the end is nigh...

Not posted in an absolute age, so I thought it was about time to. usually i have a very well thought-out and written piece to post (i'm pretty pedantic at times..) but this time i thought i wing-it so i apologise in advance if this is a bit ramble-y and will probably contain like 100 typos...

anyway i was struck the weekend past by how much the Christmas no#1 still motivated the British people's imaginations (and their vitriol) what with the Joe McElderry vs. Rage Against the Machine chart battle. Though overcome myself, as many of my friends were, by a sense of apathy over the fight and result I thought it a little bizarre how much people both wnated to show their rejection of the domination of reality TV, and Simon Cowell over their musical culture. Perosnally I wanted Joe to be number 1 both becuase i'd watched x-factor and thought he was adorable and because new music, however weak and soppy (though I have shamefully identified with the lyrics of 'The Climb' in times past...)should surely be given a chance, no-matter how strong a musical hertiage we have. In the end, however, I didn't really care as I never actually listen to the chart during the rest of the year. As such I found it weird how much attention it got. Aren't we living in an essentially post-genre, post-chart musical culture that makes the official chart more or less redundant as an indicator of what the most popular contemporary music is? People, including members of Rage, claimed that they were sick of being spoon-fed ballads at the hands of Simon Cowell and his ilk. This to me seems a bizzare argument to make, no one was foricng anyone to watch the x-factor, listen to Joe McElderry or buy the single and I have never exactly found it an onerous task to find out music that speaks to me. Thus opposing Joe McElderry on an anti-corporate front doesn't seem to make much sense to me. If anything myspace, facebook, online downloads have torn down the monolithic power of the singles chart (and the big companies) and has made the music industry more accessible. If anything a meritocracy has been formed through these new methods of breaking into the industry so why the hubbub over the domination of the 'manufactured' over the Christmas singles chart? If artists can now make a living through making 'real' music surely it doesn't matter that pre-packaged pop still rides strong at Christmas?

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It's New Year's soon which I always find one of the most anti-climactic holidays, so in an attempt to curb this i'm having a house-party at my student residence and me and my mates are inviiting some of our home friends up which should be fun.

More importantly i'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring, totally does not feel 10 years since the turn of the millenium. I remember 'celebrating' it at one of the most dull-dinner parties I have ever been to (ok i was 11 and at my mum's friend's house and i've not been to all that many dinner parties but...) the end of the night could not coem quick enough and frankly all the millenium-bug hysteria had come to a big-fat and rather unexciting nothing. the potential apocalysm of the moment was not lost on me and a morbid part of me would quite liked to have been at the edn of time...

anyway it's not really new year, as i will be continuing on my third-year of my degree after it, which hardly feels like a departure at all, not least as the season shall be spent (or should anyway) going over notes for my 'special' (history dept. words not mine) subject and my dissertaion both of which carry into the next semester, a semester that my house-mate happily worked out for me would see me tested on 100 credits (i take 120 over the year) of this year... joy

BUT 2010 does hopefully signal some interesting times, Lady GaGa pretty much has 2009 sewn up will she last? (I hope so i've got tickets for March) I wonder who'll dominate the scene? The next UK General Election is due which will lead to all sorts of excitement. I'm largely a Labour supporter and no critic of Brown's - he's had to make some tough choices and some he's got some right and some wrong - he was probably the best man for the job. Personally I think Labour would do well to get David Milliband to lead the party, they might secure mroe than a hung Parliament that way and save us from Cameron's lack of direction. However, he might be reluctant, a failure in his first run could signal the end to his hopes of ever becoming PM, or so it seems to go these days...

a few thoughts...

