Posts tagged "alan mcgee"
  1. Notes: 1 / 2 years ago 
    Alan McGee on – Damien C Wilde Sometimes you need to rip it up, get uncomfortable, and start again to make it. Parisian singer-songwriter, Damien C Wilde left London and his band, and exiled himself to the sunny climes of California and Australia in order to perfect his songwriting craft. His return from pop exile to Paris resulted in the fascinating Avalon EP. You could read formalist references from the infamous and incestuous Versailles music scene of Daft Punk, Air, and Phoenix, but you would be wrong. Damien Wilde is far more than a retread of his own pop contemporaries. Produced by Jean Michel Gonnard (Phoenix, Cassius) it evokes a time frame and reference of music in the early 70s France, where musicians were pushing their own borders and the subsequent collision of David Bowie, glam, Scott Walker, psychedelia and their own illustrious musical past. Avalon can easily sit with the classics of that particular age such as: Michel Polnareff’s 1971 self titled epic, Jean Claude Vannier’s “L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches, and Alain Goraguer’s score to Fantastic Planet. The three track EP is excellent. ‘Ecstasy in a CastleField’ are one of many highlights on Avalon. ‘Seafarer’ echoes the remnants of a drugged up daydream morning, where rock stars were inspired by aliens, impressionistic paintings and Coleridge. Damien Wilde’s vocals are epic, re-enacting high drama within the grooves, until it becomes the epitome of cool. The vocals encapsulates the easy genius of the bygone era where the singer was king and the stamp of personality is sung and woven into the song. Alan

    Alan McGee on – Damien C Wilde

    Sometimes you need to rip it up, get uncomfortable, and start again to make it. Parisian singer-songwriter, Damien C Wilde left London and his band, and exiled himself to the sunny climes of California and Australia in order to perfect his songwriting craft. His return from pop exile to Paris resulted in the fascinating Avalon EP. You could read formalist references from the infamous and incestuous Versailles music scene of Daft Punk, Air, and Phoenix, but you would be wrong. Damien Wilde is far more than a retread of his own pop contemporaries. Produced by Jean Michel Gonnard (Phoenix, Cassius) it evokes a time frame and reference of music in the early 70s France, where musicians were pushing their own borders and the subsequent collision of David Bowie, glam, Scott Walker, psychedelia and their own illustrious musical past. Avalon can easily sit with the classics of that particular age such as: Michel Polnareff’s 1971 self titled epic, Jean Claude Vannier’s “L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches, and Alain Goraguer’s score to Fantastic Planet. The three track EP is excellent. ‘Ecstasy in a CastleField’ are one of many highlights on Avalon. ‘Seafarer’ echoes the remnants of a drugged up daydream morning, where rock stars were inspired by aliens, impressionistic paintings and Coleridge. Damien Wilde’s vocals are epic, re-enacting high drama within the grooves, until it becomes the epitome of cool. The vocals encapsulates the easy genius of the bygone era where the singer was king and the stamp of personality is sung and woven into the song.

    Alan

     
  2. Notes: 1 / 2 years ago 
    Alan McGee on – Magic Kids You gotta love Memphis. It’s where guitar music and soul was born. The pop culture legacy of this city is heavy, but there is currently some magical stuff coming out from the shadows. It took the punk rock courage of local band The Oblivions to lift the veil with Goner Records. In operation since ‘94, Goner have been exposing awesome Memphis talent such as Jay Reatard. His media propulsion has shined a light on some amazing bands who could be the proponents of a new pop dawn in the city. The five piece, Magic Kids have got me completely addicted to their sound. Although their released catalogue is currently limited to one single ‘Hey Boy’ and ‘Good to Be’, they resurrect the ghost of a teenage Brian Wilson, reinventing his sound for a new pop era of Memphis. “Hey Boy” is an orchestration of pure innocence with a charming guile. The Magic Kids create a carbon copy of a Phil Spector recording-in-his-parent’s-basement vibe. They make the kind of cool scratchy big pop records you don’t hear much these days, evoking the sunshine harmonies of early surf girl/boy bands with the charm of a Beach Boys glee club. “Good to Be” is finds the Magic Kids stepping straight out of early ‘71 with copies of Badfingers under their arms for inspiration. Magic Kids are infused with enough quirk to make it cool and not just an exercise in retrograde. 2009 should be a fun year if the Magic Kids unite and take over. Alan

