ROY BENNETT HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM PRISON!
http://www.freeroybennett.com/
Una
Thursday, June 30, 2005
MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, BITCHES
Unless you are a giant loser, you will be at the march in Dublin this evening, yes? It kicks off at 6.30pm from Parnell Square and from there goes to Merrion Square where there is a two hour gig lined up with The Devlins, Hothouse Flowers, The Walls, Alphastates and more
Download the rally poster here:
http://www.debtireland.org/images/temp-poster/whiteband.pdf
OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS:
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ie/
http://www.debtireland.org/
www.whiteband.org
http://www.trocaire.org/
Txt 'AFRICA' to 53131 and get a thank you reply from Bono
buy Make Povery History white bands from Oxfam: www.oxfamireland.org
Una
Download the rally poster here:
http://www.debtireland.org/images/temp-poster/whiteband.pdf
OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS:
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ie/
http://www.debtireland.org/
www.whiteband.org
http://www.trocaire.org/
Txt 'AFRICA' to 53131 and get a thank you reply from Bono
buy Make Povery History white bands from Oxfam: www.oxfamireland.org
Una
Linky Winky
Youaintnopicasso, my favourite music blog linked me this week:
http://youaintnopicasso.blogspot.com/2005/06/you-cried-inside-just-like-me.html
and check out this one too: http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/
Una
http://youaintnopicasso.blogspot.com/2005/06/you-cried-inside-just-like-me.html
and check out this one too: http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/
Una
As Nico said: These Days
Una says:
good morning lili
LIL says:
good morning
LIL says:
im doing my fave thing:
LIL says:
writing a complaint letter
good morning lili
LIL says:
good morning
LIL says:
im doing my fave thing:
LIL says:
writing a complaint letter
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
You're cut, you're cut...
so, these are the songs I've picked for the 2fm thing. I'm having doubts already. I guess if they can't find some of them, I have a bunch of subs
Hi Aoife,
I've pulled a few hairs out over this, so have plenty of substitutes if you can't fins some of the tracks.
1. Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 3 (Power Out) (album Funeral)Not neccesarily the best song on the album Funeral, but with the biggest intro, and such an unusual structure. Also part of a wider thing happening regarding the emergence of key Canadian bands (Stars, Great Lake Swimmers, Alexisonfire etc). Electric Picnic ahoy
2. JJ72 - Coming Home (new album - unreleased)Canadian connection on this one too, given that bassist Sarah Fox is of that nationality. Saw them a couple of weeks ago supporting Garbage at the Brixton Academy and this song stood out. Terribly underrated and begrudged in Ireland, probably because they are simply better than most Irish bands coming up.
3. The Rapture - Olio (album Echoes)Either a seemless merging of electro and rock, or the future of rock itself. Terribly inventive, sharp and a great live band.
4. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (album Love)I don't think people give the Cult credit for their influence, because I think they're seen as a bit naff. But, in my opinion, they're a great rock band, and have nailed some of the best 3 minute rock songs ever. Great old school rock drumming too.
5. The Walkmen - The Rat (album Bows And Arrows)Contender for the best rock single last year, but it didn't really do anything over here. So catchy and earnest. Plus, the singer sounds like Rod Stewart.
6. MC Solaar - A la Claire Fontaine (album Prose Combat)My favourite hip hop artist. Rapping sounds best in French. There is no contest with MC Solaar for the crown of French rap. This is one of his earliest singles.
7. Pulp - Do You Remeber The First Time? (album His N Hers)Best song by one of the 90s best bands. Like most of Pulp's stuff, the narrator is miserable which builds up an incredible tension in the melody. A different class.
8. The Libertines - Time For Heroes (Up The Bracket)More English social commentary. Their second album was arguably better, but this track was their real breaker. Brilliant lyrics and guitar parts which hang together by a shambolic thread.
9. The Clash - The Card Cheat (London Calling)Fits up nicely against the Libertines, what with the Mick Jones connection. The most surprising song from The Clash, because of the climbing pop melody. You can see where Razorlight are getting it from after listening to this.
10. The Honeymoon - Chaos Theory (Dialogue)One of the sweetest albums of last year which kind of slipped under the radar in a big way. This is just a taster of the album which is just packed with gorgeous vocals and brilliant guitar melodies.
11. Prince & The Revolution - Pop Life (album Around The World In A Day)The real King of Pop, with one of those 'lessons from the 80s'. There's always so much going on in a Prince song, and the weird background melody still sounds great.
12. Jeff Buckley - Ye Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai (Live At Sin E, Legacy Edition)This song shows the key elements of Jeff Buckley - the fact that live, no one could touch him, that he was an incredibly inventive and versatile guitarist and that he can take a song so alien to anything he plays and immediately make it his own.
Una
Hi Aoife,
I've pulled a few hairs out over this, so have plenty of substitutes if you can't fins some of the tracks.
1. Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 3 (Power Out) (album Funeral)Not neccesarily the best song on the album Funeral, but with the biggest intro, and such an unusual structure. Also part of a wider thing happening regarding the emergence of key Canadian bands (Stars, Great Lake Swimmers, Alexisonfire etc). Electric Picnic ahoy
2. JJ72 - Coming Home (new album - unreleased)Canadian connection on this one too, given that bassist Sarah Fox is of that nationality. Saw them a couple of weeks ago supporting Garbage at the Brixton Academy and this song stood out. Terribly underrated and begrudged in Ireland, probably because they are simply better than most Irish bands coming up.
3. The Rapture - Olio (album Echoes)Either a seemless merging of electro and rock, or the future of rock itself. Terribly inventive, sharp and a great live band.
4. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (album Love)I don't think people give the Cult credit for their influence, because I think they're seen as a bit naff. But, in my opinion, they're a great rock band, and have nailed some of the best 3 minute rock songs ever. Great old school rock drumming too.
5. The Walkmen - The Rat (album Bows And Arrows)Contender for the best rock single last year, but it didn't really do anything over here. So catchy and earnest. Plus, the singer sounds like Rod Stewart.
6. MC Solaar - A la Claire Fontaine (album Prose Combat)My favourite hip hop artist. Rapping sounds best in French. There is no contest with MC Solaar for the crown of French rap. This is one of his earliest singles.
7. Pulp - Do You Remeber The First Time? (album His N Hers)Best song by one of the 90s best bands. Like most of Pulp's stuff, the narrator is miserable which builds up an incredible tension in the melody. A different class.
8. The Libertines - Time For Heroes (Up The Bracket)More English social commentary. Their second album was arguably better, but this track was their real breaker. Brilliant lyrics and guitar parts which hang together by a shambolic thread.
9. The Clash - The Card Cheat (London Calling)Fits up nicely against the Libertines, what with the Mick Jones connection. The most surprising song from The Clash, because of the climbing pop melody. You can see where Razorlight are getting it from after listening to this.
10. The Honeymoon - Chaos Theory (Dialogue)One of the sweetest albums of last year which kind of slipped under the radar in a big way. This is just a taster of the album which is just packed with gorgeous vocals and brilliant guitar melodies.
11. Prince & The Revolution - Pop Life (album Around The World In A Day)The real King of Pop, with one of those 'lessons from the 80s'. There's always so much going on in a Prince song, and the weird background melody still sounds great.
12. Jeff Buckley - Ye Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai (Live At Sin E, Legacy Edition)This song shows the key elements of Jeff Buckley - the fact that live, no one could touch him, that he was an incredibly inventive and versatile guitarist and that he can take a song so alien to anything he plays and immediately make it his own.
Una
Compilation
I have to pick 12 songs to play on Dave Fanning's show next Monday night on 2fm (www.rte.ie/2fm/davefanning.html)
There are squillions of people listening to so I don't want to sound like a loser, schmoozer, substance abuser.
so far I have (in no particular order - yet)
Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 3 (Power Out)
JJ72 - Coming Home
The AM - Changeling
Great Lake Swimmers - I Will Never See The Sun
Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now
Hard Fi - Hard To Beat
Juliette & The Licks - Coming Around
The Rapture - Olio
The Bleedin Bleedins - Darkest Day
Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass
Jeff Buckley - Ye Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai
MC Solaar - A la Clair Fontaine
The Libertines - Time For Heroes
The Subways - Oh Yeah
Aesop Rock - Daylight
The Honeymoon - Chaos Theory
Frou Frou - Let Go (Beauty In The Break Down)
Modest Mouse - Karma's Payment
The Walkmen - The Rat
Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring
The Beatles - Rain
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
The Immediate - Moneysworth
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Laura Viers - The Cloud Room
Pulp - The First Time
Simon & Garfunkel - America
Radiohead - City Sunset Over Me
Prince - Pop Life
The Clash - The Card Cheat
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Nico - These Days
The Ramones - Listen To My Heart
Happy Mondays - Loose Fit
shit, that's 35. Gonna have to narrow it down.
Una
There are squillions of people listening to so I don't want to sound like a loser, schmoozer, substance abuser.
so far I have (in no particular order - yet)
Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood 3 (Power Out)
JJ72 - Coming Home
The AM - Changeling
Great Lake Swimmers - I Will Never See The Sun
Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now
Hard Fi - Hard To Beat
Juliette & The Licks - Coming Around
The Rapture - Olio
The Bleedin Bleedins - Darkest Day
Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass
Jeff Buckley - Ye Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai
MC Solaar - A la Clair Fontaine
The Libertines - Time For Heroes
The Subways - Oh Yeah
Aesop Rock - Daylight
The Honeymoon - Chaos Theory
Frou Frou - Let Go (Beauty In The Break Down)
Modest Mouse - Karma's Payment
The Walkmen - The Rat
Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring
The Beatles - Rain
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
The Immediate - Moneysworth
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Laura Viers - The Cloud Room
Pulp - The First Time
Simon & Garfunkel - America
Radiohead - City Sunset Over Me
Prince - Pop Life
The Clash - The Card Cheat
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Nico - These Days
The Ramones - Listen To My Heart
Happy Mondays - Loose Fit
shit, that's 35. Gonna have to narrow it down.
Una
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
MY CONVERSATIONS WITH ROCK STARS
I'm bored, so here are some interviews
listening to: Brand New
TIM WHEELER ON LIFE…
Let me put it this way: Ash rock. And their new record, Meldown, rocks s’more. Known for their non-stop partying, killer pop tunes and pin-up front man, Ash answered the questions of their detractors with Free All Angels, an album that grabbed them from the brink of bankruptcy. So they must have a few lessons to teach us. Una Mullally brings you TIM WHEELER ON LIFE…
On the album, ‘Meltdown’:
It’s brilliant. It’s such blast to play live as well. We weren’t really scared making it because our confidence was so high after Free All Angels. We had reestablished ourselves so we weren’t concerned with pressure. It was recorded in the same room as Nevermind was. Dave (Grohl) hung out with us too, which was weird. I remember getting Dave’s autograph when Nirvana played King’s Hall, so it’s kind of come full circle.
