IRELAND’S BIGGEST YOUTUBE HITS

Yikes, I’ve been a terrible blogger this year. Sorry. Will definitely try harder in 2013. In the meantime, here’s a feature I recently dug out from the bowels of my MacBook, which was commissioned for a magazine but never published. (Grrr). It’s from two years ago, so my selections probably aren’t very up to date – but it was fun to hear their backstories. Merry Christmas!

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IT ONLY TAKES five years to become a cultural phenomenon. Nobody is more aware of that than Steve Chen, Jawed Karim and Chad Hurley, the three former PayPal employees who founded YouTube in 2005. These days, YouTube is as much an integral part of the internet as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia; it has made stars out of keyboard-playing cats, lightsaber-wielding teenagers and was even where one of the world’s biggest popstars, Justin Bieber, was first discovered.

But that doesn’t mean that our little kooky corner of the world wide web has been forgotten about; Ireland’s internet stars are just as noteworthy as their international counterparts. Here’s a selection of rising and established YouTube stars; and nary a Riverdancer in sight, either.

RUFUS IS A HITMAN

Originally published in The Irish Times, April 20th 2012.

 

THE FIRST THING you think of is Freud. Then, noticing the relaxed posture, Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra, or perhaps a painting by some Renaissance artist. It’s not quite clear whether Rufus Wainwright is waiting to be psycho-analysed or pampered, but stretched out on a sofa in a room of a trendy London hotel, the singer/songwriter certainly looks comfortable.

“He felt like he was coming down with something yesterday, so he did most of his interviews lying down,” his publicist explains. And today? “Oh no, he feels fine today. He’s just relaxing.”

ONE DIRECTION: THIS WAY UP

Originally published in The Irish Times, January 20th 2012.

LIAM PAYNE looks confused, possibly even a little disappointed. “Yeah, there were none outside today,” he tells me, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t think they know we’re in here.” Screaming girls. They have become a fixture in Payne’s life, as well as the lives of the four young men he spends most of his time with these days.

GILLIAN WELCH: “TWO VOICES, TWO GUITARS”

Originally published in The Irish Times, June 29th 2011

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, you could say that Gillian Welch has been away for eight years. But then again, she hasn’t really been away at all.

FLEET FOXES: IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Originally published in The Irish Times, June 24th 2011

ROBIN PECKNOLD is a hard man to pin down. At one point, it seemed that an interview with Charlie Sheen would be easier to arrange than one with the Fleet Foxes frontman, but when your band is as in-demand as his is right now, it’s to be expected.

When Pecknold is eventually forcibly tethered to a telephone, the setting couldn’t be more perfect. Having ridden the bike he brings on tour to a quiet park in downtown Dallas, the twittering of birds soundtracks the songwriter’s musings on his band’s recently released second record, Helplessness Blues . Yet trying to cram the Fleet Foxes story into a 20-minute phone conversation with a man who hesitates to speak about the album’s fiercely personal themes is a big ask, especially when he frustratingly spends what seems like hours carefully weighing up each question before replying.

PATRICK WOLF: WHO’S AFRAID?

Originally published in The Irish Times, June 10th 2011.

THE CRY of the wolf is a lonely howl, a shriek that pierces the night sky and sends small animals scurrying under the nearest rock. Patrick Wolf, however, is an entirely different proposition. Although the singer is lithe and gangly-limbed, the comparisons end there. Big Bad Wolf? Not with this shy grin and cheery demeanour.

THE FIGHT AGAINST FILES

Originally published in The Irish Times, April 15th 2011

IT’S BEEN a while since Jon Bon Jovi was described as anything close to a spokesman of a generation, but his recent denunciation of download culture resonated more vociferously than expected with music fans of a certain vintage.

You could argue that the rocker is being more than a little excitable with his dramatic statement that “Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business”, but in many ways he has a point. Although CDs remain the most popular format for music buyers, their value has been diminished by the convenience of MP3s, not to mention illegal downloads.

Nevertheless there are bands, companies and music fans still doing everything within their power to stay connected to the physical world.

MERCURY REV: DESERTER’S RETURN

Originally published in The Irish Times, May 13th 2011

HOW DO you define a ‘modern classic’? The criteria for such an accolade is so wide-ranging and subjective that it’s rare for records to be conferred with such an esteemed label.

Jonathan Donahue certainly doesn’t have the answer, but that won’t stop the mild-mannered Mercury Rev man from enjoying his moment in the spotlight. Earlier this year, the band were approached by the organisers of ATP’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ concert series to recreate their 1998 album ‘Deserter’s Songs’ live in its entirety. Previous albums deemed ‘seminal’ enough to have been given the same treatment over the past six years include John Martyn’s ‘Solid Air’, Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions…’ and Slint’s ‘Spiderland’.

GIVING IT ALL AWAY

Originally published in The Irish Times, January 31st 2011

“YOU HAVE TO speculate to accumulate.” Wise words for a student of business, perhaps, but not exactly a phrase you’d expect a young Irish band to live by. Yet over the past year, several of our musical acts have borne that maxim in mind when unleashing their work on the public. The industry has been in a state of flux since the internet arrived: people consume music differently and physical copies are being increasingly overlooked in favour of downloads. If someone wants an album they can get it for free – whether through legal or illegal channels.

LCMDF: THIS IS HARD CORPS

Originally published in The Irish Times, February 18th 2011

IF APPEARANCES really count for something, then Emma Kemppainen should be a right moody sort. Her band, LCMDF (who were briefly known as Le Corps Mince de Françoise before abbreviating), make music that treads a thin line between ultra-trendy pop and the more obscure end of 1980s and 1990s indie. Their artwork is sleek, and accompanying press photos of the Finnish duo – Emma and her younger sister, Mia – exhibit sharp cheekboned pouts with nary a smile.