Pete:
I'm not really sure how I feel about it all. This may be because I'm horribly hungover but still. I think the arrangement is pretty lame, a key change that doesn't work for me and grandiose instrumentation that wreaks of the same production team that worked on Leona Lewis' cover of Run. Then again, that's a pretty great cover in my opinion and they are of course both under the genius of Simon Cowell so similarity is to be expected.
I guess I'm having trouble seeing the necessity to make a delicate song so ridiculously extravagant. It's just a tad too much for a song that works so perfectly stripped back. Though after my comments about interpretation being so important to music, it would be wrong of me to say that Burke's cover should be similar to Cohen's or Buckley's. So I'll leave the X Factor one alone for the moment, good effort but not quite the right thing for me.

In regards to the Buckley stuff, I completely understand why people are getting behind Buckley so much as it is one of those songs that people hold dear and it does deserve attention. Again, I just wonder if the thousands of people that have already downloaded it actually care about the songs origins, its various incarnations and even the songs meaning. It is a powerful recording by an artist that they have watched develop and win a talent show and they are buying the single to reward her with what she wanted I guess, that coveted Christmas number one.
However, this is making the sweeping assumption that people that watch X Factor have no musical knowledge and do not care about any music that hasn't been manufactured in the last ten years. Which is of course horribly wrong. They might well know and love any or all of the other incarnations and just happen to love this one as well.

And one more thing, it is Rufus Wainright's superb piano version that Buckley based his cover on, not Cohen. This really is the town bike of songs. The question is, whose version is Burke's based on? The guitars at the beginning would indicate Buckley but who knows what from anywhere else.


So after a very windy and unconstructive post, what I'm trying to say is:
It is clear that Burke will get number one, that was never contested I guess. And fair play to people for trying to resurrect a much loved classic cover of a simply beautiful song. It will do well and that will posthomously bring a lot of renewed attention in an interesting artist. And anything to promote people buying music is a great thing. I just have a horrible sinking feeling that one of the world's best songwriters (Leonard Cohen) will be forgotten in the chain and it will be a case of "Have you heard that X Factor cover of Jeff Buckley" as opposed to Cohen. I suppose only time will tell and so what if this does happen? People should be free to discover who they want, like what they want and respect it any way they want.

Fantastic non-commital answer there alex

So, NME have thrown in their 2 cents worth for Album and Tracks of the year. The chart is dominated by MGMT who are yet to tickle any bone in my body but they certainly are appreciated by the masses and NME is the Sun of the music world so it is to be expected.
Quick rundown
#1 album: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
#9 album: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
#5 album: Foals - Antidotes
#49 album: Bloc Party - Intimacy
#39 album: Chairlift - Does You Inspire You

The tracks are entirely predictable, the usual Sex on Fire, Wearing My Rolex, bit of Glasvegas though no sign of the Ting Tings anywhere which is a suprise. Anyway, its all on the NME blog if you want to have a look.

My thoughts on the whole sordid process will be up soon but my album list will be on albums that have really impressed me during 2008, not necessarily albums that were released in 2008. Some albums need time to grow and fit better in your listening patterns at different points to the time they were released. For example, 6 months ago, Chairlift's album may not have got a look in, it's dark, minimalistic, slow and a tire to listen to. But it's so so so good because that's the sort of stuff i'm listening to, dark music for a dark place you know? As your music taste evolves, it's natural I think to discover the roots and influences of the genre, inevitably meaning you listen to music from years gone by. It's unfair to discredit albums from your favourite albums list just because they weren't released this year so I wont.

Anyway, I don't know if I'll do a little review of each album or just do a list, depends how it all goes. There are still some late entries to consider too, having finally got my hands on the Ladyhawke album, I'm expecting big things.
Exciting times indeed.

Right, before this goes any further, let me just say that I started this blog to write about music I like that people may not have heard of. I know that I get incensed about certain things and use this as a platform to exorcise my anger but that's not what this is about, not what I'm about.

So, in a remarkable U-turn, I've been thinking if I really have any right to complain about Hallelujah being used as the X factor winner's song this year. Many have seen this as an attack on one of those songs that is deemed untouchable. Like Sweet Home Alabama or Sweet Child O' Mine, there are songs that have been elevated above any others and are seen as artistically perfect. Now, one of the most wonderful things about music is that it is personal and that it evokes a different feeling in every single person. Music thrives on being able to create that hair-standing up feeling in as many people whilst deluding you to think that only you have connected with that song in that way. Songs that enthuse me will chill you in an instant and that is why I have a blog, did a degreee, even have a job in it to some extent.

So, X Factor, if you're listening, You have my permission to cover Hallelujah and do what you will to it. Music should be interpreted and expanded, experimented with to see if there are new ways of interpreting classic arrangements. If I don't like it, I will simply listen to the many cover versions of Hallelujah by so many credible artists that do an interesting an intimate song justice. I will not join a Facebook group saying "Let's put Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah at Xmas no1 to spite X Factor" as I don't think that will achieve anything. I will not complain about how it is destroying an untouchable song as no song should be untouchable.
Arguably more famous than Cohen's original, Buckley's version is of course a cover anyway. If it were about protecting a song, surely the campaign should be for Cohen to go to number one?

Ultimately, the argument is flawed. Covers should be embraced, artists should be allowed to interpret songs in their own way and produce material they want to. If it isn't any good, people will not listen and it will soon disappear into oblivion, like so many of the other covers of this song. The fact that Buckley's version is still so highly revered after so long shows the power of a good cover and X Factor may just surprise you.

Bloody marvellous

Also, I completely forgot to mention that I'm without internet at the flat again for some unknown reason so that'll curb my consumption quite a bit and also make my last fm listening totals a little questionable. Though that song from Mirror's Edge by Lisa Miskovsky is great; cheesy, epic genius.

Two more things, Pause. Break. Riot! have a new song available for free download from their myspace or through last.fm. A fantastic, funny band that are slowly but surely building a reputation, I finally splashed out and bought their EP which is superbly mixed, some great new songs and some cool remixes of the old ones, top notch. And Kings of Leon single is FINALLY out today, meaning that the radio will hopefully stop playing it so incessantly and ruining a pretty good song. It does also mean that the Lykke Li version of Knocked Up is finally out in the open and I'll be sure to get my hands on a copy just as soon as I can work out how to get my bloody internet sorted.

First of all, an apology. My writing has been sporadic, predictable and a little shoddy of late. My life is full of conflicting situations at the moment, one often attempting to drag the others down with it. Work is hectic but promising with a range of fun events passed and upcoming, including my first confirmed band booking with a few other in the pipeline. More on that as I know the details and the contracts are finalised etc. However, it is all very exciting. Then there's the flat situation which obviously the less said about the better in these parts. Luckily to calm me down, I have great friends and a wonderful, supportive girlfriend so this is a quick public thank you to those of you that have helped me through the last few weeks, appreciate it.

So while I try and gather my thoughts during another day in the office, I'll give you a quick heads up on the fantastic new Ladyhawke single that hits the shops today, My Delirium. This is in fact the 4th single by the singer but the first that has managed to grab my attention. It is of course, fantastically produced which is why I'm all over it at the moment. If you shut your eyes and listen hard, trying to identify each instrument, it is a real joy to pick out why the second verse has extra urgency, why the chorus is as catchy as it is. I'm yet to hear the rest of the album but I will get it and if My Delirium is only the 4th single, I'm expecting some big big things from it.

Also, the new Howling Bells track is also pretty fine, and you can download it free from their website. Definately worth checking out.

I'll also TRY and throw in my opinions on my favourite albums of this year though I wouldn't expect any surpirses to be honest. If you've been reading this since the beginning, it'll be pretty easy to predict what'll be up there and maybe even my favourite. I'll let you know when I've decided. In the meantime, enjoy the video for ladyhawke.

