I don't have much time this week for anything other than work, so this update is just a quickie to tide you over.
5 X-mas Covers I'd like to see...
1. All I Want For Christmas - Nick Cave
Imagine if this tawdry Mariah Carey crap sounded like it was coming from a serial killer/rapist! What he really wants for xmas is your skin as a suit.
2. The Twelve Days of Christmas - William Shatner
I only want to hear this because with Kirk behind the song, it would probably go for about an hour.
3. Thank God It's Christmas - The Sex Pistols
Think of the irony in "God Save the Queen" and apply it to xmas.
4. Last Christmas - Alice Cooper
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a cheesey metal cover and Mr Cooper is the master.
5. Frosty the Snowman - Kanye West
Frosty, I'ma let you finish, but Rudolf is the best holiday icon ever!
Hat Guy - Sorry about the Kanye joke... I gotta get to work.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Best Acts You Never Heard 1: Beduoin Soundclash
Welcome to the first in a series of looking at bands that never really seem to have hit for some reason. The first BAYNH is a group that I, honestly, believe is one of the best bands performing today; Bedouin Soundclash. Bedouin Soundclash are one of those bands that are a bit hard to classify, there's elements of Punk, Rasta, Reggae, folk and Jamaican Dancehall in their music, making for a unique and varied sound. I know for sure that the band are influenced by Bad Brains (look them up) because they cover BB songs at their live gigs. Whilst the biggest talk about BSC seems to be in Punk circles, I'm still reluctant to classify them as a Rasta Punk group because of their heavy Reggae sound. Just listen:
In fact, aside from Punks and Rastas, the biggest fan base for BSC seems to be Hipsters. This is probably due to the mistaken notion people have that Reggae is classed as "World Music" (as opposed to being one of the most influential musical styles of the 20th Century). What really gets to me about BSC is how obscure they are. When people ask me to recommend a band they haven't heard, BSC is pretty much at the top of my list. With their chilled-out sound and thoughtful lyrics I figured that they would at least appeal to the kind of folk-leaning trendy TripleJ fans that vote shit like Angus and Julia Stone to the top of the charts. On that note, here's the overplayed love song to tempt you in:
Yeah, I'm not a fan of this one, but most of the fair-weather-fans love it. In fact, when I saw BSC live, even they didn't want to play 12:59. That said, there are many bands that have to suffer through one of their own bland generic hits at every gig for the rest of their lives. I can't think of an example right now, but I'm sure one will come to me. Anyway, Reggae, Punk and just a bit Roots and Folksy. Check out Bedouin Soundclash sometime when you want to chill out. I'll leave you with my favourite song of theirs:
Hat Guy - Less Reggae, more Punk, not making a 'root' joke.
In fact, aside from Punks and Rastas, the biggest fan base for BSC seems to be Hipsters. This is probably due to the mistaken notion people have that Reggae is classed as "World Music" (as opposed to being one of the most influential musical styles of the 20th Century). What really gets to me about BSC is how obscure they are. When people ask me to recommend a band they haven't heard, BSC is pretty much at the top of my list. With their chilled-out sound and thoughtful lyrics I figured that they would at least appeal to the kind of folk-leaning trendy TripleJ fans that vote shit like Angus and Julia Stone to the top of the charts. On that note, here's the overplayed love song to tempt you in:
Yeah, I'm not a fan of this one, but most of the fair-weather-fans love it. In fact, when I saw BSC live, even they didn't want to play 12:59. That said, there are many bands that have to suffer through one of their own bland generic hits at every gig for the rest of their lives. I can't think of an example right now, but I'm sure one will come to me. Anyway, Reggae, Punk and just a bit Roots and Folksy. Check out Bedouin Soundclash sometime when you want to chill out. I'll leave you with my favourite song of theirs:
Hat Guy - Less Reggae, more Punk, not making a 'root' joke.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Help Me! I hate...
Pop Music
More than one person has told me, in visceral detail, just how much they hate Pop Music. What I find amusing about this is that the same people, if pressed, will sing the praises of the Beatles as groundbreaking artists. For those not in the know, the Beatles' chord and song structures form the basis of pretty much every Pop song written since. So yeah, the Beatles are responsible (albeit indirectly) for Katy Perry, Boy Bands and Adam Ant.
Another fact about Pop music that people tend to forget is that it goes away. Many a teenager (including myself once) can be heard to remark about "Today's" music is inferior to that of decades gone by. This phenomenon can be put down, at least somewhat, to flashback radio stations and compilation CDs, that keep all of the good Pop music of a given decade in rotation whilst dropping the crap off the radar.
With this knowledge under your belt, is it fair to say you hate Pop music? "But the Beatles are classic, you can't compare them to Lady Gaga!" I hear you cry. Also, there's no real challenge in getting people to enjoy the fruits of the British Invasion or Motown. So I'm going to pick five Pop songs from the past five years to see if I can't turn you around on this.
1. Matt & Kim - Daylight (2009)
It seems I'm constantly propping up this song, but there's a good reason for this... It's fucking awesome. Matt & Kim never really hit in Australia, but their drum kit/Keyboard combo creates a catchy beat that I think displays the real potential of Pop music. If this sounds somewhat familiar, it was used for a Mars advertisement for a number of years.
