Background viewing: The BBC2 programmes "Blood On The Carpet: Walking With Disc Jockeys" (concerning Matthew Bannister's revamping of Radio 1 during the 90s) and "When Moyles Met The Radio 1 Breakfast DJs" (a chronological who's who of the Radio 1 Breakfast programme).
BBC Radio 1 has a problem. Since the Bannister Reforms of the 90s when the ageing "dinosaur" DJs were pensioned off and replaced by new, younger talent, there has been something of a tradition of having an enfant terrible presenting the station's flagship breakfast show. Viewing Steve Wright as one of the dinosaurs, (which divides opinion; he was undoubtedly younger in style than many of his contemporaries, but was properly old-school in hating most of the music he was playing), the first of the demon toddlers to throw tantrums on air was Chris Evans. Evans' diva reputation is well documented, not only at Radio 1, but on through his media career for the next decade. The fundamental key was that Evans got people talking about him, his show and Radio 1, something that hadn't regularly happened since the station's heyday in the 70s.
The precedent had been set. Following Evans' unexpected departure from Radio 1, Mark Goodier sat in briefly as a caretaker before Mark Radcliffe and Mark "Lard" Riley took over. The consensus was that the latter was a failure, but i think that it was harshly judged at the time. Nevertheless, after a short stint they were replaced by Zoe Ball and Kevin Greening.
Unsurprisingly, the partnership of Ball and Greening didn't last very long. Although there was no apparent problems with the relationship between the two, the quietly professional Greening was dropped in favour of Zoe Ball presenting solo and thus the second era of the sensationalist presenter was properly under way. This era was heralded not so much by the non-conformity and endless creative stream that Chris Evans had provided, but more stories of excess, partying and something dubbed by the media as "ladette culture". This was gold for Radio 1, who had somebody on their hands once again who had the attention of the press and could be demonised by them. Listening figures rose accordingly. Zoe Ball's tenure ended in 2000 when she left to devote more time to her family. As an aside, she has since returned to the BBC covering for various presenters on Radio 2 and her style has matured brilliantly whilst still being good fun.
Her friend Sara Cox was waiting in the wings to take on the job and followed the same brash ladette formula as had worked for Ball. Initially there was some success and ratings rose to record levels for the era, but the show started sliding and by the middle of 2003 was in freefall. Cox was exhausted and creatively spent following 18-odd months of heavy pressure to improve the show.
Thus Chris Moyles, the self styled saviour of whichever slot he happened to be working in at the time was enlisted from the start of 2004 and Cox was shifted over to drivetime for the interim until going on maternity leave. Even at the start of his stint on Breakfast, Moyles was a considerably reformed character from the angry brat who had appeared on early breakfast (4am - 7am) in 1997, at which time he had been honing his act on various commercial broadcasters and gradually building a reputation for being outrageous but crucially popular.
There is a marked difference between the Chris Moyles of Early Breakfast (97), weekday afternoons (c. 2001), breakfast (2004) and today. He is undoubtedly mellowing with age and growing accustomed to his celebrity status and with this comes comfort and a reduced level of anger. The hear the evolution for yourself, check out the sound archives on ChrisMoyles.net.
My conclusion of this is that Moyles is no longer the enfant terrible he was marketed as in 2004, and in my opinion he was past his controversial peak by then too. He has recently confirmed that he has a contract to present the show until 2014, shortly before the departure of boss Andy Parfitt from Radio 1 was announced. I'm not saying the two are connected, but the presence of Moyles gives the whole station stability.
The question is who will replace Moyles when he does eventually leave? Greg James is currently favourite in the running, but possibly lacks the headline grabbing impetus that the station needs. I also think he'll be off to TV before long. Of the other up and coming presenters on the station, Nick Grimshaw is a possibility but will likely be tempted by other offers, Dev's show has a sense of painful desperation about it, Huw Stephens is a solid daytime or evening jock and Matt Edmondson is already occupied with several other projects, which is a shame as his style has the most potential of anybody at the moment.
The other problem is that there isn't the breeding ground for new talent on commercial radio any more. If you look at the career of Chris Moyles before he came to Radio 1, none of the stations are now operated independently and evening programming is widely networked, reducing the opportunity for presenters to bring a club radio offering. Club radio is incredibly important to building the careers of radio personalities. By making their show an appointment to listen and making the listeners involved in its success, their popularity grows and their listeners become more religious about tuning in. It also makes it harder for them to be sacked (although it never stopped Moyles from being dismissed at least once) and therefore a more desirable talent for other broadcasters. But can you imagine something like Moyles' Chiltern Network Late Bit show now being broadcast by Heart? You could probably listen to Heart for four hours of an evening without giving a toss about who the presenter is, as they are all identikit smooth voices. Club radio is on life support and Heart, Bauer et al are in danger of killing it.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Gruesome. Then it grew some more.
Hard Fi - Fire In The House
Now i'll admit i didn't see this coming after the industrial leanings of previous single Good for Nothing. This is more dance than indie and a really interesting new direction for Hard Fi. Aside from that, its actually really good and a refreshing change from the bilge that AATW releases these days which only serves to give dance music a bad name.
