FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Eighty-Six: Tinashe

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern Heroines

PHOTO CREDIT: Marcus Cooper 

Part Eighty-Six: Tinashe

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AN artist who I feel is both acclaimed and hugely successful…

but also underrated at the same time, Tinashe is someone who is hugely influential and, in my view, will be seen as an icon of the future. This feature is designed to highlight fantastic women in music who are going to be seen as the modern-day elite; go on to become artists we discuss decades from now. Born Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe is a multi-talented, multidisciplinary artist who I think could get some huge acting roles soon too (she has had an impressive variation of roles so far). An artist who could cross disciplines like Lady Gaga and be nominated for awards, she moved to Los Angeles as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Last year’s 333, her fifth studio album, is perhaps her best work to date. I have covered 2018’s Joyride (her third) album, explaining how that is underrated as a piece of work. A tremendous R&B/Pop artist with her own sound and an incredible voice, there are a few interviews that I want to bring in. Although I am finishing with a playlist of songs from each of her albums, I want to make the main focus 333. Released through her own label, Tinashe Music, it was the second album released on her label. Splitting from RCA after Joyride, Tinashe has spoken about this in interviews. INSIDER spoke with Tinashe in 2021. Before concentrating on 333, INSIDER discussed Songs for You, and how this was the first release from Tinashe as an independent artist:

“This fall was Tinashe's first time touring independently. She released her first album as an independent artist, "Songs for You," just a few months before the novel coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.

When she was forced to cancel her original tour plans and self-isolate, she dived back into music and became "hyper-focused" on her new project.

"I was like, 'OK, I think the best way that I can pivot this is to just create a new body of work that when the world opens up again I can be excited about that and have a fresh energy to perform,'" she said.

"I didn't want to make music that felt the way I was feeling, which was nervous for the future, lethargic, just mopey sitting in the house," she continued. "I wanted to create something that felt the opposite of that and inspired me, and then hopefully it would inspire others."

Self-isolation bred Tinashe's latest project, "333," which she named after the idea that repeating angel numbers provide divine protection and purpose.

On the opening track "Let Go," appropriately named after Tinashe's current mantra, she introduces her album with a line that she spends the next 47 minutes disproving: "Waiting on somebody else to save me."

The sentiment stands in stark contrast to the self-sufficiency Tinashe exhibits elsewhere in her music and that she radiates in real life.

"Within the course of the album, you see moments where I feel liberated. Then sometimes we backtrack, which is a big part of life as well — the cycles that we go through and how we're able to come out of each of those with a little bit more perspective," she said.

For her part, Tinashe alluded to similar struggles for control. She signed to RCA Records in 2012 after releasing two critically acclaimed mixtapes but quickly became disenchanted with her contract's "psychologically limiting" expectations.

The messaging was, she explained, "I'm an R&B artist. I have to make music that my fans are going to expect to sound like this, or vice versa. I'm pop now so I can't make music that's too urban or quote-unquote R&B." She felt pressure to make music that was "trendy," asking, "What do I think my label is going to get behind and push?".

"I was made to feel like I had to choose that I couldn't be who I am, which I do think is somewhere in the middle of genres," she said.

Tinashe severed ties with RCA in 2019. Now she hears stories of younger artists using her as inspiration and taking control of their careers from the jump.

"Not taking any of those pressures into consideration has led me down a much more instinctual creative path, and it's been very liberating," she said. "Those blockages are not issues anymore."

Tinashe described the themes of "333" in terms of liberation and progress. Marcus Cooper

Although Tinashe began making "333" with no expectations, she said the essential themes of self-discovery and empowerment were "somewhere inside from the beginning." She described the creative process as an "excavation."

Listening to the album feels like traversing new terrain, and you're not sure whether it's a simulation, foreign planet, or glitchy version of Oz. ("Let Go" interpolates the melody from "Soon As I Get Home," performed by Diana Ross for "The Wiz," a remake of the classic 1939 musical.)”.

Now that she is releasing music as an independent artist, I can hear this freedom and greater control. She is producing her best music of her career. 333 is her pinnacle in my view. COMPLEX interviewed Tinashe in October. They asked her about the 333 Tour and how she would define her music:

“333 has some of the dark R&B that we heard so much of on Nightride, and still manages to deliver the bigger pop bangers with “Undo” or “The Chase.” What do those poppier moments mean to you on a Tinashe record?

That’s who I am, and that’s who I am as an artist, so I think that it just feels really natural. Because I made the records, I don’t know. I don’t like to think strategically and be like, “We need a dark one, and a poppy one.” I just make what feels right to me and it ends up being the outcome.

I’ve read a lot of your older interviews, and early looks with Aquarius had you labeled an R&B star. I know “No Drama” had you calling yourself a pop star, but do you use labels like that at this point in your career?

I hated being called an R&B star. I really, really had a strong aversion to that. I felt that created a ceiling to my art and my artistry that really turned me off in the early days. I didn’t want to be in that box that I felt had some type of inevitable lid on it. I’ve always honestly classified myself as a pop star. That’s always been what I see for myself, and then I think people’s interpretation of what that means is maybe where it gets convoluted, because some people think pop means mainstream. Like, I don’t know, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or something. But I think that’s not what that really means. To me, it’s more like what you embody more so than, I think, what it sonically sounds like.

Each music video you put out becomes a moment of its own. Do you think there’s always going to be a space for that level of choreo in music videos

If people keep creating this space for it. I mean, I definitely think when I got in the game, there were not many people that were doing choreography. I mean, people have in the past. But there was an era where people kind of stepped away from that. People used to say it wasn’t cool or it was corny. And it always felt really natural to who I am, and also what I loved about artists that I grew up with. So it was always really important for me to bring that to the next generation. It’s exciting to see so many other people doing it now. But yeah, it’s all up to the artists to continue to bring that into the future.

What’s been the most important takeaway from 333 and this tour so far? 

I’m just trying to really live in the moment and be in the moment now, and appreciate every step of the way. Because I do think that there was some time in the early days of my career—I’ve always been very appreciative—but there were moments where so much was happening. I’m so busy traveling. Just taking a second to really try to take it all in every day, is probably the biggest takeaway. Just being really viscerally in every moment”.

I will lead up to a review of the magnificent 333. In addition to being a superb songwriter and artist, Tinashe is a brilliant actor. In addition to all of this, she starred in a YouTube Originals series, The Outsiders?. It was an opportunity for Tinashe, as a Black artist, to talk about their experiences in the industry. Tinashe talked more about the series to ELLE:

“Coming off the heels of her 333 album release, Tinashe stars in new Youtube Originals The Outsiders?, out today. The six-part series, by filmmaker Simon Frederick, profiles young Black talent from around the world shaping entertainment and culture. They include artists and creators like Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Insecure’s Amanda Seales, and author Chidera. In the series, each talks about experiences of discrimination, racism, and being excluded and marginalized in society and their industries.

“It's important to show stories of Black people, especially Black artists, creatives, from a different perspective,” Tinashe tells ELLE.com. “A lot of times we don't get the chance to tell our stories firsthand. And I love that this was so nuanced. [We] all have different stories but similar things that we go through.”

Now on a nationwide tour for her fifth studio album, the second since going independent in 2019 to form Tinashe Music Inc., the 28-year-old singer, performer, and songwriter says being part of The Outsiders? allowed her to speak about the biased narratives surrounding Black artists in a way that people could understand.

Frederick says the inspiration behind the project came out of frustration with how Black artists like Tinashe are regularly stereotyped and unfairly treated. Especially now against the backdrop of last year, where there were calls for racial parity in the industries covered in The Outsiders? following George Floyd's death, with many companies quick to pledge to change. Yet, little to no measurable shift has been seen in those spaces since.

“A lot of organizations and industries became more socially conscious and culturally aware that they needed to be seen to be doing more regarding racial inequality in their organizations,” Frederick says. “But I honestly believe that a lot of it was knee-jerk and performative.”

So, he set out to change those perceptions and spotlight systematic disparities in the series. “Those of us who are born Black in the western world are considered outsiders even before we are born,” Frederick says of the title. And yet, in making it big, in becoming successful, “the very same people who consider us to be outsiders are the very same people who are telling everybody else that we are now people everyone should be following.”

“I just want people to look at creatives and artists with a little bit of empathy and compassion,” Tinashe says of some of those contradictions she’s experienced. “My particular story has been a real testament to how I've built my career and how I've created what I have for myself. I wouldn't be where I am now, if it weren't for things that I've gone through”.

You talked about building a sense of empathy with viewers when describing why you wanted to be part of The Outsiders? What did you mean by that, and what do you hope people take away from the series?

People assume those in the public eye don’t have struggles because all they see is the glam. They don't think about all the obstacles it's taken or how many glass ceilings we've had to break to reach that position. I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for the things that I've gone through, from when I was growing up to when I was on the come up. So, I think it’s important for us to share those difficult moments so people can have empathy. Because with that compassion—by placing yourself in other people’s shoes and feeling what other people are going through, and reflecting on your own life and experiences—you can see aspects of your own story in our struggles.

Part of the series talks about the struggles of being discovered and whether it was worth it in the end. For Black female creators, especially, do you think that fight is more challenging, and is more of that empathy you talk about needed?

Absolutely. There's that stereotypical trope that we have to work twice as hard and be twice as good. But, those stereotypes come from reality, from society. When I talk to Black creatives, we each have had to figure out how to navigate the world and culture to get to the positions we're in now.

And a lot of times, when people look at Black artists, it's easy to dehumanize us because we’re thriving. So with more of these conversations about what we went through and how we felt, maybe people can understand that we're just people too. And that, yes, we've been able to accomplish these amazing things in what we've been able to create, but it's hard out here. It's not an easy journey”.

Prior to coming to a review of 333 from AllMusic, Stereogum gave some background to Tinashe’s fifth studio album in their review. Even though she did split with a major label, as they write, it sort of made sense – and has meant she can step out independently as an artist:

“Labels, man. It’s not like they’re completely useless, but damn do they get in the way sometimes. There are so many cautionary tales about promising musical artists whose careers have been irreparably harmed by bumbling record companies. Given the resources, exposure, and presumed expertise a label can provide, you can understand why a musician would link up with one. It can feel like ascending to the next level, a necessary step on the way toward the career you’ve always dreamed of. Often, though, artists end up in limbo, at the whims of executives who don’t understand them nearly as well as the artists understand themselves.

Such was the case with Tinashe. The child actor turned singer, dancer, and producer was clearly on to something with the string of mixtapes that earned her significant buzz in the early 2010s, full-lengths that put a stylish R&B spin on the era’s prevailing cloud-rap sound. At first, a deal with RCA Records seemed to be reaping benefits when “2 On” became a huge radio hit and debut album Aquarius cemented her status as a star. But the disastrous half-decade she spent following it up almost destroyed her career. From the moment in late 2015 when Tinashe leaked her brilliantly tripped-out Young Thug collab “Party Favors” and RCA quickly released a generic club track called “Player” with Chris Brown instead, it became clear artist and label were not on the same page. What followed was an era fraught with flop singles and seemingly endless behind-the-scenes drama. And when Tinashe finally did release Joyride in 2018, it was kind of a mess.

So it made perfect sense when she and RCA parted ways in early 2019 — even more so when her first independent album Songs For You dropped later that year. Songs For You brought back the free-flowing spirit of Tinashe’s early mixtapes, but with the polish and versatility of a major statement album. It affirmed that Tinashe could thrive beyond the aesthetic that initially helped her blow up, but despite the stylistic range — at the time I wrote that it included “low-key house beats, crystalline trap, throbbing proto-dubstep, roller rink disco, dreamy pop balladry, snarling minimalist hip-hop, and more” — it hung together as a unified work. Last year’s low-stakes EP Comfort & Joy was one of the least corny, most enjoyable Christmas releases in recent memory. Now she’s back with 333, a second indie LP on which she continues to thrive on her own terms.

Over the past year Tinashe has been telling interviewers about her distaste for the concept of genre, which she dismisses as restrictive and rooted in racial segregation. There’s something to her critique. Other Black artists such as Tyler, The Creator have similarly wondered why their music can’t just be received as pop; meanwhile a white star like Ariana Grande is considered a pop star by default despite steering her music in an explicitly R&B direction. Clearly there is some value in classification as a way of discussing the styles, trends, and movements that cohere around particular musical characteristics. But Tinashe was not wrong when she told Zane Lowe last week that 333‘s title track — a shapeshifting deconstructed banger influenced by James Blake — “doesn’t fit a particular genre at all… it’s just a sonic experience.”

So it goes throughout 333. It’s not exactly a radically experimental LP, but Tinashe spends most of it sliding across an eclectic landscape of sounds, centered on fluttery impressionistic R&B but just as likely to veer into neon arena anthems (the Stargate-produced “The Chase”), undulating synth-pop (“Undo (Back To My Heart)” with Wax Motif), breathless dance-adjacent hip-hop (the Buddy collab “Pasadena”), or darkly spacious slow jams (the Kaash Paige duet “Angels”). Whereas the similarly diverse Joyride seemed awkwardly stitched together, a result of too many cooks in the kitchen, Tinashe’s post-RCA albums feel coherent no matter how much she experiments because they’re so clearly an outgrowth of her own perspective. She’s the one calling the shots, and she knows damn well what she’s doing”.

333 shows what an amazing artist Tinashe is. In terms of her music, acting and how powerful and insightful her interviews are, she is an idol and someone who is hugely inspiring to so many people out there. I am looking forward to seeing what she does next. I want to source AllMusic’s review of the magnificent 333 before wrapping up:

“Tinashe would be justified in hyping 333 as her finest and most artful work. Whereas her previous album, the self-released Songs for You, followed a protracted conflict with RCA and was pieced together -- and despite no shortage of highlights, sounded like it -- 333 sees the singer truly settling into independence. There's a near surplus of the breathy slow jams and midtempo cuts that roll and skitter like the tracks on which she built her reputation. Each one of those songs uniquely tweaks the approach to make it sound fresh. Nestled inside the first batch of them is an indication that 333 has much more to offer than refinements: a speedy and atmospheric drum'n'bass interlude sent aloft by Tinashe's alluring falsetto. Later tracks surprise with changes in tempo, style, and mood. High-tension beats drop out midway and crawl back in mutated form with Tinashe either handling the transitions with elegance or handing off the mike to a compatible featured artist. Any one of three sections in "Small Reminders" could have been separated and developed into a highlight; as a composite, it dazzles, peaking in the middle with funk so bumptious and rubbery that it could turn Anderson .Paak green. "Undo (Back to My Heart)" does the 1983-themed emotional repairment night drive as well as any of Tinashe's contemporaries, while "The Chase" evokes roughly the same era in full-on pop anthem mode. For all its sharp turns, 333 has a fluidity and high level of conviction that Tinashe's previous full-lengths lack”.

Go and listen to the sensational music of Tinashe if you are new or a bit unfamiliar. Such a strong and original talent, she is going to keep growing and putting out amazing work for many years to come! The playlist below is a selection of some of the best songs from the Kentucky-born artist. I admire greatly everything she has put out. Because of that, I was eager to salute and celebrate…

A superstar and idol.

FEATURE: Run Run Run: The Enduring Popularity of a Masterpiece: The Velvet Underground & Nico at Fifty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Run Run Run

The Enduring Popularity of a Masterpiece: The Velvet Underground & Nico at Fifty-Five

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ON 12th March…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Cornell University - Division of Rare Manuscript Collections

the world will mark the fifty-fifth anniversary of the debut album by The Velvet Underground and Nico. The American band, led by the principal songwriter Lou Reed, and the German singer Nico created something extraordinary in 1967! This year is often considered the strongest for music. Not only is The Velvet Underground & Nico seen as one of the best albums of the ‘60s; it is one of the most important albums ever released You can buy it on vinyl, or a relatively recent half-speed remaster. Prior to coming to a couple of reviews for the timeless album (whose iconic cover is courtesy of Andy Warhol), getting some story and background is important. Back in 2012, to coincide with anniversary re-releases of The Velvet Underground & Nico, the band’s website gave details about the various release. We also learn more about the impact the album has made in terms of its popularity and influence:

“When The Velvet Underground & Nico album was released in March 1967 on Verve Records, with its Andy Warhol-designed, peel-off banana cover, it was far from a chart-topper. In fact, as the famed quote attributed to Brian Eno famously put it, the album may not have sold many copies, “but everyone who bought it formed a band.” And its reputation as a groundbreaker has only increased over the four-and-a-half decades since its original release.

Universal Music / Polydor  will celebrate the now-iconic album’s 45th anniversary on October 30, 2012, with a multi-format, worldwide release October 29th and 30th that includes stereo and mono versions remastered from the original tapes, as well as previously unreleased recordings of the band’s rehearsals in Warhol’s Factory and the subsequent rare April 1966 Scepter Studios recordings captured on acetate featuring early, alternate versions of songs later issued on The Velvet Underground & Nico.

A limited-edition, Super Deluxe six-CD box set will also feature a previously unavailable November ’66 live concert performed by the Velvets’ original, five-person lineup—Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Moe Tucker and Nico—at the Valleydale Ballroom in Columbus, Ohio, and Nico’s Chelsea Girl, an album released in October 1967 (seven months after the Velvets’ disc) which included all the members of the band as well as a teenage folksinger named Jackson Browne. It also includes an 88-page booklet featuring a new essay by band biographer Richie Unterberger. All remastering, tape transfers and digital assembly at the prestigious Sterling Sound Studios in New York were overseen by veteran A&R producer Bill Levenson, who has been involved for more than 30 years in previous Velvet Underground reissues like VU and Another VU in the ’80s, the banana-covered box set in the ’90s and UMG’s first expanded, deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico in 2002.

The six-CD set captures the Velvets in a crucial period in their development, starting with the band’s Factory rehearsals in January ’66, covering the original Scepter recording sessions that April, then a live show in November, leading up to the March ’67 release, almost a year after the album was finished. Nico’s Chelsea Girl, which came out in October seven months later, completes the set’s almost two-year arc, chronicling the band both before and directly after its historic debut.

The Super Deluxe set allows fans to compare the mono and stereo versions of the album. Longtime Velvets aficionados have touted the mono mix because of its lo-fi quality, with the music coming off even tougher as a result of its compression.

The Velvet Underground & Nico album has achieved many honours since its release;. The Observer placed it number 1 in 50 Albums that Changed the World Uncut placed it a number 1 of 100 Greatest Debut Albums and was placed in the top 10 of Mojo’s 100 Greatest albums Ever Made and it continues to consistently top UK polls.

The Velvet Underground and Nico is considered the holy grail around the world. The release earned the original band a slot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone placed it No. 13 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in November 2003, dubbing it “the most prophetic rock album ever made.” Spin magazine placed it atop its list of the “Top 15 Most Influential Albums of All Time” that same year and the album is one of 225 recordings in the prestigious Library of Congress National Recording Registry.. In Czechoslovakia, the band gave its name to the Velvet Revolution, which overthrew the Communist regime in that country. Globally, the album is seen just like Sgt. Pepper’s and Pet Sounds, as a seminal, influential high-water mark in rock music history”.

How did a band as iconic as The Velvet Underground come together? In understanding the genius of the album – in terms of Lou Reed’s songwriting, the incredible importance of John Cale and Nico, in addition to bandmates Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker -, we need to head back. Classic Album Sundays give some superb background in their story of The Velvet Underground & Nico:

“The era of the late Sixties usually brings to mind the West Coast, naked hippies cavorting in festival grounds, flower power, psychedelia and LSD. But there was a band that resolutely bucked the trend. They were the anti-‘anti-establishment’ and in contrast to sunny California, they resided within the urban decay of New York City’s Lower East Side, instead of festivals, city dwellers danced to their music at the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry, and rather than hallucinogens, they celebrated heroin. And even though they were derided by the critics and sold very few albums during their lifespan, they later influenced nearly every indie rock band from Sonic Youth to The Strokes.

The Velvet Underground was founded by two contrarians: Lou Reed, a middle class Jewish kid with a troubled upbringing and a BA in English who churned out pop fodder for Pickwick Records, and John Cale, a Welshman who had performed with La Monte Young’s Theatre of Eternal Music (an ensemble famous for holding a single note for several days and screaming at a plant until it died) and was over in New York City on a Leonard Bernstein scholarship to study classical viola.

Under the moniker The Primitives, Reed had a small hit with a record he quickly penned for Pickwick who wanted to cash in on the dance craze sweeping America in the mid-Sixties. Asked to perform his single ‘The Ostrich’ on television, Reed had to quickly assemble a real band and brought in John Cale with whom he had had a chance meeting. The two bonded over music and also (in Reed’s words) ‘dope’, and started jamming and writing songs that would later appear on The Velvet Underground albums.

With former Syracuse University colleague and intellectual Sterling Morrison and the quiet younger sister of a friend Moe Tucker solidifying the line-up, the Velvet Underground secured a residency at Cafe Bizarre in 1965. They may have faded into obscurity if Andy Warhol hadn’t been in the audience one particular night. Warhol had been working on a multimedia idea for his Film Festival in which he wanted to project the films onto the actors onstage. His Factory denizens then thought it would be a great idea to add music and VU fit the bill.

The Velvets became the nexus of Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable and around their performance revolved visual media such as films and a relentless light show which forced the band to wear sunglasses on stage, and in the process created even more of a mystique. Warhol also took on managerial duties for VU and after a host of rejections, he managed to secure them a record deal with MGM/Verve. He insisted that they feature the stunning German chanteuse who had wow-ed the uber-cool Factory family with her detached glamour, Nico.

 The band recorded most of the debut album in a few days in Scepter, a decrepit recording studio, for less than $3000. Even though Warhol is listed as the album’s producer, it would certainly be too great a leap to even imagine him sitting at the mixing desk and barking at Reed for another vocal take. John Cale told an interviewer, “Andy Warhol didn’t do anything.”

In 1989, Lou Reed reasoned why Warhol deserved that accolade in an interview with Musician: “He just made it possible for us to be ourselves and go right ahead with it because he was Andy Warhol. In a sense, he really did produce it, because he was this umbrella that absorbed all the attacks when we weren’t large enough to be attacked… and as a consequence of him being the producer, we’d just walk in and set up and do what we always did and no one would stop it because Andy was the producer. Of course he didn’t know anything about record production—but he didn’t have to. He just sat there and said “Oooh, that’s fantastic,” and the engineer would say, “Oh yeah! Right! It is fantastic, isn’t it?””

Warhol did help finance the album along with Norman Dolph, a Columbia Records sales exec who also acted as an engineer along with John Licata. This may partially explain the lack of clarity and overall fuzziness of many of the songs although the few that were recorded in LA have a cleaner sonic. It has later been said that Tom Wilson produced most of it and the feel and arrangement has been put down to John Cale who himself later produced albums for Patti Smith, The Modern Lovers and Squeeze.

The resulting album, The Velvet Underground and Nico, is unlike anything that came before it. There is the stark, deadpan icy beauty of Nico’s vocals on beautifully cultivated pop-like songs “I’ll Be Your Mirror” and “Femme Fatale” and then married with the avant-garde on “All Tomorrow’s Parties”.

Rather than more conventional reviews, there are a couple that caught my eye. The second looks at the guitar sounds and musical contrasts through The Velvet Underground & Nico. I want to start with this Soundlab review. They start by making a fascinating point about success and sales. In units sold, the 1967 opus might be seen as underwhelming or a failure. Given the impact it had on countless people who bought The Velvet Underground & Nico, it is one of the most important and successful albums in history:

“What a road this album has traveled! Fraught with technical hassles, ignorance, scorn, and lawsuits, it survived to finally be recognized as one of the most influential albums ever, and for that matter, one of the best. Forget Rolling Stone ranking it as #13 on its “Best Of” list, unless the number is supposed to be symbolic. If it isn’t one of the top five, then just simply skip it!

In almost any recent (re)assessment of it, the first thing that is pointed out is Brian Eno’s comment, so why not repeat it here, because it is absolutely precise: "It (the album) only sold 30,000 copies, but everyone who bought it started a band”. Indeed, it is not a question of who The Velvet Underground & Nico influenced, but rather who it didn’t. From cult acts like The Feelies to absolute greats like David Bowie who even surpassed The Velvet Underground itself; and almost any genre that came after, including glam, punk, lo-fi and drone. Try comparing John Cale’s modified viola sounds on “Venus In Furs” and “The Black Angel’s Death Song” to quite a few sounds produced by Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Musicians even adopted names used in the songs as their own.

It all started with the cards seriously stacked against it. Poor recording conditions (when they started recording, only Lou Reed was able to use headphones in the studio), delays, re-recordings with Dylan’s producer Tom Wilson, lawsuits because of the (back) cover, the album being pulled from the stores for a few months, ignorance from critics, outrage because of the lyrical content, and particularly Andy Warhol’s front cover, which led to just about every radio station in the US refusing to play it at the time.

But, what we all got with The Velvet Underground & Nico is a truly artistic package - musically, lyrically and visually that persisted and only grew through time. Its visions of New York as a symbol of civilizational decadence still rings true, and its combination of Lou Reed’s New York cool, Sterling Morrison’s and Moe Tucker’s punkishness, John Cale’s modern experimentalism, and Nico’s Berlin cool produced a trans-continental view of netherworld at a time when “Cabaret” was still a figment of Bob Fosse’s imagination.

It's all here: the seemingly innocuous balladry of “Sunday Morning” (“Early dawning, sunday morning/It’s just the wasted years so close behind/[Chorus}/Watch out, the world’s behind you”), the drug themes of “I’m Waiting For My Man” and “Heroin,” the kinky sex  of “Venus In Furs,” and the pure punk and dystopia of "European Son” (“You killed your European Son/ You spit on those under twenty-one/But now your blue car is gone/ You better say so long”) - it is all absolutely perfect.

All eleven songs that originally appeared on the album represent a fully formed musical and lyrical vision individually and as a part of the whole. While all the available reissues and remasters have raised the level of the listening experience, even if you put on the murky sounding first issue you are in no way able to discern the time period when this album was made - in 1966 when the recording began, today, more than fifty years later or any time in-between. And all that for simply one reason - it is timeless”.

