You'd be hard-pushed to come up with a practice that musicians find more abhorrent than 'pay to play'. Different people have different ideas about what it entails. Some would argue that major music events like SXSW are pay to play given that artists have to fork out at least $30 to apply via Sonicbids, the same submission website used by RockNess for their unsigned stage and GoNorth . Then there's the loathsome cash cow that is Live And Unsigned (now with added public humiliation !). But [...]
Nearly half-a-decade after starting this godforsaken blog and testing your patience with a dependably haphazard approach to posting, I finally have a platform to do the one thing I've been waiting to do all this time - scream LISTEN TO THIS BAND! You could be forgiven for thinking this has never been a priority for me given that the subject matters of so many features on The Pop Cop are as far removed from the actual music as possible ( Valentine's Day cards ? Cooking recipes ?). The reason I don't make a habit [...]
The finality of this Six Feet Under slogan seems apt in a year where Scotland's music fans are already reeling from the loss - or impending loss - of two Edinburgh venues ( Cabaret Voltaire and The Bongo Club ), two BBC Radio Scotland shows ( Janice Forsyth and Mary Ann Kennedy's Global Gathering ), two decent bands ( The Dykeenies and Pareto ), one independent Glasgow club night ( Pin Up Nights ) and the ability to host free events without coughing up more than £100 to the council for a Public Entertainment Licence (see [...]
We've got another bonny collection of free songs from around the globe for you to check out in this month's Music Alliance Pact - the ones from Austria, Canada, Italy and Switzerland are particularly ear-pleasing. But let's start with The Pop Cop's choice of Scottish representative - an astounding effort from Glasgow-based Craig_FS ... Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the whole 36-track compilation [...]
If the first word that comes into your head at the mention of Valentine's Day is FUCK then that's a good start because the four things you need to remember are Flowers, Underwear, Card, Kiss. This feature is going to help you with the third of those gifts because the amount of brownie points you will accrue from making your loved one a homemade card is definitely worth the time and effort. Assuming you already have a computer and printer, the first thing you need is thick paper - a weight of 180gsm is heavy enough for [...]
Anything or anyone who reduces the creative process of songmaking to a public vote only has themselves to blame if they end up beaten to death by the ' music is not a competition ' brigade. The logic of something like the Scottish Alternative Music Awards is fundamentally warped - it turns artistic expression into a popularity contest and it asks musicians to become competitors. But, to be fair, these issues really only come into play if people take it more seriously [...]
It's been a couple of months since the last update on this site about the Save BBC Introducing in Scotland campaign and some of the most important developments have happened in that period, so here's a wee round-up of what's been going down and where things stand with regards to the future of the show. December 14, 2011: Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop invites the campaign team to meet her at Holyrood. We bring along a fairly [...]
I've seen Admiral Fallow so many times over the past couple of years that I notice nerdy things when they play live: they've got a brass section with them at the ABC1 therefore singer Louis Abbott doesn't parp "ba-ba-ba-ba" during Subbuteo's trumpets parts... Joe Rattray has completely ditched the double bass in favour of a conventional bass guitar... some of the lyrics in new song Beetle In The Box ("I eat your words and you mark my mistakes / We set the dictionary up [...]
From pedal bicycles to ATMs, from telephones to TVs, from fridges to, er, flushable toilets... Scotland has a proud history of invention and innovation. This long and distinguished heritage even extends to music. It was a Scot ( John Broadwood ) who gave the world the first piano footpedal, you know. Let's look at a few new projects that could shape how music in this country and beyond is commercialised for tourism, heard at gigs and purchased. MUSICAL MYSTERY TOUR THAT PUTS [...]
Thanks to everyone who showed an interest in The Pop Cop's fourth annual competition to find the Best Scottish live music photograph of the past year. There were 72 entries and these are the ones judge Harry Benson picked out as his favourites, with the winner bagging a pair of tickets to three different music festivals - Belladrum , Loopallu and Insider - plus two Golden Tickets to all the King Tut's Summer Nights gigs, not to mention their photograph displayed on this website's sidebar for [...]
