What are these 'gigs' that you speak of?

Do you expect me to gig?

No, music industry, I expect you to die!

Who remembers gigs?

It has been so long that I can't even remember what standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other sweaty, inebriated humans while damaging my hearing is like. 

I mean, why do that when you could go hunting? Or ask the nanny to remind you of your children's names so you can pretend that you give a shit about them, however many there are?

I feel like the joy of communal experience translates better when you care at least a little bit about people other than yourself. We can't expect those who were raised to believe they were the centre of the universe and could do whatever they wanted to understand being crowded in a bar the size of a cupboard listening to people singing about 'problems.'

Hold tight, whatever we come out of this with we must use to rage against the machine. It might not understand us, but it needs to hear and feel us. 

The arts matter. Expression matters. We are not machines.

Use this.

Witchazel

Matt Berry is offering free downloads of his new album witchazel for a limited time.

http://http://www.witchazelfreedownload.com/

Dan first put me onto this and i must say, while it is bloody weird (the cover sort of gives that away) it is the kind of weird which is wonderful and comforting and really quite enjoyable. It pleases me that Mr Berry obviously feels that humour and a sense of the absurd are not exclusive to a damn good tune as well. I recomend to all, especially since it's free.

Go Away White

I was quite late coming around to this album, I'd heard some of Bauhaus' early work and while it had impressed me i couldn't really say i'd loved it, more that i found it interesting.

So when i got word of the release of their first album since '83 I didn't leap out immeditately and buy it, rather when i came across a cheap promo copy at my local record shop a few months later i investigated.

While its apparent that 25 years has changed Bauhaus (the guitarist has learned to play riffs for example) its kind of surprising how little. The vocalist has the same mad scientist ramblings and screams (now improved with some spoken ambiguousness) and the rhythm section is still far more accomplised musically than the other half of the band, though they have no monopoly on ideas or inventiveness.

Pleasingly, while this album is perhaps more accessable than previous efforts it is still not a radio friendly unit shifter or anything resembling one, Go Away White requires a dedicated listen to the album in its entirety to truly appreciate it, and one may still find it an aquired taste, though the strength of the rhythms alone is enough to get anyone in the vacinity slowly bopping their head, even if they never have a desire to listen again.

So Bauhaus have given us an album whch sounds like them, but better. Still not for eveyone but perhaps for more people than before, especially in the wake of the alleged prog rock revival we're having, not that i'd call Bauhus prog, but they have some similar ingredients.

We're back!

Yes, the news precisely no-one has been waiting for...the Medway Music Authority is back, well sort of. I've recently gotten back into blogging and I thought that once again I would share my musical opinions with you all. I will also be dragging others along for the ride, so look forward to new reviews from new people coming soon, some of new music, some of old music, but all of good music!

A few musical suggestions:

First of all, if you haven't heard of a lady named Nicole Atkins, then do yourself a favour and look her up. She has put an album out of sweeping pop-rock gems, that defies musical trends, looking back to how music used to be made and how people used to sing songs many years ago. It's a very well produced album full of great lyrics and fantastic flourishes and vocals, that it was my album of the year for 2008. I usually listen to rock music in all it's forms, but I am open to anything that is good basically, and I love her album, which is so full of great songs and ideas.

Also, the new datsuns album is the same, yet different. The datsuns are a new zealand garage band, who kind of faded into the background with the garage movement of a few years back when it stopped being 'cool'. But they have come up with an album that despite the fact probably no-one will hear it, is a great progression of their sound and songwriting. It has much better production than before, and they haven't been afraid to push the boundaries of their sound, still sounding like they always have but with a maturity that they never had before. I think it's a shame so few people will hear it, because it is a really good album.

I suggest you look up signal room too. They are an Australian band that counts among it's members 2 former farscape actors, Anthony Simcoe and Wayne Pygram, on vocals and drums respectively. It's not groundbreaking stuff, but it's pretty good for a band with actors in it, certainly considering how badly some other actors have fared.

