Well this is nice

Man and wife sell up 9 to 5 life to meander around the coast on a sailboat and write songs. That's nice. Other people's lives are nice. Should we just all jack it in? I'm pretty adept with a tambourine and I can stay in tune most of the time, who's with me? But I am quite sleepy and warm. Maybe later.

These guys have been floating around the bloggies/onestowatch columns for a while now but didn't seem to take off in a big way despite their first track 'Marathon' being lauded by everyone from Pitchfork to the Guardian. (It's absolutely ace by the way- listen below). Maybe it's because they are annoyingly hard to google search. But NEVER FEAR. After releasing 'Take Me Somewhere' into the blogosphere a few weeks ago they are currently most blogged on hypem.com and have just announced a European tour in January, hooray!

Listen here: 
Marathon - Tennis by arrhythmiamusic

Tennis - Take Me Somewhere by forcefieldpr

Tennis play:

7 Jan– Lexington, London
8 Jan – Paradiso, Amsterdam
10 Jan– Emporium Galorium, Rouen
11 Jan – Les Bouffles du Nord, Paris
13 Jan– ISC Club, Berne
14 Jan– Ampere, Munich
15 Jan– Bang Bang, Berlin
16 Jan– Beatlemania, Hamburg
19 Jan– Cockpit 3, Leeds
20 Jan– Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
21 Jan– The Deaf Institute, Manchester

Top 10 Albums of 2010 so far

It's that time of year where everyone is thinking ahead to end of year lists, frantically rifling through Spotify playlists and itunes purchases to come up with a list of not-too-obvious-ace-albums-cuz-ya-know-i'm-a-bit-left-of-centre-and-shit. AND HERE'S MINE. I've pretty much raved about all of these at some point on here so they need no introduction. I've stuck a few tracks I can find off soundcloud below for your aural pleasure or here's a spotify playlist. Enjoynowbye x

1. Warpaint- The Fool (obvs). Couldn't find Undertow or Shadows but this is a sweet song.

Warpaint - Baby by quietculturemed

 
2. Surfer Blood- Astro Coast. Take it easssy. Just take it easy.

surfer blood by eldiabloyelritmo

3. The Black Keys- Brothers. Dare I say it their best yet? Perfect bluesy rock'n'roll. An all-weather album.

Black Keys - Brothers by cooperativemusicuk

 
4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening. Talking like a jerk, except you are an actual jerk...
Dance Yrself Clean by r0cketman22

 
5. Sleigh Bells- Treats. Loud headfuck of an album, likey like.
Sleigh Bells-Rill Rill by HSUGreen

 
6. Foals- Total Life Forever. Pretty darn decent change of direction for Foals. Spanish Sahara makes it.
Foals - Spanish Sahara by subpop

 
7. Caribou- Swim. Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun.
Caribou - Sun by radúz

 
8. Four Tet- There is Love in You. Good man, excellent cover.
Four Tet - Love Cry by pansen

 
9. Bombay Bicycle Club- Flaws. Yes.

10. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs. Still getting into this more nostalgia-based album from the Fire. I think it's going to be a keeper. We Used to Wait, Rococo, Sprawl II all aces. Nice strings with interesting, more mature lyrics.
Arcade Fire - Rococo by Scenedamage

THE TEMPER TRAP REMIX ALBUM STREAM

Conditions
Remixed by The Temper
Trap

GOLD PANDA ALBUM, LOOKY LOOKY

 

Things of Late

Hey diddle diddle,

Here is some good music make feel nice that's been knocking around my noodle. Enjoysers:Listen here

First Aid Kit 'When I grow up'. This is a really nice cover of the Fever Ray track, check out the video for the original below, also aces. Those crazy Swedes.



Warpaint 'Ashes to Ashes'. I think it's been established Warpaint can do no wrong in my eyes. Maybe they are Veelas. Their cover of Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' is as beguiling as to be expected, with delicious bendy bass, good girls.

