Month: August 2010

Categories
Playlists

101 Spotisfaction Friday – 20th August 2010 – Woody Whyte

Today’s playlist is courtesy of Woody Whyte, and is entitled “2010 So Far…”. If you like what you hear and are inspired to create your own playlist, check out our submission guide above. Let us know in the comments if you’d have included any other tracks in your 2010 list. Don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter either, to keep up to date with us!

Love, hugs and mealy bugs.
Dave

Woody Says:

With over half the year gone, it felt like the right time to have a little re-cap on what the best of 2010 has had to offer us so far. This is, of course, a subjective list, I don’t claim to have the holy grail of music taste but I hope there is something for most people in there.

What conclusions can we draw from my list? Well, British music is at a low ebb. With a yawn-worthy Mercury list (except The xx), folk-for-all-the-family bands and artists plaguing the airwaves and nothing in the way of a stand out breakthrough British artist, I have mainly had to look elsewhere for something to my taste.

Of the American bands; Perfume Genius, Best Coast, Beach House and Aerial Pink have all released fantastic albums this year. In Europe and the UK, Delorean, Charlotte Gainsbourg and M.I.A have also released some of my favourite albums.

Pop music and ‘surf-rock’ bands seem to be my main fascination and, unintentionally, there is more than a whiff of Pitchfork endorsed music in there. Embarrassing (though I bet you all read it too!).

The promising thing is that there is still some brilliant albums to come. Zola Jesus and Washed Out are on my wishlist, as well as S. Carey (who isn’t on this list) but worth a mention. Classically trained drummer for Bon Iver is releasing a solo album this month. No doubt I shall write a review if it makes it’s way over to Spotify.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and feel free to comment your favourite albums of the year so far.

Categories
News

News: Welcome

Evening all. Couple of quick ones for you this evening.

For those that are new to Spotisfaction since the relaunch, we run playlists on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with news, reviews and features interspersed throughout the week. Check back tomorrow for our next playlist, #101.

We’re currently looking for a few people to join our happy crew and contribute regular pieces of work. To rip off an earlier post of mine:

…If you”™re the kind of person that prioritises buying albums or going to gigs over buying food, then come write a few reviews for us.
…If most of your time is spent in a mammoth Spotify click-through blur, come be one of our playlist crafters.
…If you spend all day on the Internet trawling music sites, then compile that stuff and chuck us some news.
…If you spend more time looking through a camera viewfinder than your own eyeballs, be our lensman/woman.
…If you fancy yourself less grammar Nazi, more grammar Hitler, come help us edit our content.
…If you can view HTML and PHP like Neo views the Matrix, slip in as our resident grouchy coder.

If any of these absurd stereotypes are you, get in touch. If you would rather just submit a one-off playlist, review or article, that’s fine too.

Finally, we’ve started work on a “once every now and again” newsletter, so if you’d like to be kept up-to-date with periodic bulletins, then please do feel free to subscribe.

Love, etc.
The Spotisfaction Team

Categories
Features

Feature: In Defence of Simon Cowell

Article by Rhys Howell.

The X Factor returns this Saturday, and we all know what to expect: the treacly piano score; the soft focus blur; the tears beginning to trickle down the contestant”™s face during their tale about their paraplegic gran, and how she used to hum “Danny Boy” using only her throat mic after Nazi dentists stole her larynx, and that”™s why in a modern interpretation they”™ll now be singing “SK8R Boi” for dear old Gran. Its such a cliché that as soon as Keane come on the soundtrack you know the weeping chancer is going through. Other than this one downside, I”™m looking forward to what is the saviour of the music industry.

Last week we had a feature lambasting reality TV shows and their impact on the music industry (If you haven”™t read it yet then it can be found here. I”™ll wait while you do.). I think these programs are a good thing and will attempt to convince you, too.

Continue reading “Feature: In Defence of Simon Cowell”
Categories
News

News: A Genuine Freakshow

One of my musical highlights of the year so far has been the discovery of Reading-based seven piece, A Genuine Freakshow. Having caught their fantastic post-rock inspired live act twice so far this year I am genuninely excited at the prospect of the release of their debut album, Oftentimes, which is due to hit shelves on 4th October. A special edition of the album, which includes a second disc of the band’s previously released material, is now available for pre-order from their website. For lovers of post-rock indie, I would highly recommend checking the band out and picking up a copy of the album (and yes I have ordered mine already).

