|
Modern Life Is Rubbish
''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' is the second album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album ''Leisure'' (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK. Under threat of being dropped by Food Records, for their next album Blur underwent an image makeover championed by frontman Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar-pop groups such as the Kinks and the Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' use "poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and prejudices of subu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blur (band)
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, ''Leisure'' (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' (1994) and '' The Great Escape'' (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". Blur's self-titled fifth album (1997) saw another stylistic shift, influenced by the lo-fi styles of American indie rock groups, and became their third UK chart-topping album. Its single " Song 2" brought the band mainstream success in the US for the first time. Their next album, '' 13'' (1999) saw the band experimenting with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baggy
Baggy was a name given to a British alternative dance genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many of the artists referred to as "baggy" being bands from the Madchester scene. History The genesis of indie-dance was the Balearic beat scene (where there were DJs playing an eclectic mix of records including such rock/dance crossovers like "Jesus on the Payroll" by Thrashing Doves and producers like Paul Oakenfold) and the indie music scene in the north west of England, which featured Tony Wilson's Factory Records and former post-punk band the Stone Roses in Manchester. Even though they were not signed to Factory Records, instead signing to Paul Birch's Revolver Records in Wolverhampton (before taking a deal with Jive Records' Silvertone), the band did have links to Tony Wilson, Martin Hannett and Peter Hook, with the New Order bassist scheduled to produce their debut album, before John Leckie took over. It was Leckie who produced the Stone Roses single " Fools ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Go 2
''Go 2'' is the second studio album by the English band XTC, released 6 October 1978 on Virgin Records. The United Kingdom version contained no singles, but the American and Canadian versions included the single "Are You Receiving Me?" (released 27 October 1978). A promotional video was also made for the song. Background By August 1978, XTC were prepared to record their follow-up to '' White Music''. The band had contacted Brian Eno to produce after they learned that he was a fan, but he declined, telling them that they were good enough to produce themselves. Virgin rejected Eno's advice, and the group instead returned to Abbey Road with producer John Leckie. One of the album's tracks, "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)", was written in tribute to Eno. Keyboardist Barry Andrews appeared at the sessions with several original songs, but frontman Andy Partridge did not feel they were right for the band. He began taking bassist Colin Moulding and drummer Terry Chambers out for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing and singing about two-thirds of the group's material. While the band were a formative punk rock, punk group, Partridge's music drew heavily from 1960s songwriters, and his style gradually shifted to more traditional pop music, pop, often with pastoral themes. The band's only UK top 10 hit, "Senses Working Overtime" (1982), was written by Partridge. Partridge is sometimes regarded as the "godfather" of Britpop. Since the 1980s, he has worked, written with, or produced for many other recording artists—efforts which include collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad, Harold Budd and Robyn Hitchcock. From 2002 to 2006, Partridge's APE House record label released several volumes of his demo (music), demos and songs as part of the ''Fuzzy War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Balfe
David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their first number one hit, "Country House". Biography David Balfe grew up in Merseyside, where he played with several Liverpool bands in the late 1970s that emerged from the city's legendary Eric's club scene, including Radio Blank, Big in Japan, Dalek I Love You, the Teardrop Explodes and Lori & The Chameleons. He also played keyboards on and co-produced the first Echo & the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes albums, as well as managing both bands with Bill Drummond for the years from their inception to early success. Zoo records Balfe and Drummond, having met while playing together in Big in Japan, founded the Zoo record label in 1978 to release Big in Japan's posthumous EP ''From Y to Z and Never Again''. The label went on to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojo (magazine)
''Mojo'' is a popular music music magazine, magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Ascential, Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer. Following the success of the magazine ''Q (magazine), Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music. The magazine was designed to appeal to the 30 to 45-plus age group, or the baby boomer generation. ''Mojo'' was first published on 15 October 1993. In keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars. Noted for its in-depth coverage of both popular and cult acts, it acted as the inspiration for ''Blender (magazine), Blender'' and ''Uncut (magazine), Uncut''. Many noted music critics have written for it, including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent, Jon Savage and Sylvie Simmons. The launch editor of ''Mojo'' was Paul Du Noyer and his successors have included Mat Snow, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterloo Sunset
"Waterloo Sunset" is a song by British rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album '' Something Else by the Kinks''. Composed and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the band's best known and most acclaimed songs, and is ranked number 14 on ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was also their first single that was available in true stereo. The record reached number 2 on the British charts in mid 1967. It was a top 10 hit in Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe. "Waterloo Sunset" was also released as a single in North America but failed to chart there. History Interviewed in May 1967, Ray Davies stated he wrote "Waterloo Sunset" having had "the actual melody line in my head for two or three years". He initially titled the song "Liverpool Sunset", but scrapped the Liverpool theme after the release of the Beatles' song "Penny Lane". The lyrics describe a solitary narrator watching ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of punk rock and heavy metal, but without punk's structure and speed. The genre featured the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Like these genres, grunge typically uses electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Grunge also incorporates influences from indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as social alienation, self-doubt, abuse, neglect, betrayal, social and emotional isolation, addiction, psychological trauma and a desire for freedom. The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop and the region's underground music scene. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. Erlewine was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is a nephew of the former musician and AllMusic founder Michael Erlewine. He studied at the University of Michigan, where he majored in English, and was a music editor (1993–94) and then arts editor (1994–1995) of the school's paper ''The Michigan Daily'', and DJ'd at the campus radio station, WCBN. He has contributed to many books, including ''All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' and ''All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-Hop''. References External linksErlewine's pageat Pitchfork.comContributionsto ''Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoegazing
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume.Pete Prown / Harvey P. Newquist: "One faction came to be known as dream-pop or "shoegazers" (for their habit of looking at the ground while playing the guitars on stage). They were musicians who played trancelike, ethereal music that was composed of numerous guitars playing heavy droning chords wrapped in echo effects and phase shifters.", Hal Leonard 1997, It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts. My Bloody Valentine's album '' Loveless'' (1991) is often seen as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popscene
"Popscene" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, released as a non-album single on 30 March 1992. Despite its relatively low chart placing, it has since become critically praised and regarded as one of the pioneering songs of the Britpop genre. Recording The song was first played live in late 1991, and recorded at Matrix Studios in Holborn with producer Steve Lovell. The lyrics showed frontman Damon Albarn's distaste for the music business, complaining that there were too many insignificant indie bands. Musically, it was different to the style seen on the group's first album ''Leisure'' and featured heavily flanged guitars, a Can influenced drumbeat, and brass from session players the Kick Horns. The band considered "Popscene" to be the loudest and best thing they had worked on at that point. Reception The single reached No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart, and was panned by both '' Melody Maker'' and ''NME''. The Beastie Boys, guest reviewing for NME, suggested the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Blur (band)")
