Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

Even though the backing group of Ariel Pink, the Haunted Graffiti do not exist anymore, it plays merit to Ariel Pink as his solo stuff still is on par with this classic album. The band ended up in a shambles, but Ariel still maintains a good output. Most of the tracks on here are from previous releases, and really it is an amalgamation of various releases. The lead single ''Round And Round'' is fabulous, which you could say for every track. He has a knack for fusing the comical with the serious, seen in great songwriters like Stephen Malkmus.

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Mirror Traffic

This album was produced by Beck and it is a good collection from a dominant name in indie music in the world since the nineties. Although Pavement did not sell many records or have chart-topping hits, their legacy continues with the much borrowed and homaged indie sound they possess along with Stephen Malkmus' solo work and stuff with his backing band The Jicks. One can always rely on astute songcraft from Malkmus, his music sounds fantastic on vinyl. The lo-fi aesthetic sounds really good on some small speakers, it is not a headphone record.

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Sparkle Hard

This album continues in the same vein as some of his other material. He has veered away from the reckless noise that dominated his earlier work with Pavement, continuing for a subtle kinder sound, probably similar to indie coming out of America during the nineties. Kim Gordon actually makes an appearance, famously the female bass player from Sonic Youth. What remains is an adept skill at songcraft and a tendency to adopt other instrumentation, not just the standard electrical rock equipment, but a whole range of other instruments.

Ariel Pink - Pom Pom

Many of the current Ariel Pink releases on the label 4AD borrow a lot from his early releases. The story goes that Animal Collective - the American band found a tape on the floor that Ariel had given them to listen. Months passed and they found this tape on the tour van floor. The put it on and were amazed. Ariel has a very distinct sound, bathed in cassette tape effects and Ariel also has a tendency to use DIY instruments, like beatboxing for vocals, and guitars with no strings. He has a completely unique sound and throws music on its head how he approaches music as a multi-instrumentalist and producer. 

Various Artists - Soul Jazz Records Presents: Studio One DJ Party

Ventured up north to the mainland for a Toots & The Maytals gig at the Melbourne Zoo, but to my dismay, it was cancelled due to the fires. Had to reschedule events and eventually settled on Bustamento in St Kilda. When I was in Basement Discs on the Saturday morning of my weekend escapade they were playing Bustamento, a great omen indeed. They were splendid and Nicky Bomba, the ringleader and mastermind behind the band jumped down and made his way into the bar and started banging bottles on the top shelf. Quite surreal and I have never seen anything like it.

King Tubby V's Channel One - Dub Soundclash

Jimmy Cliff was one of the pioneers of Jamaican stars in Britain, alongside Desmond Dekker. But the success of tracks like ''Wonderful World, Beautiful People'' would not last as Jimmy Cliff would later find out life was hard as a travelling musician, being black in the UK was also dangerous at the time. Many tracks reflected this period of failure like ''Struggling Man''. It would be later in the seventies that Jimmy Cliff would achieve success with the film The Harder They Come, which opened up reggae from Jamaica to the mainstream film and music audiences, and prove pivotal on the influence on punk coming out of London and beyond.

Island Records Presents: Roots - 37 Essential Roots Anthems

Roots music has a focus around the lyrics being derived from Rastafari culture, which as Jimmy Cliff in an interview is actually closer to Christianity than Islam. The scripture which is worshipped is the Holy Piby, and it is very Afrocentric and has an emphasis on the homeland of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a place of the earliest foundations of Christianity also, but contrary to most opinions of Rastafarianism, there is an emphasis around being a sound person mentally, so things like alcohol in excess are strongly condemned, but marijuana is different as it leads to the idea that it expands the mind. Many reggae stars would develop lung cancer, including the ''Cool Ruler'', Gregory Isaacs.