In honor of our of ATL super sub Phily Taggart's instrument of choice, we're talking about the best bass lines ever. Maybe a bit of Flea? Bita John Entwistle or Peter Hook?
Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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Blur – Girls and Boys
Phily Taggart - ATL Presenter
If there has ever been a cooler person to pluck the four strings of funk than Alex James I will find a hat and eat it. Ever since I was a nipper I was obsessed with Blur, especially Alex James. From the faux Stone Roses’ fret walking of ‘Theres No Other Way’ to the indie dance floor classic that is ‘Girls and Boys’ Blur just plain had the funk.
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On Saturday night/Sunday morning, at around 1.55am, Joe Lindsay will play the last record on his last 'After Midnight' show. It'll most likely be an REM track, probably something pre-Green. I know this because I know Joe reasonably well and knowing Joe means knowing his music. The guy lives for it. Great music, daft comedy and movies. But mostly great music.
And some dodgy tunes, mind. I don't always agree with his taste. Some of those bootlegs he's played on Radio Ulster over the years - some of them didn't work for me. And recently, on Facebook, he was dissing Liam Gallagher. Which didn't go down well chez Rigs - I lived for Oasis during britpop and still consider both Noel and Liam a hugely entertaining prospect. I can't remember if I had a go at Joe (sometimes it's hard to keep up with my own grievances) but I should have.
He made up for it though, discussing the merits of 'Out of Time', an often overlooked, glorious little bag-of-treats of an album by the aforementioned REM. And when I called for back up in a discussion regarding the latest horrendous abomination by Kesha (I refuse to give her her $), Joe was there for me.
Then on last week's show (which I had on the iPlayer) he played Madness and Vanishing Point era Primal Scream back to back, just as I discovered my cat had vomited down the back of the piano. He made the clean up operation bareable and for that I'll always be grateful.
Anyway, the only person in the BBC who gets anywhere near as much love from team ATL is a guy called Steven Rainey. And the only person who gets close to Joe when it comes to train-spottery levels of enthusiasm for his music is a guy called.... Steven Rainey.
Steven takes over from Joe on Saturday week for a bit. So yeah - one magnificent specimin replaces another. The blow has been softened, for sure.
Another Wednesday, another online chat between the frontman/woman of an awesome band and our Rigsy. This time around, it's the turn of Cahir O'Doherty, from legends of the ATL playlist, Fighting with Wire, ahead of the band's show at The Stiff Kitten next Wednesday.
After getting over the shock of Cahir's avatar being a picture of him wearing a rather fetching flowery dress, Rigsy had a few questions about 'Chinese Democracy', aka the long awaited second FWW album....
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Given the recent controversial off-air comments by certain satellite-based sports broadcasters, we at ATL are firmly of the belief that ladies are class and with that in mind we would like to celebrate the gentle sex with a tribute to our favourite female frontpersons.
Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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Minnie Riperton
Rigsy - ATL Presenter
Probably my favourite female singer if you're just talking about the actual voice, which, in her case, is properly unique. Most of her lyrics are pretty filthy (but, you know, in a subtle, classy way) which only adds to the appeal. Check out 'Inside my Love' - the content is practically obscene, but no one notices as we're all too busy melting. And, on 'Loving You', she reaches a note so high it's barely audible, even to dogs. Hugely underrated.
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pic: www.richardwatsonphoto.com
With the Coachella line up blowing everyone's mind earlier this week (still a rubbish festival mind, trust me) I've made an important call - it's now officially okay to get excited about festival season 2011. Yes, I'm in charge of such matters.
Once again (RATM and Blur stole the show at Oxegen in 2008 and 2009 ya see), it's the thought of a few cheeky reunions getting us lot in a bit of a lather.
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Space Dimension Controller (aka Jack Hamill from Belfast) is a properly massive prospect, with his quirky brand of futuristic house music landing him gigs around the world and interest from some of the biggest and most exciting labels in dance music. Not bad for a 20 year old creating music in his living room, eh? Making the most of his increasing profile, SDC launches
'Basic Rhythm' this Saturday, a brand new night at Love and Death Inc in Belfast.
Rigsy went sofa-to-sofa to find out more.....
(Please note, interview copied directly from the online chat, mistakes and dodgy grammar are therefore author's own....)
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Jack says: yo
Rigsy says: good afternoon. how/where are you
Jack says: on my sofa
Rigsy says: i'm on my sofa too. this is how all interviews should be done. sofa link ups.
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Ricky Gervais caused quite a bit of controversy over his 'unique' hosting style at the Golden Globes last night. Many thought Gervais' jokes ended up being offensive and 'mean spirited', and when you read some of the examples you can kinda see what the fuss is about!
