en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal The Last.fm journal for amodelofcontrol. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2012/01/24/5awbi0_tuesday_ten%3A_147%3A_long_songs Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:15:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2012/01/24/5awbi0_tuesday_ten%3A_147%3A_long_songs My girlfriend set me a challenge for two Tuesday Tens the other week, and it seemed like an interesting idea. Last week included the shortest Spotify Playlist I will ever post, and this week goes to the other extreme.

So this week is long songs – agreed to be more than ten minutes in duration, and also to be actual songs (as opposed to including secret tracks or silence). Which did, admittedly cut down my choice from the 447 tracks of 10:00 or more in duration by an a fair bit, and also reduced the number of genres involved. There were a few things I chose to ignore, too. Like the ridiculously over indulgent Mother by Goldie – all sixty minutes of that orchestral-drum’n'bass car crash – or the stupidly overlong Breaking Into Heaven by The Stone Roses, which would have been a great track if only they had reined it in a bit – then again, something that was said a lot about that album…

Even so, you’ll need a fair amount of spare time for this lot. Two hours and fifty-five minutes of spare time, in fact, for the Spotify version – the Youtube playlist is a sprightly two hours and nine minutes.

Playlists: Spotify | YouTube

Smashing Pumpkins
Starla (2011 Mix)
Gish (Deluxe Edition)
11:02
Billy Corgan seemed to have one truly epic song per album as he went along, but incredibly the best of all of his long songs was relegated to B-side status, and it is likely that until recently, you will have only heard this on the (actually very good) B- sides compilation Pisces Iscariot that is now somewhat long in the tooth. So all credit to Corgan for remastering the B-sides too for the deluxe reissues of Gish and Siamese Dream, and Starla has finally gained pride of place at the head of the queue. And so it should, too, being one of the best songs the band ever released, a wondrously epic, spaced-out rock anthem that is also surprisingly tender.

Tortoise
Djed
Millions Now Living Will Never Die
20:57
The track that most of all, from their breakthrough album, that really sign-posted that Tortoise were something special. And that something special was an amalgam of many parts, and on the US release (other regions had a few more tracks) took up nearly half the album! While nominally shoved into the box marked “post-rock”, it wasn’t really at all. There were elements of post-rock, yes, but also there were dub sections, jazzy motifs, and most of all, a big, big nod to their krautrock forebears. But for a song so long, it never gets dull, instead morphing into new movements and sounds as it goes along, sounding much sunnier in outlook than you might suspect for a song (and album) that has such a towering reputation.

The Beta Band
Monolith
The Three EPs
15:49
That The Beta Band never were properly appreciated for their “anything goes” approach in the late 90s is a sad indictment of the musical times. While Britpop was choking its last few breaths, finally descending into mediocrity and parody, The Beta Band threw in anything but the same old influences. Along the way they made a few utterly astonishing singles, more than a few amazing B-sides (of which this was one, happily all collected on the still perfect The Three EPs), and took the piss royally once their debut proper came out. But let us ignore for the moment the latter material, and go back to this. A riot of found sounds, blissed-out rock and lashings of electronica, The Beta Band never really trod this route again. Mores the pity.

Kraftwerk
Autobahn
Autobahn
22:47
Ignore the short, single version of this, and go for the epic album version – what was and is effectively year zero for electronic music. The ultimate paean to carefree travel, enjoying the scenery and (presumably) sunshine through the car window, and remarkably it never feels like a chore to listen to the whole thing. It is warm, bright and accessible – things that many seem to think Kraftwerk are not. This is why these guys were so damned good (and it still holds up now) – there is humanity and emotion in what should be cold, robotic music.

