December 06, 2007
I want please
One of my favourite bands - The Sword (who, incidentally I'll be going to see in March if Mosh can get tickets) has released an ultra-limited edition 12" package in conjunction with retro outfit Witchcraft. The EP is strictly limited to a pressing of 2500 copies and is available in a variety of colors, including 1000 on (dark) purple, 1000 on (dark) green and 500 on (dark) black. Witchcraft cover Led Zep's 'Immigrant Song', and The Sword air a brand new track - the splendidly-titled 'Sea of Spears'. Tasty. Lovely artwork too. Apparently they've sold out already though. Boo.
October 17, 2007
Why I paid £0.00 for Radiohead's In Rainbows
- Because I could. It's not often you get a *legal* free lunch. Besides, the download 'n' donate model is basically a marketing tool for the upcoming pay-for physical product. So in this context a free 'try before you buy' download is very much in the spirit of the objectives of the promotion.
- To send a message to the majors. Apart from a marketing stunt, this was an exercise in economics - to see what happens when you allow the market to set the price point (in this case ~£4.) Driving down the average price lets the majors know that their current wholesale pricing models are ridiculously over-inflated, and largely responsible for piratical can of worms they've been trying to litigate against over the last seven years or so.
- Music is moving towards becoming free and fungible, so why resist the inevitable?
- Radiohead don't need the money. They're millionaires many times over, so why swell their coffers even further? If they don't need the cash, why not simply give the album away for free? I'd rather support smaller up-and-coming acts with my hard-earned-groats (which I regularly do).
- Radiohead are more evil than you think. Their manager Bryce Edge went on the record in a Music Week article claiming that the download 'n' donate model was a mechanism to drive CD sales, and implied that the audio files were encoded at a low rate to ensure that punters would not receive the full listening experience. He even went so far as to claim that CDs were underpriced and should retail at a premium price point.
- I'm not a big enough Radiohead fan to pay for the album as a CD purchase (though I might rip it from a mate), so why pay anything for it now? That's double standards, surely...
July 24, 2007
Anglian Daze
Eastern Haze was a blast. I wanted to go to a festival this year; ideally one in Suffolk. Latitude wasn't an option because it panders to the belief, harboured by all middle-class Observer-reading London types, that the only place of note in Suffolk is Southwold. Eastern Haze takes place near Lowestoft - which as seaside resorts go has about as much in common with Southwold as Parma ham has with luncheon meat.
I'd say the festy was populated by 80% locals, most of them of an 'alternative' persuasion (these days it's probably hard to find a comparable concentration of travellers and their timber-framed psychedelic transport.) Should probably expect nothing less from a festy run by Roly Wynne - the bassist from Ozric Tentacles no less.
In summary: weather was great, countryside idyllic, punters very friendly. Music policy was diverse and interesting (Ozrics were a bit rubbish tho; the real revelation was The Bootleg Beatles. After years of resistance I finally caved in, sang along and jigged about, and it was bloody marvellous.)
Addendum: I wore a kilt and it seemed to confuse people, resulting in conversations along the lines of:
Are you from Scotland?
No.
Then why are you wearing a kilt?
To help the air circulate.
Oh.
I live in Ireland if that helps.
Do they all wear kilts there?
No.
Oh.
February 15, 2007
Best of '06 part 2
2006 saw the release of some awesome music. In order this time, my top albums (based on heaviness of rotation) were:
1. Sahg: Sahg Vol.1
2. Negura Bunget: Om
3. Enslaved: Ruun
4. Solitude Aeturnus: Alone
5. Celtic Frost: Monotheist
6. Daylight Dies: Dismantling Devotion
7. Keep of Kalessin: Armada
8. I: Between Two Worlds
9. Comets on Fire: Avatar
10. Sunn O))) & Boris: Altar
June 08, 2006
Review: 'Monotheist' by Celtic Frost
Monotheist
10/10
Review: 'Dismantling Devotion' by Daylight Dies
Dismantling Devotion
A free download of 'All We Had' is available from Darkdose.com - Jesse Haff's (Daylight Dies drummer) MP3 blog.
