"fartin' on the mic..."

I've followed the career of the terminally unfashionable Herbaliser ever since seeing - or rather "seeing" as I had taken approximately a million mushrooms - them in a small club in Liverpool with Gilbert in 1997. On most of their albums the best tracks are those featuring Jean Grae - or What What as she used to style herself back then - who apart from anything else had a sweet sense of humour. She's the daughter of South African jazzman Abdullah Ibrahim, and if memory serves is a bit of a braniac - studying for a PhD in something or other at Cornell or somewhere . Here are some highlights -

The Herbaliser featuring What What - Mission Improbable

The Herbaliser featuring What What - Hardcore [this one gives me heap big joke]

The Herbaliser featuring Jean Grae - If You Close Your Eyes


PLUS some more killer Renegade Soundwave for anyone whose tickle was pickled by Thistle's post below. Takes the sine-wave bassline to new levels of chest-rattling.

Renegade Soundwave - The Renegade Priest

Renegade Soundwave - The Man Who Wouldn't Let Wax Wane

Something to brighten up Monday.....

Ike and Tina - Bold Soul Sister

Not sure who samples this but it's a very heavy drum beat.

http://www.yousendit.com/download/O64nQDk%2BUTl5TA%3D%3D

And still on a heavy funk them, here's a clasic.

Pleasure Web - Music man Pt 2

http://www.yousendit.com/download/O64aJ842p3l5TA%3D%3D

Billy Joel vs KRS 1

Hello to Hardhat and Thistle good to hear from you chaps hope all is well, also hello to everyone else here, I am looking forward to skanking some good music from you all.

If you close your eyes and concentrate really hard you may find that Billy Joel - It's still rock and roll to me and Boogie Down Productions - The bridge is over are the same tune, or am I tripping?

Here's a cover The Incredible Bongo Band - Apache of The Shadows - Apache and was Africa Bambata's signature tune at the beginning of them hippitee hopetee days in.....

Spent last night watching boxing docs. Question is who was the greatest of all time Muhammah Ali or Joe "Brown Bomber" Louis?

Midnight Hour Fierceness...

Good morning Posters... some ruggedness from 1988, 1990 and then a 2002 clash of two tunes. All best loud on speakers.

First up, Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid - this lulls you in and then lets rip, before ending in a disorientating acid wig-out. Early incarnation of Future Sound of London. Love those lasers...

Seconds, Thunder - Renegade Soundwave - keep turned up, more rolling bassline and some tacky lounge string orchestra sample whacked on top.

Just desserts, DJ/Rupture mixing up Gregory Whitehead's Ziggurat with Nina Simone's Plain Gold Ring. Eerie stuff and I know a few of you will be feeling the Amen moment. From the Minesweeper Suite mix, which is well worth getting for a ragga/hip-hop/jungle/weirdness mash-up.

Laters,

Thistle-Eye

Vegetarianism: Rappers Take Sides

The revolutionary left can't really claim too many hiphop stars as its own, so it's heartening to see that among the few it can claim, the proud "People's Front of Judea/Judean People's Front" tradition (of squabbling about the stuff that really matters) is alive and well:

Dead Prez - Be Healthy

Immortal Technique - Beef and Broccoli

In this debut posting (how am I doing, T.N.?), I also wanted to sing the praises of Jean Grae, who's the star of this Talib Kweli-inspired mixtape. With the commercial future of mixtapes suddenly thrown into doubt, here's a track featuring J.G. that was the standout on an earlier SpitKicker mixtape: Block McCloud feat. Jean Grae - All a Game

Dearly Beloved

Thanks for inviting me - mine's a whisky mac.

Here's a classic -

Funky Town - Lipps Inc.

What were they thinking?!

Not strictly music but..... My favorites have to be Judy's 16th Birthday and All my Friends are Dead.

Dodgy Album Covers

Dready Dan's Solicitors 171 Grays Inn Road

Have finally managed to figure out Tom's rubbish instructions. My sister snogged Russell Brand. Here's a couple to get started.

