Decayed III: 2004

Side 1 of a cassette compilation that never was, travelling through the 2000s.

Guitars are back! Back!! BACK!!!

Not that they ever go away, but the press likes to enforce a death/rebirth cycle when it comes to guitar-based music and based. It's nonsense of course, and completely disregards the dizzying array of other popular genres and the blending and mashing up of most of them by creatives. Does it even sell column inches? Who cares?

Today's selection is quite guitar-heavy, for all that. U2 were back (along with that man Jacknife Lee) with one of the best songs they'd released in years, even if the rest of the album couldn't match up.

Beastie Boys were also back, revisiting the rap rock golden age of (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) with Triple Trouble, thanks to a rifftastic remix by Graham Coxon.

New kids on the block, all delivering fresh and exciting music, included Art Brut, The Vines, Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand, whose debut album got my vote for one of The Top 20 Greatest Eponymous Albums Of All Time over at No Badger Required.

Aside from Jacknife Lee, another producer who seemed to be everywhere was Mark Ronson, here popping up with a remix of AIR, featuring Chicagoan rapper Che Smith aka Rhymefest. Licenced to Ill(inois), you might say.

After last week's guest appearance with wife Beyoncé, Jay-Z is back in his own right with Dirt Off Your Shoulder. Another example of the creative ways that labels would deal with the F's, MF's and N's that peppered rap music in order to get it played on the radio. Not so easy to sing along to, I can promise you.

Another returning guest star from last week is Jake Shears, this time in his day job as front person with Scissor Sisters. What a breath of fresh air they were. A cover of Pink Floyd in the style of Bee Gees' disco pomp, it shouldn't work, but Comfortably Numb is glorious. And there was plenty more where that came from.

After my contrived attempt to ensure that Andrew Weatherall appeared in every year of my 1990s series, a welcome return for Lord Sabre under his own steam, with old mucker Keith Tenniswood as Two Lone Swordsmen. Sex Beat is a cover of The Gun Club's 1981 song and a surprise UK Top 25 hit in August 2004.  

The opening and closing songs of today's selection represent artists that I didn't connect with at first, but later grew to love.

Gwen Stefani fronted No Doubt, who had a #1 in 1997 with Don't Speak, an atypical ballad compared to the pop/rock/ska that was their stock in trade. I wasn't a fan. However, Gwen's solo single What You Waiting For? is up there with the best pop songs of the decade and her album Love.Angel.Music.Baby. had lots to enjoy, even if not quite at the same stratospheric level. 

I'm astounded that What You Waiting For? only got to #4, losing out to Girls Aloud, Destiny's Child and Lemar from Fame Academy. No Doubt? No justice, more like!

2004 closes with Slow Life by Super Furry Animals, which I was reacquainted with during the summer thanks to The Robster's must-read series on SFA singles, featured at The Vinyl Villain. 

I'd strongly recommend that you read the entire series from end to end, it's amazing. Here's an extract from The Robster's post on Slow Life:

It was the third and final single from Phantom Power, 

but its release, in April 2004, was far from conventional. 

It, along with its two b-sides, was initially available digitally 

only from the website of Placid Casual, the band’s own independent record label, 

which suggests that Epic may have been reluctant to release it themselves, 

possibly due to its length. 

They did, however, put out a single-sided 12” promo. 

It then featured as a CD single  in the special limited edition of 

the Phantom Phorce remix album  in its own slipcase sleeve. 

Needless to say, it didn’t chart due to the nature of its release.

In the opening paragraph, The Robster writes that Slow Life "really does stand up as one of the finest moments of their existence" and, even in the truncated edit featured here, he is absolutely right.

Decayed is now at the halfway mark and has hopefully demonstrated that the first decade of the 21st century had plenty to offer, musically speaking. Can 2005 hope to keep up?

