--- (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} amadeeeep) wrote,@ 2004-12-21 16:29:00 |
|
album # ONE ONE ONE!!!1
hot chip - coming on strong (moshi moshi)
"GIVE UP ALL YOU SUCKERS WE THE TIGHEST MOTHERFUCKERS
AND YOU NEVER SEEN THIS TYPE OF SHIT BEFORE NOW..........."
well well well then, here we are... 40 records and a month later, the #1. i guess if there's only one record which really sums up the year 2004 for me in a nutshell, one record which has consistently been rotating in my player since i purchased it from 'select-a-disc' all the way back at the start of the summer, (which seems so long ago now...)that's been there through all the highs and the lows, one which i can listen to from start to finish without ever skipping a single track, from a band which geniunely excites me, and have created a record which i have some truly special, endearing memories attached to the music then it could only be one out-right winner....
NO! NOT BLOODY EMBRACE, YOU CRETIN! BLOODY HOT CHIP!!
i remember first stumbling upon them in the most unexpected way. the story goes, back in april i went to see a bbc collective sessions</span> at 93 feet east, primarily to see joy zipper, but there were also two other bands on the bill; m craft, and hot chip. first on the bill, hot chip left me lost for words. setting up onstage like kraftwerk or even apparat organ quartet (four keyboards side by side, at the front of the stage), i found my self just becoming gradually to completely captivated and overtaken by their combination of experimental-electro-funk-soul. lead by melodic vocals and keyboards and a thumping broken drum-machine, they moved me. literally. from gentle reserved toe-tapping to shoulder-swaggering head-bopping... for me, that's quite a feat, especially in public. everything else just seemed to be an anti-climax after them... (by the way, you can watch the entire hot chip bbc collective session here</span>), i soon found a copy and purchased 'coming on strong' and the rest is as they say, history... (though who 'they' are exactly, remains a mystery...)
to be honest, i could never have predicted that this band of west londoners would have had such an enormous impact on me, and i'm sure some people will find them too much, maybe a sarcastic irony-laden step too far, but this debut is built around a backdrop of impeccably arranged, laptop-crafted pop perfection. not unlike the streets or perhaps a lo-fi neptunes, what makes this record special is its shambling, rough and ready, tounge-firmly-in-cheek sense of humour, but they mean every single word. just seeing them live, you see how much they mean it while they beat the hell out of pineapple shakers and cow-bells... lead by alexis taylor and joe goddard...with a little help from owen clarke and felix martin, i honestly can't describe what this record sounds like, (my favourite description was from rough trade: "it's a melting pot of ideas and sounds that tastes wierd at first, think prince, beats of beastie boys, attitude of cloudead, and funky as a pair of andre 3000 y~fronts!")... they've made a record which sounds so fresh and unlike anything out there today. their music is experimental but not at the expense of a good tune, almost play/joyful, recorded in a d.i.y fashion in their bedrooms, made on computers but in a very human kind of way. the instrumentation and arrangements are left tattered round the edges, where strength is drawn from a murkier well than virtuosity and professionalism...
the record opens with the rather sombre introduction of 'take care', with it's quirky plodding of squigly basslines and synths is as characteristic an introduction to the world of hot chip as you're going to get. you can almost picture the band driving round the town, with the top down, it's that gangter as alexis ponders, ".. my heart is broke and it's not for the cause of a lady. my eyes are choke choke choke and it's not good looking in you"), it's shortly followed by two of the most infectiously uplifting and upbeat songs i've heard all year. firstly 'the beach party' opens with the simple tiny chimes of keyboard notes before blasting open with the lines: "don't want all this cold cold shit, throw off yr shirt and let's get hot! hot! ho!t", as it shimmeres with sunshine as organs and banjos join the fun, before leading up to a stomping wig-out and then 'keep fallin', which plays over a basic keyboard line which rises and descends, gathering momentum to some of the most amusing lyrics like "i'm like stevie wonder but i can see things!" and "you peelin' potatoes while we sonic alligators making records selling like we smokin' crack now", it strolls along nicely, xylophone chinks and all, as alexis and joe exchange words: "joe?", "what now?", "we back", "and how!", "and then?", "we'll make the money for us to spend on yachts and boats and planes and drugs and scooters!" before reaching a glorious outro with some warming harmonies, kazoos even making an appearance. the most elevating and inspiring track of them all is without question the elated 'baby said', underlined with a fuzzy synthesizer melody which soars the song to great heights as joe resigns himself to the sheltered life: "my baby said she wanted adventure, i said "baby, the outside world's not safe". my baby said she wanted some action. i said "baby, i can't give you that. i'm a simple man". i read all the time about how the fly. why must i go out in to the cold? my life is inside we're safe we can hide..."
