Never Mind the Offbeat!

Hey kids!  For your quizzing delectation and delight, here's most of the questions from Never Mind the Offbeat mk.IV - the answers are written in white underneath each question, so just highlight the section and all will be revealed, like MAGIC.

We realise putting this up on the internet will mean any mistakes we've made will be picked up by someone, so please be gentle when telling us how stupid/foolish/n00bish we are.

We can't offer any prizes for you doing this, but the satisfaction of getting obscure music trivia right should be enough for you lot anyway, right?

ENJOY!

Round One – General Knowledge – all answers are also band names

1.      Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were the primary proponents of which two competing systems of delivering electricity?

a.     AC/DC

2.     ‘Outsider art’ was coined in 1972 by art critic Roger Cardinal as a English synonym for which French phrase, directly translated as ‘rough art’

a.     Art Brut

3.     What is the state capital of Massachusetts?

a.     Boston

4.     In North America, what is another common name for reindeer?

a.     Caribou

5.     What is the name of/acronym for the recently scrapped scheme that provided financial support for 6^th formers?

a.     Ema

6.     What fighting technique, roughly translated as ‘wave motion fist’ is used mainly by the characters Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter?

a.     Hadouken!

7.     The International System of Units (shortened to SI) is the modern form of which measurement system?

a.     Metric

8.     What, invented in 1602 by Galileo Galilei, was used as the most accurate form of timekeeping until the 1930s?

a.     Pendulum

9.     Fawkes from Harry Potter and Moltres from Pokemon are variants of which classical mythic creature?

a.     Phoenix

10.                        Moe, Larry and Curly or Moe Larry and Shemp, were better known as the three what?

a.     Stooges

Lightning round  - Name as many bands with the word ‘Club’ in the title as possible.  First popper means PENS DOWN.

You could have had any of the following: Black Rebel Motorcycle, Bleeding Knees, Bombay Bicycle, Buena Vista Social, Chapel, Codeine Velvet, Detroit Social, Hot Club De Paris, New Young Pony, Slow, Teenage Fanclub, Tokyo Police, Two Door Cinema, S Club 7, or according to Jono, The Seal Clubbing Club Club

Round 2 – Films/TV

1.      What figure links the three films Mystery Men, Rumble Fish and the Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus?

a.      Tom Waits features in all three in an acting role

2.      Simon Amstell, long time presenter of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, on which this quiz is in NO WAY based, made one of his first early TV appearances as a contestant on which 1990's gameshow. Clue: Mr Chips was the mascot.

a.      Catchphrase

3.      Omar Rodriguez Lopez is a musician who has not only written scores for films, but produced and directed movies as well. Name any band Omar has been in, bonus point for an obscure or non-obvious answer.  Hint: It’s easier than it sounds

a.      At The Drive, The Mars Volta, The Omar Rodriguez Lopez group etc

b.      Bonus for De Facto, Startled Calf, Phantasmagoria

4.      Which 1983 film starred Deborah Harry (aka Blondie) acting alongside James Woods?

a.      Videodrome

5.      James Mercer starred in 2010's Some Days Are Better Than Others. But who the fuck is James Mercer?

a.      Frontman of the Shins/Broken Bells

6.      What British TV show links the bands 'The Rapture' and 'Clock Opera'?

a.      Misfits

7.      Which famous action movie star fronts the band Thunderbox, and has released the albums 'Songs from the Crystal Cave' and 'Mojo Priest'?

a.      Steven Segal

8.      Snoop Dogg has been involved in a lot of film projects. Which one of these is NOT a real film:

a.      Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp

b.      Hot Boyz

c.       Original Snoop Dogg Style

d.      Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

e.      Answer - C

9.      Name any film which features the Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, bonus point if I haven't seen that film.

