Música nueva

And so here were are, officially in that "bit-in-the-middle" - and were off en famille to John-John's for an afternoon/evening of jolly japes and a "picky tea". Meanwhile, how about a little selection of some of the "newer" choons that have caught my ear of late?

I heard this on on the radio very recently, and I was hooked!

Jamie xx ft. The Avalanches - All You Children

Here's another one from the "final fling" of Saint Etienne that I loved back in late summer, but neglected to feature up to now:

Saint Etienne - Glad

Twenty-five years on since it was a popular bootleg that Fatboy Slim used to use in his DJ sets, the Rolling Stones have finally given their blessing to the release of this remix/mash-up of two magnificent hits - and the result (even with its AI-generated video) is rather good:

Fatboy Slim & The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Skank

I can absolutely, categorically state that my office party last week was nothing like this:

Kylie Minogue - Office Party

Yay! Robyn's back...

Robyn - Dopamine

...as is the very lovely Robbie Williams!

Robbie Williams - Pretty Face [Live on The Graham Norton Show]

And, finally...

...the campest of the lot [and another Madam Arcati discovery], this!

Monsieur Periné - Aguaráchate

Thoughts of warmer weather are upon us as we speak - our next trip to Spain is just over a month away!

As ever, dear reader, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the selection...

Of cheese, gay landmarks, butler baiting, cheap shops, and turning granny into sealife

RIP, Brian Wilson (far left), the genius behind The Beach Boys.

Another snippets post today, dear reader...

• Cheese wars news: There's a battle-royal going on in Cambridgeshire, where the village of Stilton is fighting for the right [that for some bizarre reason under protected designation of origin rules is denied it] to produce the famous blue cheese that bears its name!
• Feliz Dia dos Namorados! In Brazil, 12th June is Valentine's Day, apparently...

• Historic gay venue news: A fave venue of ours in times past, the venerable gay pub the Black Cap has issued an update on its F*book page - although there were some promises made that its new owners, having won a long-fought battle against redevelopment, were to reopen the Cap in time for last Xmas, structural problems were uncovered that led to a major delay, but they're confident that the place will be reopening its doors by the end of 2025! Hoorah!
• In death do us - erm - reef? A newly-founded organisation has an innovative offer for grieving families - why not have your loved one’s ashes made into a reef and anchored to the British seabed to grow coral? I imagine the funeral would be a bit wet.
• Umbrella Jousting, Cucumber Sandwich Discus or Hop, Skip and G&T, anyone? Great news! The legendary Chap Olympiad is back! Expect jolly japes and merriment, as suitably vintage-clad participants compete in such marvellous events as Ironing Board Surfing, Moustache Wrestling, Tea Pursuit, Riding Crop Rumpus, Tie Knotting, Butler Baiting and Not Playing Tennis. "There is a dress code, of course - of elegant finery, military wear, formal wear, dandy wear. No sportswear except cricket whites and absolutely no denim. Please be advised that during the Games themselves, anyone testing negative for alcohol content in the bloodstream will be disqualified, and sent to the emergency gin tent for urgent retonification." Right up our street, methinks.
• And finally - news that jokes are made of: Tacky budget shopping chain Poundland has been saved from bankruptcy and sold - for a pound! It's still a shit shop, regardless.
• Oh, and it is the lovely Robyn's birthday today:

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

[An all-time favourite choon - that I have never featured on this blog before! How?]

And the weather? Warm, but all over the shop. Cloudy, sunny, showery, windy, muggy - we've had it all in one day today!

Music catch-up, final part(y)

The third (and final; for now) of my little musical "catch-ups" is all about dance - and in particular, the work of one man: Mr Dave Audé!

You can keep your Avicii, your Pharrell, Calvin Harris and Tiesto, this man is consistently the most uplifting of all the "remixers-du-jour". And here are just a few examples from the summer of 2014 of his work, that have made me smile and shake my booty (admittedly somewhat wheezily these days)...

London Rose - Kick Drum

Robyn and Röyksopp - Do It Again

Andy Bell - Aftermath (Here We Go)

He even made that Disney schmaltz-fest Let It Go sound good:

Idina Menzel - Let It Go

And, finally, his collaboration with a lady who I only name-checked yesterday - the lovely Luciana:

Dave Audé vs Luciana - You Only Talk In #HASHTAG

That's got me in the mood for a party - in Amsterdam!

Dave Audé official website

Au courant

It is time once more for a little snippet of the newer music that has caught my ear...

Let's open with the first single release from the widely-anticipated (not least by me - I adore the woman!) new EP Mi Senti by Róisín Murphy, a collection of innovative cover versions of standards by Italian singers - icons of ours including Mina and Patti Pravo, as well as Gino Paoli and Lucio Battisti. This is her version of a classic by the latter, it's Ancora Tu:

Róisín Murphy - Ancora Tu

An utterly beautiful track I heard recently on BBC Radio 3's fantabulosa Late Junction show, here's the Thievery Corporation featuring Lou Lou Ghelichkhani and Décollage. Cocktails, anyone?

