It's Baaaaggy Man!

While some of you might think that the current "disco punk" explosion is the first time that dance music and indie have crossed paths... it isn't. For a brief period of time, roughly 1989-92, dance kids and indie kids shared a love of all things groovy. Just after the second Summer of Love, just after every one got Luv'd Up, after the first Stone Roses album, and while the Happy Mondays were taking more pills than possible, a movement was afoot that took the best elements of early piano house and melded them with indie guitars, vocals, and maybe even fashion. This scene was labeled Baggy and it was grooovy man.

If you've seen 24 Hour Party People, then you have some inkling of what I'm talking about. Not only is the title of the movie a Baggy classic, but the flick featured the undisputed kings of Baggy, The Happy Mondays. While the band was busy doing every drug imaginable there were other bands out there making waves. Some of these bands took elements of Baggy and managed to make huge sums of cash off of it. In fact, you more than likely know two sorta Baggy bands. Even your grandmother knows them. EMF and Jesus Jones rode the Baggy wave to fame by melding it with a chart sensibility. Other bands weren't quite so fortunate. They never made it quite as big as EMF, Jesus Jones, or even the Happy Mondays, but they still made some quality records.

Here now are a few tracks from that era... put on your flares, grab your maracas and Rave On!

The Dylans - Mary Quant In Blue from the Mary Quant In Blue single:
Perhaps a bit like the Cure meets the Inspiral Carpets, The Dylans took their 60's influence and updated it for the 90's. Their first album, of which this is from, is a brilliant Baggy/Shoegazey delight that you can probably find for $2 at any second hand record store. This song is a fantastic pop song that reminds me of traveling up and down the East Coast on a GNER train.

The Real People - Window Pane (12" Extended Mix) from the Window Pane single:
Here's a Liverpool band that never made quite the dent they were supposed to. Why? I'm not sure because they certainly had a pop sensibility that was second to none. This song obviously borrows from a combination of 60's influences and early house records and this single obviously belongs in the Baggy category. The funny thing about the Real People is that they managed to pull themselves together just in time for the Britpop explosion and they weren't that bad at all the second time around either. Check out "Rayners Lane" from the second incarnation. "Window Pane" incidentally is one of my personal favorite tunes from 91.

Slow Bongo Floyd - Open Up Your Heart from the Open Up Your Heart single:
Almost a pure dance record but not quite, "Open Up Your Heart," explodes like a proper house tune but settles into a whispery sorta psychedelic baggy-dance monster. Check out the 60's influence and the loads of sitar vibes maaaaan. It's almost as if the Beatles, and Cornershop ran into Derrick May in a dark alley. Yes folks, indie kids actually LIKED this stuff in 1991.

Top - Number One Dominator from the Number One Dominator single:
This song title just reeks of being a early rave/happy hardcore record...but it's not. In fact, it's almost Britpop before Britpop. The tune is perhaps more guitar led than the other songs here but still clings to that psychedelic dancey groove. It's a swirly tune that kinda plods around with a wee bit of an ego. Think of the title folks! It's a nice tune that I have to say I was hesitant to buy because of the name! Whoops.

The Wendys - Pulling My Fingers Off from the Pulling My Fingers Off single:
Two things about this record that are important. One, this record is on Factory which means it's instantly good. Two, Ian Broudie produced this single which also means its instantly good. With those two things going for it, how could this record fail? It doesn't. It's fantastic jangly pop that's jumpy enough to make it danceable and just trippy enough to make it baggy. The song sort of comes off as a sub-Lightning Seeds song and that's not really a bad thing. This single and their debut album Gobbledygook are still two of the best records I've ever bought for 50p!

Until next time...Just remember, "You're Twistin My Melon Man..."

From FAC 51

Paul the baggy trousered Anglophile

Death becomes her.

I remember how I felt the first time I heard Garbage back in '95 on a CMJ compilation. I got that same feeling after giving New York's The Ropes a first listen. The Blondie influence is just as apparent here, and Sharon Shy's vocals are similiar in that tauntingly sexy kind of way. They've sparked my interest, so I plan on checking out their June 8th show out at Sin-e. You can purchase the EP, "Kill Her Off", at Amazon.com. It costs less than a Chipotle burrito... and I hear it's more satisfying.

