Hello folks!
Well, it’s that time of year again; 2007 is almost at an end and, before I get round to drinking, dancing like an eejit and doing karaoke (as is my wont on New Year’s Eve), I thought I’d share with you some of my musical highlights and lowlights of the past 12 months. As was the case last year, only albums/singles that a) have been released in the past year (apologies to Cat Power, Peter, Björn and John, and The Rapture) and b) I have listened to in that time (apologies to Radiohead, who would probably have reached the Top Five had I had chance to listen to In Rainbows, and Les Savy Fav) can garner one of these, ahem, “prestigious” awards.
What is a new (and, hopefully, welcome) addition to this end-of-year review is that, in the case of featured albums (or, at the very least, the ones I have recommended, rather than those I have slated), links will be provided to both MySpace pages (for some sample tracks) and Amazon links (should you wish, having heard said tracks, to buy the album); Youtube videos will also be provided for featured singles. So sit back, relax and enjoy the 2nd annual Prof Music Awards:
Albums of the Year – The Top Ten
1. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam: A close run thing this year (particularly given how strong the Battles album was), but this album is a joy to behold. One of the decades most influential and important bands, Animal Collective’s music has often been likened to that of Brian Wilson (both Beach Boys era and his solo stuff), but it’s arguably the spirit of eclecticism and invention which is the album’s strongest suit. There isn’t a single bad track on the album and, at its best (particularly Peacebone, #1 and closing track Derek), it is utterly beguiling. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
2. Battles – Mirrored: In any other year (last year, for example), this album would probably have romped to victory, but the above mentioned latecomer sweeped the top gong. No matter, there’s no shame in losing out on top spot to Animal Collective, and Battles achieved something far more important in 2007: creating a truly innovative math-rock album that, unlike the albums of many of their contemporaries, is both accessible and enjoyable (Leyendecker is a particular highlight.) [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
3. Justice - †: 2007 was arguably the year that, after a few years in the doldrums, dance/electronic music fought back to reclaim dancefloors the world over from the indie kids. Of course, as with any movement/revival, there was a hell of a lot of dross released (more on that later), but there were a couple of bands that managed to elevate themselves from the rest of the crowd and produce quality albums. Most impressive were Justice, who defied their lazy critics (who dismissed them as Daft Punk imitators) to produce a sparkling album that owed as much to Judas Priest and Black Sabbath as it did to Parisian techno (D.A.N.C.E being the one notable exception.) That’s not to say that the only thing Daft Punk and Justice have in common is their Parisian roots, however; after all, † (like Homework before it) is likely to be held up as one of the landmark electronic albums. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
4. Panda Bear – Person Pitch: A good year, this, for Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear); not only has he, as drummer with Animal Collective, scooped the top Prof prize, but he’s also got a well-earned place in this year’s Top Five with his own solo output. What marks this album out from his previous solo outings is that, while Person Pitch shares many of the features that make Animal Collective albums such a joy to listen to, this album has a unique feel and sound to it (i.e. sounding like a Panda Bear album, rather than sounding like another Animal Collective album.) At long last, the Panda may have found his natural habitat [groan – Ed.] [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
5. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver: Voted best album of the year by GU Music’s critics, but narrowly misses out on that honour in these awards. Nevertheless, this is James Murphy’s finest work to date; in the hands of a less skilled musician, songs about 30-something muso insecurities and mid-life crises would grate, but Murphy has constructed an album full of soulful, grown-up electronic music from these unpromising raw materials. Worth the cost of the album for “Get Innocuous!” alone. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
6. M.I.A. – Kala: It’s perhaps pushing it ever so slightly to suggest (as some have) that this is an album with no weak points (I’m still not completely won over when it come to The Turn), but this album ought to finally put paid to those “Empress with no clothes” jibes and confirm M.I.A. as one of the most exciting and innovative artists around today. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
