Belle Epoque were a short-lived (it seemed) but brilliant French post-hardcore/screamo outfit from 2002-2006. Despite only releasing a handful of brief but beautifully packaged EPs and 7"s they carved a rather nice little niche for themselves with a lo-fi sound that's snugly nestled alongside Sofa, Rodan, and Envy.
At one end of the scale, singer Morgan's vocals exuded an exceedingly cool lassez faire nonchalance (how French, I hear you say). Yet within a second, could turn into to the sound of a painfully thin man whose just stepped out of his cave and gone berserk at how simultaneously beautiful and horrifying the twenty first century truly is.
I think I heard somewhere that they broke up to all become teachers in Spain or something. But whatever the members got up to since they split, they've generously made their legacy (yes, all 45 minutes of it) available for online for you to enjoy and trasure for free. As the band themselves put it: "Now Belle Epoque is not ours anymore. You can do whatever you want out of it."
My Tiger My Timing have just got back from opening the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury. They are a five-piece who are based in SE London. Two of them grew up there. The others didn't. One of them is from Crawley. They've got a single out on August 1st.
That's all very well but I want to know is which, if any, of them wants a cock for a nose?
Jamie - There is a serious lack of guilt about our musical peccadilloes in this band. For me, I’m aware that I shouldn't love Bon Jovi as much as I do but you have to admit Livin’ On A Prayer is where choruses go to die. I’m also a sucker for the tapping solo in In Too Deep by Sum41. Sue me jack!
Favourite live music experience.
James - (MTMT) Playing at Astra Stube in Hamburg was great! Proper sweaty little gig. We even did an encore. Felt like The Beatles.
Seb - There have been many... some are credible, some not so much. The entire Reading Festival 1998, Blur in Hyde Park last year, Vampire Weekend with the rest of the band at Isle of Wight - New Found Glory at the Borderline 2001 ;)
Jamie - (MTMT) Berlin with Phoenix. Hands down. 3,000 people. Easy.
Gary - I've had loads. Blur at Hyde Park, Queens of the Stone Age at Brixton to mention just two. But my favourite was my mate Hilly's band at the Front Page in Carlisle. He was really nervous so decided to get proper hammered. He got on stage, played one note then threw his guitar through a very small window. The gig lasted 5 seconds. Amazing!!
Jamie - I’ve got a list of things that I’m ticking off as we go. Concorde2 was big on that list and playing there did NOT disappoint. Same with Glastonbury. I think for me it’s Brixton Academy next. I’ve seen so many shows there that getting onto that stage would be like....WHAAAAAAT!!??!?! Either that or The Paradiso in Amsterdam. You can’t whack a converted church!
Gary - Ibiza would be nice cos it would be a dead good party. Either that or King Georges Hall in Blackburn. It's a lovely building y'know!
Would you rather be the owl or the pussycat? State THREE reasons.
Anna - I need to re-read this...okay, the whole set-up is confusing, the owl is a bit of a weird perv and the cat is a floozy, but I guess I'll go owl -
a) power of flight, b) super vision and c) ability to play a guitar.
Jamie - The Pussycat:
- She seems to be calling the shots. - She knows what she wants & she knows how to get it. - She’s an animal of honour. A year & a day on a boat with an owl and she didn’t munch him. Loyalty!
Gary - The Owl.
1. He had a sweet voice 2. He seems quite easy going. The pussy cat is like "Ooh, let's get married" and the Owl is like "Yeah, alright, fair enough". 3. Owls are cool and pussycats are selfish. So there.
Seb - The pussycat:
i. Cats are awesome ii. The cat would know what to do with all that money iii. The cat would be able to get involved in the honey, where as the owl would have hella trouble beaking away at it.
James - Owl.
1.) He plays guitar. 2.) He know where the Bong-trees grow. 3.) He can eat from a runcible spoon.
What would win in a fight a chicken or a duck?
Seb - Duck - such a handsome creature... and I've always perceived chickens to be stupid. Ducks know how to play the game. (See what I did there)
Anna - A chicken has better claws and beak but I think the duck's multi-terrain abilities (land/air/water) would give him the upper hand.
Gary - Chicken. They seem a bit more aggressive to me.
James - Chicken. Less to lose.
Jamie - Duck. More to prove.
Would you rather have a dick for a nose or an arsehole for a mouth? (both in full working order)
Jamie - Dick for a nose. Although I am concerned about mouth-obscuring balls....
Anna - Hmm the long-standing debate, I think a dick nose would give you a niche appeal in underground sex clubs so you could probably make a reasonable living if you embraced the situation.
James - Dick for a nose. Self explanatory.
Seb - Dick for a nose. Imagine the smell of that arsehole in such close proximity to your nose.
Gary - Dick for a nose. It'd look funny and I'd I'd be able to join Slipknot. Finally.
The chips are down. You're going out. The taxi's booked and you're wearing your sparkly jeggings. What one song do turn up loud to get you from pumped to PUMPED?
Seb
Jamie
James
Gary
Anna
You got in at 4am. You've got blistered hoofs & a pig has shat in your head. You need to spin an album to get your brain back for good. What album?
In the past few years you've made some amazing progress in the music industry. There have been some massive achievements and cool collaborations Who's the biggest prick you've met on the way?
