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Posted by Sean Duffy @ 4:55 PM

Here at Streaming Internet Radio Toolbar, we want you to experience the thrill of the games - from today, until the games finish on the 12th August, you can keep in touch with all the very latest news with our free Olympic Games App.

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Labels: Apps

Review: Bahamas - Barchords

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Posted by Sean Duffy @ 1:01 PM
“I’m putting this album out at a time when there’s so much competition to be heard,” notes Afie Jurvanen in the press materials surrounding Barchords, his second album as Bahamas, before going on to consider the difficulty of forging and maintaining connections in the digital age. Whether that be on a personal scale or regarding the countless new acts it is now easier to gain access to than ever before, he makes a good point; it is intimidating, and is something he chooses to counter by simply putting himself out there.

This record arrives in the UK off the back of some impressive press for his 2009 debut Pink Strat, which received nominations in his native Canada from the Polaris and Juno Prizes respectively. But it is, at first, a little underwhelming. The fact that he spent years recording and touring with Feist on keys and guitars is readily apparent in its tasteful production and simple melodies, while his voice is languid, relaxed – a honeyed M. Ward; a less-soporific Jack Johnson (whose Brushfire imprint picked this up, incidentally).

But give the record a chance – really, it won’t take long – and it turns out to be his voice that makes it a little bit special, giving it an edge over the thousands of other albums Jurvanen frets it might wind up lost beside. Put simply, Barchords is an enormously likeable set of songs, and it is his voice that anchors and steers them. Lead single Caught Me Thinking is a breezy, brassy delight; Overjoyed a rousing, bluesy ballad; and listening to album opener Lost in the Light a little deeper, a little louder, reveals the almost magical sense of urgency that lights up his former collaborator’s catalogue.

Barchords sounds bright and sparkling, too; again, were it not for the promise of greater depth lying plainly amongst these songs it would be easy to dismiss them as bland, empty offerings. As it stands, Bahamas’ music fulfils that promise in a manner so assured and unaffected that it ranks as one of the most refreshingly direct and enjoyable albums of the year so far.

Bahamas - Lost In The Light

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This work (text) is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence from BBC Music.

Labels: Music

The world according to Graves...

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Posted by Sean Duffy @ 12:59 AM
Graves, aged 68, from Prenton, Merseyside is a very strange character, with what appears to be some real anger management issues, if the title of his personal blog is anything to go by. Rons Rants, has attempted to blacken my name, and that of some friends of mine by distorting facts. 

I've been following conversations carefully during the day, on Twitter - they ended with Ron Graves posting on his blog, and others Tweeting that my friends should be beaten into pulp.

The group of people behind all of this have accused me of being a troll, and other unsubstantiated crap. Some have even said that I was libellous - Graves said: "Bust the Bastard" from the confines of his crypt.
 


Yes - you read that correctly (above). Physical violence was threatened:

I can rest easy in that I didn't offer violence as a solution to the problem that had presented to us all today. Unfortunately, @blissfulblues did. Some people shut up shop, and run to their friends - the truth is often twisted to suit their own needs, or by others. It's real sad that this happens. A few extra exchanges between initial parties may have resolved the situation, but now we will never know. Shame.

My chance to set the record straight
A dear friend of mine, has a child that was attending a Young Firefighters course. The aims of the Young Firefighters Scheme is to encourage young people, especially those who are unlikely to achieve academically and may have social problems, to take part in a structured course to help them develop a range of skills.

Oooooo one of the fire brigade big wigs is here for young firefighters passing out parade! 

This tweet caused some concern from a number of people, including myself. I responded:

You do realise that these are kids you are tweeting about? That was just wrong, and very worrying from a grown woman.

Apparently, my tweet to her didn't go down very well with @petersmam - she went straight onto the defensive - accusing me of being judgemental. She responded with:

Actually no, I didn't realise it was kids. Thanks for being so judgemental.

The woman then cut my friend out of the conversation, and tweeted to me:







@petersmam believes that I called her a pervert. I did not. Some of her friends called for legal action to be taken against myself. If you read the timeline, you can see very clearly that I didn't call her a pervert, or any other name. I did point out that Paedophilia wasn't a joke - this was not a name call, or a judgment against @petersmam. Just a fact.

It is however, double standards, that someone can call her a pervert, and get off with no repercusions. It does make you think that this was a targetted attack against me, and my friend, for questioning a comment that upset a number of people.








Following my responses, and some verbal mud slinging that was thrown in my direction, I responded to a claim that I was pathetic, using the Twitlonger service - Twitlonger was chosen as 140 characters on Twitter isn't long enough to get over what you want to say.

I wasn't going to respond, but I can't help myself. Right then... petersmam was wrong by jumping halfway into a conversation without checking. The timeline would show you that this was an awards ceremony for children at a local fire station. By tweeting about young firemen, a number of people were concerned by the way it was put over. She tried to defend herself by tweeting to me that it was a joke. Hence my remark. I think joking about things like this are NOT funny. Petersmam has run away, and hidden instead of fighting her case... she stated that she didn't care what people thought. Now, that is really pathetic.

I had attempted to diffuse the situation, but with @petersmam not speaking to me, things were difficult to relay my thoughts. Bullshit Ron didn't help matters by sending private messages, stirring the whole unsavoury episode in the background. I was quite happy to sit things out, and let the issue blow over - unfortunately, he saw fit to go on a search and destroy mission via his blog. Maybe he thought, with his army of followers, he could batter me into submission? He thought wrong. You see, I've been around long enough to know his type. I also know that with my 134,000+ toolbar users, the associated 43,555,500+ app users, plus my four other websites, that I have the support to reinforce my message. That is:

I haven't done anything wrong, and neither has my friend.

