Krioma.net

I will do my full reading festival review later but I need to tell everyone how impressed I was with Mohair. They opened the Carling tent on the 2nd day and well neither me nor Katherine had heard of them but thought we would give them a listen. Wow! They were fantastic, probably the best find of the festival for me. I want to see them again, time to try and get some tracks by them I think. It was a shame they only got to do a shortened set because of the delays in allowing people into the arena but what they did was excellent - they even gave me a sticker (its going on my guitar)! see:

Last night was the Snow Patrol gig at the Birmingham Academy. It was absolutely wonderful. From the moment they came out to the contact music from close encounters of the third kind I knew that this was going to be special. They mostly played their latest album, "Final Straw", but they also throwed in some excellent older ones. The crowd were bouncing for most of the gig which was interesting as I did not expect the reaction to be quite as energetic. It was good though. It was definitely worth the money. One thing that wasn't worth the money was the rank Carling sold at the gig.


The support bands, "Morning Runner" and "the Gears", were good. Morning Runner were excellent with a nice combination of piano and guitars and The Gears were good with a few different styles and a bald front man getting into it like Jack Black wood - musically not the best but entertainment value had to be a 10/10.

Last night me, Geord and Kat went to the Flapper and Firkin in town to see some live music. It was a good night out. The first band would have been good if they could string together more than two words at a time. The main reason we went was to see Sixer. The reason why, well that is because one of the girls who does physics is their lead singer and so Geord said we would go. I was interested and thought it sounded like a good night out / good to go out and support bands.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed myself - they did a good set. I like their songs.. Zoe's voice was penetratingly good. They had a bit of an evanescence / lacuna coil (at times) feel about them. Excellent set... wouldn't mind seeing / hearing more. See their site: http://www.sixermusic.co.uk

I am a big fan of the Ordinary Boys and I think their album will come out to be one of my favourite of the year. I even saw them live at Reading and wow they were excellent. Today I went on to their website (http://www.theordinaryboys.co.uk/) and I was in for a treat they have a rather fun advent calendar on there!! Any one who likes the band will like it. If you don't well it is a bit of fun - give it a go! Oh and listen to them, they are great!

It's that time of year.. time for my favourite tracks of the year. Katherine introduced this idea to me last year. That's when I realised that I didn't actually pay much attention to newly released music. I have endeavored to change that this year. I have been and seen more bands and tried to listen to more new and unknown music that I ever have before. Obviously I have accomplished this. I have found some excellent bands over the past year. Some on my own back. Some due to Kerrang 105.2 FM and the rest (probably the majority) through Katherine. Actually we have both come across a few by accident. Such as Mohair (no singles or album yet) who were a big shock at Reading. Anyway it is now time for my top 50 of the year. I will do a semi countdown (an idea I probably stole off Katherine - sorry!). Oh and all of the songs are ones that have been released as singles. I think they all have been in the shops though one or two may have been internet ones (I tried not to include these but might have).

Here we go, 40 - 50 in my top 50!



40. William Shatner - Common People

41. Agent Blue - Something Else

42. The Departure - All Mapped Out

43. The Zutons - Remember Me

44. Scissor Sisters - Laura

45. The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights

46. Jet - Get Me Outta Here

47. HIM - Solitary Man

48. The Shins - So Says I

49. Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting for

50. Kasabian - L.S.F.(Lost Souls Forever)

Here comes the next installment of my tracks of the year..


30. Ordinary Boys - Week In Week Out

31. Jet - Rollover DJ

32. Seether feat. Amy Lee - Broken

33. Razorlight - Golden Touch

34. The Others - This Is For The Poor

35. Thirteen Senses - thru the glass

36. Lostprophets - Last Train

37. Goldie Lookin Chain - Guns Don't Kill Rappers Do

38. Thirteen Senses - Into The Fire

39. Distillers - Hunger

Here we go... almost into the top 20...



21. Muse - Sing for absolution

22. Ash - Meltdown

23. The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk

24. Keane - Bedshaped

25. The Crimea - Baby Boom

26. Snow Patrol - Chocolate

27. The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now

28. Franz Ferdinand - Matinee

29. Ash - Starcross'd

11. Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Godhopping

12. The White Stripes - There's No Home For You Here

13. The Darkness - Love is Only a Feeling

14. Franz Ferdinand - Michael

15. Green Day - American Idiot

16. The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy

17. Lostprophets - Last Summer

18. Snow Patrol - How To Be Dead

19. Razorlight - Stumble And Fall

20. Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart

Time for my top 10 of the year...



1. Ordinary Boys - Talk, Talk, Talk

2. Ash - Orpheus

3. Snow Patrol - Run

4. The Killers - Somebody Told Me

5. Agent Blue - Sex, Drugs And Rocks Through Your Window

6. Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

7. The Killers - Mr. Brightside

8. Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die

9. Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes

10. The Strokes - Reptilia


I will post the full line up from 1-50 later.

1. Ordinary Boys - Talk, Talk, Talk 2. Ash - Orpheus 3. Snow Patrol - Run 4. The Killers - Somebody Told Me 5. Agent Blue - Sex, Drugs And Rocks Through Your Window 6. Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams 7. The Killers - Mr. Brightside 8. Morrissey - First Of The Gang To Die 9. Muse - Butterflies and hurricanes 10. The Strokes - Reptilia 11. Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Godhopping 12. The White Stripes - There's No Home For You Here 13. The Darkness - Love is Only a Feeling 14. Franz Ferdinand - Michael 15. Green Day - American Idiot 16. The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy 17. Lost Prophets - Last Summer 18. Snow Patrol - How To Be Dead 19. Razorlight - Stumble And Fall 20. Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart 21. Muse - Sing for absolution 22. Ash - Meltdown 23. The Hives - walk idiot walk 24. Keane - Bedshaped 25. The Crimea - Baby Boom 26. Snow Patrol - Chocolate 27. The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now 28. Franz Ferdinand - Matinee 29. Ash - Starcross'd 30. Ordinary Boys - Week In Week Out 31. Jet - Rollover DJ 32. Seether feat. Amy Lee - Broken 33. Razorlight - Golden Touch 34. The Others - This Is For The Poor 35. Thirteen senses - Thru the glass 36. Lost Prophets - Last Train 37. Goldie Lookin Chain - Guns Don't Kill Rappers Do 38. Thirteen Senses - Into The Fire 39. Distillers - Hunger 40. William Shatner - Common People 41. Agent Blue - Something Else 42. The Departure - All Mapped Out 43. The Zutons - Remember Me 44. Scissor Sisters - Laura 45. The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights 46. Jet - Get Me Outta Here 47. HIM - Solitary Man 48. The Shins - So Says I 49. Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting for 50. Kasabian - L.S.F.(Lost Souls Forever)

1. Ordinary Boys - Over The Counter Culture

"Talk, Talk, Talk" topped my single chart and so it is not surprising that this album would also do well. Though "Talk, Talk, Talk" was number one in my single charts probably my favourite song off the album is "Over the counter culture" and if this had been released this year would have easily headed my single chart. This album is one favourite after another and their is no way anything could have knocked this from the number one spot! I will not comment more on this.. listen to it!
2. Snow Patrol - Final Straw
This is an absolutely storming album. At times quite melodic - a good thing. It has a combination of slower "chill out" tracks like the absolutely excellent"Run" and some that you could just bounce along to all night, "Wow!" and "Spitting Games" would be a good examples. I actually think I did end up bouncing along all night at their gig!
3. The Crimea - Tragedy Rocks
"who knows!" - probably the most memorable lyric from this album. This is from "White Russian Galaxy" and what a way to kick off an excellent album from start to finish I was in musical heaven whilst listening to this. They have a nice range of music in this album. They even slow it down a bit for "Miserabilist Tango". If you haven't heard of the Crimea yet then you are missing out. Oh and an instant favourite of mine was "Opposite Ends" but then this album is full of great songs.
4. Greenday - American Idiot
The album kicks off with "American Idiot" probably the most notable single they have released from this album. It has a strong anti-american government feeling. They even said at Reading that they were going to go back home and get this redneck out of power. It is a shame that they and many other bands were not able to motivate enough people to get that certain redneck out of power. The song is good and I remember many times moshing to this whilst out. This album has been called rock opera and the length of some of the tracks do have this feeling. One of these is the second track and probably my favourite of the album "Jesus of Suburbia". This one goes on for 9 minutes! It could probably have been easily split into different tracks due to the different styles used within it but it works well together and I don't think that if bits of this song were put together to form separate tracks it would work. The album has a typical Greenday feel to it. A big improvement over Warning.
5. The Killers - Hot Fuss
Instantly loveable. The Killers combination of indie rock and an electronic feel give them a distinctive sound. They are a club classic band and on no more than 3 occasions have I heard multiple songs of theirs played whilst out. This is the band I *need* to see in 2005. I missed them this year. Lets hope they play Reading. The album is full of upbeat songs with very bouncy beats. To choose a favourite would be hard. I love the electronic sound of "Smile Like You Mean It" and then the just wonderful lyrics and dancy feeling that "Somebody Told Me" has. These lyrics include "I'm breaking my back just to know your name" and "heaven ain't close in a place like this" - very appropriate in most clubs. My favourite probably has to go with this. A wonderful song.
6. Ash - Meltdown
Ash were back this year with an excellent album. They still have their upbeat feeling but a slight reinvention on the parts of the drumming has given them a heavier feeling though I don't think that "Clones" is as heavy as people say it is. "Clones" is far from my favourite and there would be lots of competition for my favourite. It was good to see Ash back with something new. I managed to see their album set twice this year and they were brilliant on both occasions. "Orpheus" came second in my singles chart and so probably merits my favourite song of the album but there are so many good ones to choose from.
7. Lostprophets - Start Something
This starts off with a bang and yes it does have a feeling that they are about to start something. The first track just gets going from the start full of heavy guitars and at times what can only be described as screaming. It works though. I think that this song is one for the fans of their previous album "The Fake Sound of Progress" and is aimed at showing that they haven't forgotten the past. The album is not just about heavy rock they also have some more melodic songs however the heavy feeling still persists through these. The typical melodic 'verse' and heavier 'chorus' comes through. Probably my favourite on this album is the song I heard the first - "Burn, Burn". One thing that bugged me about this song for ages was that I thought it was a cover. It is not in the true sense though the tune throughout resembles one used by Seal in "Killer" - don't remember the "solitary brother" line? My favorite track on this album has to be "last summer". I would also highly recommend seeing them live they really can get the crowd going.
8. Franz Ferdinand
Mercury Prize winners Franz Ferdinand seem to have been around for ages and due to this I initially forgot that this was released in 2004! How do you forgot such a memorable album one may ask. My answer would be I don't know. It is a wonderful album. "Auf Acshe" is possibly my favourite and I remember dancing around too "Matinee" and "Micheal" on various drunken occasions.
9. Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour
The album starts off with an oil drum sound and at first I was not sure what to expect of the rest but I was very impressed by their use of different types of percussion. Probably my favourite track on this album is "Nearer than Heaven". The lead singers voice is piercing whilst an excellent song is played through out, excellent harmony of sounds. Then there is the storming "Long Time Coming" and I have to say I think the percussion really makes this song. Oh and not to forget "Satellites Lost".
10. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
"see that idiot walk!". Excellent album. Wonderful live. Some instantly catchy songs are produced on this wonderful album. "A little more little you" has a very swingy feeling. In general I do think they have been misplaced from the middle of the last century. Not that I am complaining! They also sound like they have not been over produced - something bands can do. Oh and I love "Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones" - one to dance along to all night. The favourite probably has to go to "Walk Idiot Walk".
11. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
Melodic, wonderful, delightful. I think that describes this album quite well. I missed their live gig at the Birmingham Academy earlier this year and I only stuck around for half of their set at Reading so I could go and see the darkness. I wish I had watched the end of their set now. This album follows on well from their excellent "Oh, Invented World" album.
12. The Libertines - The Libertines
It is a shame that this wonderful band look like that they are on their way out. A great album. It has some outstanding individual tracks. Ones that come to my mind has to be "Music when the lights go out" and "Can't Stand Me Now".
13. The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons
Not to be forgotten. The Zutons made an excellent impression on me this year. The album is very good and the banjo sounding song "Moons and Horror Shows" is probably my favourite off the album.
14. U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
This is a late entry and "Vertigo" would have probably have gotten in to my single chart if I had been paying attention! This is a cracking album. The 'old men' still have it in them I see. "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights" are currently my favourite tracks off this album. It has a nice combination of heavier songs and more laid back tracks.
15. Razorlight - Up all night
Probably one of the more fashionable rock outfits at the moment. They are good. Absolutely excellent live. This album is definitely indie and never gets very heavy. My favourite of the album might well be "Rip it out" but "Golden Touch" has to be close.
16. Thirteen Senses - The Invitation
I first properly came across them at the Radio One: onebigweekend gig in Birmingham. They were excellent though I did recognise one of their songs. I must have heard it on the radio beforehand. They are very melodic and I love the use of the piano throughout. Possibly my favourite track is the last on the album "Automatic". This is a very slow one and has a good combination of a piano and some penetrating singing.
17. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
At first I couldn't stand them. They came across as pretentious and irritable. Then I actually sat down and listened to the whole album. It is not my favourite but it is quite good. It has a very strong dance feeling throughout it and I get the impression that they are more of a dance outfit than a rock group! I do like the instantly loveable "Comfortably Numb" with some catchy lyrics "hello, hello is their anybody out there". One thing I can't believe is the high pitched voice that the male lead singer has!
18. Futureheads - Futureheads
This album kicks off with the excellent "Le garage" and it keeps going with probably my favourite song of theirs "Robot". They also did an excellent set at Reading. See them if you get chance.
19. Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Something makes me like this album and in general Avril Lavinge's music. It does have a very typical teeny music feel at times. I do like the sound of her voice though. "how does it feel" is probably my favourite off the album but I do really like the melodic "slipped away". The slower songs sound less teeny though - a good thing.
20. Goldie Lookin Chain - Greatest Hits
Musically this is far from the best. Quite the worst in fact. Lot of fun though and instantly memorable. Songs include "Gun don't kill people rappers do" something I must have said one too many times to my house mate! Oh and you can not forget "Your Mother's Got A Penis" - "its the truth man his mother has actually got a penis". Then of course there is the surreal"Half Man Half Machine". Oh the lyrics are at best obscene! This is more comedy than music!

