Forever missed. Happy Birthday.
Author Archives: Olivia
Cults.
Again, I am giving you more proof as to why bands with only two members are fascinating.
Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin aka Cults have put out a brilliant debut album this year. There’s hardly any information about them, but really that’s not needed. All you need is their amazing music. Enjoy! :
I love the 60s girl group feel to this.
Just a tip….be careful when you type the band’s name into Google or wherever! 😉
The Importance Of Velvet Underground.
Understatement of the year, but there is so much music out there. You cannot subject yourself to one genre. I will always say Punk Rock owns my heart. It always has, and always will. The angst, the passion, the drive, and the lust- everything about it appeals to me. Patti, Ramones. New York Dolls, Television, Richard Hell, Iggy etc.
One band in particular has everything I love about music in one. Everything I want in a band is in this band. The lyrics, the way the vocals are delivered, the honesty, the brutality, the tragedy, the agony, the joy, blood, sweat and tears.
This band has created music that just evokes so much imagery and feeling. So much darkness, so much passion. This band makes me want to travel back in time and live in New York City.
This band of course is Velvet Underground.
The smoky bluesy guitar, Lou and Nico’s overwhelmingly powerful and enchanting voices make you feel like you are lost in a dream. Lost with no desire to ever be found because what you have found in Velvet Underground you will never find in any band or person again. What you have found is this spiritual connection. What you have found is hope and a dream. Sometimes these two factors do not work, but they do here.
Regardless of what you may think of Andy Warhol, it was he who suggested that the band used Nico on their debut album- which I (and many many others) regard this to quite possibly be the greatest debut album of all time. Their debut album offers the listener so much, and after listening- no matter when your first time was, you find it hard to believe music can actually get better than this. It’s an album you can use to escape from the world or just sit and read to. It’s unbelievable perfect from start to finish. Also, Andy Warhol allowed the band to have the freedom to do what they wanted with this album- what would it have sounded like if he was to have taken control? Would it have been so effortlessly raw? Would the production have been text book perfect? Who knows. All that matters is that their first album is quite simply one of the greatest albums ever and THE greatest debut album ever.
White Light/White Heat is a phenomenal second album, the band proved with this album that the “dreaded second album blues” was not for them. It is still on a par with their first album- a difficult thing to do, but it can still be done. Sadly, it was the last album John Cale appeared on and there was no Nico. I must add here that, Nico’s voice is constantly missed. There has never been and never will be a voice quite like her. So husky, so defiant- just beautiful.
However, I personally feel their third album is THE ONE. This could be due to my overriding obsession with Pale Blue Eyes and That’s The Story Of My Life. Or, the fact that it is actually a mind-blowing album. Velvet Underground is a band that you just cannot find any fault in at all. The consistency of Lou’s lyrics and his vocals are so perfect. So perfect. You cannot help but think he is not from this planet. He’s a machine or something.
Reason why Loaded is perfect? I Found A Reason. If I ever found some poor girl willing to spend her life with me- that song would be the song I’d play at the wedding. Followed by Cat Power’s version of it. It is a truly gorgeous song. Its how a love song should be.
The sound that Velvet Underground created became instantly timeless. A sound that so many came to adore, and from it- started their own band. One band in particular that gives me the same feelings, ideas and images that VU are The Kills. Their bluesy escapism is quite frankly the most glorious thing I have heard from a band that only has two members. Their covers of VU songs are equally as perfect as the originals. Especially their cover of Pale Blue Eyes. Alison’s voice on this cover is so haunting yet angelic at the same time- pain mixed with innocence. I’m Set Free and Venus In Furs are wonderfully covered too.
VU are a band that I wouldn’t approve of anyone covering. Just no. yet when The Kills do it, you get exactly the same feeling Lou Reed and John Cale give you- that is when a cover is well done. If a cover can make you feel the same way the original does- then it’s a bloody good version.
I love The Kills as much as I love VU, so I suppose them covering VU isn’t going to offend me at all. If only Lou Reed would cover Rodeo Town or Wait! Even better, they do a record together. Either or I’d be happy with.
Are any bands that are around now going to have the same effect on bands like VU have? Will any band ever again create a sound like they have?
