I have spent most of this summer not watching the Ashes but reading it via internet updates either at work or on my girlfriend’s mobile. And therefore most of the words that I have published about it have mainly been based on what someone else has already written. To remind myself I’ve just paused the Sky Plus on the highlights at the moment Jonathon Trott took his catch. Yes, I was definitely there. A few blurry pixels in the distance. Somehow added to the massed ranks of the Barmy Army, who seemed to change session by session:

Morning:

Mostly middle-aged women. Who don’t know each other or like each other, preferring the company of the tiny radio plugged into their ear. Polo shirt is standard issue, mainly in red with a crazy nickname emblazoned across the shoulders. Names like ‘Badger’, ‘Gumbo’ and my personal favourite, ‘Ian’. Generally subdued. Which was a relief.

Afternoon:

Amazing. Obviously. Everything was amazing. Although I had the spectator equivalent of beer goggles on. And Broad goggles actually. All chants absolutely hilarious and the trumpet in no way invasive. Leader makes first appearance. Looks like a 100-year old Johnny Borrell.

Evening:

Chants getting tiresome. Can all be filed under ‘it was funny the first time’. Which is a sentence than can be used for the Barmy Army in its entirety. Middle-aged women have disappeared to be replaced by swearier recruits who seem to be completely detached from the action on the pitch. Not looking as England lose three quick wickets. Watching a man do a jig with a cuddly Flat Eric instead. All fielders from both sides appear to have been trained in a special backwards wave to appease the Army. Apart from Peter Siddle who turned around faced the crowd with a double wave and a grin as they sang something obscene about him and a horse’s penis.

Peter Siddle is awesome. I hope he and England both win the Ashes this weekend.

Models Direct: Indie - when fashion and music collide...

It’s been a long-held view that fashion and music act as huge influences on one another, and the 2009 British indie scene shows just how true that is. Both indie music and indie fashion can be traced back to the 1980s, and indeed in the 2000s, we’re seeing a lot of the past trends hitting the catwalk, the stage and the high-street once again.

Bands such as Depeche Mode and The Cure pioneered the music movement of the eighties, and with them they created a whole new daring style, attitude and persona. Though this particular kind of fashion isn’t always followed by the indie musicians of today, the impact of an artist’s style still resonates hugely with music fans of today.

In many cases, we see the fashion of one or two bands begin to influence fans, and from here we see high street fashion adjust accordingly. When Razorlight and the Arctic Monkeys hit the music scene back in 2004, it wasn’t long before young boys were consistently dressed in skinny jeans, waist coats and neck scarves. By 2007, Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell was the seventh man in the history of fashion to appear on the front cover of Vogue, and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner was in a serious relationship with model Alexa Chung.

And, of course, it’s not just the men, either. Female fronted bands like The Ting Tings and Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been equally influential. Katie White of The Ting Tings and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs were wearing oversized tees, patterned leggings and funky coloured short shorts before any of us high-streeters had even begun thinking about it. Musicians such as Lily Allen and Beth Ditto have made crossovers directly into the fashion world, adorning the covers of magazines and modelling for high-street and designer brands.

So this summer’s innately rock and roll style isn’t entirely new, but here at Models Direct HQ we reckon it’s still full of creativity and we have no doubts that it is just naturally oh-so-cool.

- Lauren @ Models Direct

Johnny Borrell uznawany jest za największego bufona brytyjskiej sceny indie. Arogancki, pretensjonalny, nieprzytomnie zakochany w sobie. Teksty lidera Razorlight (którzy na ostatniej płycie mocno skręcili w stronę klimatów U2 czy The Waterboys) są wyłączną emanacją jego ego, często trącąc banałem. Nie można jednak zaprzeczyć, że Borrell ma talent, wdzięk i charyzmę. Chociaż łatwo go nie lubić, to pisze świetne piosenki, wokalnie daje radę, a na scenie po prostu rozsadza go energia. No i wygląda jak młody Bob Geldof. Tabloidy rozpisują się też o jego życiu uczuciowym, bo spotykał się z Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Imbruglią i Emmą Watson. Playboy, narcyz, świetny muzyk, kiepski poeta, zakładnik miłości…