David Guetta ft Taio Cruz and Ludacris - Little Bad Girl
Horrible rehash of the previous Guetta single, except with Taio Cruz instead of Flo Rida. Even the presence of the normally entertaining Ludacris can't save this poor offering.
Emeli Sande - Heaven
Now the word 'epic' is massively overused these days, particularly where music is concerned, but this genuinely delivers. The gorgeous breakbeat inspired verses could have been recorded twenty years ago, but the production on the chorus sends it flying. Sande's voice leading it all is a revelation, having previously only been noted in the mainstream for being the female vocalist on Wiley's Never Be Your Woman and Chipmunk's Diamond Rings, neither of which was a worthy showcase for her talents. This is the record that Guilt by Nero could have been had they had the guts not to let it degenerate into weak wuh-wuh-wuh-waaaaah dubstep cliches. At least somebody has finally seen fit to make a record which doesn't adhere to all the latest trends just to fit in.
JLS ft Dev - She Makes Me Wanna
Anyone have an idea why Dev is on this? No...? Thought not. Ms Bass Down Low Buhbuhbuhbuh Bass Down Low sounds bloody dreadful, like a hungover junkie and completely out of place with the squeaky clean boyband, who are doing a fairly average song by their standards.
Eminem - Space Bound
Another of Mathers' therapy sessions gets set to music. Get over yourself.
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (TGIF)
I didn't mind Perry's first album, but every single off this album has been weak, showcasing how Perry thinks teenagers should be behaving, which generally involves alcohol, sex and being infantile. And lets not forget, this will probably be included on all those Pop Princess albums aimed at five year olds who can then sing how they smell like a minibar. Nice.
Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
When Minaj broke through, it became apparent that she has a fairly unique delivery, but with every record it becomes more obvious that she can't deliver a record without hyperactive ADHD production, thousands of layers of autotune and more gimmicks than a 36 month mobile phone contract with a free quad bike. It irritates me because i think there is a half decent artist trying to break out, but whilst she insists on being an idiotic puppet for the media ("the Gaga of rap" has been done to death by the press), it ain't gonna happen.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventues of Raindance Maggie
The Chilis fall further into the pits of average funk band hell with another record that sounds exactly like every one from their last album.
Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger
X-Factor reject records nursery rhyme, which may be about the mean streets of Great Malvern. Hideous.
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
Another set of X-Factor rejects. This lot look like a set of Justin Bieber clones. Their record? Its a fairly average rip-off of Summer Loving from Grease.
Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You
Crikey! Where did this come from?!? And more to the point, who on earth decided he should release the bland junkie folk ballad The A Team before this? Sheeran proves he's got balls, talent and the ear for an excellent hook all in one song.
Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat
Yet another X-Factor non-winner. Murs shrugs away the reggae-light rhythms of his first album with this new single, a slightly more risky and modern sounding pop song. It won't set the world on fire, but it wille establish him that far more than a one trick pony.
The Wombats - Our Perfect Disease
Amazingly, the fifth single to be taken from the second Wombats long player and it is them at their best, making an upbeat record from far darker subject matter than most bands will touch. If you like the Wombats, you'll like this.
Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
Cross-file under "Plastic Party", "Stage School" and "Manufactured Drivel". And now she's making records about how much she loves clubbing and partying, despite not having an original thought since she was eight years old.
The Saturdays - All Fired Up
Cross-file under "Plastic Party", "Stage School" and "Manufactured Drivel". Marginally less irritating that Notorious, but that still is not a recommendation. Hideous.
Now i'll admit i didn't see this coming after the industrial leanings of previous single Good for Nothing. This is more dance than indie and a really interesting new direction for Hard Fi. Aside from that, its actually really good and a refreshing change from the bilge that AATW releases these days which only serves to give dance music a bad name.
David Guetta ft Taio Cruz and Ludacris - Little Bad Girl
Horrible rehash of the previous Guetta single, except with Taio Cruz instead of Flo Rida. Even the presence of the normally entertaining Ludacris can't save this poor offering.
Emeli Sande - Heaven
Now the word 'epic' is massively overused these days, particularly where music is concerned, but this genuinely delivers. The gorgeous breakbeat inspired verses could have been recorded twenty years ago, but the production on the chorus sends it flying. Sande's voice leading it all is a revelation, having previously only been noted in the mainstream for being the female vocalist on Wiley's Never Be Your Woman and Chipmunk's Diamond Rings, neither of which was a worthy showcase for her talents. This is the record that Guilt by Nero could have been had they had the guts not to let it degenerate into weak wuh-wuh-wuh-waaaaah dubstep cliches. At least somebody has finally seen fit to make a record which doesn't adhere to all the latest trends just to fit in.
JLS ft Dev - She Makes Me Wanna
Anyone have an idea why Dev is on this? No...? Thought not. Ms Bass Down Low Buhbuhbuhbuh Bass Down Low sounds bloody dreadful, like a hungover junkie and completely out of place with the squeaky clean boyband, who are doing a fairly average song by their standards.
Eminem - Space Bound
Another of Mathers' therapy sessions gets set to music. Get over yourself.
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (TGIF)
I didn't mind Perry's first album, but every single off this album has been weak, showcasing how Perry thinks teenagers should be behaving, which generally involves alcohol, sex and being infantile. And lets not forget, this will probably be included on all those Pop Princess albums aimed at five year olds who can then sing how they smell like a minibar. Nice.
Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
When Minaj broke through, it became apparent that she has a fairly unique delivery, but with every record it becomes more obvious that she can't deliver a record without hyperactive ADHD production, thousands of layers of autotune and more gimmicks than a 36 month mobile phone contract with a free quad bike. It irritates me because i think there is a half decent artist trying to break out, but whilst she insists on being an idiotic puppet for the media ("the Gaga of rap" has been done to death by the press), it ain't gonna happen.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventues of Raindance Maggie
The Chilis fall further into the pits of average funk band hell with another record that sounds exactly like every one from their last album.
Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger
X-Factor reject records nursery rhyme, which may be about the mean streets of Great Malvern. Hideous.
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
Another set of X-Factor rejects. This lot look like a set of Justin Bieber clones. Their record? Its a fairly average rip-off of Summer Loving from Grease.
Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You
Crikey! Where did this come from?!? And more to the point, who on earth decided he should release the bland junkie folk ballad The A Team before this? Sheeran proves he's got balls, talent and the ear for an excellent hook all in one song.
Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat
Yet another X-Factor non-winner. Murs shrugs away the reggae-light rhythms of his first album with this new single, a slightly more risky and modern sounding pop song. It won't set the world on fire, but it wille establish him that far more than a one trick pony.
The Wombats - Our Perfect Disease
Amazingly, the fifth single to be taken from the second Wombats long player and it is them at their best, making an upbeat record from far darker subject matter than most bands will touch. If you like the Wombats, you'll like this.
Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
Cross-file under "Plastic Party", "Stage School" and "Manufactured Drivel". And now she's making records about how much she loves clubbing and partying, despite not having an original thought since she was eight years old.
The Saturdays - All Fired Up
Cross-file under "Plastic Party", "Stage School" and "Manufactured Drivel". Marginally less irritating that Notorious, but that still is not a recommendation. Hideous.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
The Summer of Music Anger
Here be reviews. And excessive swearing, i expect.
Alexandra Stan - Mr Saxobeat
Inna - Sun Is Up
With your identical sounding Romanian dance music, you are really spoiling us, AATW. Inna's first hit last year featured this not-to-offensive plinky plonky electronica background, she followed it with two more and this year's example is no different. Fine if you like that sort of thing i suppose, but if you've heard one you've heard them all. Alexandra Stan's only offering to the party is some shit synthisised sax.
Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
I'm quite a fan of some of Coldplay's less popular back catalogue. I thought lead single from the previous album (Violet Hill) was a brilliant song, mainly because it dives off course a couple of times and explores some new ideas. This, the first single from their forthcoming new album, is a less joyous affair. Theres a bit of a verse, a lot of soaring anthemic style stadium rock going on, but sod all else besides and very little content of any note. After the first minute, you've heard the whole thing. Very disappointing.
David Guetta, Flo-Rida and Nicki Minaj - Where Them Girls At
Ye gads. I remember when David Guetta was a pioneer of French pop-house. With his ever faithful vocalist sidekick Chris Willis, there wasn't anything they couldn't achieve. Now Guetta is mates with lots of Americans and this latest output is just drivel. Jesus Christ himself only knows why Nicki Minaj is famous because she hasn't yet released a decent song. Her lyrics are trite, boring and delivered with a level of overacting seldom seen outside Hollyoaks. Flo Rida is doing exactly what he does and rapping in a cliched manner about clubbing. The whole thing is pathetic. Just take a listen to something like "Stay" or the original "Love Don't Let Me Go", or even "How Soon Is Now" from the first edition of the One Love album, all brilliant songs, but every single he releases now is a betrayal of his roots which ultimately are in Europe.
DJ Fresh ft Sian Evans - Louder
Somewhat more forthright than his previous hit (Golddust), this is a demonstration of how good dubstep could be if they'd actually put their minds to it. Although it still feels as though it needs a proper dance breakdown, its not at all bad and feels more menacing than a late night walk through Stokes Croft. If you liked the stalker-esque swagger of the Chase and Status track "Let You Go", this will almost certainly appeal.
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
Dull. Bored. Dribble. Acoustic folk music for the under 14s.
Hard-Fi - Good For Nothing
I've always been quite a fan of Hard-Fi and the rumour mill had been circulating for some time about their comeback being a real departure and ultimately it isn't. There is a lot more swagger about their attitude and the sound is a lot less polished than that found on their first two albums, but the same influences and origins are still there. It opens rather reminiscently of Jay-Z's "99 Problems", but the anger is far more controlled than many bands make it.
Nicole Scherzinger - Right There
"Me like the way that you touch my body" wails our Nicholas. Sorry, did i say Nicholas? I meant NICOLE. Obviously. This is barely literate bilge, delving below the depths of decency in order to make shagging music for preteens. Utterly vile and unneccessary. If i was Lewis Hamilton, i'd keep crashing out of races in protest.... oh...
Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer - Give Me Everything
Nayer? What sort of a name is that? It makes you sound like a HORSE. Then we've got Afrogjack, who is obviously a frog called jack. And Pitbull, an inbred dog owned by chavs for fighting. And Ne-Yo, who buggers up the metaphor entirely. ANYWAY. This is a shit record. Its boring, plastic party rubbish with no point to its existence. Its also been to #1 in the UK for three weeks and i've yet to work out any reason why. I can't imagine anyone would care enough to legally download it.
