In brief: I need tunes

Right, I have finally upgraged to spotify premium. After battling with its restricted “open” allowances for a while, I gave up on spotify altogether, but was then faced with the hassle of ensuring that I had all of the music I wanted stored locally (on three computers and one iPhone). That got very old very quickly.

A tenner a month isn’t that much, really, to have everything you want where you want it all of the time. So that’s what I’ve done. However, I had become quite accustomed to using spotify for finding new music and I haven’t been bothered to look in its absence. That’s where you all come in. I need recommendations and I need them now. So have at it in the comments. Thanks.

What I’ve been reading – rock and roll whores, and sexy women aren’t actually human

I’m still trying to process this particular story: girls who like rock and roll are whores (thegloss, hat tip to lastyearsgirl). One should always begin a discussion which involves the word “whore” with the question: “what is a whore”? It’s a much-used term yet I’ve never quite understood what it means. It’s generally directed at those women who have sex and enjoy sex, though if those women are married the term doesn’t apply, as I understand it. So, unmarried women who have and enjoy sex are whores. (So what about lesbians who can’t legally get married in the traditional sense? Or does it just apply to heterosexual females?) There’s also a consideration of the number of partners, I believe, although that number is entirely arbitrary and subjective. I don’t know if five sexual partners makes you a whore, or if it’s 10, or if it’s 20, or if it’s 100. Other behaviours are often discussed also; for example, if a woman likes a drink of an evening, she may be a whore. There’s probably an age consideration also, with younger women arguably more likely to be “labelled” whores than older women, and there could also be an ethnic element in the mix. And, of course, if a man whistles to a woman on the street and comments on her “nice tits” and she ignores him, it’s very likely that he will call her a whore. Because, you know, that’s a complement, right, and she’s a slut for not indulging his ego and god-given patriarchal right to objectify her. But I digress. A whore is anything or anyone you want it to be, m’kay?

In the case of the linked piece, Men’s Health – that pinnacle of philogyny – reports that women are whores if they like rock and roll. Women who listen to Nirvana are more likely to “put out” on the first date than women who listen to Coldplay.* (Yes, seriously!) And why? Because of the lyrics, of course. Cobain was a shagger and Martin is, well, he’s not a shagger. (They do make a semi-interesting point about normalising different sorts of behaviours but it’s impossible to take any of it seriously when it’s all intended to slut-shame.) It is admitted that the study is unscientific. Ahem.

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In somewhat related news, Psychology Today reports that Princeton researchers have found that sexy women are more likely to be seen as sex objects. Why? Because some male brains neurologically deny sexualized women “humanity”. When these men viewed pictures of scantily clad women (that’s the study’s definition of sexiness, by the way), their brains did not perceive them as being fully human. (Other studies have found, you may be interested in noting, that such women are less moral, likeable and intelligent!) A couple of things. First, these men can’t help themselves if they dehumanise a sexy lady because it’s all to do with their brains and their cognition over which they have no control. Irrelevant, it seems, is the patriarchal culture which has permitted them to dehumanise women in the first place. Second, sexy ladies, you only have yourself to blame if you’re not given the respect you deserve; again, remember, it’s the poor menz brains going all awry when they see you. Third, perhaps you just shouldn’t be sexy at all, for your own sake. And, by sexy, don’t forget that we mean scantily clad. If nothing else, you should have a care for what your appearance is doing to these poor blokes whose brains are fried every time they turn the corner. Not a bit wonder they see you as sub-human, you flipping harlot! Psychology Today there, always good for larks.

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* Women who listen to Coldplay have a whole other term in my book but it applies to men also.

In Rainbows

Ok, dear reader(s), I’m going to come clean: I don’t like In Rainbows at all. In fact, I’m going to go so far as to say that I actually dislike it. And I’ve worked out why: Thom Yorke’s voice. Truth be told, I’ve always found Yorke to be an annoying little toad, but now that I’ve realised that his voice really gets on my nerves, I’m happy to forget about him completely. Man, I should have knocked him over that time when I had the chance (he walked right out in front of my bike, the fool). *

I was excited when I heard about Yorke’s solo album – The Eraser – coming out and I couldn’t understand why I didn’t get into it at all. Now I have my answer. There’s no doubt that OK Computer and The Bends are exemplary albums, Thom Yorke and all, but my interest stops there.

Take it easy Radiohead; it was fun while it lasted.

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* I’m joking. Don’t have a go. I wouldn’t ever willingly knock someone over. Even someone that deeply irritating.

June downloads

I haven’t been keeping up with my monthly downloads at all. I keep running out of patience and time alas. And I seem to be too busy doing Other Stuff.

In any case, June downloads will be the following:

The White Stripes – Icky Thump. Q describes it as ‘their strangest record yet’. It’s full of Celtic folk, poetry and bagpipes, it goes on to say. I hate it already. Truth be told, I’ve hated the White Stripes since about two months after everyone (including myself) started to like them. The brother (or whatever the hell he is for those who care) is an obnoxious idiot and I’m convinced that there’s actually something wrong with the sister. Still, though, I always download their albums to see what they’re up to. From the sounds of it, this’ll be my last time.

Editors – An End Has A Start. I frickin’ loved the début album from Editors, The Back Room, and would happily include it in my favourite albums of 2005 and since, so I’m excited about their second effort. The reviews I’ve read thus far haven’t been as promising as I’d expect, but never would such a thing stop me. I’ll let you know…

Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger. I have to say, I do try to dissociate Adams from his alt-country reputation because I still equate country music with the likes of Big Tom. Nonetheless, I could listen to Adams all day, although I’m happy to leave the more personal lovin’ to Lism. The reviews I’ve read so far are favourable, and he seldom releases anything below par. Nuff said.

