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The Mozart effect is one that has been around for a long time. Studies suggest that when a child under age 3 is subject to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, their brain development is increased.Whether or not the stories and studies prove anything, the question remains: Does music have an effect on people?Psychology professor Jan Berkhout conducted several studies relating to the effects of music on people. One of her studies tested to see if music affected the way people drive. Berkhout said the main idea was to see if music made people drive more dangerously.While the subjects were in the driving simulator, Berkhout played unfamiliar loud rock music in order to see if the drivers would develop road rage or sloppy driving. “There is some evidence that rock music can do this,” Berkhout said.After playing the loud rock music, the drivers were allowed to bring their own music selections to play during the tests. While driving in the simulator, Berkhout blasted the familiar music at them. The familiar music didn’t have a bad response from the people behind the wheel. “If it was their own favorite music, their driving didn’t get at all sloppier, and they certainly didn’t exhibit road rage,” Berkhout said. “Subjects in such studies get enraged only when you blast them with music they don’t like.”Aside from just resulting in possible hard feelings, certain types of music can also help students in other ways.Freshman Bill Muller says he believes music has an effect on his mood and work ethic. When he has to sit down to do homework, he puts music on to make him work harder, he said. “I put music on to distract me from how much time I actually spend when I’m doing the work,” Muller said.Pre-physical therapy major sophomore Beth Guthmiller also said that she listens to music for activies like working out. When working out, she usually chooses something from the rap or hard rock genres, but has to slow the tempo down during other activities.

In which I don’t totally have a point, but nonetheless talk a little about hipsterdom’s relation to appetite, and whether or not a band can sell out anymore

My weekend was so oppressively sad I ended up watching “Rachael Ray Feeds Your Pets” on Saturday night. Part of the show, however, was filmed at the llama farm in Granby, and as a result, a food hostess who normally occupies 0% of my mind occupied 0.1% of my mind.

So it was weird, on Sunday, that I’d end up reading about Rachael Ray again via the Onion AV Club. They reported, via MTV news, that Rachael Ray is hosting an afternoon cookout at Austin’s SXSW Festival. Here’s the descrip:

Feedback With Rachael RaySaturday 3/15 12:00 pm to 6:00 pmBeauty Bar (617 E. 7th St.)Listen Records, Watch Entertainment and Everyday With Rachael Ray come together to bring you Feedback…a feast of hot bands and tasty foods, hosted by America’s favorite cook and indie music lover, Rachael Ray. Join us at this merging of great food and even better music with performances by Autovaughn, The Raveonettes, The Cringe [Ray’s husband’s band], Scissors For Lefty, The Stills, and Holy *&%$. DJ Efren “Pedro” Ramirez from Napoleon Dynamite will be DJ-ing inside. Drinks on us and lots of Rachael’s Tasty Recipes. Open to all SXSW badgeholders.

MTV’s report gave me the impression that the indie community reacted to ‘Feedback’ with the expectable diarrheic blog-rage and Hatorade. That wasn’t totally the case, but there were nonetheless a few stray annoyances about the event: Brooklyn Vegan ran a hilarious Photoshop job showing Ray at a ska / hardcore show, and the thread on Stereogum settled into a snark-a-thon over Ray’s ‘hittability,’ whether or not she’s indier than Anthony Boudrain (who said Ray’s Dunkin’ Donuts endorsements were like “endorsing crack for kids,” later adding, “I’m not a very ethical guy. I don’t have a lot of principles. But somehow that seems to me over the line.”)

The degree to which any of this is so aggressively not news I’m absolutely aware of (there’s been no complaining about of SXSW’s other huge sponsorships, or its 263-ton carbon footprint that, certainly to their credit, they’re working on changing this year). But Ray addressed that issue to MTV:

“[…]I don’t understand why that’s so surprising. I find it weird that they find it weird. People think I’m like this food robot or something, but music is a huge part of my life,” she continued. “I’m a huge fan of rock music in general — all kinds. I like indie stuff, my favorite band is the Foo Fighters. When I first met my husband, he told me what he made for dinner the night before, and I thought, ‘OK, well, he can cook.’ And then he told me he had a band and I was like, ‘Aw, jeez. I hope they’re good,’ because I couldn’t deal with someone who didn’t play good music.”

