Sadly Humphrey ‘Humph’ Lyttelton has died this week. He’s most famous to the public for two reasons, as a renowned Jazz Trumpet player who scored a top-twenty hit in 1956 with the Joe Meek produced ‘Bad Penny Blues’ (The piano riff of which Macca nicked for ‘Lady Madonna’) and as the long running presenter of Radio 4’s comedy panel show ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’.

Humphrey Lyttelton & His Band - Bad Penny Blues mp3

ISIHAC is a program that I listen to an almost daily basis. Humph was perhaps the master of the double-entendre, managing to deliver even the most downright filthy comment, as if the rude implications had never even occurred to him. The fact that he could induce fits of hysterical laughter in an audience with nothing but a weary sigh means he’s almost certainly irreplaceable. Here’s just one example of the brilliance of ISIHAC from May 2000 with a guest appearance by fellow national treasure Stephen Fry.

ISIHAC - Lyttleton, London - 19th May 2000 (With Stephen Fry) mp3

Click here to watch an edition of The South Bank show about Humph on YouTube.

Lastly “As the slavering Radio 4 scheduler of time, savages the airwaves of eternity, and the popular panel game of hope is axed by the cataclysmic network controller of doom” I’ll end this post with Humph’s fittingly funereal collaboration with Radiohead from their superb 2001 album ‘Amnesiac’.

Radiohead - Life In A Glasshouse (With Humphrey Lyttelton) mp3

Life In A Glasshouse (Live YouTube Clip)

Humphrey Lyttelton Website

I just picked up this brilliant and quirky new mashup on 12″.

Sham Sham - 99 Hearts mp3

This track is a veritable six-degrees-of-separation of sampling. Firstly, the vocal from the Sham Sham track is taken from the Rick Rubin produced ‘99 Problems’ and the music is largely sampled from Architecture In Helsinki’s ‘Heart It Races’:

Jay-Z - 99 Problems mp3

Architecture In Helsinki - Heart It Races mp3

‘99 Problems’ borrows elements of many records, including most prominently:

Ice-T - 99 Problems mp3

UGK - Touched mp3

But the big sample is from:

Billy Squier - Big Beat mp3

Which Dizzee Rascal used just a couple of months before on:

Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp mp3

Which was sampled on and referenced by Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip on:

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Fixed mp3

Lastly, is of course the legendary and most famous Remix/Bootleg of ‘99 Problems’, the ‘Helter Skelter’ sampling:

Danger Mouse - 99 Problems mp3

I could go on all day, but I’ll just finish by linking to a few YouTube vids of the above tracks:

Jay-Z - 99 Problems (Video)
Architecture In Helsinki - Heart It Races (Video)
Billy Squier - The Big Beat (Video)
Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp (Video)
Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Fixed (Live Video)
Danger Mouse - 99 Problems (Video)

One day I’ll get round to some proper posts but in the meantime, I had to share some of the highlights from the records I’ve purchased this week.

‘Breakfast’ is hardly a feminist call-to-arms with liberal use of words like “Ho” and “Bitch” but I can’t help loving it when it’s so damn funny, danceable and features priceless rhymes like “Hola hola hola.. oatmeal and granola”. The B-side ‘Disco Vraiment’ is almost as good so go get a copy of this 4-Track EP.
Le Le - Breakfast mp3
(Buy EP) (YouTube) (MySpace)

‘Northern Girls’ is like a great lost Moloko track mixed with some Eminem style beats and hints of ‘Under The Broadwalk’.
Belleruche - Northern Girls mp3
(Buy EP) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I can’t resist buying any record that’s blessed with the skills of MC Abdominal. Once again I’m rewarded with another quality cut to add to my collection and the B-sides on the 12″ are shit hot too.
Jellybass - Free EP Sampler mp3
(Buy EP) (Buy Mp3) (MySpace)

I was mildly underwhelmed by Jim’s last EP but the wonky Guitars and bouncy tune of his new single ‘What U Gonna Do?’ have got me.
Jim Noir - What U Gonna Do? mp3
(Buy 7”) (MySpace)

If you’ve sickened yourself on Sonny J, then here’s another summery Disco-Pop cut-up tune to brighten your day from those fine fellows, Lack Of Afro.
Lack Of Afro - Touch My Soul (Feat. Steve Marriott) mp3
(Buy Album) (MySpace)

‘Ear Sex’ is a good old sneering, fuzzy, abrasive Art-Rocker with a little Pop to sweeten things.
Innercity Pirates - Ear Sex mp3
(Buy Split 7”) (MySpace)

Kid Sister contributes a stellar vocal to the original version of Beeper but the beats are just toooo good on this lead-vocal-less Remix (It’s one of those phone-sampling records that has you checking your mobile every two seconds).
The Count & Sinden (Feat. Kid Sister) - Beeper (A-Trak Remix) mp3
(Buy EP) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I adore almost everything that Jack White has a hand in but I thought the first Raconteurs album was one of his lesser works. However I loved their new LP from almost the very first second. It’s fierce, energetic, spontaneous and reminiscent of the kind of raw riffery on display in a certain Flamin’ Groovies’ track they’ve been known to cover live.
The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution mp3
(Buy Album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

As if by magic, bask in the relentless piledriving Rawk of this 1970 classic.
The Flamin’ Groovies - Headin’ For The Texas Border
(Buy Album) (MySpace)

Lastly, this week I’ve been hooked on Jimmy Smith’s indispensable 1972 Jazz-Funk LP ‘Root Down Live!’. The title track is of course legendary.
Jimmy Smith - Root Down (And Get It) mp3
(Buy Album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

Here’s another selection of fine mp3s rocking my personal world at the mo’ (Instead of proper reviews).