Anyway, it got us talking in the office about the meanest lyrics in songs! Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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Jay Z - Takeover
Rigsy - ATL Presenter
The Nas/Jay Z war was, compared to other hip hop battles, reasonably friendly. Crucially, nobody died. In fact, the real winner was music and specifically the track 'Takeover', produced by Kanye West.
Rapping over a Doors sample, Jay tears Nas apart, claiming Nas hasn't lived the gangsta life he claims to ('you ain't live it you witnessed from your folks pad'), explains with a wry grin why he used a Nas sample a few years previous - ('I sampled your voice, you was usin it wrong'), before just repeatedly calling him 'lame'. Luckily for Jay Z, the song was so good it was easy to buy into every word he was saying and essentially take his side. That's how to do it.
The two would eventually make up, with Jay Z even signing his former nemesis to his (then) label. Shame....
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Getting hyped for what ended up gig of the year - their homecoming at The Mandela Hall - I was watching Two Door Cinema Club videos last month.
Thinking back to when ATL first met Alex and co, I typed 'Life without Rory' into the search and, to my delight, someone had uploaded a little treat.
It was 2005 and the first ATL Rockschool - an X-Factor style 'battle of the bands' type show we hosted in Belfast. Life Without Rory performed first on the night and featured Alex Trimble and Sam Halliday and Kev Baird.
I wasn't sure if the lads would be keen on reliving the 'Rockschool' experience, so I shied away from sharing my find.
But watching the video again today, I've changed my mind. It's a scrappy enough performance, but still something for the lads to be extremely proud of. For a start, they couldn't have been much older than 16. It's pretty incredible that they were already making such an interesting racket, finding their feet and tweaking a unique sound that would eventually flourish into one of finest albums we've ever had come out of Northern Ireland.
When I was 16 - well, I can't allow myself to think about the music my first band were creating for fear of my toes curling themselves inside out.
And furthermore - if there's anything to be embarrassed about in this video, it's my shirt and (lack of) hair. If I'm brave enough to share that with our online readers - hopefully Two Door Cinema Club will overlook this cheeky delve into their not-so-murky past.
Rigsy
Our first online chat of the new year sees a fresh faced star of the electro scene go head to head with Rigsy. Screendeath (aka Ryan Thompson from Donaghadee) had a remarkable end to 2010, with the likes of Annie Mac, Diplo, Erol Alkan, DJ Zinc and Fake Blood (basically a selection of the biggest electro DJs on the planet) playing out his track 'Packback'. The 19 year old's debut single was released by Southern Fried, a label run by the one and only Fatboy Slim. Screendeath took Rigsy by surprise, as you can see....
(Please note, as always, mistakes and dodgy grammar are authors own!)
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Packback by screendeath
Ryan says: hiiiiii
I'm about now if you want!
Rigsy says: LETS DO IT. spontaneous interviews FTW . i don't have any questions so you'll have to think of some yourself
Ryan says: i probably don't have any answers then
Rigsy says: WHATS YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?!
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR NAME FROM?!
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you're bound to have notice some 'scandal' in the world of football in the last few days. In a nut shell, Liverpool Football Club dumped their manager Roy Hodgson for their old 'sweetheart', Kenny Dalglish. Seeing ATL's super producer (Paul McClean) has had a pretty miserable time of late as a Liverpool fan, we thought we'd honour that by using Liverpool's new found hope as our SuggestiON-AIR topic. Only it's really more about Hodgson's demise...
Anyway, it a fairly tangential connection but we're looking for the best songs about being dumped! Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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Spiritualized - Broken Heart
Rigsy - ATL Presenter
Well, all of the 'Ladies & Gentlemen we are Floating in Space' album, really. As if one beautifully upsetting song wasn't enough, you get a whole album's worth of pain. And what makes it even closer to the bone is a notably poignant backstory. Spiritualized is one Jason Pierce who, in 1996, was in a relationship with Kate Radley, a member of his band. During the recording of this album their relationship apparently broke down, with Kate marrying one Richard Ashcroft a few years later. Regardless of the supposed circumstances, it's the ultimate break-up album, made to be listened to alone, in the dark. Oh, and it would help if you're already in tears.
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Hello! Happy New Year to all you lovely people!
The BBC Stargazing campaign has kicked of a space fuelled New Year with Professor Brian Cox and Dara O'Briain starring longingly into our solar system for the next three nights on BBC2. Much closer to home, in Armagh Planetarium to be precise, there will be a free stargazing event this Wednesday in conjunction with the campaign.
We tell you this because we think it's pretty fascinating but it also got us thinking about (see the link) songs about stars, planets, space exploration and the like... You know? Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
Rigsy (ATL Presenter)
Apart from it being one of the most euphoric songs ever put to record, this song actually sounds a bit like a star. It's spangly, shiny, full of light and out of this world. A song for the night sky and something to romanticize about. The Chems at their uplifting best.
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