Paul McCartney: New

I am a huge Beatles' fan, and I've always been. But I have to admit that, unlike with George or John, I've never really got into Paul's post-Beatles stuff. Nothing that he released either as a solo artist or with Wings did excite me very much, that is, with the notable exception of the 1973 album Band On the Run. Well, to be perfectly honest, it's not like I've listened to everything he's ever released. Not even remotely. Fortunately, though, the release of New has been generating a lot of buzz and I for once fell victim to it.

I am listening to the album for the first time as I am writing this post, because much to my surprise, I have been enjoying it a lot right from the very start. When approaching a record from a music bard like Paul, you do it with a certain idea of what the artist will sound like, and more often than not, he falls right into that box. Not this time around, though, because New sounds amazingly fresh and contemporary from the opening riff of Save Us to the last note of Road. (And then some more...) Yet, this is the same Paul he was when Please, Please Me came out. He's effortlessly a churning out tunes with such an ease in the way only he can, and you will hear hints and echoes of many Beatles' songs, from Love Me Do to A Day In the Life. It's an absolute joy to listen to. The album is a clear statement that the now 71-year-old McCartney has many tricks left up his sleeve and still a lot of things to say.

Best tracks: Alligator, On My Way To Work, Early Days, New

Influential albums

This was actually one of the ideas I had on my mind when I was writing the first paragraph of the Nada Surf review back in January. I was planning to do this as a part of the "older albums revisited" section but it was st. tropez who finally forced me to get down to it. It took me three months...

I got into music much, much later than most of you. It wasn't until I discovered the secret of downloading. Yes, big surprise, I'm a pirate. Therefore almost all the albums mentioned here will be from the noughties. I may not listen to many of them anymore, but these records had a tremendous impact on my life and I'll always have a soft spot for them. Let's start with 21 albums that didn't make the final cut. I'm pretty sure I'll revisit them one day too.

AFI Sing the Sorrow
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Ash Meltdown
Avenged Sevenfold City of Evil
Biffy Clyro Only Revolutions
Blink 182 Enema of the State
The Cure Disintegration
Fightstar Be Human
The Gaslight Anthem The '59 Sound
Idlewild Broken Promises
Journey Escape
The Killers Sam's Town
Lostprophets Liberation Transmission
Muse Black Holes And Revelations
Oasis What's the Story Morning Glory?
Rise Against The Sufferer & the Witness
Saosin Saosin
Silversun Pickups Swoon
Snow Patrol Eyes Open
Story of the Year Page Avenue
Taking Back Sunday Louder Now
Travis The Boy With No Name

The Beatles Help!

I think it's safe to say, that the Beatles have been with me all my life. I digged all of their songs when I heard them on the radio. But it wasn't until the 2009 remaster, which offered a great opportunity, that I checked their whole catalogue out and discovered there's a lot more to love than just the notoriously known singles. I could easily choose any Beatles' album, but I chose Help!, because the first track of the same name was literally the very first song ever to gain the title "my favourite song". Although, I was in elementary school and probably didn't even know any other band at that time. But that's not the point. I love the Beatles, period.

Everything you ever wanted to know about czech songs, but were afraid to ask

As you all most likely know, I've been listening to a lot of old songs and albums lately. And what struck me most notably during that time, was how many songs I knew from other artist that I sometimes didn't even expect to be covers. So I decided to post some examples of famous songs covered by czech artists, which are still aired heavily on local FM waves. Let me know what you think...