Today BBC 6 music is making a big fuss about the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album because it was released exactly fifty years ago. Well, how astounding. What a perfect opportunity to celebrate a seminal work of popular culture, apart from the fact that Brian Wilson’s alleged masterwork sounds exactly the same as it didContinue reading “Anniversaries to Forget….”
Tag Archives: pop music
Seven Space-pop Classics!
Humankind’s first steps into space inspired a rash of pop songs. In the wake of the first moon landing in 1969, songwriters started to imagine what space travel might mean for matters of the heart, and a mini-genre was born. Future-tastic sound effects, weightless melodies and tin foil in the videos all contributed to theContinue reading “Seven Space-pop Classics!”
Waiting For the Mantra
Nowadays it seems everyone is getting spiritual. Meditation and mindfulness in particular are booming, with courses and classes available all over every city. We tend to think of meditation as a silent practice, but there is one meditation method which is anything but silent. Mantras are repeated phrases, chanted or sung as part ofContinue reading “Waiting For the Mantra”
Bands That Time Forgot #2
In the mid-eighties every pop record had to have a saxophone break in it. From ‘new romantic’ acts like ABC to global stars like Whitney Houston, chart singles would almost inevitably feature a screeching tenor sax in the middle section. Seventies pop songs would often feature a guitar solo, but punk changed all that. GuitarContinue reading “Bands That Time Forgot #2”
The Mystery of Charisma
We have all met people possessed of a natural charm that enables them to hold the attention of groups of people, who listen to their opinions, laugh at their jokes and possibly want to share bodily fluids with them. Charisma is like a magical chemical product flowing in certain peoples’ bloodstream. If you start outContinue reading “The Mystery of Charisma”
Bands That Time Forgot #1
Once upon a time Black Kids were the band of the moment. Their debut album Partie Traumatic, released in 2008 (was it really that long ago?) was voted one of Spin magazine’s top 40 albums of that year and included catchy anthems of dancefloor angst like “Hurricane Jane” and “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your BoyfriendContinue reading “Bands That Time Forgot #1”
UK indie pop news !! ‘Drifter’ video from Tom George
This track has been available at http://www.tomgeorge.bandcamp.com for a while and people have compared it to acts as diverse as Blind Lemon and Squeeze…I’ve just finished the video to it, shot around Liverpool with help from my photographer mate Brian Ardrey. It also features cameo appearances from some of the Liverpool bohemians – many ofContinue reading “UK indie pop news !! ‘Drifter’ video from Tom George”
Tom George 