Last night, I was being a gobby prick as usual, blabbing on and on about one day TV would be broadcast from the Internet to save with all the that satellite dish nonsense. Complete ramble really, had no evidence to back it up. I just thought that it made sense.
So you can imagine my surprise when I stumble upon this little video
It's the fucking future, man! Internet on your TV. Turning your entire TV schedule over to you so you can only watch the programs you want to watch. Fantastic, yeah?!
Well, yes and no really. Yes, because you can just watch the programs you want whenever you want to. Meaning that you don't have to plan your life around the TV schedule. Something that I absolutely avoid doing and thus missing out on so-called 'Great TV'.
But no, because I think it's the randomness of the TV schedule that helps us discover new TV shows. I've found some great TV just by channel hopping through the sea of bollocks that is the digital TV listings. You can't tell me that seeing 'Giant Squid vs. Mega Shark' in the listings doesn't fill you with interest.
There is also the argument that great TV is spread via word-of-mouth. Which most of it is, but I get recommended so much TV everyday it's just impractical for me to make time for it. Because if I looked up '24' on Google TV and suddenly every episode is available right in front of me, that's my day gone straight there. I've seen the first episode so I must finish the series immediately. 18 hours of life given to Jack Bauer and his brooding demeanor (For the record, I have never seen '24'. I just assume he is brooding).
So although I think this is great for the consumer as it means we can watch the TV that suites us, at a time that suites us. But it may initially hurt the struggling TV networks that rely on channel hoppers to hop onto their channel. Yes, it may force networks to create more quality programs but if there isn't enough money to do that then it's probably goodbye to traditional low budget programming and hello to 'Jack Bauer's Torture Tips'.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Tis The Season To Reform
Someone once said to me that a band only reforms for financial reasons and that no band has even got back together for the sake of the fans. Despite that Rage Against The Machine are playing a free gig this summer as a thank you for their Christmas Number 1, Soundgarden have been performing for free under the name 'Nude Dragons' and The Libertines have made a number of acoustic appearances in various London Pubs.
But recently we've seen bands not only bury their hatchets and come together but also get themselves back into the studio and record new material. Some even giving it away for free.
Most notably, Blur have recorded their new single 'Fool's Day' through Parlophone and are giving it away for nothing. This may have got every 20-something indie kid salivating at the sheer thought of it, but I am personally a little disappointed. It ticks all the boxes for Blur and shows very little similarity to Albarn's other projects (Gorillaz; The Good, The Bad and The Queen) but has still yet to excite in the way that Blur used to. At best, this is an album track. Sensible listening for those looking to kick back for the summer but nothing that is going to raise the roof.
But I can't say the same for the return of Germany's Atari Teenage Riot. ATR have not only began touring across Europe but have also released new single 'Activate' as a free download. I have a bit of a soft spot for ATR. They gave a sound for every disillusioned teenager to just go nuts to. And they haven't lost their edge from when they started over 20 years ago. It's loud, aggressive and one for clubs.
If only Axl Rose would stop being such a bell-end, we might even get the original Guns'n'Roses line up to play Reading and Leeds. Who says it can't happen? Oh, Axl... shit!
But recently we've seen bands not only bury their hatchets and come together but also get themselves back into the studio and record new material. Some even giving it away for free.
Most notably, Blur have recorded their new single 'Fool's Day' through Parlophone and are giving it away for nothing. This may have got every 20-something indie kid salivating at the sheer thought of it, but I am personally a little disappointed. It ticks all the boxes for Blur and shows very little similarity to Albarn's other projects (Gorillaz; The Good, The Bad and The Queen) but has still yet to excite in the way that Blur used to. At best, this is an album track. Sensible listening for those looking to kick back for the summer but nothing that is going to raise the roof.
But I can't say the same for the return of Germany's Atari Teenage Riot. ATR have not only began touring across Europe but have also released new single 'Activate' as a free download. I have a bit of a soft spot for ATR. They gave a sound for every disillusioned teenager to just go nuts to. And they haven't lost their edge from when they started over 20 years ago. It's loud, aggressive and one for clubs.
If only Axl Rose would stop being such a bell-end, we might even get the original Guns'n'Roses line up to play Reading and Leeds. Who says it can't happen? Oh, Axl... shit!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Sorry Eddy - Gorillaz win!
