night bus

all those little private unknown scars
that you told me in the rush of the hour

you're not the only one going home alone tonight

Shelter - Darkpop

with open arms she lets me in
with silver charm she pulls me in
and deep within her walls i feel her lies surround me
and deep within her heart a guiding light will guide me
her simple promise takes me in
her bitter essence tricks me in
and like a burning fire consumes the air around it
i see the end this time but still im lured towards it

how we shelter ‘cause we’ve known her warmth
how we falter ‘cause we’ve known her thoughts
how i tremble under her desire
feel denied when she leaves my side

with knowing eyes she lets me in
with binding ties she pulls me in
and through her rhythmic sighs i feel her voice surround me
she sings into my mind and preys upon my longing

oh how i feel denied when she has left my side
feel myself tumbling down taking me underground
oh how i feel denied when she has left my side
feel myself tumbling down

taking me underground
taking me underground
taking me underground
feel myself tumbling down
taking me underground

Darkpop album review

Darkpop - Golden lilies and Mr Smith

Most of the songs have only been (frustratingly) available to date as demos and the drip-feed has been over an extensive period - but as an album it is very good. The website is worth a look too. There are imitations of Fetish, but nevertheless fantastic.
Overall rating: *****

Amy studt album review

Amy Studt - My Paper Made Men
Although dropped from Polydor, Amy Studt (21) returned, played gigs under another name (Jane Wails), supported Razorlight and threw herself into a redefining phase that has seen this album emerge. Undeniable echoes of Tori Amos resound, yet tracks like "Walking out" and "Here lies love" retain their own place. There are one one or two hiccups on the album, but these are very forgiveable as she tries to shed the very angst-ridden image that shot her to fame in the first place. Worth a listen.
Overall rating:****

Coldplay - Viva la Vida

It's hard to fault the Coldplay formula, which is both the cause for comfort and the associated tedium that brings. The title track is superb and all of the songs a reminder of Chris Martin's nack for crafting melodic, semi-indie tracks. An album you could safely play at a party, but one you won't play endlessly to yourself.

Bitter glass - Feeder

What are you saying?
You've got nothing to live for
You're tired and you're broken
You just can't free yourself

Sheryl Crow album review

Sheryl Crow - Detours

Hmmm. Perhaps it should have been called 'Detours from dark melodic introspection into joyful hand clapping and skipping'. Ok, so that's a bit unfair, but not far off. The title track is classic Sheryl Crow, which is great, and the overtly political 'God Bless This Mess' is simple and good. 'Make it go away' is also good, er, ish. And, for those tracks, this album is still welcome in the bland wilderness of bubblegum. However, 'Diamond ring' sounds like she's trying to imitate herself - never a good sign. 'Gasoline' is something to skip. And with track titles like 'Love Is Free', 'Peace Be Upon Us', and 'Rise Up', you're just hoping that this phase wont last long.

Shadowpuppets album review

The Last Shadow Puppets - The age of the understatement

This will be reviewed shortly.
Overall rating: tbc

Portishead - Third

Portishead - Third

Very Beth Gibbons. Which I suppose is what's good about it. Bands like this that have made such an impact with their first album often try too hard to do that with their follow up albums, fearful of being formulaic. And it some cases this is a pity. If you liked 'Out of season' then you'll like this. If you're hoping for Dummy, then you might not. I liked both.

Kooks album review

Kooks - Konk

This will be reviewed shortly.
Overall rating: tbc

Alanis Morissette album review

Alanis Morissette- Flavors of entanglement (Deluxe edition)

This will be reviewed shortly.
Overall rating: tbc

Feeder album review

Feeder - Silent Cry

This will be reviewed shortly.
Overall rating: tbc

Amy MacDonald - This is the life

Scottish MacDonald's This is the Life is simply brilliant.  She claims the acoustic simplicity stems from listening to Travis's The Man Who as a teenager, and there are soundbites from the Cranberries with a hint of the Morrissey jingle-jangle (think of "the loop" or "why don't you find out for yourself").  No weak songs really, but start with Footballer's Wife, Mr Rock and Roll, This is the Life and Let's Start a Band! An album well worth a listen.