Mogwai
Like Herod
Young Team
11:40
Like a number of other bands in this weeks list, I was hardly short of options here. But really, it came down to this, or the snarling Christmas Steps (Mogwai Fear Satan has, of course been used before in this series). But seeing as this is one track that I still can’t quite pin down and know off by heart – like many others, it still surprises me when the riff jumps out of the speakers – and it does quiet LOUD like no other post-rock track, this won. And for the purposes of this list, it is actually quite short, too…

The Young Gods
Moon Revolutions
Only Heaven
16:34
Another band who seem to place at least one truly epic song on each of their albums, I think I actually prefer this to Summer Eyes, their longest song of all and one I’ve seen live. Sadly, although I know they’ve performed it (I have it on at least one live album), I’ve never been priviledged to see this one live. Why? Well, for the first five minutes it is the ‘Gods at their most epic rock-wise, complete with a guitar solo that should have been filmed being played at the top of a mountain, in front of a stormy sky. Then it vanishes into dark, moody, barely-there ambience before building into a tribal trance to close. In fact, through the three parts to this, it is a pretty good showing of all of the sides to The Young Gods, and why they continue to be so awesome.

My Dying Bride
The Barghest O’ Whitby
27:04
Such a monstrous epic that it actually needed its own trailer, this was, I guess, MDB finally taking their gothic doom as far as they could. And that was into a gothic legend, set to music, complete with stormy samples and deep, deep vocals (of course). That this doesn’t sound like a parody is testament to just how damned good at this doomy business MDB are.

Opeth
Deliverance
Deliverance
13:36
Continuing with more metal, it is now easy to forget that just a few years ago, Opeth weren’t nostalgic, classic-rock bores. Back over the first half of the last decade, they released album after album of thrilling, prog-influenced metal that pretty much perfectly balanced the more reflective side with some seriously heavy metal. And of all of their many ten-minute-plus songs, this one has the best of both worlds – that awesome, chugging opening that opens out into a tender verse…before an entire arsenal of riffage is unleashed again. And so it goes, until we come full circle and a stuttering, staggering riff brings it to a close.

The Orb
A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld (Live Mix Mk 10)
The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
18:49
The ambient house boom is now pretty much twenty years old. Or, as I like to think of it, distant history. That doesn’t make all of the material from that time crap or cheesy, though, particularly when you think of just what this influenced later. Or perhaps, actually, we can lay the blame for a lot of “coffee table music” since at the door of acts like The Orb. Or maybe the drugs were just better then. Even so, this takes in all kinds of field recordings, outer space, those really good drugs, and Minnie Ripperton. Ignore those that tell you this is a waste of time, and immerse yourself in it. Yeah, maaaan.

Spiritualized
Cop Shoot Cop
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
17:01
This track is actually about fifty seconds shorter than this, but a sign of the obsessive attention to detail Jason Pierce had with this album is reflected in the fact that the actual length is to ensure the album appears as exactly seventy minutes in length when the CD is inserted – as it said “1 tablet 70 min” on the cover. This is, of course, the blues/rock/freak out jam that closes Spiritualized’s greatest album, the sound of losing yourself in the chaos of life, love and loss for sixteen minutes and coming out the other side feeling strangely cleansed, fresh and reborn. A suitably epic way to close a playlist like this.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2012/01/24/5aw89m_tuesday_ten%3A_146%3A_short_songs Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:27:47 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2012/01/24/5aw89m_tuesday_ten%3A_146%3A_short_songs (Note: apologies for this being posted here a week later than it was posted on my blog. Life has got rather busy of late)

So, a return to my traditional Tuesday Tens after the end of year break for rounding up 2011. My girlfriend set me a challenge for two Tuesday Tens last week, and it seemed like an interesting idea. So here is the first part of it, and it will likely be the shortest Spotify Playlist I will ever post.

Oh yes. So this week is short songs – agreed to be less than one minute in duration, and also to be actual songs (as opposed to intro tracks or interludes). Which did, admittedly cut down my choice from the 783 tracks of 0:59 or less in duration by an awful lot, and also reduced the number of genres involved. And with one exception, these songs are also played rather fast. Well, you’ve got to cram as much as you can in, in such a short song, I guess…Next week, of course, we go to the other extreme.

