UNDERNEATH IT ALL

This, along with Dubside Of The Moon, is one of the few records which makes me instantly rap in a faux Jamaican accent with wild abandon and little care for sleeping housemates. I love No Doubt, i think part of the attraction is my best friend's obsession with the band. When i listen to them, i see his teenage face singing along and it makes me smile. Click here for a decent discography. You ARE Lady Saw, promise.

There's times where I want something more

Someone more like me

There's times when this dress rehearsal

Seems incomplete

But you see the colors in me like no one else

And behind your dark glasses you're...

You're something else

You're really lovely

Underneath it all

You want to love me

Underneath it all

I'm really lucky

Underneath it all

You're really lovely

You know some real bad tricks

And you need some discipline

But, lately you've been trying real hard

And giving me your best

And, you give me the most gorgeous sleep

That I've ever had

And when it's really bad

I guess it's not that bad

So many moons that we have seen

Stumbling back next to me

I've seen right through and underneath

And you make me better

I've seen right through and underneath

And you make me better

Better... better...

Lady Saw:

You are my real Prince Charmin'

Like the heat from the fire

You were always burnin'

And each time you're around

My body keeps stalin'

For your touch

Your kisses and your sweet romancin'

There's an underside to you

That so many adore

Aside from your temper

Everything else secure

You're good for me, baby

Oh that, I'm sure

Over and over again

I want more

Gwen:

You've used up all your coupons

And all you've got left is me

And somehow I'm full of forgiveness

I guess it's meant to be

You're really lovely

Underneath it all

You want to love me

Underneath it all

I'm really lucky

Underneath it all

And you're really lovely

YOU'RE LOST LITTLE GIRL

I think about my dreams more than most. Or at least i think i do, because i presume that if the rest of the world spent so much time awake considering being asleep, we would all talk about nocturnal musings a lot more. 

Rather than my life being a healthy balance of activities, work, relaxation etc. I seem to have 10 hours a day of head-in-the-clouds day dreaming about where my life could be if i wasn't so scared of it, this is when i consider my dreams, what they mean, and where they sprout from. I am a very deep sleeper and have often professed to friends how i feel like i am being born every time i open a sleepy eye under my duvet, and become once again conscious to the world. I dream of horrors and romances and childhoods which weren't mine. I dream of illicit affairs and rebellious friendships and adventures to places that never existed. I regularly dream of cavernous thrift shops, filled with the kind of treasures pirates would have laughed at, but which i spend my days remembering and lusting after. Sometimes i am a vagabond, living in a bus, rejecting society and enjoying my freedom. Though these kind of dreams typically mutate into much darker realities, filled with monsters and witches and the most childish of foes ready to scare me into a shuddering awakening. I love to dream, but i am scared of my dreams. I am scared of how deep and dark and all consuming they are. I am scared of the daily routine i face, which entails reminding myself of the brief history of the world, myself, and humanity in general, all of which i seem to forget once i am in the coma like state which fills my bedroom each night. I rarely find myself alert during my waking hours, instead on a kind of dream-hangover. It takes this time to recover from the 10 hours or so i spend exploring the excesses of my mind each night. And as i seem to grasp a hold on my existence and all that comes with it, like a huge boulder of reality and responsibility, crushing my dreams, i oft look at the clock, and realise its sleeping time again. Laying down i surrender to the impulses within me, and drift back into a hazy world of wonder...

"Please one last kiss before I sleep

Across my pillow softly creep

Gently put those lips to mine

And may I sleep a dream divine"

Christopher Savin

And May I Sleep A Dream Divine

THE GREAT ROCK AND ROCK SWINDLE

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SOME ALBUM REVIEWS WITH TORRENT LINKS.

These are some short reviews i did recently for a uni module. Click on the title for the torrent!

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

4/5

MGMT create music for 21^st century electro-hippies. With notes of 60s hipster irreverence and 80s glam mysticism, they owe as much to Bowie and Bolan as they do Justice. Whimsical and dreamy, ‘Fated To Pretend’ and ‘Electric Feel’ have the ability to thrill a club or enchant small audiences. Beautiful psychedelic electronica. 

Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim

4/5

18-year-old Marling’s debut release is full of rich fairytale lyrics and songs telling the secrets of a colourful childhood. Some tracks fade into predictable Tori Amos style snivelling (‘Old Stone’) but singles ‘My Manic…’ and ‘Cross Your Fingers’ retain an intensity often lost in neo-folk. Unforgettably sweet and honest. 

Fucked Up – The Chemistry Of Common

4/5

2008 was the year Fucked Up got more press than Britney, so this album had a lot to live up to. Half apocalyptic hardcore, half dirgey pagan euphoria, ‘Chemistry…’ is a confusing, but intelligently constructed release. Aside from ‘Royal Swan’s wailing, and some painfully self-indulgent, lyrics this is a near perfect record.

DJ Scotch Egg – Drumized

4 ½ /5

Brighton based chip-core legend DJ Scotch Egg’s latest release is a beautiful explosion of spasmodic electronic bleating. Title track ‘Drumized’ is calmer than you might expect but the album holds all of the chaotic energy seen on ‘Scotchhausen’, with more use of sampling and his special breed of ‘vocals’. A circus of gameboy -gabba experimentation.

Keane – Perfect Symmetry

2/5

Keane go 80s in a fantastically mis-judged revamp. Although single ‘Spiralling’ seems surprisingly promising, the rest of the album is formulaic synth-driven pop. They mimic countless other current bands who have jumped on the 80s revival bus (Mystery Jets, anyone?) predictably badly and without soul. The least original concept since new-rave.

Kimya Dawson – Alphabutt

2/5

Alphabutt sounds like walking into a badly run crèche. Dawson shares a wealth of information about impending motherhood you never wanted to know, using the vocabulary of a toddler, and the musicianship of a turd. ‘Sunbeams and Some Beans’ is closer to classic Kimya and the albums highpoint. Sickly sweet.

The Streets – Everything Is Borrowed

2/5

This is a classic post-breakdown album. Skinner raps about sanctimonious drivel he clearly has little grasp of over somewhat interesting funk-tinged garage.  However if you ignore the sentiment there are saving graces in the form of ‘I Love You More’ and ‘Strongest Person…’. Predictably honest but, honestly, predictable.

Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night

2/5

Kings Of Leon lose their defining features with this album of dull rock songs. The raw country appeal of ‘Youth And Young Manhood’ has disappeared and the youthful romanticism of ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ has been replaced with whiney indie-by-numbers tracks like ‘Crawl’. ‘Sex On Fire’ aside, a pointless release.

"HEH HEH, DIARRRRRRRHEA"

I love Daria. I think that, apart from Ghost World, there is little else that truly captures what it is to be a cynical, sardonic teenage girl. Her parents are spot on Middle American baby boomers, and her airhead sister Quinn, the archetypal bimbo. Jane Lane is the pinnacle of cool, as Daria's best friend she has everything Daria doesn't, and is the kind of girl most worth-while boys wish they had known at sixteen. Lose yourself in episodes and remember what it is to be teenage, because although the episodes are slightly surreal and not too akin to a British secondary, the act of settling down with some junk food and a Daria boxset was the plan for many an adolescent night in. Watch the awesome "It It Fall Yet?" here.

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK.

Current music trends are often influenced by what was popular twenty years ago. Chiptune is no exception.

To find the root of what’s inspiring the music currently topping the charts, you have to look at what shaped the childhoods of a generation of musicians. Look back to the eighties and every kid wanted the same thing, a NES, or Nintendo Entertainment System to anyone born after ’95.  Most peoples’ parents threw these things out when their offspring hit 18 and went to Uni, but some clever kids have been scouring charity chops, boot fairs, and flea markets to rescue them. Say hello to the rise of the Chiptune scene.

Originally an underground concept, 2007 saw ‘Game Boy music’ briefly propelled into the mainstream when Timbaland allegedly used samples from Chiptune artist Janne Suni’s track ‘Acidjazzed Evening’ without properly crediting him. Removing the original drums and adding his own plus a killer vocal from Nelly Furtado, it was released as 2007’s ‘Do It’ and became a smash hit, to the dismay of Suni. The story hit the presses and suddenly, people knew what Chiptune was.

