mreed has written the following articles:
The Dead Kennedys return to the British stage for the first time since at least 1986 with a one-off date at Sheffield Hallam Uni on 21st June. Fans should be aware that these punk legends have reformed with a new singer, Brandon Cruz - formerly known as a child TV star in US show "The Cour»
Everyone’s allegedly-favourite low-rent glam boys Suede announce their return to the mainstream with a handful of live dates. After a two year absence, the band finished their fifth album last week and usher in a new label and lineup with a live performance at Northern Ireland’s Blackstaff Studio»
You want The Dirt? You got The Dirt. You couldn’t make this up. Honestly. If you thought Spinal Tap are shallow parody of a rock band, then Motley Crue are THE Rock band. They not only wrote the Rule Book, they snorted it, they screwed it, toured it, played it, sold it, overdosed on it, crashed it, filmed»
Jello Biafra follows up last years “Become The Media” triple CD with a rushreleased spoken word EP "The Big Ka-Boom!" that tackles the immediate aftermath and repercussions of September 11th. A long standing advocate of freedom of expression who has managed to fill seven CD’s with Anti-censorship diatribes and »
I’ve seen this happen before in other peoples careers. Firstly, an album with enormous potential - something that puts them right on the cusp of the mainstream. And then.... whatever happens next fails to follow through. The moment is lost, momentum is abandoned. Sales enter into diminishing returns, radio & television»
This film is evil. Anyone who watches it is suddenly transformed into a Natural Born Killer, baby. After all, anyone who watches this isn’t as clever as the people who want to ban it. Because the people who want to ban this “evil video filth” are somehow different, special, stronger than the rest of us. I don’t »
Strange sight of the evening #1: A crowd surfing stage diving gentleman immaculately dressed in a suit and tie. Strange sight #2: Immense bald bloke reliving 1991 stagediving, crowd surfing, and being forcibly removed from the stage. Strange sight #3: two former punks of the 90’s Great Indie-punk Wars fro»
They are the best at what they do. Nobody can come close. They are a uniquely British Institution, like Fish and Chips, Monty Python, and Godawful Weather. To see their lead singer, dressed respectably sans big hair, leather wristbands and the denim uniform, protesting on Channel 4 the night after that Iron Maiden»
Thirteen years after the debut 'Pretty Hate Machine' slipped quietly onto US shelves (with estimated sales of 20,000), Nine Inch Nails release their eighth album, a no doubt multi-million shifting lavish double set in a fabric box. All other considerations aside (the steep price tag, the increasin»
It starts with the wail of sirens and four policemen coming on stage to rapturous applause. Thirty seconds later the vocalist, in a dark blue LAPD uniform and wearing a gas mask with a microphone inside is yelling an unintelligable cacophony whilst around him the musicians create a tight, taut swirl of noise and»
Roger Waters is a man who became musically irrelevant in 1984. He left Pink Floyd when they wouldn't become his hired guns - a case of ego over talent - and set about creating his own vision that was 100% Floydian without anyone bar him interfering in his precious vision. He took the flying pig, he took t»
From the ashes of the unfairly-derided Carter USM came Jim Super Stereoworld, into a time when the era of 1991 isn’t quite far enough away to be cool again.. Carter being the band of two halves that they were - Fruitbat providing the thrashy punka singalong guitarfests, and Jim Bob providing the more reflective, intros»
In this part of the story, the Pet Shop Boys go suddenly, disturbingly rock. But before this, we get the NME’s much lauded A.R.E. Weapons, a band hopelessly in love with 1987 beatboxes, Pop Will Eat Itself before they got good, guitar riffola, berets, and unfortunately free of the ravages of talent. They are the»
Taking a detour from Mojave 3, who formed from the ashes of the dreamy early nineties shoegazers Slowdive, Neil Halstead offers a relaxing, informal solo that sounds like a cross between Graham Coxon’s more acoustic work and the gentler aspects of the Velvet Underground. Very relaxing»
His third solo album shows easily why he’ll never front a cartoon on American chat shows. Damon will always be happy to put out music of whimsy, and Graham Coxon will put out music that sounds like whatever the hell he wants it to, without any thought whatsoever for its commercial potential, because that's the s»
