People seemed to enjoy my subjective, personal summary of the year last time around, so I’ve decided to do it again. I hope my memory is good enough to list everything – but I can’t promise it’s going to be in any logical order!
Please note that any loudmouth opinions expressed below are mine and mine alone. They do not reflect the views of my employer or any other individuals I work with.
Pros:
Coming much closer to discovering what love is about: shared experience, a strong physical connection, empathy and understanding – and that a good friendship can enhance these qualities rather than complicate them. This has helped make 2008 an overwhelmingly positive year – Priya has been loving, thoughtful, encouraging, supportive, intelligent and caring throughout.
A few wonderful days in Paris with Priya.
Being in a strong enough financial position to ride the credit crunch.
Continuing honesty. Finding some newer friendships are every bit as strong as longstanding ones.
Having the courage to apply and audition for music college. Even if completely unsuccessful, this process has given me renewed focus and stopped me feeling that I’m running out of time.
More friends celebrating marriages, engagements or starting families and the chance to observe and share in their happiness.
Leonard Cohen’s long awaited return to live performance – a performer of compassion, generosity and insight gained through experience, accompanied by music arranged with meticulous care, played tastefully. If Bob Dylan treats his songs as malleable objects to be violently remodelled every time, Cohen treats his back catalogue with extraordinary reverence. This doesn’t mean that the songs are tedious facsimiles of their first recordings (far from it), but rather that they must always be performed with the same level of feeling, commitment, clarity and energy. The concerts of the year and worth every penny of the expensive ticket prices.
Finally getting to see Keith Jarrett perform live, even if he is past the peak of his powers now.
The outstanding collaboration between the Homemade Orchestra and children’s poet Michael Rosen – a healthy dose of fun in a musical world that too often leaves humour behind. That it came with highly sophisticated composing and playing was a big bonus, and a great introduction to jazz for the young members of the audience.
Some dependably superb gigs at The Vortex, where quality programming is a given – Oriole, David Torn, Gwilym Simcock’s birthday show, Polar Bear, some extraordinary improvisation from pianist Tom Rogerson.
Tom Rogerson’s outrageously inventive rock band Three Trapped Tigers – with a Gordon Raphael-produced EP now in the bag, surely my prediction for 2008 will hold true for 2009??
Battles, Dirty Projectors and F*ck Buttons at The Astoria – a triple whammy of the highest order but sadly the last gig I’ll see at the legendary venue (how disappointing that the Astoria’s long history will come to an end with Manumission).
Wildbirds and Peacedrums at the Luminaire – an astonishing gig proving the band surpass their already brilliant studio recordings in live performance.
The Dodos at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen – clattering, rampant fun.
Terry Reid at The Borderline – a songwriting legend who deserves a far warmer welcome and bigger audiences when he next plays in this country.
Bjork at the Hammersmith Apollo, a typically energised, sensual and exotic performance.
Einsturzende Neubaten at The Forum – a gig that I expected to be challenging and unforgiving, but which was actually innovative and entertaining.
The Planet Mu 200 night in Elephant and Castle – proving I still have some stamina left in me for the odd rave.
The opportunity to DJ with the JRM project at Bardens Boudoir, getting away with some bizarre musical juxtapositions and remembering how DJing is the best route to a free drink.
The virtues of legal downloading – more music available at more affordable prices.
Finally catching the Orpheus ballet with the wonderful Colin Towns big band score. An invigorating treat!
The CVA Summer Jazz Workshop in Amsterdam – a quite extraordinary and emotional week of music. In some ways, it was highly frustrating, but it provided a much needed dose of motivation and reignited my ambitions. Worth the fee alone for the wisdom and philosophy of Cecil Bridgewater: ‘everyone is a drummer’, apparently. Amen to that! A good few days of holiday beforehand – with Tom Millar’s insightful and encouraging company.
The North Sea Jazz Festival – perhaps the only festival serving oysters, Indian cuisine and gourmet burgers. It’s extravagant, expensive, and set in what would appear to be a giant airport terminal, but the music was varied and frequently sublime. This time Wayne Shorter’s latest leap into the unknown really worked for me. Also sublime were performances from Abdullah Ibrahim, Kenny Wheeler, Pat Metheny with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez and Charles Lloyd.
On returning from Amsterdam, organising some private drum lessons again – realising that my lack of understanding of the correct technique has been holding me back, breaking things down to the fundamentals and the beginning of a long process of improvement and progress.
Tim Whitehead’s residential jazz course in the wonderful old Mill in Yarmouth – for Tim’s inspiring philosophy (once again a reminder that life can be so much more than we often settle for),some fun jam sessions in the pubs, the rare chance to play with Liam Noble, meeting some more superb young musicians in Ida Hollis and Leo Selleck.
The Alexander Technique
Performing gigs with the constantly improving Adrian Roye Band – Adrian’s voice and songwriting becoming more confident with every step – now almost commanding. The recording of a quite outstanding EP, which should help take it to the next level.
Working patiently on some new musical projects which ought to come to fruition in 2009 – Arklove,The Night Climbers, JRM.
A more regular supply of well-paid function gigs and teaching opportunities.
WAC Performing Arts and Media College still going strong at the point of its 30th Anniversary.
More recording projects with Ricky Mian, Cai Marle-Garcia and Ozzie Rodgers; the far-too-gradual progress on my own set of songs. Some progress is still progress!
Massive Attack’s Meltdown and the London Jazz Festival – two remarkably well-programmed events. Highlights of the former included a triumphant double bill featuring Elbow and Fleet Foxes, plus the remarkable resurrection of Grace Jones. Highlights of the latter included Courtney Pine defying the laws of physics and passionately supporting UK Jazz and the free Jazz on 3 launch gig with some fiery spontaneous interaction between Ken Vandermark, Barry Guy and Mark Sanders, as precocious a free improvising trio as I’ve yet seen.
Bruce Springsteen at the Emirates – the first and last time I’m likely to set foot in that particular stadium! Later in the year, Springsteen once again proved his unerring ability to capture the American mood with ‘Working On A Dream’.
Kurt Wagner’s solo show at The Borderline and the Lambchop show at the Union Chapel – proof that Wagner is one of the most idiosyncratic and original of singer-songwriters.
Deerhunter at The Dome in Tufnell Park.
Shiva Feshareki’s ‘Critical Distortions’ collaboration with Natalie Clein – a further sign of Shiva’s originality and courage as a composer and yet another step into the intriguing world of contemporary music for me.
The extraordinary, dense, hypnotic guitar playing of James Blackshaw.
The emergence of some genuinely interesting and novel British guitar bands – Late of The Pier, Wild Beasts, School of Language/The Week That Was – challenging the orthodoxy of what has now become known as ‘landfill indie’.
The return of the B-52’s and Was (Not Was), the more acceptable face of 80s nostalgia!
Elbow’s Mercury Music Prize victory – it wasn’t even their best album and certainly not the album of the year, yet still this result seemed like one of the Mercury Judges best decisions in the prize’s history.
The continuing mining of the life and work of Arthur Russell – more beautiful recordings collated on ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ and Matt Wolf’s exquisite documentary film ‘Wild Combination’. The film managed to cover so much more than simply the music – capturing the conflicts and dichotomies which exist in many human beings – the urge for risk pulling against safety and security, the excitement of the city versus the comfort and calm of the country, the desire for perfection damaging the hunger for success.
Terence Davies’ return to the cinema with the extraordinary ‘Of Time and The City’ – a reminder that subjectivity in documentaries, often seen as a heinous crime, is actually a valid means towards artistry.
More impressive new cinema – XXY, Hunger, Waltz with Bashir (its switch to ‘real’ news footage at the end was an essential and devastating juxtaposition crucial to the film’s success, not an artistic compromise as some have argued), WALL-E, The Dark Knight (at last a blockbuster with real intelligence), The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, The Man From London, The Edge of Heaven – the year began with Ang Lee’s masterful Lust, Caution, No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. I’ve not been to the cinema that much in 2008 – but this list does make it look like a quite exceptional year for film.
King’s Place: OK, it looks like a hotel lobby when you first enter, but it is so great to have a dedicated, sensibly programmed arts venue in North London.
Finding the time to read some heavy tomes. My literary year began with Norman Mailer’s ‘The Executioner’s Song’, continued with Dumas’ ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and is ending with David Foster Wallace’s bizarre and visionary ‘Infinite Jest’.
J.M.G. Le Clezio’s surprise Nobel Prize win.
Toni Morrison’s great reading and discussion at the Queen Elizabeth Hall during the US Presidential Election campaign. Her willingness to give unpredictable answers to predictable questions made her seem warm and open-minded.
Some outstanding books about music and history – especially Alex Ross’ ‘The Rest is Noise’ and Michael Gray’s ‘Hand Me My Walking Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell’.
David Thomson’s ‘Have You Seen? A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films’. On the surface, it’s simply another list book – but it’s a gargantuan one written by a man who is as passionately in love with language as he is with the cinema. It’s opinionated and audacious but always brilliantly argued. One of the best books ever published about the cinema.
The Antiques Roadshow – thank goodness for its continuing popularity – a TV institution where you can find out so much more about the real lives of real people that on any of the so-called ‘reality’ format shows.
Acquiring The Wire on DVD and finally starting to catch up – intricate and masterful TV drama, possibly my favourite TV series since Northern Exposure. It’s hard to be original with the Police drama format – but just when you think something has been repeated ad nauseum, David Simon and Ed Burns up the game substantially.
I’ve not caught much in the way of other TV, but sporadically moments of the following caught my attention: Outnumbered, Flight of the Conchords, Peep Show, House, the BBC’s drama Criminal Justice, with Ben Whishaw proving he is our most promising young actor. For a more informed and comprehensive overview of the year’s TV, head to John Kell’s blog, always a useful pointer as to how to spend your viewing time!
The appearance of some great hard-to-see films on DVD – The Saragossa Manuscript, Tropical Malady etc.
