I have been diligently updating my Muxtape the last few weeks every so often and this week I decided on a theme. This week’s muxtape is slightly more esoteric, a little more unique as it goes to the extremes of the genres and the songs that I like. In here you will find post rock, noise rock, dance electro, some funk dance and regular epic prog rock. Should be an interesting indicator of what I listen to in my more unique moments.
LISTEN TO IT NOW
The Following is a run down of the bands on the Muxtape.
Lightening Bolt are a recent discovery thanks to the Drowned In Sound weekly album club, it blew me away with the amazing use of noise, guitar work, and the fact that it sounds like nothing else I had heard before.
Muse are one of my older loves Muse have fallen out of favour with me recently since they entered proper epic stadium rock. The track I have chosen, from the Hullabaloo soundtrack, is more interesting, with sprinklings of piano and no lyrics.
Metronomes is Al Paxton’s solo work (he of Stapleton “fame”) and is some very chilled out post rock. He plays every instrument and the albums have a charm like no other record I own. I really love driving down the road, with the windows down listening to his record.
Mogwai are the true Scottish stars of Post Rock, and this track is taken from the recent sound track to the Zidane film of 2006m which is a truly mesmerising watch of a football match perfectly linked to the rather bleak and epic meanderings of guitar drum and distortion.
Aereogramme are a band I found just too late, discovering them in early 2007, months before their split. I missed out seeing them live twice, though I doubt they would have played this, my favourite (and the longest track on the muxtape) track of theirs. The name is a good description of the track, as it wanders on a path through 11 minutes, revealing a warped narrative and mastery of sonic landscapes.
A Sunny Day In Glasgow are an enigma to me, but this track needs to be on this list as it is so different and infectious.
I know Sigur Ros and so do you – they became rather famous due to a little programme called Planet Earth. This, from their newest album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, is a good starter for 10 of their material.
Radiohead’s Kid A was the commercial suicide album that is one of my favourite albums of all time. This, the title track, is a great experiment in vocalization and piano work over an unusual drum beat, which is the formula for most of the albums and even their more recent work. True Marmite music.
St. Germian are funk soul dance music, and that is all I need to say. Have a listen, and I bet you that your foot is tapping.
Remember Jose Gonzalez? Well, this is the original version of his hit Heartbeats, albeit recorded live, this is The Knife. Notice it gets a large cheer… I recently heard someone recount a story that said that he over heard someone ask who had covered Jose Gonzalez… philistines! Consider yourself educated.
Showing posts with label Radiohead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radiohead. Show all posts
Friday, 25 July 2008
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
6Shuffle - 27/02/08
In My Arms by Mylo from Destroy Rock and Roll
Okay, so we have a problem – I have never heard this track before and while I have the album in my library it was taken from a musical “society” where we share music from out respective collection, so I have not listened to the album or even the singles yet. This track samples Betty Davis Eyes as a good riff in the background, but in all action, nothing really happens, so I don’t know if it sounds better with the rest of the albums.
The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles from Let it Be… Naked
Recently I have been listening a lot to early The Beatles, from Please Please Me, With the Beatles, Beatles for Sale and Abbey Road, but have not started to listen to this later music yet. I love the early Beatles, they sound so fresh even today, and the albums, especially With the Beatles, are so funky and 60s sounding, with more melodies that the whole of the chart right now, they make for great early morning, and Monday morning music. This is a classic track, but the exact kind of Beatles track I hate – I know it so much more from everywhere else rather than my own discovery, it feels out of context. The production on this track is very scattered, and rather unsettling, and is taken from the re-released version of the album that strips away all the ridiculous production of the original.
Patty Lee by Les Savy Fav from Lets Stay Friends
I had heard this track well before I knew who Les Savy Fav were, I had even tried to learn it on the guitar. This, from their latest album, is very exciting, and has some excellent lyrics with exactly the kind of music I have been wanting to get into – critically acclaimed but still outside the mainstream. They are close to being a subject of a discovery post by either me or Colin – he included the track that follows this song in his first Monday Mix. I am still deciding on the band, but they seem like a good driving-song band. Along with a few other new recommendations, such like Neutral Milk Hotel, 65daysofstatic and Broken Records, these bands will make up fair portion of my listening homework of the next few weeks.
