The Black Keys - 'Brothers'

On May 18th 2010, The Black Keys released their 8th album, 'Brothers', the blues-rock band are duo Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. I have been listening to BBC Radio 6 a lot these past few days, and one song on the play list that has impressed me the most is The Black Keys 'Tighten Up' off of this new album. The music stood out from the crowd and Auerbach's vocals simply uplifted me, this song comes as track 3 on the new LP. The album has 15 tracks on it, all of which keep to a similar style, but The Black Keys manage to keep their signature style but can change the atmosphere from song to song, track 7, The Only One, is the first song that showed me, drummer and producer Patrick Carney's skills of placing a song in the right place, using this song halfway through the LP leaves the listener in awe to reflect on the past dozen songs to some peaceful blues-rock. The last two songs, 'Never Give You Up' and 'These Days', give the same feeling but due to their order they give an atmosphere of an aftermath, these are the come down songs, the reflection of the journey, these are the songs you will play on the morning after a good party where you think about the events that had transpired. To pick 3 songs to check out, 'Tighten Up', 'She's Long Gone' and 'Ten Cent Pistol'. These 3 aforementioned songs have been picked for different reasons, 'Tighten Up' because of all the songs on the album this is the best taster you will get, another clever trick by the duo choosing it as their new single. 'She's Long Gone' is a song that represents heartache to me, so I have developed a personal connection to this, however you may perceive it differently, it is still a blinder of a song that you should check out. Also 'Ten Cent Pistol' because it has a slightly different feel to the rest of the album, I detect a  Ska influence when creating this song, so it blends three great genre's of ska blues and rock, what more could you want. Finally, a little note on the simplistic yet stylish cover art, 'This is an album by The Black Keys. The name of this album is Brothers' this unique cover reflects The Black Keys album because it gives off a vibe, as does their music, of we're going to make the music we want whether you buy it or not.

That's Just Groovy Baby!

As you may have guessed from my title, here is the 60s. A trip that no other generation has seen since, flower power and LSD was at it's peak, Beatlemania had hit the world with a bang! 2 major icons of society were unfortunately assassinated, JFK and Martin Luther King, RIP.

Taking what the late 50s had begun and grabbing it by the testicles was what this decade was about, the beginning of the era brought us more of that wonderful early Elvis sound and rock 'n' roll has distinctively defined itself, it's look, it's sound and it's attitude. One band I'm sure you will have heard of is that small Liverpudlian band by the name of The Beatles. Yes, John, Paul, George and Ringo took the essence of the 60s by storm, from the early 60s and their rock 'n' roll teddy boy look, to their late 60s experienced hippy aura. The acid trip had begun around 1965, everywhere hippies were organising meets in fields to smoke marijuana and take a trip to another dimension through the use of recreational drugs. The Beatles released 12 albums through their 8 year career, ranging from rockabilly to psychedelic, The Beatles created a cult following in youth culture, women would tear their clothes off and weep at the sight of the Fab Four, men wanted to be them and women wanted to be with them, it's safe to say The Beatles were at the forefront of the swinging sixties, a decade that gave two firm fingers up to the establishment, but in the name of peace rather than violence.

 This decade provided many greats in each industry that made it hard for future generations to live up to. Bob Dylan, the man who made the most controversial appearance of the Newport Folk Festival 1964, coming on with an electric band rather than his usual acoustic guitar, many Dylan fans felt he had flown the coop of folk music, but he felt it was a natural progression in his music. He remained popular with some fans, but was massively slated for this change, in the documentary 'Don't Look Back' Dylan feels a range of emotions to why his fans have turned on him, anger at their lack of acceptance, and sadness that they didn't like the music he was creating. However, Dylan pursued and has come out the other end of the tunnel one of the most glorified musicians of the era, he is still performing to fans today at the grand old age of 68 years of age.

Another God of the 1960s is only Jimi Hendrix, the guitar legend has achieved massive popularity despite his death at the young age of 28, his short career has left a massive print on the world of rock 'n' roll, he has inspired the majority of guitarists and singers to pursue their passion. This genius only released 3 studio albums and 1 live LP, yet he has created music that most musicians will never better, he has become an icon due to his fairly unique sound and ability with the electric guitar. Another unfortunate death of a 1960s God comes in the form of The Doors' Jim Morrison, the poetic songwriter and singer of the 1960s rock acts, he was one of the most charismatic frontmen of rock, the great Jim Morrison had a drug addiction, whilst alive this added to his character and his stage persona, but fans realised he was in too deep unfortunately too late and he had supposedly died of a heroin overdose, having sniffed what Morrison believed to be cocaine.

The 1960s gave us many cult icons, musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and more, journalists such as Hunter S Thompson, politicians such as John F Kennedy. It's safe to say this was perhaps the most explosive decade the world has encountered to date.

The Birth of Rock, and of course Elvis!

Culture. This 7 letter word has various connotations, In my case it represents musical cultures. Since the early 50s, the genre Jazz has demised in popularity, the youth culture of the time, was desperate for something to shake up the system, they found Classical music tedious, Blues music was hard to find, due to the integrity Blues musicians have & denying the mainstream access to their illustrious genre. But then in 1951 a pre-Tina, Ike Turner and his saxophonist friend created the song 'Rocket 88' that would curve a new musical genre, by the name of Rock 'N' Roll. At the beginning of this genre, there was no stand-out musician, but then The King arrived, known to all as Elvis Presley. This was the time Rock 'N' Roll raised it's teddy boy shoulders high and proud, now with it's pioneer it could create a massive wave in the culture, and show it's societies predecessors that the youth can change the way society controls the public.

