"Music is bigger than words and wider than pictures." The most powerful set of words put to ominous, soothing static before the gentile rolling bass sets in.
Oh Mogwai, how I love thee. Let me count the ways...
Having recently purchased Young Team, Mogwai's debut album, in it's repackaged 10th anniversary edition, I felt it necessary to remind myself why Mogwai - of all the post rock options out there - seem to have such an effect on me. Travelling back from Tunbridge Wells to Archway, Young Team soundtracks the journey. Every rubble strewn garden, each smoke chimney stack spouting out billious white clouds, masquerading as cumulus, each wandering soul following their own path - it's all filtered through Mogwai's anti-melodies (melodies which don't seem melodic, but rather rhythmic and elemental rather than harmonic and emotional) and heart-stopping, thunderous dynamics. Like Herod, for instance, scares the shit out of me.
My first experience of Mogwai was a chance purchase of Come On Die Young. The first track, Punk Rock, is one of the most thrilling, brooding and intense openers to any album. Iggy Pop's fascinating monologue about the violence and freedom of his music running counterpoint to a carefully plucked arpeggio ringing throughout, it's truly one of my favourite pieces of music.
Mogwai are a constant - they don't need to reinvent or innovate - they simply exist and seethe. Their first four records are sublime, with Rock Action and Happy Songs For Happy People all containing highlights. Mr Beast is certainly a great record too, but at this point they've said all they've needed to say - now they are simply satellites orbiting around a sphere they helped create with chunks of their creativity, and consistently threaten to tear away from the gravitational pull.
Here's an example of why Mogwai should never go unheard.
If you haven't fallen in love with this, maybe music isn't your thing.
A 10 track mixtape, which will accompany all bands who have more than one album release.
Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/user/artbaretta/playlist/2zxpX4XLr2Ojq9AHsp6Kah
1) Punk Rock (from Come On Die Young)
2) Like Herod (from Young Team)
3) Killing All the Flies (from Happy Songs For Happy People)
4) We're No Here (from Mr Beast)
5) Sine Wave (from Rock Action)
6) You Don't Know Jesus (from Rock Action)
7) My Father The King (from My Father The King single)
8) Helicon 2 (Max Tundra Remix) (from Kicking A Dead Pig: Mogwai Songs Remixed)
9) Kappa (from Come On Die Young)
10) Mogwai Fear Satan (from Young Team)
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Monday, 29 December 2008
Band of the Day - 01: Foot Village
Hello. Because every blog does it, I'm doing it too. I'm choosing a band a day every day, per day. Because I can. Also because I want to show how much I give a shit about trends, hype and looking for the NEXT BIG THING, each band will be what I want to talk about, whether they're new in 2009 or were new in 1934. I don't care.
Anyway, one of my favourite singles of 2008 was Clubtraxxx by Foot Village. (Go dig up the Artrocker copy with it in - it's clearly the best single review of the year). Can you see why I love them so?
Anyway, one of my favourite singles of 2008 was Clubtraxxx by Foot Village. (Go dig up the Artrocker copy with it in - it's clearly the best single review of the year). Can you see why I love them so?
Rants In D Minor
Musical movements Brad doesn't understand:
1) Dubstep
Isn't this just garage and two-step in a headon collision with grime? Perhaps one of the least exciting genres of dance music ever.
2) The New Eccentrics
The new No Name?
3) Darkwave
BOTH versions of it. There has been little good music from the current trend for wearing black and making a boring, droney racquet. Go listen to Earth or Sunno))) you fucking bores.
4) Anti-Folk
But...you sound like folk to me!
1) Dubstep
Isn't this just garage and two-step in a headon collision with grime? Perhaps one of the least exciting genres of dance music ever.
2) The New Eccentrics
The new No Name?
3) Darkwave
BOTH versions of it. There has been little good music from the current trend for wearing black and making a boring, droney racquet. Go listen to Earth or Sunno))) you fucking bores.
4) Anti-Folk
But...you sound like folk to me!
Monday, 22 December 2008
My End-Of-Year In Lists
From the snappy, clever, witty Los Campesinos! related title to the final, award winning (I gave it to myself, alright?) sentence at the end, this is clearly going to be the most important thing you'll read all year.
First I'd like to take time out to reassure you that this will NOT be my Top billion albums of 2008. For that go to www.myspace.com/playmusicpickup to see my Top 5's. What it wil be though is a list, in no particular order, of the albums that got little or no attention whatsoever. Knicked wholesale from Drowned In Sound, my list is different to theirs, just so no one notices. Oops.
School of Seven Bells - Alpinism
Cursed with the late-in-the-year (better than being Late Of The Pier - arf) syndrome, this glorious shoegaze scenic-scope debut - featuring an ex member of the godawful Secret Machines - is actually one of the best things I've heard in ages. Painted with the scrapings of Alpine air, it feels as if it's floating above and beyond most people's pop horizons. Forget MGMT (if you can stop being reminded about them every ten seconds by EVERY list this year), this was the soaring pop gem of 2008.
The Chap - Mega Breakfast
Making as much sense as trying to literally split hairs, The Chaps electronic-leaning hyper-eclectic blend is both fascinating and hilarious. Taking themselves seriously about a tenth of an iota, this playful, explosive and innovative record shouldn't be ignored. This band has been around for ages, and this record represents the point where they became an extremely engaging concern for the UK.
Shield Your Eyes - Shield Your Eyes
Seriously, I've been banging on about these lot for an age. Why? Because I adore Meet Me In St Louis, one of the saddest losses of the year. Still, never mind because Toby found himself with long-term musician buddy Stef and formed one of the most violently surprising prospects I've seen in ages. Their album was recorded live, in a circle with mics dangling from the ceiling. Stef practically tore his guitar apart playing the songs - bending the neck, tearing strings off, detuning, his rapid-fire Rory Gallagher-inspired blues-esque attack laden with extreme pinch harmonics and off key chords. His rough vocals leave room for Toby's effortless delivery. THe whole package - octopus percussion, dramatic bass riffs - all feel like the collapse of sanity, yet represent heartbreak, love and an enormous amount of passion. It needs to be channelled through many, many ears.
Rings - Black Habit
A feminist boxing glove of an album, its occasionally improvised nature means tunes dwindle and skate around the outside of accepted harmony - which is naturally a very good thing. Speaking of natural, it all feels like the whole album flows even in the face of musical obstacles. It's a flood that threatens to rise and rise until you're engulfed. You soon are, and there's little you can do but get carried away.
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton
Perhaps more well known than the others above due to the band's association with The Smell - and by extention, No Age, HEALTH and Mika Miko - yet no one bothered to point out that its wild experiments within a strangely tropical wasteland was an overwhelmingly positive thing in 2008. It could be compared to another inescapable record (Vampire Weekend's debut) yet, ambiguously, it's so far removed in approach, ambition and vibe that they may aswell be alien languages in comparison to each other. This, as you may well know, is a VERY good thing, regardless if you like VW or not.
Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song
Criminally demolished by critics, these people just aren't listening with their hearts. I find it hard to abandon my emotions when indulging in music, so it's obvious that Frank's passionate, poignant and amusing tales of excess, heartbreak and life would hit a resonating key. Yes, his lyrics are skillfully moulded pottery with ornate artwork carefully painted upon them within a ramshackle house of rock, but that house is a fun, melodic and vibrant place. Mandolins, timpani and fiddles give streaks of colour to solid songwriting that should capture the hearts and minds of anyone who's ever had any experience of life, good or bad.
These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid
So it took six months to get it into this journo's stubborn skull that this band have produced one of the most exciting debuts in recent times, but I got there. It's the brutality of simplicity. Drums are singular, purposeful thuds; electronics are subtle or seething; samples are blaring urban mayhem; guitars are stuttery, post-punk bleakness - and the vocals. The vocals are strident, walking tall amongst a clutter of menacing shadows - it's a young man walking down an alley spitting out the most insane couplets to all and sundry, DARING them to challenge him. Brave bold and boastful, it's worth it's entire weight in soul.
