The music of 2009

Technically of course, I should have done this right on the eve of 2010, breathing my last gasps of the "noughties" air, before the turn of the decade, and summing up my feelings on a years worth of music


Well I didn't.

I'm doing it now. 2009 has been a pretty decent year for the type of music I like, a large number of my preferred bands released new albums and I discovered some new bands too. First, though, I thought I'd go through a few albums that I didn't think were that great. (Note that these lists are not in any particular order)


5 Most Disappointing Albums


"21st Century Breakdown" by Green Day - On first listen it was okay, certainly nothing special, some little catchy bits, 'Know Your Enemy' was infuriating, but there was nothing too wrong with it. Sadly for me, this was the opposite of a 'grower', and the more I listened, the weaker it become.

"Full Circle" by Creed - You'd think for a band who've been seperated for years to get back together they would be running hot with creativity and passion, but sadly this album feels tired. I had high hopes, but the whole things seems dull, and a little bit pointless.

"Old Crows/Young Cardinals" by Alexisonfire - And it's not that this is an awful album, there are some decent tracks, but I think Alexisonfire is a prime example of a band who have peaked, and whose members sideprojects now appear to take precedence.

"No Line On The Horizon" by U2 - I used to think U2 were infallable. They are very easy to hate for Bono and his pretentious attitude to selflessness, but they always made up for it by the fact that they are simply exceptional songwriters. This album seems to lack the spark and power of their previous work, and with a band of their ability and experience, this seems horribly average.

"Metamorphosis" by Papa Roach - You would have thought that blatantly ripping off Keane for 'Lifelines' is pretty much a last resort.


5 Best Albums

"Mean Everything To Nothing" by Manchester Orchestra - There's something really fresh and original about Manchester Orchestra, they seem to have the perfect blend of exceptionally well composed songs that are catchy too. 'I've Got Friends' and 'Tony The Tiger' showcase this, and they have another track that will be found later in the songs of the year.

"Beggars" by Thrice - Thrice are one of those bands who have been around for a while, and have quietly and consistantly been making excellent music. "Beggars" continues that trend, and especially the first half of this album is exceptional. Thrice seem assured and confident, and 'In Exile', 'Circles' and 'The Weight' are some of their best material to date.

"Daisy" by Brand New - I love Brand New. In fact I am in love with Brand New. Four albums. Each incredably different. Each inexplicably brilliant. Barely a bad track amongst them."Daisy" isnt what you might call 'acessable' but there is superb depth and craft in this album, and even contains 'At The Bottom' which would probably have been a hit with a more media-orientated band.

"New Again" by Taking Back Sunday - How does Adam Lazzara do it? He's onto now the third songwriter-guitarist in his band, and each one has been as good, as well as different from his predessessor. 'Sink Into Me' is a hell of a song too.

"Herald Moth" by InMe - As they promised, InMe have produced a much more progressive, aggressive album often harking to the math-rock stylings of Sikth, but retaining their own distinctive charm. Dave McPherson's unique voice lifts this album from something good, to something great. 'All Terain Vehicle' and 'You Wont Here From Me Again' are something special.

Honourable Mention: "Be Human" by Fightstar, "Only Revolutions" by Biffy Clyro, "Act III" by The Dear Hunter, "The World I Want To Leave Behind" by Moneen, "For His Old Branches EP" by Republic of Wolves.

5 Best Songs

"That Golden Rule" by Biffy Clyro - Biffy showcasing what they are really capable when they try. The absolute high point on album which appears to indicate the band have become very good at writing average pop-rock songs.

"Shake It Out" by Manchester Orchestra - M.O are something special, a very creative original song with a very powerful final section.

"A City On Fire" by Fightstar - "Be Human" was a pretty decent, but didn't live up to their earlier work, however, the later release of this song proved they still have plenty left in the tank.

"Hold That Sound" by Moneen - Moneen continue to change and mature. This song is an example of how far the band's sound has come.

"Wheels" by Foo Fighters - Once again Foo Fighters churn out a superb song, keeping them rock-steady in their position as one of the finest bands in the world.

Honourable Mention: "Juggernauts" by Enter Shikari, "Starting Over" by Killswitch Engage, "At The Bottom" by Brand New

Of blogs and existence.

Before I post, I should clear something up. So far this blog has been a bit all over the place, I've talked about Wolverhampton, and people not reading enough, and things that annoy me about the university I attend... and reviewed an album. This was all without really any cohesive point, or structure.
And that's kind of the point.

I'm not really writing this blog for anyone specifically to read, in all likelyhood I expect I would be lucky if more than 2 or 3 people ever nonchalantly click onto this page, establish that I'm not revealing any expilcit sexual fantasies or heart-wrenching stories about how terrible my life is, and move on, in search of some other human freakshow.
I am writing this blog exclusively for my own benefit in the future.

