52 posts tagged “britpop”
RAKES BREAKS
www.therakes.co.uk
I got a note from the Astralwerks band Free Energy saying that some of their shows were canceled due to the fact that the Rakes broke up. That was a bit of a shocker, considering that I thought the Rakes, along with Bloc Party, were a really successful band with top 40 singles.
Here is an excerpt from the statement from the band, dated October 22nd:
The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we’ve ever played. If we can’t give it everything then we won’t do it. That was the rule we set ourselves from day one. After much deliberation we have come to the shared conclusion that we can’t give it 100% anymore and regret to announce that The Rakes are calling it a day.
A total of 10 dates were canceled by Free Energy, but here is the new dates (note: Minneapolis is canceled):- FREE ENERGY TOUR DATES:
10/24: London, UK @ Cargo (DFA Night)
10/26: London, UK @ Barfly
10/27: London, UK @ Rough Trade Records (Hoxton) In-Store
(Early Show)/Waterats (Late Show)
10/28: London, UK @ Windmill
11/11: Boston, MA @ Great Scott
11/19: Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
11/20: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
11/21: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/22: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/23: Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
11/24: Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/25: Washington, DC @ DC9, set TBA
11/27: Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
11/28: New York, NY @ Santos Party House
IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU
lilyallenmusic.com
Speaking of splitting, Lily Allen will be splitting from her record label, EMI. Allen, who recently had that insert-mouth-in-foot moment when she had nothing but disdain her fans for sharing her music, is to set up her own record label. She's currently has no plans on touring or promoting her latest album, It's Not Me, It's You and have pretty much abandoned being on the internet.
Quote:
Ironic since her career started because of her fame on myspace.I've thrown away my laptop and I haven't got a Blackberry. I've cut myself off and it's been brilliant so far.
MIS-SHAPES, MISTAKES, MISQUOTES (or alternate title, EVEN FURTHER COMPLICATIONS)
jarviscocker.net
Not breaking up, Jarvis Cocker was recently quoted by People Magazine as having said:
That sparked a slew of rumors that Pulp were reforming for Glasto 2010.Glastonbury means an awful lot to me, I would love to play there again. We've talked about it, there we go, there'll be a band reunion.
Unfortunately, as quick as the rumor started, it was also swiftly put to an end when Jarvis came out to say that "Pulp have no plans to get back together".
Someone asked me if I fancied playing at the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury, I said yes, they twisted that into a 'Pulp reform' story. It's not true.
THE LAST TEN SECONDS OF LIFE
www.itsmorrisseyworld.com
Speaking of further complications: It's widely reported that Morrissey collapse on the floor on the opening song, "This Charming Man" at Oasis Leisure Centre, due to breathing difficulties.
Although, NME said Morrissey to resume tour in London following onstage collapse, I suspect there will be even more cancellations in the future. Morrissey's has always been notorious for cancelling shows, due to illness and/or unexplained circumstances. I have seen Morrissey live before, but my original ticket to see him in somewhen 1994 was dashed when he canceled that show in Los Angeles. I believe we ponied up $75 per ticket (that was like a billion dollars back then).
Of course, none of this compare to the fan outage of Denny offering free burgers to fans who bought tickets to see Morrissey. Morrissey, as you know, is famous for being an advocator of vegetarianism.
10/27/2009 14:51:08 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
Jarvis Cocker: this pasty, lanky man from Sheffield, what is it about him?... it's not a traditional attractiveness; it's a combination of about seven things (give or take a few). That awkwardness, those frantic dance moves, and of course... those flailing limbs.
You have to hand it to him, others would have given up long ago, but Jarvis stuck it out. I probably don't need to say it, but Mr Cocker started his career as the frontman for the amazing English band, Pulp. If you are familiar with them, i reckon like me, you probably first heard them around 1995/1996? But NO! Pulp's first gig was at a Rotherham Arts Centre in July 1980 (the month I was born - yeah scary). So really, they'd been at it 16 years until they released Different Class, causing a vast number of people to jump on the (literal) bandwagon.
