11/14/10

Album Review: Good Charlotte – Cardiology

Perhaps one of the bands that have disappointed me the most in the last few years is Good Charlotte.

Their album ‘The Young & The Hopeless’ was introduced to me when I was 16 by a friend in a youth group and as an album I love it and I still listen to it even to this day.

Since then their efforts have been unusual to be polite and whilst the follow-ups ‘The Chronicles of Life and Death’ and ‘Good Morning Revival’ have some good songs on they’ve never had that feel good pop-punk feel that ‘The Young and the Hopeless’ had.

However I hadn’t given up on them and so when they put their newest album Cardiology on their Myspace page I listened…I went to HMV.com and I ordered it.

Upon arrival Cardiology played 3 times consecutively in our living room before making it into my car (and onto my iPhone) and I have to say my love of Good Charlotte has been restored.

Cardiology has a more grown up feel than ‘The Young & The Hopeless’ but has that energetic pop-punk feel their last albums have lacked. ‘Counting the days’ and ‘Like it’s her birthday’ have that bounce than makes you reach for the repeat button and there’s even a few more serious numbers there too.

One of the things that I’ve always liked (and been puzzled about) with Good Charlotte are their references to faith. Joel and Benji Madden have always thanks God in quite wordy fashions on their artwork suggesting it’s more to them than ‘the done thing’ and lyrics on all their albums have suggested otherwise and the concluding song of Cardiology tells a similar story with these lyrics;

That’s when I feel that God is all around me.

And I don’t know where to begin, to say I’m sorry for my sins,

So I collapse into your open arms, I’m sorry it took me so long,

Out here, for me to find my way back home. I didn’t have a reason,

For when I stopped believing, But I needed you to know -

That I’m right where I belong.

Now I see everything clearly, In the rearview, That you were right beside me.

So long ago, my voice of reason, It disappeared, along with my convictions -And now I know where it begins,

Accept forgiveness for my sins, And I collapse into your open arms

All in all Cardiology is a fantastic pop-punk album both with light hearted and more serious sides but most importantly it’s energetic and has that Good Charlotte feel that made me love the band to start with.

10/28/10

Owl City Evangelism

Most people will be familiar with the catchy pop hit ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City aka Adam Young. Fireflies stuck at number one for several weeks earlier this year. Shortly after this period of time a campaign to get Delirious?’s ‘History Maker’ to number one for Easter was launched and finished at number 4 (I think).

Regular readers of this blog will know of my dislike at the whole Delirious campaign…the ethos behind the campaign was silly and the song itself is basically meaningless unless you’re a Christian or willing to go through lots of Christian jargon to grasp an understanding and more to the point we’d already had a Christian at number 1 with a song that millions of people purchased because they wanted too and not because of social networking.

Now on Monday over on the Owl City Blog (link) Adam Young posted a cover of ‘In Christ Alone’ and included the lyrics and said this about the song;

I’m twenty four years old, yet something about this song makes me bawl like a baby. The way the melodies and lyrics swirl together is so poignant and beautiful.

The thing that I love about this cover is that it’s not trying to be something it isn’t…it’s not a quirky ‘experimental’ cover (although sounds about as experimental as the Rend Collective Experiment) it is simply a cover. The reason I love the cover so much is not so much the song he chose (although lyrically it is mind blowing) but that here we have a young musician who is popular in the secular and Christian world posting a cover of a Christian song on his blog and linking it to millions of fans via Twitter and Facebook.

Let’s face it a song on the radio can pass you by but bands have some crazy fans…if Adam Young says ‘this whole Christian thing is actually worth it’ then there’s gotta be a fair few people who think about it a bit more…maybe look into it…maybe even become Christians as a result.

So hats off to Adam Young and well done for being a Christian artist willing to post something different from his usual stuff to a mixed, worldwide fan-base…let’s hope it has an impact

You can listen/download to Adam’s Cover and read the post here

09/15/10

Sound Sunday

I’ve had my album linked on the top 10 free albums from Sound Sunday which is lovely of them and I’ve had lots of downloads (well 40!) as a result which is awesome…it’s amazing what you find when you google yourself…

Anyway have a read here

Or look at the screenshot below

Generally nice comments I feel….anyway if you haven’t downloaded ‘Escape This Town’ click here (and name your price as 0) to do so

09/14/10

Apple Ping

As Apple announced a new range of rather good looking iPods (although the new shuffle proves the world wasn’t ready for an ipod with no buttons) they also announced the launch of ‘Ping’, the Apple version of social networking…here’s what Apple say about it:

There’s no better way to discover new music than to find out what your friends are listening to. Ping gives you even more insight into your friends’ musical tastes through profile pages.