Look for a review of the album here as soon as it arrives on my doorstep, but in the meantime check them out below (courtesy of SoundCloud):

Selections from ‘Oftentimes’ by A Genuine Freakshow

Categories
Playlists

100 Spotisfaction Wednesday – 18th August 2010 – Best of Spotisfaction Vol. 1

Afternoon, folks. We hope you’re enjoying the new website. We certainly are, that’s for sure. I loved Tumblr, but this new site is a breeze to use from an editing point of view, and hopefully it’s a lot easier to navigate, too. We’ve still got a list as long as our arms of things we’d like to implement, so you’ll see the site improve over time. Exciting stuffs!

Anyway, you’re probably a bit bored of me going on about the new website by now so let’s talk about today’s playlist.

Thom and I crafted this “Best Of” playlist a couple of months ago, and it contains our picks of our favourite tracks from the first few months of Spotisfaction’s life. We think it’s a fairly accurate representation of the diversity of playlists in those early days (and even to this day). Those of you who have been with us since the beginning, let us know if you’d have changed any of these selections!

We’re trying out a new method of displaying the tracklists for our playlists so that they’re more visible on the homepage, and you’re seeing the result of this on the right. Hit the “Tracklist” link to open the playlist.

Thanks again for everyone who has stuck with us since the early days of the site, and hi to anyone that’s new to the party. Thanks for your ongoing support.

Here’s to another 100 playlists!
[David]

Categories
News

News: Website Relaunch

Morning all! It’s my mahoosive pleasure to inform you that our new website is now online! The new site should offer a cleaner, more easily navigated experience, and I really hope you all enjoy using it. We have big plans for future development, and we’re keen to take your ideas on board so please do get in touch with any suggestions or comments.

Massive heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the redesign – a lot of hard work has gone into the migration, and it’s hugely appreciated.

Some info for you:

  • Our RSS feeds have changed – the new link is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Spotisfaction;
  • Check out our Submission Guide here for details on how to continue submitting your playlists, reviews and features;
  • We’ve created a new Facebook ‘fan’ page to offer us more control over the updates we post there, so please like us and suggest us to your friends!

Major thanks from myself and the whole team for your continued support. We created this website and continue to update it because we really love what we do, but there’d be no point in doing it if none of you guys visited.

Love, etc.
Dave and The Spotisfaction Team.

Categories
Reviews

Review: The Baseballs – Strike

Image courtesy of Amazon.co.uk

Just humour me, here. In a throwback to the old school, German cover group The Baseballs have taken it upon themselves to re-introduce the good old juke box to the masses with a fresh bunch of recent smash hits re-imagined with a 50”™s twist. Going back a few years to 1995, a lounge cover music outfit The Mike Flowers Pops group made their name with their audacious attempt to outshine Oasis”™ immortal Wonderwall and gave themselves overnight notoriety. These days, is seems that only a few groups can summon the gall to attempt covers of such well known tracks. Nevertheless, The Baseballs have released a collection of efforts in their lively debut album “Strike”.

Continue reading “Review: The Baseballs – Strike”
Categories
Features Reviews

Feature: Tomorrow’s Sounds Today

Hi everyone, welcome to another edition of Tomorrow’s Sounds Today! For those new to the series, this is our collection of the best from the “What’s New” section of Spotify presented to you for your digestion on a fortnightly basis.

We have some real crackers for you this week, including some unusual choices showcasing our commitment to musical diversity. As usual we’ll present our top picks with a little breakdown for you, but please also take a look at the playlist linked at the end of the post for some little extras and teasers for you!

Wavves ”“ King Of The Beach – If you have already listened to the Best Coast album we did a review on last week then you are in for a complete treat with this piece. An epic work of positive, pulsing guitar rock that wouldn’t be out of place on a soundtrack for that drive to the beach for a surf weekend. Tones of other genre bands come out in all the tracks but at no point do they feel like they are lending too heavily from other peoples work. Turn this one up loud and feel the summer.

