Friday, December 31, 2010

Video: Every Little Step (remake) - Wayne Brady and Mike Tyson

Happy New Year Pure Funkers!  Here's some new year cheer for ya.


Saturday, December 18, 2010

Pure Funk Top 20 Tracks of 2010

20. Conversation 16 - The National



19. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire



18. Real Love - Delorean



17. I feel Better - Hot Chip



16. CMYK - James Blake



15. Azari & III - Reckless (With Your Love) (Tensnake Remix)



14. All I want - LCD Soundsystem



13. Celestica - Crystal Castles



12. Twin Shadow - Slow



11. Delorean - Stay Close



10. Yamaha - The Dream



9. Call ur Girlfriend - Robyn



8. Runaway - Kanye West



7. I can change - LCD Soundsystem



6. Not in Love (feat. Robert Smith) - Crystal Castles



5. Shut it down - Drake feat. The-Dream



4. Power - Kanye West feat. Dwele



3. Giving up the Gun - Vampire Weekend



2. Shutterbug - Big Boi feat. Cutty




1. Dancing on my Own - Robyn   


      
Honourable Mention: On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz, Odessa - Caribou, Live Fast Die Young - Rick Ross feat. Kanye West, Solitude is Bliss - Tame Impala

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Pure Funk Top 20 Albums of 2010 (5-1)

Every year the major online music sites count down what they think are the best albums and songs of the year.  Who's to say they're right?  I've been reading these lists for years now and figured it's about time to put my money where my mouth is and write my own damn list!

So all this week we'll be counting down our favourites, starting with numbers 20-16.  Feel free to comment and to suggest your own favourite music of this year.  My feeling about these lists is that at the end of the day they're just showcasing some good music you may have missed out on during the year.  So I hope you find something here that fits that description, and let me know if there's some awesome stuff that I need to catch up on.

DJ Bobz  purefunk.com.au

  1. Robyn - Body Talk
Pop is not easy.  There’s a reason pop music is as maligned a musical genre as it is, and it’s because  pop is (most of the time) so commercial and pumped out so regularly that it’s hard for anyone to stomach the fact that so many bad pop songs end up charting well.


Robyn knows this, and constructed her Body Talk series to ease the pressure of pumping out a full album of killer tunes.  So she made three, and spread them out over a year, giving her time to tour the previous album and then prep for the next one.  This allowed her the room to breathe and create a surprising dearth of quality tracks, the best of which are handily compiled on the third and last installment of the Body Talk trilogy.


For standouts, you can’t go past the self-pitying club bombast of Dancing on my own and the careful advice of Call ur Girlfriend.  Don’t sleep on the rest of the album though.  The singles ‘Indestructible’ and ‘Hang with me’ both hit the emotional jugular whilst not abandoning their dancefloor origins and  Cry when I get older and Dancehall Queen showcase Robyn’s two lyrical secret weapons - passing on advice to the youth and boasting about how good she is. 


Robyn is one of a kind, a Swedish diva who has worked out the critical pop balance of moving the feet as well as toying with our emotions, and this is not only her best album, but the best pop release of the year.







  
4. Big Boi - Sir Luscious Leftfoot

The Outkast rapper has always been a bit underrated.  Probably doesn’t help when your partners song is the one that everyone remembers (Hey Ya).  That all changed this year when Big Boi finally got his label to drop Sir Lucious Leftfoot and let him prove to the world that Outkast wasn’t only Andre Benjamin.


There is so much to love here.  So much Hip-Hop and Funk that I just don’t know what to do, and all wrapped up in Big Boi’s inimitable, spitfire flow.  Antwan Patton's thick Southern accent laced bangers like Shutterbug, General Patton and Your DJ Ain’t no DJ to remind haters and never-will-be’s that ‘I'm a leader not your peer’ while the rest of the time was spent talking smack about how good he was with the ladies (Turn’s me on, Tangerine).  Shine Blocka’s sounded like one of the best tracks of this year despite being over a year and half old and Hustle Blood found Jamie Foxx at his most sincere.  


It was great to have this ATLien’s solo project finally touch down, and even better to hear how awesome it was.





3. The-Dream - Love King

Terius Nash is known more for songs he’s made for others than his solo singles, and it must hurt a little.  Do you remember Fast Car?  Walking on the Moon?  Didn’t think so.  Well, how about Rihanna’s Umbrella, Beyonce’s Single Ladies or Baby by Justin Beiber?  All songs written and produced by The-Dream.  Yes, he has an identity crisis.  Not that you’d know by listening to this album, in fact he finds it so easy to channel Prince, Michael Jackson and R Kelly you might think he’s the lovechild of all three!.  Love King is a superlative R&B classic by an musical auteur at the top of the game.