Something that the God-Incarnate, and my secret man-crush Jesse Lacey [see: http://whytheyrehot.com/post/405375820/why-hes-hot-hes-jesse-lacey-hes-the-lead (thanks Elly) ] once said in a rare interview stuck with me for a long time. Sadly, I cant find the quote online and my magazine is back home, but he said something along the lines of:
"When I got to 23 years old, I realised that everything I thought I knew about the world when I was 18 was wrong. Then when I was 27, I realised everything I thought I knew about the world when I was 23 was wrong. And the same happened when I was 30. I dont think it will ever stop"

I can certainly relate to this. I had an almost pompous view of the world when I was 17/18 and when I think back to the way I used to think, I begin to wonder if I was really thinking at all. I am sure this is a common experience as we look back at the way we used to think and dont really understand our thought process.

But this is why I want to write a blog now. It's not because I want to share with the world my idiosyncratic opinions and understands of the world. It's because I want to look back in a few years time and get an insight into how I was thinking.

What really grinds my gears...

I'm sitting in the university library on a computer. I am here not because I am so passionately dedicated to my studies that every waking minute I spend scouring through complex textbooks, but because my the University of Wolverhampton decdided it would be a brilliant idea to have all of my lectures on a Thursday.

Now, admittedly, I only do three lectures per week (I would normally have 4, but because I'm doing a dissertation this semester, I get to forego one session of class time). Nevertheless, I start at 11am Thursday morning, and realistically I wont leave tonight until 8pm. That breaks down as 11-1, then 3-5, and then 6-8. I literally had to do the 6-8pm (Global Culture) one, and 11-1am (Life Writing) was one of the modules I was really looking forward to. So then it came down to a choice.

What I really wanted to take was Media and Sport, but, to my dismay I found that it is run at exactly the same time as Life Writing! The other option I had was Television Soap Opera on a Monday, and because I detest soaps, I couldn't face it. So now, I have a full day of lectures.

To be honest, it isnt too bad, its not strenuous or anything, and in some ways its kinda nice only to have to come to and from uni once a week, but what annoys me the most was that I couldnt take a module I wanted to do, because the university had scheduled them all for the same day and time. Surely they could have done better, if they could be bothered.

Now, perhaps, the reason all of the lectures are on the same day is simple, perhaps it works out financially for the university of employ staff to work on the same day, maybe if they cram all their lectures into Thursdays, they can close part of the university for the week and not have to pay for staff.
I dont know whether this is the case, I havent even done any research into the posibility, but given this uni's current financial crisis in which we are told they can no longer afford to print off module guides to save money, it wouldn't surprise me. Not one bit.

This brings me, however, to something else that I recently learnt that seriously annoyed me. To give the full story I'll have to give you a bit of context, here we go:

In my first year here at university, we had a student union bar. In the second semester, I was there pretty much every week. There was a pretty nice atmosphere. You didnt get Oceania-esque fights, and it was certainly better kept that the admittedly sometimes grimy (although brilliant) Planet.

At the beginning of year two, we were told that the student union would be not be running, and as of the time of writing, this situation has not remotely been resolved. The reason we were given for this was that the finances of the bar had been mismanged; specifically, they had ordered too much stock and hadnt sold it, and had lost an awful lot of money.

Jump forward to around later of half of year three's first semester. The Student Union held its first meeting for ages, in which we listened to speeches from the union officers about finances, and the future of the uni and the union. It was all good, we even got milk and cookies just for turning up.
However, one of the final agendas of the meeting was the decision that the number of university staff was going to be cut. We knew about this already, but we didnt know what it meant for the change in the structure of the university.

The way it works at the moment is that we have to complete 8 modules a year, 4 per semester. But now, the university has decided it will be simpler (and presumably cheaper) to have 6 modules per year instead. Now, as soon as the large group of students sitting in the meeting were told about this, there was virtual outrage. No-one had a single good thing to say about the idea, a guy next to me even saying that had he known about the proposed changes sooner, he would have applied to change university.

"Are you asking us, or telling us?" one student asked a member of the Student Union Committee.
"Telling, I'm afraid" he replied.

Supposedly they had done extensive research into what students wanted from university, and they were simply acting on the results. Well, none of these students agreed. I'll talk a little about this in another blog, but anyway, I've gotten away from the point.

The point is that these are just two examples of catastrophic mistakes that the union has made/allowed to happen. It was to my horror, then, to learn that the four main members of the committee were being paid 16 grand a year, each. There are four of them equalling 64 grand being spent on the students union committee who have clearly done a terrible job. Not only that, but as I have said, a large number of staff are being cut from their jobs. I dont know about lecturer salaries, but I bet at least a two or three (maybe more) could be saved if we got rid of this failing student union committee.

Makes me glad I'm leaving this university this year.

REVIEW: Angels and Airwaves- Love

Angels and Airwaves - Love

I think what I dislike most about 'Love' is that I actually kind of like it.

