Who would have thunk it.
Go here to check it out.

egoeccentrics reaction to the news below







Okay, I admit, that was cheesy but I had to do it. It just looks so cool

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This might just have replaced The Dark Knight as Superhero movie (or any movie) that I most want to see this year. Kudos to Downey for not flushing his acting ability out of his body along with all the chemicals.

Kudos also for the rock soundtracke making me more wet.

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This weekend will be punctuated by Saturday night's blog awards in the Alexander Hotel, which should be fun. egoeccentric will be two-thirds represented at the event, with that percentage likely to get fuzzier as the night (and the Jack Daniels) goes on.

For those in need of partying, I suggest checking out our first Music To Get Messed Up To mix (click), and while you're downloading that why not listen to this- possibly the greatest achievement of the human race thusfar- Glass Danse by The Faint:




Click for mp3

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The Clockwork Noise track Saturated has been added to the playlist over on the newly launched Radio Popbitch.

You can become my best friend by requesting the song here.

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Most Serene Republic are coming to Whelans on the 28th of May. Which is a very good thing, as Most Serene Republic are AMAZING.

Having heard nothing of their material, I caught their Crawdaddy show about a year ago and was completely blown away. The performance was fantastic- a stage packed full of band members , each one giving the songs absolutely everything on an eclectic mix of instruments.

Their debut album, Underwater Cinematographer is well worth checking out; as, I'd imagine is their recently released sophomore effort, Population, which I'm off to buy now.

Here's the excellent 'Oh God':



Tickets for the Whelans show go on sale next Thursday.

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This is really oh-so boring.

Best Band: Arctic Monkeys
Best Live Band: Muse
Best Dressed: Noel Fielding


Didn't the NME give these same people the awards last year? Sigh.

Worst Album: Britney Spears

Pure bandwagon jumping! I'm willing to bet they didn't even listen to the album. Sure it's no masterpiece, but it's got some damn good pop tracks.

Hero of the Year: Pete Doherty

That's just great NME, nice message to send to your pubescent readership- heroism can be bought in alleyways from dodgy strangers with puke on their face.

More ridiculous are the awards attempts to be taken seriously, such as the appearance of various politicians in the Villain of the Year category. So we have George Bush & Gordon Brown going head to head with Johnny Borrell & Amy Winehouse (who were surely 'cool' last year- how fickle the world of fame...).

And why bother have 'Worst' awards? It seems a pointless, and unnecessarily bitchy thing to do on a night that's supposed to be a celebration. I'm sure when 'The Hoosiers' were announced as worst band, at least some of the revelers were sitting there feeling a bit awkward thinking: 'They're my mates'.

Fear not, Hoosiers, you're being rejected by an awards ceremony which has a category to determine which is best: Bebo, Myspace or Facebook. It may not be the end of the world.

Full list of winners below..

Best British Band - Arctic Monkeys

Also nominated:
Babyshambles
The Cribs
Klaxons
Muse

Best International Band - The Killers

Also nominated:
Arcade Fire
Foo Fighters
Kings Of Leon
My Chemical Romance

Best New Band - The Enemy

Also nominated:
Foals
Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong
The Pigeon Detectives
The Wombats

Best Live Band - Muse

Also nominated:
Arctic Monkeys
The Cribs
Kaiser Chiefs
My Chemical Romance

Best Solo Artist - Kate Nash

Also nominated:
Jack Penate
Jamie T
Amy Winehouse
Patrick Wolf

Best Album - ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ - Arctic Monkeys

Also nominated:
‘Shotters Nation’ - Babyshambles
‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’ – The Enemy
‘Myths Of The Near Future’ - Klaxons
‘In Rainbows’ – Radiohead

Best Track - ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ – Arctic Monkeys

Also nominated:
‘Flux’ – Bloc Party
‘Men’s Needs’ – The Cribs
‘Lord Don’t Slow Me Down’ - Oasis
‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’ – The Wombats

Best Video - ‘Teddy Picker’ – Arctic Monkeys

Also nominated:
‘Flux’ – Bloc Party
‘D.A.N.C.E.’ - Justice
‘Golden Skans’ - Klaxons
‘Teenagers’ – My Chemical Romance

Best Dancefloor Filler - ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’ – The Wombats

Also nominated:
‘Flux’ – Bloc Party
‘Hummer’ - Foals
‘D.A.N.C.E.’ - Justice
‘Atlantis To Interzone’ - Klaxons

Best Music DVD - ‘Unplugged In New York’ - Nirvana

Also nominated:
‘Up The Shambles’ – Babyshambles
‘The Song Remains The Same (Special Edition)’ – Led Zeppelin
‘Lord Don’t Slow Me Down’ - Oasis
‘I Told You I Was Trouble’ – Amy Winehouse

