In today’s Soundbites – our look back at the past week’s news, reviews, and tabloid gossip – BBC4 makes the license fee seem worthy, Justin Bieber shows himself to have plenty in common with birds, Bob Geldof dreams of being Paul Weller, the latest Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle track is reviewed and our pick of the week’s new videos is selected.
Without wanting to go too Daily Mail on you immediately, the BBC seems to be becoming increasingly adept at pissing its license fee money up the wall; the latest example being The Voice, in which him from The Script and famous-for-two-minutes Jessie J sit with their backs to a crowd of warbling wannabees – for the first few weeks anyway – all for the enjoyment of an ever decreasing television audience. BBC4, however, continues to be a blinking ray of light in the gloom, and this week excelled itself with two superb new documentaries. The first, Evidently…John Cooper Clarke, was a ridiculously entertaining hour’s look at the punk poet’s life, featuring engaging insights on the highs and lows of his career from the likes of Mark Radcliffe, Craig Charles, Mark Thomas and the man himself. Paul Morley was there too. And last night, the first of a new series, Punk Britannia, began, with the opening episode focusing on the early genesis of punk in the London pub rock scene of the early Seventies, spearheaded by pioneering bands such as Dr. Feelgood, and closing with the release of The Damned’s ‘New Rose’ and the Sex Pistols’ ‘Anarchy In The UK’ as punk was getting ready to explode in late 1976. The next episode – looking at the ‘year of punk’, 1977 – is on same time next week. Tune in; it’s actually worth it for once.
As the BBC focuses its attention on punk over the next few weeks, the surviving patrons seem to be still having run-ins with the establishment over three decades on. This week, the Last Jubilee festival, which was aiming to be ‘a celebration of the true spirit of 1977′, announced its cancellation due to ‘dark establishment figures;. Spooky. “Using spurious health & safety legislation and by delaying their decision until today (31-5-2012) has meant that their ridiculous claims and pathetic demands could not be countered in time for this event to go ahead,” the organisers said. Follow this link for the full statement.
The Hives released their new album ‘Lex Hives‘ this month. Frontman ‘Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist thinks current rock n roll is ‘pretty shit’. Anyone spot a connection? Anyway, Almqvist told The Guardian this week that: “There’s always good stuff if you scratch the surface. But if you look at the nominees for best rock Grammy, there hasn’t been a rock band there for 10 years. It’s all pop bands with distorted guitars.” Comments in full here.
After early record company struggles which delayed their excellent debut album ‘In Search Of Elusive Little Comets‘ for a considerable period, Little Comets appear to be intent on making up for lost time, and will follow up the winter EP ‘Worry‘ with new single ‘Jennifer‘ – out through Dirty Hit on June 11th. Visit our Videos section to sort through all of the week’s new and classic videos.
You know those pictures of bird in-prints that pop up in the news from time to time because the silly things don’t realise the difference between thin air and a window? Well, Justin Bieber has walked into a glass wall. “Thanks for the love,” he wrote on Twitter. “I’m fine. Just smacked my head and needed some water. All good. I’m Canadian. We are tough. It’s all good. Just gotta take it easy the rest of the night.” Reports of an official commendation for the wall remain unconfirmed.
Don’t you just hate those people who are good at everything? There was one in every class at school – captain of the football team, A grades in maths, already selling artwork in local galleries and so on. Kasabian‘s Serge Pizzorno is clearly one of them. Not content with blasting out lead guitar in stadiums and festivals up and down the land, he’s now gone and scored a belter at Old Trafford. Check out the video of his wonder strike here.
Bob Geldof‘s accolades for his charity efforts in Africa are numerous, but this week the former Boomtown Rat has bemoaned the effect his philanthropy has had on his music career since the Eighties. “It’s completely damaged my ability to do the thing I love,” he told the Evening Standard. “If it hadn’t happened I think I would have been able to make the transition from The Boomtown Rats to a solo thing more like Paul Weller or Sting.”
Obviously folk’s in vogue at the moment thanks to the success of the likes of Mumford & Sons and Noah & The Whale. But the deeper, underlying soul in ‘Another Night‘, the new single from Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle, already elevates them above those big selling counterparts. It helps they didn’t call themselves Mr. Maybe & The Myrtle Tyrtles as well. Are they destined for the top? Based on this single, there’s no Maybes about it. ‘Another Night’ is featured in today’s New Tunes Guide. Look, listen, discover.