There are so many reasons why The Velvet Underground & Nico remains so adored and popular. The songwriting from Reed; the way Nico’s voice adds so much to the album (she sadly died in 1988); the sonic and lyrical vividness and contrasts. Others will do greater justice to the album ahead of its fifty-fifth anniversary on 12th March. I wanted to add my comments and work to celebrate a legendary album. An album that started to get huge reappraisal a decade after its release. Perhaps people who reviewed The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967 did not give it enough time or were too quick in their judgement. I want to finish with a review by Guutar.com. Of course, as a guitar site, they highlight that aspect of the album. They also remark on how every sonic consideration and avenue is covered and explored:

“Guitar-wise, every one of the album’s 11 tracks has a burst of invention. On Sunday Morning, Reed’s country-folk guitar break has a luminous, comedown strangeness to it, thanks to its slackened strings (several of the album’s songs were in downtuned standard tuning, perhaps to help accommodate Cale’s viola). I’m Waiting For The Man sees Reed build tension with expressive snarls of open strings driving his train-like, distorted rhythm part behind Morrison’s hypnotic, bluesey cycling lead motif. By way of contrast, Femme Fatale’s intro creates the song’s unresolved feel by using contrasting guitar tones, Reed’s rolled off, claustrophobically bassy Cmaj 7 and F maj 9 chords looming behind Morrison’s trebly, static arpeggio.

While the demonic whiplash of Cale’s electric viola dominates Venus In Furs, alongside it are two guitar parts from Reed, one spelling out the ‘chorus’ section in downstrokes, the other a psychedelic, Middle Eastern-inflected droning chord-melody line resulting from his ‘Ostrich’ tuning – a ‘trivial’ tuning where all of the guitar’s strings are tuned to the same note. This was a trick that Reed had picked up from guitarist Jerry Vance and subsequently “filed away”; it also makes an appearance later on in the album, on All Tomorrow’s Parties.

On Run Run Run – one of rock’s most gloriously out-of-tune songs – Reed introduces us to Margarita Passion, Beardless Harry et al over Morrison’s queasy blues rhythm tuned down to D, before unleashing a feral, freeform solo combining squeals of feedback, John Lee Hooker-esque boogie, buzzy tremolo picking, random string bends and god knows what else. At one point, he even detunes his high E string to B mid-solo, while still frantically picking it, which is surely a first.

Warhol favourite All Tomorrow’s Parties finds Reed scratching out a sitar-like drone melody in his Ostrich D tuning on a Gretsch guitar with the frets removed, while John Cale hammers away at a ‘prepared’ piano with paperclips entwined in its strings to alter the tone – again, all in a day’s work.

Meanwhile, on album centrepiece Heroin, Reed and Morrison show just how much can be done with two chords. Every instrument reflects the subject matter: the rhythm-guitar interplay moves through a cycle of repeated rush and release towards its crescendo, Cale’s electric viola descends to hell and back and Moe Tucker’s heartbeat drum accompaniment temporarily stops and restarts.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alamy 

Even There She Goes Again – the most conventional of the album’s tracks – finds the time to launch into a raunchy rock ’n’ roll lick at 1:54 that a lesser band would’ve happily used as the basis for a whole song, while the guitar interplay at the foundation of Femme Fatale is revamped for I’ll Be Your Mirror, embroidering Nico’s icy delivery with a regal, shimmering melody part shadowed by a restless bassline from Cale.

The Velvet Underground And Nico opens with the saccharine music-box tinkling of Cale’s celesta and closes with a clatter of abused instruments amidst a rumble of feedback, with its 11 tracks covering every sonic possibility inbetween. Few records before or since could accommodate, say, the hushed and fragile capo’d chords of I’ll Be Your Mirror and the ballistic freakout of guitar violence in European Son without blinking: on an album containing many contrasts, arguably the starkest of all is the discrepancy between the brittle and beautiful and the elemental and chaotic in its guitar parts”.

A great work from a legendary group! I think that bands will form decades down the line because of this album. The Velvet Underground & Nico took a while to make its impact on me. I was a bit reluctant to embrace it but, the more I listen and the more I learn, the greater my respect is for it. On 12th March, we get to celebrate a remarkable album that has helped change the course of music history. Here is to the simply stunning debut album…

FROM The Velvet Underground & Nico.

FEATURE: Revisiting… Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine

FEATURE:

 

Revisiting…

Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine

___________

AS a big fan…

of Róisín Murphy, I was excited when her fifth studio album, Róisín Machine, came out on 2nd October, 2020. Another stunning album from the Arklow-born artist, it is one I am keen to revisit. The point of this feature is to look back at albums from the past five years that were received well at the time but, perhaps, need a bit more love and exposure now. An album that had begun life a decade before its release, it was the return of Damian Harris to Skint Records as creative director in 2019 that helped get things moving. Murphy actually signed a contract with Skint Records and its parent label, BMG. This is a one-album deal as, in her words, Murphy wants to leave options open. Who is to say what she’ll produce for her next album?! Featuring blends of Disco, House and Dance, it is a bit of a departure from previous work. The distinct pen and vocal of Murphy are at the forefront, through the textures and compositions are different to, say, 2016’s Take Her Up to Monto (that album has more Electropop and Dance-Pop elements). I am going to come to a couple of huge reviews for Róisín Machine that make an argument for this album being cherished and spun a lot more today. Over the past few years, there has been this fascinating Disco revival. Albums from Jessie Ware, Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa has taken the genre to original places and brought it to new audiences. Mixing Pop, Electro and other sounds, I hope that we continue to hear the impact of Disco on modern artists. Róisín Machine, let’s hope, gets a follow-up from Murphy.

I wonder whether she will explore Disco more on her next album (if, indeed, there is going to be another album from her). She was involved in a fair few interviews in 2020/2021 to promote the album. There are a couple I wanted to highlight. In this chat with Official Charts, Murphy was asked about Róisín Machine and the fact it fitted in with the current and blossoming Disco revival scene:

“What made you decide to sign with a larger label for this record?

“It was all Damian really. He’s probably the best A&R person I’ve ever worked with. BMG also have my publishing, so they’re probably quite interested in solidifying my legacy, and so am I, as it goes. It’s only for the one album - they wanted to sign me for more and I had to play a bit of hard ball and I wanted to keep my options open. It would take me quite a lot to get me away from them now, they’re so nice.

It’s hard to put out a record independently now – people expect a regular flow of content and you sort of have to play the game if you stand a chance of cutting through the noise.

That’s where the machine comes in. The Roisin Machine is in full effect on those levels because I do all the directing and the visuals. I have a very prolific output with or without being on a major label, which I think speaks well for me in this day and age.

Being a solo artist, I’ve got a pretty steady stream of really talented producers coming through my doors wanting to work with me. Every time you work with a new producer you go into a new world – you can almost reinvent yourself every time. You certainly learn so much more when each project is completely different – it’s not like seeing the same three or four band members year after year. That keeps what I do fresh. And I’m still looking good for an old bird as well. Wait until you see the [vinyl] gatefold, whew!

Is it a relief knowing all these songs you’ve worked on for the past decade now have a proper home?

They were all meant to be together initially anyway. After we put out Simulation, we backed off a bit because nothing really went off with it honestly. I got more interested in singing Italian songs, and then I went into making Hairless Toys and Take Her Up To Monto with Eddie Stevens. But this was always in the background – we always knew it would come to some kind of fruition, and so it has.

It wasn’t a difficult record to make because Barratt – who I’ve known all my musical life - is such a focused producer, it’s not a guessing game at all. He’s really like, ‘we’re doing this’, we aim for it and that’s what we achieve. That makes it very relaxing. Barratt can close his eyes and be in the middle of a club at 3am, even though he’s probably not stepped in a club for about 25 years!

The timing of this release is, seemingly by coincidence, timed perfectly for current disco revival. Does that feel strange for someone who usually operates outside of trends?

It does actually, yes! It’s particularly annoying to be shoved in with lots of other girl singers. I don’t feel like them. I feel like it comes out of clubbing all my life, since I was 15.

You know what, it’s nice to be on trend for once, though it’d be lovely if there were some f**king clubs open! I’d be murdering it; I’d be in every club going playing every remix – some of those remix packages Barratt is doing are stories unto themselves and it’d be lovely if they were in the clubs.

I think the album still works, though – there’s such a soulful, solid base to this record that it works outside of the club. Something More really works like that – it’s balearic, but it doesn’t have to be 9 O’clock in the morning after you’ve been raving, though that would be nice. It’s got a feeling you can play it in your garden, in your car, you can certainly exercise to it – there’s various ways you can absorb it. It’s seamlessly put together, but you can also listen to the tracks individually, I have no problem with that. I mean, it’s full of singles anyway. It’s very modern in a way”.

One of the finest albums of 2020, I have a lot of love for Róisín Machine. With most of the songs written by Róisín Murphy and producer Richard Barratt, it is album to get lost in. Perfect for any mood, I love the fact Róisín Machine opens with Simulation – a track that is eight and a half minutes! Bold, brilliant and bright, we hear some of Murphy’s most incredible vocal performances on this album. Amazing writing and productions mean Róisín Machine is an album you can pick up years from now and adore. FADER spoke with Murphy in 2020. They opened by stating that the culture and trend of artists putting out Disco and House albums that evoke nostalgia, futurism (or both) found its queen with Murphy’s Róisín Machine:

“A grimy and glamorous pastiche of self-mythologising disco, nostalgic British club music, post-punk iconography and Murphy’s ever-sharp hooks, Róisín Machine — which was started over a decade ago, after the release of 2007’s Gaga blueprint Overpowered, but was pre-empted by the torch-singer techno of 2015’s Hairless Toys and 2016’s Take Her Up To Monto — is relentless and brilliant, serving as both a document of Murphy’s youth exploring the underground clubs of Manchester and Sheffield and a love letter to the transformative power of a dancefloor.

Made largely in collaboration with Murphy’s long-time friend and collaborator Richard Barratt, aka DJ Parrot, Róisín Machine feels like the defining document of Murphy’s solo career so far, casting the 47-year-old as a mysterious, magnetic club denizen, the kind of person you might whisper about obsessively over the course of a lifetime without ever meeting. She switches guises constantly, and yet the record is in thrall of her, obsessed with Murphy as both a musician and a mythological figure almost to a fault. Occasionally an underappreciated or overlooked figure, Róisín Machine fits 20-plus years of overdue idol worship into an hour of tight, bone-rattling club music.

The idea that you determine your own path — do you still live by it now, as much as you did when you were young?

Maybe more. Since Hairless Toys, I’ve kinda surprised myself, in terms of what I’m capable of. I’ve done everything. I’ve discovered that I can direct [videos], and creatively direct, and really be the boss of all of this. And I like being the boss. I can’t be the boss with these music producers, people like Maurice Fulton, DJ Koze, Parrot, Matthew Herbert — I’m not the boss in that situation, in a situation where I’m 50/50, making a piece of music with a guy; I have to be malleable, I have to be open. With the rest, I’m starting to really take over, and I quite surprised myself. But you can’t make all of yourself; it’s only a small part, but it’s an important part. You are stuck with the way you were brought up as well. But if there’s anything you can claw for yourself, do it. It’s right through all my songs, all my music, all the albums — that sense that there’s constraints, and there’s freedoms, and somewhere in-between, you can make something of yourself. Make your own story.

There’s a lot of talk about how the music industry has changed since the 90s and 2000s, but I feel like you more than anyone are more equipped to talk about the material realities of what’s changed. What do you think the biggest differences are for you?

I always get asked this question and it’s really hard for me to answer, because it’s been so incremental and I’ve continued throughout. Much less has changed for me than has not changed, believe it or not. I continue to make music within bubbles of total artistic control. That’s where everything starts, anyway; that’s why I have to be so modest and humble with these fuckin’ mavericks that I work with, because if I get good music, I can throw any image at it, I can throw any visual at it, and it’ll sing. I can go on tour for two years and it’ll be fuckin’ brilliant, because I’m on the back of a great record. So none of that’s changed, and you know, I make music and visuals from the same place I’ve always made them from, which is a place of curiosity and natural will. I just really want to have a go at things. What’s more important is what’s been the same, always. People always assume, perhaps when you’re a girl and you’re a singer, and you’ve worn the odd tight skirt and that, that she’s not had her own way completely. But I’ve had my own way, and I can’t complain”.

I want to finish with some positive reviews for the amazing and staggering Róisín Machine. One of te best-reviewed albums of 2020, it is a shame that more radio stations do not play music from it. Many of the tracks would work in T.V. shows or wider afield. I wonder whether Murphy has been approached in that regard. In any case, here is what DIY noted in their review of the colossus that is Róisín Machine:

“Speculating about why disco is having yet another resurgence is something of a fool’s errand. But it must be more than a coincidence that, like with every other resurgence, this one coincides with a new Róisín Murphy project.

And this is her most defiantly disco record to date. Where ‘Overpowered’ or ‘Take Her Up To Monto’ might veer off on prog or avant garde jaunts, ‘Róisín Machine’ is lit exclusively by the glitterball. Ever since ‘Sing It Back’, it’s where she’s felt most at home. But this is Róisín’s idea of disco. Disco, for the most part, is fairly surface level. Good times, bright lights, sweaty bodies. If it makes you move, it’s a winner. If it makes you think too, to Róisín, that’s even better.

Album highlight ‘Incapable’ has all the facets of a disco classic. Soaring synths, funky bass lines, crisp percussion, a hypnotic rhythm. It’s a lose-yourself in-the-smoke-machine kind of tune. But listen closer and her refrain of “Never had a broken heart” strikes less as a celebration of The One and more as a questioning of emotional emptiness. That refrain is sung with a real delicacy, before she flips to a growl with the line “Am I incapable of love?” It’s a blues song disguised as a dancefloor smash. The pining of Glen Campbell remixed by Chic.

It’s a darker, tenser idea of disco that ‘Narcissus’ continues. Fizzing with paranoia and self-doubt, but still eminently danceable; the frantic strings building a restlessness in contrast to the four-to-the-floor beat. ‘We Got Together’, meanwhile, is perhaps the closest Róisín has come to emulating Grace Jones. There’s shades of ‘Private Life’ as though put through a shredder and repurposed for a warehouse rave in the ‘90s.

Much of ‘Róisín Machine’ dates back years, with this album charting a long-term collaboration between Róisín and DJ Parrot. Many have even been singles without a home over the last decade. The ‘Simulation’ that opens the album feels like Róisín duetting with her 2012 single; the delicate vocals of the original rubbing up against her more gravelly 2020 voice.

With this passage of time demonstrated so clearly, it almost feels like there’s never been a right time for Róisín Murphy. The 2012 ‘Simulation’ was never really the smash it deserved to be. But it’s obvious that’s never worried her. “The album is called ‘Róisín Machine’ because I am a machine. I never stop,” she said of the album. Like Grace Jones, it’s clear Róisín isn’t one to follow trends. A maverick at home both in the disco as in the artist’s collective, she’s here to set them”.

The last thing I want to include is a review from Loud and Quiet. Pretty much right across the board, Róisín Machine found fervent and passionate praise. A wonderous album that draws you in and stays in the brain long after you have heard it, I feel it reverberates in 2022. It is an album that we all need to hear and hold onto:

 “The spirit of Róisín Machine is characterized in one simple line: “How dare you sentence me to a lifetime without dancing?” Sung over updated ’70s disco and house, this is Róisín Murphy’s unashamed club record. Its ten tracks are all about being in a sweaty, crowded room and dancing away your heartbreak.

Half of the tracks are already familiar, having trickled out over the last decade, but the former Moloko frontwoman’s collaboration with DJ Parrot – aka Crooked Man – was stalled due to life and small children. The momentum picked up over the last year with a trio of modern classics and has finally tipped into this overdue fifth solo album-cum-singles package.

Despite such a protracted labour, the release’s track-listing is seamless. Production styles and music trends may have changed but the oldest of these singles – 2012’s ‘Simulation’ – still sounds blissfully contemporary. Opening with weepy strings and self-affirming dialogue, it chugs into action with hissing hi-hats, heavy breathing, and funky bassline.

This reduction to the bare essentials, with slowly unspooling deep house and disco grooves, references ’70s disco cuts while mashing in fresh sounds (the wonky synth on ‘We Got Together’; the taut, dramatic strings on ‘Narcissus’). There’s also something of the era in the repeated lyrical theme of ‘I Will Survive’ personal endurance, not least when the “keep on” refrain on ‘Murphy’s Law’ reappears on next track ‘Game Changer’.

These heartfelt concerns offer Murphy the opportunity to display her impressive range. The vaguely psychedelic ‘Kingdom Of Ends’ seesaws between the cool, Grace Jones-esque archness and soulful sincerity. The sparse ‘Game Changer’ combines the staccato delivery of early Moloko with bruised, bluesy tones.

It’s this emotional core that helps make Róisín Machine such a sweaty celebration of the dancefloor, its redeeming power making it well worth its lengthy gestation”.

Last year, Crooked Machine was released. This is remixes of the songs from Róisín Machine. I wonder what will come next for the legendary Murphy. Herr most commercially successful solo album, Róisín Machine reached fourteen on the album chart. There is a lot of love out there for the masterful Róisín Murphy. Go and find her latest studio album, turn the volume up and…

LET it do its work!

FEATURE: Inspired by Shaun Keaveny’s Creative Cul-de-Sac... From the Notebook to the Screen: Imagining a Feature-Length Comedy-Drama for 2023

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired by Shaun Keaveny’s Creative Cul-de-Sac…

From the Notebook to the Screen: Imagining a Feature-Length Comedy-Drama for 2023

___________

AS a big fan of…

the amazing Shaun Keaveny, I love his new podcast, Creative Cul-de-Sac. It was influenced by his rough ideas, ambitions and projects that he has acquired and collected through the years. Whether most of them will see the light of day, I am not too sure. There are rumblings and rumours that a sitcom may come to fruition. Each week, Keaveny speaks with a guest as they look through their notepads and describe creative ideas they have had that, as the podcast’s title suggests, wound up in a cul-de-sac. I think all creative people have ideas that we think are great and then do not get made or go any further. Enjoying his podcast (support it on Patreon), it got me thinking about an idea that came to me just yesterday. I think we can all agree it has been an especially rough last couple of weeks. In the middle of the Devil’s shit-storm of horror and tragedy, we have just gone through two years of a global pandemic and are now looking at a war in Europe that could spread and get much worse. The people of Ukraine are being displaced, destroyed and torn down because of a savage dictator. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is creating genocide for no reason. It is very scary to be alive at the moment. I think, because of that, nostalgia and escapism can be a good thing! Not too much – as, sadly, we cannot go back -, but a little so that we can all cope. Shaun Keaveny’s Creative Cul-de-Sac is providing not only entertainment but inspiration. I think one of the things I have learned from the episodes so far (the next one comes out tomorrow) is that there ideas and half-scraps of things that can turn into something good…

I was looking through my notebooks and Word files of old idea. Some half-formed concepts actually led to a new, feature-length comedy-drama idea. I was born in 1983 and I am old enough to remember the record-collecting clubs that we had in the U.K. and the U.S.. I think the best-known might be the Columbia House club that was big from the 1970s to the 1990s. There were T.V. ads that must have been irresistible to teens and kids! Even adults would have been hooked. Today, when we can get music for free and we can pretty much buy any album we want, we take for granted the limitations decades ago. Maybe physical music meant more, as we did not have the Internet, streaming services and anything like that. Music T.V. and stations like MTV broadcast videos and the biggest names of the day. I owned a Sony Walkman and a Discman. The ability to walk around playing music meant I was compelled to buy more albums and CDs. Friends of mine and my parents bought albums through a record club here. I can’t recall the name of the mail-order service here, but the idea was that you could get eight-ten albums for a very low price. It seemed too good to be true! This mail-order service was tied to a list of albums. You could choose a selection and they would be delivered to your door. From 1963’s Columbia Record Club in the U.S. to a few others that followed, they offered eight albums on CD or cassette for a penny. I think the 1963 club advertised six albums from a little more than that. Even with inflation and variations, that offer was incredibly tempting!

What was the catch? You had to order many more albums at ‘regular club prices’. That meant they weren’t cheap, and then there were the shipping and handling fees. You also had to respond each month to the club selection notice (one of which is below) or else you’d automatically receive the album of the month, and be charged for it. The sound quality of the albums was not the same as the albums from shops. You were sort of buying something that was more like a bootlegged album. That said, it didn’t matter when you thought you were getting a good deal. Even though, long-term and in reality, it was not a great deal, I know there were loopholes and workarounds that meant people could order under different names (they’d make up) and get eight albums or so for a couple of quid. They could then stop payments or cancel membership. This idea of the mail-order record-buying club and ways to exploit it has not really been brought to the screen. I know the U.S. sitcom, The Goldbergs, explored the idea in an episode once. At thirty minutes, it was not fleshed out too much (and the B-plot took up quite a bit of that time). I have Googled to see if there are other dramas, comedies or documentaries around the idea of businesses like Columbia House. I could only find one thing on IMDB, but there was no synopsis detail. I cannot see any videos of it on YouTube, so I am not sure whether the 1995 production was a comedy or whether it was broadcast.

It got me thinking about an idea. It does not have a title yet, but it is/will be a ninety-minute production set in California in September 1985. Based in Venice, Los Angeles in a year when albums from Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms), Kate Bush (Hounds of Love), Tears for Fears (Songs from the Big Chair) and Eurythmics (Be Yourself Tonight) were big. The year before, Madonna released Like a Virgin; Prince and the Revolution put out Purple Rain; Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A. 1985 was an exciting year when there was definite demand for mail-order services. MTV was in its infancy, whilst the Sony Walkman was also pretty new. Live Aid happened in July 1985, and the biggest films of the year included The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. Whereas the U.K. was dominating music in the 1990s, I feel the U.S. offered the best music from the mid-to-late-1980s. Hip-Hop and Rap would dominate at the end of the decade, whereas Pop was more prevalent and popular earlier on. It is a great setting and period of history to set a feature. We would focus on five teens who attend a high school in Venice. Parodying and bringing in elements of coming-of-age films and comedies from the 1980s, there would be elements of thrillers/suspense, music videos and culture from the decade. The teens would initially start by buying from a mail-order music club based in Los Angeles (very much based on Columbia House). Each come from different backgrounds, and all of them adore music. Restricted in terms of allowance and income, they see the lure of getting their choice of a bunch of popular albums for as little as a penny or two!

They then cotton onto the fact they can con the mail-order club and order a bunch of cassettes for so little money. Not only do they decide to keep a lot of albums for themselves; they start a Breakfast Club-like gang where they take orders and dispatch albums to peers and friends. Also nodding a little to a fairly recent T.V. show, Breaking Bad, there is this darker and suspenseful aspect where the truth is hidden from their parents. Things start to get darker and tenser when the bills come in and the teens realise that they have to find ways to pay the company. After various schemes and some illegal options, they know they are backed into a corner. Eventually, comically, the collectors from the company come after the teens. They also bring along two major artists of the time, Bruce Springsteen and Pat Benatar, to help. Hoping to lure the teens, there starts a chase through Los Angeles. It ends with the teens being corned and a nice twist ending. The five teens consist of a boyfriend and girlfriend, two siblings and the coolest girl from school. The girlfriend character (I have not decided on name yet) is hit by a car and dies. During the chase, the teens loaded all the cassettes they ordered into a car and were going to run. The couple are huge fans of Madonna and her 1984 album, Like a Virgin. ‘Their song’ is Angel. As she lays dying, the two share headphones as the song plays and they hold hands. I cannot give away the ending, but it is both funny and unexpected. There would be this awesome soundtrack throughout that would consist of songs from the albums the teens order. Many would be diegetic (songs played by the characters in various scenes), whereas others would be on the soundtrack. It is a comedy, but there is drama, violence and sexual content.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The amazing musician Billie Eilish (who I think would be perfectly cast as a record store employee in Venice, California during the 1980s-set comedy-drama)

That takes me to the parents of the teens. I am not sure about casting, although one scene takes place in a local record shop, where I want Billie Eilish to play the worker there (she is cool but also a little bit sarcastic). I also would love Florence Pugh to play a version of Madonna. The mothers would, I hope, be played by Rachel Brosnahan, Abby Elliott, Margot Robbie and Keke Palmer (not sure about the fathers, but the excellent Lamorne Morris is a name that instantly comes to mind). I know it is a huge cast and it could get expensive, but they are who came to mind. They are a group of friends who have some great character traits (they are all music fans and especially love The Bangles). Nothing too explicit, but we would focus on the relationships of the four couples and their home lives, running alongside the main storyline of the teens and their mail-order scam. It would be great to have artists like Halsey, Dave Grohl, Daryl Hall and Brandy in minor roles. In terms of humour, there would be a lot of great gags inspired by U.S. comedies. Sight gags and pop cultural references would stand alongside all manner of interesting shots and filming styles. Without it being too disjointed or lacking focus, it would also be a visual mixtape in itself (if that does not sound too wanky!). I think the original concept could speak to various generations and would not be reserved to those who are old enough to remember mail-order record clubs. The young cast and the fact 1980s music and culture will always be popular draws in the younger generation.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Marverlous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan is an amazing and versatile comedic actor/PHOTO CREDIT: Dana Scruggs/The New York Times/Redux

I guess the budget is the main problem. Getting clearance to use songs in the film costs a fair bit, so that would be something. As would the cost of hiring the actors. That is not set in stone, though there are a few actors in particular I would definitely love to be involved. I would not write or direct. Instead, I am more keen to develop the story and try and crowd-fund. I think that a lot of the budget might need to be raised through a crowd-funding website. It is unlikely an origination in the U.K. like the BBC would commission a one-off comedy-drama or have the budget. It would be ideal to have Netflix or Amazon finance it though, without having any personal contacts there, it is hard to get it to their desks! I have quite a few of the jokes and plot beats worked out. A few great shot ideas (a couple of 1980s music video parodies and a great one-take, plus a nice split screen at the end); a compelling plot and likeable characters. There are tougher moments to watch (high school bullies that exact punishment to students; a death of a main character and some grittier scenes, plus scenes of drug use and sex), though the emphasis is on comedy, farce and an amazing soundtrack. As we do not really have mail-order clubs now, I don’t think there are legal issues in terms of representing them on the screen – even if the club in the feature is loosely based on Columbia House. I also do not feel the idea is too obscure, as everyone can relate to it and follow along. California is the perfect 1980s setting in terms of politics, music and culture (and the weather). I understand it may be expensive. Whilst, if it ever does happen, it may come later than next year. But a winter 2023 release would be ideal!

IN THIS PHOTO: The stunning and multi-talented Keke Palmer is a successful and hugely respected actor and singer/PHOTO CREDIT: Caitlin Cronenberg for Variety

Usually, when I come up with ideas, I set them aside and lose interest. I am particularly keen on this, as it is not a full series, and there is a chance to focus and put everything into this feature-length (running time between eighty or ninety minutes) comedy-drama. At a time when music is especially distracting and powerful, being able to realise something where music is at the forefront and running right throughout makes it even more appealing! It would be fairly expensive to produce, but I think the concept is strong and, if a great writer(s) and director could be attached, that would lend extra weight. I would also want British actors alongside a predominate U.S. cast. All of this has been influenced by Shaun Keaveny’s Creative Cul-de-Sac and me thinking about old ideas – that, in this instance, have collated into a strong new idea. Definitely go and listen to the podcast and leave a review. I guess I am not the only one who, because of the series, has looked back at our notebooks and old ideas that we have left to collect dust. As I have written, some retrospection and new consideration can result in something productive. I am not sure whether my concept will turn into something (though I would love it to!), but I am glad it came to mind. For the inspiration, I offer my thanks to…

A brilliant podcast.

