Foo Fighters Special

Hello likees & likettes, here's a special edition of Rossylikes because i've just got back from an awesome gig watching the one and only Foo Fighters and I feel compelled to write about it.

I've loved the Foos and Dave Grohl's other band before that since I was a young lad. I attribute my brother making me listen to Nevermind when I was 12 as a true musical awakening experience (like doubtless many others - I know it's a fucking cliche, but cliches are cliches cos they happen a lot alright!). When the Foo's burst onto the scene in the nineties, I always admired the fact that Grohl never wanted to cash in on his former glories, even though it was pretty inevitable that people would probably listen to them due to the Nirvana connection. He had actually planned to use the Foo Fighters name to release songs anonymously when he first conceived the project, and refused to do interviews to promote the first album. He must have known that sort of shit can only take you so far, and it's a fair credit to the Foo Fighters that they have built a rather excellent body of work in their own right, and are probably one of the biggest international bands in the world today. A few years ago, the band played Hyde Park. After that they played Wembley Stadium. The next step - Milton Keynes?!?!?!?!?

70,000 Foo Fighters fans cant be wrong

Okay so MK might not be the most obvious place for a major rock concert, but having spent yesterday at the Milton Keynes Bowl, I have to say it is an excellent place for a concert. A purpose built hill that curves into a (you guessed it) bowl, with the stage in the erm, center, it provides excellent views for everyone around. It was a fucking nightmare getting out of there but I guess that's what happens when you get 70,000 people in one place. Yeah, 70,000 people is a lot of people, this is probably the largest non-festival gig i've ever been to, i'm normally not one for massive shows cos I like my small intimate gigs and festivals (like YNot!). So this was definitely a new experience for me, but one I really enjoyed. The circumstances of me going was a little bit odd - having intially passed up the chance to go when the tckets went on sale, my friend posted on the book of face that she had a spare ticket. Having just been paid and desperately wanting to see them, I jumped at the chance, and at this point I would like to truly thank Miss Chloe Brammer for being an awesome companion for the day ( not to mention a brilliant friend).

Chloe & I

So. The bands. First up were Tame Impala. I've listened to their album a bit, so I was kind of looking forward to hearing them live, but it was just a warm up set so they came on and played for 20 mins and left, not exactly awe inspiring. I would still recommend their album, and maybe go see them properly at a gig, but if yesterday was all I had to go on I wouldn't be chasing them up anytime soon.

Death Cab... in all their melancholy glory

Next were Death Cab for Cutie - again, not awe inspiring but a lot more interesting than Tame Impala. Both bands seemed an odd fit for such a hard rocking band as the Foos in all truth (although Jimmy Eat World were playing the next day, they seemed to fit more but I guess there was scheduling conflicts or some stuff like that... who knows) but I really like them and really enjoyed their set and particularly enjoyed "I will possess your heart", one of my favourite tracks of theirs.

zzzzzzzz......

Then came Biffy Clyro..... I'll not go too deep into this, all I'll say is that Biffy's recent popularity and acclaim really comes at a point when I think think their music has taken a steep downturn in quality and credibility. They're very good at what they do now with their anthemic choruses and catchy songs... I'm just not feeling it too much. I kinda hoped seeing them live might get me into the Biffy groove (like seeing The Gaslight Anthem did for me at Latitude 2009) but it didn't at all, and when they played Many of Horror I felt like falling asleep there and then. Overrated.

That aside, onto the main event.....

Hand up - who wants to touch me?

First song was the opening track from Wasting Light, Bridge Burning followed by track 2 Rope. As an opening salvo this was every bit as bombastic as it sounds on the album, with everyone singing along it felt like an incredible start to the set. The main set was largely organised as a couple songs from the new album followed by 3-4 "hits". Dave was a consumate showman, constantly runnig up and down the gangway in the middle of the stage to rock out with all the fans. A third of the way into the set they introduced their good friend Roger Taylor from Queen (legend!) who played drums while Taylor had a jolly out onto center stage to sing Cold Day In The Sun.

Three singing drummers on stage at the same time!

Dave prompted a mass sing along to Best Of You, one of my favourite songs, and this was probably one of the best moments of the entire night. After "ending" the song, the crowd carried on humming the bridge of the song before the band kicked back in for the final chorus. Even after that everyone was humming it, which I think was probably endearing to the band but they also wanted to get on - "We have got other songs you know", teased Dave. After the high energy of Monkey Wrench and One by one, the band went off for a breather and Dave came back onstage to play a solo rendition of Wheels, again prompting the crowd to bring in their own backing vocals. He then half played Times Like These before the band kicked in to play the rest of the song.

Yes, there is a band behind you Dave

The final guest of the night...... Alice. Fucking. Cooper! They really do have friends in high places..... Alice came on and sang two songs including, inevitably, Schools Out. A really magic moment and something you that only really happens at gigs like these.

