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Modern Toss - Urban Shit-Naks
Yesterday my travels took me, and my Alan-loving girlfriend, to the sunny plains of Shoreditch for the Modern Toss Urban Shit-Naks Exhibition. Presented by the good folks at Sabotage Times, this is an honest to goodness celebration of irony and swearing. Mostly swearing.
For the next hour, half maybe if you happen to get bored easily, the words Shit, Cunt, Are You? And yeah will feature heavily. Especially in the obligatory guestbook sitting near the door. Even I could not resist a quick "reviewing your shit. Yeah" I am but a mere mortal after all.
Almost everything there can be purchased as a limited edition letterpress print, numbered and stamped for added authenticity goodness. I challenge anyone with enough money in their account to walk away without one. I couldn't, that's for sure. As an added bonus the guys themselves were there, on hand, to sign any shit-naks you wanted to add value to before selling them on Ebay when your bank statement arrives and I must say, jolly nice fellows they are too. If you like Modern Toss you'll absolutely fucking love this, if you don't you probably won't but then you need to be a genius to work that one out, now do you?
BeardyMan - UdderBelly June 2010
The other night I saw a strange, unshaven man in baggy jeans and a t-shirt blow raspberries into a microphone for two hours and I can tell you this, it rocked my world. One of the things that stood out for me is the unbridled creativity and genuine dedication it takes to just go up on stage without even the vaguest hint of a plan, do your thing, and have everyone there fucking love it. This is the first gig I have ever been to where it genuinely felt like I was in the front room of my mate's house having a laugh and I have to say it was more than refreshing to be a part of the show rather just being 'the audience' and treated like cattle.
The songs were made up on the spot from shouted requests and ingeniously, via tweets throughout the show. Audience members were danced with and ridiculed openly in an unmistakably friendly manner. Everyone laughed and rocked their asses off to the sounds of a happy hardcore Rolf Harris, a Latin Dub Step song advocating the pleasures of dogging and a fantastic rendition of Teardrop by Massive Attack. Really, need I say more?Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Logic of chance review
At first glance we notice that Dan le sac’s beat writing has taken on a much more Drum ‘n Bass/Breakcore flavour. We’re even seeing the occasional polyrhythm. As a whole, the lyrics seem to lack the humour of the duo’s debut album Angles (released 2007), but carry more meaning and convey a general sense of concern over Britain’s youth culture. The album kick-starts with the track “sick tonight”, which features Pip spouting some of his fastest lyrics yet.
Next is the track “five minutes” and is pleasing to the ears on so many levels. The beat hits you with that nice polyrhythmic effect right when you least expect it, however sets itself aside from other efforts in this direction with it's instantly recognisable reversed hi-hat line. The lyrical content is a melancholy yet somehow endearing tale of an abused wife reaching breaking point and giving the just desserts to her husband.
“Cauliflower” features an unknown female vocalist, who has the same vocal quality as Lilly Allen. Sure, technically she can sing, but something in her voice just instantly annoyed me, making this the only track I’ve still yet to listen to all the way through. Pip managed to recapture my interest almost instantly though, with the eye-opening track “great Britain”. The beat is occasionally minimalist but punches in at all the right moments, and the lyrics attempt to point out some of the positives and negatives of living on our little island. Focusing mainly on Knife crime, it surely aims to open a few eyes and start to reduce the same figures that Pip quotes in the breakdown of the song “in 2003-2008 knife crime among children rose 130%”.
Just when we’re losing faith in the human race, the debut single of the album “get better” lyrically stuns us with its assurance that they’re “not shouting get a job, just saying, get better”. The lyrics instantly reminded me of the Nas track “I Can”, and the flobots song “we are winning”. In the form of a 5 minute song, Le sac and Pip give the youth back their hope and the will to learn and make a better life for themselves. “Inert explosions” has some of pips most internally thought provoking poetry, and dan le sac’s most disjointed break beat we’ve heard so far. “stake a claim” is the generic attempt at an anti government song. While this song touches on vital issues, and I agree with most of what Pip’s saying, the delivery and lyrics feel cliché and overused. “the beat” is the weakest track on the album, making me think instantly of the track “back from hell” on angles. It has the general feeling of a last moment album filler, with dubious worth.
“last train home” visits a scenario we’ve all been in, and is both amusing and lyrically innovative, even featuring a terrorism themed parody of Amy Winhouse’s “Rehab”. The albums closing track “snob” is a little hard to get the gist of after a few listens, because the vocals are too quiet in the mix. It features a catchy refrain, its just a shame I don’t really know what the song is about. Overall the album is a strong effort, easily on par with angles. If you enjoy either drum and bass, or spoken word poetry, it’swell worth grabbing a copy of the album. With deeper meanings in the lyrics andmore rhythmic beats, it’s a lot better than some other attempts in the same genre.
Natt Hinsley - 2010
