Cartoon Music For Superheroes

It's been a while

2011-04-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe how time flies when you stop doing something that is part of your routine. The last year and a half were spent making important decisions, completing many of my life goals and learning so much more about myself. It's hard to ignore just how much music plays a role in my life; which is why I discovered some of the most incredible music during times like these.

I never thought I could possibly love music more than I had, but after transferring to a school with fewer people who share my interests, it is always comforting to come back to something familiar, something consistent.

It is difficult to figure out where to begin, considering how much great music has been released in the time I've been away. So I've decided to post the song I've listened to the most in the past year.

Hans Zimmer - Projections (Bonus Track)

Hans Zimmer: Facebook | Last.fm | Official Site

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Muse perform "Uprising" on an Italian TV show

2009-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Muse

Well, not really. The band was scheduled to perform on the Italian TV show, "Quelli Che Il Calcio," and was asked to perform using the pre-recorded version of the track. So Muse decided to joke around by "performing" the song with singer Matt Bellamy on drums, drummer Dominic Howard playing bass and singing and bassist Chris Wolstenholme on guitar and keyboards.

I don't even know what's funnier - Matt's enthusiasm while playing the drums or the fact that the host had no idea they were joking around. Muse has even done this before. Enjoy the video below.

The band's new album, "The Resistance," was released this past week, so make sure to grab a copy from your local record shop or by clicking below.

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Muse's "United States of Eurasia" now unlocked

2009-07-20T15:30:00.001-07:00

Muse after arriving in Oslo.

Courtesy of MuseWire

All six parts of the song have now been unlocked and the song does take a few surprising twists, just like Dominic Howard said in his blog a few days ago. However, Muse have announced that there is a seventh part to the hunt, which will make the song's MP3 available to download. Some people think that there may be more to the song than just these six parts, so it's a matter of time before their plans are revealed.

After starting off with just a piano, followed by strings and Matthew Bellamy singing in a way reminiscent to the band's 1999 track "Unintended," the song takes an epic turn to sound like a song only Muse can create. The song explodes when Bellamy begins singing "Why split these states/When there can be only one?" in Queen-like fashion.

The instrumental parts throughout the song have a Middle-Eastern influence to them, and along with Bellamy's incredible piano skills, Howard's impressive drumming and bassist Chris Wolstenholme's known talent of giving the bass a role in a lot of their music make for a great comeback single since their last album was released in 2006.

A lot of people are beginning to talk about how Muse is ripping off Queen in the song, due to the parts that sound similar to Queen. One thing that needs to be realized is that the song, which is about 3:44 long, has so many elements to it and people are focusing too much on just one aspect of it, rather than taking in the whole song and before making a decision about it. Not only does most of the song sound nothing like Queen, but no one even seems to be paying attention to the message Muse is trying to say in the song.

Stereogum seems to think that Muse using a band as inspiration is the same thing as becoming a cover band. Other bands like Wolfmother have also been compared to sounding like other great bands, and yet most of them haven't had to deal with serious criticism for it.

Only one track has been made available to the public, so we still don't really know for sure what the album is going to sound like.

Listen to "United States of Eurasia" below:

Musewiki.org has put together the lyrics for song:

You and me are the same
We don't know or care who's to blame
But we know that whoever holds the reins
Nothing will change
Our cause has gone insane

And these wars, they can't be won
And these wars, they can't be won
And do you want them to go on
And on and on
Why split these states
When there can be only one?

And must we do as we're told?
Must we do as we're told?

You and me fall in line
To be punished for unproven crimes
And we know that there is no one we can trust
Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust

And these wars, they can't be won
Does anyone know or care how they begun?
They just promise to go on
And on and on
But soon we will see
There can be only one

United States
United States
Of...

Eurasia!
...sia!
...sia!
...sia!

Eurasia!
...sia!
...sia!
...sia!

Eurasia!
...sia!
...sia!
...sia!

"The Resistance" will be released on September 14 (in the U.K.). Click here for the album's tracklisting.

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Muse unveil parts one and two of "United States of Eurasia"

2009-07-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Drummer Dominic Howard in Milan.

Courtesy of MuseWire

So far, two parts of the six-part treasure hunt have been unlocked. One minute and 19 seconds of the song "United States of Eurasia" is up and can be streamed on the Ununited States of Eurasia microsite here. Knowing how great Muse fans are with decoding and figuring out clues, it won't take long before the next clue is figured out.

Willy Tarno found the first USB key in Paris earlier today, and two others found the one in Berlin. Visit Tarno's flickr page here to see pictures of what the key looks like, along with the envelope that it came in, which may also have another clue on it.

Drummer Dominic Howard blogged a few hours ago about the treasure hunt and mentioned that the song "Takes a few surprising twists from what you can hear at the moment..."

Here's his full blog post.

Hey,

So we've literally just finished traveling around europe doing about 100 interviews and feeling pretty talked out right now! My voice seems to have dropped a few octaves as a result.. But keep an eye out as I imagine some will start surfacing soon.
If you guys have been following our twittering over the last week you can check out some pictures of what we've been up to.
But its now time to crack on with some rehearsals to try and figure out how we will play the album live and remember how the old ones go as well..

Well done to the guys who found the usb sticks and unlocked the first two parts of United States of Eurasia. Four more to go to hear the rest of the track! That song takes a few surprising twists from what you can hear at the moment..

Anyway, take it easy..

Dom.

I know I've mainly been posting about Muse lately, but I'm finishing up summer school this week, so I'll hopefully be able to start posting on a regular basis in a few days.

Muse to unveil new single through treasure hunt

2009-07-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Muse with media manager and longtime friend (considered to be the fourth member of the band) Tom Kirk in Spain.

Courtesy of MuseWire

A few days ago, I noticed that the Muse website had shut down and instead had a map of Africa, Europe and Asia without borders with a counter counting down "until launch." This morning, at 3 a.m. Pacific Time, the band's new website launched.

Not only was it just a new website, but Muse also launched PROJECT EURASIA. Earlier this month, singer Matthew Bellamy tweeted something about a treasure hunt. On the Ununited States of Eurasia microsite, fans were given a briefing and asked to register to get the clues as they are unveiled.

Here's what it said:

PROJECT EURASIA

FLASH BRIEFING DECLASSIFIED AND APPROVED FOR GENERAL RELEASE
PREVIOUS CLASSIFICATION: INDIGO ALPHA SHARD

GEOPOLITICAL EVENTS NOW NECESSITATE ACTIVATION OF THE STANDBY PLAN BRAVO NINER PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS GRAN AJEDREZ.

MARKERS INCLUDE REALTIME ASSESSMENT OF POLITICAL AND PUBLIC SENTIMENT AT -2.57 (KNIGHT INDEX), SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS AT [REDACTED], ENERGY STABILITY INDICATORS AT [REDACTED], GLOBAL MARKET VOLATILITY MARKERS AT [REDACTED] AND SOVEREIGN STATE MILITARY EFFECTIVENESS AT [REDACTED].

FOR GRAN AJEDREZ TO BE FULLY ACTIVATED, APPROVAL HAS BEEN GRANTED FOR WIDESPREAD MOBILISATION OF INITIATED NON-CONVENTIONAL HUMINT RESOURCES.

GRAN AJEDREZ WILL BE ACTIVATED IN A PHASED PROCESS. SUCCESSFUL ACTIVATION OF EACH PHASE WILL RESULT IN THE UNLOCKING AND DECRYPTION OF AN AUDIO BRIEFING. THE FULL PROJECT EURASIA / GRAN AJEDREZ AUDIO BRIEFING WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD UPON SUCCESSFUL ACTIVATION OF ALL PHASES.

PLEASE STAND BY AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FOR PRE-APPROVED HUMINT RESOURCE MOBILISATION.

It's only a matter of time before the first clue is released for fans to figure out, which will unlock either a portion or the entire song. But its name seems to confirm everyone's guess that "United States of Eurasia" would to be the first single to be taken off of "The Resistance."

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Studio verison of Arctic Monkeys latest single, "Crying Lightning"

2009-07-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of ArcticMonkeys.com

After hearing it several times, it's safe to say that the Arctic Monkeys have grown with this new, dark sound. Will over at We All Want Someone To Shout For already found a studio version of the Arctic Monkeys' first single off of "Humbug," so head on over to download it.

Arctic Monkeys: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Muse announce "The Resistance" tracklisting on twitter

2009-07-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Muse with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe yesterday in Lake Como, Italy

Photo: Courtesy of Zane Lowe's Twitter

About 15 hours ago, Muse began tweeting a different track title every hour from their soon-to-be-released album, "The Resistance." It was hard to understand what it was at the beginning, but about three or four tracks in, it became evident that they were posting track titles.

Here are all the tracks that have been listed so far:

1) Uprising
2) Resistance
3) Undisclosed Desires
4) United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
5) Guiding Light
6) Unnatural Selection
7) MK Ultra
8) I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix)
9) Exogenesis : Symphony Part I (Overture)
10) Exogenesis : Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11) Exogenesis : Symphony Part III (Redemption)

It is still possible that the album will have more tracks that haven't been posted yet, but no one really knows for sure. The band is currently in Italy doing interviews to promote the album, which is set for a September 14 release (in the U.K.).

To stay up to speed on all things-Muse, follow them on twitter, or check back here to see the latest news from the band.

UPDATE: Their website listed the official tracklisting today and it stands at 11 songs.

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Franz Ferdinand unveil "Can't Stop Feeling" video

2009-07-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of their best videos. It's funny, well put together and they dance in it.

I know I've been away a while but the second finals ended, I started summer school and math just isn't my thing. Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting again next week.

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Franz Ferdinand unveils new version of "No You Girls" video

2009-06-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

The band will open for Green Day during their U.S. shows from August 8 to 22. Click here to check out the first version of "No You Girls."

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Muse announces release date for fifth album

2009-06-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Photo

Muse will release the "The Resistance" on September 14 in the UK. Recording and mixing for the band's fifth album is practically done and Muse will begin to tour starting in late October.

It makes me incredibly excited to know that in the next three months, both Muse and the Arctic Monkeys will release two of this year's most anticipated albums (sorry Grizzly Bear).

The band's website also said that more information and tracklisting will be announced soon. To stay updated, visit Muse on its website, or keep reading this blog, as I will update it with all the latest news and updates from the band.

To download Muse demos, rare songs, acoustic songs and full, live concerts from as early as 1999, visit Microcuts.net . It also has a large collection of Muse photos from throughout the band's career. Head on over to it's download section to get some great tracks. You might want to start off with one of the best unofficial live concerts ever - their performance at Reading Festival in 2006. The acoustic songs are equally as brilliant.

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Muse drummer says fifth album possibly finished

2009-06-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

Dominic Howard posted a blog on his myspace earlier today that he thinks the band's fifth album, "The Resistance," is finished. He said they've listened to it a lot and like it, so the mixing is done.

Courtesy of MuseWire

He also said something about September possibly being the release date, but nothing is set as of right now. Here's his whole blog post:

Hi,

So, I think,,, we've actually finished the album. Its all mixed so we are just listening to it a lot to really make sure its done but we seem to be agreeing it is.
It sounds f**king great and is my favorite album by far, but the new ones always are.!
September is hopefully the month of kick off but there are still lots of things to get together before then. Like learning how to play these songs live for one.. That should take a while!

Just want to say thanks to everyone who bought tickets for the tour in the autumn. We are immensely looking forward to it but also can only apologize for some idiot touts that are selling tickets for £200 - £600 in certain places. Obviously this has nothing to do with the band and not something we condone at all. We can try our best to try and prevent this but as you can imagine its quite hard. All our tickets are a fixed price and spending more than that is not something we expect. But keep posted as some more tickets for some shows may get released later down the line.

Anyway, see you guys soon,

Dom.

This is possibly the greatest news I've heard in a while. A new Muse album before the end of 2009.

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Arctic Monkeys announce album release date and tracklisting

2009-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Photo

The Arctic Monkeys have just announced that their currently untitled third album will be released on August 24. It will feature 10 new Arctic Monkeys songs and is produced by Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford (who also produced Alex Turner's side project, The Last Shadow Puppets).

Here is the tracklisting:

01) My Propeller
02) Crying Lightning
03) Dangerous Animals
04) Secret Door
05) Potion Approaching
06) Fire & The Thud
07) Cornerstone
08) Dance Little Liar
09) Pretty Visitors
10) The Jeweller's Hands

The album will be available on CD, Vinyl and as an MP3 download.

Head on over to We All Want Someone To Shout For to download an acoustic version of "Fire & The Thud" recorded a while back.

Arctic Monkeys: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Albert Hammond Jr.

2009-05-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

So Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman has been updating the band's twitter lately and he just posted the following:

At Albert Hammond Jr's house... Guy http://twitpic.com/68tca

It actually looks pretty good, but I miss that curly hair...

Courtesy of Coldplay

Muse announce title of fifth album

2009-05-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

When Muse fans checked their twitter accounts 10 hours ago, they saw the title of the band's fifth studio album was announced, "The Resistance."

The Devon trio's website also congratulated fans who were able to figure out one of the new song titles after the band posted a picture of Matthew Bellamy holding the score in his hands. The song's title is "United States of Eurasia."

Courtesy of MuseWire

It is now only a matter of time before the band releases more information on their upcoming release, which will be greeted by fans counting down the seconds for its release.

Follow the band on twitter here.

Muse collaborated with Mike Skinner/The Streets a while back and the following song was what resulted from it:

Now, whether or not you like rap, it's hard to deny how incredible Matt Bellamy is on guitar, Chris Wolstenholme is on bass and Dominic Howard is on drums. There are so many other great bands out there, but nothing comes close to the brilliance these guys have when they create music together.

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Keane's LA Documentary Part 3

2009-05-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the third part of Keane's LA Documentary that was mainly filmed by Tom during their long visit to LA in December. You can view parts one and two HERE.

Tom impersonates Paul McCartney pretty well.

I'm going to see them live on Saturday at the Palladium and at The Grove on Sunday. I'll try to find some time and post about it. If you ever get an opportunity to see Keane live, make sure you don't miss out on it. They are incredible live.

Keane is beginning their U.S. tour in a couple days and will play some festivals in Europe during the summer:

May 8 at 8 p.m. The Fox Theater - Oakland, CA
May 9 at 8 p.m. The Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA
May 10 at 8 p.m. The Grove - Anaheim, CA
May 12 at 8 p.m. Kingsbury Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
May 15 at 8 p.m. Myth - Minneapolis, MN
May 16 at 8 p.m. Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
May 19 at 8 p.m. Constitution Hall - Washington DC
May 20 at 8 p.m. Tower Theater - Philadelphia, PA
May 21 at 8 p.m. Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
May 23 at 8 p.m. The Sound Academy - Toronto
May 24 at 8 p.m. Tower City Amphitheater - Cleveland, OH
May 26 at 8 p.m. Wellmont Theatre - Montclair, NJ
May 27 at 8 p.m. Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
May 30 at 8 p.m. Shepherd’s Bush Empire (Island 50 show) - London
May 31 at 8 p.m. Pinkpop Festival - Landgraaf
Jun. 15 at 8 p.m. Norwegian Wood Festival - Oslo
Jun. 19 at 8 p.m. Southside Festival - Neuhausen ob Eck
Jun. 20 at 8 p.m. TW Classic Festival - Werchter
Jul. 10 at 8 p.m. Oxegen Festival - Eadestown
Jul. 12 at 8 p.m. T In The Park Festival - Balado
Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. V Festival - Staffs
Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. V Festival - Chelmsford

[MP3] Keane - The Lovers Are Losing
[MP3] Keane - Better Than This

Keane: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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New Video: Snow Patrol, "The Planets Bend Between Us"

2009-05-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's always incredible to see how much Gary Lightbody gets into the music when he sings.

