So I am heading to Manchester. You see, I’m a bit of an Elbow fan, as posts on this site have already been testament to. As soon as the Elbow date at the MEN Arena was announced, the tickets were booked. I live in NYC, but my heart is in Manchester. There’s no finer place […]
Break up albums can be borderline voyeuristic. As a songwriter exorcises the demons of a failed relationship, you’re exposed to some raw emotions. It can be deeply uncomfortable. On one hand, there’s the bleak lament of self loathing – Beck’s ‘Sea Change’ is hardly going to win any prizes for its life-affirming, upbeat attitude. On […]
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Filth from Larry Young
I’ll keep this brief. Some funk just sounds filthy. It can be the horn, it can be the guitar. In the case of ‘Turn Off The Lights’ by Larry Young’s Fuel – it’s everything. Filth, in musical form. It’s like a laid back cousin of Fred Wesley’s ‘Blow Your Head’. Only dirtier. This is a […]
You know how certain music just makes you feel a few feet taller? Last week, I heard ‘Dry the Rain’ by The Beta Band. I had to smile. There’s literally nothing wrong with the track. Nothing. The Beta Band performed that unique trick – they knocked out a short, but almost perfect body of work. […]
The Brand New Heavies were bloody great, weren’t they? Seriously, before they essentially became purveyors of pop, they were a fine, fine funk outfit. ‘Midnight at the Oasis’, ‘Dream On Dreamer’ and ‘Brother Sister’ were all good tunes – but they targeted the masses. Roll it back a few years, and you’ve got an entirely […]
Bringing it back. freethinking nyc, volume 25 hits New York City on March 17th. Coming to you from the new home for freethinking nyc – the vig bar – volume 25 will be a special night. It’s St. Patrick’s Day – so expect a big night in NYC. For freethinking nyc, volume 25 – expect […]
Let’s face it, some bands just don’t cut it live. They fail to capture the intimacy of their recorded material when forced to play it to the masses. They let the adoration of the crowd get to them. They go on, and on, and on… And then, you get bands which totally nail it to […]
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Real jazz via Thom Yorke
I’m going to keep this brief, as the music speaks for itself. In a week where the world and his wife are writing about Radiohead (myself included), I am sitting here having a bit of an epiphany. Now, bear with me, I am yet to listen to ‘King of Limbs’ – it’ll be on my […]
Radiohead baffle and astound me in equal measure. Let’s face it – they don’t take the easy path. I’m not a massive fan of ‘Pablo Honey’. I’m not saying that I don’t like it – it’s just that ‘the difficult second album’ blew it away. ‘The Bends’ was massive. I remember hearing it for the […]
Two bands stand astride The Atlantic. One, from the UK, never puts a foot wrong, and has been constantly innovating, reshaping, and challenging their audience since the early 90s. The other, from the US, has for the best part of ten years been providing nothing short of unbridled joy in the form of music – […]
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Fac 501: Tony Wilson
A post from earlier in the week, about DJing in Berlin, was ostensibly about the enduring love that people of a certain age, and born in a certain geographic location, have for the music of Manchester. Anyone who has been a semi-regular visitor to this site, or who has ever set foot near to one […]
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Tony Brown: The Black Art
Some music deserves more ears. I’ve brought you a few such examples on this site over the past few months. From unreleased music from Nicola Bright-Thomas, to lost classics from Laura Yeger to bang up to date underground output from Sappho’s Journey. Finding new music – or at least music that’s new to me – […]