The Art of Colour: Georgia O’Keeffe

A year in art, music, cinema and literature features and there have been some fascinating, thought-provoking pieces on everything from banned books to cinema in Berlin. For your reading pleasure, we’ve rounded up the best of best; a look back over Culturelle in 2011…

Brits and the Boards: Women in UK Theatre

Alice Stride edits a go-to guide to the brightest and most brilliant women working in British theatre today: an inspiring must-read for any budding theatre-luvvies out there.

The Enigmatic Artists

Plum Woodard takes a look at five of music’s most enigmatic female artists, from rock and pop, soul to blues – and from ceaselessly out there to near on unknown…

The Art of Colour

In considering the works of celebrated artists, the exploration of the expressive use of colour can unveil ardent sensitivity and insight into some of the great masters in history and how they inspire us, even today. Kaiti Vartholomaios looks at the art of colour.

Ten of the Best… Historical Novels

As a fun and engaging way to learn about the past, historical novels offer more than your average ‘airport’ read. Viola Levy noses through ten of the best.

Street Art Now

Spray cans at the ready; SJP takes a look at the progression of street art, key artists and where you can see the best tags, bombs and burners…

Banned Books: The Novels You Weren’t Supposed to Read

Banned by governments, Brogan Driscoll presents an edit of some of the most famous outlawed titles – and a few that might surprise you.

Brushstrokes and Bitch Fits: Women who Changed Art

It’s certainly not that female artists don’t exist – it’s simply that they’re not given the wall space that their male counterparts are. Sandra Smiley considers ten key female figures from the art world…

Magathèque: Volume 20

It’s your final Magathèque and the best ever yet! To conclude two years of short film exploration,  Pippa Rimmer reminds you of some of the best shorts we’ve profiled…

On Location: Greece

It’s been a long time since Greece was one of the globe’s greatest exporters of culture, but that hasn’t stopped international production companies from turning its landscapes into cinematic starlets…Kaiti Vartholomaios explores the Greek cinematic landscape past and present.

Upper Class Reads

The fictional – and not so fictional – adventures of the rich and fabulous have fascinated readers for centuries, and it is hardly surprising, thinks Katie Byrne.

Running in Heels: Jasmine Cullingford – Artistic Director

Alice Revel  takes a peek behind the curtains and meets the lady who makes the on-stage magic happen at one of the UK’s most inspiring, eclectic arts venues.

Meet Diana Athill 

Speaking to Harri Sutherland-Kay , the legendary, award-winning British writer and editor adresses the important themes of writing, political activism, feminism, education, religion and the afterlife.

The Ex Factor Playlist

SJP presents your essential guide to the best break-up tracks of all time. Grab a bar of chocolate, arm yourself with tissues and press play to listen to the Ex Factor…

Work by artist Yolanda Dominguez

A Space to Write

Monique Rubinslooks at how a woman needs time, a means to live and her own space if she is to find form for the muddled – but wonderful – ideas that for too long have been buried somewhere at the back of her brain.

Blogging in Heels: Katy Evans-Bush – Baroque in Hackney

Alice Revel quizzes fascinating books and culture blogger Katy Evans-Bush about her sharp, witty musings on literature and London.

Bitches of the Big Screen

Audiences love them, actresses love playing them, the only question is why don’t we see more of them?! Victoria Todd give you our best Bitches of the Big Screen.

Meet Yolanda Domínguez

Jem McCarron meets the young Spanish artist, whose ground-breaking work investigates and challenges our gender conceptions through new, innovative art forms.

Cinematic Cities: Berlin

Continuing your cinematic journey of Europe, Francesca Robson takes you to a city which has inspired some of the most dedicated depictions on celluloid: Berlin

Beach Reads: The Guilty Pleasures

Unfold your towel, settle into the sunshine and enjoy the dog-eared pages. Alexia Healy chooses some of the best literary junk food for snacking pleasure!

Meet Rose Balston

Fran Harris talks classical treasures, architectural anecdotes and bringing London’s artistic heritage to life with the young, passionate founder of Art History UK.

Five of our Favourites… Northern Soul

Not so familiar with the genre? Plum Woodard takes a look five of top Northern soul tracks that are bound to get you spinning on your heels in no time…

The Magic of Writing: Patricia Duncker

Literary doyenne and idea aficionado Patricia Duncker speaks to Deirdra Eden Keane about love, suicide cults, literature festivals and everything in between…

One of our five Northern Soul picks, Dobie Gray’s Out On The Floor

There are plenty of female artists in music we know heaps about; if not thanks to the wealth of gossip mags out there, thanks to publicity behemoths blowing gales of wind into their celebrity sails. But, equally, there are several who we know very little about. But it doesn’t just stop with knowing about them or not: they’re actually a tiny bit puzzling as well. Running In Heels takes a look at five of music’s most enigmatic female artists, from ceaselessly out there to near on unknown…

Lady Gaga

While Madonna and Rihanna failed to make the rundown, Lady Gaga gives them both a run for their money: from meat frocks to songs about Jesus’ disciples, what Gaga does next hardly finds itself filed under ‘predictable’. Previously, allusions to gender identity, while controversial in some places, only seemed to propel the world’s intrigue with one of pop’s most dramatic icons but the really fascinating thing about Lady G is that behind all the ‘neo-burlesque’ there’s a prodigy – at 20, she was employed by Sony to write songs for the likes of the Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears. Kind of otherworldly in a Bowie kind of way, she’s single-handedly revolutionised popular music… And she’s still only 25.

