The heart of summertime was a rowdy affair, epitomised by some really rather frightening London riots, coupled with the U.S. anticipating the end of the world through Hurricane Irene.
The heat was making everybody extremely angry and at the end of their tether. Put yourself in the shoes of Steve Albini, for instance. On a hot, sweaty bus, subjected to the “antics” of Tyler the Creator and his Odd Future buddies, contemplating why on Earth you deserve such a harrowing experience…Steve was riled. Describing the experience, he provided one of the quotes of the year by saying “I spent about 40 minutes with these little pricks at the end of May and I haven’t wanted to strangle anybody that much in a real long time.” We feel your pain, Steve.
The angst was contagious. Dave Grohl well and truly lost it in the midst of his band’s iTunes Festival performance, identifying a scallywag with a penchant for fighting, picking the stripy t-shirt-addled rascal, before shouting: “Look at me right now, motherfucker. Get the fuck out of my show right now.” If ever we needed more reason to adore the Foos’ frontman…
Granted, a couple of quite disastrous musical events could have encouraged such wild behaviour. James Blake and Bon Iver collaborated, deciding to mimick owl noises rather than write a proper song.
The launch of our very own DIY Radio came at a good time, spreading the love and message of peace to help calm down those with anger issues. If that wasn’t enough to cheer the grumps up, Jessie J’s quite golden interview with Q Magazine, citing her new-found respect for amputees after having experienced a broken leg, certainly did the trick. PJ Harvey winning the Mercury Prize was hardly a controversial decision, and certainly prompted a few smiles on the faces of those who’d previously rendered the award a waste of time. Noel Gallagher also kept us busy with the announcement of his ‘High Flying Birds’ project and the sudden release of a Jay Z/Kanye collab album, alongside a second mixtape from The Weeknd, helped keep us calm.
But some more serious news was afoot, most notably the death of Amy Winehouse and the Sony PIAS warehouse fire; two events that shook the music industry. Alan McGee - ever the one to spark up a fight - called the latter incident “funny” and opinion was split over how Winehouse was to be honored, be it through fitting tributes or a cynical cash-in album release.
The summer of 2011 was eventful, to say the very least. Filled with angst, bitterness and a few saddening tragedies, it wasn’t the happiest of occasions. Out of everybody, Morrissey had a particularly grim month. Some of it was brought on by himself, ie. his ridiculous comparison between the Norway shooting disaster and the ethics of fast-food chains, but let’s not forget that he was also bitten by a dog.
Festival special! Featuring Wolf Alice, Kasabian, Lykke Li, Marmozets, Genesis Owusu and more.