Posts Tagged ‘Music’

A few weeks ago myself and a couple of chums spent a weekend at the foot of the Welsh mountains, at Glanusk Park near Brecon. We were attending The Green Man Festival, an independent ethically-minded music festival that features a wide-range of music, art and friendly jolly-japery that seems to be missing form the larger corporate festivals.

Aside from the Saturday evening headliner, Jarvis Cocker, most of the acts sat firmly in the smaller, independent corner of the music industry. It’s always a joy to come to these events and discover new music; artists such as the electro-acoustic James Yuill, the wonderfully eclectic Gang Gang Dance and the downright daft Unicorn Kid had not crossed my music radar until the festival weekend.

Read the rest of this entry »

“As an NME writer, he was obsessed with class war, masturbation, dogs, cancer, Jello Biafra and the multiple use of the exclamation mark.”

Whilst the rest of the world grieves over the demise of yet another 80′s pop star, spare a few moments to pay your respects to Steven “Swells” Wells, one of the greatest music journalists on the planet, who died of cancer on Tuesday. During the 80s and 90s Swells was the NME’s funniest writer – he swore, spat and shouted his words, picked fights with the high and mighty in the music industry whilst waxing lyrical over music that no-one else had heard or cared for.

Even after he left the NME his vitriol never left him, his articles for the Guardian and the Philadelphia Weekly showed that whether he tackled a pompous musician or great American institution, his use of the written word would always leave you smiling – to say he had a way with words would be an understatement.

He thought that guitarists were stupid and that Morrisey was a c**t. RIP Swells.

I am a big fan of Depeche Mode and have been since they added their two-penneth worth to the synth-pop scene of the early 1980s. Most people are surprised to find that the band are still together and are still touring and producing albums. Their latest offering, Sounds of the Universe, was released this week and just as I have done since the release of Violator in 1990, I’ve bought a Depeche Mode album on launch day.

To be honest, this time around I wish I hadn’t bothered.

Sounds of the Universe is horribly average. It’s a chore to listen to – there are no hooks, there’s little punch or interest, tracks start, build up then go nowhere. It’s a crying shame as the quality of the album’s production values is fantastic.

We’re four albums on since Songs of Faith and Devotion and still Depeche Mode prove that they cannot make good music without Alan Wilder.

News has started to filter through that Faith No More will be reforming for a series of European tour dates!

Back in the late eighties/early nineties Faith No More mixed synth and funk-bass with a heavy-rock sound. Their massive single Epic was a rock/rap classic that transformed the band from an arty-joke project into a stadium touring supergroup co-headlining gigs with Metallica and Guns ‘n Roses.

A band with probably the most volatile internal relationship in music history, Faith No More inevitably split eleven years ago with each member moving on to pursue their own projects, one of which includes extreme gardening.

I’m hoping this news of a reunion is genuine. I would love to see Faith no More perform one last time before they once again explode from within.

I had no doubt, my humble readers, that when I asked you to identify a piece of music for me you would have no difficulty in finding the answer.

Once again you have not let me down.

Stu, via the usage of his DAB digital radio and Chill correctly identified the tune as Hayling by FC Kahuna. Featured on the Machine Says Yes album, the track has appeared extensively in film and television soundtracks. Among the track’s credits are the movie Layer Cake and the television series of Top Gear, CSI: Miami and Monkey Dust.

I’ve just purchased the Hayling EP from iTunes and I’m playing the track on a repeat-loop. An album purchase is definitely on the cards.