Random stuff
A new year, a new BBC's Sound of 20xx list. The list has become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, because it only features artists that are releasing singles or albums in the first couple of months of the new year. Still, we can check out a couple of artists, now can't we?
Jessie J - Do it like a dude
Jessie J won, but I'm not feeling her style at all.
The Vaccines - Post break-up sex
The Vaccines came in third. They sound like The Strokes with some girl group influences. Not really fond of the way theee siiingeeeeer prooolooongs hiiiis voooweeeeels while singing. Really, this is nothing new, I'm missing something.
Anna Calvi - Jezebel
Anna Calvi didn't make the top 5, but I like the bravado she displays. Looks like she's a solid live performer as well. Getting rave reviews everywhere, keep an eye out for this.
Ozark Henry - In the air tonight
I'm not going to say bad things about the new Ozark Henry single, it builds up nicely, and the lyrics are luckily less obvious than the horribly boring "this one's for you/this one's for me"-line from the previous single from the Hvelreki album. The reason why I'm including this track, is because of the uncanny resemblance between the opening melody of this track, and the opening melody of Melee. Not saying this is plagiarism or anything, but still...
Sherman - I'm on your side
Sticking with Belgian artists that like to live abroad for a while, I featured the Sherman single before, but now the official video is out (HD, so full screen is an option). Steven is looking good in this one (no homo), and the same can definitely be said about the female protagonist. Simple idea, executed well. GG.
Eliza Doolittle - Skinny genes
Eliza Doolittle has great legs. Or at least, she seems to think she does, since she's wearing hotpants seemingly everywhere she goes/shows up. I find the image she likes to present of herself highly confusing: her music has a distinct bubblegum pop-vibe that can appeal to the younger folks, on the other hand, the outfits sometimes seem to target a more adult audience. Check out the sleeziest purple halter top you'll see in a video this year (and the resulting sideb00b) in this video. I like the wordplay in the title though.
Cold War Kids - Louder than ever
Music critics overall lament the more poppy direction in which Cold War Kids are heading on their new album, however, I like the new single. It's catchy.
Agnes Obel - Riverside
Think Duyster. Something in the realm between Emiliana Torrini and Hanne Hukkelberg. Danish.
Kidda - Strong together
Nothing too special about this one, but it does have the "cheer you up" (if you were thinking about the pin up club right about now, that's your perverted mind, not mine!) quality.
Do not want
A lot of singles seem to hit the radio waves these days that are just bland and don't bring anything fresh in terms of lyrics or melodies. I'd urge you to stay away from the ones listed below. Either the music selectors @ stubru are slacking, or maybe the prospect of turning thirty in a couple of months is making me jaded, I don't know.
Fenech Soler - Demons
Band is called Fenech Soler. Pretty much says it all.
Neon Trees - Animal
This track by Neon Trees has an annoying chorus, and I feel I have to warn you about a band called The Plea (can't find a youtube link for this one), a new four-piece from Ireland that seem to think that there is not enough U2 to go around.
The Smiths special
I recently rediscovered the The Smiths...Best I & II compilations we got lying around here, and whereas previous attempts to really get into all the tracks had failed, this time, thanks to the World Of Warcraft "albums on endless repeat because I'm too lazy to alt-tab out and switch cd's and really, I hadn't noticed this was the fifth consecutive time the same album was playing anyway"-marathon-playing-session-haze, I'm finally hooked. I read somewhere that some people find the track selection of this double "best of" album to be random and ill-picked, I myself can live with it. Maybe the problem is that The Smiths had so many good tracks even 2 albums doesn't suffice to include them all.
So first of all, I strongly urge you to check out this (or any for that matter) The Smiths "best of" album you can get your hands on. Really, this is elementary and über-influential listening material, right up there with Pornography and Disintegration by The Cure and Unknown Pleasures and Closer by Joy Division.
I also want to share some The Smiths facts that I was unfamiliar with before:
- I guess I only knew the poppy side of the Smiths before, but actually they started out with some post punk influences, which you can hear on their earlier tracks. Usually the lyrics by the Mozzer and the guitar work by Marr get the most praise, but there's actually some pretty good basslines going on as well in the earlier days, when the bass player wasn't doing too much drugs and stuff.
- As far as music videos go, there's not that much going on, I'm afraid. Most videos start with white letters on a black background stating the song in question, and then the rest of the video usually comprises of a The Smiths performance, with the Moz performing open-shirted (which tends to get pretty boring, probably even for the male chest enthusiasts out there), usually donning some flowers of some kind. Notable exception however would be the video for Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before.
- Anachronisms. Morissey seems to like to include some deliberate anachronisms into his lyrics. "As Anthony said to Cleopatra, as he opened a crate of ale" from "Some girls are bigger than others", to "And now I know how Joan of Arc felt/As the flames rose to her roman nose/and her Walkman started to melt" from "Bigmouth strikes again". There's probably more where that came from, but these are the only ones I found.
I also checked out some tracks that didn't make the best of (mostly the ones with the most interesting sounding titles, because that's how I roll), here's a rundown of some I liked:
Barbarism begins at home
A prime example of a track that's more funky than I used to accredit The Smiths for. Lyrically, a not so distant cousin of "The Headmaster Ritual". Corporal punishment was one of young Morissey's most pressing issues apparently. Musically, reminded me a little of the next three tracks.
Meat is Murder
Definitely a factor that contributes to the popularity of The Smiths within the hardcore scene to a greater or lesser extent is the fact that Morissey is a long-term vegetarian, and he explains why in the title track of their second album. The least you can say of this live rendition is that it's heartfelt.
Pretty girls make graves
Eerie guitar riff on this one. There used to be a band that went by the name of this track.
Cemetary Gates
Remarkably (given the title), this song has a light, poppy feel that reminds me of The Sundays. The intro to this track and the one to Sheila, take a bow seem to be identical.
Still ill
This probably is my favourite track on the compilation of the ones I didn't know already. Has the early post-punk vibe, and some great lines among those lyrics as well.
Girlfriend in a coma
Yet, this will probably be my all-time favourite track. Great intro, great contrast between music and lyrics, and I just love the ambiguity in the lyrics. And very concise as well.
Some girls are bigger than others
Morissey always had a great knack for picking epic song titles, but as far as I'm concerned, this one has to take the cake. Might just be the most intelligently phrased insult ever. Excellent guitar riff, lyrics are pretty poor overall on this one except for the splendid title. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with your audio system. The fade-in and fade-out in the intro are fully intentional.
