About 30 miles west of Charleston, West Virginia is a little town called
Milton, which was the home to the Plato Records label back in the 1960s.
According to Al Collinsworth, vocalist and co-songwriter for The Outcasts, Plato was intended to be an African-American music (Afrilachian) label, but the only known Plato releases are a handful of garage rock and funk singles from predominantly white bands, like The Outcasts'
Loving You Sometimes. That particular track has seen an uptick in interest, since it has appeared on some recent mixtapes, including Diplo's
Chasing the Dragon (MP3,
streaming on Grooveshark). For more on those few known Plato recordings,
Garage Hangover has interviews, information and promo photos from members.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jun 13, 2013 -
7 comments
"
From the day of it's release in 1977, every time you heard it, you knew 2 things - you had never heard anything like it and this was something special. Energy, sophistication, soul. Birdland." |
Weather Report live in 1978 at Stadthalle Offenbach |
Maynard Ferguson Big Band live in 1982,
Maynard Ferguson Band, live at Disneyland '83 (decent audience recording),
Maynard Ferguson Band live on TV (year unknown) and a studio recording of
Maynard Ferguson |
Bruce Kaphan Quartet recording Birdland in their studio |
Manhattan Transfer Vocalies Live in Tokyo in 1986, the same year when
Weather Report disbanded |
Future Corps, live
posted by filthy light thief
on May 31, 2013 -
15 comments
Andrea Benini is a musician, music producer and composer from Cesena, Italy, and is more commonly known as
Mop Mop, or at least the head of a changing group of musicians who use that name. In 2005, collective Mop Mop released an album of
cool vibes, spare paino lines, tight grooves (
5 sample tracks, streaming on Grooveshark). The group has changed over the years, releasing a total of four albums, with the most recent, Isle of Magic, containing
13 tracks of pure voodoo jazz, Caribbean flavors, Afro-funk, exotic rhythms and soul music.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on May 10, 2013 -
3 comments
Grzegorz Demiañczuk and Wojciech Tarañczuk were born under communist rule in the Polish city of Szczecin, where they first heard pop music by way of German radio broadcasts. The got into techno in the 1990s, and got more music by way of tapes from street vendors and CD swaps from other music fans in the US. The duo started working under the name
Catz n Dogz in 2007, spinning and making house music of various sorts. They released
two albums, and started their own label,
Pets Recordings, to promote other Polish producers, and have released hours of free mixes from the duo and their friends, by way of their
petcasts. Catz n Dogz also got to shine on BBC Radio 1 recently, with
an Essential Mix on April 20.
posted by filthy light thief
on May 2, 2013 -
3 comments
In 1964, The Beatles put together a one-off variety show, with musical numbers specially pre-recorded for the show, presented in the style of theater-in-the-round.
Around the Beatles was aired in the UK and later that same year in the US, but never commercially released. The show includes The Beatles performing a scene from
A Midsummer's Night Dream, with Paul McCartney as Pyramus, John Lennon as his lover Thisbe, George Harrison as Moonshine, Starr as Lion, and
Trevor Peacock (the only actual actor in the lot) in the role of Quince. A
color clip of that was
posted previously, but you can watch the entire (almost) hour-long show with The Beatles' segments accompanied by seven other musical acts,
on Dailymotion or
YouTube, though it's in black and white.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Apr 18, 2013 -
14 comments
Mozart in Turkey is film made of three distinct, but related, elements. First, it is a look into Mozart at the time of his courting
Constanze, a bit on his new patron, the "enlightened monarch"
Joseph II, and
other influences, including the Turkish music and culture, along with thoughts on Mozart's opera as a work created in the
Age of Enlightenment, all through the running commentary by opera director
Elijah Moshinsky, who also interviews
Alev Lytle Croutier, the author of
Harem: The World Behind the Veil. Then there is the production of an opera in Turkey, specifically set in and around the
Topkapi Palace (virtual tour;
Wikipedia). And the last piece is the performance of
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, or
The Abduction from the Seraglio. You can
watch the entire film online on Vimeo, thanks to
Directors Cut Films.
posted by filthy light thief
on Apr 15, 2013 -
3 comments
In the United Kingdom, many brass bands were started by colliery owners, and funded in part by the coal miners themselves.
Some of those bands live on, after the coal pits have been closed for years. These bands are facing hard times, with limited funding and waning interest in the music, but
some youth join bands to continue family traditions, and the government provides some funding to numerous bands. If you'd like to know more about brass bands in the UK and around the world,
Internet Bandsman's Everything Within (IBEW) has tons of material,
links to bands in the UK and elsewhere as well as
a list of extinct bands and
vintage brass band pictures,
local events and radio shows,
recordings, and plenty more.
