Friday, July 31, 2009
Kiss of Life - Friendly Fires + Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather
Album : Friendly Fires (2008)
Release: 31 August
Length: 4:07
I will admit up front the previous single from this English electro-pop band, Skeleton Boy is one of my outright favourite songs of 2009. It gets the full volume treatment everytime I hear it on the radio, just the perfect pop song. Basically that is what Friendly Fires do and they do it unashamedly. This latest release from the band shows a more ambitious side, with a large percussion section and a much broader sound. But at the core of this track are some very solid verses from frontman Ed Mac. May not be as good as some of the music off their debut record of last year but is just as catchy.
Album: Horehound(2009)
Release: July 11
Length: 4:45
The second single from this supergroup's first release Horehound. To keep it short, this track is basically Hang You From The Heavens with everything doubled. It's twice as edgy, twice as heavy, twice as catchy (M-A-N-I-P-U LATE) and in turn twice as good. Allison Mockhart (The Kills) brings the gritty angst and Jack White (everywhere?) brings the bluesy rock n roll factor. Together on this song they make one killer combination. Most of all, and this is evident throughout the album is the bass work from Jack LJ Lawerence (Green Hornes, The Saboteurs), the fuzzy dirty vibe explodes out of the speakers and sends this track to the next level. One of the stronger tracks off a dissapointingly ordinary album from such talented musicians. On the other hand, this is one hell of a video clip.
Pirate Bay Shutdown; Bloc Party Over; Elbow Elbowed; Dead Letter Circus News
Associated Press is reporting that the massively popular torrent website The Pirate Bay has been ordered by a Dutch court that must block traffic between the site and the Netherlands within 10 days. The website provides torrent files which allow users to share copyrighted material including movies, music and games, the court has ordered its operators to block these infringements of copyright or they will face charges of $US 42 000 a day. Similar sites such as Mininova and Torrentz remain in full operation but are being monitored by the IFPI. The music industry is estimated to have lost over a billion in 2008 due to music piracy and file sharing. On the other hand legal digital downloads are increasing exponentially.
In Australia for the Splendour in the Grass festival and a couple of very exclusive intimate shows, British rockers Bloc Party spoke to Triple J radio's Music Director, Richard Kingsmill. In the interview frontman Kele Okereke stated " we’re out of contract now so we might never make a record again or we might head straight back in and do a record. " Such comments are not uncommon from bands who have been on the road supporting an album for a long time, Kele and the boys have an exhaustive tour schedule ahead of them still, with an extensive tour through the UK finishing in late October before concluding in Osaka, Japan in mid-November. This wraps up the band's world tour which began last August. The interview can be found here - http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/triplej/livemusic/splendour_2009/bloc_party/interview.mp3
Staying with the British rock theme, Mercury Prize winning act Elbow were scheduled to play the Late Show with David Letterman last night (29th). Unfortunately Letterman ran overtime leading to the band's performance being scrapped. This is not the first time a band has been invited to the show and not had the chance to perform. Previously indie band Grizzly Bear were set to appear on the show but for similar reasons to Elbow were unable to make the stage. No news on whether 4 piece will get another chance. Grizzly Bear performed Ready, Able on the show last week, the video of which can be found in the Youtube section.
Finally, Brisbane's finest hardcore-ish punk band Dead Letter Circus have announced a large national tour in support of their latest single The Space On The Wall. The tour begin in September and concludes on October 4 in Fremantle, WA and will see the band hit all the major cities including Sydney on the 4th of September at the Annandale Hotel. The band will be supported by MM9 and Sydonia. There is no update on the status of the band's highly anticipated debut album.
In Australia for the Splendour in the Grass festival and a couple of very exclusive intimate shows, British rockers Bloc Party spoke to Triple J radio's Music Director, Richard Kingsmill. In the interview frontman Kele Okereke stated " we’re out of contract now so we might never make a record again or we might head straight back in and do a record. " Such comments are not uncommon from bands who have been on the road supporting an album for a long time, Kele and the boys have an exhaustive tour schedule ahead of them still, with an extensive tour through the UK finishing in late October before concluding in Osaka, Japan in mid-November. This wraps up the band's world tour which began last August. The interview can be found here - http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/triplej/livemusic/splendour_2009/bloc_party/interview.mp3
Staying with the British rock theme, Mercury Prize winning act Elbow were scheduled to play the Late Show with David Letterman last night (29th). Unfortunately Letterman ran overtime leading to the band's performance being scrapped. This is not the first time a band has been invited to the show and not had the chance to perform. Previously indie band Grizzly Bear were set to appear on the show but for similar reasons to Elbow were unable to make the stage. No news on whether 4 piece will get another chance. Grizzly Bear performed Ready, Able on the show last week, the video of which can be found in the Youtube section.
