What Are You Listening To At The Moment? - Page 224 - General Nonsense - TheMortonForum.com Jump to content
TheMortonForum.com

What Are You Listening To At The Moment?


amy

Recommended Posts

Mr. Oizo (pronounced ‘Monsieur Oiseau’) is the pseudonym of French music producer Quentin Dupieux.

 

Dupieux is most famous for his electro track “Flat Beat”, which became a hit all across Europe in 1999 for being featured in a series of Levi’s jeans TV advertisements. Dupieux also directed the ad, which featured a yellow puppet named Flat Eric nodding his head to the sound of the track while riding in a pickup truck. Flat Eric later appeared in the music video for “Flat Beat”.

 

After “Flat Beat”, Oizo released his first album in 1999, Analog Worms Attack, featuring a single of the same name.

 

In 2005, Oizo released his second album entitled Moustache (Half a Scissor).

 

In 2006 and 2007, Oizo produced remixes for Kavinsky, Jamelia, Cassius, Scissor Sisters and, most recently, Calvin Harris.

 

Dupieux’s first feature film, Steak, was released in France on June 20th, 2007.

 

Mr. Oizo’s latest EP is called Transexual and was released on Ed Banger Records. The EP features a re-working of the 1979 disco track “Do It At The Disco” by Gary’s Gang. The track appeared on Oizo’s MySpace page in 2006 under the title Patrick122.

 

 

----------------

Now playing: Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat

via FoxyTunes

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as “The Manics”) are a Welsh rock band often associated with the resurgence of British rock in the early 90s, who gained mainstream popularity in the UK at the time. They are known for their intelligent and often political lyrics and have a dedicated cult following. Although during the early part of their career they were regarded as a punk rock band, their music is now often generally regarded as alternative rock, due to changes in their sound. Co-lyricist and guitarist Richey James Edwards (Richey James, as he preferred to be known) mysteriously disappeared in 1995; his whereabouts are unknown.

 

Politically, the Manics appear as a socialist group — a stance inflected by their working class upbringing in Blackwood, South Wales (they grew up during the miners’ strike of the 1980s) as evidenced by their often highly politicised lyrics and actions (they once dedicated an award to Arthur Scargill, leader of the National Union of Mineworkers and later the Socialist Labour Party). The band also played a highly publicized gig in Cuba.

 

They came together in 1986, when James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and rhythm guitarist Flicker formed Betty Blue in the small South Wales town of Blackwood. Two years later, Flicker had left and Nicky’s friend Richey Edwards (previously the group’s driver) joined in his place. Richey would later say in Vox magazine, “If you built a museum to represent Blackwood, all you could put in it would be s***. We used to meet by this opening called Pen-y-Fan. It was built when the mines closed down but now the water has turned green and slimy. They put 2,000 fish in it, but they died. There’s a whirlpool in the middle where about two people die every year”. A bleak image, then, but it provided the necessary fuel to drive the band.

 

Inspired by the passion of The Clash, and moved by Thatcher’s suppression of the miners, the band’s lyrics exploded with politicised anger. Their first single, the self-financed PlaySuicide Alley, didn’t make great waves, and the band moved to London. There, they found a sympathetic character in the form of Bob Stanley: later a member of Saint Etienne, but then a freelancer for the Melody Maker.

 

Stanley released a collection of their demos as the New Art Riot EP in June 1990. It caught the attention of Philip Hall, who became their publicist and co-manager.

 

In early 1991 Heavenly released PlayMotown Junk, an inspired three-minute punk blast. Later that year it was followed by PlayYou Love Us, a swaggering, arrogant self-regarding slice of brilliance.

 

The Manics paved the way for a resurgence of guitar bands in Wales. In the press, they were forced to live with punning headlines referring to sheep, boyos and leeks - they got all the clichés out of the way so the bands of the so-called Cool Cymru would be taken more seriously.

 

Yet their image often overshadowed the music. On 15 May 1991 came a turning point for the Manics. Following a gig at Norwich Arts Centre, Steve Lamacq, then writing for the nme, argued with the band that they were a cartoon band - not real punks. The band refuted this, but still Lamacq persisted. Frustrated, Richey Edwards took a razor and calmly carved the words 4 REAL into his forearm. Lamacq was horrified; Richey needed 17 stitches. Six days later the Manics signed to Sony. Richey had suffered from depression for many years, and self-mutilation had become increasingly common for him. But the Norwich incident was the first time the guitarist had aired his emotional problems in public.

