Moved from Blogger to Wordpress a while back and just thought I'd put an update here to explain the existence of yet another dead blog on the world wide web.
Head over to Shut Up Hamish, for more film and music discussions and whatever else I feel like writing about.
Cheers!
Sunday, 3 August 2014
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Favourite Albums Of All Time!...The Chills - Soft Bomb
Finally got a copy of Soft Bomb by seminal Dunedin band The Chills, an album I love dearly but for some reason never owned a hard version of until now. I'd passed up on buying a vinyl copy from Tony at Tootone Records in North East Valley a few years ago, something I regret, especially as because on the day I was strongly considering purchasing it Martin Phillipps walked in, trading in some of his massive vinyl collection to Tony. Would have been the perfect opportunity to get the vinyl signed. Never the less, I didn't want to appear the over zealous fan. If i was in that situation a second time around, I would most definitely not care at all about showing my appreciation to the man who created the music.
Soft Bomb is The Chills' follow up to probably their most highly regarded studio album, 1990's Submarine Bells. Submarine Bells is a classic of Indie Pop, featuring thoughtful and elloquent lyrics, catchy and inventive melodies and classic tracks such as the aptly titled, Heavenly Pop Hit. It's a strong album, but not my favourite Chills album; that honour would go to it's follow up, the slightly more sprawling Soft Bomb. Either that or Kaleidascope World, you can't really go past the early singles for evidence of the magic of the peak of the 'Dunedin Sound', if I am permitted to use that controversial label.
Soft Bomb was the big album that would break The Chills internationally. The Chills were now signed to States label, Slash Records, a subsidiary of Warner and the extra cash of a major label can be heard in the albums slicker production values, compared to earlier Chills albums and to other Flying Nun acts. Many Flying Nun purists possibly don't feel the big studio production benefits the sound of The Chills and Martin Phillipps has told me he himself prefered the demo versions of these tracks to the final versions. I on the other hand love the huge drum sound and crisp, energetic guitars. It's certainly removed from the raw, reverb-smothered vibe of Pink Frost, but Martin Phillipps also wrote great mainstream pop as well as atmospheric, rough post-punk. This is his great, slick pop album.
The songwriting is varied and of an extremely high calibre. Over the course of 17 tracks Phillipps explores many styles; piano ballads (Song For Randy Newman Etc.), brooding blues (Entertainer), dark thumping rock (Background Affair), hooky clever pop (Male Monster From The Id, Double Summer). Male Monster From The Id (check the video out here) is the album opener and also album and career highlight for me. It's simple pop, but the lyrics are great, and the melodies incredibly infectious. Sleeping Giants is a two part epic, with an intro of accordian, piano and a reverby marching band bass drum leading into the energetic, punky second section. In the song he calls on giants to rise up and save people and their culture, influencing them and giving them direction to move forward. Here's a section of the lyrics:
The album also contains several entertaining interludes, Soft Bomb I, II and III and there is no harm in trying and there is no point in trying. These interludes give the album some kind of arch and tie the seperate stories and styles together. A sprawling album in the vein of The White Album or Sandinista! yet held together in a much tighter and more thoughtful way than both those albums. To me, the album is in the same league as those classics.
A high point of the The Chills career and of New Zealand music in general, it's a real shame that Flying Nun have not done more to get these classics back out there in record stores. The album has not been re-released, is out of production and quite possibly caught up in some copywrite hell due to The Chills being dropped from US label Slash records soon after the release of Soft Bomb. It was by chance I found the second hand CD sitting in the NZ section of Real Groovy in Auckland. If you do find a copy of this album, and it will most likely be on Trademe or Ebay, I assure you that you won't regret the purchase. Martin Phillipps and the pop gift and for a time he was on top of the world. This album is the soundtrack to that time.
Of course what goes up must come down, and although Martin Phillips and The Chills career after Soft Bomb continued, he would not have that level of international influence behind him to realise his visions again. Perhaps he prefers it that way, he can have total control, and doesn't have to be a part of the corperate music world. He still plays excellent gigs occasionally around New Zealand, including a packed one just recently at the Botanical Gardens in Dunedin. I guess all that is another story however, for another blog.
*Here's an interview with Phillipps from 1992, which gives insight into the break up of The Chills as well as the many stresses and difficulties throughout their career. It is a refreshingly frank piece of journalism and includes interviews with previous Chills, who give some of the reasons for why Martin struggled to keep line-ups together. It's a shame the drama following The Chills often overshadowed the brilliant music.
Soft Bomb is The Chills' follow up to probably their most highly regarded studio album, 1990's Submarine Bells. Submarine Bells is a classic of Indie Pop, featuring thoughtful and elloquent lyrics, catchy and inventive melodies and classic tracks such as the aptly titled, Heavenly Pop Hit. It's a strong album, but not my favourite Chills album; that honour would go to it's follow up, the slightly more sprawling Soft Bomb. Either that or Kaleidascope World, you can't really go past the early singles for evidence of the magic of the peak of the 'Dunedin Sound', if I am permitted to use that controversial label.