It broke today that singer/songwriter Eddy Grant is a tad ticked off at Gorillaz for stealing his song. It appears the dreadlocked Lothario has noticed a similarity between a portion of the new Gorillaz single 'Stylo' and his own song 'Time Warp', originally released as B-side for 'Electric Avenue'.
You can hear the two songs below and judge for yourself.
Eddy Grant - Time Warp (Play from 14 secs)
Gorillaz - Stylo (Play from 39 secs)
From first listen, it seems Eddy may have this one rapped up. But unfortunately, Gorillaz have won this. Although the rhythm and most of the notes seem to be the same, they are in fact slightly different.
If you listen again, you will hear that Eddy's song plays the same bar twice over; whereas the Gorillaz drop to a lower note at the end of the second bar. Effectively making the overall tune slightly different. Meaning that Eddy is really only calling plagiarism on 4 notes. Not really enough to make a case.
Although, Men At Work lost their case against Larrikin for ripping off the song 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' for using a 'substantial part of the song'. So this case may all come down to the judge's interpretation of the word 'substantial'.
But, in my opinion, no.
You can hear the two songs below and judge for yourself.
Eddy Grant - Time Warp (Play from 14 secs)
Gorillaz - Stylo (Play from 39 secs)
From first listen, it seems Eddy may have this one rapped up. But unfortunately, Gorillaz have won this. Although the rhythm and most of the notes seem to be the same, they are in fact slightly different.
If you listen again, you will hear that Eddy's song plays the same bar twice over; whereas the Gorillaz drop to a lower note at the end of the second bar. Effectively making the overall tune slightly different. Meaning that Eddy is really only calling plagiarism on 4 notes. Not really enough to make a case.
Although, Men At Work lost their case against Larrikin for ripping off the song 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' for using a 'substantial part of the song'. So this case may all come down to the judge's interpretation of the word 'substantial'.
But, in my opinion, no.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
NHS Death Panels?!
If you don't know where this blog is heading, then please read the following article first:
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Obama39s-first-prescription-for-American.5022595.jp
Now, as you can see Barack Obama has begun a very serious plan to introduce a NHS style healthcare system into the United States. Ok? Yeah? So what? Exactly, so what. The NHS is a great British institution. True it has it's flaws but that's why it's the free option. Sure, if you can afford it then go private but the NHS entitles that everyone in the country can receive free healthcare with no questions asked.
But this has thrown a shit-storm through America's right wing media, especially Fox News, who claim that this is socialism. Oh No! Socialism! You mean Americans will have to start helping each other instead of themselves. Well, we can't have that. And so Fox and various other journalists have begun to use the NHS as a whipping boy. Beating it to a pulp with horror stories (That aren't that bad) and the gruesome and horrific Death Panels... Hang on, Death Panels? What?
Yes, Sarah Palin (remember her) has come out to claim that Obama's NHS will include 'death panels' where they decide who is worth saving based on their level of health.
The Sarah Palin speech is here:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=113851103434
Of course, this 'death panel' phrase was quickly debunked as horseshit by pretty much everyone with a frontal lobe. However the Republican's are enjoying the theme of this 'who is worthy of life?' angle that they are playing it at every chance they get. Recently, Stephen Hawking was used as an example as someone would most likely be left to die under the NHS. Wait? Sorry again? Hawkers!
Yep, once again some Republican supporters show themselves of the grand idiots of the world by stating that the NHS would have seen Stephen Hawking as 'worthless' due to his lack of health. Despite not realising that Hawkers was in fact born, raised and still resides in the UK. While in which time he has received treatment from the NHS throughout the entire span of his illness claiming 'I wouldn't be here if not for the NHS'.
