HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - Comedy Songs

There was a point in time when the mere thought of “the comedy song” would send much of us sane folk into fits of uncomfortable shivers. Definitely music that fell into creepy uncle territory, most comedy songs had a simple melody, drab instrumentation, and were merely vehicles for funny words and ideas. They were fine to watch within the concept of the film or TV show they originated in, but once they were removed into the realm of records, CDs, i-pods and other audio-only devises their humour and quality slipped away like a wet cake.
Over the past few years though, the comedy song has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance, with TV shows like The Mighty Boosh and Flight of the Conchords re-establishing the concept as an intelligent, funny and musically competent medium. Below are my favourite tracks from recent shows and stand-ups, as well as an older classic. Each of these tracks are obviously very funny, but I have also chosen them for their musical and lyrical prowess, which are also obviously of a high quality.

1. Flight of the Conchords – ‘Leggy Blonde’
An excellent concept for a song based around a simple idea – that when you fancy someone from afar, knowing little about their personality, your obsession often focuses on key attribute of their appearance (e.g. being a leggy blonde). The music is great too, as all Conchords’ music is, although this is particularly special as it uses a lot of found sounds for percussion, such as typewriters, staplers and hole-punchers.
2. Tenacious D – ‘Tribute’
A fantastic ‘Tribute’ to rock, this song is primarily an awesome track, with great instrumentation and excellent vox. Jack Black’s vocal performances throughout lend a subtle dry humour, and the general lyrics and concept of the track itself is fucking funny. It develops to a great climax as well.
3. David O’Doherty – ‘Text Song’
This is such a funny song about a really simple yet universal observation, delivered in an equally funny fashion that is musically competent and well reflects the lyrical content. And O’Doherty uses really cool analogue synth timbres in the song too. Yum, Casio.
4. The Mighty Boosh – ‘Nanageddon’
Developed in collaboration with 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, this track is first and foremost a great tune. It is punchy, aggressive and massively distorted with a cool, hard edge. It’s also very funny, simply because of the concept of an Armageddon where nanas are battling on the side of the devil. A lot old people a racist though, so perhaps the thought of them being evil is not so far fetched…
5. Flight of the Conchords – ‘Sugalumps’
Musically this is a great song and a really accurate parody of the dance-hop genre, and also turns a key concept of the genre on its head by bragging about atypical aspects, shall we say, of the male anatomy. Lines like “all these bitches checkin’ out my britches – I put ‘em in a trance when I wear track pants” and “my dungarees make them hungery” are special highlights.
6. Tim Minchin – ‘Some People have it Worse’
Minchin is fantastic pianist, and there is a certain pleasure in simple unadulterated tracks such as this, which feature just piano and vocals. This song deals very aptly and eloquently with the feeling we all get of despondency and dispassion with life in general. Lyrics such as “I wake up in the morning at 11:47 and I can’t believe I have to face the horror of another fucking day” exemplify this well, and are they delivered with a subtle humour and ultimately positive conclusion.
7. Bill Bailey – ‘Love Song’
A very funny song that perfectly captures our relationship with relationships, and how very great and very awful it can be to fall in love. As many critics have previously mentioned, the great thing about Bill Bailey’s work is that often the music is the joke itself, and this track simultaneously has jokes in the lyrics and also offers the perfect humorous parody of post-grunge music.
8. Spinal Tap – ‘Big Bottom’
Ah, Spinal Tap – perhaps the heavenly fathers of comedy rock. Throughout their eponymous film (and the subsequent album releases), Spinal Tap managed to create both music and lyrics that at first glance appear to fit the hair metal concept precisely. However, underneath their expertly exacted facade are gratuitous and humorous lyrics that parody and ridicule the metal genre in equal measure. With lyrics like, “the bigger the cushion the sweet the push-in – you know what I mean?” and “my baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo, I want to sink her with my pink torpedo” make ‘Big Bottom’ my favourite example of this.

