This blog is now obsolete, if you would like to continue reading my rantings and ravings then please may I direct you to my website where you can find my new blog and a dedicated reviews section.
Thanks
GB
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio (07/02/2011)
Apologies for not going online on Tuesday, but I was very busy and very tired (yes it does happen). I am however going online tonight, and I will be announcing my top albums of 2010!! Bit late, I know but oh well, that's life. I will of course be posting a blog post about it AFTER the show, so tune in tonight!! 8pm!! www.music-sense.co.uk!!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio (25/01/2011)
So it seems I quite like this whole radio shindig, and I was told that I wasn't too bad...so here is the song-list for tonight's show, as with last week, it is likely to change before, and even during, the show.
Points Of Authority (Reanimation Remix) - Linkin Park
Do No Wrong - Thirteen Senses
Toxic - Marillion
Obsession - Innerpartysystem
One Of My Turns - Pink Floyd
Rubik's Cube - Athlete
Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte
Halo - Porcupine Tree
Within You - David Bowie
Simple And Clean (PlanitB Remix) - Utada Hikaru
Cartoons And Macramé Wounds - Mew
Country House - Blur
The Fountain - Pendulum
This weeks set list is a lot more electronic than last weeks, the songs on it are also a lot shorter than that of last week, with only 1 being over 5 minutes long...
Tune in tonight for a great show!
Points Of Authority (Reanimation Remix) - Linkin Park
Do No Wrong - Thirteen Senses
Toxic - Marillion
Obsession - Innerpartysystem
One Of My Turns - Pink Floyd
Rubik's Cube - Athlete
Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte
Halo - Porcupine Tree
Within You - David Bowie
Simple And Clean (PlanitB Remix) - Utada Hikaru
Cartoons And Macramé Wounds - Mew
Country House - Blur
The Fountain - Pendulum
This weeks set list is a lot more electronic than last weeks, the songs on it are also a lot shorter than that of last week, with only 1 being over 5 minutes long...
Tune in tonight for a great show!
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio
Yes people, it is me, the one and only Geek-Boy come here to my glorious blog to inform you that I will be 'DJ'ing on Music-Sense.co.uk this very evening. From 8pm.
Here is the provisional set-list for this evening.
Beatiful Songs You Should Know - noman
A Smart Kid - Porcupine Tree
Dreaming Light - Anathema
Passion ~opening version~ - Utada Hikaru
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - Mew
Time is Running Out - Muse
Take My Hand For A While - Red Box
Grounds For Divorce - Elbow
Haemoglobin - Placebo
Feuer Frei - Rammstein
Staralfur (Acoustic) - Sigur Ros
The Big Sleep - Bat For Lashes
If you have any requests then feel free to make them at www.music-sense.co.uk, click on the "listen now" button and then select requests!
See you all online!!
Here is the provisional set-list for this evening.
Beatiful Songs You Should Know - noman
A Smart Kid - Porcupine Tree
Dreaming Light - Anathema
Passion ~opening version~ - Utada Hikaru
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - Mew
Time is Running Out - Muse
Take My Hand For A While - Red Box
Grounds For Divorce - Elbow
Haemoglobin - Placebo
Feuer Frei - Rammstein
Staralfur (Acoustic) - Sigur Ros
The Big Sleep - Bat For Lashes
If you have any requests then feel free to make them at www.music-sense.co.uk, click on the "listen now" button and then select requests!
See you all online!!
Monday, 20 December 2010
Anathema, Red Box and Linkin Park
So the re-branding to Dingram@Blogspot didn't work, due to the fact that my contributors didn't send me anything other than abuse, so stuff them. In this blog post I will be reviewing three albums which I believe will be numbers 1, 2 and 3 (though the order is as yet unknown) when the “Best of 2010” is announced. Two of these albums are from bands which I haven't listened to before, even though I have heard of them in passing. The first album is by a Liverpudlian band called Anathema, this distinctly proggy band have been on my radar for a few years due to them being on the same record label as Porcupine Tree (k-scope). The second album is a resurgence by a vaguely successful 80's band (they had 2 top ten singles) who have decided to reform a mere 20 years after their previous album. Though I have not heard any of their previous stuff I had heard of them due to the fact that my father had been trying for years to purchase on of their albums/EP's off of ebay for less than £100. It was my father who recommended that I give the album a listen as it is very similar to the stuff which I am listening to at the moment. The third and final album is by the Mega-Rock superstars who are Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns.
