Garbage, a band whose hey day happened in the mid to late 90s, are making a much-anticipated comeback. As you might gather, I’m certainly looking forward to this event.

I got reminded of why I like them so much when listening to their third album – Beautiful Garbage – earlier today. They write rocky up tempo numbers as well as stirring James Bond themes. Not only that, they put on a cracking show when they’re playing live too.

While I wasn’t lucky enough to get tickets for their upcoming gigs, perhaps I’ll catch them on the festival circuit later this year.

Roll on their new album!

Garbage: a much anticipated comeback is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

I’m finding myself lacking in inspiration for new music lately. Since Christmas, I can’t recall discovering one new band.

I’m in need of some inspiration. What new music are you listening to at the moment?

A temporary lull is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

Paul McCartney gave his fans a wonderful early Christmas present with a magnificent gig at The O2 on 5 December. This was the fourth time I’d been lucky enough to  see McCartney, and this was easily the best.

Macca doesn’t need support artists. Instead, people who took their positions early were treated to a video montage and remixes of some of his best known hits. Then, at 20:15, the man himself took the stage and set about wowing the audience for nigh on three full hours.

The setlist was fantastic. He started with Hello Goodbye, and finished, appropriately, with The End. In between we were treated with 35 other magnificent numbers.

My personal favourites of the night were The Word – with its segue into the chorus of All You Need is Love (played for the first time in the UK), Blackbird – played to an arena otherwise so quiet in which you’d otherwise hear a pin drop, and Junior’s Farm – a song which I’d hoped to see him do ever since seeing it appear on his earlier setlists of the same tour. However, my absolute favourite was a phenomenal rendition of Live and Let Die with stunning pyrotechnics, the heat of which raised the temperature in the room a fair few notches more!

McCartney was in a humble mood, purposefully soaking in the atmosphere at one point, which given the performance he put on for us, he was perfectly entitled to do. Marriage has clearly made him a happy man, and his performance was markedly better for it.

All in all a top night was had. If you haven’t already seen him live, do take the opportunity. He’s a living legend.

Paul McCartney live at the O2 is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

Reading this story on the BBC website, about Other Lives being hand-picked to support Radiohead, I reflected on some of the support acts I’ve enjoyed in the past.

Frightened Rabbit, for example, blew me away at a Gomez concert. And I loved Pure Reason Revolution – whose last gigs I sadly missed this week – opening for Hope of the States.

Being a good support act to a popular main attraction can work wonders for a band’s profile. In fact, the mere fact that they were announced to open for Radiohead caused me to check out Other Lives’ output. And I tell you what – it’s worth checking out.

It’s because you often get introduced to great new discoveries this way that I love getting to a gig early, just in case.

What acts have you grown to love as a result of seeing them support someone else?

The serendipitous support act is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

When I set about writing this blog, I was keen to make most of the posts positive. I’m about to break that unwritten rule.

This cover version – which I was able to tolerate only around a minute of – is overblown rubbish. Yes, the voices are in tune, and it’s based on a good song. But I don’t understand how people can eke any enjoyment out of this, and I challenge you to listen to the whole thing.

I am looking forward to the new Garbage album though – hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.

In the meantime, this is how it’s supposed to sound. I swear this come out earlier than 1998, mind:

Glee-esque Garbage cover: overblown rubbish is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

Do great band members make good solo artists?

That’s the question I’ve found myself pondering in the last 10 minutes or so, since stumbling on Gomez (or, as it sounds like, just Ben Ottewell) doing their (or his) version of Wichita Lineman.

Ben Ottewell released his own solo album – Shapes and Shadows – at the start of this year. Comprising of 9 songs, it’s a tidy album, but it’s lacking a certain something. Could it be the rest of his band mates?

Thom Yorke released a solo record, The Eraser a few years back. It’s good, but it’s not a patch on Radiohead’s output.

And what about David Gilmour, Roger Waters or Mark Knopfler? Has any of their solo output matched that of Pink Floyd or Dire Straits?

Here’s a challenge for you: name a solo artist that’s better on their own than they were in their band. I’ve got a few up my sleeve, but I’d like to see what you can come up with first.

Do great band members make good solo artists? is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

What makes a good cover version? Is it authenticity to the original work, or taking the canvas of the original and painting over it with something entirely different?

I think there are good examples of both.

Mark Cox, regular commenter on this fine blog, recently introduced me to the mighty fine The Civil Wars. Check out this version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. It’s completely different, an far more enticing than the original version in my humble opinion.

At the other end of the spectrum, I also recently enjoyed Weezer’s take on Radiohead’s Paranoid Android, which is quite authentic when you compare it to the original.

But, like any balanced individual, I reckon something in the middle often makes the best cover. Gomez’s rendition of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine is simply wonderful.

What cover versions have you enjoyed of late?

Good cover versions is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

It was a sad day for music fans yesterday, as REM – masters of their trade for 31 years – announced their untimely split.

My first introduction to the band was around 1994-1995. I was 13/14, and working diligently at Martins the Newsagent. One Saturday morning, as we loaded the Saturday papers with their weighty supplements, our manager at the time put on Out of Time. Instantly, I was hooked. Far from “the world collapsing around our ears,” Radio Song kicked off a love affair that continues to this day.

There are many stand out songs on that album, but Losing My Religion is definitely a favourite. I’ll never forget the moment at Glastonbury 2003 where Stipe dedicated the song to the crowd, exclaiming it as our song. We loved it.

Undoubtedly, I got hooked on REM at their commercial zenith. But over the years I’ve picked up all their albums, and I like each of them in their own right. True, certain elements of their recent output has disappointed – like the majority of Around the Sun – but even that had stand out songs like Final Straw, a protest song aimed squarely at George Bush.

I’m pleased they’ve bowed at at the top of another arc in their history. First Accelerate, then Collapse Into Now featured a band that  doing what they did best.

We’ll miss you, REM, but we thank you for the music. Your back catalogue will stand the test of time and give hours of enjoyment to fans new and old for years to come.

REM split: this one goes out to the band I love is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog

Another year’s Mercury Music Prize winner has been announced and this year, a very worthy winner has been chosen. PJ Harvey’s album, Let England Shake, was by far the stand out album.

Lyrically, it’s not the most uplifting of albums. Far from it – it describes the realities of war vividly. In many ways it’s a protest against our disconnection from atrocities carried out on a daily basis in the name of war.

Musically, if you disconnect yourself from the lyrics it’s really quite uplifting in many ways.

A conflicting album then, but one that rewards repeated listens, PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake needs to be in your record collection.

PJ Harvey, Let England Shake: worthy winner of the Mercury Music Prize is a post from: Moments in Music - a music blog