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 10, 2013 -
22 comments
Happy belated birthday to
Jesus Murphy,
Haslam,
DJ Critical, Uncle Climax (NSFW audio),
Stinkin' Rich (NSFW audio),
Dirk Thornton,
Buck 65, or as his mom called him,
Richard Terfry.
Born in the year of the rat, and he's a Pisces, which makes him a rat fish, but by trade, he's a turntablist/ MC/ producer/
broadcaster. Generally he makes
some form of hip-hop (some NSFW lyrics), though as of late, he's been broadening his style, as heard in his cover of Leonard Cohen's
Who By Fire (
previously) and
Paper Airplane (official "lyric" video). In tribute to his 41st birthday, there's a lot more music inside.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 8, 2013 -
19 comments
Vincent Belorgey, known as Kavinsky (or KΔVINϟKY) is a producer who is fixated with a stylized version of 1986, from his first single and video,
Testarossa Autodrive, to his
new (and first) album,
Outrun (Grooveshark stream). If that's not enough of retro neon French electro-house, you can
stream his other four singles/EPs on Bandcamp, and see the videos for
Dead Cruiser (animated sequel to Testarossa Autodrive),
ProtoVision (live-action sequel to Dead Cruiser),
Nightcall (as heard on the Drive soundtrack, and
seen in the international version of the trailer).
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 24, 2013 -
21 comments
William Benjamin Bensussen is a DJ and producer who started DJing in San Diego's
Gaslamp Quarter, where his weird, heavy sound was generally a dancefloor killer, earning him the name
The Gaslamp Killer But he kept at it, and found a home in Los Angeles, performing with the
Low End Theory crew. On December 1, 2012, Gaslamp Killer joined an ever-growing list of notable DJs and
appeared on BBC Radio 1 with an Essential Mix "
This runs the gamut, freak flag and spliff waving in the air. 2 brutal and beautiful hours of raw beats, boom bap, and Birdman. There is psych-rock, there is juke, there is Spaghetti Western. Exclusives from Lotus, HudMo, and Dilla." If you like what you hear, there's even more below the break.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 17, 2013 -
24 comments
Canal de willtopsmusictv provides a valuable service, summarizing the top 30 songs* for a year, from 1980 to 2012, in 8 to 15 minutes.
1980,
1981,
1982,
1983,
1984,
1985,
1985,
1986,
1987,
1988,
1989,
1990,
1991,
1992, 1993**,
1994,
1995,
1996,
1997,
1998,
1999,
2000,
2001,
2002,
2003,
2004,
2005,
2006,
2007,
2008,
2009,
2010,
2011,
2012.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 6, 2013 -
40 comments
Welcome to
mcbess, a land of
odd illustrations in black and white*, something of a
dark and dingy take on Merry Melodies, where
the men are bearded, and
the ladies are toothy, busty (and often topless, in a vaguely NSFW cartoony way). There are also some
large-scale illustrations with all those elements, and more. Matthieu Bessudo, aka mcbess, is also in a band,
The Dead Pirates, and his art and music met with the video
Wood (Vimeo;
also on YouTube; more info
here).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jan 28, 2013 -
8 comments
There is a universe of recorded DJ mixes to sort through, enough to keep you entertained and dancing for years.
Souncloud user R_co fills a pocket of this cosmos with thousands of mixes and some live shows to stream and download, spanning styles and decades, from
Bob Marley and the Wailers live in 1975, to
a Shep Pettibone Mastermix Danceparty from 1983,
Mark Farina live in Los Angeles, 1996, or
Masters at Work live in Miami at WMC, 2003, and
Carl Craig in Ibiza, 2012.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jan 12, 2013 -
25 comments
It has been 30 years since it was first recorded, and almost that long since it was released as a
single and a
extra-long music video (alt. link:
YT), but
Thriller has remained at the top of lists for
best Halloween songs (
2,
3,
4,
5) and
best Halloween videos (
2,
3,
4,
5). You know
the dance, and you've read
Vanity Fair's extensive Thriller Diaries (
previously), or at least
Los Angeles Times' 25 Thriller facts, but have you seen
the almost hour long making of the video? Have you heard
the voice-over session with Michael and Vincent Price, with the bonus unreleased "rap" vocals by Price? You remember that
Vincent did Thriller just to make fun of himself, like he did when he
worked with Jack Benny and
Red Skelton, right? Or maybe you're in the mood for more of the comedic horror that Michael liked, such as
his collaboration with Stephen King,
Michale Jackson's Ghosts (HD, with Japanese subtitles and intro).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 30, 2012 -
19 comments
Jim Lehrer and Bob Schieffer continue their trend of moderating the first and last presidential debates, as they did in 2004 and 2008. Both grew up in Texas, and got their starts in journalism there, too,
both covering the JFK assassination in 1963. Following Lehrer's role as moderator in this year's presidential debate, subsequent moderators have been under significant scrutiny before and after their performances, and Schieffer,
who has covered all four of the major Washington beats, is
ready for his role in the political process, in the middle of partisan divide, which is deeper than any time he can recall from his 43 years in Washington.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 22, 2012 -