Anathema – We're Here Because We're Here (2010)
iTMS - No Spotify Link
I was slightly reluctant to listen to this album because I already have far too much music on my iPod, and I expected the Anathema album to be some sort of generic psudo-prog. How wrong I was, this album was an early contender for “Album of the Year”, it is immediately obvious that this album has had Steven Wilson all over it (he mixed the album). The album starts out strongly with Thin Air, this track starts off slow, and then build and builds, the lyrics of this track are quite emphatic as well, the main chorus line of “And it feels like we're already flying/But the air is too thin and we're dying” really brings the sense of emotion to the fore. The album has no dull moments, and even the Pink Floyd-esque Presence - which is just an instrumental track with someone talking over it, about struggling with mortality – conveys such a sense of emotion and calmness that it is very hard to criticise. After Presence Anathema really hit their stride with the über proggy A Simple Mistake it has been argued that this is the best track on the album (by none other than my father) I disagree with this (With track 3 Dreaming Light being my favourite at the moment) however I do agree that it is a spectacular, and epic, song. This album concludes with another instrumental/spoken word track, this time a female voice talking about the power which love has. The track begins with the old war chant “We're here because, We're here because; We're here because we're here.” which is a really inspired idea, and works really well in the context of the album.
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 8
Overall Sound – 8
A
Red Box – Plenty
iTMS - No Spotify Link
This was another album which I was reluctant to listen to as I had not heard them before, though of course because of my father I knew of them. Red Box were a band who were quite successful with their first album (released in 1986) which spawned two top-ten tracks in Lean on Me and For America. Unfortunately they were quite original so the record company didn't promote their second album at all, and they fizzled out of existence...until now! (Shock, Horror and Awe!)
Plenty is one of those albums where you hear the first minute of the first track and you think “I love this”, the opening track Stay is quiet, yet powerful. The second track is much more lively, yet still with that same power. I could say the same for the rest of the album. There is not a duff track on this album, some do take some listening to before they click, but the whole album is a Pop Masterpiece. The stand out tracks on the album are Hurricane (Track 2), Don't Let Go (Track 8), Sacred Wall (Track 11), Let It Rain (Track 12) and The Sign (Track 5). The reason I have ended with The Sign is because it is the stand out track on the album for one reason alone, it has the same great writing and music, but the thing which makes this track so good is the chorus line which consists of normal vocals combined with a sort of tribal chanting. It may sound like it wouldn't work, but surprisingly it does.
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 8
Originality – 9
Overall Sound – 7
A
Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns
iTMS - Spotify
The third and final album to be reviewed, and yet again I was very reluctant to listen to this album. Though unlike the previous two the reason is not due to the fact that the band were unknown to me, on the contrary Linkin Park were one of the first bands which I listened to and enjoyed (along with Rammstein and Blur). The problem I have with Linkin Park is that Hybrid Theory (The band's first album) was so good, Meteora (Second Album) was great, though not to the same standard of Hybrid Theory and Minutes To Midnight (Third Album) was average in places and just plain bad in others. So with this in mind I delayed on purchasing A Thousand Suns because I assumed that it would continue the trend, then loads of people started ranting that it wasn't any good, that they too believed that since Hybrid Theory the band had decayed. I eventually bought the album when I was Christmas shopping, it was on special offer, and I had this blog post in mind the first time I listened to it. I had a whole post developed about bands which have peaked too early (Keane, Thirteen Senses, Guillemots, Enter Shikari and to a certain extent The Killers were on the list). So I listened, and I judged, and all I can say is...
DAMN YOU LINKIN PARK!! You have ruined a perfectly good blog post, with a sound theme! This album is excellent, I can understand why people don't like it, the band has overcome the burden of being at the forefront of American rock music, and have gotten on and done something new and different – yet still Linkin Park – and they should be (and quite rightly are) proud of it. If you take the individual tracks from the album and lay them side by side with those from Hybrid Theory I think the tracks from Hybrid Theory would just about win it, but listen to the two as albums, as they should be heard, and with A Thousand Suns you have something pure, whole and utterly outstanding. The things which served Linkin Park so well on their first two albums – the back and forth between Chester and Mike; the Electro-Synth-Pop from Joe Hahn and the innovative merging of several genres – have returned, along with what was good about Minutes To Midnight - the thought provoking lyrics; epic guitar solos; emotional togetherness – have combined, along with something new which I just can't place, to create this album which should change the face of rock for years to come. When They Come For Me (Track 5) has that same back and forth between the two frontmen which was missing from Minutes To Midnight, and includes a line, from Mike Shinoda, obviously aimed at those people who did just want more of the same which is Cos' even a blueprint is a gift and a curse // Cos' once you got the theory of how the thing works // Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first which entertained me quite a bit when I realised it was there. This is Linkin Park back to their best, and I truly believe that this album is better than Hybrid Theory. The reason that some people dislike this album is clear, it's new, it's creative and most obvious is that it has a distinctly Proggy edge to it, so much so that I believe that they have, once again, created a new genre, taking their Nu Metal moniker, combining it with progressive thinking, longer tracks and a better flowing album (which more bands seem to be doing now) to create Progressive Nu Metal. Well done guys! You have done the impossible!