***SPECIAL TREATZ*** The man himself working the popular 80's 'paedo-in-leather' look, ooooh!



Babeshadow 'Sea Serpents', 'Darling'. I like them because they look like this:

Lefty is an inspiring cross between Art Garfunkel and Michael Hutchence and righty is channeling the perfect amount of old school Kings of Leon (before the unpleasantness...)
I like them #2 because they sound a bit like Larrikin Love and Clap your hands say Yeah (in a good way...

Morning Benders 'Mason Jar', 'Excuses', 'Promises'. Phwoar. Saw them at the Borderline last week and they were incredible. One of those pleasant surprises that are five million times better live than on record (even though the new album is an absolute banger), I nearly died. If you get a chance, go and see them live, you won't be disappointed. Until then, here's their new song


Neon Indian 'Deadbeat Summer'. I like it, I have it. Wasn't blown away by Psychic Chasms but this nostalgia-laden track is bonzer.

I've also thrown on some oldies that have kicked their way back onto my playlist...

The Cribs 'Be Safe'. I can't stop playing this song. 'Lets take life and slow it down incredibly slow, frame by frame with two minutes that take ten years to live out. Yeah, lets do that.'

Arab Strap 'Cherubs'. Some like it scotch...

Foals 'Spanish Sahara'. This is incredible. Check out the video, very Into the Wild...

Giving Shoegaze the Boot

I'm not sure shoegaze is exactly what I mean with these bands but they are perfect for staring at things wistfully, k? Anyway, have a listen to the spotify playlist and you'll know what I mean. I have always been a fan of zone-out music when working or having those groundbreaking thoughts when you are walking in the rain and immediately forget when you take your earphones out... But goddarned it, along with old favourites Atlas Sound, Deerhunter and Blonde Redhead, with each passing day the Pitchfork and Hypemachine brigade are championing a new batch of sleepy-eyed, sluggish-melodied ditties with wistful, teen angst lyrics and it's getting a little old frankly...

I've rounded up the best of the bunch recently getting props to save yourself the embarrassment of falling for the Clarks of the shoegaze world and it's contemporaries ;)

Spotify Link: Shoegaze


BEST COAST

An overrated album by a bunch of stoners? There are some shining star tracks though; Boyfriend and The End are great schmoozy, sixties-inspired lullabies but the album can get a little repetitive as a whole. They have done a load of interviews where they just come across as Stoner Central and pretty dull really.

Watch this now:






REAL ESTATE

Beach Comber is a banging track, not on Spotify but worth a buysies. I like this. It even has one of those shaker things that looks like an egg, fucking love those. The guitar on Basement sounds like it's trying to snog itself. Surf poppy shoe gaze.


WASHED OUT

Ok so 'Feel It All Around' has pretty much been the soundtrack to my Summer. The bass is straight out of Human League- Don't You Want Me, smothered in glittery tinklings and a hazy finish. Delicious. The rest of the Life of Leisure EP ain't half bad either but no other song touches this one.


TORO Y MOI

An Eton Mess of sound. Whip 500ml of distorted, bendy guitar with a handful of mixed voices, top with a sprinkling of beepy things. Serve on drums.

CARIBOU

This is the livelier end of shoegaze, more like shoeshuffle, but I call the shots on this blog so it's going in also. Odessa is a stroke of pure genius and Swim is a phenomenal album.... Yeah, slightly off the shoegaze track but there are elements in there and it is FANTASTIC. Czech it out. 





GOLD PANDA

Lonely Owl is just beautiful...perfect wind down material. Just some flecks of shoegaze in here, lets call this one wallstare. Again a bit more trancey/ambience but a great wee EP on spotify, listen yes.

Arcade Fire- The Suburbs First Listen

Once again NPR come up trumps with their First Listen feature. New Arcade Fire album, getting some rave press reviews and a few lukewarm word-of-mouth ones.... Jury's out.

