Friday, December 24, 2004
There's not been much mention of Christmas so far on Stayfun. However, news arrived today of a new Audiotransparent recording which is their 2004 Christmas song, 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. I've really missed the Audiotransparencies over the past six months and can't wait for their new album in 2005. For now, you're welcome to get in the Christmas spirit and download the track here.
As I'm officially on holiday now, this will be the last update of 2004. Leaving it as late as possible, I've finally made available my end of year album list. Here is the top 10 records that rocked my world over and over...
1. Sons and Daughters - Love the Cup
2. Aereogramme - Seclusion
3. Adem - Homesongs
4. Isis - Panopticon
5. This Beautiful Mess - Temper the Wind to the Shorn Lamb
6. The Delgados - Universal Audio
7. At the Close of Every Day - The Silja Symphony
8. Finn Brothers - Everyone is Here
9. Fuck-Off Machete - My First Machete
10. Deerpark - It Made Her Look Spidery
Unable to restrict myself, the full list goes up to 20, and you can read that here if you desire. It seems quite fitting of the music I've covered on this site, with five Scottish acts and six Dutch making the list. I have of course digested massive quantities of music over the year, and on another day, I think a different ten albums could have sneaked in there.
That just leaves me to thank all who helped Stayfun in the past year, all the bands and labels who've sent music, and everyone who has enjoyed reading. Hope you all have a nice holiday period. See you in 2005.
:: Posted at 7:29 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Looking forward to the first few months of 2005, check out some of the following bands live in Holland - Aereogramme, Biffy Clyro, The Thermals, The Wedding Present, Adam Green, The Dresden Dolls, Comets on Fire, Finn Brothers, ...Trail of the Dead, Aqualung, American Music Club, Low, Jimmy Eat World and Mastodon.
I've just loaded up the gig guide with enough information to carry it strongly through into the new year.
:: Posted at 5:27 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Thursday, December 02, 2004
In the process of updating the site, I've decided to unleash an interview I did with Transformed Dreams owner Marcel Hermans earlier in the year. You can read that here. There are also a couple of new recommendations online to check out.
Although the big news of today is that the Delgados are in town, I feel I should point out that the Grote Prijs van Nederland finals begin tonight. While this by default may make me terribly uncool, I interviewed their new producer, Guno Oosterling, a couple of weeks ago and came away with a lot of respect for him and the other people working at the organisation.
Music and competitions will never sit perfectly together in every respect, and many bad promoters still abuse Battle-of-the-Band situations to make a quick profit while turning their back rapidly on the music. But these are good people working really hard to actually help bands and it's worth recognizing.
It's also worth pointing out that the finals are all being webcast live via Fabchannel, starting tonight with the Dance competition (go Drillem). Not everything will be musically great but you might be surprised.
(Admittedly, two weeks ago I didn't expect to be announcing all of this, but things change and supporting local music is what is most important.)
:: Posted at 4:47 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Wednesday, December 01, 2004
The sensation of returning from a trip and finding a bunch of CDs waiting for you is a great one. So let me just say the new Pfaff album Berliner Blick is wonderful (along with the poetry book it comes attached to). As is the Isis album Panopticon, and they were the band of November in my head.
Tour news that makes Stayfun glow brighter:
Finn Brothers are coming to Holland next year. They can be seen at Vredenburg on April 6 and Oosterpoort on April 10. Although current album Everyone is Here is somewhat mediocre compared to past Neil Finn glories, it's still lovely and heartwarming. What is harder to convey unless you've previously experienced it just how special it is to see them live. Take my word for it and check it out.
And in what is looking to be a fun spring, Kristin Hersh will be in Europe for a solo tour in March, this time with string accompaniment from cellist Martin McCarrick (ex-Siouxie and the Banshees, This Mortal Coil and Therapy?) and his wife Kim who plays viola. Taking things one step further, Hersh then plans to re-tour Europe in April with her band 50 Foot Wave.
:: Posted at 9:03 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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