Amy Winehouse

While rhapsodising the prematurely deceased is easy to do, Winehouse’s name is synonymous with soul – the musical variety and the tortured kind – and her latter performances when they happened had us on pins anticipating the next Amy Winehouse foible. Toward the end, her reputation both on and off stage hovered over the less favourable following arrests for abusing audience members and being too far intoxicated to perform at all. While the coroner’s verdict in October this year did deign alcohol to be the cause of her death at 27 after all, her followers were left short-changed after a brief glimmer of hope that she was finally managing to beat her demons. Fascinating while alive, Winehouse – and what might have been for her – now epitomises the enigma of the one that got away and smash sales of her posthumous album only serves as testament to this.

Patti Smith

One of music’s most androgynous chanteuses, Patti Smith gracefully managed to bring down the wall of stereotyping women in music. Nicknamed The Godmother of Punk, her boyish demeanour challenged conventions during her hey day during the ‘70s NYC punk scene. Her vocal style has since been tacitly tributed by the likes of The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O and her louche approach to her not-entirely-polished image holistically leading for a long register of contemporary female artists in music. Yet despite her forward-looking place amid female musicians, even as she continues to make her stamp in the present, Smith’s hook was that much of her output was largely unintended in terms of groundbreaking, deliberate statements: for a woman who recently described herself as “a bum”, Smith’s allure is that there’s nothing contrived about her career so far, and that’s what compounds her enigma – she’s effortless, something many take years trying to perfect.

Tori Amos

To this day, we still don’t know what a Cornflake Girl is. What we like about this woman is she probably doesn’t either. Flame haired and porcelain faced with exponentially structured cheekbones, Tori Amos properly bubbled up on the mainstream radar in 1996 with the ‘bedroom scent’ dance floor hit, Professional Widow. The track was some sidestep from her lyrically piano soaked norm and despite meriting award-winning acclaim in the early nineties, her album of ’96, Boys For Pele, featured sinister images of her breastfeeding a piglet and languidly nursing a shotgun. Influential and the recipient of a phalanx of awards and credits, Amos stays fastidiously out of the media limelight. What we do know is that she’s a close friend of Neil Gaiman – which speaks volumes over the whisper of mystery this singer-songwriter is shrouded in.

Karen Dalton

Commonly referred to as ‘folk’s answer to Billie Holiday’, Karen Dalton hasn’t been all that widely appreciated until relatively recently. An accompaniment and contemporary to the likes of Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and Fred Neil, it was in 1960s New York where Karen was a stalwart of the Greenwich Village folk scene. Dalton died in 1993 from AIDS but although she’s been posthumously re-released to great acclaim nearly two decades following her death, and 40 years subsequently since her last living release in 1971, Dalton allegedly lived out her final years modestly and unremarkably. Put succinctly by the publicists managing her legacy, “Karen Dalton was a remote, mercurial creature… She instinctively understood that if she wanted to survive the harshness of the world around her, she would have to keep herself hidden.” In terms of one of the greatest folk singers of all time, no one is more enigmatic than one such many have never heard of. 1966, a collection of Dalton’s material freshly dug out, is released in January 2012.

While by no means the exclusive soundtrack to the mod movement, Northern soul began putting its feelers out to sharply clad hipsters before finding its soulful home in dancehalls about a decade down the line. Finding its roots in Mowtown, despite its black American origins, NS was primarily the domain of the British music scene, developing and retaining its popularity and following well into the ‘70s where its grip properly took hold. If you caught 2010’s SoulBoy, you’ll know that the Wigan Casino, deemed the most legendary club in the UK, was the go to place for an all nighter of energetic souling, where the birth of break and disco dancing were debuted. Fast in tempo and upbeat, its uptake was underground, keen and cultish – and hot property of the north of England; nothing to do with the northern states of the US as is commonly assumed. It still holds its own on the sub-scene, and has borne out heavy influence within British pop – the late Amy Winehouse, for instance – over the last 40-plus years.

Not so familiar with the genre? Well, it’s not the easiest to define, with many artists dipping their toes into the soul groove and not much more, coupled with the fact that the circuit actively preferred obscure tracks and not-so-well-known artists where commercial success was uncommon. But for starters, RIH takes a look five of top Northern soul tracks that are bound to get you spinning on your heels in no time…

Tainted Love – Gloria Jones, 1964

No, you didn’t hear it first from Soft Cell. Covered also by Marilyn Manson in 2001, Tainted Love was the genius offering from Gloria Jones, perhaps unjustly better known as Marc Bolan’s girlfriend and mother to his son. So Northern soul held water with glam rock too, eh?… The foot stomper was originally the B-side to her failure single My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home but Tainted Love went on to find a stellar place in NS clubs in the ‘70s. Jones rerecorded the track for the benefit of the souling crowds and although it was rereleased in 1976 on the back of its success on the scene, the song never charted for its original artist.

Tell Mama – Etta James, 1967

By far the most generalist track on this list, plus the most commercially successful (it charted relatively well in America), Etta James’s Tell Mama is broader soul and R&B than just that of the Northern category. However, go to any NS night and you’ll probably hear this gem spun to gigantic crowd-pleasing acclaim. Feisty, euphoric and loud, Tell Mama is one of James’s finest moments and an ongoing staple within the NS, Southern soul and Mowtown scene.

