By Michelle Doherty | March 13th, 2012
So it’s all over for another year and the lovely Richie Egan aka Jape made Meteor Choice Music Prize history by walking away with the prize for a second time! It came as a bit of a shock as even Richie wasn’t expecting it when I caught up with him as he came off stage, but it was a well-deserved win.
Read moreBy Michelle Doherty | March 8th, 2012
Hey Everyone,
Hope you're all doing okay this week? The sun is shining and the
Meteor Choice Music Prize will be announced this week! I'm really excited, it's always such a fun evening. I'll be backstage this year interviewing the nominees, so make sure to keep an eye out and we'll have some footage up here for you.
| March 08th, 2012
Favourite Irish song: The Frames – Revelate
Inspiration for our nominated song: we should be lovers:
Myself (Eamonn Barrett) and Paul Walsh we're out one night @ The King Kong Klub in The Village. We we're chatting away and enjoying ourselves. As I looked to my right I noticed a girl who I imagine was no more than 20 years of age getting up from her seat and moving towards the bathroom. I quickly turned to Paul and exclaimed "Jesus, check out that Shock in a Frock!!!" To which Paul laughed and suggested it was a good title for a track and I should write a song about this.
Later, as I headed home ever so slightly intoxicated, the phrase "Shock in a Frock" kept appearing in my brain, arranging itself into various sentences and scenarios. That night I crafted the verses, chorus, guitar riff etc of the afore mentioned song. I brought my offering to the rest of the band and it was quickly dissected and worked on. What remained is now the verses of "We Should Be Lovers."
So I really have to thank that 20 year old and her Shocking dress sense for inspiring me so.
PS I have another song entitled "Shock in a Frock" so hands off ;-)
Velcro was inspired by events that happened when we played the Austin City Limits festival in 2010 in Austin Texas. After our set - the festival was struck by a massive thundershower which succeeded in trapping our bus in the car park in the mud. Everyone from the band and crew had to go out and pull together to work and to try and get it out - while Leveon Helm was somewhat biblically playing his set on the stage behind us. More than anything else it is a song about the great camaraderie that exists in a band -and about folks pulling together when times are rough.
Unfortunately Mic died before we ever got to see him perform but his solo record, Skylarking, came out just as I started trying to write my own songs for the first time. In fact, it was really that album (and The Frames - Dance the Devil) that made me want to be a songwriter at all. It's a classic lyric and a timeless chorus from one of Irelands great songwriters
Addicted To Progress was one of the first songs we wrote for Closer to You. It came pretty quickly, I played the piano part, Egan added the dance back beat straight away, knoxy with the sexy bass line and when Dave added the riff we knew we were on to something. It was one of those songs that the lyrics just flowed out of me. We even cut out some lyrics because I had written too many verses. It's about how many issues/problems in relationships (or the band) stem from other people and not the people within the relationship, if ya get me. 
By Derek Keogh
The first time I heard Pugwash was on their excellent single 'Take Me Away' a couple of years ago. A very good friend of mine directed the video for the song and the first time he played me the track I felt that at last an Irish band could compete in the same arena with the greats of Americana. It was up there with the Ryan Adams's, The Jayhawks, the Freedy Johnsons, and almost at the same level as a Wilco. In Thomas Walsh they have an excellent frontman.
Read moreBy Michelle Doherty | March 5th, 2012
Hey Everyone,
Hope you’re all well and have voted for the Meteor Choice Music Prize Song of the Year? If not head over here and get voting!!
Read moreBy Derek Keogh | March 05th, 2012
Belfast, seems to have built into its psyche a knack for smelting different musical styles into great art. Van Morrison took folk, jazz and soul in the sixties and created permanent top 30 'best of all time' entrants “Astral weeks” and “Moondance” among a host of others. The brilliantly monikered 'Cashier Number Nine' have done something not dissimilar, only time will tell how well positioned they are in relation to Van.
Read moreBy Derek Keogh | March 2nd, 2012
Maybe it's the recession, but here's a disproportionately high level of nostalgia towards the nineteen eighties at this moment in time. The superbowl's biggest buzz was around a Honda commercial featuring Ferris Bueller, and skin tight leggings have made a comeback.
But not everything around the decade of greed was good, indeed most of it was bad, no, make that cringey. I know. I lived through the likes of this and it was enough to make anyone with the remotest sense of 'cool' look up for Aer Lingus. So why have Bell X1 ploughed the decade of “The Thompson Twins” and “Kajagoogoo” for the soundtrack to their latest album?
