The Music Is Better Than It Sounds

Obi Wan A Tokey

2007-06-06T20:32:00.000+01:00

And other puffing Star Wars characters...

Local concert listing for Amsterdam

2007-05-23T16:06:00.000+01:00

For whenever you're in the Amsterdam area and want to have a quick overview of who's playing where and when: check MyGigs.org. (This is shameless self promotion by the way, since I'm running the listing. :)

John Cleese R.I.P.

2007-04-14T23:59:00.000+01:00

It seems that the sad day can't be trusted to anyone else.

Cleese reads his own eulogy.

The source code of songs

2007-04-01T18:30:00.000+01:00

In April 2005, Nine Inch Nail’s single The Hand That Feeds saw it’s online release, soon followed by Only. Not as an mp3 or wmv file, but as a multi-track file for Garageband, Apple’s music creation tool. (Simply put, when you record a song, usually all instruments and vocals are recorded separately on a track of their own. Then when you’re working on the final song, it’s very easy to add and remove tracks, put effects on them, and mix them together into your final composition.)

Having enjoyed an amazing gig by Nine Inch Nails the other week here in Amsterdam, I was happy to read they (‘he’ might be more appropriate, since all-round musical talent Trent Reznor seems to be the only consistent member of the band) released the multi-track version of their new single Survivalism as well, and not only that:

“No strings attached. (…) You now have the ability to completely reconstruct/deconstruct Survivalism any way you choose. We will soon present details on where you can upload your own mixes so get to work and have fun with this! (We plan to release every track on the album this way over the next few months…)”
Nine Inch Nails playing Paradiso, Amsterdam (21-03-2007)
Photo shot and kindly provided by furbyx4.
Every track on the album. To my knowledge – and do correct me if I’m wrong – NIN now is the first band to release a complete and brand new album for free on the internet, as ‘source code’ if you like. If you consider a normal album as a proprietary release, with all the usual restrictions applicable to it, then this is probably as close to open source music as we’ll get for a long time.
I’m very curious to see where this is going. I’d love to see fans from all over the world collaborating into creating their own, pan-ultimate version of the NIN album instead of competing with each other to make the best remix. Maybe somebody will create a Wiki- or CVS-like tool to collaborate into creating, rearranging and recomposing music together? (At a recent Think ‘n’ Stink, we already got a taste of tools that enabled DJ’s on different locations (continents even) to play music together. From there on, it doesn’t seem like such a big step, really.) Will there ever be a new official NIN album after this, or is Trent Reznor just going to release ‘code snippets’ and let the fans create the next record the way they see fit? <blah>Are we entering the age of Music 2.0?</blah>
On the other hand, collaboration on the scale described above might very well be the ultimate recipe for middle-of-the-road material, a.k.a. crap. It usually takes just a single or a few geniuses to come up with really groundbreaking material.
Either way, releasing an entire album as multi-track files is in my opinion a geeky but cool gift to your fans. Let’s hope NIN set a trend with this!
(Originally posted on the Media Catalyst blog.)

Tears Of A Tadpole

2007-04-01T15:12:00.000+01:00

It's not easy being green....

Nuts About The Girl

2007-02-10T12:18:00.000Z

I'll admit that I wasn't convinced after the first listen but this album just gets stronger and stronger each time round and has become a firm favourite; What's The Time Mr Wolf? the debut album by Noisettes.

Led by the quite frantic, Shingai Shoniwa, the Noisettes are from London and just rock. She is a very strong female lead with a fantastically diverse voice which she manages to top off by being quite a mean bassist too.

They've toured with Muse and Bloc Party but are still doing little gigs on their own too; this May they're playing at Kings College in London - tickets are available for the silly price of £9

I've not been able to find a full official video - at least not one that doesn't have a massive sync problem and is actually the full song so satisfy yourself with the live track below instead.

Not Talking Heads

2007-02-04T23:08:00.000Z

Adam Buxton, one half of the legendary Adam & Joe who so loving put together Toy Trainspotting is being mischevious; possibly due to the boredness of sitting at home watching television all day when you're a self employed comedian, artist and/or student.....

New Year New Start

2007-01-27T20:29:00.000Z

It's been painfully long, we all have our excuses I am sure and none of us want to hear them - let's just on with it again and see where we get to......

I'm motivated back to the blog for the reason it was started in the first place which the resurgence of some good music; maybe this is a seasonal thing much like my commitment to TMIBTIS.........

Also, I've heard hints of good things from some of you and decided they were too good not to share further afield.

You'll recall from right about this time last year that we liked !!! and LCD Soundsystem so appropriately a year later we come full circle with a new album from both - Myth Takes and Sound of Silver meaning it's been a busy time for Tyler Pope who is apparently in both groups. LCD are touring this March and the rumour is that they're being supported by Frinzhorn who ever the bloody hell they are; any enlightening of their work would be appreciated.....

!!! are also touring, check here for their dates.

Both are great albums (if not even possibly better than their previous outings in the case of !!!) and that's gotta be something to be grateful for.

So what else is there? New albums by Kasabian, Bloc Party, Air (featuring Jarvis Cocker), Jarvis Cocker, various Thom Yorke related ramblings and little oddities like Gruff Rhys Jones of The Super Furry Animals solo release, Candylion. The last is a wee gem and you should check it out if you can - it's by no means perfect, but the meaningful bits are perfection; a couple of tunes are in Welsh wot with him being a sheep shagger. His voice, it must be said, is quite dreamy; the Welsh tilt being more elegant here than anything I remember from SFA. Enjoy the title track below.

I Love New York

2006-09-17T16:45:00.000+01:00

APOLOGIES FOR THE LACK OF PLEASING VISUAL MEDIA ON THIS POST - BLOGGER'S HAVING NONE OF IT AT THE MOMENT.

It's more than just their shared hometown in common between Scissor Sisters and The Rapture; sometimes they're not just refrential to their musical heroes, they positively rip them off - but because they both do a good job they're worth a listen.

It's the dreaded second album for the Scissor Sisters and although things have changed they have also remained paradoxily the same, it's all quite good stuff - with the odd turkey chucked in for good luck. Bee Gees, Elton John (circa 1972), David Bowie, Queen and more are all very lovingly recreated with varying degrees of success (and is it that really a sample of the theme tune to Men Behaving Badly that I can hear on track 2?).

