Rain Dance

Another really good Out Of Step on Monday. Great Guest DJ sets which will be up on here soon.

Peace and Love.

Tomorrow

I feel like i have been neglecting music in favour of living in Nabokov's fictions. However i finally got round to hearing Bombay Bicycle Clubs debut album 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Lose' and it is really good. 'Dust On The Ground' is one of my favourite songs of 2009 so far. I have also rediscovered Leonard Cohen, a great writer more than a musician (a poet before he was a songwriter). Where is this modern age's answer to Cohen, Dylan or Young? probably being ignored infavour of bands like The Kooks and Razorlight.

Hopefully tomorrow will be good as Out Of Step really has a great atmosphere about it at the moment, everyone seems to feel very ardently about it which is really cool.

Their will be guest DJ sets by Blake Chadwick (9pm) and Tom Niblet (12pm).

Out Of Step

The digital age

I have been mourning the death of the album with the increase in popularity of digital downloads and the lack of independant record stores. I have never purchased a song digitally because i much prefer to get an album as a whole, the booklet, artwork, CD. I believe all this is what makes a record exciting and individual. I also buy vinyls for the same reason. With all this in mind, i thought id make a breif review of my favourite album influenced by all these aspects.

Radiohead - Ok Computer

Maybe the greatest album ever, it is a beautifully dark dystopian record. From the bleak lyrics that deal with the emptiness of living in this modern world to the fantastic artwork throughout the booklet. Everything about this album ties in to the same ideas in powerful ways. Even the lyrics to 'Airbag' are cleverly in the shape of a tank in the booklet. Musically the album is ahead of its time, still sounding like its come from the future (something that cant be said of most Britsh music of the 90's) due to amazing production from Nigel Godrich.

"Transport. Motorways & Tramlines. Starting and Then Stopping. Taking Off & Landing. The Emptiest Of Feelings" - Let Down

Genius Of Scott Walker

Monday 20th July

Thanks to everyone who came last night, it was very memorable. People dancing to the early hours of the morning, everyone getting drunk and having conversations they wont remember now. The dancefloor was full all night until the night ended, impressed.

The Dj's sets were really good, thanks to Al Williams for the guest slot too. In places the sets got dangerously mainstream, we kept it good and interesting without plunging the dark depths of The Killers or Oasis. There was even a play of Jay-Z. The Setlists are below. Thank you again.

Richard Willis

The Storm - Doves
Waving Flags - British Sea Power
You Brought This On Yourself - Fields
Say It Aint So - Weezer
Southern Cross - Nine Black Alps
Balloons - Foals
Death - White Lies
In The City - Good Shoes
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
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There She Goes - The La's
Charmer - Kings of Leon
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Evil - Interpol
Cutt Off - Kasabian
Munich - Editors
Rabbit Heart (Raise it up) - Florence & the Machine
The Prayer - Bloc Party

Richard King

Sound Of Settling - Death Cab For Cutie
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Cryptograms - Deerhunter
I Only Said - My Bloody Valentine
My Girls - Animal Collective
Litsztomania - Pheonix
Packt Like Sardines In A Crashd Tin Box - Radiohead
Wired For Light - School Of Seven Bells
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Girls & Boys - Blur
Jump In The Pool - Friendly Fires
Common People - Pulp
Close To Me - The Cure
Age Of The Understatement - Last Shadow Puppets
Day Tripper - The Beatles
Crying Lighting - Arctic Monkeys
99 Problems - Jay Z
This Charming Man - The Smiths

Dan Ashwell

Rebellion (Lies) - The Arcade Fire
On The Esplanade - Julian Plenti
Someday - The Strokes
Sunshine - Mos Def
Swlabr - Cream
Time Of The Season - The Zombies
Harrowdown Hill - Thom Yorke
Africa - Toto
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Dreaming of You - The Coral
Huddle Formation - Go! Team
Fix Up Look Sharp - Dizzee Rascal
Kids - MGMT
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield

Al Williams

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Slip In Mules - Sugar Pie Desanto
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison
The Doors - Back Door Man
Bob Dylan - Leopard-Skin-Pill-Box Hat
Suede - Animal Nitrate
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
The Kinks - Till The End Of The Day
The Smiths - Hand In Glove
The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane

Richard Cartwright

No Age - Teen Creeps
The Misfits- Night Of The Living Dead
The Fall - Touch Sensitive
Maccabees- Your Dress
M.I.A - Paper Planes
Rapture -Get Myself Into It
Foals - French Open
Lcd Soundsystem - Daft Punk Playing In My House
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Les Savy Fav - Sweat Descends
Joy Division - Transmission
Be Your Own Pet - Adventures

Willis V Dan

The Magic Number - De La Soul
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Beat It - Michael Jackson

No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley
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Roxanne - The Police

Rich K v Rich C

Be My Baby - The Ronettes
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One More Time - Daft Punk

Last Song - Richard James Willis

I'm a Cuckoo - Belle and Sebastian

Out Of Step

Out Of Step is on tomorrow with guest DJ slots by Alex Williams and Tom Niblett. Come along, show love, dance, get drunk.

Gig Of The Month

Manchester Orchestra at the Hare and Hound in Birmingham tomorrow (18th July) promises to be a great gig. Manchester Orchestra (neither from Manchester or an Orchestra) are an alternative band from Atlanta, U.S who have toured this island in support of Kings Of Leon however they have now embarked on a more intimate tour of 'Mean Everything To Nothing' their follow up to their acclaimed album 'I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child'. Support comes from Kevin Devine, one of America's great hidden secrets. His political and clever songwriting with an acoustic guitar will surely make for a beautiful set.

Monday 13th July

Richard King

Angela - Jarvis Cocker

Courtsey Laugh - Pheonix

Isobella - The Little Flames

Scarlet Fields - The Horrors

Satellite - TV On The Radio

Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors - Radiohead

Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective

Fine For Now - Grizzly Bear

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Donde Est La Playa - The Walkmen

Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys

Skyscraper - Julian Plenti

Lasso - Pheonix

Mary Christ - Sonic Youth

That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy - The Twilight Sad

The Killing Moon - Echo and The Bunnymen

A Night Like This - The Cure

Nothing Ever Happened - Deerhunter

Dan Ashwell

New Amsterdam - Elvis Costello

Undone (The Sweater Song) - Weezer

Lua - Bright Eyes

Picture Book - The Kinks

For Tomorrow - Blur

Italo - Anathallo

My Mistakes Were Made For You - The Last Shadow Puppets

Tell Me Why - The Beatles

The Magic Number - De La Soul

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Evil - Interpol

Slowly - Amon Tobin

Whats My Name - Snoop Dogg

Fools - The Dodos

One More Chance - Bloc Party

Give It Up - LCD Soundsystem

Sophia - Good Shoes

Heart In A Cage - Strokes

Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

Richard Willis

Chinchilla - This Town Needs Guns

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk hotel

If You Fail We All Fail - Fields

Public Pervert - Interpol

Compare - Film School

When You Sleep - My Bloody Valentine

West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys

Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads

Slip Inside This House - Primal Scream

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Time to Pretend - MGMT

That Lady - The Isley Brothers

Today - The Smashing pumpkins

A.M. 180 - Grandaddy

Black and White Town - Doves

The Death - Fields

Aneurysm - Nirvana

Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Saint Etienne

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk

Richard Cartwright

Cannonball - Breeders

Stillness Is The Move - Dirty Projectors

The Storm - High Places

Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth - Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah!

Animal Ghost - Abe Vigoda

We Are Beautiful and We Are Doomed - Los Campeinos!