Kill Her Off
Dead And Well
+ Myspace

Long Distance Runaround

I've slacked again on updating (ahem, Paul, you were supposed to have my back), but that's only because I'm conserving my musical appetite for tonight's Mark Kozelek show at Bowery Ballroom. The beautiful voice and talent of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, I have been eagerly awaiting tonight's show for the past month and some days since I bought the tickets.

I first fell in love with Red House Painters around age 15. My then crush made me a mixtape and the "I Am A Rock" cover was on it... amongst Swirlies, My Bloody Valentine and other indie-cred-ible bands. I must have played that track so many times that the actual tape wore out in one spot only.

Now here it is, almost 10 years later, and I'm finally seeing the man behind getting me through many emotionally hard times... and the best makeout sessions I've ever had.

Here are some of my favorites for crying and necking (but not in that order)...

From the self-titled album, Red House Painters:
Red House Painters - I Am A Rock

From Songs For A Blue Guitar:
Red House Painters - All Mixed Up

From What's Next To The Moon:
Mark Kozelek - Bad Boy Boogie

From Rock 'N' Roll Singer:
Mark Kozelek - Rock 'N' Roll Singer

From Ghosts of the Great Highway:
Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio

From Tiny Cities:
Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes
Sun Kil Moon - Dramamine

To sway as if about to fall.

Congratulations to Kurt Stahl of Frederick, MD for winning the Bloody Contest! You'll be getting your signed Brakes album along with your Brakes and British Sea Power buttons next week. For anyone who didn't get to participate, we'll be announcing another contest shortly.

I'm still feeling a little ill today, but thanks to Farhad bringing me multiple magical potions last night, my health is picking up. At this rate, I should be good enough to DJ tonight.

Enough about me already.


You may have already heard them, seeing as how they toured with Stellastarr and Editors along with being reviewed by some namely publications. But somehow, Mobius Band had slipped under my radar until I got a friend request from them the other day. I gave it a listen, and now I'm hooked. Especially to the instrumental "Well-Thumbed Page".
The Loving Sounds of Static
The Loving Sounds of Static (Junior Boys Remix)
Well-Thumbed Page
+ Myspace



If you haven't heard Nouvelle Vague already, chances are you must live in a cave. How you're on the internet is another question. Recycling the 80s into a bossa nova style... that's it, simply put. These selections are my favorite covers they've done.

From Bande a Part:
The Killing Moon
Dancing With Myself

From the self-titled album, Nouvelle Vague:
Making Plans for Nigel
Too Drunk to Fuck
+ MySpace

Trans Europe Express

I've been to a fair amount of shows in my day. I've seen everyone from Morbid Angel to Tex Beneke and then some. I have a simple philosophy when it comes to seeing bands live...Entertain me. That's it. Do something to make it worth my while. So many bands just have no stage presence at all. They just stand their and strum their guitars and to be honest that's frickin boring. Jump, move, dance, trash the stage, do something so that I'm not forced to stand and wonder if the building is structurally sound.

Britain's Art Brut and Germany's Robocop Kraus are two bands that definitely do not fit into that category. These guys are entertainers. They know how to work the crowd and they not only have killer songs, but they have a killer stage presence as well. They have energy and the crowd feeds off of that and everyone starts to get hyper with them. These guys could win over any crowd put before them, even Joe Abercrombie Fitch dude.

They did just that, this past week in Orlando. I'm sure a vast majority of people in attendance had no idea who either band were, but by the end of the night either band couldn't move around the Social w/o starting a conversation with new and old fans alike.

Eddie Argos is truly Jarvis Cocker w/a mustache and Thomas Lang is the best dancer ever. Eddie yelling Robocop Kraus...Top of the Pops as a tribute, then interrupting Good Weekend to update us on the girl from the song was priceless. Thomas from RK saying that some song is the best song you'll ever hear before he played it in front of Art Brut was hilarious. The bands blew the roof off of the Social. They were funny, had fun, and entertained us. They were amazing and this will go down as one of the best shows of 2006.

Since I can't provide you with a slice of both bands live performances here are a bunch of tracks from both bands...Oh and by the way...I met Eddie Argos...TWICE!

