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The Strokes
First Impressions Of Earth
After 2004's disappointing second album Room On Fire, I had almost zero interest in checking out First Impressions Of Earth when it was released back in January. I stumbled across a copy a few weeks back, and since then is has been slowly grinding me down and winning me over.
The raft of Strokes imitators that have emerged over the last few years have forced the band to move further and further forward, and the song structures of this album are much more involved and complex than Is This It?'s catchy pop rock. The superb opening track You Only Live Once starts things off with a great bass line and the rhythm section builds up the trademark catchy pop into a fine rock sound. Heavy rocking first single Juicebox then ups the pressure straight away and gives the polished album a sense of urgency.
The development of the band's sound really starts to show them off as more of a band than just a backing band for Julian Casablanca's lyrics. It is the guitars that shine on nearly all of the stand-out tracks, with Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr's dual guitar's adding an important layer to the sound. The cascading guitars of Heart In A Cage or the singing guitars of Red Light bring almost as much personality to the band as Casablanca's voice.
The album dips slightly towards the middle, but recovers well, with Ize Of The World's building up an ever increasing pressure, until it abruptly ends. Red Light finishes the album off, and at 14 tracks and 52 minutes it is by far the bands longest release.
After this surprise turnaround I went back to Room On Fire, thinking I must be wrong there too - but it's still a stinker (...for now).
7th Oct 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4.5 star reviewsJames Yorkston
Year Of The Leopard
2006 is shaping up to be another fine year for music with releases from old veterans like Yo La Tengo and Grandaddy more than fulfilling expectations. But it definitely lacks a few things that we all need. After their stunning tour and appetising glimpses of new songs we need another Radiohead album and it's been so long since A Ghost Is Born that I think everyone would agree that we certainly need a new Wilco album but as Mr Yorkson shuffles his feet up to the plate to make his mark on this year it soon becomes clear that we don't need Year Of The Leopard. I don't come to this opinion lightly as I am a huge fan of Yorkston's honest and strangely uplifting style of folk but this new offering seems to lack all those attributes and is dull to say the least. A great deal of (dish) water has trickled under the bridge in the world of nu-folk since Yorkston's beautiful second album Just Beyond The River, so to emerge after 2 years with this is just not good enough.
We were dazzled by his presence at the Homefires festival and it was clear that he was a trailblazer for the impressively low key yet fiercely progressive Fence Collective, but since then his subordinates have lapped him in creativity and even though he pumps out new music all the time I could certainly handle another King Creosote album.
Yorkston has eased off on the lush orchestration that layered his previous albums opting instead for Homefires organiser Adem's stripped down style of drowsy folk and that's where the problem lies. Where Adem's voice has the intimate closeness that commands your attention, Yorkston just seems too tired or bored to command anything and before all you blinkered fans out there argue that Yorkston's understated and low-key style is the what makes his music work I would have to refer you to the latest Jason Molina offering or fellow Domino artist Bonnie "Prince" Billy as examples of just how captivating this style of music can be.
Each song follows the same structure with delicate finger picking ushering in hushed, whispering vocals until a feint swell of violins brings the whole thing to an easy close only to begin again and again. The Athletes seem to have all but disappeared and the only song that strives to break from this structure is the aptly titled Woozy With Cider, where Yorkston uses ill considered spoken word to tell his crazy tales of drunken debauchery.
Year Of The Leopard just proves that in a highly competitive market, feet shuffling simply won't do and illustrates perfectly the phrase 'If you snooze, you lose.'
7th Oct 2006 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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Chimpovich is on fire today:
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2nd Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Black Dahlia
(dir. Brian De Palma)
Brian De Palma's adaptation of James Elroy's 1987 novel was a hotly anticipated affair. The story of the infamous and brutal murder of 22 year old aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short, was dubbed 'unfilmable' in 1947 - and remains so after this appalling waste of time.
The film follows two tough cops on the hunt for the killer responsible for a crime that rocked Hollywood at the time, mainly due to the gruesome state the victim was found in. Cut in half, disembowelled and sliced from the mouth to both ears, Short's murder attracted a media frenzy. In response, the police department put their most celebrated cops on the case. Nicknamed Mr. Fire and Mr. Ice after their successful careers as boxers, these two soon find the public spotlight brings with it unbearable pressure from every angle to see this case through to a conviction. Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), the gung-ho half of the duo, becomes strangely consumed by the case - much to the worry of his troubled wife … played here by Scarlett Johansson, His partner, Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert (Josh Harnett), assumes the role of the younger, naive cop who isn't fazed by the celebrity status, but just wants to see his idealistic view of justice done.