Soft Bomb was the big album that would break The Chills internationally. The Chills were now signed to States label, Slash Records, a subsidiary of Warner and the extra cash of a major label can be heard in the albums slicker production values, compared to earlier Chills albums and to other Flying Nun acts. Many Flying Nun purists possibly don't feel the big studio production benefits the sound of The Chills and Martin Phillipps has told me he himself prefered the demo versions of these tracks to the final versions. I on the other hand love the huge drum sound and crisp, energetic guitars. It's certainly removed from the raw, reverb-smothered vibe of Pink Frost, but Martin Phillipps also wrote great mainstream pop as well as atmospheric, rough post-punk. This is his great, slick pop album.
The songwriting is varied and of an extremely high calibre. Over the course of 17 tracks Phillipps explores many styles; piano ballads (Song For Randy Newman Etc.), brooding blues (Entertainer), dark thumping rock (Background Affair), hooky clever pop (Male Monster From The Id, Double Summer). Male Monster From The Id (check the video out here) is the album opener and also album and career highlight for me. It's simple pop, but the lyrics are great, and the melodies incredibly infectious. Sleeping Giants is a two part epic, with an intro of accordian, piano and a reverby marching band bass drum leading into the energetic, punky second section. In the song he calls on giants to rise up and save people and their culture, influencing them and giving them direction to move forward. Here's a section of the lyrics:
An inspired lyrical theme, with brilliant melodies to accompany it. I wonder if the corporate vulture line was inspired at all by his experiences being a cog in the big business machine in the States. Sadly I can't link the song to you as it isn't on YouTube, or Spotify. I will upload the song or provide a link when I can. It's a shame that a song as good as this is as difficult to find as it is.
"For it seems all cultures dream
They have a giant who is sleeping
Or a king who will return in times of need
To fight for setting his people free
They teach the kids which fads to follow
So they're unaware tomorrow
When another crippled culture
Dies in the shadow 'neath the corporate vulture"
The album also contains several entertaining interludes, Soft Bomb I, II and III and there is no harm in trying and there is no point in trying. These interludes give the album some kind of arch and tie the seperate stories and styles together. A sprawling album in the vein of The White Album or Sandinista! yet held together in a much tighter and more thoughtful way than both those albums. To me, the album is in the same league as those classics.
Third track, Ocean Ocean
A high point of the The Chills career and of New Zealand music in general, it's a real shame that Flying Nun have not done more to get these classics back out there in record stores. The album has not been re-released, is out of production and quite possibly caught up in some copywrite hell due to The Chills being dropped from US label Slash records soon after the release of Soft Bomb. It was by chance I found the second hand CD sitting in the NZ section of Real Groovy in Auckland. If you do find a copy of this album, and it will most likely be on Trademe or Ebay, I assure you that you won't regret the purchase. Martin Phillipps and the pop gift and for a time he was on top of the world. This album is the soundtrack to that time.
Of course what goes up must come down, and although Martin Phillips and The Chills career after Soft Bomb continued, he would not have that level of international influence behind him to realise his visions again. Perhaps he prefers it that way, he can have total control, and doesn't have to be a part of the corperate music world. He still plays excellent gigs occasionally around New Zealand, including a packed one just recently at the Botanical Gardens in Dunedin. I guess all that is another story however, for another blog.
The Chills documentary from 1992
*Here's an interview with Phillipps from 1992, which gives insight into the break up of The Chills as well as the many stresses and difficulties throughout their career. It is a refreshingly frank piece of journalism and includes interviews with previous Chills, who give some of the reasons for why Martin struggled to keep line-ups together. It's a shame the drama following The Chills often overshadowed the brilliant music.
Friday, 22 March 2013
[Concert Review] Rodriguez (Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, 17/03/13)
Images taken from http://13thfloor.co.nz
Most people know the story of Sixto Rodriguez by now; a Detroit folk singer who released two critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums in the early 70s, who disappeared from the music industry for thirty years to work as a labourer and pursue a University education, only to be contacted in the late 90s with the news that he was huge in South Africa. Those South African fans had thought him dead, and when he travelled to the Africaan country to perform some shows soon after, he had know idea the huge crowds and the star treatment that would await him. The documentary however left out the fact that he had a fanbase in Australia and New Zealand and had already toured down under in the late 70s. Never-mind, the documentary tells a good story and is largely responsible for the worldwide resurgance of interest in this once obscure singer-songwriter.
Some of his old fans and many of his new ones turned up last Sunday night to see the man, the enigma, the street boy in person. Rodriguez himself didn't disapoint, offering versions of his classic songs delivered with a voice that sounds like it has not aged at all in the last forty years. Accompanying him were a group of New Zealand session musicians who provided authentic reproductions of the arrangements found on the original albums. Yet perhaps due to the musicians not being completely comfortable with the material, probably having learnt it only days or hours before, or perhaps due to Rodriguez' increasingly frail demeanour, the concert did not explode with a terrible amount of urgency. This could have also been due to a fairly passive crowd, who largely remained seated for all 90 mins of Rodriguez' performance, in spite of yells from many hecklers pleading with the crowd to stand up.
