Jarvis Cocker – Spinning Platters

Show Review: Jarvis Cocker at The Fillmore, 7/28/09

The sun shines for Jarvis Cocker and his magical air guitar

Jarvis Cocker struts on stage like the king of brit pop he is. Unlike most musicians/celebrities he is even larger in life than in pictures. His charisma is almost earth shattering and after about 20 years of performing he really knows how to work the crowd. His speeches between songs are hilarious and insightful. He makes it feel really personal, like he’s just talking to you whilst he is running around the stage posing and using the microphone in wonderfully phallic ways. Before the song “Leftovers” he proclaims “The Iguanodon is not aroused” as he swings the microphone limply. This was just the beginning of an evening full of quotes and great memories. Continue reading “Show Review: Jarvis Cocker at The Fillmore, 7/28/09”

Spinning Platters Weekly Tip Sheet: July 28th-August 3rd

Follow these tracks to the Great American Music Hall on Sunday.

This is part 10 of a continuing series… Next week, we will discuss how race relations affected the reconstruction.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Tip Sheet: July 28th-August 3rd”

Glastonbury Diary, Part Three: The Music

Seeing this on the screen was only a hint of the excitement to come.

What follows is a pretty simple list of every single musical act I saw at Glastonbury 2009 for at least one song. There were others that I walked by, and sometimes it takes a whole song to walk by them, but when I don’t know who’s playing until I’m finished walking by them and have gone back to my tent to look at a list of who was just on stage, I don’t think that counts because I wasn’t paying any attention at all. I’m looking at you, The Script (or was it The View?) I’ll make very brief remarks about some acts, and pretty lengthy ones about others. I probably won’t say too much about the music for some bands, but will assume you know them already instead. Find out which acts had me dancing, which had me skankin’, which ones had me screaming, and which one left me in tears. Buckle up, because this is going to take me a while. Continue reading “Glastonbury Diary, Part Three: The Music”

Album Review: Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications

Further Complications sounds more like a midlife crisis than a record. There are a couple of great classic Jarvis songs, some really good lyrics, and some really awful hard rock music. I was nervous to hear that Jarvis Cocker was working with producer Steve Albini and my nervousness was founded. There is some Jarvis left in there somewhere, but on some songs the vocals are mixed so low you can barely make out the lyrics; and what is the point of that when you are listening to a record from one of the world’s greatest lyricists!?!

Further Complications indeed. Continue reading “Album Review: Jarvis Cocker — Further Complications”