Music

X-Factor Has the X-Factor

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:26 +0000

Why, oh why, do we need to go out this weekend when we have this TV delight on at home? This is entertainment if ever there was. If the bars and the restaurants are empty on Saturday night - love it or loathe it - this is why. The X-Factor.

Bankers Rock For Charity

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:17:31 +0000

This Thursday at the Islington O2 Academy, three bands will perform to benefit the Egmont Trust. And chances are you used to work with at least one of the finance professionals gearing up to grace the stage.

Five Albums that Rock Now

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:52:21 +0000

Don't worry if you've lost the new music plot again. HITC Life's resident reader-writer-muso, Lucho Payne, will get you up to speed with reviews of Kasabian, Gossip, The Dead Weather, Muse, and Mumford & Sons.

O'death at the 100

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:55:35 +0000

My quest for good value live music took me to the 100 Club to see a band with a fascinating billing: "Expect five guys with maybe three shirts between them…they weld together bluegrass, country, folk and punk…howling and stomping…into an unholy spiritual throw-down."

The Dead Weather is Fine

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:33:35 +0000

Jack White. Is there anything he can't do? Not content with just fronting The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, running his own record company, and writing Bond themes, he has now formed an alternative rock supergroup called The Dead Weather.

Mr Wonderful, Live

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:43:11 +0000

It's a Bank Holiday Monday evening and the Barbican Hall is jumping. People screaming, stomping their feet, clapping their hands, attempting to one last time lure their idol back on to the stage - but to no avail. And yet only happy faces exit the hall. They had been fed well enough by Mr Wonderful.

New Music - Get This

Mon, 25 May 2009 22:47:24 +0000

Does your iPod need refreshing? Check out what reader-writer Lucho Payne (our resident muso) has to say about some recent albums he finds rather good.

The Delta Spirit Live at the ICA

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:02:20 +0000

And so the ongoing quest for reasonably priced live music brought me to the ICA on the Mall to see San Diego alt-rock quintet, Delta Spirit, for the bargain price of just £8.50. And what a fantastic treat it was too.

Recession Live Music Sessions

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:42:32 +0000

An evening of live music at The Comedy Pub. It sounds unlikely, but The Comedy Pub is in fact a superb small venue for bands and is in an excellent central London location. And what's more, you usually get to see at least four bands for a fiver. Surely a bargain, no?

The World of Axl Rose

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:54:22 +0000

Moving on from life at the top is a bit like ageing - you can either do it gracefully, or resentfully hang on to the glory days. Axl Rose seems to have done neither, mainly by not moving on in his own head. (Talk about using your illusion.) But I'm still rooting for him, since life after 1994 clearly hasn't been so easy.

The Black Keys at Brixton Academy

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:34:50 +0000

I saw The Black Keys at the Astoria and they were excellent, so when I found out they'd be playing at the Brixton Academy, I bought tickets immediately. But as the band only has 2 members - Dan on guitar and vocals, Patrick on drums - I wondered how their minimalist set-up would translate to the much larger venue.

Kings of Leon (c. 2008)

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:45:31 +0000

Kings of Leon in 2008 is a far-cry from the 2003 version. Beards gone, hair cut, look-alike supermodel girlfriends. Almost metro-sexual. And what about the music? Could they be descending into mainstream music biz banality? Or are they maturing from their raw roots into a top-notch rock band?

From Wharf Rockin' to Hall Rockin'

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:49:44 +0000

Once upon a time, Martyn Shone worked at 1 Cabot Square and ate at the canteen on the 9th floor like everyone else. Now he and his bandmate, former MTV-employee Lindsey O'Mahony, sell a different kind of share - shares in their band, Honey Ryder.

Coldplay is Living La Vida (Loca)

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:43:07 +0000

Surely it wasn't so long ago that Coldplay's front-man Chris Martin told us that "Coldplay would be going away for a very long time". But it seems he was only teasing, as they are back with their fourth studio album with the catchy title Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.

The Other Side of the River

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:10:39 +0000

Yes, it has finally happened. I couldn’t help myself - a mighty impulse drove me away from my natural habitat. I left my beloved Southbank yesterday and crossed the river into the wild lands of Westminster.

Portishead's Dark Return

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:34:20 +0000

There was a time when Portishead meant a sleepy dormitory town west of Bristol which fronts on to the mud-flats of the Bristol Channel. A poor man's Clevedon, but a step-up from Severn Beach. All that changed in 1994 when Portishead launched their classic debut Dummy to worldwide acclaim.

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:31:27 +0000

I always found Goldfrapp an intriguing group. Consisting of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, their debut album Felt Mountain had glorious synth-driven soundscapes with sumptuous vocals and an under-current of Marlene Dietrich inspired sultry weirdness.

Popular Hits on Powerpoint

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:03:36 +0000

Normally we'd wait awhile before another 'nothing about anything' tidbit, but this made us fall off our chairs, and for that, we figured it was worth breaking our rule.

The Biggest Music C.ck-Ups

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:00:15 +0000

US music magazine, Blender, has a great feature this month - The 20 Biggest Record Company Screw-Ups of all time. You can read the full article here, or enjoy our abbreviated version.

Adele - 19

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:02:55 +0000

Croydon. More precisely the BRIT Performing Arts School, based in Croydon. What has it done for us? Well it's given us no less than this lot: The Kooks, Kate Nash, Leona Lewis, Morcheeba, Katie Melua, Amy Winehouse, and Athlete.