    Alan McGee on – Magic Kids

    You gotta love Memphis. It’s where guitar music and soul was born. The pop culture legacy of this city is heavy, but there is currently some magical stuff coming out from the shadows. It took the punk rock courage of local band The Oblivions to lift the veil with Goner Records. In operation since ‘94, Goner have been exposing awesome Memphis talent such as Jay Reatard. His media propulsion has shined a light on some amazing bands who could be the proponents of a new pop dawn in the city.

    The five piece, Magic Kids have got me completely addicted to their sound. Although their released catalogue is currently limited to one single ‘Hey Boy’ and ‘Good to Be’, they resurrect the ghost of a teenage Brian Wilson, reinventing his sound for a new pop era of Memphis. “Hey Boy” is an orchestration of pure innocence with a charming guile. The Magic Kids create a carbon copy of a Phil Spector recording-in-his-parent’s-basement vibe. They make the kind of cool scratchy big pop records you don’t hear much these days, evoking the sunshine harmonies of early surf girl/boy bands with the charm of a Beach Boys glee club. “Good to Be” is finds the Magic Kids stepping straight out of early ‘71 with copies of Badfingers under their arms for inspiration. Magic Kids are infused with enough quirk to make it cool and not just an exercise in retrograde. 2009 should be a fun year if the Magic Kids unite and take over.

    Alan

     
  3. 2 years ago 
    Alan McGee on - Mazes With the music industry collapsing, it’s good to see the kids aren’t giving up on rock’n’roll. Mazes are one of number of bands who are leaving their garage and taking to the internet with their two minute bursts of noise, distorto pop, cheap drug psychedelia and doo wop. Mazes have been bashing out their White Album-meets-Pavement redlined sound since 2008. The righteous buzz on their unique brand of acid singed rock has been inestimable, seeing the band opening up for Deerhunter, Wavves and Times New Viking. Instead of waiting for an elusive ‘big’ record deal (Mazes have recorded with Split Tapes and Sex is Disgusting) they are out having fun with music, playing shows, releasing home recorded songs on blogs and goofing off. The budget constraints are incorporated into the narrative of their songs and translate a sense of a pure blast of good times. Underneath the hiss is the sound of a band who are transcendent and untouchable. It is the bored-suburban-skater-kid-hanging-in-front-of-the-mall-starting-a-band energy. It is a template akin to the 80s indie scene. Pop is truly eating it self, but with a band like Mazes I’m totally down with the retro revolution as cottage industry, especially when the songs are this good. Underneath all the fuzz and junk,20Mazes write anthems for the bored, anxious loser in all of us and make it fun to be an outsider. Their second single ‘Bowie Knives’ reveals a rushing urgency of pure pop lurking in the corners of their intentional lo-fi aesthetic. Alan

    Alan McGee on - Mazes

    With the music industry collapsing, it’s good to see the kids aren’t giving up on rock’n’roll. Mazes are one of number of bands who are leaving their garage and taking to the internet with their two minute bursts of noise, distorto pop, cheap drug psychedelia and doo wop.

    Mazes have been bashing out their White Album-meets-Pavement redlined sound since 2008. The righteous buzz on their unique brand of acid singed rock has been inestimable, seeing the band opening up for Deerhunter, Wavves and Times New Viking. Instead of waiting for an elusive ‘big’ record deal (Mazes have recorded with Split Tapes and Sex is Disgusting) they are out having fun with music, playing shows, releasing home recorded songs on blogs and goofing off. The budget constraints are incorporated into the narrative of their songs and translate a sense of a pure blast of good times. Underneath the hiss is the sound of a band who are transcendent and untouchable. It is the bored-suburban-skater-kid-hanging-in-front-of-the-mall-starting-a-band energy.