A few months later in March 08, Crystal Castles released the record everyone was talking about. Their self-titled album was a Chiptune masterpiece, although just like Timbaland, they encountered issues with plagiarism that are still unresolved. Crystal Castles use Chiptune to produce chaotic dance music with pitch-shifted vocals and numerous catchy samples. Like many acts, their popularity has thwarted any chance they had for long-term success, and they seem set to go the same way as Klaxons with a poorly received second album surely on the cards for both.

DJ Scotch Egg is a Brighton based producer and composer. Originally hailing from Tokyo, fans had to campaign for his student visa to be extended to full time citizenship. Luckily they won, and Brighton now has Scotch Egg, plus his Game Boy orchestra, full time. Constantly gigging, often alongside his long-term friend Shitmat, he pioneered Chiptune and creates whole albums from the beeps of his numerous consoles. Together they co-founded the Noise night, Wrong Music, from which the label of the same night was born.

Pixelh8 is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Chiptune’. He engineered one of the first programmes that allowed users to create music with retro consoles like the ZX spectrum, Commodore 64 and Game Boy. His simple style has been called ‘Blip-Blop’ and is a more classic use of video game samples. Winning numerous awards and a competition to support Imogen Heap live, he has gained recognition over the past year for his 8 bit, techno-style. As well as this he runs workshops across the country preaching the word of Chiptune and is a Mentor at the British Academy of New Music.  Not just a Game Boy wizard then.

This scene will thrive on the underground for many years to come, and its influence in dance, metal and indie is already being felt. However, as with all fledgling genres, it will take a lot for the mainstream not to chew it up, and spit it out within 6 months. Terms like ‘Nintendo-core’ are being thrown around all too soon and bands like ‘I Haunt Wizards’ look about to burst into NME and ruin all credibility Chipcore once had. Stay close to Scotch Egg though, and cover your ears, it’s Wrong Music after all, they’re meant to hate it. 

MYRMIDONS OF MELODRAMA

I think if you want to rear musically enlightened daughters, you should introduce them to The Shangri-Las before they discover MTV, High School Musical, and Chris Brown (whoever the hell he is). Their emotional, dramatic style is so easily relatable for young girls, hence their huge successes in the sixties. However, when you listen to them, it isn't like listening to girl bands of today, it's not safe, you don't feel your Mother would approve entirely of their message. They share secrets normally reserved for year 11 girl's bathrooms, in a style which jumps from whispering conversation about bad boys, to wailing affirmations of forbidden love. 

The combination of intensity, humor, and rebellion can be seen mimicked in later acts like Blondie, The Runaways, and Hole, and is a winning formula. The Shangri-Las have recently had some renewed popularity with acts like Amy Winehouse and Duffy sighting them as influences for their hugely popular albums, 'Back To Black' and 'Rockferry'. I would suggest bypassing these altogether though, and opting for the originals. Go here for a torrent of their Greatest Hits or even better here to buy it for yourself. Be transported back to whatever year you were 16 in, lie on your bed listening to this record, and allow yourself to dream of boys in leather jackets, with bad reputations... 

'What colour are his eyes?'

'I don't know, he's always wearing shades'

FOR FOLK'S SAKE

I always thought The Grateful Dead were, along with balding, incontinence, and new series of IACGMOOH, a painful eventuality. When you have certain leanings, you expect to one day have secret passions for things like aimless hippie folk music, cheesecloth slacks, and organic olive oil, viewing it as an acceptable alternative to Neil Diamond, twin-sets, and spam sarnies (with the crusts cut off). 

I didn't realise i would be so young when 'the change' set in though. At nineteen i find myself barely ever listening to punk anymore, with grunge, new wave, dance and riot grrrl going a similar route. My library is mainly made up of this sort, so i still put on certain track fairly regularly, but i find a whole album fairly hard work. HARD WORK. I assure you i never thought this day would come. 