7. Digitalism – Idealism: In a year where dance music made a dramatic resurgence, only Justice did more to light the touch paper in 2007. Like Justice, Digitalism have a healthy penchant for feeding synth sounds through guitar filters to produce invigorating, powerful dance music. At times, they can seem a little too in thrall to their idols (the Daft Punk and Kraftwerk influences are clearly evident) but Idealism should still be remembered as one of 2007’s most enjoyable, high quality albums. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
8. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife: Qualifying by virtue of its UK release date being in January of 2007 (even though it had been released in the previous October in the States), this was one of the first albums I listened to in 2007, and even now is still one of my favourite albums of the year. This is the Decemberists first release on a major record label (Capitol Records, to be precise), and many feared (myself included) that such a label move might dilute their eccentric, folksy edge. Not a bit of it; there may be no sea shanties on this album (as there had been on Picaresque), but if anything, The Crane Wife is even more leftfield (featuring, as it does, two tracks clocking in at 10+ minutes.) Sweeter, more lilting and more melodic than a prog-folk album should rightfully sound. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
9. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible: In a year in which most of the indie releases were infuriatingly mediocre, Canada’s finest export (after Terrance and Phillip, of course) stood out like a Belisha beacon. Neon Bible saw Arcade Fire display their more political side, with withering critiques about the war, the church, the aggressive pursuit of fame by parents for their kids, and other such cheery subjects. The sombre subject matter and the occasional tendency towards Springsteen-style grandiosity mean that this album doesn’t quite live up to the astonishingly high standard of its predecessor, but that’s hardly a disgrace, and Arcade Fire remain one of the most important bands around right now. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
10. !!! – Myth Takes: Following on from the Rapture’s impressive “Pieces of the People We Love” album from the previous year, !!! further enhanced New York’s position as the epicentre of electrofunk with their most accomplished and accessible album to date. What is most impressive about this album is the way in which !!! have played to their strengths (i.e. by eschewing the politics and reining in Nic Offer’s histrionics, and in turn accentuating their infectious funk riffs); the result is an addictive, dancey record that puts their Nu-Rave counterparts firmly in the shade. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
Best of the rest
• Robyn – Robyn: A pop album that one needn’t feel guilty about listening to; eclectic, inventive and intelligent. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
• The Raveonettes – Lust, Lust, Lust: The Danish Jesus and Mary Chain acolytes have ditched the kitsch and produced, in Lust, Lust, Lust, their darkest, most ominous sounding and most accomplished album to date. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
• Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge: Not quite as good as Cole’s Corner, but this romantic take on the city of Sheffield still retains much of the charm of his previous work. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
• Maps – We Can Create: The recipient of this year’s Mercury prize in an just world; though James Chapman (chief songwriter and the man who, to all intents and purposes, is Maps) sometimes adheres to the My Bloody Valentine/Spiritualized blueprint a bit too closely, the album’s high points are just about as dreamy as shoegaze gets. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
The Nicolas Anelka award for Most Unfairly Maligned Album of 2007
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder: Having come to prominence as a product of what has come to be called the “Pitchfork factor”, CYHSY are now experiencing the backlash. It’s true that Some Loud Thunder isn’t as impressive as their eponymous debut, but it’s still a good album and one which surely didn’t deserve the critical mauling it received in some sections of the music press. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]
The Ronaldinho award for Most Disappointing Album of 2007
The Go! Team – Proof of Youth: For an award such as this, it’s tempting to go for an album that’s overhyped (such as the Hold Steady’s Boys and Girls in America) or a half-hearted one by a normally excellent band (such as Air’s Pocket Symphony), but the former is lyrically excellent (even if the music does bear too much resemblance to that of the E Street Band) and the latter, while not Air’s best album, is still an exquisite sounding record (besides, the Far Eastern influences on the album at least show a band that’s prepared to evolve musically.) By contrast, the Go! Team’s latest album (while by no means a poor record) shows a band that hasn’t evolved much at all since their 2004 debut “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” (which was a much better album than Proof of Youth.) A sound that felt like a breath of fresh air when the Go! Team first emerged is starting to sound a bit like a shtick now.
