I Missed My J-Rock

I spent most of last night engaged in a large scale digi-enema.
That is to say, moving a mass of files from laptops into external hard drive storage, so that the laptops are less sluggish and congested.

An awful lot of data gets into my laptops, as it is necessary for it to store the raw footage from our radio shows (roughly just under 2gb per show and we've been going since November 09) and all the video footage from our sketches, which takes up a gargantuan amount of space. When you factor in the music, podcasts and videos that also find their way from iTunes then the laptops become a bloated mess.

Having a good clear out, even in purely digital terms, can be a very satisfying process. It's the same sort of feeling I got from clearing the back garden of nettles, albeit with significantly reduced chance of getting a farmer's tan.

I decided to also rejig my iPod a bit, since mine doesn't have a huge amount of space on it it is necessary to operate a squad rotation system with the songs, and it has been awhile since I've changed it. I realised if I left it much longer then I'd run the risk of really hating some of my favourite music.

I've been meaning to cobble together a playlist of Japanese music for the radio for a number of weeks now, so I took the opportunity to embark on that effort. Several hours later I realised I managed to fill my iPod almost exclusively with Japanese music, which is a fairly drastic, nostalgic change. It is an odd process where you can listen to music you probably haven't heard for a number of years, and still know all the lyrics. Made even more strange if they are in Japanese (and you aren't in Japanese).

One of the most interesting tracks I rediscovered was 'Nothing Can Be Explained' by Mike Wyzgowski. I warmed to the track a lot more than I had previously, it is strange, hypnotic and faintly sinister. What really hooked me about it, however, was how little information is available on Mike Wyzgowski. He is not to be confused with Mike Wazowski, who is the green thing from off've the Monsters, Inc. After a bit of digging it appears that he is a UK-based artist, who used to be in a band called Garlic. The vague nature of the name makes it very hard to find anything out about them, with the only site that mentions them being their own official website, which is out of date and desolate. There is no mention of them on iTunes or Wikipedia (which these days means they didn't happen) and the only sight of them on Amazon is of old and used albums.

More digging led to the discovery that he was more recently in an outfit called Stations of the West, which is another band name which is almost impossible to search. The only mention of them is on their own myspace. I found them on iTunes, and, having enjoyed the previews, took a chance. I am enjoying them so far, the album is called 'You Missed Yourself'. The standout track for me so far is 'Silly Cow', though the amusing title is surely playing a part in that.

It is strange, and exciting, to have found bands who seem to be mysterious non-entities, at least in terms of the internet's coverage of them. The band searching I did does flag up a more costly habit, however. Having invested an amount of time researching Mike Wyzgowski, when I then found an opportunity to buy an album, I instantly took it, and received it minutes later, thanks to the wonder/danger of the internet. This goes for a number of other things aswell. In the last week I have interpulse purchased two pairs of shoes (a new pair for work and trainers for exersize - they are practical purchases at least) a t-shirt, that album and the newest Football Manager game. I am an idiot.

The purchase of the Football Manager game also informed my data-clearing, as for the game to run smoothly, which it needs to if it is to have the best chance of devastating my life and mind, it'll need a system in good shape. FM is D&D for football nerds, and if the game and the time is right it is like a stat-based black hole which consumes weeks of your life in a blink of an eye.

My reacquainting with football is, as will be obvious, informed by the World Cup, which has sucked me in like a wily Bret Hart playing possum ready to drag me into a small package. I'm just glad some interesting matches have happened now. Switzerland 1, Spain 0 was enjoyable, and Argentina 4, South Korea 1 was similarly great.
　
Also, this is a special one for you fans of lookalike athletes that were at their best in the late-80s through the mid-90s; Jürgen Klinsmann is the doppelganger of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Top Ten, or perhaps, Stop Ten.

The only changes in the Top Ten this week are small jostlings by last week’s 10, so rather than any ‘interesting’ new entries we have a new number one, but it has been in the 10 anyway and I have already said what I have to say about it. The track is inane, though that should go without saying, since it is in the list at all.

So, rather than another entry full of party-pooping posing as criticism, I will talk about some music that I like, hopefully making some valid, or at least interesting, points along the way.

Better than listening to tracks on your music playing device of choice, it is, surely, always preferable to experience them live. I took this to be a firm and understood truth, however, having recently attended a live event, it turns out that a very many people disagree. This became apparent due to the disheartening lack of people in the audience. Standing at the front of a handful of people watching a 4-man punk outfit play to a completely still room ranks among the music-tragedies of recent years. Yes, more tragic than the death of that Jackson bloke, whoever he was.