The Shaturdays - Notorious
Speaking of plastic party records, heres another. This is the SHATURDAYS, a collection of teenage pop princesses who like to drink alcopops and pretend they're grown ups. How cute. They also like to trot out all the usual cliches about being "the big boss", "a gangster" and of course about how they "love this track". This has about as much credibility as a Jeffrey Archer encyclopaedia of truthfulness.
Vato Gonzales - Badman Riddim (Jump Jump)
So if you're one of those fools who keeps buying plastic party records, give it up and buy a proper dancefloor record like this. A proper crossover track, this shows influences from all over the place - dancehall, house, even latin rhythms. It doesn't really matter that most of the lyrics are pap when the music is this well engineered.
Jason Derulo - Don't Wanna Go Home
Pointless rip-off of Robin S' "Show Me Love" with the gormless and humour-free waste of space Derulo sounding bored over the top of it.
Kaiser Chiefs - Little Shocks
A low key return from the Kaiser Chiefs shows them back in a satyrical and serious mood. If you're expecting another stadium filling singalong, then you'll be disappointed as this showcases the songwriting they've always been quietly capable of, rather than going for the obvious choruses of their previous output. I don't think it'll spark the re-emergence of proper guitar bands and good old fashioned British indie, but it will hopefully spark the imaginations of those of us left strangely cold with all the junk thats around at the moment.
Rihanna - California King Bed
Yaaawwwwwwwwn.
Jennifer Lopez & Lil Wayne - I'm In To You
Gracious. This is all kind of wrongness. It sounds like some single mother who spends far too long watching Desperate Housewives and thinks its a documentary rather than porn for middle aged women. The song is basically her propositioning her son's best friend. Slimy and highly nasty.
Birdy - Skinny Love / Shelter
Tedious teenager sings tedious acoustic songs. Both are devoid of a single original thought or anything to differentiate her from the acts appearing in hundreds of pubs all over the country.
The Horrors - Still Life
Broody and technologically savvy indie with its roots in Joy Division and early 90s indie before it all went commercial. Very insistent and builds into a crescendo in a way that Coldplay failed to do with their new single. Potentially signals one of the more interesting albums of the year if its all this good.
Panic At The Disco - Ready To Go
I think Panic at the Disco are finally back with us after the horrors of "Pretty Odd" which seemed to be written and released solely to please music journalists. This has more of the energy of their first album and does away with the smug, self satisfied twattery that they had seemed to be falling in to.
Katy B - Easy Please Me
The First Lady of Dubstep. That would be quite a title, wouldn't it? It'd be a bit like calling "The King of Shit" or "Prince of the Septic Tanks" though, because almost all dubstep is awful and this isn't exception. From the hilarious opening line of "Standing at the bar / with my friend Olivi-ar", it trots out all the terrible cliches about wanting a man, not a boy who can keep it real. For fucks sake. Is it really 1993 again? Have Salt n Pepa reformed? Or is it a rejected TLC song?
Alexandra Stan - Mr Saxobeat
Inna - Sun Is Up
With your identical sounding Romanian dance music, you are really spoiling us, AATW. Inna's first hit last year featured this not-to-offensive plinky plonky electronica background, she followed it with two more and this year's example is no different. Fine if you like that sort of thing i suppose, but if you've heard one you've heard them all. Alexandra Stan's only offering to the party is some shit synthisised sax.
Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
I'm quite a fan of some of Coldplay's less popular back catalogue. I thought lead single from the previous album (Violet Hill) was a brilliant song, mainly because it dives off course a couple of times and explores some new ideas. This, the first single from their forthcoming new album, is a less joyous affair. Theres a bit of a verse, a lot of soaring anthemic style stadium rock going on, but sod all else besides and very little content of any note. After the first minute, you've heard the whole thing. Very disappointing.
David Guetta, Flo-Rida and Nicki Minaj - Where Them Girls At
Ye gads. I remember when David Guetta was a pioneer of French pop-house. With his ever faithful vocalist sidekick Chris Willis, there wasn't anything they couldn't achieve. Now Guetta is mates with lots of Americans and this latest output is just drivel. Jesus Christ himself only knows why Nicki Minaj is famous because she hasn't yet released a decent song. Her lyrics are trite, boring and delivered with a level of overacting seldom seen outside Hollyoaks. Flo Rida is doing exactly what he does and rapping in a cliched manner about clubbing. The whole thing is pathetic. Just take a listen to something like "Stay" or the original "Love Don't Let Me Go", or even "How Soon Is Now" from the first edition of the One Love album, all brilliant songs, but every single he releases now is a betrayal of his roots which ultimately are in Europe.
DJ Fresh ft Sian Evans - Louder
Somewhat more forthright than his previous hit (Golddust), this is a demonstration of how good dubstep could be if they'd actually put their minds to it. Although it still feels as though it needs a proper dance breakdown, its not at all bad and feels more menacing than a late night walk through Stokes Croft. If you liked the stalker-esque swagger of the Chase and Status track "Let You Go", this will almost certainly appeal.
