It’s around this time each year that journalists, bloggers and any one else similarly obsessed with letting everyone know their bloody opinions get rather excited.

This has nothing to do with the imminent gifts or feasts of meat and alcohol that xmas inevitably brings.

No, this time of year means one thing for these people. Lists.

Yes, they have already started flooding in. Furthermore, this year, while not quite as salivatingly-big an opportunity as the Millennium, we have the prospect of a ‘greatest album of the decade’-a-thon!

The NME has this week been the most prolific perpetrator of this culture with their 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade.

On first inspection, and considering the usual standards of the aforementioned publication, their list seems surprisingly good. The Strokes don’t seem a bad shout for number one seeing as whatever is chosen will make people who believe too much in their own opinions cry. The album also sounds fairly relevant nine years on.

The inclusion of the obligatory Radiohead, Interpol and The Holdsteady also tick the seemingly ‘given’ boxes needed to appease their blinkered readership. And although I wouldn’t argue with any of these, how they figure In Rainbows is better than Kid A is bewildering. Even for the NME.

Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Relationship of Command by At the Drive In are nice surprises, as are The Rapture, Bright Eyes and The Walkmen. All excellent albums.

But, and this is rather large interjection, when you look at the detritus filling out the other spaces on the list, and think about it for marginally more time than it takes to flick through the New Musical Express’ fickle pages, the list loses rather a lot of credibility.

I know this debate is essentially down to taste so I wont deride choices such as Green Day’s American Idiot or Klaxons’ Myths of the Near Future; no one is forcing us to read this. However, I feel the list is characterised by its frankly puzzling omissions: worthy albums; albums which I would expect the NME to include.

Where was Phoenix’s amazing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix? Where was Burial’s Untrue? Where the bloody hell was Madvillainy?!

These are not the esoteric choices of a bitter music snob. These are merely the most surprising and obvious absentees from an NME list. Is Kasabian’s Empire a not better — if not, more obvious — choice than the detestable and shallow ‘band’ Hard Fi?

Are the NME being purposefully pugnacious by not including anything by Daft Punk? How can one recognise Bright Eyes and Sujan Steves yet ignore Iron and Wine?

My point is to ask if NME are taking the piss or if they really are as inept as we have long suspected?

Lists are controversial; that’s why they are published. But to show that when making a list there’s no need to be so firmly camped inside a bubble of shit, here are some far more considered alternatives.

Paste Magazine’s top 50 albums of the decade.

and

Pitchfork’s 20 greatest albums of the ’00s.

Opinions etc?

2005 წელი, დიდი ბრიტანეთი -  ლონდონი. Jamie Reynolds, James Righton, Simon Taylor-Davis ჯგუფის შექმნას გადაწყვეტენ. მანამდე კი ყველა თავისთვის, წყნარად ცხოვრობდა. Jamie Reynolds გრინვიჩის უნივერსიტეტში ფილოსოფიას ეუფლებოდა, თავისუფალ დროს კი მაღაზიაში მუშაობდა. შემდეგ მისი მეგობარი გოგონას მეშვეობით გაიცნო  James Righton და Simon Taylor-Davis(ეს უკანასკნელი Jamie-ს GF-ს roOmmate იყო)  . საერთო ინტერესები აღმოაჩინეს-  ყველანი უკრავდნენ: ზოგი ქავერ ბენდში, ზოგი დამოუკიდებლად, ზოგი ექსპერიმენტებს ატარებდა და ა.შ. ჯგუფის სახელი არის  ფილიპო ტომასო მარინეტის ფუტურისტული ტექსტიდან [The Futurist ManifestO]. მოგვიანებით ჯგუფს მეოთხე წევრი შეურთდა Finnigan Kidd (დრამი), თუმცა მან ჯგუფი მალე დატოვა. მის ნაცვლად 20 თებერვალს ჯგუფმა ლაივ წევრი დაიმატა Steffan Halperin.

ჯგუფის დებიუტი შედგა 2006 წლის 29 მარტს Angular Records-ზე სინგლით Gravity’s Rainbow (მხოლოდ 500 ცალი გამოუშვეს პირველ ცდაზე, მიუხედავად მცირე ტირაჟისა ჯგუფმა პოპულარობა სწრაფად მოიპოვა და სხვადასხვა ლეიბლები აქტიურად დაინტერსდნენ ). აგვისტოში 500, 000 £-იანი კონტრაქტი Polydor Records-თან.
შემდეგ ბენდმა ახალი სინგლი გამოუშვა It’s Not Over Yet. ჯგუფის გაპიარებაში NME(და არამარტო NME)-მ შეიტანა დიდი წვლილი.

2007 წლის 29 იანვარს სადებიუტო ალბომი Myths of the Near Future გამოვიდა. ძალიან მალე ბრიტანეთის ჩარტებში #2-ზე გადავიდნენ, უამრავმა მუსიკალურმა გამოცემამ უმაღლესი შეფასება მისცა ჯგუფს.

როდესაც ჟურნალისტები ეკითხებოდნენ კლაქსონებს თუ რა სტილის მუსიკას უკრავდნენ, ისინი პასუხობდნენ ”We wanna make something that’s bigger and softer and louder and lo-fi and heavier produced – just lots of contradictions. I think it’s gonna be like the last record but swollen. We’ve been listening to a lot of European prog music and dubstep and dance and folk. A huge broad variety of things really. There’s one track we’ve been playing in soundcheck, it’s this massive prog opus.”
თუმცა აშკარა იყო რომ ახალ სტილთან გვქონდა/გვაქვს საქმე.ეს არ ეხება მხოლოდ მუსიკალურ მხარეს, ჩაცმის სტილიც განსხვავებული ჰქონდათ/აქვთ, თუმცა როგორც მუსიკაში ისევე ჩაცმაში ინდის გავლენა დიდი იყო/არის.