I’ve long been a fan of the peculiar way Adam Green combines lush orchestration and crooner vocals with his disturbing and nonsensical lyrics. His brand new ‘Sixes & Sevens’ album jumps genres with gleeful abandon and ‘Twee Twee Dee’ represents a fun jaunt into summery Disco-Pop.
Adam Green - Twee Twee Dee mp3
(Buy Album) (MySpace)

Various Production’s last single made it into my Top 100 Of 2007 so I had to pick up this Remix. They give the track an extra Electronic shine enhancing the weird stoned Hip-Hop vocal.
Dave Cloud - Puff Rider (Various Production Remix) mp3
(Buy 7”) (MySpace)

Elbow do “Epic” particularly well so this seven minute B-side to new single ‘Grounds For Divorce’ is typically brilliant.
Elbow - Hotel Istanbul mp3
(Buy Single) (MySpace)

When the Guillemots are good… boy are they are good. New B-side ‘What We Have’ has the kind of pedigree you’d expect from an old Sam Cooke number.
Guillemots - What We Have mp3
(Buy 7”) (MySpace)

‘In A letter’ is an improbably vibrant bit of Rap-Ska. Like The Ordinary Boys… but good.
Imperial Leisure - In A letter mp3
(YouTube) (MySpace)

A few people have been covering this Rhianna hit (Personally I hate the original song). The Manics do a good job at convincing me I was wrong.
Manic Street Preachers - Umbrella mp3
(YouTube) (MySpace)

A one line song but damn great Brazilian Punk-Funk for it, given that extra injection of fun by CSS.
Tetine - I Go To The Doctor (CSS Remix) mp3
(Buy 12”) (MySpace)

One of Scroobius Pip’s best tracks which puts this into some rarefied territory.
Yila (Feat. Scroobius Pip) - Astronaut mp3
(Buy 7”) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I’m really into this Acid-House infused 1988 single from Manchester’s finest at the moment.
New Order - Fine Time mp3
(Buy Album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

Here’s another version of The Wire’s theme tune. This is from the first series and it’s still probably the best.
The Blind Boys Of Alabama - Way Down In The Hole mp3
(Buy Album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

“Who will pay the price if injustice such as this, turns our protectors to oppressors, and angry men to terrorists, oh freedom, what liberties are taken in thy name”

Finally Billy Bragg’s new album is here, his first since 2002’s ‘England, Half English’. ‘Mr Love & Justice’ is an album about relationships with a bit of politics subtly mixed in. Only three or four songs are overtly political, tackling subjects like rendition, marketing/corporate-malpractice and PTSD. He’s taken the unusual step of pleasing everyone by releasing the record as both a full-band album and as a stripped-down acoustic recording. My votes with the solo version, I’m of the opinion that too much instrumentation often dulls the power of Billy’s songs.

Billy Bragg - I Keep Faith (Solo Version) mp3

If you liked that, click here to buy ‘Mr Love & Justice’ from HMV.

If you’ve never heard Billy Bragg before (Wow you’ve been missing out!) then here are my favourite tracks from each of his other eight albums:

A New England mp3 (His calling card and a hit for Kirsty MacColl)
It Says Here mp3 (The media doesn’t change in twenty odd years)
Levi Stubbs’ Tears mp3 (Guitars like arrows piercing your heart)
The Price I Pay mp3 (Just a great love song, through and through)
Blake’s Jerusalem mp3 (A passionate reading of the WI anthem)
Everywhere mp3 (About the Pacific conflict and maybe his best song)
From Red To Blue mp3 (New Labour seen through old Labour eyes)
Distant Shore mp3 (A beautiful, compassionate song about refugees)

WHEN you love those, click here to buy all eight albums in two handy deluxe boxsets.

Click here to read Billy’s blog, with a downloadable audio documentary.

Click here to download a new interview where Billy discusses the new album over a cup of tea.

Click here to watch a charming clip of Billy and Kate Nash performing together.

Click here to get three free mp3s from Billy Bragg’s official Website.

Click here to get Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s new album, featuring a quick appearance by Billy Bragg and a longer appearance by Kate Nash.

Billy Bragg Website / Billy Bragg MySpace

“A higher purpose gives an easy way, to wash away the guilt and numb the pain” 

I just got the new single from Sam Duckworth (The album’s on it’s way in the post). I’m a bit unsure about the A-side ‘Find The Time’ since it goes a bit Beatles-pastiche in the middle. However, the B-sides are great including a big Coldplay-ish song called ‘All Falls Down’ and a fine cover of Jimmy Eat World’s ‘Praise Chorus’. But the best of them is a stark acoustic song called ‘The Bigger Picture’ directed like a personal letter to the Christian architects of the “War On Terror” questioning how their faith could lead them to such actions.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - The Bigger Picture mp3

Hopefully the album will be as good as the free taster track ‘Waiting For The Monster To Drown’.

Click here to buy the album.

… and click here to get the free sampler track (DRM Free!).

