You Know You're Only In It 'Cause It's Hot Right Now: July 2012

Here's a new semi-regular feature that I'll be posting on the blog every month or so. The title is taken from the DJ Fresh ft. Rita Ora song 'Hot Right Now'. This is because like most people, I get obsessed with a handful of songs every few weeks, and listen to them excessively until I find new songs to rave about! As a result, I've decided to take advantage of that tendency by writing blog posts centered on my current top 5 favourite jams - the tracks that I think are 'Hot Right Now'...

1) 'All The Young Dudes' by Bruce Dickinson

I discovered a new record store in my town today, and as a huge fan of all things music and all things retro, I couldn't resist having a peek! I came across this single - a song that I used to be mad about, but haven't heard in years - and it reminded me of just how awesome this track is! Despite being released in the 1990s, Bruce Dickinson and his accompanying band manage to maintain the '70s feel of the original track (it's a cover of a Mott The Hoople song from 1972). Listening to it almost feels like being sent back in time to an era where T Rex and David Bowie were megastars, The Sweeney was still on TV and corduroy trousers were in fashion!

'All The Young Dudes' is available both as a single, and as part of Bruce Dickinson's album ' Tattooed Millionaire'

The album cover of 'Californication', © Warner Bros.

2) 'Californication' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

This song feels like it's been around forever, yet every time I listen to it, it still sounds fresh and exciting. It showcases the Chilis' signature sound perfectly, with a groovy drumbeat, a mixture of rapping and singing and fantastic bass and guitar tones. Almost every chord is complex and meticulously thought out, and the song as a whole flows perfectly. The chorus is anthemic and one that would be great to sing along to live - "Dream of Californicatioooon!". Also, the lyrics of this song are deep and interesting, providing food for thought for the listener, for example "Destruction leads to a very rough road/But it also breeds creation".

'Californication' is available both as a single, and as part of the album of the same name.

3) 'Remember The Stronger' by DJ Phairose

I stumbled across this song by accident on YouTube, and I've been addicted to it for the past week. DJ Phairose has successfully taken two amazing songs - Kanye West/Daft Punk's 'Stronger' and Fort Minor/Styles of Beyond's 'Remember The Name' - and blended them to create something even more awesome. This song's a great one for when you need a bit of motivating - whether it be at the gym, at college or at work - because it makes the listener feel like an invincible gangsta superhero... Or is that just me?

You can check out DJ Phairose's mashup by searching for 'Remember The Stronger' on YouTube, and the sampled tracks are available to purchase at all good music outlets

4) 'Give It A Go' by The Carpet Lions

These guys played the Stoke Sugarmill tonight (Saturday 14th July), and although the crowd seemed a little sceptical at first, they were soon won over by the band's blend of cheeky humour and funky melodic tunes. This song has to be my favourite out of their set, with side-splitting lyrics like "I've only got a tenner, and you're not even a ten... errr!" accompanied by a great guitar and piano backing. Just as with many of the trio's other songs, this track tells a story, and the music changes in tone as the tale progresses. The track's video is as hilarious as the lyrics (in the nicest possible way!) and deserves to go viral, so check it out and support this awesome unsigned band!

You can listen to The Carpet Lions (and watch their epic music videos) on their official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/CarpetLions

The single artwork for 'Shiver', © Parlophone

5) 'Shiver' by Coldplay

Stay tuned to the blog for a full review of this song on next week's 'Alive In The Superunknown'! (Yes, I'm shamelessly plugging my own blog... on my own blog)

Feel free to leave a comment with the songs that are 'Hot Right Now' in your world, and remember to keep an eye on Superunknown for more reviews and write-ups on the latest and greatest music!

PsyD

Alive in the Superunknown #4 - Inspector Norse by Todd Terje

Here's a short review of 'Inspector Norse' by Todd Terje (pronounced like Todd Stair-Yay... with a silent 'S'). You can have a listen to the track and the rest of Terje's EP - 'It's the Arps' - below... 

TODD TERJE - It's The Arps EP by toddterje

Todd Terje's 'Inspector Norse', from his new EP 'It's The Arps', has been getting a lot of airplay recently on BBC Radio 1, and has mustered up a lot of excitement on social networking sites like YouTube and SoundCloud. Why? Because with this track, Terje has successfully blended genres, created whole new sounds and produced a piece of music that's both energetic and placid simultaneously! On the other hand though, Terje is yet to enjoy success on a mass, chart-storming mainstream way, and this may be due to his use of musical repetition, which sometimes verges on excessive.

The song is hard to fit into a particular genre, because it doesn't conform to stereotypes. It's obviously electronic, but without the heavily synthesised David Guetta-esque elements common to electronic music. It's funky, but without the springing basslines and sliding chords of the funk genre. It's as if Terje has taken the beats of hip hop, the repetition of house music and the energy of pop, added a few spacey computer-generated sounds to the mix and created something completely new.

