I Love Music: The Stone Roses

Hey

The Stone Roses are back together again

I would have put an exclamation mark after the last statement, only by the time this post goes up most people who know about the Stone Roses, will know that they are back together.  It’s been all over YouTube and everything.  So this isn’t really news anymore.  If this is news to you then wow cool that you found out here on my little blog.  That’s a joke FYI. 

The Stone Roses were a rock group, formed in Manchester in the eighties.  They came to prominence in the UK around 1989 – the year they released their self-titled debut album.  The album contained hits such as ‘I Wanna be Adored’ and ‘Fools Gold’.  It coincided with the rise of the’ baggy’ indie rock/dance scene and so is seen as a standout from that genre.  Their second album ‘The Second Coming’ came out a few years later, and isn’t as much the darling of the music critics.  The band frequently gave amusing (though often very topical and interesting) interviews later emulated by the likes of the Gallagher brothers of Oasis (who openly adore the Stone Roses). 

I’m not writing this blog post as a news item though, more of an ‘I’m so excited I might as well’ post’.  Honestly, I’m thrilled that they are back together after all those years.   I’ve been a fan for over five years, and over that course of time have read many interviews with various members where they said they never would, despite the money.   I accepted what was said, and so got into the other groups associated with the Stone Roses such as The Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. 

So I’m really glad.  Even though it looks like all the shows they are going to do will sell out in minutes.  Which makes the chances of me going rather small, but still, I hope I get a chance to see them live.  Either way it will certainly be legendary. 

‘You and I’ Review

Hey

‘You and I’ is the fourth and latest release from the Pierces.   For those that do not know about the Pierces, they are a duo, made up of two sisters called Allison and Catherine Pierce.  They hail from the USA and make interesting folksy-poppy music as far as I can tell.  I’m a new fan, and have only really heard this album, but sometimes that is all you need to know. 

‘You and I’ is a sweet, energetic album.  From the other reviews I have read (Q magazine eons ago) their sound has been linked to hippies and witchcraft and all that stuff.   I think the album has something psychedelic about it, but I think that that has more to do with the way the sisters use old school harmonies when they sing than anything else.  The harmonies are beautifully done, and seem effortless. 

The instrumentals in ‘You and I’ are also really nice.  The guitars are kind of jangly and the overall atmosphere created by the different instruments is bluesy but fun.  There is softness to the music, and the lyrics range from the sad ‘The Good Samaritan’ to the playful ‘You’ll be Mine’. 

My personal favourite song is ‘Close My Eyes’

Overall I really like this album, and it is one that I will probably listen to for a long time to come.



I Love Music

Hi world. 

One thing that has occured to me since I started this blog is that I don't just want it to be about books.  I love books and all, but I'm a really slow reader.  For example, I've been reading one book for the bones of two months now, and I'm not finished it yet.  I love reading in that way.  I like to digest a novel, and associate it with a certain point in my life.  It becomes part of my memories of a certain summer, or christmas or spring.  Obviously though, if this blog were to be only about books then I'd not have much to post or talk about.  I feel like it would be kind of cheating to review a book that I haven't read recently as well.  So, I have decided to talk about the other things that I am passionate about as well, be it music, or animal rights, TV or whatever else comes to mind.

Today I'm going to talk about a band that I love, called the Vines.  The Vines are an Austrailian band, comprised of lead singer Craig Nicholls (who also plays guitar), guitarist Ryan Griffiths, drummer Hammish Rosser and bass player Brad Heald.    I got into their music about... four or five years ago.  As far as I know they have released five albums.    My favourite albums are the first three, called 'Highly Evolved', 'Winning Days' and 'Vision Valley'.  

'Highly Evolved' came out in the early 2000s, around the same time as bands such as the Strokes were debuting as well.  The album to me always seemed very punky without really being punk.  It is an album best played LOUD.   The above is the title track, and even though it is only nintey seconds long, it shows the heavyness of the band.  However, like many other Vines albums, some of the songs are ballad like and softer.  For instance 'Autumn Shade':

Personally, I've always preferred the quieter songs such as this one.   To me, they are like little bits of gold found at the bottom of a fast stream. 

The next album, 'Winning Days' contains the second part to Autumn Shade - which I think is one of the Vines best songs.

'Winning Days' is a softer album than the first, with lovely tracks such a 'Sun Child' and the title track itself, which in my opinion is heartbreakingly bittersweet.  It also contains some upbeat songs such as 'Ride' which are really fun to listen to. 

The final album that I am going to talk about is 'Vision Valley'.  This was the album which got me into their music.  The music is a little bit less punky, a little more classic rock and roll.  For example, 'Don't listen to the Radio' is more laid back than previous singles, though still very much one of the rockier songs on the album.

My personal favourite song by them is the title track 'Vision Valley'.  As a listener the song is calming and the lyrics are very touching and pensive. 

 

Anyways, that's the review part over I guess.  I'm not very good at describing songs and sounds lol so anyone who reads this will have to forgive me.  I'm not even very good with band or track names - I prefer to know as little as possible, and have been known to refer to songs as 'track four' or an imagined name.   Anyone interested in the Vines should also check out the later albums naturally as well.  They are also very good.   Here's the title track of their latest album:  Future Primative.  It sounds like this should be on a soundtrack to a movie - which is good by me because I really like soundtrack music and music that ties in with a story in general. 

Bye!