We wanted to get that American sound. I mean, we were living in LA and listening to the radio all the time. It was the sound we always wanted to achieve. I didn’t think it was that different from what we had done before when we were recording it.
On the US:
We’ve made a real good fan base built on seven months of support shows, which made a good enough foundation. Then we got to do our own tour and we sold enough tickets to make it self-sufficient. We’re sorting out a new deal in the States because the guys we were with went bankrupt a few months ago, which was a bit of a nightmare.
It’s totally scary. It’s a challenge. I mean, we come from another culture obviously, and it is such a hard place to break.
On the rebirth of Ash drummer, Rick Murray:
As a drummer, he was totally adequate before. But American bands play to a higher premium of musicianship. We are so influenced by Nirvana, so we always thought that it didn’t matter how good a musician you were. But Nirvana were clever, they had one of the best drummers of all time! So, Rick saw all these American drummers and what they were doing. He used to be really neurotic about his drumming. When we started rehearsing, he had just changed. He was coming up with loads of new drum parts and stuff, and it was all of a sudden, sort of overnight. I think he just started taking it much more seriously.
On his voice:
It has strengthened. I think that was from being on the road so much. I pitched the album higher too, so I could really do it.
On the reaction to Nu-Clear Sounds
It was absolutely tough. I think people have a lot of misconceptions about it. I mean, people said it was so heavy, but there are ballads on it! I’m not sure if some people even listened to it before saying all that stuff. It takes a few listens. It was a real confidence knock. I still think it’s a great album.
On growing up:
We still party. But now, it’s more when we’ve got a day off. Y’know, if we’ve got a show the next day we’ll keep ourselves together. I think now, it’s a case that we want to give people value for money and not be (pauses to search for phrase) fucking cunts!
On getting drunk:
I remember one gig in St. Louis when Mark got so drunk. And on the last song – we were ending with Kung Fu – he was hardly able to stand. So he kind of leaned against a wall and as the song went on, he was slipping further and further down. By the end of it he was slumped on the ground. He just hit the last chord and passed out. He was still there about half an hour later until the crew picked him up. Hats off to him though, he got the last chord out. It was all a bit Spinal Tap.
On hallucinogenics:
One time we played in Japan and we took loads of mushrooms because there was this head shop around the corner and there’s some loophole in Japan that mushrooms are legal. Well, that turned out to be a complete disaster. We were on stage playing Jack Named The Planets – a song we had been playing for about ten years and in the middle of it, me and Rick just forgot the whole thing. We went into a Grateful Dead jam and our fans were just staring at us. Pretty bad!
On Guitarist, Charlotte Hatherly:
Charlotte’s album is great. She’s a creative person in her own right and needs an outlet for that, but she loves playing in this band. I know she’s totally committed Ash. People were really patronising when she joined. All her interviews were ‘what’s it like being a girl in a band with guys?’ But she proved to everyone how great she is.
On Pop
Playing the Pop Beach thing for TV reminded me how glad I am to be in a rock band. A lot of the pop life is so soulless. That’s all they do, those kinds of gigs, getting on stage for two songs and miming. It’s, Jesus, it’s living a sad life.
On Oxegen
I can’t wait for Oxegen. We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves. Last time we played there was after Free All Angels. We were moved to the main stage at the last minute and it was pissing rain, but everyone stayed to watch us. I’ve never seen so many human pyramids. I’m looking forward to seeing Bowie and the Darkness. There are some really good bands on at the same time as us, like Muse. But it’s gonna be a good laugh. Bring it on.
Of course, pop is disposable, and fashions change (I hate ponchos). The Chalets are well aware of all this, they just don’t really mind, “we were driving up to Galway for a gig and talking about the lifespan of bands. All the bands that I like, have had limited careers. So we were saying how long we would last, and for all of us, as soon as it stops becoming fun, The Chalets wouldn’t make sense.” Thankfully, it looks like the fun isn’t going to check out for some time. To coin a culinary metaphor; since their inception, The Chalets continue to be a brilliantly layered cake construction of boy/girl tete a tete vocals with a creamy filling of choppy guitar chunks sprinkled with carefully careless imagination. Giz a slice.
listening to: Brand New
TIM WHEELER ON LIFE…
Let me put it this way: Ash rock. And their new record, Meldown, rocks s’more. Known for their non-stop partying, killer pop tunes and pin-up front man, Ash answered the questions of their detractors with Free All Angels, an album that grabbed them from the brink of bankruptcy. So they must have a few lessons to teach us. Una Mullally brings you TIM WHEELER ON LIFE…
On the album, ‘Meltdown’:
It’s brilliant. It’s such blast to play live as well. We weren’t really scared making it because our confidence was so high after Free All Angels. We had reestablished ourselves so we weren’t concerned with pressure. It was recorded in the same room as Nevermind was. Dave (Grohl) hung out with us too, which was weird. I remember getting Dave’s autograph when Nirvana played King’s Hall, so it’s kind of come full circle.
We wanted to get that American sound. I mean, we were living in LA and listening to the radio all the time. It was the sound we always wanted to achieve. I didn’t think it was that different from what we had done before when we were recording it.
On the US:
We’ve made a real good fan base built on seven months of support shows, which made a good enough foundation. Then we got to do our own tour and we sold enough tickets to make it self-sufficient. We’re sorting out a new deal in the States because the guys we were with went bankrupt a few months ago, which was a bit of a nightmare.
It’s totally scary. It’s a challenge. I mean, we come from another culture obviously, and it is such a hard place to break.
On the rebirth of Ash drummer, Rick Murray:
As a drummer, he was totally adequate before. But American bands play to a higher premium of musicianship. We are so influenced by Nirvana, so we always thought that it didn’t matter how good a musician you were. But Nirvana were clever, they had one of the best drummers of all time! So, Rick saw all these American drummers and what they were doing. He used to be really neurotic about his drumming. When we started rehearsing, he had just changed. He was coming up with loads of new drum parts and stuff, and it was all of a sudden, sort of overnight. I think he just started taking it much more seriously.
On his voice:
It has strengthened. I think that was from being on the road so much. I pitched the album higher too, so I could really do it.
On the reaction to Nu-Clear Sounds
It was absolutely tough. I think people have a lot of misconceptions about it. I mean, people said it was so heavy, but there are ballads on it! I’m not sure if some people even listened to it before saying all that stuff. It takes a few listens. It was a real confidence knock. I still think it’s a great album.
On growing up:
We still party. But now, it’s more when we’ve got a day off. Y’know, if we’ve got a show the next day we’ll keep ourselves together. I think now, it’s a case that we want to give people value for money and not be (pauses to search for phrase) fucking cunts!
On getting drunk:
I remember one gig in St. Louis when Mark got so drunk. And on the last song – we were ending with Kung Fu – he was hardly able to stand. So he kind of leaned against a wall and as the song went on, he was slipping further and further down. By the end of it he was slumped on the ground. He just hit the last chord and passed out. He was still there about half an hour later until the crew picked him up. Hats off to him though, he got the last chord out. It was all a bit Spinal Tap.
On hallucinogenics:
One time we played in Japan and we took loads of mushrooms because there was this head shop around the corner and there’s some loophole in Japan that mushrooms are legal. Well, that turned out to be a complete disaster. We were on stage playing Jack Named The Planets – a song we had been playing for about ten years and in the middle of it, me and Rick just forgot the whole thing. We went into a Grateful Dead jam and our fans were just staring at us. Pretty bad!
On Guitarist, Charlotte Hatherly:
Charlotte’s album is great. She’s a creative person in her own right and needs an outlet for that, but she loves playing in this band. I know she’s totally committed Ash. People were really patronising when she joined. All her interviews were ‘what’s it like being a girl in a band with guys?’ But she proved to everyone how great she is.
On Pop
Playing the Pop Beach thing for TV reminded me how glad I am to be in a rock band. A lot of the pop life is so soulless. That’s all they do, those kinds of gigs, getting on stage for two songs and miming. It’s, Jesus, it’s living a sad life.
On Oxegen
I can’t wait for Oxegen. We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves. Last time we played there was after Free All Angels. We were moved to the main stage at the last minute and it was pissing rain, but everyone stayed to watch us. I’ve never seen so many human pyramids. I’m looking forward to seeing Bowie and the Darkness. There are some really good bands on at the same time as us, like Muse. But it’s gonna be a good laugh. Bring it on.
THE CHALETS
POP ROCKS
Winning Best New Band at the Meteor Awards is another notch on The Chalets well-rocked bedpost. Yet, 2005 is really just the beginning, with a new single due in April and an album to follow. Una Mullally caught up with Dylan (aka Dilbot) of Ireland’s premier pop bitches.
In 2004, Britney had ‘Toxic’, Usher crunked ‘Yeah’ and Girls Aloud invited us to ‘The Show’. After these, number four on the list of best pop songs of the year just gone was definitely The Chalet’s ‘Theme’. You’d have to be a dour bastard not to melt in delight at that jumped up, Dublin dating world vocal dance off. MTV chose the accompanying A-Side, ‘Sexy Mistake’ as the soundtrack for those random sheep at the hairdresser ads, but it was ‘Theme’ that lit the match of hype. Luckily, it didn’t burn out, and while the music press preoccupied themselves with tales of boys avec guitars snapping strings in the backrooms of Whelan’s, The Chalets continued to dig their leg-warmered heels in, culminating in ‘The Nightrock EP’ at the tail end of 2004.
“You mean, how does it feel to be an ‘award-winning musician’?” asks Dylan when I query his view on belonging to ‘the best new band’. “It feels funny. It’s a bit of a weird one, because we were touring in England and we flew over. All we knew was we were nominated for the Hope Of 2005 award. So when we didn’t win, we though, ‘well, that was a bit of a waste’, because we had hired tuxes for the night. Next thing we realised there was another award for best new band, and we won. All very bizarre.” Apart from winning the award (which is too heavy to bring everywhere, so it now rests on Dylan’s kitchen table), the highlight of the evening was eavesdropping on a chat between Pat Kenny and Westlife backstage. “It was all very funny.”
