Scooped!

Once more, Analogue gets to music news, first. (I know that makes us sound like a trailer for Fox News, but whatevs.). Last night, Conor wrote this about EMI. In this morning’s Irish Times, Brian Boyd offers his distinctly more hopeful thoughts. Who’s right?

A Boy Named Seu

Seu Jorge is playing next Saturday as part of the Dun Laoighre Festival of World Cultures. While in Brazil he’s known for his original Samba-Funk music, Western listeners’ll probably recognise him from City of God, or from this:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvhGvxuOREw]

Tickets were €28, but they’ve long sold out. Content yourselves with the following instead, and be quicker off the mark next time, eh?

Jorge’s main claim to fame are his covers of classic Ziggy Stardust-Era Bowie songs, translated into his native Portuguese. Bowie himself remarked on “this new level of beauty” brought to his songs by the Brazilian musician. So, firstly, ‘Rebel Rebel’, or, according to a swift Babelfish ‘Rebelde, Rebelde’..

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvx_w79wbrE]

And secondly, ‘Life on Mars’ from The Life Aquatic:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6l8zrsf4LY]

Ronnie Drew R.I.P.

Ronnie Drew passed away yesterday afternoon. Believe it or not, this was one of the first tapes I ever bought. We’ve got roots in the West, us Malones, and for me, Drew’s voice (along with Luke Kelly) is synonymous with long long drives across the country, my head dozing against the car window, the lights of Dublin behind me, and the waves of Connemara in front.

I could quote Bono’s typically bombastic praise of Drew, and leave it at that:

“Ronnie is like the King of Ireland, and we are his subjects.”

But I don’t really like Bono, and I’d rather let Drew do the talking himself.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRWyaP9YCw4]

Ugly Megan

First came Orlando. Then came Kathi and Orlando. Then came Ugly Megan. Orlando Fitzgerald was already recording songs by himself, when his girlfriend Kathi Burke joined in. Abandoning the previous recordings that he had made solo, they ‘started new. We went to my house for the weekend and recorded 6 songs, like a joke.’ The result was Ugly Megan (named after Megan Nolan, a member of You’re Only Massive).

When we meet, it is in the bus station. They are going to Galway to play Roisín Dubh. Kathi is sitting on the floor, surrounded by a keyboard, a guitar and a bag full of leads and toys. Orlando is in the shop. Things need to change. It’s awful bringing their stuff all around the country. “We’re going to get a car. It’s in the pipeline. Though we can’t drive. It’s never going to happen, really.” Though Ugly Megan are still quite young, they have two EPs under their belt (‘Three Whole Funs’, and ‘The Gavin, Megan, and Oisin EP’), both put out on their own label – Well Wicked Wecords. Naturally, due to their semi-lo-fi ethos and boy/girl vocals, Moldy Peaches comparisons get brought up. However, Ugly Megan are not the Moldy Peaches. While the Moldy Peaches’ Adam Green and Kimya Dawson blend crass with cutesy in their lyrics (“squinched up your face and did a dance/ shook a little turd out of the bottom of your pants”), Ugly Megan combine toytronica, harmonies, gangsta stylings, and gamine charm. ‘Sunshine Vs Splack’ opens with the Mystikal-esque ‘Shake that ass bitch and let me see what you got’, undercut with Fitzgerald’s Ian Curtis tones telling of long summer days, until, finally, the chorus melts into coos of ‘I love you’. ‘One Night at My House’ sets lyrics like “I really like your trousers but I’d much prefer them on the floor” against a glockenspiel background.

This mixture of pop and hip-hop ties in neatly with the first records that Orlando and Kathi bought. He bought the soundtrack to the Pokémon film, while she bought Eminem’s ‘Marshal Mathers LP’. They add, “we find hip hop really fun. Old school stuff. It’s really fun and summery. We’ll probably start covering Nordic death metal in the winter.” Their general listening is pretty eclectic as well, ranging from Wax Taylor to White Noise, influenced in part by Orlando’s sideline as an eclectro DJ. (‘I don’t have a DJ name. Maybe I’ll make one up on the bus.’) Composing songs is a joint effort- ‘We both write the lyrics. Sometimes we’ll do it separately, but it’s harder to write it together.’- often coupled with some outside influences- “Our song Bobby Orlando is made up of quotes from a biography about a disco producer from New York called Bobby Orlando.” Their relationship is definitely a factor in their music, but one that has changed with time- “Even if we broke up, we’d still sing together. We were a couple before we were a band. Even if we hated each other we’re still going to sing together. I think a lot of the songs when we first started playing were about love and stuff ‘I love you so much/ I wanna be with you babe’. But people get bored with that.”

