dancing in topshop.

Justice album leak! i haven't been online all day (strange isn't it, the things you miss in just under 24 hours!), so i haven't listened to the album yet. it's downloading as i type.

i've been to see This Is England and wasn't that impressed. it was alright, but the hype it's been surrounded by is a little too genorous i feel. worth seeing but not one to put on a pedastool.

my brother's been logged into my last.fm all day messing up my play counts. he's been listening to The Subways and allsorts. how annoying!

i've been listening to some 8-bit over the past couple of days and wondering how the hell you are supposed to dance to it. drunkenly i suppose. here's some anyway.

GOTO80 - Rofon

and here's some of that Justice leak. as much as i think it is very good to buy music, i think this is a leak you all must find and find now.

Justice - Let There Be Light

sorry for the briefness yet again!

666?

yesterday i had the DAY FROM HELL. no lie, by mid afternoon i was near to throwing myself out of a window in a diva-style fit. and by near i mean not close at all.

i managed to drop my ipod in the bath. i've not been coping well at alllll. i've been ipod-less for about 24 hours and i'm getting the shakes.
i found out how much tickets for Devo were.. and thus can't go anymore.
then i had to cancel my holiday to London in August for complicated reasons. i was absolutely gutted and spent most of my time moping around. there were other things like not being able to go out this weekend due to a serious lack of money that also contributed to my day of 666.

but then! a guardian angel gave my dark dark cloud it's silver lining.

NXSB!

i have known about it for a couple of weeks now, however, i couldn't afford to pay for a ticket as well as train fare to Leeds. someone magically donated me a ticket! kindness like this really doesn't go unnoticed. it's probably the nicest thing someone has done for me all year.

i've just seen that Neils Children are supporting The Sounds in Manchester in June, as well as GoodBooks. i've loved Neils Children since their debut album was released in 2004 but i still haven't seen them live. i'd go, but i hate The Sounds with a passion. if i can get in for free i will, but aside from that..

Neils Children - Window Shopping

a bit of home loving for you now!

The Answering Machine are a three piece (plus drum machine called Mustafa) from Manchester. they've been dubbed as "the British Strokes" but i don't really think that's accurate. they're far less gritty, and much more of a sunshine band. they're really worth checking out and keeping an eye on over the next twelve months. i predict big big things!

The Answering Machine - Oklahoma

i'm going to see Crystal Castles on Monday so the post after that should be more exciting than this one was, haha. apologies!

now then now then.

so the Transgressive Tour got cancelled because of the Larrikin split. i can't say i'm too unhappy about that because i was due to go to the one in Liverpool, but i have no money! so i've been lucky.

i have also planned my holiday to London dates. August 5th-10th, so if you know of any really good things going on then please hollaaaa. i am gutted we can't be there for A Field Day which looks set to be absolutely brilliant.

i'm currently waiting to fail my exams, and cheering myself up by going to lots of gigs, so be expecting more gig posts over the next couple of months. i'm on gig number 20 of the year so far! only 32 left to goooo. i really hope i can make 52 before 2008 is upon us (i.e. an average of one a week).

onto the music!

i've found a lovely little band by the name of Lo Fi Culture Scene. they're only 12 and 13 years old, and talented beyond their years. lucky them! i can't work out whether bands are getting younger and younger or i'm just getting old. they make cute indie. think Cajun Dance Party fronted by a kid with the vocals of Lil Chris, hahah. well worth checking out before the A&R hounds get their ears on them.

Lo Fi Culture Scene - Meet Again

in my fan-girly-ness, i've been collecting the entire Futureheads discography (or trying to). here's a couple of my favourites out of the b-sides and more rare tracks.

The Futureheads - Remote Control
The Futureheads - Appreciate The Effort

i am also heavily feeling the new M.I.A track. it's completely her. it's nice when artists and bands try to change their sound, but not when it could be a whole different band. M.I.A's obviously found something that works for her. there's zoom-zooms, dings, chings, ohh oh ohh's, tap taps and a furoe of other sounds that make her music amazing to listen to.

