre (which is all but dead at the moment) but a few tracks stand out. My personal faves are Helmet and House of Pain’s Just Another Victim and Disorder by Slayer and Ice-T. The former because I think it’s the best example of classic crossover ever made. Ultra dry (Terry Date-style) guitar riffing and a hiphop act who were in their prime (Jump Around anyone?). And the latter because hey, it’s fuqqin SLAYER AND ICE-T!! Nuff said. No really. That’s nuff said!

I’ve said this too many times already these past weeks, but this album might not be your cup of tea either. Well BOO HAA to you! Try it anyway. You won’t regret it. Trust me on this one. Hell, trust me on every album I ramble about! Now go and listen. Shoo!

DOWNLOAD JUDGMENT NIGHT OST HERE

1. Helmet and House of Pain – Just Another Victim

2. Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul – Fallin’

3. Living Colour and Run DMC – Me, Myself & My Microphone

4. Biohazard and Onyx – Judgment Night

5. Slayer and Ice-T – Disorder

6.Faith No More and Boo Yaa Tribe – Another Body Murdered

7. Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill – I Love You Mary Jane

8. Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot – Freak Momma

9. Dinosaur Jr. and Del The Funky Homosapien – Missing Link

10. Therapy? and Fatal – Come And Die

11. Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill – Real Thing

Don’t forget to check out my other articles, in case you’ve missed them (which would be an absolute shame, because they’re great and all that…)!

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Balls To The Wall With Below The Belt by Danko Jones

August 29, 2010

By Martin

Photography by Froskelu…

Continuing my series of albums normally avoided by regular visitors of TSURURADIO with today’s selection:

Below The Belt by Danko Jones

I’m not quite sure if this is what ol’ Tsuru had in mind when he said: “Sure, come aboard. Your musical taste differs enough from mine to make this interesting!”

Just look at the site now. I’m ruining his indie cred one article at a time. Thanks for the opportunity mate. Much appreciated!

Anyway, Danko Jones. Mutthafuqqin Danko Jones. Corruptor of women. Bald headed devil in black. God I love this guy!

I remember the first time that I saw the dude perform live, at Rock Werchter in Belgium way back in 2003. I’d seen ‘over the top’ before, but this…this was ‘OVER THE TOP’! The man was posing, riffing, seducing, salivating, and belting out lyrics like this:

“Love it when It goes like boom!
And like that and like that and like that
Right behind ya…whoo”

and

“Beautiful girl, have your time
Just relax and wait a while
Ooh I caught you looking let’s start the cooking
You know what I’m saying?”

By now you must be thinking that I’m taking the piss here? Well I’m not.

Danko Jones fuqqin rocks. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. Balls to the wall rock and roll, and I like it. I like it a lot actually, and you would probably too if you drop the indie cred bullcrap for a moment.

DOWNLOAD BELOW THE BELT HERE

1. I Think Bad Thoughts

2. Active Volcanoes

3. Tonight Is Fine

4. Magic Snake

5. Had Enough

6. (I Can’t Handle) Moderation

7. Full Of Regret

8. The Sore Loser

9. Like Dynamite

10. Apology Accepted

11. I Wanna Break Up With You

Don’t forget to show Danko some mothafuqqin love bitchas: Official | Myspace

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: And Now For Something Completely Different And Introducing The Boxer by Kele

August 27, 2010

By Martin

Photography by lestlouis…

Just like my previous article on Big Boi‘s new one, this album by Kele might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

This is because Kele is the singer/guitarist for indie-rockers-on-hiatus Bloc Party, and they are a fuqqin amazing group! I might love them a bit more than the rest of the world does, placing their 2008 album Intimacy at the top of my year end list, but they are very good. Trust me on this one.

Unfamiliar with Bloc Party? Check this out:

Bloc Party – Like Eating Glass (2005)

Anyway, getting back on track with today’s offering:

The Boxer by Kele

I take it you’ve listened to the Bloc Party song or already knew them. Well Kele’s album The Boxer…it’s NOTHING like Bloc Party has ever made!

Guitars? Not present. Angry punching beats? Nope. Breathtaking speeds? Nada. Hell, it ain’t even rock!

No, Kele has chosen the path of twisted electronics on his solo debut. And with good effect I might add. It isn’t the best electronic music I’ve ever heard, but he’s done well enough. Besides the trippy beats and exotic instrumentation, Kele’s finest feature is still his voice. Powerful and distinctive. Combined with his songwriting talent makes that The Boxer is one of this year’s better albums so far.

It’s also an album that benifits from repeated listens, as all great pieces of work need. I suggest you try it. And then try it again a couple of times. Then decide. Love to hear what you think.

DOWNLOAD THE BOXER HERE

1. Walk Tall

2. On The Lam

3. Tenderoni

4. The Other Side

5. Everything You Wanted

6. New Rules

7. Unholy Thoughts

8. Rise

9. All The Things I Could Never Say

10. Yesterday’s Gone

Don’t forget to show Kele some love: Official | Myspace

Tudels,

Peanut

Link up with me here:

Peanut’s Playground: Boring Days, Entertainment and Big Boy’s Sir Lucious Left Foot The Son Of Chico Dusty

August 25, 2010

By Martin

Photography by hakanphotography…

I’m not sure what your days look like, but mine are pretty fuqqin boring from time to time. It’s not so much the weekends or my evenings, but during the day time seems to crawl by like a snail on high heels. Or as we say in the Nether regions: “Zoals dikke stront door een vergiet!”

Use Google Translate if your curious.

To help the days along a bit I like my music to be ‘entertaining’, and no album released in 2010 has proven to be as entertaining as today’s highlight:

Sir Lucious Left Foot The Son Of Chico Dusty by Big Boi

Antwan André Patton a.k.a. Big Boi is best known for his work as one half of hiphop legends Outkast and as such is well know enough already. Therefore I won’t be wasting any more precious bytes on details.

I can imagine that a large portion of TSURURADIO’s readers aren’t fans of Outkast or Big Boi. Your loss. I’m serious. This might sound strange to you, but there do happen to be artists outside of the indie realm (whatever the hell that may be these days) who are actually worth your attention. Big Boi is one of them.

A foul mouthed but smooth, clever rhyming s.o.b. with a knack for choosing exactly the right guest vocalists, and most of all: he’s Entertaining (yes, with a capital E) and isn’t that something we can all use once in a while?

DOWNLOAD SIR LUCIOUS LEFT FOOT THE SON OF CHICO DUSTY HERE

1. Feel Me (Intro)

2. Daddy Fat Sax

3. Turns Me On Ft. Sleepy Brown And Joi

4. Follow Us Ft. Vonnegutt

5. Shutterbug Ft. Cutty

6. General Patton

7. Tangerine Ft. T.I. And Khujo Goodie

8. You Ain’t No DJ Ft. Yelawolf

9. Hustle Blood Ft. Jamie Foxx

10. Be Still Ft. Janelle Monae

11. Fo Yo Sorrows Ft. George Clinton, Too Short And Sam Chris