Howdy! For those who don't know/remember me,I'm a pretty average 17year old(how I do sell myself)fro...
Howdy! For those who don't know/remember me,I'm a pretty average 17year old(how I do sell myself)from Newcastle with an uncharacteristic passion for writing and reviewing...that kind of malarkey.I'm on here on/off throughout the ages.
Member since:12.09.2002
Reviews:37
Members who trust:30
The Streets – Original Pirate Material appeared suddenly in the world of music but instantly received critical acclaim. I myself discovered through one of my older brothers (which is actually how I find a lot of music) but it was mainly because he put ‘Has It Come To This?’ on the MP3 player for Grand Theft Auto 3. I was quickly impressed and soon got my hands on the fill album. At first only a few things stuck out to me, but as I continued to listen, and began to figure the lyrics it really struck a chord with me and it’s mean one of my favourite albums since. This is a common comment on the album from lots of people.
If you’re reading this and know little or nothing about the Streets here is some background information. The Streets is actually just one bloke, Mike Skinner, who is actually a Brummie but uses a cockney-like accent when ‘singing’ his songs – something that may take a little while to get used to but initially works very well. Any other voices you may hear in the tracks are really just Mike’s mates, and the tunes etc. are all just samples or stuff Mike has made himself, which makes it all the more impressive. Really, the name ‘The Streets’ sounds pretty boring and unoriginal – a band name you would expect would already have been used, along with The Byrds, The Doors, The Floors, The Walls, The Ceilings etc. However, The Streets is actually an appropriate name – it says everything about the music.
The album could be put in a variety of genres, but is most commonly fitted in Dance or UK Garage. It also has quite a modern, urban feel to it (another reason why the accent works well)
The songs are all about the ‘day in the life of a geezer’ (to quote one of the songs), basically talking about dugs, alcohol, computer games, fights and women (or birds), amongst other (less important) things…
----- Album Art ----- The front cover of Original Pirate Material says a lot about what can be in the album – urban music. It shows the top of a London block of flats - which actually exist (as pointed out by my student brother – his flat is near them). It makes quite an original cover, too. On the inside of the covers, all that can be found on the few pages are photos of Mike Skinner (who is a young geezer by the looks of things) doing stuff like drinking beer, buying mars bars and using his phone – presumably all factors of a day in the life of a geezer. There is also a brief mention to all who have helped Mike make the album a
reality.
----- Track Listing + Info -----
Here’s a track list, with all fourteen songs, the name, track length, my star rating (out of five) and a bit of info behind them. Enjoy…
1. Turn The Page – 3:15 - ***** This song is, to say the least, a fantastic opening to a fantastic album. With it’s rising notes, stringed instruments, and Mike Skinner singing/talking lines such as ‘We sing, hear the strings rising The war's over, the bells ring, Memories fading, soldiers slaying’ it’s actually quite a good feel-good song (in ways). However, perhaps most importantly is it’s position as an opening track; and introduction, and how it sets the scene for the rest of the album. Fantastic stuff.
2. Has it come to this? – 4:04 - ***** Now we’re getting into the album. This is a song you’ll have no doubt heard before – it was something of a hit when released, and is in ways the title track of the album, what with ;Original Pirate Material’ being some of the lyrics (some people actually think that that’s the song title. With it’s repeated piano sample, and excellent lyrics, it seems to be the perfect urban track, and it is indeed an excellent song to listen to while driving around some rough suburb of a big city. It also features the immortal line ‘You’re listening to The Streets – lock down your aerial’. A brilliant song.
3. Let’s Push Things Forward – 3:51 - **** This is widely considered to be the best song on the album – I disagree. It’s a good song. But it doesn’t seem to have much soul (even if that does sound stupid). I also think the repeated organ kind of instrument is actually rather annoying. The lyrics are OK though. Not necessarily a bad song, (it’s definitely listenable) there’s just better stuff on the album.
4. Sharp Darts – 1:33 – *** Another fairly average song. It seems to act as a sort of buffer song – just filling in space between two songs. I’m not a big fan of it, and it certainly doesn’t have much going for it. Still, there’s nothing I can do about it.
5. Same Old Thing – 3:21 - **** A bit of an underrated gem is this one, in my opinion. I like the lyrics, and I also like the stringed instrument sample in the background. Perhaps one of the most intriguing lyrics is ‘Apparently there’s a whole world out there – I just don’t see it.’ Another example of how Original Pirate Material reflects the lives of today’s youths and students can be found in the line ‘Who's round is it? Down that beer quick smash my glass back down fall over the table All rowdy and p****d Seems the only difference between mid week s*** and weekend is how loud I speak And whether I try to pull a girlfriend’. Well, at least I think so. A great song.
6. Geezer’s Need Excitement – 3:46 - **** Yet another example of how the album reflects the lives of today’s youths. It talks of the life in clubs, take-away shops, and in fights. In fact this can be seen very near the start of the song in the line ‘Out the club about three, to the take-away The s***-in-a-tray merchants, shops got special perchant for the disorderly’. Mike Skinner seems to be talking to one of those drunken louts, telling him not to start a fight, don’t listen to the voices, control yourself. Something quite a few people could do with being told, really. Though the strongest, most significant line has to be ‘Geezer’s need excitement – if their lives don’t provide them this they incite violence – common sense, simple common sense’.