HMV ჯგუფს ახასიათებდა, როგორც acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk-ს, MySpace-ზე სტილში მითითებული იყო Psychedelic / Progressive / Pop, NME-მ დაწერა რომ ისინი სრულიად განსხვავდებოდნენ იმ დროინდელი ინდი სცენისგან და სტილს New Rave უწოდეს.
New(Nu) Rave-ს განვითარებაში არავის შეუტანია იმხელა წვლილი როგორიც KLAXONS-მა, პირველი ალბომის მნიშვნელობა საკმაოდ დიდი იყო/არის/იქნება ამ სტილისთვის.

ეს კი ჯილდოები :
* 2007 NME Awards: Best New Band
* 2007 Mercury Music Prize: Myths of the Near Future
* 2007 XFM: Live Breakthrough Act
* 2008 NME Awards: “Myths of the Near Future” Best album
* 2008 Ivor Novello Awards: “Golden Skans” Best Contemporary Song (Nominated)
* 2008 NME Awards USA: “Golden Skans” – Best International Track

ყველა სიმღერა ძალიან მიყვარს, მიჭირს გამორჩევა, მაგრამ შევეცდები რამდენიმე დავდო.

<3

<3

Pelo menos foi o que a gravadora dos meninos achou. E isso não é um bom sinal. Por isso, Jamie Reynolds disse que o novo trabalho da banda só vai chegar às lojas ano que vem.

E essa não é a primeira vez que isso acontece. No começo do ano os caras estavam empolgadinhos com o novo CD e a gravadora gongou as músicas que eles tinham feito. Agora, foi a vez dos executivos reprovarem as 28 (sim, vinte e oito!) novas canções que eles fizeram. Parece que o negócio é que as faixas não tem unidade – já que a banda não tem um produtor ainda.

Não chora, gente

Jogando a real: Ou eles arranjam um produtor e lançam logo o sucessor do álbum “Myths of the Near Future”, de 2007, ou então partem pra um lançamento independente. Chega de one hit wonders, né?

The trouble-plagued second album by UK electronica/psychedelic band Klaxons (pictured above) has been delayed again, this time until 2010. On the subject of the album’s delay, Klaxons’ Jamie Reynolds told the BBC:

“We’ve now got 28 songs and we’re just about to put it together as a complete record. We’re looking for a producer and if anyone out there makes records, give us a bell.

“We’d really like to put out the first great record of the 2010s rather than the last great one of this decade. Now that’s become an aspiration and a goal.”

There have been numerous delays with Klaxons’ sophomore effort. But the band does have a lot to live up to. Their debut album, 2007’s Myths of the Near Future, won the UK’s heralded Mercury Music Prize as Album of the Year.

For more on this story, see the article from XFM London.

For further info on Klaxons, go to:
http://www.klaxons.net
http://www.myspace.com/klaxons

“I would sum up my fear about the future in one word: boring. And that’s my one fear: that everything has happened; nothing exciting or new or interesting is ever going to happen again … the future is just going to be a vast, conforming suburb of the soul.”

-J.G. Ballard.

Sadly, dystopian science fiction writer J. G. Ballard died yesterday after struggling many years with long illness. He was 78 years old.

The room where Ballard did his writing.

He was considered part of the new wave or avante garde wing of science fiction, and if you think you’ve never heard of him, you have, but probably outside the genre of SF, which to summarize Vonnegut, often gets mistaken with a toilet. His autobiographical novel about his time spent in a Shanghai interment camp during World War II, Empire Of The Sun, was made into a film by Steven Spielberg, starring a young Christian Bale.

He also wrote the novel Crash, which was made into a film by David Cronenberg in 1996. It’s about a group of people with a very unique paraphillia, in that derive sexual pleasure out of car crashes.

In addition to having written just under 20 novels, Ballard wrote an extensive amount of short stories during his career, and the original version of Crash started as a short piece in his 1970 experimental piece, The Atrocity Exhibition, which also contained another of his famous pieces, entitled “Why I Want To Fuck Ronald Reagan.” Wikipedia summarizes it best: It is written in the style of a scientific paper and catalogs an apocryphal series of bizarre experiments intended to measure the psychosexual appeal of Ronald Reagan, then the Governor of California and candidate for the Republican Party nomination for the 1968 United States presidential election.

Berg Katse has made the following claim about the piece: At the 1980 Republican Convention in San Francisco a copy of [Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan], minus its title and the running sideheads, and furnished with the seal of the Republican Party, was distributed by some puckish pro-situationists to the RNC delegates. It was accepted for what it resembled: a psychological position paper on the candidate’s subliminal appeal, commissioned by some maverick think-tank. You can read “Why I Want To Fuck Ronald Reagan” here.

“Twenty years ago no one could have imagined the effects the Internet would have: entire relationships flourish, friendships prosper…there’s a vast new intimacy and accidental poetry, not to mention the weirdest porn. The entire human experience seems to unveil itself like the surface of a new planet.”

-J.G. Ballard

Future Ruins by Michelle Lord, inspired by the works of Ballard.

Being only a casual fan of Ballard’s writings over the years, I would say that he tends to have a very apocalyptic vision of the future, possibly based on his growing up in Shanghai during the war. For a while now, I’ve wanted to do a post on the Klaxon’s first album, Myths Of The Near Future, which contains numerous references to all sorts of science fiction works. I mentioned the album only very briefly before in a post on Pynchon, since one of the tracks on the album is called “Gravity’s Rainbow,” but the title of the album itself comes from a short story collection by Ballard.

In fact, one could go wild with the references to Ballard through out pop culture. Example: Joy Division wrote a song called “The Atrocity Exhibition,” because Ian Curtis read and loved the novel, though a majority of the song had been written by the time he discovered the book.

Here is a nice Ballard website (amongst other things) and here a very good obituary of the late author.