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. YouTube Channel

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Website / Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. MySpace

“So I seem to lose the peace, a common riot on the common streets, we love the rose but we hate the rule, for private land and for private schools”

‘Satellites’ was one of the first live-demos I fell for nearly two years ago when Orphan Boy first showed up on my radar. Now I’ve just got a promo of their album through the door and they’ve gone into the studio and done the song proud. It’s a proper bit of raw Punk not the usual pale Indie variety. The lyrics have got the detail of Weller and the anger of Strummer, listen to the way Bob Cross roars the chorus. ‘Satellites’ could be huge if they release it as a single. This the England we love but it’s also the England we hate.

Orphan Boy’s debut album is out in April on Concrete Recordings. Start saving up your pennies now, your gonna need to get this record.

Click here to pre-order the new single ‘Alderley Edge’.

Orphan Boy - Satellites mp3

You can check out some of Orphan Boy’s vids on Concrete’s YouTube channel by clicking here.

Visit the MySpace page to get a couple of free mp3s.

Orphan Boy MySpace

Mute CDMUTE377: 18th February 2008

“He ended up like so many of them do, back on the streets of New York City,
in a soup queue, a dopefiend, a slave, then prison, then the madhouse, then the grave”

Sometimes I love Nick Cave’s angelic side and sometimes I dislike the devil in his more acidic recordings. New single ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ manages to be everything that’s great about Nick Cave. A murderous lyric, violent Blues and a spoken word vocal reminiscent of ‘The Gift’. ‘The Gift’ is a great song but you couldn’t imagine it being played on the radio, where as ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ could be Cave’s biggest hit.

The video for ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ is thrilling, while still looking cheap as chips. B-side ‘Accidents Will Happen’ is damn good too, making this a fine package to spend your coppers on.

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Video) on YouTube

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Accidents Will Happen mp3

Nick Cave MySpace

Hopefully this will be business as usual here at ‘Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before’. Here’s a small selection of the wonderful things I’ve been listening to in the past two months. If You like these guys then dig out a few quid from your wallet and buy their records.

I haven’t totally got into the British Sea Power album yet, but riff-tastic, chugging rocker ‘A Trip Out’ knocked me for six on the first listen.
British Sea Power - A Trip Out mp3
(Buy the new album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

As with David E. Sugar’s last single the better track is on the B-side. Check out the twitching electronics of instrumental ‘The Big H’.
David E. Sugar - The Big H mp3
(Buy the 12”) (MySpace)

One of the better promos I’ve been sent in the post featured this inspired cover of The Maccabees single ‘First Love’ from NiTasha Jackson. She sounds like a female Sufjan Stevens to me. She’s turned an average Indie-Pop single into 3 and a half minutes of shimmering wonderment.
NiTasha Jackson - First Love mp3
(Buy the 7”) (MySpace)

I picked up a copy of Dylan Donkin’s ‘Make A Choice’ single based on the cool artwork. I was rewarded by the discovery of this Arthur Lee influenced track from the B-side.
Dylan Donkin - Depression Yesterdays (Demo) mp3
(Buy Dylan Donkin EP) (YouTube) (MySpace)

The new Nitin Sawhney produced Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly album is nearly upon us. Sam was kind enough to give ‘Waiting For The Monster To Drown’ away free to wet our appetites. I’m still mopping up the saliva.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - Waiting For The Monster To Drown mp3
(Pre-Order the new album) (MySpace)

After being starved of new songs on the B-side of The White Stripes’ last single Jack came back with 3 brand new gems on their latest release. The best of the three was this super fun song about celebrity madness recorded in Beck’s living room.
The White Stripes - It’s My Fault For Being Famous mp3
(Buy the 7”) (MySpace)

It’s not just new stuff I’ve been hooked on.

Firstly, I’ve been listening to allot of Springsteen as usual, especially 7 minute epic ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)’. Saxophone legend Clarence Clemens’ playing makes me leap around and punch the air. Check out the vid below, which has to rate as one of the most exhilarating performances ever captured on film.
Bruce Springsteen - Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) mp3
(Buy Bruce’s album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I picked up a copy of the deluxe remaster of Jona Lewie’s brilliantly titled 1978 album ‘On The Other Hand There’s A Fist’. Apparently this bonus track was a huge indie hit but it was new to me.
Jona Lewie - You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties mp3
(Buy Jona’s album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I’ve been getting into Nilsson after I was blown away by the unbelievably modern sounding Punk-Funk delight that is 1971’s ‘Jump Into The Fire’. It could’ve been a track from LCD Soundsystem’s new album (In fact James Murphy has covered it before).
Nilsson - Jump Into The Fire mp3
(Buy the album) (YouTube) (MySpace)

Gangsta-Rap isn’t exactly my favourite genre, but after immersing myself in all 5 seasons of the acclaimed cop-show The Wire, this tale of gang-bangin’ and police corruption from Snoop & Dre makes so much sense.
Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg - Deep Cover mp3
(Buy the 12”) (YouTube) (MySpace)

Speaking of The Wire, here’s the latest version of the theme song from, guest star Steve Earle (Incidentally Clarence Clemens has also made a couple of guest appearances on the show).
Steve Earle - Way Down In The Hole mp3
(Buy the new album) (Buy The Wire DVDs) (YouTube) (MySpace)

I compiled this list early in January but it’s taken me this long to get round to finishing the post. I like these lists as a snapshot of what I was into at the time. Check out my 2006 list and wonder why I put ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ down at number 97, or the 2005 list when I put ‘Come On! Feel The Illinoise!’ down at number91.