    It is a template akin to the 80s indie scene. Pop is truly eating it self, but with a band like Mazes I’m totally down with the retro revolution as cottage industry, especially when the songs are this good. Underneath all the fuzz and junk,20Mazes write anthems for the bored, anxious loser in all of us and make it fun to be an outsider. Their second single ‘Bowie Knives’ reveals a rushing urgency of pure pop lurking in the corners of their intentional lo-fi aesthetic.

    Alan

     
  4. Notes: 1 / 2 years ago 
    Kurt Vile Kurt Vile has demanded the impossible with his debut album ‘Childish Prodigy’. His sound encapsulates a diverse musical spectrum including the FM heartland rock territory of Bob Dylan; the spacey kraut rock of Can; the psychedelic rock of The Stones and the American primitive tradition of John Fahey. Remarkably, the end result still resoundingly sounds like Kurt Vile. And although ‘Childish Prodigy’ is Vile’s debut album it has a maturity about it, due mainly because it has been years in the making with CDRs. The immediacy of do-it-yourself CDR music culture has paid off for Vile, allowing him to emerge from the underground to produce the most propulsive, stone-cold classic album of the year. First track ‘Hunchback’ is a stone groove, as Vile summons up as much sneer as possible, and exorcises it with a heaviest-of-the-heavy solid rock action guitar attack. I am still stuck on the gentle ‘Blackberry Song’. A great title which immediately makes you think about technology, but as Vile sings a dusty blues ballad to a girl, you get it – he is current and timeless. ‘He’s Alright’ is a blunt look at childhood nostalgia and the subsequent struggle to find meaning in life. Juxtaposing refrains of ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘He’s Alright’, Vile paints a unique picture of confusion (not heard since Kurt Cobain). ‘Childish Prodigy’ demonstrates that Vile is able to transpose entire archetypes of music. So much so that you believe his songs have been the soundtrack to your life for a long time. Alan

    Kurt Vile

    Kurt Vile has demanded the impossible with his debut album ‘Childish Prodigy’. His sound encapsulates a diverse musical spectrum including the FM heartland rock territory of Bob Dylan; the spacey kraut rock of Can; the psychedelic rock of The Stones and the American primitive tradition of John Fahey. Remarkably, the end result still resoundingly sounds like Kurt Vile.

    And although ‘Childish Prodigy’ is Vile’s debut album it has a maturity about it, due mainly because it has been years in the making with CDRs. The immediacy of do-it-yourself CDR music culture has paid off for Vile, allowing him to emerge from the underground to produce the most propulsive, stone-cold classic album of the year. First track ‘Hunchback’ is a stone groove, as Vile summons up as much sneer as possible, and exorcises it with a heaviest-of-the-heavy solid rock action guitar attack. I am still stuck on the gentle ‘Blackberry Song’. A great title which immediately makes you think about technology, but as Vile sings a dusty blues ballad to a girl, you get it – he is current and timeless. ‘He’s Alright’ is a blunt look at childhood nostalgia and the subsequent struggle to find meaning in life. Juxtaposing refrains of ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘He’s Alright’, Vile paints a unique picture of confusion (not heard since Kurt Cobain). ‘Childish Prodigy’ demonstrates that Vile is able to transpose entire archetypes of music. So much so that you believe his songs have been the soundtrack to your life for a long time.

    Alan

     
avatar_128
 
 
 
 

