Something… something… Discourse.
— (via shitenglishstudentssay)
Single Review: Nat Baldwin - Lifted
Nat Baldwin has learnt well from his time in Dirty Projectors and as a former pupil to Jazz legend Anthony Braxton. Not afraid to experiment, Lifted opens with just Baldwin’s voice and a violin, before being injected with blasts of woodwind, guitar and whirling sax to provide a mixing pot of beautifully layered arrangements, perfect to compliment the double bassist’s soft quivering voice. Written in 2007 and recorded last year in a remote Cabin in Main, the track provides a welcome taster to Baldwin’s long awaited fifth solo effort People Change.
Single Review: Kreayshawn – Gucci Gucci
It’s about time the world of female rap produced someone with so much swag it pumps out of her ovaries. Kreayshawn, the anti-plastic, pint sized rapping fiend from East Oakland has arrived on the scene to shit all over the parade of label lovers everywhere. With video cameos from two of the millions of Odd Future members, and friends in Lil B and Soulja Boy, Kreayshawn is about to join the league of annoyingly catchy chorus makers. Infused with a lowfi bassline, littered with vinyl scratches and synths that crawl under the rapper’s lyrics, which, by the way, are pretty eye opening; its not everyday you hear a twenty-something girl threatening, “I’m rolling up my catnip and shitting in your litter”. Either way, it’s refreshing to hear a young woman taking a stand against designer culture; only time will tell if she sticks to her guns when that royalty check arrives.
beautiful.
Article for “double magazine”
“5 Influential Musical Men”
Have you ever tried defining a list of the 5 most influential men in music of all time? Well, it’s quite hard. So rather then attempt to even define the most important musicians, I’ve decided to compile a list of men, who, in my opinion at least, were pretty important in shaping the music we hear today. You may read this and cringe at the left out Dylan’s and Morrissey’s alike, but musics all about opinion right? So here we go, my list of 5, pretty influential men in music…
David Bowie
It’s hard to imagine a world without David Bowie, his triumph of of multiple music genres, from punk to techo, new wave to glam rock, makes it difficult to find an artist today that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of Bowie’s influence. Lady gaga, Blur, TV on the Radio, Morrissey; Bowie did it all first and saw himself turn from pupil to teacher, when some of his own influences (Lou Reed, Marc Bolan) began to channel his innovating musical directions. The addiction struggling, fantastical superstar’s career has spanned an amazing five decades, 23 studio albums, countless record sales, and a cult following that has never died down despite his constant change of course. Ziggy Stardust inspired a generation of Glam rock and questionable sexuality, the Thin White Duke exposed a drug fuelled political controversy; whatever boundaries Bowie pushed, however he changed, only added to his awe and his relevance as an influential man of music who has no less relevance today as he did fifty years ago. All Hail David Bowie, the musical chameleon that can try anything, and make it his own.
Jimi Hendrix
US Army Soldier turned guitar hero to the masses; Jimi’s influence over the development of the guitar’s importance was monumental, I mean he practically invented feedback for god’s sake. The man could play with his teeth, use his body as a jungle-gym for his guitar and all the while never drop a note; his on-stage presence was undeniable, and completely contrasted his humble off-stage demeanour. Kidnapped and allegedly murdered by his own manager, Jimi left behind a legacy of guitar technique that influenced most of your favourite guitarists today; Jack White, Matt Bellamy and Jonny Marr to name a few. Jimi’s effect on the prestige of the electric guitar was phenomenal, his technicality took distortion to another level, his bend on hard rock helped create metal and his on-stage dramatics created a “experience” to die for. Jimi’s career may have been brief, but the influence has lasted the 40 long years since his death.
John Lennon
One quarter of the band that started pop music; what’s not to say about John Lennon’s relevance today? He’s the band member’s hero, the reason most kids pick up a copy of Catcher in the Rye, the one to pay homage to, (Ever heard Oasis’s “I’m Outta time”? It’s almost a musical love letter to Liam’s favourite Beatle) I challenge you to find someone that hasn’t heard imagine; Lennon’s legacy resonates everywhere, and not just because of that, “more popular than Jesus” comment. Whilst his bizarre relationship with Ono made headlines, his love for word play grew to create lyrics that inspired generations of musicians that would follow his lead in introspective reflections. As a Beatle and a solo artist, Lennon’s influence lies everywhere.
