Inside Nokia Music

Where do you start with a band like Pavement? In recent years there have been few acts that have cultivated – and then steadfastly retained – a similar level of underground, independent credibility. Or inspired so many other acts with their lo-fi, indie rock sound. In fact, if you heard Quarantine The Past, a retrospective of the band’s initial 10 year stint together, without knowing anything about Pavement and their place in rock music’s pantheon, you could be forgiven for writing them off as yet another grunge-lite outfit pedalling the sort of jangly guitar pop you’d find on an early ‘90s Nirvana or R.E.M. B-side. Which, in a perverse way, is probably the greatest testament that could be paid – those B-sides likely wouldn’t be there without Pavement’s influence, as the band’s sound cross-pollinated with that of their contemporaries, including Sonic Youth and R.E.M.

So it’s only when placed in the context of the early 1990s music scene that Quarantine The Past can be properly appreciated. While the album doesn’t include any unreleased or new tracks (Pavement reformed last year; the comeback tour is underway as you read this) it gathers the band’s most significant tracks from the period spanning 1989 to the breakup in 1999. Stereo and Cut Your Hair will be instantly recognisable to anyone who took an interest in the indie scene in the UK 20 years ago (it makes me shudder to think it was that long ago). Meanwhile, album cuts like Shady Lane/ J vs. S and Date w/IKEA continue Pavement’s pattern of wrapping winding lyrics around surprisingly tight melodies (despite all their efforts to sound to the contrary) that still sound fresh today.

The only criticism that can be levelled at Quarantine The Past is that it gives the desperate-for-new-material Pavement fan what she or he will have been wishing for: something they haven’t heard before. Granted, the tracks have all been given the obligatory run through the digital car wash, but re-mastering Pavement tracks almost robs of them of their raison d’être – they were never about crystal clear fidelity, but rather the quiet, knowing, scratchy warmth of a close friend. Of course, many Pavement fans are obsessive-compulsive completists who’ll buy Quarantine The Past anyway. But it won’t supplant last year’s brilliant and exhaustive deluxe reissues of the band’s original albums, crammed with live recordings, unreleased gems and alternative mixes. No, instead this is the ideal place for a new generation of fans to discover just why Pavement are spoken about with such reverence. It’s an album bursting with songs of charming honesty, intriguing simplicity and that cast the musical mould for a generation.

You can download Quarantine The Past, along with Pavement’s back catalogue, from Nokia Music Store. If you’re a Comes With Music member you can get it all for free.

A Stitch In Time by The Smashing Pumpkins

The next instalment from the epic forthcoming Teargarden By Kaleidyscope has landed sooner than expected with the release of A Stitch In Time - hopefully this is a sign that the project may begin to progress a little quicker.

It seems that on my previous post I may have been mistaken about something. Clues are beginning to show and suggest the “album” will be 11 x 4 track EP’s and not 4 x 11 track EP’s as I originally thought (yes, I know that doesn’t constitute an EP). But there are still a few things that suggest I was right in the first place.

A Quote from Billy’s Blog

“The story of the album is based on ‘The Fool’s Journey’, as signified in the progress of the Tarot. It is my intention to approach this by breaking down the journey of our life here into four phases as made by these different characters; the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic, and the Mystic.”

I think I’m sticking to my guns on 4 “EP’s”!

Can’t say I think much of the track just yet, but I usually have to chew food and allow it to tantalise both the sweet and the sour sides before I can say anything with wholehearted honesty.

All 3 tracks so far have been pretty tame, but the smart money’s on the “fool” and the “sceptic” chapters bringing the thunder!!!

I’ll be posting on the entire progression of this project.

Smashing Pumpkins albums are available to download from The Nokia Music Store - if you’ve got ‘Comes With Music’ get them for free!

I don’t half bang on about them Arctic Monkeys do I!?… but how can I not when they’re one of the few bands on the scene these days that without fail, spoil us with a wealth of b-sides on every single they release.

True to form, they’re doing it again with the release of third Humbug single and album opener My Propeller. As with the release of Humbug’s previous 2 singles, they’re only set for release on 10″ & 7″ vinyl through Oxfam in the physical realm. Thankfully the 2 previous singles and their b-sides made their way onto Nokia Music Store, so I should expect the same for those of us who’ve completely expended our holiday allowance,  taking days off to successfully track these elusive beauties down.

…and in other news…

With the horrific lull between the release of Favourite Worst Nightmare and Humbug, and consolation for this only coming from frontman Alex Turner’s side project The Last Shadow Puppets, it’s come as a welcome surprise that the band have dropped the word that they intend to begin recording album number 4 in the near future, possibly reunited with Humbug producer and finger-in-all-pies man Josh Homme.

My Propellor is released on the 22nd March.

Loads more Arctic Monkeys music available to download from the Nokia Music Store - if you’re a  ‘Comes With Music’ subscriber, it’s completely free!

Back again, flying the Muse flag high on the insidenokiamusic blog as usual, this time it’s all about the third single Resistance from the massively successful 5th album The Resistance.

