It Is a Blue Day

It's been awhile since I pulled together a list of fave tunes that have been playing regularly through iTunes, and was about to extoll the virtues of a new album that I'd recently purchased thanks to hearing first on the BBC Radio 1 show, The Blue Room. But then I caught quite a wollop of news yesterday whilst listening to the Saturday show that changed everything.

For those of you who've been long-time Cracks readers, I've often expounded on what a great radio show this is and how I've discovered bags (literally and figuratively) of fantastic tunes -- chilled electronic beats, sleepy folk, odd but wonderfully hummable pop, left-field remixes, dubby reggae, cheesy covers, and cheeky humor throughuot -- via the show's DJs, Rob Da Bank (Saturdays, with a bit more squealy electronic tempo) and Chris Coco (Sundays, and a bit more downtempo). During his show, Rob noted that "the Blue Room is sadly coming to a close in about three weeks... and from first of October, Da Bank will be broadcasting live and direct every Sunday, midnight till 2."

Sadly indeed. And still a bit confusing, as he noted nothing about his Sunday counterpart. I just forwarded through the RealAudio replay of Coco's Sunday show and heard no mention of endings from him, so I'm still not sure if the closure affects both days or just Da Bank's portion. Oh, how I hate being left in the dark.

I traditionally put together two double-disc mixes each year -- one in the summer and one at the end of the year -- and frankly, a lot of my best finds come from the Blue Room. (Mrs. F was just noting that the Blue Room is my final hook-up to cool -- can't say that I don't agree with her.) Yes, DaBank and Coco might continue in various DJ slots on the BBC, but there was something loose and free about the Blue Room and their collective oeuvre matched my own. Here are just a few of the artists, albums and songs that I would have missed without the boys:

• The Magic Numbers -- Not exactly electro-chilled, the boys still championed this group that was weaned on The Lovin' Spoonful cos of their pure pop harmonies, and really helped open them up to a wider audience. They're also quite fun in concert if you ever get the chance to see them. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Jose Gonzalez -- "Heartbeats" by the new lo-fi king. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• The Go! Team -- "Junior Kickstart" was the first single from this odd drum-and-bass-and-cheerleading collective out of London, and their album Thunder, Lightning, Strike is one of the most unique and upbeat debuts in years. (Amazon | iTunes) Check out the video to "Ladyflash":
  
  
  
  
• Butch Cassidy Soundsystem - Butch's Brew is the best ska/reggae album of the past couple years, and I included "Rudi" and "Rockers Galore" on two of my comps. (Amazon |
  iTunes)
  
  
• Hal -- "Worry About the Wind" is hands-down one of the best pop singles from the first half of this decade. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Aberfeldy -- "Vegetarian Restaurant" (a favorite around Cracks Centraal) (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Sebastien Tellier - "La Ritournelle" was absolutely caned (in Da Bank parlance) by the boys, but deservedly so. The whole Tellier album, Politics, is quite interesting through and through. The video below is a remixed version of the song that does away with the piano build-up that's really integral to the song, but it's a better video than the original. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
  
  
• Diefenbach -- "Up for Ping Pong" (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Sondre Lerche -- "Dead Passengers" was the Norwegian boy genius' first single, and he's turned into one of my fave artists. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Revolvo -- "Too Cool for School" (iTunes)
  
  
• Bubbley Kaur and Cornershop -- "Topknot" is one of the last things we've heard from Cornershop and I wonder if we'll ever hear from them again. (Amazon | iTunes)
  
  
• Beck - "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes" from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack probably would have gotten to me here in the states, but the Blue Room is where I heard it first and it's a fantastic cover of The Korgis' 70s hit. (Amazon | iTunes)

And that's really just a start. There's also Sigur Ros, Hanne Hukkelberg, Fat Freddy's Drop, Bent, Lemon Jelly, etc., etc.

Most recently, I've been captivated by the song "Duet" by Kiwi/Brit trio Breaks Co-Op (which features BBC DJ Zane Lowe), enough so that I bought the album. It was really an add-on to my purchase of the Guillemots debut album (prompted by the fantastic soul tune "Trains to Brazil," the video of which I posted previously), but the Breaks album, The Sound Inside (via Amazon import) is the keeper of the two. It mixes acoustic intruments and CSNY-style vocals (well... maybe minus the N) with subtle electronic beats that are nicely hypnotic and chilled. It's not available yet via the US iTunes store yet, but you can get a sample of their sound via a free minimix podcast.

Here's hoping that The Blue Room can continue in some form or fashion. I'll be lost without it.