noise fatigue

normally i await the arrival of the postie with keen anticipation and excitement. but recently i have become somewhat wary of the clang of the finger ripping metal device. i am feeling somewhat a case of music fatigue. started yesterday and has sort of continued into today. its a rare occasion in my life and somewhat natural i suspect. rather than spin new unfamiliar sounds i wanted some songs and beats that would make me feel warm and fuzzy. recall more relaxed innocent days when the most stressful thing in life was deciding which band t-shirt i was to wear for the day (AOC or Foetus - that perpetual dilemma). so i decided to dump my webiste responsibilities and dig out the Big Audio Dynamite catalogue. i can go for years without hearing their songs .. and yet something will click and i will get the urge to hear micks clash of beats, guitars and ealing comedy samples. i realise that they were never a cool band, lots of folks hated em and rated the non-classics as weak insipid stuff. i disagree. the story of BAD (+ BADII/BA) is almost a synopsis of the tales of life in clubbing london throughout the 90's, told by someone who loved the new grooves as well as the formulaic rock music of old and therefore tried to combine both worlds mking for a perfect pop band for me as i too craved the dance culture but could never completely move away from my indie-rock roots. the lyrical uk references have somehow become more relevant now in 2004 than upon the songs original airing, pre-dating the current in vougue-ness of big city life lyrics by grime/uk hip hop artists. admittedly the beats are still thin , and with an air of underproduction at times, but matching the somewhat dodgy vocals perfectly makes the presence of timestamped keyboard riffs/samples all the more fun. even the unreleased final album 'entering a new ride' has tracks that pump and groove in a way that only an ex-clash member could muster, no big name producer needed .. just a home studio, a few mates (rnking roger even guests adding the much missed mc'ing skills of Don Letts from the bands classic era) and the ever present computer hacker extras. so yes, the coverart on all their albums (bar the first) were indeed consistently dreadful .. i mean REALLY bad, but hidden amongst the cringeworthy tracks there are some absolute belters. that was yesterday .. today though .. i needed to hear something very different. passing aside all the usual lo-fi bedroom productions that are staring me in the face in the ever increasing review pile, i dug out the albums by 'oxide and neutrino', both bought recently for a mere pittance and their So Solid connection bit them hard in the sales area. shme as both albums have some wild action. futuristic electronica hiphop beats sped up, with garage mc'ing telling stories of booze and life on da streets .. hmm it'l never work. and after a few hours of splintered beats/minimal melody/scattershot lyrics i felt refreshed. normal service can once again resume. if not - anyone want a cheap-n-cheerful review website .. joking. onwards ! mark e ireallylovemusic