Razorlight wystąpią 4 września na Placu Defilad w Warszawie podczas Orange Warsaw Festival. W nie byle jakim towarzystwie. Pod Pałacem Kultury zobaczyć będzie można też MGMT, Calvina Harrisa czy N.E.R.D.

by: Adam Kruk 2009

Universal (c) Andrew Whitton

Fans von Razorlight können für ihre Band einen Ort für ein Konzert vorschlagen. Am Gewinnerort wird die Band von Sänger und Gitarrist Johnny Borrell am 17. September auftreten. Über 100 Ideen sind bereits bei der Promotionagentur eingegangen. Darunter Vorschläge wie Schlösser, Parks, Vorgärten und andere skurrile Ideen. Bis 20. Juli kann auf t-mobile-streetgigs.de über die Konzertorte abgestimmt. Razorlight wählen dann unter den Top Ten ihren Lieblingsgig aus.

The second day of the isle of White festival saw temperatures soar on and off stage. Following friday nights storming headline set from the Prodigy the weather decided it needed to follow suit raising temperatures to skin blistering heights.

Enjoying the vibe were the likes of Paolo Nutini and The View who treated the assembled crowd to high octane versions of ‘5 Rebeccas’ and ‘Temptation Dice’ in a set showcasing the highlights of their Which Bitch album. Over on the Big Top stage The Maccabees followed up a successful jaunt in Europe with a celebratory set that saw the crowd spilling out of the massive tent. Lead singer Orlando capped off a performance of ‘Precious Time’ by declaring “I am so pleased for you with the weather, you couldn’t of had it better could you?!” The band capped their performance with a version of ‘Love You Better’ off of their sophomore LP Wall Of Arms with guitarist Felix noting, “it’s been great to be a part of the Isle Of Wight Festival, we didn’t expect so many people, it means a lot”. The band will be heading out on a headline UK tour in October where alt-folk legend Adam Green is expected to support after the band talked with him at this years Great Escape Festival.

One of the highlights of the festival so far came when Mercury Rev took to the Big Top stage adding some surrealist beauty to proceedings. Though they faced a mixed crowd, with a high percentage of pop pickers trying to jostle for position for Will Young who followed them, the band, lead by the messianic Jonathan Donahue managed to transport the entire canvas clad crowd temporarily into another world. Featuring versions of ‘Holes’ and ‘Goddess On The Highway’ from the seminal Deserter’s Songs as well the band closed with the space-rock incantations of ‘Senses On Fire’ from their latest album ‘Snowflake Midnight’. Speaking on Sunday morning Festival curator John Giddings declared it the highlight of his festival so far.

One of the more surprising aspects of the festival was the appearance, much to the astonishment of the just finished Nutini, of the Red Arrows, who spent 24 minutes indulging in incredible aerial acrobatics to the delight of 60,000 sky craned necks. From Red Arrows to White Lies the main stage saw the UK band delivering their sombre indie noir.

White Lies face the press @ Isle Of Wight FEstival 2009

Following on from the interpol-lite antics of White Lies Maximo Park seem like a bunch of schoolboys who fell in a vat of Red Bull when they were babies. Front man Paul Smith demonstrating a severe allergy to ever having two feet on the stage at any one time as the band romped through a tea time set that featured latest single ‘The Kids Are Sick Again’ and classic ‘Our Velocity’ from 2007s Our Earthly Pleasures album. The only weak point of the set came when they tore into a lacklustre version of their next single ‘Questing, Not Coasting’. It’s a low tempo love song that will definitely translate better to halls and radio than the sunlit evening of the summer festival circuit.

The evening saw Calvin Harris rocking the Big Top Stage whilst a band who have been causing a lot of column inch scrutiny recently strolled onto the main stage. Since the departure of Andy Burrows Razorlight have been a band in transition and despite the presence of the requisite hits and sing along moments, there was the sense of a rudderless ship. Borrell needs a foil or he is in danger of descending into one glove land.

The main stage was headlined by Welsh rockers Stereophonics who duly gave the crowd exactly what they were expecting. Jones and co filling an hour and 10 minutes with a set that confirmed all suspicions that like fellow country men The Manic Street Preachers they have begun a period of mid career phone in albums. Where the manics have recently recaptured the fire of their youth Stereophonics are walking the line between genuine act and their own best cover band. Not that any of that matters when they crank out Bartender and the thief.

