December 21, 2018
Your Weekly Music Fix
Runabay ‘Symmetry’
SNOW PATROL
HOZIER
Ireland’s only weekly music news magazine PureMzine.com
PureMzine
Editor: Chris Thompson Chris@puremzine.com Dave Simpson Dave@puremzine.com Anne Hunter Promo@puremzine.com Live Photography Anamaria Meiu CONNECT Instagram @puremzine Twitter @puremzine YouTube #PureMzine
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TOP 20 IRISH Official Music Video Chart
Versatile - Lost & Found Picture This - Everything Or Nothing Orla Gartland - Between My Teeth Maverick Sabre - Her Grace ft. Chronixx JyellowL - Me N Me Too Wallis Bird - The Ocean Ivan Nicolas - Burned Talos - See Me Davie Furey - Flames on the River David Keenan - Two Kids Junior Brother - The Back of Her Dania - 2 in 1 Ciarรกn Moran - Follow Your Soul The Lost Brothers - Keep Christmas InThe Heart Chirpy - Another Version Dreaming of Jupiter - Fading Loah - Keep Your Heart ft. God Knows, Bantum, Ben Bix, Dunny Happyalone - Go Slow Vernon Jane - Push Me Kilnamana - Kill The Kool
(Videos 1 month old from release date are removed to keep it fresh) keep up to date via our YouTube channel as charts are updated daily! 03
TOP 10 Global
Acoustic/Live Music Video Chart 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Boyce Avenue ft. Mariana Nolasco - Hero The 1975 - 102 Coldplay - Paradise Jonas Blue - Polaroid ft. Liam Payne, Lennon Stella Lauv & Julia Michaels - There’s No Way Bring Me The Horizon - wonderful life Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved Clean Bandit - Baby ft. Marina & Nakajin Bishop Briggs - Baby Jax Jones, Years & Years - Play
TOP 10 Global
Audio/Lyrics Music Video Chart
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Ariana Grande - Imagine 6ix9ine - KIKA ft. Tory Lanez ZAYN - Good Years Lil Skies - Opps Want Me Dead Wisin & Yandel - Guaya Rich The Kid - Splashin Lil Durk - I Know Clean Bandit – Mama ft. Ellie Goulding Kodak Black - Testimony Travis Scott, Skrillex - Sicko Mode 04
PureMzine HOT 100
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100 top music videos on PureMzine. Videos are added daily as artists upload to their channels and videos one month old from release date are removed. Keep an eye on the live chart via PureMzine.com
Ariana Grande - Thank u, next Nicki Minaj - Good Form ft. Lil Wayne Anuel AA /Haze - Amanece Mark Ronson - Nothing Breaks Like a Heart ft. Miley Cyrus Kodak Black - ZEZE ft. Travis Scott & Offset Alejandro Sanz - No Tengo Nada Nacho, Manuel Turizo - Déjalo Eminem - Good Guy ft. Jessie Reyez XXXTENTACION - BAD! Wisin & Yandel, Ozuna - Callao Kodak Black - Calling My Spirit Travis Scott - YOSEMITE Kygo - Happy Now ft. Sandro Cavazza KSI - Ares Migos/Takeoff - Casper Wisin & Yandel, Maluma - La Luz Lil Yachty - Get Dripped ft. Playboi Carti KSI & Randolph - Beerus Avril Lavigne - Tell Me It's Over A$AP Rocky - Gunz N Butter ft. Juicy J Benny Blanco, Jesse & Swae Lee - Better To Lie Alessia Cara - Not Today Marshmello x Roddy Ricch - Project Dreams A$AP Rocky - Tony Tone Kodak Black - Gnarly Ft. Lil Pump 08
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Kodak Black - Testimony Aitana - Vas A Quedarte DJ Snake - Taki Taki ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna, Cardi B Teyana Taylor - Gonna Love Me Russ - Missin You Crazy Jay Rock - Shit Real ft. Tee Grizzley Calibre 50 - ¿Por Qué Cambiaste De Opinión? Mr Eazi - Surrender ft. Simi Jorja Smith - The One Sean Paul - Naked Truth ft. Jhené Aiko MHD - Bébé ft. Dadju MØ - Blur ft. Foster The People The 1975 - It's Not Living (If It's Not With You) $teven Cannon, Lil Xan - I Might Alec Benjamin - Boy In The Bubble Martin Garrix & Julian Jordan - Glitch Mariah, Casper Magico - Blah J Alvarez - Tamos Chilling Zhavia Ward - 100 Ways Marshmello ft. Bastille - Happier Spice - Romantic Mood Jax Jones, Years & Years - Play The Black Eyed Peas - BACK 2 HIPHOP ft. Nas CHIP - My Girl ft.. Stefflon Don, Alkaline & Red Rat Tessa Violet - Bad Ideas 09