FEATURE: Her Most Sensuous, Tender and Personal Album? Going Deep with Kate Bush's The Sensual World

FEATURE:

 

 

Her Most Sensuous, Tender and Personal Album?

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

Going Deep with Kate Bush's The Sensual World

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IN my next Kate Bush feature…

I am going to have a look at The Dreaming, as the album turns forty in September. Today, I wanted to focus on an aspect on an album that I have not covered a huge amount through the years. 1989’s The Sensual World followed the hugely successful Hounds of Love (1985). Bush was still in her twenties when that album came out. In her early-thirties in 1989, there is a maturity and new sound on The Sensual World. To me, it is her most tender, open, evocative and sensuous album. It is full of feel, touch and expression. Even when she talks about bonding with technology and computers on Deeper Understanding, there is this tangible sound and sensation of electricity, physicality and a need for connection. I think that desire for personal understanding and belonging comes through on the album. I am going to go into that more later. Before, there are a few more general pieces to source regarding the album. The Sensual World is an album that need to buy, as it is entrancing, hypnotic, erotic, soft, pulsating and the sound of a woman exploring herself and the larger world. Released on 17th October, 1989, The Sensual World reached number two in the U.K. It features some of Bush’s best singles – including The Sensual World and This Woman’s Work -, in addition to some remarkable deeper cuts. Rather than it being conceptual or linked like Hounds of Love, these are distinct songs that stands on their own, yet there does seem to be this overarching theme of exploration of the physical and sensual.

Sandwiched in-between two very different albums (Hounds of Love and 1993’s The Red Shoes), The Sensual World is a treasure trove relatively unexplored by radio stations and casual fans. From the breathy and sensual title track to lesser-known gems like Reaching Out and Between a Man and a Woman, it is an album where I think Kate Bush is at her most startling, desirous, open-hearted and mature. The Kate Bush Encyclopaedia collated some interviews where she discussed the album and what it means to her:

“Other people have said to me that they think this album is very dark, although for me I think it's my happiest album really. I find some of the tracks quite funny where other people say they find them scary. Although I have a dark sense of humour, maybe it is a subconscious thing that just goes into my music, because I think when I was writing this album that was perhaps something I was feeling a little - a sense of being a bit scared. Maybe it comes out in the music. I do think it's a very big self- therapy thing now - the more I work on an album the more I think it's almost a process for me to try and heal myself, have a look at myself. Do you know what I mean? Actually a very selfish thing in a way, but I think art is.

I do think what artistic people are trying to do is work through their problems through their art - look at themselves, confront all these things. (...) It's not that the album is written about me, not that it is autobiographical, but it is the most direct process I've used for an album. It's in my own studio and I had a lot of time so as not to be under pressure by outside forces. I've recorded the whole album with Del so it's just myself and Del in a very close relationship working together very intensely and it was hard for me to write this album. To actually write the songs was very difficult, and for the first time really, I went through a patch where I just couldn't write - I didn't know what I wanted to say. (...) Everything seemed like rubbish - you know? It seemed to have no meaning whatsoever. Somehow I managed to get a sense of some meaningfulness, and that's why (...) to me now, albums are perhaps a way of helping myself, but maybe helping other people too. To work through my problems maybe will help other people too. To work through my problems maybe will help other people to work through their problems. Maybe the meaningfulness of art is that once you've got over your selfish work within it, you can give it to other people and hopefully it might at least make them smile or something. (Roger Scott, Interview. Radio 1 (UK), 14 October 1989)

I think this album for me, unlike the last album, say, Hounds of Love, where I saw that as two sides - one side being conceptual - this album is very much like short stories for me. Ten short stories that are just saying something different in each one and it was a bit like trying to paint the pictures accordingly. Each song has a different personality and so they each a need little bit of something here, a little bit of that there - just like people, you know, some people you can't walk up to because you know they're a bit edgy first thing in the morning. So you have to come up sideways to them, you know, and it's kind of like how the songs are too. They have their own little personalities, and if it doesn't want you to do it, it won't let you. (The VH-1 interview, January 1990)”.

That thing about people perceiving The Sensual World as being dark – where as Bush said it is her happiest album. Although a lot of Hounds of Love was less personal and more conceptual, I think that, whether overt or hidden, there is more of Bush and her desires/feelings/hopes/need for connection across the ten songs on The Sensual World. Her words and vocals are so rich and full of emotions. I feel new elements such as the sonic blend and the contributions of the Trio Bulgarka give The Sensual World new depths and this extraordinary power and gravitas. Classic Album Sundays discussed how The Sensual World differed from Bush’s previous work in their feature:

“Unlike previous albums, The Sensual World did not follow a single conceptual arc. Instead each track illustrated a vignette, written from the perspectives of far more ordinary people than had previously featured in her songs. The allegories were still vivid and fantastical but at the heart of each story was the existential crises that we all face at some point in our lives. On songs such as ‘Heads We’re Dancing’, Bush deploys her dark sense of humour to imagine a young girl who is charmed onto the dance floor by a man she later learns is Adolf Hitler. The song was inspired by a friend who had spent the evening in the company of a captivating man they later found out to be “father of the atomic bomb” Robert Oppenheimer. Although somewhat ridiculous on the surface, the song speaks to something very real: can you ever really trust your own judgement? And if not, what does that say about you?

The Sensual World’s musical backbone is supported by several distinct influences. An art rock aesthetic still guides the album, with Gilmour’s soaring guitar riffs hyper-charging moments of ecstatic vocal release. Bush’s Farilight CMI makes a return; albeit in a softer, more understated capacity. But it’s the ethnic influences which give the album its particularly unique character. Adding an extra layer of Celtic colour to Nigel Kennedy’s string arrangements, an assortment of Irish folk instruments appear throughout The Sensual World, most notably on its title track in which Davey Spillane fills the middle eight with his uilleann pipes. The folk-inflected influence of her brother Paddy surfaces on songs such as ‘Reaching Out’ and ‘Deeper Understanding’, in which he plays instruments such as the mandolin and the tupan.

Another major influence came from the group of Bulgarian women known as the Trio Bulgarka, whom Bush had asked to contribute vocals on three of the album’s tracks. Painting a rich harmonic backdrop to her lead vocal on songs such as the computer love-affair ‘Deeper Understanding’, the women provide a traditional counterweight to Bush’s technological obsessions. As Bush was more accustomed to working with primarily male collaborators, the trio imprinted an even greater female presence on the album. The Irish-Bulgarian combination spoke to something deeper – as Bush recalled: “Maybe these are two races that have turned to music in times of hardship. Broken hearts singing, in terrible pain, getting help through the music”.

I do feel The Sensual World is a personal album, even if some of the lyrics have some mystique and enigma. Undeniably tender, sensuous, soul-baring and moving, the songs require proper investigation and time. I want to source a review for The Sensual World from the Johns Hopkins News-Letter. They note how, even when Bush is oblique or writes about connection to things that are not human, she is really talking about human touch:

“That Kate Bush opens her new album, "The Sensual World," with such provocative declarations signals something of a change in her lyrical outlook. In the past, Bush tended to couch the charged eroticism of her work in metaphors that gave a sense of distance. Her perchant for fantastical settings, musical and lyrical, is less indulged on "The Sensual World": such songs as "Love and Anger", "This Woman's Work", and the title track (quoted above) actually reach a level of realism characteristic of a writer like Elvis Costello.

At age thirty, after five albums of eccentric pop art, Bush seems anxious to abandon the life of the kinky spinster, intent on "stepping out of the page...where the water and the earth caress" and discovering "the powers of a woman's body." While the title track combines sexual liberation with coy come-ons (cleverly paraphrased from the closing pages of James Joyce's "Ulysses"), the album's first single, "Love and Anger," considers contradictory human motivations - the danger of "opening up" to one's lover and the intense desire to do just that. After seducing a man in the previous song, here it's as though Bush is abruptly seized with self-doubt. She conveys the resultant tensions via an array of bristling electric guitar, trap drum kits, hugely ambient Irish hand drums, and massed vocal harmonies, creating a mix more dense and harrowing than anything since 1982's hysteric "The Dreaming".

It's an exceptionally mature (read: confused) perception, especially in contrast with "The God", which, while equally focused, seems something of a lyrical step backward. Featuring some of Bush's most exquisite orchestral writing (arranged by Michael Kamen), the song seems more in the spirit of the childhood themes of her previous album, "Hounds of Love". Indeed, with its Cinemascope-style production and oceanic sound effects, "The Fog" is in essense a very lovely rewrite of that album's "Hello Earth."

A more thematically connected song, "Deeper Understanding," provides one of the album's true high points. One of the three songs featuring the magnificently non-Western harmonies of the Trio Bulgarka -Yanka Rupkhina, Eva Georgieva, and Stoyanka Bovena - "Deeper Understanding" provides an apt insight into Bush's change in attitude. "As the people here grow colder/I turn to my computer/and spend my evenings with it/like a friend," she sings, depicting a character who seems almost the opposite of the one who began the album with such lewd thoughts.

Yet one gets the feeling that the "deeper understanding" the woman seeks won't be found in the architecture of computer software, but in the warmth of the physical - sensual - world. Certainly, it's a leap of logic to make such assumptions; Bush has never abided by any of the programmatic notions common to that 70s' anachronism, the concept album. But the sense of place, mood, and continuity that Bush develops through the album's eleven songs invites the listener to take part”.

I have been thinking about The Sensual World and its qualities. Having past thirty, I am not suggesting Kate Bush was ageing or very different to the artist she was years before. Her perceptions and priorities definitely altered. One could feel something almost motherly and paternal at times. Other songs capture her at her rawest and most tender. Through the album, she produces this incredible passion and soulfulness. In search of something deeper; a truth or affection that she has been longing for, there are so many fascinating lines and moments through The Sensual World that take the breath. Over thirty years after it came out, people are still getting to bottom of one of Bush’s best albums. The listening experience is phenomenal! One has their senses and emotions caressed, moved and transformed. Go and play The Sensual World today and step…

INTO Kate Bush’s magical world.

FEATURE: Groovelines: Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Murder on the Dancefloor

FEATURE:

 

Groovelines

Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Murder on the Dancefloor

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I have covered before…

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 album, Read My Lips. Its biggest single is Murder on the Dancefloor. Released on 3rd December, 2001, it is funny to think that it could have been a Christmas chart-topper! In the twenty or so years since Ellis-Bextor’s smash hit was released, she has gone on to release other great albums and achieve a great deal. This weas pretty early into her solo career. Read My Lips was her debut album, and it arrived a year after Spiller’s Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love). That vocal and co-write from Ellis-Bextor sort of introduced her to the wider world. Murder on the Dancefloor was her first real solo single success. It is a song that is still played widely. I have been thinking a lot about the great Dance and Pop single from the late-1990s and early-2000s. I am keen to feature Daft Punk’s Around the World, Modjo’s Lady (Hear Me Tonight), and Stardust’s Music Sounds Better with You down the line. The song was written by Gregg Alexander and Sophie Ellis-Bextor; produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe. An instantly appealing and catchy track, it peaked at number two on the U.K. single chart, remaining on the chart for twenty-three weeks.

I will continue with Murder on the Dance Floor soon. It is interesting thinking about Sophie Ellis-Bextor then. Now, she is part of the music landscape and we are very familiar with her work. When Murder on the Dance Floor was released in December 2001, she was a new artist making her first steps. I have looked at some of the interviews from the time. Rather than this being a diversion, I feel it gives context and background to the time when one of the biggest hits from that time was unveiled. Deborah Ross interviewed Ellis-Bextor for The Independent when Murder on the Dancefloor was released:

“Oh, dear. I'm not, I admit, best equipped to meet Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the newest "pop diva" and "chart sensation". In our house, we're either too old for pop (I've lately taken to favouring trousers with elasticised waists and listening to Radio 2), or too young. ("Who is Eileen Minogue?" my nine-year-old son asked recently.) So I put on Sophie's debut album, Read My Lips, which includes her latest single, "Murder On The Dance Floor", expecting little more than having to suffer it for whatever cruel length of time it takes me away from Abba and Jimmy Young, but – and here's a thing – I like it! I listen to it twice straight off, and then again later. It has proper tunes and proper lyrics, and her voice! She has a dazzlingly distinctive singing voice. Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to ditch the elasticised trousers. They're jolly comfy. They're good for eating in. But it's a start, no?

 We meet at a London hotel. She is 22, and divinely and unusually beautiful. Sort of Audrey Hepburn-ish via the oriental angularity of, say, Vanessa Mae, and maybe a clean, shiny, newly minted 50p piece. She has a lot of edges going on, and was even called "rhombus-face" at school. (Private school, where the pupils presumably knew what a rhombus was.) Quite a lot has been made of the fact she's very middle-class, plus the daughter of the former Blue Peter presenter, Janet Ellis. Sophie, though, only went on the show twice. "Once to model a snood, and another time to model a dress made out of dustbin liners, with little yellow bows on it." Obviously, she's a lot more sartorially cool now.

She lives in Swiss Cottage, north London, with her DJ boyfriend Andy Bond. Do you ever hide your purchases from him? "No. He understands I like clothes. I do knock a tenner off the price sometimes, though." Sophie, look me in the eye. Just a tenner? "Ehem... and sometimes a bit more than a tenner."

At 17, while doing her A-levels, she became lead vocalist with an indie band, theaudience, who were critically successful but never commercially so. Still, Sophie had a good time trying to blag freebies from top designers. "I pretended to be my own manager, called myself Anna, and would phone them up saying: 'Would you like to send some things for Sophie?'" Estée Lauder was the best. Estée Lauder sent her a load of creams. "So I phoned them back, as Sophie, to thank them, and do you know what they said?" You sound like Anna? "No, they said that it's the first time a singer has ever phoned personally to say thank you."

Sophie still uses Estée Lauder, "particularly the cleanser". Sophie has beautiful skin. It's like porcelain. I wish I had skin like Sophie's. I wish I, Deborah Ross, who has flatteringly mentioned Estée Lauder quite a lot in this article, could be sent a load of free Estée Lauder stuff. Perhaps I'll get my manager to ring them tomorrow. Spookily, she sounds quite a lot like me.

Storm Franklin news – live: Met Office issues weather warning as UK braces for strong winds and heavy rain

Anyway, when theaudience folded, as it did, Sophie was left at something of a loose end. But then the cult Italian DJ Spiller put together a disco-ish, instrumental track that he sent to Sophie, asking if she'd do the vocals. She played it and disliked it. Then she played it again and again and it grew on her. Finally, she and Spiller produced "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", which became the dancefloor anthem of Summer 2000, and a number one. Yes, it was Posh vs Bex, and Bex won. What was your mum's reaction when she heard you were number one? "She cried." And yours? "I felt a bit sick."

I wonder if Sophie feels like a pop star now? "I didn't last year. But I do a bit more this year, although it's all rather tongue-in-cheek." Have you, Sophie, started acting like a pop star yet? Have you started demanding white muslin in your dressing-room and an obscure make of mineral water? "I haven't, but I am getting more confident. I do have the confidence to say 'no' to things now." She said 'no' when she was asked to tour with Robbie Williams. She just didn't fancy it. He, though, didn't take the rejection too well, and later described her face as looking like "a satellite dish". This, it must be said, is not only unkind, but also untrue. Obviously, Robbie didn't go to a private school and doesn't know what a rhombus is. Still, let's not get into all that. Or, as Sophie sensibly says: "I'm not going to say anything about it".

I think that Murder on the Dance Floor is one of the best single of the past twenty-five years. It is instantly catchy; a track that can unite young and older listeners. Play it fresh now and it still stands up and resonates! One of the big strengths of the song is its video. Directed by the legendary Sophie Muller, it revolves around a dance competition. The winner's prize consists of a pair of golden high-heel shoes and a big cash prize. Eager and optimistic of victor, Ellis-Bextor casually and covertly takes out the other competitors with some sneaky injuries and underhand tactics! With various methods of distraction, destruction and disqualification, she whittles down the competition. Pumped up and now with a reduced field, she turns her attention to the trio of judges. By deploying some chloroform, she takes out the only female judge on the panel. This means that she can use her femininity and beauty to wow and woo the male judges. Ellis-Bextor approaches a judge when he is alone at the judging table and seduces him. In awe and smitten, the lead judge succeeds in persuading the remaining judge to have Ellis-Bextor named the winner (this is much to her fellow dancers' chagrin and disapproval). It is a brilliant video perfectly acted by Ellis-Bextor; superb director from Sophie Muller. Murder on the Dance Floor is one of those songs where the video perfectly matches the lyrics and brings out new layers and nuances. Listening in 2022, I can still hear Murder on the Dance Floor and be moved by it. It has not aged or deteriorated like a lot of songs from 2001. Testament to the great writing and production, together with Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s vocal performance, that has turned Murder on the Dance Floor into a classic. If you need some energy and uplift, then put the song on loud and give it…

A proper spin.

FEATURE: Adore: Prince’s Sign o' the Times at Thirty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Adore

Prince’s Sign o' the Times at Thirty-Five

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EVEN though…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Katz/The Prince Estate

the Deluxe Edition of Sign o’ the Times is quite expensive, I think its expansive nature gives you an insight into one of the greatest albums ever. Prince’s opus was released on 30th March, 1987 in the U.K. (the following day in the U.S.). There is a great book that gives you a lot of information about a classic album that must rank as Prince’s greatest releases. This was part of a golden (or purple?) run of albums from Prince. After 1986’s Parade and before 1988’sLovesexy, he released this masterpiece. A double album that was his first albums since disbanding of The Revolution, there is not a weak spot across the entire thing! Sign o’ the Times is so eclectic and consistent. Containing pearls such as the title track, Housequake, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Starfish and Coffee, U Got the Look, If I Was Your Girlfriend, and I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, there are different moods, approaches and sounds from Prince. Recorded across different studios between March 1986 and January 1987, Sign o’ the Times must have been a massive effort and labour of love! I am going to end with a review of the album. Others will write about the album in the run-up to its thirty-fifth anniversary at the end of the month. I am going to bring together a few features written about Prince’s ninth studio album. Classic Album Sundays discuss how a recently-solo Prince seemed motivated and at his most productive after adapting and getting used to this new state:

“Finding himself solo for the first time since 1978 Prince began to feel the pressure of releasing a hit album. Sales had been slowly fading, especially in the USA, and not wanting  people to believe he had been relying on The Revolution to provide the hits, Prince embarked on another never-to-be-released album ‘Camille’. After stumbling into a recording technique of slowing tracks down, recording vocals in real time and then speeding the tracks back up again, Prince had figured out a way to record high pitched vocals and came up with the pseudonym ‘Camille’. An entire album of material was recorded in less than ten days with promos sent out to club DJs, but again the album was scrapped without any clear reason. Perhaps worried about the sales potential of the album and desperate to deliver a hit, Prince moved onto his most ambitious album to date, a triple LP magnus opus named ‘Crystal Ball’.

Twenty-two tracks were recorded in a matter of weeks and the album was ready to go. However Prince’s label Warner Music disagreed and refused to release the album. This would be one of the first major steps towards his huge public fallout with the label and his claim that he was under a slave contract; unable to release the music the way he wanted. Warner refused to budge, as Jason Draper noted in his book Prince: Choas, Disorder and Revolution, “It would be too costly to produce, and too costly for the average fan to want to buy. Already concerned by the rate at which Prince put out new albums – which confused casual buyers and made it virtually impossible to maximize their commercial potential – Warners refused to agree to release an album that seemed to be only aimed at critics and die-hard fans. Chief executive Mo Ostin insisted that Prince’s next album be no more than a double, forcing Prince to cut down his carefully constructed masterpiece.”

Although many would moan about the clipping of Prince’s wings, the artist himself quipped, “I don’t know if it’s their place to talk me into or out of things.” One thing that cannot be argued is the quality of the album that was delivered. Slimming the album down to a double resulted in the song ‘Sign O The Times’ being pushed to the front of the album as the title track with only one new track being recorded for the newly formed double LP, the would be classic ‘U Got The Look’.

Journalist Christopher Monk wrote, “Like all the best double albums, ‘Sign O’ The Times’ makes a virtue out of eclecticism. Listening to it, you feel that all human life is here. Throughout, the record flits expertly between full-blown excess and austere minimalism. Indeed, for a musician whose career has often been floored by his tendency to gild the lily, Prince is a master of minimalism. The title track is ascetic in its simplicity: for the most part, it consists of nothing more than Prince’s rapped voice and a drum machine; additional instruments only appear to illustrate lyrical points. The song also showcases a lyrical acuity that’s all too often neglected in favour of daft innuendo; the opening reference to AIDS (“a big disease with a little name”) is a particularly smart touch.”

The album was released to critical acclaim, Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed “Prince’s virtuoso eclecticism has seldom been so abundantly displayed” and Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the album, “Sign O The Times is the sound of the late ’80s — it’s the sound of the good times collapsing and how all that doubt and fear can be ignored if you just dance those problems away.”  Whilst reviewing the album for it’s 25th anniversary Tom Brielhan noted, “It crystallised all the artistic experimentation of those previous two albums into something huge and tangible, displaying Prince as a musical adventurer without equal. Prince tries out a ton of different musical ideas on the album, and he nails almost all of them. It’s a thing to behold… Sign o the Times is probably Prince’s most complete piece of self-presentation, the best possible example of how he wanted the world to see him. It’s an absolute essential”.

I am stunned that Prince managed to follow on from Parade so soon with a double album! One of the most prolific and industrious artists of his time, it is no surprise special editions were released in 2020 packed with extras and new stuff. He seemed to be someone who recorded an album yet had all of this gold left behind! Sign o’ the Time is a double album, yet it feels so pure and faultless (most double albums have a few weak tracks). This is what Albusim said of Sign o’ the Times when marking its thirtieth anniversary in 2017:

“Sign O’ the Times is often regarded as Prince’s magnum opus by fans and critics alike for its high-heeled author’s willingness to examine his own life and engage the world around him like never before. The album cover—seemingly poking fun at the idea of his best years being behind him—signifies a new self-awareness and depth. With 16 songs clocking in at roughly 80 minutes, Sign O’ the Times is a masterclass on how pop music can matter when it needs to.

By the spring of 1986, Prince had been working on two separate projects only days before Parade entered the shops. One was what would have been the final Revolution album (Dream Factory), the other was a solo effort unveiling a female persona with high-pitched vocals (Camille). Prince consolidated material from both shelved projects, including some new songs, into a triple-disc set entitled Crystal Ball after disbanding the Revolution. Warner Bros. Records forced him to trim it down to a double-album since his last two projects failed to reach the commercial heights of Purple Rain. As a result, we’ve got Sign O’ the Times—an album that redefined the way we bond with music: melodically, psychologically, and emotionally.

By 1987, Prince already established himself as a master musical fusionist on his previous efforts, but Sign O’ the Times houses more genres than ever before, putting the listener in motion at both ends of the spinal column. “Play in the Sunshine” blends ‘60s pop, rock, and folk into a sun-up, windows-down delight, inviting anyone to “dance every dance like it’s gonna be the last time.” “Housequake” is a funk firebomb that, if released as a single, could’ve defined any artist’s career. The salacious “Hot Thing” waves its freak flag proudly with its sputtering bassline, frizzy synths, and devilish saxophone riffs courtesy of “Mr. Madhouse” Eric Leeds”

Some people overuse the term “genius,” but Sign O’ the Times alone provides indisputable evidence that Prince is worthy of the label. Largely produced, arranged, composed, and performed on his own, he encompasses all the emotions and struggles of his life into a diverse collection of sounds that continue to echo through many of our favorite albums. “I think what I appreciate most is the record’s sense of mystery,” says Prince biographer Matt Thorne. “You could listen to this album forever and still not make complete sense of it.” If you’ve never heard Sign O’ the Times before, firstly, shame on you. And secondly, play it and experience the delights you’ve missed out on for the past 30 years!”.

In 2020, GQ looked inside an album of death, sex and faith that, to many, remains Prince’s magnum opus. They remark how Prince’s virtuosic musicality and technical skill becomes apparent on 1987’s Sign o’ the Times:

“Sign O' The Times is really a record of two instruments. In an act of self-sufficiency and bravado, Prince turned to the defining technology of the period which, for lesser talents would – and did – scuttle their music at the bottom of the 1980s ocean. In his hands they created something more compelling, darker and stranger. Not content with mastering guitar, bass, keyboard and drums, Prince became a virtuoso on the Fairlight CMI sampler and the Linn LM-1 drum machine as well.

What Prince would do with them is clear from the title song that opens the album. He used the stock sounds of the Fairlight, rather than samples, and twisted and burnished them until they became his alone. The famous opening bassline of "Sign O' The Times" deserves its reputation as bleakly beautiful noise – jarring and plastic but full of foreboding. It is one of the only times in his career that he looked outward beyond his immediate kingdom. Prince is rarely talked about as a great lyricist – though he is an underrated one – but the words are as unsettling as his music. Like a dark reflection of "What's Going On" he sings, "A sister killed her baby 'cause she couldn't afford to feed it/ And yet we're sending people to the moon." Aids, heroin, gangs, natural disasters, the Space Shuttle Challenger accident – he is a pop Caravaggio fetishising the apocalypse, as he had before in "1999", "Let's Go Crazy" and "Crystal Ball" and introducing an album layered with the chiaroscuro of sex, death and faith. And it's an opening shot that must have put the fear of God into his rivals.

Of course, this is meant to be the latest album by a global pop star, so Prince brings things back with the upbeat "Play In The Sunshine" and the syncopated call-and-response of Camille in "Housequake". He follows that with the album's second masterpiece, "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker". Amid the intoxicating, humid lyrics about a man meeting a waitress who tries to seduce him, it's the musical vision that really holds you. Prince manipulates the drum machine with an astonishing deftness and control, effectively playing a continuous drum machine solo. The gnarled keyboard sounds he ekes out of the Fairlight unnerve, while the voices of these characters narrate, whisper and tease their way around this most lugubrious scenario.

Like "Play In The Sunshine" it ends with a "Prince coda", an extra couple of bars in which he drops in some unconnected or unfinished musical line. It may not seem like a big deal, but it shows Prince's commitment to dazzle, attaching seemingly throwaway musical phrases that add layers of value and interest to everything.