While Kathi frantically checks her pockets for their bus tickets, and an announcement about the bus times to Naas blares over the tannoy, they discuss the band’s image- or lack thereof. “We don’t have an image. I don’t think that hard. We just wear clothes that we think are cool really. My dad calls my trousers ‘elephant pants’.” Though they’re about to leave for Galway, they plan to stay in Ireland for the time being. They were a hair’s breadth away from decamping to the Toronto School of Art, but instead Kathi decided on NCAD in Dublin. What’s Canada’s loss is Ireland’s gain, for Ugly Megan are very special indeed.

Fight Like Apes

If Fight Like Apes had their way, Shannyn Sossamon (of 40 Days and 40 Nights fame) would sell their merchandise at gigs. It doesn’t matter that “she probably wouldn’t even be able to count”, I’m told, because she is “an absolute ride”. No, seriously, she is a babe. “Google Images her, it’ll change your life”. That’s the best thing about Fight Like Apes. Everything is allowed, as long as you’re really into it. There’s no need to justify something, all that’s needed is enthusiasm. Whether it’s bad movies – “When we were recording the album, we watched a series of movies featuring Tom Selleck. Anything with a decent moustache. We’ve probably plagiarized his entire career by this stage.”- or songwriting. In response to a quote which opines that “their songs allude to hate figures and love figures and there is virtually no in between”, MayKay laughs and muses that “I don’t see the point about writing about something you’re not really pushed about.” They wear their influences on their sleeve, but just as quickly shrug them off. “At the moment we’re listening to Johnny Foreigner and Los Campesinos!. We’re trying not to be prejudiced against bands that get really hyped up, but at the same time, some of them are actually amazing.” Finding new music is less a game of hipster top trumps, more an actual game – “When we were recording in Seattle we had this game called ‘Brave New Bands’. You had to go into the bargain bin in a record shop, and pick out some CD’s. Then, you brought them back, and we all listened to them. But, you weren’t allowed know who you were listening to. If you liked it, you liked it. We found out about a load of bands through that – like McCluskey, Your Code Name Is Mylo, Rilo Kiley.”

‘Recording in Seattle’ refers to the period that Fight Like Apes spent in the U.S. recording their (as yet) un-named debut album. The band flew out to Seattle to record for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was a lot cheaper than recording in Dublin. A lot cheaper. Secondly, and more importantly, it was so John Goodmanson (Wu-Tang Clan, Death Cab For Cutie, Bikini Kill) could produce the record. “We got John Goodmanson to produce the album, because we’re huge Blood Brothers fans- especially ‘Crimes’. We just asked him to on the Blood Brothers button. We chose him because everything he’s done has been really posh, but also a bit raw.” They’re honest about their lack of studio skills – “We were such melons when we were recording the EP. We kept saying ‘just make it louder” – but at the same time, they were no naïve ingénues at the mixing desk. “The recording was really natural. The first day he asked us to just play live, and he took notes. He had these massive opinions on songs he’d just heard, so we’d fight a bit. Generally everything would work out very easily.”

