Just how much money can you justify spending on going to a gig? And what if that gig looks like the greatest gig in the history of music?

I'm talking about the Matador records 21st anniversary celebrations.  It may not be to the tastes of everyone, but for me it is just about the best line-up I have ever seen. And the fact that it is in Las Vegas is pretty cool as well. It seems like a strange fit for a bunch of (mainly ageing) indie rock acts and their (mainly ageing) fans.

To be honest I can't think of a way that I'd rather spend three days. But can I justify the cost of the event? Prices for the event haven't been published yet, but I doubt that it will be less than $150 for the three nights. So let's say (a hopeful) £100 for the ticket. A very quick look on the internet brings up a range of prices for flights, with £400 seeming a realistic price. Hotel prices vary a lot, but £50 a night doesn't look unrealistic. So that is another £150. Food and drink budget (plus some souvenir merchandise), again will need to be at least £50 a day, so another £150. And, if you are going all that way it seems a false economy to only do the three nights. A week seems right with the gigs in the middle. So, another £400 to cover the additional 4 nights. £1200 in total.

One way to try and justify it is by looking at how much I'd be prepared to spend on seeing each of the bands in London.

• Pavement - I'd spend £30 on a ticket, they were great at ATP and I'd love to see them again.
• Sonic Youth - Again, £30. I've never seen them and they are legends after all.
• Belle and Sebastian - Probably £30 also. I haven't seen them for a long time and they are always great live.
• Guided By Voices - £50 easily. Probably my all time favourite band and in their classic line-up. This is probably a last chance deal.
• Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the New Pornographers - £25 each. All great acts and all excellent live.
• There are probably about another five acts on the bill that I'd spend £10 to £15 pounds to see because they sound interesting or they have been recommended to me. And I'd probably go and see any of the other acts for up to £10 if they were playing locally.

The Digital Economy Bill has passed into law after being part of a final "sweep up" before the general election was called. The bill is 77 pages long but the Guardian has kindly produced a quick guide to the bill here.

There has been some outrage about the bill and the potential human rights implications of people having their internet access cut off due to being accused of illegal downloading. And the bill would certainly seem to encourage a hard line approach from ISPs as the financial threats to them for not dealing with copyright issues are pretty steep.

What strikes me about the bill (the digital downloading elements at least) is how pointless it is. I can see nothing in it that is going to successfully prevent widespread music piracy and file sharing. It is fairly widely accepted that large scale offenders will be the first people to mask their use from the ISPs, use proxy servers and the like to avoid detection.

This means that the bulk of culprits getting caught will be teenagers downloading a few albums and sharing them with their mates. The kind of music piracy that has always happened, and has a minimal impact on the music industry. When I was a teenager I recorded songs from the radio and taped vinyl and CDs to give to friends. This illicit music exchange introduced me to some of my favourite acts and developed into a fairly serious spending habit in later life when I had the funds to do so. There is nothing to suggest that the current crop of teenagers won't start paying for music (in one form or another) once they can afford to.

A big noise is made of how the digital music revolution is destroying the music industry, but this doesn't seem to hold water. It is true that music sales have reduced over the last 5 years, but the drop in sales seems to have stabilised with 2009's figures matching 2008's sales.  If new methods of selling music can be established then no doubt it will rise again. After all, the desire to consume music hasn't dipped at all.

It is also typical of an industry as lazy and lacking in ideas as the music industry to attack the effect while not look at the cause of the decline in sales. Digital music and the decline of the physical medium isn't something that just appeared when file sharing software was invented it has been on the cards for over a decade. Unfortunately the major record labels (and probably a big percentage of the independent labels) were busy finding new ways to make money from their back catalogue and not interested greatly in new music let alone new forms of musical consumption. So their response was to decide it was a bad thing and try and work against it as much as possible.

The major labels could have got together years ago and agreed a way of distributing music online in a way that worked for them, the artists and the consumers. They could have come up with a single download service (much like iTunes) or a subscription service (like Spotify) but they chose not to. What they did was continue to screw the consumer and artist alike with overpriced CDs and contracts that killed new act after new act.

Now, of course, the music industry is very interested in online music sales, but unfortunately the horse has bolted. They have lost control of the way that music is distributed.

I don't pirate music; I'm one of the rare people who still buy all their music on CD. Yet I find it hard to sympathise with the major labels when they are ripped off by teenagers. They've had it coming for a long time with their greedy exploitative ways. Read Steve Albini's brilliant article The Problem With Music to get his insightful take on the industry.

The Digital Economy Bill is effectively just a pointless attempt by the government to claim it is taking the problem of illegal music downloading seriously. If you object you look like you support criminal activity. But that is hardly the point. It is legislation that ignores the fact that the real problem is the industry itself. An industry that has shown little respect for artists or consumers for years.

By Dorian Rogers

When I first heard of Mark Linkous (AKA Sparklehorse) he had already been pronounced dead once. That was the big story around the UK release of his debut album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. Now he has succumbed to depression and his death is all too real. I don't know all the details of his death; all I know is that it is a very sad loss.

I feel that Sparklehorse are one of "my" bands. In that I discovered them without being introduced to them by a friend and I'd never even heard their music when I purchased the debut album. To my mind it is one of the best debut albums ever recorded. A masterpiece of American alternative music. And each album he released was brilliant. I was disappointed, at the time, when his last Sparklehorse album (Dreamt for Light years In the Belly of a Mountain) was released because it didn't seem up to his high standard. But listening back to it now I realise just how good it was. His weakest album being streets ahead of most artists' best output.

I'm something of an oddity in 2010. Buying CDs is still my main medium of choice for consuming music. I don't illegally download tracks (although I have in the past) because I feel that the artists deserve some money for their craft. I don't buy many albums by rich artists (I don't care if U2 or Coldplay or any number of millionaire musician had all their music stolen for ever more) but I understand how difficult it is for independent musicians to make a living these days. I don't buy MP3 files online either. I don't like spending money on data, and because I like to listen to albums as a whole I'd make little or no saving buying tracks in that way. The latest Field Music album was £9.99 for 20 tracks, so hardly expensive on a track by track basis.

I also like the versatility that CDs afford me. I can play them in a stereo, in a car or rip them to play on my PC or MP3 player. They sit on my shelf ready to be ripped again should my PC die or my hard drive corrupt. I can lend them to friends so that they too can discover the joys of Robert Pollard or Efterklang or whoever I'm listening to that week. They also have a physicality I enjoy; I can ready the sleeve notes and flick through the booklet when I first listen to the album.

But the main reason I buy CDs (and so many of them) is that I love record shops. I love the atmosphere, the way they look, the sound and the whole experience. I'm lucky enough to work in central Brighton and I have three independent record shops (Resident, Rounder and Ape) close enough to visit on a lunchtime. Every Monday without fail tour them all to check out the new releases. And in doing so I make some wonderful discoveries. When I went to buy the (fantastic) new Field Music album I was delighted to see anew Robert Pollard album on the shelves (review up later this week). A few weeks before I heard the opening track to the Fool's Gold album and had to pick that up. Both albums would have passed me by if I'd been doing my shopping online. Record stores are all about browsing and taking time. Amazon is about searching for what you are already looking for, it doesn't promote discovery, and that has to be bad news for more marginal artists.

I discovered the first Feelies album a few months ago, and I can't believe it has taken me 30 years to do so. The only reason I did was because it was on a stand in a record shop and accompanied by the kind of enthusiastic promotional blurb that only a record shop employee can generate.

Record shops also have a number of other functions that are essential to the survival of a music scene. The most important being the sale of concert tickets. These can be purchased online, but again it is the posters and listings in the shop that draw you to see a gig that you hadn't heard about, or just something that sounds interesting. I've seen some of my favourite gigs that way. It is a function that is all about promoting local gigs and preserves the local music scene in a way that online ticket agencies never will.

Jagadambarecords has just released this clip on YouTube of  'I Met Up With The King' , the next single from the forthcoming full length album debut by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. The album is called The Big Black and The Blue and is due out later this month (Jan).

