David Couch

The summer sounds have reached us once again.  Dancing in the streets becomes our festival as the sun beats it’s steady rhythm down, the smell of…ah f**k I forgot to get my cigarettes. Be right back…For those of you that haven’t noticed it is officially summer.  Which means that live music is in abundance and any bar you’re lucky enough to stumble in to will have an open mic night. I’ve been to a couple of said event in recent weeks… and they really don’t deserve a mention here… but don’t lose hope!  You’re just closing the gap between yourself and the band that will set your summer ablaze.  But enough about my lamentations and trifles with the current state of Camden bars, I’m here to spread a wealth of music knowledge, trivia and add perspective to an otherwise shallow and empty grave where our passions go to die…

…But feast your intellects on this carefully constructed Top 5 Movie Soundtracks!

#6 Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) …Yeah, I know I said “top 5″.  You’re so smart.

The soundtrack to this film was compiled by none other than Joe Strummer, so straight away you know that it’s gonna be good.

Notable tracks from the soundtrack include:

• Queen and David Bowie “Under Pressure”
• Tones On Tail “Go”
• The Clash “Rudie Can’t Fail”
• Guns ‘n’ Roses “Live and Let Die”
• Motorhead “Ace of Spades”
• Violent Femmes “Blister In The Sun”

There are many, many more songs on the soundtrack but these are a selection that seem to sum the movie up pretty well.  Fast, cool and sexy songs that should accompany all films about hitmen who go to their 10 year high school reunion. I really can’t help thinking it should be higher on my list but thems the breaks, and I couldn’t find a good enough quote to finish this piece so we’ll leave it at the bottom of the pile.

#5 Ferris Buellers Day Off

One of the most important film for any young buck ever, I think we all learned a valuable lesson about the benefits of skipping school when:

a) your best friend has an old school Ferrari

b) you have a personal feud with your principal

c) you’re a pretty good hustler and get away with almost anything.

Notable tracks include:

• Sigue Sigue Sputnik “F1-11 Love Missile”
• The Beatles “Twist and Shout”
• Big Audio Dynamite “Bad”

granted FBDO does not have as many “big” tracks as #5 but it does have the benefit of working better, because of it’s cult reputation Ferris has become as much a part of the 80′s as hair metal.

#4 Reservoir Dogs

K Billy’s super sounds of the 70′s… Tarantino’s first feature length film has one of the most identifiable and unique soundtracks… with its own personal radio station that flits from being an external and internal source.  Oh and Mr. Blonde slices some dude’s ear off while dancing to “Stuck in the middle with You.”

Notable tracks include:

• George Baker Selection “Little Green Bag”
• The aforementioned song by Stealer’s Wheel, “Stuck in the Middle with You”
• Joe Tex “I Gotcha”
• Pretty much every song on the soundtrack…
• lest we forget Tarantino’s own insight into the meaning behind Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”…classic.

#3 The Departed

Martin Scorsese’s re-imagining of the Japanese thriller Infernal Affairs is really good and with a soundtrack to match it has to be number 3 on my list, because no other song in cinema has made as much impact on me then when you first hear “Shipping up to to Boston” in 5.1 surround sound on the big screen.

A new soundtrack with an old feel; there’s a quality to The Departed soundtrack, like the difference between the gangsters from prohibition Chicago and the hoodlum gangs from L.A. It’s a matter of class. Notable tracks include:

• Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping Up To Boston”
• The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”
• The Human Beinz “Nobody but Me”

There are more… but if you haven’t seen this film then you don’t deserve anymore.  Shame on you.

#2 Pulp Fiction

the second Tarantino film on the list, I wish it could have been different but I would be remiss if I didn’t include this. We’ve all seen this film, we all have our favorite moments where the soundtrack brings the scenes alive.  Bruce Willis running down Ving Rhames to the tune of “Captain Kangaroo” or Uma Thurman’s overdose to “Son of a Preacher Man”. I won’t insult you with notable tracks because there are too many to list and you all undoubtedly have your favorites.