James - The music industry itself is one massive prick.
Anna - there are so many...they far outweigh the good guys (a select and notable collection). You encounter innumerable puffed-up, pompous prats in other bands on the circuit, but at least they're trying to do something productive; it's the industry leeches who are the worst offenders, crap coke-sniffing, band-wagon-jumping, pay-to-play promoters are up there with some of the shoddiest.
Jamie - I think Anna’s right that the pay to play promoters are by far the biggest twats in the music industry that we’ve encountered so far. Although there are a few promoters who AREN’T pay-to-play that really have no clue what they’re doing and I’ve no clue what they’re doing it for. Some of them have full moustaches on their foreheads too. Other than that, miniature shitheads with small-man syndrome and delusions of grandeur/persecution complexes must be avoided at all costs.
What has been the single worst live music experience for you so far?
Anna - we did one of those crap multi-venue city 'festivals' last year which was pretty shocking, the stage was covered in water, the venue was stiflingly hot, the show ran about 3 hours late, the sound was appalling and we got paid about £4 for the pleasure.
James - Too many to mention, none I'd care to recall.
Jamie - I try and take a positive away from every live show... I can’t fucking stand sound checks though. Across the board they are mind-numbing, ear-splitting, time-sucking shitters.
Gary - We played a gig at a club in Shoreditch once and there was about 10 bands playing. Each and every one where terrible. It ended with some solo girl singer naked and singing in French. I wouldn't have minded but she were pretty rough looking. In terms of playing I would say any gig where I have been too drunk. I play like a right arse when I'm drunk.
Seb - Playing some shit'ouse pub in Dalston where there was a lake of beer on the stage and the risk of being electrocuted was significantly high. Also - Northampton was pretty weak. Aye.
Let's picture a scenario. You've been asked by your management/label/fans to do a collaborate with a specific person. It's a high profile event collaboration that will be seen worldwide. It's impossible for you to back out of it and just have to grit your teeth and get on with it. In this scenario who would be your NIGHTMARE collaboration & why?
Seb - Des’ree - I just have a real problem with her. Hearing her music makes me really angry and unhappy.
Anna - this is quite a difficult question, I can think of lots of people who wouldn't really fit with what we do, but then I think, "hmm collaboration with Shaggy could end up being okay if we did it right" - I think it might be hard to maintain much cred if we had to work with Nickelback though...
James - The English National Opera. I'm dressed like the guy from the 'Go-Compare' ads and I'm about to try to hit the high note - but I can't - there's no way...
Gary - Anything to do with free jazz. It's just a bunch of people playing completely different songs to one another.
Jamie - We all try to be so accommodating I really think this could happen, we could very easily get talked into a collaboration that we’re too polite to back out of. I think a comic relief venture where we had to lark about with ‘comedians’ would be my ultimate nightmare. I'd admire the charity element but if I had to appear on stage with that wall-eyed jerk Russell Howard I’d probably dirty protest right on the floor in front of Lenny Henry. Starving African kids or no.
What's the best bit of free shit you've been given?
Seb - The bottle ofJagermeister in Daarmstadt comes close second to Fred Perry clothes.
Anna - Gotta love the Raybans...Reeboks...Fred Perry... keep us looking freshhh!
Jamie - A cup of tea. In a mug. At a festival. Bliss.
Gary - I never really buy anything too extravagant so anything that will last longer than an evening is great.
James - Some advice: "Get out of here, this place is burning down."
You do alot of these interviews. What one question have you not been asked that you wish you had? And what's the answer? (at this point I will write that you said TFM have asked all the best questions in this interview. FYI)
Anna Q: What do you want to be when you grow up? A: Llama farmer
Gary Q: Who else would you like to be in a band with? A: Tony Mccarroll. An absolute crime that he got sacked. Oasis never made another good album after he left. It's true.
Jamie Q: If this band doesn’t work out what will you do next? A: Fuck you!
James .... A: With my socks on...
Seb I can’t think of anything you haven’t covered to be honest. There’s nothing more. I can safely say that this was one of the best interviews we’ve ever done. Thank you.
Let's focus on the positives first THEN we'll get into the character assassinations.
I don't want there to be an confusion here. I'm not talking about pop music as in any music that has found an audince. I'm talking about POP music. I'm talking about bubblegum for your brain. I'm talking about Kylie Minogue. I'm talking about The Backstreet Boys. I'm talking about Destiny's Child. I'm talking about The Beatles. I'm talking about The Jacksons. I'm talking about The Righteous Brothers. More recently I'm talking about Lady Gaga. I'm talking about Girls Aloud & yes, I'm talking about Take That (Mk.I & Mk.II).
Of course I am aware of pop's limitations. They are numerous. I am aware that commerce comes before artistry when talking about pop. I am aware that the words coming out of the majority of pop singers mouths did not come out of their minds. These are things one should never forget about pop music but I truly believe that when discussing pop music there's only one thing that truly matters. Songs.
Pop songs have got to be good. Of course they do. Otherwise they won't be pop(ular). But there are some pop songs that go beyond being simply good and head off into the territory of great. Obviously you can't please all the people all the time (to attempt to do that is to plow into the middle of the road). But there are certain writers, producers and artists that can please A LOT of people A LOT of the time.