I meant to post this a while back now. While watching Jools Holland's new years party the Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain played. They were good. They did an excellent cover of "Smells like teen spirit" by Nirvana. Was absolutely brilliant. You could imagine it being Curt Cobain singing. Very good. I have never been a fan of the Ukulele but this performance has made me have a rethink.
More:
+ Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain - http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com

The NME have declared the Pixies, the Foo Fighters and Iron Maiden to be the headliners at Reading this year - should prove an interesting line up. Not sure if I want to camp though. See: http://www.nme.com/news/111263.htm

I was told about a guide to moshing the other day, see: http://members.aol.com/rik0lar/moshing/mosh.htm

Alex proposed her 'Alex Awards' on her site (http://elektron.krioma.net - 09/02/05) and her are my suggestions for the awards...
British male solo artist: Morrissey
British female solo artist: Charlotte Hatherley
British group: Ash
British album: Ordinary Boys - Over the counter culture
British single: Ordinary Boys - Talk, Talk, Talk
British breakthrough act: Agent Blue
British urban act: who cares...?
British rock act: Ash
British live act: Muse
Best song of past 25 years: no way I can decide. I'm only 22! :-)
Pop act(?): Avril Lavigne
International male solo artist: Eminem (maybe not... can't think of anyone else!)
International female solo artist: Avril Lavigne (can't think of anyone else!)
International group: Green Day
International album: The Killers - Hot Fuss (mention needs to go the Hives)
International breakthrough act: Scissor Sisters
Outstanding contribution to music: John Peel

I brought The Others (http://www.letskilltheothers.com/) album last week and like they were when I saw them play at the Jug of Ale (when I went to see them my primary reason was to see Agent Blue) they were an instant hit. They are definitely the inband at the moment what with their unique gigging style. Getting everyone on stage seems a favourite thing of theirs to do. Their album is excellent though and my favourite track at the moment has to be "This is for the poor". This is likely to change as I listen to it over and over again. They managed: number 10 in the Virgin Chart, number 15 in the HMV Chart and number 51 in the national chart

Willy Mason (http://www.willy-mason.com/) - Where the Humans Eat. Umm I am a little disappointed. I had heard a few tracks that I believe were on an EP but I have not been overly impressed with the album. I am not saying it is bad but it doesn't seem to go anywhere though I can easily see this growing on me. It is nice and laid back but that means it feels the same throughout. It is still worth a listen - even if it is just for "Oxygen" which is a wonderful song. He is a damn talented musician though.

Last night I went to the Jug of Ale in Moseley to primarily see Maximo Park, a band that I have taken to recently. I actually think they are an excellent band and can't wait to hear a full album. As for last night the gig was good. The Rips, like Murdoch, are a band I have not heard of before. They actually were quite good and did have a very big plus - a sexy female drummer :-) They were upbeat and could imagine them going on to bigger things. They had a varying style. One thing they need to, well the drummer, is to keep hold of her sticks. She did make a good recovery. Next on was Murdoch - I heard they are from Birmingham and their site is: http://www.murdochmusic.com/ they were ok. Nothing special - just another band really. Also during this set I was not feeling to good.

On to the main event: Maximo Park. Like expected they were excellent. They have a good range of songs and are what I would classify as a typical indie band. They were late on but they made up for it by doing an excellent set. They played all the songs I was expecting them to play and I was surprised how many of them I actually knew. My favourites from the night probably were "Apply some pressure", which is released as a single on Monday, and Graffiti. They are very entertaining as well. I can see them going far. Lets see what they do for an album... they deserve to get one out. Oh and they are from Newcastle, a five piece; singer, lead guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. More at: http://www.maximopark.com

Last night I went to see Interloper, Daddy Delux & Sixer @ Bar Academy in Birmingham. The main reason to go was to see Sixer, I have seen them before and a girl I know is their lead vocalist. Thought I'd better show support. Not often you get a physicist who can sing (well that is)!! :-) The gig was good though they did have a bunch of replacements in their lineup. Their drummer was replaced by a very good replacement if not a bit scary! Well not that scary but he did manage to brake his stick (well I think he did) and hit the drummers very hard. Nice and loud. At times this drowned out Zoe (vocals) a bit but that was a minor problem. I do like their music and it was pointed out to me that they sounded a little like Placebo and yes I agree they do. They also had a new guy playing rhythm guitar, from a band called the Enids (http://www.soundat45rpm.i12.com/theenids/Index.htm) I believe. I have seen them play and wasnt that impressed. Showed promise though. Back to the gig. I actually even remembered some of the songs they played this time. It was very enjoyable. They do need to relax at little and move around a bit. They need to stop being so ridged - unless that's what they are going for. I did enjoy myself though. More can be found at: http://www.sixermusic.co.uk/.

As for the rest of the gig. Daddy Delux were ok. Definitely had the woah effect going on the guitars. They were enjoyable and very professional but alas nothing exceptional. I think they are headlining down at the jug of ale soon. They had a bit of an Oasis feel to them at times.

Finally we came on to Interloper at gone 11, meaning we could only catch 30mins so we could get the bus home. The gig was enjoyable. They did seem a bit familiar at times. I can only put this down to a few of their riffs sounding rather similar to songs I already know. Overall it was a good night - well worth the £3 entrance! Oh, I intended to post a few pics up of these gigs but haven't got around to transferring over my photos yet. Will do so soon.

This has to be my favourite album of 2005, so far! Lots to come yet though. It has given me the same feeling I had about the Ordinary Boys' album last year. Employment is a cracking album. Full of a pop rock tracks. Just what you need to "shake that thing to"! :-) It also has the glorious Oh My God I Can't Believe It On. This has probably the best and longest chorus I have heard in a long time...."Oh My God I Can't Believe It!". It is fun and has a point, well not all the time I don't think a song titled "Na Na Na Na Naa" can have any deep meaning! If I was a music journo I would have to give it 10/10 - a must buy! Some of the tracks can take a while to get into but that should not put anyone off. If you don't like this then well... ummm... you should - not that I want to impose my opinion or anything!

Tracklist:
1. Everyday I Love You Less and Less
2. I Predict A Riot
3. Modern Way
4. Na Na Na Na Naa
5. You Can Have It All
6. Oh My God
7. Born To Be A Dancer
8. Saturday Night
9. What Did I Ever Give You?
10. Time Honoured Tradition
11. Caroline, Yes
12. Team Mate

This (http://frontsteps.com/creations/1001/139/index.php?t=1110541937) is not an official release to hit the charts yet but I feel it would do quite well! ;-) Oh btw it is a flash animation so for any of you without this capability then sorry - if you go to the site you will get the lyrics which will give you a good idea.
Oh and for those of you out there who are huge MJ supporters then sorry but he has left himself wide open for this sort of thing.

For the third year in a row I will be heading towards Reading just before the August bank holiday to endure 4 days of camping and three wonderful days of beautiful music. Lets hope it isn't as wet as last year http://www.krioma.net/blog/archives/2004_09_06.php#000385). I can't wait to see the Pixies, Foo Fighters and the Killers..nevermind the rest. It's gonna be fun. Maybe I should write a count down clock since the official Reading site (http://www.readingfestival.com/) doesn't have one. I'm damn excited now.

I just got hold of the Bravery's debut album. I am very impressed. At first they reminded me a bit of the Killers less so now. They do use a combination of indie and more dancey beats. It seems to work well and I am well impressed with this album. Probably my favourite track off this album has to be the opening track "Honest Mistake". It is very good. At times their tracks can be a bit samey but this is not necessarily a bad thing - it just means we have lots of a good thing! If you like any of the recent popier indie bands then you will love the Bravery. It seems they are on a worldwide tour at the moment I hope this goes well for them and I do wonder if they will play Reading...
For more see: http://www.thebravery.com/

My site was, again, referenced on the Crimea's website (see: http://www.inaudible.co.uk/archives/00000434.html). Lets hope they can build on their success of last year though I doubt I will hear much new stuff from them myself - since they haven't had an official album release for the charts yet. Hopefully soon. After reading their site (http://www.inaudible.co.uk/archives/00000434.html) it seems as if their South By Southwest festival shows went well. Good for them. I wish them every success since their music is damn good. All I am going to say is listen to them!

On Thursday night we went to see Maximo Park play at the Birmingham Academy 2. I have never seen a gig at the academy 2 before. It wasn't bad. It was just the upstairs room of the main academy - nothing special about it but it did have a closer environment than a normal academy gig. This was the secondMaximo Park gig I have seen after seeing them play at the Jug of Ale earlier this year (see this). They were excellent before and they did not disappoint. They even played a few songs that I haven't heard before. I think one was about the A19 but I am not quite sure. The crowd were most boisterous for Apply Some Pressure and Graffiti - there most recent singles and probably two of their more 'bouncy' songs - if that makes sense. I enjoyed their whole set and at one point I was getting nervous that they wouldn't play "The Night I Lost My Head" which is probably my favourite Maximo Park song but not by much. I really like lots of their songs. The gig was sold out so looks like they might be on the way of making it big.