The Suburbs- First Listen

Local Natives on Blogotheque

Surfer Blood LIVE

Surfer Blood LIVE @ The Garage, Islington 12/05/2010

I managed to catch Surfer Blood earlier this year at Camden Crawl and was completely blown away. With drunken revellers packed tightly into the den of inequity that is The Underworld, their shambolic, energetic set captured the anarchic atmosphere of the setting perfectly. The gig ended fittingly with lead singer John Paul Pitts crowd surfing across the room and scrawling 'WE'RE ALL GAY' in permanent marker on the Gaymers sponsor wall.

And so with a smile of expectant anticipation, I entered the Garage in Islington. Everything seemed in good order, the crowd consisting of a healthy mix of buzz-followers and more seasoned music fans. The lights dimmed and the band walked on to Motley Crue's 'Girls, Girls, Girls' blasting with spotlights searching the crowd... Evidently they were as expectant of a 'to-be-remembered' show as I was.

They opened with Fast Jabroni, a good introduction to their sound: surf guitars with LOUD bass and wistful, slightly dark lyrics enhanced by Pitts' Casablancas-esque vocals; in all their songs there is a smooth fusion of Pavement and The Drums with a bit of a sixties surfer vibe thrown in for good measure. The highlights were 'Harmonix' where the bass reached out and slapped you round the ears and 'Anchorage' which escalated slowly into punky joy. They also treated us to an extended version of 'Swim' which dissolved into beautiful guitars reminiscent of the Chili Peppers.

Their stage presence is equally as confident, buzzing with the fizz of youth they joke comfortably with the crowd and each other. It's good to see a new band surrounded by so much hype still having fun instead of taking themselves too seriously too soon.

This show would have been perfect save one thing- the crowd. Despite the raw energy of the songs and enthusiasm of the band , the crowd were embarrassingly subdued. The Blood had obviously planned to do an encore but the lukewarm reception had them asking 'Should we even come back out?'. I think it's a classic example of a band riding on hype without taking the time to build a loyal fan base (this gig had to be downgraded from Heaven). It's a real shame because these boys can really put on a show!

Glastonbury 2010

Trudging onto site last Friday for my fourth Glastonbury with the sun beating down on my back, a wall of cider-clutching Rolf Harris fans blocking my rucksack-laden way, I couldn't have been happier. (Well... at least I was an hour later sat in the Jazzworld area with a good ole strawberry cider).

What ensued in those 3 days was magical (like every Glasto); a secret gig by Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, tartiflette and toulouse sausage, meeting a lion by a roaring firelog, the xx at nightfall, local natives and hypnotic brass ensemble in the sunshine, morris dancing, kangaroos, a covers band starting a Neighbours theme song singalong, the weird and wonderful Shrangri-La, back stage pints, the stone circle, freezing tents morphing into sweaty tents in an instant (horrible), lebanese mezze, the Pyramid crowd singing Lola with Ray Davies, radical poetry, watching The Middle East beside Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling, elderflower champagne, shit trapezists putting on a full scale pirate show.... agggggh!

On top of the beautiful weather, this year the Eavis' pulled out a stonking lineup to celebrate the festivals' 40th birthday. A far cry from where it all began with tickets selling at £1 (including a pint of milk, obvs) and T-Rex heading proceedings. The Park stage took the rosette for best new music this year, the line up was fantastic; highlights included Beach House, Villagers, Local Natives, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, the XX, Thom and Jonny's secret gig (setlist included versions of Street Spirit, Pyramid Song, Karma Police, Wierd Fishes and Idioteque)... and I'm sure Dirty Projectors, Broken Bells and Midlake would have been awesome as well, unfortunately I missed them.

Have a listen to the best of The Park acts on Spotify:The Park

My new bestest favourite thing in the world

Right now all I ever want to do is watch Warpaint videos.

