The Rorschach Test

New Artist of the Week #6

2012-01-27T13:30:00.003Z

Name: Carnivals
Genre: Electronic
Similar Artists: Boards Of Canada, Pogo
Releases: Absences (Single - 24th January), Mavi Kara (EP - 1st March 2011) Buy: Bandcamp

Carnivals is a one man electronic organism otherwise known as Sheffield's Stuart Green. He's just released new single Absences, his first material since last year's debut EP Mavi Kara, and it's little short of stunning.

Emanating from the same city as Warp Records, it seems only right that Carnivals should offer up a variety of expansive, chilled electronic music. Using guitars and samples on his latest single, Green stacks layers upon layers of sound to construct an enveloping, mournful vibe that slowly and subtly builds into something althogether inspiring, with twinkling piano lines, delicate, beating bass and vocals that speak like lost souls.

Mavi Kara is a different kettle of fish, featuring off-kilter thumps, disorientating chirps, chips, cheeps and bleets that somehow, as if out of nowhere, blend together into a natural, coherent tune. Such surprise synergy is particularly evident in Drowning and Leeda.

Both the EP and recent single offer tantalising, addictive tastes of what a full-length might have in store. It's clear by the quality of what is currently available that the talent and inginuity is there to produce a record that will really stand out from the crowd.

Listen to Absences here:

And B-side Ino too:

If you're feeling really adventurous, here's the four track EP Mavi Kara:

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://carnivals.bandcamp.com/album/mavi-kara"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Mavi Kara by Carnivals&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

New Artist of the Week #5

2012-01-27T13:01:00.005Z

Name: Fair Ohs
Genre: Post-Punk
Similar Artists: Grizzly Bear, Dartz, Vampire Weekend
Releases: Salt Flats (Single - 23rd January) Everything Is Dancing (Album - 6th July 2011) Buy: X-ray Recordings

Slightly delayed (by a week no less) so today there are two new artists to stumble upon. First up, it's London's Post-punk trio Fair Ohs.

Having released their debut album last summer on their own label, they return at the start of 2012 with a new single, Salt Flats, which has been put out by X-ray Recordings.

Imperfect (and all the more endearing becasue of it) vocal harmonies wind their way around, jangling, meandering, Arabic guitars that in turn echo amongst African rhythms, putting a relatively new slant on an already well worn style. There are a few bands around that have been doing this sort of thing for a while but it can often be hard to combine what is effectively a new sound to many Western ears with an ability to create short, punchy songs that establish themselves as the most welcome of earworms, rather than aimless, artsy indulgence.

Fair Ohs, as their name suggests, can sit high and mighty on top of the pyramid, surveying their kingdom. These three are on to something very special.

Salt Flats is available on flexi-postcard (a postcard that can be played on a record player) which is a lovely little rarity. More modern types can give it a listen here.

There's also a quite fantastic video for an earlier single and album name-sake, Everything Is Dancing, right here. Yes, yes there is. Look at it go. What a lovely little fella.

Everything Is Dancing from Fair Ohs on Vimeo.

It's nice in Spain this time of year so catch the band live here, here, and here:

3rd Febrary - Madrid, Spain w/ Algodon Egipcio

4th February - Barcelona, Spain

5th February - Tanned Tin Festival, Castellon, Spain

New Artist of the Week #4

2012-01-13T08:48:00.008Z

Michael Kiwanuka: Simultaneously a man and a wearer of hats.

Name: Michael Kiwanuka
Genre: Soul
Similar Artists: Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison
Releases: Home Again (EP - 2nd January), I'm Getting Ready (EP - 24th July 2011) Buy: Communion Records

This week we're talking about an artist we've all heard a lot about in recent times.

It's been a whirlwind twelve months for this young man. First coming to our attention in the Spring of 2011 with the wonderfully addictive, Marvin Gaye meets Bill Withers soulgasm that is Tell Me A Tale, he later supported Adele on tour and the year culminated in Michael Kiwanuka topping of the BBC Sound of 2012 list earlier this month.

Frankly we should have kicked this blog off with Michael as the first featured artist but we thought we could get away with it for a few more weeks. Now it looks like we're coming to the party late, but my, what a party it is.

Not wishing to hype him up too much but Home Again, the title track from his current EP and debut album, has been heard by us on commercial pop radio stations, which is utterly flabberghasting in the way it illustrates that they actually posess the ability not to just play Rhianna, Lady Gaga, The Script and X-Factor droids on loop.

It also suggests that, and far be it from us to be cynical here, there is a gap in the market in a post-Winehouse world. One that a respectable, credible pop artist like Kiwanuka can fill. Rebecca Ferguson will compete for it too with the behemoth that is the X-Factor marketing machine behind her but Kiwanuka is the better songwriter and we hope he'd be the one to capture the public imagination.

Initially signed to Communion Records with the likes of the fabulous Ben Howard and Marcus Foster, Kiwanuka, now with Polydor, has the ability to become a genuine star, as organically grown as they come nowadays in what is a pop chart driven by talent shows.

His debut album, Home Again, is due out on 26th March. Until then enjoy the video for I'm Getting Ready, this mountain of Soundcloud loveliness, and check out the gig information below.

Live dates: Michael Kiwanuka is supprting Emeli Sande at XOYO, London on 24th January and he plays KOKO on the 25th, before heading out on a tour of the UK and Ireland in February that takes in some of the best small venues in the country, including Newcastle's Cluny and Leeds' Brudenell Social. For full listings and more details, check his official website and Facebook.

New Artist of the Week #3

2012-01-04T11:07:00.004Z

Name: Fantasy Island
Genre: Electronica/Psychedelia
Similar Artists: Caribou, MGMT, Hot Chip, Passion Pit
Releases: Avenue (Debut single - 27th February) Buy: Stroll On Records

A trip to the other side of ther Atlantic for this week's featured artist, to Los Angeles in particular and the electronic tweets and bleeps of Fantasy Island.

Combining the sweet sound of synths with sweeping guitars and hip-wiggling, toe-tapping beats the duo, comprising of Alex Jacob and Spencer Frazen, produce ethereal and uplifting soundscapes that both relax and constantly engage the listener; each fresh play offering something new.

Having just signed a deal in the UK with London-based indie Stroll On Records, the pair will be releasing their debut single, a double A-side with the slow-burning Avenue teamed up with Evergreen, in a few short weeks and the hooks will remain in minds for much longer after that.

Expect big things from Fantasy Island this summer, their perfect sunshine sounds will surely grace many a festival in 2012.

Below you can listen to Avenue and watch the video for another track, Breaking A Heart, which sounds like a blissed out drug party in an aviary.

. Fantasy Island - Avenue by STROLLONRECORDS

No tour dates have yet been announced but keep up to date with all the latest via their Facebook and Twitter.

New Artist of the Week #2

2011-12-16T13:26:00.005Z

Photo: Jez Brown

Name: Jess Morgan

Genre: Folk
Similar Artists: Laura Marling, Bright Eyes
Releases: All Swell (Album - 12 April 2010) Buy: Bandcamp

This week we're pushing the limits of our own definition of 'new'. The enchanting Jess Morgan is our featured artist but she does already have an album out, in fact there's a second due in the Spring. Still, having released her album totally indepentently, she's managed to dodge most of the major music press so hopefully this little piece encourages more to wrap their lug 'oles around the really rather lovely All Swell.

An ability to weave a yarn on a level with Conor Oberst melts into dulcet tones and a distinctly English feel falling somewhere between Folk's modern poster girl Laura Marling and Northumbria's more traditonal vocal sound of The Unthanks.

Songs to look out for include Pamela, which starts in a not dissimilar fashion to Bright Eyes' At The Bottom Of Everything, and floats, flows and flurries through a tale of loss.

What marks Jess Morgan out as something different and an artist worth listening to is that she manages to craft songs that aren't simply introspective, self-interested acoustic whinge-fests; a trap so many modern Folk singers fall into. They're fanciful adventures, or possibly memories, delivered with a unique, unusual, rhythm and a warm wit.

The real beauty is that songs like Eels, sound at once very specifically personal to her, but are also easy to relate to for others. While the exact experiences may not be shared between performer and audience, it feels like an honest account of something that the listener can instantly respect, delivered is such a captivating style that it almost seems rude to not to pay exceedingly close attention to each syllable of every word.

In the aftermath of the X-factor final and more hollow, meaningless cover versions, Jess Morgan shows just what it means to be a real artist, what music should really be about, that it can entertain, enthrall and move a listener without having to put on a glossy show and a forced smile.

Watch this video of Jess perfoming live in her home town of Norwich. Catch her live dates below.

Live Dates: 11th January 2012, Red Lion Folk Club, Birmingham (supporting Vin Garbutt)
16th January 2012, Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich (supporting Ellen And The Escapades)
30th January, The Bicycle Shop, Norwich (supporting Foy Vance), 01603 625777 ‎
14th February, The Malt Cross, Nottingham
5th April - Young And Lost Club @ The Lock Tavern, London

New Artist of the Week #1

2011-12-06T09:16:00.010Z

Name: Humphrey
Genre: Pop, Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Similar Acts: Noel Gallagher, Coldplay, Randy Newman, Five For Fighting
Releases: #4 (EP - 13th November 2011) Buy: iTunes

Things could have been very different for singer-songwriter Humphrey Milles. Not so long ago he was asked to become Chicane's frontman, having sung for them on Come Tomorrow; a world away from the sumptuous pop songs he is now penning.

Having supported the likes of Amy Winehouse, Magic Numbers and Graham Coxon, he's recently released his debut EP, #4, and now his soaring, heartfelt pop gems are garnering praise by the bucketload.

Anthemic touches of Embrace in their Brit-pop pomp sit alongside revealling lyrics that feature sometimes simple - but always charming - rhymes while there's a sentimentality in his words and a warmth in the instrumentation that is hard to resist.

EP highlight She's Climbing My Tree offers a touching tale of uneasy love while the brooding closer Let It Go shows a darker side that is both enthralling and envigourating.

With an album is on the way, including a guest appearance from Ed Harcourt, and exciting agents and publishers sniffing around, 2012 looks to be a big year for Humphrey.

Watch him perform a moving acoustic version of She's Climbing My Tree.

Live Dates: 17th December, The Tabernacle, London, 020 7234 9990.
8th February 2012, The Troubadour, London, 020 7370 1434.

Plus, an as yet unconfirmed date in January 2012 at Proud Camden as part of Music Week's regular Breakout shows. Check the websites and find Humph on Facebook for details.

The Rorschach Test Returns

2011-12-02T16:21:00.002Z

Ahoy there shipmates!

It has been some time since this blog was anything like active but that will all change very soon. Once a week I'll be bringing you what I believe to be the most exciting new bands and artists in a handy little entry. You'll be able to find out all sorts including tour dates, links to videos, audio, images, similar artists and a few hundred words giving you a bit more detail.

For now, old blog entries will remain on this site but I'll be clearing it out in the New Year and moving it to a new domain when I've got all that arranged.

I hope you enjoy what you find on these here pages as much as I'll enjoy giving you new nuggets of musical fun.

Keep it chopped out, yeah?
Steve.

Fact x Importance = News

2011-03-08T14:05:00.002Z

I've just completed a two week placement at Bauer Media's Radio Aire in Leeds. I was working on the newsteam as a reporter, interviewing people from local MPs, to student union representatives, to relatives of a missing person as well as a bit of court reporting and covering breaking news when anti-cuts protesters in Leeds invaded a council meeting.

Here is a news bulletin I recorded after a bit of training from Jim Foulger, Bauer's deputy regional news editor for Yorkshire.

News Bulletin by StephenMilnes

Bye Bye Benty

2011-01-19T19:23:00.004Z

Birmingham bound: Darren Bent has joined Aston Villa for a club record transfer fee.

As a Sunderland fan, this has been a very bad week. Another poor derby showing and now our most lauded asset has left the club.

Firstly, it’s a huge loss. Whatever people think of Bent and his talents, he pretty much guarantees 15-20 goals a season. That’s a very big void to fill.

Why he left is a mystery. It could be for many reasons. Reports suggest a foreign team bid for him in August and he asked to leave then; maybe he’s been unsettled for a while? Maybe he just wants more money. Maybe he finds it hard to deal with strong competition in the squad and wanted to move somewhere where he will be the main man again after Gyan and Welbeck have hit good form this season. Maybe he believes Villa have more scope for progress. Maybe he fell out with management or players? Maybe he saw our derby performances and thought the squad was too naive and mentally fragile to compete in big games, seeing more potential success at a club with older heads. Maybe he wanted to move South to be nearer family. Maybe he just thinks Villa are a significantly bigger club, he's entitled to that opinion.

Maybe he sees Villa as a club where he will be more likely to get an England place and develop as a player. Maybe our changing playing style, from a direct game - where he could latch on to knock downs and long balls using his pace - to a more expressive short passing approach, meant he didn’t feel comfortable here anymore.

He’s said he felt he was at his best when playing with Kenwyne Jones so the sale of him in the summer and the switch to two technically capable strikers rather than a target man and finisher may mean he wasn’t playing his preferred style and saw his future somewhere that did. Villa have Heskey and play with pace in Agbonlahor, Albrighton and Young. With Bent playing off Heskey he may find himself happier playing with a target man.

I don’t think we’ll ever know and ultimately it doesn't matter.

The reality is that Villa and Sunderland are two very similar sides in terms of squad quality. The difference is form. We are having a very good season while they are having a very poor season. On current form the move looks a backwards step and many are surprised at it but on paper it’s probably a sideways move.

Whatever the reasons and whether or not it’s a good move for him or the clubs, Sunderland need to come to terms with it and move on. Take the positives. We already have Gyan, a ready-made replacement. Welbeck is here until the end of the season and we have the best part of £12 (£6million of the transfer will go to Spurs through clauses) to spend on the squad, with up to £6 million extra to come in over the coming seasons.

Sunderland fans have a right to feel aggrieved as Benty often publically stated his love for the region, the club and the fans via Twitter and that now seems to have been discarded but the club and fans can't allow themselves to get hung up on that. The best thing to do is thank him for the excellent work he did for us and focus our energy on supporting the team and Steve Bruce.

I’d like to see us make some of our loans permanent with that cash, Elmohamady and Onuoha in particular. Welbeck will go back to Man U as Sir Alex has already said and he’s been far too good for us for them to let him leave now.

Rumours abound with regards to Michael Owen, Robbie Keane, Jay Bothroyd and Roman Pavlyuchenko coming in to replace Bent. I’d expect Niklas Bendtnar, Jo and Daniel Sturridge to be looked at too. Short term, these could be decent signings but they don’t scream goals and, with the exception of Pavlychenko, don't improve the squad. They’d be the best of what is available at the moment rather than what we want or need. One thing is for certain, Sunderland can’t finish the season relying on only two strikers, so somebody needs to come in this month.

There are also rumours of Stéphane Sessègnon and Sully Muntari being targeted thanks to the added cash. That will ease the midfield depth problem and possibly enable Sunderland to push a midfielder into a more attacking role but none of the current squad look to have the capabilities of a goalscoring midfielder.

Before Bent left I was hoping we wouldn’t qualify for Europe as it’d be too much too soon for the young squad and raise fan expectation too high. Now however I think it’s vital we maintain our position and qualify in order to attract players good enough to keep us moving forward. If we slip down the table it could set us back two or three seasons. With our highest profile player gone, it’ll be harder to persuade players of the quality we need to join if we’re not playing continental football.

Gyan needs to step up and fill in the gap. He’s done well so far, better than I expected, which makes me feel reasonably confident we can sustain our good season but striking options are limited. Fraizer Campbell will take a long time to get back to full fitness and to be honest hadn’t looked quite good enough prior to his injury.

It’s also important to reinvest to show the remaining players that we will continue to progress. If we wait around and fail to pick up anyone to help continue our momentum then others could have second thoughts about staying at Sunderland.

It’s a massive shock to the fans and the club but the club is bigger than just one player. We will move on and keep progressing. Three points against Blackpool on Saturday and we’ll start to forget how much Bent’s departure has surprised, worried and hurt us.

The Trip

2010-11-29T13:45:00.006Z

I've been avidly watching The Trip via BBC iPlayer over the last couple of weeks. The programme follows comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing charicatures of themselves, on a fictional tour of the North of England's restaurants for the food section of the Observer magazine.

After an interesting, mildly amusing start, the interaction between Brydon and Coogan became a little tedious come episode three as their bantering and mutual jealousy strayed from the chucklesome to the increasingly tedious.

Presumably that was a point the show was trying to make (hinted at in an earlier episode when Coogan comments on how formulaic and mundane their meals have become), that two people who are funny for a living, who naturally crave the spotlight find it incredibly difficult to function outside of that life. That is all well and good but it's not a particularly insightful observation, nor a fresh perspective. As a viewer I was left feeling relived that I, unlike the characters' friends and family, was able to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere after 30 minutes.

However, episode four sees more laughs than those that preceed it with Brydon and Coogan interacting for the first time with characters other than themselves as they meet with a photographer and Coogan's manager/PA (Claire Ashcroft off of Nathan Barley) while they devour their latest expensive, overblown appetizer.

This offers the programme and its characters opportunity for some much needed development and the show benefits from the input of the new faces. While Brydon and Coogan largely end up exhibiting the same traits as in previous episodes, they revel in the chance to perform to a new audience. The underlying tension between the two still bristles away at the table but it is able to be laughed off in the company of others.

There is very probably some truth to this fictional series and it seems to make the point that an audience can never truly know when a celebrity, of any standing, is performing and when they are their true self. Indeed, even if they have picked up their characters' habits and attitudes: A chicken and egg scenario. Do the actors and entertainers even realise that themselves?

Doing what The Office did so well, finding amusment in the mudanity of life and the awkward interactions of freiends and colleagues, The Trip is fundamentally an amusing - but certainly not side-splitting - half hour. There needs to be more character development if it is to maintain interest for the two remaining episodes of this six part series as the slow pace will be exacerbated by a familar narrative resulting in a plodding programme. That said, it raises some interesting questions about those who work in the entertainment industry, how they wish to portray themselves and how audiences percieve them.

See episode four here.

Future of TV

2010-11-19T17:12:00.003Z

Instesting stuff, as ever, from the BBC's Click.

Apple and Google leading the way in the next generation of on-demand TV streaming products.

Click!

Football Manager: More Than Just A Game

2010-11-01T11:05:00.004Z

After the best part of a year working on it, I've completed Football Manager: More Than Just A Game, a documentary about the popular computer game, Football Manager.

A project put together as the final piece for an MA in Media Production at the University of Lincoln, it was uploaded to YouTube and Vimeo over the weekend.

It's 70 minutes long and split into seven parts. You can start at part one and navigate your way through the parts individually on the above links.

However, the YouTube playlist, where it will play through in full automatically, is available here...

It was great fun making it, I learnt a hell of a lot and I want to thank all those who helped make it possible. It's far from perfect but given it was put together on a student budget with very limited man-power, I'm very proud of what we've managed to do.

I hope you enjoy it.

Rooney wants to leave Manchester United

2010-10-19T16:25:00.005+01:00

After weeks of rumour and speculation, it has been announced this afternoon that Wayne Rooney wants to leave Manchester United.

Wayne Rooney in action for Manchester United. Image courtesy of Toksuede via Flickr.

Fans and pundits alike cannot underestimate how big a blow it will be for United to lose him. It's an even a bigger loss than Ronaldo given that it was known for several seasons that Ronaldo would eventually leave.

That blow was somewhat softened by the knowledge that it was a world record fee and there was a carbon copy already in the squad in Luis Nani - who is now beginning to fulfill his potential - the knowledge that players like Park could fill in there and the signing of Antonio Valencia. However, the same can't yet be said for Rooney. It came out of the blue that this world superstar wanted to leave the club and United's other top strikers are no spring chickens.

United will get a big sum for Rooney but it will surely be lower than his true value given the short time left on his contract. The Red Devils would be lucky to get £50-60 million, which could make it tricky to sign a replacement who can instantly fill his boots. Signing a promising 20 year old like Alberto Paloschi, buying Giuseppe Rossi back, or having to bid well over the odds for an injury prone Fernando Torres seem the most likely options. Long term target Karim Benzema is a possibility but his time at Real Madrid has not been great and hoping he could prove himself in the Premier League could be a risk. Could there even be a sensational return for Carlos Tevez or will United move for the much touted Ezequiel Lavezzi, Giampaolo Pazzini or Edin Dzeko?

United have known since August that Rooney wishes to leave and will doubtless already have their scouts looking at several potential replacements, most of which we've probably not heard of before.

All is not lost however. It is important not to forget that United still have Javier Hernandez at their disposal. He could be the man to make the step up next year.

It's hard to imagine that Rooney will stay in England. United would not want to let him go to a domestic rival, especially after losing the red-hot Tevez to Manchester City.