Thievery Corporation - Décollage

From the sublime to... How about something gayer than Elton John and Freddie Mercury in the back of a pink mini? Balancing queeniness with sleaze, here's Naked Highway and their cover of the late, great Laura Branigan's gay anthem for the poppers era, Self Control - it's camp-tastic!

Naked Highway - Self Control

Much more classy is the New Order-tinged sound of Client, with a rather mysterious video for their new single - Refuge:

Client - Refuge

Miss Neneh Cherry is back (having recently celebrated her 50th birthday), complete with a critically-acclaimed new "left-field artistic project" (that's music-journo-speak for "new album") Blank Project, which promises a departure from the familiar "Buffalo Stance" type pop for which she is remembered. Here is her new single, a collaboration with the equally nuts fellow Swede Robyn and Out Of The Black, complete with its odd "home video". The song is quite good, actually, if your eyes can stop watching the sub-Reynolds Girls action:

Neneh Cherry ft Robyn - Out Of The Black

As exciting is the return - with her first ever solo album Stockholm [and she, alongside Miss Cherry, is one of the artists appearing at this year's Meltdown Festival] - of the legendary Miss Chrissie Hynde! She's wearing Dark Sunglasses:

Chrissie Hynde - Dark Sunglasses

"Lost" tracks by ground-breaking artists always make the news (and of course boost sales), but when it's Grace Jones covering Gary Numan's dystopian anthem Me I Disconnect From You [released as part of the newly-remastered re-released version of her seminal 1981 Nightclubbing album], then it is very special indeed:

Grace Jones - Me I Disconnect From You

Speaking of "comebacks", it seems like ages since we heard anything from the pioneering Brighton dance music combo The Freemasons, but apparently they've been keeping themselves busy producing music for others, such as this sublime piece. It's Pegasus featuring Chloe Wolf and Gorecki:

Pegasus featuring Chloe Wolf - Gorecki

This song is simply brilliant! Many thanks again to the lovely Henry at Barbarella's Galaxy for highlighting it - it's the magnificent tonsils of Miss Kimberly Davis and the Dave Audé remix of her single With You:

Kimberly Davis - With You (Dave Audé radio mix)

But to finish, this may possibly be my weirdest discovery yet from that land of mystery, Japan - famously described by Dom Lawson in The Guardian as "a collaboration between Slipknot and Aqua", it's Babymetal and (fortuitously on Easter Sunday) Gimme Chocolate!! Bizarre...

Babymetal - Gimme Chocolate!!

As ever, enjoy - and let me know your thoughts!

Pride shopping, wet Goths and Swedes

I spent three hours today in the miserable drizzle in Camden, in an ultimately fruitless trawl of the vintage shops and weird boutiques for which the markets area is so famous, for items to complete my Gay Pride outfit for this year. Frustrating enough in the sunshine, but navigating the combination of wet Goths, slow-moving tourists and dodgy food outlets without actually buying anything is just depressing...

So I think it is time to cheer a Sunday evening up - as once again I feel like sharing some of the newer music that has caught my ear lately.

Opening this latest selection is the first of no less than three Swedes - the lovely Johan Agebjorn:

Johan Agebjorn - The Last Day Of Summer

With a very mid-80s British pop feel (think Echo and the Bunnymen, Lotus Eaters, XTC, that sort of sound) here's a fab video for a fab song - Mirrors, the debut single from Talking Pictures:

Talking Pictures - Mirrors

New releases from our second Swede, the very mad Robyn, are always welcome here at Dolores Delargo Towers. Here she is in a more reflective mood than usual with a fine choon Call your Girlfriend:

Robyn - Call your Girlfriend

Here's an excellent and atmospheric dance number by the third of our triumvirate - Swedish outfit Gravitonas (another vehicle for Alexander Bard of Army of Lovers and Alcazar fame), here teamed up with Russian cutie Roma Kenga [above]. Everybody Dance indeed!

Gravitonas & Roma Kenga - Everybody Dance

And to close, here's a fab new mix for 2011 by some DJ called Stargate of Depeche Mode's classic Personal Jesus. Excellent video! I do still prefer the original song, however...

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)

As always, ENJOY!

Pick of the Pops again

Despite this turning out to be a busy week - with the CK drag show at Halfway to Heaven on Sunday, Corrie at the BFI on Tuesday, The Rivals last night, and looking forward to the Lord Mayor's Show fireworks on Saturday - I still find time for collecting new(ish) music! And I do like to share...

First up is a subtle little number from the Scandinavian eccentric Robyn:

Robyn - Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do

On a lighter note, the new single from those maestros of electro dance trash, Infernal:

Infernal - Alone, Together

From the ridiculous to the sublime... I must have missed this in 2009. I didn't know that Grace Jones collaborated with the avant-garde Breton poet, singer and writer Brigitte Fontaine! This is beautiful...

And finally, ladies'n'gentlemen, I bring you a most decadent piece of video art by someone (or some thing) by the name of PAG. With a soundtrack of In This Shirt by the wonderful Irrepressibles, this is seriously weird stuff!

PAG - The Lady is Dead

Thoughts?