M.I.A - Hit That

more briefness to come tomorrow!

to drink or not to drink.

is it a good idea to get drunk (not too drunk mind) at gigs? yes, you wake up in the morning with your mouth tasting like foot, but if you've had an amazing time that shouldn't really matter, right? but then again it often causes slight delusion that the bands were all completely brilliant. hmm.

on Sunday i went to see The Maccabees. i interviewed them first and managed to make a tit out of myself due to nervousness. anywaaaay.
Jack Penate had to pull out of his support slot due to illness, and in stepped friend of The Maccabees, Derek Meins. "a poet who basically screams at the audience" said Felix when i asked about him. and scream at us he did. it was more amusing than properly entertaining. perhaps it was the sex noises he made onstage that put me off.

up next were Fear Of Flying. i have to say that listening to their new demos hadn't convinced me too much, but seeing them played live was a million times better. especially 'Shadows'. it makes me want to make love to cowbells. (not really). but it is amazing, and that was the track i was singing all the way home. if this is a taste of things to come then we should all be keeping a very close eye on Fear Of Flying over the next 12 months. i can't wait to see them again.

Fear Of Flying - Shadows (demo)

then obviously came The Maccabees. i haven't been to a 'gig' gig in ages. you know the ones i mean. with crowd surfers and kids pushing this way and that way, and security repeatedly putting their crotches in your face.
i almost got crushed to death, and then almost drowned in my own sweat. it was a bit of a revelation to me; this was the reason i had stopped going down the front, and maybe even stopped going to bigger gigs completely.

near death aside, The Maccabees were on top form, close to bursting with enthusiasm. you could really see that playing to the sold out crowd meant everything to them. i'd only seen them once before but this time round was miles miles better.
i might even say that if Penate had played, this would have been the gig of the year for me.

The Maccabees - Happy Faces

then last night i went to see Letters & Colours at Bring On The Dancing Horses.
first up was Pictures Of You who is apprently related somehow to someone in Late Of The Pier or something. i always find one man bands incredibly brave (or stupid depending on how good/bad they are). Pictures Of You did look slightly nervous, but was nevertheless good. reminded me a little of Sir Yes Sir, but more on the pop side. indie electro pop is a fine summary.

Pictures Of You - Sunny Days

Letters & Colours took to the stage, complete in black attire to fit with their sombre undertones. they've been compared with the likes of Interpol, Editors, Bloc Party, and Joy Division. and i have to agree with the Joy Division comparison (and somewhat the Interpol one too). with their delicious moody new wave, Letters & Colours would fit perfectly in amongst the post-punk scene of yesteryear.
think The Cure fronted by a wide eyed young thing who likes to dance and has a voice deeper than is sensible.

'Plan A' video.



i have been downloading tons and tons of new music, so expect a good few posts to be arising over the next week or so!

part deux.

before i continue with my ramblings about the North East, i must mention a few things (some non-musical). firstly!
Spiderman 3. it's utterly shite. don't bother unless you're having a hard time getting to sleep. secondly!
the local council elections. shit shit shit shit. STOP VOTING TORY. thirdly!
Larrikin Love have split. oooh. drama. they were good but i'm not sure how a second album from them would have sounded. i'm not crying or anything. fourth!
New Order have split up!! i bet it was induced by that GOD AWFUL cover of Joy Division's 'Shadow Play' by The Killers. they are underserving of a link. and finally,
where'd the sunshine go??

THE NORTH EAST PT. 2

Dartz! have been around for aaaaages, but they haven't really gotten the attention of too many people, which is a shame as they are worth a listen. i'm lazy so this is going to be very short.

Dartz! - Prego Triangolos

Kubichek! seem to be another victim of the exclamation mark sporting bands. i remember hearing 'Night Joy' and thinking "wooo i actually have silver shoes!" (some lovely ones from Topshop). similar sounding to Dartz! i guess.

Kubichek! - Night Joy

Oxfam Glamour Models are from Middlesbrough, the land of zombies. they have created a kind of dirty dirty indie that harks of the post-punk movement. there's something timeless, yet satisfying about their sound.

Oxfam Glamour Models - Postmodern Stars

Das Wanderlust are also from the land of zombies. "amazing amazing". is how i'd describe what i thought the first time i heard them. it was 'Apples' and i knew straight away that they were brilliant. in the same vein as pre-second album Help! She Can't Swim but they're more fierce and danceable.

Das Wanderlust - Apples

aside from that, there's a million north easterners hiding in bands you probably know. for example, Alex Kapranos in Franz Ferdinand and Joel Stone in Shitdisco.

so there we go. not everything up north is a complete waste of space. (i'm saying nothing about Sunderland AFC.. cough.)

aaaaand that's a wrap! obviously if there's bands i didn't feature please get in touch and tell me who they are!

way aye man!