Nash can be bawdy, he can be grandiose and he can hit you in the heart, often all in the same song. What separates him from his contemporaries though, is not only his ability to craft memorable melodies, but also his talent in taking even the most ridiculous lyric and make it seem like a John Keats poem.  The key is his sincerity.  If he’s writing a song comparing his girl to a motorcycle (Yahama), you believe it’s the most beautiful bike he’s ever seen.  When he tells you to drop 5 stacks on a make-up bag to appease your girl, it actually sounds like a good idea (Make-Up Bag).

 So take all that in and then listen to Florida University and tell me it’s not the second best F.U. song you’ve heard this year.







  
2. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening  

James Murphy indicated that this was going to be their swansong, and with that, the pressure of the ‘final’ album came (they’ve since changed their mind).  Murphy has always been one to let his influences all hang out, and even though the references seemed more overt this time around, the finished product could not have been anyone but LCD.


Opening track Dance Yourself Clean bursts out of the box, All I want apes Bowie for a heart-rending turn and You Wanted a Hit sees Murphy lashing out at the commercially vulturous side of his profession.  However, the beating heart of this dance floor epic was I can change, a plea for a second chance from someone who might not deserve it.


Murphy has created and cultivated dance rock in his own image, and after listening to the pitch perfect musicianship and heartfelt lyricism of this album one can’t imagine he can take it much further.  









1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Yes, it’s my favourite album this year.  The reported three million that was spent on Mr West’s opus was well worth it.  Every song here is worthy of the final cut, and each has been buffed and polished to perfection.


There is a little of the best of all of his albums here - The straight up Hip-Hop of College Dropout, the synths from Graduation, the Orchestration of Late Registration and the Auto-Tuned melodies of 808’s and Heartbreaks.  You would think that all these embellishments would be too much, but you’d be wrong.  There’s the extended solo at the end of Runaway that adds a confused irony by heavily filtering Kanye's voice, the curse-filled Chris Rock skit that rounds out Blame Game and pretty much everything about All of the lights.


The guest stars are too numerous to name and litter just about every track, but never fear, Kanye never loses his voice amongst the crowd.  His flow is sharper, his wit just an self effacing and his pompousness knows no boundaries.  Yes, Kanye is a douchebag, which would be all anyone would focus on if he wasn’t making music as good as this.


The standouts, there are none, they're all good and therefore so is this album.  This is one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time and the best of 2010.






Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Pure Funk Top 20 Albums of 2010 (10-6)

Every year the major online music sites count down what they think are the best albums and songs of the year.  Who's to say they're right?  I've been reading these lists for years now and figured it's about time to put my money where my mouth is and write my own damn list!

So all this week we'll be counting down our favourites, starting with numbers 20-16.  Feel free to comment and to suggest your own favourite music of this year.  My feeling about these lists is that at the end of the day they're just showcasing some good music you may have missed out on during the year.  So I hope you find something here that fits that description, and let me know if there's some awesome stuff that I need to catch up on.

DJ Bobz  purefunk.com.au

  1. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Two years ago, Canada’s Crystal Castles came out of the corner in a flurry of 8-bit punches, toying with the idea of what electronica could be and basically causing truckloads of trouble.  There were mixed expectations for their second, self-titled long player.  Was the whole video game aesthetic a worn-out gimmick, would we be sick of lead singer Alice Castle’s frequent hissy-fits?

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Toronto.  The wall of static sound was still there, but along with it came dancefloor-leaning bass-lines and a more melodic sound.  Celestica was the lead single, and a great one at that, a classic even.  It set the template for the album.  One part haunted house tunes, one part shrieking vocals and you have a total of one banging tune.  

Vietnam, Baptism and Empathy all shared the same lineage, half scaring the pants off you and the other half too busy nodding it’s head to care.  Not in Love was so good that Robert Smith of the Cure jumped on a remix of it and made it even better.

The notion that Crystal Castles are an acquired taste used to have some value, but I dare say that anyone who still thinks that probably wasn’t born in the 80’s, and needs to re-evaluate their tastes.  This is a progressive work of an exciting band, one that doesn’t tailor its style for anyone, and that should be applauded.









