Flashback Friday.. Nirvana - 'Come As You Are'

Again, lack of posts. Apologies, I've just been trying to blitz my workload before Christmas, because I do not want to be attempting to do it in that yummy few days between Christmas itself and New Year.

Currently, I can hear the One Direction/Ed Sheeran amalgamation, 'Little Things' coming through the adjoining wall to my neighbours house. Let's fight this!

Earlier this week, on the 12/12/12 fundraiser concert to raise money to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, it was revealed that a certain Paul McCartney was to join Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and man for hire, Pat Smear in order to perform under what was being dubbed a 'Nirvana reuinion'. I admit, when I first read about this I found it hilarious had my reservations, as the mental concoction of a McCartney fronted Nirvana playing what would have most likely been 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was more than amusing, especially with McCartney's voice being a weak shadow of what it once was, wobble and all. Fortunately, they didn't play a Nirvana song, but instead attacked a new song entitled 'Cut Me Some Slack', and it far surpassed my expectations, as did McCartney's voice, which surprisingly held out (watch below)! Under this guise, I'd be intrigued to hear more, although if they do continue it would only seem right to drop the 'Nirvana' tag.

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All this got me thinking about classic Nirvana songs, and whilst my favourite Nirvana song is probably 'Breed' today's post is going to be about 'Come As You Are'.  

The follow up single to their breakthrough song, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come As You Are' is far more moody. The swampy sounding main riff uncannily resembling that within the song 'Eighties' by industrial punk/metal band Killing Joke, and taken from their album Night Time, which contained some of their most well known songs such as 'Love Like Blood' (their own breakthrough hit), 'Europe' and the aforementioned track. The track also famously contains the line 'And I swear that I don't have a gun' which, post Cobain's suicide, carries an unsavoury sense of irony.

Flashback Friday.. Everything Everything - 'MY KZ UR BF'

Really quick one today! I know that I've not posted much this week, but I just haven't seemed to have the time. My deadlines are drawing closer and I still have a huge pile of work to do. I really don't want to be spending the festive period being a hermit in my bedroom, so I'm hoping to get it all done before Christmas. I've done almost all of my Christmas shopping by now, so I can almost begin my favourite part - wrapping!

Anyway, this Flashback Friday is Everything Everything. I know, it's not old at all (it was first released in 2009) but now that their second album is due out in early 2013, I feel that I can get away with writing about it in this section.

If you loved my previous post on the band for their single 'Cough Cough', then you'll definitely love 'MY KZ UR BF' - that's what I can only imagine to be 'My Keys, Your Boyfriend' in English. Whilst I feel 'Cough Cough' is a superior song, 'MY KZ, UR BF'  is less streamlined and more quirky, the song itself a heightened metaphor comparing an argument over a girl at a party to the impending apocalypse. As always, Jonathan Higg's quavering, pitch swinging vocals are more than impressive, as are the sheer amount of words that he somehow manages to fit into a sentence.

'MY KZ, UR BF' is taken from Everything Everything's debut album, Man Alive.
They are also going on a UK and European tour starting in Feb 2013.

http://www.everything-everything.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/EverythingEverythinguk/
https://soundcloud.com/everythingeverything
https://twitter.com/E_E_

New Waves.. IAMX - 'The Unified Field'

In the UK especially, IAMX - aka. former Sneaker Pimps maestro, Chris Corner - isn't as loved as he should be. In fact, he appears to be practically ignored by the UK music press. Although, if you cross the waters to Europe, the ex-pat/ current Berlin inhabitant is far more adored.

His brand of emotive electronica can  range from darkly disturbing to whimsically romantic within the space of an album. Both musically and visually, IAMX take influence of cirque and cabaret, although neither are present in the above song. 'The Unified Field' is the first song to début from the fifth IAMX album of the same name. In regards to this song, I don't feel that it's one of Corner's strongest at all; it doesn't feel that unique, or special, and it doesn't encapsulate what IAMX is about. It just feels mediocre, although perhaps within the context of the album, my opinion may differ.

I'm going to leave some of my favourite IAMX songs below so you can see what I mean .


http://www.iamx.eu/
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/iamx
http://www.facebook.com/IAMXOFFICIAL

'Spit It Out'

'Nature of Inviting

'Ghosts Of Utopia'

'Tear Garden'

Flashback Friday.. Oasis - 'The Hindu Times'

Love or loathe the Gallagher Bros., there is no doubt in my mind that, whatever generation you were born into - old or young, teenage to middle age - you have the lyrics of at least one Oasis song seared into the fleshy crevices encased within your cranium.

Perhaps somewhat subconsciously, out of the big '90's bands, Oasis were probably my favourite. Yes, I admit, I'm not a massive Britpop fan. In fact, it very nearly grates on my nerves. Sorry. Looking back, in the '90's you either worshipped Britpop or were just unashamedly pop. Even though I was incredibly young then, I was sufficiently aware of the last wave of Cool Britannic patriotism; the Union Jack was emblazoned everywhere - including Geri Halliwell's tea towel of a dress circa BRIT Awards 1997, and riding the crest of that wave was Oasis, the perfectly imperfect, hedonistic band that every newspaper and music magazine loved to adore and vilify alternately.

Fast forward to 2002, and Oasis come with an essence of nostalgia, but wafting that aside, Heathen Chemistry had some amazing singles; 'Little By Little', 'Songbird', 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out', and this forgotten gem, 'The Hindu Times'.

And it really is forgotten, as (in)accurately as YouTube viewing stats go, this video has only been watched 836,668 times, despite being uploaded more than four years ago. If you were asked to name an Oasis song off the top of your head, it most likely wouldn't be this one, but even though it appears to have become enshrouded within the abyss of space and time, it's still incredibly good! Evidently, the lyrics of the song have nothing to do with the song title, as 'The Hindu Times' was already decided upon prior to the lyrics having been written, most likely because of the sitar sounding guitar, although many would attempt to connect the two and result in 'religion = euphoric high'.

Oasis turbulently departed in 2009 after an apparent Gallagher altercation, and the band (minus Noel) currently exist under the new umbrella of Beady Eye, whilst Noel's solo venture is Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

http://www.noelgallagher.com/
http://www.facebook.com/noelhighflyingbirds
https://twitter.com/NoelGallagher

http://www.beadyeyemusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BeadyEyeOfficial
https://twitter.com/beady_eye