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You
While I could never claim to be a wild fan of post-rock, I definitely adore certain records. This one has yet to settle into my mind yet it's beauty, severeness and boiling fury hasn't passed me by. It's an album where the sounds of the universe turning are more important than the microcosm of Earth. It resonates frighteningly with each listen and, like Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and Do Make Say Think before them, there's no doubt that instrumental music speaks volumes to those attuned to it.
I defy you not to love these records. They are just as worthy of being in any Top 10 records of 2008, but they are, by and large, not. Not even my own, and I feel ashamed of that. Actually, SYE is, but I've only just discovered School of Seven Bells and the others lit up my year more than most records. Notable mentions to Gang Gang Dance, Autechre and about twenty other incredible records. This may need updating tomorrow.
First I'd like to take time out to reassure you that this will NOT be my Top billion albums of 2008. For that go to www.myspace.com/playmusicpickup to see my Top 5's. What it wil be though is a list, in no particular order, of the albums that got little or no attention whatsoever. Knicked wholesale from Drowned In Sound, my list is different to theirs, just so no one notices. Oops.
School of Seven Bells - Alpinism
Cursed with the late-in-the-year (better than being Late Of The Pier - arf) syndrome, this glorious shoegaze scenic-scope debut - featuring an ex member of the godawful Secret Machines - is actually one of the best things I've heard in ages. Painted with the scrapings of Alpine air, it feels as if it's floating above and beyond most people's pop horizons. Forget MGMT (if you can stop being reminded about them every ten seconds by EVERY list this year), this was the soaring pop gem of 2008.
The Chap - Mega Breakfast
Making as much sense as trying to literally split hairs, The Chaps electronic-leaning hyper-eclectic blend is both fascinating and hilarious. Taking themselves seriously about a tenth of an iota, this playful, explosive and innovative record shouldn't be ignored. This band has been around for ages, and this record represents the point where they became an extremely engaging concern for the UK.
Shield Your Eyes - Shield Your Eyes
Seriously, I've been banging on about these lot for an age. Why? Because I adore Meet Me In St Louis, one of the saddest losses of the year. Still, never mind because Toby found himself with long-term musician buddy Stef and formed one of the most violently surprising prospects I've seen in ages. Their album was recorded live, in a circle with mics dangling from the ceiling. Stef practically tore his guitar apart playing the songs - bending the neck, tearing strings off, detuning, his rapid-fire Rory Gallagher-inspired blues-esque attack laden with extreme pinch harmonics and off key chords. His rough vocals leave room for Toby's effortless delivery. THe whole package - octopus percussion, dramatic bass riffs - all feel like the collapse of sanity, yet represent heartbreak, love and an enormous amount of passion. It needs to be channelled through many, many ears.
Rings - Black Habit
A feminist boxing glove of an album, its occasionally improvised nature means tunes dwindle and skate around the outside of accepted harmony - which is naturally a very good thing. Speaking of natural, it all feels like the whole album flows even in the face of musical obstacles. It's a flood that threatens to rise and rise until you're engulfed. You soon are, and there's little you can do but get carried away.
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton
Perhaps more well known than the others above due to the band's association with The Smell - and by extention, No Age, HEALTH and Mika Miko - yet no one bothered to point out that its wild experiments within a strangely tropical wasteland was an overwhelmingly positive thing in 2008. It could be compared to another inescapable record (Vampire Weekend's debut) yet, ambiguously, it's so far removed in approach, ambition and vibe that they may aswell be alien languages in comparison to each other. This, as you may well know, is a VERY good thing, regardless if you like VW or not.
Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song
Criminally demolished by critics, these people just aren't listening with their hearts. I find it hard to abandon my emotions when indulging in music, so it's obvious that Frank's passionate, poignant and amusing tales of excess, heartbreak and life would hit a resonating key. Yes, his lyrics are skillfully moulded pottery with ornate artwork carefully painted upon them within a ramshackle house of rock, but that house is a fun, melodic and vibrant place. Mandolins, timpani and fiddles give streaks of colour to solid songwriting that should capture the hearts and minds of anyone who's ever had any experience of life, good or bad.
These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid
So it took six months to get it into this journo's stubborn skull that this band have produced one of the most exciting debuts in recent times, but I got there. It's the brutality of simplicity. Drums are singular, purposeful thuds; electronics are subtle or seething; samples are blaring urban mayhem; guitars are stuttery, post-punk bleakness - and the vocals. The vocals are strident, walking tall amongst a clutter of menacing shadows - it's a young man walking down an alley spitting out the most insane couplets to all and sundry, DARING them to challenge him. Brave bold and boastful, it's worth it's entire weight in soul.
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You
While I could never claim to be a wild fan of post-rock, I definitely adore certain records. This one has yet to settle into my mind yet it's beauty, severeness and boiling fury hasn't passed me by. It's an album where the sounds of the universe turning are more important than the microcosm of Earth. It resonates frighteningly with each listen and, like Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and Do Make Say Think before them, there's no doubt that instrumental music speaks volumes to those attuned to it.
I defy you not to love these records. They are just as worthy of being in any Top 10 records of 2008, but they are, by and large, not. Not even my own, and I feel ashamed of that. Actually, SYE is, but I've only just discovered School of Seven Bells and the others lit up my year more than most records. Notable mentions to Gang Gang Dance, Autechre and about twenty other incredible records. This may need updating tomorrow.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
The Future's Bright
Some positivity needs to be injected here before I go off onto some further furious missive.
Recently, the fertile lands of the UK have norn forth a plethora of incredible bands. I would like to take this time to eulogise about some of them
Shield Your Eyes
I was the lucky recipient of the album this morning and, bearing in mind my PC only has one (left-hand) speaker at the moment, this might well be the best thing released all year. Containing Toby ex of MMISL, the record is an unfathomable blend of dizzying styles. The guitar noises - every squeak, fretless bend, pinch harmonic, divebomb - sound like faulty machinery transcending the digital age and imitating heavy metal. Time changes are de riguer and happen every 6 seconds or so, vocals remain passionate, resolute and angry throughout and the end result is of a mess resembling order.
Blakfish
New post-hardcore heroes - their EP See You In Another City is chock full of dramatic dynamics and throat stripping refrains. ANy EP that begins with a song called Preparing For Guests about not wanting to clean your house - including at least three of my favourite riffs and a tapping solos and outro and the lyrics "No one comments on the state of this house..it's like we're lying to all of our friends, this place will never be this tidy again" "Give me a strong reason to not have to bother to hoover my room, I've even tidied up all my shoes" - is probably the best EP released this year. The solid state of Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man is delightful and, what's more, apparently they're incredible live.
Tubelord
I recently described these guys as "Saves the Day meets Biffy Clyro". It's pretty accurate if I do say so myself. Their incredible use of harmonies, gentle guitar parts, violent explosions of distorted wreckage and brilliant musicianship is at the heart of the band. The icing on the cake is the high-pitched lead vocal, the singer's insistent on raising and lowering his knee in time with the music live, and the complete nonchalance with which they deliver these complex, emotionally driven songs. BSM single Feed Me A Box Of Words is already an anthem in the making and I can't say enough about how good this little band is. So I'll stop there.
That's just three. I could also wax lyrical about Cats In Paris, Alan MX, And So I Watch You From Afar, Copy Haho and Gossamer Albatross. But you should just go listen yourself and then recommend me some bands that are incredible.
Recently, the fertile lands of the UK have norn forth a plethora of incredible bands. I would like to take this time to eulogise about some of them
Shield Your Eyes
I was the lucky recipient of the album this morning and, bearing in mind my PC only has one (left-hand) speaker at the moment, this might well be the best thing released all year. Containing Toby ex of MMISL, the record is an unfathomable blend of dizzying styles. The guitar noises - every squeak, fretless bend, pinch harmonic, divebomb - sound like faulty machinery transcending the digital age and imitating heavy metal. Time changes are de riguer and happen every 6 seconds or so, vocals remain passionate, resolute and angry throughout and the end result is of a mess resembling order.