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 10
Overall Sound – 10
S
Well that's it for this post, though I'm sure there will be a few more in the future, I am going to try hard to get out a few posts a month, though don't count on it...
Laters
GB
Song of the Week is:-
Linkin Park - Robot Boy
iTMS - Spotify
Anathema – We're Here Because We're Here (2010)
iTMS - No Spotify Link
I was slightly reluctant to listen to this album because I already have far too much music on my iPod, and I expected the Anathema album to be some sort of generic psudo-prog. How wrong I was, this album was an early contender for “Album of the Year”, it is immediately obvious that this album has had Steven Wilson all over it (he mixed the album). The album starts out strongly with Thin Air, this track starts off slow, and then build and builds, the lyrics of this track are quite emphatic as well, the main chorus line of “And it feels like we're already flying/But the air is too thin and we're dying” really brings the sense of emotion to the fore. The album has no dull moments, and even the Pink Floyd-esque Presence - which is just an instrumental track with someone talking over it, about struggling with mortality – conveys such a sense of emotion and calmness that it is very hard to criticise. After Presence Anathema really hit their stride with the über proggy A Simple Mistake it has been argued that this is the best track on the album (by none other than my father) I disagree with this (With track 3 Dreaming Light being my favourite at the moment) however I do agree that it is a spectacular, and epic, song. This album concludes with another instrumental/spoken word track, this time a female voice talking about the power which love has. The track begins with the old war chant “We're here because, We're here because; We're here because we're here.” which is a really inspired idea, and works really well in the context of the album.
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 8
Overall Sound – 8
A
Red Box – Plenty
iTMS - No Spotify Link
This was another album which I was reluctant to listen to as I had not heard them before, though of course because of my father I knew of them. Red Box were a band who were quite successful with their first album (released in 1986) which spawned two top-ten tracks in Lean on Me and For America. Unfortunately they were quite original so the record company didn't promote their second album at all, and they fizzled out of existence...until now! (Shock, Horror and Awe!)
Plenty is one of those albums where you hear the first minute of the first track and you think “I love this”, the opening track Stay is quiet, yet powerful. The second track is much more lively, yet still with that same power. I could say the same for the rest of the album. There is not a duff track on this album, some do take some listening to before they click, but the whole album is a Pop Masterpiece. The stand out tracks on the album are Hurricane (Track 2), Don't Let Go (Track 8), Sacred Wall (Track 11), Let It Rain (Track 12) and The Sign (Track 5). The reason I have ended with The Sign is because it is the stand out track on the album for one reason alone, it has the same great writing and music, but the thing which makes this track so good is the chorus line which consists of normal vocals combined with a sort of tribal chanting. It may sound like it wouldn't work, but surprisingly it does.
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 8
Originality – 9
Overall Sound – 7
A
Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns
iTMS - Spotify
The third and final album to be reviewed, and yet again I was very reluctant to listen to this album. Though unlike the previous two the reason is not due to the fact that the band were unknown to me, on the contrary Linkin Park were one of the first bands which I listened to and enjoyed (along with Rammstein and Blur). The problem I have with Linkin Park is that Hybrid Theory (The band's first album) was so good, Meteora (Second Album) was great, though not to the same standard of Hybrid Theory and Minutes To Midnight (Third Album) was average in places and just plain bad in others. So with this in mind I delayed on purchasing A Thousand Suns because I assumed that it would continue the trend, then loads of people started ranting that it wasn't any good, that they too believed that since Hybrid Theory the band had decayed. I eventually bought the album when I was Christmas shopping, it was on special offer, and I had this blog post in mind the first time I listened to it. I had a whole post developed about bands which have peaked too early (Keane, Thirteen Senses, Guillemots, Enter Shikari and to a certain extent The Killers were on the list). So I listened, and I judged, and all I can say is...