A sad day for Medway Music

It is with a heavy heart, and a lone tear rolling down my cheek that I type my first post here on the Medway Music Authority:

After a good couple of months of inactivity on The Barbs website, lead singer Tim Box today posted on the messageboard stating that the band have decided to split up (for the original post click here).

In addition, he also said: "We are all still very good friends but felt that the band had reached a natural end point." Which I find surprising to say the least, I hope that they are good friends, but I simply cannot understand why they thought they had reached a natural ending.

Being a band with a fearsome live reputation, and quite a large fanbase, it is amazing to think that they should decide to call it a day, considering only a few months ago we were being told of a new album being in production, including the new material that was being played at gigs and posted on the website. And of course, there was The Barbs last ever gig at Glastonbury of all places, surely they were about to hit the 'big time'?

Lets just hope we get a final EP or something that allows us to have the newest material, instead of it being lost.

I'm sure that my fellow members here at the Medway Music Authority will have something to add (especially since they have been fans for much longer than me), so keep an eye out.

Thankyou the Barbs, for an all too brief yet exciting period of local music talent going far, a fantastic album, and many many gigs which your fans will remember, always.
Good luck with the future Tim, Amy, Jim and Simon, we all know that you can go far.

Matt

Scream For Me Baby

Electric Eel Shock have been one of my favorite bands pretty much since the first time Dan played me 'Go Europe' in Virgin and inspired me to buy it. Their new album, entitled 'Beat Me' is pretty much more of the same, but somehow different.
Let me explain...

'Go Europe' was a fifty minute blast of glorious insanity. Simple, dirty riffs and broken english or japanese lyrics singing about not very much, best played very loud. I swear you can almost see them bouncing off the walls when you listen.

A year down the line and Aki's english has improved (he makes a point of correctly ennunciating the word 'rock n roll') but not much else has changed. The catchy riffs remain, as do the songs about, erm, well, i'm still not sure. The main difference is in the production values, 'go europe' could well have been recorded in someone's cellar somewhere so any money injected into making 'beat me' would make it seem polished by comparison.

the best comparison i can think of is it's like the difference between 'Let there be Rock' and 'Back in Black. One is a band bursting to make the big time, rocking their little socks off in a back room, forcing their untapped potential to show through no matter how bad the recording. The other is the potential realised, a great band given the money and the equipment to make an almighty towering monument to rock that (if there is any justice in the world) will last down the ages.

Long Live EES! (go see them live)

We are Motorhead and we play Rock n Roll

The Wit and Wisdom of Lemmy-

This next ones a sad song, yeah i know 'aaahh' (american translation'aaww')but it wasnt sad when i fuckin wrote it, it is now cos they're all dead!

introducing R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

the support

Girlschool- shame that they only got to play a half hour really as Girlschool are a superb band, but they had to make way for saxon and the main event and still get us lot out in time for the last train. what they could have fixed was the sound, they were a bit quiet in my opinion, never mind 'race with the devil' still rocks hard.

Saxon- A right crazy bunch and no mistake especially the bass player (the baby of the band, he's only been with em 15 years!). Biff the singer proudly strutts about the stage singing his arse of (his very long and completely grey hair fast became the envy of the audience, most of whom seemed to be bald old men) rock n fuckin roll as it used to be in the bad old days is what saxon are. where did we all go wrong?


the main event

Of course, with motorhead evry gig is a fuckin blinding one, but this was always going to be special, a few old songs get an airing, particulary two from the-much maligned at the time-'another perfect day' album, which many agree deserves far more recognition than it got at the time (seeing as how it nearly killed off the band). However the real treat comes during the inevitable encore, firstly the aocustic masterpiece that is whorehouse blues, featuring lemmy on harmonica. then the sirens!! yes folks! they're playing Bomber, and here she comes...The bomber lighting rig is descending form the rafters, the coolest stage prop ever used by a band is back in all her glory! rock n fuckin roll!

My ears will never be the same again, this gig was on thursday night, it is now sunday evening and they only stopped ringing this morning. wow.