Sometimes, when a band release a new album, the very fabric of your passion for them is tested. Do you like their new material? Have they lost their way?
I don”™t know about you, but I do this all the time. I find that listening back over the entire back catalogue of the band doesn”™t just refresh and rekindle the appreciation that you initially built for them, but also allows you to track the band, or artists growth as they evolve through the music industry, and find their ”˜sound”™. And, if you”™re lucky, you may even discover little treats in the albums that you didn”™t hear before, woop!
Every week at Spotisfaction towers, I will atempt to rummage through an artist”™s past albums and explore exactly where they”™ve come from, and where they are heading, in a feature we”™re calling ”˜View From The Afternoon”™. This will be fun, honest!
The name? After much deliberation and indecision over what such a feature could be called, View From The Afternoon was chosen. The title refers to the Arctic Monkeys track; the lyrics of which describe how perspectives of past events change in time, and alter with the benefit of hindsight. This is kind of what we are doing when we look back over a band”™s past albums. We are judging their current musical state on the twists and turns that have taken place before, and can only now hold a true picture of their work as a whole.
Ok, so its a weak title, but until we think of something better, it stays, so there!
To kick off this glorious feature, we are dedicating a week to those quirky Canadian shoe gazers, Broken Social Scene, in honour of their upcoming live gig at Birmingham Academy on Saturday [Editor”™s note: if you”™re coming, let us know!].
I for one have never actually listened to the band before, or any of their work, so this week”™s trawl through their back catalogue will be hugely beneficial for me. If you are already a fan, I hope the following reviews and opinions appear just, and that they help you fall in love with the band all over again, just in time for the gig.
We hope you enjoy these weekly journeys, and that they shine a light on your life somehow. Enjoy Broken Social Scene, and we”™ll see you down the front!
As promised, a few behind-the-scenes pictures from James TAE – our man working hard as an Oxfam steward on the early shift at Glastonbury. Hopefully these will whet your appetite until we receive some more.
As someone who”™s been to Glastonbury several times, it”™s very odd not seeing thousands of people in these pics.
Remember to follow James”™ Twitter feed and the #spotisfaction hashtag for snippets of life as a steward.
Baila Baila feat Stereo:type – Deekline and Wizard
Caesar – I Blame Coco, Robyn
Audacity of Huge – Simian Mobile Disco
Electronic Battle Weapon 8 – Chemical Brothers
Vision One – Royksopp
Vampires – Touche
It Starts – Alex Metric
Paper Romance – Groove Armada
Havanna Sex Dwarf – Booka Shade
This is our night – Sander Kleinenberg
Koko”™s song – Silicone Soul
Take me into your skin – Trentmoller
Ecstasy – JJ
Miss you – Trentmoller
Running through woodland – Message to Bears
Hey all,
This one was quite a long time in the making, it”™s been roadtested quite a bit!
Not loads to right about these, a journey into finding new music for me, starts on a hip-hop inspired tip, including a track i love from Mos Def with a great guest rap from Slick Rick. Moving through more of a dancey middle and a chilled out ending.
Not much to report today – Thom”™s on holiday and I”™m off ill (read: sat around in my pyjamas drinking far too much tea and watching the football), so I”™ll keep this brief. I”™ll be posting some pictures from behind-the-scenes at Glastonbury this evening, so do come back later!
Today”™s playlist is from the mighty John Brobyn. Honestly, I think it”™s ace and hopefully y”™all will too.
Baila Baila feat Stereo:type – Deekline and Wizard
Caesar – I Blame Coco, Robyn
Audacity of Huge – Simian Mobile Disco
Electronic Battle Weapon 8 – Chemical Brothers
Vision One – Royksopp
Vampires – Touche
It Starts – Alex Metric
Paper Romance – Groove Armada
Havanna Sex Dwarf – Booka Shade
This is our night – Sander Kleinenberg
Koko”™s song – Silicone Soul
Take me into your skin – Trentmoller
Ecstasy – JJ
Miss you – Trentmoller
Running through woodland – Message to Bears
Hey all,
This one was quite a long time in the making, it”™s been roadtested quite a bit!
Not loads to right about these, a journey into finding new music for me, starts on a hip-hop inspired tip, including a track i love from Mos Def with a great guest rap from Slick Rick. Moving through more of a dancey middle and a chilled out ending.
Our man in the field, James TAE, is posting updates from Glastonbury where he”™s working on getting everything set up for the festival this week. We”™re currently trending #spotisfaction on Twitter, so keep an eye out for snippets of behind the scenes info.
Whatever you”™re doing, wherever you are, I hope that the latest Spotisfaction playlist is filling your ears and softly soaring through your atmosphere.
My name is Ben Hawling and I will be flooding the Spotisfaction pages with regular reviews and the occasional rant. These reviews will consist of both album and gig reviews, plus a few band profiles every so often in an effort to keep our collective Spotisfaction fingers on the pulse of what”™s hot, musically. I will also be conducting a weekly “Band back catalogue appreciation” feature (yeah, working on a better name as we speak), where I rummage through the back catalogue of a different band each week so that a whole host of new fans can be introduced to fine music. This will also allow the more loyal fans to reminisce, and their appreciation be born all over again.
Based in the glorious Cheltenham town, I am a resident reviewer for the visionary Cheltenham Underground imprint, so I will be posting regular nuggets of local talent. I will also give the heads up of any mind-blowingly awesome artists that play at the Cheltenham Underground showcase nights, and where you can find them (in a non-stalker way”¦”¦.well, maybe).