1) What You Waiting For? (Album Version): Gwen Stefani

2) Alpha Beta Gaga (Mark Ronson Vocal Mix): AIR ft. Rhymefest

3) Vertigo (Jacknife Lee 7"): U2

4) Triple Trouble (Graham Coxon Remix): Beastie Boys

5) Formed A Band (Album Version): Art Brut

6) Comfortably Numb (Album Version) (Cover of Pink Floyd): Scissor Sisters

7) Ride (Album Version): The Vines

8) Take Me Out (Album Version): Franz Ferdinand

9) Helicopter (Original Version): Bloc Party

10) Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Radio): Jay-Z

11) Sex Beat (Remix) (Cover of The Gun Club): Two Lone Swordsmen

12) Slow Life (Edit): Super Furry Animals

18th January 2004: Franz Ferdinand (#3): 8

25th January 2004: Scissor Sisters (#10): 6

14th March 2004: Winning Days (#25): 7

4th April 2004: Bang Bang Rock & Roll (#52): 5

25th April 2004: Phantom Power (# n/a): 12

16th May 2004: The Black Album (#12): 10

1st August 2004: From The Double Gone Chapel (#22): 11

15th August 2004: Talkie Walkie (#44): 2

19th September 2004: To The 5 Boroughs (#37): 4

31st October 2004: Silent Alarm (#26): 9

11th November 2004: How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (#1): 3

21st November 2004: Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (#4): 1

Side One (45:36) (GD) (M)

If you enjoyed this, why not check out the corresponding mixtapes from 1984 and 1994?

Decayed II: 2003

Side 2 of an imaginary mixtape, documenting each year of the 2000s.

2003 saw the USA invade Iraq and, by year end, capture Saddam Hussein. The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere, with the tragic loss of seven astronauts. Iconic aircraft Concorde made it's final flight. Someone cheated on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? And Jemini, the UK's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, came last with nil points.

Much as I'm drawn to the musical underdog, I'll manage your disappointment by saying now that Jemini do not appear in today's pick of dozen songs from 2003. Instead, it's the usual eclectic mix of hits and misses and hopefully a few surprises.

Kicking off with an unexpected partnership, The Chemical Brothers returned with one of two new singles for a 'best of' compilation, featuring The Flaming Lips. Wayne Coyne is on fine form on The Golden Path, narrating a tale of the afterlife that is propelled along on a sea of beats in a very pleasing way. 

Another nostalgia fest is 70s 80s by Nightmares On Wax, rapper LSK aka Leigh Kenny recounting childhood memories of Doc Martens, racism, riots, Crackerjack and Jim'll Fix It. It was nearly a decade later before the horror of the latter was exposed via Operation Yewtree.

Electric Six seemed to come out of nowhere with a crazy video and a crazy song that was strangely compelling. I bought the remix single as I was a fan of Stuart Price aka Jacques Lu Cont aka Les Rythmes Digitales aka The Thin White Duke (the other one). Actually, the best remix on the CD turned out to be by Finnish trio Kilogram aka Mikko Viljakainen, Timo Kaukolampi and Tuomo Ilmari Puranen. Danger! High Voltage is a great song, in any variation.

The two big hitters of the year for me were Crazy In Love by Beyoncé, featuring her paramour and future husband Jay-Z and built upon the brilliant sample of Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So) by Chi-Lites. Still Beyoncé's defining moment, in my opinion.

The other was OutKast, who effectively released two solo albums as one with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Hey Ya! came from the latter, Andre 3000 creating an unforgettable tune (and video) that put everything else that he (and Big Boi) did in the shade.

Back to ingenious use of samples and David Holmes was also in on the act with his new combo The Free Association. Holmes had previously included Johnny Jones & The King Casuals' cover of the Hendrix classic Purple Haze in his excellent Come Get It I Got It mix. Here, the sampled riff underpins Everybody Knows, vocalists Petra Jean Phillipson and Sean Reveron swapping exchanges over the top.

