Radiohead- Victoria Park, London 24/06/08

This really was a night to remember. Having got into London in the early afternoon, me and my mate Alex ditched our bags at our hostel and arrived at vicky park by about quarter to 4. After entering at 4 we met with other friends Natalie and Laura (along with a lot of their friends I unfortunately don't remember the names of) and finally Dan who arrived 2 hours later than we had previously agreed to meet him due to him being in Harrow for whatever reason.

Me, Dan and Alex stuck together and wandered around the site for a bit, until possible hghlight of the day arrive. We spotted Phil Selway wandering through the crowd! After trying to make sure it was him we got hi to sign our tickets let us have a picture with him. Lovely bloke he was. :)

Bat For Lashes came onstage at roughly 6.45. Her set was gorgeous folk lore laden and with a stunning array of instruments. There was unfortunately a power failure in the middle of her set forcing her to go offstage for a bit, but once it was fixed she came back on to finish her set. Good support choice indeed.

Then at 8.30 Radiohead appeared onstage and the manic drum machine clicks of '15 Step' started up. It kicked of the gig happily for everyone, who continued to cheer as they plyed a raukous version of 'Bodysnatchers'. 'All I Need' slowed proceedings a bit with Thom Yorkes vocals carrying the song. My first personal highlight though was when Johnny Greenwodd started playing sampled conversations and Colin Greenwoods pounding bass kicked in to announce the start of 'The National Anthem'. The band were at their grooviest best and I went a little bit mental.

They then slowed it don again with some gorgeous renditions of 'Pyramid Song', 'Nude' and a unexpectedly rousing take on 'Arpeggi'. The band smiled a fair bit through the set and you could tell that no matter how serious they looked onstage they were having fun. Things got minimal here as they performed 'The Gloaming' and 'Dollars and Cents'. both were brilliant.

Then, 3 songs of sheer amazingness. First 'There There' which made me smile like a fool and sing louldy. Then 'Just' where the crowd practically expoded. Unfortunately at this point some absolute twat in front of me tried to actually mosh to it. It's Radiohead not Slipknot you fool! 'Just' was still amazing though. Then highlight number 2 of the gig, 'Climbing Up The Walls'. How the atmosphere changed from exuberant to pure eerie was incredible, and the sheer emotion pouring from the performance blew me away.

'Reckoner' calmed the mood then Thom Yorke led the crowd in a chant of 'Free Tibet' before 'Everything In Its Right Place' hypnotised the crowd. Thom Yorke easily led the crowd along for a mass clap along at the climax as well. Highlight 3 then came along in the form of 'How To Disappear Completely'. I got very emotional as one of my all time favourite songs got played with grace and sensitivity.

The main set then ended with a pretty energetic run through of 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place'. Then after the band waved goodbye they quickly reappeared for their first encore. And what an encore it was. 'Videotape', 'Airbag', 'Banger + Mash', 'Planet Telex' and 'The Tourist'. Possibly the best encore I've ever experienced. All of the songs were moving completely carthartic. 'Planet Telex' and 'Airbag' especially were amazing and were highlights 4 and 5. 'Bangers + Mash' was also noticeable for Thom Yorke faux falling over in the middle of the song.

Encore number 2 was also very very good. Firstly Thom Yorke dashed onstage saying 'we haven't got much time so I better get on with it', performing a great version of his solo song 'Cymbal Rush'. 'You And Whose Army?' roused the crowd again and then to finish the gig off in style, 'Idioteque' ripped the stage apart with Thom providing his best glitchy dancing.

And then it finished. The band waved and bowed to the crowd to signal their final departure. I was left euphoric having finally seen one of my favourite bands after a 5 year wait. Me, Dan and Alex went to the barrier in a vague attempt to try and get something. After a while, a setlist was chucked in our direction and Alex practically fell over the fence to succeed in claiming it. We then proceeded to the merch desk and bought stuff there before returning to our destinations.

I absolutely loved the gig. The band played with passion and they played loads of songs I love. The setlist from the night after (as I write this, tonights setlist) had some songs I maybe would've prefered to hear. But I don't care too much. I'm off to see them again at Rock Werchter and I'm sure I'll see them again after that. The setlists are so wonderfully unpredictable and they're such a good band that I don't think I'll ever care what they play.

James Ether's Stupendously Amazing Muxtape

So I made a muxtape: James Ether's muxtape

And following the lead of others here's a somewhat haphazard explaination of the choices.

Amplifier- Motorhead
I wanted to open with something huge sounding, and this is one of my favourite opening traks ever. It was a natural choice really. I love the sheer epic-ness the song reaches and I love Sel's simple yet distinctive lyrics. It's an amazing song and it isn't even their best!

