Cougar Microbes

Photo-journalist Kim Gottlieb was fortunate enough to witness what is often referred to as the Golden Age of Reggae first hand. During 1975 and 1976 together with her husband, Island publicity head Jeff Walker, she documented some of the genres rising stars in Jamaica and Los Angeles.

‘Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae‘ showcases photographs of the likes of Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Toots Hibbert, Burning Spear, Jacob Miller, Third World, Lee Scratch Perry and, of course, Bob Marley. There are plenty of significant moments from the era captured but the book truly shines with the behind-the-scenes shots of Bob relaxing at his home and the intimate backstage footage.

On top of the amazing visuals the book also packs considerable information on the significance of these photos by Reggae historian Roger Steffens and a heartfelt introduction by journalist, director and all round legend Cameron Crowe.

As a fan of the legendary artists involved and a keen photographer myself ‘Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae‘ is a perfect experience of one of the most exciting music movements ever. The book is available now through Titan Books.

TRACKS:

Bob Marley – Iron Lion Zion [5 Alive Fugitive Edit]

“Don’t discuss Sony like it’s a great big benevolent cartoon character who lives next door to Astro Boy. Like any company. Sony is comprised of individuals who are fearful for their jobs on a daily basis, and who make lame decisions based pretty much on fear and conforming to social norms- but then, that’s every corporation on earth, so don’t single out one specific corporation as lovable and cute. There all evil and greedy. They’re all in sort of in the moral middle ground. Where good and bad cancel each other out, so there nothing really there- which is, I its own way far darker than any paranoid or patriarchal theory of Sony.“

- Excerpt from JPod: a novel by Douglas Coupland

TRACKS:

Silversun Pickups – Currency Of Love

Over a week last summer I power read through Mötley Crüe‘s ‘The Dirt‘ and Nicki Sixx‘s ‘The Heroin Diaries’. Undoubtedly the glam rock outfit personified the 80′s sex, drugs & rock n roll excesses better than most and on paper this made for scintillating material.

I missed their first coming because I was just too young so perhaps I didn’t witness their relevance within the era. However, with the benefit of hindsight their cock rock schtick has very little in the way of edge and much in the way of comedy, fun to listen to but certainly not to be taken seriously.

I Just hope Damion Saunders doesn’t read this.

TRACK:

Mötley Crüe – Too Young To Fall In Love

Seemingly not content with storming the hip-hop charts with his ‘The Logic Of Chance’ album Scroobius Pip released a book titled Poetry in (E)motion just last month. The book consists of fan artwork set to Pip‘s lyrics and is a great companion to the music whilst managing to stand on its own merits as a visual feast.

I’ve been taking the book with me on my tube journey’s for the past few weeks and the comic strips, graphics designs and inventive art pieces have literally brightened my day. After all, who wouldn’t want to see the lyrics to the fantastic ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill‘ in full graphic delight.

The book is available from Titan Books as well as all good online and offline bookstores.

TRACKS:

Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip – Get Better

Candy Claws hail from Fort Collins in Colorado; if you are up to scratch with your US geography you will appreciate that the Centennial State is filled with natural resources and wonderful landscapes but certainly does not boast its own seafront, until Hollywood’s various doomsday prophecies come to  fruition, that is.

The bands debut ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’ was recorded in various global locations, specifically in places the band felt a strong link to, the album blends a series of electronic samples and recordings of natural sources to create a sound that is anything but artificial.

Inspired by the 1951 Rachel Carson book ‘The Sea Around Us’, the album is a bittersweet ode to the sea evoking the French electro twists pioneered Air (remember ‘Kelly Watch The Stars’?). The use of a vocoder for some of the vocals works is tasteful as is the frequently interlaced sound of the Indian Ocean recorded during the bands sessions in the Philippines.

Despite the significant nautical premise and the band citing of the Beach Boys as one of the bands chief inspiration, this album is a million knots away from the surf rock presented by the Wilson Brothers. Dive in at the deep end and explore it for yourself.

