Shakti with John McLaughlin LIVE (1975)

Shakti with John McLaughlin - Shakti with John McLaughlin LIVE

1. Joy
2. Lotus Feet
3. What Need Have I For This What Need Have I For That I Am Dancing At The Feet Of My Lord All Is Bliss All Is Bliss

Indian food is amazing. I really don't know what the Indian food is like in America or Europe or other western places but here, in Singapore, it's really, really tasty. And it can be had for so little money! Or a lot of money, if you're so inclined. But really, the rice, yoghurt, vegetables and spiced meat, the thosai, the dhal, the rasam... oh lawdy, I haven't had lunch.

Indian food, however, as in, the food people eat when they go to India, has a curious knack for making the people that I've met violently sick and bringing them closer to the jaws of death than they would care to be. One of my friends, who loves India, considers the chance of DEATH to be a legitimate reason for not visiting it. Not right now. Maybe when he's older and more ready to be snatched from life.

But the best Indian food, should be Indian food, right? And why am I talking about food anyway?

To the uninitiated listener, Indian classical ragas, long droning things based around one scale, can be interminably dull. Especially since they last for hours. Ok, not hours, one hour, maybe half, but still! It's not like Western classical where the structure is all important and the composer actively tries to engage you. It's more a meditative thing that you really have to be in a certain state of mind to appreciate. If not you just fall asleep.

But even though sleep is nice too, the riches and depth of Indian classical music once you get into it, is quite unparalleled, offering a very unique, very special kind of peace of mind and beauty.

So, how do you get into it without sleeping for hours? Well, what I did was, I listened to this album. It's not Indian classical but introduces you to some of the intstruments and the vague form of it. The songs are long but exciting, not meditative, and much easier to get into. There are sparks, flashes of beauty in the tracks, gorgeous melodies that will pull you in and it doesn't take you years to get into, just a couple of weeks, maybe.

In short, this is the Singaporean version of Indian food, which is still very tasty since it is made by actual Indians, some of whom come from India, but is clean enough not to upset your stomach and kill you (or put you to sleep).

Now consume it and godspeed. I'm off to find some Indian food for myself.

Shakti with John McLaughlin - Shakti with John McLaughlin LIVE (mf)

Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy (2004)

Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy

1. Found That Soul
2. Ocean Spray
3. Intravenous Agnostic
4. So Why So Sad
5. Let Robeson Sing
6. The Year Of Purification
7. Wattsville Blues
8. Miss Europa Disco Dancer
9. Dead Martyrs
10. His Last Painting
11. My Guernica
12. The Convalescent
13. Royal Correspondent
14. Epicentre
15. Baby Elian
16. Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children
17. Hidden Track

The Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh band who like to dress up, act intellectual and shout political slogans. Unsurprisingly, they seem a little silly. Also unsurprisingly, they command a huge cult following. They're made up of three people right now. Nicky Wire, James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore. Nicky is the cross-dressing, vacumming, teetollar bassist who writes all the lyrics, James is the singer and lead guitarist and musical genius, Sean is the drummer. Adding to their mystique is the fact that one of their band members who used to cut himself with knives and take pictures of it (Richey James Edwards), disappeared in 1994. Poof! And he never came back.

The year is now 2008 and my Manic Street Preachers tickets just came in the mail yesterday. It seems like I've spent the better part of my youth spraypainting my clothes, buying tiaras, feather boas, leopard skin tights, obsessing over them and acting like a bit of douche but good fucking god was it fun. And now I am old and it's hard to be as excited as I was, today especially, since I'm in one of those Serge Gainsbourg moods where you're old and bitter and drunk and just want to fuck girls.

It actually might be part of the reason that I'm posting Know Your Enemy. A quick Google survey reveals that a huge portion of the people who actually post in forums (as opposed to trolling, like normal internet denizens) think that this is the album when everything started skating downhill for the Manics. It was then that I realized that in the back of my mind, I felt everything after The Holy Bible to be a bit of a footnote. And I was overcome with shame. Was I really one of those cutter Richey fanatics who was depressedlawl and pined for his return? How could I have been so... so... unfair to James, the person who actually wrote all the music and was, possibly, the only talented one in the whole band?