Finally, Brisbane's finest hardcore-ish punk band Dead Letter Circus have announced a large national tour in support of their latest single The Space On The Wall. The tour begin in September and concludes on October 4 in Fremantle, WA and will see the band hit all the major cities including Sydney on the 4th of September at the Annandale Hotel. The band will be supported by MM9 and Sydonia. There is no update on the status of the band's highly anticipated debut album.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thom Yorke - Present Tense
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke last week played his first (and possibly last) solo show of 2009 at the Latitude Festival in the UK. His set included a mix of songs from his solo album The Eraser as well as Radiohead songs such as There There. Mid way through his set which opened the day at the festival, Thom debuted a song called The Present Tense. It has sparked rumours of a new album from Thom but his fellow bandmates remain adamant that all their energies are being put towards LP8 for Radiohead.
Metallica song live debut; Humbug Leaked; M.I.A. Verse
Metallica fan forums have gone into meltdown in the last 48hours as the world's heaviest touring band played 2 of their songs live on stage for the first time. Suicide and Redemption from the band's latest release Death Magnetic and the Grammy-nominated Ecstasy of Gold were both played in full in front of 18 000 hardcore Metallica fans in Copenhagen's Forum on the 27th and 28th of July respectively. The track Ecstasy of Gold was originally composed by Ennio Morricone for the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and has been used by the band as the introduction music for their shows since 1983. In 2007 the band recorded the instrumental song officially. Ecstasy of Gold is one of the few songs where frontman James Hetfield plays the solo.
Metallica recorded their performance on July 7 in Nimes, France and plan to release it on DVD exclusively in France through their official website. Furthermore the band has shot parts of their Latin American tour for a South America only DVD release.
Continuing with the story mentioned yesterday, Arctic Monkey's 3rd album Humbug has been leaked in its entirety today. The band has not issued any statements yet on their reaction to the leak, which has occured almost 4 weeks before its official release date. I will review the album in full this weekend but in respect for the band I will refrain from posting any of the leaked tracks.
2009 has been relatively quiet year for British rapper-singer M.I.A. in terms of music after giving birth to her first child. Earlier this year she made appearances at the Grammy Awards and California's Coachella Festival. The influential artist has now appeared on a new mix from DJ Major Lazer. She provides a verse on the Keep Watch series which is avaiable here. M.I.A. starts at 11:20 on the song.
Metallica recorded their performance on July 7 in Nimes, France and plan to release it on DVD exclusively in France through their official website. Furthermore the band has shot parts of their Latin American tour for a South America only DVD release.
Continuing with the story mentioned yesterday, Arctic Monkey's 3rd album Humbug has been leaked in its entirety today. The band has not issued any statements yet on their reaction to the leak, which has occured almost 4 weeks before its official release date. I will review the album in full this weekend but in respect for the band I will refrain from posting any of the leaked tracks.
2009 has been relatively quiet year for British rapper-singer M.I.A. in terms of music after giving birth to her first child. Earlier this year she made appearances at the Grammy Awards and California's Coachella Festival. The influential artist has now appeared on a new mix from DJ Major Lazer. She provides a verse on the Keep Watch series which is avaiable here. M.I.A. starts at 11:20 on the song.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Strawberry Swing - Coldplay + No Money - The Scare
Album : Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Digital Release : September 14 2009
Length : 4:09
One of the brighest and most upbeat songs Coldplay have written in their short yet brilliant careers. Since the release of their mega selling 4th album, this track has been a firm fan favourite and regularly played on their world tour. With such a reputation already behind it, it is only fitting that the band hires a top notch direction team to make the video for it. Shynola is the team behind great videos from Radiohead, Blur and Beck. The video premiered on internet site Babelgum on July 20 and has been available for free viewing ever since. On top of that (and in what I'm pretty sure is a first for music) the video will be shown in cinemas around the UK before movies including Bruno and The Proposal.
Not exactly a Coldplay classic but a nice song nonetheless.
Album : Oozevoodoo
Released: 25 March 2009
Length : 2:46
Here's a great track from young Aussie pop punk act The Scare. The band recently signed with major label EMI and are set to bring out their debut album Oozevoodoo in the next few months and will be produced by Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns. This track is as short and snappy as you can get them, a real throw back to early days of punk rock. The music is raw, video is no frills and the result is brilliant. If the vocals don't quite do it for you, listen carefully to the refreshingly solid musicianship.
