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way back in the original acid house era there was a great nme cover showing a policeman ripping up the smiley face, signalling the beginning of the end of the rave culture that made life so much fun for a while.
15 years (or thereabouts) on, the smiley is back.
only this time its being eaten by a bloke from the klaxons. a band who seem to be at the forefront of the new rave movement that the nme are giving a lot of space to recently.
normally i would avoid any such attempt at cheese filled branding, especially as i vowed nearly 10 years ago to never buy the nme again, when i decided that the birth of my firstborn should be marked by a more grown up and responsible outlook. this meant i no longer cared about the weekly happenings of the indie bands of the day, my final weekly issue had as the cover star : sleepers loiuse wener, i need say no more i think.
however, this week the nme have glued a mix cd onto that same cover. a mix cd. not a quick-n-easy compilation of libertines wannabees, not a beatles rip off in sight. no, instead this mix cd has been spliced and diced with due care and attention by none otther than simian mobile disco. yes, the same folks who happen to be responsible for a massive chunk of rip roaring electro’d up indie remixes over the last few years.
while the cover artwork is truly dreadful, the lineup throughout the 60 minutes is never short of haircut hipster cool : klaxons : hot chip : the gossip : shitdisco : soulwax : justice : digitalism and even an oldie from bill laswells material !
ok, it may be difficult to ignore the whole ‘nme trying to create a scene’ aspect, but when it’s a bunch of bands who just want to cause dance filled chaos with a few guitars, glow sticks and machine created beats, i have to admit that were i still a free and easy gig going freakoid (ie student), then i would be totally lapping this up.
a wonderful refreshing change from the current glut of dreary and predictable kooks/razorflight that normally fill the weekly alternative bible (ahem).
will the new rave scene generate any crossover success? will it last till xmas ?
who cares. this is very now music, its about the moment, not giving 2 hoots re the status of classic album, and this has tobe a good thing.
standout tracks have to be the fantastic soulwax version of standing in the way of control by the gossip, the bass line alone is neighbour threatening, the simian mobile disco acid makeover of the klaxons magick (out soon on proper normal cd !), and the mix calming comedown moods of erol alkans reworked version of hot chips boy from school.
all of this is for a mere couple of quid. with which, you also happen to get a free copy of the nme.
making a certain trip to the newsagents this week for once seems to be a complete no brainer in my book.
out now : on the cover of the nme.
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