Stop Breaking My Heart – Tom Jones, 1966

What NS rundown would be complete without a bit of Tom? His ’66 release also failed to chart at all (we know; Tom not charting? Outrage!), but thoroughly encapsulates the Northern soul sound: distinct and consistent beat, lots of heartache, strong backing singers… This track wasn’t Tom’s only flirtation with NS; the Welsh soul singer is after all famous for his grind inducing, hip shaking, hand clapping style.

Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine – Samantha Jones, 1967

Not to be confused with the SATC cougar, Liverpudlian soultress Samantha Jones found success on the NS scene with her elbow pusher, Surrounded…, about ten years after its original release. Despite becoming a dance floor staple representing the genre during the ‘70s, the track was never a commercial success.

Out On The Floor – Dobie Gray, 1975

Released at the height of the dancehall phenomena that became Northern soul, American Dobie Gray wouldn’t chart at all (surprise surprise) with this stalwart circuit anthem. Pile on to YouTube for footage from the casinos, dancehalls and all nighters, and they’ll probably all be to the tune of Dolbie. Epitomising the NS movement, Gray’s theatrical, orchestral wa-hey-hey is precisely what this whole thing’s about.

The riot grrrl movement was largely influenced by the female rockers who had gone before, such as Patti Smith, Suzi Quatro and Joan Jett. Jett was originally a member of The Runaways, one of the first all-girl rock and roll bands. Despite being marketed as ‘jailbait’, and the fact that singer Cherie Currie donned lingerie on stage, The Runaways marked a turning point for women in music. As Jett said: ‘We knew it was gonna blow people’s minds to see girls play sweaty, hard, serious rock and roll.’The jailbait image may have been a gimmick, but their gender wasn’t. The band endured a volley of criticism based purely on their sex. Even after their success, Jett struggled to get a record deal when the band split. Twenty-three labels listened to her demo and refused to sign her. The same record later reached the top of the charts in the USA, and stayed there for two months.

Rocking Out with Riot Grrrl

The Runaways may have been a minority, but just over ten years later a group of girls in Olympia, Washington sparked what would become an international phenomenon: riot grrrl, a musical and cultural movement often associated with third wave feminism. Bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and The Slits wrote songs for and about women and girls; their songs dealt with their own experiences and frustrations, and focused on female empowerment. The movement quickly spread to the UK and the European riot grrrl scene took on a life of its own. The riot grrrl movement largely rejected the press; instead, riot grrrls communicated through letters, handmade zines and, of course, their music. By doing so, according to writer Julia Downes, ‘these girls created a radical philosophy centred around encouraging girls across the country to subvert the stagnant male dominated underground by creating their own music.’

This rejection of the media only served to intrigue them, and soon the music industry decided to cash in. 1996 saw the advent of The Spice Girls, a group who changed the pop scene forever. If riot grrrl was about being real and sweaty and loud, this new, shiny pre-packaged group was about being pretty and proud. The Spice Girls broke into a market previously dominated by boy bands, and became the best-selling female group of all time. Girls stopped swooning over Ronan Keating and starting screaming ‘Girl Power’ (incidentally, not a phrase coined by The Spice Girls – Welsh indie band Helen Love used the phrase in their 1993 song ‘Formula 1 Racing Girls,’ and punk pop duo Shampoo released an album called Girl Power in 1996). Regardless, it seemed female artists had established a firm position for themselves both in the underground and mainstream music scenes.

Feminism and Music Today

Today, the charts are dominated by women. Lady Gaga, for example, is a strong female figure who promotes self confidence and individuality. Although she frequently appears in next-to-no-clothing, Lady Gaga remains curiously asexual: she couples lace body stockings with oversized wigs, and fishnet tights with that meat dress. Beyoncé, who appeared alongside Gaga in the Thelma and Louise-style ‘Telephone’ video, is another interesting candidate. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar she displayed a rather confusing attitude towards the term ‘feminism’. She said: ‘I need to find a catchy new word for feminism, right? Like Bootylicious.’  Although during the rest of the interview she asserts some feminist values, her attitude seems to imply that feminism is somehow uncool. Songs like ‘Independent Women’ and ‘Girls (Who Rule the World)’ have empowering lyrics, but are often accompanied by videos of the singer gyrating in skimpy outfits. The overt sexuality of music videos today often seems to overtake the songs themselves: girls have gone from choreographing routines to ‘Wannabe’ to learning how to wiggle their hips like Shakira. Music and physicality have never been more closely linked, and it seems that many female artists today are choosing to sing about their sexuality, rather than their sex.

Perhaps the best way to look at music as a vehicle for feminism is to go straight to the anthems, and the response they receive. It is impossible not to feel roused when listening to ‘Sisters are Doin’ it for Themselves’ sung by Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. It is incredibly difficult not to sing along, even if giggling, to Helen Reddy’s ‘I am Woman.’ No Doubt’s cycnical ‘I’m Just a Girl’ never fails to provoke a reaction. And regardless of whether Béyonce thinks the term ‘feminism’ isn’t bootylicious enough, there are always hands in the air when ‘Independent Women’ is played.

Even if we are not always in agreement with an artist’s take on (or lack of) feminism, music still serves the same purpose today as it did back when Joan Jett first picked up her guitar: it spreads a message. The sound of feminism is something different for everyone. To me, it’s the opening chords of Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation,’ and the gutsy deliverance of Bikini Kill’s ‘Rebel Girl’ .To others, it’s shouting along with Aretha as she sings ‘R. E. S. P. E. C. T.’ For others, it will always be screaming ‘Girl Power’ at The Spice Girls. The reaction when one of these songs is played can be positive or negative. It could be people agreeing with the song’s message or criticizing it. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that music and feminism work together to spark debate and keep the issue current. The sound of feminism, whether it’s riot grrrl, pop, or an argument over which one to play next, is alive and well.

