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August 31 Jesu is my homeboyI haven't done a load of band interviews in my time, but two always really stand out and happened to take place about a week apart. Merzbow is probably one of the most difficult people to ever answer basic questions and master the fine art of spelling your own album titles correctly. Justin Broadrick was by far the nicest person I've ever chatted on the phone too (family excluded). The Jesu mainman (also involved with Godflesh, Final, Napalm Death, Techno Animal, and a lot more I could probably find out from Wikipedia) was beyond friendly, and we wittered away like old pals for about an hour and a half. Out of all his projects it's Jesu I am a massive fan of, one reason being that despite the fact he's so prolific and bashes out a few albums/EPs/splits a year, they're all of such amazing quality and are always incredible. Trying to keep up with these releases isn't so easy. He has a blog which is probably the simplest way to see what's coming up, which has recently included an incredible split EP with Japanese post-screamos Envy. I've ordered a couple of these latest releases from a popular online rainforest-themed selling outlet, although the release dates keep changing and they haven't ruddy arrived yet.
Jesu - 'Conqueror' live
Playlist: Thurston Moore
August 28 I love this part of my Last.fm chartIt's so satisfyingly neat.
Playlist: Owen (would fit in quite well above)
Speeeeeedooo....Speeeeeedoooo....From Vagrant: Rocket from the Crypt will be releasing their third installment of the All Systems Why did no-one tell me this was out? I don't care about them flogging the cash cow or whatever, it's another RFTC release, who gives a sh*t?
In praise of Mike DiverAs if the hoo-ha surrounding Los Campesino's/Swells wasn't enough to get the Drowned In Sound messageboards more hyper than usual, editor Mike Diver's redundancy created a veritable uproar. It's something to do with the deal with BSkyB going tits up and the fact one of the most popular webzines in the world can't afford any staff. Sad days indeed. I vocalised my feelings on his departure in one of the news items announcing it. So did about 400 other people, a lot getting very disgruntled and uppity about things, but the general consensus was it's a dark day for the site. I'm not sure what Mike's gonna do these days other than hang out with his cats and get drunk at festivals, but he has started one of those stupid blog things which you read about here. Playlist: Nation of Ulysses
August 26 The war on Los Campesinos! and SwellsA couple of weeks ago Los Campesinos! announced the Shred Yr Face (annoying use of 'yr', hasn't this died out yet?) tour, in which they chose two bands that played ATP Vs Pitchfork out of a hat and got No Age and Times New Viking. Shame they didn't pick Les Savy Fav and Hot Chip huh? Anyhow, I was going to say something along the lines of 'pretty sick tour woo yeah' but then this tour became old news and people were more interested in other stories like Slipknot pulling out of Reading/Leeds. Then they came back onto the radar when Stephen 'Swells' Wells wrote a column about TWAT, The War Against Twee, in which he used clever and funny jokes like 'paedo pop' and threatens to place 'razor blades in the orifices of their suspiciously life-sized teddy bears.' While I like poking fun at bands and making sweeping statements about genres/musicians just for the sake of appearing smart and superior to them, sometimes it gets boring very quickly. In this case, he rambles, throws in some quotes, and ties the whole thing up without it actually being funny. And I'm not even a massive LC! fan, although I do like them and enjoy the songs about cherryade as much as any other smug middle class girl. But that's because they're not a journalist who's nearly 50 and thinks coming up with a mildly funny acronym makes an amusingly irreverent feature. Playlist: Boris, Sleater Kinney
August 23 You can tell a real music fan by his headphonesI've moaned about this before in various other capacities on the MSN Music site, but if there's one thing I really enjoy on my daily commute it's examining other people's MP3 players. More specifically, their headphones. The rise of the iPod made every man and his dog a big time music listener. Suddenly every single person on the train has something to listen to, although when you actually strain to look at their screen it can be disturbing. Recently I've seen a lot of the Bee Gees and Girls Aloud. GA I can allow but listening to 70's disco at half 8 in the morning is odd. People have the worst taste in music ever. Literally. People are the worst. But the thing which really grates, more than any amount of listening to turd lifeless music, is people who actually use those headphones that come with their iPods. Are they not actually paying attention to what comes out of them? Too busy flicking the dial eh?? Why not stop scrolling through your library and take a second to consider the sound quality? It's beyond abominable. They are the worst quality speakers/headphones ever to be created, probably something to do with the fact that they only half fit in your ears. The other half provides some nice tunes for the rest of your carriage, you get a tinny, rattly sound which has next to no bass and makes whatever rubbish you're listening to sound even worse. I don't think you need to go to extreme lengths and shell out for anything excessive; my black Sony's cost a tad more than my actual MP3 player, a £30 Creative Zen Stone Plus. But what's the point in flashing your swanky iPod touch on the tube when you've got those horrible white pieces of crap coming out your ears? Playlist: Billy Childish & The Musicians Of The British Empire
