My Thursday, twitter-style:
'Cellophane flowers never happened for me
I've been sleeping the day off
Watching the night fall
Covering nowhere
Filling my time share'
(secret machines)
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, it just makes sense!
HOME by EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
There's absolutely no reason why this song or even this band should excite me. They just do. There's no reason other than the fact that this really is just an excellent track. Sometimes that's all that counts. In the music industry's seemingly endless obsession for originality Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros don't really tick many boxes. I mean, they do come across as rather pseudo-hippie what with all that bohemian get-up et al. They even tour together in a converted silver bus!
If anything, Home, from debut album Up From Below is one of those songs that you feel like you already know. This though, is very definitely a positive thing in this instance. In a similar vein, this is without doubt a feel-good song, which again would usually be a turn off (see: British 'heart-warmer' Wimbledon, or anything by Mika, apparently) but from the Mamas and Papas-esque vocal harmonies to the Arcade Fire-like arrangements, this tune is unbelievably and relentlessly contagious.
There's not really anything revolutionary in the lyrical content either. The familiar tale of two lovers, it's a sort of Fairytale Of New York, without the suggestions of domestic violence. What makes it work though is the energy of it all, which allows the song to repeatedly hammer home the big chorus in a way which, in the hands of others could become irritating. Yet somehow it doesn't.
When it comes down to it though, for all the lip-service I could pay to this tune, the fact is it makes me feel so good I may very well start my own hippie commune. Watch this space. (for more Edward Sharpe, not my hippie commune)
There's absolutely no reason why this song or even this band should excite me. They just do. There's no reason other than the fact that this really is just an excellent track. Sometimes that's all that counts. In the music industry's seemingly endless obsession for originality Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros don't really tick many boxes. I mean, they do come across as rather pseudo-hippie what with all that bohemian get-up et al. They even tour together in a converted silver bus!
If anything, Home, from debut album Up From Below is one of those songs that you feel like you already know. This though, is very definitely a positive thing in this instance. In a similar vein, this is without doubt a feel-good song, which again would usually be a turn off (see: British 'heart-warmer' Wimbledon, or anything by Mika, apparently) but from the Mamas and Papas-esque vocal harmonies to the Arcade Fire-like arrangements, this tune is unbelievably and relentlessly contagious.
There's not really anything revolutionary in the lyrical content either. The familiar tale of two lovers, it's a sort of Fairytale Of New York, without the suggestions of domestic violence. What makes it work though is the energy of it all, which allows the song to repeatedly hammer home the big chorus in a way which, in the hands of others could become irritating. Yet somehow it doesn't.
When it comes down to it though, for all the lip-service I could pay to this tune, the fact is it makes me feel so good I may very well start my own hippie commune. Watch this space. (for more Edward Sharpe, not my hippie commune)
Five Songs You Will Definitely Not Regret Listening To #1:
5 songs (not necessarily that new but usually new to me) that make the world that little bit better and genuinely deserve to be heard. By everybody. Now.
1) Home- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (SEE REVIEW)
2) Daniel- Bat For Lashes
3) Do You Hear Me Now?- Bert Jansch
4) After The Storm- Mumford & Sons (don't be put off by Hollyoaks using it)
5) Here Before- Vashti Bunyan
1) Home- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (SEE REVIEW)
2) Daniel- Bat For Lashes
3) Do You Hear Me Now?- Bert Jansch
4) After The Storm- Mumford & Sons (don't be put off by Hollyoaks using it)
5) Here Before- Vashti Bunyan
The Legacy Of Big Brother
After almost a decade of vanity, vulgarity and headlines one of the most talked about shows of the 21st century is drawing to a close. To a cynic Big Brother may have been nothing more than a barrage of aural and visual pollution but it is an undeniable truth that it has been a programme adored and indeed watched by millions. Viewers though, have always ranged from the fanatic, proud to wear the badge and indeed display it proudly whilst discussing the previous night's viewing over morning coffee, to the more apologist in nature ('it's just so addictive' or 'it's my guilty pleasure'). In opposition though, stands the repressed minority, instantly angered by words such as 'eviction', 'diary room' or 'Davina'.
