The Best Samples in Music

There's always the ignorant few that dismiss sampling as "stealing", adopting phrases along the lines of "Omg that band totally stole that riff, that it totally ridiculous". But sampling successfully is a real skill (slowly glossing past some previous attempts), here are my pick of the best sample in music.

BOUND 2 – KANYE WEST
Although the whole of Kanye West's back catalog would work for this post, Bound 2 is by far my favourite track on the album, opening with the modest piano before the glorious charm of Charlie Wilson, and of course (the highlight of the track) the "Uh-huh, honey" sampled from "Sweet Nothings" by Brenda Lee. Despite Kanye using multiple samples in this track, the obvious stand out is the children’s choir-esque vocals of ‘Bound' by The Ponderosa Twins Plus One providing the glistening gem that features in all of West’s music. This sample is bopping your soldiers whilst frantically tapping away at your laptop finishing your homework on a Sunday evening, it’s take your dog for a walk in the pitch dark and aching to break out into a high school musical shimmy down the road. He embraces his ever so slightly misogynistic signature lyrics, and still manages to be both courteous and putting his laundry first, “I wanna fuck you hard on the sink, After that give you somethin’ to drink, step back can’t get spunk on the mink” (and who the hell is Jerome?).

CAN I KICK IT – A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Arguably one of the best hip hop groups of the 20^th Century, A Tribe Called Quest managed to encapsulate the warmth and beauty of Lou Reed’s ‘Walkon the Wild Side’, sampling it on their track Can I Kick It. They seamlessly combined it with the grove and rhythm that the band always delivered, with the smooth and flowing sound of Reed’s piece being teamed with the simple yet highly effective beat. In a complete U-turn to Kanye’s choppy and disjointed use of sampling, A Tribe Called Quest blended in ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ to such a degree it sounds as if it were an original element of the song. This track will always remind me of skidding on my kitchen, wearing my bed socks eating a choc-ice; and I’m not entirely sure why.

NEWPRINCE (CROWN ON THE GROUND) - CHILDISH GAMBINO
The slightly more frenzied option on this post, Childish Gambino uses Sleigh Bells’ ‘Crown on the Ground’ to create this loud, bordering on manic and very dance at a house party worthy track. The siren like sound of Sleigh Bells track grant this song an obnoxious and arrogant yet perfect opening, paving the way for Childish Gambino’s (real name Donald Glover) simple yet suave “I do not talk, I am just a rapper” before launching into a mammoth of a song. What’s unusual about this track is that no specific piece of the sampled song is lifted, instead what seems like Childish Gambino pressing play on the YouTube video of Crown on the ground whilst he raps over it. Because of this there are clashes between his and Alexis Krauss’ vocals, resulting in a highly successful and bordering on beautiful track.

PAPER PLANES – M.I.A.
Perhaps the obvious choice when talking about samples used in modern music, M.I.A uses the Clash’s ‘Straight to Hell’ for her most known track, launching her onto endless playlists for parties and being played in Topshop (it’s no surprise the YouTube video has almost 42.5 million views). This track opens with a spirally and glossy sound, reinventing the guitar sounds of The Clash into a far more sleek and modern take - the opening bars of this track are instantly recognisable, even if only yelled by a tipsy 14 year old at a houseparty (“all i wanna do is *gun shot gun shot gun shot gun shot cash register sound*”). The rest of the Clash’s song is ignored, but is also unnecessary, as the few seconds M.I.A does lift are repeated throughout creating the right genre balancing sound that she always toys with, I dare you to find a teenager that hasn't danced profusely to this song – complete with the gun shaped hand gestures – whilst sipping on apple cider.

And the rest:
Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr Dre ~ The Recipe  (sample)
KiD CUDi ~ The Prayer (sample)
Beastie Boys ~ Rhymin and Stealin (sample)
EPMD ~ Strictly Business (sample)
Jay Z and Kanye West ~ Otis (sample)

Murder ballads: 10 fantastic songs about homicide

Murder is something portrayed very frequently in the arts, although probably in literature more often than any of the others. So as you’d imagine, a multitude of artists (generally angst-fuelled alternative rock bands) have written songs about killing and slaying and a whole manner of that sort of thing. For this week’s post, I’ve picked out my favourite songs about the unlawful killing of a person.

Sonic Youth sung about controversial themes regularly in their music.

The Curse of Millhaven – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

A large amount of Nick Cave’s work documents homicide and the like. In fact, the Aussie once released an album on the topic- 1996’s Murder Ballads. The Curse of Millhaven is Cave’s 7 minute long account of the tale of Loretta- a fourteen year old serial killer living in Millhaven, who kills the rich men, the poor men and even the professor’s terrier. Often cited as one of Cave’s finest and most sadistic tracks, The Curse Of Millhaven is a fast paced, yet slightly catchy ballad that cannot be overlooked by anyone.

