This is all the old stuff.
This blog has been around a long time at this point. There’s a lot of things I’ve written here that are very me for that time so I’ve filed them all together. I’m sure none of the links will work anymore and these will definitely mean more to mean than they will to anyone else. Give them a read and comment if you like :)
Right, I’m not going to even bother trying to sell this to people. Zoax have released “XIII”. I’m a mega fan boy. Up until yesterday I had more Zoax t-shirts than they had released songs. The more I write about it, the more I’ll seem like a geebag. So I’ll keep it short and simple. Five tracks. “High” is my favourite. I felt like the EP mixes things up nicely. The focus is spread around the band a bit more than in the previously released stuff. It really takes a lot to make me actually use iTunes and buy shit, but Zoax are a special case and it was well worth it. Fucking A.
Buy it here. And check out the video for “Burn It To The Ground” here
Hey! New section. Sometimes I’ve got things to show off but not a lot to say about them. So this is the plan. I’mma start a “What I’m listening to” bit. Not much to say. A bit of thematic bollocks maybe. Who knows. So this is the inaugural post, bands with Cs. It’s all quite indie which is weird considering I’m working quite hard on a hip-hop project at the mo. Here goes
Honestly, those links are pretty random. I tried to keep them all to soundcloud but then I gave up. So here is the Spotify playlist: happy indie tunes by bands with Cs, for everything except “Wishing Wells” which doesn’t seem to be available.
So that’s it. Have a listen. The tracks are light and cheerful and have been helping me pretend the world is alright on public transport this week.
Justin Bieber. I understand. He’s a dick. He’s a monumental dick. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut, he’s actually put out some decent songs over his lifetime spanning career. “All Around the World” is a belter (well if we forget Ludacris) and if he didn’t say the word fondue I think I’d definitely enjoy “Boyfriend“. “Confident” is better than either. It’s better than lots of things actually. I’m a massive Chance the Rapper fan and in this one Bieber is actually pretty spot on. He reminds me of the Weeknd if the Weeknd was a nice boy. Just listen. Forget who it is. Don’t watch the official video. Pretend he’s speaking a different language. He’s got a great voice now that it’s not as high pitched and the track is classy and sexy. Chance is solid and has a little sing which I always enjoy. If it was Timberlake or somebody like that everyone would love it.
Obviously no matter what he does, Bieber is still Bieber. His lyrics are muck and mostly he just has one verse over and over or repeats one word. A lot of his output is still a load of balls. And then on top of it he’s acting the maggot at the minute. But if ya release enough music you’re bound to do something right eventually and this is one of those times.
I had a couple of blogs planned to write today but they kinda got blown outta the water. Heh. Christ. Zak Waters, genius. I first heard of him from Sunset in the Rearview, which is a super solid source for good tapes. He’s been one of the highlights. So then I followed my usual process of general creeping and downloaded all the free stuff he had on Facebook which was pretty consistently good. Anyway, that was a while ago and I’ve been a massive fan since.
So today was the release date for “Over You”, the latest single from “Lip Service”. It’s a bit more serious than some of the other tracks from the album which is fine by me. He is one of my favourite singers around at the minute. He’s doing a really poppy, electronic thing which could quite easily fit into a “chart music” kinda category but I think there’s something that little bit more interesting going on. I once had an argument with someone about whether disco was relevant anymore or still had a place in modern music. I think that Zak Waters is the progression of my ideas of what disco is. Like, Daft Punk have kinda revisited disco in the last year, but I think that Zak Waters is actually making modern disco. Rather than writing reworkings of disco/Motown/ blue-eyed soul or whatever else people are doing, “Lip Service” takes all these influences and makes it new. Zak Waters is keeping disco relevant.
I love “Over You” because you get a real confident vibe though the vocals without it seeming cocky. He has the voice to totally do a Christina Aguilera all over it and it works. Like, listen to that “Don’t wanna be lonely” -bit. That is serious singing. Part of the reason that he doesn’t come across as a dick is the way he’s played it. The videos are visually interesting and don’t focus solely on him. There’s none of the same ego as you see with some amazing singers. I like this song and the album as a whole because it covers a lot of bases. I would totally recommend it if you like anything from Hall & Oates, Chic, Stevie Wonder to Katy Perry or Mikey Mike or Pony Pony Run Run. He combines classic songwriting, a great voice and lots of really well put together, contemporary, electronic pop sounds.
I fucking love him. I sound like an obsessed idiot, but I mean it.
Ok so I haven’t been blogging as frequently but I’ll try get back to it. Might try a bit of a push for views too. We’ll see. That stuff doesn’t matter. What matters is the music and I need to show you this track. Ásgeir, “King and Cross”. He’s blowing up at the minute. He was featured on Indie/Rock Playlist, all kinds of blogs and then I saw him on the Guardian. I’d heard it before but hadn’t properly listened to it. Well, today it clicked.
Falsetto. Icelandic accent. It’s an unreal combo. It’s acoustic and folky mixed with electronic elements without turning into some Aviici crap. The guitar is sexy and laid back and reminds me of Nick Drake. Then there’s some weird, funky keys over it which sound like the background tune from something that I can’t put my finger on (Legend of Zelda maybe?). I like the song because it sounds like it should have always existed. It actually does a lot for a song that seems quite simple. It’s laid back but also makes me want to dance, it’s sexy but it’s also kind of a cute song if anyone else thinks about shit in that way. His other stuff seems okay so far. “King and Cross” is the highlight of what I’ve heard.