“We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind – mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery, the increasing blurring and intermingling of identities within the realm of consumer goods, the preempting of any free or original imaginative response to experience by the television screen. We live inside an enormous novel. For the writer in particular it is less and less necessary for him to invent the fictional content of his novel. The fiction is already there. The writer’s task is to invent the reality.”

So back in 2005 Bloc Party’s debut album Silent Alarm was a breath of fresh air from the UK music scene. It was pretty surprising a few months later to find an entire remix of the album in stores and what’s more it was one hell of an album to boot. It even started various fan-boy debates on the internets about if Silent Alarm Remixed was actually a better album than the original. Without opening that can of worms again I’ve gotta say It is actually open to debate.

So anyway, It’s been announced that their most recent and 3rd album Intimacy is getting the same treatment. That is; an entire remix will be released May 11, including a vinyl version! Their 3rd LP took awhile to grow on me. I immediately noticed the goodness of tracks such as Talons and Biko but the opening two threw me off and It’s taken me awhile to digest its premise. A remix should be equally interesting. The first video of a remix track is on their website. Will it out-do Silent Alarm remixed? I doubt it. The first track (Signs) sounds good though, very dance-electronic though. The great thing about Silent Alarm remixed was it didn’t go for that all out dance feel, it had its odd subtle moments also. Oh is it just me or do Bloc Party have the worst music videos ever?

Now on to Klaxons news. NME hype a lot of bands especially their native UK bands and the Klaxons debut album Myths of the Near Future in 2006 was no stranger to this, but for a change it actually stood up to that Hype. More-so I saw these lads at the Enmore Theatre on that tour and besides me and a friends deer-in-the-headlights bewilderment at the opening tracks laser/neon light show inducing what seemed to be a 16/17yr-old fangirl “nu-rave” dance party in the mosh. They were tight and it was a good show.

So for those reasons I’m actually looking forward to their followup LP which is/was? due this year although it seems they’ve succumb to major-label woes. Their label Universal has told them to re-record the album! Jamie Reynolds; “Because we’ve made a really dense, psychedelic record. We’ve made a really heavy record and it isn’t the right thing for us, I understand and know that. First and foremost we’re a pop band. I haven’t thought about that for a long time, and now it’s in the forefront of my mind.”

Record labels should butt the hell out and let artists do what they want. Re-recording an album probably for the sole reason of making it more accessible to aforementioned 16/17yr old dance party kiddies is not justification with the bands best interests in mind. Klaxons should probably seek out a better deal.

But we’ll know the outcome of their followup in due time. Here’s to hoping they don’t suffer the second album slump (ala the Arctic Monkeys)

Jamie Reynolds of Klaxons has revealed to NME.com that the band went back into the studio to re-record parts of their second album after the album was rejected by their label. The new Klaxons album follows 2007’s Myths Of The Near Future, which won the Mercury Music Prize that year.

Reynolds told NME.com:

“Yes [we were asked to re-record part of the album]. Because we’ve made a really dense, psychedelic record. We’ve made a really heavy record and it isn’t the right thing for us, I understand and know that. First and foremost we’re a pop band. I haven’t thought about that for a long time, and now it’s in the forefront of my mind.”

Reynolds also revealed that Klaxons are writing new songs to add to the album, telling NME.com:

“We’ve got another four weeks. At the end of those four weeks everything should be dealt with.”

Klaxons are due to play several festivals this summer, starting in June, so work on the new album should be completed by then.

For more on this story, see the article from NME.com.

The NME Blog speculates that economic pressure might be the reason that Universal rejected Klaxons’ album, that the label wanted something more conservative. To read more on that and to see clips of some of the songs that were rejected, click here. From what I could hear, the new material sounded decent. Hopefully, Klaxons will use some of the scrapped album songs for B-sides. Or maybe even release them on their own as free downloads.

For additional information on Klaxons, go to:
http://www.klaxons.net
http://www.myspace.com/klaxons

Since we are now at the end of 2008, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at my picks for the Best of 2007 and examine what they did in 2008.

My 2007 Solo Artist Of The Year: PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey (pictured above, top) continued her tour in support of her latest album, White Chalk, in the early part of 2008. The tour was Harvey’s first-ever solo tour. She had always toured with a band in the past. When the tour concluded, Harvey spent the rest of 2008 recording her next project, a collaborative album with John Parish, in Bristol, England and her hometown of Dorset, England. The album, titled A Woman A Man Walked By, is due to be released on March 30, 2009. Harvey and Parish released their first collaborative album, Dance Hall At Louse Point, in 1996.

My 2007 Band Of The Year: Klaxons
Klaxons had a very busy 2007, touring quite a bit and winning the Mercury Music Prize for their debut album, Myths Of The Near Future. Klaxons are currently working on their second album, which is due to be released in the New Year. The album will surely be backed by a tour, promising more incendiary shows from one of the best young bands in the UK.

My 2007 Album Of The Year: White Chalk By PJ Harvey
White Chalk was such a drastic departure from Harvey’s previous work that I would go as far as labeling it courageous. I’m really curious to hear what her latest collaboration with John Parish is going to sound like.

My 2007 Best New Artist: Kate Nash
Kate Nash (pictured above, center) released her stellar 2007 debut album, Made Of Bricks, in America in 2008. She supported the album by touring for a good bit of the year, including performances at many of the big outdoor music festivals in the UK. From what I understand, Nash is now working on her next album.

My 2007 Best New Band: The Hedrons
The Hedrons (pictured above, bottom), the all-female, Glasgow, Scotland-based power-pop quartet, had a big year in 2007. They released their first album in the early part of 2007 and toured quite a bit, opening shows for the likes of the Sex Pistols and Social Distortion. This year was much quieter for the band as they worked on their next album. The Hedrons’ second album is due for release in 2009 and will surely be followed up by live gigs. If you have the opportunity to see The Hedrons live in 2009, definitely take advantage of it. They are a fantastic live band.

