I do believe that much of the problem is awareness. The only people who seem to even know about the album are people who already knew about Aiden and followed updates about him. I literally haven't seen or heard a single thing about Aiden anywhere. The only people who are going to know about it are people who are already interested, new listeners won't even know the album exists. It's so frustrating because it's unfair, Aiden's album is really good, and it's obvious the amount of passion and dedication he put into his music and for it not to do so well is just so annoying.
I'm actually one of those people who always downloads music free. I pay for music if I think the artist needs it, I've paid for a handfull of songs and albums and Aiden's is one of them. I don't think it's fair to download music if the artist is just starting out, if they need all the sales they can get.
(and I hate to bring this up, but this is why we need shows like Top of the Pops, to get new music in front of ears and eyeballs. Flashy Saturday night event telly and Jools Holland Later is all well and good, but Top of the Pops was great for highlighting chart music. End of soapbox mini-rant)
God, this so much. My musical education was based on TOTP. I know nowadays people can easily listen to a new song on the Internet, but it's instant gratification. If someone doesn't like the intro they'll click off. Guilty of that myself. And people will always gravitate to what they know. TOTP provided a much needed balance for the current music scene without too much bias (from what I remember, admittedly nostalgically.)
I don't want to say that music needs to be rubbish or lazy to do well in the charts. I've loved Lana Del Rey's album this year and it did well. I'm sure there are other great albums out there also doing the business. I wish I knew why Aiden was faltering in this way but for whatever reason his music hasn't yet captured public imagination and that's what doesn't seem to have been addressed. I wish there was an easy solution for this because the thought of people not listening to his album and writing Aiden off with all the other XF flops really genuinely upsets me.
I was reading some tweets from @MrAmaru earlier today & he was asking some very relevant questions and making some good points. The Music Industry has seen some huge changes due to Social Media. I guess people working in the industry are still trying to adapt and work out how you get people to buy music that is available online 24/7
Aiden's album is absolutely flippin fantastic, and it isn't just us that thinks so, the music critics all loved it as well so we're not being biased or delusional
For these reasons, I choose to believe that his management / record company won't give up. Give it till the end of the year at least. The album is out there now, there are so many different ways to keep plugging at the publicity, through gigs, signings, magazine articles, tv appearances, modelling etc. It could only take one thing, catch the right persons attention, to spark a sudden interest and send the album sailing into the Top10, potentially even at Xmas
There are quite a few things going on at the moment (this bit will amuse Scrambling ) :
* I've seen tweets today that HMV stores in both Lakeside and Wandsworth (Edit: someone has just tweeted Dublin as well) have sold out of the album as well as several tweets a day from people going out buying the album and loving it
* Aiden's doing an interview this week with @MrAmaru aka ADTV (he told me yesterday (MrAmaru not Aiden!) that he'll be setting up a facebook link for fans to ask questions)
* This tweet implies he's been up to something photoshooty today:
krystle g@krystlegohel
It was lovely to meet and do @jessicamauboy makeup. Looking forward to later to do it all again and @Mr_Grimshaw after. @OBrepresents
* He has 3 pages including a poster in TeenNowMag (at least that's what they have tweeted!)
* He's on Matt Edmondson's R1 show every single week (I really must listen to the podcasts I have piling up!)
What can we all do to help? Well, not as much as we'd like to be able to do but, we can continue to show our support through posting on here and twitter, going to gigs and signings, buying albums and singles. If magazines and websites see a spike in sales, views or Twitter RTs when Aiden appears in them then that continues the media interest. I can't remember whether it was on here or somewhere else that I saw that video viewings on VEVO helps, the more viewings you get the more interested advertisers are in paying to advertise their product on there.
Lots of good stuff going on and coming up, let's not forget the 11 date tour
Here's some video links to finish off my rather epic post (I blame Spiralstatic, she loves a long post on here )
I was reading some tweets from @MrAmaru earlier today & he was asking some very relevant questions and making some good points. The Music Industry has seen some huge changes due to Social Media. I guess people working in the industry are still trying to adapt and work out how you get people to buy music that is available online 24/7
Aiden's album is absolutely flippin fantastic, and it isn't just us that thinks so, the music critics all loved it as well so we're not being biased or delusional
For these reasons, I choose to believe that his management / record company won't give up. Give it till the end of the year at least. The album is out there now, there are so many different ways to keep plugging at the publicity, through gigs, signings, magazine articles, tv appearances, modelling etc. It could only take one thing, catch the right persons attention, to spark a sudden interest and send the album sailing into the Top10, potentially even at Xmas
There are quite a few things going on at the moment (this bit will amuse Scrambling ) :
* I've seen tweets today that HMV stores in both Lakeside and Wandsworth have sold out of the album as well as several tweets a day from people going out buying the album and loving it
* Aiden's doing an interview this week with @MrAmaru aka ADTV (he told me yesterday (MrAmaru not Aiden!) that he'll be setting up a facebook link for fans to ask questions)
* This tweet implies he's been up to something photoshooty today:
krystle g@krystlegohel
It was lovely to meet and do @jessicamauboy makeup. Looking forward to later to do it all again and @Mr_Grimshaw after. @OBrepresents
* He has 3 pages including a poster in TeenNowMag (at least that's what they have tweeted!)
* He's on Matt Edmondson's R1 show every single week (I really must listen to the podcasts I have piling up!)
What can we all do to help? Well, not as much as we'd like to be able to do but, we can continue to show our support through posting on here and twitter, going to gigs and signings, buying albums and singles. If magazines and websites see a spike in sales, views or Twitter RTs when Aiden appears in them then that continues the media interest. I can't remember whether it was on here or somewhere else that I saw that video viewings on VEVO helps, the more viewings you get the more interested advertisers are in paying to advertise their product on there.