The sleeve for Death Valley 69

Death Valley ’69 – Sonic Youth

Thurston Moore is a man of many interesting interests and fascinating fascinations, one of which being Charles Manson, and the Manson family. In Sonic Youth’s ’85 debut single, Moore writes about the Manson family’s brutal murder of Sharon Tate, wife of Roman Polanski. As well as Moore’s vicious snarls, the song features Lydia Lunch on backing vocals, whose blood curdling hollering creates a really sinister atmosphere. Although Death Valley ’69 is primitive compared to the group’s later work, it’s a must hear for anyone.

Sister Ray – The Velvet Underground

Although the earlier two songs are an account of unlawful death, the Velvets’ Sister Ray is a stunning depiction of the aftermath of a murder. Lou Reed once described Sister Ray as a story set at a New York house which stars eight different characters. In this, someone is murdered and no one does anything about it because everyone is off their face on smack and/or crack. The song is completely improvised and goes on for a visceral seventeen minutes- each second very necessary.

Rusholme Ruffians - The Smiths
The Smiths have never been afraid to sing about the darker aspects of miserable Manchester, and Rusholme Ruffians. This song is about a stabbing at a county fayre, according to Moz "only adds to the excitement". It's best heard on the Rank live LP, where it's featured in a medley with a cover of Presley's His Latest Flame. The song is also notable for Rourke's fantastic bassline, and Marr's country-inspired guitar playing. Definitely the highlight of the band's second album, Meat Is Murder.

The original artwork for Headache EP; it was swiftly replaced

Grinder – Big Black

Big Black, like Nick Cave, have written a large amount of songs about murder and other aspects of the darker side of American culture (listen to Jordan, Minnesota for more of that), so choosing a Big Black murder ballad was a bit of a toughie. In the end I went for Grinder, from the EP Headache (the EP itself has a mug shot of a shotgun suicide victim as its cover art, post-shooting). In Grinder, the character portrayed by Steve Albini’s snarling vocal is the murderer. Someone takes Albini’s tools, but fails to take his trusty grinder; this causes the murderer to pursue and kill the foolish thief in one of industrial-rock’s greatest songs. Elsewhere on the Headache EP, there are even more songs of a similar ilk, namely the brutal opener, My Disco; a song about a surgeon stamping his new-born to death. Genius.

Somebody Got Murdered – The Clash

An obvious choice, of course, but Somebody Got Murdered is one of the more overlooked Clash songs. Sandinista! was snuffed at by a large percentage of the music press upon release, because apparently 36 is a few too many songs for an album. Even though that might be slightly true, Sandanista! has some absolute crackers on it, namely Shepherd’s Delight, the Magnificent Seven and Somebody Got Murdered. Strummer wrote the latterly mentioned Somebody Got Murdered in disgust, after seeing the victim of a shooting’s carcass gracing the floor of a London car park. Strummer’s lyrics are incredibly powerful; especially “somebody’s dead forever” which once more proves his prowess as a songwriter. 

Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – The Beatles

Now, I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Beatles. However, they did write some fantastic songs, and release some amazing albums. One of those fantastic songs is Maxwell’s Silver Hammer from the amazing Abbey Road. There is some debate over whether the silver hammer of Maxwell is about an actual murder, but personally I believe it is. Some say that it’s about sex, or drugs, or something of a similar ilk. But I believe that the incident in the song alludes to the murder of Joe Orton, the English playwright, who was beaten to death by his (male) lover with nine hammer blows to the head, which is quite the contrast to the upbeat sound of the song, don’t you think?

Let’s Lynch The Landlord – The Dead Kennedys

We’ve already had a song by the greatest punk band of all time on the countdown (The Clash), but the murder mixtape wouldn’t be complete without a song from the greatest post punk band of all time, would it? Let’s Lynch The Landlord is a track from the Dead Kennedys stunning debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables which is much more humorous in joking about the homicide of Biafra’s bastard landlord than the aforementioned songs. Jello Biafra and co, with this song, have written another song about defying those that exploit the proletariats in the most extreme ways, and I have to say, it’s very catchy. Probably more catchy than it should be anyhow.

Liddle Towers

The Murder of Liddle Towers – Angelic Upstarts

In the late seventies, punk bands were popping up here there and everywhere. This was especially the case in London, as the city yielded the Clash, Sham 69 and of course the Angelic Upstarts. The Murder of Liddle Towers is a song based on; you guessed it, the murder of Liddle Towers. Liddle Towers was an amateur boxing coach murdered under police custody the year before AU’s conception.