  1. Janelle Monae - The Arch Android
Who is Janelle Monae?  I bet she asks herself that question a lot.  On this album she's a sexy cyborg, a persona that many a pop princess has adopted throughout the years, usually without much success.  

That’s not the case with this album.  There’s so much going on here that you kind of forget that she is a robot.  There’s nimble Hip-Hop tracks, funk and folk extravaganza’s and beat poetry from Saul Williams and guess what?  Not one track sounds out of place.  You get the feeling that Monae is a fan of all of these styles and not just a genre-hopping hipster out for a quick nostalgic reference to boost her cred.


Cold War is a whirlwind fire starter, Tightrope Hip-Hop’s along at a breakneck pace, Wondaland is a beautiful peace of retro-pop and Make the bus is a psychedelic wonder.  Monae may act the android, but in real life she’s one of the most vital voices in music today.
 





  1. Girl Talk - All Day
I was hesitant to listen to Greg Gillis’s latest opus, I have to admit.  Am I over the whole Top 40 mash-up concept?  Has the world moved on?  The answer to both is no, and even better, Gillis has refined his unique technique even further and made a party inducing mission statement.  He even seems more commercial than before, if that’s possible, with the samples even more recognizable and danceable than his previous efforts.


He leans more on 90's alternative rock and Southern Hip-Hop than other genre’s but that’s no knock as they both lend themselves beautifully to most of the mash-ups they find themselves in, such as when you find Twista nimbly rapping over the U2 classic With or Without You.  It should be sacrilege, but in the words of Homer Simpson, it’s Sacrilicious.  And pairing Imagine with the syrupy vocals of UGK hard nut Bun B shouldn’t work so well or feel so right.  


What sets Gillis apart from the millions of bedroom DJ’s around is that technique of his, the sample based construction that’s framed on algorithms borne out of Gillis’s former profession as a engineer. As yet no-one seems willing to try and match Gillis styles and he stands tall as the scion of the mash-up community.
 

The rest of us will just have to settle for losing our fricking minds.

Download the mixtape for free HERE





  1. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Those preppy guys in the polo shirts and boat shoes were back, and they had some new sounds.  Contra felt more like an international travelogue than O-week at an Ivy League school.  The african influences were more overt, and Ezra Koenig’s lyrics were designed to reach a wider audience without losing the inclusiveness that makes them unique. 


What also made them one of a kind was their sense of fun.  Whether they were extolling the virtues of the humble holiday on Holiday or contemplating the life of a Diplomat’s Son, they sounded like they were having fun.  There was no better example of their humorous side than the video for Giving up the Gun, featuring a drunk Jake Gyllenhaal, and RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan as a net judge at a tennis match.  This was also their best track, a shining example of their willingness to stretch out of their comfort zone, easily keeping up with a beefed up rhythm section. 


Contra was an exciting second release for the four-piece, and the enduring freshness of its sound ensures that it will probably be sound-tracking parties this summer too.

 






  1. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
The chippers have always deviated from the normal.  They’d kick out awesome tracks like Boy from School and Ready for the floor, only to baffle us with oddities like Bendable Poseable and Shake a Fist.  This is the album where they blended all their influences and delivered an LP full of affecting dance tunes.


I feel Better works so well as both a video clip and live staple, that it’s easy to forget that as a song, it’s just awesome as it is.  One Life Stand makes the idea of lifelong commitment look a hell of lot more appealing than it should, whilst Brothers is one of the few songs ever made that celebrates male bonding as a real emotional attachment and not just two dudes clanging beer cans together.  


Whilst the Chip’s consistency across this album made it easier to listen to all the way through, bringing the heart that they’ve always displayed prominently on their sleeves is what makes it a classic.

 

Monday, December 13, 2010

Pure Funk Top 20 Albums of 2010 (15-11)

Every year the major online music sites count down what they think are the best albums and songs of the year.  Who's to say they're right?  I've been reading these lists for years now and figured it's about time to put my money where my mouth is and write my own damn list!

So all this week we'll be counting down our favourites, starting with numbers 20-16.  Feel free to comment and to suggest your own favourite music of this year.  My feeling about these lists is that at the end of the day they're just showcasing some good music you may have missed out on during the year.  So I hope you find something here that fits that description, and let me know if there's some awesome stuff that I need to catch up on.

