We've decided to something different this year and have presented our guide to Oxegen in mix-format. The mix contains over an hour of tunes from bands we advise checking out over the weekend, and is mixed together all purdy-like.
Read on for tracklisting and download links.
Download Mix Here
Tracklisting:
Church of Noise- Therapy?
Son et Lumiere/ Inertiatic Esp- The Mars Volta
Stick To Your Line- R.S.A.G.
Dancing Choose- TV On The Radio
If It Aint Broke, Break It- And So I Watch You From Afar
Skeleton Boy- Friendly Fires
Seven- Fever Ray
So Fine- Telepathe
Heads Will Roll- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
We Are Men- Cap Pas Cap
Mercury- Bloc Party
Hummer- Foals
The Libertine- Patrick Wolf
Wish- Nine Inch Nails
Idealistic- Digitalism
Oh!- Boys Noize
Batcat- Mogwai
Route 666- God Is An Astronaut
Acts we couldn't fit on the mix but would still recommend include: Villagers, Of Montreal, Heathers, Codes, Angel Pier, St Vincent, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Specials, Squeeze, and of course Nialler9's DJ set pre-Fever Ray.
Enjoy!
Egoeccentric's Guide To Oxegen
Blur For Oxegen
Now that Damon Albarn & Graham Coxon are bestest friends again (above), Blur seem to be setting themselves up for the summer festival circuit. So in an announcement bound to be conflicting for Evil Bob, the band have been confirmed as one of this year's Oxegen headliners. Blur will join Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, The Script, Katy Perry and (according to some reports) The Killers on the 2009 bill. Now for an amusing few days of watching Bob hum and haw over whether or not to play it safe and buy an Oxegen ticket, or just keep his fingers crossed in the hope that they'll announce for Glastonbury.
Tickets for Oxegen go on sale Friday March 6th, but are open to pre-sale for those registered at oxegen.ie from Wednesday February 26th.
The mystical Jim Carroll has made some predictions on other acts we can expect to see added soon enough, and as we all know, Jim has a tendency to be right about these kind of things. Here's his list: Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Kaiser Chiefs, Passion Pit, Glasvegas, Doves, Maximo Park, Justice.
Oxegen Review: Sunday
So despite having a wretched year in 2006 and complete avoidance last year I found myself once again in the Irish answer to the Calcutta slums, that is Oxegen, for one reason and one reason only. Rage Against the Machine. Naturally a whole day can't be spent in complete anticipation of this awesome band so to pass the time other bands were viewed.
Click below for a belated account of stuff.
Arrive to what turns out to be far too bloody early and continue drinking until a state of almost complete inebriation is reached by the time the gates open (12.00). Decide that there's fuck all on of interest so wander to campsite red to find compadres that are unfortunate enough to have spent the weekend there. Turns out the campsite has changed not a jot since the last time I was there which is very much a bad thing. The smell of decay is in the air.
Onwards to first band time who luckily happen to be Does it offend you, yeah? I haven't been bigging up this band for a while for no reason at all. They are actually shit cool and they put on a great fucking show. Its a shame that a) "the company" have chosen to once again hold the Dance 'tent' in that big sweatbox of a warehouse and b) that the sun is splitting the sky outside and even in that dank place the bright light permeates, ruining the effects of the lightshow somewhat. The chaps do their best however and wisely keep their rocking stuff until last where the crowd have reached the peak of their (possibly drug-aided) frenzy.
Does it Offend You, Yeah? - Dawn of the Dead
Finding one with a loss of anything in the way of good stuff to watch its decided to have a curious gander at We Are Scientists. Luckily that we're far enough away that we can ignore them because of all the boring shite that I've seen at various festivals over the years this is certainly up there. Such a promising band that three years ago brought out a quirky little rock tune (The Great Escape) has now been reduced to samey boring muck. Raised slightly in estimation by ending the set with the aforementioned classic.