The reason behind my involvement with the Spotisfaction blog is purely because I long to be part of something that is groundbreaking, and that thrives on delivering music in all it”™s forms to those who may not have access to it. But on a more personal level, it is down to the enjoyment and appreciation of the mixtape itself. Spotisfaction allows the 15 year-old me, sat alone in my bedroom, to finally share all the mixtapes that I compiled from odd tapes and CDs. Just as the mixtapes got me through the drudge of school, I hope that the playlists and discussion that you will find on Spotisfaction carry you through the harshness of modern day life and on to a higher plain, wherever that may be.
If there”™s any albums/gigs/bands that you want me to review or take a look at, please feel free to contact me on twitter (@benchs25) or via my email address, ben@spotisfaction.com.
We are all part of something spectacular, and most importantly, real. Let”™s embrace it!
Dave managed to spill soup all over his laptop. What an idiot. Of course, this means no more Spotisfaction updates from him until his machine dries out. Let”™s all take 5 minutes out to laugh at his misfortune.
Dave managed to spill soup all over his laptop. What an idiot. Of course, this means no more Spotisfaction updates from him until his machine dries out. Let”™s all take 5 minutes out to laugh at his misfortune.
Afternoon, folks! Today”™s playlist comes courtesy of Simon Mogg, whose previous playlist was one of my favourite concepts: “The Evolution of Moggy (in music)”. Fortunately, for today”™s submission he”™s guaranteed us no nu-metal or PJ & Duncan”¦
Remember that we”™re running a competition to win a ticket for Broken Social Scene”™s show in Birmingham on Sat 26th June – if you”™ve not entered yet, tweet us your favourite feel-good song with the #compisfaction hashtag. See here for full info!
Hit the link for the track listing and Moggy”™s blurb.
Damien Rice ”“ Amie
Johnny Cash ”“ Hurt
Amon Tobin ”“ Four Ton Mantis
Harry J Allstars ”“ Liquidator
David Bowie ”“ Life On Mars?
Flipron ”“ Flush It
Saul Williams ”“ Black Stacey
Maxim ”“ Spectral Wars
Jurassic 5 ”“ CONCRETE SCHOOLYARD
Beastie Boys ”“ Shadrach
Sublime ”“ KRS-One
Gorillaz ”“ Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)
RJD2 ”“ Ghostwriter
Flogging Molly ”“ Float
Brigham Young University Vocal Point ”“ Super Mario
The Puppini Sisters ”“ Spooky
Special AKA ”“ Gangsters
Desmond Dekker ”“ You Can Get It If You Really Want
Reel Big Fish ”“ Drunk Again
Everlast ”“ Black Jesus
Bill Withers ”“ Lean On Me – Single Version
Newton Faulkner ”“ People Should Smile More
Paolo Nutini ”“ Pencil Full Of Lead
Nick Drake ”“ Black Eyed Dog
65daysofstatic ”“ Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here
John Martyn ”“ May You Never
Ben E. King ”“ Stand By Me
The Proclaimers ”“ King Of The Road
Steve ”“ I Am Here (Falling Down Album Version)
Mitch Benn ”“ Steal This Song
So this is a slightly different style of playlist than my last. This time its a selection of music that I like to listen to when I can”™t move at all. Would be nice for summer in the garden.
Here are a few stand out tracks.
Johnny Cash ”“ Hurt
This track is just plain awesome. You dont often hear tracks that are a vast improvement on their original. But this one is.
Amon Tobin ”“ Four Ton Mantis
Discovered this in a car advert. But dont hold that against it. It has a nice quality to it.
Flipron ”“ Flush It
This band are dark. When I was playing them at one point “the wife” asked me to turn it off because it was depressing her. Gotta love music that creates emotion.
Beastie Boys ”“ Shadrach
I like the Beastie Boys. Any group that goes from Punk to Hiphop in their career appeal to me. This is one of their best tracks if you ask me.
RJD2 ”“ Ghostwriter
I love this track. No other comment its just awesome.
Brigham Young University Vocal Point ”“ Super Mario
hahahahahahahahahaha. Brilliant. Goes with the trade too.
65daysofstatic ”“ Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here
Shame its the live track but i love the way this track builds. It ends in a creshendo of noise. Love it.
The Proclaimers ”“ King Of The Road
I like the Proclaimers. I”™m not ashamed.
So there it is. I love all of these tracks. I”™d of commented on all of them but that just ends up with a lot of writing.
Quick straw poll – would you prefer playlist updates such as this one in the morning or afternoon? Let us know via Twitter (@spotisfaction).
Afternoon, folks! Today”™s playlist comes courtesy of Simon Mogg, whose previous playlist was one of my favourite concepts: “The Evolution of Moggy (in music)”. Fortunately, for today”™s submission he”™s guaranteed us no nu-metal or PJ & Duncan”¦
Remember that we”™re running a competition to win a ticket for Broken Social Scene”™s show in Birmingham on Sat 26th June – if you”™ve not entered yet, tweet us your favourite feel-good song with the #compisfaction hashtag. See here for full info!
Hit the link for the track listing and Moggy”™s blurb.
Damien Rice ”“ Amie
Johnny Cash ”“ Hurt
Amon Tobin ”“ Four Ton Mantis
Harry J Allstars ”“ Liquidator
David Bowie ”“ Life On Mars?