The (appropriately festively monikered) Turkey of the Year 2007
Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future: A closely contested award, this one, given the release in 2007 of Simian Mobile Disco’s similarly banal “Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release”, not to mention a plethora of atrocious nu-rave releases, posh former public school students (Kate Nash and Jack Peñate, I’m looking in your direction) inflicting their Mockney affectations on an unfortunate and unsuspecting society, and, of course, a James Blunt album release. But it’s not just their Nathan Barley-esque pseudo-rave output that elevates (if that’s the right word) Klaxons to wooden spoon status (though their music is diabolical), it’s also the Johnny Borrell-like delusions of grandeur that grate (their graceless acceptance speech for a completely undeserved Mercury victory, in which they hailed themselves as having made the "most forward-thinking record of the last eight years”, was a particular nadir.) What makes it worse is the outpouring of love they’ve received from the music press; I can brush off the praise from the NME (a kind of Hello magazine for teenage indie pups), the musically disengaged broadsheets like the Times, Telegraph and Observer (who know fuck all about music anyway) and even Pitchfork (who have occasionally taken leave of their senses and swallowed the hype surrounding such hacks.) However, the cowardly volte-face of the GU music editor in allowing them to claim a No. 5 spot in their Top 50 albums of the Year (presumably at the behest of Alexis Petridis, who also knows fuck all about music) is hard to stomach (to see how they got it right first time, click here.) Not since The Strokes were at the peak of their popularity have I hated a band with as much venom (and I was vindicated when it came to the Strokes; if there’s any justice in the world, Klaxons will go the same way.)
And finally, the singles of the Year
1. M.I.A. – Jimmy: Possibly the best techno-Bollywood fusion track ever made (which is more of a compliment than it sounds, honest.) [Video]
2. Justice – D.A.N.C.E: Probably the only track from † that sounds like Discovery-era Daft Punk, but no worse for that; one of the highlights of the album (the video’s pretty good, too.)
3. Robyn – With Every Heartbeat: Thank goodness for this track in amongst all the Kate Nash’s and Umbrellas, or last summer would have been completely unbearable. [Video]
4. !!! – Heart of Hearts: Pitchfork described this track as a six minute distillation of everything that !!! do well; I think that sums it up perfectly. [Video]
5. Digitalism - Pogo: Don’t let the fact that Sky have started using it for their football coverage put you off; even by Idealism’s high standards, this is particularly high-octane stuff. [Video]
6. Battles – Atlas: Apparently inspired by schaffel (a techno offshoot made popular in the clubs of Cologne) but sounding eerily like Marc Bolan on an acid trip, this track is still both weird and wonderful in equal measure (the year’s number 1 in an alternate universe, as The Guide put it.) [Video]
Well, that’s all for 2007, folks. All that remains is for me to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2008. As ever, feel free to post your suggestions for musical highlights and lowlights of 2007 (after all, this award list, while a lengthy tome, is hardly an exhaustive account of the year’s music; you may also wish to take me to task over some of my choices in this list.) Also, look out for my mid-season European football round-up (which should be coming out after the next round of Premier League matches.)
See you all in 2008,
Liam
Monday, 31 December 2007
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Euro 2008 draw: Minute-by-minute
11am: Hello folks, and welcome to live minute-by-minute coverage of the Euro 2008 draw. Any comments/questions/abuse can be directed to my inbox at liamdavidodonnell@hotmail.co.uk.
Pre-amble: First of all, while we're waiting for the real action to begin, let's pause for a minute to pay our respects to those who have not made it. 2008's edition will be a Home Nations-lite edition, which is, of course, a great tragedy. Think about it: no long -ball football, no mention of destiny pre-determining English supremacy at a major tournament. And let's think also of all the lost revenue at all those WAG-free boutiques and fan-free bars, of all the chairs and tables that won't be lobbed across city squares, all the fountains that won't be urinated in. (What a waste...)