Obviously, blink and you might miss this lot – on Spotify this lasts just 364 seconds, or six minutes and four seconds, if you will, for ten songs.

Playlists: Spotify | YouTube

dEUS
Shake Your Hip
Worse Case Scenario
0:41
So let us start with a song that even affords a fade in. And unlike most of the songs here, it is at a more sensible pace, and is a marvellous little (anthemic) groove that never really made sense in the musical surrounds of dEUS’s debut album, being rather brighter, and joyous than the darker and more reflective songs that sit before and after it. But that was always the joy of dEUS – confounding expectations, and many years later they continue to do so with every single album.

Black Flag
Spray Paint
Damaged
0:34
Let us head back, now, to the early eighties: to a time where punk had got through it’s initial phase, and bands had finally begun to seriously look at moving into new realms with this fast-paced, angry sound. And over in Los Angeles, one furious bunch of guys formed Black Flag, and once Henry Rollins joined, they became one of the earliest – and most iconic – bands to be associated with the term hardcore. And from their incendiary debut Damaged, the second track is this short blast of the apparent joy and defiance in being a graffiti artist.

Minor Threat
Straight Edge
0:47
One of a number of bands that made a virtue in brevity, it was almost as if their sheer rage set them off playing even faster than their peers. And oddly enough, there were more than a few choices for this list, but really, it had to be this. Quite possibly the shortest song to all-but kickstart a youth movement (OK, so it wasn’t the first song to note the Straight Edge ideal, either, but it was definitely the most prominent), this is a hairdryer blast of defiance – proudly proclaiming an aversion to “hang[ing] out with the living dead” and instead going for a life of no booze, no drugs and no casual sex. And no moshing, either, in Ian MacKaye’s later band Fugazi. Ok, so not a life for me, broadly, but the music was, and is, awesome.

Napalm Death
The Kill
Scum | 0:20
The shortest track proper I own is, of course, You Suffer. However I’ve already used that before, I seem to recall, so it didn’t count here. Instead, this does, though – a twenty second grindcore classic mocking those who believe in the afterlife. And remarkably manages to fit six lines of lyrics – including two choruses! – in it’s twenty seconds or so…

Pig Destroyer
Ghost of a Bullet
Prowler In the Yard
0:20
I can’t say I’ve ever actually had the time to sit down and analyse, or even read, many of Pig Destroyer’s lyrics. After all, like Napalm Death, they blitz through songs at quite unbelievable speed and in their earlier days, at least, it was something of a surprise if the bulk of the tracks on an album topped ninety seconds in length. One thing is for sure, though – there aren’t any politics, or comments on religion, here – there are darker, more malevolent themes at work here, if you listen for them through the blisteringly loud grindcore.

Nasum
Violation
Helvete
0:38
Yes, more grindcore – but what did you expect when I was looking for really short songs? The brutal, neck-snappingly fast mosh-down of an opener to my favourite of this band’s albums doesn’t hang about, and once again the lyrics frankly aren’t important. Nasum actually ceased to exist when Mieszko Talarczyk died in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, but rather unexpectedly they are reforming with a guest singer for a few shows in 2012, to commemorate what would have been the twentieth anniversary of the band this year.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Bullshit Gets Up and Walks Around
Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope
0:14
Probably the shortest song proper I have in my collection, aside from You Suffer, this is a full twelve seconds longer (so over six times the length!). Therefore it deserves its place here, and is also notable for that fantastic, chunky riff that dominates the track.

Gallows
True Colours
Death Is Birth
0:36
Moving away from grindcore back towards hardcore, this was the comeback track for Gallows last year after they announced the arrival of their new singer, ex-Alexisonfire member Wade Macneil. And what a comeback – a ripsnorting intro, a pulverising mid-section and chorus, followed by one of the best breakdowns to close out I’ve heard in years. Consider that difficult second album Grey Britain well and truly buried, eh?