77 comments
Mention the British record label
4AD, and some significant band names usually come to mind:
Bauhaus,
Dead Can Dance,
Cocteau Twins,
Pixies, and
The Birthday Party, to name a few. There is no singular "4AD sound," but there is
an overall aesthetic, with some off-shoots into unusual territory (see:
M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume). Recently, 4AD added another off-shoot to their roster:
South Florida producer and MC, SpaceGhostPurrp. Purrp took a moment and
talked with MtvHive about his decision to sign with 4AD, his current work, and growing up in Miami. More of 4AD and SPVCXGHXZTPVRRP inside.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jun 1, 2012 -
39 comments
Zamrock is a largely forgotten musical movement, born from a newly independence still trying to find stability. The sound is a mix of local sounds with heavy, bluesy and psychedelic rock, usually sung in English, the constitutional language for Zambia. Unfortunately, little of the history is written, and those who were there are fewer each year. Last year, Emmanuel Kangwa “Jagari” Chanda, the co-founder and lead singer for WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc), was
interviewed for two hours (Vimeo;
transcript;
source) and
recorded a radio show with 14 Zamrock tracks. The South African newspaper
Mail & Guardian have an article with more history and interview snippets with Jagari, whose stage name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger's name. (
via)
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on May 21, 2012 -
16 comments
Before
hip-hop beefs, there were response records, also known as
answer songs, usually replies to well-known songs. There are a few key eras: blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s, including a number of responses to "
Work With Me, Annie" (1954), recorded by
Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, with answers including "
Annie had a Baby," and "
The Wallflower" by Etta James; and Big Mama Thornton's "
Hound Dog" (1953), with a quick response by
Louis Innis and Charlie Gore, made a mere week after the original was released, and
Rufus Thomas' "
Bear Cat" (1953),
Sun Records' first hit. Country, rock & roll, doo-wop and pop music picked up where the blues left off, with most activity in the 1950s to 60s. Two examples from this era are
"Are You Lonesome To-night" and "Who Put The Bomp," and responses to both. The most well known from the next decade was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "
Sweet Home Alabama" (1974), a response to Neil Young's "
Southern Man" (1970) and "
Alabama" (1972). Until the 2000s, no answer songs had charted as high as the original hits. That changed with
Frankee's "
F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back)" (2004), a response to
Eamon's "
Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" (2003), which was the first answer song to reach number 1 in the UK. Six years later and across the pond, Katy Perry's "
California Gurls" was a response to "
Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z. It was the first answer song to reach No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100. More Responses inside.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 31, 2012 -
53 comments
KEXP 90.3 FM is a Seattle, WA-based radio station, officially "a service of University of Washington," but it's more complex than that.
The first University of Washington radio station started broadcasting in 1952. Five decades,
a few station organizational shifts, plus three call letter and frequency changes later,
KEXP was (re)born in 2001. Along the way, the station spread the sound of 1990s Seattle indie rock, started
streaming "CD quality" MP3 audio of their broadcast in 2000, and they have an ever-growing collection of recordings of live in-station performances, including
over 2,000 videos on YouTube.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 28, 2012 -
35 comments
"
Rhyece O’Neill is an intense young man. A polemical folk singer, a producer of bass-heavy dance music, a protester, and a digital media worker for a major record label. He’s unlike anyone else in Australia’s dubstep landscape."
Cyclic Defrost interviews O'Neill, aka
electronic/dub/dubstep producer Westernsynthetics, and head of the
Sub Continental Dub label. You can skip the rest and hear
two streaming mixes from Westernsynthetics,
19 tracks from the Sub Continental Dub label, plus
the label's first three singles, or continue inside for background, context, and even more music.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 27, 2012 -
9 comments
It's only been about 12 years since Jamie Woon picked up a guitar and started writing songs, but he's progressed from his days of being a fan of Brit-pop, and his current work has been classified as
sobstep, dubpop, and lovestep, or simply "the new pop music." "At the heart of what I do is R&B, it's groove-based vocal-led music, and I try to sing about things that are close to my heart and that matter to me,"
says Woon.
His sound has garnered a lot of praise, including
placing 4th in
The Sound of 2011, the annual British music industry poll. More of Woon's background and music inside.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 17, 2012 -
19 comments