Blakfish
New post-hardcore heroes - their EP See You In Another City is chock full of dramatic dynamics and throat stripping refrains. ANy EP that begins with a song called Preparing For Guests about not wanting to clean your house - including at least three of my favourite riffs and a tapping solos and outro and the lyrics "No one comments on the state of this house..it's like we're lying to all of our friends, this place will never be this tidy again" "Give me a strong reason to not have to bother to hoover my room, I've even tidied up all my shoes" - is probably the best EP released this year. The solid state of Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man is delightful and, what's more, apparently they're incredible live.
Tubelord
I recently described these guys as "Saves the Day meets Biffy Clyro". It's pretty accurate if I do say so myself. Their incredible use of harmonies, gentle guitar parts, violent explosions of distorted wreckage and brilliant musicianship is at the heart of the band. The icing on the cake is the high-pitched lead vocal, the singer's insistent on raising and lowering his knee in time with the music live, and the complete nonchalance with which they deliver these complex, emotionally driven songs. BSM single Feed Me A Box Of Words is already an anthem in the making and I can't say enough about how good this little band is. So I'll stop there.
That's just three. I could also wax lyrical about Cats In Paris, Alan MX, And So I Watch You From Afar, Copy Haho and Gossamer Albatross. But you should just go listen yourself and then recommend me some bands that are incredible.
Monday, 21 July 2008
I Is Music Journalist (The Continuing Saga)
"Only the truly ignorant could deny that MGMT are one of the most ambitious, audacious and truly great new bands in a longtime."
No. Only the truly ignorant can dismiss the opinions of legions of people who will admit to liking Time To Pretend but see MGMT as nothing but a hollow, musical menangerie of boring influences and even more boring melodies. I mean, fuck anyone who thinks this is even a coherent statement. Even if I said this about These New Puritans or HEALTH, it wouldn't be true. How dare anyone call another music fan ignorant for disliking a band, their attitude or even their dress sense?! Of course, if it was in jest or with a nudge and a wink, fine. But it isn't. It's spiteful, nasty and superior.
So: MGMT are fucking awful. Deal with it.
No. Only the truly ignorant can dismiss the opinions of legions of people who will admit to liking Time To Pretend but see MGMT as nothing but a hollow, musical menangerie of boring influences and even more boring melodies. I mean, fuck anyone who thinks this is even a coherent statement. Even if I said this about These New Puritans or HEALTH, it wouldn't be true. How dare anyone call another music fan ignorant for disliking a band, their attitude or even their dress sense?! Of course, if it was in jest or with a nudge and a wink, fine. But it isn't. It's spiteful, nasty and superior.
So: MGMT are fucking awful. Deal with it.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Taking Them Down A Peg
Now, I'm not one for excluding anyone from creating music, sounds, noise and releasing it into the public domain, nor am I against anyone attempting to contribute to the industry surrounding all these individuals making music, sounds and noise. Perhaps though, there should be a far more even playing field for everyone to engage on.
This means NO MORE records from the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Aygness Deyne, Paris Hilton and whoever else already has a career and wants to inflict their musical tastes on us. I also resent articles written about famous musicians daughters being in the industry = Scarlet Page is NOT the fucking best photographer in modern music. She photographs boring bands in a completely bland way. Why the hell are we celebrating he-- oh, yeah. Because she was born from the loins of the guy who penned Stairway To Heaven.
Well then, the day Scarlett Johansson gets on the cover of NME is the day music di-- shit.
Okay, the day someone named after a fruit gets famous for being related t--- hang on, there's at least two of them.
Erm...the day bit part actors get hyped to the extreme in bands with stupid names is-- ah, that git from Peep Show.
These are all sticking points for me. I'm not particularly vehement against them of course - as I explained above, I'm not AGAINST these people taking part. Perhaps, though we can reserve the pawing, worshipping and column inches for actual musical relevance rather than celebrity status. Is this too much to ask? I suppose the other problem is musicians being thrown into celebrity status. Perhaps they should be banned from tabloid front pages too. I'm all for that.
This means NO MORE records from the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Aygness Deyne, Paris Hilton and whoever else already has a career and wants to inflict their musical tastes on us. I also resent articles written about famous musicians daughters being in the industry = Scarlet Page is NOT the fucking best photographer in modern music. She photographs boring bands in a completely bland way. Why the hell are we celebrating he-- oh, yeah. Because she was born from the loins of the guy who penned Stairway To Heaven.
Well then, the day Scarlett Johansson gets on the cover of NME is the day music di-- shit.
Okay, the day someone named after a fruit gets famous for being related t--- hang on, there's at least two of them.
Erm...the day bit part actors get hyped to the extreme in bands with stupid names is-- ah, that git from Peep Show.
These are all sticking points for me. I'm not particularly vehement against them of course - as I explained above, I'm not AGAINST these people taking part. Perhaps, though we can reserve the pawing, worshipping and column inches for actual musical relevance rather than celebrity status. Is this too much to ask? I suppose the other problem is musicians being thrown into celebrity status. Perhaps they should be banned from tabloid front pages too. I'm all for that.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
I Is Music Journalist (IV)
You know the drill. First the offending example:
"Frank Turner is back. Whether you like it or not. The Winchester songwriter with dodgy hardcore roots and political pretentions (brought on by a penchant for Billy Bragg) promises a more mature and reflective approach to his craft on this, his second solo album. A modernist nod with a touch of irony, ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, is an intriguing song title, and one that is let down by a tedious trawl through Frank’s mates' names and their boring hobbies presented in a sort of English Dashboard Confessional strum-along shout-along, almost rousing but always embarrassing celebration of being a bit privileged and a bit arty and a bit like everyone I went to sodding school with.
The theme continues with recent single ‘Photosynthesis’, in which Frank sings about how he refuses to grow up: “All my friends are getting married, and mortgages and pension plans… I won’t sit down / and I won’t shut up / and most of all, yeah, I won’t grow up.” Maybe this is an uplifting rallying cry for some ‘young adults’ but frankly it riles me. Does this make you better than them, Frank? Does it really? Because to me it just makes you sound spoilt, spiteful and insubstantial, and I’ve never felt more like I wanted to stop listening to Blink 182 and get a job in a bank, lest I turn out like you.
I first saw Frank playing in a beach hut in Cornwall. His performance was brash and assured and pretty impressive. Very much a natural successor to the urbane folk of the Dylans and Braggs of yesterday, but lyrically awkward at times. “That’ll change,” I thought. Nope. Frank’s got a strong voice, but, like so many, he’s just shouting above the din of mediocrity for the sake of shouting. He has absolutely nothing to say. Inasmuch as you couldn’t here (SP) what they were saying, Million Dead might even have worked better (though let’s not call for a reunion tour just yet). ‘Love Ire & Song’ is a great example of this. Frank’s riling against “idiot fucking hippies” who ruined his enjoyment of whatever protest march he last got drunk on is as crass as his insistence that “Your parents let the world all go to shit”. The latter line is as inane and embarrassing as his former revelation that “Thatcher fucked the kids”. (Really, Frank? Why don’t you write a fucking song about it. Oh, wait…) This is protest music for people with no understanding of or interest in the world around them and the way it works: It’s as myopic and hateful as any proper ‘hippie shit’, any goth niche drivel or any nazi reggae. I can’t imagine a viable demographic outside of his guest list.
His love songs aren’t much more enlightening; “Who’d have thought that a French kiss from a Parisian girl could capture an English boy?” Erm, everyone? It’s a shame that this song’s so lyrically trite because otherwise it’d be one of the few with a powerful enough composition to save this record some face. As it is, it comes across as deeply immature and, sadly, shows none of the progress in song writing that’s been promised. Closing track 'Jet Lag' makes one yearn for a parachute. Save it for open mic night at The Railway Inn, mate. Amongst the endless Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Levellers covers these songs might stand out, but in the cold light of the record shop, I ain’t buying it."
Now I declare my interests.
First up, this was pulled from a website called Playlouder.com which is just a mess of album images and words. I don't understand what it's meant to be and certainly isn't that important. As far as I can tell it's a reader review. I can't actually find the review on the site anymore (hence no link).