Michael Jackson
The man who helped launch MTV, and with it a new generation of pop music videos and R&B lovers. From his childhood stardom in The Jackson 5 to 2001’s Invincible, Jackson’s voice was unique and instantly recognisable, whilst his show stopping moves created new dance floor trends, (Don’t even try and pretend you’ve never attempted a moon walk). His songs contain a mixed bag of hard rock to funky rhythms that influenced the Beyonces and Ushers topping the charts today. There are hundreds of questions left unanswered about MJ, and his private life can only be described as strange, but somehow the fact that no one really knows the truth about the King of Pop makes him even more awe inspiring.
Elvis
You couldn’t possibly have a list of the most influential men in music without including the King; half of the musicians on list cite him as an influence, along with a good deal of successful musicians since his reign over rock and roll. Blues, gospel, funk; Presley mastered them all and as a result, has released 21 number 1 albums to this day. He may have died on the toilet, but his effect on the music scene paved way for the 60’s; it was a more then a musical revolution, Elvis changed the youth culture for good, and with it solidified rock and roll as a genuine genre. In terms of his relevance over today’s music, it seems the King’s influence has never really left the building.
I’ve never been this blown away by a headliner before. They were underestimated to say the least.
History - A
English - A
Biology - B
Queen Mary, University of London, BA English.
Rob Cowan and the Dissidents; City Lights
If one thing is clear after listening to this track, it’s Rob Cowan’s affinity with moths. The refrain “I love the neon” is repeated to the point of annoyance in a sort of pathetic scratchy voice Brian Adams would be proud of; marry this to a background of “Clocks” era Coldplay-esque piano and you’ve got a song that doesn’t quite match up to the bands aim of “an impassioned anthem for the masses”. Compared to the Piccadilly lights Rob sings so lovingly of, this tune is akin to one of those solar garden lamps that never quite work properly; the base plods, the guitar rifts are largely uninteresting and there’s just not enough energy to make it the break through track the band are looking for.
1.Black rebel Motorcycle club; they’ve been around for ages I know, but they’re just so damn cool, I saw them a couple of months ago and I came out wanting to buy a Harley and live in a leather jacket. Beat the devil’s tattoo is by far the best album they’ve released so far and it would be nice to see them get wider recognition for it.
2. Peggy Sue; any band that takes four years to bring out their first album deserves some more coverage, that’s dedication if nothing else!
3. The Whigs; I know everyone only really knows them for being mates with Kings of Leon, but I reckon they should have some praise of their own. Admittedly, I haven’t heard their new album yet so the praise may not be deserved, but Mission control was a pretty solid effort and I listened to it on repeat for about 2 months when I first heard it.
4. Citadels; I saw them supporting Two door cinema club, they all wore matching raincoats and barely spoke between songs; it was all strangely endearing. If the Chemical song and Golden Islands are anything to go by, their debut (whenever it’s being released?) should be pretty good.
5. Fight like apes; they’re, mental, weird, and they’re live shows have so much energy its brilliant!
So i’m back at NME this week, figure i should actually document some of the stuff they get me to do, today; critique tomorrow’s issue, it’s shit but i’m too tired to care:
I completely agree with Dan Martin’s article on the closure of small venues across the country. Living just outside of London, the local music scene for me has completely closed down. Music nights used to thrive and bring in known bands as well as nurture local talent (The Subways started out playing at my local pub), however, other then the odd club night, these venues are mostly all defunct, and people living in my area are forced to travel to London to see any live music. I’d love to see NME take more interest into this issue and promote the support for local venues more often. I count myself lucky in that I’m in the financial position to be able to afford to travel to London to see the bands I love, but with the closure of local venues it’s hard to justify paying for the journey to see a band I don’t necessarily know. I think that’s the main loss of the closure of small venues across the country, people are now forced to rely on the internet and magazines like NME to tell them about new music, rather then discovering it themselves; personally I feel the beauty of falling in love with a new band has been lost and it’s great that writers at NME are also publicising this issue.
I also found it great to see a positive review of Kings of Leon, and not just a “they’ve sold out” bashing. I now wish i’d bothered to save up for a ticket to hear some of that new material. I loved the extra detail added, in terms of the “view from the crowd” and the strange facts sections. In fact, the extra detail that runs throughout the magazine this week such as the “national mistrust” section adds a twist of facts about bands and music that makes the magazine more enjoyable to read; more silly facts please!
Finally, I think the best article of this weeks issue has to be Sam Wolfson’s piece on Pulled apart by horses. Having not really listened to the band and ignored them on festival bills, I’ve been inspired! The light-hearted tone is perfect to describe the bands antics, whilst not being too mocking in terms of their music. In short, the article entertains, whilst providing a valid list of reasons to make time to listen to the band; not that I’ll go anywhere near a tattoo parlour anytime soon.
