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AAPA = Alternative Arts Productions, although AAP means monkey, while the @ sign is referred to as a monkey tail in the Dutch language ... just so that you now know!
We keep getting Emails from some people who seem to think that we should be interested in certain bands just because they use guitars or have a spikey haircut?! - THIS SECTION IS THEREFORE FOR ALL THOSE ARTISTS WHO MAY THINK THAT THEY`RE ALTERNATIVE, INDIE, COOL or CUTTING EDGE - but we think different!!! - in fact...
WE DON`T GIVE A MONKEYS ... (Het boeit ons niet bij AAPA ...)
Additional info and observations on the state of the Dutch music scene can be found - > HERE
PLEASE NOTE THAT REVIEWS & INFO CAN BE IN EITHER THE ENGLISH OR DUTCH LANGUAGE
DECEMBER - 2008
It looks like after being dropped by their record label (almost 2 years ago), Haarlem band THE SHEER (photo above taken during the height of their regional success!) have decided to carry on in what we can only describe as an attempt to con enough people in The Netherlands to part with their well earned money, and in the hope that they don`t have to resort to spending their time working in chip shops or record shops like the past few years?! This was a band who we predicted at the start of 2006 would never achieve anything globally in the music scene. They have now revealed that they are to release their third as yet untitled album through the regional PIAS label and it should be out in the Benelux region during 2009. See previous article about this band below (from November 2006) - Also, just for a laugh, see if you can spot how many people in the above photo are NOT actually paying any attention to the band playing on stage!? - we counted 36. See if you can come up with even more? ;-)
NOVEMBER - 2008
When we first heard some tracks by Dutch band KINGFISHER SKY we initially thought that someone had in fact dug out an old CD of a long forgotten 70`s (or early 80`s for the latecomers!) progrock band for a laugh. To our surprise and horror we were then told that these were "new" songs by a "new band"?!? - This prompted us to make a few enquiries and we stumbled across their website to discover that someone somewhere has in fact wasted a load of time, money and effort in trying to promote this lot to the public (of which more on that aspect later) - According to their own Biog, some of their band members have been playing in bands since the late 70`s or 80`s (which explains that long outdated progrock sound!) but actually implies that they are already well into their late thirties, or on looking at the above photo one or two could even already be in their forties! It does raise some immediate questions: Is this band for real to think they actually have a chance of making it in the music industry? (the general rule within the industry is that if an act has not broken through by the time they reach 30 they never will, and this tends to be a fact in 99.9% of the cases) - Or do they have a sugar daddy eccentric millionaire funding them who is only doing this band thing as a hobby? Their debut album "Hallway Of Dreams" was released around this time last year and on checking out various reviews on Dutch websites it seems to receive a positive reaction! - But these kind of reviews are so typical from people working within the Dutch music industry: They are disconnected from life and the real world. The truth is that the majority of bands, promoters and radio DJs in The Netherlands are at least ten to fifteen years behind the times, and unless you target a minority audience who think copying old sounds without adding anything new is ok, nobody else is interested in a goth, metal, progrock type revival that had already been flogged to death by the mid 90`s. It is almost 2009 and so if ever there was an example of "being stuck in the 80`s" then step forward KINGFISHER SKY. On the other hand, there are probably still enough kids out there in countries like Poland, Slovenia, Latvia and Romania who are only just discovering music trends - Maybe they can get conned into going to watch a band play with members that are older than their own dads!?!
See also our previous article (from 2006) about "What is wrong with the music scene in Holland?" / "Wat is er fout gegaan met muziek in Nederland?" - > HERE
OCTOBER - 2008
The EFFENAAR in Eindhoven: Saturday 15th November 2008 is going to be the first indie disco (indie club night) by the Effenaar in Eindhoven, where they describe this night as "Indie Disco is dé stapavond voor iedere liefhebber van alternatieve en dansbare gitaarrock!" (Indie Disco is the club night for every fan of alternative and danceable indie rock!) - which is a bit strange, because back in the spring of 1994 it was actually the Effenaar themselves who banned all their staff and volunteers (which numbered about 450 in those days) from attending an indie bar just up the road on the Dommelstraat called The Independent (which was a newly opened unsubsidised indie bar/disco/cafe) because they didn`t want any competition for their own venue! In effect it meant that The Effenaar, which was heavily subsidised by the council, could maintain their monopoly of the alternative music market in and around Eindhoven (even though from what we remember at the time, apart from the occasional gig, their playlist was more Dutch Top 40 chart music and the occasional REM or U2 song rather than being actual indie music) - But it also meant that without paying customers (450 staff and all their friends was a lot of people from that scene in a town that size), The Independent closed its doors in November 1994 and those running the Effenaar most likely breathed a sigh of relief before they returned to the council for yet another handout from the central art fund. And so now with their new indie night which starts next month it looks like it has taken them exactly 14 years since the closure of The Independent to finally catch up? - what a right bunch of wankers! The story of THE INDEPENDENT (including original poster from 1994) can be found HERE
SEPTEMBER - 2008
The young Dutch guitar band THE GIRLS have finally released their debut album "We Make Love Not Songs" (PIAS Benelux) but it has to said that it is not very good. In fact, we would go as far as to say it is abysmal. The band from Meppel (Drenthe) have been appearing at most of the Dutch festivals this summer, and are receiving a lot of airplay by TMF (the Dutch MTV channel) and are being tipped by the Dutch media to do really well!? However, if you do listen to this album, and you know a bit about music, then you have great difficulty not falling of your chair in fits of laughter! - the track 'Best Shot' wants to be Fratellis in 2006, while on all their songs, the singers English accent is very very 'DUTCH'. And if that's not bad enough, the title track of the album 'We Make Love Not Songs' is just a re-hashed version of Starship`s 'We built this city on rock and roll ...!!!' Here is an a attempt by a bunch of young copyists to make a so called indie album to appeal to the Dutch kids who have just started listening to guitar bands. Sad thing is, with all the local press they are getting, it is more than likely that they will end playing at every Dutch festival for years to come. The good news is that just like other unoriginal bland Dutch guitar bands before them (like Miss Antarctica, Moke and The Sheer) no one outside the Benelux will ever get to hear them. This album by THE GIRLS is best described in Dutch language as "neder (brit) pop voor kleuters" and deserves no more than a 2 out of 10. See also previous article about them below (under April 2007).
SUMMER / ZOMER - 2008
WOLFMOTHER were never really a favourite on AAPA (see previous article below under January 2007) - In fact, we could never understand why the Australian rockers became so popular in countries like The Netherlands and Slovenia. On the other hand maybe we do? Anyway, for those still interested, according to Universal Records the band have fallen out with each other and have split up. Great news for music lovers then! ;-)
Marks out of 10 ...
Following on from our list in October 2007 (see below), here are some more albums that have been released over recent months that are ... crap!
GAVIN ROSSDALE - Wanderlust (Universal) - 2.5/10
RACOON - Before You Leave (PIAS) - 2/10
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS - Romance At Short Notice (Mercury) - 4/10
THE LONG BLONDES - Couples (Rough Trade) - 3.5/10
ANOUK - Who's Your Momma (EMI Benelux) - 1.5/10
¡FORWARD, RUSSIA! - Life Processes (Cooking Vinyl) - 2+/10
TECH 9 - Nine Lives (I Scream Records) - 1/10
THE KOOKS - Konk (Virgin) - 2.5/10
GEM - New (Excelsior) - 2.5/10
GAVIN ROSSDALE used to be the singer with British grunge band BUSH who in their day were popular over in certain parts of the States but never really made that much of an impression in their own country possibly due to the fact that musically things had simply moved on! Gavin, who if we are honest, was probably better known in the UK as being Mr. Gwen Stefani, has just released his first solo album entitled "Wanderlust" (Universal) - The album, with its repetitive, bland lyrics and very middle of the road rock ballads, is clearly intended for the American (and possibly Dutch and former East Bloc country) markets, and if we continue to be honest is absolutely rubbish!
