Into The Groove, (06)

Hello, Into the groove again, well linking to last wednesdays Eight-X I t thought let have some 77 Saturday Night Fevers. Considering the Bee Gees aren't soulbrothers , finding them at the heart of the discoscene was surprising. Sure they had already proven themselves in 75 when their spirited Jive Talking re-opened the road to succes for them. --Listening to itagain it's amazing how much George Michael ripped from them song and productionwise-- Well i'm not one of those 25 million who bought the soundtrack, yet i have been a bit of a fan of The Beegees from early days on, so i do have their Saturday Night Fever work, i compiled it here into a nice 'Fevers' file.
I planned to add some other disco work but albumwise my choices were limited, there's lots of crossoverstuff with R&B, Funk or Pop . My choice here is Stargard, with a favourite track of mine at the time "Which way is up", a short album but then i added a US 12" mixalbum which i think does a good job showing the works at the time(78). My last choice , Sticky Fingers, is typical in the sense that the producer got together with a bunch of musicians and produced an album, however here the singers, The Duncan Sisters, escaped anonymity and went on scoring hits themselves. Apart from the remarkble cover this album was released as a double 12" pack..made to market and accomodate the DJ's.

A Late addition to last weeks Into the groove post, the link between War and previous Into the groove post ft Africa Bambaata, i will add it to last weeks post but here it is War , Bambaata mixes (48mb)

01 - Low Rider (Arthur Baker remix) (7:53)
02 - Galaxy (5:39)
03 - Low Rider (Arthur Baker house party mix) (6:25)

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B G's Fever ( 77 ^ 84mb)

The Gibb Brothers fortunes had come to a stand still, after a string of hits in the late sixties under the guidance of Robert Stigwood, the early seventies they were close to breaking up after their album "A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants." was shelved, it remains unreleased. When manager Robert Stigwood, introduced them to producer Arif Mardin, he produced "Mr. Natural," which had no hits, he opened them up to a new sound. Having established a good working relationship with the group, he was asked to produce their next album, "Main Course."
At the time the Bee Gees were as cold as ice, and there was not much chance that radio stations would get excited about a new single from the Brothers Gibb. They repeated a trick they had used eight years earlier when their first single was released.
Promotional copies were issued on a white label with no identification of the artist. It worked! Debuting at 87 on May 31, 1975, "Jive Talkin" took 10 weeks to top the charts and begin the Bee Gees spectacular comeback. The "Main Course" album produced two more hits: "Fanny"and "Nights On Broadway"
Riding high on the wide acceptance of "Main Course." the Bee Gees prepared to record a follow-up with the same producer, Arif Mardin. But Stigwood had shifted distribution of RSO Records from Atlantic to Polydor. Mardin was a "house producer" at Atlantic and was not allowed to work with artists recording for another label. Rudderless, the brothers decided to re-create the enviroment that Mardin provided for their previous album. Returning to Criteria and forming an alliance with Karl Richardson and Albhy Galuten, who were instrumental in their previous success, work began on 1976's "Children Of The World." If the Bee Gees were worried about their chart fortunes without Arif at the helm, their fears subsided when "You Should Be Dancing" was released as the first single. It became their third number one single.

Saturday Night Fever

In the summer of 1976 the Bee Gees were settled into the Chateau D'Herouville studios outside of Paris. The brothers recorded the first song for the proposed album, "If I Can't Have You," when they received a phone call from Stigwood. He told them to forget the studio album, he wanted a live album to come out next. A few days later he telephoned again with a new directive. He needed four new songs for a film he was producing. The first song written after Stigwood's call was "How Deep Is Your Love," but it was meant for Yvonne Elliman not the film. The Bee Gees weren't even aware of a love scene in the film, but when Stigwood heard the song he was adamant that they record it themselves.
Stigwood arrived at the Chateau a couple of weeks later and gave the brothers a very rough outline of the film's story. He stressed it was about a young guy who lives for Saturday night, when he can spend his weekly wages and go out dancing. The only other fact was that John Travolta was playing the lead role. The brothers were inspired, disco songs were something they hadn't really delved into wholeheartedly. It took about two and a half weeks to write and record some demos. When Stigwood heard the initial demo of "Stayin' Alive," he objected, asking why it wasn't "Saturday Night, Saturday Night." He was told either it's "Stayin' Alive" or that they would keep the song. The Bee Gees remained in France while the film, titled "Saturday Night Fever," was in production in the States. When Stigwood left the Chateau, he took with him the rough mixes of the songs that would be used in the picture as is.