Touch Sensitive - The Fall

I Got A Lot (New New New) - Mika Miko

How Soon Is Now - The Smiths

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Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip

First Communion - Gang Gang Dance

Pieces Of The People We Love - The Rapture

Intergalatic - The Beastie Boys

Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill

Boyzzzz - M.I.A

Rich King v Dan Ashwell

Rich K - Paris - Friendly Fires

Dan - A Punk - Vampire Weekend

Rich K - Do You Remember The First Time? - Pulp

Dan - Popscene - Blur

Rich K - Just Like Honey - The Jesus and The Mary Chain

Dan - Crosshairs - Danger Doom

Rich Willis v Rich Cartwright

Rich W - Where is my Mind? - Pixies

Rich C - Transmission - Joy Division

Rich W - The French Open - Foals

Rich C - You Gonna Want Me - Tiga

Rich W - Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen

Rich C - Spit On A Stranger - Pavement

Last Song

Rich K -A Lack Of Color - Death Cab For Cutie

Album Of The Summer

Phoenix are a four piece that hail from Versailles, a wealthy suburb of Paris. They released their fourth studio album 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' too much critical acclaim in May, and it seems that they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. The Album is produced by Philippe Zdar is a member of Electronic French Duo 'Cassius' and also produced Phoenix's first album 'United'.

'Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix' opens with 'Litszomania', a term coined by the German romantic literary figure Heinrich Heine to describe the response to Franz Liszt's piano performances. This stange subject for a song puts them apart from their contemporaries. The song is the first single from the album and incorprates elements of dance music with the repeated guitar pattern, synths and keyboards. The song also boasts a beautifully energetic chorus that could bring the sun out in the biggest of storms. '1901' is the most obvious single off the album with dominant keyboards and catchy lyrics such as 'Going Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey' and 'Fold It, Fold It, Fold It, Fold It'. It is a beautifully crafted pop song the likes of which The Strokes have failed to craft in recent years. The song 'Fences' flows beautifully with subtle keyboards, a repeated structure with even more catchy vocal melodies however it's beautiful acoustics are what stand out in the bridge courtesy of the lush production by Zdar. The Albums most ambitous tracks 'Love Like A Sunset Part I & II' come perfectly into the album. 'Part I' builds up like a great dance tunes does to drop, however it drops into a shoegaze wall of sound in which the dance rhythm of the guitar compliments bringing the song to its sun filled climax. 'Part II' then comes in with a repeated rhythm with ambient sounds making you feel like you could be on a beach anywhere in the world with the lyrics enforcing the image the sounds create.

'Acres, Visible Allusion, Where It Starts It Ends, Love Like A Sunset'

The Album then starts what seems it second side with more sunny electronic pop songs. 'Lasso' is the most rock song on the album with the guitars dominant and fitting perfectly. The Lyrics are also wonderfully crafted such as 'Wear Your Real Eyes, No You Don't Realize', these rhymes are beyond the usual half hearted effort that is put into pop songs. 'Rome' is a tune full of Synths with moments that show Phoenix are much more than a normal pop band. The most sun laden song is 'Countdown' full of nostalgia and lyrics such as 'We're Sick For The Big Sun'. The song speeds its tempo up to the chorus where it is once again slowed down, thus creating another great dance tune however the instrumentation is done so differently the similarities to the other pop dance tunes on the album are gone. 'Girlfriend' with its simple conventional pop song name has a a much darker subject of death however the guitars and synths follow a similar pattern to that of the other songs, its conventional structure also makes this song seem a bit filler. The Album ends with 'Armistice' which keeps in with the subjects of the album and also also has great guitar rhythms and bass lines. The song ends with the lyrics 'For Lovers In A Rush, For Lovers Always' keeping in with the romanticism of the album and also the audience for the music.

'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' re-writes the art of the alternative pop music brining in elements of rock, dance, shoegaze but keeping the sense of the album as a whole and not a collection of different songs. The songs have an art to them, unlike their contempories, there songs have been crafted with thought put into every element. Lyrically it is beautiful with great lyrics that evoke nostalgia, happiness and sadness with them perfectly tying in with the music. The Album is perfect for the summer making you want to dance, fall in love and even feel nostalgia for a sunset you have never seen.

By Richard King

Welcome

Hello there followers and fans

This is a new Blog from the founders of 'Out Of Step' an Alternative night currently running at Alchemy, Wolverhampton.

The purpose of this Blog is for the current 'Out Of Step' DJ's Richard Cartwright, Dan Ashwell, Richard King and Richard Willis (too many Richard's) to update their opinions on the Music Scene, the World and all that jazz aswell as information about 'Out Of Step'.

Thank You

Out Of Step