Spotify.

Originally, the topic for this post was going to be Spotify and how they failed miserably at encrypting their signup page – however I’ve just found out that it has been encrypted so I’ll have to think of something else to write about.

Around the time that Spotify launched their iPhone app, the service became invite only (or at least that’s what they wanted us to think). Those sly people at Spotify didn’t encrypt the old signup page, allowing anyone to bypass the invitation stage of signup by going straight to the old page, which didn’t require an invitation from a premium member.

Call me cynical, but this is a sly bit of marketing. If I remember correctly from the days of GCSE Business Studies, as supply decreases, demand increases. So what Spotify were doing was creating a fake buzz around their service by reducing the supply. Fake being the key word in the previous sentence, as supply wasn’t actually cut and, in fact, anyone could join.

However, it seems that Spotify are now aware of the invite free signup and have finally encrypted the old page, meaning that you actually do need an invite now. So was it all an accident that has now been rectified, or a sly market technique? I don’t know, but personally, I don’t believe that any company that is such a big player in the Music Industry is naïve enough to leave a signup page unencrypted.

Whilst I’m on the topic of Spotify, I’ve decided to make a weekly Spotify playlist of songs I love that week. Sometimes the playlist will be based on a theme, but all playlists will begin and end with the same artist.

Playlist: B20xS40.1

This week’s playlist doesn’t have a theme (or at least I didn’t set out with a theme in mind) but has ended up being a sort of electronic/math/post-rock playlist with a bit of ‘sick british house’ thrown in for good measure. Here’s the track list for those who don’t have Spotify (or an invite!!!)

1: Errors – Dance Music
2: Metronomy – The End Of You Too
3: LA Priest – Engine
4: Simian Mobile Disco – I Go This Down
5: Holy Fuck – The Pulse
6: Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud
7: Errors – Mr. Milk

This weekend I’ll be visiting the old S40. Photos and the usual shizz will be up by Sunday/Monday.
Peace x

Gregory Basterfield.

You’ve gotta love him.

Desert Island Discs

For my Music Promotion and PR module, I was asked to pick my ‘Desert Island Discs’. Choosing 8 albums to take to a desert island is probably the hardest thing I can think of so for the purpose of the blog, I have decided to make it 10. The following 10 albums are in no particular order of preference.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie
From the drums at the beginning of Five Years to the final note of Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide, not one second of this album is less than amazing. I’ve spent too many hours listening to this album and I still love it just as much as ever.

London Calling by The Clash
Once again, I love every song on this album, but I’d say this is a bit more personal most of the albums in this list. London Calling (along with every other Clash album) reminds me of parents, but on top of that, this album reminds me of some of the best times of my life.

Brighten the Corners by Pavement
I think picking which Pavement album to take is as hard a task as picking 10 albums to take to a desert island. Brighten the Corners is my favourite Pavement album at this moment in time and is the first one I heard. I would definitely have to take the ‘Nicene Creedence Edition’ of the album, which includes 44 songs rather than the 12 from the original release.

The Chronic by Dr. Dre
Another album that hasn’t bored me in the many years since I first heard it. This album reminds me of my early teen years when I thought I was a gangster and asked my Dad if we could go on holiday to Compton. Brilliant album.

Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Helicopter. I was 14 and I had just bought the March ’05 issue of Q, which came with a free CD entitled Rule Britannia. I was in the car (on Ashgate avenue, just about to turn onto Ashgate road) with my Mum and good friend Chris when I first played the CD. I think all three of us instantly fell in love with that song. Within a couple of weeks, I owned Silent Alarm, which was to become my favourite album from my youth. Although I can’t stand what Bloc Party have become, I still return to this album every now and then.

HLLLYH by The Mae Shi
I first got into this album in the summer of 2009, which was easily the best summer of my life. This album became the soundtrack of my trip to Paris with my two best friends. On top of the personal value, this album is musically amazing. Fusing so many styles from Hardcore to Electro, this album is well worth its place on my Desert Island Discs.

Fantasy Black Channel by Late of the Pier
This was one of the most anticipated albums of my life. Having seen Late of the Pier open Leeds festival in 2007, I had to wait what seemed like the longest year of my life, until July 2008 to add a full-length release to the collection of demos, bootlegs and live recordings that I had picked up. I already loved all the songs on the album, but the re-recorded and re-mastered versions on the album allowed me to fall in love with them all over again. This was the soundtrack to my last summer in S40 and my first year in B20.

† by Justice
During my last few weeks as a resident of S40, I had out of nowhere developed this insane love for Electro and thus, ‘†’, the definitive Electro album. I had first heard Justice back in 2006 when they remixed ‘We Are Your Friends’, but pretty much ignored them until 2008. I can’t remember the first time I heard ‘†’ or even how I got into it, but similarly to Fantasy Black Channel, it became the soundtrack to my first year at university.

Alopecia by Why?
Lyrically amazing. Musically amazing. What more could you want from an album? There really isn’t much more I can say about it. Amazing.

Before I decide on the final album to be taken with me to this desert island, I’d like to mention how hard this has been. Through this process I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d have trouble picking 100 albums to take on a desert island with me. I’ve not listened to some of the albums in this list for quite some time and there are some albums that I prefer at this moment in time, but I know that the chosen albums keep me entertained for an eternity on a desert island. My final Desert Island Disc is:

Nouns by No Age
Whenever I’m in one of those moods where I don’t know what I want to listen to but I know I want to listen to something, this album never disappoints. Sleeper Hold was the first No Age song I heard back in 2008 and has been one of my favourite songs since then. Although I’ve always liked this album, it’s only been in the last 6 months that I’ve realised what this album has to offer and exactly how good it is.