Sonic Youth- Sunday
One of those bands that will always be a contender for my favourite ever band. I bought Daydream Nation back in the summer of 2005 and have never looked back. I really couldn't get away without including something by them. This track is from A Thousand Leaves, which for a long time I hated but have since come to respect and apreciate. The song itself is a more commercial style than usual for SY but it still retains all the noisey and inventive aspects that I love about the band.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse- Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
I've only been into Neil Young since about easter and I don't understand why I hadn't investigated him earlier. He's an intriguing songwriter, his songs seem so simple yet so complex at the same time. This song is the title track off what is currently my favourite album of his. It's just a fun, poppy, summery song really. And stupidly catchy. I've become mildly obsessed with him of late so included a favourite of mine here.

Broken Social Scene- 7/4 (Shoreline)
BSS are a very special band. Their self titled album (which this is off) is like a hazy dream, sometimes filled with sadness, but more often than not brimming with the joy of life. This song is probably the easiest to get into on the album, and also fairly representative. The wide range of instruments and mulitple vocalists and players is pretty standard. It also always brings a smile to my face which is never a bad thing hence it's inclusion.

The Appleseed Cast- Steps And Numbers
I was sent this song ages ago and got the album not long after. I like the immediacy of this track and the gentle urgency it seems to have. If that makes sense? I love the meandering ending too. It just seems to fit so well following on from the haziness of BSS, and really perfectly leads into the next track.

Cardiacs- Firey Gun Hand
This song is mental. The arrangement is weird, the sound is weird, the lyrics are weird and the guitar solo's are downright bizarre. It's brilliant though and is one of those songs I could jump around to for ages until I could jump anymore. Cardiacs are always on the outskirts of common knowledge but most of their fans are extremely devoted to them, and willing to travel the country to see them. I hope some more people will check them out through this song.

Grinderman- No Pussy Blues
This year I've tended to be getting into lots of solo artists or notable musicians. I investigated and fell in love with Nick Cave back in January and have slowly got more of his albums with The Bad Seeds. I then got around to his Grinderman project. It's angry, noisey, violent and still very funny to listen to. This song is the perfect example, detailing Mr Cave's sexual frustration. To be perfectly honest, if I was the woman in this song I'd have let him have his way with me. Also seemed to work strangely well following Cardiacs.

Mansun- Stripper Vicar
One of my favourite 90's bands now. I discovered Mansun far far too late but I guess it's better than ever. Their sound had a vast epic quality to it, and also showed som aspects of prog and shoegaze. Paul Drapers lyrics are far and away their strongest aspect though, focusing on bizarre characters and looking at things from a different perspective. This track is no exception, detailing the sordid secret of a small town's local vicar.

Boards Of Canada- Dayvan Cowboy
It took me ages to think of a suitable song for this spot. I had some choices, but they never really seemed to fit. But then the on/off sounding opening notes of this first song popped into my head and it was instantly added. I criminally have very little by BOC, something I should remedy, but I love the ambience in this track and how it seems to change direction half way through. It perfectly sat between the the 2 songs surrounding it which had been decided for ages.

dEUS- For The Roses
Another band I've recently got into that I'm a bit obsessed by. The most famous Belgian band ever (alledgedly) they're an odd one. This song has a growing menace to it and sounds evil. Yet other songs from the album range over different styles completely. There's jazz, balladry, punk rock, blues and more besides that! I completely respect the band for being able to incorporate so many different styles into their music.

Hope Of The States- Static In The Cities
Another contendor for all time favourite band now. I love how the song has a finality to it, yet isn't quite final itself, making it suitable for the penultimate song. HOTS were an amazing band, emotion and complex indie rock combined with the epic nature of post rock in a way I don't think many other bands have done. This song in particular is a good example of that, especially in its live form where it extended to 11 minutes some nights!

Oceansize- Ornament/The Last Wrongs
There was only ever one choice for the last song. Yet another contender for favourite band ever I've become far too obssessed with Oceansize far too quickly. I've only been into them for around a year now but they've brought me so much joy in the good times and comfort in the bad times for most of my second year of uni. They basically have soundtracked most of my life since I was first introduced to them. This song is how I imagine the world to end, with people defiant until the last minute not to die. Probably the best closer ever.

So there you have it. It's mostly stuff I'm into atm, along with those I love a bit too much. If you listen to the tape I hope you enjoy it and find as much enjoyment in the songs as I do.

Boredom and new music's.

I hate this aspect of summer. The long days of having absolutely nothing to do cos there actually is NOTHING to do. The last 3 days have mainly consisted of me surfing the web and playing Final Fantasy VII. I've attempted hunting for a summer job today but yet again, there's none going. HMV really pissed me off too. Sign outside thats say's Part-Time Vacancies, suggests the job is just that. Not a full time Permanent job like the snobbish woman behind the counter told me. Grr.

Though saying that today I picked up The Open's 'Silent Hours' and finally a copy of Biffy Clyro's 'Puzzle. I've been meaning to get Silent Hours since I saw The Open support Hope Of The States in 2004. Maybe I've left it too long to purchase it cos i wasn't as enamoured with the album as when I saw them years ago. Not to say it's a bad album, just I probably would be more amazed by it 4 years ago.