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
Dull. Bored. Dribble. Acoustic folk music for the under 14s.
Hard-Fi - Good For Nothing
I've always been quite a fan of Hard-Fi and the rumour mill had been circulating for some time about their comeback being a real departure and ultimately it isn't. There is a lot more swagger about their attitude and the sound is a lot less polished than that found on their first two albums, but the same influences and origins are still there. It opens rather reminiscently of Jay-Z's "99 Problems", but the anger is far more controlled than many bands make it.
Nicole Scherzinger - Right There
"Me like the way that you touch my body" wails our Nicholas. Sorry, did i say Nicholas? I meant NICOLE. Obviously. This is barely literate bilge, delving below the depths of decency in order to make shagging music for preteens. Utterly vile and unneccessary. If i was Lewis Hamilton, i'd keep crashing out of races in protest.... oh...
Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer - Give Me Everything
Nayer? What sort of a name is that? It makes you sound like a HORSE. Then we've got Afrogjack, who is obviously a frog called jack. And Pitbull, an inbred dog owned by chavs for fighting. And Ne-Yo, who buggers up the metaphor entirely. ANYWAY. This is a shit record. Its boring, plastic party rubbish with no point to its existence. Its also been to #1 in the UK for three weeks and i've yet to work out any reason why. I can't imagine anyone would care enough to legally download it.
The Shaturdays - Notorious
Speaking of plastic party records, heres another. This is the SHATURDAYS, a collection of teenage pop princesses who like to drink alcopops and pretend they're grown ups. How cute. They also like to trot out all the usual cliches about being "the big boss", "a gangster" and of course about how they "love this track". This has about as much credibility as a Jeffrey Archer encyclopaedia of truthfulness.
Vato Gonzales - Badman Riddim (Jump Jump)
So if you're one of those fools who keeps buying plastic party records, give it up and buy a proper dancefloor record like this. A proper crossover track, this shows influences from all over the place - dancehall, house, even latin rhythms. It doesn't really matter that most of the lyrics are pap when the music is this well engineered.
Jason Derulo - Don't Wanna Go Home
Pointless rip-off of Robin S' "Show Me Love" with the gormless and humour-free waste of space Derulo sounding bored over the top of it.
Kaiser Chiefs - Little Shocks
A low key return from the Kaiser Chiefs shows them back in a satyrical and serious mood. If you're expecting another stadium filling singalong, then you'll be disappointed as this showcases the songwriting they've always been quietly capable of, rather than going for the obvious choruses of their previous output. I don't think it'll spark the re-emergence of proper guitar bands and good old fashioned British indie, but it will hopefully spark the imaginations of those of us left strangely cold with all the junk thats around at the moment.
Rihanna - California King Bed
Yaaawwwwwwwwn.
Jennifer Lopez & Lil Wayne - I'm In To You
Gracious. This is all kind of wrongness. It sounds like some single mother who spends far too long watching Desperate Housewives and thinks its a documentary rather than porn for middle aged women. The song is basically her propositioning her son's best friend. Slimy and highly nasty.
Birdy - Skinny Love / Shelter
Tedious teenager sings tedious acoustic songs. Both are devoid of a single original thought or anything to differentiate her from the acts appearing in hundreds of pubs all over the country.
The Horrors - Still Life
Broody and technologically savvy indie with its roots in Joy Division and early 90s indie before it all went commercial. Very insistent and builds into a crescendo in a way that Coldplay failed to do with their new single. Potentially signals one of the more interesting albums of the year if its all this good.
Panic At The Disco - Ready To Go
I think Panic at the Disco are finally back with us after the horrors of "Pretty Odd" which seemed to be written and released solely to please music journalists. This has more of the energy of their first album and does away with the smug, self satisfied twattery that they had seemed to be falling in to.
Katy B - Easy Please Me
The First Lady of Dubstep. That would be quite a title, wouldn't it? It'd be a bit like calling "The King of Shit" or "Prince of the Septic Tanks" though, because almost all dubstep is awful and this isn't exception. From the hilarious opening line of "Standing at the bar / with my friend Olivi-ar", it trots out all the terrible cliches about wanting a man, not a boy who can keep it real. For fucks sake. Is it really 1993 again? Have Salt n Pepa reformed? Or is it a rejected TLC song?
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Twenty Years of Horizon
I'll be the first to admit that i don't readily post enough positive material to this blog, so here is a small celebration of sorts.
March 2011 marked twenty years since the release of one of the fundamental building blocks of the 90s eurodance scene. The late Torsten Fenslau along with Peter Zweier and Jens Zimmermann teamed up with the vocalists Lana Earl and Jay Supreme to record the first Culture Beat album, Horizon. Along with 1990's Street Moves long player by Ruud van Rijen's act Twenty-4-Seven, Horizon proved that dance albums could exist without being pointless, cynical cash-ins on successful singles.
What set Horizon apart from the Twenty-4-Seven album was that it included far more fusion with other sounds away from dance music. If heard in isolation, Lana Earl's divine vocals would be immediately regarded as those of a country artist, but allied to the slick rap flow of Jay Supreme and distinctive Frankfurt tech-house sound that Fenslau pioneered, they couldn't have sounded more at home.