These sirens are spellbinding... will-o-the-wisp, grungey guardians that make me feel safe and warm. If you imagine crossing Kurt Cobain with Susheela Raman and Cocorosie you've got half the story. Without their ethereal wails and sashaying hips the real world is a cold and dangerous place, so be warned before you get sucked into their delicious bass-y trippy trap. I think I love them...

Below is the video for 'Elephants', it's all wind and hair and lace accompanied by a hypnotic bass line interlaced with harp-like guitars and vocals to rival Cat Power that slowly works itself into a frenzy. Couldn't be more up my street. 




And for an even more trippy video look no further: backwards fireworks + little Warpaint nymphs running through woods and kissing and having sand fights = WIN




And if like me you still can't get enough, check out this fantastic song 'Billy Holiday' featuring lyrics from 'My Guy' by the Supremes. YES.

New stuff me likey

Here are some recent stonking albums that have been doing the rounds on my ipod, go get 'em!

The National- High Violet... please listen to this, it's eatable. Matt Berninger's lyrics are as smooth and deep as a great chocolate mousse. 'Sorrow' is achingly beautiful.

The Black Keys- Brothers.... I love the Black Keys, funky bluesy guitars and hankering after girls. I'll take it.

Surfer Blood- Astro Coast... Great wee album by the Floridians. You would struggle to put a decade on it, sounds like Pavement to The Drums via the Beach Boys whilst discovering punk. Nice. 'Anchorage' is fantastic.

Sleigh Bells- Treats... I saw them live at Brighton last week and they were pretty terrible but it's a great record. Sounds like a bit of an assault on the ears at first but give it a chance and you'll be wiggling your touche around your desk before you know it.

Foals- Total Life Forever... didn't think I would enjoy this as I wasn't mad on their last effort but the boys have done good, a lot poppier but definitely not the worse for it...Math rock is dead.

LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening. Great album, I need to listen to it more but love the aggressive break down (it's more of a break up) on Dance Yrself Clean.

Broken Social Scene- Forgiveness Rock Record. Need to listen to this more too but 'All to All' and 'Highway Slipper Jam' are fucking great. Saw them at Great Escape last week and they tore it up. 

A couple of other yummy things worth a looksie...

Middle East- Blood
http://www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast

Cults- The Curse
http://cults.bandcamp.com/

Warpaint
http://www.myspace.com/worldwartour

The Besnard Lakes LIVE @ Cargo

photo taken from Brooklyn Vegan

Cargo is a funny one for gigs, it's a beautiful bar under a tunnel so a bit of an acoustics nightmare but at the same time really intimate- you can basically stroke the band while they play if you want.

Luckily I positioned myself right in front of the smoke machine which The Besnard's are not shy of using... A sense of dread crept over me with every atmospheric build up, shortly followed by a gobful of carbon dioxide. Nice. The overall effect was great though, dream-like vocals with grungey bass and fuzzy guitars enveloped in smoke is a winning combo. The set was pretty trippy and very distortiony, the lead singer has an alter boys range, hitting notes I didn't think were even possible. They totally rocked out at the end, with Hendrix-inspired guitar solos. There was also an awesome song which belonged on a Tarantino soundtrack, I can't remember the song names hot dang but both albums are up on Spotify.

The crowd was packed tight with hardcore TBL fans, I've never seen a more devoted following... hanging on every note and baying for more. It was kind of fitting that the lead singer looked like a demented Jesus- he had long flowing golden hair, Brian Jonestown Massacre sunglasses, a cowboy shirt, regulation black M&S worker style trousers and sensible black shoes. The trousers were the most unsettling... His wife, who sings and plays guitar, looked like Alanis Morrissette/Mary (mother of God) with long black hair to her navel and a wrappy dress thing and the drummer had this immense beard (it was very impressive, definitely in the top 3  beards I've ever seen).