Legendary Germans...Robocop Kraus...
From Living With Other People...
Fashion

From They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus...
After Laughter Comes Tears
You Don't Have To Shout

Literary Geniuses...Art Brut...
from the Modern Art single...
These Animal Menswe@r

from the Good Weekend single...
Really Bad Weekend

from Bang Bang Rock & Roll...
Modern Art
Moving to LA

Until next time...
Who Needs Radio...Top of the Pops!!!

Paul the Anglophile

I can mash potato.

Mashups have always been fascinating to me. The idea of reinventing a song by layering another song over it... it makes music more fun to play with. Almost like a puzzle you put together, yet it becomes another picture. It's also funny how after you hear a mashup, the original is never the same again.

Although it's nothing new and you've probably heard one or a few around the way already, I thought I'd post up a few of my favorites.

(Note: Non-related picture from the Museum of Bad Album Covers. If you ever get bored or in need of a good laugh, I highly recommend going there.)

Beatles vs Nine Inch Nails - Come Closer:
Granted, "Closer" is probably my most despised NIN song, the layering of the chorus in this is brilliant.

Blondie vs The Doors - Rapture Riders:
And you thought "Rapture" could never get better...

Chic vs Beastie Boys vs Franz Ferdinand - Freak Me Out:
The layer of Franz Ferdinand is very minimal in this, which is perfect.

Daft Punk vs Radio 4 - Underground After All (Zebra Mix):
Tamer than I thought it was going to be before I heard it, but Radio 4 adds more content to the original Daft Punk song.

Metronomy vs Spoon - Trick Photography (Lady Byrd Mix):
This came about when I was sitting on the train one day last year and the Spoon track started playing on my iPod. I noticed the similarities in the bassline with the Metronomy track, so when I got home I immediately put the two together. This is the result. Not as great as the other mashups posted, but I like it. I think it's actually the first thing I've ever done that I've liked.

Mylo vs Miami Sound Machine - Doctor Pressure (Dirty Club Mix):
By far one of my favorite mashups ever created. I don't care for either song standing alone, but together? Ingenious.

If you come to Manifesto! tomorrow night, chances are you'll hear one or two of these in my set.

Tuesday's Grey

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so this post is going to be just a little half-assed.


The Chemistry Set know how to write a bio: "His main focus was perfecting his Christopher Walken impersonation and hitting the circuit as a stand-up wrestler. One day, he had an epiphany. He looked in the mirror and saw Gary Busey's reflection, and knew he had to change." They also know how to create great foot-tapping music with recycled unicorn bodies. See them live on 5/28 with Chatterton and Frank Smith at the Knitting Factory Old Office.
Why Don't You
Menlo Park
+ Myspace

Coming soon from High Voltage Sounds:


Promo insert - "The third release sees the band merge their love of funk and soul records with electronic dance beats to create a super-charged indie crossover. Alongside fellow Mancunians The Whip and Performance, The KBC are spearheading a new era of great north-west dance music." I wouldn't quite call it "crossover" or "a new era", but I'd say it's definitely catchy and has dance-floor-energy potential. The Performance remix just guarantees that dance force.

From the Not Anymore single, available July 3rd:
Not Anymore
Not Anymore (Performance Remix)
+ Myspace



Promo insert - "A sparkling blast of 80s influenced indie-pop, No Light Left builds on Snowfight In The City Centre's reputation for creating songs full of sky-scraping melodies." For some odd reason, listening to this song made Q Lazzarus pop in my head. I'm not saying they're anything alike, that's why I said "odd reason". Maybe it's just the notes he's hitting. Anyway, it's good. Dreamy, poppy, soundscape'ish and all that jazz. Well not jazz... you know what I mean.

From the No Light Left single, available July 3rd:
No Light Left
+ Myspace

Kinder music.

Though the vocals have often been compared to Thom Yorke (is that the industry standard these days?), I think the sound of Tom Thumb and the Latter Day Saints is something much, much more uniquely beautiful. There's something that's classic about his voice, but I can't put my finger on a specific person or time... which is good, I think. When listening to the Kindermusik EP, I begin to feel nostalgic, as if I'm being swept into a memory I had forgotten. How something unfamiliar can induce nostalgia, I'm not sure. Maybe it's the Latter Day Saints part, considering I was a part of the mormon church as a kid. How fitting is it that they also recorded this EP in a church? But I digress. I've been enjoying it, now it's your turn.