See this at HCE at http://t.co/ZrOMY38 

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Singles of the Week (Best and Worst)

Good Stuff Released 21st March 2011
Eliza Doolittle – “Mr. Medicine” (Parlophone)
I could take or leave a lot of Eliza Doolittle’s previous releases – they were certainly pleasant enough, but there were no remarkable elements within her song writing, instrumentation or vocal abilities. I have really warmed to “Mr. Medicine” however, perhaps because this song has a slightly more contemplative, sober element to its lyrics. The melody is appealing and catchy, and Doolittle’s vocals are clearly accomplished and well captured throughout.



Friends – “Friend Crush” (Lucky Number)
Yet another fantastic band from Brooklyn, Friends have an irritatingly un-googlable name, and even more irritatingly, they only formed 6 months ago and they already have a single out. Phah, eh? This single is excellent though, with African inspired rhythms, rich, effect-laden, ethereal female vocals, underwater guitar sounds and a lo-fi vibe. Friends have an infectiously cool aura about their kooky-pop music, which is warm, friendly and measured. With hints of The Tom Tom Club and cute, self-conscious lyrics, this single deserves a lot of attention.

Friends - Friend Crush by LuckyNumberMusic

Bad Stuff Released 21st March 2011
Usher – “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” (LaFace)
Ah Usher - filling a million women’s ears with lyrics based around phrases muttered during drunken foreplay. I have never been a big fan of the usage of ‘Daddy’ as a sexual term, and throughout this track Usher manages to solidify any feelings about the term being a bit dirty and messed up perfectly. In Usher’s world, EVERYTHING is related to sex, not just relationships or women generally, but mundane things like work, a hotel lobby, collecting a package, sitting on a chair… its all fucking filth to him. So with this single expect a gross amount of moist lips and ladies bottoms, coupled with the words flexing, sexing, loving, hot, ladies and work-it. I mean seriously – who the fuck does Usher think he is, the sex messiah? Like most ladies-men, he is so intensely arrogant and self-involved I doubt he could ever truly satisfy a woman, inside the bedroom or otherwise.


See this post at HCE at http://www.herecomeseveryone.org/_blog/journal.php?id=242 

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST: Introducing Secret Rivals

Secret Rivals are an Oxford based four piece who create pleasant yet punchy indie pop. The group formed in late 2008 and released their debut EP Start Fires on Josaaka Records in October 2010. 2011 has so far seen the group sign to London’s Kittiwake Records, who have scheduled the band for an album release later this year. In the meantime, the group will be releasing their new single, Tonight Matthew in April, which has already been previewed as Rob Da Bank’s record of the day on BBC Radio 1. The group have had a lot of positive coverage on the BBC in general recently, and have been featured on BBC Oxford’s Introducing… programme and on BBC 6 Music.

The group describe their work as “unashamedly lo-fi”, but this is only part of their sound. Their music is upbeat, and varies in significantly between poppy indie and more grungy, punk numbers. They are cut from a similar cloth to The Wombats and The Thermals, with their hints of synth and attractive guitar centric melodies. Male and female vocals take the lead, which are provided by vocalists Jamie Corcoran and Clouds Jaez. Corcoran and Jaez clearly have chemistry, (their relationship goes beyond the music), and they spin attractive yet dynamic vocals.

With their cool, accessible indie sound, clever song lyrics and talented musicianship, Secret Rivals have a lot of promise, and 2011 looks like it is shaping up to be their year.
See this post at MTTM at: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/the-next-best-thing/introducing-secret-rivals/

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - Sleepy Time

I imagine many people have a sleepy time playlist. For those of us prone to bouts of insomnia, a chilled, calm and quiet playlist can be an indispensable tool when tired and stressed. It’s also really nice to have to hand if you are on a long plane or car journey, where peace and sleep are often elusive. These songs are a section from my personal sleepy time playlist. All the tracks are quiet, chilled and soft, with a slow BPM to help me wind down. They are all vaguely positive too, because it is not nice to fall asleep feeling blue.