Airbag (WMA) by Radiohead from OK Computer
Radiohead have been subject to my ranting on my personal blog a few times, mostly about their more recent output – but this album, and indeed this track, even for an album that is 11 years old, still sound absolutely seminal, with songs that have still be to equalled, and a cohesive record that Radiohead have only last year came close to reaching again. It hints at the future of a band, that when you are reminded of the climate in music (Oasis, Spice Girls, Blur and B*Witched) you can’t believe the impact it had, who would venture in unknown and unwanted territory without even a sideways glance at the commercial successes they were achieving with their alternative rock, and gave 1990s rock its biggest question; Old Radiohead or New Radiohead?
Ways & Means by Snow Patrol from Final Straw
Another band who probably have more in a hand for the creation of this blog than I can really credit them with, this track is my favourite from their break through album. The slowly spoken and droning vocals have more in common with the band’s original ouput rather than their epic popness that the recnt album lends to. The dark song, with close to a lack of a tune, has a brooding melody hidden underneath the screaming guitars and crashing cymbals and a story is told using these in a way that stands taller than any other tracks on the album Run included.
68 State by Gorillaz from D-Sides
Taken from the outcuts album that followed Demon Days, this instrumental track is included in an album that not only is odd, but also has moments of sheer genius that shows just how much creativity is still bibbling underneath the surface in Damon Albarn’s repitore. I loved the first album, and love the second album also, and this, a sequel of sorts to G-Sides, the album that was released after the eponymous debut (G-Sides for Gorillaz, D-Sides for Demon Days). There are a few tracks on here that are sketches (like this one) and others that are stand out should-have-been-album-tracks, like We Are Happy Landfill, Bill Murray and People, a song that uses everything from Dare except the vocals, putting lyrics over it, giving a track that sounds more like 19-2000 than the original. Got Demon Days? Pick this up, it is a very interesting aside.
Bonus Seventh Track – It Takes Time to Build by Beastie Boys from To the Five Boroughs
Okay, so we have a problem – I have never heard this track before and while I have the album in my library it was taken from a musical “society” where we share music from out respective collection, so I have not listened to the album or even the singles yet. This track samples Betty Davis Eyes as a good riff in the background, but in all action, nothing really happens, so I don’t know if it sounds better with the rest of the albums.
The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles from Let it Be… Naked
Recently I have been listening a lot to early The Beatles, from Please Please Me, With the Beatles, Beatles for Sale and Abbey Road, but have not started to listen to this later music yet. I love the early Beatles, they sound so fresh even today, and the albums, especially With the Beatles, are so funky and 60s sounding, with more melodies that the whole of the chart right now, they make for great early morning, and Monday morning music. This is a classic track, but the exact kind of Beatles track I hate – I know it so much more from everywhere else rather than my own discovery, it feels out of context. The production on this track is very scattered, and rather unsettling, and is taken from the re-released version of the album that strips away all the ridiculous production of the original.
Patty Lee by Les Savy Fav from Lets Stay Friends
I had heard this track well before I knew who Les Savy Fav were, I had even tried to learn it on the guitar. This, from their latest album, is very exciting, and has some excellent lyrics with exactly the kind of music I have been wanting to get into – critically acclaimed but still outside the mainstream. They are close to being a subject of a discovery post by either me or Colin – he included the track that follows this song in his first Monday Mix. I am still deciding on the band, but they seem like a good driving-song band. Along with a few other new recommendations, such like Neutral Milk Hotel, 65daysofstatic and Broken Records, these bands will make up fair portion of my listening homework of the next few weeks.
Airbag (WMA) by Radiohead from OK Computer
Radiohead have been subject to my ranting on my personal blog a few times, mostly about their more recent output – but this album, and indeed this track, even for an album that is 11 years old, still sound absolutely seminal, with songs that have still be to equalled, and a cohesive record that Radiohead have only last year came close to reaching again. It hints at the future of a band, that when you are reminded of the climate in music (Oasis, Spice Girls, Blur and B*Witched) you can’t believe the impact it had, who would venture in unknown and unwanted territory without even a sideways glance at the commercial successes they were achieving with their alternative rock, and gave 1990s rock its biggest question; Old Radiohead or New Radiohead?
