Graham Coxon Live At The Zodiac DVD
Parlophone
If we’re all honest, Graham Coxon was always the best thing about of Blur. His warm fuzzy guitar tones and hop-skip-jump bendy guitar lines worked so well, and his nervous high pitched cooing gave a real sense of emotion to Damon’s everyman delivery. But in one swift action that finally gave conclusive evidence that Damon is in fact a nasty piece of work (well, I wasn’t gonna just believe what the Gallagher’s were saying was I?) Graham was asked to leave the band in such a humiliating manner. He quit the drink and alcohol, sorted his mind and family life out, and pushed on with his solo work whilst Blur went on to sell a lot of records (as per usual) but generally bore people into buying Gorillaz records (so it would occupy more of Damon’s time until the inevitable reunion of Coxon and Blur.) and while Blur may sell more records than Graham, the respect he gets from the critics, fans and other bands far exceeds that of his former band. So just to rub it in that little bit more we have one frantically electric show of Graham’s (and his amazing band) captured on DVD for the first time.
The show is a revelation from start to finish, the band are tight and taut, and Graham is the constant focus of your attention as he strangles his guitar into making some of the most amazing sounds and looks onwards nervously, trying to remember the words. It’s all there, the new wave sensibility of Blondie, the ever-summer feeling of the Beach Boys, the robotic edginess of Wire, and the warped world-outlook of Pavement, all perfectly fused in bite sized chunks. You also get an acoustic set and his promo videos all thrown in for free, but the most interesting thing I found on the DVD was the proof that Graham sounds exactly like Nigel Tuffnel’s character in “This Is Spinal Tap,รข?”. Luckily for us though there are no Violin vs. Guitar solo’s on offer here. This DVD showcases Coxon’s undeniable talent, but much more than that it shows a man finally at ease with himself and happy. Y’see, it wasn’t that hard after all! Buy this DVD from here online.
Jeremy Chick
www.subba-cultcha.com
This attitude is born out by ‘One More Sinner’, the band’s first album as DTX. It’s a record dripping in great tunes; an uncompromising yet melodic mix of hard rock and punk influences. More importantly, it’s a hungry record; the sound of a rabid rock n’ roll underdog slipping its leash and slavering to sink its teeth into the leg of the mainstream. Never shy about voicing their opinions, second track ‘NME Darlin” is a vitriolic, yet amusingly tongue-in-cheek attack on the increasingly ubiquitous weekly music paper, and the bands that feature within its pages.
The past 12 months have been a resounding success for Massachusetts metal mob Shadows Fall. Newest release ‘the War Within’ crashed the US Billboard charts at #20 and has since gone on to sell over 200,000 copies in their homeland alone, masked machine Slipknot took them on the road for 8 weeks as part of an almighty arena tour, and the five-piece shall now be spending the entirety of the summer playing alongside the likes of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden on the legendary Ozzfest’s main stage.
Max Cavalera is undoubtedly one of the most influential and important figures in metal today. Former band Sepultura leapt into the mainstream from the unlikely territories of deepest Brazil with their unrivalled, venomous cocktail of thrash ferocity and snarling punk attitude; while current venture Soulfly have spent the better part of a decade knocking down walls and musical boundaries of their own with a sonic battering ram of tribal influenced mayhem and delicate, flamenco driven serenity. The bands” debut DVD release is a detailed, all access journey with Max and co. captured live throughout the world over the course of the past several years. Featuring over an hour of live performance, previously unseen footage from inside the studio during the “Prophecy” recording sessions, up-close and personal band interviews and the four-piece’s entire video discography – ‘the Song Remains Insane” is an intriguing insight into an even more intriguing group of musicians, and irrefutably packs enough wallop to keep even the most avid followers satisfied for many an evening to come.
If you haven’t heard about once Black Flag/Rollins Band front man Henry Rollins’ spoken word performances, then where the hell have you been? I luckily caught one of his shows at the Barbican a few years ago, a sold out audience sat through what essentially is one man venting his spleen about a myriad of topics for over three hours. My bum may have been telling me in it’s own magical way that it had been THAT long sitting still with a dose of pins and needles, but my mind felt like it had only been 30 minutes. The man’s natural charisma is impossible to resist, he is shouting at you, yet you don’t mind the spit and bile because ultimately what he says will make you laugh, and more so, it”ll make you think! Henry Rollins is an articulate man, but he wont talk down to you, he wont dumb things down either, instead he explains things simply, directly and most importantly, interestingly. He touches on Politics, his own social commentary, music, his eternal mission to find love, his life in California and many more enticing nuggets throughout his set, all with a warmth and humbleness that is refreshing in this era when EVERYONE has an opinion.
In the past several years, good old fashioned metal has seen somewhat of a dramatic resurgence. As the clones and lemmings of the tiresome nu-metal movement slowly but surely came to a grinding halt; a new wave of devastating musical vengeance was simmering away in the underground melting pot, almost at boiling point. Quicker than you could say “I like hot cocks!” that pot finally boiled over, and in turn spilled out into the mainstream with the same snarling aggression possessed by the bands of which its juices contained. From the realms of straight-edge hardcore courtesy of California’s own Throwdown and Bleeding Through, to the tip of the metallic iceberg with genre heavyweights Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Chimaira; “Eye for an Eye” is a fond and enjoyable look at just how alive and kicking the modern day metal scene really is.
Boston’s own Celtic punk veterans Dropkick Murphys are what many would consider legends in their own time. Having spent countless years forging a worldwide reputation as one of the most entertaining live bands around, the Irish-American’s at last bring their non-stop party attitude to your very own front room in the form of “On The Road With Dropkick Murphys“. Boasting a host of special features ranging from extensive on-road activities throughout a summer-long trek on the Warped Tour, an entire 24 song set from the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in their native Boston home, not to mention an entire music video discography; “On The Road With Dropkick Murphys” is a thoroughly entertaining and uncensored peek at one of the leading bands in the modern day punk scene.
How time flies; it was nearly a decade ago that Goldfinger released their debut album. At the time, the Californian quartet were largely indistinguishable from the masses of other pop-punk bands that formed in the wake of Green Day and the Offspring’s success, but they endured thanks to singer/guitarist John Feldmann’s seemingly innate ability to meld catchy tunes with an amusingly dark, self-deprecating sense of humour. This live DVD was recorded at a sold-out Los Angeles show in July 2003; it’s clear from the start that the home-town crowd are as devoted as they come. Happily, the band are also on robust form, romping through their set with typical exuberance. Highlights include John’s foray into the crowd during “Open Your Eyes“, the mass sing-along for “Counting The Days“, and the sheer enthusiasm that greets live favourite “Superman“. The sound and video quality is excellent throughout, and the band are never short of amusing between-song banter. There’s also plenty of extra features, including a band commentary, information on PETA (of whom Goldfinger are staunch supporters) and animal rights, and additional clips of other live performances. The footage of drummer Darrin Pfeiffer’s “antics”, by the way, has to be seen to be believed! Not for the faint hearted…
Pennywise being a major player in the california punk scene have thrown together a bunch of home videos over the years. Don’t expect any high end video footage this is exactly what the title says, Home Movies. Originally released on VHS in 1995, Home Movies has been unavailable in any form since 1997.This is a must for any true pennywise fan, filled with stage dives fights and Fletchers infamous drunken party tricks. Rough footage from shows in Holland and Japan really catch the hard road that pennywise have been on to get to where they are today! One of the most memorable californian punk bands to date. One of the only bands with true fans and a down to earth attitude to with it!