Certainly, Ray’s personality is partly the reason for any discomfort among the indie kids: her relentless, raspy-voiced optimism, the fact that her dog is named Isaboo, the fact that she’s her own empire in a festival that vaguely eschews empires. But, for Chrissakes, it’s only food, and it’ll probably taste good. And that’s just it: food is one of the last elements of popular culture yet to be tarnished by irony and music-store-clerk ennui. Sure, there’s high-end food criticism, but nobody makes cynical, parody food, and nobody’s getting food poising off Taco Bell ironically. Which makes me wonder how much the indie code of conduct can even apply here: can your palette sell out? Can meta-food exist that comments on the act of eating - a metaburger? Or if, say, recording an album DIY or on an independent label is the equivalent of buying local at a supermarket, then how does getting wasted on Pabst or Bud - whose finances and marketing campaigns are just as widespread and irritating as Rachael Ray’s - fit in?

Then again, this is about food, not alcohol. And the current statuesque, skinny-jeaned brand of hipsterdom has always had an awkward relationship with food, always attempting to look like it has transcended the body’s basic needs. Being thin is important, but not so thin as to appear like you’ve put in time on a treadmill to achieve that thinness. It’s almost impossible, and quite weird, to imagine any hipster eating, going to the bathroom, or, like, having a stomach ache.

Maybe that’s about to change a little, or has changed already. Rachael Ray does, in fact, listen to Holy F—. She has Sirius. Where there would’ve been unanimous vitriol 10-20 years ago about her appearing at an event like SXSW, many bloggers, aside from those I’ve mentioned, wisely don’t care about any of this at all.

That’s partly because, today, there are too many ways to get known if you’re in a band or part of a music subculture — it’s pointless to be selfish about it. And maybe that shift from previous decades could and should redefine the idea of authenticity, for a band or a music community. The process of band exposure is different now. As larger labels acquire or spin off smaller, artsier ones, I wonder if it’s even possible anymore for the underground to “sell out” in the old-fashioned, 1980’s / 90’s sense? Pitchfork ran a headline about this a while ago, but I didn’t read the article and couldn’t find the link. More recently, Interpol didn’t sell out so much as get boring; Feist didn’t sell out so much as just happen to sound Starbucks-friendly. Either way: music’s politics of purity circa the 80’s and 90’s are dead. Don’t try to save them.

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Australian fans of dance music have really been spoilt of late.First there was the near-spiritual experience of the Daft Punktour. Then came the storming likes of LCD Soundsystem and Pnau atthe Big Day Out. Good Vibrations has just brought Kanye West totown while next month’s Playground Weekender will featureKruder & Dorfmeister.

But arguably the biggest name of all - reaching further acrossmultiple genres than even Daft Punk or West - belongs to theBritish duo that united indie kids, electronica heads and pop fansin both clubs and live arenas across the planet. Even if, when wespeak to one of the revered Chemical Brothers, Ed Simons, he’sreeling from having recently played, in his words, “a prettyshocking gig”. Really?

“It was OK,” he reconsiders, perhaps realising the purpose ofthis interview. “It was just … one of those one-in-a-millionChemical Brothers gigs that wasn’t completely astounding.”

You see, Simons and his fellow Brother, Tom Rowlands, have longbeen two of too few artists in live electronica who convincinglyrock out behind their banks of equipment while assaulting theiraudience’s senses with mind-blowing visuals and thunderousbeats.

“I mean, three guys hunched around a laptop can be good,” Simonssays, evidently a little embarrassed about some of his peers. “Itneeds a bit of a jump in imagination. But all live performance ishard to get right or make exciting.”