Flipron ”“ Flush It
Saul Williams ”“ Black Stacey
Maxim ”“ Spectral Wars
Jurassic 5 ”“ CONCRETE SCHOOLYARD
Beastie Boys ”“ Shadrach
Sublime ”“ KRS-One
Gorillaz ”“ Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher Version)
RJD2 ”“ Ghostwriter
Flogging Molly ”“ Float
Brigham Young University Vocal Point ”“ Super Mario
The Puppini Sisters ”“ Spooky
Special AKA ”“ Gangsters
Desmond Dekker ”“ You Can Get It If You Really Want
Reel Big Fish ”“ Drunk Again
Everlast ”“ Black Jesus
Bill Withers ”“ Lean On Me – Single Version
Newton Faulkner ”“ People Should Smile More
Paolo Nutini ”“ Pencil Full Of Lead
Nick Drake ”“ Black Eyed Dog
65daysofstatic ”“ Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here
John Martyn ”“ May You Never
Ben E. King ”“ Stand By Me
The Proclaimers ”“ King Of The Road
Steve ”“ I Am Here (Falling Down Album Version)
Mitch Benn ”“ Steal This Song
So this is a slightly different style of playlist than my last. This time its a selection of music that I like to listen to when I can”™t move at all. Would be nice for summer in the garden.
Here are a few stand out tracks.
Johnny Cash ”“ Hurt
This track is just plain awesome. You dont often hear tracks that are a vast improvement on their original. But this one is.
Amon Tobin ”“ Four Ton Mantis
Discovered this in a car advert. But dont hold that against it. It has a nice quality to it.
Flipron ”“ Flush It
This band are dark. When I was playing them at one point “the wife” asked me to turn it off because it was depressing her. Gotta love music that creates emotion.
Beastie Boys ”“ Shadrach
I like the Beastie Boys. Any group that goes from Punk to Hiphop in their career appeal to me. This is one of their best tracks if you ask me.
RJD2 ”“ Ghostwriter
I love this track. No other comment its just awesome.
Brigham Young University Vocal Point ”“ Super Mario
hahahahahahahahahaha. Brilliant. Goes with the trade too.
65daysofstatic ”“ Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here
Shame its the live track but i love the way this track builds. It ends in a creshendo of noise. Love it.
The Proclaimers ”“ King Of The Road
I like the Proclaimers. I”™m not ashamed.
So there it is. I love all of these tracks. I”™d of commented on all of them but that just ends up with a lot of writing.
Hey guys, and welcome to my Spotisfaction blog. I will be contributing reviews, articles, features, general stuff intended for debate.
I”™m very pleased to be here and helping to grow the size and scope of the site. I was really very impressed with what Dave and Thom had achieved here, keeping it growing, gaining momentum and keeping an interested following. The growth of Spotify has really been phenomenal, and when Facebook was tied in and the social, collaborative nature of Spotify went through the roof, and all via an interface and technology which was almost perfectly realised, I had to contact the boys. I could see where this could go: there was the potential to be one of the first sites to provide music news, reviews and blogs where all its content was linked to instantly listenable, legal material. I really think that this, right here, could be a first. I haven”™t encountered another independent internet blog that ties all of its content to an entirely free, entirely legal and legitimate music streaming service.
I”™m unbelievably enthusiastic about the potential, but only if you”™ll stick with us, continue to listen, to read, to contribute. That last one is the most important. Spotisfaction”™s raison d”™etre is its collaborative nature. We don”™t just want you to provide playlists, we want your news, your reviews, your opinions, your ideas for features. We want to try to create a community driven, Spotify enhanced musical encyclopaedia of a blog. Spotipedia? Blogify? No, Spotisfaction.
[continued”¦]
The Spotisfaction playlists won”™t stop, and please don”™t stop submitting them, because we still intend these to be the most frequently posted things on the site. It”™s just that we”™ll supplement these with an archive of album and artist reviews, news posts, and general blogs like this one.
A little about me I guess. Well, I recently applied to be on the news team at Latitude festival, and I had to describe myself in 50 words. Here are my 50 words:
“I am a passionate musician, editor and blogger. I have a wide taste in music and have stewarded at many festivals with Oxfam for 5 years including Glastonbury , Reading , and WOMAD. I work in digital editorial, and also help to run an online music blog, contributing reviews, articles and featurettes.”
Living and working in central London, I keep myself involved in as much as possible and will be trying to review as much as I can. I also review for CueTracks.net, a company that allows unsigned bands to have their music reviewed by people working in the industry. Expect a diverse (I trust) list of reviews and playlists ”“ my previous submissions have been Dubstep, Acoustic and Metal mixes. I have a blog on Piracy that I think will be posted in the next couple of days to give you all to chew on while I disappear to Glastonbury on Saturday. I”™ll bereviewing Glasto for you all next week and you can continue to follow me and my other goings on via Twitter: http://twitter.com/James_TAE
Please keep the submissions coming, be it playlists, news, reviews or ideas for features. You can email them all to me at james@spotisfaction.com or submit them through the site as normal.
Cheers
[James TAE]
Hey guys, and welcome to my Spotisfaction blog. I will be contributing reviews, articles, features, general stuff intended for debate.
I”™m very pleased to be here and helping to grow the size and scope of the site. I was really very impressed with what Dave and Thom had achieved here, keeping it growing, gaining momentum and keeping an interested following. The growth of Spotify has really been phenomenal, and when Facebook was tied in and the social, collaborative nature of Spotify went through the roof, and all via an interface and technology which was almost perfectly realised, I had to contact the boys. I could see where this could go: there was the potential to be one of the first sites to provide music news, reviews and blogs where all its content was linked to instantly listenable, legal material. I really think that this, right here, could be a first. I haven”™t encountered another independent internet blog that ties all of its content to an entirely free, entirely legal and legitimate music streaming service.
I”™m unbelievably enthusiastic about the potential, but only if you”™ll stick with us, continue to listen, to read, to contribute. That last one is the most important. Spotisfaction”™s raison d”™etre is its collaborative nature. We don”™t just want you to provide playlists, we want your news, your reviews, your opinions, your ideas for features. We want to try to create a community driven, Spotify enhanced musical encyclopaedia of a blog. Spotipedia? Blogify? No, Spotisfaction.
