gonna pull theses gems from my vault its Boom Bip and Doseone on a John Peel session and then followed by cLOUDDEAD on a John Peel session. Bryan Hollon, aka Boom Bip, is a producer and musician who experiments with many different genres and has developed a sound of his own. His music is mostly instrumental, but over the course of his career he has collaborated with several vocalists. Boom Bip And Doseone have one album together Circle.John Peel heralding Boom Bip as a "modern day Captain Beefheart".
cLOUDDEAD is a musical group consisting of the hip-hop musicians Doseone (Adam Drucker), Why? (Yoni Wolf), and Odd Nosdam (David Madson). Generally Drucker and Wolf provide the group's vocals while Madson produces the music. Occasionally Madson's vocals can be heard, while Drucker and Wolf provide music, especially for the group's second album.
cLOUDDEAD's sound is notoriously hard to define, and although it is undoubtedly grounded in 'traditional' hip-hop, influences as varied as electronica, psychedelic music and indie rock can be heard.
The group's name comes from a nonsensical knock-knock joke Drucker's sister told him when she was 6 years old. The joke runs like this:
"Knock-knock" "Who's there?" "Cloud" "Cloud who?" "Cloud-dead"
Boom Bip and Doseone
cLOUDDEAD
cLOUDDEAD
peel session
Happy New Year!
I hope much fun is had by all.
I shall be in Whelans, enjoying Jape- a feat that you can achieve right now by watching this video:
Worst Movies Of 2007
For some time I pondered over the notion of posting a top ten movies of 2007, but depressingly it was the barrage of shite that stood out in my eyes. So here's the shitlist, 2007's five worst flicks in my opinion:
5. Die Hard 4.0 
Obnoxious from the get-go, at least the movie's producers had the good sense to save our stomaches from turning at it's American title: 'Live Free Or Die Hard'. The flick proceeded to piss all over one of the action genre's greatest franchises with a plot lifted from a magazine article about computers that really had nothing remotely John McClane-y about it.
On several occasions throughout this farce the script writers embarrassed themselves by showing their ignorance of the technologies the plot revolved around; the most irritating of which was the assumption that whatever happened, some 'geek' could always 'hack' their way out of it. Fine, there were some ok setpieces, but they got more & more ridiculous as the movie went on. When McClane went head to head with a fighter jet, I'd had enough.
Tragic.
4. Smokin Aces
This movie promised to be so good- the trailers were excellent, promising mind-blowing, non-stop action. They lied. The stupid cardboard cut-out characters spent so much time loading guns and walking around in bloody slo-mo, that they never actually got to do anything. Whomever concocted this turd was clearly of the school of thought that style is everything. Or at least thought as much until (literally) the last scene of the movie, during which they embarrassingly try to fit in some twists to a plot that was never there.
Sigh.
3. The Number 23
Joel Schumacher has always been a shining beacon of crap for cinema. After some early slip ups with good movies such as 'The Lost Boys', he quickly learned the tricks of his trade and started spawning such abominations as 'Batman & Robin'. 'The Number 23' was one of those flicks that had a pretty decent looking trailer, until you saw Schumacher's name attached at the end. Sure enough, Joel came through, and delivered a laugh fest of moronity. There's something particularly awkward about watching actors prance about trying to take themselves so seriously, yet spouting the kind of crap that five year olds would be too embarrassed to say.
All this, and then after grinding your teeth to get the end of the movie, what are we rewarded with? The lame old 'It was me all along??' split personality drivel. Does Hollywood only have two or three twists? Because if the persist in recycling them year-in, year-out, they cease to be twists and become conventions. Which are not nearly as surprising, but at least maybe then we can avoid the ever tedious ten minutes or so of crappy explanation.
2. The Golden Compass
I really, really hope this useless wretch of a movie has put a humanely early bullet in this franchise. Granted, the first book was always going to be the weakest film offering, The Subtle Knife being a far better read; and The Amber Spyglass being so epic it would be difficult to mess up. And yet, this adaptation was so fantastically mishandled it's clear that the world of cinema is not yet ready bring these books to life. From the moment New Line hired Chris 'American Pie' Weitz, we knew this would be a longshot, and true to form, he delivered a horrible, soulless product that reeks of painting by numbers and 'just getting it done' to please the boss.