August 21 A Reading Festival preview. For Reading 2000This weekend Reading/Leeds Festivals take place. Well, it's kinda happening now, kids are already getting filthy in their tents and their probably on their 17th can of lager of the day (hopefully not of the festival sponsor's variety) and doing insane things with bonfires. While I might sound bitter and jaded (which I am), I'm just apathetic about this festival, mostly because I haven't been since 2002. While I could do the traditional thing and run down some of the bands I would like to catch this weekend, if I was going to attend, instead I'm gonna run through some of the bands that played 8 years ago, the first year I went. Disclaimer: I didn't watch all these bands, I wish I was that cool but I was a 16 year old out to get drunk and mosh to Rage Against The Machine. Which is actually what I would be doing this weekend too... You can see the full line-up here, but here are my would-be picks:
Playlist: Capricorns, US Christmas
August 19 The not-so-secret secret Gallows gig tonightGinger punk hero Frank Carter and his band of hardcore scallywags Gallows are playing at the Underworld tonight. Oh wait, I mean 'Black Heart Kings' are playing. You know, that band, it's not an invented name at all, the Gallows rumours are ALL LIES. Anyhow, who cares, as surely you're just going to watch Throats then run down the road to mosh and claw and take photos of you moshing and clawing at Bring Me The Horizon at the Barfly anyways? Playlist: More Vivian Girls
August 18 Vivian Girls: Dammit, why didn't I start this band?If I was to join a new band tomorrow it'd be Vivian Girls. The fact they're supporting Sonic Youth this month might have something to do with it, but it's more because they've been together for barely a year. And what have I achieved in the past year? Written some stuff in this blog, bought a car, put out some records... all pales in significance really doesn't it? Anyway, the band are pretty much putting the rest of the world to shame with their too cool but still instantly likeable lo-fi, shoe-gazey girl rock. It's so effortless and utterly appealing on every level (punk kids like them, indie kids like them, Sonic Youth like them) that world domination and success of an insane level can only follow. Vivian Girls:
UK December tour dates: 2 London Windmill Playlist: Micah P Hinson, Venetian Snares, Vivian Girls
August 15 What's the deal with the new Bloc Party single?There are a few things in life I really don't get, and the new Bloc Party single is one of them. Their transition from 'Silent Alarm' to 'A Weekend In The City' was baffling enough, but this turn move to pseudo-post-punk dancey stuff with almost annoying repetitiveness seems to over-complicate things yet again. Why the need to prove yourselves all the time lads?
'Mercury' by Bloc Party
Playlist: Prefuse 73, Elliott
August 14 10 New UK Bands for 10 Chomps PleaseI am really enjoying PENS right now and looking forward to actually catching them live at some point (and maybe them answering those interview questions I sent a while ago????), but this interview they did with James Knight of VICE magazine fame really got my goat, not for the obvious reasons but more for his statement : "....where have all the good new British bands gone? Hello? Is there anyone out there? The answer is a pretty resounding “nope”. Stop and think of a genuinely good new band you have heard in a year that is already way past half done and I bet you 10 Chomps you’ll struggle." And I started thinking about how much I like Chomps, so here's my top ten new UK bands around right now. In no order. 1. Tropics - Avid readers will have already heard about these lots from me. Angular British post-hardcore never sounded so FRESH. 2. Caves - A widdly twiddly mix of Minus The Bear and almost Joan Of Arc. You've heard about them before too. 3. Omes - Ex I Was A Cub Scout. Twee. 4. Calories - Plural, single words are popular these days when it comes to band names. Ex-Distophia, who 'should've been huge' etc etc, but sounding much better already in my opinion. 5. Holy State - The only half decent band that are halfway between Hot Snakes and Fugazi that I've heard for a long while. 6. Ergon Carousel - Grind from the ashes of Narcosis and a few other bands. AKA the only UK grind that really matters. 7. Throats - Yeah yeah I'm biased but what you gonna do. 8. Brontide - More ex-Cub Scout. Which is no bad thing. Less twee, more rumbling. 9. Pulled Apart By Horses - Surely one of those bands 'destined for big things', they're a band I would like to work with at some point. 10. Mirror! Mirror! - Biased? Moi? Playlist: All of the above.