Wave of Mutilation – Pixies

The Pixies song that lends itself to the name of their greatest hits is also, arguably, the closest thing they ever wrote to a murder ballad. The song is, probably, about a phenomenon in Japan where businessmen would drive their cars into the sea, with their families present. Despite this, it sounds every bit as serene as Where is my Mind? and lacks the ferocity of any of the work that Pixies released prior to Doolittle.

That concludes my somewhat gruesome post, which I probably should have made at Halloween or something, but I thought it might be of some sort of interest to a few people. Also it’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I joined FIBLAR. Anyway, please post anything I’ve missed out in the comments, because I’d be really interested to hear from everyone else.

(written by Calum Cashin)

The 10 Best Album Artworks

The 10 best album artworks (in my opinion)

10) The Velvet Underground & Nico (by The Velvet Underground and Nico) The debut album, released in march 1967, with the iconic Warhol banana on the cover is loved by many people and is memorable for everybody. It has appeared in the Rolling Stone Magazine list at number 13 out of 500. It features the songs 'All Tomorrows Parties' and 'Sunday Morning' and other great songs.




9) Goo (Sonic Youth) The sixth studio album by Sonic Youth released in June 1990, is an illustration of two witnesses of the Moors Murders driving. It is known for the hit 'Kool Thing', 'Dissapearer' and dirty boots. A song I would recommend to check out off this album would be 'Dissappearer'.







8) London Calling (The Clash) The third album released by The Clash in December 1979. The artwork is a picture of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar against the side of the stage at the Palladium in NY after a live performance. The album contains the songs 'London Calling', 'Clampdown' and 'Train In Vain'. My favourite is 'Lost in the Supermarket' because it's the slowest song.





7) The Smiths (The Smiths) The debut album was released in February 1984, has a picture of  American actor Joe Dallesandro's torso- a still from the film Flesh by Andy Warhol. In my opinion, this is the best album by The smiths and it reached no. 2 on the UK album chart in 1984. It contains the songs 'Reel Around The Fountain', 'Pretty Girls Make Graves', 'Hand in Glove' and 'What Difference Does it Make'.






6) Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin) The debut album was released in january 1969. The artwork is an image of the burning hindenburg airship. It is quite an iconic picture and most people would be able to name the album. It contains the song 'Good Times Bad Times / Communication Breakdown, which was also released as a single. My personal favourite off the album is 'Dazed and Confused'

5) News Of The World (Queen) Queen's sixth album, it was released in October 1977 and contained the hits 'We Will Rock You', 'We Are the Champions' and 'Spread Your Wings'. The image used for the artwork is a giant robot holding the dead bodies of the band drawn by sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. The album went 2x platinum in the uk. 'It's late' is also a personal favourite from this album, which was also released as a single.




4)  The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie) The album artwork for this album is Bowie stepping out of a nightclub as his alter ego 'ziggy stardust' who could communicate as a messenger for aliens. It was released in June 1972, reaching number 5 in the british album charts. The songs 'Stardust', 'Rock n Roll Suicide' and 'Suffragette City' are the most notable on the album.




3) Abbey Road (The Beatles) The album was released in september 1969. The artwork is the iconic picture of the beatles crossing Abbey Road on the 8th of August 1969 and has neither a name nor title on the sleeve. Thealbum contains the memorable songs 'Yellow Submarine' and 'Let It Be', a personal favourite is 'Come Together' (how typical of me.)







2) Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album, released in March 1973. The artwork is a spectrum of light passing through a prism and is designed by Hipgnosis, some people say the artwork reflects Syd Barrett's mental state. The album contains the songs 'Money' and 'Time / Us and Them' with my favourite being Breathe, which is slow paced and lush.




1) Nevermind (Nirvana) Nevermind was released in September 1991. The artwork is a baby boy, alone underwater with a US dollar bill on a fish-hook just out of his reach. The idea was conceived when Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl watched a documentary about water births. The album includes the songs 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Lithium' and 'Come as You Are', with my favourite being 'In Bloom'. 


Thanks for reading- Lydia (@itslydiahall)

Politics And Music: Is It Their Job To Sing About It?

Earlier in October, front-man of Swim Deep, Austin Williams, announced that he does not 'need to write about David Cameron or whatever.'

Well does he? Does anyone?

Does any songwriter at all need to step and up and become a voice of protest against what they believe to be the unrepresentative bicameral chambers of parliament that make up Westminster? Does anyone need to tell 'David Cameron or whatever' that they think what he's doing is wrong? Does anybody need to step up and say that they feel that parliament is simply a meeting place for the old Etonian boys to get together and have a jolly good laugh? Or is Austin Williams statement a unifying testament to the politically disillusioned youth of the twenty first century?

There is no simple answer to this question; the oozing blood of music and politics has been entwined throughout all of time and through various cultures.

Folk; Classical; Soul; Punk; National anthems
All of these have political aspects to them.