My 2007 Best Single: “Your Love Alone Is Night Enough” By Manic Street Preachers (With Nina Persson)
This was something of a quiet year for both Manic Street Preachers and Nina Persson, the lead singer of The Cardigans. Hopefully, both the Manics and The Cardigans will have new albums soon.

My 2007 Best Video: “Staring At The Rude Bois” By Gallows (With Lethal Bizzle)
Gallows’ fantastic cover of The Ruts’ “Staring At The Rude Bois” served as the soundtrack for one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. While Gallows had a very busy 2008, their original material failed to grab me the way that “Staring At The Rude Bois” did. I’m curious to see what they come up with next. I’m afraid that I will lose interest if it’s more of the same.

My 2007 Best Live Gig: PJ Harvey At The Beacon Theatre, New York City, October 10, 2007
I still get chills when I think about Harvey’s amazing performance on that October night in New York City. I hope she tours in support of the new album with John Parish in 2009. Harvey is easily one of the best live performers around at the moment.

My 2007 Best Rapper: Lethal Bizzle
While Lethal Bizzle had a busy 2007, guesting with Gallows on “Staring At The Rude Bois” as well as donig his own material, he’s been conspicuously quiet this year. Did the Bizzle fizzle?

My 2007 Music Event Of The Year: Led Zeppelin At The O2 Arena, London, England, December 10, 2007
Led Zeppelin’s tempoary reformation for the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert in London last year was certainly the most talked-about music event of 2007. While speculation about a full-scale tour by Led Zeppelin began as soon as the band walked off the stage at the O2 Arena, it turns out that the tour will not happen. Robert Plant put the kibosh on talk of a tour earlier this year. Plant will be receiving a CBE from Queen Elizabeth in 2009, while John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Jason Bonham might tour with a frontman other than Plant.

My 2007 Best Comeback: Mick Jones And Tony James Of Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon continued to tour in 2008 in support of their physical debut release, The Last Post. I’m a bit perplexed as to why the album wasn’t more of a hit on either side of the Atlantic. It is a great piece of work.

My 2007 Artist To Watch Out For In 2008: Adele
I had the great privilege to see the spirited Londoner, Adele, perform twice in New York City in 2008. Both shows were superb. She is quite a talent, and is now working on the follow-up to her debut album, 19.

Powerline A.D.’s Best of 2008 will soon be up on our main Web site, so stay tuned.

Alright, I have finally had it! I have been waiting, truly waiting, for someone to prove me wrong about my dissatisfaction with all hype around this whole Nu Rave/Nu Rave-Thrash genre that has exploded within the past year and a half. Guess what? Time’s up. Nu-Rave you have officially worn out your welcome. I was completely fine and dandy with you dominating your corner of the music world and throwing a couple dozen light switch raves in basements across the globe, but in the past two months you have gone too far.

There are two specific happenings that have prompted my fury. First, was Rolling Stone’s blogger Daniel Krep’s article, “Breaking Artist: Crystal Castles,” which bolsters myspace favorites of Nu-Rave/8-bit/Thrash artists Crystal Castles as one of the next big things in music. I had the unexpected joy of coming across this electro-punk duo just over a year ago when they were still just a humble myspace top-eighter on The Klaxons’ myspace page. Granted, they do make some enjoyable remixes for indie artists like Bloc Party and The Little Ones (The “Lovers Who Uncover (Remix)” is my personal favorite), but at the end of the day Crystal Castles’ original material falls short of being anywhere near groundbreaking and is borderline enjoyable for a select few… who are into that sort of thing. If you want pioneering music with an electro-backbone listen to The Knife.

I am sure someone, as I have already seen in music forums, will call me out as being a stale, biased, dinosaur music critic who cannot see innovation or the future of music when it is being slapped in his face. To this I say, “Fair enough.” I do have a particular taste in music, but I feel that I do understand innovation and progressive movements in music. Crystal Castles and their music are not this form of divine innovation that will change music forever because if all it takes is general music knowledge, lots of noise, and a large internet fan base then I am set. I am going to go grab one of my buddies and form a death metal band that plays pop covers. It will be me dressed all in black straddling a pink Fender Telecaster (thrown into drop D) and my friend (also in black) will be banging the absolute hell out of big blue kitchen pan dipped in backlight sensitive paint. Yeah, I know. Total revolution.

And don’t you worry Krep’s article claims that the Crystal Castles are, “ready to flood your eardrums with their own self-titled full-length debut on March 18th.” Last I checked floods and/or flooding is still shrouded in negative connotations. I can’t really remember the last I was watching the news and saw people on top of their houses waving the rescue helicopter on because they were overjoyed that their house and neighborhood were all six feet under water. Well, before this amazing flood of Nu-Rave-Thrash arrives I am going to do like the neighbors and start sandbagging.

The second incident that put the icing on my rage cake was when Nu Rave rockers, The Klaxons, won N.M.E.’s album of year award for their album, Myths of the Near Future. The album definitely deserves some press for being an innovative reworking of the indie-dance genre, but the final product boils down to an acceptable electro-rock album. Album of the year? Hardly.

The bottom line is that I am absolutely sick of all of this Nu-Rave hype. I mean where is it going to stop? Am I going to show up at my favorite open-mic nights to hear some coffee house crooning and instead be bitch-slapped with some kid who drank one too many glowstick’s acoustic rendition of “Golden Skans?” It will not come to this! People against Nu Rave’s infiltration of the indie music scene unite! God is on our side; just out this week, N.M.E sees lowest magazine sales in years. Maybe they should have just gone and given The Klaxons the “God-Like Genius Award.”

(Written on 3/12/2008)

Já que o Dudu não o fez, vamos falar de algo moderninho do século XXI.