On "It" he sings, "I think about it all the time." No shit, Prince. "It" seems little more than a chant to carnality, but he smartly allows space for the song to build without overloading the instrumentation (it contains the classic Fairlight "stab", one of the Eighties most ubiquitous effects). Prince is, as usual, insatiable and ashamed, a push and pull that dominated his work until he became a Jehovah's Witness around the turn of the century. However his feelings about sex evolved (sex as sin or life or both), he had always been a millennialist, a protagonist in a cosmic war between good and evil waiting for the end of days. It might be hokum, but for someone with his volcanic creativity it probably helped him make sense of the world.

"Starfish And Coffee" is a slice of McCartney-esque levity, a nursery rhyme written about a school classmate of Wendy and Susannah Melvoin (one story is that the girl used to sing "starfish and pee-pee"). The big band sound of "Slow Love" further mellows the mood before "Hot Thing", a pounding electro-groove held down by a Fairlight bass sound. This incidental detail shows Prince at his bravest - an entire song anchored by a single atonal note that never changes even when the chords do. It features some suitably filthy saxophone by Eric Leeds and a lot of screaming. Nobody screams like Prince and, even though it seems serious, you feel sure he knew how funny it sounded”.

There will be a tonne of features and new approaches to Sign o’ the Times closer to 30th March. I wanted to explore an album that is a staggering achievement from The Purple One. Here is Pitchfork’s review. They looked at the album in 2016 – not long after Prince’s death:

“In 1987, Prince Rogers Nelson was in transition. He’d disbanded the Revolution, the band that had backed him since Purple Rain. He’d toyed with doing a collaborative album with Revolution members Wendy & Lisa, but also abandoned that. He’d put a lot of time into crafting a record around an alter ego called Camille, whose tracks were recorded with his voice pitched to sound even more womanly than his trademark falsetto. But that too had stalled.

The album he released on March 31, 1987 was a Prince solo record that, like his 1980 artistic breakthrough Dirty Mind and his two earlier albums, was essentially a one-man-band recording which relied heavily on the LinnDrum, various samplers, and his remarkable aptitude on every instrument under the sun. Of the 16 songs on Sign o’ the Times, only three have co-writers, and save for one track (“It’s Going to Be a Beautiful Night”), outside musical accompaniment is slight. In a sense, Prince’s major musical collaborator at this point was his engineer Susan Rogers, who recorded him at different studios in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and even Paris.

But unlike his earlier solo efforts, Sign o’ the Times wasn’t a record by an ambitious kid trying to make impression. At 28, Prince had already made himself into a pop superstar  (and movie star too), and he easily sold out arenas. In one sense, he had nothing to prove. Yet Sign o’ the Times is the most varied, accomplished record of his prime 1980s period, a testament to the range of his gifts and the bold artistic ambition that gave his music shape.

Part of Prince’s drive was that he was keenly aware that hip-hop was rising up and shifting the sound of music. Rap was entering its “golden age,” and its mix of gritty storytelling and dope beats had to be reckoned with. (Michael Jackson would release Bad, his own answer to hip-hop, six months later.) So the title cut, with Prince’s commentary on the issues of the day (“a big disease with a little name,” mentions of crack and gang violence) and minimalist Run-DMC-styled production, made clear that Prince had his ear to the street. The song functions as Prince’s version of “The Message,” and, as crazy as that sounds, it works.

Prince wasn’t just wrestling with fresh energy from the streets on Sign o’ the Times, but with the twin pillars of carnality and spirituality that had defined his career and that of black popular music for decades. For this Minneapolis native, it wasn’t so much a battle between sin and salvation, as it was how the warring desires could become one, synthesized through innovative arrangements, seductive yet fraught lyrics, and that remarkable voice.

“Forever in My Life,” for example, has the sincere melody of early Sly and the Family Stone. It sounds ready made for optimistic sing-a-longs. At first, you think it’s a simple love song, but there’s a devotional quality (“You are my savior/You are my life”) that makes it a chant of piety. At the same time, songs like “Hot Thing” and “It” are aggressively sexual, but in the context of the electronic, oddly-pitched sounds around the words, they seem more like the search for human connection and transcendence rather than a roll in the hay.

The album’s two ballads, “Slow Love” (co-written by singer-songwriter Carol Davis) and “Adore,” are both showcases for Prince’s vocal prowess. The man was an encyclopedia of vocal styles, able to croon like a 1950s pop star on the nostalgic “Slow Love” and do ’60s soul style on “Adore.” Though equally adept at showy vocal riffs and screaming in tune, Prince’s lower, cooler register seems to express his truest self.

Prince’s ability to move between genres made him a unique musical chameleon with Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney his only peers at the highest levels of pop. While he was often compared to Wonder, especially early in his career, it’s the ex-Beatle who seemed to have the most enduring influence. McCartney’s story-song sketches on The White Album helped define his career. For Prince, they were just one of many tools. His whimsical profiles of an odd elementary school classmate (“Starfish & Coffee”) and a quirky lover with the name of a celebrated New Yorker writer (“The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”) are lovely stories supported by surreal sounds and beats, suggesting you are on psychedelic journey through Prince’s memories.

Sign o’ the Times is difficult to grapple with because there’s so much going on in each track. The up-tempo “Play in the Sunshine” drops in jazz fusion riffs and choral voices just when you think its winding down. “The Cross” starts as a mournful song of devotion to Christ with acoustic guitar and sitar before exploding into a huge rock anthem with military drums and fuzz guitar. “Play in the Sunshine” opens with the sound of kids at play, becomes a rockabilly song, transitions midway into a guitar showcase, and then, with a marimba, a different drum pattern, and cleverly arranged backing voices, it ends a musical world away from where it began.

“Housequake” is, perhaps, the most obvious songs on the album, a funk jam that would have been a hit single if he’d allowed it to be released as such. But the care of the track’s construction belies any shallow analysis. It starts with a cartoony voice (maybe a Camille reference), a synthesized drum heavy with echo, then adds bass, keyboard stabs, and rhythm guitar. The synth drum and snare drum merge while there’s a double-beat on the kick. Live horns come it and the bass line moves as there’s both a synth bass keyboard and a live bass doing playing different lines. Various backing vocals float in and out with Prince doing his James Brown impersonation as singer/MC. Compared to the simple loops of your average club banger, “Housequake” is a symphony of syncopation. The beat moves even as it grooves.

Because Prince played and recorded the album using now-vintage late ’80s technology there are moments when certain sounds, particularly the drums, are clearly of their era. But these sonic distractions don’t last as the scope of the songs, the musicianship, and overall arrangements are just too glorious to nitpick. Sign o’ the Times is a double album made with a restlessness that never allows it to settle into complacency or formula. It’s a soundtrack to a highly charged and specific period, for both Prince and his listeners. I remember partying to “Housequake” in the summer of ’87, laughing along with “Starfish & Coffee,” and playing “Adore” for my girlfriend when it was time to get busy. All these years later, it’s still a vibrant thing, the product of a great artist at the height of his powers”.

A happy forthcoming thirty-fifth anniversary to the magnificent Sign o’ the Times. Even if Prince (arguably) never recorded an album as accomplished and fascinating as this again, he definitely had plenty of other great albums in him. A true genius who is very much missed, go and listen to Sign o’ the Times today. In 2022, the album sounds as staggering and spellbinding as…

THE day it was released.

FEATURE: Spinning Around in Your Eyes: Kylie Minogue and the Evolution of the Pop Video

FEATURE:

 

 

Spinning Around in Your Eyes

Kylie Minogue and the Evolution of the Pop Video

___________

THIS will be a rather long feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Grant Matthews

that is not linked to any event or anniversary. I think there are very few artists recording today who have been around for decades. In terms of the pioneers and enduring legends, we have the likes of Paul McCartney and Madonna. Kylie Minogue can definitely be added to the list of icons and pioneers. Whilst her music and lyrics have been tackled by a number of writers and producers through the years – with Minogue’s voice very much at the centre; she has written some terrific tracks herself -, I feel the way she brings her songs to life through the videos separates her from other artists. My earliest memories of her music were the videos – Hand on Your Heart and Better the Devil You Know were my favourite. A captivating and compelling visual artist, she has definitely helped evolve the Pop promotional. As her albums became deeper, more sophisticated and varied, the videos match that in terms of concept and execution. To mark her music videos’ impact, I am going to select the twenty-one best. Having released ninety-five singles, it is hard to narrow it down to the best twenty-one! Before I get there, I am going to repeat the text I brought in when I featured Minogue in my Inspired By… feature a while back. This is AllMusic’s biography of the Australian Pop legend:

“Kylie Minogue started her career as an actress on an Australian soap, but her charisma and highly adaptable talents as a pop singer soon landed her on top of the music world. The ride was bumpy, with high highs (chart-topping singles and albums, a brilliant collaboration with Nick Cave) and low lows (cancer, being dropped by record labels), but through it all, Minogue's sunny relatability never flagged. During the 1980s, she released effervescent Stock, Aitken & Waterman-produced pop singles like "I Should Be So Lucky" and "The Loco-Motion" and cultivated a cheerful, cheeky persona.

Once she broke away from the SAW machine, she was free to explore music styles and seek out a new, more adult image. She dipped her toes into trip-hop with "Confide in Me," slick dance-pop on "Better the Devil You Know," and pop/rock with guitars on "Some Kind of Bliss." She struck gold in 2001 with the huge electro-pop single "Can't Get You Out of My Head"; the album it landed on, Fever, was her most cohesive yet and kicked off a string of sleekly quirky records that were inspired by synth pop and electronic music. By the 2010s, Kylie had become a major concert draw worldwide and her singles and albums reflected her new status, sounding huge and very poppy while never sacrificing artistic growth or stylistic restlessness. Along the way, she even recorded an album with an orchestra (2012's Abbey Road Sessions) and went pop-country (2018's Golden). In 2020, for her 15th set, she returned to the dancefloor to do what she does best on DISCO.

Born in Melbourne on May 28, 1968, Kylie Minogue began acting in television dramas at the age of 12. Although the small roles brought her a fair bit of exposure, it was her 1986 debut on the insanely popular soap Neighbours that catapulted her to stardom. In Australia, Minogue's role as the tomboy Charlene won her a number of awards, but in Britain, the exploits of that character and her love interest -- played by the actor Jason Donovan -- attracted record numbers of television viewers, and made the Aussie drama one of the most watched shows in the U.K. Understanding Minogue's megastar potential, as well as her ability to vamp and sing, Mushroom Records signed her to a contract in 1987. Her success was immediate, as her debut single, "The Loco-Motion" (a cover of the 1962 Little Eva hit) rocketed to number one and eventually took the globe by storm, hitting the upper reaches of the charts in many countries.

Minogue then headed to England and partnered with the production team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman. The first track the group released with her, "I Should Be So Lucky," dominated the Australian and U.K. charts, did well on a number of charts in Europe, and hit the Top 40 in the U.S. Her pop status was further consolidated with her debut album, 1988's Kylie, which topped the charts in the U.K. and did very well in many other places, including Australia. As the '80s drew to a close, Minogue's stature worldwide only grew. Her duet with Jason Donovan, "Especially for You," sold over a million copies in 1989, even while being critically panned. A second full-length, Enjoy Yourself, was also released that year, along with a handful of singles that managed to further dominate charts in both hemispheres. In the midst of this pop success, Minogue also appeared in her first feature film, The Delinquents.

Many things would change for her in the frenetic decade of the '90s. She began to trade in her cutesy, bubblegum pop image for a more mature one, and in turn, a more sexual one. Her relationship with the late frontman of INXS, Michael Hutchence, and her shedding of the near-virginal facade that dominated her first two albums began to have an effect, not only on how the press and her fans treated her, but in the evolution of her music. Released in 1990, Rhythm of Love, its worldwide hit single, "Better the Devil You Know," and its follow-up, "Shocked," took her out of the stifling world of teen pop and brought her into the more adult world of dance music and nightclubs.

Minogue's career was not without its ebbs, however. As she began to flex a bit more creative muscle, her relationship with Stock, Aitken & Waterman felt restrictive. Their sound had dominated music for a number of years on both sides of the Atlantic, but the scene was beginning to move on, and Kylie's fourth and final album with Mushroom and the production team, Let's Get to It, would sell disappointingly. Freed from the yoke of both a production team and a mainstream pop label, Minogue began a long trend of collaborating with up-and-coming and hot producers and songwriters, which not only allowed her to roll with cultural trends and stay current in an extremely fussy and fickle genre, but allowed her to branch out into new areas of performance unheard of by most pop singers of her style.

Now signed to the dance label Deconstruction, Minogue released a much more mature and stylish dance-pop record in 1994's Kylie Minogue. The singles "Confide in Me" and "Put Yourself in My Place" were slicker and more stylish than anything she had previously recorded. While the record sold well and Kylie made more movie appearances (1994's Street Fighter and 1996's Bio-Dome), the next couple of years were fairly quiet except for the hit single (and unlikely collaboration) with Nick Cave entitled "Where the Wild Roses Grow." A dark ballad about a murder (with a video based on the Millais painting Ophelia) -- the duet featured Cave as the murderer singing his point of view and Minogue as the victim singing hers -- the single was widely successful in Australia and the U.K, earning Kylie a new set of fans and a new sense of respect.

Her eagerness to expand on this collaboration led to the work that would make up her 1997 album, Impossible Princess. While the lead single, the more rock-tinged "Some Kind of Bliss," was the result of working with James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore of Manic Street Preachers, the rest of the album (for the most part) consisted of further collaborations (with Brothers in Rhythm co-founder David Seaman, for instance) and efforts to expand on the dance-pop that was her bread and butter. The album, soon retitled Kylie Minogue in England due to the death of Princess Diana, was successful, but her attempt at developing her sound met firm resistance critically, with many radio stations and journalists writing her off, figuring her career had run its course. Obviously, this was not the case, as Minogue toured the world for the album, selling out stadiums (as usual) and appearing in a number of specialty concerts over the next two years.

In 1999, having been dropped from Deconstruction but signing to Parlophone, Minogue shed the indie influences that guided Impossible Princess and set about creating dance-pop that was more disco than anything in her catalog. The resulting album, Light Years, and its lead single, "Spinning Around," were huge successes, bringing her critical acclaim and winning a new generation of fans.

Her place in pop music history would be consolidated in 2001, and she would be reintroduced to America after more than a decade. That year's album, Fever, and its massively successful (and aptly titled) single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" were the first to be released in the U.S. since Enjoy Yourself, and the single managed to chart stateside at number three. Even the Grammys began to recognize Minogue, as the first of many nominations (eventually she would win for "Come Into My World" in 2002) finally happened that year. While her next album, 2003's Body Language, was not as big a seller as Fever, it was another successful attempt at broadening her sound, this time with electro and hip-hop influences. A greatest-hits package (her second), 2004's Ultimate Kylie, acted as a catalyst for her worldwide Showgirl tour, but that was to be set aside after her diagnosis with breast cancer.

In 2005, she underwent successful surgery and follow-up chemotherapy, and eventually made a full recovery. She started out slowly, but would eventually finish her Showgirl tour, and in 2007 she released her tenth album, X. It was well-received and sold enough to convince Minogue that 2009 was the time to undertake her first tour of the United States. Although limited to a few dates and select cities, the North American jaunt was a rousing success, and an Internet-exclusive album of the New York show was made available at the end of that year. As X was making waves in 2008, Minogue was also honored by Queen Elizabeth with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her services to music. She released her 11th full-length, Aphrodite (a set executive produced by Stuart Price), in 2010. That same year, she guested on songs by Hurts ("Devotion") and Taio Cruz ("Higher"), and released a holiday EP titled A Kylie Christmas.

In 2012, Minogue celebrated her 25th year in the music biz with a greatest-hits collection (The Best of Kylie Minogue), a new single ("Timebomb"), an exhaustive singles collection (K25), and an album of her hits reimagined for a small band and orchestra (The Abbey Road Sessions). She also found time to restart her acting career with an appearance in Jack & Diane and a leading role in the acclaimed Holy Motors. Not one to take a rest, Minogue spent a busy 2013 appearing on Laura Pausini's single "Limpido," signing with Jay-Z's Roc Nation management firm, and recording a new album. In early 2014, she began appearing as a coach on the U.K. version of The Voice. Her 12th album, Kiss Me Once, which featured songwriting and production from the likes of Pharrell, Sia, and MNDR, was released in early spring of 2014. Soon after, she hit the road on an ambitious concert tour that took her from Istanbul to Madrid to Perth, with many stops along the way. The tour was documented on the 2015 CD/DVD Kiss Me Once Live at the SSE Hydro.

Minogue kept up her breakneck pace for the rest of 2015, appearing on Giorgio Moroder's single "Right Here, Right Now" and hitting the top of the dance charts with a spot on Nervo's "The Other Boys." She had roles in the ABC Family show Young & Hungry and the film San Andreas, released an EP with producer Fernando Garibay titled Kylie + Garibay, and finally, in November, ended the year with her first full holiday album, Kylie Christmas. In the summer of 2016, Minogue returned with a contribution to the Absolutely Fabulous movie, the theme song "This Wheel's on Fire."

Minogue signed to BMG in 2017 and began working on a new album, her 14th. Recovering from heartbreak, she took the suggestion from one of her team to try writing and recording in Nashville. For the first time in her career, she co-wrote all the songs and teamed with writers and musicians there (and a team of producers in London including Biffco and Sky Adams) to craft a sound that was a hybrid of modern country and her more traditional dance-pop. The resulting record, Golden, was released in April 2018. The following year saw the arrival of Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection, Minogue's fifth major greatest-hits album. The compilation featured 42 tracks, including the previously unreleased "New York City," which was recorded during the sessions for Golden.

In 2020, she returned with fresh material for her 15th official album, including the singles "Say Something" and "Magic." These nostalgic throwback tunes landed on the aptly titled DISCO, which returned the pop diva to the dancefloor in a major way. Primarily written and recorded at her London home during the COVID-19 lockdown, DISCO also marked the first time Minogue handled engineering duties herself. In 2021, she released an extended version of the album, Disco: Guest List Edition, which included new collaborations with Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, Years & Years, and Gloria Gaynor”.

To illustrate not only the timelessness and watchability of Kylie Minogue’s best video, but to show how they have evolved as Minogue has grown as an artist, this is a tribute to an artist who is an extortionary visual presence. Bringing life and something magic to all of her videos, below are the twenty-one videos that I feel are the best – from the simpler earlier promotional to more recent ones. Instead of a ranking, I am taking them chronologically and, in each case, mentioning which album each video/single is from. Here are the best videos from the…

MAGNIFICENT Kylie Minogue.

________________

I Should Be So Lucky

From the Album: Kylie

Album Release Date: 4th July, 1988

Single Release Date: 29th December, 1987

Director: Chris Langman

Label: PWL

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producers: Mike Stock/Matt Aitken/Pete Waterman

Hand on Your Heart

From the Album: Enjoy Yourself

Album Release Date: 9th October, 1989

Single Release Date: 24th April, 1989

Director: Chris Langman

Labels: Mushroom/PWL

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producers: Stock Aitken Waterman

Step Back in Time

From the Album: Rhythm of Love

Album Release Date: 12th November, 1990

Single Release Date: 22nd October, 1990

Director: Nick Egan

Label: PWL

Chart Position (U.K.): 4

Producers: Stock Aitken Waterman

Confide in Me

From the Album: Kylie Minogue

Album Release Date: 19th September, 1994

Single Release Date: 29th August, 1994

Director: Paul Boyd

Labels: Deconstruction/Mushroom/Imago

Chart Position (U.K.): 2

Producers: Brothers in Rhythm

Breathe

From the Album: Impossible Princess

Album Release Date: 22nd October, 1997

Single Release Date: 16th March, 1998

Director: Kieran Evans

Labels: Deconstruction/Mushroom/BMG

Chart Position (U.K): 14

Producers: Dave Ball/Ingo Vauk

Spinning Around

From the Album: Light Years

Album Release Date: 22nd September, 2000

Single Release Date: 13th June, 2000

Director: Dawn Shadforth

Labels: Mushroom/Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producer: Mike Spencer

On a Night Like This

From the Album: Light Years

Album Release Date: 22nd September, 2000

Single Release Date: 11th September, 2020

Director: Douglas Avery

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 2

Producers: Graham Stack/Mark Taylor

Can't Get You Out of My Head

From the Album: Fever

Album Release Date: 1st October, 2001

Single Release Date: 8th September, 2001

Director: Dawn Shadforth

Label: Parlophone Records

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producers: Cathy Dennis/Rob Davis

In Your Eyes

From the Album: Fever

Album Release Date: 1st October, 2001

Single Release Date: 21st January, 2002

Director: Dawn Shadforth

Labels: Festival Mushroom (Australia)/Parlophone (Europe)

Chart Position (U.K.): 3

Producers: Richard Stannard/Julian Gallagher

Come Into My World

From the Album: Fever

Album Release Date: 1st October, 2001

Single Release Date: 4th November, 2002

Director: Michel Gondry

Label: Parlophone Records

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producers: Cathy Dennis/Rob Davis

Slow

From the Album: Body Language

Album Release Date: 10th November, 2003

Single Release Date: 3rd November, 2003

Director: Baillie Walsh

Labels: Festival Mushroom/Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 1

Producers: Dan Carey/Emilíana Torrini/Sunnyroads

Red Blooded Woman

From the Album: Body Language

Album Release Date: 10th November, 2003

Single Release Date: 1st March, 2004

Director: Jake Nava

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 5

Producer: Johnny Douglas

In My Arms

From the Album: X

Album Release Date: 21st November, 2007

Single Release Date: 15th February, 2008

Director: Melina Matsoukas

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 10

Producers: Calvin Harris/Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard

WOW

From the Album: X

Album Release Date: 21st November, 2007

Single Release Date: 17th February, 2008

Director: Melina Matsoukas

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 5

Producer: Greg Kurstin

All the Lovers

From the Album: Aphrodite

Album Release Date: 30th June, 2010

Single Release Date: 11th June, 2010

Director: Joseph Kahn

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 3

Producers: Jim Eliot/Stuart Price

Get Outta My Way

From the Album: Aphrodite

Album Release Date: 30th June, 2010

Single Release Date: 27th September, 2010

Directors: AlexandLiane

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 12

Producers: Cutfather/Peter Wallevik/Daniel Davidsen/Damon Sharpe/Lucas Secon/Stuart Price

Into the Blue

From the Album: Kiss Me Once

Album Release Date: 14th March, 2014

Single Release Date: 27th January, 2014

Director: Dawn Shadforth,

Label: Parlophone

Chart Position (U.K.): 12

Producer: Mike Del Rio

Dancing

From the Album: Golden

Album Release Date: 6th April, 2018

Single Release Date: 19th January, 2018

Director: Sophie Muller

Labels: Darenote/BMG

Chart Position (U.K.): 38

Producer: Sky Adams

Golden

From the Album: Golden

Album Release Date: 6th April, 2018

Single Release Date: 29th May, 2018

Director: Sophie Muller

Labels: Darenote/BMG

Chart Position (U.K., Radiomonitor): 22

Producer: Lindsay Rimes

Say Something

From the Album: DISCO

Album Release Date: 6th November, 2020

Single Release Date: 23rd July, 2020

Director: Sophie Muller

Labels: Darenote/BMG

Chart Position (U.K.): 56

Producers: Jon Green/Biff Stannard

Magic

From the Album: DISCO

Album Release Date: 6th November, 2020

Single Release Date: 24th September, 2020

Director: Sophie Muller

Labels: Darenote/BMG

Chart Position (U.K.): 53

Producer: PhD

FEATURE: Reel-to-Real: Rob Leggatt and Leigh Marling: The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2001)

FEATURE:

Reel-to-Real

Rob Leggatt and Leigh Marling: The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2001)

___________

ONE of my favourite songs ever…

is by the Australian group, The Avalanches. The title single from their 2000 album, Since I Left You, it was released in February 2001. Reaching the top ten in the U.K. I love Since I Left You, as it is a song that mixes samples together. Rather than it being muddled and too busy, the track beautifully incorporates samples and creates this luscious, dreamy song that takes you to the heavens! The main sample is Main Attraction's Everyday (1968). Without too much input from The Avalanches themselves (vocally or any instrumentation), it is them skilfully weaving samples and sounds for a wonderful kaleidoscope. I think that Since I Left You is a song that will never diminish or sound anything other than spellbinding. Its amazing video is one reason why I love the song. Before coming to that, it is worth getting some critical reaction to Since I Left You. In  terms of its legacy and reception, there was a lot of love for this wonderful track:

“Since I Left You" received widespread critical acclaim. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the song a positive review, praising it for "allow[ing] the sampled performances to truly glisten." Allmusic's MacKenzie Wilson also spoke favourably of "Since I Left You", remarking that it "leaves listeners spellbound and in a summer dreamscape of lushness and simplicity.” Matt LeMay of Pitchfork Media wrote that the "beauty" of the song "lies in the way that the Avalanches turn obvious sonic mismatches into something all their own". Playlouder named "Since I Left You" the twenty-ninth best single of 2001, calling it "shimmeringly gorgeous" and "much greater than the sum of its parts, and the parts were pretty good to start with." NME and Rockdelux both included the track in their respective year-end best single lists.

Pitchfork Media placed "Since I Left You" at number 40 on their list of the best singles of the 2000s.The song also ranked number 69 on Stylus Magazine's decade-end list, with writer Ally Brown commenting: "A decade in, nothing's come close to matching 'Since I Left You''s distillation of pure joy from a hundred different songs." Q included "Since I Left You" in their lists of the Ultimate Music Collection and the 1,001 Best Songs Ever”.

The video is a hard thing to realise. Such is Since I Left You’s multiple directions and possibilities, there is no definite concept that comes to mind. Directed by Rob Leggatt and Leigh Marling (both are members of the Blue Source video direction team), their concept and execution is beautiful! In my mind, they made a classic music video that stands alongside the very best. With amazing production from group members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, Since I Left You is this dream of a song that directors would love to tackle! Doing the song justice, it is just as well the record label rejected The Avalanches’ concept for the video: set on a cruise liner, it would have synchronised swimmers moving in time to the song. Instead, as Classic Album Sundays wrote, something far more intrigued, original and memorable was created by Leggatt and Marling:

“In the opening scene of the music video for The Avalanches “Since I Left You”, two miners are trapped in an underground abyss, surround by dirt and nothingness until they hear the opening notes of the track. The angelic and harmonious intro inspires them to search for the beat’s origin and break through some wooden planks to find a dance studio, where two dancers are performing an interpretative dance of the song for two judges. To embrace the paradise The Avalanches create with the track, one of miners, Arthur, joins the girls in dance, hilariously enough, and disappears into a mysterious flash as their final statement, never to be seen again”.

