The Very Best Of Pure R&b: The Summer Collection 2003

Summer's Here! Time For Some R and B (444 words)
by benlepensive - written on 31/03/10 (Very useful, 26 readings)
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As summer is upon us, cough cough, it's time to get that sarong out and lie in the back garden with Craig David massaging your ears. Not literally of course, that would be weird. We all know Craig David doesn't like gardens. The perfect soundtrack to a hazy summer's day can be found with this collection. Forty sweltering r and b cuts, primed and ready to go for your aural pleasure. I loathe 'Dirrty' by Xtina. It's not so much the fact that she can't even spell the word, the song oozes faux sleaze, it's overlong and smutty and having two 'r's' in the title does not make it any cooler. Fact. Misteeq is better, 'Scandalous' is all sirens and pumping grooves and slinky ...

The Very Best Of Irish Folk

The real thing, not the plastic. (398 words)
by Bryn Pearson - written on 14/05/01, updated on 21/05/01 (Useful, 54 readings)
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I am talking about the kind of thing you get in Irish theme pubs, which I think is ghastly. Its that "When Irish eyes are smiling" take on Irish music, and its an insult to a great tradition. You can tell a bad Irish band, they will play "The Wild Rover" and something by the Pogues. YOu can even get cds of it, and I think it has a plastic quality, a shiny commercialness that has few redeeming qualities. Its easy listening, its wallpaper music (things I hate anyway) and it gives good music a bad name. Real Irish folk songs are funny, often a bit rude or bawdy, they record Irish history and have a lot going for them. There's a large bulk recording the ...

The Very Best Of Irish Folk

If it's music you want... (1143 words)
by - written on 19/12/00, updated on 18/11/02
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A small string instrument like a banjo. The Harp - one of the best known 'symbols' of Ireland. Also used are a selection of more common instruments including Various types of flutes, fiddles and accordions. Many groups rely heavily on such instruments to make up the bulk of their music. A few that you might have heard of are The Chieftains, Altan and Sharon Shannon. But probably of more importance now is the emergence of many Irish 'pop' groups who have incorporated the traditional instruments into their mainline chart music. The two which spring immediately to mind are B*witched and The Corrs (most apparent in the excellent instrumental 'Toss ...