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Oliver Heldens - Fire In My Soul ft. Shungudzo Swizz Beatz - Echo ft. Nas Saint PHNX - Deadmen HRVY - I Don't Think About You Dave East - Wit Me Five Finger Death Punch - Blue on Black Tove Lo - Cycles Pitbull - Quiero Saber Feat. Prince Royce & Ludacris PRETTYMUCH - Jello Brett Young - Here Tonight Andrea Bocelli, Aida Garifullina - Ave Maria pietas Tiwa Savage - One Usher x Zaytoven - Peace Sign Bad Gyal - Yo Sigo Iual Lucifena, Lil Xan - On Sight Def Leppard - Personal Jesus Birdman, Jacquees - Depend ft. FYB, King Issa Krept & Konan - Pour Me Another One ft. Tabitha Luke Bryan - What Makes You Country Robyn - Honey Breaking Benjamin - Tourniquet DJ Snake/Mercer - BOSS TobyMac - The Elements Jay Park - Million Guizmo x Sidiki Diabate - Jamais Oublié 10
PureMzine HOT 100
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YG - Slay ft. Quavo Ice Cube - That New Funkadelic Paul McCartney - Who Cares Lukas Graham & Hus Forbi - You’re Not The Only One DJ Snake x Mercer - Lets Get Ill Yung Pinch - Not Tea Justice - Heavy Metal Jennifer Lopez - Limitless Olly Murs - Megamix Gabrielle Aplin - My Mistake Dodie - Party Dodie - If I'm Being Honest Stephen Puth - Sexual Vibe Lola Indigo, Mala Rodríguez - Mujer Bruja SIA/Natalie Portman - Wrapped Up Crystal Lake - AEON Valee - Awesome ft. Matt Ox VULFPECK /// Love is a Beautiful Thing Bryant Myers - Noche De Fantasía Versatile - Lost & Found Brandi Carlile - Party Of One Birdman, Jacquees - GWSC ft. Neno Calvin R2bees - Beautiful Picture This - Everything Or Nothing Mr Eazi - Dabebi ft. King Promise & Maleek Berry 11
TRACK OF THE WEEK
N
By Dave Simpson
orthern Irish indie folk ensemble Runabay are back with a brand new single named “Symmetry”. Serving as the follow up to July’s “Blink of an Eye”, the song is taken from the band’s upcoming inaugural album, which is due to drop in 2019. In a statement issued to coincide with the new single’s release, the ensemble asserted, “The response to our music from our fans thus far has been beyond our wildest expectations. Not forgetting the numerous plays on BBC Radio Ulster, Amazing Radio, plays from Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson of BBC 6 Music, Dan Hegarty at RTE 2FM, Louise Duffy and Ed Smith on Today FM [and] Cathal Murray at RTE Radio One. We trust that the new song will bear all of the typical Runabay hallmarks, though will also highlight our ongoing development as a band…We really hope you enjoy ‘Symmetry’ and all our other songs.” The touching three and three quarter minute track opens with
Runabay
Symmetry
an affecting acoustic riff which proceeds to maintain a moving ambience underneath the hushed but heartfelt refrain of the thoughtful first verse. The 14
atmosphere stays stirring as the music and melody drift delicately in the direction of a remarkably invigorating chorus that’s loaded with emotional
music and absorbingly passionate singing. This is succeeded by a soft yet resonant second verse, after which another incredibly
rousing chorus paves to way to a riveting instrumental breakdown that goes on to set the scene for a superbly powerful climactic refrain. The 15
result is an irresistibly arresting combination of folk, pop and rock that remains equal parts pleasant and electrifying as it unfolds.