Also playing was The Blood Arm - a very interesting American band. The lead singer has the charisma and style of a Swedish band called the Hives. Apart from that there aren't many similarities. I think I shall be looking out for this band in the future as they were very good. The other band, I think, was called the Research but I am not entirely sure. They were ok but I think suffered from not being the most confident. Worth a listen...

I went to primarily see Mohair on Sunday at Bar Academy. It is a small venue but there was still a decent crowd there, thoughI think there was more along for the first band than for the main act.

On first was the inkLings who were quite good, though Tom didn't help when he said "this sounds like man I feel like a woman by Shania Twain". If I am honest it did, must have been the chord pattern. They were good and I have given them a listen to since, however they don't have much available on their [website]. I might have to go to another one of their gigs. I think it will be have to be Sun 11th Sept at Bar Academy as the other one is during Reading. Actually that reminds me, I won't get to see the Crimea as they have a gig in Brum during Reading - argh.

Second on was [the Mexicolas], they sounded like they must have been around a bit longer and are used to play in front of crowds (unlike the inklings who didn't seem at all relaxed!). They were good though I wasn't hugely taken by them, probably worth a listen to if I can find some of their mp3's.

Finally it was [Mohair]. We saw them at Reading last year and they were great. Along with Agent Blue, in my opinion they were the find of the festival. We got to see their whole set this time - at Reading they were cut off early. It was a great set - very enjoyable. They are a good band. At one point me and Kat had thought they might not have gone anywhere as there was no news, well that's when we saw a poster for this gig in the Academy. Well worth the £6. Mohair rock.

Last night we went to see We Are Scientists at [Club NME] in Birmingham. This takes place at the medicine bar down at the custard factory. I've never actually been down there, I don't go down digbeth too often. It is actually quite nice down there, I was surprised. My past experiences of digbeth, past the bull ring that is, haven't been great but these have normally involved the coach station. Anyway the gig! It was ok. The room was well suited and there weren't many people there. The first band, who I have no idea what they were called since I don't think they mentioned their name (good publicity lads!) weren't bad. They were entertaining, though I did have the feeling they must have taken huge influences off the Strokes and the Chilli Peppers. We Are Scientists were good. I'm looking forward to seeing them again at Reading this weekend. If I do, then it will be the first time I have seen two bands within a week! Scary thought really, but they are good. Probably my favourite song of the moment is by them "Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt". They were very entertaining and I'd like to get hold of more of their music.

The only problem I have with Club NME is the bands are on late as it is supposed to be more like a club but it doesn't really turn into a club night and it means that you have an expensive journey home. Luckily for me last night - I got a lift!

I'm off to the reading festival tomorrow! I can't wait. Expect there to be some rather odd images and many band reviews to be posted on my return but now I have to get ready and get prepared to carry a heavy rucksack and not go the toilet for a few days..

Last years pics can be found [here]
and last years reviews can be found at [blog page] to start with, in total there was 4 blog entries but I'm too lazy to link them all

I'm tired, exhausted, rocked-out, wrecked and sleepy. I've had a great time. I'll write more tomorrow but for now its time for bed.

Up at 6:50 am (ouch!), on the train for 9:03. It was actually quite easy. It was not too busy on the platform. We got on easy enough and found seats with ease and had room to put the bags away, quite shocking really. The train was on time and it was nice and relaxing. I think we shall have to do the same thing again next year (below pic is of Melissa and Gareth on the train).



When we got to Reading we were ready for the mammoth walk to start. It actually wasn't too bad. Last year I was shattered by the time we got to the first road junction, this year no problems. We got all the way to the fields before I started to feel tired (could be due to the lack of stuff we brought with us, it definetly isn't that I am any fitter!). I think I made the right decision about not bothering with the wellies. The only really muddy patch was by the main entrance, which is what I had expected to be muddy.

We went to field B5, this meant that we weren't too far away from the main arena and also meant that we had lots of space to pitch our tents in (John and Steve were going to join us later). We had a spot which had a fence behind us and we were next to trees. This, we though, meant that we would have a nice quite spot (which was the case looking back).



Putting the tents up and setting up a nice area around us was easy. Once we did this it was time to go into Reading. Time for the trip to Weatherspoons (for a nice meal and a pint), Sainsburys (for the festival essentials - crisps and beers) and the Oracle centre (to use the facilities, god bless the Oracle centre!). I had a nice Veggie Chilli at Weatherspoons. The toilet issue had started, went to the toilet and some guy had backed it up. All he heard was "woah, thank god I have wellies" and lots of water started flowing out. Time to go the Oracle centre I think.



The walk back with our supplies wasn't too bad but I was starting to feel absolutely shattered already. Got back drank and had fun with some of the stuff we had brought. This involved some decorations to our camp site - firstly the beer (oh, festival) tree (no beers on the tree in this shot):



and then some artwork on the back fence:









This got quite a few comments from people as they went passed. They varied from laughter to "that's obscene". Kat even heard someone talking about seeing our sign. I also overheard people talking about it. YAY! Well done Gareth, as this was his idea. We met John and Steve at 10pm and they put up tent quickly and by about 11 we were all asleep, what a tiring day. Oh, on the way to meet John and Steve we came across some people playing a game that they were shouting out as "Trolley, Trolley". We investigated and it turned out that it was people sitting in trolleys and being pushed at each other by a bunch of other people. Crazy I know but it was funny to watch. The police eventually came along and in the interest of people's safety shut it down!

Oh and thanks to Gareth for the "waterproof" shoe....



This is the first part of my blog entry for the Reading Festival 2005, expect more soon! For more pictures from the festival see my [Image Gallery]

It's Friday and that means the first day of the music. So bearing in mind that I am already shattered (eventhough I had a great sleep!) and have to stand around all day makes me feel rather worried. Oh what the hell, you are only 22 once! Saying that at times around the festival I feel like the old dude going around with a walking stick shouting at those damn kids. Ummmm! After a beer I felt much better. What a way to start a day, a beer! I'm living the life now. Well, either that or I am becoming an alcoholic! ARGH! At about 11 we walked over to the main arena. Oh and here is a group photo:

We were in early for once and the music hadn't started! Great! We went to the main stage, where you have to start the festival, and we saw a band called Do Me Bad Things. The name rang a bell to me but I wasn't sure why. In true style, they started the power died and they had to start again! They were actually quite good! Weird though. They had a sort of cool rock band feel to them with some epic guitar work but they also had a gospel feel to them. This is probably due to the gospel type singing the female vocalist was doing. They were damn good, I feel I shall be buying their album.

Next on was, well "you knows it", the GLC (Goldie Lookin Chain). As ever they were hilarious, putting on a right show. One of the group even came on driving a "old persons" scooter. He parked it up and off they weren't. Probably the thing that stuck in my head from their performance was "worry about my brother, cause he is f**cking your mother!". Coarse, yes. Funny, yes. Musical skill, doubtful. Taking the piss, hell yeah!

I then saw the Wedding Present, they were good but they didn't have much stage presence. They just didn't seem to get the crowd going. Still though I very much enjoyed their set, unlike the above band these are musically very (very) talented! After the Wedding Present came my first trip to a tent of the year. Off to see The Dead 60s. This is a band I'm not too familiarly with. I have heard their latest single and although it reminds me of something very familiar (funky town...) they are quite good, they have a good ska beat to them. They were enjoyable.


Up next, on the main stage, was Graham Coxon, who played a storming set. The day was already starting to take its toll so I had to sit down for a while during this one. I love "Freakin' Out" and he played this really well. At times you can almost imagine you are listening to Blur, which you would expect really (that's his old band!). I think his set had to be one of the best I saw in the day. This came to me as a bit of a shock, I'm not sure why. I just wasn't expecting such energy. It was great.


Now back to a packed tent for the Subways, I really wish I had headed over early, but like an idiot I hadn't and I paid the price. I was barely able to get into the tent! From what I heard they were great, but I did have to leave early as they clashed with We Are Scientists. I really wanted to see We Are Scientists. I was over nice and early and behind us in the Carling tent was Jo Whiley (either that or a very good clone!). We tried not to stare, but when we said to Kat she noticed we had noticed! Argh! Anyway, back to the band. They were great! Much better than when I saw them at Club NME earlier in the week. I can actually now state I have seen a band twice in one week! Pretty cool, or odd depending on how you look at it.


Next on was the Paddingtons. I was looking forward to seeing them. They have gone a long way since we missed seeing them due to them pulling out as support for The Others and Agent Blue at the Jug of Ale. Today they were there and put on a good show. I didn't stay for too long, however, as I was really quite eager to get over to the main stage to catch the Coral. I also had missed the Coral at a gig in Birmingham a while a go. I actually had tickets, but for some odd reason I chose not to go. I can't remember why, probably had something to do with a woman. Argh. Anyway, today they were great! I left after "Dreaming of you" as I wanted to go see My Chemical Romance. I was pleased though, as I had said to myself, I better go after the next one and then on came my favourite! :-) The weather was still holding out:

My Chemical Romance were a bit quiet! It was their second gig of the day as they played Leeds earlier in the day due to other commitments. They were good though the singer had kinda lost his voice which was a bit crap but they were still good.

By this point I was exhausted and eventhough I love the Queens of the Stoneage I found myself slumped on the floor. Good set by them and we bumped into John who had been at the front getting banged around in a mosh pit. Just what you would expect for QOTSA. Still though I wasn't as bad as this chap:

It had been a great day for a festival, not too hot, not wet and we were left with a glorious sunset:





Now came the headliners. I wasn't going to move. The first were the Killers. I have to say I'd have rather seen them about 12 months ago. I find that I am generally a little board of them now as they have been overplayed in every which way! They are still a great band and I did want to see them. I just wish this had occurred about at last years festival. Their set was good, though a little quiet. What is it with american bands and quiet vocals! The crowd helped though as everyone was singing along. It was actually quiet packed aswell.

Last of the day was the legendary Pixies. I'm not hugely familiar with their music. I knew more than I thought though and they played a good set though I wasn't over excited by it. At least I can say I have saw them! This is almost a once in a lifetime experience, well maybe not quiet but almost. I think half the problem by this point was how bad my feet were hurting, though I just got on with it.






In true old man fashion, it was back to tent, have a drink and go to sleep. I was shattered! End of day 2.

As the title of this section would indicate I was very much looking forward to seeing the Foo Fighters. They are a band I have wanted to see for a long time and today I was going to! You have to be excited! Before the fun of the music began me and Gareth decided to go into Reading to get a few supplies as we need some stuff and to use the facilities at the Oracle centre. The annoying thing was, without going in to too much detail, I couldn't use the facilities - ARGH!! At least I got a hot chocolate in Pret.





The first band I saw today was the Editors. I really love their album and they put on a cracking set, I was very pleased. This is when I realised how tired I was already - that walk into Reading was a bad idea! Next up was the All American Rejects on the main stage. I was actually in the toilet for half of their set but I could easily hear them. They were good and played lots off their new album.


Back to the tents to see Clor. I had missed them recently when they played at Club NME in Birmingham. I really wasn't in an energetic mood so me and John just relaxed at the back of the tent! The annoying thing was that the Carling tent was running early and so we missed a good part of the set, probably meaning I missed the songs I know well. We then managed to catch the end of the Black Alps set. I'm not at all familiar with their music but it sounded interesting. Next up was Juliette and the Licks. I have heard lots of people rave on about this band however I was kinda disappointed at their set, though their lead singer was wearing some rather odd clothes! We left early and went for a wonder around the shops. I brought a Star Wars t-shirt! It had to be done really.


"This is for the Poor and not you rich kids". The Others were up next and played a stomping set. This is the second time I have seen them and they, like, the first time, got the crowd going. They got them going so badly that their singer had the right arm of his t-shirt ripped off when he climbed on to the barrier! After standing and jumping around for the Other I was shattered and so went and flopped down by the main stage to watch the Charlatans.