Second, I'm a massive fan of Franky T. His band Million Dead is one my favourite post-hardcore bands of all time, and I love my post-hardcore. His solo EP and album will never be erased from my mind, my history or my life. They mean far too much. I've met the man himself on many an occasion and interviewed him three times. I even went to the album launch party a few nights back.
Now let's actually see what's wrong with this review.
"The Winchester songwriter with dodgy hardcore roots and political pretentions"
Correct, he's from Winchester. Dodgy hardcore roots? What? A man who played in two major hardcore related bands (that'd be Kneejerk aswell as MD) in his teens and early twenties, has seen every major and minor UKHC band that ever existed and imploded - check out his UKHC tattoo on his arm and I'd refer you to an hour long drunken conversation in a Birmingham hotel bar about the hardcore scene that he and I engaged in back in 2006 - and survived tours with little food or sleep. He's as skinny as a rake for fuck sake! Thats borderline malnutrition. Have a look at early Fugazi live shows, and see how fucking skeletal they were! There are reasons for that. It's called not being able to afford to eat. MD played upwards of 200 shows between 2001 and 2005. Frank, a man educated at Eton, has definitely paid his dues. Fuck off.
"A tedious trawl through Frank’s mates' names and their boring hobbies presented in a sort of English Dashboard Confessional strum-along shout-along, almost rousing but always embarrassing celebration of being a bit privileged and a bit arty and a bit like everyone I went to sodding school with."
Sucks to be you. It's hardly a celebration of being privileged and arty. I'd say its more a celebration of having friends who are as committed to their music, and the music of others, and having as good a time as possible on as little money, kudos or love as they receive or earn. It's a call to arms as much as a self-deprecating dig at their own ambitions.
"Lyrically awkward at times." "He has absolutely nothing to say."
Frank is one of my favourite lyricists. Why? Because he absolutely has something to say with almost every sentence. You just have to take half of what he says with a pinch of salt. See, as a reviewer, I try my hardest to avoid analysing lyrics. This is partially because I criticsed a Million Dead lyric once, out of a desperate attempt to fend of criticism about my reviews which always seemed overly positive, and got totally demolished for it, despite the fact that Frank had also got the wrong end of the stick with what I was criticising. The main reason though, is that lyrics are open to intepretation just as much as they are personal to the writer. Here, this guy comes off as a humourless and rather staid personality. He seems to have missed such gems as "If music was the food of love then I'd be a fat romantic slob", "Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings, about fire in our bellies and about furtive little feelings, and the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering, and they help us with remembering that the only thing thats left to do is live", "I'm not as awesome as awesome as this song makes out, I'm angry underweight and sketching out, I'm building bonfires on my vanities and doubts" and some others. The last line also shits on accusations of being "spoilt, spiteful and insubstantial" and thinking that "this make(s) (Frank) better than them". Lesson: if you're going to make accusations, make sure you back them up with solid evidence and not conjuncture.
"This is protest music for people with no understanding of or interest in the world around them and the way it works"
No, this is protest music from an Eton educated rebel who is educated in vast amounts of European history, has travelled around the globe while touring and with friends and is actually pastiching his own sense of disappointment at the hypocritical efforts of said protests. C'mon! Isn't it bloody obvious!
"It’s a shame that this song’s so lyrically trite because otherwise it’d be one of the few with a powerful enough composition to save this record some face.
As it is, it comes across as deeply immature and, sadly, shows none of the progress in song"
This song is based on intensely personal experiences - if it's a little lyrically immature, for fuck sake the guy was in love when he wrote the song! You're gonna come out with a few stumbling lines aren't you! That's why it's so affecting - what love song has ever gone through psychological and philosophical meanderings, and has managed to make you cry? That's right, none. They are all lyrically trite, but they will still be evocative and beautiful. The moment where the crescendo drops and Frank starts singing "So honey, when you're lonely on the road, you're all on your own, hanging out sad at the back of the country show, picture me there with my hat down low, a smile upon my face to let you know I would like to take you home" has made me well up on many an occasion. Not to mention the fact that he gets to briefly mention about "King's blood on the tricolour". That's history good!
"Closing track 'Jet Lag' makes one yearn for a parachute."
Nice juxtaposition of flight reference as criticism. Exactly what has the writer criticised though? What is it about Jet Lag that is so offensive? He hasn't even said why you'd want a parachute. What were you doing flying in the first place? Perhaps you should never have got on the plane.
Here is my main point and why this review gets to me. There has been no effort to criticise the music in any meaningful, expressive or intelligent way. These are three different things, and not all of them are essential to any review. You can be expressive without being intelligent (the best kind of scathing reviews) for instance. Here, though, there is only hate being spewed in the direction of Frank which comes across almost as jealousy. There is no attempt at explaining just why the music is so despicable, only that the lyrics make Frank sound "arty and privileged". What's wrong with a musician having these characteristics anyway? Have you ever met Frank? You'd soon reassess this assertion (after he's reassessed your facial features - THIS IS A JOKE EVERYONE).
Anyway, further examples of spiteful attacking journalism go here: http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=6602
Then see the rebuttal and the rebuttal of the rebuttal.
Call me a hypocrite if you like, but at least I fucking admit it. Oh, and I don't believe I've ever, EVER got personal. Unlike the rebuttal. Which is fucking inaccurate. I have a full head of flowing locks thank you very much. Balding indeed. Twats.
PS. That Soul Destroyer review is the worst review I've ever written. Period. It's fucking awful. I must've been so tired. But the rebuttal to the rebuttal is excellent. One of the best rebuttals ever written. I regret nothing.
"Frank Turner is back. Whether you like it or not. The Winchester songwriter with dodgy hardcore roots and political pretentions (brought on by a penchant for Billy Bragg) promises a more mature and reflective approach to his craft on this, his second solo album. A modernist nod with a touch of irony, ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, is an intriguing song title, and one that is let down by a tedious trawl through Frank’s mates' names and their boring hobbies presented in a sort of English Dashboard Confessional strum-along shout-along, almost rousing but always embarrassing celebration of being a bit privileged and a bit arty and a bit like everyone I went to sodding school with.
The theme continues with recent single ‘Photosynthesis’, in which Frank sings about how he refuses to grow up: “All my friends are getting married, and mortgages and pension plans… I won’t sit down / and I won’t shut up / and most of all, yeah, I won’t grow up.” Maybe this is an uplifting rallying cry for some ‘young adults’ but frankly it riles me. Does this make you better than them, Frank? Does it really? Because to me it just makes you sound spoilt, spiteful and insubstantial, and I’ve never felt more like I wanted to stop listening to Blink 182 and get a job in a bank, lest I turn out like you.
I first saw Frank playing in a beach hut in Cornwall. His performance was brash and assured and pretty impressive. Very much a natural successor to the urbane folk of the Dylans and Braggs of yesterday, but lyrically awkward at times. “That’ll change,” I thought. Nope. Frank’s got a strong voice, but, like so many, he’s just shouting above the din of mediocrity for the sake of shouting. He has absolutely nothing to say. Inasmuch as you couldn’t here (SP) what they were saying, Million Dead might even have worked better (though let’s not call for a reunion tour just yet). ‘Love Ire & Song’ is a great example of this. Frank’s riling against “idiot fucking hippies” who ruined his enjoyment of whatever protest march he last got drunk on is as crass as his insistence that “Your parents let the world all go to shit”. The latter line is as inane and embarrassing as his former revelation that “Thatcher fucked the kids”. (Really, Frank? Why don’t you write a fucking song about it. Oh, wait…) This is protest music for people with no understanding of or interest in the world around them and the way it works: It’s as myopic and hateful as any proper ‘hippie shit’, any goth niche drivel or any nazi reggae. I can’t imagine a viable demographic outside of his guest list.
His love songs aren’t much more enlightening; “Who’d have thought that a French kiss from a Parisian girl could capture an English boy?” Erm, everyone? It’s a shame that this song’s so lyrically trite because otherwise it’d be one of the few with a powerful enough composition to save this record some face. As it is, it comes across as deeply immature and, sadly, shows none of the progress in song writing that’s been promised. Closing track 'Jet Lag' makes one yearn for a parachute. Save it for open mic night at The Railway Inn, mate. Amongst the endless Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Levellers covers these songs might stand out, but in the cold light of the record shop, I ain’t buying it."