Although the original quote has been removed from it's document, it can still be found here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/11/anti-health-care-loo.html
And Hawking's reaction piece is here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205953/NHS-branded-evil-Orwellian-high-level-US-politicians.html
But it doesn't stop there. The right-wing US media are so adamant about winning this PR war they have brought in one of our own. Daniel Hannan is the MEP for South East England under the Conservatives and has been spreading like cancer across all the American news networks to talk about the travesty that is the NHS. But who exactly is he? Well, essentially he is a shit-stirrer. His entire political career has been one long moan. The kind of politician I hate. One that criticises the state of the status quo but offers nothing by way of a solution. And that's precisely what he is now doing in the States. Bad mouthing the NHS with feeble stories about waiting hours to be seen by a doctor (suck it up, pussback!) and has been quoted by calling the NHS 'a mistake for 60 years'. But as David Cameron, leader of the Conservatives, is leading his party in the next election by promising a re-vamp of the NHS, it seems Hannan can't even make his point of view clear to his own peers.
Videos of this prick gallivanting around US TV giving us his party trick by shitting through his mouth can be found below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foOxAeHuhAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spI4Aetab3w
I'm not really sure how to end this blog because I know that tomorrow there will be more news coming out of the States about the NHS which aren't true. And I think it's disgusting what they are doing to the integrity of the workers. The doctors and nurses at NHS hospitals work longer hours and are paid less to those in the US. But are saving lives everyday because they feel it's what they should do, not to ask them if they can afford the treatment. So whatever you're opinions are on the NHS, I'm sure you wouldn't change it for the world.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Obama39s-first-prescription-for-American.5022595.jp
Now, as you can see Barack Obama has begun a very serious plan to introduce a NHS style healthcare system into the United States. Ok? Yeah? So what? Exactly, so what. The NHS is a great British institution. True it has it's flaws but that's why it's the free option. Sure, if you can afford it then go private but the NHS entitles that everyone in the country can receive free healthcare with no questions asked.
But this has thrown a shit-storm through America's right wing media, especially Fox News, who claim that this is socialism. Oh No! Socialism! You mean Americans will have to start helping each other instead of themselves. Well, we can't have that. And so Fox and various other journalists have begun to use the NHS as a whipping boy. Beating it to a pulp with horror stories (That aren't that bad) and the gruesome and horrific Death Panels... Hang on, Death Panels? What?
Yes, Sarah Palin (remember her) has come out to claim that Obama's NHS will include 'death panels' where they decide who is worth saving based on their level of health.
The Sarah Palin speech is here:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=113851103434
Of course, this 'death panel' phrase was quickly debunked as horseshit by pretty much everyone with a frontal lobe. However the Republican's are enjoying the theme of this 'who is worthy of life?' angle that they are playing it at every chance they get. Recently, Stephen Hawking was used as an example as someone would most likely be left to die under the NHS. Wait? Sorry again? Hawkers!
Yep, once again some Republican supporters show themselves of the grand idiots of the world by stating that the NHS would have seen Stephen Hawking as 'worthless' due to his lack of health. Despite not realising that Hawkers was in fact born, raised and still resides in the UK. While in which time he has received treatment from the NHS throughout the entire span of his illness claiming 'I wouldn't be here if not for the NHS'.
Although the original quote has been removed from it's document, it can still be found here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/11/anti-health-care-loo.html
And Hawking's reaction piece is here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205953/NHS-branded-evil-Orwellian-high-level-US-politicians.html
But it doesn't stop there. The right-wing US media are so adamant about winning this PR war they have brought in one of our own. Daniel Hannan is the MEP for South East England under the Conservatives and has been spreading like cancer across all the American news networks to talk about the travesty that is the NHS. But who exactly is he? Well, essentially he is a shit-stirrer. His entire political career has been one long moan. The kind of politician I hate. One that criticises the state of the status quo but offers nothing by way of a solution. And that's precisely what he is now doing in the States. Bad mouthing the NHS with feeble stories about waiting hours to be seen by a doctor (suck it up, pussback!) and has been quoted by calling the NHS 'a mistake for 60 years'. But as David Cameron, leader of the Conservatives, is leading his party in the next election by promising a re-vamp of the NHS, it seems Hannan can't even make his point of view clear to his own peers.
Videos of this prick gallivanting around US TV giving us his party trick by shitting through his mouth can be found below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foOxAeHuhAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spI4Aetab3w
I'm not really sure how to end this blog because I know that tomorrow there will be more news coming out of the States about the NHS which aren't true. And I think it's disgusting what they are doing to the integrity of the workers. The doctors and nurses at NHS hospitals work longer hours and are paid less to those in the US. But are saving lives everyday because they feel it's what they should do, not to ask them if they can afford the treatment. So whatever you're opinions are on the NHS, I'm sure you wouldn't change it for the world.