Everyone’s answer is different. Mine is no. Some would say yes. Personally, I prefer listening to old bands. Bands that started before I was born. For some odd reason I feel more connection to them. Thing is, nothing is new anymore. It has all been done and there comes a time where you just have to go back to the old stuff because everything was entirely different.
Bands that were classed as Punk may have all fell into the same genre- however they didn’t sound the same. You could tell each artist apart from each other. Whereas now, if artists all fall into the same genre- you cannot possibly tell who is different.I know living in the past does nobody any favours ever, but sometimes it is more than acceptable to go back there in a musical sense.
There will never be another Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, MC5, Ramones etc but there will always be another…well, you don’t need me to name names. It’s fairly obvious isn’t it.
The Importance Of Garbage.
I have probably wrote this article before on my blog, but I just feel the need the show my love and admiration for Shirley Manson again. To be honest, I doubt I will ever stop. Shirley Manson is someone I regard as highly as Patti Smith. Her words, her voice, her beauty- they mean so much. She’s my female Morrissey. Her words have been comfort in my darkest hour. Her words got me through teenage angst onto the frustrations of adulthood. Aged 24, fast approaching 25, her words are still having the same effect on me as they did the first time I heard them.
I remember seeing the video to Only Happy When It Rains on MTV in 1995/1996 and I just sat staring. Legs crossed on the floor and staring at what was in front of me, I was in awe. I was in some kind of trance. I felt hypnotised, and I didn’t want to snap out of it. Since the start, Garbage has been a band I have adored. They were more than likely the first band I felt this connection to. My connection to Morrissey came a few years later.
What is it that I adore about Shirley Manson? More than anything, her strength and honesty. I don’t need to divulge into all she has been through, she’s been open about her past and struggles. Some I can relate to more than I wish to- which is why her lyrics are engraved upon my heart. I have cried my eyes out to The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, I have felt less alone whilst listening to Medication, I have felt hope whilst listening to Run Baby Run and Right Between The Eyes. Every single Garbage album I can associate with a certain time in my life, there’s not many artists I feel this for. Yes, the odd song here and there- but with Garbage, it’s something deeper than that.
The songs about despair, doubt, self loathing, love, pain, hate, hurt- every single feeling that is humanly possible to feel, one feels from listening to Garbage.
Of course I sound like a lunatic- but I can assure you, I am a friendly and loving one. I, along with many others, probably feel the band isn’t given the credit and respect that they well and truly deserve. Duke, Steve and Butch are fantastic musicians. Utterly fantastic. Shirley, in my eyes, is one of the best front-women ever. She’s on a par with Debbie Harry, Patti Smith- all the greats, she is up there.
Just after Bleed Like Me was released they announced a tour. My mum got me tickets as a birthday present to see them in Edinburgh. I knew it would be the concert that would change my life. I’d cry at every song. I’d sing every single line back at them as if my life depended on it.
The tour was cancelled. My heart broke and I wept. I had been waiting since 1995 for this moment. It never happened. I still cling on with dear life that a new album and tour will happen. I have that much faith. It has to happen.
I remember the day Bleed Like Me was released. I was in college and I skipped my afternoon lessons that Monday so I could go buy the album. I went to HMV and on the bus journey home I flicked through the booklet and studied it intensely. I got off the bus the stop before my house so I could go buy a can of pop at the shop. As I got off the bus, who did I see? MY MUM GETTING ON THE BUS. She grilled me in loving way, “Why aren’t you at college Olivia?” My reply was, so casually, “It’s Key Skills…I don’t need that for uni besides- Garbage album is out.” She shook her head, smiled and kissed my forehead and got on the bus. My mum knows what music is to me. She knows what Garbage are to me. I suppose anyone else’s mum would drag them back to college and take the CD off them- even worse, make them take it back to the shop. Not my mum, not at all. She just understood.
So I walked home and gave Bleed Like Me all my attention. I played it on my CD player and just lay on my bed playing it over and over. Every single song just took over my soul. I think I had a break down listening to Metal Heart, It’s All Over But The Crying and Happy Home. Happy Home is one of the most euphoric songs by Garbage. The intensely dark build up just blows my mind and takes over me. That’s how I feel whenever I listen to Garbage that something takes over. like I am being told, “It’s going to be alright.” Their music just gives me this blanket of comfort I’ve never found in a human being- much like Morrissey’s music.
