Wilco (The Album) I'm not going to get weepy for dead, or almost dead, musical formats. Vinyl has its proponents, and that's fine, but it's not something I understand, being born in the 1980s. I like the artwork and liner notes of CDs, but I've found that I can live without them. Maybe CDs sound better than MP3s, but my ears are poor enough that I can't tell the difference, and being constantly on the move has meant that I rely mostly on MP3s for my music, and I'm fine with that. I would [...]
Sorry for my absence last week, but I was stuck in traffic. To make it up to you (singular), we'll have close to a double dose of music this week. So, I got some grief from a few people about my pop post two weeks ago. Whatever. A good song is a good song, whether it's sung by a bearded indie-folk weirdo or a fake-tanned bleach blonde idiot with no talent. This was the main complaint – that Britney Spears deserves no credit for the song, as her catchiness relies only on her songwriters, [...]
Before I start, I should point out for security reasons that I do not actually advocate the killing of all hipsters. They are sentient(ish) beings too, and deserve to exist. Plus, given that my my title is, in fact, a Primal Scream reference, I fear that the sentiments veer too close to self-destructive. Still, I intend this week to destroy what little musical credibility I had with the 3 people who actually read this blog. There is not enough love in music criticism for pure, cheesy, stupid pop, and I'm not talking about either the faux-apologetic 'guilty pleasure' (I feel [...]
There is news this week that eMusic has struck a deal with Sony, thus ending its no-major-label status. This gives subscribers access to the massive back catalogue of Sony, Columbia and all their subsidiaries (but only on albums two years old or older), but with one MASSIVE downside – prices are going up. WAY up. Nope, they're not going up a little bit, but almost doubling in price for most plans. Not only that, the price increase seems to apply in all countries (I just checked my UK account, where my current plan is no longer available, with the minimum [...]
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I had a much more difficult time compiling the list this week than I did last week, and I have several theories why. Most importantly, I blame the fickleness of the British music press. They are always in such a rush to heap praise on the latest thing to come along (and all to often turn on these same bands within about 3 months of their debut release), meaning that many, many bands get hyped at some point or another as the next big thing. Most of them don't make it, but they are often far from overlooked. Add to [...]
It's hardly revelatory to say that certain bands get more exposure than they deserve. It's also hardly revelatory to say the reverse is true. Some bands have bad management, too little drive, too niche a sound, or miriad other factors that contribute to them not getting noticed by as wide an audience as (I feel) they should get. This column, and other similarly titled ventures in the future, will aim to rectify this somewhat. I'm not aiming to be wilfully obscure with my selections, as I also think some bands don't get exposure because they are fucking terrible. I think [...]
I am off to Glasgow this week for work, so this post may not contain your usual weekly intake of inane nonsense and pointless drivel. Try to cope. In honour of this impending trip, I present you with some great bands to come out of the Glasgow area in recent years. This list is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive, but they are bands that I quite enjoy. Primal Scream - Accelerator To be honest, I'm not the biggest Primal Scream fan, but I like Bobby Gillespie and his troupe of merry [...]
Back in the good ol' days (I recently heard that apparently, a time existed before iPods, but those rumours may be apocryphal), artists would often cover songs by other artists without any fear of being seen as unoriginal or untalented. Some of the best artists of the 1950s and 1960s never wrote their own music and are still (rightly) seen as legends today. Elvis, Hendrix and even pop's Gods the Beatles often fell back on others' music, often making the song their own. Dylan was apparently so impressed by Jimi's cover of All Along the Watchtower that he began playing [...]
"We Always Loved the Sad, Sad Songs" – Gaslight Anthem – Angry Johnny and the Radio Music is catharsis, a release for feelings too complex and too important for mere words. One of my favourite quotes comes from High Fidelity, where John Cusack's character asks "Which came first, the music or the misery?" I'm not saying anything new by claiming that music influences your mood and makes simple things like life seem either more or less tolerable. I see the logic in listening to happy music to pull you out of the doldrums, but [...]
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I'd like to think that one great service my blog provides to the 6 people who read it is comfort – I mean it's like one big, warm hug, telling you the world is going to be okay, right? One never feels alone after reading my words of encouragement and contentment. Here's my pep talk for the week: maybe we should be alone! What's so great about people anyway? It was a person who killed John Lennon you know! And it was also a person who invented the atomic bomb! Based on that sample (correct plus or minus [...]
Don't get me wrong – I love the epic nerd-rock of the Decemberists, but honestly, I don't give a shit what kind of pretentious lyrics they write. Most people would say that, by largely ignoring the lyrics, I am completely missing the point of the Decemberists. This may be true, but I am fine with that. I also miss the point of Dungeons and Dragons and 'graphic novels' about alternative superhero-filled futures and most everything else that requires me to think that elves and warlocks and guys in spandex are cool. Although I love my fair share of thoughtful music, [...]
We're, what, two and a half months into this year and I don't know, maybe some important things happened. I think Iceland was sold to some pimply-faced teenager in Indiana, and Chrysler just accepted my 'bailout plan' of expired Canadian Tire money and a dollar-off coupon from KFC. Luckily, using the high technology of my music player release-date sorter (apparently my top track from 1924 is Al Jolson's California), I sorted through 2009's record releases so far and have revealed a decent(ish) slate of CDs that have graced my fake iPod and noise-damaged ears. I think the problem with music [...]
With a bunch of other men of exceptional taste, I attended a screening of the new documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil! tonight, and it more than lived up to my exceptionally high metallic expectations. I provided a bit of background on the film a couple of weeks back, but just to recap, this documentary is about a heavy metal band named Anvil, who were supposed to be the next big thing in, um, 1982. They were quite influential for big hitting bands like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Even Lemmy liked 'em. However, through bad management, badly recorded albums and [...]
Kill Rock Music
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