A move abroad seems the most likely result, as was the case with David Beckham and Christiano Ronaldo. Barca could be the early front-runners. After missing out on Cesc Fabregas in the summer they'll be desperate to make a marquee signing and playing Rooney just off David Villa in a front four of Villa, Rooney, Messi and Pedro sounds irresistible.

Equally Real Madrid are being mentioned as potential suitors but voices inside the camp, including Jose Mourinho, have publically declared they would not be making a move prior to this afternoon's announcement. That could now change in light of the press conference Sir Alex Ferguson just gave.

A German side could be an outside bet as the Bundesliga is on the up but affording his wages may be a problem there with their tight financial guidelines and it's hard to see Rooney opting to play in the Italian league where sides are build around strong defences rather than bright attacks.

Wherever Rooney ends up, it will be a massive loss to Manchester United and the Premier League. If, as most seem to be saying, he goes to Spain it'll be another big step towards La Liga becoming the most commercially attractive league in the world once again.

Bosman ruling for TV rights?

2010-10-05T17:36:00.006+01:00

Firstly, this is my first post in around two months. Apologies for that. I got side-tracked by my Master's final project (which will be online to view this month) and a work placement at VikingFM in Hull.

Anyway, to the point of this entry.

This week sees the start of a hearing that could change the way football is watched in the UK.

Image courtesy of Belkus via Flickr.com.

Many of us have been to pubs to watch live matches. For many fans, it's the best (and by best I mean most affordable) way to keep up with your team of choice nowadays, especially in the Premier League.

No longer is football the working man's game. Even tickets for League Two games can start at around £10. Premier League fans are lucky to see their side for less than £20. Doesn't sound like a lot on the face of it, but it mounts up over a season.

So, it is then with a mixture of disappointment, disenchantment and excitement that thousands head to their local sports bar every weekend to see their heroes in action, now even in 3-D, sometimes. For the price of a match ticket, most can get four or five drinks, watch the game with fellow supporters and enjoy a match-like atmosphere.

Football may no longer be the working man's game but at least it is, with the help of Sky Sports, helping to reinvigorate the beleaguered, stumbling pub industry. It's a cracking little money earner for them. Right? Not if you ask many landlords and landladies up and down the country.

One such publican is Portsmouth's Karen Murphy. She's taking action in the European Court of Justice. You might not have heard of this court before. Sure, everyone knows the European Court of Human Rights but this on is only ever used for the most important and detailed cases of European law. The decision of this court could mean pubs are no longer tied to the one service provider in the UK, Sky.

Why is she taking this action? Well, five years ago she, like many other landlords, was finding the £1,000 a month to have Sky in her pub too steep a price. Normally, in a competitive market, there would be other options she could go for. Not here.

She instead used a service that I for one have seen in countless pubs and bars in the UK; Greek broadcaster NOVA. Using such foreign satellite subscriptions is illegal in this country. The terms of the contracts and laws that surround Sky's ownership of Premier League rights in Britain make it a breach of copyright to use any other broadcaster in pubs.

Karen was taken to court and had to pay about £8,000 in fines and costs after she was found to be using another broadcaster. Since then she has been appealing the verdict and today a hearing has started at the ECJ which will determine if pubs being tied to Sky is fair.

If the ECJ rule that it is not fair, it could mean pubs are free to seek cheaper providers of Premier League football if they so wish, making the use of NOVA, or other such broadcasters perfectly legal.

But what could it mean for football? The TV rights paid to Premier League clubs in recent seasons has sky-rocketed to astronomical sums. If pubs are allowed to seek cheaper alternatives, could that decrease? Very possibly. Some clubs rely on that level of income to stay afloat, but for too long clubs have been operating on borrowed money and in great levels of debt. Some would say it's about time they learnt to run themsleves as responsible businesses. That it's time football was reclaimed by the average fans who can't afford to go to games.

My heart says, on an ethical level, the market should be free, that other providers should screen live football in pubs in the hope that it forces football to back-track and become less of a money spinner. My head says, if the Premier League are forced to allow pubs to use providers other than Sky, they'll up the prices for foreign broadcasters, who will in turn have to raise their subscription fees and just for good measure, clubs will raise the ticket prices.

Some are hailing this court case as a potentially revoluntionary moment in sports broadcasting in the UK. I'll be surprised if it changes much at all.

Football Returns!

2010-08-08T19:15:00.006+01:00

Isn't that wonderful?

Yes. Yes it is.

As well as the first round of English football league fixtures, this weekend saw the announcement of the first England squad since the ill-fated World Cup Finals in the summer.

As expected, there are new faces, old faces, players who have been unlucky when given a chance in the past and one goalkeeper who retired from international football upon his selection.

Here is the squad and my thoughts on the main talking points.

Goalkeeper

Ben Foster, Joe Hart, Paul Robinson (withdrawn)

Rob Green came in for a lot of stick after his mistake in the game against the USA and that cost him his place in the starting 11 and now the squad. The fact remians that he is a quality keeper and should have been included anyway. England have, at most, four goalkeeps they can call on: Joe Hart, Ben Foster, Rob Green and arguably David James. There is little scope, and little need to experiement in that position.

Ben Foster has done nothing to prove he's good enough but keepers need game time and that's something he rarely got at United. 30-odd games at Birmingham this season and he'll be a much more confident keeper however and in with a real shout of a starting place. Any of Hart, Foster or Green could be England's number one. For now, Hart should get the nod though simply as he has youth on his side. He will only get better with more games and will serve England for a good decade, whereas Foster and Green, at 27 and 29, have about two tournaments left in them realistically.

Defenders

Wes Brown*, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, John Terry.

The one place where England have had depth consistently over the last 10-15 years is in defence, particularly at centre back.

The inclusions of Cahill, Jagielka and Gibbs are brave and positive moves. These players all good performers domestically, need to be tested and given a fair crack at the top level. Ferdinand and Terry have been wobbly for the last two seasons, while Ashley Cole is no spring chicken in football terms. It's time to think about their replacements.

The inclusion of Wes Brown however is a puzzling one. Injury prone and inconsistent: his career and development has been hampered. Right Back is a problem area fo England. Glen Johnson is still unconvincing with his back to his own goal. The probelm is, between now and the European Championships in 2012 there are no up-and-coming contenders for his position. When new ideas are needed, it's a position that risks becoming stale.

*Since writing this piece, Wes Brown has announced his retirement from international football.

Midfielders

Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere.

No real complaints here. These are the best English midfielders in the country. Contrary to popular belief, Joe Cole is not the miraculous player some tout him to be. His versatility is his downfall. Not enough pace to be a winger, too much club football on the wing to have become a better central, attack-minded midfielder than Gerrard or Lampard. The key to his England career lies in how weel he works with Gerrard at Liverpool this season. The Euros will be the last chance for silverware for both those players and Frank Lampard. However, this set of midfielders have what it takes with a mix of experience and youthful exhuberance. It would not be surprising to see these as the eight who travel to Poland & Ukraine in two years.

One slight concern would be Gareth Barry. He got beaten for pace and agility far too much during the world cup. It's something that needs to be monitored. With any luck it will have been down to a lack of match fitness after his end of season injury but if it becomes a common feature of his game, it'll be time to bring in Lee Cattermole in as the defensive midfielder. Not everyone's cup of tea and has a bit of reputation for a dangerous tackle or two but, like James Milner, has put in great performances for the Under-21's and was the heartbeat of his league side, Sunderland, last season. With his fighting attitude, ability to win the ball and eye for a pass he could be one to soon make the step up to full international level.

Ashley Young looks more and more like a Christiano Ronaldo tribute act every time he plays, but he produces on a regular basis at club level. The challenge now is to see if he can repeat that for his country. He's got the potential, can he fulfil it or will he continue to lose out to Aaron Lennon?

Many will claim the likes of Lampard and Gerrard should not be playing now but the change to younger players will be a long and slow one. England need to see who can settle in at this level and the older playrs can help them bed in. England are a team in transition, still recovering from the failure to get to Euro 2008 and the knock-on effects of that campaign. The likes of Gosling, Rodwell and Cattermole will get their chances over the next two seasons.

Forwards

Darren Bent, Carlton Cole, Wayne Rooney, Bobby Zamora

Up front is England's real problem area. Wayne Rooney is, by a country mile, England's best striker. No question. The problem is how to play him. At Manchester United he has become a lone striker and done it very well. Playing a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 would suit Rooney, and most of our midfield talent. However, we have no other forwards capable of playing up front on their own while reminaing prolific goalscorers.

This means England need to develop at least two systems. A fluid one-up-top style to best utilise Rooney, and one to change the game if that isn't working or cope when he's injured. Crouch and Defoe would and should be most people's choices to fill in with a tweaked 4-4-2 . It will be important to use genuine wingers out wide with this plan however, rather than Gerrard and Milner who are better centrally. Lennon and Adam Johnson would be leading contenders for the wide positions when playing a 4-4-2, while it's Walcott and Johnson when playing with Rooney. Ashley Young and Stuart Downing are in with a shout but must have stunning season to rise up the pecking order.

That leaves one striking place up for grabs. Zamora, at almost 30 years old will not be a long term contender. Carlton Cole looks the most likely as Darren Bent, despite being a 20-25 goal a season striker, is in direct competition with Jermain Defoe for a place. With Carlton Cole in the squad the tactics are more adaptable. Bent, sadly for him and somewhat cruelly, will forever be the stand-by, cursed by his need to play with a Cole/Heskey/Kenwyne Jones/Zamora type centre forward. Something Rooney, Crouch and Defoe, England's three best strikers, cannot offer him.

Potentials and Overview

Over the next two to four seasons England will be developing their new generation of players. Many will come in and fall by the wayside. The likes of Dan Gosling, Jack Rodwell, Lee Cattermole and Gabby Agbonlahor will doubtless get their chances in the near future.

After the Euros more will come in. The likes of Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson are very promising but are short of first team Premier League quality yet, never mind international level. Another couple of seasons work might see them make it.

Keep your eyes on the Sunderland side as there are half dozen very promising English youngsters coming through under Steve Bruce. Ryan Noble and Martyn Waghorn look quality strikers, Jordan Henderson and Jack Colback look equally exciting midfielders in particular.

All in all, this is a good squad announcement. It should keep the press off Capello's back for a week or so and gives England chance to look at new options and those who haven't had a massive chance before, just as a friendly should do. Some won't be good enough but they need to be given the opportunity.

As for winning someting, it took Clive Woodward six years to build his world cup winning England rugby team, it's got to be a similar long term goal for the football team. Our problem as a nation of football fans is that we're not patient enough: Always getting on the players' backs when they don't get the ball forward at the first opportunity and expecting our young players to be world beaters before they're 23. There needs a culture change as well as a personnel change. Patience is a virtue. It should be about the right pass, not the first pass.

Later this week there will be, as last season, a Premier League prediction feature.

A new identity

2010-07-16T11:28:00.002+01:00

Just a point I forgot to mention in my previous post, in the build up to my final project, Jack has created an ident for my production company that is being used to make this film. As ident's go, I think it's pretty good.

vague archive ident from Jack Shelbourn on Vimeo.

Some interview clips from Football Manager: More Than Just A Game will appear on here in the next few days.

Back again!

2010-07-16T11:06:00.003+01:00

While the gathering masses are waiting for updates on Football Manager: More Than Just A Game, here are some examples of work I've been involved in with MA coursemates.

Firstly, Reap & Sow, a short film by Cal Johnson.

This a black comedy about revenge, obsession and gardening.

The tale of Sam Hain, whose continual failure to win 1st prize at the annual gardening festival and the gloating of his rival, Bryan, pushes him to the edge.

Starring
Kevin Spence
Tim Hawkins
Rob Myles
Olwen Johnson
Arran Lester

Produced, Written, Directed, Lit, Shot and Cut by Cal Johnson
1st Asst Director - Nick Powell
Sound Recording - Martin Bushby
Production Assts - Mark Rowbotham and Stephen Milnes
Post Production Sound - Cal Johnson and Sam Budd

Reap & Sow: a gardener's tale from Cal Johnson on Vimeo.

Secondly, Escape Pod. A sci-fi short by Jack Shelbourn.

This version is the first rough cut. The finished film will look, and sound, very different thanks to Jack's impressive skills with motion graphics and special effects, (as you can see here and here)

Nathan (Rex Cahill) is trapped inside an escape pod after the space station he lives on explodes in suspicious circumstances. Accompanied on the escape pod by a curious hologram named Val, as time passes Nathan becomes suspicious of Val, especially when he starts to have strange dreams...

'escape_pod'_rough_cut from Jack Shelbourn on Vimeo.

Hope you enjoy!

In both productions I filled the role of Production Assistant.

A well overdue update

2010-07-14T12:39:00.003+01:00

So, hello there vast swamp of internetness. How are you doing? It's been some time. Several months in fact. Apologies for the laxness with which The Rorschach Test has been run of late but it turns out Masters of the Arts degrees are quite a lot of hard work.

News then on the final project, yes it's that time again already. Thought you'd had enough of it with Talisman Magazine last year? Think again.

I'm currently just entering the editing stages of a feature length documentary. Football Manager: More Than Just A Game. It's got a Facebook group and everything. Ooooooo. Clicky.

It's a wry tribute to, and an examination of the phenomenal rise of, Sports Interactive's highly lauded contribution to the world of football management simulations and follows one young man on a journey into football management.

I've been all over the country, from London to Glasgow, Leicester to Sunderland speaking to all sorts of people. There are interviews with Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sports Interactive, Gareth Millward of FM-Britain, one of the country's premiere Football Manager advice websites, as well as fans of the game and, fingers crossed, one super secret celebrity guest. Keeping that one under my hat for now however. There will even be some funny little cartoons in amongst it!

I'll be bringing updates, trailers and clips to you over the course of the next two months prior to it's hand in on September 10th, both on this blog and via Vimeo. Hope you enjoy it.

Talisman Magazine

2010-03-19T10:11:00.004Z

In May 2009 I completed my Journalism BA(Hons) degree and final project. I got a 2:1 overall degree mark. Below is a link to the online PDF of my final project, which got a first. It is called Talisman Magazine and I created it with the intention of it being an antidote to Lad's Mags. It's cultural enjoyment for grumpy young men. Click the cover to read it.

All content written, researched and designed by myself, Stephen Milnes, between September 2008 and May 2009. Adverts scanned from physical issues of commercially available magazines.

Morning twirps!

2010-03-12T11:31:00.003Z

Been a while. Busy busy. Here's a couple of songs I am enjoying these days. Go nuts.

Black Daniel - I Love You (But Don't Touch Me 'Cos Your Sick) from Underdogs Online on Vimeo.

FOALS // SPANISH SAHARA from dave ma on Vimeo.

Release from Fear

2010-01-26T23:24:00.004Z

My second film, Release from Fear, a documentary about one young woman's struggle with and eventual triumph over Agoraphobia, is finished.

Release from Fear from Vague Archive Productions on Vimeo.

You can watch it on Vimeo here.

Rage Against The Machine for Christmas Number One

2009-12-09T12:48:00.007Z

The Facebook group that has launched a campaign to get Rage Against The Machine to Christmas number one in the UK has sparked much debate. Some see it as a bit of fun, others as offensive, futile rubbish. Here's my two penneth.

Rage Against The Machine

It's not an attempt to topple consumerism or a massive political statement, it's just a bit of fun in the name of futile teenage rebellion. Why? Because we're fed up of pointless nobodies spewing out some bile with no humour every Christmas.

The argument that the Christmas number has always been a bit of a joke, holds some, but little, water. A quick look on Wikipedia will show that since 1952 the majority of Christmas number ones in the UK have been genuine offerings from respectable recording artists. Of course there are the Rolf Harris songs, the Renne and Renatos, the Boney M's and other novelty singles but at least the majority of those, like Mr Blobby and Bob The Builder in recent times, knew it was a bit of fun and released songs with tongues in cheeks and a sense of playful, festive joy.

With the exception of Gary Jules and the charitable Band Aid 20, the last seven years have been dominated by Cowell sponsored acts. Acts that have, in my view, ruined part of the fun of Christmas. Their cold, calculated, grating and often instantly forgettable moanings (Shane Ward, Leon Jackson, Joe McElderry - yes, he will win - anyone?) are inevitably installed as favourites for the number one slot before the audition stages are even over. Just another step along the way in the complete bastardisation of Christmas.

There is no doubt in my mind that shows like Fame Academy, Pop Idol and X-Factor have encouraged the public to reveal our cruel sides in laughing at those unsuccessful auditions and resulted in countless thoroughly average singers being lauded as potential megastars only to find that after one single and an album many of them are never remembered. And like all those who slate it, I watch it most weeks.

Anyway, that is starting to wander off topic slightly. There are many criticisms that can be levelled at the Rage for Christmas campaign. The NME blog that I previously linked rightly mentions some of them,

"After all, there's no better way to stick it to The Man than by swelling the coffers of a major label rock act who've sold over 20 million albums worldwide...Plus, if you really want to rage against the Simon Cowell machine, 'Killing In The Name' is a bizarre song to pick, since it's a Sony BMG catalogue track – just like 'Hallelujah', 'Don't Stop Believin', and all those other tunes which mysteriously crop up on The X Factor time and again...politically, the campaign is at best misguided, at worst vaguely offensive. Rage Against The Machine wrote the song about the racism deeply embedded in American society – the police officers who "burn crosses" are closet members of the Ku Klux Klan. Lynch mob scum."

but I can't help feeling that it's missing the point slightly. Yes, the song was written about something infinitely more important and applying it to X-Factor is trivial at best, but in all honesty I struggle to believe that the majority of those, myself included, who have grown up listening to RATM in their teenage years ever really knew what it was written about and instead appropriated the lyrics to situations in their own life. Situations as trivial as doing homework, or chores, or being asked to stop skateboarding on their school playground. This is not about some grand political or social gesture. It's about the spirit of the song. The simple concept of rebellion.

Yes, it probably will mean Cowell gets more money through his business ties with RATM's mother label, but it's not about that either. It's about voicing a distain for the concept of his TV shows which have become tiresome at best, derivative and uninspiring at worst. Whether the vehicle for that will line his pockets any more is of no concern to me, the message is what is important.

Rage are an inspirational band and if it encourages people to challenge things, be they as ultimately inconsequential as X-Factor or as important as political activism, then that is surely a good thing.

On a personal note, with "Reality" TV on the wane after Big Brother announced it was wrapping up proceedings on Channel 4 earlier this year, I feel this is an opportunity to hurry the demise of one of the worst things to happen to television and music in my lifetime.

More importantly, I just think it'll be brilliant to have RATM at #1 this Christmas because Killing In The Name is a damn good song and I'd rather hear that than some awful, sickly-sweet rendition of Journey sung by a boy with a face that looks like it's copyright of Disney and makes me feel genuine, violent anger. The campaign is immature, it's slightly misguided, hypocritical and it's probably 100% pointless considering it'll take over half a million people to buy it if it's to top the charts, but it's going to put a mischievous smile on the face of hundreds of thousands of people this Christmas even if it proves unsuccessful and in the end, that's what it's all about isn't it?

Don't over analyse it.

Send a message this Christmas.

Youth

2009-11-18T00:09:00.004Z

My first film on my MA has just been completed. You can watch it on vimeo here.

"Youth" is a short documentary introducing Craig Paul, a twenty-two year old man from Cambridgeshire. Craig is a young man with some unconventional interests and hobbies. I hope to have portrayed him in a positive light. The aim of the film was to help combat the ideas often seen in the tabloid press that youths and young adults are disruptive, aggressive people. It was submitted as my first piece of coursework in response to a brief tasking us to create of portrait of a character or person, fictional or non-fiction.

There are many things I am unhappy with in the final cut and will be re-editing the film in the coming months. However, for a first attempt at filming and editing anything I feel it is adequate.

Youth from Vague Archive Productions on Vimeo.

Alexander Wolfe - Morning Brings A Flood

2009-11-11T12:53:00.003Z

Alexander Wolfe
Morning Brings A Flood
12^th October 2009
Redemption Records

Sometimes it’s just hard to work out what to make of an album. When it’s gunning along similar rails as one of the greatest albums of the modern era, if not all time, (in this case Jeff Buckley’s Grace) it can be tough to decide if it’s simply ripping off what has gone before, or the artist is using elements of it as an influence and trying something new.

Alexander Wolfe’s debut, Morning Brings A Flood is one such record. Full of accomplished musicianship (he plays all but the drums, horns and strings on the album) and delivers his moving lyrics, particularly evident in sumptuously autumnal Empty Morning and True Love Lies, in a soothing, croaky drawl akin to that of Doves and Elbow.

There are hints of Coldplay (‘Till Your Ship Comes In, The Submarine), the aforementioned Jeff Buckley (Prague Song, Movement) and even the basslines of the Beatles (Breakdown) throughout the album and at times it’s hard to distance Wolfe from those similarities. There are moments, such as the proggy solo in Lazybones, where he comes into his own and provides glimpses of exciting possibility, but then corny pub rock like Song For The Dead materialises and that hope recedes slightly.

