http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 20 Jul 2004 18:06:08 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/20/180608.php Simon BThe Mercury Music Prize - doomed forever to be lumbered with the name of a defunct teleco - has announced its shortlist for the 2004 award. And if that doesn't sound like a very exciting introduction, the actual list itself is even duller - although not without its highlights:Amy Winehouse Frank Basement Jaxx Kish Kash Belle & Sebastian Dear Catastrophe Waitress Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand Jamelia Thank You Joss Stone The Soul Sessions Keane Hopes and Fears Robert Wyatt Cuckooland Snow Patrol Final Straw The Streets A Grand Don't Come for Free Ty Upwards The Zutons Who Killed... The ZutonsFrom the top, then, we've got Whiney Almshouse, a stablemate of the Spice Girls, delivering the sort of polite jazz that your local church senior's group would condemn as being a little too tame; Basement Jaxx's not entirely satisfactory house party - featuring a surprisingly sprightly Siouxsie Sioux cameo; Belle & Sebastian's supposed "breakthrough" album - although for a band like B&S, every extra piece of critical praise undermines their whole pitch of being more left field than a bunch Communists making camp; Franz Ferdinand's sprightly debut - probably the best album to make the short list, and certainly the early favourite, which means almost certainly it won't win - and, equally certainly, they'll get a consolation prize in a few years for a less striking release; Jamelia, this year's "rising home-grown R&B talent" - we believe she doesn't actually have the words "see also: Shola Ama, Samantha Mumba" tattooed on her arse, but she might as well have; Joss Stone, who has surely used up the five minutes of wonderment generated by being That Girl Singing Jazzlite Who Covered The White Stripes and then some; Keane, who start out with the not entirely inspiring "influenced by Coldplay" tag but somehow rise above it; Robert Wyatt, who would almost certainly pummell me into a thin paste if he caught me calling him The Grand Old Man of British Curmudgeon Agit-Prop; Snow Patrol's most recent attempt to differentiate themselves from other, similar acts - most people still don't know their Elbow from their Patrol; Mike Skinner's engaging street-rap concept album; Ty's largely-ignored-outside-his-genre London braggard rap and The Zutons, this year's quirky scouse offerings.Oddly, this year, nothing classical has been deemed worthy of the shortlist, which might mean that either the judges have got pissed off with being ridiculed for including a token title from the little side-room of the megastore every year, or else they've just sniffily decided that nothing good enough has been produced.So, winners? Franz probably deserve it, but the way the Mercury runs means The Streets has got to be in with the best shout. Not only does A Grand sound like a coherent album, it's attempted to provide some sort of structure and shows a fairly innovative approach to getting round the usual problem for rap acts - how can you still sing about life on the street for your post-success album when you've moved up to First Class and VIP areas? Skinner's soap-opera-as-album could earn a prize as a just reward for dealing with that one. Music17658@blogcritics.org Tue, 20 Jul 2004 18:06:08 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/26/162534.php Simon BAfter the Jubilee concerts, the Royalists took great comfort in the huge turn out - "people have come out in their thousands; it proves how much the British people love their Royal Family", they concluded. So what do we make of the enormous numbers who thronged the Mall for the pop concert to mark, erm, the Olympic Torch being rushed by on its way to Greece: that, despite a few flirtations with battery torches and camping gas stoves, the Brits still have a deep-seated affection for, and fascination with, fire?The event itself was as awful as you might expect - Rachel Stevens' Some Girls is a great pop single (not as great as her last one, but it's still fine), but she came on looking like she'd decided to have an extra hour in bed instead of getting her hair done, and the camera work was dreadful. She was being backed, it seemed, by a Tribute To the Dove Soap Advert, and when they tried to do an Indian goddess style big finish, instead of getting the effect, the camera was on their side, so it looked more like a nasty spillage outside a prosthetic