[MP3] Snow Patrol - If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It

Snow Patrol: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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The Rascals to record second LP during summer

2009-04-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sophie Jarry

Miles Kane of The Rascals told BBC 6Music that the band has plans to record its second album during the summer. He also said that they are set to work with Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, though it is unknown exactly what Rhys will do.

Speaking about Rhys, Kane said "We’re gonna be trying some stuff with Gruff. We’ve got to set the date and that but yeah, I’m very excited to try it with him and see where we go because I really respect him and he’s a nice fella."

Kane also revealed that the new material is headed in a different direction. "It's quite fresh sounding, quite Lennon-like, T-Rex. It’s got a bit of a summer vibe to it as well, quite different."

"Rascalize" was recorded in London, but Kane said that he'd like to record the album somewhere else. "We hopefully want to go away to somewhere like Wales, somewhere green, and make a boss record."

“It’s been good to get away from the gigging and the madness of it all, to chill and really concentrate, get your head down and write some songs.”

[MP3] The Rascals - Bond Girl
[MP3] The Rascals - Stockings To Suit

The Rascals: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Jarvis Cocker on independent record stores

2009-04-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jarvis Cocker spoke to the UK's Channel 4 from a record store in Sheffield, England about why record stores are important, why they're better than shopping online and about what he thinks of illegal downloading.

He's giving away his new song, "Angela," to those who sign up for his mailing list. Visit his website for the download, as well as a somewhat long, but amusing video.

Jarvis Cocker: Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Rare Carl Barât and Peter Doherty demos

2009-04-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Photo: Roger Sargent

Breck Road Lovers posted this earlier today. It features rough demos of Carl Barât and Peter Doherty playing two covers and early versions of three Peter, Libertines and Babyshambles songs.

Here's the tracklisting:
"Dreaming Of You" (The Coral Cover)
"New Love Grows On Trees"
"I Remember When" (The Coral Cover)
"You're My Waterloo"
"Killamangiro"

Here are three demos off of The Libertines' "11 Legs" bootleg album:
[MP3] The Libertines - Music When The Lights Go Out (Demo)
[MP3] The Libertines - Hooray For The 21st Century (Demo)
[MP3] The Libertines - Sister Sister (Demo)

The Libertines: Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Jim Cramer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

2009-03-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

In such bad financial times, I think it's great that a comedian took the time to invite Jim Cramer and talk about something affecting many Americans today.

One of my favorite quotes is "Did you know that the guy on the twenty was a president, but the guy on the hundred was just some fucking guy?!" Jon Stewart is awesome. His book "America (The Book) A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" is hilarious.

Jon Stewart: Official Site

Because Hanan has completely put me in an Albert Hammond Jr./The Strokes mood

2009-03-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

So I had NO idea that this happened, but I just wish Albert the best. Below is one of my favorite Albert Hammond Jr. interviews. He talks about cooking, staying at home, being neat and carrying around a little notebook. The reason why I emphasize being neat is because I'm 99.9 percent sure that I have OCD.

Albert Hammond Jr.: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Steve Martin playing a song from his 'new banjo cd'

2009-03-22T00:42:00.001-07:00

The rerun of this episode is on right now and I thought I'd share this video. Steve Martin's surprisingly talented at playing the banjo. The song is called "Late For School."

Saturday Night Live

Tim Rice-Oxley covers Jackson Browne

2009-03-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Keane pianist/songwriter covered Jackson Browne's "These Days" in a hotel room in Rio during their South American tour. He's never actually sang a song on his own, so this is the first time listeners can hear his voice.

I'm glad I'm seeing them twice in May.

Vampire Weekend perform "White Sky" on Late Night

2009-03-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

The band performed the song slower than the way they've been playing it live and were accompanied by a string section. Singer Ezra Koenig did tell Jimmy Fallon that they're going to try and have the album ready for release around Fall.

[MP3] Vampire Weekend - White Sky [Live]
[MP3] Vampire Weekend - Ladies Of Cambridge
[MP3] Vampire Weekend - Ottoman

Vampire Weekend: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Matt Helders updates Arctic Monkeys fans from rehearsals

2009-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders recorded another update video for fans. He's in London with the rest of the band rehearsing songs to be recorded for their currently untitled third release.

The band plans to head to New York to "finish off" the album. He also says that they have a few more songs to work on. The always hilarious drummer talks about crocs and people dressed as fictional characters protesting.

Matt Helders has been updating fans with these videos every few weeks, so keep an eye on their youtube page for the latest update videos.

[MP3] Arctic Monkeys - Dancing Shoes
[MP3] Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down

Arctic Monkeys: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Happy 23rd Birthday Miles Kane

2009-03-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Photo: Mark Shearwood

Today is the 23rd birthday of one of my all-time heroes, singer and guitarist for The Rascals and The Last Shadow Puppets - Miles Kane. I just love him.

The Last Shadow Puppets surprised Jo Whiley on her birthday with this video. I thought it was adorable.

So I'd like to wish Mr. Kane a happy birthday and wish that I'll get to see him and his two awesome band mates soon.

[MP3] The Rascals - Lying Under The Second Seal
[MP3] The Rascals - Better In The Shadows

The Rascals: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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Keane's LA mini documentary

2009-03-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

The documentary was filmed mainly by Tom Chaplin during their visit to Los Angeles in early December. I had the pleasure of seeing them in two intimate shows on that trip. They are amazing live.

So far, they've uploaded parts one and two:

Keane is begining their U.S. tour in early May, view their tour dates below:

Mar. 10 at 8 p.m. Credicard Hall - Sao Paulo
Mar. 12 at 8 p.m. Chevrolet Hall - Sao Pedro Belo Horizonte
Mar. 13 at 8 p.m. Citibank Hall - Rio de Janeiro
Apr. 13 at 8 p.m. Metro - Fremantle
Apr. 16 at 8 p.m. The Palace - Melbourne
Apr. 17 at 8 p.m. Metro - Sydney
Apr. 20 at 8 p.m. Tivoli - Brisbane
Apr. 23 at 8 p.m. Big Cat - Osaka
Apr. 24 at 8 p.m. Studio Coast - Tokyo
May 2 at 8 p.m. SOS 4.8 Festival - Murcia
May 8 at 8 p.m. The Fox Theater - Oakland, CA
May 9 at 8 p.m. The Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA
May 12 at 8 p.m. Kingsbury Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
May 15 at 8 p.m. Myth - Minneapolis, MN
May 16 at 8 p.m. Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
May 19 at 8 p.m. Constitution Hall - Washington DC
May 20 at 8 p.m. Tower Theater - Philadelphia, PA
May 21 at 8 p.m. Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
May 23 at 8 p.m. The Sound Academy - Toronto
May 24 at 8 p.m. Tower City Amphitheater - Cleveland, OH
May 27 at 8 p.m. Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
May 30 at 8 p.m. Shepherd’s Bush Empire (Island 50 show) - London
May 31 at 8 p.m. Pinkpop Festival - Landgraaf
Jun. 20 at 8 p.m. TW Classic Festival - Werchter
Jul. 10 at 8 p.m. Oxegen Festival - Eadestown
Jul. 12 at 8 p.m. T In The Park Festival - Balado
Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. V Festival - Staffs
Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. V Festival - Chelmsford

[MP3] Keane - Spiralling
[MP3] Keane - The Lovers Are Losing

Keane: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Easier way to look up bands online

2009-03-15T01:06:00.000-07:00

The guys over at Filter Magazine's blog informed me of a new Firefox add-on which will save music listeners lots of time. Don't you ever read something online and want to look up the band on their myspace/last.fm? Well with this new add-on, all you have to do is highlight the band's name, right click and you'll be able to look them up on myspace, last.fm, pandora and wikipedia.

Download the add-on here.

Air Traffic to send fans a free download next week

2009-03-15T00:35:00.001-07:00

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They are no longer singed to EMI Records, so they need all their fans to sign up for their new mailing list. They said that the first mailout with feature an exclusive track, along with some "important news." So make sure to sign up here. Singer Chris Wall wrote in a confirmation email I received after signing up:

Now that we've wrested you, and OUR independence, from the big bad record label we can endeavor to be more consistent with our mailouts (hands up, who got one under the old regime...? Not me), and we can now legally give you whatever we want, whenever we want to in terms of music, videos, photos, etc.

You'll also be the first to know when we're announcing tours, competitions, random shows and limited availability tickets, and you'll generally get any news as soon as it happens.

They've been working on their new album for the past few months, so they might just announce the release date of their second album or its first single. It's spooky how Matt Bellamy-like Chris is. But he's still insanely genius in his own, awesome way.

[MP3] Air Traffic - Never Even Told Me Her Name

Air Traffic: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Muse drummer updates fans on the new album

2009-03-14T23:59:00.001-07:00

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YES! One of the best drummers (yes you heard me) posted a myspace blog earlier today talking about how the new album is coming along. They've recorded many parts and Matt has started recording the vocals, which as Dom says, means that the songs are nearly finished. He also said the band might be able to start touring after the summer. COUNT ME IN. Read the awesome drummer's blog:

Yes yes, I know its been about six years since I last posted but you know, time flies when you're having fun. Look, I've been busy alright..! Ok, I have no excuse.. Just slack.

We have been working pretty hard though on the album and its actually now starting to take shape. Matt is doing vocals on some tracks as we speak which normally means they're nearly finished. We've probably got two more to record from scratch then we might be almost looking at a complete album. Then strings, synth sparkles, llamas toenails, gongs and anything else we can think of that will help us perceive they are finished. The hardest bit is finishing.

It sounds fucking great though..

I'm very looking forward to getting out there and playing this live. I'm pretty sure we'll be out playing shortly after the summer. Plans are coming together..

See you soon,

Dom.

Oh how I love him.

[MP3] Muse - Sober
[MP3] Muse - Plug In Baby [Acoustic]

Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Study shows that Beethoven, Radiohead fans are smarter than Lil' Wayne fans

2009-03-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

I first read about this on Filter Magazine's blog and thought it was interesting. The research was done by Virgil Griffith, who found that Beethoven, followed by Sufjan Stevens, were the top two musicians most frequently listened to by students who scored higher on their SAT scores.

Read more about his research here. Click on the chart below to see which musicians' fans received higher scores and which didn't. To view a run down by genre, click here.

[MP3] Radiohead - There There (Live at All Points West 8/8/08)

Radiohead: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

I finally got it!

2009-03-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

It's terrible to have one of my absolute favorite bands (which consists of three of my idols) not be signed to a U.S. label. They release singles and their debut album, and I can never get my hands on any of them.

Yesterday, I went to the holy land of record shopping and my sister found The Rascals' debut, "Rascalize," on CD. She was nice enough to let me buy it, being the more obsessive Rascals fan and all.

It only cost me $23 + tax and I got a hold of it almost an entire year after its actual release, but I guess it's all fine. I'm hoping to start hunting down their EPs and singles online and hopefully, I'll one day own all of their releases on CD and vinyl.

[MP3] The Rascals - Bond Girl
[MP3] The Rascals - Stockings To Suit

The Rascals: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Hockey's Uncensored Interview

2009-03-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

The band sat down and spoke about topics from playing small shows, to working for a port-o-potty company, fearing makeup, watching a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie and buying boat shoes after loving Vampire Weekend. Below are three of the videos. View the rest HERE.

They're currently touring the U.S. and will tour the U.K. with Friendly Fires.

Mar. 18 at 3 p.m. SXSW - Austin, Texas
Mar. 19 at 12 a.m. SXSW - Austin, Texas
Mar. 19 at 1 p.m. SXSW - Austin, Texas
Apr. 10 at 7 p.m. Beatnik Studios - Sacromento, California
Apr. 11 at 7 p.m. The Partisan - Merced, California
Apr. 13 at 8 p.m. Troubadour w/ Friendly Fires - Los Angeles, California
Apr. 14 at 8 p.m. Detroit Bar w/ Friendly Fires - Costa Mesa, California
Apr. 15 at 8 p.m. The Loft @ UCSD w/ Friendly Fires - San Diego, California
Apr. 16 at 8 p.m. Cellar Door - Visalia, California
Apr. 25 at 8 p.m. Bristol University w/Friendly Fires - Bristol
Apr. 27 at 8 p.m. Manchester Academy 2 w/Friendly Fires - Manchester
Apr. 28 at 8 p.m. Wulfrun Hall w/Friendly Fires - Wolverhampton
Apr. 29 at 8 p.m. Waterfront w/Friendly Fires - Norwich
Apr. 30 at 8 p.m. Forum w/Friendly Fires - London
May 1 at 8 p.m. Southampton University w/Friendly Fires - Southampton
May 2 at 8 p.m. Digital w/Friendly Fires - Brighton
May 3 at 8 p.m. Custard Factory w/Friendly Fires - Birmingham
May 5 at 8 p.m. Leeds Met University w/Friendly Fires - Leeds
May 6 at 8 p.m. Studio 24 w/Friendly Fires - Edinburgh
May 7 at 8 p.m. OMU w/Friendly Fires - Glasgow
May 8 at 8 p.m. Red Room - Nottingham
May 11 at 8 p.m. Black and White@ Plug & Play (16+) - Reading
May 12 at 8 p.m. Clwb Ifor Bach - Cardiff
May 13 at 8 p.m. The Cellars - Portsmouth
May 14 at 8 p.m. The Great Escape - Brighton
May 16 at 8 p.m. The Great Escape - Brighton

Hockey: Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Unfortunately, their music isn't available to buy at the moment, thanks to something their new record label, Capitol has done. (Thanks to Hanan for telling me about this.)

Thom Yorke politely replies to Miley Cyrus' rant about not meeting Radiohead

2009-03-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Photo: Colin Greenwood

This completely made my day. The incredibly brilliant Thom Yorke replied about the whole Miley Cyrus thing today when he posted the office chart. Here's what he said:

(having washed me smalls and sort of packed)

Champion Sound by Jaylib from Champion Sound

So Scientific by Dabrye from One/Three

Monday Massacre by Mr Oizo from Flat Beat Ep

Don and Sherri by Matthew Dear from Asa Breed

You & Me by The Bug from London Zoo

Space Beatle by The Beta Band from Heroes to Zeros

Silence by Pj Harvey from White Chalk (hi Polly!)

Rinaldo: Aria: "Augellette, che cantate" by Academy of Ancient Music from Handels Rinaldo (1711 version)

Lilac Wine by Nina Simone from Diva: Nina Simone

wish us all a safe journey if you still like us and you're not one of those people i have managed to offend by doing nothing xx

Thom

Radiohead are starting their South American tour on Sunday.

