So it's been a long fucking while, eh? I know there are tons of more important stuff to be taking on, but, I need to start somewhere...
So I'm in my boxer shorts and t-shirt, waiting for a friend to tell me if he's coming over or not, and I stumble upon this very funny piece of non-news: Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray (the achy breaky heartbreaker from almost two decades ago, now going the Jon Bon Jovi washed-up-singer-turns-actor route) and pop star of the moment, was given the cold shoulder by none other than Radiohead at the Grammys.
She couldn't take it, so she left - didn't even stay to watch them perform.
If, really, they were her favourite band in the whole wide world, then she might've tried reading up on them once in a while... we're talking about a band that:
- after making it big with the song Creep in 1993 (the third time it was released as a single, by the way), stopped playing it, a few times even replying ''we're not a fucking jukebox'' when it's requested live
- after releasing one of the best, if not THE best, rock record of all time, OK Computer, in 1997, pretty much stopped making straightforward rock music altogether
- as a matter of fact, their next record, Kid A, could well have been made by an electronica/experimental/psychedelic act
- from Kid A onwards, during their live performances, Jonny Greenwood, the band's best guitarist, possibly among the best rock guitarists in the world for the past decade, pretty much stopped playing guitar on stage, playing with bleeping machines and transistor radios instead...
--------------
So... regardless of what anyone thinks of Miley Cyrus talent-wise, intelligence-wise... she is still a modern day bubblegum pop star, bred for kids, hoping to stay long enough to make a dent in pop the Aguilera/Spears/Simpson way.
I'm not sure Radiohead would give Coldplay the time of day at the Grammys. So, sorry, Miley, but what you represent is of no interest to Radiohead, and even if you weren't you, with everything that implies (family history in music, starting out as an actress rather than a singer, having your own fucking wing in your dad's mansion, etc.), they probably wouldn't have wanted to meet you anyway.
It's not you, it's them. And it's also a little bit you.
Showing posts with label Coldplay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coldplay. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2008 In Music
Is it just me, or was 2008 one of the worst years in music history? Not that it was as cheesy as 1984 (think '80s' without a record by GN'R or Michael Jackson or Prince - no balls at all) , mind you, but nothing really stood out in terms of records, albums...
Coldplay were the year's best-selling band, clocking in at well under 5 million copies sold worldwide, combining both online sales and physical CDs... a poor number by any standards.
Madonna, Britney Spears and Pink are back, sort of. Again. With half their records, at least, being utter blandness. And the rest not breaking any sort of ground either.
Spin magazine named Metallica and Guns N'Roses in their top 15, yet placed The Raconteurs at #46... so I know for a fact they've gone mad, because The Raconteurs' record was a solid piece of rock while Metallica's opus, even if it recaptures some of their past sounds and sentiments, is nowhere near anything they've done before, and should not be on anyone's list of tops of nothing (it's also too good to be on a list of shitty records, I'll admit that much). GN'R, on the other hand, could make a list of the year's worst, and likely did mine, with only one song, Madagascar, good enough to make the grade (as the worst song, perhaps) on any of their previous records, and the rest was just some overproduced crap that I got bored of after no more than three listens.
There seems to be a lot of decent independent releases, some only on vinyl, this year, but there were so many that it was hard to keep count. Looking at many of my friends' Top Of '08 lists, I found many acts I had never heard of before, and very few that were repeated from one person to the next, so either they were all trying to one-up one another in the 'oscure reference' department, or many starving artists who have only sold/given 5 copies of their stuff have made very good music.
At least there were memorable singles. The song of the year, without a doubt, was I Kissed A Girl, by Katy Perry. No contest. It was everywhere, it took longer than any other song to get tired of, it was sung by a hottie, and didn't just use a fashionable beat that we'll get tired of within year's end to bring its groove home, unlike, say, anything by Lady Gaga, who also takes the prize of worst name.