There is no plot, Weitz as a writer assuming that everyone will have read the book. The audience is treated to a set of decent actors lashing through a pared down script as fast as they possibly can. The scenery is grotesque, only bothering on very rare occasion to use the locations and concepts to their full extent. The CGI is a complete joke, so painfully bad that it would be completely pointless for me to break it down into particular examples.
To add to its list of crimes, just when the movie was approaching the climax of the novel, it ended abruptly, without reason or logical conclusion. It was as if the makers realised they were just taking the piss, and threw in the towel. Well, thank jeebus for that. I only hope that the high box office receipts the movie no doubt got from pulling in fans of the books like myself, will not justify the making of a further two movies. They would have to go a long, long way to claw back some respect after this pile of crap.
1. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At Worlds End
Of all the misled epics that have come in the wake of Peter Jackson's success with the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, none have been more epically shit than the third Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. The first in the series was a high point for Disney, being original, exciting & funny. The second wasn't quite original, or funny, but vaguely exciting, and at least had good CGI. This offering, however, proved just what level of mind-numbing crap studios were willing to knock out in order to capitalise on a trend and make a quick buck.
The story is mundane, unimaginative and basically a rehash of what we have already learned from 'Dead Man's Chest'. For a family adventure movie it is unforgivably boring, with long sections of humming & hawing punctuated only by brief action sequences that look like they've been shot by the 2nd Unit director in a couple of hours.
The 'humor' is reduced to catchphrases, the script forcing Johnny Depp grind a likable character into the dust until it's really quite tiresome. The special effects, while still excellent (notably Davy Jones' tentacles) offer nothing more than what we have already seen in the first two movies, and certainly nothing with even half the imagination of the original's moonlight skeletons. In a 3 hour 'event' movie it's shocking that not a single set-piece was in anyway noteworthy, from stunted opener to fizzling finale.
This poorly conceived 'trilogy' just proved that you cannot just make something epic, it really must deserve that mantle. Merely throwing in big, sweeping shots of ships arsing about while the music soars does not a good movie make. In fact it's just irritating, and should really incur some Python-esque shouts of 'get on with it!'.
Lets all just hope that next year the studios spend more than twenty minutes thinking about what shite they're going to offer us for our summer blockbuster. And lets also hope that some of the more reputable actors caught in all of these turds take a look at the script before they take a look at their pay packet (Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Chow-Yun Fat, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Christopher Lee, Jim Carrey, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck.. ok, that last one was a joke).
Think, people, think!
Things I didn't see but are probably also rather crap:
Norbit; Hostel II; Wild Hogs; Evan Almighty; I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry; Daddy Day Camp; License To Wed... the list goes on.
Big Record Companies Are Dicks (Obviously..)
Check out this story.
We all know that the music industry has a dislike for Pirates, Johnny Depp or otherwise, but according to the Washington Post, the big record companies reckon that if you buy a cd,and put it on your computer, then it's stealing. What the hell?!
And however much that annoys them, they reserve another level of ridiculocity for those who dare to share music with others online. The poor lady in this article got ordered by a federal court in the US to give these media giants the guts of 10 grand for each song she shared.
Are the big record companies clutching at straws? Can they see their own demise around the corner and feel the need to grap as much cash as they can before it hits?
Blathnaid's gonna be posting her thoughts on the matter here on egoeccentric very soon. Stay tuned!
In other, happier news for Pirates, Warners have agreed to finally stop putting copy protection software on their releases, which leaves Sony BMG the only major still holding on to the irritating piece of software.
Soon, Sony, soon..
Click for story.
On The Campaign Trail- The Irish Blog Awards: Nominations Begin
Nominations are now being accepted for the Irish Blog awards (hint, hint).
You can nominate blogs here.
As always, I will entertain propositions regarding bribery & other such backhanded carry-on.
(By the by, the amount of categories may look somewhat intimidating, but fear not- you can fill in as many or as few as you want).
'...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead' To Play Dublin
The band play 'The Academy' which you and I will know as Spirit of Abbey Street on the 15th of May. Tickets will set you back 23 euro and are on sale now.
Here's a fun video for 'The Rest Will Follow' which Universal Music has decreed is not to be embedded. Fine then.
Quantum Physics: Fascinating AND Hilarious
Tee hee, oh, the nerdiness.
