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Originally uploaded by miskan
I just have to ask. Which muppet decided to put this here?
Coldplay: Violet Hill
Coldplay have released their new single “Violet Hill” for free for a week (as a DRM-free MP3 file too).
I’ve never been an avid Coldplay fan, but I still quite like some of their music in moderation, particularly since Don’t Panic was used to brilliant effect in Garden State.
I’m just listening to it now, and I suspect it will follow the same formula as previous Coldplay songs: really good until it’s played to death on the radio. I have always maintained that the best Coldplay song is Moses, which was only ever played live. As soon as a Coldplay song becomes a single, it gets over-played and becomes boring.
The new single seems to be someting of a break from previous albums - much more bass and generally more plodding, which works reasonably well. The only problem is, I suspect this means it will become tedious very quickly. It’ll be interesting to see how well it’s received.
Cheesy Facebook Ads
Facebook adverts have never been great (with the possible exception of the Gene Hunt T-shirt), but this is just terrible.
Update: As usual, there’s an XKCD comic for everything: http://xkcd.com/279/
MSN Hijacking
I would normally use the term “phishing”, but there’s no impersonation involved here.
The website mycoolfriends.info asks you to “Login” with your MSN details so they can inform you about “this 100% real and upcomming [sic] service”. For the love of God, don’t. Funnily enough, reading a bit more will give the full details.
We may temporarily access your MSN account to do a combination of the following:
- Send Instant Messages to your friends promoting this site.
- Introduce new entertaining sites to your friends via Instant Messages.
In other words, we’ll take your username and password, login to your MSN when you’re not signed-in, and then proceed to spam your contacts with ringtone “offers” (quotation marks because they are the usual subscription services that charge stupid amounts for a crumby ringtone you could get by putting an MP3 on your phone).
Whatever you do people, never ever enter your password onto a site that isn’t meant to have it and without reading the full terms and conditions. This is a cruel tactic by a bunch of morons who are hijacking MSN accounts to try and make money. Don’t help them.
Quote of the Week
It’s like a trojan horse has wheeled into Downing Street, and the hatch is stuck
Rory Bremner on the general consensus that nobody knows the cabinet
The Hives at Rock City, Nottingham
First off, the opening act “Henry Fiat’s Open Sore”, was terrible. It says something when the lead “singer” declares “I know everything, ask me a question!” and throws the microphone into the audience, only for it to be grabbed by a bloke who immediately screams into it “You f***ing suck!”
It would be more offensive if he was wrong. Maybe in fairness it’s not my sort of music, but in my books playing everything (and I mean everything) at 180bpm really loudly isn’t talent.
Fortunately, then came the Hives. The phrase “stage presence” is thrown around a lot, but nothing compares with the Hives. It was only half way through the first song (Hey Little World) and the lead singer Pelle Almqvist was throwing himself into the crowd.
Speaking of the crowd, if I am able to walk to campus tomorrow it will be a miracle. I was worried at first because quite a few were a bit younger than me, and I thought I’d wandered into the wrong gig. I hadn’t, and 16 year olds can still push.
I’m afraid I have no photos, because while the crowd were destroying my skeleton I couldn’t actually reach my phone.
Aside from the awesome music, there’s one thing I can brag about.
I got a guitar pick! And no, I’m not selling it on eBay.
Update: Without meaning to be too critical, you may have seen this article on NME.com. There are a lot of errors I’m afraid. Firstly the Hives’ new album is called “The Black and White Album”, not “Black and White”. Also, they did not play “Here We Go Again”, “Automatic Schmuck” or “Stay Alive”, but they did play “Try It Again” and opened with “Hey Little World”. I don’t know the order I’m afraid, but suffice to say they ended with “Return the Favour”, so the order isn’t right either. Oh dear.
Also, although I’m pretty sure it was deliberate exaggeration by NME, the band held their poses for about 50 seconds (rather than 5 minutes!) in the middle of “You Dress Up for Armaggedon”. See this YouTube clip for reference. And yes, the pause was incredibly effective. The crowd really did go that berserk.
Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
YouTube - I Will Possess Your Heart OFFICIAL VIDEO
This was added a few days ago, and I should be working, but I thought I’d point you to the new Death Cab for Cutie single “I Will Possess Your Heart”. It’s an 8-and-a-half minute epic, but worth every second.
Top 4 things bands have put on their websites
1. Moby - Free music for free films
Haven’t tried this one, but a genius idea. Not everyone can compile something like the Garden State soundtrack, so it’s nice to see a well known artist providing something like this.
2. Foo Fighters - Tabs
It’s impossible to find decent accurate tabs on the internet, and I don’t remember the last time I saw sheet music in the shops. Not sure how official this is, but it’s linked to on their site so it counts.
3. Bruce Springsteen - Set lists
Why oh why don’t more artists do this?! People are forever looking for set lists on the internet, so compiling them on the artist website is a really handy reminder for the fans
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Band gear
Interesting to see what the band uses, even if it’s not especially useful (I would kill for a set of Ludwig drums with Paiste Series 20 cymbals, but a. I’m not good enough and b. I’d have to sell my family). Interpol’s list is floating around on Wikipedia, but isn’t on their site.
Any more favourites from band websites that you don’t tend to find elsewhere?