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Frankie Cocozza should be back for X Factor final, says Olly Murs

December 9, 2011 By Billy Conway

Xtra Factor presenter Olly Murs believes that Frankie Cocozza should be allowed back on The X Factor for this weekend’s final.

The singer said it would be “a shame” if the axed hopeful, who left following drug allegations, wasn’t back on stage. Anyone who had placed an X Factor bet on him will know the controversy that surrounded him.

Frankie was cut from the X Factor charity single after reportedly boasting about taking cocaine, but Olly believes he should be allowed back at the weekend, when all the other acts return.

“It would be a shame not to see him back. Obviously, with the charity single I can fully understand the reasons behind that – with why he left the show, I can understand,” the presenter said.

However, he added as it’s “the last night, the final … we’d like to see Frankie here”.

Olly said that you have to be able to take account of the positives, such as the fact that Frankie “did make a massive impact on the show”.

Presumably Olly wasn’t alluding to the fact that his inability to sing made him the subject of Twitter abuse and social media rants.

The singer also revealed that media mogul Simon Cowell, the show’s creator, is pleased with how the programme is going this year. Those looking at the X Factor winner odds should bear this in mind.

Despite numerous reports to the contrary – particularly as The X Factor has netted fewer viewers than rival Strictly Come Dancing – Olly claimed Simon loves the show this year.

The Thinking Of Me hitmaker said: “The X Factor has been brilliant and he can’t fault it, he says it’s been fantastic, so that’s good to know.”

ITV bosses seem to agree, with chief exec Adam Crozier ruling out making drastic changes to the show format next year, even though it has been losing viewers.

“I think the new judges have done a fantastic job and are important to the future of the show,” he said.

But with Gary and Kelly not expected to return next year, it could get an overhaul anyway.

Filed Under: Alternative Rock

All about Dreampop

February 26, 2011 By admin

The Velvet UndergroundDreampop

Dreampop first originated in England in the mid-1980s.  It is a sub-genre of “Alternative Rock”.  Bands such as Lowlife and A R Kane (to whom the term has been attributed) began fusing post-punk and ethereal sounds to create bittersweet pop melodies and dreamy soundscapes. The term was used almost exclusively in the United States and was allegedly first used by Melody Maker journalists Simon Reynolds and Chris Roberts.  A group of “all stars” known collectively as This Mortal Coil were known for covering more obscure pop songs from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The Dreampop sound essentially consisted of ethereal textures and moods rather than hard rock riffs.  The lyrics were almost whispered by male artists, whilst female artists delivered more breathy vocals.  The lyrics were more introspective in nature mainly concentrating on a person’s thoughts, moods, actions and responsibilities and the belief that a person was responsible for giving his or her own life meaning and living their life passionately.

The covers of the Dreampop albums mainly consisted of blurry pastel images and/or stark minimalist images.  The record label most associated with Dreampop is the 4AD,  but other labels such as Creation and Projekt also released Dreampop records.

History of Dreampop

Early examples of songs that influenced the genre of Dreampop were “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground and “*9 Dream” by John Lennon released in 1975.  These songs both contained the two main ingredients of Dreampop – breathy vocals and atmospheric dreamy soundscapes.  Other artists who have been associated with Dreampop include The Cure, Sonic Youth and the Cocteau Twins.

In the 1980s and early 1990s several bands such as early-period Verve, Kitchens Distinction, The Church and The Flaming Lips were known as Dreampop bands.   All these bands had limited commercial success with the exception of the The Verve who had their first chart hit in June 1997 with “Bitter Sweet Symphony” followed by the “The Drugs Don’t Work” which was a UK number 1 in September of the same year.

In the United States more guitar-led Dreampop bands emerged including For Against, Alison’s Halo, Low, Mazzy Star and Fine China.  In Europe the genre was represented by groups such as The Legendary Pink Dots and Hooverphonic. These bands mixed the Dreampop sound with more folk and electronic elements.

Dreampop in the 1990s and 21st Century

In the 1990s and early part of the 21st Century, bands such as Deftones, Dubstar, Broken Social Scene and Readymade became representatives of the Dreampop/Shoegazing genre.  Other bands in this genre include Laika, Mira, Air Formation, Physic Ills and Charlene.  These groups were sometimes known as (albeit dismissively) as “new gaze” or “nu-gaze” bands.  The term “Ambient Pop” has also been used to describe these groups.

In recent years there has been a resurgence in the Dreampop scene.  Bands such as Silversun Pickups, The Hushsound, The Beachouse, Holly Miranda and Wildbeasts have enjoyed considerable success.  These bands were mainly promoted by the Pitchfork Media website.  Established acts such as Goldfrapp have moved their sound from a dance sound to a more Dreampop style and had commercial success.

