It says a lot about the state of rock music in the United Kingdom at the moment when the bestselling rock artists of last year were named as Coldplay - not that the States has been faring much better in the quality stakes either.
The Official Charts Company has revealed that the band beat Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to the top selling album of 2011 with their fifth release ‘Mylo Xyloto’. It sold a staggering 900,000 copies within just over two months, so the band obviously relates to pop music lovers.
True rock and metal fans are happy to be in the minority when it comes to most commercial releases in any case – but we still need our artists to up their game!
Last weekend, my local rock radio station decided to dedicate its playlist to the forgotten rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival which really only had a four year lifespan at the top. However, their songs are so catchy it is a pleasure to listen to their full back catalogue.
From hits like Fortunate Son and Bad Moon Rising to impressive covers like Heard It Through The Grapevine, I just love to listen to the distinctive voice of former-frontman John Fogerty.
It is just a pity that the band were only around for the five years between 1967 and 1972, but their music is still appreciated today by Southern rock aficionados as well as those who just enjoy great music.
While it was no surprise to hear that the return of Manchester’s own, The Stone Roses, was met by a clamour for tickets to see them play live together again, personally I thought I’d give it a miss.
I’d always enjoyed listening to their distinctive indie sounds back in the 90s before the likes of Oasis came onto the scene. I put them on the same level as James and The Charlatans in terms of the impact they had on me around that time.
Their music was typical of the sounds I danced like a madman to, in the dingy Manchester indie club affectionately known as 5th Av.
But the years have not been kind to the members of the Roses and Ian Brown’s voice, while distinctive, was never all that great. Still, it was the fact that I was not willing to fork out the £55-plus on a ticket which meant I would pass on the chance to see them play Heaton Park next year.
This is an interesting question seeing as Nevermind has been back on the agenda this week following the relase of a 20th Anniversary Remastered Edition.
Many online music critics have been arguing over whether this, In Utero, Bleach, Incesticide or indeed the live performance on MTV Unplugged in New York.
For me, this album came out at a time when I was just discovering music so I would have to agree with those who put this at the top of the pile. I was also really blown away by the purity and intensity of Kurt’s singing during the unplugged session, so that comes in a close second.
In this day and age it is hard to believe that back in the 1960s Rolling Stone was the place to go for all things rock. Over the years the magazine has been heavily criticised for expanding its content to first politics and then pop culture in general, while forever harking back to the romanticised 60s and 70s decades.
One of the reasons why the mag rose to prominence and has remained there ever since was down to putting rock music photography at its roots, with its now-famous front cover pictures still featuring the world’s biggest celebrity icons which sometimes do happen to be rock stars.
However, while it may not be an authoritative resource for rock devotees any longer - with artists like Lady Gaga, U2 and Katy Perry featuring more prominently in modern times -it still manages to generate interest for rock music fans even if the subject is just one part of a wider remit.
Appearing on the front cover of the new edition of Rolling Stone magazine may just be the most rock ‘n’ roll thing Larry David has ever done, but the co-creator and writer of the classic series Seinfeld and current star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he gets to play a wonderfully neurotic version of himself, is a true comedy genius.
If you get chance to see the latest episodes of Curb, now part way into its eighth season in the US, then you are in for a real treat. Taking the show to New York City, especially after the success of The Producers theme in season four, was a masterstroke. Not to say that LA had grown boring – certainly not in the life of Larry David, where every day is a drama in itself – but this was a smart move and a welcome change of direction.
You don’t have to have knowledge of the music industry and how it operates to understand that you just have to be in the right place at the right time to really make it in this business.
I have followed a number of local bands over the years and while some have found a measure of success, it is usually the same old story, despite displaying plenty of talent.
The other night I happened to go and see one of my brother’s school friends and former band mates set out on his solo career. After being involved with a rock band well-known in the Manchester music scene for a number of years, he has now decided to go it alone, despite the odd collaboration with other artists.
As a singer-songwriter, Chris Birdsall has now developed his own sound, which is a mix of blues and folk music. In my opinion his voice is incredible and when playing the acoustic guitar, it really brings out the best in him.
Don’t take my word for it - check out his solo album ‘Joker in a Dream’, plus the acoustic selection of tracks on his more recent release ‘Under the Tree’, to hear this for yourself. Links to each can be found on his Singing Tree website.
Chris is due to play a number of live acoustic sessions in the Manchester area later this month, so be sure to check out the Gigs section of the site for further details.
The acrimonious feud between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, which resulted in the break-up of indie rockers Oasis during the summer of 2009, shows no sign of ending.
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It was only last year when Brit-American musician Slash decided to file for divorce from Perla Hudson, his wife of 10 years - not the first time the couple have been to court over the past few years, as we mentioned in our blog about partying. But now it seems like all is rosy again – well, not Guns ‘n’ Rose-y like many fans would ideally like it to be.
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I was one of the 200,000 people fortunate enough to see the rockers in their last live performance together when they played at the huge charity concert Live8 back in 2005, and I never thought they’d ever reunite again. This is because 24 had passed since the last time the surviving members of the band took to the stage together.
The well-publicised angst between David Gilmour and Roger Waters meant that a reunion has never really been on the cards, so it was a surprise to hear that David and Nick Mason joined Roger for a few songs at London’s O2 Arena on his Wall tour.
By all accounts, Pink Floyd blew the crowd away with performances of “Comfortably Numb” (which they played at Live8) and “Outside the Wall”. I have tickets for the Manchester MEN show on Saturday, but I’m not holding out much hope that Roger will be joined once again by his former band mates.