While the Bee Gees were writing the songs for the film in France, John Travolta was in training, working on dance routines back in the States. The song he used was an older Bee Gees number from their "Main Course" album, "You Should Be Dancing" and when it came time to film his dance number for the movie he didn't want to change songs. His stubborness made the song part of the movie and soundtrack and breathed new life into it.



"How Deep Is Your Love" was the first single issued from the soundtrack, prior to the actual release of the film. It entered the Hot 100 on September 24, 1977 and moved into the number one spot 13 weeks later. It remained at number one for three weeks and in the top ten for 17 weeks, the longest run of any single release since the Hot 100 was initiated in August of 1958..
"Stayin' Alive" was the music heard in the electrifying opening of "Saturday Night Fever," as Travolta's character, Tony Manero, struts down a New York City sidewalk. One week prior to the film's release, a 30-second teaser of the opening sequence was seen in theatres around the country, the pounding beat of "Stayin' Alive" playing under it. This brief coming attraction was enough to create a demand for the song, even though the soundtrack had not yet been released. "Stayin' Alive" was issued before "How Deep Is Your Love" reached number one. It entered the Hot 100 at number 65 on December 10, 1977. Eight weeks later it became the second consecutive chart-topper from "Saturday Night Fever." The soundtrack went on to sell more than 25 million copies, making it not just the most successful soundtrack ever released, but the best-selling album of all-time, a record that would stand until Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in 1984.

The Bee Gees continued their domination of the Hot 100 with their third consecutive number one single from "Saturday Night Fever." "Night Fever" was the fastest-rising single yet from the film. The week that "Night Fever" moved to number eight, the Bee Gees former two singles were still anchored in the top 10, making them the first group to have three songs in the top ten simultaneously since the Beatles. And the week that "Night Fever" took over the top spot, "Stayin' Alive" resurged, moving from number 6 back to number 2, where it remained for five weeks, turning Platinum in the process. That made the Bee Gees the first group to have the two top songs on the Hot 100 since the Beatles last did it in 1964.

Under tremendous pressure to equal or better the track record set by "Saturday Night Fever," which resulted in three consecutive number one singles, the Bee Gees entrenched themselves at Criteria Studios in Miami for 10 months. When they emerged, they had completed 1979's "Spirits Having Flown." The first single featured vocal layerings and lush strings reminiscent of their earlier 1970's material. "Too Much Heaven" it became their seventh number one single. "Tragedy" was the second consecutive number one single from "Spirits Having Flown," stretching the total of chart-toppers for the Bee Gees to eight. "Love You Inside Out" was to be their 9th and it also brought a surprising end to the good chart fortunes of the Gibb brothers. The most successful group of the second half of the 1970's, they became yesterday's heroes in the 1980's. Between 1983-1987 the Bee Gees took a hiatus, realizing that their group was suffering from the "disco backlash" of the early 1980's, they chose to pursue solo ventures. Writing, and producing for other artists and releasing solo albums, all with varying degrees of success. But a third big comeback was not to be..

01 - Jive Talkin' (3:44)
02 - Nights On Broadway (4:31)
03 - You Should Be Dancing (4:15)
A1 - Stayin' Alive (4:43)
A2 - How Deep Is Your Love (4:01)
A3 - Night Fever (3:33)
A4 - More Than A Woman (3:11)
A5 - If I Can't Have You (3:18)
B1 - Tragedy (5:04)

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Stargard - Stargard ( 77 ^ 99mb)

Stargard was a three-piece female funk music band consisting of original members Rochelle Runnells, Debra Anderson, and Janice Williams. They are best known for their 1977 hit song "Which Way Is Up?" it charted at #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The Norman Whitfield-penned title track of their followup album What You Waitin' For was also a Top 10 R&B hit. The group's last hit came after switching label and releasing The Changing Of The Gard and its standout single "Wear It Out" co-produced by Verdine White of Earth, Wind, & Fire. Debra Anderson soon left the group shortly after the "Changing of the Gard" album. The remaining members stayed together to release two more albums including Back 2 Back (1980) and Nine Lives (1982).



