Beat Motel Zine

Gonzo review of BC Camplight and William Doyle at The Baths in Ipswich, 9th March 2024

Part of the draw, the attraction, an aditctive element, of capitalism is that it is always presenting us with the new. We're consistently being sold the latest technology, the latest fashion and the latest tunes. And this emphasis on endlessly new compositions is arguably a more significant marker of popular music than in other contemporary music forms, where we go for novel renditions of known mu...

Field recording of a noise gig in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 2nd March 2024. Recorded on location at The Rehearsal Rooms. Featuring DS Happy Boi Diacritical Mark Frazer Merrick Billy Whizz Paul Blart Wet Dream

Hell is worth all that. Natural habitat. Just a rhyme without a reason. I am the table. This week, Sam beseeches Andrew consider Metallica as an act with depth behind their 125 million+ album sales. Sam was introduced to Metallica through his brother at the age of 10, and they became an essential touchstone to his musical experience. Andrew neglected metal until his 40s, when he had to slow down (...

Dingdong! Hey now, what's that sound? IS that the sound of a 1956 Morris Minor through a midi sampler? This week, Andrew and Sam discuss SOUNDS. Zounds, batman. These sounds might range from your "oo, that's a lovely tone" sort of music-nerd appreciation sound to your "what on the fuck is that, then?" sort of music-nerd appreciation sound. Along they way, they discuss said tones, the use of gravit...

Music is frequently best when it is a communal experience. This is perhaps why we go and see bands perform live the exact version of a song we know from a record, it is why we pay good money to see this, and it is spoilt by the fuppers singing along over the vocalist. I did not pay to get in to hear you sing Born in the USA. Except, frequently, in the best of experiences (for me), it is exactly wh...

A few episodes ago we troubled your lugoles with some mildly profane chatter about which gigs we wish we could go back in time to attend for a second time. But what about legendary performances that you wish you could have been at regardless of decade, country, fiscal embarrassment or rank odour. In this episode Andrew is joined by Jay Trenchart defy time, distance and some logic and reason as the...

Was 2023 a good year for pop'n'rock'n'hop? Was it a bad year? How do you quantify that sort of thing, anyway? It's all up to the ear of the beholder. Andrew and Sam have probably been over exposed to harsh noises at this point, and can't understand what is conventional beauty in terms of music. Andrew wants to music out of angle grinders, and Sam talks about the nuances between punk-origin and met...

What's a drum fill? Well, it's that bit the gorilla plays in the chocolate advert, yeah? Which is something discussed in this episode of Beat Motel, which also heralding the return of co-host Dr Sam from his travels abroad and obligations of parenthood. So, in other words: we fill up space by talking about fills while getting rid of the fill-ins. It has also made me realise what a good name Phil i...

Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with? Have you ever fallen in love with someone you should have fallen in love with? In this episode of The Beat Motel Music Podcast Andrew Culture is joined by Luke Littleboy of the 'One sensational shot' podcast. Luke was also the singer for The Waxing Captors. This episode explores songs that talk about relationships in an hones...

Have you ever been to a gig that really made a massive impression on you? We know the answer is probably 'yes'. It's a dumb question, but what would you expect from us? Have you ever been a gig that didn't make much of an impression on you at the time, but now that you 'get' the band in question do you wish you could travel back in time to that gig and experience it again? Now that's a far more in...

This episode is named after the feeling of post-orgasm similar to death. The moment of bare consciousness finds you after your peak. The history of pop music is resplendent with musical-about faces. From Kraftwork giving up fingering their flutes to Finnish death metal pioneers Xsyma turning into a (more popular) indie band, plenty have given up their initial tinkering to find a more mature (and s...

Roughly between 1967 and 2013 (these dates are arbitrary and unchecked, as is our diligence to fact-checking –  Sam ), the focus of many musicians (besides sex, drugs and rock'n'roll) was crafting the "perfect" album. This is something that should be endlessly playable, every track is a banger (fucking hell –  Sam ), but some bang (oh god –  Sam ) more than most. And, of course, there are some und...

