Smashing Pumpkins Glasgow Gig Review

'I remember I wanted to be alternative because I wanted to do whatever the fuck I wanted'

A sentiment put forth by Billy Corgan (from now on referred to Billy as I'm pretty sure we are on first name terms after his band touched my soul last night), lead singer of 'The Smashing Pumpkins'. This statement was met, on my part, by whopping and hollerin'. Further reflected by the older members around me, who again emanated that classic Rock n Roll sentiment, just wanting to do and like whatever the fuck we wanted.

The gig was very much in that mindset, a mismatched group of ages, shapes and sizes filled the O2 Academy free from judgement of each other and just there to hear the music. I find with bands of the more indie style their gigs, though of fantastic musical ability, drum up a certain indie, judgemental group and you leave the gig feeling both elated but somewhat stripped of your self confidence. Not the Pumpkins though, a great, completely random group who you felt at ease with. Felt you could headbang to your hearts content, which I may or may not have done (see picture below) 

Though I doubt I looked as sexy as that young lady while doing it... In addition to the headbanging, there was foot tapping, hand clapping, jumping, fist pumping and general bad assery. So, moving anyway from the atmosphere, the venue itself is one of my favourites. The acoustics in the O2 academy are incredible, the sound system could blow your fucking brains out (perfect for The Pumpkins) and the space is well organised. Apart from extortionate drinks, which let's face it most venues have, it's a good venue.

Now, to the meat. The Pumpkins were incredible. Moving seamlessly from song to song, with room for banter in the middle. Every member is flawless live whether it's Billy and his raw passion, or Jeff Schroeder (guitarist) hitting out a heart attack inducing solo, or Mike Bryne who knows how to do a drum solo that will quite literally make your bones quake, or Nicole Fiorentino the stunning and incredibly talented bassist, not only rocking girl power but some damn fine bass playing.

Look how gorgeous! Sorry, I'll get back to the review but I just have a bit of a major girl crush. Anyway, it's hard for me to explain how just completely amazing and freeing the gig was. Never has the phrase 'You had to be there', been more appropriate. But, if you had the incredible chance too be there and like me was hoping the £37 was worth it, you'll know it was and if you don't, you must be fucking mental. I love the whole idea behind the pumpkins, I hope they keep on doing whatever the fuck they want, because they do it so well.

Gig rating: 10/10, no questions

Attempts to blog weekly from now on, review suggestions below, keep rocking 

Rose x

Glasgow O2 Academy 02/07/13

Colin Hay- Company of Strangers Album Review

Song in my head- Bright Idea - Orson (a re-discovery and a great one) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6Q-Ip4Uzk

Alright lads,
On request, tonight I'll be doing another song by song review, this time of Colin Hay's 'Company of Strangers.' For those of you, who like me, had no idea who Colin Hay is here's his wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Hay. Basic summary, he's Scottish (of course a plus), former member of 'Men at Work', Zach Braff likes his stuff and he's acoustic/ rock/ country. I know none of his work going in to this but, hey, let's give it a bash.

Album artwork, is fine, if not a little simplistic, but, we're talking early 2000's country, my expectations for the quality of album artwork is therefore significantly lowered.


1. I Got Woken Up
That's one gruff voice there. I like it, kind of twist on the traditional country with electric guitars and gospel singers. To be honest, I wouldn't have made this the opening track, there's basically no intro so you are thrown in at the deep end. But, the rock and jazz influences are, at the risk of sounding square, interesting. The lyrics are pretty upbeat, clichéd but work for his style. That sax at the end is just stunning. To quote the Lizzie McGuire Movie (Fuck you, it's my blog and I'll quote what I want)

'I mean if you're into the Alanis Morissette-y alternative, dark, like brooding, I-never-go-out-into-the-sunshine-and-my-life's-a-miserable-black-hole-of-depression kinda thing, then you'd think they stink. But I mean for a like driving-around-in-the-car-with-the-top-down-putting-on-your-lip-gloss-loving-life kinda thing, they're good!'

That's the review of the track I'm going with and the one I will stand by...

2. Small Town Big Hell
How country is that title? 'Superstitious mind can kill the truth', you are preaching to the choir Colin. This has some kick arse violins in the background. This track is a lot easier to take seriously than the first track. But, my does he love his singing devil extended metaphors. He has such a raw, powerful voice that it would be difficult for him to sound bad. Also, he has a delightful falsetto. That little wavier to his voice is just lovely when he tries to convey emotion. 