Varshons, the most recent album by The Lemonheads, received a fairly lukewarm response when it was released earlier this year, not least of which from this website.

To say it was critically panned would be going too far. But with a fairly tepid score of 6.7 out of ten from review aggregator site Metacritic, including a 3/10 from ourselves, and a 4.7 out of ten from Pitchfork, it hardly set the world alight.

“A mess,” was how Pitchfork described the bulk of the album, which is a collection of fairly bland cover versions by The Lemonheads. Among the most embarrassing tracks are a cover of Arling & Cameron's "Dirty Robot", improbably sung by Kate Moss.

It was therefore a great surprise to read on The Lemonheads facebook site that the blog Cover Me had voted Varshons the greatest cover versions album of the year.

Unable to stomach this gushing praise for what is a very ordinary album any more Neonfiller added its view on Facebook, pointing out that not everyone thinks this is a great album. In fact some of us think it is quite lazy, bland and not of a quality that the music buying public should expect from a once great indie-rock band.

Lemonheads fans responded with gusto, defending the album. And it was with great surprise that one of the responses to our criticism came from none other than leead singer Evan Dando’s mum Susan.

She responded that ‘Dirty Robot’ is actually one of her favourite songs. “Evan and I find dirty robot to grow on you the more you listen,” she says. “That instrumental part is so reminiscent of 60's music from European movies like ‘a man and a woman’ for instance. It's fun.”

Having your mum fight your corner is not exactly rock and roll, but her response did serve to bring us music reviewers down a peg or two. Behind every panned album, is a mum or other family member, ready to step in and fend off the critics.

I’ve had another listen to Dirty Robot out of respect for Evan's mum but it still hasn’t grown on me.

When I first heard about the campaign to get Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name Of' to number 1 I initially thought it was a good idea. But the more I have thought about it the worse the idea seems.

First off the concept makes no sense. I assume that the "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me" refrain is deemed appropriate as a response to Simon Cowell and the X-Factor machine. The thing is that nobody has ever told me to buy an X-Factor single. Several people have told me to buy the RATM single however.

The campaign also seems based on some false golden age before X-Factor when we had great Christmas number 1s that were purchased on their festive merits. This just isn't true. Festive number 1s have always been in the minority, novelty records being more popular, or records by the popular artists of the day. The Spice Girls and The Beatles are the only artists to have had three in a row, none of them Christmas records.

Ignoring Band Aid (and I tried to ignore the last couple of versions) you have to go back to Cliff in 1990 if you want an authentic Christmas song at number 1. X-Factor has hardly blown a proud tradition.

It would have been more appropriate perhaps to get one of the great Christmas records to the top of the charts, something like 'Fairytale Of New York' or, my personal favourite, 'Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses. I don't even think that the RATM song is that good. I'm sure that it is better than the X-Factor single will be, but so what? I'm sure that every year (excepting The Beatles, Elvis and Girls Aloud) there have been better singles released than the one that topped the chart. December is a musical dead zone, a time for people who like music to ignore what is being played on the radio.

I'd be interested in how many of the 700,000 members of the Facebook group watched the X-Factor final, I bet a fair few did. If the show didn't exist, the hit records wouldn't either. I don't watch the show, I don't buy the singles, simple. If you do watch it, don't complain about the impact it has on modern music.

If you want to have a fun and memorable Christmas number 1 then buy the Muppet's version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', don't buy an early-90s rock dirge. That doesn't seem very festive to me.

By Dorian Rogers

With Darren Hayman topping our 2009 chart I was compelled to seek out clips of his former band Hefner on YouTube. I was pleased to find a video for the song 'I Took Her Love For Granted' from their second album the Fidelity Wars. I wasn't quite prepared for the content of the video, really quite odd. You definitely see a new side of Darren Hayman.

The Clash was one of the most iconic and prolific bands to emerge from the London punk scene of the late 1970s. From their stunning self-titled debut in 1977 through to 1982’s Combat Rock they delivered some of the punchiest and thought provoking songs of the time.

Shortly after Combat Rock though things turned sour.  The band’s chief songwriter and guitarist Mick Jones was fired by lead singer Joe Strummer. The atrocious album Cut The Crap followed and the band split for good in 1985.

While Strummer and Jones patched up their differences and still saw each other regularly, they never performed live together again until one exciting night in Acton, London on November 15, 2002.



Strummer and his band The Mescalaros were playing a benefit show for striking firefighters at Acton Town Hall. Strummer launched into a version of The Clash classic ‘Bankrobber’ for the first encore. Jones, who was in the audience, decided to get up on stage, pick up a spare guitar and play along.

Jones and a clearly delighted Strummer played two more Clash songs together for a further encore, ‘White Riot’ and the appropriate ‘London’s Burning’. Jones said afterwards that the moment was unplanned and he felt "compelled" to get up on stage.

Sadly, just five weeks later on December 23rd, 2002, Strummer died at his home in Somerset of an indiagnosed congenital heart defect, giving that already momentous night at Acton a chilling resonance.

While little known, this small firefighter benefit gig in Acton marks a key moment in rock history, when two greats of the UK music scene played on stage together for the first and sadly only time for almost two decades.

by Joe Lepper

We at Neonfiller.com are currently compiling our list of the wierdest cover versions around. As if by magic the Muppets appear with their fantastic take on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Animal's solo is perhaps the most emotional performance you will see all year.

Robert Pollard is the world’s greatest living songwriter. That may be a bold statement, but it is true. I have many favourite songwriters, James Mercer, Sufjan Stevens, Paddy McAloon, but none of them have the longevity and body of work that Pollard has.

Paul McCartney is obviously a challenge to what I’m saying, and I’m a huge fan of his work. I love the Beatles and anyone who had the misfortune to spend last New Year with me will testify to my overplaying of his solo songs and work with Wings. But he hasn’t produced a decent album since 1982, and his work in the 70s was pretty patchy. He was a spent force 20 years and two dozen albums into his career.

Check out http://www.gbvdb.com/ for an amazingly detailed look at his recording career.

Pollard has been recording for 23 years and must have released 50+ albums in his many guises. This year alone he has released 6 new albums (three of which are amongst his best) and has a three CD set of demos and outtakes ready for release.

He is an artist that isn’t ever likely to have mainstream popularity, but he does have an army of fanatically loyal fans. His more famous fan base includes Paddy Considine, Stewart Lee, Daniel Radcliffe and Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh is currently making a musical based on the life of Cleopatra with all the songs based on Guided by Voices originals.

The best way to understand the great man is to see him in action. First up is a rare TV appearance by Guided By Voices.  It was their first appearance, some ten years into their career, look out for the particularly rock n roll behaviour of guitarist Mitch Mitchell during the second song.



Next is a clip of Boston Spaceships from last year playing ‘You Satisfy Me’ from their debut album.



See also:

Boston Spaceships – Zero To 99
Robert Pollard – Elephant Jokes

Multi-instumentalist Andrew Bird is to score the music for a forthcoming high school-set film, to be called Norman.
In an interview with UK Radio station 6 Music he said: "It’s got a fairly well known cast and it’s really well written and everything. It is more of a drama, it tackles high school drama without being lame.
"I had the monitor of the film in the studio and I’m playing. It’s a lot of work. I don’t know if I ever want to do it again."

Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett are to team up with comic legend Alan Moore for a forthcoming musical collaboration.
According to an interview with Mustard magazine Moore, whose graphic novels include Watchmen and V for Vendetta, said: "They came down to Northampton (where Moore lives) last week because we're planning for me to do the libretto on their next opera.”
He declined to give further details leaving it up to our imagination what musical event they will create. The last opera by Albarn and Hewlet, was Monkey: Journey to the West.
In the interview Moore also said that he hopes to get Albarn and Hewlett involved in his bi-monthly journal Dodgem Logic, which features essays, art and even recipes.
Moore said: “We've hopefully got Gorillaz (a reference to Albarn and Hewlett’s band) onboard…being an opportunist, I asked them if they'd be prepared to contribute some pages to Dodgem Logic. Rather than just doing an interview, I thought it would be interesting to hand over a few pages for them to curate."