After recovering some energy we went over to watch Hot Hot Heat. I think they were probably my highlight of the afternoon. They did a great set and bandages rocked!!! Oh and here is Gareth joining in:(!)





My one and only visit to the Concrete Jungle (sorry I now mean Lock-up stage) came next to see a bit of Rise Against. Gareth had been going on about these all weekend so I thought I should give them a look in. They were interesting and I think they will need to have a download or two when I get back! I didn't stay too long though as I really wanted to go and see Razorlight. I was disappointed with Razorlight though, they were good but really nothing special. I guess it could just be that I have seen basically the same set 3 times now.


It has started to get dark, which must mean we are getting close to the Foos! People are starting to get a little excited. There is this feeling in the air. Time for the Kings of Leon to warm up the main stage. That's exactly what they did. In fact they set it alight! They were great really got everyone going. I was surprised how many songs I recognized as I am not a huge fan.


Foo Fighters! What can I say?! They were great!! They were definitely the best band of the day in my opinion. They probably will be my highlight of the festival. They will have to rival Greenday for my favourtie performance on the main stage at any festival. I had one problem with the set, they played Everlong acoustically!! Still though it rocked! Grohl even played the drums for a song which was well cool! (13 years since he has done that! Last time with a certain Grunge band) And, as expected, they finished the set on "Monkey Wrench". What a day! I'm shattered!








Oh, one other thing, I and John brought some odd hats to wear around the place!











This hat had to do the rounds:

The last day of music at the festival. I'm shattered and I'm ready for some crazy people running around later tonight! I actually slept in for a while today, though I was still awake by about 9:30! The site is getting worse, I expect to see many tents burnt out tonight! Great fun, not.


I had to do the most dreaded of things today, go the toilet! I was not going to go in the ones on the campsite so I got to the arena toilets nice and early. I have to say it was almost like being in heaven in comparison to the campsite ones!


The first band I saw today were Bullet for my Valentine who were on the main stage. I enjoyed them, however, probably not as much as I could have. I spent quite a portion of their set either in the queue for the toilet or on the toilet. In either case I don't think I would suggest that it is the best place to be listening to music for enjoyment!


After this I made my way to the Carling tent, I fancy sitting down for a large portion of today. The first band on were Beautiful people who were interesting but I wasn't paying too much attention to them. The next band, Forward Russia, were pretty cool and really got me going for the Crimea who were on after. The Crimea were great, just as I expected. They played lots of songs off the version of the album I have and also played a few others I wasn't too familiar with. I swear, though, that they have changed some of their songs. At the very least they must have changed a few lyrics. I guess I have listened to them too much otherwise I would have noticed!


I then saw some of the Rakes, who's front man couldn't sing! He had lost his voice and so they drafted in other bands singers to fill the place. I personally didn't hang around for too long but I am told that the front men of Bloc Party and Maximo Park were on hand to help out. The reason I didn't hand around for too long was so I could make my first trip to the dance tent at Reading in 3 years! This was to see VHS or Beta who played a great set full of weird electronic sounds. Cause it was in the dance tent it was rather easy for me to get right to the front. I didn't stay for too long though as I wanted to see Funeral for a Friend and they started early, for a reason I'm still not too sure about. Here is me getting close to VHS or BETA:





Next on the list were Nofx, they were good, great even. They even wrote a song for the festival (well that's what they said) about how the UK is better than America. It included the line "the hash is better in Birmingham". That was enough for me to be won over! Here is Melissa waiting for, umm guess who:





A band I have already seen twice this year were next, Maximo Park. We weren't too far from the front for this one and they played a great set. It is odd to think that at the start of the year we (me and Kat) saw them played with an audience little over 50 now they were packing the Radio 1 tent! After this I bumped into some people who go to the same club that I do, Snobs, now that's well odd!

Next up, the Duke Spirit, they were good though I had to leave halfway through my favorite song by them so I could go and meet John to see Incubus. Incubus were brilliant! I then went off to see British Sea Power who were good though I was a bit disappointed by their set, not entirely sure why though. Maybe I am just starting to feel absolutely exhausted. John relaxing with my hat on:





Sunset over the last day was beautiful:





I had to see Marilyn Manson, just so I could say I have seen him. I stayed for a while but I wasn't too interested, Personal Jesus was good though. After a while me and John left to go and see LCD Soundsystem who were good, I think I will have to buy their CD. During this gig John got asked if he had any drugs on him. Apparently because the pair of us were wearing dodgy hats and glow sticks the bloke thought we were dealers! Tut tut! Funny though. We stayed in the Radio 1 tent to see a bit of the Futureheads but we didn't stay for too long as we wanted to see Iron Maiden.

I'm not a huge Maiden fan. After a while they seem a bit samey to me. We stood and watched for a good half-an-hour which included me seeing my favourite song "Run to the Hills". The really odd, and quite funny, thing was that during this me and John were eating Ice Creams. We must have looked well dodgy with our glow sticks on eating ice cream whilst watching Maiden. Cause we knew our mate, Geordie, would love this we tried to give him a ring but alas we didn't get through (it turns out his phone was in his car!). We did also want to see both the headliners of the other tents so we went and saw some of Echo and the Bunnymen who were great and then on to Bloc Party. By this point, though, I was completely shattered and so didn't stay around for too long.


As for the campsite. It wasn't too bad near us but it looked like a war zone and sounded like it at times. I didn't sleep too well but what the heck
I was home the next day!

At last the Crimea are to properly release their album "Tragedy Rocks". I do hope it isn't too different, with lots of new songs. The reason I say this is brought this from a gig over a year ago (see: [old blog post] - this even got a mention on the bands website [this link])!! It's a great album and I do hope it sells well and they go on to greater things. They have a rather unique sound and I really like it. There is a review over at [DrownedInSound].
Oh and I saw them at Reading where they played a great gig, though they have changed some lyrics!! :O

Last night I came as close as I feel I am ever going to be to a Stone Roses gig. I went to see the very popular, and damn good, cover band - The Complete Stone Roses. They were great! I don't think they made one mistake. At first they sounded a little dodgy but once the sound was sorted they were phenomenal. I just wish I could see the actual merchandise, but unless Ian Brown has a personality transplant it isn't gonna happen. Well there is the possibility that he might fancy getting a nice paycheck but I don't think he needs to do this. Anyway if you like the Stone Roses and would love to see them play live you can't do much worse than seeing The Complete Stone Roses.

Last Sunday was my first trip down to the Birmingham Barfly. I have to say I was impressed, it is a nice little venue. It does however remind me of a very industrial club and I could easily see it being more suited for a more gothic venue (or even trance) - maybe that was the combination of the bright red and black. Anyway the bands Stars and Shadybard were really cool. On first was Shadybard, they had an interesting sound - with cello, violin and even a french horny to accompany the normal indie band setup. I was damn impressed and I'm sure I'll have to try and catch them again. They were quite laid back and it was a pleasure to listen to them. Stars in the other hand where a bit more "bouncy" (can I use that to describe a bad?). They were energetic and full of people - I think there was 7 of them in total! They are from Canada so I bout I will get to see them again, well not for a while, so I am glad that Kat dragged me along. All in all a very good night, definitely worth £8. Oh and it was only £1.50 a pint - damn cheap for a gig venue these days!

Every year, well the last few years, I have posted my favourite songs of the year. This is in the hope that someone will actually read it, but I somewhat doubt it. If nobody does then I don't mind cause it always provides an interesting read for me a year later and I'm sure it will later on in my life. Oh and hopefully, if, when I have children then they will not think so badly of my music taste.... I doubt it though. Oh anyway enough talk, 2005 - 50 - 41:

50: Gorillaz - Dare

49: Thirteen Senses - The Salt Wound Routine

48: The Magic Numbers - Love Me Like You

47: The Blood Arm - Do I Have Your Attention?

46: VHS Or Beta - Night On Fire

45: The Others - Lackey

44: Kasabian - Club Foot

43: Green Day - Whatsername

42: The Darkness - One Way Ticket

41: Coldplay - Speed Of Sound

more to come over the next few days...

Here is the second installement of this years singles. Oh and I meant to mention the criteria for these songs. Essentially they must be singles that have been released (or in a few cases rereleased but I hadn't heard the original released) during this year into the UK charts.

31: Bloc Party - Banquet

32: Clor - Good Stuff

33: The Subways - Oh Yeah

34: We Are Scientists - Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt

35: The Bravery - Honest Mistake

36: The Dead 60s - Riot Radio

37: Interpol - Slow Hands

38: The White Stripes - My Doorbell

39: Agent Blue - Children's Children

40: Weezer - We Are All On Drugs

I don't know why I didn't come across this before, but now I have I'm well impressed. [American Edit] is a collection of "mashups" of the Green Day album "American Idiot" with various other songs. It is actually quite impressive. It was even banned, well the author was told to stop distributing it, by Warner Records - the label behind that Green Day album (more info [on Wiki]). I particularly like Dr Who On Holiday, though it is probably not the best mix on the album. There was a protest called, Dean Gray Tuesday, and lots of website released the tracks and you can still get them. Take a look at [Webfeedcentral.com] as that is where I located the files. It is really worth a listen.

Ok, time for the third installment of my chart for 2005:

21: Hell Is For Heroes - Kamichi

22: Foo Fighters - DOA

23: The Coral - In The Morning

24: The Bloodhound Gang - Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

25: Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To

26: My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay (I Promise)



27: Bowling for Soup - Almost

28: Paddingtons - 50 To A £

29: Idlewild - El Captain

30: Interpol - Evil

Punk Rock band, see [Wikipedia] for a bit more background. The reason I started listening to them is cause they have Billie Joe Armstrong in them! After coming across the Network (I don't care if they are or aren't them - I reckon they are but heck they sound like them, which is good enough) I though I'd have a look to see what else he has been involved in. This is actually quite a good band, though I have found it hard to come across their material.

Time to enter the top 20 in my chart....:

11: Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor

12: Doves - Snowden

13: Feeder - Shatter

14: System Of A Down - Hypnotize

15: Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less And Less

16: Editors - Blood

17: The Subways - Rock and Roll Queen

18: Editors - Bullets

19: Maximo Park - Graffiti

20: Queens Of The Stone Age - In My Head

I was in two mind wether or not to wait till the last day of the year.... nah - I'll do the albums for tomorrow (assuming I get it finished). Well here is the final singles of the year. My fav is probably quite predictable by some people, less so by others I hope. Anyway I hope you haven't got too bored by me posting this. If you haven't heard of any of these tracks, they are good! Go out buy them or alternatively use the power of the internet to download them... and then go watch the band to remove the fact that you haven't paid for their efforts!

1: Green Day - Jesus Of Suburbia

2: Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

3: Foo Fighters - The Best Of You

4: The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret

5: My Chemical Romance - Helena

6: Simple Plan - Welcome to my life

7: Bullet for My Valentine - Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)

8: Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God

9: The Ordinary Boys - Life Will Be The Death Of Me

10: Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot

There are some odd mashups (also known as bastard pop) sites out there, trust me I have come across a few them. Some are good, but most are odd. Though all have their worth one way all the other as the idea behind the combinations of two songs can be as interesting (/good) as the actual mashup. Obviously there are people out their with some great ideas but not the skills to do them, therefore they are always worth a listen. Not all of them are as good as the Dean Grey album but some are still good. I particularly like the George Bush "Imagine This" track that is out ([Download Here]). One site full of some interesting ideas is [Totom's Music] and some are actually worth a listen, others aren't but heck its interesting. For further information on this style of music editing you could do far worse than read this [Wiki Article].

I've probably mentioned this band on here before but heck you really should give them a listen to. It is heavily disputed if 3 of the members of the band are actually Green Day but heck it doesn't matter they are cool. I actually reckon they are Green Day, there music sounds like Green Day at moments; though saying that it also sounds a bit more indie to me. I think it is really quite cool and def worth a listen. Shame that since Green Day rose to such huge fame (not a bad thing, they deserve it!) that there hasn't been much from this band. For more take a look at their [website]... oh and "I need a fix".