My choice for #2 single of the year is the theme from the latest James Bond flick, Another Way To Die, by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Many will disagree with this choice, as most people I've talked about this song to didn't like it; only actual musicians did. It's got everything you could want from a Bond song, from the fast breaks to the lush phrasing, but they added a sense of satire when bringing in the orchestral parts where it fits so well in the song that you could never fathom the song being without it, but at the same time seems like they're making fun of every past Bond song. It's really a pleasure to listen to.
Thirdly, I'll put a Coldplay song because it wasn't annoying, surprisingly, and the drum beats were quite penetrating. And, no, I'm not talking about the yawnfest that Viva La Vida was, I'm talking about the exact same song but with soul, the one they titled Violet Hill. Like Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls and Nickelback before them (and many others even further back), Coldplay have etched out a career for themselves by re-writing the same song over and over again, barely changing anything in the process, but actually making the more recent version a little more tolerable than the last (although since Viva came out after Violet, I guess they'll be regressing now).
The Raveonettes never get their due respect. Hopefully, the sounds of Aly, Walk With Me will keep rolling for them in '09; they sure deserve it.
And to round out my Top 5, Radio Radio may not have made a dent in the worldwide electro-hip-hop scene, but they made a killing here in Québec with their originality and humour. It's like as if the Beastie Boys meant something again. Cliché Hot, the title track to their CD, was on most stations' playlists and got them into a slot at Pop Montreal, but Jaccuzzi is the song that had more of everything they do right.
Top Singles Of 2008
1. I Kissed A Girl, Katy Perry
2. Another Way To Die, Jack White and Alicia Keys
3. Violet Hill, Coldplay
4. Aly, Walk With Me, The Raveonettes
5. Jaccuzzi, Radio Radio
6. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It, Ice Cube
7. Rich Kid Blues, The Raconteurs
8. We Call Upon The Author, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
9. Gamma Ray, Beck
10. Nine In The Afternoon, Panic At The Disco
Top Live Shows Of 2008
1. Eddie Vedder, Place-Des-Arts, summer
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Metropolis, October 2nd
3. The Nevers, UnPop Montréal, The Pound, December 6th
4. Might, UnPop Montréal, Cagibi, December 4th
5. The Raconteurs, Metropolis, summer
6. Madonna, Centre Bell, fall
7. Radiohead, Parc Jean-Drapeau, summer
8. Eagles Of Death Metal, late fall
9. Coeur De Pirate, Laval, late fall
10. Sébastian Hell, Montréal Chose, Cagibi, April 27th (hey, it was a slow year, and I rocked!)
Top Albums of 2008:
1. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
2. Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig! Lazarus! Dig!
4. Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer
5. The Raconteurs, Consolers Of The Lonely
6. Coeur De Pirate, Coeur De Pirate
7. The Kills, Midnight Boom
8. The Raveonettes, Lust, Lust, Lust
9. The Nevers, single
10. Ice Cube, Raw Footage
11. Nine Inch Nails, The Slip
12. The Black Keys, Attack & Release
13. T-Bone Burnett, Tooth of Crime
14. Beck, Modern Guilt
15. AC/DC, Black Ice
Biggest Shits (in no particular order): Tam, Guns' Chinese Democracy, Nickelback released the worst record of the year for the fourth (?) time, rap had little to offer of consequence - and the major labels seem to have died - good riddance.
Coldplay were the year's best-selling band, clocking in at well under 5 million copies sold worldwide, combining both online sales and physical CDs... a poor number by any standards.
Madonna, Britney Spears and Pink are back, sort of. Again. With half their records, at least, being utter blandness. And the rest not breaking any sort of ground either.
Spin magazine named Metallica and Guns N'Roses in their top 15, yet placed The Raconteurs at #46... so I know for a fact they've gone mad, because The Raconteurs' record was a solid piece of rock while Metallica's opus, even if it recaptures some of their past sounds and sentiments, is nowhere near anything they've done before, and should not be on anyone's list of tops of nothing (it's also too good to be on a list of shitty records, I'll admit that much). GN'R, on the other hand, could make a list of the year's worst, and likely did mine, with only one song, Madagascar, good enough to make the grade (as the worst song, perhaps) on any of their previous records, and the rest was just some overproduced crap that I got bored of after no more than three listens.
