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.

How Can It Feel This Wrong?

A stunning new version of Roads, performed by Portishead in support of Together For Palestine.

Filmed at the Cube Microplex in Bristol and posted the day that the festering sore on the backside of humanity left the UK.

Thank you, Beth, Geoff and Adrian.

At The Tiny Desk, Beth Knows Best, Better Than All The Rest

Beth Gibbons and full band performing a Tiny Desk Concert in May. I've been playing this again and again since, and keep finding new things to experience. 

"Beth Gibbons' voice can cleave your heart in half and heal it back together," writes Lars Gotrich in the introduction. "Gibbons' frail, yet resilient timbre acts as reassurance that our aching world is worth loving and fighting for. To experience that voice is humbling; up close, it's breathtaking."

If I were one of the band, I think I would struggle to play because my spine was tingling so much.

Four sublime, superb performances that may bring a tear to your eye.

And stay right to the end, when Beth responds to the outpouring of love from the enraptured audience. 

Magical.

0:12 Tell Me Who You Are Today 4:22 Floating On A Moment 9:57 Lost Changes 15:47 Mysteries

When You Don't Have Anything Left, She's Got The Music

Almost a month through 2025 already and although there's a lot of incoming new music to be excited about, I'm still immersing myself in the albums and singles that I bought last year.

Today's selection therefore is wall-to-wall 2024 and back-to-back female voices. So many to choose from, I did an entire selection as part of my end of year round up and here are 11 more.

I got the albums by Jane Weaver and Beth Gibbons relatively late in the day, so I'm continuing to discover more about them on each listen. Others, like Ibibio Sound Machine, Xan Tyler and Jo Bartlett, I've had for some while and played and played and played them.

Isobel Campbell delivered two for the price of one, with Bow To Love available on shiny disc with a French language counterpart, Place à l'Amour. I can't choose between them, I love them both.

Of the tons of great singles and EPs out last year, the Blueprints Revisited EP by Ammonite aka Amy Spencer was a welcome discovery via a remix she did for David Holmes. David reciprocates on the EP, though I've opted here for a lovely remix by South Korean duo Salamanda aka Uman (Jimin Sung) and Yetsuby (Yejin Jang).

Anzu by C.A.R. was already a favourite in both its original version and GLOK remix by Andy Bell. Then Sean Johnston came along and delivered a couple of Hardway Bros remixes that blew the bloody doors off.

There were also a couple of international musical pairings for one-off singles that grabbed my attention. Björk (Iceland) teamed up with Rosalía (Spain) for Oral, remixed by Olof Dreijer (Sweden). Meanwhile, Tanya Donelly (USA) collaborated with Gabi Lima (Brazil) on the rousing Golden Cut. 

I've been listening to a lot of Tanya's music since I posted about her last August, revisiting her back catalogue and catching up with her 21st century music. She really is an incredible songwriter and performer.

If any of these take your fancy, click on the album/single title and buy, buy, buy!

1) Motif: Jane Weaver (Love In Constant Spectacle)

2) When You Don't (Salamanda Remix): Ammonite (Blueprints Revisited EP)

3) Reste Calme, Suis Ta Voie: Isobel Campbell (Bow To Love/Place à l'Amour (ltd 2x CD))

4) Golden Cut: Tanya Donelly & Gabi Lima (Golden Cut EP)

5) She's Got The Music: Jo Bartlett (Ghost Tapes 1 To 9)

6) Ziggy: Xan Tyler (Holding Up Half The Sky)

7) Anzu (Hardway Bros Remix): C.A.R. (Anzu EP)

8) Dejalo: Charlotte & Reinhard (Guardian Of Sleep EP)

9) Oral (Olof Dreijer Remix): Björk ft. Rosalía (Oral EP)

10) Touch The Ceiling: Ibibio Sound Machine (Pull The Rope)

11) Lost Changes: Beth Gibbons (Lives Outgrown)

When You Don't Have Anything Left, She's Got The Music (45:30) (KF) (Mega)

It Just Reminds Us That All We Have, All We Have Is Here And Now

Beth Gibbons (and band), live in Paris. Bloody hell.

 

0:00     Tell Me Who You Are Today 4:05     Burden Of Life 7:42     Floating On A Moment 13:07     Rewind 18:10     For Sale 22:30    Mysteries 26:00    Lost Changes 31:32     Oceans 35:23    Beyond The Sun 39:32    Reaching Out

 

Performed for ARTE Concert at Salle Ovale, Bibliothèque Nationale De France, Paris, 8th July 2024.

 

Performed by

Beth Gibbons

James Ellis Ford (Simian, uber producer)

Eoin Rooney (Oh800, ABBA Voyage)

Howard Jacobs (Homelife, 808 State)

Emma Smith (The Sumacs, JARV IS...)