I'm not a fool. I know the inconsistencies that abound within pop music. I know that pop music as a whole is a big umbrella. The huge entity that is pop music is a cruel beast that spits out as many turds as it does hits. I also know that individual pop ACTS do the same. For every fizzy moment of pop perfection like California Gurls Katy Perry bangs out a schmaltzy shout-marathon like Firework and she's only one in a company of hundreds. Due to the revolving door of writers and producers a group's output (especially when it comes to singles) can seem disjointed. Just look for, example at these three consecutive single releases:
These three songs come off the same album & they couldn't be more different. I personally think the first and third are two of the strongest British pop tunes of recent times while the second is foul. Yeah, it's got a nice sentiment and everything but it's just fucking cloying and unnecessary! Also it's hard to get much more inconsistent than to change a group's line up between single releases! But I think it's in the very make up of pop music to be interchangeable, inconsistent and for it to attempt to be all things to all people.
Of course this is all about personal preference and OF COURSE this isn't only a pop music phenomenon. Inconsistency is what makes all music more interesting. With a lot of other genres it's more of a tightrope though. You don't want to release a black metal album and then follow it up with an EP of country and western cuts. At the same time you don't want to release albumafteralbumofthesametiredoldshit.
I would like to point out right now that I am not being devil's advocate here. I genuinely am a big fan of pop music. I don't think this effects my worth as a critic or commentator in any way. If anything it enhances it. Look, not everything can sound like Warpaint. Alright?
What am I getting at with all of this? Basically I have begun to feel a little let down by pop music.
Firstly I don't understand the need to have a little rap in the middle of every song:
I truly believe the last time there was a decent rap interlude in a song was in 2002:
Clipse & J Timberlake, now how heavy is THAT?
Up until this point the mid song rap had been a novelty. A nice little element that had been implemented so well, usually in songs produced by The Neptunes.
Since this point it has become a hackneyed and tired enterprise ruined in no small way by Timbaland and Will.I.Am. There are some amazing three minute pop gems that are currently pushing four minutes because of a fucking pointless rap! (Gaga's another inconsistent outputter. She veres from quality to pap like a fucked compass.)
Secondly I don't know where the tunes have gone!
It may seem like a really old fashioned thing to say (believe me, I'm trying my hardest not to use the phrase "it's all a load of noise!") but there are so many pop songs these days that seem to do everything they can to avoid being tuneful. The worst offenders are The BlackEyedPeas by a country mile. Will.I.Am is responsible for some of the worst moments of recent pop music & it seems there's noone out there can stop him. I just don't understand how one man can be attached to so many atrocities and not be brought to account:
Fucking atrocious!
There are some quality exceptions to this rule. In fact possible the perfect rebuttal to what I just said is Beyonce's Single Ladies despite a strong nursery rhyme-esquee melody the song is basically tuneless. The production on the backing track is so sparse and consists in the main of what sounds like a sound effect rather than any discernible instrument. Until the final choruses the song repeats the same refrain and the same two sounds and yet it is utterly mesmerizing thanks in no small part to the incredible video. This is high concept pop music that has more to do with the avante-garde experimentation of this or even the low key meandering of this than it does with the high agressive wall of sound of this or the slick pop polish of this.
Thirdly I think that televised talent competitions have alot to answer for.
Please don't worry I'll be getting to the point very soon.
I know that some of you will now be rubbing your hands together thinking "Oooh good! He's now going to lay into X Factor! I HATE X Factor too!!!" I'm not. I think X Factor is fine. As far as entertainment goes I think it is a thing of pure quality. I can safely say that I have enjoyed watching hours of Popstars, Popstars The Rivals, Pop Idol & X Factor and I even enjoyed Fame Academy. I am comfortable in the fact that I also enjoy The Wire, The Killing (Danish), Newsnight, The Culture Show and other worthy efforts so anyone with a problem with this can eat a dick up.
TV pop shows are mostly harmless entertainment. They are not killing the music industry and they are not making the musical landscape a poorer place. People that complain about these shows seem to have missed the point that they can turn off their TVs. These TV shows haven't stopped people from releasing brilliant albums. They have not prevented real artists from releasing their work unto the public. They are just a forum where people can switch off their executive functions and boo at someone's opinion like a herd of cows.
I do think, however, that the problem is that TV pop music shows like X Factor have skewed people's perceptions on both sides of the aisle. What I think is missing is a sense of perspective.
The show's viewers would like to think that it is they who are in control of the process. That each person who phones in to vote for the next pop star is somehow a shareholder in the process. That by backing a winner, by deciding that something is popular, that they are in some way a mogul. It is easy to get swept away in the high drama of the moment but this is very much not the case.
The show's producers can see what the public are thinking and will try and nurture this misconception while at the same time closing their grip on the process even tighter. They seem to think that the popularity of the shows means that they can do no wrong and can and will put out any old shit that will generate them huge amounts of money.
While it is true that they can and will make a killing I would like to offer up a phrase that is very pertinient "just because you can doesn't mean you should".
This is now where we get to the point.
Just because you can DOES NOT mean you should.
I can't think of a single better example of this than:
This is basically the worst song I've ever heard.
