Nov 22, 2007

Alphabet Soup, F

Hello it's the 6th Alphabet Soup day, which means, fafafafa the letter F..BTW today i thought of the latest threat the UK government devised, the dissappearance of the benefits records..now the compulsary ID has to be implemented to prevent extensive damage. Wicked !
Back to the music my first F today is a lady that went from riches to rags and back again, too much life to compile here, but do find out more about her. The Future Heads took their name from an album by the Flaming Lips, yet do not have much incommon musically, for one all these guys can really sing, this here their debut album got much acclaim after their second their small indie said goodbye and the band almost broke up but we can expect the third next year. Flaming Lips molded a wonder weird wworld for themselves and take every efort to let us share their psychedelics, 2002 's Yoshimi was their biggest seller thusfar after a much lauded Soft Bulletin which brought them back to earth as it where..well take your pick, better still take them all.

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Marianne Faithfull - Broken English ( 79 ^ 84mb)

Marianne faithfull was born with a bit of a silverspoon in her mouth, after conventschool she began her singing career in 1964, landing her first gigs as a folk music performer in coffeehouses. Faithfull was discovered at a Rolling Stones' launch party by pop music producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Her first major release, "As Tears Go By", was penned by Oldham, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and became a chart success. She then released a series of successful singles, including "This Little Bird", "Summer Nights" and "Come and Stay With Me". Marianne married artist John Dunbar in 1965, the same year, she gave birth to their son, Nicholas. The marriage was short-lived, principally owing to Dunbar's heroin addiction. She took their son to stay with Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg in London. During that time period, Faithfull started using marijuana and became best friends with Pallenberg. She also began a much publicized relationship with Mick Jagger.

The relationship with Jagger lasted throughout the late 1960s, and the couple became notorious. In 1968 Faithfull, by now addicted to cocaine, miscarried a daughter. Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life would be reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best-known songs. Faithfull herself wrote "Sister Morphine". (The writing credit for the song was the subject of a protracted legal battle; the resolution of the case has Faithfull listed as co-author of the song.) In her autobiography, Faithfull said Mick Jagger and Keith Richards released it in their own names in order that her agent did not collect (all) the royalties and proceeds from the song, especially as she was homeless and battling with heroin addiction at the time. Faithfull dissolved her relationship with Jagger in 1970, and lost custody of her son in that same year. Severe laryngitis coupled with persistent cocaine abuse during this period permanently altered the sound of Faithfull's voice, leaving it cracked and lower in pitch. Marianne's personal life went into decline, and her career went into a tailspin.

Faithfull lived on London's Soho streets for two years, suffering from heroin addiction and anorexia nervosa, friends intervened and enrolled her in an NHS drug programme. She was one of the program's most notorious failures, neither controlling nor stabilizing her addiction as the NHS intended. In 1971, producer Mike Leander found her on the streets and made an attempt to revive her career, producing part of her album Rich Kid Blues. The album would be shelved until 1985. Faithfull moved into a squat without hot water or electricity in Chelsea with her then-boyfriend Ben Brierly, of punk band The Vibrators. In 1977 she released the country-influenced record Dreaming my Dreams.

Faithfull’s immediately preceding album, Dreaming My Dreams, had been in a relatively gentle folk or country and western style. It was a surprise to listeners that Broken English was a radical departure, featuring a contemporary fusion of rock, punk, new wave and dance, with liberal use of synthesizers. Even more astonishing for listeners was Faithfull’s "new" voice. After a number of years of drug abuse, Faithfull's voice was in a lower register, far raspier, and had a more world-weary quality than in the past, well suited to the often raw emotions expressed in the newer songs.

The album’s title track took inspiration from terrorist figures of the time, particularly Ulrike Meinhof of the Baader-Meinhof group. "Guilt" was informed by the Catholic upbringing of the singer and her composer Barry Reynolds. "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan", originally performed by Dr Hook, was a melancholy tale of middle class housewife's disillusionment; Faithfull's version became something of anthem and was used to appropriate effect on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro (1981) and Thelma and Louise (1991). "What’s the Hurry?" was described by Faithfull as reflecting the everyday desperation of the habitual drug user. Her cover of John Lennon’s "Working Class Hero", recorded as a tribute to her own heroes such as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and Lennon himself, was widely praised.

The last track, "Why D’Ya Do It?", is a caustic, graphic, and possessive rant of a woman reacting to her lover's infidelity. The lyric starts with the man's point of view, relating the angry, bitter tirade of his jilted lover. Poet and writer Heathcote Williams had originally conceived the lyrics as a piece for Tina Turner to record, but Faithfull succeeded in convincing him that Turner would never record such a number. Its plethora of four-letter words and explicit references to oral sex caused controversy and led to a ban in Australia, where local pressings of the LP were released with smooth vinyl ( ! ) in place of the track and a 'bonus' 45 single as compensation.

Here I have to stop, she found her feet again musically and acting wise and is still going strong now (28 years later) and well respected, amazing how life twists..