27 Club: Brian Jones with Jimi Hendrix...

Last month, the news that Amy Winehouse had been found dead in her Camden home dominated opinion on social networking sites and left the general public in flux between untimely shock and lack of surprise. Although what caused her death has yet to be disclosed, what’s definite is that Amy checked out way ahead of time; she was only 27.

This fact has only served to steep people’s reactions to the loss of one of Britain’s greatest talent exports, as that talent joins the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain who also died aged 27. Other notable members of what’s become known as the ‘Forever 27 Club’, or more simply ‘The 27 Club’, include Rolling Stone Brian Jones, The Doors’s Jim Morrison, soulstress Janis Joplin and, perhaps more nebulously, Richey Edwards of The Manic Street Preachers who vanished in 1995.

The doomed register of the 27 Club has captured many people’s interest for over the years. From moon charts, speculation around the significance of the commonly occurring letter ‘J’, the astrological phenomena of ‘The Return of Saturn’, to what’s become known as ‘The Curse of The White Lighter’ (where allegedly, members of the 27 Club were all found with a white lighter on their person when they died). There have even been rumours that the deaths were murder and some are still cloaked in part mystery. What one might loosely refer to as conspiracy theories, the deaths of some of the world’s most iconic musicians at 27 has curried plenty of inspection from people over time, some of whom have espoused that the likes of Hendrix and Morrison were deliberately ‘eradicated’ for inspiring too much free thought among their audiences, and Joplin for challenging racial – and in part, sexual – boundaries beyond what was acceptable at the time.

For me, the theories are fascinating, particularly given that the age of these figureheads – all of who kicked down walls in their respective niches – appear to spike so drastically at this fateful age. But speculation can never be founded or proven, and in the case of the 27 Club, is open to all manner of projection and interpretation. When reports that Hendrix and Joplin, who both succumbed to drug-related problems within two weeks of each other, had apparently both bought heroin from the same batch, the lure to theorise on motives more morbid than that of their deaths alone takes on a different appearance.

More realistically, aside from their age, what all of the club members have in common is that they were hugely caught up in substance abuse at the peak of their careers, coupled with the wrong side of the fine line that’s psychiatric stability and emotional well-being. Reports of displays of erratic behaviour prior to their deaths are not uncommon, as were fears for their health and personal safety. Perhaps it was the pressure of fame, the steep and sudden incline into stardom? Maybe it was the genius of every one of them, more often than not tortured genius, and the weight of responsibility for leading people into new lines of thought that made them need to escape themselves? Perhaps a total disillusion with life

In Winehouse’s case, time will tell as to what it was precisely that brought her short life to an end. What is surely is that as tragic as her death has been, she has, in her young years, achieved more than most people can even dream of and stands alongside a list of greats of which she is more than equal to in calibre, who also lived fast and died young.

 Amy Winehouse performing Rehab on Jools Holland’s Later Live programme

Prefer a slice of Hovis and News at Ten?

Some people are truly great at writing lyrics. I unfortunately am not one of them. I still cringe when I think of a song I wrote aged thirteen, the chorus went something like: You’ll always be….you’ll always be…you’ll always be deep down inside me..eee…! (just had to suppress a bit of vomit there.) Indeed spectacularly bad lyrics are just that by virtue of the fact that instead of whooshing past you along with the music, they cause you to sit up and go “what?!” Such was the case with me several years ago when the following song came on the radio:

“I don’t wanna see a ghost
It’s the sight that I fear most
I’d rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news.”

Although like Des’ree, I’d gladly take a slice of Hovis and News at Ten over encountering a tortured soul from the world of the dead, the sheer toe-curling awfulness of these lyrics- blatantly cobbled together by virtue of the fact that they rhyme – cause me to seize up whenever that song is played. (It was actually voted number 1 in a most annoying lyrics poll by BBC 6 Music – I’m not alone!)

Some lyrics blend so beautifully that you don’t notice them, while others stand out and send shivers down the spine for all the right reasons. From researching this article it became clear that a song’s lyrics can be admired for all sorts of reasons. Take the case of my friend Olly who loves the words of T-Rex: I drive a Rolls Royce ‘cos its good for my voice, “purely because it’s cool!” Or lyrics can touch people on a more personal level, either capturing a particular mood they happen to be feeling at the time, or striking a chord with a particular situation they’re in, such as having broken up with someone.

On hearing Shakespeare’s Sister’s song “Stay” the other day (a song I wasn’t particularly fond of and which I’d pretty much forgotten about since 1992) the words to the chorus: stay with me accompanied by a melody that echoes a desperate howl, ended up moving me to tears, as I was at the time depressed about a close family member who was very ill. But sometimes the tone of both the lyrics and accompanying music can clash, often to comic effect. The song “Mack the Knife” is quite a cheery upbeat tune, set to rather grisly lyrics about a murderer, which makes its chirpy melody quite unsettling on reflection (also imagining the eponymous Mack the Knife carrying out his gruesome deeds to the beat of this jaunty rhythm can be quite amusing!) In other songs, lyrics can take on an ‘other-worldly,’ ethereal quality, especially if sung in a language the listener is unfamiliar with. One of my favourite songs “Clowns” by Goldfrapp contains barely audible lyrics that Alison Mossart sings in a muffled voice. that I think gives the song its haunting, magical quality.

