Tracklist:
Jesse’s Gang – ‘Real Love’ – Geffen
Jodie ‘Fingers’ Finch – ‘Jack Your Big Booty (BHQ No Acid mix)’ – Lets Pet Puppies
Terre Thaemlitz – ‘Masturjakor (Kink and Neville Watson remix)’ – Mule Musiq
Green Velvet feat. Kid Sister – ‘Everybody Wants’ – Relief Records
Ike – ‘Dizkadenz’ – Philpot Records
KZA – ‘On&On&On’ – Endless Flight
King Cosmic – ‘Freaky Queen (Paul Hardy remix)’ – Hot Milk
Basic Soul Unit – ‘Hope Unity Vision’ – New Kanada
Kink – ‘Psyche Funk’ – Kolour Recordings
Quince – ‘Electric’ – Delsin Records
Rebolledo – ‘Guerrero’ – Comeme Records
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – ‘Don’t Think Twice (Love)’ – Paw Tracks

Hi there. How’s things? You well? Healthy? Happy?

It’s been a long time since any of us rapped at ya (to paraphrase Jim Anchower) but we’ve been more or less hard at work on some brand new music. Seems to be going pretty well at present, although no-one’s yet learned how to play the cuica we impulse-bought at the beginning of the year. We’ve tried everything; licking fingers, not licking fingers, all manner of damp cloths, and still we’re can’t coax the faintest hint of an hyperventilating chimp sound out of it. I’d say right now its sounding half loud, percussive and frenetic, half thoughtful, soft and poignant. Nice to have a bit of light and shade in your life. Anyway we’re gonna keep cracking on with that, and I’m sure you’ll hear some of it at a point between now and the end of time.

It may not have escaped your attention that we’ve been nominated for 2 Brit Awards. That’s surely pretty good going, so well done us. Sadly, we’re not going to be at Awards because we’ll be busy topping up our heatstroke and falling asleep in the middle of the day in Australia. If we win we’ll have to send over one of those excrutiating videos where the singer stumbles over his words of thanks while the rest of the band stand behind him in sunglasses nodding. Before we get to that awkward rite of rock band passage, we have to win one...

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Example, Wurzels, Pete And The Pirates added to line-up

-- The Seattle post-hardcore band These Arms Are Snakes have announced that they're calling it quits. In a statement, they thank pretty much anyone who has ever had anything to do with the band, including those who "made us pay shitloads of money to get off your punk label".

-- The BBC reports that former Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook is opening a new nightclub in Manchester called FAC251: The Factory. It will occupy the same space that once held Factory Records' offices. The club will open on January 29 with Hook performing songs from throughout his career. Hook recently published a salacious book about the legendarily hedonistic (and now defunct) Manchester club the Hacienda.

-- On February 9 in the U.S. (February 8 in the UK), XL will release I'm New Here, the new album from the pioneering spoken word artist Gil Scott-Heron. This will be Scott-Heron's first album in 13 years. It includes a cover of Smog's "I'm New Here".

-- April 5-10, the dance-heavy Snowbombing Festival will come to Mayrhofen, Austria. The bill includes Fatboy Slim, De La Soul, Editors, Doves, 2 Many DJs, Wild Beasts, Friendly Fires, Vitalic, Crookers, Skream, Benga, and Kris Menace.

Rob – official band photographer/bassist/percussionist/all round good guy took lots of photos while we were on tour in North American in December….. they’re all up on our photo page.

How are you going to celebrate the end of the first decade of the 21st century? Are you going to stay in listening to Kid A or Merriweather Post Pavilion? Are you going to play Wii while Gmail chatting on your iPhone with your Facebook friends about a Tweet you saw about how some new album leaked on BitTorrent? Or are you going to get out there and see some live music?

Here's a handy city-by-city guide to what's happening on December 31, as the aughties (noughties?) become the tens (teens?) Obviously, this list is far from comprehensive, so check your local listings.

