Aeroplane

Douster - Triassic

ZZK Records presents its latest monster... 

and here is a sample of the 4 tracks from the EP. (Two minutes in is my favourite track, yum!)

DINOTASTIC!

Fever Ray live in Lulea!

Here I have an amazing live recording of very good quality from Fever Ray's current tour...

It was released exclusively by The Guardian on their website but only for a limited time, so here it is for those who missed it...

DOWNLOAD HERE

I am hopefully seeing her London gig at the Forum in Kentish Town on December 5th. It's her last gig apparently, after which she will retire the project and get back on Knife material with her brother Olof...

BONUS!

Here as an extra treat is the Rex the Dog mix of Marble House, a song by the Knife

Voila

New singles - REVIEWED (by me)

OK, so in the lack-of-internet-induced absence of real updates, I thought I'd prattle on and pass hoity toity judgement on some new music I have heard recently...

First up; 

HADOUKEN! - M.A.D. 

Yes, the Nu-Rave bratpack are back, despite the very obvious extinction of their flash-in-the-pan, NME buzzword genre. So, have they brushed up and developed their sound into something a little more substantial? The answer sadly (if this first single is anything to go by) is no. This is the exact same self aware, self appreciating, self referential tosswank. Lyrically bereft of anything deeper than WE'RE COOL AND WE'LL SMASH YOUR HEAD IN and featuring beats and synths that sound pretty much the same as all their other tracks, it shows thay haven't got the hint that nu-rave, or indie-grime, or whateverthehell this horrible sounding ear-rape is called, went out of fashion at least two years ago. 

Only suitable for ages 14 and under. 

**

Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better

Fans of the likes of Diplo, Santogold, and Spank Rock will be very familiar with Amanda Blank's spitfire vocals. The fastest pottymouth in Philly by all accounts. Her uber-rude knowing rhymes have been decorating many a hip-hop/electro track for the last few years and her combination of some kind of feminism with overt sexuality, topped off with cool underground grimey production has been setting clubs and blogs alight for as long. Now she is branching out solo with this surprisingly poppy number.

Lyrically it it's not much more than "Hey, let's shag", and the beats, while retaining a little sound of the underground quirkiness, are nowhere near as raw as her previous collaborations, so the jury is still out I'm afraid. Granted it's cool, and very hip, but it doesn't exactly blow me away.  Of course this sort of track is not really supposed to be dazzingly intelligent or challenging, it's meant to be heard in a club booming on a soundsystem while everyone gets drunk and grinds eachother in the groin. The same could of course be said of the above Hadouken track, but at least Amanda's offering is alot more listenable.

***

Fever Ray - Seven

Fever Ray's self titled debut album is probably my favourite record of the year so far and it's been a good year for great albums too. So I don't really have anything but praise to lavish upon her really. This, the 4th single from the record, speaks to us ominously about everything from distant childhood memories to dishwasher tablets. Her ability to make even the totally domestic into something mysterious shows that she must have a sense of humour and probably doesn't take herself half as seriously as everyone else does. 

Granted she is a singer from a Nordic country whose songs are 'kooky' and whose voice is 'odd' and she does indeed conjure up magical images in the listeners heads with vivid lyrics and atmospheric production, not unlike another famous icey pop star, and like Bjork, Fever Ray not only has a sense of humour in responding to how the western world views her music and country, but also has buckets of creativity and uniqueness to render any comparisons to Bjork nothing more than pointless geographical similarities.

If you haven't already got her beautiful album, then do so now!

*****

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa

Last one now, and it's the lead single from the new album by Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya, aka The Very Best. Their mixtape was a musical highlight of  2008 and their fist proper LP together does not disappoint, full of tracks that wonderfully combine many different aspects of African music with western club beats and indie coolness.

This track features a brilliantly distorted high-life riff sampled from Nigerian legend Sir Victor Uwaifo's 'Guitar Boy' with propelling pots-and-pans beats and Ezra Konig from Vampire Weekend on inescapably uplifting guest vocals. The overall effect is one of intense catchiness and upbeat vibes. I challenge you not to at least nod your head!

****

Here endeth the lesson

The Vintage Compendium is back!

Day-Glow-Radio's Vintage Compendium Vol.2!

