en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal The Last.fm journal for enfieldchris. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2010/06/23/3q9liz_my_last.fm_top_30_male_singers_q&a Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:52:36 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2010/06/23/3q9liz_my_last.fm_top_30_male_singers_q&a For the first time ever... the lads have a go!

1. How did I get into O(+> ?
Well I figured being a Prince fan I might as well....

2. What was the first song I ever heard by Marvin Gaye?
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

3. How many albums by David Bowie do I own?
7 cds.

4. What is my favourite song by Will.I.Am?
HEARTBREAKER

5. What is my favourite song by Ne-Yo?
SO SICK

6. Is there a song by Novice Theory that makes me happy?
ABOUT THE DREAM

7. What is my favourite song by The Streets?
BLINDED BY THE LIGHTS

8. What is a good memory I have involving Bobby Darin?
Umm... none I can think of...

9. Is there a song by Chuck Jackson that makes you happy?
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE FOOL

10. How many times did I see Dennis Brown live?
Once, at the Rainbow at Finsbury Park.

11. What is the first song I ever heard by Kanye West?
JESUS WALKS

12. What is my favourite album by Sylvester?
STEP II

13.Do I have a song by Barrett Strong that always makes me happy?
YES, NO, MAYBE SO

14. Have I ever seen Jimmy Cliff live?
Nope.

15. What is a good memory involving Linton Kwesi Johnson?
Finally seeing him live with Dennis Bovell at the Barbican.

16. What is my favourite song by John Legend?
NUMBER ONE.

17. What is my favourite album by Labi Siffre?
THE SINGER AND THE SONG

18. What is my favourite song by Justin Timberlake?
ROCK YOUR BODY.

19. What is the first song I ever heard by Raphael Saadiq?
SURE HOPE YOU MEAN IT

20. What is my favourite album by Alexander O'Neal?
HEARSAY

21. What is my favourite song by Dennis Bovell?
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

22. What is my favourite song by Prince?
I WOULD DIE 4 U.

23. How many times did I see Boy George live?
8 times

24. What is my favourite album by Morrissey?
VAUXHALL AND I

25. What was the first song I ever heard by Luther Vandross?
REALLY DIDN'T MEAN IT

26. What is my favourite album by Craig Armstrong?
THE SPACE BETWEEN US

27. What is my favourite song by Eminem?
THE REAL SLIM SHADY.

28. Is there a song by Ray Davies that makes you happy?
WATERLOO SUNSET

29. What is my favourite album by RuPaul?
SUPERMODEL OF THE WORLD.

30. How many albums do I own by Ronnie Dyson?
Just the one...]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2010/06/23/3q99ec_my_last.fm_top_30_female_singers_q&a Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:12:02 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2010/06/23/3q99ec_my_last.fm_top_30_female_singers_q&a I 'borrowed' from another journal on here in 2008 so it's about time I had an update I reckon...

1. How did I get into Brenda Holloway?
Mostly through collections of lesser-known Motown classics.

2. What was the first song I ever heard by Mary J Blige?
REAL LOVE

3. How many albums by Marianne Faithfull do I own?
22 cds.

4. What is my favourite song by Aretha Franklin?
MY SONG

5. What is my favourite song by Chris Clark?
FROM HEAD TO TOE

6. Is there a song by Nancy LaMott that makes me happy?
PS. I LOVE YOU

7. What is my favourite song by Suzanne Vega?
MARLENE ON THE WALL

8. What is a good memory I have involving Björk?
Bumping into her by Warwick Road tube station!

9. Is there a song by Kate Bush that makes you happy?
WHY SHOULD I LOVE YOU?

10. How many times have I seen Lulu live?
Once in a solo show, once with Chaka Kahn & Anastacia, several times in stage musicals.