Some bloggers proving that the journalists with innate suspicions of amateur online writing simply aren’t reading the best blogs – John Kell, the return of False Dichotomies, Really Rather, Mapsadaisical, Sweeping The Nation, Audiversity, Free Jazz, Raven Sings The Blues, Spy Blog highlighting New Labour’s restrictions on civil liberties, many others too numerous to mention…
The US elections ending in a result with symbolic significance and considerable expectation. Joe Bageant’s irreverent, quasi-Marxist analysis of US politics for once proving pessimistic!
Vincent Cable, again – the voice of reason and the man who should have been running our economy for the past ten years.
Lewis Hamilton’s World Championship victory and the whole championship in general – mostly very exciting but I must confess to feeling real sympathy for Felipe Massa, who may well now have missed his golden chance.
British sporting success at the Olympics.
BBC 4 – Sometimes you can turn on and find, say, some unexpected footage of Count Basie’s Orchestra or a very fascinating documentary. Radio 3, in spite of the changes, for similarly provocative and challenging schedules.
Performing Magnetic Fields songs with Jeremy Warmsley and the Little Words at Cargo – a rather lovely conclusion to my live music year. Great to play on the same bill as the Broken Family Band too.
Cons:
The overwhelming positivity of this past year has been dented significantly by death – particularly the tragic and premature deaths of friends, friends of friends and family members of friends. It’s been a reminder of how vulnerable everything is.
Frustrating impasses to any kind of career progression.
Expensive automobile problems although the gear linkage failure a mere mile after coming off the car ferry at Lymington was, in retrospect, quite funny.
Attempting to play chess for the first time in many years in Amsterdam and discovering, with crushing inevitability, that I still find the game incomprehensible.
The continuing failure of western powers to act decisively in areas where their interests are not at stake – still, little has been done for Zimbabwe.
Boris Johnson’s election as London Mayor – the only surprise seems to be that he hasn’t done anything truly disastrous yet. The banning of alcohol consumption on public transport was merely a token gesture that failed to recognise broader problems.
Unnecessary media chaos – Brand/Ross, Sargeant etc.
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The Christian Churches’ obsession with sexuality – which is, for most people, essentially a private matter. A religion based on love, grace and forgiveness seems to be forgetting its core purpose.
The Max Mosley affair – almost ties in with the above. A matter of public interest only in the sense that some voyeuristic members of the public appeared to be interested.
The fact that prejudicial and discriminatory views still exist in 21st Century Britain.
Apparently we live in a service economy, but I’ve found it increasingly difficult to get anything even approaching acceptable service, be it from poorly trained, ill-informed call centre staff, hopelessly unaware waiters and waitresses in restaurants or from the presumptuous and snooty door staff at Ronnie Scott’s club. The corollary of increased confidence is being unafraid of embarrassment – I’ve had my fair share of Larry David moments this year.
The ubiquity on magazine covers of Oasis – why is anyone still interested?
The return of The Verve for similar reasons to the above. Was this really 2008 or did I step into a time machine? Ashcroft was also responsible for the biggest lyrical howler of the year: ‘And did those feet in modern times?/Walk on soles that were made in China’. Urrrrgh.
The ludicrous and offensive furore over Jay Z’s Glastonbury appearance – more minds need to open….
Spiritualized in lacklustre form, both on record and in live performance.
Stevie Wonder at the O2 – too slick, too cheesy.
The continuing prevalence of corporate sponsorship in live music, particularly as O2 now have a near monopoly on venue sponsorship, offering advance presales to their own customers.
The reluctance from the UK Government to do anything about ticket touts. This combined with the point made above made it increasingly difficult to obtain tickets for major event concerts. Leonard Cohen’s shows were supposedly sold out, but there were many good seats at the Albert Hall left empty. The number of my friends who ended up cheated by cowboy ticket agencies this year was striking – how are you to know who is legit and who isn’t?
‘Serious’ concert venues varying their policies depending on the artist performing. If it’s a seated venue, then people should stay seated. Clearly it’s not acceptable to leave to buy beer and return during a concert by Keith Jarrett or the London Sinfonietta – but apparently all concerts in the Meltdown Festival (also at the Southbank) rendered this infuriating habit acceptable, even during Terry Callier. If you want to get drunk and converse go to a pub – the artists performing deserve more time and respect.
Keith Jarrett’s pompous onstage hissyfits.
The Heathrow Terminal 5 shambles.
Spurs’ shambolic start to the season – although I suppose the Redknapp Revolution should be one of my ‘pros’. I’ll reserve judgement until we’re safe…
More generally, Premiership football has seemed mired in the absurd expectation that any team can and should win all the time, and the constant switching of managers has proved a tedious circus detracting from the game itself.
The non-sporting circus surrounding the Olympics.
This extraordinary comment made in November by Olympics Minister (!!) Tessa Jowell: "Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not.” Another example of the government’s extraordinary lack of awareness of the consequences of their economic policies.
A recognition of the significance of 1968 in its anniversary year, but a lack of any kind of comparable contemporary protest, despite the faltering western economies.
Sarah Palin – although perhaps in light of the election result she should be in the ‘Pros’ section for her comedy value. The idea of her as the controlling figure in a US administration was frankly terrifying.
The Russia-Georgia conflict and its macho posturing.
The big anticlimax of the Large Hadron Collider.
The UK government continuing to press ahead with ID cards, despite the need to make savings and the considerable evidence that the policy, far from making us more secure, is actually a disaster waiting to happen. The very suggestion of the super-database tracking every single move and transaction we make is so uproariously offensive and anti-democratic that it seems extraordinary that it has even been considered – where are the concerted objections from free citizens and our free press?
Why can we afford the above, in addition to the bail-out of various mismanaged financial institutions, but not universal education, healthcare and transport?
Gordon Brown’s uncanny ability to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes – even if he were the best man to get us out of the recession, this should not blind people to his primary role in getting us into it. In fact, he demonstrated a substantial talent for performing rescue acts on his own problems – see also the 10p tax madness. He talks about long-term decision making endlessly but has been unable to see beyond short term goals. Far from being intellectual or shrewd, he actually lacks judgement or common sense. Oh, but apparently by bailing out various banks he has ‘saved the world’, so we can all sleep easy in our beds. Mind you, the prospect of a Cameron government is hardly more appetising.
The financial crisis and the subsequent move to what Brian Eno aptly called the ‘socialism of cowardice’ – consisting of ‘privatising the profits and nationalising the risks’. How ironic that Labour now feels it is appropriate to initiate a great public works spending spree, having rejected this approach to public policy when it would have been more appropriate. More broadly, the ‘crisis’ should offer a great opportunity to rethink and reshape global capitalism – instead, it seems we will carry on much as before with minor adjustments, at considerable cost to the public purse.
The lack of original, creative thinking in energy policy: instead of worrying about the pros and cons of nuclear energy versus renewables, how about initiatives promoting energy conservation and self-sufficiency? Loft insulation, home solar panels etc – these are not ludicrous hippy ideas at all.
Terrorism and the unimaginative response to its threat. The horrific events in Mumbai.
The near-collapse of Zimbabwe and the failure of Western powers to do much to aid the situation.
The effect of the financial crisis on the arts, specifically the collapse of Tartan films and Pinnacle Music, two major distribution networks.
A deterioration in programming in London’s independent cinemas. There’s been little to attract me to the Phoenix in East Finchley, usually one of my favourite haunts, and the BFI Southbank has focussed disproportionately on heavyweight directors whose films are readily available on DVD anyway.
Despite some key works becoming available – why is the UK so slow to make the catalogues of major world directors available on DVD? Why, when you can obtain the films of Edward Yang, Theo Angelopoulos, Tsai Ming-Liang etc easily in the US, are so few of them available as Region 2 discs in the UK? I was expecting more of the films of these directors to appear in 2008.
The Evening Standard’s partisan and misleading handling of the London Mayoral Election campaign – journalism without accountability or responsibility.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith proving she obtains her knowledge on London from the tabloid press with her rather ill-judged comments about Hackney.
The extraordinary resurrection of Peter Mandelson.
The Damian Green affair and a strange confusion over what might constitute illegality in the world of Parliamentary privilege. Whatever you conclude, the use of the counter-terrorism unit was inappropriate and disproportionate and I fear how all this legislation may be used in the future, particularly as it was also used to freeze assets in Icelandic banks.
Natural disasters in China and Burma, continuing human-engineered catastrophe in the Congo.
I should credit Kat Kennedy for this judgement, but it’s worth underlining that she’s absolutely right. 2008 has seen the release of some of the worst singles of all time – that unbearable Kid Rock Werewolves of London/Sweet Home Alabama hybrid and the Cascada mauling of Because the Night being just two examples.
Strictly Come Dancing vs. The X Factor?? – Neither, thank you very much. Simon Cowell and Alexandra Burke imbuing ‘Hallelujah’ with so much bombast that any sense of human feeling is bulldozed. Call me a snob – but hearing this brilliant song bellowed by a drunken fat man outside the Jolly Anglers in Wood Green is a nightmare made real.
Heroes and Survivors – overrated, overhyped TV tedium.
Philip Roth’s ‘Indignation’ – a slight, rather dull and indulgent book – perhaps the least essential work in an otherwise compelling canon.
Bernie Eccleston’s proposed medals system for F1 – I’m sceptical of its benefits!
Columbia’s baffling price for the deluxe edition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Tell Tale Signs’. Have I ranted about this enough?
The campaign to save Titian’s Diana and Actaeon did much to raise awareness of the importance of arts issues, but why does it take so much to keep such valuable treasures available to the general public?
Gone but not forgotten, including a saddening swathe of deaths towards the end of the year: Jerry Wexler, Miriam Makeba, Isaac Hayes, Bo Diddley, Esbjorn Svensson, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Studs Terkel, David Foster Wallace, Odetta, Levi Stubbs, Paul Newman, Heath Ledger, legendary drummer Earl Palmer, Danny Federici, Anthony Minghella, Humphrey Lyttelton, Harold Pinter, Freddie Hubbard
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Last Words on 2007
Not only has The Wire magazine made the boldest choice of album of the year amongst the print media with Robert Wyatt's 'Comicopera', it also continues to publish rather neat personal summaries of the closing year from both writers and artists. I rather like this - so here's my subjective take on 2007, in a similar style albeit much less concise! All in no particular order, entirely personal and NOT WRITTEN IN A WORK CAPACITY.