This is a strong album with some impressive tracks on there. The solemn album closer Stuck Under September leaps out from the songs that precede it and heads straight for the heart, but there’s ultimately a disappointing sense throughout Morning Brings A Flood that this is all very familiar stuff. It’s all very nice, a well structured conglomeration of much loved sounds, but all very familiar.

Sometimes it’s just hard to work out what to make of an album.

2009-10-21T18:00:00.000+01:00

Dirty Projectors
Temecula Sunrise
7/10
EP
28th September 2009
Domino
www.myspace.com/dirtyprojectors

By Stephen Milnes

The most recent release from Brooklyn’s experimental outfit extraordinaire, Dirty Projectors, sees two of the stand out tracks from previous album, Bitte Orca, in Temecula Sunrise and Cannibal Resource appear alongside two previously unreleased numbers.

The EP begins with the psychedelic sitar-like guitar plucking that has become synonymous with Dave Longstreth and co in the title track. In fact, it wouldn’t sound out of place on some lovingly crafted Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin stop motion children’s TV show. That’s not to say it’d be suitable though. The irresistibly uplifting vocal harmonies and “spaced-out” guitars over the splashing of cymbals combine to make a cheery noise that distracts from the slightly less bright lyrics, “I know the horizon is bright and motionless, Like an EKG of a dying woman”, that’d probably not get the nod from a channel commissioner.

As for the as yet unheard material, it’s more of the same from Dirty Projectors and something only a superfan will really feel the need to possess. The daydream inspiring Ascending Melody is filled with the angelic voices of Amber Coffman and the aptly named Angel Deradoorian and is a snake charmer of a song. EP closer Emblem of the World is much the same but includes drums beaten with the sudden thunderous energy of the Baywatch theme.

Temecula Sunrise does everything that is to be expected of a Dirty Projectors release. It’s interesting, it’s pleasant and it’s unpredictable, but it’s nothing the average Dirty Projectors fan will miss from their collection.

Originally written for Noise Makes Enemies but is as yet unavailable on their website.

The Brute Chorus - The Brute Chorus

2009-10-21T17:58:00.001+01:00

The Brute Chorus
The Brute Chorus
4/10
Album
19th October 2009
Unsigned
www.myspace.com/thebrutechorus

By Stephen Milnes

Recorded in one take in front of 300 fans, the bravery and proficiency of The Brute Chorus’ self titled debut calls for respect. It’s a shame then that the songs let them down.

They are by no means poorly arranged or played, in fact quite the opposite, it’s just almost the half the dozen songs sound all too similar with a frantically strummed acoustic guitar and a thumping bass drum.

There’s touch of the Flogging Molly about them in their folk-rockish flourishes and Talking Heads, The Zutons, Jamie T, The Kooks and The Hoosiers at various points in their very slightly off-kilter guitar pop while the singer, James Steel, sounds like a little The Cure’s Robert Smith, which could go some way to explaining why The Brute Chorus sound quite so indistinguishable. With such a wide range of sounds hinted at, there’s a distinct lack discernable identity of their own.

Album opener Hercules offers quirky guitars, Grow Fins throws up some mildly exciting exuberance a la Guillemots and there’s a cluster of songs around two thirds of the way into the album that show all is not lost.

However, many songs are missing a kick of emotive power, there’s very little to raise the heartbeat or pull on the heartstrings. Eighth track The Cuckoo & The Stolen Heart is the one that stands up and make itself heard over the homogenous folk inflected pop rock that surrounds it but even then it’s simply the addition of female vocals that adds anything different.

What lets this debut album down is its pace. It feels much, much longer than the 48 minutes or so that it actually lasts. Songs, despite being a reasonably speedy tempo, drag on. The musicianship is good, the lyrics are pretty inventive, it just struggles to do anything of any real note. There’s no spark.

Originally written for Noise Makes Enemies but is as yet unavailable on their website.

Them:Youth - Halo

2009-10-21T17:55:00.001+01:00

Them:Youth
Halo
2/10
Single
21th September 2009
Dirty Boots Records
www.myspace.com/themyouth

By Stephen Milnes

London five-some Them:Youth release their second single, Halo, with the PR spiel stating it will breath “new life into the word anthem”. Well, three and a half minutes of annoying synth, somebody half shouting the word halo a lot and that all too familiar rolling hi-hat and snare drum beat doesn’t sound anything like resuscitation. If anything it’s the dying gasps of formulaic dullardry.

It’s not even irritatingly catchy. As soon as the track ends it is forgotten. There are no memorable hooks, just bland, pseudo-anthemic posturing. Avoid.

Originally written for Noise Makes Enemies but is as yet unavailable on their website.

Fanfarlo @ The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham, 5th October 2009

2009-10-08T15:48:00.004+01:00

Originally written for TMM. Read it here.

After the frustration of a below-par performance from my beloved Leicester Tigers, having to queue outside in the rain for 25 minutes to pay for a car park in Leicester, getting lost on Nottingham’s nightmarish one-way system for 20 minutes, having to eat a Big Mac for tea (which, for the record, tasted like I was eating the boiled down soul of some bran) and finally getting to the venue to discover there had been a breakdown in communication somewhere and that my name was not on the guest list, it was fair to say I needed my spirits lifting and my stress levels lowering.

Just as well then that tonight’s headliners deal almost exclusively in songs that do just that. Fanfarlo take to the stage with barely enough room to wiggle an elbow, the six of them and their myriad instruments filling the Bodega’s small stage with ease. There’s everything from the standard, guitars and drums, to mandolins, trumpets, keyboards, glockenspiels, wood saws and those keyboard things with hosepipes in. Imagine the majesty of Arcade Fire meeting the euphoria of the Polyphonic Spree after the Appleseed Cast and Anathallo set them up at a party, in your front room, which is crowded with friends. That’s what tonight’s gig is like, probably.

Fanfarlo’s 45 minute set is filled with songs from their sumptuous debut album, Reservoir. Old favourite Drowning Men makes an appearance as does album opener I’m A Pilot and current single The Walls Are Coming Down, which has seemingly been on loop at BBC 6Music for the last few weeks. The airplay seems to have done some good. The Bodega is close to capacity and most are singing, dancing and smiling along to the aforementioned single, and for that matter, for the duration of the set.

Things were brought to a close all too soon with Fanfarlo modestly accepting the adoring gratitude of this small upstairs room in central Nottingham. Swedish support act, First Aid Kit (who were equally delightful), soon beckon them back on stage to do an impromptu cover of a Devendra Banhart song. The applause and cheers that meet both acts come the end are rapturous to say the least.

Judging by that reaction, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, this particular onlooker leaving with a big grin on his face, calm restored and an overwhelming feeling that despite the irritating events of the preceding hours, everything is going to be all right. Things are more than all right. They’re positively joyful when bands like Fanfarlo are around.

Destruction - The Curse of the Antichrist - Live In Agony

2009-10-03T11:37:00.004+01:00

Originally written for Thrash Hits. Read the full article, complete with fancy videos, tacklisting and stuff, here.

Destruction
The Curse of the Antichrist - Live In Agony
AFM Records
25 September 2009

The live album is a curious beast. Many can feel rather soulless and synthetic, a poor imitation of actually being at a gig. Hearing the crowd over the top can be irritating, the tracks - often taken from across a plethora of albums - don’t always run together like a coherent album should, and the sets are often too long to be palatable outside the context of the performance, taking up multiple CDs. Put simply, they’re nerdy and usually the preserve of the super-fan.

Destruction The Curse Of The AntiChrist Live In Agony cover artwork packshot Thrash Hits

German Thrash titans Destruction’s latest, The Curse of the Antichrist - Live in Agony, recorded at Wacken 2007 and on a recent Asian tour, doesn’t seem like it’s going to be any exception to those generalisations.

Two discs worth of some of the most punishing thrash you’re likely to hear this side of San Francisco’s Bay Area sounds like an exciting prospect, but when listening alone - rather than in a venue, surrounded by thousands of equally excited metalheads playing air guitars - it has a somewhat underwhelming, hollow effect and becomes slightly tiresome after the first fifty or so minutes.

However, the performances are otherwise such sturdy ones that it becomes compelling in its heaviness. Tracks like ‘Unconscious Ruins’, ‘Metal Discharge’ and ‘Thrash Till Death’ stand out in particular. These German veterans of Thrash know how to put on one hell of a show - the crowd sounds pumped, and the band is tighter than a camel’s arse in a sandstorm.

Sadly, the changing between the Wacken and Asian sets feels clunky and that detracts from what is otherwise a nigh-on seamless live album. Any bits of benign blabbering between songs have largely been edited out, but there are a few distracting moments. It’s very hard not to laugh at a German man trying to assert his masculinity by shouting at thousands of people in Japanese and declaring that, “It’s fucking great to be back in TTTTTOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOO!” and suchlike.

Despite these accidently comic exchanges between band and fans, Live In Agony does manage to capture Destruction in full flow, cementing their reputation as one of the key acts in European Thrash with their audible enthusiasm, precision playing and crushing riffage. Some fans may be a little disappointed by the comparative lack of new music in recent years but this live album is a beast well worth taming.

5/6

Top Tracks: The Butcher Strikes Back, Thrash Till Death, Metal Discharge, Cracked Brain, unconscious Ruins, Bestial Invasion
Sounds Like: Testament, Death Angel, Exodus

Claustrofobia - I See Red

2009-10-03T11:33:00.005+01:00

Originally written for Thrash Hits. Read the full article, complete with fancy videos, tacklisting and stuff, here.

Claustrofobia
I See Red
Candlelight Records
05 October 2009

When an album has a tracks with titles such as ‘Evil University’ and ‘Raining Shit’ on it, it’s a pretty good bet that it’s going to be fun. Maybe even to the point of a cartoonish caricature of metal itself.

Claustrofobia I See Red cover packshot artwork Thrash Hits

Claustrofobia’s I See Red sounds like Max Cavalera garrotting Dez Fafara with rope made from the hair of Cannibal Corpse. From the very first moments of album opener Discharge, the Brazilian thrash/death metal outfit deliver a breed of metal that can only be really be described as violent and energising.

Each track as uncompromising as the last; guttural, demonic screams overlay rapid fire drums and brooding, bruising, aggressive guitars. ‘Minefield’, ‘Alarm’ and ‘Our Blood’ are all prime examples of the ferocity inherent in this album while ‘Don’t Kill The Future’ is reminiscent of Machine Head’s ‘The Rage To Overcome’ with artillery-like drums opening up proceedings.

Just when it seems like a bloodied, bludgeoning assault is all that I See Red will deliver, along comes ‘Noia’. An unexpected, disorientating King Crimson-esque guitar noodling, with more hammers-ons and pull-offs than you’ll hear on a Tim Kinsella record. It’s a welcome break from the relentless, aural beating that has been dished out in the previous 40 minutes or so.

Normal service is quickly resumed however with the imaginatively monikered, Untitled, which punches you through the face and comes out of the back of the skull like a high speed drill. You remember the Some Kind Of Monster artwork? Probably not if you’ve got any sense; ’cause you didn’t buy it. Well anyway, this song makes you pull the face of the angel on there. That exact face.

For those that like their metal fast, unrelenting and strong, I See Red is a hugely enjoyable listen, but it does get somewhat repetitive. Clocking in at over an hour, it starts to drag towards the end and many of the songs are almost indistinguishable from the last. If it’s possible for an album to suffer from being too metal, this may be it.

3/6

Sounds like: Soulfly/Sepultura, Devildriver, Cannibal Corpse
Top Tracks: Discharge, Noia, Untitled

Stardeath and White Dwarfs Interview

2009-10-03T11:14:00.004+01:00

Following my recent review of Stardeath and White Dwarfs debut album (complete with contentious fan comments and an inexplicable error on my part) I wrote a few questions for an interview with the band. It was recorded by their label for The Music Magazine.

Read the full article and watch the video with TMM, here.

Thrice - Beggars

2009-10-03T11:07:00.001+01:00

Originally written for The Music Magazine, read it here.

Available on iTunes from August but getting one of them hold-it-in-your-hands-and-actually-own-it-releases this September, Beggars is the latest offering from American post-hardcore-outfit-turned-vaguely-proggy-metal-shebang, Thrice (yeah, pigeon-holed the shit out of that).

As the newly monikered sub-genre up there suggests, frontman Dustin Kensrue used to shout and scream, a lot. He did it quite well to be honest but now he has toned it down a touch.

Like their contemporaries Brand New, the members of Thrice have spent the last four years evolving their band into something far more adventurous and complex. The material on the last offerings, The Alchemy Index and Vheissu, possessed a maturity that melodramatic earlier work had lacked. Despite this it retained the aggression and power of the first three albums, releasing it in a more considered manner. Measured, rather than raw, emotion is now cajoled and enticed from Kensrue’s voice. His recent solo jaunts seem to have made him more aware of his vocal talent and he is now capable of manipulating those cords much more acutely.

Beggars is a record that extends that rebuilding. The opening three tracks display Thrice at their broad-ranging best. Powerful tracks like All The World Is Mad and The Weight stand strong alongside the delicacies of the mournful, post-rockish Circles.

The album follows a similar path for its remainder. Tracks like Talking Through Glass should be played loud and used to test the aerodynamics of aeroplanes in wind tunnels while The Great Exchange and Wood & Fire used to settle insomniacs.

However, there are one or two low points. Doublespeak, through its keys and swaggering drum beat, sounds a bit like Starsailor to begin with and Kensrue does have a touch of the Cornell about his vocals at times.

Minute lapses into middle of the roadary aside, Beggars is an accomplished album that shows Thrice are capable of becoming a dominant force in the world of the headbanging muso and even hints at relative mainstream exposure.

Surely they won’t be Beggars for much longer.

Recent Reviews for NoizeMakesEnemies.com: Simian Mobile Disco - Temporary Pleasure

2009-08-24T19:45:00.001+01:00

Read the full review here.

Rating: 3/10
Format: Album
Release Date: 17/08/09
Label: Wichita
www.myspace.com/simianmobiledisco

This new album from everyone’s favourite mediocre 90’s band turned club favourites is, to be quite honest, a bit underwhelming.
Where 2007’s Attack Decay Sustain Release was filled with floor filling, slightly continental sounding electro house type noises like Sleep Deprivation, Tits & Acid, Hustler and It’s The Beat – the British Butlins holiday to the romantic Paris honeymoon of Daft Punk, Justice, Sebastian, Mr. Oizo, Kavinsky et al - Temporary Pleasure kicks off at a sedate pace with the thoroughly drab Cream Dream: A track with an 80’s motif running through it as if it were beige wallpaper in La Roux’s downstairs toilet. Even vocals from the Super Furry Animal himself, Gruff Rhys, don’t manage to brighten it up.

The intro sounds like it’s about to burst into Kim Wilde’s Kids In America. Unfortunately it doesn’t. You’ve heard Chemical Brothers and Flaming Lips’ single, The Golden Path, right? Well if you haven’t, go and find it now. Then imagine it slowed down a tiny bit and not quite as uplifting. That’s basically Cream Dream.

The album then moves on to Audacity Of Huge. It begins like some sub-Timberland/Timberlake/Furtado tag team annoying bleeping and continues in a similar vein. Vocals from Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, much like the previous track, fail to add anything of real interest. Utterly forgettable.

It’s a pattern that follows throughout the rest of the album. There’s a just over half a dozen guest appearances on this record and many of them - Griff Rhys, Chris Keating, Beth Ditto, Jamie Lidell, Alexis Taylor - seem to take an age to reach their end.

Few of them ever seem to get going and while a down tempo electronic album is often a welcome thing to these ears, the guest appearances seem to take away from the compositions. It seems the main attraction of this album isn’t SMD’s ability to build up a great dance-floor crescendo but the name tagged onto the end of the track title.

The album seems to lack direction or purpose. It’s not quite chilled out enough to pass as a quality bit of relaxing electronica but neither is it lively enough to compel listeners to dance.

Things finally get interesting with one of SMD’s lyricless offerings, 10000 Horses Can't Be Wrong. It’s an infectious, mutating, body mover and surprisingly there’s another one on the album too!

Turn Up The Dial is an album highlight. Teaming up with Young Fathers it’s one of the few tracks on the album that really gets the blood pumping. Along with Ambulance they offer the more familiar, invigorating tunes and the album closer Pinball, featuring Telepathe, is a mesmeric masterpiece.

Regrettably this album’s lack of, to use a technical term, ‘umph’, and inability to find an identity (is it chill out, is it minimalistic or is it upbeat floor-filling material?) leaves almost every track failing to deliver in one way or another.

If it isn’t the sense of warmth that soothing and challenging electronic albums from Plaid or Chris Clark will offer, or the sensual joy to be found in albums such as Daft Punk’s Discovery or Justice’s Cross, it’s the outright anthemic house-party material on Basement Jaxx’s albums.

A mixed bag that picks up a little after the mid point with short-lived excitement but an album that ultimately fails to deliver for the duration of the record. Temporary Pleasure indeed.

Recent Reviews for NoizeMakesEnemies.com: Echaskech - Shatterproof

2009-08-24T19:37:00.003+01:00

Read the full review here.

Rating: 7/10
Type: Album
Release Date: Out Now
Label: Just Music
www.myspace.com/echaskech

The album begins with its namesake, Shatterproof. This is a spine-chilling, eerie number with ethereal, drawn-out notes, flicks and whips of sound that flit in and out of consciousness, leaving trails like a shooting star across the night sky.

It finds the centre point between Boards of Canada’s Beware The Friendly Stranger and Pendulum’s Hold Your Colour, always threatening to kick in with out and out breakbeat grunt but refraining and eventually morphing into second track, On Your Mind. And so continues the astronomical chill-out, with down tempo and muffled thuds driving along disorientating blips and fuzzed bass which are later added to by sliced female vocals.

After such a promising start we are presented with Future Sex. A song that appears to have been voiced by that floating face bloke off of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers who, it seems, has since moved to 60 fags a day since they killed him off sometime in the 90’s. The lyrics, one or two word snippets of generic technological and futuristic sounding things, are borderline comic and it’s almost impossible to take the song seriously. Lines like, “Future sex. Carbon based. Silicon. Interface. Robot lover. Bionic seed. Server controlled. Electro breed. Virtual baby. Digital teen. Cyber punk. On a plasma screen. Computer music. In the galactic jaw (it might not be jaw, couldn’t quite make it out on the CD). YouTube killed, the video star”, while a personal favourite line is, “Interstellar. Pleasure cruise. Teleportation. Rocket Shoes.”

There’s nothing about it in the credits but it wouldn’t be surprising to find that Jermaine Clement and Joel Tolbeck had some input on this one. It sounds like a 1980’s Dr. Who robot gargling its dreams after eating too much cheese before bedtime.

That tune aside, Shatterproof is a real high quality record. The arrangements and sequences are often teasing, deliciously so, always restful and occasionally, delightfully surprising. The ambient electronics conjure imaginations of outer space, the deepest seas and all the fantastical objects and creatures to be found there.

It could be said, fairly enough, that a lot of the tracks on Shatterproof are too similar too one and other. If they were heard as stand alone singles then the material probably wouldn’t stand up to much after three or four radio plays but, as an album, the tracks come together to create one deeply layered and dexterous work, featuring flush joins and gentle waves of electronic bliss.

Shatterproof by name, cheerily fragile by nature.

Recent Reviews for TMM: Stardeath and White Dwarfs - The Birth

2009-08-24T19:36:00.004+01:00

Artist: Stardeath And White Dwarfs
Date: 14 September 2009
Label: Warner Bros

Dennis Coyne, Casey Joseph, Matt Duckworth and James Young are Stardeath And White Dwarfs and this, The Birth, is their debut album. Yet it already offers something familiar.

That ‘thing’ is the sound of Dennis’ uncle’s band, The Flaming Lips (frontman Wayne Coyne being the uncle in question). Stardeath have been road crew for Oklahoma’s most triumphant export for many years, and more recently, tourmates. In fact, you’ll be able to see them supporting the Lips during their November UK tour.

Anyway, the album…

This is far from a bad record – in truth, it’s a very good record: well written, performed and mixed, with a track listing that rolls along smoothly – it’s just almost impossible to remove that family Coyne connection from the mind and in turn, from what is coming through the speakers. The two bands are intrinsically linked, genetically and musically.

Stardeath’s bass and guitar fuzz is almost identical to that of the Lips’ and their drum sound isn’t far different either. Even down to the drumming style, it’s very Drozd-esque at times – which is no bad thing but those aspects combined mean there’s very little sign of Stardeath having any distinguishable characteristics. The only noticeable difference is Dennis’ voice, which is smoother than Wayne’s, but even that’s eerily similar at points in almost all of the ten songs.

