VNV Nation are a long standing favourite of mine, and for good reason. Musically, they lie somewhere on the dark electro spectrum, between EBM (Electronic Body Music, a kind of industrial dance) and synthpop. While they're well-known for both pulse-pound dance tracks, and heart-wrending melodic pieces, it's the lyrics that truly won me over; apocalyptic yet optimistic, emotional but rational, poetic and simple, ultimately human.

They came with two support acts. Ayria were up first, with a good personality and drummer, but inaudible singer and an absent keyboard player. Their recorded stuff is far better. Straftanz were up next, a militaristic German duo. I don't speak German, so I have no idea what they were singing about, with the exception of the chorus that went something like “Mao, Stalin, and Bin Laden”. I'm not entirely sure what to make of them, but their recorded work definitely doesn't do them justice.

Then came VNV Nation, promoting their new album Of faith, power, and glory (“The three things men desire that will destroy,” according to frontman Ronan Harris, or in other words, the existentialists sex, drugs, and rock and roll).

The stage went dark and the slow-building drums and horns of Pro Victoria began to play. The LED light board behind the stage flashed the words FAITH, POWER, GLORY, VNV, and NATION, each in turn. Ronan (singer) and Mark (drummer) emerge, accompanied by two synth players. They tail straight into a couple of good dance numbers, Tomorrow never comes, and The Fathest Star, and the crowd has needs no further encouragement to let themselves go and simply move with the music.

Ronan proceeded to joke and banter between songs, getting the audience smiling and laughing, which is no easy feat with the traditionally “gothic” crowd. The setlist consisted of about 5 intense dance numbers to one breather. That is to say, five tracks (say, Dark angel, Beloved, nemesis, Chrome, and The Great Divide) of sweating, stomping, and shouting out the chorus lines, getting lost in the music and an endorphins high. then one slower, emotional piece of recuperative hand-swaying and singing along (say, illusion). There's something moving about a room full of pieces all singing “I don't want you to hate/ for all the hurt that you feel/ the world is just illusion, trying to change you/ please don't go,” That's not to say the dance pieces weren't moving; homeward has never sounded so beautiful.

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing night. It rounded to a close with the song Pertpetual, with the performers fading out the instrumentals and vocals, leaving only the audience singing and clapping: “Let there be, let there always be, never-ending light”. If I have one quarrel, it would be that the concert should have been longer, or that they should have played solitary. I honestly can't fault these guys. If they'd could play indefinitely, I would stay until I passed out from heat exhaustion, and even then, I'd want more.

November's coming up, and that can only mean one thing: NaNoWriMo. For those unfamiliar with this, it stands for Nation Novel Writing Month. The idea is simple. Write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November – that's 1667 words a day. Like many others, I have been furiously planning over the last week or so. Unfortunately, this means all other leisure activities, including discovering new music, have been put on hold. But I'll try to make time in my busy schedule to get down at least one review a week.

 

 

Sometime it's nice to just let beautiful music wash over you. Sleeping, working, or walking, Bossa Nova makes a great background soundtrack.  The alikeness of it all makes it a little dull to listen to actively, but it's a shame to let such soft, exotic music go to waste.

Bossa Nova (Portuguese for "new trend") is a Jazz-Samba fussion popular in Brazil in the late fifties and early sixties, created and popularized by Antonio Calos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto. While it did survive beyond the 60s, fans will tell it became watered down and mixed too heavily with like genres.

Bossa's more harmonically complex and less percussive than samba, but retaining the strong Latin influences, and the danceablity of both combined. There's a mixture of Portuguese, English, and pure instrumental songs. Personally I prefer the English ones, but that's just because I like to engage with the lyrics.

Rather than reel off a list of tracks to listen to, I suggest you tune into the last.FM station next time you're looking for something to listen to. A few pieces piqued my interest, including but not limitted to: The Getz/Gilberto recording “The Girl From Ipanema”, Nouvelle Vague's Love will tear us apart, Quincy jone's Soul bossa nova.

