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/just_1988/journal The Last.fm journal for just_1988. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/06/05/2rxjqk_heaton_park%2C_na-na-na%2C_heaton_park%2C_na-na-na%21 Fri, 5 Jun 2009 15:40:25 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/06/05/2rxjqk_heaton_park%2C_na-na-na%2C_heaton_park%2C_na-na-na%21 Thu 4 Jun – Oasis, Kasabian, The Enemy, Twisted Wheel

Growing up in Greater Manchester there is one band who everybody relates to, a band that at one point or another everybody who's passionate about music will go and see, the band of course is Oasis. Now over the years my brother, my friends, class mates, etc. have all gone to see Oasis and I had to admit I was rather envious, so when I found out Oasis were doing 3 gigs in Manchester's Heaton Park, I knew I had to go. Luckily i managed to get tickets for the first of the 3 dates, June 4th 2009, the start of what would be Oasis summer tour, I was set to rock and roll.

The gates opened at 2pm, with the first support act set to start at 4pm...or so I was told. I was running late getting to the gig and ended up only getting there abut 4, when I got into Heaton Park we could hear music being played so we hurriedly made our way towards the stage, where as we got closer we could see there was no band on stage, but just preliminary music being played out through the speakers. After about a 2+ hour wait, we finally got the first act of the day on, Twisted Wheel.

Twisted Wheel, or Wheel as the crowd affectionately chanted towards them in support where a band i hadn't heard before, so I was anxious to hear what they were like. Wheel, played through a selection of their songs, which were quite good, the crowd were getting in the mood and giving the show a bit of an atmosphere. The highlight of the set, was a the song You Stole The Sun which was a simple song that enabled the crowd to latch onto the chorus and sing-along. Wheel's latest single We Are Us was also played to a decent reception. All in all, Twisted Wheel gave a good performance which perhaps was only hindered by lack of crowd participation due to the band being largely unknown to the crowd. There was then about a 10minute break before The Enemy were set to come on stage, however they were apparently ill, so Reverend and The Makers took their place.

Reverend and the Makers took the stage with Jon McClure aka the Reverend taking the mic and saying "come on this is Oasis not Coldplay, let's fucking have it!". This being the second time in a month that I had seen the Jon McClure live took the edge of a bit as I was expecting the Enemy, but it didn't matter as R&TM played through their set-list that got a slightly better crowd reaction from the crowd, yet still didn't have it's full attention. R&TM played a set of songs mainly from their debut album The State Of Things,with the highlight of the set being the modern day love story, He Said He Loved Me which was carried by beautiful Laura Manuel, who was the only female to appear on stage all day which made her stand-out even more. R&TM also treated the crowd to 2 songs from their forthcoming album, which included political song There's No Soap In A Dirty War. This was a decent performance from Reverend and the Makers, but it was again lessened by the lack of participation from sections of the crowd.

Next up after a 30min break where Kasabian, this got the crowd, with large cheers for the band as they made their way onto the stage [at this point I'd like to give an honourable mention to Kasabian drummer Ash Hannis who played the some sort of injury making his way onto the stage via quite a slick walking cane]. As Kasabian started their set, it was easy to see that this was going to be hectic, with everybody jumping around to the music, which was harmless at first until people started pushing, knocking people down, scuffles broke out in the crowd but it was largely peaceful. Kasabian's set had the crowd in a fluster with numerous people feeling faint and being carried off to the first aid tent. Numerous highlights in this set, with too many to list, with a repetitious of hits like Kasabian it was easy to get the crowd 'up for it', a great set from the lads and they got a great ovation when they left the stage.

Then finally after about a 20minute wait, here comes the band that everyone had been waiting for, Oasis. They came out to rapturous applause with all 70,000 people eagerly anticipating these Manc lions. Oasis started the set with the classic Rock 'n' Roll Star, with the crowd in a frenzy jumping up and down to the beat, young children, grown adults all as one, when the music cut out and the Gallagher's storm off stage, the crowd starts to get riled, but knowing the Gallagher's reputation for having short-fuses, it was accepted as everybody expected them back on in due course. In the mean time the crowd began an ironic chant of "shall we sing a song for you?".