So it started with the Dead. I've always been a fan of Cat Stevens and Tyrannosaurus Rex, and there my folk persuasions ended. But when i found that these three acts had become pretty much the only records i could listen to in entirety, i decided i must explore this strange and whimsical world, this folk.

Simon and Garfunkle, Bob Dylan, Bonny 'Prince' Billy. All artists i have heard many times, but always with the closed ears of someone 'who doesn't like folk'. My new ears of course let me enjoy, for the first time, songs i'd heard many years ago. I sat in my bedroom, in secret, devouring albums. Like a secret eater i gobbled up each one and never let on where my secret feast of tunes was coming from. "Haven't heard much coming out of your room today", I hear from a sibling, so used to speakers blaring with Poly Styrene, Ari Up and Kathleen Hanna, "Oh?", I reply, without really replying. I've even turned off my lastfm scrobbler, for God's sake!

But I'm no longer ashamed with my current, mellow funk, and yes i do see it as a sort of funk. I will always be one for the louder side of things, but currently my mind is opening up to the other side of music, the calmer side. I think of it as my brain allowing for my musical knowledge to be expanded and fulfilled. Otherwise i'd never be able to fully appreciate music from all eras and genres, as i hope to one day. So yes, I'm listening to Laura Marling as i write this, and the first time i heard her i squawked my stock response, "Yeah its ok, but not really my mind of thing, bit wussy." But now i count her album as one of my current favorites, and without this blessed funk, i would probably be enjoying this lovely morning with some abrasive Japanese noise-punk. I think that's called a blessing in disguise. 

THE MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES

I can't seem to stop listening to their track 'You'll Never Get That Guy'. It's a glorious crossroads of sixties, Ronettes style, melancholic drawling vocals and abrasive maudlin post-punk musicianship. They have recently released a collection of their work to date entitled 'Burnt Out Landscapes' that should be at the top of your christmas list (well maybe not the very top but it should make an appearance cause you can't seem to download it bloody anywhere) and finally seem to be getting some much deserved recognition. Here's a cheeky mp3!

HAGS, HERITAGE, AND HIPPIES.

The three fashions currently on my radar are Folk, Goth, and Heritage. I have to say though that this has been the case since i was the age of about 6, and that is why, perhaps, i am far more intrigued with fashion this season than most. During summer i rarely pick up a magazine, or scan the pages of Vogue online, for summer fashions rarely interest me. However come late August, when every magazine starts urging you back into black nail polish and velvet hair bows, my eyes become attuned to the world of style once more, and i sit up and listen...

Goth is rarely out of fashion in November, and this year is no exception. Since 2007 the haute-goth look has been growing in momentum until, propelling itself onto the high street in September, it exploded in a glorious display of black lipstick and patent Doctor Martens across every knowing face in London. This Halloween has had to be one of the chic-est I've seen in my short life. With every girl having numerous black lace dresses to pick from in Topshop, a variety of stockings once limited to the most adventurous of lingerie stores, and a step-by-step guide to making your face vogue-ly melancholic in every fashion mag, it would have been criminal to opt for 'Sexy Cat' again. Check out this gloriously ghoulish example from YSL.

Add to this the folk revival, (Seemingly stemming from the Neo-Folk music scene being felt in acoustic dens all over the country. Music inspiring fashion, fashion inspiring music? You decide!) and our wardrobes are looking positively pagan! Best seen at DKNY, this folk scene takes much from the original folk look of the seventies so think thick fabrics, high neck lines, and large paisley designs (dead-dog type furs are also a favorite, but thats up to you). Accessories should stay dark if your playing around with such imposing prints, try opaque tights and those baggy berets everyone's wearing. 

My favorite of the three has to be the heritage look dominating D+G's AW09 catwalk shows. The basic look is fairly simple. Allow me to set the scene... you are the daughter of some lonely laird, your dark features stare out of your pale face, rouged by the bracing winds. Living in a remote castle in the Scottish highlands, you roam the woods looking for flowers and chance upon some harmless looking mushrooms. Donned in the family tartan, with woolen stockings for warmth, you begin a glorious trip through the wardrobe of Queen Elisabeth II to that of Jimi Hendrix, and return looking psychedelically regal. If it doesn't make sense it will after scanning these.