I would be here all day if I tried to divulge how the plot progresses from here and to be honest I'm not too sure myself. The story is packed full of subplot upon subplot to the point of utter confusion. Elroy's previous screen adaptation L.A. Confidential is just as complicated, but it is written and acted with such skill that you really engage with the characters and try hard to follow them through the complex web of double-crosses and deceit. The opposite is the case here - as the acting is amateur, with each performance rarely rising above a stereotype depiction of 40's film noir cop movies. To be honest I never expected much from Hartnett but I had imagined that the presence of Oscar Winner Hilary Swank would inject a touch of quality to the proceedings, but unfortunately not. To describe Johansson's performance as wooden would be an insult to Pinocchio. The only exception here is Mia Krishner's mesmerising scenes as Betty Short, seen in flash backs and found screen tests. She is dazzlingly beautiful and her deeply innocent and desperately sad eyes give you a clue as to why so many real life detectives became obsessed with this case.
The film as a whole is visually stunning, but style is never a wise substitute for content and despite the dazzling aesthetics De Palma fails to convince his audience of the depth and seriousness of his characters or the period in which they exist. In 1982 Steve Martin did a far better job in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and that was a spoof, not to mention Bugsy Malone.
21st Sep 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 1 star reviewsBonfire Of The Brands
footage of a lot of designer goods being burned
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19th Sep 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Electrelane
Singles, B-Sides & Live
"Singles, B-Sides & Live" is a title that speaks for itself, with this album collecting together some odds, ends and non-major(ish) label releases from this Brighton based all-girl band.
Things start off well, with heavy instrumental Film Music - which is exactly that. I'd like to think it would be laid over a montage of a murderous rampage at a seaside fairground. I Love You My Farfisa is another moody highlight, building up a slow instrumental until it finally bubbles over with a screaming finale.
Cover versions have a great way of bosltering your opinion on a band - either when they cover a favourite song, or do an unusual cover that sends you off looking for the original. Bruce Springsteen's I'm On Fire does the business here, falling nicely between both camps.
Some of the live tracks are also covers and, while the sound quality often leaves something to be desired, the enthusiasm of covers of Roxy Music's More Than This and Leonard Cohen's The Partisan have definitely added this band to my live hit-list.
The album suffers from the lack of sequencing that often thwarts a compilation album. Here they have gone for Singles (by date) / B-Sides (by date) / Live (by date). That seems to lump things into blocks, making the album top heavy on sound quality, but bottom heavy on the material that is most 'new'. The album does however collect together some real gems - mostly suitable for inclusion on a flirtatious mix-tape.
Electrelane have been on heavy rotation in the office this year, so if you don't fancy this one then at least get a copy of the Steve Albini produced album The Power Out.
20th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Cope With Metal
great piece on avant garde metal from the arch drode himself, Julian Cope: SunnO))), Comets On Fire, Six Organs of Admittance, OOIOO, Acid Mothers Temple etc
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18th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
real life computing
maybe you can bluetooth up this real-life cursor kite with your new mighty mouse
25th Jul 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Tapes 'n Tapes
The Loon
Every now and then comes a band who seem to be exactly what you are looking for. For the last couple of weeks, that band has been Tapes 'n Tapes (cool name too).
Coming from Minneapolis, (home of Husker Du AND Prince - both who might well have added a pinch of salt to their influences) Tapes 'n Tapes recorded a home-produced 4 track demo before The Loon and were snapped up by XL after a bidding frenzy following theis year's SXSW festival. "Nine packed-out, fun-filled gigs in four days" - and I imagine they looked like the melon-farming lounge band in Repoman for the most part of it.
Sounding like they must have listened to all my favourite records shortly before making this one, Tapes 'n Tapes bring a lot of classic elements to the party (Minutemen, Pixies, Talking heads, er... Gypsy Kings), but always keep it sounding modern (Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, Constantines). Insistor grabbed early pole position with it's jangling Mexican guitars and seemingly ever-accelerating drums, but it's by no means the only high point of the album.
