Station Identification

January 15, 2011January 15, 2011 moleitau3 Comments

The Tube with The Sun in It’s Head, originally uploaded by moleitau.

“…put your shoulder to whatever wheel you have at hand, whatever moment you’re in, and push too! Push like Galileo pushed! And together we may crab sideways toward the good.:

– Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson

Women Of The World – Take Over: 2010’s music

January 12, 2011January 12, 2011 moleitau1 Comment

As has become habit for me, I grabbed my end of year charts from last.fm

Eno at the top, Bowie close behind – unassailable by now.

While Eno, and The Black Keys have put new records out in 2010, Four Tet is the only act that can really claim to have dented my 2010 with music from 2010.

“There is love in you” dominated my 2010.

Walking music, working music – dancing-round-the-kitchen-cooking music. It’s a cracker. Best Coast’s debut album “Crazy for you” gets in there too. More of them later.

“Sing” from that album got heaviest-rotation, and coincidentally right below it is the snappily-titled “OAR003-B” by Oni Ahyhun (otherwise known as Olof from The Knife) which I think I first heard on a mix by Keiran Hebden (Fourtet) in close aural proximity to his track.

But for various boring reasons (mainly how much I listen to music on my phone), the last.fm stats don’t really tell the story of the albums of 2010 that made the greatest impression on me this year.

And, they’re overwhelmingly by female-led acts.

She and Him: Vol 2

A lovely record, associated with driving through Wales to some of my favourite places – Aberdovey, Cardigan, Laugharne – and climbing Snowdon on our wedding anniversary.

Best Coast: Crazy for You

Sing-along slabs of fried sunshine. Seems to be on constant loop in our local, The Book Club.

Sleigh Bells
But I think the crown has to go to Sleigh Bells.

Not only incredible pop, but incredible pop that couldn’t have come from anywhen but 2010. I loved all of “Treats”, especially “Infinity Guitars” and “Riot Rhythm” – but the opening track, and debut single “Tell ‘Em” grabs you with it’s incredible intro: all-together now – “SPUGGA-DUGGA! BEW!!! BEW!!!”

Also worth trawling youtube for the seemingly-ever-multiplying Sleigh Bells Vs … remixes…

Let’s give some too-early-to-tell-honourable-mentions to Warpaint…

…Twin Sister

.
..and Guards…

But, I’ll finish up with two beauties.

Firstly, “Further” by The Chemical Brothers… especially “Swoon”

I’m liking the hyperdrive MBV-ness of your late-period Chems.

Not shoegaze, but… Screengaze?

Ahem.

Anyway…

Finally, probably my absolute favourite album of the year is the beautiful, hauntological post-ambirock soundtrack “Man of Aran” by British Sea Power.

Huge grey oceans, dark arcologies of cloud, massive shear cliff faces and dazzling bursts of sunlight – all in your ears.

“Come Wander With Me” is the one I find myself humming nearly everyday.

I’m cheating – “Man of Aran” came out in 2009, but hey – It’s 2011 already and it’s staying…

Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love

January 11, 2011 moleitauLeave a comment

It passed me by last year that Chris Dedrick, prime-mover behind The Free Design passed away.

If you haven’t heard of The Free Design, it’s worth travelling back to the sonic routes of Stereolab, The Go! Team, Pizzicato-5 and loads more acts that were undoubtably influenced by Dedrick and family.

Also – there is no more truth in the world than in his song “Kites are fun”

Alexander Girard. Braniff Airlines playing cards, c. 1968

January 5, 2011 moleitauLeave a comment

Alexander Girard. Braniff Airlines playing cards, c. 1968, originally uploaded by Scott Lindberg.

Via Will WIles

Leg godt

December 31, 2010 moleitauLeave a comment

Pat Kane reflects on 10 years of The Play Ethic

The very energies of play – not exclusively our own as a species, but something we uniquely retain right to the end of our lives – shows that we are a radical animal. Play gives us the capacity to flexibly respond to almost any situation that our environment throws at us.

Pat’s thinking and book (and the other thinkers and books it led to) was pretty defining for me over the last half of the decade we’re saying goodbye to this evening. I’m sure the thoughts at the core of his passage above will only become more important in the next ten years.

Thanks Pat.

Romance has lived too long upon this river

December 29, 2010December 29, 2010 moleitauLeave a comment

Foggy Cormorant, originally uploaded by moleitau.

Is a lovely little thing by James Bridle.

Also: How to Cook A Cormorant, read by Leslie Phillips.

See you in 2011

December 21, 2010 moleitauLeave a comment

Shipping Forecast Tree Decorations, originally uploaded by moleitau.

Hopefully a bit more here next year.

“Work as if you lived in the early days of a better nation.”

December 5, 2010December 5, 2010 moleitau4 Comments

…is a quote attributed to Alasdair Gray

Below, a quote from Charlie Stross’ latest blog post – “Utopia”.

“…we badly need more utopian speculation. The consensus future we read about in the media and that we’re driving towards is a roiling, turbulent fogbank beset by half-glimpsed demons: climate change, resource depletion, peak oil, mass extinction, collapse of the oceanic food chain, overpopulation, terrorism, foreigners who want to come here and steal our ~~women~~ jobs. It’s not a nice place to be; if the past is another country, the consensus view of the future currently looks like a favela with raw sewage running in the streets. Conservativism — standing on the brake pedal — is a natural reaction to this vision; but it’s a maladaptive one, because it makes it harder to respond effectively to new and unprecedented problems. We can’t stop, we can only go forward; so it is up to us to choose a direction.”

I like the Scots.