Beastie Boys
Tough Guy
Ill Communication
0:58
By the time of this classic album, the Beasties had long since confirmed their ability to sound comfortable with both their rap and rock sides, but it was this album where they really introduced hardcore and punk into their sound, to pretty spectacular effect – especially as it didn’t feel out of place whatsoever. So this following the now classic, laid-back rap of opener Sure Shot was no great surprise at all. A vicious kick-down of a punk track, the Beasties detailing their beef with a basketball player who is throwing his weight around, and is seemingly heading for a fall…

Health
Courtship
HEALTH
0:56
Finally, something totally different. HEALTH were dubbed “noise” early on – which to me wasn’t really correct. The later term of “noise rock” probably was closer to the truth, HEALTH being a band that specialised in short, sharp bursts of rock with all kinds of odd effects sprayed over the basic rhythms, leading to a dense, and complex sound. In later releases, there has been rather more restraint, but here, there was nothing of the short. This is blasts of sound and rhythm, and vocals used as another instrument, and frankly not a lot else. But it is an intriguing listen, and one that still sounds like no other band.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/30/59mgar_2011_in_review_%285%29%3A_what_i_missed Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:45:03 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/30/59mgar_2011_in_review_%285%29%3A_what_i_missed For the first time, I'm not posting my end-of-year roundups in full here. Each artist (or album in this case) is tagged where possible, but the full writeup is on my website (linked).

Full writeup here: http://www.amodelofcontrol.com/reviews/?pg=2011missed

Every year - without fail - there are artists, albums, songs that I miss from my end-of-year lists for one reason or another. This year, the main reason some missed out was that there was so much music to consider. I bought loads, heard a bit more, and saw absolutely loads of gigs. And, so it turns out, I missed a few artists too, making some late discoveries. So this list is about those that I missed.

Featuring (in alphabetical order): 16Volt, Autodafeh, Death Grips, Factory Floor, Je$us Loves Amerika, The Pain Machinery, PJ Harvey, Rammstein, Waxaw, Wolves in the Throne Room]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/25/59d648_2011_in_review_%284%29%3A_gigs_of_the_year Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:23:01 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/25/59d648_2011_in_review_%284%29%3A_gigs_of_the_year For the first time, I'm not posting my end-of-year roundups in full here. Each artist (or album in this case) is tagged where possible, but the full writeup is on my website (linked).

Full writeup here: http://www.amodelofcontrol.com/reviews/?pg=2011gig

During 2011 I saw an awful lot of live sets. At a rough count, around about 125 (including supports and festivals) - and I saw a few bands more than once, in particular Front 242, who I saw four times in four different countries. Like the albums list, a few that might have made it in a normal year ended up being missed off this list. It was a good year for live gigs, and I only saw a few duds. So my quality filter is definitely improving...

Featuring (in alphabetical order): Absolute Body Control, And So I Watch You From Afar,Blindness, Clock DVA, dEUS, Front 242, The Hives, Killing Joke, Mind.In.A.Box, Modulate, Amanda Palmer, Pankow, Pop Will Eat Itself, Pulp, Senser, Terrorfakt, The Twilight Sad, W.A.S.T.E., Will Haven, Rob Zombie]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59bvqt_2011_in_review_%283%29%3A_albums_of_the_year Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:20:02 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59bvqt_2011_in_review_%283%29%3A_albums_of_the_year For the first time, I'm not posting my end-of-year roundups in full here. Each artist (or album in this case) is tagged where possible, but the full writeup is on my website (linked).

Full writeup here: http://www.amodelofcontrol.com/reviews/?pg=2011album

Playlists: Spotify | Youtube

During 2011 I bought an awful lot of albums. at least 75, in fact. And so many that some that might have made it in a normal year ended up being missed off this list. So there may well be a "what I overlooked" post at the end of the year, just to ensure that everything I wanted to mention at some point gets included somehow. Still, I'd rather have this problem than have too little to write about...

