Album for today… Mission of Burma – Vs [1982]
Published: August 27th, 2010 in Music Reviews
Stewart Lee‘s excellent new book How I escaped My Certain Fate, The Lives and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian takes the first part of its title from a song by American post-punk band Mission of Burma. The comedian recently delivered his own version of that song (“That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate”), backed by Franz Ferdinand, to close a special gig at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. My acquaintance with Mission of Burma had been almost non-existent up until that moment. I tracked down both 1981′s Signals, Calls and Marches and Vs from 1982 and was immediately very glad that I had. Comparisons with The Clash are probably inevitable and the band’s influence on later artists such as Nirvana, R.E.M. and the Throwing Muses is easy to see. Vs is an enthralling and cathartic 53 minutes which still sounds as vital in 2010 as it must have done in 1982.
Eyjafjallajökull
Published: July 28th, 2010 in Misc.
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland seems to have quietened down over recent weeks. You can check how things are currently, via a couple of webcams set up by Mila, a telecommunications company based in Reykjavík. Cam footage at http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-hvolsvelli.
Time-lapse video has provided me with some of my most memorable cinematic/TV moments. From Ron Fricke’s wonderful Baraka, Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi or the sequences seen in many of David Attenborough’s BBC wildlife documentaries. Have a look at this beautiful Sean Stiegemeier film, shot in Iceland in the area surrounding Eyjafjallajökul during the more active phase of the current eruptive cycle. Music is by Jónsi of Sigur Rós fame.
Theresa Andersson. Fun with loop pedals.
Published: July 14th, 2010 in Misc.
Just click the triangular play button …. you’ll be glad you did.
Proper release for Dark Night of the Soul
Published: July 13th, 2010 in Music Reviews
After a lengthy legal dispute between EMI records and the artist Danger Mouse, his collaborative album (with Mark Linkous, AKA Sparklehorse and David Lynch …. yes, that one) Dark Night of the Soul [link] has finally been given a proper release. It featured in my list of favourite albums of last year and this release may give me an excuse to repeat it in this year’s list too. Given the title of the record and the fact that both Mark Linkous and guest vocalist Vic Chesnutt committed suicide within the last year you might be forgiven for dismissing it as being rather bleak. While there is certainly a searching introspective undercurrent throughout, the record is also inspiringly beautiful.
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Album for today… Shearwater – Rook [2008]
Published: July 9th, 2010 in Music Reviews
I first heard these songs around 6 months ago and they promptly got lost among the playlists I was going through at the time in order to compile my Festive 50. However, I’m now on my 3rd listen of the week. Shearwater are from Austin, Texas and Rooks was their 5th album release. You could characterise them as melancholic indie rockers with a taste for the baroque and a liking for unconventional instruments. The most startling facet of this album is the vocal delivery of singer, Jonathan Meiburg. He’s been described as being like a cross between Antony Hegarty and Jeff Buckley and his lyrics lend a slight otherworldliness to this brilliant album. Below this short article I’m pasting a 4 track video (originally from NPR Music) by the band.
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