Rate this sparkling soultronica

Jamie Lidell – Jim

It’s easy to see how newcomers to Jamie Lidell’s soulful radio-friendly pop would be a might bit confused when confronted with his first album Muddlin’ Gear, released on Spymania in 2000. A downright weird collection of frantic sample chip-choppery laced with trademark electronica pops and glitches, Muddlin’ Gear wasn’t so much the showcase of Lidell’s impressive vocal range and talent for good foot-tappin’ tunes but more for showing his finesse and maturity in high-end electronic composition. Multiply, Lidell’s Warp debut five years later, was a more conventional approach in songwriting through which the quirky and sometimes irksome electronic tendencies of his debut album could be heard. His latest release simply titled Jim is a further distillation of Lidell’s vocal influences and every bit as tuneful as Multiply.

The nigh-on complete lack of electronic wizardry makes Jim a sweet and tender affair which somehow seems to transcend motown pastiche and find it’s own niche as a genuinely enthusiastic and unabashedly upbeat record for the summer. Nothing beats putting it on first thing on a sunny Saturday morning with the windows open, it’s absolutely guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone who hears it. This perhaps isn’t a fair comparison but I do wonder sometimes whether in Lidell’s pursuit of breezy pop perfection that he has in some ways created an album reminiscent of anything made by surfin’ strumpet Jack Johnson, albums which can only be listened to during hazy, lazy days. There’s nothing appealing about listening to Jack Johnson during a typical British winter, hearing one of his songs played in a supermarket when it’s cold and raining outside is frankly one of the most depressing experiences you can have.

At the moment Jim has remained on rotation since I snapped it up but the real test will be towards the end of the year, judging by Lidell’s past efforts I’m confident however that it’ll prove to be an excellent pick-me-up rather than a maddening example of some guy crooning about how good his life always is at one particular point in the year.

Rated: 5 out of 7

Rate this spiralling guitar haze

Isis – Panopticon

In addition to whatever current releases I decide to throw down the bob notes on I’ll also be doing retrospective reviews of other stuff that I’ve been getting along with just fine thank you very much. First up is the third album from Isis, the art metal outfit fronted by Hydra Head Records founder Aaron Turner.

Rate this skittering collection

Rate This Day is (kinda) back!

What a crazy past few months. My other project at www.silenceincminor.co.uk is coming along nicely and while we gear up for our run of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe I thought I’d somehow resurrect the beast that is Rate This Day. The content of the site will change slightly and from here on in to plain ol’ music reviews. It’s always been about music for me and the decision was made after I realised that when not reviewing car parks, food or time, the majority of my serious articles were music reviews.

So from here on in it’s all about the tunes and the rock shows here at Rate This Day and to kick things off here’s a review of the new(ish) album from my favourite band, along with a lengthy introduction on the subject of DRM, piracy and my own rabid opinions on the state of modern music.

Site Updates

Hi lovely people. It’s been a bit hectic at Rate This Day Towers (a better name for the sites humble abode is in the works) due to my other activities. As a shameless act of self-promotion I urge you in the friendliest yet strongest terms to check out Silence In C Minor, a radio show I’ve been working on for some time now. Episode one is available to download for the sum total of ‘free’!

A new feature to RTD is in the works that allows for lots of smaller reviews in swift succession. Tentatively titled either “Rant This Day” or “Berate This Day” the new feature will allow my esteemed colleagues and I to dish out something the site is lacking at the moment, the dreaded “C” word; namely ‘content’. More details to follow…

Rate this enormous black and white teddy bear

The following review was penned by the lovely Debs, many thanks!

