Since I did a round-up of the games I’m playing right now, I thought I’d also do what music I’m listening to at the moment. Just for fun.

Coeur de Pirate – Coeur de Pirate

A beautiful album by Montreal native  Beatrice Martin. A really great chill out album. By the way the album is entirely in French. (Unfortunately I wasn’t able to post any of the real music videos since they don’t allow embedding.)

Fool’s Gold – Fool’s Gold

Lately I’m into African type rhythms, and this album really caught my attention. Just listening to it makes me so happy.

Gang of Four – Return the Gift

I’ve always been into Gang of Four, but recently I’ve listened to them a lot. I love the rawness and attitude. They also came up with one of my favorite lines in a song ever, “To hell with poverty we’ll get drunk on cheap wine”. Check out some awesome dancing below.

Matt & Kim – Grand

Another fun and catchy indie album full of great songs.

Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

I’ve basically been listening to this album steadily for over a year now. It’s so fantastic.It kind of reminds me of the Talking Heads a little bit.

Hello everybody,

Nothing like inspiring some debate from the get-go for the first legitimate post on this blog, and what better way to do so than with a list? Folks, this was a tough one, but here are my picks for my favorite bands of all-time. By the way, there will be a separate Top 10 for solo artists!

1. Echo and the Bunnymen. Number two on this list is pretty close to taking over this spot, but for now Echo and the Bunnymen still have a hold on things. Echo has been my fave since about 1987-88, a long time to have such a stranglehold on Number One.

No wonder. The first albums from Echo are in my mind the all-time best start to a career, four stunning records of post-punk and early Britpop mastery. What was most exciting about this band was how different each album was from the previous. Crocodiles was an incredible debut, full of energy and a melodic post-punk edge. Heaven Up Here added mysticism and power to the mix. Porcupine was a masterpiece, combining the elements from the first two albums into one unique combination. My favorite track from the band, In Bluer Skies, appears on the third album.

However, the 1984 release of Ocean Rain remains one of the top albums in music history. At least in Tfronky’s eyes. Nine breath-taking tracks of pure beauty, highlighted with the first track on side two of the album, The Killing Moon. This album has been reissued on a couple of occasions. Find the one with a second disc of a live concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983.

Echo would make one more album with the original line-up. Once drummer Pete de Freitas was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in 1989, the magic was in many ways gone. Echo and the Bunnymen continue to tour and record to this day with vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant. They recently released their 11th studio album, entitled The Fountain. I will have to check it out.

Critical album = Ocean Rain

2. Elbow. My good friend Bobby Lerma has introduced me to some great music over the years. One day he handed me a disc he had burned from a band I was not familiar with by the name of Elbow. The next day I called him and when he answered, I immediately began cursing at him, pissed because he had waited so long to tell me about these guys!

If the next album from Elbow, which will be their fifth studio disc, is better than Echo’s fifth, self-titled album, then Elbow will slide into the Number One spot. Amazing to think that this foursome toiled for years in obscurity under the different moniker of Soft, because they have developed into the greatest band in the world at the present time.

That disc Bobby burned contained tracks from Elbow’s first three albums, Asleep in the Back, Cast of Thousands and Leaders of the Free World. Their fourth disc The Seldom Seen Kid was the album that finally gained them the commercial success they so richly deserve. These guys have yet to create a bad song, and more often than not have created some of the best music in the past 12 years. No one can touch Guy Garver for Top Dog in regards to vocals. Their show at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver May of 2008 ranks as the best concert I have ever seen, no mean feat when you consider how many shows I have been to over the years.

Critical album = The Seldom Seen Kid

3. Sugar. Sigh … what a shame that such an incredible band was only around from 1992-1995. Husker Du was incredible, the first two solo records from the legendary Bob Mould were very good, but when Sugar’s debut Copper Blue was released in 1992 I went nuts. The punk aesthetic of Husker Du was tempered with Mould’s melodicism from his solo work, but the structure of the music went far beyond what he had done before. Sugar possessed a delicate ferocity. Every song possesses brutal power, but the pop hooks each track possessed were absolutely incredible. I only had the pleasure of seeing this band perform once, at the Electric Ballroom in Tempe, AZ. No joke, my ears may still be ringing.

Thank God Bob soldiers on today, remaining one of the most crucial artists in music.

Critical album = Copper Blue

4. Agent Orange. My favorite punk rock band, although Agent Orange expands on the limits of that formula. Take melodic punk, add in a heavy surf rock element and you have the formula for some of the most dynamic music produced in the past 30 years. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Palm is the only original member left, but his presence alone still makes this trio a powerful force.

Critical  album = This is the Voice

5. Swervedriver. An original part of the early nineties U.K. shoegaze scene, Swervedriver pushed the boundaries on that genre of music and left a definite imprint as one of the best bands on the nineties. Swervedriver takes several of the characteristics of Britpop, mixes in some explosive power and one of the best vocal styles in rock and roll from Adam Franklin.

This band has gone through several hardships during its career, especially in regards to some terrible luck with its record labels. After the release of their fourth album 99th Dream in 1998, the band broke up a year later and were on hiatus for nine years. Then in April of 2008 Swervedriver reunited at Coachella and once again proved they are capable of creating some of the most beautiful damage when they play together. The show I saw at the Mason Jar years ago brings back some incredible memories.

Critical album = Mezcal Head

6. Juno. One day my friend Bobby Lerma walked in to the store I was working at back around 2001-2002. He handed me a disc, told me to put it in and fast forward to a track entitled Killing it in a Quiet Way. The song was from Juno’s second full-length album A Future Lived in Past Tense. I was immediately blown away. Juno was emo without all the horrible characteristics of that genre of music.This was emo reminiscent of the mid-eighties Washington D.C. Dischord Records era and Sunny Day Real Estate. Intense music, inspired and soaring vocals, and a three-guitar attack highlighted this incredible band that had far too-short a career from 1995-2001.

Few bands can create long instrumentals and keep them interesting. Juno had an amazing ability to do so, and their more standard tracks possessed immense power and a subtle tranquility. I wish I could have seen these guys live.

Critical album = A Future Lived in Past Tense

7. Band of Horses. I had been introduced to this band before, but for whatever reason had not made a huge impression on me. Then I had the opportunity to see them play at the second Monolith Festival at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO September of 2008.

There were several great acts during that weekend, but when Band of Horses took the main stage on Sunday evening, they put on a performance for the ages. The one band with a sound big enough to capitalize on the stunning acoustics of Red Rocks, Band of Horses played an incredible set that evening, highlighted by their signature song The Funeral. The cool weather, the wonderful scenery of Red Rocks and the outstanding delivery of that song provided in my opinion the highlight of the weekend, powerful enough to nearly move me to tears.

I had the pleasure of seeing them at Coachella this year, where Band of Horses unveiled two new tracks. I am stoked for the new disc, whenever it does finally come out!

Critical album = Everything All the Time

8. Dead Can Dance. The beauty of Gregorian chant mixed with ethereal dreampop is one way you could describe this duo. Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard combined their talents to deliver one of the more unique styles of music I have ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Typical of most 4AD bands from that time period, Dead Can Dance released a string of albums that were mellow enough for your parents to enjoy, but contained enough elements of alternative music to satisfy the indie crowd. For a great introduction to this band, check out their live release Toward the Within.

Critical album = Within the Realm of a Dying Sun

9. Gang of Four. The best, most powerful and most intelligent post-punk band of the late seventies-early eighties, Gang of Four released two incredible albums to commence their career, the landmark Entertainment! and my fave, Solid Gold. The Gang created music that makes you think. They also create music so powerful that it pummels you into submission.