Humour is reoccurring theme for The Chalets. Bursting onto the Dublin scene like an episode of Pimp My Ride in the middle of a video full of Questions and Answers reruns, they are certainly giving the generic a well-deserved jolt. The key to this freshness, “well we like to use our imagination.” A simple lesson many could learn from. “We’re not the world’s greatest musicians,” continues Dylan, “everyone seems to think we stick out like a sore thumb, but there’s no great mystery or science to it. We use our imagination, which leads me to believe that most people aren’t trying too hard. Being in a band is meant to be a creative thing.”
Having topped ‘next big thing’ lists for a couple of years running, The Chalets are currently riding higher than ever before. Just off an English tour with Art Brut, they headed to two gigs in Cork, one in Galway and then three in London, one of which is the excellent ‘Camden Crawl’, an MTV and XFM sponsored guerrilla-style take over of ten Camden venues. The Chalets will share the stage with Graham Coxon, The Cribs and The Departure, a perfect platform for their utterly fun, carelessly hedonistic and snappy as hell tunes.
Winning Best New Band at the Meteor Awards is another notch on The Chalets well-rocked bedpost. Yet, 2005 is really just the beginning, with a new single due in April and an album to follow. Una Mullally caught up with Dylan (aka Dilbot) of Ireland’s premier pop bitches.
In 2004, Britney had ‘Toxic’, Usher crunked ‘Yeah’ and Girls Aloud invited us to ‘The Show’. After these, number four on the list of best pop songs of the year just gone was definitely The Chalet’s ‘Theme’. You’d have to be a dour bastard not to melt in delight at that jumped up, Dublin dating world vocal dance off. MTV chose the accompanying A-Side, ‘Sexy Mistake’ as the soundtrack for those random sheep at the hairdresser ads, but it was ‘Theme’ that lit the match of hype. Luckily, it didn’t burn out, and while the music press preoccupied themselves with tales of boys avec guitars snapping strings in the backrooms of Whelan’s, The Chalets continued to dig their leg-warmered heels in, culminating in ‘The Nightrock EP’ at the tail end of 2004.
“You mean, how does it feel to be an ‘award-winning musician’?” asks Dylan when I query his view on belonging to ‘the best new band’. “It feels funny. It’s a bit of a weird one, because we were touring in England and we flew over. All we knew was we were nominated for the Hope Of 2005 award. So when we didn’t win, we though, ‘well, that was a bit of a waste’, because we had hired tuxes for the night. Next thing we realised there was another award for best new band, and we won. All very bizarre.” Apart from winning the award (which is too heavy to bring everywhere, so it now rests on Dylan’s kitchen table), the highlight of the evening was eavesdropping on a chat between Pat Kenny and Westlife backstage. “It was all very funny.”
Humour is reoccurring theme for The Chalets. Bursting onto the Dublin scene like an episode of Pimp My Ride in the middle of a video full of Questions and Answers reruns, they are certainly giving the generic a well-deserved jolt. The key to this freshness, “well we like to use our imagination.” A simple lesson many could learn from. “We’re not the world’s greatest musicians,” continues Dylan, “everyone seems to think we stick out like a sore thumb, but there’s no great mystery or science to it. We use our imagination, which leads me to believe that most people aren’t trying too hard. Being in a band is meant to be a creative thing.”
Having topped ‘next big thing’ lists for a couple of years running, The Chalets are currently riding higher than ever before. Just off an English tour with Art Brut, they headed to two gigs in Cork, one in Galway and then three in London, one of which is the excellent ‘Camden Crawl’, an MTV and XFM sponsored guerrilla-style take over of ten Camden venues. The Chalets will share the stage with Graham Coxon, The Cribs and The Departure, a perfect platform for their utterly fun, carelessly hedonistic and snappy as hell tunes.
Of course, pop is disposable, and fashions change (I hate ponchos). The Chalets are well aware of all this, they just don’t really mind, “we were driving up to Galway for a gig and talking about the lifespan of bands. All the bands that I like, have had limited careers. So we were saying how long we would last, and for all of us, as soon as it stops becoming fun, The Chalets wouldn’t make sense.” Thankfully, it looks like the fun isn’t going to check out for some time. To coin a culinary metaphor; since their inception, The Chalets continue to be a brilliantly layered cake construction of boy/girl tete a tete vocals with a creamy filling of choppy guitar chunks sprinkled with carefully careless imagination. Giz a slice.
listening to: Lost - Incomplete
mercury rev
Mercury (still) Rising
An interview with vocalist and guitarist, Jonathan Donahue
How are you?
Divine, how are you?
I’m good. How did the instore go?
It went fine, we signed and awful lot of Irish names. We learnt where to put the, the, eh (looks to record label minder for help), fada.
Everybody’s raving about ‘The Secret Migration’, how does that feel?
Um. I’m just coming down from my chocolate buzz, one second (he’s after devouring a giant slab of Matilda-esque chocolate cake). That’s a weird question. Um. It feels good.
What was the recording process like for you?
Um, we laughed a lot. We had a really genuinely good time, which isn’t always the case when we’re making records. And, it hadn’t been the case for a while, so this time around, we just felt really good. I understand, it sounds corny to say, it sounds cliché, but it’s not. It felt really good, most of it. There were dark moments, and, think confrontations, but, we were laughing a lot, an awful lot.
Are you able to predict people’s reactions?
I don’t know any artist who’s worth his or her salt who is. Usually the ones who are worth their salt are generally the worst predictors. You get so far into your own perspective, your own struggle to get the stuff out of you that you really can’t take in an awful lot of prophesising or predicting. It’s often why for a lot of artist - especially the good ones – the stuff that we love is not always the stuff that the public at large enjoys and visa versa; the stuff that the public may be rather blasé about is stuff that means an awful lot to us. And I don’t mean specifically Mercury Rev, but just artists in general, authors, painters. And I don’t know why that is, it’s probably because we see each other differently. The way I see myself is sometimes at odds with the way the public sees me. Sometimes.
The turmoil at the beginning of your touring careers has been well documented. What was the cause of that in the beginning?
There were an awful lot of strong personalities, who I don’t think were necessarily well prepared or necessarily predicted that we would all be together in this happy family of being a rock band. We just assembled together, had done some music in a very offhanded way for our friends, sent it around to a few labels and were pretty much routinely rejected. Small, gothic, death rock label loved it, put it out. We got some very favourable large-scale press. And then those six people had to go out on stage and try to do this thing that we’d only done once. You add into that money and you add into that a tabloid press in Britain and Europe, and it was a lot to handle, you know?
What did it take to pull through that to a better mindset?
It took four of the members to stop touring out of the six. And myself and Grasshopper, you know, we really love music, and the others did too, but we’ve always had a very close resonance between us. At some point we probably made some very unconscious, subconscious decisions that in order to go forward, we had to treat each other with a lot more patience and dignity, otherwise it would just burn out. Probably around ‘95/’96, we made some of those efforts to at times be good to each other, because at times we weren’t. Then again, it sounds very soap opera-ish, but he’s my best friend in the world. We make music together if it’s not going well, as a best friend, you’re not going to make that music. You can’t put that aside and say ‘well, we’re really not talking but we’ll just make a record together for the fuck of it with a big publishing cheque.’ It doesn’t work like that. So, you have to sort of confront those choices. How badly do I want to make music? And how badly do I need somebody as my friend? Ultimately, you make the choice for friendship. Music can come and go, but it’s the friendships you have that can pull you through the darkest times.
How did you work through it to become a more stable unit?
We thought of it as something we love to do together; playing music, writing music. And the way we were raised on music ourselves as an American band. Perseverance is the most important thing for the bands that we both played with and grew up listening to, all these bands from the early 80s. Sonic Youth. These bands have a great sense of perseverance. They’re not in it to be in the charts and then out again and then break up three years later. These are the bands we truly love, that inspire us. Not necessarily musically, but the idea that you keep going, that this doesn’t end when your record falls out of the radio chart or when it falls below a certain sales level, or you get a bad review. We do it because we love it, and that’s something that historically has been a very American quality, since the early 80’s, in a Sonic Youth way. And, I use them as a prime example, as a band that keeps going in the best of ways, because they love to do what they do, whether they’re in fashion or out, whether they’re on the top of the sound wave or in the trough and that’s something that we hold very close to us, because, as a band, we’ve been in and out of fashion. We make the music that we want to but at times, people don’t get it or there’s something else that seems more important to the press.
Are you surprised that Mercury Rev is nearly 20 years old?
It’s not surprising to us. Sometimes you wake up and go ‘wow, phew’, but the idea is, the word ‘no’ isn’t in our vocabulary, the idea to break up because our record got panned or didn’t sell, the idea to let it blow up in our face because our record did really well. These aren’t things that really cross our minds. We never talk about it. We live in a small mountain community in upstate New York and no one cares what chart position we’re at. No one ever asks. It’s a lifestyle we choose to live and it has enabled us to make the music we want to. As you probably have written down, and can see, over our career, it’s a sound wave. You’re up and you’re down in the public’s eyes, or even in the press’ eyes. But it’s something that we’ve always known and we’ve assumed we’ll keep going. And get better.
Out of all the shows you’ve played around the world, has there been any specific place that has stuck with you?
They all resonate like stings on a guitar. Sometimes they’re high E or sometimes they’re lower A, but in a different way. That’s the beauty of music. If you do it sincerely and do it truthfully to yourself, somewhere in someone’s being in some far away country, even close by, even if they don’t speak the language, if you hit that string, it resonates. It goes above and beyond books, literature, things like that. And it’s universal. You’re dealing with vibration and that’s not something that gets stopped at the border in customs. It’s not something that language breaks down. That goes right to the heart. You can’t fake it. Sure you can be popular in a pop way, or in a newspaper and people will come to your show in droves and wanna see it, but to have a lasting impression, it has to have a truth.
I was talking to a musician who said that when you’re playing night after night, the only thing that changes is the audience, and not your performance. Would you agree with that?
I think you have to move the audience, it resonates, it keeps going back to the sound waves and vibration. Our day’s a very long day by the time I go on stage at 9 o clock at night. But, you know what? So is the audience, they’ve had a long day, whether they’re working or going to school or whatever it is, they’ve been through a lot and so to just say, ‘well, thanks for coming, here’s our product’, eventually, they’re not stupid, they’ll understand. You have to work with it. It works really well when they work with you, and everyone can tell. Some nights just happen that the energy is bristling there, and of course, some nights are a little less or a little more. You have to work with it, you know? It’s entertainment and its bottom, but at its best, it’s communication.