Any Flaming Lips fan (your scribe included) will more than likely really enjoy most of the songs on The Birth. Album opener The Sea On Fire is a side-winding groove-laden monolith while Keep Score is a great display of what Stardeath can do, mixing aspects of Flaming Lips, Grandaddy and Band of Horses to create something moving towards their own sound. However, Age of the Freaks simply gives the impression Dennis Coyne and friends are shouting, “listen to the Flaming Lips! They’re mint!”, as they manage to mention Superman (song from The Soft Bulletin) and Freaks (documentary DVD of the band called Fearless Freaks, among many other references by the Lips themselves) in the opening verse. It doesn’t help that it sounds like a cut-price version of It’s Summertime from the Lips’ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots album too.

Stardeath are clearly very talented musicians (the rhythm section solos of Those Who Are From The Sun Return To The Sun make this plain enough, even if it is all a touch cheesy) and there is potential here for a band to do something truly great, but this album is not it.

They need to be given time to develop, to find their own voice. It’s all well and good taking influence from your uncle’s hugely successful band but Stardeath must take that influence and work their own sound from it, combining it with other aspects of wider inspirations. It’s too dominating currently.

The Birth is exactly that. These young men are new to the musical world. They must be allowed to grow and learn their craft or risk a career making albums that sound like Flaming Lips’ b-side compilations.

A promising, respectable start that’s well worth a listen but the band must attain an identity of their own in the near future.

Read this on The Music Magazine here.

Recent Reviews for TMM: Freeze Puppy - Animation

2009-08-24T19:33:00.002+01:00

Artist: Freeze Puppy
Date: 3 August 2009
Label: Pickled Egg Records

From the moment Animation begins to rotate in the record player it becomes very clear that this is no ordinary pop album. It is little short of an off kilter pop roundabout. Spinning with all the quirky nature of Jeremy Warmsley and Of Montreal chopped up and stuck in a blender.

The fluctuating speeds of delivery are addictively disorientating, gloriously confuddling the listener into submission.

All the tracks are incredibly short with only three songs – Everything Fades, June On TV and album closer The Bluebird Song – that clock in at over two minutes in length, but almost all of these clipped numbers seem to float and bleed in and out of each other in the most flush of fashions. This serves the listener with sharp bursts of jazzy pop spiking in the ears and travelling in from all directions interspersed with gentler waves relaxation that allow the twenty-odd minutes to melt into as little or as long a time as your mood decides to take.

Tom Wilson, the brains behind it all, creates a world brimming with delightfully flawed characters through whom he tells his stories. It’s easy to imagine these songs, particularly Birth Of A Legend and Among The Rushes, soundtracking some classic freeze-frame children’s animation (as the album title may suggest) akin to Bagpuss or the Magic Roundabout: Something altogether strange, yet beautiful, warm and friendly.

Each time it plays there is something new and unexpected to be heard, be it the bizarre guitar solo in Pass Me By or the sudden start of Would Like To Meet, the schizophrenic piano of the prophetic Everything Fades or the ethereal qualities of Hey Mr.

Freeze Puppy’s Animation isn’t something likely to be heard on Radio 1 any time soon and that’s just as well as it will very possibly liquidise the minds of those that like music to be linear, clear and simple, resulting in brains dribbling out of mouths nationwide. However, for those that like a bit of oddness and unpredictability in life, Animation’s mix of sounds won’t be far off the mark.

Read this on The Music Magazine here.

Recent Reviews for TMM: Blakfish - Champions

2009-08-24T19:21:00.004+01:00

Artist: Blakfish
Date: 10 August 2009
Label: Hassle Records

Birmingham’s Blakfish have been doing the rounds on Britain’s burgeoning post-hardcore scene for a number of years. They played with the much-loved Meet Me In St. Louis during their final days and have already developed quite a following in the underground – a following who will be greatly pleased with Champions, their debut album.

Champions kicks off with the frenetic Economics, a raucous number about bills and overdrafts in which many students and young twenty-somethings will find catharsis through the agonised scream of, “this is one outrageous charge / I haven’t even used my card / BANKERS! YOU HEARTLESS, BASTARDS!”, while taking a pop at those who buy what they can’t afford.

Filled with hammer-ons, pull offs and duel guitar lines the next track, Ringo Starr – 2nd Best Drummer In The Beatles, focuses on the band’s disillusionment with their own generation, “I don’t know what came first / the shit music or the shit drugs / but I do know that all the kids who used to go to shows now go to clubs / I don’t like dance music and I don’t think that I ever will”.

It may seem slightly juvenile or un-weighty in its subject matter (as the band possibly acknowledge in Ringo Starr with the refrain “it could be worse, we could be dead”) but if artists write about what they know and do it well, it’ll sound heartfelt. Champions certainly manages that. The vocal delivery is caustic in its rage, the riffs especially crushing, conveying their anger in classic fashion when necessary.

Blakfish demonstrate an admirable ability to weave in and out of heavy riffs and delicate guitar noodling, most evident in Your Hair’s Straight But Your Boyfriend Ain’t, which starts with one of the most crushing guitar lines heard this side of Sikth’s last album and some of the most dreamlike guitar work since Minus The Bear’s most recent offering.

After an explosive beginning to the record, things are calmed down somewhat, relatively speaking, and the songs become slightly more driven by melody. Moving toward the post-punk side of things a la Dartz (If The Good Lord Had Intended Us To Walk He Wouldn’t Have Invented Roller Skates and We Beg, We Borrow, We Steal) but Blakfish retain their own aggressive flavour throughout the album.

There are hints of great modern punk-derived bands strung through Champions. Echoes of the aforementioned Minus The Bear and Dartz can be found in the gentler reaches while Leicester’s sorely missed Public Relations Exercise, Every Time I Die and The Number 12 Looks Like You seep into the constantly changing and unusual time signatures to be found in tracks like I Saw A Car On Fire There Once and The Closer To The Bone, The Sweeter The Meat. The songs rarely follow any kind of verse/chorus structure; it’s hardcore for the reincarnated prog fan, if that’s not too much of a contradiction.

The range of subjects covered in the lyrics is enough that Champions maintains freshness and interest with each listen. Everything from banking charges, vegetarianism, the trials and tribulations of parking, the troubles of relationships, aspirations and ambitions to wasting days watching TV are mentioned, telling tales of being a young and broke adult in modern Britain. Its not necessarily lofty and profound but it speaks to all, whether they fancy themselves as a hoity-toity highbrower or a Hollyoaks soup-brainer, and is that not the ultimate skill of song-writing: creating something that vast swathes of the record buying public can relate to while making it still sound personal to each listener and the band?

Champions indeed.

Read this on The Music Magazine here.

Premier League Prediction 2009/2010 Season

2009-08-14T18:46:00.012+01:00

With the new Premier League season kicking off at lunchtime on Saturday with Chelsea v Hull City, here is my prediction for the final league positions.

1. Manchester United - A different style of play with Ronaldo gone but they still have sufficient quality and strength in depth to retain their title. Expecting Rooney to take on the mantle of chief attacking threat, Berbatov to find form after settling in and bag a load and for Owen to win them games against the bottom half lot pre-Christmas and to become a starter for the big games in the new year. Valencia will create just as much as Ronaldo did but will score less. Anderson and Nani will need to compensate with goals from midfield. The Da Silva brothers will offer attacking threat out wide from full back when they get a chance along with the ever improving Evra. Expecting Giggs, Scholes and Neville to play an increasingly peripheral role, and rightly so.

2. Chelsea - New manager will bring new hope but ageing stars will come undone against United and Arsenal's youthful talents. Will run United very, very close though. New Russian signing Yuri Zhirkov will give them much needed width to support Joe Cole on the other flank when needed. If they play Drogba and Anelka together consistently then they're in with a real shot at the title but they'll have to adjust quickly to their new system.

3. Arsenal - With Eduardo back there is no need to replace the thoroughly average Adebayor. Still short of cover at centre-back for Gallas or Vermeulen and vulnerable with Toure gone but Eduardo, Arshavin, Walcott, Van Persie, Nasri, Rosicky, Fabregas will ensure they have the most prolific attack in the league. Improving youngsters like Denilson, Diaby, Ramsey, Vela and Wilshire will feel like new signings themselves as the play an increasing role in the first team. They'll still get shaken about buy the more brutish squads and will continue to weave pretty patterns rather than try to play them at their own game if they're being bullied, but with Chelsea and Liverpool largely stagnating they shouldn't lose much ground and may even gain some.

4. Liverpool - Not having strengthened over the summer and having lost Alonso means Liverpool's midfield won't purr like it did last year. The same problem exists for Rafa. Should anything happen to Gerrard or Torres and they'll be struggling for quality cover and goals. They're still three or four top draw players away from a table-topping side.

5. Tottenham Hotspur - Back to where they left off with Jol under Redknapp. Four high quality strikers and great depth in midfield should see them right. Defenders are a must in the transfer market though with both Woodgate and King being as reliable for fitness as a two legged stool.

6. Manchester City - Keeping the egos in check will be Mark Hughes' greatest problem this year. The away form of last season should be rectified and they will be a massive threat going forward but there is a distinct lack of defensive reliability. With Barca apparently sniffing around Kompany their options may soon become limited even further. The signing of Barry will keep things ticking over in midfield and link up the play while the self belief those egos have and the attacking threat they possess should mean the city of Manchester stadium sees City get European football again this season. Doubtless they'll strengthen in January as well.

7. Aston Villa - The loss of both Gareth Barry and Martin Laursen will cost Villa this season. Still moving in the right direction but a slight backward step this time out. Should take two forward next though. There won't be much separating Villa, Spurs and City but it's hard to see where Villa will get the goals from to outscore the two aforementioned clubs. With few new faces having arrived over the summer it'll be hard for O'Neill's men to keep fresh and motivated among what was already a small squad.

8. Everton - The Merseysiders have simply not done enough in the transfer market to build upon the good work they've done in the last two seasons. Providing the likes of Cahill, Arteta, Fellaini, Saha, Yakubu, Jo, Neville, Jagielka and Baines stay fit, and Lescott stays at the club, then they should have enough quality to sneak a European place along with Villa thanks to the clubs above them picking up the cups.

9. Fulham - A magnificent season last time round given their 2007/2008 finish has guaranteed them European football this season and a few clever additions should see them just about be able to handle a good European run and league campaign. The league will take priority if they spend long out of the top half but their squad should be good enough to handle respectable knocks in both competitions.

10. West Ham United - With their ownership again coming under question it looks like being another turbulent season off the pitch for Hammers fans but Zola has them playing lovely, flowing football (see Carlton Cole's goal away vs Wigan last season) that should mean they have the beating of the bottom half teams. They currently lack the quality for a challenge on the European places but with another good season that could change this time next year.

11. Sunderland - A new manager, new faces and a new billionaire owner. Things are looking up for the Black Cats. As was the case last year, they've made half a dozen new signings and their squad is now looking capable of keeping them clear of any relegation threat. They've only lost once in pre-season, beating Celtic and Althletico Madrid in the process, so they're in good form and spirits will be high. Fans should probably expect a slightly more direct style this season. Signings like Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana and Paulo Da Silva are not there to set the world alight. They are there to bolster a fragile and accident prone defence and add fight to a midfield that last season was far too often found to be a pushover. There's no doubt the the arrival of Darren Bent and Fraizer Campbell add a cutting edge up front but will either of them find a partnership with Kenwyne Jones? They're similar to Djibril Cisse who played there last season and he and Jones never seemed to click. Will Jones start even? It'll take a few games for Bruce's best team to emerge but once it does he should be able to guide it to the welcome comfort of mid-table obscurity by Easter. In reality, anything from 14th upwards would be a good season for Sunderland but they're more than capable of topping the bottom half.

12. Blackburn Rovers - Selling Roque Santa Cruz for almost £20 million is a fantastic bit of business for a striker that has only managed ten league goals twice in his career and did little else but unsettle the team last time. The money has been spent wisely on replacements and as Allardyce moulds his team into a typically competitive, physical, tough to break down unit this season they should manage to stay well clear of the specter of relegation that followed them until late April last outing. It won't be pretty but it'll be successful, relatively speaking.

13. Bolton Wanderers - Gary Megson has done a fantastic job at Bolton, picking up where Big Sam left off and sweeping up the pieces Little Sam left behind. Much like Blackburn, Bolton will be strong, combative and limitedly attractive but have the ability to hurt teams with players like Johann Elmander, Kevin Davies and Riccardo Gardener.

14. Stoke City - It will be tough for Stoke in their second season, as Reading found out to their cost a few years ago, but their style is, again, a pragmatic one and should see them safe. James Beattie will need to continue his good from he brought to the club back in January and the players will all have to step up their game as sides will have worked them out by now. With few new signings to speak of (Dean Whitehead is hardly going to get pulses racing - unless of course he's in possession of the ball, as it will inevitably lead to a goal scoring opportunity for the opposition - as many Sunderland fans will testify) it will be very hard for the Potters to improve on their 12th place from last season, particularly with Sunderland and Blackburn looking strong to finish around that area. A slightly more worrying season but that Britannia atmosphere will help them no end.

15. Wigan Athletic - Having lost Steve Bruce to Sunderland it looks like the only way is down for this lot. New manager Roberto Martinez is one of the most promising prospects around and he should be competent enough to keep them up, for now. It'll be incredibly difficult for him to follow on from Bruce's legacy of finding fantastic players on the cheap from all over the world and with Heskey, Zaki, Cattermole, Mido, Palacios and Valencia all departed there are few recognisable names to attract other future stars to the newly renamed DW stadium. Their fate rests in the hands of Chris Kirkland (who must stay fit) and at the feet of Titus Bramble (who Martinez must somehow get to recreate the form Bruce conjured from this accident prone centre half), Charles N'Zogbia (who must not have his head turned) and Hugo Rodallega (who must start to find the back of the net). It's all very much a case of ifs, buts and maybes but they should stay up regardless due to there being at least four more precarious looking sides in the league.

16. Burnley - The Premier League new boys shipped 60 goals is last season's Championship. Not an inspiring statistic but their performances in both the FA and League cups should have given their players and manager the self belief and the knowledge to get enough good results to stay up this term. They're certainly going to struggle but they'll win points against the likes of Sunderland, West Ham, Fulham, Wigan, Wolves, Pompey and Birmingham. Teams that will come and have a go at them. They have the attacking ability to hurt them on the break in Chris Eagles, Steven Fletcher, Martin Paterson, Wade Elliot and Robbie Blake where their fellow strugglers (Wolves, Hull, Pompey and Birmingham) won't. The additions of Tyrone Mears, Richard Eckersley, David Edgar and Brian Easton offer young promise to what is an ageing back line and if they can blend the two aspects of youth and experience they'll do well. Owen Coyle's attacking style should see the Clarets approach games with style and an adventurousness that will thrill their fans who will doubtless be out to enjoy their time back in the top flight over anything else. Much like West Brom in recent seasons, complete with dramatic penultimate day escape with victory away at Birmingham City.

17. Birmingham City - They've got a high level manager in Alex McLeish and the introduction of Barry Ferguson adds a touch of quality to their midfield (I was going to say class but after the v-sign debacle that's probably slightly wide of the mark) while the addition of Joe Hart gives them two solid options in goal along with Maik Taylor. Carsley, McFadden, Larsson, Carr, Bowyer and Phillips give them both experience and ability throughout the side, if little athleticism from some of them, while Espinoza bolsters their defence. A tough start at Manchester United and a tough finish with four of their final seven opponents being probable top eight sides and one being a fellow relegation candidate. It will be far from easy and they'll probably need results to go their way on the final day but like Hull last year, should just scrape home thanks to their being three marginally inferior sides in the league.

18. Wolverhampton Wanderers - The same old story for Wolves I'm afraid. Simply not enough quality in the squad to become competitive in this division and a manager at the helm who has managed to set a record for the lowest points scored by a side in the Premier League. It's hard to see where their goals will come from. Ebanks-Blake and Iwelumo are hardly names to strike fear into the hearts of many top level defenders. They're looking good for goalkeepers with Hennessy and Hahnemann but a defence that will probably feature Michael Mancienne as a starter is a worry, despite his undeniable promise.

19. Portsmouth - What a roller-coaster it has been for Pompey fans! FA Cup winners one year, securing a UEFA cup spot, then their manager is poached, they almost beat AC Milan, they hit financial difficulties, narrowly avoid administration, sell half their best players, buy barely anybody in, narrowly avoid relegation, sell the other half of their best players and have a takeover bid that is on one minute and then apparently off the next. They look utterly impotent up front, have a Sol Campbell shaped hole in their defence and are void of any quality defensive central midfielders when they used to have nothing but. Niko Kranjcar will do well to get out before the summer transfer window closes. If and when this takeover goes through, Portsmouth may be able to strengthen and add new faces in January, but it may very well be too late by then.

20. Hull City - Hull have added quality in Stephen Hunt and Jose Altidore and a return for Jimmy Bullard will boost a frail looking squad but they still lack the depth to cover any real injury crisis. The rest of the Hull squad need to step up their game if they are to stay in the league. They can't keep relying on Giovanni to dig them out of a hole as he went missing far too often last season. More importantly, they have to get that losing habit out of their system. It's one hell of a challenge that Phil Brown faces and one that could see him becoming one of the first Premier League managerial casualties of the season. His hard-man management image doesn't lend itself to sympathy and his infamous half-time team talk against Manchester City last season may still be going round the heads of some players. They were found out half way through last season and the players may begin to lose patience with his methods if they don't bring results quickly this time round. It could be another Roy Keane incident on the cards here.

Now I await being proved utterly wrong by bloody, stupid, marvellous football.

Six Organs of Admittance - Luminous Night

2009-08-04T13:38:00.005+01:00

17th August 2009
Drag City

The latest offering from the prolific Six Organs Of Admittance starts in a not dissimilar fashion to the gentler tracks on King Crimson’s debut album In The Court Of The Krimson King, with plucked acoustic guitars, soothing string and wind instruments evoking a fairy-tale folkishness. It’s a quintessentially British sound reminiscent of the Canterbury prog scene but in reality, this one man work of Ben Chasny’s is based not in a mystical world of escapism and fantasy but in California, the land of the beautiful people and the rich.

Attitudes that are portrayed to us Brits about California via turgid shows like The OC suggest that it’d be very easy to find that whole world repugnant. I’m not saying Chasny does necessarily feel repelled by his surroundings, but the music is other-worldly and very dream-like, suggesting there is something he may hope to escape from via it. It’s a theme that runs throughout the album, the fanciful prog echoes transporting the listener far, far away from wherever they may be.

River of Heaven has an eastern tinge to it, the guitar overlaying traditionally Arabic percussive and wind instruments, as does Bar Nasha, the eastern sounds lulling the listener into a trance as a snake charmer would his serpent friend, conjuring up images of exotic Iranian markets and Saudi deserts.

Cover Your Wounds With The Sky is hugely reminiscent of the material on Mogwai’s soundtrack to the film Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait with its background fuzz rolling on and on before it morphs into the next track, Ursa Minor, where normal service is resumed.

Juxtaposed to the seven comforting tracks that passed before it, Enemies Before The Light possesses an unnerving darkness thanks to its low, distorted electronic hum, warped guitar line and lyrics that are sung in a way that wouldn’t sound out of place at a cultish death ceremony. It’s the one period of real black in this Luminous Night.

As it all fades away into embers, a calming cadence, Luminous Night imparts a feeling of total relaxation upon the listener. It’s a record that makes you want to eat too much cheese before bed time and let the music pull you into utterly non-lucid dreams.

To Be Or Not To Be

2009-07-31T10:25:00.005+01:00

The outcome of Debbie Purdy's court case this week means the laws involving assisted suicide in England will now be evaluated.

The following is an article I wrote back in the spring for my university final project about the subject of assisted suicide and inspired by the January BBC drama A Short Stay In Switzerland. I'm not trying to say what is write or wrong in relation to the subject as I myself and unsure but I hope it manages to make you think about the pros and cons of both sides.

Julie Walters in BBC drama A Short Stay In Switzerland.

Death isn’t something anybody really wants to think about, be it our own or that of a loved one, but as the debate over assisted suicide rumbles on is it time society faced up to its last real phobia and made a decision?

In a time when the loss of a loved one is rarely witnessed, our sense of mortality more distant than ever, death seems to be the last taboo.

Only a couple of generations ago most people would have died in their homes, their families present. Now they die in hospitals and hospices, away from prying eyes. We no longer have to confront death as an everyday part of life and that only encourages our fears and apprehensions surrounding what will eventually come to us all.

Back in January, BBC television broadcast a moving and evocative drama starring Julie Walters. A Short Stay In Switzerland was based on true events and followed the story of Dr. Anne Turner (Walters) and her family in her decision to use euthanasia in 2006 when diagnosed with the debilitating and incurable neurological illness, progressive supranuclear palsy, following the death of her husband in 2002 from a near-identical condition.

