"Emo is bullshit"

"Emo is bullshit! If people want to take it for the literal sense of the word, yes we're an emotional band, we put a lot of thought into what we do. People always try to stereotype us, but we don't fit the emo stereotype."

- Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic At The Disco.

Wow. Next they'll be telling us they're male.

(Quote and image from this NME article)

Review: Album omnibus

Three weeks ago I bought four albums at an excellently-priced CD store (and borrowed Klaxons off Rupert). Having listened to them pretty solidly over the last few weeks, I thought I might as well review them all at the same time.

Let's start at the top. Klaxons are amazing. I only wish Rupert had played me more than the intro to Atlantis to Interzone, then I would've discovered them months before they hit the mainstream. Most of you will have heard the album by now, and if you haven't - why not? Klaxons have a sound that somehow incorporates pop, indie rock and "new rave", which appeals to just about everyone. My only complaint is the secret track is just plain noise, but hey, it's secret for a reason.

Kaiser Chiefs' first album was pretty patchy. Sure, the singles were good, but there was nothing else to write home about. This follow-up, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, is far superior: the songs no longer sound as though they were composed in a pub, but still retain the catchiness and energy of the original. A particular standout is "Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)", although the humorous nature of all of Kaiser Chiefs' lyrics slightly spoils the tone. If you liked the first album, or any of the songs off it, you'll like this one.

Amnesiac is weird, even for Radiohead. Although perhaps not quite as weird as Kid A (I've yet to listen to it) it makes Klaxons sound like Spice Girls. Its strange mix of computer-generated sounds, distorted vocals and genre-fusing jazz and electronic tracks. And I love it. It certainly wouldn't appeal to the masses - my brother walked in on "Like Spinning Plates" and accused the song of not actually being music - but if you're looking for something new and interesting I'd highly recommend it.

I only heard of the Vines a couple of months ago, although Highly Evolved was released nearly five years ago. I have no idea how I missed it, but thankfully the album hasn't aged one bit, consisting of simple and catchy garage rock. Some tracks (such as "Factory") can be a little too simple, but they all give the feeling that the band just love to play guitar and shout into microphones, even if it doesn't end up making much sense. Overall, the raw energy of the album proves that Australia can produce better than Kylie Minogue.

Finally, we come to Nirvana by Nirvana. I have to admit that I'm not the biggest Nirvana fan in the world - I mean, sure, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Heart-shaped Box" are great songs, but I still don't quite understand the hype. This best-of just confirmed my impression of them: fantastically-written songs, powerful yet simple riffs which are perfect for beginners and a thoroughly depressing and repetitive tone. I can understand why people like Nirvana, but they're just not for me.

Reading: a guest post by Joe

Hi Guys. So there’s 137 days to go until Reading 2007, and there’s like 30 Drayton Year 11’s going. Excellent. I’m proper looking forward to it. I’m just glad I was able to secure my regular weekend ticket on the night they came on sale, and didn’t have to bother with all the coach ticket shit, nor did I have to shell out £200 on eBay, like some.

I know people have been complaining about the line-up a lot, but just consider that only 28 out of around 100 acts have been confirmed. In the grand scheme of things, The Line-Up Is SICK, although admittedly it could be a lot better.

Remember, there’s still like 75 acts to be confirmed, and there’s hundreds and hundreds of wicked bands who are likely to play, so it will be a lot better by August. Personally I’ve got my fingers crossed for The Horrors, The Hives, Hadouken! Bedouin Soundclash, The Holloways, The Maccabees, The Ordinary Boys, all of which are perfectly possible, but theres so many more acts I want there that could quite easily happen. Although If I REALLY had my way, the line-up would look like this so far:

Unfortunately, you can’t always get what you want.

Plus, I’d make a lot more changes than that, but time is money guys.

If there’s an act not on the confirmed 28 that you would like to see at Reading, it’s not too difficult to work out the likelihood of them appearing. Just consider these factors:

• Their popularity (obviously)
• Recent Releases (new albums etc)
• Their place on the bill last year (Headliners don’t tend to return the next year)
• Their current tour dates (if it says “25^th August – Reading Festival”, that’s quite a good sign)
• The band’s thoughts on the festival (if a big band say they want to play Reading, they will probably be asked to play)

Yeah, so that’s the lowdown on Reading 2007. Whatever the line-up ends up looking like, it’s an incredible experience for everybody, so if you got a ticket, make sure you’re looking forward to it. Only 137 Days and counting!

SEE YOU THERE YOU WANKERS!

Guitar: one week on

So, it's a week and one day since my first ever guitar lesson and I'm already far better than I was last wednesday. My teacher's away this week, so thankfully I have another week to brush up on my (non-existent) skills.

I guess the best way to sum up guitar is that it hurts. A lot. The tips of my left hand are still stinging, and my fingers cannot stretch the distance for even the simplest of tabs - just the intro to Tenacious D's Lee is beyond me.

But hey, I've only been playing a week now, and five chords isn't that bad, right?

Right?

Guitar: first impressions

I had my first guitar lesson today, and it's bloody hard. Even a simple "D" chord takes me ages to put together, and then one of my fingers slips a millimetre and the chord sounds rubbish again. "A" is the worst, though. Three fingers cannot physically fit in the same fret bar. Well, they probably can, but it's damned hard.

Another problem, which I had been warned of previously: the tips of my fingers feel as though they've been cut with razor blades. The bloody strings are so thin that they leave deep marks in the ends of your fingers, and it hurts like hell.

I'm sure that all beginners suffer these problems, and that people who have been playing for years will roll their eyes at my complaints. But I get the impression that guitar has a pretty steep learning curve - I just hope it gets shallower later on.

My song of the moment

I love Simon Amstell

True fact: I used to watch Popworld on Channel 4 every Saturday morning. It was one of the very few television programmes I watch it religiously. Why? This man on the right, Simon Amstell.

Simon Amstell's "thing" is to poke fun at celebrities, specifically those in the music business - therefore, Popworld was the perfect show for him, with A/B-list celebs dropping in for an interview each week.

While most music programmes treat their guests like gods, Simon Amstell and Miquita Oliver were brave enough to tease the Kooks' frontman about his ex, Katie Melua, and to make Britney Spears walk out of an interview.

They left the show almost a year ago (to be replaced by the inferior Alexes). Thankfully the BBC noticed his genius and signed him up for Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which has replaced Popworld on my short list of must-watch programmes.

Ps. Don't believe me? Check out Simon Amstell at the 2005 Brit Awards.