What does it mean to be consistent, as an artist? Careers in rock'n'pop now last decades – 2023, alone, has witnessed new albums by the Rolling Stones and a new single by the Beatles who began playing with themselves back in the '60s. Meanwhile, while rap-rock is so old that Rage Against the Machine's debut was 30 years old last year.   So, this week, we discuss the issue of late blooming in the p...

What maketh a cover? Is it the woman in his arms, just because she has big … No, that's an obscure South Park reference. Not for this day and age. This time, the smirking infantile smurfing inflatable men-children Andrew and Sam are discussing the art of covering other people's music (by musicians post-1970s). Whereas once songwriting was the practice of the few and performance was of the many, we...

All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) was a UK-based festival and concert organiser and promoter from 1999 to 2016. It places musicians first, frequently letting the headlining act choose the festival's lineup. ATP felt like it was run by music fans who were never quite organised enough to get it together: it was a slightly shambolic affair. ATP Weekends were set in off-season holiday camps in seaside town...

Gonzo review of BATUSHKA + Kanonenfieber live at The Dome in Tuffnell Park in London. Cheers to Roki and Stuart Bowditch (and Stuart's mate talking about the moshpit) for getting involved in this episode.

Take it to the George Orwell bridge! Take it to the Friendship Bridge! This time 'round the musical merry-go-round, we discuss James Brown's favourite bit of any song: the Middle 8. This is a common part of many pop songs, which isn't either the verse or the chorus. So, join us and take it to the Eshima Ohashi bridge. + some REAL letters. As well as more AI ego trippin' for Andrew and Sam, includi...

What's the point? Contract fillers that contribute little if anything to the repertoire of the band? This week, Andrew and Sam explore the world and purpose of live albums, and finish the episode without conclusion (although their thoughts are pretty obvious) to go on and indulge their ego at having some real letters sent in (as well as more AI letters). Email us at beatmotel@lawsie.com Sam – Casi...

Considering the fact that Beat Motel is a zine podcast, we don't talk about zines enough. This episode fixes that with aplomb; not only do we spend most of the episode talking about zines, our guest publishes one of the finest zines to come out of a town that people think is in America, but that is actually in Lincolnshire. Our guest for this episode is the marvellous Marv Gadgie, an ardent fan of...

What is it that makes the experimental electronics scene so welcoming? How does a death metal drummer get into creating field recordings that make emotional connections to locations around the world? In this episode of the Beat Motel Podcast, Andrew is joined by Stuart Bowditch to explore these and many other questions. Bowditch links - Courier (label) https://couriersound.bandcamp.com/ Stuart on...

Gonzo-style review of space-travelling sonic wanderers Henge, live at St Stephens Church in Ipswich. Support from Dogshow, who, once seen, are unlikely to be forgotten. Hear the sounds of the gig, listen to people at the gig talking about the bands, get aural experience of the venue toilets and much more!

Two bassists get a bit naval gazing by being the only ones to celebrate bassists. The bass is the four stringed instrument what rarely gets much mention beyond Rush and Primus fans. Andrew and Sam turn it music on its head for the first Sam-produced episode and consider some of the things bass contributes to the music. This is probably the first of many focuses on the bass. Remember people, bass p...

Can you read? Do you like music? Well, then, this episode is for you, as Andrew and Sam show off that their basic education still goes to good use in the form of showing off that they can read books. Looks like we've got some readers here, as Bill Hicks said. What do you want to read for? This episode, we discuss our favourite music biography-orientated books. We talk about whether they've changed...

This is a gonzo-style immersive live review of a very special sold-out gig at St Stephens Church in Ipswich. Including conversations with 60% of Interesting Times Gang, 66% of Hot Tramp, 33% of JS & The Lockerbillies and 75% of Ecto Peach. Show links: Interesting Times Gang - https://www.instagram.com/interestingtimes.gang/ Hot Tramp - https://www.instagram.com/hottrampband/ Impilo - https://sound...