Fearless Frank

God bless Frank Ocean.

Just as I was on the brink of giving up on albums forever, up pops Frank with the most coherent, relevant, socially-aware, honest, groovy, and soulful record (Channel Orange) in many a year.

Such is his poise, talent, and all-round game, it's hard to believe he's only 24.

Yes, the production is slick and smooth, but Frank's songs, to my ears anyways, share the same spirit, fire, and vision as Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hatthaway at their respective peaks.

Above all else, Frank is an incredible story teller and Super Rich Kids, Sweet Life and Pyramids are terrific examples of this. Nobody else in the R&B world is telling it like it is in 2012 like Frank and it's fantastic that he has found a sizable audience and long list of celebrity admirers.

You know a song/s are great when they keep popping up in your head, day and night, and this has been the case for me since I brought Channel Orange two weeks ago.

And judging by this video, he's smart, grounded and ready, willing, and capable of delivering much more - god bless you Frank and look forward to more audio greatness in the near future.

16.18

Sixteen minutes and seventeen seconds of joy. How I wish I was walking in New Orleans with these guys.

Songs Of The Year

Thank you Jhene Aiko for making R&B crazy, sexy and very, very cool again.

I'm a sucker for any Ronettes-inspired song and Lykkie backs up the wall-of-sound with a big, gutsy, and passionate vocal (in a good way, not like annoying American Idol screamers).

Vodka and tonic - a wonderful crooning performance from Mr National, Matt Beringer, beautifully complimented by Sharon Jones.

Beautiful dreamy, Duran Duran'ish sounding track (to my ears) that took me away to another place.

"What'ya gonna do when I Maa Nonu you!" Should have been NZ's official Rugby World song - finest sports song since "World In Motion."

Sing Along With The Yoots

We heart this album so much. It's our 'go to' playlist in the car, especially when we are in chronic Bangkok gridlock, like last night when it took an hour to cover five kilometres.

The Yoots, comprising top musicians from a number of leading New Zealand bands including Fat Freddy's Drop and the Black Seeds, take classic Maori songs put them through a funk, ska, reggae, country, soul and acid jazzy wash to produce a superb set of head nodding, toe tapping, huge grin inducing tunes.

The songs really resonate with me because as a young fella growing up in Manutuke - a tiny rural Maori town south of Gisborne, NZ - they were the soundtrack to weddings, 21st parties, bus trips, pub sing-alongs and more.

This collection has also been a good way to introduce my daughter and wife to a few timeless classics and both are now huge fans. While I love all the songs, the last track, Po Atarau (Now Is the Hour) is my favourite. A traditional farewell song, it always brings a tear to the eye - don't ask me why.

I recommend the album to everyone especially expat New Zealanders living in faraway lands.

Buy the download or CD
NZ Herald review 

Fatty, Fatty Friday

Three slices of pure, unsaturated and delicious audio fatness from Prince Fatty... Nirvana and Cypress Hill never sounded better.

Great Song, Video and Song Title

This dub collaboration with Dennis Bovell is also a bit special.

Loving this so much, very much, right now

RIP Gil

RIP Gil - music legend, poet and a prophet.

Rest in peace Gil Scott-Heron.

I first heard GSH on Wellington's Radio Active student radio station and was blown away by his lyrical genius. He was on-point and to the point when he expressed his social, cultural and political observations/views.

He didn't need a 4,000 word feature article to deliver his key messages - a four minute track was more than enough to make a deep, meaningful and lasting connection. It helped that he had an amazing voice and that his music was groovy as hell.

I was lucky enough to see him perform at the Jazz Cafe in London in 1991. It's a bit of blur now - a lot of cheap red wine was consumed on the night - but I remember it being a celebration of sorts with plenty of people dancing and maybe, even a conga line.

Here's my favourite Gil track - B Movie - 12+ minutes of genius and still sounds fresh, relevant and vital today.

Guardian's GSH Obit

Soundtrack For The Weekend

First up, from Canadians CFCF, a beautiful shimmering New Order-ish take of OMC's "How Bizzare."

CFCF - How Bizzare

Followed by The Yoots, who deliver a brilliant, last-train-to-Skaville version of "Me He Manu Rere," a Maori classic played at all good weddings and parties across New Zealand.

Sing along now.. don't be shy..
Me he manu rere ahau e,
Kua rere ki tō moenga,
Ki te awhi tō tinana,
Aue, aue!
E te tau, tahuri mai.
Kei te moe te tinana,
Kei te oho te wairua,
Kei te hotu te manawa,
Aue, aue!
E te tau, tahuri mai.

The Yoots - Me He Manu Rere

And "Banana Ripple from Junior Boys. The title alone makes it the summer anthem of the year. Turn it right up to enjoy its full flavour and deliciousness.

Junior Boys - Banana Ripple

Oh Happy Day!

Audio Sunshine

Wainui Beach 

Been drawn to a lot of African and Latin-flavoured music of late and recently discovered the Whiskey Barons - a pair of DJs/producers based in Boston - who make amazing mixes that sure hit the spot with me.

Click here for 51.52 minutes of audio sunshine.
Whiskey Barons website

Cover Stars pt3 - Elvisly Yours

I'm a passionate Elvis fan (both kinds - Presley and Costello) and own many of their classic albums as well as their respective "odds and sods" recordings.

Besides sharing a first name, both are/were skilled and respectful interpreters of other people's songs.