I absolutely love this song at the moment and am listening to it non-stop:



It's the catchiest tune I’ve heard for a while and an phenomenal sample of Echo Beach

I also adore the new album from the Gossip, Music for Men. Beth Ditto once again fuses dancefloor pop-punk with a political message without coming over at all heavy-handed or preachy - a talent that no doubt made Standing In The Way of Control a favourite of the otherwise largely politically apathetic 'Skins generation'. The album's larger objective is to expose the privileged position that white, middle-class, straight men enjoy in our society (it goes deep kids, fight the power), but it is in the second single Love Long Distance and the phenomenal Vertical Rhythm that the Gossip's talents are best demonstrated. I always felt that Ditto's voice was the most distinctive of my generation and her soulful, strong-yet-world-weary vocals on both tracks allow the listener a level of empathy that is reminiscent of Dark Lines on the Standing in the Way of Control LP and as ever accompany the thumping beat perfectly to make it a thoroughly danceable tune if nothing else! Some have seen the Gossip as merely 'one-hit-wonder' but this follow up to their 2007 release (which is one of my favourite albums) surely discredits any such notion.

Along with Ditto, Lily Allen is holding the flag for the sisterhood with her latest single 22 and somewhat predictably I am rather taken by this little number too. Her vocals well reflect the sense of despair and injustice with which women yet to have bagged themselves a husband/long-term partner face when approaching 30; no longer considered prime-stock for the marriage market but also supposed to uphold a facade of strength in a society which with tells them they are to be iron-women of industry and independence whilst it worships still at the altar of the cult of motherhood and female domesticity. The lyrics are witty and well chosen, amongst a follow up album which hasn't as of yet grabbed me to the extent that Alright Still did.

Singles in my line of fire at the moment are Battlefield by Jordin Sparks and Soulja Boi’s Kiss me Thru the Phone. Sparks' comparison of love with war has to be the most contrived pop-music simile to date and frankly a little part of me dies when she suggests her boyfriend-come-nemesis should ‘go and get your armour’. What does that even mean? There’s more depth to your standard under 5s paddling pool than to this song, so I was very surprised to find it among this month’s Attitude magazine’s ‘Turn-Ons’, surely even the most stereotypically shallow of my brethren couldn’t actually enjoy this song, even on a level one might enjoy Britney etc. As for Soulja Boi’s Kiss me Thru the Phone here is a song that sounds like it was merely written so it could sell its own ringtone. I haven’t got anything against personalised ringtones, I don’t have one myself because I’m a bit of a miser, but at the risk of sounding middle-aged this merely appears to be a rather cynical commercial exercise, but then maybe it's a reflection of the extensive use of communication technology in our culture... no I’m not convinced either. I also take issue with the line ‘Baby I know that you like me, you my future wifey’. I sincerely hope that 'wifey' was only employed for reasons of poetic convenience; otherwise it is almost too offensive to countenance.

Something about being back at home politicises me, maybe it's the Daily Mail culture in my home time or maybe i have too much time on my hands left to thinking which turns me into a PC bore...


anyway kids that's all for now =)

Agnes Release Me

Absolutely LOVING this song at the moment, it was released last November apparently but I only recently heard it featured, as it was on a dance compilation, that I don't necessarily recommend. However this little gem is a ball of eurodance loveliness and has a bit of a 'Cher' feel to it (something I mean as a good thing - honest). It's set to become a dance classic I’m sure and would make an excellent summer #sigh# anthem (the term ‘anthem’ is SO overused I know). Anyway I recommend you take a listen as I can't get it out of my head!

Two La Roux posts in quick succession I know, but every time I listen to 'Quicksand', I keep hearing the lyircs to Prince's 'When Doves Cry' in my head alongside it, and just wondered if I was alone...?...

In anticipation of any potential 'La Roux vs Prince' remixes to emerge I of course reserve the rights to the creation of the idea... ;)

where the depth of your ignorance leaves you ashamed

Charlie Brooker's latest television offering comes in the form of the genius that is Newswipe. Exposing how ridiculous the news has become in his usual sarcastic manner the best bits of the first episode are when he demonstrates how we are shamed into keeping up with current events and how every insignificant event is now tied to the ‘credit crunch’. Here’s a taster but I fully recommend you download it on i-Player.