Despite dropping their production team of the DFA, and now under the watchful eye of Danger Mouse among others, The Rapture pull off a couple of tunes which would not be out of place on an LCD Soundsystem or even an Audio Bullys album. Not only that but the The Cure influences so obvious from their first album remain (or the Robert Smith impersonations at least....) and you still half expect Luke Jenner to break into 'Boys Don't Cry' on more than one occasion. It's still a good album, the influences are all quite solid after all but there's a struggle going on here to find their own sound.

I'm contemplating putting together compilations that source the reference for the tracks on these two albums..... let me know if you have any thoughts yourself.

The Idiot's Guide to Dance Music

2006-08-31T10:11:00.000+01:00

Some clever sod has come up with this piece of website wisdom.

I've only had a cursory glance but it's crammed full of samples; select from a number of tunes per Genre or sub-category.

There's also a link to their streaming radio for each category, so you can listen in to your favourite music by Genre.

The home page has a nifty little tutorial on the history of Electronic music with sample sounds from the Theremin, Hammond B-3 and a couple of others.

Now all I need is for some cleverer sod to come up with a Rock version...

Goodie Bag

2006-08-06T18:31:00.000+01:00

At the risk of becoming ubiquitous Cee-Lo keeps spreading his not insubstantial talent.

Tiny Whities!

2006-08-06T17:04:00.000+01:00

So shoot me, it's the summer and I'm in holiday mode.........

Hey Hey It's The Monkeys

2006-08-06T16:45:00.000+01:00

It's not that we've previously ignored them - let's face it it was very difficult to do at one stage with the Interwebs being awash with Arctic Monkey fever - but what more could we possibly have added to the hyperbole?

They're good. In fact they're very good - there, we've said it now. And to prove the point they've got a new tune which, whilst samey, is very good too.

The official video on Youtube has the embed feature disabled at the request of their record company - the one above is copy that may be taken down - if so, go here

Python But Not As We Know It

2006-07-30T16:43:00.000+01:00

An amusing mash-up of Monthy Python and Star Trek.

French Tossers

2006-07-29T20:34:00.000+01:00

Stylish, funny, and little bit funky - camera trickery or not, this is quite cool.

And very Gallic.

Babelfish anyone?

2006-07-22T09:07:00.000+01:00

A clip from an old UK sketch show including the much loved Simon Pegg before the days of Spaced.

Together with Nick Frost and some of the other Shaun of The Dead crew we can expect a new film with Peggy called Hot Fuzz. Adam Buxton appears to be adding to the madness so it's got good breeding if nothing else.

This is one of their video blogs from the set - the rest can be found here.

Not For Polite Society

2006-07-22T09:01:00.000+01:00

Amazingly there does appear to be a film where fuck is used more often than in Scarface. The Coen Bros classic, The Big Lebowski.

NSFW!

Naruto [sasuke], evanescence-lies

2006-07-16T23:43:00.000+01:00


if you're a fan of naruto, you'll like this

Hoff Alert

2006-07-15T14:42:00.000+01:00

Sweet jesus christ all mighty.....

Call On Me (a parody)

2006-07-14T18:12:00.000+01:00


Not quite as sexy as the original, but you get the general idea

A Wonderful Life

2006-07-08T09:21:00.000+01:00

Eddie Murphy interviews for a Stevie Wonder impersonator with little success;

And this little gem of Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street using a vocoder - very cool.

And finally, Stevie meets Stevie and a few other guests to throw down (yes cause it's that's funky) a fabulous version of "Superstition".

Our Robot Masters

2006-07-06T19:58:00.000+01:00

Kraftwerk are just 4 stoney faced men standing around playing keyboards and electric drums, but don't they do it well?

On this occasion it's live - kinda.

Lobster Love

2006-07-03T23:57:00.000+01:00

It's been a while but this is the reason; it's summer!

Aping Apple

2006-06-03T10:33:00.000+01:00

I always smile when someone puts the boot into Apple and this is no exception; the Da Vinci Code of mp3 players gets a little doing over in this parody of an old advert of theirs.

If you need reminding of the original advert you'll find it here.

Depending on where you live you may have noticed the images below appearing stuck up around the place. Click thru for their website; it's taking the Apple hating a little far but amusing nonetheless.

The Shape of Songs to Come

2006-05-29T23:27:00.000+01:00

According to turbulence.org, this is what Rage Against the Machine's Bomb Track looks like.

My kind of eye-candy...

Some clever sods have come up with the visualisation of music.
If you want to understand the mechanics, look here.

A quick browse around the will reveal images from Classical to Rock, Aphex Twin to Reznor and even better, if you can be arsed that is, you can add any web-based MIDI files to the "repertoire".

The one thing it does lack is the "player", I'd personally prefer to see the images being built while listening to the tracks.

Saint Freddie Of Mercury

2006-05-28T16:16:00.000+01:00

This is fantastic. The ghost of Freddie Mercury (Electric 6) camps up Radio Ga Ga almost as much as in the original video. The poodles are more central to the plot this time around.

Mike Gets His Mojo On

2006-05-28T11:28:00.000+01:00

You'll remember one of us getting quite excited about Peeping Tom. Well the good news is that the entire album is available on MySpace here.

Also, there is this live appearance on the Conan O'Brien show from a couple of days ago. This is Mojo featuring Rahzel and Dan the Automator.

Oooops I did it again......

Eh Ooh Eh Oh

2006-05-26T22:18:00.000+01:00

Lene Lovich - a one of a kind in a one of a kind kinda era. Apparently she released half a dozen albums and had several UK hits but this is the tune she is known for.

What I mean is.... this is the only one I remember and I love it.

Needs More Power Tools

2006-05-23T19:35:00.000+01:00

On so many levels this is a Benny Benassi video.

On one very important level it is not; no more sexy ladies exposing themselves, lolling about, licking their lips and being sprayed down with water over a pumping baseline - now it's a bunch of bitches.

Jeux Sans Frontieres

2006-05-23T19:02:00.000+01:00

A song from my childhood at least, the rather wonderful Peter Gabriel in his post Genesis days. I remember my brother having this album, Peter Gabriel, named not just eponymously but in fact named after his first two albums as well. Good on ya strange man; I'm sure Led Zepp wanted to do that too but didn't have the bollocks!

The only bad thing to say about this tune is that Kate Bush appears on backing vocals; as I've only just discovered this I am still in shock that I like anything the howling wench has ever participated in.
I should lie down.