When it comes to Mandarin Pop music, there's a lot of bland artists. Love stories, heartache stories, and all-round forgettable songs. Maybe they're better if you understand the lyrics, but I doubt it.

The prototypical Mandopop is Shidaiqu (Chinese for "song of the time"), a fusion of Chinese folk and western jazz. This scene saw the rise of the "seven great singing stars", none of whom were that great. Like most old music there's some problems with recording quality. Most of it is fairly bland, with Zhou Xuan's Song of four seasons being about as good as it gets. Shidaiqu was popular in the 20s, 30s and 40s, until the revolution revoluationized popular music, deeming things like Shidaiqu "pornography", while promoting communist songs.

Mandopop started to gain popularity from the seventies. With the new millenium came an explosion of Mardarin pop stars. Not just singers, but film stars and icons together in one package. Musically, the contemporary stuff is better, but it's much less distinctive. Just generic Western Pop in a different language. The genre's dominated by songs like S.H.E.'s Superstar, Jay Choy's fearless, and JJ Chin's Always online. Catchy, but nothing to write home about.

It took days of digging to find paydirt. Faye Wong is a rare singer-songwriter (and actress and model), popular with both Mandarin and Cantonese audiences. Faith Yang is another good artist, with unusally strong, earthy vocals stand out against the mass of delicate femine singer that populate the genre. Jacky Cheung is nothing special, but gets props for getting me to singing along in Chinese.

All in all, it's the same story as J-rock. Greatness can't come from the lyrics in a language you don't understand, so it has to come from the music itself. Pop music instrumentals just aren't strong enough to grab my attention.

Just a quick entry for this one.

Lo fi isn't strictly speaking a genre, it's just refers to the music with a sub-par recording quality. For the life of me I can't understand why this is this something to gloat about. Sure, there's something to the whole Indie scene and cassette culture, but the instrumentals are blatantly terribly. The lyrics are, for the most part, powerful, but it's ruined by the squealing microphones and out-of-tune guitars.

There are two types of lo-fi recordings: intentionally lo-fi and naturally lo-fi. Natural include classics like The Beatles, The Smiths, Radiohead, and most artists mentioned in my Classic Country, Dixieland and Jump Blues reviews, all of whom produced low quality recordings simply because hi-fi technology wasn't available. Contemporary artists who choose lo-fi seem to be all Indie artists (probably because majors labels would be too ashamed to produce a low quality album).

On the other end of the spectrum is high-fidelity, where music quality is secondary to recording quality. To quote Flanders and Swann "but I never did care for music much, it's the high fidelity"

There's something genuine about the mistakes, the passion, the touching lyrics that isn't found as much in polished music. But great music recognizes the need for both high quality music and recording.

Way back, in the days before political correctness, this was termed "hillbilly music". Now we just call it Classic or Traditional country. Born from a European folk music and Gospel, but well known for the distinctly Texan twang, classic country formed the fountain for Rock, Bluegrass, Honky-tonk, and modern country.

First popularized in the 1920s by A C Eck Robertson's Sallie Gooden, it has stayed popular ever since. Stereotypically speaking, there's a large age divide in Country. The old folks favour The Carter Family and Hank Williams who are driven by spirit rather than actual talent, while the young folk like artists like Waylon Jennings and Merle Strait, who by-in-large have better quality recordings, but lack originality. Then there are artists like Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, with talent and spirit, who are popular across generations.

Most people have heard dark, soulful songs of Johnny Cash, or are at least familiar with his infamous "man in black" persona. Let me tell you right here, he's as good as it gets. No other classic country song I've heard is as powerful as Hurt, or as popular as Walk the line. It's tempting to dedicate the whole post to Mr. Johnny Cash, but that would defeat the point of the blog. We're here to discover new music, not praise the familiar.

It's not often I say a song is actually bad, but there were quite a few times I had no alternative. Even popular artists like Webb Pierce have poor recording quality, out-of-tune singers and instruments, minimal creativity, and a complete lack of talent. Even at its best, classical country is rarely better than mediocre.  But mediocre is good enough to keep people satisfied.

