Foals -  Spanish Sahara

Its new, so I posted it.

Alistair.





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ALBUMS OF THE DECADE: THE WILL TO DEATH (2004)

2004 was a remarkable year for John Frusciante, with the release of six consistently fantastic albums he recorded in the space of six months on a break from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Released just months after Shadows Collide With People, an album that reportedly cost $300,000 to record and was very production heavy, The Will To Death was a conscious effort to be the opposite of Shadows.

“On The Will to Death, I thought it would be a good idea to make a record with very little backing vocals, because we’d done it so much on Shadows. I always have to have a new idea for each album. For The Will to Death, the idea was to have very little backing vocals. There’s a lot of other huge differences. In every way, I wanted the opposite of Shadows.” : Frusciante

A simple but beautiful album, The Will to Death works solely on the songwriting ability of Frusciante. Whilst the production is sometimes confusing with Frusciante using techniques that would seem unnatural with most other acts, he brings it together with an album that feels real through its honesty and simplicity. The main themes are life and death, but it’s definitely not a dark album with Ttought provoking lyrics and interesting harmony.

It’s very difficult to choose which album from this series deserves the title of Album of the Year, and if Curtains (the last of the series to be released, in early 2005) was released on schedule within 2004 then that would be my album of the year. Alistair on the other hand rates Shadows Collide With People at number one but for me, it is the beauty in modesty heard in tracks like The Days Have Turned and The Will to Death that makes The Will to Death one of my favourite albums of 2004.

Greg (currently in Bangkok)









Them Crooked Vultures ALBUM

This is a good day, it’s official, Them Crooked Vultures have an album.

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Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

Don’t worry, it’s a grower…or maybe not. Shit, sorry. Have a listen and find out for yourself, I just can’t help thinking the only reason it sounds pleasant is because Casablancas’ voice = good memories of good songs. I still can’t work out if this is a good song on it’s own two feet. Maybe we need to ask someone who’s never heard The Strokes…

Alistair









Beck/Record Club

Dear Reader.

I saw this and thought of you. Lead by Beck, groups of fairly respectable artists are  getting together currently and rerecording one classic album in a single day, with no prior rehearsal. Think Radio 1’s Live Lounge without the tranny. The Velvet Underground and Nico is completed and with the likes of MGMT, Devendra Banhart and Wolfmother (I did say fairly respectable) currently doing the UNTHINKABLE and covering Leonard Cohen, you should see more songs up soon. It’s a nice little blog to add to your RSS.

Love you!

Alistair. x

P.S. AGCS has 99 Tumblr followers. Will you pretty please invite one friend? You will? Thank you! That last ILY was totally insincere, but now I mean it!  xx <3 xx

RECORD CLUB









Jemina Pearl ft. Iggy pop - I Hate People

I’m not gonna lie. Be Your Own Pet broke up and a little piece of me died. Then I stumbled across a Jemina Pearl single and posted it up here. Things were good for a while, I was happy with the three songs on her myspace. And then, nothing. Things got quiet, and the booze came back out.Things got dark in my life. I don’t want to talk about it.

And then, in my darkest hour, I Hate People appears on my desktop. The sun came out, birds sang. It was a good day. I smiled, because Jemina Pearl and John Eatherly have quite obviously matured their sound - where a few years ago, ‘I Hate People’ would have been screamed out in an obtuse 1:20, it’s a slick, contrapuntal 3:19 that finally showcases the sharply witty potential a band like Be Your Own Pet never quite fulfilled. Iggy Pop adds, but doesn’t steal the limelight in this oddly sweet duet of shared misanthropy (which as music fans I’m sure makes it highly relatable) and adds magnitude to the much anticipated album, Break It Up, (featuring Dave Sitek too) out on October 6.

And once again I’m happy, basking in the bittersweet precursor of what looks to be the album BYOP could never quite manage.

Break It Up.
01 Heartbeats
02 After Hours
03 Ecstatic Appeal
04 Band on the Run
05 I Hate People [ft. Iggy Pop]
06 Looking For Trouble
07 Retrograde
08 Nashville Shores
09 No Good
10 D Is for Danger
11 Selfish Heart
12 Undesireable
13 So Sick

Alistair

Jemina Pearl ft. Iggy pop - I Hate People









Discovery - Osaka Loop Line & Swing Tree

I like to get stuff posted up here quickly, but I’ve held back on posting Discovery ‘cos I wasn’t sure. Well, now there’s internetz buzz surrounding them so I’m rushing my shit out to prove I’ve still got it yo.

Discovery are some guy from Ra Ra Riot and some guy from Vampire Weekend that isn’t the lead singer. They have an album. Don’t buy it. It’s full of autotune and sounds for the most part like T-pain covering Postal Service. This is not, ever, a good comparison.

Instead, you can download the two pretty decent tracks on us.

So, rest of album not so good, but, despite it’s most horrifiic misses it is never, ever as bad as Vampire Weekend.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I have some graduating to do, in Journalism of all things. You may laugh, but I’m not kidding!

Alistair

Discovery - Swing Tree by agcs

Discovery - Osaka Loop Line by agcs

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Jonsi & Alex - Boy 1904

Tired facts about this song from the blogosphere I’ve chosen not to include:
50% of Jonsi & Alex is Sigur Ros’ frontman.
50% of Jonsi & Alex is his BF.
The track features the only known recording of a costrato.