Lots of good stuff going on and coming up, let's not forget the 11 date tour
Here's some video links to finish off my rather epic post (I blame Spiralstatic, she loves a long post on here )
Alright, I've had my sad post. Now I'll just do what I can (get another album... obviously I won't do this every week! ) And the thing is that the market for Aiden's music... maybe a fair few of the kind of people it's aimed at would not wish to be seen to be buying an album by someone on the X Factor. Might not even want to give it a listen... at the moment... but the tag is quickly falling away from Aiden and everyone around him has done a great job at enabling that to happen. So, while it'll never be entirely forgotten that that's where he's come from, give it a bit of time for people to shed their preconceptions and hopefully they'll be drawn in by the fabulous music, like the Pied Piper! The album is in the shops now. Even if it's straight out of the charts this week it can come back .
Feel quite that the album isn't doing as well as (I think) it deserves.
However feeling very :cool: that I have his album to play on loop whenever I want to (i.e. every day) and a ticket to see him live at a tour that Will Be and not The Tour That Never Was.
Very much focuses for celebration.
I just hope the album heads back into the top 40 for whatever reason, and reaches more people so that RCA let him do another one.
The sales aren't huge but have to be put into perspective. The sales of the albums above weren't great either. I mean he was only a kick in the arse of a top10 album from 19.
I guess it all depends on the labels expectations for Aiden and what sales they planned for. The record industry know where they are with albums atm and will have been aware that sales weren't going to be huge even if it broke top5.
What matters is if he is profitable. They haven't bust the bank on promo for him, the less they spend on promo the less money they loose on sales.
If they had went all out promo wise (TV trails and what not) and he then didn't recoup their money with sales then I would be at my panic station.
But they didn't splash out, so I would hope therefore that they got the margins right and they aren't loosing money on him, which is all to the good in terms of album 2 coming to be (I say with fingers crossed) :)
Even if profit is small it is better he make the record company 10 grand than loose it 10 grand
All the links that Kellz posted (top bullet points there, I really do doff my cap to you:)) and the stuff that he's doing today shows that there is a lot of promo going on. I was just having a wobble. I had a listen to the album, looked at the sleeve notes and my lovely lovely tour tickets and am back in a happy place.
It's great news that one of the tour dates has sold out too!
Agree with idlewildgirl about illegal downloads, the links were all over tumblr last week and it is so easy to rip with the whole album on youtube. The record company should really get the youtube videos removed.
Know I have I said before, but Aiden really needs radio and tv airplay. If you look at the other x factor people releasing records, his is by far the lowest. Curtain Call was getting a 100 plays a week on radio and video even less on the tv the week before release, compared to other x factor records getting 800-1000 plays a week on radio. I don't know how they go about getting him airplay, but if they sort that out I think the album sales will increase. My friend for example knew Aiden was releasing an album from an article in a magazine, but has never hear one of his songs before. People are not going to consider buying the album if they have not even heard the singles.
Agree with idlewildgirl about illegal downloads, the links were all over tumblr last week and it is so easy to rip with the whole album on youtube. The record company should really get the youtube videos removed.
Know I have I said before, but Aiden really needs radio and tv airplay. If you look at the other x factor people releasing records, his is by far the lowest. Curtain Call was getting a 100 plays a week on radio and video even less on the tv the week before release, compared to other x factor records getting 800-1000 plays a week on radio. I don't know how they go about getting him airplay, but if they sort that out I think the album sales will increase. My friend for example knew Aiden was releasing an album from an article in a magazine, but has never hear one of his songs before. People are not going to consider buying the album if they have not even heard the singles.
The thing is that other artists also have to deal with illegal downloads but are still doing well in the charts. I think it just becomes more of an issue when sales are so low to begin with. His management seem pretty awesome at responding to this and I know one of the main offenders has taken the links down so that's something. I just don't understand people who are presumably fans of Aiden, or at least his music, wanting to sabotage his career in that way. Do they not have any understanding of how important it is to buy his music if they want to hear more?
I agree that radio play is absoloutely crucial but he needs Global Radio behind him and at the moment they're resisting for whatever reason. They don't ignore all XF acts; obviously there was the whole 1D ban but on the whole they supported them at the crucial starting point in their career, and I'm pretty sure I heard that they've been playing Amelia's new song as well. They even playlisted Marcus's first song. It would be interesting to know why they've resisted with Aiden.
I've just got home from Cambridge, Meeting Aiden was amazing he was really lovely, I got to chat to him a bit too, he seemed quite surprised when I told him it took me nearly three hours of travelling to get there and he thanked me.
I didn't even have to ask him for a picture he just said, Shall we have a photo?
It wasn't as busy there as I thought it would be, may have been because not a lot of people know about the store as it's only just opened. Aiden said it took him nearly 40 minutes to find it!
Also before the signing Aiden came outside and had a photo taken with all the fans that were there for the Cambridge newspaper. I really want to see it I hope it's online tomorrow!
lovely the pic I really can't wait till the tour to hear his voice live again eek
I can't believe so few albums were sold. Do people not love music anymore? If we one day have children and they grow up, by that time will there be no music left at all?
I had a look and it seems like last week Rhianna made number one with only 9,578 sales........................... I wonder where that would have placed in the hey days of album sales (I don't know when most albums were sold, but it's certainly not at the moment, eh......... )
On a happier note, it'd be lovely to hear people's favourite tracks or what people like (or don't like! I'm equal opportunity discussion!) about the album or anything they'd like to share about the music I think. I really enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say as we listened along the other day. We could just do it generally or go track by track. Not sure if many people still check in on here, but.... .... just a thought?
