Posts from 17th April 2007
17
Apr 07
why I love live albums
There are of course all kinds of differences between live albums and studio ones. Within rock and some other genres, notions of a primacy attached to the live experience exist, ideas of greater authenticity, that it’s where a band really show their chops, their worth. There is occasionally some truth in that – in my youth, Dr Feelgood were the standard example of a band who were much better live than in the studio, and based on seeing them and a terrific live album, this was very much the case. On the other hand, I have seen and heard loads of rock bands where it certainly wasn’t true, where the performance and sound just offered inferior reproductions of the studio recordings.
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In Space: No-One Can Hear You Screen
There are some lovely spaces in London institutions. The Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern has rarely been filled, but feels majestic in its own right – almost as if to cleanse your art palate before hitting the galleries. Big opening halls in classical museum do much the same job, the courtyard in the British Museum has an airiness which is a respite from the overload of (stolen) cultural heritage. So I really see what they have done with the National Film Theatre, now rebranded as BFI Southbank (as opposed to BFI Stephen Street?). They have a nice new entrance and a big, light, airy space to greet you. Though this photo nicked from the Guardian website looks a bit busier than it was on unday when I went to see Dirty Ho.
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Even Superheroes Have To Pay Tax
Or do they. A nicely entertaining discussion of Superman #149 where Superman gets hit up for $1,000,000,000 of unpaid tax. Which in the fifties was a lot of money. This seems a surprisingly round number, but like many Superman stories of the age the whole thing (especially the denouement) does not really stand up to that much scrutiny. Items the story forgets:
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The Man Who Couldn’t Draw Humans
Here’s my third Poptimist column for Pitchfork. It’s about pop, but mostly about 2000AD and the concept of thrill-power.
The notorious “giant scorpions” cover which I cite in the piece was drawn by Massimo Belardinelli, who I found out died last month.
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Focus Group 11 – GOOD CHARLOTTE
GOOD CHARLOTTE – “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” – Score: 4.18 (12th) – Controversy: 2.83 (8th)
(Females: 12th. Males: 12th. Under 30s: 11th. Over 30s: 13th.)
Most like: MIA. Most unlike: JoJo. (But not significantly like anything)
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