Are the Chemical Brothers ever tempted to just press “play” andpretend behind the decks?

“We don’t do that,” Simons says, deadly seriously.

“We always thought maybe we should show, like, a short film onthe screen before we come on, just explaining to people what’sgoing on onstage ’cause we still get that misconception. Peoplethat don’t play the guitar can watch someone playing the guitaronstage and kinda feel like they know what’s going on. Or they seesomeone hitting a drum.

“But it doesn’t really matter. Our shows are aimed at creatingan atmosphere in an environment that’s exciting to hear our music.It’s also about getting people out the house and having funtogether, y’know? That’s the important thing to me, rather thansome sort of massive appreciation of how well we’ve executed liveelectronic music.”

They’re obviously doing something right. Many of theironce-brilliant Brit-tronica peers from the ’90s have lately eitherlost it (Fatboy Slim), tried their hands at something bizarrelydifferent (Underworld) or completely vanished (Leftfield). TheChemical Brothers, on the other hand, have been as prolific andconsistent as your average rock band in the studio as well as live,releasing a strong, cohesive album roughly every couple ofyears.

British Sea Power has an unusual quirk. They are known for placing large stuffed birds on stage and wearing militaristic uniforms at their concerts. But weird idiosyncrasies aside, they are also known for being an inventive and edgy rock band, who sometimes sound a bit like Joy Division. In their new album, “Do You Like Rock Music?,” the Brighton based band does not disappoint. Even though a few of the songs are real duds, the album is overall a fun and exciting listen. The album’s opening and closing songs are almost identical. Like many young people, British Sea Power seems to feel a little bit disillusioned about the state of the world right now. On the opener “All In It” they creatively express this through an atmospheric track in which they repeat, “We are all in it/ And we close our eyes.” At the end of the album it takes them eight minutes to state the exact same two lines. This fruitless attempt at trying to express their discontent fails miserably. Their point was made at the beginning of the album, and they say absolutely nothing new with the closing track.British Sea Power’s ability to dampen a song’s power through excessive length is also demonstrated in, “Lights Out for Darker Skies.” The first three minutes of this song are wonderful, but the last three minutes feel listless and staid. Fortunately, this is not a repeated pattern. Most of the songs on “Do You Like Rock Music?,” are musically creative and display an impressive level of excitement and melody. British Sea Power’s ability to make political statements is not completely eradicated by “Close Our Eyes.” The song, “Waving Flags” is a great immigration anthem that convincingly expresses its position. But it is also just a great song. It is the strength of the band’s songwriting ability that carries the rest of the album. Tracks such as “Open the Door” and “Canvey Island” display a knack for pop song that few current bands display.British Sea Power’s ability to surprise the listener and not fall into a formulaic pattern helps strengthen the album. A perfect example is “Atom.” Initially a slow and indistinct tune, about a minute into the song, the band turns the energy up about five notches, and produces a fantastic song. On repeated listens, the slow intro no longer seems mediocre, but becomes a funky introduction. Treats like this that make “Do You Like Rock Music?” a fun and exciting album.Even though a few of the tracks are complete duds, the majority of British Sea Power’s new album is fresh, melodic and fun. It has already won the hearts of many fans in the UK, and will most likely do so here as well. Give it a listen and if you agree check them out for free at SLU’s Billiken Club on March 29. Check out http://thebillikenclub.wordpress.com/ for other free shows just a metro ride away.

A collection of playground equipment, including a seesaw, a slide, and some jungle gym pieces, forms the unlikely set for the twisted dance/rock opera “Games of Steel.”

