Outro's birthday mixtape #1

So here is my first mixtape to celebrate making it a year and in particular a prosperous early 2010 in which my expectations have been surpassed exceptionally. Thanks for everyone's support.

Most of the songs on this mix I could give 10 minute speeches on what they mean to me, I have stories behind literally every song here so if you want some great new music or understand the enigma that is Simon D. check it out-

Outroversion's Birthday Mixtape #1 (1950-2005)

The unicorns- I do it
Pinback- Loro
Third Eye Blind- Semi Charmed Life
Neutral Milk Hotel- King of the carrot flowers
Beatles- Tomorrow Never Knows, Blackbird
Eels- Guest List
Tom Petty- Last dance with mary jane
Bright Eyes- Easy/Lucky/Free, Goldmine
Paul Mccartney- Jet, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, Jenny Wren
Blur- Yuko and Hiro, Tender
Bic Runga- Dust
MC Lars- Signing Emo
Our Lady Peace- Innocent
Outkast- Prototype
Vanessa Carlton- Wreckage
All-Time Quarterback- Dinner at 8 in the suburbs
Beach Boys- I just wasn't made for these times
Interpol- Evil
Yellowcard- Ocean Avenue
Broken Social Scene- Anthems for a 17 year old girl
REM- Shiny Happy People
Modest Mouse- Fire it up, The good times are killing me
Laura Marling- My manic and I
Miles Davis- Little Blue Frog
Air France- Collapsing at your doorstep
Camera Obscura- I don't want to see u
CSS- Let's make love and listen DFA
Paramore- Misery Business
Optiganally Yours- Remo
Bloc Party- Banquet
Fall Out Boy- Golden, Thriller
Death Cab- Lowell, Ma, Debate Exposes Doubt, Kelly Huckerby
John Denver- Poems Prayers and Promises
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Power of Equality, Scar Tissue
The Smiths- How soon is now
The libertines- Ha ha wall, last post on the bugle, Time for heroes
Long Blondes- Seperated By Motorways
John Vanderslice- Continuation, Trance Manual

Time For Heroes: Peter Doherty

The inspiration for the title of this blog and the inspiration to a generation-

Peter Doherty

It's hard to talk to people who have decided they don't like Pete Doherty. So I don't.

For everyone else I figured the best way to go about doing justice to the spokesperson for a flailing generation is to focus on the three defining acts of his career so far.

There's around 3 links in each of the titles so make sure you don't miss any.

The Libertines
Essential Downloads- Vertigo, Don't look back into the sun, Time for heroes, Up the bracket, What a waster, Boys in the band, The good old days, Can't stand me now, Last post on the bugle, Music when the lights go out, HaHa wall, Arbeit Mach Frei, The Saga, what katie did, campaign of hate, What became of the likely lads

It would just make sense to download both albums as they are both flawless. It's a shame the majority of this generation won't get to see them live because they are the iconic band of that period but it's another question as to whether the majority of them really deserve it.

These albums for me are raw passion and energy mixed with some great music and some of the best songwriting of recent times. I tend to point to this as one of his finer moments-

Is it cruel or kind
Not to speak my mind
And to lie to you
Rather than hurt you?
Well, I'll confess all of my sins
After several large gins
But still I'll hide from you
I'll hide what's inside from you.
And alarm bells ring
When you say your heart still sings
When you're with me
Oh darling, please forgive me
But I no longer hear the music

The geurilla gigs and live shows merely go down in folklore for the time being.

The video for up the bracket is a nice snapshot of such times-





Babyshambles
Essential Downloads: La Belle Et La Bete, Fuck Forever, in love with a feeling, down in albion, back from the dead, 32nd december, carry on up the morning, delivery, you talk, un bilo titled, unstookie titled, baddies boogie, lost art of murder, beg steal and borrow, the blinding.

Babyshambles' gigs are unique in that there's the sense of nostalgia of the Libertines' times, the enigma that is Pete Doherty, the great music that Babyshambles made in the wake of the split and in the past two years seeing a great band with huge tracks that don't need any of that. Well except pete.

At university after a night of high times I'd put on old cd's of libertines and babyshambles sessions and drown in the portrait of a distinct moment in his career that they encapsulated. The nearest thing to those cd's are Miles Davis' bitches brew sessions in terms of the atmosphere they capture and convey. This demo like feel encapsulates their debut album, down in albion. It's marvellously intoxicating.

