The CLUAS Archive: 1998 - 2011

Entries for May 2008

20

10 things I hate about cycling in Dublin

Undulating cycle paths built to accommodate the spotless 4WDs of the homeowners situated along the route. It’s an off road vehicle for Chrissakes!

Pedestrian crossings every 500 metres that pedestrians never use because they are too busy jaywalking across the road and right into your path.

Drivers who think that the correct position of the passenger side of their car is flush with the kerb.

Van drivers (see S.3)

Pedestrians who walk along cycle paths. Do the dumb fuckers not see the big symbols of the cyclist painted on the ground in front of them?

Recumbent cycles; they were banned by the UCI in the 1930s. They should also be banned from Irish thoroughfares and the people who ride them made to learn how to cycle properly.

Cyclists that lag behind you on the road then pull in front of you at traffic lights, obstructing your way as you take off after the lights turn green

Single speed racers. No, I don’t think you are some form of elite cycling purist. I think you are a twat who objects to progress, particularly when these retro-rothars can cost more than a bike with gears and brakes. Why not go the whole hog and re-fit the bloody thing with solid rubber wheels?

Anyone who rides a mountain bike in an urban area or brings the damn thing into the countryside on the back of a 4WD just so they can cycle it around for a couple of hours. What part of ‘Mountain Bike’ do you not understand?

50 something commuting cyclists who think they are competing in the Tour De France, down to the replica team wear. Just because they sell it, does not mean you have to wear it.


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Sound Waves
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
20

 

I’d seen the name on posters for lots of the gigs happening around Beijing. So I tracked down Zhu Tianchi, man behind www.rockbj.com a useful and very interactive portal tracking what’s happening on Beijing’s music scene. Here’s the transcript of that interview with the fashion-conscious designer who in his spare time organizes rock shows and worships Evanescence.

 

When was rockbj.com set up and by whom?

I started to make preparation for this website in April, 2005 and this website was completely established on October 1st in the same year.

 

Why was the site set up ? What was your plan?

I am fanatic about rock music, the idea of setting up this website was a sudden brainstorm. Before this website, I had a very small personal website with some rock-related staff I liked very much. As I was colleting information, I gradually understood rock music much deeper and I found there were great potentials in China’s rock music field. I thought I should do something to unite those rock Chinese rock music power in order to affect more people and draw more attention on rock music.

 How many people work on the site?

Currently there are eight people in Beijing and there are also many representatives in different regions . And for sure, they all love rock music as I do. Besides, many of my friends are helping me and supporting me now and I extend my thanks to them all.

Which parts of the website are most popular with users?

I feel all parts are warmly welcomed by our users. We have more than 30 sections on the site and each boasts of its own feature. These parts include news, audio files, videos, chatting tools and more.

 What can you offer musicians that other similar websites can't?

We concentrate more on the combination of on-line activities and off-line music events. For example, we often organize events at bars, in the open air and on campus to provide musicians with a broader stage and more performing opportunities.

I've seen your name regularly on posters for rock concerts. Do you run your own shows?

Yes, we often organize shows of different styles. We have organized more than 30 shows since the website established and has cooperated with other media in countless shows.

 

Which artists and events proved most popular recently on your site?

Artists and bands on our website are carefully chosen by us and I think they are all excellent.  As for events, we organized the May 1st Metal Music Festival the other days which lasted 2 days. Each day the venue was full of people including many friends from abroad and from other cities of China for two days. We are now organizing several bands to go to the south to take part in an event called “Rock the Weekend, Cheer for the Olympics”. Also we are organizing a charity show to collect money for our compatriots who are suffering an terrible earthquake disaster. We are trying to call for all people in the rock circle to commit their love and duties to the society.

Is Cui Jian being replaced by bands like Carsick Cars as the most important name in Chinese alternative music?

Mr. Cui Jian is the godfather of Chinese rock music. I believe that nobody is able to take his place. We are just continuing on the rode he used to be on, developing things inherited from him. As true rock fans, each of us plays different roles in everyday life, but we have shouldered the same responsibility, that is, to unite together to make the rock music market better and better.