[continued”¦]
The Spotisfaction playlists won”™t stop, and please don”™t stop submitting them, because we still intend these to be the most frequently posted things on the site. It”™s just that we”™ll supplement these with an archive of album and artist reviews, news posts, and general blogs like this one.
A little about me I guess. Well, I recently applied to be on the news team at Latitude festival, and I had to describe myself in 50 words. Here are my 50 words:
“I am a passionate musician, editor and blogger. I have a wide taste in music and have stewarded at many festivals with Oxfam for 5 years including Glastonbury , Reading , and WOMAD. I work in digital editorial, and also help to run an online music blog, contributing reviews, articles and featurettes.”
Living and working in central London, I keep myself involved in as much as possible and will be trying to review as much as I can. I also review for CueTracks.net, a company that allows unsigned bands to have their music reviewed by people working in the industry. Expect a diverse (I trust) list of reviews and playlists ”“ my previous submissions have been Dubstep, Acoustic and Metal mixes. I have a blog on Piracy that I think will be posted in the next couple of days to give you all to chew on while I disappear to Glastonbury on Saturday. I”™ll bereviewing Glasto for you all next week and you can continue to follow me and my other goings on via Twitter: http://twitter.com/James_TAE
Please keep the submissions coming, be it playlists, news, reviews or ideas for features. You can email them all to me at james@spotisfaction.com or submit them through the site as normal.
Tweet us your best feel-good song, using the #compisfaction hashtag
The winner will be decided based on which song makes us “awwwww yeah” the hardest.
Best of luck everyone, and happy hunting”¦
HEARTS
[David]
PS. you can hear Broken Social Scene”™s latest full-length, “Forgiveness Rock Record” (2010, Arts & Crafts) right here:Â Broken Social Scene ”“ Forgiveness Rock Record
Ticket graciously donated by our friend, Rob Morgan.
Rules:
The song *must* be available on Spotify.
Only 1 entry per person – we want your best choice, not 20 alternatives.
You must be able to collect the ticket from us at the venue (if you live in the Gloucester area we may be able to sort you out with a lift to and fro, but no guarantees).
You must be over 18, otherwise we can”™t buy you a beer.
Hey folks. Quick reminder that Saturday 26th June is the very first Spotisfaction Meetup, and it”™s taking place at Birmingham O2 Academy where we”™ll be watching the fantabulous Broken Social Scene.
If you”™ve not got a ticket, fret ye not!
We”™ve got 1 ticket up for grabs in our competition. Come watch the show, meet the Spotisfaction crew, drink beer with us and generally have a lovely time. Find out how after the break”¦
To be in with a chance of winning this, frankly, priceless wonder of a prize:
Ticket graciously donated by our friend, Rob Morgan. Rules:
The song *must* be available on Spotify.
Only 1 entry per person – we want your best choice, not 20 alternatives.
You must be able to collect the ticket from us at the venue (if you live in the Gloucester area we may be able to sort you out with a lift to and fro, but no guarantees).
You must be over 18, otherwise we can”™t buy you a beer.
Joy Wants Eternity ”“ Above The Clouds Lies Eternal Sun
Moonlit Sailor ”“ The Fog Is Lifting
And So I Watch You From Afar ”“ A Little Bit Of Solidarity Goes A Long Way
Codes In The Clouds ”“ Don”™t Go Awash In This Digital Landscape
Pg.lost ”“ Jura
Caspian ”“ Ghosts Of The Garden City
Exxasens ”“ Sky In Red
Collapse Under The Empire ”“ Conscious Of Thirty-Nine
Signal Hill ”“ Stunning Clarity
Long Distance Calling ”“ Black Paper Planes
Jakob ”“ Malachite
Beware Of Safety ”“ The Difference Between Wind & Rain
Goonies Never Say Die ”“ Everyone Comes To Life
Followed By Ghosts ”“ A Mirthful Experience
Because Of Ghosts ”“ Burn It To The Ground, For Now
The Seven Mile Journey ”“ Theme For The Oddmory Philosophies
Saxon Shore ”“ Replacement Driver
Destroyalldreamers ”“ Souvlaki Space Station
This Is Your Captain Calling ”“ Lullaby
Tristeza ”“ Golden Hill
Mogwai ”“ Hunted By A Freak
Maybeshewill ”“ Seraphim & Cherubim
Ef ”“ Ett
MONO ”“ Follow The Map
Daturah ”“ 9
Post rock. Not everyone”™s favourite genre. By those that are not fans it has been politely described to me as elevator music and impolitely in terms that I will not post here. For those of you that like lyrical genius you wont find much here as this is a genre where lyrics are entirely optional but whose style can range from the truly ambient to the extremely experimental. I meandered into this genre following my shoegaze indie tastes and so tend to prefer the more ambient end of the genre but my playlist was more created by what I was able to find on Spotify rather than being able to choose all my favourites as there were a few missing but I think overall it”™s not a bad representation of the genre.
Catch you all again soon and I hope you enjoy the sing along!
It”™s all go here right now. There are big changes afoot, such as the introduction of deadlines here at Spotisfaction Towers. Working on Spotisfaction is now a bit more like a real job, except I enjoy it and it doesn”™t pay my rent.
Okay, I”™m going to keep it short and sweet today as I”™ve gotta get back to the grindstone. Today”™s playlist has been crafted by Kevin Atkinson, a regular reader/listener who is, quite frankly, our rock. You could say he is our post-rock. But that would probably be taking a joke too far.