3. Lucky Bastard Oh, he's got the funk. You can really hear the Scottish in him when he says 'Bastard'. This is just funky as hell, can't stop nodding my head along. It's good, but to be honest the backing gospel singers saying 'bastard' just sounds off to me. I think the song would be lessened without them but they just can't pull that off. It's decent, it's just really funky. 

4. Company of Strangers
Now, the title track, this should be good. Well, it's incredibly dramatic. I can't get over the tone in his voice, it sends shivers down my spine. He'd be brilliant live. Now, this is great. The lyrics, the arrangement and when the drum beat kicks in, ooft. That's nice, very nice. This is a great track, I think I like him a little more with male backing singers than with the female singers. Though, I admit the gospel female element of the opening track is perfect. This has a decent shot at being my favourite track. 

5. No Win Situation Shit, Colin gone a little techno. Now, we see a little more of that Rock element come in to play. I think this song is extremely relevant to a lot of the guys I know girlfriends... I like when singers take a somewhat sad topic and put it in to a slightly more upbeat context, it provides a great contrast. That electric guitar is incredible. Good follow up to Company of Strangers if not a little in another direction. 

6. Dear J Is that a sitar in the intro? It's really just a nice ballad to break up the album. It's pretty good, just after those two power house tracks, it's a little bit of a let down. But because of the strength of his voice and the talent of his band, it is by no means a bad track. It's just fine though.

7. Small Price to be Free This is lovely. Sort of song you would hear in a little Western bar while you were holding hands with someone you love. It be a good first dance song, I reckon. It's very moving. It's a ballad too but it seems to have more sentimental value behind it than the previous track. Apart from the fact that is about death...it'd be a good first dance song. I love the lyrics, his whole Reaper metaphor is really well integrated. Genuinely lovely. 

8. How Long Will it Last That's some raw emotion. That's what you can do with a voice like that, convey any emotion just with your tone, amazing. I like the song, but it's a little contrived in comparison to the lyrics of the last song. The metaphors in this song, since metaphors seem to be his thing, are just a little more forced than in most of the other tracks. I would have liked a little more range in his voice, which he has already shown, in this to convey his changing intensity of emotion. I think that would have worked well.

9. Lifeline This is very 'montage of having fun with your friends on a beach' kind of song. Very happy, upbeat but again about a woeful subject. It just makes everything in you life which is the tiniest bit relevant seem ever so better. Again, electric guitar and lyrics are just incredible. He has managed to very well not to overuse electric guitar solos which is often done by many artists. He has very good balance between the various elements to his music. This might have been a better opening track.

10. Don't Wait Up This is very country. It's like drunken cowboy, slumped over his porch with a guitar and a bottle of Jack. The song is basically a walking cliché, well it's not walking...but you get what I mean. I like country music, so obviously this appeals to me. While it's not too different from the rest of the album, I think it would be difficult to paint this as a country album, this is definitely a country song. It's just a nice, well put together, slow dance to it, song if not a little dragged out in the latter half.

11. Beautiful World
Just by the title I had high hopes for the song, I was not disappointed. It's humorous, rhyming and just happy. I smiled start to end. It is just brilliantly life affirming. About those simple pleasures that if you allow yourself to indulge in you can drown out all the bad shit around you. Also, about how despite how good things get, you'll always have those bad little niggles but you know what, make the most of life. It's cheesy as hell, yes, even cheesier than I sound talking about it. But it's rather wonderful. 

12. And If You Only Knew Technically, the finale of this album. I could have used this song a couple of months back, it's again very life affirming, you are more incredible than you know, kind of tune. It's good but, to be honest, not the great exit I was hoping for. It's a good track but not a great final track. Which every album should have. It leaves you feeling like you started, a little disillusioned. 

13. Company of Strangers (Acoustic) Bonus!
Okay, so I listened to the deluxe version which came with this bonus track. Thought I might as well review it while I was here. I like the original and because his voice is so wonderful the acoustic version doesn't disappoint. It also allows you to hear the full impact of his voice. I don't like it more than the original but it is very very good. His voice is just great. 

Overall Thoughts
Going in knowing nothing about Colin Hay, I was pleasantly surprised. He clearly has a great deal of respect for his craft and, his voice, is just mind blowing. Seriously even if you don't listen to the whole album give him a listen just to hear his voice. Plus, it was way less country than expected, he has more country stuff, give American Sunshine a listen if that's what you want. 