a.      Could have had any from Kiss Napoleon Goodbye, The Chase, Johnny Mnemonic*, Heat, Lost Highway, Jack Frost*, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Morgan's Ferry, Dogtown and Z-Boys*, Scenes of the Crime, The New Guy*, Jackass The Movie*, Jackass Number Two *, Bad Boys 2*, Feast, The Alibi, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, The Devil's Tomb, H for Hunger, William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

b.      Asterisks mean bonus point

10. Name any the regular characters in the Simpsons voiced by the Bassist from Spinal Tap. (Harry Shearer)

a.       Ned Flanders, Mr Burns, Seymour Skinner, Scratchy, Dr Hibbert, Rev Lovejoy, Rainier Wolfcastle, Lenny Leonard, Waylon Smithers, Otto Mann, Kent Brockman

Round 3 – First Lines

1.     The beats yeah, they were coming out the speakers, and were winding up straight in your sneakers

a.     You! Me! Dancing! – Los Campesinos!

2.     Take me out, tonight. When there’s music and there’s people and they’re young and alive

a.     There is a Light that Never Goes Out – The Smiths

3.     Goldenrod and the 4H stone, the things I bought you when I found out you had cancer of the bone

a.     Casimir Pulaski Day – Sufjan Stevens

4.     Shiny shiny, shiny boots of leather. Whiplash girlchild in the dark

a.     Venus In Furs – The Velvet Underground

5.     Off with your head, Dance til you’re dead

a.     Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

6.     Her green plastic watering can, for her fake Chinese rubber plant

a.     Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead

7.     The boy was in the hallway drinking a glass of tea

a.     Land – Patti Smith

8.     One night to be confused, one night to speed up truth

a.     Heartbeats – The Knife

9.     Oh I wish I had a boyfriend, I wish had a loving man in my life, I wish I had a father, maybe then I would have turned out right

a.     Lust for Life – Girls

10.                        I’m in love with the world through the eyes of a girl who’s still around the morning after

a.     Say Yes – Elliot Smith

11.                        A heart of stone, a smoking gun I can give you life, I can take it away

a.       Banquet – Bloc Party

12.                        If I was young I’d flee this town I’d bury my dreams underground

a.     Elephant Gun – Beirut

Round 4 – Music History

1.      Which instrument was invented by Adolphe Sax?

a.      The Saxophone

2.      In 1968, what became the first Beatles album to use a proper 8 Track Recorder?

a.      The White Album/The Beatles

3.      Which American jazz and country guitarist, credited with many recording and production innovations, gives his name to a well known model of Gibson guitar?

a.      Les Paul

4.      Muse's Matt Bellamy has a famous dad. His band the Tornados were the first British group to get a US Number 1 Single. What was the name of the track...clue: it was named after a type of satellite.

a.      Telstar

5.      Which one of these is not listed on Wikipedia's list of Popular Music Genres? (all real)

a.      Freak Folk

b.      Brostep

c.       Toytown Techno

d.      Skweeeeeeeeeeeee

e.      Answer - B

6.      What instrument, associated with skiffle music, consists of a long pole attached by a rope at one end to a large hollow box? It is played by plucking the taught rope.

a.      Tea chest Bass

7.      The Waiting Room (fronted by actor Alan Fletcher) is the real-world mirror of fictional band The Right Prescription (fronted by his character in an Australian Soap). For two points, name the character and show.

a.      Karl Kennedy - Neighbours

8.      The 1902 Spanish Classical Guitar piece Gran Vals is better known as the default ringtone of which mobile phone company?

a.      Nokia

9.      Which famous english 1960's rock band was originally called the New Yardbirds?

a.      Led Zeppelin

10. Which famous British band is celebrating their official 50^th anniversary this year?

a.      The Rolling Stones

Round 4 – Real or Fake Band Names

1.    Fire Thesaurus

a.     Real

2.    Herp and His Derps

a.     Fake

3.    Four Dead In Ohio

a.     Real

4.    William D Drake and His So Called Friends

a.     Real

5.    I Wrestled a Bear Once

a.     Real

6.    Why Are You Hitting Yourself?

a.     Fake

7.    Milky Wimpshake

a.     Real

8.    Thingumabob and The Thingumajigs

a.     Real

9.    I AM RYAN

a.     Real

10.                       The Me! Me! Me’s?

a.     Real

11.                       Asparagus Heartbreak

a.     Fake

12.                       Japanese Torture Comedy Hour

a.     Real

13.                       Subwiffler

a.     Fake

14.                       Snizzle Fist

a.     Fake

15.                       Drowning in Formaldehyde

a.     Real

ADAMAGRAMS

There's a theme connecting all of these anagrams. Guess what it is for a bonus point!