#1 O Brother Where Art Thou

This is probably the odd one out of the group, but the story is a mixture of folk legend and Hollywood myth, the story of Robert Johnson spliced with Homer’s odyssey and George Clooney’s award winning smile (spoiler alert.)  The mixture of music in this film is really good – I’m not one for musicals (I don’t know if it counts as a musical but there’s definitely singing,)  But the Cohen brothers always do a good job of mixing folk/blues/bluegrass with some pretty bitchin’ scenes that will make you watch this film 5 times in one day… (I had the day off) and who can forget the Soggy Bottom Boys?  There really aren’t that many tracks to choose from and I’d recommend the whole film rather just the soundtrack.

There are a few films I would have put in this list but it got to a point where I just had to bite the bullet and pick five to put through… or six.  I know you may not agree with the list but there’s a wonderful quote about being pro-active and getting s**t done… “I did it before you.”

~DC~

The band, Minor Threat

I’ll start with the most recent news and work back shall I?  Good, are we sitting comfortably…?

I got into a… “discussion” (definitely not a fight) with some “un-enlightened” folks outside the bar the other night.  I’ve always been called an emo – maybe it’s the uniform skinny black jeans or the fringe – I just don’t know.   But, rather than it being an insult as some would intend it, “emo” or emotional music is older than you might think and not the not the half-arsed pussy-would-be goth that has been popularised by shit rags like the NME and The Daily Mail.  Let’s look at the facts.

1. Emo was not invented by bands like My Chemical Romance and The Used.
2. It all started somewhere around the 1980′s and originated in the hardcore punk scene in Washington D.C.
3. Bands like Minor Threat, Rites of Spring…etc were the pioneers of emo.
4. The phrase “emo” was coined because of the emotional involvement the singers put into their songs and became visibly upset on stage and a genre was born.

Ticking along nicely in the underground it never really broke onto the mainstream until the early 2000′s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, and of course My Chemical Romance in 2001 but I digress.  These bands gave emo a slice of pop influence that lent itself to mainstream audiences.  Then the black hair, eye shadow and macabre tendency to sing about suicide was popularised by the newspapers (Daily Mail) claiming “emo” was damaging their kids.  As any of you with a CD collection that extends outside the top 40 you’ll know that most songs, if not all of them, are about an emotional experience. The fact that emo openly refers to depression and frustrations is something that young people relate to and square people have condemned in their ignorance.  You’ll always fear what you don’t understand; and that’s what I told that punk. Mahalo.

With that rant out of the way, I’ll lighten the tone by telling you a bit of good news.

I entered a Relentless competition to become their staff blogger for a year which would be pretty bitching.  I may or may not have a VIP pass to this years Reading festival… we’ll see.

As for music, this week I have been listening to a lot of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds in particular The Ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane.  Also on my playlist is Semisonic, Closing Time which I haven’t listened to in an age.  In the name of the unsigned scene I recommend bands Fixation and The High Society both very good bands… maybe Justin should get them on the show… if you read this before I email you, check ‘em out and get them on the show J!

But that’s it for now, and don’t say I don’t spoil you.

Mahalo.

p.s.  I got a Titty Bingo hat through the post… It’s not what it sounds like

~DC~

David Couch

Hello Everybody,

I know it’s been a while but if it’s not one thing then it’s definitely another and this week has seen all manner of loose ends come out of the wood work… Dubscover birthday bash this Friday – speaking of which, an interview with them which should be posted later today.  Anyway, I want to prime my wrists for it with this gig I went to in Camden the other night.

Enjoy!

Hearts – Live Review

Well, bearing in mind I was asked to write this post gig and pre-hangover so we shall see which parts have been destroyed by excessive binge drinking and which remain, no doubt entombed in protective mucus for my necessary survival.  I digress…

Hearts are a 3 piece band from the Camden area, but don’t go getting funny ideas they are hardly conventional when it comes to the format. Lead signer and all round front man Sharpy is the focal point for both extremes that lay either side of him.   On one side we have the captivating and classically trained Alice on ukulele and backing vocals, while the stranger of the three, Ben on bass and assorted FX pedals. 

Hearts have a nurtured sound that is strange to see in a band only on their 6th gig.  Aside from the clever Muse vs. Lady Gaga mashup, the gig was quite promising for the young band.  If songs like “Blackbeard” and “What Can’t Be Bought” are anything to go by, Hearts’ future is brighter than a certain phone network.  