For those not too familiar with quantum stuffs, check out this amazing series of short videos entitled 'Why Quantum Physics Is Cool' (and it is, you know):
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
(Try to ignore the dodgy rave background music)
Benazir Bhutto Assassinated
Crazy shit. Some people are truly fucking insane.
click
How Many Five Year Olds Could You Take In A Fight?
Click
I could take 9, apparently.
Happy Christmas!!!
God knows how often I'll be posting, it depends on how much food & booze is consumed, I guess. I'm sure regular programming will be resumed soon enough.
Have fun- warm, fuzzy, Jeebus-y fun.
Or just drunken, Billy Bob Thornton-y fun, whichever..
Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip Christmas Single
The radiohead-sampling track is available for free from their myspace now.
Here's the boys trying to impress the X-Factor judges with their many talents:
dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip X-Factor Audition feat Zane Lowe
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Merry Christmas
To get you all in that festive mood though i would post some Christmas tunes by songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens (talented bastard)
The Little Drummer Boy
Get Behind Me, Santa!
Jupiter Winter
Put The Lights On The Tree
Come On! Let's Boogey To The Elf Dance!
Right im off to put on my Christmas jumper and stuff myself with turkey and fall asleep in front of the Great escape
We Are Hot Press; We Are Scum
Obnoxious ad on Phantom this morning:
"Before she died this year, tragic model Katie French spoke exclusively to Hot Press about drugs, and the afterlife! Read about it in the Hot Press Yearbook- out now!"
Scum scum scum.
'My Name Is Bruce' Trailer
Bruce Campbell rocks. But does this movie look too post-modern for its own good? Maybe. Or maybe it just looks bad.
Tom Waits Makes Christmas Top 30
Close but no cigar, Tom Waits' 'Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis' did not make the Christmas No. 1 spot, finishing at a respectable 28th.
Oh well, I think its still a job well done (the British attempt to get Malcolm Middleton's 'We're all Going To Die' only made 31). Suggestions start here for next years push- my vote is for 'Christmas With The Devil' by Spinal Tap.
"There's a demon in my belly, a gremlin in my brain,
There's someone up the chimney, and Satan is his name."
Genius.
Songs from the Black Hole
Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo came out last week and i was able to get my grubby mits on a copy.What had my juices flowing was that some of the track on the cd where lost tracks from Songs from the Black Hole, Songs from the Black Hole is an unreleased, unfinished Weezer album. A space themed rock opera/musical, it was originally envisioned as the follow-up album to The Blue Album, but over the course of recording, the album's concept was discarded and the album was transformed into Pinkerton. Its story arc follows: a five-person (plus one mechanoid) crew of a spaceship on an important mission, our noble protagonist Jonas is given a meaty role while crewmates Wuan and Dondo are one-dimensional avatars for womanizing and partying.
Blast Off!
The leadoff track for Songs from the Black Hole is a dramatic rock song with a high-reaching melody and shifting dynamics. The lyrics are a conversation between the main character Jonas and his shipmates Wuan and Dondo. Jonas is excited yet reserved about the prospect of doing what he thinks is his dream job. Wuan and Dondo are much more upbeat about the experience. In the middle of the song M1 (the mechanoid) interjects via vocoder to remind them of the task at hand. In the last verse we find that a female character has entered the scene and that Jonas had a ‘relationship’ with her back at Star Corps Academy
Who You Callin’ Bitch?
Jonas and Maria continue the conversation started in Blast Off!
Superfriend
The song is a conversation between Jonas and (presumably) Laurel. In it, Jonas chides himself for giving into the seduction of Maria, even though he does not love her. Laurel urges Jonas to grow up and be better than that. Jonas finds himself smitten with Laurel, but she can see through his act and tells him to get real.
if all this is a bit weird remember these were written with the help of painkillers as Cuomo healed from leg surgery.
the album in general is good, has weak and strong moments, but the real thing for me was to be able to hear some tracks off Songs from the Black Hole. That said is also has Cuomo doing an Ice Cube cover (The Bomb), and most of the tracks were recored before 1996.
well, i leave you with the demo version of Buddy Holly off Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.