factory.Worse was to come, though, as the big finish was Rod Stewart and either it was the cast of Tonight's The Night (the piss-poor Ben Elton scripted Stewart musical), or else a hen party organiser with a charge card from Ann Summers had wandered on stage. Nothing wrong with Rod, of course, except when he decides to do something from his songbook that even 80s era Eton John would have sent back as too cheesey. He kicks in. It's Sailing. Why? Why? Although they do have sailing in the Olympics, maybe that was the thinking behind it? Come to that, why was Rod the best they could find? Admittedly, Macca's tied up down Somerset doing his Glasto thing, but surely they could have found someone more... enticing? (Maybe Elton?) If this was meant to be part of the attempt to drag the Olympics to London in 2012, those of us who think trying to attract a cash-guzzling security and logistical nightmare to the UK capital need not worry - in a head to head with Paris, being noted as the country which can just about scrape together Ozzy Osbourne and Rod Stewart and call it a party is going to make France a shoo-in. Music16855@blogcritics.org Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:25:34 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/12/143308.php Simon BMichael Jackson will be pleased, on returning to the BBC for the top job, to discover that some parts of his Late Show grand projet still remain, like the remains of a greater civilisation. It's a coincidence that the two surviving chunks of the old cultural warhorse - The Newsnight Review (nee The Late Review) and Later... With Jools Holland - now hunker down next to each other at the twilight end of BBC Two's Friday schedule, much as they used to do on Thursday nights when both were in their infancy. Newsnight Review occasionally touches on new releases, and last night's show sampled The Killer's album, but it's not entirely clear why: Germaine Greer hardly strikes me as someone who keeps her CD rack topped up with new releases, and as such, her dismissal of the album came across less the sort of knowledgeable dissection of the subject ballet and movies receive on the programme; more a parent asking that the noise be turned down. There is room on television for an intelligent music review programme, but Newsnight Review isn't really the place for it.Nor, of course, is Later... With Jools Holland, which is now in its 390th series. There's some suggestion that the programme has worn out its welcome a little now, and while nobody would want to see it axed for the sake of it, it does give off a feeling of being just a bit grating. The opening titles, of Jools pointing at pictures of The Great Acts of series past, should only be watched alone as they appear to have been specially designed to raise the desire of the audience to punch someone repeatedly; the swirl-around-as-all-the-bands jam would work as a way of introducing the bands if Jools didn't then dance around the studio and do it all over again; and then, of course, there's been the attempts to lend the show some atmosphere by having an audience of celebs and hangers-on. When the programme started, there wasn't this strange bunch of figures hovering at the edges, like a cross between woodland creatures peering from the fringes of the forest and a Top of the Pops during the fuel crisis, and it really doesn't make the show any better having them there. Whistle Test got some really great performances simply by not having any audience at all - for a lot of artists used to grandstanding, taking away the gallery they're usually playing to sets them free to give the show of their lives. Other programmes, with a proper audience, at least manage to build up a sense of feedback and connection. Later's halfway measure doesn't do anything - a few chums and a couple of sub-Hello faces creates the feeling that the band are doing a quick turn at their secretary's leaving do and hardly brings out the best in anyone. Worse, it gives Jools an excuse to do some interviews with the faces who've turned up - so in this edition, we got to hear from Edith Bowman and Colin Murray - Bowman, with her homecut fringe and gardener's shirt looking more and more like the daughter Harold Steptoe never had; Murray coming across like the husband she'd got married beneath herself to.Still, there's always the music, and even a mixed bag guarantees some delights. If you can ignore Jet - it's easy to forget in fingering them as a feral Oasis that they also have horrifying