Monday, 7 November 2011
Drop It Like It's Hot...
In the aftermath of a fire, it is always the embers which burn the hottest. Amidst scenes of great desolation, tiny fragments of that which raged relentlessly still remain.
This is Embers in a nutshell.
Formerly Lost Knives, minus their previous drummer and adapting a whole new direction, Embers early offerings are raw and ultimately, relentless.
The lineage of Manchester's music is well documented, and it's often cited that in Manchester, bleak is best. "It's grim up North" they say. Whoever 'they' are. This is what Manchester does best, it's not here to hold your hand, to tell you "everything's going to be alright."
The city itself has never had the glitz of London, or The Beatles, yet it carries on. Raging. Brooding. 'Days Turn Into Weeks' embodies this and threatens to be as vast and poignant as the material being released by The Horrors at the moment.
Dark, gothic and simmering away behind closed doors, Embers is a project that shows great potential. Keep your ear to the ground for the inevitable live bombardment as they aim to right the wrongs that came before them, and burn anew.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Hatchets Buried, 'Originals' at the Ready
You’ll have to forgive me on this one. I know I’ve been prone to hyperbole in the past, and sometimes it’s unjustified. However, with something as cathartic and raw as music, it’s a natural response.
It’s very easy to get all wrapped up in the feelings of “what might be?” with the announcement of a new album from your favourite band, or the prospect of a tour, or the latent, post-foetal glow of “the best gig ever.”
Like I say, it is not giddy, it is what it is.
2011 has, again, been ‘The Year of the Reformation’, with indie demi-gods The Strokes and Britpop mastodon’s Pulp leading the way.
That was until around 4pm today, for 18/10/2011 will go down as a day in British music history as the day The Stone Roses finally decided to build bridges, and announce a new album and two comeback shows at Manchester’s Heaton Park. Both of which will be a prefix to a planned world tour.
Now I’m sure the pessimists and those who steer clear of ‘Madchester’ and all it’s nostalgia will together, groan collectively at the sight and sound of Manchester’s ‘Old Guard’ rearing their demonic, cocaine battered heads, but you know what? Fuck ‘em.
I have my doubts, yes. Brown’s always been questionable live, Mani could barely stand up during Primal Scream’s set at Glasto he was that battered and I’m not looking forward to the painful six minute instrumental ‘Foz’. In fact, I hope they swerve a fair bit of ‘Second Coming’, although I’d imagine that album’s prominence in the pending set-list was probably a clause in John Squire’s contract.
Seriously though, despite the negative tones of the above paragraph, does it all really matter? It’s ‘The Roses’. They, along with others, gave voice to a disgruntled Manchester, down trodden by the political and economical holocaust that beset the country under Thatcher’s rule.
Brown, Squire, Mani and Reni had people dancing in an environment when only bleakness seemed to prevail. Their timing, given the current mood and state of the country, is apt and probably no coincidence.
There’s nothing wrong with harking back to a time and scene that’s happened over 20 years ago, nothing wrong with it at all. Like they say, you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Chances are some pen pushers are going to claim this is a setback for all the creativity and excitement that has burst out of England recently. For me though, The Roses pushed British music forward about 30 years anyway, so when you add it up, we’re still a decade ahead of the curve. So fret not.
I don’t care if they were before my time, or even that I will never truly experience the mood and variables that helped the band become who they were. That’s irrelevant. I have my own connection with the band, my own memories of how I felt when they came on in a club. My own imitation of Ian Brown’s swagger whenever ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ played in 42nd Street, when I was an 18 year old little muppet acting hard because of vodka and red bull.
It’s our turn now and whether non-conformists like it or not, these gigs are going to happen. Well, providing Brown and Squire can stay mates for eight months.
So, to the naysayers I say this, go and trawl Youtube looking for piss poor vocal performances by Brown. Laugh at Squire’s egotism on ‘Second Coming’, or Mani’s white outfit at Benicassim 2011. Ask “who is John Reni anyway?”
And whilst you’re all sat in your room, I’m going to go down to Heaton Park with 75,000 other folk, sing every song at the top of my voice and have the time of my life.
That is if I manage to get a ticket.
It’s very easy to get all wrapped up in the feelings of “what might be?” with the announcement of a new album from your favourite band, or the prospect of a tour, or the latent, post-foetal glow of “the best gig ever.”