For so many reasons.
To name a few:
It's a car crash splicing together 'Beep' & 'My Darling Clementine' That American accent (she's from Malvern, Worcester) Use of the words swagger & jagger in such close proximity The disgusting product placement Repeated use of the phrase 'my swagger's in check'. It doesn't make a solitary shred of sense.
Never before have I felt so insulted by pop music. Previous X Factor output has been poor across the board (with the exception of Leona Lewis) but not insulting. At times it has been laughable (Alexandra Burke), boring (Joe McElderry) or pointless (Leon Jackson, Shayne Ward etc etc etc) but never before have I felt the need to rage against this will all my might. This is everything pitiful and upsetting about pop music that I am able to look past (basically a four minute phone advert, pointless nonsense lyrics, references to social media, excessive costume changes, constant and targeted misogyny, deference to Will.I.Am) without a single one of pop's redeeming features (an actual melody, strong melodic hooks, lush production, high production values, a killer middle 8, catchy chorus).
There is only one way to combat this. Listening to pop music that gets it right! Very recently there has been one pop music release that has gotten it very VERY right indeed:
Again, this is all objective but you have to admit at the very least it's better than anything Cheryl or Nadine have done since Girls Aloud. Yes it's an obvious attempt to get street cred points (Diplo production, Major Lazer sample, Joe Mount collaboration on the way) but accusations of blog baiting aside she gets A LOT of things just right (she looks well cool, only two costume changes, discreet product placement, that Major Lazer sample (I mean, come on!), singing with an accent...HER OWN!).
Low are a truly special band.Formed as a joke at the height of grunge’s high-gain heyday, its hard to imagine early audiences in 1993 considering this Duluth, Minnesota trio even existing eighteen years later, never mind selling out prestigious venues. But then again, rock 'n' roll has a habit of taking funny turns like this.
Frequently pigeonholed into a niche little sub-genre dubbed “slow-core”, Low are simply unique. The band’s melodies are rich and nourishing, but unlike Ida, stop short of coming over as sickly sweet. Sparse arrangements grow and rejoice in reverb, but in a way that’s more nuanced than Codeine’s dramatic use of dynamic range and reverential feedback. With an avant-rock savvy to match Labradford, Low can easily satisfy the most fastidious of Wire readers yet still write songs that sound like songs. That’s not to say any of these other bands aren’t great in their own ways, because frankly, they are. It’s just that over nine albums and another nine EPs, Low have earned a reputation for themselves as musically fearless and ultimately, peerless.
With that in mind, you’d be forgiven for thinking expectations would be high for tonight’s performance of songs from their latest album, C’mon. After the hushed crowd politely take their seats in the 2,000 capacity venue, the band walk on stage, heads down, all dressed in black. Barely noticing the audience, frontman Alan Sparhawk plugs in his Les Paul with a disgruntled buzz, fiddles with his little amp and shakes his head a bit before launching straight into a long, slow, distorted riff which can only be likened to Beat Happening covering a Harvey Milk tune. All of a sudden, these piercing shards of amplifier squeal wash away to reveal Nothing But Heart. As the song gradually builds up, it becomes clear that the vocal harmonies of Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker are still as powerful as ever. Only this time, they soar with renewed fire in their bellies and a forceful feeling of pressure and release (a trick the band later repeats on Majesty/Magic).
At the other end of the scale, songs such as $20 and Done are coloured with a distinct tone of weariness - giving them an extra fragility than their album versions - whilst Especially Me and Try To Sleep are invigorated with an almost hypnotic heartbeat-like sense of pulse and propulsion.
As far as Low records go, perhaps the biggest surprise of C’Mon is its general lack of surprises. Witches boasts a cranky distortion reminiscent of 2007s Drums and Guns. Sparhawk’s echo chamber guitar on Nightingale harks back to 1995’s Long Division. The album’s closing track, Something’s Turning Over is not unlike some of the bands acoustic covers captured on 2004’s A Lifetime of Temporary Relief. And that’s no bad thing. C’mon’s solid, confident, songwriting makes this album serve as a perfect introduction for one of the most important (yet overlooked) bands of the last twenty years by showcasing everything they’ve learnt along the way. Thanks in part to live keyboardist Eric Pollard and new-ish bassist Steve Garrington, tonight’s encore of older classics such as Laser Beam, Two Step and (That’s How You Sing)Amazing Grace, are subtly re-worked and freshened up but still retain the sacred minimalism that made these songs so special in the first place.
Low have never been ones to hang around the same places for too long. And that, dear readers, is the essence of their charm. At the very least, they make music that is interesting, at the very most you’re almost certain to fall in love with them. Either way, based on tonight alone, it seems fair to say that in another eighteen years from now, they’ll still be selling out venues somewhere.
Those cheeky little bastards I Am A Morning Robot were attempting to goad some young children in starting a circle pit when they played the Live & Loaded Festival last month.....they were unsuccessful. Wildly unsuccessful.
This song fucking rocks though. MASSIVE postcard collection too!
"When you're close to me It is all right, When you are close to me, I can forget" Mission of Burma- Forget
Lovely Little Albums
We all have them. You know that record that simply brightens up a trip into town on a rainy day? That’s one. That album you have on in the background whilst waiting around at home after ordering a curry? That’s another one right there. In fact, chances are, you’re probably listening to one right now.
