Tune Of The Day

This is one of the best yet most underrated Biggie songs out there. Taken from his best album, ‘Ready To Die’, it is a stone cold classic from one of the all-time great hip-hop albums. Admittedly not one for the faint-hearted due to it’s lyrical content, I love it purely for the way the beat kicks in properly at around 40 seconds in, and the lyric “I don’t sweat these ho’s, I keep them in flavours like Timbos!”

Biggie ‘Friend of Mine’

Ultimate tuff jam!

Tina Moore ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ (Artful Dodger remix)

Very few songs deserve to be described as ‘gorgeous’, but I think this does. The original is already one of my all-time favourites, and I wasn’t massively keen on the original version by Florence, but this version is divine. There’s a quote somewhere earlier on this blog talking about how rare it is for remixes to completely eclipse the original by becoming something altogether different. I think this song does just that.

Florence & The Machine ‘You’ve Got The Love’ (The XX remix)

It’s almost Halloween, which inevitably always throws up the question of which party to pick. Usually every year it’s all about the Mulletover Halloween party, always one of the best of the year. But this year Kitsune have decided to throw one on the same night, damn it. This guy is playing there. I’m still going to the Mulletover one though…

Riton & Primary 1 ‘Who’s There?’

Yes yes yes. I know it was released a while ago, but just got hold of Calvin Harris’ new album ‘Ready For The Weekend’ and I’m LOVING it. Much better than his debut, it shows signs of proper growth and maturity in his production when compared to his earlier work. Plus he has come on leaps and bounds - he is partly responsible for catapulting Dizzee Rascal into the mainstream, alongside the rest of the production team behind the Raskit.

This track opens the album, and there are so many elements to it that make me smile; the gorgeous, squelchy opening keys; the saxophone (oh the sax!); the rave air horn (I f*cking love air horns); and the fact that the song is dedicated to the good times - “these are the good times in your life, so put on a smile and it’ll be alright…”

Particularly poignant for me and my circle of friends, who are at a point in life where things are starting to get serious; responsibilities are arising and grown-up-ness is almost here. I sometimes wish I heeded the advice of many an adult when I was younger, and cherished my youth more, instead of yearning to be older all the time. There are so many things I wish I had done. Remember to live in the moment whenever possible, I realise there are certain things that need to be planned for, but the times when you just let go and live life are the times that you will NEVER forget.

Calvin Harris ‘The Rain’

Sometimes life can seem like it’s one disaster after the other…

Burial ‘Broken Home’

Now back to some dance music. Completely forgot about this tune, it’s rather obscure, but an absolute gem. Found this when listening to Jacques Lu Cont’s Fabric mix CD (Number 9 in the series).

For those that don’t know, Jacques Lu Cont is also known as Stuart Price or Les Rythmes Digitales, whose song ‘Jacques Your Body’ was featured in that Citroen advert with the robot cars. This guy is one of my favourite producers, having worked with Madonna, The Killers, Keane and Seal, yet it’s his dance stuff that does it for me. His Fabric CD is an amalgamation of the kind of grown-up, chilled dance music I love…

Themroc ‘Gold Is Your Metal’ (Paper Faces Remix)

Now, I know a lot of people despise this band, but bear with me…

I got my ticket for Glastonbury 2010 yesterday, which will be the 40th anniversary of the festival. It’ll also be the fifth time in a row for me. I can’t wait.

I put this song up as it reminds me of my first Glastonbury experience in 2005, and also relates to a very weird time in my life. I had just finished university, was yet to find a job, had just had my first proper serious break-up, and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. This was the first time that Coldplay played this song, the first single from their yet to be released album X&Y, which ended the set on the Saturday night. I was right at the front, crushed in the crowd, with my brother and best mate somewhere near. I know it’s a simple song, but I think it does the trick, and sums up why Coldplay are so successful - just wait until it kicks in, truly epic.

I would recommend Glastonbury to anyone. Each time I experience something new, wonderful, or truly bizarre. When the sun sets at Glastonbury there are few other places in the world I’d rather be.

Coldplay ‘Fix You’ (Live at Glastonbury 2005)