« December 2008 |
Main
| February 2009 »
Singer-songwriter John Martyn has died after a four-decade career spanning some 20 albums. Fan Nic Oliver has some words on the man:
So farewell then John Martyn, who popped his final clog today.
Still performing up until shortly before his death despite having his right leg amputated below the knee in 2003 (sadly due to a burst cyst, not after crashing his car into a cow as he claimed to some credulous reporters), the robust singer-songwriter was truly one of a kind.
A lot of obits have concentrated on Martyn's alcohol and drug abuse and the toll it exacted on his career, but I prefer to remember some of the staggeringly good music he released during his lifetime. Solid Air (1973) and One World (1977) are stone-cold classics that experiment freely with folk, dub, blues and soul, and while his later work lacked consistency he continued to push the boundaries in his own inimitable manner.
Let's leave the last word to Mr Martyn shall we? "I often thought of faking my own death and watching the record companies fucking drum up all the shit they can..."
(Photo: John Martyn at the Barbican, 2008, by Elliot Jake Clowes)
Following the closures of the Astoria, LA2, Ghetto, Metro, Sin and The End to allow Crossrail to be constructed, it seems the Soho Revue Bar is the latest west end live music venue to face the chop.
Emails to that effect from promoters and bands began arriving at musicOMH towers yesterday and continued through today. Speaking to musicOMH, the venue's booking manager Walt Etz said that a buyer for the venue, which entered administration in March 2008, could not be found. As a result the venue, formally known as the Raymond Revue Bar, will host its final night tonight and close on Thursday 29th January, with the lease passing back to the landlord subsequently. Artists we've seen at the venue include Hercules And Love Affair and The Kills. Gigs scheduled for February have been cancelled, including a showcase of The Boy Least Likely To's new album on 5th February. In the West End this leaves just the 100 Club, Madam JoJos, The Fly, Punk, St Moritz and Ronnie Scott's (the latter largely for jazz fiends, of course) as contemporary live music venues.
You'll probably, like us, have seen the acres of press coverage given over in December to 'The Next Big Thing' - a kind of record company sponsored jamboree celebrating the probable success of their own marketing departments over 2009.
This year was the year of the girl. Not just any old girl. The electro-pop girl. Such is the ubiquity of the Lady Gagas and Little Boots of this world that it's almost impossible to remember when this list seemed more about the folk girl strumming her guitar and whispering plaintively about ghosts/sea monsters/nasty ex-boyfriends. However, there are still some flourishes if you look carefully enough. Along with musicOMH-four star-approved Emmy the Great, we watched an American folk singer called Anais Mitchell a few nights ago at the Luminaire, who damn near blew our ears off. Now, Anais has all the trappings to be a cult folk act and no more (politically-inspired tunes, breathy vocals, etc etc) apart from one thing. Her new album, described by the singer as a "concept album based around the Orpheus myth, set in a post apocalyptic, great depression era America" has a couple of guests on it: - Some chap called Bon Iver - Ani Difranco It might be nothing. But if it is more than nothing, you heard of it here first...
Silver Jews have split up.
Front man and songwriter Dave Berman confirmed the news on the Silver Jews forum at Drag City earlier today. Last year in an interview with musicOMH, Berman gave notice: "After this I will stop and try to work out where I want to put my energy next and I don't know if it will be writing songs." He went on: "For the first time I can say that I could walk away from music because this album is an answer to the problems posed by the others I've written. Plus you always want to go out on a good note and I don't want to be like Pearl Jam, taking up space where other younger bands could come through." The band's sixth album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea made musicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2008 list, as voted on by our writers.
Last time out Portland's The Decemberists thrilled the world with The Crane Wife, which we duly awarded five stars back at the start of 2007.
Even those who'd thought them too literate, too arch, too damned clever for their own good, had to agree that they'd made the record of their career. So where do they go after that (and a spot of campaigning in their home state of Oregon for Barack Obama)? The answer comes on 23rd March when the band, fronted by Colin Meloy, unveil their fifth album. It's called The Hazards Of Love and is again released through Rough Trade. It weighs in at a hefty 17 tracks. Anyone who tells you 2009 is only going to be about girls repeating themselves (however catchily) with Tenori-ons ought to be reminded that big, dramatic guitar parts - acoustic and electric - are still out there and, in this instance, being used to thrilling effect. Of course The Decemberists aren't a mere 'guitar band'; they're much more than that, with fantastical lyrics - this time about a girl called Margaret, her lover and a forest queen - and intricate textures in the vocal and instrumental parts. And despite wide-of-the-mark comparisons with Neutral Milk Hotel and Arcade Fire, their track The Perfect Wife 2, from The Crane Wife, was given remix treatment from Junior Boys and producer-du-jour Diplo. On first listen The Hazards Of Love reveals itself as an album in the truest sense of the word, an epic record that demands you sit down and listen to it from beginning to end. And then go back and start again. It is definitely going to be one of March's essential releases. A full review will - but of course - follow.