Joy Wants Eternity ”“ Above The Clouds Lies Eternal Sun
Moonlit Sailor ”“ The Fog Is Lifting
And So I Watch You From Afar ”“ A Little Bit Of Solidarity Goes A Long Way
Codes In The Clouds ”“ Don”™t Go Awash In This Digital Landscape
Pg.lost ”“ Jura
Caspian ”“ Ghosts Of The Garden City
Exxasens ”“ Sky In Red
Collapse Under The Empire ”“ Conscious Of Thirty-Nine
Signal Hill ”“ Stunning Clarity
Long Distance Calling ”“ Black Paper Planes
Jakob ”“ Malachite
Beware Of Safety ”“ The Difference Between Wind & Rain
Goonies Never Say Die ”“ Everyone Comes To Life
Followed By Ghosts ”“ A Mirthful Experience
Because Of Ghosts ”“ Burn It To The Ground, For Now
The Seven Mile Journey ”“ Theme For The Oddmory Philosophies
Saxon Shore ”“ Replacement Driver
Destroyalldreamers ”“ Souvlaki Space Station
This Is Your Captain Calling ”“ Lullaby
Tristeza ”“ Golden Hill
Mogwai ”“ Hunted By A Freak
Maybeshewill ”“ Seraphim & Cherubim
Ef ”“ Ett
MONO ”“ Follow The Map
Daturah ”“ 9
Post rock. Not everyone”™s favourite genre. By those that are not fans it has been politely described to me as elevator music and impolitely in terms that I will not post here. For those of you that like lyrical genius you wont find much here as this is a genre where lyrics are entirely optional but whose style can range from the truly ambient to the extremely experimental. I meandered into this genre following my shoegaze indie tastes and so tend to prefer the more ambient end of the genre but my playlist was more created by what I was able to find on Spotify rather than being able to choose all my favourites as there were a few missing but I think overall it”™s not a bad representation of the genre.
Catch you all again soon and I hope you enjoy the sing along!
Cardinal Rules – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Guyamas Sonora – Beirut
Great Lakes – Telekinesis
Loose Lips – Wooden Shjips
Half Asleep – School Of Seven Bells
Riders On The Storm – New Stereo Mix – The Doors
Spotisfaction // The 405 Playlist ”™Morning to Night”™ I (Oliver) decided to create a playlist comprised of ten songs which accurately portray a day in my life. We start with utter confusion, like someone is dragging me out of the water. This soon flows into a more peaceful existence as the birds try and do their best to wake me up.
We then move onto the mad rush of trying to get to where I need to be, which is generally work. Cue an ebb and flow of adrenaline and inevitable tiredness, which soon leads back to the mad rush home and food. Where do we end up? Right we started. Mad confusion and a storm courtesy of The Doors.
Everybody get excited. We”™ve got a bit of a treat for you this afternoon. Today”™s playlist is by our friend Oliver Primus, founder and editor over at http://www.thefourohfive.com/. The 405 is an online Music/Art/Film magazine packed with the latest reviews, interviews, news, mixtapes, features & much more. I don”™t want to sound too mushy, but it”™s genuinely one of our favourite reads and I really encourage you to check them out.
Please take a look at our news post below this article for a couple of Spotisfaction announcements.
Cardinal Rules – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Guyamas Sonora – Beirut
Great Lakes – Telekinesis
Loose Lips – Wooden Shjips
Half Asleep – School Of Seven Bells
Riders On The Storm – New Stereo Mix – The Doors
Spotisfaction // The 405 Playlist ”™Morning to Night”™ I (Oliver) decided to create a playlist comprised of ten songs which accurately portray a day in my life. We start with utter confusion, like someone is dragging me out of the water. This soon flows into a more peaceful existence as the birds try and do their best to wake me up.
We then move onto the mad rush of trying to get to where I need to be, which is generally work. Cue an ebb and flow of adrenaline and inevitable tiredness, which soon leads back to the mad rush home and food. Where do we end up? Right we started. Mad confusion and a storm courtesy of The Doors.
Some exciting Spotisfaction news for your delectation this afternoon:
Firstly, some housekeeping. As some of our more observant readers may have already noticed, we decided to stop being cheap and have bought ourselves a new domain name! http://spotisfaction.tumblr.com is now officially https://www.spotisfaction.com. Feel free to change your bookmarks, innit. Way to be more professional, Spotisfaction! We”™ve also added a few links underneath our title frame including a new ”˜About Us”™ section, which I encourage you to check out.
Secondly, we will very shortly be expanding our blog section to include music news, reviews and features (among other things we haven”™t thought of yet). These will be in addition to our 3 playlists a week – which aren”™t going anywhere – and will hopefully be community-driven, ie, written by you good folks. Here”™s your chance to release your inner opinionista. If you saw an awesome gig recently, chuck us a review. Think it”™s a travesty that hardly anyone has heard a particular album? Send us a short piece on why you think everyone sucks for not listening to it. More info incoming shortly, but in the meantime consider this your advance warning to get writin”™.
Spotisfaction is constantly growing – get involved and get your voice heard.
To help us drive this forward, we”™ve brought in a couple of brand spanking, shiny new editors. Please give a nice, warm, slightly soggy Spotisfaction welcome to James TAE and Ben Hawling – you”™ll begin to see posts from these lovely chaps very shortly indeed.
Thirdly, we”™re working furiously behind the scenes on getting Spotisfaction out to the masses. No official announcement to make just yet as we”™re still hammering out the details, but expect good things shortly. Sorry for being vague, but these are ridiculously exciting times”¦ plus I wanted to be a bit cryptic and mysterious for once :P
Finally, a thank you. All of these changes were bought about after reading your feedback. We exist because of and thanks to you guys. Thanks for your support. As always, if we can do anything to improve Spotisfaction, please let us know.
