MetaFilter posts tagged with London and music

Klezmer and selling out

muggsy1079 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:03:14 -0800

David Goo and the Variety Band have been gigging in London for a few years, but a recent appearance as a soundtrack to an advert could be what propels them to the big time. Merging ska, punk, indie and klezmer influences, read an interview with them here as they speculate on the concept of 'selling out'

Well, it is what they're there for...

Helga-woo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:29:07 -0800

Bandstand Busking have decided to put liven up the underused bandstands of London by, well, you know, putting bands on in them. As an added bonus here's some pictures of vintage bandstands.

The Black Cab Sessions

msalt — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:01:08 -0800

Death Cab For Cutie. Live, in a Black Cab. One Song ("No Sunlight"). One Take. One Cab.
Also: Daniel Johnston, Bill Callahan, The New Pornographers, The Raveonettes, Okkervil River, Spoon, & The Futureheads.

We're all blue from projection tubes

whir — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:53:47 -0800

UK band The Get Out Clause made their newest video by performing in front of 80 of London's approximately 13 million CCTV cameras, and then requesting the footage via the Data Protection Act. The footage was then edited together into this music video. This technique was apparently prefigured by Irish band The Frames, who used a single camera in a post office to make a £2 video. via.

Write Me Stories

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:39:55 -0800

Paulo in London asks musicians to write him a story on an index card. For example, the Polyphonic Spree's Michael Musick and Bryan Wakeland, Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry, Jens Lekman, Sufjan Stevens, and the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne.

What we're gonna do right here is go back. Way back.

dhammond — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:55:14 -0800

Go way back into time with a deliciously analog collection of mastermixes from 1980s-era soul radio from London. [previously, semi-related]

But onstage they aint got no roots rock rebel. And soon they won't have anything at all.

lapolla — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 22:43:22 -0800

Hammersmith Palais, legendary venue immortalised in song, faces demolition. More at NME and BBC.

I Just Want to Make Love to You

Mister Bijou — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 03:33:39 -0800

Eel Pie Island: the early 1960s incubator and catalyst of the burgeoning R & B scene in Twickenham and Richmond, The young musicians who played there included members of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry, the Small Faces, to name but a few. BBC Radio documentary on Radio 4 (30 minutes). Plus, from about 1964 (?): pre-Wheels on Fire Brian Augur and the Trinity with three-quarters of Steampacket (Long John Baldry, the delicious Julie Driscoll, and Rod "the Mod" Stewart) I guess what with Augur on keyboard, the Steampacket didn't need their pianist, Elton John. youtuber

"I'm sick of god awful tinny rap music. You are not from the hood - you are from Esher ffs."

greycap — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:25:26 -0800

Fed up with their bus journeys being blighted by loud music blaring from phones or MP3 players, Londoners strike back - er, by putting up posters at bus stops. Tales of woe and disaster to be found here.

Flavorpill adds Art & World Events mailing lists...

dobbs — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:21:59 -0800

2 years ago I FPP'd FlavorPill, a company that sends out permission-based emails for books (Boldtype), music (Earplug), and fashion (the JC Report). They've since added ArtKrush (it's art, stupid! - nsfw) and Activate (world events) to their aresenal. In addition to the topic-specific mailing lists, they offer city-specific lists for London, New York, SF, LA, and Chicago. Sample issues are archived on the site.

Inner City Youth, London

tpl1212 — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:24:34 -0800

Inner City Youth, London "In 2002, Simon Wheatley began photographing London's publich housing developments...and was able to obtain a level of intimacy with his subjects that provides a true picture of the daunting project of growing up in the intimate confines of drug use, societal neglect, and poverty." This (Flash-based) narrated slideshow features Wheatley's work, and is a look at the culture...and also the music (grime) "as an artistic response to the place and circumstance, an expression of the violence, bleakness, and neglect..." (via Future Feeder)

Music history rendered on a London Tube Map

feelinglistless — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:44:09 -0800

Music history rendered on a London Tube Map They say: "Could we chart the branches and connections of 100 years of music using the London Underground map? Dorian Lynskey explains how a box of coloured crayons and lot of swearing helped." I say: Look also at the comments in the accompanying thread, which features trolling, snarkiness and repetition, beginning with "Why did you do this? What is the point? Wouldn't you have been better off doing something else? Sometimes you media people really worry me." The Guardian are introducing commenter registration on their new blog.

London Underground

Cancergiggles — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 09:20:13 -0800

London Underground Warning - very bad language and 750k but well crafted critique of the state of the transport system in London.

Let her go, let her go, God bless her...

languagehat — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:50:04 -0800

The story of "St. James Infirmary." You thought it was a piece of old New Orleans? Turns out St. James Hospital was in London (and treated lepers), and the song goes back at least to the 18th century (though it used to be sung to the tune of "Streets of Laredo"). Rob Walker's Letter From New Orleans #13 describes the results of his obsessive researches. If you have more info, he wants to hear from you! (Via Wordorigins, a site any word lover should know.)