Powerhouse Music

As a followup of sorts to the infamous "best song ever" post of April 11th; c returns to the hub with an examination of the concept of the "greatest album ever". Participate boys and girls. s

Word up music fanatics! Gotta love the summer vibe right now, because it means more time for MORE MUSIC! But all this free time got me thinking in depth about my favourite album of all time. Think about it, can you name yours? There are so many timeless classics out there that have won us over throughout the years and so many worthy contenders for the title of “World’s Greatest Album”. Whatever genre, a great album is something that stays with you all your life and gets you through tough times, good times, dull times, any time! It doesn’t matter if it’s the political statement of the century, a piss take album or an album just to have a moan about anything and everything, a great album is a great album.

Kerrang! announced last week that American Idiot was the greatest album of the 21^stcentury, and I wondered who would be behind the greatest album of all time. As a huge My Chem fan, I was pleased to see my favourite album (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge) at number 5, and still pleased to see Slipknot’s “Iowa” at 3 and Green Day’s “American Idiot” at 1.

But come now fellow music freaks, what makes a great album? Why do some albums hit home more than others? Give us a shout and tell us which album YOU think should be crowned THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER, and tell us why. It could be from a rock sensation or a small time folk singer, screw it! TELL US!!!

P.S. any good albums coming soon? Leave me a comment my loves,

C

Let's face it, when it comes to the world of music, we all have them. Whether it's tapping your feet to a song on the radio that you feel you should hate, or the bizarre attachment you have for the first record you ever bought, no matter what it was - our own music tastes can often confuse and astound us. Over the past month or so, I have uncovered one such band, a band I strongly feel I should dislike, but one which now greatly entertains me. This band is called 'Electric Six'.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, or think you are, you are most likely to have heard one of their two biggest hits, 'Gay Bar' and 'Danger! High Voltage', the former featuring such poetic lyricism as 'I've got something to put in you, in the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.' Indeed, these were the first two tracks I had heard by the band, the former bringing an amused smile to my face from the opening line, and the latter an infectiously catchy piece which dominated my mental soundtrack for weeks.

To many, incuding myself, the group's sound may seem trashy, but once you realise it is entirely intentional, that only adds to its appeal as it perfectly complements Dick Valentine's yelped falsettos and ultra-butch comments on a wide range of topics including, but not limited to: sex culture, American politics and foreign relations, doomed romanticism on ill-fated aeroplanes, vibrators (or lack thereof), STI-ridden girls and a miniature of the Pope made entirely of Swiss chocolate and candy. In short, if Electric Six had to be summed up in two brief words, they would be 'cleverly dumb'.

For newcomers, who are only familiar with the two previously mentioned songs, I would recommend listening to any of these tracks: 'Dance Commander', 'Rubber Rocket', 'Infected Girls' or 'Gay Bar Part Two'.

Now that I have come clean, I'd be interested to see if any editors or readers have any similar situations with bands/artists who you can't help but be liked, so please comment here or in the guestbook now that The Hub is once again the place to be for music news and reviews on the net.

More soon.

w

Ok, let's do this.

The Blueprint 3 of course is to the knowledgeable reader the title of the brand new and upcoming studio album from none other than Mr. Shawn Carter. That's Jay-Z.

Here follows some details relating to this latest release from Jay, a man widely thought of as perhaps the greatest rapper alive.

The Blueprint 3 is the third and likely final installment in Carter's Blueprint album series; stemming from the wildly successful 'The Blueprint' of September 11th 2001. Yes that same 9/11 which we all remember for all the wrong reasons.

Blueprint 3 is currently nostalgically (if that is the correct word) scheduled for release upon that very same date 2009 (11/09/09) and expect it to be massive.

As yet two singles have been released from the record; 'D.O.A (Death Of Auto-tune)' and 'Run This Town' (featuring Kanye West and Rihanna). Now you can make up you're own minds regarding these tracks, but sadly as-yet I remain entirely unimpressed, unmoved and somewhat irritated by Jay's recent offerings; each demonstrating (to my mind) pathetically thin and sloppy production and uniformally uninteresting vocal work from all concerned. Best rapper alive?

Now this is a shame on more grounds than one; I don't know if anyone else feels a certain pang of frustration hearing a terrible album garnished with highly impressive artwork, but I certainly do. Like it or not I believe many do (to an extent) judge books (and records) by their covers prior to closer inspection, and it would be wiser to not waste the good artwork on poor projects. Just a thought and a small incite into my mind there.

Indeed Jay's assault upon auto-tune is also highly sigh-inducing, as this technology (employed to automatically tune one's vocals to a predetermined set of pitches) is clearly having a regrettable and largely boring effect upon the music industry, and really does deserve a good track to put it to sleep for the time being. As it stands however, 'D.O.A' appears merely as a feeble attempt at controversy, quaking in the face of an industry fixated upon AT and inciting the bad feelings of some who otherwise would likely not have bothered. Enter: Game.