I myself wondered why they didn't stand. As Rodriguez performed classic after classic off his first two albums, such as I Wonder, Only Good for Conversation and Sugarman I could not help but rise and find a position in the aisle where I could dance and sing along. This could be a problem with seated gigs in general; or with concerts that attract a largely middle aged and over demographic. Rodriguez communicated with the crowd between songs by telling jokes, offering humourous wisdom and looked dapper in a black outfit and shades. Age may have taken away much of Rodriguez' sight but none of his style.
While the audience gave a tepid response during songs, they redeemed themselves by expressing their enthusiasm as Rodriguez limped off the stage, helped by his guitarist and some of the road crew. After an extended standing applause, Rodriguez found his way back to the microphone to deliver two more songs. First a cover of Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone, sung probably closer to the album version than Dylan himself will ever peform live and finally I Think Of You off the singer's second studio album. It was a tender finale, and as Rodriguez cautiously made his way off the stage, I was left to wonder how the man's career could have been different if he'd only have the chance to tour like this forty years earlier.
Most people know the story of Sixto Rodriguez by now; a Detroit folk singer who released two critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums in the early 70s, who disappeared from the music industry for thirty years to work as a labourer and pursue a University education, only to be contacted in the late 90s with the news that he was huge in South Africa. Those South African fans had thought him dead, and when he travelled to the Africaan country to perform some shows soon after, he had know idea the huge crowds and the star treatment that would await him. The documentary however left out the fact that he had a fanbase in Australia and New Zealand and had already toured down under in the late 70s. Never-mind, the documentary tells a good story and is largely responsible for the worldwide resurgance of interest in this once obscure singer-songwriter.
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I myself wondered why they didn't stand. As Rodriguez performed classic after classic off his first two albums, such as I Wonder, Only Good for Conversation and Sugarman I could not help but rise and find a position in the aisle where I could dance and sing along. This could be a problem with seated gigs in general; or with concerts that attract a largely middle aged and over demographic. Rodriguez communicated with the crowd between songs by telling jokes, offering humourous wisdom and looked dapper in a black outfit and shades. Age may have taken away much of Rodriguez' sight but none of his style.
While the audience gave a tepid response during songs, they redeemed themselves by expressing their enthusiasm as Rodriguez limped off the stage, helped by his guitarist and some of the road crew. After an extended standing applause, Rodriguez found his way back to the microphone to deliver two more songs. First a cover of Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone, sung probably closer to the album version than Dylan himself will ever peform live and finally I Think Of You off the singer's second studio album. It was a tender finale, and as Rodriguez cautiously made his way off the stage, I was left to wonder how the man's career could have been different if he'd only have the chance to tour like this forty years earlier.
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Monday, 11 March 2013
Back in the Daze music video shoot
Ended up shooting a video for a recent rap track made with my friends Harley Neville and Guy Pigden of Pigville Productions this Saturday just been. The video features much goofing off, with all three of us using the inspiration of looking back at our youth to come up with visual gags and comedy skits. One of the skits included dressing up as future elderly versions of ourselves and attempting to engage in youthful pursuits such as skateboarding and basketball (influenced by the Beastie Boys video for Ricky's Theme). Another involved Guy Pigden dressed as a nerd getting gangster up in a children's playground.
We also found some pretty cool locations to rap in front of, both parodying rap clichés at the same time as paying homage to others. One particularly serendipitous film-making moment happened after pulling up to a graffiti covered dairy. I'd had the idea of leaning against the dairy playing the part of 'street rat' type youths and having a group of girls walk passed that we would check out in a suitably dodgy fashion. By luck there happened to be three South American girls sitting on a bench next to the dairy and with a bit of encouragement we managed to convince them to join out shoot, playing the part of the girls to be checked out. They seemed to enjoy the experience and with hope it'll make an interesting part of the video.
The end of the shoot also featured me shaving my hair off for the Shave for a Cure Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand fundraiser. We decided to include this as part of the shoot as the opportunity to bust some rhymes while shaving my own head proved too perfect to pass up on. Whether or not it makes the final cut remains to be seen.
Below are some photos from the shoot. The video should be out in the coming weeks, but in the meantime check out the song on soundcloud - Back in the Daze.
We also found some pretty cool locations to rap in front of, both parodying rap clichés at the same time as paying homage to others. One particularly serendipitous film-making moment happened after pulling up to a graffiti covered dairy. I'd had the idea of leaning against the dairy playing the part of 'street rat' type youths and having a group of girls walk passed that we would check out in a suitably dodgy fashion. By luck there happened to be three South American girls sitting on a bench next to the dairy and with a bit of encouragement we managed to convince them to join out shoot, playing the part of the girls to be checked out. They seemed to enjoy the experience and with hope it'll make an interesting part of the video.