He may not be the most technically correct guitarist in music history, but Andy Gill is a genius. There was an eighties concert film by the name of Urgh! A Music War. To this day I marvel at the band’s delivery of He’d Send in the Army, and the manner in which Andy Gill destroys his guitar while playing that song is incredible.

Critical album = Solid Gold

10. The Ramones. Without this band I never become a fan of the Sex Pistols, Agent Orange, M.I.A. or Social Distortion. The impact of the Ramones is still felt in rock music 35 years after they first formed in Queens, NY.

Now granted, the last five albums the band released were terrible, and only three of the previous five were worthwhile. However, the first four releases from the Ramones were so outstanding and so ahead of their time that I could still put Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia or Road to Ruin on today and immediately be brought back to my youth. I immediately recall how simple their music was, and how powerful that simplicity was in creating controlled chaos.

Do yourself a favor and rent the movie Rock and Roll High School if you get a chance, great stuff!

Critical album = It’s Alive

Let the debate begin!

Cheers,
Frank

or, “How the Tories Taught Us to Dance by Taking Away Our Jobs…”  Well, maybe not.   Anyway, Hannah is back with another corker of a blog that she researched by talking to her Mum.  Your Mum must be pretty cool Hannah.  I hate to think what I would have to write about if I based it on conversations with my Mum.   Best not to think about it.  Over to you Hannah… 

So here goes the next instalment of my Mancunian musings:

This week, as I’m sure you’re all aware, Morrissey (the King of Mancs!), was described as ‘storming off stage’ after a bottle was thrown at him during a concert at the Liverpool Echo Arena. It made me think, this would never happen in his hometown. As a result, I’m dedicating this blog to all the Mancunians that have made us proud, and why the lyrics of Joy Division, The Stone Roses, The Inspiral Carpets, The Smiths; the list could go on, still resonate with me today, as a twenty year old who didn’t live through this era.

As I meandered down Oxford Road today, I popped into the Portland Bookshop. Admittedly, it was Peter Hook’s new book, ‘The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club’, which stood proudly in the window that lured me in. The Hacienda was not just another swanky city centre club to blow your week’s earnings on during the drunken debauchery of a Friday night, it represented a lot more than this; it represented a new era for Manchester.

Manchester’s reputation as the industrial capital of the North was ruined by Thatcherite policies, and Manchester in the late seventies and eighties was bleak and miserable. The Smiths’ ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’, ‘Please Let Me Get What I Want’ and ‘This is How it Feels’ by The Inspiral Carpets encapsulate these feeling perfectly for me.

The Manchester music scene largely seemed to avoid overt politics and certainly did not compare to bands like The Clash or Gang of Four. The one exception possibly being Easterhouse, from Stretford; a band that supported The Smiths and were aligned to the far left.

In spite of this, there is little doubt that there were huge amounts of political, economic and social unrest in the North of England during Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister. It is because of this that the Hacienda came to represent a new age of hedonism, hope and overwhelming optimism for the people of Manchester.

Walking through today’s regenerated and gentrified Manchester, it’s almost impossible to recall how dark and depressing the city was in the late 70s. The home of the industrial revolution was at a low ebb and the only people who believed any kind of revolution was now possible were the romantic idealists behind Factory Records.

As Luke Bainbridge, a journalist for The Guardian observed: “emboldened by the spirit of punk and an excess of civic pride, Factory’s founders, in particular Tony Wilson and Robert Gretton, believed in Manchester more than they believed in themselves.”

The Hacienda club, launched in 1982, was the physical realisation of their vision; and a vision for the people of Manchester. During numerous conversations with my mum (one of the very first members of the Hacienda) about this period, I have come to realise that the hype and excitement surrounding the Hacienda in NME; a magazine which she read religiously, was phenomenal. Perhaps because it captured the spirit that was needed for Manchester to turn itself around.

Unfortunately as Peter Hook explains in his book, Manchester in 1982, wasn’t quite ready for a New York discotheque. In spite of this, the book recognizes that the Hacienda was an iconic piece of Mancunian history. It’s conversational, colloquial tone traces the club’s history from the early years when it opened every night, despite the fact that it was often empty, through the euphoric years when it brought acid house to the UK, to its demise, dogged by gang violence.

What else came to symbolise Thatcherite Manchester then? Well, the de-industrialisation of the city did seem to create a flurry of working class creativity. The one good thing about there being so many empty industrial buildings was that it gave the bands formed after the famous Sex Pistols concert in 1976 somewhere to practice and later provided space for venues.

Dave Haslam, in his book ‘Manchester, England: the story of a pop cult city’, cites the hedonism and creativity of the infamous ‘Madchester’ music scene as a response to deindustrialisation and rapid decline of Northern cities during Thatcher’s time as prime minister. This creativity and sense of bohemian values seemed to be attack on the Thatcherite mentality and celebrated Mancunian pride and dignity.

In spite of the chaos that pervaded Manchester in the 1970s and 1980s, Ian Curtis echoed the feeling that The Hacienda subtly represented in his haunting rendition of ‘Atmosphere’, in the lines “Life rebuilding, Don’t walk away”.

This isn’t to say that the ‘Madchester’ music scene was wholly an attack on the destruction of industry and songs like ’24 Hour Party People’, ‘Step On’ and ‘Waterfall’ are merely classic anthems that will undoubtedly live in the hearts of Mancunians forvever; not because they chart a specific period of history, but because they will continue to fill the dancefloors for years to come!

This has been a great blog to write, and one last thought: Get Well Soon Mozza!

Hannah

Brilliant!  Rather than a last word, here’s a picture that I pinched from somewhere taken in the Northern Quarter, where else.

September 30th, 2009

They say you should never meet your heroes.

Sound advice.

Unless they happen to be firemen.

To be honest, I never actually thought it was a given. And anyway I know from experience it’s not; because <brag alert> Joe Strummer was the perfect gent.

Anyway, last weekend I found myself at a gig I’d been looking forward to all year – Gang Of Four at The Forum in KentishTown. The reason it was so anticipated was that I had been promised to be put on the door months ago, as my girlfriend is mates with the manager / promoter there (thanks Dan, I owe you several beers at this stage).

Dan had already sorted me and Naomi with a couple of really cool festival tickets over the summer, but I’d not yet been to The Forum this year (I did see Living Color there about eight years ago).

I had been eyeballing the Gang Of Four show since about March; and the fact it was the 30^th anniversary of their debut Entertainment! (stone cold classic – GET IT NOW), I was excited to say the least.

Just to put in context how much this band (who released their first album the same year I was born, bear in mind) means to me, here’s a little rock and roll history.

Obviously I wasn’t around for the original release; but for a band of their time, they’re probably the single biggest influence on the group who’s album became the reason I picked up a bass in the first place.

That reason was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

That album blew my head open. It introduced me not just to the force of nature that is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but also to Rick Rubin’s career-high producing Midas touch (which still continues to this day) and the sublime talents of engineer / mixer Brendan O’Brien – another superlative producer in his own right.

The songs, the incredible performances and personalities coupled with the Zeppelin-esque recording process, all resulted in my favourite album of all time and a determination that I wanted to play music until I die.

“How does this relate to Gang Of Four?” I hear you yawn.

Well, Flea in particular, has said the original sound of the Chili Peppers was primarily influenced by Leeds’ punk-funk rogues. So much so that they got Gang Of Four axe-man, Andy Gill, to produce their first album.

