Goodbye Blogger!

The new site is just a click away...

It's all so quiet...

This week, and some of next possibly, I'm going to be working on getting Musical Chairs off blogger and onto its own domain name. Subsequently, posts may dry up a bit whilst I focus on all of this. Be assured though that my gig reviews will still be posted as soon as the gig has finished and all that. But yes, in case you wonder why the posts aren't as regular, there's your reason.

Ultimately, I think it will be worth it and it will lead to a much better website for the user (i.e. YOU!). See you on the other side folks, and enjoy the sunshine outside.

British Sea Power save Guilfest

I thought that the Sunday at Guilfest was looking pretty dire for a long time. A tribute act headlining and Cerys Matthews making an appearance made me want to vomit. But one band has saved the day from being a disaster:

British Sea Power

I've been a fan of these guys for a while and really liked their 2005 album, Open Season. The beautiful, atmospheric and dreamy soundscapes with quirky yet charming lyrics made it a fantastic listen. I do like their current album, Do You Like Rock Music?, but I prefer the former. Their live shows have always been ones to watch and I look forward to them not only appearing at Guilfest, but also headlining the second stage.

Guilfest is part of something I'm dubbing a Trio Of Festivals over one weekend in July - Wireless, Redfest and Guilfest. Expect mass coverage on each festival as I see a wide variety of acts. Some good, some bad, and some really dodgy local talent courtesy of Guilfest.

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Early Muse demo surfaces

Of all the music that's been released this week, the most intriguing has to be, by far, an early set of Muse demos. These nuggets of gold were recorded in 1996/1997 at Newton Abbey, and showcase their early grunge-like roots and Matt's hysterical iffy vocals. There are some never before heard Muse songs like Falling With The Crowd and Boredom, an early version of Showbiz album track Sober and some b-sides from the Showbiz-era like Ashamed and Jimmy Kane. There's no way that any of this material would give clues as to the Muse that currently are a monstrous force to be reckoned with in 2008, but, if you're a big fan, this is worth a listen purely for the fact that this is the earliest original recordings of the Teignmouth trio available.

The demos are available to download from Muse fansite, Muse Live.

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Coldplay - Viva La Vida

The title track from Viva La Vida has hit the Internet via pre-orders for the upcoming album on iTunes. And do you know something? It's brilliant. This is not the same band that was yearning on previous albums, and certainly not the same band from the stinker that was X&Y. Energetic strings amongst a thumping bass drum. Some of Chris Martin's better and more imaginative lyrics including the exclamatory "long live the king." It's official - Coldplay have turned optimistic. And all the better for it - this song has renewed my eager anticipation for the album and confirmed my fears that Violet Hill really is a weak choice as the first proper single.

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One third of 2008

This year has already been one of considerable entertainment in many forms. As we are now, quite stunningly, already a third of a way through 2008, this is a good to take stock and share my highlights of the year, this far.

Radiohead played their smallest gig for the best part of a decade at 93 Feet East
The Cribs teamed up with Johnny Marr
Nine Inch Nails released not one but two albums
Muse released HAARP and played a show that was arguably better than HAARP at the Royal Albert Hall
The Astoria faces an uncertain future
The Cure played for eternity at Wembley Arena
65daysofstatic played a blinder of a set at the Indig02
I bought a rare Feeder vinyl
Portishead released the darkest single of 2008 so far
A pig got lost in the Coachella desert

And there is still more to come for the rest of the year. Along with the gigs listed on the right hand side of the blog, Musical Chairs will be moving out of Blogger and getting a place of its own! Hopefully that will be at some point at June.

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Odds & Ends for 6th May 2008

Other bits and pieces from this sunshine-filled/hayfever ridden day, depending on what suits you the most.

Radiohead kicked off their world tour last night in West Palm Beach, Florida. If the setlist they did last night is an indication of their upcoming tour then Victoria Park could be as triumphant as I wished it to be and a whole lot more. Nearly all of In Rainbows was played along with Bangers & Mash off the discbox CD, a lot of material from OK Computer and a smattering of material from OK Computer and The Bends, including the surprise return of Bulletproof...I Wish I Was. Full report of last night is on At Ease and they'll be doing live updates for the rest of the tour, providing the site doesn't break down. Wherever they go there will always be one texting like a mad man/woman.

