French Kicks: Trial of the Century

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The Libertines are just Dandy

Finally someone in the press gets it. This from The Guardian:

The Libertines rule, OK?

Released five years ago this month, the Libertines' debut album Up the Bracket remains the most influential and important British album since its release. Maybe of the decade, even. It's not the best, but in terms of cultural impact it has yet to be surpassed.

Which is surprising, but not that surprising given that they referenced the better bits of post-war English culture - Peter Ackroyd, Ray Davies, Steptoe and Son, the Buzzcocks - and in doing so, created an over-romanticised vision of a country that never really existed anyway: Albion. Up the Bracket was as a conceptualised jumble, a musical psychogeography of London, from the Caledonian Road across to Whitechapel, New Cross up to Bethnal Green.

Perhaps I need to contextualise this argument by pointing out that a combined poll of the major UK music press best albums of 2000 had the likes of Doves, Coldplay, Dandy Warhols and JJ72 featuring highly: not exactly life-changing bands.

Pivotal albums are about time and place and for all its faults (bad production, crap artwork, half-realised ideas), Up the Bracket offered more than just the music - thankfully, some might say. It also offered a lifestyle and an outlook. From their bog-standard yet suitably self-explanatory name to their good use of accessories (brogues, hats, cravats, gaffer tape) to an unspoken understanding that rock bands were meant to be interesting, preposterous, indulgent and indulged the Libertines injected a new energy into shabby old indie rock...

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Listen to "Death on the Stairs" (Bernard Butler Version):

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Wiki]
[Read my (rejected) book proposal for an "Up the Bracket" 33 1/3]

Sigur Ros: Hljomalind (Myspace Rip)

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[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
[Watch the band's recent Electric Proms performance with Amiina]

"Heima" Trailer:

And This Little Piggy Went...

Oink has gotten the treatment that Dead Flowers will probably get someday. You have to love the record industry--can't have people enjoying music, can we?

This from The Guardian:

British police have closed down what they claim is one of the world's largest music piracy websites after a two-year pan-European operation. A series of raids in Middlesbrough and Amsterdam resulted in the arrest of a 24-year-old man and the closure of Oink, a private website that allowed users to locate and download music, movies and other files.

The closure has been welcomed by the music industry, which said that leaked copies of pre-release records meant that Oink users were able to access hundreds of albums before they reached the shops.

The invitation-only website, which had an estimated 180,000 users, was well known among internet filesharers as one of the most popular and exclusive sources of free downloads.

[Read the Whole Article]

Listen to "Cocksucker Blues" by The Stones:

[Download the MP3 Here]

Never Lose That Feeling

Swervedriver are on the comeback trail:

Swervedriver Returning To Duty For 2008 Tour
Adam Franklin
October 19, 2007, 1:20 PM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

U.K. rock act Swervedriver will reunite for a worldwide 2008 tour after a nearly decade-long hiatus. Dates and other details have yet to be announced.

The group (vocalist/guitarist Adam Franklin, guitarist Jimmy Hartridge, bassist Steve George and drummer Jez) split on the heels of its 1998 album "99th Dream." Although it never enjoyed major commercial success in the U.S., Swervedriver was beloved by fans for its psychedelia-tinged rock sound, best heard on the 1993 album "Mezcal Head."

[Read the whole article]

Listen to "Never Lose That Feeling":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Wiki]
[Read my interview with Jez]
[Read Phil's Review of "99th Dream"]
(News link from Chrome Waves)

Why's This Bus Taking Me Back Again?

Writing in The Guardian, Alan McGee thinks we should give Ride their due:

With the resurgence of shoegaze - or nu-gaze - and Panda Bear, Animal Collective, Deerhunter and No Age all referencing them as an influence in interviews, I feel it's time to look back at one of the all-time underrated Creation bands, Ride.

In '91, Ride had the critical and commercial world at their feet. Their full-length debut Nowhere marked them out as teenage saviours of rock'n'roll. The Nowhere cover pictured an ocean wave, a knowing tribute to the wall of sound they were creating. And what a wall of sound: Andy Bell and Mark Gardener's guitars and harmonies underpinned by Steve Queralt and Loz Colbert's eight-mile-high bass-and-drum dance groove.

