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BECK
Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Apr
Nope, you didn’t read that header wrong. It doesn’t say ‘eccentric, pop culture- dredging lurch through the back alleys of America'. Nor does it say ‘pneumatic Day-Glo sex-funk just like Prince used to do, but with a country influence’. It says ‘folk’.
lt’s long been the preserve of every two-bit careerist who's desperate to break those new markets to say things like ‘there's always been a folk/reggae/gabba techno influence to my music‘. In the case of Beck Hansen, 33 in July, there’s really no need for him to diversify in the hope of shifting a few more units out the door. His star is already riding high - as it has been throughout his decade-long career in the public eye - and it's entirely fair to say that his music has already touched base with virtually every major musical genre at one point or another.
In an interview with fime magazine, Hansen remarked of one of his influences: ‘When I was younger, I used to think James Taylor was awful. But people don’t understand that as much as punk was rebelling
against guys like this, he was rebelling against punk - just singing from the heart.’ Beck has taken that philosophy one stage further, to the only real course of action left open to a product of his forefathers in a postmodern age. Refuse to accept nothing. Reference everything. And only rebel against that which doesn’t
make you happy.
So he’s re-invented himself yet again - gone are the
All at sea but still shipshape
Change, like classic Dylan watching cable TV and wearing brand-name trainers. Whether this solo acoustic show (the antithesis of last year’s much- publicised, Flaming Lips-backed shows in the US) makes for as entertaining listening will only be apparent as we hear it, but a venue with the Usher Hall's grandeur is probably the best place to find out. Either way, it's only one square of Beck’s musical Rubik’s
Princely platforms of Midnite Vultures (well, for today at Cube, and - like the toy — it'll probably be baffling and
least), and in comes the reflective heartbreak of Sea
addictive in roughly even measure. (David Pollock)
l was sad to hear recently that Edinburgh's annual Planet Pop festival is to be no mOre as the organisers have called it a day. The festival held fond memories tOr me as they were the first people to ever feed our band and it was obwous that they were doing it for the right reasons (I mean domg the festival. as we were amply fed at the time). Though largely overshadowed in
Surface noise
All the huffing, puffing and turkey Stuffing in the wonderful world of mu5ic
LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE T in the Park line-up are the lnspiral Carpets, LA space rockers the Warlocks and most excellent live hip hop from the Roots, all of whom have been added to the Second Stage. Vitalic, 20:20 Soundsystem and Richie Hawtin are all set to make an appearance in the Slam Tent. ‘i‘.llli All THIS l E St IVAl
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Pop star Roots Manuva
ON A MORE SOMBRE NOTE it is with great sadness that we announce that after seven years and literally hundreds of bands, Planet Pop, Edinburgh‘s innovative underground music festival, is stopping. The festival, which ran during the Fringe in August every year, played host to scores of underground legends: the Fall, Sparklehorse, . . .Trail of Dead and Roots Manuva all gracing the stage at various points. It also acted as a platform for home-grown acts to get valuable exposure, with
‘ cotland hotter than the went pretty well — despite some 5 Med'. and 'Athens Olympic errors — and the people of
experiences werst rioting in Greece seemed pleased that we'd come. Spirits were also raised by some comedic graffiti left by Arab Strap in the dressing room at an earlier Visit.
The followmg day in Athens. Dominic and I managed to sneak off to the Acropolis while the equipment was set up. which was amazing. I'm really guilty about travelling to SOme of the most amazing places in the werld and seeing nothing but the bus and the venue and I hope to change that this year. That night we played to Strap. With some amaZing things more people than I ever thought we'd coming out soon by the Yeah Yeah play to in a place I never thought we'd Yeahs and Super Furry Animals. lt‘s yiSit. Pretty speCial all in all. Sunny in Scotland and all is well.
recent years by the more mainstream T on the Fringe festival. it WI” be missed. as its contribution to the Scottish independent lTlUSlC scene was significant.
It always seems to be the case that when we start playing abroad. there are a plethora of tremend0us shows announced in Scotland for us to miss. Pish. No fair. On the record front there have already been some tremendous releases this year by the White Stripes. (Smog) and Arab
Mogwai, ballboy and ldlewild all playing shows early in their careers at the festival. Organisers Zoe McGrory and Sarah Edwards are to be applauded for their pioneering efforts down the years: they shall be missed.
THOSE WITH AN INTEREST IN new music online Should consult a websne called k-os The focus at the moment is on the BlBCTTOlTlC'j side of things. but it's a forum for downloads and news on everything underground and interesting. See wm/kcsnet fOr
30 years' are hardly the kind of headlines you'd want to read while heading off to Greece. But we were geing to play. not to sunbathe. and since the reason behind the rioting was disgust at Tony Blair. l c0uId hardly blame them. When we got off Our third plane it became apparent that the conditions were significantly more Hebridean than Mediterranean and the marbled streets of Thessaloniki (our first pOrt of call). unused to rain. were like an ice rink. prompting me to fall on my arse at almost every turn. Nothing unusual there then. That said. Our first concert
IN- Apufi‘, Ma, Z’r’fi: THE LIST 45