Not so High Fidelity: Top 5 most intriguing female artists

A few weeks ago I saw High Fidelity, a great movie with John Cusack in the lead. He played a record-store owner in the middle of another relationship crisis. He makes a top 5 break-ups list, and decides to visit each of the ladies on this list to find out why they broke up with him.

Based on that movie..and my soft spot for girls with guitars (or any other kind of instruments)..a top 5 list of most intriguing female artists.

no.5 Sarah Wooden (My Brightest Daimond)

From the sessions of Lowlands 2007. Saw her there last year and was immediately captured by her voice.

no.4 Alison Goldfrapp (Goldfrapp)

She can be an angel, she can be the devil. She's in control.

no.3 Abi Harding (The Zutons)

Without Abi and her saxaphone, the Zutons wouldn`t be half as fun to hear and look at.

no.2 Roisin Murphy (ex-Moloko, now solo)

Beautiful voice. Just love the way she moves along the stage. She seduces her audience.

No.1 PJ Harvey

PJ has many faces. Rock Chick. Classical Pianist. Alternative Artist. Punk bitch. On thing remains the same: The quality of her recordings and that voice. Truly one of the best and most original artists of our time.

/ignore Fitna by Geert Wilders

Geert Wilders. Dutch politician. Peculiar hairdo. Extreme visions.

Wilders has used "Islam" in the same sentence with words such as fascism, terrorism, tsunami's and criminality. The Koran has been compared with Mein Kampf, and has been named the "psychological detonation mechanism of fundamentalist terrorism". Wilders is not the kind of guy to pursue any subtlety in his actions and words. That's for sure. He would make a crappy diplomat.

Soon you, the international blog reader, will be confronted with a little section in your newspaper called "Fitna". It's the title of the new (and first) movie of Geert, in which he will uncover "the truth" about the Islam. It'll be almost 15 minutes long, and I`m expecting a not so gentle message where one of the world's biggest faiths will be burned to the ground. Without any common sense, but with false arguments. And while you are reading this message, our prime minister is warning your government for the movie. Giving it more attention than it deserves. It's great free publicity for the movie. Wilders doesn`t have to spend a lot of many on getting this baby some publicity.

Did I tell you that this movie has taken the dutch media hostage for more than a month now? Or maybe I should phrase it differently: "The dutch media has taken itself hostage over this movie". Just as the NME or the Rolling Stone can hype a band to stardom, so can the dutch media propel Fitna to mass attention.

There is one strange thing though, the dutch media is wondering loudly in every tv-program why this movie is getting so much attention. Let me give you an overview of a typical piece about Wilders' movie:

"This is all amazing! It hasn`t even been released yet, and still this movie gets so much attention! Even our prime minister is telling everybody about it! And look, an upside-down Dutch flag has been burned! And over here, mister Wilders is saying something, he says that he will not listen to any advice to cancel the movie! And after the warning from the dutch security agency he again repeats his answer! Amazing! Ah, the movie deadline has been moved! Wow, it will be aired by dutch commercial television! But when, when...WHEN?!!?!"

So why does this movie, and Wilders, get so much attention? I point my finger at the media.

The media, whom for some reason, do not hold themselves accountable for all the publicity that this man and movie are getting. The dutch media say it is their responsibility to report "the news". But doesn`t the media determine what is "news", and what isn`t? It seems they are trying to downplay their importance. Pretty strange for such a group of ego-heavy writers.

I think the media know the truth themselves, but why tell the poor dutch audience that they are the ones behind the hype that surrounds Wilders and his movie? They`ll be killing their own exciting, albeit fabricated, story. And so the saga continues.

Where will it end? Although I absolutely detest every word that comes out of Wilders' mouth, I want him to survive. He is less dangerous alive than death. Just look at Fortuyn and Van Gogh. Did their deaths make the situation any better? No, it only provided gun-powder for people like Wilders. I can only hope that the people who could eat Wilders' guts for dinner will realise this to.

So here I present you with the essence of the problem called "Fitna by Geert Wilders".

The problem is this post. And any other form of attention that they are both getting.

The solution?

/ignore Geert Wilders
/ignore Fitna

Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend

When I first got my hands on this album I was a bit sceptical. Another hyped band that "reinvents" a wheel that already has been reinvented a thousand times? I pressed play and started listening Mansard Roof: Nice little organ, cool drums, pleasant voice, all in all a nice little tune. Next song. Again that little organ. Is this their gimmick or something? Is this little instrument the only thing that differentiates them from all the others? Did they find it somewhere at a garage-sale or something? It's nice song though. An unusual topic; Who gives a fuck about an Oxford Comma? They raise the question themselves, and write a song about it. So they do give a fuck about it. Hope that organ doesn’t come back in the next song, hope they have more tricks up their sleeve.

A-punk sounds like they are cramped into a 2x2 room with all their equipment. Again a very cute song. In the chorus I hear another cute organ , but this one sounds like that tune from that skiing-game I played on my Commodore 64. My scepticism starts to disappear. On to the next song.

Is this Paul Simon? This whole song just breaths the relaxed nature of Simon at the time of Graceland. The major difference is that he is a lot more minimalist in his lyrics that Paul Simon. And then Peter Gabriel gets mentioned in the chorus. I guess "Peter Gabriel to" sounded a lot better than "Paul Simon to" (try it!). M79 starts of as a classical opera, completely with strings and medieval piano. The strength of this song starts at 2:30 minutes. It's a kind crescendo that they also used at Oxford Comma. The song is sophisticated but still sounds very simple and straightforward. The secret for a good pop-song?

Ah! The organ returns at "Campus". This song reminds me a bit of The Strokes. Especially that chorus with the guitars. I guess the Strokes have the copyright on that twin guitar effect. Still, they differentiate themselves with the extra instruments and a rhythm that's not just "1,2,3,4". Bryn flows by like a breeze. It has got its good points, but is not as "peculiar" as the first 7 of this album. With its 2.12 however it is not really a big disturbance.

Up till now I was still a bit in doubt. Is this band just a novelty, or are they really good? It's one thing to make good use of an organ and copy Paul Simon (or Peter Gabriel, whatever..) flawlessly, but can they stand on their own feet? "One (Blake's got a new face)" is the best song on this album, and convinced me that this is indeed a great new band. Just hear those drums kick in together with the synthesiser. They just went into that studio with the intention to have some good old fun, and make a good record in the process. And any band which let's the fun seep through their music, and tries something new, has got a fan in me.

"I stand corrected" and "Walcott" are more laid-back and traditional tunes. Not as inspiring as the best songs on this album, but also not real "filler" material. It kind of suites the album to end at a somewhat slower pace. Most bands would expose this more serious side of themselves on their second album (great examples being the Futureheads, or the Strokes) Vampire Weekend already reveals it on their first. Courage my friend, courage.

"The kids don’t stand a chance" ends their debute in style. One of the impressions I am left with is that it could be listened by a 7 year old kid and your grandparents, and they both would love it. It’s a very positive album. It’s light, but not naive. There is real musicianship and song-writing included and they are familiar with the concept of "less is more". It’s the song that counts, and my…oh my… there are some great and addictive tunes on this fun and original record.