Sunday, 28 June 2009
The BNP and Me
If you can't arsed to read this then I have recorded it as a podcast that you can listen to here: http://chrisbound.podbean.com/2009/06/26/bnp/
On the 5th June, at 2am, I was watching Sky News. Which is definitely something I recommend, especially if you have trouble sleeping due to the fear it seems to perpetuate. In about 20 minutes of watching this, I was convinced that my normal middle class neighbours were in fact a gaggle of Asian terrorists secretly breeding pitbulls with sharks in order to make a dog so full of bloodlust it’ll probably get lose and come round my house, punch my in the balls and eat my baby. This is of course the baby I accidentally conceived with a stranger by sitting too far forward on a unisex toilet. Complete piffle but in the realm of Sky News, highly plausible.
But the most noticeable thing about Sky News is of course the bright red banner displaying the words ‘Breaking News’. Something that Sky have up so often it has completely lost it’s affect. As all it does is show whatever the last piece of breaking news was until a newer one is dropped onto the editor’s desk in a very 1950’s Chicago Times kind of way. However all this attention on one story, that’s mostly feeble or over-exaggerate anyway, renders the whole thing boring in a matter of minutes. Something that was born on the screen less than an hour ago can become stale so quickly you begin hopelessly flicking on to Babestation in the hope of catching some minge. That was until the 5th June at 2am when Sky went into meltdown over the news that had just been reported. It simply said ‘BREAKING NEWS: BNP elected into European Parliament’.
After you return from the toilet because of the instant bowel movement you receive after those words reverberate around your ear for the first time, you then have to begin to digest them.
The first thing that I thought, was what an amazing oxymoron that phrase was. Here we have an extreme, right-wing, anti-European political party being voted into the European parliament to represent the British people in Europe. That must have been one of the most awkward government meetings ever.
Nick Griffin: Morning Krauts… Frogs… Polskis… I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Nick Griffin and I’m here on behalf of the British People to say ‘fuck your unified currency, fuck your cheap alcohol and fuck your liberal views towards prostitutes’
Just televise it round the clock and watch Britain suddenly swing it’s political pendulum to the left and we drag him out by his weird nazi trousers.
I’ve actually started a sweepstake to see which one of the countries will be the first to kick half a tonne of shit out of him. Only half a tonne, as the Europeans are very eco-friendly. I reckon it’s gonna be the Italians. Just wait for him to stand up one day and watch this cavalcade of scooters and Fiat Puntos flying towards in. If BBC Parliament suddenly becomes a Pay-Per-View service, that’s when you get down the bookies and start watching.
I’d love to see Nick Griffin traveling round Europe. Just watching him driving round Italy and he’s the only one wearing a crash helmet. And he’s in the back seat of a car. Being driven around in an old mini cooper with a union jack on it, which of course he’ll think is a bold two fingers approach to the Italians dealing with a gang of gold thieves from a fictional film in the 1960’s starring Michael Caine. When really, it just makes the sniper’s job easier.
Cos that did annoy me after he got elected. A few days later he was making a press conference about his win and suddenly protesters appear and begin pelting him with eggs. Which is really not on, you know. There’s a recession on for fuck sake. Eggs are like £4 a dozen at the moment. Now rocks. Their free. And freely available from almost any roadside. Actually fuck that, we’ll wait until he does a press conference from Brighton. Take him down to the beach and just wait to see how long it takes him to work out that Brighton beach is all of a sudden pebble-less. Tell the Scots about it. Any accuse to bludgeon a discriminative Englishman, eh. Tell them this can dress as William Wallace and just watch them move from out of the highlands.
A lot of people have also crammed the BNP in with the Nazis, which is fair as some of their policies have a lot in common. But one similarity did in fact chill me to the core. You may have heard of the Hitler’s Youth, where small but select groups of children were kept entertained socially by each other while at the same time were force fed the ideals of the Nazi government. Yeah, turns the out the BNP have the same thing. Young kids are being turned into little fascists under to regime of their boss-eyed, podgy, pleb who probably has more DNA in common with a pumice stone than he does with you or me. And how many of you thought the same thing I did after hearing that. What’s wrong with Scouts? You know, dib-dab-dob, or yabba-dabba-do or summat with that 3 fingered salute. Come on? Whats wrong with that? Instead we’ve got this hideous mutant hybrid.