01 - Broken English (4:33)
02 - Witches' Song (4:40)
03 - Brain Drain (4:09)
04 - Guilt (5:05)
05 - The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan (4:06)
06 - What's The Hurry (3:02)
07 - Working Class Hero (4:37)
08 - Why D'Ya Do It (6:34)


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Futureheads, The - The Futureheads (04 ^ 87mb)

The band began as a trio of Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar), Jaff (bass), and Peter Brewis (drums). Ross Millard (vocals and guitar) joined soon after having been in a band with Jaff in college. They used the Sunderland City Detached Youth Project building (where Brewis and Hyde worked) as a free practice space, fitting since the project was intended to get young people off the streets by using music. They first performed in 2000, and through word-of-mouth their reputation in the local area grew. Hyde's younger brother Dave (who replaced Brewis, who went on to join fellow north east rockers Field Music) joined later, and their first single was released in 2002.
The Futureheads' debut album is just as pop-oriented as Franz F, but it comes in an extremely tightly-wound package, heaps of energy compressed into 15 tracks that span 36 insanely quick minutes. Brimming with stuttering, twitching tension, the music winds tighter and tighter, only to be released in an explosion of energy during the all-too-brief choruses, before returning to tightening the screws even more. It's positively dizzying during the first few listens, but once listeners start to differentiate between each song, this album's sly pop rock genius is obvious. The fact that it was produced by former Gang of Four member Andy Gill further adds to the temptation to label the music as stuck in the early '80s, but dig a little deeper, and you'll find that under the early '80s posturing lies a strong '60s pop quality.
There is no guitar band or rock band or whatever the hell you wanna call it in the world today that throws the vocals about quite like The Futureheads do. They all sing, it’s an approach that reaps stunning rewards. Lots of bands take the two lead singers approach these days, and lots of bands have backing singers as well, but the difference here is their use, the amount of vocal hook lines and tics that they put in unexpectedly, the way they use their voices simultaneously to create these brief bursts of solid sound that pop up through the songs, and even occasionally going all a cappella, such as on “The Danger Of The Water”. The fact is, these guys can sing, and they put their vocal talents to astonishingly good use.

A stand-alone EP "Area" was released in November 2005 while the band were working on their second album News and Tributes (name inspired by the Munich air disaster in 1958). It was released on June 2006. The Futureheads were dropped by their label in November 2006. They have said they are pleased about this because it gives them more freedom as a band, and they have the opportunity to find greener pastures.In June 2007, they reportedly completed work on a third album, which is expected to be released early 2008.



01 - Le Garage (1:46)
02 - Robot (2:00)
03 - A To B (2:27)
04 - Decent Days And Nights (2:31)
05 - Meantime (2:51)
06 - Alms (2:05)
07 - Danger Of The Water (2:57)
08 - Carnival Kids (2:44)
09 - The City Is Here For You To Use (2:35)
10 - First Day (2:04)
11 - He Knows (3:14)
12 - Stupid And Shallow (1:35)
13 - Trying Not To Think About Time (2:24)
14 - Hounds Of Love (3:02)
15 - Man Ray (2:19)

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Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (02 ^ 99mb)

The Flaming Lips formed in Oklahoma City in 1983 with Wayne Coyne's brother Mark singing lead vocals and Michael Ivins on bass guitar. After going through a host of different drummers, Richard English joined the band in 1984. After his brother's departure, Wayne assumed the vocal duties and the band released their first full-length album, Hear It Is, on the small independent label Restless Records in 1986. This line-up recorded two more albums; 1987's Oh My Gawd!!! and 1989's Telepathic Surgery, the latter originally planned to be a thirty minute sound collage. In a Priest Driven Ambulance (1989), with drummer English replaced by Nathan Roberts was their first album with producer Dave Fridmann. The album was host to a marked expansion in the band's sound and their previous experiments in tape loops and effects were given a more prominent role. This was also the period of the band in which Coyne made his transition to a higher, more strained vocal style akin to Neil Young.
When in 1990 they almost burned the house down during a show they got noted and contracted by a major, Warner rec. In 1992, the band released their major label debut Hit to Death in the Future Head (!) after the recording of which Roberts left the band, citing creative differences, in came Ronald Jones and Steven Drozd (drums) respectively. In 1993, they released Transmissions from the Satellite Heart. This was the only studio album since In a Priest Driven Ambulance to date in which Dave Fridmann has not been involved. Clouds Taste Metallic was released to much critical fanfare in late 1995, though it did not achieve the commercial success of its predecessor. The strain of the year-long Clouds tour added to the stress from the three years touring in support of Transmissions was a major factor in the departure of Ronald Jones in late 1996.

The departure of Jones and a general dissatisfaction with standard "rock" music led to the three remaining members of the group to redefine the direction of the band with the experimental Zaireeka (1997), a four-CD album which is intended to be heard by playing all four CDs in four separate CD players simultaneously. Though their experimental endeavors received some press coverage, their real breakthrough came with the massively acclaimed 1999 release, The Soft Bulletin, more traditional catchy melodies with languid synthetic strings, hypnotic, carefully manipulated beats, booming cymbals and oddball but philosophical lyrics. The album quickly became one of the underground hits of the year, even widely considered to be one of the best albums of the entire decade.Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was released(2002) , demonstrating more use of electronic instruments and computer manipulation than The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi is widely considered to be The Flaming Lips' first critical and commercial success after nearly twenty years of existing as a band. The final track on the album, "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" earned a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.In March 2007, the band revealed that they have recently teamed up with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to produce a Broadway musical based on the album. At War with the Mystics is the eleventh album by the Flaming Lips, released on April, 2006 . The album is more guitar-driven than The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and has a stronger political bent lyrically than previous efforts.



01 - Fight Test (4:14)
02 - One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21 (4:59)
03 - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1 (4:45)
04 - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 2 (2:57)
05 - In The Morning Of The Magicians (6:18)
06 - Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell (4:34)
07 - Are You A Hypnotist ? (4:44)
08 - It's Summertime (4:20)
09 - Do You Realize?? (3:32)
10 - All We Have Is Now (3:53)
11 - Approaching Pavanis Mons By Balloon (3:09)

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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks lots for Broken English and The Futureheads. Much appreciated!

GianniZ said...

Love to see the Futureheads and Broken English in flac. Cheers