Without wanting to put too fine a point on it – he made a bollocks of that album.

To be fair, it was never going to be Blood Sugar Sex Magik; but it could have easily been an underground classic.

There were a few factors involved also – last minute line up changes, the band’s inexperience, personality clashes etc.

Gill’s assertion that he “didn’t know what (he) was doing” on the Gang Of Four’s earlier albums probably didn’t lift the bands confidence either. One story, that the band left a pizza box (with a shit in it) on the mixing desk, speaks volumes.

“Typical.” was Gill’s only response to the incident, apparently.

So, based on this evidence, I have only myself to blame that I did not heed to the potential perils of hero contact.

The fact that the hero I approached on this occasion was also Andy Gill, gives me the distinct impression that I have all the foresight of a Darwin Award winner.

The after show exchange went something like this….

“Hey Andy. Sorry to bother you. Amazing gig. Thanks so much.”

“Are you Jurgen?”

“Erm, no…”

“What’s your name?”

“Niall.”

“Sorry, what?  Jurgen..?”

“Uh, no, it’s Niall.”

What followed was Gill (the man whom I called a legend, from the crowd, not half an hour previous) silently turning his back and offering me the limpest, lamest, reverse reach-around handshake in the history of uncomfortablism.

Maybe if I had introduced myself by my nickname (“Disko..? Really..?”), or indeed pretended to be this Jurgen individual, my interaction may have lasted more than five seconds.

Or maybe Andy Gill is just an uppity rude fuckwit.

Naomi and my now deflated self  left soon after – but not before I launched into an expletive ridden tirade as to why the original rhythm section were absent from the current line-up (my reasoning mostly centered around Andy Gill’s fuckwit credentials, as I’m sure you can imagine).

God bless Naomi and her powers of rant absorption.

And thank god I hadn’t directed it at Gill himself.

To be honest, as I (soberly) write this, it’s not really as soul crushing as I had worked it up to be on the night. I think what stung was the sudden gear shift from elated post-gig booze brain to an abrupt, uninterested dismissing.

In fact, I now feel a little guilty about the Mark Chapman death-stare (and wink for some reason, according to Naomi) I threw him as I left the place.

Andy, if you’re reading this – don’t worry; I still love ya, soda pop.

But you’re no Joe Strummer, buddy.

Disko

X

Epilogue :

The next morning I found myself (still pissed) in the Italian deli next door to Naomi’s place.

She had very considerately woken me at half nine to go get a couple of paninis.

As I swayed bleary-eyed at the counter, I turned around and saw Channel Four News’ Jon Snow enter for a Sunday morning coffee with his paper (presumably just to make sure  other journalists are still not as badass as himself).

Thoughts of the universe balancing out the bad karma visited upon me the night before swam round my brain; vying for position amongst slightly less  celestial concerns about whether to get a Milka Bar on the way home.

“If there’s anyone in the world who’d love a slurred declaration of admiration at a quarter to ten on a Sunday morning -  it’s TV’s Jon Snow!”, I reasoned to myself.

Thankfully, at this point my inner Lilac Milka Cow looked up wearily from its grazing and mooed :

“Go back to bed, gobshite.”
Soundtrack : Grand Pappy Du Plenty – Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Handouts, they got me down
I had to regain my confidence
So I got into camouflage
The girls, they love to see you shoot.”

>>I Love a Man in a Uniform, Gang of Four

Pretty amazing, intense photo set following a teenage soldier for 2.25 years from recruitment, to enlistment, to deployment and the challenges of life going back and forth from training/combat to home. The full multimedia feature (videos and articles, etc.) is here.

Hail to the Internet. Even if this were the longest of feature stories back in the print age, they’d use at most — what, 10? 15? of these photos with a print feature in the weekend paper? Now none of the photos and legwork go to waste.

For some reason, the rotation of girlfriends (and two engagements, and the girls gazing with hope) struck me most. Humans at this age seldom have a grasp of what’s going on or what they’ll face in life. Which makes them the most malleable, of course, and combined with their athletic resilience makes them ideal raw material for strategic combat. That’s always an interesting context for me, and the innocent search for a spouse as “the one” just adds to it.

20 Watts played Julian Casablancas, Joy Division, Sleigh Bells and more on WERW

Eric, Jett and Caitlin were in the studio from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. last night, playing new releases, editors’ picks, local favorites AND a solid hour of post-punk for all you lucky listeners.  Here’s what we played last night: new tracks are in bold, local artists are italicized.

Don’t forget to tune in to 20 Watts’ Audiocandy+ shows on Wednesday and Thursday from 9-11 p.m.!

artist: Julian Casablancas [16/20 watts -- read the review]
title: 11th Dimension
album: Phrazes for the Young

artist: CFCF [13/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Invitation to Love
album: Continent

artist: Lymbyc System [19/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Ghost Clock
album: Shutter Release

artist: The Swimmers [15/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Shelter
album: People Are Soft

artist: Weezer [14/20 watts -- read the review]
title: I’m Your Daddy
album: Ratitude

artist: Blakroc ft. Raekwon
title: Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers
album: Blakroc

artist: Mirrors
title: Lights and Offerings
album: N/A

artist: Avi Buffalo
title: What’s In It For?
album: What’s In It For? 7″

artist: Kid Sister [read about our favorite hip-hop divas]
title: Right Hand Hi
album: Ultraviolet

artist: Lady GaGa
title: Bad Romance
album: Bad Romance

artist: Yeasayer
title: O.N.E.
album: Odd Blood

artist: Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane
title: Shine Blockas
album: Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

READ THE 20: YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO POST-PUNK

artist: The National
title: Mistaken for Strangers
album: Boxer

artist: Joy Division
title: Twenty Four Hours
album: Closer

artist: The Cure
title: Inbetween Days
album: The Head on the Door

artist: The Fall
title: English Scheme
album: Grotesque

artist: Echo and the Bunnymen [read about our favorite post-punk movie soundtracks]
title: Gods Will Be Gods
album: Porcupine

artist: Gang of Four
title: I Found That Essence Rare
album: Entertainment!

artist: Talking Heads
title: Take Me to the River
album: White Label/Promo

artist: The Raincoats
title:  No One’s Little Girl
album: The Kitchen Tapes

artist: The Jesus and Mary Chain [read The 20: Your Essential Guide to Noise Pop]
title: In a Hole
album: Psychocandy

artist: Talking Heads
title: Making Flippy Floppy
album: Speaking in Tongues

artist: Joy Division
title: Love Will Tear Us Apart
album: Substance

artist: Devo
title: Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
album: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

artist: Biggie Smalls (Karl Ingloff Remix) [read Carly Wolkoff's editor's pick]
title: Biggie Smalls vs. Thomas the Tank Engine
album: N/A

artist: Delirium
title: Blue Magic
album: Delirium Presents … Heroes

artist: Mouth’s Cradle [watch Mouth's Cradle perform at the 20 Watts LAUNCH]
title: Front Porch, Back Porch
album: N/A

artist: Passion Pit [read Elizabeth Vogt's editor's pick]
title: Little Secrets (Jack Beats Remix)
album: N/A

artist: Phantogram [hear an interview with Phantogram]
title: Mouthful of Diamonds
album: Eyelid Movies

artist: Golden Shoulders [read Caitlin Dewey's editor's pick]
title: Mountain
album: Get Reasonable

artist: The Tundra Toes [read our feature on the Ithaca music scene]
title: Miami
album: The Band Before Time

artist: Grand Salvo
title: Needles
album: Soil Creatures

artist: Sarah Aument [read our review of Sarah's set at the O, Morning Showcase]
title: Couch Slouch
album: Wake Up Singing EP

artist: The Great Collide
title: Far From Here
album: N/A

artist: Sleigh Bells
title: Ring Ring
album: N/A

artist: Pants Yell!
title: Magenta and Green
album: Received Pronunciation

artist: M.I.A.
title: Paper Planes (DFA Remix)
album: Slumdog Millionaire S/T

artist: Devon James [read our feature on lo-fi recording, including Devon James]
title: Use This One
album: N/A

In the late-’70s and early-’80s, following hot on the trails of punk rock, a new musical movement developed on both coasts of the Atlantic. The artists and bands associated with it shunned punk’s noise for a more layered, introverted songwriting and instrumentality. The movement brought with it synthesizers, Krautrock influences, as well as a more complex and experimental approach to music-making. In doing so, they set the wheels in motion for the eventual surge in ’80s and ’90s alternative rock. History has labeled this movement post-punk.

