Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Bumskipper 10 sleevenotes



Bumskipper 10 Sleevenotes.

1. Freeking In.
Music to help one FREAK BACK IN.
2. God Of War.
I was on a bit of a Kool Keith tip here, and I really wanted a saxophone suddenly, and all I had was a balloon.
3. Squarepusher.
Or joyless fader impeller.
4. Cold.
This inverts the Freudian conception of Thanatos to position the death-seeker as a cold-blooded type who waits in dread for The End, which will arrive as the result of the risky business undertaken by those who brim hotly with life.
5. She Gets To Work.
Who is she? This could refer to a number of possible scenarios, so essentially it is up to you.
6. If You Speak My Real Name.
This is the love song sung by those who have no-one to love and be loved by, to the person somewhere that they hope will one day fill that role.
7. Guildown Moonrise.
I, tripping, saw the moon come up over a hill in Surrey once, and I swear that it was so large that it wasn’t until almost none of what I perceived to be some MASSIVE UNKNOWABLE FREAKY SKY-EGG was still obscured by the land that I could trust myself to believe that it was indeed the moon.
8. Safe Part Of The World.
This is meant to replicate the sense of unease produced by living in a non-militarized zone in the modern fucked-up world.
9. Quiet Days.
This is about living in what one hopes is bohemian obscurity. Sneagles is our family word for head lice.
10. The French Section.
I think every city should have a French section, and that it should be quite mysterious, especially at night, in rather an exaggerated way. Don’t overdo it though. No more than one mime-artist, for instance.
11. Born To Loop.
I feel lucky to have reached manhood in the full flush of the Age Of The Loop, so this is kind of a love song to the loop.
12. Happy.
Ideally this should be played well, with feeling, by a proper group. Stereolab would do at a pinch. It would be danced to by the young Mahotella Queens.
13. Mortal Song.
This kind of belongs with Cold. Thought my days were numbered again.
14. Crop Destroyer.
This is about losing a lot very quickly.
15. Rewind Loukas.
From The Loukas Tapes.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Friday, May 11, 2007

This seems to be something I can't do on MySpace anymore...

Powered by eSnips.com

Bumskipper 9 sleevenotes

Bumskipper 9


1. Built To Spill.
This song has a totemic quality to me that is explained at least in part by the fact that I thought I had lost it for ages during that voodoo incident when the drives on my PC exchanged names. Thus, when it was saved, and came back to me Prodigal Son style, it had lived to tell me about my poor character and wastefulness. The song also suggests that one should not believe in oneself and act accordingly, but rather listen to what you’re told, as the other bastard often has a more objective view. Current moralities, such that they are, have led to a decline in good advice, I feel.
2. Nigerian Secret Service.
Fela for President!
3. Indigenous Craftsman.
The winds of technological change swirl into the blacksmith’s forge, or across the face of some guy mending his nets on the beach, and the rhythm of life changes forever. I’m sticking with vinyl, however.
4. Your Fascist Planet.
In which the singer attempts to redistribute our stocks of shame on a more equal basis. People, bound by arbitrary discourse, are unable to see the creative role they play in how fucked things are. Good men do little things here and there, but the rare Um guitar solo at the end is hardly likely to transform global consciousness.
5. OK
Someone once said all that Morrissey needed was a hamburger and good fuck. This is more like Morrisette: Hand In My Pocket, that cultural pacifier you hear on Radio Two while yr hanging in the dead time of the charity shop, feeling Queasy. One must practice a Zen acceptance of Total Crap, however, to fight the good fight.
6. Lucky Star.
They say drawing is like taking a line for a walk. Once this woman tried to help me get from the Tate Modern to a warehouse party and got completely lost in her own part of London and we almost fell out, even though I only met her on the way. This is kind of what happened with this song, and the song and I both feel hurt and resentful. I feel like the song has let me down, and the song blames me because I was supposed to know where I was going.
7. The Thing.
This song expresses the (potentially inaccurate) hope that by ignoring the root of all your problems, if such a thing should exist, its effects would be lessened to a great extent.

8. Vote Pete.
This is quite hopeful too, in a piss-taking sort of way. It’s kind of about enfranchising yourself, because you have to be in it to win it, innit? You have to change the script, but you also have to remember what part you are playing, too. I finished mixing this and stepped out onto Mill Road and immediately spotted a youth wearing a T-shirt that said “VOTE PEDRO”.
9. In God’s Big Car.
In which we go for a ride in God’s Big Car, which is a large new black Mercedes or something. It’s a POV video where you just see the road, the footwell of the rear passenger seat, the door clunk shut and then shots of the city at night. You don’t see God, or find out what we are doing in his car.
10. Marriage Song.
When you’re young you see things in black and white, and then the world gets increasingly grey. This song evokes acceptance, resignation even, but is not about literal marriage. What would I know about that anyway?
11. Politically Unconscious.
Society of the Spectacle. If you’re not deeply troubled, you just haven’t figured it out yet, etc.
12. Heat And Flies Raga.
Just some technique-free hard-panned reel-to-reel jam to make up the numbers. Sorry the bongos sound like some idiot dog that’s trying to follow you home.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Just a band.

I don't really like this now it's so popular but I do think it's really well put together, y'know?