Best Episode Ever

2006-05-21T20:08:00.000+01:00

No, it's not a great song; that's really not the point - after all it won Eurovision. The purpose of this really is to be quite pointless... but feel the quality.

Gotta love the Finnish; they're quite mad but remarkably good at this living it up lark...

Waxing Lyrical

2006-05-21T20:00:00.000+01:00

This is old but still amusing; a music video that's less about the music and more about the ladies.....

Meat Is Murder

2006-05-21T14:03:00.000+01:00

You may know the book by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, an expose on the Fast Food market. Well now there's the movie.

This is not a documentary however; the book has been dramatised and our Hero is actually a Executive for a large fast food company. They discover that their meat is contaminated somewhere in the process and he sets off to investigate, uncovering the facts of the industry as laid out in Schlossers book.

The actors are a disparate bunch; Kris Kristofferson and Avril Lavigne for example but including Ethan Hawke and Luis Guzman.

Bible Bashers

2006-05-21T13:47:00.000+01:00

One of the better parodies of its type floating around the websphere.

Nuts Everywhere

2006-05-18T19:50:00.000+01:00

A fabulously fabulously terribly awful dreadful video that is just wrong on so many levels. The Bitch Mafia who live under the railway (looking mostly like extras from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) track down an errant Father in Kid Creole who of course denies to Annie that he is her Daddy.

The other thing of course is the god awful lyrics; my personal favourite is "Ya See If I was In Your Blood Then You Wouldn't Be So Ugly" followed by the chorus of "ono ono onomatopoeia"; which if you think about, it is actually very clever and just a little witty.

Partly Perspective

2006-05-18T19:34:00.000+01:00

An interesting bunch of paintings; dream-like, pretty and clever, like a girl I know.

The work of Rob Gonsalves.

Evolution of Dance

2006-05-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

Remember how many of these you have done!

British Balls-Up Corporation

2006-05-16T18:05:00.000+01:00

What a wonderful story this is.

You may have heard of the legal battle between Apple Corps and Apple. The BBC were supposed to interview the editor of an Internet magazine but picked up the wrong person from reception. The guy then decides that despite the fact he's only there for a job interview he'll go on television anyway......

Watch his face when they introduce him as Guy Kewney, an Internet Editor.

The BBC have subsequently interviewed him as himself......

You Might Have Missed This....

2006-05-09T23:29:00.000+01:00

....cause we previously covered their 2nd Album and neglected their first. This actually proves how good they are, they did have a difficult second album because this one is better.

"Down With Prince" may have been inspired by LCD's "Losing My Edge" in it's referential theme and the album contains a lot of humour. A great debut sorely overlooked by me at least.

Available as usual.

Cee-Lo Hits The Heights

2006-05-08T19:56:00.000+01:00

Here's a little gem.

Gnarls Barkley is Danger Mouse and Cee-lo.

Danger Mouse (him of the The Grey Album) more recently raised his profile on the second Gorillaz album, Demon Days. It's all good there then.

But then there's Cee-Lo Green from Atlanta, former member of Goodie Mob and closely connected with OutKast from way back when.

And frankly I think that's kinda what we get here, an Outkast album with a external producer who takes the Atlanta sound down some innovative roads. Frankly it's been a little while since a Hip-Hop of this orginality and quality came out and you should pay attention.

Credit to the Basman for the upload and suggested post ~ he's busier than I.

Good ads

2006-05-07T00:06:00.000+01:00

Every once in while an add comes along that is worth sharing:

EVIAN MINERAL WATER "WATERBOY"

Vicariously Vincent

2006-04-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

A nice piece of Tim Burton animation. Sorta makes up for inflicting his version of the Oompa Loompas on us that rather spoiled Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

Guerilla Graffiti

2006-04-21T20:45:00.000+01:00

A graff artist by the name of Mark Ecko did something cheeky, funny and possibly dangerous by deciding to tag a rather well known plane.

The lack of an image on the embedded media players is something I should work on.....

Not Talking To Harry Manback

2006-04-21T01:20:00.000+01:00

Word on the street is that this is creeping around the internet (ok, that's actually the word on the internet but using internet too much in one sentence has a sloppy feel to it - damn).

Those of you in the know will know where to find it (I know, I know, repeating words again) and hopefully, like me, you'll like it.

Funky Town

2006-04-21T00:55:00.000+01:00

Just very funny.

Rabbit De Niro

2006-04-07T20:18:00.000+01:00

Another installment in the "re-enacted by Bunnies in 30secs" series; previously classics including Jaws and the Shining are available here.

MY DIVINE ANGEL

2006-04-06T11:06:00.000+01:00

My old and new project..
Is something like teckno...industrial..hard core.. ebm..
Sounds from my head..
it's all in the usual place..
(F)uck
(T)he
(P)olice

let me know..

www.myspace.com/mydivineangel

Decomposing Pussy

2006-04-05T23:19:00.000+01:00

In memory of the feline who vibrated the most; the legendary Purrr of Rome.

Attila the Tattoo.

Apologies for the reflective quality of the picture and the obscure "in-the-know" reference. It's not a big deal. For those of you not in the know, Attila was a fine moggy of Roman heritage.

He Purrrred from duck til fawn and can be accurately described as a humming projectile (we know this from hearing him whizz past our ears as he was thrown around the room.....).

Alas, he fucked off never to come back to Leo but he remains in our memory now as the purriest (non-battery operated) pussy ever.

R.I.P.

24 Seconds Of Not Very Much At All

2006-04-03T16:48:00.000+01:00

If, like me, you believe everything you hear, see or read on the internet then you'll be massively disappointed to discover that this is the best that anyone has managed to produce for the much discussed The Simpsons movie.

You would have thought even a fake trailer would be better than this so I guess it could very well be real.

Fab Four

2006-03-30T14:39:00.000+01:00

Under normal circumstances I don't work with children or animals. There's a very good reason why this is an exception; if one day you're feeling down in the dumps just sit and watch these guys.

The Last Thing You Do Before You Die Is...

2006-03-26T14:32:00.000+01:00

You'll have heard of this I'm sure but bewarned that this is not the full episode, merely the last 6 minutes.

The Death of Chef from South Park.

Bashing The Bush

2006-03-24T14:38:00.000Z

It's not always about the music and stuff.

