Articles

27 June 2011 - TV on the Radio, Academy 2, Manchester

If one thing was made patently clear last night it’s that TV on the Radio certainly are not a band still in mourning. It’s only been two months since bass player Gerard Smith sadly passed away but his bandmates to their credit seem to have taken that huge blow in their stride if their on stage performance is anything to go by. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe and guitarist Kyp Malone spent the evening joking between songs with the crowd and their fellow members (paraphrasing: Tunde - “did anyone here come from that big muddy field?” Dude in crowd - “WE HATE GLASTONBURY” Tunde - “i’m glad someone said it”) and fending off requests for a cover of Ghostbusters which they have been performing of late.

TVOTR kicked things off with the slow crescendo of 'Young Liars' to an initially motionless audience. By the time Tunde was yelling “HEY DESPARATE YOUTH! OH BLOODTHIRSTY BABES” at the end of their next song, 'The Wrong Way'…

Post your top ten bands/artists, the first song you heard of theirs, the song that made you fall in love, and your current favorite.

The Beatles
First Track - A Day in the Life
First Loved Track - Hey Jude
Current Fave - She Said, She Said

Propagandhi
First Track - Anti-Manifesto
First Loved Track - Anti-Manifesto
Current Fave - I Was a Pre-Teen McCarthyist


Neil Young
First Track - Rockin' in the Free World
First Loved Track - Rockin' in the Free World
Current Fave - Down By The River

The Damned
First Track - Smash It Up
First Loved Track - New Rose
Current Fave - Street Of Dreams

The Sonics
First Track - Have Love, Will Travel
First Loved Track - Psycho
Current Fave - Strychnine

Link Wray
First Track - Rumble
First Loved - Comanche
Current Fave - Ace of Spades

Minor Threat
First Track - Filler
First Loved Track - I Don't Wanna Hear It
Current Fave - Out of Step

John Lennon
First Track - Imagine
…

Fugazi - 13 Songs

When I first heard of a band named Fugazi, my first thought was "progressive rock". Seriously, the name just made me think prog. It would've been hard to be much further from the truth. I had heard good things about the band on a message board somewhere, and so checked them out on Allmusic on a whim. Their legendary work ethic and refusal to "sell out" interested me -- how could I refuse a group that offered five dollar shows? I eventually came to this compilation, which seemed as good a place to start as any. Including the original acclaimed EPs that brought the group to people's attention, 13 Songs is definitely a good introduction to this powerful band.

This is visceral music that appeals to the primal need in me to hit stuff. I enjoyed the dynamics in these songs, the way some of them alternate between subdued and loud, and others between loud and louder. My initial favorite is the bitter, caustic, and dynamic misogyny-accusation Suggestion. …

While this may contradict my Last.fm statistics, I listen to music on CD alot more often than computer so...


1. Bakesale
The most flawlessly flawed lo-fi album ever made.
Simple, catchy, raw melodies framed by Barlow's warm yet hollow voice, lyrics shrouded in pain and confusion.
While emotion is at the forefront throughout Bakesale, the lyrics are never cliché, they are sung with a nervous modesty, making them genuine and believable.

Top Track- Together or Alone
Set up for a let-down
These things happen all the time
And I'm not longing to explore it again
I'm too scared of what you'll find


2. Disintegration
The Cure, a band who coined the term "Gloomrock", certainly live up to their reputation with the 1989 release of Disintegration. The album is flooded with haunting, morbid overtones. Every song possesses an upbeat sadness, a paradox Robert Smith represents expertly with his melancholy howls.

Top Track-Pictures of You
…

2008 was a great year in music. Unlike 2007’s very thin set of offerings, 2008 featured dozens of great albums. I’m making this a top 20 list, because honestly the difference between #6 and #20 is almost nil, all of which would have cracked last year’s top 10. Even so, there wasn’t an album that grabbed me as much as Keepin 6 last year; No Trigger, The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Mika Miko, or Off With Their Heads in 2006; or The Epoxies or Sleater-Kinney in 2005.

1.Blacklisted – Heavier than Heaven, Lonelier than G-d

A gripping, heavy hardcore classic. Absolutely, devastatingly brutal. The album ends with the best two songs on it—Canonized and Wish. Most albums nowadays don’t have enough good songs to finish this strongly.

2.The Fad – Kill Punk Rock Stars
Gets #2 instead of #1 because it’s not quite as consistent as Heavier than Heaven. But it has some of the catchiest songs of the year. It’s a horrible shame that they broke up so soon after their breakout album.
…

I rarely post much on anything, but I'm bored and this looked like a cool quiz. Actually, music is the only thing that has been a stalwart part of my existence since I can remember. With that said, my answers to this quiz might will meander into tangential territory. Anyone who knows me knows that when I get around to doing something like writing crap down, I don't see the point in fucking around. You have been warned. :D Funny thing is, I doubt anyone (I know) will ever read this, but I guess I'll join the 99.999% of people who post shit that does nothing more than occupy space on some hard drive.

I hope pessimystica doesn't mind my repurposing her post.

1.How did you get into 29?
Echo & the Bunnymen
I am retarded for not listening to this band very much in the 80's. I heard The Killing Moon at the beginning of one of the best films ever, Donnie Darko. I really loved the song, but largely ignored the band for a few years, then went on a spree in 2006 that still rears its head from time to time. …

Fri 10 Oct – Riot Fest

I generally avoid anything that bills itself as a festival. Most of the festivals are expensive, have short sets, sound is often crap, the festivals sign bands to exclusivity contracts, and they are huge corporate events. Riot Fest doesn't seem to have most of those problems. Certainly at $25 admission for the Sunday show, it was a bargain admission price. On the main stage, acts were getting close to an hour set. At least some of the bands have played Chicago this year, so it doesn't seem like they forced exclusivity. And while there was sponsorship, it wasn't overwhelming.

With the possibility of 4000 people showing up in the neighborhood for the show (multiplied by whatever parking havoc the marathon might pose), we decided to park out at the end of the Blue line and take the L in. That worked out pretty nicely, and I will definitely be keeping that in mind for future shows at the Congress (and maybe other venues as well, hmmm Double Door is right on the Blue line too).
…