kowalski

you can both bollocks. 1 1/2 stars for each of your opinions.

to be honest, it was more of a comment on people whinging about negative reviews than anything else. i ended up ranting on this review because, as you correctly surmise, i fucking hate belle and sebastien and find it very difficult to believe that anyone could ever rate them that highly.

but your opinion's not invalid - just WRONG

the score was a right mixed bag. blunted on reality was ace, especially the remix of 'nappyheads'. apart from that, i prefer that one about running off with a stripper.

about three times a week someone has the nerve to suggest that a negative review should have been done by a fan, so it's 'not too horrible'. then about ten people have a go at them and say that it's important to have balanced reviews, and that negativity is important. so then you go and get a guy to review it who loves B&S so much that they print the fucking setlist out at the bottom of the review and give it maximum points? fuck that. i guess that makes it the best show they've ever seen? bollocks.

easily the best song on the album, apart from maybe 'blood'. admittedly, it's a bit 'current' and all that, but their choruses are a lot stronger than a lot of their contemporaries.

that fan site is awesome. you're right - it is an interesting read. but 'he died on friday the 13th, which is a very suspicious day'... cue raising of finger to mouth, dr. evil style...

they've begun to use couplets and four line bursts from his raps of years back - a verse here and there... and they've basically raped his legacy good and proper. he has indeed made more records since he was dead. and up to and including 'strictly 4 my niggaz' he was excellent, and an important figure... so now it's a shame that folks are getting rich as fuck by imaginary duets with elton john that would have made him sick as a dog.

it's almost like there's a TupacRap Machine - just put in the number of lines needed for a verse, and the computer will pull out the necessary rhymes from his back catalogue. it sucks, and fucking hard.

shit hot live, though. strangely, they played this one twice - a bit of a weird choice. wouldn't be surprised if the album's ace after the show that he/they put on on saturday. i think that the majority of this album is going to piss all over that single.

cant' argue with the picture, either...

i logged on this morning, all excited and wanting to write about how fucking great they were on Saturday in Cardiff. But it appears that the ledge has pre-empted it all... walk the earth was indeed superb, and the anarchy encore was very entertaining. it was definitely NOT that much of a departure from the old beta band stuff - in fact, i'd say that it was more beta band than the last couple of albums they released. fucking great gig, and i can't wait to get hold of the album. glad he's back.

couldn't agree more. thought the article was pretty good, and absolutely FUCK ALL like hunter thompson. in fact, the only association i could find was the mention of the kentucky derby. hardly a carbon copy of anything to do with the man, not even his music writings themselves.

however, this moves us away from the real point - which is that test-icicles are indeed, utterly fucking shit. a nodding, knowing, winking triumph of style over content that can fuck off back to the episode of nathan barley that spewed it up in the first place. music for people to smirk to. i even had to watch this band three times before i could comprehend how much i hated it.

shrewd move... be in an ok band that doesn't sell a lot of records. muck about in a studio sticking bits of tunes together. when everyone goes mental about it and says what fun it all is, tag your own set onto the back of the tour and try and flog some of your 'proper' music as well. i don't hate either soulwax or 2manydjs but i was pretty sure that they were completely separate entities? must be a pisser when you need your dj act to tour to sell some of your records, and you have to support your side-project every night

no they're not. wouldn't buy it, but it's certainly not retarded. well produced, and they've made it this far by taking the piss. might as well take it some more, hadn't they? to be honest, i very much doubt that they're bothered about some grumpy drowned in sound readers when they only started doing it all as a piss-take in the first place.

"if you know they're a great band, leave it." right... so you shouldn't say anything shitty about new/small profile bands? a bit like what my mum would say. "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". bollocks. as stated above, this website is for reviews. if something doesn't live up to expectations, then say so. it was made quite clear by the reviewer that she had high hopes for the show, and it didn't come close. for fuck's sake -someone said that your favourite band played a shit show. deal with it.

mine too. and you can smell that yeast the minute you get off the train...

saw him in cardiff about six months ago, and thought it was a blag about him signing to interscope. but the recorded stuff's pretty good. and the criticism's not really justified... surely most rappers rap about what they know? and when they don't, they get called 'fake' or 'sell-out'? sofuckingwhatdoyouexpect?

is that comment positive?

shame. that stage is a bag of shit compared to the other stage. the scream did it proud a couple of years back - best festival show i've seen in years!