11. What is the first song I ever heard by Grace Jones?
PRIVATE LIFE

12. What is my favourite album by Peggy Lee?
JUMP FOR JOY

13.Do I have a song by Laura Nyro that always makes me happy?
WEDDING BELL BLUES

14. Have I ever seen Angie Stone live?
Once at Jazz Cafe.

15. What is a good memory involving Sinead O'Connor?
Playing DADDY I'M FINE in my dj set at the Retro.

16. What is my favourite song by Beverley Knight?
GREATEST DAY.

17. What is my favourite album by Linda Lewis?
One of her Best Ofs....

18. What is my favourite song by Shelby Lynne?
YOUR LIES.

19. What is the first song I ever heard by Mary Wells?
MY GUY

20. What is my favourite album by Diana Ross?
I'M STILL WAITING aka SURRENDER

21. What is my favourite song by Carole King?
WAY OVER YONDER.

22. What is my favourite song by Kirsty MacColl?
SOHO SQUARE.

23. How many times did I see Dusty Springfield live?
Never - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

24. What is my favourite album by Madonna?
CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR

25. What was the first song I ever heard by Barbara Cook?
THE INGENUE

26. What is my favourite album by Cher?
THE VERY BEST OF...

27. What is my favourite song by Bessie Smith?
OUTSIDE OF THAT.

28. Is there a song by Tammi Terrell that makes you happy?
All of them!

29. What is my favourite album by Macy Gray?
BIG.

30. How many albums do I own by Amanda Palmer?
WHO KILLED AMANDA PALMER? and two cdr-s of downloads

Since I last did this in 2008, 10 artists have dropped out of my top 30 females... so step away from the mike Gabrielle, Rachel Sweet, Estelle, Kiki Dee, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott, Ethel Merman, Freda Payne, Clydie King and Beth Rowley!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2009/11/05/350fks_alphabeat_cast_their_spell! Thu, 5 Nov 2009 23:29:46 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2009/11/05/350fks_alphabeat_cast_their_spell! Last night I went to the club Heaven (first time I have been there since the '90s!) to see my Pop heroes Alphabeat for the 2nd time live!

Anders SG, Stine, Anders B, Rasmus, Anders R and Troels saved my sanity while I was working in my last Hellish job so many times - their debut album THIS IS ALPHABEAT could shake me from the deepest depression with it's wonderful set of classic, joyous pop songs so they collectively have a special place on my heart. It was great to see the place sold out and there seemed to be a good vibe happening.

We got through the supporting act Ou Est Le Swimming Pool with no major excitement. All the songs kinda sounded like half-baked 70s & 80s synth-pop - I swear to God one of the them used the synth line for DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY? Still the audience seemed to find something in them - and Alphabeat like them so I'll leave it there.

We then shuffled to a better sightline - why are people so bloody tall these days? - we listened to the latest Alphabeat mixtape - which included Barry White, DeeLite, Black Box and the late 1970's Supremes! - and I got more and more nervous. Where were they? They were late on stage and I was even getting fed up with the mixtape. Techies came and went, came and went... and then the lights dimmed again... and they were there - all smiles and waves.

They slammed into ALWAYS UP WITH YOU from their forthcoming 2nd album, showing off the early 1990s Eurodance sound that they say has influenced the album. Despite not knowing it, by the end I was singing along with the chorus - the mark of a good pop song. After that we were treated to GO-GO from the first album.

Stine looked fab in her blue sparkling dress and sounded amazing with her Pure Pop voice and Anders SG was his wonderfully manic self - imagine if you will a cross between Ian Curtis, Bez and an over-excited 7 year-old at his first school disco and you might get an idea of his shape-throwing! They make great focal points for the group.

They then launched into the delirious pure joy of THE SPELL which sounded even better live. They followed this with another new track HEART FAILURE which again made me hunger for the album - but it's not out here till February - waaaa! This was followed by the swooning WHAT IS HAPPENING from the first album. The response to all the known tracks was ecstatic but the new tracks were all given a rousing cheer too.

We then got two more new tracks - the glorious superdisco of DJ and the stop-start intrigue of CHESS - and then were treated to a punchy, crunchy cover of what the Beaters think is one of the Greatest Song Evah - Chaka Kahn's AIN'T NOBODY. They know their music, that's what I like about 'em.We galloped into the final section of the show with a explosive TOUCH ME TOUCHING YOU with the audience hollering "Of course you can" when asked by Anders SG and Stine if they could touch us. By then I was well and truly touched to the core by them! They somehow managed to get us even more excitable with a glorious 10,000 NIGHTS which was followed by THE BEAT from the new album.