1.    “Islands” – The XX
A nicely minimal song, like most tracks from The XX. Very subdue, muted guitar, bass drums and vox, this is a sedate, but captivating track.
2.    “Tahiti” – Bat For Lashes
A beautifully smooth, seductive piano part, combined with plucked and bowed strings proliferate through this track. There is no percussion, just a sparse Autoharp occasionally keeping beat. Natasha Khan’s gorgeous vocals whisper quietly in you ear, with a subtle, cracked grain and haunting timbre.
3.    “Rambling Man” – Laura Marling
Laura Marling’s voice is utterly beautiful and absolutely captivating. Her low pitch and gentle, dulcet tones are like a tender caress on tired ears, and the graceful melody throughout “Rambling Man” is the perfect soother for exhausted minds.
4.    “Straight to Hell” – The Clash
By the time of Combat Rock, The Clash were diversifying their repertoire greatly. This is one of their most stripped down, sparse tracks, with placid vocals, calmly repetitive percussion and beautiful violin and guitar intersections.
5.    “1979” – Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Cobden’s vocal style is often subtle, composed and dynamic, which makes for calm soft music. “1979” also has a really tender, warm melody, lead by a lovely guitar part.
6.    “Purple Rain” – Prince and the Revolution
This song, at over eight minutes long, has the potential to ease you to sleep in one sitting. Again a very sparse track with a slow BPM and numerous guitar sections, each more beautiful than the last. The song finally cuts out to two minutes of faint, subdued strings.
7.    “I’m Ready” – Brian Adams
A guilty pleasure of mine, and yes Brian Adams does write A LOT of cheesy lyrics, but instrumentally this track is divine. It has soaring strings with a dynamic melody, flutes, and very subtle acoustic guitar. And I do quite like the soppy lyrics. Just don’t tell anyone.
8.    “Kids Don’t stand a Chance” - Vampire Weekend
For many, many nights whilst I was doing my dissertation this was my chill out track before bed. It has an inexplicable ability to make me feel calm and sedate, and is also generally a pretty song with some classic synth-string work from the very clever Vampire Weekend.
9.      “Hello November AM” – River City High
A short, cute little ditty, with acoustic guitars and a guest banjo, this is a lovely little track from River City High. “AM” is the chill-out track to counter balance the PM version of this song, which is upbeat pop punk type thing.
10.     “All or Nothing” - Au Revoir Simone
Au Revoir Simone constantly create intriguing yet serene music. This is perhaps the most composed and tranquil track from their most phlegmatic album, Still Night, Still Light.

See this at HCE at http://t.co/FEMQnga

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST (ALBUM REVIEW): Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!

The electro duo that is Holy Ghost! have been around for a couple of years now within the Brooklyn scene, creating acclaimed remixes of artist such as MGMT and Phoenix. 2011 see the long awaited release of their debut album, which is their first full-length exploration into writing and recording their own original work. Signed to DFA, musically the group are certainly cut from the same cloth as label mates LCD Soundsystem, with a cool, hip edge and lashings of analogue synthesisers and production techniques.

Through this debut release, Holy Ghost! have produced an interesting sound which is entirely created from electronic instruments. These synth sounds appear to all be analogue – they certainly have the warm grain of analogue instruments at any rate. There is a plethora of synth timbres used; square waves, pads, deep phasers and pulse waves, square filters, gated synths, running gates… I could go on, but for both our sakes I should probably stop. Put simply, this album is not just drum machines and string pads – these guys are synth aficionados. Their influences range diversely across the 1970/1980s synth landscape. The fat, belching synth-bass timbres of New Order are present, as is the Italo disco of Alexander Robotnick; the myriad layers of Giorgio Moroder and the sweeping strings of Hi-NRG artists such as Sylvester. Holy Ghost! seem to have fused all music that drew on synth technology between the years of 1976 and 1984 and blended them together into a seamless musical collage.

The vocals, by comparison are often fairly clean and unprocessed. They do at times have some interesting effects, but in general they subtly pull attention by being cool and unperturbed. In upbeat tracks, they have a nonchalant positivity, whilst tracks in a minor key are presented with a similar cold despondency. The vocal delivery too is very reminiscent of 1980s artist such as the Pet Shop Boys and The Human League, with medium-low pitched male vocals that roll off the tongue, with a slight staccato and a cold grain.

