End Of Time Review: Part 1

It was the beginning of the end for the Tenth Doctor in the first episode of the two part End Of Time story, not only was it David Tennant's last outing as The Doctor, it was also head writer Russell T. Davies final story before handing over to Steven Moffatt.

The End Of Time sees The Doctor's arch rival The Master (John Simm) returning from the dead, which sees the start of The Tenth Doctor's regeneration into the Eleventh Doctor however this time The Master has come back more insane and more powerful than ever, meanwhile The Doctor has been summoned by the Ood and has been told of a coming 'darkness' and 'the end of time itself' so off he goes on one last trip on the TARDIS to confront his age old enemy this time teaming up with Donna Noble's grandfather Wilf (played by Bernard Cribbins).

The End Of Time had been built up as a bit of a dark, scary story but to in all honesty, Davies can't write dark stories, he litters his script with too many lighter moments (such as The Doctor meeting up with The Silver Cloak a group of pensioners Wilf enlists in finding The Doctor) these moments sort of see-saw through Davies darker or more serious script moments i.e. he'll have one scene which has a serious tone to it and then in the next scene Davies will lighten the tone, very rarely combining the two but when he does, it comes off very well and natural.

However, Russell T. Davies excels at character moments, the dialogue between The Doctor and Wilf in the cafe is fantastic you really get the sense that both characters feel defeated, Wilf, by the realisation that he is the only person on Earth who can remember the nightmare the entire universe is having and The Doctor, by the prophesies that have been foretold to him as well as the knowledge of his impending death. Bernard Cribbin's is fantastic as the companion for this episode and it is interesting to see him act as a sort of fatherly figure to the 903 year old Doctor.

The scenes between The Doctor and The Master are also well written especially with The Master's constant ramblings, which John Simm makes completely believable and so flawlessly switches from his insane ramblings to his need for The Doctor to hear the sound of the drums. Simm's maniacal Master is a lot more powerful this time round but he is a man without purpose until the climax of the episode where he creates his 'Master Race'. It's here that Russell T. Davies brings about not one but three chilling cliffhangers involving The Doctor's former travelling companion and Wilf's granddaughter, Donna, the aforementioned 'Master Race' and the revelation of another, more familiar race watching from the sidelines led by former James Bond actor Timothy Dalton, all of which should make for an entertaining if not sad ending to the two-parter on New Year's Day.

Five For Friday 9

There have been quite a number of tracks which have been fighting for dominance inside my brain this week and as such its been a little bit difficult to condense it into five tracks but here they are.

5. Deadmau5 ft Rob Swire- Ghosts 'n' Stuff

There is something hauntingly melodic about the synths, add that to the synth laden vocals from Pendulum's Rob Swire and the pounding bass drums creates an often repetitive yet cool dance tune.

4. Miyavi- Shiawase Nara Te Wo Tatakou

If the song sounds familiar, then it probably is as it's the Japanese version to If You're Happy And You Know It sung during a live concert, while it's difficult to follow along to it's interesting to hear a well known children's song sung in a different language by a serious musician.

3. Aimee Allen- Save Me

Originally a song for Unwritten Law (which Allen co-wrote with her then boyfriend Scott Russo) the song was a little more rocked up compared to this laid back acoustic version, which really suits Allen's husky vocals.

2. Lady Gaga- Alejandro

Compared to her singles, this track isn't as bombastic or OTT, it's a simple love song. The beat has an exotic flavour, over the electro beats. It's as though this song is about a foreign, forbidden love although it seems as though the song is about Gaga being caught in a love square, though she really likes this Alejandro guy...

1.Miyavi- Jikoai, Jigajisan, Jiishiki, Kajou(Intsrumental)/Selfish Love

The first thing that struck me from this track is the opening instrumental Jikoai, Jigajisan, Jiishiki, Kajou which combined Miyavi using the acoustic guitar in its natural form as well as using it as an percussion instrument almost simultaneously, before using a single drum and his acoustic guitar to produce a simple rhythm for the country inspired Selfish Love.