There are links below to download about 25 of the songs, that I couldn’t find links to buy (DRM free anyway). Click here to download a Zip file with the top 10 from the list. Where possible there are links to buy, download, watch and find-out-about the tracks. Some of the songs here are taken from albums that you medically need to get, like ‘The Cool’, ‘Icky Thump’, ‘Panic Prevention’ and ‘The Magic Position’, so go out and buy them!!

1. LUPE FIASCO (FEAT. MATTHEW SANTOS) - Superstar
“So just take me home, where the mood is mellow, and the roses are thrown, M&Ms are yellow, and the light bulbs around my mirror don’t flicker, everybody gets a nice autograph picture, one for you and one for your sister, who had to work tonight but is an avid listener”
‘Superstar’ is the first track I heard from Lupe’s none-more-anticipated follow up to possibly my favourite album of all time ‘Food & Liquor’. I listened so often, I can rap the thing from start to finish while I’m making a brew. The way Lu stretches out the “Don’t wan’ it ta faaayyyy-duh” line is ice cold.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

2. KLAXONS - Gravity’s Rainbow (Soulwax Remix)
“Come ride with me through ruined lip-lock, across Tangian deserts we’ll flock, madcap Medusa, flank my foghorn, we’ll change four seasons with our first born”
Once again Soulwax succeed in taking the seemingly perfect and making it several hundred times more exciting. But be warned, if you have this on in the car the police will soon be pulling you over for speeding. Listen at 4.06 when it all goes off like a mutherfucka!
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

3. THE WALLBANGERS - Kick The Drugs
“If I smoke Weed I get neurotic, Alcohol turns me psychotic, Heroin’s just a narcotic, S-S-S-Speed makes me despotic, if you’re on Crack-Cocaine you’re goin’ outta your brain, you’ve gotta pull the plug, you’ve gotta kick the drugs!”
The monstrously riff-tastic ‘Kick The Drugs’ has me making devil signs, screeching the chorus and gurning each and every time. I’m just a sucker for list tunes. When Nick Cave’s firing on all cylinders on the Grinderman album and Mick Harvey records tracks like this, you just know that the next Badseed’s album is gonna rock.
(Buy Record) (MySpace)

4. FREDDIE CRUGER (FEAT. LINN) - Pushing On
“Hey friend, can you borrow me a hundred grand? No I cannot, ’cause I’m stuck in the same quick sand”
‘Pushing On’ is as smooth as a puddle of Baileys on a slab of marble mopped up with a cloth spun from silk by Barry White himself. Oooh the bass, oooh the beats, oooh the vocals… I’m in heaven. I said “This could be track of the year” back in April… number 4 ain’t bad.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (MySpace)

5. THE WHITE STRIPES - Rag & Bone
“Looking for Technics turntables, to gramophones, so take a last lick of your ice cream cone, and lock up what you still want to own”
‘Rag & Bone’ was clearly the best track on the new album and is quite possibly the best thing they’ve ever done. A band in their tenth year and recording their sixth album, shouldn’t be having this much fun.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (MySpace)

6. HARRISONS - Dear Constable
“The kickin’, punchin’, trigger happy, car crashin’ kids, stink of drink, and think that is just the way life is, the problem lies behind their eyes, their young minds filled with wicked lies”
‘Dear Constable’ is so superior to anything else Harrisons have so-far produced I at first doubted if I was listening to same band. The rate that the savage lyrics come tumbling out of Adam Taylor’s lips is jaw dropping.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

7. ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness (Justice Remix)
“Instrumental”
This is probably an illicit recording of your office’s printer and fax machine shagging after everyone has gone home. It’s about as far from a “Song” as music can get while still being earth shakingly addictive.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

8. JAMIE T - Pacemaker
“Body bags come back on planes from wartorn Iraq, it’s the stark naked truth, a dark aftermath, Baby T, the juice and the dog just barks, remember man the bully always had the last laugh”
‘Pacemaker’ is easily the best track on Jamie’s album but since he barely stops to take breath, never mind deliver a chorus it wasn’t a contender for a single. Jamie raps as if he’s never gonna be allowed into a studio ever again.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (MySpace)

9. HELLO SAFERIDE - I Was Definitely Made For These Times
“Sure a woman should obey her man, sure when he can do the things I can, I was definitely made for these times, goin’ to church on Sundays, ruining my TV fun day”
Alot of slightly quirky female Pop singers have made it big this year (With precious little talent to justify that success). So will somebody tell me why ‘I Was Definitely Made For These Times’ wasn’t at number one for approximately thirty-seven weeks?!?
(Buy Digital) (MySpace)

10. HERMAN DUNE - Song Of Samuel
“My princess I can tell, from the beauty of this sound here, that with your instructor Samuel, that true love for you is found here”
Within six minutes ‘Song Of Samuel’ packs in more beauty, character, detail and tenderness than most novels could impart in six-hundred pages.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

11. THE HOLD STEADY - Stuck Between Stations
“He said I’ve surrounded myself with doctors and deep thinkers, but big heads with soft bodies make for lousy lovers”
On ‘Stuck Between Stations’ the The Hold Steady seem to have set themselves a goal to record the most exhilarating Rock song since Springsteen released ‘Born To Run’. If you aren’t trying to simultaneously play air-guitar, air-piano and air-drums at 2.55 then you’re probably clinically dead.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