 What's the reason for the recent bloom in rock music talent and venues inBeijing?

This is closely related to the development of the society, varied cultural life and the needs for rock music in the market. This is a very good phenomenon, a sign of progress. In recent years, rock music has grown very fast and of course this cannot be parted from the push power from the Internet and a deeper understand of rock among people. Another important factor that can’t be ignored is rock music itself has developed a lot. It’s no longer closed but more and more open and free to other music forms and this broadened its audiences. Now rock fans listen to Jay Chou’s songs and Jay Chou’s fans also listen to rock. There should be  no boundaries among music of different styles and only in this way can rock music step onto a bigger stage in China.

What's the best rock concert you saw recently?

Nightwish, Dreamtheater’s concerts in Beijing. Both of them are fantastic! I love John Petrucci’s music very much. Though it’s been a couple of months since  I went to those 2 concerts, I’m still quite impressed by the professional lights, acoustic impact and especially the music. I hope more excellent rock bands could come to Beijing for further communication.

What's the best CD you've listened to?

The Open Door by Evanescence, released in 2006. I’ve been listening to it till now and I love both the music style and the music editing. These songs are soft, beautiful and full of emotions, like epics. Also I have listened a lot good CDs of my friend’s bands in Chinese rock circle. But that’s too many to introduce one after another.

 

 


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Beijing Beat
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
19

There is a debate taking place on the CLUAS discussion board at the moment regarding a review published on this site recently.  It's not a new discussion, indeed Key Notes has lost count of the number of times the topic has come up since he joined CLUAS.  At the core of the argument is that those who don't write reviews for music websites seem to think that a reviewer should know everything there is to know about a musician from the weight of plec used by the lead guitarist while recording the last album right through to how much the drummer paid for his last haircut.  This, you say, is the only way you could possibly give a fair and balanced review. 

Key Notes, as you will gather, disagrees.  You see, the mistake people seem to make is to assume that music critiquing is an objective process.  It's not.  If you've ever sat down to write a review, it's one of the most subjective processes imaginable.  There is, despite what you may have been told, no such thing as good or bad music.  Like any art form, there are only musical performances that you have enjoyed or you have not enjoyed, be they live or recorded.  Sometimes, there can be a very good reason for you not liking a performance.  The production may have been awful or the singer may have been so off his face he'd forgotten the words to his own songs.  These are perfectly valid reasons for not enjoying a gig and therefore giving it a bad review.  But a gig isn't just about the music is it?

There are times, we've all had them, when the band(s) have been okay but it's been something else that's caused you to walk out thinking: 'I didn't really enjoy that.'  It can be little things like the girl beside you not shutting up the whole way through or the singers annoying habit of discussing at length the meaning of each song before playing it.  You might say that isn't really important but when you're actually there such events are hugely significant and can take away from your enjoyment of the performance and therefore have to be reflected in your assessment.  For what it's worth, Key Notes' method is to go into a gig giving it 10/10 and taking points away for things that he finds aren't as good - as in events that take away from the enjoyment of the gig - as they should be.  This, he reasons, allows every band, even ones he isn't so well versed on, the opportunity of scoring well. However, Key Notes is also well aware that each writer has a different writing style and a different way of scoring his/her reviews.

The point this blog is trying to make is that a review can never - despite the accusation being made all to often - be 'wrong.'  A review is a critical assessment of an event, not a promotional exercise for a band or an excuse for a writer to show off how much he/she knows about music.  Every review written on this site by our team of writers is written with honesty, integrity and in the knowledge that while grammar and spelling may be edited, their opinion never will.  That is the main reason Key Notes gives up his free time for CLUAS and one of the reasons why we remain Ireland's leading independent music website. 

If, however, you feel that your opinion differs so much from our review that you cannot fight the urge to put finger to keyboard, CLUAS has always provided you with the opportunity to submit your own via this page


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Key Notes
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
19

Born in Cannes and raised in Bordeaux, Kim Stanislas Giani makes music under his (not 'her') first name. His new album, 'Don Lee Doo', has just come out. It's a joyous, colourful mish-mash of pop, electro and rock.

