Tag: music
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Phased by the Big Note
A couple of weeks ago I received a pre-release copy of the eponymously-titled debut album by new band Dead Heart Bloom. I’ve had it on heavy-rotation ever since, and a mighty fine album it is, too. Dead Heart Bloom is the latest musical vehicle for the implausibly-talented Boris Skalsky. This is the same Skalsky who was one of the leading lights in Phaser, the DC-based band who released one great album (Sway) before unfortunately imploding under the combined weights of commercial and artistic pressures. Phaser are usually categorized as ‘post-shoegazing’ (you tell me…) whereas Dead Heart Bloom are effectively uncategorizable,… Read more
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The Traditional Year-End Top 10
It is traditional at the start of the year to list your ‘Top 10’ albums/movies/whatever of the preceding year. I’m just as lazy as the next music hack, so here’s my list. But in a slight twist, I’m going to list the top 10 albums I wish I’d never bought. To be fair, several of these weren’t released in 2005, but that’s when I bought them, so it still counts. Actually, a couple of these weren’t even bought in 2005, but it still burns my ass that they are taking up space on my ipod, so I thought I’d include… Read more
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Beware When The Drums Stop…
I heard this week that Peter Hook, bass player with New Order, is putting together a new side-project. This is to be – I can barely contain myself – a bassplayer supergroup! Hooky will be teaming up with Mani Mountfield (ex Stone Roses) and Andy Rourke (ex Smiths) under the catchy monicker Freebass (maybe Bassic Instinct was already taken, and BassCamp was a bit too, well, camp). What on earth are they thinking of? Whilst all three are undoubtedly accomplished bass players (although I don’t recall Rourke doing anything substantive since the late ’80s), they aren’t exactly the ‘creative spirits’… Read more
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This Is Music…Don’t Make It About The Money
My mention of The Verve a couple of entries ago got me thinking about their demise. They were a great band, and it’s a shame they called it a day. Personally, I blame it all on Allen Klein. Arguably, the peak of The Verve’s success was their hit single Bittersweet Symphony, which reached #2 in the UK and #12 in the US. The song used a sample from a version of the Rolling Stones song The Last Time, for which The Verve had obtained permission. However, once the song became a massive hit, Allen Klein (the former Rolling Stones manager,… Read more
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Out Of Control In The Temple Of Love
I recently invested in the Joy Division four-CD boxed set Heart and Soul. Prior to this, the only thing I’d ever heard by Joy Division was the ‘hit’ single Love Will Tear Us Apart – which is OK, but not exactly There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. But Joy Division have been given a lot of good press recently, and have been cited an influence by several bands I’ve been listening to, so I thought I’d give it a go. And on the whole, it’s not too bad at all! Quite different from what I expected – a… Read more