The first time I saw Babyshambles was in 2004. I was completely sober, Pete wasn't and by the end of the night made everyone feel like they were on one hell of a trip, such was his charisma. He came on about midnight, just as the place was ready to fall apart with the riotous crowd, such were the early days of the shambles. He went off after around 15 minutes and said he couldn't play any longer unless he paid something like £2000 to pay the venue's fine.

So I left around 4am slowly walking out, exhausted as pete played acoustically on his own. I've no idea when the gig finished but it was one hell of a time.

That night he played a lot of Libertines tracks. Next time I went to see him up in Manchester he played zero. Shotter's nation was an incredible album and Pete was becoming a pretty polished performer, I mean as much as is physically possible for him to be. He wasn't totally clean but I saw him solo in the summer and last month in Birmingham and he looks as healthy as i've ever seen and the gigs were flawless, intertwining classic Libertines and Babyshambles with some astounding stuff from their upcoming LP. Rarely do you get the kind of reception those tracks get when you announce you're playing something new but these are already huge amoung fans.



Peter Doherty
Essential Downloads- Last of the english roses, A little death around the eyes, New love grows on trees, For lovers, Arcadie, Broken love song

So that's Peter Doherty. If you read tabloid newspapers you've got no reason to like him because who wants to pay any attention to a talentless druggie who's in and out of prison constantly? Of course if you listen to the music and have the remotest appreciation for passionate artistry you probably already dig his bones. There's probably some stuff on this page you haven't gotten already though, there was a lot I didn't! Thankyou for having an open mind.

Albums of the year: Peter Doherty- Grace/Wastelands

Peter Doherty- Grace/Wastelands

1. Arcadie
2. Last Of English Roses
3. 1939 Returning
4. A Little Death Around The Eyes
5. Salome
6. Through The Looking Glass
7. Sweet By And By
8. Palace Of Bone
9. Sheep Skin Tearaway
10. Broken Love Song
11. New Love Grows On Trees

Essential Downloads: 1, 2, 4, 10, 11

I would say you don't need me to tell you about pete doherty but some people do need telling. He's an incredibly talented poet and musician who has recovered from drug addiction. Next to Ben Gibbard he is the artist I've seen perform more times than any other and one of few musicians I have and would travel anywhere to see.

The idiots who are so close minded as not to listen to his music are missing out. I'm not going to go on a huge rant here as I've learned in the past you can't win when you're talking about pete because talent and passion aren't valid points against tabloid sheep. Fuck you if you're one of them. Fuck. You. Cunts.

:) So the album came after babyshambles second brilliant album and was released while on tour with Blur's graham coxon. He carried on touring solo relentlessly until only recently when he got back on the road with babyshambles. He'd been playing some of these songs as far back as in the days of the libertines, New Love Grows On Trees is the masterpiece of those days. Last of the English Roses is so well written it's amazing, no one can write like him because he writes for himself and it's only because it's so good that the world listens in.

Just get it yeah.

NME Top 50 albums of 2000's WITH DL LINKS!!!

I read NME this week and saw the list of their 50 albums of the past 10 years and whether I agree or not I thought that it would be amazing if someone put the list up with all the download links. I figured I doubt no one will bother but then I thought, you know what would be a nice thing to do!? :D This is my thanks for reading my blog guys, as will be everything I post in the next month, it keeps going from strength to strength and if no one read it I would have stopped ages ago.

Sorry if this post blows your mind to the point that you simply can't function in regular society buttttt...

50 MIA - Arula
49 Muse - Absolution
48 The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
47 Brendan Benson - Lapalco
46 The Delgados - The Great Eastern
45 Avalanches - Since I Left You
44 Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
43 Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
42 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
41 Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
40 Ryan Adams - Gold
39 Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
38 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
37 The Knife - Silent Shout
36 Spirtualized - Let it Come Down
35 Babyshambles - Down In Albion
34 Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
33 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
32 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
31 Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
30 Elbow - Asleep In The Back
29 Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World
28 Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around
27 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
26 Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
25 The Rapture - Echoes
24 The Libertines - The Libertines
23 Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future
22 Jay-Z - The Blueprint
21 The Coral - The Coral
20 Blur - Think Tank
19 The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
18 The White Stripes - Elephant
17 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
16 The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
15 Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
14 Radiohead - Kid A
13 The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
12 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
11 At The Drive In - Relationship Of Command
10 Radiohead - In Rainbows
09 The Streets - Original Pirate Material
08 Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
07 Arcade Fire - Funeral
06 PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
05 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
04 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
03 Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
02 The Libertines - Up The Bracket
01 The Strokes - Is This It

I think i'll let this post settle a few days and then we're into outroversion's top 20 albums of 2009 which I think's better than this list lol and my top 100 tracks of this year and also the best of november rar's oh wow I wish I was someone else so I could discover this blog! Enjoy the ride gaiz.