Pros:
Love in various forms.
Turnpike Lane – especially the late-opening Melish Supermarket.
The Tiffin Tin in Hornsey - A fine Indian takeaway and occasional life-saver.
Facebook - It sounds completely pathetic, but joining it might well be the most significant thing I did all year. It has its drawbacks, and the privacy concerns are valid - but I'm rather convinced that the positives still outweigh the negatives.
Charity Shops - I've built a substantial library from them this year!
Secure, gainful employment - during daylight hours!!
Discovering that self-expression really isn't actually all that hard and having the audacity to ask of my friends only what they ask of me.
Rediscovering the hunger to write music and lyrics - and finding new approaches towards both.
The Space Race album 'You Are The Guest' - few have heard it, but it might just be the best recorded work I've been involved with so far.
Daniel Lambert and Fake Sheikh - now on hiatus, but some great songs, videos and gigs earlier in the year.
Performing at the Isle of Wight Jazz Festival, The Vortex and The Ram Jam Club, amongst other venues.
Finally finishing as a student and becoming a teacher at WAC Performing Arts and Media College - there's no doubt I'd stuck around too long and should have moved on, but it was gratifying to be recognised so warmly and genuinely at the end.
Seeing Win Butler letting a group of ticketless teenagers in through the stage door at the Arcade Fire’s show at Porchester Hall. The band’s encore – moving from the venue foyer back upstairs and into the centre of the crowd was something very special, and helps explain the unique appeal of this band.
Tim Whitehead's Jazz Summer School at Battisborough House on the coast of Devon: A wonderful, confidence-boosting week of music-making and merriment completely free from worldly concerns. It brought a few things into sharp relief - namely that, although I haven't achieved much commercial success through it so far, playing drums is what I do best and is worth persisting with until I die or become incapacitated. Secondly, although we've never played a proper public gig and have never really ‘rehearsed’, the Millar/Marle-Garcia/Paton set-up has a real chemistry.
The restraint, dignity and honesty of Alan Johnston’s speech to World Service staff on his release from captivity and the strangely moving experience of gathering outside Bush House to campaign for his release and then celebrate his return.
The World Service in its 75th Anniversary year.
Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony paired with Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto at the Proms. Wonderful!
Madrid - an invigorating quick stop in one of Europe's finest cities. The restaurant that claims to be the oldest in Europe produced some particularly fine cuisine.
Shanghai and Nanjing - Two amazing weeks observing Shanghai and its blisteringly intense pace of life. The distinctly odd experience of being a Westerner in the East, superb cuisine, basking in the company of good friends, tea-tasting, aimless walking proving the best way to discover a city’s secrets, the beautiful auburn coloured trees in the National Park in Nanjing (especially when viewed from the top floor of a pagoda), relative peace of mind and a whole raft of rare DVDs to boot!
Two wonderful weddings and the joy of observing the happiness and fulfilment of the first of my University friends to tie the knot.
Joe Lovano peforming Streams of Expression and much more at the Barbican.
The Loop Collective and their regular Monday gigs at The Oxford in Kentish Town - at last a jazz club with blood, enthusiasm, clever programming and a sensible promotional strategy.
Meeting Paul Clarvis, Seb Rochford, Ingrid Laubrock, Bill Frisell and Mike Gibbs.
The London Sinfonietta's 'Ligeti Remembered' concerts.
Mark-Antony Turnage's 'About Water' - not his best work, but his understanding of the interconnections between various forms of contemporary music remains refreshing. The performance also introduced me to Barb Jungr, a talented and charismatic performer, whose reinterpretations of Dylan are splendid.
Tom Millar's Swinging and Shiva Feshareki's Dancefloor Distortions - two 'student' compositions as vibrant, engaging and sophisticated as any other new music I heard in 2007. The two composers are younger than me in years but may have taught me more than anyone my senior during the course of the year.
Bob Dylan at Wembley Arena - so good I went back for the second night. Easily the best gigs I've seen him play and that cracked voice genuinely sounds fantastic when he bothers to enunciate. He is essentially a rapper now. Superb renditions of Spirit on the Water, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and John Brown stick in the mind particularly.
Adrian Roye, Beth Dariti and Astic Borders - Two outstanding songwriters and their consistently enjoyable collective. They deserve more attention.
The perceptive songwriting of Simon Lewis. Hopefully more prominent in 2008!
Three Trapped Tigers - The most adventurous new band in London (Supersilent meeting Battles with a twist of Keith Jarrett) and my big tip for 2008.
The winter blankets at that Young’s pub by Tate Modern.
Polar Bear at the Museum of Garden History - Just observing that alchemical connection between Rochford and Herbert was worth a thousand jam sessions or workshops.
Becoming a committed reader of yet more blogs - Audiversity, Raven Sings The Blues and Free Jazz in particular.
Rediscovering a love of language and literature: Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' (which I underestimated considerably at first and to which I had to return), Philip Roth's 'Exit Ghost' (a fine novel undersold by critics envious of Roth's undiminished prowess) and Colm Toibin's wonderful story collection 'Mothers and Sons'. Also plenty with which I was previously shamefully unfamiliar - Reinaldo Arenas, Jose Saramago, Joseph Conrad, F Scott Fitzgerald, Paul Bowles, Elizabeth Smart, Patrick White (why are almost all his works unavailable at the moment?), Thomas Bernhard....Rian Malan's 'My Traitor's Heart', a brave and excoriating examination of Apartheid-era South Africa.
The print journalism of Henry Porter and Jenni Russell
Discovering Prospect magazine - a better source of informed debate than many of the broadsheet newspapers.
Comment is Free on The Guardian website, where all manner of weirdos, geniuses and insane people appear to dwell.
The writing and email newsletters of Alex Stein.
The film criticism of Peter Bradshaw and Jonathan Romney, the music writing of John Mulvey (especially on the Wild Mercury Sound blog), Philip Sherburne, David Stubbs, Marcello Carlin and more.
John Kell’s new blog proving more edifying and cogently argued than almost anything in print.
Great covermount CDs with Jazzwise, The Wire, Mojo and even The Word.
Tim Berne at the Vortex, Tom Rainey's inspired drumming.
Catching Joe Zawinul’s last ever London performance at the Jazz Café and recognising both reverence and enthusiasm in Django Bates’ outstanding tribute at the Barbican to close the London Jazz Festival.
Some cinematic treats - All About Eve on the big screen (nobody writes scripts so consistently razor sharp anymore), Edward Yang’s colossal ‘A Brighter Summer Day’ at the same cinema.
Discovering the cinema of Terence Davies, Tsai Ming-Liang (especially the exquisite 'I Don't Want To Sleep Alone'), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Peter Watkins, Mikio Naruse and Jan Svankmajer.
Watching Shortbus and In The Mood For Love on DVD - respectively the best films about sex and love made during my lifetime?
Finally getting round to watching Spike Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’ and finding that his appalling later films do indeed do their best to hide his talent.
Watching Derek Jarman’s ‘Blue’ for the first time – perhaps the most unfailingly honest self-portrait conceivable – a blue screen for 80 minutes and the most extraordinary soundtrack I can remember hearing. It combines to produce a profound, devastating but ultimately positive experience.
Quality new films a little thin on the ground this year - Climates, Syndromes and a Century, Zodiac, The Lives of Others, Knocked Up, Hot Fuzz, The Simpsons Movie, Control, Beyond Hatred, Ghosts, The Bourne Ultimatum but still more to see mercifully (Assassination of Jesse James, Into the Wild, Yella, Jindabyne, Silent Light, Paranoid Park, Lust Caution, I'm Not There).
Cape Wrath, Skins and House on Channel 4, The Wire on FX, half of Dr. Who on BBC, The Mighty Boosh, Spooks even at its most absurd. I avoided Heroes completely.
Continuing to work through DVDs of Northern Exposure seasons 3 and 4 and Peep Show 1-3, rediscovering the sheer blinding genius of Seinfeld and I’m Alan Partridge.
Bill Fay appearing onstage with Wilco, reticent and masked by a gigantic beard, but definitely him! Can Jeff Tweedy coax him into recording new material now? The astounding guitar playing of Nels Cline and adventurous percussion of Glenn Kotche also impressed.
The Smoking Ban - I was ambivalent to start with, but I'm a fully fledged supporter now!
Alexis Taylor's press release for the Robert Wyatt album.
Aphex Twin as The Tuss – an accidental but criminal omission from my albums of the year.
Steely Dan at Hammersmith Apollo and Daniel Johnston at the Union Chapel – two very different concerts in the same week, both surprisingly moving.
Daft Punk in Hyde Park - perhaps the most profound and exciting communal dance music experience I can remember. That pyramid spacepod thing was just amazing.
Dirty Projectors in support of Beirut at Koko – possibly the best support set I’ve seen this decade.
LCD Soundsystem's 'All My Friends' perfectly encapsulating the sensation of still feeling young, accompanied by a stark awareness of growing older and its accompanying poignancy. I would play this song at the start of any wedding DJ set. Where are my friends tonight?
Sly Stone’s bizarre appearance in Boscombe (for the 15 minutes he was on stage).
Vincent Cable - Perhaps the only decent thing to have emerged from the Liberal Democrat implosion - a politician of skill, intelligence and integrity. What a shame he was only a temporary blip on an otherwise tediously predictable landscape.
The courage and conviction of the Burmese monks.
The Hype Machine, now cleverly redesigned - an easy route to new music online.
Radiohead subverting the music industry.
The rejuvenation, however temporary it proves to be, of Ronnie O' Sullivan's incomporable genius.
