De La Soul – I’m not worthy to kiss the hem of their garments

Tonight’s top new tune was De La Soul’s ‘He Comes’ which is taken from their stonkin’ brand new album The Grind Date (released today!). What can I say about De La Soul? From first hearing their stuff in 1988/89, I was hooked. I remember getting the 12″ of ‘Eye Know’ and marvelling at the sample layering, Otis Redding over Steely Dan over this, over that. It’s the sheer musicality of De La’s juxtapositions an re-contexutalisations that makes them one of the best hip hop groups ever but also one of the best pop groups of the last twenty years. They never fail to deliver, every album contains new gems, whether it’s the happy-clappy ‘Saturday’ or the sombrely beautiful ‘Breakadawn’ up to this year’s ‘He Comes.’ Fucking geniuses!

Tonight’s top old tune was The Go-Betweens’ ‘Streets Of Your Town.’ I deliberately played this sublime indiepop classic after Belle and Sebastian because The Go Betweens invented and stretched some of the classic indie pop forms that people take for granted now. The opening summery chords were recently sampled by some crappy dance track. But they missed the point: as much as De La Soul, The Go Betweens always presented puzzles of juxtaposition and context. Listen to the song and then sing along with it and you’ll see what I mean. They’re hardly your run-of-the-mill schmindie lyrics.

An amazing, startling band, sadly widely unknown unless it’s by old indie trainspotters like me.

Watch the butcher shine his knives:

Marked Men – No Time
Like A Tim – Dolly Dots
One Man Army F. Majestik Legend – Behind The Music
Spoon – The Fitted Shirt
Tomahawk – God Hates A Coward
The Guild League – Jet Set … Go!
Locust – Saturated Love
Louis Logic – Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Neutral Milk Hotel – Holland, 1945
The Plastic Constellations – East Cleveland
Ove-Naxx – Wabisabi Violence
Tears For Fears – Head Over Heels
Lamb Of God – Purified
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas
The Lucksmiths – Camera-Shy
Masta Ace – Conflict Ft. Guru
Erast Aka Nikakoi – Q4
John Carpenter – Halloween Theme
Slayer – Raining Blood
Architecture In Helsinki – The Owls Go
Plans And Apologies – Eggbound Mutebone
Atom – He110
De La Soul – He Comes Ft. Ghostface
Until The End – As Friends Fall
Belle And Sebastian – It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career
Go-Betweens – Streets Of Your Town
Sleater Kinney – Off With Your Head
Postal Service – Against All Odds
Shitmat – B & B
Le Tigre – Let’s Run
Of Montreal – My British Tour Diary
Red Animal War – Violet
Balkanto Vero – Balkanto Vero
Modest Mouse – Worms Vs. Birds
Depeche Mode – New Life
Push Button Objects – Fly
These Arms Are Snakes – Big News
Blossom Dearie – I Like London In The Rain
Anthony Rother – Freaks
The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Maritime – We’ve Got To Get Out
DJ Format – We Know Something
SLF – Suspect Device
David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Bamboo Houses