| Chart |
[14 Nov 2009|05:03pm] |
I remember seeing the video of Editor 'Papilon' a few weeks ago, and it made me realise that there's probably other music out there, available in normal record shops, that I actually might like. I've become so entrenched in 'The Scene' that I've fogotten to look beyond it - I haven't owned a radio for years, for instance.
But panning for gold involves sifting through a lot of mud. Whilst I enjoy the process to an extent, I was hoping you guys could make some suggestions for places to start. The glut of 'post-punk revival' during the 00s, and maybe some of those female-fronted synth bands - I didn't care much for Client or Lady Gaga (the two bands from this area 'forced upon me'), but it's more about their way of doing things that disliking the style. I know there's a band out there for me that I haven't thought to listen to yet.
I LIKE: Quirky/unusual instruments or musical techniques. Depeche Mode/New Order/Joy Division inspired-bands. I don't demand especially talented musicians or singers, as long as it's well produced and they can actually write songs. Prefer things with either at least one synth, or 'interesting' guitar and drum effects that achieve similar results.
I DISLIKE: Excessive sentimentality. Soul/R&B influence. Worthy-but-dull indie rock. Most things that are 'artificially lo-fi'. Smiths/U2 wannabes (two bands that I never cared much for). Bands with 'agendas' (socialist, militant vegetarian, Peta-supporters, etc).
|
|
| Setlist from Meetup 200, 24th October |
[25 Oct 2009|08:28am] |
There was no DJ booth here, so I took requests online in advance of the event. The set was premixed into blocks of 3 or 4 songs, with gaps to allow for requests on the night. Robert once again handled the goth rock, post-punk, new wave area, thus letting me handle all the fringe styles. No-one yelled ‘Play Some Goth’ all night, so I think we got away with it.
7pm-8pm
Current 93 – All The Pretty Little Horses
Emilie Autumn – Largo
Vernian Process – Sarabande
Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio – She’s In Love With A Whip (My Venus In Furs)
Dead Can Dance – The Host Of Seraphim
Qntal – Am Morgen Fruo
The Creatures – Pluto Drive
Faith And The Muse – Whispered In Your Ear
Collide – Wings Of Steel
Diary Of Dreams – Kindrom
Clan Of Xymox – This World
Project Pitchfork – I Live Your Dream
9pm – 10:15pm (ish)
Within Temptatation – See Who I Am
Nightwish – Wish I Had An Angel
Epica – Sensorium
Rammstein – Pussy
NIN – The Day The World Went Away
KMFDM – A Drug Against War
Deviant UK – Access Denied
Front 242 – Headhunter (Live Code Version)
Front Line Assembly – Iceolate
Combichrist – Get Your Body Beat
Modulate – Skullfuck
Grendel – Zombienation (v2k5)
VNV Nation – The Great Divide
Covenant – Like Tears In Rain
The Cruxshadows – Tears
The Birthday Massacre – I Think We’re Alone Now
|
|
| Writer's Block: Top of the Charts |
[06 Sep 2009|03:30pm] |
'Blood Axis - The Hangman And The Papist' . 9 plays ahead of 2nd place track 'Samsas Traum - Ein Foetus Wie Du'
(bet that surprised a few).
|
|
| Setlist from Sale |
[02 Aug 2009|07:33pm] |
Today I DJed my second Goth/Alternative Bring and Buy. It may be background music but it seems to be appeciated by stallholderw who are there for the full 6 hours. Besides, future sets might well not be background music, so I do take the job seriously. Well, I do get a fair bit of fun out of it (see the last set!) or I wouldn't have done it.
Today I was spinning alongside Robert from Night Shift Radio. He's a trad-goth/post-punk specialist, so in response I concentrated on what we might describe as 'goth friendly tracks that aren't goth in the purest sense'.
11am-Noon - The Low-Key Morning Set
Too early for anthems, but a good chance to exercise little-played tracks. Starts with soundtracky/neo-classical stuff, edged into downtempo darkwave and industrial towards lunchtime.
NON - The Fountain Of Fortune
SonVer - Anonima
Einstürzende Neubauten - Sabrina
Vangelis - Blade Runner Main Titles
Wendy Carlos - Title Music From A Clockwork Orange
Arcana - Our God Weeps
Stalingrad - Neither Honour Nor Glory
In The Nursery - Groundloop
Faun - Punagra
Corvus Corax - Milli Anni Passi Sunt (PC Project Version)
Deine Lakaien - Return
Lamia - Das Omen
Blutengel - Lucifer
Diary Of Dreams - The Wedding
Leæther Strip - The Shame Of A Nation
Front Line Assembly - Civilsation
Wumpscut - Thorns (Distant Vocals)
1pm-2pm - Old EBM into Gothic Metal
Two styles I'd agreed to play prior to the event, but they don't mix well. Enter the guy from Die Kur who hands me a free CD with the perfect track to link the styles!