So what’s the very best of post-punk? 20 Watts’ CHRIS PARKER has the answer in our seventh 20 installment. Watch for new 20s each Thursday, only on 20 Watts, and check out our previous 20s below!

Vanaf dit jaar wordt 1 november niet meer alleen geassocieerd met Aller-heiligen, vanaf nu vieren we Aller-zondaars en bijgevolg wordt zondag 1 november Sinner’s Day. Het wordt een festivaldag waarbij pioniers en ander zwaar geschut uit de hoogdagen van punk en new wave samentroepen in de Ethias Arena in Hasselt. De line-up van de allereerste editie van het festival Sinner’s Day is ronduit indrukwekkend met namen als The Neon Judgement, Lydia Lunch, The Human League, Front 242 en Anne Clark. Peter Hook – bekend van New Order & Joy Division – en Andy Rourke van The Smiths spelen dj, net als Remo Perrotti en Didi de Paris. Gang of Four komen Psychedelic Furs, die hun optreden annuleerden, vervangen.

Voor wie Pukkelpop nog heeft weten beginnen (of Seaside zien eindigen) is Sinner’s Day zonder twijfel hét festival van het najaar. 1 november wordt een zwarte dag voor de Ethias Arena. Zwart op het podium. Zwart van het volk. Hieronder vind je alvast de line-up, die mogelijk onderhevig kan zijn aan last minute changes.

doors open at 13u

14.00 – 14.30 u  THE NEON JUDGEMENT

14.45 – 15.30 u  LYDIA LUNCH

15.45 – 16.30 u  BOLLOCK BROTHERS

16.45 – 17.30 u  ANNE CLARK

17.30 – 18.00 u   ANDY ROURKE  (DJ set/ Part 1)

18.00 – 19.00 u  GANG OF FOUR

19.00 – 19.30 u  ANDY ROURKE (DJ Set/Part 2)

19.30 – 20.30 u  GARY NUMAN

20.30 – 21.00 u  PETER HOOK (DJ set/ Part 1)

21.00 – 22.00 u  THE HUMAN LEAGUE

22.00 – 22.30 u  PETER HOOK (DJ set/ Part 2)

22.30 – 23.30 u  FRONT 242

AFTERPARTY!  DJ Alex Trappeniers (Happy House / Belgisch Congo…)

UPDATE

Om maar meteen met de deur in huis te vallen: vergeet al die fakefeestjes genre ‘I Love the 80’s’ en ‘I Love the 90’s’ : Sinner’s Day is ‘the real deal’. Gisteren getuige geweest van een bijzonder knap festival, dat als het hier en daar organisatorisch wat bijstuurt, absoluut zal uitgroeien tot een blijvend evenement. In voorverkoop gingen al meer dan 8.000 tickets de deur uit, gisteren rondde men de kaap van 10.000 bezoekers wat lang niet slecht is voor een eerste editie. Vooral veel dertigers en veertigers gezien gisteren, het jongere publiek was minder talrijk opgedaagd.

Het begon al tijdens de heenrit, waar we flink moesten aanschuiven richting parking. Gelukkig geraakten we dan weer snel binnen. Het enige jammere was het feit dat onze vrouwelijke compagnon (Kim) in laatste instantie nog afzegde. Onderweg al wat vreemde new wave creaturen gespot, de toon voor het verdere verloop van de dag was meteen gezet.

Klokslag 14u deed Luc Janssen zijn eerste aankondiging, Dirk Da Davo en TB Frank betraden het strijdtoneel onder hun muzikale pseudoniem The Neon Judgement. ‘The Fashion Party’, Tomorrow in the papers’, ‘Chinese black’ en als afsluiter ‘TV-Treated’. In 1990 of 1991 (ik wil er vanaf zijn) zag ik TNJ nog live in The Ritz (tegenwoordig Atmoz, Ritz Building of iets anders) aan de Hasseltse Kanaalkom. Destijds vond ik het toch allemaal wat spectaculairder, laat het ons daar op houden.

Lydia Lunch & The Big Sexy Noise was de volgende in het rijtje. Hoewel de dame een indrukwekkende staat van dienst heeft, was ze voor mij de vreemde eend in de bijt. Ondanks het feit dat ze wat ziekjes was gaf ze er toch een flinke lap op. Hulde! Bollock Brothers blijft welbeschouwd toch meer een fungroepje. Zanger Jock McDonald blijkt naast Celticfan ook een dikke boon te hebben voor Anderlecht. Die man kan bij mij dus op voorhand niets fout meer doen. In zijn typisch Schots geruit pakje brengt hij ‘The faith healer’, ‘Harley David’, ‘Horror movies’, ‘Pretty vacant’ (Sex Pistols cover), ‘Beats of love’ (Nacht und Nebel cover) en ‘Jesus lived six years longer than Kurt Cobain’.

Het eerste hoogtepunt van de dag komt van Anne Clark. Vooral de combinatie van een dichtende Clark, de synthklanken en de projecties gaf een sublieme combinatie. ‘Killing time’, het fantastische ‘Full moon’, ‘Sleeper in Metropolis’ (met begeleidende filmbeelden uit ‘Metropolis’ van Fritz Lang) en als uitsmijter ‘Our darkness’. Tijdens de eerste dj-set van Andy Rourke maken we een eerste plaspauze. Lange wachtrijen aan het toilet, zodat we maar net op tijd terug zijn om te zien dat Gang of Four er meteen stevig inhakt. Ze molesteren ‘en passant’ nog een microgolfoven met een baseballbat. Slechts één bekend nummer gehoord: ‘I love a man in a uniform’.

Tijdens het tweede dj-intermezzo lang aanschuiven voor een hamburger aan de eetstand. We hebben geluk dat we tijdig terug zijn voor Gary Numan, die erg spaarzaam is met hits. Ik meen ‘Pure’ en ‘RIP’ te hebben herkend, ‘Are friends electric’ zat bijna op het eind. Aardig moment: een jongedame die haar t-shirt met dat van Gary wilde wisselen en hiervoor haar witte bh met volle boezem tentoonspreidde. Numan hapte echter niet toe.