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Indie's bright shining new stars MGMT are being viewed for the third time in as many months by yours truly and are now at the stage where I'm starting to not give a fuck about them anymore. They come out with their silly little bandana's and seem completely underwhelmed by the rapturous reception that they receive. All songs are played well but with the degree of don't-give-a-fuckness that make you want to hit the cunts. At one point the crowd gets to the stage of excitement that people are hanging off the pillars supporting the tent. While this initially receives much cheering from the crowd the tables are quickly turned when it transpires that the band aren't allowed to play anymore unless people get the fuck down. One stupid bint ignores the hoots and hollers from the crowd and proceeds to climb all the way up to the top of the pillar and through the hole in the tent. Cheers luv. One less song for us to hear. Spa. With barely any time left to play the band come on and finish with their trio of known songs, Electric Feel, Time to Pretend and Kids. The last song being where my largest bone of contention lies with the band. That everytime they play this song its as if they are doing Karaoke. I fail to believe that its not possible to reproduce this song live as other bands have done better with less. I predict this song being dropped from the set before long if it can be helped as their discomfort with performing it clearly betrays that this may be their Bohemian Rhapsody or Teen spirit.
MGMT - Electric Feel
You don't need me to tell you that Fight Like Apes are rising up the scene quicker than one of my belches after downing a nasty pint and they do certainly know how to perform live, that much is certain. The between song banter is infectious and gives off the impression that they are very much at ease with playing live and songs are short enough not to overstay their welcome. To be watched.
Fight Like Apes - Lightsabre Cock-Sucking Blues
So finally the hour comes. One that I've been waiting for for 15 years. Rage Against the Fucking Machine. I don't think I can possibly describe how much I enjoyed this gig. Not quite as well as Nialler does in his review anyway but suffice to say that after it ended I had bruises all over me and the next morning all my joints were stiff. It was great to find a mosh pit that was not only huge but violent (in that good way) and untainted by the thugs and oafs that "the company" likes to hire as security.
Every possible song is cranked out and it all ends too bloody fast. A big "Fuck you" goes out to the guy who couldn't fix their sound, which kept cutting out every now and then but apart from that little glitch they made it worth taking the trip to Punchestown for what will hopefully be the last time.
Rage Against the Machine - Bulls On Parade (DJ Kue Remix)
Cheers to James Goulden at State.ie for unwittingly supplying me with photo's
Oxegen Review: Saturday
With Rage Against the Machine being the main reason for ticket getting, most people made Sunday their day of choice for hitting Oxegen. I however couldn't resist the lure of Justice, and headed down on Saturday afternoon with dancing on my mind.
I was not disappointed.
Highlights in the readmore...
Radiohead- Nude (Holy Fuck Remix)
Click for mp3
Supermayer- Two of Us
Click for mp3
The 2FM New Bands Stage played host to a handful of 'ones to check out', so most of the afternoon was spent wandering in and out of there between beers & yummy Happy Pear cookies. Vampire Weekend and Alpha Beats didn't do much for me, and my five minutes at Pendulum seemed a bit too 'Scooter' to warrant hanging around.
Stuff kicked off again at 21.45 when we ventured over to the dance stage again to check out some of Boys Noize before heading to Hot Chip at ten.
Alexander Ridha (the boy in Boys Noize) had other ideas, and after a few minutes it became clear we wouldn't be getting anywhere near Hot Chip. Dirty bass and unrelenting beats made for fantastic music, while the lighting was 99% lasers, a la Tool's show in the point last year. A personal highlight came when we were treated to Ridha's remix of The Faint's The Geeks Were Right, which rocked quite hard. Check it out for yourself:
The Faint- The Geeks Are Right (Boys Noize DIM Remix)
As you can see from Mr Youtube below, the atmosphere was quite decent, and the laser show rocked. Maybe next year, Hot Chip...
Having a quick change-over is definitely one of the benefits of playing a Dance stage, so after Boys Noize we were only kept waiting for a minute or two before the bright cross was raised on stage, and Genesis boomed out over the crowd. How satisfying it must be to have an opening number specifically designed for perfection... It certainly set the mood, and soon the room was a massive, sweaty pile of craziness.
Here's the Chewie Chocolate Cookie remix of Genesis, via SSDT:
Justice- Genesis (Chewie Chocolate Cookies remix)
Click for mp3
By the time the music eventually finishes, the dancing can't be stopped- and continues right outside the arena where the end of the Prodigy's set can be heard from the o2 stage. We briefly entertained the thought of hanging around til the morning and watching Rage, but knowing that the happy-Justice buzz would eventually wear off, we resolved to stick to the plan and head back to Dublin. Kudos must be given to Dublin Bus for running a tight ship- we were back in no time- and collapsing into my own bed a couple of hours later made me glad of my decision. Tent-sleeping is certainly not one of my favourite aspects of festival going.
