No TV and No XBox make something something

So without a TV and XBox this week (I have sold them to make spondoolicks for travelling) I’ve had to revert to other things. I know, it sounds like hell. I mean, all this fresh air and activities I have to do are just awful… well… all this listening to new music is awful. It does get a bit tiring sometimes, and I would love to just flick on the teev and watch something.

Anyway, I have not been partaking in extracurricular activities this week, I’ve just been listening to new music. Oh and I started reading Watchmen. Saw the movie a couple of weeks ago and liked it but didn’t think it was that great. A quarter of the way into the comic/novel (?) I must say it’s so much better. Makes a lot more sense in comic form. So here is what I have listened to and enjoyed in the past week or so.

1. Scraps of Tape – Both Read Between The Lines At All Times and This Is A Copy Is This A Copy. Kind of mellow rock stuff from Sweden. Really seems to be a lot coming out of Sweden lately. And not just the usual pop crap. Just checked out their website here and they’ve a new album out tomorrow! Grand Letdown, must get my hands on it.

Hands In Air

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! I’ve always liked the song ‘Maps’ by these guys but could never get into them any further. This new albums actually pretty good. It reminds of what I thought Fight Like Apes should have done.

Hysteric

3. All Your Gardening Needs – Picked up a few random tracks. Some weird ambient, esoteric shit from Brazilian producer Tiago Casagrande. Good for an oul drift and stare into space.

Bet You’ll Like Me

4. My Dad vs Yours – Again just a couple of tracks for these guys. They make the sort of music that I could just listen to for hours and not realise I’ve done nothing but listen to them for hours. Guitar based melo-drama of erotic proportions.

In My Arms We Shall Begin

5. Adebisi Shank – The track You Me is all I can find at the moment. Really need to get some more of these guyses music. They’re like a fucked up Redneck Manifesto. Great song.

You Me

6. pg.lost – Track Yes I Am I really need to find more from this Swedish (see???) band. As they describe themselves: “An orchestra of the heart, a playground for the long lost sporadic thoughts of giving in or getting back.” I couldn’t say it any better.

Yes I Am

7. The final band I had down for this is a band called ‘The Flouride Program‘, they have a song that is brilliant, White Sweat but then they have this other song called Hands and I know I’ve heard that same chord progression, played the same way in a different song but I can’t think where. It’s really annoying me. Can anyone shed some light???

White Sweat

Hands

Podcast No. 2 Feb 2009

The second of my two podcasts for February now. This is just a collection of what I’ve been listening to and enjoying over the past month, apart from the Choice Music people. Most of it has been blogged about, some of it hasn’t.

Enjoy

Tracklist

1. Dan Deacon – Snookered
2. Neon Neon – I Told Her on Alderaan
3. Bat For Lashes – Glass
4. Upcdowncleftcrightcabc+start – McDoomish
5. NewVillager – Rich Doors
6. Bell X1 – The Curtains are Twitchin’
7. Antony & The Johnsons – The Cripple and the Starfish
8. The Flaming Lips – Anything You Say Now I Believe You
9. Ash – Lose Control
10. Little Boots – Stuck on Repeat
11. David Bowie – Heroes

Listen Here:

Dowload Here:

Clemsounds – Podcast No. 2 Feb 2009.mp3

Podcast – Choice Music Prize

I’ve decided to do two podcasts this month to go along with the Choice Music Prize theme. All the reviews can be found here. So for the first here is 11 of my favorite tracks, 1 from each album, of the Choice Music Prize Nominees. It’s bookended by the champion jockey himself, Mr. Richie Egan, Jape.