É incrível pensar no quanto eu já odiei Klaxons e no quanto eu gosto atualmente. Há uns quase dois anos atrás, surge o Myths Of The Near Future, transformando o Klaxons em sucesso do dia pra noite. Deixando a imprensa e o público mais moderdinho alvoroçado com o dito surgimento do new rave. A nova promessa do rock da semana na época deixou muitos incrédulos e muita birra pra cima da banda, como foi o meu caso. Quem não amava – fazendo questão de deixar isso claro à todos -, tinha profunda indiferença ou odiava mesmo. Junto com tudo isso nasce um movimento, influindo na atitude e no jeito de se vestir dos adeptos.

Nascem as bichinhas new-rave (sem preconceitos, sou amiga de um monte delas). Daí as festas com muito Klaxons, Cut Copy, Crystal Castles, glam-sticks, leggings de cores berrantes e opção sexual indefinida.

Mas voltando ao assunto música, sim, abri minha mente, e os Klaxons-boys são deuses da música de vanguarda. Sabem fazê-la bem, com propriedade, abusam de letras nonsense ou com significados complexos até demais, fazendo alusão a autores e dramaturgos cults, sem deixar o clima de festa sair do ar. Além dos sintetizadores e teclados trabalhando em perfeita harmonia, que não deixam você ficar parado. Pra quem gosta de eletrorock, é uma bela pedida conhecer o tal do new rave.

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Hay… vuelta a carga

La banda new rave mas polémica del 2007 no quiere estarse quieta. Según una entrevista concedida a NME dicen que intentarán tener listo el sucesor de Myths of the Near Future para estas Navidades. Parece que les ha gustado esto de recorrer el mundo a ruidos de sirenas y quieren repetirlo. Asi pues para el 2009 tendremos nuevo álbum, y Klaxons en los carteles de todos los festivales.

If you were expecting straightforward chit-chat with Klaxons, the British boys who helped construct the myth of nu-rave (with a helpful shove from NME), well, sorry. They’d rather talk about ghosts, the cosmos, being ‘matey’, and a variety of other things that people rolling hard on ecstasy love to talk about.

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Oh yeah! Did you hear that Klaxons performed with Rihanna at the Brit awards recently? That non-Umbrella sound you hear is Golden Skans, from Klaxons’ debut LP, Myths of the Near Future.

Em entrevista a NME, Simon Taylor disse que o segundo CD vai ser completamente diferente do Myths Of The Near Future, primeiro álbum da banda e que deu aos rapazes o rotulo de ‘deuses do new rave’.

Na entrevista, Simon se mostrou irritado com o que lê nas revistas atualmente. “Elas [as revistas] ainda escrevem que nós somos crianças com roupas fluorescentes que tocam ‘rave revival’”.

Taylor acrescentou que a pior coisa que poderiam fazer agora seria criar um álbum semelhante ao Myths…

O quarto trabalho da banda – que segue o EP Xan Valleys e os álbuns Myths Of The Near Future e A Bugged Out Mix – será lançado em Setembro e está sendo produzido por Tony Visconti. Já em Março, Simon, Steffan, James e Jamie vão trabalhar com o produtor da Beyonce, Focus.

Saiu no jornal O Globo que Klaxons viria ao Brasil em Maio para o Festival Indie Rock, onde tocariam ao lado de Yo La Tengo, Mombojó e Editors (Mais informações), entretanto, acabo de ler no blog do Lúcio Ribeiro que ele entrou em contato com as 3 bandas do elenco internacional do festival e disse que Klaxons não confirmou sua presença.

Também consta no blog do cara que a banda foi convidada para tocar em outros 2 festivais brasileiros. Lúcio e sua fama de mentiroso são conhecidos por internautas de todo o país.

To nie był zbyt udany rok w tej kategorii. Zapamiętam go przede wszystkim przez pryzmat spektakularnych porażek, jakie zanotowały młode, „okładkowe” kapele. Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Maximo Park, Hot Hot Heat, The Hives, Hard-Fi, The Go! Team, The White Stripes – to nie były dobre płyty. Osobną kategorię stanowi „A Weekend In The City” Bloc Party, która znajduje się gdzieś pomiędzy rozczarowaniem roku a solidnym (i tylko solidnym niestety) albumem. Rok 2007 przyniósł również nie całkiem zrozumiałą dla mnie podjarkę środowiska alternatywno-gitarowego na elektronikę. Tu przede wszystkim ciśnie się na usta The Field „From Here We Go Sublime” i „Chromophobia” Guia Boratto, płyty dobre, ale nie aż tak (podobne rzeczy słyszałem 5 lat temu), jak niektórzy uważają. Wiemy już także, że supergrupa Damona Albarna The Good The Bad And The Queen nie dokonała rewolucji, choć osobiście plusik ode mnie za stworzenie płyty klimatycznej i z charakterem.

Podczas gdy Kula Shaker ciągle tkwią w latach 70, Josh Homme oraz !!! drepczą w miejscu, a Radiohead zaskakują ekscentrycznie dystrybuowanym „In Raibows”, ratunek nieoczekiwanie przychodzi ze Szwecji. Familjen, The Tough Alliance, The Studio czy wspomniany The Field dostarczyły w 2007 roku dużo radości i gdy dokładniej przyjrzeć się liście współczesnych wykonawców z Półwyspu Skandynawskiego, to wiemy już, że oto objawiła nam się nowa siła w muzyce, która w minionych 12 miesiącach przyćmiła nawet Wyspy Brytyjskie.

