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On The Record

Jim Carroll

Music, Life and everything else

Monthly Archives: November 2012

Full stream ahead: Spotify vs everyone, the latest

It seems we’re destined to write about Spotify every other week. But the Swedish music streaming service, particularly the details of how much it pays artists, is the story which has dominated the music business beat in 2012. The latest …

Now Playing – what’s on the OTR jukebox

Russ Chimes “Turn Me Out” (White) Euphoric house winner from the one-time graphic designer Andy Stott “Luxury Problems” (Modern Love) Futuristic, deep and heavyweight electronic adventures from the Manchester producer whose time has finally come Jai Paul “Flip Out” (White) …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

The Hunt: Mads Mikkelsen on playing a kindergarten teacher wrongly accused of sexual abuse in Dogme director Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. Other Voices: Tony Clayton-Lea previes what’s ahead this weekend in Dingle, Co Kerry plus Q&A with the Kingdom-bound Staves …

New Music – Kimberly Anne, James Bay, Little Bear

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 tips below or check out all past New Music selections here. Kimberly Anne “Bury It There” …

When bands – and fans – bite back

It’s not just Chris Brown who has had a trying week on Twitter. The contretemps between Garbage singer Shirley Manson and a bunch of fans, including blogger Vanessa Monaghan and singer-songwrter Conor Furlong, has been well documented online already. Monaghan …

New on Radio OTR this week…

We had our weekly Radio OTR playlist meeting this morning – you know Christmas is on the way because there were chocolate Kimberleys to go with tea – and we’ve added a couple of dozen new tunes to the Radio …

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Ireland, July 2013: Limerick, Cork and Belfast
  • Bruce
  • November 28, 2012, 14:07

The boss is back – and he’s not coming to Dublin this time (yet, anyway). You can catch Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at Limerick’s Thomond Park (July 16), Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh (July 18) and Belfast’s Kings …

The wrap (and you really do need to wrap up today)

Frank Barsalona RIP. The legendary music booker behind Premier Talent – and the agent who probably changed the face of the US touring business – died last week. Tribute from U2 manager Paul McGuinness to the man who put his …

Is Academy 2 the worst venue in the country?
  • Venues
  • November 27, 2012, 09:24

I can’t be the only one who sighs and tuts when an act you really want to see announces a gig for Dublin and that show happens to be in an unloved and unlovely basement on Middle Abbey Street. Upstairs, …

The online posts that live forever

A couple of weeks ago, something very strange happened on this blog and a couple of readers have been on since to ask what the hell happened. An 18 month-old post found itself at the top of the most read …

Introducing OTR’s Class of 2013

Every year as the Christmas hustle begins, music coverage finds itself heading in two distinctly different directions. There’s the lookback at the year that was, with endless lists of albums, gigs and tracks (and yes, The Ticket will be partaking …

Now Playing – the tunes of the week at OTR HQ

Action Bronson “Rare Chandeliers” (Vice) The New York chef turns on the roughneck charm on his latest mixtape, produced by The Alchemist. Playing Dublin’s Twisted Pepper on December 18. Download mixtape here. Hunter-Gatherer “Nighthood” (Self release) Second album of ghostly, …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Madness: Suggs on 36 years of pop hits. Plus what happened to the rest of the ska/TwoTwo gang? Ray Winstone: From Scum to Nil by Mouth to Sexy Beast and now Ashes, Ray Winstone talks about his on-screen career as …

New Music – Rosie Carney, Wife, Queen Herod

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 tips below or check out all past New Music selections here. Rosie Carney 15 year old …

Banter in December: Other Voices, Review of 2012 & Pep Guardiola
  • Banter
  • November 22, 2012, 09:30

It has been a bumper year for Banter – 13 to date and counting afer last night’s entertaining yakking about the politics of showbiz – but it’s not over yet as we head into what’s going to be a very …

New on Radio OTR this week

If it’s Wednesday, it’s time to re-up the tunes on the Radio On the Record playlist. This week’s additions include Yonlu, Vondelpark, Band Of Horses, The Weeknd, Panama, Miguel, The Strypes, Lisa Hannigan, MMOTHS, Local Natives, Halls and many, many …

The return of the record label A&R department

Of course, they never really went away. Even over the last few years, when it seemed as if major record labels were simply emulating Real Madrid’s galactico policy when it came to signing acts (ie sign acts who had already …

Rihanna’s flying circus

There is something quite Monty Pythonesque about Rihanna’s current global press trip which sees the pop star, her sizable entourage and 150 members of the press trade flying around the world for a week. Travelling from Los Angeles and Mexico …

Start the week with a wrap

I chaired 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 or hear what …

Summer 2013 speculation

Earlier this week, I wrote about what could be in store for summer 2013 on the big-gig front. Since the piece appeared, there’s been even more speculation about who might be coming to Ireland and where they might be playing. …

Live and dangerous: the health and safety issues around live shows

There’s one kind of story which is sadly becoming all too familiar on the live music beat. The recent fatalities at a Steve Aoki show in Madrid and a Linkin Park show in Cape Town show that the health and …

Now Playing – what’s on the OTR jukebox this week

Solange “Losing You” (Terrible) Bright, breezy, addictive future pop from Beyonce’s little sister. Big Boi “Lines” (Def Jam) From the OutKast dog breeer’s forthcoming album “Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors”. Feauring serial collaborator A$AP Rocky and Phantogram. Rebekka Karijord “We …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