Fantastic, in-depth and quite original interview with my favourite London foursome.

http://www.totallydublin.ie/music-feature-bloc-party-8.html

Jealous much? Kings of Leon kicked off their Arena tour last night with what was, from all accounts, a spectacular show. 4 Albums, a progressive sound throughout, thousands of adoring fans and they may still be growing in the US but the UK loves Kings of Leon and they love us just as much. The two hour setlist below shows a band that appreciates that though they have a new album, this is almost a greatest hits tour. With all my favourites in there, it is impossible to fathom just what the o2 and wembley shows will bring. If you're going, don't tell me

Crawl
Taper Jean Girl
Razz
Molly's Chambers
My Party
Sex On Fire
King Of The Rodeo
Joe's Head
Fans
Revelry
Milk
Four Kicks
Pistol of Fire
McFearless
The Bucket
Arizona
Closer
California
Use Somebody
On Call
Cold Desert
Slow Night, So Long
Trani

ENCORE:
Knocked Up
Manhattan
Charmer
Black Thumbnail

Just a quick heads up on some new stuff out this week.

First of all a new single that's been getting a lot of play on my iPod, the funky Dan Black with his next single "yours". Having released one single already in the form of HYPNTYZ, a cover of The Notorious B.I.G, Dan Black is back with a funky electro pop song with samples and effects galore. The lyrics, whilst never venturing into the profound remain catchy enough to sing along to and the repeated acoustic guitar sample is good enough. The production is heavy on this track with plenty of phase, EQ sweeps, the lot and it actually sounds great, despite its glaring presence. It shows the same promise that Calvin Harris showed before creating, in my mind, a slightly disappointing album.

The new single from hotly tipped Florence and the Machine is also out today and after doing the rounds on doing 6 Music and even Radio 1, now is the time for her to make some serious waves and get her highly anticipated album released. After a bit of hunting, she has signed an album deal but as this is only her second single proper, expect a little more time to pass before I start banging on about that.

And finally, my tip for Christmas number one album is the new Bob The Builder album - Never Mind The Breezeblocks. Don't care what's on it, dont care how rubbish it is, as long as it sells more than Glasvegas. Cannot like that band, I've tried, just not a fan.

So yeah, happy christmas shopping and welcome to December.

Now then Kids.

A few bits and bobs, first a little heads up of a great show I went to/worked t'other night, a girl pop extravaganza that was Chirlift with support from Rose Elinor Dougall. Currently featured on the iPod Nano adverts and consequently receiving beaucoup d'airplay, Chairlift are from the New York electro indie school but have luckily set themselves apart from MGMT, despite the easy/wrong links that people insist on mentioning. Chairlift write much darker, solid and determined songs that warm your toes and permeate your mind, most notably on that iPod song, Bruises. It's cute call and response between lead singer Caroline and keys player Aaron highlight the simplicity of Chairlifts songwriting in the best possible way, the wonderfully delicate chorus is one you won't forget in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Rose ELinor Dougall, formerly of The Pipettes lit up the stage earlier with an breathtaking voice and stellar songs to boot. Sounding familiar to Florence Welch with a cuter melodic tone and plenty of beautiful harmonies, Rose Elinor Dougall has another bright musical future ahead of her. Her debut single is released soon, 8th December if I remember correctly so be sure to check it out.

www.myspace.com/roseelinordougall

Also, some very exciting news for myself, Im close to putting on my own shows by some incredible bands that I've got to keep hush hush for the moment but news will come as soon as it's all confirmed. Also, Simian Mobile Disco are playing at Koko in February if anyone is interested in accompanying me? Their performance at Reading this year was perhaps the highlight of the festival for me so I'm desperate to witness them all over again. Let me know.

Feeling v tired and run down so gonna end it here for the moment, I'll be back soon and hopefully with a more constructive post!

ttfn

Absolutely bloody marvellous. The Bible. In Lego. Love it. Who says religion isn't contemporary?

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

I dont really know what to say anymore. Nightmare

http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/41280

I doubt you even have anyone to go to bed to. Or do you just sleep holding a picture of Steve?

35 shopping days left people...

Following an interesting conversation I had the other day about the merits of X Factor with Lauren, the argument that the notion of a credible Christmas number one has disappeared and I said that it was now the race for Christmas number two. One of the quintessential parts of Christmas and the music industry has been killed by reality TV shows automatically claiming that most elusive of spots, no matter the quality of the singer or song. So I thought it would be interesting to investigate the history of the Christmas number one since the conception of X Factor and the songs that have failed where they maybe should’ve succeeded.

So here we go, last year we had at number one –
Leon Jackson – When You Believe. The Winner of X Factor 2007 was Leon Jackson and his number one was a cover of Mariah Carey and Witney Houston’s collaboration on When You Believe. The song was released for download from midnight after the show and the physical version of the single was rush released on 19th December, in time to make Christmas number one. It was the 4th fastest selling single of 2007 with sales of over 275,000

In second place we had –
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love. First reaching number one on 28th October of that year and stealing the number one spot until 16th December of that year, a massive seven weeks in a row, Leona would have gained her second Christmas number one in a row if it were not for the highly forgettable Leon Jackson. This of course neatly leads us on to...

2006 Christmas Number One
Leona Lewis – Moment Like This. The deserved winner of X Factor who’s actually gone on to do rather well for herself, Leona Lewis stormed the charts and the nation’s hearts with her single Moment Like This, selling an astonishing 571,253 copies in one week. Impressive.

Trailing behind was –
Take That – Patience. One of Britain’s greatest pop exports (arguably), Take That gained the Christmas number two spot after being at Number One for the previous four weeks with their comeback single. Interestingly Leona Lewis sold 700,069 copies in 2 weeks with Take That selling 282,423 in 6 weeks, make of that what you will.

2005 Christmas Number One
Shayne Ward – That’s My Goal. X Factor’s first Christmas number one was provided by Shayne Ward with a week’s worth of sales totalling 742,180.

Second place was awarded to
Nizlopi – JCB Song. The wonderfully cute animated video was accompanied by a catchy tune with a beautifully delicate theme. Intentionally released before X Factor to gain number one status, JCB Song was the song that should’ve been for 2005. Loved by young and old, it stood no chance as the X Factor train gained momentum. Just so you know, JCB Song sold 81,660 copies the week it went to number one so never stood a chance.


2004 was the first year of X Factor and the only so far that did not produce a Christmas number one. Hardly suprising when you hear why. Christmas number one that year rightly went to
Band Aid 20 – Do They Know It’s Christmas. Featuring an astounding array of Artists from Thom Yorke, Sir Paul McCartney, Justin Hawkins and Robbie Williams, the song was at number one for 4 weeks in a row, amassing total sales of 2,094,000.

And just so you know, Christmas number two that year was X Factor winner Steve Brookstein with his cover of Against All Odds. Which the week later knocked Band Aid off the number one spot, something I’m sure he’s proud of as he now (no joke) is the entertainer on P&O’s cruises between Portsmouth and Portugal. Nice.


Also, just so you don’t think this is a recent thing, 2002’s Christmas number one was the winner of Popstars: The Rivals were a boy band and Girl Band were formed with the sole intention of reaching Christmas Number One. Luckily, they formed a pop behemoth in the form of Girls Aloud and the Christmas number one that year was Sound of the Underground so it’s not the end of the world!

So we have four years of X Factor behind us and three Christmas number one’s to forget about. Despite its relevant infancy, X Factor has dominated those Christmas sales and it’s fascinating that only one thing can encourage people to go and buy singles anymore and that is Reality TV. How many people do you think ripped that CD and put it straight on their iPod? Would the charts have read the same if downloads were not included in chart positions for all of those years? These are all of course hypothetical questions but before X Factor, there were stellar pop tracks such as Gary Jules cover of Mad World, Bob the Builder and Can We Fix It? and the playful duet between Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman singing Something Stupid, all reaching Christmas number one. True these tracks are gimmicky and cheesy but they were fun and put up a fight for the Christmas number one, not written in the knowledge they would become Christmas number one like the X Factor songs are.