My theory for why these songs are instantly likable is not just because of the catchy tunes, but because Jarvis has an amazing knack to lyric writing. He has an acute talent for writing songs with lyrics that are clearly from experience as opposed to the usual "I'm pining for lost love" or "I've got a girlfriend, she's super lovely, she's not yours, you lose" drivel. These are all songs that the average person can identify with in some way or another. Another thing that I'm sure I mention a lot, is that I love the fact that if you happen to be listen to any Jarvis-written songs on earphones... you have to be quite careful who you sing out loud (and how loud) in front of.... "so she bought a toy that can reach the places he never goes".
I can't help but think that if Pulp kept on going at it, it wouldn't have ended gracefully in any way (although I'll probably get physically beaten for saying that Pulp aren't together anymore by a certain crazed Pulp fan i know). Anyway, i could talk about Pulp all day.... the purpose of this here article today, is to talk about Jarvis and his solo albums.
Just when we'd all thought we'd never hear from him again 2007 saw the release of Jarvis's debut solo album... imaginatively named "Jarvis". It's brilliant because of the fact that the tracks are not too different to Pulp, both musically and lyrically, but it's also great because it's just Jarvis, no frills. That's right... you still have to think twice before singing some of the lyrics out loud in public places around pensioners, but there's also excessive potential for some of that old school loungeroom underpants dancing we all love (well... I love).
Listening to both of these albums, I feel as though I'm slightly seeing into the private life of Jarvis. I wonder "Did fat children really take his life?". But what about the beard, Jarvis? That's the real question.
9 Nov - Village Underground, London
10 Nov - Village Underground, London
11 Nov - Village Underground, London
2 Dec - Town Hall (Wellington), Wellington
4 Dec - Powerstation, Auckland
5 Dec - Hi Fi Bar, Brisbane
7 Dec - Metro (Sydney), Sydney
8 Dec - Metro Freo, Perth
10 Dec - HQ, Adelaide
11 Dec - Forum (Melbourne), Melbourne
12 Dec - Meredith Festival, Meredith
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Britpop ♥ Flyer (11/07/09) |
| W♥M056 [download (49 min, 34mb)] |
BRITPOPCAST #3: WELSH BRITPOP BANDS
This show was recorded on Saturday morning at 12.30am with Sally. I was half tired and half unprepared... but lots of fun on this episode about Welsh Britpop bands.
Welsh bands we focused on: Super Furry Animals, Manic Street Preachers, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Catatonia, Stereophonics, and 60ft Dolls.
The second part, which is more like a post script is that Sally will be DJing Jarvis Cocker/Pulp music for an hour on December 5th in anticipation and celebration of Cocker touring in Australia around that date. Come stalk her in Sydney, more details on britpop.com.au.
Below is the interview Sal did with singer Gruff Rhys from SFA, originally published in Kill the Cod fanzine.
Whilst attending a smashing concert at Newcastle Uni (25th.Feb), i managed, as well as being able to watch three of my favourite bands (Lavish, Super Furry Animals and Custard), i was able to have a chat to a Mr Gruff Rhys, the lead singer of the Super Furries. So here is the story of that night....................................................................................*sally*
What's the deal with all the Welsh bands that have been touring Australia lately?
It's really funny, you know, we used to share the same amps as Catatonia and we shared drummers, we've known members of Catatonia since I was...you know...
So you lived near them?
ah...Catatonia are from North Wales and we're from South Wales...your in bands for years playing along and it's...so surreal, you know...we'll be playing in Melbourne the same night as Catatonia and we'll probably meet up with them after...and I saw them in a pub in Cardiff before coming over...
So it's just coincidence that you, Catatonia and the Manic Street Preachers have all decided to tour Australia at the same time?
Yeah...cos Wales is a small place...you bump into everyone and you meet everyone...the music is quite different...you know? Everyone does their own thing, so no one is in competition with each other...it's great you know...to meet up in exotic locations
How do you like playing with Lavish and, tonight, Custard?
well...I haven't heard Custard and I hadn't heard Lavish until last week
How do you feel about not being the headlining band tonight (Newcastle Uni)?
That's fine...yeah...I mean we've never played in Australia before and no one's heard of us practically...you know..we sort of have just started out in Australia, so it's great to be number 1 and number 2...it's good to have an audience...I don't care about headlining...you know, I think that's secondary to the music true true...
