34 entries posted with 'music' tag

I love Coldplay

23 Sept 2011

I make no delusions of my love for Coldplay, they're definitely up there with my all time favourite bands. Which is why it was such a disappointment when Coldplay announced a meagre 3-date UK tour of their new album Mylo Xyloto. Yes, Coldplay are big; yes, they need no extra help in promotion, but with such an army of fans that they have earned since their inception 15 years ago, it's a big disappointment to know that many, many fans will miss the opportunity to see them live.

What did you expect from an album review?

19 Jun 2011

The Vaccines' debut offering, What did you expect from The Vaccines? came a little early on in the year to be dubbed the sound of the summer, but I'd say the London 4-piece's 11-track, 36-minute album is a strong contender for the title. I'm often a little hesitant throwing the world 'pop' around, but I can safely say this is one of the best pop records I've heard this year.

Ratatat

8 Dec 2010

I saw Ratatat at the weekend, and, like a lot of artists in my music collection, they are a band I know due to a couple of songs I discovered by them years back. Ratatat were supporting Vampire Weekend at the Brighton Centre last week (who I'll get onto shortly), and as much as I enjoyed Vampire Weekend, it was Ratatat who left me yearning for me. Luckily, I managed to get hold of last minute tickets to see the twosome performing again a few days later at a much more intimate venue. I was not disappointed.

Arcade Fire

14 Sept 2010

I've never been able to decide how much I like Arcade Fire. After hearing Rebellion (Lies) back in 2005 I bought the album Funeral. Despite enjoying a handful of tracks of it, I never really gelled with the album as a whole. Arcade Fire, in my opinion, have a particular style that I think you either like or you don't; and in that respect, I suppose I'm in the former category.

The Strokes Incognito

9 Jun 2010

If you're a Strokes fan you may have noticed the strong rumour floating around the Internet yesterday that the band will be playing a secret gig in London under the guise 'Venison'. The band haven't really been around since releasing their 3rd album First Impressions of Earth in 2006 but have reportedly been back in the studio recently and are touring around the world in the upcoming months. I still regret not getting tickets for the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend, where the band will be headlining.

The Flash Forward that will never be

3 Jun 2010

After just watching the last ever episode of Flash Forward I can't help but feel a little disappointed at its demise. Although apparently it's not a foregone conclusion that this show has received the dreaded axe; for, apparently, ABC has simply 'halted' production of the second series. I've mentioned before, I like this show; and after seeing the finale of the first series, plenty more action is promised if there is to be a second series.

Good music deserves good speakers

17 May 2010

One of the first things I noticed when I first got a laptop was - plain and simply - the onboard speakers stink. However it seems a lot of people are satisfied with the tinny sounds these small computers put out. Which brings me onto the point of this post. You owe it to the musicians and artists who produce beautiful music to listen to it how it was meant to be listened to. Do your ears a favour and pick yourself up some speakers.

The Rebels release more dates

29 Apr 2010

As a follow-up to my previous post urging you to experience Black Rebel Motorcycle Club live, I was eager to learn the band has announced more dates at the end of the year. If you're even slightly in to this band, I urge you, book some tickets! You can do so from tomorrow (30th April). If you want to join me, I'll be booking up tickets for the London show at the Brixton Academy on the 11th December.

The Motorcycle Club of Black Rebels

25 Apr 2010

Wow! Do these guys put on a show! On Friday night I went to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the HMV forum in London. I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of this band prior to the event, but nevertheless I was looking forward to seeing some decent live music. Blown away would be an understatement! However good a band sounds recorded, they're really not worth their name in salt if they don't perform well live. Let me tell you, if you haven't heard or seen this band live, they were undisputedly born to play live.

30 Seconds to anthemic pop rock goodness

6 Apr 2010

It has to be said, I've grown a little partial to the band 30 Seconds to Mars. It's not something I'm ashamed of, but equally not something I will be shouting from the rooftops. If, after this revelation, you doubt my sanity and musical taste, before you judge, you must check out their collection of hits they're racking up. Their current single, This is War, is the latest song from the band to catch my attention. And it's 30 Seconds to Mars doing what they do best.

The Only Revolutions you'll need

2 Apr 2010

A while back now, I raved about Biffy Clyro's single release, The Captain. Since then, I've had the pleasure of acquiring the album Only Revolutions, providing me with 11 more tracks to sink my teeth into. Hold onto your hats people, this album will rock your socks.

The genius of The Smiths

19 Mar 2010

I have recently come to realise something: I love the Smiths. A short time ago I wasn't in a very good place in my life and thought to myself, "I feel like shit, I feel sorry for myself, I'm going to indulge in some depressing music. (Hey, we've all been there at some point) What depressing music do I own? The Smiths are depressing, right?". At first it did what it said on the tin, but then I began to realise The Smiths aren't depressing at all. Their music was having a positive effect full of uplifting vibes. This, from a band who sure love to sing about death and heartbreak.

Songs that make your ears bleed

8 Mar 2010

Everyone has their own opinions on this. And it's something that often can't fully be explained or justified: the hatred for a song. A hatred so strong that you can't possibly listen to it in its entirety. I've compiled a short list off the top of my head:

To Shuffle or not Shuffle

19 Feb 2010

There's definitely a debate to be had about the use of Shuffle when listening to music. As usually seems to be the case in these situations, I'm still somewhat undecided over which I prefer. Although the term is sufficiently self-explanatory, to clarify, shuffle involves the playback of your tunes in a random order. This is usually a pre-determined list, to enable you to skip backwards and to ensure all songs are played at least once before being played again. But now we're just getting into technicalities.