The origin of their name comes with a cheeky anecdote. “I tell everyone that the name came from ‘Battle of the Planet of the Apes’. Truth is, I stole it off a friend of mine. He wanted to call his band ‘Fight Like Apes’, and I took it instead. We had a laugh about it.” True to form, what began as a something between friends, has, to borrow the title of their next single, become ‘Something Global’. At the same time, there are some fine business minds at work. They tour all over Ireland – “3 of us are from Dublin, and Mary’s from Kildare. A lot of Irish bands spend a lot of time in their home town- saying ‘yeah, we’re playing Galway next year’. From the outset we played everywhere we could.” – and the new single ‘Something Global’ is definitely the most radio friendly thing they’ve written so far – “I’m not going to lie. Obviously we’re going to use the most radio-friendly thing as a lead single. But we didn’t write or record it just for the radio. We wanted something quick and snappy and easy as pie.” They’ve also straddled the commercial and the collector’s market, in terms of record sales versus downloads. “You can pre-order our new single buy text message, which is pretty amazing. The vinyl thing (‘Something Global’ will also be released on a limited run of special yellow vinyl’) was certainly something I wanted to do, plus it looks great.” It’s cheering to see (especially in the Dublin hothouse of bands getting too big for their Chuck Taylors) that no matter how big Fight Like Apes are getting, or – judging from the packed Whelan’s show they played after only a year of gigging – how big they’re going to get, that they haven’t lost their sense of humour. A second after detailing the plans for the limited run of vinyl singles, MayKay giggles and says – “We should have called our album Only Cunts Buy Vinyl.”

Johnny Cash Christmas Specials

It’s a little early to be talking about Christmas, I’ll admit, but I may as well start writing my list now. Along with Seasons 2-4 of The Wire, I’d also like The Johnny Cash Christmas Specials 1976 and 1977. The Johnny Cash show ran from 1969 to 1971, and was cancelled after its second year, due to network interference. However in those two years, practically every major figure in folk, blues, bluegrass and country music featured on its stage.

A double-disc ‘Best Of The Johnny Cash Show’ DVD was released last year, which has, amongst other things, an ace performance of ‘Girl from the North Country’ by Dylan and Cash. Though there’s a bit of a delay in the restored youtube version, you can see them nodding each other in at the appropriate verses, and using eye contact to end the song, like two sean nós singers in the back of a country pub.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1JZly_jHeQ]

It also features a (justifiably) nervous mid-performance chat with Derek and the Dominoes:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttp0QN0eHqw]

Not to mention performances from Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, June Carter Cash, Glen Campbell, Credence Clearwater Revival and Hank Williams Jr. An audo CD of ‘The Best Of…’ is available also, which contains tracks not on the DVD, such as a super-smooth Ray Charles covering ‘Ring of Fire’:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhGZdSkX6IM]

Though Cash’s collaborations on the Christmas Specials and The Johnny Cash Show were spectacular, his collaborations hit their zenith in 1980, with the following televisual masterpiece:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5HRSmLlaiA&feature=related]

Ana-LAUNCH!

Yes yes, we had a party on Friday. Many people came. We made many new friends. We also took some red-eyed and unflattering photos, as ever. We are not vain. Well, not very vain…

Andrew pretended he was Truman Capote:

Bren pretended he was a beer fairy:

Darragh and Storkboy Choons pretended that they were each other:

Dan explained important things:

These things shocked Megan:

Our families came too! Look! Here’s Gareth and his sister!:

This is them laughing at some Stack family in-joke:

My little brother came! He is the one that is not me and not Paul:

Olwyn’s boyfriend came!

Loreana came!

Aidan DJ’d (although he’s not doing so in this photo):

Bren is too happy for words, because he’s just hadabitofadance:

It was to this song:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=150yyU3i73o]

All these people outside are happy that they came:

We are happy that they came. We are happy that you came. We can’t wait for our next party.

The Ghosts of Saturday Night

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=XrkThaBWa5c&feature=related]

Stomping on stage, kicking up dust, part dancing bear, part Calvinist preacher, Tom Waits sure puts on a good show. Nigh on 3 hours of gravelthroat blues, a tight backing band and surrealist jokes, all served beneath a 6 peaked circus tent. Outside, vendors sell jelly sweets and high class coffee, a barbeque roasts burgers in the background. High rollers and people up for the show stroll along the red carpet, all hoping for a little magic. Tales of Christmas-time call girls and demented uncles fill the big top. The piano’s hungover, but it can still sing when it wants. The saxophonist plays two horns at once. Vaudeville and Buster Keaton and Chaplin all combine in one monkey-faced bowler-hatted Jewish California-born man. The show ends in a downpour of glitter. We stand. And clap. He returns. We remain standing during the 20 minute encore. Out of the big top, into the rain we troop, leaving the circus for reality.

I’m sure a set list will be up and about as soon as, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for those who are going at the weekend. Worth. Every. Penny.

