This is to wish all the people who visit and read MusicKO regularly a very happy new year. A big, affectionate “Thank you” to everybody.
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Adventure (Television) – Album Review
"Adventure" Was Issued In 1978, Little Less Than A Year After Television's Debut "Marquee Moon" Had Been Released
A “Marquee Moon petit”. That is the best way to describe Television’s second LP. It was issued in 1978, and it was to be their final release for almost two decades as they disbanded some time after the record had hit the shelves.
Obviously, Marquee Moon was a hard act to follow. You must remember that the songs which were recorded for the debut had germinated over three years of live performances, and that alone gave them a crisper edge when placed against the songs on Adventure. Those were written in a very limited lapse, but at least the band exploited the bigger budget they had the second time around.
In many cases, they slowed down the tempos and came up with songs that ended sounding a little trippy. The most obvious examples are the cuts “Carried Away” and “The Fire”. The former has a sort of lulling melody that mirrors the marine themes and motifs of the lyrics in a manner not really dissimilar to that in which Yeats’ “The Lake Isle Of Innisfree” lulls you over with its vocal rhythm.
On the other hand, “The Fire” has Verlaine playing a slide part in which he uses a knife instead of a bottleneck to quite good effect. The song also has the best set of lyrics on the whole album – it must have helped that Tom picked the standout verses from over twenty he claimed he had penned. Continue reading
Play Along And Jam… With A Robot!
Many people are known to use the expression “robotic drumming” when talking about 80s music. They might like to reconsider after watching this video that has surfaced recently on YouTube:
There is not a lot more that could be said. While nobody would mistake this little automated fella (named “Shimon”) for the next Stewart Copeland, it certainly does it bit. Continue reading
Sandinista! (The Clash) – Album Review
Sandinista! (1980) Set The Scene For The World Music Genre That Was To Become Common Currency In That Decade
Do you measure how good an album is by looking at how much filler it has, or by looking at the actual number of cuts that are extraordinary? That is the key question many ask themselves when they have to analyze this triple album, issued by The Clash in 1980. The previous release (London Calling, 1979) already had found them pushing boundaries by being a two-record set that included far, far more than the punk offerings that many had already associated with them.
Strummer & Co. were always the kind to stick to the “nothing ventured, nothing gained” ethos, and it was only natural they would continue taking steps forward. This particular step forward is what John Alroy calls an “anything goes” mentality. I think it is best to term it an “anything that speaks to us goes” mentality. Just listen to the single “Hitsville UK”, about a band that does not necessarily succeed but makes people happy for doing what it does (IE, playing music), and the terms of the gamble The Clash had taken this time around become all the more understandable.
The range of styles across the 6 sides of Sandinista! is as encompassing as you can imagine. Note that there are few rock songs around, and the ones available do not necessarily deliver. The one exception is their cover of Eddie Grant’s “Police On My Back”. I do like “Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)” if only because it showcases the band’s ability to tackle important issues (in this case, the tower blocks that blighted England and the living conditions therein), and I can say the same about “Somebody Got Murdered”. But the latter song highlights how far gone Topper was on heroin. He was to take a permanent leave after the next album – in hindsight, the other members of The Clash have equaled his departure with the beginning of the end for them all. Continue reading
GoMix – Remix & Share Songs By Your Favorite Artists
Name: GoMix
URL: http://www.gomix.com
It happens to all of us, no matter how musically proficient we are – when we listen to a song we complain about the voice coming in too low, the guitar coming in too soft, the drums sounding like tin biscuits… It is basic nature, in the same way we claim that we could give the current coach of this or the other team a good run for his money, or that we could be in charge of any given company and do more good than the actual person who stands as its chairman.
But can we? As far as music is concerned, now it looks like we can indeed. GoMix is a brand new site that will let you take songs and remix them yourself, without the need to download anything in order to get going. A browser-based editor is used, and you can cut and paste everything and then start readjusting it. Continue reading
Compact Snap! (The Jam) – Compilation Album
"Snap!" Was The First Jam Compilation Ever Released. The Year Was 1983. The CD Edition Was To Omit 8 Tracks.
Quite a gem, this is the CD reissue of a double LP that collected all the singles and the best album tracks that the epoch-making band led by Paul Weller produced during its time together. Eight tracks have been dropped to make it all fit into one CD – the eight album tracks. That makes the CD stand as a sort of singles collection.
Every A-side is featured, and that includes the compositions “’A’ Bomb In Wardour Street” and “Dreams Of Children”, songs that were released as part of double A-sided singles. Of course, all the non-album tracks that they were to release are featured – “Going Underground”, “Strange Town”, “When You Are Young”, and their final #1: “Beat Surrender” (a song that feels more Style Council than The Jam). Continue reading
Closer – The Best Of Sarah McLachlan (Compilation Album)
"Closer" Compiles Together Sarah Mc Lachlan's Greatest Hits Up To The Year 2008
This one took a little to sink in, and it didn’t sink in completely. But the bits that managed to do it are ones I now treasure indeed. Sarah Mclachlan is a Canadian artist that began her career in 1988 with the album “Touch”, in which her trademark mixture of folk and pop was already fully manifested. That record included the hit single “Vox”, and that is the one song which starts this 16-track compilation which was first issued in 2008.
I think I don’t have to tell you it is one of the tracks that I truly treasure from it. The other two that I deem as exemplary songs are “Possession” and “Building A Mystery”. Both were quite successful in terms of chart performance – “Building A Mystery” topped the Canadian charts and almost hit the top 10 in the US. For its part, “Possession” garnered a lot of publicity since it dealt with a famous stalker that even filed a lawsuit against McLachlan – he was to eventually commit suicide before the trial started.
Some might find it startling that songs dealing with such negative realities turn out to be such compelling listens – just look at Elvis Costello’s “High Fidelity” or The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”. But when songs like that are successful, I don’t think that means people are “evil”– quite the opposite. It just showcases that “normal” people are naturally attracted to what happens on the other side. The more people who are keen on songs like these, then, the more representative sample we have of people’s saneness. Continue reading
Merry Christmas!
I’d like to wish every reader of MusicKO a very merry Christmas. I have embedded two videos for you below. The first one is Sarah McLachlan’s “O Little Town Of Bethelehem”, and the second is “Elf’s Lament” from the album “Barenaked For The Holidays” by Barenaked Ladies. Enjoy!
First, Sarah’s McLachlan “O Little Town Of Bethelehem”:
And this is “Elf’s Lament” by Barenaked Ladies: Continue reading
Awdio – Bringing The Sound Of Clubs & Venues Into Your Computer
Name: Awdio
URL: http://www.awdio.com
Traditionally, if your favorite band was playing and you couldn’t get there for a reason or the other there was little you could do but sit in your room and sulk all night. Alternatively, you could take the Keith Moon approach and trash the room beyond recognition. Neither option was really healthy, so I am not surprised a system like Awdio was (finally) devised.
Basically, this French startup will let you listen to the sound of clubs and venues on your desktop. So far, something like 150 venues are supported and the list is growing fast. 150 clubs mean that through the site you will have access to roughly 5,000 events per month. Now the question will not be what to listen to but rather what to skip in order to keep up with your social life. Continue reading