Further comments on the Oscar nominations from Jon... I saw Slumdog Millionaire last night and that's where my money's going: one of the most vibrant, atmospheric and gripping films of the last 10 years - overcoming a thin main storyline through great framing and superb cinematography. Danny Boyle's masterpiece. In the directors category it's the same again, though David Fincher would be an acceptable second choice from where we're sitting. As far as Best Actor goes, this is difficult, but I'd hope it would go to the underdog, Mickey Rourke, for coming from nowhere with such a unstated performance. Otherwise, Brad Pitt deserves one for holding The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button together so well. It's hard to believe that Meryl Streep won't win in the Best Actress category. One of the finest - perhaps the finest - actress of the current generation of stars, it's impossible not to be captivated by everything she does. I'd love to see Robert Downey Jr take the Best Supporting Actor nod. (If you haven't seen Tropic Thunder, now's the time to enter our giveaway ). But let's be honest, it's going to be Heath Ledger (and fans must be gritting their teeth that he didn't get "actor"...) In Best Adapted Screenplay, Slumdog Millionaire falls down... so we're hoping for Frost/Nixon, a powerful play between two powerful characters. For Best Original Screenplay, Wall-E barely counts, having only about ten lines of dialogue the whole way through! Milk should be the clear winner here, although it's nice to see Mike Leigh's film in the running. As for the winners, they'll find out along with the rest of us in a months' time, on the 22nd February.
The 2009 Academy Awards nominations are in.
The nominations for best director and best film are identical, with Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button up for both. The latter of these leads the way with 13 nominations, with Slumdog Millionaire best of the rest with 10.
As widely expected, the late Heath Ledger gets a posthumous nod for The Dark Knight. His Brokeback Mountain co-star Anne Hathaway is also up for a statue for Rachel Getting Married.
Michael Sheen looks unlucky to miss out on a nod for Frost/Nixon, while his co-star Frank Langella goes up against Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke for the Best Actor statue.
Six Feet Under star Richard Jenkins finds himself nominated in the same category for The Visitor in what looks like a very tight race this year.
The main categories... Actor in a leading role: The Visitor - Richard Jenkins Frost/Nixon - Frank Langella Milk - Sean Penn The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt Actor in a supporting role: Milk - Josh Brolin Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr. Doubt - Philip Seymour Hoffman Actress in a leading role: Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway Changeling - Angelina Jolie Frozen River - Melissa Leo Doubt - Meryl Streep The Reader - Kate Winslet
Actress in a supporting role: Doubt - Amy Adams Doubt - Viola Davis The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Taraji P. Henson Best director: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard Milk - Gus Van Sant The Reader - Stephen Daldry Best film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon Milk The Reader
So our review of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, their ninth album, has been the most read article across musicOMH for the last two weeks. Apparently you like them as much as we do.
So here's a video for the first single to be released from the album, My Girls, with animation by Jon Vermilyea.
Panda Bear, Geologist and Avey Tare follow their four dates this month with a bigger tour of the UK in March. The dates are these: Sun 22-Mar-09 UK Bristol The Trinity Mon 23-Mar-09 UK Nottingham Rescue Rooms Tue 24-Mar-09 UK London The Forum Wed 25-Mar-09 UK Leeds TJs Thu 26-Mar-09 UK Liverpool The Static Gallery Fri 27-Mar-09 IRL Dublin Tripod Sat 28-Mar-09 IRL Belfast Stiff Kitten
 Radiohead have, of course, been written about in book form, as a collective entity. They've been around for over two decades; Creep was released fully 17 years ago. So that's no surprise.
It's difficult to believe, though, that there's never been a biography of Thom Yorke. But there hasn't. Quoth they:
"This is the first ever biography of Yorke: a tale of the extraordinary drive, ambition and perfectionism of just one man.
Thom Yorke’s story has never been told and this biography goes further and deeper than ever before with the help of
in-depth interviews from former classmates, producers, video makers and other key players in his life."
If you want to get your hands on a copy for free, we have one to give away that could fit your needs. Send in your name, address, email address and telephone number (we'll phone you to tell you if you've won) with the subject line THOM YORKE COMP before 31st January to: comps@musicOMH.com
Please note, you must be in the UK to enter, only one book is available to win, and the editor's decision is final.
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey, the last remaining founder member of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds aside from Cave himself, has announced he's leaving. "For a variety of personal and professional reasons I have chosen to discontinue my ongoing involvement with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds," he said in a statement. "After 25 years I feel I am leaving the band as it experiences one of its many peaks; in very healthy condition, and with fantastic prospects for the future."
Harvey founded the Bad Seeds in 1983 with Cave, with whom he'd worked in the band's predecessor, The Birthday Party.
"I'm confident Nick will continue to be a creative force and that this is the right time to pass on my artistic and managerial role to what has become a tremendous group of people who can support him in his endeavours both musically and organizationally," he said.
"It was a fantastic experience to finish my touring days in the band with the recent shows in Australia and the unique events that took place in conjunction with All Tomorrow's Parties, especially Mt. Buller, which was one of the many highlights of my involvement with the band throughout the years."
The statement also said he will continue working on a Bad Seeds re-issues project over the coming year.
| | | | |
Recent Comments