The end of the shoot also featured me shaving my hair off for the Shave for a Cure Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand fundraiser. We decided to include this as part of the shoot as the opportunity to bust some rhymes while shaving my own head proved too perfect to pass up on. Whether or not it makes the final cut remains to be seen.
Below are some photos from the shoot. The video should be out in the coming weeks, but in the meantime check out the song on soundcloud - Back in the Daze.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012)
That Emmanuelle Riva was not given the Best Actress award for her performance in this film is criminal. The 85 year old plays Anne, a once highly skilled pianist and wife of devoted husband Georges who is faced with dwindling physical and mental health after suffering a series of strokes. Georges, payed by Jean-Louis Trintignant takes it on himself to care for Anne as he obliges her wishes of not to return to a hospital during her last days.
It is a theme that all of us can relate to in some way, either though watching loved ones fade away in a similar way, or through imagining our own challenges that are to face us in old age. For this reason as well as the film's expert execution it is not surprising that the film has picked up such acclaim, with Michael Haneke recieving his 3rd Palme d'Or at the 2012Cannes
The film focuses on a more specific and tender subject matter than Haneke's previous films, although is not absent from the dark and bleak. The film is still a tale, and in spite of the believability of the actors and the situation, the films finale (and somewhat it's beginning) do fall into more melodramatic territory than what another director playing the subject matter straight perhaps would. Not to say that these events could not happen in real life, but they are at times taken to their most depressing and anguished extremes. Illness and death in old age that I have witnessed have never been as bleak as this, but then this is a film, not real life and a tale taken to such dramatic extremes as this does make one ponder mortality, old age, the treatment of our elderly and the nature of love. For a film to make one reflect on topics such as this, while being a gripping and expertly executed example of cinema, must deserve all the acclaim given to it.
It is a theme that all of us can relate to in some way, either though watching loved ones fade away in a similar way, or through imagining our own challenges that are to face us in old age. For this reason as well as the film's expert execution it is not surprising that the film has picked up such acclaim, with Michael Haneke recieving his 3rd Palme d'Or at the 2012
The film focuses on a more specific and tender subject matter than Haneke's previous films, although is not absent from the dark and bleak. The film is still a tale, and in spite of the believability of the actors and the situation, the films finale (and somewhat it's beginning) do fall into more melodramatic territory than what another director playing the subject matter straight perhaps would. Not to say that these events could not happen in real life, but they are at times taken to their most depressing and anguished extremes. Illness and death in old age that I have witnessed have never been as bleak as this, but then this is a film, not real life and a tale taken to such dramatic extremes as this does make one ponder mortality, old age, the treatment of our elderly and the nature of love. For a film to make one reflect on topics such as this, while being a gripping and expertly executed example of cinema, must deserve all the acclaim given to it.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Favourite Albums of All Time! - London Calling
I've been sitting here for a while now trying to think of a topic for a blog. After all it'd be a bit slack not to have written a blog for the entire month of February. I thought about talking about the Oscars but that's already covered, thought about talking about my cat but I'm not entirely sure anyone really wants to read about another person’s pets. That might have to come in a different blog. I may as well make a dagnabbit list of the albums that have most inspired me over the years. It's a list that many an OCD music listener creates in their head over the years and argues with fellow music listeners at parties, work places and other social occasions about. It's a list that's probably irrelevant as music is subjective and who really gives a fuck about what some other dude rates as his favourites. I'm probably also not going to be able to offer you any surprises because my favourite albums are mostly other peoples classics as well (which probably testifies to the strength of them, or my own mainstream tastes). Well anyhow, here's the first of these blogs, focussing on...
The Clash - London Calling
I first got the album summer of 2005, at the time not yet fully a Clash fan. I had previously only had The Essential compilation of Clash singles, album tracks and b-sides and upon receiving some music vouchers for Christmas, headed down to The Warehouse to pick up a stack of CDs. One of these I chose was the deluxe edition of London Calling, an album which had recently had been the subject of retrospective documentaries screened on local music station C4. I guess they were looking for cheap content to fill their schedules, and their screening decision would create at least one new Clash fan.
It didn't take long for me to love London Calling. The week following that Christmas I would listen to the album while reading a book I received on tyrants throughout the ages. For some reason the album seemed the perfect soundtrack, with songs such as "Spanish Bombs" discussing the same exotic locations and violent histories as the book. I still associate the album with that book and that summer, it's interesting how our mind creates such associations. About a week later I would be driving up to Central Otago with my Dad, London Calling blasting in the car. It suddenly clicked and I realised I loved every song on the album. I think I asked my Dad something such as this; "These songs are all so good, but I can't figure out why?" to which he replied; "They're catchy". It was a simple answer but one that continues to resonate with me. It is indeed a freaking catchy album, so perhaps that, combined with the large variation of styles (reggae, rockabilly, jazz, pop etc), the inspired lyrical content and the great musicianship on display is what makes it such a good album.