Now I declare my interests.
First up, this was pulled from a website called Playlouder.com which is just a mess of album images and words. I don't understand what it's meant to be and certainly isn't that important. As far as I can tell it's a reader review. I can't actually find the review on the site anymore (hence no link).
Second, I'm a massive fan of Franky T. His band Million Dead is one my favourite post-hardcore bands of all time, and I love my post-hardcore. His solo EP and album will never be erased from my mind, my history or my life. They mean far too much. I've met the man himself on many an occasion and interviewed him three times. I even went to the album launch party a few nights back.
Now let's actually see what's wrong with this review.
"The Winchester songwriter with dodgy hardcore roots and political pretentions"
Correct, he's from Winchester. Dodgy hardcore roots? What? A man who played in two major hardcore related bands (that'd be Kneejerk aswell as MD) in his teens and early twenties, has seen every major and minor UKHC band that ever existed and imploded - check out his UKHC tattoo on his arm and I'd refer you to an hour long drunken conversation in a Birmingham hotel bar about the hardcore scene that he and I engaged in back in 2006 - and survived tours with little food or sleep. He's as skinny as a rake for fuck sake! Thats borderline malnutrition. Have a look at early Fugazi live shows, and see how fucking skeletal they were! There are reasons for that. It's called not being able to afford to eat. MD played upwards of 200 shows between 2001 and 2005. Frank, a man educated at Eton, has definitely paid his dues. Fuck off.
"A tedious trawl through Frank’s mates' names and their boring hobbies presented in a sort of English Dashboard Confessional strum-along shout-along, almost rousing but always embarrassing celebration of being a bit privileged and a bit arty and a bit like everyone I went to sodding school with."
Sucks to be you. It's hardly a celebration of being privileged and arty. I'd say its more a celebration of having friends who are as committed to their music, and the music of others, and having as good a time as possible on as little money, kudos or love as they receive or earn. It's a call to arms as much as a self-deprecating dig at their own ambitions.
"Lyrically awkward at times." "He has absolutely nothing to say."
Frank is one of my favourite lyricists. Why? Because he absolutely has something to say with almost every sentence. You just have to take half of what he says with a pinch of salt. See, as a reviewer, I try my hardest to avoid analysing lyrics. This is partially because I criticsed a Million Dead lyric once, out of a desperate attempt to fend of criticism about my reviews which always seemed overly positive, and got totally demolished for it, despite the fact that Frank had also got the wrong end of the stick with what I was criticising. The main reason though, is that lyrics are open to intepretation just as much as they are personal to the writer. Here, this guy comes off as a humourless and rather staid personality. He seems to have missed such gems as "If music was the food of love then I'd be a fat romantic slob", "Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings, about fire in our bellies and about furtive little feelings, and the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering, and they help us with remembering that the only thing thats left to do is live", "I'm not as awesome as awesome as this song makes out, I'm angry underweight and sketching out, I'm building bonfires on my vanities and doubts" and some others. The last line also shits on accusations of being "spoilt, spiteful and insubstantial" and thinking that "this make(s) (Frank) better than them". Lesson: if you're going to make accusations, make sure you back them up with solid evidence and not conjuncture.
"This is protest music for people with no understanding of or interest in the world around them and the way it works"
No, this is protest music from an Eton educated rebel who is educated in vast amounts of European history, has travelled around the globe while touring and with friends and is actually pastiching his own sense of disappointment at the hypocritical efforts of said protests. C'mon! Isn't it bloody obvious!
"It’s a shame that this song’s so lyrically trite because otherwise it’d be one of the few with a powerful enough composition to save this record some face.
As it is, it comes across as deeply immature and, sadly, shows none of the progress in song"
This song is based on intensely personal experiences - if it's a little lyrically immature, for fuck sake the guy was in love when he wrote the song! You're gonna come out with a few stumbling lines aren't you! That's why it's so affecting - what love song has ever gone through psychological and philosophical meanderings, and has managed to make you cry? That's right, none. They are all lyrically trite, but they will still be evocative and beautiful. The moment where the crescendo drops and Frank starts singing "So honey, when you're lonely on the road, you're all on your own, hanging out sad at the back of the country show, picture me there with my hat down low, a smile upon my face to let you know I would like to take you home" has made me well up on many an occasion. Not to mention the fact that he gets to briefly mention about "King's blood on the tricolour". That's history good!
"Closing track 'Jet Lag' makes one yearn for a parachute."
Nice juxtaposition of flight reference as criticism. Exactly what has the writer criticised though? What is it about Jet Lag that is so offensive? He hasn't even said why you'd want a parachute. What were you doing flying in the first place? Perhaps you should never have got on the plane.
Here is my main point and why this review gets to me. There has been no effort to criticise the music in any meaningful, expressive or intelligent way. These are three different things, and not all of them are essential to any review. You can be expressive without being intelligent (the best kind of scathing reviews) for instance. Here, though, there is only hate being spewed in the direction of Frank which comes across almost as jealousy. There is no attempt at explaining just why the music is so despicable, only that the lyrics make Frank sound "arty and privileged". What's wrong with a musician having these characteristics anyway? Have you ever met Frank? You'd soon reassess this assertion (after he's reassessed your facial features - THIS IS A JOKE EVERYONE).
Anyway, further examples of spiteful attacking journalism go here: http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=6602
Then see the rebuttal and the rebuttal of the rebuttal.
Call me a hypocrite if you like, but at least I fucking admit it. Oh, and I don't believe I've ever, EVER got personal. Unlike the rebuttal. Which is fucking inaccurate. I have a full head of flowing locks thank you very much. Balding indeed. Twats.
PS. That Soul Destroyer review is the worst review I've ever written. Period. It's fucking awful. I must've been so tired. But the rebuttal to the rebuttal is excellent. One of the best rebuttals ever written. I regret nothing.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
List 3 (Yay-Centric!)
Awww.....this will be the last list for a while. But I just had to post my excitement at finding these stashed away in the drawer.
TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart and more.../Warehouse
Bloc Party - EP
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
I thought I'd lost these! Basically you should listen to these along with everything mentioned BELOW.
Soon, I will write something of interest. I promise.
TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart and more.../Warehouse
Bloc Party - EP
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
I thought I'd lost these! Basically you should listen to these along with everything mentioned BELOW.
Soon, I will write something of interest. I promise.
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Guitar Hero (List 2)
I've just realised what a sad sorry state the legacy of guitar heroes is in. Right now, think of all the up to date popular bands of the moment - Hadouken!, The Enemy, Joe Lean, Foals, Fall Out Boy, Paramore....
Amongst them, there is not one guitar hero. There is not one maverick, intensely exciting guitar manipulator who crosses lines, punctuates music with noise or will pioneer a new style.
All I can do is look to those who have inspired me.
Jimi Hendrix - not the bluesey, widdley Hendrix that everyone seems to make up in their heads having not listened to a note of his music, but rather the guitar-shagging, feedback-howling, Star Spangled Banner-mangling fiend who set fire to his guitar, allowed his sound to degenerate into a sonic mess and genuinely reached for the stars with his sound.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins - a man who tracked 40 guitars onto one song in order to destroy planets with it.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine - a hip-hop enthusiast who wanted to put DJs out of business by replicating whistle calls and vinyl scratching on guitar.
Thurston Moore and Lee Ronaldo of Sonic Youth - a duo who followed the teachings of Glenn Branca (a man who would create "human chords" by tuning a guitar's six strings all to one note and subsequently compose a chord from separate players) by jamming drumsticks under the strings of the twelfth fret, using contact mics attached to drills upon pickups, who scraped, pulled and abused the guitar as much as played a note.
Spiral Stairs and Stephen Malkmus of Pavement - who played beautiful passages of country-esque clean melodies, dropping countless bum notes into their arpeggios and then blasted the cobwebs with ugly, broken distortion.