So my complaint is this. Can all these incredible songwriters and musicians please write a song that is going to compete with an X Factor penned single? As bookies are now taking bets on Christmas number two as the number one spot is seemingly predetermined, I would love a pop gem to appear and capture our nation’s fickle hearts once more, able to encourage consumers to overturn the tirany of X Factor. Come on people, rise up! In the words of Bob the Builder, “Can we fix it? Yes we can”.

Lykke Li - Knocked Up

No, she's not pregnant (see what I did there, funny.), Lykke Li has taken on the epic Kings of Leon track Knocked Up with a ridiculous amount of success. It's not a cover, it's not a remix, there are parts of her singing, parts of Caleb singing, even the two of them simultaneously. It maintains all the essential parts of the original with it's bass heavy, and catchy little epic ditty but with Li's sweeter, more delicate voice and an infusion of random bleeps and lo-fi production all over the show, the cover brings a whole new level to the song that will hopefully continue to lift her status and bring her to even wider recognition.
It will be the featured B Side to Kings upcoming single Use Somebody and will be released on December 8th. I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this but for the moment, you can only hear it through Listen Again on BBC iPlayer. Many thanks to Pete for giving me the heads up on this, follow this link and skip to 1hr45. And please, take the time to listent o this if you've heard the original, it is simply stunning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fhmcz

I've bought into this whole internet video craze way too late but this is another amusing one, hold on to the end, it's worth it

Fast & Furious-Hamsters

Well aren't I treating you? More videos, more funny stories, it's all good. For those of you that have been reading this blog for a while, you'll remember me alerting you to the shenanigans of Improv Everywhere, a kind of performance art troupe operating out of NYC. Well, I'm attempting to recreat some of their stunts here with the students at work and have been trawling thier past missions to find the ones that would be most suitable and the least offensive. It has meant that I've stumbled across some rather amusing things though so have a little read of this.

A man finds some rather rude graffiti about a woman on a wall in Ottawa. He decides to look her up on Facebook and deliver the bad news.

Also, check out the baby pumping up a crowd. It's completely unstaged and quite a short video but a bit of a giggle.

Oh, and if you're stuck for christmas presents for your parents or me, check this out. I want it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110312162347

It's Friday which is fast becoming my favourite day of the week. I don't think you truly appreciate the weekend until you work all week, at Uni it's just the two days when the shops are either busier or annoyingly shut early but now it signifies the two days where work escapes my attention, just for the moment anyway. And as our office was a desperately sombre mood this morning after a hectic event last night, I was chilling out with the incredible Portishead. So today I'll show you some cool little vidoes of Portishead and most importantly, the haunting voice of Beth Gibbons.

Portishead performing the first track, Mysterons, from their incredible debut

Right, before we go any further, this is by no means a new song, a new cover or any sort of revelation at all. But it is a haunting song. A song drenched in heartache. Inward reflection. Pessimism. It is an iconic track that will stand head and shoulders above others for all eternity. So take a minute to read the lyrics and put yourself in that mindset that we've all been in. Play Jose Gonzalez's cover that commands your attention and pulls all the right heartstrings. Then show some love for the wonder that is Love Will Tear Us Apart.

When routine bites hard,

And ambitions are low.

And resentment rides high,

But emotions won't grow.

And we're changing our ways,

Taking different roads.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Why is the bedroom so cold?

Turned away on your side.

Is my timing that flawed?

Our respect run so dry?

Yet there's still this appeal,

That we've kept through our lives.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Do you cry out in your sleep?

All my failings exposed...

Gets a taste in my mouth

As desperation takes hold.

Why is it something so good

Just can't function no more?

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Love, love will tear us apart again.

Love, love will tear up apart again.

Dedication's what you need

Red Snapper - A Pale Blue Dot

You know what, I don't talk about music a lot on this anymore and it saddens me. For a very quick rundown of what I've been up to musically, I'm DJing at my favourite club again so the discovery of new music has been put on the back burner for the moment as I compile another set. And before that, I've been listening to Bloc Party. And a bit of this, a bit of that, nothing new that's grabbed my attention really since the stunner that is James Yuill's album.

But I heard this today and it grabbed me. And the worst part is, I haven't heard the album yet but I'm putting this out there now before I forget and while the incredible song I heard is still ringing in my ears. It's by a band called Red Snapper and is an instrumental piece of genius. As always, I tend to stick to things I like and no secret has been made of my lvoe for instrumental music, be it Mogwai, Explosions or Sigur Ros who despite having vocals, dont actually make any sense so it's still instrumental to me. So it should be no suprise that Red Snapper are of course, instrumental.

The song that has grabbed my attention is the spectacular Brickred. Red Snapper are a jazz/trip hop/electronic fusion tye of band, like many many others out there. But thankfully, this is just a simple framework in which they build a variety of songs around, veering wildly from jungle to psychedelic folk in an instant, with a Sax as the pilot. As all instrumental music should do, it takes you on a journey. It is about creating a theme and developing it, moving it somewhere, to a logical conclusion. I've actually been planning to do a little review of my favourite instrumental tunes as it's easy to lumber so many bands under such a small umbrella. But in the meantime, check out their most played tune on last.fm which is Don't Go Nowhere. I assume it's very good.

I honestly wish I could tell you more but I haven't heard anything else and I don't want to make any judgements until I've heard their new album but. I was excited by what I heard and I'm eagerly awaiting hearing the album.

And I'm going to try a lot harder with this blog so don't worry, things will improve...

Admittedly this is again, not a music post, but a political one. In fact, this blog is becoming increasingly less musical and more about drawing your attention to things that irritate me. But i'm in an irritable mood recently, for one reason or another and quite often, a lot of reasons all at once. It has been a rough couple of weeks that have unnerved me, made me feel uncertain about a lot of things and made me itching to move on.
It was a truly inspirational evening last night, to witness the power of democracy working so strongly to change what is seen as an evil empire into a strong, prosperous and well intentioned powerhouse. The America that was promised decades ago, a land of opportunity, one that facilitates the American Dream, is potentially on it's way.

So how outrageous, sad and downright dispicable is it of our politicians to say that they have the most in common with Obama. This is not fighting to win our election next year on issues that affect us, to win our popularity with their own actions but through riding on the coattails of a great American politician. Now last time I voted, I will admit to being slighlty uninformed about what we were voting for. That assembly in the hall where each contestant just spoke about top up fees as that was clearly the most important thing to us, the fees that we didn't have to pay anyway. We did not pay attention to tax bands for the lower and middle classes that are now important to me. I was oblivious to TV licence fees, who was in the cabinet and their european views as I was more worried about liking my flatmates in halls. But we were young, naive and that is a forgiveable crime.

I understand that by associating themselves with the President-elect now, when it comes to crunch time next year the link will be strong and it should be easier for Mr Brown to become re-elected. But I honestly hope that our vote next year will not involve the media circus that America's does, that it will not use America as a template for our rescue by emulating their campaign. All I know is that having taken such an interest in the American elections this year, as most of the world has, I will be entering ours next year with a great degree of foresight and will not appreciate copy tactics by either side.

I know I'm ranting so consider this rant over.

So today the results are out, the ones the world has been waiting for with baited breath. Everybody thought they knew who would win but I don't think ANYBODY saw this coming. That's right, the NME Cool List results are in! Yeah, who gives a fuck, certainly not me. A list of people that are cool? I thought it was cool to not be cool? At least that's the mantra I've lived my life by, hence my effortlessness appearance and love of trashy pop. Why am I not on the cool list you may ask? Because I am so uncool, that I'm too cool to be on the list and am therefore not cool again. Honestly, the cool list makes about as much sense as that.

Don't get me wrong, Crystal Castles are a great band, Alex Turner is cool and fair play to Jay-Z I guess, but to me this reads liek a lsit of the frontmen and women of NME's new favourite bands and that's about it. Nobody genuinely cool, like Tom Waits for returning to the live scene in such style. Or James Ford for his incredible work with Klaxons, SMD and every other band worth chatting about. There were always going to be obvious ommisions but really.