Speaking of covers, Canadian DJ/producer Tiga recorded a cover of Hot In Herre by Nelly which was initially released by !K7 Records in 2002 as part of their DJ-Kicks series. It was picked up the following year by Skint Records, home of Fatboy Slim and Lo-Fidelity Allstars, for release in the UK with remixes by Richard X and Radio Slave. The original is still the best, featuring a guest spot from Jake Shears, who managed a higher UK chart position later the same year with his band Scissor Sisters. More of them next time.

18 was Moby's follow up to the ubiquitous Play album and, whilst there was a similar licensing frenzy to get his music into commercials everywhere, the music and the album as a whole didn't quite have the same impact, despite some impressive guest stars.

Jam For The Ladies wasn't officially released as a single in the UK, although it was readily available on 12" and CD from your friendly neighbourhood record shop. I went for the latter, not least because Moby brought along Princess Superstar to join Angie Stone and MC Lyte from the original album version. Angie was sadly lost to us in March this year.

Another friendship that bore fruit was Beth Gibbons and Paul Webb, the latter recording as Rustin Man. They'd known each other for a decade, when Beth wanted to be vocalist with Webb and Talk Talk bandmate Lee Harris' project .O.Rang. The rise of Portishead meant that Beth only got to record a little with .O.Rang, but when the former went on hiatus, an opportunity presented for Beth and Paul to record again, delivered the stunning album Out Of Season.

On a related indie tip, Turin Brakes enjoyed a Top 5 hit with Pain Killer, which prompted me to catch up with them and their second album, Ether Song. Lyrically, the imagery of cycling in the rain and catching a cold shouldn't be as uplifting as it is, but the song is an absolute joy.

As is Soldier Girl by The Polyphonic Spree, headed by Tim DeLaughter and a seemingly literal cast of thousands (later including Annie Clark aka St. Vincent). Soldier Girl is presented here in its radio edit/single form, and is essentially a two-and-a-half minute chorus, Brilliant stuff.

Closing with the future retro sound of Danish dynamic duo The Raveonettes, namely Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo. Fantastic names all round. I love them and That Great Love Sound is as good a calling card as any for what The Raveonettes are about. That Great Love Sound first charted in August 2003 and was released the following year with brand new remixes by the man of the moment, Jacknife Lee. Incredibly, the single performed worse the second time around, failing to reach the Top 40. Proof perhaps that The Raveonettes got it right the first time...

And that's it for another year and another weekend. 

What will next week have in store? Well... three #1s, one #100 (!), several 1980s and 1990s artists making an unexpected return, plus plenty of fresh young faces. Oh, and lots of lovely guitar riffs.

1) The Golden Path (Edit): The Chemical Brothers ft. The Flaming Lips

2) Danger! High Voltage (Kilogram Remix): Electric Six

3) 70s 80s (Radio Edit): Nightmares On Wax ft. LSK

4) Crazy In Love (Album Version): Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z

5) Everybody Knows (Album Version): The Free Association

6) Hot In Herre (Radio Edit) (Cover of Nelly) : Tiga ft. Jake Shears

7) Jam For The Ladies (Radio Mix): Moby ft. Princess Superstar, Angie Stone & MC Lyte

8) Hey Ya! (Radio Mix / Club Mix): OutKast

9) Pain Killer (Album Version): Turin Brakes

10) Tom The Model (Album Version): Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man

11) Soldier Girl (Radio Edit): The Polyphonic Spree

12) That Great Love Sound (Album Version): The Raveonettes

12th January 2003: Fire (#2): 2

23rd February 2003: Ether Song (#5): 9

2nd March 2003: Mind Elevation (#76): 3

9th March 2003: Out Of Season (#70): 10

6th April 2003: David Holmes Presents The Free Association (#74): 5

6th July 2003: Dangerously In Love (#1): 4

20th July 2003: The Beginning Stages Of... The Polyphonic Spree (#26): 11

27th July 2003: 18 (# n/a): 7

24th August 2003: Chain Gang Of Love (#34): 12

31st August 2003: Hot In Herre EP (#46): 6

21st September 2003: Singles 93-03 (#17): 1

8th February 2004: Speakerboxxx / The Love Below (#3): 8 *

Side Two (45:12) (GD) (M)

* Hey Ya! was a new entry at #6 in the UK singles chart the week of 16th November 2003. It then spent all but one week of the next four months in the Top 20, peaking at #3 on 8th February 2004.