[Bye Bye Charlotte]... and come back Oscar Wilde and Patrick the Brewer!!! Please. Ash's latest album was great, but their older stuff is well, rather cool! I like their last album but you can't beat a bit of Petrol can ya! We need you Oscar, get back in the studio with them and be their inspiration and maybe even their Guru!!

the Ivories + This Et Al + the INKlings

Tuesday 21st February

Bar Academy

Dale End Birmingham

7pm £5

Now I just need to be able to find the time to get to it.... I hope I do!

I came across [1.fm] earlier today when I started using iTunes for the first time. I wanted to listen to music on my new laptop and since this software comes as standard I thought I'd give it a go and wow I immediately came across this kick-ass radio station. It has some wicked rock on it, some tracks I haven't heard in ages either, was a nice addition. There is another reason why I'm using my mac to listen to music and not my main desktop - earlier to I messed up my keyboard...woops! Trip to maplin tomorrow morning me thinks... shame I can't wait and buy one of those LCD type keyboards, though saying that they are quite extortionate. Anyway, back on point - go to !.fm, it seriously does rock!!

Ok, AAF (Alien Ant Farm as they are otherwise know) are back (well not quite but have released a kick ass album 3rd Draft)! Not in the shops, but to download. I had wondered what had happened to them, since I loved their first two albums. However, I didn't keep up with their progress. It seems that their record company pissed on them. Anyway Alien Ant Farm is a band hailing from Riverside, California and are great! You might at least remember their blasting cover of Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal' but if you remember them for more than that and you want more, well, you can get it for free!!! (yes it did need 3 exclamation marks!). You can also buy it at gigs, but since I am in the UK it is unlikely. They look set to have a 'proper' third album out soonish. Good. Oh I did promise that you could get it for free somewhere didn't I? Ok take a look at: [AAF.tk] and you will find the whole album and some other goodies... include otherwise unreleased tracks... well I have something cool to listen to on my mp3 player on the way to work in the morrow now.

Last night I went to see Story of the Year with Lizzie. I have to say I wasn't that familiar with their music but Lizzie said they put on a good show so I was kinda excited, well I just like hanging with Lizzie to begin with, so I was sure I was going to have a good night. The gig itself wasn't bad Story of the Year were pretty good but I am sure they are one of these american bands that sound so much better when recorded. I think the main issue with them was that their singer wasn't clear enough in the live venue and so distracts you a little. I have heard a few of their songs and a few more after the gig now and they are good just a bit messy when live. They were bad and I am sure as they go on in their career this will get better. They were pretty cool and did some guitar moves whilst playing. I think possibly the funniest thing was when one of their guitarists (we were near the back) just walked past us playing.. which was a bollocks I wish I had my phone out moments. Overall I enjoyed their set so can't moan. Oh and they did a great cover megamix like thing and I really enjoyed their "Until The Day I Die". Was great.

Oh as for the "special guests" on the lineup was Bleed the dream, which seemed interesting but a bit messy in their perfomance... will give them a download, and Stretch Armstrong who weren't bad, some nice songs and did their best to get the crowd going. Actually on the matter of the crowd, apart from the dads who were escorting their kids I reckon I must have been one of the oldest guys there, lol!

She Wants Revenge are best described, in my opinion, as indie electronica which means they are a little fashionable I guess. They are also pretty cool. I would really suggest you give their album, which is self titled a listen to. I guess they remind me a little of Depeche Mode and they are very much in a similar vein as the bravery, but I wouldn't directly compare them. I think their better tracks are on their myspace, so take a look at it [Shewantsrevenge's myspace]. They are playing in Brum soon, and I think I have convinced the girlfriend to go, so I will be seeing them. :-)

Last night was a musical one. Which by the title of this post should be obvious... We went to see [Mohair]. I had problems with the tickets earlier in the day, the hadn't turned up in the post, so I was releaved to see that ticketweb had organised an extra set at the venue. The next issue was that the support had pulled out, which wasn't the biggest of issues for us cause we just went and sat in the local weatherspoons with cheap drinks for a bit. Anyway we went back to the venue to find hardly anyone there, which was a little odd since we have seen Mohair there before and there were lots of people. It did mean that it was a sort of cosy atmosphere and they still played a kick ass set. Lots of fun. Mohair are great fun to see live, they really do give off lots of energy and you really wanna dance when they are playing. At times I was tempted to get a bit of proper swinging going with Lizzie... but I don't think she would have liked me flinging her around the room. The gig was great playing out lots of songs I know and love but some I don't know, so since they now have an album out.... I just brought it (on hmv.co.uk). I'm well looking forward to listening to it. After the gig we went over to try and get some badges (they were free) and so were the stickers. We even got to chat to the keyboardist, if that describes someone on a Hammond Organ(!?). Anyway it was lots of fun, if you can see them, download their samples....

Festival, Birmingham City Centre? Grass? If that shocks you then well it shouldn't. Birmingham is pretty green and last Sunday saw the first festival at Eastside park, outside the now defunct Curzon Street Station which is opposite Millennium Point. It was lots of fun and although I didn't stay to the end I got to see some quality bands.

I only stayed up to Boy Kill Boy but most of the bands up to that where pretty entertaining with the Crimea (like always) standing out miles about the rest. They played a great set, lots of fun. It was a bit of an odd start for them with their lead singer in the crowd:

... but that was good! :-) They always play a great set and have to be one of my favourite bands to see live, they really put lots of energy into it. If you haven't heard of them... go and download something(!), "White Russian Galaxy" is a good starting point.

The whole thing was really well done, well done to the organisers, do it again!! I will be there!

For further info take a look at: [sound-station.co.uk]

On Tuesday I travelled to sunny Wolverhampton to go to the Civic Hall to see Fall Out Boy. This was my first trip to the Civic and my first time on the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Metro (which wasn't bad...). Anyway the gig was great, we missed the first support band but the second was the Academy Is... and I really wanted to see them anyway! I wasn't going till the last minute so I hadn't checked out the support so was pretty pleased to see that they were on the lineup as well.

The Academy Is where pretty good but I do find them the sort of band that though I like I get a bit brassed off after a while as they are pretty samey. Its not always a bad thing and the main songs I like are pretty different. It is just a shame they didn't mix them around a bit, they did after a few songs sound a bit "more of the same". Well they were good and really got the crowd going, which you can't ask more of a support band. I was still really pleased to see them.

Fall Out Boy came out with a band and Lizzie showed her appreciation by screaming much louder than you would have though was physically possible for her size! :-) (yes, I think thats a compliment hun!). They played a solid set though there was a bit too much talking for my liking, I like the band engaging the crowd but I feel they did it a bit too much. Saying that though, I really enjoyed them and I feel they were only talking so much to hype up which song they were playing, it was sort of like an extended introduction. There was one problem, about 3/4 the way through the set all sound went!! Like pro's they continued on to the end of the song, I guess it is pretty feasible that they hadn't entirely noticed as there screens were definetly working. Anyway about 10 minutes down the line they had fix it and played 4 songs instead of doing an encore.

Pretty cool. I have to say it felt odd not being at the Brum academy for a big gig! For more info take a look at: [Fall Out Boy's Website]

I recently came across Three Days Grace and they are a damn good rock band, sort of remind me a bit of Alkaline Trio, but not hugely.. maybe more like 30 seconds from mars, eitherway they are good to listen to and aren't overly "shouty" something that can just annoy me. Any take a look at their website, with online music, [threedaysgrace.com]

Well bye bye to Top of the Pops and as the last number one came on I remembered why I don't ever watch it. It is full of teeny crap, not music I would normally ever considered listening to. Over the last few years I think I have turned into it on 3 occasions. I think one was for Maximo Park (I'm not convinced about that but...), the other was to see the Crimea (a wicked band... who I have ranted on about before I am sure..) and of course to see that very special and long Greenday perfomance of Jesus of Suburbia (that was special!). Last night 4 million people watched it ([so the BBC says]).

Zidane's disgusting headbutt in the World Cup final has inspired a song that is now top of the French pop charts... [French adore Zidane headbutt song ]

My, now annual, trip to the Reading Festival was not as good as it should have been. I was ill, something which I was hoping would not happen. It was hard just to muster up the energy to even walk at times. Well it was a bit more relaxed on my part, I was sat down for most of the time and did look older than I should! lol. Anyway I am going to post some pics soon, if I am not being too lazy. Who did I see?

Friday:
Dashboard Confessional, Panic! at the disco, The Subways, Fall Out Boy, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand

Saturday: Giant Drag, Wolfmother, The Automatic, The Fall, Feeder, The Streets, Arctic Monkeys, MUSE(!)

Sunday: Taking back Sunday, Less than jake (does in the toilet count?), Bullet for my valentine, Slayer, My Chemical Romance, Boy Kill Boy, Placebo, Pearl Jam, Maximo Park...

Oh the fun of travelling! This year was a bit different. We normally get the train down at a stupid time in the morning and then have the fun of the hike from Reading Station to and then across the camp site. It's not too bad but this year we had the 'luck' (I would have rathered not got these types of tickets) of getting coach tickets down there (the others had sold out so we had to get these). Anyway it wasn't too bad. We got dropped off at the rivermead centre around 1pm. This was perfect as our mates had already setup camp (they drove down) and we just dropped our tent in next to theirs. Was pretty easy actually. I might have to do the same again (... the return journey was not so smooth though).


The cold I had just developed had really taken hold of me by now so after a slow walk into reading I was feeling awful. Anyway a weatherspoons stop for some food and a sainsbury's trip we were heading back. I just needed to crash as I was feeling awful. This continued all festival but heck I still had fun...

And yes we had to get out the glow sticks!

A camp fire was greated and some glowing effects started appearing...

Day 2, it started off sunny... but was this to last, well it did long enough for me and Lizzie to enjoy it and get a bit of a tan..

This good weather lasted throughout the afternoon.. we got to see the unimpressive Dashboard Confessional. The wicked Panic! at the disco, who played on eventhough their front man got hit in the face with a bottle (of water I hope).. stupid crowd, I would have been rather dissapointed if they had stopped. The subways were next on and they played a great set but by the time Fall Out Boy came on the heat (plus my cold) had really taken the best of me so after we listened to their great set we headed back to the tent for a bit of a rest.

The Kaiser Chiefs played a good set, was a bit bland and not the same as in a small arena.. I do also think they spent rather too long playing around with their rather simple lights

The highlight had to be Franz Ferdinands wicked set that gave me some energy, enough to even dance!! Great set.... and I was off to bed nice and early. Old man alert, that and being rather tired and flu riddled.

Oh the wonders of a Weatherspoons breakfast... and the use of their toilets! :-) Thats what started off the day. I, however, actually felt slightly worse for the trip but at least I have eaten well... if you can call a veggie fry-up well that is! We also had to make good time to get back to the arena as the first band of the day that Lizzie wanted to see, Giant Drag, were on earlish. We did miss a bit of their set, but fourtunately not too much. I was pleased as they were pretty cool to listen to... something to go on my download list... ;-)

After Giant Drag was Wolfmother who were pretty cool. I'm not a huge fan but I do like one or two of their songs and I definetly would not have missed them. After Wolfmother we made quick time back to our tent to get the stuff we would have taken into the arena earlier but didn't have time due to Weatherspoons taking longer than expected. After a quick rest we were back to see the Automatics. WOW! I was really glad we went to see them and they have to be one of my bands of the festival, they were great! And what is that, a monster?!!