So as we draw ever closer to a vote that does actually mean something, browse the list of who's cool this year and find your new favourite haircut/jeans/eye shadow colour.

http://view.break.com/593274 - Watch more free videos

Admittedly this has nothing to do with music and this is supposedly a blog about music, when I'm actually finding it possible to write anything that I think is worth 5 minutes of your time. But, it is no secret of mine that I want to travel America, possibly live there if the time and situation is right and as such I pay a fair amount of attention to their activities. America fascinates me, for it's grandiose nature, for their optimism and national pride, for their ability to do everything in the most outrageous, celebratory way possible. The country has a thirst for life, the constant motivation to be the best, outperform everyone else and being quite a competitive person, it's something I admire and find myself drawn towards.

However, I want to travel America to discover the real America, the real people in the little towns in addition to the ridiculous coolness of the big cities. But there are parts of America that scare me. There are people so entrenched in views of past generations and are hanging around, affecting the future of an America that is trying to move forwards, make itself a better place. People like these. As you may have noticed, America is electing a new president shortly and it is widely perceived that Barack Obama will win the election, the election is now his to lose. I've seen some Obama campaign commercials during hockey broadcasts and I must admit, they are incredibly persuasive. The incessant idea that change is the way to make America a grander place, coupled with his calm but authoritative approach, make Obama seem like a natural leader with a thought-out clear plan. The Republicans being the first to throw insults has also not hurt Obama and with Palin the constant wildcard throughout the election, alienating and uniting voters in equal measures, it is going to be an interesting result to see a Vietnam hero shunned by the country he fought to protect.

However, this is America we're talking about and not everything is as simple as that. This article by the BBC interviews a Democrat supporter, one that will not vote for Obama because he is Black. "Black's just cause trouble, that's the taste I've got in my mouth." says Charles, a registered democrat voter in Uniontown Pennsylvania.
Scary eh? I know the idea of democracy is that you vote for the party that best represents your ideals, that everybody has a say in how their country is run, it is widely accepted that Democracy rules. And ultimately this guy has as much right to make his comments as I do mine, that's what free speech is. But for a country that is supposedly built on equality and that everyone can get their own American dream, a country whose liberties such as these that McCain fought for, would he be so proud to know that votes that are cast his way will be done so by those who do not believe in his party ideals, but believe simply in the colour of his skin?

Racism is an inherent problem that will never go away. It will become increasingly marginalised and as we develop a more multi-cultural society, the kids of today will grow up, hopefully, being more tolerant of others. But you wonder if, in America, that their land mass is just too big for this to ever happen, that there will always be pockets of racism that have as valued a say as everyone else in America.

I recommend you read the article just to open your eyes a little bit to the problems Obama still faces despite his apparent certainty at becoming president. And don't worry, it's nowhere near as long as this blog post!

Just to draw your attention to a rather interesting article on the Guardian's website about the late, great John Peel and our fascinatoin with the DJ. Whilst some people view him as a national treasure, the article debates whether he was in fact just a man doing his job better than all the other Radio 1 DJ's.

Though BBC Radio has broadened it's horizons with the addition of digital stations such as 6 music or 1 extra, it is arguable to say that Zane Lowe, Steve Lamacq or Tom Robinson have had the same impact as John Peel did. It is also interesting to argue that with these broadening platforms, maybe the introduction to new music is through dedicated shows such as Bruce Dickinson's Hard Rock show, Fabio & Grooverider's drum & bass show or the Huw Stephens introducing show and the idea that John Peel introduced all sorts of new music was simply because there wasn't the space on the airwaves to have all these specialist shows. We have also become much more aware of these new specialist shows through the wonders of podcasting; the ability to listen to the DJ's top picks at our own convenience has surely boosted the notoriety of the DJ's without necessarily boosting the live listening figures of the shows. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the number of live listeners between John Peel's show and perhaps the Colin Murray show which is for me, a wonderful insight into new music, broadcast at a similar time as the John Peel show was. However, through the power of podcasting, Colin Murray is reaching a large audience and consequentially, offering his artists increased exposure. It would be interesting to see if Ricky Gervais or Russell Brand could compete in the podcast charts if they were up against a Peel podcast.

I remember listening to the Peel show sitting in the car waiting to pick up my sister and hearing an obscure, sparse electronic track, followed by a heavy metal song. It was this complete disregard for theme or direction that made Peel's show such an eye-opener. It was his familiar voice and wonderful coined phrases that have left him open to such repeated impersonation - they do say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery...

It is now four years since Peel joined the great decks in the sky and this has been accompanied by yet another book. I'm just about to start reading his autobiography which was finished posthumously by his wife and as such, should be the closest account of the great man's psyche. I'll let you know if it's as good a read as I expect it to be.

Bloc Party Takeover

For those of you that haven't noticed, Bloc Party are taking over the Guardian Music section this week with Kele becoming an Agony Aunt and offering some sexy advice, Matt Tong showing us all how to cook, Gordon Moakes with some more serious journalism on the music that inspired Bloc Party and developed his own musical stylings as well as important musical places around London. And the traditional silence from Russell.

As intimacy gears up for it's physical release on Monday, Bloc Party are full of suprises:
- The vinyl and picture disc in addition to the CD
- The iTunes live EP being released on Sunday which I can't wait for - one of the more special shows I've attended to say the least
- An HMV instore appearance on Monday
- A Jools Holland appearance this week
- Two new songs on the end of the album, Letter To My Son & Your Visits Are Getting Shorter
- NME interviews
- A Reworked Marshals

This is sterling stuff from the London lads and shows that they're putting their full weight behind an album that's been in the public domain for so long already anyway. Just goes to show that record sales really do still matter. Bloc albums don't come along nearly as often as I'd like them to so it's great that they're immersing themselves in this release and offering as much as possible. Exciting times.

Out of the Ashes, Rise the Flames

To some of you, Fell City Girl will be a familiar name. I was introduced to the Oxfordshire band and their fantastic second EP entitled February Snow nearly two years ago now by a friend at Uni. They created massive soundscapes through delayed guitars, heavily reverberated drums and a voice that was as amateurish as it was inspiring. Though it faltered and his diction was less than perfect, it was the obviously personal lyrics that allowed the listener to connect with Fell City Girl, in spite of their cheesy approach.

February Snow demonstrates an intelligent approach to rhythm and dynamic, using James Pamphilion's drumming to emphasise when you should pay attention to the ferocity of the lyrics and when you should sit back and immerse yourself in a sea of delayed guitars. The song is littered with vaguely thought-provoking lyrics such as

"I said I'd be here and I am,

back home my world is falling down,

I know it's sad,

but that's the way it is"

Encouraging you to remember the times you were somewhere you didn't want to be, dealing with situations that were against your control, felling helpless but accepting that you roll with the punches and keep going. Despite it's less-than-distinctive qualities, Phil's voice carries over the chorus with a traditional message of hope

"Let's leave this town

You said as we float like balloons

Up up and away

Through the February snow"

Helplines was another stand out track for me, a simple acoustic guitar smothered with violins and white noise to fulfill all that your ears demand. The lyrics again can be taken as superficially as you want them to but the track and it's delicacy are unavoidable and the EP carries Fell City Girl over the expectation of another guitar based indie-foursome who've clearly just bought delay pedals and are having way too much fun experimenting with them. The EP provides shots of power, shots of delicacy and a massive sounding drum kit.

And that's where the story ends I'm afraid. March 2007 saw the end of Fell City Girl, a split that was supposedly amicable but the pressures of recording that final EP may have been the nail in the coffin. And so we come to The Winchell Riots.

Guitarist Phil and Drummer James joined forces again for The Winchell Riots in 2007 and made an impressive start. Their debut show at the Oxford academy sold out long in advance, they played festivals and were highly touted by industry figures and iTunes for Manchester's annual In The City conference.

Their recent EP "Histories" continues pretty much where Fell City Girl finished with all the necessary ingredients - delay, overly loud drums and Phil's vocals. This is clearest in my favourite track so far - The Man Who Mapped The Oceans. The song begins like any pretentious indie song should, with awkward rhythmic stabs from the guitarists and drummer. Eventually a theme develops and the song progresses into a soaring song that could've been lifted from any of Fell City Girl's earlier work.