A Polska? Cóż, tu także nie było zbyt ciekawie, choć już coraz lepiej i z wielką nadzieją spoglądam w 2008 rok, kiedy to powinno sypnąć dobrymi debiutami. Hatifnats, Gasoline, Nerwowe Wakacje, PoPo, Out Of Tune, Maki i Chłopaki, Rotofobia – na nich stawiam najmocniej. Ciekawe też, jak odnajdą się The Car Is On Fire bez Borysa Dejnarowicza i co pokażą na kolejnych płytach Afro Kolektyw i Muzyka Końca Lata? Będzie się działo, a póki co zapraszam do zestawienia najlepszych wydawnictw AD 2007.

10. Psychocukier „Małpy morskie”

Ekipa z Łodzi to taki nieoszlifowany diament, a „Małpy morskie” to prezentacja potencjału, jaki w niej drzemie. Wprawdzie piosenki znajdujące się na tym albumie, to rzeczy nagrywane na przestrzeni kilku lat, więc nie pomyślane na regularne wydawnictwo, ale to nieważne. Noise, dance punk, czysty punk, stoner rock, psychodela, swobodne improwizacje, abstrakcyjne teksty pięknie są tu wymieszane, a nad wszystkim unosi się duch bardzo dużej przebojowości.

9. LCD Soundsystem „Sound Of Silver”

Murphy to jednak szczwany lis. Przecież to wszystko już było, mało tego, niektóre nawiązania są ewidentne. Co z tego, skoro, gdy mistrz kolażu zapodaje „Time To Get Away” moje ciało zaczyna rytmicznie podrygiwać, a przy „North American Scum” totalnie poddaje się temu agresywnemu bitowi? Nie wybaczę mu jedynie tego, że tak genialną, znaną już z „45-33″ melodię zmasakrował smętnym wokalem i zrobił z tego „Someone Great”. Na 9 piosenek zebranych na „Sound Of Silver”, sześcioma ten sprytny Jankes mnie kupił i po raz kolejny wylądował w topie podsumowującym rok. Znowu udało ci się panie Murphy, ale następnym razem nie dam się już nabrać.

8. Modest Mouse „We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank”

Fani trochę narzekają, ale to przecież ciągle kawał porządnego rocka. Poza tym to chyba pierwszy album Amerykanów, na którym na równych prawach funkcjonują wysoki poziom artystyczny i duża przebojowość. Pomijając ostatni numer płyta nie ma słabych momentów, więc ciężko nawet zarekomendować kilka wybranych piosenek, tym bardziej, że „We Were Dead…” to niebywale eklektyczna rzecz.

7. Super Furry Animals „Hey Venus!”

„Hey Venus!” to świetna płyta, ale na tle dyskografii Walijczyków już „tylko” bardzo dobra. W końcu SFA nagrali albumy wybitne, że wspomnę „Radiatora”, „Phantom Power” czy „Guerille”. Druga rzecz to to, że zespół ciągle jest słabo znany w Polsce, a i na światowych listach sprzedaży nigdy nie wyśrubował satysfakcjonującego wyniku. Dziwi to tym bardziej, że Furries mają przecież wszystko, co znamionuje wielkich artystów, a jednocześnie w swoim artyzmie nie są nieprzyswajalni. Ciekawe tylko, za ile lat świat zachłyśnie się ich starymi longplayami?

6. Tigercity „Pretend Not To Love” [EP]

Nowojorczycy do nazwy swojego ostatniego wydawnictwa dodali człon „EP”, a przecież czasowo „Pretend Not To Love” spełnia już wymogi regularnego longplaya. To w sumie mało istotne, najważniejsza jest muzyka, którą wyczarowuje ze swoich instrumentów tych czterech magików. Nikt tak pięknie i wysmakowanie nie wskrzesił w 2007 roku ducha „sweet eighties”, czyli lat 80. Najlepszy numer? „Powerstripe”, „Are You Sensation”, „Other Girls”, „Dark Water”, „Let Her Go” i „Solitary Man”. Tak, właśnie wymieniłem całą tracklistę.

5. Klaxons „Myths Of The Near Future”

Najpierw większość osób przekreśliła z góry Klaxons, a to z powodu naprawdę nachalnej promocji ze strony New Musical Express (a niby nikt go nie czyta;)), a potem się okazało, że trójka niedoszłych new raveowców pokazała na swoim debiucie miejsce w szeregu wszystkim innym młodym kapelom indie z Wysp, które wydały swoje LP w mijającym roku. Bogaty zestaw singli – do znanych wcześniej, acz przearanżowanych „Atlantis To Interzone”, „Gravity’s Rainbow” i „Totem On The Timeline” dołączyły „Golden Skans”, „As Above So Below”, wskrzeszający ducha Commodore 64 „Magick” oraz „It’s Not Over Yet”. Ten ostatni, to cover house’owego hymnu Grace z 1993 oraz numer jeden w kategorii „najlepsza rozstaniowa piosenka” i żadne tam „Apologize”.

4. The Chemical Brothers „We Are The Night”

Zupełnie nie wiem, dlaczego ta płyta nie została zauważona. Angielskie „dziadki” nadal są w świetnej formie. Może to wina singli, które sugerowałyby, że „We Are The Night”, to dziwna hybryda house i hip hopu? Nic bardziej mylnego. Najciekawsze są tu te „nieradiowe” numery pokroju „Saturate” (przecież to najcudowniejszy rave’owy old school jaki można sobie wymarzyć w latach ‘00!), „Burst Generator”, który nadal kojarzy mi się z wyładowaniami elektronicznymi na pokładzie Sokoła Millenium czy wreszcie następujący po nim płynnie „A Modern Midnight Conversation”. Do tego mamy Radiohead’owy „The Pills Won’t Help You Now”, blues w „Battle Scars”, załapali się też zaklasyfikowani oczko niżej Klaxonsi w hardcore’owym „All Rights Reserved”. Aha, The Chemical Brothers to pierwsza zagraniczna gwiazda, która pojawi się na tegorocznym Open’erze w czym nie mogło być przypadku.

