This week on The Kiosk

Coming up on the show this week, I’ll be talking to Steve Coll about his brilliant new book The Bin Ladens. We’ll be reviewing the new Joy Division film, directed by Grant Gee, and the new albums from Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (pictured left) and Martina Topley-Bird. Peter Murphy of Hot Press will be in to talk about the Miley Cyrus controversy and Rachel Unthank will be performing live in studio. Also, new tunes from The Delays and Death Cab for Cutie Tune in to Phantom 105.2 Saturday at 11am….Here’s the Joy Division trailer below.

Lykke Li heads to Dublin — yay!

POD CONCERTS & AIKEN PROMOTIONS presents:

LYKKE LI

Support: TBA 

Thursday June 12th

The Sugar Club – Leeson Street – Dublin 2.

Doors – 8pm

Tickets €15 (inc. booking fee) available from Ticketmaster, Road Records, City Discs, Sound Cellar and usual outlets. www.ticketmaster.ie

www.lykkeli.com
www.myspace.com/lykkeli

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Coming up this week on the Kiosk

I’ll be speaking to the brilliant playwright and screenwriter Conor McPherson (I Went Down, This Lime Tree Bower, The Weir, Port Authority) whose latest play The Seafarer is set to have its premiere in the Abbey Theatre on May 7th. Also on the show, Cillian McDonnell and Johnnie Craig will be reviewing new albums from Portishead, Gemma Hayes and Tindersticks. And Peter Murphy of Hot Press will be in to talk culture. Also, we’ll have new tunes from Republic of Loose and dEUS. Tune in to Phantom 105.2 on Saturday at 11am — or on Sundays at 8am for the repeat.

Farewell Edel

A very sad day for Phantom folk today — it’s Edel Coffey’s last morning presenting Access All Areas. Edel has decided to head back to the world of newspapers. Radio has lost — at least for now — a serious talent. In her own words on the Phantom website: “This is a very special week for me on Access All Areas. As some of you may already know, I have made the decision to move on from Phantom so this will be my last week on the airwaves. Thanks to all of you for listening.”

SBP column 20/04/08

‘‘Math rock? What’s math rock again?” I said. ‘‘Doesn’t it have something to do with time signatures?” my music journalist friend replied, a vague hope flaring in his eyes. ‘‘I think bands like Battles and Explosions in the Sky play it,” I added.

That was when it hit us. Despite being paid to pen articles about music for a living, we were struggling with the myriad new categories into which rock now seems to be endlessly sub-dividing. More has vanished from the world of rock ’n’ roll in the 2000s than lighters in the crowd (illuminated mobile phones now only please) and mixtapes from people who fancy you. Rock has also lost its beautiful simplicity.

Remember when it was just the likes of punk, ska, goth, indie and metal around? Back then, music journalists had it easy. Now, what with the pinpricked balloon that is the record industry, and the explosion of independent MySpace bands, there are more genres than ever before. Slow-core, emo, post-prog, nu-rave, screamo, straight edge - it’s almost impossible to keep up, even when you’re being hired to keep up.

Recently, I interviewed a young band called Harry and the Potters. They play music that belongs to a genre that began only in 2002: wizard rock. Wizard rock is made by US bands who write songs from the perspective of characters in the JK Rowling books and perform in libraries, bookstores and schools.

Even if their music is a bit insipid, their band titles are uniformly fabulous – witness The Moaning Myrtles, the Ministry of Magic and the Remus Lupins.

But the best thing about wizard rock, at least from this writer’s perspective, is the fact that the genre takes all of 30 seconds to explain. Most of the other genres are a trillion times trickier. And once you’re done conjugating the likes of slow-core and nu-rave, you will face the great category sphinx that exists to destroy hope in students of rock everywhere: emo.