En Francais

So I popped over to France for a few days to see a canadian friend, here is what I wrote on the ferry home,

"While I was studying neuro-linguistics, one practitioner talked about emotional response and how wanting to change something sometimes isn't enough and to produce genuine long-term results you must experience and, react to the strongest and indeed, worst-case scenario."

These were the first few tracks that came on my ipod and also the most poignant, music does that to you...

Camera Obscura- Books written for girls
The Libertines- Can't Stand me now
John Vanderslice- New Zealand Pines
Pete and the pirates- She doesn't belong to me
Sammy Davis Junior- The Girl From Ipanema
Air France- Collapsing at your door

"When I think about me I hate myself woo-ooo!", on that subject tomorrow's blog will be about to write love on her arms again. Great news about this is i've already written the most depressing song of all time today!

Shuffle Seven!

Shuffle time babies. You know the deal, shufflywufflies no skipps.

The Coral- Arabian Sand

I was listening to this song and I knew it reminded me of something, turns out it was chocolate rain! When people write songs about sandy places they try to make the music fit it, I'd imagine that the coral juice got the bass line and guitar to underscore it and then just put words from that semantic field to it. The coral wrote some great stuff, probably listen to that instead ;)

Lyrical highlight- "Can you dance with the lepers in the madman's house?"

Good question, dick.

The Attic Lights- God

These guys were supporting camera obscura when I saw them last week, they were loads of fun to watch, even better to drink to. Proper uplifting good time music. They're scottish but don't sound it so don't hold it against them yeah? Ya big racist.

Death Cab For Cutie (Live)- The face that launched 1000 shits (2003-10-31) Variety Playhouse Atlanta

Originally written by the revolutionary hydra, though i've never heard that version so if anyone has it send it my way and I will sploot, the lyrical themes of this track are incredibly well held together in an intricate tapestry revolving around musical creativity, the history of the black sea and greek mythology. It's really quite impressive and once again highlights ben's ability to pick a great little known track from an even littler known band like with the secret stars all those years ago. This track is from a full three years before the live shows stopped getting fun.

Aqualung- just for a moment

A twinkly piano track that could've been on a snow patrol album! I always get these guys mixed up with aqueduct, no idea why! I haven't heard enough of their stuff to really have an opinion but i know that i've listened to them a few times without generating one so that should give you an idea of quite how resounding their sound is.

Matt Pond PA- Winter One

An instrumental track, and a short one at that. I'm sorry but it's the nature of the shuffle!

The Libertines- The ha ha wall

"If you get tired, of hanging around. Pick up a guitar and spin a web of sound" The lyrics from Pete's time with the libertines were just flawless. I had a bit libertinegasm yesterday listening to pretty much everything they'd done, including that awful "day in the life" cover. Obviously the hope is they'll get back together but between the two amazing albums and the endless session tracks there's alot to go around.

The Rural Alberta Advantage- Sleep All day

This would be my dream, I try my best to do as it is. The lyrics are exactly about that, the reasons why you should sleep all day and give up on life. Obviously a bit of a melancholy track and soon goes into the reasons why indeed you shouldn't sleep all day. Fuck I think i took this song too literally. "If you try to hold on then i'll try to hold on you".

The Beatles- Wake up in the morning (From atop then apple rooftop, saville row)

Ah the rooftop concert, what an iconic way to end a band's career. As you probably know from let it be (the documovie) they had a proper jam up there for longer than people realise playing so many tracks and don't let me down many many times! This is an unreleased track by them and it really gives you a feeling that things weren't as bad as it really seemed between them. Even though they were :(

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Police Helicopter

I love pre-good-writing-chilis! Pretty much everything on "out in L.A" the slapdash "best of" album that was released before they'd even had anything that could be considered good enough to be called a hit! I love that album though it's brilliant and it's all this early stuff that, in retrospect you could see the behemoth that we know these days evolving from.