Featuring (in alphabetical order): Aesthetic Perfection, Alter Der Ruine, Amnistia, Tori Amos, Anna Calvi, CONCRETE LUNG, dEUS, Encephalon, Fractured, God Module, Haujobb, iVardensphere, Komor Kommando, Machine Head, Mastodon, Necro Facility, The Peoples Republic Of Europe, St. Vincent, The Soft Moon, Talanas, This Morn' Omina, Tom Waits, Frank Turner, Chelsea Wolfe, Zola Jesus]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59btpv_2011_in_review_%282%29%3A_tracks_of_the_year Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:37:40 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59btpv_2011_in_review_%282%29%3A_tracks_of_the_year For the first time, I'm not posting my end-of-year roundups in full here. Each artist (or album in this case) is tagged where possible, but the full writeup is on my website (linked).

Full writeup here: http://www.amodelofcontrol.com/reviews/?pg=2011track

Playlists: Spotify | Youtube

Featuring (in alphabetical order): ††† [Crosses], Alter Der Ruine, Tori Amos, And So I Watch You From Afar, Battles, Anna Calvi, Covenant, Dismantled, Gallows, Ghost & Writer, God Module, Haujobb, Hold Kiss Kill, Imperative Reaction, KMFDM, Necro Facility, OK Go, Primordial, Rabbit Junk, Sinsect, Skindred, This Morn' Omina, Frank Turner, TV on the Radio, Will Haven]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59bt0h_2011_in_review_%281%29%3A_industrial_compilation_roundup Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:23:44 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59bt0h_2011_in_review_%281%29%3A_industrial_compilation_roundup For the first time, I'm not posting my end-of-year roundups in full here. Each artist (or album in this case) is tagged where possible, but the full writeup is on my website (linked).

I'm starting this year's musical roundup a little differently to normal. During 2011, there has been a glut of compilations in the "Industrial" sphere. Some of them have been great, some of them...haven't. So let's have a brief look at each of them, and it might give a few pointers to where trends were heading in "teh sc33n" in 2011...

Full writeup here: http://www.amodelofcontrol.com/reviews/?pg=2011comp

Featuring Awake the Machines, Volume 7, Electronic Body Matrix, Vol. 1 - The Alfa Matrix Selection, Dependent Club Anthems, Dependence 2011, VampireFreaks Presents Cry For Death Volume One: Industrial / Electro Edition, Face the Beat Vol. 1, Sounds from the Matrix - 011, Pale Blue Dot, Kinetik Festival 4.0, These Sounds Will Have to Meet Somewhere in Between Volume 1]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59ar95_review%3A_bimfest%2C_antwerp%2C_1617-december_2011 Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:31:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/24/59ar95_review%3A_bimfest%2C_antwerp%2C_1617-december_2011 My take on last weekend's BIMFest can be found below. Featuring reviews of all bands (Friday: Front 242, Severed Heads, The Anti Group, Pankow, aaak, Container 90 - Saturday: Clock DVA, Suicide Commando, Severed Heads, Pouppée Fabrikk, Section 25, Flesh & Fell, Turnbull A.C's, Portrait Bizarre, Definitivos)

Review
Photos]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/16/58w8i2_review%3A_front_242_%40_classic_grand%2C_glasgow_10-dec_2011 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:10:41 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/12/16/58w8i2_review%3A_front_242_%40_classic_grand%2C_glasgow_10-dec_2011 My take on last Saturdays show featuring Front 242 and Je$us Loves Amerika can be found here. Photos are here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/11/27/57vzb9_review%3A_aesthetic_perfection_%40_electrowerkz%2C_26-nov_2011 Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:24:27 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/amodelofcontrol/journal/2011/11/27/57vzb9_review%3A_aesthetic_perfection_%40_electrowerkz%2C_26-nov_2011 My take on last night's show featuring Aesthetic Perfection, Uberbyte, Kommand + Kontrol, and Die Kur, can be found here.]]>