At the bottom of this week's Popbitch newsletter, there's a link to a 45 song YouTube playlist called Yacht Rock Beach Bar. Plenty of Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, you know the vibe...
It's also on Spotify. Talking of Spotify, have you've seen Weird Spotify Playlists? Sterling effort. There's even an Endless Thread podcast about it.
Back in May, while I was still bowling around Canton, someone on Burlington Terrace with a love for late 90s / early noughties dance music had a clear out of their CDs. And I was there to swoop. Just as I was trying to offload DVDs before the move to Llantwit Major, I was picking up more physical media off the street.
However, I was walking Cady at the time, so I had to limit myself to one handful of CDs from the stack. Turns out my tiny hands can carry seven CDs comfortably while controlling a hellhound. So here's my track selection from each album I picked up.
From his 2008 album Sexuality, L'Amour et La Violence is a really pretty, peppy, but fragile piano ballad. Keep meaning to listen to more of this album. I've always had a soft spot for Sébastien Tellier since La Ritournelle and that weird Eurovision entry.
From Underworld's BIG era, when they had Darren Emerson involved, this is just pure big room and progressive, throbbing and pulsing, yes mate, love it.
Sadly it wasn't the Robyn album but The Trentemøller Chronicles that was there. CD1 is rarities or offcuts from the Dane's back catalogue, but I can't be arsed finding out which as it's just dull as ditchwater tech-house.
The second disc however is a round-up of his remixes and is a much better proposition. There are reworkings of Röyksopp and The Knife, but it was always going to be Robyn that takes the top spot. This remix is glitchy and has that guitar twang sound that appeared on loads of stuff after Kill Bill and is just fun. Unlike disc one.
Squares would've been too obvs for a wild maverick like me, so here's Broke from their second studio album Hot Shots II.
Orbital's Back To Mine CD is peak late 90s / early 2000s. A post-club chill-out CD featuring The Divine Comedy and John Barry & His Orchestra. By Orbital. And just look at that artwork. Monkey Dust pushes it close but jeez this could only have happened in 99-03.
Also, could this track sound any less like it's called Love and Fury?
Trainspotting OST innit. Very nearly didn't pick it up as it is in every single charity shop in the land, but y'know, it's good like. Easy to sneer now, and that Sleeper cover of Blondie is ropey, but it's a good soundtrack. Why Eno though? Well, I already have Underworld on this list so... yeah.
And if you're counting six tracks here and wondering what happened to the seventh CD, it was Hot Chip's debut - Coming On Strong - and I don't know why but I have absolutely no desire to listen to it.
Maybe I wasn't talking bollocks after all.
Euro 202?, illness, and the gentle chaos of unpacking your entire life meant that I've not had the chance to fire off some hot content on here. Plus we only got the broadband properly hooked up last week.
So, I'm gonna continue where I left off from last time, from the music of moving day to the first track I played in the new house.
With no internet, I was left to using the Alexa Dot as a basic Bluetooth speaker for an unpacking soundsystem. Linking up the Poco, I fired up the SD card, hit shuffle, and the first song of a new era was...
Afe Ato Yen Bio by De Frank Professionals, a super slice of Ghanian Afrobeat. Pure #Valecore.
Talking of Valecore it would be remiss of me not to mention Bro Radio, the local community station, which has a studio is Llantwit Major. It's been an absolute joy having a proper local station, mixing hyper-local news and mum bangers, including dropping Kiss From A Rose from Seal when I was sorting out the garage. Well worth a listen.