HARASSMENT CROCHETER  - Manchester Orchestra

ARTY NUDES – Tune-Yards

HEN SHITS – The Shins

DEFER US - Refused

HEXES SLINKY POTIONS – Explosions in the Sky

ALE TEA REST – Real Estate

VARIED NET HIT – At The Drive In

NULLIFY TOGS – Flying Lotus

TAG KRILL – Girl Talk

VEG LO POUR - Grouplove

MACHO LIB SHINDIG – Childish Gambino

BALD FUNK LOSS – Band of Skulls

INANE NOD IN – Neon Indian

FISHCAKES IRE – Kaiser Chiefs

Connection:  All playing at Coachella in 2012

Round 5 – Warwick SU

1.     Give any of the names for the awesome room that is located above the Duck, where Offbeat used to hold events in the 1990's.

a.     Zippy’s, The Grad Bar, The Elephant Nest

2.     All Union outlets used to be named after political activists, such as the Dirty Duck at one time being called "Mandela's". Only one such outlet name remains, but which one is it?

a.     Xanananananananana’s

3.     The SU Only actually 'owns' one building on campus. Is it:

a.     SU HQ

b.     The Main SU Building

c.      University House

d.     The Rootes Laundrette

e.     Answer - D

4.     What was the name of the music appreciation society that parodied offbeat and focussed on the darker side of rock and metal?

a.     Gothbeat

5.     Jono tried to run for sabb. Which position was he going for?

a.     Union Development Officer

6.     Which BBC Royal Correspondent Jenny Bond was involved in the early years of which prominent Warwick Society?

a.     RaW

7.     Which of these is NOT a real SU Policy Point:

a.     This Union Believes that most students pay for a TV licence where it is legally necessary.

b.     This union believes out of cost considerations, students may even choose to miss lectures or seminars.

c.      This union believes that there is significant student demand for the return of an on-campus Chip Shop

d.     Answer - C

8.     A piece by which Australian artist hangs in SU HQ?

a.     Rolf Harris.

9.     Which band has not played the Union at some stage?

a.     The Smiths

b.     R.E.M

c.      Radiohead

d.     U2

e.     Answer - D

10.                        What is actually inside the Koan?

a.     No answer, points for most creative

Lighting question – once all those are done, name as many halls of residence as you can.  First team to fire their popper means PENS DOWN.

Arthur Vick, Benefactors, Bluebell, Claycroft, Cryfield, Heronbank, Hurst, Jack Martin, Lakeside, Redfern, Rootes, Tocil, Westwood, Whitefields,

Round 6 – Fastest Popper First

1) Name as many Pokemon from the original 151 as possible!

-         Not going to list them.  You probably know them.  Other than you Mark Sturdy, but you can always google it.

2) How many Beatles originals can you name with girl’s names in the title?

Dear Prudence, Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude, Lady Madonna, Lovely Rita, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, Martha my Dear, Michelle, Penny Lane, Polythene Pam, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Maggie Mae, My Bonnie, Anna, Julia, Long Tall Sally, Suzy Parker – NOT Sexy Sadie as apparently not a reference to a girl, but an India Guru.  Thanks Nick!

Round 8 – Next Lines

1) It’s twenty seconds til the last call, going “hey hey hey hey hey hey”

Lie down you know it’s easy, like it we did it all summer long. (Phoenix - 1901)

2) If man is 5, if man is 5, if man is 5..