Pandas

Pandas. What a marvellous bundle of black and white furry fun they are. The Giant Panda (or ‘Daxiongmao’ to use the Chinese word) has been my favourite animal ever since I saw Chi Chi on the BBC News at the age of 3. The shrieks of joy and delight that emitted from my mouth were enough to make my parents make the very unwise decision of buying me a toy panda (Paddy). Nineteen years later and the collection of stuffed pandas has grown some what to 104, and the collection has expanded to include panda related books, videos, ornaments and novelty panda items. I’ve seen my pandas get married, have panda cubs and also in a world first, discovered the ‘long lost Uncle’ in my toy Panda Kingdom. Yes, the long lost Uncle of my original panda (Paddy) got in touch (via letters in handwriting bearing close resemblance to my Fathers) and travelled across the world in order to make it home for Christmas. Now that’s dedication.
When I was about 11, my Panda research informed me that sadly the Giant Panda was an endangered species and there were only about 1000 left in the wild. Angered and saddened by this information I made the decision there and then that I would adopt every single panda in the world. In my logic this was a do-able task, after all there were only a small amount left in the wild and I wanted to do my dammed hardest to help my furry friends. But in doing this I uncovered something about the Giant Panda. There is a darker side to the lovely, cuddly panda we all know – pandas are not all they appear to be.
I adopted my first panda – Zhu Xiong through the WWF. About a week later the adoption pack arrived which included a certificate, newsletter and photos of my newly acquired Panda. I was joyful, I was happy, I had taken my first step to achieving my dream of adopting every panda in the world. Or so I thought.
The time had come for me to adopt my second panda, and so I went through a different charity to adopt. The same process ensued and about a week after my Father had set up his direct debit – my second adoption pack had arrived. The day that pack arrived was a dark day, it was the day I realized I had been scammed by Pandas. In my hands I held a picture of my adopted panda, except my so called new panda was the same panda that I had adopted previously. I was outraged!! I had been ripped off!Somewhere in the mountains of China, Zhu Xiong would be there, wearing a smoking jacket, chugging away on a cigar living off my (well my Fathers) money. That panda was probably spending my money on nights out with other pandas living the high life – toasting the poor innocent fool that i was with vintage champagne paid for by me.
But alas, whilst I have had my fingers burnt by pandas, I cannot help but love them. No other animal appears in the news in such bizarre stories. My particular favourite was when scientists had decided to show pandas videos of other pandas having sex – ‘panda porn’ – in order to help them to mate. I also recently read that pandas were going to be trained by fighter dogs so they would stand a better chance of survival in the wild. My favourite panda fact is that when marking off their territory, male pandas lie on their backs and do a sort of backwards handstand in order to urinate up a tree (apparently the higher the pee goes determines whose territory it is).
So yes, pandas may be con-artists, they may take money from innocent children, but the entertainment factor they provide for me overrules all of that. I suppose you could call the panda ‘a lovable rogue’.

Cute factor: 7 out of 7
Ability to con small children: 7 out of 7
Overall ability to make those ripped off want to give them a big hug anyway: 7 out of 7

Rate this gloriously ridiculous and violent rollercoaster

Shoot ‘Em Up (dir. Michael Davis, 2007)

Bang! Bang! Kapow! Peow! Bang! Bang! Bang! Pew! Peow! Pow! Bang! Crash! Bang! Kerblam!Bang! Bang! Boooooom! Bang! Carrot! Baby! Bang! Bang! Bang! Paul Giamatti! Bang! Stab! Stab! Stab! Clive Owen! Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash! Screeeeech! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Monica Bellucci! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Relentless! Bang! Bang! Bang! Kerpow! Director! Michael Davis! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Conspiracy! Bang! Bang! Bang! Intrigue! Crash! Boom! KaPOW! Bang! Bang! Bang! Guns! Bang! Bang! Bang! Lots of guns! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! *click* click* click* click*

*reloads laptop*

Bang! Bang! Car chases! Bang! Bang! Stunts! Kerpow! Bang! Bang! Bang! Ridiculously violent! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Rated: 6 out of 7

Rate this study in moral degradation

No Country For Old Men (Movie)

As soon as I finished reading The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s bleak analysis of a father/son relationship in the most hostile of all possible environments, I immdediately set to going through all his other work. No Country For Old Men was a brilliant tale of the hardships that come from living in a world going to hell and as is typical of McCarthy stunningly well-written to boot. A writer capable of such astute selections of language, his books are harsh, brutal yet ultimately rewarding. A film adaptation of any of his work needs to be not only faithful to the source but reverent. Halfway through the book I found out that a movie based on No Country For Old Men was coming out soon and that it was under the auspices of the Coen brothers, this made a lot of sense at the time. The premise, our protagonist stumbling upon a case of money from a botched drug deal and coping with the fallout from keeping it, feels very much like an ideal target for the Coens. As it stands No Country For Old Men is one of the finest films I have ever seen and a nigh-on perfect adaptation.