Continue reading “Feature: Tomorrow’s Sounds Today”

Categories
Playlists

99 Spotisfaction Monday – 16th August 2010 – Thom Lavelle

Savage Henry has cashed his cheque.

And you know what that means. Yes, after 99 Spotisfactions and numerous features over the last 6 months, I am leaving the Spotisfaction team.

Since it’s birth back in February, Spotisfaction has grown from two frustrated 20-somethings swapping playlists into, well, what you’re reading right now – A fully featured music blog with news, reviews and a handful of dedicated and enthusiastic contributors. I wish Dave and the rest of the team all the best in the coming months and look forward to seeing the further growth of our little baby.

Right, so without further delay, here is Thom Lavelle, posting a Spotisfaction playlist for the last time.

Thom.

[Dave’s Note: Goodbye Thom, it’s been a massive pleasure my young sir. Stay safe, and keep us updated with your goings on. PEACE and TRUCKING]

99 Spotisfaction Monday (16 Aug) – TLavelle – Departure

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Categories
Reviews

Review: Best Coast – Crazy For You

Image courtesy of Amazon.co.uk.

Such is their ubiquitous presence online, it is difficult to say anything new about Best Coast which hasn”™t been repeated a thousand of times before. “It seems like the whole internet is talking about the Best Coast album” tweeted their record company Wichita Records last month. I, my Spotisfaction friends, shall try to avoid talking about their hilarious twitter feed, or famous boyfriends or music blog hysteria surrounding this album and the current wave of ”˜low-fi”™ bands from America (er, well, starting from now). Let”™s just concentrate on one thing, Crazy For You, the debut album by Best Coast, the solo project of Bethany Consentino from California accompanied by Bobb Bruno on bass and Ali Koehler on drums.

Far from reinventing the wheel, or doing anything which would typically generate the amount of press attention as they have, Crazy For You finds it”™s virtue by sticking with traditional low-fi philosophy of keeping things simple. The album is a meeting point between slacker culture of the 90s and minimal production (it was recorded in just two weeks). The album is full of nostalgia, sing-a-long melodies and throw-away lyrics about life, love and summer and it is this that makes the album such an enjoyable listen. Opening single ”˜Boyfriend”™ wouldn’t have seemed out of place on alt.rock radio playlists circa 1994. Grungy guitars playing a 3 chord structured verses and that rare beast nowadays, a guitar solo! But as soon as second track ”˜Crazy For You”™ comes along, it becomes apparent that there is another era which Best Coast are paying homage. The track is a concoction of the Shangri-La”™s aptitude of all things sinister and the Beach Boys ‘Surfin’ USA’. You can imagine Bethany cruising down the Californian coast with her boyfriend, basking in the sunshine as she is singing to him “I would kill you but then I”™d miss you”.

Continue reading “Review: Best Coast – Crazy For You”
Categories
Playlists

98 Spotisfaction Friday – 13th August 2010 – Mike Sheldrick

Hi guys. Thom and I had the world’s most important debate today. A debate that has the potential to split our nation right down the middle. A debate so fearce and volatile that we’ve both had to have a bit of a sit down and a cup of tea to recover… That’s right, folks, a debate about which Limp Bizkit cover on Spotify was the best one (not including Richard Cheese or Vitamin String Quartet)…

I think it’s Faith, by some dude called George Michael. He’s taken the song and made it his own. Respect.

Anyway, today’s playlist is by Mighty Mike Sheldrick. Friday 13th? Overrated.

[David]

98 Spotisfaction Friday (13 Aug) – MSheldrick
Hit the link for Mike’s blurb.

Continue reading “98 Spotisfaction Friday – 13th August 2010 – Mike Sheldrick”

Categories
Features

Feature: What Statement; A Profile of Alien8 Records

Article by Richard Capener.

In my day, I say in an old man’s voice, there was a teenage ‘war’ around Gloucester: the individuals snobbily referred to as ‘chavs’ verses the punks and grebos. Verbal abuse and muggings ensued on both sides and blah blah blah.