KimAmazingly, 'Don Lee Doo' (right) is Kim's 17th album in 14 years, and he's just 31. Since releasing his debut, 'Our Dolly Lady in MK Land', in 1996, he's built up a cult following with that impressive output of limited-edition releases. High-profile fans include Herman Dune and Beck.

Kim is just as prolific with MySpace pages as he is with albums. His blog lists one  two  three  four  five  SIX pages! (All this work probably explains why his website hasn't been updated in ages.) Take a tour of all his MySpace pages to hear Kim tracks old and new.

Somehow he finds time to play live. His next Paris show is this Wednesday (21 May) - but as that's the same night as the Champions League final, your blogger won't be there - but we hope to see him back in the French capital in the first week of June. No Irish dates on his agenda yet.

There's more! He makes his own videos too! From 'Don Lee Doo', here's Kim's promo for 'When The River Turns Round':


More ...

[Read more...]

Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
19

Email inboxes were overflowing over the weekend with invites to concerts organised to help victims of last week's earthquake. Well done to  the bands like the Verse, Laolang, Wanxiaoli and Chasing Stars who gave their services in one of several seemingly spontaneous gigs put on around the city. Other prescheduled gigs were also giving their share. The excellent folk-jazz band Panjir gave the takings from their RMB30 t-shirt sales at their Stone Boat show to the Red Cross.

Next up is the "MONEY IS NOT NOTHING" show this Wednesday night at bewish venue ROOM101 next to the Andinmen Hotel. Eight bands have signed up for the seven-till-late gig. RMB30 (EUR3) donation at the door. But donate RMB100 and you get a "WenShuan, we will be with you" T-shirt. Donate 200rmb, get one diamond make-up mirror luxury package, whatever that is. There's also a "special cocktail service" with all takings from food and drink on the night also going to the Red Cross.

Bands:
The incredible
J,S,B
MALIKA
LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES
N,A,L,C
LOMBER DU VENT
SUMMER
And many others…
 

Eevnt Hotline : 13401126829 / 13581664798 /010-64027532
 
 
how to get :ROOM 101 PUB
 
NO.199 Andingmen nei road ,
beside ANDING hotel
150m north to the jiaodao kou cross
300m south to the andingmen subway station

More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Beijing Beat
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
17

Every high-powered and influential player in the information marketplace depends on a crack team of news-gatherers. Even your Paris correspondent, neither high-powered nor influential nor a player in any marketplace, has his own network of spies, moles, informants, tippers-off and so forth. 

For instance, we have an army of shoe-shine boys working Charles de Gaulle Airport, keeping an eye out for any jet-set pop stars trying to slip discreetly into France. The flock of birds outside Notre Dame? Carrier pigeons, ready to take off for Chateau French Letter with the word on the boulevard. Then there's the pop star we got married off to the President of France; that took a lot of work but it's paid off handsomely. (Our copy of the M83 album was delivered to us by nuclear sub up the Seine.) 

The WallsAnd even in Ireland we have our people, our équipe. Dublin-based French blogger and lighting engineer extraordinaire Por La Carretera (a code-name, of course) tells us that The Walls (right) are playing in Paris next week. Stay tuned for more hot Franco-Irish music gossip from the lampie-desk, pop's equivalent of the water-cooler. 

Anyway, Steve and Joe and the other fellas will be at the Entrepôt near Montparnasse on Friday 23 May.

You can check out details of their upcoming Czech dates and third-album progress on their MySpace page. Here they are rocking St John's Church in Dingle with 'Open Road':


More ...

[Read more...]

Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
16

Two weeks ago I posted a blog entry about how Google had, all of a sudden, dramatically reduced the number of CLUAS.com pages it crawls in a day (it dropped from an average of thousand pages a day to about 25 a day, see the graph below). 