We then decided to stay and watch the Fall, they are supposidely legendary. They were crap and so left quite quickly. Feeder followed, another band I just couldn't wait to see. Shame I had no energy and had to stay near the back but heck I still really enjoyed them, though I'd love to see them in an enclosed environment such as the Brum academy, would be much better.

A quick trip to see a band on the Carling Stage, who I don't know who was (my page fell out my little stage guide...argh!) but they weren't bad, useful I know. Oh and it was raining quite badly at the time so this was to be considered! :-)

Lizzie then got the stage times wrong, yes hun I am blaming you - lol, causing us to see a bit too much of the Streets. Though we did get to the world's largest "GO LOW"... WTF! The music improved by loads when on came the Arctic Monkeys who played a good set but really still don't have the commandment of a stage that a headliner should. Then finally it was time for the band I have been wanting to see for years and been awaiting this moment for ages. It was time for MUSE!! Woo hoo! I was well prepared:

They were absolutely great! They have to be my favourite band and they played a mix of new and old stuff which I was really pleased about. I do like their new album but I have been wanting to hear them play Origin of Symmetry for a while. They didn't disapoint. A nice continouous set where they didn't mess about and just got down to the music.

A finish with the guitar raised put an end to a brilliant set...quite ghostly really

Day 4 and the final day of music again comes .... shame that as I am finally feeling a bit better but alas not much can be done about this as I don't own a device that would let me travel in time and heck if I did I can think of better things to do! :-) Anyway onto Day 4!

The day for us started with Taking back Sunday who were pretty cool, I do like them and they played all the songs I like. After Taking Back Sunday came Less than Jake who played a great set, though I probably did spend half of it waiting for the loo and then in the loo. 2 out of 4 toilets shut near the stage... argh! Anyway Less than Jake really did get the party atmosphere going for me and really setup the day.

Oh and don't ask me what my mates were up to hear:

Bullet for my valentine were next and they played a rather indifferent set that I was not to pleased with, quite a shame really - they just replaced singing with shouting. ARGH! After them on came My Chemical Romance who were greeted with loads of bottles, argh... less just say the Slayer fans weren't the most welcoming (Slayer were on next). Fair play to My Chemical Romance who told the crowd to give them what they had. They played a good set which I really did enjoy. After these were Slayer. After a few tracks I got bored and so we went around the stalls were Lizzie got a new hoody, woohoo! The Sun was setting on the last day so I had to take my customary shot:

After the shopping Boy Kill Boy gave us some great late afternoon music with a great set. This is the second time I had seen them and again they played wonderfully well really getting a rise in the NME tent.

Placebo then provided the fun with a good set which was marred with a few technical difficulties but they still played a great set and we got to see boobs whilst the issues were dealt with (the reading crowd was beemed on to the screens and a few women took of their tops...). Next were Pearl Jam, I'm not that familiar with their music but I as well impressed as they played really well but we left about halfway in to go see Maximo Park (my sixth time of seeing them, ah!) and they really played well getting us all jumping and singing. I have never heard a crowd so loud, some huge cheers wen't up at the end and the band were obviously taken-a-back. Great fun.

Very interesting music video to this song...

On Friday I got to see (for the 3rd time) the wicked We are Scientists... they really did get the crowd going, but then again they were going quite a bit even during the more relaxed Au Revoir Simone. Au Revoir Simone kicked off the gig with some wonderful electronic sounds, this has lead me on to buying their ablum off their website, [Au Revoir Simone] and they (well there manager) were really nice about me being half asleep and paying for US shipping and not worldwide (I was half asleep when I ordered) - just letting me get off with it. So big smile to Au Revoir Simone! :-)

As for the rest of the gig, I didn't catch the name of the second band but they weren't as good as Au Revoir Simone.... then on came the We are Scientists producing a great set and even ending the night as a boy band!

Last Sunday Lizzie and I got the fun of seeing New Found Glory live at the Birmingham Academy! Wow, they played a great set which was a nice mix of their new album and older stuff. Lots of fun. They are so energetic that it is a treat to see them live as you can tell they are putting as much energy into this gig as they would do for a festival.

Last night the Automatic came along and rocked the [University of Birmingham Guild of Students]. This sort of thing is a rarity here in Brum and we hardly ever have any bands along, never mind a well known one! I was not going to miss this chance and so as soon as I found out I got tickets. The Automatic, mostly known for their "whats that coming over the hill" song (Monster), got a good response though for the first half of the gig the crowd seemed somewhat zombiefied. I hate it when the crowd just stand there, Lizzie was doing her best to jump around but there was like only 10 people in the whole place doing it. Thankfully the crowd started to pick up after Monster was played. I think the second half of their set was much better than the first but then again the crowd didn't give them much until Monster was played. I expected that this might be the case as it is probably right to say that 80% of the people there probably only knew this and, maybe, Raoul by them. I'm not moaning though, as I got to see a great band in my Guild... something that I have not been able to do before (I have seen 911 in the Guild before but they aren't a great band and it was not by choice!). I had left my camera at home and so the best I got with my camera phone was this:

but you get the idea, a band on the stage... yipee! :-)

1. Billy Talent - Billy Talent II

Billy Talent return with a what I can only say is a kickass album. I think I must have spent most of my morning commute recently having this (or the below) on. It is a great album that is full of energy and is really useful to wake one up. I think my favorite, incidentally the first track I had heard off this album, is "Red Flag" which has an insane drum beat going through it. I feel for the drummer who must be shattered after playing this. There are also some very interesting guitar rifts in this and the singing is actually singing (there is a bit of shouting but not much!). I can only hope to catch them live sooner rather than later.

[www.billytalent.com]

2. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

A great follow on from their last album "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge". It has some interesting subject material, well if you can call the story of a young man who's in hospital dying interesting. I'm not sure I would buy into their whole black parade crap, sounds a bit of a stunt to me but damn this is a great album. It has some wonderful guitar work throughout
it and I would say it is a bit of a mix of an album and unlike their last ones doesn't die a short death (I felt Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has some great songs in it but died quickly in the quality after you got away from the singles - "Helena" featured as my 5th favorite song of 2005). Like the Billy Talent album it can be found high up on my winamp and ipod most played lists. I have to say I am hoping this album really helps them learn to perform better live.
They aren't bad but Gerard Way's singing is taken over a bit by shouting which from this album can't be done.

[www.mychemicalromance.com]

3. New Found Glory - Coming Home

New Found Glory are an American pop punk/melodic hardcore band but are definitely more melodic in their latest album. It has a slight emo twist to it, but most American bands at the moment seem to. A combination of interesting guitar work, vocals and some damn good guitar work keeps you interested the whole way through. The title track "Coming Home" is one of my favorites and it alone is worth a listen but I think my favorite would have to be "Oxygen".. but that could just be me being sentimental with my girlfriend. I saw them perform most this album live at the Birmingham Academy and wow they do it justice.

[www.newfoundglory.com]

4. The Academy Is - Almost Here

The Academy Is are another American band... there are quite a few on this list, maybe I identify with American music more than British at the moment - not sure if I like that statement... anyway.... some high pitched (at times) singing and nice melodic guitar work has given the academy is a great collection of songs on their debut album. Nice to listen to, nice to relax to - great to see live.

[www.myspace.com/theacademyis]

5. Boy kill boy - Civilian

I had only heard of Boy Kill Boy by name until I saw them play live (well I think I must have heard their singles on Kerrang Radio) at the Soundstation Festival
here in Birmingham City Centre.... They played a good set that day and then went on my list of albums that I had to listen to. I wasn't disappointed when I got to listen to them. They are a quite indie in sound, a proper British rock bands not like the above Americans. I think my favorite track on the album has to be the rhythmic "Civil Sin".

[boykillboy.com]

6. The Automatic - Not Accepted Anywhere

I recently saw this Welsh band at my Guild of Students... was a great gig. The album it self is pretty stunning and very memorable for many reasons, not including the obvious "whats that coming over the hill....." ... yes, indeed, it is a monster. A nice combination of pounding tracks with some high pitched screaming vocals in the background means you can not stop yourself from bobbing along to the music. If there are a couple of thousand of you watching them play live at the Reading festival it can get a bit more interesting...

[http://www.theautomatic.co.uk/]

7. Angels and Airwaves - We don't need to whisper

Another American band... this one was created by former blink-182 and Box Car Racer guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge so they sound quite a bit like Blink... they have a bit more of a political (war based) feeling to them. I had the prvilage of seeing them as support for the Foo Fighters at Hyde Park earlier this year and they put on a good show in the heat of the summer.

-[www.angelsandairwaves.com/]

8. Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission

Lostprophets are a Welsh rock group and "Liberation Transmission" is there third album. This one definitely gets me jumping and even moshing. From the first track "Everyday combat" you know what to expect.. that is some fast action packed music that makes you just want to jump around.

[lostprophets.com]

9. The Killers - Sam's Town

The Killers return with a rather good second album. So, so many bands put out shite second albums.. the killers haven't fallen into this trap but it does feel slightly more of the same electronica rock at times but it is still damn good... though I think they are missing one really really outstanding track on this one though "When you Were Young" does stand out as the best track on the album

[http://www.thekillersmusic.com/]

10. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations

I'm slightly dissapointed in Muse, this is far from their best it is at worst a bit of a rehash of older material without much inspiration though that is slightly harsh and I do like it, I didn't at first but it grew on me. This album is really all about the "Knights Of Cydonia"....

[www.muse.mu]

11. Taking back sunday - Louder now

"What does it fell like to be a ghost?", well taking back Sunday ask this question in the first track of the album.... this or Liar has to be my favorite on this their third album.

[www.takingbacksunday.com]

12. Panic! At the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

"The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage" now that is an interesting title for a song isn't it? I'm not convinced the song has much todo with the subject but it is rather good and probably my favorite off the album. This is a rock album but definitely has a dance feel to it with a couple of the track sounding like they should be played by some DJ at some stupid dance club... an a couple of them even have a bit more of a swing feel to them!

[www.panicatthedisco.com]

13. Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

The D come back with a film and some kickass, but disappointingly short, rock music. JB (if you don't know who he is think of the film "School of Rock") and Kyle Gass produce some stunning sounding rifts and magnificent vocals but I need more, more dammit more!

[www.tenaciousd.com]

14. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open

Wonderful, great to listen to.. another great one by snow patrol.

[www.snowpatrol.com]

15. Three Days Grace - One X

Three Days Grace are a Canadian metal band and this is there second album and it has a combination of melodic tunes and some grinding metal.

[www.threedaysgrace.com]

16. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not

If you haven't heard of the Arctic Monkey's this last year then I guess you haven't been on the dancefloor?

17. HIM - Uneasy Listening Vol.1

HIM are often referred to as a "love metal" but are probably better described as a cross between gothic rock and early heavy metal. They produce a nice sounding mix of metal and acoustic brilliance. I particularly love "In Joy and Sorrow" on this album, the strings are fantastic in the background.

[www.heartagram.com]

18. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Stadium arcadium

A two CD album by the kings of recent rock continues on their tradition of producing great and memorable songs, my favorite on this one has to be the title song "Stadium Arcadium".

[www.redhotchilipeppers.com]

19. Au Revoir Simone - Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation

Au Revoir Simone is an indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York .. a nice relaxed band that I came across as support for We Are Scientists (who's album crap attack doesn't make it in this list!). Great to listen to and have a nice mix of rock and electronic keyboard synths.

[aurevoirsimone.com]

20. Mohair - Small Talk

Mohair are a band I was eager to get my hands on their album and I did after I saw them earlier this year. I caught them at the Birmingham Bar Academy were there wasn't more then 10 people watching, which was a shame for them but did give me a rather cool experience. I have never spoken to a band at a gig before but this time I did, which was nice. My favorite on this album has to be "Stranded".... nah, nah, nah... yeeeahh!

