Punk Rock. It conjures up images of spiky Mohawks, dog chains, ripped clothes, slam dancing and safety pins. While this was how it was perceived by most of the public, it went much deeper than a simple fashion statement. It was as much a movement as the hippies in the late 60’s and early 70’s, only Punk was not promoting peace and love. Rather it was a “fuck you” to governments, suburban life and corporate rock. Although the Ramones are Continue Reading
You have to wonder sometimes. Wonder where things came from. And why. And where they’re going. And why also. Because some things get locked on, or at least thrown into by some foreign force, a trajectory that doesn’t entirely tally with common sense or proven patterns (not that pop music always follows rules). Lets call it Starsailor Syndrome – in the Top 10, selling records, winning plaudits and all with very little beneath a very calculated surface save for raw Continue Reading
It will come as no surprise that this record, the second from Major Matt Mason, comes from the stable of Glasgow’s Shoeshine Records, project of Francis Macdonald, long serving quaint-pop merchant and drummer in Teenage Fanclub and the BMX Bandits. Because it’s not that the solo New York folk poet shares a direct similarity with either of Francis’ bands, more that they all come from the simple life-affirming side of an otherwise normal existence. The kind of musical and lyrical Continue Reading
As my mind becomes tired of the same old poses on the small screen, the same four chords on an album, and that verse-chorus-verse tedium, I reach for something as far-removed from the dimension as possible. I had a friendly row with a friend the other day when he and I were weighing the sustained but dubious validity of genres of music after they’ve been done, in the exact same way, for decades. I cited the blues as an example, Continue Reading
He likes to head east. But he heads west. Why? Because he likes it better. What other reason could you possibly need; “I could make albums all day,“ says Frank, and if they’re likely to be as good as these two simultaneously released affairs, then give him the vinyl to do it. Initially Black is down as saying he would have liked the records to have been cut with an orchestra and if not an orchestra, then at the very Continue Reading