This is your sixth album, and you’ve said, you’ve gone in and out of fashion, is there any part of you, before you release another record or go on another tour that wonders whether you’re still relevant?
The idea of relevance gets tricky. Are you making music to just change the way other bands listen to music? Are you making music just so you can be on the cover of a paper and be relevant in somebody’s press circle? That’s a very tricky game to play, trying to judge where music is at or where people’s heads are at. It’s a lot more sincere to just, what’s in you let it come out. Most accurate that you can, because that’s in there somewhere. It’s the human condition, that’s what we’re talking about, in essence. You have lyrics to music, or even classical music, you’re trying to get to the human condition. What is it about me that you might find something you can share? What is it about your experience that might be a good thing to express? If it doesn’t go there, then it’s wallpaper. You do the best you can. Not every song is meant to change the world or change someone else’s life. Some of them are just a really good way of saying ‘hey, how was your day? Chin up.’
What memory would you take with you if it ended?
An interview with vocalist and guitarist, Jonathan Donahue
How are you?
Divine, how are you?
I’m good. How did the instore go?
It went fine, we signed and awful lot of Irish names. We learnt where to put the, the, eh (looks to record label minder for help), fada.
Everybody’s raving about ‘The Secret Migration’, how does that feel?
Um. I’m just coming down from my chocolate buzz, one second (he’s after devouring a giant slab of Matilda-esque chocolate cake). That’s a weird question. Um. It feels good.
What was the recording process like for you?
Um, we laughed a lot. We had a really genuinely good time, which isn’t always the case when we’re making records. And, it hadn’t been the case for a while, so this time around, we just felt really good. I understand, it sounds corny to say, it sounds cliché, but it’s not. It felt really good, most of it. There were dark moments, and, think confrontations, but, we were laughing a lot, an awful lot.
Are you able to predict people’s reactions?
I don’t know any artist who’s worth his or her salt who is. Usually the ones who are worth their salt are generally the worst predictors. You get so far into your own perspective, your own struggle to get the stuff out of you that you really can’t take in an awful lot of prophesising or predicting. It’s often why for a lot of artist - especially the good ones – the stuff that we love is not always the stuff that the public at large enjoys and visa versa; the stuff that the public may be rather blasé about is stuff that means an awful lot to us. And I don’t mean specifically Mercury Rev, but just artists in general, authors, painters. And I don’t know why that is, it’s probably because we see each other differently. The way I see myself is sometimes at odds with the way the public sees me. Sometimes.
The turmoil at the beginning of your touring careers has been well documented. What was the cause of that in the beginning?
There were an awful lot of strong personalities, who I don’t think were necessarily well prepared or necessarily predicted that we would all be together in this happy family of being a rock band. We just assembled together, had done some music in a very offhanded way for our friends, sent it around to a few labels and were pretty much routinely rejected. Small, gothic, death rock label loved it, put it out. We got some very favourable large-scale press. And then those six people had to go out on stage and try to do this thing that we’d only done once. You add into that money and you add into that a tabloid press in Britain and Europe, and it was a lot to handle, you know?
What did it take to pull through that to a better mindset?
It took four of the members to stop touring out of the six. And myself and Grasshopper, you know, we really love music, and the others did too, but we’ve always had a very close resonance between us. At some point we probably made some very unconscious, subconscious decisions that in order to go forward, we had to treat each other with a lot more patience and dignity, otherwise it would just burn out. Probably around ‘95/’96, we made some of those efforts to at times be good to each other, because at times we weren’t. Then again, it sounds very soap opera-ish, but he’s my best friend in the world. We make music together if it’s not going well, as a best friend, you’re not going to make that music. You can’t put that aside and say ‘well, we’re really not talking but we’ll just make a record together for the fuck of it with a big publishing cheque.’ It doesn’t work like that. So, you have to sort of confront those choices. How badly do I want to make music? And how badly do I need somebody as my friend? Ultimately, you make the choice for friendship. Music can come and go, but it’s the friendships you have that can pull you through the darkest times.
How did you work through it to become a more stable unit?
We thought of it as something we love to do together; playing music, writing music. And the way we were raised on music ourselves as an American band. Perseverance is the most important thing for the bands that we both played with and grew up listening to, all these bands from the early 80s. Sonic Youth. These bands have a great sense of perseverance. They’re not in it to be in the charts and then out again and then break up three years later. These are the bands we truly love, that inspire us. Not necessarily musically, but the idea that you keep going, that this doesn’t end when your record falls out of the radio chart or when it falls below a certain sales level, or you get a bad review. We do it because we love it, and that’s something that historically has been a very American quality, since the early 80’s, in a Sonic Youth way. And, I use them as a prime example, as a band that keeps going in the best of ways, because they love to do what they do, whether they’re in fashion or out, whether they’re on the top of the sound wave or in the trough and that’s something that we hold very close to us, because, as a band, we’ve been in and out of fashion. We make the music that we want to but at times, people don’t get it or there’s something else that seems more important to the press.
Are you surprised that Mercury Rev is nearly 20 years old?
It’s not surprising to us. Sometimes you wake up and go ‘wow, phew’, but the idea is, the word ‘no’ isn’t in our vocabulary, the idea to break up because our record got panned or didn’t sell, the idea to let it blow up in our face because our record did really well. These aren’t things that really cross our minds. We never talk about it. We live in a small mountain community in upstate New York and no one cares what chart position we’re at. No one ever asks. It’s a lifestyle we choose to live and it has enabled us to make the music we want to. As you probably have written down, and can see, over our career, it’s a sound wave. You’re up and you’re down in the public’s eyes, or even in the press’ eyes. But it’s something that we’ve always known and we’ve assumed we’ll keep going. And get better.
Out of all the shows you’ve played around the world, has there been any specific place that has stuck with you?
They all resonate like stings on a guitar. Sometimes they’re high E or sometimes they’re lower A, but in a different way. That’s the beauty of music. If you do it sincerely and do it truthfully to yourself, somewhere in someone’s being in some far away country, even close by, even if they don’t speak the language, if you hit that string, it resonates. It goes above and beyond books, literature, things like that. And it’s universal. You’re dealing with vibration and that’s not something that gets stopped at the border in customs. It’s not something that language breaks down. That goes right to the heart. You can’t fake it. Sure you can be popular in a pop way, or in a newspaper and people will come to your show in droves and wanna see it, but to have a lasting impression, it has to have a truth.
I was talking to a musician who said that when you’re playing night after night, the only thing that changes is the audience, and not your performance. Would you agree with that?
I think you have to move the audience, it resonates, it keeps going back to the sound waves and vibration. Our day’s a very long day by the time I go on stage at 9 o clock at night. But, you know what? So is the audience, they’ve had a long day, whether they’re working or going to school or whatever it is, they’ve been through a lot and so to just say, ‘well, thanks for coming, here’s our product’, eventually, they’re not stupid, they’ll understand. You have to work with it. It works really well when they work with you, and everyone can tell. Some nights just happen that the energy is bristling there, and of course, some nights are a little less or a little more. You have to work with it, you know? It’s entertainment and its bottom, but at its best, it’s communication.
This is your sixth album, and you’ve said, you’ve gone in and out of fashion, is there any part of you, before you release another record or go on another tour that wonders whether you’re still relevant?
The idea of relevance gets tricky. Are you making music to just change the way other bands listen to music? Are you making music just so you can be on the cover of a paper and be relevant in somebody’s press circle? That’s a very tricky game to play, trying to judge where music is at or where people’s heads are at. It’s a lot more sincere to just, what’s in you let it come out. Most accurate that you can, because that’s in there somewhere. It’s the human condition, that’s what we’re talking about, in essence. You have lyrics to music, or even classical music, you’re trying to get to the human condition. What is it about me that you might find something you can share? What is it about your experience that might be a good thing to express? If it doesn’t go there, then it’s wallpaper. You do the best you can. Not every song is meant to change the world or change someone else’s life. Some of them are just a really good way of saying ‘hey, how was your day? Chin up.’
What memory would you take with you if it ended?
I don’t believe in ends, so if Mercury Rev broke up suddenly, I would tend to view it as the beginning of something else.
listening to: The Immediate - Moneysworth
ANTHRAX
Having abandoned music for a decade to become a master watchmaker, Dan Spitz has returned to Anthrax. He spoke to Una Mullally about the fans, the music and his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“I got the Elton John syndrome, he lost the love of his instrument.” Dan Spitz is explaining the moment he lost music, the precursor for abandoning one of the biggest metal groups of all time and discarding music. “In my heart,” he continues, “the music that comes through me, I lost it. I lost the love of my best friend – my guitar. I hated it.” If this sounds all a bit too dramatic then you’ve never listened to an Anthrax record. Spitz’s essence seems to echo the passion, speed and violence of his band. He speaks extremely eloquently, pausing and searching for the right word, often arguing vehemently with simple presumptions I make and always finishing sentences that often last for 5 minutes each.
Spitz himself brings up his extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder four or five times, ensuring that there’s free reign to discuss the reason why he abandoned Anthrax when the band were still selling out arenas and flogging millions of albums. And when he did it, he did with excess, “when you do something, it has to be to the further extent. It’s either on or off. So, I ripped all my stereos out of my cars and house, I gave my 53 guitars to Hard Rock Cafes around the world so they’re all in glass cases now. Then I enrolled in schools to become a watchmaker. A guitar is a never-ending learning experience, but as a child I had two goals; be on the cover of Guitar Player magazine and play Madison Square Garden. That accomplishment was complete. So I began studying micro technology and engineering.”
Spitz says he went from complete noise to complete solitude and is now the second best master watchmaker in the world, mainly repairing watches worth over one million dollars. For some unclear reason, the time to rejoin Anthrax has arrived for Spitz, “it’s therapeutic for me to bring back guitars. I’m like a kid in a candy store now. I look at pedals and get all excited.” Spitz speaks deadly seriously about his commitment to the band, as if he’s scared others will think it’s another momentary split decision, “I want the fans to know for me, that it’s not about the money,” he deadpans, “I have money, I’m there’s only one other person in the world who can do what I do. I love my fans and I miss them.”
Indeed, a return to the fabled line-up of Anthrax is something to relish, but with the constant surge of nostalgia on the road with the ‘return’ of Thin Lizzy, The Doors, Queen and, um, Oasis, will the allure still be there? Spitz is in no doubt, “we have to offer ourselves. We have that live energy. The magic is unexplainable. If you take out one person, it’s a different band. A band is a sum of its parts. We’re going to be going around the world destroying everyone.”