“We started with the idea of using Archimedes’s simple machines,” says Michele de la Reza, co-artistic director of Pittsburgh-based Attack Theatre, which brings “Games of Steel” to the Cutler Majestic Theatre tonight through Sunday. “Then we gathered our musicians and dancers together to brainstorm. Our neighbor here is Red Star Ironworks, and we thought we might work with them on props. Our philosopher in residence [University of Pittsburgh history and philosophy of science professor Peter Machamer] was explaining game theory to us, which he says is not about who wins, but about who loses the least. Suddenly that became a great metaphor for a story about a game show, for relationships, everything.”

Whoa. A dance company with a philosopher in residence? Choreography that involves Archimedes’s simple machines and uses heavy steel pieces as props? A game-show story? Who are these people?

“Ideally, we’re a mix of theater, dance, and rock music,” says de la Reza on the phone from her studio before heading to Boston for a residency at Emerson College. “In our company’s 14-year evolution we’ve leaned toward what we like to call an image narrative. We have 20 versions of a script for a work that has no words, but the music’s lyrics help lead the story for the dancers.”

In “Games of Steel,” three contestants compete in games involving a ring toss, a lever, an inclined plane, and a balancing act on a seesaw. Peter Kope, Attack Theatre’s co-artistic director and de la Reza’s husband, plays the manipulative show host, with support from a four-piece rock band, in a game that’s been described as “Mad Max meets urban ‘Survivor.’ “

“I didn’t expect the Mad Max comparison,” Kope says with a laugh, “although we were going for a kind of end-of-time look, and with my spiked hair I was thinking more like Billy Idol or the Heat Miser [from the animated film ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’].”

Attack Theatre is part of a dance/music theatrical wave that includes Blue Man Group, “Stomp,” “De La Guarda,” and “Squonk,” for which de la Reza and Kope created the choreography. But Kope says the company’s interest in grounding music and dance in a story makes it a little different.

“I think it’s important to anchor the audience in a level of narrative,” says Kope. “Not that it’s crystal clear. Everyone sees different things, but the story line, the dance, and the music all have to work together to create a dangerous edge,” he says. “The games have that gladiator perspective where the stakes are high and if you lose, you die.”

Charting the tracks of their years

Feb 22 2008by Karen Price, Western Mail

Most songs evoke strong feelings in us all – whether they transport us back to our school days, remind us of a loved one or make us want to switch off the radio. Karen Price asks a number of familiar faces about the tracks which mean something to them

Peter Florence is director of the Hay Literary Festival

I sing along in the shower/bath to…Nina Simone Feeling Good or Wishing She Knew How To Be Free – or anything that’ll take my mind off being heavy and hurried

I always want to switch off… People doing crossover stuff (from either direction) and Lesley Garrett doing anything.

I like driving along to… Whatever my sons are into. Isaac, 10, DJs the school run with a Beach Boys, Elvis, Gorillaz playlist, while seven-year-old Ru brings us home to Hot Chip’s Over And Over and a heady mix of Fatboy Slim and the Beatles.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… The Beatles, Bowie and Led Zeppelin seemed to be most of what I remember from school, and the songs remain the same.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Meatloaf – so uncool he’s cool all over again, or will be one day.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by…

Paul Simon’s Graceland, which came out one summer in the ‘80s when my father, who’d been raised in Cape Town, and I were driving around Britain. We township-jived all summer and I think I know all his songs by heart and soul. He’s the great poet of divorce and separation and his love songs are all written to his children.

I like chilling out to… A great Tunisian musician called Anouar Brahem who fuses jazz with Arabic classical oud playing. I walked past Tom’s Records in Hay one day last year and heard this beautiful sound and fell in love with it. Try his album Le Pas du Chat Noir.

The track that sums me up…I wish I could say it was kd lang singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. The version on her covers album, 49th Parallel, is good but the live recording from the Juno Awards ceremony is stupendous – the single most played track on my iPod and gifted to all my mates in itunes.

Matthew Rhys, 33, is the Cardiff-born actor who stars in Hollywood drama Brothers & Sisters

I sing along in the shower/bath to…American Trilogy by Elvis – for some reason the acoustics in there always make everything sound better, especially when you’re belting out the chorus. It’s also about five minutes long which is just right.