01 - Three Girls (3:51)
02 - Smile (3:12)
03 - Love Is So Easy (3:32)
04 - Don't Change (3:13)
05 - Theme From "Which Way Is Up" (7:00)
06 - The Force (3:30)
07 - I'll Always Love You (3:28)
08 - Disco Rufus (3:11)
Xs
09 - Downtown Disco US Disco mixes mixed ( 22:48) (' 78)
00:00 - Stargard - Which Way Is Up (4:22)
04:22 - Stargard - What You Waitin' For (5:15)
09:37 - Rose Royce - Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (3:21)
12:58 - War - Galaxy (5:07)
18:05 - Rose Royce - Carwash (4:43)

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Sticky Fingers ft the Duncan Sisters (78 ^ 84mb)

Sisters Helen and Phyllis Duncan remain as mysterious as they are talented. As with many of the subjects of the disco-era little is known about there beginnings or there current whereabouts. The Canadian sisters were considered proteges of Guenther and Morrison and their Three Hats Productions. The girls first hit was "Weekend Two Step" from the previously mentioned release. Their crystalline vocals helped propell the album into a club favorite and top seller. Ian and Willi then assembled the exact same roster of artists and musicians for another 1978 release, "Sticky Fingers." The album featured four tracks and was released promotionally as a Prelude Records 2-12" singles pack. The songs "Wastin' My Love" and "Takin' A Chance On You" were both summer hits.
By 1979 the sisters had helped Ian and Willi achieve enough success that they were given their own release. Simply titled "The Duncan Sisters" the album was a runaway smash. Nearly every track received floor time. The big hits of course were the 12" singles of "Boys Will Be Boys" and "Sadness In My Eyes." Two other tracks remain favorites, "Outside Love" and "Love Is On The Way." The EarMarc records release featured all the same musicians that Guenther and Morrison used for all their releases. And as was their working order, it was recorded in Canada at their favorite studio.
1980 was consumed with personal appearances and weathering the collapse of disco music. But in early 1981 the sisters would have one final hit, "Too Damn Hot." The sisters then moved on to personal lives and gave up the idea of becoming full fledged artists. Not giving up singing easily the sisters chose to earn extra income by doing background vocals. They could be heard on numerous recordings throughtout the 1980's and into the 1990's.



01 - Wastin My Love (7:27)
02 - Takin A Chance On You (8:14)
03 - Night Time (9:04)
04 - Party Song (10:10)

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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 !

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! And for those who can, consider a donation, a visit or both to your community food bank. There are so many people this country who can barely afford to eat today, or any day.

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Some holiday humor (though it's still far too close to reality), featuring Scotty-Told-Boo-Boo, from the one and only Eschaton:



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Here's a little recipe for Thanksgiving (especially if it's cold) or any late fall or winter evening: Mulled Red Wine (hat tips go to Toni L. and James Earl H. and Donald A. for their delicious version).

MULLED RED WINE

2 bottles of merlot, red zinfandel or a similar wine ($5-9 range, not too cheap)
2/3rds cup of sugar or honey
zest from 1/2-1 orange
10 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup of brandy or cognac
+ non-reactive pot, muddler/spoon, non-reactive bowl/mortar, stirring spoon, mugs/coffee cups/warming cups.

1. Pour the red wine in a non-reactive pot (non-stick, tempered glass/Pyrex, stainless steel, etc.), and heat over a low flame. Avoid very cheap wines, since they grow unpalatable when heated, and avoid aluminum, which will react with the wine.
2. With a vegetable peeler, zester or paring knife, zest the orange, making sure to avoid the white backing of the peel and rind, since there's less flavor and it can be bitter.
3. Muddle (or mash with a pestle or spoon) the zest/peel, releasing the oils, in a non-reactive (glass, porcelain) bowl or mortar.
4. Add the zest/peel to the wine.
5. Stir in the sugar, making sure it dissolves, then add the cloves and cinnamon sticks.
6. Add the 1/2 cup of brandy or cognac (the better the quality, the better the taste--and it adds real bite).
7. Heat until the wine is steaming, but try not to let it boil.
8. Set it aside, let it cool, and then ladle it into mugs, and enjoy!

(And remember, if you have more than a glass, designate a responsible driver, hire a cab or hit the public transportation!)