though the 'fun and games' does temporarily halt, as the record hits melancholy... launching into 'playboy', a song which bases its form and structure on a number 1 chart-smash from the spring of 2003, (*cough* cry me a river *cough* justin timberlake *cough*), it sees the band on magnetic form, playing out a classic heartbreak song in a simple two-parts. in the verses we have the 'call', "april, the cruelest month. i reckon this march be a contender... there's only so much sorrow a man can take, i can't change my face, don't you remember? i know how i did you wrong... should never have got talking all that drive, now there's only way for me to stay alive...", and with the chorus we get the 'response',
"driving in my peoguet, 'ey 'ey 'ey,
20 inch rims with the chrome now, 'ey 'ey 'ey.
blazin' out yo la tengo, 'ey 'ey 'ey.
drivin' around putney with the top down, 'ey' ey 'ey"
it sounds intense and confused over munipulated, distorted, wailing, violent synths and joe's deep monotonous voice, revealing the full aching glory of one man's solitary, free-falling journey through streets of gold!
in spite of their inventive misuse of beats and rhymes the duo never fail to conjure up some sublime melodies and some genuinely atmospheric sound scapes. this continues with the records centre-piece, 'crap kraft dinner', which begins with a simple keyboard line and a basic click house drumbeat as alexis laments, "all the people i love are here, are drunk" where every so often, after each bar, another layer of noise is added onto the basic foundations, to a point where it builds into a soaring epic about heartache, and drowning yr sorrows. the chorus refrain releasing out gentle guitar strums to climax of words, "all you have left is one craft dinner that i brought back for you last summer, and all you have left is one reminder of the time we spent whe ni was blind. all you can taste is that one crap dinner that i prepared when yr chances were slimmer... all you can hear is my refusal because i haven't got the for a jerk-off loser" plus it has to have the best softcore porn saxophone accompaniment i've ever heard, to send the song off over some of alexis vocal aerobics. it also hits, just how these songs seem almost a spoonfed beat away from top ten status.
i must confess, it took a long while to get used to the second half of the record. maybe due in some part that i was more familiar with the songs they played live which are usually the first 6 tracks. but after a few listens, they really grew on me. songs show more focus, such as 'bad luck' (which includes the memorable line "fuck you, you fucking fuck") and 'shining escalade', (which ambiently hums as if it wouldn't be out of place on the morr music label. the synths glow and glisten, while joe sings "a million others waiting at my gates, we built the fences now we can escape. hide with me under the covers because you are my love...") and 'one one one', which forlornly closes the record over glockenspiels and distant electric guitar strums echoe as they reminisce over the summer just gone. "will we grant you the mercy and the love you require? these are the things that i must adide..."
i think the album is a wonderful, exceptional piece of work, but you really have to have to catch them live to get them. i can't strongly state that enough. i think that's what propelled them to number one, all the times i caught them perform their music over the year. six times in all. from the first time back in april at 93 feet east, to when dec managed a major coup in signing them to play the now infamous sticklebrick festival</span> back in june. they lit up perhaps the most diverse eclectic underground event of year! playing underneath blue skies and sunshine, in the company of many dear friends of mine, all sharing the hot chip experience :) good times.
more photographs @ sticklebrick</span> (by bernie)
i later caught them again at a highly-charged free performance at the tiny tiny notting hill arts clubs, a couple of days after my birthday in july with dec and karine. they blasted through their set to a highly enthusiastic crowd, and even though they hit many technical problems towards the end, the crowd kept them going, singing along to each and every one of the words when they were playing 'sexual chocolate' (download)</span> and the power kept cutting... it's an obscure rare b-side for fucks sake!... amazing.
more photographs @ notting hill arts club</span>
caught them again at the barfly, camden for a truly majestic, crazy and rather sweaty affair at the beginning of august. we danced we danced we danced, and i think the most surreal moment was turning to my left and seeing adem (of adem.. and fridge fame) busting his moves like a lunatic right at the front with every one else. sadly no photographs from that show. camera was broken... not to worry, caught them again for a free 'city show case' concert at the 100 club, where i saw adem in the same evening too (joe from hot chip also plays with adem's live band which probably explains how intertwined all these acts are.)
