Apart from live coverage of the summer festivals – what I really detest – the collage radio equivalent of our national radio broadcast system called studio Brussel, fills the air with a really nice laidback late night DJ program every Monday till Thursday.
Some of the best Belgian DJ’s around, likef Fredo & Thang, Smos & Baby Bee, Lefto, Jules X, DJ 4T4, Laston & Geo and Les Frères Deluxe throw the best summertracks in the mix.

Just Give This Radioplayer A Go

Bork, Bork, Bork...

I don’t have a TV so people sometimes ask me what I do instead. All sort of stuff, but I do get my visual thrills every once in awhile or have an occasional potato couch moment.
For instance watching funny banned commercials like this one on youtube. I know the Danish and the Swedish people have some things in common. I’m quite sure that Hygge means something to the Swedes as well, but apparently they don’t care that much for Janteloven at the looks of this video. Or maybe only once a year.

Flaming Homers

On my trip to Copenhagen I listened to some random CD’s that I pulled from my collection. Stuff that I haven’t listened to for a long time. It turned out to be a rather traditional soundtrack which suited very well the nice winding green and yellow rural landscapes that I passed while driving.
I normally listen to more modern, electronic and rather advanced stuff but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know or appreciate the classics or the roots where it all comes from. I really like all kinds of traditional folk music from around the world. It’s always good to know and to cherish the originals. It gives one a sense of history and evolution and besides that it’s most of all great music.

After checking out Mediafire I found this alternative to Box called… Boxstr. I like the prelistening feature from snapshots so that you know what you’re downloading but that’s impossible with Mediafire. Boxstr on the other hand, does the trick.

One collection was an all-star band performing songs from the Stephen Foster's All American songbook. Almost everybody knows these tunes or has heard them in one of the many different versions which exist. Both black and white performers and musicians have played and recorded them over the many years. They’re truly traditional songs and because of that I thought for a long time that they belonged to the public domain, meaning that nobody knew who wrote them. I was wrong. I learned that a lot of these tunes were written by one and same person called Stephen Foster in the mid 19th century. Before and during the Civil War.

He was really ahead of his time being an independent songwriter trying to make a living out of purely written music in a time which practically knew no copy write laws but most of all for mixing and transforming the many vulgar rural musical styles of settlers and slaves into popular tunes for the entire nation. They became the soundtrack of an era and gave way to practically all of the present American music. Many call it the trunk of the tree of the Great American songbook. Whether its country, bluegrass, gospel or the blues and rock music. Even classic composers as Charles Ives have been influenced by his music. Many of his songs have the solemn grandeur of hymns but still manage to remain true to their ‘plain folk’ origin. Is not that difficult to make great music if one can stand on the shoulder of such giants.

I thought it wasn’t that inappropriate to include this video right here. Since it’s campaigning time and’ all and what better way to do so than with a traditional feel good campfire song.

Beautiful Dreamer – Raul Malo
Slumber My Darling – Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor feat. Alison Krauss
Nelly Was A Lady – Alvin Youngblood Hart
No One To Love – Judith Edelman
Camptown Races – The Duhks
My Old Kentucky Home – John Prine
In The Eye Abides The Heart – Beth Nielsen Chapman
Old Folks at Home (Swanee River) – David Ball
Oh! Susanna – Michelle Shocked & Pete Anderson
Hard Times Come Again No More – Mavis Staples
Ah, May The Red Rose Live Always! – Suzy Bogguss

Another collection was Hot Women, a compilation Robert Crumb made from his old 78 records from around the world. They’re all female voices from various torrid southern regions. From the States to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond.

Toña La Negre – Cacahuatero
Grupo De La Alegria – Tambor de la Alegria
Leona Gabriel-Soime with A. Kindou Orchestra – Liva
Araci Côrtes with The Brunswick Orcherstra – Quero Sossego
Las Cuatro Huasas – Papa Araucana

La Niña de Los Peines y Niño Ricardo – Sevillanas No. 2
Rosina Trubia Gioiosa – Lu Fistinu Di Palermo
Rita Abadzi – Mime Stelis Mana Anastin Ameriki
Maria Vasileiathou – Arostisa Manoula Mou

Cheikha Tetma – Guenene Tini
Julie Marsellaise – Yama N'Chauf Haja Tegennen
Noforonin-Dratsiambakaina, Hirain-Drazaivelo and Christine Zanany – Miverena Rahavana

The third one was second volume in a series of music related to the Italian Maffia. Omertà, Onuri e Sangu – La Musica Della Mafia. Old traditional songs about la Malavida dressed up in very typical sweet and bitter Italian ballads and tarantellas.

Campani d’Asprumunti

Saggi cumpagni

Nun c’é pirdunu

U mastru di lu sonu

Li carceri
Ninna nanna malandrineddu
Tira la pinna
La me galera
Tarantella Rosi E Sciuri
Vulimu paci

The last one is the odd one out. Flaming Fle(a)mes is a compilation which the Dutch music magazine OOR made a couple of years ago about recent pop and rock music trends in the Northern Flemish Part of Belgium. It’s proof of how much they appreciate our (native) music just across the northern border.

