I have the lurgey so here is a tune that I found today instead of a big old ramble:
Performance are apparently from Manchester, and are managed by Tim Parry at Big Life which will mean something to you if you’re dead old and creaky like me.
I would say that the only way is up for them but that would be a bit too cheesy. Probably.
Other musical thing: I rather like the Chew Lips album so here are some tunes:
Yes, I am back from outer space (well technically just The BBC, Waitrose, Up North and John Lewis) with a sad look upon my face because I am a year older and shall blame those stoopid locks. Anyway, enough with the Gloria Gaynors, I have a new Word Press (or is Wordpress one word?) version of my blogs as Blogger was becoming as reliable as a Sugababes line up (of the musical not criminal kind). So what to do with it now? Er…
Did that on Friday, as seen on The Other Blog. Full report over there as usual.
Did this over the last month or so and very nice it is too… a truly geeky lounge now completed. Now for all the other rooms of our house to be sorted out, which may take us up to the debut of the 13th Doctor.
Worst tabloid headline of the day award goes to this:
It’s funny because his character is called Potter which they have changed to Botter because Bot is short for Bottom which is what those gays like putting their penises into. Oh my sides have split. Ouch.
Obligatory Doctor Who nerdgasm:
Big Finish kept Doctor Who alive through the wilderness years before Russell “Tea?” Davies jizzed his magical gay space love all over it and made it the merchandising opportunity it is today, and they are having a fine 2010 so far. These two plays are part of a current fashion for interesting old-yet-not-quite-as-before teamings of Docctors and companions of yesteryear and are just two of the reasons why I have re-subscribed. Great for tube journeys where I cannot be distracted by visual stimulation and highly recommended. Also: Tegan bloody Jovanka, which has still not become official Cockernee rhyming slang to the best of my knowledge .
And finally, to test out this new YouTube embedding function, a music video from We Have Band:
They do indeed have a band and a very fine band it is too.
It’s time for the enormous amount of pop videos post!
Wild Beasts: We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues
From that rather excellent Two Dancers album that they released last year. Well worth a purchase if you’re an indie kid at heart.
MAVIS: Gangs of Rome feat. Kurt Wagner
This is nice. From a project organised by Ashley Beedle (Google him, he’s done loads of good funky things) which also features Sarah Cracknell and Cerys Matthews. That sold it for me!
Alex Gardner: I’m Not Mad
Acoustic singer songwriter boy + Xenomania = New quality pop music. The album sampler leaked and is pretty good.
Jónsi: Go Do
The man from Sigur Ros releases another solo single of magical sounds. Delightful.
Groove Armada featuring Will Young: History
Yes, really. the new Groove Armada album is their best yet and has loads of tunes. This one features that former Simon Cowell product made good.
Ellie Goulding: Starry Eyed
All the critics love her and she’s rather special, but not in a special school way. She’s co-written a track on the forthcoming Diana Vickers album which is, for somebody I had avoided due to their ITV primetime dirgefest wailing and crying competition connection, surprisingly good electropop. If it sounds good I like it.
Alphabeat: The Spell/Ride On Time
Their album must be out here soon, right? Seems old now (released in their native Denmark last year), but good.
Hammarin & Robin: Hell knows I’m in Love
Swedish duo I know nothing about except they have a couple of good songs that husband Jamie brought to my attention.
The Melting Ice CapsMySpace Music Videos Not the new song but there is no video for that one. This is great too, and David Shah (for it is he) is my most listened-to artist of the year so far. All his songs are available for free on his site, how generous!
Corinne Bailey Rae: I’d Do It All Again
An example of the follow-up to a popular debut being better, which is hard to do. Her album The Sea is just bloody magnificent.
Troy This: Something Better
Like Melting Ice Caps, Troy has been at it for a while now via the independent route and is working on a deal to get his music out there for public consumption. This home made video is sweet.
Black Box/Loleatta Holloway: Ride On Time (Western Disco Radio Mix)
I love a bit of Ride On Time and this is a rare example of a remix that is not awful.
