From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V4 #161 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Saturday, April 16 2005 Volume 04 : Number 161 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 18:00:11 -0400 From: "David Whiting" Subject: seven-seas New disc progress... So forgive me for my lack of insider awareness these days, but has anybody had any updates about the status of the Bunnymen's sessions with Hugh Jones? I'm really excited about the fact they are working with him again. Any reports on the overall sound or completion status? Any chance of hearing anything new previewed in the upcoming dates? C'mon, c'mon...somebody around here has the dirt under their carpet. Time to sweep it out in the open for a little anticipatory salivation. David - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.13 - Release Date: 4/16/2005 ===================================================================== Bunnymen Online Presence: http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info * http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ * http://bunnymen.nexuswebs.net/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ * http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-887128-89-6 * http://www.neonhalos.blogspot.com ====================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 08:15:04 +1200 From: "Kristin Smith" Subject: seven-seas [1 of 2] =?utf-8?B?IldoeQ==?= British bands are the best at being =?utf-8?B?YmlnIg==?= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/04/16/bmfron16.xml &sSheet=/arts/2005/04/16/ixtop.html Saturday 16 April 2005 Why British bands are the best at being big As Coldplay embark on the next stage of their march towards global domination, Neil McCormick argues that they represent the latest in a long tradition of British groups who, when it comes to stadium rock, have got the Americans licked It was announced this week that Coldplay are to take the coveted Saturday night headline spot at this year's Glastonbury festival on June 25, the scene of their widely acknowledged crowd-swaying triumph in 2000. Earlier the same month, on June 6, Coldplay will release their third album, X&Y. The cover artwork is currently being unveiled in a street poster campaign a segment at a time. A single, Speed of Sound, will be played for the first time by radio stations on Monday. Best of British: Chris Martin of Coldplay There is enormous anticipation within the music business about Coldplay's return to the fray. Their 2002 album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, had worldwide sales of 9.8 million, but their record company, Parlophone, predicts that the new album will beat that. There is a sense that Coldplay are poised on the edge of greatness, with the chance to become the first genuine rock superstars of the 21st century, capable of filling stadiums around the world. And what is more, they are British. I say this not out of some misguided patriotism, but because their Britishness matters. American pop culture may dominate the worldwide media, but when it comes to truly universal rock music, British bands are still in a league of their own, superior to their American counterparts in almost every respect. This thought occurred to me during a concert by Velvet Revolver, a high-energy, perpetually riffing outfit whose album, Contraband, last year became the fastest-selling debut ever in the US. And it is not bad, if you like your music fast, loud and shallow. Their lead guitarist, Slash, is already something of a rock legend, formerly of American stadium rockers Guns N' Roses, a late '80s glam-punk band of screeching hysteria and frenzied soloing who, in retrospect, look like the last gasp of dinosaur bombast before grunge and Britpop brought rock back down to earth. On stage at the mid-sized Hammersmith Apollo in west London (Velvet Revolver not being nearly as popular on this side of the Atlantic), Slash dedicated a song to "the greatest American rock group of all time". The band he had in mind wereb& Aerosmith. Is that really the best America can do? Aerosmith's claim to such a title is fairly compelling. They are America's longest-running rock soap opera, having played together for 35 years, notched up hits across four decades, survived drugs and debauchery on a gargantuan scale and sold tens of millions of records in the process. They have a great frontman in Steve Tyler, a gifted lead guitarist in Joe Perry, they write catchy songs and they have all the licks and all the right movesb& but no art, and precious little heart. Aerosmith are essentially a showband, light entertainment with heavy guitars. They are often compared to the Rolling Stones but their debt to Britain's own longest-running rock opera is all too evident, and all too superficial. Where is their Sympathy for the Devil? Where is their Paint It, Black? Aerosmith's most well-known global hit is the bubblegum pop-rock of Walk This Way, in a version popularised by rappers Run-DMC. If we are talking greatness, surely we should be searching for something richer and more vital than that? When we look at the great universal British groups, the ones whose music resonates in every corner of the globe, they have soul, spirit and art in abundance. The Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, U2 (not strictly British, but an Irish band signed to a British record company with two members born in the UK) and, more recently, Oasis and Radiohead. These are bands whose success was built on musical principles of passion and substance. What is the best America can offer? Fast guitar licks, big light shows, tight trousers and blow-dried hair. The history of rock can be viewed as a kind of cultural interplay between the US and the UK, with fantastic bands from both sides of the pond influencing and interacting with one another, often with an impact far outreaching their sales. But I don't wish to debate the relative merits of groups such as the Byrds, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Faith No More and Nine Inch Nails (from the US) and the Kinks, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Smiths and Blur (from the UK). I love and admire them all. But I want to address something more wide-reaching than what most groups - no matter how distinctive and inspirational - have to offer. I am talking about universality, striking a chord that reverberates around the planet, singing the songs that make the whole world sing along, selling in multi-millions over an extended period of time. I am talking, essentially, about stadium rock. There are some who consider the term stadium rock abusive - shameless populism with all the artistic compromises that implies. Rock is undoubtedly at its best when it has an edge - but on those occasions when bands reach the point of mass appeal while retaining musical integrity, I think we witness something truly extraordinary unfold, music that speaks to something deep within its audience, invoking a spirit of communal experience almost primeval in its power. Sometimes bigger really is better, because the intensity of the experience, rather than being diluted, is magnified. "If you invite 60,000 people to a stadium, you had better do something that people can not only hear but can also see, and that kind of scale of ambition to produce big music in a big live context is not easy," says U2's manager, Paul McGuinness. With the new and creatively revamped Wembley Stadium due to open next year, giving Britain its own state-of-the-art stadium venue, there is some thought being given to the question of which acts have the pulling power to perform there. "You have to have the music, you have to have the demand, and you have to be innovative and creative about the physical circumstances of your performance," says McGuinness. "Right now, probably only Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and U2 can do it. It's a very short list." "There have probably been not more than 20 real big stadium acts in rock history, which is not a lot," says Harvey Goldsmith, the legendary British concert promoter. "All the artists that break through to that level have a magic about them that is hard to describe. There are two things they need: anthemic songs and incredible stage presence. The edge of the stage is a huge barrier. In any venue, no matter what size, you've got to be able to hit the guys at the back. If you don't get to them, it's not working. To do that in a space that holds 50,000 to 70,000 people takes something really special." ===================================================================== Bunnymen Online Presence: http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info * http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ * http://bunnymen.nexuswebs.net/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ * http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-887128-89-6 * http://www.neonhalos.blogspot.com ====================================================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V4 #161 ********************************