1. When I See an Elephant Fly~Cliff Edwards 

2. It Don't Mean A Thing~Duke Ellington With Ivie Anderson 

3. The Joint is Jumpin'~Fats Waller & His Rhythm 

4. I Only Have Eyes For You~Frank Sinatra & Count Basie 

5. 'Taint What You Do~Ella Fitzgerald 

6. I Want Your Love (I Want You to Be My Baby)~Grace Chang 

7. Jaan Pechechaan Ho~Mohammed Rafi 

8. Shine~Django Reinhardt 

9. Guilty~Al Bowlly 

10. I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now~Jane Green 

11. Si Tu N'étais Pas Là~Fréhel 

12. How Do You Think I Feel~Georgia White 

13. Shave 'em Dry (Take 2)~Lucille Bogan 

14. Devil Got My Woman~Skip James 

15. This Little Light~The Montgomery Improvement Association 

16. It All Began With Adam And Eve~Lord Flea 

17. Playboy~Bob Marley and The Wailers 

18. Teardrops From My Eyes~Ruth Brown 

19. Grandpa Can Boogie Too~Lil Greenwood 

20. You Better Stop~LaVern Baker 

21. Zing Zing~Art Neville 

22. Mama Said~The Shirelles 

23. Needle In A Haystack~The Velvelettes 

24. Savoy~Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra 

25. Christopher Columbus~Andy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy 

26. What A Little Moonlight Can Do~Billie Holiday 

27. La Vie En Rose~Edith Piaf 

 DOWNLOAD HERE! (160.25 MB)

OK so I have finally got my arse into gear and made another mix, this one a follow up to my first on this blog (click here if you ain't got it yet).

It's very much more of the same, with some well known tunes nestled amongst the weirder more obscure tracks, and all in all will hopefully be another toe tapping, foot stomping adventure through jazz, swing, blues, rock'n'roll, r&b and anything inbetween. Vol. 2 here actually has alot more rock&roll and r&b than Vol.1 as I've been getting very much into this sort of stuff since Secret Garden Party, where all the dubstep, breaks, hip-hop, electro and so on couldn't compare one jot next to the  rock'n'roll swingathon in the Conspiracy Camp on the last night. It was the most rammed tent of the weekend and had the best atmosphere, plus the ceiling was dripping and the air was literally fogging up with sweat. Now that's what I call and old school rave!

Opening with the crows' song from Dumbo, which for all it's accusations of racism, is still a great tune (Although admittedly, if the makers hadn't had the audacity to call one of the crows Jim Crow, thought to be a reference to the Jim Crow Laws which seperated public facilities into black and white in America between 1876 and 1965, then perhaps dumbo wouldn't have had such accusations) we can enjoy some classic swing from Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Fats Waller and Ella Fitzgerald.

The Sinatra cut is from a brilliant album he made with the legendary Count Basie which has many great songs on it and can be found here if you fancy some further listening.

Next up we have two examples of Asian swing/rock'n'roll that are both wonderful. The first being by the beautiful Grace Chang, an actress from Hong Kong who was famous in 50s and 60s China for her musical roles for which she always sang her own vocals. She is followed by Mohd. Rafi, one of the most prolific Bollywood singers of all time. The song is from the film Gumnaam and there's the corresponding film clip below. Film fans will recognise this song and video from the opening scene of cult classic Ghost World.

Of the other tracks worthy of a mention Lucille Bogan's 2nd take of Shave 'Em Dry

is famous for being one of the rudest blues takes in history. 

Featured on just about every compilation of banned blues and x rated songs available 

it has become a favourite and it's hard to listen to it and keep a straight face...

Lucille was among the first American blues singers to be recorded and most of her songs were up front pieces about drinking, prostitution, sex and lesbianism, among many other aspects of 'the Life'.

A young spritely and dread-less Bob Marley makes his appearance next with a track from the Another Dance album, a collection of the Wailers very early songs when they were more of an R&B outfit who occasionally did abit of Jerk and Ska...

Grandpa can Boogie Too is one of my favourite discoveries and is taken from a great LP called Rare Blues Girls from King Records that features loads of singers you've never heard of singing great songs you've never heard. It was available at the amazing blog http://bebopwino.blogspot.com but sadly the blog appears to have been shut down or moved... I am in mourning!