Then the devil is 6, then the devil is 6, the devil is 6 (Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven)

3) Any way you run, you run before us

Black and white horse arching among us (Beach House - Zebra)

4) Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my ma and pa

not the way that I do love you (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home)

5) Speak slowly, I can't hear you, my mind keeps spinning closer and closer

To the rain on the roof, and the rain in my head, and the things that you said (She & Him - Black Hole)

6) You must stick up for yourself son

Never mind what anybody else done (Yeasayer - Ambling Amp)

7) They heard me singing and they told me to stop

Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock (Arcade Fire - Sprawl II)

8) I was walking on feet just like my father’s

And my knees were trying to reach you at your mother’s (Animal Collective - Grass)

9) Say you stay at home, Alone with the flu

Find out from friends, That wasn't true (The National - Anybody’s Ghost)

10) The mama pajama rolled out a bed, And she ran to the police station

When the papa found out he began to shout, and he started the investigation (Paul Simon - Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard)

11) I am the eggman, they are the eggmen

I am the walrus, googojoob – Beatles –I am The Walrus

12) I tried to laugh about it, hiding the tears in my eyes

cos boys don’t cry, boys don’t cry –The Cure - Boys Don’t Cry

13) Slowly walking down the hall

faster than a cannonball – Oasis – Champagne Supernova

14) Around the world, around the world

around the world, around the world – Daft Punk – Around the World

15) Standing in line to see the show tonight and there’s a light on, heavy glow

by the way I tried to say I’d be there, waiting for – RHCP – By the Way

16) Sheila goes out with her mate Stella

it gets poured all over her fella – Jamie T - Stella

17) There’s a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you’re around

I swear you could hear it it makes such an almighty sound –Florence – Drumming Song

18) Let’s just get back together, we should’ve never broke up

they’re telling me that my heart won’t beat again. JLS – Beat Again

19) Sharia Don't Like it

Rockin the Casbah, Rock the Casbah - The Clash, Rock the Casbah

20) Whoaaaaaoaaaaaoaaa

your sex is on fire - Kings of Leon, Sex on Fire

21) I'm coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine

Gotta gotta be down because I want it all - The killers, Mr Brightside

22) birds flying high, you know how I feel

Sun in the sky you know how I feel - Nina Simone/Muse cover, Feelin' Good

23) Ashes to Ashes, funk to funky

We know major tom's a junkie - Bowie, Ashes to ashes

24) I’m gonna fight them all

A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back - The White Stripes, 7 Nation Army

25) *sing the intro to blister in the sun*

Clap clap, clap clap - The Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun

26) walking on the beaches

looking at the peaches - The Stranglers, peaches

27) I've got a brand new car

Looks like a jaguar - Feeder, Buck Rodgers

28) I'm happy, I'm feeling glad

Got sunshine in a bag - Gorrillaz, Clint Eastwood

Favourite Releases of 2011 So Far

So we're well past halfway through 2011, a year which has so far provided us with a plethora of great releases from an ever-increasing range of genres. I've been keeping a mental list of favourite records probably since April, though in my inability to be decisive I keep adding to this and in doing so I seem to have a fair few more albums than the ten I initially set out to have. Make no mistake, this is no bad thing - more good music is always a positive - although it does make selecting just a few albums difficult. Below you can see the "few albums" I've chosen (that is, the "few albums" from each month of the year so far!) A link to download highlights from each album can be found at the end of this post.

DISCLAIMER: My attempts at reviewing/summarising albums are mediocre at best so apologies if you were expecting any commentary (you're better off checking Pitchfork/Drowned in Sound for actual reviews etc). BUT LOOK AT THE PRETTY ALBUM COVERS AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC ANYWAY. Please :)

*EDIT* Apparently links weren't working properly for everyone so I've split it in two parts and uploaded it to a better site.

DOWNLOAD PART 1 AND PART 2 HERE.