Coldplay are about to embark on a 'major marketing strategy' later this month in the run up to their upcoming 4th album, Viva La Vida. This is according to manager Dave Holmes. He also adds that it will be 'pretty significant'. What could it be? An ARG similar to the Year Zero experience? Who knows. What is also planned is a release of material from the Viva La Vida sessions that didn't make the album (ala Radiohead...not the first time either).

Some Oasis demos for their long-awaited 6th album have been leaked onto the net. Three of them have been sneaking around and one that I've listened to is Nothing On Me. What can I say? It's Oasis. The same Oasis guitar sounds, the same Liam Gallagher sneer...same old same old. Can't say I'm quivering in excitement.

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Variable Pricing...what the hell is it?

Warners Music Group are trying a new tactic to erase all memories of a torrid few years financially (just like the other majors) - something known as 'variable pricing'. A deal with Digonex Technologies, a company based in Indiana who have been pushing this idea for some time, will allow the major label to pilot a program for the albums it releases digitally. Details are a bit wishy-washy and it's not really known whether or not major artists on the label will take part. What is being promised though is that consumers will have an affect on the way albums are priced.

One question remains though - what is the true definition of variable pricing in this context? It basically means that the prices of songs/albums could change frequently dependent on consumer behaviours in order for the company to find what is being described as the 'sweet spot'. This includes things like how long the music has been available for, what the demand is for it and so forth. But even whilst typing this out, I keep thinking to myself 'this really isn't going to be that different from the way music is priced at the moment.'

Even though this is a very experimental idea and aspects of it could change, I don't think this could ever work in a mass retail sense. For one, iTunes, 7 Digital, Napster and so forth will not want to change their standard charges for albums, since they have their own principals when it comes to business. That and there's also the age old problem of stopping illegal downloaders, which it won't.

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Interview with The John Steel Singers

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you'll have probably seen my post bigging up The John Steel Singers from Brisbane, Australia. If you liked what you heard then you'll be pleased to hear that today, which is appropriately sunny and hot and all summer-like, we have an interview with them for you to read. Topics for discussion include their band name, the influence of Triple J and why the music scene down under is so damn good right now.

Max: Perhaps the most unoriginal first question in an interview ever - how on Earth did you decide on a name like The John Steel Singers?

John Steel Singers: It came to Tim in a dream, apparently he had been watching a lot of Starsky and Hutch and had a dream about being in a detective duo with a guy called John Steel, John was a mixture of all the great crime fighting figures of the 80's. Chuck Norris's hat, Tom Selleck's moustache etc. He also had the mane of a wild stallion and a penchant for Cubans and carrots. And a great singing voice. Tim has some disturbingly erotic dreams.

M: What music did you grow up listening to and made you want to be in a band?

JSS: My father has a horrible collection of M.O.R. Country Rock records. Thankfully I didn't absorb too much of that because I was always disgusted by it.

M: You've been compared with an eclectic bunch of musicians - from Johnny Cash to The Beach Boys. Do you find it odd and/or flattering to be compared to such historical artists?

JSS: Both for sure, the Beach Boys are a favourite of everyone in the band so to be compared to them, although it seems highly inconceivable to me, is flattering as hell.

M: You're heading out on a Triple J-associated tour (The Flying High Tour). How much does the backing by Triple J really help a band like yours?

JSS: It has been really awesome… The support they have given us from our earlier demos has taken us from nobodies to well…occasionally known bodies. It is quite amazing just to have the Triple J drum logo on our tour posters.

M: What other touring plans do you have after The Flying High Tour? Is there any ambition to play gigs overseas?

JSS: Hells yeah!! If all goes to plan then we'll hopefully make it off this god forsaken land sometime next year… But its just in dream format at the moment, no formal plans have been made… We'll be spending the rest of the year touring around our beautiful country and doing our best to not have regular jobs.

M: I understand you've just re-released your EP as a mini-album in Australia. Are they any plans for a full-length LP?

JSS: Hells yeah!! The super secret plan is for another EP in a couple of months and then a full release closer to the end of year… But that's super secret so this email will self destruct 10 seconds after being read in full… Of course if you just skip one word then the self destruct beacon wont be activated… But that's super secret so this sentence will self destruct 10 seconds after being read in full… But if you skip one word then disaster will be diverted.

M: How would you best describe the music scene in Australia at the moment and what bands would you recommend?