The Human League zag ik al voor de derde keer (na Suikerrock en Genk on Stage), dus geen verrassingen meer in hun setlist. Net als bij de vorige doortochten gemerkt dat de twee zangeressen regelmatig een valse noot produceerden, die gelukkig werd gecamoufleerd door de goeie stem van Phil Oakey. ‘Seconds’, ‘The lebanon’, ‘The sound of the crowd’, ‘Don’t you want me’, ‘Love action’, ‘Mirror man’ en ‘Open your heart’ denderden voorbij. In de bisronde ‘Being boiled’ en het kitscherige ‘Together in electric dreams’. Nog even oerdegelijk als vroeger!

De mokerslag werd bewaard voor het einde. Front 242 raasde als gek door de hal. ‘Tragedy for you’, ‘No shuffle’, ‘Welcome to paradise’, ‘Funkahdafi’ en ‘Headhunter’ waren een regelrechte aanval op ieders oren. In de bisronde ‘Im Rhythmus bleiben’ en ‘Punish your machine’. Nog eventjes (tot 1u) op de afterparty blijven plakken en daarna moe maar tevreden naar huis. Volgend jaar is er trouwens een nieuwe editie van Sinner’s Day op 31 oktober 2010. Iedereen kan zijn favoriete acts alvast aan de organisatie briefen.

They Were Wrong So We Drowned [2004] <- Download

Hoje, dia das bruxas, é uma ótima data para dar continuidade à discografia comentada do Liars.

Em 2003, Angus Andrew e sua namorada Karen O. trocaram o Brooklyn por uma residência rural no estado de Nova Jersey. Quando o YYYs saiu em turnê, os outros dois integrantes do Liars também se mudaram para a casa de campo, e, a partir de sombrias caminhadas noturnas pela floresta, começaram a pensar na concepção de seu segundo álbum. Interessado em forças ocultas, o trio passou a pesquisar sobre bruxaria na Internet. Um erro de digitação (brocken witch ao invés de broken witch) os levou a conhecer a Walpurgisnacht, uma celebração do folclore alemão. Segundo a tradição, no primeiro dia da primavera os homens saiam às ruas, acendendo fogueiras e fazendo muito barulho na esperança de espantar os demônios que surgiriam depois de ficarem presos durante o inverno. Esta foi a principal inspiração para a obra-prima do Liars, gravada na própria fazenda e produzida por David Sitek, do TV On The Radio.

Uma sensação de medo e escuridão perpassa todo o álbum, fazendo com que o ouvinte seja tragado para uma atmosfera medieval perturbadora. Imagine uma viagem lisérgica numa procissão pagã, embalada por uma marcha fúnebre hipnótica que te conduz a uma bad trip sufocante, com batidas tribais frenéticas e sintetizadores densos que não permitem abstrair o que acontece ao seu redor. A influência do Gang of Four ainda é nítida, mas nada aqui funcionaria numa pista. Os momentos moderninhos e potencialmente dançantes estão imersos no caos, e surgem com uma agressividade que potencializa a demência do disco.

Definitivamente, They Were Wrong So We Drowned não é acessível. Mas audições num contexto adequado (sozinho e drogado num quarto escuro) podem facilmente incluir o Liars entre suas bandas favoritas da década.

If You're a Wizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses
Hold Hands And It Will Happen Anyway

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In honour of the histrionic responses to Anita Dunn’s evocation of Mao – with Beck, Sullivan, et al. all knickers-a-twisted – I offer today’s random quotation from The Little Red Book.

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“Lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet” is a Chinese folk saying to describe the behaviour of certain fools.  The reactionaries in all countries are fools of this kind.  In the final analysis, their persecution of the revolutionary people only serves to accelerate the people’s revolutions on a broader and more intense scale.

“It’s always darkest before it’s totally black,” John McCain;
“War is politics with blood; politics is war without blood,” Newt Gingrich
(MMA).

Talk don’t cook rice.

Well, since The Swagger Sticks are off until mid-November (we’re playing our video release show at The Bootleg on Sat, 11/14/09), I’m making an effort to go out and see some shows. And, since I missed The Shakers on Wednesday and The Aggrolites in Pamona on Thursday, I made sure to make it out to Alex’s Bar in Long Beach for Mike Watt and Stab City. The flu was responsible for Stab City’s last minute cancellation but, fortunately for me, what followed was an amazing night of music…I saw all four bands and it could not have been better. On the bill were Telomere Repair, The Radio Sweetheart (I love that name), Los Mysteriosos and Mike Watt and The Secondmen.

Power to the Pedro! Mike Watt & The Secondmen

Openers Telemer Repair were filling in for Stab City at the last minute. They played some of the most searingly angular punk I have ever heard. The trio’s musicianship was off the charts. They made Gang of Four sound like a Vegas lounge act. I was totally intimidated by them until I traded CD’s with the bass player and then the band’s girlfriends, who were minding the merch table, gave me some stickers. They were all incredibly nice. I am a fan for life.

The Radio Sweetheart!

Next up was the all-girl punk trio, The Radio Sweetheart. Lead singer Dylan Kent had the most vicious punk guitar tone imaginable and the rhythm section was right on. I fucking loved it. Later that night I asked Kent about her rig and how she got such an amazing sound. She said, “You know, you’re talking to the wrong person about this stuff…I just turn everything up as loud as it will go.”  And that, my friends, is what makes punk rock great. If it sounds good, that’s all that matters. Added to that was a dead-on cover of The Pixies ”Isla de Encanta” at the end of their set. Now if only we can convince TRS to let The Swagger Sticks open for them.

The third band was Long Beach’s very own, Los Mysteriosos, in what can only be described as Latin surf  meets meets a “Fiesta of Flamenco.” Dios Mios, these guys rocked. You don’t need to speak Spanish to understand the ways of the Matador and, as Los Mysteriosos will tell you, they are the only ones who can make a Chupacabra dance on its tail!

When San Pedro natives Mike Watt and The Secondmen hit the stage I wasn’t sure what to expect. Watt had sat patiently on his amp the entire night smiling as he watched all three of the opening bands. I don’t think he got up once the entire time. He could have just as easily showed up five minutes before his set but instead hung out all night talking to friends and fans (myself included). That should tell you something about Watt – he’s one cool cat.

I’d seen Watt at The Echo about five years ago and, I have to admit, my simple I-IV-V mind had trouble digesting the free-form song structure. If Zappa had played bass he might have come close to Watt. On this night the Secondmen were on absolute fire and, combined with Watt’s incredible bass mastery, they worked together to form slightly more accessible songs (translation: this time ‘I got it’). The result was that Watt and his longshoremen absolutley blew my mind. I was mesmerized. 

Never mind the fact that Watt founded some of the most influential punk bands in history like The Minutemen and fIREHOSE and that he’s recorded with members of Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Pixies, Nirvana, The Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr, Black Flag, Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees etc.  And yes, forget about the fact that he played bass on Iggy Pop‘s tour a couple years ago. None of it matters. That’s because tonight was all about Mike Watt and The Secondmen. See their MySpace link below for upcoming shows. You won’t want to miss them.

 Thanks to Alex’s Bar for putting together a great night of music. It was my first time there and I had a blast.

If you come across any great local LA bands that you think I should check out please leave me a comment or hit me up on The Swagger Sticks MySpace page. I look forward to hearing from ya! ~ Aron

Links:
Telemer Repair
www.myspace.com/telomererepair

The Radio Sweetheart
www.myspace.com/theradiosweetheart

Los Mysteriosos
www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecomlosmysteriosos

Mike Watt & The Secondmen
www.myspace.com/secondmen

Mike Watt Bio
www.allmusic.om/MikeWatt

The Watt From Pedro Radio Show
www.twfps.com

Alex’s Bar
www.Alexsbar.com

AFG Must Rock!
Check Out: www.myspace.com/TheSwaggerSticks

Call it China’s trial of the 21st century.