Sun., March 15. Foro Sol - Mexico City, Mexico - ON SALE NOW
Mon., March 16. Foro Sol - Mexico City, Mexico - ON SALE NOW
Fri., March 20. Praça Da Apoteose - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - ON SALE NOW
Sun., March 22. Chácara Do Jockey - São Paulo, Brazil - ON SALE NOW
Tues., March 24. Club Ciudad - Buenos Aires, Argentina - ON SALE NOW
Thurs., March 26. San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium - Santiago, Chile - ON SALE NOW
Fri., March 27. San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium – Santiago, Chile - ON SALE NOW

The Courteeners and Miles Kane cover "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

2009-03-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Jarvis Cocker to release 'Further Complications'

2009-03-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

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Jarvis Cocker has announced that his second solo album will be titled "Further Complications." The Steve Albini-produced album is scheduled to be released in mid-May, reports The Music Slut.

The album's tracklisting isn't finalized yet, but according to NME, songs that are likely to make the album include "Angela," "Pilchard," "I Told You Twice (Leftovers)," "Hold Still," "Fuckingsong," "Further Complications" and "You're In My Eyes (Discosong)."

"Further Complications" album artwork

Jarvis has also announced a short tour of 10 cities from late-May to mid-June.

May 29, 2009 8 p.m. – Primavera Festival – Barcelona
May 31, 2009 8 p.m. – Vega – Copenhagen
June 2, 2009 8 p.m. – Fabrik – Hamburg
June 3, 2009 8 p.m. – Rockhal – Luxembourg
June 4, 2009 8 p.m – Bataclan – Paris
June 6, 2009 8 p.m. – Ancienne Belgique – Brussels
June 10, 2009 8 p.m. Empress Ballroom – Blackpool
June 12, 2009 8 p.m. ABC – Glasgow
June 16, 2009 8 p.m. – Brighton Dome – Brighton
June 17, 2009 8 p.m. – Troxy – London

[MP3] Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time
[MP3] Jarvis Cocker - Fat Children

Jarvis Cocker: Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

The Enemy announce a release date for their second album

2009-03-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

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Their new single, "No Time For Tears," will be out on April 13, followed by the release of "Music For The People" two weeks later. You can hear a clip of "No Time For Fears" on the band's myspace and their website.

Here's the tracklisting:

1) Elephant Song
2) No Time For Tears
3) 51st State
4) Sing When You're In Love
5) Last Goodbye
6) Nation Of Checkout Girls
7) Be Somebody
8) Don't Break The Red Tape
9) Keep Losing
10) Silver Spoon

I was going to post a few songs, but I wrote a post on them recently that got deleted so I'm not going to bother. But you could head over to their Hype Machine page to see if you could get a few songs.

The Enemy: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Shout Out Louds working on a new album?

2009-03-07T16:20:00.001-08:00

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After touring the world in support of their second release, "Our Ill Wills," Shout Out Louds took some time off. Today, they posted a myspace blog about what they've been up to.

Ohoy friends and fiends,

Just a few words to let you all know that so far we have all survived our time apart!
We are now back in our practice space, a little bit fatter, a little bit braver, and very eager to each bring the results of his or her own musical fast to the all we can eat buffet table. In all honesty, when we all gathered in there for the first time in months of being everywhere but there, talking about anything but it, and doing many things but that, we found ourselves a little rusty and quite unable to express ourselves without ending up in rather upsetting discussions concerning matters such as how to distinguish Carole King from Chicago, beer from supper, and boogie woogie from John Cale. A fairly simple task in essence, a strangely excruciating one in reality.
Other than that, here is what we have accomplished since you last heard from us:
Ted has managed to successfully sell several batches of his own home made marzipan coated pastries of a kind known as "Vacuum Cleaners" to a patisserie in Stockholm. None of us saw it coming but learned about his endavours when the press outed him. Thank you press, now let us eat cake, Ted.
Adam has learned how to cut loose from the ney-sayers in our midst and currently personifies one giant, trembling, rockin' and rollin' YES to trying absolutely anything but cheese, mushrooms and not tearing his e-string to shreds every sixth minute.
Eric has perfected his ability to count the contents of our treasure chest, and recently was very excited to learn that he is not only allowed but encouraged to re-invent the use of his drum kit. A world of possibilities has opened up dearest Eric, best of luck to you.
Carl has forsaken his old habit of running people over with his bicycle in favour of riding it far but properly, resulting in a reassuring lack of exposed bone and muscle tissue on his arms and legs.
Aside from taking custody of a quintet of orphaned wild boarlets and thus coping with all the responsibilities of parenting a bunch of pigs, Bebban has learned that she is capable both of singing reasonably loud and executing the brilliantly abnormal exercise program she recently invented, both in her own in her own home, neither while she feels like she is being watched, and not yet simultaneously.
What about the music, you may ask?
For now, friends and fiends, our lips are sealed like mean little clams on a poor cod's tail.
But rest assured, we shall return with aces up our sleeves.
Love,
SOL

Rare footage of The Libertines from 'The Road to Albion'

2009-03-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to watch this rare footage as soon as I heard about it. And right after I started watching, I couldn't help but laugh and think about how those two boys made great music together.

Although Babyshambles and Dirty Pretty Things are both great, there was just something special about the music that came together when Carl Barât and Peter Doherty worked together.

The video was recorded in 2004 and is to be used in a film entitled "The Road to Albion." The film will feature special footage of The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things and Babyshambles. There's a cute part where Carl and Pete make up a conversation using New York accents.

And below is supposed to be the trailer. The film is taking longer then planned, so the trailer was removed. But, of course, a fan saved it before it was too late. According to Co-Director Robyn Whitehead's website, the film will be finished in Nov. of this year. Watch it below:

Pete Doherty also did an NME radio interview this week. You can download it HERE. Thanks to Breck Road Lovers for the tip. If you're into all things Libertines, it's a great blog to follow.

The Libertines: Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Video: Pete Doherty, "Last Of The English Roses"

2009-02-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the video for the first single off Pete Doherty's soon to be released solo album.

[MP3] Pete Doherty - Last Of The English Roses

Pete Doherty: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Demetri Martin: "Selfish Jean" by Travis

2009-02-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

Pete Doherty talks about his soon to be released solo album

2009-02-13T18:54:00.000-08:00

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We've been waiting since last year, when Pete Doherty said that he was working on a solo album, to find out when he would release it. And over the past few weeks, he's been revealing more information about it.

The album will be entitled "Grace/Wastelands" and will be released on March 16 in the U.K. and 8 days later in the U.S., on the 24. It will feature 12 songs, including his first single "Last Of The English Roses," which will be out a week before the album's release.

Guest appearances on the album include Blur's Graham Coxon, Dot Allison and his Babyshambles bandmates. "Grace/Wastelands" was recorded at Olympic Studios in London during 2008.

"Grace/Wastelands" album artwork

Here's the full tracklisting for "Grace/Wastelands":

1) Arcadie
2) Last Of The English Roses
3) 1939 Returning
4) A Little Death Around The Eyes
5) Salome
6) Through The Looking Glass
7) Sweet By And By
8) Palace Of Bone
9) Sheepskin Tearaway
10) Broken Love Song
11) New Love Grows On Trees
12) Lady, Don't Fall Backwards

Parlophone recently uploaded an interview/preview of the new album on youtube.

Clash Music Magazine interviewed Pete for a cover story on their 34 issue last month.

Here are three of the album's 12 songs, courtesy of Clash Music.
[MP3] Pete Doherty - Broken Love Story
[MP3] Pete Doherty - Lady Don't Fall Backwards
[MP3] Pete Doherty - Last Of The English Roses

And NME's "The Daily Download" blog is giving away another Pete track if you sign up HERE.

Visit NME's Pete Doherty news page for the latest news on Pete's solo release. He is currently featured on the cover of NME.

Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody chats with Lou Barlow

2009-02-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of ShockHound

During Snow Patrol's trip to Los Angeles in early December, singer Gary Lightbody had a chance to chat with one of his heroes, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. They talked about the records that played a role in how they started their musical careers and of the only time Gary had a musician sign something for him - when Lou signed his guitar case for him in 1999.

Here's the great interview:

"We played with you in Dublin one time, do you remember that?"

Gary Lightbody, lead singer and guitarist for Snow Patrol, is chatting with Lou Barlow, founding member of indie pioneers Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr.

"I don’t," Barlow admits.

"I remember it ‘cause you guys are heroes of me," Lightbody blushes. "You signed my guitar case."

"I did?!"

"You’re the only person I’ve ever asked to sign something. You signed it: ‘Not the property of Loobie – Lou Barlow, 1999.’ So it wasn’t your property, but I swear to God if you want it, you can have it, if you want it back. [Laughs] I’ll just take something from your house. Like your toilet seat…or something like that."

Lou laughs. "Uh, I’m just taking that in for a second."

We’re sitting on the balcony of Barlow’s Silverlake home, taking in the vista with a scenic view overlooking Hollywood. Snow Patrol is in town in the midst of a series of promotional dates — including three jam-packed ShockHound free shows — for their new album A Hundred Million Suns. On the surface, one might wonder why we paired these two artists up for a co-interview. But as their conversation transpires, the bigger question is what took so long.

Since forming in Scotland in the late '90s, the part-Irish/part-Scottish quintet has often been compared to Sebadoh, while Lightbody unabashedly cites Barlow as major influence (“Whether or not you need to start legal proceedings…” he jokes). The Reindeer Section — Lightbody’s “supergroup” side-project with members of Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian and Arab Strap — was even formed at a Lou Barlow gig. Barlow, on the other hand, acknowledges that for years people would tell him “you gotta hear this….his voice sounds like yours,” but just didn’t get it until recently, when, of all things, Barlow attempted to sing along to Snow Patrol’s “Run” on the car radio. “And I actually could hit every note you sang,” he says, “and that never happens.”

While Lightbody and Barlow have met a few times in passing, this is the first time the two have had a real conversation, expounding on everything from their early inspirations to the challenges of retaining your credibility. In the end, Barlow asked him to return the favor: Lightbody signed one of Barlow's guitars, “This is not the property of Gary Lightbody.”

SHOCKHOUND: Gary, I was reading an interview where you talked about how American indie rock really inspired you to start a band in the first place. As a kid growing up in Ireland, what attracted you to American indie rock? How were you turned on to that initially?

GARY LIGHTBODY: I listened to a lot of hard rock and metal when I was a kid. There wasn’t a lot of music in Northern Ireland at the time. No bands came to play there because of what was going on in the country and nobody would risk it, so there wasn’t a live scene. I listened to Metallica, AC/DC, and KISS until I was about 12, then broadened into other stuff. It wasn’t really until Nevermind, I was 16 when that came out. There was like one record shop at the time and it was pretty much predominantly KISS records [Laughs] and folk singers like Val Doonican. It was slim pickings. It wasn’t until Nirvana [that] I got turned onto visceral rock music from the heart, rather than people doing it from the mechanics of it, the technical things, playing from the head. Then from Nirvana, a few years later, I got into Sebadoh. A mate of mine, the guy I started the band with originally, had Sebadoh III. I heard “The Freed Pig” and just went, “Okay, there’s somethin’ here.” It blew my mind. Then Bakesale was the biggest record. That informed quite a lot of our early stuff really, Bakesale. Whether or not you need to start legal proceedings. [Laughs] I certainly was enthralled by it and it probably rubbed off on me quite a lot. Thank God, you know, ‘cause I think up until that point I was singing like Eddie Vedder. So, Mr. Barlow here helped me.

LOU BARLOW: I actually know what you mean. It’s always important when you hear records like that when you’re growing up, ‘cause then you go, “I can just do this, kinda like naturally?” You know what I mean? With rock, you’ve always gotta be a rock singer. Then when I got into punk rock, it’s like you gotta be a hardcore singer. But the bands that came out of hardcore that started to sing in their own voices, those are the bands that I was like, “Oh, okay. I’m gonna sing like myself.” That’s, I guess, what you pass along. You have that empowering moment where it’s like, “Oh, I can just do this how I feel it.” You know what I mean?

LIGHTBODY: Yeah.

BARLOW: It seems like your voice totally has that quality. It just sounds really like…you. And there are so many things that sound so effected. Even just that post-Thom Yorke stuff, which is all cool, but there’s that certain affectation to it. It’s just so nice to hear something that doesn’t have affectation to it. I never thought about how maybe I had influenced anybody that way. I always thought it was like, “Hey, we sound like shit!” [Laughs] “And I’m gonna write a terrible song. I’m gonna write a really mean song about my girlfriend, woo! Record it on my 4-Track!” It was fine to influence that, it’s just kinda nice when you influence something that’s good.

LIGHTBODY: It’s also the freedom of it. The freedom that you guys had, and all of your records, it was just woeful and you just did whatever the fuck you wanted in any particular song. There was no template, and that’s something that certainly our first two records followed. We followed the no template, the empty template. [Laughs] If you can possibly follow a no template…

BARLOW: No, I understand that. That’s what I took from the Meat Puppets, Minutemen…no template. Like the bands that took punk rock, but it didn’t mean just power chords; it actually meant freedom. It actually takes [sometimes] hearing things that seem free to feel free yourself. That’s totally cool.

SHOCKHOUND: Lou, do you remember the first record that had a profound effect on you, that might have influenced some of the things you’re talking about…and inspired you to make music?

BARLOW: Oh yeah, the Ramones, of course. They seemed really natural. I mean there’s something so natural about the Ramones, and also because they ripped it down to this really basic power chord stuff, which I just went, “Whoa! They’re going right to the source!” It was really exciting.

SHOCKHOUND: What was the first Ramones record you had?

BARLOW: Rocket to Russia, probably. Then I went up, I went in the opposite direction. I got some horrible new records that they had just done. [Laughs]

SHOCKHOUND: Too Tough to Die or something?

BARLOW: No, that was actually their return to form. It was like End of the Century; which is okay, but it wasn’t the same livewire feeling to it. That was great. Then all this stuff like Meat Puppets. God, the first Meat Puppets seven-inch… they’re bizarre. This band that could be the craziest hardcore band you could ever hear, like totally falling apart and screaming at the top of their lungs, ending the song all at a different time…and then they would cut to something like a weird little country song. It was totally not distorted, and that was it. I was like, “Whoa, that’s incredible.” The template of no template for Sebadoh was the Meat Puppets, and the sea of music around that.

SHOCKHOUND: Gary, what was the first record that had that effect on you?

LIGHTBODY: Well it was Nevermind, because of exactly what Lou just said there, but to stripping it down to the barest form that I’ve ever heard at that time in my life, because the music I was listening to was so overcomplicated and so full of machismo and ego, Nirvana seemed nothing to that. I was just completely drawn to it, as millions of other people were. [Laughs] It made me start to write music pretty much straight away when I picked up a guitar. I still don’t have much skill on the guitar, but what it did make me do was write from instinct. Plus, Kurt was very…I speak like I knew him [Laughs], he was very forthcoming with bands that he loved, and very passionate about bands that he loved…like Teenage Fanclub and the Vaselines. Bands that I wouldn’t have gotten into without his nudging.

