Blogs
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No Doubt This Is The Worst Cover Of The Year Stefani and co have destroyed an Ant's classic...
By Daniel Melia on 8 April 2009
We've heard some bad cover versions in our time here at Gigwise, we've laughed at all those terrible high school bands destroying classics on Youtube but today (Aprilo 8) we heard a real doozy from a band who we actually like, and were looking forward to their comeback this year. Step forward No Doubt.
Gone are the tribal beats, replaced by the drumming skills of a Disney Channel jingle while Stefani shrieks the chorus - completely misinterpreting the overplayed charm of the original. This really is the perfect example of how to get a cover version wrong, jesus they should put it in a textbook in the 'how not to do it' section.
CLICK HERE to see the 13 worst cover songs of all time....
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'2009 Belongs To Eminem' Celebrity culture watch out, he's back with a killer new single...
By Jason Gregory on 7 April 2009
“Guess who? Did you miss me?”
Those are the words Eminem has chosen to introduce his new single ‘We Made You’ – and in answer to his question: “YES.”
It’s been five years since the rapper’s last studio album ‘Encore’, so when ‘We Made You’ dropped into my inbox this morning I practically fell off of my seat. Then I pressed play - and I actually did.
This is the Eminem we’ve been waiting for; the Eminem hip-hop has felt naked without.
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Why Are Festival Line-Ups So Dull This Year? Reed and Destroy - a new column hitting out at the arse cracks of the music world...
By Paul Reed on 6 April 2009
As Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders once sang: “Don’t get me wrong”. I LOVE festivals, they are lots of wildly unpredictable, life enriching and bizarre fun.
So- what is going on with the line-ups, in particular the headliners this year?
This is bad for my health- it actually induces a narcoleptic sleep attack every time the Killer Kings Of Oasis are confirmed to headline. When did festivals become an inseparable generic mess?
Come on- Your Grandma could have won a bet on who would be headlining Glastonbury about six months before it was announced. Actually, many of the bands playing there might be more to her taste than yours - I guess Eavis really wasn’t messing when he said that he was reverting back to ‘traditional’ headliners after the so called Jay Z controversy, a genuinely thrilling moment that won’t be happening anywhere this year.
The only explosive thing about Leeds / Reading will be when those fuckwits inevitably blow up the portaloos again; a sad ritual that now echoes the desperate state of the line-up.
Bloc Party are playing again in EXACTLY the same slot as last year, always the penultimate bridesmaids. There are two problems with this:
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New Music Monday - April 6, 2009 With The XX, Kasms, Kill It Kid and Everything Everything...
By David Renshaw on 4 April 2009
Welcome to Gigwise's weekly round up of all things new and shiny in music. Let us introduce you to two great new bands, recommend the five biggest tracks to hear, the weeks essential debut album releases and where you can see new music in your home town.
The XX
KASMS
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The Horrors' Primary Colours - Track by Track Guide Allow Gigwise to guide you through the eye-opening 45 minutes of 'Primary Colours
By David Renshaw on 2 April 2009
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The buzz surrounding the return of The Horrors must surely be audible from outer space such is the the ubiquity of it. Already hailed by those who've heard it as an early contender for album of the year, the Southend come Shoreditch five piece have indeed crafted a special and surprisingly brilliant album. Allow Gigwise to guide you through the eye-opening 45 minutes of 'Primary Colours'.
1. Mirror's Image
Perhaps the most 'Strange House' The Horrors get is on this second track. There are still great swathes of distortion and psychadelia but wild vocals set atop a disco beat make this an accessible album entry point.
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Liverpool Soundcity: 'We're No Poor SXSW Imitation' Head man Dave Pichilingi on Texas and more...
By Dave Pichilingi on 30 March 2009
Safe and sound - the SoundCity team are back home from our soiree in New York and SxSW. The Courteeners absolutely smashed it at the Mercury Lounge. We were so happy to be part of their first ever US show and a sold out one at that! Even NBC TV came along to celebrate and those of you who are veteran Googlers should be able to find the exclusive footage on the net. Feeling very chuffed with ourselves we set off to SxSW..... swopping wooly jumpers for dodgy shorts we set about looking for some hot new bands to bring to Liverpool SoundCity in May.
There was no shortage on offer. Our faves of the week included the amazing We Have Band (reminded us of early Cab Voltaire with mashed up electro and the added sex appeal of the femme fatale), Local Natives (amazing harmonies layered into beautiful tunes- from Clearwater LA, with haircuts that bizarre they were never gonna be from Liverpool or Manchester) and Black Lips (already confirmed for SoundCity and they are gonna rock your socks to the core)......
Of course our very own SoundCity party was as I predicted in this column, absolutely rammed. The sweat ran from the ceiling from 10 minutes of doors opening, the air conditioning packed in and the beer ran very quickly. No-one dared leave for fear of never being allowed to return. The guest list was fought over as though it held the last two places on the Ark. In the end we flung all the windows open so those locked on the outside could at least get a feel for the joy that was being consumed on the inside. Big thanks to The Lost Brothers, Hot Melts, Wave Machines and The Whip who worked everyone in the venue to a slobbering frenzy......we came, we saw, we eat fish and chips.
Tired but ready for the next chapter we returned to Liverpool to get ready for SoundCity 2009. Already we have over 200 bands booked and by the time the dust settles we shall have at least 200 more. We will bring to Liverpool the newest and finest new acts. We believe no other UK festival will come anywhere near our line up of bands, artists and speakers from over 20 different countries. You know seeing SxSW was and is amazing but SoundCity is no poor imitation- anything the yanks can do we can do better!