B20

Firstly, I’d like to wish my good friend DANIEL SALISBURY a Happy 21^st Birthday.

So far in B20 x S40, I’ve not really spoken much about my experiences of Birmingham, but more about my own personal thoughts and opinions on life in general. So on Friday (19^th February), I decided to venture into the city with my camera and my friend, BETH (who is also from originally from S40).

After walking along the canal from Brindley Place to the Mailbox and back, we visited the Ikon Gallery where we saw exhibitions from Clare Rojas and Portuguese filmmakers João Maria Gusmão and Pedro Paiva.

Clare Rojas’ exhibition entitled ‘We They, We They’ incorporates many techniques and styles used in graphic design and print-making with the use of bold colour to create some visually appealing pieces in a very unique style.

I particularly liked her paintings on antique banjos.

As for the work by João Maria Gusmão and Pedro Paiva, it did not appeal to me as much as Clare Rojas’ work. A lot of the films, although visually very nice, did not really seem to have much point to them. Perhaps I’m missing out on some greater meaning behind the slow motion video of an egg frying or the video of a man eating a plate. Having said this, it is obvious that a lot of effort has gone into the exhibition, which has been 5 years in the making.

To see all of the pictures from the day, click HERE

Review: Jogger – this great pressure

I had written a review for Jogger’s This Great Pressure as part of my news and feature writing assignment last term. I thought this blog would be a good place to share it.

Virtually appearing out of nowhere on the back of a split EP release with romantic experimentalist Daedelus, Jogger return with their first solo full length release, This Great Pressure.

The LA-based duo lull the listener into a false sense of security with the simple and melodic opener, ‘Napping Captain’. However things gradually get darker and more technical with the energetic and beautifully crafted ‘Gorilla Meat’ – incorporating many layers of emotive guitars, dark synthesizers and glitchy beats and samples.

The third track on the album, ‘Biss’, is a morose assault on the senses, but for some reason it just works. The shifting pitch of the haunting vocals and the almost random sounding drums against the mesmerising synths blossoms into a track that Animal Collective would be proud of. The final thirty-second’s psych-folk guitars and chilled out synthesis just proves what this band are really capable of.

It is obvious that Jogger are a band that do not know what style of music they want to make. This Great Pressure sporadically jumps from chilled out instrumental electronica such as ‘Master and Student’ and ‘Just Briefly’, to indie friendly masterpieces in the form of ‘Gorilla Meat’ and ‘In America’, via the dark and haunting genius of ‘Biss’.

As the album progresses, it’s almost as if a bad song is begging to appear, but that’s when Jogger hit you with the epic ‘Nephicide’. Another assault on the senses, this song opens with classic rock guitars against a complex background of energetic electro, juxtaposed against seemingly out of place screams associated with modern day metal music. Out of nowhere the track jumps from The Darkness on acid to a melodic and catchy indie classic with rhythmic guitars, funky bass lines and harmonising vocals.

After the assault of ‘Nephicide’, This Great Pressure gives the listener a well-deserved break as the album ends with two much more relaxed, although equally as good, tracks in ‘Falling’ and ‘Just Briefly’. This Great Pressure ends on an epic cover of Laurie Anderson’s ‘O Superman’, which manages to stay true to the original whilst incorporating Joggers multilayered electronic charm.

If there was one song on the album to sum up This Great Pressure, it would be ‘Nephicide’. Just like the album, it takes a few listens to truly appreciate, but once you do you’ll never turn back.

This Great Pressure, for me, is a serious contender for album of the year. It is a diverse and underrated masterpiece incorporating so many instruments and musical styles. Jogger are going to have a hard time beating this innovative debut album, but Jogger are a band who always seem to have a new trick up their sleeve.

Urban Sellouts

A few weeks back, I made one of my pretty much daily ventures into Urban Outfitters to look at clothes I couldn’t afford and cameras that my granddad had as kid.

I got to the CD section when something caught my eye. A familiar looking, poorly packaged, brown square of musical genius which can be bought HERE for £10. Ok, that’s a fair price for a CD, especially a CD packed with the creme of new(ish) music from the likes of HEALTH, Delphic, Major Lazer, Simian Mobile Disco, Phoenix and the like. However, what really shocked me is fact that this very CD was delivered to my door around 6 months prior to my trip to Urban Outfitters in a copy of the weekly music industry magazine, Music Week.

Obviously Urban Outfitters can charge what they like for the CD as it is no longer available for free in Music Week, but I think it’s appalling that they are selling this when the vast majority of people are completely unaware that it was given away for free a few month ago.

On a much happier note, it’s the weekend (for me anyway) and I’ll be spending tomorrow in the Ikon Gallery. Pictures and Blog from the weekend’s events should be up by monday! Peace x

Procrastination

This will be the last post for the day, I promise.

Whilst trying my hardest to stay awake and get my reading done, I came across THIS article regarding the following video:

I think The Strokes have been quite clever here. Having pretty much disappeared off the musical radar with frontman Julian Casablancas working on his solo career, this video will potentially put them back in the public eye. I don’t know whether it has/will work, but it is obvious that this video is intended to raise awareness and create a buzz around the new album which is due to be released in September 2010.

I, for one, can wait for this album, but it is interesting to see different marketing techniques used by bands.

Sleep Deprivation…

… is not what you need when you’ve got reading to do.

Floating Vibes

It’s late. I need to do some reading. Surfer Blood are the balls.

I came across THIS today and it made me happy.
I would embed the video, however Pitchfork Media and WordPress don’t get on too well. Sorry!

Goodnight.