Though the playing is nothing special, the mathematical construction of the songs is tight, conscise, immediate and catchy without ever sounding conventional. Shuffling ryhthms and emotional vocals add a layer of personality to the records tracks. Just Drums is a great opener, and The Iliad is a Greek Epic, in a mini 2 minute package. As things move on the tracks become slightly less frantic. Manitoba and the excellent Omaha in particular are slightly more ambitious in scope - spelling good things for future records.
Although things are maybe slightly flatter on what would be the B-Side, it's never boring and I'm pretty sure that's just a matter of time until more gems surface and then I find it hard to believe that Insistor was the best. This is the record I'd want to make if I formed a band, so The Loon has already bagged it's place in my best-of-2006 list.
Read our interview with Tapes 'n Tapes here.
7th Jul 2006 - 7 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviewsFire Eye'd Boy Single
Football squad-sized Canadian band Broken Social Scene have got a new Spike Jonez-esque video out for their single Fire Eyed Boy, which is out on July 17th.
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7th Jul 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Stuart A. Staples
Bush Hall, London
In support of his latest album Leaving Songs, Tindersticks' Stuart A. Staples played this small show in London, as well as a few dates around Europe.
The show started off well, with my current favourite song Old Friends No. 1 setting the pace, before moving onto a healthy chunk of the new album and 2004's solo album Lucky Dog Recordings, such as Marseille Sunshine, Shame On You and Already Gone. Staples was backed by superb drumming, a keyboard, lead guitar (from Tindertsicks) and double bass - and when the band was at full steam they were superb, like rock and roll Mariachi's (check surveillance for a drumming clip).
Although Staples seemed a bit under the weather it seemed more likely to be hayfever or flu, rather than the whiskey. Where early Tindertsicks songs seemed drunk, troubled and biographical, his solo material seems more general and is presumably informed by more current experiences. Like Hal Hartley's lack of good movies since he was married, perhaps the happiness of later life has put the fire out. The raucous days of Whiskey & Water somehow seem likely to have been replaced by a self-imposed night on the study sofa after too much congnac.
Although he was determined to play only his solo stuff (apart from one Townes Van Zandt cover - Sixteen Summers, Fifteen Falls), you could tell that the crowd were hoping for the nostalgia of a few Tindersticks favourites. Where certain bands (e.g. Radiohead) seem to keep moving forward and enlisting new fans, other bands seem to retain the same dwindling set of loyal fans - who just grow old together. Where this can make for a fantastic loyal atmosphere at a concert (e.g. The Wedding Present), in some cases (Fugazi included) it can just mean that the energy has gone from the crowd, leaving a subdued performer - unsure of how things are going. As Staples himself commented "I have no idea if you are enjoying this or not."
Click here for more pictures.
8th Jun 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviewsNews Feed
Update your RSS links readers, we've upgraded and the news RSS is now here. Click the RSS button at the top on Safari, or bottom in Firefox.
22nd May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
Archie Bronson Outfit
Derdang, Derdang
These days a record label is not complete until it has a David Byrne inspired vocalist on their books. Rough Trade got theirs with The Arcade Fire, Wichita with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and now Domino have found theirs. Hailing from the West Country, Archie Bronson Outfit are not something you would want to listen to if you were of a nervous disposition, or in the least bit on edge. This is not a criticism, it’s just a pretty stressful experience listening to Derdang Derdang, the groups second album. They have managed to create a real sense of urgency that except for the final track is pretty much unrelenting. The whole album can be summed up in the stand out track Dart For My Sweetheart. On the whole, I frown upon songs that use counting, or days of the week as their structure - but this one is an exception. It starts “One is a gun with a dart for my sweetheart,” and continues up to twelve. All this over methodical, driving and jangling guitar and drums. Arp, the drummer and lyricist says, “There’s a nursery rhyme feel to the lyric, the counting stuff.” His kids ain't getting no sleep tonight.
The band claim this album was written and recorded in a very short space of time while they were all living together - and this comes as no surprise to me. It has a captivating sense of immediacy and the ever building tempo in each song threatens an approaching explosion, but rarely gives in. The tension comes from a combination of repetitive guitar rhythms, screeching free jazz saxophone and distinctive, paranoia filled vocals - delivered with such energy and force you have to either switch off or sit up and take notice. On Dead Funny he orders us, “don’t worry just get your head down.” Sound advice I think.