A controversial and broad subject was sensitively and thoughtfully examined in the drama, which not only looked at the choices and reactions of Dr. Turner but of her children and friends too.

It was a useful microcosm of the debate that crops up in society every-so-often. There was Walters’ character, a stubborn, rational thinker who saw death, or at least the method by which she was otherwise consigned to it, almost as an inconvenience or an embarrassment and wanted to die with some dignity after witnessing the slow demise of her husband who maintained all mental capacity but steadily lost all physical.

Then there were her children, all adults; her son, Edward, reacted with begrudging support, one daughter with absolute opposition, Sophie, and another with, Jessica, with fear.
One of Dr. Turner’s character’s old friends, a religious woman, was opposed to her decision, as you would expect of a television character of such persuasion.

In the Christian faith life is sacred. As a result any thought of euthanasia or assisted suicide is opposed by The Church at official level.

Speaking to the BBC after Dr. Turner’s assisted suicide in 2006, the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Revered Richard Harries, said, “There would be a very grave danger of certain people feeling themselves to be a burden, even if the relatives and friends were totally innocent and weren’t putting any pressure on them at all, nevertheless it would be very easy for an old person to feel, well I’m getting a burden, I’m getting too dependent, I’m costing them a lot of money.”

The views of religious groups are pretty black and white on what is the greyest of areas. Their views must be respected and taken into account but under no circumstances should legislation be passed based solely around a religious belief.

Undoubtedly, if a law was ever to be passed allowing assisted suicide to be carried out in the UK there would be strong opposition from such groups. However, their right to choose live through to the end of terminal illness would not be impacted upon and while that must be respected, so must they respect the rights of those who support such legislation.

Not only is there religious opposition to the legalisation of assisted suicide but many medical professionals feel it goes against everything they stand for, believing their primary concern is to treat illness and maintain life, not succumb to the body’s fallibility and administer death. Many believe it will call into question the Hippocratic oath.

Such legislation has been passed in the American State of Oregon but there are certain safety measures in place to try and stop any disasters. Anybody wishing to end their life must be an adult of sound mental state, must have been diagnosed with six months or less to live, have that confirmed by more than one doctor and submit a written request for the procedure.

Such was the case of Nora Nikolaidis who, like Dr. Anne Turner, opted to end her life in 2006. She had to take the drugs herself but was prescribed them by a doctor. GP’s in Britain have underlined how they feel that it is at odds with medical profession.

The Royal College of General Practitioners released a statement in May 2006 saying, “The RCGP firmly believes that with current improvements in palliative care, good clinical care can be provided within existing legislation. The College is opposed to any change in legislation.”

Some euthanasia supporters will say that if we, as a society, see it fit to decide the fate of our animals without their consent, what is so wrong about allowing a person to decide their own fate? On the face of it, it seems a valid argument but there are so many variables and opportunities for abuse that would have to be stringently guarded against, it seems almost impossible to regulate.
It could be a law that could be taken advantage of. Would it create a loop-hole in murder charges? Could murderers claim it was requested killing? It potentially leaves it open for more cases like Dr. Harold Shipman if these things are not scrutinised and meticulously kept in check.

How do we know it’s what the sufferer wants? They may make the decision when unknowingly depressed. As somebody who has been surrounded by depression in friends and family throughout his life and had experience of the way it influences and distorts a person’s judgement, this is a major concern.

What if they make the decision to die before the illness gets too serious then change their mind as the illness progresses but not be able to communicate their revised wishes? Who decides when the final word is given, how is this checked?

As the Bishop of Oxford said, pensioners or those suffering from illness could feel pressured or begin to believe they are a burden on their friends and family, leading them to make rash and misinformed decisions.

This will always remain a very contentious subject, one that may prove impossible to legislate for or against as it is so divisive and such a muddied issue. If legislation is ever passed permitting acts of assisted suicide it may offer thousands of people an opportunity to die in a way they feel is dignified and in a way that enables them to get their affairs properly in order beforehand. Others will decry it as an act of callousness. Only one thing is for certain. Society must shake its final taboo and discuss such issues in the open rather then brush it under the carpet and hope it goes away.

Mercury Prize 2009

2009-07-20T13:29:00.006+01:00

Florence and th...something.....what are we talking about?...Please stop shouting. Nice legs.

As the announcement of nominations for this year's Mercury Music Prize is on the way, declaring the 12 best albums in the UK & Ireland from the last 12 months, here are The Rorschach Test's suggestions for albums of the year so far (regardless of nationality of artists).

In no particular order they are:

The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Grammatics - Grammatics
The Leisure Society - The Sleeper
Fanfarlo - Reservoir
Brakes - Touchdown
Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestorship
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Century of Self
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Wild Beasts' Two Dancers is out in August and, going from the excitement coming out of those who have heard it and the couple of singles we've heard so far, it will be one to make a note of too.

Listen to them all on our Spotify playlist. Here's the HTTP link if that didn't work.

Unfortunately Fanfarlo's, Tortoise's and Grizzly Bear's albums aren't on Spotify (or at least we can't find them), but trust us, they're mint.

Find snippets of, and information on, them on in the following places instead.

Fanfarlo: Myspace, Last.fm, Official Website.
Grizzly Bear: Myspace, Last.fm, Official Website, Amazon.
Tortoise: Myspace, Last.fm, Official Website, Amazon.

We were going to try and do our own UK & Ireland-based Mercury Prize style nominations but couldn't think of enough from these shores that we actually liked (I mean come on, we've got Florence and the Machine and White Lies to chose from).

Right? Wrong? Suggestions?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-19T16:32:00.005+01:00

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson maturing in their roles as Harry Potter and Hermione Grainger

This film, based on the penultimate book of the series, sees the cast coming of age both in reality and in the world of their characters.

The film is markedly darker than many will remember the earlier films having been in places, with the magical fantasy I remember from the film version of The Philosopher's Stone being ousted by mild thriller and horror aspects.

Tension building strings are to be heard at every turn and the photography paints pictures of a sinister world lying just below the surface of what seems perfectly tranquil: the serene village in which Harry and Dumbledore find Jim Broadbent's character, Slughorn, not immune from the Death Eaters' reach as they turn his safe house upside down; the Weasley's home surrounded by cornfields, apparently an isolated paradise, proven to be as vulnerable as Hogwarts itself while Death Eaters and gruesome gremlins look genuinely perturbing, moving with unerring, almost sadomasochistic menace.

The special effects are stunning for all but the most fleeting of moments where people fly about during Quidditch matches and it all looks a bit Mary Poppins but the sequences where Harry and Dumbledore delve into Slughorn and Tom Riddle's memories, with ink whirling through water and melting into the scene of the memory, more than make up for any earlier dubious backgrounding.

While the characters and actors have matured (the three leads now aged at 18 and 19), their acting has improved but the dialogue still clunks along at times, more down to young actors learning their craft than poor scripting. Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) is particularly oaken and the scenes where she and Harry's love develops are especially awkward, cringe-worthy at times.

It'd be nice to be able to say it was a moving representation of the first stirrings of teenage emotion but rather than compelling viewers to feel empathy it tempts the call of "Timber!". If these were the best takes they managed then whoever edited and directed those scenes should consider a career change, they could become the greatest lumberjacks the world has ever seen.

However Michael Gambon's performance as Harry's father figure, Albus Dumbledore, is obviously one of much experience, continuing to portray the character as the protective grandfather, nurturing his prodigy through his difficult teenage years. Well-rounded and well-intentioned, Dumbledore is sure to be an all time favourite in children's literature, and film, and that makes the closing scenes of the Half-Blood Prince all the more evocative.

There is not an awful lot that actually happens in the film, it more serves as a wrapping up of the Hogwarts era for the Potter story and sets the scene for the final chapter, The Deathly Hallows, set immediately after the Half-Blood Prince. For that reason, anybody expecting to see a large battle of Lord Of The Rings proportions or another face-off between Harry and Lord Voldemort will be left largely disappointed. This part of the story is more focussed on the emotional development of the characters and the sculpting of their ultimate outcomes and it does that well enough.

The Harry Potter franchise will probably never be able to shake off the stigma it has attained for its hammy, wooden acting but that didn't stop series with similar issues, like James Bond, becoming the highest selling box office releases of all time and with JK Rowling's story now having eclipsed Bond on the silver screen, the Half-Blood Prince will very probably come to be seen as a key part of a classic series of cinematic entertainment come the next generation.

It's not spectacular in terms of action and the acting still leaves a little to be desired but it's dark yet revealing in terms of the characters and brilliantly sets the scene for the final clash.

2009-07-09T01:25:00.002+01:00

Artist: Billy Talent
Album: Billy Talent III
Label: Atlantic Records
Release Date: 13th July 2009

This month sees the release of yet another eponymous offering from Canadian punk rock outfit Billy Talent. No seriously, they’re still going. That band from college with the guy who’s got a bit of a weird voice and songs that all sound pretty much the same? Yeah, the ones you pretended not to like but secretly did, them.

Billy Talent III is much less frantic than previous offerings. On first listen it seems there are no really compelling tracks that jump out of the speakers, grab the listener by the T-shirt and shake them into submission. Tracks like River Below, Living In The Shadows or This Is How It Goes from 2003’s offering or Devil In A Midnight Mass, Red Flag and Covered In Cowardice from their 2006 opus are noticeable by their absence.

This time round there’s a touch more melody to the rock on the album, as heard in Diamond Into The Landmine, which could easily have been a song Sting And The Police jammed out during rehearsals for their reunion back in 2007. It's hard not to starting singing "Rooooxxxxanne!" over the top of it in fact.

Despite it being a very slight departure in style there’s the same unmistakeable sound in the guitars of Ian D’Sa and in Benjamin Kowalewicz’s vocals. They still have that knack for writing catchy rock songs that retain they “alternative” feel, something that very few bands can get away with.

Some infectious riffage can be found in Saint Veronica, Turn Your Back and The Dead Can't Testify, which sounds like some of System Of A Down's more recent Mesmerize/Hypnotize stuff, helped not least by the interjections of a mandolin. It’s these kind of numbers that are Billy Talent’s strength; a snare drum clapping authoritatively every second, guitar riffs that most teenagers can play in their bedrooms after a couple of listens and lyrics delivered with a contagious vim and vigour that anybody can pick up and sing along with. It’s simple, but it’s bloody effective.

It takes a few listens but eventually each and every track on this record - from Rusted From The Rain’s down-tempo rock balladry to Saint Veronika’s urgent pleading to a loved one after a failed suicide attempt, the “fuck you” attitude of Tears Into Wine to the mournful White Sparrows - will get under the skin and into the head, refusing to leave.

As that may suggest, Billy Talent manage to cover a range of subject matter on this album, something many of their more popular post-Fugazi and Refused modern punk rock contemporaries don’t seem to be able to grasp.

Regardless of said glimpses of gravitas, Billy Talent III is catchy, fun and it’s invigorating (providing you don’t take it or yourself too seriously). Play this loud, very loud and be prepared to cathartically jump about, scream, shout and release all that angst like a whiny 17 year old all over again.

This review originally appeared on ThrashHits.com. To see it in it's full glory, complete with video to Rusted From The Rain, click here.

Webcams in not used for wanking and stuff shocker.

2009-07-07T15:35:00.002+01:00

Interesting music video by the band Sour made entirely on webcams by the band and fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw

Blur live at Hyde Park, London, Friday 3rd July 2009

2009-07-07T00:24:00.004+01:00

Blur: (l-r: Alex James, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree)

Artist: Blur
Venue: Hyde Park, London
Date: Friday 3rd July 2009
Support: Deerhoof, Florence & The Machine, Amadou & Mariam, Vampire Weekend

Meteorologists were predicting heavy rain and thunderstorms for Friday 3rd July but the only rumble anyone around London will have heard that day was the brontidual noises emanating from Hyde Park.

So deafening, desperate and delighted was the cheer, nay roar, from the tens of thousands congregated in front of the Hyde Park stage who greeted Blur that it almost blew the Colchester quartet back into the dressing room.

Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree appeared on stage to Parklife’s The Debt Collector - a nod towards other bands’ cash-grabbing reunions, or their own, perhaps? – soaking up not only the sun but the complete love, adoration and thanks of the dedicated following they have collected over the years. Any cynics claiming Blur got back together to make a fast buck were soon proved to have misplaced their suspicions. The band’s emotion was etched all over their faces, clear as the blue skies above Hyde Park.

After taking it all in and a brief hello, they kicked off proceedings with four rapid-fire numbers. She’s So High, Girls And Boys, Tracy Jack and There’s No Other Way all got the crowd dancing, singing and bouncing but they went by in a flash. So involved were the crowd in – at the risk of sounding like a babbling sponge-headed happy-clapper - “the moment”, it was hard to remember what the last song was after about 10 seconds of the next.

It didn’t stop there. In fact it didn’t stop for another two and a bit hours. Jubilee very quickly followed, complete with Coxon acrobatics. Or rather a bit of flailing about on the floor while indulging in some guitar-noodlry during the “plays on his computer games” bit and then almost falling over on the way back up, to which he cracked a smile.

After a frenetic start the mood was lowered as Damon Albarn announced Andy Murray’s exit from our national tennis tournament. If there was ever a mood-killer, that was it. Momentarily, miraculously, the focus was not on Blur and the green grass of Hyde Park but on one solitary Scot and the green lawns of Wimbledon. Things were wound down yet further with Badhead and Beetlebum which offered some rest bite to both the band and fans.

This was the first gig announced when Blur reunited so the vast majority of those in attendance were the most eager of Blur fans, evident when Albarn had to ask the crowd at the front to calm down as they were starting to squash fellow onlookers. There was a sense that the band knew these were some of the most loyal fans and wanted to put on an extra impressive performance for them. They certainly delivered, bashing out a mix of classic singles and album favourites like Trimm Trabb, Coffee And TV, an apparently infinite version of Tender which began to border on tedious if we’re being completely honest, Country House, Oily Water, Chemical World, Sunday Sunday and Parklife for which, as at Glastonbury, Phil Daniels joined them on stage and joined Albarn in running and jumping around the stage with an exuberance that span the clock back those 15 years.

The various demographics in attendance, particularly the wide ranging age groups, were a testament to the band’s longevity and relevance. Their observations and social commentary are as applicable today as they were in the 1990’s, their pop craftsmanship just as infectious, and that is clearly something that younger fans have picked up on. A significant proportion of the crowd looked like they may not have even been born, or at least old enough to know about them, when Blur were in their youth.

The whole band was visibly affected by their fans’ reactions and wrapping the set up with End Of A Century, To The End, This Is A Low, Death Of A Party, For Tomorrow and the hugely moving The Universal sandwiching Popscene, Advert and Song 2 was too much for many a fan to take.

“It really, really, really, could happen…” sang a teary Albarn. Well, it just did and long will this most joyous of days live in the memory of every Blur fan and the band.

This review was originally written by myself for Noize Makes Enemies and can be found in full here.

Black Daniel - Here Comes Caesar/I Love You But Don't Touch Me 'Cos You're Sick

2009-06-30T16:04:00.009+01:00

Artist: Black Daniel
Track Name: Hear Comes Caesar/I Love You But Don't Touch Me 'Cos You're Sick (Double A-Side)
Label: Dustbowl Records
Release Date: 20th July 2009
Producer: Black Daniel (Here Comes Caesar co-produced by Stan Kybert - Oasis/Massive Attack/Bjork/New Order)

Summer is here and so are the exponents of polished, over-produced Euro-dance anthems and sickly-sweet pop with guitars and beaches in the video to soundtrack it.

So is Swine Flu. It's hard to know what is more infectious. The swine sniffles or the first two tracks by Black Daniel.

In fact, we suspect that some of these pig colds have been cases of mistaken diagnosis. It's understandable when the artwork to Black Daniel's double A-side single features one of the very beasts in question while one of the songs has been dubbed, 'I Love You But Don't Touch Me 'Cos You're Sick'.

Instead of being laid low by highly infectious little bugs it seems some suffers have in fact been floored by the grimy, sexy, heavy hitting bassline of 'Here Comes Caesar'. This is the kind of thing sub-woofers we built for.

In stark contrast to the electronic euphoria is 'I Love You But...', a spaced-out indie number. Black Daniel have been on tour with Kasabian in the past and there's certainly an early Kasabian-esque hint in the track's vocals and a touch of Mudhoney with clean guitars strumming over paper-over-a-comb type fuzz and restless, upbeat drums.

With a 6Music and Radio 1 single of the week, plus the seal of approval from Art Brut already under their belt, this should be the beginning of something beautiful for the three to five assorted folks that are Black Daniel (one of which goes by the name Lamik2000 - which just reminds us of 15peter20 - but we'll gloss over that bit).

You can download the tracks from July 20th from their website.

Catch Black Daniel live:

03 July Camden Head
07 July South of the Border, London
23 July BLACK DANIEL SHOWCASE - Electric Cinema, Notting Hill

Blur - Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur

2009-06-30T11:17:00.003+01:00

Artist: Blur

Album: Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide To Blur

Label: EMI

Release Date: 15^th June 2009

Producer: Blur

For the most part this compilation is simply a best of album, maybe a hint at the setlist for their Hyde Park shows in July. It gives the impression that it’s a collection of the band’s favourite songs, rather than a list of their biggest selling singles, which may too hint at the approach they will take to their larger reunion gigs.

It would be no surprise as unlike many of their Brit-pop counter parts, Blur have an eclectic back-catalogue and the musical ventures of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon since the latter’s acrimonious departure from the band in 2002 have proven that the band are no one trick ponies. This compilation album reminds the listener of just how dexterous Blur are and were.

Fans hoping to hear golden oldies like There’s No Other Way, Charmless Man and Country House may be a little disappointed in this record. In their place are the likes of Bugman, Death Of A Party and Trimm Trabb. Fans of bands not churning out the same old stuff when they reunite will be pleased.

Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide To Blur is exactly that, a beginners guide. It showcases Blur in their multi-skilled best. Their catchy pop songs, their baggy early days, their raucous grunge-esque indulgencies, their off-piste, quirky art rock and their sumptuous, hymn-like anthems are all present in one way or another, offering delicious nibbles and entrées before any newcomers dive right into the meat of their, frankly brilliant, half dozen albums (and the slightly dodgy Think Tank post-Coxon). It is worth picking up if you haven’t already got all the Blur records or haven’t ever really given them a go before.

It remains to be seen whether Blur will record any new material once this short set of gigs have been played. With Graham Coxon having recently released a new solo album it looks unlikely but murmurings have been overheard that a new record may be on the cards.

If one does materialise it can be just about guaranteed that it won’t be some churned out 1990’s revival, retro bullshit like certain Mancunian contemporaries of Blur’s have been doing ever since but an innovative, evolving approach to a band changing as individuals.

Midlife… proves that Oasis may have won that daft Brit-pop battle, but Blur won the war. Their artistic integrity, ability to create stunning pop songs in a variety of styles and eclectic leanings are on show for all to see in this record, affirming their position as the most important pop-band of a generation. As far as compilations go, it’s a cracker.

Glastonbury Jacko Tribute T-shirts.

2009-06-27T01:01:00.002+01:00

Just read this news story on the BBC website.

"Several stalls are now selling T-shirts printed with Jackson-related slogans including..."I was at Glasto when Jacko died".

Why don't they go the whole hog and just have it say, "I'm a massive cunt"?

Jackson Dies

2009-06-26T16:10:00.004+01:00

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

Two obituary/tributes in two days. Not a great start to the summer.

Just about everybody in world will know this by now. Michael Jackson, American popular music superstar, died yesterday evening (British time).

Tributes have been flooding in to official websites, fan sites, news websites and blogs around the internet, 24 hour news channels, radio stations, tv channels and all media, from all corners of the world.

It is a great loss to popular music that such an icon has died, especially on the verge of what would have been a landmark return to the business at London's O2 arena next month.

Like James Brown, Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the countless others who have shaped popular music before him, he will live on in his music and in the hearts of all his fans.

Jackson was man who did as much for civil rights and equality as any other entertainer. He helped to make what was a traditionally black art form accessible to whites and in turn white folk found a new appreciation for r'n'b, hip-hop and ultimately all black culture as a result of Jackson's work both in the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist.

His later solo material may have been erring on the side of comical at times with his outlandish music videos and often parodied vocal ad-libs but it resonated with a vast array of people and had a huge influence on millions of fans.

His album Thriller, widely considered to be his greatest moment, remains the world's biggest selling record and will forever be embedded in pop culture's history (despite almost everything that came after it being pretty poor, with the exception of Bad - the song- Black or White, Smooth Criminal and a few others).

His story was a sad one. A child star whose father was, by all accounts, hardline to say the least (stories last night were telling of how Jackson's father would stand at the end of Michael's bed with a knife, wake him up and scare him with it to toughen him up), Michael would probably not have had much of a childhood, which could possibly be a factor in his strange behaviour as a adult and particular affinity with children, which landed him in court under paedophilia charges. Although never convicted, the rumours and accusations would stay with him for the rest of his life, which was unfortunately cut short just weeks before he was due to make a globally anticipated return to performing at the O2 in London.

