Archive for November, 2007
Ginger nuts
Friday, November 23rd, 2007
Redheads have given much to the devil’s music, as you’ll realise if you consider the contributions of Axl Rose, the Biffy brothers and Courtney Love (trust us, she is – we’ve asked around). Others – see Mick Hucknall – ARE the devil.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, of course, have their own ginger-noggined superhero in Josh Homme – and doesn’t he wear it well. For a heavy metal band, QOTSA don’t half know how to write a damn good pop song, as the enduring appeal of Feel Good Hit Of The Summer, Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret and No One Knows proves.
Since strip-happy bald bassist Nick Oliveri (not a natural ginger) quit the band in 2004, things have gone a bit awry musically but the Californians are guaranteed to put on a blinding show when they hurtle into town and corrupt all our women. Jackie Bird, you have been warned.
4 Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
b November 28, Carling Academy, Glasgow
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Seven up
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Whether we wanted them or not, 2007 has been the year for band reunions, with most returns from the wilderness likely to last as long as an ice cube in the Sahara. Or Ice Cube in the Sahara for that matter.
In almost every case (there aren’t enough hours in the day to list such a sorry roll call), you’ll find tales of sagging solo ventures and even saggier bank balances, so it doesn’t take an accountant to work out what motivates a fallen star to return to past glories.
After that introduction you’re probably expecting us to slaughter Britpop chancers SHED SEVEN – but you’d be wrong. You see, the Scots love the Sheds, certainly more than any other country cares to admit. And it’s no coincidence the reformed York group have chosen to start and end their “Greatest Hits Reunion Tour” (that’ll be the Greatest Hits album that came out in 1999 then) in Scotland.
Indeed, Shed Seven are one of only a handful of bands to have ever recorded a live DVD at the Glasgow Barrowlands, and seeing as the Barras is widely known to be the best venue in the world, that really is criminal. Somebody ought to call the Police. Oh, wait a minute, they already have.
4 Shed Seven – Chasing Rainbows
b November 27, Music Hall, Aberdeen
b November 28, Ironworks, Inverness
b November 29, Barrowlands, Glasgow
b December 22, Carling Academy, Glasgow
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Breath of fresh air
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
The last time I cried was whilst listening to Breathe Me by Australian singer SIA. Of course, context is everything and in this case it came in the last scene of the last episode of the greatest TV show ever made – Six Feet Under.
To be honest, you won’t find anything as powerfully moving or emotionally heart-tugging as Breathe Me in her back catalogue – but then again you won’t find it in many others’ either.
It’s a song that takes you on an intense journey. There’s the winding melody of the piano, the soaring drama of orchestral strings, the thumping bass drum and that vulnerable, cracked voice which she has also lent to Zero 7 on many an occasion. In some ways it brings to mind the raw emotion of Radiohead’s Exit Music.
While Sia Furler’s solo career hasn’t quite hit the heady heights, her place in The Pop Cop’s affections is assured. Lucky her, eh?
4 Sia – Breathe Me
b November 28, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
b November 29, King Tut’s, Glasgow
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