Classical music began it all.
Beethoven's Symphony No 3, for example, was at first a dedication to Napoleon with it being named 'Bonaparte'.
This was due to Beethoven's admiration for the French Revolution and his belief that Napoleon was the French Revolution's ideals made manifest.
This piece was a celebration of a political ideology.
However after Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor of the French, Beethoven removed the dedication.
The work that was once a celebratory piece of politics quickly twisted back on itself and stood as a protest to the very man it was dedicated to.

Folk music of course encompassed people like Bob Dylan, who, with songs like 'The Times They Are A-Changing', captured the essence of the time and reflected the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement.
This was a song with a message and an intent.
It was directed at the level of government and expressed a desire for them to make a change.
'Come Senators, Congressmen, please heed the call.'
Bob Dylan made an art out of telling people to take a second look at what was right in front of them and seeing what was the right thing to do.

Soul music too has played its part in the course of music and politics.
The soul movement and the Motown record label itself (along with it's subsidiary labels) was a predominantly African American institution and thus was concerned with the issues affecting them.
'Whats Going On', Marvin Gaye's critically acclaimed eleventh studio album, was a concept album dealing with a Vietnam veteran returning to America, only to see nothing but the plagues of injustice and suffering that affected the lives of those he left behind.
This was partially inspired by his own brothers tenure and experiences in Vietnam.
As the song 'Whats Happening Brother' plays back you can almost feel Marvin's own personal involvement in the story.

Music and politics have not just entwined with each other, but collided.
Even in the last ten years we've seen bands such as Enter Shikari and The King Blues be primarily politically motivated.
The Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey have continued relentlessly to keep politics in their music and Pussy Riot have blown everyone else away by sticking two fingers up to fight for what they believe in.

Yet there has been a decline and to me, that is worrying.
The last time music suffered an aura of apathy and dis-concern for the social problems surrounding it, progressive rock was born.
Keytar's swung from the necks of men who shied away from society and all it's discontent through the use of acid and marijuana; the radical bohemian and free spirited vibes of the hippie movement had long since dried up, leaving behind only it's colourful shell which was devoid of all political and moral fibre.

Luckily the youths of the mid 1970's reacted against this and created 'Punk'; whilst the heavily angry guitar driven music wasn't entirely original, (it was clearly influenced by 1960's U.S garage and the works of bands like The New York Dolls), it presented something almost entirely new:

Shock Politics.

Anarchy; radical socialism; radical fascism; racial politics.

All sides of the political spectrum were utilised by elements of the punk movement to create a mirror of society that scared the living daylights out of the establishment.
Whilst i believe that it is saddening and horrifying that political bands were born from this with very strong, racist values in their music, they did play a part in the politics of the music industry and backlash against them from bands like The Clash helped to create events like Rock Against Racism which later evolved into Love Music Hate Racism.

The Clash utilised the same alienation from the political process that many people of our generation feel today.
'I'm So Bored Of The U.S.A.' was a raging, acrimonious all out assault on the Americanisation of cultures across the globe whilst 'White Riot' worked as a call out for the white working class to unite together for a cause worth fighting for as Joe Strummer believed that black people already had done the good thing and united their cause.
The Clash's prolific career comprised of many political and social anthems that fed off the attitudes of the disillusioned youth in a way that I feel our generation too could do.

In my own opinion, music has played such an important role in the shaping of society and the highlight of its ills to make a political point.
Without this, some people would go about their day completely unaware of the suffering that many human beings endure in their life.
The first time I ever thought about a political lyric was when I was sat in my Dad's van listening to a Billy Bragg song;
'Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards'.
It resonated with me, even at that young age, that the world is not fair and the world should be better for everyone.
I'm still waiting for the great leap forwards.

But what's the alternative?
A thousand metaphor strung love songs lining the CD shelves?
Not that there is anything wrong with writing love songs but amongst a large mass of songwriters it appears that love is always the same; unrequited and tragic or good and strong.
Whereas politics always changes; there's always a different point to be made, and no-one has the right to tell you that you're wrong.
That's why I believe that Austin Williams has to sing about politics and discuss David Cameron with his audience.

However that does not mean that I believe that he needs to do it.
Quite the contrary; I believe that Austin can sing about anything he wants.
It's just that artists have to highlight the hypocrisies of the twenty first century.
Artists have to nurture the ability to think within their listeners.
Artists have to tell the government that they are wrong.
Artists have to create music that unites and does not divide.
Artists have to recognise that they're possibly the only people in the position to have such a wide influence over peoples attitudes towards the system.
Artists have to consider inspiration over ignorance.
However when that is all said and done, Austin Williams does not need to write about 'David Cameron and whatever.'
But someone else just has to do it

¬ Connor