This column is a celebration of these records and the people behind them. A unique species of LP, they are characterised by their general niceness, quirkiness and (in most cases) unobtrusiveness.
Sure, they don’t soundtrack life’s ecstatic climaxes or crushing disappointments. They just perk up the minutiae of the everyday. But that’s OK, because you somehow know they’ll always be there for you.
It’s almost inevitable. Girlfriends will leave you, friends will let you down. The Lovely Little Album however, is practically guaranteed to do none of these things. Because, for 36 minutes or so, you know exactly what’s coming; the next verse, the next melody, the next song. And its all good.
No matter what the place or time, The Lovely Little Album sounds just as good now as it did when you first heard it. It takes you back. It helps you forget, yet amazingly, still allows you to get on with things. It is this perfect combination which makes these albums rank amongst the best ever made.
Those sly hounds Lights of Paris write some of the most affecting and haunting tunes but A Ballad For Broken Homes is a new peak for Patrick Fitzroy and his merry crew.
We filmed this footage at the Live & Loaded festival in Crawley this month & it's a slow burner for sure! The storm clouds gather gradually building an intense atmosphere only for Patrick's voice to cut through the haze. The ebb and flow of the song eventually breaks into beautiful overlapping squalls of Mark Rivers' piano and Patrick's guitar. Anthony Fitzroy's bass is, as usual, a solid support for the unruly emotional upheaval of his brother's voice while Craig Brown's drumming moves from understated to bombastic without missing a beat. You could feel the shift in the room after this song had finished. I was reminded of the first time I heard How I Made My Millions.
It's hard to think of another band at this level that are equal to LoP for songwriting & showmanship. It takes a huge amount of talent and guts to unleash a song like this live, especially at an alldayer on a stage where moments earlier a rapper had finished his set followed by a band trying to goad the audience of children into starting a circle pit with very little success.
I love this band and this song is beautiful. I cannot wait for the album.
Sorry we couldn't think of an answer due to getting distracted by instructional videos on "how to kiss passionately" on YouTube. . .
(TFM would just like to state that we've just assumed that the boys got this wrong and actually meant "How To Kiss PassionALTY" like what YouTube says.)
4. At the park do you prefer the swings or the roundabout?
Roundabout. . . with two girls & the back wheel of a scooter spinning it.
5. If you could play a full gig of music anywhere in the world where would it be & why?
Under the Sea. It's so much better down where it's wetter. Under the Sea.
6. Would you rather be the owl or the pussycat? State THREE reasons.
The owl.
1) We Get to hang out with Pussy. 2) It will be acceptable for us to sing about Pussy to kids. 3) We could fly. 7. What would win in a fight a chicken or a duck?
Chicken. They're NUTTERZ! Don't trust a bird that can't fly.
(The description for this video says "JUST CHILLIN AT THE PARK WITH MY SON AND WE WERE LEAVING AND OUT OF NO WHERE IT HAPPENS". Then out of nowhere I go home and out of nowhere I record this sic four-to-the-floor dance tune to accompany two chickens fucking each other up. Only so I could calm my son down you understand. I think it was the shock.)
8. Would you rather have a dick for a nose or an arsehole for a mouth? (both in full working order)
DICK FOR A NOSE ANY DAY! Though we easily talk enough shit to have a bumhole mouth :P
9. It's Friday night. You've had a tough week at the fudge factory & you're going out tonight to cut a rug. You're getting pedicures on your toes toes, trying on all your clothes clothes & boys are blowing up your phones phones. What one song will get you all in the mood for partying?
10. It's morning & you've woken up in a bin behind Bar Med again. Once you get home what album will make you feel human again?
11. What would make your hometown music scene better? (whatever you write for this we will change it to something about Teenagers From Mars and how great we are....FYI)
Something like a "Barfly" venue in town specifically for live music. Preferably one run by, or at least with a night promoted by Teenagers From Mars. Obvs.
12. If you were asked to go to space by Bruce Willis in order to save the earth would you do it? Why? Yeah!
Hello friends, welcome to the world of Messrs Ladybird.
Moving on, my first action will be to tell you that in the peculiar, pleasant, peculiarly pleasant surroundings of Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre, a wonderful collection of men, women, children, and a Fireman Sam-skirted lady saw Dizzy Tales deliver an impressive set of catchy, hook-laden numbers that suggest these young whippersnappers could go far.
Despite the perils of bastard vending machines and lights hotter than a unicorn riding on the surface of the sun, the band tore through their tracks with confidence, with each member bringing a distinctive style to the mix.
Andy Boud's lead vocals swooped and swooned impressively, and he strutted around the stage with confidence, while he was admirably backed up in this regard by the rest of the band, notably the bassist Tom Dulson.
He goes a little further than most bassists, with a few of the main melodies coming through dextrous fingerwork, allowing Joe Woodhead's lead guitar work to shine through. His style is a little reminiscent of Chilis guitarist John Frusciante, with long hair flowing and high backing vocals adding to the mix, while being able to crack out a great solo at the same time.
Adam Ellis' drum work was tight and allowed the rest of the band space to breathe, giving the audience the chance to take in the melodies while carrying the rhythm and essence of the tracks well.
