I can see a wrecking ball coming for the house
January 31st, 2011
Album artwork is just one of the reasons why I’ll always love physical CDs over MP3s. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but more often than not I do judge new music by it’s artwork. Now obviously, it’s not the best to go picking music to listen to. There’s always the chance that you could end up inflicting something god awful on your ears simply because your eyes got carried away. However I do find that on the days that I’ve got a lot of new music to plough through, I’ll choose the records with the interesting and intriguing artwork first. To me, it suggests the band or artist have put that bit more time and effort into the release. As though they’ve thought about the whole package. If first impressions count, then you can judge a fair amount about a band by the way they present their records. Like I say, it doesn’t always work out that way when you actually press play but it does at least make the process of deciding what to listen to first a little easier. Plus there’s a perverse sense of satisfaction on the occasions when the music lives up to the image that first drew you in. All of which is a long winded way of saying that’s the reason I first listened to Smoke Fairies.
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It’s coming round my soul
January 26th, 2011
I’m pretty sure I don’t need a reason to post some songs by Cat Power. Which is lucky because I don’t have any reason. There’s no new album due. No tour dates. No news of any kind fit to to print. All I have are these three live acoustic session tracks for you. Luckily, when they’re this engaging, atmospheric and intimate, that is excuse enough. At least it is in my book. So without further ado or any further rambling from me, sit back, dim the lights and enjoy.
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You’re so audio
January 22nd, 2011
Apologies for the lack of updates this week but work has been hectic and I’ve been so knackered each night that sitting in front of a computer and attempting to write anything of any coherent worth seemed like an ask too far. Not that I’m claiming there’s usually any great depths or insights in my writing. Coherence I can just about do. Worth, well I guess I’ll leave that for you to decide. The time not spent at my computer has however been pretty well spent. As well as finally getting round to watching the last episodes of Battlestar Gallactica, I’ve also managed to listen to a fair bit of music. A good mix of old and new.
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Cigarette holes for every lost soul
January 13th, 2011
Not a great deal to talk about at the moment. I’ve not really heard any new music that’s set my world on fire and I don’t really want to just write about something that I’m not feeling, just for the sake of having a post to put up. Out of curiosity I took a listen to the debut album by Anna Calvi, a young lady who’s been on the receiving end of a fair bit of hype recently and all I can say is, if she really is an example of the Sound of 2011, then it doesn’t really bode well for the next 12 months. Not that it’s a particularly bad album. It’s just a bit of a nothing record. A bit too sparse and lacking in anything particularly memorable or exciting. Like a far less interesting take on early PJ Harvey. Not for me I’m afraid. So with nothing new tickling my ears just yet, I thought I’d take this opportunity to highlight a couple of records and artists that I’m expecting good things from this year.
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Sitting, hoping, dreaming, waiting
January 8th, 2011
I’ve credited these three covers to The White Stripes but in actual fact, it’s just Jack White by himself with an acoustic guitar. Not a whiff of Meg or her drums in sight. Which is actually how it’s been for some time. While Jack’s been busying himself with project after project after project and a little bit of arguing with disgruntled punters, Meg has been awol from public life for some time. Which is probably how she likes it. Having finally watched their documentary recently, I think it’s fair to say that Meg isn’t exactly comfortable in the spotlight. She actively seemed to want Jack to take the brunt of the attention and indeed, pretty much every time she speaks, so soft and quiet is her voice that she has to be subtitled. I guess most of her energy goes into bashing those skins. Anyway, I digress, back to the covers.
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