my list

there are a number of things in my life that i would like to do

occasionally i find it useful to make a list of the certain things that i want to achieve, and i know other people live their lives by constantly listing, i think i particularly find it fulfilling to cross through my list and slowly whittle it down to a short number og goals that have so far remained unobtainable

ok, so i know i bitch everytime NME decides to publish a list in it's magazine and that my last post was over a week ago, inching ever nearer to that two week mark, but those lazy gits actually get paid for bumping their heads together and sticking a bunch of things in numerical order, i merely try and jot down ever may be going through my mind, writing and updating in whatever free time my hectic life allows me

you've probably missed out on some real gems of blog posts that never were, simply cos i just wasn't able to get near a computer for long enough to communicate my ruminations..

which reminds me of something else i should probably add to the list..

this is what i want to do:

• actually get my Riot Music EP completed
• grow a proper beard
• find a decent modern-looking blue sofa-bed for the spare bedroom
• buy some frames and the blinds for the spare room
• remember to actually properly look at the items on the pages of the ikea catalogue that i folded over so that i wouldn't forget
• write up reviews/articles for the new EPs from Getaway and Twisted Hearts
• try and blag my way into reviewing the autumn Crystal Fighters tour
• and work on keeping Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle a little bit more frequently updated

of course there are tons more things i'll have to do, since i went to my cousins wedding last week instead of having time off for myself the upstairs floors need sweeping, but that was possibly getting far too mundane and pedantic to keep listing, oh and i should bring the wheely bins back up the drive this evening, but that would be stupid to give you each and every task and chore

i just wanted to let people know that i am still here

i am still writing (when i get the chance)

and i am still trying to get my house in order and inch slowly closer to having a complete looking (or at least updated) decor throughout

i'll refrain from using my blog as a noticeboard in the future

credit where it's due:

artwork 'Today's Youth' by DangerDog

sleeping with the NME

i finally take my seat in the NME offices and relax at the desk.

sadly, this is not the first day of a new job plying my wares for the UK's premier weekly music magazine.

instead, i have been summoned to their HQ in Southwark as part of a focus group.

much less rock n roll than i'd anticipated, it seems obtuse that these sterile offices were home to a music juggernaut that makes and break careers and has been key in hyping and tastemaking bands and scenes.

but it was early evening and perhaps every hint of excitement and joyous musical rebellion had clocked off at half 5 - regardless, the small group i was joining soon settled in the bland surroundings and were further relaxed by the offer of beers and pizza.

i for one had it clear in my mind as son as i'd had the call-up that i was keen to let NME know where they had been going wrong.

i admitted to have given up on NME many years ago, around the time Arctic Monkey's debut album was released and the front cover heralded another feature on them for the third time in a month, the bands assualt on the mainstream was well and truly underway and the over-saturation left me jaded.

they had once been the most exciting and heralded new band around, but as the magazine churned out another article i wondered if there was possibly anything more that i needed to know about Arctic Monkeys, and thus i turned my back on the gospel according to NME



finally given the appropriate platform to make my feeling known i did not shy away from voicing my dissenting opinion on a frustratingly overwhelming reliance on lists

on the occasions that an interesting cover feature has lured me back over the years, i've often found that good quality articles have now made way for a ridiculous array of lists on almost every conceivable nuance and sub-category of music.

i fully expect end of year polls and speculative new year/ new bands runthroughs, yet is seems all too often that so-called journalists have taken an easy option of compiling a handful of brief opinions and assigning each banal blurb a numerological value.


even of the 3 issues sent to each of us for research purposes, we were subjected to 3 lists.

top ten buzz bands of the great escape.

top 25 band logos.

and 16 pages of NME's top 70 cult heroes.

apart from my moan about this brazen lazy journalism,Other topics breached included our feelings towards a number of regular features and a discussion on whether Lady Gaga and other 'pop' acts deserve to be on the cover of NME, or deserve to be featured at all (I believe they do), a general consensus that the 'funny' cartoon is possibly the most hated part of the magazine and a lively debate for and against Popjustice's 'Peter Robinson Vs' interviews (for which i was firmly and vocally for).

As well as existing features, we were given a sneak peak at possible contributions, of which the most offensive was a sloppily thrown together piece on how to achieve Alex Turner's 'look', shouted down and derided by everyone in the room for turning what should be a respected music magazine into the indie Heat.

as a newspaper columnist perhaps i should not draw attention to the plight of print media, but it is obvious to all that the sheer quantity and variety of information, opinions and recomendations available online has seen publishers suffering, and those conducting the session were equally interested in how we recieve and percieve new music and recommendations in this modern world where the internet is usurping a former great's all-powerful hold.

Even though I hadn't been called upon to shape the future of NME with my own journalistic talents, it was still a unique opportunity to witness the market research and pitches that everyone involved hopes will keep NME vital and interesting in the 21st century.

Having read the magazine religiously for around 5 or so years from the age of 17, and having NME itself shape me in some of my formative years, it felt right that I could try to return the favour.

