Today’s music awards
Warpaint
Our reporters Ben Grafton and Rupert Morgan choose their winners (and losers) from the past year in music.
Tipped for success in this magazine a year ago, US all-girl band Warpaint have stamped their authority on the music scene with their brand of psychedelic melancholy-rock. Today met the band last year at the Main Square festival in Arras, and found them to be as kooky as their on-stage personas.
Best Newcomer
I really like the Oxford band Stornoway. You’ll be amazed at how many stylistic influences there are on the song “Zorbing”. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work but does. In 2011 they toured across Europe and America, and even played at Glastonbury . A really unique band, which I thought was almost impossible to find these days!
This has to be the Vaccines – it’s classic British rock, but executed with a fresh and exciting energy. Listen to “Blow It Up”, and you will be singing the chorus all day long. Alarmingly, the lead singer had surgery three times this year because of vocal problems.
d n a B t Bes
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Watch the videos of these groups on our Facebook page: Today in English !
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VOCABULARY amazed: stupéfait brand: style chorus: refrain kooky: dingue lead: principal
The National’s “Bloodbuzz Ohio” gives me the goosebumps with its haunting baritone vocals and big piano sound. Singer Matt Berninger is known for his morose intensity on stage: he holds the microphone in one hand, a glass of wine in the other. Berninger says he sings so that he doesn’t have to go back to his old job (advertising executive). Good luck to you, Matt.
Best Song I cannot get Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” out of my head – it instantly fixes itself in your memory. I could have chosen her for Best Newcomer because she became a phenomenon on YouTube, but I’m not sure how many more songs she has in her.
Justin Ng/MAXPPP
“Video Games”
Jim Wileman
on-stage persona: personnage sur scène stamp: marquer surgery: chirurgie tip: prédire
The National
Metronomy
KCS
The Vaccines
“Bloodbuzz Ohio”
It’s been a great year for Metronomy. The synthpop band’s third album, English Riviera, was a critical and commercial success. Joe Mount started the group in 1999 in Torbay, a seaside town in southern England. The group has been touring Europe and the United States recently. But the favourite place they have played so far is ... the Roman amphitheatre in Nîmes.
Stornoway
Susannah Howe
Mia Kirby
usic
DR
M
tour: faire une tournée
Glastonbury: mythique festival
anglais qui attire la crème du rock, de la pop et du R&B sur un terrain de 4,5 km2. En 2011, 1500 musiciens (dont U2) s’y sont produits devant 200 000 spectateurs.
Lana Del Rey
Synthpop: genre de pop
music fait avec des synthétiseurs. Les premiers groupes célèbres (Depeche Mode, the Cure...) sont nés durant les années 1980 en GB.
VOCABULARY advertising executive: cadre dans la publicité goosebumps: chair de poule
haunting baritone vocals: envoûtante voix de baryton on stage: sur scène
seaside: bord de mer tour: faire une tournée
January 2012 TODAY in English
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06/01/12 13:01
M
usic
Beyoncé
Emma Nathan
Best Female Singer I’m also going to avoid the obvious choice of Adele here and choose Jessie J. I’m not a big fan of R&B, but I like the London street attitude that she brings to her music. I loved the song “Price Tag”, and her voice is impressive.
Jessie J
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January 2012 TODAY in English
VOCABULARY avoid: éviter edgy lyrics: paroles d’avant-garde obvious: évident pulsating: vibrant
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punchy: qui a du punch release: sortir
Grammy Awards: créées en 1958,
Who can forget Coldplay’s 2010 Christmas song “Christmas Lights”, a pathetic commercial effort that was met with disdain from critics and fans? Let’s hope their new album, Mylo Xyloto, can put Coldplay back on top where they belong.
Biggest Joke/Flop
les Grammy Awards sont des récompenses décernées chaque année aux USA par la Recording Academy et qui honorent les meilleurs artistes et techniciens dans le domaine de la musique.
Comedian: comique.
Attention au faux ami : un comédien (en français) se traduit par “comedian” uniquement au sens d’acteur comique, sinon on dira “actor”.
Welshman Gruff Rhys is a poet, musician and, though he doesn’t know it yet, a part-time comedian . Now going solo after his days in the psychedelic rock group Super Furry Animals, he had huge success with his album Hotel Shampoo. His music videos are particularly innovative. Check them out at: www.gruffrhys.com
VOCABULARY belong: être à sa place budget cuts: coupes budgétaires devoted: fidèle
The biggest joke of the year has to be Rebecca Black for her song (and video) “Friday”, which established a new planetary standard for musical ineptitude. Who will ever be able to surpass her? That said, Lady Gaga’s new album sucked, too.
disdain: mépris hill: colline huge: énorme ineptitude: ineptie suck: craindre surpass: dépasser
Tom Oxley/Fastimage
Not an easy category as interesting solo male singers are almost non-existent at the moment. I’ll go with Cee Lo Green. It would have been Bruno Mars if he hadn’t made that video for “Grenade”, where he pulls the piano up the hill. Why is he doing that? Why? Doesn’t he know there are pianomoving professionals?
DR
Anna Calvi
With her pulsating rock melodies, England’s Anna Calvi is my choice here. Described as “the female Jeff Buckley”, Calvi is known for her powerful voice and edgy lyrics. This year she released her debut album, Anna Calvi , which was nominated for many awards in Britain. In fact, I could have easily named Calvi as Best Newcomer, but then I would have had to choose Adele for this award.
Cee Lo Green
DR
Best Live Act
ABACAPRESS
I had difficulty choosing only one group here, so I decided to choose two. Irish band Two Door Cinema Club (photo above) were the sound of the summer festivals with their punchy style of pop-rock. And British folk rockers Mumford & Sons had a great year, too. They played Glastonbury and also performed live at the Grammy Awards with folk contemporaries the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan.
Gruff Rhys
Pete Mariner/Visual
Two Door Cinema Club
Easy choice – Beyoncé at the Glastonbury Festival. She arrived knowing that she had to convince people that she could play a rock festival and her performance impressed everyone. The girl can sing and dance. And at the same time!
Starface
Max Rosereau/DR
Best Male Singer
Best Radio Station The internet radio station BBC Radio 6 is always in danger because of budget cuts, but it survives because its fans are so devoted to it. It’s a perfect mix of independent and more popular rock for people who don’t want to hear the same music all the time. NME Radio is the best station to stream music from. Offering the best of new British, American and European music, it is the official station of the UK’s top-selling music magazine NME.
06/01/12 13:02
