E.P / THE SOAP COMPANY - File Under Pop

E.P / THE SOAP COMPANY - File Under Pop

SUPER - DUPER FUN FEELGOOD MUSIC

Londoners, The Soap Company have gone right for the jugular and have made a sequential EP that`s a heady fairground ride of pop culture. It`s got the feeling of the first day of a holiday in warm climate about it - which just what you need when you`re living under a British one. "File.." is upbeat and unashamedly technicolor from start to finish. The songs work individually, but interestingly the EP is to be played as one continuous song...

It`s a crazy non stop rush of cheekiness, good vibes, party - driven grooves. It`s bit like waiting at a bus stop on a dreary day, then suddenly a car pulls up with two attractive girls in the front seat asking "Would you like to come down to the beach?" Fuck Yes!

File under pop comes after their last two releases where they pitched up in studio 54 to create a disco inspired dance album and the Kessler Syndrome, a dark sparse affair inspired by deep space ... so you can imagine as a band they are a little hard to pin down but, all have that soap-company-is-not-going-to-let-you-fucking-go-until-we-chill-you-out element. It`s like they`re constantly looking up at the sun ... even on a shitty overcast day in the capital city, they still want to be `up` and want you there too.

There`s more music to be found on their new Bandcamp page - there`s much more to them than this, You can follow them on facebook, and I`d follow them on twitter (I do) they`re good tweeters and a good laugh.

Download on a "name your price" basis. Then take it with you on holiday.

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REMIXES

DAN WHITEHOUSE

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THE STEALS

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THE HUMAN VALUE

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WEBSITE/FACEBOOK/TWITTER

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ART / "LOLLIPOP" ANTONIO ARISTON

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DOCUMENTARY / SLUT - The Documentary (2004)

DOCUMENTARY / SLUT - The Documentary (2004)

SLUT

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Everyone remembers of the name of the girl at school that got a reputation for having sex with lots of boys. But what happens if you`re the girl in question? When you`re the one that people make fun of, who gets assaulted physically and sexually, getting shunned by your peers and labelled for the rest of your school/college life as a bit of a slut - what does that do to you as an adult woman?

This Doc talks to people of all ages, some still in the school system about what happened to them, how it`s manifested itself within their sexuality as an adult, and how they got the label of `slut` in the first place. Many times, no sex actually occurred, all it took was a rumour and that was that, sometimes it did - and then the boy would go brag about it, embellish the story and get the girl a reputation for being easy...

There`s all kinds views in the doc, some people have embraced the term "slut" post-school, some have had it shadow their relationships for years after.

So what exactly is a slut?

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY

NATASHA LYNN

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INTERVIEW / Moscow Olympics Steve Ovett & Seb Coe (1980)

INTERVIEW / Moscow Olympics Steve Ovett & Seb Coe (1980)

The 2012 Olympics are happening in the UK right now, and so, every tournament brings us it`s sets of new sport stars, villains, moments of personal triumphs and bitter rivalries. In 1980, the rivalry was between two British athletes. Possibly because the U.S and other nations had pulled out of the games, the focus on these two young men was intense .... for 1980.

I vividly remember my teenage sisters dividing themselves into two camps - Coe or Ovett - and writing the sportsmens names on their home economics schoolbooks. It would never, never happen now .. but these two, back in the early 80s would have shared wall space with musicians and Hollywood film stars on a lot of teenage girls bedrooms.

Rather famous for saying little to the press, the interview with Steve Ovett was the longest he professionally gave. Recorded around the height of the drama between the 800 and 1500 finals in which Steve had beaten the favourite Coe in the 800, and Coe had beaten Steve in his top discipline the 1500 metres. They rarely ran in the same race - Coe had a stipulation written into his contract to avoid racing against Ovett if ever possible.

Although not included in this interview, Coe took the 800 metre loss badly "the very worst 800 metres of my 20-year career" as he recalls .. his father, was a bit more blunt.

"You ran like a cunt."





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Documentary / Maryport - Granada tv (1979)

Documentary / Maryport - Granada tv (1979)

A LOOK BACK TO THE SEVENTIES BRITAIN CHARTING THE DECLINE AND THE PRIDE OF A SMALL TOWN

THIS IS AN INTERESTING POST FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, I DISCOVERED AND WATCHED THIS AS A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT THE YEARS OF THE ENGLAND OF MY CHILDHOOD - WHEN IN FACT- THIS FILM IS ABOUT PEOPLE FEELING NOSTALGIC ABOUT THE MAYPORT OF THE PAST - IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE SHOT IN 1979.

The history of the rich and the wealthy cities are often well documented, the domination of the south and in particular London makes finding anything about the small towns of this country a rare event. This is Mayport, Cumbria 1979. The big industries have gone - the old can remember when the town used to be thriving,bustling place where sailors from all over the world would stop over. The young, saw none of this and in the grip of late seventies recession are unable to find work, and see no future.

But there is a fierce pride, and stubbornness that every town that made it`s money by hard work possesses . It is partly narrated by and features Ray Gosling, a well known broadcaster and writer. He follows the lives of the people - and is fully aware of his `tourist` - like status. He is a Nottingham working class lad made good, but you get the slight feeling this is `London having a look at how northern people live`. But that`s nitpicking.

What you`ll find, is footage of local cafe`s , peoples front room wearing their best clothes, teenagers dancing, kids in school .. mundane things that even right now, with all the mobile phone recording technology that we have to hand, are overlooked.

The difference in the use of language, or indeed what is indeed broadcastable - compared to today is worth noting.In one particular scene there`s a matter-of-fact use of the n word, which is actually tied up in an affectionate memory of a black person, that makes the edit, and goes unchallenged by Gosling and the film-maker. Just so as you know .. It takes the rosey coloured spectacle view of the 1970`s firmly off at that point for me ... and brings back memories of having first hand experience of dealing with derogatory words like that but meant in a non malicious way, usually from older folk.

