Monthly Playlist - January 2008

Entering into the New Year, I was full of optimism for the 'new noise 08' frenzy being stirred up in NME, as well as the continued new direction being pile driven into the minds of young Britain by Mr. Zany Lowe. His voice may be annoying and his pace of delivery on Radio One harder to keep up with than Marion Jones on drugs, it really is starting to show that he knows exactly what he's talking about. Especially with allowing Hadouken! to rake havoc on air with tenacious dub-step and grime beats on worldwide broadcast for two hours solid.
After a slow start to the month, the emerging artists of the year to come have become much clearer to those people who actually buy music (if i can be botherd, myself included). I think I'll slip in a little boast to myself for tipping One Night Only to hit the big time, as they showed this week in the charts as the second highest new entry and among a top 10 of gloring veterans. Their album is released on Monday 11th Feb so I urge you to consider checking it out and we'll see come Sunday 17th February, if they really can hold out against the heavyweights of Morrissey and Mr. Jackson, both gracing us with old releases in a 'funky' new format. If One Night Only could pull a debut No.1 out the bag against the 25th Anniversary release of the world’s biggest selling album of all time 'Thriller', then I really will be impressed.

This is a different kind of blog, much shorter and to the point, here are my top 10 songs of January. Basically this list is OBVIOUSLY biased, so don't all get your nickers in a twist and fume at the fact that 'your precious band' is not gracing my chart, just swallow it and move on in life; or you could vent your fury and cream my pants with arsenic in the comments section at the bottom. Your choice.

THE BEST MONTHLY MUSIC CHART IN WORLD HISTORY: January 2008

#10: Lightspeed Champion - Tell Me What It's Worth
The fourth single from the former Test Icicles dude who was voted #49 in last year's NME cool list. This quirky upbeat indie anthem depicts the racial hatred that Devonte received from Black people on the streets of Dalston and Brixton. The irony being that he him is black.

#9: Bullet for My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire
The first single from the hugely anticipated critically acclaimed, thunder of a third album, in which they truly come to life. The Welsh foursome hit top form in the US Billboard 100 this month, making #4, a great achievement these days for a British outlet. This balls out mammoth incest of metal rock will have you "over the top" till the early hours.

#8: Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
First release of the 'self titled' album 'Lupe Fiasco's The Cool' (nice name!) from the American rapper, who gained a top #5 entry in the UK Charts. This is one of my favourite urban licks right now. I'm fed up of Rhianna, Timberland, and Beyonce polluting my ears with the same old lyrics and the same old beats played a different pitch levels. This is a great catchy tune, however it's just another example of a dying urban scene.

#7: Hot Chip - Ready to the Floor
Pipping One Night Only in the charts this week, but just missing out on a top 5 spot, the virgin loners from London are setting the Indie club scene alive at the moment with their feet tapping, ear crunching dance filler. Expect big things from them this year on the road.



#6: N.E.R.D - Everyone Nose
Grace the lord! Pharrell, Chad and 'friend' have returned after a three year absence, sporting a new direction, and more new friends as they've now been confirmed as support to Kaiser Chiefs at this year's Isle of Wight festival; as well as throwing one off gig at the Brixton Academy in June.

#5: The Wombats - Moving To New York
Suprisingly the highest entering song into the UK charts by The Wombats to date. This upbeat indie firebreather will brighten up the most boring or depressing of your days; I just wish they had released this as their first single, and this was celebrating a top 5 entry for 'Kill the Director'.




#4: One Night Only - Just For Tonight
I had the pleasure of interviewing the band last week for my Student paper, they came across as really genuine lads, who really are in it for the music. I think for that reason alone, they deserve to achieve big things this year, a 2009 Breakthrough Brit nomination isn't out of the question.



#3: The Ting Tings - Great DJ
I'm more of a radio person, so rarely can I sit down at watch music videos, this is a great exception. Thumping beats, catchy lyrics, and with the hottest girl to front a band since Debbie Harry they've got a lot going for them. The Ting Tings are only pipped as my song of the month, by some true musical greats.



#2: Biffy Clyro - Who's Got a Match?
Upon the release of Biffy's most critically acclaimed album, I remember playing this song over and over, the perfect example of a thunderous rock ballad. This week it was, and it will surely cement Biffy as one of the most important UK acts around at the moment. This will also be the last single release of their most successful album 'Puzzle'.


#1: Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling into Place
Radiohead have surely with the revolutionary download release of their most recent album 'In Rainbows'. Mature and nurture their unquestionable talent over time and not even Oasis, as good as they were, was ever able to accomplish. find more than one thing to say about the world. This is most exciting Radiohead release since 'No Surprises'.