The question of who the greatest lyricists of all time are is a contentious one. In an article in The Guardian, Laura Barton cites the names that often come up in relation to this question. “Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Chuck D, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Morrissey and Alex Turner; all, to my thinking, write with such effortless beauty and wit, and all appear to recognise that words can be not only powerful but also delicious.”

But what makes a song’s lyrics ‘good’? Professor Pat Pattison, who teaches lyric writing and poetry at the Berklee College of Music and whose past students have included John Mayer, sheds some light on the matter. “First, it has to work perfectly with the music. It’s a song, after all. Not a poem. It should sing easily. Remember, lyrics are made for the ear, not the eye, so they should be able to communicate their message the first time a song is played through without the listener needing to stop and go back over them.”

“It should be interesting language, and the chorus should ideally take on a little more meaning each time we hear it. If it’s a dance lyric, it should be percussive and rhythmically interesting.”

The lyricists behind Eleanor Rigby...

As most of us music lovers would agree, love tends to be a recurring theme for many songwriters. Musician Eden James explains why this is often the case, drawing from his own experience as a lyricist. “I tend to use my lyric-writing as self-therapy. It’s not that I want to or intend to, that just comes out. I must have a need to express it and not bottle it up. So yes, themes of break-ups, bitter farewells, fond memories etc… seem to be recurring themes.”

So how does the actual process of putting words to music take shape?

“Often I will sing random lyrics as I’m composing a vocal melody, just to have something to sing. Sometimes, this gibberish turns out to be subliminal thought escaping and can turn into a lyric that stays in the song. But mostly I will revisit the song when the melody and chords and structure are complete and find lyrics that fit to that.”

Professor Pattison has another approach. “When I write lyrics first, often I start from a title (hook) and develop a rhythm for it — finding its “natural shape,” while a drum loop or a beat is playing in the background. I can build the rhythm of the whole chorus from knowing the title’s rhythm. Then I try to find contrasting verse rhythms that will lead well into the chorus rhythms. I’ve done the rhythm of the entire lyric without ever writing a word, other than the title.”

Some would argue that the lyrics of a song are secondary to its melody, but this is not always the case. Take for example the genre of Hip Hop, where the lyrics are rapped, while a subtle base plays in the background requiring the listener to pay attention to what’s being said, until the melodic chorus kicks in. And then there are other songs that tell a story, such as Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles, where the words give the music extra poignancy.

Furthermore, some song writers have been more famous for their ability as lyricists over that as musicians. “Neither Leonard Cohen nor Dylan made it on either their playing or singing ability,” notes Professor Pattison. “Nor, might I add, on their chords or melodies. Of course, it depends on what the lyric’s purpose is. To entertain (Who let the Dogs Out?) inspire, instruct, or tell a story.”

“I think the question of whether the words to a song are stronger than the music is up to the listener,” Eden muses. “Some people have a stronger connection with a song’s lyrics, and others a purely moved by the melody and music. Ideally you want to be great at both. That’s where the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you feel a changing emotion. I used to be more of a melody lover, but now lyrics have become more important to me. It depends on the genre too I guess, but a great song is going to need both to be matched in calibre.”

Maybe some of us would have benefitted from heeding such wise words before deciding that singing about ghosts and toast was a good idea… (sorry Des’ree!)

The evocative, haunting “Clowns” by Goldfrapp

Pat Pattison is the author of Writing Better Lyrics. His new book Songwriting Without Boundaries will be out in autumn.

Eden James’ new single Going Down is available in July and his album These Streets is release in August.

Swedish songstress Veronica Maggio

The third time’s the charm as the saying goes, and if Veronica Maggio’s third album ‘Satan i Gatan‘ doesn’t live up to this well-aknowledged rule, it’s hard to see what else can. Perfection is seldom an adjective to attach to an album, but it might just suit this particular piece of work. At any rate, it’s a high bar that has now been set in the world of pop.

There is something about Maggio’s voice that has the effect of rendering simple words into powerful emotions we can all relate to. As the title track “Satan i Gatan” (Satan in the Street) spills out an unrelenting force disguised in a few—painfully—clear words, “you can cry in the middle of the street but I’ll never forget what you did,” it is gratifying to see the cathartic image of that person from your past bawling outside to no avail. A mere few minutes later, the light and ecstatic notes of “Mitt hjärta blöder” (My Heart is Bleeding) carry you back to the moment that made you go “this is worth dying for.” This phenomenon is duly repeated throughout the eleven tracks, after which you are left in surprise as virtually all of the emotions you have ever felt in life were brought back in a matter of an hour.

The personal appeal of all these tunes is immeasurable, but personally it’s easily the wistful “Snälla bli min” (Please Be Mine) that wins the favourites race. While it is quite simply the voice of a woman begging her lover to “please be mine again, no, let it be like in a movie, let me stay,” it is such a beautifully haunting sound that any lover who isn’t moved is probably not worthy of the tune. However, the defiant strokes of the violin in “Välkommen in” (Welcome in) that echoes the attitude “there’s a party at my place tonight and the whole world is mine” is equally hard to resist. The Maggio menu is delightfully full of tempting choices that may well take an entire night of struggling before a selection can be made.

Armed with the singer’s soulful voice and talented producer Christian Walz, the songs seem to effortlessly hit all the right chords of human experience, even the moment of birth. “Lördagen den femtonde mars” (Saturday, 15^th of March) is a brief track which represents the night of Maggio’s arrival. At barely more than a minute’s length and very few lyrics, the short and sweet melody captures the sentimentality of the event and serves as a satisfying postlude to the album.

