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reflection

Amy.

Enough has been written about Amy in the last two days. The morbid fascination with the 27 club, the hangers on wanting a part in the drama outside her Camden home, the crass jokes before and immediately after, but nobody can deny the fact that behind the rock and roll cliché was not just a […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

Lamb – ‘Gorecki’ was no fluke

Lamb are back. This can only be good news. ‘Trans Fatty Acid’, ‘What Sound’ and ‘Gabriel’ would be enough to justify high expectations surrounding the return of one of Manchester’s finest. But, to put beyond doubt the notion that Lamb are ‘an important band’, I give you ‘Gorecki’. Lamb are creators of much more than […]

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reflection

Please Mind The Gap

The Gap Band didn’t mean much to me until two months ago. This is unacceptable. Growing up in a Motown-for-breakfast household with an unhealthy helping of 80s ballads, I was unreasonably proud of my funk collection. Before the wretched early teens kicked in, dad would take me to car-boot sales to hunt for records. A […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

The musical definition of summer

OK, I’m from Stoke. It’s not exactly a city known for solid summer weather. Compound that with the fact that I am probably one of the whitest people around, and it’s perhaps surprising that I am such a fan of ‘The Summer’. Turn the temperature up, even throw in some humidity, and I am generally […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

Jez Kerr: ‘Numb Mouth Eat Waste’… first review!

So, come on then, time to own up. Raise your hand in the air if you’ve been checking out Jez Kerr’s solo material. No? Shame on you, if you haven’t. You’ve missed out on a couple of peaches – two singles to give a taster of what’s in store on Jez’s debut album. At the […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

Hitting the mainstream in style

People of the UK: I applaud you. While you may be responsible for all manner of horrors, such as Britain’s Got Talent and the unintentional election of a sham of a coalition government, sometimes you’re bang on… Last September, I put forward a simple point: that people like good music – given the chance. While […]

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James Poole reflection

Gil Scott-Heron: Peace Go With You, Brother

May 27, 2011. The day that a true freethinker left the building. We’re all poorer for it. My words just won’t hit the mark, here. When someone of the importance and stature of Gil Scott-Heron passes, you want to look to people with the intelligence, heart and insight of the man himself to capture the […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

I really should have known this sooner. It’s by Curtis Mayfield, after all.

Is it wrong that an album that is 40 years old has sideswiped me this week? In short, yes. Yes, it’s bang out of order. It’s not that ‘new music’ should be the only material to impress, but I do feel that this is an album which I should have been deeply familiar with already. […]

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James Poole recommendations reflection

The Go! Team: they will wear you out, but leave you happy.

Last week was a ‘two gig week’ for me. In keeping with the freethinking vibe, the concerts couldn’t have been more stylistically different. First up was the infectious Labrador-like charm of The Go! Team. I’ll save the second gig for my next post… The first time I properly came across The Go! Team (bar hearing […]

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freethinking nyc James Poole recommendations reflection

Death of a Disco Dancer, Morrissey and Marr at their peak

There are a few differences between the UK & the US in the consumption of music which never fail to surprise me. Actually, scratch that – it’s more ‘New York’ than ‘the US’ that I feel qualified to make reference to. It’s partially just seeing what music goes down when you’re DJing – there’s just […]

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defining freethinking freethinking nyc James Poole reflection

James Brown: there was (is) none better

Wow. Seriously. James Brown is an artist at the very heart of the freethinking movement. On any given freethinking nyc night, you’ll be guaranteed to hear him, and there’s a fighting chance that you’ll also hear Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd and Maceo Parker. James Brown changed music. I never saw James Brown play live. The […]

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James Poole reflection

LCD Soundsystem *are* New York City

I may be talking out of turn, here. I realise that I’m from Stoke, and that it’s about 3,000 miles – figuratively and literally – from the place I chose to live. That said, I love the city that I chose to call home. I thrive on the beat of the city, the buzz, the […]