A few years back, Elvis C released a great covers album called Kojak Variety that included a superb version of "Days" by the Kinks and Dan Baker's "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" and more.

Equally good - to my ears - was Costello's country covers album, Almost Blue, which was universally slagged off when it was released. And his blistering take (with The Attractions) of Nick Lowe's "What's So Funny Bout' Peace, Love and Understanding" always gets my pulse racing.

Seems Elvis C's songs are popular with a bunch of other artists and some excellent covers are highlighted on the terrific Cover Lay Down website.

Visit Covered in Folk: Elvis Costello to enjoy Costello covered by the very cool and classy Laura Cantrell and a host of others. I especially like Mae Robertson's smokey, jazzy Almost Blue. 

Public Service Announcement

Not much good stuff comes for free these days but here's something that is.

This Kid Cudi curated soundtrack to new'ish HBO series, "How To Make It In America" is brilliant and a tonic for jaded iTunes playlists.

I love the Duck Sauce, Yacht, Chromeo and Wave Machine tracks - but they are all pretty excellent especially if taken in one listen. I challenge you to stay still. 

The series is also also good - maybe the topic of another post - the absolute star of the show is New York City. As a colleague once told me in a NYC bar (that was once a hair salon) ...."New York City - motherfucking centre of the universe"....

Thanks to cuz Robert for this recommendation.

Download (free and legally) the soundtrack 

Representing Memphis

How sweet is this??? Talk about a life of surprises.....

On this beaut new Booker T track, Sharon Jones and Matt Berninger, (The National) sound like they've been singing partners for decades. This is from Booker T's new album, "The Road From Memphis" that also includes contributions/assists from Lou Reed and The Roots and more.

One to very much look out for. And when it comes to songs that mention cities and towns, no writes or performs them as well as American artists.

Booker T. Jones - Representing Memphis (featuring Sharon Jones and Matt Berninger)
More about the album

The City I Live In, The City of Angels

"Bangkok City", the newest track from K-Pop sensations, Orange Caramel. Lightweight pop sure, but a way better song than the other ancient and awful "inter" song with Bangkok in the title.

It's Friday.. time to PARLAAAAAAANNNNNCCCCCCEEEE!!!!!

Another bad Friday .. have to stop making a habit of this ... thank buddha for JW & Blaze.  Tonight I'll be mostly drinking lime soda with a dash of vodka. 

Friday

It was a hell week in the orifice and Friday night was embraced like a long lost old friend.

This track nails the spirit of Friday night - though it'll probably mean more to a Kiwi-munter like me than others.

It takes me back to Friday nights in Auckland spent drinking, record shopping, playing football, band watching, swimming, BBQing, sitting on porches talking crap, driving around going nowhere, midnight runs to the video shop, burning toast and amazing shabbat dinners when my pal Jas would invite me over to his family's house.

I don't know anything about these guys but they deal with the real and blend humour and hip hop superbly - thanks to Nick Bollinger and his great Sampler show on Radio New Zealand for bringing Home Brew into my life. Happy Friday, mine's a Beerlao Dark.

Home Brew - Friday

Home Brew profiled

Cover Stars pt2 - Spoek Mathambo

A "darkwave township house" version of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control." If JD were still together today I reckon they'd probaby sound like this. This is an absolute monster.

Spoek Mathambo - Control

Last Night We Were All Hippies

Compared to the "combat rock" mindset adopted by many young gig goers in the west, their Thai counterparts are on the whole, way more relaxed and mellow.*

This was certainly the case at the Summer Hippie concert held on Cha Am Beach (about 200 kilometres south of Bangkok) last night. Mind you, the combination of a beautiful night sky, a cool Gulf of Thailand sea breeze and shiny, happy Thai pop music is pretty hard to rage against.

Besides these factors it was a terrifically enjoyable night out thanks to the brilliant concert setup. Having been to more than a few gigs in my time - mostly in New Zealand and the UK - it was an interesting and a pleasant change to attend a concert where there were: 

• Plenty of high quality food and drink options at affordable prices
• Plenty of vendors on hand to ensure no long queues for food and drinks 
• Plenty of punter-friendly attractions including a foot massage section and a too-cool smoker's area 
• No fights among "overly refreshed" punters 
• No drugs (I didn't see or smell the usual party drugs but I am very out of touch on these matters)
• Gig goers of all ages 
• Really well dressed gig goers 
• Great sight lines and a well balanced sound system

What about the performers? All of the acts put on good shows playing upbeat tunes that added to the carnival atmosphere. Rule of thumb - a horn section always adds so much in an outdoor live concert setting.

Bottom Blue, who were led by a charismatic and energetic frontman, was one band that caught my eye. Their faster numbers were great combining doo wop, ska and rock - an unlikely combo sure - but like som tam salad, their all-in-the-mix approach worked well, and more importantly, got many punters up dancing.

I'll have to investigate more of their music. We missed the headline act, Modern Dog, but they apparently played to a very full house.

*It's not all peace and love. A few weeks back, a few hundred fans of the Deftones staged a mini rampage outside a Bangkok venue when the inept and incompetent concert promoter cancelled the gig at the very last minute. 

Saturday Night Begins Here

This is the sound of the weekend - one of my favourite contemporary soul singers, Mayer Hawthorne, remixed by Classixx, a pair of LA-based DJs who have impeccable taste and are absolute masters of their craft - please come back to Bangkok soon and please bring Mr Hawthorne with you.

Green Eyed Love - Mayer Hawthorne (Classixx remix)