THE NORTH EAST.

it's shit really, but my god has it brought us some wonderful bands (and me?!).

first and foremost is The Futureheads. my favourite band. ever. in the whole world. i love them more than i love my own mother, Gang Of Four, free stuff, ice cream, sunny days, lie-ins and finding money on the floor. that's a whole lot of love. i can't even explain the vastness of the soft spot in my heart for them. i have turned into a gabbering, giggling mess everytime i've met them.
the time Barry gave me a hug and a kiss nearly sent me over the edge.

they're out of the live action at the minute, and are doing the odd DJ set up and down the country. though i wish they'd knock it off and play some gigs again. i'm dying to hear some new stuff and to see them sweat their stuff in the way that they do. only do i squeal to The Futureheads. no other band has (so far!) had the ability to make me want to eat my own head out of sheer delight.
they're from Sunderland (boooo, TOOOOOON ARMY forever). now, a lot of people can't appreciate how amazing it is that they managed to form and evolve in the first place. if you knew Sunderland you would be marvelled. it's a shithole. complete and utter. until a couple of years ago there wasn't even a cinema there let alone anything remotely exciting.

here is where i digress and fail to impress you with a little bragging. my dad is actually partly responsible for setting up The (world famous) Bunker in Sunderland. he used to run a fanzine and decided that that wasn't enough. there was nowhere for the music fans (namely the punks like himself) to go and hang out or to practise (he was in a shitty band) or to see gigs. and basically they tried to get funding from every single local business they could to set up The Bunker and eventually one agreed and they were in business. it's now a renowned venue and practise space and has played host to many many famous acts! who would have thought a bunch of kids with safety pins holding up their jeans could start something so influencial?

this was and is possibly the only UN-dull thing about sunderland.
the arcades at the beach are quite good. yeah anyway.

The Futureheads - Piece Of Crap
The Futureheads - Let's Dance (David Bowie cover)

Maximo Park obviously had to come next. Paul Smith is one of the most charasmatic front men i have seen live. he oozes that special "DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM ME NOW OR YOU'LL MISS THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE" quality that 99.9% of us really just don't have.
admittedly they aren't all from the north east but i'm disregarding that for now because their new album 'Our Earthly Pleasures' is stupidly stupidly infectious. i can't decide whether it's better than the first album or not yet. it's close!

Maximo Park - The Unshockable
Maximo Park - Limassol

Field Music are one of my great loves because of their connections with The Futureheads (Peter Brewis used to be in The Futureheads and wrote 'Park Inn' which is allegedly the first ever Futureheads' track!). but i also love them because they are good. and now not splitting up haha.
the expected accent but wrapped in more fairytale-esque sounds than simply jagged guitar music.
when i saw them play 'You're So Pretty' i actually almost cried. it's immense live.

Field Music - You're So Pretty
The Futureheads (Barry Hyde, Jaff, Peter Brewis) - Park Inn

part deux tomorrow! featuring Kubichek!, Dartz! and moooore.

better late than never.

LIVERPOOOOOL. i can't stand the Liverpudlian accent. at all. it makes me want to cry and conjures up images of pink shell suits and twocking cars.

but there's some good bands from there, and Lexy is from there. so i won't hate.

The Wombats. everyone is bumming these lads at the minute, and with good reason too. they're brilliant. i first got into them around last November when i heard they were going to be supporting Good Shoes. so i thought i'd check them out, see if they were upto much. and i was suprised in the most wonderful of ways.

The Wombats - My First Wedding

goFASTER>> are like the little brothers of the big cowbell god in the sky. i adore them crazy amounts. i was supposed to go and see them on Sunday but laziness combined with a mild hangover, amazing weather and my lack of revision prohibited this. very Hot Club-esque.

goFASTER>> - You Better Watch Out

To My Boyyyyyyyyy. are brilliant. i bum them so much it's just stupid. they never ever fail to make me dance. i have annoyed countless djs (actually, i know exactly which djs) asking for 'The Grid' and i have annoyed them more by pulling a sour face when they played 'I Am XRay' instead. me and my friends even have an 'XRAY' dance (it also fits well to The Maccabees - XRay' - who i am incidently interviewing on Sunday aahh god). it involves x shaped arm movements and that's about it.
anyway. To My Boy are wonderful. electro dance but not like that. pop infused electric bleeping mashed with guitars. yeah, that's better.