spells of sounding like Lenny Kravitz, and Charlie Musslewhite and Eric Bibb - sorry, if Chris Rea is busy, why not just leave the slot empty? - there's a lot here to enjoy: Hope of The States sounding like a melodic Cardiacs; Donna Summer, looking a great advert for either homophobic uberChristianity or Dr. Scalpel's No Questions Asked Face Boutique, and sounding wonderful despite being pressganged into Jool's contractual 'I'm playing the piano' piece; and Toot and the Maytals, who must spend an awful lot of time wondering why the world embraced the Wailers instead of their superior sound.Oh, and I know this is probably heresy, but Bebel Gilberto looks rather over smug for someone who appears to be doing little more than singing Agadoo in Portuguese.Maybe it's time the show gave itself a bit of an overhaul; the lets-do-the-show-right-here gimmicks that were so charming in the first series sit awkwardly with the flogging of DVDs and Cds and the whole cottage industry grown up round the show. Music16472@blogcritics.org Sat, 12 Jun 2004 14:33:08 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/05/25/181648.php Simon BHow hard up are the team behind Tonight With Trevor McDonald that they'd hand the whole of ITV's flagship current affairs show to the Osbournes to continue flogging Sharon's fly-attracting dead horse of turning them into something between the Royals and the Osmonds?Half an hour of Jack and Kelly droning on about their addictions would have been hard to get through without a can or two of Bud under normal circumstances, but for some reason Jack was put in charge of the programme. The trouble is that as a screen presence, the Osbourne fils lacks a little: he's totally unable to deliver a line to camera; as an interviewer he... um... managed to sound... uh, more... clouded than the recovering drug addicts he spoke to; and the tale he had to tell was, well, meaningless.Yeah, doubtless there are parents who need to keep a closer eye on what their kids are up to, but Tonight and Jack O dressed the tales of the Osbourne's fuck-ups as a warning to all the UK's parents - because, you know, maybe your kids, too, will be like Kelly: out in a nightclub in the middle of LA knocking back vodka to feel loved and wanted. Happens all the time in Ormskirk. Hilariously, it hadn't seemed to occur to anyone, anywhere in the production process that The Osbournes aren't an archetypal family, and their situation isn't really the same as that of a one-parent family on a sink estate in the North of England whose kid is pinching their telly to flog for a fix. Kelly, for example, suggested the reason she got into drugs was because she found it hard living in Beverley Hills and not wanting to drive a BMW. You could hear the teens in Easterhouse nodding and saying "that is my story, too."But it wasn't just dire warnings of the risks of letting your kids out on the Strip - Jack and Kelly are angry, too. In the States, explained Kells, there are twelve-step programs everywhere, and everybody knows when they meet. But, revealed her brother, there's only one twelve step programme for teenagers in the whole of the United Kingdom. Like this was shocking. Again, there was no attempt to ponder why this might be, and - more disturbingly - there was no attempt to offer an exploration of if the twelve step route is the most fitting, or explain the hundreds of alternatives that are on offer. We can't help wondering if the Osbournes had been "rehabbed" by some organisation that looked even more culty if the once-mighty Granada production team would have been equally happy for them to be given a large unquestioning chunk of screen time. [We know the 12 step works for some people; but we're equally aware of some serious criticisms of it - the average viewer of Tonight would have been left unaware].And, of course, there were Sharon and Ozzy, pulled out again to mumble and fumble (him) and grandstand (her). A terrible, terrible programme all round - doesn't anyone in TV have the guts to do the Osbournes a kindness and let them all slink back off into anonymity? Music15978@blogcritics.org Tue, 25 May 2004 18:16:48 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/05/03/075541.php Simon BFrom time to time, The South Bank Show, ITV's wafer-thin grip on its promises to cover the arts, manages to succeed both in terms of what it would like to do (covering a subject with some depth) and what the channel bosses would prefer it concentrated on doing (reporting about someone