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Wednesday 5 March 2014

Rats! The 3BM iPod Has Been Hijacked...

3BM blog alert! Our first ever male guest blogger - the one and only Bad Rat! Take it away Mr Rat...

It was Ernest Hemingway who once said "Always do sober, what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut", and it is following the bearded writer's advice that I find myself penning this entry for the Mice. I was lucky enough to have the two smaller Mice over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and after a few too many glasses of red, I announced that I would be more than capable of writing a blog entry for them reporting the highs and lows of the fashion and lifestyle world. Fortunately for you dear reader, I won't be sharing my thoughts on this season's must have bras. Although I do have opinions on that, please feel free to message me...

Today's post is about music - it's a tricky topic to write about, people have their own opinions and preconceptions about what they like and what they loathe - there rarely seems to be a middle ground. I appear to spend my time listening to unusual artists and obscure remixes. My teenage sister laments that I have never heard of anyone that is cool and am clearly about as edgy as a bowling ball. Do I do this because I find much of the charts over polished and overhyped? Is it because I like being different - not different in a Vivienne Westwood or current-Shia LaBeouf way, but more that I like being able to name obscure bands and remixes that people won't have heard of as it gives me that impression of edginess I crave? Or is it because, just occasionally, I get to introduce someone to something that they haven't heard before that they love. The gift that will last. (Much like orchids, which are the best flowers to buy a girl.) The answer is probably a mix of all three.  

On that basis, I have included a few songs below that I think are worth checking out, hopefully you'll find something you love, something that makes you replay it over and over again like a teenager, something that lifts the spirit, something that reminds you that music can sooth the savage soul... or failing that, something you can namedrop next time you get stuck talking to someone with edgy glasses and an "ironic" haircut.


Something easy to start with, those of you who haven't been hiding under a rock for the last few years will remember Foster the People and their hit "Pumped up Kicks", they have returned with something very easy to like and get into, its got a slightly indie vibe smothered with a thick sugary coating of pop...


Foster The People - Coming of Age



Do say: "A nice sophomore effort, shame it wasn't released in summer"
Don't say: "This is my favourite song by Empire of the Sun"

With his high pitched voice and soaring strings, JVMcM could be confused with Enya. Well alright not really, but the man can write a tune and this one is bound to be used in an advert or two when it hits the mainstream, get it while its hot...

James Vincent McMorrow - Gold



Do say: "I have trouble understanding the lyrics, but my, what a tune"
Don't say: "I miss Enya". Ever.

A recent scientific study showed that if you don't like Marvin Gaye then you are in fact not a complete human being and even your parents aren't sure they like you. As a result, its a given that you will like this remix of one of his finest tracks, "Grapevine". Autograf is definitely one to namedrop in edgy company...

Marvin Gaye - Grapevine 



Do say: "It's called a remix Auntie June, no, its not the same as the original"
Don't say: "I don't like Marvin Gaye. Why don't my parents like me?"

Following the theme, here is another Marvin Gaye remix, but this one is interesting both for the tune and the person responsible for its current incarnation. Kygo is a Norwegian DJ who seems to have a gift for redoing classic songs and very gently, updating and improving them. I can pretty much recommend anything by him, and the best part is that he is friendly to both your mother and your weird co-worker who talks about raving every weekend (i.e. talented and still relatively obscure). I predict him to be the new Klangkurussell. (In case you missed them please look here)

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing 



Do say: "That little Norwegian wizard has done it again!" whilst pointing to anything on here"
Don't say: "I still don't like Marvin Gaye. Why don't I have any friends?"

The final one from me is a link-back (I think that's what those in the blogosphere call it) to a previous post by the Mice themselves. The ladies were extolling the virtues of the talented Lorde and while I cannot disagree, sadly the New Zealand under-age songstress has now become a little mainstream for my attention and so I give you a cover version...

The Kite Spring Tangle - Tennis Court



Do say: "Lorde is indeed "moody, complex, mystifying yet still managing to be addictive" as the Mice said, but this cover version by an unknown band volleys her song into a soulful ode...so take that you pretentious tool"
Don't say: "What's with all the black? I wish she would cheer up. Pink is in this season"

So in conclusion, perhaps, by following Hemingway's advice I have taught myself a lesson about bragging whilst intoxicated, but then, one must not forget that this was a man who shot himself in the leg while attempting to shoot a shark from his boat. Let the bragging continue. Thoughts and comments below please.


Bad Rat x


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