21/02/2013

Proud to be "Brit-ish" - All things Brits 2013

"It seems some of best things in life begin with a B:"

The Brits//Ben Howard//Babel



THE BRITS 2013




Having not being a massive fan of slogging in front of the TV, the Brits turns this on its head. There is nothing like seeing some of your favourite artists reap the rewards they deserve.

Like every year you take one look at the categories and its almost laughable that some artists have been classified as the same caliber as the others. However i won't go into that.

Lets talk Brit winners, performances & all the wonderful things in relation to one of my favourite awards ceremonies of the year (And leave out the boring bits that don't warrant a sentence)


British Male Solo artist - i was ecstatic when Ben Howard won this. For me the choice was simple. He has to be one of the best British artists of this decade without a doubt. Each time i pop on "Every Kingdom", i lose all concentration and slip into a very reflective mood - which isn't good when you're driving to work. "Only Love" & "Old Pine" are by far the best. Every time i listen to "Old Pine" it brings back the best memories I've had with friends in the summer - one of which was seeing Ben Howard live on a scorching Saturday outside the Big top stage at Bestival. The man is magical.


British Female Solo Artist/ Mastercard British Album of the year – As one. (because Emeli Sandé really doesn't need much more publicity..)

Hats off to her – 2012 was a stupendous year for the bonny lass. “Our Version of Events” was on repeat in my car months & her performance at the Olympics (and the thousand other venues) was simply stunning. However can that be the last we hear from Miss Sandé for a while please? I know you were all thinking it, so there – I said it.




British BreakthroughBen Howard again. Yes! Tough decision? Damn right. For me it was only really going to be out of a choice of 4 though (who put Rita Ora next to these guys??). Each of them in their own right are winners though. 2012 was a fantastic year for Ben Howard, the start of something huge for Alt-J and Jake Bugg, and a tremendous start to a long career in the biz for the beautiful Jessie Ware. Commiserations to the others, however Ben Howard worked his cojones off this year. Bravo Sir!



British Group – This brought joy to my little round face. I love Mumford & sons. So much so that I've been extremely fortunate to have seen them live 4 times to date. All at such different venues - twice at Glastonbury Festival (come rain & shine), at a very intimate gig in Folkestone & more recently at the o2 Arena in London just before Christmas. They get better every time & the atmosphere is on a completely different level. You just want to hug the random guy on your right by the end of the gig and have a little cry that its over.
I always find it very annoying when multiple favourite bands are in the same category. If i could, i would've given a quarter of the polka-dot masterpiece to The XX. Another incredible band - "Coexist" is a little diamond.


Best International GroupThe Black Keys
This was such a tough call. Well, only really between The Black Keys & Alabama Shakes. They were the only two real bands. Although i think it was only fair that Dan & Patrick scooped up this one. They are your typical example of a couple of nerds at college, kept their heads down and boom! The Black Keys were born. "El Camino" opened up a huge commercial can of worms for the boys, therefore this one belongs on their mantelpiece. Alabama Shakes have an amazing career ahead of them so there really is no need to fret.


International Male Solo – Frank Ocean. What a cool guy. His acceptance speech was just so cute too! How can i be friends with him? - help! I did have a snigger at the nominees though. Odd kettle of carp or what? Big love for Michael Bublé, Gotye? Come on - the guys only had one hit. I won't even comment on Jack White & Brucey. Back to Frank Ocean though... "channel ORANGE" has got to be up there with one of the best well written & produced R&B albums in a very long time. Such a bold statement i know, however there is only one word to suffice... WOW.







British Single – It had to be Adele for "Skyfall". Inevitably inevitable. Although I thought Rudimental wouldn’t have been far behind with "Feel the love". And as much as X factor grates on me – James Arthurs’s cover of "Impossible" was a corker!


British live act – surprised at Coldplay, however they have just played to the masses on a huge world arena tour. I hoped & prayed that Mumford & sons would win it, however give them a few years and you wont be able to un-glue the awards from their hips. Muse? Nothing amusing about seeing them live. It genuinely was like watching a freak show. I predicted that The Rolling Stones might have bagged this one just due to their status. Thankfully it went to a more current band hey!



So now The Brits are over for a whole year. I wonder who will be sucked under the all foreseeing eye (the panel of Brit critters). I think it’ll be a fantastic year for Disclosure, Alunageorge, Jessie Ware, and Lianne La Havas to name a few. Tom Odell? – this time next year you’ll be asking yourself  “who”? Dull as dishwater...

The Brits Rock!





I think i've chewed some major fat. Hope you've enjoyed the read x









No comments:

Post a Comment