Not since Mao Zedong’s wife and her fellow members of the reviled “Gang of Four” were tried in 1980 has a courtroom trial so captured the attention of the nation.

Source:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1931342,00.html?iid=digg_share

I watched Magazine on Jools Holland’s music show the other night, a band last active in 1981. The other week, there was a set from the Gang of Four, also from the same period and genre. And you know, I loved seeing them both and hearing them again. but it’s a slightly guilty pleasure.

My hero has always been John Peel, and he was always slightly contemptuous of people whose musical taste “stuck” at any particular period, so I worry slightly about liking music from nearly thirty years ago. Is it just nostalgia, or is it real classic quality music? Maybe I just like it because it’s the music of my youth.

Case for the defence is that Jimmy Ruffin was on the same show and he was great too, and was definitely not a feature of my youth. The same goes for Glenn Campbell on one of the previous ones. Who’d have thought it: I really enjoyed the old feller.

Maybe it’s OK. Some of the new performers have been excellent too, and some have not been to my taste at all. Which of them will I still be listening to in thirty years?

Doing my usual perusing over at FFFFound! and Trendland I came across an amazing set of photos.

Kutlu – Turkish born, New York based, high profile photographer – took the following photos.

Bonus mp3 – Damaged Goods by Gang of Four

Be Rad. Enjoy.

Japanese Voyeurs
Q & A

Go on, google image search them.

All fast guitars and heightened yelps, Japanese Voyeurs create the sort of music that can really only be done by teenagers and those in their early 20s who still have a satisfying sense of havoc. Luckily, that’s exactly what these guys are, and they do it well, being a London version of Be Your Own Pet, but lacking the pointlessness. And they’ve played with Gang of Four! How awesome is that? Anyway, here’s what they said to us. By us, I mean me. I’m so lonely.

What’s the background behind Japanese Voyeurs? Whose involved and when did you all get together?
Rich Waldren (keys): Me and Romily (Alice, lead singer/guitar) starting playing together and we recruited some Cosmic Crusaders about a year ago…

You’re loud and fun. Is that what music should be?
Romily: I don’t know what anyone elses music should be like. We just try to play what feels good to us.

Tom Lamb (bass): It should definitely be loud!

What do you hope people gain from your music?
Romily: I hope it makes people feel animal. Makes them see things in a different way. Makes them want to go out and smash stuff.

You’ve just supported Gang of Four. How was it opening for such a legendary act who I assume are pretty big influences?
Johnny Seymour (guitar): Yeah it was awesome, the Forum is a great venue too.

Romily: it was fun.

Rich: Would be nice to play with them again for sure!

What plans are there for the future too? Any albums/EPs on the way?
Johnny: Well there’s our first ep coming in October, as for an album, sometime next year I’d say.

What’s the nicest response you’ve had to your music?
Tom: When people say we sound like bands that I’m really into, that’s cool.

Romily: Some kid once sent me a message saying itd helped them out when they felt bad. That made me happy cause a lot of bands helped me out when I was younger and feeling pretty shitty. Its nice to return the favour.

Two tricks, that may or may not be related by blood, which popped out at me watching the great Gang of Fourstar tour vid: rumored-to-be-pro-now Tyler Bledsoe’s fully functional ledge combo at 2:30, making the most of a multi-dimensional object in 3D European space. Later, skipper Rick Howard’s backside nosegrind at 11:02, or more specifically, the way he slips the front foot back just so after the pop-out… really I did watch this like ten times. It’s weird, every time one of these Crailtap-backed tour productions comes out (starting back with “Beware of the Flare”) it always hits me how this is probably the best showcase for Rick Howard’s skating these days, though I was a big fan of his section in the Lakai video. I don’t know. Bledsoe’s gap to backside lipslide might have been the best trick in the video. Well, think I’ll watch the foot-flutter again, hold on.

Let’s close September menu with the tastier of desserts.
Gang of Four is arguably the only other English band with Joy Division which can be defined influential without any shade of doubt over the last 30 years.

Luckily all the members are alive and doing well so if their myth couldn’t spread as it happens when some rockstar dies the plus is that they can still delight our ears playing live which is a much better option than seeing useless bootlegs made official to earn easy money.

That said, the occasion this time wasn’t just a gig, but the unmissable gig. A secret show in a pub in Hoxton. A warm-up for the upcoming tour which touched London just few days ago.

The Macbeth main room is so small that I probably have never been so close to a band before. Not such a legendary band at least.

Everyone entering the place looks around in surprise. The expression in their face hides thoughts like “are they really playing here”?
I notice a stool standing empty next to the small mixer desk with a sticker on it saying Andy Gill. I though it was for some of the guitarist friends, instead I realized, two days later, it was for the other Andy Gill, my favourite Independent music journalist famous to have written the best criticism to a band I ever read: “Why I Hate Coldplay” should be taught in schools.

I promise myself to go back to say hello but it’s packed and I am loving shooting the entire set.
He may hate Chris Martin but clearly loves his homonymous guitarist and the band he’s been fronting for 30 years There is no need of a long critical essay to explain “why he loves Gang of four”.

When this gang of four guys jump on stage the excitement of the all-ages audience is at the stars. The same stars that Jon King tries to touch climbing the scaffolding with the spotlights clamped on.
Punk may be dead, but post-punk is alive and kicking.

Return the Gift is the perfect song to start a gig that indeed is a gift. The opening riff shows the emblematic stage presence of Andy Gill (the guitarist): standing still, staring his imaginary horizon, showing off his is dry, neat staccato a key part of the “influential” adjective that goes with the band. Where do you think Franz Ferdinand or Block Party guitar riff origin? Have a guess, or better a listen to Entertainment! their landmark debut.

I was expecting an Entertainment! Night since they will be touring the album in its entirety, instead we have been treated with a greatest hits set which in the end was even more tasteful.

We Leave As We Dream, Alone followed and emphasizes the other half of the band. Jon King incisive, sharp lyrics. You can’t fully appreciate Gang of Four without reading their lyrics. King put together Marxist theory mixed with cynical English humour. As influential as their music, bands as different as Rage Against The Machine and Fugazi have been spending quite some time reading them.

“The city is the place to be
With no money you go crazy
I need an occupation!
You have to pay for satisfaction
We live as we dream, alone
To crack the shell we mix with the others
Some flirt with fascism
Some lie in the arms of lovers”

Ether the opening of Entertainment! is another example of acute writing sang in an overlapping duet over the unmistakable sound.

This music has never sounded so actual

“Trapped in heaven life style (locked in Long Kesh)
New looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
It’s at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The happy ever after (a white room)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream”

They are in wonderful form, supported by two young guys, who replaced the original rhythm session the energy springs.

A recent song, Second life introduces an oldie, Not Great Man that, after the unique guitar and the clever lyricism, emphasizes the third aspect of Gang of Four ground breaking music: the pulsing, funky bass that for the first time in UK came out of the speakers so prominent.

A use of the bass as this hasn’t just influenced a band but an entire music trend blossomed the other side of the world. Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers always repeat that his life has changed after listening to Entertainment! Living Colours, The same Rage Against The Machine and back to Waes with Future of The Left all have been inspired by Dave Allen bass. Funnily enough tonight he is replaced by a young, good looking, dreadlocked guy who could clearly come from those sunny shores.