12. KID ACNE - Eddy Fresh
“Enough men be so short sighted, you say up norf, and they think High Barnet”
‘Eddy Fresh’ is full of brilliant references to things like “Supersoakers”, “Lazerquest” and “Cillit Bang” with music to make Ian Dury proud and a potty mouthed chorus that’ll get stuck in your head.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

13. BEASTIE BOYS - Electric Worm
“Instrumental”
Beastie Boys succeed in creating a new track every bit as funky as the Jimmy Smith classic they sampled all those years ago on ‘Root Down’. Giving something back.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

14. BADLY DRAWN BOY - Promises (Reverso68 Remix)
“Just promise you will remember, a promise should last forever, right up to the dying embers, of a fire that burns so slow”
This is one of those deft remixes that totally enhances a track without changing it’s spirit. Reverso68 turn BDB’s original into a hypnotic house anthem.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

15. DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP - Fixed
“Prancin’ about like they’re the next big thing, cause their cousin’s got an 8-track and their mate Darrell can sing”
Dan Le Sac takes Dizzee Rascal’s only truly genius track ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’, cuts it up and lays on an awesome John Carpenter synth line. If that wasn’t enough Scroob let’s loose a stream of skillful rhymes in his own deadpan style.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

16. FYFE DANGERFIELD - Well, Love Does Furnish A Life
“So you open up your eyes and you’re underneath the first class seat, your yellow hair and purple eyes are bleeding defeat, your mother always told you, freedom was just a lie, so I’m here to show you, show you what life can be like”
Fyfe Dangerfield takes a good Larrikin Love single and transforms it into a gentle ballad of rare beauty and grace. One of the all time great covers.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

17. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - North American Scum
“I hate the feelin’ when you’re looking at me that way, ’cause we’re North Americans, but if we act all shy, it’ll make it okay, makes it go away”
James Murphy has created an anthemic song about being resolutely proud of where you’re from, even if others try to make you feel ashamed.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

18. MIKA - Love Today
“Carolina sits on ninety-five, give her a dollar and she’ll make you smile, hook her, book her, nook her, walk away!”
Love Today is like a glorious carnival passing through the space between your ears, with a Pop float, an Indie float, a Disco float and Mika leading the way twirling his conductors baton with megaphone aloft.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

19. PATRICK WOLF - The Magic Position
“‘Cause out of all the people I’ve known, the places I’ve been, the songs I have sung, the wonders I’ve seen, now that the dreams are all coming true, who is the one that leads me on through… it’s you!”
‘The Magic Position’ is pure joy distilled into a Pop song. It’s got pieces of everything from The Beach Boys to Dexys wrapped up with Patrick’s typically passionate vocals.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

20. SONNY JIM - Can’t Stop Moving
“You are, of a beautiful nature, changeable, quite questionable, you are capable of deep intellectual thought”
So close to being annoying but ultimately irresistibly fun, Funky Disco-Pop. I just couldn’t stop playing it, it’s as addictive as a Big McCrack.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

21. MARVIN GAYE VS JOHNNY OSBOURNE - What’s Going On (Truth & Rights Remix)
“Picket lines and picket signs, don’t punish me with brutality, talk to me, so you can see, what’s going on”
This boot is so seamless that it’ll have you believing that Marvin Gaye secretly went to Jamaica to rework some of his greatest hits. Better than the original, believe!
(Mp3) (MySpace)

22. CSS VS TOM TOM CLUB - Let’s Make Love (Streetlife DJ’s Rappinhood Remix)
“Callin’ me high on the telephone, came by plane, all alone, spend the afternoon making a speech, speech made you nervous that you couldn’t eat”
This mash-up works so well you’d swear there was some freaky time-travel involved in it’s creation. These two records were born to be bootlegged together.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

23. THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER - In The Garden
“But then as soon as we did take a bite, I’m feeling tense and something was not quite right, I turned to Eve and said what have we done, she said, she don’t know but it feels so wrong”
The bass on this Phychobilly monster is of Biblical proportions which is lucky because the lyric concerns the temptation of Adam & Eve. Thank Lucifer TEMBD are back to shake up the music scene… roll on the new album.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

24. MR HUDSON & THE LIBRARY - Too Late, Too Late
“Why must I always play the clown, it makes it too easy for them to put you down”
A perfect fusion of Reggae, Jazz, Soul and Pop with a great rumbling Bass line and tinkling Steel-Drums.
(Buy Record) (YouTube) (MySpace)

25. THE HOT PUPPIES - King Of England
“How dare you sharpen your claws, with the word, with the word of God, is this really how the west got won, by throwing ashes out in a snowstorm, I wanna creep, I wanna creep and crawl, where the thoroughbred won’t tread, where the papers don’t get shred, and where the new Apollo’s not dead”
Frighteningly intelligent, witty Punk-Funk-Indie-Pop. If The Hot Puppies can produce a whole album at this level of creativity, world domination becons.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

26. OPERATOR PLEASE - Just A Song About Ping Pong
“I got my, got my, got my, got my, racket in hand, not leaving till I play, don’t think you understand, with that dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty, look on your face, I bet you know beef jerky has an after-taste… go!”
‘Just A Song About Ping Pong’ has all the Punk-Rock vim of Be Your Own Pet but with a vocal so fast you could technically call it Rap.
(Buy Record) (Buy Digital) (YouTube) (MySpace)

