best album of 07/06/04 ?

[bedstead]

two hugely anticipated new releases... the killers 'hot fuss' and hope of the states 'lost riots'... 5 days old and i can't choose between them... anyone else out there remotely interested ?

mike.

[Clem]

The best album hasnt been released yet, I thought?

The Ordinary Boys?

[Stuart Mears]

Got to be Supergrass is 10?

[Clem]

Got to be Supergrass is 10?

Nah, as good as they are, only 'new' music can apply for this teniuous award.

[Stuart Mears]

Can't vote then only album I bought this week :rolleyes:

Saw them in Llandudno recently, truly magnificent :D

[Arun]

The best release this week? Hmmm! that's a difficult one to specify because there are so many good releases across the genres at any one time, and as I am an eclectic sort of guy, I have a taste for all genres.

If you are looking to try out some new music I recomend these:

Faithless - No Roots: arguably one the UK's premier acts of today and the last 5 or 6 years. This is their fourth studio album and it is a cracker, these guy just seem to get better and better. I saw them live at the MEN arena in Manchester last year and they were amazing. If you get a chance, check 'em out live.

Lamb - Best kept secret: This is an apt ***le for this band because they are so inexplicably under-rated although they have now been producing tunes for about 10 years. They have a beautiful mix of acoustic instruments and electronic noises, topped of with mystical vocals that sound like a mixture of enya/tori amos/charlotte church. This is definately an album for the wee hours after a heavy day at Bug Jam!!

Bebel Gilberto - self ***led: This is the premier latin american singer. A voice of true passion and intensity. If this ladies soft and gentle tones don't evoke some form of passion in ya' then you probably ain't been getting any for a long time! I don't know what she is singing about, but hey! who cares when it sounds this good?

With regards to 'Hope of the States' the jury is still out, I liked the recent single and have heard a few other tracks on a sampler and thought they were pretty good. It reminds me a little of Mercury Rev (who incindentally are one of my favourites) and this can be no bad thing, but I will wait until I have heard it properly before I make my final judgement.

[Clem]

I saw The Killers on late reveiw last night, and quite liked them, for a Strokes tribute band, of course.

I then saw Hope Of The States on Later ...... What a load of codswallop. Just a lurry lurry noise!

Jet were better ;)

Who saw the Cure on FNWFR? Hes scary now, eh?

[Stuart Mears]

Bought the jet album today. One play through and I already know its a winner.

Saw the Cure on Johnathon Ross, know whet you mean, scary :eek:

[bedstead]

hmm... there's an album due out on the 5th july which, if you listen to certain people on here, must be by definition the most original piece of music ever composed... might be worth hiring out one of those acoustically perfect listening rooms for that total immersion in pure sound experience...

or, it might just be a load of kids spending too much time in their bedrooms listening to their older brother's specials, jam and smiths records, and coming up with a record that sounds like a cross between the coral and the supernaturals ?

'this country'

mike.

[Arun]

I take it you are talking about 'The Ordinary Boys' :confused:

From what the little I have heard (which I think is more that enough!) say's to me, this album is utter dross! It is just a complete reworking of the Jam. Not a pastiche, or a homage but simply an uninspiring, second rate attempt to ride the waves of the current 80's revival aboard the good ship 'Cashing in' :mad:

I think it is a bit harsh on the Supernaturals to tar them with the same brush as this bunch of jokers, and as for the Coral, how can you even think of them in the same way? They are as far from The Ordinary boys as Micheal Jackson is from Ozzy Osbourne!!!! :eek:

[Clem]

Mmmmmm.

Unoriginal? Guilty as charged.

Jam Tribute band? Guilty as charged?

Cashing In? Not so fast ......

I dont think its that contrived, or cynical, meself.
They 'seem' genuine fans of that style and era, and whilst there is an 80's stylee going down at the mo, the mod/rude boy thing isnt really at the crest, so a marketing ploy I probably wouldnt put my (Ben Sherman) shirt on that particular cash cow. A Coctoue (sp) Twins cover would be more applicable.
Id say any young home grown band who have a genuine anger, passion, call it what you will, should be nurtured.
England still havent truly replaced Oasis as the 'rock n roll' band of the masses, and their twelve year stint needs closure.
Could these young fellow me lads be up to the job?