10th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsNeil Young
Living With War
According to Pitchfork this is Neil Young's "rawest release of new material since at least Ragged Glory, maybe even Rust Never Sleeps... " According to me it's about as immediate as his last 10 years of plod. It plods along and has the same plodding pace as his last 'Decade' of work, except this time it has some overtly political lyrics.
There's no doubting that this is protest music of the most literal order, but where his 60's protests like Ohio or Southern Man were relevant and emotional, the plodding Shock and Awe, Lookin' For A Leader or Let's Impeach The President have nothing like the weight, and certainly not the political commentary of an angry album like Radiohead's Hail To The Thief
I wish he'd get on with re-releasing his missing old stuff, rather than forever moving 'forward'....although judging by by 2004's 'Greatest Hits' even that could be a mis-fire.
5th May 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 1.5 star reviewsThe National
Alligator
Along with Arcade Fire this album was one of the highlights of 2005. I wasn’t that familiar with The National before this but soon became obsessed with Alligator. It is so infectious and unlike anything I can think of. Lyrically this album is fascinating. Curious and often beautiful poetry is delivered with deep, baritone restraint by front man Matt Berninger. The often confessional subject matter is strangely hopeful and yet tinged with melancholy
The National hail from Brooklyn (or is it Ohio - Ed.) and yet have little in common both thematically or musically with the New York house style we are used to hearing. Lyrics like “My bodyguard shows her revolver to anyone who asks and yes she comes to attention when you come up to me too fast,” and “Come be my waitress and serve me tonight, serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon,” hint at a surreal and yet romantic view of this world that thought provoking and touching. It’s hard to break this album down into standout tracks as it is such a complete work of unrivalled originality but if I had to I would say Lit Up, Friend Of Mine and Geese Of Beverly Road simply rule.
Alligator is the reason I constantly find myself trawling through the new releases, because every so often you come across something like this that moves you with its beauty, its honesty and its quality. The trouble is that everything else gets judged accordingly and I am rarely satisfied now.
10th Apr 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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Spoon
Gimme Fiction
I always imagine ten-pin bowling competitions to be really boring. They basically wait for their opponent to slip up slightly and not get a strike. If Spoon was your opponent you just know that they aren’t going to slip up any time soon judging by their last five bowls and you’re in for a long night. They are such a solid band. Even if you search their back catalogue for a sign of weakness expecting to find a Pablo Honey, you wont. Their style has changed over the years but they make consistently good albums. Gimme Fiction, their fifth full-length album, is yet another strike from Britt Daniel and the boys from Texas.
I think what makes it so refreshingly different from all the other bands we hear today is its musical composition. It’s nothing too experimental but the emphasis is on rhythm and bass rather than lead guitar. The drums run the show coming in heavy and loud and do so much more than merely provide a backbone for a song. Britt’s vocals fit in perfectly with this rhythm, he seems so into this beat often dropping in the odd ‘yeah, alright’ in between versus.
Standout tracks include Mathematical Mind, a fantastic song that rolls along on a piano bass line and slowly builds to a cacophony of drums and symbols, with Britt’s guitar stuttering awkwardly over the top, stabbing erratically. This track was great live as Britt would stagger over to the corner of the stage in his own world hammering furiously at his strings like Richie Cunningham possessed by John Coltrane. Another highlight is I Summon You, one of the more regular acoustic based songs - but again accompanied by some great drumming. What I wouldn’t give to be on a camping trip with Mr Daniel, sat round the fire, bellies full of some grilled wild animal, a couple of brewski’s in hand and Britt reaching over for his well travelled beat up old acoustic guitar, “D’ya know this one?” he asks as I slowly drift off to sleep to the hypnotic strumming of I Summon You. Perfect.
10th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
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My Latest Novel
Wolves
I first found out about this band sometime last year as I was recovering from post Arcade Fire blues and was searching the musical horizons for anything that might be on the way to satisfy my creative cravings that Funeral had just ignited. Their first single Sister Sneaker Sister Soul gave me a bit of hope. I then saw them support Sufjan Stevens and took their average performance as a warning that this was not where my next fix was going to come from. Then came Wolves, the debut album, and with it the death of all my hopes. It made me feel slightly embarrassed that I ever looked their way for what I craved.