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 !

Around the World, (06)

Hello, around the world stays in the female corner, today with an indian singer who combines elements of her native lands with those from where she grew up and still lives, Britain, one can she she grew up very quick as at the age of twenty she took her first big break after a television carreer a UK hit and 4 indie albums all before she was 21...

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Sheila Chandra - The Struggle (85 ^ 98mb)

Sheila Chandra first came to prominence as a teenage actress on the British teen school soap "Grange Hill" playing the character Sudhamani Patel between 1979 and 1981. At the same time as she left the series Steve Coe head of Indipop was looking for a vocalist for his Asian fusion band Monsoon. Allegedly he found an old demo tape of Chandra's in a box at Hansa and was attracted by her rich, fluid voice and South Indian heritage.

Monsoon's debut single, the much sampled "Ever So Lonely", recorded when Chandra was 16, reached #9 in the UK charts in April 1982, but subsequent singles made less impact. Resenting pressure from their record company over musical direction, Monsoon as a band dissolved and Coe and Smith set about promoting Chandra as a solo artist on an independent label.

In the mid-'80s, Chandra was astonishingly prolific, releasing five solo albums over a period of about two or three years that drifted away from the Asian dance-pop of Monsoon into a more personal sort of world fusion. Chandra also began to write much of her own material, usually in collaboration with producer and husband Steve Coe; Coe had also helped produce, write, and perform the music in Monsoon with Martin Smith, who also assisted on Chandra's early solo records. Indian instruments were still usually employed, and electronic rhythm tracks still sometimes used to guarantee some measure of danceability and pop-rock appeal. But with increasing frequency, Chandra was pushing herself beyond the parameters of pop-rock with wordless pieces of both melismatic singing and percussive mouth noises, ambitious song cycles, interwoven overdubbed vocal tracks, and a 27-minute track based around a raga.

She made 4 solo albums with Indipop, before retiring at the age of 20, coming back in 1991 for a 5th solo album "Roots and Wings" for Indipop where she began to expirement with voice tracks laid over drones, a style which set the tone for her work in the 90s.. In the 1990s she released three remarkable albums on Peter Gabriel's Real World label, "Weaving My Ancestors Voices" and "The Zen Kiss" and "ABoneCroneDrone", fusing Arab, Andalucian, Celtic and Indian vocal styles with even older traditions such as Gregorian plainsong. She also performed live for 2 years in the 90s, for the first and so far only time in her career. In 1999 Real World released a retrospective of her work "Moonsung" and a retrospective of her Indipop work appeared in 2003



1 - Strange Minaret (4:02)
2 - Puppet Tears (6:01)
3 - The Struggle (6:43)
4 - Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram (6:19)
5 - Mukta Gaana (6:23)
6 - You (4:22)
7 - Lament (6:19)
8 - Om Shanti Om (6:17)

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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 !

Quote: Brian Holmes

Ultimately what's at stake in all this is understanding the global division of labor, which has been the great enigma since postmodernization began in the eighties. Who works, at what kind of production, under which financial system, for whose consumption--and who doesn't even get the chance to work, whose territory remains tragically undeveloped and destitute, or is destroyed by invasive technologies and pollutants? Again, there is a great role for art to play in these kinds of investigations. Why do people desire certain kinds of production? What do they imagine as a better future? How do they build their solidarities? What are their poetics of the other, how do they communicate beyond their own frameworks? Only when these kinds of questions are answered in such a way as to enter the field of common sense and of the common senses, will we be able to generate the kind of activism I think is really needed. The kind of activism that can stand up, by the strength of numbers and will and by the quality of imagination and desire, to the machinery of continental integration that is now being driven by the predatory rationality of globalizing capital.
--from "Hinting at Ways to Work in Current Contexts: An Interview with Brian Holmes," by Robby Herbst, in The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2005, p. 17

Don't Panic ! , (06)

Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

As we come to the final episode of the Primary Phase, a recap of last weeks goings on at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe,

The episode begins where previous episode ended, with the computer bank exploding. Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod wake up in a strange place, and assume it must be the afterlife. It becomes apparent however that in fact it is Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which is based in the far future at the exact moment that the universe ends. They dine, but are interrupted by a telephone call from Marvin. A waiter explains that the Restaurant was in fact constructed in the ruins of Magrathea. Meanwhile, Marvin has been waiting on the surface of the planet. After he whines somewhat, the four go down to the car park (where Marvin has been parking cars), and meet up with Marvin. Ford and Zaphod are transfixed by the spaceships in the carpark, and discover a totally black, totally frictionless ship. Stuck without the Heart of Gold, they decide to steal it, with Marvin's help.