Artist Spotlight: December- Natccu

Welcome to my Artist Spotlight, every month on my World Tour show (Sunday's 4-5pm KCC Live) I select an musician or band and play tracks from their discography, and on this blog I'll be writing about the artist or musician in question. This month's Artist Spotlight is Natccu from Japan.

Described by her website as a 'singer and a songwriter, but not a singer-songwriter' (which doesn't make much sense but hey its a free world) Natccu (pronounced na-chew) plays the guitar on most of the tracks from her debut album (called Sketchbook) her music genre has been described as a mix of Rock, Japanese Pop and Jazz, at live shows she is accompanied by a second guitarist, a bassist and drummer. Her website also features several of her songs available to listen to as does her Myspace.

I mentioned seeing Natccu in my blog about Japanese bands coming to play during the Liverpool Sound City Festival and I was impressed by her performance, and was able to get a seven track E.P from her, the E.P really shows versatility in this artist. The bouncy, bass laden first track Apple Z were the guitars screech under Natccu's vocals is very different from the balladesque Crescent Moon which is sung in English (a Japanese version of which, Kagen No Tsuki also appears on this E.P as the) the song sounds like The Goo Goo Dolls Slide but at the same time shows that Natccu can evolve her style from a pop punk genre to a soft melodic rock sound, shifting gears to a guitar heavy track like third track Calendar.

Randoseru Salaryman is another track which have a strong bass line but also has some synth sounds, while the guitar isn't as heavy in this track it fills the strong presence Natccu leaves behind when she isn't singing. Her track Hakushon! Bless You features sci-fi guitar sounds over a bounding beat, while her vocals switch between English and Japanese at a drop of a hat adding spontaneity to her style, perhaps this is where the Jazz influence comes in, though the sixth track on her E.P Tareta Cosmos has a back room jazz feel to it despite the wavering Japanese vocals which change their pattern from a soft spoken style to an intense growl that really throws the empthasis into the word she is singing.

Natccu has toured the UK three times, she first toured in October 2008, before returning in May this year and finally again in July, she is currently playing a few dates in Japan and hopefully is planning on releasing a second album.

World Tour changes time and day

My World Music show, Beard's World Tour will no longer be broadcast on Fridays, it will now be part of the Sunday afternoon schedule at KCC Live from 4pm, I'll still be playing music from all over the world, the first Sunday show will include a Japanese artist's remix of his own song, some French electro music, a live track from a Cuban music group, some Indian Rock Music and also December's Artist Spotlight (Natccu) hope you can listen to some boss world music with no adverts to spoil the mood.

Paul Du Noyer and Comics

For those of you who are unaware as to who Paul Du Noyer is, he is an author and a journalist and has been an editor for magazines such as NME and Q and has helped launch magazines such as MOJO, Heat and The Word. He has written books such as We All Shine On, Liverpool: Wondrous Place and his latest book In The City: A Celebration of London Music. He was at the Cornerstone Festival at Liverpool Hope University as part of Food For Thought and was in conversation with Gobshite Miscellany's Paddy Hoey last week commenting on the difference between the Liverpool and London music scene specifically how London's music scene was geared more towards a narrative while Liverpool's music scene went in the opposite direction being more surreal.

During the course of the hours conversation Paul offered ideas and theories about how the music from the cities had evolved from the positions the two cities had been in, such as the newstellers in ye olde London telling the public what was happening in the capital and how modern artists continued that trend by informing people about modern London life while Liverpool's past was linked to immigration and how they weren't able to move on and so music became the only means of escapism.

Now I know what you're thinking; "How does a conversation about the difference in two cities music scenes relate to comics?" The answer is it doesn't however after listening to the conversation last week I began thinking about other examples of two parallel scenarios and that's when I came up with the comics analogy.

Right now I would compare the two major comic book companies Marvel and DC in this scenario Marvel is like London in its storytelling, it goes from one story to the next with little or no break in between and likes to ground itself in realism while DC is like Liverpool it has a tendency to delve into the surreal and provides an escapism from reality.