Multimodal Me, writing in 2013, breaks down the video and discusses the different shots and scenes. I love how it switches from black-and-white to colour; we see one of the miners as an old man recalling the experience at the end:

“The music video for The Avalanches Since I Left You, released in 2001, reveals the risks and rewards for two miners who fantastically enter a new world. Directed by Rob Leggott and Leigh Marling, this text would be suitable as related material for the movie Billy Elliot in HSC Standard English Module C Elective 2: Into the World.

Remember to discuss a range of different techniques from the music, lyric and film modes of this rich text. Begin your analysis by writing a topic sentence that refers to a key concept, such as transition between worlds, maturity, choice, consequences of change, risks and rewards of entering a new world. Aim to analyse different techniques than those used heavily in the actual film Billy Elliott.

keyhole shot opens or zooms out to reveal an abstract world that we slowly come to identify as a mine

miners are trapped in a black and white world and begin to dig their way out toward the muffled sounds of music

sound effects of a canary singing reinforces the notion of tradition and suggests the conservative nature of working class practices, such as the masculine attitudes of Billy’s father and brother

single guitar plays an upbeat melody that becomes repetitive, with a layering beat and percussion instruments to suggest a more complex situation

the miners break through the barrier between the worlds and enter the colourful world of a dance audition, seen in the slow upward pan of two female dancers who smile and welcome the men

Arthur is prepared to accept the risk of perfecting a new skill – dancing – which is in stark contrast to his occupation as a miner in terms of socially acceptable expectations. This links with the actions that Billy takes in following his passion by stepping outside the traditional masculinity of his small town

IN THIS PHOTO: Director Rob Leggatt

there is a clear contrast between the two audition rooms: Billy’s audition is unwelcoming with serious judges, whilst the music video shows a more inviting atmosphere, including judges with positive emotions who initially give unintentional feedback by smiling and nodding

Arthur’s friend is unable to make the necessary change into this world, and contemplates the consequences of returning to his mining world as shown in the misty split screen of Arthur with a female dancer. Arthur has clearly established a new relationship of support and friendship in this world

slow motion is used when Arthur makes physical contact with the female dancer, and as he flips over. This practiced skill mirrors Billy’s slow motion leap in the closing sequence and demonstrates his successful transition into the world of professional ballet.

Arthur’s anonymous coal mining partner dissolves into the old world, suggesting that he is unable to make the change, perhaps through his lack of ability. We see this in a point of view shot as he stares at his hand begin to flicker into black and white

the closing sequence is an interview, in colour, with the elderly anonymous coal miner who explains  that he ‘never saw Arthur again’. Even though he remained in his familiar world, he seems content with his choice as the mise en scene reveals a comfortable lounge room with a caged canary and framed photograph of the two miners as young men”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Director Leigh Marling

Through the course of this series, I am going to take a closer look at some of the best and most innovative videos ever. I will cross genres and time periods, mentioning the director and stating why their video is so special. I think Since I Left You provides a take in the song that nobody else would imagine. It is heart-warming and charming; stunning, emotional and cinematic; lush, cute, eye-opening and endlessly watchable! I keep watching the video, as it gives new angles and joy to a song that is pure ecstasy and wonder. I get new things each time I come back to the video. From the closing scene to the dancing, right through to the way it is edited and shot, it is one of the legendary and all-time best videos. If any filmmakers and artists are reading, a concept like the one for Since I Left You is one that can captivate and stay in the memory! A brilliant concept and a superb match of visual and audio, there are few videos as wonderous and interesting. Credit to Rob Leggatt and Leigh Marling for what they came up with. I am conscious of including videos in this run that were directed by women, as some of the very best have been shot by incredible and talented women. I just had to feature the video for Since I Left You. Not only will this video stun people today: this is a piece of film that will amaze and be picked apart…

FOR the rest of time.

TRACK REVIEW: Charli XCX - Baby

TRACK REVIEW:

 

 

Charli XCX

Baby

9.6/10

The track, Baby, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggrYaDxyrGM

RELEASE DATE:

1st March, 2022

ORIGIN:

Cambridge/Essex, U.K.

GENRE:

Electro-Pop/Dance Pop

The album, CRASH, is available from 18th March, 2022. Pre-order here:

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/charli-xcx/crash/lp

TRACKLISTING:

Crash

New Shapes (ft. Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek)

Good Ones

Constant Repeat

Beg for You (ft. Rina Sawayama)

Move Me

Baby

Lightning

Every Rule

Yuck

Used to Know Me

Twice

PRODUCERS:

G. Cook/Ariel Rechtshaid/Deaton Chris Anthony/Digital Farm Animals/George Daniel/Ian Kirkpatrick/Ilya/Jason Evigan/Jon Shave/Justin Raisen/Lotus IV/Mike Wise/Oneohtrix Point Never/Oscar Holter

LABELS:

Asylum/Atlantic/Warner UK     

__________

I have included Charli XCX…

a few times on this site over the past few weeks. I wanted to include her again, as her fifth studio album, CRASH, is out on 18th March. It is going to be a huge album from the Cambridgeshire-born, Essex-raised artist. One of the most talented, special and compelling Pop artists of her era, this is a moment when we will see Charli XCX hit new heights. A modern-day queen who has legions of adoring fans, Charlotte Aitchison is going to be making the very finest music for years to come. I will refer to her as ‘Charli XCX’ through his review rather than ‘Charlotte Aitchison’. I am going to look back at Charli XCX’s last two albums, just to give a sense of what she was saying in interviews and how she was being seen through the media. Charli was released in 2019. Her greatest album to that point, it marked a real sense of growth and ambition from Charli XCX. Five years after Sucker arrived – an album that I maintain is underrated -, this was a revelation. FADER asked Charli XCX about, what they say is, her most personal album yet:

“I want to talk about naming the album Charli. Did you go into it thinking that that was going to be the title?

No. I'm actually really bad with album names. I mean, I named True Romance. I named Sucker. I mean, I named Vroom Vroom. But Pop 2, Tommy Cash actually named Pop 2, because I was like, "What should we call it?" Tommy was like, "Hey, it's future pop. You should call it Pop 2." We were like, "Great, all right, cool." So, with Charli, I was throwing around all these names and nothing felt right. I don't know, I was considering tying in the 3 aspect still of like, Number 1 Angell, Pop 2, something 3. I don't know. Then, I just couldn't figure it out at all, and A.G. was like, "Just call it Charli, because it's you." I was like, "Ah, fuck. I did it again."

So yes, we went for Charli, and it just felt right, and we'd been, I don't know, at the time we named it, I was figuring out fonts for the album and that kind of thing and we were seeing my name a lot, and it just felt right. I guess most unoriginal statement ever, it's like my most personal body of work. So, it does make sense. I think encapsulates everything that I've done. There are elements of True Romance. There are elements of the mixtapes. There are elements of Vroom Vroom. Maybe even elements of Sucker and it's most pop moments. So, it kind of just feels like everything that I've been experimenting with over the past 10 years, whatever it is, however old I am, I can't remember.

“This is your 'most personal album yet,' but also there's so many people involved in it. I was thinking about the idea of how the communities around us kind of make us who we are, and that you can be your most vulnerable self on this album. Not because of these people, but I think seeing all these collaborations weave in and out of the album, it kind of has this thread of your peers lifting you up and you being able to get to that place with a little help from your friends.

Yeah. That's actually funny, because the album was going to be called Best Friends. That was a title for a while that we were thinking about, which that's kind of cool you said that. But yeah, it is really that. Like the community that I'm in, and the kind of community that I'm surrounded by, which is basically the LGBTQ community because I really feel like I'm so emersed in that in all aspects of my life. My friends, when I go out, my collaborators, it's really prominent and so important to me. I do feel like I am able to be vulnerable in that space, because I feel so comfortable there, you know? I feel like that is a community that has really embraced who I truly I am and made me feel less afraid to be myself and speak my mind when before I kind of was. So yeah, the collaborators, they really do give me that strength, for sure.

This album would not be possible without them. I'm an artist and I have an ego, for sure, but I can really comfortably say that none of these songs would be possible without the people that I work with, because they are so inspiring to me, and they bring their own worlds and their own flavor and their own insight to the work that I do, and it's really inspiring to me. I never feel threatened. I just feel so ready to learn and listen to people who've had different experiences from me and lived different lives. Yeah, it's really cool. I really love it. The collaborators make me feel very comfortable. Comfortable, but still, I think, allow me to be very progressive at the same time.

Do you have any hopes for how your fans interpret this project, or where you're going to take it from here?

I hope my fans love this album. If they don't, that's okay, but I hope they love it. I hope that they feel inspired and emotional and joy. I hope they party to it. I hope they play it fucking loud. I don't know, I never really think about the hopes. It's just out now. It's out now. I just hope people fucking like it. But also, I don't care if they don't. I don't know. I like it, that's the main thing. I'm really proud of it. I really like it. Honestly, I know I'm not supposed to say this, I'm supposed to be so in it like, "This album's streaming, buy it now." But I'm thinking about the next one. I'm like, it's done. I'm just like, onto the next”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer

I do feel like Charli was a watershed moment when we saw this transition. A promising Pop artist raising the stakes and upping the ante. A terrific album that was followed only a year later by how I’m feeling now. Released on 15th May, 2020, this was one of the first ‘pandemic albums’: artists releasing albums during the time that were more D.I.Y. than normal. With a lot recorded at her home and things being a bit strange, her fourth studio was very different to Charli. Overloaded with killer hooks, personal lyrics and some of Charli XCX’s finest vocal performances, I am surprised that she managed to release such a terrific album so soon after Charli. More than that, during the start of a pandemic, many would have forgiven her for holding the album back. As it was, she gave the fans something wonderful at the start of a very bad time for us all. Stereogum interviewed Charli XCX in April 2020:

“The coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to put just about everything on hold: No matter what you thought your big plans for life in 2020 were, they’re not happening anytime soon. That’s been felt in the music world, too, with festival and tour cancellations and postponements, and with artists delaying their albums to what once seemed like a plausible post-quarantine summer date. But as we move further into this, and as it becomes clearer that normal life isn’t coming back anytime soon, some artists are changing their plans not to hold off but to make things happen in quarantine. Laura Marling and Fiona Apple both already moved their albums up earlier in the year, each feeling like a gift when we could all use new music to distract us from the news. And then there’s Charli XCX, who quickly announced her plans to record and release an album in just over a month.

As New York and LA first settled into the social-distancing/shelter-in-place guidelines, Charli began by sharing a quarantine diary. In the first entry, she admitted that this sort of scenario was daunting for a person like her — a self-professed workaholic accustomed to always being on the move, always having another project in the pipeline. It didn’t take long for her to turn this time into something positive — an opportunity to make an album quickly, at home, during the quarantine and at least partially cataloging her experience with it. She announced she’d release the album, tentatively titled How I’m Feeling Now, on 5/15.

The whole project is, by nature, unplanned and in-the-moment. Charli’s been sending material back and forth with her main producers, BJ Burton and A.G. Cook, as well as other potential collaborators. She’s been uploading snippets of unfinished songs and scattered lyrics from her phone, asking fans to weigh in on what they like and what they want to hear finished next. It’s meant to be an open process — an artist not only working on an album for this time, during this time, but also inviting her fans to take part in it. In a way, it gives everyone something to be involved in.

STEREOGUM: In the beginning when you kind of said this would be more DIY, using the tools in front of you etc., but as these demos are starting to come together and as these tones and themes are cohering, what’s the overall vibe of the album? Obviously it’s going to be a little different than the last one, which was quite big and had all these guest appearances. Do you think this is sonically or aesthetically a thing you might’ve been working on right now anyway, or it feels very specific to this experience?

CHARLI XCX: Before quarantine, around January or February, I was working on a completely different album which I wanted to put out in August or September. That album was probably my most polished, I’ll say, aesthetically and possibly musically, too. I was listening to a lot of Janet Jackson and was quite inspired and leaning into that. This sound was taking quite a different turn for me. But I paused the album when quarantine happened, even though I had written quite a bit for it, just because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to execute the visual side of that album.

 At the beginning of the year I did say I wanted to release two albums this year, so I had actually already begun discussing the idea of doing an album in December, where we would maybe in September go somewhere and really hunker down, me and A.G. and possibly SOPHIE if she was around, and write something in two or three weeks. I already had that idea towards the end of last year, so when this global pandemic arose, I was thinking, “OK, maybe I can do that album now but we won’t be in the same place.” There was no discussion about what that should sound like. Generally I don’t really have a premeditated vision of what each album will sound like. It’s very much like, I make stuff and I feel it out and I see what feels right and run with it. That’s kind of what I’m doing with this one.

STEREOGUM: It’s a bit hard to plan for what comes after all this given we don’t really know when/how we’ll go back to normal life, but do you think you’ll return to these other ideas you had in progress, like the Janet LP and the True Romance anniversary shows?

CHARLI XCX: Honestly it’s kind of impossible to say. The album I was making… I would like to release that at some point. But it really just depends on what feels right. I think another reason why that album wouldn’t feel right for right now, it’s just not the right tone. Revisiting something like True Romance, I would love to do that at some point but it wouldn’t be the right time in the world. I think the reason that this particular album I’m making now, that I do feel comfortable making it, is because it’s so collaborative, because through the creation of the music and artwork I’m also able to support other creatives who are maybe struggling to find work right now, and I’ve always wanted to collaborate with them and now is the time.

There is so much to be done because there are no rules with this project. I can make three artworks for one song if I feel like. It’s about creating as much as possible. The time feels right, because I’m able to give my platform to people who maybe aren’t able to make their work as they usually would. And hopefully through this album we’ll be able to set up some charity initiative, hopefully with LA Alliance. Basically, auction off all the artwork that’s created as originals and rough prints and donate all of that money to charity. It feels like the right tone, whereas doing a big really glossy album within this time period or even planning for that coming later when I don’t know what’s going to be going on, I don’t know that it would feel right for me personally. Who knows”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Bridgland for Rolling Stone

Bringing things to more recent times, it is great that Charli XCX released how I’m feeling now two years ago. The album is her best so far. She did so much promotion around the release of the album and she has been working really hard since. I do feel there is this pressure on big modern artists like her. I will come to it, but Charli XCX recently has said how she has been getting a lot of sh*t on social media for a number of reasons. A recent track she recorded with Rina Sawayama got some blowback. It must be a constant battle (when it comes to social media) engaging with fans and trying to do the right thing – whilst being true to you –, and also having to face negativity and the darker side of thing. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, we discover more about the real person. It is an interview that reveals a lot about the human and down to earth nature of a super-famous, modern-day sensation:

“Charli – whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison – considers this straightforward interpretation of Crash and decides she likes it. It reflects her current state of mind: “I almost just feel like this album title is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. I feel very explosive right now. I feel very on the edge, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way,” Aitchison continues, her voice wavering. “I feel good when I’m rehearsing for tour, when I’m moving my body. I feel safe and at home there. Basically any time I’m not doing that I feel… like a time bomb, I suppose. I don’t really know what I’m saying, sorry…”

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Bridgland for Rolling Stone 

You wouldn’t have been able to tell she was feeling turbulent had you met her in north-east London the previous week. Charli XCX arrives at our photoshoot as every transatlantic popstar should: with an indefinable air of importance and like a blank canvas ready to be transformed (sporting a cap, bleached eyebrows over sunglasses and a puffa coat that could sleep two arctic explorers). The self-professed workaholic was professional and polite. In latex pants and skin-tight leotards, she moved through her poses and angles for hours with precision and energy. Once the Rolling Stone UK mic was in hand, she said, with deadpan humour: “Being a pop icon is very turbulent. The highs are high and the lows are low and the iconicness has to stay at such a high level that sometimes you can really get exhausted just from being so, so iconic.”

Fifty minutes after the shoot wrapped, she posted on Twitter that she was leaving the app and would likely draft tweets and allow her team to post them instead. “I’ve been grappling quite a lot with my mental health the past few months and obviously it makes negativity and criticism harder to handle when I come across it,” she wrote, attributing this criticism to song-release choices, the campaign roll- out and what was necessary to fund “the greatest tour” she’s ever planned.

What she had to do was agree to play at an NFT festival called Afterparty. Fans gave her a “lot of flack” for that decision but, as she later explains over a video call with the camera off, it doesn’t matter any more. “I pulled out of the festival. That was my decision that I made and I didn’t feel the need to announce it or let them know or whatever – but I did pull out.”

IN THIS PHOTO: Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX 

A minority of fans have been vocally critical of the heavily interpolated ‘Beg for You’ featuring Rina Sawayama. “I’ve been feeling quite low throughout 2022, to be honest. I feel like my mental health has really taken a toll,” Aitchison says, becoming tearful. “I’ve never cared if you like my music or hate my music – don’t listen to it if you don’t like it – but I think at a time when I was already feeling quite low, that kind of rhetoric honestly just really hurt my feelings. There is this misconception that people in the public eye are able to take any shit that you throw at them and yes, we do have to learn how to handle negativity and criticism because it comes with the territory, but at the same time, everyone’s a fucking human being. I guess on that day that I messaged that I felt more human than ever.”

As an extremely online artist, she understands that this is the nature of self-promoting yourself and your work on social media. “The second you see something negative written about yourself, I feel like it’s like survival of the fittest to focus in on that and try to protect yourself from the threat, the negative potential danger, in a really animalistic type of way.” On a macro level, someone like Charli XCX doesn’t care what the average person has to say. With a steely air, she adds: “Honestly, you can either get on my level and enjoy the fucking party or you can just not be invited because I don’t really care, do you know what I mean?” She laughs ruefully because posting her statement on Twitter meant a question about it in an interview and though she didn’t want to dwell on answering it for long, she has inadvertently drawn more attention to the scenario. “Obviously, never address anything publicly, that’s the vibe that I learnt from that”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Pandora

I want to stick with the theme of online reactions and how that can affect an artist. An artist always pushing boundaries and exploring new ground, this is someone who, I think, has the same sort of sonic and aesthetic transformation and brilliance as Madonna. Unfortunately, like Madonna, Charli XCX has been criticised and seen to be selling out. This DAZED article asked the question about CRASH: “conceptual art, or a bashful embrace of mainstream pop?”:

“Charli’s latest Crash single – the Rina Sawayama-featuring “Beg For You” – is a perfect example of this “not very current” approach to popstardom, as a spin on September’s mid-00s dancefloor anthem “Cry For You”, with a thumping UK garage beat. “I felt like Crash wouldn’t really be a truthful representation of what it’s like to be a female pop artist signed to Atlantic Records without doing an interpolation song,” she tells Entertainment Weekly. “So I did it.”

Not everyone is buying into the singer’s nostalgic embrace of chart-toppers from decades gone by, though. While many stans stay dutifully hyped for Crash, others’ reactions range from ambivalence to straight-up outrage. “She is absolutely not staying true to her vision and art,” writes one Twitter user. “She’s making mid songs because the label told her to, which is fine go get that bag but let’s not act like she’s a genius for releasing generic radio garbage.”

“The ‘selling your soul to the label’ thing could’ve been done in such a thought-provoking way,” adds another commenter. “But I’m not really sure what these songs are meant to be subverting besides being standard radio songs.”

In true pop star fashion, however, Charli hasn’t taken the criticism lying down, coming for her online detractors like they’re an unenthusiastic crowd at a German music festival. “People be mad that i’m testing the major label system an art piece (sic) whilst still making bops,” she tweeted last week. “And honestly i love it.”

Unsurprisingly, this statement has only added fuel to the fire, with more fans honing in on the “art” aspect of the new album rollout. Namely: is it actually a conceptual art project, or it it just generic pop with arty pretensions? Internet drama aside, this is a valid question. Of course, any artist is entitled to release inoffensive synth pop and beg for streams, but why do some get to do it under the banner of Interesting Art, while others are called out for pandering and posting cringe? Is Charli’s “art piece” explanation all part of the plan, or an all-too-convenient excuse to dismiss the lacklustre response? Can we write off any ill-advised decisions as Art, and get away with it”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlotte Rutherford 

How does a young and experienced Pop artist please everyone and manage to do something fresh and engaging?! It is more challenging now than ever for an artist to come through and succeed. I think that CRASH is going to be one of the albums of the year. Charli XCX is moving in new directions and, rather than pandering to a label, she is putting out music that sounds true to her and that she wants people to hear. The new single, Baby, which I shall come to in a minute when I review it, is a song oozing with fire, energy and sexuality! It has touches of the 1980s but is very modern; upbeat but quite shadowy in places. This is a phenomenal artist who deserves nothing but respect, trust and appreciation. Going back to that Rolling Stone interview, we discover more about the lead-up from how I’m feeling now to CRASH:

“For Aitchison to enjoy her new album, she had to surprise herself. The insular, fast-paced construction of how i’m feeling now informed its follow-up: “I knew I had to turn it up to high-octane, ten, pop-star level for it to feel fresh for myself.” Crash should have existed first: ‘New Shapes’, ‘Good Ones’, ‘Every Rule’ and ‘Twice’ were written, at least in part, before the previous album began but the pandemic halted it. She knew she wanted to put her own money into this big, impressive pop album and not being able to travel to collaborate with pop producers or put on her biggest tour yet made the entire venture redundant.

By September or October 2020, a few months after how i’m feeling now was finished and released, Crash became her focus. “This album was originally going to be called Sorry If I Hurt You and I liked that title because that sentence is both past, present and future,” she says. “You can say that sentence to someone as if you hurt them in the past or as if you’re going to hurt them or if you’re about to do it right there and then.”

 Of all tenses, the album is most indebted to the past. While making it, she was listening to Control by Janet Jackson and songs by Cameo (though generally doesn’t consume music while in creation mode because it is a distraction). Inspiration for her retro bombshell look came from watching live performance videos of Madonna, 80s interior design and movies like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. You can see the research in the campiness of her humping her own gravestone in the video for ‘Good Ones’ or the bouffant hair with deadness between the eyes on the single covers: the visuals are equally indebted to sexploitation films, Elvira and Pat Benatar.

Lyrically and sonically, Crash conjures up the monumental drama of 80s music: sweeping landscapes, thunderous skies, bold colours and the expanse of a dancefloor half-empty and ready to be met with your misery. This mood is obviously felt in the interpolation tracks, like ‘Beg for You’, which uses September’s 2006 hit ‘Cry for You’, a song which in turn mimicked 80s classic, ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat. “It’s become a trend within pop music these days to be very referential of previous hits, which is cool if you’re into nostalgia, less cool if you’re into pure futurism. I feel like there’s a cool middle ground that can be met, which is hopefully what I’m doing,” Aitchison says. It’s also there in the way the 80s references are heightened by her own overwhelming and staggering emotions. Far from adopting the classic tactic of front-loading an album with hits, Crash builds to feature the best run of Charli songs yet, climaxing with stories about lust, love and heartbreak”.

 Initially, messaging around the album indicated that it was about the destruction of the pop star in a manipulative and damning major label system. Charli XCX was using the spoils of her fifth and final record in her major label deal she signed with Atlantic to make a statement about autonomy and artistic freedom. With its album cover of the singer, bloodied and on the windscreen of a car in a bikini, Crash is an obvious reference to the J.G. Ballard novel of the same name. In the book, former car-crash victims seek sexual thrills from recreating the experience of crashes. In the Guardian, Zadie Smith wrote of the British postmodernist classic, “Crash is an existential book about how everybody uses everything. How everything uses everybody.”

“I’d never actually made a major label album in the way that it’s actually done,” Aitchison explains of Crash. “It felt interesting to me to use moments of that process to make this final album as somebody who has really navigated the major label record system since I was 16 in completely on my own terms.” It’s been a challenge for her. Between pitching to streaming platforms, making sure visuals align, waiting for answers to her questions and for drop dates, she has found it painfully slow: “I’m learning about patience and taking things a little bit slower, which is probably why I have so much time to look at the internet now. There’s a lot more promo and talking about yourself which one would think I’d be good at by now but I actually hate it.”

I like how her previous album had lowercase lettering (for streaming services; it was uppercase for physical releases) and was about how she was feeling now, in 2020. A cover that saw her on her bed looking thoughtful, playful and sexy, CRASH is this bold-type title where Charli XCX is on the bonnet of a car as thought she may go through the windscreen. Maybe the comedown from the past couple of years (a mental ‘crash’ as it were), I can see how Charli XCX wants to embrace a different sound and do something bigger for this album. After such a tough time, CRASH is an album that we all need. In a separate Rolling Stone interview, we get a sense of this artist still fighting to be understood and fully respected:

“Charli XCX has long been one of pop’s most galaxy-brained writers and performers, but she’s ready for what she calls her “main pop-girl moment.” With her upcoming album, Crash (due March 18), she presents a brilliant case: It’s an airtight pop project full of top-notch hooks that also functions as a quick tour through the past couple of decades of the genre. Like everything the artist does, Crash is, first and foremost, fun. “I think the people who know me and my work know that 50 percent of the time I’m entirely serious, and the other 50 percent of the time I’m a troll,” she says, calling from the English countryside. Crash follows 2020’s How I’m Feeling Now, an album she made under a tight deadline in Covid lockdown. She’s immortalized that process with a new documentary, Alone Together. Like the album whose creation it captured, the documentary is a deeply personal release, giving a glimpse into her private life and the emotional turmoil caused by the pandemic and a self-imposed deadline for the album. “Sometimes people don’t get it,” she says of her work. “Sometimes people don’t like it. But that’s what I like to do.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images 

I just watched the documentary—
Oh, God. . . .

Why “Oh, God”?

It feels like a different time, a different lifetime. Honestly, it’s hard to watch myself be so upset. Also, unfortunately, me and my partner at that time are no longer together. The whole thing is really emotional for me. I probably won’t be watching it again.

That film is a snapshot of your 2020, so I’m curious how your 2021 went.

I had actually begun making Crash prior to How I’m Feeling Now, but I decided to pivot from making that record when the pandemic hit and it was evident what the global state was. It felt quite drastic to get back into that swing after having made something [How I’m Feeling Now] in the most low-fi way I’ve made music since I was 14 and making things in my bedroom, to go from shooting music videos on a rented green screen in my basement to going to Mexico City to shoot with Hannah Lux Davis. But I always wanted projects to feel drastically different from one another.

Crash has a whole concept and narrative: The “evil pop star” who has made a deal with the devil. Was that something you had in mind when you first started the album?