DJ Bobz  purefunk.com.au


  1. Lindstrøm & Christabelle - Real Life Is No Cool
Real life is, apparently, no cool.  Listening to this album I’m not so sure, as it sounds plenty cool from where I’m standing.  Lindstrom has taken his reputation as a DJ who appreciates crafting long techno jams and blown that out in favour of cocky disco swagger in the form of four minute gems.

Christabelle is an infrequent collaborator, but here she appears on every track, her breathy falsetto adding a sexual coyness that ices the R&B cake behind it.  From the strutting basslines of ‘LoveSick’ to the MJ aping ‘Baby Can’t Stop’ this is a heady mix of the best Disco, Pop and R&B this side of Lindstrom’s native homeland Sweden.



Real Life Is No Cool


  1. Four Tet - There is love in you
Four Tet’s Kieren Hebden describes his albums as documents of ideas, chronicling his musical journey.  Since releasing his debut Rounds in 2003, the journey has seen him push dance in entirely unexpected directions.  This record is another one of those unexpected directions.

During the making of this record, Hebden took up residency in the very small yet very prestigious underground club Plastic People and went about designing music for the dancefloor.  The first song he made during this time was also the best, Love Cry, and its rambling techno influence spreads across the album.  

The other big influence is the clipped vocals, which recall dubstep perennial and good friend Burial.  Another favourite is Sing, it’s stilted basslines and xylaphone plonks rolling along like some organic data transfer.  And this is where Four Tet gets you, injecting the lifeless pulse of techno with an orgy of organic blips and bleeps designed to stimulate your synapses.  If you think I’m kidding, make sure to check out Pablo’s Heart - It’s Hebdens godsons actual heartbeat!



There Is Love in You


  1. Gil Scott Heron - I’m New Here
Gil Scott Heron is not well known to Australians.  The American poet-musician is better known in his homeland, and better known to those who heard his firebrand poetry in his prime in the 70’s and 80’s.  Perhaps his best known composition is The Revolution will not be televised.

So how does a world weary, aging legend come to record one of 2009’s most vital records?  Richard Russell of Xl Recording has helped re-introduce Heron as a wise, gravel-voiced sage, dispensing heartfelt and honest stories over a variety of contemporary sounds.

It probably shouldn’t be so surprising that Heron’s vocal work mixes so well with the instrumentals.  The beats chosen reflect several generations of Beat Poetry, Soul, Hip-Hop, Bass and Blues, genre’s that all lend themselves to thoughts of struggle, poverty and oppression; situations Heron knows only too well.

New York is killing me provides a thrilling insight into the love/hate relationship Scott-Heron and his adopted hometown have shared for many years now, While Running sees him running from that which he cannot escape and toward that which he cannot have.  Coming from a broken home Part 1 and Part 2 bookend the album, and the two tracks provide a context for chaos and self-destruction described throughout the songs in between.





12. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise
    Pantha’s last album, This is Bliss, was exactly was its title suggested, a blissful, beautiful, living and breathing techno organism.  This album is no different.  The basslines are full, but not overbearing, and are ornated by an orchestra of carefully arranged instruments, a shimmering coat on a pulsing body of work.

    And Pantha’s albums are just that, a body of work, and are meant to be heard as whole.  Similar in concept to the work of Four Tet, Pantha du Prince comes off as more welcoming, worn in and comfortable.  His music is like that VIP section that you can never get in to.  All the chairs look like they would be comfortable, the velvet rope and the silk drapes make you feel like royalty.

    I could pick favourite tracks, but then they’re all really pretty awesome, so it think its better to let you guys go ahead and decide.



    Black Noise



    1. Delorean - Subiza
    The Spanish four-piece burst out of a coastal cul-de-sac at the base of the basque mountains, their sun-kissed grooves exuding an exuberance that was part chillwave, part Andrew W.K.  They were having fun in the sun and wanted us to be a part of it.

    More enthusiastic than the rest of lo-fi sun-loving class of 2010 (Washed Out, Best Coast, Neon Indian), and displaying musical chops that pitched somewhere between Euro House and Indie Pop, Delorean showed that Spain had more to offer than just Ibiza and Pao Gasol.

    The two opening tracks are the best, but that’s because they set the template for the rest of the album.  Stay Close and Real Love bounce around like giddy schoolgirls, west coast coolers in hand and not a care in the world.  The rest of the album plays out like the best party you never attended, aching lyrics about longing and being together matched against the happiest instrumentals of the year.  My christmas wish is that all your summers be like a Delorean song.





    Subiza