DAF - Kebabtraume
Nitzer Ebb - Let Your Body Learn
VNV Nation - Cold (Advance + Follow v2 version)
And One - Military Fashion Show
Front 242 - Religion
Project Pitchfork - Existence v4.1
Die Krupps - Isolation
Die Kur - The Fall Of The Empire
Lacuna Coil - Spellbound
Nightwish - Wishmaster
Therion - Three Ships Of Berik (Parts 1&2)
Within Temptation - Mother Earth
Saltatio Mortis - Spielmannsschwur
In Extremo - Küss mich
Tanzwut - Toccata
HIM - Buried Alive By Love
3pm-4pm - Bleepy Cheese, Followed By Lots Of Industrialish Stuff
The demand was there for a bit of bleep, so a hefty chunk of this set was requests (mainly band request, people weren't really fussy over songs). Sputnik was worryingly popular!
Sigue Sigue Sputnik - 21st Century Boy
Spray - I Am Gothic
Apoptygma Berzerk - Love Never Dies
Rotersand - Electronic World Transmission
Implant - The Dive
Combichrist - Intruder Alert
Front Line Assembly - Mindphaser
System:FX - Turn To Rust
The Prodigy - Omen
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole
Dope Stars Inc. - Bang Your Head
Zeromancer - Doctor Online
Rammstein - Feuer Frei!
Oomph! - Augen Auf
Megaherz - Tanz Auf Dem Vulkan
Earth Loop Recall - Optimism Creeping In
5pm-5:30pm - Tag Team 80s Cheese!
The event was largely over by then, so Robert and myself did a tag-team (one track each) 'going home' set of pure 80s cheese. Just for fun!
The Human League - Don't You Want Me
The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way
A-Ha - Take On Me
Erasure - Sometimes
Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels
Pet Shop Boys - Go West
Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Monty Python - Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
|
|
| eMusic |
[09 Jul 2009|09:59pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 amused |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Spray - He Came With The Sleigh |
] |
My 3rd month of eMusic, and as ever, it's 'Download Day' on the 9th. 100 songs, fully legit, DRM free, for £20. And Steve Jobs doesn't get a penny (sorry, Applephiles, I've have issues with 'iCulture', I won't go into them here).
Interesting selection this time out - a couple of old Deine Lakaien eps, all the theme tunes from the first two series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet, some old Converter and Imminent Starvation stuff (ah, when power noise was real power noise and not something-core), the first two Implant EPs from the mid 90s, Kloq's version of 'Ibiza', Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio 4-track thing I'd never heard of, Clan Of Xymox's 'Heroes' EP, some Agonoize bonus tracks I never got my hands on, and best of all, some hilarious Spray songs. They've actually done a synthpop footie anthem called 'Synching For England'!
|
|
| Eggtremities |
[10 Jun 2009|12:26pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
VNV Nation - Legion (Anarchron) |
] |
I have seen two consecutive posts.
The first was anti-Nick Griffin, BNP leader, former National Front member, one-time Holocaust Denier.
The second was anti-Bob Crow, RMT leader with known Communist sympathies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, are we finally starting to learn that you don't solve one extreme by resorting to another?
The laughable, childish protest of Unite Against Fascism only seemed to give more airtime to Nick Griffin - the few uninterupped interviews I've seen of him show his true colours a lot more clearly than the various soundbites we hear. Had the Q&A run it's course, UAF would have got some much better ammunition against him than raw eggs.
Are the people calling for Trade Unions to be severely curtailed going to be saying the same thing when they need to fall back on one when their employer is being an arsehole? Surely the answer is not Thatcherite curtailment, but a democratic attempt to remove these awkward, politically-charged, hot-headed militants from union positions and replace them with some people who actually look after their workers rather than thinly-veilied attempts at spiting the political status quo?
|
|
| Titles |
[02 May 2009|05:38pm] |
I've done something like this before, but time for another go, thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) thessalian
Pick a musical artist whose discography you know fairly well. Using ONLY THEIR SONG TITLES, clevery try to answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think.
Pick your artist: Diary Of Dreams (note than DoD song titles have odd bits of punctuation in sometimes, I've left them in)
Are you male or female: Mankind
Describe yourself: King Of Nowhere
How do you feel about yourself: Cholymelan
Describe where you currently live: Never!Land
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Reality Of Mine
Your favorite form of transportation: Momentum
Your best friend is: Son Of A Thief
Your favorite color is: The Colours Of Grey
What's the weather like: never'Freeze
Favorite time of the day: The Darkest Of All Hours
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: But The Wind Was Stronger
What is life to you: A Sinner's Instinct
What is the best advice you have to give: Play God!