The Pipettes are back with a new video and freely downloadable song and it’s not Stop The Music! How confusing… That song will appear soon though, and there is an album on the way produced by the iconic Martin Rushent (you know, the man who produced some of the best Human League records). It’s not the polka dot retro stylings of their debut album but they have been evolving for a while now. Really…
Very Hot Gossip. I am showing my age. There’s not been a universal love for this ‘new direction’ but I am very pleased with it.
Anyway, change? Take a look at my Pipettes Membership Timeline:
Julia Clark-Lowes 2003 – 2005 (now half of The Indelicates) Rose Elinor Dougall aka Rosay 2003 – 2008 (now solo and excellent) Rebecca Stephens aka Riot Becki 2003 – 2008 Gwenno Saunders 2005 – present (still in the band but does solo side project) Ani Saunders 2008 – present Anna McDonald 2008 – 2009 Beth Mburu-Bowie 2009
So this album will be fronted by just Gwenno and Ani Saunders. Not the new Alesha’s Attic, I swear. For the sheer hell of it I did some digging and here are all the various incarnations of The Pipettes in order, beating the Sugababes for regenerations but not yet catching up with The Doctor:
Version 2.0 is the one who did the first album but version 3.0 (who did the Shoe That Fits limited edition EP) and 4.0 have been performing the songs from its follow-up that version 5.0 will be promoting. I assume they will be the only vocalists on it…
More video treats:
Pull Shapes performed on a weird Belgian tv show with some men dressed as women on the sofa. That’s Belgium for you!
ABC video. Very cartoony.
Stop The Music (the next single) performed by Version 4.0, filmed by a fan so not the best sound quality but nice to look at.
What shape are you pulling? I am pulling the shape of a pregnant man as we have just had a massive curry.
I would usually do my rundown of the music of the year before I do my Musical Things I Am Excited About For Next Year but I am random and am doing the 2010 Tips first:
Marina and the Diamonds debut album Family Jewels will be released. Music Go Music’s album should have a UK release. Ellie Goulding’s debut album is coming. Troy This! material continuing to be recorded. The Gadsdens debut album should appear. Thomas J Speight is building momentum. Fitz & the Tantrums should follow up their EP with a long player. Sia’s new album will be out. Alphabeat new album gets a UK release. New Saint Etienne material? New Goldfrapp album ‘Head First’ will be released.
Phew!
Video evidence:
Sia:
The Gadsdens:
Marina and the Diamonds:
Alphabeat:
The predictable BBC List will appear soon. Marina should be high up on it.
Busy week, inluding the inevitable packing up the office leading into the Big Sales Conference Organised By Me taking place while ’some men’ moved all the stuff to the new premises. Which I have not seen yet and still have no key for. Whoops. Hmm… I am looking forward to getting in there and sorting it all out and resisted the urge to leave a gift-wrapped poo on a certain lazy liar’s desk before I left. She’s never at it so would not have noticed until Christmas even if I had done my dirty protest. I am a grown up so I thought better of this, as proven by my wearing of a suit on Thursday. No tie of course, so last year.
Unexciting things this week:
Trying to find a copy of issue 4 of Phonogram Singles Club in London and failing.
Sanding down painty lumps in the lounge walls very badly.
A lot of cardboard boxes and parcel tape. I swear I dreamt about this too.
Attempting to watch Funny People but deciding that as there were no funny, just lots of people, and its 4.3 hours running length was a bit long that it may be best to not bother. Damn, Apaptow was one of my big entertainment cheeses in his TV era and the films bug me because of this. If I wanted to watch ugly dumb potty-mouthed men bragging about pussy I would still be managing a Pizza Hut delivery unit.
The first part of that Doctor Who animation appeared and it was alright if you like that sort of thing.
I am old skool so I find the CGI-ness a bit creepy, and the characters just look stoopid when running. Animated Who can be great though, see the DVD of The Invasion for an example.
The Sarah Jane Adventures finished and it was overall a good old fun load of nonsense. Really deserves a repeat slot in a more prime time timey wimey zone though as it definitely deserves a wider audience. The first story was the weakest but there were some strong ones this year including a mad wedding episode, Floella Benjamim vs ghosts, the absurd but funny loopy northern Mona Lisa rampage and some good gungeing this week. Roll on series 4 please. CBBC is so much better than it gets credit for (is it Ed & Oucho December yet?).
