Michael's Mini Post #6 - Delayed Return.

Ahh erm. Yea. Not coming home just yet... Anyway that's my input on football for 4 years.

On to the task at hand, the real reason we are here. So what's happened in the 5 days since my last post?

Well a number 1 challenge has been laid to get pop punk legends Green Day to number 1 with American Idiot... And I doubt Frank Skinner will remain top for much longer, so will we see this Music protest to the presidential visit take off?
For anyone interested it's here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6nTiIhLmQ3FWhvrGafw2zj?si=K6ht0NE-R_WQzlEXS28ZIQ


This week I've also been mixing up my playlist. Which is something I do very often, but when it comes to here I tend to keep all things Guitar and Drums based. Today I'm going to drop a playlist of a difference - Dance, Deep House, Trance & more... yea we're going all things Electronic!

We have some new, some old, some classics, some remixes and (in blog style) some upcoming artists!
Featuring: Gala, Florence & Calvin, Storm Queen, Marc Kinchen, Oliver Helden, Maya Jane Coles, Becky Hill, M-22, Felix Cartel and N.A.N.C.Y

These are some names you know some you might not, if you only listen to one track check out N.A.N.C.Y. She's got a handful of tracks and always dropping some live beats on Facebook & Instagram  as well as SoundCloud. Very talented and having seen her progressing over the last 10 years from residentials across the UK & Ireland to Closing major Festivals & massive gigs over in Ibiza, I can definitely recommend!

In other news : 

On the Synthpop front Years&Years released their 2nd album Palo Santo. Which is pretty decent, certainly a few good tracks on their which they haven't released as singles: All For You, Karma and Preacher to name a few.

On the Indie/Pop front: The Hunna release their 2nd Album Dare tomorrow. Their singles so far have been 50/50 some sounds a little too similar to last album see Summer/Brother. And Flicking Your Hair sounds a little sell out see Flicking Ur hair - Far too One Direction! However some of their tracks sound decent and hold that Hunna love we got from 100! 
Hope Dare holds more of the latter, especially since Warner have plugged it so much for 6months.

Finally - The Killers play Bolton Stadium this week and we're going :D. More on that over the weekend.

Foxon's Thoughts #4 - It's Coming Home

We've been rather quiet at this blog as of late. A mixture of amazing weather, hard work and football every single day, is my personal excuse. I've not found the time (or the need) to put pen to paper, or rather, thumb to phone screen lately.

I've still been listening to music though, lots of music. The sun does something to music. The sun makes punk rock faster, it makes metal heavier, it makes music more fun. Obviously it doesn't work for everything, I couldn't imagine listening to 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ while sat in the garden, or ‘Mr Writer’ by Stereophonics isn't exactly BBQ music. Great tunes though.

Let's talk Spotify. Isn't Spotify brilliant? You want summer songs? Just type ‘Summer’ into Spotify and you will find endless playlists with Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Sum 41, and Bruno Mars. My personal favourite summertime song is at the bottom of this post, and it's not up for debate, it's objectively the best summer song of all time, you will agree, and if you don't, you're stupid, wrong, and probably ugly!

On the subject of Spotify, and I realise I am just rambling on by now, have you ever had a school crush? A boy or girl that you fancied? Then you get on Facebook years later and have a little look for them. They are rarely how you remember. They are either absolutely stunning and living a life of pure glee, or they are a mess, and when you dig deeper, you realise they were always a mess, you just had bad taste. Well, Spotify lets us do that with records.

I recently gave it a go. I listened, for the first time in 10 or something years to ‘Californication’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in its entirety. I know you're probably thinking “Why has it taken this long for you to listen to it?”, and my answer is, I don't think it's Chili’s best album, probably not even in the top 3.

‘Californication’ came out at the right time for me, I was 15, music was the most important thing in my life. I was also hooked on awesome 90’s sci-fi films, and I had a crush on almost every single female on the planet. My hormones were a bit crazy and I liked a lot of things I probably shouldn't. So this listen to Californication was me searching through the Facebook profile of a girl I fancied, to see if she is still fit.

She is gorgeous! Californication is a wonderful album. A strange change in shape for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, they stopped rocking and started to roll. This is a chilled out, funky album, with a set of lyrics as deep as the North Pacific. It almost doesn't sound like a Chilis album, it's something else, maybe that's why I didn't want to like it. Personal highlights are ‘Parallel Universe’ and ‘I Like Dirt’. The album was the comeback for guitarist John Frusciante, and it sort of reignited the bands fire after the drug-fuelled shit-fest that was ‘One Hot Minute’, and it kicked off the bands later years, preceding their masterpiece ‘By The Way’. But 15 year old me didn't care about this. 15 year old me cared about these funky guys making catchy, soppy and almost spiritual music. 15 year old me had the right idea. It's not always about the bigger picture. If you like it, like it! It's a summery album, and it's fantastic.