Bob made his way down to Oxegen as I was sleeping off the booze, so his review of Sunday's festivities will be coming soon...
egoeccentric's guide to Oxegen
So after all the talk and the hoo-hah and the scumbags and the line-up announcements and the pictures of burning tents and the hating and the rain and the mud and more talk and hoo-hah, Oxegen has rolled around again, boasting what is probably the best line-up of all European festivals. Those of you who have been there before and have been to any other festival other than it too can attest that as far as things-to-do is concerned Oxegen is severely lacking but nobody can argue with the quality line-up showcasing some of the best that music is offering at the moment.
Most of you are already down there but its not too late and perhaps this post will show you what it is you're missing. In the read more we've picked what we think is the best of the weekend. Three categories of Acts that can't be missed, Acts worth checking out and Irish acts to see (this will not include the 4 way power-house of Irish mediocrity that is the Friday night line-up in the Green Room. Sawdoctors, Aslan, Mundy, Bell X1, Shudder).
Top 5 Acts That Can't Be Missed
1. Justice
Clashing with the Prodigy should prove no problem for the new saviours of Dance, who are sure to finish off Saturday night by getting the crowd grooving to their funky next-level-Daft-Punk sounds.
Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
2. Battles
How many times do we have to tell you to check this band out? Hopefully this should be the last.
Battles - Tij
3. Aphex Twin
Richard D James returns from wherever the hell he's been to wow us hell. Or scare the shit out of us if he wears one of the masks from the Come to Daddy video.
Aphex Twin - Window Licker
4. The Music
Vastly vastly underrated Dance-Rock band. Pissed no doubt at Kasabian stealing their style and doing a giant shit on it.
The Music - Getaway
5. Rage Against The Machine
The "Angriest band in the World"(TM) return to entice folks to crack some (hopfully scumbag) skulls in the mosh pit. Prepar to scream "Fuck" very very loudly.
Rage Against the Machine - Take the Power Back
Top 5 Acts Worth Checking Out
1. Holy Fuck
Canadian dancey types prove that they're not just a funny name.
Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen
2. Friendly Fires
More fans of the 80's. Uk Three-piece make frantic electro tuneage.
Friendly Fires - Lovesick
3. Jaguar Love
US Synth drive squawky types cause confusion as to gender of singer. Fans of Blood Brothers will be used to this. Awesome.
Jaguar Love - Highways of Gold
4. Yeasayer
Self-described as "Enya with bounce" but don't let that turn you off. I happen to love Enya so I'm already erect.
Yeasayer - Wait for the Summer
5. Does it Offend You Yeah?
Uk Dance types who can't decide exactly what style they want to be but are awesome at each one they try.
Does if Offend You Yeah? - We Are Rockstars
Top 5 Irish Acts To See
(this could easily have been a top 10)
1. Crayonsmith
Fresh from US tour dublin souls return for what will hopefully be gigs of awesomeness.
Crayonsmith -6Am Again 
2. God is an Astronaut
With a live set thats never been captured completely on record, God is... are visually and sonically stunning.
God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright
3. Dry County
Indie-electro darlings with the un-enviable challenge of playing at the same time as Rage Against the Machine which is a shame because this gig will be their last under this moniker apparently.
4. Halves
Dublin types throw up dreamy post-rock to help pill heads come down.
Halves - Medals
5. Fight Like Apes
Ireland's bright new shouty hopes take to Oxegen after two GLastonbury shows broadcast on BBC.
Fight Like Apes - Lend Me Your Face
More Oxegen Acts
What looks to be the best lineup for Irish festival goers this year has gotten even better, with late additions including MGMT, The Ting Tings & dEUS.
The day by day breakdown so far has also been released, along with the Dance stage lineup. Details in the read more..
Thanks to State for posting!
Friday 11th July 08:
Kings of Leon, Interpol, Editors, Aphex Twin, Bell X1, Cat Power, Paddy Casey, Groove Armada, The Coronas, dEUS, Battles, Future Kings of Spain, Unkle, Calvin Harris, Annie Mac, MSTRKRFT, Koze, Kosheen, Burns, Sneaky Sound System and many more.
