Pout - Feeling Good

Another shameless link to my band... enjoy baby :P X

ALICE @ BRICKFEST

Here's my band, Pout, at Brickfest, B2, Norwich.

August Bank Holiday 2010.

Filmed and edited by David Bullock.

ALICE @ BRICKFEST

Here's my band, Pout, at Brickfest, B2, Norwich.

August Bank Holiday 2010.

Filmed and edited by David Bullock.

Quick round up.

As before, blogging on a Friday night failed. Then did Saturday's. To be honest, I couldn't really be bothered, I was quite tired both nights and I'm a lazy slob sometimes. I blame facebook. 

This week, I can't really remember what happened because not much really has, and to be honest again, I pretty much did nothing for about three days at one point. Saying that, I did have a nice trip to the beach at Cromer with the bezzies on Wednesday. We chucked stones into a bottle to earn "man points" - I got one - and ate chips and doughnuts. Unfortunately, we did not catch crabs...

Oh, of course, Monday I played a gig with my band at the B2, Brickmakers, Norwich as part of their "Brickfest" for charity. Pretty good turn out I have to say. Thank you to those who came along to show their support. Our next gig is the Thursday 9th September, B2, Norwich, supporting a friend's band. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perfect-pout/341101367303

Today I had band practice, although our singer was ill, so in order for her to rest her voice for Thursday, I shared singing duties with our drummer. I hate singing. 

Tomorrow, should be going bowling, hopefully. Apart from that, not much else has really happened. I made space in my room for my guitars and flute... Yeah, not much.

Byebye,

Ssej

x

A Controversial Recording - Editors – In This Light And On This Evening.

This is a piece I wrote for a small summer term Music Technology research project. It isn't assessed work or coursework, so it doesn't matter too much if I post it. 

A Controversial Recording

Editors – In This Light and On This Evening

July/August 2010

The third album release from Editors saw the British band take a new direction away from their post-punk roots. Debut “The Back Room” clearly demonstrated a Joy Division influence, and were quickly compared to the likes of Interpol with their doom and gloom indie-rock style. Despite this the album quickly gained critical success and peaked at number 2 in the UK charts. When it came to the difficult second album, Editors hit the ground running and “An End Has A Start” topped the charts at number one, although some claimed it to be a more commercial Joy Division.

However, third album “In This Light and On This Evening” has sparked mixed opinions from the music industry and fans alike. Perhaps more New Order than Joy Division, the 9 track album lays heavily on the synthesisers rather than sparkling guitar riffs and comparisons focus more on the 80’s synth pop of Kraftwerk rather than the late 90s/00s post-punk revival by Interpol. It wasn’t exactly what fans had been expecting.  Luke Turner for the NME awarded the album 5/10, writing: “Indeed, they’ve possibly succeeded in alienating the casual fan with the brief moments of nastiness that are here.”  And it is true that many fans did just turn their noses up Editors’ third offering. Why? Maybe the “casual fan” was expecting the usual Radio 1 friendly vocal, guitar, bass, drum line up with a catchy tune that doesn’t stray from the comfort zone of the first two albums, taking back the 40 year old dads to their Joy Division days. But you can’t continue to reproduce the same sound over and over and over... ideas run out. Originality is lost. As Ben Urdang points out with “An End...” the band “encountered some criticism for essentially reproducing a similar sounding album... In This Light and On This Evening, the band have progressed, having eschewed their trusty guitar sound in favour of one more synthesized. It's both understandable and positive that they've decided to make that move rather than dourly churn out more of the same.” While Nick Mitchell, giving the album 2/5, believes “the problem with their progression is that they lay on the retro electronics too thickly, as if eager to prove how much they’ve changed.” Just as Bloc Party attempted with “Intimacy” and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with “Zero”, the third album is the golden opportunity to reinvent yourself as a band; to add in those outside influences which were too risky to fuel the difficult second album; too... synth-y.

It wasn’t just development in sound that sparked mixed opinions. Front man Tom Smith’s lyrics also created interest among reviews. Mitchell writes “...most are oblique and disconnected” and Ian Cohen (awarding a 3.7) suggests that Smith “delivers your rebellious 15-year old cousin's next Facebook status”. While Mike Diver indicates that “it might be the best album Editors have yet produced, even if obvious singles are conspicuous by their absence”.

Despite all of this, Drowned In Sound gave the album a 7/10, Allmusic 3.5/5, The Guardian and The Times 4/5 and Clash Music 8/10. Following the success of “An End Has A Start”, it shot to number 1 in the UK charts.

“In This Light...” isn’t “The Back Room”; you can’t just open the door and walk in. You need to dust away the cobwebs and proceed with new eyes, or ears. “In This Light and On This Evening” is definitely not Editors’ best album yet. But how can it be when the sound differs so significantly from that of the previous two? It is not intended to be a follow up to “An End...” but to show the diversity and creativity of a band, which, if having reproduced their previous work, would have been equally criticised for little originality and commercialism. The album still contains Editors’ broad but delicate sound, with memorable riffs and debateable but bold lyrics. Live, “In This Light...” snuggles perfectly in between old numbers as Smith still obtains his energy and passion which drives the songs forward. 

