Posts
So it appears to be over a whole week since I last updated this thing. I do apologise - busy social life/apathy etc. got in the way and all that. To make up for this I shall try to do a bumper crop of posts in the next few dates so as to get a bit more content on here (only 13 posts in March? That's not so good).
As an easy first April post I could talk about how I came, in typical style, to blow £60 on CDs last week.
Monday was a fairly usual affair, with me buying The Decemberists' new effort "The Hazards of Love", which is a really excellent prog-folk masterpiece, and is basically a modern rock-opera (it tells a story, and all dialogue is sung).
The rest of the money was spent in the glorious musical cornucopia that is the Rough Trade East shop. Suffice to say I went a little bit crazy and bought the following:
Dan Deacon - Bromst (the 2nd best album released this year, probably)
Trans Am - TA (I love Trans Am, excellent experimental electronica)
The Fucking Champs - Greatest Hits
Oneida - The Wedding*
The Fall - Slates (I can't go into a record shop without buying some Fall, it seems)
Wire - Kidney Bingos (an excellent 3" single disc, and possibly the coolest thing I bought)
So yes, I feel quite proud of the fact that it's only 3 and a bit months into 2009 and I've listened to something like 12 albums.
In other news have some single reviews:
Tartufi - Dot Dash (http://www.musosguide.com/tartufi-dot-dash/3588)
The Paper Chase - What Shall We Do With The Bodies (http://www.musosguide.com/the-paper-chase-what-should-we-do-with-your-body-the-lightning/3503)
I will try and update tomorrow with recent goings-on and hopefully I will be less distracted by listening to podcasts featuring Speednik.
*bit of a theme going on here, since Phil Manley is in both Trans Am and The Fucking Champs, and contributes to this Oneida album, fact fans!
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Friday, 27 March 2009
Heard About Your Band
Argh argh full band practice on Sunday panicpanicpanic.
To elaborate on that slightly, potential bandmate from Reading is back from his sojourn in Canada and is trying to organise a full band practice on Sunday, presumably so I can meet/play with the rest of the band. As this is the first time I've played with a whole band in months and months, I think I'm understandably having a touch of the vapours. Add to that the fact that my finger has a big old cut across the top (I have eczema and thus my skin cracks really easily) which makes it hard to play bass and I'm doing a little shit, figuratively speaking. Also I do feel I will be judged behind my back, but I don't want to indulge my neuroses in here (neuroses? In popular music? I never heard of such a thing!).
In other news I'm quite excited about potential doom-o-project (no. 5 from last time, if anyone's keeping up): the other member suggested using as a rhythm section a guitar pedal called a Total Sonic Annihilation, whose basic function is to make a fuckton of crazy noise. Once The Quatermass Experiment got it to sound like a hyperactive duck, but I don't remember how. This has also given me the idea to get a cheap old synth - the ones that can't replicate any instrument sound - and put it through pedals until it creates a massive wall of noise. You may be able to tell I'm quite into doing this sort of thing.
This leads me nicely onto thought I've been having of late about my "band ambitions". As far as I can tell, I only have three real goals for any band that I'm in, listed in rough order of importance below:
1. Play at ATP, possibly the UK's best festival (and home of more alternative/underground stuff)
2. Get a positive write-up on Pitchforkmedia, spiritual home of hipsters everywhere.
3. Play at Supersonic, a crazy experimental festival held in Birmingham which really does feature a lot of insane, weird bands. I almost went last year and wish I had, because I don't recognise very many bands on this year's line-up.
My ultimate ambition is to be one of those guys who's in lots of bands and seems have fingers in many musical pies - a sort of "figure" of a scene, if you will, perhaps in the vein of someone like Mike Patton. As I say that's my ultimate aim but let's not run before we have legs, eh?
To elaborate on that slightly, potential bandmate from Reading is back from his sojourn in Canada and is trying to organise a full band practice on Sunday, presumably so I can meet/play with the rest of the band. As this is the first time I've played with a whole band in months and months, I think I'm understandably having a touch of the vapours. Add to that the fact that my finger has a big old cut across the top (I have eczema and thus my skin cracks really easily) which makes it hard to play bass and I'm doing a little shit, figuratively speaking. Also I do feel I will be judged behind my back, but I don't want to indulge my neuroses in here (neuroses? In popular music? I never heard of such a thing!).
In other news I'm quite excited about potential doom-o-project (no. 5 from last time, if anyone's keeping up): the other member suggested using as a rhythm section a guitar pedal called a Total Sonic Annihilation, whose basic function is to make a fuckton of crazy noise. Once The Quatermass Experiment got it to sound like a hyperactive duck, but I don't remember how. This has also given me the idea to get a cheap old synth - the ones that can't replicate any instrument sound - and put it through pedals until it creates a massive wall of noise. You may be able to tell I'm quite into doing this sort of thing.
