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28 MUSiC The Stag | 8th May 2012 music@thestagsurrey.co.uk Old Dogs, New Tricks: The Who - 'Endless Wire' By Dan Davison, Music Team In light of Roger Daltrey's ongoing Tommy tour and Pete Townshend's expressed intent to see a Quadrophenia tour materialise this year, it seems as opportune a moment as ever to touch upon The Who. Despite the aforementioned ongoing activities of its members and last year's release of a remastered 'Director's Cut' of Quadrophenia (1973), the band has not produced a studio album in over five years. In predicting whether the band can still live up to expectations, the most reasonable place to begin would appear to be their most recent outing. Thus we are brought to Endless Wire (2006), their first original album since 1982's It's Hard. One immediately noticeable feature of Endless Wire is that, in a comparable manner to Kate Bush's Hounds of Love (1985), the first half of the LP consists of unconnected tracks whilst the second forms a concept album in its own right. The latter part, entitled Wire & Glass, features the fictional rock musician Ray High, a character introduced in Townshend's 1993 solo album Psychoderelict. Although the narrative is often vague and its 'rise and fall' theme is anything but groundbreaking, like Quadrophenia before it, the mini-opera's semiautobiographical nature allows Townshend to bring a personal touch to several tracks. Mirror Door lists the many musical icons who undoubtedly inspired Townshend whilst the spirited We Got a Hit captures the sentiment of finally achieving a commercial breakthrough. Nevertheless, Townshend's greatest talents are ultimately as a composer and not a librettist. For this reason, whilst the short length of the mini-opera's tracks largely prevent its abstract nature from undermining its enjoyableness, Endless Wire's strongest pieces are those of its first half. It's Not Enough provides a potent rocker evocative of the band's earlier hits. Meanwhile, Black Widow's Eyes tells the dark story of a love at first sight formed through Stockholm Syndrome. Long-term fans will Festival Frenzy By Rebecca Worley, Music Team Gearing up to summer usually involves many people planning their festival choice for the year. With Coachella festival in California attracting masses of fans and celebrities alike, it is clear the festival frenzy is going nowhere. While Britain may not have the reliability of sun and Glastonbury, the festival staple, is taking a break this year, it does have an absolutely huge variety of festivals for you to catch your music fix. Did you know . . . For a dose of rock and indie music, Reading and Leeds is the place to head, with The Cure, Florence and the Machine, Kasabian, Paramore, Foo Fighters and The Black Keys all headlining. For those looking for something slightly quirkier, Bestival, on the probably appreciate Townshend's occasional throwbacks to The Who's classic years. For example, the opening track Fragments features part of the synthesiser riff from Baba O'Riley (1971). The first half also contains the most thematically notable track on the album, A Man in a Purple Dress, an overt and bitingly cynical attack on religious leaders. All things considered, Endless Wire's most apparent flaw is rooted in The Who's unfortunate tendency to leave their projects incomplete. The result of this, in regard to both the standard and mini-opera tracks, is that the album features many outstanding products of Townshend's initial vision, but does not entirely come together as a single, solid record. Despite this lack of cohesion, the standout elements scattered throughout the album allow Endless Wire to be greater than the sum of its parts. It may not equal The Who Sell Out (1967) or Who's Next (1971), but for the band to pick themselves up so admirably 24 years after their last release reinforces my hopes Isle of Wight, offers an eclectic mix of Stevie Wonder, Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, Ben Howard and Sub Focus. The mix of pop, dubstep and folk gives this festival the edge to stand out from the others. Beach Break Live offers the unique experience of a student only event. Designed with … Johnny Depp plays guitar on Oasis’ Fade In/Fade Out from their Be Here Now album. for their intended tour. This is, of course, cautiously assuming that said tour does not become another Townshend project that fails to partying away exam stress in mind, this smaller festival based on a beach in south Wales boasts Chase & Status, Ben Howard, Dizzee Rascal and the Maccabees all combined with a carefree, hedonistic atmosphere. However, if your budget doesn’t stretch to a couple of hundred quid but you’re still l o o k i n g fully come to fruition. Which Festival is right for you this summer? for some festival fun, there are still small, local festivals without the price tag. So you might not have a clue who the headliners are, roll with it and have some fun! Recently voted the best mediumsized festival, Guildfest, right on our doorstep at Stoke Park, is perhaps the best compromise. The adult weekend ticket with camping costs £130, a bit of a saving in comparison to the major festivals. And the lineup doesn’t disappoint with Olly Murs, Gary Numan and Tim Minchin playing, as well as other modern and retro bands. So grab your tent and don your wellies; once you’ve done a bit of research it’s easy to find the perfect festival for you. ‘Hopefully people can see my music is tethered to my brain.” – John Mayer. © Darcy Tanner
Music Editor: Sophia Field | Copy Editor: Megan Barnacle The Stag | 8 th May 2012 COMPETITION Bloc Weekend 2012 The Stag is giving you the opportunity to WIN A PAIR OF WEEKEND TICKETS TO BLOC 2012!!! How to Enter To Enter, simply tweet with your full name and the hashtag #blocstag2012. - you must be a University of Surrey student to be eligible. Results will be announced on The Stag’s Facebook & Twitter Pages at 6pm on Monday 11 th June. Get tweeting! By Ahad Elley, Music Team Butlin’s in Minehead isn’t the type of place you would expect Aphex Twin and Magnetic Man to be performing. However, the good people over at Bloc made this a possibility in March last year and I had the pleasure of being there. The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever experienced before at a festival. Apart from the fantastic music and visual show, meeting a whole host of weird and wonderful people made for an amazing weekend. On the 6th and 7th of July this year, Bloc are coming back in a huge way with a new location in the heart of Olympic London. The venue is the London Bloc NUS Promotion Buy five tickets and get the sixth free visit: www.blocfestival.com/union pswd: UNIBLOC497 You will need to produce a valid NUS card on entry. Pleasure Gardens, within which there will be several different stages, the most exciting of which is the MS Stubnitz. This is a deep sea fishing vessel that belonged to the German Democratic Republic before the collapse of Communism. She is 80 metres in length and weighs 2,541 tonnes. A team of forward-thinking artists and engineers have converted it into a moving platform for the sonic and visual arts. So imagine this… A huge derelict warehouse in the East London Docklands. A colossal wartime boat. The absolute crème-de-la-crème of electronic music, not to mention Snoop Dogg. It almost seems a bit too good to be true, right? MUSiC 29
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