Songs of the week

Coming Apart Again — Dear Prudence 

Inspired by The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux, and Depeche Mode, Brighton five-piece Dear Prudence have a powerful noir-pop sound fused with a dark and moodish stage presence, reminiscent of the 80's with their own fresh modern day twist. Singer songwriter Madi Poncia's smoky, haunting vocals are stunning and sure to leave you hitting repeat all day. Do yourself a huge favour, and check out their YouTube channel for more. 


Black Chandelier — Biffy Clyro

You know what I most love about Biffy? No, it's not Simon Neil's exquisite beard of Zeus. It's that after listening to one or two seconds of their music you KNOW it's them — but the magic lies in that they aren't samey. So many incredible bands create a beautiful, distinctive sound and stick with it — forever. And, yeah sure I can get behind that, if it ain't broke don't fix it right? Well, Biffy mix it up, they take risks, and they're creative. But most importantly they're always damn good. This is no exception. 


My Life — 50 Cent ft. Adam Levine and Eminem 

It's nothing new to hear Mr. Cent collaborate with Mr. Shady — but it is a risk. It's dangerous to have Eminem feature on your track because, inevitably, it becomes his track. But the two have worked together a million times, and it's never been anything short of fan-fucking-tastic.  Having said that, it was a genius move to bring the Maroon 5 frontman in  — his distinctive voice juxtaposes brilliantly with the rap verses. 

We should have each other to tea, huh. We should have each other with cream.

"Refusing to grow up is like refusing to accept your limitations. That's why I don't think we'll ever grow up."

My Dream Festival Line Up...

..NOT! 

Well, this certainly made me laugh when I saw this plastered all over facebook yesterday... Could you imagine?! Hilarious. 

So it's only about a month away until Reading release this year's line up and it's got me thinking about who my 'dream' line-up would be. 

No prizes for guessing Nirvana would be first on my list, but if we're talking about bands that are around today I think it would look a little something like this...

Headliners = The Cure, Slipknot, & Enter Shikari. 

Yes, I definitely think it's about time a band like Shikari filled the headline spot - they have twice the energy without the effort that most bands can only achieve at full stretch. They're fanbase is getting bigger, and with the success of their latest album A Flash Flood Of Colour they could certainly build enough hype to do justice to a headline spot! 

I'm going with The Cure because, erm, HELLO Robert Smith?! Ugh. Thank you, and goodnight.

Slipknot are maybe the greatest live band OF ALL TIME and they know how to put on a show at a festival - that's the key, being able to work a festival crowd - a crowd who are running on little to no sleep, have been on their feet all day, and are full to the brim with cider.

Some of my favourite live bands in the world  just fizzle out on a main stage at a festival because their songs don't translate as well. I watched New Found Glory play a small, intimate, sweaty, packed-to-the-rafters gig two days before I watched them play the main stage at Reading Festival and it was like watching two different bands. Same patoire, same setlist; different quality.

Also let's get No Doubt, and Hole over here - over the whole Reading Fest weekend last year only ONE woman graced the main stage - that needs to change this year. What ever happened to Girl Power?! On that note, what about Spice Girls? Admit it you'd love it...

Other bands I would love to see at Reading this year are Bad Religion, Japanese Voyeurs, Weezer, Rise Against, Rival Schools, Incubus, The King Blues, Slayer (ugh!), Jimmy Eat World, Architects, Taking Back Sunday... and I have declared to go whereever Bullet For My Valentine are playing so fingers crossed it's somewhere closer to home than say, Outer Mongolia?!

Maybe a bit of Green Day, or Foo Fighters?! (although I kinda get the feeling that if I got one glimpse of Dave Grohl, I would be a blubbering wreck!)

What is your dream festival line up?!