[David]
PS. If any of you lovely folks is a whizz with Photoshop and/or webdesign, please get in touch at admin@spotisfaction.com – we may have a job for you. HEARTS AND STUFF.
Some exciting Spotisfaction news for your delectation this afternoon:
Firstly, some housekeeping. As some of our more observant readers may have already noticed, we decided to stop being cheap and have bought ourselves a new domain name! http://spotisfaction.tumblr.com is now officially https://www.spotisfaction.com. Feel free to change your bookmarks, innit. Way to be more professional, Spotisfaction! We”™ve also added a few links underneath our title frame including a new ”˜About Us”™ section, which I encourage you to check out.
Secondly, we will very shortly be expanding our blog section to include music news, reviews and features (among other things we haven”™t thought of yet). These will be in addition to our 3 playlists a week – which aren”™t going anywhere – and will hopefully be community-driven, ie, written by you good folks. Here”™s your chance to release your inner opinionista. If you saw an awesome gig recently, chuck us a review. Think it”™s a travesty that hardly anyone has heard a particular album? Send us a short piece on why you think everyone sucks for not listening to it. More info incoming shortly, but in the meantime consider this your advance warning to get writin”™.
Spotisfaction is constantly growing – get involved and get your voice heard.
To help us drive this forward, we”™ve brought in a couple of brand spanking, shiny new editors. Please give a nice, warm, slightly soggy Spotisfaction welcome to James TAE and Ben Hawling – you”™ll begin to see posts from these lovely chaps very shortly indeed.
Thirdly, we”™re working furiously behind the scenes on getting Spotisfaction out to the masses. No official announcement to make just yet as we”™re still hammering out the details, but expect good things shortly. Sorry for being vague, but these are ridiculously exciting times”¦ plus I wanted to be a bit cryptic and mysterious for once :P
Finally, a thank you. All of these changes were bought about after reading your feedback. We exist because of and thanks to you guys. Thanks for your support. As always, if we can do anything to improve Spotisfaction, please let us know.
PS. If any of you lovely folks is a whizz with Photoshop and/or webdesign, please get in touch at admin@spotisfaction.com – we may have a job for you. HEARTS AND STUFF.
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free – Nina Simone
September – Earth, Wind & Fire
Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
Ok, so I”™ve always loved Motown, Soul and old R&B music but apart from going to the odd Motown/Northern Soul night back in my home town 5 years ago and the odd night at Komedia in Brighton, I”™ve rarely properly looked up artists from that era so I decided to take it upon myself to educate my ears and to look stuff up for a playlist.
I was mainly inspired by the first song Wade in the Water by Marlena Shaw, which is horribly overlooked, which my flatmate played me (he”™s obsessed with this kind of music but I did not cheat and ask him for suggestions!) and so it kind of went on from there.
I think the biggest revelation for me on the list was Minnie Riperton. I watched a program years ago about her but never remembered who she was. So to dig up some of her tracks was amazing. As was Marlena Shaw. I think when you listen to those songs they speak for themselves in regards to how brilliant they are. I find it surprising they aren”™t as famous as say Nina Simone or Aretha Franklin because they clearly had some major hits in their time.
Song such as ”˜War”™ and ”˜I Just Want To Make Love To You”™ also are stand outs. Not even musically but culturally with obviously those coke (or was it pepsi?) adverts and ”˜War”™ which I suppose, rather regrettably, I knew from the Rush Hour films, both bring back quite funny memories. Also finding out who the artists were that sang all these songs was fascinating.
This time I tried to include some random interludes by artists as well. Mainly inspired by listening to The Score by Fugees the other day. I loved the interludes between songs on that album so I thought I would be cool to hear some on a playlist as well. The bizarre Gill Scott-Heron interlude being my favourite.
All in all, this has been my favourite playlist I have put together. I recommend you don a 60s inspired outfit, do the Watusi and enjoy a Martini for this one! I really hope you like it as much as I do.
Afternoon, kids. World Cup day, wooo! We”™re split at Spotisfaction Towers – personally, I”™m ridiculously excited and am now pretty much resigned to a month of lounging on the sofa to the despair of my ever patient wife (no change there, then). Thom, on the other hand, would rather gouge his eyes out with a rusty spoon than watch a bunch of girly blokes poncing around. Horses for courses, I guess, but I”™m totally the one in the right here”¦ I”™ve managed to luck out in the sweepstakes this time around – in the two I”™m participating in, I”™ve drawn England and Italy. Not the best, but better than Algeria and USA so in your face Pat, HAH!
Anyway, to business.
We”™ve got a few announcements to make next week and, to be honest, we really hope you like them. I don”™t want to give away too much, but we”™ve listened to your feedback and are ready to roll out some pretty cool things for you all. Come back next week for the scoop :)
Today”™s playlist is, quite simply, a pleasure. I always look forward to Woody”™s mixes and this one doesn”™t disappoint. I think it”™ll put a smile on your face. Unless your heart is cold and dead, or you”™re Rorschach from Watchmen. Freaks.
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free – Nina Simone
September – Earth, Wind & Fire
Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
Ok, so I”™ve always loved Motown, Soul and old R&B music but apart from going to the odd Motown/Northern Soul night back in my home town 5 years ago and the odd night at Komedia in Brighton, I”™ve rarely properly looked up artists from that era so I decided to take it upon myself to educate my ears and to look stuff up for a playlist.