11:11: Now presenting the only Scot that will make an appearance anywhere near the tournament, David Taylor (former SFA chief and current UEFA general secretary.) He says the draw will never be exciting as the football (he can't have seen Switzerland-Ukraine in last year's World Cup.)
11:15: Things I'm looking forward to in Euro 2008:
a) No WAGS
b) No flags
c) No England training coverage
d) Matches featuring non-Home Nations sides not being treated as mere sideshows
e) Being able to follow my ancestral past and cheer on the Poles (even as they crash out of the tournament without a single point.)
f) AC Jimbo and his pod friends (Barry's Big-Ron style butcherings of assorted foreign languages will again be hilarious, I'm sure.)
Things I'm dreading:
a) Motty banging on about the War if Germany are drawn with Poland or the Czechs
b) Motty full stop
c) Clive Tyldesley resurrecting that lame Mutu-Pokemon gag given Romania's presence at the finals.
d) Complaints from the press and fans that "it's just not the same without England" (you're right, it's better.)
e) Another Greece victory (at least if they play as negatively as last time.)
11:23: Roger Federer and Hermann Meier are now taking us on a guided tour of the Swiss and Austrian venues (cue this column's face going green with envy at not being able to go.)
11: 25: A quick aside to talk about the possibility of a Group Of Death (TM): Raymond Domenech has been complaining (not unjustifiably) about the bizarre seeding policy which could end up producing a group containing Holland, Italy, Germany and France (personally, I don't know why Domenech is afraid of facing a Dutch side that lost in Romania and could only beat Luxembourg 1-0 at home, but there you go.) On a serious note, though, the Grauniad's staff and agencies claim that France's 4th seeding is due to their relatively poor qualifying results for Germany 2006 and Austria/Switzerland 2008, but France have also had much tougher groups than, say, Sweden, Czech Republic and Holland, so results are bound to be poorer with that in mind.
11:30: I've noticed that there have been a lot of choral/operatic performances at this draw (not that UEFA are ones to trade in stereotypes related to a tournament taking place in Central Europe, of course.)
11:35: Still lots of dignitaries congratulating each othzzzzzzz................ Oh, the planning for the tournament is going well, the hosts will be very welcomizzzzzzzzz...........
11:37: Getting closer now: Giovanni Ivantino (deputy general secretary of UEFA) is explaining the technicalities (the Swiss will be in Group A, and the Austrians will be in B.) Domenech has yet to anrgily decry the rules determining seeding yet (will let you know if he's evicted.)
11:40: It's starting: Peter Schmeichel has drawn ... HOLLAND. They will be in Group C.
11:41: That leaves: GREECE in Group D.
11:42: In group A, we will have.... TURKEY in Group A with the Swiss (talk turns to the battle of Istanbul.) They will be in position A4 in the Group.
11:43: Yay! POLAND have the Austrians in Group B. And they are in position B4.
11:44: And FRANCE have Holland! It's happened! A Group of Death is developing! And they will be in position C4.
11:45: Last ball of the bottom seeds, and it's RUSSIA (obviously.) And they'll be D4.
11:46: There's still hope for the French; they should be able to beat Sweden and the Czechs.
11:47: PORTUGAL will be in Group A (easy ride for Scolari, then.) And they're A3 (Portugal will open with Turkey.)
11:48: GERMANY will play Austria (we have a nice derby there, and "Big Gay" Jogi must be delighted with that.) Oh no, Germany will play Poland (please, BBC, don't take that game and give it to Motson.)
11:49: ROMANIA will be in C with France and Holland (could have been worse for France and the Dutch, but this still looks like the toughest group.)
11:50: SPAIN will be in D (they won't relish playing Greece again, given what happened last time.)
11:51: And playing the Swiss in the opening game will be ... CZECH REPUBLIC. Sorry, can't be bothered allocated group positions any more.
11:52: CROATIA; their fortune continues (they have the Austrians in B.) And Germany avoid Italy (they'll be thrilled with that.)
11:53: ITALY! The Group of Death has unfurled in C!