9/10
Review: 'Age of Winters' by The Sword
Didn’t know what to expect from The Sword
8.5/10
June 06, 2006
Sunn O))) in NYT
An extremely generous portrait of Sunn O))) from John Wray, writing for the New York Times. Long but well worth reading - it provides insights into both the emergence of a metal avant garde, and a history / profile of Sunn O))) lynchpins Anderson and O'Malley.
May 22, 2006
Urge
The Urge music service from MTV and Microsoft has launched. Unsurprisingly the service is not iPod-compatible:
"Music you download or purchase from URGE is in Windows Media Audio (WMA) format and protected by the Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) software which is not compatible with the iPod. Apple has currently only made the iPod compatible with another format called AAC."
Duh. Last time I looked iPod had a 79% market share. Go ahead Urge and squabble with Connect et al over the remaining 21%. But I think this device will make a huge impact, because it resolves the AAC/WMA incompatibility issues by supporting both. And will likely penetrate the market because (a) it's also - shock - a phone and (b) it's cost will be subsidised by MNOs, thereby giving it a price-point in competition with stand-alone MP3 players.
May 09, 2006
Get the Habit
For me, a near-perfect pairing: the genius Lord Yatesbury Arch Drude Julian Cope and the sub-bass drone ipssissimi that are Sunn O))), playing live in Brussels. To quote JC:
"We performed a piece snappily entitled ‘Habit’, whose libretto described minutely the departure of the Viking fleet and all their preparations for their attack on the monastery on Lindisfarne, from their base on Zealand at the confluence of the rivers Varby and Tudea."
Watch the video here (entitled 'Sunn O))) - day 1'.)
March 30, 2006
Arcturus: best band ever
After a relatively crap day (might not have job for much longer, tsunami of water poured out the ceiling at home) I put on Arcturus's 'The Sham Mirror' at full blast and finally realised what an potent, unhinged masterpiece it is. I can't really begin to describe its awesomeness - just listen to it for yourself. Their sound shouldn't work on paper: it's a deranged crucible of pomp-rock, black metal, prog, baroque piano scales, Justin Hawkins-style falsettos and hawkwindesque sound fx. But it does work, and sounds (to my jaded ears) like the freshest, most original, genre-defying music ever. It was the perfect antidote to a dreadful day. And for that alone I hail them Best Band Ever.
December 01, 2005
Review: The Young Gods
Can I just say that the Young Gods rule? I can? Oh good. The Young Gods Rule. Matt, Strauss and I went to see them at Fibbers last Sunday as part of their 20th anniversary tour, and we were blown away. For anyone who still finds it hard to accept that great rock music can be made with samplers rather than guitars, go see this band live and have all your purist preoccupations shattered.
I've rarely heard any band sound quite so potent and elemental, or move so effortlessly between industrial metal, techno, ambience, classical and avant-garde noise. The highlight was without doubt their cover of Gary Glitter's Did You Miss Me (has to be heard to be believed.) And the only real let-down was the omission of Longue Route from the set list (despite the crowd baying for it.) Still, as Matt so sagely pointed out - one of the best gigs of the year.
October 12, 2005
New iPod
Q: What happens when you buy two new iPod Nanos from the San Francisco Apple store?
A: Apple announce a new iPod 24 hours later.
Bugger.
October 06, 2005
Maelstrom update
I've managed to find some time to get flyers designed for Maelstrom. They've been sent to the printers and should start appearing around York in a few days. Click here to see what they'll look like. PS the party is three days after my birthday so y'all have to come along and celebrate with me.
October 03, 2005
Maelstrom
Been wanting to organise a Halloween party for ages and suddenly it's happening. It's at the Judges Lodgings bar on Friday October 28th; we've got the entire bar area and back room, so lots of dry ice is going to be required. The party is fancy dress with a Blade / The Crow theme - so fangs, corpsepaint and lots of black is the order of the day. Music policy will be varied, from house and techno to classic goth and metal. Here's the poster; I'll be putting flyers together this week. Email me if you want to know more.