[www.mohairmusic.com]

21. Yellowcard - Lights and sounds

My first proper date with Lizzie saw me see Yellowcard for the first time so they have a very welcome place in my heart this last year. Not just for this reason do they feature in my charts though. They are generally classified as pop punk and sound a bit like Greenday with a violin! I really do love the use of the violin.

[www.myspace.com/yellowcard]

22. Evanescence - Open Door

Their second full album lets Amy Lee loose with her stunning voice again, apart from this there isn't much else that jumps out of this album, but her voice is enough.

[www.evanescenceuk.co.uk]

23. Evans Blue - The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume

Quite heavy rifts define Evans Blue's first release, strong vocals help this album into my charts... I wonder what they will have to offer in the future...

[www.evansblue.com]

24. Blue October - Foiled

This band have been around for quite a while now but have become quite famous recently with the release of "Hate me" from this album. This is my favorite song off the album and is worth a listen to even if you don't listen to the rest of the album.

[www.blueoctoberfan.com]

25. Agent Blue - A stolen honda vision

Sex, drugs and rocks through your window, what else could you want? :-) I have seen this band produce some quite stunning gigs. The song I mentioned at the start is "Sex, Drugs And Rocks Through Your Window " and this got up to number 5 in my single charts in 2004 so lets just say I was quite pleased to see them get an album out but due to the wait it really can't have more than a passing interest this year, it is not an album that defines the year but is still a great one!

[www.agent-blue.co.uk]

Other albums that have inspired me this year but were released in the past are numerous but of most note are:

Dean Gray's "American Edit", I mentioned this at the end of last year and have listen to lots this year, a cover of greenday and various others or mashed up

Fallout Boy's "From Under The Cork Tree", if was released this year would have been top of the pile, its just great and really makes you wanna dance!

Something Corporate, both of their albums are great and a pleasure to listen to

Story of the Year, I saw them live and they really get me awake in the morning with some loud and often slightly shouty songs

The Network's "Money Money 2020" - Are they Greenday? I don't care really, I'm pretty sure they are but this is not the same as normal Greenday but it is still great and a bit different ... I particularly like "Reto" and a couple of the songs have some suspect lyrics.. oh well

Anberlin, "Blueprint for the black market" and "Never take friendship personal", two great albums that show the bands obvious musical talent "autobahn" is by far my favorite and I can spend hours upon hours listening to their music without realising it...

30 Seconds to Mars, wow... I love this band, enough said.

Last night I took Lizzie to see [Hundred Reasons]. This was a gig that I was postponed from October and on the way to the gig my initial enthusiam had died, the last album by Hundred Reasons has not been on my regular playlist for a while and I overlistened to it a bit before. Anyway I had tickets and I knew I would have a good time when I was there... luckily we missed the rain on the way to the academy .

We missed most of the first band, dinner had to come first , I think they were called [God Fires Man]. They sounded ok but I didn't catch much of them.

The second band was, [Kinds In Glass Houses], who were quite good.. I even bought their EP from their little stall. It was a fiver so I'm not going to complain... since I was only on the water at the gig its not like I didn't spend much - for once. I think they sound a bit like a welsh Falloutboy, less so on the CD but live they did have that sound off them. Ok they sound a bit emo... :-) I liked them though...

Hundred Reasons did a good set and the crowd got going a lot more than I expected, I always think that crowd surfing in the Academy 2 must be deadly, the stage is rather close to the barrier... oh well, I bet a few people have bruised limbs and they don't care.

Last night I was slightly disapointed. I'm not entirely sure why, I am putting it down to me being tired and my back aching a little. The gig was good and it was excellent that they played a 2 hour set but I got a little bored. I think it was probably just down to tiredness and the fact that at times they are a bit melodic... it was a good gig but not as good as I had hoped.

At the start of the gig we had the experience of a shoe flying towards us..

I also took some photos of the band...

I do like the background lighting they had...

Last Night I had the pleasure of watching Bowling for Soup rock the Birmingham Carling Academy. The gig was great and just as I expect Bowling for Soup definitely put on a show. Sometimes a little too much show and not enough gig but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Lots of fun and well worth the cash. They are coming back for Download (which I may attend this year for a change from Reading) and a tour later in October... I think I will have to see them again.

The Fabulous Bowling for Soup....

Bowling for Soup with UK tour background..

A soft focus image of the stage...

Panic At The Disco - Karma Police (live in denver)
Legion of Doom - Crazy As She Goes (Mash Up).mp3
Arctic Monkeys vs The Killers - Scumbody Told Me
Cobra Starship - Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)
Twisted Sister - I Wanna Rock
+44 - Lycanthrope
Paramore - Emergency
Editors - French Disko
Boston - More Than a Feeling
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby

I recently started to use last.fm for collated what I have recently listened to.. I never did get around to writing that script that would do it for winamp...

I will have to add this to the main pages..

or use the more interactive way... probably not..

Reading Festival 2007

I know it is a while ago that this happened but I've been too busy to think.

Anyway here is a quick summary of the festival.

- Travel, took way too long the driver got lost in Coventry (we weren't supposed to go there!) and drove around aimlessly not finding the coach station - eventually we got there!

- Dry, not wet, bit damp in places but not at all bad...

- Fun as always, though it wasn't fun being woken up at 4am to here someone breaking into my tent and grabbing my bag.. shame for them that they left their phone behind and my bag only had my coat in it. They came back for their phone.. I was naked and I got my bag back - really seemed like a surreal dream.

- Bands, how many did I see... 40 in total - not bad really.

- I saw:

On Friday: The Pipettes, The Sounds, The long blondes, Manchester Orchestra, Aiden, The Draft, Plain White Ts, Jimmy Eat World, Maximo Park, Interpol, Enter Shikari, The Subways, Brand New, Ash

I think the highlight of this day was probably Aiden and Jimmy Eat World. Aiden were quite a surprise and very enjoyable. Jimmy Eat World were just fantastic! I should also mention that, like always, Maximo Park and Ash played great sets!

On Saturday: Paramore, Dead 60, Kids in glass houses, Mute Math, The Shines, Nine Black Alps, Angels and Airwaves, Cobra Starship, Panic at the disco, Bloc Party, The Twang, Biffy Clyro, Battles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Academy Is..., Hot Hot Heat

The disappointment of the festival came with the Chilli Peppers - I got annoyed and decided Hot Hot Heat were a better bet.. and they were. Mute Math were pretty cool doing some rather interesting drumming... Cobra Starship put on a good gig and I think Lizzie enjoyed them.

On Sunday: Stalker (I think), Gym Class Heroes, Hellogoodbye, Billy Talent, The Used, Funeral for a friend, Fallout Boy, Lost Prophets, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins and New Found Glory.

This was a good day for music (apart from the Gym Class Heroes!). Billy Talent were great, I really enjoyed their set but the gig of the day (and probably the festival for me) had to go to the Lost Prophets who played a kick ass set, really good music and they got the crowd going! I think I would have probably enjoyed New Found Glory more if it wasn't for me feeling a tad ill...

Oh and here is the Moon over the arena...

So then, its that time of the year - the end! I can't believe another year has passed, it doesn't feel like 5 minutes since we started this one. It has been a successful one and since I constantly listen to music whilst I am working I feel the need to think about my favourite music from the last year... and here we go... this is my top 20 albums, I don't have time to do anymore (or the singles like I once did). All of these albums have been released in the last year (at least in the UK I should say).

20. The Bravery - The Sun and The Moon

I have to say I was very disappointed by the second album by these guys, I was expecting much more - still its a pretty solid record and I feel it deserves to just make it into the charts.

[www6.thebravery.com]

19. Sum 41 - Underclass Hero

Like the Bravery, Sum 41 slightly disappoint with their latest album, its good but no where near what I would have expected from their past work. My fav track has to be their opening track... goes a bit downhill from there, unfortunately.

[www.sum41.co.uk]

18. VA - Transformers: The Album

Ok, this is really not a "proper" album but the film was kick-ass and so is the soundtrack! Plus it was the first time I came across 'Armor for sleep' and trust me with the amount of played them this year they deserve an include - this album also has wicked track on it by a band much higher up the listings....

[transformersalbum.com/]

17. HIM - Venus Doom

Yet another solid album from my favourite 'heavier' band. HIM are often referred to as a "love metal" but are probably better described as a cross between Gothic rock and early heavy metal. Glorious guitars and singing throughout this one. Oddly they also came 17th last year...

[http://www.heartagram.com/]

16. Anberlin - Cities

Anberlin really do know how to make me rock and I think I've spent as much time jumping up and down in the bedroom listing to this as I have through any other activity this year... ;-p I think Godspeed is my fav track but I'm not entirely decided, depends on the mood.

[www.anberlin.com]

15. The Academy Is... - Santi

Not as good as their debut album (was 4th in my charts, last year) but then again the first time I heard this was at the Reading festival - it can't have been all that bad as I decided to keep watching them over the Red Hot Chilli Peppers!

[www.myspace.com/theacademyis]

14. Chris Cornell - Carry On

"You know my name" I remember hearing him shouting before he went onto that song at the Birmingham Academy this year, great live - oh and the album well, it opened my eyes to his music, bit lame that I really have only just started listing to him I know. Oh well.

[www.chriscornell.com]

13. New Found Glory - From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Ok its not a 'proper' new album from NFG but still you have to love it.... "oh, kiss me..." :-D . This follows on from their last 'proper' album ("Coming Home") coming 3rd in my charts last year.

[http://www.newfoundglory.com/]

12. Thirteen Senses - Contact

"Follow Me" says it all about this album, lovely melodies and strong singing - really does give me a feel good factor. Oh and in 2004 their first album made 16 in my charts....

[www.thirteensenses.co.uk]

11. My American Heart - Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather

The start of this album at first put me off... "boys! grab your guns", hmmm.. but the track improves after about 2 seconds and the album just grew on me instantly.... so "boys! grab your guns, its all in good fun!"

[www.myspace.com/myamericanheart]

10. Ash - Twilight of the Innocents

Do they need that woman playing guitar? After this album I would definitely say HELL NO! Great album (not quite as good as Meltdown, which came 6th in my charts of 2004), good to see them back with some good music - oh and they played a great set at Reading (did I mention I went to the reading festival?! :-D)

[www.ash-official.com]

9. Editors - An End Has A Start

The second album from the Editors does not disappoint and they follow on quite nicely from their first album. Though it hasn't made quite as much impact as their first album did on me.

[www.editorsofficial.com]

8. Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival

Good Charlotte return with another mix of "dancey" beats and some rocky overtones. Great album, I think this is probably my favourite of theirs. Oh and they still have time for some beautiful songs, I particularly think the words in "Beautiful Place" are quite nice.

[www.goodcharlotte.com]

7. Avril Lavinge - The Best Damn Thing

I know this is a bit teeny but so be it, I quite enjoy Avril... and yes that also includes "Girlfriend", I'm really not sure why though... oh well. 7th is much higher than in 2004 where her album "under my skin" was 19 - so either I have regressed to being a teen girl (something I could never be)... or I have been hanging around a certain young lady too much... (:p)

[www.avrillavigne.com]

6. Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High

A cracking album, full of songs that you can dance to - well that I can jump up and down and look like I am dancing. Did I mention that I saw them at Reading this year? :-D Its a really good album though like in most of the cases this year I'm not sure its as good as their earlier work but if you ignore a few of their more, I want to say 'rappy' (but that's not right), crap songs then its a good one. Hallelujah!

[www.falloutboyrock.com]

5. Funeral for a Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves

We start of in Oblivion and eventually we end up in a nice sweet place. A lovely album - with some really energetic moments. I'm quite happy relaxing to this or letting it get me nice and motivated. They did a brilliant set at Reading, probably my highlight of the festival looking back at it with time as my perspective.