YOU ABSOLUTE ANGELS!

Angels The Costumiers are famous for supplying vintage clothes for the stage, and more recently supplying the BBC with threads for their nostalgia shows, e.g. Ashes to Ashes. However they're currently working fashion fiends into a frenzy with news of their sale on the 6th December.  For £10 you will be granted with as many vintage treasures as you can fit into the plastic bag they supply, and if you're feeling really greedy a larger bag is available at £20. There are videos online displaying some of the goodies they have on offer and it looks like it's going to be a scrum for the best bits. Get down there before the official opening at 9am to queue up and you're likely to bag some real treats!

BILLY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

When i saw Smashing Pumpkins at Reading Festival 07, i was wasted. It signaled the end of a long, drunken summer, which was about to climax with most of my friendship group leaving for University, me included. I have been a firm Pumpkins fan since their glory days when i was barely old enough to stay home alone, and seeing them live was a somewhat emotional experience. More than one of my friends shed a (mainly substance-induced) tear during 'Tonight, Tonight', and we left the main stage feeling like we'd seen something pretty amazing. Bear this in mind though, when i shed some light on my feelings regarding this video...

At some point during the show the crowd heard what we had all been expecting... "This is a song from my new album, 'Zeitgeist'!". I have real faith in the British public and was not disappointed when, like a roar of thunder, the entire crowd began to boo en masse. Corgan was less amused, and with a smirk croaked "This is my new stuff, you fuckers!" (Or something to this effect, my memory is a little hazy over a year on...). They continued to play some new material, and after initial heckling and booing-for-the-sake-of, the crowd continued to enjoy the music of The Smashing Pumpkins, as they are today. I explain this so you understand, we were a crowd of die-hard fans, a united crowd, a crowd who really enjoying what the band were giving us. Yet we still rebuked the Pumpkins for playing their new stuff because we weren't there to hear the melancholic thoughts of a 30-something who had found religion and re-formed a band who had died many years ago, even if his name was Corgan. We were there to hear 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings'. A sad but true fact. 

Apparently this sequence of events has been haunting the tour since i saw them back in August '07. Roll on a year and three months, and there are rumors that the Pumpkins' live shows are becoming arenas for Corgan's disillusioned ranting about poor album sales and lack of fan support. I feel a kind of guilty sadness watching this clip of my hero, reduced to begging explanation from a crowd of seemingly bemused and aggravated Americans. Low points include the fan Corgan picks out from the crowd growling what sounds like encouragement for an American Football team, and Corgan himself claiming that Smashing Pumpkins are 'an alternative rock band, not a reunion cover band' (again don't quote me but close enough). 

I hope Billy finds the answers he's looking for soon, because this looks like the beginning of a bad spell for Smashing Pumpkins and he doesn't seem able to cope with his one time cash-cow of a band seemingly plunging to levels of un popularity formally reserved for his solo projects.

9 SONGS

9 songs is not a poor movie. It's obviously the brainchild of someone who cares about film and wanted to make something powerful, but he seems to have gotten lost along the way. What starts off a movie seemingly about two people who share a love for music, becomes a slightly boring take on one woman's egotistical voyage through a million orgasms. The main characters are bland and predictable, although, in terms of plot, there is little substance to predict. The film meanders down a highway of sex, never kinky enough to be dangerous, and music, never accomplished enough to be satisfying. If the script took a few risks not relating to cunnilingus, and sought some more depth in the main female character, it could have gained some credibility. As it is, it feels as though you are watching two past it musos masturbating to old Primal Scream videos.

Watch it online here if you must... ;)

MOTIONPICTURESOUNDTRACK

I have decided to give up sleeping because I seem so good at staying awake. It's getting hard to fill up the hours though, tonight i watched Paris Hilton's latest feature film, entitled 'Hottie or Nottie'. The whole thing. I came to the conclusion I would have to find some more productive way of wasting time, hence this blog.