This is political but qualifies for inclusion here as it's also very funny and entertaining - as it most of the stuff on "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central, or More4 in the UK). Presented by Jon Stewart it provides hope and reassurance that sanity still resides somewhere on the other side of the pond whilst making ya laff quite hard too.

Have a search on YouTube for more clips from the show - time well wasted.

Better, Stronger, Faster.

2006-03-22T23:07:00.000Z

"She's breaking up, she's breaking u...".

You may have to be of a certain age to remember this but hopefully the repeats will have broadened the appeal.

What? Did you think Radiohead were making it up?

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him".

Lee Majors married Farah Fawcett and made her Farah Fawcett Majors.

Respect.

Fuckface

2006-03-22T22:48:00.000Z

NSFW.

Not because of pr0n or anything but just because you have speakers and you're trying to retain some sort of dignity.

Bloody Italians....

Disconnect And Self-Destruct

2006-03-20T23:54:00.000Z

In anticipation of the new Tool album 10,000 Days due in May, it's not a bad idea to get all excited now by listening to someone else - we'll come back to Tool closer to the time.

Tool lead singer James Maynard Keenan is also in A Perfect Circle - brilliant when they do original material but awful when covering Marvin Gaye.

This is a personal favourite; the rather fabulous The Outsiders even more fabulously live. Keenan declares his love for Rage/Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk for a reason that someone can explain to me if they known why.

Or not, as one mans love for another needs no justification.

And then there's this, one of only two tracks from their eMOTIVE album that's not a cover and therefore better than most other tracks therein; A shiny glistening gem in a pile of poop.

Climbing The Walls

2006-03-20T15:33:00.000Z

Continuing the Patton lovefest, Leo pointed me in the direction of this live performance of Faith No More on SNL from 1990.

No shortage of manic energy here.

Mini Michael

2006-03-20T12:39:00.000Z

In a desperate attempt to raise funds to cover his legal costs, Jacko's taken up busking.

And shrunk a bit.

Toy Trainspotting

2006-03-18T12:31:00.000Z

Way back when they were merely Adam & Joe, Adam & Joe produced this. The very first sketch in the very first episode of the show that Adam & Joe made called the Adam & Joe Show.

From memory alone, this is 8 years old or thereabouts.

To this day they host a Saturday afternoon radio progamme on London's Xfm radio which is probably available online; link from here.

More of Adam Buxton here - take the time to be amused.

You might have more luck than me finding Joe Cornish here.

Stroke My Clover, Kiss Me I'm Irish.

2006-03-17T11:51:00.000Z

Lost for ideas on how to celebrate St Patricks Day?

Perhaps a drink would help?

Or maybe a drink is actually a bad idea......

Not that any of these stereotypes are true you understand.

Someone, however always takes it that one step too far.

So, you have drinking, fighting, religion and everything's gone green. We could do with a donkey really but all I have is this horse. A Eurovision song entry from Father Ted and Dougal. (In reality it's by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy)

Happy Paddy's Day!!!

Let Peeping Tom Lie

2006-03-16T23:12:00.000Z

May 2006... a good month for Mike Patton fans.

Patton will be perfoming in Modena Italy on the 8th of May this year. The program for the Concert (Italian web-page, but I don't foresee that as being a problem) is available here.

Lucky Italians...

Then, this just in from Ipecac Recordings: (I say just, I mean just Tuesday...)

First up, Firecracker, Mike Patton's acting debut, is to be released on DVD on May 23, 2006.

Make of it what you will... I've been following this one for a considerable amount of time and personally I can't wait. Catch the trailer here.

Or the typically sketchy youtube vid here:

Then one week later, on May 30, 2006, Ipecac Recordings will release the highly anticipated (and long overdue, IMO, having notoriously taken the man over 6 years to complete) debut album from Peeping Tom. Patton's pop masterpiece is finally almost upon us.

Joined by an impressive lineup of guests, here is what you get for your hard earned moolah (Or NOT, as the case is most likely to be) ;)

1) Five Seconds (featuring Odd Nosdam)
2) Mojo (featuring Rahzel and Dan the Automator)
3) Don't Even Trip (featuring Amon Tobin)
4) Getaway (featuring Kool Keith)
5) Your Neighborhood Spaceman (featuring Jel and Odd Nosdam)
6) Kill The DJ (featuring Massive Attack)
7) Caipirinha (featuring Bebel Gilberto)
8) Celebrity Death Match (featuring Kid Koala)
9) How U Feelin? (featuring Doseone)
10) Sucker (featuring Norah Jones)
11) We're Not Alone (featuring Dub Trio)

So, some recently regular collaborators there then... but wait... Norah Jones? WTF?

Patton in her defence is quoted as saying:

"One of the album’s highlights, is 'Sucker'. It’s a pretty vulgar song,” he said, laughing.
“You don’t recruit someone like that unless you … I mean, I had something real specific in mind for her, and I wanted to take her out of her element and put her in a new environment and make it exciting, and she loved it. She did great. But yeah, you won’t recognize Norah. She’s cussing her ass off. It’s insane. She’s like a cruel vamp, and it’s super sexy, hot and, yeah, cruel.”

The man certainly keeps himself busy. More to follow on his various other side projects.

Not The Simpsons

2006-03-16T15:52:00.000Z

A truly bizarre little cartoon from 1974 featuring Black Sabbath. Concrete evidence if it was ever needed that Ozzy has always been off his trolley. The band go on holiday to Hawaii and high jinks ensue.

View The Pedestal Craters in Utopia

2006-03-13T18:11:00.000Z

Why?

Because you can.

Googlemaps for Mars (yes, the planet).

Like a Whale Needs a Hole In Its Head

2006-03-10T21:31:00.000Z

This is a beautiful piece of kit, revealed yesterday at the CeBIT technology fair. The future may not be exactly like this but you won't hear me complaining if it is.

More information available here and here.

"Going Down Y'all, Like The Wall of Berlin"

2006-03-07T23:00:00.000Z

It's a truly truly awful line but it's thankfully lost in the rest of the rather great new Prince album, 3121.

I was singing along with the opening title tune by the end of the first listen and although track 3, Te Amo Corazen is a slightly dreary ballad and easily the weaktest track on the album, it picks up again quite nicely with the value Prince's "candle" being discussed in what will probably be a single release "Incense and Candle".