Maybe Ron is just a bitter and twisted person, as a result of his disability - in my book, it's no excuse, and does a real disservice to those that get on with their problems. People need to grasp life, and enjoy it, instead of sitting at home, complaining about all and sundry. Hopefully, @petersmam will see through the bitterness that spews from Graves' poisonous mouth - his sick comment to a lady suffering a dislocated jaw, left an awful lot to be desired.



I do have a complete time line of tweets from all parties involved in this fiasco. Graves believes that I'm "peeved" at being blocked by him, on Twitter - if you believe blocking people on Twitter prevents them from reading what you write, you have a lot to learn!

Message to Ron - delete your personal attack upon myself, and I'll delete this blog entry.
You know it makes sense.

Labels: News

Review: Norah Jones

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Posted by Sean Duffy @ 11:41 AM

On 2011’s Rome, singer Norah Jones, producer Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton, guitarist Jack White and film score composer Daniele Luppi paid homage to old Italo-Western movies with twinkling chimes, twangy guitar riffs, and notable vocal performances. While many of the instrumentals held up without words, the concept album saw new life when White and Jones took to the microphone. On the song Black, for example, Jones’ rich textures added a sultry layer to the reflective composition. On Problem Queen, she injected the same dreamy resonance into the melody, except the results were livelier than before, thanks to the track’s rolling keys and buoyant percussion. If anything could be gleaned from the project, it’s that good things happen when Jones sings atop Burton’s arrangements.

On Little Broken Hearts, the two musicians explore the concept of heartbreak, investigating its unpleasant aspects with refreshing candour and sardonic wit. Albums about heartbreak certainly aren’t new, but Jones puts a fresh spin on the familiar topic with lovelorn musings that are wistful and carefree, meditative and ebullient. Good Morning, the album’s effective opener, is a delightfully sweet blend of airy synthesizers and melancholic strings, held together by Jones’ angelic falsetto. “I’m folding my hand,” the singer softly repeats over Burton’s oceanic production. She’s 22 carries a similar ventilated backdrop, but the result is a bit more pensive when paired with Jones’ gloomy deliberation: “You can throw away, every word I say.”

Then there’s the haunting Miriam, a morbidly sublime tune on which the singer threatens the woman with whom her man cheats. Here, Jones sings: “I’m gonna smile when I take your life.” Conversely, Happy Pills and Say Goodbye are cheery pop fare, on which the vocalist sings joyously about the break-up. Amid funky guitar grooves, Jones sounds playfully detached from said relationship. Therein lays the success of Little Broken Hearts. Unlike other disheartened recordings, some of which are more sullen than others, Jones never sounds too depressed on this set. Instead, she keeps the mood fairly moderate amongst Burton’s fluid soundtrack, setting the pace with a wry bravado that makes this album a dynamic listen, even if she’s dumping a guy. Heartbreak is inevitable if you love hard enough, yet Jones and Burton make it enjoyable.

Norah Jones - Happy Pills

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This work (text) is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence from BBC Music.

Labels: Music

Review: T. Rex - Electric Warrior

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Posted by Sean Duffy @ 8:01 AM

Given they were teen Mod rivals, pals and frustrated wannabes in the 1960s before both quickly bypassed mere stardom for glam rock superstar deity status, the comparisons between Marc Bolan and David Bowie is endlessly fascinating. But there the comparisons end. While Bowie endlessly transmuted with each record, even in his moribund 80s, Bolan capitulated to repetitive and diminishing returns until his fatal car crash in 1977. While Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars 18 months after launching him, Bolan’s 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was a bizarre gesture of solidarity, or simply a lame parody. Yet Bolan’s crowning glory is still a beauty – a slice of solid gold easy action, as a later T. Rex single put it.

This needs repeating as Bolan’s reputation is one of pop frivolity, more Gary Glitter than Ziggy or Aladdin. But for four years, from Tyrannosaurus Rex’s Unicorn and A Beard of Stars albums through the abbreviated name’s self-titled debut and Electric Warrior (1972’s The Slider was too patchy to continue the run), Bolan shone, with his corkscrew hair, pioneering dabs of glitter and Larry-the-Lamb-like warble. Brilliantly arranged by (Bowie’s former producer/bandmate) Tony Visconti, the album blends 50s retro distilled from Chuck Berry with modern camp thrust, infused with what Bowie’s tribute Lady Stardust called, “an animal grace”. Even before Bowie, Bolan had unlocked Pandora’s Box for all the young dudes and dudettes bored by their brothers and sisters’ Beatles and Stones records, and the opening Mambo Sun nails that sea change. Over a sinewy, clipped guitar riff and echoed drum beat, Bolan breathlessly announces “Beneath the be-bop moon/I wanna croon with you,” throws in his first “owwww!” and takes a bluesy brief guitar solo full of animal grace.

Cosmic Dancer (later covered by Morrissey) follows, an ecstatic dream ballad with darkly contrasting cellos that single-handedly confirms Bolan’s brilliance. Then again, the song’s couplet – “What’s it like to be a loon? I liken it to a balloon” – confirmed his any-rhyme-will-do laziness that predicted his creative collapse. But in the face of Get It On and Jeepster – both outrageously hook-lined and joyous smash hit singles – and the delicate croon of Life’s a Gas, the jittery finale Rip Off and the less-acknowledged beauties Girl and Planet Queen, Bolan’s slithery swagger is irresistible. In the box set version, this re-mastered, annotated 40th anniversary edition has all the unreleased demos/out-takes and DVD footage you could crave, but the original 11 tracks are all anyone truly needs. As Bowie’s Starman put it: “Let all the children boogie.” Ziggy knew that Marc had got there first.

T. Rex – Get It On

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This work (text) is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence from BBC Music.

Labels: Music