Buddy Holly
tonight!!!!!!! oh yeah
let the spirit of heft come over you in this heft filled season
4 euros- you'd be silly not to
and a kinda Christmas trailer to you know get you in the festive mood
Happy Friday
Here's an acoustic version of dEUS's 'Hotellounge'. It's pretty:
Click for mp3
Spice Girls Are Mean
From Popbitch:
continue reading>>
Last week we told you that excited Spice Girls
fans were told to meet at the Chablis Suite,
Novotel Hammersmith for a VIP event at a
secret location. Well, it turns out the secret
location was Heathrow and the event was to
welcome the girls back to the UK. The fans
were bussed to the airport, stood around
while the girls thanked Virgin Atlantic
etc, and then got taken back to London.
One family had cut shut a holiday in Spain so
their daughter could meet her idols. Bet they
were pleased they'd done that.
Motherfuckers.
Trailer Roundup
'Cloverfield' (Full):
You may have seen the teaser for this monster flick produced by JJ Abrams. It appears the entire thing is shot in that headache inducing hand held style. Looks good though.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army:
Thought the first one was a bit meh, but Guillermo Del Toro definitely has the ability to make a good movie, so you never know..
Juno:
Got alerted to this one by Unarocks. It looks great, and the talent involved suggests that it'll live up to its potential.
Walk Hard:
Looks a bit dodgy, but it's written buy Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad, Anchorman etc) so must be worth a shot.
Wall E:
Teaser for new Pixar movie. I love Pixar..
There Will Be Blood:
Looks like Paul Thomas Anderson might again be reaching the heights of Boogie Nights & Magnolia. And a score by Johnny Greenwood.. interesting.
Speed Racer:
Directed by The Wachowski Brothers (yes, the 'Matrix' guys). Hmmm.. looks... stupid.
Youth Without Youth:
New Francis Ford Coppolla flick. Looks interesting. So.. better than 'Jack', I assume.
Nickelodeon Sex-Ed Show?
The Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy fallout begins here: Kids TV network Nickelodeon are working on a show designed to teach sex-ed to kids.
Can't see that going down too well with parents etc.
Click
The Star Wars Holiday Special
dont say ive never do anything nice heres the full The Star Wars Holiday Special (2hrs)
click here
8-Bit Tie
I Want It I Want It I Want It
I always wanted to be a NES graphic... I'd go for red.
Click to buy
SugarLips Is Coming.. Again
Howdy all, so things are coming together nicely for the next Sugarlips show, which is (more than likely) gonna be held on the first weekend of February. Hopefully be that stage all our wallets will have healed enough to venture back into the word of partying.
So in order to raise the bar for ourselves, we're holding a table quiz in a couple of weeks to raise money (so we can buy more coke & hookers for backstage, obviously).
The quiz will be held in the Harbour Bar in Bray on Wednesday the 16th of January. Here's the fun part: we're not sure whether folk would prefer a Movie quiz, or a Music quiz, so we're gonna throw it out there and let you decide. Are we generous, or just lazy.. I don't quite know.
Soooooo.....
More details of quiz & gig to follow soon.
****UPDATE: Some people are saying both.. damn, shoulda put in a third option. If you reckon both, just leave a comment saying so, I shall tabulate the votes accordingly.
JK Rowling Book Sells For £1.95 Million
Got this one from Eoin's blog:
One of seven hand-made & hand-written versions of 'Tales Of Beedle The Bard', a book from the Harry Potter universe (as mentioned in 'Deathly Hallows') has fetched 1.95 million pounds at auction.
Bloody hell. That said, it's quite nice: Click here for pics. This seems like madness, but I must say I am quite vulnerable to the allure of cool books.
I've spent hundreds on old & signed editions, mostly of Vonnegut books (my signed 1st edition 'Breakfast Of Champions' being my pride & joy). So I guess if I had millions of pounds knocking about, I could see myself spending it on some sort of cool waste of money like this.
Maybe it'll be mass produced as next years must-have Christmas gift. I'll start saving now, in that case.
Neil Young Musical
This one's for the Beacon:
Apparently Neil Young's 'Greendale is to be performed as a full on musical. That could be cool. I was lucky enough to see Greendale performed in its entirety by Mr Young on his trip to Vicar St a couple of years back, and it was pant-crappingly good. The album has already been made into a movie, but this latest incarnation may just be the perfect fit for it.
So anyone who knows The Beacon can expect him calling you in the wee hours offering tickets to it's world premiere in Dallas next March. I'll go if you're buying, dude.
Click for story.
Pumpkins To Release Acoustic EP
Interesting, considering the 'heavier' direction of Zeitgeist. Available for digital download from January 2nd, apparently.