BARLOW: The Meat Puppets too actually. ‘Cause Kurt grew up in the same age as me, and the Meat Puppets had the same effect on him I think as they had on me. He totally brought them to a national level. He did the [MTV Unplugged] thing and there’s the Meat Puppets sitting with him playing. So, you can’t really go much further than that with promoting a band. Not promoting, that’s such a crass term, but just saying, “This is what I love. This is what fueled my sincerity in the music.” You know, just sharing it with other people.

LIGHTBODY: Yeah, I think there was a time when he could have said anything I would have just went out and sold my blood for it.

BARLOW: It always kinda shocked me how that actually worked, ‘cause I would always be like, “It doesn’t matter what bands you like, no one’s listening.” But it did actually make a difference. Like with Sebadoh…kids did listen to Sebadoh because Kurt wore a Sebadoh shirt for like eight hours at a Swedish festival in like ’91 or ‘92. [Laughs] People still say, “I found your band because he was wearing this [shirt].” I literally, I know he only wore this T-shirt for like half the day, and it just happened to be when people were taking a lot of pictures of him. It really did backtrack. I guess I would do the same thing when I was a kid. You take the clues you were given, especially back then before the net…when you had to just find the clues and find how you were going to get to this music and how you were gonna get a hold of it. It’s just amazing.

LIGHTBODY: Exactly…and definitely in Belfast at the time, there was no other path to it. You had to have someone send you stuff from Scotland. I mean Scotland is like 20 miles away across the sea [Laughs], it felt like a whole other place, ya know? There was already a thriving and extraordinary music scene over there, and Belfast is just catching up now…it’s like 20 years later. It’s ridiculous.

SHOCKHOUND: Gary, a lot of folks that are familiar with Snow Patrol from hearing you on the radio or from Grey’s Anatomy or wherever probably have no idea that…

BARLOW: Grey’s Anatomy? [Laughs]

SHOCKHOUND: Their music was [featured prominently] on Grey’s Anatomy.

LIGHTBODY: This is what we’re left with now. [Laughs]

SHOCKHOUND: A lot of people have no idea that you had these indie origins, as well as your eclectic musical tastes and inspirations. Has that been a challenge or concern for you to maintain credibility?

LIGHTBODY: No. What I try and do, what Lou has done for me and for many other people, and what Kurt Cobain did, is try and talk about the bands that I love as much as possible and hopefully people will get them along the way at some point. I definitely know that it’s had an effect on some things that I really like ‘cause I just keep going on about them until people start buying the records. It’s the only way really. I think keeping it to yourself is a crime. We hear so much music, and so much amazing music at the moment. It’s important to just keep talking about it as much as you can.

BARLOW: It’s really about the music. I mean, that’s cool. Like Snow Patrol, it’s amazing what it has ended up like, because it’s almost like adult contemporary stuff. I hear it on escalators, I hear it in supermarkets, and it’s actually amazing. It’s actually really great that way. The purity of the songs is what puts it there… Things can rub me the wrong way really easily, especially pop music. The Snow Patrol stuff, it’s amazing how I’ve actually just gotten into the band because I didn’t go through it like ordinary things — “Hey you gotta hear this. This guy really likes your record.” The reason that I got into it was because I just kept hearing it, because it’s become such a part of what floats around. It’s like a day-to-day thing for so many people. But the sentiments in the song are so pure. People kept telling me, “His voice sounds just like yours,” and I was like, “I don’t hear it. I don’t get it. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But, it finally occurred to me because one of the songs was playing in the car. That “Light up, light up” song [“Run”] was playing and I said, “I’m gonna sing this song,” and I actually could hit every note that you sang, and that never happens…I like how repetitive the songs are, too. I love that because it’s so rare, and that’s what makes it so easy just to feel it. It’s still simple. Especially the really big songs, it’s still very simple, and they communicate really well.

LIGHTBODY: They’re simple because I can’t play the fuckin’ guitar. [Laughs]

- Interview by Randy Bookasta

And after the interview, Gary Lightbody returned the favor, by signing one of Lou's guitars "This is not the property of Gary Lightbody."

Franz Ferdinand perform 'Ulysses' on Craig Ferguson

2009-02-09T03:59:00.000-08:00

Miles Kane to speak on Radio 1

2009-02-09T03:38:00.000-08:00

Photo: Courtesy of TheLastShadowPuppets.com

Miles Kane will speak to Sara Cox on Radio 1 during her show tomorrow (Feb. 10) regarding The Last Shadow Puppets' Brit Awards nomination. Her show is on from 10:00 - 12:45 p.m. UK time and can be heard live here.

She'll also play "Standing Next To Me" along with their cover of Rihanna's "S.O.S." which can be found below.

[MP3] The Last Shadow Puppets - S.O.S. [Rihanna Cover]

The Last Shadow Puppets: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

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PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Radiohead perform "15 Step" at the Grammys

2009-02-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

Radiohead to perform with USC marching band

2009-02-08T15:44:00.001-08:00

Photo: John Shearer/WireImage.com

At Ease Web reported that Radiohead is going to perform "15 Step" with the USC marching band at the 51st Grammy Awards. Be sure to watch the Grammys on CBS at 8 p.m. tonight.

View more pictures on Facebook.

Photo: John Shearer/WireImage.com

Beirut performs "A Sunday Smile" on David Letterman

2009-02-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Kaiser Chiefs cover The Small Faces' "Lazy Sunday"

2009-02-05T01:25:00.000-08:00

They actually posted this video a week ago, but I thought I'd share it anyway since it's such a great song. Here's their take on The Small Faces' "Lazy Sunday." MP3 at the bottom.

[MP3] Kaiser Chiefs - Lazy Sunday [The Small Faces Cover]

Kaiser Chiefs: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Franz Ferdinand announce U.S. tour and 'Tonight' debuts on charts at No. 9

2009-02-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Photo

The Glaswegian band will tour the U.S. beginning early April, performing 19 shows.

Mon. April 13 – Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Wed. April 15 – Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
Fri. April 17 – Coachella, Indio, CA
Sat. April 18 – Marquis Theater, Phoenix, AZ
Sun. April 19 – Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
Tues. April 21 – Saltair, Magna, UT
Wed. April 22 Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
Fri. April 24 – House of Blues, Dallas, TX
Sat. April 25 – La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
Mon. April 27 – The Beaumont Club, Kansas City, MO
Tues. April 28 – First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Wed. April 29 – Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
Thurs. April 30 – Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
Sun. May 2 – Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH
Mon. May 3 – Clutch Cargo's, Pontiac, MI
Tues. May 4 – Kool Haus, Toronto, ON
Thurs. May 6 – Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
Fri. May 7 – Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY
Sat. May 8 – Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI

And as if releasing a great third album and announcing a full tour wasn't enough for the band, "Tonight" was the ninth best-selling album of the week.

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Coachella announces lineup

2009-01-30T00:44:00.000-08:00

After people freaked out for days and wondered why Coachella delayed their announcement later than usual, people can rest easily tonight, after seeing the lineup. So much for all those rumors about Radiohead, Muse, Keane and Snow Patrol performing.

Friday's lineup is great. Click on the poster to see the full lineup.

Three-day passes are $269 + $3 for charity + fees. Single-day passes are $99 + $1 for charity + fees. You can buy tickets here. They go on sale at 9 a.m.

Coachella: Official Site | Myspace | Twitter

Paste Magazine gives new Franz Ferdinand album incredibly negative review

2009-01-28T23:33:00.001-08:00

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Paste has done some great things for me and I'll always appreciate it, but to go as low as to rate Franz Ferdinand's latest release 13 out of 100 is just ridiculous. If the reviewer didn't like it, he could have given them a 50 or 60, but 13? Just the fact that 8 out of the album's 12 tracks stand out as great songs shows that the album deserves a better score than 13%.

I thought that Paste would at least have a dischord review, where two people with different opinions on an album review it, but they didn't.

Anyway, here's the full review:

The pitiful decline of a once-great band

Terrible bands make terrible records all the time, which is fine. No point wasting energy on whatever Nickelback's up to these days—those dudes can't help themselves, and are free to suck as much as they'd like. But it's been a long time since a band as good as Franz Ferdinand made a record as appalling as Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. Truly, the four dapper Scotsmen that constitute this group should be ashamed of their tuneless, thoughtless, meaningless new offering, which distorts the proud legacy of a band that once mattered.

What makes the album so bad? Is it the leering vocals? The uninspired melodies? The horrific production, which cranks the sound until it's literally painful to the ears? Yes, but that's not all. One mustn't forget the lyrics, which seem to lack both heart and brain. And how about the eight-minute "Lucid Dreams?" Before this album, it was inconceivable that a band this tight would release such a protracted wank. Now, anything's possible.

The album seems even worse compared with Franz's self-titled 2004 debut, an instant classic that kicked rock 'n' roll back onto the dance floor, where it belongs. The sophomore album that followed in 2005 was rougher, but it left hope that more good work was forthcoming. Maybe one day.

Franz took more than three years to make Franz—a laughably long time for such meager results. The layoff suggests that Franz is either too confused or too lazy to move forward. They're still not a bad band. They're just a pitiful caricature of the sly, swaggering gang they once were. We know they're capable of more. We know we could have it so much better.

When it comes to band like Franz Ferdinand, it's understandable that they take a longer time to put an album together. Some of them are married, drummer Paul Thomson recently had a son, so we can't really expect them to be able to put out a new album every year the way bands like the Arctic Monkeys or Kaiser Chiefs do.

But regardless of such a negative review, I doubt it's going to keep people from running out and purchasing this album.

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

New Arctic Monkeys, "Crying Lightning"

2009-01-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

NME brought to my attention that "Crying Lightning," one of the new songs the Arctic Monkeys performed at their Big Day Out appearance, was broadcast on Australian television. It, of course, made it's way onto youtube in high quality.

Enjoy the video below, with the MP3 at the bottom.

[MP3] Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

Arctic Monkeys: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | The Hype Machine

Buy Arctic Monkeys: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

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Listen to Franz Ferdinand's latest release in full

2009-01-28T02:43:00.000-08:00

Hope you enjoy it and please remember to support the band.

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | The Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

The Enemy reveal name of new album

2009-01-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

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A recent blog post by The Enemy revealed that their new album will be called "Music For The People." No release date has been announced for the trio's second album, but they did name three of the songs to be featured on the album: "Elephant Song," "Don’t Break The Red Tape" and "Sing When You’re In Love."

Here's more of what they said:

"We feel like we have made a big step forward with this album and I can speak for all of us when I say how delighted we are with it all - really hope that you lot feel the same. We decided to go right back to basics with the recording and do it all on tape rather than computers which is how the vast majority of modern records are made, and as a result it sounds huge, like a proper old school rock record. But don’t worry the bangers are very much still there and hardcore Enemy fans will NOT be disappointed I can assure you."

Tickets are still available for select shows on their upcoming tour from mid-March to the end of April.

Fri. March 13 at 8 p.m. – Inverness - Ironworks – SOLD OUT
Sat. March 14 at 7 p.m. – Dunfermline - Alhambra – SOLD OUT
Sun. March 15 at 7 p.m. – Glasgow - Barrowlands – SOLD OUT
Mon. March 16 at 8 p.m. – Glasgow - Barrowlands – Buy Tickets
Wed. March 18 at 7:30 p.m. – Oban - Corran Hall –Buy Tickets
Thu. March 19 at 8 p.m. – Newcastle Academy – Buy Tickets
Fri. March 20 at 7:30 p.m. – Newcastle Academy – SOLD OUT
Sat. March 21 at 7:30 p.m. – Manchester Academy – SOLD OUT
Sun. March 22 at 7:30 p.m. – Manchester Academy – Buy Tickets
Tue. March 24 at 7:30 p.m. – Sheffield Academy – SOLD OUT
Wed. March 25 at 7:30 p.m. – Liverpool Academy – SOLD OUT
Thu. March 26 at 7:30 p.m. – Leeds Academy – SOLD OUT
Sat. March 28 at 7:30 p.m. – Rock City - Nottingham – SOLD OUT
Sun. March 29 at 7:30 p.m. – Engine Shed - Lincoln – SOLD OUT
Mon. March 30 at 7:30 p.m. – Birmingham Academy – Buy Tickets
Tue. March 31 at 7:30 p.m. – Birmingham Academy – Buy Tickets
Thu. April 2 at 7:30 p.m. – Exeter Great Hall – Buy Tickets
Fri. April 3 at 7:30 p.m. – Swindon Oasis – Buy Tickets
Sat. April 4 at 7:30 p.m. – Bristol Academy – SOLD OUT
Sun. April 5 at 7:30 p.m. – Margate Winter Gardens – Buy Tickets
Tue. April 7 at 7:30 p.m. – Norwich UEA – SOLD OUT
Wed. April 8 at 7:30 p.m. – Brighton Dome – Buy Tickets
Thu. April 9 at 7:30 p.m. – Southampton Guildhall – SOLD OUT
Sat. April 11at 7:30 p.m. – Brixton Academy – SOLD OUT
Sun. April 12 at 8 p.m. – Brixton Academy – Buy Tickets
Thu. April 16 at 8 p.m.– Newport Centre – Buy Tickets
Fri. April 17 at 8 p.m.– Dublin Academy – Buy Tickets
Sat. April 18 at 8 p.m. – Cypruss Avenue – Buy Tickets
Sun. April 19 at 8 p.m. – Dolans – SOLD OUT
Tue. April 21 at 8 p.m. – Rosin Dubh – SOLD OUT
Wed. April 22 at 8 p.m. – Spring & Airbrake – Buy Tickets
Thu. April 23 at 8 p.m. – Derry – Buy Tickets
Thu. June 4 at 8 p.m. – Heaton Park – SOLD OUT
Sat. June 6 at 8 p.m. – Heaton Park – SOLD OUT
Sun. June 7 at 8 p.m. – Heaton Park – SOLD OUT
Wed. June 10 at 8 p.m. – Stadium of Light – SOLD OUT
Fri. June 12 at 8 p.m. – Millennium Stadium – SOLD OUT
Wed. June 17 at 8 p.m. – Murrayfield – SOLD OUT
Tue. July 7 at 8 p.m. – Ricoh Stadium – SOLD OUT
Thu. July 9 at 8 p.m. – Wembley Stadium – SOLD OUT
Sat. July 11 at 8 p.m. – Wembley Stadium – SOLD OUT
Sun. July 12 at 8 p.m. – Wembley Stadium – SOLD OUT

Alex Kapranos talks to NME

2009-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

Enjoy.

Their third album, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand," was released this week and is now available in stores.

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | The Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Repost: Late Of The Pier talk to XLR8R

2009-01-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

Photo: Alistair Allan

Damn you Web Police! It's a good thing I've started saving the HTML for all my posts.

Bass player Andrew Faley (also known as Francis Dance) recently spoke to XLR8R magazine about music, weird stories and getting in trouble as a child.

What are you listening to right now?

In general, over the past week or two, I've sat through Of Montreal’s Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? quite a bit. Right now I've got David Axelrod, Songs of Innocence on. The sun’s last rays are just going down over the trees on a frosty evening. It's beautiful. Apart from that, just loads of The Beatles and Daft Punk. Don't think there's ever need to stop listening to them. Ever.

What's the weirdest story you ever heard about yourself?

