Right I'm back, a little worse for wear but here. Quite a few bits to catch up on now I've dragged my crispy body back on miserable British soil. There's a distinct lack of Summer feeling going on around here and in no small part due to the stinking weather. In order to get myself ready for the coming months and intended frivolities I have turned to music. No other genre of music makes me feel like it's the summer more than old school reggae Toots & the Maytals-Sweet & Dandy Removed, Toots is a legend with a voice I could drown in, even when they're singing about being poor and everything going wrong there's a higher more positive force at work. Toots real name is Frederick Hibbert and he is a true reggae legend, a career spanning 30 years, an innovator and an amazing performer, I recommend this compilation if you need to get started. There's so much to say about Toots I don't want to begin because I don't know where I'd end but you can visit the official website to pick up more information. They are currently doing a world tour which covers from Lille(in France) to Texas and you should beg, steal and borrow to get to one of those dates. I'm really looking forward to their performance on the Jazzworld stage at Glastonbury festival, how can they justify putting Jamie'twatface'Cullum on the same stage as Toots?, man it sickens me, but anyway I'll be there for Toots, at the front with a big fat grin on my face. If you like reggae/ska/dancehall and any music that's got a beat to it then a good store to check out is Juno Records, you can listen to samples to most of the stuff which is really useful for those more obscure items and new unheard riddims.


Missy Elliott-Hot (ratatat remix)
Removed

Ratatat are building up a lot of talk at the moment, like others I'm still not sure how I feel about them but I like the sleazy stylings of this remix. Missy can often sound dirty and this definitely enhances it. Have a look at Ratatat's website although it wouldn't work when I tried it. XL Recordings have an info page and something about making paper dolls of the guys? interesting idea but strictly for the ultra bored if you ask me. Recent reviews of their album indicate they may be better at the remixing.


Mp3 blogs emerging
Pop loving A million love songs,
above track and lots more good stuff available at Smart music, Japanese based in English and some quality choices Nobu blog, Brit-centric bubblegum and loving it Supervixxen, More pop, more pop and currently hosting one of my personal teen drama faves The Shangri-La's Bang and Burn, electronic goodness Swen, A Ramones-clad baby can only be a good thing Silence is a rhythm too, Twindie (yes I made that up) Marx vs. The Monorail, Excellent selections with French commentary Indiepoprock
Sorry if I'm a bit late on some of these but one can't always be alert you know.

Pick up on some blogs, grouped by subject

Use all your sensory tentacles

That's it for now, much more (hopefully) on Monday.