JSS: The music scene is joyous… since spell check didn't flag that word I'm assuming that its real so I'm sticking with it.. some great local bands are Cloud Control who we are doing the Flying High tour with and also Yves Klein Blue who hail from Brisbane as well. A Sydney band called Richard In Your Mind have released an album full of wonderful psychedelic tunes and if you happen upon a Cuthbert And The Nightwalkers song you are guaranteed to grin like a fool.

You can listen to tracks from their mini-album, The Beagle And The Dove, on their MySpace.

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A footnote

Some of the comments I get are downright bizzare, especially lately with some of my album review posts. I've had a few posts with links to download the album on such sites like Rapidshare (which happens to be the most popular and shitty file-sharing site in the universe). What I found even more funny today was that someone decided that even though The Slip is a free album download, I could download it through a file-sharing site.

God bless the Internet.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

And there I was thinking that Ghosts would be the only Nine Inch Nails record of 2008. How wrong am I? And how productive is Trent Reznor these days? Jeez. Anyways, Trent feels that he has hit a songwriting peak, aided by the addition of Robin Finck to their rehearsals of the touring they are about to do in the USA this summer. The result is The Slip - the 8th studio album by the industrial rockers and given out free by Reznor this morning, with artwork included. This was his way of saying thank you to the fans saying 'this one's on us.'

This is also definitely not the next part of Ghosts. What this ends up as is a much more direct album than Ghosts and Year Zero. 1,000,000 (the first proper track after the intro of 999,999) is a clear statement of intent - a song that rocks. Hard. The next song, Letting You, is even more brutal in its drumming and its clear at this point that Trent has found his bite again after the peaceful ambiance on Ghosts.

The two songs released for free by the band in the last couple of weeks follow. Discipline has now fully grown on me after my scathing review of it first time around and I now concur with the notion that this is a groovy song. Bass-driven, heavy, yet as danceable as The Hand That Feeds and Only, this could be a real highlight in the live sets. Echoplex is a pretty chilled out song in comparison but it has a really cool and sleek vibe to it. Heads Down is another typical NIN rocker with a bit of techno freestyling akin to The Great Destroyer from Year Zero added for good measure.

From here in on, the album very bluntly takes on a different tone. Lights In The Sky tries to be an intimate, raw, edgy piano ballad but it ends up being something that NIN have done before in the past a lot better. This leads into seven-minute instrumental Corona Radiata - the track most reminiscent of anything off Ghosts - which, whilst with its moments, is unspectacular. The Four Of Us Are Dying continues the ambient vibe but one with a more industrial sound and considerably louder. Demon Seed finishes off the album, but even that is instantly forgettable.

So, overall, this album definitely has its fair share of good tracks - something of a relief after the experimentations of their instrumental project. There are some stinkers towards the end that let down the album, but what people shouldn't forget is that Nine Inch Nails can still produce heavy, angry, noisy rock songs almost two decades after their debut record.

RATING - 7/10

You can download The Slip for free here.

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Music Distribution Watch: The Cure

In the light of all these new ways of releasing music, Musical Chairs starts a new feature similar to what I discussed about a week or so ago.

THE CURE

What: Singles from the new album.

The deal: Singles from The Cure's upcoming album 13th will be released every month on the 13th, which seems logical, for four months until the untitled record comes out. These will sold in a physical format (through their store for definite - not sure if the big chains are taking part too at this moment in time) and a digital format.

Each release will include an a-side from the new album and a b-side that won't be featured. The frist two releases will be The Only One/NY Trip and Freakshow/All Kinds Of Stuff

Summary: A nice revival of the 'singles club' idea many years ago when vinyl was still all the rage. The problem is though that the whole thing does somewhat smell of some sort of gimmick on the part of the record label.

A good idea, but the operation is a bit too slick.

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Odds & Ends for 2nd May 2008

Some observations from the week just gone:

White Williams is an artist who I was going to profile this week, but things got in the way and I've left it on the side for the time being. Probably not a wise move, since I've just learned that, as well as supporting Vampire Weekend in the UK very soon, he's going to support Nine Inch Nails this summer. What a gig for him eh? He joins Crystal Castles, Deerhunter, A Place To Bury Strangers and Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Things have been pretty quiet on the gig going front recently but in just under a couple of weeks time I will be celebrating my freedom from uni for the summer with a trip to the Hammersmith Apollo to see The Raconteurs. Fact fans may want to take note that I actually saw Brendan Benson play that venue before, supporting Beck in 2005, which feels like a decade ago. Expect a review of that gig in about a couple of weeks. The NME have hinted that the live shows still feel like a Jack White side project, so it'll be interesting to see if that is the case.