Best Live Event - Carling Weekend: Reading And Leeds Festival

Also nominated:
Glastonbury
Muse At Wembley Stadium
T In The Park
V Festival

Hero Of The Year - Pete Doherty

Also nominated:
Matt Bellamy
Noel Fielding
Ryan Jarman
Thom Yorke

Villain Of The Year - George W Bush

Also nominated:
Tony Blair
Johnny Borrell
Gordon Brown
Amy Winehouse

Best Dressed - Noel Fielding

Also nominated:
Pete Doherty
Kate Nash
Alex Turner
Gerard Way

Worst Dressed - Amy Winehouse

Also nominated:
Johnny Borrell
Pete Doherty
Mika
Gerard Way

Best Album Artwork - ‘The Good, The Bad & The Queen’ – The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Also nominated:
‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ – Arctic Monkeys
‘Sawdust’ – The Killers
‘Because Of The Times’ – Kings Of Leon
‘Send Away The Tigers’ – Manic Street Preachers

Best Radio Show - Zane Lowe (Radio 1)

Also nominated:
Russell Brand (Radio 2)
Chris Moyles (Radio 1)
Colin Murray (Radio 1)
Jo Whiley (Radio 1)

Worst Album - ‘Blackout’ - Britney Spears

Also nominated:
‘All The Lost Souls’ - James Blunt
‘The Trick To Life’ – The Hoosiers
‘Spirit’ - Leona Lewis
‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ - Mika

Worst Band - The Hoosiers

Also nominated:
30 Seconds To Mars
Fall Out Boy
My Chemical Romance
Panic At The Disco
Best TV Show - The Mighty Boosh

Also nominated:
Heroes
The IT Crowd
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Skins
Best Film - Control

Also nominated:
Hot Fuzz
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End
The Simpsons Movie
Superbad

Sexiest Man - Noel Fielding

Also nominated:
Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist
Julian Barratt
Nicky Wire
Patrick Wolf
Sexiest Woman - Kylie Minogue

Also nominated:
Jenny Lewis
Rihanna
Hayley Williams
Rachael Yamagata

Best Venue - Wembley Stadium

Also nominated:
Brixton Carling Academy
Glasgow Barrowland
London Astoria
Manchester Apollo
Best Website - Facebook

Also nominated:
Bebo
Last.fm
MySpace
YouTube
Best Band Blog - Radiohead (www.radiohead.com/deadairspace)

Also nominated:
Lily Allen (www.myspace.com/lilymusic)
Foals (www.wearefoals.com/blog)
Lightspeed Champion (www.lightspeedchampion.com)
The Streets (www.myspace.com/thestreets)
Best Music Blog - The Modern Age (www.themodernage.org)

Also nominated:
The Hype Machine (hypem.com )
Nothing But Green Lights (nothingbutgreenlights.net)
Spinner (spinner.com)
Stereogum (stereogum.com)

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Monty Python's Philosophers World Cup:




Monty Python - Germany VS Greece - video powered by Metacafe

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We've been doing the hangover mixes now for a few weeks and well its all been a little subdued in the ego camp so now i present a different kinda mix "music to get messed up to"
fear not a new hangover mixes will be up tomorrow for your aching heads.
tracklisting and download link in the read more


click here to get messed up
Track listing
1.The Fix - Minus the Bear
2.Tonyte - Chrome Hoof
3.Who Rocks The Party - Les Savy Fav
4.Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Ol' Dirty Bastard
5.Get Funky - ESG
6.Must Be The Moon - !!!
7.Party Politics - The Mae Shi
8.Wonderful People - Q and Not U
9.Kick Drum - Shy Child
10.Falling - Subtle
11.Available - Moving Units
12.Miracle - Supersystem
13.All My Friends Are Getting High - The Chinese Stars
14.Mutant John - Why?

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Congrats are due to the Kildare lads who took home the prestigious prize last night. The competition was strong, with 2007 being an excellent year for Irish albums. The nominees included Cathy Davey, Delorentos, Adrian Crowley & Dry County- but it was the Super Extra Bonus Party LP which won over the panel of judges. The prize is worth ten grand in prize money to the band, and even more in exposure and general door openings for them.

If you want to see the band live and check out just why they've deservingly picked up the Choice prize, you don't have long to wait as they play the Childline Rocks show tonight in the Acadamy. Also on the bill are the likes of Jape, Ham Sandwich & the excellent Rocket Surgery. For those who can't make it along tonight, here's a taste of SEBP with the fantastic 'Everything Flows':

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I know I've already been shot down for griping about the Glastonbury lineup (it's not about the lineup- it's about Glastonbury, etc etc), and that's fine. Point taken.

But..

..announcements like this do nothing to help.

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The most righteous Butterfly Explosion have found themselves a new drummer and are all set to make a triumphant comeback in Whelans on the 16th of March (thats the day before Paddys day so don't pretend like you won't be already out on the piss. As you can see from the post they will be supported by the excellent Lights, as well as Subplots who I look forward to familiarising myself with.