11:55: Last of all, SWEDEN dodge a bullet by being drawn with Spain, Greece and Russia in D.
So, to confirm, the draw is as follows:
A. SWITZERLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
PORTUGAL
TURKEY
B. AUSTRIA
CROATIA
GERMANY
POLAND
C. HOLLAND
ITALY
ROMANIA
FRANCE
D. GREECE
SWEDEN
SPAIN
RUSSIA
Well, France and Italy (two of Europe's better sides technically) have every right to feel aggrieved with that draw, as do Romania (a useful side who would probably qualify from any other group): what odds on the top seeded side, Holland, propping up the group? Meanwhile Germany have been gifted a Group of Life (Croatia should join Germany in the knockouts but Poland may have an outside chance; Austria should still perform abysmally, despite the draw being quite kind to them.) Russia should be out of their depth in D (Spain should qualfy without too many problems, but Greece could well edge a somewhat Zlatan Ibrahimovic-dependent Sweden.) Meanwhile, Switzerland could well be the host that does well in this tournament; they are quite a solid side with one or two decent attackers, and ought to edge a ropey Turkey side and a transitional Czech side to join Portugal in the knockouts (the Portuguese, meanwhile, should be thanking their lucky stars that, despite being so mediocre recently, they've been gifted an easily negotiable group phase.)
That's all for now folks. See you soon.
Liam
Pre-amble: First of all, while we're waiting for the real action to begin, let's pause for a minute to pay our respects to those who have not made it. 2008's edition will be a Home Nations-lite edition, which is, of course, a great tragedy. Think about it: no long -ball football, no mention of destiny pre-determining English supremacy at a major tournament. And let's think also of all the lost revenue at all those WAG-free boutiques and fan-free bars, of all the chairs and tables that won't be lobbed across city squares, all the fountains that won't be urinated in. (What a waste...)
11:11: Now presenting the only Scot that will make an appearance anywhere near the tournament, David Taylor (former SFA chief and current UEFA general secretary.) He says the draw will never be exciting as the football (he can't have seen Switzerland-Ukraine in last year's World Cup.)
11:15: Things I'm looking forward to in Euro 2008:
a) No WAGS
b) No flags
c) No England training coverage
d) Matches featuring non-Home Nations sides not being treated as mere sideshows
e) Being able to follow my ancestral past and cheer on the Poles (even as they crash out of the tournament without a single point.)
f) AC Jimbo and his pod friends (Barry's Big-Ron style butcherings of assorted foreign languages will again be hilarious, I'm sure.)
Things I'm dreading:
a) Motty banging on about the War if Germany are drawn with Poland or the Czechs
b) Motty full stop
c) Clive Tyldesley resurrecting that lame Mutu-Pokemon gag given Romania's presence at the finals.
d) Complaints from the press and fans that "it's just not the same without England" (you're right, it's better.)
e) Another Greece victory (at least if they play as negatively as last time.)
11:23: Roger Federer and Hermann Meier are now taking us on a guided tour of the Swiss and Austrian venues (cue this column's face going green with envy at not being able to go.)
11: 25: A quick aside to talk about the possibility of a Group Of Death (TM): Raymond Domenech has been complaining (not unjustifiably) about the bizarre seeding policy which could end up producing a group containing Holland, Italy, Germany and France (personally, I don't know why Domenech is afraid of facing a Dutch side that lost in Romania and could only beat Luxembourg 1-0 at home, but there you go.) On a serious note, though, the Grauniad's staff and agencies claim that France's 4th seeding is due to their relatively poor qualifying results for Germany 2006 and Austria/Switzerland 2008, but France have also had much tougher groups than, say, Sweden, Czech Republic and Holland, so results are bound to be poorer with that in mind.
11:30: I've noticed that there have been a lot of choral/operatic performances at this draw (not that UEFA are ones to trade in stereotypes related to a tournament taking place in Central Europe, of course.)
11:35: Still lots of dignitaries congratulating each othzzzzzzz................ Oh, the planning for the tournament is going well, the hosts will be very welcomizzzzzzzzz...........