September 26, 2005
Spaces & Places
Spaces & Places is a one-off extravaganza at the Electowerkz, London, on Friday October 21st. Bit of a York-London soundclash (Tim Wright, Vector Lovers, Freakin representing the north; The Chap, Cursor Miner and Delta-9 waving the flag for the south.) Check out the Monoman-designed flyer here (front) and here (back.) Come along and meet the dark superstars.
September 20, 2005
Rude not to
Once upon a time someone attended the Future of Music Policy Summit in Washington. During a panel session on "Guiding Artists Through Tremendous Change"...
"...The R.E.M. manager decried all P2P as stealing. In the middle of his rant I began downloading the entire R.E.M. discography over the campus wireless network. I didn't want the music. I just wanted the irony."
Well, it would be rude not to wouldn't it?
September 14, 2005
The Black Metal Dialogues
This is most excellent. An email dialogue between comedian Dave Hill (masquerading as Lance - king of black metal and 19-year-old front man for blackest-of-the-black black metal band Witch Taint, and Mathias (aka Saiihtam, of real-life industrial black metal band Mysticum.) Best quote (from Saiihtam):
"In a perfect world, black metal would exist totally in the mind (as it does with me much of the time). we would hear the black sounds pouring through our brain as we sit in darkness (or maybe there could be a torch nearby). this is true black metal."
I'm off to burn my Burzum CDs now...
September 11, 2005
Review: 'Ghost Reveries' by Opeth
This new release sees Opeth almost entirely forsake their death metal roots in favour of a thoroughly progressive rock sound. In some places it’s reminiscent of the likes of The Mars Volta; in others – particularly the vocal harmonies – it is positively poppy. As always, the tracks are generally epic in length, multi-textured, and displaying some virtuoso guitar performances. Opeth sound more inventive than ever, and each track is bursting with ideas; there’s a constant danger of the band exhibiting an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach, but an overwhelming strength of vision and sense of purpose maintains the focus. Overall, the Opeth sound is less ‘blackened’ and more accessible than previous outings and, while some tracks teeter on the brink of prog-noodling indulgence, 'Ghost Reveries'
September 06, 2005
Review: 'God the Lux' by Vesania
Discussions elsewhere have mused on the source of BM's next wave, with many regarding Eastern Europe as a likely contender. On the strength of the new opus entitled God the Lux
August 23, 2005
Moor Music
Some friends organised the Moor Music festival last weekend. It was a huge logistical effort, but the atmosphere, professionalism and weather made it a success (I had a great time anyway.) Also, the setting was incredible - high up on Addingham Moorside overlooking Rombald's Moor. Best bits included Freakin, Tim Wright, Mishkin and Jake getting a soaking. Respect to everyone involved - here are some of my photos, and here are some from another happy punter.
August 14, 2005
BM Photo Archive
This archive of classic BM photos is corpsepaint-tastic, and contains ample evidence that BM is nothing to be scared of. Found at Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic.
March 26, 2005
Kaiser Chiefs Convert
Saw the Kaiser Chiefs at Slim's in San Francisco and they were blindingly good. I went with my cynical head on, expecting yet another bunch of here-today, gone-tomorrow Franz Ferdinand wanabees, but the Chief's converted me to their cause. Not only were the songs immediately catchy; they were also enthusiastically and tightly performed. The between-song banter by Ricky was also very funny - particularly when Peanut's keyboards broke down. They performed 'I Predict a Riot' without him, then played it again as soon as the engineer had made everything work again (despite the drummer protesting: 'no, let's move on.') They've got spirit and energy - and a cool guitarist. And they're from Leeds - so they deserve greatness.
November 24, 2004
John Peel Postscript
After John Peel, my other favourite Englishman is Julian Cope. So who better to provide a final eulogy?
"I always believed John would continue Methuselah-like into his 90s and die peacefully in his sleep. The tragedy of John Peel’s going is that his was a take-me-for-granted role, that of someone we could count on always; a healing continuing force for the greater cultural good. Like Robert Graves, Colin Wilson and Frank Zappa, Peel was a cultural constant whose work we could not always appreciate because it was so damned ongoing that its value could never be judged until he was no longer around. The tragedy of Peel’s death is that one of culture’s greatest Facilitators has just stopped facilitating, and the music world will suffer (and in some places wither) accordingly. My Album of the Month pays homage to John Peel and his enduring influence over generations of British rock’n’rollers. But right now it’s important to send love to his family as well."
