Friday, 6 June 2008

Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan   
Artist: Shane MacGowan

   Genre(s): 
Folk
   



Discography:


The Crock Of Gold   
 The Crock Of Gold

   Year: 1997   
Tracks: 17


The Snake   
 The Snake

   Year: 1994   
Tracks: 12




A surpassing singer/songwriter and two-fisted gutter poet whose infamous sottish doings, stinky teeth and drug-fueled excesses often threatened to occult his reputation as a performer, Shane MacGowan was born on Christmas Day, 1957 in Kent, England. Within months, his home returned to their native Ireland, where he spent the first base respective eld of his life immersed in the traditional music of the Irish culture. When MacGowan was six, the family touched to London; in that location his talents as a writer gradually blossomed, and he won a number of poetry contests prior to his projection from schoolhouse at the age of 14 for ownership of drugs. In 1976, he attended his first base Sex Pistols concert, and quickly became a regular at local punk shows; he before long formed his possess band, the Nipple Erectors (renamed the Nips later on cathartic their 1978 debut single "King of the Bop"). Despite finding a mentor in the Jam's Paul Weller, the Nips were for the most part unsuccessful, and disbanded in late 1980; MacGowan so took a chore in a record storage, now and then filling in with his admirer Spider Stacy's stripe the Millwall Chainsaws.


When the Chainsaws shortly split up as well, MacGowan and Stacy formed the Pogues -- originally dubbed Pogue Mahone, Gaelic for "osculation my piece of tail" -- along with accordionist James Fearnley, bassist Cait O'Riordan, guitar player Jem Finer, and drummer Andrew Rankin. Hot-wiring traditional Irish music with the energy and passionateness of punk, the Pogues chop-chop developed into ane of the to the highest degree well-thought-of and colourful bands of their epoch, scoring a number of U.K. hits including "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and "Fairy story of New York" and recording such superb LPs as 1985's Elvis Costello-produced Rum, Sodomy and the Lash and 1988's If I Should Fall From Grace With God. However, as stories of MacGowan's voracious appetence for alcoholic drink and drugs swelled to mythological proportions, he grew increasingly undependable, often missing live performances (including a series of 1988 dates hatchway for Bob Dylan). By the fall of 1991, the other Pogues had eventually had enough, and he was dismissed from the band. As MacGowan's imbibition problem worsened, many feared for his life; apart from a 1992 duet with Nick Cave on "What a Wonderful World," he was largely silent for several years, making only the occasional bibulous concert or tv set appearance. In 1994, however, he silenced critics by pulling himself together to form a young band, the Popes; after making a fitting St. Patrick's Day debut carrying into action at a London taphouse, the mathematical group -- which likewise included guitar player Paul McGuinness, bassist Berni France, drummer Danny Pope, tenor banjoist Tom McAnimal, guitar player Kieran 'Mo' O'Hagan and whistle histrion Colm O'Maonlai -- entered the studio to commence recording their first LP, dubbed The Snake. "Haunted," a gorgeous duet with Sinead O'Connor, later became a minor hit; McGowan's followup, Lonesome Highway, appeared in 1997.





Russia Win Eurovision As Britain Bombs Again

Parov Stelar, Shine

A native of Linz, Austria's third largest city, Parov Stelar – AKA the rather more Teutonic-sounding Marcus Fuereder - is the head of Etage Noir Recordings. Home to a small but colourful roster of like-minded musicians, DJs and producers, the label nurtures those who share a love of fusing modern dance beats with more organic sounds.

Shine, Stelar's third album, will be a welcome addition to any record collection that already features St.Germain, Moby and fellow Austrians Kruder and Dorfmeister. Clocking in at nearly an hour, it's a slick, toe-tappingly soulful stew of breakbeat, house and jazz, featuring live trumpet, saxophone and vocals alongside the main man's electronic wizardry.

Like Moby's once ubiquitous album, Play, Shine is at turns uplifting, solemn and occasionally cheesy, using a range of samples to effectively evoke different moods. The best example of this is the sinister groove of Lost In Amsterdam, which combines a portentous brass riff with a vivid voiceover to create a three-and-a-half minute film noir soundtrack that is utterly beguiling.

Sometimes music like Stelar's runs the risk of becoming the inoffensive soundtrack to a dinner party, and while some of the tracks here do simply meander pleasantly, he does occasionally prove adept at making your ears prick up unexpectedly. The absurdly catchy Charleston Butterfly will send you careering round the room like a flapper on acid. Happy End's lazily squalling trumpet and laid-back beats bring to mind Groove Armada's At The River, with an added dose of continental chic. And closing cut, Homesick, throbs and pulses with menace before spreading its wings and taking off as a real dance floor anthem.

A work of effortless sophistication and not inconsiderable invention, Shine establishes Parov Stelar as one of the most promising producers active in Europe today. The third largest city in Austria may not be big enough for him much longer.


See Also

Friends - Schwimmer Takes Over Little Britain


Former FRIENDS star DAVID SCHWIMMER is to further his love of British culture by directing the Los Angeles studio segments of hit sitcom LITTLE BRITAIN's U.S. spin-off.

The Run Fat Boy Run director, who fell in love with London life while acting onstage there, will take charge of segments for the six-episode transplant of the cult sketch comedy series, starring comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

Michael Patrick Jann will direct other parts of the episodes, which are shooting on location in North Carolina.

Schwimmer's segments feature guest stars Rosie O'Donnell and Sting, according to Daily Variety.





See Also

Dave Specter with Bill Smith

Dave Specter with Bill Smith   
Artist: Dave Specter with Bill Smith

   Genre(s): 
Blues
   



Discography:


Bluebird Blues with Ronnie Ear   
 Bluebird Blues with Ronnie Ear

   Year:    
Tracks: 10




 






Amy Winehouse - Israel Next Stop As Winehouse Beats To Bid Drugs

Amy Winehouse is to undergo intensive treatment in Israel as she battles with her drug addiction problems.

The singer, who won an Ivor Novello award on Thursday, will pay £6,400 for the 36-hour rehab programme.

"Amy's people spoke to a renowned Israeli institution and an Israeli professor who conducts a very special and effective method," Eliezer Cohen, chairman of Israel's anti-drug authority, told the Jewish Chronicle.

"She has requested to come to him to do this method, since it's a method that is suitable for her."

Andrew Waismann, who will run Winehouse's rehabilitation programme, told the Sun he was confident he could end the 24-year-old's drug addictions.

"There is a misunderstanding about drug addiction. People think it is a social and psychological problem, but it's a neurological problem," he explained.

"Whether it's Amy Winehouse or anyone else, it is a privilege to be able to treat anyone who is opiate-dependent, and allow them to live a normal life."


23/05/2008 16:13:04




See Also

JB and Spice and Twisted Individua

JB and Spice and Twisted Individua   
Artist: JB and Spice and Twisted Individua

   Genre(s): 
Drum & Bass
   



Discography:


Back 2 Basics (B2B12088)   
 Back 2 Basics (B2B12088)

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 2