“I got the Elton John syndrome, he lost the love of his instrument.” Dan Spitz is explaining the moment he lost music, the precursor for abandoning one of the biggest metal groups of all time and discarding music. “In my heart,” he continues, “the music that comes through me, I lost it. I lost the love of my best friend – my guitar. I hated it.” If this sounds all a bit too dramatic then you’ve never listened to an Anthrax record. Spitz’s essence seems to echo the passion, speed and violence of his band. He speaks extremely eloquently, pausing and searching for the right word, often arguing vehemently with simple presumptions I make and always finishing sentences that often last for 5 minutes each.
Spitz himself brings up his extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder four or five times, ensuring that there’s free reign to discuss the reason why he abandoned Anthrax when the band were still selling out arenas and flogging millions of albums. And when he did it, he did with excess, “when you do something, it has to be to the further extent. It’s either on or off. So, I ripped all my stereos out of my cars and house, I gave my 53 guitars to Hard Rock Cafes around the world so they’re all in glass cases now. Then I enrolled in schools to become a watchmaker. A guitar is a never-ending learning experience, but as a child I had two goals; be on the cover of Guitar Player magazine and play Madison Square Garden. That accomplishment was complete. So I began studying micro technology and engineering.”
Spitz says he went from complete noise to complete solitude and is now the second best master watchmaker in the world, mainly repairing watches worth over one million dollars. For some unclear reason, the time to rejoin Anthrax has arrived for Spitz, “it’s therapeutic for me to bring back guitars. I’m like a kid in a candy store now. I look at pedals and get all excited.” Spitz speaks deadly seriously about his commitment to the band, as if he’s scared others will think it’s another momentary split decision, “I want the fans to know for me, that it’s not about the money,” he deadpans, “I have money, I’m there’s only one other person in the world who can do what I do. I love my fans and I miss them.”
Indeed, a return to the fabled line-up of Anthrax is something to relish, but with the constant surge of nostalgia on the road with the ‘return’ of Thin Lizzy, The Doors, Queen and, um, Oasis, will the allure still be there? Spitz is in no doubt, “we have to offer ourselves. We have that live energy. The magic is unexplainable. If you take out one person, it’s a different band. A band is a sum of its parts. We’re going to be going around the world destroying everyone.”
NANCY SINATRA
FRANKLY, NANCY
Rat Packers be warned, the F(rank) word, does not appear in this article. And there’s a reason for that. Nancy Sinatra was always more than her father’s daughter. Far before Debbie Harry was storming CBGBs, and before Cher had ripped open the fishnets, Nancy Sinatra was the female artist. And she remains an icon today, not just because of anthems like ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’’, but also because of her longevity, her charity work and her humbleness in a world of Divas and wannabe-divas. In other words, Nancy is the woman.
Today, following a hectic Memorial weekend (more about that later), she’s at home in LA, hoarse and reflective. So, in her opinion, what made her the icon she has become? “The fashion angle is always there. I think I was perhaps the first person to wear the mini skirt and the boots – in this country (the US) anyway. Until Twiggy came along I suppose! I brought the mini skirts home from London. There was no one else doing that, although Europe was way ahead of us as usual. Musically, I wasn’t the first female to do what I did, but I was the first white female. The people who were doing what I ended up doing were in RnB. They had the attitude. People like Ruth Brown. And the guys I liked; Elvis and The Everly Brothers influenced me too. I grew up with the great American songbook of course and I learnt from that.”
No one could have foreseen the success that these factors brought, although there was a fair amount of hard work involved too, “there were four years when I was recording and releasing single after single and nothing was happening. When he first song that really worked, ‘So Long Babe’, hit the US and I was asked to be on every TV show and called for interviews, I knew things were going to change. My Dad would walk out on stage and introduce himself saying, ‘I’m Nancy’s father’.”
So, back to the surname. When Nancy started out, the cynics rushed to slam her for trading on a family name. “It was kind of funny being compared to a male singer”, she laughs, “It’s pretty absurd when you think about it. They used to say, ‘Nancy will never be the man her father is’ – a lot of people didn’t even see the irony in that!” She was just trying to make it on her own, and a famous Pop help in some ways, but also demanded that she worked even harder to carve out her individuality, which she did with style. By the time the album ‘Boots’ had arrived, Nancy was a superstar across the globe. She pioneered fashion statements, and even photographic stances that still remain to this day, “sometimes I see Britney dressed in something, or Mariah posing in a certain way and I think, ‘I did that in ‘71!’ It’s flattering when people say they look up to you, or that you influenced them, although it did take me a long time to believe that I could be so powerful as to influence somebody”.
“Excuse my voice”, she continues, slightly embarrassed, “it’s just after memorial weekend here, and I don’t know if you know about ‘Rolling Thunder’, but at the weekend, there were 400,000 of us on motorcycles in Washington. We actually managed to get an audience with the president. So some of us went into the Oval Office and addressed him about the issues of war veterans. There is a struggle in the US with veterans. They’re just brushed under the carpet. We ride to call attention to that and to rally round. It’s not an easy task.” Committed to causes outside of music set Nancy Sinatra apart from the beginning of her career. “ Serving people is part of my upbringing - my father was the same. My grandmother invited in people off the street for meals. When we’d go to her house for dinner, you never knew who you’d be sitting next to at the table.”
In a career spanning decades, with hundreds of parties, hit singles, movies and a life in an ultra-famous family, one would expect a memory in that vein to have remained with Nancy until now. But when I ask her what times and what memories she would not part with for the world, I’m met with a charitable answer, “my USO work, because those images are still as vivid and real as when I was experiencing them. I met two people this weekend who saw me during that time and thanked me for bringing a smile to them. People are always thanking me, but I have to tell them not to, because it’s not me who should be thanked. In those memories, I found a brotherhood I can rely on. There are happier memories too, of course. I mean I made some of the worst movies!” I interrupt Nancy to remind her that she was to top female box office draw for two years in a row. “Yeah, well, the movies were with Elvis and Peter Fonda I guess! Y’know, It was a ride.” And it still is? “Yeah, and it still is!”
Rat Packers be warned, the F(rank) word, does not appear in this article. And there’s a reason for that. Nancy Sinatra was always more than her father’s daughter. Far before Debbie Harry was storming CBGBs, and before Cher had ripped open the fishnets, Nancy Sinatra was the female artist. And she remains an icon today, not just because of anthems like ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’’, but also because of her longevity, her charity work and her humbleness in a world of Divas and wannabe-divas. In other words, Nancy is the woman.
Today, following a hectic Memorial weekend (more about that later), she’s at home in LA, hoarse and reflective. So, in her opinion, what made her the icon she has become? “The fashion angle is always there. I think I was perhaps the first person to wear the mini skirt and the boots – in this country (the US) anyway. Until Twiggy came along I suppose! I brought the mini skirts home from London. There was no one else doing that, although Europe was way ahead of us as usual. Musically, I wasn’t the first female to do what I did, but I was the first white female. The people who were doing what I ended up doing were in RnB. They had the attitude. People like Ruth Brown. And the guys I liked; Elvis and The Everly Brothers influenced me too. I grew up with the great American songbook of course and I learnt from that.”
No one could have foreseen the success that these factors brought, although there was a fair amount of hard work involved too, “there were four years when I was recording and releasing single after single and nothing was happening. When he first song that really worked, ‘So Long Babe’, hit the US and I was asked to be on every TV show and called for interviews, I knew things were going to change. My Dad would walk out on stage and introduce himself saying, ‘I’m Nancy’s father’.”
So, back to the surname. When Nancy started out, the cynics rushed to slam her for trading on a family name. “It was kind of funny being compared to a male singer”, she laughs, “It’s pretty absurd when you think about it. They used to say, ‘Nancy will never be the man her father is’ – a lot of people didn’t even see the irony in that!” She was just trying to make it on her own, and a famous Pop help in some ways, but also demanded that she worked even harder to carve out her individuality, which she did with style. By the time the album ‘Boots’ had arrived, Nancy was a superstar across the globe. She pioneered fashion statements, and even photographic stances that still remain to this day, “sometimes I see Britney dressed in something, or Mariah posing in a certain way and I think, ‘I did that in ‘71!’ It’s flattering when people say they look up to you, or that you influenced them, although it did take me a long time to believe that I could be so powerful as to influence somebody”.
“Excuse my voice”, she continues, slightly embarrassed, “it’s just after memorial weekend here, and I don’t know if you know about ‘Rolling Thunder’, but at the weekend, there were 400,000 of us on motorcycles in Washington. We actually managed to get an audience with the president. So some of us went into the Oval Office and addressed him about the issues of war veterans. There is a struggle in the US with veterans. They’re just brushed under the carpet. We ride to call attention to that and to rally round. It’s not an easy task.” Committed to causes outside of music set Nancy Sinatra apart from the beginning of her career. “ Serving people is part of my upbringing - my father was the same. My grandmother invited in people off the street for meals. When we’d go to her house for dinner, you never knew who you’d be sitting next to at the table.”
In a career spanning decades, with hundreds of parties, hit singles, movies and a life in an ultra-famous family, one would expect a memory in that vein to have remained with Nancy until now. But when I ask her what times and what memories she would not part with for the world, I’m met with a charitable answer, “my USO work, because those images are still as vivid and real as when I was experiencing them. I met two people this weekend who saw me during that time and thanked me for bringing a smile to them. People are always thanking me, but I have to tell them not to, because it’s not me who should be thanked. In those memories, I found a brotherhood I can rely on. There are happier memories too, of course. I mean I made some of the worst movies!” I interrupt Nancy to remind her that she was to top female box office draw for two years in a row. “Yeah, well, the movies were with Elvis and Peter Fonda I guess! Y’know, It was a ride.” And it still is? “Yeah, and it still is!”
ok, if i wasn't bored at the start of this exercise, I sure as fuck am now.
Una
Monday, June 27, 2005
Grimace
listening to: Graham Coxon - Freaking Out
It's not that often that I grimace. It usually has something to do with me whacking a body part off a door/bed/desk. And on occasions, my face contorts suitably while watching reality plastic surgery programmes: I Want A Famous Face, Extreme Make Over, The Swan. But, these days, I'm grimacing with jealousy.