Click for story
Britney's Mum's Book On Parenting Shelved
Britney's Mom, Lynne Spears, has had her upcoming book on parenting shelved (excuse the pun) 'indefinitely' by it's publishers. The book 'Pop Culture Mom' was to be published on Mother's Day by Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson Inc, who have (understandably) been dragging their heels considering the state of her eldest daughter. Now the plug has effectively been pulled on its publication in light of the fact that Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynne (16) has become pregnant by her live-in lover. Moo ha ha.
Is there something wrong with me that I find this absolutely hilarious?
UPDATE: Apparently Jamie Lynne's boyfriend has 'done the honorable thing'... and dumped her. Oh, Hollywood.. Click.
weird video
Omodaka’s 21st-century disco version of Kokiriko Bushi — an ancient folk song that Gokayama (Toyama prefecture) villagers used to perform for the local Shinto deities — combines synthesized vocals with a Stevie Wonder-ish bassline and ’80s video game chiptune sounds, and the wonderfully quirky and surreal video (animated by Teppei Maki) features a fragile skeleton dancer that shares the floor with lots of disembodied hands and floating eyeball-headed ladies
99% IS SHIT by Mark James
to buy click here
oh and Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe Christmas special is on BBC four tonight at 10.35.Here last year Christmas special
part1 , part2, part3 part 4
R.I.P. Chirs Farley
Ten Years Ago Today Farley Died in Chicago at the age of 33.
Long live Tommy Boy
(stop sign by peat)
Busdriver, whose birth name is Regan Farquhar, is an underground MC hailing from Los Angeles. He is known for his rapid-fire, jazzy, free-association style of hip-hop. This is his new video for Casting Agents and Cowgirls off the album Roadkillovercoat
Song Of The Day
Finally got hold of the Faint's remix of 'Meet Your Master' from Nine Inch Nails' 'Year Zero Remixed', and, as expected, it's pretty damn good. Don't even pretend to be surprised, we all knew this was going to rock, what with The Faint being 'probably the best band on the planet' and all...
Enjoy:
Click me for mp3
Breeders For Vicar St
Kim Deal & Co have announced tour dates for next April, including a show in Vicar Street on April 7th. Tickets are on sale now at 28 euro a pop.
In case any of us need to be reminded, here's their greatest effort to date, the indie anthem 'Cannonball':
Beirut On Jools Holland
Thanks to Shane at 'The Torture Garden' for the heads up. As he rightly points out, this version is far better than the one on the album.
Albums Of The Year 2007 (Ste)
Wow this was much harder then I though it was going to be and i'm still not sure if i'm entirely happy about it. there was just so much good music in 2007
in no particular order what so ever at all (was hard enough getting the list down no way in hell am i going to number them)
Hella - There's No 666 In Outer Space
There's No 666 In Outer Space is the fourth full length album by Hella, It is the first Hella album to feature the new expanded five member line up, and is also the first to feature vocals on every track.A lot of people when this album came out where like: 'its not Hella'. Zach Hill's drumming remains a spastic frenzy. Spencer Seim's guitar still soars with high-speed precision weirdness. I was hooked from the first listen.
mp3
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
For an album constructed from so many constituent parts, Person Pitch is amazingly warm and inviting at times, wrapping around the ears, nestling the head, and squeezing like a nice familial bear hug after years of no contact.
mp3
Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm
Her debut record, In Advance of the Broken Arm, is culled from songs written by herself in her bedroom over a two-year period, with production and drum work by Hella's Zach Hill. oh yeah she can really play guitar (she shreds). She plays using the hammer-on technique, making it all kind of sound like Steve Vai soloing constantly over OOIOO tracks. This album combines utterly maddening complexity with candyfloss pop hooks. (oh and shes a fox too)
mp3
Other Men - Wake Up Swimming
"I'm a little girl when I'm around you /
I'm a screaming little bitch"
Rob Crow does it again (his 435th band i think). Heavy Vegetable are back under the Other Men moniker. Other Men have turned away from the fractured and discordant heaviness of Heavy Vegetable in favor of a decidedly more poppy and compact style.