Released a week today is Riceboy Sleeps, debut album from Jonsi & Alex, formerly and confusingly known as Riceboy Sleeps (You may recognise the name if you picked up/piratebay’d the Dark Was The Night compliation, on which they donated an ealier track called ‘Happiness’).

Here’s the PR video promoting the album:

If you found yourself thinking the super8 video of birds and washed out photographs of beaches all a little cliched, you’re not alone. Since THAT Planet Earth ad on the BBC,  Sigur Ros were propelled onto the radio and to relative success.

And then everyone had a go, even Sky News; Slow-mo + ambient music = something profound… and a cliche was born. What Boy 1904 shows is that there’s not much wiggle room for innovation in the world of ambient-scenescapey-reverby tweeness. That’s because that’s pretty much all it is; ambience.

The reason this track probably envokes a dreamy landscape in your minds eye is because you’re looking for something else to compliment it, and, just like the video above, that something is the rest of the multi-media cliche you’re used to.

Is it hard to listen to? No. Is it devoid of any musical integrity? No. Is there an hours worth of originality to be had? We’ll see/ almost certainly not.

Alistair

Jonsi & Alex - Boy 1904 by agcs









It’s S.A.D sufferer Alistair’s turn to share his favourite albums for over the suprisingly hot summer season. Stay tuned for Marko’s next week!

Beach Boys – Endless Summer
I hope this doesn’t seem too obvious. I promise you, although the word summer appears in the title, it’s not why I chose it and I wouldn’t want you to think this is just thrown in because of Good Vibrations either, because, if you give this huge album a chance, you’ll find it’s all as good as Good Vibrations or Surfin’ U.S.A. Some of it is a little less upbeat than their hit singles, but never less charming and optimistic. Vocal harmonies like this are summer, a sunny lullaby, straight from your ipod, to fall asleep to in the sun.

The Meters- Look-ka Py Py
This album is going to pick up your mood any season. But in summer, when the sun is shining and it sort of makes you giddy, this is what you want on. If you’re walking down a street you may find yourself strutting in your shorts, or, if sat down you might find your head nodding- but ideally you want a nice back garden, a BBQ, and some good friends who know how to get dooown. The sun will do that to you.

E-603 – Torn Up
something a little more contemporary now, and though this is my most hated, most despised ‘genre’ on earth; it’s time to get the cheese out. I wouldn’t just bring out Now 46 mind, (Despite picking this number out the air, it seems you’d be getting Tom Jones and Mousse T - Sex Bomb, Spiller & Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Groovejet  and Aaliyah -Try Again. Maybe I shouldn’t just write it off!) no, if I’m doing cheese I’ll do it with class. Whilst Girl Talk holds the multi-mashup crown, E-603 is the air to the throne, throwing mainly 90’s rap over songs we all know too well. What’s more it’s free …unlike all other music…ahem, and will most certainly have that annoyingly over-excited girl screaming “Oh my god, this is my song!” every time she recognises a sample. It’s not your song. Calm down love.

She & Him – Volume One
Chances are you don’t have a convertible. As this is sort of a one-way system I’ll have to assume you don’t, but if you do, you’re in for a treat. For a sunny drive anywhere, She & Him will leave weirdly happy smiles on your faces for passing pedestrians to be unsettled by. It’s unashamedly American and indulgent, but it’s not shallow, it’s lovely and heartfelt and will compliment the wind through your hair beautifully (hair… right? I don’t want to assume. I mean, our demographics’ pretty young but whatever, you’re welcome here.). M.Ward and the radiant, alt-bro lady of choice Zooey Deschanel make up the duo whose albums fails to falter in it’s sunny disposition from beginning to  end…apart from a sort-of weird, bullshit harmonica solo 1:50 into ‘This Is Not A Test’.

Dave Matthews Band – Crash

Best. Summer Album. Ever. Crash radiates and emits happiness, optimism and contentment so powerfully I’m pretty sure a blind man would get a clear picture of what a sunny day looks like after one listen.  It’s not sickly though which is why it’s so great (Unlike this review). It’s not shoving happiness down your throat. It’s sincere, and yes, It has its quieter moments without getting too dark, but the slow build of each track to smile-breaking crescendos has the same effect as the person you most trust in the whole world telling you everything’s going to be OK. 
P.S.
That person should be AGCS… Everything’s going to be OK! Just listen.

The Spotify playlist isn’t complete, but you can get E-603 here

Alistair









[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Radiohead en Barcelona, Daydream Festival

Radiohead Vs. Dave Brubeck -Five step

Michael-fucking-Jackson this is the best mash-up I’ve ever, EVER heard. Radiohead have been the unwilling whore of the mash-up world for a while, usually with Thom Yorke turned all the way down and Jay-Z/Kanye/rapper over the top. And yes, that worked, because Radiohead have beautiful songs. But to take it and the brilliant, instantly recognisable Brubeck over the top, a feat which on paper does not make sense but in your ears is perfection, takes real skill and a brilliant ear. I’d love to know who made this happen and pat them on the back, this is far more than good music+good lyrics= mashup, this is the amalgamation of two great songs into one musical overlord.

Alistair.













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