thefreethinkingmovementThis is why I love BBC 6 Music. It’s not just because they will play William DeVaughn’s ‘Be Thankful For What You’ve Got’ followed by Shack’s sublime ‘Comedy’ and ‘Hallelujah’ by the Happy Mondays (three songs played in succession over Christmas which convinced me that the station takes its playlist from my record collection). It’s […]
There’s some music that’s just good – but about as cool as sandals with socks. At the freethinking movement, we’re proud to call out the music which we like, regardless of whether it’s cool or not. A great example: Japan. Since kicking off freethinking nyc last year, Japan have featured on a regular basis. ‘Gentlemen […]
It seems appropriate to dedicate my first post of 2011 to the material that I’m most excited to hear this year. We’ve got a few months to wait for the full glory of ‘Build a Rocket Boys!’, but I’m just going to put this out there now: based on the first track to be unleashed […]
So that’s 2010, then. A year of staggering comebacks, of fine funk, and of exciting new music. Sitting here on a flight back to NYC after a Christmas break in the UK, it’s probably as good a time as any to fully reflect on the year, and to take the time to acknowledge the albums […]
Let’s not forget James Brown. It’s Christmas. My last post referenced some deep, hard, dirty funk. The tenuous Christmas connection being that I received said funk as a gift from my brother last year. In light of this, I thought it only fitting that I should share some proper Christmas funk from the Godfather himself. […]
My last post was brought on by Christmas shopping. When it comes to Christmas, and this has been the case for many, many years now, my oldest brother and I have an unwritten rule. I suppose I am about to break the ‘unwritten’ part of that now, but here goes: ‘buy some music that you […]
Backing bands rarely get the limelight. There are exceptions, of course. Like The Headhunters, stepping out of the shadows cast behind Herbie Hancock, and unleashing expansive jazz-funk on the world. But there are also those bands that just stay in the background, laying down the tracks while the front person takes the glory. Consider, if […]
I buy a lot of music. I really do mean a lot. At time this can mean that I’ve got a stack of music that I just haven’t got around to listening to yet. Delights just sitting there, on my dining room table, waiting for me to check them out. I finally got around to […]
‘It’s my daughters 10th birthday today. She’s the most beautiful person in the world. Are there any daughters in here tonight? Your dad thinks exactly the same about you. Even if you’re minging.’ Once more, Badly Drawn Boy arrives in New York to baffle the audience with Mancunian wit. Last night I caught the second […]
2010 has been quite the year for music. Everything Everything emerged from nowhere to knock out an album which more accomplished bands would struggle to match. Badly Drawn Boy returned, and produced his best work in a decade. Supergrass departed stage left, but left behind the unadulterated joy of The Hotrats. And, after a silence […]
It’s been about a week since I wrote my last post. During this time, The Beatles took over the charts thanks to their music now being available on iTunes. Great. About time. It doesn’t make a spot of difference to me personally, as I don’t really need to buy their stuff again. Twice is enough. […]
Damn that Gilles Peterson. He’s always not one, but about four hundred steps ahead. And so, when he posted a link to YouTube, with the simple line ‘check this’, I felt it only right. And, sweet baby Jesus, I am glad I did. Have you ever heard of the Soul Rebels Brass Band? If you […]