Music
There is a basic problem in reviewing a compilation marketed for nostalgic 30-year-olds in what is essentially a paper aimed at students. On receiving this record and talking to friends, it quickly became clear that "You remember Underworld, right... mid-90s... dance... ring any bells?" was not a valid gambit. Most of us, even you third and fourth years and younger post-grads, were probably still happily bouncing around to Ace of Base, the Spice Girls, and other banal pop/pap... hang on, why am I saying "were"? But you see exactly what I mean, don't you? This is not a studenty record.
This doesn't mean, however, that I wouldn't recommend it to most of the students I know. Cheese, slick R'n'B or Indie it ain't, but it is a good record of its own fashion. I remember 'Born Slippy', one of the tracks that appears on this album very well, but had never really had a chance to delve beyond the moody Trainspotting video I watched when I was 12 that time when Mum was out shopping, and I'm pleased to report that from a first-time-round point of view, this album is actually quite good, albeit in a limited context.
The problem, and indeed the solution, lies in the length of the tracks. Problem - this double CD will bore you senseless if you sit and digest it whole. The songs are long, repetitive, and essentially dull, and the added interest of large quantities of lyrics or catchy pop hooks is simply not present. Solution, however - we should be careful of taking these things out of context - put this on when your mates are round and you need some unobtrusive background music that actually sounds cool, and you'll see its value.
Similarly, the lack of fast development in the course of the tracks shows its worth when you take those same mates to a club. Here, the music is in its element, with tracks like 'Bigmouth' and 'Skyscraper I love you' (which apparently "defined the mid-90s" according to acquaintances from those heady times) giving a long, crescendo that leads to that trademark climax, keeping every hardcore raver going. The familiar and catchy funk of 'Born Slippy', the commercial breakthrough you're most likely to remember, comes on the second CD, and is ably aided by a collection of tracks that show Underworld's musical variety, something which is undoubtedly here, but not particularly obvious.
But you can't expect too much of what is, however, a simple compilation of a group whose contribution to the mainstream was certainly cursory. The faults that prevented Underworld becoming truly massive are here - the monotonous quality that a fifteen minute track can take on, especially when followed by a few more relatively similar ones, should not be underestimated.
For best results, listen to this CD when trashed off your face, sporting a lime green t-shirt and some naughty old combats hauled out of the back of the wardrobe from somewhere back in the good ol' days of '96.
'But some a fool never know di rule /Dem never did go to Basement Jaxx school' - words sung by Slarta John on Jump 'n' Shout. Sadly, this song is not on the new album - it's on Basement Jaxx's 1999 début, Remedy. Having given Kish Kash a spin, I'm beginning to wonder whether the pop duo should think about going back to Basement Jaxx school and reminding themselves of some of 'di rules' which enabled them to produce two stunning albums for XL.
'Lucky Star' is one of the highlights of the new record. It features Dizzee Rascal and he carries the track. However, everything else about it is deeply naff, from the limp electronica beat at the outset to that dreadful pseudo-Bollywood melody. And since when have Basement Jaxx ever been satisfied with a one-note bassline?
The production on this album is just so nebulous. Much of the attraction of the first two albums was the judicious use of silence - this is what made them funky. Funk is about precise, tight melodic fragments, rhythm and the tension caused by the space between each sound. Just listen to the beginning of Red Alert from their début.
First, we hear a muffled version of the track to come, then we hear the bassline going solo, with silence between each riff - our ears are glued to the speakers. Moreover, this clarity of presentation continues throughout the song. A clearly defined bass, a synth riff, a sharp house beat, and a well-place vocal (not to mention the fabulous 'string quartet' break).
Kish Kash is a different world. Not only can we not really hear what is happening, we begin to suspect that what is happening simply isn't of any interest. Instead of a selection of attractive, characterful and individual numbers, jam-packed with clever little ideas, in the bass, in the vocals, in the synths, we are faced with a tapestry of noise, where the only mild interest is created by almost cringe-worthily bad R&B vocals. Surely the first lesson at Basement Jaxx school should have taught the boys that fairly mediocre backing vocalists singing 'delirious' from time to time is not very interesting.
The first time I saw Snow Patrol they were supporting the Levellers. Frontman Gary Lightbody's leg was in plaster having fallen off the stage the night before. Dreadlocked Levellers fans sat around the edge of the venue, smoking roll-ups and drinking cider. I became immersed in a beautfiul racket, with angular riffs, big choruses and scratched samples.