APRIL - 2008
Sheffield-based five piece THE LONG BLONDES have just released "Couples" (Rough Trade) as their second album - They may have tried to present an exciting collection of tracks, with a mix of indie and synth pop, disco and even a bit of kraut-rock. But just like their debut album "Someone To Drive You Home" from last year, their ideas come across manufactured (a bit like their "look at me I am cool" press photos) and fail to deliver anything worth remembering. The NME will no doubt keep plugging and praising them but anyone with a mind of their own will see them for what they are: not even a third rate Blondie!!
What is it with all these bland and unoriginal Dutch guitar bands from the past decade? - When will people realize that by handing out these irrelevant Dutch music industry awards to the likes of MOKE, RACOON (photo), ANOUK and VOICST they are indirectly encouraging more of the same shite to be churned out for years to come! - Get a grip and start asking yourselves why nobody outside of the Benelux will ever buy their records?!? There are some promising and potentially exciting bands out there but no one will get to hear about them if 3FM keep praising pointless, aging, out of touch guitar bands. Later this month (27th April) Dutch national radio station 3FM are set to hand out their music awards ... Their shortlist is embarrassing for the future of music. End of statement!
MARCH - 2008
ANOUK has been out playing a few gigs to promote her uninspiring new album. She also seems keen to move away from her national rock chick image and tattoos are out. The Dutch EMI office and local music press have been raving about her ... no surprise to us that her gigs have only been in the Benelux. As for her tattoos ... cheap looking really aren`t they?
JANUARY & FEBRUARY - 2008
Most of us were away during January so more news (a.k.a pisstakes!) from the end of February ... ;-)
DECEMBER - 2007
ANOTHER YEAR DRAWS TO A CLOSE - END OF YEAR MESSAGE ...
As everyone, including ourselves, start preparing for their Christmas and New Year break, we would like to wish everyone a happy new year. As far as the music was concerned, 2007 began really well with a lot of great albums, but we felt that with the exception of a few new bands who emerged after the summer, it started to fade somewhat in the last quarter of the year as far as upcoming and exciting talent was concerned ... hopefully things will change again for the better during 2008. Our end of year poll with our Best Albums of 2007 should be announced just before or during the Christmas break (hopefully by 22nd Dec). As for January 2008, you should not expect that much activity as far as latest news items are concerned. In fact, due to a well earned holiday and our intention to travel to various locations all over the world, it is going to be at least the 28th January before any of us get to sit behind a computer again! Anyway, as the year draws to a close we will leave you with a few thoughts that will hopefully make life a little more interesting and not so bloody dull and predictable all the time. Over the past decade we have gradually allowed ourselves to slip or fall under the control of a "lets not offend anyone government". The politically correct have even ensured that we now become uncomfortable when hearing a bit of criticism, especially when it refers to their policies or plans. As for the music industry, this year we have even encountered various record companies (The V2 and EMI offices in The Netherlands being prime examples) who started suffering from what we call "The Ostrich Syndrome" because we dared to give negative reviews to some of their acts. For changes to happen, for artists to thrive, for genuine talent to rise above all those bland and uninspiring subsidized art projects (that we are all indirectly paying for!) then more people should occasionally shake a few trees, question what they are told, and to even lodge a few complaints from time to time, otherwise we run the risk of becoming even more part of a dumbed down nation full of sheep! - "Subsidy kills creativity": For more info, see our previous article (initially from November 2006) about the state of the music industry in The Netherlands - > HERE
The NME ... Unbiased or just a coincidence?
Over the past week there has been a lot of press generated about an alleged rift between the British music magazine NME and MORRISSEY (more info at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7118412.stm) - We decided not to cover it because we are only interested in the music (see previous article about the new Morrissey album below), and didn't want to be seen to be going down the path of self promotion or those "they said, he said" scenarios. It certainly isn't the first time that artists and publications clash over articles (I even seem to remember a similar incident involving the NME and Morrissey back in the early 90`s?) and it won't be the last. But one thing that does strike us as odd is the manner in which the NME appear to be rather selective in the manner of their reporting. As an example, earlier today (6th December) they have run a story about how KLAXONS are to work with David Bowie producer (see article at: http://www.nme.com/news/klaxons/32990) in which they inform music lovers that the band want to work with Tony Visconti on their next album. But it is what they suddenly don't write in this article that is actually rather worrying! You see, Tony Visconti is a legendary producer (he started back in the late 60`s with T.Rex and then David Bowie, before going on to produce the likes of Sparks, Thin Lizzy, The Stranglers, etc over the decades that followed, and more recently even Kristeen Young) but it is now about 5 years ago since he last produced Bowie, and by weird coincidence it was only last year that he produced Morrissey`s critically acclaimed "Ringleader of The Tormentors" album. I`m afraid it doesn't take a genius to work out that if this same story about the Klaxons new album had broke a month ago then NME would most certainly have included Morrissey in the same sentence as Tony Visconti. Actions speak louder than words, and it looks like NME have opted to throw their rattle out of their pram and in our opinion have just shown their arses! ...
NOVEMBER - 2007
It looks like Canadian pop (wanna be rocker) AVRIL LAVIGNE is going to release a Re-packaged version of her album "The Best Damn Thing" (Columbia) on Monday 12th November. The manufactured skate girl should be looking to cash it in just in time for Christmas then?!?!
OCTOBER - 2007
When it rains it pours ... In preparation for the release of her new album "Who’s Your Momma" (EMI Benelux) which was due out at the end of November, ageing Dutch rocker ANOUK has decided to sack her entire backing band (by email!) after they had listened to the recordings and had allegedly criticised the material. Although she has been able to sell records in the Benelux region, despite over ten years of trying and aided by a big press budget, ANOUK has so far failed to make any kind of impact abroad - something we at AAPA had predicted from the out start because (see previous articles below from February & June 2006) the fact is that she simply can't sing in English. Some will even go as far as to say she can't really sing at all ... while her outdated rock sounds have only ever appealed to those who have only listened to the likes of Sky Radio or TMF (Dutch stations stuck in the 80s). The release date for her new album has now been postponed - The Dutch EMI office have been unable to confirm a new date ... The European EMI office have never heard of her!
Marks out of 10 ...
Some new albums that have been released over recent months that are, ... erm, crap!
STEREOPHONICS - Pull The Pin (V2) - 2.5/10
BABYSHAMBLES - Shotter's Nation (Parlophone / EMI) - 2/10
FOO FIGHTERS - Echoes Silence Patience & Grace (BMG / RCA) - 5/10
ATHLETE - Beyond the Neighbourhood (Parlophone) - 4+/10
KULA SHAKER - Strangefolk (own label) - 3.5/10
DRAGONS - Here Are The Roses (Ohm) - 2/10
SEPTEMBER - 2007
It looks like Pete Doherty and his BABYSHAMBLES are set to release another album - "Shotter's Nation" (Parlophone / EMI) will be out on 1st October. From the selected tracks we have heard so far they still sound shite! - See previous articles below (from October 2006) about the band who a lot of the paid press (especially NME) have to keep forcing down our throats! - Pete Doherty & Babyshambles are crap and always will be, so our advice to all of you is, get over it and move on ...