This is generally a very enjoyable album, with some great synth work and some interesting hooks and timbres. It is however very much a throwback to synth cultures past, and often the album doesn’t feel like a post-modern reversioning of archaic synth cultures, but more a direct resurrection of the past. It feels like a relic, and it hasn’t even been released yet. Perhaps it is too subtle for me; maybe there are nods to 2011. But if there are, I cannot hear them.
See this at MTTM at http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/album-reviews/holy-ghost-%E2%80%93-holy-ghost/

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST (LIVE REVIEW): Flats - Jericho Tavern, Oxford

Flats’ new Black Sabbath influences are apparent immediately as they kick off their set with a bleak, dirgeful track, rife with an oppressive, leaden sound. The track is slow – a clear break from Flats’ fast, anarcho-punk work. The group still sounds aggressive and heavy, but heavy in a different, almost literal way. This is not necessarily what I was expecting from the group, whose forth-coming single and back-catalogue is fast, frenzied, and rarely exceeds two minutes in length. However, this slower work does add a new depth of pace and aggression to their live set, albeit aggression of a more laboured, dark kind.

They rip through their set at a break-neck speed, switching between faster tracks and slower numbers with seamless agility. Drummer Samir is clearly accomplished, capable of quick tempo changes and complicated drum fills and patterns. He works well with bassist Craig, who together are a solid, stampeding rhythm section; the group’s metal influences can be heard directly through their varied, complex and exotic rhythmic structures. Bass and guitar work nicely together too, with the bass often taking a thundering lead, accompanied by nasty little pinches from the guitar. Luke certainly can master the axe though, creating licks to rival Toni Iommi himself, both in sound and style.

In a live setting though, it is lead singer Dan Devine that pulls the most focus. He sound quite demented at times, fusing post-hardcore and death metal guttural screaming. The lyrical content of Devine’s work ultimately fades into insignificance within the context of this delivery. I do not want to belittle or ignore the lyrical content in itself, because it obviously has a meaning that is fuelling his angry fire, but the literal sound of the vocals gives off a definite air of surly teenage aggressiveness and undirected anger. Devine does not completely loose control with his vocals though; he seems to concentrate on honing the full pelt of his vocal chords, making them as loud and snarling as possible. The delivery is high reminiscent of a teenager screaming at its mother, making a point of shouting as loudly as possible so that every syllable hits you square in the face.

Flats are certainly an aggressive sonic force, but they deliver appealing music too – they are not just raw emotion without a solid musical foundation. Their diversification into slower, heavier tracks is a nice addition, but for me the faster tracks are the most successful in their set. The upbeat tempo leads to more hooks, virtuosity, and a beat that your rhythmic capacities can grab onto. The more punk driven numbers also have a real energy and vibe that transfers well to the audience. I guess that is the difference between punk anger and metal anger – one is based in belligerence and one is based in despondency, and that vibe definitely transfers to the audience. For me therefore, more of the hard, fast tracks would be great. However, I must say the group’s whole set had palpable power and aggression and many interesting aspects and musical references. Flats are clearly a musical force to be reckoned with.
See this post at MTTM at http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/gig-reviews/070311-flats-%E2%80%93-the-jericho-tavern-oxford/

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST: Interview with Flats

Slap-bang in the middle of their UK tour, More Than The Music caught up with Dan and Samir from Flats to discuss influences, anti-politics, and being played on Radio 1.


MTTM: You guys are in the midst of your first UK tour. How is it all going? Have you been well received thus far?
FLATS: It’s actually our second UK tour; our first one was in October for the NME Radar tour, which we did with Chapel Club and The Joy Formidable. Throughout that tour we got on really well with Chapel Club especially – unexpected perhaps, but we were almost singing along to their music by the end of the tour. They make really sincere music. This is however out first official headline tour. It’s been a bit of a weird experience – some shows have been quite quiet, and some have been great. Leeds and Manchester were good especially. This has been such a relentless, consecutive tour though; we’ve not really been home at all, and spent too many nights in shit hotels.