Enjoy

Tracklist

1. Jape – I Was A Man
2. The Script – Rusty Halo
3. Lisa Hannigan – I Don’t Know
4. RSAG – Moving Image
5. David Holmes – The Ballad of Sarah & Jack
6. Messiah J & The Expert – The Predicament
7. Halfset – A Place To Stay
8. Fight Like Apes – Lumpy Dough
9. Mick Flannery – Wait Here
10. Oppenheimer – Take The Whole Mid Range and Boost It
11. Jape – Strike Me Down

Listen Here:

Download Here:

Choice Music Prize.mp3

The Bad Plus – For All I Care

Have just heard a few tracks off this album. Absolutely stunning! They’ve added a new member in the form of vocalist, Wendy Lewis. There seems to be more cover versions than before (maybe to accomodate the vocals) but my are they stunning. As I think I’ve made clear before, I’m not a fan of U2, but this version of ‘New Years Day’ is special. The drum solo to begin is possibly the best single piece of drumming ever performed, suck on that Larry Mullen!

Choice Music Prize Reviews

Well my attempt at reviewing all the Choice Music Prize albums before the awards show last night, failed miserably. I knew I’d left it too late when I started, I just didn’t have the time to do a review every day. Nevertheless I think I’ll still review the final 3 albums that I missed, Oppenheimer, RSAG and The Script (*shudder*), over the coming days.

Part of the reason I haven’t had time this week is due to the fact that I’m emigrating to Australia, forever! So with that in a few weeks I think I’ve kind of decided to finish with this blog when I leave. I’ll keep posting here when I’ve time but once I’m gone I’ll be travelling a lot and probably won’t have internet access and the whole scope of the blog (Irish music) will be lost. I’m toying with the idea of a travel blog like my good mate Danbhala, but who knows. When I settle though I’ll probably start up something new, just with a different accent.

Anyway, HUGE congrats to Jape for winning last night. 100% deserves it for making a truly great album. I’m glad my prediction of Fight Like Apes didn’t come to pass (I swear they get worse the more I hear them). I’ve heard the next Jape album is well under way so looking forward to that, and of course Richie’s work with The Redneck Manifesto is always a delight.

Jape With His Giant "Butt Plug"

Choice Music Prize ~ Messiah J & The Expert – From The Word Go

Messiah J & The Expert - From The Word Go

This isn’t really my style of music to be honest. I can’t find much talent in someone that can string random words together really fast to a generic beat. The closest I’ve ever got to liking ‘rap’ was way back in the early 90’s with Bodycount. From The Word Go however, breathes new life into a stagnant genre.

Although a little corny lyric-wise at times, and I do find it hard to listen to an Irish person rap, generally this is a good album. It’s the production effort that makes it a good album. I think this music, with any sort of lyrics over it, would still sound good.

I’ve spoken recently about witty lyrics with Bell X1 and Jape, and how good they’ve made their two respective ablums. MJEX have tried to do this but they just havn’t got close to being as good. There’s something too lose about some of the lyrics, they do make me wince at times. Almost like their trying too hard to be witty. In saying that, when the wit is abandoned and seriousness takes over there is talent there. The lyrics in ‘The Predicament’ are excellent and are delivered in a manner that makes you sit up and listen.

‘Panic Station’ is another excellently written piece. A middle aged crisis themed song. I don’t know if it’s the lyrics or the themes that make it good, but it’s good nonetheless.

The music is the best part of the album by far. Excellently constructed and produced. It pulls from all genres, dub, hip hop, rock, electronica and it’s all put together expertly. Listening to it makes me think so much time was put into every detail. The layers of every single part of every song are glued together with precision.

For an Irish ‘rap’ album, this is an excellent effort, but I’m not a rap fan and Irish ‘rap’ doesn’t have a future, no matter how hard it’s pushed. It will always be seen as the bottom of the pile, the talentless rejects genre. That’s not an insult to MJEX, it’s just true. From The Word Go is a good album and probably won’t be bettered for a long time, genre-wise.

