Engineering Werks

And especially this. Is it too obvious to call it Kraftwerk meets Ride? Yes? So sue me.

Weather Report

Also greatly enjoying this.

Media playa

In tribute to Walter Cronkite, recently deceased U.S. newsman, and one of the chroniclers of 20th century America, here's Steinski and the Mass Media's The Motorcade Sped On, featuring the voice of the aforementioned Mr. Cronkite and, thanks to this first-rate fan video, his image too. The song has nothing to do with Coldcut, incidentally, despite its title.

Swells part two

Some nice tributes here from David Stubbs, Terry Staunton and others.

Barlow Can You Go?

Am I missing something here? Couldn't disgruntled purchasers simply, er, use the volume dial on their equipment to (to use the technical parlance) "turn it down a tad"? Story below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/09/dinosaur-jr-recall-new-album

Alls Swells That Ends Swells

MJ (see below) will be remembered in part for knocking the unfortunate Farrah Fawcett off the front pages (which makes Farrah the Mother Teresa to Jacko's Lady Di). Steven Wells' death on Tuesday, meanwhile, barely rated a paragraph in most newspapers. However, his will be the loss I'll feel most keenly. Wells, who wrote for the NME in its (read: my) glory days, alongside the likes of Dele Fadele, Stuart Maconie, David Quantick and Barabara Ellen, was the sort of critic who, like Julie Burchill, often said things you disagreed with. But you had to admire the way he said them.

At almost exactly the time that Wells passed away, the NME's most recent editor, Conor McNicholas decided to jump ship and edit Top Gear magazine. Which tells you alot about the state of the music industry in general and the NME in particular. But there was a time that the NME cared about music and Wells, whether writing under his own name or in the guise of alter-ego Susan Williams, epitomised this (despite James Brown's assertions to the contrary). Read some of his greatest moments (though sadly not his Shed Seven interview) at the bottom of this tribute. RIP Swells.

Blog standard

If you've a penchant for left-field and, in many cases, ultra-obscure post-punk, with an occasional foray into early hip-hop (and if you don't, why not?) then head over to a fantastic blog Everything Starts With an A, where the likes of Sudden Sway, Frank Chickens, Chakk, 400 Blows, Sophie and Peter Johnston, Set The Tone and Vice Versa await your perusal.