Stine then elicited a large "nooooooo!" by saying they had come to their last song which she also admitted was her favorite and launched into a glorious version of the pop masterpiece BOYFRIEND.

By then I was a smiling, clappy bellowing thing so, just to shut me up, they came back on to sing their next single HOLE IN MY HEART and then with spotlights refracting off the mirror balls hanging above the stage, the band started thudding out a martial beat - Anders SG and Stine started chanting "The Word Is on Your Lips" to which we chanted back "Say The Word"! Over and over, "The Word Is on Your Lips" "Say The Word" carried us higher and higher towards the ceiling until they exploded into a delirious, explosive FASCINATION which brought the show to a fabulous end.

I floated home like a grinning balloon... Alphabeat are the best thing to happen to pop music in years and show up the atrocities perpetuated on the charts by Simon Cowell with his TV variety shows to be the shite it is.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/10/13/27xxsw_my_last.fm_top_30_female_singers_q&a Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:43:50 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/10/13/27xxsw_my_last.fm_top_30_female_singers_q&a This has been 'borrowed' from another journal on here...

1. How did I get into Gabrielle?
When I first saw the video for DREAMS I raced out and bought it. I still think it's a fantastic song.

2. What was the first song I ever heard by Tammi Terrell?
AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH with Marvin Gaye

3. How many albums by Bessie Smith do I own?
Five.

4. What is my favourite song by Marianne Faithfull?
THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN

5. What is my favourite song by Aretha Franklin?
MY SONG

6. Is there a song by Dusty Springfield that makes me happy?
WITH EVERY OUNCE OF STRENGTH

7. What is my favourite song by Nancy LaMott?
I'LL BE THERE WITH YOU

8. What is a good memory I have involving Rachel Sweet?
Sitting in the cinema hearing the HAIRSPRAY title song for the first time

9. Is there a song by Amanda Palmer that makes you happy?
COIN-OPERATED BOY

10. How many times have I seen Chris Clark live?
Sadly never.

11. What is the first song I ever heard by Estelle?
1980.

12. What is my favourite album by Barbara Cook?
IT'S BETTER WITH A BAND

13.Do I have a song by Madonna that always makes me happy?
HOLIDAY

14. Have I ever seen Peggy Lee live?
No. Not really possible now.

15. What is a good memory involving Angie Stone?
Seeing her live at Jazz Cafe.

16. What is my favourite song by Kiki Dee?
ONCE A FOOL.

17. What is my favourite album by Alicia Keys?
THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS.

18. What is my favourite song by Sinead O'Connor?
DADDY I'M FINE.

19. What is the first song I ever heard by Missy Elliott?
THE RAIN (SUPA DUPA FLY)

20. What is my favourite album by Mary J Blige?
GROWING PAINS

21. What is my favourite song by Kirsty MacColl?
SOHO SQUARE.

22. What is my favourite song by Ethel Merman?
BLOW GABRIEL BLOW.

23. How many times have I seen Freda Payne live?
Nope

24. What is my favourite album by Macy Gray?
BIG

25. What was the first song I ever heard by Cher?
I GOT YOU BABE I guess

26. What is my favourite album by Shelby Lynne?
I AM SHELBY LYNNE.

27. What is my favourite song by Suzanne Vega?
MARLENE ON THE WALL.

28. Is there a song by Clydie King that makes you happy?
LOVE NOW, PAY LATER.

29. What is my favourite album by Lulu?
SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT.

30. How many albums do I own by Beth Rowley?
Just her one and only!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/07/07/2247zl_time_to_bounce..._it%27s_tom_tom_club! Mon, 7 Jul 2008 21:00:50 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/07/07/2247zl_time_to_bounce..._it%27s_tom_tom_club! Tom Tom Club @ Royal Festival Hall

This is the third time I have seen the funky funsters live and they never fail to have me smiling like The Joker and moving.

Sadly the Festival Hall is hardly conducive to butt-shaking and so I wriggled in my seat impatiently among the firmly planted punters.