As yet Veronica Maggio is largely unknown outside of Scandinavia. There is only one comment that comes to mind—the world is missing out badly.

A live performance of Snälla bli min from the album Satan i Gatan

Before the RS boys got their rock on...

Unless you’ve spent your life balled up under a rock (weak pun partially deliberate), The Rolling Stones need no introduction either as a band or why we at RIH thought it fit that one of the world’s most important groups in music kick off its new series on iconic artists.

Who?

You know; that band that unites nigh on three generations of music lovers. Namely, remaining founding members, guitarist Keith Richards (also known as ‘The Human Riff’), singer and acrobatic frontman Sir Mick Jagger and stalwart sophisticate drummer Charlie Watts. Lest we forget Brian Jones, guitarist alongside Keith, who died in1969 just one month after quitting the band. Over the years, the Stones have undergone rearrangements within their line up; Mick Taylor stepped in where Brian left off, later exiting in 1974 and leaving the door open and a guitar stand empty for Ronnie Wood. Original bassist Dick Taylor (perhaps better known for The Pretty Things) was replaced by Bill Wyman only a few months into the band’s inauguration. Wyman Stoned his way through 30 years with the band before leaving in the ‘90s. But perhaps the most unsung Stone – maybe not even known to many – is pianist Ian Stewart, who arguably more than any of the group’s founding members conceived the band. The legend goes that Stewart “didn’t look right” to warrant joining the merry troupe anywhere but inside a studio.

What?

Only one of the most legendary bands in the world. The Stones have played an integral part in projecting Britain’s reputation for stellar music (not just rock and roll) into interstellar realms. They’ve clocked up over 30 Gold and 30-plus Platinum accreditations for record sales worldwide, released 107 singles, performed well in excess of 2,000 shows, made 31 compilation records, 29 studio albums and were probably responsible for the arena gig trend. United as teens for their love of original American rhythm and blues, the group originally performed covers of songs by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. Before then, Britain wasn’t so familiar with such music within its mainstream, least not from a gang of white skinned, clean-shaven boys from Greater London.

Before long, they were adapting what they knew of American roots music into their own original material, such as ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, ‘Get Off My Cloud’ and ‘Not Fade Away’, going on to become known as one the most important rand influential rock bands on Planet Earth.

When?

Well, 2012 will mark the band’s 50^th anniversary, but these guys are still pulling performances out of the bag today. Mind you, this is all the greater achievement when you think what a miracle it is that Keith’s still alive: obituary writers have had their eulogies ready to go for many years and he’s been at the top of all the ‘Most likely to die this year’ lists for over a decade. But reports went round that after he survived a head injury following a tumble from a coconut tree in 2006, people with wagers on Keith snuffing it any time soon gave up, accepting that the man is in fact possibly invincible.

The Stones playing ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ live in St. Louis, Missouri in 1997

Where?

We’ve already mentioned Greater London, but they’re primarily from Dartford. They’ve exiled themselves from British tax levies momentarily, most famously taking up collective residence in France at the beginning of the ‘70s. Keith in particular had to flee Britain after having his collar felt by the law; the big Redlands Case (see below) in 1967 forced him to lie low in Morocco. They’ve got Caribbean residences (guess who?), homes in the States (of course) and, er, Richmond. Oh, and I guess we ought to count jail amongst this run down as well.

How?

A lot of sex, a lot of drugs, always rock and roll, women’s clothes, long hair and some seriously savvy heavies. Famously moving into London’s Edith Grove together (well, Mick, Keith and Brian anyway), they gigged full-time from the word go. They first signed with Decca, who’d eaten their flat caps when they passed up on signing Stones adversaries, The Beatles. Sportingly, The Stones credit The Beatles for inadvertently helping them make their business with Decca – who they stuck with until 1970 when they took label matters into their own hands with Rolling Stones Records. By the time of the release of Voodoo Lounge in 1994, they’d moved over to Virgin Records. Mick is now a Knight while Keith is a pirate.

High Points?

The majority of the band’s incarnation, literally and figuratively. It’s actually pretty difficult to determine stand out high moments for the band as so much of their dazzling space rocket career has back-handedly been propelled along by all manner of controversy. Well what do you expect when you’ve got a legendary guitarist with nine lives for whom rumour reels that he’s undergone a full blood transfusion to make a fresh start from addiction and general toxin overload, while at the same time hearsay suggests that he snorted his dead father’s ashes?

Mick dabbled in a bit of film by way of cult movie Performance, which ought to have been good but caused a rift between Mick and Keith because of Anita Pallenberg’s (Keef’s missus at the time) ménage a trois bath scene. The film also sent lead actor James Fox a bit off the rails. Pandemonium generally reigned wherever the Stones were involved.

Speaking of film, there is of course Keith’s cameo appearances in the Pirates of The Caribbean films of course…

The only and only… ‘Paint in Black’, performed live in 1997

Low Points?

Jeez, where do we begin? But in a similar way to the above, many of their low points have been excellent marketing tools for The Stones. However, there have bee a few hairy moments…

● The Redlands Bust – One Sunday in February1967, around 20 police entered and searched Keith’s Sussex home (it was called Redlands, by the way) where he’d been hosting a party – probably one of many – and a tabloid tip off which sparked the raid ended in a very public court case. Famously in attendance was Marianne Faithful, reported as Miss X, “A girl in a fur rug…” in a notorious article for The Times entitled ‘Who Breaks A Butterfly Upon A Wheel?’ There was something about vendettas against Jagger and British establishment determined to down do the ‘insolent’ Stones. And all to the tune of Dylan’s ‘Everybody Must Get Stoned’.