When on the ship, they discover that it is out of control, and since the interior is also totally black none of the controls are legible. They debate what the Question is, and Marvin reveals that he can read it in Arthur's brainwave patterns. Before he can reveal what it is, they are interrupted by the control panels lighting up suddenly and the ship coming out of hyperspace. They realise they are outside of the galaxy, and part of an intergalactic battle fleet.


Fit 6 (20mb)

The History Of Every Major Galactic Civilisation
The Admiral's Flagship
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
The Prospect Of Death
Far From Its Starting Point
The Place Is Full Of Sarcophagi
Our Planet Was Doomed
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
We've Made A Discovery
Q Scores 10

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Rugby "Porn" (WC Championships) + Houston Dynamo MLS Champs

Keguro inquires in a prior post's comments about this year's Jstheater rugby "porn." T'was here (new and infrequent readers, they do have their clothes on), as I was celebrating midstream this year's Rugby World Cup in France. (The post received few comments, and zero from admirers of the muscly menfolks themselves, leading me to believe that brawn and thick thighs had become passé among my friends on the Internets.) I was remiss in not following up with a post on the championship game, but as Keguro notes, South Africa defeated England 15-6 to win it all and take their second World Cup. My favorite picture from the final is this one, showing the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, hoisted aloft by the diverse squad, an image that would have been impossible 20 years ago.

(Photo Getty Images)

South Africa's tight defense and timely penalty scoring, it appears, proved decisive, but England also suffered from the loss of its soon-to-be-retired star, real life action-figure Jason Robinson (below) late in the game, to a shoulder injury. Keguro broaches the historical parallel of the Boer War, so I'll leave him to pursue that at some point, because you know it'll be amazing. I'll only note that the 3rd place match featured new world powerhouse Argentina defeating host France 34-10. From what I can tell, this pillar of "Old Europe," which had defeated the heavily favored New Zealand "All Blacks" 20-18 and walloped nearly all its other opponents, save Argentina in the opening round, took the defeat pretty well. As for Robinson, he looks like he need some serious consoling.

(Getty Images)

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I used to follow Major League Soccer (MLS) when it began over a decade ago; I can recall DC United defeating Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 back in 1996. Around the turn of the new millennium, however, I stopped following the MLS almost completely, though I have kept up with widely reported league news like the sale of New York's team, Kansas City's team's name change to a geographically neutral high-end scotch brand (Chivas USA indeed!) and the overhyped arrival of David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, which I pray someone out there missed.

Checking the sports roundup yesterday on Yahoo! Sports, I saw that the MLS championship game had just taken place, with the Houston Dynamo, who up until two years ago had been the unfortunately named San Jose Earthquakes, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1. Dwayne De Rosario, the cornrowed Guyanese-Canadian star below, scored the game-winning goal on a rare (for him) header, giving the Dynamo their second championship in a row and foiling New England's hopes for a sixth straight year. Below are a few photos from the contest. I just may start following the MLS again, if I can find the time.

Houston Dynamo's soccer player Dwayne De Rosario celebrates his game winning goal against the New England Revolution in the 2007 MLS Cup in Washington, November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.

Brian Ching's tying goal breathed life into Dynamo. His PK helped them win last year's MLS Cup. (Steve Grayson/WireImage.com)

New England Revolution's Avery John sits on the field after the MLS Cup championship soccer game Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007, in Washington . The Houston Dynamo defeated the Revolution 2 -1 to win the MLS Cup championship.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Houston Dynamo's goalkeeper Pat Onstad (2nd R) celebrates his team's win with teammates Craig Waibel (C), Ryan Cochrane (5), and Stuart Holden (2) as New England Revolution's Pat Noonan walks off the field in their 2007 MLS Cup soccer match in Washington November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.

Houston Dynamo's Wade Barrett (C) holds up the 2007 MLS Cup after defeating the New England Revolution, 2-1, in the league soccer final in Washington, November 18, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young.