In fabulous falsetto fashion Prince goes all retro with one of his classic fuck me songs on "Satisfied" and is brilliant from then to the end. This is isn't intended as an album review so I won't go to the extent of detailing every track but from here on in it's a pretty flawless Prince performance.

Now available.

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life

2006-03-06T23:55:00.000Z

Maybe it's because it sounds like such a bad idea, but why it has never been done before is beyond me.
Or not really, because after all, it is a bad idea.

Unless you execute it this well.

The Simpsons by actors that have to be paid.

Our resident Simpsons expert (The Curly One) has noticed a few anomalies in the production. But then she is quite anal.
When it comes to The Simpsons I mean....

For example, young Maggie is sat on the viewers right in the car scene with Marge. When you understand however that this is an English production, the reason for this becomes clear.

For the same reason, Chief Wiggams' counterpart is in the uniform of the English Constabulary. Quite rightly wearing the flat cap of the Chief Superintendent Inspector.

And there's no letter box on the front lawn as there is in the (un)real version.

God forbid.

Chip Off the Old Block

2006-03-01T18:36:00.000Z

We should like this.

From James Murphys label and the support act for LCD Soundsystems tour of last year, this is Hot Chip.

I haven't actually got my hands on any of their releases yet so keep your eyes peeled for us all on this one. You will however find a selection of clips, videos and other media at their online home or on their myspace page. "Over and over" could actually be an LCD tune in my mind and is due as a single release next week.

Other curiousities...

James Murphys production team DFA (also the label) remixed Bellhead by Liquid Liquid who were featured here a little while ago. AND a remix of a Tiga tune (who I think Luke had mentioned). Not only that but apparently he's been known to spin a few Junior Senior tunes when DJing...

There's a new LCD album called Introns due in Mid-March. Essentially an album of remixes, the track details and little conversation with Mr Murphy is usually available on his forum. Will include the Tiga remix of Tribulations.

Diamond Geezer

2006-02-28T01:37:00.000Z

It'll be difficult to ignore this so we won't.

For no other reason than it is quite great, the new Neil Diamond album is quite great.

The thing is that nothing has really changed; these songs sound like he's supposed to, this is Neil Diamond exactly like you'd want him to be. Passionate and articulate. Reassuring; but broken. And all of a sudden, reborn!

There's a coincidence here maybe. Lord Johnny of Cash passed away quite recently after finishing an album also produced by Rick Rubin. The theme in both productions has been the unproduction of both artists and a resortion to the bare bones of the singer/songwriter therein.

Is Neil about to pop-off and this is his way of telling us? Probably not. But decide yourselves from the usual source.

"I'm On To You" is just wonderful - listen to this one again and again.

"Tell me now how I was wrong and I'll tell you how right you are........"

- the best line ever??

p.s.

when i was 7, i thought he was singing "vicar in blue jeans" ......

Boys Zone

2006-02-27T15:32:00.000Z

I want to be this cool when I grow up. The Beastie Boys live.

Not bad for a bunch of 40 year olds.

Back when they were 20 year olds they were actually a punk band. But not a very good one.

And finally, this, which is just very very good. Mixmaster Mike at his very best.

There's a long boring introduction I didn't get round to editing........

the berzerker

2006-02-20T23:35:00.000Z

http://www.theberzerker.com/Videos.htm try ONE of this videos ..this is original for me..i love this kind of GABBER/METAL.. :)

Now See Him Dance

2006-02-20T22:19:00.000Z

I was unhappy that the only video I have of the Lumpy One did not feature more of his talents... So here I can present his dancing skills.

Techno, Techno, Techno Party!!

Making Italy Proud

Willy Wonka Wannabe

2006-02-18T21:12:00.000Z

You may have heard that the 3121 album is due for a March release; assuming nothing's brought forward (as tends to be the fashion these days).

This is the cover, allegedly.

The news along with this is the rumour of the "Purple Ticket". It appears that limited cd's will include an invitation to a private concert dans la chez Nelson.

Who knows how true this is? Pre-order your cd now and buy the hype.....

More Manuvas from Rodney Smith

2006-02-17T20:16:00.000Z

Arguably the finest British Rapper, it turns out that Roots Manuva over-did it when recording for last years Awfully Deep. Rodney ended up recording nearly 30 tunes but had no intention of releasing a double cd. Instead we get Awfully Deep Part II, the aptly titled Alternately Deep and it's very good.

This isn't a compilation of sub standard tracks dismissed for the last album, or at least it doesn't sound that way. Maybe it's just that it's good to hear from him again so very soon.

It's available. Go listen and be suitably impressed.

No Apologies

2006-02-16T21:43:00.000Z

I know we've had the wee weird one once (say that 3 times quickly) already this week, but if I had known this was available back then, this would have been posted already.

I'm sure you'll agree that, on this form (and with a new album due soon called 3121), it's impossible to have too much - this is serious.

It's Kiss and it's Gett Off, it's everything from Dirty Mind but it's got the dirty groove of The Black Album.

There is seriously no other soul on this planet as talented as this man.

(ok - I'm getting carried away and this can be debated obviously; I apologise for coming over all Stalinesque there.....)

Sly and the Extended Family Stone

2006-02-16T19:30:00.000Z

A new album of Sly and the Family Stone covers has been released recently and there's an interesting Podcast available here. There are two separate podcasts here so make sure you get to hear both.

Artists such as Chuck D, The Roots, Big Boi and Isacc Hayes contributed to the project and some of them talk here about how the Stone sound influenced their work and well as giving samples of the album. I wouldn't normally be interested in a covers album in fairness but there's lots of respected artists in here so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this one.

Psycho Killer vs. Steel Butterfly

2006-02-16T18:58:00.000Z

David Byrne and Norman Cook have joined rather curious forces for an even more curious project about Imelda Marcos.

"Told from the point of view of the players in this remarkable story, Here Lies Love will trace the rise and eventual fall of this astounding political figure using music, staging, and multimedia backup."

Here Lies Love

Apparently Byrne has been in England recently, in Brighton to see Mr Slim and then in London for other random wanderings - check his online journal if you're remotely interested.

Of far more interest is his sound & video page

Rawk & Roll

2006-02-13T00:33:00.000Z

Well as you should all know, one of our members is in a rock and roll combo, playing the sort of the stuff that the kids seem to like these days. Unfortunately I've been unable to post any videos by the group because, well, you'll have to ask Leo.....

Instead, with not much else to offer you, there is this; a live recording I filmed on location in Italy.