10 minutes go by and Oasis stroll back onto the stage and begin Lyla, when a minute into the song the sound cuts out again, with the Gallagher's storming off yet again. This led to about a hour an hour break with the fans deciding to entertain themselves with chants of
"Blur, Blur, Blur!"
"Are you Winehoue in disguise?" as in Amy Winehouse.
"Ian Brown, Ian Brown, Ian Brown"
"Refund!"
Unrest started to grow in the crowd, with the fans beginning to lose patience, cursing out the Gallaghers. In the interim boredom, fans were openly urinating in the crowd, doing drugs and having scuffles to appease their own boredom.

However Oasis finally returned to the stage, for the 3rd time and Liam took the mic and told the crowd "from now on, this is a free gig, you're all gunna get your money back!", much to the delight of the crowd, then Oasis got back into it with The Shock of the Lightning which got the crowd back up again, the good spirits continued throughout the set, with the lads powering through a 23 song set which ended on a cover of The Beatles song I Am the Walrus. A world class performance from the Oasis lads, showing that they do still have it and that they are indeed the biggest band in the world.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/05/21/2qoei3_best_live_acts Thu, 21 May 2009 17:02:54 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/05/21/2qoei3_best_live_acts In order of how good they were, a list of all the artists I've seen LIVE!

Oasis
Kasabian
Mongrel
Twisted Wheel
Noah and the Whale
Pink
The Zutons
Reverend and The Makers
Ezra Bang and The Hot Machine
Young Kof
Mudbone
Fionn Regan

don't get me wrong, this is a tiny list, but hopefully I'll be building on it in due course ;)

upcoming gigs....

Elbow
Howling Bells]]> http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/01/29/2fusfc_my_top_10_indie-rock_albums Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:35:13 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/01/29/2fusfc_my_top_10_indie-rock_albums When i was new to this site, I thought i'd start with something easy & quick!

So, here it is my (enthasis on the word my) top 10 indie albums.

10.Different Class by Pulp

As an album, i've not really listened to it, but there's some awesome tunes on the album, so i had to have it in my chart, at least in last position.

9.Screamadelica by Primal Scream

As much of a dance album as it is indie, but still had to be included in here, especially seing as i was running out of indie albums that i really liked.

8.Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

Coldplay hit the mark every time for me and this album is a perfect example of their qaulity.

7.Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys

The band of my generation and with a debut album like this you can see why.

6.Life by Inspiral Carpets

A band who not many people remember, but this album is top notch, Clint Boon's vocals are a personal favorite of mine.

5.Pills N Thrills And Bellyaches by Happy Mondays

The Mondays, if there's any band i can relate to, it's them, their crossover between guitar music and dance tunes was awesome.

4.The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths

An all-time classic album, once you look past the depressing tone of the music and accept the qaulity of the album, you're sure to love it.

3.Urban Hymns by The Verve

Come on, there's no need to even talk about this album, everybody knows the words to songs like Drugs Don't Work and Bittersweet Symphony. The more you resist them, the more infecious the songs become.

2.Definitely Maybe by Oasis

The band that has made Manchester forever cool, their debut album opened the eyes of a lot of people to different genre's of music and still does today.

1.Stone Roses by Stone Roses

Last, but no least, the BEST ALBUM EVER (in my totally un-bias opinion of course). Almost every track is worthy of 5 stars, with the exception of the anti-monarchy song elizabeth my dear, a must have album for indie record collectors.