more photographs @ 100 club</span>
i think out of them all though, one of the most satisfying and enjoyable performance of theirs i witnessed would have to be their show in iceland for the airwaves festival</span> along with bjorn, petur, jonas, linda... even adem and keiran of fourtet fame (who are both credited in the sleevenotes for this record) and various members of múm shaking their stuffs. they came on stage in the nasa venue around one o'clock in the morning and blew away all the icelanders who had absolutely no idea who they were, but were taken in by their beats and tunes. i got such a kick out of seeing how much pleasure they gave the crowd, the universal love of music, which isn't only restricted to people in london.. just seeing the smiles on people's faces... even chanting their name to play some more. it's moments like that which remind me why i love music so much. beautiful... just beautiful...
more photographs @ nasa, reykjavík</span>
and then there was that evening in bar sirkus, reykjavík which i'm not likely to forgot for a long time... ;)
ah precious precious memories...
just go and see them live. you must see hot chip at least once before you die. and 'coming on strong' is a wonderful debut in its own right but it doesn't by any stretch of the imagination translate the full experience of seeing them with yr own eyes and hearing them with yr own ears in the flesh. i also think the record won't cater for every one's tastes. and some of you will probably listen to the record and think, "oh that amadeep, he's obviously gone insane. where are the sprawling 10 minute cresendos? where are the pretentious feild recordings and intense climaxes? the depressing wrist-slitting lyrics?? where??".... fact of the matter is, hot chip provide me with such immeasurable joy and happiness. leave yr angst and self-pity at the door, take off yr towel, and let's just get wet i say.
it's an oddly beautiful record, refreshingly unique, ecelectic and accomplished debut that defies classification. but if you can't get your head around the scattered beats and the clicks and the insanely catchy off beat melodies straight away, don't worry, give it a week and you'll be singing along to tunes you would've sworn didn't even make sense the first time round. it's clever like that, and that's probably why it's ultimately so rewarding. like trying to put a square peg into a round hole with a rubber mallet, it's not normal, it shouldn't work but one way or the other it does... you'll break sooner or later :) just turn the volume up. as much as you can. that usually helps...
okay, all together now...
I SAY "HOT"! YOU SAY "CHIP"!
HOT!, CHIP!, HOT!, CHIP! :D
CONGRATULATIONS HOT CHIP! I
YOU!
THE END!
tracklisting:
take care
the beach party m3u</span>
keep fallin' m3u</span>
playboy mp3</span> *
crap kraft dinner mp3</span> *
down with prince m3u</span>
bad luck
you ride, we ride, in my ride
shining escalade
baby said
one one one
*thanks to amber for hosting!
stand out track(s): ---
hot chip - coming on strong (moshi moshi)
"GIVE UP ALL YOU SUCKERS WE THE TIGHEST MOTHERFUCKERS
AND YOU NEVER SEEN THIS TYPE OF SHIT BEFORE NOW..........."
well well well then, here we are... 40 records and a month later, the #1. i guess if there's only one record which really sums up the year 2004 for me in a nutshell, one record which has consistently been rotating in my player since i purchased it from 'select-a-disc' all the way back at the start of the summer, (which seems so long ago now...)that's been there through all the highs and the lows, one which i can listen to from start to finish without ever skipping a single track, from a band which geniunely excites me, and have created a record which i have some truly special, endearing memories attached to the music then it could only be one out-right winner....
NO! NOT BLOODY EMBRACE, YOU CRETIN! BLOODY HOT CHIP!!
i remember first stumbling upon them in the most unexpected way. the story goes, back in april i went to see a bbc collective sessions</span> at 93 feet east, primarily to see joy zipper, but there were also two other bands on the bill; m craft, and hot chip. first on the bill, hot chip left me lost for words. setting up onstage like kraftwerk or even apparat organ quartet (four keyboards side by side, at the front of the stage), i found my self just becoming gradually to completely captivated and overtaken by their combination of experimental-electro-funk-soul. lead by melodic vocals and keyboards and a thumping broken drum-machine, they moved me. literally. from gentle reserved toe-tapping to shoulder-swaggering head-bopping... for me, that's quite a feat, especially in public. everything else just seemed to be an anti-climax after them... (by the way, you can watch the entire hot chip bbc collective session here</span>), i soon found a copy and purchased 'coming on strong' and the rest is as they say, history... (though who 'they' are exactly, remains a mystery...)