Shoegazing

Shoegazing was a louder more aggressive strain of Dreampop.  It arose out of Dreampop’s dreamy and sometimes sensual tendencies, but at the same time rejecting its passive moods and textures.  Examples of bands that influenced Shoegazing are Lush, Slowdrive and My Bloody Valentine.  They used the atmospheric tendencies of Dreampop and combined it with post-punk sounds used by Sonic Youth and The Chameleons.

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Alternative Rock Over the years

February 22, 2011 By admin

Alternative Rock in the 1980s

Throughout the 1980s, Alternative Rock was an underground phenomenon.  These bands built up a following through playing underground clubs, constantly touring and releasing low budget albums.  These bands were also championed by Radio 1 DJ’s like John Peel, Annie Nightingale and Richard Skinner who regularly had “Alternative Music” slots in their radio shows.

In the US, new bands were constantly being reformed from old bands and before long there was an extensive underground circuit.  Whilst these bands did not achieve commercial success, they are often cited as influences for later musicians.

By the end of the 1980s more “Alternative Rock” bands were achieving commercial success both in the UK and the US.  There was even a package tour of the US featuring Public Image Limited, The Sugarcubes and New Order.

 

The 1990s

The 1990s saw the explosion of “Alternative Rock” into the mainstream.  Bands such as Oasis and Blur spawned the Britpop scene, with other bands such as Supergrass and Happy Mondays also enjoying mainstream success.

The Indie scene also saw several bands such as The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and The Charlatans having chart success.  These bands with the exception of Blur all hailed from Manchester and for a time it was known as “Madchester Scene”, due their regular concerts at Manchester Club Hacienda.

The American equivalent were bands such as Nirvana and REM who have long been regarded as the blueprint for the success of many alternative bands.  Nirvana’s debut album “Smells Like Teen Spirit” took the UK by storm.  REM’s breakthrough album was “Automatic for the People”.  Both these albums went platinum within months.

Alternative Rock in the 21st Century

By the end of the 1990’s “Alternative Music” was in decline.  The reason for this most notably was the death of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain.  Pearl Jam’s legal case with Ticketmaster effectively barred the band from playing anywhere in the US.  In the UK the Britpop scene was fading as Oasis’ third album ”Be Here Now” received lacklustre reviews and Blur began to incorporate American Alternative Rock in its music.

Despite this decline some bands were still achieving mainstream success, American acts such as Creed and Matchbox Twenty became amongst the most popular bands in the US.  In the UK, Radiohead released their third album “Ok Computer” in 1997 to critical acclaim.  The following albums “Kid A” in 2000 and “Amnesiac” in 2000 did not conform to the traditionalism of Britpop but were still commercially successful.  Post Britpop groups such as Travis and Coldplay have been major forces in recent years.

In the first decade of the 21st century, new “Alternative Rock” bands such as Linkin Park, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes and The White Stripes have emerged.  These bands established the post punk revival movement and inspired later artists such as Modest Mouse, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Killers.  These bands were so successful that Entertainment Weekly declared in 2004, “After almost a decade of domination by nu-metal and rap-rock bands, mainstream alt-rock is finally good again”.

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About Alternative Rock

February 16, 2011 By admin

nmeThe term “Alternative Rock” emerged in 1990.  Terry Tolkin first used the term in 1979 of “Alternative Music” to describe the music he was writing about.  In the United States it was known as “College Rock” due to airplay on college radio and the influence and tastes of college students.

In the UK many small DIY (do it yourself) labels were founded and magazines such as Cherry Red, NME and Sounds magazines compiled the first “Alternative Charts”.  The information for the charts came from small independent record stores.  The first “Alternative Chart”, known as ”The Indie Chart” was first published in January 1980.  At the time “indie” simply meant independently distributed records but by 1985 the term became a sub-genre of Alternative Music.

Alternative rock (also known as “Alternative Music) first developed during the 1980s and became more popular in the 1990s.  Alternative Rock spawned many sub-genres namely grunge, Britpop, gothic rock and indie pop.  These genres are identified by their collective style and/or ethos of the punk rock era of the 1970s.

Characteristics

 “Alternative Rock” is difficult to define because of the conflicting applications of the word.  It has been described as music that is “anti-commercial” and “anti-mainstream”.  It is essentially an umbrella term for music that emerged in the wake of the punk rock era that did not conform to mainstream or commercial expectations.  Bands relied on playing small indie clubs and word of mouth.

When alternative rock first emerged, a few bands like REM and The Cure achieved mainstream chart success.  Other bands signed to independent labels relied on college radio airplay and word of mouth.  However, with the popularity of groups such as Nirvana and the grunge and Britpop movement of the 1990s, these acts were now mainstream and became commercially successful.

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