August 30, 2009
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
One more, just because I have some time.
Queens Of The Stone Age – No One Knows
Actually coming up because of Dean Fertita’s feature in my last post – I initially noticed this track a few years back when I spied Dave Grohl (an ‘I’d Like to Meet’ on my MySpace profile until I hid that section) going mentalist in the music video.
I’ve since discovered an UNKLE reconstruction (you have to hear it to believe it, it’s on spotify) and a live version on a Live Lounge compilation (in which Josh Homme adds an “except you, that is” to a chorus).
NME confirmed a while back that QotSA frontman Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin are recording together so I’m excited to see what kind of eardrum-testing creations come out of that trairing*…
*I made that up because I couldn’t think of the three-person equivalent for the word “pairing”.
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Posted by nishajl
August 30, 2009
Bit behind on this one I think…only discovered this band today (thanks Jane!) and am loving the 80s guitar rock/contemporary alt-rock blurriness. This latest ‘supergroup’ combines the talents of Dean Fertita (Queens Of The Stone Age), ‘Little’ Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs), Alison Mosshart (The Kills) & Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs).
The Dead Weather - Horehound
Jack White’s vocal is blinding as usual, particularly paired with Alison Mosshart’s power-lungs.
The Dead Weather (last.fm)
I’ve been having a listen and I’m thinking ’60 Feet Tall’ is a contender for my favourite track, as it’s a bit calm – until it kicks, that is. From the album ‘Horehound’, released on Sony this July.
Playing the o2 Academy, Brixton on 29 October, and as the last.fm tag directs, “must be played at full volume”…
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August 26, 2009
Sometimes…you can hear a song a significant number of times in passing, but never really hear it…until you do. That happened to me yesterday with this song.
Florence + The Machine – Hospital Beds
Florence + The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
I was listening to her tunes on spotify (just by searching the name and seeing what came up) and, buried amongst the album tracks and the ‘Rabbit Heart EP’, this song. It’s going to sound melodramatic but from the moment it started to the final resonating strum of the guitar I was captivated. I had to actually turn to my boss and convey to her pretty much the first sentence of this post, although more in the form of a question starting with “have you ever heard a song…?”.
It isn’t on ‘Lungs’, it’s on ‘Kiss With A Fist’ and is, I think, my favourite song of hers.
The vocal is heaped with emotion and exhasperation within the emphatic and powerful sphere that’s so characteristic of her sound and the single acoustic guitar and simple drumbeat add to the raw purity of the track.
I also just discovered (apologies) that it’s actually a re-work of a Cold War Kids tune. Man can she cover with the best of them. (see ‘Postcards from Italy’).
“I got one friend
laying across from me
I did not choose him
He did not choose me”
I’m actually tempted to bin the Arsenal game this evening and pick up my guitar for the first time in weeks…
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August 25, 2009
xx - Rough Trade exclusive with bonus CD
I would love to see this band live. Unfortunately their only London dates appear to be supporting Florence + the Machine, who is so hot right now (Miss Mercury Music Prize nominee that she is) I can’t get tickets. 
New wave indie with pop/soul influences their music is so chilled out I’m dropping into the depths of lethargy listening to their MySpace player right now.
My favourite track from their new album ‘xx’ is ‘Crystalised’, but I also really like ‘Islands’ and ‘Basic Space’ which is a bit more trippy electro.
The full-length debut release is available as a Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus CD that features the tracks I’m about to mention: entirely unexpected and non-karaoke covers of what I know to be a nineties dance track (although I think that itself was a cover of a 80s disco tune) and an R&B gem.
The xx – Teardrops (Womack & Womack cover)
The xx – Hot Like Fire (Aaliyah cover)
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August 25, 2009
Bush - Razorblade Suitcase
I was actually searching for a Powderfinger track just now and this popped into my mind. Had to post it.
A few months back I got the urge to raid my brother’s CD collection – he has some excellent rock albums from the late nineties/early 2000′s and left a whole stack of them in his CD tower when he moved out. Skunk Anansie, Creed, Staind, Evanescence stand out among many…and of course….Bush.
So I cherry-picked the ones that appealed and was ready to immerse myself in the glory that is grunge/nu metal history…opened the first CD case….empty. Second CD case…empty. The cheeky monkey’s only gone and taken all the CDs with him and left the empty cases in his room – mocking me with their false promises.
Just an aside. The song is:
Bush – Swallowed
It’s on their 2001 release ‘Razorblade Suitcase’, and it’s a post-grunge anthem from my yoof.
Other favourites are ‘Glycerine’ and ‘Out Of This World’ (the video on this page doesn’t appear to be Bush…) but also oh so many more…
Here’s their MySpace, but also for no reason other than that I came across it whilst looking for the aforementioned, the MySpace of George W. Bush.
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August 22, 2009
Oops – the second post intended for yesterday didn’t end up materialising as I got side-tracked catching up with The Wire. So here it is today instead.
Post War Years
Full album ‘The Greats and the Happenings’ and then some available to stream on last.fm and spotify.
Post War Years - The Greats And The Happenings
If I’m honest, I have to say the recorded sound, although still extremely good, doesn’t do the live performance justice. I saw them at Ginglik (first time there, but this converted public toilet of a live music venue is a contender for my favourite in London) as part of Blue Flowers presents A Tribe Called West – a night that has previously featured acts including Flashguns and Stricken City.
The enigmatic and spacey indie-electro style of their music is almost hypnotic at times and they seem like really fun and charismatic lads – a theme that ran through their set was a mock-competition with questions ranging from “what is the name of the track we are about to play?” to “what does the drummer look like naked?”. Nice.
My favourite tracks are ‘Soul Owl’, ‘Whole World On Its Head’ and ‘Den’.
I could easily see them supporting Grizzly Bear or some other epic-type band at some point in the near future, or headlining their own show, but for now you can catch them at South East In East at the Vibe Bar on 3 September.
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Posted by nishajl
August 21, 2009
Two posts from me today. The first is a find resulting from some gig recommendations from Charlotte LV (thank you Charlotte!).
I’ve fallen in love with instrumental guitar music lately. First Truckers of Husk, then Rick Tomlinson and the associated Otis Taylor and now this:
The Paper Hats – Waltz of Circassian Beauties
The Paper Hats - Deseret Canyon
It has such a pensive feel to it – a luscious green mountain pasture at sunrise. But not here – perhaps in Italy, or Spain…or…Mexico. It’s such a simple piece but also dynamic, and I particularly love the section from about 1min 50 where it takes a melancholy and erratic turn for about 40-50s (repeated later on).
The beauty of an instrumental, for me, is the potential for interpretation, for turning it into what it means for you personally, rather than relying on the writer’s expression.
This particular track is on ‘Deseret Canyon’, released in August 2008 but I was only able to find it as an mp3 download on Amazon.
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