SCOUT LEADER: Gather round everyone. Now everyone, Timmy has completed another task in order to collect another badge so congratulate him on getting his Level 2 lynching badge. (clapping) Now kids did everyone remember to bring in their white pillow cases?
KIDS: Yeah!
SL: Great! So everyone put them on your head and me and Scout Leader Herr Bill will get things started. Here Timmy, as you’ve done so well this week, you can set fire to the cross.
Makes you wonder what really goes on in there. Are they making there toggles from the vertebrae of a Hungarian asylum seeker or something. To be honest I wouldn’t put it passed them.
But I do have a point to this ramble and basically it’s this. The BNP think that the boarders of a country have an importance to the identity of a person. Which they don’t. Your nationality is nothing more than wherever your mother happened to be standing when her water broke. That’s it. But people believe that Great Britain is great because it’s in our blood and only true blood Britain’s should be allowed to live and work here. And if that’s your opinion, I won’t argue with it because it’s an opinion and everyone is entitled to one. But if you are sitting at home round right now because you are unemployed and have been blaming it on immigrants and asylum seekers taking your job, think about exactly what you’re saying. You’re saying that someone who doesn’t speak a word of English, hasn’t been given a British education which currently stands as the best in Europe and has no understanding of the culture, etiquette or traditions of this land… can do your job better than you can. Hmm… Maybe it’s time you got out of the fucking country. Great Britain was made great by people of all nations working together who worked their arses off and earned the right to be here and didn’t sponge there lives away by exploiting the welfare system. Hopefully that’ll stick in some people’s mind and someone at British Airways will be trying helplessly to explain to the shareholders why single fare tickets to Benidorm are up 4000%.
On the 5th June, at 2am, I was watching Sky News. Which is definitely something I recommend, especially if you have trouble sleeping due to the fear it seems to perpetuate. In about 20 minutes of watching this, I was convinced that my normal middle class neighbours were in fact a gaggle of Asian terrorists secretly breeding pitbulls with sharks in order to make a dog so full of bloodlust it’ll probably get lose and come round my house, punch my in the balls and eat my baby. This is of course the baby I accidentally conceived with a stranger by sitting too far forward on a unisex toilet. Complete piffle but in the realm of Sky News, highly plausible.
But the most noticeable thing about Sky News is of course the bright red banner displaying the words ‘Breaking News’. Something that Sky have up so often it has completely lost it’s affect. As all it does is show whatever the last piece of breaking news was until a newer one is dropped onto the editor’s desk in a very 1950’s Chicago Times kind of way. However all this attention on one story, that’s mostly feeble or over-exaggerate anyway, renders the whole thing boring in a matter of minutes. Something that was born on the screen less than an hour ago can become stale so quickly you begin hopelessly flicking on to Babestation in the hope of catching some minge. That was until the 5th June at 2am when Sky went into meltdown over the news that had just been reported. It simply said ‘BREAKING NEWS: BNP elected into European Parliament’.
After you return from the toilet because of the instant bowel movement you receive after those words reverberate around your ear for the first time, you then have to begin to digest them.
The first thing that I thought, was what an amazing oxymoron that phrase was. Here we have an extreme, right-wing, anti-European political party being voted into the European parliament to represent the British people in Europe. That must have been one of the most awkward government meetings ever.
Nick Griffin: Morning Krauts… Frogs… Polskis… I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Nick Griffin and I’m here on behalf of the British People to say ‘fuck your unified currency, fuck your cheap alcohol and fuck your liberal views towards prostitutes’
Just televise it round the clock and watch Britain suddenly swing it’s political pendulum to the left and we drag him out by his weird nazi trousers.
I’ve actually started a sweepstake to see which one of the countries will be the first to kick half a tonne of shit out of him. Only half a tonne, as the Europeans are very eco-friendly. I reckon it’s gonna be the Italians. Just wait for him to stand up one day and watch this cavalcade of scooters and Fiat Puntos flying towards in. If BBC Parliament suddenly becomes a Pay-Per-View service, that’s when you get down the bookies and start watching.
