Documentary / The waste Game - Young people of Wales on the Dole and YTS (BBC 1986)

Documentary / The waste Game - Young people of Wales on the Dole and YTS (BBC 1986)

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1980`S BRITAIN WAS A TIME OF HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT

AND YOUNG PEOPLE ARE PARTICULARLY AFFECTED

A HOUR LONG SPECIAL ABOUT THE YOUNG UNEMPLOYED OF WALES IN THE MID-80`S

WHAT FUTURE DO THEY HAVE NOW?

WITH THATCHER RAPIDLY CHANGING THE COUNTRY FROM A LAND OF INDUSTRY AND ENGINEERING, TO SERVICE AND FINANCE, FORCING through reforms that would not have been possible if she hadn`t had the luck of the North sea oil revenues finally coming onstream - set up the previous government several years earlier. Squeezing the money supply, running down or selling national industries, removing the role of union as the centre of working class politics by crushing them (with a little help from the police) and elevating the role of The City as the chief way of generating income by .. er regenerating income...was meant to transform all of "UK PLC" for the better.

But this was all done with scant regard to whole towns, cities and generations, young people in the 80`s in many areas were thrown on the scrapheap as soon as they left education. The people in this doc face problems that many of the young unemployed people of 2012 will find similar. Going through a school system to join a workforce that dissipates just as you`re about to leave, they have found themselves qualified (or not) for a world that we all know now that will never come back.

This film is totally the own words of the people living though this experience. It shows how the kids have handled the knock backs, the pointless activities that they`re made to do on a national scheme - meant to gain you qualifications and experience, the things they try and do to avoid getting more despondent about their lives and what they`ve tried to get a job - whilst stuck in a recession.

Millions of young people are playing "The waste game" but is there any hope of winning?

Documentary / Toxteth after the riots of 1981 - Granada Reports(1984)

Documentary / Toxteth after the riots of 1981 - Granada Reports(1984)

[Toxteth 1982]

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DURING A HOT SUMMER, BRITISH CITIES WERE FEELING THE HEAT

ANGER SPILLS IN LIVERPOOL, LONDON, BIRMINGHAM, LEEDS

IN LIVERPOOL, £30 MILLION IS SPENT ON A PARK TO REGENERATE THE AREA

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT TO LIVERPOOL 8?

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Years of frustration fueled the riots of 1981. The lack of opportunity as England`s industrial era waned, the "sus" laws - which meant a copper could stop you - they didn`t need to have a good reason, just suspicion was enough, the rough treatment that black youths in particular got from the police, and the total alienation from society that young people - black and white - felt at the time.

This 10 minute program focuses on the town after the politicians have gone, the park that was created to breathe life into area is now open - attracting people from overseas .. but has it done anything for the local population?

There a some pictures from the riot here, and the Big Issue has a feature on it that is handy to read if this bit of British history is not familiar to you. Also worth reading is Steven Kelly`s account who covered it for Granada Television, who are the makers of this programme, a Flckr page of photographs by Horner Sykes ... and northern heckler who has a interesting post on what he remembers at the time being a young lad in 81.

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Album / The Thyme Machine "Top & Tail with the Thyme Machine"

Album / The Thyme Machine "Top & Tail with the Thyme Machine"

A DOUBLE ALBUM OF LO-FI INDIE POP

WONDERFULLY TOLD STORIES OF CROSSWORDS, WASHING MACHINES, WOODLAND ANIMALS AND DEATH

CRAFTED BY FOUR GUYS FROM LANCASHIRE

IF YOU THINK INDIE IS ABOVE NAMECHECKING PRESTON BUS STATION THEN YOU`RE MISSING OUT.

Although it may seem a little daunting to throw a double album at you, this is the third release from these fellas across the way from where I live - well ... it`s quite far actually, recorded over six months. Top and tail is really two separate animals. One is more indie rock (the fun side of indie) and as you can guess from the song titles it`s topics are so everyday and varied. In a way, it`s kind of sums up how us brits look at life - we`re a fun but humble kind of sort but with the most peculiar of imaginations and a fondness for the mundane - because that is us.