There are a few elements with this self indulgence. Firstly, most of my class are on cool journo intra placements; flitting around town all day to press conferences with celebrities (Elaine, for example has clocked up interviews with Bill Clinton, Eminem, Bob Geldof, Girls Aloud, Michael O Leary and various Ministers in a few weeks), and then return to their offices to broadcast or write up their findings. I'm stuck at home writing up the same old same old interviews for The Event Guide, which, although enjoyable, isn't really 'stretching' me, at this point in time. Although my intra placement is beginning soon enough (July 12th), I'm still stupidly jealous. And I have little to contribute when we go for 'after work' drinks on Friday. No, I wasn't at Mary Harney's taskforce launch press conference, no, I don't know Michael from 98fm, or Ross from 104fm for that matter, no, I didn't get to drink my face off in the press bar at U2, no, I haven't got complimentary tickets to Slane, no, no, no. This isn't hatred jealousy, you understand. I like hearing newsy stuff. It's just that I'm not included yet.
listening to: Ash - A Life Less Ordinary
To top it off, Burco has fled to Barcelona via Italy for God knows how long. She rang me this morning, with tales of an all weekend hippy party in Fionn's house near a tiny village outside Turin. Fionn had save 250 litres of wine for the occasion. It's 40 degrees and Burco was calling me form her mobile, because the village was so small, there was no pay phone, never mind somewhere to buy phone cards. This makes me so jealous. I would've gone if I had any money / didn't have Event guide commitments / wasn't starting an internship at the Sunday Tribune in the inappropriate middle of everything.
listening to: The Walkmen - The Rat
So, in this fit of I DONT WANNA BE HERE WAHHHH, I'm reading an entirely inappropriate book: The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux, which is a travelogue from Boston to Patagonia. Why is this a bad book for me to be reading? Well apart from the home away from home sickness (Boston) I suffered at the beginning of the book, I desperately want to travel around South America, and I have to listen to this dude delightfully fart on about tiny villages, drinking tequila and warm beer, frolicing with Incas and so on. But it's too good to put down, so I just better finish it. Luckily, I've reached a chapter where the author suffers from bad altitute sickness, so that's some kind of solace.
listening to: The Libertines - What Became of the Likely Lads
And Lili, come home please xx
Una
Today's Checklist (updated again)
listening to: The Chalets - Sexy Mistake
1. Interview with Niamh (Ham Sandwich) completed
www.eathamsandwich.com
2. Still no word from The Bravery
3. Room hoovering relegated in favour of sunbathing
listening to: Dry County - Fell Into An Etch
Una
Today's Checklist (updated)
listening to: The Bleedin Bleedins - Tonight
Things move along quickly:-
1. Emailed Aimee Mann Interview
2. Got call from MCD: Bravery interview mightn't happen; they were playing Glastonbury last night and haven't flown in yet. TBC
3. Fucking text won't sent to Niamh (Ham Sandwich)
Una
Things move along quickly:-
1. Emailed Aimee Mann Interview
2. Got call from MCD: Bravery interview mightn't happen; they were playing Glastonbury last night and haven't flown in yet. TBC
3. Fucking text won't sent to Niamh (Ham Sandwich)
Una
Today's Checklist
listening to: The Bleedin Bleedins: Don't Stop City
Today is another day. It is sunny in Dublin. The sky is blue. And I have my usual shit to do.
1. Email editor Aimee Mann interview
2. Confirm interview time for Niamh (Ham Sandwich), conduct and write up interview
3. Ring Bebhinn from MCD about The Bravery interview
4. If The Bravery are go: go to Croke Park and interview them
5. Write up Lili's biog
6. Seriously hoover my room
7. Set up interview time for Mark from the Bollywood Brass Band
Una
Today is another day. It is sunny in Dublin. The sky is blue. And I have my usual shit to do.
1. Email editor Aimee Mann interview
2. Confirm interview time for Niamh (Ham Sandwich), conduct and write up interview
3. Ring Bebhinn from MCD about The Bravery interview
4. If The Bravery are go: go to Croke Park and interview them
5. Write up Lili's biog
6. Seriously hoover my room
7. Set up interview time for Mark from the Bollywood Brass Band
Una
Sunday, June 26, 2005
WHAT ELSE?
So, there are mucho bands out there that are grabbing my attention. While Glasto floods and Bono yelps in Croker, this is what I'm listening to:
My Chemical Romance
Mainly just 'I'm Not OK' just because it's a brilliant, brilliant song. 'Helena' is good too, you can download the album here:
http://www.zerorocks.net/My%20Chemical%20Romance%20-%20Three%20Cheers%20For%20Sweet%20Revenge.zip
Common
Maybe because his new album has just come out ('Be'), or maybe because I'm still listening to 'Resurrection', or maybe because he's playing Spirit soon, and I'm trying to snag an interview. Whatever it is, Common is MAYBE (now that JayZ has 'retired') the best rapper out there.
http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Common%20-%20Resurrection.mp3
Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah
Some other blog turned me on to these guys (can't remember which one - possibly http://youaintnopicasso.blogspot.com/) But they sure are fun.
Alkaline Trio
Have had some tracks by these guys for a while (This Could Be Loved being the best), but it was their new video for Time To Waste. This is their fifth album. And they are ALL good. Trust me.
Funeral For A Friend
Their new track Streetcar is riding high in my personal chart.
Be Your Own Pet
Things are looking up for these Yanky teenagers I posted about previously. Great pop songs, and their lead chick is only 16! Yikes.
Arctic Monkeys
More Indie hopefulls that are excellent. Better than The Departure anyway - who I am kind of sick of. The Ordinary Boys and Hard Fi and The Editors are better.
Bright Eyes
It took me a while to come around to Bright Eyes, because I am kind of done with the 'troubadour' thing. But he's as sweet as hell, and it's impossible not to be cutesily partial too. Here is the 'hit' The First Day OF My Life:
http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Bright%20Eyes%20-%2004%20-%20First%20Day%20of%20My%20Life.mp3
Vitalic
Ok Cowboy, probably the best dance record this year (so far?)
OLD BAND PHASE
There is no NEW without OLD of course, so, the old bands I have been listening to are
System Of A Down
Why: Because Download @ Donnington has refreshed my memory and the new single BYOB is a work of pop chorus genius
Essential Track: Paranoid
Weezer
Why: Backstage before their gig @ Vicar Street interviewing the support band (The Subways) brought them back to memory, and watching Island In The Sun on MTV2 yesterday.
Essential Track: The Sweater Song http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Weezer/Weezer/Undone%20(The%20Sweater%20Song).m4p
U2
Why: Because society has pressured me beyond any recognition
Essential Track: City Of Blinding Lights
Daft Punk
Why: realising their new album is so shit draws you back to the old records
Essential track: Digital Love
download technologic: http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Daft%20Punk%20-%20technologic.mp3
that is all, come back later
listening to: Interpol - Say Hello To The Angels
Una
My Chemical Romance
Mainly just 'I'm Not OK' just because it's a brilliant, brilliant song. 'Helena' is good too, you can download the album here:
http://www.zerorocks.net/My%20Chemical%20Romance%20-%20Three%20Cheers%20For%20Sweet%20Revenge.zip
Common
Maybe because his new album has just come out ('Be'), or maybe because I'm still listening to 'Resurrection', or maybe because he's playing Spirit soon, and I'm trying to snag an interview. Whatever it is, Common is MAYBE (now that JayZ has 'retired') the best rapper out there.
http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Common%20-%20Resurrection.mp3
Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah
Some other blog turned me on to these guys (can't remember which one - possibly http://youaintnopicasso.blogspot.com/) But they sure are fun.
Alkaline Trio
Have had some tracks by these guys for a while (This Could Be Loved being the best), but it was their new video for Time To Waste. This is their fifth album. And they are ALL good. Trust me.
Funeral For A Friend
Their new track Streetcar is riding high in my personal chart.
Be Your Own Pet
Things are looking up for these Yanky teenagers I posted about previously. Great pop songs, and their lead chick is only 16! Yikes.
Arctic Monkeys
More Indie hopefulls that are excellent. Better than The Departure anyway - who I am kind of sick of. The Ordinary Boys and Hard Fi and The Editors are better.
Bright Eyes
It took me a while to come around to Bright Eyes, because I am kind of done with the 'troubadour' thing. But he's as sweet as hell, and it's impossible not to be cutesily partial too. Here is the 'hit' The First Day OF My Life:
http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Bright%20Eyes%20-%2004%20-%20First%20Day%20of%20My%20Life.mp3
Vitalic
Ok Cowboy, probably the best dance record this year (so far?)
OLD BAND PHASE
There is no NEW without OLD of course, so, the old bands I have been listening to are
System Of A Down
Why: Because Download @ Donnington has refreshed my memory and the new single BYOB is a work of pop chorus genius
Essential Track: Paranoid
Weezer
Why: Backstage before their gig @ Vicar Street interviewing the support band (The Subways) brought them back to memory, and watching Island In The Sun on MTV2 yesterday.
Essential Track: The Sweater Song http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Weezer/Weezer/Undone%20(The%20Sweater%20Song).m4p
U2
Why: Because society has pressured me beyond any recognition
Essential Track: City Of Blinding Lights
Daft Punk
Why: realising their new album is so shit draws you back to the old records
Essential track: Digital Love
download technologic: http://idoggeus.servebeer.com:4444/music/Everyday/New/Daft%20Punk%20-%20technologic.mp3
that is all, come back later
listening to: Interpol - Say Hello To The Angels
Una
U2 MADNESS DOES NOT ABATE
listening to: Bloc Party - Plans
yes, Dublin and all of the newspapers and possibly the world are still going crazy over the fact that U2 are playing three nights in Dublin this weekend, so just Monday's gig to go, and I may not have a problem getting fucking taxis home from town. RTE dedicated an entire NIGHT to U2 last night. Deary me.
Anyway, as I am under pressure and direction from Bono's invisible hand (and in the spirit of the occasion), here are a couple of my favourite U2 songs. Just right click and 'save target as'.
Wake Up Dead Man
(Pop)
http://www.zimina.net/mp3/u2/U2-Wakeupdeadman.mp3
One
(Achtung Baby)
http://www.zimina.net/mp3/u2/one.mp3
The Joshua Tree Album
http://rapidshare.de/files/2113625/u2jtpart1.rar.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/2114096/u2jtpart2.rar.html
Sunday Bloody Sunday
(A Fire In Dortmund)
http://members.home.nl/vivalavinyl/1984-11-21%20-%20A%20Fire%20In%20Dortmund/U2%20-%201984-11-21%20-%20A%20Fire%20In%20Dortmund%20-%2004%20-%20Sunday%20Bloody%20Sunday.mp3
Una
yes, Dublin and all of the newspapers and possibly the world are still going crazy over the fact that U2 are playing three nights in Dublin this weekend, so just Monday's gig to go, and I may not have a problem getting fucking taxis home from town. RTE dedicated an entire NIGHT to U2 last night. Deary me.