In no order Misty Eye, This Island, Nothing At All, Hold On and Poachers Timing are my favourites. Not so keen on.....dare I :eek: Curtain Call, What We Gonna Be, Breathe Me and Be Myself
I was reading some tweets from @MrAmaru earlier today & he was asking some very relevant questions and making some good points. The Music Industry has seen some huge changes due to Social Media. I guess people working in the industry are still trying to adapt and work out how you get people to buy music that is available online 24/7
Aiden's album is absolutely flippin fantastic, and it isn't just us that thinks so, the music critics all loved it as well so we're not being biased or delusional
For these reasons, I choose to believe that his management / record company won't give up. Give it till the end of the year at least. The album is out there now, there are so many different ways to keep plugging at the publicity, through gigs, signings, magazine articles, tv appearances, modelling etc. It could only take one thing, catch the right persons attention, to spark a sudden interest and send the album sailing into the Top10, potentially even at Xmas
There are quite a few things going on at the moment (this bit will amuse Scrambling ) :
* I've seen tweets today that HMV stores in both Lakeside and Wandsworth (Edit: someone has just tweeted Dublin as well) have sold out of the album as well as several tweets a day from people going out buying the album and loving it
* Aiden's doing an interview this week with @MrAmaru aka ADTV (he told me yesterday (MrAmaru not Aiden!) that he'll be setting up a facebook link for fans to ask questions)
* This tweet implies he's been up to something photoshooty today:
krystle g@krystlegohel
It was lovely to meet and do @jessicamauboy makeup. Looking forward to later to do it all again and @Mr_Grimshaw after. @OBrepresents
* He has 3 pages including a poster in TeenNowMag (at least that's what they have tweeted!)
* He's on Matt Edmondson's R1 show every single week (I really must listen to the podcasts I have piling up!)
What can we all do to help? Well, not as much as we'd like to be able to do but, we can continue to show our support through posting on here and twitter, going to gigs and signings, buying albums and singles. If magazines and websites see a spike in sales, views or Twitter RTs when Aiden appears in them then that continues the media interest. I can't remember whether it was on here or somewhere else that I saw that video viewings on VEVO helps, the more viewings you get the more interested advertisers are in paying to advertise their product on there.
Lots of good stuff going on and coming up, let's not forget the 11 date tour
Here's some video links to finish off my rather epic post (I blame Spiralstatic, she loves a long post on here )
epic post and thank you for all the links and a few I hadn't seen too.
Everything seems fairly positive atm barring frustration with how few albums are selling generally atm but then most albums I buy are aeons old very rarely buy new releases unless its by an artist I already love, so perhaps I'm partly to blame :eek:;)
Also happily his label don't (seem) to be letting costs spiral, which is important. I don't want Aiden having to sell his collection of woolly hats of authenticity to pay back debts and getting dropped (scary thought but then the music industry is a scary business indeed)
1. Nothing At All - from the moment I heard it this has been my favourite.
2. Chokehold - this has made it onto my Happy playlist. I like the, "Yeah it might all go to shit and I'm not looking for it but I'm enjoying it just now" relationship vibe
3. Misty Eye - It's the strings that does it for me. It's the acoustic version that has this one so high - the strings and the repeated "Misty Eye" vocal get me every time.
4. This Island - This has a real late night vibe for me - it almost feels like three different songs in one.
5. Hold On
6.What we Gonna Be - Surprised myself with how high I've put this as I didn't like it at all when I first heard it. I love the vocal lead up to the almost-triumphant shout of "This is love!" and the vocals after it.
7 Breathe Me. Love this so much. Love his voice how it's raw one minute and smooth and soft the next.
1. Nothing At All - So triumphant sounding despite the sadness of it. I love the easy way it builds and the backing vocals. Probably the closest to how I imagined Aiden's music sounding before I heard the album.
2. Poachers Timing - Gorgeous and bleak. It evokes so much for me. I love the way it fades in and out, the sudden hiss of synths, and the section from 1.28 onwards where Aiden's voice sounds incredibly fragile and helpless. Gives me shivers in the best possible way.
3. This Island - Grows on me more with each listen. It's got that retro early 90s feel which I love, and I think lyricially it's the strongest on the album.
4. Misty Eye - Another grower. I think of this one and This Island as sort of companions - lyrically and musically they feed off each other and give the album a more sinister feel which I'm always a fan of. I have to say, though, that the acoustic version of this one is by far superior, and I don't often say that about acoustic versions of anything.
5. Curtain Call - It's weird, as I thought that I didn't like this as much as Is This Love when I first heard it. But the more I've listened to it, the more I love it and now it far surpasses Is This Love for me. I suppose my only criticism is it doesn't especially fit the tone of the rest of the album.
6. Hold On - Really like this apart from the shouty bits in it (Not least because I have no idea what he's saying? 'Listen'?) It's a great, bold opening to the album and I think the lyrics to this one are more instantly catchy than some of the other songs, but it's not one that leaves a massive lasting impression.
7. What We Gonna Be - I do think this song is a slightly cynical attempt at linking into the industry's obsession with R&B, but Aiden's vocals are AMAZING and overall it's grown on me more than any other song on the album. Love the 'THIS IS LOVE' bit. They could probably do worse than release this as the next single if they wanted to appeal to a wider demographic.
8. Breathe Me - Beautiful, and different enough to the Sia original that I don't compare them, but I suppose part of me is aware that it's not Aiden's own work and that takes the shine off a little.
9. Is This Love - Still sounds great, and I still believe as a first single it could have been huge with enough radio play, but I think in the context of the album it's not as thought-provoking as some of the others.
10. Be Myself - Again, it's growing on me, but if there's one I would choose to skip it would be this one. I do love the piano throughout and Aiden's vocals are gorgeous, but lyricially it doesn't do much for me.