MTTM: Your up-coming debut single (Never Again, due for release on 15^th March) is getting a lot of airplay, especially from Radio 1 and 6 Music DJs, including Zane Lowe, Nick Grimshaw and Huw Stephens. Are you excited about your growing hype?
FLATS: From our perspective it’s not really our debut single; we have released two EPs previously on the 7” single format, which were crammed with songs. Because of the format though, it couldn’t be considered as an official single release. We like doing vinyl EPs because we can put a lot of effort into the presentation of our music. As record collectors ourselves, we feel that is important. Obviously we accept though that people like normal single releases – and people have really latched on to this release and its been played a lot. We’re really excited by the fact that our music is reaching so many listeners. We only wrote that song six weeks before it was being played by the likes of Zane Lowe. But ultimately its only one small step in a huge process.

MTTM: You guys have all lived in East London – do you subscribe to the trendy, Hoxton, Shoreditch tag, or really, really loathe it?
FLATS: We don’t want to disassociate ourselves with it – we circulate in east London, and have a lot of friends there. But we don’t want to subscribe to the concept of being an east London band. People hold it in too high a regard sometimes, but equally it’s not right when people are too sceptical about it, calling it pretentious. It hasn’t necessarily been a vehicle for Flats, although we have had some good gigs out of it. It is however a place that we’ve all gravitated towards, because it’s a creative place, with cheaper rent than the rest of London.

MTTM: Is all your new/developing work observing your musical mantra – to keeps songs fast, heavy and short?
FLATS: That was last year! We’ve progress our music on from that a lot. Whilst that idea is definitely still a keen element, bits of our work is getting a lot slower. A good 40% of the album is very fast and short, but the rest is more varied with a lot of down-tempo stuff. I think our music has developed as the band itself developed a collected taste. In the beginning it was more about fusing our different influences together, whereas now it’s more about influences on Flats itself, which is really exciting. We share records we’ve found and bring them into practice – it’s almost become a competition as to who can bring in the most interesting or obscure record. That is what has facilitated our new direction. People that know us might be a bit shocked to hear some of our new stuff.

MTTM: You guys state a lot of first-wave British punk acts as your influences, (such as ATV, Scritti Politti and The Fall), but to me much of your music has a lot of US punk vibes, similar to artists such as The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, maybe even The Stooges and MC5. Do you have a special affection for UK punk in particular? Have your influences changed with your newer, developing sound?
FLATS: Our big new influence is Black Sabbath – it kind of all starts and ends with Black Sabbath. They were the starting point for our metal influences – other favourites at the moment are Discharge and Hellhammer. Hellhammer especially are amazing, much better than us, and we’re nowhere near as cool as they are. Anyone who reads this – check out Hellhammer and you’ll see what we mean! It’d be a great thought that through our music, other awesome bands might get more attention too. If that started to happen, it would be really, really exciting. To these metal influences we’ve been trying to add the hooks of The Buzzcocks and ATV. In relation to punk specifically, we do listen to a lot of British punk, but we also listen to a lot of Scandinavian and American hardcore bands. East Coast hardcore especially is important to us.

MTTM: What is it about fast punk and heavy metal that you find so appealing?
FLATS: We have all always loved punk, the rebel element of it and the thought that it pisses people off is what is enticing. When I (Dan) was younger, I liked going to school with a stupid haircut, simply to get told off. I’ve never really grown out of that – punk has the air of teenage obnoxiousness that I love. With metal, however, it is the complete other-worldliness about it that is really appealing. As a band we’re not metal heads – we have come to it late, so we take it more for its musical quality. Its kind of untouchable as a genre, it is so specific and insular, with many record producers, labels etc. working exclusively with metal bands.