SUMMER / ZOMER - 2007
DRAGONS - Here Are The Roses (Ohm)
Released May 2007
Dragons are a New Wave band (duo) from Bristol who are trying to sound epic, are heavily influenced by Depeche Mode and the 80`s Goth scene, and where at times they are trying to copy a string of other pretenders like Tears For Fears, only it is 2007 now and their debut album provides rather dull and repetitive electro, and one has to ask who cares? - Yes, it is as bad as it sounds! - For marks out of 10 we give it a 2
STUCK in the 80`s (and now the 90`s) ... - It looks like those Dutch radio DJs are at it again! Veronica (one of the major Dutch TV & radio stations) have just announced that they will be hosting yet another edition of a huge 80’s & 90’s hits event in Amsterdam (it will be their 4th annual event!?) - No surprise to hear that their prevous shows had all sold out as the locals get down to more radio friendly, and really dull hits. This year they are wanting to create a Miami Vice theme (which will fit in nicely with all those 80`s TV shows they insist on repeating to a braindead nation I suppose?) - Veronica’s 80’s & 90’s hits, The Party! will take place on Saturday 17th November at the HMH in Amsterdam. Tickets cost a wopping € 35,00 plus booking fees. With uninspired garbage like this, is it any wonder why the music scene in Holland cannot move forward?
On Monday 6th August, STEREOPHONICS will be releasing a 2CD 10th Anniversary Edition of their debut album "Word Gets Around" (V2 Records) - The band from Wales who wanted to be MSP Mark 2 (but never really had the talent) still surprised a lot of people by being able to churn out so many albums for such a long time without being dropped? (Or maybe appearing almost every year at those V2 Festivals in the UK helped?) - And for all the songs they ended up recording, their best song still remains 'Local Boy In The Photograph', but the songs chorus ("The clock strikes back..." in a male voice versus "I take it back..." in a female voice) was in fact far too similar to the HOOP LA BABY song 'Start' back in 1996 when both bands actually played the same IN THE CITY festival in Dublin just before STEREOPHONICS got signed to V2 Records and the emergence of the internet. Odd that? ...
More info about IN THE CITY can be found - > HERE
TOP 100 Allertijden? ... We understand that Dutch national music magazine OOR have just published a list of the Top 100 Albums from the past 50 years. Their list was compiled after they had asked the so called "musical specialists who work in the Dutch media" or those who are responsible for promoting the main festivals in Holland. Therefore we were a bit surprised (although not disappointed) to see that they finally had THE SMITHS "The Queen Is Dead" (1986 - Sire/Rough Trade) as their 5th best album! - There is nothing like trying to re-write history is there? You see, back in the 80`s those working in the Dutch media (and on radio) had little or no time for THE SMITHS and now they are suddenly claiming that they did. To which AAPA can only say; "Good of them to finally catch up!!" - Their article (in Dutch language) can be found at: http://www.oor.nl/news_details.asp?id=4372 - And equally amusing is that when you look at the current OOR list (which includes Radiohead, The Smiths, The Beach Boys, Nirvana & The Clash in their Top 10) and then go on and compare it to the "Top 10 Albums by OOR" that they published in 2004 (which is dominated by the likes of Bob Dylan, U2, The Rolling Bones & Queen) and you just have to laugh! ... and ask yourself whether there are too many dinosaurs employed in the Dutch music industry? (see additional article "Stuck in the 80`s" - > HERE)
As for the most impressive album(s) of the year since the mid 60`s then do yourself a favour and go check out our selection - > HERE
 - On Monday 23rd July, Universal Records will release a 3 CD compilation of 80`s hits - "CLUB 80`s" includes a lot of what was so wrong about music from that decade, with contributions from the likes of Wham, Kim Wilde, Billy Ocean, Bros, Cher, and even Bonnie Tyler on the album. However, a lot of people in Holland will be hearing the very familiar sounds of Dutch Radio in 2007 with the likes of Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind, Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger, Europe - Final Countdown, and even Kenny Logins` Footloose also included on this utterly dreadful album!
The Dutch Goth Metal band WITHIN TEMPTATION have been going for around 10 years now, have had various line up changes, made one half decent album ("Mother Earth" - 2000) for the genre, and earlier this year they released yet another album "The Heart of Everything" (Roadrunner Records) which was final proof to everyone other than their own die-hard fans that they just simply don't get better in time. In fact, they have become incredibly bland, predictable, at times really annoying and most certainly boring! It was back in 2002 that the band were seen at all the Dutch music events and won most of their national music awards but since then they have become rather redundant in today's music scene, except they have just decided to release a new(ish) EP entitled "Frozen" on a label called Gun Supersonic (described by themselves as a brand New 7 track Maxi Single?) that includes a couple of vids and some live acoustic versions?! ... Aye, you read it correctly; acoustic tracks by a bunch of aging Goths who incidentally like to describe themselves as a Metal Band these days. Wankers!
JUNE - 2007
Originally planned by their record company Warners for a March 2007 release, GARBAGE, the post-grunge band from the mid 90`s, who's drummer Butch Vig was most famous for producing the likes of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins and who are fronted by the Scottish singer Shirley Manson, are about to release their "Best of" collection entitled "Absolute Garbage" and it will be available from Monday 16th July. It was back in October 1995 that their self titled debut album (Mushroom Records/Almo Sounds) was released which included popular indie hits like Stupid Girl, Vow, Queer, Milk & Supervixen, but in the years that followed their popularity declined and in 2005 they even cut short their world tour. To a lot of people who were around during that period, GARBAGE appropriated large portions of British indie band CURVE's musical template to create their sound. Meanwhile, Butch Vig is currently involved in the production of the 2nd as yet to be released album by THE SUBWAYS (which incidentally will be the first British band that Vig will have worked with) - So in conclusion, GARBAGE, although popular with the MTV crowd, are a pop band, while CURVE were never a pop band. A full review of the highly recommended "The Way of Curve" (BMG / Anxious) by TerryA can be found in our ALBUMS REVIEWS 2005 section (from Summer 2005) and in our opinion is much more impressive than this release by Garbage - You can also find out more about the brilliance of CURVE by going through AAPA`s MySpace
Vive La Fête have a new album out and this is about their 6th or 7th album since 1998. They are an electro pop band from Belgium, who in the past have tried to pass themselves off as indie and have had a reasonable amount of success in Belgium and Holland although to be honest not that many other places! They went through a period when they were popular with students (presumably the ones that don't have very good hearing or those who just follow the masses?!) ... Maybe the problem for them never breaking through in other countries (this new album has not even got a UK release date yet) is that they have only ever been regurgitating that electro pop sound from the 80`s and with their latest offering - Jour de Chance - they have now opted for a slightly heavier rocky bass sound, but to those living in the 21st century or with 2 functioning ears attached to their head then this album is a painfully dull experience while as a band they are about as useful to the future of music as an ashtray on a motorbike is in the sports world! - Giving it a mark of 1.5 out of 10 is probably being too kind?!