10 yo-yo's is what you would normally spend into Whelans on a weekend so no complaints there but awesome tunes are to he had this time. Get on it.

And click below to get a sampling of the Explosion


No pics just sound in this first one
Sophia


Fun vid times in this one
New Year

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So was around in the house of friends earlier and noticed that one of the residents was reading this awesome book by John Kennedy Toole and I thought to myself "Hmm if only there was some way that I could let people know that I think they should read this book". Lo and behold...

To try and describe the plot would be to do it disservice but trust me when I say that nearly every line in this masterpiece is witty to Wildeian proportions (a term? It is now). If you need any more convincing then go ask the Arcade Fire. They're clearly fans as they named their second album after Toole's only other novel "The Neon Bible"

For those of you who have read it then click below for my fantasy casting.



This isn't so much a fantasy cast as it is the cast that were set to star in the version that was supposed to be shot in 2003 but was then cancelled. I reckon these would have been savage had it come to fruition.

Ignatius - Will Ferrell (in a fat suit but how awesome would that be)
Jones - Mos Def
Mrs Reilly - Lily Tomlin
Officer Mancusco - Paul Rudd
Darlene - Drew Barrymore (or Rosie Perez depending on which version you've heard of)
Lana Lee - Kirsten Johnson

Anyway it might still happen.

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his rambo review is in the read more


someone please pay this kid to review movies

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Prepare to be sweaty, there are a hell of a lot of gigs coming up. To save you having to trawl the internet to find out what's new, we've compiled a list of some (possible) highlights.

Click below for a roundup in no particular order..

Prince @ Croke Park
June 16th. Tickets 66.50, on sale next Wednesday.

Journey @ The National Stadium
June 25th. Tickets 52.80, on sale now.
(I wonder how many times they'll play that song. You know, that Journey one.)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The Academy (Formerly Spirit)
May 14th. Tickets 30 euro, on sale now.

BudRising presents The Ting Tings @ The Village
April 12th. Tickets 15 euro, on sale tomorrow.

BudRising presents Maps @ The Button Factory
April 12th. Tickets 15 euro, on sale tomorrow.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists with Large Mound @ Crawdaddy
April 13th. Tickets 14 euro, on sale now.

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip @ The Button Factory
May 6th. Tickets 17.50, on sale now.

Iggy & The Stooges with The Kills @ The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham
June 16th. Tickets 55 euro, on sale Friday.

Bloc Party DJ Set @ Crawdaddy
March 23rd. Tickets 22.50, on sale now.

Boys Noize @ Spy
May 9th. Tickets 25 euro, on sale now.

Foggy Notions present Phosphorescent @ Whelans (Upstairs)
April 26th. Tickets 13 euro, on sale now.

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Animal Collective perform Fireworks / Essplode / Fireworks / Who could win a rabbit ?
its a 18mins long and well worth the watch
click here for it

Animal Collective play Dublin on May 19 in the Tripod

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Filmed in 2004 and off there debut album Madvillainy, released for the first time on Stones Throw 102: In Living the True Gods.

Madvillain - Accordion


Madvillain is the moniker and stage name for the underground hip-hop collaboration between MF DOOM (MC) and Madlib (producer).
Their debut album Madvillainy was met with critical acclaim for its unique approach - short songs, obscure lyrics, few choruses and a sound which was generally unfriendly to commercial radio. This was directly opposite to the formulas of popular hip hop of the time. The album features a host of guests from stones throw including MED, Wildchild and Doom/Madlib aliases Viktor Vaughn and Quasimoto respectively.

While the video isnt groundbreaking if it gets a few more people into Mf Doom and Madlib it will be something.

MP3> Madvillain -Accordion


MP3>Madvillian [Four Tet Remixes]-accordion


MP3>Madvillian [Four Tet Remixes]-money folder


And finally a song off Mf Doom excellent album MM Food (one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time) one beer remixed by madlib

Mp3>MF Doom -One Beer (Madlib Remix)


MF DOOM and Madlib are currently working on a second installment of Madvillainy. One track, 'Monkey Suite' have been out and won some kinda mtv video awards thingy
Madvillain - Monkey Suite



the dvd Stones Throw 102: In Living The True Gods is out now and features other great video like this other Madvillain video
Madvillain - All Caps



the dvd also features
Music videos:
Madvillain “Monkey Suite”
Madvillain “Accordion” (previously unreleased)
Oh No ft. J.Dilla and Roc C “Move”
Quasimoto “Rappcats Pt. 3”
J Dilla “Nothing Like This”
MED “Push”
James Pants “Do a Couple of Things”
Madlib “Take It Back”
Gary Wilson “Gary's in the Park”
Quasimoto “Bullyshit”
Aloe Blacc “Busking”
Roc C ft. Aloe Blacc “My Life”
Lootpack “Crate Diggin’” (prev. unreleased on DVD)
Baron Zen “At The Mall”
Stones Throw Singers “Rain Of Earth”