11:37: Getting closer now: Giovanni Ivantino (deputy general secretary of UEFA) is explaining the technicalities (the Swiss will be in Group A, and the Austrians will be in B.) Domenech has yet to anrgily decry the rules determining seeding yet (will let you know if he's evicted.)
11:40: It's starting: Peter Schmeichel has drawn ... HOLLAND. They will be in Group C.
11:41: That leaves: GREECE in Group D.
11:42: In group A, we will have.... TURKEY in Group A with the Swiss (talk turns to the battle of Istanbul.) They will be in position A4 in the Group.
11:43: Yay! POLAND have the Austrians in Group B. And they are in position B4.
11:44: And FRANCE have Holland! It's happened! A Group of Death is developing! And they will be in position C4.
11:45: Last ball of the bottom seeds, and it's RUSSIA (obviously.) And they'll be D4.
11:46: There's still hope for the French; they should be able to beat Sweden and the Czechs.
11:47: PORTUGAL will be in Group A (easy ride for Scolari, then.) And they're A3 (Portugal will open with Turkey.)
11:48: GERMANY will play Austria (we have a nice derby there, and "Big Gay" Jogi must be delighted with that.) Oh no, Germany will play Poland (please, BBC, don't take that game and give it to Motson.)
11:49: ROMANIA will be in C with France and Holland (could have been worse for France and the Dutch, but this still looks like the toughest group.)
11:50: SPAIN will be in D (they won't relish playing Greece again, given what happened last time.)
11:51: And playing the Swiss in the opening game will be ... CZECH REPUBLIC. Sorry, can't be bothered allocated group positions any more.
11:52: CROATIA; their fortune continues (they have the Austrians in B.) And Germany avoid Italy (they'll be thrilled with that.)
11:53: ITALY! The Group of Death has unfurled in C!
11:55: Last of all, SWEDEN dodge a bullet by being drawn with Spain, Greece and Russia in D.
So, to confirm, the draw is as follows:
A. SWITZERLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
PORTUGAL
TURKEY
B. AUSTRIA
CROATIA
GERMANY
POLAND
C. HOLLAND
ITALY
ROMANIA
FRANCE
D. GREECE
SWEDEN
SPAIN
RUSSIA
Well, France and Italy (two of Europe's better sides technically) have every right to feel aggrieved with that draw, as do Romania (a useful side who would probably qualify from any other group): what odds on the top seeded side, Holland, propping up the group? Meanwhile Germany have been gifted a Group of Life (Croatia should join Germany in the knockouts but Poland may have an outside chance; Austria should still perform abysmally, despite the draw being quite kind to them.) Russia should be out of their depth in D (Spain should qualfy without too many problems, but Greece could well edge a somewhat Zlatan Ibrahimovic-dependent Sweden.) Meanwhile, Switzerland could well be the host that does well in this tournament; they are quite a solid side with one or two decent attackers, and ought to edge a ropey Turkey side and a transitional Czech side to join Portugal in the knockouts (the Portuguese, meanwhile, should be thanking their lucky stars that, despite being so mediocre recently, they've been gifted an easily negotiable group phase.)
That's all for now folks. See you soon.
