Glastonbury 2011

The highly awaited weekend is finally here.

Barely a day remains for the “Biggest Music Festival on Earth” to commence when I pen down this blog. And this time around it’s more massive than it has been in recent years. With headliners like U2, Coldplay and Beyonce, Glastonbury is bound to generate more news, views and spite than any other festival.

Last time around Gorillaz were the surprising headliners after U2 had cancelled due to Bono’s injury. Damon Albarn and the company lacked one important aspect in their arsenal, rock anthems. Despite their efforts, it’s safe to say that 2010 was a disappointment. Except Muse, of course.

Festivals are places where the relatively unknown bands and artists get a chance to show their worth and the big headliners casually play their greatest hits. Not Glastonbury. Not this year.

The Pyramid Stage has seen general perception of a band in public eye change for better or for worse. Ask Matt, frontman of the band Muse, who were previously just known for releasing few good records. Come 2004 and now they are cited as one of the best live acts with over the top arrangement of everything. The lights, the sounds, the stage, every single aspect was made larger than life and soon they were hailed for such spectacular attention to details.

Fortune worked in opposite direction for Kings of Leon as they were tagged as a “sell out band” in contrary to their last outing here as the most acclaimed group to adore the other stage. Fame is a funny thing, and no one knows it better than Bono himself. Branded as a hypocrite and facing the criticism of being bigger and money minded than any other vocalist, this could be one chance of erasing all that from the audiences mind with a clever set list and a spectacular performance. And as the news is emerging they seem to be planning exactly the same with their own stage and major tweaks in the final song listing to please the audience. The magnitude of this can be realized with them announcing a new song titled “Glastonbury” which is all set to be performed there.

As Paul glances through the pyramid, he would know that this might be one of the most important performances U2 would put in recent times.  For aeons, these guys have played in front of a devoted crowd with fans supporting their each and every move but this time it’s different. People are ready to become hostile and are planning to afloat an inflatable banner saying “Bono Pay Up” in protest at their moving the business affair to Netherland to avoid taxes.
 

U2’s Friday headline can prove a turning point for them and for us viewers it will be interesting to see what they have in store for us.

Coldplay have their own set of concerns (overshadowing U2’s performance can be one). Although they have been to the farm several times, the nerves must be running high. The last time they headlined it, their album “X&Y” was a month old. Now, they enter the stage without even the name of their new record announced. Uncertainty looms large both for the audience as well as the band themselves.  In 2002, before which the “bedwetters” joke had reached its peak, they were able to silence everyone with an explosive start of “Politik”. They had introduced several songs which received overwhelming popular reviews both from the audience and critics alike.

Repeating the same this time around seems difficult, the focus and attention towards them have increased many folds and the new song “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” has received mixed reviews from fans. However, the other new tracks that they have tried in follow up to Glastonbury seems to be receiving better audience reactions and “Charlie Brown” in particular cries for massive participation from the crowd. Coldplay have a massive job ahead of themselves to strike a right chord before the highly anticipated LP5 drops. Cometh this Saturday and all our queries will be answered. 

Happy Glastonbury viewing everyone. Oh! And just one thing, the rain can spoil all the fun.  

Poll Results.

The results of the poll conducted for the previously reviewed albums:


The King of Limbs by Radiohead




Votes: 19

Average Reader Score: 3.8




Wasting by Foo Fighters

Votes: 30

Average Reader Score: 4.3



Suck It and See by Arctic Monkeys:





















Votes: 28

Average Reader Score: 4.2



Thanks everyone for voting.

Suck It and See by Arctic Monkeys

Suck It and See. (Arctic Monkeys)

Well, suck it and see.

Album Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5)

Arctic Monkeys, of all bands, know how difficult it is to create a follow up to a record of epic proportions. After their fastest selling debut album in UK, they refused to get carried away and their next releases were even more impressive. Their last record, “Humbug”, was perceived by many fans as a step in the wrong direction calling them americanized but they couldn’t be farther away from the truth. In reality, Josh Homme had succeeded in bringing out the best from these boys and helped them in attaining a zenith in their career which is very difficult to repeat, making that record a “Classic”. Once an album impresses you to that extent, the hopes from the next one are quite insanely high. This is exactly the case with their new release “Suck It and See”.

