Do The Job

I should point out that I have a hidden agenda with regard to this blog post. I won't reveal what that is until the end, because I want you to discover this little bit of magic for yourself. For now, read on, oh faithful blog-reading-person.

There's a band doing the rounds at the moment who've been lauded as 'one to watch' by various people, websites, magazines and dictatorships.

'They' are absolutely right - you should watch out for this band because I think they're going to hit big time.

Stop reading, right now, and watch this:



Good, wasn't it? That, my pretend friends, was Baddies and they, if I may use a common parlance much beloved by Essex folk and @lebrini (who, it appears, is now my literary agent) are "the shit".

Formed in 2007, Baddies have been variously described as an amalgam of (deep breath) Talking Heads, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, Kaiser Chiefs, Queens of the Stone Age, Rocket from the Crypt, The Futureheads, and so many others that it would bore me to type their names.

Suffice to say, Baddies are pretty damn good.

I saw them live in Southend and, to be absolutely honest, didn't enjoy the gig hugely. I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to live music: I like to hear an album first, grow to love the songs, and then whoop like a chimpanzee when I hear those same songs performed live. With Baddies it was the other way round - I heard them live, couldn't make much sense of it, and walked away none the wiser.

However, they have now released their first album entitled 'Do The Job'. The title is a reference to the absolutely superb film 'Sexy Beast' starring Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley (in a career topping performance as Don Logan).

For me, their status was cemented in my mind when I was able to find a pre-release version of their album on a warez site, for illegal download. When you hit the illegal download sites, you've arrived. Being a man of strong ethics and robust moral fibre, I immediately procured it and threw it on my MP3 player.

Christ above, what an album.

Let me present another track for you so you can judge for yourself how amazing it is:



That's my favourite track. Amazing, eh?

Baddies were originally a group of guys working for E-On, the power company. This led to a tongue-in-cheek nickname of The Kings Of E-On but, mercifully, it was nothing more than an in-joke and they persevered with their current nomenclature.

Once the album was released, I purchased a legitimate copy and it's barely been out of my CD player since.

I'm not an expert on music. I can't wax lyrical about a particular track and name its influences. Fuck, I can't even think of appropriate musical terms to use. All I can say is, as someone who just likes music and doesn't give a rat's anus where it came from, this album is fucking magic.

One more track before I finish:



Amazing. I love these guys, and I love the fact they had the balls to give up their jobs, pool their resources and go on tour, trying desperately to break through against the odds and be something a bit special. I wish I had their cajones.

If you enjoy reading my blog posts and appreciate my pointless ranting, please do me one favour in return: gather together £8 and buy the Baddies album. I regard it as an investment. You will gain more than £8 worth of pleasure in the repeated listenings you will undoubtedly enjoy.

Oh, and to clarify my hidden agenda, I used to work with and share a flat with the bass player, Danny Rowton. He's a great bloke (I, sadly, was a shit flatmate and we lost contact for a while - entirely my fault because I'm a huge cock-monkey and degenerate loser) and I really am extraordinarily proud of what he's achieved. This motherfucker has worked hard for his music and it's so good to see him getting some success.

Good luck Danny. Good luck Baddies.

And as for the rest of you - "you're just going to have to turn this opportunity yes". Buy the album. Do the job.