Bonus features:
• J Dilla, 2003 interview in The Netherlands - previously unseen in its full length form.
• “Move” Behind The Scenes
• Quasimoto (?) Live at Justice League Fimed in San Francisco, CA, Summer 2000
• Jaylib Live at Conga Room Filmed in Los Angeles, October 2004
• Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf “Studio Time 92” - a newly assembled mini-doc of the group, with VHS footage circa 1992.
• The Funky 16 Corners Rehearsal, 2001

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To help wash the shame of that last Jackson outing off our hands, here's a look back to better times. This is the famous 1983 live performance of Bille Jean that first introduced the world to the moonwalk. What a damned legend:

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For those like me who are possessed by a morbid curiosity about this, here's Kanye West's remix of Billie Jean for the 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller.

His only vocal contributions are sporadic bursts of "Yeh", "Uh huh", and on one occasion "You're number one!", but the main victim is the songs iconic, nigh on perfect, beat.

Tragic..



Click for mp3

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Not sure who the villain of this particular piece is.
Is it Gary Busey for being obnoxious and scary and possibly all fucked up?
Is it Jennifer Garner for being a little bit too hysterical in her reaction?
Is it Ryan Seacrest for being Ryan Seacrest (i.e. Cock)?

I'm really not sure what Busey's beef could possibly be with Seacrest or why Seacrest would even show up on his radar but one things for sure: There's a whole lot of crazy going on.

Kudos to Laura Linney however for exuding class.

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Anybody who's seen The Prodigy life will know that they're...well...savage. So now there's more incentive for all the creamiest of crackers to get in their Micra's and head down Naas way potentially spoiling it for those of us forced to go because of Rage Against the Machine.

Panic at the Disco have also been announced so hopefully the scummers will do something constructive and get bottling the stage when these fuckers are on.

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Okay I realise that this is the second time today that this theme has been posted here and I swear it will be the last as this "I'm fucking (insert 3 syllabled celebrity here)" thing has to get old soon.

BBBUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.....................it is Seth Rogen and it does feature naughty disgusting words and it has Kevin Smith in it and its from the set of his new movie "Zack and Miri make a porno" which is an awesome title alone.

Unfortunately you have to go here to see this vid because it does not seem to be on Youtube at all but its worth a watch at least. Retarded fun which, I'll have you know, is my favourite type of fun.

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Preview of Secret Chiefs 3 new album Masada on their MySpace page.(Secret Chiefs 3 is a group of musicians led by composer and producer Trey Spruance, former guitarist of Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. Their studio recordings and tours have featured different line-ups, as the group performs a wide range of musical styles including surf rock, Persian, Arabic, Indian, death metal, film music, electronic music, and various others.)
click for myspace preview

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It was 14 years ago today that Bill Hicks died of pancreatic cancer.In April 1993, while touring in Australia, he started complaining of pains in his side, and on June 16 of that year, he learned he had pancreatic cancer. He started receiving weekly chemotherapy, while still touring and also recording his album, Arizona Bay, with Kevin Booth. He was also working with comedian Fallon Woodland on a pilot episode of a new talk show, titled Counts of the Netherworld for Channel 4 at the time of his death. The budget and concept had been approved, and a pilot was filmed.
Hicks played the final show of his career at Caroline's in New York on January 6, 1994. He moved back to his parents' house in Little Rock, Arkansas shortly thereafter. He called his friends to say goodbye before he stopped speaking on February 14, and died in the presence of his parents at 11:20 p.m. on February 26, 1994.Hicks was buried on the family plot in Leakesville, Mississippi.
In a way to honor the good man i offer one of his set pieces that still rings true today.

Bill Hicks - Play From Your Fucking Heart

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Crayonsmith will be doing a live session and interview this Tuesday Feb. 26 at 9pm on Phantom FM 105.2 to promote there 'Lost In The Forest' Single Launch gig in Whelans Fri. Mar. 7.
They will be playing songs from their new album, "White Wonder" which is out Apr. 4 on Out On A Limb records.
tune in

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Thanks to Cathy for the heads up, this is Jimmy Kimmel reaping revenge on Sara Silverman for her hilarious 'I'm F*cking Matt Damon' music video:

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Neon Love is a weekly club-in-a-pub, the pub in question being the Bernard Shaw in Portabello. If anyone has ever wandered into the Bernard Shaw on a Thursday, they'll be familiar with the kind of crazyness I'm talking about. It's like the Pimp-Daddy of Dublin pubs. Whelan's has acoustic guitars, trad & blues; the Bernard Shaw has DANCING.

So our Thursday nights have Neon Love to thank.


As can be seen from the pretty poster, this week is particularly special- the guys and gals at Neon Love are celebrating their first birthday. To give a big funky hooray to that, Brixton's electro-rap sensations The Real Heat will be showing up to sing happy birthday (amongst other things, I'd imagine).