Perhaps the popularity of pop music means that people are less likely to come to live events, for, as everyone knows, pop music cannot be performed live, as in that context, pop music sounds even more like the gutter-drivel it is, since it is more difficult to cover the inherent arse-puddle of noise with futuristic / 80s whoops and whirls. Or maybe people just don’t think music is real music unless Simon Cowell is there to bestow the mantle of goodness upon it. If you are one of the people who believe in the ‘brilliance’ of the Got Talent / Factor / Idol format then you are a bell end, and I suggest you retreat into your proverbial foreskin before you are crunched on by the unforgiving teeth of the revengeful hooker of actual music.

I understand that it is perhaps counter-productive to describe, what I think is, good music as a hooker, especially since I am now going to talk about bands I think are good, who may believe I am calling them hookers. I am not. They are awesome. The bands, not hookers. Do hookers read blogs? Answers on a postcard please.

Luckily for live music, the night I was describing previously was merely slow getting going, and having to compete with two festivals in the city (Cardiff) it is perhaps amazing that there was such a crowd at all. The second band to take the stage was Cardiff-based ska wonders Dirty Revolution. The crowd began swelling even as the stage was being prepped, suggesting that they are already in possession of a dedicated fan-base. Their set was filled with fun skank-along tunes that were hugely enjoyable as well catchy. After all, there’s no good having a tune in your head if it is going to drive you insane. You know who you are, Beyonk.

On top of the catchy tunes the lyrics and vocal melodies were clever and well crafted, which is, unfortunately, a novelty in modern music, or maybe I am just a pretentious snob. I am, but I am also correct. Always.

The most miraculous effect of Dirty Revolution was their ability to get the room dancing, especially bearing in mind that the room was, at best, sparsely populated, this was truly a colossal achievement. Perhaps it was their novel use of what I must assume is some kind of melodica-esque device which is used occasionally in the stead of a more traditional horn-section. Oddly, for a device that looks for all the world like a toy, the sound carries clearly and adds immensely to the proceedings. Basically, if you enjoy bands on the reggae / ska / punk spectrum, give them a listen on their page, or, better still, go and see them live.

We’ll move on now to a band that I have not seen live, but that has managed, over time, to enmesh itself more completely in my psyche. This particular band is the extremely difficult to find Bôa, who are not helped by the abundance of other acts named Boa. These include; BoA, a Korean singer; BOA, a Croatian group; Boa, a Russian group; and Phillip Boa, a German musician. I am not talking about these. I am talking about the criminally undervalued British indie-rock group Bôa. Annoyingly, I am unable to discover a website or a MySpace site of theirs, so I am going to have to resort to other methods. Bôa are best known for their song Duvet, due to it being used as the opening theme for the anime Serial Experiments Lain, which is worthy of the song. However, this song, and the acoustic version, is where the widespread appreciation of Bôa stops, which, in my sensationalist mind, is an unforgivable shame. I spent a long time scouring around for their two better-publicised / most recent albums Get There and Twilight, one of which (Get There) has now been put up on iTunes. In order to find it you’ll have to type in ‘boa uk’ rather than using the bands actual spelling, which doesn’t help with the confusion.

Bôa are the gods of bluesy indie rock in my world, and it is a pity they aren’t more widely appreciated. Wikipedia, for what it is worth, puts their 'years active' as 1993 – present, which suggests that I still may get to see them live at some point, but my hope at the moment must be that they are on hiatus, rather than split up. I fear the day where I will have to refer to them as the now-defunct Bôa. Their lead singer, Jasmine Rodgers, seems to be focusing on a solo-acoustic project, which is also well worth a listen.

I have mentioned The Cribs before, who, by now, almost go without mentioning, and have a new album pending, which I am awaiting eagerly. I was also planning on talking about Polkadot Cadaver, and their previous incarnation Dog Fashion Disco, but I will leave this entry to the two British bands, rather than inundate a single blog with too many positive vibes.

Find below, the ‘Top Ten’ as it stands this week. Needless to say, not a single track can hold a candle to either Dirty Revolution or Bôa*.

10 – Poppiholla – Chicane

9 – When Love Takes Over – David Guetta ft Kelly Rowland

8 – Paparazzi – Lady Gaga

7 – Bulletproof – La Roux

6 – Sweet Dreams – Beyonce

5 – Evacuate the Dancefloor – Cascada

4 – I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) – Pitbull

3 – Supernova – Mr Hudson ft Kanye West

2 – Beat Again – JLS

1 – I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas

*In my opinion. But what other opinion counts? Yours? Not on my page.