That aside, what you have here Britain I grew up in, and as someone who grew up in an industrial area that had seen it`s better days this film resonates a lot with me.

THE PUNK ROCK KICK PLAYLIST 001 - SIX SONGS FOR NOTHING

THE PUNK ROCK KICK PLAYLIST 001 - SIX SONGS FOR NOTHING

RANDOM GENRES / NEW AND OLD / GOOD SONGS / DOWNLOADS

PIANISTBERLIN

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DOWNLOAD (VIA SOUNCLOUD)

CHATEAU BERBER

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DOWNLOAD (VIA BANDCAMP)

EYGPTOLOGY

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DOWNLOAD (VIA SOUNDCLOUD)

MIKE NISBET

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DOWNLOAD (VIA SOUNCLOUD)

CHINATOWN CARPARK

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DOWNLOAD (VIA SOUNDCLOUD)

BLACK COFFEE AND CHERRY PIE

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DOWNLOAD (VIA SOUNDCLOUD)

ARTWORK BY / MARTBIEMANS

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RUNNERS - STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

RUNNERS - STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

ELECTRO KRAUTROCK DISCO

SLEEK / PRISTINE / DIY / LEEDS / ART.

The band play live a lot but release little, but what they do give out publicly is of a bloody high standard. Can`t believe I missed this when it came out in April this year.

The band have been back in the studio to come out with a EP "Tranquility Base". The release of their debut 12" single "starting line" (the slick video to this is included down below) was hampered by the fire that happened to the Sony DADC/PIAS centre during the "riots" of 2011 ... pretty much all of the 12" were destroyed, leaving a few.. and considering the amount of work they put into it .. and that everyone else in the band is part of another prolific band so the time spent on it was tight anyway.. it really fucked things for the project.. but what doesn`t kill you makes you stronger and they are back with some force.

If you are going away this summer, pack Tranquility Base. It has the blue skies and the warm breeze included. There`s a samba vibe within that feels very European at the same time .. There`s sense of moving into the light a lot more with this EP .. away from the linear circuitry of "starting line" .. There`s a new 12" coming out soon .. it`s split release, but details are sketchy for now. Take your positions and wait for the starting pistol...I`ll race you to their facebook page...

RUNNERS

VIDEO

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ARTWORK BY JACOB BLESDOE.
(Photo from thisisfakediy.co.uk)

DOCUMENTARY / THE SUICIDE FOREST OF JAPAN (2012) 18+

DOCUMENTARY / THE SUICIDE FOREST OF JAPAN (2012) 18+

AOKIGAHARA
MOUNT FUJI
JAPAN.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

Aokigahara Forest, also known as the sea of trees is a tranquil place , a beautiful but dense forest that lies in the shadow of the majestic Mount Fuji .. and yet it is a place with a sad connotation. It is the second most popular place to commit suicide (The Golden gate bridge in the US being the first).

Locals often say that they can tell the three types of people who go into the forest quite easily... the one`s who`ve come to study the forest and the mountain, the one`s who are intrigued by the ghoulish nature of the location...and the ones who have no intention of leaving the forest.

Ever since a novel in the 1950 depicted two people taking their lives in Aokigahara Forest, the numbers of people taking their own lives there has steadily increased - and there is a spike in numbers towards the end of the financial year. (which is in March in Japan)

There is an absence of wildlife and the forest heavy deposits of iron in the volcanic soil makes compasses useless - makes for a very eerie stay overnight .. which a lot of people contemplating death often do .. sometimes they go back home .... and sometimes all that is left of them is the tent...

It is a little hard to swallow the knowledge that there are some people who go into the forest... only to rob corpses. But there are so many, that the Yakuza pay people to do this. Nice.

We follow the Forest ranger for the forest. Even though his main job would be just to care for the forest, he also looks out for the people he finds whithin them. He has found countless dead bodies over the years .. and you will find some of the images (they are brief) .... unnerving.

An absolute gem of a Documentary from VICE.

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Aokigahara Suicide Forest from Jim Demuth on Vimeo.

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SINGLE / Goodhart`s Law (Brillinger Remix)

SINGLE / Goodhart`s Law (Brillinger Remix)

FROM BEHIND THE GUITAR TO THE MIXING DESK, TAKING EMOTION TO THE DANCEFLOOR

The sometimes backyards frontman is not a stranger to electronics, indeed the bands ethos of "let`s try it" has got them utilizing technology in most of what they do - they are rare in that it doesn`t overpower the sound to the point to where you lose reference of the emotion within the music. Bryan as Brillinger does manages to put feeling into electronica, even if it`s banging track like this one.

I`d be very surprised if he didn`t go in to film scoring at some point (a recently published author so don`t take that lightly) Finely EQ`ed, with a solid understanding of textures and the knowledge of what works on the floor makes for a interesting musician to follow. As he is a Texan now happily married in northern England should at least make you intrigued enough to press play.

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THE BRILLINGER REMIX

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THE ORIGINAL VERSION (NAME YOUR PRICE DOWNLOAD)

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Watch out for a remix by Punk Rock Kick of the same track, which is entirely different again .... which is out next week on the forthcoming compilation "Circus Freaks & Processed Beats" coming from the Rock n` Roll Circus Studio where I`m based.

It`s a beautiful (and moving) song that has been given love and attention by different producers and whatever version you choose, you will always be moved. It`s that kind of song.

Enjoy.

released 07 April 2012
All songs written by Backyards.
Recorded by Grant Henderson at Loom Studio, Leeds.
Mastered by Tom Woodhead at Hippocratic Mastering.