Of course, there is always a flip side. The girl you fancied in school who, looking back, wasn't all that! You think about her and smile, but after a bit of research, she is a hot mess. In this case it's ‘The Gift Of Game’ by Crazy Town. Wow! I loved this album back in 9T9. I remembered that ‘Butterfly’ was a nice, summery song. It's shite, the whole album is shite. What was I thinking? ‘Revolving Door’ is degrading, its childish, it's disgusting. I didn't care when I was 15, she was a skank, and I fancied the pants off her.

Of course, I don't go through Facebook, stalking past flames. I don't even have Facebook. I just wanted to write a funny blog. I've grown from that 15 year old, I've matured, I accept people, I'm not shallow, and I take nothing at face value. However, that 15 year old loved music for what it was, never feeling the need to dig deeper, read between the lines or get involved in the politics. In that respect, that 15 year old was more grown up than this 34 year old.

Oh, and the best summer song ever?

Len - Steal My Sunshine

Told you you'd agree!

Michael's mini post #5 - MxPx - Let's Ride & BST2018

It's been a few weeks since the last post. As usual life takes lead, on Job hunt and then Interview's / Presentations became life.

Now I'm back, new job in tow, ready to party. This week is ending with a smashing line up over at BST2018 in London: Pale Waves, Goldfrapp, Editors, Interpol & The Cure.
I'm looking forward to Interpol's latest single The Rover live! More from BST next week.

On the topic of 'coming back', MxPx did a Kickstarter a few months back and now they return with their 10th album. I donated, obviously, this is MxPx - I just hope they do Manchester UK on tour!

They release their first single - Let's Ride, and it's fucking awesome.

Check it out here:

Lyrics:

About the time that I turned 14
I got a job doing landscaping
Those days were long and my old boss was mean
About the time that I turned 16
I got a car and no place to be
I’d fill up the tank and drive out to the sea

The Rockies ain’t too far from here if we drive all night
The cold air will do you well in the mountain morning light

So let’s ride
Let’s ride on through the rain
Come on and take me anywhere that you want to be
So let’s ride

By the time that I turned 19
I’d seen so much and I was still green
It’s taken me a time or two
To learn the things I watch you do for me
There I was at 29
I can’t believe I’m still alive
Though it was never easy, yeah
You and me were born to survive

The Rockies ain’t too far from here if we drive all night
The cold air will do you well in the mountain morning light

So let’s ride
That was my escape
A way to change the tape
That was playing, that was playing in my head

The Rockies ain’t too far from here if we drive all night
The cold air will do you well in the mountain morning light

So let’s ride
Let’s ride on through the rain
Come on and take me anywhere that you want to be
Let’s ride, let’s ride
Let’s follow the skyline
And when we make it to the other side
We’ll find all the bluest skies

Time to digest INTERPOL'S - THE ROVER ... Michael's (not so) Mini Post #4

As we disembark the day colloquially known as 'Hump Day' I'm left marginally recovering from the weekend, on a train, finally absorbing some much needed Music Therapy to help settle my thoughts.

It's been a while since Interpol released their eagerly awaited single The Rover, announced an Album tour as well as the track names of their 6th studio album Marauder.

It's taken me a little time to really digest The Rover. Having taken themselves away from a post-production outfit, and focusing more on getting it 100% in 1 take on good old fashioned Magnetic Tapes. (Old fashioned to Gen-Zs/Gen-alpha anyway). No longer retro Vinyl aye? Retro Cassette! 

Got to say The Rover has grown on me! Check it out at bottom of the post.

Anyway, the thought of Magnetic Tape, no post production, fills me with dread and inquisition. Paul vocally is not the strongest, but that makes him unique, live he has been known to off on occasions.
Coupled with the loose creativity and minimal post production we received with their 4th Album ''Interpol" - which had 3 goods songs and a poor reception - I'm left wondering how number 6 will be.

Come and see me and maybe you'll die

But I can keep you in artwork, the fluid kind

That's enough for excitements today

Prostrated faded, it's pay-to-play

Come and see me yeah, maybe you'll try

I've been holding these pyros til they could fly

Open up and enlighten again

Enjoy the skyline, it's an incremental end

None the less, The Rover, offers a taste of 'El Pintor'-esq rifts coupled with a raw productions. With 'El Pintor' being a very good recovery for their 5th Album, I'm hopeful Marauder will land the Creative loose aspirations of 'Interpol' with the excellence of 'El Pintor' mixed with fresh love of their original work on the back of their 15year old TOTBLs tour.

Will we find Interpol provide a mediocre ablum, let say, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino part 2, or will they provide another album I can't turn off.

Either way, tickets bought, which will take it to 4 Interpol gigs this passed year.

"Walk in on your own feet"

Says the rover

"It's my way or they all leave"

Says the rover

The rover

Ca suffit, hell yeah, maybe it's time

You can't stick to the highways, it's suicide

I'm welling up with excitements again

The apex resolves, you need to tell your friends

Anyway here's my ode to the single!

Come and see me, yeah baby, let's cry

Satin face in some worlds we’d be too kind

Nature’s subjected to fires again

Falling for my independence