Read the entire Address Druidon here.
November 12, 2004
Goodbye John Peel
I attended John Peel's funeral today, in my home town of Bury St Edmunds, and was lucky enough to get a seat inside the cathedral for the ceremony. It was extremely moving, particularly at the start when applause from the crowd outside echoed around the quiet church, heralding the arrival of John's coffin. At the end of the ceremony, after so many others had spoken, John's own voice was broadcast over the PA, followed by a crowd chanting "You'll Never Walk Alone." And finally, as "Teenage Kicks" played, the cathedral doors opened and his coffin was carried outside, to be greeted with cheers from the crowd beyond. It was a fitting tribute. Goobye John Peel.
The public queue for entry to the cathedral
November 10, 2004
PodSkinz
These are cool: clip-on covers for iPod, designed by the likes of Neck.CNSkillz (me like paint drips.)
November 05, 2004
Carbon/Silicon
Motivated to post for the first time in ages, thanks to Carbon/Silicon: the new "supergroup" fronted by Tony James and Mick Jones. If the last thing you remember of Tony James is his MSX bowler hat and frightwig from the Sigue Sigue Sputnik days, take a look here: now he looks like a cross between Barefoot Doctor and Tony Robinson. You can download an MP3 of Niteclub Etiquette here. Sounds like a pub band doing BAD. The lyrics are rite-on though (ahem):
i believe in MP3
i believe in P2P
i just burnt my own CD
the day the music was free......
in the 21st century - the day the music was free!....
I believe in P 2 P..............supersharers...
A billion downloads can't be wrong...
A billion people heard my song....
So, Goodbye Mr Copyright...
the fame will keep me up all night..
I just surfed right down your street
sampled your tune, borrowed your beat
that's the way the bytes go round
they make the revolution sound...
Shakespeare, Michael Angelo
Had no corporation Hos
Def to majors, their lawyers suck
Now people don't give a fuck!
in the 21st century -
the day the music was free!....
AaaaaaaH, save KaZaa.....
August 06, 2004
Bulletproof Bitmunk
Bitmunk is very cool. It's a P2P digital file marketplace, where users can acquire DRM-free music directly from artists, in any format. Better still, users get a royalty percentage for every track re-distributed from their network node (depending on rules set up by the rights owner.)
Bitmunk allows any artist to list their songs for sale, associating a royalty with each song or album. No matter who sells the work on Bitmunk, the artist always gets the royalty deposited directly into their bank account. Anybody can re-sell the files thus ensuring that every artist always has the option of a mass distribution channel.
"There is no such thing as an illegal file on Bitmunk," said Dave Longley, CTO of Digital Bazaar, "Every file on our network has been cleared by the artist for sale". This ensures that anybody re-selling the file on Bitmunk is allowed to do so and collect a fee for providing the song on the network.
I saw a prototype C2C content marketplace over P2P a couple of years ago, but it didn't get out of the lab. The added sweet-spot for Bitmunk is the super-distribution business model, which is inspired. They're basically creating a marketplace not just for content, but also for rights. The notion of a distributed content marketplace is what Kendra has been trying to achieve for some time; now it looks like Bitmunk has done it, albeit over P2P.
July 20, 2004
Ambushed
Respect to everyone who was involved in organising Ambush - probably the best mini-festival I've ever been to. And special thanks must go to Mick and Sal, who set up the Cloudbase stage, drove me there and back, allowed me to play three sets, and tolerated my not-strictly-chillout tune selection. Some photos from the day (not the best quality - taken on a P800) are opposite.
July 14, 2004
Connect expansion plans
This is interesting, particularly as Apple has tended to deny any plans for development of a video iPod (and, comcomitantly, a VoD version of iTunes.) Nevertheless, these days content is no longer king - instead, value lies in the service that encapsulates it; an unusable service renders the content effectively value-less. So Sony will need to dramatically improve Connect's user experience before consumers attempt to purchase video, or music for that matter, from it.