The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums have been named as the acts taking part in next year’s Shockwaves NME Awards Tour.

The annual UK tour is seen as a showcase for some of the best indie acts around, well according to the NME that is.

Among those to take part in previous tours and go on to other, greater things are Ting Tings, Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, The Cribs, Bloc Party and The Killers. The gigs start in Newcastle on 4 February 2010.

The openers at the event will be New York band The Drums. It is worth noting that those that have opened in the past have also included Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand.

Felix White, The Maccabees lead singer, said: "We understand the legacy of this tour. So that's a nice thing to be a part of. It looks like a good tour to me... we're as lucky as anyone to be on it. As far as upping our game, we understand the kind of bands who have headlined before. The kind of calibre those groups are, we've got to reach that".

SHOCKWAVES NME AWARDS TOURS 2010

Thursday 4th – Newcastle O2 Academy
Friday 5th – Glasgow Barrowland
Saturday 6th – Manchester Academy
Sunday 7th – Leeds O2 Academy
Tuesday 9th – Nottingham Rock City
Wednesday 10th – Norwich UEA
Thursday 11th – Birmingham O2 Academy
Saturday 13th – Cardiff University
Sunday 14th – Bristol O2  Academy
Monday 15th – Brighton Dome
Tuesday 16th – Bournemouth O2 Academy
Thursday 18th – Portsmouth Pyramid
Friday 19th – Cambridge Corn Exchange
Saturday 20th – Brixton O2  Academy

A raft of previously unrecorded Iggy and the Stooges tracks have resurfaced.
According to Bangshowbiz Iggy Pop has recently reconciled with Stooges guitarist James Williamson and both are keen to record songs from their 70s heyday that they did not get the chance to put down on vinyl at the time.
Iggy Pop, who recently won a Living Legend award at the Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour awards, told Bangshowbiz: "James Williamson is really hot to trot and there's a lot of old stuff that The Stooges failed to record. We wrote a load of songs that we only ever played live, so I'm looking forward to doing some studio recordings."
Meanwhile, here's a clip of The Stooges at their peak.

Morrissey has left the stage for the second time in two weeks – this time after a missile (reportedly either a half full plastic glass or a bottle) was thrown at him.

He left the stage after the plastic glass hit his head about 25 minutes into his latest gig. An announcement at the concert, taking place at the weekend (Nov 8) at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, said that he had been hit on the head and couldn’t continue.

He had already performed ‘This Charming Man’ and was in the middle of his track ‘Black Cloud’ as he was clouted by the projectile.

A spokesperson for the venue told Sky News, “We have a strict policy of no glasses being allowed in the arena and we also decant all drink from bottles into plastic glasses at events of this kind.”

This is just the latest incident to mar Morrissey’s latest tour. He refused to return to stage in Swindon two weeks ago after complaining of breathing difficulties.

The crowd at Liverpool boo-ed the announcement, but many of the fans venom was directed at the hurler rather than the former Smiths front man.

One fan told Sky: "This is a disgrace. Why does one person have to spoil it for everyone? It looked like a plastic glass but you couldn't really tell. It appeared to hit Morrissey square on the head."

Heavy Trash, the rockabilly band fronted by Jon Spencer, has released one of the dirtiest rock n roll albums of the year. Among the wonderfully, filth ridden tracks on the album, Midnight Soul Serenade,  is this gem (Sometimes You Got To Be) Gentle...caution the lyrics may offend.
 

Award shows can provide some of  the music industry's most embarrassing and cringe-worthy moments. From Katy Perry’s antics to Kanye West’s recent outburst not a ceremony goes by without some sort of faux pas, altercation or blunder. To mark the sheer stupidity of award shows we’ve compiled some of the most bizarre and embarrassing moments in recent ceremony history. We’ve got a food fight, a machine gun attack, a bitter band feud and a drunken slanging match involving a Rolling Stone. Sit back and enjoy  Neonfiller’s Top Ten Most Bizarre Music Award Ceremony Moments.

1. KLF with Extreme Noise Terror at the Brit awards

In front of bewildered record industry executives at the 1992 Brit awards best group nominee KLF gave the performance to put all award show performances to shame. Known by the mainstream music world as more of a dance act, KLF decided to belt out a thrash metal version of their hit 3AM Eternal with Extreme Noise Terror and then upped the ante further by audaciously firing machine gun blanks into the audience. The reaction from the audience ranges from sheer incredulity to out right fear. In an interview with Smash Hits magazine shortly afterwards KLF revealed the show was actually toned down. They had wanted to throw buckets of blood over the audience and disembowel a dead sheep on stage. However, vegetarian band Extreme Noise Terror vetoed the idea.




2. Blondie At War During Hall of Fame Induction

When Blondie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 it should have been a special moment, recognising the fine contribution the new wave veterans had made to the music industry. Unfortunately the timing of the award came as the group’s members and former members were embroiled in a vicious legal battle and war of words. One one side group founders Chris Stein and Debbie Harry and drummer Clem Burke. On the other, former guitarist Frank Infante and bassist Nigel Harrison. Infante and Harrison were present to receive the award but did not perform. Watch out for the handbags moment when Infante begs Harry to allow him to perform. “I’d like to play, Debbie, is that allowed?” A stoney faced Harry coos back, “can’t you see my band is up there,” as her army of winged monkeys flies off overhead.



3. Brandon Block versus Ronnie Wood

At the 2000 Brit Awards DJ Brandon Block was delighted to receive an award, the only problem was that he hadn’t. He had in fact been wound up by his mates and cut a desperate figure hovering drunkenly by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, who was getting ready to hand out the best soundtrack award for Notting Hill.  As Block is being dragged off by security Wood quips that Block is a “c*nt”. After a flurry of “what did you call me” and flying drinks Block has the last laugh, calling Wood an “old bastard.” Wood looks genuinely scared at one point, certainly more veteran than rocker.



4. Food fight at 2009 Polaris Awards

Fans of Alan Parker’s 1970s film Bugsy Malone would have loved to attend Canada’s Polaris Music Prize awards this year (2009). Towards the end of the three hour event a food fight broke out between nominees Malajube and Partick Watson and his band. At one point from this shaky footage it looks like a chair is also thrown, bar room brawl style.



5. Jarvis Cocker versus Michael Jackson
 
Michael Jackson’s performance of Earth Song at the Brits in 1996 was truly puke inducing. Standing with outstretched arms, messiah-like he preaches about saving the planet, as a zillion watts of electricity explode around him and child actors, rabbis and priests kiss his hand and hang on to his every word. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker had certainly had enough. He decided to air his frustration by climbing up on stage and waving his posterior at Jacko. As British quirkiness met American sincerity head on it is arguably the most infamous stage invasion in music award history.





6. Oasis “has beens shouldn’t present awards to gonnabes.”

One wonders what Micheal Hutchence ever did to Noel Gallagher. At the 1996 Brit Awards Oasis were at the peak of their pomp. Hutchence hands over their award, they straddle about the stage, chests out, talking rubbish for a few moments and then Noel Gallagher walks away saying, “has beens shouldn’t present awards to gonna bes.” It’s a vicious comment, that appears to be said just to appear controversial rather than to get at Hutchence. Message to all new, young bands - if ‘has been’ Noel Gallagher ever presents you with an award, remember this clip and do unto him as he did unto Hutchence.




7.Carter at the Smash Hits party

For many a youngster in the 1980s in the UK Smash Hits was the bible of pop. Whether you wanted to know what Human League’s favourite snack was or what the Pet Shop Boys had for breakfast the magazine was a joy. At its height it even had its own award ceremony, with awards for most fanciable male, best dressed female. At the 1991 award ceremonies host Philip Schofield, dressed inexplicably like a robotic mannequin, makes a few jokes at Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine’s expense. They responded to Schofield’s jibes in great fashion, by bundling him over. Maybe it was playful, may be it was venomous, either way they look like they enjoyed the moment.