Bosh! club
Rufus Wainwright - he may be camp, but there's also something unrestrained and defiant about him that I really admire. Seeing him sing 'Get Happy' in drag at the Hammersmith Apollo was certainly an experience!
Beth Ditto – one cannot possibly object to her becoming a superstar this year.
Misty's Big Adventure and Chris T-T at Club Fandango - simply superb!
Tim Whitehead’s birthday concert at the Ram Jam club and seeing the great Ian Carr enjoying a glass of red wine.
Bruce Springteen and the E Street Band at the 02 Arena: No Surrender, Because The Night, Racing In The Streets, Jungleland – pretty close to a dream set list. Magic!
A belated discovery of technology - especially iTunes, Digital Photography and MOG.
Knitted scarves.
Older sounds: Brotherhood of Breath, Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L, Young Marble Giants, The Boo Radleys, Ace Records’ Girl pop compilations, The Shangri-Las, Best of Ethiopiques.
Cons:
Love in various forms.
Confusion and inertia in a number of areas and the frequent failure to convert opportunities into reality.
A feeling of ‘safety’ and a concurrent futile lust for danger.
Insomnia and persistent colds.
The transition to ‘real’ adulthood continuing to be marked by form-filling, multiple bank accounts and institutional inefficiencies. Tedium ad nauseum.
Floods, fires and pestilence – What exactly is all this portending?
Au Revoir Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Luciano Pavarotti, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Joe Zawinul, Ousmane Sembene, Edward Yang, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, Ahmet Ertegun, Karlheinz Stockhausen and many more - far too many legends to lose in one year.
The 'oh-so-conveniently' timed departure of Tony Blair and the spineless 'coronation' of Gordon Brown, a ‘leader’ who has transpired to be every bit as gormless and lacking in judgment as sensible people suspected.
The idea of Tony Blair as a Special Envoy to the Middle East was so laughable it was inevitable that it turned out to be true.
The unsurprising revelation that our personal data is rarely safer in government hands than in the hands of corporations. At least it *might* wake people up to the huge technical and administrative flaws in the terrible ID cards scheme.
The unfolding disaster in Iraq whilst little is done to alleviate the problems in Darfur or Zimbabwe.
The Northern Rock crisis revealing the terrible vulnerability of our seemingly unbreakable ties to the US and its economy. William Hague still seems to be more worried about Europe!
The continuation of New Labour's authoritarian programme and the curse of mutual exclusivity in politics and society: Should we have civil liberties or national security? Individual freedom or a managed economy? I remain astounded at the need for 'debate' here. We can, and should have both! We need a political party bold enough to argue that economic factors can be a big restriction on individual freedom and that the true centre ground in Britain is not the current form of cowardly Thatcherism masked by misleading 'progressive' language. Surely that should be the Liberal Democrats? Oh dear, look what they've done....
Polly Toynbee and her steadfast refusal to criticise Labour on anything.
'Short-termism' - surely one area where we all need some form of government intervention is in planning for our futures. Individuals can all play a part, but a wholesale cultural and social change requires some courage, impetus and direction! International farces like the recent Bali talks on climate change (where an agreement was made to reach an agreement) merely expose world leaders as spineless and incompetent.
The McCann saga and Diana inquest - two lows for the British media this year. The Diana affair has been surrounded by obsessive and tasteless morbidity ('her last smile', 'her dying moments' etc), with no element of her sorry life left private. Reporting on the McCann affair made too many casual assumptions before any due legal process had been instigated. I sympathise greatly with any parents in those circumstances, but making them celebrities did not help anyone, least of all Madeleine.
Bono - Can he please live up to his own ideals before imposing them on everybody else?
Free London newspapers. Can't you see I'm carrying a book?
Andy Murray having to pull out of Wimbledon.
The crisis gripping the media over ‘deception’.
The continuing lack of any truly decent new British literature.
Crowded House in Hyde Park - they brought entirely the wrong kind of weather with them, a freak downpour so heavy it rained through my umbrella. At least Peter Gabriel was good.
Prince at the 02 - Perhaps the most over-hyped and disappointing live music experience of the year, delivering entertainment but little more.
The 02 Arena in general - quite possibly the ghastliest environment in which to see live music.
Sly Stone’s bizarre appearance in Boscome (for the hours and hours of waiting and the 50 minutes of chronic unprofessionalism when his band was onstage but he wasn't).
Band Reunions - Too many, please stop now.
Overpriced concert tickets - £86 to see Neil Young? You must be joking! I accept that market forces dictate prices to a certain extent, but can promoters not see that live music in this country is fast becoming elitist - entirely unafforable for most people on average incomes?
Ticket touts - for inflating ticket prices and preventing ordinary fans from seeing their musical heroes. The failure of the government to tackle the ticketing black market is shameful.
Overpriced sporting event tickets - see above.
The F1 spying saga. I enjoy the politics and soap opera to some extent, but this was a step too far and Fernando Alonso's behaviour seemed particularly questionable. There is a worrying sense that FIA judgements are increasingly arbitrary and inconsistent.
The continuing torment that accompanies being a Spurs supporter.
The lack of political respect for the Arts in Britain - the impossibility of getting funding unless you play some kind of industry game, the lack of interest in contemporary composition outside the music colleges, the continuing patronising attitude towards jazz and popular art forms. Cinema distribution also continues to decline markedly - the recent takeover of Artificial Eye (with some concurrent barmy acquisitions that seem far removed from AE’s established aesthetic) and financial peril of Tartan Films do not hint at a rosy 2008. Funding for serious filmmakers is even worse – Terence Davies is celebrated with a retrospective reminding people of his sublime genius, yet is no longer able to make a film in this country. The Film Council prefers to fund nonsense like the St Trinians remake, which is hugely depressing.
The 'work' ethos – please work to live, not live to work. It's no wonder that the Arts suffer when most people seem to have no interest or energy for going out during the working week!
A whole string of unimaginative and interminably average indie-rock being shamefully presented as something new - Babyshambles, Pigeon Detectives, The Cribs, The Twang, The Kooks etc... (even the names are terrible).
Other overrated charlatans - Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and much of this tedious freak-folk brigade, Portico Quartet.
The lack of any informed young music writers in print - particularly at the NME - which continues to display breathtaking ignorance of musical history. An easy target for sure, but one that's still worth highlighting – Morrissey seemed to think so anyway.
Talking during gigs - To the two people who audaciously asked me to save their unreserved seats for them at Cat Power's Forum show while they went to the bar - if you're going to ask a stranger a favour, do him the courtesy of not talking through the entire performance! Why pay £20 for the privilege? Go to a pub! Also, to the two women sitting behind us at Bruce Springsteen – whilst I’m sure one telling the other that she should ‘respect her body more’ was excellent advice, there’s a time and a place, and it’s not during a lovely and very quiet rendition of ‘Magic’.
Egotism and indecision amongst musicians - just get on with the business of making original music!
David Lynch's 'Inland Empire' - The more I think about it, the more it seems like an entirely unnecessary companion piece to 'Mulholland Drive' with too many convolutions and indulgences. Why try and complement a masterpiece?
Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science of Sleep’ – whimsical, superficial and silly and the most disappointing film of the year.
Inadequate public services, especially in London. The only posited solutions appear to be more investment or the extension of the unhelpful ‘market’ in service provision. Neither seems particularly imaginative to me in 2007. What would help would be if British government actually expressed some enthusiasm for the service ethos and emphasised its value, instead of consistently undermining the services, then dismantling them because they are failing.
The continuing misuse of words such as ‘modernity’ and ‘reform’ in political discourse.
The classically trained violinist who opened for Jools Holland at the Albert Hall: ‘Entertaining’ an audience with frankly vulgar displays of meaningless virtuosity in a crass attempt to ‘popularise’ what doesn’t need popularising – possibly the worst piece of live music I’ve ever sat through!
A lack of planning for New Year’s Eve yet again.
Pros:
Love in various forms.
Turnpike Lane – especially the late-opening Melish Supermarket.
The Tiffin Tin in Hornsey - A fine Indian takeaway and occasional life-saver.
Facebook - It sounds completely pathetic, but joining it might well be the most significant thing I did all year. It has its drawbacks, and the privacy concerns are valid - but I'm rather convinced that the positives still outweigh the negatives.
Charity Shops - I've built a substantial library from them this year!
Secure, gainful employment - during daylight hours!!
Discovering that self-expression really isn't actually all that hard and having the audacity to ask of my friends only what they ask of me.
Rediscovering the hunger to write music and lyrics - and finding new approaches towards both.
The Space Race album 'You Are The Guest' - few have heard it, but it might just be the best recorded work I've been involved with so far.
Daniel Lambert and Fake Sheikh - now on hiatus, but some great songs, videos and gigs earlier in the year.
Performing at the Isle of Wight Jazz Festival, The Vortex and The Ram Jam Club, amongst other venues.
Finally finishing as a student and becoming a teacher at WAC Performing Arts and Media College - there's no doubt I'd stuck around too long and should have moved on, but it was gratifying to be recognised so warmly and genuinely at the end.
Seeing Win Butler letting a group of ticketless teenagers in through the stage door at the Arcade Fire’s show at Porchester Hall. The band’s encore – moving from the venue foyer back upstairs and into the centre of the crowd was something very special, and helps explain the unique appeal of this band.
Tim Whitehead's Jazz Summer School at Battisborough House on the coast of Devon: A wonderful, confidence-boosting week of music-making and merriment completely free from worldly concerns. It brought a few things into sharp relief - namely that, although I haven't achieved much commercial success through it so far, playing drums is what I do best and is worth persisting with until I die or become incapacitated. Secondly, although we've never played a proper public gig and have never really ‘rehearsed’, the Millar/Marle-Garcia/Paton set-up has a real chemistry.
The restraint, dignity and honesty of Alan Johnston’s speech to World Service staff on his release from captivity and the strangely moving experience of gathering outside Bush House to campaign for his release and then celebrate his return.
The World Service in its 75th Anniversary year.
Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony paired with Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto at the Proms. Wonderful!