Marvel has become an expanding media empire intent on making money from digital comics, motion comics and its own films. Du Noyer said that the musicians moved to London primarily to reinvent themselves and to make money from that reinvention and Marvel has set about doing that, at the beginning of this century Marvel were practically bankrupt but by launching the Ultimate comics range they retold their popular characters origins to a new audience which sparked a reintrest in the core Marvel titles and their flagship title is now New Avengers, because it features Marvel's most popular characters Spider-Man and Wolverine. Marvel also likes to constantly reinvent its status quo's giving its universe a more unified front from the registration act that came from Civil War to the mistrust in Secret Invasion and now it is a place where the Green Goblin is in charge.

While DC is notorious for its constant reinvention with it's Crisis's resetting certain status quo's, it is akin to Liverpool's music scene as it isn't widely recognised or played up, much like Liverpool's reluctance to play up the popularity of The Beatles. DC has had sleeper hits with The Sinestro Corps Wars which ran in the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps books in 2007. DC's storytelling is less decompressed than Marvel's allowing for stories to be told in an finite number of issues such as Batman and Robin's three issue story arcs. It has also led to surreal narratives such as Grant Morrison's use of channel-zapping which he explained as:

"With Final Crisis and especially with issue 7, I’ve been working towards this storytelling technique I’m calling channel-zapping comics. Why spend a page on a scene when you can press all the same buttons with a single loaded panel? Why waste readers’ time on every mind-numbing detail of story when you can blitz them with the good bits and move onto the next thing?"
Grant Morrison- talking to comic foundry http://comicfoundry.com/?p=1693

While there is no right or wrong way about writing music or creating comics, everyone has their own preferences, I admit to enjoying the sounds of Liverpool's music as the lyrics don't necessarily have to mean one thing, but I also enjoy the progressive story London musicians tell with their lyrics and music. However the same can't be said for comics, right now I find the escapist vibe DC has in it's stories much more appealing than Marvel's constant reinvention mainly because Marvel spends less time examining its status quo before moving on to it's next one, mainly because of the decompressed stories it's writers tell. But that's something for another blog.

Six For Sunday *one shot*

I wanted to do a Five For Friday this week but found myself unable to do one, so to make up here's six tracks I've been listening to the most

6. Depeche Mode- Enjoy The Silence (Mike Shinoda Remix): Take Depeche Mode's classic track and add Linkin Park's signature style to it and the result is this. Mike Shinoda makes Enjoy The Silence sound like Linkin Park's track Crawling. While the original version is a favourite of mine I enjoy the louder guitars in this remix.


5. Akurat - Lubie Mowic Z Toba: This Reggae/Ska/Punk band have some great energetic tracks, but this track is a bit mellower from this Polish group, the repetative guitar note really lulls you until the brass kicks in.


4. MOVITS!-Äppelknyckarjazz: I love this mix of swing and hip-hop, not only does it make swing music sound a bit more fast paced, it's also interesting to hear Hip Hop done over something other than processed beats.


3. After School- Ah!: Dubbed Korea's answer to Pussycat Dolls this RnB girl group each of the five members (though it has since become six members) get a vocal part in this song each one having a distinctive sound, not just relying on the lead vocalist Park Kahi to carry the song.


2. BoA Featuring Sean Garrett- I Did It For Love: BoA is quite the multitalented RnB artist, not only does she have albums out in her native Korean language but she has also produced Japanese albums and this track is from her debut English album, the chorus is quite infectious and her voice seems to bounce along to the beat.

BoA featuring Sean Garrett - I did it for love PV @ Yahoo! Video

1. Aya Kamiki- A Constellation: A favourite of mine from her first mini album Constellations which can be found on last.fm (I provided the link for it in a previous Five For Fridays blog), it reminds me of Natccu's Kagen No Tuki in its progression from quite a slow mellow track to a soft rock melody.

Five For Friday 8

You know the drill, lets get down to the music, mostly live songs this week I've been in the mood for songs that sound somewhat raw.