It’s not that Wolves is a bad album, far from it, it’s better than a lot of stuff out at the moment. It’s just that it takes itself so damn seriously. If Wolves was one of my friends I think I would try to avoid them and make up some lame excuse every time they invited me out for a drink. They would constantly and predictably remind me of how bad McDonalds was as I stuffed a Big Mac and fries down my throat and would probably never buy a round.
But this purchase wasn’t a total disaster, due to Fopp's ‘Suck It And See’ policy I was able to exchange it for the new Morrissey offering which made me think that My Latest Novel need a lesson from The Pope Of Mope himself on how to take yourself seriously with your tongue firmly in your cheek.
Thank God Clap Your Hands came along and I got my fix in the end.
5th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 2 star reviewstop ten albums of 2005 (and some other notable mentions)
chimp71:
in no particular order, and some of these contain a few killer hits rather than functioning as entire albums, but hey… also this is just the stuff that was out 2005, so no dylan, no pharoah sanders, no japan, or jackson c frank etc which have all been shuffling for me nicely this year.
clor (swung me round after seeing them supporting malkmus)
stephen malkmus - face the truth (this one does work as a whole album)
matthew herbert - plat du jour (the return of the concept album! loved this live too, looking forward to the return of disco herbert in 2006 as well)
roisin murphy - ruby blue (this should point where disco herbert will be taking off from, great hearing that wonky guitar on the title track on the radio all year)
louis xiv - the best little secrets are kept (great singles here, bit patchy as an album)
jamie lidell - mulitply (real grower this, disappointed at first, dig it now)
devendra banhart - cripple crow (this is way too long, but like it a lot even though i imagine he'd be quite high maintenance to hang with)
wilco - ghost is born (c75 really swung me around on these guys, so not the alt folkies i thought they were)
ambulance ltd - ambulance ltd (great, really varied album, which they pulled off live)
caribou - milk of human kindness (ironic title seeing as they were such miserable fuckers at the montague and we pulled them from heavy rotation afterwards)
notable mentions:
arcade fire - funeral
gorillaz - demon days (all year i keep hearing the singles on the radio, liking it, and still not identifying that it's them)
Chimp 75:
First off, for me 2005 has been one of the best year's of music I can remember - and possibly the first where I'm not digging into the past for good music. In previous years, a few of this year's notable mentions would have certainly made the 10:
Clor - Clor (Fear of Music regulars, bartended my party, supported Malkmus, some great singles but the album is slightly thin in places)
Surgery - The Warlocks (the opening track is so good I rarely get past it)
Funeral - Arcade Fire (I like it more than I actually listen to it)
Bright Eyes - (See above. Too much in one year. Use Your Illusion syndrome)
Half Smiles Of The Decomposed (Came out in August 2004, but gets a nod for being a fine finale for GBV)
Liar's Exit - Bikini Atoll (This made the list, but was bumped at the last minute by Low. Still moving up the charts)
And here's my actual 10, in descending order:
10 - Ambulance Ltd. (For Yoga Means Union alone. Great live)
09 - Low - The Great Destroyer (Shoe gazing goes big time)
08 - KC Rules OK/Rocket DIY - King Creosote (Two albums, but both equally good, and both 2005)
07 - Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon (Even better than what seemed like a perfect debut)
06 - Face The Truth - Stephen Malkmus (No More Shoes, and that infectious Rod Stewart riff. Classic.)
05 - Take Fountain - The Wedding Present (Let down by a couple of annoying tracks, but the rest gets 11 out of 10)
04 - Gimme Fiction - Spoon (Definite future-classic-rock)
03 - Alligator - The National (Definitely one to watch, as they will only get better. Awesome live.)
02 - A Ghost Is Born - Wilco (OK, this was actually mid 2004, but it's been on heavy rotation all 2005)
01 - Z - My Morning Jacket (The most anticpated album I've had for a while, and still getting better. They rule.)
If you don't have them, go get them. Can't wait for 2006.
27th Dec 2005 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
ATP 2006
Look's like this year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival is shaping up to be a good one, with many of Chimpomatic's 2005 favourites playing:
All Tomorrows Parties
The line up for next year's event is starting to take shape :
Week 1 includes
Mudhoney, Comets on Fire, Black Mountain, The Drones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, TV on the Radio, Devendra Banhart, Vashti Bunyan, Bert Jansch
Week 2 includes
Dinosaur JR, Dead Meadow, Sleater-Kinney, Spoon, The Shins, The New Pornographers, The Decemberists, Clinic and Big Business
With many more to be added.
