Still not a music blog

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

A sort of follow up to that other blog post I did a while back regarding the music that has shaped the person I am today, but focusing on what music I’ve been listening to of late. Garbage continue to be at the forefront of my thoughts of course, they’re my favourite band and continue to announce new things, touring and most recently an autobiography. However Tuesday marked the release of their latest music video, namely for the song ‘Magnetized’ … not my favourite from their recent album ‘Strange Little Birds’ but has grown on me over the last couple of months with this perfectly freaky and bizarre video only adding to it’s growing appeal. It’s certainly I’d say the best video the band have released in a along time, and it seems with this album Shirley Manson and the guys are really pushing the boat out. See for yourself below.

Outside of Garbage I also recently went for the 3 month free trial of Apple Music and am finding it a great way to discover new music and listen to albums I’d previously been hesitating over, finding some real gems along the way. The one album that has particularly impressed is ‘Every Open Eye’ from Scottish threesome Chvrches. Electro-pop feel good anthems backed up by Lauren Mayberry’s amazing vocals and some technical wizardly with the music.

Also I am really enjoying the similarly synth/electro vibes of Kristin Kontrol’s ‘X-Communicate’ (for those unfamiliar, Kristin was formerly Dee Dee of the Dum Dum Girls and also supported the aforementioned Garbage during some dates of that band’s current tour). As if going for a hat-trick too, another electro-pop album I’ve been enjoying is Ladyhawke’s ‘Wild Things’.

The above has been a good, if slightly similar start to trying to explore music more, have a little more variety and well, just have a good time with what is feeling like a bit of a new world for me … so, you may start seeing more music themed posts in the future.

This is still not a music blog though.

Garbage autobiography

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

For an avid fan of alt-rock veterans ‘Garbage’ the long-awaited announcement of a book being released that covers their 20+ year career was huge news. It’s been often rumoured and never really dismissed, but nothing had been heard of the book in well over a year.

So the news today that the book had not only an official name ’This Is The Noise That Keeps Me Awake’ (a lyric taken from their hit song Push It); but that it’s also been put up for pre-order at all good book retailers like Amazon was a big surprise. The book promises to be a thorough exploration of the band’s career, from their humble beginnings at the legendary Smart Studios in Wisconsin through their rise to Grammy nominated multi-million selling rock stars right up to now, independent darlings of the live arena doing things on their own terms. With full colour pictures and written by the band members themselves, this will surely be a cherished possession of any genuine Garbage fan – such as me!

The book which will be released in hardback is currently pencilled for a July 11 2017 release, and that date can’t come quick enough.

Home entertainment setup – bedroom

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

Thought I’d give you all a quick look at my current entertainment set up for playing games, watching movies etc. in my bedroom. The set up consists of my Garbage ahem… ‘shrine’ with my photo with the band I got after seeing them in London a couple of months back, as well as my 32″ Sony LED TV, my Denon sound system, my Q-Acoustic Speakers, My Beats Solo 2 headphones, my PS4 and my Xbox One. You’ll also find various Blu-rays dotted around, some Funko Pop characters from various movies and my anime statue collection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjMlkgywQeM

Not a music blog

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

I have never considered this blog turning into a ‘music blog’, and I’ve never been into music enough to start up a blog solely dedicated to music. However this is also a place for me to share my thoughts on what sort of things I am currently into and following my continued interest in the band Garbage, having motivated myself enough to actually see them live twice in less than twelve months … music has become something I feel I need to explore more of. Which isn’t easy in this rather over-hyped and narrow-minded music landscape we live in. What we’re told to like or buy isn’t the entire story and there are many artists that go unnoticed and un-talked about that deserve more exposure. My favourite band are certainly in that category and despite enjoying big success in the 90s have been often ignored or dismissed since they returned in 2012 following a long hiatus. You see the media and magazines don’t really want to promote an artist on their own independent record label as there isn’t the money being thrown around to get them that headline article or that TV interview or that music video exposure like you’d see from the likes of Rihanna, Justin Bieber or Adele. There’s not any real money in it for the media so why promote them? Actual quality of product doesn’t compared to cold hard cash it seems and reviews you’ll see across the board for many high profile stars will be massively exaggerated and marked up compared to their smaller, independent counterparts, regardless of the content. Sadly the general music buying (or streaming) public are like sheep and they’ll blindly follow whoever they’re told to follow.