Madrid - an invigorating quick stop in one of Europe's finest cities. The restaurant that claims to be the oldest in Europe produced some particularly fine cuisine.
Shanghai and Nanjing - Two amazing weeks observing Shanghai and its blisteringly intense pace of life. The distinctly odd experience of being a Westerner in the East, superb cuisine, basking in the company of good friends, tea-tasting, aimless walking proving the best way to discover a city’s secrets, the beautiful auburn coloured trees in the National Park in Nanjing (especially when viewed from the top floor of a pagoda), relative peace of mind and a whole raft of rare DVDs to boot!
Two wonderful weddings and the joy of observing the happiness and fulfilment of the first of my University friends to tie the knot.
Joe Lovano peforming Streams of Expression and much more at the Barbican.
The Loop Collective and their regular Monday gigs at The Oxford in Kentish Town - at last a jazz club with blood, enthusiasm, clever programming and a sensible promotional strategy.
Meeting Paul Clarvis, Seb Rochford, Ingrid Laubrock, Bill Frisell and Mike Gibbs.
The London Sinfonietta's 'Ligeti Remembered' concerts.
Mark-Antony Turnage's 'About Water' - not his best work, but his understanding of the interconnections between various forms of contemporary music remains refreshing. The performance also introduced me to Barb Jungr, a talented and charismatic performer, whose reinterpretations of Dylan are splendid.
Tom Millar's Swinging and Shiva Feshareki's Dancefloor Distortions - two 'student' compositions as vibrant, engaging and sophisticated as any other new music I heard in 2007. The two composers are younger than me in years but may have taught me more than anyone my senior during the course of the year.
Bob Dylan at Wembley Arena - so good I went back for the second night. Easily the best gigs I've seen him play and that cracked voice genuinely sounds fantastic when he bothers to enunciate. He is essentially a rapper now. Superb renditions of Spirit on the Water, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and John Brown stick in the mind particularly.
Adrian Roye, Beth Dariti and Astic Borders - Two outstanding songwriters and their consistently enjoyable collective. They deserve more attention.
The perceptive songwriting of Simon Lewis. Hopefully more prominent in 2008!
Three Trapped Tigers - The most adventurous new band in London (Supersilent meeting Battles with a twist of Keith Jarrett) and my big tip for 2008.
The winter blankets at that Young’s pub by Tate Modern.
Polar Bear at the Museum of Garden History - Just observing that alchemical connection between Rochford and Herbert was worth a thousand jam sessions or workshops.
Becoming a committed reader of yet more blogs - Audiversity, Raven Sings The Blues and Free Jazz in particular.
Rediscovering a love of language and literature: Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' (which I underestimated considerably at first and to which I had to return), Philip Roth's 'Exit Ghost' (a fine novel undersold by critics envious of Roth's undiminished prowess) and Colm Toibin's wonderful story collection 'Mothers and Sons'. Also plenty with which I was previously shamefully unfamiliar - Reinaldo Arenas, Jose Saramago, Joseph Conrad, F Scott Fitzgerald, Paul Bowles, Elizabeth Smart, Patrick White (why are almost all his works unavailable at the moment?), Thomas Bernhard....Rian Malan's 'My Traitor's Heart', a brave and excoriating examination of Apartheid-era South Africa.
The print journalism of Henry Porter and Jenni Russell
Discovering Prospect magazine - a better source of informed debate than many of the broadsheet newspapers.
Comment is Free on The Guardian website, where all manner of weirdos, geniuses and insane people appear to dwell.
The writing and email newsletters of Alex Stein.
The film criticism of Peter Bradshaw and Jonathan Romney, the music writing of John Mulvey (especially on the Wild Mercury Sound blog), Philip Sherburne, David Stubbs, Marcello Carlin and more.
John Kell’s new blog proving more edifying and cogently argued than almost anything in print.
Great covermount CDs with Jazzwise, The Wire, Mojo and even The Word.
Tim Berne at the Vortex, Tom Rainey's inspired drumming.
Catching Joe Zawinul’s last ever London performance at the Jazz Café and recognising both reverence and enthusiasm in Django Bates’ outstanding tribute at the Barbican to close the London Jazz Festival.
Some cinematic treats - All About Eve on the big screen (nobody writes scripts so consistently razor sharp anymore), Edward Yang’s colossal ‘A Brighter Summer Day’ at the same cinema.
Discovering the cinema of Terence Davies, Tsai Ming-Liang (especially the exquisite 'I Don't Want To Sleep Alone'), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Peter Watkins, Mikio Naruse and Jan Svankmajer.
Watching Shortbus and In The Mood For Love on DVD - respectively the best films about sex and love made during my lifetime?
Finally getting round to watching Spike Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’ and finding that his appalling later films do indeed do their best to hide his talent.
Watching Derek Jarman’s ‘Blue’ for the first time – perhaps the most unfailingly honest self-portrait conceivable – a blue screen for 80 minutes and the most extraordinary soundtrack I can remember hearing. It combines to produce a profound, devastating but ultimately positive experience.
Quality new films a little thin on the ground this year - Climates, Syndromes and a Century, Zodiac, The Lives of Others, Knocked Up, Hot Fuzz, The Simpsons Movie, Control, Beyond Hatred, Ghosts, The Bourne Ultimatum but still more to see mercifully (Assassination of Jesse James, Into the Wild, Yella, Jindabyne, Silent Light, Paranoid Park, Lust Caution, I'm Not There).
Cape Wrath, Skins and House on Channel 4, The Wire on FX, half of Dr. Who on BBC, The Mighty Boosh, Spooks even at its most absurd. I avoided Heroes completely.
Continuing to work through DVDs of Northern Exposure seasons 3 and 4 and Peep Show 1-3, rediscovering the sheer blinding genius of Seinfeld and I’m Alan Partridge.
Bill Fay appearing onstage with Wilco, reticent and masked by a gigantic beard, but definitely him! Can Jeff Tweedy coax him into recording new material now? The astounding guitar playing of Nels Cline and adventurous percussion of Glenn Kotche also impressed.
The Smoking Ban - I was ambivalent to start with, but I'm a fully fledged supporter now!
Alexis Taylor's press release for the Robert Wyatt album.
Aphex Twin as The Tuss – an accidental but criminal omission from my albums of the year.
Steely Dan at Hammersmith Apollo and Daniel Johnston at the Union Chapel – two very different concerts in the same week, both surprisingly moving.
Daft Punk in Hyde Park - perhaps the most profound and exciting communal dance music experience I can remember. That pyramid spacepod thing was just amazing.
Dirty Projectors in support of Beirut at Koko – possibly the best support set I’ve seen this decade.
LCD Soundsystem's 'All My Friends' perfectly encapsulating the sensation of still feeling young, accompanied by a stark awareness of growing older and its accompanying poignancy. I would play this song at the start of any wedding DJ set. Where are my friends tonight?
Sly Stone’s bizarre appearance in Boscombe (for the 15 minutes he was on stage).
Vincent Cable - Perhaps the only decent thing to have emerged from the Liberal Democrat implosion - a politician of skill, intelligence and integrity. What a shame he was only a temporary blip on an otherwise tediously predictable landscape.
The courage and conviction of the Burmese monks.
The Hype Machine, now cleverly redesigned - an easy route to new music online.
Radiohead subverting the music industry.
The rejuvenation, however temporary it proves to be, of Ronnie O' Sullivan's incomporable genius.
Bosh! club
Rufus Wainwright - he may be camp, but there's also something unrestrained and defiant about him that I really admire. Seeing him sing 'Get Happy' in drag at the Hammersmith Apollo was certainly an experience!
Beth Ditto – one cannot possibly object to her becoming a superstar this year.
Misty's Big Adventure and Chris T-T at Club Fandango - simply superb!
Tim Whitehead’s birthday concert at the Ram Jam club and seeing the great Ian Carr enjoying a glass of red wine.
Bruce Springteen and the E Street Band at the 02 Arena: No Surrender, Because The Night, Racing In The Streets, Jungleland – pretty close to a dream set list. Magic!
A belated discovery of technology - especially iTunes, Digital Photography and MOG.
Knitted scarves.
Older sounds: Brotherhood of Breath, Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L, Young Marble Giants, The Boo Radleys, Ace Records’ Girl pop compilations, The Shangri-Las, Best of Ethiopiques.
Cons:
Love in various forms.
Confusion and inertia in a number of areas and the frequent failure to convert opportunities into reality.
A feeling of ‘safety’ and a concurrent futile lust for danger.
Insomnia and persistent colds.
The transition to ‘real’ adulthood continuing to be marked by form-filling, multiple bank accounts and institutional inefficiencies. Tedium ad nauseum.
Floods, fires and pestilence – What exactly is all this portending?
Au Revoir Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Luciano Pavarotti, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Joe Zawinul, Ousmane Sembene, Edward Yang, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, Ahmet Ertegun, Karlheinz Stockhausen and many more - far too many legends to lose in one year.
The 'oh-so-conveniently' timed departure of Tony Blair and the spineless 'coronation' of Gordon Brown, a ‘leader’ who has transpired to be every bit as gormless and lacking in judgment as sensible people suspected.
The idea of Tony Blair as a Special Envoy to the Middle East was so laughable it was inevitable that it turned out to be true.
The unsurprising revelation that our personal data is rarely safer in government hands than in the hands of corporations. At least it *might* wake people up to the huge technical and administrative flaws in the terrible ID cards scheme.
The unfolding disaster in Iraq whilst little is done to alleviate the problems in Darfur or Zimbabwe.
The Northern Rock crisis revealing the terrible vulnerability of our seemingly unbreakable ties to the US and its economy. William Hague still seems to be more worried about Europe!
The continuation of New Labour's authoritarian programme and the curse of mutual exclusivity in politics and society: Should we have civil liberties or national security? Individual freedom or a managed economy? I remain astounded at the need for 'debate' here. We can, and should have both! We need a political party bold enough to argue that economic factors can be a big restriction on individual freedom and that the true centre ground in Britain is not the current form of cowardly Thatcherism masked by misleading 'progressive' language. Surely that should be the Liberal Democrats? Oh dear, look what they've done....