TOP 10 IRISH
Audio/Lyrics Music Video Chart
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Walking On Cars - Monster Van Morrison - Ain't Gonna Moan No More Westlife - Somebody Needs You Maverick Sabre - Her Grace ft. Chronixx Sean and Conor Price - Time Curtis Walsh - Perfect Rain Chanele McGuinness - Where Does He Go? Jimmy's Cousin - I'll Never Love Again Rocstrong - Blood Spilling True Tides - Higher 18
HOZIER
The Olympia Theatre, Dublin Photography by Anamaria Meiu
Katey Brooks In Your Arms
F
By Dave Simpson
inding refuge in music as a child, the path to a career in composing for English folk artist Katey Brooks began with gospel singing and echoing the works of the likes of John Lennon and Elvis before she started to entertain her school friends with renditions of soul tunes during her teenage years and 22
ultimately decided to dedicate herself to songwriting and performing. Having experienced a series of tragedies in early adulthood, including falling victim to illness and the passing of both her mother and lifelong best friend, Brooks says that such events have “definitely had an effect on the course of my life
and my writing. I guess I’m lucky that I have songs that I can write, as a means to deal with things.” Further elaborating on how hardships have influenced her material, she proclaimed, “Pain just reminds me why I sing. And not just for me – for everybody. They say in a funny sort of way musicians are like therapists, because music is a universal language. Everybody has experienced some kind of heartache, especially in relationships, and music allows us to purge these feelings.” Her latest single, “In Your Arms”, dropped on the digital market at the start of December and Brooks asserts that it “is an expression of what [the woman I love] means to me and how much has transformed for me since I met her. It’s about that good love, that breaks you open, challenges you, drives you, and I think, ultimately, makes you a better you.” The endearingly gentle three minute offering starts with some soft but sonorous singing which becomes increasingly vibrant going forward while a subtle acoustic riff maintains a mellow ambience in the background. The music remains simple yet stirring underneath the consistently touching vocals as the whole thing glides gracefully towards a terrifically affecting denouement. The outcome is an admirably deep acoustic folk piece, the captivatingly warm and harmonious delivery of which is likely to allure a large listenership.
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SNOW PATROL 3Arena, Dublin Photography by Anamaria Meiu
BUMBLEBEE
M
by Tommy McCormack
ichael Bay did not direct this film. That has pretty much been the main selling point of Travis Knight's Transformers prequel/spin-off, which faces the not-all-that-insurmountable task of revitalising the maligned movie franchise after Bay's string of increasingly dumb, bloated, bombastic sequels to his own 2007 hit. To call it a vast improvement, or a pleasure without being a guilty pleasure, is faint praise, but a relief nonetheless. If you have only seen that first film and steered clear of the sequels (including last year's The Last Knight), you are perhaps in the best position to appreciate this filmthe less robot-fatigue, the better. So, is it a prequel to those other films, or a reboot that wipes the slate clean and starts afresh? It falls, perplexingly, somewhere in between, at least for now. Paramount Studios, for one reason or another, is still tethered to Bay. But at least this time we have a filmmaker with a better idea of how to turn a kid's toy and Saturday-morning TV show into a crowd-pleasing blockbuster. The plot is centred on the yellow Autobot (good-guy) that we will later be named Bumblebee who, after escaping his war-torn Transformer planet