MTTM: You have written some pretty formidable lyrics in the past (I’m thinking of your track Rat Trap here which assassinates Paul Weller and Pete Townshend), is it important for you to push boundaries in your work?
FLATS: These days bands don’t always try hard enough. When you look at some of our UK metal influences from the early 90s, bands like Eye Hate God and Iron Monkey – they had songs like Web of Piss and Dog Shit. Those bands really went for it, there was no messing around, its like they literally wanted to open the gate to hell. With our work, we might never grow out of that wind-up teenager mentality. A lot of music has lost its insanity, no one is scary anymore. Iggy Pop was scary. Black Sabbath were scary. Obviously to a degree they emphasised these qualities when they found out they were selling more records that way, but the concept was there. There still has to be a degree of moderation, however. When we wrote Rat Trap lots of people got caught up on it and wrote about it so much that we had to drop it from the set – we didn’t want it to become a gimmick. We didn’t just want to be known as the band that hate mods. It was just a personal statement – it wasn’t meant to be the start of a punk revolution. It’s more of an expression than a campaign. Though a street war between the punks and the mods would be quite interesting.

MTTM: Because your music is angry, and has obvious allegiances with first wave punk, there have been a lot of attempts to label you as a political group, and to align your music with the current social/economic climate. Is this a correct assumption, or is your anger more profound?
FLATS: We have all been angry since we were little kids, its got nothing to do with the current climate. We each have our opinions on the issue, you will, so will everyone in this room, and anyone reading this interview. We consciously don’t bring it into our music. We write about our personal social situations within society. People often seem to want another Joe Strummer. They assume that we’re revolutionary, but they also assume that we are on the same side as them. We protest the protests. The way they tend to pan out at the moment, especially the student protest and their violent escalations, they just seem futile.
See this interview at MTTM at http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/interviews/flats/

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - Lovely Ladies

Today is the hundredth international women’s day, and to celebrate I have complied a list of excellent female musician’s who have contributed a great deal to music and the arts. These women and their work may not have been as groundbreaking or vital as the likes of Mo Mowlam or Marie Curie, but they have contributed to our popular culture, and heightened the female voice within music and society. Here are some landmark female acts, and their landmark tracks (or alternatively my favourite tracks by them).