Now whilst Ping has the potential to be good I think Apple have launched it a bit prematurely. For example you can only follow artists Apple have invited to Ping which means not every artist is on there yet. It’s also a pain in the backside trying to find friends as you can only do so by searching names or e-mail inviting people (although I think my Ping page is this link (can someone tell me if this works?)). There’s no Twitter, Myspace or Facebook integration yet and the information you display on your profile is very limited…the only functions that really work are the ability to ‘like’ an album and post it.

I signed up for Ping upon the download of iTunes 10 and so far have rarely used it because there is just nothing to do on it….sure I can follow bands such as Bowling for Soup and Linkin Park but I already use twitter for that…and yes I can follow a couple of selected friends who’ve referenced their joining on Facebook but other than that Ping is pretty lacking.

The Verdict

My verdict on Ping is simple. It has potential but has probably been released prematurely. I like the idea of being able to recommend music and have it recommended but for it to be a social network you need to be able to keep in touch with friends and find them easily…I can’t!

Ping desperately needs Facebook integration so you can find your friends and Twitter integration so you can import your status…oh and some more information on your profile would be a nice addition too.

09/11/10

Did you miss me?

If you missed my song Joanna on Premier Radio earlier you can hear my whole radio feature here

If you did hear it or you don’t want to hear a fairly poor sounding radio recording reminiscent of when you used to record radio to cassette and make mixtapes then you may want to download my entire album, in great quality, for FREE here

If you want the shameless music plugs to stop and real blogging to resume with some meaty thoughts then come back in a couple of days when I will have a new post written.

Finally if you download the album or listen and enjoy the music please tell your friends

09/7/10

I’m on Premier Radio this Saturday!

Back in May I released my first full length album titled ‘Escape This Town’ but I’ve never really done a lot to publicise it other than the odd tweet and link on my blog however a month or so ago I sent some demos off to Premier Christian Radio and UCB Radio with the hope of getting some publicity…and it worked!

This Saturday (11th September) tune into Premier Radio on freeview, sky, DAB, online or on local frequencies (London) between 6pm and 7pm to hear the track ‘Joanna’ off my album ‘Escape This Town’. Full details of how to tune in to Premier Radio here

If you haven’t downloaded my album it’s completely free at http://marktiddy.bandcamp.com ….just hit the ‘buy now’ button and name your price as 0 to get it free!

My next aim…to actually get around to doing some open mics!

08/22/10

X-Factor

Back in 2001 as a family we tuned into ‘Popstars’…a new concept as far as TV Shows went…as the weeks went on we went from seeing people audition to finally ending up with ‘Hear Say’.

The show continued introducing us to the band as they recorded their first single and filmed their first music video before their song hit the shelves…pure and simple!

I have to admit that whilst no longer own the single I did buy it…I never owned the album (but back then I only really brought singles).

Popstars as a television show, wasn’t bad…it was fun and gave you an insight into how the life of a pop star begins…and I guess after two albums from Hear Say we saw how it ended!

Then X Factor came on the scene and sadly 6 years later it still takes up our Saturday nights for a third of the year. The problem with the X Factor is that it’s just not very good….and nor are the contestants!

Sure Alexander Burke can sing…I wouldn’t buy her music but she has a cracking voice…in turn JLS seem to have done well for themselves and generally each of the winners have bagged themselves a number one (one of which wasn’t a Christmas number 1 thanks to the RATM campaign).

Last night as the new series began I didn’t tune in but I did catch the hype on BBC’s breakfast and in turn saw 1 act which pretty much sums up the X Factor.

This act consisted of a lady giving a rendition of Duffy’s ‘Mercy’ which can only be described as a cross between that famous scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and the noises someone would make as they went through the transformation between man and werewolf (or Jekyll and Hyde). Despite having buttons all 3 judges let her carry on before putting her through!

Now I’m all for novel acts but she wasn’t an act…she’s wasn’t a singer she was just a nutter who (truth be told) probably needs to be introduced to Jedward and locked away with them in some padded cell where the world will never hear them again!

For me it sums up the X Factor…it’s not about music it’s about 2 things:

1 – Entertainment - Ridiculous acts get through so people tune in again…fair enough and we know they won’t win but kinda defies the whole point of a talent show…it’s like the holiday camp talent shows where the 2 year old who managed half of ‘mary had a little lamb’ goes through just because she looked ‘cute’.