Saturday 12th July 08:
R.E.M., The Verve, Amy Winehouse, The Prodigy, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Counting Crows, The Zutons, Newton Faulkner, Panic at the Disco, Feeder, Richard Hawley, Seasick Steve, The Hoosiers, Scouting For Girls, The Charlatans, Powderfinger, Declan O’Rourke, My Morning Jacket, The Ting Tings Camille O’Sullivan, British Sea Power, Black Kids, Delays, Concerto For Constantine, Paul Heaton, Pendulum, Justice, Bowling For Soup, Boys Noize, Mylo, Slam, Michael Mayer, Kavinsky, The Japanese Popstars and many more.
Sunday 13th July 08:
Rage Against The Machine, Kaiser Chiefs, The Swell Season featuring Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová, The Fratellis, Ian Brown, The Kooks, MGMT, The Feeling, Kate Nash, Roisin Murphy, Tom Baxter, Reverend and the Makers, Band of Horses, Lightspeed Champion, The Pogues, The Subways, The Stranglers, Ryan Bingham, The Courteeners, Alabama 3, David Guetta, Luciano, Kaz James, Crookers, Radioslave, Quiet Village, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Carl Craig and many more.
DANCE STAGE LINEUP
Fri 11th July:
Unkle, Calvin Harris, Annie Mac, MSTRKRFT, Koze, Kosheen, Burns and Sneaky Sound System.
Sat 12th July:
Justice, Boys Noize, Mylo, Slam, Michael Mayer, Kavinsky and Japanese Popstars.
Sun 13th July:
David Guetta, Luciano, Kaz James, Crookers, Radioslave, Quiet Village, Does It Offend You Yeah? and Carl Craig.
Oxegen Camping Tickets Sell Out
Only non camping tickets left, folks- best get moving.
And yes, there are still single day tickets available, if you're only interested in going to see Rage.
The Prodigy added for Oxegen. No excuse now.
Anybody who's seen The Prodigy life will know that they're...well...savage. So now there's more incentive for all the creamiest of crackers to get in their Micra's and head down Naas way potentially spoiling it for those of us forced to go because of Rage Against the Machine.
Panic at the Disco have also been announced so hopefully the scummers will do something constructive and get bottling the stage when these fuckers are on.
Rage Swallowed By The Oxegen Machine
Damn it, why did I hope? Oxegen have today dealt an early sucker-punch to other Irish festivals.
Rage Against the Machine have been confirmed for the punchestown festival.
Crap.
Well I guess I've got to get a ticket now..
Oxegen Brings The Pain
I tempted fate, and fate has duly slapped me in the face. Lesson learned.
Only days after rejoicing that Oxegen may not steal too many bands from Electric Picnic this year, the dastards have gone ahead and got that 'lets prove Rob wrong' ball a-rolling.
Justice, Aphex Twin & Hot Chip have now been confirmed for the Punchestown festival. Damn. In addition to these acts, the lineup now boasts: The Chemical Brothers, Alabama 3, Interpol, Counting Crows, The Fratellis, The Raconteurs, Ian Brown, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon & R.E.M.
Justice is a big loss, that could have been a highlight of the summer. At least in the case of Hot Chip we have a Tripod show to look forward to (see detailed post below).
Let's just hope this is the end of the booking war for this year..
REM For Oxegen
REM have been confirmed as one of this year's Oxegen headliners, joining Kings of Leon, who were already added to the bill as the 'fans choice'.
In my opinion, this is good news, but not for obvious reasons.
With Oxegen's habit of nabbing artists from Electric Picnic (Arcade Fire, anyone?), I'm anxious for them to start booking as many acts that I'm not pushed on seeing as possible. Not that I don't like REM, but I've definitely cooled on them in the last couple of years (and ultimately, seen them live before).
This year with bands such as Rage Against The Machine doing the rounds the stakes are high. So kudos, Oxegen, you're playing right into our hands. Let the booking battle continue!
Things That Will Be Shit in 2008
Having promised this rant I have now decided to deliver albeit several weeks later than any of the other previews of the year that are out there. So here are just a couple of things that you can take for granted are going to suck significant amounts of balls this year.
THE NEW U2 ALBUM
I’m not even 100% sure if they are bringing out a new album but going on the previous pattern of album every four years it seems pretty assured. The trouble is that it will no doubt 
Anyway towards the end of this year be prepared to hear a high energy rock and roll single with inane lyrics to be played everywhere followed by a slowed down ballady number called “Sometimes you can’t make it get stuck in a moment you can’t get out of” or some such shit.