After the overblown antics of Razorlight and Stereophonics you would imagine an hour and a half of Pink Floyd might not be the antidote. However the Australian Pink Floyd turned the Big Top Stage into the dark side of the moon for a short time last night, including perfect verions of ‘Comfortably Numb’, ‘The Wall’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ and a simply breathtaking version of ‘Big Gig In The Sky’ that featured one of the vocal performances of the year. All in all, a perfect way to end a long and eventful day.

The final day of the festival sees the dream double bill of The Pixies followed by Neil Young as well as performances from the likes of The Horrors, Black Lips, Pigeon Detectives, Simple Minds, Killing Joke, The Charlatans, The Script and The Rumblestrips.

]]> http://horiwood.com/2009/05/23/10-hot-posts-right-now-19/ Sat, 23 May 2009 04:10:23 +0000 horiwood http://horiwood.com/2009/05/23/10-hot-posts-right-now-19/

1. THE HORIWOOD TOP 10 – FRI 5.22.09

2. MARIE OSMOND’S DAUGHTER JESSICA LOOKS LIKE BETTY SUAREZ!

3. LOL! GENITALIA + MORMON + JEWISH + GAY + CHUY = CHELSEA LATELY TV FORMAT?

4. TWILIGHT FRIDAY: ROBERT PATTINSON’S $28,000 KISS WITH KRISTEN STEWART IN NEW MOON

5. IS CLAY AYKEN A TAD BIT JEALOUS OF ADAM LAMBERT?

6. JOHNNY BORRELL OF RAZORLIGHT ROCKS!

7. FERGIE’S FREAKY AMERICAN IDOL FINGERNAILS ARE A RIGHT TRIP!

8.QUOTE OF THE DAY 1: MEGAN FOX ON OLIVIA WILDE

9. QUOTE OF THE DAY 2: OLIVIA WILDE ON MEGAN FOX

10. GIVE THE GIFT OF HOPE & TOUCH LIVES TODAY

Love his tee shirt. A great message with good music! Go Razorlight’s Johnny Borell! Who doesn’t want to Save The World, right? Yes We Can! [Getty images]

< 3 – a w e s 0 m e !
Can’t not wait to see it!

Razorlight

At the beginning of their career Johnny Borrell’s new outfit began by supporting The Libertines at various venues (including 333 in Old Street) where a young A&R scout, Justin Cross, found them and put them in Liam Watson’s Toerag Studios where he produced the tracks “Rip It Up”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lies” and “In The City” alongside John Fortis. Off the back of these tracks the band (now named Razorlight) began getting serious A&R heat due to the songs’ success on radio stations such as John Kennedy Show on XFM.

Razorlight are an Anglo-Swedish indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in their home countries, having topped the charts with the 2006 single America and its parent self-titled album, their second.

Razorlight

Johnny Borrell, Björn Ågren, Carl Dalemo and David ‘Skully’ Sullivan-Kaplan are current members of Razorlight. Christian Smith-Pancorvo and Andy Burrows have been former members.

A Razorlight hivatalosan is bejelentette, hogy megvált dobosától, Andy Burrowstól. A zenész önként döntött a távozás mellett, indokként “személyes okokat” jelölt meg. Burrows a március 2-i, wolverhamponi koncerten már nem jelent meg, beugró dobos pótolta a bőrök mögött…

“A Razorlighttal töltött elmúlt öt év csodálatos élmény volt számomra. Nagyon büszke vagyok arra, amit elértem a zenekarral, de személyes okok miatt úgy döntöttem, kiszállok az együttesből. A zenélést nem hagyom abba, más projektben folytatom a munkát” – nyilatkozta az együttes előző két lemezén dalszerzőként is funkcionáló, tavaly saját szólólemezzel is jelentkező dobos.