The Master: Joaquin Phoenix on playing dangerous, intense and troubled characters like Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, the ruthless emperor’s son Commodus in Gladiator, and now a violent, wayward World War II veteran, Freddie Quell, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s …

New Music – Ratking, Paradise, MØ

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 tips below or check out all past New Music selections here. Ratking New York collective fusing …

This republic’s never-ending civil war

There’s an insightful post-US presidential election piece by Jonathan Chait in the new current issue of New York magazine. Chait’s review of the campaign saw him concentrating on how social inequality had become the most promenient issue of the day …

It’s showbiz time

They may go by different names depending on the publication in question – the showbiz section, the gossip pages, the entertainment diary – but the media’s fascination with documenting the bold-face names and celebrities who turn up week in and …

Radio OTR – new additions to the playlist

Every Wednesday, I’ll be adding new tunes to the Radio On the Record playlist. This week’s additions include Pond, Nicolas Jaar, Neneh Cherry & The Thing, Sisters Love, Dead Prez, Gang Colours, Bill Frisell, Little Dragons, Ratking, Tops, Marsha Ambrosious …

Spotify (finally) launches in Ireland

It seems as if we’ve been talking about Spotify on this blog forever. In fact, the Swedish streaming service, which launched in its home country in October 2008, first entered the OTR lexicon in February 2009. Since then, Spotify has …

Here comes summer 2013

It’s that time of year again. Behind the scenes, promoters are engaged in the usual bouts of ducking and diving with agents and acts over next summer’s big outdoor shows. The venues have been booked, the dates have been ticked …

Introducing Radio On the Record

Regular On The Record readers will know about The Far Side, the radio show which I presented on Dublin’s Phantom FM from 2008. The show began on the night Barack Obama was elected US president and I suppose it was …

Kendrick Lamar, Dublin, January

This is going to make a lot of people very happy this morning: the awesome Kendrick Lamar, whose album “good kid, mAAd city” (five star review here) is one of the releases of 2012, plays Dublin’s Vicar Street on January …

Now Playing – what’s playing on the OTR jukebox this week

Jessie Ware “Devotion” (PMR) Splendid slo-mo, soulful works of art from the lady who could have been a football hack and should have won the Mercury Music Prize. Album streaming in full here, samples below. Wave Machines “Ill Fit” (Neapolitan) …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Anthrax: it’s the metal takeover. Ahead of the band’s Irish shows, Scott Ian tells Tara Street metalhead Ronan McCreevy that “there are so many people on this planet who love this music.” Plus why November is metal month. Geoff Barrow: …

New Music – George Ezra, Playlounge, Animal Beats

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 tips below or check out all past New Music selections here. George Ezra Bristol-based singer-songwriter with …

The wrap is getting ready for action

Conflux is an one-day music beano in Limerick on November 17 with 22 acts playing four stages in two venues in the city. Acts getting their Conflux on include Toby Kaar, MynameisJohn, Aine O’Dwyer, Driftwood Manor, Raising Holy Sparks, Herds …

The Trans Musicales express

One of the best festivals we came across in 2011 was Trans Musicales in Rennes in France (see here and here for the lowdown on last year’s acts and happenings). It’s back for its 34th year from December 5 to …

The (very last) Far Side on Phantom FM – playlist for November 6

As played on the last ever Far Side, Phantom 105.2, Tuesday November 6. That’s all from us on Phantom, folks. It’s been a fantastic experience to do a weekly radio show so thanks to everyone who has tuned into the …

Major label ins and outs with Trent Reznor and Death Grips

It’s the major label version of “Lanigan’s Ball”. First you have Nine Inch Nails’ dude Trent Reznor inking a licensing deal with Columbia for his new How To Destory Angels project. It’s not as if Reznor didn’t already have form …

Remembering Terry Callier and other lost heroes
  • RIP
  • November 5, 2012, 09:12

You didn’t forget an encounter with the late Terry Callier’s work in a hurry. That quietly authorative baritone, those beautful blurs of song, that great combination of blues, jazz and folk: when Callier sang, you took note. The Chicago native …

Go north if you want to catch tomorrow’s talent now

The north is having a moment again. Ahead of the third Belfast Music Week, which runs from November 4 to 11, it’s worth stepping back and checking the ongoing health of Northern Ireland music. Be it the strong current showing …

Now Playing – the sounds of the week at OTR HQ

Hot Natured & Ali Love “Benediction” (Hot Creations) The deep, soulful house anthem of the season. Angel Haze “Doo Wop (That Thing)” (Noizy Cricket) One of the best new MCs in the business has her way with Lauryn Hill’s classic. …

What’s in The Ticket today – and your plugs

Rust & Bone: Marion Cotillard on her role as a star-crossed tragedy-stricken killer whale trainer in the new feature from director Jacques Audiard The Wedding Present: David Gedge on why the road goes on forever, Lee Fields: …talks soul. Alps: …

New Music – The 1975, Hundred Waters, Cemeteries

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 tips below or check out all past New Music selections here. The 1975 From Manchester and …

Daughter, Dublin, January

One of our favourite acts from Eurosonic 2012 in Groningen, Daughter play Dublin’s Button Factory on January 26 next. Tickets are €15 a pop (plus TM siblings) and go on sale tomorrow. The trio are now signed to 4AD and …

Banter: The Politics of Showbiz
  • Banter
  • November 1, 2012, 09:17

After The Anti Room takeover last week (so good that we’ll definitely do it again in 2013), it’s back to business as usual at Banter this month. The politics of showbiz is a topic which has been on the to-do …