Compton native The Game (yes I just lost it) has responded to Jay's recent actions (these including what is perhaps a veiled insult in a live freestyle) with 'I'm So Wavy', a fun track, naturally laced with venom. This casual recording (downloadable HERE) perhaps further dwarfing Jay's sadly not-so-epic '09 releases.

The punch-line: we will see what happens.

11/09/09

If you don't really care; fear not for there will be numerous, equally exciting, yet unrelated posts in the very near future.

s 

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hope that you are all making the most of this fantastically long and very necessary 'summer'. Apologies once again for the lack of recent postage; this has been largely due to my own and my colleague's inherent laziness. However, I at least am now oiling up the engines of the hub in preparation for imminent and extensive use. I hope you are all suitably gleeful.

To begin with: a legitimate free download of the latest Eminem track. This delightfully violent, debauched and hilarious listen, is the latest in the ever-lengthening list of tracks devoted to the Mariah C - Eminem beef. A largely petty encounter stemming from Em's 'Bagpipes From Bagdad' in which he makes numerous (some would say dubious) claims regarding his prior relationship with the current wife of (infamous wimp) Nick Cannon. Download 'The Warning' (produced by Dr. Dre) legally RIGHT HERE.

To continue with: a brief observation. Now I could be wrong, but mysteriously there seems to be analmost excessive amount of good pop music in the charts right now. Little Boots, La Roux, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Sean Kingston (that last one was a joke)- the list goes on. If by some miracle you are not yet aware of the better work of the above artists (excluding SK naturally), I urge you to become aware of it. Clicking on the names is a good place to start. Boots, La Roux and Gaga all writing their own material and possessing the ability to play it themselves is to my mind exceptionally refreshing, rendering their already massively catchy records sweeter still. In fact, I will go so far as to say that Ms. Gaga is perhaps one of the (if not the) best thing to happen to the music industry for many years. A contestable statement certainly, but one I stand by.

To (maybe) finish with: the real world compartment is with any luck on the very eve of rapid expansion. Why you may well ask. This is due to the ongoing formation of a new band. This new band (currently to be known as 'Product') is entirely immersed in an exciting (and stressful) combination of composition, recording and rehearsage. This is prior to our very present intentions of engaging in live performance and the construction of a debut 'album' of some variety. In brief: original music soon. 

If you would care to become involved to any degree in this project, then speak up and we will talk. You will not be ignored. We have a great desire to enroll a full time male vocalist, hence If anyone out there is that vocalist then please be in touch. It would be useful if you could also play the guitar, but if you can't then do not worry for this would merely be a bonus.

I believe that is all.

Further details re: 'Product' as soon as they emerge, and sooner still should you yourself enquire with the intention of musical contributions.

Thank you to all those still listening if indeed anyone still is.

s

As you have all probably gathered (those of you who take the time to read any of my contributions, anyway) metal is very, very important to me. Similarly, our site's creator 's' is kind enough to keep us up to date with whatever Nine Inch Nails or Eminem are up to, so I think it is fair to say, our respective editors all have their different tastes.

Without further ado I will insert this image. 

'Opeth' are a metal band from Sweden. You may be thinking 'thats nothing out of the ordinary' but if you type Opeth into Google, YouTube or iTunes and listen to the incredible things they can do with music, then it will soon become apparent that Opeth are no run of the mill metal band.

Their songs can vary in length. 'Patterns in the Ivy' is just under 2 minutes, whereas 'Deliverance' verges on 15 minutes. Songs that are 15 minutes long could seem somewhat daunting for some, but it is remarkable how the band are able to cram so many different ideas into their songs, from sweeping solos, to atmospheric acoustic melodies.

Melody is a key feature to Opeth's music and this is what i hope will attract you all to them. The word metal suggests an aggressive, obnoxious racket but Opeth are anything but. The first minute and a half of 'Dirge for November' is an experience in itself. The gently picked acoustic guitar and the heartfelt, soulful noodling over the top is something i have not quite gotten over since i heard it for the first time.

No matter what your opinion may be on my preffered genre of music, I would strongly reccommend that you give Opeth a chance to amaze you.

Suggested tracks:

• Dirge for November - Blackwater Park
• Patterns in the Ivy - Blackwater Park
• Deliverance - Deliverance
• A fair Judgement - Deliverance
• Serenity Painted Death - Still Life
• The Lotus Eater - Watershed
• Ghost of Perdition - Ghost Reveries
• The Baying of the Hounds - Ghost Reveries
• Isolation Years - Ghost Reveries

Listen with an open mind, this music will grow on you with time.