Poppy it may be at times, but this album also rocks.
mp3
Battles - Mirrored
had to put it on the list (wanted to leave it off cuz everyone has heard it and knew it would be on Robs list but i just couldn't). i saw theses guys three times this year and every time was just as exciting as the last an amazing record that defies classification, an experimental tour de force.Since Rob already posted my fav song off mirrored heres a bonus track of the Japanese version of mirrored.
mp3
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
This album quietly creeps under your skin.great attention to detail is on show on this record. i have no idea what Spencer Krug is singing about but there is some very complex though processes going on.
mp3
Chrome Hoof - Pre-Emptive False Rapture
I only just recently got this album, and it jumped up and slapped me in the face and my jaw is still on the floor. its future code sounds will melt your face. my mission in 2008 is to see chrome hoof live.
mp3
Holy Fuck - LP
An exciting blend of aggressive rhythm and nuanced, skillfully manipulated noise.
mp3
Les Savy Fav - Lets Stay Friends
A more focused les savy fav , they have refined there music to a science.You can almost taste Tim Harrington's sweat as you listen to it.
mp3
Adebisi Shank - this is the ep of a band called Adebisi Shank
all the engery of there spazzout live performances is captured on the Ep, it pounds out of the stereo and puts images of flaying limbs in my head. much heft.
mp3
the ones i wanted to much to add but didnt have the space. all the releases on Armed Ambitions this year ( terrordactyl ,vimanas, Herv and bats), Thee More Shallows - Book Of Bad Breaks, Subtle -Yell&Ice , Old Time Relijun - Catharsis In Crisis, Of Montreal -Hissing Fauna, Odd Nosdam - Level Live Wires, Jesu - Conqueror , Jel - Greenball 3rd , Elliott Smith -New Moon , El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead , Crippled Black Phoenix -A Love Of Shared Disasters, Big Business - "Here Comes The Waterworks".
i could easly keep going but i have to stop and i'm sure i'm leaving something out i love but well, so is life. ....................liars -liars, dan deacon - rings of spiderman, and beastie boys the mix up see knew i would forget some
Albums Of The Year 2007 (Rob)
Ok, so after much humming and hawing I have decided upon my albums of the year. Feel free to comment/abuse:
10. Minus The Bear- Planet of Ice
There's something I really, really like about Minus The Bear. With 'Planet of Ice' the Washington math-rockers added a depth to their distinct sound that set it apart from their earlier offerings. The sound is impeccable, and the songs are as good as ever, taking the listener through an elaborate series of ups, downs and what-the-hells. The guys are great musicians, but also great songwriters, and that stands to them. I can't wait to see where their sound goes next.
Listen to 'Knights', 'When We Escape', or this one- 'Double Vision Quest':
Click me for mp3
9. Elliott Smith- New Moon
At the start of the year I certainly didn't think an Elliott Smith album would be featuring on this list, probably because Smith has been dead over four years. But in May, the 'Kill Rock Stars' record label released 'New Moon', a collection of songs written and recorded by Smith at the time of his pant-crappingly good eponymous album and it's follow up 'Either/ Or'. The guy must have been hard pushed for space on the earlier albums, because the material that is collected here is spectacular. Undoubtedly of the same calibre of the stuff that made it on to the original album, ad some of these tracks could even be considered as being among his best work. So far from being an item for completists, 'New Moon' turned out to be something we thought we had seen the last of- a genuine 'new' album from one of the greatest artists of our time.
Here's 'Looking Over My Shoulder':
Click me for mp3
8. Battles- Mirrored
This one wins the award for most original album of the year. As I'm sure anyone who has heard it will agree, this stuff is off the wall. 'Atlas' is blissfully demented, conjuring up images of tribal sacrifices while echoing 'The Wizard of Oz'. Strange. But brilliant. No one could ever accuse these guys of not trying hard enough, and on this (their debut) album it really pays off. I'll be interested in seeing where the future leads them.
Here's the hook-tacular 'Tonto', featuring 'The Best Change in a Song Ever' (TM):
Click me for mp3
7. Bright Eyes- Cassadaga
Conor Oberst set the bar fairly high for himself with 2005's simultaneously released 'I'm Wide Awake It's Morning' & 'Digital Ash In A Digital Urn', and it has to be said that he doesn't quite reach the same heights with this years 'Cassadaga'. The album has one or two definite slip-ups ('Soul Singer in a Session Band' is rambling in that most un-Oberst of fashions- he has nothing of interest to say) but nonetheless features several examples of the kind of material that makes Oberst one of the most exciting songwriters on the planet (in particular the lead single 'Four Winds', which makes poetry out of political commentary). All in all not Oberst's strongest effort, but we can rest assured he's far from finished.