Horizon was released across Europe by the CBS/Sony group on a variety of labels. Germany, Austria and Switzerland saw its appearance on the locally popular Dance Pool label, whilst the album appeared in the UK very quietly and uniquely on Epic.
The album opens with the title track, a symphonic ambient-house instrumental with influences from all over the place. The stark piano line recalls George Harrison's Beatles classic "I Want To Tell You" (even more so if you've heard Neil Innes recalling the recording of it), whilst the ambient background recalls the KLF's then contemporary Chill Out album.
The first vocal track of the album, with Lana singlehandedly taking on vocal duties, is a cover of Carole King's It's Too Late. The song is dark and broody, punctuated by a sharp metronomic beat and an insistent bassline. The result is a very moving and timely cover of the original.
In stark contrast, track three is Jay Supreme's solo moment in the spotlight, The Hyped Effect. Showcasing Supreme's brilliant flow and style, the upbeat track pulls no punches and wastes no opportunity to fill every moment with his ideas. The track never assaults the senses, but it certainly wakes them up. The chorus is a processed vocal sung by Fenslau and Zweier. Compared to the current collection of plastic, mass produced party songs, this is raw dance music with genuine feeling.
Track four is the slower, almost ballad pace Tell Me That You Wait. Drawing more influence from the late 80s soul sound to which they were contemporaries than the dance beats they usually worked on, the track features a reflective rap on the theme of going away from Jay, a simple vocal chorus featuring Torsten and Peter and Lana working on backing and embelishment to key moments. Although it was released across most territories of Europe as a single on the strength of No Deeper Meaning, it failed to repeat the patchy success and remains the most widely available single from the album.
Black Flowers is the fifth track on the album, the first real collaboration between Lana and Jay. It opens with a spoken introduction by Jay and blossoms to tell a story of struggle, passion and adversity. Dance music is so often accused of being meaningless or throwaway material, but this proves it can achieve so much more. Despite the faster beats and distinctly European feel to it, Black Flowers has a rich soul and moral to it.
Tracks six and seven were both released as singles, No Deeper Meaning reached #5 on the Dutch charts and probably secured the future of the project amongst the corridors of CBS/Dance Pool management. I Like You was also released as a single, although didn't achieve the same level of success. Both tracks are upbeat dancefloor-based songs with a topical rap from Jay and a matching chorus from Lana, both sitting atop accomplished and catchy instrumentals.
Track eight is a second solo outing for Lana Earl, the 80s powerpop sound of Serious. Accounting for the nods towards the country sound of Lana's vocals and the obvious references to the Detroit tech sound, this is the most stark American influence on the album. The track doesn't feel as fully developed or accomplished as those which preceded it, perhaps indicating that those involved in the project were ill at ease dealing with a sound they didn't fully believe in.
Der Erdbeermund / Cherry Lips / Les Lèvres Cerises is the ninth track on the album in its original German, English and French forms. The original version features vocals from German actor, singer and director Jo van Nelsen, a spoken poetic ode to the one driving him crazy. Its been done before and since in dance music a thousand times, but never quite like this. The backing is a mellow, atmospheric track, verging on the ambient at times but held back from this by the insistent beats. Issued across most of Europe as a single (including in the UK as an instrumental where it troubled the lower end of the Top 75), the track was a staple of the club scene at the time.
Now we get on to the grey areas - track ten (One Good Reason) was released on the CD as a bonus track (and did not feature on the vinyl release). Another track featuring just Lana, this time in an ethereal and wistful mood along with a hypnotic beat. This was followed by a common remix of Tell Me That You Wait and a reprise of the opening overture. Horizon reprise runs through almost without any beats at all, cranking up the ambience and overall dreaminess of the track.
So there we go. One of my favourite albums ever. I first bought a copy in a record fair in one of Brunel's sheds at Bristol Temple Meads. At the time there were dozens of stalls selling deadstock and promos from the major music groups and one of several vinyl copies of Horizon caught my eye as something i'd never seen before. As i was well acquainted with Culture Beat through the hits from the second album Serenity, i gave in to temptation and thank heavens i did.
Several months later i found a copy of the Epic (UK) release of Horizon on CD at the branch of Rival Records on Park Street, also in Bristol. I've never seen another one since...
March 2011 marked twenty years since the release of one of the fundamental building blocks of the 90s eurodance scene. The late Torsten Fenslau along with Peter Zweier and Jens Zimmermann teamed up with the vocalists Lana Earl and Jay Supreme to record the first Culture Beat album, Horizon. Along with 1990's Street Moves long player by Ruud van Rijen's act Twenty-4-Seven, Horizon proved that dance albums could exist without being pointless, cynical cash-ins on successful singles.
What set Horizon apart from the Twenty-4-Seven album was that it included far more fusion with other sounds away from dance music. If heard in isolation, Lana Earl's divine vocals would be immediately regarded as those of a country artist, but allied to the slick rap flow of Jay Supreme and distinctive Frankfurt tech-house sound that Fenslau pioneered, they couldn't have sounded more at home.
Horizon was released across Europe by the CBS/Sony group on a variety of labels. Germany, Austria and Switzerland saw its appearance on the locally popular Dance Pool label, whilst the album appeared in the UK very quietly and uniquely on Epic.