And finally, cos I can;t prattle on about every track, I thought I would just post a picture to Edith Piaf, who closes this selection with one of her few English recordings; the beautiful La Vie En Rose. It's one of those famous songs that's been sung by hundreds of different artists, from Louis Armstrong and Aretha Franklin to Grace Jones and Cyndi Lauper, but Edith's version is the original, which she wrote with Luis Gugliemi and made famous in 1946.

So there you have it, from me to you, another mixtape to listen to, hope you like 'em...

Summer isn't over yet!

If you love Baile Funk or latin beats in general, then you will find it incredibly hard to resist the rolling rhythms of Cumbia Nueva, a glorious mix of traditional Colombian and Mexican folk and electronic club beats. If you're not already down with the Cumbias then get on it!

Download this mix and have a stomp!

SONIDO DEL PRINCIPE – CUMBIA 4 LIFE MIX, SEPT ‘09

http://www.mediafire.com/?dzzjftn4htm

01. el original – me matas (dj andy & sdp edit)

02. kiko de galo – mi morenita rebelde (sdp edit)

03. chief boima – techno rhumba (sdp edit)

04. the peronists – haitiana (sdp edit)

05. el remolon (sdp edit)

06. sdp cumbia guitara edit

07. systeme solar (sdp edit)

08. dj landrea – mi camino (sdp edit)

09. sonido del principe – jozefa matia

10. marcelo fabian – sel y mar (sdp rmx)

11. bomba estereo – fuego (sdp rmx)

12. sonido del principe – boom boom

13. dynamic – this is why i’m hot (sdp rmx)

14. dj panik – ice ice baby (sdp edit)

15. sonido del principe – cumbia del mondo

16. toddla t – full up mi portion (sdp rmx)

17. general levy – champagne body (sdp rmx)

18. suckafish p – cloak & dagger (sdp rmx)

African Tribal Music and Dances

Just found this album on the wonderful www.welove-music.net (which is a great resource if you're a fan of indigenous, tribal, religious or general "ethnic" music from around the world) and I must say it's something else, featuring some of the best drumming, chanting and harp playing I have heard.

Genuine live field recordings of traditional tribal rituals from several different tribes (The Malinke, Baloue and others) make this a wonderful collection of real African sounds to take you away from the dull trappings of boxed-in Blighty and into the open grasslands of the Motherland.

This CD also seems to be out of print so let there be no guilt in downloading it for free!

TRACK LISTINGS 
Music Of The Malinke
[01]. Festival Music
[02]. Solo For The Seron 
[03]. Hymn Of Praise 
[04]. Percussion Instruments 
[05]. Festival Of The Circumcision 
[06]. Dance Of The Hunters 
[07]. Dance Of The Women
Music Of The Baoule And Others
[08]. Invocation, Entrance And Dance Of The Glaou 
[09]. Duet For Flutes 
[10]. Solo For Musical Bow 
[11]. Xylophone Solo 
[12]. Male Chorus And Harp 
[13]. Dance Of The Witch Doctor 
[14]. Sicco 
[15]. Toffi 
[16]. Ibonga 
[17]. Gnounba Gnibi 
[18]. Dianka Bi 
[19]. Sibi Saba 
[20]. Sindhio 
[21]. Didrenquo 
[22]. Bonomiollo 

Download it here! Part One | Part Two

Enjoy!

Calling all assassins!

If anyone wants to murder my landlord for me, please get in touch!

Offside

In Iran, women are banned

from men's sporting events.

In 2005, Iran defeated Bahrein

to qualify for the World Cup.

I recently got this film on DVD and was amazed. From director Jafar Panahi, who also directed the amazing White Balloon, this is a tale of feminism and football, prejudice and patriotism.

It follows a group of Iranian girls who get arrested for disguising themselves as men and trying to sneak into the men-only football stadium to see Iran play Bahrein to qualify for the world cup. They are held in a pen where the football action is frustratingly out of sight for the young women.

Panahi uses this bizarre and unjust situation to expose and ridicule the archaic restrictions imposed on young Iranians by the right wing government and to poke fun at the gender clichés of Islam. One scene in which one of the girls must be escorted to the toilet by one of the guards is particularly amusing (there are no ladies toilets in a men-only stadium).

