The Music page has been updated with fancy new players and separate pages for each of the films I’ve worked on, to give you a little better idea of what they’re all about. Enjoy!

I paid visit to a sacred place in the music world.  At least, in my music world: Parr Street Studios.

What’s so special about this place, you ask?  This is the place where Coldplay recorded Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head (there two best albums).  But, of even greater significance, this is the studio that the genius of Elbow graced with the recording of their amazing debut album: Asleep in the Back.

I could only stand in awe, staring at the gold record on the wall and contemplating the presence of the five eager, young lads from Bury who must have stood in that very room some years before, churning out some of the most brilliant works of music and sound this world has ever known.

It’s official. The band has a website and all. Check it out at:
nevertrustthesunshine.com

The band is up and running.  The good news is that I got the mad skills of Brian Crawford on keys.  We’ve had a few rehearsals and will hopefully have a set together within the next few weeks to start gigging with. 

Still working on a band name…

This week I’ve begun my final year at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.  This is the year to “make it count” as they say.  So, in an effort to do just that, I have begun putting things in place so as to be able to accomplish as much as possible musically in the 9 months to come.

Tonight, the first of these will begin.  I’ve put together a band of people I’ve enjoyed working with in the past.  Pål Tore Holten will be on drums, Daryl Ball on Bass, and Jørgen Bergen-Svela on Guitar.  A keyboardist may come in later on, but for now we’ll work with what we’ve got.

I’ve got a Sound Engineer already in place, in Rachael Byrd.  The idea is to get this band up and running ASAP to finally get some recording done, and a few live gigs will probably take place as well.

I’m still debating which songs of mine to take on with this group.  The temptation is to just go all out and do everything I’ve ever written.  But, to be honest, I feel a reluctance to pull out the Danteploy stuff, as I would feel somehow unfaithful if I did.  So, we’ll focus on my newer material for now and see how it progresses.

About 10 years ago I had the privilege of spending 2 years in Italy as a missionary. Although I’d have to say the food was the best thing I discovered there, I did discover some amazing music too. I friend of mine gave me a collection of cassettes from her favorite Italian artists. My favorite one in that set was Neri per Caso (”Black by Chance” in English). They’re probably the best known Italian a’cappella group around, and I never get tired of good a’cappella music. This song was the first one on the cassette, and made me an instant fan. For any non-Italian speakers, I’ll add the lyrics and translation for you.

Le ragazze si lanciano       (Girls throw themselves)
ad occhi chiusi nelle avventure       (into adventures with eyes closed)
qualche volta confondono      (Sometimes they confuse)
la bugia e la verita’      (the lie with the truth)
seguono l’istinto        (They follow their instincts,)
e l’istinto le aiutera’         (and their instincts help them)
sono treni in corsa      (They are speeding trains)
che nessuno fermera’   (that no one will stop)

le ragazze decidono   (Girls decide)
il destino dei loro amori    (the destination of their love)
i ragazzi s’illudono    (Boys delude themselves,)
ma non contano un gran che…    (but don’t matter much)
quando ti sorridono    (When they smile at you,)
e’ probabile che sia un si     (it’s probably a “yes”)
ma quando si allontanano e’ no! (But when they move away, it’s “no”)
e tu…     (and you…)

ci devi stare    (You have to stay there,)
inutile sperare  (it’s useless to hope)
di recuperare se hanno detto no   (To recover if they said “no”)
meglio sparire non telefonare    (It’s better to disappear and not call)
per sentirsi dire un’altra volta no   (To hear them say “no” again)
come se non t’importasse piu’   (As if it didn’t matter to you anymore)
senza farti mai vedere giu’     (Without ever showing you’re down)
si puo’ amare da morire   (You can love to death)
ma morire d’amore no!     (But die of love, no!)