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Review written by the relatively super Mario

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Buy ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’ from Indiecator Records here.

TRACK:

Candy Claws – Catamaran

This blog’s full name is pinched almost word for word from the excellent Tom Wolfe book ‘The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test‘. In it (if I recall correctly) Ken Kesey urges his gang of Merry Pranksters to descend on towns and infiltrate their mentality like ‘Cougar microbes marching in like army ants...’

It feels like for the past few weeks I have joined my own cult group devoted to producing heartfelt psychedelic pop music. It all started when I was sent Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros‘ debut album ‘Up From Below‘…

Initially I was suspicious of how close the band came to capturing Kesey and co.’s aura. Everything from the bohemian clothes, the commune mentality and the dated album cover could be dismissed as part of some new ‘hippie-ster’ fad. The band even travel on a converted silver bus! Ultimately I kept retuning to the sheer magnetism of the songs and that is all that mattered.

The album is an epic journey emphasising love, peace and a sense of community whilst introducing an array of instruments including trumpets, xylophones, harmonicas, accordions, pianos and tons of percussions and whistles. Elements of The Mamas & The Papas, Buffalo Springfield, some Johny Cash and June Carter as well as recent releases by the likes of Elvis Perkins, The Arcade Fire and successive Conor Oberst projects spring to mind . In the hands of a lesser band this 60s and 70s influenced music could be perceived as insincere but with The Magnetic Zeros it remains genuine and fresh.

From the opening claps and stomps of first single ‘40 Day Dream‘ I know I had stumbled over something quite special. Indeed, the first half of the album is crammed with single material ranging from the fairytail-esque ‘Janglin‘ to the euphoric title track ‘Up From Below’ right through to the uplifting gospel tinged ‘Carries On‘.

The name Jade is referenced throughout the album as she represents a muse of sorts for the ensemble. Her vocals and subtle melodic emphasis provide many of the best moments so it is a pity that the track bearing her name is the weakest on the album. This is rectified very quickly as Jade herself  goes on to lead the standout track, ‘Home‘, . Its tongue-in-cheek delivery and deliberately syrupy lyrics can’t camouflage the breathtaking melody and genuine sense of the protagonists’ love.

After the emotional and musical peak of ‘Home‘ the band reveal a reflective side in the second half of the album. There is still room for ‘I Come In Please’ with its rolling daydream melody and trippy qualities but the likes of ‘Desert Song’, ‘Black Water’, ‘Simplest Love’, ‘Brother‘ and ‘Kisses Over Babylon’ (sung in Spanish) aim to be both brooding and epic. The sparse arrangements of these tracks and their cinematic delivery further highlight how talented this ensemble really are.

Album closer ‘Om Nashi Me’ is the perfect footnote for this adventure. The track reiterates many of the underlying themes that appear throughout the album and its amazing trumpet lead and mass chants will remain with you hours after its last note has rung.

Top notch musicianship, stellar songwriting and heartfelt singing make this a truly amazing aural experience and in my books ‘Up From Below‘ is already a nominee for album of the year.

Now to see them live…

‘Up From Below’ is released on Community Music / Fairfax Recordings and Rough Trade in the UK

TRACKS:

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Black Water

Q. How many record execs does it take to change a light bulb?

A. First of all, before we change anything, is the light bulb really burned out? Maybe we just need to breathe some life into it; repackage it, maybe the light bulb could do a duet with somebody in hopes of getting some crossover appeal, maybe it could be in beer commercial, and maybe we could get it out on the road with brighter light bulb. The other thing to think about is that this summer, Honda is rolling out $100 million campaign for a new car aimed at thirty-somethings who consider themselves adventurous/spontaneous but can’t really afford something like a luxury SUV and it might be a perfect campaign to tie this light bulb into, at least it would be the perfect demographic, I terms of age.

Also, and this is just an idea: what if we found out what video games are being released in the third quarter and maybe pitch the idea of having our light bulb make an appearance in the video game at some certain level of completion; like, you get to a dark cave ,let’s say, if it’s an adventure game, and if you have enough points, you can get the light bulb – and it would be OUR light bulb, obviously- and then it’s easier to see in the cave.