27. DAVID E. SUGAR - I Still Like Your Clothes
“Even though you screw up, I still like your clothes, I like your look”
Genius steals… blah blah blah. David E. Sugar is the genius in question and the subject of the theft is the riff from ‘Smoke On The Water’. Deep Purple go Disco… holy mother of god this rocks!
(Buy Record) (MySpace)

28. PASE ROCK - So Fucking Disco
“I’m so fuckin’ Disco, motherfucka I’m doing fine, they pilled me up and burned me 1979, I’m so fuckin’ Disco, motherfucka I’m doing fine, I turned myself into Hip-Hop in 1979″
As yet unreleased, but I’ll be throwing money at the guy behind the recordstore counter when this comes out. All the flavour of LCD Soundsystem with added Hip-Hop juice.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

29. HOT CLUB DE PARIS - You Can Call Me Al
“He looks around, around, he sees angels in the architecture, spinning in infinity, he says Amen! and Hallelujah!”
If Hot Club De Paris can improve upon Paul Simon’s original then surely they’re capable of anything. A simple no-nonsense cover extracting every drop of fun from this celebrated composition. The thinking man’s Indie band.
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30. ARCTIC MONKEYS (FEAT. DIZZEE RASCAL) - Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend
“I don’t ever want to hate you, it’s not part of the plan, so keep your charm where I can’t see it, and your hands where I can”
‘Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend’ takes an honoured place among the pantheon of great Rock/Rap hybrids. The best thing both acts have done in a while and this was left on the B-side.
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31. AKALA - Comedy Tragedy History
“Wise is the man that knows he’s a fool, tempt not a desperate man with a jewel, why take from Peter to go and pay Paul, some rise by sin and by virtue fall”
Akala Raps the works of Shakespeare at breakneck speed over a Gypsy-Electro beat. Pure insanity and pure bliss.
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32. THE HAT - Open Hearts
“Solid like a drummer’s snare, strong like Tupperware, now dancing round like Fred Astaire, and if I get it right by next year, I’ll probably be a millionaire”
Distinctively odd vocalists trade lines over a bizarre yet catchy blend of Gypsy, Indie, Hip-Hop and Jazz.
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33. JARVIS - The Loss Adjuster
“Now we’ll all be gone by Monday morning, this is it, your final warning, you never did see Dog Day Afternoon”
A true epic relegated to the B-side about what you might do if the world was about to end. You could well spend your last minutes sampling Jarvis Cocker’s delightfully rambling narrative and consider it time well spent
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34. ARCADE FIRE - Keep The Car Running
“There’s a fear I keep so deep, knew it’s name, just before I could speak”
I’m still not entirely sold on Arcade Fire’s second album but from the first second I adored the unrelenting beat of ‘Keep The Car Running’. Paranoia never sounded so appealing.
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35. LINDA THOMPSON - Versatile Heart
“Was the screw worth turning, was the bridge worth burning, you so and so, on your high moral ground, worth less than the pound, and your halo”
The brass-band on ‘Versatile Heart’ warms you up like a whiskey on a cold night. The strings, Guitars and of course Linda’s gorgeous vocals are damn fine too.
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36. SKEEWIFF (FEAT. YOUNG MC) - Bump Bump
“No doubt if yer ready, we’re gonna rock it steady, and have the party jumpin’ from here to the Serengeti, your body will be sweaty, from movin’ around, but you know it’s gonna happen when we’re puttin’ it down”
‘Bump Bump’ is all summer vibes, party beats and crowd pleasing rhymes. It’ll bring a big smile to your face.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

37. LUKE TOMS - Peace By Myself
“It’s the darkness I hate, alone and afraid, you being here helps a bit, she sits, but that’s not enough for her”
‘Peace By Myself’ is an achingly delicate Piano ballad that’s both intimate and hauntingly beautiful. Oooh feel the chills when he delivers the above line.
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38. HOLY HAIL - Born Of A Star
“Touch not shattered, attacked on the matter, and the congregation hastened to keep me on the ladder”
‘Born Of A Star’ is certainly for fans of CSS but vocalist Cat’s rap takes it to another level.
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39. THE DINING ROOMS - Thank You? (Skwerl’s Ungrateful Love Mix)
“My son went to war in the name of peace, I hope you’ve seen he’s a hero, because he gave his life for freedom, so I suppose I should say thank you, once again”
Hypnotic and chilling anti-war house anthem perfected on Skwerl’s Remix.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

40. PARTY BEN - Galvanize The Empire
“And you shouldn’t even care, ’bout those losers in the air, and their crooked stares”
‘Galvanize The Empire’ combines two of my favourite things, The Chemical Brothers and ‘Star Wars’ in one glorious whole. I’ve spent quite some time mentally editing footage from Star Wars to fit the music.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