My friend D, however, was being very fair to James when he told me that Know Your Enemy was actually his favourite album. I jumped back in shock! But why? According to him, the guitar work on Know Your Enemy was amazing. I jumped back in shock! But... I never noticed! So caught up was I in the Manics not sounding like the Manics anymore!

So, recently, I've tried to rediscover the Manics, this album in particular. It's not a very good introduction but there really are some good tracks on there. My favourite being So Why So Sad, which is an odd ditty that sounds like James has the same crush on Brian Wilson that I do. Stuff like Let Robeson Sing and Found That Soul has also kind of aged better. I find myself enjoying it a lot more than before. Maybe it's because I'm older, maybe it's because it so poppy, maybe it's because... I don't care, it just sounds better. I haven't discovered the amazing guitar work yet but I'm sure it's in there since my aforementioned friend is also a really amazing guitarist. Let me know if you find it though.

God, my writing has become really lazy all of a sudden. Oh well, WORKING WILL DO THAT TO YOU. Now I will proceed to get drunk to Serge Gainsbourg.


Know Your Enemy (drop.io)

Muji BGM 1980 - 2000

MUJI BGM 1980-2000 (disc a)
01. Original BGM.mp3
02. TALKING -BGM ver.-.mp3
03. 冬の夜.mp3
04. 星の子供たち.mp3
05. 星群の船.mp3
06. 星のささやき.mp3
07. 天の川.mp3
08. 星たしのラグタイム.mp3
09. 星たちの眠る頃.mp3
10. 流れ星.mp3

MUJI BGM 1980-2000 (disc b)
01. モダンパストラル - 夏の手掛かり～小卓の夢.mp3
02. モダンパストラル - オリーブ風.mp3
03. Dr.Kプロジェクト - Leona.mp3
04. Dr.Kプロジェクト - To,To,To,Walking.mp3
05. Dr.Kプロジェクト - Cape Light.mp3
06. Dr.Kプロジェクト - Pelican in the park.mp3
07. 配島邦明 - bicolore livre.mp3
08. 配島邦明 - color tote.mp3
09. 配島邦明 - tiny pet.mp3
10. 配島邦明 - banal look.mp3
11. 配島邦明 - mignard,e divan.mp3
12. 配島邦明 - pave ring.mp3

MUJI BGM 1980-2000 (disc c)
01. [春夏編]Akogare.mp3
02. [春夏編]Samba.mp3
03. [春夏編]鏡の上の波.mp3
04. [春夏編]Deja-vu.mp3
05. [春夏編]In the Forest.mp3
06. [秋冬編]Bug's Dance.mp3
07. [秋冬編]Funny Strut.mp3
08. [秋冬編]Julian.mp3
09. [秋冬編]Rio.mp3
10. [秋冬編]Crow's Eye.mp3


Muji started out as a small stationery store in Japan and gradually evolved to become this huge company that sells all sorts of things, from furniture to clothing to candy to bikes. Everything in Muji is unbranded, natural-looking and pleasantly minimal. What strange, wonderful things will they make today? A notebook with pretty lines that help keep you organized? A wall-mounted CD player that starts up with the pull of a string? All their items are crafty, kitschy, very Japanese and very lovely indeed.

Even just walking into a Muji store transports you into a new land. That the store itself is color co-ordinated is not a surprise but everything in the store is, not just color co-ordinated, but simply co-ordinated, feeling like irreplacable pieces in a puzzle, which, when put together, becomes a picture of a beautiful natural landscape with breezy fields and smiling people.

One of the biggest defining factors of the Muji experience, for me, is actually the wonderful music they play. They don't use standard elevator muzak but commission musicians to create actual background music to enhance the environment. The music is very, very Muji. Clean, modern and natural, unintrusive, somehow painting everything in cream, maroon and cardboard tones... It gives you the strangest kind of store-bought serenity.