The amateur cast are completely convincing, especially the rough-talking tomboy, and the mini journey-of-discovery of the head guard is a joy to watch, as the film wonderfully illustrates the unifying power of a major sporting victory and consequent explosion of national pride can overcome such conservative prejudices. 

It's certainly the best football film I have ever seen, even though you don't actually see a single football being kicked.

Watch the trailer here

WATCH THE FULL FILM HERE

Shortbus

A film about which must fuss has been made, mainly due to the sex scenes, reportedly the most graphic ever to go on general release in America. However this film is less about sex but more about sexuality, love, and emotional repression/liberation.

The sex scenes are more there to completely lay the characters (and the audience) totally bare, vulnerable and exposed. They are intimate and realistic, often uncomfortable and sometimes unintentionally hilarious, much like real sex. They are more likely to make you laugh than turn you on or shock you. In fact the sex is often secondary to the relationships it's illustrating.

The film follows a small group of screwed up people who find solace in the 'salon for the gifted and challenged' known as Shortbus, an anarchistic arts centre and squat with a sex room based on a real place in Brooklyn called DUMBA, which was closed down during mayor Giuliani's prudish purge. Male and female, straight and gay, the characters find one and other, and eventually find themselves, when they set foot in Shortbus, "a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality."

"The boldest provocation of Mitchell’s sweet, tender and gently funny film may not be its depiction of graphic sex, but rather its exuberant celebration of community and togetherness at a cultural moment rife with fatalism and disconnect." ~ LA Weekly

"If there is such a thing as hard-core with a soft heart, this is it." ~ Rolling Stone

The film sparkles with subtly hilarious dialogue and a great array of characters played by an ensemble cast and more cameos than you can shake a stick at. The soundtrack is awesome too.

So sit back, relax and climb aboard the Shortbus (just don't watch it with your granny)

WATCH THE FULL MOVIE HERE

PART ONE

PART TWO

The Elephant in the Room

For everyone who finds all those conspiracy documentaries about 9/11, the war in Iraq and the US government hysterical and insufferable, but is still interested in the subject, there is thankfully this wonderful and intimate film by Dean Puckett, a man who came to my home town and showed the film at one of the film nights at our local community centre.

Rather than simply having an unseen narrator ranting and raving about conspiracies over stock footage and archive film (a la zeitgeist), this film instead investigates the cultural impact the event has had on the world using real people; face to face soundbites from people all over the world who have been directly or indirectly affected. From the appalling treatment of NYC's first responders to the Muslim backlash in Britain, and much much more. 

There are many fascinating interviews with all number of people including famous democratic politician Cynthia McKinney, whose willingness to speak out about numerous human rights matters has lost her a seat in congress, and MI5 whistle blower Annie Machon.

The director travelled the world to make the film and you can tell it was as much a voyage of human discovery as a documentary about bigger matters. Intimate, intelligent and at times devastating, this is fascinating viewing, whatever your opinion on what may have happened on that day in September may be.

The film won Best Documentary at the London independant film festival 2008

Check out the trailer

WATCH THE FULL MOVIE HERE (1hr 50mins approx)

An American Tail ~ Fievel Goes West

Watch it for free here!
(You know you want to)

Since I been gone...

...I went to Secret Garden Party

Here's a couple of photos, click 'em for HQ



I'll try and get all of them online soon, along with a new mixtape, working on three actually; Motherland (afro-sounds) Tropic Thunder (Baile, Kuduro etc) and volume 2 of the Vintage Compendium...
Hurray! Just need internet at my new house and all will be well...

Mishka presents Keep Watch X: by Major Lazer

Here's another filthy sweaty summer mixtape to get you wobbling, this one from Major Lazer, courtesy of the amazing Mishka series, now in its tenth installment. Expect lots of rowdy bass lines and hip injuring beats. Here's the tracklist.

It features some wicked reworkings of the Major Lazer album as well as mighty remixes of otrher artists including the monstrous Switch remix of Bjork's Thom Yorke collaboration 'Nattura'

Download it here!