7/10 (Right, I didn't think it was musically complex enough to get a 8 but I thought a 6.5 was definitely under selling it)


Favourite Tracks (Because who can pick just one?)
Company of Strangers, No Win Situation and Small Price to pay. Beautiful World just missed the list but it's damn good.

Aye, an upbeat summer album, listen to him if not the whole album. 
Rose x

P.s. Please do leave any album, song, artist suggestions in the comments. More reviews soon my friends. 

Daft Punk- Random Access Memories (Album review)

Song in my head- Before He Cheats- Carrie Underwood (Don't ask I've been watching a LOT of Nashville...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8

Good Evening, 

So instead of sleeping I thought it would be way more exciting to stay up listen to Daft Punk's new album (finally) and write you beautiful people a blog post. I will obviously regret this tomorrow and there is a high chance that it will be, if you pardon my French, shit. But, I digress, let's get this show on the road. 

I was really looking forward to this, as a long time Daft Punk fan I was eager to hear their new stuff. Their marketing was very smart, they decided the stream the album a week in advanced on I-Tunes, to create buzz, after the release of 'Get Lucky' new fans arrived and perhaps less interested in their older stuff, so they needed their attention sustained. Boy, did this do that. When Get Lucky was released I felt that they had somewhat lost that classic Daft Punk-iness that made them a great band. Feel free to disagree with the definition of 'great' but you have to admit they had something. A little something that shook up conventional music. It wasn't all good, they struggled at points and towards the latter half of their career I felt they suffered. But 'Homework' and 'Discovery' (Oh my lord, that's a good album- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJr2SVFTI1o) were great albums. They just had a great 'sound' in their early days. Anyway, I am not denying the fact that 'Get Lucky' is a good song, it is catchy as hell and I like it. But, all I am saying is that it wasn't very Daft Punk. 

So, I can't say I am going in to this review with an entirely open mind. 'Get Lucky' has somewhat tainted me but I have been told good things. Here we go (for real this time). A Track by Track review of Random Access Memories (Which you can buy here- https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/random-access-memories/id617154241)

I also want to say how amazing is the album art? Love it. 

1. Give Life Back to Music 

Solid start, enough like 'Get Lucky' to have a hook. Amazing guitar work as usual and got me interested by being enough like their old stuff. Also, nice symbolism for their come back. It's jazzy and, with the risk of sounding like my mother, would certainly get you dancing. It has really good climatic build up and no doubt got me excited. Perhaps they could have dragged out the ending less but made acceptable by their music talent. 

2. The Game of Love

Straight off, tune. I was worried they would try and be too 'Top 40's' and despite having made changes to their 'sound' they are pulling it off with the same musical flair. This is going on my break-up playlist. The sort of song you'd listen to crying in the rain (I didn't call this blog indie for nothing...) I can't help thinking of a family guy scene when I hear this.

They have still got it. 

3. Giorgio by Moroder

Ha! People who buy this album just based on 'Get Lucky' are going to be insanely confused when they get to this track. I barely understand myself, but I like it. I searched up the guy the song is based on, I suggest you read this- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Moroder. His influence on this song makes it epic. Never mind the beautiful use of synths (And yes synths are beautiful). A nine minute long song without lyrics (apart from Giorgio talking) I'm telling you new Daft Punk fans are in for a shock. Again, amazing climatic build up. Would be amazing live. That ending is almost poetic.

4. Within

This album, is a bit mismatched. Not the sort of album I would sit and listen start to end. That's not to say it's bad, not at all. The lyrics here are gorgeous, that's one thing you can always say about Daft Punk, they are relatable as hell. This is nice, to me it seems the perfect way, to sum up adolescent confusion, or really any loss of self. 

5. Instant Crush (feat. Julian Casablancas)

Going to have to give Julian Casablancas a listen after this, their lead has a great voice. See, this is more like the 'Get Lucky' top 40 thing I was talking about it. But, they are relaunching their brand and that requires popularity, there's no doubt that it has that classic Daft Punk edge to it but it isn't as prevalent. Not necessarily a bad thing, trying to find a new sound requires trying different things. I just think, old Daft Punk fans, will be disappointed. But I do like this, it has that same catchy hook as 'Get Lucky'. I think it is a little more complex though. 

6. Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)  

Another Pharrell Williams collaboration? Lovely. An upbeat, poppy number with plenty of room for foot tapping and groove shakin'. Yeah, I went there. Though maybe I shouldn't have... Not much to say, it's catchy, I like catchy. Again, the Daft Punk-iness doesn't kick in to later in the song. But it's not turning me off the album as a whole so they are achieving 'the ultimate goal' as it were. 

7. Touch (feat. Paul Williams)

The more I listen the more I am starting to remember that Daft Punk is definitely late night music. This is one of the somewhat weirder tracks on the album. It's perhaps a bit too far away in the other direction from the rest of the tracks but, you never know what you are going to get with Daft Punk. Once you get past the intro, with the mildly terrifying over voice... It's actually not bad. Paul Williams sounds shockingly like David Bowie. It's not bad but only gets decent past the two minute mark but by the end I was begging for more. Also, the middle section with that brass, solid work lads. Wait to pull it back guys

8. Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)

Can I just start by saying I would have separated the collaborations out a little?  However it is the single released and as a general rule it goes in the middle. But, since when do Daft Punk follow general rules? Anyway, not much to say that I haven't already said. It grows more on me each time I hear it. Pharrell Williams has a great voice and its catchy. When the chorus kicks in, after hearing it twice, I doubt there was anyone who wasn't singing along. It has pretty good lyrics for a number 1 hit and as always Daft Punk have amazing guitar work. But, not my favourite track on the album by a long shot. 

9. Beyond

Listen, to those violins and drums. Daft Punk have still got it. In the words of Dewey Finn, 'You got it and I don't know what it is but you got it' This is just stunning. The instrumentals are incredible. Not much to say, it's pretty flawless as tracks go. 

10. Motherboard

I am enjoying all these computer references peppered throughout this album. This is nice. The sort of track that it would be easy to use in any kind of slow driving scene in a film. The drumming is nice, very nice. They use maracas half way through so it must be good. It gets you settled and relaxed and then shakes you about and tells you to wake up because guess what? We are still amazing. We still put whole instrumental tracks on our albums and you will enjoy them. 

11. Fragments of Time (feat. Todd Edwards)

Every singer on this album has an incredible voice. This might be my favourite song on the album. It seems to be the perfect mix between their new sound and their older stuff. Lyrics, instruments, synths and vocals are all just lovely. It has just the right amount of that upbeat, sunshine feel to make you feel warm inside. The use of synths towards the latter half of the song, just gives me shivers. It's pretty great. 

12. Doin' it Right (feat. Panda Bear)

First, I am fan of Animal Collective, the band to which Panda Bear belongs, so this collaboration excited me no end. I was not disappointed. It is just lovely. A little rockier than the other tracks on the album but works so well with Panda Bear's sound. It's more chilled than the other 'catchy' songs on this album but it has been done so well. A genius collaboration.

13. Contact

Final track? Needs to be epic. (Spoiler alert!) It is. Proper old school. The astronauts commentary, the organ playing at the start. A fantastic conclusion to this album. In which Daft Punk blast out all their immense musical talent and vision in one 6- minute miracle. That build-up at the end was so intense and possibly the most dramatic way to round off an album ever. 

Overall thoughts

I'm going go ahead and wipe off all the sweat, after that (Listen to track 6 and that'll be hilarious). Though I was plenty apprehensive about this album, they did well. Very well. It's not too different and they have managed to maintain their sound, even if it does kick in late in a few tracks. 

8/10

Favourite tracks

Got to be between, 'Fragments of Time' and 'Doin' it Right'. Though that is likely to change the more I listen to album.

More than worth a listen

Rose x

P.S. It hit past midnight on Monday while I was writing this and I-Tunes cut me off the free stream of the album because it was officially released. So this took a lot of effort and £8.99. Feel special. 

Intro's are important

Song in Head- Forever Young, Alphaville 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1TcDHrkQYg

So, Hey,
How's it going? If you've managed to find this blog, by some odd twist of fate, welcome. The reason I wanted to set this up is somewhat selfish, I love talking about music, discussing opinions, giving recommendations and I needed a place to do it. I will try and blog often as, in the words of Emma Roberts in 'It's Kind of Funny Story' (Great film by the way)

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this. I plan on reviewing Daft Punk's new album, Random Access Memories next but if you have any Album, Song or Band suggestions leave them in the comments. For now, I am really in to Awolnation, especially 'Burn it Down'- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjT8YpNUxY4 Give it a wee listen. 

Rose x