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New Music Monday - March 30, 2009 With Hot Knives, Telekinesis, Passion Pit, Suckers and more...
By David Renshaw on 27 March 2009
As another week begins all us to introduce you to another steaming hot batch of fresh talent snapping at the heel of well worn cliches.
Hot Knives.
Too soon? Possibly but it's been a long while since Gigwise heard a band as promising as this Manchester four-piece so the fact they have only been together a month (?!) seems somewhat irrelevant. Rarely do new acts sound as confident, ready and primed for bigger things than Hot Knives. The idea that songs like 'Cold Morning' will initially find their home in toilet venues seems absurd when they should by rights be soundtracking apocolyptic wars amidst body strewn fields. With just a handful of demos the band have already secured some big name support slots including a date tonight (March 30th) with Edinburgh bombasts Broken Records at Manchester's Ruby Lounge. Think Hope Of The States, think Sonic Youth, think big because Hot Knives are a band for whom broken ceilings were invented for. You can download the Hot Knives track 'Out Of Touch Now' by following the link below.
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Post War Years Rap About SXSW Drummer Fred gives us the lowdown on Austin...
By Post War Years on 27 March 2009
Hello. I have been handed the task of breaking SXSW down for you in a rap. Here it is in three succinct stanzas:
Tuesday: Arrived, dropped off bags and headed in to town. The festival doesn’t start until tomorrow but it’s already pretty hectic as there is another festival running which we are playing the closing party of tonight. Our heads are broken from sleep deprivation and general confusion, as mine still is now, all this adds to the energy of our show as well as the quality of my writing I’m sure.
Wednesday: We arise and head out - today we are playing the Levi’s Fader Fort and our showcase atthe Chess Club party. First we get free jeans (always nice) and then head to the stage where we bump in to Esser, who is playing before us. The sound on stage is terrible but the sun is shining and after the set we enjoy a beer with Micachu before moving on and chilling out. At Chess Club we enjoy Wave Machines who borrow much of our equipment, do our piece and then enjoy a bev whilst watching Mumford and Sons, albeit without Ben on keys. It’s weird, we want to stay out drinking but everywhere shuts down pretty early by our standards, so we retire for the night with a final beer back at the flat.
Thursday: Day off today so we get out and enjoy some other bands. First on a tipoff we check out Love Like Fire who are awesome, then a little mission out of town to see Local Natives, who do a Talking Heads cover and didn’t disappoint, top quality. Next off to see Bang Bang Eche, all the way from New Zealand, an energetic bunch of youngsters who have got a good buzz around them at the moment. Nice. After this the day gets a little hazy, I think more from sunstroke than beer consumption, I remember Gomez at Stubbs (who were pretty weak), some beer, chatting to the young guy from Third Rock From The Sun (nice chap) and Peter, Bjorn and John (alright, really just wanted to hear the whistle tune). Finally, bed.
Friday: Today we play West Rocks at Beauty bar, after breakfast tacos in the sun we watch a few bands before setting up, the highlight of these being Chief. After we play I drink quite a lot and then, unable to get a taxi, the kindly Dollyrots give us a lift with our gear – thanks a lot guys! We duly promise to come to their show and then don’t, check out White Lies even though we’ve seen them a million times (they don’t disappoint!), get bought a beer by Steve and then watch Maps and Atlases, who were absolutely the best band of the festival for all of us. They totally blew my mind and I still cry sometimes.
Saturday: Early start as we head to a studio to do a live session for WOXY radio. They have the nicest studio I’ve ever been in and are pretty good guys to boot. This was fun and I think can still be found at woxy.com… This is it, game over and time to get on it, we seek free drinks in as many establishments as possible, completely fail to take in any music, I stumble around like a British tourist and contemplate a tattoo (which I thankfully can’t afford) and then get refused entry to the Vice party despite my protestations (“but I RPSV’d!”). Good work.
Sunday: Most people head home today but we’re staying a day longer to chill out, we spend the day sat by the lake and then spend the evening shooting pool with a load of friends. A relaxing day to be followed by 24 hours of travel fun, but you don’t need to hear about that…
See you next year!
Fred
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Slow Club: SXSW Photoblog Charles and Beccy present a guide to their first Texan adventure...
By Slow Club on 26 March 2009
Our favourite Sheffield duo Slow Club ventured out to South by Southwest for the very first time last week to bring their eagerly-anticipated debut album - released early this summer through Moshi Moshi - to the masses.
Charles and Beccy kindly took a camera with them to document their Texan adventure exclusively for Gigwise. Check out the photos from sunny Austin below:
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Get Your Donk On!!! Turn your favourite toons into hardcore anthems...
By Jason Gregory on 25 March 2009
Since Twitter went nuclear at the end of last year, we've discovered some pretty cool things using the micro-blogging website. But while pictures of a plane in the Hudson river and the sight of Demi Moore's backside opened a few eyes, nothing has yet to match what happened when Donk DJ started following us yesterday.
Yes, OK, he may sound like an 80s porn star, but I can assure you, he's much more hardcore than that.
Donk DJ takes any song and, in the time it takes to upload an MP3, turns it into a bona fide Donk anthem that makes the Blackout Crew sound like a collective of soppy grandmas.
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