This leads me nicely onto thought I've been having of late about my "band ambitions". As far as I can tell, I only have three real goals for any band that I'm in, listed in rough order of importance below:
1. Play at ATP, possibly the UK's best festival (and home of more alternative/underground stuff)
2. Get a positive write-up on Pitchforkmedia, spiritual home of hipsters everywhere.
3. Play at Supersonic, a crazy experimental festival held in Birmingham which really does feature a lot of insane, weird bands. I almost went last year and wish I had, because I don't recognise very many bands on this year's line-up.
My ultimate ambition is to be one of those guys who's in lots of bands and seems have fingers in many musical pies - a sort of "figure" of a scene, if you will, perhaps in the vein of someone like Mike Patton. As I say that's my ultimate aim but let's not run before we have legs, eh?
Thursday, 26 March 2009
A few further thoughts on favourite things
Following on from this post: http://horatio-outside.blogspot.com/2009/03/these-are-few-of-my-favourite-things.html I added that funny little application on facebook that lets you pick your top five albums, films, TV programmes, sandwiches, men called "Brian", segs, umbrellas etc.
This app was clearly aimed at people who like to obsessively demonstrate their good taste and make endless lists and categorisations. People like me, in other words, since I knocked off three in quick succession. And then I made some lists. Arf. Here they are.
Possibly My 5 Favourite Albums Ever
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
Five excellent, noisy albums
Shellac - 1000 Hurts
Oneida - Each One, Teach One
OOIOO - Feather Float
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
[Wives' "Erect The Youth Problem" was a possible no. 6]
Five great metal albums
Melvins - Houdini
Mastodon - Leviathan
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Boris - Pink
[Big Business' "Head For The Shallow" was another contender. And I forgot about Kyuss. Damn!]
I thought this might've been interesting cos it wasn't just a long list of albums, but was broken up into smaller, more esoteric categories (and I can get a lot smaller and more esoteric). I may be wrong, though. Who knows.
Also have some more reviews (I have been a busty boy):
Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3220 (spot my moustache envy)
The Gay Blades - O Shot http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3308
This app was clearly aimed at people who like to obsessively demonstrate their good taste and make endless lists and categorisations. People like me, in other words, since I knocked off three in quick succession. And then I made some lists. Arf. Here they are.
Possibly My 5 Favourite Albums Ever
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
Five excellent, noisy albums
Shellac - 1000 Hurts
Oneida - Each One, Teach One
OOIOO - Feather Float
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
[Wives' "Erect The Youth Problem" was a possible no. 6]
Five great metal albums
Melvins - Houdini
Mastodon - Leviathan
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Boris - Pink
[Big Business' "Head For The Shallow" was another contender. And I forgot about Kyuss. Damn!]
I thought this might've been interesting cos it wasn't just a long list of albums, but was broken up into smaller, more esoteric categories (and I can get a lot smaller and more esoteric). I may be wrong, though. Who knows.
Also have some more reviews (I have been a busty boy):
Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3220 (spot my moustache envy)
The Gay Blades - O Shot http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3308
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
This Is What I Do With My Time
So at the moment I am frustrated by the fact that, despite the vast number of band opportunities being presented to me, I can't help but notice than I am not in a band as such.
There are actually 6 possible band opportunities I could chase up. What would be excellent is if I could combine a few of them together (as most involve just one other person) into something truly awesome. The bands are as follows:
1. Band from Reading I have mentioned before. Main guy is currently in Canada but things will progress once he is back
2. Irish laptop/keyboards guy who I met for a drink ages ago. I texted him a while back to see what was going on and he claims to have found a drummer. Haven't heard anything since.
3. Bassist friend. We are considering forming a two-bass noise rock band called "Teenage Thunder Crunk". I like this idea.
4. Drummer interested in No Wave bands who wants to gig, record shitty CD-Rs and have fun. Like this idea too. Might work as drummer for Teenage Thunder Crunk.
5. Guitarist friend who I was in a band (The Quatermass Experiment, my very first) with. Potentially wants to make some "slow groovy noise" in the vein of Om. Sounds good to me also.
6. Some band that emailed me yesterday. They sound alright, but are a complete band looking for a bassist.
In other news I was talking to Seb earlier about my perennial fear of never being in a good band. He was reassuring me when I came out with this piece of inspired nonsense:
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
but the last thing I wrote was a 20 minute funk-dirge made with toy instruments called "Pull on my Hamstrings, Mendelev!"