7. It’s Too Late – 4:10 - ***** This song is, in my own opinion, the best on the album. It shows the serious side of Mike Skinner, and tells the tale of how his girlfriend repeatedly threatened that if he continued to be late she would walk away – and in the end she does. The song has some of the strongest, most powerful lyrics on the album, from the simple ‘I didn’t know it was over, till it was too late, but if I ever needed you, would you be there?’ to ‘She said meet me at the gates Don't be late, but pretty soon the day came for change And I was glad she never walked away’. But perhaps the best bit is when suddenly the tone of the song changes to sadness and the line ‘I said meet me at the gates Leave now don't be late I waited for a while listening to her voicemail, mind set sail Then the facts turned me pale, wind rain and hail My fears unveiled, for my fair female, She'd walked away, too little too late’. If you’ve never heard the song, you won’t really to be able to appreciate what I’m saying, but never mind.
8. Too Much Brandy – 3:02 - *** Another song all about the urban life of youths. It talks of drugs, alcohol, clubs, drug dealers, etc. – you catch my drift. Not the nice things that are around these days (nice things?!). In fact, one of the lines states ‘I'm well within my limit, oh hang on a minute, these mushrooms just kicked in, think I might be finished’. So there you know that even Mike Skinner must do illegal drugs from time to time (though that’s not really surprising). A relatively good song,. though not one with much significance.
9. Don’t Mug Yourself – 2:39 - ***** This song is brilliant in a different way to the others, mainly in that it’s basically Mike Skinner and his mates rambling about a girl one of them met on a night out. It’s fast paced and short, if not a little bizarre. The lyrics all seem to revolve around the chorus (sung by quite a few random blokes) ‘Hold it down boy, your hairs getting blurred I know you cant stop thinking of her By all means you can vibe with this girl But just don't mug yourself, that’s all don't mug yourself!’. It then finishes with a completely weird ending, but I’m not going to spoil things for you…
10. Who Got The Funk? – 1:50 - *** A bit of a weird and pointless song, that doesn’t really go anywhere, and is other before you know it. The background sample is annoying as well.
11. The Irony of It All – 3:29 - ***** This song is actually something of comic genius. The actual irony of it all is in the lyrics, sung by ‘two different people’. One of them is a drunken lout who claims he’s a law abider, and only likes drinking people and being in fights. The other is a drug addict, who is actually incredibly intelligent, and says that people who smoke weed are actually innocent and not doing anything wrong, and being treated as criminals. Mike Skinner is certainly hinting at something, such as druggies are really innocent? Well, figure it out yourself. It’s also quite funny to listen to. What with the drunkards lines of ‘So I smacked him in the head and downed another Carling - Bada Bada Bing for the lad's night.’ and ‘Public disorder, I'll give you public disorder. I down eight pints and run all over the place’. And then the drug addicts lines of ‘In the eyes of society I need to be in jail For the choice of herbs I inhale.’, ‘Home made bongs using my engineering degree Dear Leaders, please legalise weed for these reasons’ and finally ‘As I was saying, we're friendly peaceful people We're not the ones out there causing trouble.’ It’s a great song that holds a certain significance.
12. Weak Become Heroes – 5:33 - ***** One of the longest tracks on the album, and certainly one of the best. It has a great atmosphere, with a good feeling, but works as a dance song as well. It also has a nice piano sample in the background. It talks about going to parties and generally the life of geezer like Mike Skinner. But then near the end of the song the tone changes, five years have past and his life has changed, possibly for the better ‘It's dark all round I walk down same sight same sounds new beats though Solid concrete under my feet No surprises no treats the world stands still as my mind sloshes round The washing up bowl in my crown My life's been up and down since I walked from that crowd.’ A fantastic song with a real feeling.
13. Who Dares Wins – 0:34 - *** This song may be short, but it does sound good. However, it’s main point is an introduction to the final track on the album, and the switch between to two songs may be fairly sudden but works very well.
14. Stay Positive – 6:16 - **** Once again Mike Skinner goes serious, and once again it works very well. It takes the role of someone who is seriously considering giving up on life, but he has to stay positive. It also works very well as a finishing track to the album, and seems to summarise the entire album too, as well as show the real side of life today. A fantastic finish to a superb album.
---- Conclusion --- Original Pirate Material is a fantastic piece. It’s something I think anyone between the ages of fourteen to twenty-something can relate too, putting all the feelings and emotions of today’s UK urban youth into lyrics. Another that helps people relate to Mike Skinner is the fact that he is really just a normal bloke, living a normal life – people understand him. He tells it how it is.
This has been an ambitious album but has worked well – I don’t think there’s a single song on the album most young people can’t relate too. Mike Skinner should be proud of his achievements, and let’s hope there’s another album on it’s way soon.
What the critics say: ‘A punchy, surging monster of an album’ The Face
‘You’re listening to the future. 5/5’. Jockey Slut
‘Everyone knows the future of dance music always comes from the streets. Now the future of dance music is The Streets. A major new talent has arrived.’
Official Website: http://www.the-streets.co.uk
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Great review, it covers all the things I want to know and a little more too! I haven't heard the album yet but it's deffinately an album I plan on listening to in the near future. x
LBuSBu1 15.07.2003 21:16
Hi. I thought there were some weak tracks on this album when listening to it but I have to say that I really do like 'It's too late' and 'Turn the Page'. Ace music. A well-written and interesting op. Take care, love, Stace.x
In a thrilling UK Garage scene, blighted only by a reliance on drippy soul cliché and ... more
tiresome braggadocio, The Streets' eminently quotable Mike Skinner may just be the voice to take it to the next level with Original Pirate Material. This debut is a s...
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Apr 6th, 2003
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