Badly Drawn Boy: It Came from the Ground

Listen/Download:
"It Came from the Ground"
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
[Band Wiki]

Coldplay: Violet Hill

[Download Link]

Thoughts in comments, please. My first impressions include Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel...not a good thing.

More Adorable Than You Can Shake a Stick At

Caleb sends along some nice Adorable features from his site, Webcuts Music:

New interview with all four ex-members to celebrate Footnotes:
http://www.webcutsmusic.com/news54.html

New Pete specific Interview (talks about Adorable, Polak and his solo album):
http://www.webcutsmusic.com/news55.html

Pete interview from 1998 (Adorable and Polak):
http://www.webcutsmusic.com/news59.html

Footnotes Review:
http://www.webcutsmusic.com/news42.html

Listen to "Vendetta":

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

That Nation's Saving Grace

Here's a nice treat from The Guardian:

My rise and Fall

Outspoken singer Mark E Smith has led his group the Fall for 32 years, surviving continual fights with an ever-changing cast of musicians to create dozens of albums in his own maverick style. At 51, he remains one of rock's most individual voices. In this first extract from his autobiography, introduced by Dave Simpson, he looks back at the formative moments of his childhood and the birth of the band.

Mark E Smith has been called a drinker, a druggie, a tyrant and a nut. He has spent a night in the cells following one punch-up and been ordered to attend anger management. With his group the Fall, he has become one of the most influential musicians of the past 30 years. However, he is as famous for sacking band members as for his music, having dispensed with more than 50 musicians - including various wives and girlfriends - while making approximately 26 albums (there have been so many that no one seems entirely sure).

Smith formed the Fall - based in Salford - in the punk movement of 1976 and fired his first musician, a drummer whose name no one can agree on, before the group had made a record. Since then, he has been the sole ever-present member, in a reign that has seen off five prime ministers, the Falklands, Balkans and Gulf wars, more than a dozen record companies and innumerable changes in British music, while making the hard-driven, repetitive music that John Peel described as "always different, always the same". The Fall have never been a household name, but have had more non-top 20 chart hits (16 in all) than any other group.

The Fall's fans, who include everyone from Alex Kapranos to Frank Skinner and David Bowie, routinely hail Smith's "genius". It's less certain what that genius is. His horror-humorous lyrics - inspired, perhaps, by the sci-fi writers HP Lovecraft and Philip K Dick, along with hallucinogens - are pored over like the Bible as fans chuckle at his descriptions of British People in Hot Weather ("beached whales in Wapping, drunk before ya!") and ponder the true meaning of bizarre songtitles such as To Nkroachment: Yarbles.

Apparent prophesies, such as the song Powder Keg, released just before the Manchester bombing in 1996, convince many that he is psychic. And yet this musical colossus can barely play a note. He is reliant on musicians - whom he holds in contempt - for his lifetime's work.

[Read the whole article]

Listen to "Bombast":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Wiki]
(Thanks Phil)

Elastica: Waking Up

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Wiki]

Thoughts On:Mystery Jets--Twenty One

In rock, it's always the same old story. How do a bunch of guys with guitars make songs about girls sound fresh again? It's a task easier said than done, to be sure, and even when bands seem to stumble upon the right formula, it only lasts for an album or two. The latest band to get it right is the Mystery Jets, for in "Twenty One" they have created exactly half of a brilliant album.

For a band with such inauspicious beginnings, half of a brilliant record ain't (pardon the pun) half bad. The Mystery Jets' first UK album was "Making Dens", the bulk of which was repackaged for their first proper American record, "Zootime". Whichever album you consider as their debut, it's pretty slim pickings. Heavy on novelty factors like the guitarist's dad playing in the band and kitchen-sink arrangements, in the bulk of their early material the band come off as the bastard offspring of The Coral and Hot Hot Heat (no, that's not a compliment).