I think my Album Of The Year has just been decided, after playing a certain new release dozens of times since it came through my letter box on Tuesday. I’m not surprised though, as the idea of David McAlmont writing songs to Michael Nyman pieces sounded like the kind of bloody mad but fantastic idea that I would go for. There are a handful of artists who I will buy blindly due them being that good and he has always been on my imaginary list since his first band Thieves fell apart and led to the first lovely solo album back when I was much younger, far less achey and much less happier.
A couple of songs are on the official YouTube channel so here they are:
Other subjects and highlights include Susan Boyle’s experiences with fame on the title track with heartbreaking moments:
I’ve done what you suggested And the world has paid attention To my belief but I’m still alone So millions think I’m ugly now But it’s the same old story Until I sing the song and I sense you close
So I’ve done what you suggested And the world has paid attention to my belief But I’m still alone.
City of Turin is another standout shiver-inducing track, about human trafficking :
I wave at cars To get inside Just to keep warm I let him treat me like a wife If I remember just how I have survived I can take it in, in a car, in the city of Turin
The serious issues do not make this a depressing listen, not at all. This is an essential album for people who like music with depth and feeling. Buy it. It’s that simple!
I wonder who David will do his next project with? Hmm…
I done bought some CDs and so got some blog did about them…
Music Go Music : Expressions I liked it so much I bought the import! Music Go Music are apparently from LA but their biog doesn’t say which time zone. I suspect the 60s and 70s mostly. They are rather ‘influenced’ by the past but in such a joyful way that the pure poppy goodness which oozes out of my speakers makes it perfectly acceptable. Or something like that, I am a bit tired tonight and might not be making sense. Nice video too.
Fibes Oh Fibes: 1987 I liked it so much I bought the import (again)! And their previous two albums. They are Swedish (oh yeah those musical Swedes), there used to be six of them but they are now a trio, Kim Wilde is on one of the songs, it’s sunny marvellous pop (again) which they say is inspired by the year 1987 hence the album’s title. Great video which I have probably blogged about before but I don’t care.
Saint Etienne: Foxbase Beta I liked it so much I bought the cassette in 1991, the CD when I got a CD player, the recent double disc deluxe re-release and now this fanclub Richard X remix album. It’s that good. Not your usual mostly dodgy remixes package, oh no, this is the whole classic album tweaked with love and it’s been on repeat quite a lot in my ears. From the extra thrills of a longer Wilson (ooh-er), the extra oomph in She’s The One, the added sparkle and “what you’ve been waiting for…” of Nothing Can Stop Us to the choir-y additions on Like The Swallow, this is all rather marvellous. Not many remix albums can make me this happy.
Item! Hmm… the Twitter hashtags experiment of #slapamailreaderday was fun but I still despair for the future of humanity what with them Northern Koreans with their nu-clear sounds and the Californians terminating human decency and respect. Hashtags came about because I got rather hacked off (I know, don’t look if you don’t want to be annoyed) by puny humans who read a certain paper for people who don’t like to think for themselves about how everyone should be able to marry the person they love and stuff: I am almost proud of my red arrows. They don’t do no flying tricks in the sky though.
Nice to see that Mail readers approve of slavery. Not all that surprised, just ashamed. I blame this “Stalinist socially-engineered dictatorship” we arte living in. Or is London now an imdependent state and I missed the memo?
Tracey is quite right. Why make a load of fuss and nonsese about civil rights when there are people starving in Africa? I hope Trace eats all her din-dins.
Meanwhile Paul (who appears to live in prison) is “not homophobic in any way but…” then is. And this is meant to surprise me? He thinks same sex marriages are the siliest thing has has ever heard of so I assume he doesn’t get out much. Well he could be staying in for a long time. Oh shame.
Item! Hard Times indeed, Patrick Wolf. The video looks like what a musical episode from Doctor Who in 1972 would look like if they ghad more money to spend. I like it but then I would.
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