The Courteeners in the running for Guardian award

Manchester band The Courteeners’ debut album ‘St. Jude’ has been nominated for the inaugural Guardian album award. Formed in 2006, the Middleton lads have had a hugely successful couple of years and it’s not been the least bit surprising. Liam Fray’s uncompromising, cocky manner sets the tone for the band and their music certainly justifies his demeanour.

The album is packed full of great tracks, and with singles such as ‘What Took You So Long?’ and ‘Not Nineteen Forever’, the band are helping to create a new scene in Manchester. With fantastic melodies and great hooks, the songs are also proving a massive success on the road. The lads are able to generate an amazing atmosphere with their raucous, sweaty gigs, the crowd almost appearing to be plucked straight from the terraces.

They’ve also come in for some pretty high praise from non other than Morrissey, himself claiming to be a massive fan of the band.

The fact that the album peaked at No.4 in the charts and went gold in the current musical climate, what with bands clogging up the charts by means of selling out, is an achievement in itself. Winning this award however, will more than support their credentials as one of the finest new bands around.

To place your vote, click www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/poll/2008/nov/06/firs-album-award-vote
Voting ends 30th November and the results will be revealed in the Guardian’s ‘Film and Music’ supplement on 19th December.

The Courteeners - Acrylic



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Recommended: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

There’s no denying that Captain Beefheart is an acquired taste. Born ‘Don Van Vliet’, Beefheart has produced a wide array of music, ranging from brilliant blues/rock melodies to insane, cacophonous ramblings. However, don’t let the latter put you off, as you will miss out on some superb music. With 12 studio albums in 15 years he was certainly prolific, and his output goes from one extreme to the other.

Debut album ‘Safe as Milk’ offers many outstanding tracks, spanning genres including delta blues, rock, jazz and motown. Beefheart proficiently drifts from genre to genre, his coarse, gravelly vocals accompanying throughout. If you like the video below, I would strongly suggest looking at this album.

The other side of Captain Beefheart is never more blatant than on 1969’s ‘Trout Mask Replica’. Now critically acclaimed and widely regarded as his finest album, it can take a lot of listen to appreciate its qualities. Extremely surreal, lyrically and musically, this album at times appears to be just plain noisy. Not for the faint-hearted.

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – Sure ‘Nuff’ N Yes I Do



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Black Keys man to release solo album

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys has announced he is to release a solo album entitled ‘Keep It Hid’. After 6 years releasing material with The Black Keys, the man from Akron, Ohio has decided to go it alone with an album entirely produced and engineered by himself. The album is due for release in the US on February 10th, however no UK release date has been announced yet.

CHECK OUT THE OUTSTANDING BLACK KEYS' LIVE PERFORMANCE BELOW!

The Black Keys - Set You Free (Live TV)



Auerbach recently stated "This record is a mixture of things I like to listen to, psychedelia, soul music, country harmonies. I wanted a live, organic sound. Nothing was too plotted or planned, just a lot of spontaneity."

The tracklisting for the album is:

'Trouble Weighs a Ton'
'I Want Some More'
'Heartbroken, In Disrepair'
'Because I Should'
'Whispered Words'
'Real Desire'
'When the Night Comes'
'Mean Monsoon'
'The Prowl'
'Keep It Hid'
'My Last Mistake'
'When I Left the Room'
'Street Walkin'
'Goin' Home'


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Lennon comes from nowhere to win ‘best solo artist ever’ poll!

In a bizarre flurry of late voting activity, John Lennon went from having 0% of the votes to a 41% majority in the final 48 hours. Surprisingly sweeping aside competition from Neil Young, Morrissey and Dylan, Lennon raced into poll position and remained there throughout the final hours. David Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Ian Brown also picked up votes during the latter stages of the poll.

John Lennon - Jealous Guy



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Your nominations for ‘best band ever’?

As the poll for ‘best solo artist ever’ draws to a close, it’s time to take some nominations for the next poll. The difficult question this time is the ultimate one. Who is the greatest band ever? Click on the comments link below and let me know who you think should be on the shortlist. On Tuesday 18th November, I’ll take these nominations, along with some of my own suggestions, and compile the shortlist to decide ‘Who is the greatest band ever?’