January

L-R: Native Speaker - Braids ; Dye It Blonde - Smith Westerns ; Kaputt - Destroyer

February

L-R: Zonoscope - Cut Copy ; Underneath the Pine - Toro y Moi ; Space Is Only Noise - Nicolas Jaar

March

L-R: Wounded Rhymes - Lykke Li ; Civilian - Wye Oak ; 936 - Peaking Lights

April

L-R : Apocalypse - Bill Callahan ; Wit's End - Cass McCombs ; W H O K I L L - tUnE - yArDs

May

L-R: Eye Contact - Gang Gang Dance ; Smother - Wild Beasts ; D - White Denim

June

L-R: Cults - Cults ; Bon Iver - Bon Iver ; Go Tell Fire To The Mountain - WU LYF

July

L-R: Within and Without - Washed Out ; nyc stuff and nyc bags - Vondelpark ; Player Piano - Memory Tapes 

August

L-R: The Rip Tide - Beirut ; Wander / Wonder - Balam Acab ; Bad Vibes - Shlohmo

September

L-R: Father, Son, Holy Ghost - Girls ; Strange Mercy - St Vincent ; In Heaven - Twin Sister

For your listening pleasure, I've put together a mixtape of what I think are highlights from these albums; hopefully you'll be encouraged to check out any albums you may not have listened to so far.

DOWNLOAD MIXTAPE 
(same as last time, if you could listen to the tracks in file name order at least the first time that'd be great as the sequencing is almost as important as the tracks themselves ;) )

Small Addendum...
In the ridiculous time it's taken me to compile this post (almost a month, have kept on changing my mind) there's been another great release I'd like to mention quickly as it may've passed people by due to it only being an EP. Jens Lekman's EP An Argument With Myself is a brief but hilarious record of five songs which cannot fail to make you smile at the very least. Seriously, listen to the lyrics in the opening and title track and think of all the times you've been walking along debating something in your head. Plus the Graceland-esque instrumentation can't be faulted.

Favourite Album: Infinity Land, Biffy Clyro

Greetings, dear reader. My name's Adam, I'm co-Hype Machine (or "Hype Engineer", as I'd prefer. I maintain the machine) for Offbeat and I'm going to tell you about my favourite album of all time. It's this:

This album is Infinity Land by the mighty Scots that are Biffy Clyro, my personal outright favourite band of all-time. Now I'm sure some of you will question this decision, due in no small part to the appearance of Many of Horror on X Factor. Frankly, it was a poor cover of an already not great song and I don't really criticise them for doing it but whatever, this isn't the place for a debate on the merits of X Factor.

I ask you, dear reader, to cast aside any doubts you have after that "incident", or the fact that Mountains may have been played at every "rock & indie night" you've been to for the past 2 years, or anything else that may have tainted your view of this excellent band. Instead, we're going on a journey back in time to two albums before these shenanigans. Following the perfectly executed quiet-loud dynamics of Blackened Sky and the pseudo-prog genius of The Vertigo of Bliss (complete with its mildly disturbing cover of a lady masturbating), the unusually named 3-piece from Ayrshire released an album that manages to incorporate elements of both, but sounds like neither. An album that features, among other things, an intro that sounds almost like it's been stolen from a dance act, a xylophone, a piano, a trumpet and an a capella track, and is named after a concept from a book written by infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Lovely.

Trying to explain why these tracks are so incredible is pretty difficult for me. I could tell you how every member's vocals are perfect, the guitars are exactly right in the mix (and with just the right amount of distortion when needed) and the absolutely solid back-line from the two Johnston brothers shows the kind of synchronicity you can only get from actually being twins, but that doesn't do it justice. I could tell you how the music changes from fast to slow and quiet to loud without sounding jarring or missing a beat, or how Simon's lyrics seem to alternate rapidly between life-affirmingly beautiful and head-scratchingly weird but that still wouldn't quite cover it. This, to me, is the Biffy album where everything just fits. It's more accessible than The Vertigo of Bliss, but without the mainstream feel of Puzzle and Only Revolutions that alienated some of the band's long-term fans. Most notably, it's got that element of weirdness that those two albums seemed to lack somewhat. This is arguably best shown by the double-header of There's No Such Man As Crasp and There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake. The former is the aforementioned a capella track and serves as an extended intro for the latter; a swirling, convulsing beast of a song that changes tempo at the drop of a hat. It's ballsy, bonkers and absolutely brilliant. Elsewhere on the album, the magnificently titled Some Kind Of Wizard and The Kids From Kibble And The Fist Of Light provide more stop-start angular masterpieces. Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave handclaps its way joyfully through some of the darkest lyrics on the album to culminate in the wonderful repeated call of "do you believe in magic?". The slower The Atrocity and Got Wrong provide a welcome respite (and an insight into the developing songwriting skills of Simon Neil that would soon spawn massive hits Machines, Folding Stars and the previously mentioned Many Of Horror) following the quality opening trio of Glitter and Trauma, Strung To Your Ribcage and My Recovery Injection. It's also worth mentioning that the video for Glitter and Trauma is rather good. A tribute to the classic film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, it's the perfect match to what is a schizophrenic, explosive song. Watch the video (unfortunately backed by the "radio edit" of the song, which lacks the extended dance-y intro) here, and appreciate:

