2013

Favourite album of 2013?

(Jason) Newsted - Heavy Metal Music

No irony in the title. The sound is much closer to the Megadeth side of life than Metallica; like the former, it is clear this band is a one-man show. It's clear to me also that if this is how Jason Newsted will be making music from now on, there's going to be a good stream of very decent metal coming from his direction.

Metallica have never been the same band without him. Often marginalised by the rest of the band, still he had the luxury of quitting rather than being fired. He took with him a lot that has never been replaced. That's not to criticise Rob Trujillo at all, who has now been a part of Metallica for over a decade.
Jason makes playing bass with a pick look damn good. Many people (mostly bass players) may sneer at attacking the strings with a bit of plastic, but just watch any of his bass solos mid-way through any 'tallica show and he owns it every time.

you heard me on the radio

the story of Weezer's 'Pinkerton' is well documented. Raw, rough production that almost sounds like rehearsals, it was stark contrast to the surf-harmonies of their first outing. The critics did not like it. The fans did not like it. It was their own 'In Utero'. It took a few years for the world to really catch up with the album and assign it the cult status it holds to this day. It's hard to think up another band who began their careers with the double punch of these two albums. 'Getchoo' has a chainsaw in it. Or sounds like it does. 'Tired of Sex' is Rivers' declaration to the world that he can and will shred. It's an emotionally dark album, and you have to search for the highs and the humour. But it's all there, baby. Every track on here will provoke, make you think, and mostly, make you want to be in a band.

country as fuck

James Hetfield must write a country album, before it's too late.

business is about to pick up

In front of 20,000 people, and the millions (and millions) watching at home, you don't get a chance to fuck up your line. There is only one take, so don't blow it. You haven't been given the script week or months in advance.Your music hits, and it's your time. A lot of people don't understand the business of professional wrestling. Some people 'get it' but most never will.

rewind the film once more

I wish I had never thrown away all my cassettes. It seemed such a great idea at the time. Amongst these C90's and C60's you would have found some interesting stuff. All lost, long decomposed, re-absorbed by nature in to mud and leaves. There was nothing more satisfying then getting a near-perfect recording off the radio. There was an art to making a playlist on a cassette. As much as we liked to pretend we made them for our friends, for me, they were nearly all for myself. But I can't afford to be too nostalgic about them. Tapes wore out. I wore them out fast. They broke easily. The horror of seeing all your music literally in tatters, trying to wind it all back in and ending up with music playing backwards. Actually, Coffee and TV by Blur sounds quite interesting backwards. Try it.

daft memories #2

I'm Charles, I grew up next door to you?

What makes that noise? The noise in Da Funk? Maybe it's a backwards guitar riff, or a wah pedal plugged in to something it shouldn't be. Either way it's electronic music that can't get any better. Daft Punk have always presented themselves so uniquely and memorably, from the video of Charles walking around Manhatten with his crutch and boombox, to the epic, animated Interstellar 5555 which was MADE for staying up late and watching in the early hours with your friends. Before the age of cover-cats on YouTube, I never knew if it was really possible to play the guitar solos from Aeurodynamic. Maybe they wrote a computer program? Maybe they play it slow and sped it up? Again, I almost didn't care because it just sounded awesome.

daft memories

There's always been a warm sentient presence in all of Daft Punk's music. That is, with the exception of the heavily automated loop-o-rama that was Human After All. The ironically titled album does have it's fairer moments, but they are fleeting when compared against Homework, Discovery and RAM. Time will tell if RAM will stand up against the formers, but the prospects are looking good to this Daft Punk fan. The new album is effortlessly lavish, the product of several years of hard work by the band. It's what you get when you acquire the best hardware and musicians money can buy, and collide them with the most creatively accessable electronic duo that money can't buy. You're more than likely sick of Get Lucky if you've been anywhere near a radio in the last three months. That's not their fault, and at first glance of the album there's no obvious next big hit. That is until you hear Instant Crush for the second time. The appearance of Julian Casablancas on a daft punk record makes so much sense it almost takes away the novelty of it. Up to the eyeballs in vocoders, Instant Crush is an instant ear worm, and a cool-as-fuck guitar solo does me no harm.

true love for radiohead

'True Love Waits' by Radiohead

there may be more savvy Radiohead friends out there who have got their mits on a studio version or alternate versions of 'True Love Waits', but most of us make do with the sweet but passionate performance on the live album 'I Might Be Wrong'. More of a Thom Yorke solo track, long before his solo material came out in The Eraser, it's built on an uncommon chord progression and ends on almighty climax as he thrashes his poor acoustic guitar in to submission. Thom's lyrics ring through painfully heartfelt and emotive. "I'll drown my beliefs....Just don't leave, don't leave.." Here, Radiohead takes the usual love-rejection song to a level of honest and believable bleakness, desparate raw emotions, the feeling of being helplessly at mercy to your own heart-strings, and having them thrashed in to submission too.

Hey Man, Now You're Really Living by Eels

The strength in Eels material comes largely from E's lyrics. It's easy to reach a consensus that 'Susan's House' is genuinely eery and gets spookier the more you listen. You wash down the bitter pills of curmudgeon and hopelessness with gallons of dry, dark humour throughout the music. E is at his best on this track when handing out back-handed compliments to the outer world.' Do you know what it's like to fall on the floor/cry your guts out til you got no more/Hey man, now you're really living', if this song was an instrumental it would sound like the beggining of a kid's tv show, complete with smiling fluffy dinosaurs.

99 songs, 99 reasons -

Ninety-nine songs that I love. Some with rhyme and reason, some with stories, and many serendipitous discoveries amounting to this collection of sounds that are inked in to my every day being.

In no particular order, like a giant impractically sized round-table. In instalments. You're welcome.

Something strange starts to happen about two minutes in to this song. You'll have to listen to it to find out. The track is one of the many highlights of what was sadly their last album; I am actually grateful it was their last, too many bands re-unite for the sake of mediocrity. I often find the counter-melody that in invades this song swimming around my head during waking moments through the night time. if you've never ventured past Doolittle, Trompe Le Monde is not a bad place to continue on to. I don't have a favourite pixies song; they all keep grappling for first place.





coming up next...

#2. - my name is jonas by Weezer
#3. - rebellion lies by Arcade Fire
#4. - festival by Sigur Ros
#5. - girlfriend in a coma by Smiths
#6. - revolution by Tracy Chapman
#7. - age of consent by New Order
#8. - two more years by Bloc Party
#9. - true love waits by Radiohead