funny blog

she's mental

I kinda love her... ;)

http://french-graffiti.blogspot.com/

two hearts with accurate devotions

I saw La Roux a couple of weeks ago at our union’s indie night. They were one of the very few decent bands to play there (not many bands are prepared to play an event which costs £4 a ticket) and I thought they were absolutely amazing. I love Elly Jackson’s look, it’s quite androgynous and very reminiscent of Annie Lennox in her Eurhythmics days (before she took the weight of the world’s problems upon her own shoulders and became the female version of Bono). Recently I’ve become obsessed with ‘In for the Kill’ and particularly Annie Mac’s ‘mash-up edit -- as it’s called on YouTube. It’s essentially just a sped up version of the remix by Skream but I think its faster tempo helps to encapsulate the sense of urgency in the song. However, it’s definitely Jackson’s haunting voice that makes the song. It almost sounds like she sang it in a vacuum, physical impossibilities aside.

I have found watching Channel 4’s latest documentary series ‘Christianity: A History’ to be particularly interesting and thoughtful, presenting (although a rather simplistic) history of the impact of the rise and spread of Christianity throughout the world. However, I found the first episode at best faintly ridiculous and at worst somewhat insulting. Howard Jacobson’s premise seemed to be that Christianity was ashamed of its Jewish roots and had sewn anti-Semitism into its core beliefs and practices so as to shake off this connection. It essentially held the spread of Christianity responsible for the atrocities committed against Jewish people throughout history. Whilst everyone must acknowledge that much evil has been perpetrated against Jewish people in the name of Christ this is very different from holding the religion itself responsible for the murder of Jews over the centuries. He rightly noted that the development of the idea of the ‘blood libel’ was a despicable development of the Middle-Ages that created a doctrine which justified persecution, but essentially misunderstood why it emerged. Medieval anti-Semitism wasn’t about Jewishness or Judaism but about difference and all people who were marked out from society in one form or another (from heretics to lepers) became the victims of a society that struggled to create uniformity and that eliminate threats to this ideal. This is not to excuse attacks and pogroms against Jews, but to highlight that it was their difference rather than the specificity of their religion that made them a target. Jacobson throughout the program also seemed to suggest that Christians should continually refer to their religion through a Jewish paradigm, forgetting that whilst in many ways Jesus did not intend to create a new religion, His reforms were perhaps too extensive for those who believed in Him and His teachings to remain inside mainstream Judaism and that a new religion was indeed formed, with its own beliefs, practices and objectives. The idea that Christians should persistently refer back to Judaism in the practice of their own religion seems absurd to me, not least as it does not hold the same things to be important. Christianity is its own religion and differs radically from Judaism in many respects and so cannot refer to Judaism at every point. The fact that Jesus was Jewish and indeed that Christianity is in some measure a reformed Judaism is important and central to the religion as I understand it but doesn’t mean Christians must take heed of Judaism at every turn because it has developed its own priorities and its own faith. This does not mean that Christianity and Christians are ashamed of their Jewish roots, nor does it mean that the religion itself has adopted anti-Semitism so as to define itself. In that Christian education I did receive in a household of atheists with Presbyterian roots, I would argue that in many ways I was influenced much more by anti-Catholic ideas than anti-Jewish ones. Jesus’ own Judaism was important as were tenants and teachings such as the Ten Commandments and I was made aware of the Jewish legacy in Christianity, a legacy that was neither something of shame nor something that was hidden or underplayed. However, it remained a fact that it was where Jesus’ teachings departed from Judaism which marked one out as a Christian and defined the religion. I, and I doubt many Christians are or were, wasn’t brought up to understand my own religion as defined through hatred of Jews or Judaism. Thus to some extent Jacobson’s ideas were offensive to Christians, reducing their religion to mere Jew-hating. Its tone was also rather patronising towards Christianity making it appear as merely a flippant offshoot of Judaism that does not properly adhere to its tenants, rather than a complex and developed faith in its own right.