Leo The Lump - solo

Purple Slut

2006-02-12T13:30:00.000Z

On the 2nd of February 2006 Prince appeared on the Saturday Night Live show on American TV.

But that's not what this is.

25 years ago Prince appeared on the same show and performed 'Party Up' from one of his finest albums, 'Dirty Mind'. It's not a surprise really that he didn't perform 'Head' or 'Sister' from the same album....

At the end of the tune, Prince demonstrates the acting skills he would later assault us with in his movies.

If you want to see the two tunes he performed more recently then go here. And if you like Dave Chapelle or just a laugh, you can see him play basketball with Prince here.

Medical Mayhem

2006-02-11T16:50:00.000Z

A comedy that the small islanders amongst must make the effort to see. The 2nd series is due at the start of March.

The funniest thing since 'Spaced' and also featuring Mark Heap who played Brian in that little gem.

The DVD of the first series is also due out in March if you didn't catch it first time around. But if you're a uknova user you'll find it there.

Recycle: (no, not a plug for Propellerheads' software)

2006-02-10T23:43:00.000Z

Disclaimer: This post is NOT about music.

Ok, now Joe, Jay and any other musos have left in disgust, I'll continue. I love the internet. It's a wonderful medium for disseminating useless information, bickering with Yanks and finding.... FREE STUFF!

www.freecycle.org is a global project to try to reduce landfill. Like-minded and good-hearted souls can freely advertise things that they no longer need in the hope that someone else can use them. And honestly, it's amazing what people give away: old laptops, sofas, beds, dishwashers, books... and all you have to do is pick 'em up. You can even advertise for things you need (although the other day someone was asking for a flatscreen tv, which I think is pushing it frankly.) Go now, and sign up.

Woo :)

PS - if any of the aforementioned 'musos' are still reading, you might even get some free erm... musical stuff. Not just cds. Stuff with wires. Or something.

God Hates a Coward

2006-02-10T14:28:00.000Z

What follows is posted with the intent to share a work of sheer genius...

For some of you, members of the TMIBTIS Mike Patton "Mutual Appreciation Society" this should be a welcome reminder...

Others should consider this an introduction to a little of the man's work.

I say a little... I mean an iota.

If you want the file, it's here:

God Hates a Coward by Tomahawk performed Live at Sydney, Aus in 2002.

Go on... check it out... don't be scared... God Hates a Coward.

Fact is, everyone I have shown this vid to has been blown away and with good reason; it's a fantastic, catchy tune with a simple, effective bassline (personally, I believe it also has a lot to do with the "surprise element" when you first open the clip).

Not that there's anything wrong with the original Album version, but I like this version so much I even ripped it to .mp3.

Very cool website...

2006-02-09T23:01:00.000Z

http://www.last.fm

It's free to sign up and there are plug-ins for many MP3 players including:

iTunes
Winamp
iPod
Slim Sever (for those really cool people - see http://www.slimdevices.com/)
Media Player
and more...

If you do sign up, add me as a friend

http://www.last.fm/user/m3nac3edwards

The Sooth(Sayer)

2006-02-08T14:54:00.000Z

sooth·say·er (n.)

One who claims to be able to foretell events or predict the future; a seer.

As quoted from the sidebar on this page:

"Whether it's brand new, sadly overlooked or if you've rediscovered Leo Sayer and think we should all give him another try, please share it with us all. "

Me thinks Mr. Shinners may have his ear a little closer to the ground than we all realise.

And yes... I did opt for the stoopidest pic I could find of the chap...

Just Close My Eyes indeed.

Nice Nice Nice

2006-02-08T11:21:00.000Z

Dedicated to Berlusconi

The Butthole Surfers - The Annoying Song

Trentemoller

2006-02-07T23:38:00.000Z

A few posts back I mentioned a duo called Digitalism. I heard them at a record release party in Berlin. (http://www.myspace.com/digitalism). They've done a remix of Daft Punk's Technologic which you can listen to on myspace. I've managed to track down the Cut Copy and Tom Vek remixes. One of their best tracks (original) is called Zdarlight.

Trentemoller from Denmark is also a big favorite of mine at the moment. Check him out...

Table Manners

2006-02-07T02:15:00.000Z

This is the first Beck offering but will not, I guarantee you, be the last. Hopefully you'll be aware of the album version of this track. If not you should check it out.

Sufficiently proving that instruments are not prerequisite to making music you'll either feel inspired by the resourcefulness or depressed that you can't do this, even with Rebirth....

Clap Hands - with a guitar and some crockery.

Another video from the same album: Black Tambourine
is linked for your appreciation and awe.

Liquid Refreshment

2006-02-06T17:34:00.000Z

I'm sure the fans of Mike Patton and Primus will like this one. It's actually quite old stuff from before the majority of us had progressed to wearing long trousers but a it's fabulous jazz inflected bass guitar romp.

Liquid Liquid were only around for a few years (81-83) and their album "Successive Reflexes" is a compilation of their E.P. releases and a few live tracks.

If, however a recommendation from me is insufficient for you, you should be aware of the pedigree. The bassline you hear on 'White Lines' (and the lyric 'something of a phenomenon')by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five is lifted from their tune 'Cavern'.

Credibility indeed.

Sounds from the italian niches Vol1 (PD)

2006-02-05T21:51:00.000Z

Italian music is known at the world for singers like Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini and other shit..the musicians who truly are worthy, remain unknown to the rest of the world, for guilt of the ignorance of people. Now, I want to introduce you to some groups that truly are worth listening to. Every time I hear an italian group that it is worth it, I put a post and some songs for you all,hoping they are of your tastes.

The first 4 groups are: "NEO" -" SBRòN_ZORATTO" - "MARY GO ROUND" - "MIRANDA"

1° mary go 'round : [my band :)] - - explosive rock'n'roll !!! check out the web site marygoround.net/ or myspace.com/marygoround all about the band, the new videos and stuff..

2° NEO : well...people.... this is really cool JAZZ_CORE!!! great great band.. check out the web site for all the information http://www.neoneo.it/

3° Sbròn Zoratto : you know Primus..well these are Italian Most Violent Primus..jesuschrist..people... believe it..this is the first cases of Italian ignorance.. they do not find nobody that it produces them. Why? because they do not sing the love for one woman. They are happy. Perhaps too much for the Italian tastes. They do not have a web site but I leave the mail. talkin about me(LEO) sbron-zoratto@libero.it

4°MIRANDA : Simply Post rock from Firenze.. Info at http://www.fromscratch.it/ . In this site you can find more and more bands

Bye F(r)IENDS!!! Sounds from italian niches Vol1° is in the usual place.