As it was the last date of the tour, they had a pretty odd picture moment where they brought the support band up (Wolf People- don't look them up they're not great...) and got the audience to take pictures and then gave their email address to send them to. Then the singer referred to himself as a child molester. Very odd.

All in all a great gig though. Go check them out if you get a chance.

Songs for the Drunk

I don't know about you but there's nothing I enjoy more than having a few too many and heading home to sit on the kitchen floor to shout (I don't think you could actually qualify it as singing) songs at my friends.

Entirely different from going out and dancing like a maniac whilst screaming your head off (that's a whole other playlist), the magic is you can recline in a heap, preferably with candles and a guitar, horrible (delicious) warm cans or leftover neat spirits and copious amounts of cigarettes.
This method also works wonderfully on a beach with tinnies in the leftover hours of night- watching the sun rise afterwards gives you an enormous sense of accomplishment.

Older songs take precedence- this is a time for nostalgia, plus everyone knows the words. If you don't have a geetar, someone's gonna have to sing the riffs. The songs will come randomly into your drunk little head but I've tried to include a playlist of some of my favourites.

Before you listen: STOP, go get drunk then find a guitar and enjoy. :)

... I got a little carried away when I started this. Also Spotify don't have Beatles or Pink Floyd, wah.

Lola-The Kinks
Heart-Shaped Box-Nirvana
Where is my mind?- Pixies
All along the watchtower-Jimi Hendrix Experience (yesssssss)
Drinking in LA- Bran Van 3000
Golden Brown- The Stranglers
Under the bridge- Chili Peppers
Karma Police- Radiohead (you could pick loads, but this is great for shouting)
The Drugs don't work- The Verve
Maps- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Every Morning- Sugar Ray (classic)
Butterfly- Crazy Town (don't lie, you know you know ALL the words)
Gatekeeper- Feist (for quiet refrain)
Lover's Spit- Broken Social Scene
Everlong- Foo Fighters (teenage youf)
Sleepyhead- Passion Pit (works well acoustically, surprising but GREAT)
Senorita- Justin Timberlake
Jumpin', Jumpin'- Destiny's Child (might be a girls only one)
Music When the lights go out- The Libertines
Shiny Happy People- R.E.M (:D)
Roxanne- The Police (PUT ON THE RED LIIIGHT)
The Chain- Fleetwood Mac (I can still hear you sayyyyy)
White Rabbit- Jefferson Airplane (helps to have an Emily present to dance shapes at you)
Like A Rolling Stone- Bob Dylan (I would have so many better choices for this (Corrina, Corrina; It's all over now baby blue; One more cup of coffe) but Spotify cannot supply.... boooooo)
My, My, Hey, Hey- Neil Young
Light my Fire- The Doors
Hallelujah- Cohen
Skinny Love- Bon Iver
Molly's Chambers- Kings of Leon
Trouble- Coldplay (coldplay goes down well with everyone, as much as people slate them great first two albums)
Boy with a coin- Iron & Wine
The Blower's Daughter- Damien Rice
This Charming Man- The Smiths
There is a light that never goes out- The Smiths (mmmm)
Lovecats- The Cure
Someone Great- LCD Soundsystem (great end to a great night)

Here's a handy spotify playlist: Drink and Shout

Awesome Band in Animal Collective meets Grizzly Bear shocker!

 Le Loup are a charming little six-piece hailing from Washington DC. I've been a bit slow on the uptake on this one, Family was released last September but has only just wormed its way onto my ipod priority list. It's bloody good though. It kicks off with Saddle Mountain which has this awesome tribal energy, it's kind of like a folky funeral dirge except happy. Grow has amazing energy and is full of joy. Morning song is one of my favourites with fantastic harmonies and plucky banjo, yum. Title track Family starts out fairly dull and then explodes a few minutes in into a kind of Arcade Firey greatness, this only lasts about a minute though which is disappointing. Forgive me is all over the place, it's great- a kind of folky Animal Collective. Go East is like a rising sunset, lovely. I think my favourite track from the whole album is Sherpa- shouty and drummy with a smile-inducing melody. Celebration is also shouty, harmonised greatness. Go listen. 