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23rd Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
The BBC Rules
So, it looks like all those license fee hikes will soon be paying off, with news that the BBC will soon be making most of it's programming available as free downloads for seven days after it is broadcast. That would really put a fire under the download/iPod revolution, as well as saving a lot of heartache over missed episodes of Neighbours.
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1st Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Spoon
Koko, Camden
Spoon are one of those bands who seem to have surfaced recently... but a bit of detective work reveals they've been around for years and years, quietly plugging away, doing their own thing.
After the utterly useless support band "Amusement Parks on Fire" shuffle their tedious, angst ridden, Kurt Cobain cardigan-wearing, trauma-feedback nonsense into the wings, Spoon hit the stage and straight away it's clear that they're a band with a lot of live experience. They're super tight and work the crowd well, with Richie Cunningham/Gary Busey (c. Big Wednesday) lookalike singer Britt Daniel exuding personality with his chat and semi-moonwalking sliding dances. They march through a lot of their latest album Gimme Fiction, with great drumming and Ice Hockey style keyboards (from a Vincent Gallo lookalike)... sounding a lot like an American 1960's band in the style of a British Invasion rock. Right at home on Nuggets in fact.
It's all over too fast, with a rousing encore finale of Ice Hockey Rock (TM) classic Small Stakes. Check the surveillance section for a clip.
13th Oct 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Spoon
P.S. Caught the SPOON show at Koko on Friday, and they rocked. Ice Hockey style.
Review coming soon.
P.P.S. The pic on the right show audience support for Amusement Parks On Fire. Whaaack Nirvana wannabies.
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2nd Oct 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Album of the Year 2005
I know it's a bit early in the day for this but, for my own personal reference, here's a few contenders so far - as of July 14th 2005:
The Wedding Present - Take Fountain
The National - Alligator
The Arcade Fire - Funeral... let's just see how time fares on this one.
Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth
14th Jul 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Homefires
Conway Hall, London
mugison ruled as usual, pulling someone on stage to help with the projector for 2 birds, doing a rare live version of the night is limping, getting muddled after 2 hours sleep and a gig in iceland the night before… all great.
lau nau was ok, nice use of tape machines, but a bit meandering.
white magic spent the whole time looking pissed off and tuning their guitars before running through dylans' 4th time around in a fairly pointless fashion.
jesca hoop was a bit too ye olde folke for me.
hot chip were ok, but felt like they were playing everything too slow. and the singer sounds a bit like the housemartins.
really enjoyed king creosote, who had james yorkston, pictish trails and some other fence collective dude playing with him.
adem himself was great, and was probably too modest to headline the night, even though his set had the most up feel to it, with an all-star backing band featuring people from the other bands.
badly drawn boy showed off a new hat.
james yorkston finished the night, another v good set, if a little quieter to finish on maybe… he did get the crowd off their feet at the end though, with adem, kieran 4-Tet hebden, and other fence collectivees on stage with him. generally, a great day and it did feel like adem had hand-picked stuff he was into.
plus they had great sandwiches
22nd May 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
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homefires
full chimp contingent enjoying adem's homefires festival yesterday…
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22nd May 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
More Mugison
In case you're not going to Homefires this Saturday (or even if you are in fact), Mr. Mugison is playing another gig at Brixton's Windmill pub on Sunday 22nd.
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18th May 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
homefires
mugison's playing at adem's london homefires festival - sounds good:
Saturday May 21st (doors 3pm)
James Yorkston, Adem, Badly Drawn Boy, Hot Chip (acoustic), Jesca Hoop, King Creosote, Lau Nau plus more guests and DJs along the lines of Jarvis Cocker, Bob Stanley, Beth Orton
Sunday May 22 (Doors 2pm) :-
*Very Special Secret Guests* Adem, Alasdair Roberts, Scout Niblett, Jose Gonzales, Espers, PG Six, Amina (Sigur Ros string collaborators) etc.
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6th May 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Windmill Blowback
Mugison on storming form at the Windmill last night - sad as a truck, i'm on fire, CY all great plus an oustanding murr murr to finish and Gael Garcia Bernal in the audience… doesn't get much better
29th Apr 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Magnetic
Damon & Naomi, Sleater Kinney, Arcade Fire. Seems like Magnet could be a good read.