I put this down to be something to do with the fact that CLUAS stopped running Google ads for 3 weeks in April. I predicted that once the Google ads were back up and running (as they were two and a bit weeks ago) all would return to normal. A quick check earlier today in CLUAS.com's Google "Webmaster Tools" account and I saw that (for once!) a prediction of mine was on the money. Google is once again crawling a daily average of 1000 pages on CLUAS. Check out the graph below for the evidence that Google is still all chummy-wummy with us.

Number of CLUAS pages crawled by Google, may 2008


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Promenade
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
16

Battles (live in Vicar St, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: More boring than bawlah.

The Cluas Verdict? 5 out of 10

Full Review:
Battles Last night, apparently, Vicar St. was the place to be; three bands, a sell out show, and more people than I’ve ever seen packed into this venue. The Red Neck Manifesto took to the stage shortly after nine o’clock, an expectant crowd wound up… and waited.

The Manifesto are a hard band to pin point, they play a super tight no nonsense style of instrumental indie jazz that is easy to appreciate, but apparently a good deal harder to enjoy. I can’t explain why - all the ingredients are there - but it just ain’t funky. Somehow, amidst all the finesse, between the precise licks and subtle changes, life is lost. The gig, and the tunes, never kick off, never pull in the audience, never really get under your skin and make you wanna get up offa your thing.

A packed venue, a crowd in the mood to party, an electric, expectant, atmosphere and most were left merely nodding their heads in appreciation. It's good music, technically flawless, but without the spark to grab you its nothing more than quirky background music, unsuited to the stage.

Battles I had never seen before, but had heard good, good things. Their name alone drew excitement, and from the crowd’s reaction it is evident that they have tapped into something. What that something is though, beats me. A few weeks ago, my most cynical friend described them as “a bunch of indie blokes with too much time and technology on their hands, trying to sound different.” After last night, I couldn’t agree more. There were good moments, sure, where everything meshed, the band tapped into the energy of the crowd, and it all somehow, miraculously, worked. Those were the good times.

The rest of the time was spent on loopers and style. Exaggerated emotion, tossed scarves, and sweaty, meaningful stares. Some people see the beats as something amazing, something new, something primal. But this seems to be a band trying to slavishly recreate the sound of a rave DJ. Except a DJ has all the tools at his hand, can meld the beats, and tweak them in any direction the mood points to. Battles are stuck in replication. They never seem to make the music their own, to add spark, or flare, and just go with it. Music at its most primal, is simple, an effortless mastery of sound that infects. The technology, or the rhythms themselves need not be simple, but they do have to be intrinsic, elemental to the player, to really allow them come to life. This just didn’t happen last night, it was as if the technology took centre stage; instead of being the medium, it became the message.

Passing the bouncer on the way for a pint, he tossed his head inside, raised an eyebrow and said “what the f**k is that?” Well, who the f**k knows. There is something there, when it hits, it works. Quite nicely. When it doesn’t it seems boring, forced and, well, just a little bit pointless.

Daragh Murray


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Gig Reviews
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
15

It's rare that alternative music makes any page of French newspapers, let alone the front page. But that's what's happening with Justice (below).

JusticeThe video for 'Stress', directed by Romain Gavras, has provoked a storm in France. The seven-minute promo features a gang of teenage boys on a rampage of violence through a typical Paris suburb.

Wearing hoodies and leather jackets with the Justice crucifix on their back, the gang terrorise everyone they cross. They mug an old lady, tourists, geeks, whoever. They harrass a young lady in a metro station and beat up the man who tries to save her. They loot a bar, kick and spray-paint everything in reach, and burn out their stolen car.

For many, the most controversial image is when the gang attacks a lone police officer, kicking him on the ground (4 mins 10 secs).

Why exactly are people shocked by this video? Well, it depends on what kind of people you are. Moral custodians and right-wing politicians, no doubt with an eye on easy media exposure, denounce the video as an incitement to violence.

A still from 'Stress'Meanwhile, defenders of free speech praise the video for putting the issue of urban tension and deprivation back in the headlines.

Interestingly, some representatives of minority support associations criticise the video - the youths featured are either black or north African, playing on a stereotype of young people from ethnic backgrounds.