to be honest, i could never have predicted that this band of west londoners would have had such an enormous impact on me, and i'm sure some people will find them too much, maybe a sarcastic irony-laden step too far, but this debut is built around a backdrop of impeccably arranged, laptop-crafted pop perfection. not unlike the streets or perhaps a lo-fi neptunes, what makes this record special is its shambling, rough and ready, tounge-firmly-in-cheek sense of humour, but they mean every single word. just seeing them live, you see how much they mean it while they beat the hell out of pineapple shakers and cow-bells... lead by alexis taylor and joe goddard...with a little help from owen clarke and felix martin, i honestly can't describe what this record sounds like, (my favourite description was from rough trade: "it's a melting pot of ideas and sounds that tastes wierd at first, think prince, beats of beastie boys, attitude of cloudead, and funky as a pair of andre 3000 y~fronts!")... they've made a record which sounds so fresh and unlike anything out there today. their music is experimental but not at the expense of a good tune, almost play/joyful, recorded in a d.i.y fashion in their bedrooms, made on computers but in a very human kind of way. the instrumentation and arrangements are left tattered round the edges, where strength is drawn from a murkier well than virtuosity and professionalism...
the record opens with the rather sombre introduction of 'take care', with it's quirky plodding of squigly basslines and synths is as characteristic an introduction to the world of hot chip as you're going to get. you can almost picture the band driving round the town, with the top down, it's that gangter as alexis ponders, ".. my heart is broke and it's not for the cause of a lady. my eyes are choke choke choke and it's not good looking in you"), it's shortly followed by two of the most infectiously uplifting and upbeat songs i've heard all year. firstly 'the beach party' opens with the simple tiny chimes of keyboard notes before blasting open with the lines: "don't want all this cold cold shit, throw off yr shirt and let's get hot! hot! ho!t", as it shimmeres with sunshine as organs and banjos join the fun, before leading up to a stomping wig-out and then 'keep fallin', which plays over a basic keyboard line which rises and descends, gathering momentum to some of the most amusing lyrics like "i'm like stevie wonder but i can see things!" and "you peelin' potatoes while we sonic alligators making records selling like we smokin' crack now", it strolls along nicely, xylophone chinks and all, as alexis and joe exchange words: "joe?", "what now?", "we back", "and how!", "and then?", "we'll make the money for us to spend on yachts and boats and planes and drugs and scooters!" before reaching a glorious outro with some warming harmonies, kazoos even making an appearance. the most elevating and inspiring track of them all is without question the elated 'baby said', underlined with a fuzzy synthesizer melody which soars the song to great heights as joe resigns himself to the sheltered life: "my baby said she wanted adventure, i said "baby, the outside world's not safe". my baby said she wanted some action. i said "baby, i can't give you that. i'm a simple man". i read all the time about how the fly. why must i go out in to the cold? my life is inside we're safe we can hide..."
though the 'fun and games' does temporarily halt, as the record hits melancholy... launching into 'playboy', a song which bases its form and structure on a number 1 chart-smash from the spring of 2003, (*cough* cry me a river *cough* justin timberlake *cough*), it sees the band on magnetic form, playing out a classic heartbreak song in a simple two-parts. in the verses we have the 'call', "april, the cruelest month. i reckon this march be a contender... there's only so much sorrow a man can take, i can't change my face, don't you remember? i know how i did you wrong... should never have got talking all that drive, now there's only way for me to stay alive...", and with the chorus we get the 'response',
"driving in my peoguet, 'ey 'ey 'ey,
20 inch rims with the chrome now, 'ey 'ey 'ey.
blazin' out yo la tengo, 'ey 'ey 'ey.
drivin' around putney with the top down, 'ey' ey 'ey"
it sounds intense and confused over munipulated, distorted, wailing, violent synths and joe's deep monotonous voice, revealing the full aching glory of one man's solitary, free-falling journey through streets of gold!
in spite of their inventive misuse of beats and rhymes the duo never fail to conjure up some sublime melodies and some genuinely atmospheric sound scapes. this continues with the records centre-piece, 'crap kraft dinner', which begins with a simple keyboard line and a basic click house drumbeat as alexis laments, "all the people i love are here, are drunk" where every so often, after each bar, another layer of noise is added onto the basic foundations, to a point where it builds into a soaring epic about heartache, and drowning yr sorrows. the chorus refrain releasing out gentle guitar strums to climax of words, "all you have left is one craft dinner that i brought back for you last summer, and all you have left is one reminder of the time we spent whe ni was blind. all you can taste is that one crap dinner that i prepared when yr chances were slimmer... all you can hear is my refusal because i haven't got the for a jerk-off loser" plus it has to have the best softcore porn saxophone accompaniment i've ever heard, to send the song off over some of alexis vocal aerobics. it also hits, just how these songs seem almost a spoonfed beat away from top ten status.