Puzzle has been sat on my hard drive for about a year now and slowly impressed me more and more and got me into Biffy. Whilst I then went out and borrowed, downloaded and eventually bought the other 3 Biffy albums (which I loved even though they weren't immediate yet again), Puzzle got resigned to the 'not as good as the old stuff' bin upon purchase of the other albums. I think I was a bit unfair on it cos even though it's not as good as the other albums it's still a good rock album as it is.

I also obtained Asobi Seksu's 'Citrus' last night on the strength of hearing one song from it. My final impression was 'Whoa!' It's an amazing album. Modern shoegaze sound, barely comprehensible vocals, and really catchy in places. Oh it was a bit good indeed.

Can't wait for next week. Radiohead in London and My Bloody Valentine in Manchester. It's going to be amazing!

Coldplay- Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

So as a first post proper, I thought I'd be boring and review the new Coldplay album. I do love Coldplay I'll point out. Their last 3 albums have brought me a bit of joy and happiness, and also something to cheer me up when I need it. I even liked X&Y when most people derided it.

So Viva La Vida? Well, getting past the god awful name the album has it opens quite well. 'Life In Technicolor' is a lovely instrumental opener, swaves of sampled keyboards and 'whoa o oah's!' seemingly making a call to arms. It's a bit of a flase opener though, as the rest of the album is quite inconsistent from then on.

'Cemeteries Of London' comes first. For all the worth of it's dancey beat and driving piano, it just doesn't go anywhere. 'Lost!' is the similar, whilst effortlessly optimistic and nice sounding, it doesn't go anywhere at all.

'42' is better though. Whilst opening up as a slow piano ballad, it soon changes direction and turns pop. It doesn't last long enough though as it ends suddenly when it really could've gone on a bit longer. 'Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love' is excellent. It's a classic Coldplay track, an anthem filled with optimism led by jaunty piano's and shimmering guitars (the only downside being Chris Martins vocals trying too hard to sound like Bono at times).

'Yes' is a bit unremrkable at first. It's sounds like a left over from A Rush Of Blood To The Head, but there's a hidden track at the end of the song ('Chinese Sleep Chant') which sounds like a My Bloody Valentine rip off. Whilst it sounds like blatant stealing from the shoegaze legends, it's nevertheless a beautiful piece of music and probably the highlight of the entire album as it's Coldplay definately doing something different from usual.

'Viva La Vida' then comes in. Filled with an orchestra and not a lot else, it goes on it's merry little way but again is completely unremarkable, no matter how catchy it is. Single 'Violet Hill' comes next though and is quite frankly excellent. It's sounds like a heavier version of an X&Y track, and is better than most of those, and angrier. It's obviously Martin's attempt to get political, and whilst he doesn't carry it off with the grace of say Richey James Edwards, he and the band get their anger across with the help of Johnny Bucklands seething guitar work.

As the album draws to a close 'Strawberry Swing' returns to the dull side of the album as it is yet again another song which seems to go nowhere. It's very minimal and relies mostly on a very quiet guitar line and some acoustics, but the overall result is dull as stated. 'Death And All His Friends' closes the album in a completely unremarkable fashion as well. Another slow starter based on piano, it then tries to explode into an optimistic anthem. It's very limp though, and just leaves the listener with a feeling of 'meh'. Just when you think it's all over, there's a short reprise of the keyboard line to 'Life In Technicolor' called 'The Escapist', with added vocals lamenting dreams of escape.

The album as a whole, mostly sounds like the usual Coldplay. There's slight changes in the sound though. There appears to be an atmospheric wall of sound to the album, which I guess is courtesy of Brian Eno. There's a more electronic element to the album than on others too. Coldplay obviously wanted to make some changes, but not too much to alienate their current fan base.

One thing that has grasped me about the album though. The songs don't seem long enough. Some don't even sound like they've been completed. I'm reminded of David Bowie's 'Low' (which producer Brian Eno also contributed to) in that the songs are fragmented and seem incomplete. Though unlike with bowie's album, where the songs are still very very good despite this, the songs on Viva La Vida mostly seem empty in the states they're in. 'Cemeteries Of London' and 'Lost!' are the main offenders for ths, though '42' and 'Chinese Sleep Chant' also suffer.

At the end of the day, it's an alright album, but there's a higher number of poorer tracks unlike on previous albums. If the album had been made up of songs like 'Life In Technicolor', 'Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love', 'Chinese Sleep Chant' and 'Violet Hill', I'd no doubt it'sd be an excellent album. Unfortunately, due to the inclusion of some duffers, thealbum never reaches the high potential it could've had.

6/10

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Hi to everyone. This will mostly be about music, and music related things. Post comments if you wish.