Ways & Means by Snow Patrol from Final Straw
Another band who probably have more in a hand for the creation of this blog than I can really credit them with, this track is my favourite from their break through album. The slowly spoken and droning vocals have more in common with the band’s original ouput rather than their epic popness that the recnt album lends to. The dark song, with close to a lack of a tune, has a brooding melody hidden underneath the screaming guitars and crashing cymbals and a story is told using these in a way that stands taller than any other tracks on the album Run included.
68 State by Gorillaz from D-Sides
Taken from the outcuts album that followed Demon Days, this instrumental track is included in an album that not only is odd, but also has moments of sheer genius that shows just how much creativity is still bibbling underneath the surface in Damon Albarn’s repitore. I loved the first album, and love the second album also, and this, a sequel of sorts to G-Sides, the album that was released after the eponymous debut (G-Sides for Gorillaz, D-Sides for Demon Days). There are a few tracks on here that are sketches (like this one) and others that are stand out should-have-been-album-tracks, like We Are Happy Landfill, Bill Murray and People, a song that uses everything from Dare except the vocals, putting lyrics over it, giving a track that sounds more like 19-2000 than the original. Got Demon Days? Pick this up, it is a very interesting aside.
Bonus Seventh Track – It Takes Time to Build by Beastie Boys from To the Five Boroughs
Friday, 8 February 2008
Blank Canvas - Staying Power
"It’s always better on Holiday". I worry about the bands who have flooded our charts with un rivalled venom and totally horrendous harmonies and melodies. I worry for their future not as bands but as people. I worry for the pretenders to the crown, and I worry for when the big boys come back and start to play again. I worry for the likes of The Hoosiers, The Enemy and The Wombats, not because I care, but I can imagine how badly they will fall.
You see, these days bands have very little staying power for some reason, and also have a very slack work ethic. The Beatles released albums at least once a year in their heyday and to be honest almost all of them are total classics and seriously have titles and tracks that could be seen as some of the best music of any generation. These days it is very hard to get any band to make an album every two years. A good example of this is Coldplay, who seem to protract three years between albums. This is probably based on the fact the Mr Martin and Co. are busy touring the world, seeing millions of fans and playing hundreds of gigs and sure, I can see why that limit the time taken in the studio. But, as an amateur musician, I love to play and love the idea of playing in a band – and cannot see why I would ever stop writing, play, singing, recording at any point during success.
There are a few bands that seem to buck this trend, and in time will probably show themselves to have true staying power. Two bands such like this are my derided Arctic Monkeys, who whilst I commend them for being the Oasis of now, they are no where near are far reaching or as influential as Oasis, nor will they ever be. They just don’t have the zeitgeist that Oasis had. One band who did is Franz Ferdinand.
Released in 2005 their first record is a startling piece of all most perfect pop mixed with a great knack for a great tune and some brilliant drumming. It is music you can dance to and music that I can imagine listening to for years to come. But do they have staying power?
The quick release of the follow up album should probably not come as a surprise – if you had been playing the same 10 or 12 tracks for a year before the big break you would surely have some more music up your sleeve – and this is probably also why Arctic Monkeys also had a barrel of new riffs and lyrics hiding in their locker so soon after their album. I prefer this approach – not quantity over quality, but a measured, enthusiastic approach.
The problem I have with these new breed of bands is that they are identikit. They are the same band, just with different names and PR companies. I truly doubt that they will last longer than a few years in the limelight, and then have to play benefit gigs for a few years. It is worrying, as they probably have delusions of grandeur and think they are pretty good.
A recent band that caught my eye was Goodbooks – a band with an eye for a melody and for a good chorus, but they have not picked up in the way I expected. Also, Delays from a few years ago are excellent, but missed the boat in terms of fame, and I would much prefer it that way – it means they have the drive to continue to work, without the complacency that some bands who are “THE NEXT BEST THING” from the NME.