they went down like a sack of shit in cardiff. never seen a more disinterested crowd, and that was for the launch party. is it me or did the backing singers look like a pair of coked-up golfers?

i think they're both pretty shit films, to be honest. and both have got fantastic live performances running throughout, and are purely vehicles for the stars within. so i guess the comparison isn't that lazy... but as for '8 mile' being 'as compelling as anything since kids'? fucking hell. it's a weak script held together by a good director. take out what is essentially some great live performance and you've a cobbled together hip-hop rocky without a good ending. brilliant. i'd rather watch the extras.

are primal scream playing earlier on sunday, then? least that's sorted. them and ian brown will amuse no end, and hopefully mani can run across to the other stage and knock out a couple of tunes with him...

it's a shame this band ever existed. blur were good, but fronted by a class A dick. now gorillaz are here, and are 'changing the face of music' by performing behind a screen. genius. is this really something that dangermouse and roots manuva are going to be proud of in five years time? hardly the 'grey album' or 'dusted', is it?

i didn't know that they had any fans left. so people actually like that guy's voice? and those poor, lonely teen years lyrics? she was fit, though.

god... 'a timely and concise performance'. this reads like alan partridge kicking off. elvis costello clearly cared a great deal about the other important thing in his life, which is liverpool fc. oasis did exactly the same thing that night, and they support Manchester City. refusing to come out until after penalties, they then took the stage and sang 'you'll never walk alone' with the fans, who seemed in a pretty good mood and willing to go along with it all. deal with it. suppose you whinge when a performer's had a drink before playing as well, do you?you grumpy old bastards.

they're all right. the album sold a shitload because their label brought it out at exactly the right time, but 'take me out' is good no matter how many times you've heard it. the rest of it went a bit poncey art-school for me. michael and matinee were both bags of shit.

arcade fire are good though. specially 'wake up'.

a big cult band? jesus christ. i'm not even a massive fan but can see that they try and do something interesting every time. always pushing things forward, always intelligent. plus they know how to write a harmony or two, and have never really let themselves down despite a changing market... actually, fuck it. looks like i am a big fan after all.

i'm still a bit disturbed by the fact that that dakota one didn't make me want to hit him quite as much as normal. still, that's not to say it's good. maybe i'm just getting old.

bummer. can't argue with that, i suppose...

yeah, i agree. they're good fun live, and for about the first hundred listens they're good fun on record to. but the only real belter is 'i predict a riot'. and i don't think that they'll be around for too long, with the level of saturation that we're enduring - there's not enough substance. i read a review (but can't remember where) that made sense - it said that they might predict a riot, but they're never going to cause one.

well, there we go, then. great bands change your life. decent bands change it, but only (to an extent).

were they? i didn't think that yeti's songs stand up, or that john whatever holds any attention whatsoever. and it's not the crack that makes you consequential, it's the tunes. he's the bassist. the frontmen write and perform the tunes in this case, but that's a different story. and the bandits are a decent band, but not suited to an arena tour. they're decent, and good guys - but the influences that they wear on their sleeves are a little more psychedelic than most average joes... so perhaps that's what the author means by saying that they were a strange choice. and as for the melodies and harmonies... come on, it's not a bad record. and you need a bit of oasis in your life. even if it's to get pissed off about what liam's said this time. i'm not a massive fan, but jesus, they make me piss myself. they don't make 'em like those boys anymore...

fair play. i've seen both live, and whilst i've done my best to like maximo park more than i do, you'd be stupid to say that they stand up to the futureheads live show. there's something quite likeable and approachable about the tunes, but they don't hit me quite as hard after a few listens. lyrically and melodically both acts are good, but the futureheads are one of the best live acts i've seen in the last few years. and 'acrobat' is pretty decent - it was my favourite track the first time i heard it. the singles are decent, but the chorus on that tune is superb. and yes, it does sound a bit 'low' era bowie. what's the problem? apart from the vocalist looking a bit like mr muscle?

i'm not sure - i've seen them a few times, and have had the album a while. they entertained me live, and i'd recommend anyone who's not seen them getting down to the next tour... but i'm not sure i'll go back to it at all. it is funny, but there's only so many times that you can chuckle at a well-thought out piece of sloganeering. but it'd be daft to hate it without seeing the live show - eddie argos is very entertaining, and pretty likeable. go and see them if you've not, then listen to the album a couple of times. but don't expect it to change your life, unless your name's emily kane.