Unfortunately, they don't have Family on spotify but they DO have their first release, 'The Throne of The Third Heaven Of The Nations Millenium General Assembly', a pretty unnecessary title but beautiful nonetheless. They use everything from banjos to telephones in their songs. It's a consistent album packed full of pretty little ditties but Fear Not is definitely the stand out track, other good un's include Planes Like Vultures, To the Stars To the Night and Breathing Raptures.

They remind me slightly of Bear in Heaven; a band getting a lot of attention following the recent SXSW Music Industry shindig in Austin, Texas. Except Bear in Heaven are a bit shit. Wholehearted Mess is a half-hearted mess attempt of a song. They have been compared (wrongly, in my opinion) to Atlas Sound who are amazing. Howeverrr, Lovesick Teenagers is quite interesting, it sounds like an 80s video game and Dust Cloud is pretty good. I've actually decided I hate them now but check them out for yourself.

Another gem I stumbled across recently is Memory Cassette; ethereal, pretty noise- a bit like Air France, in a good way. Asleep At A Party is pure class, you can hear the muffled rumblings of people talking in the background JUST LIKE WHEN YOU'RE ASLEEP AT A PARTY! I like, check it out.

Spotify all the above: Good shit

Hyped new band Summer Camp have a similar sound- dreamy, muffled backing and nostalgic vocals are the order of the day. It's a little bit twee but I love it anyway. Here's the video for new single Ghost Town:


Summer Camp - Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.

Alice Fever

I can't wait to see Alice in Wonderland, I was trying to hold out for imax but it's sold out for a million years and anyway those stupid glasses hurt my face. I thought it would be fitting to create a homage to all things Alice as everyone is going mad as a hatter (ha) for anything remotely Wonderland-ful.

This remix did the rounds last year- it's FANTASTIC. They've taken sounds solely from the Disney Alice and made something beautiful. Well done.



The official soundtrack to the new film, 'Almost Alice', not only features Avril Lavigne and The All-American Rejects but also a cover of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit. Several things about that sentence disturb me.

Here's my go at an Alice-inspired playlist:

Jefferson Airplane- White Rabbit.
Why the hell they didn't use the original in the soundtrack is beyond me, Grace Slick's vocals on this track never fail to send shivers down my spine. What starts off with gentle, spanish-infused guitar builds to a now-famous crescendo (Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing tries to get him to chuck a toaster in the bath 'at the crescendo' because it's so beautiful. and because he's on lots of drugs.), it's just an awesome song really, you can practically smell the sweaty hippies dropping acid in a tie-dyed boudoir.

Little Dragon- Looking Glass. Nothing beats a bit of Swedish electronica now does it?

Tom Waits- Alice. What a lad. He actually wrote an entire album dedicated to Lewis Carroll's forbidden love with 11 year old Alice Liddell which supposedly inspired the Adventures in Wonderland.

Mad Hatter- The Stranglers. This song is kind of shit but it's very apt and it's the Stranglers!

Joe's Waltz- The Dodos. Pretty tenuous reference but the Dodo is an integral part to the story and I just like them so...

Mad World- Tears for Fears. I'm kind of struggling now, this isn't as easy as I'd thought.... I'm giving up now except I would also add that 'Alice- who the fuck is Alice?' song- I can't find it on Spotify, rage.

http://open.spotify.com/user/ronniemeade/playlist/1bZuxZHVETFTOxNGM4PQLo

Girls make big noise good

                                       
There's something about girls that can play good guitar. And I don't mean Alanis Morissette- did she even play her own guitar? Anyway she has marred many a European campsite (the spaniards are particularly keen), along with Hotel California. God I hate that song. I digress. Guitars are actually quite feminine instruments with their curves and penchants for being flung over boys legs and strummed... When a girl masters a guitar a beautiful thing occurs- she morphs into a masculine, delicate wonder. There is something innately attractive about a lady knowing how to handle a boy's toy. It's not quite the same as finding your brother in your lipstick and heels but there is something of the forbidden about it.

