Lady GaGa – The Edge of Glory
Every once in a while, a song comes along that makes you remember how important a part music can play in your life: rather than being an amalgamation of rhythms, melodies and sound effects that you just happen to think sounds nice, something comes along that redefines how you listen to music simply because it sounds so good. A song you’ll compare every one you here thereafter to, with nothing after sounding nearly as good as it. Lady GaGa’s The Edge of Glory, the finisher to her latest album Born This Way, is one such song.
Starting off with a heartbeat, the track quickly segues into one of the satisfyingly pounding drum rhythms that define the album, with GaGa lamenting the loss of a man that played a hugely important part in her life. ‘Sounds good so far’, you’ll think as the first verse plays out as a pretty good electro song.
And then the chorus kicks in.
All at once, you’re overwhelmed by the simultaneous attack of thumping drums, buzzing bass, skittering synth and Miss Germanotta’s typically powerful vocals, gelling into one harmonious sound that will rouse something deep down inside you with just how awesome it sounds.
You’ll go through this cycle again before you hit the breakdown in the middle, reducing down to only a few instruments but never losing pace. In a tribute to her past playing in jazz and rock clubs on the New York circuit, ephemeral keys back up a sultry sax solo as the drums beat out a rhythm akin to the heartbeat heard at the beginning of the song, causing its every part to coagulate into one fantastic entity.
And that’s what this song: an entity. It’s the living, breathing embodiment of what music can and should be. It demands your full attention as you let it wash over you, soothing and cleansing something deep within your soul as it does so. Lady GaGa wrote this song as a tribute to her late grandfather and he should be proud to have such a talented granddaughter write such a fantastic and fitting tribute to his memory.
Lady GaGa’s The Edge of Glory is more than a song: it’s an experience. An exercise in what music should be and possibly the greatest track this reviewer has ever heard, the song cements her place as one of this generation’s most important musical talents. GaGa’s current magnum opus, not much gets better than this.
5/5
LCD Soundsystem @ Barrowlands, 17th November 2010
Still amazing.
Emma Bryceland – It Never Happened
Glasgow has long been known as the home for some of the country’s finest singer-songwriter, but a recent glut of mediocre artists has made the scene somewhat stale over the course of the last few years.
It’s with major relief, then, that Emma Bryceland’s debut EP is exactly the kind of refreshing shot in the arm it so desperately needs. It Never Happened consists of four songs which, while each consisting of different themes, have all had major amounts of thought put into them. It Would Be For You is an upbeat little pop song, Torn In Two is an agitated menacing ode to a former lover, Disease is a wandering melody focused on revenge and I’ve Become So Lost is a fantastically cheery mellow ditty.
All the tracks on the EP are fantastic, each managing to be gentle, soothing and moving. Calling Bryceland’s voice dulcet would be an understatement: sweet like honey, it, along with the thoughtful lyrics she writes, imbue each song with emotion thanks to her large vocal range, switching from strong singing to breathy, acerbically-delivered threats.
If you’re bored by the Glasgow music scene (and even if you’re not), It Never Happened will be the kind of refreshing debut that you’ll have been looking for. Emma Bryceland inherently possesses a large degree of talent and is thoroughly deserving of success. it would be a shame to discover that nothing ever happens for her.
You can listen to Emma’s tunes on her MySpace Music profile page.
Emma Bryceland @ Cosmopol, 28th May 2010
Emerging from North Glasgow College, singer-songwriter Emma Bryceland puts on a fantastic live show. Celebrating the launch of ‘It Never Happened’, her debut E.P., the audience are treated to some of the freshest and finest acoustic songs to be found in the current Glasgow indie scene. Showcasing some of the tracks from her first recording, Bryceland’s genteel, dulcet tones captivate her audience, thanks to a lyrical quality similar to that of Regina Spektor and a range of instruments including percussion boxes and megaphones imbuing each song with a pensive, floating feel. She has an obvious love for her craft and she’s not afraid to show it, and the crowd aren’t afraid to make evident their enthusiasm either, fuelled by the singer’s vocal skill, radiant beauty or, most likely, a combination of both. Elegant, natural and confident, Emma Bryceland’s live show is pleasant like a walk in the woods and equally as welcome.
