The sleeve notes of this CD read like a Hot Topic for Scandophiles, containing as they do thank-yous to practically every Norwegian musician you ever head of. So it’s kind of funny and kind of amazing that this rocking-back-and-forth-in-frustration hour of digital storm and snow-blind feedback sounds so intensely isolated, isolating and unfriendly. Yet if it really was isolated, angry music it would make my eyes hurt, and actually it doesn’t. After the initial scree of noise, and the next phase, a kind of boredom, as you attempt to shut out the noise, you reach a period of acceptance, of living with mayhem. You feel its safety and organisation and smartness.

I saw Lasse Marhaug in Oslo a few months ago, with Jazzkammer, and felt the same mixture of excitement and stasis, noise so loud you can almost ignore it. Sometimes I did ignore it, because my friend didn’t like it and said there were no surprises and I tried to think like him for a minute, and had to agree. I’m good at that. But other times, I just felt glad that the noise was there. I’d have shaken my head til I got sick and/or tripped over my feet if I hadn’t been surrounded by stoic Scandinavian men (they stand and LISTEN to this stuff, proper listening).

Lasse says on his website: “Reviews in the norwegian press have been surprisingly positive, even got a 6/6 in one paper - so I must be doing something wrong.”

Posted by Frances May Morgan on Tuesday, May 11th, 2004
(1 Comment)

You think listening to British Sea Power is dull? Try arguing with some of their fans…

Posted by Everett True on Monday, May 10th, 2004
(1 Comment)

Man. Who’d have thought British Sea Power fans could be so dull? OK. Just for the benefit of all you folk who like to view art through extremely filtered lens, here it is again. One more time from the top.

I know little or nothing for the subject matter of Van Gogh or Joan Miro’s paintings (say). Yet I still enjoy the paintings…

Is the fact that music criticism exists in Microsoft Word confusing? In which case, consider this: you don’t need to lunch at the restaurants AA Gill dines at to appreciate his reviews of the food. In fact, it’s usually impossible. Frequently, I will laugh at stories in Private Eye, despite the fact I have no idea who the people involved are.

Closer to home, we have British Sea Power. I have no idea who or what they write their songs about. Does this affect my enjoyment of their music? Without subject matter to draw upon, the band would have no songs to write - does this mean the songs are valueless because they are based on the individual members’ interaction with the outside world? Some of us pride ourselves on our ability to plug an amplifier into a wall, turn it on, and copy the exact five chords that millions of bands have played millions of times before. Some of us pride ourselves on only being able to view the world in the same way everyone around us does. Some of us pride ourselves on our ability to communicate facts and opinions and descriptions and slightly twisted ideas that may not have come to fruitation before.

Of course good criticism is an artform in itself.

Posted by Everett True on Sunday, May 9th, 2004
(8 Comments)

Man, Miss AMP’s British Sea Power live review on this site is one fine piece of writing. I’m not surprised it’s attracted so much comment, cos it kicks ass. I am absolutely in awe of AMP’s descriptive skills. Jesus. I can’t believe someone’s used that rather lame-ass review I did of Todd as an example of what she should be aspiring to. It is so totally the other way round.

Frances could well be right that some of the negativism comes from men scared of a female perspective - one more reason to be embarrassed of my own sex, sadly.

I was lecturing to a class of media students yesterday. After hearing me summarily dismiss The Observer Music Monthly as “clearly nothing to do with music if it has Miranda Sawyer writing for it”, and the NME and Q as “put together by people clearly embarrassed to be writing about music”, someone asked me what I’m looking for in prospective Plan B contributors. I can never think of what to say. “Be yourself,” I reply lamely, being well aware that most wannabe music critics are just a series of clichés, wrapped up in woolly liberalism and the self-righteousness of the young. “Be individual.”

“Communicate the love or hatred for the music you’re writing about to such a extent that it makes me wanna rush out and buy - or burn - the artist’s records.”

Whatever. I can never think of what to say.

“Strive for greatness - or if not greatness, originality.”

From now on, I’m going to point them in the direction of the AMP review.
It absolutely rules.

Posted by Everett True on Saturday, May 8th, 2004
(18 Comments)

Sorry I’ve been silent here.
Had a theory about bedwetters and The Von Bondies to work out.

Had to work out the best way of explaining the scouring, cleansing power of Surf…I mean, Kaito.

Had to bring on board our new media editor, Katrina Dixon, and re-introduce her to the delights of Brighton at night. Andrew Claire’s already mentioned the Wrong Music night at the Free Butt last Wednesday but…whoa!

I missed DJ Smallcock’s glass-eating performance, but Master were scary and fun in the same way I found Withnail And I to be a deeply distressing and ugly film, with their banjo and clarinet and songs about how their roommates should “stop wearing my clothes, you bastard”, and the rather graphic “now I’m singing/NOW I’M SHOUTING” one. Katrina was excited to meet my celebrity pal Captain Sensible, but Ray was too concerned with examining Terminal Output’s impressive collection of effects pedals for embarrassment, and rightly so because TO played 25 minutes of solid, wall-of-feedback and thunder, not even interrupted by Danya trying to claim centre-stage from the audience by snogging the guitarist full-on in the middle of a riff, and sounded…well, nothing like Syd Barrett, despite the good Captain’s claims, but more like My Bloody Valentine in tune-up mode, only fresh and of 2004 of course.

The Sound Of Giant Reptiles Belching (another band) was precisely that, except they appeared to be two or three prone small females. What a night!