This marks quite a coup for Neon Love, as the girls of Real Heat are hot shit right now (if you'll excuse the pun). Having garnered several big-name fans, and even made their way on to NME's 2007 'cool' list (click), the recently dubbed 'anti-sugababes' are doing quite well for themselves. So crazy dancing from 8 til midnight, then the world is your flashing neon oyster.

How much is it going to set you back? You fool! If you're getting pissed on a Thursday, you're probably a student or a bum (me; ste) so don't have the cash to be springing money on admission prices. This is why Neon Love- every Neon Love- is completely free.

What are you waiting for?? Oh, Thursday. Right.


***Edit***
Ste has pointed this out in the comments section and it deserves mention here:
"pitchers of beer for a tenner and shots 3 blips in the shaw on thursday too".
Is this true? If so- that's amazing. Ciara? Can you confirm?

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So while I did spend some of my weekend partying it up at the Dead Club, I also managed to get some proper work in. Sunday was spent in Newtown's Silverline Studios recording with Clockwork Noise.

It's been ages since we finished the album, and since that was recorded at home, it's been even longer since I've actually been in the studio. Getting back in the swing of things was surprisingly easy, as both Silverline & engineer Ivan Jackman were fantastic. We got a lot of stuff done, (including the guts of the song this blog gets its name from) and it's all sounding great so far. The plan is to get back in in two weeks time for essential 'tweakage', and hopefully the EP will be ready to release by the end of March.

I'll keep you posted on the EP's progress here... or you can always check out Clockwork Noise on myspace.

Read on for some shots from the studio..



Dylan:


Blathnaid:



Aaron:




Jackman & some schmuck with a hat:

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The Dead Club is a nifty little regular festival being run in the depths of Bray. Last Saturday night saw their third outing in Katie Gallaghers on the seafront, and it was the first time I'd had a chance to head down to check it out. Being from Bray I've experienced many a night out in these parts, but I can say with some certainty that Saturday was one of the best yet (up there with my introduction to Tequila when I was seventeen, and those oh-so-messy nights in the heyday of the Porterhouse- good times..).

The festival was set in both the main function room of Katies, and the adjacent Liquid nightclub, giving the bands two stages to play with, and leaving no awkward standing around time. The lineup was great, with headline slots coming from Hybrasil & the Dirty Epics. But they weren't the only great bands on display.

More after the jump..


When I arrived The Sneaking Suspicions were on stage, blasting out an excellent blend of reggae and punk-rock that had the crowd jumping. Over on Stage two, Kill Man Ten were hugely impressive, giving their own twist to some good old fashioned grunge. Dundalk's The Receptors were also fantastic, with frontman Pete Johnson throwing himself fully into the kind of tunes you'd expect from Joe Strummer himself. The Almos Funk Band also made an appearance, their first in their new incarnation as a three-piece- and it looks like they've lost none of the funk, thank jeebus.

The atmosphere was great, and the last two acts capitalised the p in Party- Hybrasil through the magic of beats & cowbells, & the Dirty Epics not only by rocking hard, but by also by throwing a bag of party poppers to the audience. How nice.

All in all, The Dead Club gets an A from me. The night was fantastic- I'll definitely be attending their next shindig, and would highly recommend that you do too.


Click for Dead Club updates

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Poet, performer & occasional Trent Reznor collaborator Saul Williams is to play the Button Factory (Temple Bar Music Center) on May 12th. Tickets are available at 17 euro each.

Here's Williams being backed by NIN at the Voodoo festival in 2005 performing the excellent 'List of Demands':






Type rest of the post here

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Genres jumping experimental trio Boris have a new video for there song Statement of there up coming release Smile

BORIS "Statement"


Smile is due for release on 29/04/08

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Is from the Dirty Epics, who played the Dead club festival in Bray at the weekend- a full review of which will be posted at some point today.

This is 'The Cure':

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The first year in ages where I've managed to accurately predict nearly every winner. Pity I didn't put any money on it though. Oh well.

Have a look below for main winners.



Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Best Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton
Best Original Screenplay: Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille

Then there's all the other smaller ones that most people dont' care about.

No Country for Old Men pretty much walked away with everything I expected it to and rightfully so and Daniel-Day Lewis got Best Actor which was inevitable. In fact the day that they actually change the acting awards names from Oscars to the Daniel-Days is surely just around the corner.

The actress awards were less clear. It was always going to be between Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard so it was a toss of the coin for that and I was expecting Cate Blanchett to get Best Supporting but Tilda Swinton was the close second so no major surprise there either. Anyway. Didn't watch them live so can't tell you if it was a good show or not.

Go here for full coverage.

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Two more gigs on the horizon thanks to them folks at u:mack


first its pissed jeans on the 14th of may in Whelans.
And then its the turn of Japanese noise rockers Melt-Banana on the 20 June in Crawdaddy , both of theses bands are meant to be mind blowing live so get your tickets and prepare to have your face melted.
below is a sample of them both live , enjoy

pissed jeans - Closet Marine



melt-banana -Shield for your eyes, A Beast in the Well

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If you're like me then you suffer from the worst fucking hangovers known to man, and as such, come this Saturday or Sunday morning you will feel like ripping apart your skull while pummeling some kittens against a pebble-dashed wall.