So how did the Super Furry Animals form?
ahh...we started recording in Dafydd's house about five years ago (points to Dafydd)...this doesn't translate on tape..um..that short guy with the brown shirt..um..we had a home studio..we spent a few years writing songs and before that me and Dafydd were in a band called Ffa Coffi Pawb, Guto and Bunf were in a band, and Cian had his own band and Cian is Dafydd's brother so he used to hang out with us...and by this time me Cian and Dafydd had moved down from North Wales to Cardiff and we knew Bunt and Guto from the days in Ffa Coffi Pawb, we were all in Welsh punk rock bands you know..then we spent two years in the house writing songs and playing around and um...then we decided to start playing live...we did a few gigs and then we got together to release a single on a label called Ankst and so it's one of those freaky things...we'd played about two gigs and we sent a copy to the NME or something and we got a slot in a pub in London and about 10 journalists came to see us and wrote rave reviews...we went to London again the week after and played in another pub and there was about 40 record companies and they all wanted a piece and...it was really strange and easy and then we did an album for Creation...we've been in bands for 10 years making music and suddenly you get offered this chance to record the albums of your dreams you know..and come to places like Australia to play
Are you enjoying Australia?
Yeah...I didn't know what to expect at all and it's a good place and um...i'm looking forward to coming back...yeah I want to come back
I don't know if you've ever been asked this but...i've got a game called Actua Soccer at home..
..oh yeah...
and I notice a SFA team with you running around the field...so how did you get into that?
well...we were making a video and we didn't have many pictures and we wanted to walk into the screen and change into football players and so we got in contact with these people and they did it free for us and...but they fucked up cos..we selected a team of all our heros..um...we had..i think Che Guevara was in goal, Nelson Mandella on the wing..i think Lou Reed was in the team and...Fidel Castro and...Frank Zappa on the wing, etcetera, etcetera and the five of us...apparently they've put like..Stalin and Ghengis Khan on the team and it's horrible cos they lost the piece of paper we sent them so they put all these wankers in, you know...it's really bad...so we're all embarrassed it's still an alright game though I prefer Fifa 98
yeah...me too... What football teams do you support?
Bangor City...their in the league of Wales............ah a bug (on the ground).........yeah..i support Bangor City in the league of Wales and I support Cardiff City who are in the third division of the English league even though it's a Welsh team...um...I support Barcelona and Bilbao in the Spanish league...who do you support?
I support Arsenal and it's not just because they won the FA cup and that, I had been supporting them for years, so don't get any ideas
o.k....i know some Arsenal fans
What is your favourite telly show ever?
well...Calimero...it's like a Czech cartoon. Calimero is a little black chicken with half a shell on its head and um...I did have a photo of him (searches his pocket and wallet)...he's like the only black chicken in a family of yellow chickens and it gets translated into Welsh so we used to watch it in Welsh on Welsh TV and i've met Japanese people...it's been translated into Japanese and Italian and in Scotland it's in English with an Italian accent so Calimero's catch phrase is "It's an injustice" (in an Italian accent) and um..in Welsh it's (Welsh words-sorry ) which is "there's no flavour to life"..it's this depressed chicken..it's a cartoon for kids but, you know...Calimero...god guy..one of the greats
How do you Kill the Cod?
Are you an active fisher?
it's actually out of the Goodies
Ah yeah...i saw a band a few weeks ago and they've got Graeme Garden's son on keyboards...he's got the same smile...that's quite amazing..i don't'know if I endorse killing cod..so maybe we should let it swim..you know.
10/24/2009 20:06:30 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
| W♥M054 [download (22 min, 20mb)] |
- Who lives in a house like this?
Riding the wave of Britpop, the band found themselves with a hit song, "Female of the Species". While many of their contemporaries was singing songs about being oh-so-British and parklife, Space never really fitted in with that style of writing. Instead, they sound like they were huge film buffs, particularly of Quentin Tarantino and Repo Man (1984) (they used samples from this film on several of their songs, including "Neighbourhood" and "Kill Me").