I've gone on about Major Lazer alot lately, so maybe you would like some of his history...

Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. Since then Major Lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of M5 and the CIA. His cover is that of a dancehall night club owner from Trinidad and he enlisted the help of long-time allies and uber-producers, Diplo and Switch, to produce his first LP. His true mission is to protect the world from the dark forces of evil that live just under the surface of a civilized society. He fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket powered skateboard.

Buraka Som Sistema - Blood Diamond Mixtape

If there was ever a band to capture the true rumble of tropic thunder, this is it. Buraka Som Sistema are Angola's answer to the Prodigy in a way.

Earthquake bass and bombshell beats explode throughout their work and around their many collaborators and their album Black Diamond is possibly my favourite LP of 2008.

Here is their latest offering, a bloody mixtape through Kuduro, Baile Funk, Dubstep and more inspired by and dedicated to the 3.7 million people in Angola, Sierra Leone, The Congo and Liberia who are believed to have died because of the diamond trade.

BURAKA SOM SISTEMA - BLOOD DIAMOND

01. Diamonds are Forever Intro
02. Dj Znobia feat Jaime Foxx- Africa
03. Buraka Som Sistema – Kalemba (wegue wegue) Afrikan Boy remix
04. Os Lambas – Sapo (BSS Edit)
05. Radioclit vs Guns’n'roses – Sweet Secousse of Mine (Bss edit)
06. The Kiss – Black Diamond
07. Tunes for Baby That Won’t Drive You Crazy – Black Diamond
08. Buraka Som Sistema – IC19 (Toy Selecta remix)
09. Buraka Som Sistema – Aqui Para Voces (FAVELA FUNK SAMBA edit)
10. Buraka Som Sistema – Wawaba (James Braun Copyflex remix)
11. Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance (BSS Remix)
12. Dirty Tricks – Black Diamond
13. Rusko vs Puto Prata – Let’s Go (BSS Edit)
14. Buraka Som Sistema – R.I.A.D.
15. Lil’Joao feat Aloe Blacc – Off with ya head
16. Buraka Som Sistema – Gang Bang feat Blaya
17. David Zé – O Guerrilheiro
18. Johnny Clarke – Come Back To Me
19. Buraka Som Sistema – Sound of Kuduro (D1 remix)
20. Zomby feat Pongolove – Kuduro Rumours (BSS Edit)
21. Rusko – Cockney Thug (BSS Remix)
22. Paul Simon – Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

DOWNLOAD HERE

Troglodyte!

I am shortly to be moving into a new house. Lovely.
A house with no internet. Not lovely.

Thusly updates here are not gonna be very regular but I will try my best to get on the web as much as possible (else I will go completely insane)

Pearl's Dream

The sublime Bat For Lashes returns with a new video, it's all a bit magical...




Watch it in HD here

I Like Turtles

Since the Major Lazer album excitement I have listening to lots of Diplo related material lately and he really is, how do you say..? The tits.
Here is a really fun mix from a couple of years ago that goes all over the place like a joyous rollercoaster of musical merriment. Hip-hop, dub, dancehall, reggae, drunk, rock'n'roll, it's all there. And Paper Planes into Iko Iko into a choral version of The Knife's Heartbeats is genius. Expect vast amounts of Diplo's trademark tongue-in-cheekiness...

Tracklist

01. Nancy Francis & Jonathon Ware - I Like Turtles

02. Mr. Vegas - Lean Wit It

03. M.I.A. Feat. Bun B & Rich Boy - Paper Planes

04. Schooly D. - Gucci Time

05. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rockers To Swallow

06. Jellybean - Sidewalk Talk

07. Belle Stars - Iko Iko

08. Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Heartbeats

09. Diplo & Switch Feat. Elephant Man - East, West (Remix)

10. Nirvana - Drain You

11. Huey - Pop, Lock & Drop It Marc Houle - Bay Of Figs (Remix)

12. DJ Tamiel - Bump Like This

13. Queen Feat. David Bowie - Under Pressure

14. Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight

15. Soulja Boy - Crank Dat Superman

16. Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do (Break)