Well...
my first hangover compilation that I concocted on my lonesome won't get you completely back to normal but it might make you leave those kittens alone.

Tunes.
1. The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning
2. The Smashing Pumpkins - Never Let Me Down
3. Air - Le Soleil Est Près de Moi
4. Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
5. Pink Floyd - Echoes
6. Nine Inch Nails - A Warm Place
7. Nick Drake - Fly
8. Sonic Youth - Hits of Sunshine
9. My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
10. The Orb - Blue Room

Click here for goodness

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Just heard this french artiste via Popbitch. She's named Soko, and she's pretty damn good. Unfortunately she hasn't released much yet, so rather than hand a song to you on a plate, I'm gonna have to simply direct you to her myspace.

To be honest, every song on the player is great, but if you just listen to one check out 'I Will Never Love You More'. One more reason to love ukeleles.

Click for myspace

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longer trailer

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I must be living in a bubble or something because apparently I'm the only one who didn't know that Marily Manson had his own brand of absinthe.

Called "Mansinthe", the drink has been receiving favourable reviews from critics who say that it smells like “sewage, swamp mud and rubbing alcohol” which will no doubt only please the self-described "God of Fuck". Perhaps it will help me get the taste of Oxegen out of my mouth.

Oh and according to google the website for the product is harmful to your computer but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the Christians within Google pulling some funny business.

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Damn it, why did I hope? Oxegen have today dealt an early sucker-punch to other Irish festivals.

Rage Against the Machine have been confirmed for the punchestown festival.

Crap.

Well I guess I've got to get a ticket now..

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A nostalgic trip back to the 1980s, "Son of Rambow" is an inventive valentine to an era where, for the first time in history, young minds had access to technology that allowed them to create their own stories while paying homage to their larger-than-life heroes from the movies that inspired them.

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The first iPhone band.

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Although they haven't been active now for about four years its been announced recently (by the NME at least) that any hope for a Blur reunion has been scuppered, allegedly because the other three hate Damon Albarn too much. And so ends another one of my all time favourite bands.

Blur first came onto my radar in 1993 when a girl in summer camp played me the single of For Tomorrow but it wasn't until Girls & Boys came out the following February that I took notice. They were most popular through their Parklife and The Great Escape albums which ultimately proved to be their weakest points musically, and consequently you won't find anything from The Great Escape on my list of favourite Blur songs which you can see after the jump. The great thing about Blur was that after their Brit-Pop days (a scene they more or less invented) their albums were actually getting better and better and indisputably far more interesting than the output of their rivals Oasis.

Click below to see and hear my favourite choices of Blur songs.



Blur had a quite a fair bit of stuff that some people might have regarded as 'Crap' but they certainly knew how to fuck around with tunes and sounds etc. and when they wanted to they could write quite the haunting and even rocking tune. Here's a few of the best.

1. Sing (from Leisure. Also Trainspotting Original Soundtrack)
Much of Blur's first album was a combination of the dying shoegazing sound and the discovery of THAT Brit-Pop sound. This track encompasses the former quite a bit.



2. Wear Me Down (from Leisure)
More shoegazing but this time with easier vocals and a very melancholic, and at the same time catchy, chorus.



3. Popscene (single only)
The song that created Brit-Pop. Should have made Blur huge. Instead it was released at a time when everyone was listening to Nirvana and grunge and as such nobody wanted to know, which is a shame because its catchy as hell.



4. Advert (from Modern Life is Rubbish)
Evidence that Blur can do thrashy songs with great little riffs and singers counting out the number of break-down bars with a megaphone.


5. Resigned (from Modern Life is Rubbish)
The Finale of Modern Life and more evidence that Blur can write touching songs. Stick around after it ends and hear one of their finest random moments.



6. Trouble in the Message Centre (from Parklife)
Something about the combination of thrash and synth in this song never gets old in my head. Dunno why.



7. This is a Low (from Parklife)
A great melancholic yet uplifting song that Blur ended their most famous album with. And many of their gigs as well.



8. You're So Great (from Blur)
Okay its pretty much the first Graham Coxon solo song but its on a Blur album and it really highlights what an eclectic song-writer he is.



9. Death of a Party (from Blur)
Also known as "Blur do their own version of The Specials 'Ghost Town'" from the album also known as "Blur listen to Pavement a lot in an attempt to ditch their Brit-Pop sound". Successfully.



10. Bugman (from 13)
Blurs possibly greatest album opens with one of their biggest try-to-hard singles (Tender) but quickly moves into this rocky little thing. Listen to the break-down about half way through where it all descends into noise and starts back up again like an engine.