MAY - 2007
Metropolis Festival (Rotterdam) - We notice that a group calling itself the MTR-X-Perience Team are currently "spamming" the HYVES community in Holland in an attempt to encourage people of all ages to try and take part in what looks like yet another subsidised bands contest where they claim that the eventual winners will get a slot at the annual festival in Rotterdam. We say "spamming" because there have been numerous complaints where people have had up to 8 or 9 identical messages a day from this MTR-X-Perience Team and when we sent them a message asking for some kind of an explanation the only reply we received back was from a Mark Barneveld (X-Perience) who simply re-sent us an identical version of their original message?! Or maybe that was simply their way of avoiding any direct questions in what can only be described as very, ermm ... Dutch! (i.e. "never commit yourself if you can get away with it" or "first sign of any awkward questions then stick your head in the sand until awkward questions disappear") - You see, the way we see it is that festivals shouldn't need to have these sad and pointless "battle of the bands" contests. Any promoter worth his or her salt should know which new bands are worth putting on a festival, especially if they are already being paid or receiving subsidy to do their bloody job! It is no surprise then that each year a bunch of so called new (often aging) bands in Holland are presented to the wider audience when in all honesty that slot should have gone to genuine promising talent (young, exciting, original, forward thinking artists) that grabbed the promoters attention because they had created a genuine buzz and NOT because some clueless backward thinking, out of touch divvy who was judging a band contest had more than likely just voted in their mates or done some agent a favour! - If there is to be any future with the music industry on a national and regional level then it needs to set artists the right kind of challenge along with a proper incentive for them to try and succeed. So to organizers like this MTR-X-Perience Team, you have simply taken the easy option for short term personal gain and indirectly conned both the artists and the paying public. Get your act together people!! - For more info about the state of the music industry in Holland go to our previous article from 2006 - > HERE
APRIL - 2007
Dutch indie pop band THE GIRLS are from the northern town of Meppel (Drenthe), have been going for about a year and quote as their influences Arctic Monkeys, Strokes and The Subways (all favourites with us). The national music magazine Live XS gave them a good review recently claiming that "they could easily come from the heart of London where you would also find the likes of Arctic Monkeys or The Hives" (even though one is from Sheffield and the other is from, erm ... Sweden, so we don't understand this "London quote" at all?!) ... "that they are capable of dominating the world, and this is why their singer has such a huge self confidence"?! ... while Dutch radio station 3FM even went as far as announcing them as a Serious Talent. All fine and dandy you will say, and some serious praise indeed, especially if this is a new band from Holland. So we decided to check them out for ourselves, and on listening to their music have to say that THE GIRLS are simply cheap copyists without any originality on display and nowhere even near the same league as any of the aforementioned bands. Also, where bands like Kaiser Chiefs and The Fratellis use their "na na na`s" to good effect (and probably to appease European audiences that are not so hot on English language lyrics!) THE GIRLS have obviously spent far too long listening and watching the popular indie bands of the past few years without realizing that to have any chance of success you need to already be creating a sound that is promising for the future and not to simply try (badly in their case) to regurgitate what is already out there! Even their press shots are abysmal, where they have obviously spent too long looking in mirrors and probably in girlie magazines for a fabricated look. They may well (like so many other Dutch bands over the past 3 decades) get to play Dutch venues on a regular basis, but if THE GIRLS ever get to play a proper gig outside of Holland we will show our arses in the main display window of the Bijenkorf in Amsterdam!! - The AAPA verdict: No chance!
MARCH - 2007
Radio 3FM: The Dutch radio station 3FM have just announced (March 2007) the shortlist for their annual music awards, where they let the public know which national artists are the most popular, those to look out for, and presumably the ones who are making a difference. So after initially falling about laughing we then had to double check to be certain that it was the nominations for 2007, or as one of our writers mentioned with 1st April approaching it wasn't some kind of daft April Fools joke?! - Sadly, the acts they nominated were correct and more evidence that the people behind one of Holland's most popular radio stations are in fact "dinosaurs" without any idea how to recognize "new and influential" music or how to help move the music scene in Holland forward into what is now the late 00`s! - You also have to ask yourself who really benefits from these awards apart from maybe the promoters and sponsors? Because on looking through the nominations, the majority of acts listed in their shortlists (just like in previous years) will continue to never make any impact or sell records abroad (see also previous articles below about the likes of ANOUK or The Sheer thinking they are popular but the reality being that they will never be needing passports!) - Or is it simply sufficient for a Dutch artist to just do gigs and sell CDs within Holland? The best laugh from the 2007 nominations were in their category for "Best Newcomer", in which they drew up a shortlist of: Coparck, a balladeer, VanVelzen, Fedde le Grand & Seven - All we can say is wtf?! For a start, Coparck have just released their 3rd album and as far as we are aware have been going since the late 90`s? Next up is a balladeer who won some 3FM award way back in 2002, so not exactly a newcomer anymore?, and have been touring a lot since 2003 (apart from 3 gigs in Denmark in 2004 all of their gigs have been in Holland!!), VanVelzen doesnt write much of his own material, isn`t even the principal writer on his own album, can`t sing and is just shite anyway, while the DJ and mixer Fedde le Grand who had one summer hit last year is just that: a DJ and remixer, so hardly an original candidate for "best newcomer"? As for Seven being in the shortlist, we reviewed this bunch of 30+ers last year when they did a gig in Delft (see full review - > HERE under May 2006) and all we can say is they are and will always remain unoriginal and absolute crap even if one of the main promoters in Holland continues to shamelessly plug them! For those still interested, Radio 3FM will be handing out their prizes on Sunday 15th April, and this year they have an additional award for "3FM Serious Talent Award" - and you already know that based on their selection procedure and the aforementioned nominations, that one is going to be one really scary prize! - Or maybe The Smurfs have decided to reform!?!
AMY WINEHOUSE - She likes to be called the bad girl of Jazz! - "Back To Black" (Island) is the second album from Amy Winehouse, who has moved away from the jazz sound on her debut album (2003) in which the 22-year-old managed to sound like a Fifties club singer, she now brings us a more soulful sound, and although she has a good voice and an ear for melody, and will no doubt please the younger generation who missed out on the Motown sound in the sixties, it will always amaze us how we continue to value fakes! - Because in all honesty that is what Amy Winehouse really is. She was initially signed to an outpost of the media empire of Simon Fuller, the founder of Pop Idols, and with the help of a huge press budget and a shed load of media attention has returned with this second album where the single "Rehab" was played to death and helped ensure that she returned to the spotlight, while just when it mattered she then decided to release stories about admitting in the past to spending £200 a week on cannabis, was often seen out drunk, cancelled gigs at the very last minute, which all helped feed the press frenzy. And even though she won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist last month we can still assure you that you'll be looking at this album in your collection in the months or years to come and wonder why you bought this? - The album was described recently by a die hard soul music lover as "the most blatant example of off-the-shelf manufactured cod soul its been my misfortune to hear in 50 years". - Maybe she is trying to be far too controversial and is now running the risk of it all backfiring in her face? Last week WINEHOUSE cancelled two gigs in London at the last minute (March 2007) in which she initially blamed a mystery illness but photographs have since emerged of her shopping for alcohol just hours before the first cancelled gig "suggesting" that she wasn't actually ill. No real surprise to us looking at all the recent press, and while there will be those who want to support or feel sorry for her, others (with more intelligence) will just see her as a drunk who can sing (when she bothers to turn up). Either way, her album is available to buy now from your high street record shop ... oh, and also from your aunties mail order book club.
FEBRUARY - 2007
Denver 4-piece THE FRAY are currently receiving good reviews in some quarters with their album (and recent single) "How To Save A Life" (RCA) which was re-released in Europe on 19th February 2007 - They have been described by some as being influenced by Brit Pop and providing sincere and melodic modern rock, although on giving it a listen we concluded that the album had way too many piano sounds and a really mundane beat (so therefore will probably appeal to KEANE fans!), was rather repetitive and boring, and is a good example of how some new bands are guilty of dragging indie music back into that poor period during the 90`s! - Not recommended.
Er zijn sommige mensen die de mening hebben dat we anti-NL bands zijn? Dat is niet onze bedoeling. Bij AAPA zijn we wel tegen subsidie en hierdoor komt misschien deze verwarring. Dus met antwoord op een voorbeeld van een veel gestelde vraag - "Noem eens een behoorlijk aantal Franse rockbands of Spaanse of Zwitserse of op een paar uitzonderingen na uit willekeurig welk ander niet Engelstalig land?" - was misschien die vraag gesteld omdat er gedacht was dat er geen of niet veel bands waren van niet Engelstalige landen die internationaal success hebben gehad? - hier heb je dus een lijst (we vinden ze niet allemaal goed of indrukwekkend!) van bands die het allemaal een stuk beter hebben gedaan of doen op international gebied dan Nederlandse bands ... zonder subsidie! France: AIR, Daft Punk, Cassius - Belgium: dEUS, Hooverphonic, Sweden: The Cardigans, The Hives, The Sounds, The Concretes, The Knife, (en Roxette & ABBA waren natuurlijk ook heel populair in hun tijd) - Iceland: Björk/Sugar Cubes & Sigur Rós - Norway: Röyksopp, Lene Marlin - Germany: Kraftwerk, Rammstein, Nitzer Ebb, The Scandals - Slovenia: Laibach - Denmark: Saybia, Under Byen - Italy: Lacuna Coil - Brazil: CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Maria Rita (multi grammy award winning zangeress), Sepultura, en dan hebben we het nog niet eens over artiesten/composers van niet Engelstalige landen die miljoenen platen hebben verkocht over de hele wereld zoals Ennio Morricone en Ryuichi Sakamoto. Zijn dat genoeg voorbeelden?
Voor meer info over hulp en advies voor bands in Nederland: AREA - NL Bands & info
For English language version and expanded version of this article // Meer info & engels versie - > HERE
JANUARY - 2007
JOANNA NEWSOM has been receiving a lot of press (and hype) recently on her new album "Ys" (Drag City) that was released late last year - This is one of those albums that you will either love or hate. Joanna Newsom is a classically trained harpist and singer who sounds a bit like a harsher version of Björk. (Our full review can be found under REVIEWS) - But to those who just want our end verdict, this is an hour long "Alt-Folk" album with a lot of Harp and the occasional Banjo!, where after several listens you then realize she tends to repeat herself far too often and probably likes the sound of her own voice so much in that she just keeps going on and on and on without recognizing that sometimes a break or moment of silence may be appreciated by the listener? There are even occasions when her extended word play results in nothing actually being said, which is a bit contradictory if according to her press release she is supposed to have "a passionate appreciation for the musicality of words"!? It may be a very bold album, and it does have its moments, but the end result was dull, boring, very very pretentious and could very easily be described as drivel. However, we can already see certain sections of the public (and press) wanking over this album (a bit like those who have previously embraced the likes of Katie Melua, Clannad or Keane as being cool and interesting!) - Probably those same annoying modern day hippies and revolutionaries who still manage to keep one eye on the stock market while having no qualms buying organically grown mangos that have been shipped or flown over from Central America at a much greater cost to the environment?!
Ok, rant over...
THE LONG BLONDES - Out of tune, not that original and a poor live band, they were unable to get a record deal for about 3 years, until the NME suddenly had them in their magazine almost every week for months and months announcing to all who would listen that they were the best unsigned band in the world! - They finally got themselves a deal with Rough Trade along with what can only be described as a rather expensive press budget - you see, back in the mid 90`s the going rate to have a band`s name listed on the front page of NME was 500 pounds (approx 750 euro) ... Since then other music magazines have also continued to plug them at every opportunity and surprise, surprise, before you know it enough kids have gone out to buy it. They are still "out of tune, not that original and a poor live band" though!!
It would appear that some people have been moaning that WOLFMOTHER should also have been included in our ALBUM OF THE YEAR - 2006 nominations. The Australian rock band, who are due to play at the Paradiso in Amsterdam next month (13th February) have been getting a lot of MTV and Dutch radio play during 2006, but AAPA has never rated them and therefore reason enough not to include them in the shortlist of nominations. You see, as far as we are concerned WOLFMOTHER serve no purpose. Their music can best be described as 3rd or 4th rate LED ZEPPELIN, with a bad touch of DEEP PURPLE and they would love to be able to copy THE WHITE STRIPES but just aren`t clever enough! - Apart from those reasons there is of course the simple fact that they released this self titled debut album back in 2005! - Still, extensive airplay by Dutch stations should ensure that enough muppets go out and buy their records. There will even be some who will actually part with their well earned money and turn up like a total tit wearing a pair of socks like these:
DECEMBER - 2006
One of our readers has just pointed out that in the weekly Top 40 by Dutch radio station Kink FM from the last week of 2006 they have THE CINEMATICS at number 14 with their single "Break" and The Fratellis at number 15 with "Chelsea Dagger" and "Whistle For The Choir" as a new entry at number 25, while Placebo are at number 27 with "Meds". Better late than never you could say? Because as was correctly observed AAPA already had The Cinematics with "Break" in their Monthly Play list and Placebo`s "Meds" as their album of the month recommendation back in March 2006, while The Fratellis first appeared in an AAPA play list before the summer in June 2006 with their debut album being our album of the month recommendation in September. Or is this maybe a case of being too far ahead with tips about new bands?! - See also our NEW BANDS section on previous info about THE FRATELLIS --- NL version: Als we naar de nederlandse kabel station Kink FM`s Top 40 kijken van de laatste week van 2006 zien we dat ze Schotse band THE CINEMATICS op nummer 14 hebben staan met de single "Break", Placebo met "Meds" staat op nummer 27, en The Fratellis staan er 2 keer in met "Chelsea Dagger" op nummer 15 en "Whistle For The Choir" as new entry op number 25. Beter laat dan nooit zou je kunnen zeggen, want in Maart 2006 had AAPA al The Cinematics met "Break" in hun playlist en "Meds" van Placebo was toen hun album van de maand, terwijl The Fratellis voor het eerst in een AAPA Play list voor kwam nog voor de zomer in Juni 2006. Of is dit misschien een kwestie dat je soms veel te vroeg kan zijn met tips voor nieuwe bands?!
ED: Going back through our archives we initially featured THE CINEMATICS in November 2005. Direct link - > HERE
No surprise (to us anyway!) to discover that overrated talent less BABYSHAMBLES have decided to cancel their rescheduled gigs for January in Holland (see previous AAPA article below under October 2006) - Sadly both the Effenaar in Eindhoven and Patronaat in Haarlem believed they would turn up in January?!?! - The Effenaar even going so far as to claim on their website "Nadat de show van Babyshambles in oktober werd uitgesteld, komt Pete Doherty nu toch echt naar Eindhoven!", while the Patronaat quoted "We hadden er veel vertrouwen in dat ze deze keer toch echt zouden komen, maar helaas. De Europese tour van de Britse band Babyshambles is voor de tweede keer afgelast." - Are these 2 venues for real?, or are they still just bullshitting themselves and the public?! ... So what does AAPA think of Babyshambles? - not a lot! In fact, go to our album review from December 2005 as to exactly what we thought and still think - > HERE. Even more amusing in a really sad / pathetic way is a current statement by the band on their My Space site, which reads: "due to the over welming income of emails we recieve we no longer open,read, or reply to any, this is for the bands own saftey and protection" ... Are they for real? - So apart from their english language skills being almost as bad as their music; "total shite of the highest order" is the end of 2006 conclusion by AAPA on Pete and his BABYSHAMBLES. And anyone who even thinks they mean anything in music today is probably a sheep or in fact brain dead!
GWEN STEFANI has brought out a new album - "The Sweet Escape" (Interscope) is another one with hip hop influences and expect more music vids where once again she will probably wear about 500 different costumes in under 3 minutes! Oh, and this time with added yodelling - bloody yodelling?!?! ... No doubt it will be played over and over and over again on boring music channel TMF so that come christmas time every kid without an ounce of imagination will want a copy!
JUST IN CASE YOU FORGOT? (originally posted April 2006 - see below): Are you in one of those COVER BANDS? - Those bands that clog up (excuse the expression!) the live gig circuit in The Netherlands by playing a set of songs that were for the most part written by someone else? - Do you actually rehearse for months or even years just to play these songs? - Well let me ask you this: Do you think anyone apart from your direct family really gives a shit?! ... exactly!
And have you ever asked yourself what is wrong with the music scene in Holland?
More info - > HERE
JULIETTE & THE LICKS has a new single out - "Sticky Honey" (Hassle) is yet more bollocks, this time trying to rip off 70`s rock ... badly!!
NOVEMBER
So MEAT LOAF has decided to release a third instalment of his "Bat Out Of Hell" series - The most worrying thing here is that it will probably inspire even more out of date rockers to continue with this style of boring 80`s rock!
OOR (Dutch music magazine) - Lost the plot?