Introduction... One Night Only!

Morning, Afternoon, Evening people of the world!
Sorry this is in English, BUT funnily enough it's the only language that I speak!Anyway now thats over, to the actual blog...

I'm Lee, I'm 18, I'm a Journalism Student studying just outside of Greater London, and this is my weekly music blog for possibly the rest of my professional working life! So anyway whats this bloggy thingy about music, all about?

Once a week I will talk about a new music artist/band or group that I think deserves a bit more publicity/promoting in the world and whose musical talent is genuine. I will also talk about new music of the week for already established acts that everyone wants to know about anyway. For this first post I won't include this as I just want to get the blog out there asap! For January, I will be mainly talking about Bands I think will be making a big impact during 2008 on the UK scene.
Of course my music taste will be strung more along the British side of things, but that doesn't mean that I'll only do British artists. If you live in any other country and you know an artist that deserves to be recognised, then let me know!
Time for the first artist of 2008...

One Night Only - Yorkshire's answer to Wakefield's 'The Cribs'

Originating from Helmsley in North Yorkshire 'One Night Only' are a five peice indie band from Helmsley, North Yorkshire. Their debut album 'Started A Fire' will be released on 4th Feb 2008 on Vertigo Records. They will also release their second single 'Just For Tonight' on 21st January 2008 that coinsides with their second and biggest Headline Tour to date. Last year they toured with the likes of The Pigeon Detectives and The Maccabees.
Joe Wiley coined the song 'Just For Tonight' as her track of the week on her Radio 1 show in early December and many other djs have followed suit in their recognition for the band. So whats the story? How did five lads from the Yorkshire dales end up together and what are their ambitions.


Some of the band members only started to learn playing their intruments when they were 14-15, just bangin out noise in their garages and bedrooms. When they finally found a sound they liked they had no lyrics or singing talent to go with it. The answer to their success was to be found with a shaggy haired George Craig. He joined the band amidst the struggles with sound and direction and pursuaded the band that he should sing and play guitar and kick out the guitarist and drummer and bring in a new keyboardist to make way for his new vision. He's wrote many of the bands songs that will appear on their debut album, including both of their singles.
'Just For Tonight' screams out with all the emotional ambition of the young generation of Britain "No one knows where they take us/but we’ll search till we grow old" However, also like their fellow Stiff Records band 'The Enemy' they exclaim of how everything could be so much better.
"All the paths they lead/To a little standing place", George Craig echos the ambitions of a thousand bands who all want to be the Glastonbury headliners one day. When the Arctic Monkeys were brought upon our lives it brought about a mass change in the way we at how British rock music will be written in the future, more substance, but also much more fun. The classics of The Jam, and the Specials will never be forgotten, but they will always be looked upon as some kind of music industry con. Music lovers these days don't just want to listen to the endless drones of every day life, They want to listen to it with having as much fun and showing their parents what they should have been doing 25 years ago.
Songs likes 'Away From Here', 'I Predict a Riot' and 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' are pure songs written by individuals with no other goal in their life at that time but to pick up a guitar and have a fucking blast!
One Night Only want to do exactly the same thing, but I feel maybe they've come onto the music scene a tad too late.
2008 will be a testing year for the British Music Industry. The release of Radiohead's seventh studio album 'In Rainbows' for 1p on itunes late last year, has shaken the boots of those men with the buttons and forced them to dig deeper into the relms of Myspace.
Although i feel One Night Only may be a touch late with their sound, their direction is fresh and their tunes sharp.
Just listen to the end of the verses of 'Just For Tonight', "And if you stay for the weekend/We’d leave without a trace". The world of music is not always directed by 4 decade, chart topping superstars like Kylie or Madonna. In 5,000 years time robohomosapiens will still be bangin out MC Hammer, even if he did have the charisma of a pig of the bank balance of a tramp. One Night Only don't care if they last 5 minutes or 5 years, they just care if they make it at all, and for that simple reason, they deserve to.
If a simple, but sophisticated shaggy haired Yorkshire tyke like George Craig is at the head of your band, then be prepared for a hell of a 2008, the year of the underdogs?
Putting aside any criticism, who cares if they lack purpose. If Amy Winehouse can sell millions of records just because she likes a line here or there. If artists can go on to win awards and sell like cake at christmas even though they have to cancel concerts because they are 'un fit' to perform, we need more people like One Night Only on our iPods.

http://www.onenightonlyonline.com
http://www.myspace.com/onenightonlyonline


Picture & Video courtesy of One Night Only