platypusfool

Sound quality is always perfect. Only exception was that thunder storm in 2005 that knocked out some stages.

this year. It was brilliant, obviously.

I liked the album a bit more than this even, I really enjoy "free jazz skronking and textural explorations" as much as the cracking tunes.

Another review here:

http://tinyurl.com/5on4sz

How expensive are the Hot Chip dates?

Too serious, too boring. This has only got attention cos it's from Leeds. Go and listen to Do Make Say Think, people!

But every time they announce a line-up there's only ever two or three bands I really like, and then just loads of similar ones. Where's the variety?

Getting excited for this now. Isn't it album number 10 though?

It's a good thing if even a few people pick up Laura Marling or Neon Neon or Portico Quartet because of this. It just bothers me that such weight is placed on winning any such arbitrary prize. The world is a very weird place.

i'm sure most people on here don't give a monkeys. But I do have friends and acquaintences who wouldn't blink twice at the Brit nominees, but work themselves up into a rage at the injustice of the Mercury. This can only be because they see it as more 'respectable'.

I've never understood the level of excitement / frustration / general hype that the Mercury receives from the broadsheet / slightly-left-field areas of the music press. It's just another Brit award, and the shortlist largely reflects this. The 12 here are simply the most popular and talked about albums that can still be considered musically astute. The actual quality of the music is largely irrelevant.

Besides, even if the primary concern was the quality of music, the nominations and eventual winner are all decided by a tiny panel of industry insiders. Why does anyone care what these few people think? Can't you make up your own minds? Or is there such a desperation to have your own opinions validated?

Surely in an internet age where the opinions of millions are freely available music awards are rendered utterly useless.

Sexy? I'm starting to think you've not even heard this.

they were very pleasant at Glasto, and that song's just fine. In fact, it's great to ride a bike to.

A) Super Furry Animals

Cos otherwise I'm guarenteed to miss him.

Buy a ticket for the weekend and get to go to all gigs at one venue for three days?

If I can possibly do this I am so there. Anyone got a sofa I can kip on in B'ham?

YAY! again!

You should be proud.

Great review as well, i'm literally salivating.

I'm there!

the band never made any mention of doing the free download thing for the reasons you've mentioned, that was just what people who wanted to believe Radiohead are staunchly anti-capitalist assumed.

Didn't they say they only did it, pretty much, to prevent the inevitability of it being leaked before release and being there for free anyway. In fact, if that's why they did it, they probably made more than they ever would have done. How many people who downloaded Kid A for free before release day paid to get In Rainbows?

Besides, it's always going to be floating around on bittorrent now it's out there - you will still be able to get it for free if you want - just the band wont look daft for selling a CD you can get for free off them.

Having said that, £50 is stupid for a gig before announcing lots of support, whether other big bands do it or not.

I downloaded this album the other day and it's brilliant - and that's coming from someone who only likes Daft Punk a little bit from vaguely enjoying 'Around the World' ten years ago. The mixes are pitched well, the beats are full, the synths full-bodied. Momentum builds up and relaxes, as you'd expect and want from a dance album; complaining about 'jerky stops' is nonsense.

Of course it pauses and has crowd noise, it's a live album, but it doesn't do this too often with many songs blending into one another. And they shouldn't be punished for failing to audibly record inherently silent visual tricks - which is what the reviewer seems to have done. Maybe I could forgive him if he spent more than half of this critiquing the music rather than discussing how relevent the band are, but he doesn't, and that's just lazy.