Albums of the year, 2006...(27/12)

Looking back of 2006, I found that my music box is actually dull. It is dull in a sense that the year was of no surprise nor new sounds...to pick the best ten is like choosing the second best of the groups who produced actually somewhat more thrilling ones in the past. There is always a cycle of ups and downs in the music scene but after the last britpop/trip-hop movement, it's been quite a while since we have delightful music of the new generation. The debut album of the Arctic Monkeys should be the only great hit of the year. Nonetheless, it was all the 'oldies' and classics that have haunted me in the 365 days. Listening to the sound of the Stones, Television, the Velvet Underground, Can, Barbara or Lou Reed has been extraordinarily herbed. The only thing is summer has gone so quick...

1. Whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not, arctic monkeys
2. Black holes & revelations, muse
3. Nevermind the living dead, stuck in the sound
4. Rather ripped, sonic youth
5. Fab four suture, stereolab
6. The loon, tapes'n'tapes
7. Pearl jam, pearl jam
8. Pieces of the people we love, the rapture
9. Late night tales, air
10.Sam's tour, killers

Arctic Monkeys @ Berlin...(24/6)

Arctic Monkeys played at Berlin Columbia this evening...
Lively demonstrated what it is called the latest UK generation, the band clicked on the audience with their awakening music, and dominated by the young female fans, the concert picked up a mood of the 'music is it'. I enjoyed the play and luckily though I missed their live in Paris last February, they still look fine. The current UK scene is dominated by aliking music like those of the Libertines, Babyshambles, Arctic Monkeys etc, and with the performance of the group, I believe the NME-oriented media can keep on boosting music of the their generation for perhaps one to two years. It is good but it is not good enough.

The Dead 60's Live @ Trabendo...(27/3)

Finally I saw a live concert at Trabendo...my story about Trabendo began from an attempt to see a live performance of Arctic Monkeys last month. Without realising the exact location of the venue, I spent more than half an hour wandering in the Parc de Villette last time with a friend. My downloaded map indicated that the Trabendo should not be far away from the Zenith, but then there was never any structure identified by us as the venue-to-be. Indeed, the live venue is a subtle small structure next to the bushes and the carpark in the parc. Looking from the outside of its back, the structure simply looks like a water tank, a storage room or simply an electric power backup station. This is especially true at night. Hardly could I have regarded it as a venue for concert...but well, it is. The image graphics of the venue look very similar to those of the graphic design of the Unkle. I did not succeed in getting an on-site ticket for the show of Arctic Monkeys, and shortly after their show, I identified this show by another UK group the Dead 60's who came out to the scene last year. It's been a while since I have seriously heard of some new band sounds, and perhaps this would a chance. Without knowing too much about the band except some plugged singles, I bought the ticket for their live show in the evening. While entering the Trabendo, my feeling, as its outer appearance suggests, is a good and cosy venue for gigs with power chords and noises. It fits much the sound of the Dead 60's. The music of the Dead 60's reminds me a lot about the music of the Coral, but the songs of this band contain much element of the root of reggae sound and acid jazz tunes. The vocal of the band, Matt McManamon, has an outlook quite alike Gaz from the Supergrass indeed. The show was fine, and all in all, it's a relaxing time with new music. Of course, the climax of the show would be the moment when the Liverpool band played their anthem song of 'riot radio'.