TAHTAN HEART FESTIVAL ()llerint) rock. collie. (l()lll‘.l.", and blues. illlf; l.’l‘.'()lll(3f;t; shire iiiusir: festival has; secured a place in our heart and in out Hot 100'.
TUTTI FHUTTI A National Theatre of Scotland flagship production. John Hyine't; adaptation of hit; seininal ltlfillt; televrsion series WI” he one of the talking points of the year
THE ARCHES 15TH BIRTHDAY All the fun of Arches l we and the new iiiusit: festival Instal. plus ‘Sriend a Penny'. a series of performances; in toilet cubicles.
VENICE FILM
FESTIVAL
Some great new llllllf; screened in the most (:inernatir: of settings. But how can it compete Will] the l (lllll)lll(_]ll l llll‘. l est's (30th birthday?
Second coming
2006 is the year of the second album for some big names in indie rock but, asks Mark Robertson, will we still care by the time we hear the records?
fa year is a short time in show business. in
the music industry it has never seemed
shorter. Blame the record labels. blame the record-buying and gig-going public. blame the artists themselves. but the cycle of intrsical trends and the turnover of bands is quicker than ever.
In 2006. Bloc Party. the Killers. Kaiser Chiefs. Keane. Kasabian. Futureheads and Scissor Sisters are all among those scheduled to release their sophomore efforts. Those ‘difficult second albums' all have huge
expectations laid upon them. their debuts all being spectacular commercial and/or critical successes. But will we have moved on by the time they resurface?
Time is not on your average major label band's side any more. liven ten short years ago it was a positively sedate ride for a band by comparison. People like Stereophonics. Radiohead and Travis all got the chance to make patchy early records that acted as the foundations on vvhich they subsequently built truly great records. They
DOORS OPEN l very weekend in September offers; the opportunity to go through the keyhole and nose around some of Scotland's lll()5;l beautiful l)tlll(l|llt}fi
EDINBURGH MELA In the South Asran tradition. but WIN] a Scottish flavour. this intercultural rnela it; the Indian summer to the International l estrval in August.
needed the opportunity to grovv up a little in public. 'l‘oday for too many. a big record deal means an instant return on a record company‘s investment. In other vvords. overnight success. Bands must enter the arena fully formed and fully realised. As a result. an idea which vvorked perfectly for 15 or so songs may not be able to inspire another IS. The question is not only vvhether they can deliver something new but also vvhether they can sustain it at such a high level.
(iiven dance music's extended stay of hibernation —- the occasional novelty record. Basement Jaxx and Mylo excepted the indie shrnindie hordes are almost certainly going to get a second summer in the sun. liestivals are more popular than ever and. despite (ilastonbury taking a year off. people seem content to gorge on hands over the sunny months.
Whether any of said second alhurns will be any
good is another matter. (‘hances are Bl ‘l’z '. l ‘K'll't anti Klzlfi>seli‘]L(‘liiei': have enough spark AVERAGE MAJOR
and ideas to manage past album one. and Keane will become
the (‘oldplav in vvaiting vvhile
Kasabian “in keep the Oasis fans btrsy treading vvater for the
SIDE ANY majority of the year. Best avoid the
debate altogether. Vote with your feet -- or this year it‘s more likely to be your mouse button — and seek otrt something new on your doorstep that doesn't have a quarter of a million quid marketing budget behind it and a permanent spot in the NMlz'. lndtrlge yourself in records by the likes of Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio and the vvoefully underrated Secret Machines (pictured). Then there‘s a solo debut from former Delgados frontvvonian Emma Pollock plus nevv records on the horizon from Grandaddy. the Pictish Trail. the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Morrissey. Mogwai. Coldcut. Belle and Sebastian. Ambulance LTD, the Aliens and Graham Coxon. Many of them will inevitably blovv our minds and. our patience permitting. should be up there in the end of 2006 polls with the Bloc Party. Killers and Kaiser (‘hiefs.
Six that will surely deliver the goods with their ‘difficult’ second stab at creative genuis
LOST (Jul) With more loose ends than a castaway's breeks, season one has left Lostaholics thirsting for more. Why are
' the nastier islanders so in need of children?
_ NICK CAVE (Mar) One ‘ of the best films of the
§ year is undoubtedly the
; Cave-scripted The Proposition. directed by
‘ f fellow Aussie John Hillcoat in their first collaboration since 1988‘s Ghosts of the Civil Dead.
'13
22 THE LIST 5-19 Jan 2006
E For his next live visit to
hop show ever’ to Our tiny minds.
MYLO (Dec) Top of Santa’s 2006 list will be Myles’ second long playing i offering. Heralding the
return of dance music in 2007 as a serious cultural Scotland, Mr West ups the force again it will boast a ante, declaring that he’s raft of special guest bringing the 'greatest hip i vocalists.
.Ii.
KANYE WEST (Feb)
' After his Booker-winning
maverick brings us
DBC PIERRE (Mar) : Ludmr’l/a's Broken English about conjoined twins, 3 Russian bride websites
and full English breakfasts.
debut. the Ireland-based
RICHARD KELLY (39p) i The man responsible for Donnie Darko finally returns with another weird genre Q. 5 bender in South/and Tales, " set during a three-day l heatwave in 2008 LA.