Stuff

Today's selection revisits the territory of last November's Scarlet Villagers post, in that it's another dive into a CD-R of ripped albums gifted by my friend John circa early 2010. Titled Stuff, the package contained three discs of, well, stuff, some of which I hadn't heard before.

I've pulled together a 10-track selection from disc 2, running order is exactly the same as how the albums were presented on the CD-R, with the exception of opening artist Bat For Lashes, who returns to provide the closing track.  All of the songs date from 2009, apart from the Regina Spektor song, from 2002 but presented to me on Stuff via her 2005 compilation Mary Ann Meets The Gravediggers And Other Short Stories.

Other welcome new discoveries courtesy of Stuff were Here We Go Magic and God Help The Girl, respectively featuring Luke Temple and Stuart Murdoch, The Decemberists, The Invisible and the wonderful soundtrack to Where The Wild Things Are, courtesy of Karen O & The Kids.

 

I was already familiar with - and a fan of - Ladyhawke and Sébastien Tellier, less familiar with Regina Spektor but liked what I'd heard. All in all, it was a pretty solid collection and I hope the selection gives a flavour of this and encourages you to dig out your own copies of the albums, or hunt them down if you don't have them.

As before, John's self-produced sleeve only hints at the very talented comic artist and letterer that he is.

 

1) Pearl's Dream (Album Version): Bat For Lashes (2009)

2) Everything's Big: Here We Go Magic (2009)

3) Musician, Please Take Heed: God Help The Girl (2009)

4) Heads Up: Karen O & The Kids (2009)

5) Dusk Till Dawn (Album Version): Ladyhawke (2008) 

6) Consequence Of Sounds: Regina Spektor (2002)

7) Look: Sébastien Tellier (2008)

8) The Hazards Of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle The Thistles Undone): The Decemberists (2009)

9) Climate: The Invisible (2009)

10) Siren Song (Album Version): Bat For Lashes (2009) 

 

2002: Songs: 6

2008: Ladyhawke: 5 

2008: Sexuality: 7

2009: God Help The Girl: 3 

2009: The Hazards Of Love: 8

2009: Here We Go Magic: 2 

2009: The Invisible: 9

2009: Two Suns: 1, 10

2009: Where The Wild Things Are OST: 4

 

Stuff (Disc 2) (42:52) (KF) (Mega)

 

Scarlet Villagers available here

Who Fans The Flames?

Some Underworld, to help clear the Easter (egg) excess. I've been sorting out my CD collection, with a view to selling and/or donating a sizeable chunk. I've amassed quite a number of music magazine freebie and promo CDs over the years and, by default, a fair few artists are significantly represented across the various compilations.Without being a series as such, this has provided for the springboard for several upcoming selections including this one.

No surprise really to find that Underworld has frequently cropped up on music magazine promos, often end of year 'best of' collections, whether Jockey Slut, Mojo, Muzik or Select. Collecting all of the ones I had (7), I dropped a similar number of randomly picked Underworld songs into a "long list" and then compiled a (nearly) hour long selection. 

 

In the end, only 3 magazine promo tracks made the final 8-song track list. Mo Move and Luetin are the opening and closing tracks from A Hundred Days Off, an album I don't have and am otherwise largely ignorant of. Likewise, 2019's Schiphol Test, which formed part of Underworld's ambitious Drift project, begun in 2018 and hailed both as a huge success and a stunning return to form for Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. I like the track very much but to my shame, still haven't investigated further. The full CD+Blu Ray box set is available on Discogs and will currently set you back around £100, including shipping.

The remaining songs include the only version I own of Diamond Jigsaw, which I got as a free download from the RCRD LBL website. It's an instrumental remix of the track by The Invisible aka Dave Okumu, Tom Herbert & Leo Taylor and apparently one of nine versions, including the original, featured on the album Barking, another one that I don't own.

 

In fact, the only Underworld album I do have is Dubnobasswithmyheadman, which was their first as a trio with Darren Emerson and a hell of a statement of intent. I've featured the downtempo Tongue here and whilst the album edit of Cowgirl was the one that featured on Muzik magazine's Best Of Dance compilation back in 1997, I went for the Irish Pub In Kyoto Mix instead, as I prefer it. Likewise, I think Darren Price's remix of Push Upstairs is superior to the Beaucoup Fish album version.

 

Last but not least, and second track in the selection, is Underworld's contribution to the soundtrack of 2000 film The Beach, directed by Danny Boyle and based on the novel by Alex Garland. I haven't seen the film for a long time but there's no denying that the album is a great selection of songs and artists. The Underworld track 8 Ball does not disappoint.

1) Diamond Jigsaw (The Invisible Instrumental) (2011)

2) 8 Ball (2000)

3) Tongue (1994)

4) Cowgirl (Irish Pub In Kyoto Mix) (1994)

5) Mo Move (2002)

6) Push Upstairs (Darren Price Remix) (1999)

7) Schiphol Test (2019)

8) Luetin (2002)

1994: Cowgirl EP: 4

1994: Dubnobasswithmyheadman: 3 

1999: Push Upstairs EP: 6

2000: The Beach OST: 2 

2002: A Hundred Days Off: 5, 8

2011: Diamond Jigsaw EP: 1

2019: Drift Series 1: Sampler Edition: 7

 

Who Fans The Flames? (58:58) (KF) (Mega)