Articles tagged with A Question of Sound

A Question Of Sound #5: Digesting Those 2009 Tips

David Coleman — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:16:21 +0000

It's become almost compulsory for a music publication to follow up its end of year retrospective with a list of tips for the New Year. For many critics it's not enough to predict the next big thing any more; it's all about who gets there first. I'm not too keen on taking part in this particular contest, though, for two main reasons: 1) I really couldn't care less which artists achieve commercial success in 2009; 2) I wouldn't exactly call myself an expert on tiny, up and coming bands; it's hard enough just trying to keep up these days.

A Question Of Sound #4: Confronting Those Coldplay-Shaped Demons

David Coleman — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:13:43 +0000

The date is 29 November. It’s a Saturday night and I’m clutching two tickets for Coldplay’s grand homecoming gig in my right hand. It’s a strange and not entirely comfortable sensation.

A Question of Sound #3: Social Networking Redeems Itself

David Coleman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:43:38 +0000

A lot has been written about the impact of social networking sites on emerging artists. In fact, the subject quickly became something of a cliché for bloggers and professional journalists, each clambering to tell their tale of how band x notched up y friends and translated this virtual hype into z sales. I recall a strange phase 12 to 18 months ago when publicists were actually quoting friend numbers. This, mercifully, has subsided and the whole thing seems to have become, well, kind of expected.

A Question of Sound #2

David Coleman — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:41:28 +0000

A sleepy, isolated town on the West Cumbrian coast, Whitehaven is probably one of the last places – in England, and possibly the world – where you’d expect to find a thriving indie-pop record label. There are no proper record shops (no, Smith’s and Woolies don’t count) and the only established music venue has, at the time of writing, precisely three gigs booked for 2008.

A Question of Sound #1: The Ear-Splitting Return of My Bloody Valentine

David Coleman — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:13:59 +0000

Whether you like it or not, a lot of people get their music for free these days. Rare tracks, unreleased albums, even entire back catalogues – they’re all readily available at the click of a mouse. It just depends on your ethical standpoint, your level of computer expertise and, perhaps most significantly, the size of your hard drive. But if the perceived worth of recorded music has declined in the last decade, then the stock of live music has surely risen.