Culture
/
On The Record

Jim Carroll

Music, Life and everything else

Monthly Archives: November 2011

Early birds and the gigroll

Early bird tickets for next year’s Body & Soul festival have gone on sale. Those interested in going to the fest at Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath on June 23 and 24 can get weekend tickets for €89 (plus TM charges) …

The punk rock way

There will be many bands looking enviously at Fugazi right now. The Washington DC band always did things their own way and profited hugely from this approach in terms of long-term sustainability. There was little or no interference from third-parties …

Can Moneyball work for the music business?

You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy Moneyball. The film of Michael Lewis’ excellent book casts Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the manager of the Oakland Athletics, a team who lack the cash of their league rivals …

Time for music to downsize to a cottage industry?

There’s one area of the future of the music business debate which rarely gets aired and that’s the question about if there is actually a future for the industry. The recent huffing and puffing about Spotify payments brings realities about …

The Ticket Album Club: Bjork’s “Biophilia”

It’s time to convene The Ticket Album Club. Every month, a panel of guest critics vent their views about one album and you, the readers, get to have your say on their views and, of course, the album in question. …

Now Playing – the sounds of the week at OTR HQ

The essential tunes on the OTR stereo this week. Let us know what tunes are giving you a thrill at the moment in the comments below. Keith Jarrett “Rio” (ECM) Music of intricate, delicate beauty and dashing, spellbinding colour from …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Deep Blue Sea: Donald Clarke talks to great British director Terence Davies as his first feature in a decade opens today Skrillex: meet the dubstep avenger ahead of two sold-out Irish shows. Adam Ant: Mr Ant, aka Stuart Goddard, talks …

New Music – Lower Entrance, Foxes, Races

Here are the latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in tomorrow’s edition of The Ticket. Please feel free to share New Music tips below. Lower Entrance The Polish beats producer currently living in Ireland is the …

Bruce Springsteen, Dublin, July 2012

As rumoured earlier in the week, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are coming to town. They play Dublin’s RDS on July 17 next. Tickets go on sale next Thursday (December 1) at €96 and €86 a pop (plus …

The Far Side – playlist for November 22

As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday November 22. DJ-ing plug: Glider turns two this Friday (November 25) and I’ll be DJ-ing at the birthday bash alongside fellow new Glider residents Alison Curtis (Phantom FM) and Jonny Tiernan …

Spotify and the blame game

There are some rows which are destined to run longer than a Broadway show. Just as we think some music business memes are coming to a close – we haven’t heard anything from IRMA about piracy in a while, you …

Heritage acts and a question of scale

Two recent gig announcements prompt some headscratching round OTR’s way. Firstly, there’s Elvis Costello & The Imposters. Originally mooted for the Grand Canal Theatre, his Revolver show (featuring a Spectacular Spinning Songbook big wheel along the same lines to the …

Banter: Review of the Year
  • Banter
  • November 22, 2011, 09:15

As we did in 2009 and 2010, it’s time for the annual Banter Review of the Year, as we gather a panel of thinkers, talkers and troublemakers to review the flotsam and jetsam of the year nearly gone by. Yes, …

The randomiser is now thinking about selection boxes

Feck Twitter, I’m off to WhoSay.com! It’s OTR’s kind of social media network judging by this. Or perhaps I need to work up a version of Jogabo for hurlers looking for winter games? One of the very best Irish albums …

The randomiser is thinking about mince pies

Monday morning good news dept: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are coming to town – well Europe anyway. “The European dates run from the middle of May until end of July and are being announced this week”, per …

Takes more than a tweet to get new music fans motivated

So where do you go discover new music in 2011? At a time of infinite choice for new releases and acts, and where discovery of new sounds is the meme of the moment, it’s a question which pops up again …

Now Playing – our tunes for the week that was

The essential tunes on the OTR stereo this week. Let us know what tunes are making you smile this weather in the comments below. Kate Jackson “Wonder Feeling” (Vinyl Factory) Former Long Blondes’ front-lady sashays back into action with a …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Wuthering Heights: the former star of E4’s Skins, Kaya Scodelario puts on her moody, tortured face for her turn as Catherine Earnshaw in Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights. She tells Tara Brady what it’s like to make a classic. David Guetta: …

New Music – Tandem Felix, Netherlands, Cities Aviv

Here are the latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in tomorrow’s edition of The Ticket. Please feel free to share New Music tips below. Tandem Felix Tandem Felix may be the best thing to come out …

Google Music enters the fray

We have a new player on the digital music pitch. Google Music unveiled its wares yesterday as it crossed its fingers and hoped to win over users from the plethora of other download and streaming services already making merry – …

The Far Side – playlist for November 15

As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday November 15. While the Listen Again stream is currently unavailable, you can download (most of) last night’s show here (thanks to Martin for the recording). DJ-ing plug: Glider turns two on …