Coral? Nice one, la. ;)

Supernaturals? A humourous, albeit briefly, one or two trick pony.

[Arun]

Contrived? Cynical?, what me? wouldn't hear of it (he he!) :)

I believe that the lads within the band are true fans of the Jam and are just expressing their adoration for that particular sound subconsiously through their music.

However, my point is this, it is the whim of the major labels (of which the Ordinary Boy's label - Warner, is the largest!) to create a 'scene' and then saturate all forms of the media with this 'scene'. These major record labels are all hugely involved in all aspects of media such as TV, Radio, Publications etc. through their network of subsidiary companies, and use the oldest marketing ploy that there is - blanket coverage - to create an expectant collective consciousness within the target audience of said 'scene'. This primes the audience for the collection of new artists that the record label is set to release throughout the year. So therefore, although The Ordinary Boy's are not manufactured pop puppets, they are simply more meat for the warner bros. grinder!

I put it to you, would this Jam tribute band have ever been given a record deal from warner bros if they had decided to pedal some other revival at us?

[Clem]

Arun.
You are correct. Im now glad that you anger is directed at the corporate scum, and not the lads just doing what they do, and getting, no doubt, shafted at this stage, for their pleasure.
However, I guess labels may be more willing to back any old genre these days, after all, who'd have ever truly predicted the, godawful, success of those spandex clad monkeys, The Darkness?
Anyway. Whilst listening to the turgid noise that is Radio 1s breakfast show this morning, the perky sounds of 'Talk Talk Talk' filled the breakfast area, and all was happy, albeit for 3 or 4 minutes.
I think they played Jamelia afterwards.

[bedstead]

intelligent, reasoned debate between camper owners who're obviously passionate about music ?

well, we'll just see about that...

my bringing up of the ordinary boys was in response to clem's mentioning of the killers as a strokes tribute band... not his own opinion of course but some drivel from a telly show he saw, and the sort of lazy, 21-year old fresh out of poly with a media studies degree and a full two terms experience as ents officer under their belt journalism that used to blight melody maker :rolleyes:

there's not a great deal of truly 'original' music out there... not in the semi-mainstream we seem to be discussing anyway, and at the moment there IS a definite eighties thing going on, and yeah, i think it's great.

i'd lump the killers in with the walkmen, and interpol, as band whose albums i absolutely love, but which clearly don't have an original idea between them, and so what ? i don't feel precious enough about joy division, or the chameleons to care about where their inspiration came from... maybe that's because i spent 1980 worrying about which colour thread to give to my sister to embroider 'rainbow' on the back of my denim jacket (was i right to go with purple ? rainbow-colours just seemed so 'obvious') whereas my brother-in-law can't stand the bands i've just mentioned, perhaps because he's a few years older than me, and spent 1980 poncing around the bohemian hang-outs of pre-trafford centre manchester in a trenchcoat ?

who knows.

my point ? suggesting that the killers take their references from the strokes, another band whose music i love but who haven't got the most original sound themselves, is taking the piss, surely ? like suggesting that ANY band who use the odd bit of feedback here and there are influenced by the jesus and mary chain, conveniently forgetting the likes of the velvet underground and the stooges ? irritating, short-sighted and a dead giveaway that the person in question hasn't got a clue.

i've only heard two ordinary boys songs... the one where they've made a living room on some wasteland for the video, and 'talk talk talk', which for some reason reminds me of the supernaturals' 'smile' ? early signs indicate therefore that they may be a bit too lad-ish for me... only time will tell.

hope of the states in 'lurry lurry' noise shocker ?

dunno what that means, exactly, but i've never been impressed with ANY band on these late night weekend shows... hardly the ideal medium is it, plus there's always a chance that 'me, me, me, i can play piano, no me, i can, let me try, me me me' jools holland is going to want to join in... i bet that puts 'em off too... i'd suggest you pack in watching the has-beens on the telly of a weekend and get yourself off to a few gigs ; there's plenty of brilliant new bands out there...