The stories of the recording of the album are well documented, with Guy Stevens causing havoc, being a drunken bastard and probably creating the atmosphere that allowed The Clash to really let rip, something they were denied with the recording of Give 'Em Enough Rope. The recording of the album also coincided with the emergence of the full potential of the bands talents. Mick Jones' composition and arrangement skills are suddenly head and shoulders above what had previously been pressed to vinyl, just listen to "The Card Cheat" for evidence of this. Joe Strummers lyrics have gone global, hinting at what would come on Sandinista!, with politics ("Spanish Bombs"), the Armageddon ("London Calling"), drug dealers ("Hateful"), Montgomery Clift ("The Right Profile"), factory work ("Clampdown") and more being the subject of his witty punk lyricism. Jones also provides varying lyrical content on the tracks he sings, discussing the break-up of his then girlfriend Viv Albertine in "Train In Vain" (Mick Jones would catch the train to visit his girlfriend yet would often leave disappointed and unsatisfied, hence 'Train In Vain') and also "I'm Not Down" as well as the anthem for alienation in our capitalist culture "Lost in the Supermarket". Paul Simonon's bass playing is getting stronger and catchier and the album holds his first song writing credit and the first track with Simonon on vocals, the classic "Guns Of Brixton". Finally Topper Headon, the best drummer The Clash ever had and possibly one of the greatest rock drummers of all time is allowed to fully let rip, showing off all the r&b, jazz, blues, reggae and rock chops that the man is capable of.
It's a double album yet doesn't have a single weak track on it, which one cannot say for many other double albums (although for today’s standards it’s about the length of one full 80 min CD). The Clash would follow this album up just a year later with the triple album Sandinista! which on the other hand does have a fair amount of filler within its sleeves, yet is an album that I hold just as dare to me, perhaps even more so than London Calling, due to the share 'who-gives-a-fuck' experimentation of it all and the continued ability of the band to write really catchy songs. Combat Rock in 1982 would be the bands last studio album with this line-up, and then that's just about it for the history of the best band to come out of the 70s UK punk scene. Better to burn out than to fade away I guess.
Probably the greatest Rock n Roll album of all time, recorded by 'the only band that matters'. Joe Strummer, Topper Headon, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon created in 1979 an album that many continue to bash 34 years later. I've been bashing it now for 8 years and I predict many more will follow.
The Clash - London Calling
I first got the album summer of 2005, at the time not yet fully a Clash fan. I had previously only had The Essential compilation of Clash singles, album tracks and b-sides and upon receiving some music vouchers for Christmas, headed down to The Warehouse to pick up a stack of CDs. One of these I chose was the deluxe edition of London Calling, an album which had recently had been the subject of retrospective documentaries screened on local music station C4. I guess they were looking for cheap content to fill their schedules, and their screening decision would create at least one new Clash fan.
It didn't take long for me to love London Calling. The week following that Christmas I would listen to the album while reading a book I received on tyrants throughout the ages. For some reason the album seemed the perfect soundtrack, with songs such as "Spanish Bombs" discussing the same exotic locations and violent histories as the book. I still associate the album with that book and that summer, it's interesting how our mind creates such associations. About a week later I would be driving up to Central Otago with my Dad, London Calling blasting in the car. It suddenly clicked and I realised I loved every song on the album. I think I asked my Dad something such as this; "These songs are all so good, but I can't figure out why?" to which he replied; "They're catchy". It was a simple answer but one that continues to resonate with me. It is indeed a freaking catchy album, so perhaps that, combined with the large variation of styles (reggae, rockabilly, jazz, pop etc), the inspired lyrical content and the great musicianship on display is what makes it such a good album.
The stories of the recording of the album are well documented, with Guy Stevens causing havoc, being a drunken bastard and probably creating the atmosphere that allowed The Clash to really let rip, something they were denied with the recording of Give 'Em Enough Rope. The recording of the album also coincided with the emergence of the full potential of the bands talents. Mick Jones' composition and arrangement skills are suddenly head and shoulders above what had previously been pressed to vinyl, just listen to "The Card Cheat" for evidence of this. Joe Strummers lyrics have gone global, hinting at what would come on Sandinista!, with politics ("Spanish Bombs"), the Armageddon ("London Calling"), drug dealers ("Hateful"), Montgomery Clift ("The Right Profile"), factory work ("Clampdown") and more being the subject of his witty punk lyricism. Jones also provides varying lyrical content on the tracks he sings, discussing the break-up of his then girlfriend Viv Albertine in "Train In Vain" (Mick Jones would catch the train to visit his girlfriend yet would often leave disappointed and unsatisfied, hence 'Train In Vain') and also "I'm Not Down" as well as the anthem for alienation in our capitalist culture "Lost in the Supermarket". Paul Simonon's bass playing is getting stronger and catchier and the album holds his first song writing credit and the first track with Simonon on vocals, the classic "Guns Of Brixton". Finally Topper Headon, the best drummer The Clash ever had and possibly one of the greatest rock drummers of all time is allowed to fully let rip, showing off all the r&b, jazz, blues, reggae and rock chops that the man is capable of.