the usual ITV viewer might have heard of). Last night's edition of the programme - now sponsored by Barclay's Private Banking - was one where it pulled off the trick.Of course, having Melvyn Bragg interview Jeanette Winterson was a mix that couldn't go wrong; the two are cut from the same cloth: Winterson deeply rooted in the north of England, roving over the hills above Accrington where she would go as a girl, to try and escape her mother (not easy - someone had presented Mrs. Winterson with a pair of binoculars left over from the war); Bragg is equally tied to the northern hills, his novels and heart centred a few miles to the north in the Lake District. Interestingly, Winterson described her childhood wilderness as being her lake district "only without water". A further similarity between Winterson and Bragg lies in Winterson's early years, raised in an environment of the righteous certainty of the evangelical; Melvyn, of course, has been ennobled by Tony Blair.It was a curious decision to cut in so much of the BBC adaptation of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit to illustrate Jeanette's early years, especially so in the context of the interview, which explored again the gap between fiction and biography in Winterson's work, and explicitly the differences between her childhood and the story told in 'Oranges'; Jeanette telling of how her mother visited her and said "this wasn't like that, and that wasn't like that...", her exasperated daughter saying "But that's because it's fiction..." Worse, the sadness of seeing Charlotte Coleman living out Jess' life on screen - especially the scenes full of hope and passion about the future - made your heart ache for a different story, a different ending, which was quite distracting. But the archive allowed for a neat counterpoint, cutting from the scene in 'Oranges' where the faithful get harangued by lads driving-by ("Holy Joes - use yer bible to wipe yer bum") to Jeanette, having to reshoot a scene outside Accrington library after a vanload of hollering careered across the back of the shot. Wisely, the producers didn't abut the scene of Charlotte Coleman scrambling over the stone monument above Accrington with the scenes they'd shot of Winterson talking at the same place - they held back to allow it come as a small tickle rather than a point rammed home; a trust in the audience having an attention span.The interview itself didn't add much to the knowledge of anyone who'd followed Jeanette Winterson over the years - she was charming, there was a genuine warmth between her and Milord Bragg that made it like eavesdropping, and she was enthusiastic about her website - like the mother at the end of 'Oranges' and her shortwave radio, she values the possibilities of communication and the journeys it can take you on. It's surprising to see people just talking on television these days, especially in a programme punctuated with commercials; it was like finding a homemade cake in the middle of a pile of Energy Fruit Style Cereal Bars. And Bragg asked a question that only an aficionado would: "You say 'I'm telling stories - trust me' - why should we?" Of course, in answering, Winterson didn't give an answer at all. Even a lapsed evangelical knows that if you have to justify why you demand total faith, you're never going to get it. Books15325@blogcritics.org Mon, 3 May 2004 07:55:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/22/140646.php Simon BBritish chain WH Smiths is dropping singles from its entertainment department, citing falling sales for the format. The chain says it intends to continue flogging other stuff like DVDs and albums, although various revamps of the glorified newsagency has seen music taking up less and less floorspace in its stores. Back in the 80s the Brighton Smiths had a stand alone records-only store across the way from the main Churchill Square, but going in to a WH Smiths in the 90s to buy a record would be like heading into a Soviet department store - even if you could find the corner of the shop where what you wanted should have been, they almost certainly wouldn't have what you wanted. The chain stuck with music, though, even while Boots was phasing out its record department, although the idea of having a section of the store for music had been quietly dropped, with the albums being folded into the video and DVD section and, to be honest, we'd be surprised if by next year Smiths' commitment to selling music isn't reduced to a couple of those cheesey