10 things to look forward to before Euro 2012

(1) Huge upsurge in plastic hammer sales. There’s going to be mad overtime going in the Yiwu Tuozhan Plastics Toys factory over the next few months. (2) The Robbie-Keane-is-not-a-bad-lad movement finally goes into overdrive. Surely the lad has done enough …

The big 3 – or why EMI to UMG means SFA

The deal has been done and now, there’s just three major labels stalking the landscape. It’s like a scene from one of those dinosaur films – first, there was five, then there was four and now there is three! – …

One Saturday night in Dublin city

Who said there was a recession in live music? On Saturday night in the capital, it seemed from text messages and tweets as if every venue was bringing its A game in terms of bookings and audiences responded at the …

Electric Picnic 2012 – dates & early bird ticket prices

While we wait for Oxegen to announce something (anything – venue, dates, line-up and ticket prices are still TBC as MCD scratch their hoops), the Electric Picnic are already out of the traps with dates and early bird ticket details. …

Taking time to get the talent right

In the end, it comes down to talent. Forget about spending your time advocating for radio quotas for Irish bands, agitating against Spotify’s royalty rates and giving out yards about not getting support gigs. They’re important, but not as important …

Now Playing – the sounds rocking the OTR office this week

The essential tunes on the OTR stereo this week. Let us know what tunes are rocking your world below. Factory Floor “Two Different Ways” (DFA) Banging new psychedelic reel from the London collective with the amazing live show which, sadly, …

Tomorrow in The Ticket – and your plugs

What you’ll find in The Ticket on your newstands, app and online tomorrow: Twilight – Breaking Dawn: it’s Taylor bloody Lautner! The lad who landed his first leads six years in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3D …

New Music – Cold Specks, Kab Driver, Monto

Here are the latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in tomorrow’s edition of The Ticket. Please feel free to share New Music tips below Cold Specks Consider us smitten with the Toronto-born, London-based Al Spx after …

Hard Working Class Heroes 2011 panels

I hosted a bunch of panels at the Hard Working Class Heroes Convention in Dublin last month. For those of you who weren’t in the room and who want to see what all the fuss was about (and gasp at …

The Far Side – playlist for November 8

As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday November 8. It was the show’s third birthday and it was an all-covers show featuring the unusual suspects. Big thanks to those who texted or tweeted in with comments and recommendations. …

Heavy D RIP
  • RIP
  • November 9, 2011, 08:37

Sad news from Los Angeles with the sudden death of New York rapper and old-school great Heavy D. Aside from a lengthy series of quality releases back in the day with Heavy D & the Boyz, he was also a …

Time for some summer festival 2012 speculation

Right now, there are just a handful of people who actually know what’s really going on with next year’s Irish summer festivals and they are, as is their wont, holding the cards very close to their chests. Promoters don’t become …

The randomiser says “cheese”

Some respect, please, for the death of the “one million pound” record contract, though we feel that particular horse left town a good few years ago. And did those X Factor winners (and losers) really do the maths or just …

Fish pedicures, laser teeth whitening and a ticket to see Britney

Your daily email from Groupon may be about to feature tickets for big gigs alongside fish pedicures and dinner-for-two deals. Promoters Live Nation recently used discount sites to flog 5,000 half-price tickets for Britney Spears’ UK tour, while Ticketmaster UK …

Now Playing – the sounds of the OTR massive this week

Blue On Blue “We Never Sleep” (Tip Top) Beautifully intricate, spooky pop with an infectious hook from London-based duo Dee Sada and Billy Steiger’s new EP. Nina Simone “Vous Etes Seuls Mais Je Desire Etre Avec Vous” (Sunnyside) A reminder …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Katy Perry: The Tickets joins the pop star for a glass of bubbly as she celebrates her 27th birthday. The Coronas: huge in Ireland but largely untested out foreign, it’s an interesting time for Danny O’Reilly and friends. Cher Lloyd: …

New Music – KaraKara, King Charles, Giraffage

Here are the latest New Music selections from the On The Record column in tomorrow’s edition of The Ticket. Please feel free to share New Music tips below KaraKara Instant earworms from Dublin producer and Trapped In A Bathtub band …

The Far Side – playlist for November 1

As played on The Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday November 1 (yes, it was a pre-record). Next week, The Far Side turns three so there will be a special show to mark the occasion, though I haven’t quite worked out …

Here comes the Chop-Up

There’s an unspoken rule about reviewing live shows which I’m going to break in the very first line: you never talk about the audience. You’re there to review what’s happening on the stage and not in the stalls. Unless the …

Pete Townshend spectacularly misses the point about music and Apple

Can someone please give me a rational explanation as to why the music business’ elder statesmen always seem to get it wrong when it comes to pontificating about technology? The Who’s guitarist Pete Townshend joined Paul McGuinness, Jon Bon Jovi, …

On the Polls: it’s a wrap

Michael D Higgins: there can be only big winner in a presidential race and it was the man from the west who triumphed on this occasion. Aside from one outburst on the last weekend, Labour’s man ran a dignified, positive …