Though the band are relatively new and to be fair, almost carbon copies of Fell City Girl, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Kind of like the new Pumpkins. It's the same sound with the same essential members and that's what makes me like The Winchell Riots. They have a handful of dates coming up. All information can be found here:

www.myspace.com/thewinchellriots

James Yuill - Turning Down Water For Air

Ok, while I write my massive review of Intimacy, a quick overview of an album that's been tearing up my iPod recently. James Yuill is signed to Moshi Moshi and though another electro-folk artist probably isn't need at the minute, James' album sits well among his contemporaries providing a few moments of brilliance that shine above the rest.

Turning Down Water For Air is James Yuill's debut effort and has earnt him rave reviews from many sources. James was one of those walkby artists that I heard at Latitude and whose name I made a note of for future reference. It turns out Pete had already recommended James to me and since then, I've been keeping a keen eye on his development.

The album has two particular standout tracks for me and they are coupled together, No Pins Allwoed and This Sweet Love demonstrate James' wide influences in two 3 minute journeys, from his dancefloor stomping beats, via smooth acoustic guitars and a calming vocal to comfort the listener. No Pins Allowed is the dancier of the two songs with lots distorted synths and a singalong chorus. New single, This Sweet Love is the more relaxed of the two tracks but still showcases the laptop beats that provide the pace to the album. There are also gorgeous supporting harmonies provided by James himself but restrained enough in the mix to not impose.

Also of note is James' cover of Radiohead's Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box. The Amnesiac era classic is this time layered with plenty of acoustic guitar, Yuill taking the approach that more is definately better and filling your ears with lots of electronic bleeps and beats and plenty of guitar.


Recommended downloading:
Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
No Pins Allowed
Head Over Heels

Lykke Li @ The Scala 1/10/08

It's been a ridiculously long time since I've reviewed a live show in addition to blogging so this will be slightly disjointed but when reviewing a show that flowed so well, it shouldn't be too tough!


So we arrived at the Scala with high expectations of both acts performing. Let's just say life hasn't been going swimmingly for me recently with one thing and another and this was a welcome night out, especially in the company of my favourite Swedish electro-pop female, quite the accolade i'm sure you realise.

Having already seen Lykke Li live way back in June at Latitude festival, I have since rinsed the album, listened to it until I could listen no more and then made my peace with it, so it was an excellent opportunity to renew my fascination with one of my favourite albums of the year so far and in particular, a song that is dripping with meaning for me currently.

First up however was Micachu, an artist whose name has been knocking around for a while and has earnt her some prestigious support slots, including Esser and Lykke Li whilst also playing London's Concrete & Glass festival and Manchester's In The City. However, I failed to see what all the fuss is about. Taking to the stage with a similar setup to Lykke Li with her acoustic guitar, keyboard and sampled drums, Micachu failed to capture the intimate nature of the night. The horrible overdrive that was layered over her tiny acoustic guitar destroyed the only passable lead instrument and wailing vocals did little to engage or inspire an audience with high expectations. For me, she was a complete flop, there were moments that showed promise but for those to be dashed left me feeling particularly unfulfilled by an artist that promised so much.



However, I wasn't there to see Micachu. And as Lykke Li's instrumentalists took to the stage to the sounds of her album opener 'Melodies and Desires', I remembered why I fell in love with the album, why I bought these tickets so long ago and why she managed to sell out the Scala. The bleak instrumentation and electronic bleeps set the tone for what was to be a mesmerising hour.

You can't help but be entranced by Lykke's hypnotic rhythm and delicate vocal to songs that she understands has got her quite the reputation. And she duly delivers, playing every song from Youth Novels that you want to hear, even refraining Dance, Dance, Dance during her astounding cover of Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. As the mixed crowd roars when the opening samples from Little Bit are played, it is evident that the rinsing Radio 1 has given to Breaking It Up has not turned Lykke Li into a one hit wonder; not for that song anyway. And it is during Little Bit that for me, Lykke peaks. We'd been commenting throughout that her vocal hadn't been quite hitting the notes, that she seemed nervous. Who wouldn't be at the biggest show she's ever played? But during Little Bit, everything seemed to fall into place and as cliched as it sounds, you truly become lost in the moment, witnessing a girl in her element singing a song of such intensity and maturity it is impossible not to wonder if this is the best performance she has ever given.

Her set could easily have peaked there but with Complaint Department and Window Blues still to come, Lykke continued the wave of euphoria and wonder that was sweeping the audience and the doublet-time ending to Complaint Department is something that can only be really appreciated live. It was also amazing to hear her unknown track Until We Bleed live, a venture that she took with Swedish producer Kleerup (of With Every Heartbeat fame). And as Breaking It Up brought her set to a close, it was clear that months on the road for Lykke Li has built within her a sense of true pride in her songs and also built a loyal fanbase for her to perform to. And you can count me among them.

Ok, so I've fallen out of blogging. But I miss it and I want to do it again.

I've been listening to lots of inspiring new music, whether its the superb 'Intimacy', the transcendent 'Only By The Night' or my new favourite album, 'Playlist: The very best of Cypress Hill' which has moments of absolute genius that a fan of any music can relate to, hippety hop fan or not (and im not).

So it's not like I haven't had good music to talk about or opinions to offer on anything. To be honest, I've just found it quite difficult to get some time to sit down, listen to an album and write about it. I listen to albums on the train or whilst conquering the new NHL game. That's pretty much it. It's not like the old days where I sat in front of my computer listening to music instead of doing essays, sadly those days are gone. Now I listen to nothing while I collate press releases, artist contacts, deal with booking agents unsuccessfully and host quizzes. Life changes. However, my wrecking ball-esque opinions on music are still there, swinging violently from "I hate this album, they've got it all wrong" to "I love this album, never written a bad song". You know me, that's what I do.

It's been quite a hectic month, as some of you will understand more than others. I won't go into every detail, simply because it'll take me another month to describe all that's happened this month and then I'll have got nowhere with this blog. AGAIN. So let's just say that there have been:

Highs including:
-DJing at Planet which was ridiculously good fun, if this promoter stuff goes tits up, Im gonna be on the heels of Fatboy Slim in no time. Kudos to Anna Davison for the photo.

-A wonderful day out in London with a beautiful girl, Natural History Museum (cool dinosaurs, disappointing spiders), a good film and lovely chinese food
-Being in charge of a night at work that involved looking after 6 bands, making sure they all hit stage on time, looking after security, promoters, sound and light crew, trying to control 600 people in a 140 capacity room, trying to control 800 people in a 600 capacity room and realising that Air Traffic are quite good live, as was Fionn Regan.

Lows including:
-Having the new NHL game delayed by 2 WEEKS just because I own a superior console to everyone else. Or so Sony keep telling me. Idiots.
-Working a lot of late nights or doing crappy jobs that I don't really enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I know life isn't always a dream and everyone has to pitch in but that doesn't mean I can't moan about it anyway.

So. This being a music blog, I will talk about music. Soon. I promise you. But I'm at work at the moment so it's difficult to review an album that I can't listen to. A few nuggets to keep you going however.

Kings of Leon track Closer is FAR FAR FAR better than that ridiculous Neyo song but for some reason, that gets more plays. Eventually, someone will realise and I hope this great wrong will be righted.

The new Bloc party album is actually pretty good. Now there's a surprise, I like a load more songs by Bloc Party. But I don't mean it like that. For once, it isn't me just bumming my favourite band, the lyrics are quite hit and miss for me, some of the songs I get and some fly right past me, as was the case on AWITC. However, it is the instrumentation, the ingenuity and the creative wrestling match that takes place on the album between not only the separate instruments but the two producers with their different styles, battling to make their mark on each track that really propels this album. It's got stupidly overdriven, electronic bass that was evident on Flux but the guitars can sound as good as any Always New Depths.
A full review to come I promise.

