Griffin It! The Asian Spring
Right now on the Korean peninsula, there is just the slightest hint of spring in the air. A hint that will no doubt have me make the schoolboy error to leave my winter coat at home, inevitably bringing forth a barrage of expletives later in the day when I’m freezing my crown jewels off.
The missus is current overseas on business, so I thought I’d earn some credit and give the house an early spring clean, something that I now acknowledge as an unacceptable waste of a ‘free’ weekend. That said, as with so many labours in life, the task was made a lot more bearable through music. I find a decent soundtrack to your spring clean helps no end.
This week, then, I’m going to suggest some tunes that have a (tenuous) link to the odious chore of housework, either by song title, artist, label or country of origin. For the most part, I’ve tried to keep the playlist’s tempo upbeat (in some cases upwards of 140bpm!), in order to ensure you get the job done in the quickest time possible…so that (unlike me) you can get down the pub.
Here goes.
1. Travel – Bulgarian (Signum remix) released on Tidy Trax
Step one: tidy up! The Tidy Trax label has been one of the big boys of the trance/hard house scene from the beginning and their Tidy Weekender parties are the stuff of legend amongst the bangin’ brigade. Hard house is really not my bag these days, so I had to search a bit for something digestible, and this is it. High bpm here to get you started on the right foot!
2. Masters at Work – Work (Original Mix)
This sexual innuendo-laden jackin’ house track by legends Masters at Work is sure to keep those energy levels up. As vocalist Wadu says, “Get your big broomstick, you got to brush it hard”! Wise words. And make sure you get into all the, um, cracks.
3. Bad Company – Planet Dust
Keeping up the tempo here with veteran Drum ‘n’ Bass heavyweights Bad Company’s Planet Dust. Yes, I could’ve gone with, amongst others, The Dust Brothers (later to become the Chemical Brothers), but this track is diiiirrrty! When cleaning you want to rid your pad of the grime, so this should help. Be patient and wait for the filth to kick in around the 1:30 mark. Rotten.
4. Floating Points – Vacuum Boogie
Alright, so you got your initial dusting done (top to bottom, of course), and it’s time to vacuum that stuff up. You’ve been at it a while, though, so let’s bring down the tempo while you have a sustaining cup of tea before getting the Dyson out. This little dose of deepness was released on the UK’s Eglo Records label by Dr. Sam Shepherd, who is a neuroscientist by day. Now you know.
5. Daab – Ogrodu serce (Polish reggae band)
Polish, geddit? Ha! You’re almost there. All you need now is a quick shine (behave!), so let’s reduce that tempo somewhat. This outfit from Poland are one of the biggest names in the country’s surprisingly big reggae scene. Check out the extensive playlist on YouTube. It’s not too bad at all.
Congratulations. House clean. Maybe you’re feeling a little mucky yourself, though, so take a shower and in no time at all you’ll be feeling…
Outkast – So Fresh, So Clean
The Guest Room 