“Az elmúlt öt évben Andy fontos láncszeme volt a Razorlightnak, nagyon fog hiányozni. Attól a perctől kedve nyilvánvaló volt, hogy zseniális dobos, mikor először besétált a próbahelyünkre, de azóta még magasabb szinteket ért el. Nagyszerűen játszott, remek barát volt és büszkék leszünk, hogy vele együtt zenélhettünk. Ami a pótlását illeti: az év végéig David Sullivan-Kaplannal folytatjuk a turnézást” – nyilatkozta Johnny Borrell frontember.

est

Der Razorlight Drummer Andy Burrows steigt aus und will sich neue musikalische Herausforderungen suchen. Gegenüber dem englisch NME erklärte Burrow, er wolle sich neuen musikalischen Herausforderungen stellen. Der exzentrische Bandleader Johnny Borrell bedeuerte den Ausstieg seines Drummers, Burrows sei ein großartiger Musiker, ein guter Freund und ein wesentlicher Bestandteil der Band gewesen – man werde ihn sehr vermissen. Welch sanfte Worte eines Rockers….

Einen Nachfolger gibt es auch schon. Der Drummer von Men, Women & Children David “Skully” Sullivan-Kaplan wird neuer Schlagzeuger bei Razorlight und das auch schon bei den nächsten Auftritten.

Razorlight ist übrigens auch in Deutschland zu sehen:

Tourdaten:
11.04. München
15.04. Köln
18.04. Hamburg
20.04. Berlin
26.04. Hannover
27.04. Bochum

In the bowels of the labyrinthine VRT building in Brussels, British rock band Razorlight tear through a version of their song In the City in preparation for a radio concert to be broadcast from the same studio later that night. The atmosphere is relaxed despite a blown keyboard and the fact that this promotional tour in support of latest album Slipway Fires is already beginning to drag. There are no signs of the tensions which have reportedly been threatening to split the band ever since they exploded onto the scene in 2004.

“We didn’t really know each other when we got together so there was a lot of stuff to figure out,” bassist Carl Dalermo admits. “That includes the bad and the good, and you have to deal with that. When you’re on the road, the bad can sometimes become more obvious.”

“It’s always like that when you’re together for such a concentrated period of time,” guitarist Björn Ågren adds. “Going on tour is like being in the Big Brother house on wheels…except you can’t vote anyone off.” Both guitarist and bass player avoid the question as to who they would vote off if they could, offering only wry smiles which implicitly state ‘no comment’.  

Razorlight were a critic’s dream when they first appeared. An angular rock outfit fronted by a supremely self-confident former heroin addict who sounded like Dylan and looked like Jim Morrison. Their first album, Up All Night, seemed to substantiate, at least in part, singer Johnny Borrell’s wild claims of genius. It was a record of the time, perfectly capturing the mixture of bohemia and punk that was sweeping London in the early Noughties. Then came their second album and the inevitable backlash. The eponymously titled follow-up to their spiky debut was richly layered and extravagant, an album that alienated sections of their fan base which accused Razorlight of selling out.

“You can’t plan to be mainstream,” says Carl. “It happens when your music reaches a wider audience. The public is responsible for making anything mainstream. If more people like what you do, you become more popular and reach more people.”

“You can’t plan anything in rock,” adds Björn. “Anything and everything can and will happen. Spinal Tap is a lesson to us all. I mean we’ve achieved one of the classics, we’ve lost a drummer…although it wasn’t through a freak gardening accident.”

It wasn’t just a section of fans that revolted after the release of Razorlight. The polarization within the media increased, setting those who loved the band against those who loathed them.

“I think that’s great. I want our music to inspire such extreme emotions,” Björn says. “The worst thing is indifference. I’d hate it if it was all ‘oh, they’re okay I suppose.”

“A lot of the bad press is because of fucking Johnny,” admits Carl. “People see him as arrogant and think he’s a dick, they don’t get past the singer to listen to the song. That’s the worst part of it. The music doesn’t even get a mention sometimes.”

“A lot of it is quite personal and nasty,” Björn agrees. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for Johnny. I have yet to read a witty or funny put-down about us. It’s quite dark, mostly.”

Despite internal strife and external pressure, Razorlight have survived to make album number three. Slipway Fires may not be the important, grand statement the band wanted it to be but it is another obvious step in their evolution. After the youthful sneer of Up All Night and the ballad-heavy Razorlight, the third album brings the best of both together and turns the volume up to eleven. In a few cases, Slipway Fires suggests Razorlight are dangerously close to stadium rock pomposity but saving graces such as Tabloid Lover and Monster Boots keep them tied to their roots. All in all, it suggests that, if they can stay together and avoid both musical and personal excesses, Razorlight might eventually become the all-conquering band they already are in the mind of their divisive singer.