Regarding illegal downloads, I noticed @AnnaDerbyshire asking someone for the links to the relevant tumblr sites a couple of days ago. Might be worth letting her know if you come across anymore
1. Hold On - An excellent way to start an album. It was like an explosion! Loved it! Also, the lyrics are so personal for me
2. This Island - I love the intensity of it, but its not over intense (if that makes sense!) Again, the lyrics are wonderful, very close to heart!
3. Misty Eye - At first I wasn't madly in love with it, but once I heard the acoustic and really listened to the lyrics, it instantly grabbed me! Little bit teary when I hear it
4. Poachers Timing - I was really looking forward to this song, and it did not disappoint! It is so simple, yet so effective! Stunning!
5. Curtain Call - I have a soft spot for this song. With this song, I would say this is one of the few songs on the album, where I can create a little story in my head (and being a Drama Student, this is very useful )
6. Chokehold - It feels so lively and has that bittersweet feeling towards it, which I LOVE! Plus, the lyrics highlight his vulnerability, he creates quite a young feeling towards it. He makes me feel like a teenager again, and I'm only in my 20s
7. Breathe Me - Covers for me are normally a bit 'meh', but its completely stripped and he captures the emotion of the song, whilst showcasing his feelings. Also, it brings out the weepies it me
8. Is This Love - It reminds me of the excitement of waiting for any music news, and plus it was played for the first time the day before my birthday. I like to think it was a little present from Aiden!
9. Be Myself - The piano is such a wonderful touch. It took a while for me to grab my attention, but once I did, I finally recognised the pure emotion and delicate tones in his voice.
10. Nothing At All - Definate grower for me. But its the one song that randomly pops into my head and I find myself just singing it. Honestly, I could be anywhere, and I will sing it! None of the other songs have made me do this
11. What We Gonna Be - Not really a fan of Smiler (perhaps its due to the fact I haven't heard of him until the album:o), but it is catchy, I would just rather have more Aiden!
*Sigh* That was hard work. Gonna go listen to the album again!!
Right - you know if I do this I'm going to go on and do a ramble, but it's been a while, so.......? I don't find it easy to rank them to be honest and I'm not sure it's a very accurate reflection, but I'll try for you...
1. Be Myself - It's just so beautiful. Makes me feel like I'm suspended in the sea, being pulled back and forth with the tide, going nowhere and not wanting to . It's those strings and the undulating piano and the melody. I suppose it's kind of hypnotic in a way? And I'm not so much a lyrics person so I've not really looked into the lyrics on any song, but you know "Be Myself" - what a lovely sentiment . Just imagine it live with a grand piano, mmm - gorgeous. So yes, it's very beautiful musically and in this (and many tracks on the album, but it stands out in this as it's quiet) I love how Aiden pulls the words across the bars/phrases (you know so he doesn't start one line with the word you'd expect to be emphasised at the start of the bar - I'm sure this is something that was notable he could do back before there was his own musicness too!) Digressions!
2. Misty Eye - The first track that got me the most live. On the album I much prefer the acoustic version which is just beautiful, but I like both and I love it so much live. (So much!!!) Somehow the "normal" version seems to have more to it live than on the CD (I haven't analysed what!?! Although I guess it's bare-er on the CD, and while Aiden sounds amazing in the verses, I think he's like double tracked or something (or it sounds just not quite as intimate and clear vocally at least as all the other vocals on the album) in the chorus for some reason....? Not a criticism as it's pretty amazing how usually in albums some of the emotion is stripped away from what the singer possesses just by means of polishment, but here it really isn't even in massive tracks - thank you Jarrad for this times lotses!) I find it hard to say what it is I like about it, but I guess it's just that it has everything to it: I find it by far the most interesting melodically - both in a pure melodic sense and in an emotional sense (the emotion that comes from the music this is) of the bigger tracks, and I don't really know why, but I still love that line "This paper heart is lost in fire but I'm not burning" & quite the words generally, though again I haven't really thought about them if I'm honest! It gets me immediately this track in any case and I'll never forget listening to the sound check outside the venue in Brighton, lost to it as the world went by . Oh! There is one thing I do love about the normal version of Misty Eye! That sinister whurring helicopter sound like THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOOOOUUUUUU!!! There's just something very special about this track. Not sure if it's really number one or two for me. Really gives me hurty-heart . It's a good thing, though!
3. This Island - I really get into this one. It's the other track I love live. I love the way the beat takes a hold of you. I also have felt that this track in particular has gotten better and better live every performance - it's amazing live now! I love how dark it is, yet the track lets you enjoy the darkness & revel in it & you can dance to it - in fact it's kind of hard not to move to it! It also has my favourite lyrics: reckon it's easily the best track lyrically. Not that I know anything about such matters! As I said, I'm not one for lyrics, but if I had to say my favourite line (that I know) on the album I think perhaps it might be "I open up my thoughts at night, only walls can hold me in" - it gives me a really strong visual image/feeling. Not the most flashy of lyrics, but it means something if that makes sense? Yeah, love This Island . Also it has great range vocally.
So, those are my favourites by some margin!! I can't really say I like one more than the others by a considerable amount - they're all pretty different and it's different things I like about 'em, but if pushed I'd put them in this order. I don't really know how to rank the rest though.
