Sigur Ros – ()
What can I say about Sigur Ros?
If philosophy could be morphed in to the form of music, this would be it.
They are the pinnacle of relaxing, thought provoking and atmospheric music. They sing in a language consisting of Icelandic, English and some made up words, leaving the lyrics open to interpretation. This album actually comes with an empty section for lyrics, allowing you to write down either what you think the lyrics are, or what you portray them to be.
Minus IQ Interview
Hello to all the readers lurking out there. Today we bring you a special Minus IQ Interview!
1/ Hello to the members of Minus IQ, Greatings from The Music Mag! How’s it going?
It’s really good. We’re stuck in the bank holiday traffic on the way to Nottingham. 2 miles down, 109 to go…
2/Can you tell us a little about what you all do in the band?
Charlie sings and plays keyboards, Justin plays bass, Jake plays drums and Michael plays guitar. Live we add in bits of percussion, extra keyboards and glockenspiel. Glockenspiel, incidentally, means “bang play” in German.
3/ What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to the band?
Nothing really sticks out as the funniest. We’ve ended up on air a few times when calling radio stations to ask for them to play our tracks, and its always funny to see Charlie having a nosebleed on stage. Worrying, but funny.
The Music Mag Reviews
We have a group of writers here at the music mag, but we’re always looking for new content, especially if you’re interested in lesser known bands or different areas to those that we are currently covering on the site.
At the top right hand corner of the site, along the header, there is a ’submit your review’ button. That will redirect you via your email account to send us an email. Just write your review in your email and we can post it on the site, obviously giving you credit.
If you have any feedback, questions or want to recommend any bands for us to feature, please also use the submit your review section or join our Music Forum.
Kurt Cobain Movie?
Is there really going to be a Kurt Cobain Movie coming out in the near future?
Probably.
The film title is rumored to be based on the book ‘Heavier Than Heaven‘, using the same name. Courtney Love is the executive producer, giving her a lot of choice when it comes to casting.
Best Hallelujah Cover?
So I was on youtube looking for the Best Hallelujah Cover last night – Nothing better to do but here some fantastic performances of one of the most chilling songs ever made in my personal opinion.
Now what do you look for in a cover of this song? I personally prefer the Jeff Buckley version, but I feel it’s because I actually heard that before the Leonard Cohen version. I also know some people who prefer the version from Shrek as they’ve associated it with a sad part from a film, or people who (slightly shamefully) prefer the Alexandra Burke version.
I’m not arguing over which is the best version. Instead I am going to post a version I found on youtube and see what you think.
I personally feel it’s a really nice cover and the girl singing – Kina Grannis – does an amazing job with the song. It also suits her tone and style very well.
If you agree or disagree please leave a comment and The Music Mag will be happy to respond.
Moscow Drive Interview
1. Hello to Simon Jones, lead singer of Moscow Drive, formally known of Amanacer. How are you doing today?
Hello! I’m doing marvellous, i’ve just actually got in from seeing a Graham Coxon gig down the road, which was a belter. We missed the first few tunes of his set cos we were watching the Chelsea V Barcelona game on the TV, but his new stuff is sublime.
2. Why did you change the name?
Aside from the fact that hardly anyone could say the name, the new tunes that we were writing were naturally leading to a different direction, which didn’t sit well with the old band name, and we decided that it was perfect timing, as the mis-spellings and mis-pronounceations of the name were getting beyond a joke. For example we played a gig in Carlisle, a good 500 miles away from our home-town, and the promoter spelt the band name wrong on the poster… half idiocy on his part, and half ours (or mine) for picking such a shite name in the first place.
Lisa Mitchell – Slow Video
This young lady got in to the top 10 of Australian Idol. She’s got a unique voice which sounds so angelic.
This song called slow is performed on a tv show. Lisa Mitchell – Slow. Awesome song.
Maximo Park – Quicken The Heart
Pounding drums. sharp guitars. “Here’s a song that finally you can understand” An air raid siren wails in the background. And so starts the third album from Maximo Park, the sound of a band settling down comfortably into their sound. Their debut, “A Certain Trigger” bristled with heartbreak, smart lyrics and hooks straight from a classic 80s post-punk album while the follow-up, “Our Earthly Pleasures” broadened the sound, grasping a more complete festival sound and largely succeeding. On this, there isn’t as much musical progression, as musical contentment. Maximo Park sounds like a band who are willing to experiment within the boundaries of their current sound.