Produced by James Ford (who is quite a family figure in the Monkeys camp with his presence in all the previous records), “Suck It an See” has Alex Turner going for more spontaneous recording in the studio with rehearsal takes deliberately added to the beginning of few songs.  As promised, it’s definitely more “Poppy” than anything they have done before. Gone are the urgency of “Brianstorm” and “The View from the Afternoon”, this record sees them going further mature with their sound and finding a remarkable mid-career groove that most bands their age fail to see. Barring few songs, it’s safe to say that this album is not a punk record, rather it’s Indie Rock. Talk about a change in direction, huh?

The album begins with a riff which continues to the majority stretch of the song “She’s Thunderstorms”, probably one of the weakest songs on this record. Matt enters a few seconds later with groovy mid-tempo drums, something he has done quite brilliantly previously and routine bass from Nick before the compulsory explosions at the end. No sweat, nothing new. “Black Treacle” features Alex Turner binding a story of sorts with his majestic lyrics and Jamie providing hooks and delays to make the guitar talk midway through the song. 

Next track, “Brick by Brick” was the first piece of audio made available to us through a surprise release accompanied by a video. Upon the time of its release, it seemed fairly out of place. But on the record, it fits perfectly with Alex Turner declaring “I want to steal your soul, Brick by Brick” and mentioning the word “Rock and Roll” thrice in the song! Cliché? Yes. But is excusable since it’s a fun laugh anyway. Keeping with the tradition of creative song names, “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala”, planned as the next single is extensively played live by them and begins on groovy bass (again) before an unsettling distortion arrives. This half is particularly upsetting for the listener but the last minute holds a Klaxons (also Ford produced) type chorus providing some respite.

“Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”, the first single and rightly so, shows the inclination of the band from Punk into more Hard Rock with heavy distortions and a haunting riff. The chorus is particularly catchy and this is the closest they have gone to Humbug. Vintage Arctic Monkeys anyone? Enter “Library Pictures” with some sense of urgency in Alex’s vocal before an outburst and sudden fall in tempo. Clocking in at almost 2 minutes, this is most ‘punk’ they have gone. “Dog s**t, Rock and Roll”.
The classic case of tease and less show is “All My Own Stunts” which starts with an insanely catchy riff but becomes monotonous through the course of the song. Skip.

What follows next is the perhaps the best portion of the record with Monkeys getting Indie and finding better melodies, something that we got a glimpse in the previous records but confined in just one song or the other. Starting with “Reckless Serenade” which although seems like a filler, has a significant role in transforming the tone of the record to a more mellow side. “Piledriver Waltz”, sounds familiar? This song was released on Alex Turners solo efforts in “Submarine” soundtrack. The band re-recorded the entire song with sharper leads and the vocal seems hurried. Nonetheless, the outstanding song-writing are pretty evident. (“Been for breakfast at the heart break hotel/if you are gonna try walk on water, make sure you wear comfortable shoes”).Beautiful then, Beautiful now.

A lovely ballad in the form of “Love is a Laserquest” is a song which could have easily made it to Turner’s solo project and his soothing, relaxing voice shines through.  As the end draws nearer, the record starts to get more harmonic and the title track “Suck It and See” has the croons with multiple backing vocals at the chorus. This track is right synthesis of everything that they have tried before. Closing this album, we have “That’s Where You’re Wrong” which is a reminiscent of “505” with two chord progression throughout the song and an addictive tune to it. It’s bound to become one of the crowd favorites and a permanent place in live setlists.

“Suck It and See” has the mix of few songs from their back catalogue and their advent into more mainstream groovy-rock with a lack of ever sustaining riffs and hooks from Jamie. Another drawback is the absence of variations, as a guitar tone is followed thorough in many songs and the fact that the tracks seems to be arranged in a hay wire manner doesn’t help. Except the ending, the entire record seems to lack continuity which distorts the harmony and flow. The constant remains frontman Alex Turner’s smart mouth and his way with word, angst teenage mold lyrics and his continued form of excellent songwriting.  In the review for Humbug (Click Here) , being particularly excited about what Arctic Monkeys are going to do next, “Suck It and See” is a satisfactory answer. 