 

In February 1992 the debut album Generation Terrorists was released. Heavily influenced by Appetite for Destruction, Richey said of it, “We wanted to sign to the biggest record label in the world, put out a debut album that would sell 20 million, and then break up. Get massive and then just throw it all away”. The album sold 250,000 copies worldwide. Predictably they didn’t split up, but the album polarised opinion between those that saw them as the new saviours of rock and roll, and detractors who considered them contrived and insincere. Not that the Manics cared: they were off on their first American tour, shortly after the LA riots, and singles such as Slash ‘N’ Burn and Motorcycle Emptiness were climbing up the charts.

 

The second Manics album was released in June 1993. Gold Against The Soul was overproduced and less passionate, but did contain the classic songs PlayLa Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) and PlayFrom Despair to Where. However, they also chose to support Bon Jovi for a string of unwise live dates. The troubles continued with the death on 7 December 1993 of their mentor Philip Hall, who had been battling cancer for two years. Meanwhile, Richey’s problems were worsening. Weighing less than six stone and subjecting his body to drinking and cutting binges, he was eventually admitted to the Priory in Roehampton.

 

Richey’s despair was documented in what is now considered the Manics’ masterpiece, 1994’s ‘The Holy Bible’. Unremittingly bleak, the opening song Yes contained the lines “I eat and I dress and I wash and I still can say thank you / Puking, shaking, sinking / Can’t shout, can’t scream, I hurt myself to get pain out”. The song was about prostitution, but every line emanated from Richey’s fragile state of mind. He rejoined the band for tours with Therapy? and Suede (and an early incarnation of Vitriol I.D.) in Europe, and a series of frantic shows at the London Astoria in December. The final night saw them destroying 10,000 worth of their equipment. “We’ll never be that good again,” said Nicky after the event. It was also their last live appearance as a four-piece.

 

Although they had never found transatlantic success, at the beginning of 1995 they were preparing to give America one last try. However, on 1 February Richey walked out of the Embassy hotel in London and never returned. His passport and money were found in his Cardiff Bay flat, and two weeks later his car was discovered beside the Severn Bridge - a notorious local suicide spot. The file on his disappearance remains open.

 

“We decided to carry on in April,” said Nicky Wire in The Guardian, “after two months of waiting by the phone and feeling ill and exhausted. We thought we’d been so close, and in the end we couldn’t do anything for him.” September saw the band record a cover of PlayRaindrops Keep Falling on My Head for the war child “Help” album, and by January 1996 the Manics were recording their comeback album ‘Everything Must Go’. It was released on 20 May to critical acclaim, went double platinum and yielded four top ten singles: ‘A Design For Life’, the title track, ‘Kevin Carter’ and ‘Australia’. The sound represents a cross between the heavy rock of ‘Gold Against The Soul’ and a new, less agressive, almost britpop like sound.

 

Two Brit Awards later, they released the LP This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours which gave the band their first number one single in PlayIf You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, perhaps the only song that references the Spanish Civil War to ever appear on Top of the Pops.

 

On December 31st 1999 the band said goodbye to the 20th Century with a gig at Cardiff Millennium Stadium, attended by upwards of 50,000 people. This was followed by their second number one single, PlayThe Masses Against the Classes, which hit the top spot despite not having a video or marketing support from their record company.

 

Shortly afterwards, Nicky stated that “the fourth era of the Manics is beginning”.

The fourth era, so far, has involved an audience with Fidel Castro in Cuba, the 2001 album Know Your Enemy, and continuing success. Their long awaited greatest hits collection, Forever Delayed, appeared in October 2002, followed in 2003 by Lipstick Traces, a two-disc collection of covers, B-sides, and outtakes including the last song recorded with Richey, ‘Judge Yr’self’.

 

The Manics returned in November 2004 with the more reflective Lifeblood, which featured the singles PlayThe Love of Richard Nixon and PlayEmpty Souls, both of which went straight in at number two in the charts.

 

Not to rest on their laurels, the band released a 10th anniversary edition of The Holy Bible in December 2004 which included a digitally remastered version of the original album, a never before heard U.S mix and a DVD of live performances and extras.

 

In April 2005 the Manics released a limited 3 track E.P. titled God Save the Manics as a free download but with hard copies distributed also without cost at the final date of their small, intimate ‘Past Present and Future’ tour at Hammersmith Apollo, London - their last show before a two year hiatus.

