I woke up this morning feeling a bit down after the savaging I took on the comments section of the Guardian travel blog yesterday.
It didn’t take me long to cheer up though.
I read all the great comments of support from you guys here on FACSOS. (I was tempted to quote Uncle Hunty’s comment verbatim over at the Guardian blog) I noticed the mood over at that blog had lightened considerably as more sane people responded to the article. And I got a nice email from the editor over at the Guardian saying he liked the piece and that some of the readers can be a little po-faced.
Best of all, the postman dropped off a package from Sweden. Three freshly-minted CDs from Labrador Records. Long Gone Since Last Summer by Irene. Migration by Sambassadeur. And a self-titled effort by the Mary Onettes.
It’s no secret that I’m more than a little partial to music coming out of Sweden. And I’m a big fan of Labrador as a label. I like almost everything they put out. ( Labrador 100, a compilation celebrating their 100th release, is a great place to start). And I like their philosophy as a label.
Check out their website at Labrador.se. I reckon this is how all record labels should operate. You can listen to the albums, watch the videos and download a few sample MP3s. Then you buy the music directly from them at a reasonable price with postage included.
Anyway, I’ve ripped the CDs, plonked them into my iTunes library and listening to them as I write this entry.
My favourite track so far is Always on my Mind by Irene.
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They do have quite a selection, but I’ve always found it weird that Swedes rarely sing in Swedish. Last time I was there I asked by brother in law about it and he had no real answer as to why, but pointed me in the direction of a couple bands that do, the only one I could honestly say I recommend would be Helt Off, a reggae band from SkÃ¥ne. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103465469
You know how when you go on holidays as a kid, at some point while you are arguing with your sisters about who get the window, who had more lollies, who saw the sea first, you dad turns around and says “I will turn this bloody car around!”
Well, if you played that music in the car while I was driving then I would turn the car around and we would all go home until you learnt your lesson.
Here is something for you to listen to this morning (I am heavily involved in sending YouTube links to people rather than working at this dopey investment bank).
Lovage (contains Mike Patton from Faith No More/Mr Bungle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwBRkN9__uc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKiXYveusc0&feature=related
Del The Funky Homosapien (features on some Gorrilaz tracks, cousin of Ice Cube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UlAqjUu_TA
And Bela B with Charlotte Roche, she is loverly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHC2sbKDbUk