Afternoon With XFM

Song on the Xfm playlist I’m enjoying:
Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz) – Every time this plays I am overcome by a strange compulsion to do that embarrassingly unhip headboppin’ thang. Damon Albarn’s vocals have that laid back Stephen Malkmus vibe he’s gotten good at since Blur’s self-titled album, and as for the rapping in the verses…well, I just like it. I don’t know why. (Note to self: do not quit study of law to become world-famous music journalist just yet.) I’m not sure what to make of the whole virtual reality group concept (Idoru?), but the quality of the two singles released so far suggest we might just be into something good.

Song on the Xfm playlist I’m hating:
Butterfly (Crazy Town) – Will someone please explain to this band that if they want to be yet another nu-metal band, they need to actually have some metal. These guys do the whole Limp Bizkit rap stylie thing, but there isn’t a single overblown, whiplash-inducing riff in this song. If that isn’t bad enough, the song’s called Butterfly, and includes “sugar-pie” in its lyrics. Disgraceful. I want my nu-metal songs to conjure up images of socially dysfunctional adolescents wearing black clothes and neck-braces. File under just “nu”.

Song on the Xfm playlist I’m ashamed of enjoying:
The Next Episode (Dr Dre) – I have no explanations. No excuses. I offer this personal revelation in the hope that public humiliation is good for the soul.

Just randomly:
Thank you, Spencer Owen from Pitchfork, for giving Coldplay’s Parachutes a review it deserves – by this, I mean a review that fully acknowledges its stunning mediocrity. Spot on about the blatant Jeff Buckley influence in Shiver as well, as well as the fact that Jeff did it so much better. I sometimes raise my eyebrows at some of their reviews, but I couldn’t agree with this one more. The mainstream UK music press really should stop relying on that one brain cell they pass round.

Break free
From NME!