The Opinionated Diner

A 25%er

Inexplicably its now about a quarter of way through the fifth year in the 21^st century. I used to, as a young kid, think about how old I’d be when the next millennium hit and it all seemed so far away in some sort of vague never never land. When you are a kid, life seems to stretch on forever (like summer, but of course this year we’ve had one of those endless summers…I feel a Beach Boys session coming on…)…as you get older it seems so bloody short and often those things that used to matter so much drift off into insignificance, or at least they should. Someone needs to tell that to bean counters…it doesn’t fucking matter!! I guess we all want to live forever and, children aside, some of us will…I listened to Otis Redding singing the profoundly moving “Try a Little Tenderness” last night and with that 2 minutes the big man from Macon, Georgia will exist for all time…oh to create something that is one hundredth of that, or Marvin’s “Here My Dear” or to understand that when you succumb to Coltrane you are actually feeling his breath

BUT…that wasn’t supposed to be about that. I start typing and things happen. This was a LIST post. I like lists and its time for a few…25% of the year lists…sooooo:

Best bits of new 12” (and one smaller one) vinyl in 2005 so far…about 20 I think

1. A Greenman EP on Soul Jazz, especially track 2 which is like New Order on K
2. Amerie One Thing…I like the Danny Krivit edits, esp the organ dub..I really liked the vox until it was on George every 20 minutes
3. Matthew Jonson-Followed by Angels…unbelievably beautiful. I play it every day without fail
4. New Young Pony Club-Ice Cream…I like quirky 7” singles..everyone thinks I’m odd…
5. Roach Motel’s real old fashioned comeback from my 90s heroes..loud is way best
6. Vinny Troia-Expression (Abe Duque mix)…Abe still does no wrong
7. Out Hud-One To Leave…the big mix on the B side..punky funky blah blah
8. Blackjoy-La Stache….the French still make better house records than the British...always have
9. Carl Craig-Sandstorms..in fact the whole EP
10. Syclops-Mom, The Video broke…Maurice Fulton is a genius. End of…
11. NYC2….I love this but then again its just an old Nu-Groove thing tweaked and Nu-Groove did no wrong either. Best house label ever.
12. Quentin Harris-The Shelter Anthem…old fashioned house is quite fun sometimes
13. Kerri Chandler-A Demo by 6:23…ohhh,and I love this more and more
14. Herb Martin-Soul Drums…and this
15. Greg Churchill-Automatique…I know what GC is working on next and I wish I could say because…..
16. Yukari Fresh-Break…I think this is what Blondie would sound like in 2005
17. Sydenham & Ferrer-Road to Calabar…and this is what the Velvets would sound like in 2005
18. Blake Baxter & Marc Romboy-Freakin…I like Acid House
19. Frantic Flowers EP…and I like real techno..even looking at this record makes me quiver just a bit
20. Prins Thomas edit EP on Rong, especially the last track on side two, the sick French disco re-edit

Best newish albums..I’m not listening to albums too much..and I wonder why?

1. LCD Soundsystem album…
2. New Order LP….”you have the brightest future…writing songs on your computer..” must be the worst lyric ever…since “Ra Ra Rasputin / Russia’s greatest love machine” I love it unconditionally
3. The Veils- if Doug Hood hadn’t bought Shriekback to NZ a generation ago this album wouldn’t exist..sounds like it should be on Korova or Zoo
4. DFA comp 2…
5. Out hud…monsterously good east coast noise
6. Michael Mayer
7. trying hard to think of a local album this year that I’ve found myself listening to and I’m having trouble…anyone? Just to soothe my concerns, I did a spin through the Smoke Cds and Real Groovy sites…what happened to the explosion, the much touted local revolution? In fact if you want to get a grasp on why the music industry is in trouble full stop…but that’s another post…..I tried with the new Mark de Clive Lowe album but, like the last one it still sounds like all stance and no substance…still all credit to him, he is one hell of a musician and he at least is doing it….I just think he’s better on other people’s tracks. The Pluto album got really boring really fast..
8. really like the new Queens of the Stone Age track that B is thrashing but I still think they sound like The Kinks on bad acid…must get the album
9. I liked the Bloc Party for two plays but then impulsively gave it to someone else as something I’d probably not play again

They don’t fit anywhere else but I’ve had a whole bunch of CDs from local DJs and electronic artists, both mix cds and original tracks and I’ve played these pretty much non stop in the car..so respect…..

Old records, this year…god there have been thousands as always. Did a bit of an early Eno thing a while back, the first three albums still sound as cutting edge and as revolutionary as they did in the early seventies; Todd Rungdren- “Something / Anything” and “A Wizard a True Star”; lots of New Orleans / Philly / Miami / Detroit soul, but that’s always ongoing; DJ Pierre’s mid nineties wild pitch epics; Thelonious Monk, the early Blue Note stuff and Miles from the same period; Janet Jackson’s seminal (maybe I shouldn’t use that word around a Jackson family member…or that word either..sorry bad joke) Jam & Lewis produced “Control”..a phenomenal record that signposted early 90s US vocal house…actually I was led back to that by a post on a board from some dick stating that this record was worthless pop crap…I wonder how he feels having a neon over his head permanently flashing “I’m an ignorant fuckwit”. He also opined that there was no absolute good or bad, its all a matter of taste…the neon gets much brighter…if we don’t have absolutes, however grey the surrounding, then Porky’s becomes the artistic equivalent to The Battleship Potemkin

And I refuse to accept that…democracy has it’s limits….;

I’ve also had a hell of a time dragging out my seven inch records from the post punk period..labels like Fast, Postcard and Zoo in the UK, Missing Link and Au Go Go in Melbourne and lots of one offs. I’ve got dozens of these things tucked away and they all sound so vital, so electric and often the recordings of bands like Gang of Four, Orange Juice, Teardrops & Human League sound so much better than the later major label re-recordings.

Sadly I’ve only seen one new movie in the theatre in 2005, The Incredibles with Isabella..but going to the movies with a ten year old is the only way to do it..otherwise its all DVDs I’m afraid, and I’m having trouble with Hollywood in general. The Aviator is the first Scorsese film I’ve not rushed out to for years...Leonardo annoys the fuck out of me, and Gangs of NY was shite, so like De Niro (fire your agent bro), he’s lost me….

But I did see Carl Craig so all is well…..