Here's the excellent 'I Must Belong Somewhere':
Click me for mp3
& Click me for the pretty cool video
6. Les Savy Fav- Let's Stay Friends
This has proved a gateway for me to appreciating Les Savy Fav, whom I had never got around to listening to before the release of this album. And what an album- A mix of quirky indiepop, drawling rock, stadium power chords & barely contained aggression. It's a discovery that has seen me raid Ste's mp3 collection looking for more LSF and ensured that this album has barely left my stereo for quite some time. The only downside is that I missed their Dublin show. Damn.
Here's 'The Year Before The Year 2000':
Click me for mp3
5. Justice- Cross
Everyone else is saying it, but it's true so I guess I'll follow suit: Justice are the rightful heirs to Daft Punk's throne. And this album proves it. Delicious production & amazing beats layered on top of some funky samples that also happen to be catchy as hell. Well done, sirs, well done. If only they played this in every club...
Here's D.A.N.C.E.:
Click for mp3
4. Modest Mouse- We Were Dead Before 
The Ship Even Sank
In my opinion the strongest Modest Mouse offering to date. By far. And they're by no means a weak band (and I'm by no means an obsessive Johnny Marr fan). This record was perhaps best recognised for its stomping lead single 'Dashboard', which was duly impressive. But it was when I listened to 'The Parting of the Sensory' that I really started to appreciate 'We Were Dead...'. The song is insane, and definitely made me sit up and take notice. Also worth a mention is the bitchin 80's style backing vox on 'We've Got Everything'. Classic.
Here's 'The Parting of the Sensory':
Click for mp3
3. Feist- The Reminder
This record is a great example of the 'something for everyone' phenomenon- you'd be hard pushed to find someone who could turn up their nose at it. Mellow, at times funky, always good. Every once in a while the world needs an album like this- full of beauty & simplicity.
Here's 'My Moon & My Man':
Click for mp3
2. LCD Soundsystem- The Sound of Silver
Smart, dancy & all about the songs, James Murphy's second record as LCD Soundsystem pressed all the right buttons. Hit singles galore, and never losing momentum, 'Sound of Silver' dances wildly on the fine line joining the worlds of dance & rock. Its popularity has got to owe something to the fact that it pretty much soundtracked the summer, but it did so deservedly.
Lead single 'North American Scum' takes over where 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' left off, and 'All My Friends' is a "Baba O'Reilly' for this generation. But we all know them so well by now, instead I'll pay tribute to the album by giving you it's fantastic opener, 'Get Innocuous!!':
Click for mp3
1. Beirut- The Flying Club Cup
This one has to take it. The fact that I immediately fell in love with this album made me worry about its longevity, but I'm still playing it today as frequently as I was a couple of months ago when it came out (but now singing along more).
With Beirut, Zach Condon has taken a decent concept for a sound (one which flirted with success on the band's first album) added a load of inspiration from acts that have gone before and crafted a masterpiece of style and songwriting. The ebbs & flows of the orchestration are hugely endearing- each line carries a huge emotional weight, be it delivered through vocals, trumpet or violin.
I absolutely love this record, and the following song is already one of my all time favorites- 'Cherbourg'. Enjoy:
Click for mp3
Near Misses:
Rilo Kiley- Under The Blacklight (Pity about the live show..); Arcade Fire- Neon Bible (Very close call); Radiohead- In Rainbows; Holy Fuck- Holy Fuck LP; !!!- Myth Takes (So very good. 'Must Be The Moon'- single of the year?); Bloc Party- A Weekend In The City (best production of the year, easily); Patrick Wolf- The Magic Position (some amazing tracks, but far too much ego-driven filler for it to make the cut)...
Click for last year's top 10.
more make and do
print out,cut out and your very own Mario
click here for more
oh yeah music
chrome hoof
Generating a devoted cult following with their legendary live shows like a cornucopia of musical carnival freaks, bedecked in futuristic space-monk robes, generating euphoria, bewilderment and havoc with a ten foot tall chrome horned devil-ram dominating the dancefloor.
Filthy disco-doom-electro-screamo-acid-metal-vaudvile-funk never sounded so good.