If you could change your name, what would it be: Methusalem
Your favorite food is: 21 Grams Of Nothing
Thought for the day: And Silence Still Remains
How I would like to die: Scars Of Greed
My soul's present condition: Stranger Than Rebellion
The faults I can bear: Retaliation
My motto: No-Body Left To Blame
|
|
| Summary |
[20 Apr 2009|09:22pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Radiohead - Creep |
] |
Right, have hardly written in here of late, so here's a summary.
Easter Weekend: Went to visit Grandad in hospital - he'd had an accident at home and needed a hip replacement. Then round to visit my parents. Back to London next day and went to see Essence of Mind (Apop meets Combichrist and not as good as either), Scream Silence (goth metal band, good enough) and Zeromancer (who I'd really came to see, and they didn't disappoint). Easter Sunday was dull until I ventured out to watch Implant - a short, sweet set and picked up the new album and a really old one from the psychokatuk and steve_a23-run merch stall. Easter Monday was a non-event.
The Week: Went down with the biggest cold I can remember. It's the last time one knocked me out so mucg for as long. But recovered in time for....
Friday: THE PRODIGY! Finally after 12 years! Clearly a more chav-occupied gig than most - ended up sitting next to a woman squeezed into a too-tight black dress with the thickest Essex accent imaginable - turned out she was a 'baancer' from 'Saathend'. Then a 40ish rave scene refugee turned up and became a kind of instant friend for the duration of the gig, which was loud, packed full of hits and was cathartic in the right kind of way, helped by the fact that my two favourite songs by the band ('Breathe' and 'Thier Law') were on 2nd and 3rd and thus got me warmed up real quick.
Saturday: Celebrated 'Independent Record Shop Day' with a trip to Rough Trade on Brick Lane. Got the last Di6 album I needed to complete the set (Burial) and a 1919 compilation (as the label said they were like Killing Joke, only from Bradford) and then headed home.
Sunday: Watched the Chinese Grand Prix, and true to form fancied another one an hour later. Dunno what's gone wrong at Beemer this year, but at least Red Bull 'Gives You Wins' if you're a German rainmeister who resembles another certain German rainmeister, only much nicer. Then out to run RPG - with everything that had gone on, I had little notice of who'd turn up and had to completely 'wing it' with the days game. Seemingly got away with it. One of the reasons I run D&D and not WoD games or suchlike is players generally don't take the game QUITE as seriously, so even an off-day can be turned round with a few good ideas.
Today: Didn't buy the new DM or Lacuna Coil albums at lunchtime, as most people would have expected me to, as I'd spotted them way cheaper, with exlusive tracks, on Play.Com, thus ruining the support for real CD outlets that I'd shown on Sunday.
|
|
| Weekend |
[06 Apr 2009|11:34am] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Covenant - Like Tears In Rain |
] |
That was fun....well in places. Got up on Saturday morning for GP qualifying, went to Tesco and then......well, I don't quite remember. Came down with a headache late in the day and never made it to Slimelight.
Sunday was better - watched the Grand Prix proper. Curtailed, yes, but plenty of fun to be had in the one hour we did get, so not a disaster. Then it was out to London by a rather indirect route to meet up with ebmgothicgirlie, over from Norway for one weekend only. Arrived to meet bleeptastic and D-L, with Penny turning up a few minutes later, followed by greeba, psychokatuk, ladykomachi and some other people I didn't know. Also met chrome666 inside - thus meeting all 3 of the English members of our 'Norway In November' expedition from last year!
Then to the gig - well, the queue outside the gig which was way too slow letting people in. Missed half of RBNs set as a result. And then to a double header of Mesh and Covenant, both with new songs to play. A great idea, that - in principle. But on a Sunday night where venues chuck out at 11pm and the tubes close early? And the doors opened late? Both bands had far too many good songs to be able to play enough of them in the time available - though both bands still did great sets and played to the crowd nicely. Don't think the audience liked having to get only one of 'Call The Ships To Port', 'One World One Sky' and 'Dead Stars', though!
(Q: How long has Daniel Myer been in Covenant?)
Anyway, good to see lots of people and lots of bands for a second successive week. After a slow start, 2009 isn't proving to be all that bad right now. Just a pity everything this weekend kept being cut short just when I was enjoying it!
|
|
| Gabba |
[30 Mar 2009|07:40pm] |
Things That Are Wrong With This World No #6012: Gabba Remix of L'âme Immortelle.
Obviously they thought it'd work, just as Walkers thought Chilli & Chocolate crisps would work.
|
|
| Lucifer |
[25 Mar 2009|08:42pm] |
Also for some reason, my mp3 playlist has contrived to provide the following sequence....