8.John Lydon shows how to receive an award

Former Sex Pistol and PiL frontman John Lydon is hardly a shrinking violet. When he receives an award, he makes everyone aware that be deserves it. But unlike those such as Oasis who look foolish when lording it up on an award stage, such arrogance is strangely fitting for Lydon. Here we find Lydon at the Q Awards in 2001 receiving an Inspiration award. We at Neonfiller particularly like the banter with his friend, “Johnnie better win one…Johnnie did win one,” and an attempt to start a fight with Lily Allen’s dad.


9. G unit fight vibe awards

The Vibe awards 2004 had it all, a stabbing, an attack on Dr Dre and a brawl involving G-Unit. According to the MTV website “there was some tension in the air on the night”. What an understatement.  Just as Dr Dre was waiting backstage about to presented with an award by Snoop Dogg and Quincy Jones a man came up to him, asked for an autograph then lamped the him one. Dre then grabbed him and a melee followed involving G-Unit. Punches are thrown, people are screaming, a man gets stabbed. It certainly puts Kanye’s recent girlish awards ceremony outburst  to shame. Vibe president Kenard Gibbs said afterwards, “it is unfortunate that an event so many people worked very hard to create has been tainted by the actions of a few individuals.”




10. Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox

No collection of embarrassing award ceremony moments would be complete without a clip of the 1989 Brit awards. Aside from the bad timing, dead silences and mishaps perhaps the worst aspect was the strange pairing of five foot tall former glamour model and soft rocker Sam Fox with seven foot tall Mick Fleetwood. It looked weird and their non-existent chemistry and poor delivery were even worse. How was this atrocity allowed to happen?



compiled by Joe Lepper

Neon Filler are lucky enough to have a chalet at Pavement ATP. Getting tickets for an event so long in advance means a lot of waiting time. But it also gives me the opportunity to play "Fantasy Festival" for the next seven months.

Playing Fantasy Festival has rules like any fantasy football league. Bands need to be alive (so no Johnny Cash), active (or have some chance of being brought back together - so no Smiths) and be the kind of band the organisers or curators are likely to pick (that rules out Girls Aloud). There is also a budget to manage. You might want U2, REM and Coldplay to headline (why you would want that I have no idea) but that would probably be the entire festival budget shot in one go. So sensible and considered selections need to be made.

The few bands that Pavement have already selected includes two that I would probably have put on my list. The Fall are an obvious choice and Quasi share members with the Jicks and were no surprise to see on the bill. They have also picked a classic "old" band (Faust) and a couple of acts that I've never heard of. One of the joys of ATP is discovering new acts, so I'm never sad to see unknown acts on the bill.

My first fantasy ATP choice is Boston Spaceships. The band, lead by former Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard, are one of my acts of the year and I've long been a GBV fan. The case for them appearing is that their drummer (Jon Moen) used to be the drummer in the Jicks. Stephen Malkmus appeared on the 2007 album Bad Football by the Takeovers (essentially Boston Spaceships before Moen joined) and Sam Coombes from Quasi is on the next Boston Spaceships album. The case against is Pollard's famous dislike for touring, particularly oversees. I also picked them in my fantasy line-up for this years Breeders event (Pollard and Kim Deal are friends) but that didn't happen. Moen’s other band, The Decemberists, are more likely and would be a great addition to the bill as well.

Sonic Youth seem like a possibility, sharing a bass player with Pavement, but that may be too soon after their Christmas appearance. Studying Pavement lyrics for band references doesn't help much as the chances of REM, Rush or the Smashing Pumpkins making an appearance seems pretty slim (not such a bad thing).

Pavement have some other musical associations that may be an indication of acts to come.  Scott Kannenberg released an album by power-pop outfit Oranger, but they have been quiet for the last four years and may be an unlikely addition. Pavement covered a Descendents song for a tribute album. The Descendents are in many ways the most influential hardcore punk band of the 1980s. The modern pop-punk acts in the US, from Green day to Blink-182 to Sum 41 to The Offspring, mainly sound more like The Descendents than they do Black Flag, Minor Threat or any of the cooler bands of that era. However, their tainted legacy aside, they'd be a great addition to the festival line-up.

A UK national newspaper has come under fire for publishing a “homophobic” column online suggesting Boyzone singer Stephen Gately’s death was “strange and lonely” and “unnatural.”

The article by columnist Jan Moir on The Daily Mail’s website has sparked outrage across the UK. The article itself had received more than 500 comments by this afternoon and Twitter and Facebook pages were awash with criticism.

Despite Gately dying in the same apartment as his long term partner  and the cause of death being proved to be pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs, Moir shocked even Daily Mail readers with lines such as, “whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one."

Her  article  also said: “Another real sadness about Gately’s death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.”

We at Neonfiller do not usually cover the music of Boyzone, but felt we needed to add our weight to criticism of Jan Moir and this vile article. Moir's article is either a cynical attempt to stir up controversy  for the sake of column inches and online hits. Or Moir is genuinely homophobic and twisted. Either way she should be immediately sacked. Even by the standards of the Daily Mail - which to those outside of the UK is, shall we say, to the right of the political spectrum -  the article is particularly venomous.

The Daily Mail story was still up online this afternoon (Oct 16), although the headline of “Why there was nothing natural about Stephen Gately’s death” had been changed to “A Strange, Lonely and Troubling Death.”

Among those to criticise Moir is the actor Stephen Fry, who tweeted. “"I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathsome and inhumane."

One of Neonfiller’s favourite criticisms has come from Blogger, NotSoWunderbar and his article, “ Why There Is Nothing Natural About Jan Moir's Face ."

by Joe Lepper

You've played Beatles: Rockband, now try the I Can't Believe It's Not The Beatles version, featuring fab four wannabes Oasis. Was alerted to this comedy sketch from the BBC by a twitter update by XTC's Andy Partridge, whose son Harry created the sketch. Harry even finds space at the end to give his 'ole Dad's band a mention.

See clip here.

Spotify may well be the application that changes the face of music most dramatically since the launch of the iPod in 2001.

The program enables you to listen to songs from a database of millions without spending a penny. There are no issues with download times, the sound quality is good and no laws are being broken. With the launch of Spotify on Android phones and the iPhone it will be mobile as well. Which is all pretty perfect right? Well, maybe not quite perfect.

My worry with Spotify is whether it will have a negative effect on new music, and in particular new music by the smaller independent artists. I also fear that it may be a bad thing for the independent artists trying to make a living from their back catalogue.

Whilst looking into a playlist for our Best of The Year So Far article I was struck by the fact that Spotify didn't have tracks from the most recently released records. Looking at it a bit further I started to see the gaps appearing. Some artists (Hefner was one example) are not featured at all, and others have a very selective presence. In many cases only some songs from an album exist. I can see why an artist might not be there, some, like Pink Floyd, have opted not to be available and others may just not have an agreement in place. But when an artist and a record has been approved for use why would some songs from that record be kept unavailable?

I also wonder how Spotify will generate the money it needs to function and also provide an income to the artists. I don't know anyone who pays the subscription fee to have the service advert free, and listening to the adverts I can't see that stream of income being great, about 50% of them seem to be for Spotify itself. The huge drop in advertising revenue from advertising has made a big impact on television and publishing, so it seems unlikely that in the current climate advertisers will pour money into an untested medium.

I am in a minority as someone who doesn't think that music should be free. I think that is dangerous as it makes it so much harder for young artists to come through. A lot of bands make their income from CDs sold at shows, if we move to an entirely virtual form of music consumption then how do these people make any money? Their slice of the Spotify pie (if they can even get on there) will be pretty small.

A friend of mine was in band that has their one and only single tracks available on Spotify. He wasn't consulted on this, or informed what his royalty for the use of the songs would be. Possibly bands get a PRS royalty in the same way as they would for radio play, but is that fair? The use is very different. If I add a song to a playlist I have the same use of it as if it was on iTunes, much more "ownership" than if it was played on the radio. Once Spotify is common on mobile phones then tracks will be like MP3s in all but the file format. If I want an MP3 I have to pay the 79p (or whatever is being charged) or buy the CD (illegal downloads aside). I'm sure that U2 make sure they get their cut from Spotify, in a way that my friend never could. So this must means that smaller artists will get smaller slices of their smaller pie.