Maybe I’m a loser for never finding this in a person. Or maybe I’m just sick of the hurt I see people cause each other that I choose to lose but find myself in music. I like to think it’s the latter.
I don’t wish to sound like Garbage are a band I only associate negative parts of my life to. Far from it. So far from it. If anything they made everything alright and brought me back from the brink when I couldn’t take anymore. I still use The Trick Is To Keep Breathing and Run Baby Run to make myself feel alright when everything goes to shit, and yes- it happens more times than I like it to. But, I am human and I have feelings just like anyone else does. Maybe I have too many, but I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for them. I also wouldn’t be the person I am if I didn’t look up to strong women such as Shirley Manson and my mum.
There will never ever come a time where Garbage aren’t relevant to my life. There will never ever come a time where their music doesn’t influence me or make me feel something I didn’t know I could feel. Beautifulgarbage tugged at my heartstrings and felt like a massive trip into the unknown (I don’t mean in a drug sense, I’ve never done drugs so I wouldn’t know.) Version 2.0 and Garbage were my emotional crutch for so long and still probably are. Bleed Like Me taught me to be okay with the bad parts of me because I’m only human.
I just don’t know where I’d be without them. Everyone has one or two bands that saved their soul and gave them courage. For me, it’s Morrissey and Garbage.
Zola Jesus- KEXP Session.
Zola Jesus are also playing London the day the new album is out.
Marina And The Diamonds.
Lyrics are a huge thing for me. Most of the bands and singers I love are brilliant lyricists. I don’t need to name names, it’s fairly obvious.Pop music is so dreary and plain isn’t it. There is a severe lack of substance. Or is the whole point of pop music to be this empty genre that requires no thought?
Well, pop music is seen as commercial nonsense by some. Most would accuse me of hating anything mainstream. This isn’t true. I just don’t like music that doesn’t have any depth. I don’t like music that doesn’t mean something to me. Most of the music I listen to is the kind of thing you’ll never hear on Radio 1. I’m alright with that because I don’t listen to Radio 1. Frequently I am called a whole bunch of bad things just because I have an opinion and have a dislike for mainstream music.
Now, I love Florence and I love Ellie Goulding- both are played on Radio 1, so I assume that makes them mainstream? Big deal. I like what I like. Regardless of genre. I love TLC, I love Captain Beefheart, I love Morrissey, I love Ramones. I just love music. Anyway, I’ll go about what the point of this piece.
They tell you to never meet your heroes. They say they will fill you with disappointment and not be what you want. Hark in the general direction of the person who said that.Last year I met Marina Diamandis. I also met a brilliant bunch of people too. I can honestly say Marina has the best fans ever. She truly does. They are loyal, beautiful and just good people.
Meeting her and telling her what I needed to say about a specific song to her was one of the bravest things I’ve ever done. That either makes me a coward or just a nutter. Probably both. I’ll admit to being a coward, we all are deep down. But I did it. I told her exactly what Guilty means to me. I can also say she gives amazing hugs. Creepy fan vibe aside, I’m going to tell you why her music is flawless and just wonderful.
I first heard her music late 2008/early 2009. I was just enthralled by what I heard. Finally a female singer touching on subjects that were yet to be touched on in such a manner.
I heard I Am Not A Robot at a time of my life that I can only describe as “shite.” There’s no other way I can word it. Hearing that song gave me the strength to be weak and show how awful I felt. I only showed it to a select few. “But inside you’re just a baby.” Really struck a chord with me, as did the whole song. I could pick so many lines out of that song that just hit me in the belly and made me cry- but the whole song, still to this day makes me feel something no other song has. “Better to be hated, than loved loved loved for what you’re not” is quite simply the most accurate and honest line I have heard in a contempary pop song in a long time. The sheer honesty in that line would crack the hardest of hearts.
Obsessions is another that just blew my mind when I heard it. Everyone has had that frustration with someone. When you hold them, you just feel so sad and empty. You look at them and you feel nothing good. We’ve all been there, and you obsess over your bad feelings towards them- you forget that you love them.