It's a double album yet doesn't have a single weak track on it, which one cannot say for many other double albums (although for today’s standards it’s about the length of one full 80 min CD). The Clash would follow this album up just a year later with the triple album Sandinista! which on the other hand does have a fair amount of filler within its sleeves, yet is an album that I hold just as dare to me, perhaps even more so than London Calling, due to the share 'who-gives-a-fuck' experimentation of it all and the continued ability of the band to write really catchy songs. Combat Rock in 1982 would be the bands last studio album with this line-up, and then that's just about it for the history of the best band to come out of the 70s UK punk scene. Better to burn out than to fade away I guess.
Probably the greatest Rock n Roll album of all time, recorded by 'the only band that matters'. Joe Strummer, Topper Headon, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon created in 1979 an album that many continue to bash 34 years later. I've been bashing it now for 8 years and I predict many more will follow.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Laneway New Zealand 2013! Review! (Silo Park, 28th January, Auckland)
So it has taken me a few days of recovery and reflection to put pen to paper and write my thoughts up on Laneway 2013 and I will start by posting the Japandroids setlist:
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Brian King (guitarist/vocalist) handed the setlist down to me at the end of the Japandroids set. It's a cool peice of memorabilia and one of many great moments of an awesome day, one that was for me a big improvement on Laneway 2012 (probably because the bands were better).
The day started off with Kings of Convenience on the main stage, the Norwegian indie pop folk-duo beginning softly with several acoustic numbers before bringing out a band and bringing the funk. I'd not listened to much of these guys before the concert so wasn't prepared for just how funky it would get and certainly wasn't expecting the dance-off that emerged during I'd Rather Dance With You. Prompted by lead singer Erlend Øye, the crowd formed a circle at which enthusiastic audience members jumped in to display their dancing chops. Sadly there's no videos of this yet uploaded to YouTube, but here's a live rendition from the Singapore Laneway.
Later on at the Laneway after party at Cassette 9, I would find myself dancing with Erlend Øye and a bunch of Australian girls, practically and unknowingly acting out the lyrics to the above song, in a strange life-imitating-art kind of moment. I'll definitely be listening to more Kings of Convenience in the future, as their energy, humour and melodic songwriting won me over.
After Kings of Convenience I stayed at the main stage to watch Auckland group Street Chant who brought the punk and the angst, with front woman Emily seeming in a particularly sardonic mood. They handed out self-brewed 'Sink' beers to the crowd during the performance of that song and also Street Chant badges so points for the merchandise. There were a few technical difficulties however, such as Emily's effects pedal cutting out during Salad Days although she managed to get it up and running with minimal damage to the performance. I think their set was cut short due to Kings of Convenience playing over time and Emily seemed visibly irritated, at one stage throwing the F-bomb at that band and the Laneway organisers. I guess that kind of attitude is part of Street Chant's style, although it seemed at odds with the spirit of the rest of the day.
Polica was up next on the main stage, the band from Minneapolis bringing bass heavy electronic sounds and delicate melodies sung by from woman Channy Leaneagh aided by a powerful rhythm section featuring two drummers, one also triggering electronic samples. It sounded huge though I took the time to go for a wander and explore the rest of the Laneway environment, checking out a bit of Auckland indie-group The Eversons on the smaller Cactus Cat stage. I would next stand in front of Cloud Nothings who delivered a set of loud, aggressive but skillful tracks off their third album, Attack On Memory. The set peaked during a version of Wasted Years which showed off the drummers skill of being able to hold a fill for about 6 minutes.
The afternoon sped by as I rushed between stages catching The Men (from Brooklyn), some of Of Monsters and Men and A Place to Bury Strangers. The Men were my personal favourite of the bunch, playing many tracks of their awesome album from last year Open Your Heart as well as new single Electric. Their new songs sound really good and I'm looking forward to hearing what comes next from these uber-cool New York rockers. They ended their set with a surprise cover of Dunedin band The Chills' Pink Frost:
Of Monsters and Men drew one of the biggest crowds of the day, and played a tight and entertaining set, with lead singer Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir looking particularly cute. Although I was enjoying the set I didn't stick around to hear the big single Little Talks as A Place to Bury Strangers were playing on the other stage and I wanted to check out whether this band would be as loud live as the buzz suggested. They indeed were, with the finale of the set seeing lead singer/songwriter Oliver Ackermann turn the monitor speakers around to face the audience, taking the vocal mic and placing it up against his guitar amp (both of which had separate effects running through each of them) and then generating feedback from his guitar creating a noise so loud that I felt sorry for anyone not wearing earplugs. Ackermann and bassist Dion Lunadon formerly of The D4 then proceeded to smash their instruments in true reckless rock n roll style. I later asked Ackermann after running into him at the merch tent how they can afford to smash their instruments every gig. He told me: "Glue and tape". (Watch the video below)
Back on the main stage Alt-J had accumulated a huge and increasingly intoxicated crowd for their intricate and groovy art-rock. With label money behind them they were the first band on the main stage to bring a giant backdrop with them (the only other artist to bring a backdrop and have any kind of stage design being Bat For Lashes), and had a bit more lighting then several of the other bands including some strobing. They had a very enthusiastic crowd response as I expected with much of the audience knowing the lyrics to all their songs. Their sole album has had a lot of hype behind it so this isn't surprising, and the band sounded great live, nailing all the vocal harmonies and trick rhythms. The drummer in particular stood out to me, showing a flair for different percussion than the usual cymbals and toms combination. The music sounded pretty much exactly as the album, which was a good thing but they didn't particularly bring anything more to live performance and therefore wasn't the most exciting act of the day.