Elvis Presley, the man who whipped the world into a frenzy, the jumpsuit-clad King of Rock 'N' Roll has set the standard for musicians everywhere. The genius spanned 21 years, bursting on the scene as a 13 year old boy and taken from this world at a devastatingly young 42, had the world been too much for Presley? We always wanted more and more from him, but if you watch the documentaries, or simply look at photos through his career, you could tell it was taking it's toll on the king, and who was there for him? We know for certain Colonel Tom Parker wasn't. It's well publicised that his manager the Colonel stunted his career because he was a crook but did he really care for Elvis? I believe the crooked beast was a trickmaster, he was fully aware of the luck he had caught and would do anything to stop the King from getting out of his firm grip.

The culture of the 50s also had control of some of the most instantly recognisable faces in history, a ms. Marilyn Monroe, a certain Frank Sinatra, and the western film actor John Wayne. These cult heroes and heroins have remained prominent in history, reminding each culture that followed of the standard they had set.

Next week I will be looking at the 1960s.

Thomas R. Johnson

Lou Reed - 'Transformer'

Lou, the ex-Velvet Underground, hit the big time in his solo career with this cult classic album, 'Transformer, after a mediocre solo debut, he proved any critics out there that he can create the magic of VU on his own. This 36 minute-long album is a wonderful trip of utopia but with moments of great sadness. Kicking off the album is 'Vicious', it captures the essence of the album right from the beginning, 3 tracks in, the classic 'Perfect Day' begins, this song has soundtracked many epic moments in a huge variety of people's lives, the string arrangement works so perfectly with Lou's vulnerable voice, but with the song's epic chorus the music suddenly changes with Reed's vocals joining the music on a more confident pitch. 3 tracks into this classic album and the listener is enticed by Lou Reed's style of storytelling, this glam-rock album is very camp in places, Satellite of Love, Make Up, New York Telephone Conversation, etc. this can be linked to the use of David Bowie co-producing the album, Reed and Bowie were two figureheads of the glam-rock movement, and have left massive footprints on the history of music, both being amazing at their profession and causing controversy in the public's opinions. The album completes a circular structure with the final song being 'Goodnight Ladies'.

Bob Dylan - Hurricane

'Hurricane' tells the story of the boxer Rubin Carter, the night that changed his life. Rubin Carter was framed for murder and the racist nature of the New Jersey police force and Law hierarchy claimed he did it, and they chose to believe petty criminals, Alfred Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley,  over the highly respected boxer. The song features heavy violin sections, which create an authentic sound, as this was not an instrument Dylan featured on many of his songs, it also gives it an emotional quality as the sound of the violin and the lyrics created a sorrow atmosphere. The song is the first on the album Desire, and is 8 minutes long, it captures the essence of Bob Dylan's songwriting style and his way of telling stories to his audience.

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

 Blonde on Blonde, is one of the most iconic albums in the folk-blues genre, the album mixes Dylan's lyrical style with his brash use of the harmonica and one of his early electric albums. Kicking off the album is 'Rainy Day Women #12 & 35', this song straight away captures the sound and essence of the album, the lyrics are about the drug marijuana, Bob Dylan even used to pass a joint around before recording and playing this song, as it en-captured the meaning of the song. Blonde on Blonde has a few of Bob Dylan's biggest singles on the album, with half of the songs on the double LP being released and gaining huge popularity, songs such as 'Just Like a Woman' and 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat' gaining much commercial success. The song 'Visions of Johanna' is a standout for me and transmits the Bob Dylan sound the most, with his nasal singing style, and lyrical genius, he creates an atmosphere that is enticing, with a fairly simple back beat, the attention is solely on Bob Dylan and that famous harmonica. I give this album a 9/10, it only just misses out on full marks because although it transmits the atmospheric Dylan sound, it lacks the quality some of his earlier work has.

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

This album is my favourite of The Smiths 4 studio albums and other numerous compilation albums, this album has claimed it's place in music history as it has become a cult classic and is still being thrived throughout a huge amount of todays aspiring teenagers. Released in June 1986 this album reached #2 in the UK charts and maintained a residency in the chart for a further 22 weeks, and has consistently sold worldwide since it's release. I cannot find a faulty song on the album, and it appeals to many different emotions and moods, for a more melancholic sound there is the emotional 'I Know It's Over' and despite it's upbeat tune, like many a-Smiths song, 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out'. For the more light-hearted songs the album offers 'Frankly, Mr. Shankly', 'Vicar In a Tutu' and 'Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others'. Although these songs create an atmospheric album, my hit of 'The Queen Is Dead' is track five 'Cemetery Gates', portraying an almost literary battle to the mental image, in which i have the view of Morrissey and The Smiths on one side of the Cemetery with the poet Oscar Wilde opposing a stranger and Keates and Yeats on their side. The album has the classic sound representative of The Smiths style, I rate this album 8/10, just short of a full 10 because every now and then Morrissey's beautiful yet depressing lyrics can be too much.