September 2008 Archives

It's that time of the week again, folks. I know you've been looking forward to it and so here it is! A selection of singles out now or, in the case of Oasis and Alicia and Jack, ones coming out on Monday (Sept 29). This week, they'll be judged against the following ratings:

***** Jamie and the Magic Torch
**** Jamie Lee Curtis
*** Jamie Redknapp
** Jamie Oliver
* Jamie Cullum

"The Shock Of Lightning" - Oasis
Previously on this blog, I've been quick to bash Oasis and dismiss them as has-beens. Well, serve up that humble pie for me because this is quite good!
Not sure I believe the claims that this is practically the demo, but it is a a pleasing taster from the forthcoming album, which also sounds like it could be their best in 13 years.
****

"Another Way To Die" - Alicia Keys and Jack White
What's with the hysterical, adverse reaction to this? I actually think they work well together to deliver a theme in the tradition of the classic James Bond songs.
Plus it has Alicia Keys on it. And the mere mention of her name is enough to make me go weak at the knees, so I'm happy!
****

"Dull Flame Of Desire" - Bjork
Almost everything Bjork touches turns to gold and this is no exception. A dark, brooding duet with Anthony of Anthong and the Johnsons which has a real cold beauty to it.
Look out too for a couple of ace remixes by Modeselektor which give fresh twists to the song. Brilliant.
*****

"Love Lockdown" - Kanye West
Blimey! This is a real Marmite effort from Kanye - you'll either love it or hate it.
Credit to him for trying something very different from his previous work but, sorry, this sails a little too closely to Craig David territory for my liking.
**

"Angel Of The Night" - Basshunter
Hasn't anyone else noticed that this sounds the same as all their other tunes? Come to think of it most dance music from the last couple of years of so sounds the same, whether it's by Basshunter or anyone else.
They are simply the Vengaboys without the tongue-in-cheek fun. Horrible, repetitive Europop/dance drivel.
*

"Seven Lives Many Faces - EP" - Enigma
They have always made excellent chillout electronica and I'm happy to say this return sees them still producing the goods.
All five tracks on this EP are worthwhile but the beats of "Superficial" and the sheer beauty of "The Language Of Sound" stand out for me.
****

So the rumour is Midland rock legends Led Zeppelin are set to follow up their O2 Arena reunion shows with a full UK tour next year? My immediate reaction was that this was great. But then I got thinking (always a dangerous thing) that perhaps this isn't manna from heaven as some people believe the news to be.

Firstly, there's no point me getting excited because the tickets will probably sell out within a nano-second of going on general sale. In these cases I ALWAYS miss out (White Stripes in Wolverhampton 2001, Glastonbury 2003 and Sex Pistols in Birmingham earlier this year, to name three).

And secondly, do I really want to see a band potentially sully their legacy with shows not up to their records. Yes, their O2 shows were well received but those were supposed one-offs - could they sustain it over a number of shows, up and down the country?

Unlike the Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin have not continued to tour relentlessly and the magic of the band has been sustained. I love their records and, sure, would love to have seen them in their 70s pomp but I'd be too worried that they wouldn't match up to my hopes and expectations in 2009. In fact, I've spoken to Dylan fans who saw him for the first time within the last few years and they were left gutted because he clearly wasn't as good as he was back in his prime.

Of course, they could come back and be brilliant. But they could end up being a shadow of their former selves and that would be a terrible shame.

Here, again, is my review of a selection of singles out this week.And they will be judged against the following witty ratings guide:

***** Star Wars
**** Starman
*** Stars In Their Eyes
** Stars On 45
* Five Star

"Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
This is a re-release of a song out last year but, quite frankly, she could re-release it every week and I'll never tire of it. Absolutely brilliant and superb sampling of "Straight To Hell" by The Clash.
If you haven't listened to it before then, well, what have you been doing? And if you listen to it and don't like it, then you really shouldn't be allowed to have ears.
*****

"Pretty Please" - Estelle
This is another fine effort from Britain's "Nu Soul Diva" and, whisper it quietly, as good if not better than "American Boy".
Not too unlike Chaka Khan and it has a great classic soul feel to it.
****

"Changes" - Will Young
Please, someone slap me. Very hard! I am not going to give a Will Young song more than one star. I'm just not. I can't, can I?
But the thing is, I heard this and thought it was quite decent and THEN I was told it was by Will Young. So I was conned into liking it. I don't like it at all really...
***

"Naked On The Dance Floor" - Towers Of London
This is totally beyond a joke now isn't it. I mean, I smiled at first but now this is getting horrific. Awful with a great big capital A.
Really, isn't there a law preventing this sort of thing happening?
*

"Alice" - Five O'Clock Heroes
This bounces along nicely and has a slight Pogues-ish vibe to it as well.
Not the most spectacular thing you'll ever hear and I dare say you'll forget it once it finishes it. But you certainly won't mind it.
***

Today marks the 31st anniversary of Marc Bolan's untimely death. He was killed just a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday when the car he was in crashed into a tree.

Bolan, born Mark Feld, was a genius. Born to be a star. After leaving his hippy, acoustic days behind in the 60s, he became the biggest British music sensation since the Beatles, in the early 70s with his group T-Rex.

If you only ever listen to one T-Rex LP, it would almost certainly be their best and most famous, Electric Warrior, which features Get It On, Jeepster and my favourites Monolith and Cosmic Dancer. But it's follow up, The Slider, isn't too far behind (Metal Guru, Telegram Sam, Chariot Choogle, Baby Strange).

Even as his star started to wane as the decade wore on, he continued to record and still produced a few gems. Songs such as Solid Gold Easy Action, Children Of The Revolution, Venus Loon, Teenage Dream, Sound Pit, New York City and Dandy In The Underworld, for example, sound as great as most of his work during his "glory" years.