Japandroids on the Cactus Cat stage provided everything that Alt-J didn't. They brought excitement, looseness and the most energy yet seen during a Laneway set that day, inspiring the audience to mosh, crowd surf and sing along to their upbeat anthems about holding on to your youthful dreams in spite and because of the inevitable responsibilities that come with aging. Or in other words, their music makes it cool for a bunch of twenty and thirty year olds to rock out as if they're still seventeen. Their set was full of classics from the Post-Nothing and Celebration Rock albums, with the highlights for me being Younger Us, The House That Heaven Built and Young Hearts Spark Fire. Although there were a few technical difficulties with Bring King's guitar cutting out during Fire's Highway and drummer David Prowse missing some queues, it didn't matter, the energy was there and it if anything hyped the crowd up even more.
Although the moshpit was energetic, it was never agressive as-per a metal concert, for Japandroids inspire some sort of comradery between us concert goers, where we can thrash about and loose ourselves within the fight of a moshpit while at the same time looking out for one another. Anyone that fell over or tumbled during a crowd-surf was immediately helped back up to their feet, ready to join the mosh again. I managed to get my crowd surf on and it may have looked something like the guy in the photo to the left (who I later met at the Cassette 9 after party) and this for sure provided a highlight of my day. As mentioned earlier I got the setlist of Brian King after the show and thanked him for an awesome performance.
Things get a little blurrier and I spend a little more time in the drinks lines over the next few hours but that is by no means the end of the festivities. I check out a little bit of Bailterspace on the main stage, which is cool but Jessie Ware is playing back over on the stage near the Silo's so I quickly mission over to check her out. One of the only problems with Laneway (apart from the congestion in the drinks lines which was probably worse this year than last year) is that the second stage over by the Silo where Japandroids, The Men and Jessie Ware played is not really big enough and this was particularly evident during Ware's set. She is a charismatic performer with a great voice and obviously had a lot of fans because her audience was crowded. She would have been much better suited on the main stage, or on a slightly bigger second stage as it didn't really allow her much space to perform. Never the less her set was great, filled with classic tracks off her debut album such as Sweet Talk, No To Love and If You're Never Gonna Move. Wildest Moments and Running provided great singalong moments and hopefully she'll be back on a bigger stage, with more recognition in a few years time.
Yeasayer took the main stage next and although I spent most of their set in the drinks line (the infernal drinks line), they sounded good, in particular singles off their second album O.N.E. and Ambling Amp. With drinks now in hand I made my way into the crowd for Bat For Lashes, and got up front just in time for her to start her first New Zealand and somewhat awe-inspiring set. Flanked with a really talented band, a giant backdrop image of a grey scale beach and a stage decorated with lanterns, Natasha Khan launched into a set featuring tracks from all three of her albums and hypnotically dominated the stage for 45 minutes. It's a shame she didn't have more time because her voice sounded amazing and proved her self a truely great live performer. I was particularly a fan of the tracks off the new album The Haunted Man which included All Your Gold, Laura and Oh Yeah. The favourite tracks of the set for me were Lillies (because damn that has a heavy beat) and Marilyn which felt even more touching and dramatic live than on album. The drummer was particularly impressive, bouncing between electronic pads and his acoustic set playing many beats simultaneously that would usually be left for samples. It's a set like this that makes me appreciate Laneway because I probably never would have seen Bat For Lashes live or even listened to the new album if she hadn't toured to New Zealand through this festival and I definitely would have missed out on something great. I suggest you check out the new album if you haven't, it deserves more attention than it has recieved.
Bat For Lashes ended too soon with final track and crowd favourite Daniel. I then made my way over to the next stage for headliner Tame Impala, who I and many more people in the crowd had been looking forward to all summer. Totally destroying last year's headliners Gotye, Kevin Parker and company proved rock not to be dead in 2013 opening with Solitude is Bliss off Innerspeaker and then jamming their way through tracks off last years Lonerism with such ease as to make all that skill look rediculously easy. Most songs were extended in true late 60s/early 70s style and at one point during Elephant the band completely abandoned the song for a drum solo, then some barely musical fucking around, then a brief reggae jam, just to return to Elephant for roughly 10 seconds before ending the song. Apart from being hilarious it was also one of the most memorable moments of the day and was so awesome to see a band not giving a fuck and JUST HAVING FUN. The crowd was a bit shit, and only a few of us were jumping around as much as I would have liked but perhaps most people were by this stage exausted from the heat or the alcohol. Regardless I feel that Tame Impala is going to be a band I see live many times and hopefully so, because they're doing something with rock that feels both fresh, familiar and really unique. I have a feeling that their live shows will get even more jammy as the years progess.