Anyway, as I am under pressure and direction from Bono's invisible hand (and in the spirit of the occasion), here are a couple of my favourite U2 songs. Just right click and 'save target as'.
Wake Up Dead Man
(Pop)
http://www.zimina.net/mp3/u2/U2-Wakeupdeadman.mp3
One
(Achtung Baby)
http://www.zimina.net/mp3/u2/one.mp3
The Joshua Tree Album
http://rapidshare.de/files/2113625/u2jtpart1.rar.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/2114096/u2jtpart2.rar.html
Sunday Bloody Sunday
(A Fire In Dortmund)
http://members.home.nl/vivalavinyl/1984-11-21%20-%20A%20Fire%20In%20Dortmund/U2%20-%201984-11-21%20-%20A%20Fire%20In%20Dortmund%20-%2004%20-%20Sunday%20Bloody%20Sunday.mp3
Una
Thursday, June 23, 2005
byeee burco
listening to: Jay Z - Momma Loves Me
Burco is gone away. BOOOOOOO. Her, Killian and Ed went off today to live in Barcelona. Niamh went with them to go live in Norway. They are all going to Italy first to party.
Last night we had BURCO'S BARCELONA BLOWOUT BONANZA at the Stags Head. Me and Laney (distraught from an earlier shorthand exam) met for coffee which turned in five pints in break For The Border. Needless to say, bye the time we got to the Stags Head, I was pretty juiced.
listening to: Lou Reed - Vicious
My feet hurt so much from walking around in flip flops today. Blister city. Apart from walking around today, I also paid my Cyprus deposit. At last, I made a decision, and decided to go. 10 other people from our now defunct class will be joining me on the beaches for the first two weeks in October.
When I was standing outside the IFC, there were these weirdos on a treaure hunt asking me Simon and Garfunkel related clues. Something about a street and doctors. Weirdos.
listening to: The Veils - Talk Down The Girl
Dublin has officially gone insane with this U2 weekend thing. They're playing in Croke Park on Friday, Saturday and Monday. I'm not going, and not that concerned about it (I am, however interviewing support band The Bravery backstage on Monday). But, today I went into Rhythm Records on the quays and all they had on sale was U2 shit. Fuckin pictures everywhere and the place was packed with tourists and their cameras. There was a hand written sign on the wall that said "IT IS OK TO MAKE PHOTO".
listening to: Kathleen Edwards - Pink Emerson Radio
Una
Burco is gone away. BOOOOOOO. Her, Killian and Ed went off today to live in Barcelona. Niamh went with them to go live in Norway. They are all going to Italy first to party.
Last night we had BURCO'S BARCELONA BLOWOUT BONANZA at the Stags Head. Me and Laney (distraught from an earlier shorthand exam) met for coffee which turned in five pints in break For The Border. Needless to say, bye the time we got to the Stags Head, I was pretty juiced.
listening to: Lou Reed - Vicious
My feet hurt so much from walking around in flip flops today. Blister city. Apart from walking around today, I also paid my Cyprus deposit. At last, I made a decision, and decided to go. 10 other people from our now defunct class will be joining me on the beaches for the first two weeks in October.
When I was standing outside the IFC, there were these weirdos on a treaure hunt asking me Simon and Garfunkel related clues. Something about a street and doctors. Weirdos.
listening to: The Veils - Talk Down The Girl
Dublin has officially gone insane with this U2 weekend thing. They're playing in Croke Park on Friday, Saturday and Monday. I'm not going, and not that concerned about it (I am, however interviewing support band The Bravery backstage on Monday). But, today I went into Rhythm Records on the quays and all they had on sale was U2 shit. Fuckin pictures everywhere and the place was packed with tourists and their cameras. There was a hand written sign on the wall that said "IT IS OK TO MAKE PHOTO".
listening to: Kathleen Edwards - Pink Emerson Radio
Una
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
GOD SAVE THE QUEENS
They’ve steadily become one of the biggest and most respected rock bands in the world, and nothing seems to stand in their way, now that a fourth album is living up to its predecessors. Una Mullally spoke to guitarist and keyboardist Troy Van Leeuwen in LA.
Queens of the Stone Age are an old-school band. One look at a poster, one listen to an album, whiffs of rawk. There’s something very traditional about the band. They follow the former rock pattern of recruiting accomplished musicians from various bands that follow the same formula as them; The Foo Fighters, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Dinosaur Jr. You get the idea. And from this mixture of expertise, with a passion for musicianship that is anchored far deeper than most has grown one of the biggest rock bands in the world. They’ve done it fairly quietly, bar, perhaps, the super hit ‘No One Knows’, touring their way to respect.
Van Leeuwen took a break in 2002 from A Perfect Circle to tour with QOTSA, keeping the tradition of front man Josh Homme’s revolving door policy involving some of America’s most talented rock musicians. Van Leeuwen has missed out on involvement on QOTSA’s previous three records, (The Desert Sessions, R, Songs For The Deaf), but was very much a part of this year’s Lullabies To Paralyze. Van Leeuwen is articulate and sombre, picking out words purposely, “it’s the calm before the storm,” he begins quietly, commenting on the band’s press work just before they go out on tour. Lullabies… is cited by critics very much as Homme’s baby. It’s dark, melodic riffs a trademark of one of rock’s most recognisable men. But Van Leeuwen paints a different picture of the album’s creation, getting the message across that a band, and not one person made it. “Making the record was such a good time,” he begins slowly, “we were creating the whole time. It was for a short period, but none of us wanted it to end.” The legacy of Songs For The Deaf was not an issue according to Van Leeuwen, “I know Songs For The Deaf did really well, but the process of making arecord is enjoying it. We took the pressure off ourselves because of the work we were doing.”
For many rock stars, interviews revolve around their celebrity, goals or anecdotes, but with Van Leeuwen, it is just about the music. It’s all he wants to talk about, and speaks so fluently on the subject, that it’s too interesting to ignore, “we dig deep into ourselves. I hope the music we make shows what we’re going through, I just want people to respond to that. The philosophy that we have is that only the good stuff survives; only the good lyrics, only the good sounds, only the good songs. If something doesn’t work, we stop.” He takes a long pause, “I think that’s it. There’s a lot of experiences musically in this band. I guess, maybe, we try to have a good time.” It’s clear that the craft comes before the ‘good time’.
Their summer filled with previously cancelled gigs rescheduled and festivals, Van Leeuwen is ready to go, although at a little slower pace than the last tour, “the more you’re out there, the more gruelling it gets,” he explains, “this time around, we’re gonna try take a breather here and there. We love touring, but we don’t want an insane schedule.” For once, Van Leeuwen veers towards humorous when he describes what he brings on tour to make life a little more bearable, “lots of suits and ties. Oh, and an ipod. Oh, and a tanning bed. We all have our own individual tanning pods on the bus. Like Britney. Ha.” But back to the band, and Van Leeuwen has more philosophy to dole out, “I would say this band is unique in every way, from the notes that are recorded to the way we tour. Every minute is taken up with a velocity to do it uniquely. We try and monitor ourselves and then go for a different approach. We’re a live band, and the fans know that. They come see us multiple times. If you can’t cut it live, people tell other people and you’re finished. I want people to feel our energy and share the music and make an incredible connection.”
He goes on to reminisce over a recent LA gig when they were joined by Mark Lanegan and then enthuses about Oxegen line-up, which seems to impress him, “Interpol, yeah, we did a couple of shows with them. And the Foo Fighters are playing and Green Day and the Prodigy. I’m definitely gonna get out and see James Brown ‘cause I’ve just seen him once before. Oh, and Death From Above 1979, I think they’re gonna be touring with us in the States. And yeah, Snoop Dogg, and the Kaiser Chiefs and…” he tails off naming all the bands he wants to check out, enthusing about their music and his with an infatuation that is very, very real.
They’ve steadily become one of the biggest and most respected rock bands in the world, and nothing seems to stand in their way, now that a fourth album is living up to its predecessors. Una Mullally spoke to guitarist and keyboardist Troy Van Leeuwen in LA.
Queens of the Stone Age are an old-school band. One look at a poster, one listen to an album, whiffs of rawk. There’s something very traditional about the band. They follow the former rock pattern of recruiting accomplished musicians from various bands that follow the same formula as them; The Foo Fighters, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Dinosaur Jr. You get the idea. And from this mixture of expertise, with a passion for musicianship that is anchored far deeper than most has grown one of the biggest rock bands in the world. They’ve done it fairly quietly, bar, perhaps, the super hit ‘No One Knows’, touring their way to respect.
Van Leeuwen took a break in 2002 from A Perfect Circle to tour with QOTSA, keeping the tradition of front man Josh Homme’s revolving door policy involving some of America’s most talented rock musicians. Van Leeuwen has missed out on involvement on QOTSA’s previous three records, (The Desert Sessions, R, Songs For The Deaf), but was very much a part of this year’s Lullabies To Paralyze. Van Leeuwen is articulate and sombre, picking out words purposely, “it’s the calm before the storm,” he begins quietly, commenting on the band’s press work just before they go out on tour. Lullabies… is cited by critics very much as Homme’s baby. It’s dark, melodic riffs a trademark of one of rock’s most recognisable men. But Van Leeuwen paints a different picture of the album’s creation, getting the message across that a band, and not one person made it. “Making the record was such a good time,” he begins slowly, “we were creating the whole time. It was for a short period, but none of us wanted it to end.” The legacy of Songs For The Deaf was not an issue according to Van Leeuwen, “I know Songs For The Deaf did really well, but the process of making arecord is enjoying it. We took the pressure off ourselves because of the work we were doing.”
For many rock stars, interviews revolve around their celebrity, goals or anecdotes, but with Van Leeuwen, it is just about the music. It’s all he wants to talk about, and speaks so fluently on the subject, that it’s too interesting to ignore, “we dig deep into ourselves. I hope the music we make shows what we’re going through, I just want people to respond to that. The philosophy that we have is that only the good stuff survives; only the good lyrics, only the good sounds, only the good songs. If something doesn’t work, we stop.” He takes a long pause, “I think that’s it. There’s a lot of experiences musically in this band. I guess, maybe, we try to have a good time.” It’s clear that the craft comes before the ‘good time’.