● Brian Jones’s death – Well, technically Brian was no longer a Stone, having quit the band one month before his death in July 1969. However, something of a cloud hung over the remaining members in lieu of his passing. Jones allegedly fell foul of the pressures of rock and roll, losing his grip on drug use and his erring toward decadence. He drowned in his own swimming pool, having only reached the young age of 27. Despite penning the awesome ‘Paint In Black’ in response to his death, The Rolling Stones had to face a little criticism for playing their scheduled Hyde Park gig only a couple of days after Jones drowned. But as homage to their departed ex-band mate, a show was made of the releasing of 1,000 white butterflies over the crowd.

● Altamont – The performance of December 6^th 1969 at Altamont Speedway in California quite possibly marked the end of the idealistic 60s. Well, judging by the date, it was on its way out anyway, but the hippie movement of the time took a serious blow when poor planning and ill management ended up with one onlooker, Meredith Hunter, being stabbed to death by the Californian Hell’s Angels who’d been drafted in as security for the show. An estimated 300,000 people were among the audience. During proceedings, other acts such as Jefferson Airplane, battled with havoc while trying to perform, while The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia refused last minute to go through with his band’s scheduled appearance when he saw the mayhem. In an interview with Hunter S Thompson a few years ago, Keith said of the Altamont gig; “Someone died, someone was born, so the same number of people were left at the end of it all…”

Top Tracks?

If you’re a Rolling Stones fan (like your author here is) this is not going to be succinct. However, in general, their peak years for groundbreaking music were pre-1975. Wrap your ears around these beauties…

Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Let’s Spend The Night Together, Time Is On My Side, Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Woman, Last Time, Memo From Turner, Happy, Start Me Up, Brown Sugar, Sympathy For The Devil, Wild Horses, It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)

And Finally…

A little bit of pop trivia to help you perhaps in a pub quiz: the cake arrangement featured on their 1966 album cover, Let It Bleed, was in fact made by the one and only Delia Smith before she became a household name.

The Rolling Stones at Altamont in 1969 performing ‘Sympathy for The Devil’ (or at least trying to…)

Pitchfork covers a diverse range of genres

Many people have mixed feelings about the influence of the internet on music. Many will tell you that people don’t appreciate music anymore because they don’t have to search for it, digging for hours in crates in esoteric record shops to unearth those rare treasures. Other people will tell you that the internet exposed them to and helped them find music they could never have found otherwise. I have a lot of sympathy for both views and when discussing it with anyone, can find myself expressing a combination of the two.

The way that I see it is that the genie is out of the bottle now, for good or ill, so we may as well make the most of it. Many of us are already familiar with MySpace, YouTube, Last FM and Spotify as music sources and the list just keeps on growing. It can be confusing and daunting trying to wade through them all and also trying to avoid the many illegal file sharing sites that crop up with any online search. With that in mind, here is my round up of my five favourite sites for new music.

Pitchfork

Based in Chicago, Pitchfork Media describe themselves as the “home of the gratuitously in-depth record review.” They’ve been around since the mid-90s which is practically ancient by most website standards. As well as the usual crop of reviews, news and features, they also have a section called pitchfork.tv which features new music videos. Pitchfork covers a diverse range of genres, although it’s probably fair to say that they’re regarded as primarily an information source for news on indie bands and artists. They’ve been widely credited with boosting the careers of artist such as Arcade Fire, and definitely like to get behind artists they feel they’ve discovered. Because they’re a daily publication there’s always plenty of new information to check out, and as long as you don’t get too bogged down in their reviews and trying to figure out their bizarre rating system, there’s plenty to keep you entertained here.

RCRD LBL

Ignore, if you can, the annoying lack of vowels in the name – how do they expect people to talk to each other about the site? – as this site is the one to go to for boosting your digital music library. RCRD LBL is an online only record label (see what they did there) and an excellent source of free, legal MP3 downloads. They work in partnership with highly respected artists and other labels to promote and market their music by giving it away for free. This will usually be in the form of exclusive remixes and collaborations, and is intended to introduce you to artists you may not be a fan of yet, and entice you into buying their other tracks or even whole albums. There are many theories about whether this is a good idea or not, and there isn’t enough space to go into those here. The descriptions of the artists and their music can sometimes be more confusing than they may intend, but in their defence, describing music is a very hard task. However, if you’d like to check out some new music without shelling out a penny, you could do far worse than registering for their daily download newsletter.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a Berlin-based site that’s been designed as a platform for artists and labels to promote their music directly to potential fans, as well as sharing and collaborating with each other. The founders were inspired by sites like Flickr for photos and You Tube for videos, but there was no equivalent way for them to share their music. You don’t have to be an artist to register on the site, but once you do, you’ll be able to hear new sounds from the artists that you follow by checking your Dashboard which is your personal daily inbox of music. Some of the tracks will be downloadable, some you’ll only be able to stream. Another great way to hear new artists is by checking the SoundCloud blog; they also make new music recommendations in their newsletters. You can connect your account with Facebook and Twitter and there are numerous apps to help you get more from your account. You’ll often find news and entertainment sites using the SoundCloud player widget. Even though it has been designed primarily as a resource for artists, there’s plenty for the music fan here too.