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25th Mar 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Accidental Broadcast
despite the usual ica queue overload and oblique bar strategies, still a great accidental broadcast on saturday - highlights for this chimp included: max de wardener's big glass jars and his booming bass; mara carlyle getting a london crowd to shut up just by asking nicely; a beautiful version of her "i blame you not"; mugison's "whoops i'm 3 hours too drunk oh well here's another blinder"; mara's voice looped into mugi's opening track. oh, and the guy who attempted to interpret mugi's "i'm on fire" through the medium of dance (aka smoking on stage in an occasionally rhythmic fashion)...
17th May 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
Van Breaks Down
Dr. Chimp points out that van morrison, fire chief has
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14th May 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
radio accidental
another great mugison gig last night, pretty full accidental family outing too. CY as classic as ever, i'm on fire full glitch tom waits fury, beautiful new slow one and possibly the world's shortest ever encore. class. plus post gig icelandic dried fish...
he's hardcorrrrrerrrrrrrockandrrrrrrrrrrrrroll alright
heard the new max de wardener album too, which is as good as the single, looking forward to the upcoming accidental broadcasts now
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2nd Apr 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
Bush Fire
even bush is joking about the lack of wmds now...
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26th Mar 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ring Of Fire
sadly, the cash estate have said no to the haemorrhoid company who wanted to use ring of fire in an ad...
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18th Feb 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
St. Elmo's Fire
(dir. Joel Schumacher)
A mixed bunch of University graduates find life in the real world much tougher than they thought.
Re-watching this movie recently, I slowly realised that this is really what I expected grown up 'real life' to be like. Crashing round people's 'pads' on the floor after a row with the wife, shooting vodka at random moments and playing the sax. Even casually smoking a fag while haphazardly cooking stir fry.
This movie is so John Hughes-esque it's unbelievable, even though he didn't have anything to do with it. It does however turn out on the DVD commentary that Joel Schumacher had an office just down the corridor from Hughes, so they no doubt had a crazy night out, ended up having a glass of brandy and smoking a fag together on the fire escape while mulling over ideas.
Part goofball, part genius. This movie works on many levels.
23rd Jan 2004 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviewsUpstaged! Some favourites from Mike Watt:
"a love supreme" - john coltrane
"gi" - the germs
"band of gypsies" - jimi hendrix
"tyranny and mutation" - blue oyster cult
"willy and the poor boys" - creedence clearwater revival
"how much longer do we tolerate mass murder?" - the pop group
"there's a riot going on" - sly and the family stone
"mix-up" cabaret voltaire
"soldier talk" - the red crayola
"over the edge" - wipers
"killer" - alice cooper
"wheels of fire" - cream
"sell out" - the who
"blank generation" - richard hell
"bringing it all back home" - bob dylan
"for your pleasure" - roxy music
"paranoid" - black sabbath
"the slider" - t-rex
roky erickson's first solo album
"flip your wig" - husker du
"up on the sun" - meat puppets
"pink flag" - wire
"piper at the gates of dawn" - pink floyd
"sister" - sonic youth
new york dolls first album
"the man who sold the world" - david bowie
"guts" - john cale
"berlin" - lou reed
"white light/white heat" - velvet underground
"damaged" - black flag
....(in no particular order)
Links
From an interview on iggy-pop.com
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9th Dec 2003 - Add Comment - Tweet
Sebadoh
Live at the EFDSS
Lou Barlow seems to have a problem with falling out with people. First we had to get over Dinosaur Jr. (minus Lou Barlow) and then Sebadoh (minus Eric, with Eric, minus Eric). Tonight we had "Lou Barlow And Jason Lowenstein Play The Songs Of Sebadoh" - not that Eric was missed too much.
Lou Barlow has always seemed like the leader of this troupe, but Jason got a pretty thunderous applause when he stepped up to the mic. Kicking out a lot of the classics and favourites, the gig played out like a campfire indie session with a couple of friends. Every song seemed like your favourite, with most of the crowd sat on the floor shoegazing and remembering the good old days.
Nostalgia can't last forever though, and there was a slight hint of under-achiever about the whole affair. Sebadoh always seemed like they were only the start, but the rest never really came. Maybe it's not Lou that falls out with people, maybe they just fall out with him.
15th Oct 2003 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews