Music Awards 2001
Posted by: Jay on 04 December 2001
(Oh and NZ just about won a test series against Australia! I must have dreamt that 
)
Anyways...music. How about some highlights and lowlights from the troups? I've been feeding the CDX and P25 with quality tunes all year so it's time to spread the knowledge. Don't get hung up on what year the album was actually released, just when it "clicked". Add some spice by letting us know your fav song too.
Here are my picks..
Highlights:
Coldplay - Parachutes. Lush album of simple songs but great music and melodies. Standout track "Everythings not lost"
Peace Orchestra - thanks must be given to you Andrew Randle - a great recommendation for kicking bass tunes - I've passed on the knowledge to many
Ryan Adams - Gold. Um if this is country I'll consider taking up line dancing. Then again maybe not. Best track? There's too many but I love "Enemy Fire"
Zero 7 - Simple Things. Magic mix of downbeats and lovely vocals. Standout "Destiny"
David Gray - Lost Songs, White Ladder and the Live DVD. What can I say that hasn't been said before. A master song writer and performer. If you haven't checked out the DVD it's really a must. Hell I thought I was actually in Dublin there for a second! Standout track's "Shine" for me.
And what about the lowlights?
REM - Reveal. I should've known better.
Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy. Has some highs but doesn't get anywhere near This is my truth.
I'm sure there's more but I'm not into getting down about it. Let's here from you folks.
Jay
Gettin' into Ryan huh?? Top man!!
'Gold' is beautiful 4 sure, check 'Strangers Almanac' by Whiskeytown ( Ryans old band)
Also 'Car wheels on a gravel road' by Lucinda Williams and 'Everythings Fine' by Willard Grant Conspiracy
Alt. Country will keep you up all nite spinnin'
That is for Damn sure
YEAH!!
redeye
Most of these dozy buggers just draggin' their sorry butts outta bed 2 go 2 work
Bet u a squillion bucks its WARMER here!!
HATE ZIMBABWEAN UMPIRES!!!
BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
redeye
Susheela Raman - Salt Rain
This is a wonderful fusion of Indian, African, jazz and pop. Really quite impressive. Check out O Rama and Ganapati.
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Another Radiohead album, need I say more.
Tom McRae
Haven't listened to enough but shows great potential.
Enough for now.
Matthew
quote:
Originally posted by Jay:
David Gray - Lost Songs, White Ladder and the Live DVD. What can I say that hasn't been said before. A master song writer and performer.
If he's a master songwriter I wish he'd not felt the need to do covers. His take on Soft Cell's "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" was one of the worst butchery jobs I've heard in a long while. Not even a hint of camp bitchiness, what was he thinking... The other stuff seems okay though (not something I'd buy, but quite happy to listen to), but that particular track just seemed to miss all the buttons for me.
Highlight probably BPM&M's "ExtraKcts and ArtefaKcts", which is not only tremendous fun to listen to but to look at the cover art as well. Most of what I got this year wasn't actually built in 2001 though...
Pete.
quote:
His take on Soft Cell's "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" was one of the worst butchery jobs I've heard in a long while
I can't see that at all - sure, it wasn't a copycat version of Soft Cell with 'camp bitchiness', but its a great song and doesn't need to be done in a camp way. If you want that kind of version listen to the Soft Cell original. I always think its pointless to do a cover version unless you're going to do something different with the song, and in this case it's nice to hear a different, and very good, interpretation of a clasic song.
Haven't listened to enough but shows great potential <<
Its a fantastic album. See him live if you can as he is amazing.
Matthew
Tom McRaes second spin this morning (on a portable) and is growing very quickly.
cheers
Matthew
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Catterall:
I can't see that at all - sure, it wasn't a copycat version of Soft Cell with 'camp bitchiness', but its a great song and doesn't need to be done in a camp way.
You're right there, but it is a bitchy lyric, so IMHO benefits from a bitchy delivery. As opposed to a tedious drone.
quote:
I always think its pointless to do a cover version unless you're going to do something different with the song
Quite so. One of the annoying things about the current crop of manufactured pop performers is a tendency to do covers with nothing much changed. Why bother?
quote:
and in this case it's nice to hear a different, and very good, interpretation of a clasic song.
Being different isn't always good though, and this one's a dirge that sucks the life out of the song. I have Radio 2 on in my lab, and it seems to be on their playlist right now, so I speak from experience of regular inflictions.
Pete.
quote:
and this one's a dirge that sucks the life out of the song
well you must think that of pretty much all his songs then ... but you're quite entitled to hate this version, I'm sure there must be people who hate the song whoever sings it (although I can't imagine who)
Regards
Steve
I've taken on a much greater appreciation of David's skills from seeing it. The songs also tend to be more natural sounding that than the albums. In comparison they sound a little sterile.
But still good though!
Jay
-Both of Jill Scott's releases. Not a weak song on them.
-Zero 7 just came out in Canada last week and I agree it's fantastic. I like "I Have Seen"
-Beta Band "Hot Shots II". I've a soft spot for their antics.
-Plump DJs "A Plump Night Out". No idea if they're hip or tired, but I certainly enjoy it.
2001, year of the compilation: Compilations from Quango, HedKandi, Studio One and that 1-500% Dynamite series. All fun.
Disappointments
Ozomatli "Embrace the Chaos": Debut album was much better.
Mercury Rev "All is Dream": 3 good songs, lots of sh!tty filler
Guilty pleasures, anyone?
Natalie Imbruglia "White Lilies Island": She's my Nancy Sinatra
Totally approve of your call on new Mercury Rev. Mind you I thought Deserters Songs one of the most overated piles'o'crap I've ever heard. Same with everything by Spiritualized, no wonder his girlfriend left him for Richard Ashcroft.
The Last Great Rock Band?????
Pumpkins baby and nothing but
redeye
Hopefully it'll be a new Metallica album up for it next year, if James can stay off the booze long enough.
Cover versions are only worth doing if the song was crap the first time round, because 9 times out of 10 the originals are better. Why do a different take on a decent song. Why not write your own bloody songs if you want to be creative.
Stairway To Heaven - Rolf Harris/Far Corporation
Wish You Were Here - God knows who, but I heard it on the radio recently
Under The Bridge - All Saints
Etc, Etc
Cheers
Ade
[This message was edited by Ade Archer on SUNDAY 09 December 2001 at 01:21.]
Cover songs are great fun at concerts, though.
Maybe people are just prejudiced against Bowie.
Anyways, is it me or is Tool the King Crimson of Metal? Been trying them at a friend's and find them hard to swallow.
If I must listen to Metal, I'd choose Slayer or Sepultura. I want hooks, damnit!
quote:
Originally posted by Ade Archer:
Cover versions are only worth doing if the song was crap the first time round, because 9 times out of 10 the originals are better.
But that still gives a 10% hit rate. For example, "With a Little Help From My Friends", with the Beatles version being very good, and Joe Cockers being very different and quite possibly even better. Or "Get Off of My Cloud", with the original a masterpiece and Alexis Korner's version a different masterpiece. Or Mr. McFall's "Matte Kudasai" with musical saw and cor anglias to take the melody line. Or Clark Tracey arranging Monk's "Ugly Beauty" for string quartet and trumpt. And so on.
quote:
Why do a different take on a decent song. Why not write your own bloody songs if you want to be creative.
Well, I guess we might as well write off all the world's great orchestras. They all play stuff somebody else wrote, often over a hundred years ago to boot. So "obviously" nothing creative going on...
quote:
Stairway To Heaven - Rolf Harris/Far Corporation
Not sure what you're getting at here, since the Far Corporation version was pants but Rolf's was inspirationally brilliant.
Pete.
quote:
Cover versions are only worth doing if the song was crap the first time round, because 9 times out of 10 the originals are better. Why do a different take on a decent song.
The thing I can't understand is doing them as close as possible to the original - usually little more that a cynical cash-in. This time every year I thank god that Westlife (or equivalent) haven't covered Slade's Merry Xmas everybody…
The cover versions I like place the song in a totally new context. Here are a few of my favourites:
Devo: Satisfaction. Deadpan beyond belief, completely removes any trace of sexuality or raunchiness from the song.
Flying Lizards: Money & Summertime Blues. Again totally deadpan, but really cool. No human emotions were used at all during recording.
Big Black: The Model. Really hard indie thrash version of Kraftwerk's classic, demonstrates beyond any shadow of a doubt how good the original song is.
Killdozer: American Pie: This is just so good, noisy US indie / grunge version from For Ladies Only, a album of tracks that the band were sick to death of hearing on their local pub jukebox.
Grace Jones: She's Lost Control. A very brave take on the Joy Division classic that does not actually disgrace the original.
Tony.
quote:
Try as I might, I just can't get my head 'round what an earth this would sound like.
Its prime period Sly & Robbie rhythm section Grace Jones. Released within a very short time from the Joy Division original, I certainly remember it being played in clubs in the early 80s. Picture a ultra tight Sly & Robbie dub / disco groove with Grace kind of muttering / talking / spitting the vocal out. It was a 12" only release, never included on an album until the fairly recent (and excellently compiled and mastered) Compass Point Sessions double CD.
Tony.
quote:
Originally posted by Tony Lonorgan:
The thing I can't understand is doing them as close as possible to the original - usually little more that a cynical cash-in. This time every year I thank god that Westlife (or equivalent) haven't covered Slade's Merry Xmas everybody…
Oh God, don't give them ideas like that (let's face it, since they don't have any original ones for themselves at the best of times, they might just go ahead and use it...).
And producers of manufactured pap please note that making something more or less identical but putting an irrelevant drum machine beat underneath it doesn't make it different (c.f. "Eternal Flame", which was pretty naff to start with but has now been elevated to "Come back! all is forgiven!" status).
quote:
Flying Lizards: Money & Summertime Blues. Again totally deadpan, but really cool. No human emotions were used at all during recording.
Not quite: I always find the delivery of the "But your love won't pay my bills, I want money!" line absolutely hilarious, and underpins the message of the original lyric superbly. A wonderful cover, with the repeated "bloink" noises in the outro also more or less guaranteed to get me laughing.
quote:
Killdozer: American Pie: This is just so good, noisy US indie / grunge version from For Ladies Only, a album of tracks that the band were sick to death of hearing on their local pub jukebox.
Haven't heard it, but good for them. Hope they took "Where do you go to my lovely", "Wonderful Tonight" and "Imagine" to the cleaners as well!
A very odd related trend is people putting remixes of originally great songs that massacre the originals on their own compilations. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Like a Prayer" spring to mind.
Pete.
Other interesting covers en masse are found in "theme" albums, rather than "tribute albums. David Arnold's "Shaken not Stirred" on the Bond stuff is fairly strong throughout, as is John Zorn's Morricone album and the Disney Tribute "Stay Awake" (Want to scare the kiddies? Play Tom Waits version of Heigh Ho, they won't sleep for weeks!). Johnny Cash's last album "American III: Solitary Man" also contains covers which distort and extend the original material viz. "Mercy Seat", "One" and "I See a Darkness". Let's not forget Nick Cave's album "Kicking against the Pricks" either.
Yes, there is some pap out there, but trust me there are more diamonds than you think out there, when performers take material in an entirely different direction from the songwriter.
Giles
I find it useful to be able to log on from a client's premises and download some music, especially if you're in for one of those long nights (like tonight!).
-John