But then in 1977 he was gone. What adds to the tragedy is his stock was reportedly on the rise again and he was set to tour again. He'd even been fronting his own music show which showcased a variety of acts, including a host of young punk bands, who saw him as a forefather type figure. Very apt.

Understandibly, T-Rex were labelled Glam but for me, Marc was far too versatile to be pigeon-holed. He was way before my time and I'm sad to admit I only got into his music after it was used in a TV commercial for jeans in the early 1990s. But now I'm eternally grateful I didn't go flicking the channels when the adverts came on.

RIP Marc.

Here we go again. A review of a selection of singles out this week. And they will be judged against the following ratings:

***** Heathcliff
**** White Cliffs Of Dover
*** Cliff Lazarenko
** Cliff Barnes from "Dallas"
* Cliff Richard

"Inner Mer Syngur Vitleysingur" - Sigur Ros
As with any of their songs, when I listen to this it's like I've been dropped in an ocean of sheer loveliness and happiness and beauty.
A departure from their back catalogue but still uplifting, magical and well, truly stunning. Single of the week, month and probably the year.
*****

"Bat Cat" - Mogwai
Brilliant! Crunching guitars are the main feature of this sheer sonic, heavy metal-ish onslaught.
An excellent way to spend five minutes. Or 10 if, like me, you play it again immediately after listening to it the first time!
****

"C-Lebrity" - Queen
Now, for me, if there is no Freddie Mercury then there is no Queen. But I have to say Paul Rodgers is an excellent stand in and this, well, it rocks.
Sounds like they are having a blast and this will sit neatly next to any classic Queen rocker. Good on them.
****

"Lies" - McFly
How good a footballer is McFly's Danny Jones?! I only watched around 20 minutes of the charity football thing last week and he looked pretty handy. I'll give them a bonus point for his footy skills.
This song is ok I suppose. Certainly better than most of their sugary, annoying singles of the past. Although, they seem to be desperately trying to come up with something like "Shine" by Take That. But fail.
***

"Thank You For A Lifetime" - Cliff Richard
There should be a cull of all those nutters (Cliff fans) who are buying van loads of copies of this just to make it go to number one. And the song is just embarrassing. I don't care if he is a "national institution".
And too right he should thank all those idiots who have kept his career going beyond the 70s. I'm going to put Sigur Ros back on to stop me headbutting a wall.
*

Congratulations to Manchester's Elbow for scooping last night's Mercury Music Prize for their latest album "The Seldom Seen Kid".

Have to admit I haven't listened to it yet but, if their past work is anything to go by ("Asleep In The Back" is a cracker) then this is long overdue recognition and praise for a talented band. And the fact they dedicated it to their late friend Brian Glancy made it rather emotional too.

You can catch them live at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on October 15.

I see police have charged 47-year-old Daniel Sullivan, from Ontario with the shocking attack on Noel Gallagher while Oasis were in the middle of their headlining set at Canada's V Festival.

Some might say Noel paid the price for not looking back in anger as the assailant pounced from behind to push him over. He has even postponed Oasis' next Canadian gig to show he isn't prepared to roll with it (ok, enough song title puns already).

I've rubbished the elder Gallagher brother elsewhere on this blog but I certainly don't condone the attack because Noel could have been seriously injured and it's because of idiots like the stage invader that lead to security staff being over zealous at all shows.

But I have to say I smiled because I thought it was ironic that Liam had just been wailing "wake up, wake up" as the band were in the middle of the song "What's The Story Morning Glory", when Noel was shoved. Perhaps if he had been more alert...?

And then we have little Liam's involvement in the whole episode. Watch the video on YouTube and you'll see he is pretty quick to skip out the way of Sullivan until he is brought under control by three security staff. It is then "brave" Liam decides to stick up for his older brother and take a cheap shot or two by punching Sullivan as he is being restrained.

So the question is if Sullivan is a vicious thug who deserves punishment then surely Liam is no better? Here's hoping charges are filed against him too. After all, assault is assault.

And if you want to see it, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ8bUiZv4XI

Wow. I do believe this is my 50th entry on this blog! Congratulations to me as I raise my bat to the crowd to celebrate reaching a half ton. But it's a smaller Single File than normal because, quite frankly, I've only bothered to listen to five new songs out this week. And those will be rated against the following:

***** Doctor Who
**** Dr Dre
*** Dr And The Medics
** Dr Hilary Jones off GMTV
* Dr Jones by Aqua

"Superwoman" - Alicia Keys
Now my appreciation of Alicia is well documented. But she really is modern soul music's very own Superwoman. A lovely tune and a fantastic voice.
One for the downtrodden "sisters" of the world.
****

"Just Stand Up!" - Various Artists
Considering how many star names have come on board for this, you would have expected this to end up being a bit of a mess.
But to all their credit, they leave the egos at the door and produce a pretty decent slice of pop/R&B to raise money and awareness for cancer charities.
***

"When I Grown Up" - Pussycat Dolls
When they grow up, will they get lessons in how to sing? Write songs? Or at least hire someone who can do it all for them?
This is shockingly bad and should never have been allowed out of the studio.
*

"We Carry On" - Portishead
Oh, how I need this after the Pussycrap Dolls. Tribal music meets electronica but, as ever, Beth's lush vocals provide the icing on the cake.
Another stunning single from their comeback album, "Third". How on earth were they allowed to get away with staying away for 10 years?!
****

"Hey Little Sweetie" - Little Man Tate
Tonight Matthew we are going to be a weak version of Arctic Monkeys. Without the wit or decent lyrics.
This starts off wanting to be "Danger! High Voltage" but ends up apeing the Monkeys. A probably deliberate attempt to write a gimmicky anthem and this falls way short.
*