11. Battle (from 13)
Proof that the Blur of the Brit-Pop years was dead and buried and a new experimental type was coming into effect.


12. Caramel (from 13)
And further and further away they go. So fucking aching and waily that Sigur Rós would be proud.



13. Out of Time (from Think Tank)
Another excellent album proving that Blur could still knock them out (HUHUHUH!!!). This single is simply a damn fine haunting little number.



14. Brothers & Sisters (from Think Tank)
Gorillaz was very much on Damons mind as you can see from this funky thing that wouldn't have been out of place on Demon Days.



15. Jets (from Think Tank)
Epic and lo-fi as fuck with an awesome sax solo to boot. If Blur had not ended we might have got more of this.




In the future history will look more favourably upon Blur and will prove me right that they were worthy of a lot more recognition than they were given.

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'Where The Wild Things Are', Spike Jonze's adaptation of the popular children's book may be in serious trouble. Apparently Warner Bros are a tad unhappy about the tone of the film, which is described as 'scary' and 'weird' (which begs the question of why they hired Jonze in the first place).

To add another complication, there seems to be problems on the effects side of things. Apparently the plan was to film the movie using actors in giant Muppet-esque suits, then digitally insert the characters faces. Now it seems this technique is too problematic, and is leading to calls for a re-shoot... of the entire thing.

This spells trouble for the whole production, with the (Jonze/Dave Eggers) script likely to be tampered with, and even talk of lead actor Max Records being replaced as the studio are not fans.

So will it ever see the light of day? Chances are good, but which version we'll get to see is a different question..

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I tempted fate, and fate has duly slapped me in the face. Lesson learned.

Only days after rejoicing that Oxegen may not steal too many bands from Electric Picnic this year, the dastards have gone ahead and got that 'lets prove Rob wrong' ball a-rolling.

Justice, Aphex Twin & Hot Chip have now been confirmed for the Punchestown festival. Damn. In addition to these acts, the lineup now boasts: The Chemical Brothers, Alabama 3, Interpol, Counting Crows, The Fratellis, The Raconteurs, Ian Brown, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon & R.E.M.

Justice is a big loss, that could have been a highlight of the summer. At least in the case of Hot Chip we have a Tripod show to look forward to (see detailed post below).

Let's just hope this is the end of the booking war for this year..

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Hot Chip bring their new album 'Made In The Dark' to Tripod on March 20th. Tickets are 34.50 and go on sale Monday morning.

Here's the video for 'Ready For The Floor', the first single from the album:

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German indie rock band The Notwist are set to play the Button Factory on June 7th; tickets are €17.50

Acher, Acher, and Messerschmidt formed the group in 1989 in Weilheim, near Munich. In 1990 they recorded their self-titled debut, a grunge-metal oriented LP. 1992 saw the release of Nook, which has an indie rock sound, while their 1995 album 12 contains their first flirtation with electronics. Martin Gretschmann (aka Console) joined the group in 1997. Shrink, released in 1998, is a jazz-electro-rock album which in some ways anticipates Radiohead's Amnesiac. The album Neon Golden (released in 2002) put them on the map for American listeners, with its heartfelt sentiment and catchy tunes.

The Notwist - Pilot


The Notwist - Pick up the Phone


also well worth a listen is 13 & God which is a a supergroup with Themselves and The Notwist.

13 & God - Superman On Ice

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Dublins own Drunken Boats album "Cut the Engines, Raise the Sails" is now available in Tower Records on Wicklow St(its also available in Road Records too).Check out some of the tracks on his myspace here

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Chickens break up a fight. Brilliant.



It's the walk away at the end that makes it. Those chickens have some great comic timing.

I'm so easily amused..

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Awards season marches on, with the Brits being held last night in Earls Court. Unsurprisingly, they delivered the same tired old dirge as they have pretty much every other year.

Lowlights include Take That being awarded for being a live act (hilarious); the awful, awful Mika being named Best Breakthrough Artist; and that ever ridiculous, personal pet-hate of mine- Kanye West taking the gong for Best International Male.

There's definitely cause for a rant here, but it's just way too easy.

Full winners here.

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So hot on the heels of his successful return to his Rocky character Stallone brings back the other franchise that helped make him a household name in the 80's.

So whats the actual title?
Well first it was Rambo IV: In the Serpents Eye then it was Rambo IV then it became John Rambo and then finally for some reason its been changed to just plain and simple Rambo. Because this won't make people think that this is the first installment.

Scroll down for more and more and more



Why would they think that?
Okay. Here are the name of the four Rambo movies in chronological order: First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, Rambo. Little confusing about which is which? Maybe.

Whats the story?
A group of American missionary types try to go into Burma to help some poor people to....blah blah blah...skip to the end...Rambo kills lots of people.

So how's the violence?
Lashings of it. Lashings and lashings and lashings of it. Bodies explode. Body parts get separated from their bodies. Blood from bodies spray over other bodies and sometimes the camera.