Smiley Culture - Police Officer

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Banda De Pifanos De Caruaru - Jackson, O Rei DO Pandiero

If anyone has Cockney Translator or some Son of Dave.......

So how did you guys meet #1

Love to know the story behind this collaboration.

Common ft Laetitia Sadier - New Wave

Grand larceny #1

Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline—nuttin' more than Neu! - Hallogallo with words.

Spot that sample #1

Either of these sound familiar?

Moondog - Bird's Lament

Chicago - Street Player (Paul Raymond re-edit)

Greetings I bring...

...to all new nicetunes ragamuffin:

Half Pint - Greetings

As requested by Nick:

The Ethiopians - Engine 54

One for new boy Ben - vintage Upsetter (also see interview in today's Metro):

Jah Lion - Fat Man

Plus a bonus bit of badness that popped up this morning and sweetened up my commute no end. More Max Romeo genius - be sure to listen through to the dub version which kicks in about two thirds of the way in.

Max Romeo - Blood of the Prophet Parts 1 & 2

Late night jazz

except probably for most people it'll be mid-afternoon jazz.

First off, this smokin version of My Favourite Things from Coltrane - lengthy but worth every second

John Coltrane - My Favourite Things

Next, a satisfying slice of gypo action from everyone's favourite three-fingered Belgian guitarist

Django Reinhardt - Djangology

Finally, a piano version of Summertime guaranteed to be like no other you've ever heard. Listened to this a million times and it still makes me want to blub.

George Shearing - Summertime

Ding, ding, ding...

One more on the reggae train theme:

Train To Skaville - Jackie Mittoo And The Soul Brothers

Hello Tuneblog

Well hello everybody! I've made it on the blog.

To celebrate here's a real old timer tune.

Doin' My Time by Flat and Scruggs

Next up blind Sengalese duo Amadou and Miriam - this is from Dimanche a Bamako, produced by Manu Chao but a bit different from their usual flavour I gather. Anyone got any earlier stuff?

And to keep the party going, something from the queens of Township Jazz - Sekusile by the Dark City Sisters

To finish up one for Thistle - but hope everyone else likes it too.

Paloma - Harry Belafonte

I might have posted the wrong link.

http://download.yousendit.com/637AF81131B3B817

Liverpool 2 - Chelsea 0

Here are two tunes to celebrate a fine footballing weekend all round.

Pigmeat Markham was a stand up comic who made afew records, I recon this could be the first hip hop track ever - 1968!

01 Here Comes The Judge.mp3

And also a bit of Heavy Ike and Tina

12 Bold Soul Sister.mp3

These are my first posts so I hope they work

Just training

In hope of enticing the mysterious "iamquentin" out of the shadows, here's a post that follows the template of conceptually linked tunes that Quentin told me he was planning to deploy for his first post here - I won't give away his gameplan but suffice to say it's a bit more interesting than mine - reggae songs about trains. They're all totally sweet though.

Raphael Green with Dr Alimantado - Rasta Train

Big Youth - Train to Rhodesia

The Ethiopians - Train to Glory

Dennis Alcapone - Engine Engine Number Nine

Junior Murvin with Dillinger - Roots Train


PLUS - some weird Appalachian folk business, on the same theme

Elizabeth Cotton - Freight Train

AFC 2 MAN U 1

lost my voice. amazing game. pure joy. went flying about 3 rows when the second one went it. hey al, nice work yesterday by the way.

meant to post this one a little while ago. it's off a grimey compilation.

Saw it Comin' - Miss Beats, Wiley, Jammer

and got this yesterday. lyrics not exactly outstanding but liking the beat. album overall it tight

momma i'm sorry - clipse

Early Light Posting

Ah, I can see how Nuts felt when no-one was posting. Anyway, it is Sunday, cold, bright sunshine, so a trio for you dug up while fishing for tunes for Hard-Baps:

1. Drunk On Salt Water - Xela

2. Shousetsu - Radicalfashion

Two low-fi-ish numbers, perhaps best consumed quietly late at night when everyone else has gone to bed.