 

Later that year the band contributed the new track PlayLeviathan to September’s war child charity album Help: A Day in the Life, becoming one of the few bands to contribute tracks to both albums.

 

2006 saw both James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire releasing solo albums, The Great Western and I Killed The Zeitgeist respectively. But both insisted that this in no way meant an end to the Manics and in December the band headlined XFM’s Winter Wonderland gig in Manchester.

 

2007 sees the band enter yet another era with their 8th studio album, Send Away The Tigers, which was released on May 7th.

 

 

----------------

Now playing: Manic Street Preachers - Life Becoming a Landslide

via FoxyTunes

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

André Tanneberger aka ATB (born February 26, 1973 in Freiberg, Saxony, Germany) is a DJ, musician, and producer of trance and dance music. Among his most famous songs is “Play9pm (Till I Come)”, which topped the charts in the United Kingdom in 1999 and is widely regarded as the UK’s first Trance number one. The track features a guitar riff which became hugely popular. This guitar sound, which he accidentally found while experimenting with a new producing deck, became the trademark of his early hits. ATB continues to evolve and change with every album. His current style involves more vocals and varied sounds, with frequent pianos.

 

Despite only releasing a few more singles in the UK, namely “Don’t stop!” (No.3, 300,000 copies sold) and “PlayKiller” (No.4, 200,000 copies sold), he still regularly releases music in his native Germany and in other parts of Europe, where he has scored big hits such as “PlayI Don’t Wanna Stop” and his cover of Olive’s 1996 hit “PlayYou’re Not Alone”.

 

“Two Worlds” (2000) is a two-disc album based upon the concept of different types of music for different moods, with titles such as “The World Of Movement” and “The Relaxing World”.

 

ATB’s latest hits include uplifting “PlayEcstasy” and chilling “PlayMarrakech”, both from the album “No Silence” (2004) and also released as singles.

 

In 2005, ATB released “Seven Years”, a compilation of 20 songs, including many greatest hits such as “PlayThe Summer”, “PlayLet U Go”, “Hold U”, “PlayLong Way Home”, and “PlayI Don’t Wanna Stop”. Additionally, “Seven Years includes six new tracks: “PlayHumanity”; “PlayLet U Go (2005 Reworked)”; “PlayBelieve in Me”; “Trilogie, Pt. 2”; “PlayTake Me Over”; and “PlayFar Beyond”. Many of ATB’s recent albums have featured vocals from Roberta Carter Harrison, singer for the Canadian duo Wild Strawberries.

 

His next album was co-written by vocalist Tiff Lacey! “Trilogy” was released in 2007. The release of his new single “Justify” was moved from November 2006 to 2007. The single “Renegade” was released on 2007-04-12 and features Heather Nova.

 

----------------

Now playing: ATB - 9pm (Till I Come)

via FoxyTunes

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark James Morriss (born October 18, 1971 in England) is the lead singer and songwriter for English band The Bluetones, as well as older brother of bassist Scott Morriss. The Bluetones have released five albums, two ‘Best Ofs’ and have had a clutch of top 40 singles. They are one of the few bands who can genuinely said to have “survived Britpop.”

 

He released his debut album, “Memory Muscle” in June 2008 to quiet critical acclaim. A gentler, folk-tinged record, it includes four re-recorded tracks which had previously been released under the name “Fi-Lo Beddow” as an EP in Feb 2006. The strings on the record were arranged by David Arnold, Grammy award winner and current composer of the James Bond films. Arnold became a fan of The Bluetones whilst scoring ‘Independence Day’.

 

 

----------------

Now playing: Mark Morriss - Call The Shots

via FoxyTunes

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark James Morriss (born October 18, 1971 in England) is the lead singer and songwriter for English band The Bluetones, as well as older brother of bassist Scott Morriss. The Bluetones have released five albums, two ‘Best Ofs’ and have had a clutch of top 40 singles. They are one of the few bands who can genuinely said to have “survived Britpop.”

 

He released his debut album, “Memory Muscle” in June 2008 to quiet critical acclaim. A gentler, folk-tinged record, it includes four re-recorded tracks which had previously been released under the name “Fi-Lo Beddow” as an EP in Feb 2006. The strings on the record were arranged by David Arnold, Grammy award winner and current composer of the James Bond films. Arnold became a fan of The Bluetones whilst scoring ‘Independence Day’.

----------------

Now playing: Mark Morriss - Call The Shots

via FoxyTunes

 

he played the Cafe a few weeks back. Did you go?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...