Melt! Festival 2008

Essentially a boutique music festival, held annually in Berlin,Melt!’sline-up is mainly electronica-based. The bill this year included artists such as: Hot Chip, Roisín Murphy, Bjork, Bookashade, MEN and more. Camping is abundant, tickets are cheap (95 quid for the weekend) but along with the perks that the boutique label brings- smashing food, eclectic line-up- come the pitfalls inherent- shoddy organising, lacklustre security, and an odd location. Advertised as being ‘20 minutes from Berlin’, it is in fact 20 minutes outside of Dessau. Dessau is 2 hours outside of Berlin. So Melt! is 2 and a half hours outside of Berlin. Dessau, though full of Unesco World Heritage Sites, is no Berlin. Fact. I decided that I was too old and cranky to put up with camping for a weekend, and so stayed in a hotel with some friends. There was, supposedly, a regular shuttle bus that would bring us from the hotel to the festival ground, and back again. Supposedly. 30 euro worth of supposedly. It never came. I lie. It brought us to the festival each day, without fail, but seemed to stop working after 11pm. Which is no use when there’s a Sleepless Floor to be availed of.

The 5 stages- including the sublime ‘Sleepless Floor’ that played pumpin’ beats non-stop from mid-day Friday until 2pm Monday-are well spaced out on the small(ish) site, and around them plentiful concession stands are dotted. One of the musical highlights was Jape on Saturday night, followed an hour later by Roisín Murphy’s incredible set. 6 costume changes during 8 songs. What a woman. What stamina. Incidentally, Jape was staying in my hotel. I’d seen him over breakfast that morning. Had I enough energy to say hello, I would have done so. But I didn’t. Apologies. Bjork on Sunday was equally amazing. Her set began with a full brass band with flags on their heads, and ended with said brass band dancing wantonly around the stage. Lowlight? Uffie. Without a doubt. I know the writers here have already expressed how they feel about Miss Anna, but I genuinely liked her before I saw her perform live. Standing stock still amongst a crowd of sweaty neon, listening to her rap over Tiesto tracks, screaming ‘Fuck dem Hatas!’ ? In a word? Dire. It was like someone’s end of party performance from My Super Sweet 16. ‘OMGZ! B-cuz I’m mega-into hip-hop I’m gunna MC! Best Party Evah!’. However, none of the stages were actually signposted. This lead to, among other things, wild confusion. I thought that I had spent an hour happily watching Bookashade at the Gemini tent. I hadn’t. I was, instead, watching an entirely different band at the Gemini dance tent. And on it went.

Though I had a good time in end of all, I can’t promise that I’ll return. A cheap ticket is no pay-off against organisation. On the first night, while waiting to get in, an actual stampede broke out, while the security guard (there was but the one) stood by and let 200 people push down barriers to move 3 places up in the queue. A friend was made wait 4 hours while her booking through lastminute.com was scrutinised, and her credit card poked about with. Others simply dug a tunnel around the back of the site and climbed through that. Perhaps, as the festival expands (as I’m sure it will), these glitches will be ironed smooth, and a more efficient teutonic system put into place. However, like I said, I don’t know if I’ll stick around to see it happen.

John Matthias – Stories from the Watercooler

Matthias is not only a schoolmate of Thom Yorke; he also played strings on The Bends. Yet his preoccupations are more in keeping with Yorke’s solo project – ‘The Eraser’- than with that other band from Oxford. Disillusionment with modern life is coupled with banjo and harmonium accompaniment- an arrangement that Matthias’ modernist poet namesake would enjoy. Amid Cold Cut’s sparse production Matthias’ sombre, gravely voice tells tales of terrorism (‘One Sunny Morning in the No-Fly Zone’), small town rivalry (‘King of a Small Town’) and busking (‘Stocktaking’). Wry lyrics sometimes belittle content- not least when he describes bombs with Britney Spears’ face painted on them. Ultimately, however, the suite of ‘12 Short Stories Put To Song’ overcomes such obstacles.

‘Stories from the Watercooler’ offers an experience akin to visiting a house where you once lived. Things that were once familiar have changed, and things that you were once assured of have become unstable. Lyrically alienating, but melodically embracing, it’s a record that is at odds with its surroundings.

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