A Plea For Glee
Glee clubs have been around for a long time, but are enjoying a massive surge in popularity. Why is this the case, and how do you go about becoming a member? Michael Slevin investigates…
Glee clubs, clubs organised for people to come together to sing, are becoming more and more popular across the country. Originally started in London in 1787 and only open to male voices, nowadays anybody of any gender, age and ability can join and have a laugh with other like-minded individuals. Although they’ve been around for hundreds of years, the organisations have become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon thanks to the popularity of Glee, the American T.V. show that follows the trials and tribulations of a group of misfits and the club they take part in at their high school.
With their surge in popularity, many people want to become members of a glee club, but how do they actually go about it? Who better to ask, then, than Paul Slevin, member of Glasgow University’s Glasgow Glee Club, for an insight into an actual Glee Club.
“I got involved because my friend Sarah, who I was in The Cecilian Society (Glasgow University’s musical theatre group) with, to be the rehearsal pianist for her glee club,” he shares. “I’m very passionate about music and musical theatre, so it seem liked the best idea.” When asked as to why glee clubs have experienced such a surge in popularity, he answers “[The T.V. show] Glee plays a major part in it, because it’s so popular, you know? It’s not just things like that, though: there are more and more musicals coming out these days, such as High School Musical, and people see these and they want to sing as well. Programmes like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent have also got a part to play, since you can enter as groups for those.”
They may be a lot of fun and a good way to meet people and make friends, but does membership of these clubs translate into methods of gaining employment within musical theatre? “I guess they’re useful because you get practice at singing, and some of the arrangements are quite complicated, so you learn how to sing complex harmony and when you go through the choreography as well, you gain experience in dancing, which is vital.”
It’s not just the skills learned that make membership of the club enjoyable. “I prefer the social aspect because we play drama games at the start like you do at school to make everyone bond and introduce new people that have never been before, or fortify the bonds that have already been made. They’re good because they create a relaxed atmosphere and help you learn the songs and dances while making things less scary for people that have never been to a glee club before. They’re fun and calm you down.”
The group plays songs of different styles from across the decades. “So far, we’ve done ‘Gold Digger’, a ‘Halo/Walking On Sunshine’ mash-up and we’re currently working on Van Halen’s ‘Jump’. I have a strong affinity with 80s synth music, so it’s great fun to work with it.”
It sounds like good fun, so what should you do if you’d like to join one yourself? “If you live in Glasgow, come to ours! Check sites like Gumtree, as they have listings for groups like that, or Google musical theatre groups in your area. If you live near a university, they usually have musical theatre groups that you don’t have to be a student to join, which are really good.”
So, there you have it. Your fantasies of singing in a glee club don’t have to end once the programme is finished: you just need to be prepared to do a little research. There’s one question we have to ask Paul before we leave: Which character on the show would you say you resemble the most? “The fat, bald guy that plays the piano, because he doesn’t have any lines and just plays the piano for the group, just like me. I’ve never actually watched it myself.”
Sasha is Acoustic – What Every Young Man Should Know
Stow College is renowned as being a hotbed of new talent when it comes to the indie music scene, and so it should: it is the home of Electric Honey, the record label responsible for discovering acts such as Belle & Sebastian, Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol. The institution once again offers us another dollop of fantastic acoustic pop in the form of Sasha Is Acoustic, the debut album released on Not Yet Retro Records, the fledgling label started up by one of the college’s student. At the tender age of 18, the young singer-songwriter speaks candidly of loves lost and carrying on even when times are tough. His songs seep emotion, the use of only an acoustic guitar, drums and the occasional bass creating a simultaneous blend of sorrow and defiance. Each song is gentle yet affecting, staying with you long after the album has run its course. Sasha Is Acoustic is one of the most promising young composers on the indie scene today and you’d be well to keep to him on your musical radar.
Download the album on iTunes and check out Sasha and Not Yet Retro Records‘ MySpace profiles.