From Kindermusik, now available on iTunes and Three Rings Records:
Growing Boy
Dark Rooms
+ Myspace



A while back, someone commented requesting me to post up a Reindeer Section song. Sorry it took so long for me to get around to it, but I'm happy you asked considering how much I love them. I don't know whatever happened to them, other than Lightbody being busy with the not-so-calming Snowpatrol. I really wish he'd just ditch that act and stick with Reindeer Section, but we all can't get our wishes. So to the requester, these two are for you. And me. Oh screw it, it's for us all.

From Son of Evil Reindeer:
Your Sweet Voice
I'll Be Here When You Wake

In case you haven't heard it yet:

The Futureheads - Skip to the End:
New track from the upcoming News and Tributes album, due out May 29th. A lot of people I know don't like them and toss them aside as another post-punk headache, but I'm going to admit it here and now... I love them. Deal with it. As Matthew from Fluxblog said, "...this time around they're emulating The Clash rather than some other much less tuneful punk bands, and unsurprisingly, they've come up with a winner." I hope the rest of the album has as much catch as this song.

Saving the world one colour at a time.

Though the photograph may be monochromatic, Australian indie-rockers ColourFast are anything but. Time Off Magazine (no, not Time Out) had this to say: "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, and musicians are artists - then Colourfast's music makes for bright and textured paintings."

Okay, now that we have the metaphors out of the way, can I just also say that on top of really liking their sound... I love their site. Seriously. Click on the "multimedia" button and you can play Frogger, Pong, or even kill an hour or two trying to create something with rhythm on their Sequencer. Other artists should take note... if you can't be entertaining us on stage, spruce up your site and keep us amused (when we should be working).

Their debut album, Walk, will be out July 2006.
Save the World
Take Your Time
+ Myspace

Side note: We've only gotten 4 correct entries in the Bloody Contest so far. That's a 1 in 4 chance at winning. That's like the same chance of having a bad experience buying a property in Spain. I don't know what that has to do with anything, I just though it was interesting. We're letting the contest run a whole week to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance, so make sure you send your answers in. Google is your best friend.

The Busiest Man on the Earth

It's a given fact that Mac McCaughan is the single busiest man in indie rock. This is the same guy that some how finds the time to run Merge Records, play in Superchunk, be a dad, and then play in Portastatic. How this guy finds time to sleep is beyond me.

Portastatic originally started as an outlet for all the material that Mac was writing that did not fit the Superchunk mold. That was ages ago and now Portastatic has developed into its own full-fledged artistic endeavor, releasing six full length albums, a heap of singles, and god knows how many compilation tracks. Portastatic has also allowed Mac to pursue an interest in film. Through Portastatic Mac has been able to score two independent films; Looking for Leonard, and the yet to be released Who Loves the Sun.

Until the actual Who Loves the Sun score is released this summer, you can enjoy a couple of instrumental tracks from the album as well as some classic Portastatic tunes. So without further adieu...get clicking...

from Who Loves the Sun released summer 2006
Track 14
Track 17

from I Hope You Heart Is Not Brittle
Polaroid

from Slow Note From A Sinking Ship
Skinny Glasses Girl

from De Mel, De Melao
Baby

Until next time...
From Chapel Hill

Paul the Tarheeled Anglophile

A Bloody Contest

Thanks to many emails and many hours spent complaining to StartLogic, we're back!

Now on with the contest.

Thanks to Alex (of Rough Trade America), we have our very first WNR contest! We are giving away a signed copy of the Brakes album, "Give Blood", complete with buttons from the Brakes and the Eamon-related band, British Sea Power. Loka cat not included. To have a chance at winning, all you have to do is correctly answer these 3 questions:

1) Vocalist and guitarist Eamon Hamilton went by what pen name as a journalist?
2) What Johnny Cash and June Carter song did they cover on this album?
3) What is the most common blood type in the US?

So get to emailing your answers to contest@whoneedsradio.com, and don't forget your contact information (i.e. name & snail mail address). We'll do a random drawing of the correct replies and announce the winner on 5/18/06.