If you're looking for highlights, Loretta Lynn's Portland, Oregon is a good lively piece, George Jones' He stopped loving her today is a great if you're looking for a sad, slow song, and Waylon Jennings Rambling man is fair too, but nothing spectacular. It's worth checking out, even if they aren't the most talented or original musicians in the world.

It's tempting to skip this genre completely. I've done the listening, I've done to research, and I still don't get it. In fact, I think this article perfectly expressses my feeling right now. Particularly the part that goes:

 

“A person's first exposure to jazz can bring about feelings of confusion and disorientation, of discomfort, or even anger... Sitting in that quiet room, listening to a bunch of old musicians obviously "making it up as they go along" held absolutely no charm for me whatsoever."

The author survived the experience. I'm not sure I was so lucky. But the hand of fate dealt me Dixieland, so I guess I'll put my head down and power through.

Dixieland is an early form of jazz from the south. Bands are generally small (6 members or so), including a horn playing the melody, with optional banjos, tubas, and clarinets. Everyone improvizes, and everyone gets to do a solo. I don't want to go into too much detail, as there seems to be a secret way to define different jazz styles, but no one will tell me what it is.

It seems to date from the early 1900s, but has a revival every 25 years or so. God forbid, we're just about due for a new one. Traditional artists include Henry Allen, Eddie Condon, and Sidney Bechet, whereas the revival artists are people like Pete Fountain, Jim Cullum, jr. , and Dukes of Dixie. Jazz fans will tell you the revival guys are terrible, but I'm damned if I could spot the difference.

Now Dixieland is by no means bad; I can listen to it quite comfortably for hours. It just fails to tick a single box. Meaningful lyrics are out. There can't be meaningful lyrics because there most of it's instrumentals. The music doesn't evoke any emotion in me. It's not catchy or at all memorable.

Having said that, I genuinely liked Louis Armstrong, because the instrumentals are there to support the beautiful lyrics, not to steal the stage. If more Dixie had words, maybe I'd like it better.

Sorry to admit defeat, but it's just not my cup of tea. If you think you can change my mind, please contact me. I'm always open, and maybe talking a jazz fan would help. Maybe years from now my eyes will open, and I'll realize why it's so mind-bogglingly brilliant, and then I can write a proper review.

Popular in the 50s and 60s suburbs, lounge music is a of branch of Easy Listening designed to set a mood. It comes in three main flavours: Exotica, which creates tropical island and jungle scenes; Space-age pop, which sets a retro-futuristic bachelor pad scene; light music, which is shorter, more basic classical music. These generally consist of relaxing instrumentals, only suitable for background listening. If you're the sort of person who listen to music while sleeping, working, or doing yoga, then this could be for you. If you're a film-maker or throw themed parties, read on. But if, like me, you want to engage with your music, you might want to skip this one.

I'm reminded of the Kinks Shangri-La when I listen to exotica. Not because of the sound, but the image of people in 60s in neatly-kept houses sitting in armchairs, wanting something exotic but heavens forbid you actual try something new. So they put on a track of touristy Tiki music. It imitates the sound people expect from Polynesian, African, Carribean, and Hawaiian music, without having any real roots outside a Hollywood recording studio.

Maybe that came off a bit harsh. Exoticaisn't bad. It's well composed with interesting layers of sound. You can listen to it a dozen times and always hear something new. The popular musicians are Les Baxter, father of "island exotica" and Martin Denny, father of "jungle exotica". Not my cup of tea, but fans of Easy Listening might enjoy it.

Space Age Pop shows a bit more promise. Or maybe it's just less tacky. Like watching an old, horribly inaccurate documentary. There's a certain charm to saying we'll all drive flying cars, but depicting all Hawaiians as hula-girls is dull, and if anyone believed it, offensive.

None of the big names in Space-age pop struck me as being particularly good, but a few unknowns caught my attention. Alphawezen's Speed of light was perhaps the lounge song that I'd call good. I feel a bit foolish calling this pop-ish piece better all these classically composed numbers. I must be one of those young urchins who doesn't know what good music is.