Key Songs: Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, That's Where You're Wrong, Suck It and See, Love Is A Laserquest.

Track Listing:

1. She's Thunderstorm (3:55)
2. Black Treacle (3:35)
3. Brick By Brick (2:59)

4. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala (3:00)

5. Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair (3:04)

6. Library Pictures (2:22)

7. All My Own Stunts (3:52)

8. Reckless Serenade (2:43)

9. Piledriver Waltz (3:24)

10. Love is a Laserquest (3:12)

11. Suck It and See (3:46)

12. That's Where You're Wrong (4:17)

Leave in your comments and reviews.

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters

Wasting Light. (Foo Fighters)

He is not the “drummer from Nirvana”. He is Dave Grohl, lead vocalist and guitarist of Foo Fighters.

Album Rating: **** (4/5)

By now it’s quite safe to say, anyone who compares Foo Fighters to Nirvana has either never heard them or is too busy immortalizing Nirvana to hear them.  Foo Fighter’s latest venture called “Wasting Light” (taken from the song “Miss The Misery”) is their best album yet, and yes it’s better than “The Colour and The Shape”.

Produced by Butch Vig (responsible for Nirvana’s “Nevermind”), this record is a rare combination of great songwriting, melodic, anthemic guitar riffs, loud and explosive vocals. Recorded entirely in his garage, Dave called it their “heaviest album till date” and Boy! Was he right!

Foo Fighters had uploaded a 30 second snippet of “Burning Bridges” weeks before the release with Dave shouting “These are my famous last words” and that was enough to get everyone excited about the new record. This is exactly how “Wasting Light” commences. A catchy riff, exploding drums, Dave ‘growl’ and you know right from the start, You are in for one hell of a ride!

Following next is the first single “Rope” which starts with jangled guitars before crashing into mahogany-rich cymbals. Although it is lower than the usual Fighter’s anthem, it retains some characteristic feel of "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace".  There’s a duet as well with Bob Mould from Husker Du/Sugar in “Dear Rosemary”, (very similar to “Steady as She Goes” by Raconteurs) a song about restrain and restriction in a relationship. Welcome Guilty-Pleasure. Although Bob tries his best to match up with Dave, he just plays a catalyst in belting the choruses and its best kept that way.

Enter, The heaviest Foo Fighters song, ever. In “White Limo”, Dave Grohl’s screaming vocals have finally been allowed to shine through the whole of it. There are verses that are immensely distorted, the guitar is extremely heavy and it’s particularly evident that the band intentionally had it this way to add the “Garage-recording-thrash-metal” feel to it (They had released a “I am so wasted” type video for it too). It does go into overkill after a certain period and the screaming become tiresome, there is no change to it at any point; it is just a constant growl that becomes irritable by the end of the song.

But no need to fret, We have “Arlandria” and “These Days” which is a tough, moody power ballad in the melancholic spirit of 1997's ''Everlong''. One of the best songs on this record, it has rightly timed pauses and raises insecurity amongst hope (“The clocks will stop and time won't mean a thing”). I bet the same.  On “Back And Forth”, a pop frenzy of sorts, it becomes quite reminiscent of the alternative songs in the 90’s and “A Matter of Time” seems likely go into records as ‘another-good-Foos-song’ with no varied perception in songwriting still maintaining enough melody to make it to the record.

As the end of the album draws closer, excellent lyrics and artistically churned riffs becomes more apparent. “Miss The Misery”, which can act as a filler for some is generic and unique in its own way at the same time. But what follows next are the two very sublime songs of the record. “I Should Have Known” (ft. Nirvana’s bassist Krist Novoselic) almost seems a song dedicated to Kurt Cobain and how his absence seems to be looming still (“Didn't hear your warning/Damn my heart gone deaf”) and a pursuing unforgivable guilty rage that sets in for his mind to be consoled of the loss. (“No, I cannot forgive you yet/To leave my heart in debt”).