So Burial didn't win the Mercury, which was a shock but only because I thought he deserved it more than anyone else. I'll admit, I don't really get Elbow, so once I've listened to them, I'll maybe rethink this, but at the moment, this is a mistake of Belle and Sebastian proportions (those of you that know their musical history will know what that means)

I'm going to a few gigs in the next couple of months, including Lykke Li tonight, The Music at the Roundhouse at the end of October and Bloc Party way away in April next year at the ridiculously large Olympia. I'll also be taking my first trip to Matter for the Moshi Moshi 10th Birthday party to see - Kate Nash, Wave Pictures (amazing), James Yuill (amazing), Slow Club, Florence and the Machine with Hot Chip announced as headliners. Gonna be quite a night so I'll let you know how that goes down.


So, apologies for the long post, expect my full breakdown of Intimacy soon and hopefully, normal service will now be resumed. Thank you for your patience.

My life in album form

This has been a little project that has taken me a while. I've been working a lot lately which is a nice change, its quite rewarding earning money and coming home at the end of the day knowing you've got somewhere. I'm not going to lie, it's hard but I'm feeling quite organised, responsible, grown up and I quite like it. So apologies if the blog has taken a back seat for a while, it doesn't help that I'm yet to get internet at the new flat so music digestion is down again, seem to be on some crazy rollercoaster in that department. I'm also moving away from electronic stuff a bit, think I overdid it a little but that's great because there are plenty of other avenues for me to explore and explore I will. So we'll see.

So, the idea is to pick your favourite album each year, starting from the year you were born. Initially, this was an easy project as I'm yet to digest as much as music pre-2000 as I have done since. It was around 2001 that I started hitting a wall in which albums to choose as so many of them were so important for so many different reasons and of course, I like some albums now that I didn't even know existed back then. So I've tried to pick my favourite releases from the years but some years were too difficult so I went for the album I know I will always return to as integral to my musical taste. Sounds complicated but give it a go. Try searching "1986 in music" in wikipedia (if you were an '86 child that is) and see what you come up with.

1986 Paul Simon - Graceland
1987 Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
1988 NWA - Straight Outta Compton
1989 The Offspring - The Offspring
1990 The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
1991 Pearl Jam - Ten
1992 Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
1993 Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
1994 The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
1995 Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
1996 Ash - 1977
1997 Radiohead - Ok Computer
1998 Garbage - Version 2.0
1999 Muse - Showbiz
2000 Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows
2001 Daft Punk Discovery
2002 The Music - The Music
2003 The Postal Service - Give Up
2004 The Futureheads - The Futureheads
2005 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
2006 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
2007 Bloc Party - A Weelend In The City
2008 Foals - Antidotes (so far)


Now as I said, this list is by no means accurate, there are probably albums I've forgotten about and there are definately albums that I love that didn't make it onto the list becuase they were pipped by a better album unfortunately out in the same year.

Anyway, give it a go, even if just for the last 5 years, it's a lot harder then you think.

Stupidly funny, I've mentioned this cartoon before and I'll mention it again, love this guys sense of humour. Also, in other news, I finally bought myself a new ipod and broke it within the hour. Idiot.

Let's dance to the sound of the sirens

Apologies for what will be a slightly disjointed post, I don't feel even close to human and the amount of painkillers coarsing through me is the only thing keeping me at my desk in what is likely to be another long, hard week. Suffices to say that I had a fantastic weekend, for all of you who were there, it was nice to combine my two worlds at last and I hope that you're not feeling too grotty today, my body's severely messed up but I've got some fantastic memories so it's all good!

My highlight apart from the obvious would be Simian Mobile Disco who were simply stunning, they were one of the acts I was most looking forward to and they certainly did not disappoint. A fantastic light show illuminated a stage filled with smoke as the duo played through their debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release. Beginning with the monstrous Sleep Deprivation, the tent was soon at melting point as SMD worked the tent into a dancing frenzy. This was accentuated by their ability to mix their songs together and when the repeated sampling of the It's The Beat vocal finally dropped into the full song, I was able to appreciate that though a dance album is a great listen, it is far better loud and live. Finishing on the grimy, bass heavy Tits & Acid with the duo actually leaving the stage before the breakdown, only to return to finish the track in epic proportions, Simian Mobile Disco truly marked their place in an increasingly crowded dance scene.

It's also impossible not to mention the release of Intimacy which I finally heard yesterday. Bloc Party's New album hit the internet on Thursday in a rushed release to beat the album leak that happened to AWITC, with a physical release with a slightly altered tracklist due in October. The album shows Bloc Party at their most experimental though producer Paul Epworth's influence can be heard in certain tracks with a return to the crunchy guitar sounds of Silent Alarm. As I become more familiar with the tracks I'll do a proper review but already it is a fantastic album with focus, direction and variation in all shapes and sizes.

Also, Lauren this song is all about you.

Until next time, peace out. I'm going to get some more painkillers.

Let's get intimate

Wow. Bloc Party took part in their first ever webchat last night (18th August) with some interesting revelations. Bloc Party's eagerly anticipated new album 'Intimacy' will be released very soon. Thursday in fact in all its MP3 glory. The physical edition will follow on October 27th and will feature additional songs which is more fantastic news. Preordering both formats will cost only £10 and £1 delivery charge and the MP3's will be available from Thursday.

Quote taken from Bloc Party:

"The album produced by Paul Epworth (Silent Alarm) and Jacknife Lee (A Weekend in the City) was recorded in Kent and London. Some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental, while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favourites 'Helicopter', 'Banquet' and 'So Here We Are'."

If Bloc Party manage to pull off another Silent Alarm, I'll be impressed/disappointed. This could be Bloc Party doing a Muse, they'll either go wildly experimental and ruin it all or write songs to please the fans that can't accept that AWITC is a new album. Either way, this is a big step for a relatively young band. They play Reading as second headliners on Saturday night, it's gonna be ace. This does mean that I wont actually be able to hear the new album until at least monday which is simply not acceptable. However, as Pete pointed out, as far as reasons for missing new bloc albums go, being at Reading is a pretty damn good one.

The track listing for Intimacy:
01. Ares
02. Mercury
03. Halo
04. Biko
05. Trojan Horse
06. Signs
07. One Month Off
08. Zephyrus
09. Better Than Heaven
10. Ion Square

Thou Shalt Not Make Repetitive Generic Blog Posts

So enough about Burial. I'm sure you've noticed but it's nearly that time of year again. When thousands upon thousands flock to Reading with interesting wellies, sit in trollies and run at each other, have spontaneous pillow fights, compete to get the most free hugs, throw bottles at bands they dont like, drink a lot of beer and play bongos until the wee hours, all in the name of a music festival. I can't think of anywhere better to be.

And so, in the name of somehow previewing the unpreviewable (yes it is a word, I've just written it and you'll be reading it on the internet so it must be true) here are a few videos of bands that I will definately not miss this weekend.



Could a track be more relevant for Reading Festival?
Simian Mobile Disco - Sleep Deprivation



Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy (Reading 1996)



Bloc Party - So Here We Are (Reading 2007)



Justice - D.A.N.C.E



The Music - Getaway (Live at Splendour In The Grass)



Seasick Steve - Dog House Boogie (Live on Jools Holland)

I apologise for my somewhat streamlined blog recently; streamlined in the idea that it mostly revolves around Burial. But I've found another fascinating article with the eponymous producer, this time completely unedited. The article finally reveals some interesting facts about Burial's inspirations, his musical history and some fascinating insight on the imagery that inspires Burial, including midget ghosts on the underground and some late night MaccyD's. Having just moved to South London, it is impossible not to relate to his descriptions of the bleak atmosphere that floats through towns and dark alleyways and it is this atmosphere that Burial captures perfectly.
Anyway, enjoy

http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/347/?pageno=1

Only this moment holds us together...

Another post that is slightly less focussed, you'll have to forgive me for a few days as now I'm without the internet at home, reviewing new music is pretty tough, considering I cant get any. I'm actually buying lots of music at the moment but as Im sure you've all guessed, its on vinyl so I'm not even thinking about playing it.