The other thing is this: worst-case scenario the light bulb is, in fact, burned out. Is that really the end of the world? I mean maybe that’s actually of more value to us in the long run. Picture this for voiceover: “The light bulb is dead…but the legend lives on…rereleased, remastered, revealed…..the light bulb…. in stores now.” It almost makes more sense than taking the time changing it, plus, if it’s dead we can sell it without dealing with it. You know what I mean? No demands from it, no hotels, no road expense, no delays in the project from its end, etc. But, like I said, I’m just thinking off the top of my head here, just brainstorming, and none of this is written in stone.

But the first thing we should do is figure out how we want to handle this, because the light bulb‘s manager is a total nightmare and we’re going to have to take a meeting and listen to him sooner or later, ad we should know what our plan is before we sit down with him. And let me tell you right now the first thing out of his mouth is going to be:

“this light bulb should be the brightest light bulb in the world, and it could be the brightest light bulb in the world, but you need to support the light bulb, you need to give the light bulb TV ads, you need to be more active in giving the light bulb tour support, we need to have some promotion from your end!”

…and on and on. And in that meeting, if you’re in it, the only answer from our side should be that we’re obviously very excited to be working with the light bulb, that we don’t think it needs to be changed, the only problem is people haven’t seen how bright the light bulb could be, and our plan is to do everything we can to make this light bulb happen

I’ll send out an e-mail to everyone before the meeting to remind people of our position on this, but the bottom line is we don’t have the budgets right now, and basically we need to see something happening with the light bulb before we go throwing good money after bad, but obviously we cant have the light bulb‘s manager hearing that. I can tell you al that I’m personally very excited to be working with the light bulb. I think it will light up very brightly, and were not going to stop working the light bulb, in whatever ways budgets will permit, until it does, in fact, light up very brightly…

The light bulb is a very big priority for us from the top of the company to the bottom. Period. We can talk more about this when I am back from Barbados next week, and I’m going to need everybody’s help on this. I know we can do it, but we need everybody working hard

- Excerpt from Rock On, a highly amusing look at the record industry, by Dan Kennedy.  You can check it out here

MP3:

Ugly Kid Joe – Mr Recordman

There is hype and then there is H-Y-P-E!!! It is safe to say Vampire Weekend enjoyed a fair bit of the first and a shit load of the latter. Before they even had a release under their belt they had connoisseurs and scenesters alike salivating at the prospect. Fortunately when they released their self titled album it did not disappoint. I don’t completely buy the Afro-pop tag that has been used to label them but there is an individualistic streak to the boys music that sounds like few other bands about. Its this laid back vibe and cultivated lyrics that meant pretty much any track from this album could have been released as a single. Vampire Weekend succeeded in releasing an instant classic that will be eternally linked to the sound of 2008 and honestly “why would you lie about how much coke you had, why would you lie about something dumb like that?”

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One of the few benefits of my daily commute to and from work is that I have been reading loads on the way. One of the books I enjoyed the most last year was the Jim Morrison/Doors biography ‘No One Here Gets Out Alive’. The book details Jim Morrison‘s life commencing with his childhood, going on to the formation of The Doors and his subsequent rise to legendary status (both musically and intellectually). The book doesn’t shy from recounting every detail of Morrison‘s life including his tangles with the law and his untimely death. The writers self confessed fan boy approach often raises Morrison to mythical proportion digging deep into his infamous “Jimbo” persona and romanticising the alcohol abuse and of course the drugs, sex and rock n roll. However, there is suitable coverage of “James” the intellectual, poet and the sensitive soul. Ultimately this was a great introduction to one of the great bands of the last century. After reading this rock n roll roller coaster I had the entire Doors discography on repeat on a daily basis with Five To One becoming my raison d’être; its familiar bass refrain ringing through my head night and day.

If you can make your own opinions without being influenced by the authors’ veneration yet manage to capture their enthusiasm you will enjoy this tale on one of rocks last true greats.