5.PXNDX (Panda)- Narcisista Por Excelencia (Live): the opening guitar intro to this track has a bit more bite to it compared to the studio version, Panda's inclusion of a live orchestra really brings the piano solo alive, giving its brief inclusion in the song more meaning.




4. Muse- Undisclosed Desires: This is quite a marmite track amongst Muse fan's because it has an RnB vibe to it which was the band's intent when constructing this song, I really do like it as it fits with new album The Resistance's feel, while the track lacks any of Muse's signature guitar or piano parts the strings in the song really give the track some meat and who doesn't love a beat of slap bass?




3. HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- DIVE into YOURSELF: The gang vocals on the track give the song a real upbeat vibe to it, the dual vocals between Yūsuke and Mākii sounds really balanced in this track. the tempo seems to shift to a faster one towards the end of the song throwing that extra bit of energy into the sound.




2. Gackt- Koakuma Heaven (Live): Unlike the majority of Gackt's songs that I've featured in previous FFF's this track is more pop orientated, but this live track sounds a bit more rockier with Gackt's band performing it. This live track is over 7 minutes long because Gackt and his band take a break in the middle of the song to do a version of Dancemania ending with the Final Fantasy victory tune before picking up where they left the song. I doubt you'd see Morrissey do this sort of thing.




1. T.M. Revolution- Meteor (Live): the guitars in this track sound like they make this track triumphant whenever they kick in while the drums impact with a booming effect that can grab your attention, I like the live version of this track because Takanori stretches the last not and really sounds like he's putting his heart into it as it goes into an instrumental ending.

Five For Friday 7

Another selection of 5 tracks that have been constantly in my head this week, (not too many Muse tracks I can promise you right now despite seeing them this week)

5. MaNga- Beni Benimle Birak: Turkish Rock/Hip Hop group, have recently won the best European act at this year's MTV EMA's this track feels like an Arabian nights soundtrack mixed with scratches and a power rock rhythm once the chorus hits.


4. X-Japan- Rusty Nail [Live]: This live song is from one of their last performances before their break up, apart from Hide the band had all but shed their Visual Kei image (think of it as Japan's version of the glam metal look except more flamboyant looks, wild hair colours and styles and better dressed) the guitar really drives this track and makes the track sound uplifting, the inclusion of the orchestral sounds give it a classical edge to the track (warning the video does feature some strobe lighting)


3. Aya Kamiki featuring Takuya- W Boiled Extreme (W-B-X): This opening song to the series Kamen Rider Double sounds great, while it isn't as good as Gackt's Journey Through The Decade (Takuya's vocals aren't as strong as Aya's but do complement her well) W Boiled Extreme does have a catchy chorus line. You can also listen and down load some of Aya Kamaki's music from LastFm for free.


2. Gackt- The Next Decade: A more rockier song for Kamen Rider Decade (this time used as the theme tune for the film Kamen Rider Decade The Movie: All Riders Vs Dai Shocker) the song sounds edgier than the theme tune for the TV show (which I talked about last week) it has a stronger guitar sound which complements the vocals very well, the music video also showcases Gackt in his role as Riderman which he plays in the film and the end credits to this PV are the orchestral version of The Next Decade.


1. Muse- Bliss: The first rock song I truly got into although to be quite honest I was more mesmerised by the concept of the video before I even noticed the music. the intro is what really grabs me the combination of harp sounds mixed with the synth sounds and the almost whirlwind sounds throughout the song. The vocals are great swapping from Matt Bellamy's regular singing voice to the slightly higher 'ooo's'.

Muse Live 5/11/09 at Liverpool Echo Arena

Right I'm not going to lie to you, I'm incredibly biased when it comes to Muse after all if it wasn't for their music I'd probably be a different person so to make this easier, I'm splitting this review in two.