Good luck!

All Night Disco Party
+ Myspace

We've gone down, and it ain't pretty.

We are currently having severe issues with Blogger and our host, StartLogic, which has kept us from using the web publishing tool with our host since our last post. I am doing this now manually with notepad (which is a pain in the ass), so please be patient while we try to get this squared away. So far, after MUCH, MUCH digging... I have found out that StartLogic has decided over the weekend to ban the IP address of Blogger.com so we can't use it. The only way to get this ban lifted? You got it, folks. SPEND MORE MONEY. Yeah, you could say we're pretty pissed about it all. It always comes down to money, dunnit? Well, I have a contest to post up along with a lot of great new stuff, but it will have to wait until I find another host.

Many apologies to everyone for this dreadful delay.

We hope to get back on track shortly. Thanks for your support and patience.

XO - LB

This is my Manifesto!

Just wanted to post a quick reminder that Manifesto! starts tonight @ THE SKINnY Bar & Lounge. Rough Trade America was nice enough to send over some singles, albums and buttons for the opening night, so be sure to drop by for the open bar and freebies from the following:

Babyshambles, Libertines, Brakes, Emiliana Torrini, British Sea Power, & Bubbley Kaur

My guest DJ JGreco (SQE Music) and I will be pushing out the sound from upstairs, so feel free to walk up and collect.

The next Manifesto! will be on 5/18 and will feature giveaways and promos from Mute Records.

And for those of you who aren't in the area, here's a little something for you:

Drink Me: Manifesto

I Believe I Can Fly!

After posting a couple of new tunes I figured it was time to go back into the vault. I've dug out five more classics from the stacks for you to enjoy. There are a couple of bigger names here this go around but there are a couple of bands you might not have heard of as well.

No real theme to these, just five randomly cool tunes that I still enjoy listening to. Hopefully, you will as well. So with that...get clickin...

The Bluetones - Marblehead Johnson
This is probably my favorite Bluetones song and has been since it's release back in 1996. The second this song starts your hooked. That little riff just lures you in and then Mark Morris starts singing and it turns into this perfect dark hearted pop song. The best line of the whole tune is when Mark says, "You owe my patience quite a debt." What a great line. Unfortunately very few people in the states actually had the pleasure of hearing the Bluetones. The first album Expecting to Fly came out here and then for some strange reason nothing else was ever released. The sad thing is, this band got better and better as time went on. Their three other albums are brilliant and I highly recommend finding them somewhere. Luxembourg is particularly cool.

Hopper - Bad Kid
When I first got this single, I wrote as a note to myself that it was more Sleeper than Sleeper. Looking back I'm not completely sure if I agree with that. But much like Sleeper, Hopper was a spiky, punky little band and "Bad Kid" was a perfect combination of Salad's quirkyness, Sleeper's pop sensibility, and a bit of Elastica's aggression. The tune is loud, brash and still sweet enough to sucker you in. Still a faveorite of mine.

Pulp - O.U. 12" Mix
Oh sure everyone knows Pulp. Well let me rephrase that...everyone knows two songs by Pulp. Even your neighborhood stripey t-shirt, white belt wearing scenester knows "Disco 2000," and "Common People." (If you don't believe me...put on "Pink Glove," and watch the dance floor clear out.) The thing is, those two songs are among the weakest they've written. Yes, they were anthems back in the day and if you have a "I'm Common" t-shirt you are cool but, Pulp has a back catalog that puts those singles and Different Class to shame. "O.U." is one of those tracks and happens to be my favorite Pulp song. Originally released on Gift Recordings, "O.U.," shows Jarvis at his sexually frustrated best. It's an instantly danceable song geared for the dancefloor and it has Candida using her arms and legs to play all those keyboard parts. The first time I heard this I had a 102 degree fever, just sat in a plane for 7.5 hours and still could not resist hopping around to it. A classic.

Slingbacks - All Pop No Star
They were originally on Vinyl Japan but then got picked up by Virgin and then disappeared by 98. Yet they put out some great tunes in that short amount of time. "All Pop No Star," is one of those tunes. It's as if the ghost of T.Rex jumped in the body of the Slingbacks and this song came out. This is a glam infused stomper of a song that's as trashy as Britpop got. It's sparkly, hot, irristable and it wants to take to back to its place. Who are you to refuse it the pleasure?