Love it or hate it, the show's impact on popular culture in the last ten years is undeniable. The lasting implications of the celebrity culture it has helped nurture are however, more contestable. Whilst Big Brother cannot solely be held responsible for creating the 'famous for being famous' TV personality all too common on our screens today, it can be seen as something of trend-setter. Indeed, the likes of The X-factor, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Pop Idol along with other reality TV shows too numerous to mention and of course the adoring tabloid press have all played their part. We have entered an era where style is all too often championed ahead of substance and where the old 'fifteen minutes of fame' adage is not a pejorative sleight but rather something to be aspired to.
Furthermore, this is no longer a new thing, a fear of what the cultural future may hold. Enough time has passed with reality ruling the screens that the public has become desensitised in much the same way that it is now possible to watch news bulletins of human catastrophe, such as the recent disaster in Haiti, cup of tea in hand, without batting an eyelid. Possibly even acting as a mild inconvenience clogging up the filters of conscience before the nightly dose of 'BB' action arrives. It would be unwise to read too much into the fact that Big Brother is not the crowd-puller it once was, indeed the fate of the culture it has helped to create is in much better shape than the programme itself. Big Brother is by no means bowing out at the top of its game. Several years and umpteen series have passed since the programme was at its peak but it can certainly rest assured it has left a legacy, of sorts. But the fortunes of Big Brother and reality television in general whilst once synonymous, are now in stark contrast. This however, is probably more indicative of the death of one specific variant of the reality pandemic. Big Brother has in fact, been moribund for some time now but make no mistake, other equally infectious shows, namely X Factor have picked up the baton.
So how just will Big Brother be remembered? With a slight mocking affection as we reflect upon all the fuss that was made about a silly game show? Or perhaps, instead, Big Brother will be acknowledged as the forefather of a new breed of light entertainment show. Will producers look to Big Brother as a pioneering, ground-breaking revelation which had forged a blueprint for sky high viewing figures? Will tabloid editors pine for the days of a headline-spewing godsend like Big Brother, a vehicle for minor celebrity creation, a factory churning out the fresh new household names the tabloids feed off so readily?
One curious bi-product of Big Brother's decline is the ever-fading distinction between the contestants entering the house in the respective 'celebrity' and 'non-celebrity' incarnations of the show. Confusingly, the 'celebrities' have often come out of the show slightly more famous than before they went in and often no more famous than the 'regular' contestants have become upon exiting the show. For example, it's probably a safe bet that the majority of the British public whether they like it or not have heard of the late Jade Goody, whose return to the house as a 'celebrity' having been made famous by Big Brother 3 probably says a lot about Celebrity Big Brother. Fewer households will be familiar with Ben Adams, former member of former boyband A1.
Perhaps i'm getting a little bit too analytical, coming over all Mary Whitehouse. Afterall, Big Brother is just a show isn't it? Albeit an incredibly successful one. Unbelievably, the final curtain call for Celebrity Big Brother (Channel 4 has made 2010 the final year for Big Brother) currently on our screens is, including both celebrity and non-celebrity, the programme's seventeenth series so clearly people have liked the programme. Maybe it is best to take Big Brother and the like at face value, to look at these shows for what they are and approach them with light-hearted wonder and whimsy.
To do this though would surely be to overlook the sheer domination that reality TV has enjoyed in our culture over the last decade, and as with any period-defining trend this means it will be remembered. Furthermore, if the likes of Big Brother are to be remembered in years to come then inevitably their contribution to our lives will be weighed-up. At present it seems that Big Brother's contribution to the cultural world is akin to Mcdonalds's contribution to the culinary world and perhaps Big Brother plays a similar role its domain; the brand leader to which all others will be compared, a generic label for reality TV and celebrity culture alike, like 'tannoy' or 'sellotape'. There may indeed be more to the name Big Brother than simply a clever gimmick, though one that surely has Orwell turning in his grave. The Big Brother depicted in the novel was too an inescapable behemoth, an unrepentant force against original thought.