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
Pitchfork hated it so much they sent a writer over to my house to punch me in the face
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
you remember this
Well at least I know I'll make a good ideas person if I were in a band.
Finally, have my review of the Deluxe Edition of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/reviews/9805) as I'm really quite proud of it's savage indictment of reissues.
There are actually 6 possible band opportunities I could chase up. What would be excellent is if I could combine a few of them together (as most involve just one other person) into something truly awesome. The bands are as follows:
1. Band from Reading I have mentioned before. Main guy is currently in Canada but things will progress once he is back
2. Irish laptop/keyboards guy who I met for a drink ages ago. I texted him a while back to see what was going on and he claims to have found a drummer. Haven't heard anything since.
3. Bassist friend. We are considering forming a two-bass noise rock band called "Teenage Thunder Crunk". I like this idea.
4. Drummer interested in No Wave bands who wants to gig, record shitty CD-Rs and have fun. Like this idea too. Might work as drummer for Teenage Thunder Crunk.
5. Guitarist friend who I was in a band (The Quatermass Experiment, my very first) with. Potentially wants to make some "slow groovy noise" in the vein of Om. Sounds good to me also.
6. Some band that emailed me yesterday. They sound alright, but are a complete band looking for a bassist.
In other news I was talking to Seb earlier about my perennial fear of never being in a good band. He was reassuring me when I came out with this piece of inspired nonsense:
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
but the last thing I wrote was a 20 minute funk-dirge made with toy instruments called "Pull on my Hamstrings, Mendelev!"
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
Pitchfork hated it so much they sent a writer over to my house to punch me in the face
When I get a potato out, it is the same says:
you remember this
Well at least I know I'll make a good ideas person if I were in a band.
Finally, have my review of the Deluxe Edition of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/reviews/9805) as I'm really quite proud of it's savage indictment of reissues.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Irrepressible Rage
So last Thursday I returned to the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, this time with Seb, to go and see The Irrepressibles and hopefully improve my opinion of the venue after the disastrous Dinosaur Pile-Up gig, which I'm sure you've all read my review of!. But no, I'm now convinced that the HSB&K is cursed (possibly with a rare type of curse that causes it to be full of twats, but more on that later), which is just as well, given how much I dislike the area. This gig was actually postponed from the day of snow, which adds further credence to my theory.
So what went wrong this time, I hear you ask. Well the first time I was due to go on the gig I had been put on the guestlist so I could review it for thisisoffset, another fine website I am proud to write for. So this time the guestlist place was set up again (albeit under one of the editor's names) and thus at gigtime I strolled up to the front desk only to find that they had no record of said name on the guestlist, the girl at the front door was extremely rude, and the promoter had no idea who offset were. This despite someone from the promoters asking if Selfish Cunt and a load of other bands could play at the offset festival in the original email.
I won't go into too much detail about what the girls said: suffice to say they accused me of trying to blag my way in and were generally rude and uncooperative. It was my first experience being on a guestlist and whilst I was maybe a bit naive they made me feel stupid and small, and I really didn't appreciate that. I sent an email to the editor and I hope he understands, but he hasn't replied yet and I'm worried he'll be mad at me for whatever reason, which would just be fucking perfect. I did consider finding an internet cafe, printing off the email exhange, and then going back to wave it under their noses at least to salvage my pride. But we couldn't find one and the evening was already sullied by this point.
So yeah that put me in a bit of a grump for the rest of the evening (and I'm still a bit moody about it now), and the grump wasn't much alleviated by a visit to the usually excellent Cellar Door on The Strand. Although the cocktails were good the cabaret was simply dreadful, consisiting, as it did, of drunken city types singing along to poorly done "mashups". I don't know which was worse, the awfully-dressed guy shouting along to "Wild Thing" when it was clear that the title was the only lyric he knew, or the cockernee knees-up version of "My Way", which was basically Bill Bailey but much less funny.
So yeah, I've had better evenings.
So what went wrong this time, I hear you ask. Well the first time I was due to go on the gig I had been put on the guestlist so I could review it for thisisoffset, another fine website I am proud to write for. So this time the guestlist place was set up again (albeit under one of the editor's names) and thus at gigtime I strolled up to the front desk only to find that they had no record of said name on the guestlist, the girl at the front door was extremely rude, and the promoter had no idea who offset were. This despite someone from the promoters asking if Selfish Cunt and a load of other bands could play at the offset festival in the original email.
I won't go into too much detail about what the girls said: suffice to say they accused me of trying to blag my way in and were generally rude and uncooperative. It was my first experience being on a guestlist and whilst I was maybe a bit naive they made me feel stupid and small, and I really didn't appreciate that. I sent an email to the editor and I hope he understands, but he hasn't replied yet and I'm worried he'll be mad at me for whatever reason, which would just be fucking perfect. I did consider finding an internet cafe, printing off the email exhange, and then going back to wave it under their noses at least to salvage my pride. But we couldn't find one and the evening was already sullied by this point.