2 – Simon Cowel’s Pocket - The biggest winner from the X Factor is Simon…he pockets a nice tidy sum from Christmas sales hyped up by the X Factor and all he has to do for that is to record a middle-of-the-road single and promise them an album at some point. Awful as he is Joe McElderry (or whatever his name as) proves that once the Christmas money’s made no-one cares…afterall what’s he doing now?

So anyway there’s my rant…I won’t be tuning in but I will take part in whatever the campaign is that stops Simon bagging a number one!

To finish here’s a song called ‘The Next Big Thing’ by MxPx…I think it sums it up nicely

06/18/10

Isle of Wight Festival

Last weekend myself, Joel, Stuart & Greg headed off to the Isle of Wight Festival…boarding the half 5 ferry at Portsmouth and arrived at the picturesque island (which I haven’t visited for about 15 years) around half 6.

Whilst I have managed a fair few gigs in the last 5/6 years a festival is one experience I’ve never done (other than Soul Survivor which doesn’t really count). The one thing I’ve loved about the gigs I have been to though was the intimacy with the largest gig I’ve ever been to being Angels and Airwaves in the Birmingham Academy which holds probably no more than 500.

The Isle of Wight festival was jam packed with bands to see, strangers to talk to and over-priced drinks & food to be consumed…perhaps the best thing about a festival is the ability to move between several venues and see live music everywhere!

During the weekend we managed to catch Ocean Colour Scene, Pink! (who was awesome!), Reef, N Dubz (who I don’t really like but they had the most amazing drummer and put on a cracking show), The Saturdays and the legend that is Paul McCartney. The one thing I’ve always wondered about larger gigs is how much of the atmosphere you lose but during his set (mostly because he is Paul McCartney) the atmosphere even with Macca less than the size of my little finger it was immense, he blasted out some Beatles tracks and a few others putting together a fantastic set!

All in all I loved my festival experience!

05/20/10

Escape This Town (My Album)

Before I waffle on for a bit you can download ‘Escape This Town’ free here at bandcamp (name a price of zero) or be lovely and pay for it on amazon mp3 or iTunes

Back when I was 16 and I could only play the drums (and a tiny bit of keyboard) I started song writing…songs were nothing more than lyrics with a drum beat however at the age of 17 I eBayed myself a cheap guitar and set to work learning to play the guitar.

Ever since being able to play enough chords to make a tune I spent a fair chunk of my spare time recording drums and guitars and song writing.

A few years back when I started my gap year in Peterborough I was encouraged to lead worship…with very little confidence in my vocal abilities I started off miles from the microphone but as confidence grew my closeness to the microphone followed.

Throughout the years prior to moving to Peterborough, during my degree and since beginning my new job in Yorkshire I’ve continued to write and record music to the point of having an entire album released into the world.

I’ve been thinking about this blog post for weeks and I didn’t really know how to phrase it because in reflection for me as Mark, having an album with me on every instrument plus vocals is a huge thing. 5 years ago would be allowed anywhere near my voice…now it’s out there!

I’m not going to write much more other than a shameless plug for my album! I’ve been describing the music as ‘realistic Christian’…it doesn’t sound like a Christian album although some lyrics fit the bill…nor is it completely about things outside of my faith…it’s a mix of styles and sounds and even genres…flicking between pop, pop-punk, acoustic and sometimes a little heavier.

You can download it for free here on bandcamp (by just naming a price of 0.00 and giving an e-mail address) or if you’re feeling generous you can download ‘Escape This Town’ on iTunes here or Amazon mp3 here.

I hope you enjoy it (and the blog theme to match)

I’m going to write some more stuff on the song meanings on my Tumblr over the next few weeks

04/21/10

The Rise & Fall of Five Iron Frenzy DVD Review

Back in 2003 the Christian band Five Iron Frenzy called it a day…played their last gig at Filmore (USA) and the 9 piece band separated…I was 17 and had never heard of the band. It wasn’t until I was introduced to them by Ben & Hayley individually in 2004 that I eventually purchased their EP ‘Quantity is job 1′ off amazon.

In the years following that I’ve managed to add all their albums except Cheeses (of Nazareth) and Upbeats and Beatdowns to my collection and have grown to adore their mix of ska-punk comprised with both fun and profound lyrics.

Earlier this year the ex-lead singer of the band Reese Roper finally announced that the long-awaited Five Iron Frenzy DVD would be released on the 13th April and that pre-orders would get it shipped a month early…I pre-ordered early March and anticipated the arrival of my DVD from the States.

A few weeks back the DVD arrived and I’ve almost finished watching it minus a few extras and wow…what a DVD!

