Inside Nokia Music

What can be said about Rage Against The Machine fulfilling their promise of thanks to the 500,000 strong anti X-Factor campaigners who propelled the unlikely 17-year-old Killing In The Name into the coveted Christmas No.1 spot?… albeit that only 40,000+ could attend from a ticket lottery draw.

Well firstly, credit to the band for being true to their anti-establishment creed, as the absence of sponsored branding is immediately noticeable. Secondly, with no sponsors this raised the question of how a free event of this magnitude was being bank-rolled… Turns out the band are for it themselves with the money earned from festival appearances with 100% of the proceeds from the Xmas sales of Killing In The Name going to homeless charity Shelter… This selfless act, in my opinion certainly adds insult to injury for the X-Factor money machine… a glorious victory indeed!

So how was the show?… Full beer cups flying around, revellers in trees, pumping fists in the air, and a bouncing pit so infectious there was no escape!… you know, the good stuff!

With a setlist that included Justify, Sleep Now In The Fire, Guerilla Radio, Bulls On Parade, Township Rebellion and a cover of The Clash – White Riot pre-ceeded by the band introducing couple of the hour and now legendary Joe & Tracy Morter. After which, these thirty-year-old knees had seen better days… but era-considered, I’m sure I’m not the only one!

Here’s the show opening Simon Cowell skit that set the mood. Thanks to to Chris Fishlock at Sound-Revolution for fishing it from the oceans of YouTube uploads (sorry dude, I didn’t mean to play on the fish thing)

Also check out the great review from Rock Bitches

Christmas is a long and distant memory now, but the rebellious backlash towards The X Factor dominating the Christmas number 1 chart spot will live on in the hearts of those that got behind the campaign to take the power back.

After a month long public vote for support acts for the victory gig on 6th June, the line-up has finally been confirmed by Festival Republic… and takes those of us lucky enough to be drawn from the ticket lottery through a rather eclectic line-up… and here it is…

Gallows

Roots Manuva

Gogol Bordello

Rage Against The Machine

Oh, how sweet victory is!

Gallows, Roots Manuva, Gogol Bordello, and Rage Against The Machine are available to download from the Nokia Music Store or download them all for free if you have Comes With Music

I was about 15 years old when I first heard Tool, I could only think “what IS this?” This is the band I keep coming back to over and over and over again! My music collection would never be complete without Tool and to this day, it is one of the bands to which I continuously listen. It’s like I fall in love every time I listen to this music. There it all is: swirling interplay of ecstasy and pain, timeless beauty, mystery, tenderness and brutality, enveloped in a dance of endless tension. Finally. Tool.

So we’ve had 12 months of musical hits and misses and are excited to see what the New Year brings. For the sake of closure, though, here’s a few of the team’s personal picks from 2009.

Johnners

Miike Snow – Miike Snow
Just a great sounding album, nicely produced with great rhythm and a catchy blend of styles. Every track is different. Black & Blue is a seriously great tune and one I religiously listened too for a week or so. Highly recommended.

Jay Chakravorty

Moderat – Moderat
This one’s easy. It was only ever going to be between Moderat’s eponymous record and The Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca. No matter what anyone else says, I think 2009 has been a fairly barren year for good albums. Anyway, the debut from Moderat, a group comprising two of Berlin’s finest electronic acts (Modeselektor and Apparat), won out. Apparat’s lush analogue synth arrangements and Modeselektor’s ridiculously well-produced beats are a perfect match, sparking off each other in unexpected and frankly astonishing ways. You know the bit in Heat where de Niro and Pacino face each other in the diner? Well, it’s like that. You’ll notice something new every time you go back to it. Flitting between ethereal beauty and thundering dance music has never sounded so effortless.

Mike Abolins

Animals In The Dark – William Elliot Whitmore
With a voice that sounds like it’s seen one smoky bar too many, William Elliot Whitmore falls into that category of artists that sound older than their years. One listen to the Americana- and country-flecked acoustic folk that is Animals In The Dark and you could be forgiven for picturing a weathered old soul; in fact, Whitmore was born in 1978. Which makes the world-weary attitude and depth in tracks such as Old Devils and Hell Or High Water all the more remarkable.

Jethro

Let The Dominoes Fall – Rancid
It may have taken 6 years to get here and, as a big Rancid fan, it didn’t disappoint. Tim Armstrong’s gritty rasping vocals mixed with ska and psychobilly-influenced punk show that Rancid are still sticking to their traditional ska punk roots. It doesn’t quite hit the level of …And Out Come The Wolves, which is still my favourite Rancid album, but Let The Dominoes fall comes a close second and is an album that has sat at the top of my playlist for most of the year.