Muse - The Uprising
BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe this morning played 35 seconds of the first single from Muse's forthcoming 5th album The Resistance. The Uprising will be played in full on 3 August but for now enjoy the teaser. Note: Lowe mentions something about Matt Bellamy rapping in the middle of the song according to some fans this is no joke, the rest of us are hoping otherwise. The reaction to the first taste from the album, United States of Eurasia has been largely negative another backlash will most certainly have some impact on the success of the album. The Resistance is due out September 14.
Arctic Monkeys Leak; David Bryne on U2; MGMT with Jay-Z - 29/07
More tracks have been leaked from the forthcoming Arctic Monkeys album Humbug. Due to be released on August 24, the follow up to 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. Over the few days 5 songs have been unofficially leaked onto the internet and shared through a number of fan forums, these include My Propellor, Secret Door, Cornerstone, Dance Little Liar and Pretty Visitors. The songs vary from a strong Last Shadow Puppets vibe to outright stoner rock with an indie touch to them. Including Crying Lightning, 6 out of the 10 songs from the album are now available. If you are interested in getting the links then sign up to any of the fan forums. www.arcticmonkeys.com
Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has spoke out against U2's current 360 world tour. He describes it as being 'overkill' and goes on to add that it is 'a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all'. That wasn't all Byrne had to say against the Irish megaband. "Maybe it's the fact that we were booted off our 'Letterman' spot so U2 could keep their exclusive week-long run". During the 80s Talking Heads and U2 both worked with legendary producer Brian Eno. http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2009/07/071409-budapest.html
More details have been released on the rumoured collaboration between psychadelic pop kings MGMT and rap legend Jay-Z. The duo will make a guest appearance on Jay-Z highly anticipated The Blueprint 3 alongside some of the biggest names in the urban music world including Kanye West and Timbaland. The album is set for release on September 11, exactly 8 years since the release of The Blueprint- one of the most critically acclaimed rap albums of all time. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE56J06220090720
Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has spoke out against U2's current 360 world tour. He describes it as being 'overkill' and goes on to add that it is 'a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all'. That wasn't all Byrne had to say against the Irish megaband. "Maybe it's the fact that we were booted off our 'Letterman' spot so U2 could keep their exclusive week-long run". During the 80s Talking Heads and U2 both worked with legendary producer Brian Eno. http://journal.davidbyrne.com/2009/07/071409-budapest.html
More details have been released on the rumoured collaboration between psychadelic pop kings MGMT and rap legend Jay-Z. The duo will make a guest appearance on Jay-Z highly anticipated The Blueprint 3 alongside some of the biggest names in the urban music world including Kanye West and Timbaland. The album is set for release on September 11, exactly 8 years since the release of The Blueprint- one of the most critically acclaimed rap albums of all time. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE56J06220090720
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sections
The blog will include the following sections. You will have easy access to them using the labels.
News of the World
Inspired by the brilliant Queen album of 1977 which gave us hits such as We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You and Sheer Heart Attack.
Latest news from the world of music including album releases, tour announcements, festival updates, reunions, break-ups, industry activity, interviews, magazine articles, strong rumours, new gadgets and everything else I come across. From time to time I will give my own editorial on the news. I will try and steer away from song and album leaks but in this modern age it is hard to ignore such events. My sources will range from NME magazine to Pitchfork.com as well as Triple J radio. As noted earlier there will be an Australian bias throughout the blog.
Two Up
Inspired by the famous Australian pastime from colonial times, now illegal except on ANZAC Day (25th April)
Twice a week I will post 2 newly released songs from the biggest bands in the world down to unsigned up and comers. Where possible I will attach a Youtube clip. There will be instances where posting a song will lead to copyright infringement. I accept this but this will not stop from posting these tracks.
New Born
Inspired by the Muse track from their album Origin of Symmetry which was released back in 2001 to much acclaim.
At least once a week I will provide a full review of an album released in that week. For albums I haven't had the opportunity to listen to I will compile reviews from respected critics. EP's will also be included.
Rock n Roll Star
Inspired by the opening track from Oasis' debut record Definitely Maybe, one of the most popular records in British music history.
Now and then I will do a flashback to some of the great classic artists and bands who influenced and moulded music into what it is today. A majority of the artists will hail from the 60s and 70s with a select few from other periods. It is impossible to cover the career of a legendary artist or band in one go so I will start with introductions to each act and over time expand on them with subsequent posts.
Talk Show Host
Inspired by the B-side from Radiohead's fifth and final single of their album The Bends, Street Spirit (Fade Out). It featured in the movie Romeo + Juliet in 1996.
On rare occassions I will write my opinion on issues in the music world. But over the first few months of the blog I will focus on album recommendations.
Youtube Killed The TV Star
Inspired by The Buggles hit Video Killed The Radio Star, it will forever be remembered as the first song played on MTV.