Laura  Jean Marsh (aka Laura Trouble,) glam and stylish singer with Screaming Ballerinas casts a critical eye over how the pop gliterrati shape up in the fashion stakes, as we present Part 1 of  …

Laura’s first three fashion victims are

Laura on Johnny

“Oh Johnny Johnny Johnny, I’m sure you’re a very nice boy, but there’s something about your horse-having-an-orgasm-face and your freshly waxed, puffed out, pigeon chest that make me want to head butt you. Both these poses are really not saving this contrived, camp, infuriating outfit. Im sure this was the work of some coked up stylist who thinks a plunging, white, v-neck t-shirt and skin tight white jeans are androgynous and rock n roll. But he just looks like a public school brat who’s ‘doing a spot of modelling’ in his gap year.”

Laura on Pete

“Pete looks really cool here! I  wouldn’t want to suck his toes or anything but this is probably one of his best looks. Probably from the Kate days, he couldn’t have managed this on his own. Nothing better than a man in a suit. And he’s about 8 ft tall so he cuts a fine figure in this Saville row-esque creation. Pity he is probably just on his way to court.”

Laura on Bjork

“Greatful Grapefruit! I love this dress so so so much. Bjork can do no wrong. I bet she just skipped down to a lake and sang to her swan friends, romancing one into a trance thus convincing it to wrap itself around her gorgeous little body. I would die for this dress! its just so ridiculous and fabulous! I would probably draw the line at laying an egg though. Probably.”

The real Laura!

Screaming Ballerinas on myspace

The DollyRockers Club

Razorlight est un groupe de rock britannique formé en 2002 autour de Johnny Borrell, bassiste des Libertines. Ecoutez vous connaissez sûrement !

Au Bataclan le 30 novembre à 20h – 50 bd Voltaire métro Oberkampf
34€. Acheter une place

Everyone in England appears to think so. It’s almost a phenomenon.

Let’s face it, every bandleader goes on and on about their creative accomplishments and the promise of what is yet to come entertainment-wise. Sometimes ad nauseum. But Razorlight frontman, Johnny Borrell (right) seems to take it to the upteenth degree — at least according to the British press and Johnny’s peers.

Other bands seem to think him a wanker and a poser. And across the pond it appears that way sometimes. He recently talked about the new Razorlight album, Slipway Fires and its tour like he was Chaucer preparing for his pilgrimage.

The Sun quotes Borrell as saying:

“It (Slipway Fires) might be better because it has 3,789 words and the last one only had 3008. It’s gonna be harder to play live as I’ve got to get all of those words in the right order.”

781 more words does not make Razorlight better. In fact, I don’t know what can make Razorlight better. The band is good, but not that good. For instance, I bought Up All Night, the debut album, liked it here and there, but I felt bored most of the time as if being led through a by-the-numbers production. Most of it was a BORE-rell.

Perhaps I will feel differently about the newest release.

]]> http://powerlinead.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/scottish-trash-talk-the-fratellis-badmouth-popular-british-bands-and-musicians/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:41:57 +0000 Patrick Prince http://powerlinead.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/scottish-trash-talk-the-fratellis-badmouth-popular-british-bands-and-musicians/

The Fratellis, a band best known for their iPod single “Flathead,” have too much trash to talk.

In their own music column in England’s Daily Star newspaper, the band dissed Razorlight:

“We were driving around London and ‘America’ came on the radio and for some reason, who knows what, we all burst out laughing at precisely the same time … Johnny Borrell is a cock.”

The Kooks:

“We hate the Kooks as well – their music is fucking awful.”

And, even Sting:

“Sting seems to know that everyone thinks he’s an idiot, but wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face if we ever had to talk to him.”

Just because you can trash talk doesn’t mean you are one of the Brit big boys like Oasis. I get sick of all the trash talk on the British scene. Other music fans love it… it’s exciting gossip, I guess. But The Fratellis?! C’mon. They are a decent enough band but they haven’t even earned their stripes yet. So, to me, it’s just blah, blah, blah, blah, and so on.

Now go write yourself another iPod song.