The final song of this record delivers the best Foo Fighters song yet (yes, better than “The Pretender”). As “Walk” commences, you can almost feel yourself ‘million miles away’ with Chris Shiflett’s ‘Edge-Chiming’ type guitar sounding more ambient than it ever has.  As it builds up, it acts as a source of faith and new beginnings amongst the dark, striving for freedom from the fear caught up in the mind.  Reaching its zenith, the climax ranges from extreme despair (“I'm on my knees, I'm waiting for a sign" ) to a near wish for immortality, Dave passionately screaming “I never wanna die”. This is clearly the best 4 minutes of music to come out this year. And yes, Welcome back Pat Smear to the Foo’s line up. He deserves a huge credit for shaping the mid-section of this song with insanely beautiful guitar playing. 

"Wasting Light" is a serious contender for 'Album of the Year' title and Foo Fighters have just raised the bar quite high for acts like Coldplay, U2 and Arctic Monkeys to beat. Until and unless, all the other artist put forth their absolute best, this one's an instant winner.

Key Songs: Walk, These Days, I Should Have Known.

Listen To The Album:

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters


Leave in your comments and reviews.

The King Of Limbs by Radiohead

The King of Limbs (Radiohead)

Let it slowly unfurl as lotus flowers.

Album Rating: **** (4/5)
 

Announcing your album a week before its release. And then releasing it a day before it is supposed to be out. Radiohead never play it simple. They try to make situations and their music as complex as possible, and their new release is no exception. Labeled as “The King of Limbs”, (possibly referring to an oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest, thought to be 1,000 years old) the physical release of this album is due March end and special “Newspaper” edition early May.
 

Radiohead are always considered to have a cult following of sorts generated by heavy experimentation with the advent of Kid A. They revolutionized the entire music scene and also the corporate world by exiting from a major record label and distributing their albums as “Pay-as-you-like” copies (read ‘In Rainbows’). Such “Out-of-the-box” thinking landed them at the top spot for the Best Artist in the last decade. So, How do they start the new decade? With a brilliant album, of course.

 

Few minutes into the album and it becomes quite clear that this record not only requires but demands your full attention.  Another thing quite apparent is that Radiohead are not reverting back to crowd pleasing era of OK Computer rather further dwelling into experimentation and modernization of tracks with complete use of resource at their disposal.  To judge this album on a few listens is nothing short of a crime, and patience in this regard is highly rewarded.  Clocking in at 37 minutes, this is the shortest Radiohead album and it has all the rhythmic upsets which Radiohead are best at.

‘Bloom’, the album opener, starts with a short but gorgeous piano part before a series off-beat rickety drum kicks. “Open your Mouth wide, The Universal Sigh” declares Thom. The resulting tension is reminiscent of ‘Reckoner’ and is simultaneously intriguing and off-putting. Following are a series of fast paced tracks with ‘Morning Mr Magpie’, a song with perfect bass and drum coordination. Colin (bassist) and Phil (drummer) are playing off each other with challenge from Mr. Yorke (“You got some nerve coming here”), this one has everything to please the fans.

Arabic melody anyone? Enter ‘Little By Little’.  A very unsettling song which is the closest the album gets to a pop moment. Mischievous, fun and very catchy, this song has the lightest set of lyrics (“I am such a tease, You are such a flirt!”). That we are. Next, We have ‘Feral’ in which heavily treated vocals appear in and out, while the different instruments (a bit of chainsaw bass here, a chime of keyboard there) sound like they exist in different universes entirely. Trippy stuff.

The latter half of the record gets gloomier, soothing and dark. By Now, You must already know how to dance to the next song ‘Lotus Flower’ (if you don’t, I highly recommend Thom Yorke’s dancing video for the same). Watch it, now.  Start losing your senses as several melodic layers of this song is uncovered. 

What follows next is perhaps the best track of the record, ’Codex’. Meditative, Sublime and Beautiful. A haunting vacuum grips you as this song constantly cleanses your mind like a hypnotic charm. It begets new life (“jump off the end”) and tries to restore humanity in its purest form (“You’ve done nothing wrong, the water’s clear and innocent”). This song (like One by U2) has a universal appeal in its own dark pessimistic way and Thom has provided one of his best heart felt vocals on this track.

As the album end draws near, bird chirping becomes more apparent in ‘Give Up The Ghost’,  a purposeful song that paints its relaxed desolation with a simple, frontier-esque acoustic guitar almost reminding us of Sigur Ros. As Radiohead start to bid adieu on the last track ‘Separator’, they continue to provide distinct reverb, echo and vague dreamlike setting with the departing lines “If you think this is over, then you are wrong”. We would love nothing more.