The DVD is in fact 2 DVD’s….the first being the 3 hour documentary ‘The Rise & Fall of Five Iron Frenzy’ and the second labeled ‘This is a coaster’ is actually a disc of extras including the video of the live album ‘The end is here’ (the band’s last gig)..I’ll come back to the extras in a minute!

The Rise & Fall of Five Iron Frenzy

The 3 hour documentary covers the 9 years of the band and is mixed with interviews, live clips and goofy home movies the band put together and gives you a real insight to the passions, struggles and lives of the band members, their journey with God during the 9 years of Five Iron Frenzy and how the band really took off yet struggled with being in the middle of the Christian and secular genre.

The documentary is well put together and is very much a visual timeline…Reese Roper who did much of the editing hasn’t made the journey look like a nice a fluffy ride with God but has documented the struggles too which makes it a really genuine piece of documentary.

The Extras

Whilst the documentary is amazing the extras are something else completely.

Packed onto the 2nd disc are 5 music videos, 3 lives concerts, a few random clips and a whole host of short movies!

I’m not going to to review all of the extras but just the Filmore Gig Video.

Filmore was the last show the band ever played and so to have it on DVD is something very special. The video includes all the stuff that was cut from the live CD and there’s real emotion in the gig from the whole band. The real highlight was the 5 minute introduction Reese gives to Every New Day which was so powerful to watch.

and summing up…

To sum up the Five Iron Frenzy DVD is amazing and was well worth the $20 I spent on it however it is for the hardcore fans…if you just think ‘they’re alright’ then it’s probably not for you…borrow someone’s and watch the live Filmore gig!

I finish this post with the live video for ‘Every new day’

04/13/10

The King Blues Gig

Last night Jo and myself went to Manchester to see The King Blues play on their headline tour. I got into The King Blues just over a year ago and love their blend of ska and acoustic punk combined with fantastic, passionate lyrics.

I first saw The King Blues back in September as part of Hull’s ‘Freedom Festival’ where they played a set of about 5 songs and got the whole of Queens Park (about 2000 people) to shout ‘F*** the BNP’ and whilst the sentiment is nice I wasn’t sure that a park full of families was the place for shouting it…perhaps ‘We don’t like the BNP’ would have been more appropriate.

Last night after the usual mix of good and awful support acts the King Blues took stage…lead singer Jonny Fox launched into the first song dancing around madly with his ukulele whilst the rest of the band joined in.

The band continued through an energetic set including ‘Underneath this lamppost light’, ‘Mr Music Man’ and ‘Let’s hang the landlord’ mixed with passionate speaking about how the people have the power…ringing true to the anti-facist vibe of the band. They also played some new songs including ‘Headbutt’ which has been on their Myspace fo a while now, like headbutt all the new songs took a more heavy punky feel about them.

All in all a fantastic gig…the passion and energy from the band really made the gig!

04/1/10

Day 44: Alkaline Trio – This Addiction Review

I’ve been aware of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio for a few years no but I’ve never got around to listening to them…I don’t know why but for some reason it never happened…until last week!

I stumbled across a video of them playing their new single ‘This Addiction’ on the Letterman show so thought I’d hop onto Spotify to listen to the new album…I ordered it as a result and have had a chance to give it a good listen.

The album ‘This Addiction’ comes in 3 formats, the CD, the CD with bonus tracks and live DVD and a 7″ vinyl. I opted for the CD/DVD tempted by the bonus tracks and live DVD and it was a fantastic choice!

First the album itself! The sound of Alkaline Trio is pretty simple drums, bass, guitar punk rock with the lead vocalist sounding similar to the lead singer of Bad Religion. The album opens with the single ‘This Addiction’ which has a crunchy punk-rock feel about it with some beautiful bass notes. As the album continues the catchy pop-punk continues, as do the beautiful bass notes…some of my favourite tracks on the album include ‘Off The Map’ and ‘The American Scream’ (and of course ‘This Addiction’).

Secondly the bonus tracks and DVD are well worth paying for. The bonus tracks are simply some nice acoustic versions of tracks off the album and the DVD shows the talent of the 3 band members….I always find it fascinating to watch bands play but that’s mainly from being a bit of a music geek!

Overall I’m finding the simplicity of Alkaline Trio’s approach to pop-punk a refreshing walk in the park compared to the complicated, over produced bands that seem to be taking the place of simple punk-rock. The tracks are nice and catchy and I personally think the bonus tracks and DVD are worth the extra £2 but that depends if you’re a music geek or not!

So ‘This Addiction’ isn’t going to be for everyone but if you like the likes of Blink 182 and Bad Religion chances are you’ll love it!