DAMN YOU LINKIN PARK!! You have ruined a perfectly good blog post, with a sound theme! This album is excellent, I can understand why people don't like it, the band has overcome the burden of being at the forefront of American rock music, and have gotten on and done something new and different – yet still Linkin Park – and they should be (and quite rightly are) proud of it. If you take the individual tracks from the album and lay them side by side with those from Hybrid Theory I think the tracks from Hybrid Theory would just about win it, but listen to the two as albums, as they should be heard, and with A Thousand Suns you have something pure, whole and utterly outstanding. The things which served Linkin Park so well on their first two albums – the back and forth between Chester and Mike; the Electro-Synth-Pop from Joe Hahn and the innovative merging of several genres – have returned, along with what was good about Minutes To Midnight - the thought provoking lyrics; epic guitar solos; emotional togetherness – have combined, along with something new which I just can't place, to create this album which should change the face of rock for years to come. When They Come For Me (Track 5) has that same back and forth between the two frontmen which was missing from Minutes To Midnight, and includes a line, from Mike Shinoda, obviously aimed at those people who did just want more of the same which is Cos' even a blueprint is a gift and a curse // Cos' once you got the theory of how the thing works // Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first which entertained me quite a bit when I realised it was there. This is Linkin Park back to their best, and I truly believe that this album is better than Hybrid Theory. The reason that some people dislike this album is clear, it's new, it's creative and most obvious is that it has a distinctly Proggy edge to it, so much so that I believe that they have, once again, created a new genre, taking their Nu Metal moniker, combining it with progressive thinking, longer tracks and a better flowing album (which more bands seem to be doing now) to create Progressive Nu Metal. Well done guys! You have done the impossible!
Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 10
Overall Sound – 10
S
Well that's it for this post, though I'm sure there will be a few more in the future, I am going to try hard to get out a few posts a month, though don't count on it...
Laters
GB
Song of the Week is:-
Linkin Park - Robot Boy
iTMS - Spotify
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Monday Music Madness!
-Results-
By Dingram
Well that went well, I have had one response to the "Quiz" and I had to force her to do it (Not physically, but she really wanted something and this was my compensation for it) and then I've just had too much to do lately so no posts... Anyway, now for the answers!
1) Rammstein - Amerika
2) Enter Shikari - Return To Energiser
3) Jay-Z - 99 Problems
4) The Veronicas - Untouched
5) The Killers - Somebody Told Me
6) U2 - No Line On The Horizon
7) Porcupine Tree - A Smart Kid
Those are the answers (for those who are interested the one response was a correct guess of 99 Problems...).
The next quiz (posted at some point tomorrow) will be Obscure Tracks (be they b-sides or unknown album titles).
By Dingram
Well that went well, I have had one response to the "Quiz" and I had to force her to do it (Not physically, but she really wanted something and this was my compensation for it) and then I've just had too much to do lately so no posts... Anyway, now for the answers!
1) Rammstein - Amerika
2) Enter Shikari - Return To Energiser
3) Jay-Z - 99 Problems
4) The Veronicas - Untouched
5) The Killers - Somebody Told Me
6) U2 - No Line On The Horizon
7) Porcupine Tree - A Smart Kid
Those are the answers (for those who are interested the one response was a correct guess of 99 Problems...).
The next quiz (posted at some point tomorrow) will be Obscure Tracks (be they b-sides or unknown album titles).
Monday, 23 August 2010
Monday Music Madness!
-The Start of a New Era of Blogging-
By Dingram
Welcome, people, to my first in what will hopefully be a long running series of posts, written for Mondays. We all hate Mondays, it's just something which naturally develops in all people, now whilst I am not yet on Monday (it being -1:40 1) I appreciate that a lot of you are, and I'm sure you're all hating it.
Monday Music Madness, then, is designed to either frustrate you with the sudden realisation of your inadequate knowledge of music or enthrall you in a brand new and exciting quiz. There will be rewards and prizes (initially in the form of GBP2 until I decide on something better) and fun facts. These rewards can either be cashed (for as yet unknown gifts) or you can hold on to them until my website is fully developed (i.e. 2015), there will be a use for them then. I will try my best to calculate and I have a spreadsheet ready for all of those points accumulated.
So let's get this party started already!!
The first quiz is a simple, fun, yet still annoying concept. The lyrics in songs are often left up to personal interpretation, but can you guess which songs (and artists) these are by my interpretation of the lyrics (these may not be my interpretations just fun stuff) - There are 5 GBP up for grab for each correct answer.