1. Bjork – “Wanderlust”
God I love Bjork. She is just so quirky, mad, adventurous and different. I love it that her music and the way she presents herself scares people. We all need to be taken out of our comfort zone otherwise we stagnate, and Bjork does this so well, confronting audiences with the confusing depths of female creativity. “Wanderlust” is a bizarrely beautiful sonic escapade, with an equally curious and adventurous video.
2. Madonna – “Express Yourself”
Many old fashioned feminists hate Madonna, thinking she is harmful to ‘the cause’. With a few questionable enterprises aside (I’m thinking of her Sex book here), Madonna has done so much for feminism, such as opening up female sexuality to a huge audience, and providing women with a role model that was as punchy, powerful and arrogant as any man. “Express Yourself” is one of my fav Madonna tracks, and has a great message for women – ‘don’t go for second best’, do not settle, go for a good man or no man.
3. Marina and the Diamonds – “Are You Satisfied”
Ah, Marina. I love her for her quirky pop, her intelligence, and for her open allegiance with feminism. Lyrically her work spreads a very positive, modern, proactive attitude towards women, without any preaching and little anger. “Are You Satisfied” is a great track, questioning the still prolific attitude many women have - that all you need to be happy is a simple job, husband, kids and a mortgage. A fate worse than death if you ask me.
4. Salt-N-Pepa – “Push It”
This is such a bitchin’ track, and a great example of women making fantastic strides in a hugely male dominated culture. “Push It” was the best selling rap single of 1987, but was still aligned with feminism, and of women taking control with sex, quite, quite literally.
5. Janelle Monae – “Come Alive (War of the Roses)”
Janelle Monae doesn’t have an overt feminist message per se, but she is a very independent, talent musician and singer, who has fantastic ideas, knows her own mind, and makes sure she has creative control over the music she produces. She also typically performs in a high-buttoned androgynous suit – a miraculous amount of female modesty in the current R&B landscape.
6. Lily Allen – “The Fear”
Lily Allen’s work has in my mind been of questionable feminist intent at times, but for the most part she has held the feminist corner and fought the good fight. “The Fear” is my favourite of Allen’s tracks, as it very dryly and sarcastically questions the worryingly facile attitudes of many young women in the 21 centaury.
7. Kate Bush – “Wuthering Heights”
With “Wuthering Heights”, Kate Bush became the first female UK artist to reach number one in the charts with a self-penned song. Its pretty appalling that it took until 1977 for a British woman to achieve such a feat. It is a cracking song though – bizarre and different, and based on a book which was itself rife with lashings of pre-feminism courtesy of Emily Bronte.
8. Hole – “Celebrity Skin”
Courtney Love may be a questionable feminist icon, given that she is often a complete mess, and much of her career has been formed from the success of her husband, dearly departed Kurt. Hole however, were a pretty bloody good grunge band, with a solid, 3rd wave feminist approach and numerous girl members. This song questions female celebrity culture, with the lyric ‘beautiful garbage' being a particularly astute observation.
9. Spice Girls – “Wannabe”
Yes, I concede, as adults we all know the Spice Girls churned out some god-awful shit, but within context they were incredibly important. They made music that appealed to young girls, but it also had a good message behind it. The Spice Girls promoted independence, individuality and self-worth through their songs, and I remember thinking when I was a little girl listening to their music that I could do anything I wanted, and that friends, family and most importantly myself was just as important as any boyfriend. “Wannabe” started this pre-teen revolution, and has definite validity.
10. Bikini Kill - “Rebel Girl”
Bikini Kill’s feminist credentials are obvious – being at the forefront of both the Riot Grrrl and 3rd wave of feminism movement. Bikini kill actually wrote some pretty bloody excellent songs, “Rebel Girl” being my favourite. This song, and the group’s music generally, is lo-fi, punchy, grungy punk at its purest and best. The female vocals work really well, and the track’s lyrics gave us the famous line ‘Rebel girl - you are queen of my world’. Awesome.
11. Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know”
Alanis Morissette is a fantastic woman, and a personal inspiration for me from a young age. I have always admired her anger, her passion and her integrity. A lot of men don’t like her, possibly because she sings of the ugly home truths that some men simply cannot deal with. “You Oughta Know” is the perfect example of this, vehemently chastising an ex over broken promises and a dead relationship. She expresses the angst, anger, hatred, disappointment, betrayal and confusion that so many women feel in and out of relationships lyrically and sonically in this infamous song. 

See this at HCE at http://t.co/UbbYxBv 

THE GIRLS ARE POST (Single Review): Love Inks - 'Blackeye'

Love Inks originate from Austin, Texas. They are a female-fronted trio who generate sparse, captivating dream-pop, similar in style to fellow American nu-gazers such as The Bird And The Bee. The group’s first single ‘Blackeye’ was recorded using an analogue 8-track reel-to-reel; a technique chosen to enable the three-piece to capture the naked, unprocessed sounds of the instruments on record. Simple, repetitive melodies are Love Inks’ typical methodology, and the result is this unassumingly engaging and softly sultry number.

‘Blackeye’ employs simple instrumentation: throughout the track, guitar and bass subtly resonate, with rounded, simple, paper-thin guitar timbres. Apparently the group also occasionally add a bit of synth into the mix via a Moog Satellite, but ultimately it is lead singer Sherry LeBlanc’s vocals that take centre stage. 

Soft, contemplative and slightly delicate, LeBlanc’s vocal style is feminine without being childlike or girlish: there is a hint of punchy sexuality within the slightly raspy grain of her voice, alongside a haunted, quietly melancholic quality that only a world wary adult could produce. The lyrical content follows this vibe, the sparseness perfectly complimenting the track’s instrumentation, as three lines repeat throughout the song, and like the rest of ‘Blackeye’, become mesmerizing.

Love Inks are currently in the process of booking dates for a UK tour to promote their debut album, due for release in May. In the meantime they are preparing for their performance at the legendary SXSW for the Hell, Yes! Showcase.

See this review at TGA at http://thegirlsare.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/review-love-inks/