What I am trying to say is that sure, enjoy the pop, but think how many actual good and unusual bands that miss out when the world pays attention to three bands that are all the same. Why do they do this? It is quick consumption, over quickly, and if a band was as unique as they should be will last three to four times longer, because the exposure their music would have got would have kept the momentum going. The over exposure and eventual dismissal of the sudden explosion of music that all sounds the same mimics the full lifetime of a band, but plays out within a few months.
Hence, why Franz Ferdinand, whose contemporaries, have stayed clear of being mainstream (The Rapture), or why Muse have survived (who sounds like them now?), or even why Girls Aloud have survived (who is as good looking or has catchier tracks than them?) - their uniqueness sets themselves apart from all pretenders.
Also, see why Coldplay, Radiohead and Oasis have stayed at the top of the world – they have paced them selves as such to miss the extensive numbers of “me-toos” like Keane and The Feeling, to allow them time to burn up then burn out before returning with another solid album.
I will say good luck to them, these young bands – their own flaw is to be the same as others. "That's why we only work when we need the money."
You see, these days bands have very little staying power for some reason, and also have a very slack work ethic. The Beatles released albums at least once a year in their heyday and to be honest almost all of them are total classics and seriously have titles and tracks that could be seen as some of the best music of any generation. These days it is very hard to get any band to make an album every two years. A good example of this is Coldplay, who seem to protract three years between albums. This is probably based on the fact the Mr Martin and Co. are busy touring the world, seeing millions of fans and playing hundreds of gigs and sure, I can see why that limit the time taken in the studio. But, as an amateur musician, I love to play and love the idea of playing in a band – and cannot see why I would ever stop writing, play, singing, recording at any point during success.
There are a few bands that seem to buck this trend, and in time will probably show themselves to have true staying power. Two bands such like this are my derided Arctic Monkeys, who whilst I commend them for being the Oasis of now, they are no where near are far reaching or as influential as Oasis, nor will they ever be. They just don’t have the zeitgeist that Oasis had. One band who did is Franz Ferdinand.
Released in 2005 their first record is a startling piece of all most perfect pop mixed with a great knack for a great tune and some brilliant drumming. It is music you can dance to and music that I can imagine listening to for years to come. But do they have staying power?
The quick release of the follow up album should probably not come as a surprise – if you had been playing the same 10 or 12 tracks for a year before the big break you would surely have some more music up your sleeve – and this is probably also why Arctic Monkeys also had a barrel of new riffs and lyrics hiding in their locker so soon after their album. I prefer this approach – not quantity over quality, but a measured, enthusiastic approach.
The problem I have with these new breed of bands is that they are identikit. They are the same band, just with different names and PR companies. I truly doubt that they will last longer than a few years in the limelight, and then have to play benefit gigs for a few years. It is worrying, as they probably have delusions of grandeur and think they are pretty good.
A recent band that caught my eye was Goodbooks – a band with an eye for a melody and for a good chorus, but they have not picked up in the way I expected. Also, Delays from a few years ago are excellent, but missed the boat in terms of fame, and I would much prefer it that way – it means they have the drive to continue to work, without the complacency that some bands who are “THE NEXT BEST THING” from the NME.
What I am trying to say is that sure, enjoy the pop, but think how many actual good and unusual bands that miss out when the world pays attention to three bands that are all the same. Why do they do this? It is quick consumption, over quickly, and if a band was as unique as they should be will last three to four times longer, because the exposure their music would have got would have kept the momentum going. The over exposure and eventual dismissal of the sudden explosion of music that all sounds the same mimics the full lifetime of a band, but plays out within a few months.
Hence, why Franz Ferdinand, whose contemporaries, have stayed clear of being mainstream (The Rapture), or why Muse have survived (who sounds like them now?), or even why Girls Aloud have survived (who is as good looking or has catchier tracks than them?) - their uniqueness sets themselves apart from all pretenders.
Also, see why Coldplay, Radiohead and Oasis have stayed at the top of the world – they have paced them selves as such to miss the extensive numbers of “me-toos” like Keane and The Feeling, to allow them time to burn up then burn out before returning with another solid album.
I will say good luck to them, these young bands – their own flaw is to be the same as others. "That's why we only work when we need the money."
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