Reports on BBC Radio 4 this morning (about 5 mins in) from Jackson's lighting director Patrick Woodraft suggested Jackson seemed in fine health and had given a stunning and, "electric", performance at a rehearsal for the O2 shows on Tuesday evening.

Reports are currently suggesting, which are alluded to in the BBC Radio 4 programme previously mentioned, that his heart attack may have been triggered by a medicinal overdose. His autopsy will be carried out today and the results will follow in due course.

Regardless of our opinions of his personal life or music, his contribution to popular culture was undeniably monumental, helping to change the perception of black music in modern society and inspiring millions of fans and entertainers the world over. He will be missed by the music community.

RIP Steven Wells

2009-06-25T14:22:00.007+01:00

Steven Wells: 1960-2009

Journalism has lost a hugely entertaining voice. Straight-talking music journalist and columnist Steven Wells has lost his battle with cancer.

Wells, a punk poet in the 1970's and an NME writer in the 1980's who branched out into screenwriting in the 1990's on great satirical shows like The Day Today, never beat about the bush, often swearing his head off and bashing the caps loack to bits for good measure, by all accounts.

His style split readers. It was uncompromising and deliberately antagonising and many found it offensive, missing a lot of the humour he soaked it in.

If you haven't ever read any of his articles, do so. His recent ones for the Philadelphia Weekly, which he started in 2006, were typically aggrevating, humorous but most importantly, often right. Recent highlights included rants on the lunacy of anti-gay marriage supporters and right-wing mentalists in the US as well as the trials and tribulations of his ultimately fatal wrestle with lymphatic cancer and a pop at Glenn Beck.

His moving final column can be found here along with some heartfelt tributes.

He also wrote some cracking stuff for The Grauniad, and FourFourTwo, among others like The Quietus.com.

Journalism is a poorer place without him.

Conor McNicholas: Off to fill the position of editor at the BBC's Top Gear Magazine

In other NME related news, it's been a turbulent week for the ailing publication. Editor Conor McNicholas resigned yesterday, a man who has been widely accused of turning it from a much respected music fans' bible to a trend concerned, hype-machine style picture book for cunts who shop in Topman and whose musical experience extends as far as the arse-end of Brit-pop.

What does this mean for the magazine and its website now? Hopefully a restoration project. A massive change in approach is needed. Out with the indie-schmindie psuedo genres they try and invent on an almost monthly basis, out with the awful bands regurjitating all the bad parts of good music from the last 40 year that they praise for inexplicable reasons (Glasvegas, The Horrors, The Kooks, The Klaxons... anyone?) in with writers who know their stuff, have an ear for a good tune and value musicianship and ethos above trousers, scarves and pointy fucking shoes.

Get John Doran in.

The Mars Volta - Octahedron

2009-06-24T15:09:00.006+01:00

Artist: The Mars Volta

Album: Octahedron

Label: Mercury Records

Release Date: 22^nd June 2009

Producer: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Few artists nowadays release enough material for five albums, even fewer release enough for five albums in six years while working on multiple side-projects (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has so many fingers in so many pies we think he’s got a couple of spare arms hidden away somewhere, would also explain his enviable propensity to be outrageously good on the guitar).

The Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez are two such artists. The brains behind the sorely missed, hugely influential late 1990’s post-hardcore of At The Drive-In, they left to form prog outfit The Mars Volta in 2001 and have since gone on to produce some of the most awe-inspiring, enthusing and simultaneously impenetrable, self-indulgent music in existence.

That inconsistency of quality has been a problem with TMV over the years, as well as the revolving door of band members who’ve quit, died, been fired or only guested on tour and records.

Debut album, 2003’s De-loused In The Comatorium was a massively accessible prog infused extension of their work in At The Drive-In which featured catchy singles and other rock heroes, in the shape of Flea and John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers among others, helping out on instrumental duties. It told the story of a man living through a drug induced coma and fighting the evil within his mind. It was based around the true story of the band’s friend, Julio Venegas (referred to as Cerpin Taxt), who was in a coma for years, woke up and killed himself by jumping from a bridge into rush-hour traffic.

The first single from the album was dedicated to Jeremy Ward, a friend, original TMV member and cousin of ATD-I member Jim Ward, who died from a heroin overdose just weeks before the album’s release.

Then came Frances The Mute in 2005. Again featuring Flea and Frusciante but a whole new band had emerged. This was a full-on symphony, a concept record of orchestral proportions inspired by and modelled on a diary that Jeremy Ward found when working as a ‘repo-man’ in Los Angeles. It was the first hint of the polarisation that would follow, equal parts praised and derided.

The following album, Amputechture, in 2006, was like running into an invisible brick wall and the force of the impact knocking you back into an ocean-sized tub of treacle, so hard it was to make sense of it. It was prog to the core, in truth it was trying to be too clever for its own good. The first guitar riff didn’t appear until the 16 minute second track, the seven minute opener leading up to it being jazz style improvisation. Despite it being the first time the band created and album without a single unifying narrative it was labelled by many critics and fans alike as impenetrable and Cedric and Omar has since referred to it as their, “autistic child”.

Last year’s album, The Bedlam In Goliath, saw a return to form. It combined the pomp and prog showmanship of their previous records, in a new harnessed, restrained and calculated form, with the urgency and compelling nature of their debut and work with At The Drive-In. It saw a return to their technique of using a unifying theme throughout their records. This time it was all about a Ouija board that vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala owned and how it transformed from something they did on tour for fun to a psycho-spiritual force that threatened the band’s very existence. Or so they say. (Yeah, I know.)

And finally we come to their latest offering, Octahedron, which features John Frusciante yet again. Unsurprisingly, it’s a tale of the unexpected, if that doesn’t sound too much like a contradiction.

Rather than the powerful funk and Latino inspired guitar riffs that appear in their previous work, Octahedron is predominately a chilled-out affair filled with sprawling basslines and meandering guitar noodling akin to Pink Floyd’s finest moments that weave their way across its eight tracks.

Cedric and Omar had been talking about this album since January 2008, the month in which Bedlam was released, saying it is their “mellow” and “acoustic” record, and those initial impressions they gave us were pretty much on the money.

All their albums take the listener on a wild, miraculous journey (which would probably be even better were they, how shall we say this…off their tits on drugs. Not that we encourage that or anything – we’d much rather you ate a lot of cheese and gawped at the swirly shapes on Windows Media Player) but this one is very different.

Rather than erratically being taken from pillar to post in surges of energy, Octahedron gently floats the listener downstream while retaining the enthusiasm and enthralling, all enveloping feel of De-loused and Bedlam.

With the label stating in a press release that the Octahedron would be "much more accessible than the previous four" Mars Volta records, people may be given cause to think this album is laden with radio one friendly hit singles. It’s not, don’t worry. It’s still a prog-heads record, an acquired taste to say the least, an example of a band truly pushing themselves with each record and long may it continue in an era when popular music is as turgid, stagnant and unchanging as it’s ever been.

Big Brother contestant with two secret identities?

2009-06-20T00:55:00.016+01:00

Is it just me or does the one from Big Brother 2009 who looks like a mid-life crisis version of Wolverine from X-Men also look a bit like Nick Griffin?

Come to think about it, I've never seen any of them in the same place at the same time. Could this be a maniacal, evil scheme hatched by the BNP to send subliminal messages to the British Public?

Home - Directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Produced by Luc Besson

2009-06-17T16:46:00.006+01:00

We've all had one of those moments. You know, the sudden realisation that no matter what you do with a situation, you're in some serious trouble.

Now, imagine such a situation being turned into a film. Imagine that film is an apocalyptic thriller in which one person is told he/she can save the world. Exciting huh? Now imagine that film is a documentary, the situation is that the planet you live on is dying and its most powerful inhabitants, of which you are one, are unknowingly destroying their co-habitants. Oh, and that person who can save it is you.

Nice idea. Shame you're going to fail.

This documentary, Home, while full of absolutely magnificent, mind-blowingly beautiful aerial images of our sumptuous planet (at times reminiscent of the 1982 film by Godfrey Reggio, Koyaanisqati), will essentially do little more than remind you that you, as an individual, are a small insignificant speck on the monumental time-line of earth's life, and humanity as a species isn't much more.

Don't have kids. You'll bring them into a world where there will be 200 million refugees due to our gargantuan appetite for energy, natural resources and the threat of rising sea levels by 2050. This is a world where Home will tell you that already, now, as you read this, 20% of the human race consume 80% of the planet's resources and 80% of the world's wealth is in the hands of 2% of the population. The rich are so powerful that the poor are dying to serve our wants and we're so happy that we don't seem to notice, or care, and climate change is only exacerbating this disparity.

Climate change is unstoppable. The human contribution towards it is so minute, according to some, that it will do little to slow down what is an inevitable and natural course of action for the planet.

Home begs to differ, eventually. Once it's destroyed your soul and rendered your life's ambitions utterly pointless, futile and potentially dangerous. While showing you glorious images of the earth, humanity in action and the damage we as a species have inflicted on our planet and selves in three generations (during which time, Home says, the global population has trebled) and making you feel incredibly guilty for it, it sets about telling you that, "It's too late for pessimism". It tells us that we can make a difference. Now is the time to change our ways. Now is the time to save the world. It's too late for pessimism.

Is it? Is it really? By the sounds of what Glenn Close (narrator of the English language version) has been saying to you for the last hour and twenty minutes, we're beyond salvation. We're sailing a rudderless ship off the edge of the flat earth, eagerly speeding towards it like seafaring lemmings chock-full of Lucozade.

This is an absolutely stunning piece of cinematography but its message feels a little confused (at one point Close says, "All living things are linked [a key concept of the documentary]; water; air; soil; trees." Now I only did science to GCSE level but I'm pretty sure that, of that list, only trees are actually living things) and a little too much like propaganda, with the stirring music pulling at the heartstrings and the dumbfounding footage providing the backdrop to unreferenced claims about global issues (I personally believe them to be true but without referencing and hearing such statistics from experts it seems to lack authority and an ability to put our influence on the planet in perspective).

From the very start, with the image of planet earth looming into view and Glenn Close's Mother Earth character giving our little bit of rock a voice, almost as if to say, "Look what you have done to me! I used to be so beautiful...", the feeling is that it may not be water-tight in the way of nailed-on facts. That Close sounds like the Desperate Housewives narrator doesn't help either.

It tries to grab some factual credibility with shocking figures, some of which I've previously mentioned, intersecting yet more spectacular images for the last fifteen minutes or so but, again, there's no referencing so it feels like simply the claims of some ill-informed pseudo-eco-warrior.

It's more stirring speech advocating social change than critical essay.

That said, thought it might not be backed up with cold hard evidence, it certainly makes you think and that, ultimately, is the point of it.

Home is a wonderful example of photography and I would urge anybody to watch it so they begin to think about their influence on other people and their surroundings but as a documentary about scientific issues it lacks any real analysis, or at least fails to show its background information and research. Home appeals more to the heart than the head, which is a critical flaw in any scientific argument.

Home was released on 5th June 2009.

To watch the film in full on Youtube go here. There's also added 'making of' videos and trailers too. Various language versions are viewable on the Youtube site.

To find out more about the film and its associated projects, visit the official website.

Digital Britain report published

2009-06-16T18:32:00.004+01:00

The Digital Britain report was published today. I'll have a proper read of it tonight and hopefully blog about it tomorrow afternoon after my dentist appointment. For now, here are some summaries of it on the Guardian and BBC websites.

The full report is downloadable here.

Initial problems I have are with BBC licence fee going to ITV to bail them out. ITV is a commercial entity. If they put terrible programmes on that nobody watches, meanign they lose advertising revenue, it's their own fault. BBC shouldn't suffer as a result of a non-PSB's mistakes. Give ITV the thoroughly un-Reithian, Strictly Come Dancing, to boost viewing figures.

Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide to launch a join venture seems good. More funding for our other PSB, Channel 4, is always a good thing. With any luck they'll be able to get back to more high-brow programming after financial difficulties.

50p per month charge for all phone lines to boost broadband technology seems ok. Needs improving and we have to pay for it somehow. It's this or higher tax somewhere.

More reflection and reaction tomorrow.

Police Britality or a Proportionate Response?

2009-06-16T13:31:00.011+01:00

A still image from the video of the arrest in question.

This lunchtime I had a discussion with a friend of mine via Facebook about a recent incident in my birth city of Nottingham.

In the early hours of Monday morning, police tasered and arrested a man for GBH. A video of the event was caught on a mobile phone and sent to the press.

My friend says it's evidence of Britain being a police state. I say it's unfair to label it that and tar all police officers with the same brush without first seeing all the evidence.

The video on YouTube is only short and captures the last minute or so of the arrest. What it does not show are the moments leading up to the use of the taser and the arresst. For all we know it could have been proportionate. What the video does show is one officer making a punching motion in the head area of the man being arrested.

Here are some extracts from our conversation, starting with my friend:

"He may have been arrested for GBH, but I didn't see any violent behaviour. All I saw was a drunken bloke 'not being cooperative' as the dreadful Sky News would put it. Incidents like this are often symptomatic of a wider culture; tazers were only given to police on the grounds they be used as an alternative to firearms, and firearms would never be used in this way. Tazers are not a means of subduing someone; they're for self-defence or dealing with someone who's a serious danger to others. This guy isn't even a danger to himself. Give a power, it WILL be abused. It's totally predictable.

Two more examples of misuse, I'm sure there are more, but I have to go to work...

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4387494.Taser_used_on_man_threatening_death_leap_in_Brighton/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/06/ovine_tasering_shocker/"

And my response,

"Of course some people will abuse any power they're given, that's what I said...As for this case, I'd say a guy being arrested for GBH is an indication that he was being a significant "danger to others" and so any tasering would be valid.

I'm not saying all police play by the rules and should be trusted...but these stories and clips that turn up every so often are not proof that we live in a police state and that the entire British police force is corrupt or intent on injuring rather than protecting the public. It's simply proof that some police officers aren't up to the job because they go on a power trip.

Think about the thousands of people who work in the police and then think how many of them do things like taser a sheep. The percentage will be a very small one. It's like saying that because the BNP won one of Burnley's seats in the recent council elections that everybody in Burnley is a racist. It makes no sense.

If, as I suspect, the guy was being a complete ******* prior to the filming starting, being physically abusive to bouncers, members of the public etc, then the use of the taser was valid. He will have been asked several times to clam down etc and probably didn't, they tried to arrest him and he violently resisted so the officer had to taser him. The case was voluntarily referred to the IPCC by Nottinghamshire Police and they'll look at CCTV in the area to see if the police did act correctly or not.

We don't know what happened before this film started so it's not fair to accuse them of anything until all the evidence has been taken into account. If it does emerge that they've acted wrongly or over-zealously...then those officers involved should be punished accordingly but even then it will not mean we live in a police state, because they will have been punished for their wrongdoing, proving the police can't act unlawfully and get away with it. If they were to get away with it, then we could start thinking about police state."

It may be useful to point out that when watching this on the BBC East Midlands Today news bulletin yesterday evening they reported that the man arrested had not made an official complaint to the IPCC or Nottinghamshire Police. As I understand it that is still the case.

So, is this a case of police brutality or of a video taking a select part of a wider event, making it seem worse than it is. Is it a case of citizen journalism gone wrong? It's an ugly scene either way but the important point is, is it ugly and justified or ugly and overzealous?

Virgin teams up with Universal to launch Spotify competitor

2009-06-15T14:43:00.004+01:00

In yet another attempt by businesses to find a way to make money from downloading and/or streaming music, Virgin media have struck a deal that will mean their subscribers will be able to listen to as much music as they want, for a monthly fee.

Four main problems:-

1) Can't people already listen to music they like at home anyway, for free? Well, free-ish. Once they've bought the record.

2) Spotify got there first with the free, legal library thing and as is often the case in business, the first mover is often the one who sees the most brand loyalty. Do Virgin really think they can compete with Spotify? Yes they will flog it to the hilt to their customers but any who would be interested will probably already use Spotify anyway.

3) This will do nothing to stop illegal downloaders. That really is free. Until the media and music industries come up with a way to distribute fully legal, completely free music, they will always lose out.

4) The BBC report says,

"The service is due to be launched before Christmas 2009. Virgin has not said how much the service will cost every month. But it said it could be comparable to the cost of a couple of albums a month."

The cost of a couple of albums a month?! That's getting on for well over £20 by today's standards. How do they propose their customers will be able to afford this on top of their subscription costs? It seems fairly clear that most will go to the free legal and illegal alternatives.

Grammatics to play Radiohead day at Reading/Leeds 2009

2009-06-15T13:27:00.008+01:00

Grammatics playing live at Leeds festival 2007.

They're one of the many artists recently announced by festival organisers as performing on the Festival Republic stage over the course of the weekend, but no day has been officially fixed. The Rorschach Test can reveal that Leed's very own quirky alt-popsters Grammatics will in fact be playing on the Saturday at Leeds and presumably the Sunday down South.

No time has yet been fixed but they'll be on sometime before the three stage headliners, The Rumble Strips, Lightspeed Champion and La Roux.

As long as they don't clash with Passion Pit or Frank Turner it should all be ok.

In other Reading/Leeds news, Thrash Hits reported from Download over the weekend and finally confirmed that Faith No More will be playing at Reading and Leeds this summer.

There was some confusion over the matter after the band's website displayed the festivals as part of their tour dates back in April and then rapidly removed them but T-shirts on sale at Download listed the dates, as well as some more UK dates.

What makes us arts nuts?

2009-06-10T09:56:00.005+01:00

The first of many articles I will be posting on here that I wrote as part of my university final project.

What makes a perfectly normal child turn its back on a carefree society - a society that gladly leaves CDs out of their cases - in favour of an anal obsession with ordering the physical editions of its favourite albums?

Hopefully you’ve just read our ‘very best of... and very worst of...’ feature on pages 16 and 17, if you haven’t then go back and do it now! You ungrateful swine.

These will be a regular feature in Talisman. We love our top five and top 10 lists and doubtless you do to, being the arts and entertainment nerds that we all are.

Unfortunately, they are not without their flaws and will, without fail, result in arguments. They will turn the best of friends against each other, end loving relationships and cause violent assaults such is their divisive nature. They’ll also cause arguments and debates in your own mind.

Over the course of writing the previously mentioned feature and the one you’ll come to later where we decide what are the best albums, the most influential, the most adventurous, the most compelling, since 1986, there was much inner turmoil encountered by the writers, contributors, editorial team and friends in pubs. All of whom had opinions that occasionally coincided with each other but that for the most part, threatened civil war, or at least a pint glass being smashed.

Of course, you will reply that art and entertainment are purely subjective. That everybody loves and loathes different things in differing degrees. One man’s gold is another man’s turd. It’s part of what makes discussing music, film, comedy, poetry, theatre and such so interesting, and you’d be right.

So where does this desire to grade what we love come from? Is it down to issues we have with control? Can we not influence our lives in the way we want and so construct order in our worlds by deciding which is our favourite hip-hop record, which 1980’s thrash band was better or which album is more important: Dark Side Of The Moon or In The Court Of The Crimson King? Is it a question of our inner dictators attempting to burst out and impose blanket bans on the artists we dislike? Is it an ego trip? Do we simply want eulogise about what we feel is life-affirming art.

Do we alphabetically, chronologically or as Rob does in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, autobiographically order our, vinyl, CD, DVD and gig ticket collections because we crave to be able to manipulate and have power over something after being bullied at school?
Have we got Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Why is that a problem? Surely it’s just being organised. There’s nothing wrong with that. Our mother’s would be proud.

Most psychiatrists and psychologists would probably say we are more than a little, “messed up”, to use a technical term, and most of us would probably accept that all of the above was, in varying amounts, an accurate summary of our life experiences thus far. Besides, it’s better to obsess over inanimate objects than start stalking the women who predictably and unrelentingly fail to requite our affections.

There is a strange calm that comes over a man who has just completed the ordering of his record or film collection, an almost Zen like sense that all is right and balanced in the world. It is an achievement, like putting up some shelves or pretending to know about how engines work and accidentally fixing the doobry-whatsit in the car.

The same feeling comes from deciding which albums are best, most important, most sentimental or however else we want to judge them.

The fact of the matter is that those who posses a soul of a more sensitive persuasion are always going to take things to heart and the things we turn to in our hours of need are, more often than not, inanimate.

Friends can lend an ear, distribute hugs and buy pints of Devonshire cider but all of those things are temporary. Friends come and go and their gestures of love and kindness are constrained by simple things like the need to urinate before the alcohol levels in the blood become dangerously high.

