Not Quite Noughtie Enough

I'm going to spend a large chunk of this post talking about someone else's blog and posts, but bear with me, there's a brand new Dubhed selection waiting for you at the end.

SWC at the ever-excellent No Badger Required has just concluded The Noughty Forty, a countdown of the greatest albums of the 2000s. All voted for by a Musical Jury, assembled from music blog creators and commenters from around the globe. 

 

NBR is an essential read anyway, not a single one feeling like it's been dashed off in the seconds that the idea itself is forming (yes, I'm looking at myself here). There's something even more impressive about series like this though, not least the sheer amount of effort that goes into planning, coordinating and curating the posts. And of course it sparks debate, anticipation and - let's be honest - a degree of feverish excitement as it reaches the Top Ten. 

I was privileged once again to be a Musical Jury Member for this series. SWC assigns aliases to all and I won't reveal mine here, though my arch or overly earnest comments may be a giveaway. 

I was pleased with the #1 choice, an artist and album I voted for though not my top scorer (which made the Top 10, but not the Top 5). Back in the summer, when this was just a plan taking shape in SWC's mind, he invited potential Musical Jury Members to submit their own nominations. 

Over 300 nominations were submitted. Of these, SWC presented us with a longlist of 74, from which to pick our Top 20. After totting up the scores, The Noughty Forty was finalised, with a few surprises and an eleventh hour vote tipping the balance between the top two.

SWC not only delivered The Noughty Forty, but preceded it with ten of Not Quite The Greatest Albums Of The 00s, also sharing the albums that made #41 & #42 in the final list. The series was then bookended with four Honorable Mentions, meaning that NBR readers were treated to 56 albums in total. 

 

I won't spoil things by posting the various lists here. If you haven't already followed the countdown on No Badger Required, go and check it out. You'll get to experience some great music, some controversial voting decisions and best of all, some top notch writing that brings the whole thing to life. 

No Badger Required is 3 years old this month and November will see another series, this time focusing on the number 3. Not in the way that you might expect, of course, but naturally it's going to be required reading for the next 30 days. SWC sets the bar high, so much so that I'm on the Dubhed ladder, head tilted as far back as it will go, straining to see the bar up above me. 

A constant inspiration and pace setter. Here's to you, SWC, and many more years of NBR to come.

So... what of today's selection?

Well, back at the beginning, when I was invited to submit nominations for the best albums of the 2000s, I applied some rules of my own. The most obvious one being that I had to own the albums, either physically or digitally, in their entirety. 

 

This - and the subsequent Noughty Forty - immediately highlighted how many contenders where I had a few songs, but not the entire album. Examples being The Streets, Radiohead, The Strokes and Grandaddy.

The other dawning realisation when following the final run down was how many albums from the 2000s I'd never even heard in full at all. Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, The Horrors, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Long Blondes. I'm working on it now.

The other rule which I mostly followed was to exclude nominations for an album which I thought would receive multiple votes from the MJMs and would therefore be a shoo in for the longlist, if not the final 40. Therefore, I left out LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes, to name a few. 

Not that my 20 nominations were by any means albums that I didn't consider to be anything other than essential listens. Or, so obscure that mine would be the only nomination. I mean, White Bread Black Beer by Scritti Politti had to be Top 30, if not higher, surely?

Of my 20 suggestions, 1 made the Not Quite The Greatest Albums Of The 00s list, 1 featured in the Honorable Mentions and 1 in The Noughty Forty...the Top 30 in fact, though it's no spoiler to say that it wasn't Scritti Poliiti.

So, 17 of my 20 nominations didn't get even a whiff of fame. One other artist did make the lower reaches of the countdown, though not with the album that I nominated!

However, all of this of course inspired today's selection. Without fear or favour, I've randomly selected 12 to create a snappy compilation to entertain for the next three quarters of an hour. 

 

Hopefully, a few of them will provoke an "Oh, yeah!" response. Others may be unfamiliar, but inspire a search to check out the rest of the album, which will undoubtedly be worth your time and effort.

It's an eclectic mix, as always. Back in 2000, it was hard to imagine that it would be 2024 before The The's next full band, non-soundtrack album would appear. Sadly, we're still waiting for Green Gartside's follow up to White Bread Black Beer, and each year hope diminishes. A couple of artists - Mark Linkous and Mark Lanegan - have passed on, leaving us with a rich musical legacy, these collaborative albums included.