*inaction is a weapon of mass destruction*

mike.

[Clem]

Drawing influence from years of music, as is now possible, is one thing, but blatant copying of such a recent style resurgance is another.
The Strokes, whom I do enjoy, are excused for their plagarism. They drew on cool influences looking back over 25 years or more and twisted their own slant on it. They took a gamble and it paid off. They spearheaded a new 'style.
Three years on, here are the Killers, doing it all agin. Thats just lazy, copyist and cynical safe marketing, surely?
My comments were to a degree, tongue in cheek, as Ive only heard a small amount of their music, but it wasnt enough to inspire me.

The opportunity to hear 'new' music is a tough one. My job doesnt accomodate daytime radio listening, my internet access is limited and local radio stations are very 'local'. Thus, I depend on semi-mainstream television to hear new music, that has previously only been reported in the written word.
One could of course argue that CDs are a poor medium on which to hear new music, and live gigs are the only way to go, but as we're aware, we have to take what we can, and as my Jet comment bears out, their performance compared to CD was such that they were still a band Id like to hear, whereas The Hopes were not.

Apparently every night for the next fortnight 'Colin and Edith' are on BBC3 with a pre-Glasto music show, maybe this will give us some additional young band access?

Quite what someone who had Rainbow embroidered on their coat knows about anything, however, worries me.

:cool:

[Arun]

Both Clem and Bedstead are making valid points.

However, To class 'Later with Jools Holland' a bad place to hear new music is, frankly, incorrect. Although I find the squeeky voiced pigmy annoying, it is still clear that his show is the ONLY! place that you can see music which transcends the boundries of specific genres, cultures and age groups, and whats more, it is all performed 100% live!

I think, as this thread seems to be proving, that any debate about music will always draw both confliction and contradition because it is such a personal thing, as with any form of art, and what one person can think is amazing another can think is total garbage, and if asked to explain, neither would be able to quatify why the do or don't like it. That is the beauty of music, that is its appeal and it's mystery.

If you start to include other genres and world music into this debate and move away from thinking about mainstream media and pop culture, you will probably realise that there are loads of new acts that are out there waiting to be discovered and many places in which to discover them. Switch of the Radio 1 bo****ks, use that NME in the bathroom for the only thing that it is good for! and get out there as a musical explorer, the fun is in the finding!!

[stagger lee]

aye up me ode's.

haven't a clue about the bands, abit limited exposure down here. well that is before we got the net back (that's what i'm on now ;)). we 'Q', but it's 12 months out of date. so i'm reading what was happening in june 2003.

anyway bedd'y just though i'd pop in and say hello. how's things going, o.k i hope?

things are cool down here, no pun intended.

laters.

[Clem]

Theres favouritism.

:(

[bedstead]

holy moly... where to start ?

clem... i honestly don't think the killers sound anything like the strokes... ABC yes, simple minds yes, U2 yes, big country yes, it's all there if you listen hard enough, or have a two year old who DEMANDS that you listen to it all day...

what we say about 'those' buses (you know what i mean) i feel also applies to the strokes, in so much as how much genuine sixties vintage tube powered equipment and genuine, original clothing can one man collect whilst at finishing school in switzerland financed by mummy and daddy ? like the drummer from the stooges gradually selling off his drum kit to finance his heroin addiction, whilst desperately trying to convince iggy that it was a brand new, minimal sound, to fancy-dan-can't-remember-his-name from the strokes saying that there's a vintage rickenbacker bass he's just got to have mummy... something's not *quite* right... good albums though...

unfashionably long hair... check
'distressed' denim jacket... check
'vintage' jeans... check
dirty green flash... no, wait, go and run around in that field... check
rickenbacker... check
mesa boogie amp... finishes on ebay tonight... mummy's bidding for me...

and so on...