Handled with such love and care the film unfolds at a beautiful pace marked with moments of shocking violence. McCarthy’s ability to shock the reader with sudden bursts of violence is mirrored horrifically in the movie, lengthy dialogue-less sections of heart-stopping suspense are punctuated with loud and almost sickening moments of extreme brutality. Brilliantly staged encounters like these act as way points for the emerging bleak narrative, that the world is not a great place; that time leaves everyone behind eventually and over the years mankind’s virtues are falling by the wayside. This viewpoint is one seen from the character Sheriff Ed Tom Bell’s angle and is wonderfully captured by Tommy Lee Jones. The entire cast for that matter deliver exceptional performances and especially Javier Bardem who is just plain terrifying as the rogue psychopath Anton Chigurh.

I really have nothing bad to say about this film. A piece of work like this, so heartrending in it’s near-perfection, should not be missed or ignored. From the first moments in beautifully shot open country to the powerful and haunting climax there really is not a bad second wasted. Not just a fantastic adaptation worthy of McCarthy’s fans’ attention but a truly great movie and one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

Rated: 7 out of 7

Rate this mightily confusing bowl o’ healthy stuff

Caesar Salad that I had after coming home from a long day at work made all the more stressful by severe delays on the Northern Line

Yeah, it serves two but I didn’t care. I dared to dream and in doing so I tasted a bowl of near perfection. It was bloody lovely I must say and when you consider that all you have to do is just open several packets in a certain order and dole out the contents in one place, this seemingly boring plate of food really comes into it’s own. So it’s easy to use, fine. But what do you get for your money?

A good helping of grated Parmesan, some dressing and a generous handful of croûtons to go with a sumptuous selection of green stuff which I can only assume is a concoction of various types of lettuce. I thought I would have to continue to raid my cupboard or refrigerator in search of other bits and pieces to quell my hunger, such was the filling factor of just a bowl of salad. But I was wrong! I couldn’t have asked for more of this wonderful stuff, it’s just a shame that in eating it I managed to cover my face in dressing due to my stubbornness in not wanting to use a knife to cut the mouthfuls down to size, so happy was I in simply forcing an entire lettuce in my mouth.

After all that I’ve got a weird after-taste. This may be the beer from earlier but then again it may not. This salad has left me full, healthy and slightly confused about what the hell has happened over the past few hours.

Rated: 5 out of 7

Rate this bewildering spectacle *Star Review*

Take That Live at The O2 Arena, November 30th 2007

 

Happy New Year, everyone! As a special 2008 treat follow the jump to read a dazed yet heart-felt review of the almighty live experience that is Take That…

Rate this petty excuse for talent

The X Factor

What?!! What were you people thinking?! Leon for goodness’ sake?!  For the love of all that’s good and pure in the world, have you heard him sing? Absolutely terrible, I mean really awful everyone. I hope you’ve learnt your lesson.

Wow. The X Factor used to be good back in the day, a source of trashy and eminently watchable TV from way back when. The most recent series of X Factor has been reduced to nothing more than a series of oneupmanship bouts centred solely around the judges. So uncomfortable now is the experience, it ceases to be about the contestants at all. This is a damn shame as it’s allowed genuinely talented acts like The Rhyd and Niki to fall by the wayside.

It has to be said, Leon can’t sing. He’s a pale imitation of snot-nosed family-charmer Ray from last year. This man is absolutely nothing on anyone who has gone before,  it mystifies me how the British voting public were so blind (and deaf) to this guy. Awful.

Rated: 0 out of 7