So yeah that put me in a bit of a grump for the rest of the evening (and I'm still a bit moody about it now), and the grump wasn't much alleviated by a visit to the usually excellent Cellar Door on The Strand. Although the cocktails were good the cabaret was simply dreadful, consisiting, as it did, of drunken city types singing along to poorly done "mashups". I don't know which was worse, the awfully-dressed guy shouting along to "Wild Thing" when it was clear that the title was the only lyric he knew, or the cockernee knees-up version of "My Way", which was basically Bill Bailey but much less funny.
So yeah, I've had better evenings.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
More reviews!
So my writer's block has mostly passed and to celebrate you can all have some reviews:
Live Review! Dinosaur Pile-Up at the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3302 (the most negative review I've written so far, but well deserved)
Crystal Antlers - EP http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/reviews/9693
Japanther - Bumpin' Rap Tapes http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3164
Will tell the epic tale of my inability to get in to see The Irrepressibles soon, but that's your lot for now.
Live Review! Dinosaur Pile-Up at the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3302 (the most negative review I've written so far, but well deserved)
Crystal Antlers - EP http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/reviews/9693
Japanther - Bumpin' Rap Tapes http://www.musosguide.com/?p=3164
Will tell the epic tale of my inability to get in to see The Irrepressibles soon, but that's your lot for now.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things
The excellent Muso's Guide, who are lucky enough to count yours truly among their contributors, are apparently doing a feature on their favourite ever albums. This, naturally, got me thinking so I thought I'd compile a loose list of my favourite albums, as I've been meaning to do this for a while.
Just to be awkward, though, I decided to divide them up into three categories (yes I am that indecisive): definite favourites, probable favourites, and possible favourites. Think of it like this - if I was asked to name my 100 favourite albums the first group would be make up the albums from 1-33, the second 34-66, and the third 67-100, or something like that. It made sense to me, ok?
Anyway, enough of my tiresome rambling. Let's get this show on the road (until I comment, with albums I've forgotten about).
The Definites
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command (possibly my favourite album ever)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour/This Nation's Saving Grace
The Brian Eno-produced Talking Heads albums (More Songs About Buildings & Food, Fear of Music, Remain in Light)
Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush of Ghosts
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (assuming this counts)
Trans Am - Red Line
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Madonna
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
The Probables
Oneida - The Wedding
Melvins - Houdini
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
The Fall - Perverted By Language (I really do love The Fall)
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
Killing Joke - Killing Joke
Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Animal Collective - Feels
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
The Hidden Cameras - The Smell of Our Own
Fugazi - The Argument
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime
Kyuss - Welcome To Sky Valley
Weezer - The Blue Album/Pinkerton
The Possibles
OMD - Architecture and Morality
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (standard hipster choice)
The Futureheads - The Futureheads
Mastodon - Leviathan
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Wire - Pink Flag
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Phew! I think that's everything. What does it say about me that I can think of roughly 40 albums more or less off the top of my head that I would consider my "favourites"?
Just to be awkward, though, I decided to divide them up into three categories (yes I am that indecisive): definite favourites, probable favourites, and possible favourites. Think of it like this - if I was asked to name my 100 favourite albums the first group would be make up the albums from 1-33, the second 34-66, and the third 67-100, or something like that. It made sense to me, ok?
Anyway, enough of my tiresome rambling. Let's get this show on the road (until I comment, with albums I've forgotten about).
The Definites
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command (possibly my favourite album ever)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour/This Nation's Saving Grace
The Brian Eno-produced Talking Heads albums (More Songs About Buildings & Food, Fear of Music, Remain in Light)
Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush of Ghosts
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (assuming this counts)
Trans Am - Red Line
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Madonna
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
The Probables
Oneida - The Wedding
Melvins - Houdini
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
The Fall - Perverted By Language (I really do love The Fall)
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
Killing Joke - Killing Joke
Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Animal Collective - Feels
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
The Hidden Cameras - The Smell of Our Own
Fugazi - The Argument
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime
Kyuss - Welcome To Sky Valley
Weezer - The Blue Album/Pinkerton
The Possibles
OMD - Architecture and Morality
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (standard hipster choice)
The Futureheads - The Futureheads
Mastodon - Leviathan
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Wire - Pink Flag
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Parts & Labor - Mapmaker
Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Phew! I think that's everything. What does it say about me that I can think of roughly 40 albums more or less off the top of my head that I would consider my "favourites"?
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