Dave Knudson from Botch/Minus The Bear - his reverb soaked, melodic patterns fill the air with electric neon lights and rugged textures the Edge could only wet-dream of.
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana - a troubled young man who frequently disregarded harmonic theory and played with violence and emotion.
Ian McKaye and Guy Picciotto of Fugazi - two hardcore pioneers who bled reggae and emo -core influences, creating awkward, vibrant and angular sounds which verged on metal.
Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs - a simple garage punk riffer who seemed more concerned with learning detuned death metal inbetween recordings, yet ended up garotting, caressing and tickling you with the simplest sounds.
Matt Bellamy of Muse - taking after his heroes, he summoned spaceships and solar systems with his hyperactive classical style loaded with distortion and built-in Kaos Pad fury.
Dave Lake of KaitO - one of the hardest losses of recent years, Kaito's guitarist loaded his frontwoman's simple chords with the most avant-garde explorations of noise/melody heard in the last five years.
Graham Coxon of Blur - seriously. Listen to his playing on Country House, then listen to This Is A Low, then listen to the stammering riff of On Your Own, then listen to the solo of Country Sad Ballad Man. A guy who used to throw his Telecaster into the air as high as possible at gigs to see what it sounded like HAS to be worshipped.
Dylan Carlson of Earth - picture this: Dylan walks on stage, turns the amp on, turns up the volume, leans his guitar against the amplifier so as to promote vibration feedback then steps out into the crowd. 40 minutes later, after the drummer has exhausted himself, Dylan emerges from the crowd, switches off the amp and walks off stage with his bandmates. Truly a genius.
Glenn Branca - I've mentioned him already, but just check out one of his solos on youtube. Since when did pick scrapes, mind-melting volume and total atonal noise constitute a solo? Probably since he did it, and guitar playing/music/the world is all the better for it.
William and Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain - without any intention of learning to play, William would hang a guitar round his neck like bling and allow the guitar to howl with feedback. Better than a Slash solo.
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine - used a different set of effects pedals for each song and warped the speakers of hundreds of indie kids with Loveless, an album that took five years in a studio and bankrupted Creation Records, mainly because Shields fucked up the guitar mixes with insane walls of noise.
I could go on forever. There are so many players who make me want to un-learn the guitar, piece together masterpieces of eternal musical/experimental value and wreck eardrums. What are the youth doing about it? Listen to Health, Crystal Castles and School of Language. Listen to Die! Die! Die! and Popular Workshop. Listen to anything where guitars don't sound like guitars, or do sound like guitars, but like you were the one who invented the instrument, and be inspired to wreck the legacy of assumed guitar heroes forever. I never ever ever want to hear 12 bar blues played in my presence again. I never want to hear a classic rock riff played in front of me. I want to hear people who can't play. I want to hear people who would rather use the acoustics of the room coupled with overloading homemade pedals to capture something that may never be played again. Let's do it. Let's burn the blueprints, the chord maps, the tablature, restring our guitars with random guages and start playing with fish hooks attached to our fingers. I can't imagine anything more exciting than this.
Amongst them, there is not one guitar hero. There is not one maverick, intensely exciting guitar manipulator who crosses lines, punctuates music with noise or will pioneer a new style.
All I can do is look to those who have inspired me.
Jimi Hendrix - not the bluesey, widdley Hendrix that everyone seems to make up in their heads having not listened to a note of his music, but rather the guitar-shagging, feedback-howling, Star Spangled Banner-mangling fiend who set fire to his guitar, allowed his sound to degenerate into a sonic mess and genuinely reached for the stars with his sound.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins - a man who tracked 40 guitars onto one song in order to destroy planets with it.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine - a hip-hop enthusiast who wanted to put DJs out of business by replicating whistle calls and vinyl scratching on guitar.
Thurston Moore and Lee Ronaldo of Sonic Youth - a duo who followed the teachings of Glenn Branca (a man who would create "human chords" by tuning a guitar's six strings all to one note and subsequently compose a chord from separate players) by jamming drumsticks under the strings of the twelfth fret, using contact mics attached to drills upon pickups, who scraped, pulled and abused the guitar as much as played a note.
Spiral Stairs and Stephen Malkmus of Pavement - who played beautiful passages of country-esque clean melodies, dropping countless bum notes into their arpeggios and then blasted the cobwebs with ugly, broken distortion.
Dave Knudson from Botch/Minus The Bear - his reverb soaked, melodic patterns fill the air with electric neon lights and rugged textures the Edge could only wet-dream of.
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana - a troubled young man who frequently disregarded harmonic theory and played with violence and emotion.
Ian McKaye and Guy Picciotto of Fugazi - two hardcore pioneers who bled reggae and emo -core influences, creating awkward, vibrant and angular sounds which verged on metal.
Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs - a simple garage punk riffer who seemed more concerned with learning detuned death metal inbetween recordings, yet ended up garotting, caressing and tickling you with the simplest sounds.
Matt Bellamy of Muse - taking after his heroes, he summoned spaceships and solar systems with his hyperactive classical style loaded with distortion and built-in Kaos Pad fury.
Dave Lake of KaitO - one of the hardest losses of recent years, Kaito's guitarist loaded his frontwoman's simple chords with the most avant-garde explorations of noise/melody heard in the last five years.
Graham Coxon of Blur - seriously. Listen to his playing on Country House, then listen to This Is A Low, then listen to the stammering riff of On Your Own, then listen to the solo of Country Sad Ballad Man. A guy who used to throw his Telecaster into the air as high as possible at gigs to see what it sounded like HAS to be worshipped.
Dylan Carlson of Earth - picture this: Dylan walks on stage, turns the amp on, turns up the volume, leans his guitar against the amplifier so as to promote vibration feedback then steps out into the crowd. 40 minutes later, after the drummer has exhausted himself, Dylan emerges from the crowd, switches off the amp and walks off stage with his bandmates. Truly a genius.
Glenn Branca - I've mentioned him already, but just check out one of his solos on youtube. Since when did pick scrapes, mind-melting volume and total atonal noise constitute a solo? Probably since he did it, and guitar playing/music/the world is all the better for it.
William and Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain - without any intention of learning to play, William would hang a guitar round his neck like bling and allow the guitar to howl with feedback. Better than a Slash solo.
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine - used a different set of effects pedals for each song and warped the speakers of hundreds of indie kids with Loveless, an album that took five years in a studio and bankrupted Creation Records, mainly because Shields fucked up the guitar mixes with insane walls of noise.
I could go on forever. There are so many players who make me want to un-learn the guitar, piece together masterpieces of eternal musical/experimental value and wreck eardrums. What are the youth doing about it? Listen to Health, Crystal Castles and School of Language. Listen to Die! Die! Die! and Popular Workshop. Listen to anything where guitars don't sound like guitars, or do sound like guitars, but like you were the one who invented the instrument, and be inspired to wreck the legacy of assumed guitar heroes forever. I never ever ever want to hear 12 bar blues played in my presence again. I never want to hear a classic rock riff played in front of me. I want to hear people who can't play. I want to hear people who would rather use the acoustics of the room coupled with overloading homemade pedals to capture something that may never be played again. Let's do it. Let's burn the blueprints, the chord maps, the tablature, restring our guitars with random guages and start playing with fish hooks attached to our fingers. I can't imagine anything more exciting than this.
Let's Get Positive (List 1)
Things around here have been far too negative of late, and it's bringing me down. So let's reflect on the fact that, two months in, I have heard some incredible music:
Health - Health * Yes I know this came out last year but it's official UK release is Feb
Autechre - Quaristice *Yes I know it's their ninth album, but it's fresher than anything else I've heard this year
Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing *Yes I know its pure noise, but on this showing, that's far better than melody
Les Savy Fav - Inches * Yes I know it's a reissue but I don't give a flip, it's still snap crackle and pop
School of Language - Ship From Shore* Yes I know it sounds like Field Music but this should be encouraged wherever possible
Envelopes - Here Comes The Wind* Yes I know they have a boring name, but they are the musical equivalent of exploding space hoppers piloted by Oompa-Loompahs
Chris T-T - Capital *Yes I know it's the end of a trilogy, but it gives Godfather a run for its money
Frank Turner - Love, Ire & Song *Yes it's so much better than the excellent 2007 debut
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You *Yes, just turn the volume up
Charlottefield - What Are Friends For *Yes without a bloody question mark, it's a statement
MIT - live at Barfly *Yes I know the album's disappointing but live they are INCREDIBLE
This is without mentioning Shield Your Eyes (ex MMISL), Maths Class, MGMT, Vessals, Throats, and countless other musics I have yet to discover.
