33_Borrowed_Beats_November_08_Edition - Shaken & Stirred

Apologies for the late arrival of this months podcast folks, I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinkin’ this last few weeks setting up my own business and just generally being man about town. You know how its. If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.

Shaken and Stirred  is not a James Bond inspired theme I’m afraid. It’s a collection of classics either remixed or hacked  to pieces, depending on your point of view. You’ll find some unexpected tracks here with everyone from Elvis, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones each taking turn to surprise.

Normal TJZ service will resume now, with weview, interviews and exclusives all on the way. Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience.

G

25_Borrowed_Beats_February_08_Edition - Top tracks of 2007

We’ve waved 2007 off, shed a tear and wandered back to the short term car park. January is too soon to reminisce, it’s only just left. February, on the other hand, seems like a good time to look back at some fond memories.

This month I though it would be good to feature some of the best tracks of 2007 from albums that won’t make it on to any top ten lists. (Yes, the triplejaysus.com list is on its way.) So settle back and enjoy an hour of some of the best overlooked or under appreciated tracks of 2007, featuring some remixed favourites and some obscure ‘where do you get this stuff ‘gems.

Enjoy,

G

Ween - La Cucaracha

Gene and Dean Ween are two talented guys. Their 2007 album, La Cucaracha, takes you through polka, lounge, blues roots and indie rock. From one track to the next, you could be forgiven for thinking it was different bands. The one thing that links each track is the musicianship, and the abundance of hooks. But, as those who know me will testify, it’s the lyrics that get me every time.

‘The Party’ is a Chris Rea / Kenny G muzak tribute that drips with such cruel, cruel irony that it makes me wish I’d written it. Silky smooth guitar and beats are the velvet curtain behind a ’sex in the city’ saxaphone that noodles perfectly around beautifully delivered lyrics like ‘We had the best time at your party. The wife and I thank you very much”.  Caustic perfection. I love it.

And the back-handed compliments keep coming. ‘Object’ is a love song with more than slightly twisted lyrics. ” I love you better, I love you forever. You’re just an object to me.” The bass line and fuzzbox guitar gently lull you, and before you know it you’re singing “You’re just a piece of meat, and I am a butcher..”. What’s more, you’re singing it like you mean it.

If you haven’t heard of Ween, or don’t have this album, I highly recommend it. It’s an awakening.

THINK: Kings of Leon with Frank Black Lyrics
WATCH: The Party Live
READ: Ween’s homepage or myspace
BUY: La Cucaracha at amazon

The Berg Sans Nipple - Along The Quai

“The Berg Sans Nipple are an indie rock band from Nebraska and Paris, consisting of (but not limited to) Lori Sean Berg and Shane Aspegren.” Everything you read about Berg Sans Nipple has that sentence in it. I mean EVERYTHING! And you’d be pushed to find anything else written about these guys or their album, Along the Quai. Released in January on Team Love Records it seemed to sink without a trace. Only through the power of the interweb did I come across them.

I suppose it makes sense that the sort of guys who make music like this aren’t the sort to shout about it from the hill tops. And that’s a great shame, because Along the Quai is a beautifully percussive album. They prove that bongos aren’t the devils work. My hippy-hating girlfriend almost had me convinced otherwise. I haven’t told her there’s a Glockenspeil and cow bells in there too. But don’t let these words scare you – have a listen to the title track  and ‘Of the song’ below, and hear for yourself – this aint no stinkin’ hippy music.

The deeply distorted vocals are used sparingly, almost enough to consider this an instrumental album. I think the samples and loops have enough grain to retain the feeling of having been handled. It’s wonderfully arganic in sound and texture. Do you buy that? It’s true, but I can’t help think that I’ve oversold my credability with that one sentence.

Along the Quai won’t change the world, but it will make a sunny Sunday seem perfect.

THINK: Propellorheads with guitars, Tortoise with chunky beats.

READ: The Berg Sans Nipple myspace

WATCH: A funky live performance complete with instrument swapping

LISTEN: You can stream the whole album here

BUY: Along the Quai from saddle-creek

Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero

The latest Nine Inch Nails studio album is titled Year Zero and was released on April 17, 2007. It is a concept album that describes Reznor’s forecast of “how the United States government’s current policies will impact the world fifteen years in the future.”

Riiiight. Concept album. You mean like Mellon Collie & the Infinate Sadness? Cause at least half of that album ROCKED! Nope, this is Trent Reznor  we’re dealing with here – so if it is a concept album, the concept will be fleshed out and explored.  Maybe this quote is a better clue: “The term ‘marketing’ sure is a frustrating one for me at the moment. What you are now starting to experience IS ‘year zero’. It’s not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a record - it IS the art form… and we‘re just getting started. Hope you enjoy the ride.“  Man, he was not wrong.

Most folks round these parts will whack the disc in their player and never explore the world of Year Zero further, and with respect to them, the review will limit itself to the elpee in question. But if you would like to explore this immersive world, read this post carefully.

Running 16 tracks long, YZ is a return to form for NIN. Trent runs out of disc space before he runs out of ideas, and that’s quite a feat after 18 years of music making.

Me, I’m not (below) and capital g were leaked on USB drives left in bathroom cubicles at concerts prior to the release date together with seemingly random audio and images. Teasers for year zero. (http://) Another version of the truth could be an Aphex twin track, because it certainly isn’t rock.

It would be fair to say that this isn’t a rock record. Nor is it industrial or an electronic record – it’s the fruition of Trent Reznors focused imagination now that he’s looked around rather than his usual rusted self loathing introspection. This album is huge – and getting bigger. Eighteen years on he’s still at it, still convincing, still relevant- and still no-one else sounds like this.

THINK: It’s NIN, it’s not going to sound like anyone else…

READ: NIN’s homepage and myspace, or Trent’s blog

WATCH: The Survavalism Clip

BUY: Year Zero at allofmp3.com