This is the best book ever written by a musician. Forget "Repossessed / Head On" by the genius that is Julian Cope. Forget "45" by Bill Drummond. Forget that Marilyn Manson book. Forget even "The Dirt" by Motley Crue. "Fucked By Rock" is one of the best books ever written. If you want tour dates, facts, or»
There's nothing deep or meaningful to be gained from this. No great insight into the human condition here. A band that once were big now playing somewhere small, with replacement dummers and guitarists. A lineup that has changed almost entirely since 1996, and only shares a vocalist and original bassist wit»
(insert a quote from any part of Paint A Vulgar Picture by The Smiths here) And so the fleecing of the faithful continues without pause. Adrift in a commercial wasteland, without contract and with millions in the bank, Morrissey further cheapens his reputation with his sixth compilation in a row. Seve»
First things first, it's lovely to see Miles in somewhere small (for my own personal gratification) without lots of people in very very old t-shirts reliving their pasts and thinking that they are 20 year olds trapped in 30something bodies. I must admit that towards the end of The Wonder Stuff's most recent set of gig»
And so Christmas came to Brixton. Even though, aside from the chill and ice on the streets, it still looks like the same old shithole it always ever was. And one of the most unusual cult bands there are - one that haven’t had a hit single and don’t play live half as much as they should, and hardly get any airplay. - ha»
It makes Ben-Hur look like an epic. Well, actually, I hold my hand up. I’m not a convert of The Lord of The Rings - I came to it with an open mind. Never read a book or even wanted to know the plot. I just thought it might be a good, somewhat epic action movie. I can’t compare it to the book - suffice to say that if i»
“Reissue, repackage, pack them into different sleeves, satiate the need...” Morrissey sang back in 1987 on The Smiths effortlessly quotable classic ‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’. And few people have been repackaged as often - or needlessly as The Smiths. In fact, the last four ‘new’ Smiths albums have been titled... “The Be»
Hot on the heels of the disappointing, rural “We Love Life”, Pulp return to the UK capital for a equally disappointing, thrill free Thursday night in Brixton. Whereas once they defined the times, now the time defines Pulp - and its oddly near to closing time. The set is strangely top-heavy with the kind of midpa»
Secret gigs. Aren’t they great? Sat up close, being able to see up the nostrils of your favourite heroes. See the faces from the cover of Q in intimate details. Yes, kids, that really is Liam Gallagher’s sweat. See they’re doing for the fans. Going back to the venues they played before they were this famous. Charging »
And so the world's biggest band, and the one who've managed to last longer than near enough anyone else without going completely shit - though the most recent album seems to have been treading water somewhat - release their first long form DVD. To make up for the fact that tickets were astronomically overpriced, and»
They're past their best. In fact, they've probably been past their best for a long time! Last years "Live At The Filmore" contained a handful of recent songs, and was comprised almost in its entireity of choice cuts from the first two albums. Only two songs from the return-to-form "Skull N Bones" w»
By now you either know who Tomahawk are, or you don’t. Given the increasingly marginalised nature of the media, it’s more and more difficult for bands not only to get publicity, but for established bands to maintain their public profile. Even massive bands like REM, Depeche Mode, and The Cure, are now deemed ret»
Having been sat around at home feeling ill all of today, I thought, what better time to review the new Leonard Cohen album? Popular conception has it that if you're having a bad day you listen to Leonard Cohen and then realise that nobody can have it quite as bad as him. There's a chink in everything, and even in»
Twenty years into their career, they’re still at it like they’re never, ever going to get bored of this music thing. Whilst they may have taken a musical left turn recently away from stadium-filling, genre-defining industrial-pop at the precise moment that TV and Radio decided they weren’t quite hip enough anymore, the»
And he’s out there. One minute he’s on stage just pointing, looking, on the edge of something, a ball of nervous energy, about to go into some other place. And the next he’s gone. Henry Rollins has left the building and retreated to some where deep inside his emotional landscape. And the rest of the world just disappe»