3. Beastie Boys „The Mix-Up”

Bardzo się cieszę, że „Bestiom” się udało. Wszak to kapela, z którą jestem od taaakiego pacholęcia. Tym razem hip hopowy sztafaż został odłożony na półkę, a wróciła gitara, bas, perka i klawisze, czyli instrumentalne granie tak mocno przecież zakorzenione w twórczości trójki z Brooklynu, NY. „The Mix-Up” to naturalna konsekwencja rzeczy zgromadzonych na klasycznych dziś albumach „Check Your Head”, „Ill Communication” oraz kompilacji „The In Sound From Way Out!”. Najnowszy album Beasties to granie mafijne, chill – outowe oraz bardzo, BARDZO przebojowe. To ja poproszę raz whiskey z colą, będę leżał na hamaku zaraz obok tej dużej palmy.

2. Muchy „Terroromans”

Jak dobrze wiedzieć, że ludzie w Polsce nie są głusi. Że choć „efekt yo-yo” to rzecz wszechobecna, straszliwa i mogąca zepsuć odbiór nawet największych dzieł, to w przypadku Much stosunek zwolennicy / przeciwnicy, kształtuje się w proporcjach (powiedzmy) 70% / 30 %. Jak dobrze wiedzieć, że rzeczy obiektywnie dobre, nie tylko subiektywnie do nas trafiające bronią się same i niemerytoryczna krytyka przypomina w tym przypadku walkę z wiatrakami. Jak dobrze być świadkiem chwili, gdy na koncercie zespołu, którym jeszcze rok temu próbowało się zarazić garstkę osób, szaleją tłumy. A tego wszystkiego by nie było, gdyby nie „Terroromans” – płyta, o której w roku 2007 pisało się najwięcej i w efekcie powiedziano już wszystko. I ja też już definitywnie kończę dyskusję na temat debiutu poznaniaków na najbliższych kilka tysięcy lat świetlnych. Najlepsza płyta roku w Polsce, najlepszy debiut roku i moje drugie miejsce na liście najlepszych płyt 2007.

1. Charlotte Hatherley „The Deep Blue”

Pisanie o swoich ulubionych artystach, albumach, zwycięzcach etc. powinno być przyjemnością. Tymczasem człowiek kombinuje, z jakiej by tu jeszcze strony ugryźć rzecz, którą zna na wylot? Co, mam się zdradzić i napisać, że już w marcu, gdy poznałem drugi longplay czarującej Angielki wiedziałem, iż musiałoby nastąpić trzęsienie ziemi, by „The Deep Blue” nie znalazło się na pierwszym miejscu mojego podsumowania? A może mam się silić na opisywanie każdej z tych różnorodnych piosenek z osobna, co zajęłoby kilkanaście stron i czego nie wytrzymałby nikt – ani ja, ani tym bardziej Wy? Mam Was usilnie przekonywać, że to jakieś straszliwe przeoczenie, że album Charlottki nie funkcjonuje w świadomości słuchaczy jako absolutny top mijającego roku, a w świecie co raz bardziej zunifikowanej muzyki dla każdego i dla nikogo zarazem jest to najczystszej postaci diament? Tak, to straszliwe przeoczenie, a tak kompletnych dzieł powstaje już co raz mniej. „The Deep Blue” nie jest światem piosenek na polifoniczny dzwonek, nie ma nic wspólnego z okładką w „Bravo”, ani tym bardziej z listami przebojów współczesnych stacji radiowych czy telewizyjnych. Tak samo było z XTC ponad 20 lat temu i wieloma innymi ARTYSTAMI. I w sumie bardzo dobrze. Cieszy mnie również (paradoksalnie) fakt, że nie potrafiłbym odpowiedzieć w jednym zdaniu, jaką dokładnie muzykę gra Charlotte? Nie każda twórczość może / musi być precyzyjnie zaklasyfikowana, opisana i rozłożona na części pierwsze.

Koszmar. Kandydatów pełno, a miejsc tylko 10. Stąd myślami jestem trochę wśród tych, którzy się nie załapali, a musiałem zrezygnować z wielu fantastycznych numerów. Ot, choćby Familjen „Det Snurrar I Min Skalle”, !!! „Heart Of Hearts”, The Go! Team „Gripe Like Vice” czy The Rakes „We Danced Together”. Koniec końców postanowiłem pozostać wiernym swoim sympatiom i za probierz uznać przede wszystkim ilość przesłuchań piosenek. Lecimy.

10. Sophie Ellis Bextor „Catch You”

Nie chcecie wiedzieć ile kandydatur rozważałem w tym miejscu. Dodatkowo z repertuaru samej Sophie w tym roku moim numerem jeden długo było „Me And My Imagination”, ale to jednak „Catch You” lepiej się zestarzało. Świetny przykład na to, jak za pomocą dźwięków można zilustrować pogoń i dobra piosenka, by wyrazić moje zdanie w „konflikcie” pop czy alternatywa? Muzyka to muzyka i dzieli się przede wszystkim na dobrą i złą.

9. Maximo Park „Our Velocity”

Tak definiuję amfetaminowe brzmienie. Poza tym „Our Velocity” jest tak pełna życia, przypomina mi nadchodzącą wiosnę, gdy usłyszałem ją po raz pierwszy i może konkurować z kawą w skuteczności podnoszenia ciśnienia, więc obecność tego numeru w pierwszej dziesiątce było pewna.

8. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club „Killing The Light”

Nikt tak w 2007 roku nie wskrzesił ducha starego hard rocka, jak trójka z San Francisco. Ciężar Led Zeppelin spotyka piosenkowość The Rolling Stones.

7. Tigercity „Let Her Go”

Inni mają „Are You Sensation”, ja mam „Let Her Go”. To jest „moja” piosenka na „Pretend Not To Love”. Już kiedyś o niej pisałem, więc teraz tylko w telegraficznym skrócie – do ok. 5 minuty jest genialnie, potem bosko.