I don't have much interest in the profit levels of the major record labels; they have overcharged the consumer and under rewarded the artists for years and deserve any drop in profits they get. Even now, with the buying of CDs slipping every day, they can't resist the rip-off. I'm very keen to buy the early Beatles albums in the remastered mono format. I've only really ever listened to the albums from Rubber Soul forward and would like to get to know the other albums as they were meant to be listened to. Unfortunately the mono albums are only available in a box-set at a wallet bashing £180. At £11.99 a CD they could have afforded to make both mixes of the albums available. After all, these releases are pure profit. They'll make back any outlay on remastering and marketing on the royalties from the Beatles Rock Band  game alone. Making the mono versions exclusive to a box-set is just a way of screwing money from the fans. I'll have no sympathy for the label when the mono versions are being downloaded wholesale for free. The Beatles albums are, of course, unavailable from Spotify.

However, that is a digression from the point here. The key thing is, how will new bands be able to able to make a living in the post-Spotify world? A new model is required. My fear is that if Spotify becomes dominant it will become more and more driven by the needs of the big labels. After all, getting the Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin albums would be great news for Spotify, so surely the labels can exert influence to get the right deal. A small artist is likely to get a much less flattering deal. And in an age where CDs are becoming obsolete and paying for MP3s becomes a thing of the past, how will they make enough money to continue functioning as a band? The answer is that maybe they can't. And it would be a real shame if the new musical age was as band as the old one for making archive music the main focus.

Spotify is undeniably a great application for all of this. I have discovered and rediscovered a load of music through it in recent months. To focus on the limitations and potential problems is to do it a disservice. So, in celebration of this I have made a playlist of some (mostly) lesser known tracks that I hope you will enjoy, and maybe consider spending some of your money on the bands involved.

By Dorian Rogers

I was watching a repeat of classic UK sketch show The Fast Show the other day, when this sketch entitled Indie Club cropped up. No compromise, indeed.

The 2009 U2 tour is well underway, and the centrepiece of the tour is the massive stage set they have created. The biggest stage set ever!

This big construction is problematic for me in three ways. Firstly it cost tens of millions to build. As Bono rages (from the giant stage) about countries not giving enough to third world debt, maybe he should look around himself. I agree that the richer countries have a responsibility to help the poorer, but at least they have other things to worry about spending their money on. Maybe U2 should have donated the cost of the construction to the third world, they don't need it and I doubt they would have sold any less tickets.

Secondly it seems a bit at odds with their socially conscious image. Dozens of trucks are required to move the set alone. It probably has the biggest carbon footprint of any tour yet. I'm sure the band is carbon offsetting, but it doesn't really set a very good example.

Thirdly, and this is the most significant point of all, it demonstrates just how little musical ambition U2 has. I have a certain grudging respect for them as a band. After all they have managed to establish a reputation as a band capable of constantly reinventing themselves whilst recycling the same riffs for 30 years, pretty impressive. But so lacking in ideas are they that all they can think about is having the biggest stage set ever.

If I look back at the best gigs that I can remember, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at the Bowlie Weekender, Hefner at Brighton's Pavilion Theatre or Josh Rouse at the Camden Dingwall's, I can identify one common thread, the stage set was not part of the show. These gigs were made by great songs, good performances and stage presence. U2, it seems, don't have these factors to fall back on, so they have to distract the audience with the sheer scale of it all.

It reminds me of the Jean Michelle Jarre concerts of the late 80s entitled "Destination Docklands". the concerts featured so many lights, fireworks and lazers that they could be seen for miles around. All in all a fantastic distraction from the banal light-electronica of the French maestro.

The film Stop Making Sense captures a concert by Talking Heads that is as good as any performance that you will ever see. It has some stage tricks for sure, the band builds over the first few songs, lights and projections are used, and David Byrne wears a big suit. However, ll these things are pretty low key, and the concert is in a theatre not a stadium. The thing about the show is that even if these elements were taken away it would still be a sensational concert. The songs are great, the playing fantastic, and in David Byrne they had one of the great front man.

U2, in contrast, have Bono's sunglasses and The Edge's hat. Next year they'll need an even bigger stage, if they can't come up with some real ideas.

By Dorian Rogers

This week saw the Mercury Music Prize nominations being announced. And there were very few surprises in the list. The Horrors may have surprised some people, but their currency has been rising in recent months and they probably deserve the attention just for being a bit more interesting than most British guitar bands right now.

I'm not greatly interested in who wins the prize. It is unlikely to be the album I think is the best of the year (none of them are in the list) and it is unlikely to be the best act from the shortlist. I learnt to ignore the result of the prize back in 1993 (a year that included Sting in the shortlist...) when The Auteurs and PJ Harvey were passed over in favour of Suede. And then again in 1994 when Pulp, Blur and the Prodigy (all with pretty significant releases) were beaten to the prize by John Majoresque foghorn Heather Small's M People.

I am pleased to see so many strong female acts in the list, and it is probably a good bet that one of them will be the first woman since Ms. Dynamite in 2002 to win the prize (and only the 5th since the prize started in 1992). I'm no fan of the latest wave of Kate Bush-alikes, and La Roux seems rather one dimensional, but they are very much more deserving of the prize than rock luddites like Glasvegas and the appalling Kasabian .

The thing that bothers me most about the prize is the way that the non-alt-rock/pop or dance acts are treated. It is a safe bet that the winner each year will be out of that camp, and not one of the jazz, folk or modern classical artists. I mentioned the 1993 prize before and the best album in that list was probably Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet  by Gavin Bryars, an album that would never be given the prize. I'm no jazz expert, but I'd hazard a guess that Led Bib are a better Jazz act than Kasabian are a rock band.

I appreciate that the sales of all artists on the list rocket, and this is great news for the smaller acts, but why bother having a prize if only 50% of the shortlist are being seriously considered for the prize? And wouldn't Speech Debelle get an even better career boost if she won the prize?

My favourite album in the list is Sweet Billy Pilgrim's Twice Born Men, the shortlists token (apologies in advance for using this phrase) folktronica act. I didn't think the band worked live when I saw them at the Union Chapel Willkommen event, but the album is good with some great moments. There are about 100 different musical ideas on the song 'Truth Only Smiles' alone, which is 50 times as many ideas as Glasvegas have had in their whole career (wear dark sunglasses indoors, listen to The Jesus And Mary Chain). However, considering that there have only been a couple of surprises in the history of the prize, the aforementioned M People debacle and Antony And The Johnsons in 2005, their chances seem pretty slim.

By Dorian Rogers

What the hell is going on with Kings of Leon? Since their Glastonbury headline slot last year their status as a powerhouse of indie rock has been cemented across Europe and the UK.

Sadly though they have chosen to ignore the cliché  that with great power comes great responsibility and behave like big babies instead.

At Scotland's T in the Park festival last weekend guitarist Caleb Followill behaved like a spoilt brat, having a tizzy fit and smashing his guitar because the sound quality wasn’t quite right - like the tens of thousands of festival goers noticed or cared. (see Neon Filler News, 13 July, 2009)

Sure, we at Neon Filler like our rock stars to behave like rock stars. Have the occasional fight, get a bit tiddly, turn the amp up to 11. But we don’t expect them to behave like children and throw their dummies out of the pram every time they don’t get their own way.

And just like Kings of Leon’s tired seventies rock, their behaviour is also nothing new in the world of music

Chris Salewicz’s excellent biography of Joe Strummer, Redemption Song, recounts how Clash guitarist Mick Jones refused to even get on tour buses at the height of the band's fame until a joint was provided for him.

And I remember seeing the Smashing Pumpkins at the Reading Festival in 1992, when Billy Corgan had a similar Followill tizzy fit on stage,  while the band sniped at each other and played a lack lustre set. It was the end of their tour and they were tired and irritable. Aah diddums.