I’d love to see Nick Griffin traveling round Europe. Just watching him driving round Italy and he’s the only one wearing a crash helmet. And he’s in the back seat of a car. Being driven around in an old mini cooper with a union jack on it, which of course he’ll think is a bold two fingers approach to the Italians dealing with a gang of gold thieves from a fictional film in the 1960’s starring Michael Caine. When really, it just makes the sniper’s job easier.
Cos that did annoy me after he got elected. A few days later he was making a press conference about his win and suddenly protesters appear and begin pelting him with eggs. Which is really not on, you know. There’s a recession on for fuck sake. Eggs are like £4 a dozen at the moment. Now rocks. Their free. And freely available from almost any roadside. Actually fuck that, we’ll wait until he does a press conference from Brighton. Take him down to the beach and just wait to see how long it takes him to work out that Brighton beach is all of a sudden pebble-less. Tell the Scots about it. Any accuse to bludgeon a discriminative Englishman, eh. Tell them this can dress as William Wallace and just watch them move from out of the highlands.
A lot of people have also crammed the BNP in with the Nazis, which is fair as some of their policies have a lot in common. But one similarity did in fact chill me to the core. You may have heard of the Hitler’s Youth, where small but select groups of children were kept entertained socially by each other while at the same time were force fed the ideals of the Nazi government. Yeah, turns the out the BNP have the same thing. Young kids are being turned into little fascists under to regime of their boss-eyed, podgy, pleb who probably has more DNA in common with a pumice stone than he does with you or me. And how many of you thought the same thing I did after hearing that. What’s wrong with Scouts? You know, dib-dab-dob, or yabba-dabba-do or summat with that 3 fingered salute. Come on? Whats wrong with that? Instead we’ve got this hideous mutant hybrid.
SCOUT LEADER: Gather round everyone. Now everyone, Timmy has completed another task in order to collect another badge so congratulate him on getting his Level 2 lynching badge. (clapping) Now kids did everyone remember to bring in their white pillow cases?
KIDS: Yeah!
SL: Great! So everyone put them on your head and me and Scout Leader Herr Bill will get things started. Here Timmy, as you’ve done so well this week, you can set fire to the cross.
Makes you wonder what really goes on in there. Are they making there toggles from the vertebrae of a Hungarian asylum seeker or something. To be honest I wouldn’t put it passed them.
But I do have a point to this ramble and basically it’s this. The BNP think that the boarders of a country have an importance to the identity of a person. Which they don’t. Your nationality is nothing more than wherever your mother happened to be standing when her water broke. That’s it. But people believe that Great Britain is great because it’s in our blood and only true blood Britain’s should be allowed to live and work here. And if that’s your opinion, I won’t argue with it because it’s an opinion and everyone is entitled to one. But if you are sitting at home round right now because you are unemployed and have been blaming it on immigrants and asylum seekers taking your job, think about exactly what you’re saying. You’re saying that someone who doesn’t speak a word of English, hasn’t been given a British education which currently stands as the best in Europe and has no understanding of the culture, etiquette or traditions of this land… can do your job better than you can. Hmm… Maybe it’s time you got out of the fucking country. Great Britain was made great by people of all nations working together who worked their arses off and earned the right to be here and didn’t sponge there lives away by exploiting the welfare system. Hopefully that’ll stick in some people’s mind and someone at British Airways will be trying helplessly to explain to the shareholders why single fare tickets to Benidorm are up 4000%.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown - A Review
Green Day hold a special place in my heart. When I was 12, I bought a copy of Green Day's 97 album 'Nimrod' after hearing the song 'Hitchin' A Ride' on MTV late at night. I loved every moment of it and it started my love affair with music. Green Day are responsible for the obseesive compulsive muso you now see before you. I own all the Green Day albums (minus the live ones) and they are, without a shadow of a doubt, the best band I have ever seen live. Fact.
This is just to give you the context in which this review is written. From someone who discovered Green Day at 12, writing about their latest release now aged 23. Shit they have been with me almost half my life. Wow, anyway on with the review.
