Not Enough Time
The show's not called MTV2Eclectic anymore, no matter how much we still refer to it by that name. It's called 120 Minutes. Which, compared to the warm, fuzzy, generic title that is MTV2Eclectic, is a pretty darn specific promise. There's no ish about it. So. We feel we've got a right to feel cheated when, in fact, at 0257 - the show having started at 0100 - it kicks us out of the tender embrace of obscure and challenging choices and straight into the monied hand of Muse. I demand those three minutes. Luckily they also do 120 Minutes Taster which means, technically, we do get a bit of compensation. It's still wrong, though, I'd just like to clarify.
So. How are Muse, Razorlight and Plan B getting along I hear you cry. Funny you should mention that, actually. Muse and Razorlight are just those type of bands that, well, you'll never really like. It's just life. Muse are too arrogant and their music too often too vacuous. Razorlight are just profiteering and way too popular for their entire lack of risk. Their latest songs, in both cases, have been Alright Actually. That's, Not Bad. Technically Speaking. If you catch our drift. They're not songs we can overly dislike. Which, I guess, is what those bands do best. Which is why we'd like to dislike the songs more so, the compliment we're paying here is that we can't dislike them as much as we'd like. Which isn't as much as a compliment as we paid The Kooks when we said we actually quite like Naïve. Considering how little we wanted to like it that's tandamout to calling it the greatest record ever made.
After a fashion, of course.
Because. Well.
It isn't, is it.
Now Plan B on the hand we're growing to quite like. When he first came to our attention all that time ago on the 679 grime compilation it was with the excellent, Wonder produced, Cap Back. Now, he's gone all Everlast meets Eminem on us and it was an awkward combination, made moreso by the fact everyone and their grandmother was including the acoustic versions of his songs. He has a lyrical delivery with faults, is our first concern. He overreaches sometimes and it grates - in some songs, especially these acoustic versions, he misses too many beats by far. Our second gripe was the content. It was delivered gritty and angry but it was mostly cartoon blood. Stories so exaggerated as to make them unidentifiable, even is a distant way (even true stories of this fashion aren't exactly "boy do I know that feeling" moments, obviously). They ran away with themselves and the message wound up a little lost.
However, recent single Missing Link (which was just on 120 Minutes), sounds really nice and has a good video (unlike the pointless, throwaway one for his last song). No More Eatin' which was on some compilation or other of late is also pretty good and the whole idea of Plan B is getting better. However, it's getting better by degrees and we still wouldn't feel anywhere near confident enough to spend our skant money on it just yet. However, Plan B isn't grime, isn't grime at all. He's UK Hip Hop and it's UK Hip Hop that isn't all loops and cratedigger samples and that's definitely in his favour. The acoustic thing isn't exactly new (don't let anyone tell you otherwise - we got Everlast's album back at the turn of the willenium), however the fact it affords less linearity moves the boy up in the UK Hip Hop ladder by default. Not enough people in the game are doing it (it's crazy to think of the adventurous spirit which defines this country's music and yet how our Hip Hop scene is so regressive).
So, I hope that answers your questions a bit there. If you have any others you know who to write to.
So. How are Muse, Razorlight and Plan B getting along I hear you cry. Funny you should mention that, actually. Muse and Razorlight are just those type of bands that, well, you'll never really like. It's just life. Muse are too arrogant and their music too often too vacuous. Razorlight are just profiteering and way too popular for their entire lack of risk. Their latest songs, in both cases, have been Alright Actually. That's, Not Bad. Technically Speaking. If you catch our drift. They're not songs we can overly dislike. Which, I guess, is what those bands do best. Which is why we'd like to dislike the songs more so, the compliment we're paying here is that we can't dislike them as much as we'd like. Which isn't as much as a compliment as we paid The Kooks when we said we actually quite like Naïve. Considering how little we wanted to like it that's tandamout to calling it the greatest record ever made.
After a fashion, of course.
Because. Well.
It isn't, is it.
Now Plan B on the hand we're growing to quite like. When he first came to our attention all that time ago on the 679 grime compilation it was with the excellent, Wonder produced, Cap Back. Now, he's gone all Everlast meets Eminem on us and it was an awkward combination, made moreso by the fact everyone and their grandmother was including the acoustic versions of his songs. He has a lyrical delivery with faults, is our first concern. He overreaches sometimes and it grates - in some songs, especially these acoustic versions, he misses too many beats by far. Our second gripe was the content. It was delivered gritty and angry but it was mostly cartoon blood. Stories so exaggerated as to make them unidentifiable, even is a distant way (even true stories of this fashion aren't exactly "boy do I know that feeling" moments, obviously). They ran away with themselves and the message wound up a little lost.
However, recent single Missing Link (which was just on 120 Minutes), sounds really nice and has a good video (unlike the pointless, throwaway one for his last song). No More Eatin' which was on some compilation or other of late is also pretty good and the whole idea of Plan B is getting better. However, it's getting better by degrees and we still wouldn't feel anywhere near confident enough to spend our skant money on it just yet. However, Plan B isn't grime, isn't grime at all. He's UK Hip Hop and it's UK Hip Hop that isn't all loops and cratedigger samples and that's definitely in his favour. The acoustic thing isn't exactly new (don't let anyone tell you otherwise - we got Everlast's album back at the turn of the willenium), however the fact it affords less linearity moves the boy up in the UK Hip Hop ladder by default. Not enough people in the game are doing it (it's crazy to think of the adventurous spirit which defines this country's music and yet how our Hip Hop scene is so regressive).
So, I hope that answers your questions a bit there. If you have any others you know who to write to.