In contrast to Followill, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon staggered off his hospital bed after a bout of food poisoning to perform at T in the Park. Now that’s brave, that’s commitment, that is a lesson in the  responsibility of fame that the Kings of Leon need to learn.
 
Another problem Kings of Leon have is that while they may be an indie-rock powerhouse in the UK they still lack credibility   in the US. Last week they decided to ridicule the US for only liking ‘kiddy pop and hip-hop’ – see Neon Filler News, 10 July 2009.)

Perhaps the real reason for the outburst is that they are just bitter as US indie and alternative music fans do not see them in the same way that the British and Europeans do.

Commenting on our Kings of Leon stories on Mog News,  blogger Augusts1 perhaps sums up US indie rock fans view of  the band best.

“They're just pissed 'cause their sound hasn't caught on big here in the states. I've actually tried to get into them (I'm American) and even seen them live at a music fest but even thought they put on a great show sounding fantastic live, their music does little for me,” says Augusts1, adding, “I certainly loathe the Disney set & top 40 pop here in the U.S. This phenomena has happened numerous times with U.S. bands who just didn't click w/the public here but ended up being huge in Europe.”

by Joe Lepper

The death of Michael Jackson had an unexpected effect on me. It made me do something I didn't think I'd ever do again. I purchased Q magazine. Not because I was very sad about his death, I don't subscribe to emotional outbursts over strangers, and not because I was a big fan. I was just interested in reading an article printed just before his death, to get some much needed perspective amongst the sobbing and adulation.

It is a fairly good article, treading the fine line between ignoring how nuts he was and being a hatchet job. It was also a nice piece of good fortune for Q that they chose to share cover space with Jackson and an article about dead rock stars. Maybe they had him killed. The conspiracy starts here.

The thing that strikes me most about Jackson's death is how much respect is being showered on him by the press. This is the same media outlets that have pilloried the man for the last 15 years and were waiting with expectant pens for his big comeback concerts to be a disaster. And the same goes for all the music industry phonies that leapt to his defence since his death. A bit late it would seem. The early reports suggest that stress and prescription drug addition were the killers. Maybe Jackson would have been better off if his music industry chums had leapt to his defence whilst he was still alive. The same goes for the insane fan brigade. Treating an ill man like the messiah is hardly going to put him on a stable footing. The sad thing about Jackson wasn't his death, it was his tragic life.

The phrase "King of Pop" must have been used a billion times since his death. But was he? I don't deny the quality behind Off The Wall and Thriller, but be honest, he hasn't produced a decent record for 22 years (I'm grudgingly including Bad in the good stuff). In many ways he has been a pure tabloid construct for most of that time. Accusations of paedophilia, a dubious relationship with a chimp, alleged obsession with Elizabeth Taylor and buying the Elephant Man's head have been the stories surrounding the man, not his music. Even his comeback was a ridiculous folly. 50 dates at one venue, dogged by delays, stories of Jackson's reluctance to play and the smell of one-upmanship (over Prince's 30 odd date run) overshadowed the magical comeback.

People stress the enormous quantities of Thriller sold as a justification for the Diana-style outpourings after his death. But selling a lot of copies of an album is hardly relevant. Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was the biggest selling album before Thriller came out. I doubt it would make the front page if Lindsey Buckingham exploded tomorrow. And if all the Backstreet Boys bit the dust it wouldn't matter that they have an all time top ten album, most people wouldn't care. Except, I hope, the people who knew them, which is how it should be.

His records are occupying almost every position in the charts since his death. What is that about? My favourite recording artist is Robert Pollard (the former Guided By Voices front man). He is a fantastic songwriter and also a brilliant live performer. If he died tomorrow I'd be a little sad, but I probably wouldn't shed a tear. And I wouldn't buy his records. I've got all the ones I want already. Because it makes sense to support him while he's alive.

So, if you are an obsessive Jacko fan, get some perspective. He recorded some good records and had an amazingly weird and pretty sad life.

By Dorian Rogers

This week saw The Dirty Projectors release their album Bitte Orca (see our album review) on a long defunct format, the cassette*. At first I thought this was an odd choice, but on reflection I think that it is the format of choice for anyone wanting to buy the album. Not only do you get a cool retro collectable (for only £6.99 in my local record shop) but you get a code to get all the tracks as a digital download.

This got me thinking about the much maligned format. When other portable formats came along the tape was abandoned pretty quickly. It didn't have the sound quality or ease of use benefits of the CD and it didn't have the tactile pleasures of vinyl. So it died a death. And nobody seemed very sorry.

But in many ways it was the most significant format, in mine and others of my generations, lives in terms of defining the music that we listened to. Firstly it was a format that encouraged you to listen to an album properly. Finding specific tracks was difficult (and fast-forwarding used up batteries and took time) so I used to listen to an album side after side. With a great album I really got to know it inside out. In many cases it is the albums I had on cassette 15 to 20 years ago that I am still listening to (in all their digital glory) now. Surfer Rosa, Bandwagonesque, The Frenz Experiment and most of the Talking Heads catalogue were Walkman favourites, and they are still favourites now.

It was also the first real wave of music piracy. "Home taping is killing music" was the claim. It didn't. What it did do, through the taping of the charts, the John Peel show and my friends LPs introduce me to a wealth of music. It turned me into the collector I am today and introduced me to music that I may never have stumbled upon on my own.

It was also the format that made music portable. With the invention of the Walkman we were suddenly able to hear music on the movie without needing to carry a massive boombox on your shoulder. The nations hearing hasn't been the same since but it sure made4 boring journeys and walks more fun. With a TDK AD90 (my blank tape of choice) I could have two fuill length albums on the go. Side A, Soul Rotation by The Dead Milkmen and Side B, Pigeonhole by The New Fast Automatic Daffodils (not everything was destined to be a classic).

Before digital recording on a PC or Mac made home music production an affordable reality the cassette was the only way that an aspiring musician could get their music recorded. I imagine that a very high percentage of artists made their break by submit6ting a home recorded demo to a record label. In the case of lo-fi genius Robert Pollard the cassette was an essential medium. Many tracks that made their way onto Guided By Voices albums were recorded on the boombox at home. Why waste money on a studio? Some artists, such as Eugene Chadbourne and The Frogs, released more self-produced cassettes than official albums. It was the way a cult artist could get their music heard before the internet was an option.

I can't see the cassette making a comeback. The disadvantages are great, and who has a cassette player anymore? But I believe it is a format that deserves a little bit more nostalgic respect.

By Dorian Rogers

*I think that back in the day I would have said "tape", but I think I prefer the word cassette.

The glee in which Pitchfork detailed Black Lips singer Jared Swilley’s criticism of the Wavves’ Nathan Williams was nothing short of breathtaking.

In a news story this week Pitchfork details an interview Swilley gives with Norwegian radio station NRK about Williams’ recent public breakdown at the Primavera festival in Spain.

“There's so many people that would wanna be doing that: being able to get flown over to Europe, and have people like your records and buying them. And then just blow it on your first show in Europe-- someone like that needs to not do this,” Pitchfork recounts Swilley as saying.

“He needs to go back to school or move back in with his parents and sit down and think about things. He shouldn't play music. He shouldn't tour." Swilley added.

But the very reason Williams had his tizzy fit on stage, in which he strummed aimlessly while roadies cleared the stage around him, is all down to Pitchfork in the first place.

Sure Williams’s lo-fi sound had its admirers, but Pitchfork’s review of his second album, Wavvves, earlier this year, complete with a 8.1 rating, was a key factor in hype taking over reality for Williams. Those listening to him on Last.fm rocketed from around 20,000 to 400,000 in the week of the review alone.

We at Neon Filler were a bit more realistic. While Pitchfork's review of Wavvves said that Williams has created, “thrilling evidence of compelling, thoughtful craftsmanship,” our review said,  “Wavves is sadly close to becoming a victim of its own hype and Williams may ride the wave of good reviews for now but unless he offers something genuinely groundbreaking over the next year or so the only way is down.”