So this is AvA's third album and is available for free download through the band's Modlife page. I had bought their first album 'We Dont Need To Whisper' some years ago, on the strength of debut single 'The Adventure' and the words of Tom DeLonge, who stopped just short of announcing AvA to be the greatest occurance in musical history.

Tom is, of course, one third of Blink 182, undoubtedly one of the best songwriting pop-punk bands around. And in the aforementioned first release, and second offering 'I-Empire' there was always a hint that AvA were capable of writing some excellent songs (see The Adventure, Everything's Magic, Call To Arms). However, these were losts in what were, to be honest, two fairly low quality albums. AvA too often fell into the trap of trying to sound too epic; over complicating the harmonies and stretching out the often tedious electronic introductions.

Album number three falls into a similar trap. After a predictable instrumental introduction, Tom and co burst into one of the better songs on the album. 'The Flight of Apollo' has a jagged riff, and some decent vocal melodies.
'Young London' continues promisingly, containing a catchy chorus, and a pounding drum beat. After that it takes a dip, after an unecessarily long outro come 'Shove' and 'Epic Holiday', two songs that would have probably lasted about two Blink 182 jams before being discarded in favour of something remotely interesting.
The lead single, 'Hallucinations' is much better, but sounds very much like something else I cant quite put my singer on; likely something in Blink's impressive back catalogue. The rest of the album passes without making much of an impression, save 'Letters to God, Part II' which, while being another standout track, sounds very similar to 'Young London'.

I cant help but feel that the reunion of Blink 182 might go some way to answering why quite a large quantity of this album feels like hastily-put-together filler. DeLonge clearly still has a deft hand at creating catchy, electronically-fuelled rock songs, and this album is a long way away from being awful, but it stills leaves me with exactly the same feelings about AvA's position in the musical stratosphere: mediocrity.

High Points: 'Young London', the chorus of 'Hallucinations', it's free to download!

Low Points: the lyrics in general, 'Epic Holiday', and the likelyhood that the writing of this album stole Tom away from valuable Blink182 time.

6.5 out of 10.

Bookworm

WARNING: The following is a rant. It bears no meaning on reality. Nor should it be taken seriously.

Is it just me, or do people not read enough these days?

Now dont get me wrong, I know most people read a book every day. Unfortunately it's Facebook, and it's through Facebook that you sort of notice the problem. Face-stalking is not something I do on a regular basis (...maybe) but under people's information you tend to find long lists of favourite movies and music, going sometimes into explicit details. On the computing equivalent of the dusty shelf above lies the Favourite Books category, which often lays dormant, or even has something along the lines of: I DONT READ!!!!. As if they're proud of it.

I know I'm over generalising, and in fact quite a lot of the people who I know do read regularly, but still there an awful lot of people who just dont. I shamelessly steal material from Stewart Lee here but: if you only ever read one book in your, I urge you to keep your mouth shut. It's funny how often people tell me that they dont have time to read, but then post Facebook statuses saying how bored they are, or spend hours on Farmville etc.

Now admitedly I dont read that much, I certainly dont devote hours of my day to it, and in fact I avoided taking English at university pretty much on the basis that it would be too much reading. But I read virtually every night before bed, even if its just a chapter or so. And it's pretty rare that I dont get something decent out of reading.

/rant.

A tale of two cities.

Hello! This is the first post in my new blog.

For a long time I have wondered whether having a whole blog to my self is really such a good idea. I get a bit prone to ranting, and through ranting I usually come across as a bit pretentious and self interested. But then I suppose any activity exclusively spent talking directly about yourself, and what you think is going to be a bit like that. Therefore I have decided it is everyone's Blog-given right to be pretentious in this situation, otherwise it would all get a bit boring.

And we wouldn't want that. Would we, children?
See, I can do condescending as well.

So anyway, currently I live in Wolverhampton. A beautiful, scenic modern city, that was recently rewarded for its aesthetic and social wonder in this article, by being named the 5th Worst City in the World! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8435823.stm

Wolverhampton isn't all that bad really, and a big advantage is things are cheap up here. And given that the list in question failed to name Baghdad, Kabul and even Hull, it's pretty clear that someone at Lonely Planet just had it in for Wolves.
Sure, Wolverhampton has the highest number of unoccupied shops in the country; nearly a quarter of the sites are currently vacant. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8510721.stm And it's also true that one Wolverhampton takeaway's owner was selling up kebabs whilst his dead colleague lay a metres away on a sofa. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7669625.stm
Nevertheless, I maintain that Wolverhampton isn't altogether too bad.

Where I actually live the majority of my life is Brighton. Or 15 minutes down the road from Brighton. Brighton is much nicer, mainly I think due to my friends, but also just because it's better place to me. Certainly I've never been served up a kebab named Michael in Brighton.
I'm sure a lot of people say it about there home towns, but I've never been anywhere as good as Brighton, best city in the world as far as I'm concerned. Although admittely I havent been to anywhere near all of the cities in the world.

So there we are. Those are my two homes.