I am Ian. A young Scottish man who likes music.
Send me tips or mp3s;
Get in touch by emailing igg.greenhill@gmail.com
Will perform 'Hip Hop' by Dead Prez in the style of The Bay City Rollers at birthday parties. Or write for your publication. YOUR choice.
Stonehaven band Copy Haho have been making wonderfully catchy indie songs for a few years now. Three critically acclaimed releases later and they are about to embark on a European tour. I chatted with Joe and Richard from the band about influences, the Aberdeen music scene and Jager bombs.
Can't sleep so I had my iPod on shuffle and weirdly three songs in a row were connected by the biggest craze at the moment; vampires. I tried to, but I can't escape them.
I don't like the T.V programmes/books/films, but I do like the music inspired by the pasty Transylvanian guys. So here are the three songs.
Say Hi wrote a whole album about them back in 2007, 'Impeccable Blahs', a great piece of home recorded indie-pop.
If you met me, you would probably never guess that I liked poetry, and I probably never would have if it wasn't for one poet, Edwin Morgan. Many Scottish people, and namely, supporters of the Scottish National Party (boo hiss) latch onto Robert Burns, yet, I'd take Morgan over Burns every day of the week. His poems vary from realism to surrealism, yet every one is distinctive and characteristically Edwin Morgan's own.
Sorry for the lack of postage in the last week or so, I've not been feeling too great.
However, I was an extra in the new Frightened Rabbit video for 'Nothing Like You'.
There were balloons, tumour t-shirts, and weird dance moves galore. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to wear a grey t-shirt when everyone else wore a white one. So yes, I may look a bit like a spare prick in the video. I also have a giant boil on my face, and not the good kind of Boyle.
All this experience did was enhance my excitement for their forthcoming album due in March. Scott also kept tight lipped about Scottish dates this year, and there is no Barrowlands gig confirmed as of yet.
The Magnetic Fields are one of the most elusive yet prolific indie bands of the last 20 years. They mark their third album in their 'no-synth trilogy' with 'Realism' on the 26th of Jan. Although it is in the same trilogy as 'Distortion' I feel the album has several moments that would not be out of place on their seminal '69 Love Songs'. 'You Must Be Out Of Your Mind' and 'I Don't Know What To Say' are two of these tracks, with exclusive streams available here.
I will let the tracks do the talking as Merritt and co. so often choose to do;
The Magnetic Fields - You Must Be Out Of Your Mind
Oh so last night the post was regular existentialist blabber. I'm Albert MacCamus. As to not make my blog a place where happiness comes to die, I have decided to do this feature early, with Beyonce's 'If I Were A Boy'.
If I were a boy even just for a day I'd roll out of bed in the morning And throw on what I wanted And go drink beer with the guys So Beyonce wants to be a feminist icon. She is a regular Kathleen Hanna and she likes to listen to Riot Grrrl bands and she is into all that Third Wave stuff (she does none of these things). Oh wait, isn't she dating a guy who raps stuff like 'you know I thug 'em, fuck 'em, love 'em, leave 'em 'cause I don't fuckin' need 'em'. EMPOWERMENT! Also, if she really was a guy, she would know that we can not simply roll out of bed in the morning, we need to wait five minutes for our erections to subside. I never throw on what I want, because my mother/girlfriend/sister/nun friend/midwife friend dress me. Being a guy is tough, Beyonce.
And chase after girls I'd kick it with who I wanted And I'd never get confronted for it 'Cause they stick up for me
If I were a boy I think I could understand How it feels to love a girl I swear I'd be a better man
So, if Beyonce was a boy she would sleep around with lots of girls, because you know, all guys do that. All guys also like sports, and enjoy the music of Nickleback, and tea-bag their friend Cheech as he sleeps because he has had too much Jagermeister. Beyonce thinks all men are incapable of love. Has she never seen Sleepless in Seattle?! HE IS MOURNING HIS DEAD WIFE WHILE LOOKING AFTER HIS SON! Honestly Beyonce, don't let Seany boy and his Big Pimpin' lifestyle polute your views of men. Tom Hanks=men.
The wind beats against my face with a relentless force. I'm exiting Stirling Rail Station with a bag consisting of Sensodyne toothpaste, non-biological washing powder, non-perfumed soap, anti-dandruff shampoo and sensitive antiperspirant. I am the epitome of tough. Hours earlier I had been enjoying a meal in my hometown of Edinburgh, at a little place called The Red Fort Indian Restaurant with seven of my closest friends, ten pints of Cobra later and I'm back in the cultural wasteland that is Stirling. Bookmakers, pound shops and fast food outlets imprison me as I walk along the main street, with my sensi-personal hygiene package in tow, I am grasped by a sense of annoyance at having to come back solely to work tomorrow. During the five minute walk to my flat I am asked for a cigarette by tracksuit clad locals on three separate occasions. 'Gonnae crash us a fag pal?' Sorry I don't smoke. 'Here, mate geez a fag eh?' Sorry I don't smoke. 'Fag ya cunt?' Sorry I don't smoke. With nothing to look forward to but an empty flat and a drunken phone calls at three o'clock in the morning, I drunkenly decide to write a post. But not before using my outdoor toilet. Sigh.
Self deprecating and self righteous laments aside, there is a sheer ironic element to this story, through all of it I am listening to Ardentjohn's debut single 'Home'.
The Edinburgh band's folk-indie is a stark reminder of my hometown, while simultaneously being a kick in the teeth. The sweet vocals of 'Home' and the lush layers of guitars, xylophones and drums are enough to make a homesick man write a fucking terribly whiny blog entry. The hopeful lyrics make me uncomfortable as I sit in the train seat, yet I can't help but listen and smile, as Ardentjohn are an extremely good band. With their debut being released on the 25th of this month, the six piece have quietly been plying their trade since 2007. Double-a side 'Where All Paths Lead' is another song about traveling to the place you belong, with a build up similar to contemporaries Broken Records and smooth reassuring lyrics and stinging me with sick irony, I sit and listen to the song, traveling to a place which I hate, because the song is so fucking good. 'I want you, I need you, can't you see?' is sung throughout 'Home', and I couldn't have put it better myself.
Folk music has seen somewhat of a resurgence in the Scottish music scene of late, with successful bands (Frightened Rabbit, Meursault, Broken Records) integrating the genre into their music. This has paved the way for more traditional folk artists.
In this edition I am looking at the young folk artist Colin Macleod who performs under the moniker of The Boy Who Trapped The Sun.
Originating from the remote Isle Of Lewis, Macleod plays timid and touching folk songs, with his smooth and heartfelt vocals being his best asset. He released his 'Watermark E.P' last year and has another E.P, 'Home', scheduled for this year.
Currently supporting the likes of Lisa Mitchell and Joshua Radin, it is evident Macleod has already made his mark on the international mainstream folk scene. Not bad for a young lad from the Outer Hebrides.
The U.S seems to be full of preppy bands writing perfect pop songs (Beach House, Grizzly Bear, Real Estate, Vampire Weekend), yet one new band seems to be crafting tunes as good as anyone, and that band is California's Princeton.
The bands first single proper 'Calypso Gold' indicates a pop band not content with following the norm. Deep vocals break the recent trend of falsettos and the instrumentation is rich and swirling with violins uplifting the chorus to a fantastic crescendo of sickly pop. The bittersweet lyrics such as"she'll never see me again" take a backseat as the tight rhythm section are so good they distract you from anything else.
If Princeton can follow up this single with more of the same, they could really be a band to contend with.
'Calypso Gold' video (small intro before the actual song);
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