7/10 More so than any other musician of the last two decades, Beck Hansen has never been comfortable in his own skin... He is driven by an obsession to continually reinvent himself between albums and tours. It's a dilemma which has garnered him tags of 'the most idiosyncratic musician alive' and 'alternative', coupled with his challenging, engaging and occasionally perfect music. Beck- Modern Guilt (Link 2) 'The Information', his last release, was deemed underwhelming and was unsurprisingly compared (as all Beck's album's are) to [...]
Pharrell, Santogold and Julian Casablancas- My Drive Thru I'm not in the mood to regurgitate a former post and start ramming 'My Drive Thru' down your throats. It seems to fit into the Marmite mold- you love it or you hate it. I am in the former category, purely because this song is too cool for school. I'm also salivating at the prospect of further Converse collaborations, purportedly from MGMT and Does It Offend You, Yeah?. The new video for 'My Drive Thru' premiered a few days ago, and it's just as slick as [...]
Beatology.zip (Link 2) When Jay-Z performed on Glastonbury 2008's second night, he effectively altered British music festivals. In doing so, he simultaneously made a mockery of all those who doubted whether hip-hop belonged in a British festival atmosphere- yes, Noel, that's you. I personally hate the fact that these genres are largely left out of European line-ups, and when they're included, they are swept onto smaller stages. Jay-Z- Wonderwall/99 Problems (Live At Glastonbury) Jay-Z- Rehab (Live At Glastonbury) Jay-Z- American Boy (Live [...]
Pin Me Down- Cryptic (Link 2) Pin Me Down- Pretty In Pink (Link 2) This really isn't me, but all I can say is... fuuuuuuuck. Why didn't someone tell me earlier? Why did you leave me out of the party? Pin Me Down are so, so, so incredibly ace, and clearly destined for huge things. Why 'Cryptic' isn't number vexes me. It came out in May, and I've only just heard about it? Boy-girl duo's are based around a nice dynamic, and in Milena Mepris and Russell Lissack [...]
Bloc Party- Mercury (Link 2) I'm not a 'report every piece of music news' kind of guy, so I wasn't going to talk about Bloc Party's cryptic countdown (see full story) until it came to fruition, and it has. The countdown was (as suspected) for the release of new material. Or more specifically, a new single, entitled 'Mercury', to be released on 11th August. At this point, I would struggle to describe it as anything but 'different'. And a live enigma- with a combination of blaring trombones and vocal loops, [...]
Akon/Michael Jackson- Hold My Hand (Link 2) Sorry to go fan-ish on you, but it looks as if MJ is about to break cover with some new music, hot on the heels of this new song from Akon's third album (currently unfinished). Regardless of all the palaver surrounding the "king of pop" (I'm not sure if that's a relevant title anymore), I've heard a large portion of his upcoming album, and it's pretty good. Admittedly, the songs which have leaked haven't included those featuring Ne-Yo and some other duds, so the album could be [...]
8/10 N.E.R.D.- Anti Matter (Link 2) NERD- Spaz (Link 2) NERD- You Know What (Link 2) N.E.R.D.'s 'Seeing Sounds' is surprisingly simple to review. In short, this is an album that almost (it's annoyingly close) realises their potential. That being said, their potential is a modern classic, so the results are still brilliant. If we are honest with each other, N.E.R.D. have never equaled the sum of their parts. The Neptunes (also [...]
As well as promoting a few new tunes, I would like to dedicate my latest post to a cause: C.A.L.M. Enjoy all the tracks below in individual or zipped form. C.A.L.M.- Part 1.zip C.A.L.M.- Part 2.zip The Verve- Love Is Noise M.I.A.- Bucky Done Gun (Tenzin Remix) Beck- Gamma Ray Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal Girl Talk- Hands In The Air The Game ft. Travis Barker- [...]
8/10 Coldplay: 'Viva La Vida...' Review.zip (All mp3's) (Link 2) Eventually, my review and judgment of this album would be posted. As it should. And after the initial indecision, I'm not afraid to pass final verdict on Coldplay's new album. It's brilliant. Affirming, even. They might not have realised it, with the money pouring in, but Coldplay had a great deal riding on this album. In recent times, increasing numbers of have turned against them, and even their most stalwart fans were [...]
So, I am (as I should be) really happy right now. This is one of the strangest feelings I've ever experienced: total freedom, and a lack of purpose. I must admit, I've been diffident and hard work over the last few days, and am feeling a little fragile after post exams partying. However, I think I got most of my animosity out of my system, and I can start to chill. I have seen the hits slowly dwindling down, but I hope I can be consistent and boost The Cold Cut back up. 'One To [...]