Like I say, it is not giddy, it is what it is.
2011 has, again, been ‘The Year of the Reformation’, with indie demi-gods The Strokes and Britpop mastodon’s Pulp leading the way.
That was until around 4pm today, for 18/10/2011 will go down as a day in British music history as the day The Stone Roses finally decided to build bridges, and announce a new album and two comeback shows at Manchester’s Heaton Park. Both of which will be a prefix to a planned world tour.
Now I’m sure the pessimists and those who steer clear of ‘Madchester’ and all it’s nostalgia will together, groan collectively at the sight and sound of Manchester’s ‘Old Guard’ rearing their demonic, cocaine battered heads, but you know what? Fuck ‘em.
I have my doubts, yes. Brown’s always been questionable live, Mani could barely stand up during Primal Scream’s set at Glasto he was that battered and I’m not looking forward to the painful six minute instrumental ‘Foz’. In fact, I hope they swerve a fair bit of ‘Second Coming’, although I’d imagine that album’s prominence in the pending set-list was probably a clause in John Squire’s contract.
Seriously though, despite the negative tones of the above paragraph, does it all really matter? It’s ‘The Roses’. They, along with others, gave voice to a disgruntled Manchester, down trodden by the political and economical holocaust that beset the country under Thatcher’s rule.
Brown, Squire, Mani and Reni had people dancing in an environment when only bleakness seemed to prevail. Their timing, given the current mood and state of the country, is apt and probably no coincidence.
There’s nothing wrong with harking back to a time and scene that’s happened over 20 years ago, nothing wrong with it at all. Like they say, you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Chances are some pen pushers are going to claim this is a setback for all the creativity and excitement that has burst out of England recently. For me though, The Roses pushed British music forward about 30 years anyway, so when you add it up, we’re still a decade ahead of the curve. So fret not.
I don’t care if they were before my time, or even that I will never truly experience the mood and variables that helped the band become who they were. That’s irrelevant. I have my own connection with the band, my own memories of how I felt when they came on in a club. My own imitation of Ian Brown’s swagger whenever ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ played in 42nd Street, when I was an 18 year old little muppet acting hard because of vodka and red bull.
It’s our turn now and whether non-conformists like it or not, these gigs are going to happen. Well, providing Brown and Squire can stay mates for eight months.
So, to the naysayers I say this, go and trawl Youtube looking for piss poor vocal performances by Brown. Laugh at Squire’s egotism on ‘Second Coming’, or Mani’s white outfit at Benicassim 2011. Ask “who is John Reni anyway?”
And whilst you’re all sat in your room, I’m going to go down to Heaton Park with 75,000 other folk, sing every song at the top of my voice and have the time of my life.
That is if I manage to get a ticket.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Mash It Up...
Nice little skim through some great songs from over the years. Hats off to the folk at 6Music.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/joyof6
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/joyof6
Sunday, 10 April 2011
The Comeback Kid...
Agent Provocateurs, there's a quite a few of them on God's green. People that incite debate, anger, frustration and a whole host of other emotions. Harry from The Only Way Is Essex, Jessie J, and Lucifer's own emissary of heated debate, Gary Neville. Individuals such as these are loved by some, reviled by others. Except for Jessie J, she's just a dick.
However, none of them lot hold a candle to Kanye West. The Chicago native incites all kinds of palavar, and every so often, downright encourages controversy. Sometimes it's humorous, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people", for example. In other cases, it leaves a sour taste in one's mouth. His hissy fit during the EMAs after he lost out to Justice in the Best Video category for instance. Ahhhhhhhh, you all thought I was going to harp on about poor Taylor Swift. Suckers.
"Yeezy's" taken a few hard hits of late, none moreso than his Mother's untimely death. Obama labelling him a "jackass", probably didn't help his Jupiter sized ego neither. Jay Leno more or less broke him when after his bumrushing of Taylor Swift, the chat show stalwart asked King Kanye how his mother would of reacted to the Hennessy fuelled sabotage?
Let's have it right, he's been a bit hit and miss since the stellar College Dropout, showing occasional flashes of brilliance with songs like 'Flashing Lights', 'We Major' and 'Crack Music'. Yet nothing has really floored you like 'All Falls Down', 'Never Let Me Down' and ultimately, the amazing 'Through The Wire'.