Mark Lanegan's association with electronic artists Soulsavers was perhaps no surprise, given his voracious appetite for working with others across multiple musical genres. What was unexpected was N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album The Spirit Of Apollo, not least from it's dizzying spread of guest artists, but that their number included Tom Waits, here 'duetting' with rapper Kool Keith.

There are a few albums that didn't make my nominations list, partly because I thought that no-one else would submit them, partly because I will deliver on my promise to SWC a seeming eternity ago to submit a Nearly Perfect Albums guest post for his consideration. I need to get on with it!

In the meantime, enjoy this companion piece/celebration of an inspirational blog, as it's likely back to the usual nonsense on Saturday.

 

1) The Whisperers: The The (2000)

2) Paris Is Burning: Ladyhawke (2008)

3) Superstylin': Groove Armada (2001)

4) It's A Funny Thing: Edwyn Collins (2002)

5) Road To No Regret: Scritti Politti (2006)

6) Pain: Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse ft. Iggy Pop (2009)

7) Ghosts Of You And Me: Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan (2007)

8) The Moss: Daníel Ágúst (2005)

9) Something Inside Of Me: The Coral (2005)

10) Huddle Formation: The Go! Team (2004)

11) Young Bride: Midlake (2006)

12) Spacious Thoughts: N.A.S.A. ft. Tom Waits & Kool Keith (2009)

2000: Naked Self: 1

2001: Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub): 3

2002: Doctor Syntax: 4

2004: Thunder, Lightning, Strike: 10

2005: Swallowed A Star: 8

2005: The Invisible Invasion: 9 

2006: The Trials Of Van Occupanther: 11

2006: White Bread Black Beer: 5 

2007: It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land: 7

2008: Ladyhawke: 2

2009: Dark Night Of The Soul: 6

2009: The Spirit Of Apollo: 12

Not Quite Noughtie Enough (46:09) (KF) (Mega)

Music Is Still The Cure

At 8.00am GMT, it's Bandcamp Friday again for 24 hours so here's another mad dash through a half dozen singles and EPs I'd recommend for your shopping trolley.

It's been a heck of a year for Tor Maries. January saw the release of brilliant album Cacti; June a despicable display of trolling after a (frankly fantastic) performance at Glastonbury. After a period of retreat and renewal, retiring the Billy Nomates name and in August, sharing the first fruits of her "scratchy demos & stuff" as Tor.

 

emily, i'll do it tonight is the seventh weekly release from Tor since and it sounds every bit as wonderful as those that have preceded it. 'Demo' is a misnomer, these are fully formed songs and stories. Available as a name your price download, all highly recommended.

 

There will be some who imagine a parallel universe where Midlake and John Grant continued to work together after Queen of Denmark, John never moved to Iceland and took a musical left-turn into electronica and the friends continued deliver songs steeped in 1970s soft-rock.

In our plane of existence, it's been a thirteen year wait but a new AA-side from Midlake and John Grant is out today on Bella Union, which released that seminal collaboration. For a couple of quid, you get three tracks: Roadrunner Blues, plus two versions of You Don't Get To; the latter comes in a 3:30 edit and a full-length version clocking in at nearly eight minutes. I've particularly loved John Grant's subsequent musical direction, but listening to these songs is like slipping on a pair of well-worn and well-loved shoes. 

 

Not that they are mere pastiche or rehashes: the opening line of "Does it seem like you're surrounded by douche bags and assholes on all sides?" is reassuring grit in the honey pot. 

 

These songs were recorded a few years ago whilst Midlake was on hiatus for a collaborative project called BNQT. That now appears to be shelved and the various songs recorded with various artists will emerge as a series of 'Midlake &...' releases. John's also indicated his desire to work with Midlake again, so it's a win-win for me.

 

 

Château Flight are French duo Gilbert Cohen and Nicolas Chaix and I first heard them in the early 2000s. I don't always go for brand new music each Bandcamp Friday and like a rummage around in the archives for stuff I may have missed first time. In September, I checked out Château Flight after one of their remixes popped up in a random shuffle. I came away with Les Antipodes Versions Speciales, an EP from 2004. Their most recent release dated from 2018 and, prior to that, 2014 so my assumption was that Château Flight were possibly dormant or even no more. I signed up to mailing list anyway, as I do for all of my Bandcamp purchases.

 

A pleasant surprise then to receive an email last week with the cryptic message,

 

It's been a while since we haven't communicate..
Get ready..some hot news very soon..
We are back at y'a.

 

Last Friday, this materialised as a new song/single, Nookoqo. A quick t'internet search reveals that Nookoqo translates from Somali as 'change' or 'change it'. A six-minute banger, reminiscent of late 1990s Slam and Secret Knowledge which is a very good thing indeed. An album, La Folie Studio, is on the way and I will be waiting with interest. 