17. DJ Shadow - Organ Donor (Sandrinho Remix)

18. Diplo & Switch Feat. Beenie Man - Solta Frango

19. Mr. Vegas - Hot Fuk (Diplo Mix)

20. Enur Feat. Nastasja - Calabria (2007 Mix)

21. Spoon - Paper Tiger

22. Circle Children - Zulu

23. M.I.A. Feat. Akon - Boyz Remix

24. Boy 8 Bit - Suspense Is Killing Me

25. KW Griff - Tony's Back

26. Diplo - Work Is Never Over

27. M.I.A. - Bamboo Banger

28. Sizzla - Bamboo Banger (Dubplate)

29. Blaqstar - Supastarr

30. Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love Again (Dub)

31. Orbital - Halcyon

32. LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan Remix)

33. Petter - Some Polyphony

34. Rihanna - Umbrella (Vandalism Mix)

35. Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix)

36. The White Stripes - Little Cream Soda

37. ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness

38. Kia Shine - Crispy

39. Bart Simpson - Bartman (So Krispy Mix)

Download the mix in MP3 here (62mb)

Buy the CD and many other fun things at the Mad Decent store

Fellini's Nights of Cabiria (1957)

"Welcome to a bittersweet world of episodic adventures and strange encounters. Welcome to a sordid, nocturnal world of ruthless, callous boyfriends and stray movie stars looking for seedy kicks. Welcome to the harsh, unforgiving streets of a crumbling Rome, where hope can still prevail and dreams cradle the lost. Welcome to the world of Cabiria, a feisty, loud, outspoken and somewhat naive prostitute waiting for a miracle, and one of the most unforgettable and endearing characters of European cinema."

Nights of Cabiria is a bittersweet, poignantly moving and often humorous film that marked iconic Italian film maker Federico Fellini's farewell to this gritty emotional neo-realism before venturing into the surreal satire and dream logic of films such as La Dolce Vita.


Starring his wife, the fantastic Giuletta Masina, in yet another breath taking performance equal to her portrayal of the doomed circus girl Gelsomina in the better known Fellini film La Strada, this is a wonderfully made film that will leave you swept away by her tragic existence yet uplifted by her unbreakable lust for life. Superb.

Watch it on youtube here...
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=02AA6643620B0101

Etz Limon (2008)

Winner of the Berlin Film Festival audience award, Lemon Tree is the true story of a Palestinian woman's fight to save her beautiful lemon tree grove when the Israeli defense minister who moves next to her demands it be torn down for security reasons. Both an intimate human drama and a powerful allegory to the greater issues of Israel and Palestine, Lemon Tree is a beautiful and heart breaking film.



Watch it here on youtube
(For subtitles click the Closed Caption tab on bottom right of the player, next to the HQ and Volume tabs.)

Alice In Wonderland (1903)

Chose your own soundtrack...

Black Orpheus

All the way from Brazil, Marcel Camus' 1959 film that retells the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the vivid setting of 50s Rio De Janeiro during the famous Carnival season. The film won the Paslme D'Or at Cannes and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. It is also famous for it's soundtrack of bossa nova and samba by Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Watch it on the youtube playlist below

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DCAD02AB764BC676

Major Lazer Update!

So Major Lazer's album 'Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do' has finally arrived! I am not disappointed. It's full of sweaty dancehall and simmering reggae, among many other things.
BUY IT HERE
Check out the awesome new video for Hold the Line. And while you're at it have another HEAVY song from the album! Anything Goes ft. Turbulence DOWNLOAD HERE

Coraline

Here you go, enjoy the stunningly animated, breathtakingly beautiful new Henry Selick film (the man who gave us the Nightmare Before Christmas), based on Niel Gaiman's novel. Watch the high quality stream below.
WARNING! This is a megavideo stream so it will stop after 72 minutes and tell you to wait an hour until you can watch the rest (unless you give them money, which for something which has been pirated in the first place is just not on) so I highly reccomend you just download it from the source HERE (696MB)



Download the whole film here

TV worth shouting about

One thing I thought I'd recommend is the new BBC Three series Blood, Sweat & Takeaways which has to be one of the best things I've seen on telly in a while.
Taking the done-to-death format of a reality TV show and turning it into a socially, culturally, politically relevant documentary, the makers have sent six 20something Brits packing off to South East Asia to toil amongst the thousands of underpayed workers who create all the food they are so used to eating back home.
The group of fast food lovers have to gut endless barrels of fish, pack tonnes of rice, irrigate paddy fields, slit thousands of chicken necks per hour, and many other soul destroying tasks.
They do the same hours as the native workers and receive the same wage, which results in six very hungry people most of the time, desperately pooling together their pittance in exchange for small amounts of bread and rice to live on.