As to be expected the growing pains were still evident.  The harmonies, while good, struggled to reach a compromise and the lead vocals were in danger of a wash out, but while finding thier feet the crowd found theirs and a connection was made;  a rare and beautifull thing that makes my trips to these dive bars worthwhile.

~DC~

The best thing about any night is the vibe.  No matter what, you can always boil down a good night into a few key elements, and the most important one of those is the vibe, the atmosphere, and what feeling you can take away.  The promotion group Organix put on the Dubscover Valentines’ Special at the Gramaphone in East London and this was a fantastic vibe to take part in and take home.   If you weren’t sure what you were doing, chances are you were having a good time.  The underground venue felt half trendy and half practical as it became a hive of activity with all everyone grinding, sweating…

The nights spin a mixture of commercial and home grown dub-step, with DJ’s and hosts working together in a kind of hosting/battle style keeping the night rolling.  The set-up works like this: each DJ is given an hour slot to get the crowd pumped up, and an extra twenty minutes to battle the other DJs of the night.  Then, the winner is decided by the crowd’s appreciation or in this case a sh*t load of noise dictating the winner who gets to come back.  I use “winner” in the loosest sense of the word, because as far as I could tell the competitive element only made the DJs up their game, and for an extra half-hour at the end of each set you got a dirty, yet comprehensive schooling in dub-step.  It was hard to tell where one good time ended and the next began.

These Dubscover and Techscover nights abandon convention and make a bit of  a shift from what you might normally hear on a night out.  The constant theme is their dedication to promoting new material and new artists to new audiences as well as promoters, labels and the music industry.  They highlight artists who deserve recognition and use these nights as an open forum, reinforced with mini-mixes and podcasts available from the Dubscover/Techscover Facebook Group.

The best thing about this night is that you can enjoy for whatever reasons you may have: the free entry, the good music, and the competition. As a relative newcomer to the dub-step scene, it was all you could ask for and more, no preconceptions about what you do or why your there, just grab a beer and enjoy the show as the master of ceremonies conducts the night’s bacchanal of sound and good vibrations. For all purposes this is the best way any night should be.  However, the Gramaphone is a halfway step as Dubscover and Techscover gets bigger and badder with each show.  They continue to upgrade their premises because of the growing masses of misfits, students, and music heads who flock from all over London and southwest England to attend and will be putting their 1st birthday show on at the Rhythm Factory on the 28th of May.

The fact is, Valentines’ Day had nothing to do with it other than the name. Go to one Dubscover night and you’ll swear that it was the best show you’ve seen in a good long while. It’ll be because of the dynamic on stage; each time you get a different vibe and the beauty of dub-step is the vibe takes you prisoner and as the hours pass in a mixture of heat and booze you are left with nothing but the after-glow of post-coital music union.

There will always be people looking to exploit honest work, Dubscover and Techscover have fallen victim to the perils this new media age with their material being used – without their consent – to promote racism in the UK.  But, where others have failed, lost hope and given up, Dubscover have risen anew, like Lazarus, and have joined the Love Music Hate Racism campaign so that they make sure their music is enjoyed the way it was meant to be enjoyed.  We’ll discuss this more with the Organix group soon.

If you really want to see Dubscover and Techscover in action then you’ll have to get there to feel the vibe and see this next step in music evolution. As another sign of the times, this amazing underground music is no longer held back by the popular main stage.  To see what I mean you should check out their 1st birthday bash at the Rhythm Factory on Friday 28th May.

~DC~

David Couch

Hello everybody, it’s that time of the week again.

As these things become more and more frequent I’d like to think the forum for discussion is also open (click on “leave comment” below) so if any of you have heard anything that you think which should go unnoticed no longer, let me know.  If you’re really lucky someone may even comment back!

Anyway this wasn’t meant to be a big post just a heads-up!

This week I have mostly been listening to Skeletons With Flesh On Them (whose album review will be up sometime next week), and a Tennessee Ernie Ford track called “16 tons” which is pretty bad-ass so listen to it if you get the chance.  Those guys and a funny man named Stephen Lynch who is single handedly the most creative blasphemer I ever did hear.

Anyway that’s that.