1) This band are situated in the USA, with coca-cola and wonderbra...but remember, this is not a lovesong!
2) This band are playing quasar and have run out of lives and need to get more.
3) This gentleman has a multitude of issues, but he manages to keep his women in check.
4) This duo just need some human interaction, as they are feeling a little lonely.
5) This guy has been informed that you were dating a man who could be a woman he's previously had relations with.
6) Look into the distance, there aren't and 1 Dimensional objects there...
7) Post-apocalyptic boy, left all alone. Aliens appear to discover what happened.
Answers either in the comments section (below), it is now unlocked for anyone to post in with or without a Blogspot account, on the FB status promoting this entry, via direct message (twitter), e-mail, or on a Post-Card3. Answers will be revealed on Friday.
Did You Know?
On Lateralus, by Tool, the title track (Lateralus) incorporates the Fibonacci sequence? See here for more details
That's it for todays Monday Music Madness. I have just received an e-mail from Fernando De La Queso, which is probably his football report, so I'll read that and see about posting it in the next couple of days, but for now thanks for reading.
1 If you are still not caught up on 1337 time then a) Shame on you, and b) let me elaborate, due to my job and sleep pattern I needed a new time zone, and seeing as 13:37 seemed to be roughly midnight to me I decided that all of my timings are now either + or - 1337 if it is + & - 12 then it is Anti-1337 (or midday).
2 GBP is Geek-Boy Points, which I have just realised doesn't work now that I have a new poster called Geek-Boy, see I knew we'd end up fighting over this whole anonymity thing.
3 Post-Cards to :-
Seriously,
Are You Living In the Stone Age,
The Internet,
HA2 9HA
By Dingram
Welcome, people, to my first in what will hopefully be a long running series of posts, written for Mondays. We all hate Mondays, it's just something which naturally develops in all people, now whilst I am not yet on Monday (it being -1:40 1) I appreciate that a lot of you are, and I'm sure you're all hating it.
Monday Music Madness, then, is designed to either frustrate you with the sudden realisation of your inadequate knowledge of music or enthrall you in a brand new and exciting quiz. There will be rewards and prizes (initially in the form of GBP2 until I decide on something better) and fun facts. These rewards can either be cashed (for as yet unknown gifts) or you can hold on to them until my website is fully developed (i.e. 2015), there will be a use for them then. I will try my best to calculate and I have a spreadsheet ready for all of those points accumulated.
So let's get this party started already!!
The first quiz is a simple, fun, yet still annoying concept. The lyrics in songs are often left up to personal interpretation, but can you guess which songs (and artists) these are by my interpretation of the lyrics (these may not be my interpretations just fun stuff) - There are 5 GBP up for grab for each correct answer.
1) This band are situated in the USA, with coca-cola and wonderbra...but remember, this is not a lovesong!
2) This band are playing quasar and have run out of lives and need to get more.
3) This gentleman has a multitude of issues, but he manages to keep his women in check.
4) This duo just need some human interaction, as they are feeling a little lonely.
5) This guy has been informed that you were dating a man who could be a woman he's previously had relations with.
6) Look into the distance, there aren't and 1 Dimensional objects there...
7) Post-apocalyptic boy, left all alone. Aliens appear to discover what happened.
Answers either in the comments section (below), it is now unlocked for anyone to post in with or without a Blogspot account, on the FB status promoting this entry, via direct message (twitter), e-mail, or on a Post-Card3. Answers will be revealed on Friday.
Did You Know?
On Lateralus, by Tool, the title track (Lateralus) incorporates the Fibonacci sequence? See here for more details
That's it for todays Monday Music Madness. I have just received an e-mail from Fernando De La Queso, which is probably his football report, so I'll read that and see about posting it in the next couple of days, but for now thanks for reading.
1 If you are still not caught up on 1337 time then a) Shame on you, and b) let me elaborate, due to my job and sleep pattern I needed a new time zone, and seeing as 13:37 seemed to be roughly midnight to me I decided that all of my timings are now either + or - 1337 if it is + & - 12 then it is Anti-1337 (or midday).
2 GBP is Geek-Boy Points, which I have just realised doesn't work now that I have a new poster called Geek-Boy, see I knew we'd end up fighting over this whole anonymity thing.
3 Post-Cards to :-
Seriously,
Are You Living In the Stone Age,
The Internet,
HA2 9HA
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