While BAT FOR LASHES played their first ever gig in Holland upstairs at the Paradiso
(see GIG Review - > HERE ), Dutch music magazine OOR were across the road in the Melkweg celebrating their 35 years as the most influential music paper in Holland with a mini festival featuring The Stranglers, Larrikin Love and various national artists. It was also probably just a coincidence that OOR hadn`t even listed the Paradiso gig in the listings of their publication? - The Press release for the OOR event read as follows: "Dat een tijdschrift over popmuziek 35 jaar stand weet te houden en nog steeds als het grootste en invloedrijkste van het land wordt gezien, dat feit alleen is bijzonder" ("That a music magazine is able to hold its own for 35 years and remain the biggest and most influential music magazine in Holland is amazing") ... Erm, [cough / splutter] ... well looking at the facts here, if you look a bit closer on the OOR website the main articles (as per November 2006) are about: Status Quo, George Michael, Keane, Level 42, Michael Jackson and Genesis, while their current edition in the newsagents has U2 on the front cover (again!) - "That for 35 years they have remained the biggest and most influential music magazine in Holland" is under those circumstances indeed amazing!?!? - in fact, any normal music loving person should now be asking "how the fuck have they managed to stay in pole position with that kind of dross?" - or maybe it has to do with no actual competition and for the most part a lazy unimaginative public? - Scary times ahead then!
 - It has been brought to our attention that Dutch Britpop band THE SHEER are about to do around 15 live dates during November & December. However, we also notice that all the dates are in Holland, confirming what we mentioned earlier this year (see our gig reviews section for more info) that they will never achieve anything globally in the music scene. On a much more amusing note, we have discovered that the band have also been claiming on their own website and through the Dutch media that their song "Understand" had been chosen as the "title track" for the new FIFA 07 computer game? - Only we made some enquiries and it appears that this claim has more in common with the pinocchio charachter (where his nose grows longer the more lies he tells!) - You see the FIFA 07 game is to be released regionally with a soundtrack to coincide, where worldwide a total of 20 songs were selected. This means that artists like MUSE and Paul Oakenfold will have their tracks featured on the English language version, while caBas (who?) from Colombia will appear on the South American version, Suferosa (Norway) on the Scandinavian version, and The Sheer and Stijn (Belgium) have been included on the Benelux version. So I suppose that the reality here is that apart from only getting to play gigs in Holland their record company have now managed to get one of their tracks included on a computer game that is only being distributed ... in the Benelux region! - Not exactly world domination there lads is it?!
The full story on the FIFA 07 game can be found at: http://www.pgnx.net/news.php?page=full&id=11827
In the meantime, we may have come up with something for THE SHEER to wear during their forthcoming Dutch tour dates:
OCTOBER
RADIO 3FM - From one of our reporters: When I left the house this morning, builders at the top of some scaffolding round the corner had 3FM blasting out a stereo playing "the final countdown" which ended with the radio stations jingle 'de nieuwste, de beste muziek' (the newest and the best music) !?! - Is there then any wonder why we have a problem trying to find new and exciting bands in Holland?
Last night (tuesday 24th October) a Dutch cable TV channel spent time trying to promote the new single "Something" by a band from The Hague called SILVER TIP BULLET - who came up with that name because according to themselves a silver tip bullet is "the bullet of all bullets", so they are therefore "the band of all bands"?! ... only there is an obvious issue here (even before we hear their music) in that they have decided to use an english language term as the name of their band that doesn`t even exist? (it should have been "a silver tipped bullet") ... or maybe they just didn`t do that well in english classes? - Anyway, as for their music: boring guitar driven rock with all the usual cliches, including a couple of old blokes with out of date haircuts playing cheesy extended guitar solos, sporting terrible tattoos and for comedy effect the guitarist was wearing a cap sleeved shirt to match, who also thinks he is really cool by playing his guitar and smoking a cigarette at the same time?! The average age of this lot must be well over the 30 so to top it all off they recruit a young girl on vocals who surprise surprise can`t sing anyway. The video for their single "Something" was filmed at Eindhoven Airport and apart from being absolutely dire, the actual song finds them using the word fuck in almost every sentence like we are supposed to be impressed!? ... "my fucking car broke down", "the fucking gate ...", "please let me through I`m fucking late" ... bla, bla, bla. I`m sorry but if this is the type of band that promoters and TV stations in Holland consider "new" then please bring back the Smurfs!! - As for the guitarist, lets all fuckin` laugh at him again:
When BABYSHAMBLES released their album at the end of 2005 we gave it a deserved 2 out of 10 (see CD reviews from 2005 - > HERE ) because despite what all the hype would have you believe we thought that it was in all honesty one of the worst albums of the year! But some people just wouldn`t listen and desperately seemed to want to build on this hype and even tried to get the band to play gigs over here on more than one occasion but more often than not they always ended up cancelling at the last minute which resulted in them only ever turning up for one of their gig or festival appearances that they had been scheduled to play in the Benelux region. So, when we heard that Pete Doherty and his band Babyshambles were going to play 2 gigs in Holland later this week (Friday 13th at the Effenaar in Eindhoven and on Sunday 15th at the Patronaat in Haarlem) you can forgive us for thinking they would never happen - The Patronaat in Haarlem even went as far as to say that despite what everyone has heard or thinks they have secured the concerts and that nothing now stands in the way of what will be a memorable night (extract from their Dutch language press release: "U heeft gezien de reputatie van de band nog steeds uw twijfels over het wel of niet verschijnen van de muzikanten in Patronaat? Het management, de Engelse agent én de Nederlandse agent hebben inmiddels de komst van Babyshambles naar Haarlem bevestigd. Niets staat een memorabel optreden van Babyshambles dus in de weg. ") - only it looks like these so called exclusive (although who really gives a shit anyway?) gigs have now been, er ... cancelled!
SEPTEMBER
On 2nd October JULIETTE & THE LICKS is to release her 2nd album "Four On The Floor". So nobody took our earlier advice then? - see ALBUM REVIEWS (under 2005) - message from AAPA to Juliette: "You can`t sing!"
It looks like KATIE MELUA has decided against writing some of her own songs? (the majority of material on both her albums were written by someone else) - On 25th September she is to re-release her "Piece By Piece" album with additional DVD. - We wonder if a year on there are still 5 million bloody bicycles in Beijing?
What is wrong with the music scene in Holland? - > HERE
Compared to a lot, if not the majority, of other bands out there (except maybe The Dears and Racoon!) it has to be said that even if you like their music as far as live performances are concerned KEANE are just plain bland and boring - Actually so is their music! But we now hear that Keane have just cancelled all 13 dates on their upcoming North American tour in September and October at the last minute, claiming that they are not ready yet due to singer Tom Chaplin's rehab situation as the reason. Yeah right! And pigs can fly....
Over the past few years Deborah Anne Dyer (aka SKIN) is lucky if more than a hundred people come to any of her gigs in the UK. She had a few indie hits back in 1996 with her former band SKUNK ANANSIE but in the ever changing music scene there was no longer any demand for someone who when playing live had to rely on 10 year old songs to get any kind of response! Strange then that here in Holland she appears to have a fanbase big enough to warrant 3 concerts in October? - For those interested she will be appearing on 23rd October in Groningen Oosterport, the 25th in Eindhoven (Effenaar) and then on 26th in Utrecht (Vredenburg), and with reports that tickets cost 50 euros we can only conclude that someone is taking the piss?!
And while we are on the subject of pointless acts, it looks like PINK is also very popular in Holland? - The fake art rocker who is also years behind the times gets to play 3 dates in Amsterdam, Rotterdam & Enschede at the end of October.
WEBSITE CHANGE - We have decided to split up the gig reviews and set up a special section for all the live reviews by Dutch bands - The direct link can be found HERE. For all reviews by international artists go to REVIEWS - > CONCERTS/GIGS
 It looks like T.A.T.U. are to release their "Best of" album on 11th September - Best of ?!?!