That being said, there were a few reasons to be optimistic about the band's future, such as a mastery of their own quirky sense of rhythm, and the use of exuberant harmonies more focused on capturing a feeling than on hitting all the right notes. Single "Diamonds in the Dark", which made its way onto both "Zootime" and "Making Dens", is absolutely great, with some eccentric lyrics about love gone bad and a tune that Elvis Costello might have crafted in his golden period.

Listen to "Diamonds in the Dark":

[Download the MP3 Here]

To be sure, on "Twenty One", the Mystery Jets have developed both as songwriters and musicians. The question is whether they're quite done evolving. Lead-off single "Young Love" has all the makings of a classic, an odd jangly little tune that's so simple even a child could sing it: 'One night of love, nothing more nothing less; one night of love left my bed in a mess. Is that you on the bus? Is that you on the train? You wrote your number on my hand and it came off in the rain.' Yes, guest singer Laura Marling's reformed Eliza Doolittle crooning seems a bit overdone, but that's a small complaint. Elsewhere, 80s homage "Two Doors Down" has a chorus that's pure Whitney Houston (pre-Bobby Brown) and a closing sax solo that Huey Lewis would trade his best beige blazer for.

"Flakes", given away as free download at the end of 2007, is "Earth Angel" on acid. It's a genuinely affecting ode to lost love and misspent youth. "Behind the Bunhouse" makes fine use of techniques perfected by The Smiths like arpeggiated guitar and that incessant shuffling beat. There's a distinct indie-disco vibe to "Half In Love with Elizabeth", the album's highlight:

I knew that you were thinking of him last night
'Cos I saw the blood seep down to your toes
Turn away if you must
But how can you put your trust
In a man who always sleeps in his clothes?

But as alluded to in previous paragraphs, the band aren't quite there yet when it comes to putting together a complete album. Opener "Hideaway" repeats all the mistakes of their first record, only with Erol Alkan's dancy production further muddying the waters. Mid-album cut "Hand Me Down" sounds tired, cliche and possibly unfinished."MJ" is an absolutely terrible remake of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me"; it's a wonder that such a dreadful song could exist on the same album as the majestic "Flakes".

The best moments of "Twenty One" will almost surely stand among the best moments of 2008, but this reviewer is only half in love with the Mystery Jets. The less inspiring songs will be quickly consigned to the recycle bin. They almost made a classic album, but didn't quite get there in the end.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Correction 3/22: I've been informed in the comments section that "Half in Love with Elizabeth" was recorded by Stephen Street, not Erol Alkan. The relevant section has been updated. My apologies.

Listen to "Half in Love with Elizabeth":

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

Glasvegas: Daddy's Gone

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Myspace]
[Band Website]
[Alan McGee Blog Post about the band for The Guardian]

Promo:

Screaming Tea Party: Death Egg

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Myspace]
(Thanks Christian)

The Trash Can Sinatras: Hayfever

Listen:

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

Promo:

Vessels: Two Words and a Gesture

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
(Thanks Ben)

British Sea Power: Down on the Ground

Listen:

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

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

The Teardrop Explodes: Sleeping Gas

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Artist Wiki]

Severed Alliances

Here's a good piece from the Guardian about musical partnerships:

The announcement last week that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant had decided to reform Led Zeppelin for One Night Only, despite years of simmering resentment and the suggestion that hell would have to freeze over before they once more bestrode the stage like corkscrew-haired colossi, got me wondering: is rock'n'roll really just a history of men's love affairs with their other halves - their male partners in the band? And, without those love-hate relationships and the desire, in US shrink parlance, to complete unfinished emotional business, would rock'n'roll have ever sounded the same?

Most of the biggest bands ever have been dependent on a co-dependency, the sort that makes the most dysfunctional marriage look healthy and sane. From the hyphenated to the ampersandy, there have been Page and Plant, Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Morrissey/Marr, Strummer/Jones and Wilson/Love... Think of a great band and it usually contains two warring partners who might otherwise, at least if Freud had his way, be copulating wildly on the studio floor; think of an all-time classic rock song and it's more likely than not the result of friction between two rampaging egos who are secretly vying for each other's love.