The album opens with the title track, a symphonic ambient-house instrumental with influences from all over the place. The stark piano line recalls George Harrison's Beatles classic "I Want To Tell You" (even more so if you've heard Neil Innes recalling the recording of it), whilst the ambient background recalls the KLF's then contemporary Chill Out album.
The first vocal track of the album, with Lana singlehandedly taking on vocal duties, is a cover of Carole King's It's Too Late. The song is dark and broody, punctuated by a sharp metronomic beat and an insistent bassline. The result is a very moving and timely cover of the original.
In stark contrast, track three is Jay Supreme's solo moment in the spotlight, The Hyped Effect. Showcasing Supreme's brilliant flow and style, the upbeat track pulls no punches and wastes no opportunity to fill every moment with his ideas. The track never assaults the senses, but it certainly wakes them up. The chorus is a processed vocal sung by Fenslau and Zweier. Compared to the current collection of plastic, mass produced party songs, this is raw dance music with genuine feeling.
Track four is the slower, almost ballad pace Tell Me That You Wait. Drawing more influence from the late 80s soul sound to which they were contemporaries than the dance beats they usually worked on, the track features a reflective rap on the theme of going away from Jay, a simple vocal chorus featuring Torsten and Peter and Lana working on backing and embelishment to key moments. Although it was released across most territories of Europe as a single on the strength of No Deeper Meaning, it failed to repeat the patchy success and remains the most widely available single from the album.
Black Flowers is the fifth track on the album, the first real collaboration between Lana and Jay. It opens with a spoken introduction by Jay and blossoms to tell a story of struggle, passion and adversity. Dance music is so often accused of being meaningless or throwaway material, but this proves it can achieve so much more. Despite the faster beats and distinctly European feel to it, Black Flowers has a rich soul and moral to it.
Tracks six and seven were both released as singles, No Deeper Meaning reached #5 on the Dutch charts and probably secured the future of the project amongst the corridors of CBS/Dance Pool management. I Like You was also released as a single, although didn't achieve the same level of success. Both tracks are upbeat dancefloor-based songs with a topical rap from Jay and a matching chorus from Lana, both sitting atop accomplished and catchy instrumentals.
Track eight is a second solo outing for Lana Earl, the 80s powerpop sound of Serious. Accounting for the nods towards the country sound of Lana's vocals and the obvious references to the Detroit tech sound, this is the most stark American influence on the album. The track doesn't feel as fully developed or accomplished as those which preceded it, perhaps indicating that those involved in the project were ill at ease dealing with a sound they didn't fully believe in.
Der Erdbeermund / Cherry Lips / Les Lèvres Cerises is the ninth track on the album in its original German, English and French forms. The original version features vocals from German actor, singer and director Jo van Nelsen, a spoken poetic ode to the one driving him crazy. Its been done before and since in dance music a thousand times, but never quite like this. The backing is a mellow, atmospheric track, verging on the ambient at times but held back from this by the insistent beats. Issued across most of Europe as a single (including in the UK as an instrumental where it troubled the lower end of the Top 75), the track was a staple of the club scene at the time.
Now we get on to the grey areas - track ten (One Good Reason) was released on the CD as a bonus track (and did not feature on the vinyl release). Another track featuring just Lana, this time in an ethereal and wistful mood along with a hypnotic beat. This was followed by a common remix of Tell Me That You Wait and a reprise of the opening overture. Horizon reprise runs through almost without any beats at all, cranking up the ambience and overall dreaminess of the track.
So there we go. One of my favourite albums ever. I first bought a copy in a record fair in one of Brunel's sheds at Bristol Temple Meads. At the time there were dozens of stalls selling deadstock and promos from the major music groups and one of several vinyl copies of Horizon caught my eye as something i'd never seen before. As i was well acquainted with Culture Beat through the hits from the second album Serenity, i gave in to temptation and thank heavens i did.
Several months later i found a copy of the Epic (UK) release of Horizon on CD at the branch of Rival Records on Park Street, also in Bristol. I've never seen another one since...
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Plastic Party
This genre really has milked itself dry now. I am officially completely bored with plastic party records. You know the sort of thing: "Good Time" or "Green Light" by Roll Deep, "The Time" or "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas, "On The Floor" by Jennifer Lopez, "Yeah 3X" by Cwith Bwown and pretty much anything by Kesha or Pitbull. And thats just quoting a few examples.
To those of you who haven't heard any of them, let me explain. Take a mid-tempo dance track, add a few bored sounding rappers extoling the virtues of partying hard and how wonderful Friday and/or Saturday night it and a pissweak chorus with no more than one line, repeated over and over and over and over until your brain bleeds.
To the <1% of the population who actually partake of this mind-numbing and liver damaging activity of the weekend pilgrimage to some seedy, sticky room beneath a barbers where loud, abrasive music is played, these records might actually be relevant, but to the majority of 7-12 year olds who download them, they aren't.
Its just a shame this country seems full of idiots who want to listen to the trash, really.
To those of you who haven't heard any of them, let me explain. Take a mid-tempo dance track, add a few bored sounding rappers extoling the virtues of partying hard and how wonderful Friday and/or Saturday night it and a pissweak chorus with no more than one line, repeated over and over and over and over until your brain bleeds.