AUGUST
The 17th edition of WESTERPOP took place in Delft on 25th & 26th August (for review go to "Recensies - NL bands" page - > HERE). This year performances incl. Infadels (UK), Gem, A Balladeer, Roadkill, Okkernoot, The Boss Hoss (Ger), Reckless & Five Horse Johnson (USA). So apart from Infadels, not exactly established names then! - And as for their on stage presenter, a bloke dressed like a cowboy in 2006 who actually resembles a reject from The Village People doesn't work! - If you then go back into their archive to see who has played at this subsidised (paid for by the people of Delft) event in previous years you can't help but ask yourself: Who?! - The local council (gemeente) may not want to hear this but this was a total waste of rate payers money that if anything probably helped to finance even more sad looking cowboy outfits!?
 "Gang of Losers" is the aptly named title of the new album from THE DEARS and is out in August. They are also playing 1 gig in Holland (Utrecht) on 16th August to try and promote it, but in our opinion they are still one of the worst live bands we have ever seen!
JULY
DIRTIE BLONDE - Since the end of last year there have been a fair few punk pop and indie rock bands emerging with female (blonde) singers and despite what some of the other music press would have you believe The Long Blondes just aren`t very good (and poor live) and Dirtie Blonde are just plain boring, while Be Your Own Pet , We Start Fires and Ladyfuzz are a breathe of fresh air and on the live front actually add something exciting to the current music scene (see also REVIEWS - > ALBUMS). This self titled debut album by DIRTIE BLONDE, although well produced, is in all honesty totally pointless in today's music scene.
As Top Of The Pops draws to a close on the BBC (the last ever TOTP will be on BBC2 on sunday 30th July) it would appear that Dutch TV want to continue with their own version of this once popular music show (maybe because Dutch TV had only started broadcasting this programme a few years ago?) - However, from what we can see the main difference between the UK version and the Dutch version is that the playlist is totally different which raises the question: who decides on who plays on the Dutch TOTP? ... because unlike the UK version it is NOT on how many singles were sold per week. In other words, just like MTV, maybe it is decided by whoever pays the most (record companies, pluggers, press agents, etc) then get their acts to perform on the show? Last Sunday (9th July) their show was sadly filled with what can only be described as utter uninspiring garbage! First up was some fake bleached blonde who resembled a screaming cat going by the name of Do promoting her new single "Beautiful Thing" which had ridiculously childish lyrics accompanied by a bland euro pop beat that surely can only appeal to the under 12`s? Then we had to put up with KEANE who were on with their new single "Is It Any Wonder" which just sounds like they are trying to copy U2 now?! The torture to the ears was by now too great and we switched off ... basically this is the type of music for the play safe generation of boring Sky Radio loving sheep out there! - And I bet they also like Big Brother and friggin` Idols too?!
The debut album by ¡Forward, Russia! is now available in the Benelux. The band who appeared at a recent LONDON CALLING event in Amsterdam are currently being hyped up by the UK music press but all we can say is: How long did the hype surrounding The Darkness eventually last? - And will this band stand the test of time? - probably not!
It looks like Dutch band RACOON are preparing for 2 big tours before the end of the year. Thankfully you won`t catch them if you stay away from Holland! - The winners of "the most boring and pointless band to come from The Netherlands in 2006" are due to play around 10 different locations across NL during the summer and will then follow that up in October & November when they get to play around 16 different venues in NL - So, still no passports required then lads?! As for their chances of any international break through: you only have to take a look at their press photo to get the answer ... oh, and maybe to think about having a shit!!
JUNE
Looking at all the gig listings from the past 12 months and then towards what is coming up towards the end of this year we have decided to award the "least original and most boring venue in The Benelux region" to: 013 in Tilburg. I kid you not - As part of their programme they have the likes of rock dinosaurs Golden Earring, and even have a "clash of the cover bands" event in October AND December!!
Some fans of dutch singer ANOUK have been desperate to tell us that contrary to an earlier report (see below) she is in fact appearing at festivals abroad ... it turns out that she did 2 festivals all the way over in ... Germany! - Wow, a real international artist then?!
It would appear that from July THE ROLLING STONES are to continue with the rest of their world tour after Keith Richards was given a clean bill of health, although only one of the dates in Holland has so far been re-scheduled. Now this could get really amusing because in their wisdom it looks like all those with a ticket for the 30th July now have to go to their rescheduled concert on 31st July, while those with a ticket for the 31st July have to await their new date - Now try and imagine all those old absent minded Rolling Bones fans all turning up at the same place at the same time? - hilarious!!!
MAY
Having recently reviewed a gig in Delft (see REVIEWS - > CONCERTS/GIGS), it appears that THE CROWD (Dutch band) have a really good argument as to why they are not crap! - drummer sarah lavinia feenstra went to great lengths to try and justify themselves by saying that she has "endorsements in stick work" and is "hoping to get one for the use of her cymbals" - so there! Better still, she actually believes that we should be impressed by her because she takes lessons from some drummer with a connection to 70`s dinosaurs Golden Earring?!? - in addition, she also thought all our reviews should be in Dutch? I quote (excerpt from Dutch Email) : " ... je bent in nederland,dus mag je best wel even de moeite doen om in het nederlands jouw bollocks neer te zetten ... by the way, ik geef les op de drumschool van de drummer van de golden earring, heb een stokken endorsement, krijg een cymbal endorsement en krijg les van de grootste drummer van nederland....dus kijk maar even..."! Erm, "bollocks"... "by the way" - Not sure if they`re Dutch words Sarah? Anyway, all I can say to this is: 1 - the fact they have so called drumming diplomas here in holland is really worrying?! (whatever next?: endorsements by some subsidised music school on how to be original or creative?), 2 - Golden bloody Earring!??!! (get real, these were one hit wonders outside of the Benelux who probably realized themselves it would be better to stay at home and pretend they used to be big and then set up friggin` drum classes for gullible kids like you!), & 3 - the bottom line here is that on the night the band were totally unoriginal and their delivery was absolutely rubbish! - Now go away and do some more practice with your drum kit you muppet... (see also article below - April 2006 - on COVER BANDS)
Fresh from their EUROVISION SONG FESTIVAL extravaganza it now looks like Finish rockers LORDI are rushing out a new album while they are still in the spotlight - "The Arockalypse" will be released on Drakkar Records on 5th June. It will actually be their 3rd album since 2001 and we can`t help but ask: So why didn`t anyone bother to buy their previous 2 albums?!
We have received info that BABYSHAMBLES have finally been dropped by their record company (Rough Trade) - the reason appears to be that they decided it would no longer tolerate the singer's controversial behaviour after he squirted a syringe of his own blood at an MTV camera crew. So it wasn`t because the album was overhyped and absolute shite then?!?
News just in that 2006 will see a new album by THE DEARS - That overrated band who hail from Canada, who have only ever attempted to release albums that were filled with songs where they usually try and copy Blur (from mid 90`s period) badly, pretend to be interesting by sticking on the occasional Joy Division intro to some of their tracks, or at times sound like a 3rd rate My Life Story! (now that is an insult!) - oh, and on the live front they don`t even have any stage presence!?! ... anyway, their new album is out later this year and their only gig in NL is on Wednesday 16th August at the Tivoli in Utrecht.
On 24th May PRESIDENTS OF THE USA play a gig at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. We didn`t realize that they were still going?! - All we need now is gigs in NL by THERAPY? or DINOSAUR jnr so we can all remain stuck in the 90`s!?!
MISS ANTARCTICA - When someone says "They rocked!" you can safely conclude that they are probably lying! For one, this terminology is outdated and more importantly no one who is a native English speaker would ever dream of using an expression like that! - the other reason is that anyone who still feels the need to say it probably always exaggerates anyway... step forward Amsterdam based band Miss Antarctica, who somehow were able to release an album on Island Records in 2005, ran up a tour and press budget, had someone report that "they rocked!", but then just fizzled out ... well, we hear that they have now split up. Goodbye...
