Mogwai – Mexican Grand Prix
Fake Blood – I Think I Like It
James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream
White Russia – Charmless State
The Future Sound Of London – We Have Explosive
S.I.T Wolf X
Tag Archives: mogwai
We Are So Happy, Happy To…..
It’s been a slow start to the year for me gig wise. It started off well enough with Suplex The Kid bringing the noise and bursting ear drums at King Tuts on the 4th but it kinda petered out after that and i had a gig-less few weeks. To be fair i was concentrating on recording and writing new material for some music projects but i can honestly say that apart from the Penguins Kill Polar Bears on the 12th (also at King Tuts) and the Aspen Tide gig at the Classic Grand the day after, both of which unfortunately i couldn’t make due to family commitments, nothing else had caught my eye enough to really make me wanna desperately go. Well, there was the Mogwai shows last week that i couldn’t make due to having pretty much fuck all money!
MP3: Suplex The Kid – It’s About Time You Changed
MP3: Penguins Kill Polar Bears – Lungs
MP3: Aspen Tide – Frost Forms In The Sky
MP3: Mogwai – Rano Pano
But there was a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the bewitching Withered Hand in action at Stereo once again. This was one i couldn’t miss so the penniless me bravely whipped out my credit card, bought my tickets online and sauntered on down with my friends Luisa and Shinead. Last time we caught him live it was a solo show and it was heartbreakingly magnificent. This time it was a full band effort. The songs were let loose from their “acoustic only” home. Flesh was put onto the bones of the melodies and lyrical themes of the very self aware and self condemning Dan Wilson. The extra beef on the songs only serving to maximise THAT voice. He requires, no, DEMANDS your attention with his vocals and lyrics. You, no matter who you are, will be able to relate to something he’s written in one of his many laments. That relation factor is key when it comes to his live shows. Everyone and i mean everyone (well apart from the really talkative moron down front) wants to listen, wants to hear, to relate to Wilson ( a certain female friend *cough cough* Luisa! *cough* wants to do other things too but they shall remain unspoken on here!) and his vulnerable voice. Whilst i did really really enjoy the full band experience of Withered Hand and his more than talented backing group i couldn’t help but get just that bit more spine tingley when he took to the stage himself for a number or two before being joined again by his 3 backing members. The hairs on the back of my neck just stand that bit taller when it’s just him and his guitar and that’s no disrespect to the friends who helped him out that night. They were all amazing musicians and the songs sounded awesome with that little bit more added. It just that i love how comfortably uncomforatble Dan Wilson is when performing on his own. It gives the tracks that extra meaning. But maybe that’s just me and to be honest i’ll go see Withered Hand either way. Solo or full band, it makes no difference. In the words of a certain Malcolm Middleton…..“Thank fuck for Withered Hand”.
So after a rather quiet January on the live music front things are about to get a whole lot more busier……
The mysterious, cultish, dare i say revolutionary Wu Lyf fly on into town on their magic carpet tonight. The Manchester quartet are sure to live up to their almost shamanic reputation.
“Mostly performing at Manchester cafe/cultural hub An Outlet and St.Peters church, mysterious Manchester foursome Wu Lyf come to Glasgow for a rare appearance outside of their hometown.
An acronym for World Unite – Lucifer Youth Foundation, the band – and their fanbase – have spent the past year baffling the media with a two frustratingly disfunctional websites and a barren Myspace, all the while brewing an air of revolutionary fervour through their rampant, scattered internet messages of poetry and art. With a Facebook page that reads like quasi-cult propaganda, the band encourage listeners to ‘join the LYF’ and, with fans uploading their own images boasting flags and even a tattoo, their mysterious presence – or marketing gimmick – has been debated in publications from The Guardian to NME.
Gimmicks aside, with thrumming organ chords and vocals somewhere between a grungey, Michael Gira-esque growl and a Julian Casablancas-esque stylised rasp, their clutch of lo-fi tracks available online range from the scuzzy to the inspired, showing glimpses of the melodic indie sensibility of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade as well as lines of distinctively Mancunian, fluid, echoing guitars, reminiscent of the best of the city’s musical glory days.”
I know as much about this band as the next person….which is not a lot. All i know is that i’m looking forward to them kickstarting a gig laden couple of months for me. I’m going to this gig on the back of hearing a handful songs, all of which are laden with the kind of mystique and presence that guarantees tonights show should be a special one.
If you wanna join “The Lyf” then look no further for your initiation than here where you can Buy $hit and join up.
I’ll be doing a post this weekend about the upcoming gigs that i’ll be attending this spring. There are ones i already have tickets for, ones that i want to have tickets for and one’s that i’ve only just found about it and HOPE to be able to get tickets for. Be sure to check it out, you might find yourself attending a few.