Quickly, I'd like to say thank you to two people I've had quite serios conversations with in the last few days, you both totally got that I'm not acting normally but that its only temporary and gave me some sound advice and I really appreciate your patience. So yeah, thanks a bunch.

I've picked up a few releases recently that I've spoken about already but finally got around to forking out the money for. The first of these is the Mumford and Sons EP released last month for only a fiver from the Rough Trade online store. These folk/bluegrass hipsters are already putting the touches to their second ep and have jsut announced a mammoth tour in support of both their first EP and to raise awareness for their second. Momentum seems to be growing behind the bad with supportive reviews from the Guardian, Q and Drowned In Sound and though commitments to Laura Marling are increasing, there is still plenty of time for the band to grow and develop and flourish in a folk-filled world. Check out a video of my favourite track, White Blank Page, below.

Also new to my CD collection is the digipack version of Royksopp's The Understanding. Released with an extra CD containing 5 new songs, Royksopp's second album is a diverse and oddly paced album which drew little praise from critics but was exploited just as heavily by advertisers as their first album. Triumphant, 49 percent, Beautiful Day Without You all showcase Royksopp's polished norwegian electronica but for me, it is Only This Moment that see's Royksopp step in a new directino and reap the rewards of attempting something different. Relying heavily on call and answer throughout the track, the syncopated bass and snare beats power the song forwards whilst the smooth snyth and delicate subject matterflow over the top. Its clear from the lyrics below that the song approaches someone unwilling to let themselves go in a relatinoship, scared to open themselves up. They are then offered an ultimatum, the suggestion that if they don't open up, they could ruin a possibly fantastic opportunity.

"Stay or forever go

Play or you'll never know

What heaven decided

You can't deny it's

All you've been waiting for

Stay or forever go

Play or you'll never know

Your spirit's divided

You will decide if I'm

All you've been waiting for"

Finally, Lykke Li has been receiving a lot of press recently, being pushed heavily on 6 music in addition to an insightful interview in the NME this week which wrongly quoted the lyrics to Little Bit, despite having a face to face interview with her, them being printed in the album booklet and being all over the net. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the NME but for a national music magazine, that's pretty shoddy journalism. Anyway, that was all forgotten when I got my hands on an extreeeemly limited 12" of I'm Good, I'm Gone, pressed on heavyweight vinyl, released back at the beginning of June. New single Breaking It Up was released this week and the promotion seems to be paying off as festival performances become increasingly busy and tickets begin to fly off the binary shelves for her Autum tour. I'm heading to the Scala date for another spine-tingling performance and for the first time in a long time, I'm beginning to crave the second album long before I've grown tired of the first. It's Bloc Party syndrome all over again.

Video's galore below, enjoy.

I'm moving to New York 'cause I've got problems with my sleep

Its true. I do have problems with my sleep. Sadly, the move was not to New York. But it definately happened, I am now an official resident of Royal Arsenal housing development and it is ace. The flat is lovely and new and clean, the view is sometimes spectacular, often just interesting. My room is small but cosy and the flat will hopefully be viewed by you all soon once we've unpacked, I'm pushing for a housewarming party but it seems unlikely so I say we jsut have a medway piss up at the flat before everyone heads off to uni again.

I'm yet to regain some control over my life sadly as there is no internet yet, though I'm promising myself that I will be completely settled at the new place by September, simply because my body is running out of energy and my mind is going a little loopy. And come September, I'll also have my hands on a tasty new iPod and will get back to my massive music consumption. In the meantime, I'll continue posting from work but its difficult as I'm actually swamped at the minute so we'll see. Hold out for jsut a bit longer guys, I'm really enjoying my music at the minute so I'll enjoy posting again.

I'm not elitist, I just like good music

Right, this is a particularly difficult thing to write, because it's particularly unoriginal. But. Sometimes I really hate the NME with its tabloid gossip writing and supposed championing of new british music.

This article sums up for me entirely the NME's outlook on new, different, music. For once, don't enjoy reading this. Take offense to the fact that because Burial is not already established as a celebrity, the NME are, and i quote, "disappointed" that Burial is in fact "some bloke named Will making bedroom beats...wearing a craig david style hat" and not Damon Albarn, Thom Yorke or Norman Cook.

Thank you for yet again proving that you're far more interested in the image an artist puts forward than diversity and creativity. Grr.

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=burial_not_thom_yorke_damon_albarn_or_da&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

p.s To be fair, they do hate the new Pigeon Detectives track but I'm yet to meet someone whose musical opinion I respect that likes that song. I do however await the review of the Muse/The Streets track with baited breath, could their adoration for a truly awful song be the last straw in an already massive bail of hay that makes me finally give up on the NME? Lets hope not

I found this on my recent travels around the net, actually spotted it after I wrote my little bit about Burial so its nice to see that the way I interpreted the album is the intended way. Though music should always be a personal experience, I don't think a better connection is made than the one that the composer had with it. The rare interview is between Burial and Hyperdub label owner and fellow dubstep artist Kode9 and provides a great insight on Burial's writing process, his production techniques and the effort put into the tracks. I particularly found Burial's vocal work interesting, having to cut up words to create new words and eventually mashing them out of all recognition whilst maintaining an air of connection and creativity.

Also, I've always had a thing for cute girl vocals as I've banged on about here more times than I care to remember so Burial's comments on this exact subject struck a real chord. A compelling read.
Eagerly anticipating the new EP and album.

http://hyperdubrecords.blogspot.com/2007/10/burial-untrue-november-2007.html

Improv Everywhere

So, something completely not music related but still, worth checking out none the less.

The "organisation" is called Improv Everywhere and organise a range of random activities to amuse and excite passers by, whether this involves carrying three desktop pc's into a Starbucks and plugging into the free wi-fi available or organising hundreds of people to line Brooklyn Bridge with cameras in an attempt to create a mexican wave of flashing lights. Sadly, its based in New York but there is an Urban Prankster network that deals with international events. This was brought to my attention when back in February, hundreds of participants gathered in Trafalgar square and at exactly half past three in the afternoon, froze solid for five minutes. However, when scouring their site today, I discovered a slightly older project called "The MP3 Experiment".
This involved 826 Improv Everywhere readers downloading an mp3 from their website, synchronising their watches to the clock on the site and gathering in a park in New York, wearing blue, red, green or yellow t shirts. Then, as the clock struck four, everyone pushed play on their mp3 player and were played some soothing music with a set of instructions. I'm not going to describe it as the website tells the story perfectly with pictures and videos but how can you not be tempted by a case of mistaken identity with a german tourist, twister and the biggest game of darts you'll ever see.

Fingers crossed they come back soon.

http://improveverywhere.com/2007/08/22/the-mp3-experiment-four/

Burial revealed

My admiration for Burial has been no secret on this blog or to my friends. The dubstep producer has released 2 albums so far with the debut being an awkward and tiring listen, failing to ever create a moment to connect with. However, Untrue for me was a musical revelation, I'd never heard anything like it and never have since. It is hard to tell how people will react to music I write about here, I would hardly call myself the most diverse musical listener, when was the last time I reviewed hip hop or metal for example, two massive, important genres. However, Dubstep is niche, its small and generally I'd say, pretty unappreciated. Only recently have people begun to take notice of Burial and that's a wonderful thing to see after so long.

I reviewed Burial way back when so I won't do it again but its been amazing to see that he was nominated for a Mercury music prize with so little pr about him and a genre that is succinctly underground. This is partly due to the fact that Burial has remained annonymous, citing that "only 5 people know I make tunes" and so, its all about the atmosphere and the way you interpret the music. With so little going on in the tracks, it allows you to focus on each individual sound and to me, that enhances the whole listening experience. And of course, the album sounds incredible, each note in perfect balance with sounds bouncing back at you from all over the place, creating a swirl of dark, intense and minimalistic noise that is a delight and a thought-provoking listen.