Bruce Springsteen has a new album out - "We Shall Overcome... " (Columbia/Sony/BMG Records) will no doubt still get all those mums and dads excited at the prospect of yet more warbling by the totally outdated rocker. We wonder if he still rocks?!...
Browsing through the concert & festival listings in The Netherlands for the next few months we can`t help but think that certain promoters appear to have been left behind in the 80`s or 90`s, and in some cases it looks like they are still stuck in the 70`s! ... What the F%c* is going on here?! - Is new music too risky for you and your shitty subsidised music venues? - Is it "play safe time in Holland" or something?
I am afraid that with concerts by the likes of UB40, Foreigner, Mark Knopfler, Golden Earring & Bon Jovi selling so well it encourages these types of bands to actually come back again and again, and this then stifles any kind of forward thinking artists breaking through! - worse still, it probably even encourages yet more crap cover bands!!! - GET A GRIP PEOPLE!
It`s time to check out the bands who are having an impact on 2006 - See our link
HERE for all the gigs & festivals as recommended by AAPA.
APRIL
It looks like EMBRACE have released a new album. "This New Day" is available on the Independiente label.
KEANE, have their 2nd album out on 12th June. "Under the iron sea" will hopefully make people finally realize that the main reason they sold so many albums back in 2004 & 2005 was because TRAVIS and COLDPLAY weren`t releasing any music at that time so people settled for a third division band instead!!
and they don`t fool us either - chubby singer tries to hide on photo shoot behind his other band mates!?!
In fact, we hear that KEANE almost split up while making their new album - this could have saved everyone from their boring gigs - oh well!!!
They are coming to Amsterdam Paradiso on 26th May (with plenty of tickets on sale now)
So PINK has decided to return with a new album!? - the fake art rocker has her CD out in the shops on 3rd April with the title "I`m not dead" ...erm, that`s a shame!!
Are you in one of those COVER BANDS? - Those bands that clog up (excuse the expression!) the live gig circuit in The Netherlands by playing a set of songs that were for the most part written by someone else? - Do you actually rehearse for months or even years just to play these songs? - Well let me ask you this: Do you think anyone apart from your direct family really gives a shit?! ... exactly!
MARCH
RACOON are a Dutch (rock) band who have been releasing CDs for about 5 years now ... their latest album "Another Day" (PIAS records) has been selling well in The Netherlands and, er ... well just there really. Bland rock music from a bland looking band who (just like Anouk) won`t be needing their passports and will be appearing at most of the Dutch festivals this summer.
We understand that while her acting career hasn`t worked out in the way she had maybe planned, COURTNEY LOVE is now looking at raising funds/earning more money/generating more press about herself by giving the go ahead for a Kurt Cobain doll, and also by selling (part of) her stake in the NIRVANA back catalogue she inherited - now call me cynical but has this got anything to do with her latest career change being yet a(nother) flop?!
SKIN, the former singer with SKUNK ANANSIE has a solo album out - "Fake Chemical State" is available on V2 Records.
THE STEREOPHONICS have a new live album out on 3rd April - "Dakota" is also available on V2 Records.
question (or food for thought?) - Why do V2 Records appear to release a lot of CDs by these boring, middle of the road, predictable guitar bands? - Does it have something to do with Richard Branson`s jumpers?!
Guns N` Roses are contemplating releasing their first new album in over 10 years ... but want feedback from fans as to if it`s any good first?! - so let me get this right; Having sold almost 100 million albums worldwide they aren`t sure whether this new album is any good? - well ladies and gentlemen that just about sums up the millions of half-wits who buy their records too!
FEBRUARY 2006
With the help of MTV it now looks like SHAKIRA, is to release yet another album! - who buys this shite?!
Dutch singer ANOUK, is having to settle for playing at most of the Dutch Festivals this summer (2006) instead of abroad. Since the release of her latest album "Hotel New York" she has been desperate to break into the international market but someone needs to tell her it will never happen because the fact is that she just can`t sing in english!!
RYAN ADAMS: They call it Alt-country (presumably short for Alternative Country & Western?) and apparently very popular in certain parts of the USA and worryingly, presumably due to the likes of MTV, also growing popular in certain parts of The Netherlands! - Ryan Adams released three albums in 2005 in his attempt to bring his blend of country & western inspired rock and roll to the masses ... three albums too many in our opinion!
2005
Dutch Radio: It was no real surprise to find out in December which songs had made Dutch radio station Veronica`s Top 1000 songs ever! (They call this annual radio presentation the "Top 1000 Allertijden") and it always comes across like being stuck in a bizarre time warp with the likes of Bon Jovi, Meatloaf and Phil Collins once again dominating the event, along with certain Dutch artists like Anouk and Trijntje Oosterhuis who in all honesty just can`t sing in English, while anything slightly interesting or exciting from the past 10 years was once again virtually non existent. However, it was a surprise to see their show advertised in Dutch music magazine OOR that by all accounts is the nations major source of information when it comes to new music. The funniest part however was what Veronica had placed at the bottom of their advert: "80s & 90s Hits". Now that just about sums it all up really doesn`t it?!
The Dutch artist going by the name of SPINVIS has finally released his 2nd studio album to great reviews in the Dutch press. I was intrigued and decided to give it a listen at Sounds in Haarlem. "Dagen van Gras, Dagen van Stro" is out on Excelsior Records. It`s a good thing that he sings in his own language (there is nothing worse than people attempting to sing in English when they have a shit accent!) but musically this album is just plain boring and full of really old fashioned ideas. Basically this is music for your dad or for students who don`t get out much!
It would appear that 70`s rock band KISS are still going and have decided to release a live DVD just in time for christmas - Just how have they been allowed to release records for so long? - For pure amusement maybe someone could try and get hold of the mailing list of their fanbase and then invite them all along to some kind of a fancy dress convention in or around Salt Lake City?!
TRIJNTJE OOSTERHUIS is a Dutch artist who has been releasing albums and gets to play in big venues in The Netherlands for 3 - 4 years now. Her latest album "See You As I Do" (2005 - EMI Benelux) is more of the same uninspiring soft rock that for some bizarre reason enough people are buying in this country to ensure we all have to put up with her on the radio for another year! - I do believe that watching paint dry or watercress grow has got to be a lot more exciting than going to one of her gigs. As for the CD it is best put to use as a coaster for your cup of tea or coffee - It is really that bad! - Absolute crap!
On a more serious note, the intention of the AAPA website is that it will have (almost) everything you wanted to know about the alternative music scene in The Netherlands. If you are a fan of acts and bands like PINK, Guns N` Roses, Bon Jovi, ANOUK (dutch singer), KEANE or anything Country & Western, or Prog Rock related and we have offended you - GOOD!!
The AAPA Monthly PLAY LIST usually gives you the best new music tips first!
Stuck in the 80`s? - An alternative article about the state of the music scene in Holland can be found - > HERE
Op AAPA.NL vind je Alternatieve muziek info over o.a. PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys, Futureheads, Kaiser Chiefs, Strokes, inspiral carpets, Placebo, REM, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, New Order, Massive Attack, Air, KT Tunstall, Goldfrapp, Royksopp, The Dead 60`s, Panic! At The Disco, Razorlight, Arcade Fire, Morrissey, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Sex Pistols, Stranglers, David Bowie, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Beck, The Cinematics, We Start Fires, Interpol, KaH, Hot Chip, Editors, The Lovers, Tom Hingley, Aimee Mann, Stone Roses, White Stripes, en veel andere bands en artiesten vanuit de indie, electro, goth, punk en alternative muziek wereld. nieuwe CD recensies, film recensies, concert & gig recensies, tips, aankomende informatie over tours en festivals. Maar ook aandacht op film muziek van o.a. Ennio Morricone, John Barry, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jerry Goldsmith, David Arnold en vele andere. En deze website is gratis en voor iedereen. (zie links hieronder...)
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