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under attacking your speakers, gig reviews
Latha Naomh Anndra
Yesterday was St Andrews Day.
Yesterday i was too busy getting drunk to do this post. Today i’m too hungover to make a serious attempt at one and do it justice so instead i’ll just post some random stuff.
Some really good Scottish music of all varieties and sounds will do for a start.
Some famous ones, some semi famous ones, some lesser known ones…..
MP3: Frightened Rabbit – The Loneliness
MP3: The Beta Band – She’s The One
MP3: De Rosa – Prelude To Entropic Doom
MP3: Galoshins – Sprayed with Blood
MP3: Bwani Junction – Two Bridges
MP3: Sons and Daughters – Taste The Last Girl
MP3: Eagleowl – This Is Not Your Lucky Day
MP3: Adam Stafford – Shot Down You Summer Wannabes
Oh and the never forgotten ones…
Which reminds me, i’m off to see Song of Return on saturday night..
MP3: Song Of Return – Shackles
Song Of Return free show at Flat 0/1
An amazing band and a cool venue. What more could i want for a Saturday nights entertainment?
Bonus stuff
————–
Anyone fancy a free download of a concept album all about Glasgow?
Sings Of A Dear Green Place
Or what about a song from Manchester via London but all about Glasgow..
MP3: Sparky Deathcap – Glasgow Is A Punk Rock Town
Remember these guys!? I was like 8 or 9 when this came out!
There are so so many amazing Scottish artists out there and i’m going to get a post up before the end of the year (yes, i said this aaages ago but i’ll do it this time!) with a massive list of Scottish bands old and new. I’m going to sit down, roll a few and dedicate a night to it but right now i’m away for a pint of my favourite hangover cure and some Rab C.
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under aye choons
THE MONDAY LIST #20: Sympathy For The Devil
Yesterday i saw the trailer for the new M. Night Shyamalan movie “Devil”. Apparently it’s a return to form for the Indian born director. After the classics of “Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” there was the decent enough “Signs” but then in my opinion his features since then have pretty much been in a steady decline. None more so than his latest effort “The Last Airbender” which has also been panned by media and critics alike.
But “Devil” definitely has the potential to be a resounding edge of the seat, “what happens next?”, “who is it?”, tension filled movie. It’s centred around 5 people who are in an elevator when it breaks down (my worst nightmare) and as the situation starts to turn more sinister they begin to suspect that one of them is in fact Lucifer himself. This of course leads to all sorts of eerie goings on and twists and turns.
The film is the first of the Night Chronicles Trilogy which focuses on the supernatural in modern society. It’s due for release on September 17th.
Seeing the trailer and taking inspiration from the idea behind it i’ve decided to dedicate the 20th Monday List to Mr Satan. To be fair i’d already assembled a List for Him Upstairs about a year ago so it’s only fair we go down to the basement and give the bad guy his 15 minutes of fame as well.
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
———————————–
MP3’s
1. Beck – Devils Haircut
2. TV On The Radio – Let The Devil In
3. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – Turkish Delights of the Devil (Live)
4. Telepathe – Devils Trident
5. Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil
6. Cooper Temple Clause – The Devil Walks In The Sand
7. The Gun Club – A Devil In The Woods
8. Max Romeo – I Chase The Devil
9. Zola Jesus – Devil Take You
10. BRMC – Beat The Devils Tattoo
Bonus tracks….
Although there is no actual reference to the devil in this song it’s widely believed that the song “Cross Road Blues” is about Robert Johnson meeting the Devil at a cross roads and selling him his soul in exchange for the ability to have pretty much unlimited skills on the guitar. So goes the legend anyway….
MP3: Robert Johnson – Cross Road Blues
Obviously, no one actually knows who, what or where the Devil is. Or in fact, even if he/she/it exists at all. I personally don’t believe in the whole good and evil side of things. Don’t get me wrong, i suppose i believe in something, a higher power/being or whatever but not enough to have faith in any one particular religion. I’m open to life just being life. But enough religi-ranting, the point i was originally going to put across was that most people who do believe in God and the Devil believe that they are both distinctly male. They are mainly perceived this way in modern society but who knows why.
But what if the Devil was a woman…..
MP3: Yannick Aellen – The Devil (Is A Woman I Never Slept With)
MP3: Primal Scream – Miss Lucifer
There is of course the one thing that everyone agrees on……that the devil is quite a scary proposition in any form.
Al Pacino was the coolest Devil ever. Fact.