I was mainly inspired by the first song Wade in the Water by Marlena Shaw, which is horribly overlooked, which my flatmate played me (he”™s obsessed with this kind of music but I did not cheat and ask him for suggestions!) and so it kind of went on from there.
I think the biggest revelation for me on the list was Minnie Riperton. I watched a program years ago about her but never remembered who she was. So to dig up some of her tracks was amazing. As was Marlena Shaw. I think when you listen to those songs they speak for themselves in regards to how brilliant they are. I find it surprising they aren”™t as famous as say Nina Simone or Aretha Franklin because they clearly had some major hits in their time.
Song such as ”˜War”™ and ”˜I Just Want To Make Love To You”™ also are stand outs. Not even musically but culturally with obviously those coke (or was it pepsi?) adverts and ”˜War”™ which I suppose, rather regrettably, I knew from the Rush Hour films, both bring back quite funny memories. Also finding out who the artists were that sang all these songs was fascinating.
This time I tried to include some random interludes by artists as well. Mainly inspired by listening to The Score by Fugees the other day. I loved the interludes between songs on that album so I thought I would be cool to hear some on a playlist as well. The bizarre Gill Scott-Heron interlude being my favourite.
All in all, this has been my favourite playlist I have put together. I recommend you don a 60s inspired outfit, do the Watusi and enjoy a Martini for this one! I really hope you like it as much as I do.
Just a quick bit of information I wish to share with you all. Are you new to this Spotisfaction thing? Do you want to listen to a playlist that some bloke with a shaved afro and dangerously long fingernails posted last month but don”™t want to trawl through the entire blog looking for it? Well you”™re in luck, because you can now head over to the Spotisfaction Archives here (or if you”™re prejudice against clicking text links you could click that little clock icon on the top right of this blog). Contained within is every single submission we”™ve published. Woot. Is that still too much effort, then you can head over to either Dave”™s Spotify profile or my Spotify profile, which also feature the entire Spotisfaction back catalogue.
Our playlist today was lovingly crafted by Ben Hawling, and is the second of his “The Soundtrack To My Life”¦” series. It”™s a nostalgic trip through 2007, and is truly an aural treat.
As with 2006 before it, 2007 was full of key life molding moments, all of which were supported by an excellent soundtrack! This year charted my transition from the first year of university to the first half of my second year, and all the friendships and dark times in between.
January – March
The start of the year saw the end of a 3 month long relationship for me, and the gathering of a new set of friends, as I moved into a new house on the uni campus. I was still at the height of my Mansun obsession (still ongoing) at this point, but was also embracing new music from around the time, such as Howling Bells and The Fray. My new room was on the second floor of the house and neatly overlooked the SU bar, which was awesome. As the days got sunnier, and as I watched the sun stretch across the fields, a whole host of sun drenched melodies and tracks entered my ears, including Eels, Frou Frou, Bright Eyes and The Postal Service. Both Eels and Bright Eyes seemed to fit the atmosphere of those lazy days, in completely different ways. Whereas Frou Frou and Postal Service provided the blissful ethereal paint upon the warming canvas. A housemate also got me into Head Automatica at this time, and I remember walking around listening to ”˜Beating Heart Baby”™ non stop.
April – July
Maroon 5”™s second album came out around this time, and despite being full of heartbreak songs, was never out of my ears purely down to its infectious pop hooks. When hanging out in our house one day, a friend claimed that listening to Elliot Smith reminded her of chilling out on the grass and watching the clouds as the sun streamed across everything. I immediately agreed, and quickly got into his ”˜Figure 8”™ album. After hearing some of Mark Ronson”™s ”˜Version”™ album, I bought his more hip hop influenced album and instantly loved it. This coincided with my fascination with 2 many dj”™s, who use Nikka Costa”™s ”˜Like A Feather”™ a lot on their bootleg albums. That summer was fuelled with smiles and dancing, woop!
August – October
I first got into Beastie Boys in the summer of this year, and never looked back. I was given the Fields album by my sister Jo during August, when I was working full time in Moss Bros and had no money. It provided a light in the dark. Also I loved the energy and charm that the band omitted in such a short album. As I was staying at home a lot at this time due to no money, I was watching a lot of television. Thanks to a recent installation of Sky, I had all the music channels, so watched the launching of Scouting For Girls and The Hoosiers, plus loads of R & B tracks. My second year fresher”™s week was good, but I still had no money, and was annoyed at the way some of my new housemates were acting. Anyway, Hard-Fi”™s ”˜Watch Me Fall Apart”™ summed up my feelings here. ”˜Good Life”™ represents the moment I got paid, and got a massive student loan installment, meaning I could buy a shit load of stuff. This track seemed to sum up my attitude towards spending loads of money and generally being rich and happy. What a fool!
November – December
Radiohead released the amazing ”˜In Rainbows”™ in October of this year on the internet, and I paid £5 for it. I went to Swansea to visit a friend that week so listened to that album all the way there and back on the train. I picked up a copy of Paul Oakenfold”™s remix compilation album at this time and the Skunk Anansie track appeared soo haunting, yet beautiful. Keane”™s charity single ”˜The Night Sky”™ came out here and always reminds me of walking through Oxford wearing a green jacket and scarf in the height of Autumn while the leafs fell all around me. One of my favorite memories! For my 20th birthday, me and my housemates went out to a club. At five minutes to midnight, they played ”˜The Way I Are”™, one of my favorite songs of that year, followed by ”˜One More Time”™, my favorite song ever!! Was such a great moment surrounded by close friends hearing the best music! I re-visited Robbie Williams”™ ”˜Sing When Your Winning”™ album in December as it reminded me of my youth. I bought The Spinto Band”™s first album, and Electric Soft Parades”™ ”˜Holes In The Wall”™ for a tenner in a record store and tended to listen to them both as I traveled to work in Oxford from Cheltenham over the Christmas holidays of 2007.