But perhaps more as an experiment than entirely conforming to such media brainwashing, I chose recently to dip my toe in the pool of the hyped and celebrated to see if such attention can possibly equal quality … and purchased the latest albums from Beyoncé and Radiohead, two artists I’ve at least liked in the past but haven’t explored in a long while. Out of the two Radiohead’s acclaimed ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ is instantly engrossing with it’s almost meditatory, lucid feel and Thom York’s dreamy, emotional delivery. It sounds like them, it feels like them and has all the musical imagination, weirdness and brooding self-loathing I would expect. I’ve only given it a couple of listens so far but have found myself very much swept away. On the other hand, Beyoncé’s heavily hyped and almost universally praised ‘Lemonade’ has been a bit harder to appreciate. It’s themes of betrayal, infidelity, loss and jealousy are commendable and some of the songs on work very well, but it’s been a grower and initial impression was: they call this music these days? But tracks such as ‘6 Inch’ and ‘Daddy Lessons’ really kick in after a couple of plays and I’m enjoying it overall. The included (on the CD set) DVD that covers many of the tracks in video form is decent with several stand out, very artistic moments and only proves how photogenic and iconic Beyoncé has always been. As a package it impresses in places but feels a bit ‘meh’ in others unless you’re entirely wrapped up in Beyoncé and her private life, which I’ve never been.

I plan to continue exploring more artists and seeking out a few lesser known (or less publicised) bands or singers just to discover someone that hasn’t been rammed down our throats. I tend to resent such aggressive publicity and it’s the reason why I usually don’t have a good word for Adele. Nothing against her music (she’s actually a very good singer and songwriter) but the attention is ridiculous and diminishes such obvious talent. So I wouldn’t mind getting the debut album from The Purple Harts for example, who supported Garbage during their European tour recently and they rocked. I also hear good things about the singer Ladyhawke as well as bands like Churches.

But don’t worry regular or first time readers. This is not turning into a music blog, but may have the odd deviation from movie reviews and videogame discussion to talk about a really great album I’ve been listening to recently. It’s also not turning into a Garbage blog, as much as that’d be really cool to me … you guys wouldn’t want that either. So normal service will resume shortly.

Craig.

Garbage – Strange Little Birds

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

(updated 24/06/2016) After a long wait the one album I have been looking forward to for the last few years has finally landed. Yes ladies and gentlemen my favourite band Garbage are back … and could this be one of the best things they have ever created? Let’s see…

After extensive play over the last two weeks I can confidently say this is a particularly polished, quality album from the alt-rock pioneers who first made waves back in 1995. 21 years later and Garbage have still got it, even to the point of further developing their sound to create something with a well defined mood through the whole album, which I feel the band hasn’t totally nailed in years. Strange Little Birds tells a story of obsession, jealousy, regret and eventually hope. It’s really quite powerful. Personal highlights include the sublime rock-ballad ‘Night Drive Loneliness’, the powerhouse anthem ‘So We Can Stay Alive’, moody stadium rocker ‘Blackout’, and the heart-breaking ‘Even Though Our Love Is Doomed’ – but really I like every track and I haven’t felt that way since Version 2.0. ‘Sometimes’ whilst possibly my least go-to track, is still a perfectly ominous opening and powerfully introduces ‘Empty’, which is the most radio-friendly track at least as far as today’s radio songs go. Yet there’s a lot of potential here for singles; Night Drive being an obvious one as well as ‘If I lost You’ with it’s decidedly Madonna-like chorus. I also really enjoy the slightly trippy vibe to ‘Teaching Little Fingers To Play’. I should also add the closing, suitably epic ‘Amends’ makes me think of a moody western about a woman seeking redemption.

‘Magnetized’ is possibly the only track on the album I don’t totally enjoy … but I still like aspects of it. Also the subjects explored, despite best intentions are not exactly new ground for this band. However it’s the delivery and the craft that impresses most. It’s also an album that left me wanting more … no bad thing, but I’d have loved a couple more tracks than the 11 we get here. So overall, stellar work from Shirley Manson and her band mates; musicians & producers Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Duke Erikson. You’ve proved the nay-sayers rather foolish indeed and have delivered some of the best work of your career. I’d say Strange Little Birds will surprise a lot of people, critics especially, and in this homogenized, cookie-cutter musical landscape we find ourselves in – that’s a very good thing indeed.

Verdict: 4 /5