Music that I've been listening to:

• Dawn Landes - New York singer songwriter whose song Bodyguard was today's free mp3 on Spinner. There's some pretty darn good potential there, and I'll be looking into her in the near-future.
• Fifths Of Sevens - this was from Jackdaws Love, who describes it music pretty well, and it's quite a lovely piece of instrumental music. Again, I'll have to check out more of these guys.
• Wolf Parade - they have a new album out soon called Meet At Mount Zoomer and I've listened to a new song entitled Call It A Ritual (link via Stereogum). It's pretty damn good.

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The John Steel Singers

The John Steel Singers are another new Australian band that have caught my attention. And there doesn't seem to be a better time to be introduced to their sunshine pop. This group of multi-instrumentalists (ranging from glockenspiels to trombones and trumpets) are already backed by Triple J (they're heading out on a tour very soon down under that is presented by the influental radio station) and their music is a wonderful mix of influences from The Kinks to The Velvet Underground. An album is said to be on the cards after the success of their first mini-album, The Beagle And The Dove.

The track I've singled out from that release is Strawberry Wine.

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The tale of a pig that got away

What happens if you mix an inflatable pig, a massive desert and quotes seemingly taken from a Simpsons episode? Yes, you get, by far and away, the funniest music news of the year thus far.

Basically, Roger Waters played a marathon headlining set on Sunday night at Coachella in California. He also, during one of his songs, unveiled a pig the size of two double decker buses in width. That's a big pig - so big that it had to be tied down with ropes and wires to stop if from flying away. Unfortunately for Roger, things didn't go quite so smoothly. The pig flew away into the nightime through the deserts, as seen here at the very end of this video.

What followed is just pure insanity and comic hilarity that could only ever happen in a cartoon, preferably The Simpsons. As the pig floated away, Roger Waters could be heard saying "that's my pig!". The quotes just kept on coming with a spokeswoman for the festival saying "it really wasn't supposed to happen that way." Really now? Anyway, an appeal for the pig was made by the organisers with a cash bounty being offered as well as four festival tickets for life.

And today, the remains of the burst piggy were claimed by some peaceful folk and they were duly given the rewards, bringing to an end the most bizzare and funniest piece of news for a long time. You can listen to the residents explaining how they realised that they had the remains of a $10,000 inflatable animal on BBC News.

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New tracks roundup

I've listened to a good chunk of new stuff recently, so here are some brief reviews of four new songs that have been recently released to the music consuming public:

Coldplay - Violet Hill
The first single off the group's fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death To All His Friends, is nowhere near first single material when compared to the likes of In My Place or Speed Of Sound. Instead, the sound is darker and heavier (well, by their standards anyway). I think the track is fine but the eerie introduction, clearly Eno-influenced, is far too long. One does also wonder whether this is a real reflection of their new sound...only time will tell.

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
Any band who decides to release an eight and a half minute song as a lead single from a new album is brave. It's even more of a feat if the song is actually good, which this is in leaps and bounds. For the first half, its musical sound is mesmerising and when Ben Hibbard's vocals come in, the full equation is completed rather brilliantly. Attention grabbing and one of the more impressive single releases this year, it wets the appetite for forthcoming album, Narrow Stairs, nicely.

The Dresden Dolls - Night Reconnaissance
A solid song taken from their upcoming release called No, Virginia (I can never figure out whether it's a proper album release or just a stop-gap based on the content). It's everything you would expect from the Boston two-piece - Amanda's vocals are assertive yet not overwhelming, whilst Brian's drumming skills are as tight as usual. Overall, a track that will no doubt please the fanbase.

CSS - Rat Is Dead
By far and away the weakest of the four songs that I've listened to. Rat Is Dead, the first single from their second record called Donkey, is basically the same CSS as the first album but recycling the things they did on the first album and hoping no one will notice. They're one of those bands that I could never envisage lasting very long in the music industry. This track proves my theory.

But you can judge for yourself! I have put all four songs for download, since my attempt to create a widget failed miserably. If I were to suggest a favourite out of the four it would be Death Cab For Cutie, but The Dresden Dolls song is also pretty good.