“No weak men in the books at home
The strong men who have made the world
History lives on the books at home

It’s not made by great men


The past lives on in your front room
The poor still weak the rich still rule

History lives in the books at home”

The formula is working and needs nothing more than keep going to enrapture anyone present, but there is more. The moment that sign epochs, the icing on the cake arrives.

Andy Gill assault his guitar for the first couple of minutes of Anthrax inundating the Macbeth with waves of feedback. Breathtaking, one of my favourite songs of all times. A lesson on use of noise in music. It goes without saying the Kafkian inspired lyrics suit the sonic attack perfectly.

“And I feel like a beetle on its back

And there’s no way for me to get up
Love’ll get you like a case of anthrax
And that’s something I don’t want to catch”

Break needed. Break achieved, Gang of Four open a window on Solid Gold their second album playing the two opening songs Paralysed which indeed gives a sensation of paralysis. It slows down the mood just those three minutes to let us retouch the ground and the guitar/bass/drum attack of What We All Want takes no prisoners.

Love is revisited for one of their better known songs Damage Goods and Jon King speaks it out clear

“Your kiss so sweet

Your sweat so sour

Sometimes I’m thinking that I love you

But I know it’s only lust”

I learn that Hero is a new song, nice to know they keep composing, while To Hell With Poverty is another example of Andy Gill mastering the art of feedback. He didn’t know he pioneered something years in advance, retrospectively you can see how ahead of times he was.

We got to the fake end, people call for more. The four leave the stage to the upstairs of the pub to come back in few minutes. I Love A Man In Uniform is one of their easiest songs of the post Dave Allen period, when Sara Lee gave to the sound a very 80s edge. it could have been an easy hit if it wasn’t banned by the BBC. It came out during the Falkland War and Mrs Thatcher couldn’t tolerate someone singing

“The good life was so elusive
Handouts, they got me down
I had to regain my self-respect
So I got into camouflage
The girls they love to see you shoot
I love a man in a uniform”

Natural’s Not In It is my favourite Gang of Four song. The song where they manage to best balance all their facets.
Tonight Andy Gill is on fire, the riff goes on and on, change of rhythm overlap with Jon King syncopated singing. I think how someone else, Anthony Kiedis, built a career taking inspiration from this song. The first Red Hot Chilli Peppers song was written in 1979, it would still be their best but it is not in any of their recording.

At Home He’s A Tourist marks a key point of their career. Invited to Top of The Pop to sing it, the band walked away when asked to change the word “rubber” to “packet”. The song was then banned from BBC, EMI dropped them to sign an emerging band: Duran Duran took their place. How couldn’t I love this four guys? How couldn’t I despise EMI?

“Down on the disco floor
They make their profit

From the things they sell

To help you cob off

And the rubbers you hide
In your top left pocket”

Cheesburgers and I Found That Essence Rare close the concert with the opening verses that make me realize even Manic Street Preachers have been influenced by Jon King writing.

“Aim for the body rare, you’ll see it on TV
The worst thing in 1954 was the Bikini
See the girl on the TV dressed in a Bikini
She doesn’t think so but she’s dressed for the H-Bomb”

This has been, no doubts, one of the greatest concert of the last few years. For its vibe, groove, energy, showmansip. My only regret, 5.45 was missing. One of my favourite lyrics which I paste it here for you:

“How can I sit and eat my tea,
with all that blood flowing from the television.
At a quarter to six,
I watch the news,
Eating, eating all my food
As I sit watching the red spot
In the egg which looks like
All the blood you don’t see on the television.

Still body now, no movement yet
Five men lie die flat on their backs
Were they born to lie in state
Defend the ever stagnate great?

Down on the street assassinate
All of them look so desperate
Declared blood war on the bourgeois state

Watch new blood on the 18 inch screen
The corpse is a new personality
Ionic charge gives immortality
The corpse is a new personality

Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment”

Follow Gang of Four on their [website] [myspace] and if you live in the right country listen to everything they recorded on [spotify], if you don’t have it buy Entertainment! and make your album collection richer.

Photo Tip

A strange lighting situation at this gig, as you can see in some pictures.
Andy Gill was constantly under a very bright spot while the rest of the band was pretty much in usual concert darkness.

Photography in this condition is tricky.
You can’t let the camera decide the right exposure risk of over or under estimating the lighting is very likely.
You have to decide for what to expose (fix your average grey, zone 5, as Ansel Adams teaches) and handle the rest of the frame in order to avoid useless over or underexposure.

Most camera (even point and shoot ones) nowadays have a spot meter, which means they measure the light on a very small part centre of the frame.

Using this, remember two very important things.

If your subject is not in the centre, point at him than (read how to) lock the exposure on your camera, otherwise as soon as you point away from it to reframe, you loose the right measuring for the light your spot hits.

The spotmeter is not too clever. It doesn’t do what you have in mind, it simply measures the light of your selected spot and fixes it as the average. This means that using it you have to point at a region that you want to be average exposed, not too bright not too dark.
If you point it at your focal point but it is not lit “average” (as Andy Gill for example) you have to balance the measuring with the exposure compensation button. (read the manual).

To give you an example, I took the light on Andy Gill face, very bright, then I underexposed that measure one or two stops (-1/-2) in order to consider it was lighter than average. Basically you tell your camera, that you want his face 1 or 2 stops brighter than average. This allow the rest of the frame to emerge.

It is not a rigid rule, measuring it without compensating gives it well exposed and the surrounding comes out deep black, which could be good.

As always, it is not about applying the theory, but mastering it in order to control your results.

Well, it has happened before, but not since I started this thing, and I’m cheating a bit to start off with – Nirvana – Smells like teen spirit.  A bona-fide classic, which I was listening to on my way home (i.e. before I got on the mill).  Classic songs like this you hear far too often, but it was great hearing this again. Sad genius boy.

Next one Beatles – While my guitar gently weeps was only a half cheat because I restarted it when I got on.  By the 3rd banana.  It occurred to me that this band are a little microcosm of the world – two great powers fighting for dominance, showing off to each other, a third talented entity; less flashy more workman-like, a bit less recognised than the much-lauded others but perhaps there’s a suspicion that what it is doing is a bit more worthwhile, and a fourth is the rest; everyday, ordinary, little talent and disposable. I stretched the metaphor a bit there, and probably identify with George the most in the end – John; too otherworldly and in-yer-face, Paul; too safe and conservative, and Ringo; what is he doing here after all? Great song of course.

The Last – L.A Explosion Never heard this one from the Children of Nuggets box-set.  Sounds a bit 60s natch, and early Beatles, but I like this and wouldn’t mind checking them out.  A lot of the tracks on the nuggets comps are one hit wonders, but as I know from the ones I do recognise sometimes there’s a whole lot of other stuff.  Died Pretty for example have heaps of excellent stuff.

Gang of Four – He’d Send in the Army Agit pop/punk wiv’ a message.  Love those angular guitars – they always have great rhythms.  Gotta say a lot of their stuff does sound samey. Having an amble today, so I’m happy to just let this one run – feel like I should anyway. It’s my duty.

[Just checked my weight on the dodgie scales and it is 116kg, so we can safely say above 120]

Iron Maiden – Run to the Hills is probably the only song of theirs I vaguely know, at least the rousing chorus.  So, it’s about cowboys and injuns eh? Who woulda thunkit? This would be good if I was actually running.  Never was into metal in a big way, but I do like the occasional meeedledimeeedle – and there is plenty in this one!