Green Day have always been a fairly predictable band. By 2004 they had released 7 studio albums, 3 of which were giant success stories (Dookie 94, Nimrod 97, American Idiot 04). However these successes were not a smooth progression. Between those 3 success came 2 other albums (Insomniac 95, Warning 00). Both of these albums could have been tagged as the 'tricky second album'. The album that all bands with a hit record try create again, usually failing.
Now I'm not saying they were a complete failure, because if they were then Green Day would have lost their career a long time ago. But what Green Day did exert two of the most common examples of what the 'tricky second album' sounds like. You either end up with a B-Side album (an album cut from the same vein as the success, just not as catchy) or the experimental album (an off-the-cuff gamble some bands take in order to stay edgy). There is a third choice which is to simply have another hit record which is easier said than done.
So what does that make 21st Century Breakdown? Is it a B-side record or an experimental one? Well, honestly, it's both. There are two tracks that show this better than the others. Lead single 'Know Your Enemy' obviously has the anti-American conotations that made 'American Idiot' a success. But if you listen to it carefully. There is something nostalgic about the riff and progression of the song. Then you realise it's from 'Insomniac'. The song sounds like it was stripped from the album 'Insomniac' and given the 'American Idiot' treatment. Which is understandable as both of these albums are written in the shadow of a more fomidable success. And the song 'Peacemaker' almost sounds like they are playing 'Warning's 'Jackass' and 'Misery' over the top of one another.
However these two are probably two of the best on the album, as well as the amazingly catchy 'East Jesus Nowhere'. Most of the rest is easily forgettable Green Day blurs. They seem to zoom past without you registering what they were. Still it does what any Green Day record should do. It's fast, it let's you chant words occasionally, and helps keep you awake (it's never boring)
Although as a life long Green Day fan, I will probably buy it. But I'm in no rush really. I reckon it'll be on sale the first week of summer.
5/10
P.S. 'Horseshoes and Handgrenades' IS a Hives track. Listen to it and you'll know what I mean.
This is just to give you the context in which this review is written. From someone who discovered Green Day at 12, writing about their latest release now aged 23. Shit they have been with me almost half my life. Wow, anyway on with the review.
Green Day have always been a fairly predictable band. By 2004 they had released 7 studio albums, 3 of which were giant success stories (Dookie 94, Nimrod 97, American Idiot 04). However these successes were not a smooth progression. Between those 3 success came 2 other albums (Insomniac 95, Warning 00). Both of these albums could have been tagged as the 'tricky second album'. The album that all bands with a hit record try create again, usually failing.
Now I'm not saying they were a complete failure, because if they were then Green Day would have lost their career a long time ago. But what Green Day did exert two of the most common examples of what the 'tricky second album' sounds like. You either end up with a B-Side album (an album cut from the same vein as the success, just not as catchy) or the experimental album (an off-the-cuff gamble some bands take in order to stay edgy). There is a third choice which is to simply have another hit record which is easier said than done.
So what does that make 21st Century Breakdown? Is it a B-side record or an experimental one? Well, honestly, it's both. There are two tracks that show this better than the others. Lead single 'Know Your Enemy' obviously has the anti-American conotations that made 'American Idiot' a success. But if you listen to it carefully. There is something nostalgic about the riff and progression of the song. Then you realise it's from 'Insomniac'. The song sounds like it was stripped from the album 'Insomniac' and given the 'American Idiot' treatment. Which is understandable as both of these albums are written in the shadow of a more fomidable success. And the song 'Peacemaker' almost sounds like they are playing 'Warning's 'Jackass' and 'Misery' over the top of one another.
However these two are probably two of the best on the album, as well as the amazingly catchy 'East Jesus Nowhere'. Most of the rest is easily forgettable Green Day blurs. They seem to zoom past without you registering what they were. Still it does what any Green Day record should do. It's fast, it let's you chant words occasionally, and helps keep you awake (it's never boring)
Although as a life long Green Day fan, I will probably buy it. But I'm in no rush really. I reckon it'll be on sale the first week of summer.
5/10
P.S. 'Horseshoes and Handgrenades' IS a Hives track. Listen to it and you'll know what I mean.
Monday, 4 May 2009
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