1/6/08 - Who Remembers Papa Roach?

I was pondering the other day and I realised that my music taste is going in cycles. I remembered that I used to like Papa Roach, especially their album infest, and then I realised that I never actually owned that album. I had just heard "Last Resort" and "Blood Brothers" so many times when I was younger and now they're just not around any more. It was mainly because I was such a big fan of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series and it was the soundtracks to those games which made up a large part of my musical taste at the time. I promptly downloaded the two aforementioned songs and it got me thinking to myself "What other songs have I missed out on from my formative years?". Well my first step was to go and search on iTunes for anything from the THPS games and lo and behold it proved itself a fruitful expedition. A few clicks and several pounds later I was in a musical bubble from my past listening to Less Than Jake, Bad Religion and Millencolin. It was a good afternoon.

I went back to the iTunes main menu to see that they're selling the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto 4 in a super-duper extrahumungous ultracompilation of however many hundreds of songs are in the game. This is a great example of how to go the wrong way about things. You can't expect people to buy the music because they bought the game, you need to focus on what music sums up your game in the best way and if people enjoy the game they will most likely enjoy the music. Of course it's all about how much wonga they'll make out of the whole process nowadays. I might not be as strongly opposed to the idea as I sound, I just think it's a shame that the young'uns (most likely underage kids) playing GTA4 now, won't have the same experience in a few years just as I have because of a little to much greed by the game designers.

That's the way the cookie crumbles in the end I suppose and hey, by the time they want to listen to the music from their childhood, they'll probably just be getting it beamed straight into their brains anyway.

Also, make sure you listen to the Barenaked Ladies, they're excellent.

29/4/08 - Spotlight: Mark Mathews

Bonjourno and welcome to The RedFan Spotlight! This is basically a little article that I'm going to put up every now and then on an independent artist who really catches my ear. So without further a do, let's commence The Spotlight!

So today it's all about Mark Mathews, an ex-porn industry worker who decided to pick up a guitar and write some darn good pop songs which is a great improvement over any of the "bom-chicka-wah-wah" music you'd find in his average film.

He's done a whole load of great stuff musically, such as playing on the same bill as Babyshambles, Luke Toms and Frank Turner, being nominated for an Indy Music Award and came second in XND Radio's 'Artist of the Year' competition.

This is all great stuff and as soon as you listen to his songs you can see why he's done so well for himself. 'It All Goes Out The Window' is an amazing, fluid acoustic anthem which is just so emotive and such an easy listen that you could just listen to it all day. 'London Lives' is a bright and jiggy song for the Summer which I know will be as integral to one of my garden parties as Pimms and lemonade.

If you need to contact Mark then all you need do is drop him an email at markmathews81@yahoo.co.uk

So that was the first Spotlight and I enjoyed it, how was it for you? Here are three tracks which are rocking my jukebox this week. I suggest you buy them post-haste:

Organ Donor - DJ Shadow

Trash - The Whip

L.E.S Artistes - Santogold

3/4/08 - The Blip, RedFan Design and Kitsuné Maison

Hello again. Thanks for stopping by. There are three very cool things I have to talk about today (the clues are in the title).

Number 1 is The Blip. If you've listened to The GoShows then you may already know that the intro music is actually an excerpt from The Blip's tune, 'Church Of Bongos'. The reason why The Blip is being mentioned this week in particular is that he now has a website (BlipMusicOnline.co.uk) where you can go and find out all about him, listen to his tunes and even have a gander at his blog. If you have a look at the site you might think to yourself "Wow, what an amazing site! I wonder who made it.".Well I'll tell you where he got it...

Number 2 is RedFan Design. That's right, RedFan has now spread into Web Design. Check out the site at RedFanDesign.co.uk and see what we have to offer. Make sure you check out the small but impressive portfolio and if you need any additional info then feel free to drop me an email at fred@redfandesign.co.uk and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Number 3 is Kitsuné Maison. If you're into electronic music, these are the people to check out. They release a huge amount of music from cutting edge artists and this means they provide some of the best electronica out there right now. To learn more about these wonderful people, go to Kitsune.fr.

So there are three fun things go and have a look at on the internet this week so make sure you do. That's your lot for now, peace out y'all!

22/3/08 - Red:Line:Ratio - Out And About

Red:Line:Ratio (of RedFan Records fame) have commenced gigging for 2008 and have already been out and about around the Midlands. Here's one to put in your diary:

2nd May 2008, 8pm


Katie Fitzgeralds, Wollaston, Nr Stourbridge, Midlands
 

It promises to be a good 'un so if you haven't seen them live yet, then it's definitely one to be making your way to. If you have no clue who the band are or even what they sound like then have a listen to their music on the iTunes store by clicking here.