Download Festival

With a smaller announcement for the Donington festival, I felt it only right to compile a list of bands who I'm looking forward to seeing there. In no particular order...

AC/DC
Them Crooked Vultures
Wolfmother
Rage Against the Machine
Megadeth
Lamb of God
Five Finger Death Punch
Hell Yeah
Taking Dawn
Aerosmith
Stone Temple Pilots
Motörhead
Billy Idol
Slash
Cinderella
Saxon
Ratt
Coheed and Cambria
Cancer Bats
Rock Sugar
Stone Sour
Airbourne
Steel Panther
Porcupine Tree
The Used
Dillinger Escape Plan
Those Damned Things
Suicidal Tendencies
Zebrahead

Obviously due to clashes and whatnot (Aerosmith/Stone Sour, for example) it won't be possible to see all of these bands, which is quite a saddening realisation. I have also just noticed that I have only seen RATM previously, which makes a change compared to seeing the same bands every year at Leeds Festivals.

Considering the three headliners could easily get away with charging £50 a ticket for an arena tour, £170 for a weekend camping pass doesn't seem like such a rip-off in hindsight.

Annoyances

Okay, so it's only 10:30am and already I am quite annoyed. Having been awake for roughly two hours, that could be a new record for me. I have decided to compile a list of things which have already caused my blood to boil to an alarming temperature.

1) Being awake at such an early time
2) A poor milk to Shreddies ratio
3) Ridiculous amateur political views on Facebook, e.g. "They fuked this country ryt up!"
4) Reading about Guru from GangStarr dying
5) Last.fm being down
6) The sun being so bright that I have to wear shades in the front room
7) No rice pudding in the cupboard
8) The 'Y' button on my keyboard is sticking
9) Burning my finger on a cigarette
10) Lack of creative flow resulting in me making a list

Green Day

After the announcement of Harmonix's newest addition to the Rock Band franchise, a stand-alone game based on Green Day's career, I was quite skeptical about whether or not it would be worth a purchase. I mean, the last album wasn't really that good, and despite what critics may say, "American Idiot" didn't really appeal to me either.

Don't get me wrong, I loves me some Green Day, but since they added a political twist to the music and attempts to produce 'rock operas' ("Quadrophenia" they are not), I've been having a few problems trying to remember why I like them so much. So, I decided to go back to the album which introduced me to the punk trio in the first place.

That album is 1994's "Dookie".

Goddamn, I love this album. With topics including boredom, drugs, masturbation, previous girlfriends and anxiety, the tracks are packed with simplistic lyrical genius. Okay, they aren't exactly up to par with say Radiohead, but still, the upbeat hilarity and catchiness help accentuate it all.

Tracks like "Burnout", "Longview", "She" and "F.O.D." were permanently cemented into my mind the minute I heard them, back when I bought the CD at about twelve years old. Listening to them now, at the age of twenty, breathes new life into the tracks. I love them more.

Seeing Green Day now, it'd be hard to imagine them ever recording material like this (even harder to see them doing '39/Smooth' or 'Kerplunk'). Though, in a way, I'm glad they did eventually 'grow up'. I just wish the music hadn't suffered for it.

Albums I'm rocking at the moment

1. Slash - Slash
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love
3. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Coming
4. Seasick Steve - Dog House Blues
5. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
6. The Beatles - Let It Be
7. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
8. Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
9. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell

The Beatles - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967)

Okay, who hasn't heard this record? If you haven't, where have you been for the past forty years? Your mother probably has a vinyl copy stashed away in the attic. Do yourself a favour: dust that hunk of plastic off, put some headphones in and just listen.

Following on from the experimentation which appeared on 1966's "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper" featured the Fab Four incorporating orchestras and innovative production techniques, as well as blending other musical genres into the mix. Elements of jazz, rock and roll, and even traditional Indian music were all added by the band, creating an unforgettable banquet of musical excellence.

A loose concept album starring the Beatles as the the fictional eponymous Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Sgt. Pepper" follows the life of (again, fictional) Billy Shears, involving themes of aging ("When I'm Sixty-Four", "She's Leaving Home"), love ("Lovely Rita"), set during post-war Britain. The album was intentionally bookended by the title track and the reprise at the end of the record.

It's hard to define "Sgt. Pepper" without mentioning its psychedelic style. The album is often referred to as the definition of the then-new genre, a style which would be continued by the band on "Magical Mystery Tour", before moving into a more progressive, almost avant-garde style on the untitled "White Album".

But, you as a music fan, probably already know this. The album was a huge success and went on to sell shitloads, arguably becoming the Fab Four's magnum opus, but how good is it?

The answer is very fucking good.

The album becomes immediately hypnotic, from the first guitar licks of the intro track to the infamous three-way piano chord conclusion to "A Day in the Life". It's almost impossible to detract from the experience until the forty minute total is through. Despite the popularity of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", "Getting Better" and the much-covered "With a Little Help from My Friends", this is not an album for cherry-picking.

Yes, there are some flaws, but minor ones. Harrison's venture into the world of Indian raga rock, "Within You Without You" is mesmerising at first, but lacks interest around halfway through. After a few listens, the track becomes somewhat annoying.
"When I'm Sixty-Four" strikes of McCartney's 'grandma music' but can be forgiven due to its length and laughable 'what ifs' (Sir Paul is sixty-eight this June).

I only mention these 'issues' to bring some kind of balance to this half-arsed 'review' as the tracks don't even bother me that much. It's like the Mona Lisa having a five o'clock shadow: you wonder what the fuck the artists were smoking, but love it anyway. It's like your girlfriend having halitosis, but you don't care because the big picture is a beautiful one.

This album is a definite, no questions asked, must-have. Is it overhyped? Perhaps, but rightfully so. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" deserves ever bit of praise it gets.

Rolling Stone Magazine Lists

Anyone who has the slightest interest in modern music has surely heard of The Rolling Stone. Once a respectable publication, the last few years have not been kind to the writers of the New York based journal.

Now, I'm not saying that the magazine was ever that good (writing off Led Zeppelin during their most active years is surely journalistic suicide?), quite the opposite in fact, but it was the release of the magazine's self-proclaimed '500 Greatest Albums of All Time List' which caught my eye.

Okay, you could argue that the list is simply opinion. Numerous critics/'industry experts' were surveyed for the article and thousands of man hours were put into compiling it. However, that doesn't stop it from being a complete pile of horse shit.

The list is noticably balanced towards to early years of the spectrum with over three-hundred of the albums being released during the 50s, 60s and 70s. The entire top ten is consisted of 60s and 70s efforts, four of which belonging to The Beatles.

Yes, The Beatles were fucking good, but by numbering the list entries rather than not, the publishers create somewhat of a bias towards earlier rock and roll music. Only thirteen of the list's entries are from the 2000s, including two Eminem albums and that fucking "Rock Steady"... 'thing'... by No Doubt. I realise that the list was created in late 2003 which somewhat explains the neglection, but still.

Speaking of neglection, there are quite a few glaring absences. No Tool, no Boston, no Rush, no Dead Kennedys, no Megadeth, no Yes, no Queen, no Cult, no Genesis, no King Crimson... in fact, no progressive artists at all. Sure, there are a few mentions of Pink Floyd (no "Animals"?) but one would assume this is simply lip service. I mean, any sort of 'top ten' list without Pink Floyd would be laughable.

However, there are a few nice surprises on the list. Captain Beefheart, Wu-Tang Clan and AC/DC are all (briefly) recognised. It's just hard to take the article seriously.

I mean, listing five Bowie albums and "Changesonebowie", a compilation made up almost entirely of singles off the mentioned albums? It's just laziness.