The epitome of the mix between delicacy and 'rockin with her cock out' is Feist- being able to write a song like The Park or Intuition whilst completely losing it on stage. Awesome. She just knows how it works- I've seen her live a few times now and each time the audience can't help but swoon at her feet and do her bidding. This is the best I could find but it doesn't do her justice, GO AND SEE HER.






By far the most impressive strummer of the bunch has to be Gabriela of Rodrigo y Gabriela fame. I don't know how she still has hands by the end of a set. Watch this solo, it looks more painful than childbirth.




Again I've got to give Cat Power a shout out. In this video you can't make out whether she's a grungey teenage boy or a totally awesome chic- luckily her fragile vocals give it away.

I can't get enough of the canadian band Land of Talk at the minute- the lead singer and undoubted leader of the band, Elizabeth Powell, has crafted a modern version of punky grunge and by golly I think she's on to something. I saw her live in the Wilmington Arms and she was propa divs though- she left the audience waiting on a couple of numbers while she yelled at the sound man.

She doesn't play the guitar but god can she make noise... my other eternal love affair is with Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I don't know how she makes the noises that she does but she is a complete ledgebag. I think I might make a shrine.

Last but not least, the lovely St Vincent. They are absolutely fantastic live. Love this chick, she's like a little doll and then this low, gutteral voice comes out of her.


I've made a playlist in homage to these rock goddesses plus a couple more new ones I've discovered including She Keeps Bees, Peggy Sue, Alessi's Ark  who are all pretty cool, relaxed guitary chicks (Check out Lonelady too, I reckon she could be pretty big... Pitchfork are bumming her right now.

spotify:user:ronniemeade:playlist:0uNNTNtwXbnb9MLjOYcuFg

Friday Spotify Playlist

It's Friday, the sun is shining and I'm having steak later- high time for an excellent playlist:Click me

Girls- Scala 23/02/10

I just went to my first gig by myself- unintentionally so it was a bit tragic. 'No, my plus one won't be coming'... not the most comforting thing to say. Girls weren't on for another half an hour and as I sipped my Corona scanning the crowd of haircuts, fur coats and leather jackets,  I worried I'd committed myself to trendy-gig hell. The band came on in all their hairy glory- the singer in a pvc hat, which only confirmed my suspicions...

BUT, they started out with 'Laura' and were a lot more bluesy than on the record. I sighed a sigh of relief. The boys in Girls can play good gee-tar. I could only fault it for lagging a bit in the middle and the singer saying 'this is the best song I've ever written' and it being the worst song of the set- it was about love, it was about a french girl, I didn't recognise it from the album but it was pretty dull. Hellhole Ratrace was a breakthrough- the tempo picked up and they broke into big boy guitars. After that it did start to lag- it might be because I needed a wee though. I got lost through some doors into this mad VIP lounge with a big glass screening area- much better than being crushed down on the floor- it was absolutely packed. I stayed for Lust for Life- my favourite song off the album. It was actually fairly so-so, which was surprising as it was the song that got me out into the cold to go and see them.

Overall I was impressed though- for songs I didn't think I would be. They are definitely worth catching at a festival or if they are supporting someone. Not sure I would go to one of their own gigs again though.

Check out their NSFW video- singing into willy's- inspired.
http://pitchfork.com/news/36932-nsfw-girls-lust-for-life-video-hardcore-xxx-version/

Little Cover Gems

 A cover song is a tricky little thing, is it better to depart so much from the original that it's almost unrecognisable to put your 'spin' on it or risk murdering it?
 A bad cover shows not only that you're a bit shit but that you think you're as talented as who you are covering and often this is proved not to be the case (Shakira- Back in Black... really?)

