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. […]
For the first movement of 2011, I thought I’d throw together a proper freethinking mix. As ever, it’s raw, with no edits, and as a result you’re getting an idea as to what freethinking nyc is all about. It’s not perfect, it’s not polished – it’s a celebration of some top new music, as well […]
My previous post referred to last week being a ‘two gig week’. First up was The Go! Team. The second gig couldn’t have been more different, on just about every dimension. The Mercury Lounge is a tiny venue. Properly tiny. You know it’s small when you feel that you have to be quiet between songs […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This just makes me happy. Now bear with me as I admit that I was never a huge fan of Nirvana. I know that this would probably come across as heresy in many quarters, it’s just that they never really did it for me. I don’t dislike them – there are many tracks which are […]
My mum brought the album home from work. A friend of hers knew that me and my brothers were into our music, so he thought he would work on expanding our knowledge. I want to shake him by the hand. For, the album which I put my hands on, I am guessing as a 14 […]
BBC 6 Music Presenter Gideon Coe tweeted the following a few weeks back: “Rediscovering McCarthy. Most of the week is taken up with listening to new releases so it’s good to be bowled over by something 25 years old” Now, chances are that you won’t have a clue as to who or what a McCarthy […]
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The Pub Pianist that got lucky
Elton John played the last of five sell-out gigs at Madison Square Gardens last Saturday. I took some ridicule for the big-budget ticket, at a price that would’ve shown me at least four memorable bands in the same city, the same night. I saw it as one of those box-tickers; Bruce, Billy or Elton at […]
Warning: I’m about to go out on a limb here… Weller’s best band was The Jam. I know have argued the corner for The Style Council as being a time which captured Weller at the peak of his ‘creative’ mode – pushing the boundaries of his music. But, let’s be honest – for balls-out, angry […]