Straw - The Aeroplane Song
I love airplanes. It's a geek thing. Some people spot trains, I love to planespot. Flight is an amazing thing. When I used to live in Miami, I would watch all the international flights come in while I ate lunch. To see the huge birds land or take off always made me think about where the planes came from and who was on them. It also made me slightly jealous because I'd rather be on a Virgin 747-400 headed to
London Gatwick then sitting in Miami(or Jacksonville for that matter). When Straw released this single, it was instantly my ode to aircraft. When they belt out "Lufthansa...go where you wanna go," you could just see the video of a 747 taking off. Why Lufthansa (A German airline) never used this song in an advert is beyond me. It's the perfect summer song because it just makes me want to get the hell out of wherever I'm at. Aufwidersehn!

From over the Atlantic...

Paul the Anglophile

Mama, I wanna come home.

I've been feeling a little homesick lately. It's not that I miss Florida, but I miss the creative madness and wonderful people I was surrounded by. While Jacksonville may not have much to shout about, it can at least be proud of some of the fantastic musicians and creative minds it has harbored. No offense to the New Yorkers, y'all are great too... but the rest of the world already knows that.

These two artists have me longing for home:


Chad Matheny is crazy, simply put. From his crazy eyes to the crazy way he performs on stage, it's the only way I can think to describe him. I've been seeing a lot of press about his project, Emperor X, and for good reason - it's brilliant. From the New Order'ish slash Magnetic Fieldsy sound of "Sfearion", to the Stephen Malkmus slash Elliot Smithness of "Citizens of Wichita"... it's funny to think that someone so sporadic on stage can put together something so perfectly arranged. He's also one half of Jacksonville-based indie label Discos Mariscos. I have to say... I'm proud to have once been called "DJ Rumpalicious" on his pirated radio station.
Sfearion
Citizens of Wichita
+ Myspace



Max Wood is a musical prodigy. At only 19, he's the other half of Discos Mariscos and has been the main brain behind Applied Communications. The music has been described as hip-hop/lo-fi/indie-pop/electro schizophrenia, if you can even try to fit it into a genre slot. It's all over the place, and it's fucking fun madness. The times I've seen little Max play have consisted of shaving cream all over him and EVERYWHERE in his surrounding area, and near broken equipment due to his jumping around and flailing on the ground. Yes, this madness makes me miss home.
Get A Load of My Faggot Whistle
Do You Know What I'm Saying?
+ Myspace

This just in!


Thanks to the God that is Chris of gorilla vs. bear, my prayers have been answered. I have been entirely too anxious to hear something off the new Sleepy Jackson album (dated for July release), so you can imagine my state when I saw this in my inbox. Let's just say my coworker probably thought I had won the lottery.
God Lead Your Soul

The Tuesday Two

Down in Adelaide, Australia, a jazz-funk meets house-groove band named Kubrick are busy making music for every single one of us to enjoy. Comprised of some highly talented musicians who really know what they're doing - it may be easy going... but never dull.
Winton
Prof. Headly Peach



A bit quirky, but strangely addictive... North have a sound I'm struggling to find a way to describe. It's part Beck, part Cake, but that still doesn't really cover the sound because each song is diverse from the first. "New Reason" is remnant of an old video game theme song, but then "In the Calmest Woodland" turns the pace of Pavement. Hey, I like it.
New Reason
In the Calmest Woodland
+ Myspace

Dear Birds

Whenever I see a combination of genres like experimental, electronic, and hip hop listed for a band, I'm usually not expecting much of it. It's because most times (not all), the music is hard to follow and has no real structure to it (or in some cases, too much structure). Well... needless to say, Low In The Sky surprised me. They're simple with their complexity, and the lack of lyrics doesn't bring their intensity down. Recommended for fans of Four Tet, Department of Eagles, Boards of Canada, and Prefuse 73.
Cool Sanson
Heavens to Murgatroid
+ Myspace

In other news, this coming Thursday is the start of my new bi-weekly in the lower east side. Feel free to drop by if you're in the area. We should (hopefully) be getting some shipments in this week of goodies to give away, so you never know what (or who) you may walk out with.