Thought over the weekend that I should probably throw in the odd bit about the backstage running of a radio show (given that it was the original brief I set this up under and yes, I know we’ve veered off on a tangent or twelve…) so if it’s Sunday it must be:

(a) A day of religious devotion, fasting and meditation…

(b) A day of rest for a weary national radio presenter…

(c) A day of more work for a demanding mistress…

If you guessed (c) then award yourself a congratulatory slap on the thigh! For the last 4 years Sunday evening has always traditionally been my music listening time to get through all of the singles and albums that have come in during the week in preparation for the week ahead and it’s only slightly different with the new show.

Having done night-time radio up until recently the brief was always fairly simple: brand new, mainstream to obscure, aimed at 15-24s and genre didn’t matter (although my personal prediliction for guitars has always coloured my choices) so you could expect everything on the show from The Frames to The Streets (proud to have been the first to play them all that time ago) to Green Day to 50 Cent to Paddy Casey to The Go! Team to LCD Soundsystem to Nelly to Shapeshifters to blah, blah, blah… A new show with a completely different audience though has altered the way I have to work…

First off the benevolent dictatorship (!) that had been my music selection has now had to become (as all things will in time, even North Korea, Zimbabwe and China) a democracy. Ruth and I have two votes at the table every Monday and, as a result, working methods and the type of stuff that will get played gets changed.I’ve got to say up front that it’s a universally good thing this….. democracy…. (still getting used to the name, y’know) I actually think that what we both bring to the table gives us something new and unique.

Ruth had most recently been on Dublin commercial (and VERY tightly playlisted) station 98FM and I’m coming from the free range fields of nights. Add one to t’other and you get a Third Way (did I just liken out playlisting to Blair’s New Labour….? Yes…. To my eternal shame…) with a lot of really familiar (and it has to be said “kickin!”) new, recent, 90s and 80s stuff added to cameos from the likes of The Caesars, Gorillaz, Basement Jaxx, Kaiser Chiefs and Weezer. Hardly revolutionaory in the real world I know but a big deal in the middle of the road that 2FM Breakfast has to operate in to succeed.

Sorry to now let you know that the preceding 6 and a bit paragraphs have all been just the prologue to the actual meat of this blog baguette: stuff I really like right now but for one reason or another I won’t get to play on the radio… 🙂

Few bob and need a bit of inspiration? Not that you should trust a complete stranger and even less a commercial radio presenter but…

Basement Jaxx – The Singles

Does what it says on the tin, isn’t that enough?

LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem

Blew me away the first time I heard it – a little bit of everything; beats, guitars, samples, loud, soft and one of the singles of the year so far in Daft Punk Is Playing At My House (we liked it so much we made it into our news bed)

Beck – Guero

He could recite the 01 telephone directory over a beat and I’d be sold to be honest but this is a nice, dirty, nasty return to form with the Dust Brothers twiddling just the right knobs at the right times…

The Eels – Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

Reserving judgment just for the moment on this one cause I only have a 6 track sampler from what is going to be a double album. Have loved them (him? E is realistically the only member of the band) since the first “olded up” beats of Novocaine For The Soul and the 6 I have are very tasty indeed. Think they should release Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living) as a single (classic Eels along the lines of Mr E’s Beautiful Blues – big poppy anthem with a dark, dark heart) – it will represent a missed opportunity if they don’t… Can’t wait for the full 2 discs – it’s out on the 22nd… Come to think of it if you have a bunch of vouchers from a recent birthday you need ot get Shootenanny, Daisies Of The Galaxy(our tv bed comes from Flyswatter), Souljacker, Electro Shock Blues, Beautiful Freak…

Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams

LOVED his last album and love this one even more. He poked his head above the parapet recently with the single off this one and deserves a far broader audience. The ultimate acoustic, surfer, chillout 3am music…

Have a load of stuff here still unlistened to from the last few weeks (that feckin’ work getting in the way of my work!!) including the new Doves, New Order, Damien Dempsey, Jimmy Eat World, Moby, Ocean Colour Scene, Do Me Bad Things and Daft Punk albums…

Hope to do a few advance reviews of stuff as it comes in here from time to time and yes, as a music idoliser, it is the coolest thing ever to get pretty much every new single and album sent to me for free… 🙂

R

PS Missed opportunity of the week? The new Audiobullys’ single “Shot You Down”. What a brilliant idea to take Nancy Sinatra (yes, the one in Kill Bill) and mash it up to dance beats but the end product didn’t live up to the cold sweat the idea gave me… Shame, don’t like being negative… 🙁