Love it or hate it, the show's impact on popular culture in the last ten years is undeniable. The lasting implications of the celebrity culture it has helped nurture are however, more contestable. Whilst Big Brother cannot solely be held responsible for creating the 'famous for being famous' TV personality all too common on our screens today, it can be seen as something of trend-setter. Indeed, the likes of The X-factor, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Pop Idol along with other reality TV shows too numerous to mention and of course the adoring tabloid press have all played their part. We have entered an era where style is all too often championed ahead of substance and where the old 'fifteen minutes of fame' adage is not a pejorative sleight but rather something to be aspired to.
Furthermore, this is no longer a new thing, a fear of what the cultural future may hold. Enough time has passed with reality ruling the screens that the public has become desensitised in much the same way that it is now possible to watch news bulletins of human catastrophe, such as the recent disaster in Haiti, cup of tea in hand, without batting an eyelid. Possibly even acting as a mild inconvenience clogging up the filters of conscience before the nightly dose of 'BB' action arrives. It would be unwise to read too much into the fact that Big Brother is not the crowd-puller it once was, indeed the fate of the culture it has helped to create is in much better shape than the programme itself. Big Brother is by no means bowing out at the top of its game. Several years and umpteen series have passed since the programme was at its peak but it can certainly rest assured it has left a legacy, of sorts. But the fortunes of Big Brother and reality television in general whilst once synonymous, are now in stark contrast. This however, is probably more indicative of the death of one specific variant of the reality pandemic. Big Brother has in fact, been moribund for some time now but make no mistake, other equally infectious shows, namely X Factor have picked up the baton.
So how just will Big Brother be remembered? With a slight mocking affection as we reflect upon all the fuss that was made about a silly game show? Or perhaps, instead, Big Brother will be acknowledged as the forefather of a new breed of light entertainment show. Will producers look to Big Brother as a pioneering, ground-breaking revelation which had forged a blueprint for sky high viewing figures? Will tabloid editors pine for the days of a headline-spewing godsend like Big Brother, a vehicle for minor celebrity creation, a factory churning out the fresh new household names the tabloids feed off so readily?
One curious bi-product of Big Brother's decline is the ever-fading distinction between the contestants entering the house in the respective 'celebrity' and 'non-celebrity' incarnations of the show. Confusingly, the 'celebrities' have often come out of the show slightly more famous than before they went in and often no more famous than the 'regular' contestants have become upon exiting the show. For example, it's probably a safe bet that the majority of the British public whether they like it or not have heard of the late Jade Goody, whose return to the house as a 'celebrity' having been made famous by Big Brother 3 probably says a lot about Celebrity Big Brother. Fewer households will be familiar with Ben Adams, former member of former boyband A1.
Perhaps i'm getting a little bit too analytical, coming over all Mary Whitehouse. Afterall, Big Brother is just a show isn't it? Albeit an incredibly successful one. Unbelievably, the final curtain call for Celebrity Big Brother (Channel 4 has made 2010 the final year for Big Brother) currently on our screens is, including both celebrity and non-celebrity, the programme's seventeenth series so clearly people have liked the programme. Maybe it is best to take Big Brother and the like at face value, to look at these shows for what they are and approach them with light-hearted wonder and whimsy.
To do this though would surely be to overlook the sheer domination that reality TV has enjoyed in our culture over the last decade, and as with any period-defining trend this means it will be remembered. Furthermore, if the likes of Big Brother are to be remembered in years to come then inevitably their contribution to our lives will be weighed-up. At present it seems that Big Brother's contribution to the cultural world is akin to Mcdonalds's contribution to the culinary world and perhaps Big Brother plays a similar role its domain; the brand leader to which all others will be compared, a generic label for reality TV and celebrity culture alike, like 'tannoy' or 'sellotape'. There may indeed be more to the name Big Brother than simply a clever gimmick, though one that surely has Orwell turning in his grave. The Big Brother depicted in the novel was too an inescapable behemoth, an unrepentant force against original thought.
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