Coldplay - Violet Hill
Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
The Dresden Dolls - Night Reconnaissance
CSS - Rat Is Dead

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Reading/Leeds and Glastonbury line up additions

A couple of festival line-up updates have been announced.

First up, the Reading and Leeds festivals. British Sea Power somehow have managed to nab themselves a spot on the Main Stage on the 23rd at Reading and the 24th at Leeds. Across all other stages, notable additions include Mystery Jets, The Music and Seasick Steve. The Dance Stage (hitting Leeds on Friday before heading to Reading on Sunday) is looking like one of the places to be. In addition to CSS headlining, Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo and Lethal Bizzle (I'd like to find out how he passes off as a dance artist) are part of a pretty solid line-up.

Glastonbury has also finally revealed their full-line up. Obviously, because of its humongous size, I won't put the whole thing on this post (you can take a look for yourself if you so wish on The Guardian's website), but instead some of my thoughts on the line up. First off, it does seem to be incredibly diverse, as Emily Eavis pointed out. The main two Saturday night headliners prove this point - you have a choice of the mainstream hip-hop of Jay-Z or the rather brilliant and atmospheric trip-hop sounds of Massive Attack. Other hidden delights include My Morning Jacket headlining The Park on Sunday night and the John Peel Stage, which is 90% full of brilliant artists.

Out of the two, I'd still make the trip to Reading/Leeds but I'm surprised at how decent Glastonbury looks.

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Life sentences for Sophie Lancaster killers

This post could be argued as nothing to do with music, but I think it has got relevance.

The killers of Sophie Lancaster have been given life sentences. Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert will have to serve a minimum of 18 years and 16 years respectively. The pair of teenagers kicked Sophie to death last summer because of her goth background.

I for one, in an age where justice seems few and far between these days, couldn't be more happy. The fact that an innocent girl was murdered simply for being a goth is absurd. No one should ever be targeted because of the music they listen to and the culture that goes along with it. It's sickening to see such discrimination lead to events such as this and the scenes in Mexico that Gerard Way has recently spoken out against. As much as I think he can be a prat sometimes, he is definitely doing the right thing in protesting against this behaviour and I firmly believe more bands should be doing the same.

Mark Beaumont is spot on when he says that this has gone beyond bottling Panic At The Disco at Reading in 2006. Are we now living in a society where we are more highly discriminative than ever? What is being done to stop such tragic deaths like this?

The judge's comments are what I finish with, and there could not be more truer words spoken, courtesy of NME.com:

Judge Anthony Russell QC described the behaviour of the Harris and Herbet as "feral thuggery".

He added, "This was a terrible case which has shocked and outraged all who have heard about it. At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for so doing, to obtain food."

Speaking to the pair as he sentenced them, Russell said: "You have none [legitimate reasons for attack] and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself."

The judge went on to describe the goth community as "perfectly peaceful law-abiding people who pose no threat to anybody".

Speaking to the sentenced duo again he said: "This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours."

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Prince, proposals and pigs - some notes from Coachella 2008

This weekend saw Coachella take place in the deserts of California. Now deemed the unofficial start of the American festival season, there were many highlights to be had if you were a punter and some odd goings on. A summary:

Prince, who headlined on the Saturday night, arrived late but won back the support of the punters with an unexpected cover of Radiohead's Creep:



YouTube has been updated rapidly with videos from the festival. This was one of the better ones - The Raconteurs performing Consoler Of The Lonely, amidst a beautiful sunset:



There was even a wedding proposal at the festival this year! Of all bands to choose their soundtrack, they chose Spiritualized. Odd. And finally, Roger Waters chose to use his slot on Sunday night to back Barack Obama. With an inflatable pig. Again, odd.

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Mates Of State

Not a new band by any stretch of the imagination but definitely one under the radar of mainstream music. Mates Of State are comprised of Kori Gardner on keyboards and vocals whilst Jason Hammel provides the drum beats. They're from Kansas and their forthcoming effort, Re-Arrange Us, will be their fifth studio album since forming in 1997. This is indie pop at its god-damn finest.

Their MySpace page claims that their songs are like "three minute brainstorms" - something find hard to dispute. Whilst the melodies and harmonies are very poppy, they still somehow manage to sound different from what's in the mainstream right now. Most of their past work has been done with a bass-heavy organ but the lead single from the new record, Get Better, is piano led and feels very melancholic in comparison.

Feel free to check them out on their MySpace page, or to check out the video for Get Better below.



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