I have a new found love for Poacher's Timing 'cause it really got to me live and I felt something new in it. I don't think it's so interesting musically as some tracks to be honest, but it got me and now does every time so... Initially when we first heard it live it didn't get me like it did some people. And even now it's not sadness I feel in it - more this kind of unsettled quality. It's bleak and a bit unnerving and there's something tragic about it. The catch in the breathing in it too, oh! I dunno. I mean?? But yeah, something about it - it was chill-giving when it did get me.... but it took some time before it ever did. Might have been bottom before this and now I reckon it's next in line! I love Chokehold just 'cause it's happy and joyous. I don't know if the words are, but IT IS, so !! There's something very Aiden about Curtain Call which I love (don't know how to explain. In a way it reminds me of songs from long ago though and I am not going to explain further 'cause it's all a bit revealing and blah?!) and I love the way it grooves live. I also find something quite sweet about this song. Like there's darkness in some songs, whereas in this there's something innocent? I dunno... I really like the cover Breathe Me - love the light and shade in it and the expressiveness in Aiden's voice. The intro reminds of Lana del Rey, but I suppose if it has the same/similar chords it can't help that... Is This Love is a track which is nice enough in the normal version, but a lot more beautiful acoustically I personally find . What we Gonna Be is a confusing one 'cause there's lots I like about it: that melody Aiden sings is just gorgeous - how it rises and falls, like the piano intro a lot and I love that it's different and varies throughout it so much, but for me I wonder whether it maybe has a bit too many different things in it to entirely work, even though each individual bit is good? Nothing at All is pretty catchy but doesn't overly "get" me like some tracks. Pretty good to move to though! And I do love that it's called "Nothing at all" and feel it should always be introduced when it's performed as that makes me smile - it certainly ain't that, eh! Maybe Hold On is now my least favourite? Nothing I dislike about it, but nor do I have much to say about it...?!
So if I have to rate 'em I'll say
4. Poacher's Timing
5. Breathe Me
6. Chokehold
7. Curtain Call
8. What We Gonna Be
9. Nothing at All
10. Is This Love
11. Hold On
Maybe, but I mean I could have put 'em in any order really !!!!
Not sure if Breathe Me should be included in the ranking in quite the same way?
Yeah, I guess I like the album! Though I love too that I can feel there's still further to go for Aiden so I look forward very much to album two !!
Kellz_xxx - love that breakfast interview - thanks for sharing and also for bringing stuff here 'cause otherwise I'd miss it! *hugs*
PS Sorry this is so long/I went on and likely spouted a load of pants!! hahahahaa!!!
Hi everyone, Im new to the forum posts but have been following for a while. This album has really caught my attention so had to join.
My favourite track from Misty Eye has to be "Nothing at all". I thought this would do well as a single - its catchy, gets your attention and is more upbeat (something needed this time of year with all the summer dance anthems around). If this was released now it may attract a new audiance to the album and promote sales I think. The same could be said for "what we gonna be" - Smiler also has a big following.
Other favourites are This Island, Hold on, What we gonna be and Chokehold.
Anyway I have brought tickets for the Rescue Rooms Nottm and cant wait to see Aiden live!!!
And I dont think you should worry about Aiden - he is young talented, unique and released a brilliant first album. Great potential for more. Enjoy whats around now
Proper wish you could delete posts. I'd delete that one. Wish I hadn't attempted an order. I don't like the idea of it and I was listening this morning & I'd have put them in a completely different order today. Can mine not be counted please? Maybe just the first 3 tracks. Those three are my favourites. The rest: there's just different things I like about them all. Even those first three, I'm uncertain which I like most of them really.
Think I was a bit distracted as I didn't have so much to say for some songs, but doesn't mean I like 'em less. And some I maybe don't love but there's something a little special about them still? I was thinking, listening that I ought to have put Nothing at All much higher than I did in terms of how I like it with it's great beat and today that would maybe put that number 5, and Hold On with it's plinky plonky marimbaish (I don't know what the sound it) sounds up there too. And I could go on and on. It seems I really don't have firm preferences in the lower group. For example What we Gonna Be - there's moments in it which I adore, and then times when I don't like it so much as others. You just can't rank things like this. I actually love that usually on an album there's one or two tracks that stand out and weaker tracks, but with this, despite the variety, the quality in my view remains similar for them all .
Anyway, that aside: Applepoppy welcome to the thread !! I'm glad you've been enjoying the album, am sure you'll enjoy Aiden live and you're right of course - he has loads of talent and the future is very exciting (as is right now of course - tour - coming very soon indeed !!!)
I can't rate the whole album because I keep changing my mind but my top two are Nothing At All and Breathe Me, and they've stayed my favourites long enough to be confident in them. For now.
Also prefer the acoustic version of Misty Eye to the "real" version.
There were a few songs I wasn't keen on (Misty Eye - I didn't like the high bits; What We Gonna Be - I didn't like the rap; Be Myself - I didn't like the repetitive lyrics in the chorus) but they've all grown on me. Genuinely like every track now :cool:
Comments
I'm actually one of those people who always downloads music free. I pay for music if I think the artist needs it, I've paid for a handfull of songs and albums and Aiden's is one of them. I don't think it's fair to download music if the artist is just starting out, if they need all the sales they can get.
God, this so much. My musical education was based on TOTP. I know nowadays people can easily listen to a new song on the Internet, but it's instant gratification. If someone doesn't like the intro they'll click off. Guilty of that myself. And people will always gravitate to what they know. TOTP provided a much needed balance for the current music scene without too much bias (from what I remember, admittedly nostalgically.)
I don't want to say that music needs to be rubbish or lazy to do well in the charts. I've loved Lana Del Rey's album this year and it did well. I'm sure there are other great albums out there also doing the business. I wish I knew why Aiden was faltering in this way but for whatever reason his music hasn't yet captured public imagination and that's what doesn't seem to have been addressed. I wish there was an easy solution for this because the thought of people not listening to his album and writing Aiden off with all the other XF flops really genuinely upsets me.