The Pixies

As part of the bands you should know series, this quartet from Boston have influenced any number of artists from the libertines to modest mouse to Nirvana and are indeed, the guy who plays Harry Potter's, favourite band.














The Pixies (1986–1993, 2004–present)

Covering areas from UFO's to mental instability to violent biblical imagery, Black Francis is the main man behind the Pixies' abstract lyrical themes that they have become reknowned for, more so in Europe than the States where they remain a band only the cool people really know.

Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are considered their masterpieces and spawmed most of their most famous songs that i've linked to at the bottom of this post and at the very least you should have both of those albums on your ipod. Oh and if you want the entire discography, as always just click on the name above. He shares vocal duties at times with Kim Deal who I think's been crucial to their success giving them another dimension.

Alot of bands are famous on the back of viral videos, I mean Ok Go? Sure the album was fine enough but without those two videos? I think they'd be about as popular as Hard-Fi. Pixies aren't famous on the back of it but they do have on, a video for "hey!", it's got about 26million views on this link alone.

They've split and reformed a few times and are releasing a best of box set in "minotaur" which is due to be released on June 15th. No plans for a new album.

Hey!
Where is my mind
Caribou
I'm Amazed
Monkey Gone to Heaven (Last.fm Link)

Best of yesteryear

Yesteryear is an anomoly for clearly, it means last year, like yesterday means the day before today and indeed the etymology backs this up but due to it's archaic usage it is linked with the times that it was more likely to be used.

Oh, big shock i'm a nerd about language. So the best albums of last year, in my opinion, yeah i'm about 3 months late with this but whevs I'm a little bit too cool to be on time (These are all torrents in a way i apologise for that but in another way it saved me a buttload of time and is also legal, right pirate bay?! ;))

Vampire Weekend/Vampire Weekend-

This album is great, I've already mentioned them on this blog with the track ottoman which isn't on this album, very preppy, great vocals, original guitar stylings, been listening to it loads recently, someone I don't like once said it was a great album to drive to, I completely agree!

Nick Cave & the bad seeds/Dig lazarus Dig-

When I first heard more news from nowhere I listened to it about 20 times in a row and for a 10 minute song that takes alot of doing! At the time I described it as sounding like "if we got a radio signal from mars and it was playing the red planet's very own rolling stones with the lyrics of the most tripped out lennon/mcartney", I went to see them live based on this and that made me see how fantastic and original the entire album is. Alot of old people at the gig though, i hope i always find that weird.

MGMT/Oracular Spectacular-

O.K So it won NME album of the year and single of the year, at the time it came out I thought nick cave was better, as an entire album I still do. In terms of singles, this wins for sure and well done on them for that because with 4 songs they've made a lot of people forget about the rest of the album and just remember the highlights, I'd feel dirty if I ever made an album like that.

Death cab for cutie/Narrow Stairs-

There are some really flawless tracks on this album, yeah, it's not their best album, yeah it's probably their worst, yeah it has a couple of the worst tracks ben's ever written on it (Twin sized bed, talking bird, pity and fear) but the other half of the album is IMMENSE! Bixby Canyon Bridge which is probably one the most highly anticipated tracks in their history, Cath, You can do better than me, the latter which sounds like the beatles could have done it, the only track off the album not to be played live. look I love death cab, they had to go in here- shoot me.

Lightspeed Champion/Falling of the Lavender Bridge-

He's on conor obert's label, I believe this album incredibly went to #1 in the shitty pop obsessed country of england. He's a great lyricist, thinks about music all day every day, original and a cool guy. Seen him a couple of times live, first time supporting bright eyes second time in leicester. he used to be in test icicles and got to see him play guitar with ox.eagle.lion.man that night and he just watched the gig with everyone else before then.

Last Shadow Puppets/Age of the understatement-

I was in canada while they were doing their thing so I didn't get to see them live, if miles kane was talented they could be the next lennon and mccartney, unfortunately he's not so don't get any big ideas! Fortunately Turner is and he's as forward thinking as lennon, this album shows this, I don't think anyone else coudl have gotten away with this but he did with applomb, that's right applomb...