Also I've been digging through my archives, and look what impossibly amazing gems I rediscovered (for the sixtieth time)
Pavement - Their entire back catalogue apart from Westing and Wowiee Zowiee which I don't own
Fugazi - Steady Diet Of Nothing and The Argument
The Appleseed Cast - Mare Vitalis
Mineral - The Power of Failing (specifically Parking Lot)
Love Is All - Nine Times The Same Song
Weezer - Pinkerton
Mogwai - Come On Die Young and Rock Action
Sonic Youth - their entire back catclogue apart from Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped, Jet Set... and NYC... which I don't own
Blood Brothers - Crimes
Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island
...and loads more.
Look at the happy smiles on yours and my faces!!:D
Back to regular service as soon as someone pisses me off again....
Health - Health * Yes I know this came out last year but it's official UK release is Feb
Autechre - Quaristice *Yes I know it's their ninth album, but it's fresher than anything else I've heard this year
Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing *Yes I know its pure noise, but on this showing, that's far better than melody
Les Savy Fav - Inches * Yes I know it's a reissue but I don't give a flip, it's still snap crackle and pop
School of Language - Ship From Shore* Yes I know it sounds like Field Music but this should be encouraged wherever possible
Envelopes - Here Comes The Wind* Yes I know they have a boring name, but they are the musical equivalent of exploding space hoppers piloted by Oompa-Loompahs
Chris T-T - Capital *Yes I know it's the end of a trilogy, but it gives Godfather a run for its money
Frank Turner - Love, Ire & Song *Yes it's so much better than the excellent 2007 debut
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You *Yes, just turn the volume up
Charlottefield - What Are Friends For *Yes without a bloody question mark, it's a statement
MIT - live at Barfly *Yes I know the album's disappointing but live they are INCREDIBLE
This is without mentioning Shield Your Eyes (ex MMISL), Maths Class, MGMT, Vessals, Throats, and countless other musics I have yet to discover.
Also I've been digging through my archives, and look what impossibly amazing gems I rediscovered (for the sixtieth time)
Pavement - Their entire back catalogue apart from Westing and Wowiee Zowiee which I don't own
Fugazi - Steady Diet Of Nothing and The Argument
The Appleseed Cast - Mare Vitalis
Mineral - The Power of Failing (specifically Parking Lot)
Love Is All - Nine Times The Same Song
Weezer - Pinkerton
Mogwai - Come On Die Young and Rock Action
Sonic Youth - their entire back catclogue apart from Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped, Jet Set... and NYC... which I don't own
Blood Brothers - Crimes
Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island
...and loads more.
Look at the happy smiles on yours and my faces!!:D
Back to regular service as soon as someone pisses me off again....
Sunday, 17 February 2008
I Is Music Journalist (III)
You know, I don't intentionally go out searching for material from other music journalists to criticse, but it just seems to be open season right now. Check this appalling piece of music journalism:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/dizzee-rascal-i-still-get-the-bullshit-that-black-boys-get-783288.html
Sarcastic? Attempting to inject some comedy into proceedings? Admits he can't be arsed to think up good questions (well, he admits he's going to give up, meaning he hasn't held Dizzee's attention, so the implication is there)? This is terrible.
Now speaking from experience, Dylan Mills isn't an easy interviewee. He does come across as disinterested and rather irritated with the fact that he has to be there in front of you, answering your questions as if under interrogation. He admitted during my interview that he understands the role of the press, and just does it because he has to. Fair enough.
Now, where Cole went wrong (bearing in mind that I definitely understand that sometimes interviewees have bad days) is that he never engaged with Dizzee. He didn't talk about music for a start, and if he did, he didn't follow it up because he wanted something jucier, something more tabloid or sensationalist. Now, this means, that the interview should never have been printed, or even commissioned in the first place. Dizzee Rascal becomes animate, interested and respectful once you're talking about his music, or any music. He lives for music. He can't start his day without it. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most passionate musician I've interviewed about music itself. This was our common ground - I enjoyed my time with Dizzee Rascal, and I believe the feeling was mutual. For Cole to get sarcastic because he wasn't getting the responses he wanted is unprofessional and condascending to Independent readers.
Once I get the PDF of my Rascal piece for Playmusic from the relevant people, I will link to it/post it here for comparison. Frankly, my article blows this professional journalist's out of the water. Do we REALLY still want to read shit like this? REALLY??
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/dizzee-rascal-i-still-get-the-bullshit-that-black-boys-get-783288.html
Sarcastic? Attempting to inject some comedy into proceedings? Admits he can't be arsed to think up good questions (well, he admits he's going to give up, meaning he hasn't held Dizzee's attention, so the implication is there)? This is terrible.
Now speaking from experience, Dylan Mills isn't an easy interviewee. He does come across as disinterested and rather irritated with the fact that he has to be there in front of you, answering your questions as if under interrogation. He admitted during my interview that he understands the role of the press, and just does it because he has to. Fair enough.
Now, where Cole went wrong (bearing in mind that I definitely understand that sometimes interviewees have bad days) is that he never engaged with Dizzee. He didn't talk about music for a start, and if he did, he didn't follow it up because he wanted something jucier, something more tabloid or sensationalist. Now, this means, that the interview should never have been printed, or even commissioned in the first place. Dizzee Rascal becomes animate, interested and respectful once you're talking about his music, or any music. He lives for music. He can't start his day without it. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most passionate musician I've interviewed about music itself. This was our common ground - I enjoyed my time with Dizzee Rascal, and I believe the feeling was mutual. For Cole to get sarcastic because he wasn't getting the responses he wanted is unprofessional and condascending to Independent readers.
Once I get the PDF of my Rascal piece for Playmusic from the relevant people, I will link to it/post it here for comparison. Frankly, my article blows this professional journalist's out of the water. Do we REALLY still want to read shit like this? REALLY??
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
I Is Music Journalist (II)
I found this today. Sigh....
"But these things only get truly offensive when the audience gets some of the steaming action. At least the singer with The Dismemberment Plan had the good grace to crap in a towel which he then wrapped in a plastic bag before he threw it into the crowd one hungover Sunday morning at Reading Festival."
Question: who was this written by and for what blog, on what website?
Answer: someone whose writing I so admired that it convinced me choose this route of poverty to write for music magazines. It can be found on his blog on NME.com.
The Dismemberment Plan = emo pop
The Dillinger Escape Plan = jazz-flecked metalcore
Mark Beaumont = wrong
Me = sigh
*sigh*
"But these things only get truly offensive when the audience gets some of the steaming action. At least the singer with The Dismemberment Plan had the good grace to crap in a towel which he then wrapped in a plastic bag before he threw it into the crowd one hungover Sunday morning at Reading Festival."
Question: who was this written by and for what blog, on what website?
Answer: someone whose writing I so admired that it convinced me choose this route of poverty to write for music magazines. It can be found on his blog on NME.com.
The Dismemberment Plan = emo pop
The Dillinger Escape Plan = jazz-flecked metalcore
Mark Beaumont = wrong
Me = sigh
*sigh*
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
I Is Music Journalist
Okay so this is perhaps the worst case of journalism (online or otherwise) I've ever seen.
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/les-savy-fav
(I hope this article doesn't get removed otherwise you're just gonna have to trust me)
What I'm really hoping is that he's not actually employed by The Word - whose blatantly false slogan atop their magazine and website is "Home of Intelligent Life on Planet Rock" - and that this writer hacked their website.