Aiden's album is absolutely flippin fantastic, and it isn't just us that thinks so, the music critics all loved it as well so we're not being biased or delusional
For these reasons, I choose to believe that his management / record company won't give up. Give it till the end of the year at least. The album is out there now, there are so many different ways to keep plugging at the publicity, through gigs, signings, magazine articles, tv appearances, modelling etc. It could only take one thing, catch the right persons attention, to spark a sudden interest and send the album sailing into the Top10, potentially even at Xmas
There are quite a few things going on at the moment (this bit will amuse Scrambling
* I've seen tweets today that HMV stores in both Lakeside and Wandsworth (Edit: someone has just tweeted Dublin as well) have sold out of the album as well as several tweets a day from people going out buying the album and loving it
* Aiden's doing an interview this week with @MrAmaru aka ADTV (he told me yesterday (MrAmaru not Aiden!) that he'll be setting up a facebook link for fans to ask questions)
* He's on the cover of @thebantermag that's out later this week https://twitter.com/TheBanterMag/status/240836188913668097/photo/1
* Bank Fashion are running the competition to hang out with Aiden on the tour, hence, he's featured on their website http://www.bankfashion.co.uk/competitions/?cm_re=Global-_-Footer-_-Competitions&cm_mmc=twitter-_-Communications-_-Twitter-_-competitions
* He's in Fiasco Magazine https://twitter.com/FIASCOMagazine/status/240765596441116672/photo/1
* This tweet implies he's been up to something photoshooty today:
krystle g@krystlegohel
It was lovely to meet and do @jessicamauboy makeup. Looking forward to later to do it all again and @Mr_Grimshaw after. @OBrepresents
* Soundcloud here from TotalVibe (which includes an explanation as to why Chokehold is only on the Deluxe version of the album!) http://totalstaraccess.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/08/aiden-grimshaw-total-vibe-interview_28.html
* Then there's the lovely Mr Porter pics floating around that have also made it into Reveal and Sugarscape
* A review in NME (this seems to have been about a while but I've only just seen it :cool:) http://www.nme.com/reviews/aiden-grimshaw/13553
* He has 3 pages including a poster in TeenNowMag (at least that's what they have tweeted!)
* He's on Matt Edmondson's R1 show every single week (I really must listen to the podcasts I have piling up!)
What can we all do to help? Well, not as much as we'd like to be able to do but, we can continue to show our support through posting on here and twitter, going to gigs and signings, buying albums and singles. If magazines and websites see a spike in sales, views or Twitter RTs when Aiden appears in them then that continues the media interest. I can't remember whether it was on here or somewhere else that I saw that video viewings on VEVO helps, the more viewings you get the more interested advertisers are in paying to advertise their product on there.
Lots of good stuff going on and coming up, let's not forget the 11 date tour
Here's some video links to finish off my rather epic post (I blame Spiralstatic, she loves a long post on here
Misty Eye track-by-track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cACedHdK9_Q&list=PL9283099017ECA7A6&index=21&feature=plpp_video
Probably the most bizarre interview Aiden will ever give!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iej66jAqRvk&list=PL9283099017ECA7A6&index=25&feature=plpp_video
How tough is Mr G? (an interesting reference in here to Matt for all you Mr C fans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gV1OmdO1Rg&list=PL9283099017ECA7A6&index=24&feature=plpp_video
Thank you for this wonderful post. Tons of new information in here.
However feeling very :cool: that I have his album to play on loop whenever I want to (i.e. every day) and a ticket to see him live at a tour that Will Be and not The Tour That Never Was.
Very much focuses for celebration.
I just hope the album heads back into the top 40 for whatever reason, and reaches more people so that RCA let him do another one.
I'm not panicking
The sales aren't huge but have to be put into perspective. The sales of the albums above weren't great either. I mean he was only a kick in the arse of a top10 album from 19.
I guess it all depends on the labels expectations for Aiden and what sales they planned for. The record industry know where they are with albums atm and will have been aware that sales weren't going to be huge even if it broke top5.
What matters is if he is profitable. They haven't bust the bank on promo for him, the less they spend on promo the less money they loose on sales.
If they had went all out promo wise (TV trails and what not) and he then didn't recoup their money with sales then I would be at my panic station.
But they didn't splash out, so I would hope therefore that they got the margins right and they aren't loosing money on him, which is all to the good in terms of album 2 coming to be (I say with fingers crossed)
Even if profit is small it is better he make the record company 10 grand than loose it 10 grand
It's great news that one of the tour dates has sold out too!
Know I have I said before, but Aiden really needs radio and tv airplay. If you look at the other x factor people releasing records, his is by far the lowest. Curtain Call was getting a 100 plays a week on radio and video even less on the tv the week before release, compared to other x factor records getting 800-1000 plays a week on radio. I don't know how they go about getting him airplay, but if they sort that out I think the album sales will increase. My friend for example knew Aiden was releasing an album from an article in a magazine, but has never hear one of his songs before. People are not going to consider buying the album if they have not even heard the singles.
My album ranking:
1.This Island
2. Nothing At all
3.Be Myself
4.Hold ON
5.Misty Eye
6.Poachers Time
7.Chokehold
8.Is This Love
9.What we Gonna Me
10.breathe me
11.Curtain Call
The thing is that other artists also have to deal with illegal downloads but are still doing well in the charts. I think it just becomes more of an issue when sales are so low to begin with. His management seem pretty awesome at responding to this and I know one of the main offenders has taken the links down so that's something. I just don't understand people who are presumably fans of Aiden, or at least his music, wanting to sabotage his career in that way. Do they not have any understanding of how important it is to buy his music if they want to hear more?