 

Now, wasn't that good? The album finishes with the slow, drawn-out Pause It and Turn It Up before a period of silence and a good old "hidden track". Better known as Tradition Feed to fans of the band, it's a poem read by Simon about mother shortly after her death, backed by some loud (I think) bagpipes. It's poignant, and rounds off the album nicely.

If pressed to pick my favourite song on the album, I'd pick one of two depending on my mood at that time. Strung To Your Ribcage is a fairly short and fairly loud song that thrashes around for a little over 2 and a half minutes, beginning with screaming and ending with pretty singing. Yeah, a lot happens. On another day, it'd be Only One Word Comes To Mind. One of the more subdued songs on the album, it's quiet and beautiful and features one of the best cymbal noises I've ever heard (0:41). I love both for totally different reasons, and that's probably what makes them my favourites on the album.

I've barely scratched the surface in talking about the music itself, and even if I carried on for pages I doubt I could. The easiest way for you to get a proper grasp on the album and to decide whether you like it or not is to listen to it, which I hope you do. What I can talk about, however, is my own personal attachment to it. I bought it in 2007 for £7 from HMV after hearing Saturday Superhouse (from the then-unreleased Puzzle) on MTV2 and enjoying it a lot. It was the cheapest Biffy album HMV had and, since they didn't have the album with the song I'd heard on it, I bought it. I remember sitting in the car and leafing through the booklet, fascinated by the ridged paper it was printed on (I was, and still am, a complete simpleton). Upon arriving back at home, I put the album into my CD player and Tony Hawk's Project 8 into my Playstation 2 and played the two simultaneously for the next few hours. My relationship with the Tony Hawk series was longstanding, but my love affair with Biffy was only just beginning. I repeated this activity several times until Infinity Land was firmly lodged in my head, but that wasn't enough. In the months following I sought out the band's previous two albums, pre-ordered Puzzle and saw the band live for the first time. The addiction had begun.

It's been over 4 years since then and the effect that one album has had on me is huge. Biffy were a break from the metal that dominated my music collection at the time, and served as a gateway to a whole different kind of music. It was only a matter of time before they became my favourite band, a title they still hold. So many things that I listen to now can be traced back to association with Biffy, and I'm hugely thankful for that. Everything I listen to that could come under the Offbeat umbrella of "indie/alternative" is arguably down to Biffy, so I suppose my membership of Offbeat can be traced back to this album. This band has been a huge presence in my life for several years, and not only did this album start that but I think it's their best musically. I hope you listen to it, and I really hope you enjoy it.

Infinity Land on Spotify

Offbeat Summer Mixtape

Just when you think a blog post isn't coming, two come along at once! (in other words, read my Metronomy review below, you suggestible people you)

What with summer in full swing, we thought it might be nice to share with you some tracks to help augment your Dog Days. Latin astronomy references aside, we would like to present you with the Offbeat Summer Mixtape

It's important to remember that not everyone has the same kind of summer. Therefore, the mixtape is based around three films of very different summers, and I hope that you get a little taste of each.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE OR HERE

Chilled Out Summer

The Endless Summer (1966)

"You cant tell how good a wave is until you actually ride it.

On Mike's first ride, those first five seconds,

he knew he'd finally found that Perfect Wave."