I’ve always been interested in the idea of what a “sellout” is in modern-day pop music and if it even exists. I’ve been signed to a major label since I was 16. I think I’ve had quite an untypical major-label-artist journey, so it’s interesting to operate within that framework. I suppose this record and the imagery is partially a comment on that. It’s also partially a comment on what authenticity is. I think artists feel they need to really prove that they wrote their own songs, that they direct their own music videos, that they are the brain behind everything. As I got older, I began to care less and less about that because I know I can write a great pop song and I know I can communicate my vision.

When did you grow out of the mindset of needing to prove yourself? Was there a particular project or moment that made you start to say “Fuck what people think about pop music, about me, about what I’m doing”?

I think that’s been my mission station since post-Sucker, really when I began working with Sophie and A.G. Cook. From that point on, until now and probably beyond, it’s stayed the same. It’s hard. It’s not super tangible. Also, I’m constantly changing my mind about what I think, so that’s not very helpful either. I felt like that was beginning to become kind of like an expected sound from me, or an expected way that I did things. The reason making Crash felt so right is because I don’t think people expected me to do that. I always feel most myself when I’m challenging people and maybe sometimes confusing people”.

Let’s move to the new single from CRASH. Following songs like Beg for You and Good Ones, Charli XCX has released another gem! There is not refuting or resisting the sexiness of Baby and its video. Charli XCX has said it is one of her sexiest songs - and that were her intention. Having recently performed it on SNL in the U.S., the song starts with racing Disco strings that gets you hooked right away. The video has blue lighting, sort of giving it a cooler and calmer vibe. Charli XCX rises from a bed with this intent and sultry look on her face. In a moment I found quite comedic, as we have this tight shot of a bedroom opens up as Charli XCX is seen with two other women. They form a line and start this alluring and captivating dance. It is a nice shift between the intimate and something bigger. Baby is going to appear as the seventh track on CRASH. It was teased on a livestream on 4th November, 2021. Seeing it realised in a video is brilliant. Without doubt, it is one of the sexiest songs and videos Charli XCX has released! The introduction consisted of the word ‘baby’ and moans. It is sultry and sensuous. The first verse definitely sets out an itinerary and business plan that few could resist – even if it is going to require a bit of cleaning and straightening of the house afterwards!:  “I'ma love you real, I'ma love you raw/I'ma love you in the kitchen/I'ma put you on the floor/Leave you wanting more/I'ma love you real, you might lose it all/I'ma make you my decision/I'ma put you on the floor/Leave you wanting-“. The composition blends Disco pop with higher notes, together with electronics that are a bit lower and more Pop-orientated. The fact the video features two other dancers and not just Charli XCX adds another layer of physicality, sexual rawness and power. The choreography is brilliant! Rather than having a hero in the video who Charli XCX would be directing her lust towards, this is even more intriguing and teasing. It is a message to a non-specific beau. When you watch the video, you are unable to look away!

More than anything, the song itself absolutely slaps! It is a wonderfully fiery, cool and mesmerising track that is just what we need right now. Although there are some similarities to her contemporaries like Dua Lipa, Charli XCX has her own vibe and lyrical personality. The way she sets the scene and takes control... Her narrative and storytelling is excellent: “I can see it in your eyes/You're nervous, but you know just what you want/If you're feeling scared, that's fine (That's fine)/I've got no problem taking full control/Baby”. The chorus bursts into life. In the video, Charli XCX and her two dancer remind me of Destiny’s Child in their movements, formation and power. This mantra and repeated lines of “I'ma make you my—, I'ma make you my—/I'ma make you my—, I'ma make you my— (Baby)” are delivered quickly and punchily. It is catchy right away. One wonders whether Charli XCX wrote the track about a current love or someone she has her visions set on. Although there is a twinkle and sense of fun in the composition – it is one that will raise the spirits and get you moving! -, the post-chorus let’s us know that our heroine means business: “I'ma fuck you up, yeah”. Running in at less than three minutes, Baby is a tight and fairly short song that packs so much in! Charli XCX does not need to put in aimless instrumentals or say too much. She gets her message out there and has concocted a modern-day Pop diamond. It seems like there may be doubts or hesitations from her crush. The second verses findings her singing “Why you tryin' to fight what's right?/(What's right, what's right, what's right)/You know I'm 'bout to change your life for good/You can play pretend, that's fine (That's fine)/I know the truth, you really wish you would/Baby”. Neon-lit, lush, bouncing and reminding me of a Disco cut that might have been heard at Studio 54 back in its heyday, the video has this simplicity that works perfectly. The lighting and dancing puts you in a club; maybe facing Charli XCX as she puts out her message and is starting the seduction. Breathtaking in so many ways, I think that Baby is the best cut from CRASH so far. It is another tantalising offering from an album that is going to be immense! The fact that the song ends with Charli XCX repeating “I'ma fuck you up, yeah” let’s you know that she means it. She is tough and has this edge that gives her work extra depth and resonance. Baby is an incredible track from an amazing artist that we should all…

 LOVE and support.

___________

Follow Charli XCX

Official:

https://charlixcx.co.uk/ 

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOvEMf00DnwdkpOCRWdc6uA 

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/charli_xcx/ 

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/25uiPmTg16RbhZWAqwLBy5?si=Mx1uv_HNT6yfVXKKq-uZKg&nd=1

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/charli_xcx 

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@charlixcx

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CharliXCX  

ALL UNCREDITED PHOTOS:

Charli XCX

FEATURE: Now That's What I Call Music! Bringing the Iconic Compilation Series to Cassette and Vinyl

FEATURE:

 

 

Now That's What I Call Music!

Bringing the Iconic Compilation Series to Cassette and Vinyl

___________

THIS may seem…

like a random feature not tied to any anniversary or piece of news. In fact, there are a couple of reasons why I am thinking about the legendary compilation album, Now That's What I Call Music. The first album was released in the U.K. on 28th November, 1983. I am not sure whether Virgin, EMI and the compilers of the album knew what they had started! Still going to this day, the series is a selection of the best Pop of the year. Whilst the series has never been confined to mainstream Pop, I think that it has diversified through the years – even if the main market is still the Pop consumer. The first real reason why I wanted to return to the Now That's What I Call Music series is because one does not really hear greatest hits anymore. I was thinking whether artists release these and whether there is any demand or need at a time when we have streaming services. Because we can compile our own greatest hits collections, is there any market for greatest hits albums? I miss them a lot. Not only is it a great way to get all an artist’s hits in one place; it is incredible to have all those big songs in one place. Now That's What I Call Music is one of the only examples of this nowadays. Even though it is more a greatest hits collection of a particular year, the fact we are still buying the iconic series without irony shows that people are not entirely relying on streaming services and the digitals!

Going back to Now That's What I Call Music, the initial pressings were released on vinyl and audio cassette. To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the album and series, the album was re-released on C.D. for the first time in 2009. I guess, in terms of the physical form, we can easily get Now That's What I Call Music on C.D. I think it is more than a nostalgic thing. Because C.D.s are starting to go through a slight revival, it is worth hanging on to any Now That's What I Call Music album you have on that format. Many artists are keeping the C.D. alive by releasing their albums this way. I do wonder whether, because vinyl and cassette have their own markets and popularity, there will be reissues of Now That's What I Call Music on these formats. The fortieth anniversary does not occur until next year. I would like to see the compilation series get its own new run. I am not aware whether you can easily get any Now That's What I Call Music on vinyl or cassette. I know some people have found copies through Discogs and other websites, though it can be quite pricey. Given the fact the series has been running almost four decades, you can imagine just how many albums would come out! I have a fondness for Now That's What I Call Music 24 (1993); to have that on vinyl and cassette again would be a dream!

 With an active and busy Twitter account coming out every year, young listeners are being introduced to this wonderful compilation. Although the singles charts are not as important and popular as they were years ago, it is still good knowing which songs are trending and scoring high positions. Having them on an album - at a time when we have streaming - is actually an advantage. It can be a real minefield and struggle trying to get to grips with which songs are the best and most popular of the year. Now That's What I Call Music is a document of that year’s sounds and artists. Having them on formats like cassette and vinyl, I feel, is a great idea. One can listen to the latest Now That's What I Call Music album on streaming services and C.D. As a memento and something more enduring, vinyl would be awesome. Cassettes are coming back now. I (and many others) would love the have a selection of my favourite Now That's What I Call Music on that format! I am not sure whether there will be fortieth anniversary plans in this direction - though I think something could come sooner. Given the fact physical formats are rising and there is a big audience for vinyl and a healthy one for cassettes, Now That's What I Call Music would look and sound brilliant released anew. C.D.s are great, yet vinyl and cassette would see the series brought to new audiences and get fresh attention. It may seem like a pricey and risky campaign and release, but I feel that…

SO many people would snap them up.

FEATURE: Inspired By... Part Fifty-Three: The Smiths

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired By…

Part Fifty-Three: The Smiths

___________

BECAUSE the band formed in 1982…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Max Knight

I wanted to feature The Smiths in this Inspired By… I will do other features to mark forty year since one of the greatest bands ever formed. Their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come, turns thirty-five in September. They are a group have inspired so many others. I shall come to a playlist where I have compiled songs from those who either cited The Smiths as an influence or sound like them. Before that, AllMusic give us some great biography regarding an astonishing band:

“The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the '80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the '90s. Sonically, the group was indebted to the British Invasion, crafting ringing, melodic three-minute pop singles, even for their album tracks. But their scope was far broader than that of a revivalist band. The group's core members, vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, were obsessive rock fans inspired by the D.I.Y. ethics of punk, but they also had a fondness for girl groups, pop, and rockabilly. Morrissey and Marr also represented one of the strangest teams of collaborators in rock history. Marr was the rock traditionalist, looking like an elegant version of Keith Richards during the Smiths' heyday and meticulously layering his guitar tracks in the studio. Morrissey, on the other hand, broke from rock tradition by singing in a keening, self-absorbed croon, embracing the forlorn, romantic poetry of Oscar Wilde, publicly declaring his celibacy, and making no secret of his disgust for most of his peers. While it eventually led to the Smiths' early demise, the friction between Morrissey and Marr resulted in a flurry of singles and albums over the course of three years that provided the blueprint for British guitar rock in the following decade.

Before forming the Smiths in 1982, Johnny Marr (born John Maher, October 31, 1963; guitar) had played in a variety of Manchester-based rock & roll bands, including Sister Ray, Freaky Part, White Dice, and Paris Valentinos. On occasion, Marr had come close to a record contract -- one of his bands won a competition Stiff Records held to have Nick Lowe "produce your band" -- but he never quite made the leap. Though Morrissey (born Steven Patrick Morrissey, May 22, 1959; vocals) had sung for a few weeks with the Nosebleeds and auditioned for Slaughter & the Dogs, he had primarily contented himself to being a passionate, vocal fan of both music and film. During his teens, he wrote the Melody Maker frequently, often getting his letters published. He had written the biography/tribute James Dean Isn't Dead, which was published by the local Manchester publishing house Babylon Books in the late '70s, as well as another book on the New York Dolls; he was also the president of the English New York Dolls fan club. Morrissey met Marr, who was then looking for a lyricist, through mutual friends in the spring of 1982. The pair began writing songs, eventually recording some demos with the Fall's drummer, Simon Wolstencroft. By the fall, the duo had settled on the name the Smiths and recruited Marr's schoolmate Andy Rourke as their bassist and Mike Joyce as their drummer.

The Smiths made their live debut late in 1982, and by the spring of 1983, the group had earned a small but loyal following in their hometown of Manchester and had begun to make inroads in London. Rejecting a record deal with the Mancunian Factory Records, the band signed with Rough Trade for a one-off single, "Hand in Glove." With its veiled references to homosexuality and its ringing riffs, "Hand in Glove" became an underground sensation in the U.K., topping the independent charts and earning the praise of the U.K. music weeklies. Soon, Morrissey's performances became notorious as he appeared on-stage wearing a hearing aid and with gladioli stuffed in his back pockets. His interviews were becoming famous for his forthright, often contrary opinions, which helped the band become a media sensation. By the time of the group's second single, "This Charming Man," in late 1983, the Smiths had already been the subject of controversy over "Reel Around the Fountain," a song that had been aired on a BBC radio session and was alleged to condone child abuse. It was the first time that Morrissey's detached, literary, and ironic lyrics were misinterpreted and it wouldn't be the last.

"This Charming Man" reached number 25 on the British charts in December of 1983, setting the stage for "What Difference Does It Make"'s peak of number 12 in February. The Smiths' rise to the upper reaches of the British charts was swift, and the passion of their fans, as well as the U.K. music press, indicated that the group had put an end to the synth-powered new wave that dominated Britain in the early '80s. After rejecting their initial stab at a first album, they released their debut, The Smiths, in the spring of 1984 to strong reviews and sales -- it peaked at number two. A few months later, the group backed '60s pop vocalist Sandie Shaw -- who Morrissey had publicly praised in an article -- on a version of "Hand in Glove" that was released and reached the Top 40. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" reached number ten, becoming their highest-charting single amid a storm of controversy about its B-side, "Suffer Little Children," which was about the notorious Moors Murders. More controversy appeared when Morrissey denounced the hunger-relief efforts of Band Aid, but the group's popularity was not affected. Though the Smiths had become the most popular new rock & roll group in Britain, the group failed to make it outside of underground and college radio in the U.S., partially because they never launched a full-scale tour. At the end of the year, "William It Was Really Nothing" became a Top 20 hit and Hatful of Hollow, a collection of B-sides, BBC sessions, and non-LP singles, went to the Top Ten, followed shortly by "How Soon Is Now," which peaked at number 24.

Meat Is Murder, the band's second proper studio album, entered the British charts at number one in February of 1985, despite some criticism that it was weaker than The Smiths. Around the time of the release of Meat Is Murder, Morrissey's interviews were becoming increasingly political as he trashed the Thatcher administration and campaigned for vegetarianism; he even claimed that the Smiths were all vegetarians, and he forbade the remaining members to be photographed eating meat, even though they were still carnivores. Marr, for his part, was delving deeply into the rock & roll lifestyle and looked increasingly like a cross between Keith Richards and Brian Jones. By the time the non-LP "Shakespeare's Sister" reached number 26 in the spring of 1985, the Smiths had spawned a rash of soundalike bands, including James, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour, most of whom Morrissey supported. However, all of the media attention on the Smiths launched a mild backlash later in 1985, when "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" was pulled from Meat Is Murder and failed to reach the Top 40.

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" revived the band's fortunes in the fall of 1985, and their third album, The Queen Is Dead, confirmed their popularity upon its release in the spring of 1986. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and peaking at number two on the U.K. charts, The Queen Is Dead also expanded their cult following in the U.S., cracking the Top 100. Shortly before the album was completed, former Aztec Camera guitarist Craig Gannon became the band's rhythm guitarist, and he played with the band throughout their 1986 international tour, including a botched American tour. The non-LP "Panic," which was criticized as racist by some observers for its repeated refrain of "Burn down the disco...hang the DJ," reached number 11 late in the summer. A few months after its release, Marr was seriously injured in a car crash. During his recuperation, Gannon was fired from the band, as was Rourke, who was suffering from heroin addiction. Though Rourke was later reinstated, Gannon was never replaced.

The Smiths may have been at the height of their popularity in early 1987, with the non-LP singles "Shoplifters of the World" and "Sheila Take a Bow" reaching number 11 and ten respectively, and the singles and B-sides compilation The World Won't Listen (revamped for U.S. release as Louder Than Bombs later in 1987) debuting at number two, but Marr was growing increasingly disenchanted with the band and the music industry. Over the course of the year, Morrissey and Marr became increasingly irritated with each other. The singer wished that Marr would stop playing with other artists like Bryan Ferry and Billy Bragg, while the guitarist was frustrated with Morrissey's devotion to '60s pop and his hesitancy to explore new musical directions. A few weeks before the fall release of Strangeways, Here We Come, Marr announced that he was leaving the Smiths. Morrissey disbanded the group shortly afterward and began a solo career, signing with Parlophone in the U.K. and staying with the Smiths' U.S. label, Reprise. Marr played as a sideman with a variety of artists, eventually forming Electronic with New Order frontman Bernard Sumner. Rourke retired from recording and Joyce became a member of the reunited Buzzcocks in 1991.

Rank, a live album recorded on the Queen Is Dead tour, was released in the fall of 1988. It debuted at number two in the U.K. A widely criticized, two-part The Best of the Smiths compilation was released in 1992; the praised Singles compilation was released in 1995. Joyce and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr in 1991, claiming they received only ten percent of the group's earnings while the songwriters received 40 percent. Rourke eventually settled out of court, but Joyce won his case in late 1996”.

Forty years since The Smiths started out, one can hear their impact across modem music. Having compelled and influenced artists since the 1980s, there are few as importance as The Smiths. I love their music and feel it will continue to influence artists for so many more years. Even if the band’s songwriters Morrissey and Johnny Marr have very much drifted in different directions (especially politically) and it is highly unlikely they will work together again, there is no doubting the influence and iconic relevance…

OF The Smiths.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lola Kirke

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Lola Kirke

___________

I am really excited…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Silvia Draz

about the fantastic Lola Kirke. She is an artist who has been playing and recording for a while, though the upcoming arrival of her album, Lady for Sale, will cement her as a serious and extraordinary talent to watch. The London-born, New York-raised Kirke is an actor (she is the sister of Jemima Kirke) who brings a lot of that discipline and talent to her music. I wonder whether her sister has ever thought of putting out music, as I can imagine she has an incredible voice. That is a tangent. Before getting to some interviews – some will be a bit older, as Kirke has been on many people’s radar for a few years now -, I want to draw you to a pre-order link for Lady for Sale. The album arrives on 29th April:

“Lola Kirke stands out like a flash of neon magenta in this nostalgic landscape of Americana tin-types. While many of her singing, songwriting peers look further back for inspiration, Kirke’s sweet spot is decidedly in the excess of the 80’s. Anyone only familiar with Kirke through her on-screen performances (Mistress America, Gone Girl, or Mozart in the Jungle) may be surprised by just how dazzling Lola-playing-Lola can be. Just a few lines into “Better than Any Drug,“ it’s clear no written role could reveal more of Kirke’s wit, lust for life, and sense of humor than this record captures with the help of producer Austin Jenkins (White Denim, Leon Bridges).

Scheduled for release in April 2022, the 10-song sophomore full-length album showcases Kirke’s unselfconscious, country-twinged vocals alongside a brightly colored candy shop of glam-twang guitar riffs, department store tv commercial synth stylings, and swooping, lilting, unabashedly feminine background vocals. Lady For Sale channels a high-spirited insouciance that feels invigorating and familiar, decidedly more easy-going and fun-loving than what we’ve come to expect from its genre (and the world in general) in recent years. This is a party you’ll want to attend”.

Signed to Third Man and with a lot of exciting tour dates ahead of her, there is no telling just how successful and busy this year will be for her. Having released her 2018 debut, Heart Head West, Kirke has established a large and dedicated fanbase. That album was terrific, but I think Lady for Sale may shape up to be her strongest work. Before coming up to date, there are a couple of 2019 interviews that I want to bring in. The Independent spoke to Kirke, where we discover about her musical heritage and how she got into the industry:

“Kirke is the youngest of four intensely creative siblings: her eldest sister is Jemima Kirke, the visual artist-turned-actor best known for her role as Jessa in Lena Dunham’s Girls; her second sister, Domino, is a musician; and her brother, Greg, is a photographer. A career in the arts was, she says “predestined”.

She was galvanised into songwriting by “having my heart broken by a s***ty musician dude who I wanted to one-up”. Country music was “a natural fit, not least because it was easy for me as someone who wasn’t a prolific guitar player – all the songs typically have three chords,” she says. “But there’s also a simplicity to the subject matter that has always been intriguing to me. I love the storytelling and the way it talks about intense feelings like jealousy or birth control or murder. It’s edgy like that.”

Her father is Simon Kirke, drummer in Bad Company and Free – a fact that contributed to her impression as a child that being in a band was “something that men did”. “In the world of rock’n’roll, as I perceived it from a young age, women were relegated to the roles of wife or groupie.” Still, these days she is electrified by the scores of smart and brilliant women making music: “The change even from five years ago is huge. So much so that when I see a group of five straight white dudes in a band together, I’m, like, how are you still doing that? It’s 2019.”

She wonders if she was drawn to music through a subconscious desire to be more connected to her father. “My dad was the most absent in our house because he was on tour a lot of the time. I think there must have been a part of me that thought I could get his attention if I played more music.” Her father’s job also meant that she mixed with a lot of well-known musicians as a child. She won’t name names but she will say “there were a lot of weirdos passing through my living room”.

Did the weirdos put her off the lifestyle? “Not really, but it did give me a certain insight,” she replies. “I’ve seen a lot of people get a taste of success or fame and abandon any kind of groundedness. In a world consumed by capitalism, we imagine that once we attain this thing that we don’t already have, that we’ll be rendered perfect. A great gift of growing up in the world I grew up in was seeing how untrue that is, and how the people that we think of as being the most secure because they have the most things are actually the least secure. I like to think that’s always helped me stay a good person”.

Discussing the new song, Mama (from the E.P., Friends and Foes and Friends Again), Kirke was asked by TEETH about balancing the disciplines of acting and music. She also revealed who her musical influences are:

 “How do you feel about self-promotion?

It can feel terrible but I’m grateful it’s been a helpful tool for getting my work to reach people. It will probably kill us all, though.

Can you tell me about the creative process behind the video “Mama”?

We wanted to create an aesthetic that worked with the song but wasn’t predictable and I think Jemima [Kirke’s sister] did an excellent job with that. I also loved being aged and working with her as a director.

What are some things that are important to you that you like to address through your music?

Pain and confusion. I typically like to work things out through songwriting. 

As a means of expressions, how do you compare or contrast your work as an actor?

It’s all drawing from the same well, just a different means of expression, and of course, musicians are typically more fun. 

Who would you most like to collaborate with and why?

I think me and The Band would’ve had a lot of fun. I also love Courtney Marie Andrews and Sturgill Simpson. 

What are your interests and passions outside of music?

I love writing and travelling, staying home, and cooking. Also eating and drinking. My friends and the world. 

What’s your favourite book, film, and music right now?

My boyfriend’s [WYNDHAM] record A Fistful of Stars. I had a ball watching Mary Queen of Scots and I’m reading Loretta Lynn’s memoirs, which are very fun. 

Who are your musical influences?

George Jones, Roseanne Cash, Mary Wells, Bonnie Guitar, and Joni Mitchell”.

Signing to a great label like Third Man will take Kirke’s music to a wider audience. Jack White’s label is a growing and golden stable of some of the best young artists around. I know that it meant a lot to Kirke to sign to such a prestigious label. In this Yahoo interview from last month, Kirke discussed Country music (as her music mixes the genre together with 1980s sounds) and Lady for Sale:

“We say this for two reasons. First of all, the musician and actress' upcoming album – “Lady For Sale,” her debut on Jack White’s Third Man Records – is an inspired winner, pairing a honest love for classic country songcraft with a unique, unflinching embrace of vintage synthesizers and other ‘80s-rooted production choices.

But that statement is also rooted in fact, strangely enough. The album opens with the standout “Broken Families,” a duet with indie-folk favorite Courtney Marie Andrews. When the two sat down to write the song – intending to pitch it to a country artist – Kirke had an idea.

“Let's pick the most annoying melody to put this to,” she recalls saying with a laugh.

In that regard, they failed miserably. We’d bet you won’t mind at all if “Broken Families’” time-tested country tune takes up residence in your head. The album treads familiar territory, but with a distinct sonic stamp – one that Kirke found, in part, by being an open book about her influences.

“’It’s gonna be like Stevie Nicks meets ‘80s Dolly Parton,’” she remembers telling her manager. The pitch bewildered several people in her orbit – but they’ve only confessed that to her after being won over by the results.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hannah Laney 

The album’s first single, “Better Than Any Drug” might be Kirke’s boldest move. The song wraps musical nods to Madonna and Prince in a blanket of steel guitars – while Kirke, in a rich, expressive voice, details how a love interest is more compelling than any illicit substance you can name (and she names quite a few).

That’s all the public has heard so far ahead of “Lady For Sale’s” April 29 release, but Nashville fans can get a fuller picture this Saturday when Kirke plays a concert at Third Man’s “Blue Room” venue. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $15 in advance, $17 day of show.

Kirke has also just announced that Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins will be her special guests on Saturday night.

That news came after her interview with The Tennessean, but Kirke still had plenty to share. Don't assume her mission to write an "annoying" melody means she isn't into modern, mainstream country — that couldn't be further from the truth.

She also discussed the classic singers she's discovered, why she's happy to find a home at Third Man and the many, many acting projects on the horizon.

Inspiration from athletes: "This is really only my second time playing in Nashville, so I'm kind of nervous. But I've been reading all these articles...The New York Times published this big piece about how Olympians manage fear. And I was like, 'Okay, if they can manage fear about going down the world's craziest mountain, I can play the Blue Room.'"

What first drew her to country music? The "drama": "It's like the original podcast (laughs). If you turn on older country music, it's like a story...I started getting into country when I saw a kind of intersection between performance, acting and playing music. Country music gives the illusion of being quite easy to play, because it's just three chords and the truth. And when you're just picking up the guitar, that sounds quite appealing.

Then, when Austin Jenkins — who produced this record — and I started talking about this record, he really showed me a lot of country that I had overlooked, or just that really hadn't come into my consciousness as somebody who grew up in New York City. I mean, I think in New York, I remember hearing about Garth Brooks and Chris Gaines, and the Shania crossover stuff. It was very specific like that. But a lot of the other country music that now I really love was not really on my radar until Austin and I started talking about this record. At first it was Gary Stewart, who's less kind of represented in this aesthetic, but then Pam Tillis, Martina McBride, Jo Dee Messina and some earlier Shania/Mutt Lange stuff. That became really exciting. And then Leona Williams, Janie Fricke and these amazing honky tonk singers. I just got really excited about a lot of that music, and wanted to explore it and incorporate it."

On signing with Third Man: "Of all the independent labels that I have known about since I was a kid, that's really the big one to me. I had thought when we made the record, 'This feels like it would be such a good fit over at Third Man.' Because I know that they have so much investment in making things that sound nostalgic, but also with a kind of more modern twist on it. I hoped that that would work out, and I'm so glad it did."

Her new music "feels so much more like me": “The music I had been making prior to this, I look back on it, and it feels like it kind of lacked a lot of signature, and something really personal. I mean, I'm not the happiest person in the world — but I enjoy joy (laughs). It's so kind of dour. I think Austin just kind of helped bring to life what was already there, which is a warmth, a sense of fun, and obscure references that I'm already always thinking about anyway, This just feels so much more like me than what I did before”.