However, the only thing that perhaps hampers the impact of such an inherently great song is its length - the track is over 6 minutes long - as well as the lack of change in mood and speed, and the fact that after the first minute or so, no new musical ideas or melodies are introduced. The bassline loops throughout, as do the drums, and although the main melodic theme is catchy (Dum duh-dum duuuuur, dum duh-dum duuuuur!), it starts to seem a little overused towards the end of the track, which lessens its initial freshness and energy.

So, to sum up, 'Inspector Norse' is, in itself, a great song. Its overall sound is new, exciting and different, and it sits in its own niche genre. However, it is definitely one for fans of house and electronic, who generally don't mind repetition and will be able to enjoy the track fully, time and time again. Todd Terje is already a great artist, but he has it in him to be an amazing one. I'm sure that as he releases more and more music and continues to experiment with genres and sounds, and keeps generating excitement in the internet world and on the radio, he will find success on a massive scale.

PsyD

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Coming up next week on 'Alive in the Superunknown'...

'Shiver' by Coldplay

...because Coldplay are just awesome, and their early material gets nowhere near enough credit!

Blog news: My college breaks up for summer next week, and the latest college magazine is finally complete and in for printing! That means I'll have a lot more time over the next couple of months to post reviews and articles on the exciting, ever-changing world of music. Already in my to-do list is...

• An article on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal: What happened, and what impact it has had on the music megastars of today
• A review of Labrinth's top-selling album 'Electronic Earth'
• Loads more 'Alive in the Superunknown' track reviews

So keep an eye on the blog for all of that and more!

Alive in the Superunknown #3 - If I Were In Your Shoes by You Me At Six

Compared to the last 'classic' song I wrote about in 'Alive in the Superunknown' - 'Prowler', by Iron Maiden - 'If I Were In Your Shoes' seems way too new, current and mainstream to have such a title affixed to it. However, despite the track being only four years old, You Me At Six have come a long way since its release, going from an unknown, underground pop-rock group to top festival and arena artists. This extreme popular success, in my opinion, was heavily influenced by the single 'If I Were In Your Shoes', from the band's debut album ' Take Off Your Colours', and that's why I've chosen the track as a classic song to review as part of the old-new-alternating feature that is 'Alive in the Superunknown'.

The track itself is quite different to the material released more recently by the band (The album 'Sinners Never Sleep' and their epic rollercoaster anthem 'The Swarm') on the surface, sounding rougher, more upbeat and more melodic. On the other hand, it is also an embodiment of the classic, trademark sound that fans of the band know and love; a sound that, despite superficial and gradual changes over the years, still remains largely intact to this day.

In reviewing the song, I'm going to attempt to remember how I felt when I first heard it, at around 12 or 13 years old. To this day I can still fondly and vividly recollect the video's debut on Kerrang! TV. For three minutes I was glued to the screen, and fascinated with the unique, energetic, fresh sound of the band. After it'd finished, I remember confidently declaring to friends and family that I had discovered one of the best bands in the world and that they all needed to hear the awesomeness that is You Me At Six. Here's why I think the track was (and still is) so awesome...

•  The guitaring. Is amazing. You can really hear Max Helyer's Iron Maiden influence (he often states in interviews that the metal titans have heavily inspired his guitaring and composition styles), with melodic lines, harmonies and solid rhythmic power chords. The band's two guitarists - Max Helyer and Chris Miller - lock in perfectly and really complement each other's styles and sounds throughout this track.
• The bass. Bassists are never given enough credit, and without Matt Barnes' steady basslines, the track just wouldn't have the heavy, powerful impact that it has. Barnes perfectly complements the guitar melodies and rhythms with an unobtrusive but extremely important bass presence throughout.
• The drums. Dan Flint never misses a beat, and proves that you don't need a million different cymbals and fancy drums to create an impressive, interesting backing to a track (mentioning no names, *cough* Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain and Slipknot's Joey Jordison *cough*). The drumming on 'If I Were In Your Shoes' gives the song a fast and exciting pace, and holds together the track throughout the many varying verses, choruses and bridges.
• The singing. Some singers have the looks. Others have the voice. Josh Franceschi has the two combined. He has a fantastic, unique voice, with a signature sound. He's like Chad Kroeger crossed with Tyson Ritter... but British. Franceschi's accent also adds interest to his vocal lines, setting the band apart from the typical American-accented pop punk acts that saturate the genre.

'If I Were In Your Shoes' is a fantastic effort by You Me At Six, and as a result, it's unsurprising that the band shot to major success not long after its release. For fans of 'Sinners Never Sleep' and singles like 'The Swarm', it's definitely worth listening to the 'Take Off Your Colours' album as it shows a different, but equally awesome, side to the band. Likewise, any music fans who haven't heard You Me At Six's music (...Where have you been for the past 8 years?) need to have a listen to 'If I Were In Your Shoes' - and the rest of their back catalogue, for that matter!

My only criticism of 'If I Were In Your Shoes' is that it's way too short. If anyone makes an extended remix of this track, I will personally buy them an ice cream.*

PsyD

*No ice creams are available.

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Coming up next week on 'Alive in the Superunknown'...

'Inspector Norse' by Todd Terje

So stay tuned to Superunknown for that and, in a couple of weeks when college is over, a lot more reviews and write-ups on the exciting, ever-changing world of music!