Chris 'n' Tina make a great backbone to the fun, their drum and bass lines lines locked down, an onstage partnership as strong as it is offstage. They were joined by their onstage singing buddies - Mystic Bowie bouncing all over the stage with dreads flying and Victoria Clamp prowling around with her sleek looks - and longtime musician colleague Bruce Martin on keyboards, so important to their sound. Also onstage was James San Giovanni. rocking a flat cap look and great guitar as well as a musician who has been with Chris and Tina all his life, their son and onstage DJ Kid Ginseng.

They delivered a fantastic set of distinctive funk/reggae/wacky hippidy-hop fusion:
"Suboceana", "Punk Lolita", "L'Elephant", "Time to Bounce", "The Man With The 4-Way Hips" (steamy with extra-added sultry), "She's Dangerous", "Genius of Love" (will never tire of this), "You Sexy Thing" (as glorious as ever), "Wordy Rappinghood" (as delirious as ever) and we even got "Take Me to the River" as an encore.

Come back soon Chris 'n' Tina... London loves you!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/06/06/20guxo_real_woman_-_mary_j._blige Fri, 6 Jun 2008 20:05:11 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/06/06/20guxo_real_woman_-_mary_j._blige I always wanted to see Mary J. Blige in concert but was always wary as I was unsure what it would be like. I suspect her 1998 live cd The Tour gave me pause. Although she sounded great there is a rapper onstage hollering over her like a cheerleader with Tourettes "Mary in da fuckin' house... make some noise muthafuckaaas". Charmed.

I have also found some of her output to be a bit variable, usually down to the ubiquitous love of the meandering mid-tempo ballad by r&b divas. This inconsistency was evident as late as 2003 when the excellent No More Drama was followed up with the lacklustre Love & Life. But with back-to-back great albums The Breakthrough and Growing Pains I decided that I needed to see her.

But again I was concerned - surely she was going to be a bit stranded in the vast O2. HA! She appeared at the top of a staircase in the middle of the stage in a flash of fire and launched into "Grown Woman" from Growing Pains and within a few minutes I was hooked. She was fantastic!

We had lighting cues, video projections, pyrotechnics, girl dancers, costume changes. But here is the key... we had *a* costume change, the dancers came on for a chorus or two towards the end of the show then melted away, the video projections were tastefully done and although the fireworks and flares were nice to see... they really weren't needed. Mary supplied all the real pyrotechnics!

She tore into her back catalogue singing short versions of several of her songs including the fabulous "Real Love" which really needed to be longer. But after a while we started to get the full length versions of key songs - one more jaw-dropping than the last. She asked for our assistance in helping sing her cover of "I'm Going Down" and I must say we sounded pretty fierce as we also did on "Not Gon' Cry". She also sang an amazing solo version of "One" her hit duet with U2, a lovely "Everything", a thrilling "Fade Away" from Growing Pains.

It made me wonder why she has never really had the chart success or popular respect she deserves in this country as opposed to the synthetic Barbie's who usually lay claim to the tarnished word 'diva' after one album and an overdose of Junior Disprin. Maybe the fact is Mary is too raw, she is not a polished pop/r&b crossover. She personifies Ghetto Fabulous but her doubts and struggles are never far from the surface. Her music is informed by it, her onstage words are exhortions to be yourself and not be held down by what others feel they can mold you into. All of this culminated in a white-hot "No More Drama". I think it might have been the most exciting vocal performance I have ever seen.

But Mary is in a happier frame-of-mind now so she left us with three great 'up' songs - "Work That" and "Just Fine" (cannot tell you how much I love this song!) and as an encore her urban dance classic "Family Affair".

I always thought the comparisons with Aretha were over-reaching. I know better now.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wm8_oh_my_life..._what_a_voice! Sat, 10 May 2008 00:48:16 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wm8_oh_my_life..._what_a_voice! I went to the always swanky Bush Hall to see and hear the honeyed vocals of Beth Rowley (Row as in arguing not something you do with a couple of oars - ahem!)