don't know ANYTHING about the killers except that they sound f*cking ace, and they're from vegas... cool enough for me, although as to why anyone would want to get married there...

morrissey / honing... killers / wiper switch ?

arun... great stuff... of course any debate like this is ultimately pointless but it gives me something to type instead of lame football predictions, and your input means it's not just me & clem insulting each other via e-mail & text... soon be time for my yearly turner prize post too...

my point about 'later' has been misinterpreted i feel... we are lucky enough to have a satellite package which means we get literally loads of music channels... mtv2 was an absolute revelation when it first started... i've said it before but it was just as if they'd asked me and caroline to name our hundred favourite albums and then gone, ok, we'll play them then, and another thousand new ones you'll absolutely love... non-stop, 24 hours a day :eek: effing magic, and although the channel has inevitably bowed to the needs of the commercial cash-cow, and there is now an unutterably w*nk new zealander on there pretty much constantly acting as 'vj', it still rules... that's where i hear new stuff... can't stand listening to the radio... chris evans ? chris moyles ? sara cox ? mark & lard ? oh, how we laughed... apart from 5 live for the sport of course...

my point about 'later' is that it's not 'studio', and it's not 'live' is it ? not really ? music sounds different to humans depending on the volume it's played at, and (most) of the stuff i listen to (i do eclectic too ;) ) needs to be played loud, and recorded and listened to loud, and you can't do that in a studio like that or people's ears would be falling off, so you get this kind of weak, watered down sound... alright for jools and tom jones (is it just me or was that horribly embarrassing ?) but anything with guitars in it just doesn't work on that show, in my opinion, not compared to listening to the record on 11, or seeing the band live.

the choice of bands is good though, but like i say, why jools, why ? we know you can play... i can play football but you won't see me running onto the pitch at anfield...

by the way, jet ?

jet ?

straggly hair... check
stubble... check
ac/dc shirt, new from hmv... check
flying v... there's one on ebay etc. etc.
marshall stack... check

and so on... that's not aimed at arun... but, jet ?

gimme a break :rolleyes:

mike.

[bedstead]

staggers :D

a sign... at last... and you post on the day that my spindles are finished... just got to go down another six inches and it'll fit in the garage...

we're moving house at the moment... found a place that feels just right, and we're all really excited, arlo especially... the last owner was an eccentric old inventor... the garage was full of stuff i was itching to get my hands on but he took it all with him, more's the pity.

hope you're well, and happy... vanfest seems like a distant memory now but i interpreted your instructions to 'seek out mike' as an invitation to adopt him as a spiritual guide, as you were moving to a 'different place'.

needless to add, he's made up with you for that :rolleyes:

take care of yourself mate.

mike.

[Clem]

To be fair, Im not that keen on Jet. I got a snide CD, and its, well, not bad. Got some ok tunes, but essentially its Reef with a different accent?
Jools. Not perfect, just a place to see some new stuff easily and while the toddler is sleeping upstairs. And you can always make a cuppa when the 'third' act comes on. ;)
Anyway beds, if youve done your spindles, can you do me some? I need an easy 1.5" drop, my axle is solid, but cut and turned, and further lowering may be problematic in a conventional way. And I sold the beams I had along with the Vege engines.
Wiper switch? Its in the hands of the gods, or steve.sss. Killers will do nicely, Im sure.
They may have been there before The Strokes of course, and just not noticed, in a Jackass/Dirty Sanchez type scenario?

[Maccattack]

;) Only just joined the forum,clicked on a topic and....KAPOW!...Massive music debate running into several pages going on in front of me very eyes

Good to see a healthy enthusiasm about music is still rife in this staid and washed-out country of ours though

Me,I reckon everyone is en***led to their opinion about music and that's what makes it such a cool thing to talk about-there ain't no right or wrong,just a bunch of tunes and folks that like them or not

But I do think it's great that y'all can talk about it and not kill each other at the next van meeting

Hope to talk to each and every one of you soon

Cheers and orrabest

Jock

....& I think to myself......wot a wunderful wooooorrrrllld......!