Hallmark holiday style compilations (Pure Love for Valentines, All Woman for Mother's Day, Singalongasanta for Christmas) and perhaps some Uncut cover mounts.Whatever, if Woolworths decide to follow Smiths lead and ditch the short format, it could really spell the end of the single as a mass-market product. Music13035@blogcritics.org Sun, 22 Feb 2004 14:06:46 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/17/172130.php Simon BThey had a time delay which CBS could only dream of, so although the Brits has only just finished on ITV, the stars themselves should be well into comparing cosmetic surgery and doing 'remember Atomic Kitten' jokes backstage by now. It wasn't the most rubbish Brit awards ever, but it didn't feel like history being made (they never do, any more; everyone is too drilled and polite its more like school prize giving than a rock bash).There were some odd moments - Cat Deeley promised us an amazing collaboration between Outkast and Beyonce, but what we got was two distinct perfomances with a little noisy bridge (more a security wall) between them; Alicia Keys, Gwen Steffani and Missy Elliot were brought together to do Kiss in an idea which seemed to be almost daring us to declare the days when the grouping together of singers for an awards supergroup are over. The Darkness did two performances, but ITV in their wisdom decided to cut one off halfway through.Still, Justin and the boys won't be too upset - three Brits (rock band, breakthrough brits and best album) will help soothe the pain a little. And they clearly feel they deserved them. Daniel Beddingfield literally phoned in his acceptance of Best British Male (presumably they have no web cameras in New Zealand?). Dido flew the flag for the anonymous female singers beloved of this festival, dedicating one of her awards to Kate Bush, which is on a par with buttermilk trying to claim it's always wanted to be a type of Bourbon.Best moment of the night, though, was Duran's outstanding contribution award and three half-song set; Nick Rhodes reclaiming his crown as the coolest fucker in rock in his white suit and perfect pitch between bored and thrilled.We've got a play-by-play full length report over on No Rock and Roll Fun. Music12865@blogcritics.org Tue, 17 Feb 2004 17:21:30 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/01/02/075344.php Simon BLast night, the UK's Channel 4 - having used up its supply of Wife Swaps the previous evening - filled the airtime with the 100 Worst Pop Records of all time and so on. As ever with these popularity/unpopularity polls, it was a bit of a double A-side - some bits were splendid, some were just frightening. We think the possible highlight of the three hours was the splendid James Masterson patiently explaining that Vanilla's 'No Way No Way' thing was the result of a jokey bet between two record producers (although, of course, scientology was also created thanks to a bet, so it doesn't make it right.) We've said before that we have a bit of a soft spot for Vanilla - their obvious ineptness was kind of endearing, and their sudden reinvention as the only Marxist girlband in history makes Busted's insistence that they be allowed to actually plug their guitars in look a little bit lame - and we find it extraordinary that Natalie Cassey felt comfortable criticising the band's looks while sitting under the worst perm since Brian May said "what happens if you use double the amount of that liquid?"Because there's no real criteria suggested for what counts as a rubbish record, the chart has no real coherence to it - so you get things that were abominations rubbing shoulders with tracks that are great but happen to have been made by people who've fallen out of fashion. You know how No Rock feels about Victoria Beckham and - especially - Geri Halliwell, but that doesn't mean that Wannabe has somehow turned from being a Great Pop Song to the 27th worst - less merit, it's alleged, than Catherine Zeta-Jone's single. At least Michael Jackson is represented by something from his bad smell days (Earth Song), we suppose.The "experts" were pretty much rubbish, most of their contributions being of a "watch this video and then pretend you're recalling it from when it was in the charts" nature - and, frankly, anyone who didn't know that Andrew Lloyd Webber was the producer of Timmy Mallett's Bombalurina track has no right appearing on my television set pretending to be knowledgeable enough about pop music to offer opinions. It's like Match of the