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Fleet Foxes scoop Uncut ‘Best Album’ award

Fleet Foxes self-titled debut album has become the first winner of the inaugural Uncut music award. The band triumphed from a shortlist of 25 albums released between September 1st 2007 and August 31st 2008, and was voted for by a panel of 10 experts including Edwyn Collins, Peter Hook and Linda Thompson.

Fleet Foxes, currently out on a world tour of their much coveted album, are a five-piece indie band from Seattle who describe their music as “baroque harmonic pop jams”. The quintet grew up listening to their parents music and were inspired by the likes of The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Zombies, Joni Mitchell, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Love, Marvin Gaye, Bach, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan and Buffalo Springfield.

Emerging in 2006, the boys from the Emerald City didn’t waste any time in getting noticed. After self-releasing an EP in 2006, they went on to release another EP, two singles and a critically acclaimed album with the label Sub Pop. It’s been a great start for the band, and upon listening to their music, something tells me they just might be around for some time to come.

Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why



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The Smiths win poll!

So, The Smiths have won ‘The Proper Music Blog’s’ ‘Greatest Manchester Band’ poll with 44% of the votes, after staving off challenges from The Stone Roses and Oasis.

Undoubtedly one of the most important bands in music history, The Smiths were only together for approximately five years, during which time they released 4 studio albums and 18 singles. With the brilliantly melodic, haunting riffs of Marr and the brutally honest, witty lyrics of Morrissey, it’s no surprise that the band achieved the level of success they did.

The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out



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Second Longcut album on the way

An eagerly awaited second album looks to be on the horizon for fans of The Longcut, after the latest news on their official website indicates good progress is being made. The posting states that ‘We’ve nearly recorded whatever turns out to be album no.2 (we think). Things are going well, apart from the sore fingers and head colds.’

The Longcut began to break through in 2004 when they were signed to Liverpool’s Deltasonic label, subsequently releasing a whole host of outstanding tracks including ‘Transition’, ‘A Quiet Life’ and ‘A Tried and Tested Method’.

The band will therefore be keen to emulate the critical success achieved by their debut album, and with a bit of luck (and no more head colds), the follow up to 2006’s ‘A Call and Response’ shouldn’t be too far round the corner.

The Longcut - Transition



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Shed Seven: Love them or loathe them?

After many discussions down the years with fans of varying genres of music, one thing I’ve always found is that Shed Seven are a band you either love or loathe. Personally, I sit firmly and undeniably in the ‘love’ camp, leaving me bewildered when people express an apparent hatred of them! What is it that makes them great, or on the contrary, what makes people despise them?

With songs like ‘Dolphin’, ‘Bully Boy’, ‘Where Have You Been Tonight’, ‘Feathers’ and ‘Chasing Rainbows’, it’s hard to imagine how people could not warm to these Yorkshire lads. Should they be held in such high esteem as bands like The Charlatans and The Verve? Maybe the root of the problem could be their lesser releases such as ‘She Left Me On Friday’ and ‘Disco Down’, or maybe it’s something else altogether?

So, love them or loathe them, express your own personal opinion, or see what others have to say by clicking the comments section below.

Shed Seven - On Standby



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Morrissey to release album in Feb 2009

Morrissey has announced the release date of his forthcoming album ‘Years Of Refusal’. A statement given on his ‘True To You’ website confirmed the 12 track album will now be released on February 23rd 2009. The album had originally been scheduled for release in September but was delayed due to the tragic death of producer Jerry Finn.

In a recent interview on BBC Radio 2 Morrissey cited the work as his best yet, saying “It’s fantastically strong. It’s very, very strong and it’s interesting for me after all these years, but it’s the strongest.”

The album will be preceded by the single ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris', although no official date has yet been given. The single will also be supported by two new offerings, ‘Because Of My Poor Education’ and ‘Shame Is The Name’ featuring backing vocals from Chrissie Hynde.

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Joy Division omitted from poll

I have belatedly noticed that I have carelessly omitted Joy Division from the ‘greatest Manchester band’ poll. As many of you will probably agree, this is an obvious oversight and unfortunately cannot be rectified for this poll. If you think Joy Division are the No.1 Manchester band, please feel free to leave a comment on this post.

Joy Division – She’s in Control



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