Liam
Saturday, 1 December 2007
A few musical musings
Hello folks,
Well, it’s been a few weeks since my last posting (on the subject of Euro 2008, though more on that in a second), and much has happened in the musical world in the intervening period (well, that has been of interest to me, anyway) so I thought I’d share with you some of my highlights and lowlights from the past month…
First up, it’s one of my personal favourite artists of all time, part of the best songwriting partnership of all time (along with Johnny Marr) in the best band of all time (The Smiths), and a man who’s penned a fair few decent songs on his own; yup, it’s Moz. Alas, he’s been doing what he does worst this past week: dabbling in issues race and migration, declaring that “the gates of Britain have been flooded” and prompting the all-too-predictable “Bigmouth strikes again” headlines on the front cover of the NME (for anyone unfamiliar with this publication, the NME is the music press equivalent of the Sun.) Now, it has been alleged by Morrissey’s manager that the contents of the interview had been heavily doctored by NME editor (and the man to blame for the inexorable rise of the moronic nu-rave fad) Conor McNicholas in order to cast himself as a “hero” in the fight against racism (at a time when the NME is doing much to highlight the Love Music Hate Racism cause), while simultaneously casting Morrissey as a bigoted, right-wing thug. Knowing the NME, such a scenario would perhaps not surprise me, and it’s also true that the interviewer Tim Jonze was so incensed by the re-working of the piece that he wanted his name removed from all but the Q&A section. The trouble is, though, that (and as a fan of his work, particularly with the Smiths, it pains me to say it) Morrissey has plenty of previous in this respect; not only does the content of the interview sound alarmingly similar to Enoch Powell’s rightly-decried “Rivers of Blood” speech, but Morrissey has also in the past described reggae music as “vile”, walked out on stage at Finsbury Park draped in a Union Jack (at a gig people knew National Front members were likely to gatecrash) and also penned the song “Bengali In Platforms” (a thinly-veiled reference to British Muslims, containing the lyric “Life’s so very hard when you belong here.”) It’s also been correctly pointed out that it’s a bit rich of Morrissey to be bemoaning supposed “mass migration” as a Mancunian of Irish immigrant extraction. The sad fact is that, while Moz is easy to love because of his impressive back-catalogue, he is just as easy to despise because of his repugnant views, not least his pining for a Britain that ceased to exist at least 50 years ago.
Next, it’s some news of a much more pleasant nature: My Bloody Valentine are the latest group to announce they’re making a comeback (and, given that the past 18 months or so has seen the return of Take That, The Spice Girls and Duran Duran, arguably the most welcome, too.) Not only are they touring again (alas, only three gigs have been announced so far, all of which were at inconvenient dates, and which sold far too quickly for me to get hold of a ticket anyway) but they have also announced that they will be releasing a follow-up to their masterpiece Loveless some time in 2008 (which would otherwise not be particularly unusual or newsworthy, except that Loveless was released in 1991.) I must admit to being a little bit apprehensive about the new MBV album, as I know I’ll end up comparing it with Loveless (my fear is that it just won’t be quite as good as its predecessor.) One also wonders what the motivation is behind the decision to release a new album (after all, they’ve already assured themselves a place in the pantheon of greats, having released one of the essential albums.) Nonetheless, I’m still looking forward to its release.
And finally, some, ahem, “eye candy”; recently, I was reminded of the subject of bizarre music videos by the footage accompanying two recent single releases. Firstly, the video to Simian Mobile Disco’s most recent release “Hustler”, hyped by the NME (them again) as the “sickest music video ever”, which is bizarre considering that, much like their musical output, it isn’t even the most original, given that it blatantly rips off the video to Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker (both a better song and a better video.) Mind you, this is the band that featured a number of girls each other kissing for four minutes straight in the original video for this song, so perhaps it would have been foolish to expect better. Via the Guardian’s music pages, I was also directed to the video for !!!’s most recent single “Yadnus” which features, among other things, singing roadkill (nice.) My personal vote for the most bizarre music video of all time would have to be Windowlicker, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mention them here.
Later,
Liam
P.S. Barring any technical problems, I’ll be attempting to take on the likes of Barry Glendenning et. al. at their own game, by offering minute-by-minute coverage of the Euro 2008 draw as it happens. If you can stomach that, join me tomorrow from 11:30am GMT (think of it as me watching UEFA suits trot out tired platitudes and present reams of meaningless video footage, so that you don’t have to.)