1.The Fan Review
Wow utterly fantastic, it was perhaps the best gig I've ever been to this year, perhaps even for a long time, it is one of the few gigs I've been to where I've actually been motivated to move. The support act The Big Pink were OK but every song sounded very similar, while the drummer was obscured by the dry ice it was the drum sound which dominated the sound, making up for hard to decipher vocals. Muse however were fantastic, even when the roadies were moving Matt Bellamy's piano they kept the crowd entertained by having bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dom Howard play an improv session. Seeing the piano pleased me as the lack of Bellamy playing it for the beginning of New Born instead leaving it to the support musician, and the piano rendition of Cave was a welcome sound, (though there could have been more songs from Showbiz thrown in and maybe Feeling Good as well) while the set was shorter than what I would have liked to have seen, Muse did keep me entertained.

2. The More Serious Review.
It is clear to see why Muse are often nominated and win Best Live Act awards, the amount of production that went into the stage design for The Resistance Tour is absolutely phenomenal. The band were one three platforms that could ascend or descend and in the case of drummer Dom Howard's platform, revolve in a 360 degree revolution. No matter where you stood or sat at the concert at Liverpool's Echo Arena, you were guarenteed a decent view of either the band or the video screens that displayed images over the top of the images of Muse performing.

Supported by The Big Pink who had a strong beat to their music but lacked strong vocals to accompany the beat at first, becoming more and more confident with each song before sounding at their strongest for current single Dominoes. Muse powered their way through song after song starting with the first single from the Resistance, Uprising there was an almost Doctor Whoesque feel to the opener as guitarist Matt Bellamy waved a laser pen around almost akin to The Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver.

The set list consisted mainly of tracks from the latest album and included some unexpected song choices from the inclusion of a piano led version of Cave to the lack of Feeling Good. The set was only an hour and a half long which felt too short, while key songs in Muse's back catalogue were played there felt like there could have been a few more songs thrown in to make a more solid and balanced set, for a start there could have been at least one or two more tracks from the first album that could have been played (e.g. Sunburn and Muscle Museum), the other two parts of Exogenesis could have been played beefing the setlist a little bit more.

There was little interaction between Muse and the crowd while it is normal for Muse to be like this there wasn never really any moments of awkward silence between the crowd and the band, with either reverbs or improvs to bridge the gap from one song to another.

Set List
1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. New Born
4. Unnatural Selection
5. Supermassive Black Hole
6. Guiding Light
7. Hysteria
8. United States of Eurasia
9. Cave
10. Undisclosed Desires
11. Starlight
12. Time Is Running Out
13. Stockholm Syndrome
---Encore---
14. Exogenesis Part 1
15. Plug In Baby
16. Knights of Cydonia

Five For Friday VI

Ah yes another Friday another five tracks, as we are near All Hallows Eve some of the tracks on today are somewhat linked with Halloween.

5. Lordi- Devil is a Loser

Finland's monster metal group, look like they're permanently dressed in their Halloween costumes (which look remarkably well made and are infact made by Mr. Lordi and his wife) this track highlights Lordi's as a non-satanic band (refering to the devil as Lordi's 'bitch')

4. X-Japan- I.V.

This track was featured in the film Saw IV and features some guitar tracks from their lead guitarist Hide who died in 1998, this song marked the first time the band had released a song since their disbandment in 1997. The video even features Hide's guitar on stage with the band and footage of Hide performing as he had a cult status amongst his fans.

3. SpeakLOW- Thriller

All this week on KCC Live we have been doing a competition which involved listeners phoning in whenever they heard Michael Jackson's Thriller. This version of the classic track is completely instrumental and sounds like a cross between Thriller, the theme tune of Shaft and Billie Jean. SpeakLOW are from Spain.

2. Gackt- Journey Through The Decade

The opening theme tune to Kamen Rider: Decade (Masked Rider Decade) both Gackt and the Kamen Rider Heisei era were celebrating their 10th annivarsaries though Kamen Rider Decade is actually the tenth series of the Kamen Rider Heisei series which began in 2000 and Gackt was in the group Malice Mizer from 1995 before becoming a solo performer in 1999. The song has some of the plot elements of Kamen Rider Decade including how the main character has to take a journey through 9 worlds and that he is a photographer.