After recently being featured on BBC Introducing: The South (first track on the show), Dizzy Tales have the talent and the energy to put on a great live set. With an EP available as well, they should be playing to bigger crowds as a matter of course, so catch them before they truffle shuffle their way out of Crawley. Go on, I dares ya...
Check out a delightful video put together by TFM of the boys in action at this very gig.
Some of the delightful art work from Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre - if you like ass-pinching then this is for you.
Ornament Tournaments are about to drop their eagerly awaiting mini album of unspecified name and length. It’s about regrets and consolations, and it’s 6 months in the making.
To fill the OT gap before its arrival TFM nabbed moments of the boys time (while two of them were in Asia no less) to ask them the only questions that really matter.
Dec: I Had a phase of listening to The Saturdays' album whilst doing some garden work for my Grandad. That and Rihanna.
John: I’d say Panic at the Disco but I don’t feel guilty any more. Most people remember them from their first album (which is awesome anyway) but their second album, ‘Pretty. Odd.’ is a masterpiece. I’m indifferent about their new release. (Check out this, the most awkward EVER interview with Panic At The Disco & Alexa Chung who is being, frankly, a right snarky fucker.)
3. Favourite live music experience.
Joe: I was at reading 2010 and I thought I’d grown out of it and thought I'd become cynical about all music. then, Arcade Fire started playing and I was like 'fuck'. I wasn't really that in to them before, and I was really getting in to it. then they played 'Power Out' and I was like 'fuck, this is perfect' and my world was suddenly broadened all over again, like that scene in 'Almost Famous' where the kid listens to his sister's vinyls for the first time.
John: That’s a really hard question. On one hand it might be seeing Foo Fighters at Wembley; seeing one of the biggest rock bands at their biggest gig to date, and being near the front was something else. But at the same, it can be the smaller ones that really give you ‘that’ experience. Last year a friend and I were in New Zealand. We’d been at Big Day Out festival and had seen bands like The Mars Volta and Muse, but it wasn’t that. Naturally we were dehydrated and shattered at the end of the day, so we went for a drink on some high street bar. We heard some acoustic singer-songwriter that sounded nice but we thought ‘whatever’. But when we sat down I was just taken away. He played the loveliest, most innovative covers of ‘Knocked Up’ by KOL, ‘Free Falling’ by Tom Petty, and ‘On Top’ (my favorite Killers song). His voice was just something else. I’ll never forgive myself for forgetting his name.
Dec: Really stuck on this one. If I had to pick one it'd be Phoenix at Reading 2010. Couldn't possibly describe the atmosphere. Just amazing.
4. At the park do you prefer the swings or the roundabout?
Joe: Swings for sure. Roundabouts just spin your head. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I'll take the swings instead. I just can't understand the appeal.
John: Yeah, agreed. Dec: Toughy, but roundabouts because they have so much potential for carnage.
5. If you could play a full gig of music anywhere in the world where would it be & why?
John: Absolutely the Jools Holland show, or the Letterman show. Most of our favorite bands have played at least one of them, and I’ve found some of my favourite bands through them.
Dec: Anywhere with free beer. Literally, anywhere. Favourite venue I've been to so far is possibly The Hope in Brighton. It's so intimate and sweaty; it's lovely.
6. Would you rather be the owl or the pussycat? State THREE reasons.
Joe: the owl; cats are bad, owls can fly, cats are bad.
John: An owl, so I can twist my head all the way round and trip people out and dress backwards and shit like that.
Dec: Stupid fucking question. (It's no stupider than the previous or next ones...)
7. What would win in a fight a chicken or a duck? Joe: I don’t even know.
John: I don’t even know.
Dec: I was actually having this conversation the other day whilst walking around Hoan Kiem lake in Ha Noi with Naz. Chickens. Don't even ask why.
(if a chicken can kill a man it'll defo fuck up a duck!)
8. Would you rather have a dick for a nose or an arsehole for a mouth? (both in full working order)
Joe: A dick for a nose so I can...
John: Yeah, a dick for a nose. The bowcating possibilities are endless! Dec: A dick full stop.
9. You're at home with your best friends getting ready to go out for a lovely evening of dancing. You're drinking Lambrini and doing each other's make up. What one song will get you all in the mood for partying?
Joe: 'The Hustle' by Bars of Gold. Only true hype music.
John: ‘All the things she said’ by t. A. T. u.
Dec: That Americano song.
10. It's the Sunday morning after the night before, your makeup is all smudged, your knickers are on backwards, you’ve got rug burn on your knees, what album will make you feel human again?
Joe: The idea of 'humanity' is a concept created in order to try and separate us as a species from the rest of the world's animals. Trying to make myself feel more human would be suggesting I endorse a pantheistic way of thinking and that I wish to further distance myself from the already vague connection I still have with the earth. That's just not cool, dude.
John: ‘Pershing’ by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Aaah.
Dec: ‘Wolfgang Amadeus’- Phoenix.
11. What would make your hometown music scene better? (Whatever you write for this we will change it to something about Teenagers From Mars and how great we are....FYI)
Joe: More gigs and less blogs. Tee hee. Except for Teenagers from Mars obvs. They’re radical!
