Indie Chavs...

Right, I know this is hyper-judgemental of me but everyone's aloud to be at some point, but i've discovered a group of people that I literally HATE. Hate....the strongest of all emotions. These people are the bastard child of the rising popularity of topshop indie SHITE bands and that tosh e4 new rave 'social realism' soap called 'Skins'. They are social chameleons and they make my blood boil. They are both 'chav' and 'indie' at the same time. THEY ARE...............CHINDIES.

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CHINDIEEEEE

The reason i've come to hate these vermin is when i saw a group of them in Manchester city center today, it made my skin crawl. They're the reason that 5th ave is shit and plays shit music when it could be great. And, i'm probably kind of jealous that they get all the 'birds', but such is life!

HOW TO INDENTIFY A CHINDIE:

The Most common way to spot one of these dispicable creatures is by identifying a combination of the following features:

Lyle & Scott Jumpers:

Just look out for one of these bad boys, a must have essential for any chindie, available at riciculous prices from your nearest chindie outlet, which i'm guessing is Urban Outfitters or selfridges or something like that, i'm not big on fashion, but i am big on unessercarily hating groups of people. Although this model shows a t-shirt being worn underneath, chindies are most likely to sport the look without a t-shirt, preferring to show off there sunbedded tanned chests to the public, much to the adoration of the gay community.


They'll also be most-likely wearing one of them hats that make you look like you might have dreads, when really they've got slap'eds. Maybe some g-star jeans with a brown belt sporting the slogan 'jesus loves you' on it, and also a 'Gio goi' t-shirt, or whatever it's called.

Hair:








Obviously, we've all witnessed worse chindies than this but it took me ages to find even this one, think more blonde highlights and gay ass spikes.

Keywords are:

Toni and Guy

Shockwaves

Blonde Highlights

and finally

Music taste:

The perfect example of a chindie will be seen listening to the following bands.

When with his more indie group of friends, it'll be Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, Scouting For Girls, Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, Pigeon Detectives, Klaxons... basically all the indie dross that can now be heard on radio one.

When with his more chavvy friends, he'll be rocking too DJ Tiesto YUK, Sway, Crazy Frog, Cascada and all the rap shit out there eg, iRONIK.

So now you know what a chindie is.... if you know of one please hit him.

Don't you just hate 'em? x

New albums i've been listening to...

Due to me being a prisoner in my own home i've been doing a lot of music listening, these are the albums i've been listening to and my thoughts on them.



Bayside - Shudder

Being the huge Bayside fan i am, getting this album was an absolute must, i was really worried that i was going to be dissapointed with it, but no, it's really good. I might even say it's on par with their last release, which is one of my favourite albums. It's different than the last one as it has a more stripped down sound, lacking the experimentation that was rife in 'The Walking Wounded', and it's safe to say that there isn't one song i don't like. Anthony Ranieri said that he wanted to create a punkier album this time around and I think he's achieved this, whilst retaining the catchy pop edge of previous releases.

Metallica - Death Magnetic

Really Good. This album sounds HUGE, thank you Metallica for using Rick Rubin to produce the album, he's done a brilliant job and stamped his mark all over it. This is a return to form if ever there was one, and blows "St Anger" (i.e. worst album by anyone ever), out of the water. I recommend that you listen to "All nightmare long", it's my favourite track on the album and contains some riffage that would sit perfectly in the Master Of Puppets album.

In addition to this i've been getting into more black metal at the moment, i've been listening to some Satyricon albums as well as Enslaved and am really impressed by them.

Student loan and other happenings..

I am currently house bound due to the lack of any available funds, i've extended my overdraft to the absolute limit and i'm struggling to make ends meet in a serious way.

Student loan is a no go at the moment, for some reason it hasn't come in, leaving me with no food, drink, alcohol or a means of travelling to uni and back. Which means i am severely FUCKED!

But I do have the internet which is a plus!

Stories is complete

The song stories has been added to the myspace page so please have a listen, it's different to all the others and it sounds like a better quality recording in my opinion.

www.myspace.com/echoesfromanocean

or you can download the full quality version from here

http://freedownloads.last.fm/download/235850857/Stories.mp3

x

Another song hits the onion bag..

This is old news because i've had it ready for ages but its up on the myspace now (www.myspace.com/echoesfromanocean), it's called "What got the best of me" and took me a few goes to get right on the recording. People have said that it reminds them of ABBA which is a complement in my eyes. See what you think!

You can download the full quality version here :

http://freedownloads.last.fm/download/233077515/What%2BGot%2BThe%2BBest%2BOf%2BMe.mp3

Enjoy x

Finally, i've recorded a song....

Yessss, it's finally done.

I've been writing cheques my ass can't cash in regards to this song and finally the money has entered my account and the cheque hasn't been bounced (worst analogy ever!).

I have spent quite a lot of time on this song so if you want to give it a listen head over to the myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/echoesfromanocean), the song is called "It's High Time I Picked Up the Pieces" and if you click on the flash song player it should work.

I'd like you to let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always a winner, just no blatant slaggery!

Thank you bois and grrls

Roger x

www.myspace.com/echoesfromanocean

Roger Damen’s albums of all-time and other nuggets of information.

Hello there,

I'm feeling a little creative at the moment and as my multitracker is full on memory i've decided to post a blog, instead of doing something totally uncreative with my time, i.e. watching Antiques Roadshow or sleeping.

