This is the new video for Washed Out’s “Hold Out”. If you haven’t heard of Washed Out (real name: Ernest Greene), don’t feel bad. I only just started listening to him, and I’m supposed to be a music blogger. The REAL music bloggers were doing excite-a-poos over Washed Out about a year ago, when I was discovering Bon Jovi.
It’s a nice enough video, and gives a good idea of what you can expect from the album from which it is yoinked, Life Of Leisure. It’s all kind of like that floppy feeling you get after a too-hot bath, but more tuneful.
I shan’t lie, I haven’t listened to The Count & Sinden’s new album Mega Mega Mega yet.
But let’s face it, these are the people who did this, and Hervé (who is, confusingly, either The Count or Sinden - I always forget which) never fails to create a glorious racket. So here it is for your listening wonderment. I’d be very surprised if it’s a load of old bollocks.
Update: I’ve now listened to the first two tracks, and they are both very good.
This video for Cee Lo’s new song arrived in my inbox via an email from an address labelled “FU”, which makes far more sense when you listen to the song. You should do this at high volume, but possibly using headphones as it contains, and indeed revolves around, mouth naughties.
It’s pretty bladdy brilliant, and continues Ceelo’s ability to marry infectious, upbeat soul stylings with utter lyrical misery. On this occasion however, with his Xbox/Atari metaphors, it’s hard to take him too seriously. Listen once and be hooked.
I’d never had the stomach for R&B until the mid-90s. I couldn’t be doing with all that “ooh baby” nonsense, see. But as my taste matured (that is, extended beyond Oasis), American R&B suddenly became something very different to the syrupy nonsense churned out since the heyday of New Jack (and Jill) Swing.
While it seems ridiculous to be getting all nostalgic about an era that only really ended four or five years ago, it’s worth revisiting what any right-thinking fan genuinely believes was a golden age for pop music.
Timbaland, Missy Elliott, The Neptunes, Dr Dre and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, among other producers, suddenly seemed to be in monthly battles to see who could create the snappiest, poppingest, hookiest snatch of “urban” music to hit daytime radio. Who won? Well, can you guess, readers? ‘TWAS US, DA LISNUZ.
Not that Hype Williams, silly chops. Everysod who’s seen a music videogram knows who he be.
This Hype Williams are a duo, from what I’ve been able to glean from infinitely moreup to dateberks than I. They’re spearheading a new movement known as Mongfug*, which is all about slightly queasy Jam-style disquiet putting the creeps up otherwise quite accessible little emissions.
They were part of the The Guardian/SoundCloud thing yesterday, which was designed either to “turn you on” to good new music or “make you feel” “hopelessly” “out of” “touch”.
Now, before you go hoping for anything nostril-shittingly original, you should know this number - called “The Throning” - samplifies Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo” (I wonder what Glamma Kid‘s up to now?). But Hype Williams change it from - well, you know what Sade’s about (notwithstanding recent rebranding efforts) - into something a bit more like… sweet aural influenza?
Since I moved flat, my new Brazilian/Portugesian neighbours have been a regular source of - how shall I put this - “vibrancy”. Mainly this entails the kind of screaming matches, door-slamming and apparent furniture-throwing that has me pondering my moral duty.
Luckily my morals often tend to lose out to my sense of Not Wanting Any Trouble-ness - you might recognise it as cowardice - and so I haven’t called any authorities yet.
The other notable thing about the neighbs is that one or other or both of them appears to be obsessed with Tupac.
