Rainy Days

Rainy days always remind me of England. Waking up to all that rain, the dreariness, the general malaise... so refreshing. If only there was a cup of Yorkshire Gold, a plate of custard creams, and perhaps some Sigur Rós in the church hall basement...

Album of the Week: Version

Hello folks, back with the Internet's Greatest Semi-Regular Feature... yes, the Album of the Week. This week's album is "Version," by English producer/DJ/guitarist/just plain cool dude Mark Ronson. And seriously, I'm not just saying that because he's English.

One thing you need to know about this album, is that at a very prosaic level, none of it is original. Mark Ronson didn't actually write any of this stuff - it's mostly all covers of British indie tunes. However, given that caveat, you should know that on a less-prosaic level, this album is quite original. I've been thinking hard tonight of an apt metaphor for this work of art, and I think it's most appropriate to compare it to a different work of art.

How many of you are Tarantino fans? Should you be a Tarantino fan, you will also be a Mark Ronson fan. That is because, Ronson is perhaps the musical Tarantino of this age. I say this because nearly every track on this album has a pulpy, funky, infections reimagination to it that is equal parts surf rock, Ray Charles soul, and Big-Afro funk. Now to be fair, I don't mean that this simply would be music that would go into a Tarantino movie - that would diminish the art. No folks, this is music reimagined in a similar way, but not a copy by any means.

Now, from what Wikipedia tells me, Mark Ronson is a pretty funky guy. I know this because he's part of the production team behind Amy Winehouse's bluesy, funky "Back to Black" album (as an aside, Winehouse's feature on "Valerie" is undoubtedly one of the album standouts). What I love about this album is how seamless the funk is integrated into these very distinct songs. Partly, I guess this is attributable to the inclusion of the Dap-Kings as session musicians on nearly all the tracks. And make no mistake, the horns here are absolutely fantastic - just the perfect amount of pop, especially in the trumpet. Seriously, it is just an incredibly infectious collection of music, made even better by all the collaborations.

Of course, some of the tracks fall a bit flat, as one may expect from a mere mortal (The Beatles are obviously excluded from the "mere mortal" category). The cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" doesn't quite do it for me, nor does "Pretty Green." But the Lily Allen cover of the Kaiser Chiefs' "Oh My God" is absolutely stunning, not least because of Allen's mind-bogglingly sultry, sexy vocals, in that way only a proper English girl can do. As aforementioned, Amy Winehouse does a tour de force rendition of "Valerie."



Maybe most confusingly, there is quite the remake of Radiohead's "Just." Yes, that Radiohead, with funky horns and Jackson 5-esque guitar strumming. Objectively, your rational brain would probably put those three things together (Radiohead, funky horns, Jackson Five), and think to yourself "hmm, not a good idea." Rational brain, yet another reason why you are overrated.

Anyways, I had heard rumors that this album was a bit overrated, but I can say after giving it a good two or so days of near constant airplay, I really enjoy it. Quite good, and you'll especially enjoy it with a well placed grain of salt, and maybe a light up dance floor to bust a groove on. Plus, Mark Ronson is still obscure enough, that you can say "Oh yes, I love this new English producer/dj/guitarist/pretty cool dude - you haven't heard of him," and still sound like the pretentious, know-it-all white person you fancy yourself.

I know I've done it at least twice now.

Humidity... and stuff

Hi folks, hope everyone is somehow enduring this ridiculous humidity. I mean, seriously, this is quite uncool, both literally and figuratively.


(the opposite of uncool - damn we look good)

Humidity aside, had a great weekend at the long anticipated 2010 Nottingham reunion. Although we never got the chance to have all nine of us in one room together, as a fellow Notter observed, it was "surreal" to be all back together again. Surreal in a good way, I think. I may have expressed this to some folks, but it was probably obvious anyways - it was intense to see how almost instantly, the nine of us, who are so different in so many ways, suddenly became the Nine again. It brought back a lot of memories, let's put it that way. At one point, I visualized all of us standing around the flat kitchen, eating custard creams, talking about how our days went, maybe having some wine or beer. Needless to say, although so many things were experienced that year, I think it's fair to say it was moments like that that stand out most potently.

I'm just saying, I was always ready to get the tattoo. Next summer? Takers?

Anyways, riffing on that last point, I always find it interesting how people, who may have gone years without communication, can always coalesce again, if they have some sort of foundation. I suppose I'm particularly subject to this, because I have either the curse or the blessing of being incredibly loyal. I think it's fair to say though, that the 2006-07 Notters had a very unique bond. If not for the fact that we were stuck together, I'm sure I would never have befriended some of these folks. I may not have even wanted to. But even given our intense diversity of personalities, and maybe even given an occasional awkward silence or lack of conversation, I'd be hard pressed to imagine folks I'm closer to. That's pretty cool. Cheers to that.



On a sidenote, whoever came up with the idea of drinking on a rooftop, is an absolute genius. I wish I could do everything on a rooftop. It would make life so much more interesting. I mean, can you imagine if we had court on a rooftop? That would be awesome.

Unless it's this humid.