 

 

Cee ElAssaad is from Morocco and, like Diamond Dealer from yesterday's post, an artist I discovered thanks to Connected, the record label established by Stereo MC's. In February, Cee released the Njalo EP which has been on repeated plays since, whether the vocal, dub or instrumental mixes, and is itself a highly recommended purchase. 

 

In August, Cee released a collaborative single with US artist Lee Wilson. The original 6-minute version of Music Is The Cure contains familiar elements from Njalo, with additional jazz inflections and the Wilson's own East Coast vibe. On the (virtual) flip side is an RnB mix, under three minutes and completely laid back. Niiiiiice.

 

By the time Bandcamp Friday goes live, Powder Wax Vol. 1: Little Black Dress, a perfectly tailored new EP from Jesse Fahnestock will be on the catwalk. I was fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the three-track single with these words from Jesse,

Got something new for you from my 10:40 alias (sort of). Going to start doing an occasional series of vocal house-ish tracks under the heading Powder Wax. This is the first attempt. The A-side is a pop/disco number - a bit out on a limb really, not sure how it will be received. The other two tracks are cosmic/dub versions that are more in my usual area. Anyway, maybe you'll find something to like.

There's no maybe about it. I can't be completely objective about this, as I've enjoyed everything that Jesse has produced in the last few years, but this delivers on several levels. If you've enjoyed Jesse's work as 10:40 and/or with Darren Bell as Jezebell then you will find much to enjoy here. If you're new, then this also serves as a great introduction/statement of intent.

There are three mixes available, the Original Fit, 10:40's Heavy Eyeliner Edit and the Undressing Dub. If forced to make a soundbite comparison, and partly because I've been listening to so much 1980s extended and dub mixes recently, I got a feel for Touched By The Hand Of God by New Order, with the 10:40 edit - intro especially - evoking Dancing On The Ceiling by Lionel Richie. I've seen the phrase 'future nostalgia' bandied around a lot but this seems a good application: music is forwarding thinking yet taps into a feeling of what has gone before.

 

All feature the vocal talents of London-based S.A.A.R.A aka Sara Belle, whose song Deliverance received the 10:40 dub treatment late last year. As usual, it's impossible for me to pick a favourite of the three mixes and why should I, when I can enjoy them all, all of the time? More please, Jesse.

Oh, and whilst the focus is on singles, a reminder that an early 2023 highlight was 10:40's Transition Theory album, released on Valentine's Day and available as a name your price download. You'd be bonkers not to.

Amadou & Mariam returned with Eclipse, their first album in three years, in December 2022 and they're back (again!) with a new song, My Sahel. Much as you'd expect, it's four and a half minutes of aural joy, with a killer bass line to boot. Now in their fifth decade of marriage and musical partnership, Amadou & Mariam continue to inspire and delight.

 

My Sahel also gives me an opportunity to once again plug the Sahel Sounds label, which celebrates each Bandcamp Friday by making their entire catalogue available as a name your price download. Lots of wonderful albums and compilations to choose from but sticking with the theme of this post, I'd also recommend the song/single Debbo by Andal Sukabe.

 

Set your reminders now!

How Do We Start?

I had a couple of lovely comments on yesterday's post from Stevie (Charity Chic) and Brian (Linear Tracking Lives). At some point in the future, there will be a post that does Joe Strummer more justice than a 10-second snippet in reverse, but today's is inspired by Brian's comment that he was looking forward to seeing and hearing what else I had up my sleeve. Well, there was only one to go with that and it is of course Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, a collaboration between Erol Alkan and Richard Norris, both much loved here at Studio K. This is a cassette-friendly side of remixes and shorter selections from their Birth, Spring, West and George EPs. This selection spans 2005-2015, but both have continued to release consistently excellent music since. 

 

1) Before We Start, If?: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (2007)

2) Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation): Franz Ferdinand (2009)

3) Get Ready To Fly: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (2007)

4) Young Folks (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation): Peter, Björn & John ft. Victoria Bergsman (2006)

5) You Will Always Find Alice In The Kitchen At Parties: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (2005)

6) Raise The Roof (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation): Tracey Thorn (2007)

7) Space: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (2007)

8) Sand Dance (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Reanimation): Temples (2015)

9) The Fifth Note: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve (2006)

10) Roscoe (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Remix): Midlake (2007)

How Do We Start? (43:07) (KF) (Mega)