I agree that radio play is absoloutely crucial but he needs Global Radio behind him and at the moment they're resisting for whatever reason. They don't ignore all XF acts; obviously there was the whole 1D ban but on the whole they supported them at the crucial starting point in their career, and I'm pretty sure I heard that they've been playing Amelia's new song as well. They even playlisted Marcus's first song. It would be interesting to know why they've resisted with Aiden.
lovely the pic
In no order Misty Eye, This Island, Nothing At All, Hold On and Poachers Timing are my favourites. Not so keen on.....dare I :eek: Curtain Call, What We Gonna Be, Breathe Me and Be Myself
epic post
Everything seems fairly positive atm barring frustration with how few albums are selling generally atm but then most albums I buy are aeons old very rarely buy new releases unless its by an artist I already love, so perhaps I'm partly to blame :eek:;)
Also happily his label don't (seem) to be letting costs spiral, which is important. I don't want Aiden having to sell his collection of woolly hats of authenticity to pay back debts and getting dropped (scary thought but then the music industry is a scary business indeed)
2. Chokehold - this has made it onto my Happy playlist. I like the, "Yeah it might all go to shit and I'm not looking for it but I'm enjoying it just now" relationship vibe
3. Misty Eye - It's the strings that does it for me. It's the acoustic version that has this one so high - the strings and the repeated "Misty Eye" vocal get me every time.
4. This Island - This has a real late night vibe for me - it almost feels like three different songs in one.
5. Hold On
6.What we Gonna Be - Surprised myself with how high I've put this as I didn't like it at all when I first heard it. I love the vocal lead up to the almost-triumphant shout of "This is love!" and the vocals after it.
7 Breathe Me. Love this so much. Love his voice how it's raw one minute and smooth and soft the next.
8 Poachers Time
9 Be Myself
10 Is This Love
11 Curtain Call
2. Poachers Timing - Gorgeous and bleak. It evokes so much for me. I love the way it fades in and out, the sudden hiss of synths, and the section from 1.28 onwards where Aiden's voice sounds incredibly fragile and helpless. Gives me shivers in the best possible way.
3. This Island - Grows on me more with each listen. It's got that retro early 90s feel which I love, and I think lyricially it's the strongest on the album.
4. Misty Eye - Another grower. I think of this one and This Island as sort of companions - lyrically and musically they feed off each other and give the album a more sinister feel which I'm always a fan of. I have to say, though, that the acoustic version of this one is by far superior, and I don't often say that about acoustic versions of anything.
5. Curtain Call - It's weird, as I thought that I didn't like this as much as Is This Love when I first heard it. But the more I've listened to it, the more I love it and now it far surpasses Is This Love for me. I suppose my only criticism is it doesn't especially fit the tone of the rest of the album.
6. Hold On - Really like this apart from the shouty bits in it (Not least because I have no idea what he's saying? 'Listen'?) It's a great, bold opening to the album and I think the lyrics to this one are more instantly catchy than some of the other songs, but it's not one that leaves a massive lasting impression.
7. What We Gonna Be - I do think this song is a slightly cynical attempt at linking into the industry's obsession with R&B, but Aiden's vocals are AMAZING and overall it's grown on me more than any other song on the album. Love the 'THIS IS LOVE' bit. They could probably do worse than release this as the next single if they wanted to appeal to a wider demographic.
8. Breathe Me - Beautiful, and different enough to the Sia original that I don't compare them, but I suppose part of me is aware that it's not Aiden's own work and that takes the shine off a little.
9. Is This Love - Still sounds great, and I still believe as a first single it could have been huge with enough radio play, but I think in the context of the album it's not as thought-provoking as some of the others.
10. Be Myself - Again, it's growing on me, but if there's one I would choose to skip it would be this one. I do love the piano throughout and Aiden's vocals are gorgeous, but lyricially it doesn't do much for me.
Thought I'd post another 'news' update for now instead (I love my bullet points)
* A lovely pic from an interview that took place today with @OfficialVeenaV http://instagram.com/p/O9bsdbEVS-/
* Interviews with @MrAmaru , @FaultMagazine & @TheMacTwins took place today
* Aiden is going to be on T4 this weekend
* Tickets for the gig at Bristol have apparently sold out !
* A 'Breakfast with Aiden' interview here http://yinnyang.co.uk/feature/breakfast-with-aiden-grimshaw/
Regarding illegal downloads, I noticed @AnnaDerbyshire asking someone for the links to the relevant tumblr sites a couple of days ago. Might be worth letting her know if you come across anymore
1. Hold On - An excellent way to start an album. It was like an explosion! Loved it! Also, the lyrics are so personal for me
2. This Island - I love the intensity of it, but its not over intense (if that makes sense!) Again, the lyrics are wonderful, very close to heart!
3. Misty Eye - At first I wasn't madly in love with it, but once I heard the acoustic and really listened to the lyrics, it instantly grabbed me! Little bit teary when I hear it
4. Poachers Timing - I was really looking forward to this song, and it did not disappoint! It is so simple, yet so effective! Stunning!
5. Curtain Call - I have a soft spot for this song. With this song, I would say this is one of the few songs on the album, where I can create a little story in my head (and being a Drama Student, this is very useful
6. Chokehold - It feels so lively and has that bittersweet feeling towards it, which I LOVE! Plus, the lyrics highlight his vulnerability, he creates quite a young feeling towards it. He makes me feel like a teenager again, and I'm only in my 20s
7. Breathe Me - Covers for me are normally a bit 'meh', but its completely stripped and he captures the emotion of the song, whilst showcasing his feelings. Also, it brings out the weepies it me
8. Is This Love - It reminds me of the excitement of waiting for any music news, and plus it was played for the first time the day before my birthday. I like to think it was a little present from Aiden!
9. Be Myself - The piano is such a wonderful touch. It took a while for me to grab my attention, but once I did, I finally recognised the pure emotion and delicate tones in his voice.