Ok, so overall, not as eventful as my 2006. But 2007 was awesome in soo many other ways. The majority of music that I got into in 2007 remains my favorite songs or band”™s to this day, and it is all down to the memories. You see, even though nothing much happened to me, nothing notably bad happened either, making 2007 great”¦”¦.when compared to 2008!
Hi all. We”™re testing a new ”˜group author”™ feature today, so hopefully you”™ll see a kickass avatar next to this post indicating that it”™s yours truly behind the ol”™ keyboard”¦ Bear with me if it doesn”™t work, as I”™ll be panicking behind the scenes trying to figure out why it”™s knackered”¦
So far this afternoon I”™ve been listening to a playlist by Sean Adams of DrownedinSound.com, and bopping like a loon. I suggest you check it out, as featured on Spotify”™s blog.
Our playlist today was lovingly crafted by Ben Hawling, and is the second of his “The Soundtrack To My Life”¦” series. It”™s a nostalgic trip through 2007, and is truly an aural treat.
As with 2006 before it, 2007 was full of key life molding moments, all of which were supported by an excellent soundtrack! This year charted my transition from the first year of university to the first half of my second year, and all the friendships and dark times in between.
January – March
The start of the year saw the end of a 3 month long relationship for me, and the gathering of a new set of friends, as I moved into a new house on the uni campus. I was still at the height of my Mansun obsession (still ongoing) at this point, but was also embracing new music from around the time, such as Howling Bells and The Fray. My new room was on the second floor of the house and neatly overlooked the SU bar, which was awesome. As the days got sunnier, and as I watched the sun stretch across the fields, a whole host of sun drenched melodies and tracks entered my ears, including Eels, Frou Frou, Bright Eyes and The Postal Service. Both Eels and Bright Eyes seemed to fit the atmosphere of those lazy days, in completely different ways. Whereas Frou Frou and Postal Service provided the blissful ethereal paint upon the warming canvas. A housemate also got me into Head Automatica at this time, and I remember walking around listening to ”˜Beating Heart Baby”™ non stop.
April – July
Maroon 5”™s second album came out around this time, and despite being full of heartbreak songs, was never out of my ears purely down to its infectious pop hooks. When hanging out in our house one day, a friend claimed that listening to Elliot Smith reminded her of chilling out on the grass and watching the clouds as the sun streamed across everything. I immediately agreed, and quickly got into his ”˜Figure 8”™ album. After hearing some of Mark Ronson”™s ”˜Version”™ album, I bought his more hip hop influenced album and instantly loved it. This coincided with my fascination with 2 many dj”™s, who use Nikka Costa”™s ”˜Like A Feather”™ a lot on their bootleg albums. That summer was fuelled with smiles and dancing, woop!
August – October
I first got into Beastie Boys in the summer of this year, and never looked back. I was given the Fields album by my sister Jo during August, when I was working full time in Moss Bros and had no money. It provided a light in the dark. Also I loved the energy and charm that the band omitted in such a short album. As I was staying at home a lot at this time due to no money, I was watching a lot of television. Thanks to a recent installation of Sky, I had all the music channels, so watched the launching of Scouting For Girls and The Hoosiers, plus loads of R & B tracks. My second year fresher”™s week was good, but I still had no money, and was annoyed at the way some of my new housemates were acting. Anyway, Hard-Fi”™s ”˜Watch Me Fall Apart”™ summed up my feelings here. ”˜Good Life”™ represents the moment I got paid, and got a massive student loan installment, meaning I could buy a shit load of stuff. This track seemed to sum up my attitude towards spending loads of money and generally being rich and happy. What a fool!
November – December
Radiohead released the amazing ”˜In Rainbows”™ in October of this year on the internet, and I paid £5 for it. I went to Swansea to visit a friend that week so listened to that album all the way there and back on the train. I picked up a copy of Paul Oakenfold”™s remix compilation album at this time and the Skunk Anansie track appeared soo haunting, yet beautiful. Keane”™s charity single ”˜The Night Sky”™ came out here and always reminds me of walking through Oxford wearing a green jacket and scarf in the height of Autumn while the leafs fell all around me. One of my favorite memories! For my 20th birthday, me and my housemates went out to a club. At five minutes to midnight, they played ”˜The Way I Are”™, one of my favorite songs of that year, followed by ”˜One More Time”™, my favorite song ever!! Was such a great moment surrounded by close friends hearing the best music! I re-visited Robbie Williams”™ ”˜Sing When Your Winning”™ album in December as it reminded me of my youth. I bought The Spinto Band”™s first album, and Electric Soft Parades”™ ”˜Holes In The Wall”™ for a tenner in a record store and tended to listen to them both as I traveled to work in Oxford from Cheltenham over the Christmas holidays of 2007.
Ok, so overall, not as eventful as my 2006. But 2007 was awesome in soo many other ways. The majority of music that I got into in 2007 remains my favorite songs or band”™s to this day, and it is all down to the memories. You see, even though nothing much happened to me, nothing notably bad happened either, making 2007 great”¦”¦.when compared to 2008!
Evening folks.
Our man in the field, James TAE, is posting updates from Glastonbury where he”™s working on getting everything set up for the festival this week. We”™re currently trending #spotisfaction on Twitter, so keep an eye out for snippets of behind the scenes info.
James”™ Twitter account is 
Hey folks. Quick reminder that Saturday 26th June is the very first Spotisfaction Meetup, and it”™s taking place at Birmingham O2 Academy where we”™ll be watching the fantabulous