There seems to be loads of trivia to go with this one. Album written by John Grant. Don’t know a lot about him but some people dig him so that’s interesting. I’m wary of artists who seem quirky but don’t write their own lyrics. I guess Ásgeir gets a pass because he’s Icelandic, but it’s not something I’m usually a fan of. It’s one of those things that make me think too much about music and musical identity and deep, philosophical things like that. The song also featured in Made in Chelsea. People get bitchy about what makes songs popular, but I’m a believer in getting music to the public in whatever way possible. Lots of bands got big off the back of The OC and One Tree Hill and shows like that. I think Made in Chelsea has a bad rep but in fairness it does promote a ton of decent tunes.
Weird video, nothing special. The song more than makes up for it though.
Matty Moo showed me “Ricky Ricardo” by KAPTN. It is one of the best songs of all time. Funky, trippy and cheeky as fuck.
Hip Hop has been going through a phase of hyper creativity, lots of nice samples, great lyrics and flows, but this is something else altogether. It’s rare to get a song that takes the piss to such an extent while actually remaining listenable. The samples are fantastic. It plays off the TV show “I Love Lucy”. I’m just going to straight up admit I’ve never watched the show and if there’s some witty joke going on I don’t get it. Doesn’t matter. Sounds awesome. Lyrically, my favourite moment is “I don’t fuck with no socks“. The lyrics are awful, but that’s the charm. It’s dirty sexy. As if that wasn’t enough there’s also a fantastic bossa nova interlude just to mix things up some more.
The downside? The dude might be a douche bag. He seems confused as to what he’s doing. It’s hard to tell whether he wants it to be a joke or whether he really is trying to give the impression that he’s some kind of a sex god. In the end, he appears to have decided to try both. The video is god awful and that seems to be a theme judging by his other track, “Juice”. It ends with a weird dance thing, which is super cringey.
Take it from me on this one. Enjoy the song, but do nothing else. Avoid the video and don’t listen to anymore of his stuff. The little bit of research I did nearly ruined it for me, but the track is too good. Listen with you eyes closed and jam out on your own.
New music! yay! Starts First Kick. Two lovely lads from lovely Meath. Comprised of Robert and Gordon McAuley, Starts First Kick are a band for those who want high-octane, occasionally spacey rock with rich production. On the 1st of January, the boyrahs released their debut two track album, “You Hold On, I’ll Hold On To Mary”, and more is on the way over the course of the year if all goes to plan.
It ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what I like. We get to hear one instrumental track and one with vocals. Usually I’m not a massive fan of instrumental tracks. I think that bands often lose the run of themselves when writing them. I totally get it though, and I have been involved in writing instrumental songs. It’s easier than writing words and you can pretend you’re a rock god. I don’t think this is one of those cases, although there is plenty of space for rock god role play. “Everything Covered” is tight, energetic and knows where it’s going. It’s one for the lads, a headbanger with some lovely aggro exclamations. “Massive Momentum”, on the other hand, is what the band refer to as “for all of you pop divas out there”. There’s all ya could want there, bit of call and response, sing-a-long chorus and more guitar and drums general badass-ery.
I’m a big fan of the lads and I think they’re doing it right. There’s instrument swapping between the tracks and they’re both super involved in making music which is great to see. If you like the stuff ya can click here for more stuff by Rob and here for more stuff by Gordon. “You Hold On, I’ll Hold On To Mary” is a solid way to start the year in new music and I’ll be looking forward to what comes next from Starts First Kick.
The Mot showed me “Girls/Girls/Boys” by Panic! at the Disco. I had totally gone off Panic! after the first album to be honest. They did the whole “Nine in the Afternoon” thing and there’s always been that kinda theatrical, gothic thing going on. More recently there’s been a more electronic element to what they’ve been doing. This track has some of these electronic bits but I think it’s an all round better tune than anything we’ve heard from the band in a long time. They’ve always appealed to me in a lot of ways but had these flaws that totally ruined them for me. I’ve always thought they were lyrically smug and over wordy. This song and video are less overly stylised. The lyrics are still intelligent and witty but seem more mature, less teenage-poet-wannabe, shorter song titles are a good sign.
Apart from how I felt it is better than their earlier stuff, “Girls/Girls/Boys” is just generally a belter. The bass reminds me of New Young Pony Club, it kinda dances underneath the rest of the track, so I think this is one for the decent quality sound systems or headphones. Unlike other tracks from the album, they don’t mess with Brendan Urie’s voice to much which is a definite plus. He is a fantastic singer and this is probably the best I’ve heard his voice. I think the different instruments sound a bit like they’re looped tracks but, in fairness, I have been listening to the song pretty much non-stop to get in the mood to write about it. It works though. The instrument changes are all pretty subtle and the focus is on the overall song rather than any one instrument at any time.
Video is weird.Just Brendan Urie, in the nip. The dude has a much body hair as I have on my hands. It’s crazy that there’s no bullshit about it being pornographic or inappropriate like there is about all the Miley Cyrus videos. What’s going on there?
So that’s it! What d’ya think? What are you listening to? Any recommendations?
Idea. I’m gonna run with it. Soundtracks are awesome. Video games, movies, tv, porn(?) – all genres of media have been paying more attention to soundtracks in the last decade or so. So I’m going to start a segment on soundtracks.
My favourite song at the minute is the remix of DJ Mehdi’s “Lucky Boy” by Outlines, which features in GTA V. Now, let’s be honest, the radio playlists in this installment are not quite up to the standard of 4, San Andreas or Vice City. However, “Lucky Boy” is a highlight. It combines a lot of really cool elements. The piano riff and the main vocal part are real Motowny and bouncy. Then, at the same time, there is a kind of quiet, chilled, sexy electro vibe going on. I’d love to have written it. Enjoy!
kevinisabastard 