To My Boy - In The Zone

i've spoken about Hot Club already so no need for a re-cap!
there's a million other bands from Liverpool, i am fully aware. i'm just too lazy to talk about them.

in other music related news! i have found that The Long Blondes' track that is playing in the Tate Modern beside that piece with the dead birds.

The Long Blondes - The Unbearable Lightness Of Building

i have also been listening to Volta. lots and lots. i am in love with it i think. might be my best album of 07. even better than To My Boy's! shocking.

Bjork - Declare Independence

this was very rambly. i suspect a more coherent post will be in order next time, when i can pull myself away from reading The Secret History!

another day.

another dollar!
thanks for the get well messages, i am feeling better today.

my mock exam went disastrously. must have been the worst thing i've ever written in the whole of my academic history. but it was only a practise so no need to fret haha.

i was today told that Bat For Lashes are playing in Manchester in July. i am very excited as i haven't seen them befoooore. another gig to add to the list!

i didn't really have anything in mind for this post, but then i read a bulletin posted by Hot Club De Paris. they're going on tour, and taking GoodBooks with them. am i going to the tour? obviouslyyyy. i can't bloody wait. although it means i have to miss a friend of mine's band supporting Fake Shark Real Zombie!
Hot Club are fantastic. witty, clever, and sharp. NME once complained that they don't have proper choruses. if only all dysfunctional songs sounded as good as the 'Ot Club's do! their album 'Drop It Til It Pops' was one of my massive favourites of 2006, and i can't wait to hear any and all new material. Jamie T is fan, although i don't think much to that remix he did of 'Shipwreck'. (.mp3)

they make jaunty, catchy, innovative tunes. that has a nautical feel to it. sea shanties and all that.

Hot Club De Paris - Your Face Looks All Wrong

if you like them, make sure you check out goFASTER>> who are another band from the booming Liverpool scene. actually, i might do a post about Liverpool tomorrow.

there we go. sorted.

christ almighty.

i think Wednesdays should be banned. they are completely pointless and annoying, and usually the worst things ever happen on Wednesdays (no, i don't have any evidence to support this claim - fuck off).

i have heard a rumour that Field Music have split up.
on Blah Blah Blasé's myspace they have added "R.I.P" onto the end of their name. does that mean they've gone bye bye too? GUTTED.
in addition to this:
- i have a 3 hour mock exam tomorrow,
- Shitdisco have cancelled their Manchester gig on Friday,
- i have work at 10am on Saturday,
- i still have tonsillitus,
- AND. to top it all off, High Voltage managed to cut my favourite bit out of the Foals feature i wrote for them. (it's HERE for anyone that wants to read it).

here was my favourite bit that didn't make the cut:

“The moment you’re in a band everyone’s just like ‘you’re gorgeous but you’re dumb’." - Yannis, Foals.

other bits i thought were useful also were cut. crycry.

as consolation i have been eating tubs of ice cream (literally) and listening to lots of Bat For Lashes.

Bat For Lashes - Sarah

and lots of CocoRosie.

CocoRosie - Promise

yeah anyway. i wanted to have a rant about bands in general.
it must be amazingly eeeeeeeeeeasy to be in a band (please, do correct me if i'm wrong here). so touring a lot is tiring and whatever, but seriously. the perks clearly and obviously outweigh the cons. a friend of mine suggested that all bands should be made into promoters once in a while and then they would see that they have the easiest job in terms of a gig. i'm just annoyed at the amount of myspace bulletins i see saying "GIG CANCELLED" or "*HEADLINERS* DROPPED OUT". this isn't to do with Shitdisco. i understand that one of them is actually seriously ill and is currently in hospital, something totally unavoidable.
plus, they are going to reschedule, and i have seen them before. i will live.
i'm talking about the bands who drop out of gigs because their tyre burst or their van broke down or they got a headache or they forgot they were playing or they couldn't be arsed so they made up a shit excuse. just generally bands who think it's alright to drop out of gigs casually and not realise that it has a massive effect on their fans.
not only is it inconvienient, it is also disappointing and terribly selfish.

maybe i'm being harsh, maybe i'm not. who knows?

what i know is that bands these days are getting a bit too used to leaning on their management to get them a lift or their booking agent to find them the best gigs to play. the DIY ethic seems to have completely disappeared from the mentality of some bands, and is making the music industry look like it is full of boys in bands who wear jeans so tight that they restrict the blood flow to their brains. thus turning them into whingeing, moaning, crying cry babies. no one is there to hold you hand? big fucking deal. you lose a bit of money playing a gig in a new city for the first time? big fucking deal. you miss a rave where people who don't dance are going to be in attendance? big. fucking. deal.

i think some bands need a kick up the arse, and need to stop relying on the mollycoddling of the A&R world.

now listen to a band who do it all themselves. there's no frills here, just good fucking music and good live performances. one of Manchester's many underrated. Sir Yes Sir. guitar music that occassionally bleeps.