A tremendous and hugely endearing artist whose career will be very long and interesting, I cannot wait for Lady for Sale. In a busy and competitive music scene, Lola Kirke definitely stands out. She has a tremendous talent and passion for music. As an acclaimed actor, she brings some of that skill and experience into making her music as memorable and nuanced as possible. If you are not au fait with the marvellous music of Lola Kirke, then make sure you rectify that. Lady for Sale is an album that you will definitely want to…

ADD to your regular rotation from April.

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Follow Lola Kirke

Official:

https://www.lolakirkemusic.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lolakirke/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/LolaKirke

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/LolaKirke

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzgps-NcXmnA8AWy4jU0Yw

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1g5bYOQ7ZHGbn0tuUHxSgE?si=v__y3YAFRb-_0wk1gxWg9w&nd=1

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty: Twelve: The Legend’s Five Greatest Solo Albums

FEATURE:

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

Twelve: The Legend’s Five Greatest Solo Albums

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CONTINUING my run of features…

leading to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday in June, I am exploring and dissecting his work with The Beatles, Wings and solo. Now, I am going to collate, chronologically, McCartney’s best solo albums. His best five, I am not including any that credit him and Linda McCartney – as they are technically a duo in that sense. 2020’s McCartney III was his eighteenth solo album. To honour the masterful musician, here are the five essential Paul McCartney albums, a review, the standout tracks and where you can buy each of the albums. Perhaps you have different opinions regarding the albums of his that are best. It is very hard to narrow it down to five, though I am pretty confident in my choices. These are the Macca solo albums that…

EVERY fan should have.

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McCartney

Release Date: 17th April, 1970

Label: Apple

Producer: Paul McCartney

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/paul-mccartney/mccartney-46a38282-f0e1-4b0e-a61f-abaee0df0c4e/lp-x2

Standout Tracks: That Would Be Something/Every Night/Junk

Key Cut: Maybe I’m Amazed

Review:

“Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, McCartney has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler -- and there is quite a bit of filler -- rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs -- the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) -- are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark. The rest of the album is charmingly slight, especially if it is read as a way to bring Paul back to earth after the heights of the Beatles. At the time the throwaway nature of much of the material was a shock, but it has become charming in retrospect. Unfortunately, in retrospect it also appears as a harbinger of the nagging mediocrity that would plague McCartney's entire solo career” – AllMusic

Tug of War

Release Date: 26th April, 1982

Labels: Parlophone (U.K.)/Columbia (U.S.)

Producer: George Martin

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/paul-mccartney/tug-of-war-0a47a6a8-270c-4839-9850-91381c38a17b/lp

Standout Tracks: Take It Away/Here Today/The Pound Is Sinking

Key Cut: Ebony and Ivory (with Stevie Wonder)

Review:

“The latest releases in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection represent two turning points in McCartney’s career. Tug of War emerged in the wake of personal chaos: John Lennon’s death and McCartney’s pot bust in Japan. A year after the critically acclaimed album, McCartney released the followup Pipes of Peace, which represents his attempt to embrace 1980s pop.

Best remembered for “Say Say Say,” the hit duet with Michael Jackson, Pipes of Peace received a lukewarm critical reception, unlike its predecessor. The remastered Archive Collection releases allows listeners to revisit this turning point in Paul McCartney’s career, determining his place in the 1980s musical landscape.

Tug of War finds McCartney in a reflective mood, embracing his Beatles past and paying tribute to his best-known songwriting partner. Beginning the album with the title track, Paul McCartney gently sings words of turmoil and conflict, longing for a better world (“In another world we could stand on top of the mountain, with our flag unfurled”) but recognizing that only through struggle and change can we achieve such lofty goals (“In a time to come we will be dancing to the beat, played on a different drum”). Until a more positive world emerges, he must endure an emotional “tug of war” and knows that if he simply gives up, “the whole thing is going to crumble.”

The haunting strings give way to pure nostalgia with “Take It Away,” Paul McCartney’s fond look back at the Beatles’ early days. He recalls playing in dingy clubs until “some important impresario” discovers the band, none-too-subtly evoking images of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Cooing and sighing, the lush harmonies provide the soundtrack to McCartney’s sentimental journey. But the emotional tug of war draws him back to the present, with the moving “Somebody Who Cares” allowing fans a rare peek into the singer’s life. He assures listeners that he too has felt like “somebody has taken the wheels off your car, when you had somewhere to go.” He repeats “I know how you feel,” but urges fans to draw strength from friends and family.

Initially saying little about John Lennon’s death, Paul McCartney finally makes his statement through the lovely but fragile “Here Today,” reminiscing about his complicated friendship with his former collaborator. Now a staple of McCartney’s live shows, “Here Today” reveals his vulnerability, his lilting voice crying “I love you.” Like “Somebody Who Cares,” “Here Today” lets Paul McCartney bare his soul musically, an all-too-rare occurrence in his music. But nostalgia returns with “Ballroom Dancing,” McCartney’s charming ode to dance and young love.

The singer’s ultimate “back to his roots” moment is his playful duet with childhood hero Carl Perkins, “Get It.” As they trade lines on the country-tinged track, the two legends clearly enjoy performing together, punctuated by Perkins’ laughter giving way to the next track, “Be What You See.” Other joyful moments include Paul McCartney’s duets with Stevie Wonder, the incredibly funky “What’s That You’re Doing” and the huge hit “Ebony and Ivory.” Unfortunately, the latter track has been lampooned in recent years, but it stands as a genuine ode to racial harmony.

The one track that best summarizes the complicated Tug of War is “Wanderlust,” the epic ballad that remains one of Paul McCartney’s most underrated tracks. “Take us from the dark,” he pleads. “Help us to be free.” Through music, McCartney longs to transcend the emotional tug of war he has endured for two years. Yet, he ends the sweeping track on a hopeful note: “What better time to find a brand new day?” he asks listeners” – Something Else!

Flowers in the Dirt

Release Date: 5th June, 1989

Labels: Parlophone/Capitol

Producers: Paul McCartney/Mitchell Froom/Neil Dorfsman/Elvis Costello/Trevor Horn/Steve Lipson/Chris Hughes/Ross Cullum/David Foster (and Phil Ramone on CD reissue tracks)

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=40048&ev=mb

Standout Tracks: Put It There/Figure of Eight/How Many People

Key Cut: My Brave Face

Review:

“Paul McCartney must not only have been conscious of his slipping commercial fortunes, he must have realized that his records hadn't been treated seriously for years, so he decided to make a full-fledged comeback effort with Flowers in the Dirt. His most significant move was to write a series of songs with Elvis Costello, some of which appeared on Costello's own Spike and many of which surfaced here. These may not be epochal songs, the way many wished them to be, but McCartney and Costello turn out to be successful collaborators, spurring each other toward interesting work. And, in McCartney's case, that carried over to the album as a whole, as he aimed for more ambitious lyrics, themes, sounds, and productions for Flowers in the Dirt. This didn't necessarily result in a more successful album than its predecessors, but it had more heart, ambition, and nerve, which was certainly welcome. And the moments that did work were pretty terrific. Many of these were McCartney/McManus collaborations, from the moderate hit "My Brave Face" to the duet "You Want Her Too" and "That Day Is Done," but McCartney also demonstrates considerable muscle on his own, from the domestic journal "We Got Married" to the lovely "This One." This increased ambition also means McCartney meanders a bit, writing songs that are more notable for what they try to achieve than what they do, and at times the production is too fussy and inextricably tied to its time, but as a self-styled comeback affair, Flowers in the Dirt works very well” – AllMusic

Egypt Station

Release Date: 7th September, 2018

Label: Capitol

Producers: Greg Kurstin/Paul McCartney/Ryan Tedder/Zach Skelton

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=1418458&ev=mb

Standout Tracks: Come on to Me/Back in Brazil/Caesar Rock

Key Cut: Despite Repeated Warnings

Review:

“The thunderous opening of ‘People Want Peace’ (“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m standing before you with something important to say,” it begins) recalls the title track of ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. The bossa nova bop of ‘Back In Brazil’ speaks to his love of borrowing from other cultures. ‘Do It Now’ is baroque pop in the ‘In My Life’ vein. ‘Who Cares’ sounds like ‘Band On The Run’-era Wings, a swaggering rock ‘n’ roll with a sweetly naive message about getting one over on bullies. It has the feeling of a pep talk from a beloved granddad: “Who cares what the idiots say / Who cares what the idiots do / Who cares about the pain in your heart / Who cares? I do.”

McCartney’s been preaching peace and love for an entire career, and the message hasn’t diminished over the years. But there’s an extra edge to it this time. ‘Fuh You’, a track co-written with hit-maker Ryan Tedder (though surely if there’s a man who doesn’t need a co-write, it’s Macca) is eyebrow-raisingly randy. ‘Come On To Me’, another track released to tease the album, is plonky in sound, but bonky in lyrics: “I saw you flash a smile that seemed to me to say / You wanted so much more than casual conversation,” it goes. Paul McCartney, by design or accident, has made an album that occasionally pulses with Big Dick Energy, the term that defined summer 2018’s zeitgeist, even if it pops a comfy pair of slippers occasionally too.

Mostly, ‘Egypt Station’ is a record that’s going to delight McCartney’s fans and – importantly – Beatles fans who might sniff at some of his solo work. It’s not wildly out there, like his work as The Fireman, but nor does it err on the safe side, like 2013’s ‘New’. It’s an album of upbeat and winsome notes, and it’s simple and honest, as if one of the most famous people in the world has left his diary open for us to read.

‘Happy With You’ talks about just what the title implies – being happy in the company of his partner, with personal revelations too: “I walked around angry / I used to feel bad… I used to drink too much / Forgot to come home / I lied to my doctor”. That song, and ‘Confidante’, reveal much about McCartney, the latter a love letter to the guitar he keeps in the corner of his living room, which went largely untouched for a couple of years before ‘Egypt Station’ came into being. Those tracks, in particular, preach a satisfying message of peace: one of peace in the mind of the songwriter.

The album ends, like ‘Abbey Road’, on a medley: ‘Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link’. We don’t need to remind you of ‘Abbey Road’’s famous closing lines, but ‘Egypt Station’s are notable too: “I‘ve been naked for so long / So long, so long, yeah.” McCartney’s always been about inclusivity and openness, but this latest glimpse into his life feels like a particularly enlightening one” – NME

McCartney III

Release Date: 18th December, 2020

Label: Capitol

Producers: Paul McCartney/(except Slidin', by McCartney and Greg Kurstin, and When Winter Comes, by McCartney and George Martin)

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/paul-mccartney/mccartney-iii/lp

Standout Tracks: Long Tailed Winter Bird/Seize the Day/Winter Bird / When Winter Comes

Key Cut: Slidin’

Review:

“The disparity between the initial reviews and their later standing suggests that McCartney’s one-man-band solo albums only reveal their true glory in the fullness of time, an idea that whirls around your head when you’re confronted with McCartney III’s Lavatory Lil. A jaunty excoriation of a gold-digger, the best thing you can say about it is that it isn’t quite as awful as its title leads you to fear. There’s always the chance that, by the middle of the century it’ll be claimed as the worthy descendent of the Beatles’ Polythene Pam, or the version of the ribald Liverpool folksong Maggie Mae that snuck on to Let It Be, but that feels a stretch: it’s not as weird or funny as the former and nor does it have the latter’s sense of history, Maggie Mae being a song the pre-Beatles skiffle band the Quarrymen used to perform. In fact, it feels more like a successor to the interminable joke track Bogey Music, one bit of McCartney II that not even the nuttiest Macca fan has attempted to reassess.

If Lavatory Lil is a moment where the process behind McCartney III – recorded in lockdown, with its author in charge of everything – has led to a self-indulgent lapse of judgment, the rest of the album finds him letting his guard down in far more appealing ways. A certain freedom is evident in opener Long Tailed Winter Bird, a lovely instrumental that’s allowed far more room to breathe than you suspect McCartney in more commercially minded mood would permit. He might also have balked at releasing Slidin’ on the grounds that it was too obviously a homage to Queens of the Stone Age, albeit one laced with an infectious sense that its author is having a high old time.

Deep Deep Feeling, meanwhile, may be the best song to bear McCartney’s name in more than a decade. Its melodies slowly entwine and uncoil over eight minutes involving lengthy instrumental passages, falsetto vocals, shifts in tempo, a Mellotron-esque synth that recalls the opening of Strawberry Fields Forever (as with Winter Bird/When Winter Comes’ nod to the bucolic atmosphere of 1971’s Ram, it’s the kind of musical self-reference that never seems accidental on a McCartney album) and an acoustic coda. The lyrical examination of emotional extremes feels authentically confessional. Similarly personal, if more oblique, Pretty Boys puts the audibly aged aspect of his voice to use, quaveringly describing its titular subject as “a line of bicycles for hire, objects of desire … a row of cottages for rent for your main event”.

It’s moving because he knows of what he speaks. This isn’t a superannuated rocker sneering at latter-day manufactured pop bands, but something fonder and more personal: a man knocking on 80 who was the subject of teen hysteria a lifetime ago, who gave up playing live because he couldn’t hear himself over the screaming. Seize the Day features the prickly, defensive McCartney of Silly Love Songs – “it’s still all right to be nice,” he protests, a sentiment that gains heft in a world of snarling binary divisions – set to a melody that’s almost preposterously McCartney-esque, navigating its twists and turns without appearing to break a sweat” – The Guardian

FEATURE: Second Spin: Blondie - Autoamerican

FEATURE:

 

Second Spin

Blondie - Autoamerican

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I know I have featured…

Blondie and Debbie Harry on my blog a few times. I think they are one of the most influential bands ever, with a terrific catalogue to boot! Though many of their albums are celebrated and hugely acclaimed, there are a few that have not got the reception and adoration they deserve. One that warrants more affection and new light is their fifth studio album, Autoamerican. Released on 26th November, 1980, it followed the successful and phenomenal Eat to the Beat. Featuring Rapture and The Tide Is High, I am surprised Autoamerican received some mixed reviews! Although only a few songs on the album come up to the standard of Rapture, there is plenty to enjoy and love. Producer Mike Chapman insisted the band record in Los Angeles (the New York band recorded in their city beforehand). That decision was met with a bit of a split in the group. Probably not affecting their sound and performances, they did return to New York for 1982’s The Hunter. One of the reasons why some were confused or not fond of Autoamerican is because it was a radical departure from Blondie. This article from November explained how the album is a varied and eclectic work:

“Incorporating elements of jazz, blues, disco, and the avant-garde, Autoamerican was still a sizable commercial success (going platinum on both sides of the Atlantic), but it confounded critics. Rather like The Clash’s equally ambitious Sandinista!, Autoamerican attracted criticism simply for daring to embrace sonic diversity – something that was an element of Blondie’s DNA from the get-go.

“Blondie was probably the most modern band I’ve ever worked with in that they soaked up influences from innumerable sources,” Blondie and No Exit producer Craig Leon said in a 2019 Record Collector interview.

 “As songs like [Parallel Lines’] ‘Heart Of Glass” show, they were like human samplers when it came to incorporating ideas and concepts and genres, often in just one song. They are probably the most eclectic band I’ve ever worked with.”

“Magical things did happen”

“Eclectic” remains the watchword where Autoamerican is concerned. Marking the first time Blondie had left their native New York to make an album, the recording sessions took place at United Western Recorders (now part of the Ocean Way complex) in Hollywood, where The Beach Boys recorded parts of “Good Vibrations”. During their Californian sojourn, Debbie Harry’s team was joined by Parallel Lines producer Mike Chapman and studio engineer Lenise Bent. The latter recalls band and producer being meticulous in their preparation.

“They’d done a lot of pre-production”, she told The Mix in 1999. “Everybody was pretty prepared by the time they got into the studio. Magical things did happen, there was room for those spontaneous things, but the preparation helped because you didn’t have to think about the basics.”

Blondie brought a wealth of new songs to the sessions, a clutch of which – “T-Birds,” the cinematic “Angels On The Balcony” and the aggressive, drum-heavy “Walk Like Me” – could easily have graced Eat To The Beat. Elsewhere, however, the band fearlessly grappled with everything from the jazzy cabaret of “Here’s Looking At You” to the shimmering disco-funk of “Live It Up” and the smoochy, noir-infused blues of “Faces,” with the latter featuring a gloriously smoky vocal from Harry.

“I was sure it was going to be a hit”

Two radically disparate musical genres, meanwhile, provided the album’s signature hits. Blondie had already dabbled with reggae on Eat To The Beat’s “Die Young, Stay Pretty,” but at the instigation of guitarist Chris Stein, they delved deeper into Jamaica’s rich musical heritage for a sunny, horn-laced cover of The Paragons’ 1967 ska hit, “The Tide Is High.”

“I was the one who picked ‘The Tide Is High’,” Stein told The Village Voice in 2008. “That’s the only song [from Autoamerican] I was sure was going to be a hit beforehand – not least because it said ‘number one’ in the chorus!”

Stein’s assumption proved entirely correct when the infectious “The Tide Is High” – released as the album’s lead single, in October 1980 – shot to the top of both the UK Top 40 and the Billboard Hot 100. Its follow-up, “Rapture,” also broke new ground. A hypnotic hybrid of disco, funk, and New York’s emerging hip-hop scene, the song featured an extended rap from Debbie Harry, who namechecked hip-hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash.

“An adventurous spirit and dynamic songwriting”

“Rapture” also topped the Billboard Hot 100 and received numerous critical plaudits, but while Autoamerican, which was released on November 14, 1980, fared well on the charts, it was greeted with less than sparkling reviews. These days, forward-thinking music fans would welcome a record which so brazenly pushes the envelope, but, in 1980, contemporary critics struggled to get a handle on this mind-bogglingly diverse disc, which concluded with a heartfelt cover of Lerner & Loewe’s “Follow Me,” from the musical Camelot.

Divorced from the times, though, Autoamerican has come into its own. In an interview on Blondie’s website, drummer Clem Burke enthusiastically cited it as “my favorite… it’s a very eclectic album”, while retrospective critiques such as Ultimate Classic Rock’s (“an LP beloved for its adventurous spirit and dynamic songwriting”) have finally brought this still-futuristic-sounding gem to discerning 21st-century ears”.

 I think Autoamerican is an underrated album that deserves more acclaim. I don’t think I have ever heard songs like Live It Up or Faces played on the radio. There are some deep cuts on the album that are really solid. Despite a few tracks that are not up to Blondie’s normal standard, Autoamerican is an album that is worth listening to. The reviews are largely mixed. This is what AllMusic noted in their assessment of Autoamerican:

“The basic Blondie sextet was augmented, or replaced, by numerous session musicians (including lots of uncredited horn and string players) for the group's fifth album, Autoamerican, on which they continued to expand their stylistic range, with greater success, at least on certain tracks, than they had on Eat to the Beat. A cover of Jamaican group the Paragons' "The Tide Is High," released in advance of the album, became a gold-selling number one single, as did the rap pastiche "Rapture," but, despite their presence, the album stalled in the lower half of the Top Ten and spent fewer weeks in the charts than either of its predecessors. One reason for that, admittedly, was that Chrysalis Records pulled promotion of the disc in favor of pushing lead singer Debbie Harry's debut solo album, KooKoo, not even bothering to release a third single after scoring two chart-topping hits. But then, it's hard to imagine what that third single could have been on an album that leads off with a pretentious string-filled instrumental ("Europa"), and also finds Harry crooning ersatz '20s pop on "Here's Looking at You" and tackling Broadway show music in a cover of "Follow Me" from Camelot. Though more characteristic, the rest of the tracks are weak compositions indifferently executed. Thus Autoamerican was memorable only for its hits, which would be better heard when placed on a hits compilation”.

Maybe Blondie had past their best days or were entering new territory. In any case, I feel their work from the 1980s has some great moments. Autoamerican is an album that I have grown to love more. In addition to the monster that is Rapture, there are some pearls to be enjoyed. If you have not heard the album for a while (or at all), then give Blondie’s fifth studio album…

A bit of your time.

FEATURE: Express Yourselves? The Gruelling Hunt for the Actress Who Will Play the Icon

FEATURE:

 

 

Express Yourselves?

The Gruelling Hunt for the Actress Who Will Play the Icon

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THERE are so many different websites…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Julia Garner is among the favourites to play Madonna in a forthcoming biopic/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

reporting the hunt and search for the actress who will play Madonna in the forthcoming biopic. I have written before how there is this biopic happening that Madonna will direct. Written with Diablo Cody (Cody worked on the first draft before moving on from the project), it is a rare chance to have Madonna tell her own story. When the announcement was made, I did wonder how might be chosen to direct such an important project. With the Queen of Pop keen to get the story and facts straight, it would be a lot of pressure on a director. Maybe it was not a surprise when Madonna herself decided to helm. She has directed before, though I wonder whether she is too subjective to give the biopic what it needs. It must be intimidating for anyone auditioning to play Madonna. Billboard report that there are boot camps and this strenuous hunt taking place:

“At the moment, the biggest role available for some young actresses is one of pop music’s biggest icons: Madonna. Everyone from Emmy winners and Oscar nominees to signers turned actresses has been seen for the role, with some advancing on to what can be best described as a Madonna Bootcamp.

Casting director Carmen Cuba is running the search, with the list having been whittled down over the course of several months. Julia Garner and Florence Pugh are among those that are still in the running, along with Euphoria star Alexa Demie, indie regular Odessa Young (Mothering Sunday), and newcomer Emma Laird (Mayor of Kingstown). Musical artists have also been a part of the search, including Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira, the latter of whom has had small roles in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and the Twilight Zone series, among other onscreen parts.

As for the actual audition process, it’s “grueling,” says one rep with knowledge of the auditions, some of which have been going on for months. According to sources, the hopefuls participate in intense — sometimes up to 11-hour-a-day — choreography sessions with Madonna’s choreographer, after which there are choreography sessions with Madonna, herself. And then there are callbacks, which consist of readings with Madonna, as well as singing auditions with the superstar.

“You have to be able to do everything,” says one person with knowledge of the process. The movie, which sources say currently culminates with her landmark, 1990 Blonde Ambition tour (this, of course, may change as the script continues to develop), will require dancing and singing sequences, meaning that after the audition process is over, the would-be star is still looking at months’ worth of intense training ahead of a potential start date.

Musical biopics often have their subjects — or subjects’ relatives or estates — involved, in order to retain the requisite rights. Elton John served as executive producer on Rocketman, with his husband David Furnish producing the film through their Rocket Pictures, and the upcoming Bob Marley biopic at Paramount has the late singer’s children and wife onboard to produce. But Madonna’s involvement — she is the subject, co-writer and director — is particularly notable.

“The reason I’m doing it is because a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men,” Madonna said in October during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (Brett Ratner’s RatPac and Michael De Luca were previously attached to produce a biopic about the singer for Universal based on the 2016 Black List script Blonde Ambition.) In 2020, it was announced that the singer would be directing a biopic for Universal and co-writing the screenplay with Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. Amy Pascal is on board to produce. Cody has since exited the project, with Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, The Girl on the Train) taking on co-writing duties.

Madonna is a plum role for any actress. With Universal as the distributor, it is assured a wide theatrical release. And with Madonna as the subject-director, it will no doubt attract a lot of eyeballs. The biopic, while in active development, does not yet have a green light from the studio, which is high on the project, but usually awaits a final script, budget and cast before giving the go-ahead. A major factor is ultimately who will be cast as the Material Girl”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: British actor Florence Pugh is one of the names suggested to play Madonna

I think that the right person will be chosen to play her. I am not sure whether there will be several actresses chosen to play Madonna at various point, or whether one will lead. I think there will be tough choices, but I do wonder whether the auditions and casting need to be so deep and stressful. Maybe Madonna wants to ensure that nothing is left to chance. I think Julia Garner seems like the right fit in terms of looks and acting style. She would be awesome. British actress Florence Pugh would also be magnificent. The challenging days and this exacting process means that, essentially, the woman who is choosing someone to play her can have no qualms when the decision is made. There have been attempts to portray Madonna’s story before, and it has usually been met with criticism. Whilst I think a more objective director could have worked with Madonna and made a great film (maybe a female director like Olivia Wilde?), it will be interesting seeing what comes about. Of course, now that the pandemic has receded, shooting can start., Many Madonna fans will be interested knowing what era is chosen and whether it is the rags-to-riches arc or the film gets set at a particular time. Certainly, in terms of the height of her success, the years 1987-1990 are big. Ray of Light came out in 1998. That was a hugely acclaimed album. I am not too sure. We will know soon who has been chosen to play Madonna. I do hope that the successful actress is allowed a little room to interpret Madonna as they see fit and truly…

EXPRESS themselves.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Dreya Mac

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Clara Setian

Dreya Mac

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DESPITE a change of sonic direction…

from previous Spotlight features, I am sticking with solo artists. Dreya Mac is an exciting young London-based artist who, over the past year or so, has been getting a lot of respect, column inches and adoring press. A sensational lyricist and performer, I think Mac is going to be pretty major in no time at all! Before coming to some interviews with Dreya Mac, here is some brief detail and biography about a sensational talrnt:

“West London Native Dreya Mac caused a stir with her debut single “Skippin” which hit over 600K streams across DSPs, while her Colors session received over 340K views / streams in just the first three weeks.

Dreya has garnered support from tastemakers including Annie Mac, Toddla T, DJ Target, Sian Anderson and Rickie and Melvin and Charlie.

Dreya is an alumni of the world famous Brit school where she studied musical theatre and dance from the age of 14. Since then her professional dancing background has taken her all over the world to countries as far reaching as the USA and China. She can be seen demonstrating her talents in videos and shows for prominent artists such as Stormzy, Dua Lipa and Rita Ora. She has also performed at the MTV EMAs and Brit Awards and featured in the Burberry 2020 Festive Campaign”.

There has been some interesting press and interviews over 2021 and this year so far. I wanted to get to a few of them, so that we can know more about the seriously skilled Dreya Mac. Tipping Mac for good things and spotlighting a rising force, The Line of Best Fit spoke with her in April:

 “Mac fell in love with music as a medium for movement long before she committed her voice to record. Dance, in fact, was the West London rapper's first love. Cutting her teeth as a choreographer, Mac’s instinct for conducting sound through her body landed her a role in the visual for Stormzy’s seminal “Vossi Bop” – one of the only women to carve a space for herself in the male-dominated project. So when it comes to self-expression, Mac has proven that her teeth are more than sharp enough.

With only one year under her belt as a musician, four singles which boldly redefine the parameters of the UK rap scene, and a top-down execution of her artistic vision to every beat, outfit and one-two step, to describe Dreya Mac only as a rapper is a disservice. When she was five years old, however, she wasn’t as bold. “I let my sister [speak for me],” she laughs. “I’d just get her to answer questions for me. As soon as I got into dance, it was a way to let people know how I’m feeling without having to speak.” Her foray into music began with the simple intention of having something to dance to; something that drew out the particular shapes and rhythms her body wanted to channel. But in music, Mac found an entirely new, unexpected avenue of self-expression.