However, it was announced today via his myspace that -

"hi

for a while theres been some talk about who i am , but its not a big deal

i wanted to be unknown because i just want it to be all about the tunes.

over the last year the unknown thing become an issue so im not into it any more.

im a lowkey person and i just want to make some tunes, nothing else. my names will bevan, im from south london, im keeping my head down and just going to finish my next album, theres going to be a 12" maybe in the next few weeks too with 4 tunes. hope u like it, i'll try put a tune up later

sorry for any rubbish tunes i made in the past, ill make up for it

a big big thank you to anyone who ever supported me, liked my tunes or sent me messages, it means the world to me

big up everyone, take care, will ( burial )"

So there we go. The rumours were flying (thanks to NME as always) that the alter ego was Aphex Twin or even Mr Norman Cook. How amazing that it is someone uninterested in fame, someone with no musical prowess due to celebrity or cult status. Just a guy. Making amazing tunes because he can. Aphex proved that all you need to make tunes is your bedroom and some basic equipment and in the age of simple home recording, record labels clambering over bands to make them press idols as well as record sellers and the increase in supergroups (last shadow puppets, neon neon) or reformatinos to cash in on a market that still hates buying records, it is instantly refreshing to see someone that shows no interest and just wants to release songs because he likes them.

I hope Burial wins the Mercury, not to enhance his PR status and reach more people but as an acknowledgement that his approach to music is about the music. With the other nominees distinctly more popular, surely a music award should be given to someone that concentrated solely on their music and built their name just through records as opposed to live gigs and past groups. Feel free to disagree.

Let me occupy your mind, as you do mine

Soldiering on with another new album that was tearing up my iPod a couple of months ago, Belgian/Australian artist Gotye and his second album Like Drawing Blood. Born Wouter DeBacker, he took the stage name after crafting music from old vinyl samples and decided to follow suit in using an old name. Wouter translates from Flemish to French as Gaultier and subsequently, his nickname was born.

Like Drawing Blood draws on a number of influences, from classical string arrangements with smooth double bass, to trip hop with lo-fi drum production, via jazz with free form tempo and syncopated beats to create a dark and soulful record that exposes Gotye as and when he chooses.

The album was originally only released in his native Australia and after negotiating deals with a range of independents, Like Drawing Blood is seeing an eventual Europe release on August 18th via Lucky Number music and has been preceded by the incredible single Hearts A Mess.

It was Hearts A Mess that first drew my attention to Gotye but through its quirky video which views like a mashup of War Of The Worlds and Nightmare Before Christmas. The dark animation provides the perfect visualisations for this brooding track which utilises the previously mentioned Gotye-defining elements in a perfect 4 minute package. The song reads like your traditional heartbreaking song but as always for me, it is the instrumentation, production and delivery that make this video really stand out, all aided by Gotye's wonderful production and sampling skills. The song bends with Gotye's voice, with call and response style vocals and a swaying bass line to keep the song moving and when Gotye finally releases the demons, it is through production again that Gotye connects with his breathtaking chorus augmented with vocal effects and deep, developed instrumentation to emphasise the confusion and misidirection that he feels.

The song is aimed at a lover that is afraid to open themselves up and by doing so, is constantly alienating themselves from any future hope. The song reads like a self admittance, with a slow and brooding verse where Gotye picks apart why things arent going the way he wants and what it is that's holding them both back.

"You don’t get burned

(’Cause nothing gets through)

It makes it easier

(Easier on you)

But that much more difficult for me

To make you see…"

Eventually he seems to lose control as the stupidity and the frustration of the situation engulfs him. As Gotye releases the frustration he offers an ultimatum, either open up and let me in or leave me alone. The emotion in Gotye's voice is heartfelt and in the perfect Gotye style, accompanied by swelling strings, darker percussion and desolating backing vocals.

"Your heart’s a mess

You won’t admit to it

It makes no sense

But I’m desperate to connect

And you, you can’t live like this"

The song is the perfect anthem for those that have given there all to someone and been rejected but instead of approaching this worn out topic with loud guitars, crass lyrics and a touch of anger, it is desperation and disappointment that flows out of Gotye, instantly making the song more identifiable and more painful each time you hear it.

New single learnalilgivinalovin is out on 8th Spetember with Like Drawing Blood seeing its official UK release on the 18th of August.

I apologise, I'm really trying to write something that is worthwhile but irritatingly I seem to have hit a bit of a block waxing lyrically so I'm gonna keep writing crap stuff and not posting it and in the meantime, I'll keep on my last.fm playlist and just do a little bit about what's new on here. I hit a similar block like this a couple of months back and then exploded out of it so I'm sure a similar activity will happen this time around. At least I hope so, I enjoy writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Normal service will, hopefully, be resumed soon.

I think I'm a little bit...

So this has been a long time coming. Reviewing new music. Who'd have thought? The only problem is that the album's not really new and I've been listening to it for months now but I kind of lost direction with my blog again, it's harder writing this than you imagine. I went through my stage of saying what I wanted to write about but never got around to it, then writing about music I talked about a year ago and then writing sporadically about nothing again. But with an imminent move, the last in a few giant steps I've taken recently, hopefully I'll settle back into my old rhythm and normal service will be resumed.

Lykke Li, born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson is a Swedish pop singer and despite her relatively young music career, has produced my favourite album of 2008 so far. After passing through my radar at the end of 2007 thanks to her incredible Little Bit EP, Lykke Li hit the studio again with Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn and John fame) to record her debut album Youth Novels. Though the album was released in Sweden on January 30th, it took until June for the album to see a release elsewhere, reaching #12 in the UK charts thanks to her relentless touring and blogger promotion.

Lykke Li can most easily be described as sugar-coated indie pop. Li's voice is calm and soulful and rarely ventures from her comfortable intimate nature. The album keeps to this theme with sparse electronic instrumentation soaked in reverb and delay but it is this atmosphere that suits Li's voice and song topics so well that it is rarely obvious how similar the songs are. Instead you are taken through poetic descriptions of personal strength and love with constant connection to both her audience and the target of her songs. The album does gather pace in songs such as Breaking It Up, Dance Dance Dance and I'm Good I'm Gone but it does so in the Lykke Li way - calm, unnoticeably and delicately.

As is normally the way, my first and favourite Lykke Li track is the aforementioned Little Bit. With a range of electronic percussion, smooth vocal lines and the bare minimum in instrumentation, it is in this forum that Li's lyrics are most powerful and most personal. The song breaches the necessity to tell someone how you feel but also the fear that these feelings will not be reciprocated and the struggle to make sure that you come across strong and independent whilst your heart slowly melts. The song also approaches the effects of past relationships and the continuing personality traits that affect every little decision in a new ones. Its hard to pick lyrics that best demonstrate this song as they're all perfect but these are some of my favourites

"Hands down, I'm too proud for love

But with eyes shut, it's you I'm thinking of,

Cause how we move from A to B it can't be up to me
Cause I don't know.

Eye to eye, thigh to thigh

I let go"

Lykke Li herself describes the song as "tragic" in that it is a true story that still affects her. However, the album is anything but dreary as "every song is a chapter in my life - I'm young (22). I don't have the most intense parts of my life because I've not been through Rehab and divorce and blah blah blah; it's about my teenage years." This refreshing approach to lyric writing ensures the album does not lose the intimate nature in which Lykke Li performs through alienating audience members that cant relate.

Having recently witnessed Lykke Li perform on a stage in the woods at Latitude, it is clear that the relaxed album is not the only string to her bow. Within a live arena, Lykke Li performs with energy and finesse and more importantly a proper backing band, adding a new dimension to songs that seemed clear and settled in their direction. "Live, I just want to run over everybody". Indeed.

I would say listen to Lykke Li on the playlist on the left but as last fm updates its service it seems that its become increasingly unreliable so my charts and playlist are almost redundant, I'll keep trying and see what happens. In the meantime, the video for Little Bit is below.

And by a small miracle, you're available to download Dance Dance Dance for free from her lastfm website here: http://www.last.fm/music/Lykke+Li/_/Dance+Dance+Dance

Latitude photo courtesy of: http://www.hockwold.info/nigesphotobox/Latitude2008/index.htm