6. Modest Mouse „Fire It Up”

To mógł być monumentalny „Spitting Venom”, ale ostatecznie postawiłem na 4 minuty 36 sekund, które kazały mi bliżej przyjrzeć się najnowszej płycie Modest Mouse, typowy „haczyk”. Może nie będę narzucał swojej interpretacji tekstu Brocka, bo te można odbierać bardzo różnie. Za to w to miejsce mój ulubiony cytat z albumu, właśnie z „Fire It Up”: „But even if we had been sure enough it’s true we really didn’t know / Even if we knew which way to head but still we probably wouldn’t go”.

5. The Good The Bad And The Queen „Herculean”

Lubię ten odrealniony klimat albumu supergrupy Damona Albarna. „Herculean” nie odstaje od reszty – to soundtrack do spaceru w londyńskiej mgle. Trochę melancholijny i zadumany, trochę zimny, może nawet lekko przerażający, ale przede wszystkim fascynujący.

4. Klaxons „As Above So Below”

Są piosenki, które sprawiają, że jestem szczęśliwy i „As Above So Below” właśnie do takich należy. Dopiero 6 singiel z naszpikowanej takowymi płyty „Myths Of The Near Future”, u mnie od początku jeden z najważniejszych utworów na longplayu Anglików.

3. Beastie Boys „Off The Grid”

Kocham ten wyluzowany wstęp, kocham ten tłusty bas, te „triumfalne” klawisze, zmianę klimatu w 2 minucie. Kocham „Off The Grid” po prostu.

2. Bloc Party „The Prayer”

To mógł być singiel roku, ale po dłuższym namyśle jednak nie będzie. Cóż można powiedzieć o kawałku, który każdy z Was słyszał pewno 173 razy? Plemienne bębny, szamańskie zaśpiewy, tekst rozpoczynający się inwokacją będący mieszanką frustracji, pasji i hedonizmu oraz ten wbijający w ziemię refren z precyzyjnie rozłożoną sylabizacją: „Tonight make me unstoppable / And I will charm, I will slice, I will dazzle them with my wit”.

1. Charlotte Hatherley „Siberia”

Wszystko zaczęło się od hitowego „I Want You To Know”. To ten utwór sprawił, że musiałem poznać bliżej artystkę, która nagrała coś tak genialnego i jeszcze jakiś czas temu, to drugi singiel z „The Deep Blue” widniałby w tym miejscu. Postanowiłem jednak dać Wam coś ekstra. Jeśli ktoś stworzy kiedyś definicję piosenki doskonałej, to „Siberia” powinna być w niej podawana jako przykład. Charlotte, jej gitara i ten kobieco – dziewczęcy głos. Była gitarzystka Ash rozwiała wszelkie moje wątpliwości w temacie, czy można zakochać się w kobiecie tylko jej słuchając. Obejrzyjcie klip, a do boxu obok daję jeszcze wersję albumową „Siberi” dłuższą w stosunku do singlowej o wstęp i końcówkę z gitarową młócką Charlotte.

Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future

One of the most hyped bands of the year, people waited with baited breath to see just how this album would turn out – could they really live up to the expectations???

When i first heard about Klaxons, i was very sceptical – i thought ‘are they just the new Arctic Monkeys’, i.e, just another band hyped to be the next big thing…when i listened to the Arctic Monkeys first album , i wasn’t impressed, and thus, my perception of Klaxons was skewed by this view.

However, i was very pleasantly surprised when i listened to this album – the awesome opener ‘Two Recievers’ being the call-to-arms to the new futuristic, experimental noise of the Klaxons. An album packed full of potential hits, it would have been impossible for this album to be ignored by the media – it sounds unlike anything out there in the indie rock world!!! The obvious stand-out tracks are the two hit singles, ‘Golden Skans’ and ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’; the band know how to write songs that can capture the minds of the mass market – songs that get into your head and bury in deep…

There are perhaps one or two dodgy moments, the dull ‘Isle of Her’ and the try-too-hard-to-be-weird/experimental ‘Four Horsemen of 2012′, but the album is an enjoyable listen from start to finish, and is an album that cannot be ignored!!!

A very good year then for Klaxons, it will be intriguing to see what they come up with next – they are recording the follow-up now – are they going to stick with the same formula, or try something even more diverse?

Either way, ‘Myths of the Near Future’ is a good album, and well worth a listen…but it’s not been good enough to get any higher than number 10 – just showing the amazingly high quality of albums this year!!!

Number 9 is coming soon…

…peace…a.b…

Klaxons Official 

Klaxons Myspace 

Me encantan Klaxons y su disco de debut Myths of the Near Future. Pero a la revista británica NME, Klaxons les gustan todavía más. Y a sus lectores ya ni les cuento. Klaxons son… ellos:

El tema viene a colación porque el trío de nu-rave o como quieran llamarlos, han hecho ‘historia’ (aunque en fin, en ese país se ‘hace historia’ con mucha facilidad) al conseguir, en los premios de Lo Mejor de 2007 para la revista, llevarse los dos más importantes: Mejor Disco y Mejor Canción. El mejor disco del año para NME es Myths Of The Near Future, y la mejor canción del año es esa gloriosa pieza llamada ‘Golden Skans‘, más concretamente el tercer tema de este mismo disco. Ha sido el staff de la revista quien ha escogido los premios, y aunque obviamente discrepo de ambos (hay cosas mejores), debo reconocer que los dos (pero sobre todo ‘Golden Skans’) entran por méritos propios en lo que más recordaremos de este 2007 que ya termina. Y para celebrarlo, ¡el vídeo de la canción! (mejor dentro, que si no ocupo toda la página principal)

Klaxons – ‘Golden Skans’

Y ya que estamos, una tierna versión en acústico: