Let's talk about the new Streets album A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE.

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the vinyl is so tempting.

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 14:46 (twenty years ago) link

That Pitchfork review sounds too negative for a 9.1 score.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 21:12 (twenty years ago) link

i have something which will make everyone hate mike skinner.

should i read the pitchfork review - i'm skeptical about it.

― myke boomnoise (myke boomnoise), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 21:34 (twenty years ago) link

i have something which will make everyone hate mike skinner.

Is it... THIS???

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 22:58 (twenty years ago) link

I liked this review a lot: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/matos.php

Makes me want to hear the thing.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 18 May 2004 23:27 (twenty years ago) link

pfork and vv in "boy meets girl" mindmeld shocka

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 01:55 (twenty years ago) link

OH GOD I LOVE THIS

― .rob (rgeary), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 02:27 (twenty years ago) link

ok ok sorry let me reboot. managed to avoid hearing anything but "fit but you know it" once or twice before today. loved original pirate material and would have happily listened to another randomized collection of skinner tracks, but this- holy hell. the storytelling aspect is such a great hook, i'll be listening to this long after the beats bore me just to follow through the story.

i'd love to see him put out a few anthemic singles just to keep up on that end, but still- "grand" is funny, sad, touching, what have ya. slick rick award to skinner for really telling a story and not letting it get in the way of a great set of music either.

― .rob (rgeary), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 02:30 (twenty years ago) link

FINALLY got this. First listen = was great obv. I may hate "Dry Your Eyes" if it becomes a hit. Time will tell. "Such A Twat" is so obviously *not* about stealing ice cream; I can only assume he actually got with the girl in "Fit But You Know It". Favourite tracks on first listen: "Blinded By The Lights", "Get Out Of My House" and "What Is He Thinking". Oh yeah and "Empty Cans" of course but that feels different somehow.

I reckon "Get Out Of My House" should be a single - it might pull in the Eamon/Frankee crowd somewhat.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 21:42 (twenty years ago) link

Hey, I was just listening to the Squeeze Singles, 45's and Under compilation and it occured to me that it could be super awesome if the Streets covered "Up the Junction." I don't know his albums--only heard a couple of tunes. Is this a good idea or not???!!!

― Tim Ellison, Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:52 (twenty years ago) link

no, snrub what i have is far worse. a live recording of him covering teenage kicks with heavy audience participation.

― myke boomnoise (myke boomnoise), Thursday, 20 May 2004 01:11 (twenty years ago) link

I WANT! I WANT!

I don't care HOW bad it is. My purpose in life is to listen to every Streets song ever.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 20 May 2004 03:40 (twenty years ago) link

can someone explain the title's meaning/reference to me? I'm curious to know, though I don't wanna actually hear the damn thing.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 20 May 2004 03:45 (twenty years ago) link

the album's about he loses a thousand quid, hstencil

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Thursday, 20 May 2004 04:14 (twenty years ago) link

ah okay. for some reason whenever I see this thread I think of "My Love Don't Cost a Thing."

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 20 May 2004 04:16 (twenty years ago) link

june 25 - toronto @ the mod club (same place we got dizzee!)
june 26 - montreal @ club soda

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:12 (twenty years ago) link

seeing the streets play live strikes me as akin to watching a high school stage production of a popular film

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:15 (twenty years ago) link

myke boomnoise are you sure that's not Busted?

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:17 (twenty years ago) link

Streets were great live at Astoria last year, only time i've seen 'them' - big video screen showing 'The Irony Of It All' for the first time a huge plus

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:18 (twenty years ago) link

shit that was 2002. WHERE DID LAST YEAR GO??

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:18 (twenty years ago) link

actually i'd be kind of curious to see him this go round because i have no idea what he'd do, other than play the album straight through.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:19 (twenty years ago) link

jess you said smth similar about dizzee too!

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:31 (twenty years ago) link

yeah but i think my reasoning for dizzee was different

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:32 (twenty years ago) link

i've just been burned by live rap too many times

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:32 (twenty years ago) link

Friends of mine saw them at Barrowland last week and weren't very impressed - I think the sound was shit, though.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:55 (twenty years ago) link

They were good on both occasions I've seen them live (once was with Stevem if I'm not mistaken) but Skinner live is by far the worst thing about them in that setting - so from that point of view I can't really see the new material coming off that well.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 20 May 2004 14:07 (twenty years ago) link

it wasn't me it was Ben from Hollyoaks

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 20 May 2004 14:19 (twenty years ago) link

Skinner actually really impressed me with his on-stage presence

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 20 May 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago) link

Seen them once and they were shit.

Second time they were ace. It needs a sunny day. Don't want to see them at night, or indoors, ever again.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 14:43 (twenty years ago) link

i've listened to it 4 times all the way through. i'd like to do a close reading of it* (plot holes and all) then put it away for a few years so when i next break it out, as it jogs my memory, i'll sorta get a fraction of the impact the first few listens had on me

did the streets tour north america after OPM?

tim otm about 'what a twat' not being about ice cream, no matter what skinny boy or his b-sides say

* unfortunately as a yank i couldn't possibly do this justice

― common_person (common_person), Friday, 21 May 2004 18:25 (twenty years ago) link

it might be busted. i hope it is. and i hope i haven't been suckered by an wrongly named mp3. i really do. but the guy sounds like skinner. maybe it's them together! oh god no.

― myke boomnoise (myke boomnoise), Friday, 21 May 2004 18:36 (twenty years ago) link

Even my mom loves this album.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 21 May 2004 18:41 (twenty years ago) link

I like that the story arc is particularly simple; one of the things about Mr. Lif's I, Phantom that initially turned me on but now seems kind of overblown is how it starts very personal and grows into a whole-Earth-encompassing apocalyptic thing. Skinner seems way more, not necessarily more sincere, but more easily expressive of his sincerity on Grand.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 21 May 2004 18:45 (twenty years ago) link

I listened to this a few times today, and surprised myself by actually liking some of Skinner's lyrics, and his delivery. He's clever. But I *still* can't get past the actual music (particularly most of the hooks / choruses). Like that "wouldn't have it any other way" chorus is just C-grade bad r n b...or the "go get out of my house" thing...
I can appreciate that some of his beats are endearingly amateurish, and interesting for that reason, but how could you listen to them over and over? They have none of the meance or ryhthmic interest of, say, Dizzee beats (not that I particularly think the Streets are grime)

― paulhw (paulhw), Friday, 21 May 2004 19:19 (twenty years ago) link

you have to let go of your ideas about the music having to be 'interesting' or 'not shallow'. it serves as backdrop to the lyrics on which you should be focussing. this is another reason why i won't be listening to this album with much frequency

― common_person (common_person), Friday, 21 May 2004 19:32 (twenty years ago) link

I think the music is really fucking great, I especially like the juxtaposition of the drama queen acoustic piano bits over the beats.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 21 May 2004 19:37 (twenty years ago) link

i don't think skinner did anything wrong in coming up with these beats -- as you point out, they work quite well in context. but like paulhw, i would have trouble listening to them over and over without the narrative. any payload they have is pretty much delivered in the first listens.

― common_person (common_person), Friday, 21 May 2004 19:46 (twenty years ago) link

erm, ok. well, i've been paid, and it was ok i guess. but owning this? what happens when you can anticipate the lyrics, and the beats are still uninteresting?