Polly Toynbee and her steadfast refusal to criticise Labour on anything.
'Short-termism' - surely one area where we all need some form of government intervention is in planning for our futures. Individuals can all play a part, but a wholesale cultural and social change requires some courage, impetus and direction! International farces like the recent Bali talks on climate change (where an agreement was made to reach an agreement) merely expose world leaders as spineless and incompetent.
The McCann saga and Diana inquest - two lows for the British media this year. The Diana affair has been surrounded by obsessive and tasteless morbidity ('her last smile', 'her dying moments' etc), with no element of her sorry life left private. Reporting on the McCann affair made too many casual assumptions before any due legal process had been instigated. I sympathise greatly with any parents in those circumstances, but making them celebrities did not help anyone, least of all Madeleine.
Bono - Can he please live up to his own ideals before imposing them on everybody else?
Free London newspapers. Can't you see I'm carrying a book?
Andy Murray having to pull out of Wimbledon.
The crisis gripping the media over ‘deception’.
The continuing lack of any truly decent new British literature.
Crowded House in Hyde Park - they brought entirely the wrong kind of weather with them, a freak downpour so heavy it rained through my umbrella. At least Peter Gabriel was good.
Prince at the 02 - Perhaps the most over-hyped and disappointing live music experience of the year, delivering entertainment but little more.
The 02 Arena in general - quite possibly the ghastliest environment in which to see live music.
Sly Stone’s bizarre appearance in Boscome (for the hours and hours of waiting and the 50 minutes of chronic unprofessionalism when his band was onstage but he wasn't).
Band Reunions - Too many, please stop now.
Overpriced concert tickets - £86 to see Neil Young? You must be joking! I accept that market forces dictate prices to a certain extent, but can promoters not see that live music in this country is fast becoming elitist - entirely unafforable for most people on average incomes?
Ticket touts - for inflating ticket prices and preventing ordinary fans from seeing their musical heroes. The failure of the government to tackle the ticketing black market is shameful.
Overpriced sporting event tickets - see above.
The F1 spying saga. I enjoy the politics and soap opera to some extent, but this was a step too far and Fernando Alonso's behaviour seemed particularly questionable. There is a worrying sense that FIA judgements are increasingly arbitrary and inconsistent.
The continuing torment that accompanies being a Spurs supporter.
The lack of political respect for the Arts in Britain - the impossibility of getting funding unless you play some kind of industry game, the lack of interest in contemporary composition outside the music colleges, the continuing patronising attitude towards jazz and popular art forms. Cinema distribution also continues to decline markedly - the recent takeover of Artificial Eye (with some concurrent barmy acquisitions that seem far removed from AE’s established aesthetic) and financial peril of Tartan Films do not hint at a rosy 2008. Funding for serious filmmakers is even worse – Terence Davies is celebrated with a retrospective reminding people of his sublime genius, yet is no longer able to make a film in this country. The Film Council prefers to fund nonsense like the St Trinians remake, which is hugely depressing.
The 'work' ethos – please work to live, not live to work. It's no wonder that the Arts suffer when most people seem to have no interest or energy for going out during the working week!
A whole string of unimaginative and interminably average indie-rock being shamefully presented as something new - Babyshambles, Pigeon Detectives, The Cribs, The Twang, The Kooks etc... (even the names are terrible).
Other overrated charlatans - Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and much of this tedious freak-folk brigade, Portico Quartet.
The lack of any informed young music writers in print - particularly at the NME - which continues to display breathtaking ignorance of musical history. An easy target for sure, but one that's still worth highlighting – Morrissey seemed to think so anyway.
Talking during gigs - To the two people who audaciously asked me to save their unreserved seats for them at Cat Power's Forum show while they went to the bar - if you're going to ask a stranger a favour, do him the courtesy of not talking through the entire performance! Why pay £20 for the privilege? Go to a pub! Also, to the two women sitting behind us at Bruce Springsteen – whilst I’m sure one telling the other that she should ‘respect her body more’ was excellent advice, there’s a time and a place, and it’s not during a lovely and very quiet rendition of ‘Magic’.
Egotism and indecision amongst musicians - just get on with the business of making original music!
David Lynch's 'Inland Empire' - The more I think about it, the more it seems like an entirely unnecessary companion piece to 'Mulholland Drive' with too many convolutions and indulgences. Why try and complement a masterpiece?
Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science of Sleep’ – whimsical, superficial and silly and the most disappointing film of the year.
Inadequate public services, especially in London. The only posited solutions appear to be more investment or the extension of the unhelpful ‘market’ in service provision. Neither seems particularly imaginative to me in 2007. What would help would be if British government actually expressed some enthusiasm for the service ethos and emphasised its value, instead of consistently undermining the services, then dismantling them because they are failing.
The continuing misuse of words such as ‘modernity’ and ‘reform’ in political discourse.
The classically trained violinist who opened for Jools Holland at the Albert Hall: ‘Entertaining’ an audience with frankly vulgar displays of meaningless virtuosity in a crass attempt to ‘popularise’ what doesn’t need popularising – possibly the worst piece of live music I’ve ever sat through!
A lack of planning for New Year’s Eve yet again.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Back in the glorious winter of 1997, I remember staying up to the small hours with a good friend and musical collaborator composing a song we then considered to be a mini-masterpiece. In the cocksure spirit of late adolescence, we named it 'The Sound and The Fury', after William Faulkner's great novel, one of the classics of twentieth century American fiction. I remember being dismayed when, on performing it (albeit with the slight reticence that comes with such intimate airings of new songs) to friends and relatives, many seemed perplexed. They thought that it had 'too many sections'. Actually, it only had a verse, a chorus, an instrumental bridge back to a second verse and chorus and an extended coda with silly guitar solo at the end. It was hardly Bohemian Rhapsody. Actually, I still maintain that the melody was really quite accessible. The song was probably much more conventional than I wanted it to be. It certainly had nothing on the songs on 'Blueberry Boat', the gargantuan second album from The Fiery Furnaces. If ordinary folk were baffled by our magnum opus - well, lord only knows what they will make of this.
The first album from this maverick duo was quirky - with its rudimentary percussion, peculiar fairytale lyrics and tremendous sense of fun. 'Blueberry Boat' is something else entirely. First of all, at 76 minutes, it's extremely long. Most acts would not be able to come up with this much material for a greatest hits collection. It is an audacious, confusing, rapid fire outpouring of ideas. Many of the songs seem to be composed of several sections or more. Often the songs switch style or mood without warning, as if multiple sections from different songs have been edited together to create freakish musical collages. Sometimes this cut-and-paste approach reaps tremendous rewards. Live favourite 'My Dog Was Lost But Now He's Found' is brilliant - a tremendously silly song, a wild story of searching for a lost pet with the wonderful final lines: 'I went to church on Wednesday night/The guest preacher said I bark but I don't bite/I saw my dog but he'd seen the light/My dog was lost but now he's found.' The song retains the same infectious melody throughout, a disarmingly basic vocal line that sounds almost like a nursery rhyme. Musically, it veers all over the place, with Brill building piano giving way to phased guitar and ragged drums.
More typical is the opening 'Quay Cur', which expands from Eleanor Friedberger sings of losing a locket into a vivid adventure, even incorporating a section which appears to be sung in Inuit. It's very difficult to grasp hold of, given that it extends over ten minutes, from slow, languid beginnings into insane strummings. There are so many ideas in this song alone that it's hard to know whether to give them credit for their masterful imaginative powers or to chastise them for not being more restrained and considered. This everything including the kitchen sink approach characterises the entire album. The contrast between the childlike simplicity of their melodies and the madcap ambition of their arrangements gives a peculiarly paradoxical focus. Lengthy excursions such as 'Chris Michaels' are not without appeal, but are also rabidly unpredictable. I've only listened to this album a few times at the time of writing this, but I'm far from certain that it will ever make any kind of logical sense. If you suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, this album is ideal for you. If not, you will certainly have to persevere. It has a perverse kind of coherence in that all of it exhibits a tendency towards the insane. I have also read about the whole project being based on the idea of the blueberry boat as symbolic of American cultural imperealism. It's an appealing notion, but almost certainly over-analytical. It certainly risks sidelining the band's wacky breed of humour, which remains a significant feature here despite the loftier ambitions/pretensions of guitarist and songwriter Matthew Friedberger.
The naive innocence of Eleanor Friedberger's voice is their one major asset. It is childlike and pure, a bit like Emma Pollock from The Delgados but with an almost Dylanesque emphasis on phrasing. Given that she is also delivering hypnotic, otherworldly story-poetry, it's easy to become immersed in their singular fantasy world. Maybe there's something narrow, restrictive and retrogressive about the atmosphere they create. I've often argued that a lot of the least interesting 'indie' music seems to be characterised by a strange desire to return to the womb, and this album seems just as guilty of retreating to an infantile world as anyone else. Yet, that world is so unusual - both with the twists and turns of the music, and in the narrative compulsion that drives their lyrics, that it is difficult to resist. There's certainly not much chance of them being lazily compared with The White Stripes anymore.
A while ago I wrote somewhat cynically about the myth surrounding acoustic minstrel Devendra Banhart. A similar legend surrounds Micah P. Hinson, who was supposedly rejected by his Texan family and left homeless and peniless at the age of nineteen. Whilst Banhart has crafted an initially entrancing, but somewhat one-dimensional folk sound, Hinson has produced a debut of real quality and grandeur. Whilst his voice sounds close to that of Bill Callahan, his music moves with a cinematic sweep. Sometimes it sounds anguished, as on the unrestrained howl of 'Patience'. At its most controlled, it is both commanding and touching.