Silversun Pickups - Rusted Wheel

So you can’t hold a star in your hand though
at least you can hold on to another plan

rusted wheel planted still

i can tell it's summer from the
size of the bugs that fly through my window
flying through my window

rusted wheel planted still
rusted wheel can't move on

i can tell it's winter from the
size of the lump in my throat
got a lump in my throat

rusted wheel planted still
rusted wheel can't move on

and it feels just like the ground
but trapped in another way
just still in the ground

and it feels just like the ground
and trapped in another way
just still in the ground

so you can't hold a star in your hand though
at least you can move on to that better plan

rusted wheel planted still
rusted wheel can't move on...

Sheryl Crow - Detours

The new album is set for release 5 Feb!
Also see the blog

Dissecting Pitseleh

(I have previously listed the lyrics of Pitseleh)
There are strong reasons to believe that this song pertains specifically to the film it was used in (Keeping the Faith), which tells a story of a Priest and Rabi falling for the same girl - hence the use of the yiddish word Pitseleh, which means "little one" - yet this song has a universal theme and feel: essentially regret over a relationship that was doomed, even if you were the one who destroyed it.

The song suggests emotional isolation from another person, because the protagonist is alone in the emotional depression that surrounds him and he believes that only he can truly understand it. He therefore wants to keep her from and so, in this respect, she is his "little one" (Pitseleh).

He starts with the self-reflective emotional relapse he is having:

"I'll tell you why I don't want to know where you are
I've got a joke I been dying to tell you"

Then he starts into the stark explanations of their demise, darkly suggesting how he kept possible suicidal tendencies from her

"A silent kid is looking down the barrel
To make the noise that I kept so quiet
I kept it from you, Pitseleh"

And so continues his justification of their breakup, trying to advance a more benevolent rationale:

"I'm not what's missing from your life now. I could never be the puzzle pieces"

and that she should consider this one of life's tests

"They say that God makes problems just to see what you can stand"

although, despite this, he concedes that he has succumbed to a choice more akin with his self-destructiveness - which is to end the relationship with her

"Before you do as the devil pleases and give up the thing you love"

Nevertheless, he utters his regret and sadness

"but no one deserves it"

He then goes on to describe the unavoidable sense of doom he brought to their relationship from the outset

"The first time I saw you I knew it would never last"

by admitting the self-flagellating perception he has of himself

"I'm not half what I wish I was"

as well as, more importantly, what he sees as his main flaw: rage

"I'm so angry, I don't think it'll ever pass"

And yet, amid this emotional logic and certainty, he closes with a sense of frailty by being vague

"And I was bad news for you... just because"

followed by a self-deprecating apology

"I never meant to hurt you"

the future of our collections

Quite impressed with Radiohead's challenge to the music industry by allowing people to choose what they want to pay for their downloadable album. This, with the ease of online marketing and relative ease of creating digital music, means that the future looks very different for our music collections. It's not that surprising then that iTunes and other large music distributions (including Gracenote) intend to make the 'digital album' a better package by including not only album art, but sleeve notes, lyrics, etc, so that it makes it worth while getting a legit copy.

In celebration of a more free digital world, I have been downloading tracks from 7digital.com which is my new found shopping place for music, linked to Last.fm (when I say free I refer more to the lack of Stalinist formatting restrictions than to cost). And I've downloaded "Nude" from the Radiohead album, which sounds great and very, well, Radioheadish. The great thing is you can preview the tracks before purchasing, making it quite a pleasure. You're more likely to explore music you wouldn't want to risk by investing in a whole album.

However, one thing to look out for is that the tracks are available Digital Rights Management free - and most of the WMA (Windows) format files are not! (the site tells you the license quite clearly).

Of course if you do find yourself trapped in the stark world of a DRM track you can still write it to CD and then rip it while still keeping very high digital quality (you will need to enter all the MP3 tags yourself if you do this). Every time they try and lock things down at the format level there will be people who find a way to unlock them... you've got to love 'em.

How to upload iPod Videos

This is about putting video onto your iPod. And yes (sadly), it is unbelievably cool to watch your favourite videos on the iPod, not just music vids, but small clips of your favourite people as well....

1. Firstly you need software to rip DVD to your hard disk in a standard format (e.g. *.avi). I recommend Xilisoft, which, despite being pricy, is quite usable and was able to rip all of my DVDs. There are a few quirks on some dvds that mean you need to open the folder view, but the software can handle all of these.

2. Convert the standard video format files into MP4 for use on your iPod. I recommend the free iPod video converter from Jodix.

3. Add the *.MP4 video files to iTunes by adding them to the library folder you use for videos which is set under preferences. In iTunes you can also choose to have the library mix tracks and videos (for music videos).

And now, you have video on your iPod. Enjoy!!!!!!