Alice & Dave rocking out

Finally, the song that must be the inevitable final song of every Foos set, Everlong. Beautiful in every way, although due to travelling restrictions I was on my way out at this point, I still heard most of it and saw the spectacular fireworks. And so, that was that. It was a bit of a mare getting home, but who cares - I'd go on the next day if I could afford it. My only disappointment of the night was their failure to play DOA, which I don't think have gone amiss, but it isn't one of their most popular songs so who cares really. My favourite part of the night was watching Pat Smear, a man who has toured the world and even played as a touring guitarist with Nirvana during their prime, yet still carried an expression of boyhood wonder throughout the entire show. A truly awesome guy.

To anyone looking to invest in the Foo Fighters' next big gig experience, just remember, Rossylikes!

Like 2

Part two of me spreading the love..... here goes.

1. Kill Your Friends

John Niven's first full length novel is a scathing satire on the music business based on his experiences working as an A+R man for a major records company, where he passed up the opportunity to sign both Coldplay and Muse. I fucking love it! It's set in the mid 90's during the Britpop boom, and follows Simon Stelfox, man more dedicated to his own personal mission of hedonism than discovering the next big thing. There are so many things to love about this book - the way Simon and his colleagues are constantly making bad calls about music. He signs a dance record called "(I want you to) suck my fucking dick" for a million quid and yet declares Radiohead's OK Computer "commercial suicide". He is deeply misogynistic but to the point of farce... "Cher, at seventy? Playing keepy uppy with her fucking jugs? Cunt like a wizards sleeve? Face like a melted bucket of concrete. Fuck that" He is a deeply unpleasant person on every level, always keen to point out the difference between his band of hedonistic chums and regular people: "Look at how you're living!" he exclaims to himself after chatting to a policeman. One might argue that plot is largely lifted from American Psycho, but where Stelfox differs from Patrick Bateman is in how acerbic and nasty the main character is. "Laugh? We nearly needed Oxygen masks."

2. Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

There's not really a great deal I can say about Thunder Road that hasn't been said already, or for that matter Bruce Springsteen. In fact, if reading this you have loved The Boss for a long time, none or what I'm about to say will be particularly insightful. I'm not reviewing though, I'm just saying I like it. There is a much more insightful look at this song from a writer.much more talented than I - Nick Hornby rates it as his most listened to song of all time which means he has a better insight as well as a superior writing ability. It's in his 31 Songs book which may be a future edition of Rossylikes itself, so if you enjoy this then read that too (or maybe don't, as I will look a bit of a chump compared to the man who wrote High Fidelity).

The fact is, this is my favourite Springsteen song and one that would easily slot into a top 5 all time list for me. But I have only recently become a member of the church of Bruce - in fact my earliest encounters with his music, I found him to be a bit boring and depressing. I look back now at my immaturity with a sadness as it probably only would have taken me to listen to Born To Run to realise Bruce is a legend of the highest order, a songwriter of the highest eminence. I mean, he wrote Because The Night for fucks sake! We all make mistakes though,but if anyone reading this has made the mistake of writing Bruce off, listen to this, Born to Run or Rosalita and try and tell me he's boring. I dare you.

I guess Thunder Road remains my favourite of all of his songs, mainly because of my identification with its themes of hope and despair. It's harmonica led intro brings to mind hazy nostalgia, and yet Bruce sings like a man on the edge of desperation, desperate to escape the prison of his home town, desperate to not become an average nobody (this has a particular resonance when you grew up in Lincolnshire). The song comes to its climax, where Bruce sings "I'm pulling out of here to win" and the song crescendos into its bombastic finale, a stomping piano riff that seems to signify hope, new beginnings and fulfilment. I can't help but get goosebumps every time I hear it, and even reading about it stimulates a similar response.

So that is that really. There are more acclaimed songs by The Boss, but this one is my favourite.

Post script - I've just heard the awful news that Clarence Clemons, the saxophone player in the E-Street band has passed away after suffering a stroke. As someone who has seen the after-effects of a stroke, I am deeply saddened to hear of anyone suffering from such an awful trauma, and when it is one of my heroes I am doubly so. RIP Clarence, your memory will live on.

3. Blade Runner

Although Star Wars is probably my favourite all time saga of movies, I would choose Blade Runner over any of the individual movies as my favourite movie of all time. I can't imagine a lot of people would agree with me, but I am a sci fi geek and this film was one of the first grown up sci fi movies I ever saw as a child, and it still speaks to me to this day, so much so that I bought the Final Cut: Special Collectors Edition (in the steelbook case no less) and yet I still want to buy the Blu Ray as well. In fact, I purchased the film on videotape about four times as well, just to get different versions of it.