― paulhw (paulhw), Friday, 21 May 2004 20:04 (twenty years ago) link

that's when you make and release your own album

haha just kidding PLS DONT EAT ME ILM

― common_person (common_person), Friday, 21 May 2004 20:11 (twenty years ago) link

WTF "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way" is one of the best tracks! That chorus is beautiful. I think on this and "Blinded By The Lights" (and pretty much everything else on the album really) Skinner shows how totally adept he is at constructing an arrangement that perfectly suits and reflects the narrative. Everything about this track, from the piano chords to the stuttering beat, seems to evoke a warm humble homeliness that totally reinforces the story. That's why the arrangements don't really work as "grooves" per se; they're not the sort of thing you'd want to freestyle over.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 21 May 2004 23:07 (twenty years ago) link

Fatboy Slim....we need your help...criminy

― cs appleby (cs appleby), Saturday, 22 May 2004 02:35 (twenty years ago) link

it seems he really did cover teenage kicks:

http://www.jasperfforde.com/phorum/read.php?f=4&i=37974&t=37974

― toby (tsg20), Saturday, 22 May 2004 06:35 (twenty years ago) link

I honestly don't think the "Teenage Kicks" thing is all that bad. It's actually kind of charming. I like how the crowd goes nuts when he sings the first line of the song.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Saturday, 22 May 2004 22:14 (twenty years ago) link

That's why the arrangements don't really work as "grooves" per se; they're not the sort of thing you'd want to freestyle over.

this is what i'm still up in the air about. is there a difference between grooveless beats that only reinforce a story and folk guitar strumming? without any "danceable sounding" beats, this album feels a lot more "singer/songwriter" to me than the debut, where he seemed in between poet and emcee. here it's a lot more of the former and i can't tell whether that compels me more or less.

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Saturday, 22 May 2004 23:48 (twenty years ago) link

I like the suggestion upthread of Streets covering 'Up the Junction'. I want to ask - will this 'Wow, a narratice thread us such a great idea, really gets me into the album, he's a modern Homer' stuff translate into an apreciation for concept albums? Will the kids who drink outside my house start listening to the Wall now?

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Sunday, 23 May 2004 01:11 (twenty years ago) link

Ryan I think you missed the first part of my point about the grooves. They're not just the garage equivalent of folk-guitar-strumming; if anything they're the *opposite*. An acoustic guitar strum is at the end of the day to folk the same as an anonymous but functional beat is to hip hop: economical, interchangable, content to sit in the background while the MC takes center stage (that's not a put-down of either approaches, incidentally). By contrast the grooves on A Grand... are defined by how radically unexchangable they are: the groove for "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way" is so inextricably tied to the narrative (and vice versa) that it simply wouldn't work in any other context that I can think of. "Blinded By The Lights" even less!

Most obviously, the entire construction of "Empty Cans" musically is designed to best facilitate and frame the split-ending (you could go into a lot of detail on this: the use of the same beat isn't just a fancy trick but a very deliberate statement - to come on all Pink-like, I suspect Mike is using that pounding beat as a metaphor for the relentless struggle inherent to life, while all the differing arrangement flourishes are a product of yer point of view; the contrast b/w the two versions highlights the huge difference in quality-of-life that Skinner's positive outlook can effect, despite working from the same base conditions).

Yes, the album employs a strategy of constructing the groove to service the narrative that is markedly distinct from most hip hop (cf. the versatile ubiquity of "In The Club"), but if anything this approach necessitates thinking *more* about the groove, not less.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 23 May 2004 02:48 (twenty years ago) link

Okay, so I just heard "Fit But You Know It" for the first time on the radio coming back from my friend's bachelor party and before the chorus kicked in I thought I was hearing some old Toy Dolls song. This is not a negative criticism, I should note.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 23 May 2004 05:47 (twenty years ago) link

Now a Streets version of Nelly the Elephant I would like to hear!

― myke boomnoise (myke boomnoise), Sunday, 23 May 2004 08:57 (twenty years ago) link

holy crap Tim you're right!!!

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Sunday, 23 May 2004 16:30 (twenty years ago) link

the album DOES handle groove construction in markedly different way to most hiphop!!!

― m. (mitchlnw), Sunday, 23 May 2004 17:22 (twenty years ago) link

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