41. THE DRAYTONES - Keep Loving Me
“You keep coming back for more, until I tell you stop-ah, don’t want you anymore”
‘Keep Loving Me’ is the definition of 60s retro, with brutal Drums and raw, fuzzy Guitars worthy of Garage-Rock maestros The Sonics.
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42. [RE:JAZZ] - People Hold On
“Everybody’s looking for a meaning, everybody’s doing their own thing, and nobody’s solving the problem, ain’t nobody helping each other”
[Re:Jazz] have recorded an exquisitely minimal Jazz/Soul take on Coldcut & Lisa Stansfield’s 1988 protest song.
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43. THE ANOMALIES - Employee Of The Month
“You can’t be certain, which bar I’m lurkin’, I’m employee of the month, ’cause I’m the hardest workin’”
‘Employee Of The Month’ is a mix of everything from Jazz and Latin to Hip-Hop and Soul with a fantastic Rhumba break in the middle.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

44. MILK KAN (FEAT. DOLLY PARTON) - Here Ya Come Again & Again
“The night is dark, he’ll keep it low key, the moon smirks, whilst the stars spit on me”
Milk Kan takes a lesser known Dolly Parton gem and throws it into the gutter with new lyrics about drug dealing. Go check out the majestic Dolly original too.
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45. THE GO! TEAM - Grip Like A Vice
“The blast from the past, superb in every word, super female rockin’, just the best you’ve heard, I make the brothers sweat, cos I keep their bodies hot, it’s a woman’s world, you gotta give it what ya got”
Mad Drums worthy of Keith Moon combine with The Go! Teams ear for a great sample and superb skills on the mike.
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46. MR BENN (FEAT. SOULS LIBERATION) - The Jump
“We entertain wid unity, love and da peace, so the vibes that we carry, shall surely increase, give thanks and praises to the most high and we sing this-a song while we look up to the sky”
A summery slice of feel-good, party-starting, Jamaican flavour Hip-Hop.
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47. TAGGY MATCHER - Rapoors Delaaght
“How dare you ever try to step on my suede shoes, top Gun shut down your firm like Tom Cruise, please let me get down and blow a fuse, actin’ fools, breakin’ shit down to molecules”
An incredible mashup of Busta Rhymes’ ‘Woo Hah!’ and a Reggae take on ‘Rapper’s Delight’.
(Mp3)

48. GRINDERMAN - Honey Bee (Let’s Fly To Mars)
“Cancer, rabies, S.A.R.S, hairy beards and hurtling stars, won’t somebody touch me?”
‘Honey Bee (Let’s Fly To Mars)’ is one of the best things Nick Cave’s ever done. 21st century paranoia soundtracked by roaring Guitars and maniacal Organs.
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49. THE RUMBLE STRIPS - Motorcycle
“But it’s all just a dream, I’m actually moving quite slowly, the air is nice and clean, but my bicycle seat is so lonely”
The Rumble Strips turn one of the best demos of yesteryear into one of the most perfectly produced, tightest, exciting and thrilling singles released in recent memory.
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50. THE WORLD DOMINATION Vs ADAM SKY - Galactic Lover (Version 1)
“Walk the Milky-Way with me, you’ll be infinitely mine, there’s as many stars in my cosmos, as there’s things for us to do, you know you’re in love when I put my… tentacles around you”
Ludicrously repetitive but when you’ve got a beat as good as this, who needs variety. The mental lyrics (Concerning a sex crazed astronaut) are awesome too.
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51. PRINCE - Guitar
“Gettin’ dirty at the club again, use it round your waist like a chain, but then, I got the call, so I jumped in my car, I love you baby, but not like I love my Guitar!”
You could call it Prince-By-Numbers but there’s no denying that this song has got one hell of a Riff and one hell of a chorus.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

52. SIMPLY LUKE LEIGHFIELD - The Rain Will Come Again
“I woke up this morning, saw another of those days of ambitions destroyed and hopes washed away, I woke up this morning and I prayed for rain, to brighten up monotony and help me live again”
A huge ‘Purple Rain’ style, life-affirming Indie epic from Luke Leighfield.
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53. KORMAC - Scratch Marchin’
“One of the most original and unusual acts you’ll ever see, particularly on a record album”
A cunning blend of dusty old 78s, a whole load of scratchin’ and erm.. Kermit The Frog. Your Grandad and Grandson will both love this.
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54. EDITORS - Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors (Acoustic Version)
“I can’t shake this feeling I’ve got, my dirty hands, have I been in the wars, the saddest thing that I’d ever seen, was smokers outside the hospital doors”
I found Editor’s second album to be a touch overblown in the production department. I don’t want too much clutter to obscure Tom Smith’s operatic tones, so I love this atmospheric acoustic track. You could here an atom drop at 3.05.
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55. BEVERLEY KNIGHT - Black Butta
“Got me excited, my fuses have blown, you got me delighted now, don’t leave me alone, you got me ignited, I’m ready to blow!”
I’ve been waiting years for Bev to record some records as good as her live appearances. ‘Black Butta’ is a roaring, funky and totally sexy performance that’d put most of the old Soul legends to shame.
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56. Hot Chip - Shake A Fist
“I’m ready to try this, I move underwater, there’s so much to see here, I eat what I slaughter”
Cramed full of countless vocal hooks and more ideas than a quantum physics dissertation.
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57. KINGS OF LEON - Fans
“Oh the London scene, cos England’s the Queen, who makes you love the tales I breathe, those rainy days they ain’t so bad when you’re the King, the King they want to see”
Kings Of Leon keep coming up with the goods, album, after album. Caleb Followill’s vocal is as wonderfully incomprehensible as usual and the yelping bits make it sound like somebody jabbing a pin into his eyeball.
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58. MARVIN THE MARTIAN Vs CALVIN HARRIS - Acceptable In The 80s
“Before Bobby and Whitney were out gettin’ high, passin’ the Dutchie on the left hand side, Eddie Murphy couldn’t be too rude, language colourful as Rubic’s Cubes”
Calvin came up with a great beat but did little with it. The legendary Marv saves the day by adding a whole new nostalgic Rap.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