Sir Yes Sir - Bass Hit

i am in dire need of some retail therapy.
over and out.

egos galore!

i'm pretty sure 99% of you will have heard about the Drummer Incident at Patrick Wolf's MisShapes show in New York.

Patrick posted a letter on his website on Sunday night telling his fans he is quitting music. "I have made a decision, my final concert will be this november, a retrospective with an orchestra in London. I am not sure wether there will be anymore public communications after that, Infact I am pretty sure there will be none." quotequote.

how gutted am i? unbelievably so. but then again i have hope. i really don't see him staying away from the limelight all that long, and once he calms down and sees that music is life (because it is, right) he will come back better than before. i think the recent (from around new year) exposure, touring, promoting his album and obviously struggles within his band have just been getting a little too much. so he snapped. sadly. lets just hope he comes back quick. he's possibly one of the greatest musicians around at the minute, and maybe even for a long time. it would be massively dissappointing to lose such a wonderful person from our world.
i'm determined to go to the London November gig, although i can imagine getting tickets will be like trying to find red sand.

Patrick Wolf - Empress

last night i went to see GoodBooks. i've seen them twice before, and so i kind of knew what to expect. i must say that i think their live performances are a million times better than what they sound like on record. i can't quite work out why that is (possibly over production?) but they were very very good again last night.
the first support was from a band called The Redwings. errm. no comment. no, actually, fuck it. they were shit. beyond shit. they just made a fucking awful post-Libs noise. each member of the band must have been playing a different song to the others. they asked the crowd if anyone was going to be reviewing the gig, and when no one replied they said "good". so they are aware they are shit? or that the sound was dreadful? or that everyone was bored? when i say everyone i must mention that that does not include the two girls who were dancing.
but people do that, don't they? they dance. even when the music is shit, when it's absolutely horrifying. why though? i guess music is in the ear of the beholder, just like beauty is in the eye. but there seriously should just be some things in music which are banned.

we don't want your Libs impressionists with boys in bands who look like Pete/Carl and dress like Pete/Carl and dance like Pete/Carl and sing like Pete/Carl and are cocky without justification.
well i don't want any of these things. there's such a massive difference between taking inspiration from and just completely copying. knock it off, yeah?

back to the gig.. next onstage were Last Gang. i'd only heard a couple of tracks before i saw them last night. they follow in the footsteps of all that is The Cribs-esque northern "we come from up north 'n this is our tuuuune like" indie rock. they were good. they definitely know what they are doing, and they have a clear cut sound. i just don't know how much pushing it will take for them to get out from under the shadow of other similar and bigger bands like The Pigeon Detectives. they deserve to though, i was more impressed than i thought i would be.

Last Gang - We Don't Care

finallyyyy GoodBooks! there's something about them that sets them apart from the majority of other bands around at the minute. every now and then there's just something ever so slightly haunting about their music. i asked Leo (the drummer) how the rest of the tour had been and he said not so good, and that most places had actually been pretty empty. i was suprised because of their recent jaunts on the Vice Tour and supporting The Maccabees. plus, their album is due out sometime this summer (i think?).
at the end of their set singer and guitarist Max had a little bit of a hissy fit after telling the crowd he couldn't be bothered. he jumped off stage at the end and went straight backstage. i couldn't help but giggle. i know, i shouldn't have. me & the girls i was with went "oooooooh!" and everything. i can understand why he was pissed off. they only sold 25 tickets in advance, and there was about 30-40 people in in total. playing for weeks on end to pretty much empty rooms must get quite frustrating.

GoodBooks - Passchendaele

i'm currently suffering from tonsillitus, so if i'm not dead (or drowned in ice cream) by tomorrow i will finally get round to that Sir Yes Sir post. wooo.
ps. feedback is ace, so let me know if you like this type of "gig review" post. there's not much point if you hate them!