John: Maybe I’m being apathetic or maybe it’s just ‘cus of where we’re from and all that but I think you have to just let your local music scene just do its thing. 80% of the people who used to go to local gigs don’t anymore, which is fair enough, but as fads and ‘cool’ music change so do the demographic. This is all very obvious but it’s all about finding a town with a thriving music scene. Why didn’t we think of that a long time ago. But having said that if there were to be some kind of collective that could bring all the disparate groups of music fans together in order to alert them about up coming bands and the fact that there IS a thriving hot bed of talent in the local area that will eventually begin promoting their own night that would be keen!........What?.........You mean TFM IS that group!?! Well thank god for them!!!!
Dec: An actual music venue. There's nothing bar a couple of pubs and a youth centre at present. Somewhere with a bar, a decent PA and decent promotion would be very much welcome. I’m sure you Teens From Mars will COMPLETELY AGREE. I also think a venue endorsed and promoted by TFM is something that would probably be best.
Today class I am mostly going to be concentrating on the New West, a Hip Hop movement coming out of the West Coast that is so fresh, revitalizing and most importantly fun, that I think you might just have to slip in to your weekend socks.
To comprehend why I think it's such a great development you first have to understand something, up until a year ago I had been a Hip Hop purist, sampling breaks, intricate rhymes schemes and sausagefest gigs were my religion. But I started to notice the typically 90's New York Boom-Bap sound was still prominent in 2010 and was slowly starting to remind me of that moment you are at a Family gathering and Auntie Sue brings round her famous Trifle, it tastes good every time, but you really wish one year she'd at least try a different flavour of Jelly. It just became utterly bland, I still found my head nodding but I didn't really know why. The beats were becoming boring, usually a looped sample, bass and drums for three minutes whilst an emcee spits a four line chorus, and a sixteen line verse x 3, and sure a rapper who can come up with crazy multisyllabic rhyme schemes is technically amazing, but so are the inner workings of my washing machine and I have never cared to find out how that thing gets my long-johns sparkling white. Also, lets be honest even at its best the pseudo-politics of certain rappers rhyming about the way the illuminatti is taking over and seven headed dragons ruling the earth is becoming tedious. If I wanted to listen to that kind of rhetoric I'd sit with stoner Dave a tad more, watching him gobble seven bags of cheesy Wotsits whilst telling me how 9/11 was 'an inside job maaaaaaaaaan'.
Hip Hop is ultimately party music, it started that way in the boogie down Bronx, but somewhere along the way the fun got extracted, of course there were amazing political messages in the early days, but for every Public Enemy's 'Fight the Power' there was a Biz Markie rapping about picking boogers, you had a choice, that choice had been lost....Until now.
They say to every thesis is an antithesis, and the antithesis to Auntie Sues Trifle, is the best bag of Pic'n'Mix you have seen in your life (think Tangfastics but with drumstick lollies and those little white chocolate buttons with hundreds and thousands on....yeah that fucking good). The New West incorporates so many influences, that it is not only hard to find two groups that sound alike, but its also hard to find yourself getting bored with these young whippersnappers. Their influences range from the Bay Area Hyphy movement, old school G funk, all the way to Eminem and the Neptunes. Most of the scene are barely out of school, angry at the way hip hop is going and are trying doing something about it. The way they've achieved this? by not taking themselves too seriously. Over-using slang, naming songs ridiculously, and generally not being the best rappers in the world seems to be the key to the game here, mix that with some fun synth based beats and you are on to a certain winner. But enough talking, let me introduce you to the the motley crew.
I can't really start this without talking about the guys that seem to be getting the most love from the industry at the moment, OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All). you probably know these young renegades through Tyler The Creators viral video for Yonkers. But there are 60 members to this group, the best in my opinion are Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, MellowHype and of course Tyler. These anarchists are far from slackers and impressively have racked albums up into the double digits before penning any deals. Check French and EARL Below:
If you are more thugged out, or like me use gangster rap as ghetto escapism ( I need something to drag me away from my World of Warcraft girlfriend) Nipsey Hussle may be for you. With impressive delivery over hard beats and a face that makes you wonder what Snoop Dogg was up to 9 months prior to his birth, he comes out swinging with this anthem Hussle in the house:
its obvious that some industry heads must be taking notice as Kreayshawn, part of the newly found White Girl Mob has just penned a million dollar deal with Sony after her anti designer Jam 'Gucci Gucci' got her over 2 million views on youtube in under a week. The chorus is catchy and it's refreshing to hear a women who raps about other stuff besides how 'good she can do your man'.
The Get Busy committee are a group of gnarly white boys coming out of L.A. Consisting of Ryu, Apathy and super producer Scoop DeVille, they come with a plethora of 808 drums mixed with some killer 80s samples, check out the title track from their soon to be released second album ' Opening ceremony' with lyrics like 'you're so booty, I'm so boozy, take off your pants and jump in my jacuzzi' I don't know how you couldn't like it....
Pac Div are next, formed of two brothers Mibs & Like and their close acquaintance Be Young, they have blended old school 8 bit synths with Hyphy drum beats and catchy choruses to create hip hop that even women will dance to.