I Guess What I'm Trying To Say Is... I Love Carl.

I started this like, at the weekend, and finally finished it tonight. Personal statements and unis and what not... but I told Laura I would finish it, so here it is ->

I Guess What I’m Trying To Say Is... I Love Carl.

September 2010

I was very satisfied by The Libertines’ comeback when I watched their Reading set on BBC Three, especially as I’d convinced myself Pete would die just moments before he set foot on stage. My friend had a bet on that the whole band wouldn’t even make it to Reading; I think he’s now £10 in debt. Those who know me well enough would now be making the joke I was only satisfied because of Mr Carlos Barat. And, yes, that was an added bonus. I still believe he is the only man who can pull of black skinny jeans successfully, but that is not the point.

From what I could tell on my tiny TV, the boys in the band (had to get that in somewhere) were tight and sharp on stage. The set was tight, despite the power blip in the middle, and the music was tight, they looked like a band at the peak of their career (“peak” meaning a successful second album, two or three singles in). Every member gave the impression they wanted to be there, enjoying the experience, enjoying each other’s company. There was so much bromance between Pete and Carl that I was surprised they didn’t burst into some kind of passionate musical love fusion.

Give Pete his due, after the extent he has been through since The Libs’ initial split back in 2004, he did come out enthusiastic and confident, looking his healthiest I’ve seen from the press in a long time.  It was clear he was already slightly drunk though, but that didn’t stop him from politely asking the crowd to help each other out and not to stand on each other’s heads. Good boy.

What my dad and I noticed (because my dad’s cool and hip like that) was that Pete has pretty much gained house hold name status through the British press, and hence if asked by your grandmother how he initially became famous, you would naturally say he was the front man of Babyshambles and previously The Libertines.

However, in reality, it’s Carl Barat who is ultimately the linchpin of The Libs. Carl’s energy and stage presence was unbeatable, taking centre stage with a casual walk of confidence. Those die hard Libs fans would know that Carl Barat is a keen actor as well as musician. Pete loves the microphone, yet his vocals are not half as clear and strong as those of Carl’s (we will blame it on the fags and booze). But what it was that stuck us was how “gig fit”, as my dad put it, Carl and Gray Powell are. Both looked healthy and strong, holding up the performance by bringing a vital spark of energy to the stage. Barat and guitar bounced across the stage with ease and if you attached some kind of electrical converter to Powell’s arms, you could have powered the whole of Reading AND Leeds. Just watching Powell behind his drum kit wore me out. Phwaor. And let’s not forget good old John. I know he never looks too enthusiastic, but he can play and never lets side down; a reliable, strong and essential backbone to the band.

The same couldn’t be said for Pete however. By the time I Get Along arrived at the end of the set, if Barat didn’t have him in a lover’s embrace, Pete would have comfortably collapsed to the stage floor and slept through the rest of the festival. A number of times he disappeared to sit behind his amp, wipe his forehead and sip his pint. If all four members of the band took this approach to their Reading come back, you may as well go down to your Local’s open mic night.

I guess what I am trying to say is yes, the set, the comeback, the whole performance and band themselves were outstanding, considering the difficulty of the past 6 years or so, and I give full praise to them for how tight and just in general awesome their whole comeback has been so far. In fact, the whole reunion has broken the laws of music physics. However, the driving force clearly shone through. Maybe, if it wasn’t for the stronger members of the band, mentally and physically, the whole thing would have been hanging on the edge of a complete cock up. I seriously doubt Pete could have made it without the loving support of Carl. Although Carl and Pete are the musical/lyrical foundations, Carl, Gary and John are the driving force, the physical foundations of The Libertines and always have been. When Pete went AWOL in 2004 they carried on (with later fellow Dirty Pretty Things member of Carl and Gray’s, Anthony Rossomando on guitar) regardless. At Reading 2010 it was obvious that these three members are still the rocks for Pete to lean on, holding up the performance with an incredible amount of energy; I couldn’t help but get the feeling they needed to be as tight as they were just in case Pete slipped up. Overall though, well played boys, I look forward to seeing more. I especially hope it lasts out long enough until next summer. I’ve already booked a 2011 Reading ticket. A Libertines’ encore would be quite nice. Not a G ‘n’ R one though. I heard Axle was a right tosser.

Left: Carl Barat. Right: Tosser

So here's a thought, Miss Swift.

So here's a thought, I was watching Taylor Swift's new video "Mine" this morning. From what I gathered the song and video were about her meeting her dream guy, falling in love, getting married (what is her obsession with getting married?!) etc etc; but also flashing back to when she was a child and seeing her parents arguing, being scared that this will happen between her and her guy, then actually fighting and then making up again. To me this is awfully familiar... have you been stealing ideas off Kelly Clarkson, Miss Swift? Hmm? Yes, it does sound incredibly like the video to Because of You. In fact, Miss Swift even ends up having kids at the end of it... oh, yes, what a coincidence?! I think not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPBwXKgDTdE <-Miss Swift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3D8J1rjGLg&ob=av2n <-Miss Clarkson