I always want to switch off… Anything hardcore like trance, jungle or any heavy house music. It reminds me of bad nights in sweaty clubs where you find yourself saying things like, “I just want something with a tune.”

I like driving along to…The soundtrack of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid by Bob Dylan. It chills you out on long car journeys. It works especially well on the A470 between Cardiff and mid Wales as the music and the scenery seem to go together.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Any Adam Ant song as Prince Charming was the first single I bought. Although I never dressed up or wore make-up like he did, I did try to replicate his “chandelier swing” from my settee.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Kylie – not just Kylie herself but her music. It’s fine to say to your mates that you like Kylie but I realised I over-stepped the mark at Christmas when I said “Isn’t 2 Hearts great?” Deathly silence.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Brimful of Asha by Cornershop for all the obvious reasons – it’s so up-beat and toe-tapping. It also reminds me of my time in New Zealand. It was playing everywhere and the sun was always shining so I associate both.

I like chilling out to… Heim by Sigur Ros. They’re really mellow. My mother hates it – she thinks it’s depressing. She came into my room once and said, “They didn’t even change key in that last one.”

The track that sums me up…I think it’s impossible to sum yourself up with one piece of music. I would say my last seven answers are a fair indication of who I am.

Soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, 30, is from Gorseinon and has signed a record deal with Universal. She will be performing at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod this year

I sing along in the shower/bath to…Whatever I’m learning. I have an irritating inability to switch off tunes and I’m often woken in the middle of the night by a snippet of Handel, Mozart or Britten. I’ve just done a concert of really tricky 20th Century music – I wasn’t humming along to that in the mornings.

I always want to switch off…Country and western of any type. I once spent six hours on a wooden seat on a Czechoslovakian bus behind a driver with a penchant for country and western. When the travel sickness and the country and western music kicked in together there was only ever one inevitable outcome.

I like driving along to…The Foo Fighters. I saw them at the O2 Arena in November and was blown away. I’m definitely a rock chick at heart and there’s nothing like the blast of rock guitar.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Anything by Queen, especially Friends Will Be Friends as it reminds me of my school days and of annoying my dad in the car with endless Freddie Mercury.

I am embarrassed to admit liking…Take That. The stuff on their comeback album took me by surprise and I found myself belting some of their songs along with the radio.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… The Feeling. I’m training for the London Marathon at the moment, for the Parkinson’s Disease Society, and I smile whenever one of their songs comes on my iPod – and run a little faster.

I like chilling out to… Mika – what a brilliant guy, and a genius of a singer. He makes me laugh in his songs and I can always lie back and listen to him. And sing along, of course.

The track that sums me up…Anything by The Divine Comedy. I discovered them while I was at the Royal College of Music and instantly felt they had written all their songs for me.

Jonathan Owen, 36, is from Merthyr Tydfil. He is an actor and also presents and produces Soccer Sunday for ITV Wales

I sing along in the shower/bath to…The Stone Roses. The first album is still one of the great albums of all time and I Am The Resurrection is perfect to get you ready for the day ahead.

I always want to switch off… Anything by the Spice Girls. Whoever asked them to come out of retirement deserves to be punished for crimes against humanity.

I like driving along to… There’s A Light by the wonderful Smiths. It’s all about driving away from your problems with someone you love. Appeals to the dreamer in all of us I suppose.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Going Underground by The Jam. They were the first proper band I got into seriously. I had every album and single, right up to Beat Surrender when Paul Weller famously broke them up. Just the opening riff makes me feel 12 again, hanging around street corners in Merthyr with my mates.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Young Hearts by Candy Stanton. It’s a great disco anthem, but just about one of the campest songs in musical history.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Tighten Up by Archie Bell and Drells is always guaranteed to cheer me up. It’s got this great soul guitar and ‘60s backbeat that just automatically makes you smile and want to get up and dance.