i must confess, it took a long while to get used to the second half of the record. maybe due in some part that i was more familiar with the songs they played live which are usually the first 6 tracks. but after a few listens, they really grew on me. songs show more focus, such as 'bad luck' (which includes the memorable line "fuck you, you fucking fuck") and 'shining escalade', (which ambiently hums as if it wouldn't be out of place on the morr music label. the synths glow and glisten, while joe sings "a million others waiting at my gates, we built the fences now we can escape. hide with me under the covers because you are my love...") and 'one one one', which forlornly closes the record over glockenspiels and distant electric guitar strums echoe as they reminisce over the summer just gone. "will we grant you the mercy and the love you require? these are the things that i must adide..."
i think the album is a wonderful, exceptional piece of work, but you really have to have to catch them live to get them. i can't strongly state that enough. i think that's what propelled them to number one, all the times i caught them perform their music over the year. six times in all. from the first time back in april at 93 feet east, to when dec managed a major coup in signing them to play the now infamous sticklebrick festival</span> back in june. they lit up perhaps the most diverse eclectic underground event of year! playing underneath blue skies and sunshine, in the company of many dear friends of mine, all sharing the hot chip experience :) good times.
more photographs @ sticklebrick</span> (by bernie)
i later caught them again at a highly-charged free performance at the tiny tiny notting hill arts clubs, a couple of days after my birthday in july with dec and karine. they blasted through their set to a highly enthusiastic crowd, and even though they hit many technical problems towards the end, the crowd kept them going, singing along to each and every one of the words when they were playing 'sexual chocolate' (download)</span> and the power kept cutting... it's an obscure rare b-side for fucks sake!... amazing.
more photographs @ notting hill arts club</span>
caught them again at the barfly, camden for a truly majestic, crazy and rather sweaty affair at the beginning of august. we danced we danced we danced, and i think the most surreal moment was turning to my left and seeing adem (of adem.. and fridge fame) busting his moves like a lunatic right at the front with every one else. sadly no photographs from that show. camera was broken... not to worry, caught them again for a free 'city show case' concert at the 100 club, where i saw adem in the same evening too (joe from hot chip also plays with adem's live band which probably explains how intertwined all these acts are.)
more photographs @ 100 club</span>
i think out of them all though, one of the most satisfying and enjoyable performance of theirs i witnessed would have to be their show in iceland for the airwaves festival</span> along with bjorn, petur, jonas, linda... even adem and keiran of fourtet fame (who are both credited in the sleevenotes for this record) and various members of múm shaking their stuffs. they came on stage in the nasa venue around one o'clock in the morning and blew away all the icelanders who had absolutely no idea who they were, but were taken in by their beats and tunes. i got such a kick out of seeing how much pleasure they gave the crowd, the universal love of music, which isn't only restricted to people in london.. just seeing the smiles on people's faces... even chanting their name to play some more. it's moments like that which remind me why i love music so much. beautiful... just beautiful...
more photographs @ nasa, reykjavík</span>
and then there was that evening in bar sirkus, reykjavík which i'm not likely to forgot for a long time... ;)
ah precious precious memories...
just go and see them live. you must see hot chip at least once before you die. and 'coming on strong' is a wonderful debut in its own right but it doesn't by any stretch of the imagination translate the full experience of seeing them with yr own eyes and hearing them with yr own ears in the flesh. i also think the record won't cater for every one's tastes. and some of you will probably listen to the record and think, "oh that amadeep, he's obviously gone insane. where are the sprawling 10 minute cresendos? where are the pretentious feild recordings and intense climaxes? the depressing wrist-slitting lyrics?? where??".... fact of the matter is, hot chip provide me with such immeasurable joy and happiness. leave yr angst and self-pity at the door, take off yr towel, and let's just get wet i say.
it's an oddly beautiful record, refreshingly unique, ecelectic and accomplished debut that defies classification. but if you can't get your head around the scattered beats and the clicks and the insanely catchy off beat melodies straight away, don't worry, give it a week and you'll be singing along to tunes you would've sworn didn't even make sense the first time round. it's clever like that, and that's probably why it's ultimately so rewarding. like trying to put a square peg into a round hole with a rubber mallet, it's not normal, it shouldn't work but one way or the other it does... you'll break sooner or later :) just turn the volume up. as much as you can. that usually helps...
okay, all together now...
I SAY "HOT"! YOU SAY "CHIP"!
HOT!, CHIP!, HOT!, CHIP! :D
CONGRATULATIONS HOT CHIP! I
YOU! THE END!
tracklisting:
take care
the beach party m3u</span>
keep fallin' m3u</span>
playboy mp3</span> *
crap kraft dinner mp3</span> *
down with prince m3u</span>
bad luck
you ride, we ride, in my ride
shining escalade
baby said
one one one
*thanks to amber for hosting!
stand out track(s): ---