Ross [Dawson] got told that, after canceling a gig, a fan got on stage, lashed out in anger at him, and split his head open, causing him to have stitches. Which was news to him.

What band did you want to be in when you were 15?

Daft Punk and the Beatles. Again. To be honest, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do or be. I just really loved those artists. Music always crossed my mind as an interest, but never the idea of being in a band. I still don't consider that idea these days. I still don't have any idea what I want to do in life!

Worst live show experience?

One of the CMJ showcases was horrible for me. We were playing with Soulwax in Manhattan and my Juno-60 just didn't like American power. It spent the whole gig turning itself on and off every second, making it impossible to play. I got by just using the bass guitar, but it just didn't have the same feel or that lovely oooommppppff factor you get out of a synthesizer.

We've had to pull out of a couple of shows before last minute, due to faulty equipment, and that's a terrible feeling too, but I suppose there's not actually a show then so that doesn't count...does it?

Favorite city to play in?

I really don't know. So far, Tokyo. Amazing city with amazing culture and people, and the festivals out there are something else.

Where did the name Fantasy Black Channel come from?

I think it just turned up in the studio while we were finishing the album. Sam [Eastgate] wrote something similar to it on the back of a Polaroid picture and we all read into it in different ways. So we had it. The idea with the title for me is simply watching a blank television and letting your mind do the imagining.

Why do you guys appear shirtless in so many of your videos?

Know what? I really don't have a clue. We used to play shirtless live sometimes in tiny venues, just because it was so damn hot. It just carried on a little too long. No one's ever seeing my nipples again.

What is your favorite thing you own?

My freedom.

Name one item of clothing you can't live without.

Shoes. There [are] lots of stones around here and it'd hurt without them. I don't care too much for fashion, or any materiel possessions I have. Of the four of us, I'm probably the most practical. So if it'll keep me warm, I'll wear it!

Having said all that, I've got a lovely, wooly pair of socks that are really comfortable. I bought them in Berlin and they've been good to me this winter. So I suppose I'd be pretty sad if I lost them.

What did you always get in trouble for when you were little?

Nothing at all really, but that's only because we didn't get caught.

Actually, we were caught breaking into old abandoned factories and wandering around, exploring them a few times, but we just [were] told not to.

I used to get it in the neck about not doing homework at school all the time too. I used to study, I just never did any homework or work I was asked to do. I had a bad habit of ignoring school and teaching myself anything I wanted to know.

What other artist would you most like to work with?

There [are] so many, and some ideas in the pipeline. So I'm not telling!

What's the last thing you read?

I'm in the middle of reading a few books. I always really get into one, then put it down and lose it, start another, then find the other one, then lose both. At the moment, I'm getting through Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, and Aldous Huxley's The Doors Of Perception/Heaven & Hell. I just finished re-reading Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Complete this sentence: In the future...

I never think of the future—it comes soon enough.

Stupidest thing you've done in the last 12 months?

Got completely mindless in Russia. Very, very nearly got arrested, then left my phone in the hotel. I won't go into the details, but it was a really good bad night.

What's next?

A continuation of what we've begun. We're thinking about music as a whole more and more; building a studio of our own, making more music, branching out into the areas of music we've never seen or touched, and, of course, returning to those areas that we love so much. [We'll] eventually play live again, but this time stepping up from everything we've already done. I'm working [with] a couple of small, vinyl-only labels too, which I hope to dedicate a lot more time to in the new year. We're also looking into film as another media to experiment with. -Faley x

Late of the Pier's debut album, "Fantasy Black Channel," was finally released here in the U.S. on Jan. 13, five months after its release in the U.K. Their experimental, electronic music has been called "the sound of the future" by fellow musician and Kaiser Chiefs frontman, Ricky Wilson.

The first time I listened to the album, it did absolutely nothing for me. But I think I was in a mood for a specific type of music that day, because I fell in love with it after giving it another chance a week later.

~~[MP3] Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods~~
~~[MP3] Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming~~
~~[MP3] Late Of The Pier - Focker~~

Late Of The Pier: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

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NME Awards nominations announced

2009-01-26T14:52:00.000-08:00

The awards ceremony will take place at London's Brixton Academy on Feb. 25. Some of the bands receiving multiple nominations include Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Kings Of Leon, MGMT, Muse, Oasis, Radiohead, and Vampire Weekend. Even Barack Obama, John McCain and George W. Bush were nominated for awards.

Here's the full list of nominations from NME:

Best British Band supported by Shockwaves
Bloc Party
The Last Shadow Puppets
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead

Best International Band supported by 4music
Crystal Castles
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
MGMT
Vampire Weekend

Best Solo Artist
Ladyhawke
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
Jay-Z
Pete Doherty

Best New Band supported by Bench
Glasvegas
Late Of The Pier
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
White Lies

Best Live Band supported by Red Stripe
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
Muse
Oasis
Radiohead

Best Album supported by HMV
Bloc Party – 'Intimacy'
Glasvegas – 'Glasvegas'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Kings Of Leon – 'Only By The Night'
Oasis – 'Dig Out Your Soul'

Best Track supported by NME Radio
Kings Of Leon – 'Sex On Fire'
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'The Age Of The Understatement'
MGMT – 'Time To Pretend'
The Ting Tings – 'That's Not My Name'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'

Best Video supported by NME TV
The Last Shadow Puppets – 'My Mistakes Were Made For You'
Late Of The Pier – 'Heartbreak'
Oasis – 'The Shock Of The Lightning'
Radiohead – 'House Of Cards'
Vampire Weekend – 'A-Punk'

Best Live Event
Glastonbury
Isle Of Wight
Reading and Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival

Best TV Show
Gavin & Stacey
The IT Crowd
The Mighty Boosh
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Skins

Best Film
The Dark Knight
Juno
Quantum Of Solace
Twilight
Wall-E

Best Dancefloor Filler
Bloc Party – 'Mercury'
Crystal Castles – 'Courtship Dating'
Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – 'Dance Wiv Me'
Friendly Fires – 'Paris'
Late Of The Pier – 'Bathroom Gurgle'

Best DVD
Arctic Monkeys – 'At The Apollo'
Foo Fighters – 'Live At Wembley Stadium'
Kaiser Chiefs – 'Live At Elland Road'
Muse – 'HAARP'
The Rolling Stones – 'Shine A Light'

Hero Of The Year
Alex Turner
Barack Obama
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher

Villain Of The Year
Amy Winehouse
George Bush
Gordon Brown
John McCain
Pete Doherty

Best Dressed
Alex Turner
Alexa Chung
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher

Worst Dressed
Amy Winehouse
Brandon Flowers
Johnny Borrell
Katy Perry
Pete Doherty

Worst Album
Britney Spears – 'Circus'
Coldplay – 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'
Jonas Brothers – 'A Little Bit Longer'
Razorlight – 'Slipway Fires'
Scouting For Girls – 'Scouting For Girls'

Worst Band
Fall Out Boy
Jonas Brothers
Oasis
Scouting for Girls
Tokio Hotel

Sexiest Male
Carl Barat
Keith Murray
Matt Bellamy
Miles Kane
Pete Doherty

Sexiest Female
Alison Mosshart
Hayley Williams
Kate Jackson
Lykke Li
Stephanie Dosen

Best Website
Bebo
Facebook
Last FM
MySpace
YouTube

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
London Astoria
Glasgow Barrowlands
London O2 Arena

Best Album Artwork
The Cure – '4:13 Dream'
Guillemots – 'Red'
The Killers – 'Day & Age'
Muse – 'HAARP'
We Are Scientists – 'Brain Thrust Mastery'

Best Band Blog
Foals
Lightspeed Champion
Little Boots
Noel Gallagher/Oasis
Radiohead

You can vote starting midnight tonight on NME.

[MP3] Arctic Monkeys - What If You Were Right The First Time?
[MP3] Muse - Exo-Politics
[MP3] Muse - Map Of The Problematique

Arctic Monkeys: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine
Muse: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy Arctic Monkeys: Amazon | iTunes | Insound
Buy Muse: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

The Top 25 Bushisms of all time

2009-01-26T02:33:00.000-08:00

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Online daily magazine Slate recently listed their top 25 Bushisms of all time. Not music related, but I laughed so hard while reading through these that I actually cried.

1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."—Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."—declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''—Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."—Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006

8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."—discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007

10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

11. "We ought to make the pie higher."—South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000

12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

13. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."—speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."—Houston, Sept. 6, 2000

15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."—Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000

16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."—U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."—CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000

19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."—on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005

20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing baseball."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006

21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."—LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."—Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "—Boston, Oct. 3, 2000

24. "They misunderestimated me."—Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

Wow. Just...wow.

[MP3] Bright Eyes - When The President Talks To God [Live]

Bright Eyes: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm | Hype Machine

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Radiohead to perform at 2009 Grammys

2009-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Photo: Kevin Westenberg

Pitchfork reported today that Radiohead will be performing at this year's Grammy Awards, which will be taking place in Los Angeles on Feb. 8. This will be the band's first time to perform at the Grammys.

The Grammys ad campaign is also featuring Thom Yorke in a 30-second commercial, as well as posters and billboards. View the commercial at the bottom.

Their latest release, "In Rainbows," is nominated for Album of the Year, along with Coldplay's "Viva La Vida," Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," Ne-Yo's "Year Of The Gentleman" and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' "Raising Sand."

Besides Album of the Year, they are also nominated in six other categories:

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (House of Cards)
Best Rock Song (House of Cards)
Best Alternative Music Album (In Rainbows)
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package (In Rainbows)
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical (Nigel Godrich)
Best Short Form Music Video (House of Cards)

Radiohead: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Kaiser Chiefs release "You Want History" video

2009-01-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Great song.

And here are a couple of songs by Parva, which were later renamed Kaiser Chiefs.

[MP3] Parva - Good Bad Right Wrong
[MP3] Parva - Hessles

Kaiser Chiefs: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

The Strokes to return to the studio

2009-01-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

Photo: Andy Willsher

Albert Hammond Jr. spoke to Rolling Stone about The Strokes going back into the studio to begin work on LP number four. They don't have any songs yet, but as Albert said, they're going in to start working on music. They're due to be back in the studio on February 11, with plenty of time for Nikolai to finish his short tour and for Fabrizio to return from touring in South America with Little joy. Here's what Albert said:

"We're getting back together for the first time in two years, and it's very exciting...We're just going to start working on songs. I mean, sounds -- we don't even have the songs. We got to get back to playing first. That's all I know. Right now, it's just February 11th at 2 o'clock we're going to the studio to hang out and play music. I just know the date and time."

So we could start hoping to see some real progress toward The Strokes' new album. At least we had two solo albums from Albert, one from Fab's side project, Little Joy, and one from Nickel Eye, which will be released in five days.

[MP3] Little Joy - How To Hang A Warhol

Myspace: Albert Hammond Jr. | Little Joy | Nickel Eye

Buy The Strokes: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Air Traffic working on new album

2009-01-22T03:03:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of EMI Music Japan

I began writing a post about Air Traffic's new blog, where they're chronicling the making of their second album, when I started rambling on about how great they are and why you should listen to them (the reason for two Air Traffic posts in a row).

In the beginning of the year, guitarist Tom Pritchard introduced fans to their new site and forum. A few days later, Jim Maddock wrote a post briefly mentioning that the band has started working on their follow-up to "Fractured Life."

"Good evening. Greetings from our new home on the Interwebs. With some joy, I can report we have started making noise again. Welcome to our office:

Let's hope we get to hear some new demos soon.

Air Traffic: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

A Band You Should Know: Air Traffic

2009-01-22T01:37:00.000-08:00

Photo: Madelien Waegemans

Several months ago, a friend with very similar music taste introduced me to Air Traffic, an alternative/indie rock band from Bournemouth, U.K. I instantly fell in love with them.

What makes their music special from other Brit bands is that their sound is unique. At times, their music can be compared to the likes of The Enemy and The Wombats, but they're talented enough to create a special sound that seems to be influenced by bands like Radiohead and Muse.

The drumming in the beginning of "No More Running Away" seems highly influenced by Radiohead's "There There." And singer Chris Wall's voice is incredibly beautiful in songs like "Empty Space," which sounds like something Matt Bellamy of Muse would play on the piano and sing. But Air Traffic seem to stand out, making the music their own by adding something special to a music genre where many of the bands sound similar.

When you can't make up your mind about what you want to listen to, there's always another option - Air Traffic.

EDIT - I just found this interview of Air Traffic on a San Diego radio show and when asked what are some bands that they're influenced by the first two Chris mentions are Muse and Radiohead.

[MP3] Air Traffic - Just Abuse Me
[MP3] Air Traffic - Shooting Star
[MP3] Air Traffic - Empty Space

Air Traffic: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

THESE SONGS ARE FOR YOU TO SAMPLE. PLEASE ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

New U2 album cover a 'rip off' of a previously released album

2009-01-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

Photo: Kevin Westenberg

With the release date of U2's new album rapidly approaching, Taylor Deupree, a U.S. musician and label owner, has accused the band of copying one of his album covers for "No Line On The Horizon."

Deupree co-released, "Specification. Fifteen," in 2006 with Richard Chartier. The album covers are both based on a photograph by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.

But Deupree doesn't think the issue should become a legal matter, writing on his record label's blog

"This minor ordeal has become more a question of a project that was small, intimate and experimental (and the chance of a lifetime for a small artist) versus the massive pop culture machine...In the end, we all know who wins."

Here are both albums. They are quite similar, but that's to be expected after being based on the same photograph.

Here's their new single:
[MP3] U2 - Get On Your Boots

"No Line On The Horizon" is set to be released on March 3 in the U.S., a day earlier in Europe and on Feb. 27 in the band's native Ireland.

U2: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Congratulations President Barack Obama

2009-01-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

Photo: Terry Richardson

I was a freshman in college when Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president back on February 10, 2007. And since that day, I was both hopeful and afraid of who Americans would vote into office.

But I'm incredibly proud of Americans for voting in the right person for the job. Congratulations to our 44th President, Barack Obama. I wish him all the best in cleaning up the mess that George Bush left behind and to restoring the country to it's pre-Bush days.

Barack Obama being sworn in:

His speech:

[MP3] The National - Mr. November

The National: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE NATIONAL BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen perform at Obama inauguration celebration

2009-01-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen performed Woodie Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" together at a concert on Sunday to celebrate President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration into office.

After Bruce Springsteen introduced Pete Seeger as "the father of American folk music," they played the classic folk song along with Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez.

Pete Seeger released a new album, "At 89," on September 30 that featured 26 songs that were never previously recorded.

Bruce Springsteen is also releasing his 16th studio album one week from tomorrow, entitled "Working on a Dream."

Here is its tracklisting:

1) Outlaw Pete
2) My Lucky Day
3) Working on a Dream
4) Queen of the Supermarket
5) What Love Can Do
6) This Life
7) Good Eye
8) Tomorrow Never Knows
9) Life Itself
10) Kingdom of Days
11) Surprise, Surprise
12) The Last Carnival
13) The Wrestler [Bonus Track]

Pete Seeger: Fan Site | Myspace | Last.fm
Bruce Springsteen: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy Pete Seeger: Amazon | iTunes | Insound
Buy Bruce Springsteen: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Franz Ferdinand talk about their new LP

2009-01-13T01:05:00.000-08:00

"Basically I think that what we've learned is that we didn't go to a normal recording studio and we didn't make a mellow out [album] and we did everything that we weren't supposed to do because we're a bunch of contrary fuckers."
- Bob Hardy

Visit Pop Tarts Suck Toasted to download two new Franz Ferdinand tracks - "Bite Hard" and "Dream Again."