p.s, i wrote this a year ago, you may notice this list differs to my altogether album rankings...oops!!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/01/23/2fbyk7_just_1988%27s_album_rankings Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:42:05 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2009/01/23/2fbyk7_just_1988%27s_album_rankings 1. Stone Roses - Stone Roses
2. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
3. Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory
4. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
5. Oasis - Definitely Maybe
6. The Last Shadow Puppets - Age of the Understatement
7. The Courteeners - St. Jude
8. Pulp - Different Class
9. The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
10. The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
11. The Smiths - The Smiths
12. Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All Of His Friends
13. ]Suede - Coming Up
14. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
15. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
16. Morrissey - You Are The Qaurry
17. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
18. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
19. Ian Brown - Solarized
20. Lily Allen - Alright, Still
21. The Beatles - Help
22. Morrissey - Years of Refusal
23. Plan B - Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
24. The Kooks - Inside In, Inside Out
25. The Streets - Original Pirate Material
26. Pigeon Detectives - Emergency
27. Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline
28. James - Gold Mother
29. The Enemy - We'll Live and Die in These Towns
30. Scouting for Girls - Scouting For Girls
31. Reverend & The Makers - The State Of Things
32. Milburn - These Are The Facts
33. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
34. Ian Brown - The World Is Yours
35. Lowkey - Dear Listener
36. Natty - Man Like I
37. The Verve - Urban Hymns
38. Stone Roses - Second Coming
39. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
40. Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare
41. Stereophonics - Performance and Cocktails
42. Cherry Ghost - Thirst for Romance
43. Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid
44. Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
45. The Libertines - The Libertines
46. Garbage - Garbage
47. The Charlatans - Up At The Lake
48. Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors
49. John Squire - Time Changes Everything
50. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation
51. Peter, Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
52. The Kooks - Konk
53. Pixies - Doolittle
54. Blur - The Great Escape
55. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
56. Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
57. The Zutons - You Can Do Anything
58.Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
59. Morrissey - Viva Hate
60. Coldplay - X & Y
61. Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
62. Morrissey - Your Arsenal
63. Oasis - Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants
64. Infadels - Universe in Reverse
65. Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
66. The Beatles - Beatles for Sale
67. Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge
68. The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
69. Oasis - Be Here Now
70. Ash - 1977
71. The Beatles - Revolver
72. Inspiral Carpets - Life
73. The Zutons - Who Killed the Zutons?
74. David Gray - White Ladder
75.Happy Mondays - Bummed
76. The Verve - Forth
77. Blur - Parklife
78. The Zutons - Tired of Hanging Around
79. The Killers - Sam's Town
80. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
81. The Wombats - A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation
82. Morrissey - Southpaw Grammar
83. The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed
84. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
85. Seahorses - Do It Yourself
86. New Order - Waiting for the Sirens Call
87. Blur - Blur
88. Example - What We Made
89. Sway - This Is My Demo
90. Coldplay - Parachutes
91. Ian Brown - Music of the Spheres
92. Happy Mondays - Uncle Dysfunktional
93. Radiohead - OK Computer
94. Ian Brown - Unfinished Monkey Business
95. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
96. The Twang - Love It When I Feel Like This
97. Ian Brown - Golden Greats
98. Richard Hawley - Richard Hawley
99. Prince - Planet Earth
100. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I]]> http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2008/09/13/25w530_just_a_quiz_on... Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:01:36 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2008/09/13/25w530_just_a_quiz_on... My current top 10 bands

1. The Courteeners
2. Reverend & The Makers
3. Last Shadow Puppets
4. Oasis
5. Glasvegas
6. Bloc Party
7. The Streets
8. Coldplay
9. MGMT
10. The Pigeon Detectives

1. How did you get into 9?
I heard one of their tracks on a tv advert

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 2?
Heavyweight Champion of the World

3. How many albums by 3 do you own?
1, the onlt one they have done, the brilliant Age of the Understatement

4. What is your favourite song by 7?
Prangin' Out

5. What is your favourite song by 5?
Geraldine

6. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
errr...not particulary

7. What is your favourite song by 10?
Everybody wants me

8. What is a good memory you have involving 10?
none spring to mind

9. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
Electric Feel

10. How many times have you seen 5 live?
never i tried getting tickets for a gig in 3 days, but it sold out =/

11. What is the first song you ever heard by 3?
age of the understatement

12. What is your favourite album by 1?
St. Jude

13. Who is a favourite member of 1?
tbh i can only name Liam Fray

14. Have you ever seen 4 live?
nope, again i tried getting tickets for a gig next month, but the sold out quite quickly, as i'm sure you can imagine

15. What is a good memory involving 7?
listening to A Grand Don't Come for Free in my first year of college, like all the time