I like chilling out to… Stalafur by Sigur Ros. It’s the atmosphere they have managed to create in the song, the sense of intimacy, it’s extraordinary. I’ve used them on programmes I’ve made and I’ve had so many emails asking who they were and saying how much they loved the music.

The track that sums me up…You’re So Vain by Carly Simon. Enough said! But my mates might say Shaddup Your Face.

Grammy Award-winning soprano Rebecca Evans, 44, lives in Penarth and is currently touring in Welsh National Opera’s The Magic Flute

I sing along in the shower/bath to… Usually arias I am learning or about to perform. I’m currently learning Liszt for recording in London so the shower has been used for a rehearsal.

I always want to switch off… Most traditional Christmas carols as personally I find them so sad and depressing. Away In A Manger is top of my list.

I like driving along to… Mika singing Grace Kelly. My son William and I met Mika at a wedding in France last September and he was so nice to William. We then bought his album and we play Grace Kelly at full volume while singing along in the car.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Dancing Queen by Abba. My best friend Jayne Daniels and I would go to Harpers in Swansea each Wednesday night and we would look forward to Dancing Queen so much and dance the night away, of course.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Puppy Love by Donny Osmond. I loved it but I didn’t think I would be seen as cool when it came out in 1975 – so I never did admit liking it. Now I love everything by Donny and am proud to say so. Also he is a newly discovered Welshman!

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Defo Notte by Handel from the opera Ariodante.This just totally brightens my spirits each time I listen to it. It gives me real sparkle – it is just genius composing.

I like chilling out to… Fix You by Coldplay. I just love the lyrics and the mellow rock music and Chris Martin’s voice is so wonderful and relaxing. I often chill out with my iPod in my music room with Coldplay.

The track that sums me up…Thank You For The Music by Abba. I’ll leave it to you to decide if I’m “nothing special” and perhaps a “bit of a bore” but on the whole this wonderful song pretty well sums me up.

BBC Wales presenter Claire Summers, 32, is from Cowbridge

I sing along in the shower/bath to… I usually like peace and quiet, and love to read in the bath.

I always want to switch off…Garage and hip-hop – they are not really my thing.

I like driving along to…Songs that I can sing to – I love the Killers’ Sam’s Town album, although it does make me feel like I can drive really fast, or any Counting Crows or a bit of Blondie.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… So many songs – music was always playing really loud at home. Every time I hear Rod Stewart it reminds me of being young and my dad singing really loud! I knew every word to Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney. I also loved The Bangles hit Manic Monday, Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer and lots of Madonna – I had a whole netball routine worked out to La Isla Bonita!

I’m embarrassed to admit liking…. A few Abba tunes and a bit of Dolly Parton. Here You Come Again is on my iPod along with a bit of Neil Diamond.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight or Michael Buble singing Everything.

I like chilling out to…On my iPod I have a real mix of old and new tunes – I go from very sad to very cool in a matter of seconds!

The track that sums me up… Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life by Eric Idle, simply because I’m an eternal optimist.

I do like British Sea Power. For their passion worn as a cloaknot a shield; for their power-to-precision ratio; foreccentricities reflecting individuality rather than marketing flashcards; for their mix of gloomy weather and optimistic vision; forlyrics that say something, even if you don’t always know thereferences (do you know about the Canvey Island flood in 1953? Idoubt it).

And for being a rock band, not a hyphen, in the dance-rock orelectro-rock or post-punk world. Lastly, for being very good.

As with the preceding two albums, the sound of Do You LikeRock Music? begins with the intense, low-clouds-above,grey-roads-beneath feel of Echo And The Bunnymen, Joy Division andWah!, with the pushiness of the young U2.

However, things are bigger all round this time - rousing whenpushed and moving when passionate. There’s nothing tricky or trendyhere but it does feel right.