Inky Sukky - Lucifer Rising
Legendary Pink Dots - Lucifer Landed
Modulate - Raising Luficer
Could somebody please decide if he stays up or down as I'm getting confused!
|
|
|
[25 Mar 2009|08:23pm] |
|
Has anyone realised that since Ministry quit the business, the recent RevCo output now sounds suspiciously like.....Ministry? Well, the two project weren't completely dissimilar, but they're closer now than they ever have been. Not a bad album - certainly better than the self-indulgent nonsense they used to pad out the few good tracks they did in the 1990s.
Have also enjoyed recent albums by Diary Of Dreams (as if I wouldn't - it came out on my 30th Birthday!), the recent Punto Omega (hey, terrorEBM heads - you can do the style with guitars in the mix after all!) and The Prodigy (bang on form again!) - also the remix albums by Die Krupps and Kirlian Camera. New Zeromancer is promising but not quite 'clicked' yet. On first listen, the new KMFDM sounds pretty good too - thankfully back to 5-letter albums names, too (BLITZ!!!!).
Can't get my head around the new Project Pitchfork album. The new :Wumpscut: is as :Wumpscut: always is. The covers on the new And One are enjoyable enough but the original songs aren't anything special. Synapscape seem to be at a loss for ideas too (pity, usually one of my preferred Ant-Zen bands and one of the few that's been active of late).
None of this compares however, to the new Blutengel, which is a turd in a CD case. Even their weakest albums usually spring a song or two I really like, but not this time. Chris Pohl is even re-using old lyrics and the current crop of female singers can't beat the Seelenschmerz collective. I bet someone could write a mad-libs generator to churn out Blutengel songs like this. Lead candidate for worst album of 2009 already....
I'm up for getting the reviewing going again if anyone wants to read it. What do you all think?
|
|
| Sonar |
[22 Mar 2009|12:12pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Jonny EOL - Some odd version of 'Dark Entries' that he's just improvised |
] |
Realising that Mackie Tracktion might be a dead-end (much as I like the workflow), I've got my hands on a 30-day demo of Cakewalk Sonar 8. I can see the capabilities of the package, though the interface is a touch 'fussy' for my liking. It doesn't seem to like my favourite amp-sim VST and crashed when I load it - I found I could workaround by loading it into an effects chainer, but it's still not encouraging. I'm quite impressed with the theoretical capabilities of the software, though, so let's see what I can do with it.
It's also been established now that Infest 09 will not occur. This is a pity as I've been holding back booking for any festival (I have a hold on some WGT hotel rooms that I need to confirm by month's end), and now I don't know what to do. WGT line-up is about two-thirds confirmed and so far I count 4 bands from my hit-list, and if Die Form headline the Schauspielhaus (as I think is likely), I can forget about making any other venue that day barring late-night shows. Maybe I should just eye up European tour dates for choice bands and take weekend trips over to see them?
|
|
| 30 |
[13 Mar 2009|03:01pm] |
So the big day is finally here. This EOL is now 30. And it fell on a Friday.
3 decades. Despite comments made by some, I don't feel old yet. There is still so much left to do......
|
|
| Fest-Evil |
[11 Mar 2009|07:22pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Lacuna Coil - A Ghost Between Us |
] |
WGT is looking increasingly unlikely. I CAN technically afford it, but it's a lot of money for what might ultimately be 3 bands (Megaherz, Eisbrecher and Die Form). There's a few others that are minor attractions (Agonoize, Eternal Afflict, Yelworc) but with seemingly 75% of the bill confirmed, £300 to get four nights in a hotel (let's just forget about turning up on Thursday ) and quite a few friends not going (so I wouldn't feel like I was missing something), it just isn't selling itself to me. The pound isn't likely to improve against the Euro for as long as the BofE continues to think printing money is a good idea.
Finding a roommate (someone I know, who is solvent and unlikely to mess me around) and a cheap non-Ryanair flight (that company sickens me so much now that I'd rather pay more not to fly with them) MIGHT win me over, but that's about it.
M'era Luna actually looks a bit more tempting now (Prodigy headlining, Untoten and Die Form further down the bill)......but maybe I'll just hold out and see what InFest do.
|
|
| 10 |
[19 Feb 2009|09:34pm] |
Ten albums that changed my life. Cross-posted from Facebook.
Tagged by dj_steve_rbn. This is done in order of acquisition......
( 10 Albums )
|
|
|
[02 Feb 2009|07:14am] |
As predicted, the snow has made transport impossible.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
One thing puzzles me - why is the Waterloo and City Line suspended due to 'adverse weather conditions', when it's completely underground? Only in Britain!
|
|
| Prodigy |
[29 Jan 2009|06:37pm] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Revenge - Wende |
] |
Hmmmm....seems like The Prodigy are headlining M'era Luna. That's actually something of a surprise. Doubt I'll be there, though (seeing them in London in April). It's a 'been there, done that' festival for me - with the Sterling/Euro rate being what it is, it takes a killer line up to get me out there.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