Project Rock Band

18 Feb 2010

Despite the fact that I get the grand average of around 3 visitors a day on my blog (hey, I'm happy it's not 0 ;)), I feel compelled to write this anyway. I've played guitar since the summer after my GCSEs, so, with a quick bit of maths, that adds up to about 6 and a half years. Wow. Didn't know it had been that long. I've only had the pleasure of playing with fellow musicians for about 2 of those years. That, I have decided, must change. And thus: Project Rock Band (Nothing official about this title, I do believe Jack Black already coined it in School of Rock. Meh.)

A hidden gem of an album

10 Feb 2010

I thought I'd break my week long lull (don't ask) with a hats-off to an album I have recently rediscovered. The album is To Lose my Life and the band is White Lies. I'm not too sure how successful this album was, as I dip in and out of the mainstream music quite erratically throughout the year. I remember when I acquired this album last year, I tipped it as a good'en, but I'm only now really discovering how good an album it is.

The Verdict: Imogen Heap was murdered

28 Jan 2010

No where near as sinister as it sounds. I'm talking about Jason Derulo's chart topping number 'Whatcha Say'. I'm not as behind the times as this statement suggests. In fact I have just taken this long to decide my true feelings. I love Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap, I think it's a brilliantly unique song. Now usually I try to avoid the mindset that a remix or sample taken of a good song must be bad. But in this case, I must agree.

The hottest riff in the World today

16 Jan 2010

Well, perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. But I always get a little overexited whenever I hear this. The song is Plan B - Stay Too Long, which, as a whole package is an alright song. But the verse riff stands out for me as something special.

The Catchup Post

2 Jan 2010

I haven't written a blog in a while. No excuses really, but I hope to get back on track in the upcoming weeks. This is mainly a catch-up post, going over a few things that I probably should've mentioned earlier, that have happened over the last few weeks. Namely: New lighting gear Website re-design in the pipeline Happy New Year!

Baby it's Cold Outside

18 Dec 2009

Oh the weather outside is frightful. But it can only mean one thing. Christmas is upon us once again. And the weather is trying so hard to be festive this year. It is for this reason I'm in the mood to list my top 10 Christmas songs. In no particular order.

Phoenix - 1901

10 Dec 2009

This song is featured on the latest advert for PS3. I initially thought - that is a nice sounding song, goes well with the content of the advert. Well today I figured out what the song is.

Phrazes for the Young

4 Dec 2009

I mentioned the sounds of Julian Casablancas in this post. It wasn't much of a review post as I hadn't heard much of the song at that point. Since then, I've bought his album - Phrazes for the Young - and I thought now would be a good time to review it.

When did we all stop doing nothing?

25 Nov 2009

We're all aware of how fast the world is moving. Technology, fashions, work. And it's easy to trick yourself into some relaxation at some point during the day. But - these days - do we ever really just stop and do nothing? And I mean nothing. Just you and your thoughts.

Thanks Biffy, The Captain is it!

28 Sept 2009

Biffy Clyro have a new single out, The Captain. It's the follow up to That Golden Rule and features on their upcoming album Only Revolutions. I never really got fully on board with That Golden Rule, but The Captain, in my opinion, better represents the sound that Biffy hinted at in That Golden Rule. It's like they've made the perfect rock/pop fusion track. And I love it!

Is your iTunes top 10 embarrassing?

26 Sept 2009

I've noticed a trend amongst several people's iTunes libraries. Now this is just a fleeting thought, I haven't done any extensive research. But it seems the top 10 songs most played in peoples music libraries tends to be quite embarrassing. Your actual favourite songs probably tend to vary over time and, for me at least, the top 10 highest played rarely seems to reflect this.

Undisclosed Desires - the Muse Magic

14 Sept 2009

I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to the new Muse album much after hearing the first single off it. Uprising didn’t really do anything for me. It was the Muse we’d come to expect, but it just had no kick to it or anything to make it stand out. Then I heard another song off the album: Undisclosed Desires.

MY KZ, UR BF

8 Sept 2009

I want to post about a band that interested me from the moment I heard this particular song (pronounced my keys, your boyfriend - in case you were wondering). It's one of those songs that I just can't decide if I like or not. Regardless, the band Everything Everything has definitely caught my interest.

(500) Days of Summer

5 Sept 2009

I’m not a film critic, so I’ll keep it brief. I went to see 500 Days of Summer last night at the cinema. I was intrigued by the description "The romantic comedy for people who don't like romantic comedies". And I was actually pretty impressed by the film. Although it managed to avoid the clichéd predictable plot of your average romantic comedy it was still fairly easy to guess how it would play out. Still, I found it refreshing.

The Kings of Leon's rise to fame

31 Aug 2009

I love the Kings of Leon. They’re easily my most played artist and they have an immense sound live. Which is why I was disappointed to hear about their performance at Reading. From what I’ve heard, they had a bit of an uninspiring set and somewhat of a meltdown at the end (expensive guitars were smashed). Apparently the same thing happened at T in the Park earlier in the summer. In my opinion it’s probably a mix of a long tour and becoming a little too Rockstar. But I sympathise...