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE BAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC, GOING TO THEIR SHOWS AND BUYING THEIR MERCHANDISE.

Conor Oberst, "Souled Out!!!"

2009-01-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

Conor Oberst released yet another great album this year. This isn't a new video, but it definitely deserves to be posted.

Here's the video for the single, "Souled Out!!!" with the mp3 right below:

[MP3] Conor Oberst - Souled Out!!!

Conor Oberst: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT CONOR OBERST BY PURCHASING HIS MUSIC.

Great Music: Air France

2009-01-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

Photo

Air France is an indie, electropop duo comprised of Joel and Henrik from Gothenburg, Sweden. After seeing their name mentioned in many music blogs, I decided to look them up. And I can't explain just how glad I was to discover them.

Their music is light, fun and dreamy. Lately, a lot of great musical talents have come out of Sweden. Other great Swedish music includes Jens Lekman, Shout Out Louds, I'm From Barcelona, Peter Bjorn and John and Love Is All.

Air France has two EPs, and currently, only the mp3s are available for purchase in the U.S. They're signed to record labels in Sweden, U.K. and Japan, so the physical EPs are available in those countries.

[MP3] Air France - June Evenings
[MP3] Air France - Collapsing at Your Doorstep

Air France: Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

John Lennon's MBE discovered in royal vault

2009-01-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

Photo: Getty Images

John Lennon returned his MBE award to the queen in 1969, four years after receiving it, as a sign of protest.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that the medal was found in a cabinet at the Chancery Department Of The Royal Household.

The MBE was found in its original case, along with this letter which John addressed to the queen:

"Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With Love, John Lennon of Bag."

John always did have a great sense of humor.

Photo: AP

Fans want the medal to be put on display at a museum or at Mendips, John's childhood home in Liverpool.

John Lennon: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Franz Ferdinand release offical 'Ulysses' video

2009-01-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Franz Ferdinand: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Merge to celebrate 20th anniversary with music festival

2009-01-09T03:27:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Merge Records

Merge Records announced yesterday, that it'll put on a music festival, XX Merge, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. It'll feature music by past and present Merge artists and will take place in North Carolina from July 22-26, 2009.

The lineup and ticket information hasn't been announced yet, but keep an eye on Merge Records for the announcement.

Merge is also giving fans the opportunity to subscribe to Score! 40 years of Merge Records, a one-year subscription. It's quite pricey, at $199, but will be well worth it. It will include 14 Curated Compilation CDs, the Merge Covers CD (featuring non-Merge artists like Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie and The National covering their favorite Merge songs) and much more.

Click here for all the details on the Score! subscription and visit the Score! newspage for all the latest news and additions. All proceeds from subscriptions will benefit a bunch of charities, including Oxfam. The last day to order the subscription is January 11.

Merge also has a 2008 sampler available for download. The 2008 Merge Records Sampler, features 13 songs from 13 Merge albums released in 2008. Visit Merge Records here to download it.

You can also head over to Merge's media section and stream 12 of its latest releases, including Conor Oberst, The Music Tapes, The Rosebuds, Camera Obscura, The Broken West, The Magnetic Fields and more.

Merge Records: Website | Store | Blog

Miles Kane talks about the future

2009-01-08T01:35:00.000-08:00

Photo: Tom Oxley

Miles with The Last Shadow Puppets' producer, James Ford backstage during Leeds Festival 2008.

After an amazing year for Miles Kane, he revealed what the future holds for The Rascals and his side-project, The Last Shadow Puppets. The 22-year-old Wirral native told the Daily Star "Me and Alex Turner will definitely make another Last Shadow Puppets album but not straight away. I want to devote myself to making a very large second album with The Rascals first."

He also said that he wants to add width to their sound, as well as create new sounds, perhaps with different instruments. "Why not incorporate some sitar? It definitely needs to sound different."

As for who the producer might be, Miles said "We need to work with a creative producer who can push us with strange instruments in the - studio. I would like to work with Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon. I suggested the idea to him recently and he was into it."

Releasing his first album with The Rascals, as well as a side project, made 2008 a successful year for Miles, but also very exhausting. "Last year was amazing but I had the brain of a schizophrenic."

As for what's up next for the Wirral trio, I'll make sure to keep you up to date on their latest news.

I just realized that this is the first time I post songs by The Rascals. That will definitely have to change.

[MP3] The Rascals - Lying Under The Second Seal
[MP3] The Rascals - Better In The Shadows

The Rascals: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Their album is a bit pricey since it's an import, but there are sellers on amazon selling them new for a little less than $12. Not bad.

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE RASCALS BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Music News: Vinyl making a comeback?

2009-01-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

In recent years, CD sales have been decreasing due to digital downloading and file sharing. Even though many people download legally off of online stores like iTunes, the profit doesn't always even out with the record company's losses from low CD sales.

One surprising figure to come out this year is that "vinyl sales hit a 17-year high in 2008 with 1.88 million, up dramatically from just under a million in 2007," reports USA Today. The top seller was Radiohead's "In Rainbows," selling 25,800 copies followed by The Beatles' "Abbey Road," which sold 16,500 copies.

Photo: Bryan Fenstermacher

There has been a lot of talk about vinyl making a comeback. It has to do with the fact that after anyone buys a CD, they rip it to their iTunes library and set it aside, usually never to pick it up again. But vinyl gives one an incentive of having something more than just a music file to listen to. Computerworld reported that "Industry observers say vinyl record sales have skyrocketed because new buyers are discovering the value of owning albums, with their cover art, large liner notes and warm sound."

Robin Hilton, producer of NPR's "All Songs Considered" agreed in his blog, writing about spending a night without any distractions, and just listening to an LP, while admiring the large-sized artwork and reading the liner notes. He began collecting LPs again after finding it pointless to own CDs once they were ripped onto his computer.

Photo: Andrew Everett

Now back to the figures. At the end of 2008, all the figures were calculated, and the only reason why music sales finished on the plus side was due to the growing number of digital downloads and vinyl sales.

The Associated Press had this to add about this year's sales figures:

Year-end sales figures released Wednesday by The Nielsen Co. show total album sales, including album equivalents made up of single digital tracks, fell to 428.4 million units, down 8.5 percent from 500.5 million in 2007.

Physical album sales fell 20 percent to 362.6 million from 450.5 million, while digital album sales rose 32 percent to a record 65.8 million units.

Digital track sales, such as those conducted in Apple Inc.'s iTunes Music Store, were up 27 percent from last year, breaking the 1 billion mark for the first time at 1.07 billion.

The report continues a troubling trend for the recording industry, which has a harder time maintaining profits when consumers buy single songs instead of albums. The number of transactions rose 10.5 percent to 1.5 billion, although the figure treats single track and whole album purchases the same.

That brought up a great point. Now that more people are purchasing music online rather then buying an entire CD, they can sample the songs and choose the ones they'd like to buy, making it possible for the consumer to purchase the few, select songs that are compatible to their music taste.

The record industry might have three times as many customers than before, but if each of those customers is buying a couple of songs instead of an entire album, the record industry loses money in the end.

Read Nielsen SoundScan's FULL report, on Yahoo! Finance.

Photo: Kevin Westenberg

And to honor Radiohead for being the top-selling vinyl artist and having the top-selling vinyl of 2008, below you'll find a live version of "Everything In Its Right Place," which was one of their best songs live on their recent tour.

[MP3] Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place [From the Santa Barbara Bowl Webcast]

Radiohead: Official Site | Myspace | Last.fm

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT RADIOHEAD BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Kaiser Chiefs, Gary Lightbody and Alex Church choose their favorite albums for Filter Magazine

2008-12-31T02:39:00.000-08:00

To continue with some of Filter Magazine's Top 10 albums of 2008 by musicians, here are the Kaiser Chiefs, Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) and Alex Church's (Sea Wolf) favorite albums.

Photo: Jocelyn Bain Hogg

Four Kaiser Chiefs chose their favorite albums and explained why.

Ricky Wilson chose:

Santogold, Self-Titled (Atlantic)
"I first listened to this whole album on a car journey two hours out of Prague to a Festival, it made the journey fly by. I like track 7 "Lights Out" the most."

Late Of The Pier, Fantasy Black Channel (Parlophone/EMI)
"This is the sound of the future. We had them on tour with us in the UK last month and they baffled our crowd a bit. But I think all of the band likes this album and that's rare."

Calexico, Carried To Dust (City Slang)
"We hosted our own show on BBC 6Music last month and had Calexico in session, they were brilliant and very nice people. I’ve been listening to this album ever since."

Nick Hodgson chose:

Vampire Weekend, Self-Titled (XL)
"When I first heard this album I suspected it was going to be my album of the year and now it is. Really different and fresh sound on it and the songs are brilliant."

Metronomy, Lights Out (Because Music)
"Really good sounds and songs on this album. they seem to be exploring every piece of equipment they own to the fullest."

Peanut chose:

Neon Neon, Stainless Style (PIAS)
"Drum machines, synths and gruff's voice. Brilliant. "Raquel" is one of my favourite tracks. The drum/percussion intro is over a minute long and "Neon Theme" is theme-ic enough to be on the terminator soundtrack, a great concept album with a most unusual concept - John DeLorean's life."

Chemical Brothers, Brotherhood (Virgin)
"A Best Of, so not all 2008, but its still been released this year. "Block Rockin' Beats" will always be part of the soundtrack to my student days, but i think 'leave home' is my favourite song on here as it's a great track to the album that introduced the chemical brothers to most of us (exit planet dust). Loads of singles on disc one and the electronic battle weapon releases on disc 2. The Chems have some great remixes and alternative versions of their own songs, so this is a best of both the hits and the other bits. Did i mention they always sounds great when played loud?"

Whitey chose:

The Helio Sequence, Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Sub Pop)
"Such a stunning album, listen to it when you're 1 hour from home."

Tacks, The Boy Disaster, Oh Beatrice (Ark Recordings)
"This is such a rich album, layers on layers, great melodies....when I listen to this album I HAVE to listen to it all..... my advice is only listen to it if your day is clear."

Deerhunter, Microcastle (Kranky/4AD)
"I've only had this album for a week now and it's already my favourite album from the last 5 years, I will NEVER get bored of this"

Photo

Gary Lightbody's list featured some albums that have been appearing in quite a few "best of" lists this year, as well as some new ones.

1) Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
2) Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid (Geffen Records)
3) Camille, Music Hole (Virgin)
4) Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
5) Friendly Fires, Self-Titled (Beggars XI Recording)
6) Port O'Brien, All We Could Was Sing (Port O’Brien)
7) The Week That Was, Self-Titled (Memphis Industries)
8) Kings of Leon, Only By the Night (RCA)
9) People Under the Stairs, Fun DMC (Gold Dust Media)
10) Six Star Hotel, A Kind of Crusade (We Collect Records)

Photo: Mia Kirby

Sea Wolf front-man Alex Church chose these nine albums as his favorite:

1) Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop)
2) Fleet Foxes, Self-Titled (Sub Pop)
3) Antony and the Johnsons, Another World EP (Secretly Canadian)
4) She & Him, Volume One (Merge)
5) Sigur Rós, Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur (XL)
6) Blitzen Trapper, Furr (Sub Pop)
7) Belle & Sebastian, The BBC Sessions (Matador)
8 Vampire Weekend, Self-Titled (XL)
9) Conor Oberst, Self-Titled (Merge)

To stay updated on Filter Magazine's latest Top 10 lists, keep an eye on their website and blog.

[MP3] Sea Wolf - Winter Windows

Visit these bands on their myspaces and on last.fm:

Kaiser Chiefs: Myspace | Last.fm
Snow Patrol: Myspace | Last.fm
Sea Wolf: Myspace | Last.fm

Buy Kaiser Chiefs: Amazon | iTunes | Insound
Buy Snow Patrol: Amazon | iTunes | Insound
Buy Sea Wolf: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THESE MUSICIANS BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Music News: Franz Ferdinand's third LP to be released in a month

2008-12-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

The end of the year is coming. And that means it's time to get excited about music coming out in 2009. And that includes a third album by Glaswegians Alex, Nick, Bob and Paul of Franz Ferdinand. It's going to be entitled "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand," and will be released on Jan. 27 in the U.S. (Jan. 26 in the U.K.)

Domino Records recently announced some more information about what formats the album will be available in. And as always, fans from the U.S. and other countries get screwed over by not having the opportunity to buy the special edition version of the album.

"Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" album artwork

In the U.K. and other select countries in the world, fans will be able to buy the album as a one-disc CD, two-disc CD, double LP or in a special box set. The box set will include both CDs in the aforementioned versions, the album across six 7" singles, a 24-page hardcover book with lyrics and pictures, and an exclusive DVD that features a 40-minute documentary on the making of album, as well as four performances.

This will be the tracklisting for the album:

1) Ulysses
2) Turn It On
3) No You Girls Never Know
4) Twilight Omens
5) Send Him Away
6) Live Alone
7) Bite Hard
8) What She Came For
9) Can't Stop Feeling
10) Lucid Dreams
11) Dream Again
12) Katherine Kiss Me

[MP3] Franz Ferdinand - Lucid Dreams [Pre-Album Version]

http://myspace.com/franzferdinand
http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/
http://www.last.fm/music/Franz+Ferdinand

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT FRANZ FERDINAND BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Music News: Parlophone previews Lily Allen's "It's Not Me, It's You"

2008-12-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

Parlophone uploaded a still video on youtube that previews tracks from her second release entitled "It's Not Me, It's You." It gives quite a good sneak peek (over 7 minutes long) at what's to come from Lily Allen in less than a few months.

"It's Not Me, It's You" album artwork

The album will be released by Capitol Records on Feb. 10 in the U.S. and by Parlophone in the U.K. on Feb. 9. I don't want to give my opinion prematurely since I haven't heard the entire album, but from what I've heard on her myspace and now this preview, I think it's safe to say that Allen's second album will be good. Different, but good.

Here's the preview for the album:

Here's the tracklisting for the new album:

1) Everyone's At It
2) The Fear
3) 22
4) Not Fair
5) I Could Say
6) Back To The Start
7) Never Gonna Happen
8) Fuck You
9) Who'd Have Known?
10) Chinese
11) Hymn
12) He Wasn't There

An here's the video for "The Fear," her first single off the new album:

http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic
http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Lily+Allen

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT LILY ALLEN BY PURCHASING HER MUSIC.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

Coldplay & Simon Pegg performing Jingle Bells at a London show:

The Kaiser Chiefs singing karaoke to James Blunt and Wham's "Last Christmas":

Keane's Christmas broadcast with James Corden:

The Wombats' new song "Is This Christmas?":

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and keeps warm!