Courteeners/St Jude-

After leaving their gigs I tend to call them the next libertines, NME don't like Liam Fray and he's not on drugs and can play the guitar (Disclaimer: I loved the libertines and pray for the day they get back together) but none the less this albums brilliant and killer live, check it out.

I'll be back with the best of 09 next week...

They looked like EPICS

This post is for a selection of songs that are worthy of the title "epic", from some of my favourite bands.

favourite songs of all time, it'sFirst up is (apart from blackbird, day in the life etc.) one of my like an indie rock bohemian rhapsody and the soundtrack of this generation. Off The Libertines debut album, Pete Doherty's observations of the may day riots are recorded here with sublime vision and mastery, the music is Carl Barat's, a perfect combination. I saw pete live last year and he asked if anyone could play the solo for him, didn't work out I think the videos on youtube, anyway he had a go in the end and it wasn't pretty! The song on the otherhand, is a masterpiece-

The libertines- Time for heroes

Semi-Charmed life is my anthem in canada, although admittedly about crystal meth, I prefer to get a different message from the song! It is the ultimate indie party anthem and is layered brilliantly, the lyrics flow and it's as catchy as fuck... The album this was on was killer, can't remember what it was though maybe third eye blind's self-titled... both this and time for heroes were in american pie movies :p

Third Eye Blind- Semi Charmed Life


Conor Oberst has a way with words but which means on his usual 3 minute epics he could easily write for 10 minutes and still make it as poetically breathtaking, on this song- he does! 7 whole minute of pure unadultered lyrical brilliance from the nova scotian dylan, this is from the best of Bright Eyes' flawless post-happiness albums, can i get a god damn timpany roll!

Bright Eyes- Let's not shit ourselves to love (and to be loved)

Saves the day kinda removed themselves from their sound for this album, if you're wondering how just look at the pic on the right :p indeed they pissed off a few hardcore purists of their fanbase, the album was brilliant so they'll get over it. This song is as epic as a less than 3 minute song can be, by 30 seconds they've thrashed out a verse and chorus and are on their way to a second, it's a killer track with great vocals. This is one of those that I saw on meg's msn status and checked out, she has heavenly taste.

Saves the day- In reverie

Every band has a semi-charmed life in them, this is canadian husband/wife duo mates of states' fairly flawless, once again about drugs but you'll get over it. This is a pleasant reminder of those times during university where you woke up and you knew all you were going to do was get blasted with your friends all day, and were at one with them. It makes no apologies, nor do i ;)

Mates of state- Goods (All in your head)



And finally the ultimate american indie rock epic from seattle washington, death cab for cutie's we looked like giants!!!

Return To England

So i've just switched canada for the u.k again, I made a mix cd for the way there and months later the music is still awesome so I thought i'd share some of the highlights-

I was lucky enough to see John Vanderslice 4 times last year as he accompanied death cab for cutie on tour, I was there for death cab but also left as a fan of J.V, his lyrics are as original as they get, songs about joan crawford, detectives, a love song named after a crater on the moon. Anyway this is how he opened the show, too good for a support act!

John Vanderslice- Plymouth Rock

For me the ultimate summer's album is Pinback's "Summer in abbadon", it is flawlessly exhuberrant. After getting into them I trawled their earlier works and was surprised it was quite a removal from that, this is where "autumn of the seraphs" gets it right, it's good in the same way summer in abbadon was but also evolved in terms of lyrics and more deliberate, which could be a critisicm of the first album but this is the first single and it's awesome-

Pinback- From nothing to nowhere

I can't even remember how I found out about this band but Maps are definately up and coming, this track "to the sky" is a perfect cloudless sunset gig anthem, I assume it was through NME but none the less check it out-

Maps- To the sky

"I travelled through the atmosphere as a wall of feedback climbed", I travelled to bristol on my birthday last year to see Bright Eyes at the peak of their cassadega tour only for it to be cancelled leaving me devastated, anyway on the way back home I really listened to this song, I had sometimes skipped it before but some of the lyrics are amazing, it also features buck 65 how can u go wrong :p pick up the album if you don't have it!

Bright Eyes- Middleman

I'm a huge advocate of Pete Doherty, I tire of defending him so am glad his music more often than not does it for me, if you haven't got shotter's nation get it and if you don't know how sweet the tunes are then have a listen-

Babyshambles- Delivery