of Cybertron, meets Hailee Steinfeld's teen on Earth. The lonely girl forms a bond with the mentally-damaged, mute alien robot while, elsewhere, the increasingly suspicious US military, and two Decepticon (bad-guy) marauders, threaten to close in on them. As you may have guessed, the human-andalien-bonding plot is basically E.T. or The Iron Giant, the very definition of a studio's formulaic safe bet. It even repeats beats from the serieslaunching 2007 film. One can imagine that an executive committee pitched a film with a smaller, more intimate scale to allow for a smaller production budget and scale. That same committee clearly also wanted a film that appealed to the girls in the audience as well as the boys. The latter will come for the cool smash-bang set-pieces, but the former can now have a young female protagonist to identify with. And since 1980s nostalgia is "in" right now, why not set it in that period as well? So yes, one could call it a calculated cash-grab, not high art- which, let's be honest, is what the Hasbro toy product has always been, ostensibly. At least there is a more successful injection of uncynical fun, charm and heart this time around. 26
One criticism levelled at the live-action Transformers films thus far is their tonal inability to decide who exactly they are for, and that is not fully solved here. The central sci-fi/fantasy concept of (English-speaking) alien robots with the ability to reconfigure themselves into Earth vehicles (and their accompanying mythology), is one that still walks a fine line between entertaining absurdity (akin to the more fantastical Marvel films) and childish ludicrousness. The epic, destructive action scenes have an intensity that jars with the more kid-friendly, often comedic scenes of human
interplay. One new element at play here is the coming-of-age teen dramedy that makes up much of Steinfeld's plot-linethe archetypal kind that Disney might make. It may be jarring to watch giant CG robots eviscerate each other one moment and a teen/YA dramedy scene the next. Overall, perhaps the ideal audience is young teens, but older Transformers fans should at least feel rewarded with the best-yet liveaction portrayal of their cherished 1980s robot characters. At the very least, Knight has now set the benchmark for Transformers action, focusing
on only a few fighters at a time and leaving room to appreciate the choreography, all the while ensuring our emotional attachment with the titular hero. This easily beats throwing as many robots as possible into an Avengers-climax-level battle, or just stringing together a bunch of cool shots (Bay...). It's almost strange, albeit in a refreshing way, to have such a scaleddown Transformers offering. One can admire the writers for being restrained enough to save the other popular characters (Megatron, etc.) for future instalments. It also helps to have human characters who can carry scenes when the robots do 27
not, with Steinfeld, in particular, continuing to be a revelatory rising star. The other actors are stuck doing the best they can with one-dimensional archetypes, which sadly remains an inherent franchise flaw. At least former WWE star John Cena is his typical scenechewing, charismatic self, playing his soldier antagonist with more-or-less the right amount of straight-faced cheesiness. Another highlight for the boys? One's enjoyment of the aforementioned highlights really depends on your ability to switch your brain off. There are still plot holes you could drive several trucks through and a debatably uneven balance between human and Transformer screen-time. Overall, this remains a series defined by Saturday-morningcartoon-quality plotting, characters, dialogue and overall logic. This time there is an attempt at some Spielberg-like, heartstring-tugging moments, which would be unbearably saccharine were it not for Steinfeld's ability to remain emotionally genuine, no matter how flawed the script. The fact that there is enough here to win over cynics at all, at least a little bit, finally causes for some genuine optimism and curiosity about the series' future. For now, we'll take it. Full disclosure: Bay is a producer. But this does not feel like one his films.
Christmas 2018 Top 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wengie - Ugly Christmas Sweater Pentatonix - Where Are You, Christmas? Andrea Bocelli - Fall On Me Gwen Stefani - You Make It Feel Like Christmas ft. Blake Shelton Sia - My Old Santa Claus John Legend - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Lindsey Stirling - Santa Baby OneRepublic - White Christmas Connie Talbot - Your Song Def Leppard - We All Need Christmas
MERRY CHRISTMAS!