Nowhere fused Byrds and Sonic Youth influences with the exuberant spirit of their contemporaries, the Stone Roses and the House of Love. It epitomised the feeling that something was happening in independent music beyond twee C86 and third form baggy. However, by the time they released the follow-up, Going Blank Again (an album that originally had the title of Prog Rock), a year later, they were up against it. Critics accused them of having nothing to say. Their influence had spread - now they were competing with a hundred shambolic versions of themselves. Despite this, they triumphed with the lead-off single which went to the top ten - the first Creation single to do so. Leave Them All Behind was no longer the sound of shoegaze but full-blown psychedelic stadium rock. Their second single, Twisteralla, was played non-stop on Radio One. Going Blank Again demonstrated how powerful a group Ride had become. The sound they explored on Nowhere had coalesced into classic songs. The album's success kept Creation Records going during the My Bloody Valentine aftermath. Their sound was a revelation.

[Read the whole article]

Listen to "Twisterella":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Wiki]
[Read my piece on Ride from "Creation Week"]

Babyshambles: Cuckoo (Demo, from the "Doghouse Sessions")

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Vessels: Two Words and a Gesture

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(Thanks Ben)

Dirty Pretty Things: 9 Lives

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[Get the "Love Music Hate Racism" Compilation with This Week's NME]

Thoughts onRadiohead: In Rainbows

Talent is a fickle, unpredictable, even reckless phenomenon. It defies expectations and is notoriously unreliable. It's no wonder, then, that the MBAs and liquor executives running the music industry want nothing to do with it. Their existing business model, one of extending what are basically bad bank loans to trust fund kids schooled in formulaic songwriting and anemic production, has had an unwittingly bad effect on their bottom line and an even worse effect on the state of popular music.

Enter Oxford's Radiohead, a band let loose in the halls of the music industry like a greased pig in a frat house. Ever since resisting coronation as the "New U2" in the wake of OK Computer, Radiohead have been causing industry hacks stress and worry: one anecdote goes that upon hearing "Kid A", Capitol immediately canceled the Christmas bonuses of their employees. It's only fitting that Thom Yorke and co. would be the ones to put the knife in the back of an industry only (15) steps away from being completely morally, creatively, and financially bankrupt: The band's novel strategy of treating album distribution like a roadside fruit stand has turned popular music on its head.

All of which would be meaningless, of course, if the album weren't brilliant. Not to worry: it is. Sonically speaking, the band has moved into uncharted territory. While last album "Hail to the Thief" undeniably had its moments, it was hard not to see it as Radiohead losing a step. Trapped between the big guitar drama of "OK Computer" and the electronic excursions of "Kid A", it was unfocused and over-long. The wide shots of a band known for its cinematic sound started to feel cliche and predictable.

Thank God, then, for the tight shots and close-ups of "In Rainbows". Whereas once Thom used to sound like he was singing to you from the other side of an indoor pool, now it's as if he's seated right across the table from you. The drums sound like drum machines; the guitars are immediate and decidedly indulgence-free. Radiohead have gone and made an album that's more futuristic R&B than Sturm und Drang, more Timbaland than Buckley.

"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", the album's central track, floats along on a bed of hypnotic guitars and crisp drums. Eschewing the sparkling guitar outro of recent live versions, the band take a sharp detour, stripping the song down to drums, some disorienting sound effects, and an incredibly ominous bassline by Colin Greenwood that disturbs and enthralls at the same time.

Similarly surprising is "Reckoner", which surely bears no resemblance to the other Radiohead song of that name and lifts the drum beat from DJ Shadow/Unkle's "Unreal" to form a blissed-out ballad replete with soulful guitar. And you know you're in for a treat when "15 Step"'s burst of handclaps and children's voices starts the record, like "Backdrifts" with a sense of humor, or when "All I Need" more closely resembles the remix of Method Man/Mary J Blige's "You're All I Need to Get By" than The Beatles' "All You Need is Love".

One of the most interesting developments on "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" was the way in which the band learned to be so economical in their use of instruments: every piece of the arrangement played a distinct role. One example of this is "Like Spinning Plates", the sparse cymbal hits of which stand as one of Phil Selway's most evocative performances. The band got away from this on "HTTT" (see: laserbeams) and the record suffered as a result. "In Rainbows" benefits from an overall more minimalist approach: it's difficult to imagine Chris Martin having the courage to write something so deceptively simple as "Jigsaw Falling into Place" or "House of Cards".

The fallout from this record should be as interesting as the record itself. Has it truly revolutionized the recording industry, or just created a new promotional tool? Will said industry learn from this experiment, or attempt to kill the messenger? (witness the recent swiftboating of the band by MTV for giving away MP3s of a higher bitrate than almost all of the music found on iTunes). No matter what the result, with a record like this to show for their efforts, Radiohead, a fickle, unpredictable, even reckless group, have almost singlehandedly made popular music interesting again. "It's the 21st Century," Thom sings on "Bodysnatchers". And now that century has its first great album.