If you enjoyed this, you may also wish to check out my previous selections for 1983 and 1993.

Tryna' Keep Cool

Today I'm in the mood for rap, rhymes and beats. Spanning 1986 to 2023, ten blistering tracks covering old school greats, stone cold classics, genre-mashing, effing and jeffing and a chunk of words and music that I've only discovered in the last few years. And enough spare tape on the C90 to add your own favourites to the mixtape.

 

1) I Don't Know Nothin 'Bout Daisies: Definition Of Sound (1991)

2) Dedicated To The City (Album Version): Subsonic 2 (1991)

3) Moment Of Clarity: Jay-Z (2003)

4) Summer Nights: Statik ft. Tom Paddington, Ears & Scorcher (2007)

5) GOB (David Andrew Sitek Remix): Dels ft. Jack Davey (2011)

6) Bite Back: Algiers ft. Billy Woods & Backxwash (2023)

7) Kids...: A Tribe Called Quest ft. André 3000 (2016)

8) Rollin Stone (Live @ Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6Music): Little Simz (2021)

9) Paul Revere (Vocal) (Remix By Rick Rubin): Beastie Boys (1986)

10) Brain Washed Follower (Single Version): De La Soul (1989)

1986: It's The New Style EP: 9

1989: Me Myself And I EP: 10

1991: Include Me Out: 2

1991: Wear Your Love Like Heaven EP: 1

2003: The Black Album: 3

2007: Love Music, Hate Racism (NME promo CD+MP3): 4

2011: GOB EP: 5

2016: We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service: 7

2021: Live, Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6Music, 15 June 2021: 8

2023: Shook: 6

Tryna' Keep Cool (38:00) (KF) (Mega)

Rollin Stone (BBC6 'Clean' Version) by Little Simz

I was in São Paulo
Eatin' palm hearts and I couldn't believe my surroundings (no)
True, I got the Ends in me, listenin' to Headie
Gettin' gassed in the mountains (yeah)
No time for the thirst trap, I'm quenched
I drink from a different fountain (sip)
Hard food when I serve that
All these likkle fish get fried and your yam get pounded (pounded yam)

 

Mm, might be a brat for a bit 

Want my farm and I want my chicks
Want my suit tailored by Gucci
First-class to Shibuya for the sushi
Give me my cheques and give me my plaques
Want breakdowns and I want my stats, pronto (now, now)

 
Yеah, yeah, God flow
Make you wanna dance all day likе Alfonso (move your body)
Wanna talk about P's, wanna talk about wage, 

but can you do the job though? (can you?)
I can't vouch for a man that ain't got the talent and business combo (no)
It's all a sport, flow on archery, don't get hit with the crossbow

 

Stayed to myself, been true to the core (stay to myself, man, I stay to myself)
I was always the illest, there's never been no cure (no medication)
Callin' shots like I call in favours, facts (true)
My fellas got me if I ever need that

Still, there's things I'm faced with
Stormz' ain't lyin', man, these fools audacious (yeah)
Might demonstrate frustration
Tryna' keep cool, but I'm losin' patience (ayy)
Hmm, no cap, we hate snakes and we hate rats
You can have opinions, just don't mislead the youth in your raps 

(please, please, please, please, please)

 

Mummy handled business, Papa was a rollin' stone
I'm a mix of both, there ain't no snitch-boy in my bones
Coming for this dough like say it's pizza
You can't get in Italia, Fashion Week, huh
Shut down Milan down to Rome