[www.ffaf.co.uk]

4. Madina Lake - From Them, Through Us, to You

"Here I Stand!" the album screams from the start, the first time I heard this I was presently surprised by having such a brilliant opening track, no messing about - straight into it. I have to say I do find myself listening to the first half of the album much more than the second part, but I do like "Pandora" - the later tracks just don't really have the energy of the earlier ones. Still though, a great album very deserving of 4th.

[www.madinalake.com]

3. Paramore - Riot

A girl screaming her lungs out and a guitar being played rather aggressively... now what could be wrong with that? In my opinion not much. Paramore's second album is brilliant and I think a massive improvement on their first (which I loved by the way). I'm still a bit annoyed with myself for missing a large part of their set at Reading (due to me wanting a fry-up for breakfast!) but I'm going to see them at Brum academy (in Feb, I think). Oh, they aren't all shouting - they do have some nice, quieter, more melodic tracks - which really complement the strengths of their singer.

[www.paramore.net]

2. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

Maximo Park are the band I have seen the most, I've actually lost count on how many occasions I've seen them (its definitely in the teens). Their second album does not disappoint. Frankly its fantastic. Something for every mood. I think my favourite song has to be "books from boxes" - and its probably because I love the intro. I've seen them twice this past year and both of their sets have been really good, mixing both this and the first album together. I can't wait for a third. It was really hard to choose between this and the eventual winner....

[www.maximopark.com]

1. Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight

Without a doubt this is my favourite album by them since their first, its great. Nice mix of classic metal beats and some of their earlier work. "Bleed it out" is a great example of this, I just love the rhythm this song has. I also like the fact that this is quite a long album, with lots of tracks - and none are really just there as filler.

[www.linkinpark.com]

Links to past years:

Albums 2006 - [here]

Singles 2005 - [here], for some reason I did not have time to do albums this year...

Albums 2004 - [here]

I can't believe, well I can since they a Finnish post-hardcore/punk band, that I had not come across Disco Ensemble before playing FIFA 2008.... yes FIFA can be a good place to find music.. trust me! Anyway, back to Disco Ensemble - there second album First Aid Kit is the one I've been listening to pretty continuously recently - well worth a listen [Disco Ensemble]

I know it was almost two weeks ago now but I've finally gotten around to having some time to write up on here what I thought of the [Download festival]. It was indeed my first time at this festival and I have to say I was very impressed. It was also the first festival that I have been to that we drop to and from every day. Donnington isn't too far from Birmingham so its easily feasible and is the first thing I was very shocked about. I was expecting since we were driving each day to have to wait in long traffic queues. Nope, it appears that the place was very well organised and the longest we had to wait was 10 minutes when we left on the second night, now that's not bad! Anyway onto the music...

Highlights:

- seeing Kiss, they were great showmen

- a certain song by Motorhead, this time I was not waiting for the young lady to come of the loo!

- HIM, they were excellent but I have to say I was really shocked by the numbers of people watching them, I guess they were all off watching the Offspring...

- The Offspring, we saw half of their set and wow they were great, shame they didn't really do much of an encore but then again we were expecting an half an hour extra gig off them after Kiss...

- The rock (and peg) game, see below for pictures - essentially a game of deception when you end up with about a ton of rocks in your bag.. well Alice did!

- Simple Plan, we caught about half of their set and they were great!

- The storm troopers that got me and Sean...

- Ash, solid set!

- Clean toilets... actually coming home to have a shower every night was very nice!

- Free Muller rice, "eat it cold, eat it hot, eat it free"... we had a lot of these.

- The crazy guys on bikes, wicked show (yep the guy is upside down in a ball in the second pic, at one point they had 3 guys in there!)!

- Lostprophets... great set, but I just don't think they are a headline act...

- Airbourne, great set... really got the crowd going!

- oh and meeting 001... we got a pic with Sean... I missed out :-(

Disappointments:
- seeing Kiss, they really disappointed me by not playing a certain song... they also went on a bit!
- the price of the food.. but what do you expect
- Incubus, they were good but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
- Kid Rock not turning up... oh wait I didn't care this is was a highlight! :-D
- having to put up with Sean the whole darn weekend!
- how cold it was on the first day... having to buy a new jumper.. not that I really minded!
- the fact that Lethal Bizzle was there... we walked past to have a game in the EA hub and he was on, there were lots of people there. I think a lot were booing but a number (more than the people who saw HIM) were jumping up and down... argh! If your band don't play their own instruments then get off the stage.

Saying all that, overall it was a great festival and it was a lot more spread out and relaxed than Reading... I think I will be going back to Download.. especially if they keep the quality of the bands like there was this year!

Last night I got to see one of my favourite bands, [Anberlin], at the [Birmingham Barfly]. They were supported by Data Select Party and Furthest Drive Home. Data Select Party were really good and I think I will have to buy their CD - I probably should have last night but I wasn't really thinking when we left the venue.

Data Select Party Warming up the crowd.

Anberlin did a storming set. I very much enjoyed myself. I've not been to gig in a while and it was really good to be at a gig with a good atmosphere and not too many people along. The Barfly is much smaller than the Birmingham Academy and so you get a more intimate feeling. Anberlin seemed quite overwhelmed by the response of the crowd - to the point that they did 2 encores! I'm not sure I've ever seen that before (I guess I may have at a big festival, but I can't pinpoint a moment). I was worried at the start of the gig, the typical american band not being able to voaclise well live was going through my head... but after a couple of songs he really got into it and the sound engineers obviously noticed it and sorted it... either that or I just stopped bouncing... probably a bit of both. It was a great gig - if they are coming to a venue near you - go see them. If they are not and you haven't heard them, go listen. I personally like quite a range of their music but I think that their second album "Never Take Friendship Personal " is their best. Here are a couple of shot of them during the gig...

We walked back past St. Martins and the Bullring to the bus stop and I took a couple of shots of the Christmas lights in Birmingham, I really like the blue and white.

Over the last 2 years I've been using Last.fm to record the music I listen to. I know this is all rather geeky but if you know me then you will know I am indeed a geek, shocking eh! Anyway, enough of the obvious (though the rest of this post is probably also fairly obvious if you ever looked at my Ipod). Over the last 2 years last.fm has been mostly recording what I listen to, though of course it doesn't have everything I've listened to (for example its only very recently that I've hooked up my ipod to it, so that probably means there are a fair few tracks missing) and that's some 14,000 songs (the reason that I thought I'd do this post in the first place). According to last.fm my favourite band is Linkin Park (which is probably true) and is being rapidly caught up by Anberlin, of course my musically taste changes quite rapidly and this is just a snapshot over the last 2 years - I'm pretty sure that bands like Maximo Park, the Foo Fighters, RHCP, Ash, Muse and Greenday would all feature higher if we looked over a larger time base (then again so would Effiel 65 - you probably remember "Blue (Da Ba Dee)"?). Anyway, here are my top 20 listened to artists...

Nothing particularly shocking about it in my opinion, maybe I would have expected Maximo Park (they are 28th) to feature. Senses Fail and Disco Ensemble really were the two bands I listened to heavily during my PhD work, though I've also listened to 30 seconds to Mars (34th) alot.. hmm. If we just looked over the last few months then its Rise Against, Linkin Park and Senses Fail - I think I've had a bit more angst in my life and Rise Against to provide a nice aggression release. Oh and my most listened to track is Linkin Park – What I've Done.

Last Saturday Calgary (well CTV) held a celebration for the start of the Olympic Games over in British Columbia. I have to say this is probably the coldest gig I've ever been to. It was fun though.. but still it was darn cold. Not sure if holding an outdoors gig in Calgary in the winter is ever a good idea... it was foogy too - such that you could just make the outline of the Calgary tower:

I got there in time to watch some local band called who played a solid set of music. Not sure if they are really my thing but they are defineely worth a look out. Probably the best local band I've seen so far. I've not seen many though.

Eventually, as it got darker, the Tower broke through the clouds and you could see the Olympic Flame burning brightly over Calgary...

The main attraction for me to go down to the event was to see the headline band, Simple Plan. They were definitely worth waiting around in the cold for (well it wasn't so cold after I had a hot chocolate and then jumped around a bit).

.. but by the end of this and when I got on the C-train to go home I couldn't feel my feet properly.. hmmm. Oh and here is a quick clip of the gig:

More photos from the gig can be found [on flickr].

I thought its been ages since I actually wrote about some music so here goes.

Story of the Year - The Constant

The album I'm currently spending alot of time listening to is [Story of the Year] - The Constant. Though I'm not sure any of the tracks live up to their debut single (of 7 years ago), "Until the Day I Die", its still quite nice. I feel that the music here shows a progression of age. There is definitely less screaming, that or maybe I just don't notice it anymore. I quite like "Holding on to you" - resonates well with me at the moment. I guess its a bit "pop-y" and not very pop-punk. That probably describes my tastes quite well at the moment. Though if you are about to forget what Story of the Year are about you are hit with a wake up call in their next track "Won Threw Ate". That really gets me going on the way to work. Overall I'm loving this album and was kinda-what I was expecting and I was pleased. Compared to some of the releases of other bands recently it was nice to have something that hit the nail on the head. "Eye for an Eye" nicely finishes off the album.. and normally by that point I'm ready to work.

Story of the Year - The Constant

Over the past couple of months I've spent quite a lot of time listening to the [Lostprophets'] latest offering - "The Betrayed". Now this is not the best offering from the Lostprophets ever I still quite enjoyed it. Its got their usual sound but I dunno, I just feel something is slightly missing. I think my favourite track on the album is "It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See It From Here" though you can really hear the Billy Talent coming through... then again I like that. So I'm not moaning. This is in contrast the to the more melodic "Where We Belong". Proper Lostprophets is found on "Next Stop Atro City" - you might even be able to hear the Pontypridd origins coming through (that's a Welsh accent in case you were wondering).

The album takes a bit of a turn then getting a bit more pop-punk, I think the best way to describe it is Fall-Out Boy like. After this you really start to hear the proper Lostprophets, the other tracks are worth listening to but if you want to remind yourself of the sound of the Lostprophets then you probably want to listen to the second half of the album. The album finishes really strong with the excellent "The Light That Burns Twice As Bright..."... the song is full of lovely texture and doesn't miss a nice heavy percussion section.

Overall I quite enjoyed this album.. offers a few different things but its not quite what I was expecting.

This year has been a bit different for music I've listened to less new bands than ever before. The highlight probably was either the [Lostprophets] or the [Story of the Year] album. I did however really enjoy the Anberlin album and the Linkin Park album (which I still am ambivalent about). No matter what [last.fm] does not lie in what I've been listening to (it keeps track of what I play at home, on my ipod and work... and even what I stream online - no escape!). I've actually been listening to an increasing amount of "trance" which I'm not sure is very representative here though (lots of individual artists):

At the end of each year, yes I know I'm a few days early but bah I have to move house at the start of the new year, I like to summarise the music I've been listening to. The last few years have been much easier as last.fm keeps hold of that info. I suspect that its missing about 20% of the music I listen to, which isn't scrobbled for one reason and another. It might be a little higher than that but I don't like to include the car journeys when we are using the CD player.

I was a little shocked to see the number 1 artist of the year, and indeed a few different names in the top 10. I'm putting this down to a Calgary scene influence... (number, artist, plays)

1 Daft Punk 1,163
2 Linkin Park 664
3 Avril Lavigne 552
4 My Chemical Romance 526
5 Tiësto 522
6 Rise Against 285
7 Angels & Airwaves 271
8 Dead by April 259
9 Lostprophets 239
10 Disturbed 238

I have to say I did love the Daft Punk Tron album so I'm guessing this is what dominates that. I also find Tiesto quite good for background music whilst I'm reading (in particular I really think Kaleidoscope fits in really well with the Garth Nix books I've been reading).

Not that much new for 2011 in this list though. Wonder if that will change in 2012.