1. Muse- Knights of Cydonia [Live]

Muse's Spaghetti Western space song in its full glory, live. The song has a more anthemic feel to it played live and the galloping drums and bass and to hear Wembley sing the lyrics gives a great atmosphere to the song.

Five For Friday Five

Another five tracks that I just can't seem to stop listening to, also if you're after more recommended music then check out Gobshite's Miscellany and their Featured Friday blog.

But as for me here's my 5 tracks.

5. Lostprophets- It's Not The End Of The World: Still trying to get into this track it doesn't have that Lostprophets feel to it but hey its progression.

4. MC Sniper- Better Than Yesterday: Korean hip hop at its finest from MC Sniper and his pals MR.Room9, DJ Road, MooWoong, TakTak36, DJ.R2, MC.BK and Outsider it's quite an epic sounding track.

3. t.A.T.u- How Soon Is Now: Fantastic cover of The Smiths classic, has a bit more spunk and energy than the original.

2. Nerina Pallot- Real Late Starter: Ever had one of those tracks that you listen to and it just seems to fit that precise moment in your life, this song kinda does at least for me.

1. T.M. Revolution- Burnin' X'Mas: OK I realise how ridiculously absurd it is to be listening to a christmas song in the middle of October but it is quite possibly the best Xmas song I have listened to that has a hint of cheese without being so cheesey you want to kill yourself.

Spoiler Alert

The Doctor: These books are from your future. You wanna read all ahead, spoil the surprises, not peeking at the end.
Donna: Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?
The Doctor: I try to keep you away from major plot developments.
From the Doctor Who episode Silence in the Library

The Doctor: River, you know my name. You whispered my name in my ear. There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could…
Professor River Song: Hush now. Spoilers.
From the Doctor Who episode Forest of the Dead

Spoilers have probably been around as long as modern forms of entertainment have, perhaps even longer whether its sneaking a peak at the end of a whodunnit to see who actually did it or giving away plot details of a recent film. When Psycho was being released in the sixties Alfred Hitchcock came up with different measures for stopping audiences from knowing anything about the film going as far as buying as many copies of the book the film was based on and sending messages to theater bosses instructing them not to allow anyone in to be admitted into the film once it had begun. There were even advertisements in newspapers that told people to not give away the ending as it is the only one they had.

With the internet containing pretty much everything on it these days spoilers are easily accessible especially when you consider that Hollywood films, TV shows and comics are generally released in the US before they are released in the UK which means that blogs and forums (or even Wikipedia) which are frequented by American's will contain some spoilers. Often the spoiler tag is there and so users have the choice as to whether or not they click onto the link. Of course with adaptations there is the case of having experienced the original and knowing what happens in it but there is also the case of experiencing it in a new form.

Having the choice whether or not to click for spoilers can be a double edged sword, on the one hand it may entice you enough to check something out, but then its a case of seeing if something lives up to the expectations that have been built up by the spolier.

I used to enjoy being spoilt by spoilers, it often helped me decide whether or not to grab a comic, or to go see a film/TV show based on the spoilers posted by users on the internet. However while it has gotten me into things I may or may not have tried myself, it has also ruined what I was once enjoying because there isn't a surprise anymore, now its more 'lets get to the part of the story that everyones talking about' so I've gone cold turkey from spoilers. While watching all five series of The Wire I was able to resist the urge to read about what happens to characters and so when something did happen it was unexpected and made the experience of watching the show much more enjoyable. In comparison I was reading the spoilers for DC Comic's latest event Blackest Night the day the comics where being released in the US (Wednesday) before going to check it out in stores the day after, often leaving it behind.

But how about you? Do you like being spoiled? Or do you hate it when someone talks about something your interested in?

Five for friday 4

5. The Whitest Boy Alive- 1517

4. Nami Tamaki- Reason

3. Auletta- Meine Stadt

2. Polyiscs- I My Me Mine (Live)

1. HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Rosier