Day inviting pundits aboard who've never heard of Pele.We've got a much fuller review - including the Top 15, an angry Toyah and a zeitgeisty Michael Jackson joke - over on No Rock and Roll Fun. Music11389@blogcritics.org Fri, 2 Jan 2004 07:53:44 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/12/31/090023.php Simon BJOHN PEEL IS NOT ENOUGH: With thanks to the ever-reliable Peel Yahoo group, here's this year's festive fifty rundown:1. Cinerama - 'Don't Touch That Dial' 2. The Fall - 'Theme From Sparta FC' 3. Mogwai - 'Hunted By A Freak' 4. Undertones - 'Thrill Me' 5. Bearsuit - 'Itsuko Got Married' 6. Mogwai - 'Ratts Of The Capital' 7. Half Man Half Biscuit - 'Tending The Wrong Grave For 23 Years' 8. The Crimea - 'Baby Boom' 9. CLSM - 'John Peel Is Not Enough' 10. White Stripes - '7 Nation Army' 11. Belle & Sebastian - 'Step Into My Office, Baby' 12. Melt Banana - 'Shield You're Eyes' 13. Nina Nastasia - 'You, Her & Me' 14. Ballboy - 'The Sash My Father Wore' 15. Vive La Fete - 'Noir Desir' 16. Sluts Of Trust - 'Piece O' You' 17. White Stripes - 'Black Math' 18. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - 'Maps' 19. Broken Family Band - 'At The Back Of The Chapel' 20. The Darkness Vs S.F.B - 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' 21. Million Dead - 'I Am The Party' 22. Undertones - 'Oh Please' 23. Ballboy - 'I Gave Up My Eyes' 24. Party Of One - 'Shotgun Funeral' 25. Futureheads - 'First Day' 26. The Fall - 'Green Eyed Loco Man' 27. The French - 'Porn Shoes' 28. Half Man Half Biscuit - 'It Makes The Room Look Bigger' 29. Architecture In Helsinki - 'The Owls Go' 30. Camera Obscura - 'Suspended From Class' 31. Amsterdam - 'Does This Train Stop On Merseyside' 32. Maher Shalal Hash Baz - 'Open Field' 33. Neulander - 'Sex, God, Money' 34. Black Keys - 'Have Love Will Travel' 35. Mass - 'Live A Little' 36. The French - 'Gabriel In The Airport' 37. Radiohead - 'There, There' 38. Ballboy - 'Born In The USA' 39. Cat Power - 'Werewolf' 40. Broadcast - 'Pendulum' 41. Keys - 'Strength Of Strings' 42. Golden Virgins 43. Belle & Sebastian - 'Stay Loose' 44. Hyper Kinako - 'Tokyo Invention Registration Office' 45. Grandmaster Gareth - 'The Minute Melodys (Any Of)' 46. Super Furry Animals - 'Slow Life' 47. Camera Obscura - 'Keep It Clean' 48. Blizzard Boys - 'Ain't No Stoppin' This' 49. Freddy Fresh - 'You Can See The Paint' 50. The Vaults - 'I'm Going'Which, if nothing else, is probably going to be the only list of singles you see this year that doesn't have Crazy In Love in it. Nice to see Cinerama and the Fall keeping to the tradition of the list (voted for by listeners to John Peel's show) dominated by Mark E Smith and David Gedge; nice, also to see Amsterdam and Half Man... keeping a strong Merseyside presence there. We're not sure if the good people at 30242 aren't jumping the gun a little in making many of the last twenty years or so of the Fifty available online, but since Greg Dyke is keen for BBC licence payers to be able to access the programmes they've paid for, it's probably only half wrong. Music11355@blogcritics.org Wed, 31 Dec 2003 09:00:23 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/26/173742.php Simon BHad he not recently had an abcess removed, we'd have no hesitation in describing the Stereophonics' treatment of their drummer Stuart Cable as a shafting. Cable had had an operation to deal with his discomfort, and was about to rejoin the US tour when his "mates" in the band said "No, pal, take a while to get back on your feet." No sooner had he gone "righto, then, I shall", but Kelly Jones was issuing a tear-stained statement saying how he was really upset, right, but he had no choice but to sack his-friend-since-school because of "commitment" issues. Unsurprisingly, Cable is a little taken back by all this and talking about calling in the lawyers; he refuses to accept that he's been kicked out of a band that he helped create. There's precious little original about the Stereophonics, and if all this sounds familiar, it's because the 'phonics appear to be replicating the behaviour of the Libertines with their singer Pete Doherty - also ill, also kicked out by the old chum he'd set the band up with in the first place. That tale, of course, went on to embrace housebreaking and prison, but we somehow doubt Jones et al will manage to rise that far above their usual, fairly dull behaviour.We'll be keeping an eye on this on No Rock, you can be sure. Music8702@blogcritics.org Fri, 26 Sep 2003 17:37:42 EDT