Admiral Freebee - There's a Road (Noorderlaan) live
If you know which road he’s talking about it becomes a bit funny considering the fact that it’s not really that much of a long winding road but I like the feel of it and like the idea of addressing that feeling to that road at the edge of the city where harbor and city come together.

Sukilove – As Long as I Survive Tonight
Das Pop – You
At the time of release many people found this song to be a bit lame or even gay but it turned out to be one of most common loved and requested songs on radio, a classic.
Thou – Speakers
Dead Man Ray – Landslide
One of my favorite local bands but they’re not really that successful so they only release music every once in awhile even though they’re very active in other projects
Mauro Pawlowski And The Grooms – Ghost Rock
Mauro what he does best – rock.
Mintzkov Luna – Mimosa
A very typical Belgian popsong in terms of songwriting, style and (lack of) singing, an average example of what people have been doing around these parts for the last 10/15 years. Nothing special but it ain’t bad either.
PJDS – No Suprise
Sioen – Cruisin’
‘t Hof Van Commerce – Zonder Totetrekkerie
If you’re not acquainted with the language, the music and type of band it probably sounds like wiggers to you, but it’s actually pretty good, trust me, and above all funny. They never take themselves too seriously. Literally it means: without pulling faces or making tricks but the concepts goes beyond that of course. Hip-hop rules the nation :)
Buscemi – Seaside
Yes, we have a seaside but it generally doesn’t inspire music like this. Maybe it’s the lack of.
Gabriel Rios – Bonus Bugalu
A migrated Puertorican who became Belgian and who should have been world famous by now. Instead he’s famous in you know where and he’s quite happy with it, like most artists from these parts.

Original Pirate Material

Chocolat’s – The French Way
Gepy & Gepy – African Love Song (TJ Gorton edit) – Pat Les Stache Presents
Ashford and Simpson – Street Corner
Ashford and Simpson – Stay Free (Dims DJ friendly mix)
Lime – Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight
Easy Going – Fear (disconet mix)
Evelyn Thomas – High Energy (12 inch)
Motown Sounds – Bad Mouthin’
Asphalt Jungle – Freakin’ Time part 1 1979
Lipps Inc. – How Long
Moonbase – Waiting For A Train (12 inch vocal version)
Mystic Merlin – Sixty Thrills A Minute
Bilbo – Sex Machine
Joe Thomas – Make Your Move
Phillip and Llyod – Keep On Moving
Chi-Chi Favelas And The Black And White Band – Rock Solid
Bamboo – Hey, Hey, Hey (Pat Les Stache re-edit)
Cerrone & Claudja Barry – Trippin’ On The Moon
Claudja Barry – Trippin’ On The Moon (original vocal version)
Madonna – Give It 2 Me
Diamond Vampires – Friday Nights
Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere (12 inch)
COMBI – It A Late
Maze feat. Frankie Beverly – Twilight
Soft Rocks – Black Magic

Squarepusher – Welcome To Europe

Dammit! Because of my trip to Copenhagen I forgot all about this event, and now it's practically over.

Next year then.

Thank God it’s Saturday…

It’s official now, summer’s here even though the weather is still in doubt or rather in denial. They still have to think things over up above before they make up their mind: shall it be summer or do we skip this one for a real long autumn experience? Being self-employed and all I decided to keep on working as long as it keeps raining.

Meanwhile somewhere in between, I’ve planned to go wonderfull Copenhagen next weekend or the weekend after that for 3 or 4 days. It looks like the weather over there is going to be great or at least fine and I’m quite fond right now of the idea of driving there all the way with my own car. It gives me the possibility to visit the outscurts of town as well. There are some really nice parks and green areas in Denmark.

I usually don’t like driving and I try to avoid it as much as possible but sometimes I feel this urge or itch to do some serious ‘driving’. Relaxed cruising like in an American movie. Empty roads, clear horizon… a setting sun and most of all some soothing music on the radio. That's also part of summer. I could provide myself with some custom-made hometapes for hours of relaxed driving and post it here but I don’t have the time for that. I will do with whatever comes my way.

Right now it’s this bunch of crappy tunes that I’ve gathered over the last couple of weeks and days. I tried to turn it into a real mix with a cheap program I found on the internet for free but when I tried to export it into a mp3 or wav format for posting it added soundsamples every 30 seconds to the mix about registering and buying the program. All this work for nothing, jeeh... Well instead you get the tracks separately but they’re not all equally balanced and some have a poor sound quality. That’s what I tried to restore and amplify or adapt with some phasing, effects and stuff in that mix I made. Maybe some other time.

Im’ posting this stuff now through mediafire because my Box account is hitting the ceiling. I have to become really cautious about what tunes I upload to it. I think I will upload only the best or most wanted tracks after a while.