I saw her last year at the IndigO2 where she was the opening act on a bill headlined by Kiki Dee and this is what I thought of her "Imagine a Joss Stone without the hype and a liking for Billie Holliday. I really liked her, great voice, a couple of good songs and how good to hear a new Brit girl singer with a BIG voice - unlike the Mockney twitterings of the Allen and Nash bints". Since then she has recorded her debut album which is out in May. This was her first official headlining act and it bodes well for the future.

She has a really great natural voice - a mixture of Etta James, Rachel Sweet and Ronnie Spector - and has some great tracks: the Motown-y "So Sublime", the rolling "Oh My Life", "Angel Flying Too Close", "Almost Persuaded", "You Never Called" and "Beautiful Tomorrow". She sang a nice reggae version of "I Shall Be Released" and a soulful "I'd Rather Be Blind".

If there is a problem with her it's that she is still hiding behind her hair, the microphone and her hands. It's nice to see that she still sees herself as a singer with a band but come on girl... it's time to step out into the spotlight.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wig_about_them_now.... Sat, 10 May 2008 00:40:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wig_about_them_now.... Last night I joined the children, harassed parents, girls-on-a-night-out and gayers that constitute the audience of the all-conquering Sugababes at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was great, they sounded fantastic and all had their moments to shine - Keisha poised and controlled, Heidi beaming her smile to the highest reaches of the RAH and Amelle squeezing punters hands' at every moment. And the costumes.... they are bringing mini-crini back! We had ostrich feather ones, glitter-ball ones, red swag-curtain ones which were removed to reveal ones made of bubble-wrap plastic! For a ballad section we were treated to long robes with flowers blossoming from hems, sleeves and necklines... a possibility for cringe but they just about carried it off.

I was surprised there was so little talking to the audience but they had to get 20 songs done! We had them sultry, sexy, playful, rocking, moody and lovelorn. They swept us through 8 years of hits OVERLOAD, FREAK LIKE ME, ROUND ROUND, STRONGER, HOLE IN THE HEAD, TOO LOST IN YOU (magnificent), RED DRESS, UGLY, CHANGE, DENIAL, MY LOVE IS PINK and an excellent cover on En Vogue's underrated DON'T LET GO (LOVE).

The explosive encore was a double-whammy of PUSH THE BUTTON and of course ABOUT YOU NOW - explosive because we had flames shooting up behind the stage, fireworks bursting over the 'babes heads and gold streamers jettisoned over the front of the stage. The 'babes are girls on a mission... they are planning an album for the end of the year so maybe there will be another tour. I'm there!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wei_diva! Sat, 10 May 2008 00:34:00 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wei_diva! I saw Siouxsie at the Shepherds Bush Empire and she was amazing... much better than when I saw her last year at the Astoria.

Mind you, then I was drifting around trying to find a good vantage point but here we were a few rows back in the centre of the dress circle.

She taunted, she purred, she kicked, she pirouetted, she rocked!

All the tracks from Mantaray sounded richer and more resonant than last year and with a healthy sprinkling of Banshees and Creatures tunes it was a great night.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wbp_dub_inna_barbican! Sat, 10 May 2008 00:09:55 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/enfieldchris/journal/2008/05/10/d5wbp_dub_inna_barbican! There was a pungent whaft of musical nostalgia when I saw Linton Kwesi Johnson at the Barbican Hall supported by the mighty Dennis Bovell Dub Band and performers Winston Francis, Jean 'Binta' Breeze and Zena Edwards. Indeed Linton said that for a lot of the audience it would be an exercise in nostalgia but also explained each song before singing it, putting it into the context of the time he wrote it.

I was a big LKJ fan back in the late 1970s and many an ornament wobbled on the sideboards of Enfield as the heavy bass reverb-erb-erbed out of my speakers so it was a genuine thrill to see him perform his back catalogue including ALL WI DOIN IS DEFENDIN, DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD, WANT FI GOH RAVE, SONNY'S LETTAH, FORCES OF VIKTRY, REGGAE FI PEACH and recent tracks like MORE TIME and the mighty LIESENSE TO KILL. Righteous and passionate lyrics actually addressing inner-city situations. It sounded strange for a while because you simply don't hear that now.

Just as exciting was the Dennis Bovell Dub Band who impressed me so much I bought their ALL AROUND THE WORLD cd afterwards and am loving it.]]>