Gaga for GaGa
I’ve been to a lot of gigs over the years. Some have been awesome (Pendulum are always brilliant), some have been alright (Little Boots for a tenner? You can’t fault that) and some have been absolutely atrocious (La Roux. Worst gig ever). I used to love going to them, procuring tickets for artists I hadn’t even really heard or just knew the name of. I got caught up in all the excitement, the fervour of the audience to see their favourite band, the tension as we waited for them to appear on the stage. I used to get as close to the front of the crowd as possible, jumping about to the beat and singing along with all the words (or at least as much of them that I knew).
However, my enthusiasm for live performances weaned exponentially to the number of gigs I attended. Waiting ages for bands to come on stage long after their expected stage time grew weary and tiresome; the high price of tickets put me off going to as many gigs as I used to and some venues were so unpleasant and uncomfortable that they ruined my enjoyment of the occasion.
These days, I cherrypick the gigs I go to, making sure I only see the acts I really want to see. I go to fewer gigs but continue to search for the feeling that made me love going to concerts in the first place. Rammstein in Manchester were awesome and rekindled the feeling to a degree and I was sure that it would be the greatest gig I’d ever seen.
But then came Lady Gaga, who blew my mind and totally changed my perception of what makes a brilliant concert.
After receiving an email giving us an approximate stage time for when she was coming on, I arsed up my timekeeping and managed to leave far too early, meaning I had to wait for ages at Exhibition Centre waiting for my pal, watching the huge crowds and Lady GaGa lookalikes that followed each train’s arrival go by. Eventually she arrived and we made our way to the SECC, entering Hall 4 just as Alphabeat were finishing (thank God). After checking out the merchandise stall and deciding I didn’t really want a t-shirt with ‘I’M A FREE BITCH’ emblazoned across it in gold capital letter, we queued patiently at (i.e. rammed our way to) the bar and got ourselves a drink. Sipping on our pints of lager and Pepsi respectively, we made our way into the standing section and waited…
And waited. And waited. Then waited a bit more.
Michael Jackson’s greatest hits were pumping out the sound system and while it was good hearing some good tunes, it was a bit of a joke that we had to wait through the vast majority of his singles. Thriller, Beat It, Smooth Criminal and many others played in quick succession, with each one’s ending being accompanied by a massive cheer from the audience as the song playing ended before being followed by a huge boo as the opening notes of another began to play. Checking my phone, I saw that she had missed her stage time by 45 minutes, grumbling on Twitter as we waited a little bit longer…
Then the lights fell and the crowd went mental as Lady Gaga’s silhouette appeared on a white sheet to the strains of Dance in the Dark.
What followed was one of the greatest things I have ever seen.
Every element of her perfomance combined into an absolute belter of a spectacle. More a show than a gig, The Monster Ball performance followed her attempts to reach the titular party, overcoming problems such as a broken down car, being sucked into a twister and attacks by a giant fish (yes, really). Interlaced with anecdotes personal stories, a handful of obscene gestures and plenty of foul language, The Lady knows how to work an audience, captivating, engaging and shocking her audience in equal measure. Her stage presence was only helped by giant screens projecting some rather strange and grotesque images (including a woman throwing up on GaGa’s perfect white dress and the singer munching on what looks like a human corpse) alongside several costume changes (though ‘costume removals’ might be more apt) and extended solos played on a flaming piano.
Every song sounded fantastic, every visual was arresting and every setpiece was stunning. The crowd were wild with excitement by this point, singing the words to Bad Romance in perfect unison in a spectacular display of frantic camaraderie. She finished the show with a triple whammy of Poker Face, Paparazzi (accompanied by that fish monster previously mentioned) and Bad Romance, a powerful ending to such a fantastic show.
I couldn’t get over my excitement at having seen such an amazing spectacle. I still haven’t, having virtually listened to Lady Gaga and no-one since then. I’m sad that it’s over but I’m ecstatic for having seen it. I can’t wait to see her again in the future. I think I’m in love.
Altogether now: Ra, ra, ah-ah-ah, roma, roma-ma, GaGa, ooh la la, want your bad romance!