“I feel like it’s a kind of therapy”, she says. “When I write, I actually like what I write – I’m really gassed at the end of it. Like, it’s such a fulfilling feeling. When I’m writing, singing or rapping, I can properly express myself. Then I started to realise this could be bigger than what it is.”

 Mac can almost pinpoint the day she decided she would take rapping seriously: the first week of the UK’s national lockdown in March, 2020. By this time, she had already laid down her debut single “Skippin’” in the studio: an atmospheric superstructure of cat-and-mouse wordplay and bouncing flows, all built on a foundation of guitar strings that merged two opposing worlds together. “I didn’t push it that much, in my mind,” she recalls. “But when it got to the day they were going to announce quarantine, I shot the video and released it that first week. It was crazy”.

In the UK rap scene, Dreya Mac was a lone wolf. Apart from producer Kill Miami, who helped her spread the word, she worked alone. Yet, she feels that her music belongs to a wider movement. “There are a few artists who I think are going on the same journey as me. I can’t box myself with a single genre because I flick between them all the time, but in general, there is a new wave,” she explains. “But I think I’m coming into the scene very differently to others. I feel like there’s a formula every UK rapper follows, and I’m just trying to break that as much as I can, not letting any preconceived ideas of my journey get in the way of the kind of music I want to release. I’m coming in on a different wave, for sure.”

It's a bar being set by the likes of Slowthai and FLOHIO, who are redrawing the battlelines of what it means to be a UK rapper. “I feel like genres are kind of getting lost over the years,” Mac says. “We’re so individual, now, and there’s so much freedom in music to allow that. I just think all of these people are helping break the stigma that comes with being a UK rapper – it’s really helpful for me, because it means I can come at this with a more open mind, too.”

 With attention spans dwindling to ten second bursts from the all-you-can-eat scrolling on TikTok, Dreya Mac is seeking to create music with longevity. “I feel like right now drill and grime music is dominating, but it’s more release-driven than creatively driven, you know? When these things blow up on social media, they can come and go real quick,” she thinks. “So it takes value away from this style of music. I don’t want to just release what the UK will want.” Instead, her line of business is to make something timeless.

She remembers cleaning days on Sundays when she was a kid, with her mum blasting garage bangers through the flat. “I feel like my music is heavily influenced by the way it switches between flows, and stuff like that. It’s the earliest memory I have of music.” As she grew up and developed her own tastes, her influences diversified in ways you wouldn’t expect. “Groups like Tame Impala have really helped the instrumentation of my music,” Mac says. “And Billie Eilish, too – she doesn’t let her age be at the forefront of what she’s doing, and I can relate to that. She doesn’t take no for an answer; she doesn’t let anyone get in the way. I feel like I look further than your average, to-the-book kind of rapper. Musicians in the UK are pushed in a certain direction, and I guess I just don’t want to be boxed in at all.”

But growing up on her estate, ambition like this was a rarity. “I feel like everyone around me knew West London and didn’t know anything further than that. I don’t know what it was, whether it was my upbringing or not, but I’ve always thought bigger than what was expected of me.” She left home at 16, and through living alone, she grew a thick skin and a nurtured a hunger for self-improvement. “I didn’t have many people to talk to, so to express myself, I would just write things down on paper – and that was way before the music,” she says. “And apart from that, I could dance”.

There are a couple of other interviews that caught my eye and are worth including here. FIZZY MAG labelled Dreya Mac a rising Rap prodigy when they spoke with. Maybe a mixed blessing, Mac discovered the pure joy and freedom of Rap just as the U.K. was going into the first lockdown back in 2020:

“You’ve said you began to take rapping seriously in Lockdown 1. How does it feel to have made such massive strides in such a small amount of time?

It’s quite overwhelming to be fair to have had such a big change in my journey in such a short amount of time. It’s a lot to adapt to and I feel like sometimes I put way too much pressure on myself when really I should just treat this craft how I have treated any other craft previously, and understand and accept that I have just started and I have so much further to go.

One gotta go. R&B, Drill, or Hip-Hop. Who you dropping? 
 
I say Drill, just because I feel like it’s dying out already... The way music works is that there is always one particular genre that is trending at the moment (in the UK anyway). I feel like a couple years back it was Afro-swing that was dominating the charts. Right now, we have Drill dominating the charts but it's starting to get a bit gimmicky... I feel like Hip-Hop and R&B are so timeless and have been forever that I couldn’t boot them off!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? 
 
In five years I see myself touring the world... tired, exhausted as hell from touring but at the same time so full and thankful.... I see myself with at least three albums out and as a world-renowned entertainer.

Your debut EP ‘TWENTYONE’ dropped last month. How did it feel releasing your first body of work out into the world?

Do you know what, I feel like I am my biggest critic. So I’m always going to be looking for what I could have done other than what I already have. But for some reason with this release I was very much okay and at one with what I had produced. Having a body of work out there only furthers my career and I feel like it just shows how determined and busy I have been since lockdown started. I feel like I’ve made my stamp on the scene and it’s just an introduction to order different projects I have coming up now and in the future”.

Before finishing off, NME recently spoke with the amazing Dreya Mac. As TikTok is a platform where she has accrued following and attention, they asked about her gaining huge popularity there as a Black queer woman:

“Do you ever feel the TikTok stigma is hindering you and your progression?

“Before TikTok, I did live shows, I did a COLORS show and I was already performing at festivals, because I’ve created relationships with my supporters. I’ve never thought that the app could be the reason for my success. Also, even if people want to think that, I’d say the person pushing that was me. If something blows up on TikTok, it’s instantly labelled a TikTok song – I understand the logic, but ’Own Brand’ was out a couple of weeks before it started blowing up. TikTok wasn’t the basis for my success. A lot of my true supporters will know that.”

There was discourse on TikTok about you as a Black queer woman blowing up on the app, is there added pressure to be the representation you want to see in the world?

“I’m always about normalising sexuality a lot more. I don’t actively try and set out to change people’s minds or opinions or open their minds, but it happens naturally. And I feel like collectively, as humans, we can actually contribute to normalising different representations of sexuality more, by not making it a thing. I get why it’s important to talk about sexuality but it’s so conflicting in my head because I would never want something that you can’t change or have no choice over to overshadow something I’ve worked for, and be at the forefront of my career. I love being a representation for Black queer women, because I didn’t feel like I had any other like me. But I don’t want that to be highlighted over the art, you know?”

Where do you want your music and artistry to take you in the future?

“I want to be known for my music, obviously, like, that’s what I want to move the world and my artistry as a whole. Every bit of art I produce, I want it to be appreciated more than anything else. But I also want my personality to be appreciated. I want people to love the person I am as well. And, being a public figure, it helps with getting your personality out there. I can do that through music and through dance or whatever, but I want my art and I to be the main focus.

“I want my career to take me around the world. Continue my world domination. That’s what I’ve been putting out there; world domination. I don’t necessarily want to pinpoint where I want it to take me because the possibilities are endless. I’ve always had that mentality in life, in general. I just want everything to take off, really.”

“I’m currently working on my second EP. I will be dropping a couple of singles beforehand, and I’m really excited for my next single coming out very soon. I feel like I’m quite genre-fluid. You cannot pinpoint what I might come out of. I’m excited for people to hear what I can give outside of ‘Own Brand Freestyle’, and I feel like they’re gonna appreciate the variety”.

I think this year is going to be one where we will see more promising emerging artists than ever before. With live gigs back and a new hunger from artists and fans alike, Dreya Mac will court even more love and following. She is someone that we all need to keep an eye out for. If you have not checked her out yet, make sure you do so. This will be a year where Dreya Mac…

MAKES a giant impact.

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Follow Dreya Mac

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/dreyamac

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/dreyamac/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHyhS6Rk5f0PyTp-GJ3GUOw

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/03AVZyE7WnmLY4rTL1s0RP

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DreyaMac/

FEATURE: A Return to Worthy Farm… The Glastonbury Festival 2022 Playlist

FEATURE:

 

 

A Return to Worthy Farm…

IMAGE CREDIT: Stanley Dorwood/Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival 2022 Playlist

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THE first real…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Phoebe Bridgers/PHOTO CREDIT: Olivia Malone for The Times

Glastonbury Festival since 2019, we return to Worthy Farm from 22nd-26th June. The first wave of artists was announced earlier this week. Headliners Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar join West Holts headliner Little Simz, in addition to the legends slot act, Diana Ross. On the poster/bill are the likes of Wet Leg, TLC, The Avalanches, Phoebe Bridgers, and Supergrass. There are more names to come but, after a tough couple of years, it is a relief to have the festival back! The calibre of the artists already announced means those lucky enough to have tickets are in for a treat! Let us hope that, by June, the weather improves – and the terror and war in Ukraine is over and we can return to some form of stability and peace. It will be a cathartic and wonderful celebration in Somerset in the summer. Paul McCartney headlines Saturday night; he turns eighty a week before doing his much-awaited set. Alongside him are some icons and legends of music, in addition to some newer artists who are getting this incredible platform. There will be coverage on the BBC in June. To mark the names that have already been confirmed, I have assembled a playlist of a song from those wonderful acts. In the verdant and buzzing fields of Worthy Farm in June, the amazing panoply of stunning artists will be there to soundtrack a celebration. For the first time in a long time, the excited masses will be sing, dance and…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney

COME together.

FEATURE: Terrifying, Awe-Inspiring, Stunning… A Gem from Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave: Kate Bush’s Waking the Witch

FEATURE:

 

Terrifying, Awe-Inspiring, Stunning…

A Gem from Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave: Kate Bush’s Waking the Witch

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I think I have written about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

every other track on Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love. The album’s second half, The Ninth Wave, is especially captivating and immersive. Every song forms part of a suite – where a heroine is cast adrift in the sea and is hoping for rescue (and she eventually is) - that was a new thing for Bush. She had not really done anything like this before. It is a genius idea, and it gives Hounds of Love two distinct sides; almost like two E.P.s forming an album (like The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour). A song I have mentioned and not really gone into depth about is Waking the Witch. The third of seven tracks on The Ninth Wave, it is the most startling, frantic and head-tripping track on the entire album. It follows the beautiful opener of And Dream of Sheep. Almost lullaby-like (as the heroine desires a comfortable sleep and salvation), Under Ice follows. That is a colder and more urgent track. The third track is one of the most important. It needs to move the story on – as nightmares fill her head and the thoughts of an icy tomb await – and create a new sound and sensation. Whereas Under Ice relies more on a singular, deeper vocal and stern, almost-gothic string strike, Waking the Witch is busier. Starting quite calm and building to this madness and strange energy, it is a song that one does not hear played on the radio too much.

Before moving on, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia sources an interview where Bush discussed Waking the Witch. Listening to it now, it is a song that really moves the senses and drags you into its world:

“These sort of visitors come to wake them up, to bring them out of this dream so that they don't drown. My mother's in there, my father, my brothers Paddy and John, Brian Tench - the guy that mixed the album with us - is in there, Del is in there, Robbie Coltrane does one of the voices. It was just trying to get lots of different characters and all the ways that people wake you up, like you know, you sorta fall asleep at your desk at school and the teacher says "Wake up child, pay attention!". (...) I couldn't get a helicopter anywhere and in the end I asked permission to use the helicopter from The Wall from The Floyd, it was the best helicopter I'd heard for years for years [laughs].

I think it's very interesting the whole concept of witch-hunting and the fear of women's power. In a way it's very sexist behavior, and I feel that female intuition and instincts are very strong, and are still put down, really. And in this song, this women is being persecuted by the witch-hunter and the whole jury, although she's committed no crime, and they're trying to push her under the water to see if she'll sink or float. (Richard Skinner, 'Classic Albums interview: Hounds Of Love. Radio 1 (UK), aired 26 January 1992)”.

After Waking the Witch, there are two tracks where, sonically, things calm a bit with Watching You Without Me. The lyrics are quite haunting (the heroine imagining people she loves and her not being there), whilst Jig of Life takes the energy back up. Whereas Waking the Witch is anxious, scary and dark, Jig of Life is full of Irish passion as, at last, there is that kick of life and determination to survive! I like the fact that Waking the Witch comes one song before the midway point of that suite; Jig of Life emphatically opens the second – the shift between doom and a lack of hope and signs that things might be alright. On paper, a concept like The Ninth Wave seems easy and a lot of fun. Lesser artists would have written seven songs that sounded the same or lacked necessary emotion and impact. Bush managed to create this suite and concept (even if we do not know how the heroine was saved and how she ended up in the water) and, along the way, concocted so many moods and differing compositions. To me, the darkly terrifying jolt you get in Waking the Witch is one of the standout moments from The Ninth Wave. With helicopter sound from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and some of Bush’s best lyrics (the opening verse where various voices urge the heroine to wake up is spellbinding and harrowing in equal measures), Waking the Witch is a phenomenal and unforgettable song…

ON an album of masterpieces.

FEATURE: Fountain and Water: PJ Harvey’s Dry at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Fountain and Water

PJ Harvey’s Dry at Thirty

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NOT only can you buy…

 IN THIS PHOTO: PJ Harvey in San Francisco in 1992/PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Blakesberg

PJ Harvey’s amazing debut album, Dry, on vinyl; you can also get the recent Demos version of it. As Harvey’s debut is thirty on 30th March, I am looking ahead to an incredible moment in music. One of the most impressive and distinct of all time, it is worth spending a bit of time getting to know the background to Dry – in addition to sourcing a couple of critical reviews. The first feature that I want to highlight is from 2020. In spite of PJ Harvey being young when her debut came out and not like any other artist, she was fully-formed and hugely confident:

“Straight out of England’s rural Southwest, Polly Jean Harvey always had a spiritual connection with the American South – the birthplace of backwoods-gothic sin and redemption – and of the blues, which she discovered through her first musical hero, Howlin’ Wolf. With that lineage, it was no surprise that the debut album by this young Englishwoman was unlike anything else that appeared in 1992. Almost three decades later, it’s no stretch to say that it’s still startling. Albums like Dry are so way-out-there that they don’t belong to a decade or scene.

The feral blues-rock underpinning Harvey’s volcanic presence on the record raises the hair on the back of your neck. More than that: hearing Dry‘s gnarled guitar/bass/drums attack is like being in the same room as something disquieting and eternal. Though Harvey’s sonic armory later included a bit of goth, a little electronica, some plain old rock, and something approaching pop, it was the blues that unlocked her storytelling abilities.

 The other remarkable thing is that despite being only 22, PJ Harvey was already fully-formed as a singer and songwriter. This “guitar-toting succubus,” in Rolling Stone’s description, had an emotional spectrum that skewed toward drama, and she had no filter. But she wasn’t out of control – as some contemporary reviewers speculated – she was just conveying her truth, figuratively ripping away Band-Aids to show some wounds, while leaving others safely covered.

One 1992 rave review – that didn’t quite grasp her – contended that Dry was an “honest irrational outpouring.” (The reviewer also claimed she’d reinvented “post-rockist guitar.”) In fact, the album was only irrational in the sense that human feelings are irrational. Honest, though, it certainly was. While Polly Jean later rebutted the assumption that her songs were autobiographical, Dry was undeniably influenced by her own life.

She and her band (Rob Ellis, drums; Stephen Vaughan, bass) had moved from her home village of Corscombe, Dorset (population 445), to London in 1991, and it was a wrench. While the move was musically productive – they signed to indie label Too Pure and were championed by influential Radio 1 presenter John Peel – Harvey was deeply unhappy. Her first real relationship had just ended, she was renting a damp flat in North London, and the city felt overwhelming.

Thus, the songs that ended up on Dry have a definite narrative arc. Over 11 tracks, the mood gradually shifts from heartbroken pleading to a thirst for revenge. Aptly, it kicks off with a discordant clang – that’s Harvey’s guitar, welcoming you to the opening “Oh My Lover.” Dark and bass-heavy, it grimly gives her boyfriend permission to see another woman while still involved with Polly.

On “Dress” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” (the first and second singles), Harvey first adopts a teenage whine, begging the guy to look at her in the dress he bought her; in the second song, she offers him her “childbearing hips…ruby-red ruby lips,” only to be rebuffed by his brutal retort, “You exhibitionist…Wash your breasts, I don’t want to be unclean.”

All of this, including the furious payback tracks “Joe” and “Hair,” is thrust along by Harvey’s caustic guitar-playing and the cavernous noise kicked up by drums and bass. In the latter song she’s Delilah, cutting off Samson’s crowning glory as he screams, “Wait!” an image that any wronged lover will relish.

Oh, and there are some first-class hook lines on Dry: the chorus of “Sheela-Na-Gig” especially, is a roaring singalong that could have been made for festival crowds, and the delight of it, is that it’s about ancient stone figures of women displaying their labia.

It’s easy to see why Courtney Love once said, “The one rock star that makes me know I’m sh_t is Polly Harvey.” Madonna, too, is a fan, and there are clear affinities with Björk, whose solo career took off a year after Dry; both women are restlessly creative, and not bound to any template. Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes was also inspired by Harvey’s “honest, real, quite intimate nakedness” while making her 2012 album, The Haunted Man.

If Dry still packs a punch almost three decades on, imagine how it sounded at the time. And imagine how she appeared to an early 90s audience. The front cover is an extreme close-up of her bruised-looking lips and the back shows her in stark monochrome, topless and watching the camera equivocally. Yet she bridled at the idea that she and her music upended conventional feminine mores: she just was what she was. Dry is a stunning debut from an artist who more than lived up to her early promise.

Featuring some of Harvey’s best tracks - Sheela-Na-Gi, Dress, and O Stella among them -, it is no wonder Dry remains such a popular and fascinating album. The Demos album is worth getting, as it is powerful and revealing. A tremendous artist who, few would have guessed in 1992, has gone on to become a legend and an icon. Many artists start life quite modestly, though there is such conviction, wonder and raw talent right through Dry! Thirty years later, it remains one of the greatest albums ever. I will end with a couple of reviews. NME had their say in 1992:

“Women are reputed never to be disgusted. The sad fact is, they often are, but not with men, they are most often disgusted with themselves." Germain Greer, The Female Eunuch

EXCEPT POLLY PJ Harvey. She's the final nail in the coffin of the carefree, careless boy music critic. Behold, she is the one-woman saviour of indie sex! From out of a regenerated but already self-pollinating indie universe she came, sounding sooo different from Thousand Yard Stare and Midway Still that she might've been from another planet of sound altogether.

Last year's 'Dress' 45 was a wildcat among homing pigeons. Minimalist, hard-faced, ferocious, string heaven, it put the indie boys in a spontaneous lather and nailed mini-label Too Pure to the map. Now you will hear this a lot over the coming weeks - and you'll hear it again and again as this incredible band make their ascent to mainstream acceptance - but I'm putting it into speechmarks: "PJ Harvey has got balls". Do me a king-sized favour! Is it not time we stopped attaching bullocks to things we think are good? Is there not an element of actual lazy journalism in bestowing the gift of sperm production on a female artist who makes the grade? Patriarchal hogwash. You don't need to be Tim Booth, with his "God made us to her own design" guilt-trippery, to be offended by this daft, out-of-date sexist slur. Polly J Harvey Hs assets, strengths, attributes, talent. She is so great, she is a man. Cheers.

"Much to discover/I know you don't have the time", she sings - and when I say sings, I don't just mean enunciate words in tune to a provided melody, Polly dredges these sounds from the pit of her dissected soul and drags them out of her mouth with clenched fists. There is, indeed, much to discover on the low-key, 11-track debut by this Yeovil three-piece. And you should make time. From the first opening vocal wrench that is 'Oh My Lover', you know you're a million miles from the hard(on) sell of corporate nutter-chic(k) such as Tori Amos or even Sinead (God strike me down!). We have come to expect hard work and running up and down and ankle-breaking effects pedal punishment from our best On stars in the last couple of years - but this, as they say, is personal. Doing it for the kids, she may be, but swat is she doing , exactly?

PJ Harvey is the name of the band; this includes cool, grumbling bassist Stephen Vahghan and deft, unmannered drummer Robert Ellis. PJ Harvey is the name of the band's raison d'être too - it is her bruise-like lips that are pushed in your face on 'Dry's' sleeve, it's her songwriting credit that takes these clever, repetitive, low-slung guitar poems into another dimension; it's her submerged, naked body that shocks from the album's back cover. In this case, the blokes are the accessories.

"I'm naked/So cover my body/Dress it fine" she sings on 'Happy And Bleeding', the album's cornerstone. The appearance of Polly's chest on this record's packaging may find itself, erm, misused in the grubby mitts of the lonelier Indie Sadboy, but let's hope they toss themselves off to death, while PJ goes on to greater things. It's problematic, for sure, this brazen, 'artistic' statement - but if you can't rise above it, you won't get far within.

When PJ says she's "bleeding for you", is it some martyrdom kick, or a lover's threat, or a metaphor for pain? One is drawn quickly to the conclusion that it's a 'woman's thing', but things get real messy when you burden a songwriter with your own gender-specific guesswork. Elsewhere, though, PJ urges the onlooker to "Look at these child-bearing hips/Look at these, my ruby red lips"(Sheela-Na-Gig) - she's washing that man right out of her hair ("Turn the corner, another one there") and on 'Dress' she's clearly addressing the pressures of fitting accepted female stereotypes - "It's hard to walk in a dress/It's not easy". You feel as if there's some absurdist gender panto going on in Ms Harvey's mind”.

I will end with Pitchfork’s from 2016. From its release to recent years, people have been awestruck and moved by one of PJ Harvey’s greatest albums. Among the many strengths of Dry are its vivid and rich lyrics:

“From Dry’s first line, Harvey relishes in that ambiguity, forcing the listener to figure out what they’re feeling and why. “Ohhh myyy loverrr,” she rasps in her thick accent, as if seducing someone with her dying breath. She’s assuring her man that it’s fine for him to see another woman simultaneously, promising she’ll soak up his troubles while he can take whatever he likes: Her character understands that his time is limited, his satisfaction paramount, and that compromise is the fate of all women. The bass thuds like a domino line of falling oak trees, while a harmonium’s eerie whine makes the song feel like a dark, lost folk standard.

She follows the streak of subjugation: A frenzied prayer to the Virgin Mary on “O Stella,” to guide her through the night on “Dress.” Then comes “Victory,” where she’s a post-punk Vera Lynn lustily imploring the boys to “sweat, dig—I’ll mop it right off your brow.” On the earthy lurch of “Happy and Bleeding” she loses her virginity and turns from fresh fruit to rotten peach both “long overdue” and “too early,” her “idle hole” then rejected on “Sheela-Na-Gig.” That’s the first half of Dry: blitzing the rigged path young women must walk from innocence to sullied castoff. It’s rife with disappointment and violence, but Harvey treats the double standard for the absurd cabaret it is, making perfect sense of it through her formative blues vocabulary. She plays victim in her words and aggressor with her guitar, adopting a libidinous swagger that’s as nasty and thrilling as the abuser who keeps her coming back for more. Nobody sings like PJ Harvey sings on Dry, veering perilously (but exactingly) between wheedling, raging, vamping, always with a sly wink.

These extreme contrasts confused critics at the time: Dry played like a feminist statement but she refused the label, wondering why anyone remarked on her sexual lyrics when plenty of rock and blues bands had gone further before her. Mostly dressed in black, her hair scraped back severely, she seemed to eschew image, but then posed topless on the cover of NME. She insisted that there was no depth to the lyrics, and professed to being baffled by people’s attempts to interpret them, but her considered use of female archetypes to depict a woman’s fall and subsequent vengeance told a different story. All of these things were true at once, part of her distancing push-and-pull. As she told Spin in ’93, “The biggest protection you can have is if people think they’ve got you and they haven’t got you at all.”

She pulls the same trick on Dry’s scumbag subject, going into the record's vengeful second half. She’s Delilah to his Samson on “Hair,” flattering him into submission and cutting off his mane. “I’ll keep it safe,” she sings, sounding emboldened by power, before flipping on a knife edge, realizing: “You’re mine.” The bass zooms as if mapping the swift transfer of power; the rhythm section pounds like Samson’s impotent rage. “Joe” is the record’s most manic moment. There’s no quiet-loud shift, just pure piledriver dynamics as she spits nails at the treachery she’s experienced: “Always thought you’d come rushing in to clear the shit out of my eye/Joe, ain’t you my buddy, thee?”

But rather than commit bloody murder as you might expect, she retreats on “Plants and Rags,” “[easing] myself into a body bag,” and finding solace at home: “Who thought they could take away that place?” she asks as the violin swirls to a deranged squall. Her love of Slint comes through on the menacing fretboard harmonics of “Fountain,” where she washes herself clean and a Jesus-like figure shrouds her modesty in leaves. On “Water,” her first utterance of the word sounds like she’s dying of thirst. By the chorus, when she’s walked into the sea, invoking Mary and Jesus again, she sounds as though the crashing waves are emanating from her own throat.

Critics have theorized that she drowns herself at the end of the album, to rid the shame from her body. But it sounds more like a rebirth; the cure to her dryness, finding satisfaction on her own terms and eradicating the need she had looked to someone else to fill. Dry is an exciting, scary joyride through the dawning realization that learning to please yourself yields far greater pleasure than relying on others to do it for you: These gory myths are her lover’s discourse, an apocalypse—in the revelatory sense—that she would push even further on 1993’s Rid of Me (after her immediate fame resulted in a nervous breakdown). Following the NYC gloss of 2000’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, she attempted to tap back into this sound on 2004’s Uh Huh Her, but the lack of her debut’s extreme urgency limited its success. On Dry, Harvey’s character may appear to subjugate her gratification, but it’s all there, bursting out in the zeal of her playing.

“It’s the same kind of excitement, playing music, as in a sexual relationship, and the two go hand-in-hand,” she told a French TV show in ’93. “And I think I find music physically exciting as well—actually playing loud music and standing in front of a bass amplifier is quite a sexual experience, I think.” She tells a story about playing in Chicago, and how every time Steve Vaughan hit an A, she got vibrations right up to her middle. “Wonderful,” she muses. “We play a lot of songs in A as well, so it was a good night.” The French journalist gurgles like a stunned baby, unable to process this frank, feral waif who’s got it all figured out”.

Prior to 30th March, I wanted to spotlight a classic album. I don’t think we will get an anniversary release, as the Demos album came out a couple of years back. Anyway, fans around the world will give their thanks and love to a masterpiece from PJ Harvey. As astonishing as any debut, Dry is an album that will…

NEVER lose its brilliance.