Hinson is backed on this album by The Earlies, who, possibly unwittingly, now seem to have helped Hinson surpass their own collection as best debut album of the year. They bolster the songs with thick arrangements that build from delicate subtle beginnings into beguiling, grand epics that also manage to retain a sense of vulnerability. It's unusual to find a debut album with a sound this ambitious. Typical of the approach is the closing epic 'The Day Texas Sank to the Bottom of the Sea' which, even in its quasi-orchestral glory, somehow manages to sound natural and unforced. It's one of those cyclical, repeating song, where the sound just gets bigger and more affecting each time the cycle is repeating. This album seems to be a most effective meeting of minds - Hinson brings the torch and twang, whilst the Earlies bring their forward-thinking, all-encompassing arrangements. The opening 'Close Your Eyes' grows from a languid, unhurried opening into an accelerated, dynamic military rhythm. 'The Nothing' begins with delicate and beautiful piano chords, before Hinson's vocal enters and carries it into grander territory. The emotional impact of this music is frequently striking - it captures feelings without becoming sentimental or turgid. Typical of the approach is 'Don't You' which appears in two parts and builds from a deceptively skeletal opening into a huge, powerful epic. It's hard to think of the earnest, worthy emoting of, say, Keane, ever resulting in music with this sweeping grace - yet they will no doubt remain the more successful. It's appropriate that Hinson has dubbed this 'gospel' - as there is a notable uplifting quality to even the most anguished tracks, a quality which Hinson shares with the striking desolation of Mercury Rev or Spiritualized at their broken hearted peak.
The songs themselves are romantic, occasionally frustrated, always full of palpable human emotion, and articulated in unpretentious language that occasionally hits on a disabling, stop-in-your-tracks image. In 'The Day Texas Sank..'. Hinson sings about waiting 'at the top of the trees, trying to hang myself with thoughts of you'. The approach also sometimes falters, as there are times when Hinson sounds a little too morose. Hinson is perhaps not the most poetic of singer-songwriters, but he seems more interested in texture, atmosphere and sound. He has crafted an engaging, assertive and compelling debut.
I bought 'Love Songs For Patriots', the first album from American Music Club in over ten years on the strength of an impassioned, if a little patronising, review in Uncut Magazine. Until fairly recently, I had always found the music of AMC and Mark Eitzel impenetrable and difficult. If melodies were there, they often seemed to be buried in the ether, or oversung in cloying, miserabilist mantras. I've decided to try again though - partially because it's interesting to see what new elements are brought to the table when a band reconvenes after such a long period away from duty, but also because so many people seem to think that they were/are a band worth investing considerable energy in. I must concede that this new album does go some way in convincing me of their merit.
Immediately, the sound and production seem to be much more considered than their late eighties/early nineties work. This dynamic, coiling, twisting sound more than matches the intensity and energy of Mark Eitzel's singing. The opening track 'Ladies and Gentlemen' seems like a radical statement of intent. It bristles with passion and fury, with a driving fuzz bass line at its core pitted against jazzy rhythms and asymmetric piano chords. It sounds like the band is imploding, albeit in a remarkable way. Further evidence of this comes with the barely controlled snarl of 'Patriot's Heart', possibly inspired by the trauma and misdirected energies of post-9/11 America. It works by cumulative effect, with its rolling, repetetive cycles becoming increasingly devastating. In between the two is a much more conventional piece, the delicately rustling 'Another Morning', effectively underpinned by sustained synth effects. In fact, it's worth pointing out that the addition of new recruit Marc Capelle on a vast array of keyboard instruments has considerably bolstered the band's sound.
Despite the ambitious arrangements and atmospherics, Eitzel's voice remains the main focus, and it's worth noting the variety of his tone and sound. Whilst some rock singers, say, Thom Yorke, have carved a niche for themselves with singularly distinctive voices, it's sometimes hard to believe that it's Eitzel singing on every track here. Sometimes he is furious and relentless, as on the aforementioned 'Patriot's Heart', at others he is wistful and whispery. More often than not here, he manages to remould his vocal to suit the mood of the song, which is a particularly impressive quality. His skill with a twisted lyric has remained intact, despite the rather unfocused nature of his solo career thus far. Perhaps reuniting with his old band has reinvigorated him. When the results are as stunning as closing track 'The Devil Needs You' with its mysterious and elusive instrumental coda, it's a timely reminder that not all reunions have to be a matter of simply going through the motions.
The first album from this maverick duo was quirky - with its rudimentary percussion, peculiar fairytale lyrics and tremendous sense of fun. 'Blueberry Boat' is something else entirely. First of all, at 76 minutes, it's extremely long. Most acts would not be able to come up with this much material for a greatest hits collection. It is an audacious, confusing, rapid fire outpouring of ideas. Many of the songs seem to be composed of several sections or more. Often the songs switch style or mood without warning, as if multiple sections from different songs have been edited together to create freakish musical collages. Sometimes this cut-and-paste approach reaps tremendous rewards. Live favourite 'My Dog Was Lost But Now He's Found' is brilliant - a tremendously silly song, a wild story of searching for a lost pet with the wonderful final lines: 'I went to church on Wednesday night/The guest preacher said I bark but I don't bite/I saw my dog but he'd seen the light/My dog was lost but now he's found.' The song retains the same infectious melody throughout, a disarmingly basic vocal line that sounds almost like a nursery rhyme. Musically, it veers all over the place, with Brill building piano giving way to phased guitar and ragged drums.
More typical is the opening 'Quay Cur', which expands from Eleanor Friedberger sings of losing a locket into a vivid adventure, even incorporating a section which appears to be sung in Inuit. It's very difficult to grasp hold of, given that it extends over ten minutes, from slow, languid beginnings into insane strummings. There are so many ideas in this song alone that it's hard to know whether to give them credit for their masterful imaginative powers or to chastise them for not being more restrained and considered. This everything including the kitchen sink approach characterises the entire album. The contrast between the childlike simplicity of their melodies and the madcap ambition of their arrangements gives a peculiarly paradoxical focus. Lengthy excursions such as 'Chris Michaels' are not without appeal, but are also rabidly unpredictable. I've only listened to this album a few times at the time of writing this, but I'm far from certain that it will ever make any kind of logical sense. If you suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, this album is ideal for you. If not, you will certainly have to persevere. It has a perverse kind of coherence in that all of it exhibits a tendency towards the insane. I have also read about the whole project being based on the idea of the blueberry boat as symbolic of American cultural imperealism. It's an appealing notion, but almost certainly over-analytical. It certainly risks sidelining the band's wacky breed of humour, which remains a significant feature here despite the loftier ambitions/pretensions of guitarist and songwriter Matthew Friedberger.
The naive innocence of Eleanor Friedberger's voice is their one major asset. It is childlike and pure, a bit like Emma Pollock from The Delgados but with an almost Dylanesque emphasis on phrasing. Given that she is also delivering hypnotic, otherworldly story-poetry, it's easy to become immersed in their singular fantasy world. Maybe there's something narrow, restrictive and retrogressive about the atmosphere they create. I've often argued that a lot of the least interesting 'indie' music seems to be characterised by a strange desire to return to the womb, and this album seems just as guilty of retreating to an infantile world as anyone else. Yet, that world is so unusual - both with the twists and turns of the music, and in the narrative compulsion that drives their lyrics, that it is difficult to resist. There's certainly not much chance of them being lazily compared with The White Stripes anymore.
A while ago I wrote somewhat cynically about the myth surrounding acoustic minstrel Devendra Banhart. A similar legend surrounds Micah P. Hinson, who was supposedly rejected by his Texan family and left homeless and peniless at the age of nineteen. Whilst Banhart has crafted an initially entrancing, but somewhat one-dimensional folk sound, Hinson has produced a debut of real quality and grandeur. Whilst his voice sounds close to that of Bill Callahan, his music moves with a cinematic sweep. Sometimes it sounds anguished, as on the unrestrained howl of 'Patience'. At its most controlled, it is both commanding and touching.
Hinson is backed on this album by The Earlies, who, possibly unwittingly, now seem to have helped Hinson surpass their own collection as best debut album of the year. They bolster the songs with thick arrangements that build from delicate subtle beginnings into beguiling, grand epics that also manage to retain a sense of vulnerability. It's unusual to find a debut album with a sound this ambitious. Typical of the approach is the closing epic 'The Day Texas Sank to the Bottom of the Sea' which, even in its quasi-orchestral glory, somehow manages to sound natural and unforced. It's one of those cyclical, repeating song, where the sound just gets bigger and more affecting each time the cycle is repeating. This album seems to be a most effective meeting of minds - Hinson brings the torch and twang, whilst the Earlies bring their forward-thinking, all-encompassing arrangements. The opening 'Close Your Eyes' grows from a languid, unhurried opening into an accelerated, dynamic military rhythm. 'The Nothing' begins with delicate and beautiful piano chords, before Hinson's vocal enters and carries it into grander territory. The emotional impact of this music is frequently striking - it captures feelings without becoming sentimental or turgid. Typical of the approach is 'Don't You' which appears in two parts and builds from a deceptively skeletal opening into a huge, powerful epic. It's hard to think of the earnest, worthy emoting of, say, Keane, ever resulting in music with this sweeping grace - yet they will no doubt remain the more successful. It's appropriate that Hinson has dubbed this 'gospel' - as there is a notable uplifting quality to even the most anguished tracks, a quality which Hinson shares with the striking desolation of Mercury Rev or Spiritualized at their broken hearted peak.
The songs themselves are romantic, occasionally frustrated, always full of palpable human emotion, and articulated in unpretentious language that occasionally hits on a disabling, stop-in-your-tracks image. In 'The Day Texas Sank..'. Hinson sings about waiting 'at the top of the trees, trying to hang myself with thoughts of you'. The approach also sometimes falters, as there are times when Hinson sounds a little too morose. Hinson is perhaps not the most poetic of singer-songwriters, but he seems more interested in texture, atmosphere and sound. He has crafted an engaging, assertive and compelling debut.
