Classical
The Philharmonia orchestra has had a colourful history. Established in 1945 by EMI executive Walter Legge primarily as a recording orchestra (it remains the world's most recorded symphony orchestra), the Philharmonia has gone from strength to strength, having worked under, most famously, Klemperer, Karajan, Sinopoli, and Salonen. The orchestra is now in its fifth season with Christoph von Dohnanyi and it was with their Principal Conductor that they embarked on a critically acclaimed Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with virtuoso Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev. ...
Music: Live
"He has no friends," begins the portentous sample introducing Britain's greatest rock band. Not strictly true, given that fifteen thousand Muse devotees are enthusiastically lipsticking mutual greetings on the toilet walls, but it doesn't stop a typically contrary Matt Bellamy from starting the show with a song nobody's ever heard before. Despite 'Muscle Museum's enduringly dodgy Playstation-gone-goth intro, it's extraordinary to hear the familiar line "I have played in every toilet" in this glittering arena, but, declaring "paradise comes at a price that I am not prepared to pay", 'Megalomania' demonstrates an unwavering integrity. Whether slashing out the controlled hysteria of 'Showbiz' or soaring through 'Unintended', Bellamy is searing and sincere, but it's second opus Origin Of Symmetry (played in its entirety tonight), with its neo-classical flourishes on the fringes of monolithically heavy rock, which really provides the thrills....
Music: Singles
So after all these years of Kelly Jones sounding quite remarkably like Rod Stewart, he has finally faced the music and released 'Handbags and Gladrags', a Rod Stewart masterpiece of sorts. It's the Stereophonics' first cover ever released as a single and a questionable decision at best. With all the trite metaphors and inane nursery rhyme references, one would have guessed it would have been a Stereophonics original even, but alas no. Still, despite it all, there is undeniably some guilty pleasure in listening to Kelly kick out the same old vocal tricks to the likes of Rod Stewart and even John Lennon's 'How'. So in the end, it may be that tired old voice sung to the same old tune, but honestly, it's quite lovely....
Music: Albums
So The Strokes are the most exciting new band of the year? Pah! Look behind their daft names and the NME hype and they're just... ordinary. Now look at Mower, hailing from Goldsmiths College, looking like a bunch of I.T. students, drawing inspiration from Blur, Nirvana, The Pixies, you can say what you like about them, but they are certainly not ordinary. Indeed, this eponymous debut album, produced by Graham Coxon (the miserable one from Blur), is designed to make you take notice....
Music: Albums Of The Year: 2001
The Beta Band - Hot Shots II