Just from the first track on, I was n love with the world of The thyme Machine. It`s the lyrics. Some of the references my sail past people from beyond our shores, but that shouldn`t diminish your enjoyment of this album. You will smile at least once listening to this. Ha! Couldn`t stop smiling to meself during "Star Wars" ... However, I should get in that there`s plenty of solid riffs in there, it`s loose but it`s not like it`s been thrown together. There`s thought put into this. It`s also danceable in parts too. I dislike comparisons but think a cross between Jilted John, Graham Coxon, Weezer, and your funniest mate is near the mark.

Come on!

"You are my favourite seabird" in an indie song has got to win your heart.(Kittywake, Kittywake) I usually ask doubters to start off on a certain track, but really you could dip in anywhere on this album and warm to it.

Cush.

The Thyme Machine are:

Kriss, Tom, Joe and Robin

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / TUMBLR / SOUNDCLOUD

SINGLE / Bandoliers - "Time & May"

SINGLE / Bandoliers - "Time & May"

THIS IS THEIR DEBUT SINGLE FROM SEPTEMBER 2011, RECORDED IN THEIR GARAGE. WHICH IS PRETTY COOL . . .

... AS THE FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME WAS HOW IMMEDIATE, PUNCHY THE SONGS SOUNDED.I`D JUST BEEN LISTENING TO LOTS OF SURF ROCK, PRETTY LO - FI STUFF... AND THEN I FOUND THESE GUYS, SLAPPED THIS SINGLE ON AND THE ABSENCE OF REVERB JUST SEEMED TO HAVE SUCH AN IMPACT. Anyway you`re not fussed about such things! (It`s just that I`ve been mixing down an album during the last few weeks and lately have found it hard to listen to music of any kind without paying close attention to the production)

May is my favourite - it`s the stronger of the two - in terms of instant likeability, there`s certain bit of crossover with the Futureheads methinks (who are just cool as shade) in terms of doing rock that somewhere between art and pop and I mean that in a good way.

I`ve included two tracks off their NEW E.P, they`ve made it so you CANNOT emebed it in any website or blog - which is a very peculiar move when you`ve just released it. I however, managed to get two tracks out of the four from that E.P up on the site here . Um... I wonder if that`s a deliberate move? Anyway, enjoy this single - Bandoliers are defo onto something else. Follow them on Facebook.

SINGLE . . .

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TECH / Official FM relaunch - Going head to head with Soundcloud

TECH / Official FM relaunch - Going head to head with Soundcloud

Official FM has been around for awhile, and soundcloud has more or less ruled the roost when it comes to sharing and promotion of tracks. Up until now, Official FM worked similarly to SC, upload your music - it`s searchable, you can embed and share and people can download. But as of last week, that all changed.

It`s positioning itself away from something where the public can search for tracks to being a promotional tool for artist, labels and collectives. Everything you can do before with Official FM before still happens but. The embed player links to 5 sites of your choice - your own blog, facebook, twitter.. whatever. It means your music and your links are shared at the same time. You get full info on where your music was downloaded from - the location and the website - set an email-swap-for-downloads option on any track. You`re also as a free user, get to upload 1000 tracks.

YES. 1000.


It works out that you can have 10 "projects" with a 100 tracks in each. So if you have a solo project alongside a band, or an alter ego... it can all be managed from the same account ... and it will only show the "acts" name .. not the `account holder`. Oh and bands can share logins too, so everyone can check stats etc.

You can also create a "page" for each track, so when you launch your music, you give that link, and you can control how people see it. you don`t have to, but you can.

You can create playlists too, so if it`s an E.P or an album you`ve got to share - you can do it, with your own artwork too. Just about everything a soundcloud Pro account does, FM are doing for nothing. Hmm.

Now, you can`t search for tracks by other people - it isn`t meant to be a place to find music - but that MAY change, FM won`t say more than that.

I`ve signed up (again! - your old FM account details do not work)So far I like what I see, Will I drop SC? No, there`s a community around SC that`s not going away soon, but now I have options.

what`s interesting to note is they have four categories for music uploads
Orginal
Remix
Mashup
Mixtape.