Kidda - Under the Sun

Having finally worked out what that song from the bacardi advert was, i thought i'd share it with you. Kidda's Under the Sun is everything good about dance music. Fantastically up-tempo and upliftingly joyous:

Duffy - Rain on Your Parade

I’ve got to start this blog with the mandatory face-saving statement, declaring that ‘I’m not really into her other stuff but…’ so that you might take me seriously (and hopefully not judge me too harshly) but I really like Duffy’s latest single ‘Rain on Your Parade.’ As coffee-table and ‘Winehouse photocopy’ as she might be, the girl-from-the-Valley’s current offering has me hooked. The lyrics are not exactly dextrous and it certainly doesn’t mark much of a divergence for Duffy, it is essentially another song about heartbreak, although this time girl bites back! (That was said in jest… obviously…) What is perhaps sounding like a potentially rather wet answer to the ‘jilted in love but coming out fighting’ genre of Destiny Child’s back catalogue actually has a vengeful, malevolent tone which is captivating. I have always had a penchant for the theatrical, something that undoubtedly bodes well for ‘Rain on Your Parade’ as it wouldn’t be out of place sung by a musical villain plotting retribution, and to this extent Duffy fully delivers with this catchy release.

So yeah I like it.

Shut up.

vicious circle

No one expects Israel to stand by and do nothing whilst its people are attacked, and indeed the missiles launched at Israel by Hamas for the past 6 months are wholly reprehensible but then so to is Israel’s reaction, which will once again only escalate violence in the region. Too often those of us who question Israel’s actions are charged with either anti-Semitism or naivety as to the character and aims of political and military Palestinian groups such as Hamas. I certainly do not question the right of Israel to exist and am under no illusions about the potentially oppressive nature of the Hamas regime, but this does not excuse Israel’s actions over the last week. I, like many others, welcomed Barak Obama’s condemnation of the Hamas sponsored attacks upon Sderot recently, however, Israel’s reaction as it always is, was to create a humanitarian disaster. The Israeli military has seemingly made little attempt to target Hamas military bases and indeed the strikes at 11.30am on Saturday 27th December 2008 were implemented, as far as I can see, only to spread fear. The killing of 290 by Monday 29th and wounding of 700 appears to be a rather heavy-handed response to hundreds of rockets sent into Israel from Hamas militants which killed one Israeli in six months. The presumption that all Palestinians are naturally Hamas loving terrorists is of course a ridiculous notion, and yet it is consistently one, which the Israeli government follows to justify the killing of innocent civilians, adults and children. The Palestinians do of course have those reactionary militants who wholly oppose the state of Israel but so too are there reactionary Israelis who oppose a Palestinian one. The Two-State Solution is the internationally accepted answer to the Israel/Palestine problem and yet the Israeli government only ever half-heartedly endorses it. From the building of a wall that does not follow the internationally agreed upon boarder between the two states in the West Bank (an area they have been occupying illegally for 41 years) to the blockades, and trade embargos on Gaza and the targeting of those buildings which would have made the Palestinians there ready for state-hood over the last 6 days, Israel has hardly demonstrated itself to be a cooperative and compromising force. By attacking Gaza in this way they are not eliminating support for Hamas. Indeed they run the risk of heightening it (most Palestinians in the Gaza strip are not affiliated to any Palestinian political group). Hamas will appear to offer the Palestinians a strong front to Israel, which now appears to be entirely hostile to the Palestinian cause. A front that will seem hard to ignore given the often corrupt and incompetent alternative in Fatah that many see now as submitting to Israel at every opportunity. Thus the Israeli air-strikes on Gaza will only result in vengeful terrorist attacks upon innocent Israeli citizens, adults and children. Israel will conveniently forget, however, how it slaughtered hundreds of innocents in Gaza and refuse to work with the Palestinians, particularly Hamas. What Israel forgets is that whether or not one likes the powers-that-be with whom one is attempting to reach a peace, one has no choice but to work with them particularly if they have been elected. Only by showing full support for the two-state solution will Israel achieve the peace it has been looking for. This is not demonstrated through iron-fist policies, which alienate the people of Palestine and only continue the vicious circle in which the Middle-East crisis has been embroiled for 40 years.