CHICAGO, IL

The Jesus Lizard, Disappears - Metro
Jens Lekman, Air France (DJ set) - Empty Bottle
The Fiery Furnaces, Cryptacize - Lincoln Hall
Girl Talk - Congress Theater
Crystal Castles, Pretty Good Dance Moves - Logan Square Auditorium
The Black Keys, Kurt Vile & the Violators - The Riviera
Local H, Electric Six, White Mystery - Double Door
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Wild Sweet Orange - Subterranean
Pegboy - Beat Kitchen
BBU - Darkroom
Mark Ronson, the Drums, Airborne Toxic Event, the Virgins - River East Art Center
Bobby Bare Jr., David Vandervelde - Schubas
The Hood Internet, Bald Eagle - Smart Bar
Spires That in the Sunset Rise - Reversible Eye
Ssion - Berlin
Supersuckers - Reggie's Music Joint
Tight Phantomz, White Savage...

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As part of an effort to make our website slightly less shit, we’ve added a mixes area which we’ll keep semi-regularly updated with mixes of music we like. There’s some good stuff to be getting on with on there, but you wait till my ’94-‘96 golden era jungle mix drops. The internet will melt.

If you are the composer or publisher or label owner of any of the music we use, please know that we do this as a gesture of love for the music, but if you want anything taken down we will comply with heavy but contrite hearts.

Jack

This is a mix I made to listen to while visiting the gym. Now you too can enjoy my musical gateway to weight-loss, fitness and the toned abs, thighs and buns of your wildest dreams.

The mix begins with an Ivor Cutler song, during which you should do your stretches, paying special attention to those areas that will be under stress during your exercises. Now would also be a good time to take on fluids to avoid overheating. As the dOP remix of Teddy’s Back fades ease gently into your fitness regime. By the time the singer sings his falsetto ‘lost in the Berghaim’ you should be at 100% effort. I have sequenced and mixed the music to progressively get more boshing to motivate the gym-goer as fatigue sets in. When you hear Ivor Cutler singing a second song it is time to stop exercising and get a drink of water, as the main part of the session is over. If there is a sauna in your gym, you would be wise to use it while you listen to Jon Hopkins’ remix of James Yorkston to clean the pores and settle the mind. When the mix is over you may go home.

Friendly Fires exempts itself from any liability for injury or death while listening to the mix. Not for those who are pregnant or suffer heart disorders. Users experiencing chest pains should...

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Here’s a minimix I (Jack) did for Annie Mac’s Mash-Up show on Radio 1. Its not as good as the amazing ones that have a proper theme, and use about 20 billion songs, but it seems to work musically, just about. If there must be a theme, it is ‘Some Songs That I Like With A Disproportionately Heavy Weighting Towards The Warp Classics Compilation (Which Is Without Any Shadow Of A Doubt my Favourite Compilation Ever, And Bears Much Of The Responsibility For My Being Into House Music)’

Riley Reinhold & Remute ‘Jah Wobble’
Inner City ‘Good Life (Carl Craig mix)’
Liquid Liquid ‘Bellhead’
Friendly Fires ‘Jump In The Pool’
Liquid Liquid ‘Optimo’
Nightmares on Wax ‘Aftermath’
Public Enemy ‘She Watch Channel Zero!?’
LFO ‘LFO’
Adonis ‘No Way Back’
Sweet Excorcist ‘Testfour’
Cajmere ‘Percolater’
Nightmares On Wax ‘I’m For Real’
Charles B & Adonis ‘Lack Of Love’
Alec Wizz ‘Drummin’
Paul Johnson ‘Just Dance’
Wee Papa Girl Rappers ‘Heat It Up’
Phuture ‘Acid Tracks’
Hardrive ‘Deep Inside’
Zed Bias ‘Neighbourhood’
Sweet Excorcist ‘Testone’
Laidback ‘White Horse’
George Morel ‘Let’s Groove’
Kate Bush ‘Running Up That Hill’
Egyptian Lover ‘Freakaholic’
Cajmere ‘Say U Will’
Daft Punk ‘Revolution 909’

Deep inside the bowel of house

Jack Savidge