I really like this track, imagine it would be a great song to drive to.
Frightened Rabbit are one of my new favourite discoveries, definitely one of the more exciting bands the Scottish isles have spoiled us with this year, and lord knows there's been a few. It's only a matter of a time before these guys reach the same dizzy heights that fellow Scots Glasvegas effortlessly climbed to in 2008 (was it really that long ago?).
If you prefer the softer side of Biffy Clyro and Fleet Foxes but still like their fatally catchy choruses then Frightened Rabbit are your new best friends.
Let's be honest, this isn't exactly the most wonderful time of year. There's a chill in the air that doesn't yet hold that familiar festive excitement of winters past- more misery than merriment. The night engulfs us with an ever increasing vehemence and it's not even acceptable to be humming Fairytale of New York yet for fear of eternal ridicule.
Isn't November great?
However, there is a somewhat hazy light in the darkness in the shape of electro titans Asobi Seksu.
This is 3 minutes and 49 seconds of trippy, cathartic beauty. The song just screams summer and takes us back to the good old days when we actually saw the sun for more than half an hour and didn't have to dress like the Michelin Man everytime we ventured to the shops. The melody is gorgeous and has more than a hint of self-indulgence, (Yuki Chikudate's light and airy vocals make this track what it is, sends shivers down my spine) making this a very welcome antidote to the rather stodgy, heavy music that finds itself in the mainstream charts at the moment.
The video is also a perfect fit and makes one feel a certain sense of nostalgia, reminiscent of many a lazy sunny afternoon spent wandering through fields of wildflowers and blossom.. or at least a muddy field full of thousands of sweaty festival folk.Same diff.
In terms of their previous stuff Transparence is very laidback, something which I think works quite well for them, allowing the vocals to truly shine. I for one definitely prefer this calmer, more pensive side to Asobi Seksu.
Here's the brand new video from my favourite Punk/folk hybrid Frank Turner.
I have the pleasure of actually being in the video, having been in one of the many savage crowds Frank has had to contend with during his most recent UK tour. (Actually, not that anyone cares but at 0.27 you can actually see my 'interesting' face at the front of the crowd for his instore appearance at awesome music shop Rise).
The gig itself was truly something to behold- one man band Beans on Toast offered an unconventional yet inspired support, I don't think many were expecting to see a folk singer from London dancing and rapping to the sounds of an accordion and someone playing the Gameboy. And as for Frank, I have to say I was utterly impressed. When you hear the words 'singer songwriter' you immediately conjure up images of demure pretentious prats who play your typical folk-by-numbers stuff (see James Blunt or that other one). What you actually get in the case of Frank Turner is a raucous, heavy mess whose songs are almost brutal in their honesty.
Most notably Poetry of the Deed and encore Photosynthesis received an amazing reaction from the baying crowd, and with Frank and his band managing to produce some of the most upbeat yet heavy music to come from a singer-songwriter whilst trying not to sweat their gonads off in the near-tropical heat (what idiots put central heating on in a small gig venue?!), they certainly earnt it.
The track, from which his new album takes the same name, has all of the usual beautifully poetic lyrics that we've come to expect from Turner; the refrain at the end in particular always makes me smile. Poetry of the Deed is a stomper of a track that definitely deserves to score highly in the Top 40.
"Life is too short, to live without poetry If you've got soul darling then come on and show it me. But Life is too long to just sing the one song So we'll burn like a beacon And then we'll be gone."
I don't think I've ever heard as many people talking about 90s Britpop band Pulp as there have been in the past couple of weeks. Depending on which publication you read, Jarvis and co. may be likely to grace the stage of Worthy Farm once more at next year's festival, their first performance in over 6 years. The People have claimed that Cocker confirmed that Pulp were to reform and are interested in playing Glastonbury next year: "Glastonbury means an awful lot to me, I would love to play there again.” When asked if there were any plans in the pipeline to see Pulp potentially repeat Blur's success at playing a comeback gig at Glasto, he said; “We’ve talked about it, there we go, there’ll be a band reunion.”
However, in separate reports on both teletext page Planet Sound and in an interview with the front man himself on BBC 6 Music today, it seems that this is not the case. Cocker has dismissed these rumours, stating that he had never said that Pulp were going to reform in the first place, only that he was "interested in playing at the 40th anniversary."
So I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I think it would be great to see Pulp do Glastonbury, I was too young to see them perform live back in their heyday, so it would be a great chance for them to remind us all who were the real diamonds in the Britpop crown were, as well as potentially widening their fanbase to those not yet in the know of this great indie band.
My biggest regret about Glastonbury this year was that I missed out on the chance to see a newly reformed Blur headline the Pyramid, if Pulp do play next year- I shan't make the same mistake again.
In the meantime, here's one of my favourite Pulp tracks, recorded live at Glastonbury circa 1995, enjoy.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Morrissey was rushed to hospital earlier this evening after collapsing just one song into his gig at Swindon's Oasis.
Morrissey just minutes before he collapsed, taken from SwindonWeb
Reports state that in the midst of opening song This Charming Man, Morrissey knelt down and fell to the floor, to be taken offstage by members of his band. An hour and a half later, a representative from the venue said that Moz would not be returning to the stage as he is "seriously ill."
Sky News has stated that the former Smiths frontman has been admitted to the Great Western Hospital and is in a "stable condition". Ambulance personnel have since reported that Morrissey suffered from "respiratory problems" before becoming unconscious, but by the time they arrived at the Oasis, he had regained consciousness but was complaining of feeling unwell.
The 50 year old has suffered with various ailments over the past couple of years, having previously cancelled a string of London gigs on his UK May tour, due to a problem with his throat.
I really wanted to be at that gig, and if it wasn't for the price of the tickets and lack of transport for getting down the road, I would have been. I hope Mozzer is ok, have been listening to the back catalogue of The Smiths all day and have been reminding myself of how truly amazing Mr Morrissey is both lyrically and vocally. So, since it's been about 6 months or so since my last Smiths track on this here blog, here is the song Morrissey struggled through earlier, This Charming Man. One of their best I believe, showcasing both the virtuosity of Marr's musicianship and Morrissey's witty yet slightly poignant lyrics.
Surely not, I mean this is the band who make Glasvegas seem like giddy Highland schoolgirls. But, lo and behold, it seems Editors have finally awoken from their melancholic slumber with new track Papillon.
Ok, so it's basically a New Order track and in that respect isn't exactly innovative, but at least it's a change in direction. If you ask me, I think the time has come for miserable lachrymose music to descend back into its underground lair for another year. With the days getting shorter and winter's unyielding grip on us starting to clench ever tighter, we don't need anything else to bring us down.
Gloom is SO 4 months ago.
What we need now is something upbeat, something perky, something- dare I say it- happy. What we need is something that we can bust a move to, or at least nod our heads along casually to without looking like the lame emo kid in the corner. And this is what the new offering from the Brummy band does, it makes us want to enjoy music again; because lets face it, not every song is meant to be a 3 minute therapy session. It is ok to actually listen to a song and not take any other meaning from it than the fact that it's just a great track.
So the new track from Editors may be a synth drenched Blue Monday rip off (in my opinion), but at least it's a GOOD synth drenched Blue Monday ripoff. And that's enough for now.
Papillon is out now, available on 7" and CD format.
All music on this blog is for trial purposes only, I will only put an MP3 file onto my blog if it's a free download from somewhere else. I like to think that people still want to go out and buy music these days, and encourage people to do so. If anyone would like me to take any of these tracks down, e-mail me at
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