Well, it’s been a few weeks since my last posting (on the subject of Euro 2008, though more on that in a second), and much has happened in the musical world in the intervening period (well, that has been of interest to me, anyway) so I thought I’d share with you some of my highlights and lowlights from the past month…
First up, it’s one of my personal favourite artists of all time, part of the best songwriting partnership of all time (along with Johnny Marr) in the best band of all time (The Smiths), and a man who’s penned a fair few decent songs on his own; yup, it’s Moz. Alas, he’s been doing what he does worst this past week: dabbling in issues race and migration, declaring that “the gates of Britain have been flooded” and prompting the all-too-predictable “Bigmouth strikes again” headlines on the front cover of the NME (for anyone unfamiliar with this publication, the NME is the music press equivalent of the Sun.) Now, it has been alleged by Morrissey’s manager that the contents of the interview had been heavily doctored by NME editor (and the man to blame for the inexorable rise of the moronic nu-rave fad) Conor McNicholas in order to cast himself as a “hero” in the fight against racism (at a time when the NME is doing much to highlight the Love Music Hate Racism cause), while simultaneously casting Morrissey as a bigoted, right-wing thug. Knowing the NME, such a scenario would perhaps not surprise me, and it’s also true that the interviewer Tim Jonze was so incensed by the re-working of the piece that he wanted his name removed from all but the Q&A section. The trouble is, though, that (and as a fan of his work, particularly with the Smiths, it pains me to say it) Morrissey has plenty of previous in this respect; not only does the content of the interview sound alarmingly similar to Enoch Powell’s rightly-decried “Rivers of Blood” speech, but Morrissey has also in the past described reggae music as “vile”, walked out on stage at Finsbury Park draped in a Union Jack (at a gig people knew National Front members were likely to gatecrash) and also penned the song “Bengali In Platforms” (a thinly-veiled reference to British Muslims, containing the lyric “Life’s so very hard when you belong here.”) It’s also been correctly pointed out that it’s a bit rich of Morrissey to be bemoaning supposed “mass migration” as a Mancunian of Irish immigrant extraction. The sad fact is that, while Moz is easy to love because of his impressive back-catalogue, he is just as easy to despise because of his repugnant views, not least his pining for a Britain that ceased to exist at least 50 years ago.
Next, it’s some news of a much more pleasant nature: My Bloody Valentine are the latest group to announce they’re making a comeback (and, given that the past 18 months or so has seen the return of Take That, The Spice Girls and Duran Duran, arguably the most welcome, too.) Not only are they touring again (alas, only three gigs have been announced so far, all of which were at inconvenient dates, and which sold far too quickly for me to get hold of a ticket anyway) but they have also announced that they will be releasing a follow-up to their masterpiece Loveless some time in 2008 (which would otherwise not be particularly unusual or newsworthy, except that Loveless was released in 1991.) I must admit to being a little bit apprehensive about the new MBV album, as I know I’ll end up comparing it with Loveless (my fear is that it just won’t be quite as good as its predecessor.) One also wonders what the motivation is behind the decision to release a new album (after all, they’ve already assured themselves a place in the pantheon of greats, having released one of the essential albums.) Nonetheless, I’m still looking forward to its release.
And finally, some, ahem, “eye candy”; recently, I was reminded of the subject of bizarre music videos by the footage accompanying two recent single releases. Firstly, the video to Simian Mobile Disco’s most recent release “Hustler”, hyped by the NME (them again) as the “sickest music video ever”, which is bizarre considering that, much like their musical output, it isn’t even the most original, given that it blatantly rips off the video to Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker (both a better song and a better video.) Mind you, this is the band that featured a number of girls each other kissing for four minutes straight in the original video for this song, so perhaps it would have been foolish to expect better. Via the Guardian’s music pages, I was also directed to the video for !!!’s most recent single “Yadnus” which features, among other things, singing roadkill (nice.) My personal vote for the most bizarre music video of all time would have to be Windowlicker, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mention them here.
Later,
Liam
P.S. Barring any technical problems, I’ll be attempting to take on the likes of Barry Glendenning et. al. at their own game, by offering minute-by-minute coverage of the Euro 2008 draw as it happens. If you can stomach that, join me tomorrow from 11:30am GMT (think of it as me watching UEFA suits trot out tired platitudes and present reams of meaningless video footage, so that you don’t have to.)
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