The Streets - Computers And Blues

Computers And Blues was, sadly, the final record by The Streets. For me, Streets records tend to follow a fairly defined pattern of progression. After the almost ethereal chill out of Everything Is Borrowed, Computers And Blues seems like a bit of a step backwards (only in the order of how things unfolded, not in quality). This final release feels to me like it should have come out between A Grand... and The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.

It is the only Streets record not to be pressed on vinyl. It is also the only Streets album that doesn't jump out at me with some sort of over-arching theme. In that way alone, it is entirely unique in the group's discography, and perhaps this was something that Mike Skinner wanted to have a go at before putting the group to bed? Who knows, I'm just rambling here. Anyways, there are some fantastic songs here. The first four are absolutely solid. The opener, "Outside Inside" is amazing, and the following track, "Going Through Hell", should have been the lead single, in my opinion. Further along the tracklisting, "Blip On A Screen" is Mike rapping for his unborn son, which is actually kinda nice. "OMG" is a bit weak, being essentially about Facebook, but is an interesting concept and has a happy ending (although not the Thai massage kind).

I think it would have been much more mysterious and even mature to end The Streets legacy with the introspective Everything Is Borrowed, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a mega-solid British record, which falls lazily somewhere between indie and hip hop.

The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free

Widely known to have been the album that propelled Mike Skinner’s The Streets project to international recognition, spawning two charting singles (one of which went to number 1 in the UK); the group’s sophomore effort is a concept album based around a few weeks/months in the life of Mike. A day in the life of a geezer, finally recognised as a full blown record. A Grand Don’t Come For Free is one big story, each track crucial to the development of the plot, something which I don’t think most people who have heard “Fit But You Know It” or “Dry Your Eyes” are aware of.

Basically, Mike’s life is going down the shitter. He’s lost a grand’s worth of savings, and things are a mess, but then he meets this total cutie called Simone and over the course of the album, falls in love with her whilst speculating continuously which of his “mates” stole his money. In a twist, Simone turns out to be a bit of a bitch and kicks him out, causing Mike to contemplate cheating on her whilst on a boys holiday in the sun, but when he gets back there’s another twist when Scott reveals that she’s been cheating on him all along with Mike’s pal Dan. Shit, what a drama. The album then presents two separate endings, one of Mike smoking heroin and drinking super Tenants, or one of Scott fixing Mike’s TV, finding an envelope equating to £1000 cash which had fallen down the back of the broken unit. The end.

It’s all a bit daft, but I think what it originally tried to achieve was to expand on the goal of Original Pirate Material, presenting real life “street level” goings on through the medium of garage and hip hop, instead of promoting an unrealistic façade of wealth and excess, which you have to admit a lot of rap music does.

Probably the first Lines In Wax post to feature a UK top 40 number 1 hit. Give it a go. It’s nice like, innit.

The Streets - Original Pirate Material

This is one of my all time favourite albums. In fact, there's a few Streets records in my all time favourites, but this one has got to be the best, IMO. In my youth I found The Streets' quirky raps about everyday life rather amusing, and in my maturity (err... LOL) I have discovered whole new deeper social commentaries within them, as well as a greater, more profound love for the instrumentation itself.

Mike Skinner signed to Locked On and started this debut off the success of "Has It Come To This?", which I believe the label released before commissioning an album, but I could be wrong. It's rare that UK garage or jungle stuff bridges into the UK charts or into the worldwide hip hop environs, so I think a lot of people were surprised with the initial success of this record back on it's release - especially considering it doesn't fall into the usual trappings of rap subject matter.  

"Turn The Page" is one of the best intro songs ever - a 3 minute or so constant flow of epic lyrical prose. "Don't Mug Yourself" is the daft as fuck lead single, "Too Much Brandy" is a brilliant ode to overdoing it on the substances, "The Irony Of It All" (a parody on the prohibition of cannabis) is still one of my favourite songs of all time and "Let's Push Things Forward" is a profound message on the state of the music industry as a whole. To top it off, there's my favourite song, "Same Old Thing", which is about the monotony of everyday life. There's only one iffy track, "It's Too Late", which is a bit lovey-dovey, but other than that every single last track is absolute solid, even the instrumental break. 

Hard to beat, Original Pirate Material is an absolute gem. Easily one of the best rap records of all time, if not one of the best records of all time, regardless of genre. Give it a goose.