Archive for July, 2007
Eurotrash
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
We first realised this wasn’t your typical summer festival when our path to the press centre was blocked by a man wearing not a smile, but a handgun.
In our bid to bring the best music in the world to Scottish ears, your hosts at The Pop Cop are just back from lovely Latvia, where we were invited to check out NEW WAVE 2007 – INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF YOUNG SINGERS OF POPULAR MUSIC.
Our suspicions that we had, in fact, stumbled on the set of a new Borat movie seemed to be confirmed when the winner of this X-Factor-meets-Eurovision ‘music’ contest turned out to be a Kazakhstan boyband (honestly, we’re not making this up) called Rin’Go. Here’s their song Po Beregu if you really must.
Among the guests performing at Новая волна 2007 (as the locals call it) were none other than Michael Bolton and his terrifying Russian alter-ego Philip Kirkorov (pictured above), who violated an audience of wealthy men and their designer girlfriends with his sickly cream suit, raging mane and matching 10-inch eyebrows. But the Latvians sure know how to put on a slick show and after partying with the Mafia, we left the Baltics feeling bolder but not wiser.
Find out tomorrow what happened when The Pop Cop bumped into the Stereophonics in Riga…
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Make believe
Monday, July 30th, 2007
It was only a matter of time. When an Arcade Fire comes along and makes every band feel a very tangible sense of inadequacy by comparison, the only logical response is to take their blueprint and make it your own.
That might be a little harsh on Glasgow’s MAKE MODEL, who clearly have many original ideas, but with half-a-dozen members not shy in creating a veritable on-stage cacophony, there’s no denying their benchmark is made in Canada.
Make Model’s debut single The LSB is out now but even better is b-side Czech Neck, a hypnotic blend of swelling guitars and simultaneous guy/girl vocals.
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Jagged little thrill
Friday, July 27th, 2007
Fair play to THE NEEDLES. How many bands would have the dedication to keep going after 10 years of whatever the opposite of famous is? (Unfortunately, for the Aberdeen band, it’s not infamy.)
It’s hard to put your finger on where they’re going wrong. They have the best-looking band website we’ve ever seen and songs with the polish of Dianne from their album In Search Of The Needles don’t sound at all out of place in the current pop climate.
The most logical explanation for their total lack of commercial success is that their longevity is their downfall. Record labels want to discover the hottest new things before they’ve even played their first gig, not bands who have been round the block so many times they’re dizzy.
In short, The Needles are victims of age discrimination. But if you’re happy to choose tenacity over trends, there’s hope for The Needles yet.
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