Alright already ! What is with all this 'short and sweet as I can make it' and 'I really did try and keep this short' nonsense ?! You two need to revel in the written word I feel. Sometimes some extra perspective or a bit of a preamble make for a better read I always find, although whether that is the case here I'll let you be the judge of. I do like a word or two as we know, and as the propensity for me to ramble on could hit at any time I'd better leave some room for that later and get a crack on with the job at hand for the final time in DHS 10...
Sully:
MacArthur Park - is this a piss-take ? The lyrics are just non-sensical, and you say Diana Ross covered it... surely a jest, there is literally no way I can imagine her singing those words. Is this really in your top ten or is this entire selection a piss-take ? You strange, strange man....
If You Could Read My Mind - Disco has to be very good to get me interested im afraid and this just isnt, some of the strings and the piano are ok, but the rest just leaves me fairly cold.
Helplessly - Now this is much much better, definitely a good disco record - great arrangement, especially the vocals - the bridge is top-notch and there is plenty of variation. Great voice too. Good shit.
May I - Hmmm, can see why its never really made it onto your lists, there isnt really much to it is there ? I know you like stuff like this, but I dont really get why. There's nothing wrong with it, but it just doesnt register with me at all.
Spake Katzle - This is easily your best selection this time for me, straight on my list and many listens it has had too. Totally agree with all your comments and I would play this no problem - top tune.
Hodge:
Here Comes the Sun - wow this is pretty deep deep house isnt it ? Like it, has a real atmosphere to it and in the right circumstance would really work well.
Sweet Lies - I have to admit Hodge, your desire to deconstruct things and understand how / why they work loses me at times - you do it a lot with films as well as music. Its just a difference of course, but I never concern myself with the why, just whether or not it does. This is ok for me, I would lose the vocal and that riff gets annoying after a while. Nice strings though. And as for all that other mullarkey, well I'll take your word for it fella...
A Very Different World - This has got Funk D'Void stamped all over it in big letters hasnt it ? Good tune that really comes into its own in the final third, especially with the drop after the break, which is pretty ace in itself.
Opus - Well I certainly cant improve on your description Hodge old boy. The best of your bunch for me (I do enjoy a good string) and it certainly has a moment or two in it. Epic and beautiful.
1000 Lords - Ridiculously huge. Ridiculously. Devastation on any dancefloor if played at the right time - I seem to recall this had people dancing on the tables at Inigo didnt it Kev ? Immense.
A special doff of the cap for a special homage to our creator and founder Ron L... (sorry, wrong meeting) Guru Kev. Very nice and sealed the deal on something very similar I am now going to do, beginning and ending with tracks from the man like Sully:
Immortal Technique 'Dance with the Devil'
I was round at Sully's place and he was playing some hip hop tunes and Ashleigh was knocking about, then told me he had a tune to play me but had to wait until Ash went out - I asked why as there were plenty of f-bombs coming out from the stereo to Ash's ears as it was. Then he played this. Could well be the darkest record ever cut. Lovely use of the tune and some great story-telling, and some decent rhymes. The bit at the end with the reprise is nonsense though. Seminal otherwise.
Guy J 'Lost & Found (Sahar Z& Guy Mantzur remix)'
Finally I can get into this dude, needed a remix to do it though. Much better than the original to these ears, the main part from around 4:40 being the money shot as it were. Its on TOTO2 and is a great builder for a certain kind of mood, with more oomph than the original.
Michael Jackson 'Speed Demon (Nero Remix)'
This is a really good remix of a tune I never thought much of, and neither can I find much by Nero I like either. I'd imagine you really need to know the original to get it, and still might not like it anyway but I really do and its a top bit of a production for my money. Totally marmite.
Emily Sande 'Read All About It, Pt III'
Oh my, what a voice, and this is where it is best used, in a ballad with some amazing lyrics. The piano reminds me of Timbaland's 'Apologize' which is very good, but this is much better. This girl has something special I reckon.
Sigur Ros 'Untitled #3'
Not enough Sigur Ros you say Kev, well best I end with the first Sigur record you ever played me, as part of your 5 track mix for the bedrock board way back when - that had Jenny Miller (Newland) saying it had made her cry on the tube. There is something so simple and so pure about this record. I must have heard this 100+ times easily and like DHS it never diminishes.
To you both my sincere musical respect. Three years, four months and nine hundred records later. That really is quite something and every new update is always among the best emails I ever get.
One Love
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