Gerography is a weird song and I think sums up the album. Excellent production, bizarre half-wit(ty) lyrics, so here it is

Tomorrow: Oppenheimer – Take The Whole Mid-Range and Boost It

Choice Music Prize ~ Jape – Ritual

Jape - Ritual

If you’ve read my previous review of this album here, you’ll know I already love it. The great thing is: I still love it. For me this is the album of the year. I mentioned previously that “I’m hearing new sounds with each listen”, I’m still hearing new sounds 8 months later! In particular there’s a sound in ‘Strike Me Down’, that kicks in at about 2 mins 45 that sounds like a sleepy Jaws snorty ever so slighty. It’s so subtle but spine tingling all the same. I only noticed that the other day. This sort of trait is what made OK Computer so great.

Form the get go Ritual kicks ass. Punchy beats, punchy guitars and punchy lyrics consistent from start to finish. In fact the album opens with possibly it’s weakest track, a risky manouvre but one that pays off. Not that ‘Christopher and Anthony’ is a bad song, just it’s not as good as the others. It’s followed by ‘I Was A Man’, a fabulous tune with some of the best one liners to ever be recorded.

There is not one single moment while listening to this album that I want to hear the next song. The current song is always brilliant, I want it to last forever.

Aside from the brilliant punchiness (?) of this album, it’s accented with beauty. ‘Phil Lynott’, ‘At The Heart Of All This Strangeness’ and ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ are superb pauses from the madness. Positioned perfectly to keep the mood going. There’s just no words to describe how good this album has been written, constructed and performed. I’m jealous. How can a shockingly bad album by U2 get more attention than this? Richie is miles ahead in every aspect except in attempts to save the world.

This IS the best album of the year, by far. Buuuuuttt I’m tempted to put money on it not winning 🙂

So you can hear that bone crunching sound (2:45 in), Strike Me Down

Tomorrow: Messiah J & The Expert – From The Word Go

Choice Music Prize ~ David Holmes – The Holy Pictures

When you hear a album released under one persons name there is a certain sound that you expect nowadays. Something along the lines of Lisa Hannigan or Mick Flannery.That’s exactly what I expected from David Holmes’ The Holy Pictures. Oh what a fantastic surprise I was in for.

Maybe, at a stretch, sometime in the 80’s this would have been expected from a solo artist, I’m thinking Gary Numan here, but this is different. This is more the illegitimate offspring of Gary Numan and Frank Black of the Pixies. There is such a lush, layered, electronic-ness to this album. It sits in darkness throughout guided by luminous bass lines. This is particularly shown off in the opener ‘I Heard Wonders’.

The mix of electronic sounds and dirty, heaving guitars is brilliant and to top it off there’s a nice spattering of high pitched, glockenspiel(like) sounds that just add a completely different dimension. Despite this, and an uncommon achievement in this genre, is that there is a great sense of melody throughout the album. Despite the heavy guitars and mush there’s a always a catchy tune on top.

‘Holy Pictures’ and ‘Melanie’ hold up the middle of the album just as it starts to wain. The latter pushing with a head boppin’ drum beat and driving bassline that sums up the album.

A mostly instrumental album, whenever there are vocals present they fit in so well that they’re almost like another instrument. I would’ve liked to hear the songs being devloped a bit more. Taken into new territory instead of just having an intro, establish tune and end scenario.

The best of this album is saved for last. After listening to this heavy style of mushiness, album closer ‘The Ballad of Sarah & Jack’, completely changes your perspective. Based on a simple piano melody, it’s such a different sound but yet an amazingly fitting end to a great album.

Probably doesn’t stand a chance for this award, but very worthy of it.

Best example of the album I Heard Wonders

Tomorrow: Jape – Ritual

Thundercats

All I can say is ‘WOW!!!’. I would love for this to come true!

Whoever made this should be more important than a guy that makes fake movie trailers.

Edgar Allen Poe

This is awesome! I found it in a bunch of audio books I got of Mr. Poe’s work. Don’t know who’s reading it but it just sounds brilliant!

Edgar Allen Poe – The Conqueror Worm