And that’s fair enough, aforementioned opener “Wraithlike” conjures up good feelings of their debut; angular guitars and frenzied delivery while wrapping it up in a fuller sound. “Questing, Not Coasting” evokes memories of the very best from “…Pleasures” as Paul Smith croons over wistful synths and sounds not unlike a Killers track. For a lot of the album, it all sounds more of the same.
The Stands – Horse Fabulous (2005)
In 2003, Liverpool was producing a lot of exciting young bands; The Coral had released an incredible psychedelic garage rock-tinged debut, The Zutons were causing a lot of press excitement and then there was The Stands. The first two went on to bigger things while The Stands fell by the wayside which is a dreadful shame since this album is better than anything they’ve put out.
A cohesive, passionate collection of tracks, fused with incredible detail, touches of 60s pop and glam, wrapped up in delicate lyrical touches, Horse Fabulous manages to stand well above the pack in British rock.
“Turn the World Around” glides along at a calm pace, weaving expert melodies with singer Howie Payne’s weathered vocals gently working around the layers. “Nearer than Green” dabbles in light orchestration as Payne laments with the fervour of Neil Halstead. “When The Night Draws In” sounds like a unholy mix of The Mavericks and The Byrds and is the arguable highlight.
Still, this is a band that broke up shortly after this release, possibly on the cusp of writing that song which propelled them into the mainstream. If you were going to take a chance on anyone from Liverpool these days, you should have made it this lot.
Music on Your Radar
Quite simply, a review column where I look at upcoming music and give it all a review.
Starting us off this week are The Lightning Seeds, last seen when Britpop had been killed and Travis were the next big British band and releasing “Four Winds”, their first album for 10 long years. A lot has changed in ten years; we have internet speeds that didn’t seem possible, Britney Spears has suffered through a mid-life crisis in her mid-twenties, we’re in another “war”, Labour turned out to not be as great as expected and British guitar rock is still relevant and vibrant. OK, that last one is a lie but it’s something that didn’t get through to Ian Broudie because this album would fit nicely in the middle of a thriving music scene. Not anything life changing but not anything dreadful. A forgotten gem if you will. Anyway, it’s mellower than standard Seeds fare, drops in hints of country and synth pop but still manages to be incredibly catchy. It’s nothing life changing but it’s worth checking Lightning Seeds out all over again.
Nancy Sinatra – Nancy Sinatra (2004)
In this daily section, I’m going to pick a record from my collection at random, play it through one more time and write a review for it. Simple enough.
Nancy Sinatra, in her 60s pomp, was all attitude and sex appeal. More likely to swagger than swoon, her hits dripped with raw charm and style and she remains one of the most enduring female icons of the decade, despite her albums being a bit of a mixed bag. The singles, themselves are iconic but the albums are a bit less so with her appeal and all-together coolness not being enough to carry a full album. On this, a 2004 return, it takes a side-step for downtrodden pop songs and it succeeds.
Didn’t pop bitches used to be hot?
It’s Friday night, midnight’s approaching at a ferocious pace as I lay out on the sofa balancing a laptop on my stomach and holding a bottle of almost ice cold Magner’s Pear Cider by my side. Deep in the midst of a poker tournament I run my Kings into Aces and realise I should have found something better to spend my night doing and look to take solace in the 52″ LCD TV to my left. Flicking through a dozen shopping channels brings me to BBC2 and a friendly and familiar sight, that of Jools Holland, a man loved by all who’ve ever seen his tight and twisted face before them. Jools instructs his cameraman to pan around the room as he introduces the Manic Street Preachers, Paolo Nutini, Booker T, Taylor Swift, and quite probably someone else that left a less than memorable gouge in my eardrums. While the existence of the other acts has no real bearing on my life, the appearance of Booker T is worth getting excited about ten times over so I take another big gulp of my pleasing cider and curl up to watch the show.