Light Music came earlier than Exotical and Space-age, around the 1920s. It's essential classical music, but shorter and lighter, with a wider appeal. There's not much else to say about it. I enjoyed Robert Farnon and Leroy Anderson, but not enough to buy.

The whole of the Lounge genre was revived in the 80s, mostly cover music. There are some quality pieces like Nouvelle Vague's Love will tear us apart and some ironic like Buster Poindexter's Hot Hot Hot. Again, nothing spectacular here.

Despite the tacky vibe and the mediocre sound, my biggest gripe with lounge music isn't the sound it's the lack of soul. This is music written to sell, not written to express an artists thoughts or feelings.

It's the 1930's. Everything is in black and white, smoking is still sexy, and everyone in the club jitterbugging to the small Jump Blues band. A jazzy horn, piano and percussion section play in the background while a smooth, dark "shouter" takes centre stage. Enjoy it while it lasts, because in twenty years or so this genre will be swallowed by the emerging styles of Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues. Not long after that, it will be almost forgotten.

For those unfamiliar with Jump Blues, you're not alone. It's essentially an up-tempo form of the blues with swing rhythms, blues riffs, and jazz instruments. The recording quality is pretty low, but that's to be expected for music so old. The quality of the performers make up for it.

There are some real gems hidden here, especially if you're the dancing type. Louis Jordans Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, Big Joe Turners Shake, Rattle, and roll, and Wynonie Harris' Good rocking tonight are all great numbers.

Lyrics are nothing fancy, but damn they're can be catch. I listened to Atomic Fireballs' Man with the hex once and I was singing for hours. Like most Jump Blues tracks, any modern recognition it gets is from soundtracks. American Pie, Scooby Doo, and the Haunted Mansion all used this song, fall Out 3 used a few of Roy Browns hits, and the Blues brothers covered some hits.

Jump Blues was revived briefly in the 80s by musicians like Brian Setzer and Lavay Smith. A little whiter, a lot saucier, and no where near as good. Brian Setzer did a good job capturing the dance aspect of it, but I don't think I'd listen to it normally. Lavay is alright, but she focuesses way too much on sex appeal and not enough on the actual music.

While I'm sad the genre died, I can hardly say I'm surprised. It didn't change the world, the instrumentals aren't the most powerful, and the I've yet to find a blues shouter with the voice of an angel. But it's certainyl no less talented than what's on the charts today. All in all, it's great fun, but not necessarily great music.

Back before R&B and hip-hop commonly overlapped, there was New Jack Swing. With the urban beats and sampling techniques of hip-hop, vocal styles of R&B, and even some swing, jazz, and funk influences, NJS pumped out hit after hit.

It was born in 1987 with Keith Sweats I want her, Club Nouvea's cover of Lean on me, and a couple other hits. These weren't ground-breaking, and they weren't amazing. I find it hard to understand how they could inspire a whole genre.

The name New Jack Swing come from Got its name from the WreckX-N-Effect's single of the same name, and the '91 film New Jack City, which contributed to the popularity of the genre.

It progressed with songs like Bell Biv DeVoe's Poison, Janet Jackson Miss you much, and Tony! Toni! Toné!'s Little Walter, a nice, catchy song with great beats, swing sounds, and harmonized voices, but repetitive and dull lyrics. But decent good-mood music, none the less. The genre evolved little before it died in the mid-90's with songs like R Kelly's She's got that vibe.

It's generally thought that producer Teddy Riley pioneered the genre, and that's one of it's biggest problems. It's a product of the industry, not the musicians. There's no originality, no flavour, and no message.

Through all the hits, there is comparatively little gold. The lyrics are shallow, solely designed to seduce. It's all fairly commercial, prompting other rap acts to accuse the NJS scene of selling out, taking the popular rap sound, but loosing the message. I can't say I'm surprised this genre was so short-lived; it was all fad, no substance.