There seems to be a lot of decent independent releases, some only on vinyl, this year, but there were so many that it was hard to keep count. Looking at many of my friends' Top Of '08 lists, I found many acts I had never heard of before, and very few that were repeated from one person to the next, so either they were all trying to one-up one another in the 'oscure reference' department, or many starving artists who have only sold/given 5 copies of their stuff have made very good music.
At least there were memorable singles. The song of the year, without a doubt, was I Kissed A Girl, by Katy Perry. No contest. It was everywhere, it took longer than any other song to get tired of, it was sung by a hottie, and didn't just use a fashionable beat that we'll get tired of within year's end to bring its groove home, unlike, say, anything by Lady Gaga, who also takes the prize of worst name.
My choice for #2 single of the year is the theme from the latest James Bond flick, Another Way To Die, by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Many will disagree with this choice, as most people I've talked about this song to didn't like it; only actual musicians did. It's got everything you could want from a Bond song, from the fast breaks to the lush phrasing, but they added a sense of satire when bringing in the orchestral parts where it fits so well in the song that you could never fathom the song being without it, but at the same time seems like they're making fun of every past Bond song. It's really a pleasure to listen to.
Thirdly, I'll put a Coldplay song because it wasn't annoying, surprisingly, and the drum beats were quite penetrating. And, no, I'm not talking about the yawnfest that Viva La Vida was, I'm talking about the exact same song but with soul, the one they titled Violet Hill. Like Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls and Nickelback before them (and many others even further back), Coldplay have etched out a career for themselves by re-writing the same song over and over again, barely changing anything in the process, but actually making the more recent version a little more tolerable than the last (although since Viva came out after Violet, I guess they'll be regressing now).
The Raveonettes never get their due respect. Hopefully, the sounds of Aly, Walk With Me will keep rolling for them in '09; they sure deserve it.
And to round out my Top 5, Radio Radio may not have made a dent in the worldwide electro-hip-hop scene, but they made a killing here in Québec with their originality and humour. It's like as if the Beastie Boys meant something again. Cliché Hot, the title track to their CD, was on most stations' playlists and got them into a slot at Pop Montreal, but Jaccuzzi is the song that had more of everything they do right.
Top Singles Of 2008
1. I Kissed A Girl, Katy Perry
2. Another Way To Die, Jack White and Alicia Keys
3. Violet Hill, Coldplay
4. Aly, Walk With Me, The Raveonettes
5. Jaccuzzi, Radio Radio
6. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It, Ice Cube
7. Rich Kid Blues, The Raconteurs
8. We Call Upon The Author, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
9. Gamma Ray, Beck
10. Nine In The Afternoon, Panic At The Disco
Top Live Shows Of 2008
1. Eddie Vedder, Place-Des-Arts, summer
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Metropolis, October 2nd
3. The Nevers, UnPop Montréal, The Pound, December 6th
4. Might, UnPop Montréal, Cagibi, December 4th
5. The Raconteurs, Metropolis, summer
6. Madonna, Centre Bell, fall
7. Radiohead, Parc Jean-Drapeau, summer
8. Eagles Of Death Metal, late fall
9. Coeur De Pirate, Laval, late fall
10. Sébastian Hell, Montréal Chose, Cagibi, April 27th (hey, it was a slow year, and I rocked!)
Top Albums of 2008:
1. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
2. Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig! Lazarus! Dig!
4. Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer
5. The Raconteurs, Consolers Of The Lonely
6. Coeur De Pirate, Coeur De Pirate
7. The Kills, Midnight Boom
8. The Raveonettes, Lust, Lust, Lust
9. The Nevers, single
10. Ice Cube, Raw Footage
11. Nine Inch Nails, The Slip
12. The Black Keys, Attack & Release
13. T-Bone Burnett, Tooth of Crime
14. Beck, Modern Guilt
15. AC/DC, Black Ice
Biggest Shits (in no particular order): Tam, Guns' Chinese Democracy, Nickelback released the worst record of the year for the fourth (?) time, rap had little to offer of consequence - and the major labels seem to have died - good riddance.
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