To the <1% of the population who actually partake of this mind-numbing and liver damaging activity of the weekend pilgrimage to some seedy, sticky room beneath a barbers where loud, abrasive music is played, these records might actually be relevant, but to the majority of 7-12 year olds who download them, they aren't.
Its just a shame this country seems full of idiots who want to listen to the trash, really.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
From sublime to ridiculous via deep boredom
Reviews to entertain and inform. And probably irritate if i'm being honest.
Kesha - Blow Have you noticed that the girl in the Barclays' Bouncy Castle advert looks like Gabriella Cilmi? @forkinabucket insists she doesn't, but she does. Particularly in the first frame when she's sat on the deflated castle.
Aside from the fact that some titles are beyond parody, this song proves a point known as true since the dawn of mankind. That truth is that Kesha cannot record a song without mentioning glitter. I'm starting to become convinced that she spent her entire childhood watching Disney DVDs from her Princess-themed bedroom before suddenly hitting puberty but not quite being able to leave the obsessions with childhood items like glittery make-up behind her. This is slightly less catchy than "We Are Who We Are", but covers exactly the same boring scuzzy club territory. The aural equivalent of headbutting a table covered in upturned drawing pins.
My Chemical Romance - Planetary Go
I didn't quite percieve that at the start of the year i'd be hailing My Chemical Romance as the standard bearers for brilliant tech-savvy pop, but this is superb. Big on energy, lots of hooky electronica and riffs, and unmistakably MCR. I found their Black Parade album a bit overly emo, even for a band who are the epitome of the genre and this is an excellent crossover track which will hopefully be a huge hit. Although it probably won't be because the charts are full of morons doing terrible cover versions.
The Vaccines - If You Wanna
I have to admit, i didn't have high hopes for the latest darlings of the battered and bruised indie scene, the Vaccines. Their mainstream debut Post Break-up Sex was just a slimy and nasty as the title suggested. Thankfully this is a million times better, with echoes of timeless indie from the past three decades all rolled into a catchy song which couldn't be less fashionable. Terrific stuff.
Nero - Guilt
Regular readers will know that music has the power to make me angry. This record makes me angry. It should be so f*cking brilliant that people would sell their own children to buy a copy of it. The intro and build up is amazing, epic stuff of dreams and science fiction sung with passion and musically really fascinating, but then... oh.... no......... just when you're expecting it to go stratospheric, the inevitable, cliched dubstep shite starts and drags the tempo back into the gutter and the next two minutes are just repetition of everything that has already happened. The potential is there, but Nero seem incapable of breaking out of this impossibly tiny world of the dubstep sound which throttles their creativity.
Jodie Connor - Bring It
Oh joy. We'd been trying not to find a new not-particularly-good UK R&B-lite come dance act and this would appear to be her. Somebody tell Tinchy Strider he's better than appearing on dross like this. Tedious. Really tedious. Worse than a Booty Luv album track.
Panic at the Disco - The Ballad of Mona Lisa
I remember when Panic at the Disco were a really exciting band. Their first album was tremendous, infused with an energy for life that couldn't be denied. Sadly since then, they've devolved into far more boring stadium rock which belies their early creativity. This is better than anything off their stagnant second album Pretty Odd, but not a patch on anything off their first.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Double Trouble
Imagine a song you passionately hate. And i'm not talking about something unfashionable and novelty that routinely gets trotted out on the "100 Worst Records Ever" type of countdown, like the Birdie Song or something by the Smurfs. Think about a record that really offends you and makes you want to go postal.
As an aside, if there isn't a record that makes you this angry, then you might be reading the wrong blog.
Now imagine a talentless shitbag of an performer who would rather get her photos in the papers and magazines rather than their music on the radio. Somebody who turns up at awards ceremonies safe in the knowledge that they'll never win anything, so they have to wear moronic outfits and gurn at the paparazzi.
Take a moment to imagine a repulsive puppeteer record producer who makes bland, mass produced music for fuckwits to gush over.
Now imagine that the performer has made a record with the producer sampled the offensively awful track to make a record so shitifyingly awful that the world deserves to end. If you haven't heard Nicki Minaj - Girls Fall Like Dominoes which samples the grotesque slimy indie of The Big Pink, then avoid it for as long as you possibly can.
And the producer? It could only be king of spackpop "J-j-j-j-j R" Rotem.
As an aside, if there isn't a record that makes you this angry, then you might be reading the wrong blog.
Now imagine a talentless shitbag of an performer who would rather get her photos in the papers and magazines rather than their music on the radio. Somebody who turns up at awards ceremonies safe in the knowledge that they'll never win anything, so they have to wear moronic outfits and gurn at the paparazzi.
Take a moment to imagine a repulsive puppeteer record producer who makes bland, mass produced music for fuckwits to gush over.
Now imagine that the performer has made a record with the producer sampled the offensively awful track to make a record so shitifyingly awful that the world deserves to end. If you haven't heard Nicki Minaj - Girls Fall Like Dominoes which samples the grotesque slimy indie of The Big Pink, then avoid it for as long as you possibly can.
And the producer? It could only be king of spackpop "J-j-j-j-j R" Rotem.
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