Hopefully it might encourage you to go out there and listen to some cool new music if you haven't already heard of these albums/bands, and maybe it might give a little bit of an insight into my personality if you don't know me. These are the albums that i lie in bed and listen to with my headphones on, and don't turn them off until finished. ENJOY!

The main 5, in no particular order.........

Bayside (www.myspace.com/bayside)
The Walking Wounded

This album, in my opinion, is the best pop / punk albums of all time and no matter how many times I listen, it never seems to get old. The songwriting is my favourite thing about it and the fact that some people would dismiss it as emo dross doesn't bother me in the slightest. I also love it because of how much the album means to the band; being there first full album since drummer "Beatz" died, it's amazing that they continued to exist, never mind record such a fantastic album

Favourite Tracks = Head on a Plate, Dear Your Holiness

Between the Buried and Me (www.myspace.com/betweentheburiedandme)

Colors

Fan-fucking-tastic from start to finish, includes some, i mean alot of moments of inspiration, in fact, the whole album is just one whole album of sheer inspired song-writing. If you like your music technical, very technical, then this might be for you, and don't just expect a torrent of hard to understand noise with ridiculous, non-sensical time signatures, 'Colors' is a calculated, well-organised mess.

Favourite Tracks = Ants of the Sky, White Walls

Jeff Wayne
War of the Worlds

The only acceptable story-book album of all time. Absolutely awe-inspiring stuff. I'm sure you've heard some of it before, so i don't really have to go into much detail, apart from the fact that you really have to listen to it from start to finish to really appreciate the thing as a whole. And theres a guest apperance from Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy which is always good.

Favourite Tracks = Thunder Child, Forever Autumn.

ABBA
ABBA GOLD

Ok, so it isn't an album as such, it's a greatest hits. But it's the best thing ever. Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are the greatest songwriters of all time and that's an official statement, and as the old cliche goes, they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Utter over-the-top, camp genius from cover to cover, that just makes me want to, a) Dance and, b) wish that i could write something even an eighth as good as it.

Favourite Tracks = The list is endless...

Opeth (www.myspace.com/opeth)
Ghost Reveries

If any hardcore Opeth fans where to read this they might be disgusted at the fact that i've picked this one out of all of them but who cares? It's my favourite from the band, which as bands go are one of, if not the favourites. The album is just really clever, none of the songs sound the same and as each song ends you'll be wondering how the song that started 12 minutes earlier became the song that finished moments ago. I love Opeth's ability to just switch between moments of agression and moments of tranquility. Any doubters of Opeth or anyone who isn't aware of them must listen to this album.

Favourite Tracks = Ghost of Perdition, Reverie / Harlequin Forest.

Some other flipping amazing albums.....

Hundred Reasons - Ideas above our station (www.myspace.com/hundredreasons)

Just a great rock album, clever from start to finish. Shame that there other stuff doesn't come anywhere near close, and doesn't look like it ever will. Listen to "Answers"

Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing (www.myspace.com/killswitchengage)

My favourite metal album of all time, the reason that I got so much into the genre. Listen to "Alive or just breathing".

Panic at the Disco - Pretty Odd (www.myspace.com/panicatthedisco)

As the title says, Pretty Odd, but in a brilliant way, maybe an unexpected choice given the fact that i hate their other stuff but this is brilliant. Listen to "Do you know what i'm seeing?"

Mew - ...And the Glass Handed Kites (www.myspace.com/mew)

Sleepy, Reverb heavy, dreamy pop/rock from Scandanavia, it's good to listen to before bed. Listen to "The Zookeeper's Boy"

Queen - Greatest Hits I, II, III

Self explanatory, AMAZING. Freddie Mercury is an idol and an inspiration, just watch the footage from their gig at Wembley 1990. Listen to "I'm going slightly mad".

Mayhem - Chimeira

Really, really strange. Aggressively Technical Black Metal. You have to hear it to understand, and still i bet you won't. Listen to "Whore".

Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High (www.myspace.com/falloutboy)

Just a great pop album, as simple as that. Patrick Stumps vocal ability manages to knock me back every time i listen to "I've got all this ringing in my ears and none on my fingers". Listen to it!

...And finally some great songs from albums and bands that are still fantastic but not my all time favourites. (Lacked better title!)

Bright Eyes - Four Winds, Classic Cars; First Day of My Life, Lua;,Old Soul Song, Land Locked Blues
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Panasonic Youth, Black Bubblegum, Milk Lizard
Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
Electric Light Orchestra - It's a Living Thing, Mr. Blue Sky
Faith No More - Be Aggressive, Midlife Crisis, Everythings Ruined, Ashes to Ashes
Hell is for Heroes - I Can Climb Mountain, You Drove Me To It
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah, Grace
The Killers - Bones, When You Were Young, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
Manic Street Preachers - Australia, if white america could tell the truth for one day its world would fall apart, Send Away the Tigers, Autumnsong
Modern Skirts - My Bully
Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down, Young Love
The Ocean - Cryogenian
Opeth - The Leper Affinity, Harvest, Masters Apprentice, A Fair Judgement, Advent, Demon of the Fall, In the Mist She Was Standing, Hex Omega, The Lotus Eather.
Rammstein - Mutter, Links 2,3,4, Du Hast
Saves the Day - Freakish, At Your Funeral
SiKth - Pussyfoot, Peep Show, Bland Street Boom, When Will the Forest Speak?
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss, Angel of Death
Spinto Band - Oh Mandy
Ulver - Eos

So if you've read this far you may aswell go an listen to some this stuff. It might change the way you think about music like it did to me.

Roger

XXX