Verdict: 10 out of 10

Listen to "Bodysnatchers":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Buy the Record/Band Website]

Early Verdict: They Still Got It

Listen to "Bodysnatchers":

[Download the MP3 Here]

Listen to "Jigsaw Falling Into Place":

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[Band Website/Order the Record]
[Band Wiki]

Discuss your impressions in comments...

***UPDATE #1***: As much as I love the NME, their early review of the record is cringe worthy:

'Bodysnatchers'
"...the song features a driving rhythm and gnarly blues guitar."

'Nude'
"It's a slow, ethereal song underpinned by Phil Selway's trademark patter and tish drumming..."

'All I Need'
"...it's a semi-love song."

'House Of Cards'
"The guitar picking is almost jolly."

'Jigsaw Falling Into Place'"A Spanish-style guitar intro gives way to a driving acoustic guitar loop and ratatat drums..."

'Videotape'
"Juddery drums and swirly effects kick in later in the song..."

[Read the whole preview]

Musicsnatchers?

Since it's futile to resist the Radiohead juggernaut this week, from this post on it'll be all Radiohead, all the time. Look for a review of the record once I've had time to digest it. Here's an article from The Guardian:

Within two hours of the announcement, three of my friends have left me messages - real voicemails, not even texts. Within a few hours, it's being reported on news sites and the news. The following day I hear two people on the tube talking about it. One looks like a student, the other a banker and they're calculating how many people will pay too little and how many will pay too much, and whether Radiohead are on to a huge profit thing.

The following day I read about the site crashing under the e-stampede. On the same day a friend tells me about a friend of his who went to the site and clicked through the ordering process and then got annoyed when he couldn't pay by paypal - so in a grump, he paid 1p. Which got me so annoyed that I went on the same site and paid a tenner.

Discussion, judgment, conjecture and passion that will no doubt sell downloads by the bucket-load - this is what all marketeers would special offer their soul to have. The twist is that Radiohead aren't marketeers. Although Maslow's Needs, Brand Onion and TGI Run all sound like brilliant Radiohead song titles, I seriously doubt the band has ever heard of the first, looked at the second or come close to commissioning the third. No, Radiohead just do what they do and it works. Maybe brands could do it too if they followed some basic Radiohead rules of unmarketing:

1. Make it great.

It's time to 'fess up here. Prince doesn't work for me because I just don't feel the funk and, in my humble emo opinion, Radiohead are just about the best band on this little planet. Although caricatured as depressive shoe-gazers on downers, they are in fact musical, melodic and experimental with an immaculate grip on ear-bleed rock, twitchy dance and delicate ballad all at once. If something's truly great - a shoe, a phone, a band - then marketing it, or unmarketing it, becomes a whole lot easier.

2. Believe in it.

Passion creates passion, belief creates belief and Radiohead absolutely believe in what they're doing. You can hear it in Thom Yorke's voice. You can see it in the way he loses himself on stage, dancing like a muscle hard-wired to the music. He believes that in this world of social, political and technological uncertainty there is some salvation in song - or something like that. Steve Ballmer believes in Microsoft so much that he jumps around whooping and sweating at conferences. Ingvar Kamprad believes in affordable design to such an extent that he still walks around Ikea stores checking that all the price tags are clearly displayed. Bands or brands that lose perspective create fans that lose it too.

3. Don't explain it.

If you asked a hundred Radiohead fans to explain the appeal of Radiohead, they would all explain it differently. Some might warble on about the band's preoccupations like I did just now; some might stick to the music; some might single out their integrity; or their lack of a record label; some might focus on their unpolished looks. A clever planner I used to work with would talk about brands as having DNA, different strands of which appeal to different people. I think this is right and if so, the reduction of a band/brand into a simple articulate proposition - which marketing is addicted to - isn't helpful. Say less to mean more. As guitarist Jonny Greenwood says on the Radiohead site. "Hello everyone. Well the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days. We've called it In Rainbows. Love from us all. Jonny." Enough said.

4. One good eye.

I'm sure you know that Thom Yorke has a paralysed eye. It's a physical oddity but more than that, it's a perfect analogy. Where many brands (and a lot of bands) look to their product and to their audience, look to create and look to please, Radiohead don't look to please. They simply make music they want to make; try ideas like the pay-as-much-as-you-like download because they want to try them. It's a kind of an artistic approach that repects fans rather than seeks to ingratiate them. And of course, it's an approach their fans love.