Their summer filled with previously cancelled gigs rescheduled and festivals, Van Leeuwen is ready to go, although at a little slower pace than the last tour, “the more you’re out there, the more gruelling it gets,” he explains, “this time around, we’re gonna try take a breather here and there. We love touring, but we don’t want an insane schedule.” For once, Van Leeuwen veers towards humorous when he describes what he brings on tour to make life a little more bearable, “lots of suits and ties. Oh, and an ipod. Oh, and a tanning bed. We all have our own individual tanning pods on the bus. Like Britney. Ha.” But back to the band, and Van Leeuwen has more philosophy to dole out, “I would say this band is unique in every way, from the notes that are recorded to the way we tour. Every minute is taken up with a velocity to do it uniquely. We try and monitor ourselves and then go for a different approach. We’re a live band, and the fans know that. They come see us multiple times. If you can’t cut it live, people tell other people and you’re finished. I want people to feel our energy and share the music and make an incredible connection.”
He goes on to reminisce over a recent LA gig when they were joined by Mark Lanegan and then enthuses about Oxegen line-up, which seems to impress him, “Interpol, yeah, we did a couple of shows with them. And the Foo Fighters are playing and Green Day and the Prodigy. I’m definitely gonna get out and see James Brown ‘cause I’ve just seen him once before. Oh, and Death From Above 1979, I think they’re gonna be touring with us in the States. And yeah, Snoop Dogg, and the Kaiser Chiefs and…” he tails off naming all the bands he wants to check out, enthusing about their music and his with an infatuation that is very, very real.
Una
listening to: Leya
Friday, June 17, 2005
I'm not dead
luckily.
try and spot me and Lili at the Hard Working Class Heroes Launch
http://www.hwch.net/i/launch/3182.jpg
listening to: TAKING BACK SUNDAY - 180 By Summer
For one reason or another, I've been out of the blogging loop. I think I've just crashed since college is done and have been faffing about the place. I don't really remember anything I've done since college has been over, which is probably why blogs are a good idea. Even just to remind my withered brain cells how I'm living.
listening to: INTERPOL - NYC
So, what have I been doing then? Well, hiding out across the Irish Sea I think. Popped over to London. Met Dee off the tube and was greated with "Una, we just have to go for ONE drink, because this guy Henry is leaving work." Not being one to turn down such a proposition, we tottered around the corner to some pub where Shakespeare used to drink (hmmmm) and met a suited party. Obviously, one drink turned into a million culminating in the following list:
listening to: GREEN DAY - Are We The Waiting?
1. Dee planning her marriage, much to Rav's astonishment
2. Talking to very drunk movie producer (Lisa) who was trying to wrangle a quarter of a mil out of another drunk boss to fund a horror movie called 'Paranoia': "Ish, like, half sith sensh, half the ring, hic".
3. Corona appearing out of everywhere
4. Getting a taxi when for some reason Dee was on my phone to Elaine
5. Entering Los Locos. The Ultimate Cheesy Club. ULTIMATE
6. Doing tequila with someone called 'Paul'
7. Promising to take Arabic lessons from some random dude
8. Attempting to stop Dee from dancing on the table to 'Crazy In Love' in front of her boss
9. Getting a kebab
10. Waking up with a t-shirt that says 'NOBODY IS UGLY AFTER 2 AM'
listening to: THE BLEEDIN BLEEDINS - Running Again
The next morning came to soon. But, being in London, I couldn't waste the day, so even though it was outrageously warm, I hopped on a tube to Camden. My couple of hours there was more or less a succession of looking for places to buy cold liquid and then looking for other places to relieve myself of the cold liquid ingested. Camden is great. Just marketty, numerous magic mushrooms stands and people whispering "skunk", acres of record stores and every t-shirt available under the sun. I bought a headscarf.
Then it was off to find my favourite record shop FOPP which is kind of near Leicester Sqaure and a bit tricky to find. I nearly fell on my face when I thought it had been changed into a Pizza Hut (turned out it was next door). So, I bought a few CDs - Appetite For Destruction, Led Zep 2 and 3 and Interpol, Antics. And another Hunter S Thompson Book. A kind of collection of articles by the great man.
That evening, JJ72 and GARBAGE at the Brixton Academy.
http://www.jj72.org/talk/viewtopic.php?t=514
The gig rocked. and Garbage were way better than I thought they would be. The Brixton Academy, which holds a few thousand was just wall to wall lesbians. I drank a few beers to take the edge off my hangover, and Dee was very excited to get in a side door guestlist style. Sarah hung out with us during Garbage's set (where Shirley Mansun sung 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' for her Dad's birthday - he was in the balcony front row), and then had to go do interviews.
Bought JJs new single SHE'S GONE on vinyl at the gig. Supporting the cause and all that.
listening to: KINGS OF LEON - The Bucket
Next day, and Leeds-bound to look after Pico the Pug.
Got on the wrong tube (twice) and then spent about half an hour with my giant suitcase looking for the coach station at Victoria. The bus took 5 and a half hours. Gross. I was sitting beside a guy who was wearing a t-shirt that said "V14GR4 1S 4 PU55I3S". Eventually, got to Leeds where EVERYONE looks like Jo from S Club 7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38054000/jpg/_38054458_jo_sclub.jpg
Another bus took me to Horsforth, where Aoife and Garrett's house is. What followed was beer, TV, dog walking from Friday evening until Tuesday afternoon. Everyone says 'eh up' and 'fookin' and 'intit?' It was good to get home.
listening to: THE CHALETS - Theme
Una
PS: check out my Coldplay X & Y review
http://www.cluas.com/music/albums/coldplay2.htm
try and spot me and Lili at the Hard Working Class Heroes Launch
http://www.hwch.net/i/launch/3182.jpg
listening to: TAKING BACK SUNDAY - 180 By Summer
For one reason or another, I've been out of the blogging loop. I think I've just crashed since college is done and have been faffing about the place. I don't really remember anything I've done since college has been over, which is probably why blogs are a good idea. Even just to remind my withered brain cells how I'm living.
listening to: INTERPOL - NYC
So, what have I been doing then? Well, hiding out across the Irish Sea I think. Popped over to London. Met Dee off the tube and was greated with "Una, we just have to go for ONE drink, because this guy Henry is leaving work." Not being one to turn down such a proposition, we tottered around the corner to some pub where Shakespeare used to drink (hmmmm) and met a suited party. Obviously, one drink turned into a million culminating in the following list:
listening to: GREEN DAY - Are We The Waiting?
1. Dee planning her marriage, much to Rav's astonishment
2. Talking to very drunk movie producer (Lisa) who was trying to wrangle a quarter of a mil out of another drunk boss to fund a horror movie called 'Paranoia': "Ish, like, half sith sensh, half the ring, hic".
3. Corona appearing out of everywhere
4. Getting a taxi when for some reason Dee was on my phone to Elaine
5. Entering Los Locos. The Ultimate Cheesy Club. ULTIMATE
6. Doing tequila with someone called 'Paul'
7. Promising to take Arabic lessons from some random dude
8. Attempting to stop Dee from dancing on the table to 'Crazy In Love' in front of her boss
9. Getting a kebab
10. Waking up with a t-shirt that says 'NOBODY IS UGLY AFTER 2 AM'
listening to: THE BLEEDIN BLEEDINS - Running Again
The next morning came to soon. But, being in London, I couldn't waste the day, so even though it was outrageously warm, I hopped on a tube to Camden. My couple of hours there was more or less a succession of looking for places to buy cold liquid and then looking for other places to relieve myself of the cold liquid ingested. Camden is great. Just marketty, numerous magic mushrooms stands and people whispering "skunk", acres of record stores and every t-shirt available under the sun. I bought a headscarf.
Then it was off to find my favourite record shop FOPP which is kind of near Leicester Sqaure and a bit tricky to find. I nearly fell on my face when I thought it had been changed into a Pizza Hut (turned out it was next door). So, I bought a few CDs - Appetite For Destruction, Led Zep 2 and 3 and Interpol, Antics. And another Hunter S Thompson Book. A kind of collection of articles by the great man.
That evening, JJ72 and GARBAGE at the Brixton Academy.
http://www.jj72.org/talk/viewtopic.php?t=514
The gig rocked. and Garbage were way better than I thought they would be. The Brixton Academy, which holds a few thousand was just wall to wall lesbians. I drank a few beers to take the edge off my hangover, and Dee was very excited to get in a side door guestlist style. Sarah hung out with us during Garbage's set (where Shirley Mansun sung 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' for her Dad's birthday - he was in the balcony front row), and then had to go do interviews.
Bought JJs new single SHE'S GONE on vinyl at the gig. Supporting the cause and all that.
listening to: KINGS OF LEON - The Bucket
Next day, and Leeds-bound to look after Pico the Pug.
Got on the wrong tube (twice) and then spent about half an hour with my giant suitcase looking for the coach station at Victoria. The bus took 5 and a half hours. Gross. I was sitting beside a guy who was wearing a t-shirt that said "V14GR4 1S 4 PU55I3S". Eventually, got to Leeds where EVERYONE looks like Jo from S Club 7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38054000/jpg/_38054458_jo_sclub.jpg
Another bus took me to Horsforth, where Aoife and Garrett's house is. What followed was beer, TV, dog walking from Friday evening until Tuesday afternoon. Everyone says 'eh up' and 'fookin' and 'intit?' It was good to get home.
listening to: THE CHALETS - Theme
Una
PS: check out my Coldplay X & Y review
http://www.cluas.com/music/albums/coldplay2.htm
Saturday, June 04, 2005
June, June, June
listening to: Sons And Daughters - Red Receiver
ya, June. Months go by etc.
This week brought the fantastic Magic Numbers to the Village (last night actually). Great gig. Huggable. The kebabs yum.
Ireland V Israel tonight. Lili has gone to support her heads.
Favourtite songs at the mo?
Arcade Fire - Power Out
Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
Hard Fi - Hard To Beat
JJ72 - She's Gone
Leya - All On The Black
The Bleedin Bleedins - One More Minute
Albums I'm listening to most?
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Coldplay - X & Y
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Sons And Daughters - The Repulsion Box
listening to : Sons And Daughters - Dance Me In
una
ya, June. Months go by etc.
This week brought the fantastic Magic Numbers to the Village (last night actually). Great gig. Huggable. The kebabs yum.
Ireland V Israel tonight. Lili has gone to support her heads.
Favourtite songs at the mo?
Arcade Fire - Power Out
Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
Hard Fi - Hard To Beat
JJ72 - She's Gone
Leya - All On The Black
The Bleedin Bleedins - One More Minute
Albums I'm listening to most?
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Coldplay - X & Y
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Sons And Daughters - The Repulsion Box
listening to : Sons And Daughters - Dance Me In
una
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