Intermission

False Dichotomies is pause. I’m off to London and Gothenburg for ten days for a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah and various other japes. Thanks to everyone who’s been reading the resurrected Falsedi over the last few months. Please God (in a metaphorical sense) I’ll be back in 10 days with more: more travel writing, a review of the Binge Trader’s debut, analysis of the new Israeli government, and much more. In the meantime, enjoy these brief jottings about some of the tunes I’ve been rocking. One love, and I’m out… 

Popular Demand, Black Milk (Popular Demand)

Proving once again that the freshest hip-hop is coming out of the mid-west, Black Milk shows he’s ready to inherit Jay Dilla’s crown on this title track from his debut album. Since this came out he’s dropped Tronic and more, but it’s this soulful cut that’s had my attention these past weeks. Bright like birds whispering through the city streets.

A Life Less Ordinary, The Levellers (Letters from the Underground)

Look, The Levellers changed my life, alright? So you can imagine my glee at the nostalgia-fest that’s their latest album. Littered with some of their biggest tunes since 1994’s Levelling the Land, this is the standout track. Inspiration at the end of a long day of work; cries of joy breaking out as the land turns dark.

Girl Thing (Pirate Soundsystem remix) [SUPER ROUGH DEMO]

I picked this one up from Meal Deal and it had me fiending for the UK garage days I never had. I must have listened to this a hundred times already. It’s got groove, zest, zap, and grime – all in one smooth, sexy slice of two-step. Cop it.

Trojan Horse, Bloc Party (Intimacy)

Lustful hope as the cold cuts through the low lying trees. In League with Paton’s right to question the strange line about taking off one’s watch before making love, but it doesn’t detract from an awesome blast of a song. A massive chorus, a killer riff, and all in three and a half minutes. If you want more, check out the rest of the album. Highly recommended.

Magic Doors, Portishead (Third)

I don’t know why I got the Portishead album. I was in an ace mood at the time, and I had always dismissed them as a ‘coffee-table’ outfit. Still, perhaps I was anticipating the dark moments to come. I’m still not convinced, but this works a treat. Only simchas, eh?

Love will tear us apart, Oysterband & Joan Tabor (The Big Session, Vol 1)

It may be sacrilegious to cover the greatest break-up song of all time, but this piece of chutzpah happens to work. John Jones’ and Joan Tabor’s duet creates a fine sound; all the best lines emphasised, all the heartbreak drawn out. And it still somehow sounds hopeful.

Paper Planes, M.I.A. (Kala)

So good I had to forgive the Binge Trader when he leaned over to tell me what this was in the middle of Slumdog Millionaire. Great sample from The Clash, and a subversive interpolation (I love that word) of Wreckx-n-Effect’s 1990s classic Rump Shaker. Yes it’s probably apologetics for terrorism, but at least it proves the Tamil Tigers are sexier than, say, Hamas. And that’s got to count for something.

Darling, Sons and Daughters (The Gift)

In League with Paton describes this better than I can: “I can’t say I’ve really thought that much of Sons and Daughters before – in fact, I found their dark, brooding set in support of Nick Cave at Alexandra Palace a few years ago rather contrived. This is rather fantastic though, with one of the best choruses of the year and a new twist on that Motown stomp so beloved of modern rock groups.”

It’s My Turn, Little Vic (Each Dawn I Die)

I hadn’t heard of Little Vic until I found out that Preemo had blessed him with a beat. This is the stand-out track, though, of the wonderfully titled Each Dawn I Die, the kind of thing Just Blaze might be making right now if he wasn’t getting all jiggy. Perfect for confronting the day.

So Good (Live from the Bar), Statik Selectah (Stick 2 Tha Script)

Statik Selectah is the latest inheritor of the east-coast boom-bap tradition that will never die. The horns do the job, the drums sway breezily, while the emcees all come up with something naughty. The great C.L. Smooth even shows up – listen for how he says granddaddy. This is one for weddings.

Min Nhar Li Mshishti (From the Day You Left) – Idan Raichel (Within my Walls)

A hit song on Israeli radio, and it’s all in Arabic. I have no idea what the geezer’s saying on this, but it sounds lovely and heartbreaking. I remember it coming on HaCovshim, and I just knew straight away I wouldn’t want to get out the car just yet. A hopeful hint of integration in dark times.

Jetstream – Doves (Kingdom of Rust)

This, apparently, is something for the closing credits of Blade Runner. I was cynical at first, but the Doves have proved themselves yet again; a more mature, groovier way to herald their latest project. To infinity, and beyond.