Mash-up

Just to annoy the musical purists out there here's one of my favourite mash-ups:

FantasyCon Bebop

Went to FantasyCon over the weekend. Caught up with friends, went for a curry, visited Nottingham Castle and its excellent art gallery. Jolly good fun.

And in a totally unrelated matter here's the Cowboy Bebop theme 'cos I'm in the mood for some anime-inspired Japanese jazz. Trust me, it's actually pretty good.

Monster Magnet

'Cos sometimes you just need some psychedelic rock in your life.

Lemon Jelly

Ah, I haven't listened to The Staunton Lick in ages.

What a Blunt

Are you one of those people who thinks James Blunt lacks street cred? Then you obviously haven't seen this.

Standing in the Way of Control

My fave current single is 'Standing in the Way of Contro'l by The Gossip.

When I first heard it I thought, "Oh God, just what the world needs: a karaoke Gloria Gaynor." But by the time the song got about halfway through I was hooked. I may well get fed up with it but right now I've only heard it about three times and it's buzzing round my head with an infectious energy. Soulful screeching underpinned by a rock solid riff.

Cashback!

I've been listening to Johnny Cash's American Recordings CDs for the first time in a while. I'd forgotten how good they are. Okay, yeah, some of the tracks are a bit corny and some of them bring out the allergic reaction to Country and Western music that I've had ever since my dad used to play his 100 Greatest Country and Western Hits tape whenever we went on holiday but the majority of the tracks are damn good.

Songs of regret and redemption. Of defiance and damnation. Of sweetness and sorrow. All delivered with Cash's gravelly I-ain't-just-singing-about-this-shit-I-actually-lived-through-it vocals.