I bought 'Love Songs For Patriots', the first album from American Music Club in over ten years on the strength of an impassioned, if a little patronising, review in Uncut Magazine. Until fairly recently, I had always found the music of AMC and Mark Eitzel impenetrable and difficult. If melodies were there, they often seemed to be buried in the ether, or oversung in cloying, miserabilist mantras. I've decided to try again though - partially because it's interesting to see what new elements are brought to the table when a band reconvenes after such a long period away from duty, but also because so many people seem to think that they were/are a band worth investing considerable energy in. I must concede that this new album does go some way in convincing me of their merit.
Immediately, the sound and production seem to be much more considered than their late eighties/early nineties work. This dynamic, coiling, twisting sound more than matches the intensity and energy of Mark Eitzel's singing. The opening track 'Ladies and Gentlemen' seems like a radical statement of intent. It bristles with passion and fury, with a driving fuzz bass line at its core pitted against jazzy rhythms and asymmetric piano chords. It sounds like the band is imploding, albeit in a remarkable way. Further evidence of this comes with the barely controlled snarl of 'Patriot's Heart', possibly inspired by the trauma and misdirected energies of post-9/11 America. It works by cumulative effect, with its rolling, repetetive cycles becoming increasingly devastating. In between the two is a much more conventional piece, the delicately rustling 'Another Morning', effectively underpinned by sustained synth effects. In fact, it's worth pointing out that the addition of new recruit Marc Capelle on a vast array of keyboard instruments has considerably bolstered the band's sound.
Despite the ambitious arrangements and atmospherics, Eitzel's voice remains the main focus, and it's worth noting the variety of his tone and sound. Whilst some rock singers, say, Thom Yorke, have carved a niche for themselves with singularly distinctive voices, it's sometimes hard to believe that it's Eitzel singing on every track here. Sometimes he is furious and relentless, as on the aforementioned 'Patriot's Heart', at others he is wistful and whispery. More often than not here, he manages to remould his vocal to suit the mood of the song, which is a particularly impressive quality. His skill with a twisted lyric has remained intact, despite the rather unfocused nature of his solo career thus far. Perhaps reuniting with his old band has reinvigorated him. When the results are as stunning as closing track 'The Devil Needs You' with its mysterious and elusive instrumental coda, it's a timely reminder that not all reunions have to be a matter of simply going through the motions.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
This is the first post - so perhaps it's understandable that I'm experiencing a little performance anxiety. So far today has been one of those days where minor cock-ups have dominated. I've lost my wallet and subequently discovered I left it in a car. I've spilt water everywhere, spoiling some important documents. Anyway, I'll do my best. What you can expect from this blog is lots about the music and film I like, and most likely even more about what I adamantly dislike (I have to admit that I'm much better at articulating negative reactions than positive ones). So plenty about culture. I'll try and keep politics to a minimum - but there will no doubt come a time when I'll be unable to resist it.
Highlight of my week so far has been seeing Hot Chip live at the XFM X-Posure night at the Barfly on Monday. OK, so I'm biased as I used to play drums for them - and since then, I've seen them play roughly the same set about 100 times. Yet, there is no denying that they keep getting better and better. There's real humour and shameless energy in their performance now, and a genuine sense that they really are enjoying what they do. In a world where the worthless po-faced anthemic indie of Keane can grace the top 10 I find their poptastic synth crusading deeply encouraging. They've been described by the NME as 'gameboy bedroom funk' (or something along those lines). This is clearly meant as a complement, but it's a bit misleading. This is not computer game music - it's party music, with intelligent wordplay and celebratory conviction. When I was in Hot Chip, the band definitely had a split personality - divided between guitar-led mordant reflection (which many people compared with Will Oldham) and Timbaland/Neptunes inspired electronica. With 'Keep Falling' and 'The Ass Attack', they have possibly pushed the latter to a dizzying zenith. Whilst they now integrate together on stage perfectly (all five are staged in a line formation at the front of the stage) the path ahead is surely to re-introduce some of the more ponderous and reflective elements to their music. At the moment 'Krap Kraft Dinner' does this most effectively. At the very least, it has an irresistable chorus. I'm sure there will be many similar gems on the forthcoming debut album 'Coming On Strong', out in June on Moshi Moshi records. Check out their website for more details, they're always gigging (www.hotchip.co.uk).
I've picked up a few interesting records this week. 'The Pyramid Electric Co.' is actually the new album from Jason Molina, who now seems to trade under a variety of enigmatic monikers, including Songs:Ohia and The Magnolia Electric Co. Whereas his previous album was with an electric band, with substantial arrangements underpinned by a defiantly raw production, this is skeletal, underplayed and uncompromising. It contains just seven songs, most of them very long, some of them slightly meandering. All benefit from a palpably eerie atmosphere, and some wonderfully restrained guitar playing. Molina's voice is as striking as ever, and his bleak worldview is conveyed with striking clarity. With the benefit of a few more listens, this may prove to be his most original recording yet. It's available on vinyl (with a free CD version inside the sleeve) from Secretly Canadian records.
The wonderful Sufjan Stevens has returned with 'Seven Swans', unbelievably his first official UK release. Stevens is a musical chameleon who has produced splendid, lavishly arranged orch-pop with his last album 'Michigan' as well as some largely unlistenable electronica. This new venture gathers together the tracks that didn't fit on the 'Michigan' album, and mercifully seems to represent a retreat from his modest proposal to record an album for all 50 US States (after all, he can only stall for inspiration when he gets to Kansas, surely?). It's more economic than 'Michigan', and many of the songs build to cumulative effect. There's a lot of unadorned banjo playing, which is remarkably refreshing. His voice is soft and understated whilst the songs are suitably lilting. What is certainly new here is a religious dimension to the lyrics - a lot of vengeance and divine justice, demons and witches. I've yet to decide whether or not he's striving too hard for profundity. In terms of its sound though, this is as captivating and compelling an album as you might expect to hear all year.
I'd hate to end on a positive note - so I'll sign off today with a rant. Now I'm not a musical snob - I can admire pop music as much as the next man, but how shit is 'Amazing' by George Michael? In our office, we have radio 2 on all day and they seem to be forcing it upon us at least once an hour. It's that horrible leap between notes when he sings 'I think it's amaaaa-zing!' that makes me cringe most. Completely irrational, I know, but it's irksome. That coupled with the fact that the production is so bland and the lyrics so painfully earnest is causing me to suffer unwanted bouts of nausea at all-too-predictable intervals during the day.
A long post - I'll be doing some job applications tonight so no doubt there will be plenty of ranting about online forms in the next few days...
Highlight of my week so far has been seeing Hot Chip live at the XFM X-Posure night at the Barfly on Monday. OK, so I'm biased as I used to play drums for them - and since then, I've seen them play roughly the same set about 100 times. Yet, there is no denying that they keep getting better and better. There's real humour and shameless energy in their performance now, and a genuine sense that they really are enjoying what they do. In a world where the worthless po-faced anthemic indie of Keane can grace the top 10 I find their poptastic synth crusading deeply encouraging. They've been described by the NME as 'gameboy bedroom funk' (or something along those lines). This is clearly meant as a complement, but it's a bit misleading. This is not computer game music - it's party music, with intelligent wordplay and celebratory conviction. When I was in Hot Chip, the band definitely had a split personality - divided between guitar-led mordant reflection (which many people compared with Will Oldham) and Timbaland/Neptunes inspired electronica. With 'Keep Falling' and 'The Ass Attack', they have possibly pushed the latter to a dizzying zenith. Whilst they now integrate together on stage perfectly (all five are staged in a line formation at the front of the stage) the path ahead is surely to re-introduce some of the more ponderous and reflective elements to their music. At the moment 'Krap Kraft Dinner' does this most effectively. At the very least, it has an irresistable chorus. I'm sure there will be many similar gems on the forthcoming debut album 'Coming On Strong', out in June on Moshi Moshi records. Check out their website for more details, they're always gigging (www.hotchip.co.uk).
I've picked up a few interesting records this week. 'The Pyramid Electric Co.' is actually the new album from Jason Molina, who now seems to trade under a variety of enigmatic monikers, including Songs:Ohia and The Magnolia Electric Co. Whereas his previous album was with an electric band, with substantial arrangements underpinned by a defiantly raw production, this is skeletal, underplayed and uncompromising. It contains just seven songs, most of them very long, some of them slightly meandering. All benefit from a palpably eerie atmosphere, and some wonderfully restrained guitar playing. Molina's voice is as striking as ever, and his bleak worldview is conveyed with striking clarity. With the benefit of a few more listens, this may prove to be his most original recording yet. It's available on vinyl (with a free CD version inside the sleeve) from Secretly Canadian records.
The wonderful Sufjan Stevens has returned with 'Seven Swans', unbelievably his first official UK release. Stevens is a musical chameleon who has produced splendid, lavishly arranged orch-pop with his last album 'Michigan' as well as some largely unlistenable electronica. This new venture gathers together the tracks that didn't fit on the 'Michigan' album, and mercifully seems to represent a retreat from his modest proposal to record an album for all 50 US States (after all, he can only stall for inspiration when he gets to Kansas, surely?). It's more economic than 'Michigan', and many of the songs build to cumulative effect. There's a lot of unadorned banjo playing, which is remarkably refreshing. His voice is soft and understated whilst the songs are suitably lilting. What is certainly new here is a religious dimension to the lyrics - a lot of vengeance and divine justice, demons and witches. I've yet to decide whether or not he's striving too hard for profundity. In terms of its sound though, this is as captivating and compelling an album as you might expect to hear all year.
I'd hate to end on a positive note - so I'll sign off today with a rant. Now I'm not a musical snob - I can admire pop music as much as the next man, but how shit is 'Amazing' by George Michael? In our office, we have radio 2 on all day and they seem to be forcing it upon us at least once an hour. It's that horrible leap between notes when he sings 'I think it's amaaaa-zing!' that makes me cringe most. Completely irrational, I know, but it's irksome. That coupled with the fact that the production is so bland and the lyrics so painfully earnest is causing me to suffer unwanted bouts of nausea at all-too-predictable intervals during the day.
A long post - I'll be doing some job applications tonight so no doubt there will be plenty of ranting about online forms in the next few days...
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