So, when I saw that they were actually selling their background music, I went out of my mind with joy. Now, you too can take Muji with you wherever you go! Put in on in your house and watch it get more spacious! Listen to it while you lie on the grass and watch the sunlight diffuse! Listen to it when you're taking the train and watch your destination change to Tokyo!

This is really some of the most perfect ambient music ever made. If Brian Eno gave us an immense, gorgeous imaginary airport with Ambient 1: Music For Airports, then Muji turns the whole world into an extension of a Muji store. Which is, honest-to-God, not as bad as it sounds. Not bad at all! Just because we hate consumer culture doesn't mean we have to hate people who make wonderful things and sell them right?? Hell, William Gibson swore by their toothpaste!

Anyway here's the Muji BGM 1980 - 2000 box set. It took me a long time to upload. Enjoy.


Muji BGM 1980 - 2000 part 1
Muji BGM 1980 - 2000 part 2
Muji BGM 1980 - 2000 part 3
Muji BGM 1980 - 2000 part 4

re-up Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn / Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (drop.io)
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert (drop.io)

re-up John Cage - Daughters Of The Lonesome Isle / Works For Piano 4

John Cage - Daughters Of The Lonesome Isle (drop.io)
John Cage - Works For Piano 4 (drop.io)

Original entry here.

WHAT THE FUCK?

My files have been deleted from Mediafire, apparently. FUCK YOU MEDIAFIRE!!!

I will solve this problem by moving the files onto a different server. It will take me some time so, in the meantime, please don't leave my blog pleaaaseee?

FUCK YOU MEDIAFIRE!!!

Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (1974)

Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh

1. Hortz Fur Dehn Stekehn West
2. Ima Suri Dondai
3. Kobaia Is de Hundin
4. Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik
5. Nebehr Gudahtt
6. Mekanik Kommandoh
7. Kreuhn Kohrmahn Iss de Hundin


When I was younger and more stupid, I got really excited over the term 'math rock' because I thought it was music that was derived from special equations. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that it was just a sound, a style, a term some idiot music journalist conjured up. Oh sigh.

On a vaguely related note, many other idiot journalists use the the term 'Space Opera' to describe everything from Star Wars to Dune to whatever Sci-fi and David Bowie. In fact there's even a Wiki for 'Space Opera' which describes it as "a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing powerful (and sometimes quite fanciful) technologies and abilities."

But no no no no non on ono! We know they are wrong! A REAL Space Opera only happens when you take some French people, shoot them into space, give them a collective messianic fantasy and make them sing in harmony. A true Space Opera is... MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH, also known as M.D.K, the towering, glowering album from Magma that originates from somewhere beyond the stars.

The story surrounding this album is something like, a long time ago, some aliens from the planet Kobaia came down to enlighten us and all of us rejected their 'message' with the exception of this one man called Nebehr Gudhatt. Years pass and our world fucks up and Nebehr Gudhatt becomes something of a prophet and this album is all about a kind of march he organizes to... something. I don't know, do they go to Kobaia?

But, weird stories aside, Kobaian is a fucking glorious language to sing in! I heard it's made from a weird mix of French and German but, since I don't speak either, I'm not sure if I can say anything intelligent about it other than it sounds damn, damn good. It sounds absolutely PERFECT when set to the music, really. Imagine Carmina Burana given a huge forward driving beat, immense production and psychotic singers who sing in this made-up language that sounds gruttal and punchy in all the right places. A real call to arms! A call to Kobaia!! AAaaaAamlaKAaKAdlkaaaaa WLASIK KOBAIA!!!!!

And it's so goddamn catchy too! It's constructed such that one melody repeats for as long as it feels sweet and then another melody takes over and then again and again so it feels like you're really moving forward, up and outwards, into the future. After awhile, you'll really start singing along, I swear. There was a time I could actually sing this whole album, despite it being in Kobaian. It's that catchy.

In conclusion! This is one fine, fine album by make-believe spacemen. Listen to it and you, too, will feel like joining the Six Billion Man March Against McCain.


Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh Part 1 (mediafire)
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh Part 2 (mediafire)