Will I get an erection?
Probably if you're asking that question. You won't believe that bullets can actually tear bodies apart in the manner that they do in this film. There might even be a few penises flying around in there as well. Who knows.

So is it any good?
That question is completely irrelevant in this case. What you should be asking me is: Bang bang bang? The answer to which is a resounding Bang Bang BANG!!!!!

Take a look at the trailer. That should give you a sampling.

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You might see this as an indication of my increasing anal-retentiveness but sometimes it gets to me when I see a band being referred to with the 'The' word put in front of when in fact their actual name contains no such word. Pluralisation of a word does not necessarily mean that a the pre-fix should be added. For instance: Rabbits. In sentence: Rabbits are all around us. Can also be used as: The Rabbits are all around us. Depending on the context entirely. So whether a band has a 'The' at their start of the name depends entirely on what context the band themselves want to present themselves in.

To wit I bring you a list of bands that aren't a 'The' band but that most people think are and a few bands that actually are 'The' bands but that you didn't know.
Click down for more



'The' Ramones

Forerunners of US punk movement. Made same variation of song 100 million billion times. Members largely dead. Surviving members now selling condoms.

'The' or 'Not The':
'Not the'. Album covers figure largely in the evidence for this piece. If a band is not choosing to call themselves 'The' on the album then you can be damned sure that they don't want a 'The' in their name. Ramones had 14 albums. One featured 'The' on the cover. Not in the band name. In the title End of the Century.



'The' Red Hot Chili Peppers

Former funkmeisters who wore socks on their cocks. Currently stadium-filling, virtual soft-rock writing dullest band on the planet. I say dull because they were fucking awesome circa 1991 and now they're like watching paint dry. On your balls. Which is uncomfortable as well as boring.

'The' or 'Not The':
'Not the'. They ARE Red Hot Chili Peppers. They're not THE Red Hot Chili Peppersm for one can only assume that there are many red-hot chili peppers.



'The' Smashing Pumpkins

Grungers turned psychedelic rockers turned double-album-writing-art-rock wannabee's turned gothic-industrial types turned broken up turned reformed who-knows-what types.

'The' or 'Not the':
'The'. They are THE Smashing Pumpkins. Smashing in this case is used the way that the Brits use it, as in 'Amazing' or 'Wonderful'. No Pumpkins are being harmed in the making of this band.



'The' Pixies

Punky grungey whatevery Nirvana-inspiring tunesters, once defunct now-reformed (supposedly). Frontman plays spontaneous performances in Dublin city parks before being moved on by Gardaí like common busker.

'The' or 'Not THe':
'Not The'. It actually sounds cooler if you say it as 'Pixies' rather than 'The Pixies'.



'The' Sonic Youth

New York avant-garde noiseniks turned New York avant-garde noiseniks turned...well...New York avant-garde noiseniks.

'The' or 'Not The':
'Not The'. Never been much debate over this except with the release of their arguably greatest (in my opinion) album Sister which included the 'The' on the front cover. All albums before and since have not.



'The' Pink Floyd

60's psychedlic masters turned 70's and 80's Prog-rock masters turned band that people want to see reformed the most.

'The' or 'Not the':
Both. The band started life as 'The Pink Floyd Sound' before dropping the 'Sound' but retaining the definite article. The 'The' didn't just go with the Syd Barrett era either as two albums in the new 'Gilmour' era (More and Ummagumma) also included the word on their original releases. By the time of Atom Heart Mother in 1970, however, the word was gone.



'The' Beastie Boys

1980's comedy rappers turned 90's and 00's serious musicians/rappers. Currently trying to excise their rap sound by playing Jazz oddysseys on stage which, as anyone who has seen This is Spinal Tap can attest to, can result in playing second fiddle to a puppet show.

'The' or 'Not The':
'Not The'. They are Beastie Boys and are never THE Beastie Boys. Presumably to escape from the ire of all the other beastie boys that are out there.



'The' Eels

Late 90's alternative type band who...ah fuck it can't think of a description really. They make music and its good (except when they play at Oxegen).

'The' or 'Not The':
'Not The'. Album cover evidence aside, the one second ad for the superbowl should be evidence enough.



'The' Verve

Early 90's Brit Rock, turned broke up, turned reformed, late 90's Brit Oasisalikes, turned broken up, turned biggest prick in the world, turned reformed Brit Oasisalikes.

'The' or 'Not The':
'Both'. Started life as just plain and simple Verve, named after the hangover cure. Added the definite article just in time for their last album before they broke up for the first time: A Northern Soul.



Other ones that I thought of but couldn't be bothered with are Wu-Tang Clan, Editors, Manic Street Preachers, Mc5, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, Kaiser Chiefs, Deftones, The KLF.

Cases of people adding 'The' when there shouldn't be one are more common than people taking away a 'The' when there should be one. Let me know if you notice any glaring omissions of either case.

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