The Family Jewels is easily one of the best debut albums to have been released in a long time. What makes Marina stand out are her lyrics. Her lyrics are so true to life, even Porn Is Good For The Soul is up there. The humour, honesty and darkness in her lyrics are just everything to me. Her wit and darkness in her music reminds me of Morrissey, I suppose that’s another reason as to why I love her
Songs such as Seventeen, Are You Satisfied, Oh No and The Outsider show how it’s okay to dislike yourself at times and have insecurities. That’s exactly why Marina appeals to me. She vocalises having insecurities in a way that no other really has in a long time. There is something so utterly precious about how she words things, and it makes you feel less alone. Music is a comfort blanket for me- her music is that for me a lot of the time.
A bloody good friend of mine once said that Oh No was written about me. He’s not wrong at all. When I first heard it, my jaw dropped and I was in awe of the lyrics.
“Don’t need a relationship, I’ll never soften my grip” I feel this so much most of the time. How I feel condensed into one small line. I’ll never soften my grip, what’s the point? This doesn’t mean I don’t have it in me to love someone because I do, I really do
I didn’t want to make this so personal, but it’s 1.20am and I am tired. When I am tired I ramble. Guilty, Numb and Rootless are the three songs I feel this strong connection to. For the most part, it’s quite overwhelming.
“This better be worth my while.” I feel like this on a daily basis with most things that happen. I just sigh and have this one line play over and over in my mind. The whole chorus to Numb is just this wave of comfort. It’s okay to feel numb, it’s okay to sacrifice things to get to where you want and need to be.
I don’t want to do this, but I feel the need to go into why I love Guilty- but not too in depth.
Guilty for me, just evokes everything I felt and attempted to push aside about my dad. I have no idea what Marina’s relationship is with her dad. I suppose you can make your own assumptions based on the songs she mentions him in. I never felt any love from mine- only he knows how he feels about me. But he’s dead, so I will never know. I’d rather not know than be told something that could hurt me more than it needs to. “I was just a kid that you could not forgive because it’s harder. I was just a kid and all I really wanted was my father.” When I saw this live I just crumbled, I was a mess inside. Meeting her afterwards and telling her, I just cannot put it into words what it means to me. I just told her I was utterly grateful for the song. I don’t want to say what she said- or what my exact words. Too personal. All that matters is that I got it out.
I may sound like some 24 year old obsessive idiot, but the truth is- Marina’s music means more to me than I could actually put into words. Her fans are gentle souls. Marina is just one of the best singers/songwriters/performers that this country has. She truly is a diamond- sorry for the poor pun, but its 1.40am and that’s as good as I’m going to get, or you’re going to get. I just love how she says what she feels without having to justify it to anyone. I admire that in anyone. Even if I don’t like you, I’ll admire your courage. I do it all the time, but I’m frequently shot down, I’ve gone past caring.
In over 1000 words I have rambled about my love for Marina, I think I can go to bed now.
The Drums- Money.
I’ve got a good feeling about the second album, based on this.
Warpaint- Lissie’s Heart Murmur.
“On the edge of the water where the ships pass by,
And the sound of your laughter in the endless sky.
Tips my head back, full of swimming thoughts,
Beneath deep breathing that sinks so far down.”
Such a beautiful verse. The way Emily sings this over the piano is enough to make the strongest person in the universe have a bit of a cry. When I first played The Fool, this was the song that I felt this weird connection to. I felt like something had gripped me and launched me somewhere. I cannot describe where. Then I played the album again and again- and every single song began to have exactly the same effect on me. Whenever I go out, I always seem to play The Fool and I pay attention to nothing. I’ve probably nearly been run over a few times due to putting all my thoughts and concentration goes into what I am hearing. I find new parts of songs to fall in love with every single time I listen to Warpaint.
Lissie’s Heart Murmur has this delicate yet euphoric build up. Certain words that Emily sings just really hit you. I get feelings of loss, uncertainty, love, release and such from listening to this song. It’s just so beautiful. It sounds slightly like a lullaby, so comforting to listen to when you cannot sleep at 4am and it’s raining outside. When it’s just Emily’s voice and the piano it sounds so angelic and pure. You feel like you are floating and nothing can touch you. That is, essentially the beauty of Warpaint. You just feel free, fearless and care free when you listen to them. For me, that’s the most powerful and amazing thing any band or artist can do.
Zola Jesus.