59. YEAH YEAH YEAHS - Down Boy
“I’ll stand kind of pushed, kind of bent, on this heavy land, I’ll stand for the sake of my friends”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs second album was a disappointment. The EP that followed was anything but, as violent, sexy and exhilarating as the first time you heard Karen O screech.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

60. THE PAN I AM - The Final Ecstasy Of Jeremiah Ghost
“I’ve evacuated my friendship, with understanding, my soapy life is a dish rag, of acid vapour”
The demise of Larrikin Love was very sad but if Ed Larrikin comes up with more songs as good as this for his new project… who really cares.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

61. THE HEAVY - That Kind Of Man
“I been thinkin’ ’bout our love, show me something, cos what you give is not enough”
Heavier than heavy Led Zeppelin music meets sweeter than sweet Curtis Mayfield vocals. A winning combination.
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62. LACK OF AFRO - Spooky
“Instrumental”
The brilliant Lack Of Afro do a vibrant take on the Dusty Springfield Organ led classic, adding brutal Drums to the mix.
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63. BOBBY CONN - King For A Day
“A drunken face in terrycloth, unzips the front and takes it off, I guess your scars just turn me off, I’d rather be alone”
‘King For A Day’ is an eerie, oddly unsettling and subtlety funky record.
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64. MANIC STREET PREACHERS - 1404
“If R. S. Thomas was compulsory, and Saunders Lewis was for free, Owain Glyndwr our history, and Dylan kept the memories, but 1404 got left behind, and we were trapped and stuck in time”
The new MSP album had great singles and even better B-sides. This beautiful acoustic song about Welsh nationalism is the best of them.
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65. LOS CAMPESINOS! - It Started With A Mixx
“Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and Pop, some crappy artwork that took way, way to long to draw”
I loved ‘It Started With A Mixx’ the instant I heard it a year ago. A punk edge, a Pop punch and a delightfully childish sense of fun.
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66. JENS LEKMAN - Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo
“I want the people in the country to be open and kind, but most times they met us with a narrow mind, with the big black dog to bite your behind, if they ever find out you’re not one of their kind”
Like Acker Bilk covering ‘All Time High’ with Belle & Sebastian thrown in to the mix.
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67. JAMES YORKSTON - Woozy With Cider
“I Watch the park quieten from the hotel window, I hear you softly sleep amongst the cars and saluting songbirds”
A thoughtful, personal and self-deprecating spoken-word piece from James Yorkston.
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68. BLOC PARTY - I Still Remember
“And our love could have soared over playgrounds and rooftops, every park bench screams your name, I kept your tie, I’d have gone wherever you wanted, I still remember”
I’m not a big fan of the slicker sound on Bloc Party’s second album but there’s no denying the anthemic majesty, yet intimate beauty of this single.
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69. NOAH & THE WHALE - 5 Years Time
“Oh well in five years time, we could be walking round a zoo, with the sun shining down over me and you, and there’ll be love in the bodies of the Elephants too, and I’ll put my hands over your eyes but you’ll peak through”
The best use of whistling on a record since last years ‘Young Folks’. Quivering Strings, Ukuleles and Flutes combine to make charmingly odd Pop.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

70. THE VIEW - Same Jeans
“I’ve had the same jeans on for four days now, I’m gonna go to a disco in the middle of the town, everybody’s dressing up, I’m dressing down”
Like Nirvana covering ‘Brimful Of Asha’. It’s Kyle Falconer’s slurred and exhilarating vocals that get me. Listen to him suddenly yelp “Amazed!” at 2.10.
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71. RICHARD HAWLEY - Vickers Road
“Do you remember Fridays and the pop wagon, sold by dodgy lads fresh out of prison, it was s’posed to last us all through the week, we’d drink it all in one night, then we couldn’t get to sleep”
I found the overblown production on Richard’s new album obscured some fine songs. This wonderfully understated and nostalgic B-side doesn’t have that problem.
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72. MURDER MYSTERY - Love Astronaut
“I’m the captain of a ship, boy an astronaut in space, travelling the universe, and searchin’ for a pretty face, I’ve been looking on high, checkin’ below the lows, but the only thing I find is myself still alone”
Surely this would be a hit if they gave it a major release in the UK. It’s glorious repetitive Bass laded Pop fun.
(Mp3) (YouTube) (MySpace)

73. LARRIKIN LOVE - Good Luck
“We arranged to meet black suited, at a quarter past seven, I was inexperienced, due to living in Devon”
Sadly it was to be Larrikin Love’s last recorded output but boy did they go out on a high with this lyrically twisting complete remake of an Alterkicks single.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

74. ANONYMOUS TWIST - Respect That
“Respect due if you’re down for the cause, the effect worth more than applause”
Sounds every bit as good as Jurassic 5 which of course makes it essential Funky Rap.
(Mp3) (MySpace)

75. ABDOMINAL - Pedal Pusher
“Don’t contest the champ with consecutive wins, clockwise wheel motion, like a record it spins̶