Unfortunately, this post is going to have come and gone before you know it. Chemistry rules my life at this moment, but all this toil and trouble will be done (FOREVER) in a mere 36 hours. How fucking scary is that? You will actually have my undivided attention and focus for the summer. Interpol- Rest My Chemistry Went out this afternoon to buy some 'supplies' for post exam partying. Top of my list was a bottle of champagne (it just felt 'right'), and I was closely followed by my friends. One of [...]
Hello hello. I've really missed this over the last few days (free will, that is)- over the course of 48 hours, I've had 4 A2 Modules, and a complete lack of time and choice. Now, with the weekend ahead of me, I'm taking a few hours off to compose myself and generally have a bit of fun. Loads of cool stuff has happened over the last few days, and whilst the focus of this blog is music, I'm sure that you are all interested in other stuff as well. First things first, music. It's been an [...]
As one line of a Hard-Fi song states, I was truly 'living for the weekend'. Last week was taxing, but the work I put in has made the brilliant weekend even more enjoyable, although I already have to start working for the next wave of exams, commencing Wednesday. Fortunately, music isn't my only interest, and many of the things that I care about are reaching critical turning points this weekend. Ahead of Wimbledon, commencing at the end of June, Roland Garros, or the French Open, has been a really enjoyable tournament. The rivalries in tennis are as strong [...]
So, as we all knew it would, Coldplay's new album has been leaked. And it's ace. In my honest opinion, this is their best album to date, but a comprehensive review will have to wait. I can sum it up in a few sentences: the backing is heavier in the mix, the instrumentals are lush (the only word in my vocabulary that fits). Oh, and this album has Brian Eno written all over it, in a very good way. Recently, I've started to see why Coldplay have numerous detractors, as their recent output had started to veer towards [...]
I'm going to keep this as short as possible: this post is acting as one of my 'breaks'... let me just fill you in. I'm at school at the moment, on study leave, and doing exams (every other day, it seems). To be honest, I'm wiped out. There is something sad about the existence that all final year students have at this point: much partying lies over the horizon, but at the moment all I do is sleep, get up, work. Rinse and repeat. It's boring, and at this moment, I'm severely tired of maths, chemistry and physics. [...]
This is really a brilliant time for music: yesterday I got my hands on the new albums from m83, No Age, Cut Copy, Santogold and Phantom Planet. All of which are excellent. And yet, I don't really have time to dwell on their brilliance, because a new wave of music is coming through. Rihanna- Disturbia (Link 2) Rihanna has actually gone bad. Her recent album's title- 'Good Girl, Gone Bad'- suggested a new direction, but didn't deliver. I'm happy with the fact that it [...]
Once again, I have learnt one of the simple truths of blogging. It's unpredictable! The popularity of a post is often unrelated to its length or quality: sometimes posts which I rattle out in five minutes are popular, whereas those which I labour over barely get off the ground. I'm not worried, but I think its time for this blog to get back to normal, and stop worrying about my content and hits. Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' ( pre-order here ) is on the verge of a full [...]
Watch this band. If you do anything today, make sure you check out Lightspeed Champion. I can tell you now, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dev Hynes is going to be big. As in, he will be remembered as one of 'the great British songwriters'. Explain? Well, a few months ago at the Paradiso, they blew me away. I've been a fan since Dev's Test Icicles days, but I still wasn't expecting this quality of performance. At around 8 PM, Dev (complete with fur hat) and his band strolled on stage, with no ostentation. None materialised [...]
Webbafied- Can't Tell Me Nothing/Garbage (Link 2) Webbafied- Phantom Part II (Link 2) One of my favourite up and coming artists, Webbafied, has started to make some serious progress. I wrote a 'Definitive Justice' post a few months ago, and his tracks went to the top of the hype machine, as well as the post receiving a huge volume of hits and comments. I know Webb has a load of great friends and we are all rooting for him: if you haven't downloaded it [...]
Some very scary and mind blowing events took place over the last few days. It has rapidly dawned on me that these next few weeks will be the end of an era. Just over a month today, I will be leaving school, and wont have anything to really work for any more. It's both exciting and frightening. Luckily, I've secured a brilliant placement for my gap year with IBM (in short- dream job), and have also lined up some work experience with a certain car manufacturer (a clue: initials AM) for summer 2009. I had my first A2 [...]
The Cold Cut
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