C.J. & Co – Devil's Gun
Instant Funk – Philly Jump 1976
Wright Bros. Flying Machine – Leatherman's Theme
Marathon – I Wanna Dance
Gonzalez – Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady (1979)
THP – Weekend Two Step (1979)
Ramsey Lewis & Earth, Wind and Fire – Sun Goddess
Eumir Deodato – Night Cruiser
John Forde – Don't You Know Who Did It (Woman)
Ozone feat. Teena Marie – Gigolette 981
Larry Wu - Let Me Show You
Fern Kinney – Groove Me (1979)
Frederic Sinful – Crater Sand
Kleeer – Tonight
Material – Secret Life
Borke Woerter – Foe Tim Out
Rufus & Chaka Khan – Ain't Nobody (Frankie Knuckles hallucinogenic dub) 1989
Chin C hin – Toot d'amore (Eli Escobar remix)
Wolfgang – Angel Eyes (Lime cover)
Lime – Your Love (1981)
Ilya Santana – From Uranus To Mercurius
Shit Robot – Lonely Planet
Gina X – No G.D.M.
Junior Byron – Dance to the Music
Giorgio Moroder – What A Night
Lime – On The Grid (Re-Mix Dub)
Mono & Bär – Go Bang!
Pattie Brooks – After Dark
Moonbase – Waiting For A Train (instrumental dub)
Shit Robot – Chasm

Gary Wilson

I’ve posted a video from Gary Wilson a while ago and as a result I’m totally turning onto Gary Wilson right now. I first heard about him and his music on the Stones throw samplers Chrome Children. I found out that he already made an album in the 70’s but as it turned out, back then he was someone for whom they coined the term ‘ahead of their time’. A short article from All Music Guide sums it up.

The brain-damaged electro-funk of Gary Wilson was new wave when the label was still mainly used to categorize punk acts with a sweet tooth for pop. Completely ahead of his time, Wilson used chilly synthesizers and bizarre sound effects and samples to tell his odd tales of love and sex. In 1977, Wilson recorded his debut LP You Think You Really Know Me in the basement of his parents' house in Endicott, NY. Home tapings started becoming prevalent in the '90s, but in the late '70s, Wilson was an indie pioneer, releasing a strange lo-fi record that eventually influenced Beck. Moreover, the LP inspired Olympia, WA, college radio station KAOS to spin underground artists, helping to cultivate a taste for non-commercial music that later gave birth to K Records and Sub Pop. Legendary Seattle DJ Stephen Rabow even presented one of Wilson's gigs in the early '80s.
Wilson toured with his group, the Blind Dates, at times covering their bodies on-stage with flour. But the masses were not ready for Wilson's eccentricities.
Wilson did not release a follow-up to You Think You Really Know Me; nevertheless, the album's cult status grew as years passed. Finally, in 2003, Motel Records released Forgetten Lovers, a follow-up album of sorts assembled from Wilson's previously unreleased material, rarities, and vinyl-only pressings from 1973 to 1982, further solidifying Wilson's stance as the unsung hero of indie rock. The new record Mary Had Brown Hair was released in 2004 on Stones Throw.

Michael Sutton, All Music Guide

Gary Wilson – Debbie Debbie
Gary Wilson – New York Surf
Gary Wilson – Newark Valley

The Durutti Column


The Durutti Column – Otis
The Durutti Column – The Missing Boy

Heavy Metal

It’s a summer recess right now. All my favorite radio show are on a holiday and are being replaced by live coverage of the music festivals.
So tonight instead of tuning into the radio I’m watching a cheap video from a old cult movie. It’s the greasy animated fantasy gore and slut from Heavy Metal. I’ve watched it before, really a long time ago over at some friends house but because of the recent Southpark tribute to this 1981 movie, I decided to give it another go. I found an online copy of it. The soundtrack is pretty ok. I really like the theme song. I’ve got two versions of it. The soundtrack version by Sammy Hagar and a version by Don Felder from the Eagles. They’re both from 1981 so I can’t figure out which one’s the original and which is the remake. They’re both quite distinctly different so I’m posting both of them.

Sammy Hagar - Heavy Metal
Don Felder - Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)

Turns out that they both are a part of the original soundtrack. Case closed.

What’s Wrong With Groovin’…

Nothing. Certainly not when it comes African Way.

What Is Wrong With Groovin' – Letta Mbulu
Africa Irie – Chief Checker
African Dialects – Peter King
Dododo (Ekassa No. 1) – Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Mae
Ezuku Buzo – Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats
Happy Survival – Eddie Okwedy
Yabis – Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars
Akula Owu Onyeara – The Funkees
Amalinja – The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination
I Want A Break Thru' – The Hykkers
Nekwaha Semi Colon – The Semi Colon
Onwu Ama Dike – St. Augustine & His Rovers Dance Band

Nigeria Mediafire Folder

Mainstream isn’t that bad after all… is it?

Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable ?
Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
John Cusack, in High Fidelity

Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl
Katy Perry – Ur So Gay