Terrible sound on Simple Minds – Promised you a miracle might be something to do with the cd it was ripped from, or the 80s production.  A great song though from their early new romantic phase before they became bloated stadium rockers apparently.

Simon and Garfunkel – Song for the asking short tune from their collection, live, but one I don’t know – pretty non-eventful. Can’t imagine this would be anyone’s fave track, unless you popped the cherry to it or something.

Ah have to research this one.  It’s French, 60s, singing about hearts and eyes. The Gentlemen – Scotch from Geneva, Switzerland actually. From volume 4 of the Worldbeaters compilations. Scuzzy scruffy garage from across the world – will have to update my iPod one day, it only comes up as Track 3.

More metal, this time from the metalist of them all: Mastodon – Seabeast.  Big pounding chunky riffage – I really should have been running.  This band is so lush and full-bodied – like a big, thrashing beast of a whale.  I take it this album is all about Moby Dick.  Love the big themes and lush artwork on their albums.

How could Chic have a double album collection, weren’t they just a singles band with a short life-span? Haven’t heard this one before Rebels We Are, but it’s harmless disco, nowhere near their classic early singles.

And to finish, some Finnish (Norwegian in fact) ambient sounds from Royksopp – She’s So from the big album of theirs Melody A.M..  Nice breezy summery sounds weirdly enough from these nordic chaps.

So, a bit metal today, and a lot of European electronica coming up, which I’m a bit unfamiliar with, but I have quite a bit on there obviously.  No classical or some of the more esoteric stuff so far, which is probably good for the treadmill, but we shall see what the Pod holds next time.

UPDATED LINE-UP!
THE RAINCOATS
SECTION 25 (Factory Records)
GANG OF FOUR (Guest DJs Hugo Burnham & Dave Allen)
THE JAZZ BUTCHER
MEDIUM MEDIUM
KID CONGO POWERS
SAVAGE REPUBLIC
VIV ALBERTINE [THE SLITS]
ABE VIGODA
RAINBOW ARABIA
WEAVE
THE INTELLIGENCE
CHRISTMAS ISLAND
SHARK TOYS
BLESSURE GRAVE
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY
+ guest DJs +
Dave Newton (MIGHTY LEMON DROPS)
DAN SELZER (ACUTE RECORDS)

A Grooveshark playlist…

Mission of Burma, Gang of Four, The Specials, Elvis Costello, The Clash, Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, R.E.M., The Police, The Jam, Echo & the Bunnymen…

Last week I was doing a talk at a conference at Leeds University about Post Punk.

It was an interesting event and made more interesting by the fact that post punk has become a thing, a scene, and a definable set of rules to be picked over years later by academics.

I guess it was Simon Reynolds excellent book that started this. It was great that he pushed the spotlight onto the insane activity that poured out of the breach created by punk rock- the DIY labels, fanzines and bands that were re-writing music on their own terms.

The only problem is that it has made a scene that had no rules and no boundaries become very linear. Post punk has become fashionable in the past few years but it has become narrowed down to the Gang Of Four and The Fall and maybe A Certain Ratio when someone feels a little but funky. I don’t remember it that way. I remember a blurring of boundaries after punk with a simultaneous leap into the future and a re-affirmation of the past as the shackles of the punk rock Year Zero were thrown away. And whilst the aforementioned bands were key bands of the period there was also great music getting made by Killing Joke and Bauhaus and other bands who have been lumped in with the Goth scene.

It may not fit into the newly neat narrative but the so called Goth scene was equally innovative with both Killing Joke and Bauhaus incorporating dub into glam and tribal musics and creating whole new soundscapes.

The early Adam And the Ants were also making some strange and unsettling music and I’ve often wondered if these bands were a bit too strange and in some cases a bit too pretty with a touch or eye liner (or in the case of Killing Joke – dark and ugly with manic face paint) to be taken seriously by the lumpy academic brigade.

It’s a curious fact of rock history that the journalists will always put the bands that look like them on the pedestal and write the other ones out of history. At the time most people I knew seemed to be thrilled by both types of bands and few saw it as separate scenes- the battle lines were drawn up later and the so called Goth bands were annoyingly written out of history even though their influence has been far bigger.

Personally I don’t care that much I have all the records but I often wonder when I look out at the students learning about this fantastic musical time when there were no rules and hope that they are not being short changed by the revised histories of those times.

WHOA.

nin on myspace

- sunbear

Rock has a reputation for being a beer and whiskey kinda night. OK, maybe a rum and coke, then a shot of tequila, then eleventy beers kinda night. But somewhere along the way, I traded in my plastic tumbler for a wine glass. If I drink much at all, I strictly drink wine.

It seems it’d be an uneven match, navigating the pogoing crowds with a refined glass of pinot noir. Well, one less reason to stand in the mosh pit, I suppose. My drink often brings scowls or claims of “That’s a big glass of stain you’re carrying around.” Better to stand safe and sound in VIP with, my dear.  Sure, My libation choice may have made me stick out like a sore thumb, but not anymore. Now there is something that perfectly satisfies my Uptown girl tastes and my Downtown girl edge: Rock ‘N Roll Wine.

Founded by Sommelier Chris Hammond and business partner Sonny Barton, Rock ‘n Roll Wine is a wine events company dedicated to revolutionizing the way people perceive, and enjoy wine. Rock ‘n Roll Wine produces monthly wine events in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Ann Arbor, in addition to making their own music-themed line of wines.

I’ve been to events they’ve had tastings at before. In fact, they were doling out delicious vino at a Swinghouse Studios event. It was so nice to go to a rock party and not be shoved a monster energy drink. I even had a choice between The Grotto, a California red blend with grenache, syrah, cab and a dash of Zin:

or a white muscat, roussanne, chardonnay blend called Reggae Rhapsody:

The company does pairings…that is, music and wine pairings. They suggest that MGMT might be a good listening choice while sipping some Grotto while Jack Johnson would be a more fitting way to enjoy a glass of Reggae Rhapsody. Beach side, of course. OK, neither of those overplayed KROQ artists are my cup of tea, or wine as it were…I’m still waiting for the wines that would be good for breaking out my Gang of Four or Neu! albums, but, hey, baby steps…

Along with the music pairing idea, the company often showcases the wine while artists play onstage nearby. They’ve done events with big artists such as Dashboard Confessional, Everclear, Ingrid Michaelson, Pat Monahan of Train and Low vs. Diamond, as well as emerging artists. Jangly indie rock act? Rock N Roll wines will have a nice cabernet pour for that. Singer/Songwriter about to take the stage? A pinot grigio will be chilling near by, waiting to be sampled.

And in honor of the beer and whiskey soaked Sunset Strip doing it up with their own festival, Rock ‘n Roll Wine is going to class it up this weekend too. Or as Rock ‘n Roll wine tipplers say: “Rock Out With Your Cork Out”. The company will help kick off the festival by hosting their event at the House of Blues VIP club Foundation Room on Friday, September, 11 and feature singer/songwriter Cofféy. The wine party will feature 15 hand-selected, wines from around the world, including Rock ‘n Roll Wine’s Reggae Rhapsody and The Grotto.

To purchase your tickets in advance, visit www.rocknrollwine.com or call 702-240-3066. Rock ‘n Roll Wine is offering a discount to those going to the Sunset Strip Music Festival. Enter code: SSMF when ordering tickets online and receive $5 OFF addmission.

I’ll be there, sampling the wines and the rock, which to me, seem the perfect combination. If I am going to rock out on the strip this weekend, it will most definitely be with my cork out.