Laneway 2013 ends, and I head off into the unknown of the night, finding my way to the after party at Cassette 9 where I meet Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, who turns out is also a really nice guy! I also watch Rackets play, who are always good and listen to a DJ set from A Place To Bury Strangers. By three in morning, I'm about ready to pack it in, after have a chaotic and action packed day and seeing some really really great bands live. I have to therefore say that Laneway out did themselves this year and I will most definitely be making my way to 2014 provided I'm in Auckland. I could gripe at this stage about the things Laneway could improve on; the long drinks lines, the fact that standing on concrete all day is a bit of a bitch and that there isn't much shade the protect you from the glaring rays of the sun, but I will have to save that for another blog because all and all it was a fantastic day.
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Brian King (guitarist/vocalist) handed the setlist down to me at the end of the Japandroids set. It's a cool peice of memorabilia and one of many great moments of an awesome day, one that was for me a big improvement on Laneway 2012 (probably because the bands were better).
The day started off with Kings of Convenience on the main stage, the Norwegian indie pop folk-duo beginning softly with several acoustic numbers before bringing out a band and bringing the funk. I'd not listened to much of these guys before the concert so wasn't prepared for just how funky it would get and certainly wasn't expecting the dance-off that emerged during I'd Rather Dance With You. Prompted by lead singer Erlend Øye, the crowd formed a circle at which enthusiastic audience members jumped in to display their dancing chops. Sadly there's no videos of this yet uploaded to YouTube, but here's a live rendition from the Singapore Laneway.
Kings Of Convenience bring the funk
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| Street Chant |
Polica was up next on the main stage, the band from Minneapolis bringing bass heavy electronic sounds and delicate melodies sung by from woman Channy Leaneagh aided by a powerful rhythm section featuring two drummers, one also triggering electronic samples. It sounded huge though I took the time to go for a wander and explore the rest of the Laneway environment, checking out a bit of Auckland indie-group The Eversons on the smaller Cactus Cat stage. I would next stand in front of Cloud Nothings who delivered a set of loud, aggressive but skillful tracks off their third album, Attack On Memory. The set peaked during a version of Wasted Years which showed off the drummers skill of being able to hold a fill for about 6 minutes.
The afternoon sped by as I rushed between stages catching The Men (from Brooklyn), some of Of Monsters and Men and A Place to Bury Strangers. The Men were my personal favourite of the bunch, playing many tracks of their awesome album from last year Open Your Heart as well as new single Electric. Their new songs sound really good and I'm looking forward to hearing what comes next from these uber-cool New York rockers. They ended their set with a surprise cover of Dunedin band The Chills' Pink Frost:
The Men cover The Chills
A Place To Bury Strangers set finale destruction
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| Crowd surf during Japandroids |
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| Brian King mid-air |
Things get a little blurrier and I spend a little more time in the drinks lines over the next few hours but that is by no means the end of the festivities. I check out a little bit of Bailterspace on the main stage, which is cool but Jessie Ware is playing back over on the stage near the Silo's so I quickly mission over to check her out. One of the only problems with Laneway (apart from the congestion in the drinks lines which was probably worse this year than last year) is that the second stage over by the Silo where Japandroids, The Men and Jessie Ware played is not really big enough and this was particularly evident during Ware's set. She is a charismatic performer with a great voice and obviously had a lot of fans because her audience was crowded. She would have been much better suited on the main stage, or on a slightly bigger second stage as it didn't really allow her much space to perform. Never the less her set was great, filled with classic tracks off her debut album such as Sweet Talk, No To Love and If You're Never Gonna Move. Wildest Moments and Running provided great singalong moments and hopefully she'll be back on a bigger stage, with more recognition in a few years time.
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| Natasha Khan |
Elephant, from Singapore again, but an awesome live version
Laneway 2013 ends, and I head off into the unknown of the night, finding my way to the after party at Cassette 9 where I meet Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, who turns out is also a really nice guy! I also watch Rackets play, who are always good and listen to a DJ set from A Place To Bury Strangers. By three in morning, I'm about ready to pack it in, after have a chaotic and action packed day and seeing some really really great bands live. I have to therefore say that Laneway out did themselves this year and I will most definitely be making my way to 2014 provided I'm in Auckland. I could gripe at this stage about the things Laneway could improve on; the long drinks lines, the fact that standing on concrete all day is a bit of a bitch and that there isn't much shade the protect you from the glaring rays of the sun, but I will have to save that for another blog because all and all it was a fantastic day.
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