’Vinyl Revival’
The kind people over at Record Store Day have put my short film I directed on their website. You can visit the website and view it there: Www.recordstoreday.co.uk/photos-videos.aspx - It’s the final video entitled ‘Vinyl Revival’. Or, you can view it on Youtube in the video above. Its had nearly 200 views in less than 2 days. Go check it out and help it get more!
Every single forced handshake I dished out at diabolical house parties in the summer of ‘09 had its own soundtrack. Yet, I could never quite work out whether I was grimacing at the sweaty palm of this supposedly “great guy” now clamped to my hand, or the bellowing nonsense I could hear blasting from the kitchen stereo. I’ve since learned it was the latter of the two.
We all know that even the best parties are still usually terrible. But when some drunken buffoon is in charge of the music, it means I’ll be leaving even earlier than I’d already planned. It’s often said that the “cool” people hang out in the kitchen at parties, but not at this one. This one seemed to be filled with people who were physically incapable of leaving a track to play for more than eight seconds without skipping it to the next track. You also had the inevitable “oh no, wait, wait! You’ll love this!” before they put on something like Erasure. They then usually smile at anyone in the room who vaguely looks in their direction as if you were acknowledging their “hilarious” song choice. At which point, I have to let out a monumental sigh, count to ten and hope there aren’t any heavy, blunt objects nearby.
I’d like to think I’m up on what is current within music, but it was blatantly obvious I’d missed the meeting about Florence & The Machine. I’d also made the fatal mistake of asking someone who is this shrilling woman that everyone is dancing around the kitchen like Russ Abbott to. I was only asking out of politeness and a basic level of human curiosity, but I then had to stand for what seemed like an eternity while some dreary fan girl chewed my ear off about the magic of Florence and her machine.
‘Lungs’ embodies everything I despise about the past few years of commercial Indie groups, parties and nightclubs. The whole notion that she revived this rock-chick attitude and brought it to the masses was absolute tripe. The only thing she did bring was a bogus air of eccentricity for people who didn’t know any better. With every passing note of this album I feel like I’m slipping into a boredom induced coma. It’s so banal in fact, that I think Guantanamo bay should scrap waterboarding and Duct tape headphones to detainee’s heads with ‘Dog Days’ on 24 hour repeat. We’ll soon find out where those sleeper cells are.
The album was also responsible for the irritating festival chic that summer, too. With seemingly every female within a fifty-mile radius dressed in flowing gowns that resembled my grandma’s curtains and daisy chains nesting in their unwashed, wiry hair. Also, I pray to God someone tells her put some shoes on. The mock bohemian style doesn’t work too well when the rest of you is draped in custom made Chanel.
I feel like everything about this woman and her “group” are phony - From her absolutely riveting “I sit and eat beans out of the tin in my pajamas” interviews, to her alleged “dark” obsessions with death and drowning. Other artists who share these interests seem to have a hollow stare dripping with menace. Their gaze fills you with dread, as if an Incubus is tearing your soul out through your kneecaps. But Florence doesn’t give you this. She’s nailed the hundred-yard stare, but you know the thought passing through her mind is “I wonder if a Pug would look good stuffed in my Gucci handbag”?
Full piece written by Daniel Rydings. All rights reserved.
I’m proud to announce that I will be covering the Manchester Warehouse projects in conjunction with Vice Magazine.
For a chance to win tickets click the link below and explain why you and 3 of your friends should go to one of The Warehouse Projects (with Puma) nights of your choice.
Stay tuned for the reviews and photographs.
Don’t miss out and tell your friends! Click the link below.
http://viceland.com/afterhoursathletics/competition-whp.php