The ensuing world tour the following summer will however be unmissable as, naysayer or not, there are few live bands better than U2 just for sheer spectacle.
OXEGEN
Put simply:
'Nuff said?
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Finally eight years have gone and we can look forward to many long years without Bush. This will create absolutely no difference for a lot of my friends but bad puns aside we are looking forward to a time of great hope and prosperity. People will throw up their arms and rejoice because world peace has finally come. People of all ethnicities will dance and sing in the street and throw all their differences aside and look ahead to a bright future.
The above fantasy is really what most people on the planet have in their heads regar
ding the end of Dubya’s reign in the White house. I hate to be the one to drop the Atom bomb of truth on you all but the fact is that the appointment of a new president in the US will make little to no fucking difference as far as world policy is concerned. True, there might be just that little bit less concern about starting wars for oil and the literacy standards might rise somewhat throughout Washington but there hasn’t been a US president yet who hasn’t pissed off people in quite a large way and the damage that was done by Bush will last for some considerable time.No no my friends, a pessimist I may be but as the mighty Bill Hicks said, the rules of American politics dictate that there be two puppets. One on each of the arms of the same puppet master. I might also remind you that a pessimist is never disappointed. So this Autumn be prepared for a loud unenthusiastic chorus of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". Unfortunately it will not be preceeded by one of the greatest Rock N' Roll screams of all time (Ref: "Won't get fooled again" by The Who; watch the vid and check out about 7.30 for fucking awesomeness)
SUMMER
See my earlier point about pessimism.
TELEVISION
I’m all for unions, and the members of the WGA, for the most part, have been particularly fucked with the previous deals they’ve had with studios but at the same time I do
quite like a few of the shows on TV. What this writers strike has meant is that Heroes is already finished after 11 (poor) episodes. Prison break will only last 13 episodes. 24 Season 7 is indefinitely postponed. Lost will only run for 8 episodes and the worst of all………………Scrubs and Battlestar Galactica may not get the mighty sendings off they deserve as their final seasons will most likely either be seriously shortened or cancelled outright.Naturally there are other shows affected but these are just the ones that I watch so Desperate Housewives can kiss my ass.
The fact that all the scripts for films released in 2008 have long since been finalised will mean that this year will see the usual batch of movies of varying quality but come 2009 if the strike persists and with absolutely fuck all scripts written it could be a bad bad year for people who give a bollocks about films in general.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Three reasons why this is a bad thing and all of them contradictory.
1. The fact that it’s on, full stop.
2. Ireland aren’t in it.
3. England aren’t in it.
Now the first two might be self-explanatory. I’m one of those sad fuckers who will only watch sports events if I can cheer for a team that I have a connection with so if Ireland aren't in it I'm not going to transfer my loyalty to Croatia.
You might think it strange that I’m disappointed by the fact that England aren’t part of Euro ’08 but which would you prefer, them not playing at all or them playing and losing terribly to some team that should be far inferior to them considering they invented the fucking game. Would you really deny the whole of Ireland the chance to laugh in unison just like that wonderful day when they played Portugal 20 months ago. I wouldn't and that is why the month of June will be a dull dull month punctuated by a week in Glastonbury, which is something that should really go on a list of Good things in 2008..... continue reading>>
Kings Of Leon Confirmed For Oxegen 08
Oxegen Extended To Three Days
It seems Oxegen feels it is capable of depriving decent festivals (Elec Pic) of yet more acts that would be more suited to playing the latter. So in order to fit in as many of these acts as possible, this years Oxegen fest will be extended to three days. This does kinda make sense, as most Oxegen goers seem to get down to punchestown on Friday anyways, and are always left arsing around with nothing to do all night. Other than steal things. And set fire to anything they can't steal. But that's Oxegen for ya.
Hopefully the Picnic is gaining enough of a rep that it'll still be able to pull at least some of the acts it wants to, unlike last year's Arcade Fire debacle. Still, it was the small acts that made the picnic for me (and the unique Picnic charm), and I can't see MCD fighting the Picnic organisers over the likes of Final Fantasy.
Lets just hope a mainstream act don't pull a masterpiece out of their asses and leave me forced to come crawling back to MCD, like the infamous Stadium Arcadium year.
Talented bastards.