They were also a bit cheesy, you never really took Space too seriously - especially because of their undying love of Tom Jones. "The Ballad of Tom Jones" with Cerys Matthews (Catatonia), was their tribute to the man. They later recorded a song with Tom Jones for his 34th album, Reload.
They sort of broke up in 2001, and came back with their third and final album, Suburban Rock 'N' Roll, in 2004. Unfortunately, the album did terrible on the charts, and without a proper record label, they had absolutely no promotional. Without a record deal, the band finally broke up permanently in 2005.
I don't have their final album, but their first two, Spiders and Tin Planet, are fantastic. If you are looking to get an album, be on the lookout for the 2-disc US edition of Spiders. The second disc is basically the single for Female of the Species.
09/23/2009 21:27:42 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
| W♥M053 [download (57 min, 40mb)] |
The structure I wanted to keep this: 1. The origin and definition of what Britpop was. 2. It's ultimate demise, our theories on why it went away. 3. Survivors of Britpop, bands that are still around today, including Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, etc. We ended with what song would best sum up what Britpop was. While we had a two-to-one Blur vote, I do think that Kristen's suggestion of "Common People" made a lot of sense.
While I would admit that based on repeated playing of this song, that I've gotten sick of it, it's hard to ignore that the song is a really great song. It's about meeting a rich student, and in typical Jarvis Cocker-reality/vengeful lyrics, tells the student that basically she would never understand what's it is like to be living in poverty like himself, like common people.
The song was king at the time of its release in 1995, and remain to be the band's most popular song. I'm pretty sure the song's been covered a few times, these are two popular ones: William Shatner and Libitina.
The actual show length is about 30 minutes, but I liked all the random topics, that I kept some of them in the first portion. If you like that randomness, stay after the "Common People" and you will be treated to some These Animal Men, Powder, Lush, and Salad. I'm sure none of these bands will be played at Sydney's Britpop Night, as I'm not sure enough people like them.
I'm hoping to have another Britpopcast in a month or so, let me know if you would like to join in on the discussion.
09/05/2009 20:12:16 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
When I first heard the news broke (on CNN hourly podcast), I wasn't all that surprise. Noel have always seem to be the guy in charge of Oasis. Without him, there's simply no Oasis. And the guy is a bit of "it's my way, or the highway!" attitude. I'm not just talking about reading about them, I'm talking about an experience with Noel.That was so yesterday.
By the way, you can see from the signed cover (audio: Slide Away), Noel and Liam's autographs are quite different. Liam is bold and blocky, while Noel's elegant, almost. The two is very different, but when I met them, they didn't seem all fist-a-cuffs. However, I didn't really see them talking to each other all that much. Liam, Bonehead, and Paul McGuigan were talkative, hanging out in front of their Sacramento gig (and no one knew who they were). Yeah, who's missing in that picture?
The best example of how Noel was in control of everything is an interview with Noel on the bonus DVD edition of Stop the Clocks, their "Greatest Hits" compilation. In an interview on the DVD, when asked about the track listing, Noel basically admitted it was entirely hand-picked by him. Supposedly he gave the other band members a chance to throw in their 2-cents, but Liam said, "That's the first time I fookin' seen 'em".
The other videos are the news of Noel leaving Oasis (2009), and Noel admits to leaving Oasis back in 1994/1995 on their first American tour.
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So what do I think? Noel, however rude and jerky he is, I can see them reuniting in the future. I think he just needs to calm down and take a break.We were finished a long time ago, we're just doing it for the money.
08/31/2009 22:42:18 ♥ vu (
)
♥ oasisinet.com ♥ myspace.com/oasis ♥ twitter.com/oasisofficial
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W♥M051 [download (37 min, 18mb)]
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Schnitzel lover, Sally, joins us once again to talk more Britpop! Is there a britpopcast in the future?
Pulp started in 1978, but did not garner fame until His N Hers in 1994, followed by the international hit album, Different Class the following year. "Common People" is perhaps Pulp's biggest, most well-known hit song. By the time This is Hardcore came out, towards the end of the Britpop era, people had become disinterested in the band (although I thought This is Hardcore is a great album).