If your life is like this seminal surf film then you are a lucky person indeed. Everyone needs a bit of a recharge, and summer is regarded as the socially acceptable time to take leave of the weight of the world and recuperate. To help with this, perhaps listen to:

Everything Goes My Way - Metronomy

What Became of You and I - Treefight For Sunlight

All Around and Away We Go - Twin Sister

Summer Holiday - Wild Nothing

To Have in the Home - Woods

Kaputt - Destroyer

Take A Knee - Swim Party

You Only Live Once - Unsolved Mysteries

Alouette! - Tallest Trees

Grown Ocean - Fleet Foxes

Party Summer

Beach party (1963)

"It's wild and it's wonderful when ten thousand kids

sleep on five thousand beach blankets...

Laughing, Loving, Living it Up!"

Beach Party was the film that spawned a teensploitation phenomenon and birthed part of our cultural consciousness, and some things haven't changed: summer is a great time to get out with your friends and party like you haven't got work tomorrow (because you probably don't). Some things have changed though, like the music! How's this for a slightly more up to date party accompaniment:

Dominican Fade - Battles

The Dawn of Your Happiness is Rising - Violens

Blood on the Deck - Thee Oh Sees

What U Gonna Do - Jim Noir

Christopher - Alphabet Backwards

Orange - Yoyoyo Acapulco

Cloud Computer - Miaoux Miaoux

Hollow Hollow Eyes - Crocodiles

Bright Young Things - The Crookes

15 Years - Pull In Emergency

Adventurous Summer

180º South: Conquerors of the Useless (2010)

"Fear of the Unknown is the greatest fear of all,

but we just went for it."

This 'thinking person’s adventure film' tells the story of a man following in the footsteps of two of his heroes, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, emulating their 1968 expedition into the heart of Patagonia (see there was a 60's connection after all...). Many Offbeat members are going on their own adventures into the real world having finished their degrees. I always like listening to music that attunes to how I am feeling, and here is some really good 'into the unknown' music for you:

Postcard From 1952 - Explosions in the Sky

Need You Now - Cut Copy

The First Last Dinosaur Song - The Last Dinosaur

Black Sands - Bonobo

Where It All Starts - Thievery Corporation

A Lot of People Cutting Grass On a Sunday - Lullatone

Like A Stranger - Bodies of Water

Don't Help Me Up - 4 Guys from the Future

Daydreaming - Dark Dark Dark

Rattling Cage - Forest Swords

There you have it! Please enjoy, and if you like what you hear check out the bands we have put on here, buy their albums and so on. I hope your summer works out for the best!

DOWNLOAD IT HERE OR HERE

Lapage Reviews Metronomy - 'The English Riviera'

If you are like me, every few months you will find an album that ends up getting played as your 'Go-To' album. Back in the days of physical media, it would be the CD that stayed in your player all season, and presumably before that, the sheet music that remained on the stands of your house band. These days, it's just what I first go to on Spotify if I want to listen to 'some music'.

Most important amongst these Go-To albums are the summer albums: the soundtrack that ends up being the backdrop to those sunny memories, evoking picnics and parties in years to come when that smoking-induced tickle in your throat has gone metastatic and left you bedridden. The English Riviera is my album of Summer 2011.

If you are a fan of the last two Metronomy albums, this one might be a shock. For one, only half of the current band were on the last album, so in that respect the sound is a bit different, but beyond that this album represents a much greater stylistic change from their second outing than they dared make for their sophomore effort. One friend dismissed it as 'too soft' and passed on it, but I hope you will not make the same mistake.

Fans of the old Metronomy, enter with third single from the album 'the Bay': this is definitely the closest to their past outings, and is dripping with their trademark nonchalant groove-mastery. They still have the edgy chops that made them big in the first place, but it's the fuzzier tracks that make more of an impression.

'The Look' is the best of their newer sound, presumably why they chose it as their second single (after the moodier 'She Wants'). Smothered with louche Eighties appeal, it represents a pretty exciting new direction. A lot of the album is like this, and it's pretty reminiscent of other dreamy retronauts like Destroyer: don't come here for a rousing club beat, it's all popped collars at dawn with this album.