This is where the arts, music in particular, have one up on people. The same music can be interpreted in various ways depending on mood and can lift a person from the lowest lows into the highest echelons of joy. Music can reassure a listener that they are not alone in the way they feel, that it is perfectly normal and it can be a splendid catharsis. Certainly it’s more constructive than getting blind drunk on a Friday night and having a fight.

A record, a film, a painting: they can’t try to comfort somebody and then say or do the wrong thing. They can’t put their foot in it. They haven’t got feet for a start.

They are as significant to people as a 20 year friendship. In truth many albums and films will stay with a person much longer than the average friend or lover and will outlive many of those who enjoy them.

Entertainment and art, when done well, take on a hugely sentimental value that becomes synonymous with a time in life. They can become attached to memories of places, people and times. Listening or watching back years later can brighten up the gloomiest of days.

The passion they ignite within can bring the quietest, most unassuming, most timid of folk to life and the feeling of ownership over those items, as if they were written just for that one person, is something that leads to many caring for their collections like they would their own child.

That is the reason why we are so keen to keep our collections pristine, why our favourites mean so much to us and why we think our most loved and loathed should be everyone else’s too.

This is the news!

2009-06-10T09:14:00.003+01:00

Right then, you 'orrible lot (by 'lot' I mean half a child's handful of occasional readers).

I had quite a major technical hitch earlier this year (thanks to one arsehole of a house mate I was internetless for the final 3 months of my University life) which, combined with the usual final year workload, meant it was pretty much impossible for me to keep this thing updated.

However, I was busy writing for my final project, a magazine called Talisman. I may well have to change the name if I am ever to launch it properly as a recent google showed that Ofsted have beaten me to it.

Irregardless (Hehe look at me, making a pop culture refrence. Isn't American Dad great?) of that, the premis of Talisman is that of an antidote to the Lad's mag. I don't find that aspect of modern masculinity at all appealing; I like cups of tea, slippers and talking about music, film and all that jazz. Not football banter and those curiously monikered women, 'glamour models'.

It's something I think is hard to find in current male lifestyle magazines. It's around in The Word and Q but they're primarily aimed at middle aged chaps. There's not in anything of that ilk, that I've seen, for the twentysomething.

I'd like to get the magazine in to print one day but for now, as a result of being stunningly poor and the print industry not exactly in peak condition - much like myself, I shall be making the pilot issue readable online.

Over the coming weeks I'll be posting some articles from said Talisman pilot issue to this blog and at some point I'll probably make a PDF of the magazine publically avaliable.

Some articles, or versions or articles, that made it into my final, handed-in-and-everything magazine have feature on this blog already. Here, here, here and here.

Keep your eyes peeled for more soon (by which I mean I'm probably going to get one put up in a few hours, depending on how productive I'm feeling once these Shreddies have settled).

Last but not least

2009-06-08T22:38:00.004+01:00

TV's Mark Watson. You know, him off the pear cider adverts and that quiz thing with Tim Key off of Charlie Brooker's shows.

Ominous..."My plan is to run through some of most popular old gags, 'greatest hits' if you will. Then a bit of an interlude. Then some experiments."

Third piece of genuine laughter all night, out loud and everything, thanks to Watson's first offering, "I'm amazed they are allowed to promote Yorkie by saying 'IT'S NOT FOR GIRLS'. Imagine if it was 'SNICKERS - NOT FOR BLACK PEOPLE.

"Or: 'NUTRI-GRAIN: JEWS CAN BACK OFF".

It's currently a full on LOLfest.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that tonight's little venture has been a rousing success (not an arousing success, that'd be weird).

Iron out a few technical difficulties and find a way to stop spammers blocking up the feeds and it should be something to do in the future. Doesn't beat being at a gig in person though. With it being written, as I mentioned earlier, tone, irony etc are hard to detect. Will be important for those following the gig and any future ones to be aware of comedians' style so as to avoid any Sachsgate type incidents.

Sketchy one

2009-06-08T22:24:00.004+01:00

Pappy's Fun Club up next. A four strong sketch comedy outfit. This should be interesting. Funny guys, I've heard them before, but sketches on Twitter... :s

And with all of them tweeting together this could get confusing.

Seems to be going ok so far. Making use of twitpic and keeping their tweets short. Seems to be keeping to clear.

Excellent work on a pitch for a horror film, "We're pitching for a horror movie. It's called Things That Are Only Scary For A Short Amount Of Time...Here are a few scene ideas! You'll shriek but then instantly recover...Thinking you've seen the ghost of a headless monk in your room when actually it's a dressing gown on a hook...Thinking you've lost your phone when actually you're talking on it...Overhearing a parent telling off a child with the same name as you..."

Great ideas. Only second real laugh out loud of the night so far. MitchBenn being the other.

Twitter Comedy

2009-06-08T22:04:00.005+01:00

Second up in the second half is Terry Saunders. A much more conventional stand up affair. Long story about a trip to the doctors with punch line the rewards at the end of a drawn out setting up (if you've ever heard the one about the guy who goes to see a fortune teller at the fair you'll be in for a treat). Separates it up well within the 140 character bursts. Just as if it were a real gig, but with added bonus of pictorial and audio aides via yfrog.com and spotify. Felt like he was including the audience rather than just hitting them with one liners. Was very well executed in the telling but the punch line was a bit of a squib. Although I'm not sure the punch line that was delivered could ever be funny, the humour was more in the story itself.

Twitter Comedy - Part II

2009-06-08T21:48:00.002+01:00

Unrelenting one liners from @GaryDelaney. All real quality so far.

"Jimmy Saville has been receiving hate mail. Apparently one letter was on the start of it."

"If you're dying from an epilectic fit does your life flash in front of your eyes? Because that wouldn't help."

"I used to run the Iranian branch of Madame Taussaud's but it was almost impossible to make a prophet."

I could go on. Top stuff :)

Twitter comedy - Intermission

2009-06-08T21:24:00.004+01:00

Half way through the night, largely pretty successful thus far I'd say.

Currently on a 10 minute break.

Few teething problems in terms of how best to keep track of it all. I'm convinced the Hashtags approach isn't working. Especially as @tweckler keeps having a pop at every opportunity and other spammers are clogging it all up. Best to follow comics direct I feel.

Most of the comics have been very good, especially Mitch Benn, who managed to pull off his usually musical approach to comedy with great aplomb. Have a look at his feed to find out how, it's pretty special. Best of the night so far as far as I am concerned.

Much more inventive and amusing than @carldonnelly's attempt, which seems to become more and more arrogant and lazy with every second that I think about it.

More thoughts and reaction on the way.

Twitter comedy

2009-06-08T21:05:00.002+01:00

Carl Donnelly has just started by linking us to a five minute YouTube clip of his stand up material. Inventive, but feel a little cheated.

And has promptly finished his set. Disappointing but does point out the struggles with such an idea.

Following on the hashtag is proving very hard. Delayed and followers bunging it up with rubbish. Best to just watch comedians' pages and keep tapping F5.

Twitter comedy

2009-06-08T20:45:00.003+01:00

A great set there from Matt Kirshen. Now it's Rob Heeney. Slightly contentious start but banging out the jokes, even if a little dubious on subject matter. Seems a bit more laddish than your average stand up.

Much of the gig so far has been one liners given the limited space for typing. Kirshen tried to tell a story and didn't have time to finish because of the constraints. Still good stuff though.

Heeney's highlights so far, "My mum only sees the positive in people ... which ultimately cost her her job as an HIV tester", "I'm a bit thick. I used to think a mongoose was a swan with special needs .. I thought it had Eider-down syndrome" and, so bad it's good, "I saw a Vampire kettle the other day. Grrr ... that really makes my blood boil!".

However, much of it is falling pretty flat at the moment.

Big problem with how to get across the timing and delivery aspects on here, as well as picking up traces of irony etc.

Twitter comedy

2009-06-08T20:22:00.002+01:00

So far so good.

Tiernandouieb is comparing, delivered some thoroughly rib tickling one liners and first on stage Matt Kirshen has kicked off with a couple of stormers like, "So I was in a limbo competition and the music started "How low, can you go?" I said "I once stole a dialysis machine".

More to follow...

T(w)itter

2009-06-08T19:43:00.004+01:00

Something very interesting is happening in the world of comedy this evening. For the first time, a gig, of sorts, will be taking place on Twitter.

It begins in little over 10 minutes and information including line up, comedian pages etc can be found here.

The gig will feature Mark Watson and Pappy's Fun Club (who listeners of Jon Richardson's 6Music show will be familiar with) as well as some of the most promising talent in British comedy.

Follow @tweetcomedyclub.

Could be good, could be shit - and probably will be - but still, worth a go.

Enjoy!

BNP : Not In My Name

2009-06-08T01:07:00.009+01:00

As the results of the European elections have come in tonight I have been feeling ill at the thought of vile racists that are involved in the BNP representing our country: A country I am proud of for being tolerant, accepting and welcoming of all people from all walks of life. Combine these results with their presence in our various councils from Thursday's other elections and these become thoroughly worrying times.

The BNP is fronted by a man, Nick Griffin, who has denied the holocaust (and has attempted to backtrack in an attempt to distance his party from anti-Semitism), labelling it a conspiracy carried out by the British Army and the allied forces in WWII.

This is the same British Army his party then controversially praises for their undeniable bravery in the line of duty, in particular in the Second World War. The bravery displayed by those soldiers was in an effort to save Europe and the world from fascism.

How sad it is that the day after the anniversary of D-Day - a day when we remember and honour the many who served in armed forces from around the globe who worked together, who gave their lives trying to prevent the spread of extreme Right-wing policies, such as those Griffin's BNP wish to pursue, in the hope that future generations may live together without the fear of being persecuted - this country elects two members of the BNP, including Griffin himself, to represent us at the European parliament.

It truly is a sickening moment to be British. How dare they speak of freedom?!

With immigrants only accounting for about 2.9% of the UK population, if my maths is correct, and the levels of migrant workers from Eastern Europe entering the UK declining, the BNP's extreme Right views - constant complaining that immigrants take jobs from, and get preferential treatment to, British whites - seem to me to be increasingly ludicrous. And they started off being damn insane as it was.

For example, if they send home migrants and immigrants, I believe we'll struggle to find British born whites to fill the jobs they leave behind because in my mind those few nut jobs who vote for the BNP are the kind of people who think they're owed a comfortable living without having to contribute anything to their society. Will many BNP voters, angry that they can't find work, take the place of a Polish worker working for minimum wage on farms, or a Chinese cockle-picker? I doubt it very much.

As people who claim not to be interested in, or bothered about, or to understand politics avoid getting involved in voting, the BNP will only gather momentum as the reasonable thinking public opt to ignore the political process and allow it to be hijacked by an incredibly vocal, incredibly disturbed minority.

Now is the time to make yourself heard. Of course the BNP have every right to voice their views, that after all is the point of democracy and freedom, but I don't believe the BNP represent the majority of the British public in their ideology. So far the BNP have secured little more than perihpheral support but support is growing and their influence in the political system is growing with it. So when the general election is soon called, get out there and prove that Britain is by no means a country intent on instigating facist rule.

Until then, please sign this petition at hopenothate.org.uk in protest at the BNP.

The Scroobious Pip went out one day...

2009-03-15T01:04:00.010Z

I recently interviewed bearded rapper and poet Scroobius Pip. You probably know him from his musical work with Dan le Sac. Together they released one of the most under-rated albums of 2008 which featured a relative hit single, Thou Shalt Always Kill. Here's the resulting best bits of the conversation.

Before his rapping took off, Scroobius Pip could often be found at militant GCSE science rallies

Hello Mr. Pip. How are you? Is Mr. Pip ok, how do we address you? What’s your real name?

Mr Pip is fine. I come from a long line of fictional Mr Pips littered throughout literature over the years.

Scroobius Pip is a wonderful alias. I presume it’s taken from the Edward Lear poem he never completed. The poem talks of the mysterious creature, the Scroobious Pip, and of the other animals attempts to classify it. Is that how you want your material (both songs and poems) to be interpreted, free of classification, as you say in the introduction to the album with Dan le Sac “a marriage of styles”?

Yes definitely. I started using the name Scroobius Pip when I was doing a lot of street along with poetry, photography and DJ’ing. It worked well as it was definitely hard to specify what my job title would be and it translates well into what Dan and I do. Although we never set out to make non-definable music it seems to go that way. Across the album there is a huge range of influences, styles, subjects and sounds.

How did you and Dan start working together? You’re both from the same town, right? Have you known each other since then or just a coincidence?

It’s a bit of both. I still don’t think I have ever actually been face to face with Dan in Stanford-le- hope. But we went to the same college and had some mutual friends. We then worked together in a record shop and that is where we met properly. Then we met again over Myspace a few years later and started working together musically.

Scroobius Pip (left) and Dan le Sac (right)

So how and at what age did you get into poetry? It’s not your typical teenage past-time.

The music came first in that I have been passionate about music as far back as I can remember. Well into my music loving years I started to listen to hip-hop and kind of got into poetry from that angle. Working from Sage Francis and Saul Williams to KRS One and Rakim to Gil Scott Heron and Ginsberg. The reason I decided to start writing poetry myself was because you don’t have to rely on anyone else! If you are a spoken word artist you don’t have to rely on your drummer or guitarist or bassist or keyboard player or backing dancers! It was something I felt that, as long as I was motivated, then if I failed I would only have myself to blame!

Do you see music and poetry as good bedfellows?

They can be! But they aren’t always. It is a hard balancing act. A lot of poets seem to think that adding a band or DJ will simply make their stuff better of more accessible. I don’t feel it is as simple as that. They need to really fit together and compliment each other. Otherwise it’s just a noise getting in the way of the words.

What’s your favourite poem?

I think it is probably Cooper Chimbonda by Musa Okwonga. I lost out in a poetry slam to Musa the first time I heard this and it pretty much made me forget that I was even in a competition. An amazing, moving piece.

On to the music now, hip-hop in particular. Do you feel it has possibly lost touch with itself? It’s the most popular type of music in the world largely thanks to NWA (in particular Dr. Dre, his protégés and his polished production) and the subsequent rise of gangsta rap and folks rapping about their opulence, a long way from 1970’s New York. For the last few years hip-hop record sales have been on the slide. Jay-Z headlining Glastonbury last year may have been a commercial high point but is the heart of it failing?

I really think hip-hop is as healthy as it has ever been. It just happens to be at a point where the more opulent hip-hop is in the limelight and the mainstream. There are still amazing acts around like Sage Francis, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, B Dolan, Saul Williams, Eyedea....the fact that I have to stop there to avoid making this too long an answer illustrates how strong hip-hop still is. Hip-hop seems to go in cycles. Back at the start Busy Bee and people like the Sugarhill Gang were doing great hip-hop but it wasn’t really about anything. It was a lot of bragging and good hooks. Then acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul came along with content and meaning and that became the mainstream of hip-hop. Right now we are back round to the bragging hip-hop that’s all about catchy hooks. Conscious hip-hop will have its day again.

You’ve been over in America touring with Dan Le Sac in the last few months. How was that? Get to see much of the country or meet many of the people?

We did 24 gigs in 25 days. And on the day off we did some TV! So, yeah, it was great fun, amazing reactions and very, very tiring! It was great to cover so much of America and see how different it all is.

You also recently worked with De La Soul’s Posdnous on a new version of TSAK, how was that? How did it come about?

It was a dream come true! Basically, the label had wanted to re-release TSAK but we weren’t keen. Then they said that De La Soul where up for working with us on a remix so we obviously jumped at the chance! It was insane to hear Posdnous doing his own version of something I had written in my bedroom.

TSAK has a wonderful message and spirit but just how closely do, or can, you follow it? You said “Thou shalt not read NME”, then did an interview (or some form of feature at least, I remember seeing it on your Myspace page) with them not long after. I still buy Coca-Cola. Is it more aspirational than realistic, or is it a bit more tongue-in-cheek than we might realise?

A lot of it is very tongue in cheek. I was careful to write several commandments that contradict each other so that no one can listen to it and just blindly agree with it all! The point of the track is to make people think and then make up their own minds. With the NME thin, they were really good about it! They approached us for an interview or feature and we said that we would only do it if they would let me write a load of commandments as to why people shouldn’t read NME and have them printed in there. They went for it so I can’t say fairer than that!

Finally, for people just getting into poetry and spoken word, who would you recommend listening to or reading and why?

The UK scene is amazing at the moment. I would recommend that people get out there and see as much live as they can. Festival season is perfect for that as more and more festivals are booking spoken word. I am curating and hosting a spoken word tent at Camp Bestival for the second time this year. I also do a weekly spoken word slot on Colin Murray’s Radio One show (every Thursday) on which I get different poets on each week to do a piece.

Anything you want to add?

Not really! Was good to chat! I’m gonna go have some lunch now. Oh and.... “with great beard, comes great responsibility”.

Pip’s poetry segment is on the Colin Murray show, BBC Radio 1, Thursdays, 10pm-12am.

The Tupolev Ghost - The Tupolev Ghost EP

2009-02-26T11:31:00.002Z

Cambridge foursome the Tupolev Ghost have been going since 2005, gone through a few line-up changes, and are about to release an eponymous mini-album on the quite brilliant Big Scary Monsters label.

The introductory track is similar to the beginning stages of their label mates Yndi Halda’s Enjoy Eternal Bliss EP, chords humming in and out getting progressively tense. It’s not really necessary but adds a slight pinch of anticipation for its 57 second duration before the record actually begins, laden with ardour.

Full review here.

Read my other reviews on The Music Magazine.

Copy Haho - Bred For Skills And Magic EP

2009-02-26T11:29:00.001Z

Copy Haho sound like almost every other post Libertines indie-shmindie band and it’s very tempting to turn them off on hearing the opening bars of first track Pulling Push Ups, which sounds irritatingly like the View in places. It’s understandable given that the band hail from the North East of Scotland. Stonehaven to be precise, not that far from Aberdeen.

OK so the two bands are from two very different parts of the country and any Scots reading this may curse my English ignorance of dialect and inflection and for that I apologise but the initial likenesses are not simply vocal. The guitar flourishes are similar too.

Indeed the following track, This Retro Decade sounds like it too could have been any song by the likes of previously mentioned act the View, or the Wombats, should they ever discover how to stop being annoying.

Full review on The Music Magazine website.

Asobi Seksu - The Cluny, Newcastle

2009-02-26T11:26:00.001Z

The Cluny is a curious and delightful place. Upstairs is a wonderfully serene, cosy bar filled with pub types, artsy youths and proper beers and ciders. Downstairs, in what must have at one stage been a wine/beer cellar, is now one of the UK’s premier underground music venues, both literally and musically. The Cluny is a must play on any young band’s list if they are to be successful, commercially or artistically, in the UK. It’s where a lot of the taste-makers in the North East of England congregate of an evening and winning over those fans can go a long way to establishing a keen following.

Tonight it is the turn of New York based shoegazing, dream pop outfit Asobi Seksu, playing for the first time in Newcastle. Support comes in the shape of local act Meandthetwins: an instrumental group started in the early part of the decade at Hartlepool art college. The band was the original musical vehicle for all three members of Cippewa Falls and Paul Smith, famed hat wearer and Maximo Park front-man.

Full review over here at The Music Magazine.

Wintersleep - Welcome To The Night Sky

2009-02-26T11:25:00.001Z

I learnt something today. Annoyingly enough Canadians can’t pronounce basic elements in the periodic table correctly either (Americans being the others) as revealed by Welcome To The Night Sky’s opening track, Drunk On Aluminium.

By and large those are the only bad words that can be said about this record. It takes in a range of rock-based styles, the songs develop well and stand strong both individually and as a collective work. The lyrical content is typically dour but delivered in such a way the emotional response is not one of melancholy alone but also of hope, much like the National really.

Full review here.

Data Select Party - Hanging Out With Humans

2009-02-16T16:03:00.002Z

After the success of Foals, the short lived but much loved I Was A Cub Scout - with whom they played many a gig - and the relative rise in polished, post-punk derived, fret-tapping rock acts fit for pop consumption (see Youmeatsix, Kill The Arcade, Tonight Is Goodbye etc) Data Select Party fit in nicely.

Each song on this “mini-album” is an emo-pop-tastic sing-a-long. There’s one problem, or maybe six depending on how you look at it: each song sounds more or less exactly the same as the other five tracks. It all just floats in one ear and out the other, leaving no lasting impression at all. Well, maybe that’s a little harsh. There are miscellaneous guitar lines and hummable vocal melodies that will erratically appear in the head and refuse to identify themselves. That’s not particularly enjoyable though. Essentially this record is the musical equivalent of a gang of sextuplets lining up in an identification parade. And they’re all wearing beige.

“I’ll turn your frown upside down”, they say in Wake Up The Town. No, no you won’t. You’ll turn your instruments down please. Or off. Maybe turn around and leave? Less Data Select Party and more File And Quit. If they must insist on Hanging Out With Humans, it should be suggested that they do so with humans far, far away. In a soundproof room.