le ragazze che ispirano    (Girls who inspire)
tutti i testi delle canzoni   (the text of every song)
sono sempre al centro     (Always at the center)
dei discorsi di tutti noi  (of our conversations)
che non conosciamo      (That we don’t know)
nemmeno la meta’     (Even the half)
di tutti quel che pensano    (Of all that they think)
e dei segreti che ognuna ha    (And of the secrets that they each have)

le ragazze volteggiano    (Girls circle )
sulle ali degli aquiloni   (on eagles’ wings)
e noi innamorati        (And we innamored,)
che le seguiamo da quaggiu’  (who follow them from down here)
guarda come planano…    (Watch how they glide)
qualcuna scendera’   (One might descend)
ma quando si allontanano e’ no!    (But when they move away, it’s “no”)
e tu…     (And you…)

ci devi stare   (You have to stay there,)
inutile sperare      (it’s useless to hope)
di recuperare se hanno detto no      (To recover if they said “no”)
meglio sparire non telefonare     (It’s better to disappear and not call)
per sentirsi dire un’altra volta no    (To hear them say “no” again)
come se non t’importasse piu’   (As if it didn’t matter to you anymore)
senza farti mai vedere giu’    (Without ever showing you’re down)
si puo’ amare da morire  (You can love to death)
ma morire d’amore no!  (But die of love, no!)

le ragazze che sfidano  (Girls who trust )
le opinioni della gente    (the opinions of people)
hanno gli occhi limpidi   (Have clear eyes)
di chi dice la verita’         (For who speaks the truth)
senza compromessi       (Without compromise)
ne’ mezze misure            (Nor half measures)
sono piu’ sincere        (They’re more sincere,)
le ragazze della nostra eta’  (The girls our age)

The second question posed by my biggest fan was in regard to my ONE favorite Simon & Garfunkel song.

This is the kind of question I’m not very good at answering. It’s easy enough for me to pick my favorite artist, but to then narrow down an all-time-favorite song is a challenge. There are so many. Anyway, here goes:

I guess my ONE favorite Simon & Garfunkel song would have to be…

Nope, I can’t do it. I don’t have a ONE favorite.

I will say that one that I keep coming back to is Overs from their Bookends album. It’s not one of their better known songs, and I guess that’s one reason I like it so much. I also love it because it shows Paul’s early experimenting with a more jazz-like style, using very jazzy chords, and a much looser song structure than commonly seen in the folk tradition. It also has a beautiful finger picking guitar line that I absolutely love. It’s one that I play almost every time I pick up a guitar.

Here’s a video clip of the young duo shortly after the song was written. You might have to close your eyes to really appreciate the song because it’s easy to be distracted by Arty’s ridiculous mustache, or just how young they both look.

My biggest fan, Holly, shot me a load of questions. So, I’ll do my best to answer them one at a time. Here’s the first one:

In the beginning, Coldplay was an amazing band with a very vulnerable, and very human touch, which was what made them so appealing to me. Their first album, Parachutes oozed with beautiful emotion and delicate simplicity. They followed it up perfectly with Rush of Blood to the Head, which was a little bolder, but kept that very human touch.

Then, with their 3rd album X&Y they declared that they wanted to be the biggest band in the world, and decided to accomplish that by morphing into a semi-decent replica of U2.

That brings us to their 4th, and most recent album: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. They managed to regroup and pull away from the U2 image pretty well, and I will admit that what I have heard of the album is well produced and enjoyable to listen to, but I won’t be buying it. It’s not the Coldplay I love. They left behind the beautiful vulnerability in pursuit of the “biggest band in the world” sound.

In memory of that amazing sound that once was, here’s a track from Parachutes that illustrates perfectly what it was I loved about them:

There was a time when nobody knew the band Elbow, save the devout few who followed them slavishly. I was among those few, and count myself fortunate to be so. Then they made the album The Seldom Seen Kid which won them the Mercury Prize, the Brit award for best band, and a slew of other top awards, and suddenly they were famous and everyone knew them.

Being one of the early fans, their new-found fame is a bitter-sweet pill. Sweet in that they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Bitter in the sense that I always rather enjoyed being the devoted fan of an amazing band that no one had ever heard of.

Nevertheless, I am still a devoted fan and now wish to share another piece of their brilliance from the days before the glory.

This song, McGreggor was recorded with the Leaders of the Free World album, but only released as a B-side, tragically. It came about somewhat as a fluke: while in the studio listening back to the mix for the song Picky Bugger, keyboardist Craig Potter accidentally hit the “half time” button, slowing the track down to half its original tempo (surprise). It turned out to fit perfectly with some lyrics that Guy Garvey had been playing around with, and they cut the track.

The result is this beautiful blend of gospel and rock with the classic Elbow twist.

This is the new angusmckay.net. You’re looking at it right now. It’s been sitting in purgatory for months now, but has finally emerged for all to see.
There will be more content added as time progresses, but there’s enough here to have a brief look around (yes, it will be brief right now).