3. Parade - Magazine

Probably not to everyone's taste. Recorded in 1978, Magazine were formed by Howard Devoto, who left the Buzzcocks after their first EP. Also written by bass player, Barry Adamson, who later went onto play for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Laters,

Thistle-Eye

Weekended...

Aloha,

Two fairly tranquil offerings suitable for the end of the weekend. Cheers for coming down yesterday. Good time had by all I reckon and about to crack on with the Nuts CD...

First up, Minotaur Shock, a Bristol lad, who was also in a band called Bronze Age Fox. Funnily enough, I answered a small ad for them when I first started at university there. Nice bunch, but all my gear was up in London, and never really got it together:

Don't Be A Slave To No Computer - Minotaur Shock

Then a bit of a low-key folk number with a horn line worthy of Lalo Schiffrin (probably nicked from some such source):

Calling On - The Memory Band

More info on them here.

Laters,

Thistle-Eye

For Thistle

He'll know the tune inside out but nothing else seemed quite right today - plus it's the only Icelandic music I've got and I didn't want to let Nick down. As a bonus, here are some other bona fide Sugarcubes classics - from the days when Bjork was genuinely trying to act like a pixie, wearing her hair in bunches and shit.

Sugarcubes - Birthday (probably their best known tune and the one that got them an NME cover)

Sugarcubes - Fucking in Rhythm and Sorrow (silly but infectious)

Sugarcubes - Motorcrash (my favourite - great lyrics)

Sugarcubes - Deus (Icelandic theology)

springy

nebraska: bruce springsteen

you might have this already but in case not... some of his earliest stuff. whole album is amazing.

in the meantime

was in middle of sorting out some tunes to post when this started playing on random on my pod. deeep.

pepe bradock deep burnt

p.s. loads of my tunes don't show up when I look in folder where I thought they were all kept. vast majority still there but key bits gone walkabout. they are still there to play but when I look through yousentit dem no deh. ??

And now for something completely different

It seems to me that it's impossible to dislike this piece of pure noisemongering. Your mileage may vary.

Butthole Surfers - Goofy's Concern

And then here's a great track from Sparklehorse's first album, 1995's rolls-off-yer-tongue Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. For some reason I find the line about awakening with spiders on your eyelids moving. Will have to try it out for real one day.

Sparklehorse - Rainmaker

Nick Techno...

Just a quick one to say that Wadaldo's first techno post is none other than 'Clear' by Cybotron, circa 1983. Cybotron were Juan Atkins and Richard Davis and also mentioned on Wikipedia is one Jon 5 (who knows what happened to him!). Juan Atkins was also behind Model 500.

Technospodically yours,

Thistle-Eye

Halcyon Daze

Nice one chaps - just had a fresh raid for upcoming bus journeys - will get back with thoughts. In return, a couple of back atcha...

First up, back to our old school, with some prime Moving Shadow jungle:

Mr Logic - Cloud 9

Produced by one Gavin Cheung (aka Nookie), an engineer for a lot of Ray Keith tunes.

Going back a little earlier also on Moving Shadow:

Space Cakes - Kaotic Chemistry

North London posse in da place, indeed... Love those stabs. Kaotic Chemistry included Rob Playford on the credits, he of much Goldie production and most famously, Renegade Snares. Was on the bus the other day and a guy had Renegade Snares blaring out of his tinny 'phones. It was most unmistakeable...

Thistle-Eye

Reggae 2, Hip Hop 1

No Threat - Hot Milk Riddim ('turn off dem eejut sounds dem'):

http://download.yousendit.com/6FD109940236DE60

It Will Happen Again (familiar riddim, wicked version):

http://download.yousendit.com/B3FEB4C3485284F9

Showbiz and AG (time for some hip hop on this site. shame that this one's cut a bit short. still bad though):

http://download.yousendit.com/42FD32E30D056458

Wadaldo