To read the review in full visit The Music Magazine.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Century of Self

2009-02-13T22:08:00.001Z

Trail of Dead have had a pretty hit and miss success rate with their records. As many lauded (1999’s Madonna and 2002’s Source Tags And Codes) as others dismissed as self-indulgent or over the top (2005’s Worlds Apart and 2006’s So Divided). Thankfully this year’s offering, Century Of Self, has the immediate feel of something majestic.

Read the review in full over at The Music Magazine.

Passion Pit - Chuck of Change

2009-02-13T22:07:00.001Z

Toe tapping beat? Check. Catchy claps? Check. Infectious chorus? Check.

Well then good sir, you have yourself a hit record.

So begins Passion Pit’s Chunk Of Change EP and it combines all the best bits of the likes of Hot Chip, MGMT and the Postal Service to create what is sure to be a summer favourite at festivals across the board. Their songs are of a suitable length and have enough layers and swirling electronic haze to please the more discerning music fan and feel simple and catchy enough for any NME/picture-book gawper. The EP has been well received in most corners of the music press and for good reason.

Read the full verdict on The Music Magazine.

Paul Goodwin - Scars

2009-02-13T22:05:00.001Z

The first thing to mention about Paul Goodwin is his really irritating singing voice. It’s begging, mumbling, and frankly sounds a little like a lonesome drunk in a pub. Musically, his song arrangements are fine, good even, the usual expected from a singer/songwriter, the themes varied and delivered with suitable bleakness and hope where appropriate.

However, it is very difficult to escape the impression that a lot of the material is taken from a time when he may have been in a local teenage “emo/post-hardcore” band from the early 00’s. The lyrics seem sickeningly melodramatic and confessional in places but delightfully simple and descriptive in others, often revealing more by saying less, or at least less obviously.

The initial reservations melt away as the album goes on to reveal a series of delicate and thoughtful songs. There’s a sense that Damien Rice’s album O was a big influence on Goodwin’s writing both lyrically, sadness is a prevalent emotion the album conveys and there are few silly metaphors (although those that are there are cringe-worthy see 60 Miles With A Slow Puncture’s first verse “I’d take a knife out of my back / And carve your name into my arm“), and in terms of technique through the plucking style.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. There’s hints of happiness to be found in Nizlopi-esque moments like the guitar on Phosphorus Burn and in the cheer of In Sure And Certain Hope, while Losing Out To Bullethead is an instant toe-tapper.

Read the review in full over at The Music Magazine.

Asobi Seksu - Hush

2009-02-13T22:04:00.003Z

Hush - Japanese/American outfit Asobi Seksu’s third album - opens with the first track, Layers, sounding like an early 90’s Christmas single. Plenty of jingling bells and organ chords paired with angelic vocals and a clean, delayed guitar. It’s very easy to find yourself drifting while listening to it, more drifting off than drifting away though. Not a great start.

Sing Tomorrow’s Praise is a cheerful sounding jaunt with grand, fanfare-like, keys suggesting the belated announcement of the album. Musical pressure builds and builds between verses, but never delivers the expulsion of noise that is expected. It works quite well though, it becomes an addictive quality as the song comes tantalisingly close to a rewarding peak of a crescendo, the fix the listener is after but, teasing them, it never lets them have what they want.

Sunshower has massive post-rock style finish to it, the higher strings given a real battering, just about detectable through the fuzz. Later the brief Risky And Pretty sounds very much like a forgotten Boards Of Canada track, all 44 seconds of it. Promising but too short to have any real influence.

Read the full review over at The Music Magazine.

Will Richards - Ready To Talk Now

2009-02-13T21:58:00.003Z

It's been a while since I last linked to my recent reviews. Here they are in chronological order, starting with the oldest.

Ready To Talk now is the debut album from Wakefield’s Will Richards, and it doesn’t start very well.

The opening track, Be A Better Man, sounds depressingly like Jeff Buckley’s Grace, the song not the album. To the uninitiated it could even be mistaken for Buckley such are the similarities in drum tone, guitar strums, song structure and vocal melody.

To say the material is similar to that of Jeff Buckley’s is not necessarily a bad thing, Grace is one of the best albums of all time, but it means Richards struggles to develop an identity of his own. It’s all well and good taking influence from other artists but really good artists will make their own “sound” from those influences, not simply sound like a cover version. Things improve as the album goes on. Travel Sick, is a little more stylistically original, but not particularly good. It’s plodding and dull. As is the next track, Ready To Talk Now. In fact it sounds a bit like a song from a Disney film, an especially naff one, performed by a completely unenthused Rufus Wainwright.

Read the full article over at The Music Magazine.

Death of the critic?

2009-01-23T23:54:00.003Z

Once upon a time it was a common sight, a young music fan walking down the street gripping the latest issue of their chosen rag and the week’s most anticipated album, eager to get home and read about the new bands it would unveil to them while enjoying what music their hard earned wages had bought them. Now that image is rather different.

The internet has had a massive impact on the way media function since the turn of the century. Journalism and music in particular have had to adapt to technological developments that have allowed anybody and everybody to become bedroom musicians and living room hacks as both information and music have become much more readily accessible for readers and listeners. The affects have been felt across the industries with newspaper and record sales on the downturn.
It seems the average punter now prefers to get their information online, via official band and social networking websites, blogs and the online arms of the magazines that used to be read, rather than wait until the end of the week or month for the next instalment of NME, Mojo or Kerrang! to tell them what is going on.

American newspaper the San Francisco Chronicle, once a paper with 400 journalists on its books, laid off 100 employees in the early summer of 2007, blaming the internet for its dwindling readership, while British-based record label EMI has run into large financial difficulties. A similar trend has been seen in the magazine side of journalism too. The once great NME weekly music magazine now has circulation figures of a meagre 64,000 per issue, in its heyday in the 1970s that was more like 250,000.

This rise in popularity of blogging about the arts, especially music, has led to new approaches from the magazine industry. Some feel that what was once the almost exclusive domain of professional critics and writers, to be found only within the pages of their magazines and books, has now become open to anyone and everyone (providing they can get online) via their own blogs.

American music journalist and author of the definitive rock biopic, Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana and Our Band Could Be Your Life, Michael Azerrad, said of blogging in a video debate broadcast on www.ifc.com, “…it’s democratised it. Music journalism was once a very centralised thing where you had giant outlets like Rolling Stone and Spin, all centralised, controlling much of the discourse, and now with music blogging anyone can write about music. And that means, and I mean this in the best sense, amateurs: amateur meaning some one who does it for the love of it and that is a really, really great thing.

“It’s taken music journalism and criticism out of the promotional cycle, you can write about stuff that’s not being promoted at the time, you can write about whatever you want, however you want and that’s really taken music writing out of a lot of ruts. It’s inspiring to the grizzled, old veterans such as myself and I think it’s really opened up a lot of avenues for newcomers to provide a new voice.”

That is view shared, in parts, by former Melody Maker writer and now head of music journalism at Southampton Solent University, Dr Martin James, “Blogging is a very, very positive thing for writers. If you look at, for instance, the Guardian blogs compared to the print pages, the writers, the critics, have got room to write and so you’re finding that you remember why they’re great writers again because there’s much more space to write.

They’re far freer expressing their opinions because they’re less worried about losing advertising as would happen in the print world. So, in a lot of ways, for a writer or critic, blogging has become a very exciting thing.”

He continued: “In a lot of ways blogging is no different to the traditional methods of distribution…people have always been able to put out fanzines, nobody has ever stopped anybody writing. You look at recent fanzines like Loose Lips Sink Ships, which is written, run and produced by professional journalists, all done for free just so they can write about who they want to. And there are magazines like Plan B which is all about the underground, so this idea that things are always being continually mediated is not really the case”

Dr. James is keen to point out though that the industry will try to have an influence. He continues: “But then it’s very naïve to think that the industry isn’t, in some way, trying to gate-keep websites and blogs. If a blog becomes popular then the music industry starts sending through copy and offering interviews.”

One example of such a popular blog getting offered material from the media industry is Perez Hilton’s inventively monikered, perezhilton.com. He receives all sorts of information and coverage opportunities from the entertainment industry now the site is popular, as it is seen as a marketing opportunity for celebrities.

Many blogs are now licensed by labels and PR companies to host free MP3 of artists’ songs but even that is now facing difficulties. Drownedinsound.com reported recently on blogs like Berkeley Place Indie being closed down by American labels and copyright protectors (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) for hosting songs that the British-based labels for the same artists had OK’d.

Martin James says: “I think, no matter what happens, the industry is there to control information, to control the publishing and copyright of all the material and that’s a responsible industry. The irresponsible industry gives everything away. However, having said that, in the music industry now the revenue streams aren’t coming from record sales and haven’t for quite a while. Which is why we now have the idea of the 360 degree contract [a contract drawn up between artists and an organisation which encompasses not just records but tours, merchandise and all aspects of revenue generated from the artists material] The Rolling Stones for example have just signed one of these with LiveNation. They’re admitting that there’s not enough money from records and album sales so they might as well just give that away free and they’re making all their money off gigs and everything else that goes around it.”

Clearly there is an argument to say that the rise of blogging is not as democratising an event as some would say, as Martin points out: “The other problem with that concept is that it works on the idea that everybody has internet access. In this country we’re still only ay 96% internet access and on a worldwide scale it’s still only something like 60-odd % so, that’s not democracy.”
Some critics feel there is an issue with quality control in blogging, but like with all forms of media if you don’t like it, switch it off, stop reading it. The well written and well thought out blogs, and websites such as Drownedinsound.com, pitchforkmedia.com and thedailyswarm.com, will rise to the top while those which are sensationalist or inaccurate will get left by the wayside as people stop reading them.

In fact, rather than democratising music criticism and revolutionising it, the popularity of blogging and websites is, in some ways, returning it to its roots. In 1952 advertising designer Ashley Havinden wrote, “The role of the serious critic is that of an educator.” This is something that has been lost in the last 20 years as PR and advertising has become increasingly important to print outlets.

Martin James again: “The whole concept of the critic completely changed in the 80’s. At one point the critic could kill an artist, a bad review and that was it…reviewers now are more likely reproducing press releases and not really offering a critical appraisal, what I call cultural location. They’re not actually locating the record within the culture in the way that literature reviewers or theatre reviewers still do.”

Blogs allow for more freedom of expression in that respect and that should in turn lead to a return to genuine criticism; incisive, witty, intelligent and knowledgeable thought on culture. Of course PR will always try and get its grubby little mitts involved hoping to create more money for themselves and their clients and in all honesty, the two couldn’t survive without the other, but their work will become ever harder as costs are removed from production via an online outlet and writers will be less pressured to say certain things about certain artists for fear of losing revenue.

Sites and blogs like those mentioned in this article, which were a laughing-stock when first set up, along with new ones sprouting up all over the place such as ThrashHits.com and TheQuietus.com are rapidly becoming more and more popular, rivalling the mainstream print magazines. These are the new NMEs, Mojos and Rolling Stones of this world.

Music criticism is not being revolutionised or overhauled by the internet. The rise of blogging and websites has given it a bit of a kick up the backside but it hasn’t changed it all that much when looked at with some realistic perspective. Music criticism is simply shifting, re-discovering and re-planting itself. The same thing will happen again when the next, even easier to use format comes along.

Try our NEW eyebrow-moving chocolate!

2009-01-23T16:34:00.003Z

Adverts, they're a funny old game. Most of them aren't about what they're meant to be selling nowadays. In a way I suppose this is a good thing, I don't want to be constantly sold products and a lifestyle by money-hungry businesses, however it does beg the question, why bother?

For example, after a Phil Collins loving Gorilla drummer and runaway, runway cars here's Cadbury's most recent offering.

Ok, so obscure adverts may get people talking and blogging about them, spreading the word, but I can't imagine that without these kind of adverts people would suddenly stop buying Cadbury's chocolate. Maybe some advertising folks have some figures somewhere to show how sales increase when such, wacky, crazy adverts are broadcast but to me it simply makes very little sense. It's often amusing a few times but quickly gets as irritating as traditional adverts. Do adverts even work? I'm sure that the vast majority of the time people make their purchasing decisions based on experience of a product and tend to be very loyal to brands once they fine one they like. If nobody is going to take any notice of an advert and the company isn't going to be able to persuade anybody to try their brand for a change, what is the point?

Coffee & TV

2009-01-19T01:44:00.007Z

We’ve been taught by TV not to press the big red button as it usually ends up with something of ours exploding, but now it seems that is all TV wants us to do. Stephen Milnes wonders why we should change the habit of a lifetime.

“And if you press the red button now you can watch the game in high definition on the BBC’s HD channel”.

I am normally a very calm person and find Gary Lineker a very amicable presenter but once I hear those words, “you can watch this in HD” I turn into some Jekyll and Hyde type and start throwing things in the TV’s direction, be they objects close to hand or expletives.

So, before I give myself an aneurysm, would somebody please kindly tell me what exactly is the point of this new HD (High Definition) TV that I keep getting told to watch football, nature documentaries and even The Antiques Roadshow in, and why should I have it?

I understand it’s a better picture but in all my years watching Match of the Day I have never thought to myself, “You know what, I really like football but what would make it life-changingly better would be if I could see each individual blade of grass”. There is nothing, ‘wrong’ with digital TV how it is. If you ask me there’s still no problem with terrestrial analogue TV. Black and White to colour, fine, I can see the benefit in that, it’s enormous, but seeing a bead of sweat on Wayne Rooney’s head or the pimple on a mating hyena’s bottom is not something I feel compelled to see. It’s certainly not something I want to spend hundreds of pounds on, investing in a new over-sized, over-priced TV that I have no room for in my house so have to hang the thing on the wall and make myself look like every inch the effervescent, babbling lunatics most of these gadget fiends become when the latest pointless widget becomes available. Surely it’s generally cheaper and easier to simply walk outside and look at the real world, rather than have a simulated copy piped in to your living room?

As grumpy and immovable as I sound, I am actually very open to this new technology, my scepticism has only arisen through the technological world’s complete inability to stop and explain what its new ideas actually do and how it can improve your TV/Radio/Internet/gaming experience. It simply shouts at you until you give in and buy it. So I’m going to try and find out what on earth it is actually all about. What the pros and cons are, if they just trying to swindle you and if anybody actually know what HD is or does.

Jack Shelbourn is one of those aforementioned effervescent, babbling, techno lunatics constantly eulogising about HD. Never giving any reason but simply saying, “It’s amazing!”. He’s a motion graphics engineer about to complete a degree in media production and he’s, somehow, one of my best friends so I thought I’d ask him to actually sit me down and explain it all.

First things first then, what is HD and how does it work?
“HD stands for High definition. This is the new buzz word in the media and electronics industry. HD is split two ways, visually and through audio. Visually the term refers to high picture quality and to understand this we need to understand pixels. All electronic images are made up of pixels and colour information is stored in them. Each pixel is made up of a collective number between the colours red, green and blue, almost like mixing paint together to make other colours. Televisions and PC screen have a certain amount of pixels, restricting the amount of colour information they can show.”

Apparently British regions have a pixel area of 720 pixels by 576 pixels and in the US it’s 720 by 480.

In basic terms HD is the ability to show far higher resolution images on a TV screen.

What makes it so much better than what we already have then?

“Basically, HD allows for more pixel information and colour information, therefore allows more detail. You still need to focus and have a sharp image, good cameras and lenses are a must, but HD is just improving what is already there.”

But for those of us who are perfectly happy with what is already there why should we pay attention to the broadcasters and electronics companies who constantly seem like they’re pushing it on us, always emphasising things being “HD ready” as if they’re about to switch normal TV off? The amount of rubbish on Freeview and Freesat isn’t suddenly going to become BAFTA award winning genius because somebody turned the hue up.

"HD ready was a scam in my eyes to sell more TVs. HD ready TVs can only show 1280 by 720 pixel images. This was said to future proof your TV, before the emergence of ‘Full HD’ which was for either those who waited, or who had enough money to buy another TV. I don’t know why Full HD wasn’t just released straight away other than to make money.

Ultimately it’s all about choice. If you’re happy watching comparatively blurry images then don’t spend your money until it becomes standardised. If you want a 50 inch TV on your wall and want the picture to look as good as it did on your 26 inch chucky widescreen from the 1990’s then you’ll need it to be HD or there won’t be enough pixel data to make the image crisp."

Will HD eventually take over as the dominant TV format? Do broadcasters see it as a seriously viable option or will it remain somewhat of a novelty on specific HD channels?

“It will be the only TV format changing over the next 20 years or so. All TVs being sold now are HD. They can show SD [standard definition] so that will always be there but yes, HD will just become normal TV. HD channels will become just regular channels again, however on demand services such as Channel 4’s 4OD, the BBC’s iPlayer, Channel Five’s Demand Five and Sky’s Sky Player will more than likely replace everything, but they will be in HD.

Companies seem to have chosen the media PC as the future. That’s basically a box that sits in your living room, much like a PC’s tower, and will function as your TV, PC and radio. The idea is you have a large TV which is basically a PC screen with a PC able to connect you to on demand TV services via the internet. It will all look like a normal TV service does now, it’s just you will choose what you want to watch, when and how.

The latest gadgets are all about compacting several already existing gadgets into one thing. We’ve seen it with mobile phone becoming the things we take photos with, record video clips with and listen to music on. Many are essentially tiny laptops now too with the iPhone and Blackberry. The same sort of thing will happen with TV, the internet and PCs.”

So there you go. Next time you’re watching England fail in the Quarter-Finals of an international football tournament and Gary Lineker, or worse still Jake Humphrey, utters that dreaded sentence, you can put down the brick, put away the hammer, assure your children that everything is ok and daddy will not be going to the bottom of the garden, locking himself in the shed and screaming obscenities for the duration of the first half again because finally, the mystery has been unraveled: HD TV is just another excuse for flash gits to show off and try and belittle you with their opulence, but it’s all right because we have a 1973 first pressing of Dark Side of The Moon in the loft.

Still, it would be quite nice to get a new toy.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Old Money

2009-01-19T01:39:00.002Z

Omar’s latest offering manages to harness some of the same draw and immediate likeability of TMV’s debut, De-loused In The Comatorium, a much more widely appreciated record. Old Money sounds very much like a Mars Volta record that never came to fruition (indeed it had been mooted by Lopez as a follow up to Amputechture before TMV wrote The Bedlam in Goliath). Aspects of the impenetrable, indulgent weirdary of TMV’s Amputechture is evident in places, like from around 4:25 into third track, Population Council’s Wet Dream and the jazzy later track Trilateral Commission As Dinner Guests which has a promising start, the winding brass reminiscent of The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower, but eventually becomes impenetrable prog noise that fries the mind to the point of explosion towards the end. Fans of Pink Floyd will likely find enjoyment in Private Fortunes as it combines Arabic sounding percussion with soaring guitar noodlery a la Money while Family War Funding is a funky number that anybody with bone in their body and a brain in their head should be able to get in to.

Old Money will be released on 26 January 2009 via Stones Throw Records.

Read the full review over at The Music Magazine.

Dartz at Newcastle Academy 2

2009-01-19T01:34:00.002Z

The Teesiders were joined in October by a fourth member, Nico Taylor, who tonight helped out on guitar duties for the material on latest release, The Sad History Of The Village Of Alnerique, but stood aside for the majority of the material from debut album This Is My Ship. The band say they’re looking forward trying things out with two guitars so it looks like the foursome dynamic is here to stay (and may it bring yet more post-punk joy).

As for the gig it was just what we have come to expect from Dartz over the years. Post-punk that causes mass bobbing and smiling interlaced with friendly and amusing banter between band a crowd, with a song dedicated to the recently fallen Woolworths. In the cosy Academy 2 it always works well and with time left spare at the end the band were asking for requests from the audience. Network! Network! Network! and Laser Eyes proved the consensus and the band obliged.

The set was well balanced between new and old material all delivered with the same enthusiasm throughout. It seems every time this TMM scribe catches a Dartz show something of drummer Philip Maughan’s breaks. In Leicester in 2007 it was a drum pedal, tonight it was the turn of the mic stand which flopped around for the first minutes of the set. As lead vocalist William Anderson sang, “We are the quiet choir/We’re pleased to have you here” from The Clandestine Choir the friendly atmosphere of a typical Dartz gig and the amicable nature of the band shone through, reminding the jaded members of the audience that live music can still be about fun and not whose got the skinniest jeans and pointiest shoes.

Read the full review over at The Music Magazine.

The Rorschach Test

New Artist of the Week #6

New Artist of the Week #5

New Artist of the Week #4

New Artist of the Week #3

New Artist of the Week #2

New Artist of the Week #1

The Rorschach Test Returns

Fact x Importance = News

Bye Bye Benty

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Football Manager: More Than Just A Game

Rooney wants to leave Manchester United

Bosman ruling for TV rights?

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Back again!

A well overdue update

Talisman Magazine

Morning twirps!

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Youth

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