As existentialism is to philosophy, emo is to rock ’n’ roll: everyone involved half knows what it is, but no one wants to have to explain it. According to Trevor Kelly and Leslie Simon, the authors of Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture, emo mostly consists of emotional indie anthems aimed at ‘‘Long Island dudes’’, who ‘‘keep journals [and] cry in front of girls’’. My Chemical Romance, Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday are just some of the groups who apparently belong to the genre. Plenty of their fans, however, dispute this description - apparently they’re screamo. Or nuemo. Or something. Ouch. My head. It hoits.

Are all these genres just a vehicle for snobbery? A way for music fans to sound more knowledgeable than their friends about bands? Well, probably yes, but also no. The fact is, as a result of illegal burning and downloading, music has become more available to us and we have become more interested in it than ever before. Like Eskimos with their million and one words for snow, the more we surround ourselves with music, the more neologisms we require to adequately express our feelings about it.

This may be the reason I’m so nerdily happy to have uncovered a definition for math rock: ‘‘Math rock is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), angular melodies and dissonant chords.’’ Well, that’s that sorted. Until the next genre, at least.

That Scarlett Johansson album…

is, on first impressions, almost shockingly good. It’s a collection of Tom Waits covers called Anywhere I Lay My Head. I’m two-thirds of the way through it now and I can easily see myself losing myself in this album on a regular basis. Someone had written that her voice sounded like Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins — to be honest, I don’t hear that at all. To me, it’s far more bassy and there’s more of a touch of Nico from the Velvet Underground — minus the accent, thankfully. Standouts for me so far are ‘Falling Down’ and ‘Song for Jo’. I love the way, when the album begins, you don’t even hear her voice on the first song — it’s a very smart way of getting you into the album and stopping you from thinking about Scarlett the celebrity. Anyhow, it’s released in the middle of May I believe. Peter Murphy of HP will be in on the Kiosk tomorrow at 11am to talk about Scarlett Johansson’s move into music — and discuss the stories of some other actors who weren’t quite as smart with their choice of songs (hello, Keanu!). Speaking of…here’s Jada Pinkett Smith with her nu-metal ditty…

An unlikely sex symbol

People look up the weirdest things on Google. Yesterday, someone happened upon this blog while they were searching for a “picture of Tom Waits shirtless”. I have thought many things about Tom Waits in my life, but I can honestly say that I’ve never even considered the notion of seeing him with his shirt off. Still, for that person, in case they happen to chance upon this blog again, here is a video of Tom Waits. With his shirt on, however

 

 

 

Velvet Revolver shamrock-stylee

I knew that guitar riff from Minsk, the rather cool new song from Concerto for Constantine, reminded me of something. After a bit of head-scratching, my brain started sending forth images of a shirtless man, undulating wildly, with his arms outstretched Jesus-style and a super-group band behind him valiantly pretending that they’re not a wee bit mortified… Ah yes, here we are… Speaking of which, RIP the latest incarnation of Velvet Revolver…

My SBP interview with director Mike Newell, 30/03/08

Even when you’re a director as famous and well regarded as Mike Newell, there are some jobs that are hard to win. The Hertfordshire-born director has established a world-beating reputation with films including Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But back in 2005, Newell found himself in the unusual position of campaigning for a job he genuinely wasn’t sure he would land - the plum role of directing Love in the Time of Cholera, the highly anticipated film adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1985 masterpiece.

This week on The Kiosk

Lots to come on The Kiosk this week. Investigative journalist and Flat Earth News author Nick Davies will be in to discuss corruption in the media. Sinéad Gleeson and Johnnie Craig will be reviewing the new album from The Breeders and the new book from Toby Litt, I Play the Drums in a Band Called Okay. Prenup (that’s Cait O’Riordan from The Pogues and Fiachna and Dave from Hot House Flowers) will be in to play a tune from their new album. And we’ll be playing brand new songs from one of my favourite bands at the moment, Dans le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. Tune in this Saturday at 11am (or to the repeat on Sunday at 8am).