#23: Busy Busy Busy

The worst thing about blogs is when their authors tire of blogging and do something else.

Like leave the house. Make friends. Or go and awkwardly stand next to a member of the opposite sex for 30seconds in a crowded bar before running home crying.

I'm happy to say I've only been doing some of the above and the reason we've not posted for a while is because we're working on big things. Really big things. Well, relatively, big things.

Here's the run down:

• Birds Need (More) Trees
  Saturday May 3, Urbis, Cathedral Gardens

Birds... returns to Urbis this weekend. Shoplifters will be DJing and live on the night there'll be performances from The Loungs, Kid Captain, Stars Of Track And Field, Tin Pot Dictators. Get more info right here

• "Bloggerpalooza!"
  Sunday May 4, Contact Theatre, Oxford Rd
  

First up, with just seven days to go my compadre Grammer and I were asked last week to curate a stage at Futuresonic this weekend. And so we present, Bloggerpalooza: The cream of Manchester's MP3 blogs on the decks and in the mix.

It's this Sunday afternoon (May 4), it's free, there'll be great music and a bar. Find out more here and here

• Shoplifters Live #14
  Thursday May 8, The Bay Horse, M4

Our regular Shoplifters night returns to The Bay Horse a week Thursday. It's simple. Strictly remixes, covers, sampled genius, bastard pop.

You may also hear this little belter, which, despite being from an act I've had little love for in the past, has got party smash written all over it.

See you on the dance floor,

MP3 Audio Bullys - Gimme That Punk (Block Remix)


JC

#22: Unlucky For Some...

...but not for you good reader as tomorrow night is Shoplifters #13!



Essentially it's the live version of what you're looking at right now, but you also get the added bonus of tunes just loud enough you have to raise you voice to talk and you get to look at our faces. That's myself, Grammar and our brand sparkling new member, DJ Sapnarella. Why not come down, point and stare?

As always it's free, kicks off at 7pm and will be blowing the roof off the Bay Horse, Northern Quarter, Manchester.

Y'know, it'd be great to see you there for a cheeky half

In the meantime, enjoy this remix of the Young MC classic which I'm 99% sure to be playing out tomorrow. Legendary hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl recently released a shed load of remixes of some of their discography. This is ace.

MP3 Young MC - Know How (Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir's Gutter Remix)


Hold steady,
JC

#21: Fucking Finally...

... a decent Ting Tings remix.

Despite really wanting the Calvin Harris mix of 'Great DJ' to work, like an adulterous husband, I've secretly been playing it all the while waiting for something better to come along.

I was genuinely surprised there weren't more remixes of this to be honest...

But lo, cometh the man DJ magazine described as "making music that sounds like a washing machine on crack" IDC.

His mix is nothing crazy, it's not a minimal techno de-construction of the Salford duo that leave your brain vibrating, it's just a simple, beefed up rerub that ticks all the boxes.

Good work...

MP3 The Ting Tings - Great DJ (IDC Re-Rub)

Hold steady,
JC

#20: The History Of Cut-Up

A grand blog post title indeed, however...

Having not heard it for a good 12 months or so, today I stumbled across DJ Food a.k.a. Strictly Kev's 'History Of Cut-Up' that appeared originally as a Superchunk on Xfm's The Remix show.

Appearing under a number of different names including 'Raiding The 20th Century', Kev's mix took every important part of remixing, sampling and mixing and condensed into a manageable 40 minutes.

As the below article explains "Shortly afterwards he read Paul Morley's recently published book 'Words & Music' and was amazed that certain chapters mirrored parts of his mix...

After months of further research he tracked Morley down and they recorded passages from 'Words & Music' specially for [a new version of the mix]"

If you've never heard this hour-long track, I urge you to download it from the link below and listen on headphones. It's an amazing piece of work that encapsulates every building block of Shoplifters' foundations.

Simply a work of genius.

Read more, listen and get the full tracklisting here

MP3 Strictly Kev - Raiding The 20th Century

Hold steady
JC

#19: "Usually Drink, Usually Dance..."

Wiley's back with a quality single, 'Rolex', and hot on its heels is this amazing piece of video remix mash-up action.

When you think about it's so obvious. But still mostly amazing.
This will be the best thing you see all day...

Hold steady,
JC

#18: Later... With Shoplifters

Just like buses, you wait ages for a Jon Claude post (maybe) and then two come along at once.

Anyway, tonight is the first ever live Later With Jools Holland, a show I have a fair amount of love for, so I thought I'd blog it. Live. Shoplifters style.

First up is Estelle which reminded me I've been looking for an excuse to post about the UK's number one. Kano's stepped in for Kanye but was given approx half a second to flow, and meanwhile, here's the Danger! remix of 'American Boy'. It kicks at 2'36"...

MP3 Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy (Danger Remix)

Next up it's Adele, a young talent that we last saw at Manchester's Matt & Phred's Jazz Cafe. She's been completely smothered in strings and housewife-friendly production since. Shame. Here's the recent dancefloor friendly version of her debut single 'Hometown Glory'.

MP3 Adele - Hometown Glory (Night Facilities Remix)

For some reason The Only Ones are wheeled out to perform their hit 'Another Girl Another Planet'. More surprising is that singer Peter Perrett is still alive. Who knew? Hell, the man makes Doherty look straight edge. Here's The Replacements ace cover...

MP3 The Only Ones - Another Girl Another Planet (Only Ones cover)

Next up is James Taylor performing a strong that played a big part of my childhood 'Sweet Baby James', and then onto The Black Kids doing 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You'. A contender for single of the year (2007 and 2008), here's the incredible remix from The Twelves...

MP3 Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (The Twelves remix)

As I said, incredible. All for now,

Hold steady
JC

#17: Reading & Leeds Special

So Reading and Leeds festivals have all but sold out (tickets-wise I mean) and have announced a somewhat tasty 2008 line-up. Rage Against The Machine and Metallica? Quality.

This being Shoplifters, we're talking covers and remixes so here goes.

Rage released a whole album of covers back in 2000 entitled 'Renegades Of Funk'. And it was damn good too.

However, remixes of the band vary in quality, and, to be honest, never seem to really match the band's combination of aggression and down right dancibility. Regardless, here's Rage's cover of Cypress Hill's 'How I Could Just Kill A Man' featuring the rap legends on guest vocals and Mr Oizo's remix of 'Killing In The Name'... Like I said, it's good but won't ever match the original.

MP3 Rage Against The Machine - How I Could Just Kill A Man (live feat. Cypress Hill) (Cypress Hill cover)

MP3 Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name (Mr Oizo Remix)

Next up we have Metallica. A band no stranger to cover versions with their 1998 albu m 'Garage Inc.', it's a quality collection so here's one of the stand-out tracks So What?. Note: Originally by the Anti-Nowhere League, if you find offensive words, erm, offensive, maybe steer clear of this one.

MP3 Metallica - So What? (Anti-Nowhere League cover)

And finally, the turkey of the bunch, The Killers. In between these two, the band look like they were booked by accident but in true turd polishing fashion, Jacque Le Cont's 'Mr Brightside' remix still stands up as high as it ever could. Stop propping up the bar moaning and dance, you idiot....

MP3 The Killers - Mr Brightside (Thin White Duke Remix)

Hold steady,
JC