This record draws some influence from Thom Yorke’s solo album “The Eraser” and previous releases like “Amnesiac” and remains rather inaccessible to easy listening audience. It certainly establishes Phil Selway as One of the best Drummers in Rock history. The only thing missing from the entire equation is front role of Jonny and Ed but I am pretty sure they are playing heavy “behind the role” on several tracks. Does it bother that the entire record is stripped of distorted guitars? For Conventional fans, it might be, but for people who were happy with the outcome of Kid A, it shouldn’t be worrying at all.

On a Personal note, Jonny’s brilliance behind the guitars is missed at times and a few tracks featuring it might have just made it another ‘perfect’ record.  But then again, it might just disturb the continuity of the album. I guess, we will never know.

Key Songs: Codex, Giving Up The Ghost, Little by Little, Lotus Flowers.

Listen to the Album:



 Leave in your comments and reviews.

Top 25 Songs of 2010

Following lists the best rock songs to come out this year. These songs didn’t chart high but that’s been the story of 2010 and none of the top 3 songs have even been considered for a single!!! So, Read on, Download and Listen to the tracks and leave your top songs of this year in the comments section.

Top Tracks of 2010:

#1. Runaway by The National.

#2. Pick Up Truck by Kings of Leon.

#3. My Shadow by Keane.

#4. Ready To Start by Arcade Fire.

#5. Heartbreak Warfare by John Mayer.

#6. Everlasting Light by The Black Keys.

#7. I Think Ur A Contra by Vampire Weekend.

#8. Hustle and Cuss by The Dead Weathers.

#9. Between The Lines by Stone Temple Pilots.

#10. On the floor by Brandon Flowers.

#11. Hey, Soul Sister by Train.

#12. Angel Dance by Robert Plant.

#13. The High Road by Broken Bells.

#14. Falling From The Sun by The Album Leaf .

#15. In My Veins by Andrew Belle.

#16. Flash Delirium by MGMT.

#17. Better Days by Eddie Vedder.

#18. Nothing by The Script.

#19. Heartbeat Song by The Futureheads.

#20. Stylo by Gorillaz.

#21. Uprising by Muse.

#22. Laredo by Band of Horses.

#23. Who Says by John Mayer.

#24. Giving Up The Gun by Vampire Weekend.

#25. You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson.

Top 10 Albums of 2010

We have almost come to the end of an eventful year and as we embark upon the new decade, let’s see which Rock Records stood out and left a lasting impression on the listeners.  2010 just featured one Rock Artist “Train” with “Hey Soul Sister” in Billboard Top 10 so commercially it’s been one of the worst year for Rock Music but there were lot of good records making it difficult to select the Top 10. 

Listed are the best rock albums to be released this year. (The period taken into consideration is 1 January 2010 to 12 December 2010).

#1 “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire.

Must Have Tracks: Ready To Start, Suburban War, City With No Children.

#2 “High Violet” by The National

Must Have Tracks: Bloodbuzz Ohio, Runaway, England. 

#3 “Brothers” by The Black Keys

Must Have Tracks: Everlasting Light, Tighten Up, These Days. 

#4 “Contra” by Vampire Weekend

 

 

Must Have Tracks: I Think Ur A Contra, Giving Up The Gun, White Sky.

#5 “Sea of Cowards” by The Dead Weathers

Must Have Tracks: Hustle and Cuss, I’m Mad, I Can’t Hear You.

#6 “Go” by Jónsi

Must Have Tracks: Boy Lilikoi, Kolnidur, Sinking Friendships.

#7 “Plastic Beach” by Gorillaz

Must Have Tracks: Stylo, Sweepstakes, Some Kind of Nature. 

#8 “Congratulations” by MGMT

Must Have Tracks: It’s Working, Brian Eno, Congratulations.

#9 “Infinite Arms” by Band of Horses

 

Must Have Tracks: Laredo, Infinite Arms, On My Way Back Home.

 

#10 “Band of Joy” by Robert Plant

 

Must Have Tracks: Angel  Dance, I’m Falling in Love Again, Silver Rider.

Post in your top albums in the 'Comments' section.