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

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

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'