Scott Croly went to the second of Oasis’s Heaton Park gigs - the one where the power didn’t cut out. Could it wipe out the disappointment of the first night?
Only two nights earlier, Oasis had committed the cardinal sin: fucking up royally on home turf. OK, so the blame actually lay with the event’s organisers and their dodgy knock-off Cash Converters generator - but Manchester’s normally forgiving crowd had booed for 45 minutes, only eventually appeased by the promise of a refund.
And so, seemingly with a point to prove, The World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band™ took to Heaton Park’s unnecessarily grand stage for the second leg of their three-night hometown-showdown with little fanfare.
Forgoing the usual pre-match build up, they threw themselves into “Rock & Roll Star”, giving every coke-addled thirtysomething Manc in attendance his first proper hard-on since… well, Oasis’s last Manchester gig.
You might not realise this, but there is some amazing disco music out there. God, even just writing “disco music” feels wrong on so many levels. Such are the depths to which disco’s reputation has sunk in popular opinion.
But in honour of the fact that italo disco-fixated “metal band on synths” Heartbreak (left) are due to spend the next month blowing socks off up and down the country - beginning with the latest Levi’s Ones To Watch show at London’s Macbeth on Thursday 23rd April - I thought I’d do a thing about this nu-disco hoo-ha which is probably going to soundtrack a fair few debauched evenings this summer. Continue reading »
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Tuesday April 21st, 2009 at
11:00 am
After the jump you can see Dub Pistols’ video for their new single “Back To Daylight”. It’s alright. Of more interest to me, however, is the news that one of the guests on their forthcoming album Rum & Coke is former Beats International singer Lindy Layton.
I’ll pause here so that any males in the audience of a certain age can gaze wistfully into the middle-distance for a moment.
Blu Mar Ten came to my attention after someone retweeted their rather good list of drum & bass artists who use Twitter. Am I allowed how to write drum & bass without the “n”? I never know where to put the apostrophes.
Blu Mar Ten have been around a while, but not being a d&b expert this is the first thing of theirs I’ve heard - and I really like it. It’s quite chilled out and uses a snippet of The Human League’s “Human”, which gives the tune a poignant feel you might not normally associate with the genre. These eastern Europeans seem to like it, too.
Blu Mar Ten’s new single comprises “Close” and “Above Words” on vinyl & MP3; if you want to get your hands on “If I Could Tell You” it’s available on MP3 only from iTunes and other emporia. You can give it a spin over the page while looking at some rather random martial arting. Continue reading »
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Thursday April 9th, 2009 at
9:00 am
The number of opportunities for new bands to gain some brand-sponsored exposure these days is pretty breathtaking.
Pretty much every major festival has had a go at “engaging” young ‘uns using these tactics, and Virgin Media’s Road To V competition has been going a fair few years now.
This year Road To V is back, offering a frankly gruelling-sounding path to V Festival for two hopefully very fit unsigned bands. The Road to V involves being mentored by a couple of (soon to be announced) established bands, playing Brighton’s Great Escape Festival, exposure to pretty much every Virgin Media “portal” out there and trial by public vote.
Electro DJ/producer type Adam Freeland returns this year with an album called Cope™. Sadly there are no indications that the album will be a concept piece based around the Julian of that name.
Don’t let that bum you out, though. First single “Under Control” has received a killing remix from Alex Metric, and Mr. Freeland incorporated it into a recent DJ stint at lively Los Angeles nitespot Vanguard. It was captured on vidifilm from behind the decks - 2:35 is the point at which it all “kicks off”.
The single’s out 30th March, and will be available from Marine Parade.
Posted by
Stuart Waterman on
Wednesday March 4th, 2009 at
10:18 am
The internet connection in our office is complete shit. If internet connections were measured in hundreds and thousands (or “sprinkles”, if you’re a foreign), our internet connection would currently be running at 3 hundreds and thousands.
When have you ever seen 3 hundreds and thousands? YOU HAVEN’T. It is very difficult to come by that few hundreds and thousands. And yet, were bandwidth measured in them, 3 is what we’d be dealing with over here.
All of which is a preamble to me telling you that I literally got bored waiting for Cold War Kids’ new video, “I’ve Seen Enough”, to load. I only got to see the first thirty-two seconds. That is not very fair on Cold War Kids, who I am keen to give another chance after the disappointment of their second album Loyalty To Loyalty. Indeed (snigger) you could say (chuckle) I have definitely NOT seen enough! LMFAOROFLALAOLAOLAOL!
To compensate for not watching the whole clip, allow me to assure you - and Cold War Kids - that when it comes to the first thirty-two seconds of music videos, “I’ve Seen Enough” is thoroughly adequate.
Grunge forgotabouts Alice In Chains, keen not to let a pesky thing like the death of their lead singer Layne Staley intrude on their rocking, will visit the UK this summer to play the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth House.
Sonispshere Festival hits the UK on 1st and 2nd August, after touring Europe throughout the summer. It will be Alice In Chains’ only UK show in 2009 and comes as they prepare their first album in thirteen years.
Georgia’s entry for Eurovision 2009 - which will be held in Moscow - is called “We Don’t Wanna Put In”, and is a thinly-veiled dig at Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Nothing can go wrong with that. Nobody who speaks out against Russia these days gets into any bother at all. Sure, the countries had a bit of a war-type situation over South Ossetia in 2008, but who didn’t? I’m positive Russia will take this gentle ribbing in Europe’s largest annual televised song contest in good humour, even if it is happening on their own soil.
I’m not sure we can expect the same cuddly approach from The Trammps though, whose “Disco Inferno” provides rather blatant “inspiration” to Stefane & 3G’s ditty. Those 70s disco acts can be fucking brutal.
Listen to “We Don’t Wanna Put In” after the jump.
Stereogum posted the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Zero”, from forthcoming album It’s Blitz, the other day.
The comments from the none-more-indie crowd are predictably cynical because the song - gasp - features synths and quite shiny production. These elements, of course, mean it could be a huge mainstream hit. Especially if it ends up being plastered over 90210 or Gossip Girl or something. You know, one of those scenes in a club when somebody’s just had their drink spiked?
It might not instantly sound like a hit, but those synths will be stuck in your head very soon…
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After the jump you can see Dub Pistols’ video for their new single “Back To Daylight”. It’s alright. Of more interest to me, however, is the news that one of the guests on their forthcoming album Rum & Coke is former Beats International singer Lindy Layton. 