Seriously - it must be a reader review. Not that I think he reads much. When a journalist admits to not knowing anything about a HEADLINING act - there are two questions that spring to mind: 1) What the fuck are you doing there and 2) Isn't part of your job to, well, research what you review/criticise?
What I despise more than his indecent dismissal of Future Of The Left is the fact that his highlight was Los Campesinos! Hell, I didn't see them, but I don't care. It smacks of HOT FOR 2008 bias. Los Compesinos! are a great band, but to say Les Savy Fav are "slightly arty shouty punk metal" pretty much demonstrates, to me at least, that this guy should not be writing for the website of a magazine that I thought I respected. Fucking hell.
Music journalism these days is utter tosh. The majority of higher profile writers are terrible, ill informed and not at all entertaining. I could ramble on about a one-man crusade that I'm waging, but that's not true because there are tonnes of amazing writers out there - except they are writing FOR FREE. How is this fair? Sure, shit writers don't necessarily get money too, but then they shouldn't even be writing.
Now you're probably thinking: "Oh you're clearly a FOTL/LSF fanboy who doesn't like this writer's opinion". Fuck you. Fuck you and your judgmental idiocy. I love both of those bands, but anyone with basic reading skills can see that the opinions have practically been spat onto the keyboard and the phlegm smeared across keys which the spellcheck has picked up and formed into actual sentences.
Well....perhaps not. But the only entertainment value here is in this display of incompetence of this man's (boy's?) literacy and journalistic skills. I could now trail the internet searching for other examples that rile me, but I've got far too much to do. I just despair that as I write about bands I love and hate - yet still create pieces worth reading, if only for enjoyment - with passion, conviction and talent, others are squandering web space (which is pretty much infinite, but it's still a bad use of space) with this utter drivel. Seriously, fuck substandard writers and ESPECIALLY lazy music journalists. Go read about/listen to bands that have been around for a decade before you review them. It's not hard. It's in fact your fucking job.
PS Brad apologises for any bad grammar or spell-check failiures in the body of this post. He is clearly fucked off enough to not bloody care.
PPS. Expect more shitkicking of terrible music journalism at a later date.
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/les-savy-fav
(I hope this article doesn't get removed otherwise you're just gonna have to trust me)
What I'm really hoping is that he's not actually employed by The Word - whose blatantly false slogan atop their magazine and website is "Home of Intelligent Life on Planet Rock" - and that this writer hacked their website.
Seriously - it must be a reader review. Not that I think he reads much. When a journalist admits to not knowing anything about a HEADLINING act - there are two questions that spring to mind: 1) What the fuck are you doing there and 2) Isn't part of your job to, well, research what you review/criticise?
What I despise more than his indecent dismissal of Future Of The Left is the fact that his highlight was Los Campesinos! Hell, I didn't see them, but I don't care. It smacks of HOT FOR 2008 bias. Los Compesinos! are a great band, but to say Les Savy Fav are "slightly arty shouty punk metal" pretty much demonstrates, to me at least, that this guy should not be writing for the website of a magazine that I thought I respected. Fucking hell.
Music journalism these days is utter tosh. The majority of higher profile writers are terrible, ill informed and not at all entertaining. I could ramble on about a one-man crusade that I'm waging, but that's not true because there are tonnes of amazing writers out there - except they are writing FOR FREE. How is this fair? Sure, shit writers don't necessarily get money too, but then they shouldn't even be writing.
Now you're probably thinking: "Oh you're clearly a FOTL/LSF fanboy who doesn't like this writer's opinion". Fuck you. Fuck you and your judgmental idiocy. I love both of those bands, but anyone with basic reading skills can see that the opinions have practically been spat onto the keyboard and the phlegm smeared across keys which the spellcheck has picked up and formed into actual sentences.
Well....perhaps not. But the only entertainment value here is in this display of incompetence of this man's (boy's?) literacy and journalistic skills. I could now trail the internet searching for other examples that rile me, but I've got far too much to do. I just despair that as I write about bands I love and hate - yet still create pieces worth reading, if only for enjoyment - with passion, conviction and talent, others are squandering web space (which is pretty much infinite, but it's still a bad use of space) with this utter drivel. Seriously, fuck substandard writers and ESPECIALLY lazy music journalists. Go read about/listen to bands that have been around for a decade before you review them. It's not hard. It's in fact your fucking job.
PS Brad apologises for any bad grammar or spell-check failiures in the body of this post. He is clearly fucked off enough to not bloody care.
PPS. Expect more shitkicking of terrible music journalism at a later date.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Bands To Avoid in 2008 Part One
1. Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong
I have not heard a convincing reason why these indie fops should be considered anything other than well-connected industry players. At least The Strokes had some good tunes. The only possible defence has been their single Lucio Starts Fires, which is already the least memorable tune of the past 6 months. They are truly unremarkable to the point of needing to be burned.
Instead: anything. Seriously anything.
2. Foals
Pitchfork are already up their arses, which is surprising because Yannis is already taking root up there himself. Sure, their first shows were lively, diverting and fun, but it's mildly depressing that this incarnation of rippling math rock is going to supercede Battles and Don Caballero in popularity. Don't be suckered in.
Instead: Popular Workshop - intense, passionate awkward Sonic Youth-inspired noise
3. The Courteeners
Your bullshit detector should've already dismissed these lads as NME fodder, which they are. This year's Reverend and the Makers or The Enemy, we seem not to have realised that big mouths weren't why Oasis did so well. They had a knack for a fantastic tune too. Something these lads just don't have.
Instead? : Glasvegas - emotional, Scottish-Walkmen.
4. The Ting Tings
More and more bands are about image, fame and "the sound of now". This is why they should all be ignored in favour of amazing bands that went before. This pop duo, sounding like a more bolshy Kate Nash, gives you all your "everyone is a fucking sucker" needs.
Instead?: Operator Please - Australian, write actual tunes, with violins
5. Duffy, Adele, whoever else wants to be Amy Winehouse
Look. Winehouse is REALLY fucking good at what she does. Other people...they just aren't. Why these two were picked for the top of the wise old BBC's Sounds of 2008, I can only imagine. They are contributing nothing to the canon of soul songs which informed me of what emotional music is really about. They are just boring the passion out of me.
Instead?: Emmy The Great, Frank Turner, Jacob Golden - three singer songwriters with soul, lyrics and great songs.
I have not heard a convincing reason why these indie fops should be considered anything other than well-connected industry players. At least The Strokes had some good tunes. The only possible defence has been their single Lucio Starts Fires, which is already the least memorable tune of the past 6 months. They are truly unremarkable to the point of needing to be burned.
Instead: anything. Seriously anything.
2. Foals
Pitchfork are already up their arses, which is surprising because Yannis is already taking root up there himself. Sure, their first shows were lively, diverting and fun, but it's mildly depressing that this incarnation of rippling math rock is going to supercede Battles and Don Caballero in popularity. Don't be suckered in.
Instead: Popular Workshop - intense, passionate awkward Sonic Youth-inspired noise
3. The Courteeners
Your bullshit detector should've already dismissed these lads as NME fodder, which they are. This year's Reverend and the Makers or The Enemy, we seem not to have realised that big mouths weren't why Oasis did so well. They had a knack for a fantastic tune too. Something these lads just don't have.
Instead? : Glasvegas - emotional, Scottish-Walkmen.
4. The Ting Tings
More and more bands are about image, fame and "the sound of now". This is why they should all be ignored in favour of amazing bands that went before. This pop duo, sounding like a more bolshy Kate Nash, gives you all your "everyone is a fucking sucker" needs.
Instead?: Operator Please - Australian, write actual tunes, with violins
5. Duffy, Adele, whoever else wants to be Amy Winehouse
Look. Winehouse is REALLY fucking good at what she does. Other people...they just aren't. Why these two were picked for the top of the wise old BBC's Sounds of 2008, I can only imagine. They are contributing nothing to the canon of soul songs which informed me of what emotional music is really about. They are just boring the passion out of me.
Instead?: Emmy The Great, Frank Turner, Jacob Golden - three singer songwriters with soul, lyrics and great songs.
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