Earworm

  Fujiya & Miyagi first came to my notice when there was an upsurge in electronic music of this type while I was living in Korea from 2005 to 2007. At the time, I was more of a fan of Working for a Nuclear Free City, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. However, F&M have evolved their style over time and although they themselves lament their decline in popularity in a couple of their songs over the last few years, I am a fan of the way they have developed. In fact I might have a slight preference for the latest two albums, Flashback (2019) and Slight Variations (2022), over their two more popular early albums, Transparent Things (2006) and Lightbulbs (2008).  The band consists of David Best (vocals and guitar), Steve Lewis (synthesizers and electronics), and Ed Chivers (drums and percussion). The name Fujiya & Miyagi was inspired by a record player brand and a Japanese car brand. Musically F&M blend elements of Krautrock, electronic music and indie pop, although th...

 The last band we saw was in April and it was Half Man Half Biscuit. They were great, although obviously I still haven't got "Joy Division Oven Gloves" out of my head. I hadn't seen the band since the early 90s despite owning several items of Dukla Prague! It was on the same day as we were at Cambridge's famous victory over Peterborough, so I wasn't that sober and we even sat through the first few songs in Junction 2 instead of Junction 1. Luckily the venues are next door to each other. The gig came off the back of them playing the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket the night before, which shows the type of cult rather than mainstream appeal that they enjoy. The band were formed in Birkenhead in 1984, and despite a short hiatus in the 1990s,  have remained active ever since with a core line up of Nigel Blackwell (guitar and vocals); Neil Crossley (bass); Ken Hancock (drums) and Carl Henry (guitar). The band are pretty unique and most of their lyrics are typically ...

  The next band that we saw was Mogwai at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge back in February. Apart from resurrecting Brainiac as the support act it was a good, noisy show. Mogwai is a rock band from Scotland that formed in Glasgow in 1995. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, keyboards), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). I was first introduced to the band by a Scottish friend in 2005 and the song ‘George Square Thatcher Death Party’ was my theme tune when Thatch did in fact die. I also greatly enjoyed the soundtrack for the film that they did for the Zidane film and I might be alone in this, but the latest album, ‘As the Love Continues’ is one of my favourite albums and my favourite by them. Mogwai’s music is known for its dynamic range, featuring quiet, atmospheric moments that build to powerful, intense crescendos. The band's sound is often instrumental, but they occasionally incorporate vocals into their so...

Let's kick the blog off with Fontaines DC. When I first heard Fontaines, I was taken with them from the off, especially 'Boys in the Better Land'. I was probably a bit late to the party as I really only got into them last year when Skinty Fia came out. It was also one of the sound tracks to our trip to Dublin, which included our usual trip to a Bohs game. A team that they had the names on the kit of the season before. Needless to say the music on the tannoy was one of the highlights of trip as Bohs lost to Derry. Still it was a good game. We followed up by going to see them in concert in London in November. It was the first time I'd been to a gig in years and it was great fun, so I can really say that they have become one of my favourite bands of all time. Fontaines D.C. (stylized as Fontaines DC) is a post-punk/indie rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Grian Chatten on vocals, Conor Deegan III on bass guitar, Carlos O'Connell on guitar, Conor Curle...

 I thought that it might be a fun idea to write some things about bands that I go and see live or just enjoy from time to time. I have been thinking about it for some time and it will give me something to think about more now that the football season is coming to an end and I'll have less to say on my usual Football Rambles Blog.