So they are positioning themselves not only to musicians but to DJ`s too ... Interesting indeed. You also have the option of when you upload a track it will automatically upload it to your Youtube and Soundcloud account simultaenously. Tried that too. Worked without a hitch. All wrapped up in lovely HTML5. I`ve embedded three tracks on my music page, you don`t have to have it like I have, but as i`m photographer and usually photograph people I work with - having my player as large as that suits me fine. (you can choose from three different types)

There`s more stuff to know, but you`ll have to find out by going to their NEW website.






Between this, soundcloud and Bandcamp.. I`m well happy. Thank you official FM.

VIDEO / PUNK ROCK KICK - "SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY" - A JOURNEY OF SCIENCE THROUGH VHS

VIDEO / PUNK ROCK KICK - "SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY" - A JOURNEY OF SCIENCE THROUGH VHS

SOUNDTRACK : PUNKS ROCKS CLUB 2 MIXTAPE.

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DOWNLOAD

A PUNK ROCK KICK CUT AND PASTE REMIX OF THE WORLD IN 15 MINS COMPILED FROM VHS FORMAT. ALL IMAGES FOUND FROM YOU TUBE, ALL COPYRIGHTS DUTIFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED.

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PUNK ROCK KICKFACEBOOK / PHOTOGRAPHY / SOUNDCLOUD.

Silver Column -- Always on (Caribou Remix)
Bjorke & Barford -- Superbacon
Detachments -- H.A.L (Andrew Weatheralls Disco Dub)
Yeasayer -- Madder Red (The Golden Filter Remix)
Man Parrish -- Hip Hop (Don`t Stop) (12″ Extended Version)
Gossip -- Standing in the way of control
Super Furry Animals -- Slow Life
LCD Soundsystem -- Get Innocuous (Soulwax remix)
Chemical Brothers -- Hey Girl, Hey Boy
Simon Garcia -- Cinematique
Squeeze -- Take me I`m yours
Future Island -- In evening air (Urick remix)
Underworld -- Always loved a film (Club Cheval Club mix)
Daft Punk -- Digital Love (Algeronics Remix)
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VIDEO / Alphabomb & Rainmaker - "Trotter"

VIDEO / Alphabomb & Rainmaker - "Trotter"

THE DARKEST TUNE TO COME OUT THIS YEAR.
GETS A WORTHY VIDEO.

Alphabomb creative stunning HD visuals that react in real time to music. This video for Rainmaker isn`t official, but is something else indeed. It`s so striking.They`ve got the mood of the song bang on and added just a touch of eeriness on top. Imagine that projected up against a wall in a warehouse party at 3am. Got to respect the skill needed to craft these images,

They left a nice comment on one of my mixes some time ago, I followed it up last night - played this and BOOM I was impressed. They take these visuals out on the road, and have many different styles to hand. Contact them here and watch more of their videos here.As for Rainmaker.... The music itself is just miles ahead - must say,top choice alphabomb! I`ve included a download link to the song you hear which is called "Trotter" - it`s track 7, but you`d better be off giving the whole album a listen. Dark, dark, dark.

COMEDY / Bill Cosby - "Himself" Live at the Hamilton Place theatre(1983)

COMEDY / Bill Cosby - "Himself" Live at the Hamilton Place theatre(1983)

Filmed in Ontario, this classic stand up film from Bill Cosby taking about his family and life in general. Some eagle eyed people who are fans of the The Cosby show back in the day will spot that some of the routines in this actually ending up being part of the show. It illuminates why I remember the series to be always funny, because behind the scenes there were folks who held the art of comedic timing in high esteem - and learnt it the hard way, on the road.

In fact, without this film, there would be no `The Cosby Show`, as the the shows makers who had had previous success with "Mork and Mindy" at the ABC channel were watching this on TV thinking "This could be made into a sitcom". They had left ABC, and were now striking out on their own, and they desperately needed a big hit for their first project ... Boy, did they get one!