My personal favourite of the album is 'Everything Goes My Way', wherein Joseph Mount takes a back seat to the vocals of Roxanne Clifford of Veronica Falls. This dependency will only ever relegate this to album gem status, because they are less likely to be able to promote it live, but it shows a side of Mount's composing that he hasn't really expressed before with Metronomy.

I find myself comparing this my summer album from last year: 'Black Sands' by Bonobo. Again you have a composer best known for upbeat tracks taking a sleepy summer break, and they were even released in pretty much the same week a year apart. They have beautifully distinct but vibrant allusions though: Bonobo evokes a secluded Halcyon island paradise, while Metronomy paints their 'English Riviera' in shades of seedy decadence and quality time nonchalantly wasted.

All in all, go get this album. I know that for myself it is firmly jammed in the summer CD tray of my mind, and so should it be for you.

If you like it, try: 'Kaputt' by Destroyer, 'Smother' by Wild Beasts, 'Surf Noir' by Beat Connection

If you miss old Metronomy, try: 'Zonoscope' by Cut Copy, 'From the Cradle to the Rave' by Shit Robot, 'Build with Erosion' by The Berg Sans Nipple

Other things gracing my soundholes: 'Castlemania' by Thee Oh Sees, 'Treefight for Sunlight' by Treefight for Sunlight, 'Jim Noir' by Jim Noir

Mixtape: Offbeat does Revision

Hello there esteemed readers, this is the first of what will hopefully be a fortnightly (or weekly if we're feeling generous!) series of themed mixtapes.

As most of us are in the midst of exam season, we thought it'd be best to start things off with a revision mixtape. Now opinion was divided about what classifies as "revision music" as for some of us, music may act as a distraction from the task at hand and make revision too difficult, yet others (myself included) need music to make the work bearable. Then there's the whole issue of whether it should be faster-tempoed to pump you for work or slower-paced to not make focusing difficult. So really, as this playlist is based on music I've been listened to during revision, it should be called "Music Rea listens to while revising", but I'm gonna open it up a bit and hope I'm not alone in my song choices :)

So I guess I should say first that while this is a mixtape, were it in CD format it would consist of three CDs. ALSO (should be obvious hopefully) but when listening the order is almost as important as the songs themselves so listening in order (at least the first time) would be appreciated.

DOWNLOAD PLAYLIST HERE

Disc 1 - Getting into the swing of revision - aka Reading the Lecture Notes for the First Time

Lemonade - Braids

Tiger Eyes (Laid Back) - Peaking Lights

Jetlag Blue Version - Vondelpark

Problems With The Sun - Nicolas Jaar

Universal Traveller -  Air

Fokionos Negri Street - Keep Shelly in Athens

Divina - Toro Y Moi

Playground Love - Air

Yachts - Coco Steel & Love Bomb

Feral - Radiohead

Disc 2 - Testing what you've learn so far - aka Doing Past Papers with the Mark Schemes Open in Another Tab

Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller

Summer 78 (Instrumental) - Yann Tiersen

Louretta - Agnes Obel

Oh, Maker- Janelle Monáe

Granada - Emilio de Benito

Lovers' Carvings - Bibio

North - Phoenix

Nectarine - Twin Sister

The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!! - Sufjan Stevens

Men Together Today - British Sea Power

Disc 3 - Winding down after a long day of revision - aka It's 3am and You Can't Be Bothered to Pretend Anymore

Sleepwalkin' - Modest Mouse

Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground

Start A War - The National

Run That Body Down - Paul Simon

Somehow To Keep It Going - Cotton Jones

Too Little Too Late - Daniel Rossen

Riding for the Feeling - Bill Callahan

Basement Scene - Deerhunter

Face It - Beach Fossils

Holocene - Bon Iver

Well that's it for now I guess - just over 2 hours of listening to hopefully help you get through the monotony of revision. Happy revising and good luck for the exams (and remember to look out for the next installment very soon!) 

Rea xxx