~DC~

David Couch

As if you haven’t guessed i’m not the only one excited about the new My Chemical Romance album, but now that i’ve got that off my chest…

It’s time to get down to the more underground/independent news that we here at The Justin Wayne Show pride ourselves on reporting.  It’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks with reviews and free music flying all the over the shop, but don’t worry we’ll be gentle.

A new feature coming soon on the website is the Free Music Feature allowing you to download featured free tracks by our favorite artists!   “How can it get any better,” you ask?  Well i’m not sure it can; it’s all downhill from here generally speaking.  The website will be your only source of pleasure/fulfillment/music comedy and news, so you may as well subscribe now and save yourself the energy.

I’ve just posted the Giant Wow – Hey Girl EP review, a pretty little EP you guys should like, the next installment will be a review of Junbug’s album Share I’m looking forward to doing, so keep your ears to the streets for that one.

Ummm, that’s it I think…for now. But like herpes, i’ll be back

~D.C.~

David Couch

The New Year has begun, so that means things are going to change round here.  The exciting thing is that I have made a resolution to write at least one review a week, so I guess that means I’ll have to do one of these a week…sh*t, I better find something to talk about!

I’ve been keeping busy, my fingers in lots of different pies all over London Town.
Most frequently I have been in the Lazy Beats studio, while they record their new material and plan their latest music video. give them a listen if your into trip-hop, and other variations of drum and bass with a bit more thought/creative design.

The new My Chemical Romance album is coming out, for which I can’t wait, so let’s all get excited and if you’re really lucky I’ll write a review for the blog.

I also went to watch an instrumental/prog rock band in the studio, whose name I can’t remember, but they were nice guys and they sounded alright.  I suppose in the catergory of new music to check out, you should probably take a look at Apologies I Have None who have a folk/punk thing going on and have recently been playing shows in Florida.

That’s is all from me, I’m tired and I can’t be bothered. to be continued….

~DC~

I was fortunate enough to go and see Pulled Apart By Horses who were supported by the awesome and entirely bad-ass Mean Right Hook (my favourite band of the night, but shhhhhh!) they were good; showing that it’s not what you got, but what you do with it…and if you’ve got both then your on easy street! I have also been listening to Sharks who have had all sorts of praise from hardcore scene kingpin’s The Gallows, which is nice. So check them out and get in line for their next show because they are gonna be Vegas big, baby. Also listen to Fixation if you have the time continuing the punk themed music. They were in Surface Unsigned last year, but don’t hold it against them they are actually very good!  You can find them on Myspace…like all the bands mentioned in today’s article.

Enjoy these Christmas treats I have bestowed upon you, or you know….don’t.
WHATEVER!

Merry Christmas!

~DC~

Check ‘em out and get down there.

~DC~

My opinion on the matter is somewhat conflicted.  If you’re looking for a rose-tinted view on the genius of Grunge and it’s pioneer you’ll be in for a nasty shock. I have never agreed with Cobain’s philosophies on music as cliche/easy as it may be to ‘hate on’ the whole thing. I think he just had the wrong idea, a type of naivety that broke his spirit.  It would explain a lot as the man was severely depressed.

I realise his whole point was about the shitness and degrading aspect of commercial music and to a point I agree. But all music has its price – that’s the way the music business works.  However, when a band has a good relationship with the fans, the record companies and suits become obsolete. It’s a connection in the purest sense of the word. Cobain’s real problem was that he listened/believed like holy writ, those ‘scene fascists’ (from his days following The Melvins around town) that label any band with a record deal as sell-outs. A fair observation I’d say if you’ve ever picked up a half decent copy of a Kurt Cobain Biography which shouldn’t be hard there are a few.  I might recommend Heavier than Heaven.

His punk roots betrayed him and he forgot you can still have that energy and connection with the fans while foregoing the self-destructive streak that brought an end to himself and the punk movement he embodied so well. Time and place has everything to do with bands reaching that iconic status. The punks were fighting Thatcher and the grebe’s were fighting boredom.  The two philosophies don’t co-exist and the rules change as frequently as jumpers for goal posts.  And that’s what they reflected; they were each a mirror of the times and that’s what this decade is missing. A band to reflect the times and the temperate of the people. We want for nothing, so is the war over and rock and roll dead?  No.  It’s far from over.

~DC~