Anyone unfamiliar with the plot? Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is paid to hunt and kill replicants, a type of android slave used on off world colonies that are illegal on Earth. The replicants seek out their creator to try and extend their short lives, Deckard kills four of them and falls in love with another and runs away with her. Of course, if that's all there is to it, it would be a pretty unremarkable film. Right?

What makes it stand out to me is the incredible vision created by Ridley Scott and his production team, creating a neo-noir landscape of a futuristic L.A. that incorporates a melting pot of modernism and contemporary technology and so doesn't seem dated some 20 years later. Nothing dates more than a vision of the future - check out Total Recall if you don't believe me (CRT televisions on a tube train? hahahahahaha!!!!) - and yet Blade Runner still seems to be timeless, the only betrayal of its time being the odd bit of 80's costume design (witness Rachel's shoulder padded jacket when she is first introduced). We might still be a few years away from the dystopian landscape presented in the film, not to mention flying cars and android slaves.

I'm not gonna talk about "is Deckard a replicant or isn't he?" at all. I'm aware of the argument, but it isn't why I love the film. I fell in love with the original cut of the film, with Harrison Ford's sardonic voiceover (apparently it was to deliberately sabotage the voiceover as neither he nor Ridley Scott wanted to put it in the movie) and the forced happy ending. The director's and final cuts add extra layers to the meaning, which is great, but my love for this film is much more superficial to be honest. If you do want to read about it, i'm sure there are many a blog discussing the orange glint in Deckard's eye after he kills Leon, the piano scene blah blah blah. Or you could just watch it and make your own mind up. I would recomend the latter.

I like to like!

I'm pretty enthusiastic about a lot of things, as anyone who has ever talked to me on subjects such as popular culture would know. This blog is to document the things that I like no matter how insignificant, embarassing or quinchy they might be. They might be three things I liked from this week, or three things that I have admired for some time, or it might just be three things I watched on the telly. I hope you enjoy these things and if you haven't checked them out already please do!

1. Portal 2

The world is divided into two types of people - those that love Portal, and those that have never played it. As a particular games website described it, it is a "perfect game", not especially long but absolutely perfectly formed shaped and distanced. It was a long time waiting for it, but Portal 2 finally dropped onto our computer systems a couple of weeks ago, and having just completed the single player mode I can catagorically state it is every bit as good as the first game and more. GLaDOS is back, and funny as hell with a sardonic vendetta against the protagonist, but then the game twists and turns in the way that all good computer game narratives should and you're never quite sure where the story is going until the end. Narrative aside, the puzzles are as ingenious as ever, with the range being expanded by different gels which manipulate the environment around you. Blue gel makes you bounce, Orange gel makes you go super speedy fast, and White gel converts any surface so it can bear a portal. Plus you've got levitation helixes, hard light bridges and an old favourite in the singing turrets. The multiplayer is pretty epic too, requiring high levels of teamwork. the difficulty is ramped up on the proviso that two heads are better than one. GLaDOS does her best to pit you up against each other and encourages rivalry even when it is teamwork you should be aspiring to. As ever, her sardonicism really enriches the experience...... overall this game is absolutely brilliant and deserves every accolade it is bound to win at the video game awards.

2. Mad Men

So I'm far from being the first person to jump on the Mad Men hype train, yes I'm fully aware having only really got on board after Season 4 stopped showing on BBC4, but i'm much more used to picking up stuff on DVD and blitzing through it than waiting week on week for the next episode of something (a process I usually find quite excruciating particularly with TV shows that rely on hooks and cliffhangers i.e. 24). That said, I picked up a boxset of the first three seasons and then picked up 4 when it came out a few weeks ago. I have to say that I find it quite remarkable that the show goes from strength to strength, consistently raising the bar for itself as each episode progresses. Don Draper seems to be a massive arsehole 85% of the time, yet you can't help but root for him; Peggy provides the female crux of the show without being just an token romantic gesture to the main character - her story is in a way an allegory for feminism in America during the 60s. Other characters provide comic relief, Joan is the show's ooo la la.... pretty much a complete TV show for me, and if it carries on improving the way it has done so far, it may be in the pantheon of greatest ever TV shows right next to The Sopranos and The Wire. PLUS season 4 features Danny Strong who played Johnathan in Buffy, so deserves extra kudos just for that.

3. Catfish

Catfish is a documentary about two people who meet on Facebook. They get along and start having a virtual relationship, talking over the phone and sending messages to one another. She is stunningly beautiful and the guy obviously really likes her.... and then obviously things start to go awry. Obviously if I say too much it will spoil it, but I really liked this film for addressing issues about identity and the dangers of the internet in a enlightening and engaging manner. I was a little unsure how a movie about two strangers that met on Facebook would really make a two hour story, but I was totally gripped and found the story both really sad but also kind of uplifting.

That's it for now, later pals!