Nevertheless, a good cover can make a band- Nouvelle Vague produce albums almost entirely made up of covers and do it pretty well. Jimi Hendrix is most famous for his cover of Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' and Alien Ant Farm pretty much just covered 'Smooth Criminal' by Michael Jackson and slipped back into anonymity (for me anyway... maybe they were very successful, meh).
By far the best album of Cover versions I've ever come across is the Stereogum edition of OK Computer by Radiohead. You can stream it here: http://stereogum.com/okx/

Stand Out Tracks: No Surprises by Marissa Nadler, Karma Police by John Vanderslice and Electioneering by Cold War Kids.

Incidentally if you like your favourite songs reinterpreted in the medium of smooth jazz(yazz flute), look no further... check out Smooth Jazz All Stars on Spotify for a whole evening of fun (it's actually pretty good, if not for their determination- they've whacked out about 60 albums of hip hop covers. Genius.)

Here are some good-un's...

Taken By Trees- Sweet Child 'O Mine (Guns & Roses)


God Guns'n'Roses are annoying, but this is a bearable version of a relatively hard song to cover without me wanting to claw my eyes out.



Hot Chip- Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye)


They've gone for it and completely Hot Chip'ped it up... Much as I love the original, I think this pays off...



Ex Lovers- Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)


Just love this song.



Nouvelle Vague- Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)


Good cover of a great song. Not as good as the original but a good shot.



CallmeKAT- The Lovecats (The Cure)
 Great original, nice little cover. Check her out on Spotify.




Klaxons- No Diggity (Blackstreet)


Niiiiice.





Arcade Fire- Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)


Not the best cover in the world but it's my favourite band covering my favourite band...




White Stripes- I don't know what to do with myself (Burt Bacharach covered by Dusty Springfield)


Ace cover, ace video.

Folk Rocks!

I've become musically enchanted by all things American. Listen to the Schpotify playlist below...

My latest find is Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros- their single 'Home' has such a wholesome, comforting sound- perfect for those miserable tail-end-of-winter days, like a musical Irish Stew. I hope they make it big here, it's an excellent song.
There are about ten of them in the band and you get a real familial vibe from the choons, they burst into cheerful banter and laughter. The mixture of brass, whistling, guitars, banjos and keyboard work in harmony creating a happy, boisterous noise without becoming jumbled.

They remind me of a band I saw recently at Union Chapel called Moriarty who were supporting Andrew Bird who looked like they'd rocked right out of a traveling caravan. They put on an amazing show though; they were really magnetic to watch- the lead singer oozed confidence and mystery and they all crowded around the microphone gazing intently at the audience playing their harmonicas and strumming their banjos. 

There are plenty of really good folky exports making their way over from the Big Pond. One beginning to see success here is Local Natives- intricate, laid-back folk rock with melting harmonies and excellent facial hair. I've been hooked on their debut 'Gorilla Manor' on wintery walks to work.

Cat Power remains one of my favourite American 'folk rock' artists, so I've added a couple of her tracks on there too. She was notoriously unpredictable live due to alcohol problems and messy relationships, which adds to the magnetism. She's all about the breathy vocals and her songs have an oldy worldy feel to them. I love this photo of her- Not Safe For Work though!

I can't write about modern American folk without mentioning Bon Iver. For Emma, Forever Ago was a phenomenal album. The songs conjure up images of him sitting in that log cabin up the mountain, staring out at the wilderness with a big log fire strumming away... This is still the perfect soundtrack for cold, wintery walks.

It's not really folky but I've also added a Beach House track to my American gems playlist. Ethereal as fuck- I really like the new album 'Teen Dreams'.

I can't figure out how to add music to this bad boy yet so check the playlist out on Spotify if you've got it...(I sneaked some Sufjan on there). Enjoy.

spotify:user:ronniemeade:playlist:3bnL0b9TLE86crU47nrJyZ