In conjunction with this blog I will set up a Youtube channel which will host most of the videos I post here. When that is not possible I will simply provide links to the concert footage, music videos and TV Appearances.
My List
Inspired by the Killers track from Sam's Town.
I have an addiction to music lists. They often inspire great debates and discussion. So every so often I will put up a list of some kind either one I have constructed myself or one taken from a music source. For example, my Top 10 Albums of 2008, Top 10 Albums for Late Nights, Top 20 Hard Rock Anthems etc etc.
I also intend to include some rock trivia but that is fair way off.
Proper blogging will begin very soon
News of the World
Inspired by the brilliant Queen album of 1977 which gave us hits such as We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You and Sheer Heart Attack.
Latest news from the world of music including album releases, tour announcements, festival updates, reunions, break-ups, industry activity, interviews, magazine articles, strong rumours, new gadgets and everything else I come across. From time to time I will give my own editorial on the news. I will try and steer away from song and album leaks but in this modern age it is hard to ignore such events. My sources will range from NME magazine to Pitchfork.com as well as Triple J radio. As noted earlier there will be an Australian bias throughout the blog.
Two Up
Inspired by the famous Australian pastime from colonial times, now illegal except on ANZAC Day (25th April)
Twice a week I will post 2 newly released songs from the biggest bands in the world down to unsigned up and comers. Where possible I will attach a Youtube clip. There will be instances where posting a song will lead to copyright infringement. I accept this but this will not stop from posting these tracks.
New Born
Inspired by the Muse track from their album Origin of Symmetry which was released back in 2001 to much acclaim.
At least once a week I will provide a full review of an album released in that week. For albums I haven't had the opportunity to listen to I will compile reviews from respected critics. EP's will also be included.
Rock n Roll Star
Inspired by the opening track from Oasis' debut record Definitely Maybe, one of the most popular records in British music history.
Now and then I will do a flashback to some of the great classic artists and bands who influenced and moulded music into what it is today. A majority of the artists will hail from the 60s and 70s with a select few from other periods. It is impossible to cover the career of a legendary artist or band in one go so I will start with introductions to each act and over time expand on them with subsequent posts.
Talk Show Host
Inspired by the B-side from Radiohead's fifth and final single of their album The Bends, Street Spirit (Fade Out). It featured in the movie Romeo + Juliet in 1996.
On rare occassions I will write my opinion on issues in the music world. But over the first few months of the blog I will focus on album recommendations.
Youtube Killed The TV Star
Inspired by The Buggles hit Video Killed The Radio Star, it will forever be remembered as the first song played on MTV.
In conjunction with this blog I will set up a Youtube channel which will host most of the videos I post here. When that is not possible I will simply provide links to the concert footage, music videos and TV Appearances.
My List
Inspired by the Killers track from Sam's Town.
I have an addiction to music lists. They often inspire great debates and discussion. So every so often I will put up a list of some kind either one I have constructed myself or one taken from a music source. For example, my Top 10 Albums of 2008, Top 10 Albums for Late Nights, Top 20 Hard Rock Anthems etc etc.
I also intend to include some rock trivia but that is fair way off.
Proper blogging will begin very soon
Welcome
Hello and welcome to my music blog, Spin The Black Circle. The title is inspired by the Pearl Jam track of the same name on their 3rd album Vitalogy. Pearl Jam are just one of the many many bands you will read about on my blog. This blog will help you, the readers to stay up to date with the latest happenings in the world of music, which we all know moves and shifts very quickly. But not only will this site keep you informed with the latest news and views but I hope to share my knowledge with you about the history of modern music going back to the early days of rock n roll and through the many era's and generation which separate now and then.
The focus of the blog will primarily be alternative music and the classic rock bands of the past. By alternative I am referring to acts who provide us with a sound different to what you might find at the top of the charts. But I will not limit myself to such artists, if there is an artist at the top of the charts I respect then I will not ignore them but the purpose of this blog is to expose everyone to lesser known acts who deserve extra recognition for their work. I should also add that being Australian myself I will have a slight bias towards local music but international readers will not feel alienated.
I will explain the different aspects of the blog in the next post.
The focus of the blog will primarily be alternative music and the classic rock bands of the past. By alternative I am referring to acts who provide us with a sound different to what you might find at the top of the charts. But I will not limit myself to such artists, if there is an artist at the top of the charts I respect then I will not ignore them but the purpose of this blog is to expose everyone to lesser known acts who deserve extra recognition for their work. I should also add that being Australian myself I will have a slight bias towards local music but international readers will not feel alienated.
I will explain the different aspects of the blog in the next post.
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