10. Nothing At All - Definate grower for me. But its the one song that randomly pops into my head and I find myself just singing it. Honestly, I could be anywhere, and I will sing it! None of the other songs have made me do this
11. What We Gonna Be - Not really a fan of Smiler (perhaps its due to the fact I haven't heard of him until the album:o), but it is catchy, I would just rather have more Aiden!
*Sigh* That was hard work. Gonna go listen to the album again!!
1. Be Myself - It's just so beautiful. Makes me feel like I'm suspended in the sea, being pulled back and forth with the tide, going nowhere and not wanting to
2. Misty Eye - The first track that got me the most live. On the album I much prefer the acoustic version which is just beautiful, but I like both and I love it so much live. (So much!!!) Somehow the "normal" version seems to have more to it live than on the CD (I haven't analysed what!?! Although I guess it's bare-er on the CD, and while Aiden sounds amazing in the verses, I think he's like double tracked or something (or it sounds just not quite as intimate and clear vocally at least as all the other vocals on the album) in the chorus for some reason....? Not a criticism as it's pretty amazing how usually in albums some of the emotion is stripped away from what the singer possesses just by means of polishment, but here it really isn't even in massive tracks - thank you Jarrad for this times lotses!) I find it hard to say what it is I like about it, but I guess it's just that it has everything to it: I find it by far the most interesting melodically - both in a pure melodic sense and in an emotional sense (the emotion that comes from the music this is) of the bigger tracks, and I don't really know why, but I still love that line "This paper heart is lost in fire but I'm not burning" & quite the words generally, though again I haven't really thought about them if I'm honest! It gets me immediately this track in any case and I'll never forget listening to the sound check outside the venue in Brighton, lost to it as the world went by
3. This Island - I really get into this one. It's the other track I love live. I love the way the beat takes a hold of you. I also have felt that this track in particular has gotten better and better live every performance - it's amazing live now! I love how dark it is, yet the track lets you enjoy the darkness & revel in it & you can dance to it - in fact it's kind of hard not to move to it! It also has my favourite lyrics: reckon it's easily the best track lyrically. Not that I know anything about such matters! As I said, I'm not one for lyrics, but if I had to say my favourite line (that I know) on the album I think perhaps it might be "I open up my thoughts at night, only walls can hold me in" - it gives me a really strong visual image/feeling. Not the most flashy of lyrics, but it means something if that makes sense? Yeah, love This Island
So, those are my favourites by some margin!! I can't really say I like one more than the others by a considerable amount - they're all pretty different and it's different things I like about 'em, but if pushed I'd put them in this order. I don't really know how to rank the rest though.
I have a new found love for Poacher's Timing 'cause it really got to me live and I felt something new in it. I don't think it's so interesting musically as some tracks to be honest, but it got me and now does every time so... Initially when we first heard it live it didn't get me like it did some people. And even now it's not sadness I feel in it - more this kind of unsettled quality. It's bleak and a bit unnerving and there's something tragic about it. The catch in the breathing in it too, oh! I dunno. I mean?? But yeah, something about it - it was chill-giving when it did get me.... but it took some time before it ever did. Might have been bottom before this and now I reckon it's next in line! I love Chokehold just 'cause it's happy and joyous. I don't know if the words are, but IT IS, so
So if I have to rate 'em I'll say
4. Poacher's Timing
5. Breathe Me
6. Chokehold
7. Curtain Call
8. What We Gonna Be
9. Nothing at All
10. Is This Love
11. Hold On
Maybe, but I mean
Not sure if Breathe Me should be included in the ranking in quite the same way?
Yeah, I guess I like the album! Though I love too that I can feel there's still further to go for Aiden so I look forward very much to album two
Kellz_xxx - love that breakfast interview - thanks for sharing and also for bringing stuff here 'cause otherwise I'd miss it! *hugs*
PS Sorry this is so long/I went on and likely spouted a load of pants!! hahahahaa!!!
My favourite track from Misty Eye has to be "Nothing at all". I thought this would do well as a single - its catchy, gets your attention and is more upbeat (something needed this time of year with all the summer dance anthems around). If this was released now it may attract a new audiance to the album and promote sales I think. The same could be said for "what we gonna be" - Smiler also has a big following.
Other favourites are This Island, Hold on, What we gonna be and Chokehold.
Anyway I have brought tickets for the Rescue Rooms Nottm and cant wait to see Aiden live!!!
And I dont think you should worry about Aiden - he is young talented, unique and released a brilliant first album. Great potential for more. Enjoy whats around now
Think I was a bit distracted as I didn't have so much to say for some songs, but doesn't mean I like 'em less. And some I maybe don't love but there's something a little special about them still? I was thinking, listening that I ought to have put Nothing at All much higher than I did in terms of how I like it with it's great beat and today that would maybe put that number 5, and Hold On with it's plinky plonky marimbaish (I don't know what the sound it) sounds up there too. And I could go on and on. It seems I really don't have firm preferences in the lower group. For example What we Gonna Be - there's moments in it which I adore, and then times when I don't like it so much as others. You just can't rank things like this. I actually love that usually on an album there's one or two tracks that stand out and weaker tracks, but with this, despite the variety, the quality in my view remains similar for them all
Anyway, that aside: Applepoppy welcome to the thread
http://www.channel4.com/t4/schedule
Applepoppy welcome to the thread. Have you seen Aiden live before?
If you don't want me to I will not count your vote spiralstatic, no problem.
Also prefer the acoustic version of Misty Eye to the "real" version.
There were a few songs I wasn't keen on (Misty Eye - I didn't like the high bits; What We Gonna Be - I didn't like the rap; Be Myself - I didn't like the repetitive lyrics in the chorus) but they've all grown on me. Genuinely like every track now :cool:
Ooh, wonder if we might get an actual B side for a future single?
Although, there's something about the backing music in Misty Eye that makes me want to re-listen to it over and over again! So gorgeous!