Visit the bands on myspace:

Coldplay
Kaiser Chiefs
Keane
The Wombats

Dirty Pretty Things' last-ever gig and interview

2008-12-23T23:58:00.000-08:00

Photo

I'm really having a hard time putting a full sentence together about the Dirty Pretty Things breakup. Even though it has been a while, I don't think it's really hit me yet that one of my absolute favorite bands (ever) is no longer together. The good thing about it is that they're all still great friends and they love each other.

Their 'Last Hurrah' was on December 20, at legendary venue London Astoria 2, with support from Tim Burgess and The Paddingtons. The show was very emotional for the band, but as guitarist Anthony Rossomando told NME, he saved his tears until after the show. Carl Barat revealed to the crowd that bassist Didz Hammond had again become a father earlier that day (only it was the day before). After playing 21 songs to the last crowd to see them together, the four members bowed and thanked them. When being interviewed by ClashMusic.com before the show, Anthony managed to explain why the band broke up. He said,

"What embodies the band, I guess, is like from Didz's boots to Carls' teeth, you know. It's kind of like tapped up love...It's all heart and we couldn't really figure out the other bit. I think that's what it was...And that's what the whole point was, I guess. And that's why we didn't fit in that thing...which is probably why there'll be some more bits and bobs coming out of combinations of the four of us over the next couple years, because that spirit still lives in all of us and that's what I think we felt we're preserving by actually ending the band."

Video: diminuendo1

During their last interview together, Carl and Anthony told NME that the problem with the band was that they were in fact, great friends. Here is the full interview thanks to the "In The NME Office" Blog:

You’ve just played your final gig and DPT is no more. How was it?

Carl: I choked up a couple of times. But I learned very early on not to cry during a song.

Anthony: I saved all mine [tears] for after the gig.

Carl: During 'Truth Begins' I was like… [makes choking noise].

Anthony: All I could think about was being in the desert [recording second album ‘Romance At Short Notice at the end of 2007] when we were singing that song. It was fucking great for me. I can’t help it. I see the thing you shouldn’t think about, and the thing you should, and go for the wrong one, always. But it’s alright.

You said you wanted to go out with a bang, but on stage you were quite sombre…

Carl: Being a gentleman from the school of theatre, I didn’t want to do a ridiculous finale, showstopping fireworks…

Anthony: It’s like New Year’s Eve for everyone who’s had New Year’s Eve 20 days a month, like we have for the past three years. When there’s a build-up or expectation, it’s just… it is what it is.

Did you go out like you wanted to?

Anthony: I have no idea.

Carl: I can’t really tell. I had so many preparations for this in my mind. I’ve got this thing where I plan something and I think I’ve done it when I haven’t done it.

Anthony: For me it was holding back tears all the time.

Carl: Tears don’t work on stage, man.

Anthony: I opened my eyes [before the show] with tears in them and realised I was in the fuckin’ washroom with wash buckets and stuff on my own. I thought, ‘This is kinda depressing, maybe I should just go back in the room’.

You’ve had a blast though, haven’t you?

Anthony: It’s been amazing. We’ve had this incredible following.

Carl: Every night has been like the nights I dreamed of when I was 14. Like ‘The Doors’ film [the 1991 documentary by Oliver Stone]. I thought I was a raconteur – then I wouldn’t have had to play tonight, I could have just told stories. But I’m not.

Anthony: There was a lot of cameras and staring.

Carl: For me, because I’m such a mumbler, if I go [makes low-pitched mumbling noise] the crowd will go [makes imitating mumbling noise], and if I go [high-pitched mumbling noise] the crowd will go, ‘Yeeeah!’

Anthony: You need to express yourself in song!

Carl: People knew what they were in for. Why put out any of the cheese? Why spend three years not catering for the cheesy stuff then…

Anthony: We’ve never been a ‘show band’ or a talkative…

Carl: As appealing as it is to have that, we just stuck to having everyone bow after the gig, do one, do two, then do an extra one.

No regrets, then?

Anthony: Maybe about a couple of kids I’ve got in south America… [This is a joke! – Legal Web Ed]. I never really liked the band name, but we were pressurised into starting the band so quickly. But it does sum up what we believed in, like, gaffer taped boots and Carl’s messy teeth, the same way Winehouse is a fuckin’ genius but she’s a fuckin’ mess – we’ve always liked the mess. I’ve got Carl’s teeth now! [Both grin and show off brown-tinged gnashers]

Carl: It looks like I’ve eaten a crap.

When you first announced the split you told NME you’d learned a lot about how not to be in a band. What did you mean?

Anthony: Probably about picking the right people to work for the band outwardly.

Carl: Work for? That’s a shiftaround. Work with!

Anthony: I do mean with.

Carl: I do have regrets. I have to refer you to Max Weber and functionalism – democracy can’t always work. I was a bit idealistic. I wanted a band of brothers and friends. We had that for a while. Occasionally things went awry. Our hearts were always in the same place. We were all very young in different ways. Yeah, I do have regrets, but I wouldn’t change anything.

Carl, you told NME you’ve been working on solo stuff, what about you, Anthony?

Anthony: I don’t know how to relax. I had a girlfriend for a while who used to help me relax but now I don’t, so I’m fucked. I’m producing a few things. I’m going to work on a few records, but anything I say will sound like namedropping bullshit so I’ll just leave it. Carl and I have some plans which are pretty awesome. We’re going to write some cool shit. It’ll be free and it’ll be creative. We did two records and toured for three and a half year and it was great. We kind of went out the way we came in, without as much fuckin’ media blitz.

Carl: The day the expectation and the regimentation of the band died was the day we became friends again.

Anthony: It was like slicing out a cyst, or something. I don’t think we ever fitted in the suit. We threw a record together and the first album was in the top three, or something. It was way too much too soon to be what Carl wanted in the first place. But because we were so idealistic about it we didn’t pay attention to the expectation on it. We’ve always been in a bubble.

OK, people keep knocking on the cubicle door so we’d better head out – your final message to DPT fans?

Carl: Thank you.

Anthony: We’ve had an incredible, incredible response from people, the gigs have been amazing. We’ve been incredibly blessed.

Carl: Thank you for your attention, your patience, your belief and understanding, through what you’ve done it’s invigorated us. It’s not dead yet, far from it.

Anthony: From the way the fans have been it’s always been about us as individuals as well.

Carl: Are you going to go on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’?

Anthony: I think we’re ready for ‘lost weekend phase’…

After the show, Carl and Anthony sang goodbye to fans from a restroom cubicle:

Video: jamopsych

If I had money, I would have bought a plane ticket and gone to this show. Everyone who's listened to Dirty Pretty Things knows how special they were and knows that their breakup was one of the saddest things that happened in 2008. I guess it's bittersweet, but I'm sure we'll have several new projects from those four boys.

Thank you Carl, Anthony, Didz and Gary for all the great music.

Before the show, DPT was interviewed by ClashMusic.com and the video is available for download HERE.

http://www.myspace.com/dirtyprettythingsofficial
http://www.dirtyprettythingsband.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Dirty+Pretty+Things

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT DIRTY PRETTY THINGS BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Franz Ferdinand play "Ulysses" in studio

2008-12-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

The Glasgow quartet performed the first single off their upcoming third studio release, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" in studio.

Last week, they announced that NME.com had a live version of a new song, "What She Came For," available for download. You can download the track HERE, after giving NME some of your info.

The page also includes a photo gallery featuring new photos of the band, a news section as well as a chance to win tickets to their January 20 show in London.

For the latest news updates, visit them at their website. And also be sure to check out their band diary, where they post videos, give music suggestions among other things.

Franz Ferdinand on Myspace
Franz Ferdinand on Last.fm

Nikolai Fraiture picks his top 10 albums of 2008

2008-12-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

Nikolai's list for Filter Magazine included his fellow Strokes bandmates' side projects in his top 10 list, giving them equal spots.

1) Radiohead, "In Rainbows" (XL Recordings)
2) Santogold, "Santogold" (Atlantic Records)
3) MGMT, "Ocular Spectacular" (Columbia)
4/5) Little Joy, "Little Joy" (Rough Trade)
4/5) Albert Hammond Jr., "Como Te Llama?" (RCA/Black Seal)
6) The Clash, "Live at Shea Stadium" (Sony Legacy)
7) Rivers Cuomo, "Alone II: The Home Recordings" (Geffen)
8) Belle & Sebastian, "The BBC Sessions" (Matador Records)
9) Q-Tip, "Renaissance" (Universal Motown)
10) Bob Dylan, "Tell Tale Signs" (Sony BMG)

Nickel Eye's solo debut will be released on January 27 on Rykodisc. The album will feature these 11 songs:

1) Intro (Every Time)
2) You And Everyone Else
3) Back From Exile
4) Fountain Avenue
5) This Is The End
6) Dying Star
7) Brandy Of The Damned
8) Providence, RI
9) Where The Cold Wind Blows
10) Another Sunny Afternoon
11) Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

Nickel Eye will also be co-headlining a tour, with Low vs Diamond and will share some east coast dates with The Raveonettes. Here are the tour dates:

January:
14 Montreal, QUE - Green Room
15 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club*
16 New York, NY - Webster Hall*
17 Washington, DC - Black Cat*
18 Philadelphia, PA - Khyber
20 Toronto, ONT - El Mocambo
21 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
22 Chicago, IL - The Beat Kitchen
23 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
24 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
26 Denver, CO - Marquis
29 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
30 San Diego, CA - The Loft / UCSD
31 Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar

February:
2 San Francisco, CA - Independent

* dates with The Raveonettes

[MP3] Nickel Eye - Dying Star

For more information on Nickel Eye, visit him on myspace.

Amoeba Music Store

2008-12-19T23:28:00.000-08:00

I don't think Amoeba Music Record Store really needs me to attract more customers to their stores, but I just feel like I should write about the greatest record store in the whole world. Since I haven't visited every record store in the world, that statement technically isn't true, but I know that if I did, I'd still prefer Amoeba Music over any other store. I'm sure I'll eventually get to visit all three locations. but for now, I'll just keep going to Amoeba Music Hollywood.

Where else can you find some of the rarest cds, singles, lps, posters and other music/movie-related things all under the same roof? And what makes Amoeba Hollywood so great is that it's the world's largest independent music store. That makes it's selection and choices of used music better than any other store. Sometimes I stumble across something I never thought I could find. But if you're looking for something that's out of print, or that had limited quantities made, your best chance of finding it is at Amoeba.

I recently bought a record player. I found myself wanting all of my favorite albums on vinyl. But even if you're willing to hunt, some things are very hard to find. On Saturday, I went and I was shocked to find this used copy of Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut album. I wanted to jump up and shout for joy, but I restrained myself since I knew I was in a public place. The second I left the store, I ripped it open, in fear that it was in bad condition. But to my surprise, it was in near mint condition, as if it was barely even played.

And that was just one situation, on a very busy shopping day. Just imagine how many other times I've ran into great things there.

http://amoeba.com/
http://www.myspace.com/amoebamusic

Going into this store will really make you feel good spending money on music. This is probably the only place I walk out of and feel happy after spending $100. Because I usually get my money's worth. So make sure to support musicians by buying their music.

The Last Shadow Puppets Live at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, November 3, 2008

2008-12-14T01:28:00.000-08:00

Photo: Jackie Iskander

I know that this is a very late review, but I figured it would be better to write a little bit about my experience (because this show was an experience). The night started off rough, as the security people at the Mayan Theatre got everyone confused, and after waiting for hours, they explained to fans that they were in the 21+ line.

Unfortunately, living in Los Angeles comes at a great price. The upside is that many great bands play here before they play anywhere else. The downside is that about 80 percent of the time, the crowd is terrible. The Last Shadow Puppets were brilliant (of course), but the crowd ruined what could have been one of the most perfect shows ever.

A huge problem was that the crowd thought it was a good idea to mosh during a show where the band performed with a 16-piece orchestra onstage. That, of course, made it hard for the real fans to enjoy the show. Even with all that craziness, I was able to have a great time (even with a wall of four insanely tall guys lined up right in front of me). They couldn't have been better live. The songs were great, they were great and they were amazing live. I just hope The Last Shadow Puppets decide to play in Los Angeles again so that I could camp out a week ahead of time to avoid this problem again.

The greatest thing about that night was that I got to meet them before the show. They seemed exhausted and they barely said anything. But then again, I couldn't really talk to them. I had thought of what I'd tell Miles if I would ever meet him, but when the time came, I couldn't say a word. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's my idol.

Here's the set list for the show:

In My Room
The Age Of The Understatement
Calm Like You
Black Plant
Only The Truth
Gas Dance
Little Red Book
Separate And Ever Deadly
Hang The Cyst
She’s So Heavy (The Beatles Cover)
My Mistakes Were Made For You
In the Heat Of The Morning
I Don't Like You Anymore
The Chamber
The Time Has Come Again
The Meeting Place

Encore:

Memories
Standing Next To Me

And here is a video I took of Miles (mainly) singing "Memories"

And as a bonus, here's one of the b-sides on the "Standing Next To Me" single:
[MP3] The Last Shadow Puppets - Hang The Cyst

http://www.myspace.com/thelastshadowpuppets
http://www.thelastshadowpuppets.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Last+Shadow+Puppets

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

One Year

2008-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Illustration by Rex Bohn

It's been over a year since I began this blog back on October 3 of last year. I can't believe it has been that long. I've done things I've never thought I could do and my music taste has changed and broadened so much since.

One thing I've learned a lot about is blogging. I've met people with great music tastes, but I've also had to deal with things like having music files deleted and getting emails saying I've infringed on the copyrights of others.

I'm kind of getting sick of constantly re-uploading files, only to have them be brought down again. So from now on, I'll upload the songs and if they DO get deleted, then just leave me a comment or something telling me that the file has been deleted and I'll make sure get it somehow.

That's one of the reasons why it takes me longer to update this blog. The paper has also been keeping me very busy. And, whenever I DO have time off, I rarely spend it in front of the computer.

Anyway, here's a song to celebrate having this blog for an entire year.

[MP3] The Beatles - Birthday

And hopefully, I'll be able to keep running this blog for years to come.

http://www.myspace.com/thebeatles
http://www.thebeatles.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Beatles

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THE BEATLES BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

KROQ announces "Almost Acoustic Christmas" night two lineup

2008-11-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

I little over an hour ago, Los Angeles radio station, KROQ, announced the lineup for the second night of Almost Acoustic Christmas. It looks like I'll be listening to the radio nonstop until I get pit tickets so I could see: Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Vampire Weekend, Death Cab For Cutie, The Killers, The Cure, Paramore and Scott Weiland. I don't care about the last three as much, but the others made me go nuts!

Although KROQ rarely plays music by musicians I like, they've been improving the lineup for Almost Acoustic Christmas since last year.

They have yet to announce details for ticket sales, but they will start giving out tickets tomorrow morning.

Anyway, I'm sorry for not being able to update this in such a long time. I've had many things I've had to do in the past few months. But expect Last Shadow Puppets and Kaiser Chiefs show reviews soon, along with reviews of the new Keane, Kaiser Chiefs and Snow Patrol albums as well as some really great music I've gotten into lately.