16. What is your favourite song by 6?
Flux

17. What is your favourite album by 8?
Viva la Vida

18. What is your favourite song by 1?
Not Nineteen Forever

19. What is the first song you ever heard by 6?
Helicopter on one of the Fifa games

20. What is your favourite album by 2?
State Of Things

21. What is you favourite song by 3?
Standing Next To Me, it's even my text-tone

22. What is you favourite song by 8?
Viva la Vida

23. How many times have you seen 7 live?
none, i don't really get the urge to either

24. What is the worst song by 2?
hmm, not really sure, there's a few that annoy me on ocasion, but none stand out as bad

25. What was the first song you ever heard by 8?
Yellow

26. What is you favourite album by 7?
A Grand Don't Come For Free

27. What is your favourite song by 4?
hmmm tough one, Married With Children

28. Is there a song by 1 that makes you happy?
not that i can think of

29. What is your favourite album by 4?
(What's the Story?) Morning Glory

30. How many albums do you own by 10?
one, their debut]]> http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2008/09/01/2570jl_my_music%2C_sticking_a_microphone_in_the_ear_of%E2%80%A6me Mon, 1 Sep 2008 18:50:51 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/just_1988/journal/2008/09/01/2570jl_my_music%2C_sticking_a_microphone_in_the_ear_of%E2%80%A6me The LP that’s made the biggest impression…
It Takes A Nation of Millions To old Us Back – Public Enemy
I got this album when I was about 16 and listening to the relentless sirens on the album gives a real sense of panic in the music, which is further boosted by the hardcore hip-hop poetry, which is splurged out of the mouth of Chuck D. Once you add the eccentricity of Flavour Flav (who used to run around with a clock hanging from his necklace, bling bling, eh?), you have the perfect recipe for a fantastic rap cake.
Check out: Bring the Noise – Public Enemy

The song that makes me emotional…
Hurricane - Bob Dylan
Well, i wouldn't go as far as saying emotional, but this is a song based on a true story about an African-American boxer who gets convicted of a double-murder that he didn’t commit. Dylan really gets across the feeling of helplessness of this promising boxer who can’t do anything about the charge, which faces him. Dylan’s lyrical arrangement is fantastic, the way he slowly builds up the story of Ruben Carter over the 7+ minutes of the song.
Check out: Nashville Skyline – Bob Dylan

My guilty pleasure…
UB40
I don’t know what it is about them, but I can’t help but sing along to all of their singles, who would have thought a white reggae band from Birmingham would actually be that good?
Check out: Kingston Town – UB40

All new bands should hear…
Pills, Thrills N’ Bellyaches - Happy Mondays
An album that in it’s essence is a hippy album, that Happy Mondays really weren’t a great band, they didn’t even make great music, but they connected to a niche that was crying out to be reached-out to, dance music, but made in a sort of indie sort of way, full of acceptable bouncy tunes, it would give any new band an idea of how to make their music a bit more dance friendly.
Check out: Kinky Afro – Happy Mondays

Just before I die, I want to hear…
Halleljuah - Jeff Buckley
What a great song, full of emotion and always makes you think when you listen to it, plus after listening to this you’ll be ready to die anyway. Buckley’s harrowing lyrical delivery far exceeds the original Leonard Cohen version.
Check out: Jeff Buckley – Jeff Buckley

I’ve played to the death…
Stone Roses - Stone Roses
I got into this album when I was in college and it was immense! I’d play it over all the time, I’d say between 5-10 times a week. Every song on it makes an impact, whether it’s the anthems like She Bangs The Drums, I Wanna Be Adored and I Am The Resurrection. Or if it’s the anti-monarchy song elizabeth my dear, this was the soundtrack to my college years.
Check out: Waterfall – Stone Roses

A record by a hero is…
The World Is Yours - Ian Brown
How did a gob-shite from Manchester get a “Godlike Genius” award from the NME? Well simple, he gave up booze, took up smoking marijuana everyday and decided to become philosophical, in this album he does everything from complain about the war in Iraq to using a slogan from the movie ‘Scarface’ to express his desire to get his voice heard. An album that I came out the week that I started university, its no coincidence it became on of my favourite albums during my first year there.
Check out: Illegal Attacks – Ian Brown feat. sinead o' connor

Everyone should hear…
(What’s The Story?) Morning Glory - Oasis
An album, which nobody has a bad word to say about (well that’s not entirely true, people nit-pick for the sake of it). Every track is a classic, an album that catapulted Oasis to the fore-front of Brit-Pop. This album epitomises the phrase ‘lad band’, with Liam Gallagher’s brash vocal delivery and Noel Gallagher’s entrancing guitar rhythms it’s not hard to see why the album changed a generation.
Check out: Champagne Supernova – Oasis

“And I also Think You Should…”

Watch…
Ali
A great biopic film, it really celebrates the legend that is Muhammad Ali, there is a thin line between legend and myth, there is no doubt in my mind, Muhammad Ali’s actions where the stuff of legend and not myth.

Read…
A Bit of A Blur – Alex James
The biography of Blur’s bass player, Alex James. It’s a tail of rock & roll excess, bad hangovers, great parties and better groupies.

Buy…
An acoustic guitar
If you’re into music you’ve got to have your own acoustic guitar, even if you don’t use it that often, give it a go, it won’t be a waste of money.]]>