Music Reviews / Previews
It was raining, the audience were packed in like sardines, the band were all well into their forties and they opened and closed with the same song. U2 played the first of 3 hometown gigs in Croke Park in Dublin on Friday night, and they were excellent.
Ten minutes from the ground and you could already feel the unmistakable hum of a huge gaggle of excited people gathered together. The Radiators and Snow Patrol were able support - the latter concluding their set with a stirring rendition of Run - but both knew that the night belonged to the ageless pop rock veterans.
Monday sees the belated release of Carnival, the second album by South Londoners Moke.
The more elderly among you may remember Moke from six years ago. That's when their first album - Superdrag - came out to critical acclaim. Since then, they recorded and released Carnival in 2001 in America. It all seemed to be going well for Moke - magazine covers, crazy praise, a high-charting first single - and then their record label went bankrupt and they split up.
Now, at last, Carnival is getting a UK release on Fruit Pie records. And it's a good thing too. Carnival is a corker.
The Crazy Frog (CDs) is not that bad. There we said it.
At a push the little guy’s actually kinda cute. He may have a big mouth and a little penis but, as anyone who has ever seen Shallow Grave (DVDs) can attest, that’s never stopped Keith Allen from getting ahead.It’s a second week at number one for the Frog’s synthesizerspastic rendition of Axel-F (originally part of Harold Faltermeyer’s score for the film Beverly Hills Cop).
Coldplay (CDs) have apparently plagiarised themselves one too many times. Their single Clocks - sorry Speed of Sound - only managed to cling onto the number seven slot. Amazingly, Akon’s Lonely (CDs) has jarred its way back up the chart to number two. With the second position’s puerile relation to a sit-down only toilet function, this number does at least seem appropriate.
Far from stamping our feet like impatient Morris dancers we’ve decided to not give a damn about Axel-F being number one. Frankly, we quite like the track. Yep, the editor’s let that through unscathed.
Friday night's Later With Jools Holland show began in the usual fashion. An 'impromptu' jam occured. As ever it was dull affair involving blues-like noodling and no doubt a Boogie Woogie (TM, J.Holland) piano from Jools.
The camera panned anti-clockwise, first revealing apparent Coldplay-enthusiasts Athlete (CDs), playing along. Jesus, God.
But then appeared a strange looking man, eagerly waving at the camera, as if picked out in a crowd of thousands during the FA Cup Final.
Mark E Smith was grinning broadly. The Fall (CDs) were jamming along, with Athlete, Jools, and Robert 'fookin' Plant.
Did you see the documentary on Channel 4 the other night, Stalking Pete Doherty? If you didn't, this is roughly what happened:
A man follows Pete Doherty and his band Babyshambles around, falling slowly and obsessively in love with him. When the love isn't reciprocated, the man has a breakdown of sorts and sells pictures of Pete smoking heroin to a newspaper,
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Here at hecklerspray we’ve waited four long years for the follow up to the uber-successful Discovery but can now report that Daft Punk have not delivered. What they have released ain't pretty and it certainly ain't party...
We could debate the merits of Angels winning Best Song of the Last 25 Years at the Brits until the cows come home, when the only real thing worth debating is what should have won instead?