Lookin' like the future, got you fearin' the unknown
I got stories regardin' your chick I won't disclose
Picture perfect, nothing picture perfect here, I know
All illusion, why the world confusing? I don't know

You can't diss me three-time, pull up behind, you'll never see I
I'm probably the reason why your bosses has had to resign
They all follow my step, read about me like I'm Eli
I just book a flight only to land and have some me-time
Let me be, I'm (let me be, I'm)
Takin' time out, hold my spot, go through your time now (hey)

 

Huh, pull up at your spot, they're throwin' roses at my feet, yeah, yeah
What do you mean? In the presence of a queen
Bad, say that she wanna know what's underneath
I could show you things in private, know I hate to cause a scene, yeah

Range black just to match the colour of my skin
Last year, pen was crazy, this year tougher with the ink (yeah)
Know the people miss me, they like, "Where the hell you been?" (yeah)
Counted all my losses, manifested all my wins (yeah)

Can't believe it's Simbi here that's had you listenin'
Well, that chick for now, you didn't know she had a twin (yeah)
I've been in my zone, movin' lowkey in Berlin, ah
You can get the smoke, yeah yeah, das ist kein Problem, ah
Where do I begin? ah
You might just find out real soon, go through your time now

 

Rollin' stone
Rollin' stone
Rollin' stone
Rollin' stone

Now Here's A Little Something You May Not Like

Feels like a while since there's been a rap selection and, with Saturday's sunshine, shorts and smiles during the day replaced by torrential rain through the night, something a little less languid for a soggy Sunday seems in order.

A mixed bag, as ever, mostly 21st century, apart from a remix of Beastie Boys from 1999 that I couldn't resist including and which provides today's post title. A little bit of an alternative music crossover here and there, with Lethal Bizzle taking on The Ruts and The Black Keys masquerading as Blackroc, collaborating with Jim Jones.

There's the characteristic nod to my birthplace, care of local boy done good Tricky, and another track from one of my favourite albums so far this year, from Mr. Oizo (yes, really) and Phra aka Francesco Barbaglia from Crookers. 

I'll confess that I haven't listened deeply to the lyrics of all of the tracks featured here, so my apologies for any inappropriate cussing or questionable content.

1) Big 'n Bashy (Original Mix): Fallacy ft. Tubby T (2003)

2) Alive (B.R.A. Remix By Bentley Rhythm Ace): Beastie Boys (1999)

3) Sea Level: Little Simz ft. ALXA & Mick Jenkins (2015)

4) Bristol To London: Tricky ft. Blackman & Marlon Thaws (2010)

5) The City (Remix): Darwin Deez ft. DJ Hummus (2011)

6) Babylon's Burning The Ghetto: Lethal Bizzle (2007)

7) Flip Flop Rock: Outkast ft. Killer Mike & Jay-Z (2003)

8) Queen Of Hearts: The Black Opera ft. Mayer Hawthorne (2012)

9) What It Look Like (Pocketknife's Poppinspiel The Glockenspiel Remix): Spank Rock (2007)

10) Rumbling: Young Fathers (2011)

11) Un Attimo (Album Version): Mr. Oizo & Phra (2022)

12) Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo): Blakroc ft. Mos Def & Jim Jones (2009)

13) Ghetto Pop Life (Album Version): Danger Mouse & Jemini (2003)

1999: Alive EP: 2

2003: Blackmarket Boy: 1

2003: Ghetto Pop Life: 13

2003: Speakerboxxx: 7

2007: Back To Bizznizz: 6

2007: What It Look Like EP: 9

2009: Blakroc: 12

2010: Mixed Race: 4 

2011: Tape One EP: 10

2011: Wonky Beats: 5

2012: Libretto: Of King Legend: 8

2015: Age 101: Drop X EP: 3

2022: Voilá: 11

Now Here's A Little Something You May Not Like (46:12)