Saturday, October 18th, 2008
After all the effort of carefully selecting music for my iPod before I left, I’ve hardly even listened to it so far. On the first flight from London to Tokyo I was kept entertained by the films and muic they had on the wee screen at my seat. They had the new Raconteurs album (Consolers of the Lonely), which I hadn’t got round to buying/hearing yet, so I listened to that while I was snoozing. It’s pretty good! Although to be fair I always find that music sounds twice as good when your half asleep - it’s a strange phenomenon.
As I mentioned in my ramblings about Tokyo, the new Oasis album (Dig Out Your Soul) was released in Japan the day we arrived (a week earlier than in the UK), so I was dying to get alisten to that. When I got to Mount Fuji on Sunday night, I had an email saying that as part of the deluxe box set I’d ordered, I could download the album the day before it’s UK release! Which I did, but then couldn’t actually listen to on my iPod for various technical reasons. Until I got to Hiroshima, got it sorted and had a good listen. First impressions are good although it always takes a while to draw your attention away from the first couple of tracks and any singles you’ve heard already.
The new Metallica album is awesome! There’s probably not much more to say on that. It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s catchy. (Some would say too loud but that’s a story for another day!)
Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Seriously, buy this album. Now. I know its only March but I might as well just give it album of the year right now and get it over with.
As is normal practise with a new album I get addicted to too quickly, I needed to go cold turkey for a few weeks on this one. Delete it from the iPod, stop telling people how good it is, and find something else to keep me amused, perhaps an old classic. In this case I had to resort to Metallica’s entire back catalogue, due to being approximately 50 words into my 3500 word essay on Bob Rock, and with less than a month to finish it. But that’s another story.
Thankfully I’m now past the annoying phase of Studio Head and am onto the appreciative phase. Man this record sounds good. It was produced by Bernard Butler - ok so his bands were shit but I’m willing to let him off with that now. Eilidh’s bass sounds awesome - solid, present, but not obtrusive. Another thing you notice with This Gift compared with The Repulsion Box (ebo album of the year 2005) is that Adele’s voice is much more controlled and focussed, but no less feisty. Overall the album sounds a lot thicker - a bit less mandolin and tambourine this time around, and the guitar riffs are louder and heavier.
Best track? It was Chains, but now it’s Flags. Make up your own mind (…what? you haven’t bought it yet? how many times do I have to tell you!)
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
Album of the year goes to Kings of Leon - Because of the Times, very closely followed by Malcolm Middleton’s ‘A Brighter Beat’.
This year’s ‘Wake up and smell the genius, Iain!’ award goes to Arcade Fire - if I’m to recommend one song to demonstrate said genius, it has to be No Cars Go.
Gig of the Year?
Well when you’ve seen Prince and Led Zeppelin in the one year, it’s not really fair to include them in the running. So this award goes to the stupidly intimate and ridiculously sweaty White Stripes gig at the Rivoli Ballroom.
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Full review to follow - just trying to bump up the traffic on my photos (not that it isn’t through the roof already mind you ;)
Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Here it is then, officially the best music around this year. First choice inevitably comes from undisputed album of the year, Ballad of the Broken Seas. If you’re going to force me to pick a single of the year as well (which I’m assuming you will), it has to be Broken Boy Soldier.
The majority of the tracks were released this year, a few are slightly older but only arrived at my ears in the last 12 months (Willy Mason, Architecture In Helsinki), and were simply too good not to mention.
- Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Deus Ibi Est (Ballad Of The Broken Seas)
- The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldier (Broken Boy Soldiers)
- Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (Rabbit Fur Coat)
- San Sebastian - Das Boot
- Noisettes - Don’t Give Up
- Nirvana - Opinion (With The Lights Out)
- AFI - Kill Caustic (DecemberUnderground)
- Arctic Monkeys - Still Take You Home (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not )
- Willy Mason - Gotta Keep Movin’ (Where The Humans Eat )
- Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Acoustic)
- Architecture In Helsinki - Wishbone (In Case We Die )
- Yourcodenameis:milo - Wait A Minute (Print Is Dead )
- My Latest Novel - When We Were Wolves (Wolves)
- Popup - A Year In A Comprehensive
- Sons And Daughters - Come In Out Of The Rain