Of the new wave of English acts, British Sea Power were always the most odd. First emerging five years ago, the Brighton four-piece would appear on stage decked out in local foliage they’d collected themselves, as they hammered out their blend of Joy Division and Cure-tinged rock covered in leaves and sticks.

As if importing nature indoors wasn’t odd enough, the group would often have stuffed animals - ranging from owls to bears - with them on stage, which they routinely beat up each evening.

The music too was similarly arresting, with stunning moments of pulsating rock scattered across their first two albums, ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’, and the terribly underrated ‘Open Season’.

Such recordings, combined with their whimsical eccentricities, have endeared them to a fanatic cult following, though that could all be about to change.

A ‘Big’ sounding record, ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ has been garnering rave reviews and been rightly marked as the first essential rock album of 2008.

While most new bands continue to delve deep into the past to pluck the acts that will shape their sound, BSP have looked towards modern music, and specifically towards Canada.

Arcade Fire are the first obvious influence here - from the church-like mantra of opener ‘All in It’ to the anthemic ‘Waving Flags’ with its reverb-soaked guitars and choral swells.

Such influence is understandable, given that former Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman is one of the album’s three producers, no doubt lending the Brighton band some of the studio secrets he picked up during the recording of ‘Funeral’.

Elsewhere, there are shades of Interpol and The Flaming Lips as BSP take us on a voyage through their take on Rock’s history. ‘Down On the Ground’ fuses Interpol with The Ramones while ‘A Trip Out’ nods to early Blur with its chirpy guitar and vocal hooks.

The Blur comparisons continue on ‘No Need to Cry’, which also brings to mind Canadians Broken Social Scene and Stars as it breezes by, while ‘Open the Door’ has the air of a very British take on The Shins.

Chopped in amongst such musical styles though are BSP’s very own eccentric influences, with the album’s lyrical content suitably peculiar, taking in Danish nuclear physicist Niels Bohr, the Hitler Youth and immigration.

Hopping through Rock’s genres, ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ rarely grates and rather constantly fascinates as varied musical slices and a dry lyrical wit pepper its 55 minutes.

Three albums in, BSP have found their stride, and much of ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ looks poised to become some of this year’s festival favourites. Recommended.

Steve Cummins

Do you have a love of music that you would like to build a business around? RockMasters is a new launch franchise opportunity seeking motivated and enthusiastic individuals to replicate its exciting business in the experience economy by developing ‘rock schools’ around the country. In 2006 guitar sales topped £100 million, and a recent survey suggested that one in four people in the UK are able to play a musical instrument. “Currently it is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 400,000 people either playing or learning to play the guitar in the UK, indicating that the revival in live pop and rock music is getting stronger and stronger,” says RockMasters founder Mike Hurst. “This has created colossal potential to expand into an exciting and rapidly growing market.”Mike is a musician and record producer, who has been a member of The Springfields, played with Jimmy Page, and produced 52 hit singles and 25 platinum albums with artists including Cat Stevens, Marc Bolan, The Four Tops and Shakin’ Stevens. He originally launched RockMasters in 2005 to provide schools in rock music for both children and adults, typically at summer camps and corporate weekends. With the assistance of Franchise Development Services Consultant Paul Hague, RockMasters has developed a working franchise package by recruiting key management personnel with franchise experience and by making use of a substantial injection of capital. “There are two main strands to the RockMasters experience,” reveals Director Mark Mayo. “The first is in organising music tuition courses for school children and university students, which typically involve residential summer camps and school holiday sessions, or non-residential weekend workshops. The second is in providing luxury weekend breaks for adults, which in many cases include the parents of children who are already enjoying RockMasters!”RockMasters provides each franchisee with a complete business operating model, all the required equipment and a recognised name as ‘master musician’. So our courses offer an opportunity for children and adults to learn and play with respected musicians and teachers from the rock world. The UK’s unique rock heritage creates a clear market opportunity and strengthens the RockMasters’ brand offering. RockMasters’ first franchisee is set to launch in early March in the Kent/Sussex area!” •