Williams has now cancelled his European tour and admitted to a drugs problem on his blog, a posting that was hastily removed. He is clearly now no longer just a hyped up fool but a victim, a victim who is now struggling to come to terms with the pressure that has been put on him.

We at Neon Filler at first ridiculed his music. We now feel sorry for him. Pitchfork has hyped him up and left him hanging. Shame on you Pitchfork.

by Joe Lepper

Click here for our review of Wavvves.

Rest assured fans of Wilco, the new album, Wilco (The Album) is a stormer. Unashamedly commercial, catchy and confident all at once. 

Here Neon Filler.com gives a quick run through of the tracks ahead of its release later this month when  we will be publishing a full review.

Wilco (the song) – Velvet Underground inspired chugging anthem, which pays tribute to Wilco’s fans and has the tongue-in cheek confidence to suggest Wilco can ease any ill. Sure to be a firm fan’s favourite for years to come. Great opening track.

Deeper Down – The pace drops but the quality doesn’t. This keyboard and country-tinged track showcases the quality production throughout.

One wing – Guitarist Nels Cline is given a chance to shine, beautiful opening riff  by the way.

Bull Black Nova  - Bull Black Nova is a rollercoaster of 70s rock, with around a quarter of the song taken up by an extended frenetic instrumental segment, more Deep Purple than deep south, as Tweedy screams and wails to its conclusion. Only gripe is that it is perhaps too long.

You and I – At first I was disappointed by this much anticipated duet with Leslie Fiest. Too syrupy I thought. Too much like the Eagles, but as the days went by I found myself humming it more and more. The penny has now dropped. It’s a pretty decent pop song, that will broaden Wilco’s appeal, especially among the middle-class dinner party set.

You Never Know – Is essentially George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord even down to its “I don’t care anymore” line being repeated in the same vein as the late Beatle’s hallelujahs. This will be the first single off Wilco (album), an album that is already littered with potential singles.

Country Disappeared  - Tweedy’s vocals at his best. Another slickly produced song that sticks in the head and shows that the second half of the album is a strong as the first

Solitaire  - The 60s and 70s influence across Wilco (the album) arrives at the door of the late Nick Drake for this track.  Other early reviewers have compared the vocals to the late Elliot Smith.

I'll Fight – I want to stop comparing Wilco (the album)’s tracks to 60s and 70s bands, but I can’t help it with I’ll Fight. It’s classic Rolling Stones even sung in a Jagger style.

Sonny Feeling – Does as it almost says on the label and gives the listener a sunny feeling, that and a desire to listen to Big Star again. Sorry, promise no more classic band references.
 
Everlasting Everything – There are so many good tracks on this album, but at the moment it is final track Everlasting Everything that I’m  enjoying most. Laced with orchestral flourishes and tailored off with Clapton-esque (damn, there I go again) lead guitar.

Read full review in our reviews section at the end of the June. For those that have heard the album already, feel free to leave a comment below.

Listening to the fabulous 'Pisshead' by The Miserable Rich (read our Willkommen Collective feature) got me thinking about drinking songs. Alcohol must surely be the drug of choice in the sex and drugs and rock n roll trinity. Heroin has inspired some good songs, from the Stranglers to Lou Reed, but it doesn't speak of a common experience with most listeners. The same is true of 1960s LSD fuelled psychedelia. Oasis and Eric Clapton are both living proof that cocaine and good music making seldom mix.

Drinking is a subject that is part of the common experience of songwriters and music fans alike. It is often a troubled relationship between artists and the demon booze. Lots of songs about drink are part of the singers struggle with it. Rarely are songs about alcohol in any way celebratory more often they are showing up the bad side. Revellers must see the irony when they drunkenly sign along to 'Born Slippy' or 'Too Drunk to Fuck'.

And it isn't just drinking as a subject for, or as a catalyst in, song writing. It is also the environment of music. From jazz to heavy metal the music has always been played in clubs and bars, accompanied by a drinking crowd. Even dance music, more closely associated with pills and powders, is part of the drinking culture. Look at the streets of Ibiza or Falaraki for evidence of that.

So it is no surprise that drinks and drinking are the subject of so many songs. Here is a selection of some of my personal favourites.

Camper Van Beethoven - '(We're a) Bad Trip': Taken from the Californian bands confusingly titled second album II & III. This typically snotty and atypically punky song tells of some dude-hating party crashers who drive up on the lawn and drink all the beer.

Tom Waits - 'I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You': Waits has written many booze driven songs, but my favourite is from his 1973 debut album. A beer drenched love ballad set at closing time in the bar.

Grandaddy - 'Jed The Humanoid': What could be sadder than the story of a beloved robot, Jed, who meets his downfall when he discovers and drinks all oh his crteators booze?

The Magnetic Fields - 'Love is Like A Bottle of Gin': Sophisticated witty song from the peerless 69 Love songs album. "It turns a genius into an ass and makes a fool think he is wise". Indeed.

Bad Manners - 'Special Brew': Bad Manners were always the least cool of the ska revival bands, but in 1980 they were second only to Madness in my eyes. I'm not sure if this is a love song that just uses the words special brew as a metaphor, or a love song to the drink, but I don't suppose it matters.

The Hold Steady - 'Party Pit': A very large percentage of Hold Steady songs are about drugs and drink and partying. With it's "gonna walk around and drink some more" refrain this is one of the most anthemic.

Guided By Voices - 'How's My Drinking?': Robert Pollard is a legendary heavy drinker who has written some great songs on the subject. This mournful, but unapologetic, number ends with the simple message "I won't change"

Hefner - 'The Hymn to the Alcohol': Hefner produced some of the best lovelorn bedroom indie of the 1990s. This booze drenched ode to lost love is one of the highlights of their second album.

I've put together a Spotify playlist of these songs* and a few more so that you can give them a listen. I'm also keen to hear your selections. Please post them below and I'll add them to the playlist.

*I couldn't add all the songs because Spotify didn't have them all (No Hefner? No Grandaddy?? - poor show Spotify) so some substitutes were picked.

Two years ago the NME almost hammered the last nail into the coffin of the Glastonbury Festival with its scathing criticism of the 2007 line up, which included so-called dinosaurs of rock The Who.
 
It was a welcome piece of campaigning journalism from the publication that has been sadly lacking since. But while it was right to attack organiser Michael Eavis, himself a middle aged man, for hiring The Who, it is not fair to say that festivals and the modern music lover should ignore all dinosaurs of rock and music.
 
Yes by all means ignore Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry. After one good album in the mid 60s their descent into rock opera should quite rightly be shunned.
 
But when it comes to other veterans such as former Husker Du frontman Bob Mould or Talking Head’s David Byrne, these middle-agers should be treated with the respect they deserve.
 
This month Neon Filler has been paying tribute to these two dinosaurs of alternative music. Byrne was this month performing at the Brighton Dome, UK, as part of his tour of Brian Eno collaborations. While the crowd of forty-somethings dancing in the aisles may have been embarrassing, the 56-year-old Byrne dressed purely in white, remained, as ever, cool personified.
 
Just listen to his Everything That Happens Will Happen Today album of last year with Eno and its stand out track ‘Strange Overtones’. This together with classic talking Heads tracks such as ‘Once in a Lifetime’ sound as new and innovative as anything being put out today, often by bands who are old enough to be his grand children.
 
And as for 48-year-old Bob Mould, whose ninth solo album Life and Times was released this week, he is still one of the most influential artists working in alternative music. From his bands Husker Du and Sugar and solo work Mould continues to influence and challenge. Fast/slow rock, hardcore, power pop, all labels that Mould either invented or mastered. If you don’t already own Zen Arcade, Husker Du’s 1984 album, get it and ask yourself this question. Would Nevermind and zillions of albums since have ever been made if it wasn’t for Bob Mould?
 
Mould and Byrne, rock dinosaurs, we salute you.

