The Monday Chiller #15 - Fug...

Fug - Fairweather Friend

Downtempo orchestral beats with loping bass and piano loops to ease you through a post-festival/post-weekend/post-holiday Monday. Try if you like: Zero 7, Feist, Morcheeba, etc.

Since when has weather been fair though? It's been miserable in Yorkshire for the past three days when i've had nothing to do and now the weekend is over we've got bluebird skies. Gutted.

Incidentally this is the only record I ever bought from the now defunct Fopp shop. R.I.P. Fopp, Musiczone, Tony Wilson.

Word to your mother...

Word magazine are responsible for one of my favourite ever CDs, a free compilation that came with one of their issues back in 04 and opened my eyes to some great new music. I had forgotten about it for a while but yesterday I was thinking about Nick Cave and his performance with Grinderman on Jools Holland, which led to 'where the hell is that amazing CD I used to have with Nick Cave and a multitude of great artists on it?'. So here are the best songs off of the disc I got for free and am passing on for the greater good.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Easy Money

Many people would kill for melodies like these. Many good songs have been written in prison.

Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue

Jaunty indie from a fellow who was on Marc Riley's show on 6music this week. Go listen again if ya likes it.

Paul Weller - Early Morning Rain

Go on Weller! One of his best songs since The Jam, dude sounds like he's trying to be Bruce Springsteen and succeeds in writing something better than old Brucey ever did. This is the one. too right.

Groove Armada - Little by Little

Sounding more like Zero 7 than the radio-friendly Groove Armada i've come to hate, my anger that The Armada even exists subsides slightly when I hear these beats. Barbecue-perfect.

Robyn Hitchcock (with Gillian Welch & David Rawlings) - If You Know Time

Shimmering acoustic folk with an eastern tinge thanks to the guitar work. Let this one soak in.

The Bees - Wash in the Rain

The ever-excellent Bees do it again with a great uptempo singalong song. All together now, wash in the rain!

Sons and Daughters - Awkward Duet

This song prompted me to buy Sons and Daughters second album which in turn prompted me to buy the first. They had me hooked, and they're from Scotland which is always a bonus. I'm gonna stick this on repeat for a while.

The Handsome Family - Gail with the Golden Hair

Time for a bit of oldschool country now, get some wheat in yer mouth and sit on the porch reminiscing about love ones lost and chances taken.

The Honeymoon - Passive Aggressive

Oh man this CD just keeps on giving, it would be my desert island disc no doubt. Ethereal melodies abound on this beauty.

The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love

It's like the lady says. Bouncy indie-pop with horns, drums and singing aplenty.

Adem - Everything you Need

If there is one unifying theme to these songs it would be that each has a great melody that really hooks the listener in and enables you to either sit there humming along or get a little deeper and check the equally as amazing lyrics. Adem ain't no slouch, he's got the hook(s)up too.

Sorry about the brief descriptions on each track but I can't be arsed to sit here and pontificate all day. Tell me what you like or don't like about these songs, and how's the new Hermit? My photoshop has died so it's a work in progress but so far I likes it. Blue is the colour eh.

DOOM's got Da Boom...

For the first hip-hop post on Eclectic Hermit i've picked the man in the mask, MF DOOM. If you don't know much about DOOM i suggest you check out Berkeley Place who just did a great post about him and pales mine into insignificance. However, there are a couple of tracks here that don't feature there, so the two combined will give you all the DOOM you need.

Clutchy Hopkins & MF DOOM - Untitled 01

Clutchy who? No me neither, but this legendary figure continues to put out the sweet beats so who are we to complain. From their untitled collab comes this mysterious track. With private-eye samples and DOOM's never faltering rapid-fire rhymes, there isn't much else to say but enjoy. If the pants fit sport em but rock em low.

Zero 7 - Somersault (Dangermouse remix ft. MF DOOM)

Laid-back, relaxed Zero 7 beats meet laid-back, relaxed lyrics from sir DOOM on this one. Not the most likely collaboration but yer man Dangermouse pulls it out of the bag laced in steez. DOOM often sounds like he's freestyling when he aint, but this track is crafted from the start and comes out smoother than Tom Selleck on holiday(?). Great for summer.

MF DOOM - Yellowdock (Instrumental)

The first 5 seconds of this track sounds like the intro to an early 90s TV show, which is no bad thing but it soon kicks into the meat of the beat with horns-a-plenty and a rolling bassline that carries along nicely for the duration. Perfect for chilling to or perfecting your bedroom freestyles over, i'd like to hear what DOOM could do with it himself. It comes from one of his many Special Herbs mixtapes.

Dabrye ft. MF DOOM - Air

Rough and epic with futuristic synths and agressive rhyming from DOOM, this track bangs on your face from the start.