White Stripes sing Dolly Parton classic

2006-02-05T12:50:00.000Z

Anyone for some rock? Country maybe?

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene...

Recorded live at their show at the Empress Ballroom, Blackpool.

Jack White makes absolute mincemeat of this tune, in the most positive sense of course...

Watch the clip here

The full show is also available as a .torrent here

Rebirth (RB-338) of Slick

2006-02-05T09:59:00.000Z

This should be of some interest to most of you, or is that much interest to some of you?

People are gonna start thinking me a right disco-biscuit if I continue to post electronica-themed articles...

Propellerheads Software, the folk who brought us Reason amongst others have recently pulled/discontinued their Rebirth app (the legendary Roland synth device simulator)

Okay I'm gonna lift straight off the website here as I'm too lazy to make the words up myself (also there's the imminent arrival of the wife who will certainly have something to say about me being "at the computer again").

"The spirit of sharing was a vital part of the ReBirth Community. People who shared ideas, who offered their expertise, and who contributed music, inspired others to do the same in an ongoing cycle of creativity. In this tradition, Propellerhead Software offers the full version of ReBirth 2.0.1, and visitors can personally experience the phenomena of ReBirth and the legendary Roland Devices.
The ReBirth Museum download archive includes the RB-338 CD-Rom files, as well as the collected works of user created ReBirth Mods, Songs, and Extras. Visitors are welcome to download these items and experience first-hand the excitement and history of the 338.
ReBirth is a discontinued product, and Propellerhead Software does not provide technical support for the application, mods, or extras."

So I've gone and done the grunt work for any of those interested (and I personally think this is a kick-ass app for anyone to have, and it's free, so... if not, why not?).

Check out the usual resource and grab the rebirth installation torrent.

Once you have it down and installed, you may want to visit the Rebirth Museum, register, and then you'll have access to search and download 100's nay 1000's of songs, mods and extras to your heart's content.

And then, of course, there's the added incentive of having the synth, sequencing and drum machine to create your own stuff... If you so choose...

Filling up a hard-drive near you...

Ice Ice Baby

2006-02-04T01:37:00.000Z

Ignore this if you possibly can. Not only is this one of the oddest videos ever but the mix manages to make something from Medúlla even stranger (and more interesting in fairness).

Björk - Triumph Of A Heart.

Blowverbodsbord

2006-02-02T11:22:00.000Z

I quickly want to share this one with you. After all, "It's about the music. And stuff."
Behold Dutch legislative ignorance. An Amsterdam sub-council decided pot-smoking youngsters are a pain in the ass in a certain city area, and placed this sign. The text underneath it reads:

blowing prohibited
due to troubles in the area
50 euro fine, art 2.8 sub 2 blah

(My "civil servant English" is really shit, but above attempt should draw you the picture.) Of course, there's a whole story behind it. But the ignorant part is where the sign, within 24 hours of it being put up, got nicked.

Gimme a D,
gimme a U,
gimme an H.

Name one smoker you know who wouldn't want a trophy like this on his or her wall...

By the way: tourists coming to A'dam for reasons of mind expansion shouldn't worry. Coffeeshops are still open, and for now a prohibition like this only goes for a very small part of the city, far away from the centre.

More like Copy & Paste....

2006-02-01T23:22:00.000Z

This all going too smoothly. Too many people agreeing if you ask me....

So; Cut Copy. I like them, but then I would because I like New Order. And Joy Division. And Electronic. The production has chucked in a funky feel in places but I can't help hearing someone else's music everytime. There's an Ian Curtis (admittedly with less angst) sound-a-like on vocals - if you listen to Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division and Future by Cut Copy you'll hear what I mean - and they've also been very obviously influenced by Bernard Sumner and his music and songs. Don't get me wrong, It's chunkier in places for a dirtier dance feeling and I do like it so I guess it's not a bad thing that they've been influenced by these great bands; maybe they were poor and only had 3 albums in the house when they were growing up....

Check out Twisted Tenderness by Electronic from 1999 just because it's a good album.

Which is enough of an excuse to direct you to the classic Blue Monday by New Order.

In recommending José González (good call) Bas inadvertantly also pointed us in the direction of The Knife and having had a listen I can suggest that they're worth wasting some time on; they've an unusual female vocal (a bizarre Cyndi Lauper/Siousixe Sioux/Cerys Matthews/Miss Kittin/Björk mix - seriously.... all the freaky chicks!) and some great tunes. "You Make Me Like Charity" off the Album Deep Cuts is freakin' funckin' fabulous & followed by the gorgeous "Got 2 Let U".
Take the time to listen to it all, once more, again, after the first time (!). It's a fun and satisfying listen - like hearing Moloko for the first time. (But what a shame it is that their latest album is weak).

Yup, by suggesting an non-electronic direction Bas has managed to find us more music of the electro genre. Yippee!

P.S. - Waiting for feedback on Junior Senior; anybody getting it?

RSS Feed

2006-02-01T20:48:00.000Z

Now available! Perma-link in side bar.

Johnny being Johnny

2006-01-31T04:13:00.000Z

Going all retro again, this is rather amusing; P.I.L. on the Dick Clarke show in 1980 (retro also meaning "dodgy video quality" in this case).

Johnny was unhappy that they were required to lip-sync, so he didn't. Instead, the Rotten one amuses himself with the studio audience. We'll all be old when he is.

"I have no time for lies or fantasy, and neither should you.
Enjoy or die.".

Two of my favourite Public Image Ltd. tunes are also online here;

This is not a love song. (A Desert Island disc.)
Rise

Random shit

Johnny's Irish. God save the Queen.

Antony & José

2006-01-30T19:56:00.000Z

Right, in response to all electronics that are being pushed here, I’d like to point out two bands that recently caught my attention without using any synthesizer or drum computer at all. (At least not as far as this casual listener can hear!)

First of all, the very laid-back, chilled-out and actually ‘simple’ José González. As you would have guessed already, José comes from Sweden. A beautiful song of his, Heartbeats, was used last year in a commercial for the new Sony Bravia. (Apparently and to my surprise, not one ball was computer generated!)