Some of it is truly shocking, while some scenes in the final episode genuinely moved me to tears. These were the scenes in which the brits discovered the true personal cost of the food industry and how it massively affects the lives of men and, in this case especially, women.

It's available on iPlayer for ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS! So hurry up, you won't regret it.
WATCH IT HERE

Blood, Sweat & Takeaways cleverly uses the ever popular reality TV show formula to sell a hard hitting and important documentary to the Big Brother generation. Unmissable TV.

Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do

Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do

That is the title of the forthcoming album from Major Lazer (a.k.a. Diplo & Switch) and I am quite excited. If lead single Hold the Line is anything to go by, it's gonna be some mental raggamuffin' ghettocrunkyspazzcore. I played the aforementioned track the other night at Opaque's album launch and it made people bob up and down like zebedees on a bouncy castle. Download it here.

Diplo and Switch are brilliant enough on their own but combined should be even better, one would assume at least. The album features a host of other guest stars as listed below, and they are currently working with M.I.A. as well (and they also accidentally stole her headphones) according to Twitter.

01 "HOLD THE LINE" Feat. MR. LEX & SANTIGOLD
02 "When You Hear The Bassline" Feat. MS. THING
03 "Can't Stop Now" Feat. MR. VEGAS & JOVI ROCKWELL
04 "Lazer Theme" Feat. FUTURE TROUBLE
05 "Anything Goes" Feat. TURBULENCE
06 "Cash Flow" Feat. JAH DAN
07 "Mary Jane" Feat. MR. EVIL & MAPEI
08 "Bruk Out" Feat. T.O.K. & MS. THING
09 "What U Like" Feat. AMANDA BLANK & EINSTEIN
10 "Keep It Goin' Louder" Feat. NINA SKY & RICKY BLAZE
11 "Pon De Floor" Feat. VYBZ KARTEL (Additional Prpduction By AFRO JACK)
12 "Baby" Feat. PRINCE ZIMBOO
13 "Jump Up" Feat. LEFTSIDE & SUPAHYPE (Co-Produced By CROOKERS)

Check out the madness at SXSW Festival...

Mad Decent SXSW
by maddecent

Born Into Brothels - Calcutta's Red Light Kids

This award winning documentary from Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann won worldwide acclaim in 2004 for its depiction of the often neglected children of Sonagachi, Calcutta's red light district.

Documentarian Zana decided that rather than simply go into the brothels and backstreets and make an observational film, she would get involved, and she decided to do this by teaching some of the many children she met the art of photography, so that they can document their world by themselves.

The film attracted critisism for simplifying the problems of extreme poverty, and was even accused of exploitation (is there such a thing as poverty porn?) but watch it and make up your own mind. Watch it here on googlevideo

The aftermath of the film led to the founding of the Kids with Cameras photography school. Whether or not knowledge of photography will help these kids out of the slums or not remains to be seen but it is certainly a fanstatic insight into their lives. Check out the Kids with Cameras website here to see their photos

Milk - Gus Van Sant

Watch online here

Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, America's first ever openly gay elected official, and wins an Oscar for his portrayal, in this brilliant film from cult director Gus Van Sant which charts his life through his struggle against discrimination and his fight for gay rights, right up to his infamous assassination in 1978.
Deftly combining a civil rights tale of morality and politics into an emotive and believable biopic of a man's life and whole generation's personal revolution, Milk is an unmissable film which acts as a wonderful view into America at a time when the whole world was changing and struggling to accept the liberal explosion of the 60s.

The film also won an Oscar for it's screenplay and features a fantastic supporting cast as well.
Curiously it was banned in Samoa, but has avoided controversy almost everywhere else, proving that perceptions have obviously changed a lot since Harvey Milk's plight.
Captivating. Heart breaking. Uplifting.

Milk is released on DVD on June 8th.