By Michelle Doherty | February 27th, 2012
Hello Everyone,
Hope you're all doing okay this week? Instead of giving something up for Lent, why don't you take something up like buying one new Irish record or song each week or make it your aim to check out one new Irish band during the next six weeks? If you don't own the nominated records, check out last week's post for my thoughts on them - there are some worthy additions to anyone's record collection in there. Or you could get your early bird tickets for the Meteor Dublin Camden Crawl, taking place in May? It is going to be a great weekend for all of us music lovers!
By Derek Keogh | February 24th, 2012
As emigration has once again become a fact of life for young Irish adults it was only a matter of time before it acquired a soundtrack and this time it's not Christy Moore or The Pogues but a young songstress finally escaping the shackles of “The Irish Singer Songwriter”. Lisa Hannigan has succeeded where Paddy Casey, Mundy, Declan O'Rourke and the 'almost Irish' David Gray have all failed. She reinvented herself, emerged from the shadow of Damien Rice, and made a record that is sonically mature.
Hannigan's debut “Sea Sew” was a fine record but it did leave you feeling a little apprehensive. Was this the best she could do? Thankfully, we need not have worried.
Read moreBy Michelle Doherty | February 11th, 2012
Hey Everyone...
Hope you’re all doing well this week and have a happy Valentine’s Day!
So this post is all about the fantastic nominees for the Meteor Choice Music Prize Album of 2011. You can’t fault the judges on their choices this year – every one on the shortlist deserves to be there and of course there are some acts who missed out, but there are only ten places. I wouldn’t like to be in the judging room on March 8!!
Here are my thoughts on each of the albums – hope you have a cup of tea to read with this!
And So I Watch You From Afar – Gangs
This is the Belfast band’s second record and second nomination for the Meteor Choice Music Prize. This band may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but what they do is phenomenal. They are an instrumental rock band and if you’ve ever caught them live, you’ll know all about it! My ears were ringing for days after the last time I saw them – but it was worth it! My favourite track from Gangs is the opening track, ‘Beautifuluniversemasterchampion’ – check it out and you’ll know what I’m talking about – have a listen here
Bell X1 – Bloodless Coup
Bell X1 released their fifth album to much critical acclaim last year and so it was no surprise to see it on the shortlist. The first taster we got from the album was ‘Hey Anna Lena’ and I have to say, it was a departure from what we had come to expect from the Bellies and I really loved it, so it for me is the standout track on this album. You can check out the track here
By Derek Keogh | February 17th, 2012
Instrumental records have not really been on the popular menu since the days of Hank Marvin and Link Wray. Famously Bob Dylan had always wanted to release an instrumental record but Columbia would limit him to a couple of tracks 'Nashville Skyline Rag' and the unreleased-until-1990 "Suze (The Cough Song)" until he got to score the 1973 film 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid', which is where instrumental records seem to live nowadays , in the 'soundtracks' section. That was true until bands like Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky came along with their vast orchestral soundscapes painting aural pictures from your headphones. Or so I felt anyway. Classical music for the Rock 'n Roll era?
Read moreBy Michelle Doherty | February 11th, 2012
There is always great excitement in early January when the Meteor Choice Music Prize nominees are announced, and there was added excitement when the Meteor Choice Irish Music Prize Irish Song of the Year category was announced last Thursday.
2011 was a really amazing year for Irish music and it is great for the artists to be recognised for their efforts in producing and putting out their music in these difficult times.
Having been a judge for the prize last year, I know how difficult it is to select only ten albums, so I think the inclusion of this new category will help to include and highlight more Irish music. I'm especially happy to see Little Green Cars on the list. I can't wait for their debut album to be released and fully expect it to be on the Meteor Choice Music Prize shortlist for 2012 if this track is anything to go by.
Read moreBy David Reid | February 11th, 2012
The Meteor Choice Music Prize was established in 2005 to encourage, highlight, showcase and promote Irish music of excellence.
The idea for the Meteor Choice Music Prize was first formulated in 2001. I noticed the success of the newly launched US Shortlist Prize and began devising a project that would collectively showcase and promote Irish artists irrespective of career sales or commercial airplay. Interest and support from the Music Industry quickly followed. The initial success of the project also encouraged the founders of the Australian Music Prize and the Canadian Polaris Prize to develop similar initiatives in both Canada and Australia both of which are succesfully promoting domestic music in Australia and Canada annually.
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Michelle Doherty
Top Irish DJ
David Reid
Founder of the Meteor Choice Music Prize
Derek Keogh
Meteor's very own music expert
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