News and reviews on quality site The Quietus

The Quietus

For fans of quality music journalism The Quietus is an essential port of call. They have in-depth reviews and features covering as diverse a range of musical genres as you could possibly want. There’s no hyperbole or try-hard hipness here which can be a problem on other sites. The writers are all experienced music journalists and as the site is independent, they have the editorial freedom to cover whatever they like and not be afraid to be wordy about it. Don’t be scared though, there are plenty of videos so you can see, hear and judge the music for yourself. The Opinion section has thought provoking pieces on many aspects of music and culture and a lively comment section can usually be found under each piece. If you fancy a change from reading about music they also have a very good film review section. The site has already earned a few rewards and quite a bit of praise in the two years it’s been online. Overall thequietus.com is the closest you’ll get on the internet to a really top notch printed music magazine. It’s also visually appealing with its newspaper style masthead, layout and typography.

ReverbNation

ReverbNation is a site that aims to be a one-stop shop for artists, their management, record labels, venues and music fans. This can make the site seem like it’s overcrowded with information but it can be narrowed down by focusing on specific music genres. It also helps to start off in the Featured Artists or Latest Songs sections. From the viewpoint of the fan, there’s a lot on offer as the site gives you the ability to search for new music by genre, location or popularity. They also offer an online ReverbRadio station which you can tailor to your own taste with personal settings. You can share your playlists across all your social networks and even help your favourite artists by joining their Street Team and earning rewards for promoting them to your friends. If you’re a fan of live music this site could be an ideal way to keep an eye on what’s happening when in your area. There are a host of widgets and Facebook apps to play around and as with other sites, lots of ways to share your musical finds with friends.

So for your listening pleasure RIH has come up with a playlist that has the Ex Factor. Roughly based on the five stages that humans experience following a period of grief, there are songs to suit your mood, and your relationship – be it crying along to a ballad, expressing your anger or belting out some self-empowering disco.  The choice is yours…

Grab a bar of chocolate, arm yourself with tissues and press play to listen to the Ex Factor.

No Doubt – Don’t Speak

You’ve had long drawn out conversations about where the relationship is going, you’ve both said your piece and now you feel a little lost. Before you sink into a mild depression or start seething with rage, press play on No Doubt’s breakthrough single, a stripped down emotional confession – the kind you wish you’d written during your teen garage band phase. When relationships seemed so straightforward.

U2 – With or Without You

Regularly cropping up in ‘Top 100’ lists, U2’s classic track is also their second most covered tracks of all the time. Describing the troubled relationship between to lovers, the song is apparently about lead singer Bono’s conflict between being his domestic and musical lives but since is release in 1986, it has become a classic unrequited love song.

REM – Everybody Hurts

The simplicity of this song is derived from the fact it was written for teenagers. According to REM the song is direct and to the point because teenagers appreciate honesty and go through their own personal hell everyday at school, dating or just growing up. The lyrics  ’you’re not alone’ are perhaps of little comfort during a break up but they are true – Everybody Hurts was voted 4th most popular break-up song by Britons in 2006.

Coldplay – The Scientist

How many times after a relationship has ended did you wish you could go back to the start, when you were both happy, apologise to one another and fix all those little problems before they happened? Coldplay’s The Scientist is a haunting piano ballad that is perfect for a good weep and a spot of reminiscing, particularly if you watch the video which uses a reverse narrative to show frontman Chris Martin and his on-screen girlfriend experience a car crash – put this track on repeat and have a box of tissues handy.

Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name

Any song by American rock outfit Bon Jovi conjures up images of ripped denim, head banging and skintight trousers, not to mention the potential for a bit of hardcore air guitar. You Give Love… wasn’t directed at any particular individual when it was written back in the mid 80’s but it is a classic crowd pleaser that is best experienced through the medium of karaoke. As you move from despair through to anger this song, and a few glasses of wine, will help you get those pent-up feelings off your chest.

Alanis Morrisette – You Oughta Know

Filled with spite, rage and venom, You Oughta Know is possibly one of most cathartic break-up songs penned in the last 25 years. The angst-ridden lyrics and screaming guitars give way to that raw anger that can only be felt after a nasty break-up when you are no longer overcome with sadness but festering with rage.

Lily Allen – Fuck You

It doesn’t matter that this track was originally intended to stick two fingers up at the British National Party or former US president George W Bush, the repetition of the title about 50 times at maximum volume is enough to make your feelings on your ex perfectly clear.

Damien Rice  – Cannonball

Used in countless films and TV shows, tracks from Damien Rice’s first studio album O can be interpreted as either emotionally uplifting or depressingly crushing, depending on your current relationship status. Of all the tracks on this playlist Cannonball is my personal Ex Factor song – after my last break-up I played it on repeat so often that my flatmates threatened to use it as a frisbee! Perfect for reflecting on the best bits of your relationship and what went wrong, this track is best played when wallowing in that loneliness you both fear and relish after the anger of a break-up has subsided.

Destiny’s Child – Survivor

Before they all went off to work on ‘solo projects’ Destiny’s Child did a nice line in empowering female R’n’B songs (Independent Women is another excellent post break-up track). Originally a dig at their critics, these lyrics could equally address that once-special someone, proving that you can do so much better and achieve so much more in life, especially if you do it all in a Tarzan-esque bikini.

Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, male or female, into punk rock or fluffy pop, I guarantee that in a moment of drunken self empowerment, you will have raised a wine bottle, pint glass or hairbrush to your lips and belted out this classic 70’s disco track. An oldie but a goodie, this song anthem has been played following many a break-up, when all of a sudden you realise that not only were you better off without him, but you could do a whole lot better too.