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (2009)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have wavered between being Pop, Alternative, Punk and Grunge over the past decade, with varying success. After a couple of lackluster albums, they released It's Blitz! in 2009, demonstrating that they are a truly talented band worth paying attention to. The biggest (and perhaps best) song on the album was Zero, a frenzied dance track that is almost impossible to resist. Many label the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as "Alternative", but Zero is a Pop song inside and out.
3. Nothin' On You (Beautiful Girls) - B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars (2010)
Regardless of your opinion on it, Hip Hop has ingratiated itself into Pop Music over the past decade, so it would be remiss of me to ignore the Hip Hop/Pop/Hip Pop style of song that tends to grace the Pop charts. Never mind that this is easily Bruno Mars' only palatable performance, or that B.O.B. is clearly the inheritor to Andre 3000, this song would be great without those outside influences propping it up. This is a true love song, the kind of which isn't really seen much these days. I just don't see how people could really hate on this... don't we all want to be loved?
4. Poker Face - Lady Gaga (2008)
I'm getting just a little bit sick of people hating on Lady Gaga. It's not like I'm a fan or anything, it's just not the kind of music I'm really into. However, when compared to the endless list of manufactured, auto-tuned, plastic Pop starlets, how can a Juliard-educated, piano prodigy who writes her own songs and refuses to be conventional not come off better? This clip is (in)famous for showing off Gaga's real talent and is well worth watching, especially if you claim to hate her.
5. Metric - Black Sheep (2008/2010)
This song, an Underground Pop hit from 2008, got a second life after being featured on the Scott Pilgrim Versus The World Soundtrack. Once again, this song can be considered more "Alternative", but I've included here because it does demonstrate the traditional Beatles-esque verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. It's a Pop song through and through, and damn enjoyable one too.
There you have it, give Pop music another try, there's plenty of good stuff out there if you're prepared to look.
More than one person has told me, in visceral detail, just how much they hate Pop Music. What I find amusing about this is that the same people, if pressed, will sing the praises of the Beatles as groundbreaking artists. For those not in the know, the Beatles' chord and song structures form the basis of pretty much every Pop song written since. So yeah, the Beatles are responsible (albeit indirectly) for Katy Perry, Boy Bands and Adam Ant.
Another fact about Pop music that people tend to forget is that it goes away. Many a teenager (including myself once) can be heard to remark about "Today's" music is inferior to that of decades gone by. This phenomenon can be put down, at least somewhat, to flashback radio stations and compilation CDs, that keep all of the good Pop music of a given decade in rotation whilst dropping the crap off the radar.
With this knowledge under your belt, is it fair to say you hate Pop music? "But the Beatles are classic, you can't compare them to Lady Gaga!" I hear you cry. Also, there's no real challenge in getting people to enjoy the fruits of the British Invasion or Motown. So I'm going to pick five Pop songs from the past five years to see if I can't turn you around on this.
1. Matt & Kim - Daylight (2009)
It seems I'm constantly propping up this song, but there's a good reason for this... It's fucking awesome. Matt & Kim never really hit in Australia, but their drum kit/Keyboard combo creates a catchy beat that I think displays the real potential of Pop music. If this sounds somewhat familiar, it was used for a Mars advertisement for a number of years.
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (2009)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have wavered between being Pop, Alternative, Punk and Grunge over the past decade, with varying success. After a couple of lackluster albums, they released It's Blitz! in 2009, demonstrating that they are a truly talented band worth paying attention to. The biggest (and perhaps best) song on the album was Zero, a frenzied dance track that is almost impossible to resist. Many label the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as "Alternative", but Zero is a Pop song inside and out.
3. Nothin' On You (Beautiful Girls) - B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars (2010)
Regardless of your opinion on it, Hip Hop has ingratiated itself into Pop Music over the past decade, so it would be remiss of me to ignore the Hip Hop/Pop/Hip Pop style of song that tends to grace the Pop charts. Never mind that this is easily Bruno Mars' only palatable performance, or that B.O.B. is clearly the inheritor to Andre 3000, this song would be great without those outside influences propping it up. This is a true love song, the kind of which isn't really seen much these days. I just don't see how people could really hate on this... don't we all want to be loved?
4. Poker Face - Lady Gaga (2008)
I'm getting just a little bit sick of people hating on Lady Gaga. It's not like I'm a fan or anything, it's just not the kind of music I'm really into. However, when compared to the endless list of manufactured, auto-tuned, plastic Pop starlets, how can a Juliard-educated, piano prodigy who writes her own songs and refuses to be conventional not come off better? This clip is (in)famous for showing off Gaga's real talent and is well worth watching, especially if you claim to hate her.
5. Metric - Black Sheep (2008/2010)
This song, an Underground Pop hit from 2008, got a second life after being featured on the Scott Pilgrim Versus The World Soundtrack. Once again, this song can be considered more "Alternative", but I've included here because it does demonstrate the traditional Beatles-esque verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. It's a Pop song through and through, and damn enjoyable one too.
There you have it, give Pop music another try, there's plenty of good stuff out there if you're prepared to look.
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