Following

mudwerkslookbookdotnubuellerthetroublesofmyownskinblogsecretcuntleryskagboyshxcfairyjennylewiskristen-janeconflictingheartsuicideblondeslightestwindfuckyeahsuperjuniorsynecdochebohemeafuckyeahjohnohhheatsleepdrawleehexagonssuperseventiesitsbritneybitchartpixiemfsallisonweisslethifoldsyasbethxinternationalquich33333andthatlittleblackdresssomethingborrowedblogkitonoksabinoonthewingvivienne-kensingtonfromunderthecorktreeiadoreitshigayruaudreyhepburncomplexsnowceeverydayisachorechorechoreromanzefavoritefixgrayskymorningfuckyeahamazingsupersonicelectronicthewilliambeckettdoe-eyesdailydoseofdylancarleh-raejesuiscourtney-treadsoftlystrangerhayleycakesthemainedailylauren-eckittylittersuckthislemonavengephilcoulsondannybritoyourfavoriteredheadquoteskinealexxxtimestwoj-ad0rebloominheck-d0ritolollalovespaigefailsansweringmachineetiquettejennyowenyoungsf-a-u-nscatteredwordsrebeccalilynevvertascha-elliottfcgkatemimosaiamnicolesiscosundaygirl5795icelandicaficionadohhhxomindymayganannimalhousebittersweetvictoryfuckyeahladygagaincreaseddespondencyiwantmybearsuitahomeboyslifetylerknottmerrybanditscxxheartliketwigsweasleysfree-weezybrittneycamargocallmepontylyssalovelesseleashathepradadevilpie0loudmimedaveiguessiamfloatinglovelyblueponycashooodemorielluciferr-heymikewaskomnew-battery-itsthelimitgotosleepxogonelaterfuckyeahemmawatsonsymphonichaosdenisecuagottisttottpapertissuelikeneelyoharamaebythedailywhatholleewoodworldchrispontiusrestartmyheartgordonshumwayseeloveflykari-shmattegancarcrashloveilovebritneyspearsthedutymatthewbpixie-leecandy-injectionclothesandcoffeej-p-gnewstaircasehomelesssmithdunkerzindierawksleepwelldreamgoodiremembermjjyoumaybeoffendedpaulosthegreekare2staffheyneilcrasscreepslaughterhouse90210twismcyan1975teaimwhatiworeyvynyllouisesararuthlaureolacourtship-datingpanicmajesticscribble-scribbleschantelyojagertheyoungveinsfuckyeahlordoftheringsiamelliotjamesdistantastarsfuckyeahshialabeoufrachaelinmanlittlemisssillycurlyhairedmanandrewfutraltuneagesodangerousfuckyeahadsconfessionsofacreativewritersmoothlifeticketsthatsnotmynamexlovelifedirkmaiwordsaroundtownfuckyeahpanicatthediscojowitaemiliafuckyeahnicolerichietoutaucontrairedavemorinhrrrthrrrboysinthebandfuckyeahaaronjohnsonwepostmusicmotionsensorsoundtrackcreativeinspirationdustandglittermerryhappywordjournaljunoluvsujuliasegalgirlgeniuskapihollywoodoverdoseyousoldtheworldabsolutetruthcarocatmissmosherstareeobkstmcopycatsqueeeeenvictoriabritishindiedarlingfuckyeahseansmithmootpointeronlycupcakeslovelylillymarylkoral-leighfuckyeahmarykateashleymalunakatylandsadnessesthewickedenddjackmobscenefuckyeahtracehorsefuckyeahollywoodabooth20243foldersronniebrucewhaddupdocappleartsthediscor-e-m-e-m-b-e-rlionheartedgirltatandtreasuredavidblaiseshmsnotlukenewyorkicornbjorkishinflatablefishcharlotteisskinsftwmalfoyyid0be1ievethepiratefutureillustrativomr-7jadeharrisonfuckyeahfreffyiamblessedlyricalgraphicsthree85fuckyeahconorkyleburnstatiellethenewromanticaveryenglishhelloresunsaysdopenovemberdecemberfuckyeahfashionnfuckyeahlondontraviefuckyeahemilyhainesfuckyeahdemilovatohipcumonthelibertinesbackstothefutureeastsealoveforeverindreamcharlesgoestomilanfuckyeahfoblyricshunsonisgroovyplantemilythelittleredpostcardfmylifehoneyinhalebeeutifulfffriendscreampuffmovieofthedayblinkisbackzooeydeschanelnewsouialafoliefuckyeahlilylovelessfuckyeahnicksantinopure-filthhayleybaitcomeoncouragemartinsaysfuckyeahjoshuafarrosnakeboardingpeircysaaaaammomegle1wholerascalcakefacemogadoniafuckyeahtaylorlautneroutsidetheworlduberjunkieimogennnglamrusindrnr103fashionistaastaycalmtigersandsharksfuckyeahcalebandjonathan
 

Tumblr