It must be said that, Bill had a high degree of control over the show and the original idea slated by the producers that he would play a father in a blue collar family was dropped at his insistence and - remarkable for that time - his character was made into a doctor, rather than a limousine driver. You just didn`t see affluent black people on TV those days, and even though it`s no big deal now, back then it was.

The bits where he talks about his son Ennis, who features in the opening credits, are a bit hard to watch, knowing that the poor fella was murdered during a mugging. But that aside, you got yourself a full performance of vintage Cosby.


A rather interesting take on the legacy of the Cosby show by Priya Neyan can be found on the Guardian Website

SINGLE / GONZO - "For You EP"

SINGLE / GONZO - "For You EP"

INSTRUMENTAL HIP HOP FROM MELBOURNE AUSTRAILA

I`ve posted a few Hip Hop instrumental albums, this is the shortest, and the most instant and accessible one so far. It`s smooth, but it`s the not coffee table Hip Hop that blighted all of our lives at the beginning of the century. The beats are chunky but never overpower the mood.

I immediatley recognised a lot of the samples - that made me go all Simon Cowell for a few seconds. "I know this groove - it`s damn good - you`d better have done something stylish with it or I`m off" So there I am, metaphorically folding my arms, waiting to be impressed ... and my head nodded... and didn`t stop.

Even though the songs are fairly short, they`re at the right side of satisfaction. Track three "Anyways" .. is just mint... from then on I was "sold" (as much as you can with a free download) I have a feeling there`s hasn`t been much attempt to clear the samples so I`m keeping mum on who and whats on this album.

It is ridiculous that it`s free. I dunno, sometimes the 20th century boy in me pinches himself and thinks it`s a bit unreal. You had to hunt good music and pay for it. Now people throw it at you from all angles for nowt.

Thank the geezer on his Facebook or his Soundcloud. I`m off to smoke to this.

Cough.

SINGLE / MEMOTONE - "Hands EP"

SINGLE / MEMOTONE - "Hands EP"

MINIMAL BEATS.

EXPANSIVE IMAGINATION.

FROM BRISTOL

Memotone is a single guy from Bristol, a very consummate producer and multi-instrumentalist. His music could be described as many things, experimental, Jazz, hip hop, electronica, found sounds .. and yet doesn`t fit the mould of anything else in those genres.

In "hands", there`s a lot of mellowness.. and a sense of patience about this EP. It might be the gnarled sound of a grandfather clock thats greets you in the opening track that reminds you of a going to a old relatives house, where every shelf holds memories and the hurried pace that modern life forces you to keep ceases for awhile.

The last track, in which the whole recording seems to build up to is such a pleasant surprise on the first listen, leaving you with the sense of finally awakening. All this was made with technology, but there`s no feeling of machines or anything synthetic about this collection.

Try his "rewerk" of Aaliahh`s "Try Again" ... That will give you a flavour of his talents. It`s not run of the mill.


DOWNLOAD MP3

The EP is £4, and a but a bit more cash, gets you a T shirt handmade from the composer himself. He`s been getting plays on Giles Peterson radio show too, who I respect greatly. Nuff said really. He`s on Facebook, you know.

SINGLE / RHYTM POLICE - "Space Escape"

SINGLE / RHYTM POLICE - "Space Escape"

FUTURISTIC SPACE ROCK DOWNLOAD MP3 / BANDCAMP/ FACEBOOK.

Rhytm Police are Leo Hopfinger and Tom Simonetti. Two incredibly talented geezers, they don`t take themselves seriously and rare for a group of their production skills, are totally relaxed about poking fun at themselves. They`ve carved a reputation of having upbeat live shows, and are playing 14th June in Moscow, Zavtra "Summer Road Event" 16th June in Izhevsk - at the Story Bar. Their sound is somewhere between disco, rock, dance and indie, sometimes in the same song. Pretty hard to pin down. What I like about these guys is that they sent me a message of thanks when I downloaded their song from soundcloud - which did take me by surprise, but it was a nice touch, doesn`t happen often .. Sound fellas.

Don`t let the smiles fool you, these guys are the real deal. If you like Space Escape, then go ... pig out on these!

ALBUM.

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REMIXES.

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