Moral:

Musical communities, usually based on the clothes people wear and cliques, seem silly to me, who opts for a “Lets create whatever the hell we want, respect it and lend each other a helping hand” kinda mentality: communities defined by genre borders augment segregation.

What if a community was defined by its differences? What if viewpoints shifted from class ethics, clothes and cliques to what each individual believes to be music?

Montreal based label Alien8 Recordings “was founded in 1996 by Sean O’Hara and Gary Worsley, under whose operation the label continues to this day,” (www.alien8recordings.com/info). While their original focus was Montreal’s vangard, they’ve more or less dipped into every genre. And my oh my, I’m going to babble on for bit about some of their releases.

Far from the structureless jibberjabber (not that it’s bad – more on this later) most experimental communities offer, the last five years have seen Alien8 put out rock and roll. More or less. Take Anthologie Des 3 Perchoirs, the debut by the now defunct Duchess Says, and its rather indescribable track, AEAE (open.spotify.com/track/5MujNpEpKEfRrVBAfS7Bre). It’s made all the more exciting because the band believed, “Their goal was to insure a faithful representation of the message of the Duchess (or spiritual budgie) through a precise artistic dialog”. I don’t know what it means either but budgie-message sure makes for good tunage.

Continue reading “Feature: What Statement; A Profile of Alien8 Records”
Categories
Reviews

Review: The Megaphonic Thrift

Image courtesy of Amazon.co.uk.

The Megaphonic Thrift are an enigma to the extent that their references are so forced as to pigeonhole them unfairly. Take these as given: “It’s the new project from the guy from the Casiokids.”[1] (yes, Fredrik Vogsborg is a founding Casioist), “Their name’s from Guided By Voices”[2] or “Their name makes me think of The Polyphonic Spree.” (they certainly share a certain psychadelia with both), and when we’re talking about their music, they sound “like… uhhh… My Bloody Valentine[3][4] or Sonic Youth[4]… kinda.” (Yes, they’re a little noisy) Fine, that’s done. Now forget all that.

Continue reading “Review: The Megaphonic Thrift”
Categories
Reviews

Review: The Jolly Boys, The 100 Club London

Image courtesy of AltSounds.com.

The sheer joy of a septuagenarian Jamaican rocking a red suit, belting out classic tunes mento-style and dropping the occasional James Brown-style “huh!” cannot be fully expressed in words. Just smiles, laughter and applause which are heaped on The Jolly Boys by the sell-out crowd at esteemed venue The 100 Club on Oxford Street.

With a changing lineup over six decades, the Port Antonio mento band are experiencing a revival after hooking up with Jon Baker (Gee Street Records) and Mark Jones (Wall of Sound) in 2009 who introduced a repertoire of pop and rock tunes to bring the mento sound bang up to date. The feel-good, retro vibe has been a hit at Secret Garden party and Camp Bestival and was well received this weekend at Big Chill.

Continue reading “Review: The Jolly Boys, The 100 Club London”
Categories
Playlists

97 Spotisfaction Wednesday – 11th August 2010 – Kev Atkinson

Afternoon, all. Things are really kicking into overdrive with the website redesign. I feel like I’ve done nothing but code for the last couple of weeks, but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel. We think that the new site will be a lot easier to use for you guys, and we can’t wait to unveil it finally! There’ll be an announcement closer to the time so keep your eyes peeled…

Last week I succumbed to the growing trend in our office which is the Graze box. If you’ve not seen these before, they’re a brown box filled with nuts, berries, olives and other such things. I’m not going to lie – it’s tasty and a lot healthier than my normal Tesco-fueled lunch binge, but I feel like a freaking squirrel. I’m campaigning for them to make bacon sandwich flavoured brazil nuts.

Anyway, today’s playlist is by Kev Atkinson and is an eclectic mix of old and new tracks, appropriately entitled “Spotisclectic”. I hope you enjoy.

[David]

97 Spotisfaction Wednesday (11 Aug) – KAtkinson
Hit the link for Kev’s blurb.

Continue reading “97 Spotisfaction Wednesday – 11th August 2010 – Kev Atkinson”