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under the monday list
Your Monthly Video Dose: May 2010
The Irrepressibles – In This Shirt
The Cramps – Human Fly
Five Pointe O – Double X
Mogwai – Hunted By A Freak
Little Richard – Long Tall Sally
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under the video dose
A Chemikal Romance
Tonight, Chemikal Underground Records celebrates its 15th birthday with a gig at the ABC in Glasgow. Playing at the talent crammed gig are Lord Cut Glass, Emma Pollock, Adrian Crowley, Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat, The Unwinding Hours, Zoey Van Goey and topped off by The Phantom Band. It’d be fair comment to say that i’m pretty devastated that i can’t make the gig tonight but i’ll celebrate Chemikal in my own little way.
Chemikal Underground came about when Scottish indie band The Delgados decided to buck against the trend. Instead of trying to get themselves signed to a label, the Delgados went a different route altogether and started their own label. Giving themselves a platform from which to release their own music and then taking the next step and signing up more artists.
Meet the Delgados, the guys and girl who started it all.
The label is well known throughout Scotland and has given many a Scottish band their first steps in the music industry. Some of it’s more famous artists were/are Aereogramme, Arab Strap, Bis, De Rosa, The Sluts of Trust, The Phantom Band and The Delgados themselves obviously. The latest addition to their roster is The Unwinding Hours, who i’ve posted about previously and am absolutely desperate to catch live (5th of March, not long to wait). Chemikal is also famous for releasing the first two Mogwai albums “Mogwai Young Team” and “Come On Die Young” before Mogwai took a leaf out of The Delgados book and decided to also start their own label Rock Action Records (more on that particular label in the future).
There’s one more thing that people might not know about Chemikal Undergound…..they gave Interpol their big break, gave them a major push into the European market. They spotted the talent in the raw New Yorkers. That’s right, if it wasn’t for Chemikal Underground there very well might have been no Interpol.
Back in 2000, when the label was age 5, it branched out and launched a separate imprint called Fukd ID. The idea behind the imprint was to allow Chemikal to work with and release records by bands that didn’t have to necessarily be signed to the Chemikal label as such. It worked a treat. There’s been 8 Fukd ID releases so far, they’re all very rare and are pretty much all sold out. Interpol appeared with Fukd ID 3 and this was their debut EP. Two of the songs on it (Roland and PDA) were later re-recorded for their debut album, “Turn On The Bright Lights”.
Here’s just a few of many Chemikal delights….
MP3: Zoey Van Goey – We Don’t Have That Kind Of Bread
MP3: Sluts Of Trust – Piece O’ You
MP3: De Rosa – Camera
MP3: Arab Strap – The First Big Weekend
MP3: Aereogramme – No Really, Everthing’s Fine
VIDEO: Mogwai – Chocky
VIDEO: Bis – Mamelodi Sundown
I couldn’t very well end the post without allowing Sam and Paul to say their piece now could i?
MP3: Interpol – Roland
So after 15 years of introducing us to new bands and giving us some truly inspiring and original music, it’s a big thank you to Glasgow’s very own Chemikal Underground.
oh and Happy Birthday
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under record labels
Legal Aliens
Ok first things first, Jukebox Cinema is a new section were i’m going to be putting up posts about films. It could be a new upcoming release, it could be an old favourite of mine, it could be an absolutely devastatingly bad film that me and my friends have vocally torn to shreds over and over (Cradle of Fear springs to mind) yet still find ourselves somehow drawn to watching it or last but not least it could be just any old film i fancy writing about. So why the jukebox part in the title? Well all the films will be accompanied by mp3’s that are somehow related to them either through subject matter or title so thats where the “jukebox” comes in….
DISTRICT 9
District 9 is an alien/sci-fi film set in a pre-millenium Johannesburg. It’s directed by Neill Blomkamp, you may recognise the name. He was apparently due to make the movie adaption of Halo before the project fell on its arse, so to speak. Its also produced by Peter Jackson (he of LotR fame).
The storyline is pretty simple so i won’t go into to much detail. Aliens land in South Africa, the military and government find them, house them in a Government refugee camp and keep them quarantined from human society in an area called District 9. Then the fun begins….
It’s released over here on the 4th September (next Friday), i can’t wait to go see it.
Mp3’s
1. Blink 182 – Alien’s Exist
2. Monster Magnet – Space Lord
3. Prodigy – Out Of Space
4. Radiohead – Subterranean Homesick Alien
5. Unicorn Kid – Wee Monsters
6. Mogwai – Angels Versus Aliens
7. Spacemen3 – Take Me to the Other Side
8. Muse – Space Dementia
9. Suicide – Spaceship
10. Babylon Zoo – Spaceman
BONUS VIDEO
Postal Service – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
I was the one worth leaving………
S.I.T Wolf X
Filed under jukebox cinema
Someones In The Wolf 