By 2002, the band released We Love Life and ultimately broke up, however singer and songwriter, Jarvis Cocker continued on by himself. It made sense, really, he was the creative driving force since the very beginning. So far, Cocker released two solo albums, Jarvis (2006) and Further Complications (2009).
Stay tuned after the "Angela" song (which is a free download from jarviscocker.net) for some even more random thoughts: the state of music and the kids, "Sally's music shop", music magazines, and Oasis.
08/16/2009 18:24:58 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
Almost Top of the Pops right now is young 'un La Roux. Here she is trying to recreate the 80s pop sound again, in a suitably VCR quality vid of her Glastonbury appearance not too long ago.
Ooook... and resume. Lily Allen. Love her or, more likely, hate her, Pop's current front woman can hardly be ignored. So hear you go. I'd post some of her Glasto appearance but I think we've had enought of 5 Kbps video for one post... So here's the official vid for "The Fear".
- Christpopher
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I had only seen Razorlight a few weeks previous (click here for review), so no surprises really. Pretty much exactly the same show. Except the drummer seemed to have morphed into a different person (with brilliant facial expressions). On that topic, interestingly enough, the internet has provided me with two interesting pieces of information:
1. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has recently quit the band; and
2. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has a knitting addiction.
Hmm.... i wonder if these two things are related (or true, for that matter).
Anyway, Johnny was maniacally bouncing around, not a lot of talking... or any engagement of the crowd for that matter. To tell you the truth, it was slightly boring. Specifically, I'm talking about the long, self-indulgent rendition of In The City, which went on for about 7 hours (give or take a couple of hours). It's possible though, that it was because I'd seen it all before.
Overall, despite my short attention span, Razorlight do put on an excellent and entertaining performance.
The band i was actually there to see, however, were the Kaiser Chiefs. These guys never disappoint and were true to form. It's simply beautiful, the way in which young (I say young, but secretly hope he's older than me) Ricky Wilson engages the crowd; gets everyone riled up. I thought I was sure to cop a fondle this time (after missing out last time when he "crowd surfed from the stage to the back bar at the Metro theatre) after he was carried him on their shoulders as far as the barrier in the middle of the lower floor of the Enmore and proceeded to "crowd surf" back, but alas... no.
Brilliant show, completely unpretentious. Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob, Good Days Bad Days, Everyday I love You Less and Less, Ruby..... all sing-a-long-able tunes. Ricky getting slowly more trollied as the night went on, culminating in dragging one of the shirtless yobs up on to the stage, only to be hoisted onto his shoulders. Gold. The only unfortunate thing about it was the borderline view of the guys front bits (and the not so borederline view of his arse).... oh and that the drum stick that was aimed at his arse crack by drummer, Nick Hodgson, missed it's target.
I don't know about you, or anyone else, but to me, The Kaiser Chiefs transport me out of Australia, back to England, specifically the Northern half of England. Laid back... with a pint and a sausage butty (*shudder*).... or specifically a seedy student bar in Preston.... but we don't need to go there!
So next time, when you think.... "deary me, $90 for a band", if it's the Kaiser Chiefs... say "Yes, please!".
In case you were wondering, the boys have a few shows coming up...
| 07/04/09 | Singapore, Fort Canning Park |
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| 19/06/09 | Budapest, Hungary, Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena |
| 04/07/09 | Arras, France, Main Square Festival |
| 05/07/09 | Belgium, Werchter Festival |
| 18/07/09 | Norway, slottsfjell festival |
| 24/07/09 | Copenhagen, Denmark, Fredagsrock |
| 28/08/09 | Reading, Reading Festival |
| 30/08/09 | Leeds, Leeds Festival |
For more info and other treats, pop long to their website: http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk
Hang on! What happened to the Temper Trap? Ripped off!
See you later.
Sally
sally@weheartmusic.com
God's Guest List pretty much sums up the band for me, and all the 90s britpop I loved, so take a listen if you've not heard them before. I'll leave Vu to fill in anything else interesting, I mean, I was like 12 in 96, I wasn't paying much attention... except to the Chart Show on ITV and Louise Wener jumping in to swimming pools.
- Chris "oh noes! dead frogs everywhere!" topher.