By the way: Heartbeats is a cover from a Scandinavian electronic duo called The Knife... Allmusic.com has a preview of the original. I hope this links works. If not, I'm sure you'll know your way around Allmusic to get a little taste.)

Get a sampling of his easylistening Latin (Easy Latin or Latin Listening?), created with nothing more than a voice and acoustic guitar, on MySpace, or read more about him on his website. A little warning though: don’t listen to his debut album, Veneer, too often. Although his style and songs are very accessible, Veneer tends to bore when listened to too often.

Another artist that got me interested last year is Antony and the Johsons. A little excerpt from Allmusic:

"Growing up in California, Antony felt himself to be the consummate outsider until he came face to face with the image of Boy George on the cover of the Culture Club's 1982 debut album, Kissing to Be Clever. He relocated to New York City in 1990, where he found a world more accepting of his avant-garde sensibilities and sexually ambiguous nature."

Amazingly enough, he now made a song with Boy George. One in which Mr(s) George sings exceptionally beautiful and even 'adult' as well.

Antony self has a unique voice that's heartwarmingly touching and outright kitsch at the same time. You either love it or loathe it - I don't think there’s anything in between. Try and listen three times to the duet with Boy George, You Are My Sister from his (her?) latest album I Am A Bird Now. If you don't like it after those three times: forget it. If you do like it, you now know what I mean.

Finally, since I know at least some of you are frequent users of allmusic.com, here are a couple of nice little plug-in search-engines to be used in Firefox.

Next time, I might share the wonderful world of my favourite cover artist Richard Chees [sic] with you. For now, I hope you'll enjoy Antony & José!

P.S. I heard Tom Vek, and me likey and will likey more! And as Joseph mentioned before: if you like Tom Vek, there's a reasonable chance you'll enjoy !!! as well. Also, I just finished listening to Junior Senior's 2005 album, and... well... I can't tell you yet what I think!

Everything you like now, I liked last year....

2006-01-30T02:45:00.000Z

LCD are sooooooooo last year........ (what with it only being January).

Our fiendish friend from fascistland pointed us in the direction of these guys when we all met up for Queens Day last year, so I'll have to suggest that perhaps the copious amounts of imbibements erased your memory Lukey Baby. Leo the Lumpy One had grabbed 7 or 8 of their tunes and I found the double album shortly afterwards via the usual sources. The singer and general "Da Man" is James Murphy who was also in Speedking (their material is in very short supply and I've only found 2 tunes from their only album "The Fist And The Laurels").

Knowing now as I do that you like Tom Vek, you're going to love this. It's their first and only album and it's where you'll find Tribulations in it's original form (you may even remember hearing much of the rest of it thru a druggenken haze).

And then there's this. When I was in Am'dam for New Years we caught "!!!" on MTV. Bas tells me that the tune we saw was quite big on Dutch radio a year ago or so and it digged me enough to track them down. The album "Louden Up Now" is the exactly what you have to hear if you've been liking LCD and Vek. (If anyone has their eponomously titled first album then I'd love to hear it - I can't find it anywhere).

All of this talk only strengthens my desire to set up an ftp resource so we can appreciate what everyone else is banging on about before we go out and spend our hard earned cash on buying cds........

It was so hard to keep a straight face whilst writing that. I nearly wet myself. Seriously.

LCD Soundsystem

2006-01-29T23:50:00.000Z

Do any of you peeps have the latest LCD Soundsystem album? I can't find it anywhere online. I've got a Tiga remix of a track called Tribulations which rocks. Help!

ps If you like Apple Macs and you're interested in the new Intel laptops (£1500) check out Steve Jobs' keynote speech from Jan2006. Pretty impressive software suite too called iLife. Apple's also just released a new pro photo package called Apature. Its all in the keynote. Here's the link... http://macworld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/mw/index.html

Junior Senior - Damn that pop music!

2006-01-29T03:24:00.000Z

Wonderfully camp and cheerful, you'll recall their tune 'Move your Feet' from 2003 which is in equal parts annoying & brilliant - feeling after just the first listen that you've already heard it too much (evidenced by it rattling around in your head for days).

I had never considered they could be worthy of a second listen until I stumbled over their last release (now 2005), 'Hey Hey My My Yo Yo'.
This is achingly good unashamed pop music, and I mean POP, so don't go expecting anymore than that from these guys. If you can imagine Bananarama were gang-banged by The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5 and Donny Osmond, then the bastard offspring might sound like this.... it's that good. Brace yourself for the god-awful rapping by Danish white boys on the opening track (without disallowing yourself an appreciation of its kitschness next time round).

It's actually so good, I'm boldly suggesting that this should be the happy album of the summer; if you don't get it straight away, please dig it out again when the sun is shining. It's guaranteed to do something to you. Fuck your musical sensibilities.

Some further digging reveals that they were quite active in 2003 gigging and festival-going; playing Glastonbury, Leeds/Reading and Am'dam (not sure where!?) - so I was wondering if anyone has seen them live? I can imagine they're a fun set.

Their website (with built-in disappointing audio & broken video links) is here Junior-Senior

Cut Copy & Digitalism

2006-01-27T16:26:00.000Z

Christ, we really are all on the same page! Digitalism has also done a remix of Cut Copy's Going Nowhere.

Looking forward to our Saturday drinking and agreeing with each other session!

Cut Copy / Crazy P et al

2006-01-25T17:30:00.000Z

Right lads (possibly ladettes too, don't want to exclude anyone)

Good thinking Joseph, considering we barely use Messenger anymore.

Right can't stay long, in the middle of Den Dolder in the Netherlands on a very unstable wi-fi link, so I'll cut to the chase...
Check these out on www.allmusic.com (unfortunately not a hell of a lot of info but you can listen to samples if you must)

Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love:

Aussie band, Electronic Rock/Pop... Download a copy of this if you can, start with Track 5 - Going Nowhere (catchy, very catchy), then listen to the rest.

Crazy P - A Night on Earth:

Previously or otherwise known as Crazy Penis. Again, Electronica, but this one reminds me somewhat of Les Nubians sans the French bit.

Jamie Lidell - Multiply:

Good bit of Funk/Electronic, the title track is very catchy (if not repetitive, but effectively so). The rest is a bit of a grower, still getting into it.

Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

Just check it out, bunch o' lads from Newc'astle

That's all for now, more to follow