Jason Hazeley-Smith (Ben & Jason, Gabrielle)

Tom Herbert (Acoustic Ladyland, Alabaster DePlume)

Richard Jones (Ligeti Quartet, The Waeve)

 

All songs from Lives Outgrown (2024), except Mysteries, originally on Out Of Season by Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man (2002).

 

Just beautiful. 

Triptych

I couldn't decide which to post, so here's three new(ish) singles and videos from Arab Strap, Depeche Mode and Beth Gibbons all at once.

 

First up, it's Aidan Moffat, Malcolm Middleton and gang with Strawberry Moon from the upcoming - and brilliantly titled - album I'm totally fine with it 👍don't give a fuck anymore Vampires, werewolves, Aidan as a priest on a mobility scooter with "I 💔 Jesus" bumper sticker...my favourite video of the three. Sadly, another band that I will have to miss live this time around due to the embarrassment of pre-festival gigs landing locally during May but I'm looking forward to hearing the album when it's released on 10th May.

 

Unless I blinked and missed it, no sign of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore in the video for Depeche Mode's People Are Good, the umpteenth single from last year's Memento Mori album, which I still haven't bought...call myself a fan?! Anton Corbijn is credited as creative director and the video itself is directed by Rich Hall, not the taciturn American polymath but a London based creator working with Riff Riff Films. All the Corbijn characteristics are there, but it's an interesting, narrative-based departure from the Mode videos I'm more familiar with. The song's pretty good too, though I'm less excited by the slew of remixes accompanying the single release.

 

Finally, and the newest of the lot, is a second preview of Beth Gbbons' solo album with Reaching Out. This is least engaging video for me, reminiscent (possibly intentionally) of the visuals that the Future Sound Of London and the like were producing 30-odd years ago. There is an interactive version too, which didn't do a lot for me either to be honest. However, the music and Beth's voice are just breathtaking. I'd love to see the movie that this is the theme song to.

Beth's album, Lives Outgrown, is out on 17th May. That's 36 days if, like me, you're counting.

Floating On A Moment

I remembered too late that Mrs. K had changed our internet provider and as a consequence we’d have no service this morning whilst it was switching over. 

Using my phone to draft and publish posts is never a great idea, but needs must. Thankfully, Beth Gibbons has come to the rescue by releasing this beautiful single and video at the weekend.

 

Normal service will resume tomorrow.

How Many More Days Can We Take In The Hope Of Seeing You?

Belated happy birthdays to Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man aka Paul Webb. 

 

Beth celebrated her 59th on 4th January, Paul his 62nd on 16th January. Both were key players in seminal albums by Portishead and Talk Talk respectively, but when they collaborated on the 2003 album Out Of Season...bloody hell, it was magic. Sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them live in concert but TooYube has come to the rescue again, courtesy of the mighty Mike Armstrong, who has generously shared this gig from the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland on Saturday 26th July 2003.

 

Prepare to shed some tears at the sheer beauty of it all.

 

0:00:00 Mysteries

0:04:39 Romance

0:10:20 Drake

0:15:02 Resolve

0:18:40 Spider Monkey

0:24:22 Tom The Model

0:29:09 Sand River (Autumn Leaves)

0:34:24 Funny Time Of Year

0:45:15 Candy Says (Cover of The Velvet Underground)

0:50:36 Show

 

[bonus tracks]

0:59:31 Tom The Model (Later...With Jools Holland, 2nd October 2002) 

1:03:19 Mysteries (Later...With Jools Holland, 2nd October 2002)

Paul has released two further albums as Rustin Man, Drift Code (2019) and Clockdust (2020), both available via his website.

Beth returned with Krzysztof Penderecki and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2019. Their collaboration was a singular reading of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs) Op. 36, again available via her website.

 

The impact of both on music and its possibilities is hugely, hugely underrated. I'll be coming back to both of them during 2024, I promise.

 

And Out Of Season wasn't the first time they'd worked together either: Beth appeared on the song Jalap in 1997. It was a track from Fields And Waves, the second album by .O.Rang aka Lee Harris and Paul Webb. Now .O.Rang is deserving of a post all by themselves....

Black Swan To Blue Mountain

Bristol on the mix: Easton to Stokes Croft in seven steps.

 

1) Black Steel (In The Draw Mix By Substance) (Cover of Public Enemy): Tricky (1995)

2) Love Will Be On Your Side (Massive Attack Tabla Remix): Indo Animata (1996)

3) Roads (Monk & Canatella Remix): Portishead (2009)

4) Distorted Angel (Remix By Tricky): Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1996)

5) Spooned (Smith & Mighty Dusk Mix): Coldfeet (2001)

6) Burning (RSD aka Rob Smith Remix): Kakhand ft. Sizzla (2013)

7) Nefisa (Portishead Mix): Earthling (1995)

Black Swan To Blue Mountain (37:06)