OK, while we’re all sitting around waiting for Radiohead to release their new music, already, let’s talk Prince and let’s talk Roman GianArthur. Covering Radiohead is a dangerous game. Unless you’re Prince. If you’re Prince, covering Radiohead is not dangerous at all. For evidence, just watch him covering ‘Creep’ at Coachella. Prince can literally do […]
Category: recommendations
Categories
2015: Top ten albums
It’s been a quiet year for the freethinking movement; relocating from the US to the UK has knocked the arse out of any free time, and has put a serious dent in my ability to sit and write. It’s a shame, as 2015 has been jammed with outstanding music. This, the sixth compilation of my […]
Categories
2014: Top ten albums
I’ve been posting an annual ‘best of’ list for a few years now – this is the fifth run through. I can honestly say that this is the easiest year by far. That isn’t a reflection on the scarcity of good material. Rather, the ten albums listed below stand head and shoulders out there as […]
In these days of global warming, political and economic turmoil, Orwellian government surveillance and the very real threat of a new Coldplay album, there’s one issue that has crept onto my radar today, and which stands head and shoulders above all else in terms of importance. Let me explain… The World Cup is drawing closer. […]
2013 is littered with unfinished business. There’s much for me to write about that I have just not had the time to share. Like seeing the Pixies tear through an awesome set at Music Hall of Williamsburg (with a highlight as staggering as it was surprising: ‘Bagboy’). Or Janelle Monae lighting up the Apollo as […]
Categories
2013: Top ten albums
In any other year, the 2013 releases from Laura Mvula, Disclosure or Unknown Mortal Orchestra may have made the cut for the ‘best ten’. But, 2013 was about as solid a year for music as you can hope for. Even a rejuvenated and frankly otherworldly David Bowie didn’t make the list this year. And, I […]
Categories
Better than Mick
I often think that the UK’s Smooth FM should run with the advertising slogan: ‘where you’re never more than 30 minutes away from Simply Red’. It’s truly the place where music comes to die. I consider it to be the opposite of freethinking. So, let’s just talk about Simply Red for a minute. I recently […]
One of the more surprising bits of feedback I’ve received regarding the freethinking movement came from a colleague of mine a couple of years ago. She attended one of the early freethinking nyc nights, and ended up becoming a regular ‘freethinker’. She came straight out with the feedback: ‘I now know the real James’. The […]
How did this pass me by? It’s 2013, and here I am, about to write about a tune which was released in 1995. But, thanks to you lot, I never even knew about this until last year. Thanks a bunch. As I sat down in January to compile my list of top albums for 2012, […]
Ron Carter is high up there. His contribution to the world of music is indisputable. Some of Herbie Hancock’s finest recordings – including Maiden Voyage and Empyryan Isles – were graced by the genius of his bass work. He was there when it mattered, alongside Miles, as a new age in jazz was dawning. I […]
Categories
2012: Top ten albums
Let’s get this out of the way: the best music from 2012 came not from new blood, but from established artists. Fine, there are some exceptions, but as a general rule, last year some comparatively old dogs absolutely nailed it. *braces self for onslaught of not-so-constructive feedback* As ever, picking ten albums is really tough. […]
I’m a long-time aficionado of Acid Jazz Records. Birthplace of Galliano and Jamiroquai, home to The Brand New Heavies during their career-peak, and the arbiters of taste behind the Totally Wired series – Acid Jazz was more than a label during the early 90s. It was a movement. I was a fully signed-up fan. During […]