Play the VMA's? Sure, we'd love to!

What would we like on our rider?

Booze.

And maybe some..... ah no, just the booze will be fine.

We'll be grand.



Via Una

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It seems that Bloc Party just can't stop messing with 'the way things are done'. Having rocked the industry boat with the release of Intimacy two weeks ago, the band further shook things up yesterday by announcing the release of their new single.

Talons is to released through Wichita on October 20th, and is streaming online now on BlocParty.com. While recorded with the rest of Intimacy, the song does not feature on the album, presumably just because the band like fucking with people. Kudos.

The song is somewhere in between the new, experimental Bloc Party, and the old guitar anthem Bloc Party. Personally, I'm too happy with the new direction to think that meandering from one to the other is a good thing (give me Mercury over Talons any day), but nonetheless it's still a solid track.

Check it out for yourself:

Bloc Party- Talons

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Another month, another mixed bag to satisfy your passing curiosity for remixes.

Check out the elaborate remixy journey in the readmore...



As this is Pick 'n' Remix mark 2, I'm gonna play around with the number two and throw em out in pairs.

(Although don't expect volume three to have some similar coherance, I'm way too lazy for that, and three is far more complicated)

Chapter 1: An Essential Inclusion on Any Remix Collection
Two Justice-related Remixes

01. Justice- Genesis (Chewie Chocolate Cookies remix)

Pretty cool take on Justice's album opener, turning things one notch further towards dancey.

02. Stevie Wonder- Superstition (Justice JNSTY remix)

One of the greatest songs of all time given the Justice treatment. This is more of an interesting curio than anything else, but goddamn, I can't get enough of that bass sound.

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Chapter 2: Because Tito Never Used a Drum Machine
Two Classic Track Remixes

03. Jackson 5- I Want You Back (Rogerseventytwo remix)

Really great remix which takes a very different approach to the song... often a good move when tinkering with timeless classics.

04. Rolling Stones- You Can't Always Get What You Want (Soulwax remix)

Another departure from the style of the original, Soulwax can always be relied upon. This is probably my favorite Stones song, and there are some pretty sweet ideas in this remix.

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Chapter 3: And While I'm Playing the New Album To Death...
Two Faint Remixes

05. The Faint- The Geeks Were Right (Does it Offend You, Yeah? remix)

Sweet remix of the Faint's bitchin new single by up-and-coming indie dancesters. Very different to the dancier Boys Noise take, and both are excellent in their own right.

06. The Faint- Worked Up So Sexual (Death Cab for Cutie remix)

An older track from The Faint, from the amazing Black-Wave Arcade album, this remix is done by Death Cab's guitarist/producer Chris Walla.

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Chapter 4: A Prelude to 'Intimicy'
Two Bloc Party Remixes

07. Bloc Party- Mercury (CSS remix)

A suitably bright and chirpy take on Bloc Party's awesome new tune. It still packs a punch, but I guess just does it with a smile.


08. Bloc Party- I Still Remember (SebastiAn remix)

From a remix promo of this Weekend in the City single, SebestiAn's version is dirty & gritty. In a good way.

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Chapter 5: Crowdpleasing Finale
Two 'Superstar Dj' Remixes

09. Eric Prydz Vs Pink Floyd- Proper Education

Another Brick in the Wall was never the kind of song you could get away with playing on a dancefloor, but Eric Prydz has done just enough to the original to make it so. Nothing drastic, just a little push.

10. The Ting Tings- Great DJ (Calvin Harris remix)

Predictibly, there's a load of Ting Tings remixes floating around at the moment. This one is, in my opinion, far and away the best, and is sure to be making some appearances at parties in the near future.

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As the traditional methods of music distribution continue to decline, more and more artists are experimenting with the alternatives.

The latest artist to do so is Bloc Party, who announced today that they will be releasing their upcoming third album, Intimacy, online from this Thursday. The album, while not as 'free' as the likes of Radiohead & Saul Williams' offerings, is still pretty damned cheap. The digital download will be available from Thursday at £5 a pop. A CD version will be available for £8, and will be delivered a week later. £10 will get you a bundle with both CD and mp3, if you want the CD but absolutely must hear it on Thursday.

Reasons why I welcome this news:

• 'Free' was never really going to work, but given the current downloading climate, 'the old fashioned way' was never really going to work either.
• Having so much pirated material out there may be wrong, but like it or not it still cheapens the product in the consumer's eye. So you have to compromise. I've long thought this whole thing is about hitting a happy medium: appealing to people's good nature and still giving them a bargain. Show us a fair deal and we'll take you up on it.
  
• Also, Bloc Party are including more songs on the CD version of the album. Smart incentive, and...
  
• ...even paying £8 for the CD is totally reasonable, and more than likely covers the production cost.

So kudos to Bloc Party for shaking things up. To my eyes this seems like the kind of mix that just might work. Also, after single number one (below) I'm quite excited about hearing the rest of the record.

Roll on Thursday...

Bloc Party- Mercury

Intimacy will be available from Bloc Party's home page.

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Bloc Party have debuted their new single, which will appear on their forthcoming third album. The track, called Mercury, is an excellent little pop song with dance written all over it, and demented sound effects creating an uneasy feel that really works (well, for me- Ste disagrees).

Some good news for album number 3 is that Jacknife Lee is back on board, the Irish super-producer who helped make A Weekend in the City so sonically jawdropping. If the rest of the album is along these lines I, for one, will be very impressed. There was a certain element of disappointment for me when Weekend... came out and there's was no 'Banquet Mark II', but you have to give Kele & co kudos (check out that alliteration!) - it's this kind of experimentation and evolution that makes bands great (Radiohead being the obvious example).

Video & track in the readmore.



Click for mp3

You can pre-order the single, which is to be released on August 11th from Bloc Party's website here. The box set contains CD & Vinyl, with B-sides including a CSS remix of the track. Interesting...

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The gigs continue to amass, and we've got to a point that justifies another roundup.

So here we go...



First up is one for this weekend- the excellent Devotchka play Crawdaddy on Saturday. Tickets are €15.

Super Extra Bonus Party & Grand Pocket Orchestra play Whelans on Saturday April 12th. Tickets are €10.

(Best live act in Ireland?) Jape play Crawdaddy on Monday April 21st.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw will hit Crawdaddy on Sunday May 11th, with tickets at €15.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play the Academy on Wednesday 14 May (and also play the Trinity Ball, if you're in a position to swing tickets). Academy tickets are €30 a pop.

Sunday the 25th May sees Public Enemy, The Bomb Squad, and the amazing Cadence Weapon play Tripod with tickets at €29.50 or €34.00
Tapes N Tapes, Sons & Daughters & Port O'Brien hit Tripod on Tuesday May 27th. Tickets range from €17 to €22.50.

Tripod also sees Spiritualized play on Wednesday May 28th. Tickets from €22 to €26.

Strangely, Queens of the Stone Age play the RDS Arena on 22 June as a warm up act for Linkin Park. Weird.

M.I.A plays Tripod on Friday June 27th. Tickets from €27.50 to €32.50.

Lastly for now, The Killers & Bloc Party play Marlay Park on Thursday 21st of August. I can see that as actually being a pretty good show, if the weather holds up.

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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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Alien Stylee:

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