Look at their cute wee faces. That's the Music Alliance Pact team in the montage. I co-ordinate this lot, and each and every one of them are as passionate about the music scene in their countries as I am about mine. The Music Alliance Pact (MAP) shares free music on the internet once a month through a network of blogs in more than 35 different nations. What we do is 100% legal. All the blogs obtain written permission from the copyright holder before they submit a track for inclusion in MAP and the mp3s are hosted by individual [...]
If there was a market for writing 140-character instant reviews of pop videos as they appear on music TV stations then Aidan Moffat certainly has it cornered. The former Arab Strap man has been tweeting for just over a year now, mostly late at night, mostly while claiming to be intoxicated (but with suspiciously impeccable grammar and spelling). Those who have been following him on Twitter will know that few pop stars escape his QWERTY quashings other than perhaps The Saturdays, Nicola Roberts and the love of his life, Cher Lloyd - but even she had to put [...]
Welcome to the 40th edition of the Music Alliance Pact, which takes a monthly snapshot of the world's best new acts according to music blogs from their countries of origin. For the first MAP of 2012, I've gone for Make Sparks , who have been getting stronger and stronger with every release and have a penchant for making attention-grabbing promo videos (see The Pop Cop feature here ). Keep an eye out for their new Part Of The Masquerade EP which comes out on February 28. Click the play button [...]
Given that a musician's talent derives from their hands, logic dictates that these special people should be above-average in bed and in the kitchen. While The Pop Cop's undercover investigation into our music scene's top 10 lovers remains ongoing, you will have to content yourself with the Scottish Musicians' Cookbook. Scottish musicians and cooking have more in common than you might realise: Joe Quimby of Take A Worm For A Walk Week and Remember Remember fame is best known for his passionate and occasionally unhinged blog Glasgow Mega Burrito which is devoted to [...]
It's easy to forget that less than 10 years ago King Tut's was one of very few options for small gigs in Glasgow. Back then, its only rivals were Nice 'N' Sleazy, Cathouse, 13th Note Cafe and the now-defunct 13th Note Club/Barfly. (There was also Strawberry Fields, but nobody in their right mind would step in there more than once.) Fast-forward to the present day and a heap of alternatives have sprung up in Glasgow: Stereo, Mono, The Captain's Rest, Bloc, Flat 0/1, Stairway as well as slightly larger venues in Classic Grand, Oran Mor and ABC2. King [...]
There's so much going on in Scotland throughout the year, it would be easy to overlook some significant events. To help minimise that risk, here's a schedule of the biggest and best musical happenings in 2012 to pencil in your diary. I'll keep this post updated throughout the year with any major new announcements and confirmed dates should you wish to bookmark it for future reference. January 5-19: King Tut's New Year Revolution , Glasgow January 19-February 5: Celtic Connections [...]
Happy New Year! If your 2012 resolution is to discover some hot new bands then today's your lucky day. At the last count there were 762 Scottish musicians on Twitter , so narrowing that down to the eight I think you should listen to isn't an easy or pleasant task, let me tell you. But here are the ones I'd put my money on, plus my two favourite non-Scottish newcomers... FRIENDS IN AMERICA ( Facebook / Twitter ) (Glasgow) Crisp [...]
The calendar flips over from 2011 to 2012 this weekend and, given that Scotland is the world's self-anointed Hogmanay party hotspot, expectation levels tend to be high. There's little danger of the occasion not being risen to, though, with an abundance of top-quality live musicians and DJs out 'n' about the country who have the unenviable task of leading sozzled punters into a countdown to oblivion. If, like most people, you don't intend to figure out how you'll be bringing in the Bells until December 31, this guide to Scotland's musical treats on New Year's Eve might come [...]
Merry Christmas, you! If you're sick of hearing the same old, tiresome tunes for the umpteenth time and Michael Bublé's Christmas album isn't quite putting you in the festive mood then fear not, salvation is here in the form of the best songs of 2011, which really ought to be combined with the tracks singled out in the best albums of 2011 post if you want the comprehensive guide to what's been rocking The Pop Cop world this year. You'll find a smattering of Music Alliance Pact favourites, some ace album tracks, a tune [...]
The Pop Cop
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