Around 2 years ago, a singer was brought to my attention. With most music I listen to- I discovered her music by accident at some unholy hour due to having an awful sleep pattern. By awful, I mean I don’t sleep. I should probably ease off the daytime naps I suppose.
Anyway, the voice in question is Nika Roza Danilova aka Zola Jesus. She’s only 22 years old, and when you listen to her music you cannot believe how young she is. I feel like her mum saying this- I’m only 3 years older!
I love her music so much because it is so dark, atmospheric and extremely intense. These are things that I look for in an artist. I love anything dark and intense, explains a lot- I know, I know.
I remember when I purchased Stridulum II; I came home and played it whilst cooking. I was so close to burning myself as I was giving all my attention to the music. I was utterly enthralled in the sounds I was being exposed to. I hadn’t heard anything like this in such a long time. I had heard her previous work, but this album really got me. There is something about it that just grips you and posses you like some kind of beast. Yet you cannot run from it. Her music is like being chased through a desolate forest in the rain- it’s terrifying but you don’t want it stop. I mean, obviously I’d hate to be chased through a forest. I’d probably trip up within seconds and head-butt a tree. Classy, I know.
Her music has such a dark vibe, and with some artists it’s can be quite exhausting to hear. Not with Nika. Her voice has an operatic tone mixed with darkness, it is truly wonderful.
Night is one of my favourites. It is like a comfort blanket. There are quite a few times where I’ve felt pretty shite and I’ve played her album- and all seems okay again. So, just because there’s an intense sound, it doesn’t mean her music will drag you down. Oh so far from it. Her voice will make you feel about 60 feet tall. Her music will make you feel like you can do anything and face anything. It’s so comforting. The ambience on Run Me Out is extremely saddening. You can feel just how frustrated she is- but there is this one person just exhausting her. “You know that I’m tired, you know that I’m ill.” It’s quite painful to hear this. We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt emotionally exhausted yet this one person continues to take and take from you- they just run you out of emotions.
Trust Me is another that feels like a comfort blanket. When you listen to it, it feels like a wave of reassurance coming over you. It is that powerful. It is that precious.
In interviews, she has stated she likes to listen to artists that stand out. She surely does that herself. Her voice, for her age, is extremely powerful and it just captures you. It holds you in a grip. When you listen to her, you cannot help but think “Where have you been all my life?” Her music makes you want to listen to nobody else but her ever again. I’ve spent weeks previously just listening to her music, and only hers. After hearing her music you cannot accept that anything else will be as amazing as hers. It’s like being caught in such a wonderful moment that you know nothing and no one will ever replace.
Yes her music is the kind you’ll never hear in a nightclub or in Asda as you do your weekly shop. It’s not the kind of music you play whilst getting ready to go out with mates. The only way you can truly capture the intensity of the music is by dimming the lights and listening to her on your own. There’s no other way. sheer silence and solitude is the only way you can fully appreciate her music. No interruptions. Just you and her music.
Her highly anticipated (especially by me) third album is out in the UK in September. I am holding out for a tour. I can imagine her live shows to be the most euphoric and intense experience ever. I’d imagine leaving one of her gigs feeling that a lost part of me had been found. I cannot explain it. It’s just, when a piece of music means that much to you and you witness it in a live environment- it means more. It does something to your soul and causes your heart to beat double time. That’s what live music does for me most of the time. Certain artists in particular have done this to me. I imagine Zola Jesus would do this to me.
I must add before I wrap this up, that you listen to her music with LA Vampires and as the act Nika + Rory. It is just as atmospheric and haunting. If she is creating music as amazing as this now- in ten years time, I can only hope she’ll be regarded in the same light as those such as Bjork and PJ Harvey.
I’m fully aware I sound like a mental obsessive fan, but it pains me that artists such as Zola Jesus are overlooked yet certain ones are rammed into our ears and we are forced to “enjoy” them and buy their music. No thanks. You stick to your meaningless, empty sounds- and I’ll stick to my intense, meaningful music.
Hopefully this year will put Zola Jesus where she rightfully deserves to be, or maybe yet again people will ignore this absolutely beautiful human being with voice of an angel. Who knows. All I know, is come September I will be in the possession of one of the best albums of this year.
Beat In My Bones. 