THE TIMES THEY ARE A_CHANGIN.... FOR BETTER OR WORSE?
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I'm aware that this song, a part of my old singles collection, is a song about the fall of Communism, The Berlin Wall, and the end of the cold War. But considering todays events.....
During the last great age of alternative pop and indie (1990 - 2010), loads of great little bands popped up who, despite much acclaim from the music weeklies, never quite achieved the success of some of their contemporaries. One such band was The Long Blondes. A five piece formed in Sheffield in 2003, they traded in a brand of catchy, literate alt indie-pop, or to put it in singer Kate Jackson's words: " Nico , Nancy Sinatra , Diana Dors and Barbara Windsor . Sexy and literate, flippant and heartbreaking all at once." Blondie were also an influence on their sound and style. They also peppered their lyrics with references from film and tv. They claimed to have all chosen an instrument and learned how to play it, lending their first few independent singles a rawer feel. The then unsigned band - Kate Jackson (vocals), Kathryn "Reenie" Hollis (bass/backing vocals), Dorian Cox (lead guitar/keyboards/principal songwriter), Emma Chapl...
It's not often i love a new album enough to play it on repeat - not since my late twenties any rate - but that's what happened when i put my Eco-vinyl copy of IDLES Crawler on the turntable. After the deliberate self parody of last year's Ultra Mono Joe Talbot and co. have taken a bold step forward: Crawler largely dispenses with the political sloganeering and post-punk moshpit anthems and reaches within for inspiration. Talbots' well documented 14 year struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, and his long road to recovery are the dominant themes here, in all their ugly details, but with a life affirming sense of redemption. The music is largely quieter and more measured too. Opener "MTT 420 RR" is a slow burning electronic textured track which represents the crash that saw him at his lowest point, the spare and eerie atmosphere over which Talbot recites the details in gruesome honesty. "Car Crash" sounds exactly like just that: a minimalist dubby, g...
2018 was one of those years where buying and listening to music often took a back seat to the ups and downs of life. Family illnesses, bereavement, and all the stress and upset that come with those things meant that i had little time for hobbies or interests, plus planning a wedding in the midst of all this meant that money was scarce. Not that i'm complaining: getting married was one of the happiest days of my life, regardless of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. But although i wasn't actively indulging my passion for records i still had one ear listening out for new stuff. So when things began to settle down later in the year i knew what i wanted to add to my collection. I've had most of the albums i wanted for Christmas - mostly on CD with a couple on vinyl - so i've been playing them over the festive period, and am still getting properly acquainted. I have, however, been using my iPod to download a few tracks (mostly whatever passes for singles these day...
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