Lost little Orphan Boy

can you believe NME stuck out another list feature t'other week??

well i can, one week into the new year and their first issue is yet another bloody list!

admittedly, this time i was a little intrigued to see what was going on tho, The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard didn't seem to be their usual tack and it seemed to hold a lot of potential to actually be an interesting rundown

still unwilling to take such a stupid risk and stick my hand in my pocket for a copy, i instead headed off to the library, that actually let you hang around, even sit down, and enjoy a selection of current magazines (screw you mr Newsagent, and your 'this is not a library' Apu-isms)

and while i was expecting to find a bunch of musos educating the uneducated on a plethora of albums that for some reason or another never actually got released, what i instead found was quite a well informed countdown that had been contributed to by NME writers and rock stars alike, all revealing their own personal favourite albums that are likely to have slipped under most people's radars

yes, it is still another list that has been cobbled together, and with celebrity contributers it has probably meant that the NME writers have put even less effort in that usual, but regardless, it actually held up as an informative issue, and it was interesting to dip into and flick through, especially when there were a handful of modern choices among them

i was pleasantly surprised to see Clor topping the list (tho i'm not sure if the placings actually had any real relevance) and at 57 was another band name that rang a bell

Orphan Boy's 2008 album, Shop Local had been picked out by someone i forget now... and i couldn't fathom for a little while why the band's name sounded so familiar, i didn't remember following the band at all and continued scratching my head

but then it came to me, that i still have this very album tucked away somewhere among all the other CDs that didn't excite me very much, that had been sent to me from glasswerk to review

the album hadn't had much of an impact on me, but its inclusion in the 'lost' list intrigued me and had me questioning my own judgement, so having dug the album out and given it another spin, perhaps it is due a second opinion

afew tracks in and i wasn't exactly offended by it, but nor was i thrilled, it sounded very standard indie fare that was unlikely to set the world alight...

so what exactly did i have to say about it first time around tho?

a quick google pulled up....

'The more you are subjected to, the fewer bands sound truly original, and perhaps that is exactly the point with this album, a repeat listen reveals very strong influences and sonic identities that can be traced back to a lineage of Great British bands including The Clash, Oasis, Sex Pistols and Arctic Monkeys, to name but a few.

Strummer style vocals. Alex Turner style delivery. Ramshackle Libertine-esque guitars. A Kooks pop sensibility. The list goes on. and on.

Lazy comparisons they may be but its far from a negative review for the band, many of the tracks on here are deserving of ‘stand-out’ status but the album seems to get lost within itself as tracks charge off in different directions, pulling the album apart instead of finding a focus'

and i must admit, that even with the passing of time, and a re-evaluation given recent light, i couldn't agree more with my initial review, some tracks are big enough to have found them a place on rock n rolls map alongside The Courteeners, but it just wasn't meant to be...

Orphan Boy - Satellites available on the album Shop Local

ice cold

it has been a very long time since i was buying NME week in and week out, i'd had a long love affair with the magazine, keen to find out what was new and what was happening in the world of music

but with the proliferation of music blogs and the rise of the internet aiding tastemakers instead, NME has become increasingly stunted, the medium being no longer relevant as the only place to turn to for information on new artists, gone are the days when NME could tell you that 'so and so' is the next big thing and generate all of it's own hype until it had proved itself right

it obviously didn't help that NME stopped employing journalists, instead they seemed to be manned entirely by a staff of list makers, and every single issue carried another excuse for a list, to the point that there was nothing at all worth reading

and the epitome of this dire practise of repeated list making was NME's annual Cool List, even at the point that i was shilling out for the magazine every week, i still found the Cool List to be a completely cringeworthy idea, in that a magazine that the cool kids read and told you who the cool bands are, would actually make a conscious decision to determine just how cool all of these cool people are, as if it would actually be cool to be vying for a high position in the Cool List.

and the reason i mention this, is my long arse way of getting round to talking about Janelle Monae, who graces the cover of this weeks NME (above) and weighs in at number 2 in the prestigious Cool List and who i had the pleasure of seeing back in september, after being turned onto her by a couple of completely separate friends, fuelled by intrigue and knowing that there was no way they could both be wrong about her i gave the latest album a spin on spotify and jumped at the chance to see her live when the opportunity arose via glasswerk.

and as something of an underground buzz artist coming out of the leftfield, i thought i would also knock out an article for The Enfield Advertiser as a bit of a heads up on someone to keep an eye out for, to try and mix it up a little with the features on local bands, as well as using the opportunity to flex my musical knowledge for the whole of Enfield to see.

of course, that was before the profile raising stint on a recent Jools Holland show and the NME cover, so by the time it actually sees print Janelle Monae may seem a bit like old news to some people but i am glad that she is getting the attention she deserves.

the album, ArchAndroid, is a unique offering in these days when 'popular' music is exceedingly bland and most songs a merely a mimic of the last pale imitation of an already un-inspiring chart-topper and i'm sure with an ever growing fanbase she will soon be living up to the immense promise she has already shown.



Janelle Monae - Cold War stream only



credit where it's due:

mp3 stream by Atlantic Records
and i was tipped off onto Janelle Monae by Cortz's Blog