I’m far more excited about the release of a new single this time around because, unlike first single Uprising with it’s solitary b-side that circulated several months before it’s release, and second single Undisclosed Desires which didn’t have any at all, Resistance has answered my prayers and will feature 2 new songs, as well as the obligatory radio edit and a remix by Tiesto.

the first new track is a cover of Prague by Mega City Four. The second is again a cover, this time of Popcorn by Hot Butter, a track I believe the band live debuted during their highly acclaimed homecoming double-nighter “A Seaside Rendezvous” a week or so before the release of The Resistance. It’s a song I doubt any other rock band could cover and still keep their credibility intact, but the swirling synths are right up Muse’s alley. Sadly this track only appears to be available on a limited edition 7″ single exclusive to the band’s official website.

The entire Muse catalogue is available to download from the Nokia Music Store and is completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers. Resistance is released this coming Monday 22nd February.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are back today with Skeletons, the third single from one of 2009’s most blogged about albums, It’s Blitz!

Taking a different direction from the dance heavy feel of the first 2 singles, Skeletons is a return to their sweeter, softer sound. The singles b-side is the acoustic version of the song that featured on the Deluxe Edition of It’s Blitz!

Here’s the official music video, and if you haven’t seen the promotional shorts for the release of It’s Blitz!, they’re linked at the end as related videos and are worth a watch.

Skeletons as well as It’s Blitz! Deluxe Edition which features both tracks is available to download from the Nokia Music Store and is completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.

Shortly after posting about Polysics in my most anticipated albums of 2009, the band put out a newsletter stating that Keyboard player Kayo would be leaving to “experience life outside the band”. The decision was apparently made a long time ago as it was stated in the newsletter that “Kayo made it a basic policy to not leave the band haphazardly. Even after the decision to graduate was made, she still participated in the recording of two albums as well as many live performances, some which took place abroad”.

Kayo, in my opinion, and that of several other fans I’m sure, is an integral dynamic of the band’s live performances. Standing still for most of the performance, she get’s the biggest response from the audience as the kooky one responsible for all the robotic vocoder gibberish and the sporadic pom-pom shaking outbursts.

Kayo “graduates” from Polysics following the show at the Budokan to take place on March 14, 2010, If you have a chance to catch them before this tragic and emotional day, do not hesitate as the band are understandably going on hiatus and I fear will never be the same again.

I Couldn’t find any crazy pom-pom footage, but here’s a Polysics performance that will give you glimpse into what we’re about to lose.

You’ll be sorely missed, Kayo Polysics.

Polysics are available to download from the Nokia Music Store and is completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.

Muse fans at Big Day Out 2010 in Sydney and Melbourne we’re treated to a cover of AC/DC’s Back In Black with and incredible Brian Johnson impersonation by Jet’s Nick Cester. According to Muse drummer Dom Howard in this video, AC/DC have never even played the Big Day Out, which in my opinion is a sad state of affairs for Australia’s greatest ever Rock band.

Muse and Jet are available to download from the Nokia Music Store and are completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.

Two moments, two eras, give me the same buzz

Elvis – Just can’t help believin’

I just can’t help admitting that I’m always drawn to the Elvis ‘fat in Vegas’ era. There was a grandness about it, an honesty in its dishonesty. The two moments in this song are at 22secs when for some reason the crowd cheers and applauds in recognition. Hackneyed now, honest and responsive back then, the drama, the energy. The other moment is 3.07, when he tells the backing singers to ’sing the song baby’, then 4.31 ‘take it’. I just love it, one of the lines that sprouted a thousand impersonators.

Radiohead – Lucky

One of the most finely crafted pieces of music you’ll ever hear. The pay-off moment is two thirds of the way through (3.30) as the guitar screams in your earphones like an angry cat in a dark forest lit up by a strong torch, moments after killing a robin red breast.

What a wonderful surprise to start Monday with the second track from The Smashing Pumpkins in-the-works album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. It would seem the new song Widow Wake My Mind was not announced by the band when it became available, but instead only came to light due to the cunning investigative skills of a fan on an unofficial Smashing Pumpkins forum… good job there my friend, keep up the good work!

As I reported earlier, all 44 anticipated tracks from the album will be free to download as they become available, and as each of the 4 EP’s that make up Teargarden By Kaleidyscope is complete, they’ll get a commercial release too. Thankfully, as it would seem that part of this strategy is poor quality audio files.

The entire Smashing Pumpkins back-catalogue is available to download from The Nokia Music Store and is completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.

Good marketing has become business critical in the world of music today. That’s why tonnes of money is poured into making music videos, but this doesn’t necessarily make them good. In most cases you will find the scantily clad artist in question aggressively gyrating in your face, in a dangerously flashy room, whilst an onlooking horde of baggy-clothed groupies egg them on. You don’t need a million pounds to make an awe-inspiring video, an interesting and original concept will do. OK Go got it right in 2006 with the video for Here It Goes Again, which is a continuous single take of the band performing an elaborate dance routine on treadmills. This video was responsible for the song’s top 40 chart success in both the US & the UK. To date it has received over 49 million views on YouTube and was awarded a Grammy for the Best Short Form Music Video in 2007.

Now OK Go have set the bar, will they attempt to match their own success with another awe-inspiring video? Yes…

Here’s the video for the new single This Too Shall Pass:

I enjoy a good music video when it’s done properly; here are 5 great videos I have recently rediscovered:

Oren Lavie – Her Morning Elegance

Jape – Floating

Björk – All Is Full of Love

The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

Fujiya & Miyagi – Ankle Injuries