[Read the whole article]

Listen to "Videotape" (Live):

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Wiki]

British Sea Power: Down on the Ground

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Where's that riff from? It's driving me crazy. Post your answers in comments...

Sigur Ros: Heima (Acoustic, Live)

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[Download the MP3 Here]
[Download the whole set here]
[Band Website]
(Thanks Darren)

"Heima" Trailer:

Mew: Wherever (Re-recorded Version)

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[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]

Wes Anderson: "Hotel Chevalier" (Prequel to "The Darjeeling Limited")

Listen to "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Film Wiki]
[Get "Hotel Chevalier" free on iTunes]

Thoughts onBabyshambles: Shotters Nation

There's an old adage in music, attributed to Miles Davis, that goes 'It's not what you play, it's what you don't play.' It's a good quote, and one that a lot of current acts would be wise to follow. Pete Doherty has never had that problem, but amidst all the chaos, he may have stumbled onto an ever greater truth: It's not what you play right, it's what you play wrong.

In an age where music, much like literature, has been turned into a computerized cut-and-paste exercise, an act more akin to editing than creation, The Libertines' "Up the Bracket" was the equivalent of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road". Like the spools of paper flowing from Kerouac's typewriter during the composition of that novel, the emotional torrents of "Horrorshow" and "Time for Heroes" suggested adventure and freedom. In terms of sound, that mercurial album had the sort of wayward production values one would expect. Pete's partner-in-crime (pardon the pun), Carl Barat, once said The Strokes sounded like a badly recorded Velvet Underground. Well, The Libertines sounded like a badly recorded Strokes. You do the math.

Whereas The Strokes, weighed down by the maudlin stiffness of their songwriting, have long ceased to be interesting, Pete has managed, somehow, to stay relevant. That's not to say he hasn't tried to sabotage himself along the way. The second Libertines album, originally scheduled to be produced by former Suede man Bernard Butler, was supposed to be the album of the decade. Instead, owing to the fact that Pete and Carl couldn't resolve their differences, it devolved into an under-produced (even by Libertines standards) and underwhelming presentation of some otherwise brilliant songs. The first Babyshambles album, "Down in Albion", was so unlistenable that even this dedicated fan has yet to sit down and listen to it the whole way through. Miraculously picked up by a major label, Pete brought in former Blur and Morrissey producer Stephen Street to add a bit of studio polish to this album, Babyshambles' second. The question on everybody's mind has been, could Pete's songs be produced in a way that wouldn't dull the improvised artistic brilliance witnessed in the best moments of The Libertines?

The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, "Shotters Nation" contains some of the best music Pete has ever committed to tape. The centerpiece of the album is the fantastic "Baddies Boogie". Musically speaking, it's a chimera: it begins with the sort of Smiths-esque bounce that Pete was so fond of in The Libertines. After a beautiful bridge punctuated by some bittersweet lyrics ('He fell in love, carried her over the threshold, thinking 'she's far too good looking to do the cooking''), however, the song turns downright nasty. A punk sludge bubbles under an angry rant by Pete: 'It's a lousy life for the washed-up wife and the permanently plastered pissed-up bastard' he repeats, his voice building in ferocity with each recitation. It has to be the filthiest use of alliteration in a pop song in a good long while.

There are so many striking moments of spontaneity on the record that it's hard to mention them all here: the way the verse in "Deft Left Hand" is transformed into something quite special, taking the rest of the song along with it; the way the sparkling middle eight in "French Dog Blues" resolves into a Who-inspired breakdown; or the way "Crumb Begging Badhead" references obscure inter-war-period Polish writer Bruno Schulz before exploding into a 60s-organ-based freakout. This is why people originally gravitated towards Doherty, these little moments that make the listener chuckle at his nerve and marvel at his talent.

There's nothing more boring than a band that tries to make a "perfect" album, and you could never accuse Babyshambles of doing such a thing. This album has its flaws, whether it's the clumsy drumming on "Unstookietitled", the predicatable, Oasis-lite opening riff of the aforementioned "Deft Left Hand", or the relatively weak choruses on several of the tracks. But these are minor complaints.

On the confident and infectious opener, "Carry on up the Morning", Pete intones, 'In the morning where does all the pain go? Same place as the fame--straight to your head'. That may be true, but the tabloid furor has apparently done nothing to dull the only thing worth caring about in the first place: Pete's ability to craft memorable songs.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Listen to "Carry on up the Morning":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]