And other local groups, trying to forget 'La Haine', are angry at another less-than-favourable portrayal of the Paris suburbs as an urban warzone.

Regardless of these positions, the video is a fantastic piece of work. Your blogger notes a scene on the steps of Sacré-Coeur where the young hoodlums jump on two buskers and smash their acoustic guitar (2 mins 10 secs). Not that we feel incited to carry out copycat attacks, but just don't call us tonight because we'll be out.

Judge for yourselves: here's the panic-inducing 'Stress' by Justice:


More ...

[Read more...]

Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
15

Key Notes, you may be surprised to hear, doesn't actually get paid for his endless hours slaving away for CLUAS, and has to commute to and from work just like the rest of you.  4 years ago Key Notes took a decision to accept a job in location A (lets just call it 'Somewhere near the South Coast of Dublin but not quite Wicklow') and then he made the spectacularly naive decision 3 years ago to purchase a property with Mrs. Key Notes in location B (lets just call this 'West Dublin, but the nice part, not the part where they eat each others children').  This decision was naive because it was made in full knowledge of how rubbish Dublin Bus and DART are at actually getting passengers to their destination in time. 

However, 3 years of listening to Usher or Kylie blaring from some kids Nokia was more than enough and in January of this year Key Notes started driving to and from work and, with the absence of MP3 facilities in his car, he was forced to listen to the radio, something he hadn't done in quite a while. 

Now, writing as he does an Irish music blog, and facing the prospect of the M50 everyday, Key Notes turned to Phantom as his source of 'More new music than any radio station in Dublin, more new Irish music than any radio station in the World.'   The reason Key Notes can tell you this is because they repeat that statement after every new Irish song is played.  Every.  Single.  Time.  Please don't misunderstand your curmudgeonly blogger, Key Notes is well aware of what Phantom is trying to achieve, but in fact, its effect is quite the opposite.  Every time Key Notes hears this phrase, it makes him want to physically harm both his radio and the DJ.

The main culprit; Mr. Sinister Pete but, in fairness, this is because Pure Morning and Heavy Traffic are the only two shows Key Notes gets to listen to, as that's when he's driving.  His show is, for the most part, as predictable as REM releasing a 'could this be the comeback' album and, therefore, boring.  As Key Notes is going to a gig (....Trail of Dead if you're asking) today he didn't hear the show this morning (don't drink and drive kids) but this blog is willing to bet that tomorrow you will hear at least three of the following: 1) The Pigeon Detectives - This is an Emergency; 2) The Ting Tings - That's not my Name; 3) Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma; 4) The Aftermath - Are you not Wanting me Yet and 5) Anything by one of The Rolling Stones, Iggy & The Stooges or AC/DC.  

It all just gets a little bit boring.  Key Notes realises that Phantom is a commercial venture and has certain targets it probably has to meet but surely there is enough new, and indeed GOOD new music out there to ensure that you never have to play the same song more than twice in a week.  Maybe Key Notes is wrong, maybe Phantom's other shows and presenters make up for this lack of diversity, but Key Notes can only comment on what he hears.  Heavy Traffic, for example, doesn't have the same predictability because it throws in some curve balls Key Notes wouldn't expect to hear, and that makes it a more enjoyable listening experience.

To those of you able to listen to your radios during working hours, and who listen to Phantom, is there any more diversity in the playlist during the day/night, or is Phantom, as Ian suggested in his opinion piece, in danger of becoming utterly irrelevant for listeners hoping to hear new and exciting Irish and international music. 


More ...

[Read more...]

Posted in: Blogs, Key Notes
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |
Page 3 of 7First   Previous   1  2  [3]  4  5  6  7  Next   Last   

Search Articles

Nuggets from our archive

2004 - The CLUAS Reviews of Erin McKeown's album 'Grand'. There was the positive review of the album (by Cormac Looney) and the entertainingly negative review (by Jules Jackson). These two reviews being the finest manifestations of what became affectionately known, around these parts at least, as the 'McKeown wars'.