Lightbody started hopping around the stage like a crazed, one-legged frog, imploring the crusties to come to the stage, or at least to stand up. At the end of that performance Lightbody hobbled off the stage in front of a few dozen perplexed tree-huggers. At the end of tonight's performance there was a clamour between half a dozen blokes for the drum sticks and plectrums that were tossed into the crowd.
Six years on and Snow Patrol have released three albums, added a fourth member to thicken their sound and have started creating music so majestic that even the most encrusted of listeners will be stirred.
The fervent frustration that was tangible six years ago has turned into a demeanour of fulfillment and self-confidence. In the summer Snow Patrol played the Wittnness festival in Ireland. While playing the lead riff of the glorious recent single, 'Run', I'm sure I saw a flicker of a self-satisfied smirk on Lightbody's face, as though he was thinking, "Finally... this is it".
Tonight, after the crowd sing his words back at him, that smirk is a massive grin. Snow Patrol are moving into the big league, and they think, along with everyone else, that it's about fucking time.
Snow Patrol open with 'Wow', its edgy riff and racey chorus setting the tempo for the rest of the night. A few songs later and people are pogo-ing so much that the floor feels like a trampoline. The set consists largely of songs from recent album Final Straw, which is a collection of sumptuous, infectious tunes; catchy enough to be memorable on the first play, and complex enough to withstand repeated listening. In the live setting, as has always been the case with Snow Patrol, the subtleties are buried under layers of noise, but the stripped down and turned-up version works perfectly, so no-one seems to care.
They combine raucous rock with the introspective, vulnerable Indie that has invited the Sebadoh and Folk Implosion comparisons. They have songs thick with the sense of longing that characterised Coldplay before Gwyneth Paltrow arrived on the scene, but they can also provide the soundtrack to a decent party. As a result they provide a performance which is at turns uniquely personal and exultantly communal. Not many bands can pull that off.
A member of the audience opines that the next single, the bouncy ode to infatuation 'Spitting Games', will be a number one.
Lightbody laughs it off, but you can tell by his reaction that he's thought about it.
Dearest Freshers and everyone else I suppose, what a delight it is to welcome you to this very hip and happening Oxford music scene!
You'd have to be seriously boring to not take advantage of at least a little of the healthy day-to-day musical activity that fills our colleges and University concert venues. More than any other university in the country, Oxford hosts an array of performances that can, more often than not, provide pleasure to the affections and bring joy to the senses.
Even if the standard is not great, the informal and youthful atmosphere that Oxford naturally creates for the arts makes it all worth while, not to mention the social benefits.
Taking part will of course feed such privileges. But for us punters, there's plenty to enjoy. Firstly, the opera: not only do we have the opportunity to see some top professional companies like Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Welsh National Opera - who are showing Mozart's Marriage of Figaro this week, surely a must see - there are a few student companies that can be great fun; Oxford City Opera, Opera Oxford and the smaller, more professional New Chamber Opera.
And of course, there are plenty of university student orchestras to listen to who all usually offer agreeable programmes, like OUO (performing on Friday of 5th week), OU Philharmonia (Thursday of 7th), OU Chamber Orchestra (Saturday of 6th), OU Sinfonietta (Tuesday of 8th), Oxford Millennium Orchestra (Wednesday of 8th) and The Dionysus Players (Thursday of 8th), not to mention the numerous college orchestras.
There are many, many choirs in Oxford, sometimes too many. The three choral foundations (Christ Church, New and Magdalen) offer exceptionally appealing daily Evensong, which are free and open to all and definitely worth a visit if you want to chill out and watch the angelic singers under the candles. Then there's Schola Cantorum and the Arcadians, along with the lighter Out of the Blue and Oxford Gargoyles who all give termly concerts.
Do look out for masterclasses and other similar events that are presented by the Music Faculty this term. Believe me, these can often be a great experience. Or why not check out some of the many college recital programmes on offer. St Peters' and Magdalen, amongst others, often present excellent lunchtime concerts: Christ Church (Thursdays) offers one to two recitals each week at a particularly good standard, likewise with New Chamber Opera (Fridays), and the Union (Wednesdays) has just this weeksuccessfully begun its new series . OUMS presents evening concerts in the Holywell Music Rooms on Tuesdays.
And there's much, much more! If not from the students, then from the big professionals.
One thing I'd suggest before I sod off back to my bed is that the young, sexy Jonathan Lemalu is definitely worth seeing this weekend (in the JD at, St Hilda's). I saw him last night at Covent Garden, and all I can say is, well, what a singer!
23rd Oct 2003