Visit all these musicians at their myspaces/last.fms:

Snow Patrol:
http://www.myspace.com/snowpatrol
http://www.last.fm/music/Snow+Patrol

Franz Ferdinand:
http://www.myspace.com/franzferdinand
http://www.last.fm/music/Franz+Ferdinand

Vampire Weekend:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.last.fm/music/Vampire+Weekend

Death Cab For Cutie:
http://www.myspace.com/deathcabforcutie
http://www.last.fm/music/Death+Cab+For+Cutie

The Killers:
http://www.myspace.com/thekillers
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Killers

The Cure:
http://www.myspace.com/thecure
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Cure

Paramore:
http://www.myspace.com/paramore
http://www.last.fm/music/Paramore

Scott Weiland:
http://www.myspace.com/scottweiland
http://www.last.fm/music/Scott+Weiland

Covers Part III

2008-09-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

I know it's been almost three months since I posted the last set of covers, but I thought I'd share some more. This past week has been very hectic for me, putting together the first couple issues of the newspaper for this semester. I promise I'll try my best to not let that stop me from updating the blog often.

Anyways, back to those covers. This batch of covers features five songs and their originals. The covers were performed by The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Streets and The Fratellis.

The White Stripes cover was included in their latest release, "Icky Thump," and is also their last single. They released it in two versions, English and Spanish and the original version of "Conquest" was released in 1952 by Patti Page.

The Arctic Monkeys cover is of the 1965 Barbara Lewis hit "Baby I'm Yours." It was included as a b-side for their "Leave Before The Lights Come On" single.

One of my favorite covers is The Last Shadow Puppets' cover of the David Bowie song "In The Heat of the Morning." The original was featured in Bowie's 1970 release "The World Of David Bowie." The song isn't one of his most well-known songs, even though it's a great song. And The Last Shadow Puppets do a fantastic job of covering it.

One cover I never thought I'd like was The Streets' cover of the Elton John classic "Your Song." It was on BBC Radio 1's compilation celebrating its 40th anniversary.

And lastly is T.Rex's song, "Solid Gold Easy Action," covered by The Fratellis. The 1972 song was featured in the "Hot Fuzz" soundtrack last year.

So here are the original songs, along with the covers.

Photo: Dean Chalkley

[MP3] The White Stripes - Conquest (Patti Page Cover)
[MP3] Patti Page - Conquest

The White Stripes' Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Photo: Perou

[MP3] Arctic Monkeys - Baby I'm Yours (Barbara Lewis Cover)
[MP3] Barbara Lewis - Baby I'm Yours

Arctic Monkeys' Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Photo: Dean Chalkley

[MP3] The Last Shadow Puppets - In The Heat Of The Morning (David Bowie Cover)
[MP3] David Bowie - In The Heat Of The Morning

The Last Shadow Puppets' Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Photo: Dean Chalkley

[MP3] The Streets - Your Song (Elton John Cover)
[MP3] Elton John - Your Song

The Streets' Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Photo: Scarlet Page

[MP3] The Fratellis - Solid Gold Easy Action (T.Rex Cover)
[MP3] T.Rex - Solid Gold Easy Action

The Fratellis' Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT THESE MUSICIANS BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Vampire Weekend Live at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, September 18, 2008

2008-09-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Photo: Jackie Iskander

On Thursday night, I was fortunate enough to see Vampire Weekend end their U.S. tour with Abe Vigoda and White Williams. I didn't really know what to expect from them. I thought it would be a good show, but I had no idea what I was in store for.

Abe Vigoda was up first, and the Los Angeles natives were pretty good. They played a 30-minute set that was loud and fun - the perfect way to get the crowd pumped up for a great show.

Next up was White Williams, who is comprised solely of Joe Williams, but tours with guitarist Matt Papich and percussionist Cale Parks. I have to say, I've never been so blown away by an opening act before. When they first appeared onstage, people didn't really know what to think of them, but after they got started, it was total bliss. Unfortunately, the show was in Los Angeles and not everyone who goes to shows here understands their kind of brilliance. Regardless of that, they were still able to win over a lot of people in the crowd. I was able to get the album, and I'll let you in on how great it is after memorizing it.

After White Williams left me in awe, I had completely forgotten that they were merely one of the opening acts; Vampire Weekend was about to perform. If Vampire Weekend had gone up and performed a decent set, I'd been satisfied with the night. But they not only played decently, they were brilliant.

Besides performing songs from their self-titled debut album, they played the b-side, "Ladies Of Cambridge" (also know as "Boston") and a couple new songs. I still haven't found a complete setlist of the show yet, but the new song that was very entertaining was called "White Sky." Before begining the song, singer Ezra Koenig told the crowd it was a new song and they could dance to it if they wanted. The song was fantastic, with Ezra just singing, while the band's keyboardist, Rostam Batmanglij, took over playing the guitar.

Here's the video of the song. I was lucky enough to be in the second row with a short person in front of me. The audio is pretty bad since I was in the front, but you'll see the fun they were having onstage. And below, I've uploaded the clearest version of the live song that I've found. It's pretty awesome, I've had it on repeat for a while.

Although White Williams seemed to be very serious and quiet while onstage, when Vampire Weekend was performing, they were on the side of the stage dancing, laughing and joking with the crowd. And during the performance of "White Sky," Joe Williams and Matt Papich skated across the stage for fun.

Whenever a band is nearing the end of a long tour, they usually seem to have so much fun during their last show. That was exactly what happened at Vampire Weekend's second night at the Wiltern on September 18. For Vampire Weekend, the crowd was surprisingly into it, singing with most of the songs. It was probably one of the best shows I've seen in L.A. in a long time. This is coming from the girl who saw people sitting down during two nights of Radiohead.

[MP3] Vampire Weekend - White Sky

And here are some of the pictures I took. Visit my flickr to see the entire set:

http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.vampireweekend.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Vampire+Weekend

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT VAMPIRE WEEKEND BY PURCHASING ITS MUSIC.

Radiohead Live at the Hollywood Bowl, August 24-25, 2008

2008-08-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to alfreditodito for the pictures

Radiohead played two fantastic shows, two nights in a row and I was fortunate enough to have attended both. I've been a Radiohead fan for over a year, so Sunday's show (unfortunately) was my first time seeing them live. And what a show they put on. Not that I was surprised, but it is one of those things you have to see for yourself. No matter how much I try to rave about their brilliant performance, you won't know what I'm talking about until you see them for yourself.

They played 25 songs on Sunday and 27 songs on Monday. What I loved the most, was that they focused more on playing songs from"Hail To The Thief," "Kid A" and "OK Computer" the first night (along with all of "In Rainbows" of course) and more "The Bends," "Kid A" and songs that aren't off of their regular releases on the second night.

On Monday, Thom played a song off of his solo release, "The Eraser," they performed a song off of their live recordings album, "I Might Be Wrong," a song from the rare "In Rainbows" second disc featured in the special discbox), the Radiohead song from the Romeo+Juliet soundtrack and even covered Neil Young's "Tell Me Why."

Here's the full setlist for the Sunday, August 24 show at the Hollywood Bowl:

1) 15 Step
2) There There
3) Morning Bell
4) All I Need
5) Pyramid Song
6) Nude
7) Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8) The Gloaming
9) The National Anthem
10) Wolf at the Door
11) Faust Arp
12) Exit Music
13) Jigsaw Falling Into Place
14) Idioteque
15) Climbing Up The walls
16) Bodysnatchers
17) How To Dissappear Completely

1st Encore:
18) Videotape
19) Dollars & Cents
20) Paranoid Android
21) Street Spirit
22) Reckoner

2nd Encore:
23) House Of Cards
24) Lucky
25) Everything In Its Right Place

And here's the setlist for the Monday, August 25 show at the Hollywood Bowl:

1) Reckoner
2) Optimistic
3) There There
4) 15 Step
5) All I Need
6) Pyramid Song
7) Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8) The Gloaming
9) Videotape
10) Talk Show Host
11) Faust Arp
12) Tell Me Why [Neil Young Cover]
13) No Surprises
14) Jigsaw Falling Into Place
15) The Bends
16) The National Anthem
17) Nude
18) Bodysnatchers

1st Encore:
19) House Of Cards
20) Planet Telex
21) Go Slowly
22) Fake Plastic Trees
23) True Love Waits Intro/Everything In Its Right Place

2nd Encore:
24) Cymbal Rush
25) Karma Police
26) Idioteque

P.S. I have to say, Thom Yorke's dancing was probably one of my favorite things about both the shows. And Colin was very jumpy and clapped his hands a lot. I always find it to be interesting when a musician in a band is really into a song, and it just happens to be one of their slowest songs. I don't remember what songs he did it, but I noticed Colin jumping up and down during the softer Radiohead songs. Either way, they were two of the greatest nights of my life. I can't wait until they come to the L.A. area again.

A huge thanks to alfreditodito for the photos. (Click on the images to see them larger)

I thought this photo was so cute. You have to see the actual size of it, but Thom's smiling:

Here's the Neil Young cover, followed by the video:

[MP3] Radiohead - Tell Me Why (Live) [Neil Young Cover]

http://www.myspace.com/radiohead
http://www.radiohead.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Radiohead

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT RADIOHEAD BY PURCHASING THEIR MUSIC.

Bob Dylan, "Subterranean Homesick Blues"

2008-08-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Photo

Bob Dylan is one of the greatest lyrical geniuses anyone is ever going to hear. There isn't really much I can say about him, since his great music speaks for itself, but I wanted to share this video. I'm sure 90% of the people out there have seen this video, but I still thought I'd share it. It's a great song, and a great video. Enjoy.

Here's the song:
[MP3] Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

http://www.myspace.com/bobdylan
http://www.bobdylan.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPOR THIS MUSICIAN BY PURCHASING HIS MUSIC.

Class Album: Supergrass, "I Should Coco"

2008-08-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Photo

Although Supergrass has been around for a while, I've only recently go into them. Why I never started listening to them earlier is a mystery to me, but I guess it's better late then never. I was watching the movie "Hot Fuzz" when the credits began and I started hearing the song "Caught By The Fuzz."

I really enjoyed the song and became curious as to who was singing it. I had heard the name "Supergrass" many times, but I hadn't personally been exposed to it until that day. When trying to figure out which of their albums I should buy first, I found out that "I Should Coco" was one of the albums chosen for the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die."

It was one of those albums that as soon as you start listening to it, you knew it was going to be good. I didn't even have to hear it a couple times, my mind was made up. What I think sucks is that whenever anyone learns of '90s brit pop bands, they hear names like Oasis, The Verve and Blur. And all those bands are great, but I just think that Supergrass is one of those gems that not everyone will get exposed to while learning about different bands.

So here you go; two songs off of Supergrass' first release, a classic album, "I Should Coco." (released in 1995):

[MP3] Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz
[MP3] Supergrass - Alright

http://www.myspace.com/supergrass
http://www.supergrass.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Supergrass

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT SUPERGRASS BY PURCHASING IT'S MUSIC.

New Band: Music Go Music

2008-08-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I got the September issue of Paste Magazine, and they had a little section called "The Report," where in 100 words or less, they talk about a band's release. One of the ones that caught my attention was Music Go Music, a band that's based in Los Angeles. What caught my attention was that they were being compared to ABBA.

And that truly is what Music Go Music sounds like, a modern day ABBA. It does have a very '70s sound to it, but not in all it's music. The song "Reach Out" isn't as ABBA-like as their other songs. It's much darker with it's heavy guitars, but it still has it's lighter, more dance-able moments. But if you're not an ABBA fan, don't get disgusted and not pay them any attention.

So far, they've only released two 12" LP's, one called "Light Of Love" the other, "Reach Out."

Here are the two songs that are available to download from their record company, Secretly Canadian:

[MP3] Music Go Music - Light Of Love
[MP3] Music Go Music - Reach Out

http://www.myspace.com/musicgomusic
http://www.last.fm/music/Music+Go+Music

Buy: Amazon | Secretly Canadian | Insound

The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"

2008-08-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Photo

I wish I could say that I've been into The Kinks for a long time, but I haven't. I recently got "The Kinks Ultimate Collection" and I instantly fell in love. I don't think any '60s brit-pop band will ever be as brilliant as The Beatles, but there were many other bands around at that time that were pretty great, and The Kinks were one of them.

Besides The Kinks, The Zombies were also great. "Odessey & Oracle" has to be one of the greatest albums of all time. But I'll save that for another post.

Here is a Kinks song that I always get excited to hear when my iTunes library is on shuffle. A 1966 single, here is ""Dedicated Follower of Fashion."

[MP3] The Kinks - Dedicated Follower of Fashion

http://www.myspace.com/kinkskinksc (Unofficial Myspace)
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Kinks

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Cartoon Music For Superheroes Widget

2008-08-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

It hasn't even been a year since I've started this blog, and it's almost approaching 10,000 hits. I know that might not seem like an accomplishment, but I'm very happy with the way everything has turned out.

I know I had a slow start in the beginning, updating it only once every couple of weeks and not writing that much, but I've learned how to keep on top of things in a way that would help me be able to post as many times as I can. In early September, I'm going to be very busy with school newspaper, but I'm going to do everything I can to update this blog as much as possible.

So here's a widget I made for the blog.

Music News: Franz Ferdinand debut new song

2008-08-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Photo: PEROU

Since Franz Ferdinand's 2005 release of "You Could Have It So Much Better," we've been waiting to hear about their new album. FF has put up a new song on a really cool music player on their website. Entitled "Lucid Dreams," the song has everything we love about Franz Ferdinand - a very catchy song with a chorus that's ridiculously addicting. But you should hear it and judge it for yourself.

http://myspace.com/franzferdinand
http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/
http://www.last.fm/music/Franz+Ferdinand

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

Study on connection between blog posts and album sales

2008-08-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

I found this through Sneak Attack Media's blog who got it from Digital Media Wire and I found it to be rather interesting. It's about a study that showed how albums that were blogged about before their release were more likely to do well in album sales. I just thought I'd share it, enjoy. (Click on the picture to read about the study.)

Music News: I'm From Barcelona's second album to be released in October

2008-08-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

Photo: Fredrik Skogkvist

As a 29 piece band from Jönköping, Sweden, I'm From Barcelona's upbeat and cheerful self-titled debut was a perfect example of an album that you can just relax and enjoy listening to. Two years after it was originally released, they have announced that their follow up will be released on October 14 in the U.S. and on September 14 in Europe, and will be named "Who Killed Harry Houdini?"

After having such a cheerful album cover, with bright and vibrant colors, be an exact depiction of the music the album held in store for its listeners, one could only wonder what is in store for us now with such a dark, mysterious album title and cover. But if you're afraid that they might have gone down a darker road and have abandoned their upbeat persona, don't be. Their first single, "Paper Planes," is now available for fans to listen to on their myspace page, and it is just as fun as their other songs.

"Music Killed Me," is a new song that is available to download for free on their website. It isn't as fun and catchy as their previous works, but it is a great song nonetheless.

Be sure to visit them HERE to download the song for free and visit their myspace page to hear a hilarious song entitled "Britney," about a certain Britney I'm sure we all know.

http://www.myspace.com/imfrombarcelona
http://www.imfrombarcelona.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/I'm+From+Barcelona

Buy: Amazon | iTunes | Insound

PLEASE SUPPORT I'M FROM BARCELONA BY PURCHASING ITS MUSIC.