David Byrne Live - April 2009

Bob Mould - Life and Times April 2009

By Joe Lepper

The big music (non) story of the week was the announcement from John Squire that The Stone Roses will never reform. He means it to, to prove it he has made a sculpture stating his lack of desire for the band to get back together and posted this on his website (http://www.johnsquire.com/). He also appeared on News Night just in case people were unsure what he meant.

Squire's rather elaborate refutations come after rumours of a 20th anniversary reformation started to circulate. Of all British bands only The Smiths can rival them when it comes to fans clamouring for a return to the stage and studio. But why are people so keen to see them back? After all they only released one good album in their career and post-Roses releases have been far from encouraging. Ian Brown has released a string of underwhelming albums which have, at least, shown some glimmers of quality. Squire on the other hand has a truly dreadful catalogue, first with The Seahorses and then solo. The bands rhythm section have faired better, Mani as the bassist in Primal scream and drummer Reni choosing to quietly retire from the limelight.

I'm not immune to the excitement of the possibility of a favourite band getting back together. I live in hope that the campaign of deluxe Pavement album reissues is a lengthy preamble to them getting back together. But I also know that the expectation is almost certainly better than the reality would be. I also loved the reformed Pixies when I saw them live in Brixton, but I'm pretty glad that they chose not to get back in the studio for a new album.

I would argue that it would be a bad idea even if The Stone Roses got back together only for a tour to play their best songs, with no new studio recordings. By all account they were generally appalling live. Their final show at Reading was a fiasco, although it was after Squire had left the band. Their career defining show at Spike Island was also considered by many to have been a tuneless shambles.

Take my advice and look for clips of the reformed Velvet Underground from 1993. Anyone unlucky enough to get tickets for those shows has probably been unable to listen to the banana album ever since. If you love The Stone Roses put the first album on and count your blessings that Squire has the good sense to leave well enough alone.

By Dorian Rogers

February saw the release of Heroes in aid of the War Child charity, the latest in a long line of cover version albums.  It offers some interesting versions by among others TV On The Radio, The Hold Steady and Elbow and puts other, woeful covers by the likes of the Kooks, who ruined the Kink's 'Victoria', into perspective.

Viewers of the X Factor know only too well what makes a bad cover. And as great as Girls Aloud are as a pop outfit, we never want to hear them butcher 'I'll Stand By You' or 'Jump' ever again.

But what makes a great cover version and can the cover version be an art form in its own right?

The release of Heroes has got us thinking at Neon Filler about the art of the cover version and we've made a valiant stab at coming up with a provisional list of the best ten cover versions by indie and alternative acts of all time. (see our top ten)

This is a mere provisional list. We don't want the great covers debate to end here. We want your views on what makes a good cover version and crucially your suggestions of the best ten covers by indie and alternative acts of all time. At the end of the year we'll compile your responses and do our best to come up with the definitive list.

Should Fatima Mansions' respect-free versions of REM's 'Shiny Happy People' or Bryan Adams' 'Everything I Do I Do It For You' be there?

Have we ignored the sure audacity of attempts to cover entire albums, as Pussy Galore did with Exile On Main Street?

Tribute albums are a mixed bag in the search for a good cover. Among the best though are Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye, a tribute to Rocky Erickson and The 13th Floor Elevators that includes truly great covers such as Primal Scream's 'Slip Inside This House' and Julian Cope's version of 'I Have Always Been Here Before'.

And without I'm Your Fan, a Leonard Cohen tribute album, we may never have heard John Cale's definitive version of 'Hallelujah'. (Although maybe we'd have never heard the Alexandra Burke version as well, with every silver lining there is a cloud...)

The real appeal of the great cover is to hear a great band take a song and turn it into something new. Cat Power for example undeniably made the Nina Simone version of the 1956 Johnny Mathis hit (a cover of a cover) 'Wild Is The Wind' her own.

To let us know your definitive top ten covers by indie and alternative acts of all time, just leave a comment below. It's that simple.

As I write this Lily Allen is at number 1 (remember when that was a big deal?) with 'The Fear'. In the song she sings about being famous, how vacuous it is, how greedy it is and how it is all about self-publicity and being thin. I first saw her singing this on an episode of the Jonathan Ross show, showcasing her new sleek haircut and figure.

First off, this isn't an attack on Allen. I don't have a particular problem with her. She writes a good pop tune and I've quite enjoyed some of her singles. Sure, she sings in an annoying mockney child voice, but singers often have afectations (and she is no way near Kate Nash when it comes to that - she sounds like a junior female Dick van Dyke). I have no urge to listen to Allen's new album, but I have no reason to think it isn't competent pop music.

The problem lies with listening to pop singers rattling on about the evils of fame. Allen is clearly making a reference to Pulp, who opened their This Is Hardcore album with a song Called 'The Fear'. And it was an album about how miserable and alienating fame is. Luckliy for Jarvis the public heard his plea and didn't buy many of his records again, job done. People liked Jarvis Cocker the second hand clothes shopping pop crooner, they were less keen on him when he was complaining about the lifestyle of the rich and famous. It is galling when he spent such a long time forcing himself into the spotlight only to get all sniffy about it when he got there.

Lily Allen can be seen gracing the front cover of many magazines. Magazines that she has agreed to be paid by to appear in their pages. If celebrity is so bad then why bother? And whilst she references the Sun and The Mirror in her song she doesn't have a problem promoting the Sun, and the articles in it, on her website (http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/lily/news/1754359).
The last thing that the public need is rich, privileged pop singers lecturing them on the dangers of being famous. Most people aren't rich and famous, and they aren't likely to be - these things just aren't a risk to them. Allen grew up with privilege (the daughter of a successful and wealthy man) and it is possible that the lifestyle and financial security that come from her fame are taken for granted. That is a little insulting to her fans, many of whom would love to be in her position.

Many journalist talk about how Lily is a role model because she doesn't "play the game". How is appearing on Jonathan Ross and the front cover of Glamour magazine not "playing the game"? Sure she is gobby and opinionated, but when has that been an obstacle to fame? Being famous isn't about diamonds, the tabloids and taking your clothes off. That is just a quick way to achieve it. If Allen wants to prove that she is above these things she should go away and spend a long time writing and recording a brilliant album rather than appearing in glossy mags promoting her current one.

By Dorian Rogers

Last week the NME announced the nominations for their 2009 awards. In the list Oasis were nominated for 6 awards, including Best British Band and Best Album. Noel was up for a further two awards including Hero of the Year (putting him up there with Barrack Obama).

2003 was the last time Oasis won a significant NME award (I don't count best video or best DVD as significant) and that was about 8 years after they stopped deserving any recognition. Why does the music press, and the media in general, keep flogging the idea that Oasis are in any way a significant band?

Don't get me wrong, I liked them when I first heard them. When I heard Supersonic whilst in the New Cross Venue in 1994 I thought it was brilliant, Definitely Maybe was a good album. I tired of them pretty quickly, but I'll concede that (What's the Story) Morning Glory? had some merit as well. But frankly that's it, game over.
Since 1997 we have been treated to the same raft of good reviews for their albums despite the ever decreasing returns. The next album review would inevitably start with an admission that the last album was rubbish, but this is a return to form, really. It would become obvious to anyone listening that it wasn't a return to form and the cycle would begin again. They aren't the only band that receives this kind of treatment. Anyone who has purchased one of REM's recent "returns to form" will have known the disappointment of a band stagnating. But there is a key difference, REM had been around for 10 years and 8 albums before Monster signalled their decline. And they were innovators who changed the landscape of American alternative music. Oasis were luddite revivalists even at their peak.

To be fair to the NME it wasn't a great year for British music. But why Oasis? If they wanted to put a big name in the nominations then why not Coldplay? I'm no fan, but their album Viva La Vida was the biggest record of the year by far. And yet that is only nominated in the Worst Album category. Or they could have taken the opportunity to promote some more interesting acts through the awards (Neon Neon or The Week That Was spring to mind) and lived up to the New Music part of their title. But no, they gave the lion's share of their nominations to a band that hasn't done anything of significance for over a decade.

By Dorian Rogers