And last but not least Lil B The Based God, the rapper who probably takes this not being serious stuff...well ...really seriously. He really cant rap that well and his songs are mainly about being Ellen Degeneres, or Paris Hilton, or a robot, but there is something about him that makes him utterly endearing. For me its the fact that he cares so little about what the usually homophobic Hip Hop community thinks that he has decided to call his latest album 'I'm Gay'. After releasing the album title he received thousands of death threats but still stuck to his guns, and I applaud him for that. He has a legion of fans that find him utterly entertaining(all you need to do is search 'thank you based god' in google images to prove this) and I honestly cant work out if he is one scotch egg short of a picnic or an absolute genius, either way I love him and you should too
Well boys and girls, that's it I hope you enjoyed the lesson in New West 101, and yes I do understand that writing an essay about why hip hop should be fun is utter hypocrisy, but if you have got this far more fool you.
Oh and one other thing, Fuck Puff Daddy (More on this later)
In July 2007 on his radio show David Byrne had this to say about the ailing music industry:
"...The writing's on the wall...The big 4 or 5 (Record Labels), should give the catalogues back to the artists or their heirs as a gesture before they close the office doors, as they sure don't know how to sell music anymore... The "industry" had a nice 50-year ride, but it's time to move on... A new model will emerge that includes rather than sues its own customers, that realizes that music is not a product in the sense of being a thing — it's closer to fashion, in that for music fans it tells them and their friends who they are, what they feel passionately about and to some extent what makes life fun and interesting. It's about a sense of community — a song ties a whole invisible disparate community together..."
I think that hits the nail SQUARELY on the head. There are some terrified execs barricading themselves into their boardrooms with their fingers in their ears trying to hold off the inevitable.
The music industry and all who hang from its crumbling façade have begun trying a new tack in recent years. They have begun releasing and attaching themselves firmly to their annual Ones-To-Watch lists like flies to sticky paper they use for catching flies. It almost always ends up making them look even more demented and clueless.
A few years back Florence Welch had a Brit award made up for her. It was something along the lines of Best British Act That A Committee of Clueless Suits Has Decided To MAKE You Like This Year. She had a good year. You couldn't avoid the two good songs off her album (Rabbit Heart or Dog Days Are Over) because they were on every channel's ident, flagship tv show, advert & blaring out of every shop.
The following year twee little doe-eyed moppet Ellie Goulding got a similar prize and was then given a similar year of ubiquity with her ONE song and a breathy and dreadful cover of a song off of Moulin Rouge (this is how hip and modern the industry are) that was used on a John Lewis advert (achingly cool!).
This year Jessie J has had this dubious honour thrust upon her & has since been outed as a lez and it's been revealed that she too only has two songs (the rest being sappy shit).
The interesting thing about the way the industry launches these acts is the way that they start off boldly and then run straight back to the tired & testes ways of old. I'm not saying that making up an award especially to be given to someone at a party thrown for a Croydon stage school is PARTICULARLY bold or edgy but it does take a certain amount of roguish dash. It's the closest the industry have come to revealing in the harsh light of day what goes on behind their greasily sealed doors. After receiving this award a strong single will be released and people will go "oh ok, yeah I can see what they mean." After that they rush the release of an album that is a dog turd.
In space noone can hear you shrug.
It's so predictable and it's so boring and it just goes to show that they don't have a fucking clue what they're doing. Albums aren't selling. The only rationale behind releasing an album for these acts is so it can garner critical acclaim and thus prove that the industry can still pick 'em. What these albums prove is that they don't know how to do anything other than release a big single followed by a second single and album followed by the rest of the barely palatable filler from the album.
I can't say to you that I've heard a large cry from the masses DESPERATE to hear a Jessie J album track. I can't say that. Cos it's not true. The two songs she released were alright. Dead catchy. Good for a car advert or something. She's not reinventing anything she's singing over a jingle. If you like that kind of thing that's fine. If you don't have any other expectations from music that's fine. It's not art. It's artlessly done. It's basically pointless but it's fine. What I object to is how it exposes the short sightedness of the industry and yet they'll just do it again next year and that act will then run the exact same mediocre gauntlet.
I saw Jessie J (charisma vacuum) interviewed and she boasted that she was the first ever act to play the American used-to-be-really-funny-now-it's-just-ok comedy show Saturday Night Live without having recorded a debut album. That is a coup-and-a-half for her PR people. Seriously well done! She has got some clout behind her for sure. It just begs the question, why did you then feel the need to release an album? If you can do those things, get those things done, without an album, with only two half decent pop tunes, why then go on to release a testament to edge-less filler? It baffles the mind.
What really funny is that this is supposed to be Jessie J's year. 2011 is supposed to have had a cast iron fringe placed upon its head. But almost every pop fan is buying Adele's album instead. Obviously Adele's a product of the Brit school & was the recipient of the original 'made-up' Brit award (Critic's Choice 2008) but she seems to have taken everyone by surprise. The industry is scrabbling around trying to pretend they saw it coming but they just look like a bunch of twats.
Oh well. Fuck 'em.
There are now more ways and means available to people to express themselves then ever before. Artists no longer need a major industry to promote or package or distribute or produce their work. Which is a good thing really seeing as the industry could find its arse in the dark with two hands.