In other news, we now are proud slaves to a sulky, affectionate, moody, beautiful cat Poppy. The spinach has shot up overnight, the rosemary is in full flower and I’m still better than my younger brother at table-tennis. Score!

Posted by Everett True on Saturday, May 8th, 2004
(1 Comment)

I tell people off when they listen to the same album over again just so they can have some noise in the background. I tell them it spoils music. It reduces it to nothing, to dust motes and furniture, to boredom.

I don’t mean that when you fall in breathless love with ONE SONG you can’t then play it over again. You probably shouldn’t, but you can. That’s different. That’s music like sugar, like nitrous oxide, like crushes that take on a life of their own until you can’t remember anything real about the person or song you got the crush on.

I hardly ever do this anymore, because it’s greedy; because it’s just diminishing returns, like caffeine, carbs, coke, gas.

But I’ve listened to track 2, The Platform on the Ocean, three times since last night. I have no idea anymore whether it’s any good or not, whether I’m damaging it or myself by repeated listens. All I know is that for some reason (pick one: dusty drum machine; gentle motorik beat; one-note backing; Suicidelike synth simplicity; unexpected brass; sad, sad, sad, layered, delayed, wavered vocals hovering around the drone note and doing, what is it, pentatonic or something, one of those modes, lazy tunes, anyone can do it, s’the only way to sing around a one-chord song, gets me every time; a reminder throughout of dreams and imperfections; the feeling of a moment frozen in time; a bit like Martin Rev’s sweet and underrated solo record of 2000; it speaks my language; oh, fuck knows, all that and a bit more) I’ve listened to it three times since last night, and one of those times, I noticed that it was making me cry, just a tiny bit.

All the other editors are busy editing stuff. It’s just that I can’t review this reissue because it came out ages ago, so here is my one-sentence review.

“A precise beauty with untidy edges to its pretty features, happy disappointment in its eyes and quietly, gracefully, awkwardly, shamelessly dancing feet.”

Posted by Frances May Morgan on Friday, May 7th, 2004
(4 Comments)

Spektrum, Bethnal Green, 2/5

Posted by Sarah Bowles on Monday, May 3rd, 2004
(3 Comments)

Spektrum, Bethnal Green, 2/5

Posted by Sarah Bowles on Monday, May 3rd, 2004
(No Comments)

“Then a driver of a school bus is going down a road when suddenly a little of the earth moves up quickly under the bus causing it to rise off of the road and up above the ground, because gravity is now gone.” An then the driver would lose track of the road in front of him, because daylight has vanished and darkness has hit the area earlier than usual.” Then he turns on his headlights trying to find a road that has now disappeared under him. And now trying to slow down and get back on track’ He would then realize something’s really wrong here!” Then he stands up and turns around to face the children sitting behind him. “An Suddenly throws-up” and “passes out in front of the children.” After he sees his vomit float across the air without dropping to the floor.

“Then the children will feel in “auggggggggh” that something’s wrong!

“Then down in another area’ A couple of fishermen would be jumping into a canoe to head out across a lake to do a little fishing.” When suddenly “Darkness” would fall upon everyone’s heads ~while one would notice its only 3:P.M. on a watch on his arm!

“An with air pockets trapped still on also continent pieces now breaking up and floating apart “everything goes weirdly” around what’s left on and of earth.

“There’s even a grizzly bear chasing a young backpacker up a tree. An after the backpacker reaches the top, the bear soon steps onto “what the bear thinks” is just a lose and rolling rock!” Until the bear is now doing “Flip-Flops” through space, making the sound of a bear crying across space” and soon indirectly in front of a school bus also filled with children floating through space as well!”

And this story goes “on and on and on and on” as if this story never ends with “Fun & Laughs” for everyone!

“YOU GOT TO HEAR IT TO BELIEVE IT!!

“Even after a fisherman paddles his canoe off the top of the lakes water, grabs a cold brew out of his ice chest’ and while he takes a few gulps down, he doesn’t notice his fishing line coming out of the side of the water - with many fish trying to get back into the wall of water that had followed a fish stuck on a lure from the end of his line. Then the “fisherman is trying to paddle back to the water - Screaming Bloody-Murder!” “Help me brother!!” “I seem to be stuck out in the middle of something I cannot explain’ With Sunlight still on part of the water and half of what’s left of the land the water is still part of..” An there is some light left on different areas on earth in various places that are not all broken up.”

Posted by Andrew Clare on Monday, May 3rd, 2004
(3 Comments)

http://www.bucketmouse.net/html/modules.php?name=Articles&file=view&func=view&id=51
> > “I myself has seen a few hit the ground and including one travelled over 20
> > miles across the sky before me and a friend would witness it exploding just 2
> > feet above the pavement to the right of my car! (if i would of been traveling
> > to fast It would of went through my cars roof). Then a few days after’ during
> > sunlight’ (with a metal detector) I would find two of the fragments to it &
> > at the same time a trucker came bye and put a gun out the window and shot the
> > backend of my car with a pistol). “So I got the feeling it was some sort of
> > sign’ (Especially after I would later discover how to make my own
> > meteorites)! Now you can see what I’m talking about for only $5.00 each at
> > the size of 3-1/2 inches X 4″ X 1/2 inch deep. “Interested? (Even in man
> > made Marsian meteorites with fossilization of fossils included)!! These make
> > great Meteorite Mocking Gifts, for of course’ “A much lower price! For one
> > dozen’ Only $45.00 or for two dozen Only $80.00. “Make Great Paper Weights!

Posted by Andrew Clare on Monday, May 3rd, 2004
(No Comments)