When exactly did the Mae Shi turn into 'that' kind of band?I'm trying to figure the exact moment Californian noise/rock/punk band The Mae Shi became quite so popular. As someone who's not a major fan and can really take or leave them, this isn't a disgruntled purist's moan about a band's rising fame, but I remember them doing a split with Rapider Than Horsepower and playing gigs with semi-decent bands. Now they're all over Field Day and Summer Sundae and loads of other massive dodgy festivals. I've put it down to the fact they seem to tour A LOT and not much else, but still, they weren't overly amazing when I saw them with Rolo Tomassi in January, so LET THE MASSES HAVE THEM. Playlist: No Age, Butthole Surfers, The Hold Steady
August 05 New bands: please reply to my messagesI don't sit on Myspace sending messages to bands all day, but occasionally someone Caves were one such band who, upon hearing their songs, caused me to take 180 seconds out of my packed schedule, stop working for a few minutes, open up a new browser, click 'send message', and compose a highly witty yet concise message which will no doubt charm them so effectively they'll respond quick sharp. After ALL THIS EFFORT I go to, they didn't reply. Anyhow, despite my enquiries about doing a quick interview with them being FLATLY IGNORED, Caves are still featuring pretty high on my 'UK bands to keep an eye on' list. Their intricate instrumental math-rock at times instantly reminded me of Joan of Arc, and weaves brilliantly colourful riffs. Great band, bad attitude when it comes to correspondence. PULL YOUR SOCKS UP. Playlist: Butthole Surfers August 04 My first Dubstep night, by Ellen, age 24(And I'm not counting seeing Skream/Benga at that racism festival thing.) Anyhow, despite being from Croydon and spending pretty much every weekend between the ages of 15 and 17 in either some dodgy pub or the Blue Orchid that played UK garage non-stop (I saw the Artful Dodger live, just to drop that in there), I'm cautious with dubstep. This weekend I popped my cherry with the Ninja Tune event at Third Base in Brixton, which was Bug's 'London Zoo' album launch party that included Flying Lotus and Kode9 in the line-up. So far, so Mary-Anne Hobbs. What could possibly go wrong? This is the prime way to introduce a white girl from Croydon to the ways of the 'step. The Wire love The Bug so there was enough beards present to make me feel like I was at home at a Baroness gig, and Flying Lotus are on Warp, and Warp aren't too threatening or serious at all. Heck, they're even pretty mainstream these days. Normally dubstep gets accused of being too serious and po-faced, but this event was virtually a party. So what messed it up? Well, it seems trying to organise ticket holders and non-ticket holders is beyond some people's capacities. The result? Queuing for two hours, despite having a ticket, and then lovingly being told by the delightful door lady I was wearing a padded bra. How did she know this? She spent a good ten seconds touching it. Once inside, it was obvious my non-ticket holding friends didn't have a hope in hell of getting in. But whether they were bothered or not, who cares, the sound system's issue with producing anything vaguely consistent meant the right speakers periodically cut out every 15 minutes or so, before completely giving up during The Bug's set, much to Warrior Queen's annoyance. Apparently the sound returned, but I left after chatting to a few other disgruntled attendees, and having had enough of the warm Stella and weak G&Ts, I headed for the night bus (sadly not the Burial kind). On the way out I did ask Spaceape why he wasn't up there fixing things. His answer of 'I forgot my spanner' pretty much made my night. More the slightly shambolic, mutterings of 'a wasted opportunity' could be heard as people openly flouted the smoking ban (dubstep = punk as f*ck) while the sound system frizzled lifelessly in the background. A sad introduction indeed, but it kind of makes attending a regular night all the more tempting. And with my latest discovering of Ikonika (a girl! Who also likes Glassjaw!), it's not the end of me and 'step...
Playlist: Ikonika, LCD Soundsystem, Kidcrash. |
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