I’m sure I’ll also go for a new compilation of songs by Buckley for the sake of completiveness and because everyone should.

That’s it for now.
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Briefly, the downloads from March until now have been (so far as I can remember): Sia’s Lady Croissant, BRMC’s Baby 81, Rufus Wainwright’s Release The Stars, The National’s Boxer, Elliott Smith’s New Moon, Feist’s The Reminder, Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’s Living with the Living, and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver.

Looking at that, it seems like I haven’t done too badly, really. I still need to find the time to give some of them a good listening to, though. Grr for life taking over.

February downloads

Grr to new albums this month! There are few, dear reader(s). Thus far, I’ve spotted only three, and I seem to have been able to download one of them yonks ago.

Firsty, there’s the Kaiser Chiefs‘ Yours Truly, Angry Mob, which I’m looking forward to but I’m concerned that it might suffer from Lame Second Album Syndrome (LSAS) – I confess that their 2005 release, Employment, is still a favourite of mine. I do like that Ricky Wilson, I have to say. If I was a boy, I would dress like him. And maybe have my hair like his too.

Speaking of LSAS, I’ve finally given the Bloc Party‘s A Weekend in the City a good listen-to. I have to report that I don’t like it at all. Nothing stands out for me on it, and I was very bored by about song three (although I persevered). They seem to have changed their thing and I don’t like their new thing. See, Silent Alarm is another constant of mine, which makes their new album even more a disappointment. In their March issue (we’ll soon be getting them six months in advance, I tells ya!), Q gives A Weekend in the City only three stars and a [at best] mediocre review, and I think they’ve just about nailed it.

Oh, and Lucinda Williams is releasing her eighth album, West, which may just make up for the sorry lot of new albums for me to download this month. Although only if I get it for free, natch!

January downloads

Here follows a list of albums to download (for my own use, really):

The Good, The Bad and The Queen – Self-titled. I wasn’t very impressed with their previous three-song release – Herculean – but I’m generally a fan of Damon Albarn’s work. They’re worth a second shot.

Norah Jones – Not too Late. I’m not a huge fan of Jones, but downloading is freeness and therefore I’m in. She’s good to read to, I’ve found.

The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America. I’m never sure how to describe the Hold Steady apart from to note that they’re good and honest rock and roll. And I suppose that’s as good a reason as any to give their third album a good listen.

The View – Hats of to the Buskers. The last thing the Pod needs, frankly, is another Young Generic Indie Guitar Band, but I can’t resist the temptation (again, see freeness). I think I’ve heard two tracks from this crowd on Jo - I Love Everyone and Think Every Single Song in the World is Magic and Brilliant - Wiley’s Radio 1 show and I didn’t like either of them, but at least I’ll know for sure when I’ve listened to the album in full. The ‘Libertines-inspired’ comment in Q isn’t the best recommendation they could have, though, I’m sure.

That’s it for now, I think. It’s a slow month, I dare say.

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I skivved off the office today. I really do have the best ‘job’ in the world. I worked at home, though. Honest, guv!

Some music recommendations

There have been some fantastic releases recently, music-wise, and I want to tell you about them. Actually, some of these were released some time ago, come to think of it, but anyway.

Right then.

One of my favourite recent discoveries (way behind everyone else) is the Guillemots, who are a catchy almost-poppy little outfit. They’re the perfect compliment to dancing around one’s bedroom, although I don’t suppose I’ve been doing nearly enough of that lately.

My other favourite find has been one Neko Case who has the voice of a little angel. Allmusic.com speak of her smoky, sophisticated vocals and I suppose that describes her as well as anything else. She’s wonderful. A mention should also go to Emily Haines, who’s the lead with Metric and doing some of her own stuff at the moment; and Jenny Lewis, the lead with Rilo Kiley, who’s also doing some of her own stuff. Oh, add Sia to this list of Gorgeous Sounding Women too. She’s done a lot of stuff with other bands, but is possibly best known for her contribution to Zero 7′s Simple Things. I could still listen to that album all day and all night.

The Gossip have been taking the world by storm and it’s a very well-deserved acclaim. If you’re interested, seek out their latest release, Standing In The Way Of Control, and I’m sure you won’t be sorry.

Similarly, the Long Blondes are receiving the adoration and respect they deserve for their marvellous Someone to Drive you Home.

Who else? The Noisettes are due to get a lot of attention in 2007, I believe, and while I don’t dislike their latest release, I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. It is growing on me, though. And seeing that most people seem to disagree with me about this, my first impressions are perhaps wrong.

Oh, and how could I forget Jarvis! This is Cocker’s first album since his days with Pulp, and it proves, once more, that the man is nothing sort of genius. Nuff said. Shame he got married before he met me.

Others worth a mention are Razorlight’s Razorlight, which is head and shoulders above their début album; The Killers’ Sam’s Town which continues to thrill me to pieces; and Fratellis’ Costello Music which is having much the same effect.

Oh, and if you’re an unashamed Girls Aloud fan like me (I love ‘em and that’s all there is to it!) then you should buy yourself their greatest hits for Christmas. I have indeed downloaded it.

I shall be giving Tom Waits’ Orphans a proper listen one of these days, although he didn’t sound quite right when I saw his performance on the Daily Show recently, but praise the Gods that there is always Stuart Staples (of Tindersticks) Leaving Songs to fall back on. His voice will live forever.

That’s all for now. More perhaps when I get some time.