And it's still going on: in the 90s, Suede's Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler loathed each other with a vengeance, publicly so, making their recent reunion all the more weird ("Actually, not that weird." - Anderson and Butler's accountants), while Carl Barat and Pete Doherty's entire output as the Libertines would appear to be based on unresolved issues between them, blurring the line between creative and sexual tension. The rivalry that seems to spur on the Gallagher brothers is, of course, something else entirely, but even there the conflict between two artistic (term used advisedly) individuals would appear to be the motor driving the band.

[Read the whole article]

Listen to "Europe is Our Playground" by Suede:

[Download the MP3 Here]

The Cure: In Between Days

Listen:

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

The Boxer Rebellion: Watermelon

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
(Thanks Leafblower)

From the Vaults:Thoughts on Oasis' Definitely Maybe

(Originally posted on Glamorama, 5.15.2003)

When Oasis arrived in a flurry of arrogance, punch-ups and general rock n’ roll debauchery, their musical merits often went unnoticed. Sure, people made lazy comparisons to The Beatles, but at least with "Definitely Maybe", that was only part of the story. Oasis’ debut album, recorded for the most part live,is bursting with noise, attitude, and most importantly, tunes.

"Columbia" achieves in 6 minutes what Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have yet to do with their whole career. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is a ballsy ode to being on the dole: "Is it worth the aggravation? To find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?"

Listen to "Columbia":

[Download the MP3 Here]

"Definitely Maybe" opens with the classic wish-fulfillment anthem "Rock N’ Roll Star". With its pummeling drums, scorching guitars, and Liam’s youthful, sneering voice—it’s clear that with all that arrogance came genuine ability.

The album’s highlights are numerous, but in the end one has to single out "Slide Away" as Noel’s crowning achievement. It’s a noisy ballad that at the same time is sweeter than anything Noel’s written since. As Liam wails "Now that you're mine, I'll find a way, of chasing the sun," one can’t help but appreciate the tremendous balancing act Oasis was capable of back then: a truly unusual blend of sentimentality and tough-guy bravado.

Noel Gallagher summed it up when he admitted later on: ‘People don’t make albums like this anymore, least of all me.’ As far as debut rock albums go, it received very little serious competition until The Strokes released "Is This It" some 7 years later.

Despite a plethora of other discs, "Definitely Maybe" stands as the crowning achievement of the Britpop era. Noel wanted his band to sound like John Lennon fronting The Stooges…and on "Definitely Maybe" he pulled it off with flying colors. Listening to it now, more than a decade after its release, it’s clear that not only can it stand side-by-side with all the new guitar bands, but indeed, it quite literally blows them away. Oasis may have since lost the plot, but this album made them giants on whose shoulder (sic) future bands will stand.

Listen to "Slide Away":

[Download the MP3 Here]

[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]

Crashland: New Perfume

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]
[Band Myspace]
(Thanks Daniel)

Doves: Snowden

Listen:

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

Blur: Parklife Demos

Listen to "Parklife" (Demo):

[Download the MP3 Here]

Listen to "Girls and Boys" (Demo):

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Part II]

(Thanks to "trevordewane" on the Libertines.org forum)

Arnold: Climb (Classic MP3)

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Arnold on Allmusic]

Paul Weller and Graham Coxon: This Old Town

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]

Live on Jonathan Ross:

Yeti: Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder (Demo)

Listen:

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

Fire: Father's Name Was Dad

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]

Vessels: "Yuki" (MP3)

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]

[On Myspace]
[Band Website]

(Thanks Ben)

Classic MP3:Medal: Porno Song (EP Version)

Medal were a little-heralded band from Oxford in the late 90's/early 00's. This song is taken from their debut EP. It also appeared on their debut album, "Drop Your Weapon", but was remixed and turned out to be worse than the EP version.

Listen to "Porno Song":

[Download the MP3 Here]

Probably influenced by...

"Big Boots" by Radiohead:

[Download the MP3 Here]

(Thanks Tom)

Radiohead: On the Beach(Neil Young Cover--MP3)

Listen:

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Band Website]