Kanye's always been a feller with an ear for a sample and often hilarious turns of phrase. Yet he seemed to lose his way a little with 808s and Heartbreaks, an ode to a stormy break-up with on off missus Amber Rose and his Mother's passing.
The haters thought they'd had their moment of triumph, writing Kanye's obituaries and celebrating the demise of the biggest selfdom in Hip-Hop since LL Cool J. Mistake. The worst error with an adversary, is to consider them unecessary. This will build a resentment in said foe, who, if they have anything about them, will turn that resentment into drive and use it as fuel to fuck you up.
Enter My Dark Twisted Fantasy.
It's an epic album, his biggest project yet. The music geeks over at Pitchfork drew similarities to Michael Jackson in relation to the scope of it all. They weren't wrong, really. Every song on the album is a haymaker, and it's difficult to really single out a favourite without getting in a twist. It's like trying to name your favourite character in The Wire (today it's Bunk, yesterday it was Body).
It's safe to say, Kanye is back. In the past two or three years, Wayne, T.I. and Big Boi have raised the bar that Kanye himself challenged them to equal with his hole-in-one first LP. Things appear to have come full circle as the Chicago rapper returns to the summit of rap with his fifth opus.
However, it'll all be irrelevant once the good doctor returns with Detox.
Until then, enjoy the video to 'All of The Lights'. And no, I haven't decided to post this one because Rihanna's side boob is draped all over it. Ahem.
Ta-ta for now.
However, none of them lot hold a candle to Kanye West. The Chicago native incites all kinds of palavar, and every so often, downright encourages controversy. Sometimes it's humorous, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people", for example. In other cases, it leaves a sour taste in one's mouth. His hissy fit during the EMAs after he lost out to Justice in the Best Video category for instance. Ahhhhhhhh, you all thought I was going to harp on about poor Taylor Swift. Suckers.
"Yeezy's" taken a few hard hits of late, none moreso than his Mother's untimely death. Obama labelling him a "jackass", probably didn't help his Jupiter sized ego neither. Jay Leno more or less broke him when after his bumrushing of Taylor Swift, the chat show stalwart asked King Kanye how his mother would of reacted to the Hennessy fuelled sabotage?
Let's have it right, he's been a bit hit and miss since the stellar College Dropout, showing occasional flashes of brilliance with songs like 'Flashing Lights', 'We Major' and 'Crack Music'. Yet nothing has really floored you like 'All Falls Down', 'Never Let Me Down' and ultimately, the amazing 'Through The Wire'.
Kanye's always been a feller with an ear for a sample and often hilarious turns of phrase. Yet he seemed to lose his way a little with 808s and Heartbreaks, an ode to a stormy break-up with on off missus Amber Rose and his Mother's passing.
The haters thought they'd had their moment of triumph, writing Kanye's obituaries and celebrating the demise of the biggest selfdom in Hip-Hop since LL Cool J. Mistake. The worst error with an adversary, is to consider them unecessary. This will build a resentment in said foe, who, if they have anything about them, will turn that resentment into drive and use it as fuel to fuck you up.
Enter My Dark Twisted Fantasy.
It's an epic album, his biggest project yet. The music geeks over at Pitchfork drew similarities to Michael Jackson in relation to the scope of it all. They weren't wrong, really. Every song on the album is a haymaker, and it's difficult to really single out a favourite without getting in a twist. It's like trying to name your favourite character in The Wire (today it's Bunk, yesterday it was Body).
It's safe to say, Kanye is back. In the past two or three years, Wayne, T.I. and Big Boi have raised the bar that Kanye himself challenged them to equal with his hole-in-one first LP. Things appear to have come full circle as the Chicago rapper returns to the summit of rap with his fifth opus.
However, it'll all be irrelevant once the good doctor returns with Detox.
Until then, enjoy the video to 'All of The Lights'. And no, I haven't decided to post this one because Rihanna's side boob is draped all over it. Ahem.
Ta-ta for now.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Music For The Sunshine...
Still don't think there's a better song to listen to when it's sunny.
One of the greatest social commentators music has ever been lucky enough to bare witness too.
Take care Joe.
One of the greatest social commentators music has ever been lucky enough to bare witness too.
Take care Joe.
Monday, 14 March 2011
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