byop split!!!

be your own pet split.

how shit!! and what exactly am i prepared to do to get to that Liverpool gig! the answer: allsorts!

everybody wants to get with another girl.

Newcastle's answer to Vampire Weekend? there's a sentence i didn't think i'd be writing any time soon. or ever ever.

Little Comets consists of Robert, Mark, Michael and Matt and they make guitar pop music skewered with a melodic exoticness to satisfy your every foot-tapping need. repeat button worthy. catchy. delectable in all senses of the word. just bloody brilliant.

'Friday Don't Need It' screeeeeeeeeams Clap Your Hands Say Yeah meets Born Ruffians. fucking fantastic does not even begin to cover it so just download it and love it.

Little Comets - Friday Don't Need It

they've already racked up quite a few plays on their myspace and they're playing a hole host of town up in t'norf at the moment so i'd recommend you catch them asap!

ps. i'm definitely heading to Offset Festival after the birthday fairy kindly granted me not one but two tickets yesterday! happy days.

right brigade.

for a moment there i thought Santogold was on top, on form, bringing her A-Game.

then the Diplo mix tape comes out and i hear her take on Bad Brains track 'Right Brigade' and i instantly, within one nanosecond of the whole thing ending, love her just a bit more.

why can't everyone be Santogold?

Santogold/Diplo - Right Brigade

ps.



can you tell the weather is getting to me yet? i can't sleep!!!1

the warehouse project 2008.

so most of the line ups for The Warehouse Project 2008 in Manchester have been announced. i've been to a couple of both the 2006 and 2007 events and i have to say that i much prefer the venue beneath Piccadilly train station to the Boddingtons warehouse.

the new line ups look alright but i wouldn't say there are any i'm screaming out to go to. perhaps

Justice [ DJ Set ]
DJ Medhi [ Ed Banger ]
Busy P [ Ed Banger ]
So Me [ Ed Banger ]
Ivan Smagghe Optimo Espacio
The Presets [ Live ]
Fake Blood Yuksek

on November 8th

or

Erol Alkan Hercules & Love Affair [ Live ]
Special Guest TBA
Switch Brodinski Riotous Rockers Beyond The Wizards Sleeve
[ Erol Alkan & Richard Norris ]
Rub N Tug, Micron, Andro
Line-up under construction

on November 29th for only £15.
whatever the weather i better decide pretty quick; events are already selling out!

get the full line up details and purchase tickets here.
anyone planning to go to any?

Soulwax - NY Excuse (Justice Remix)

songs of the weeks.

because i'm feeling utterly lazy in the insane heat my room has decided to bake me at here's some songs i've been particularly enjoying lately.

last thursday i ventured over to Leeds to see Dinosaur Pile-Up, Pulled Apart By Horses and Tubelord with Mimi of The Whizz. all three bands were bloody fantastic and i'd recommend you catch them all asap. i managed to impress (or completely horrify) with my guest screaming vocals during a song in PABH's set. prooooobably won't be doing that again anytime soon despite the encouraging (see: pitying) high fives everyone was giving me!

Pulled Apart By Horses - I Punched A Lion In The Throat

new Friendly Fires is tiding me over (just about!) until the album drops on September 1st.

Friendly Fires - Lovesick

aaaaaand there's new Cold War Kids about. i really quite like it. a bit repetitive though..

Cold War Kids - Something Is Not Right With Me

ps. Mercury Prize whatnow?

rewind.

the guys at Buffet Libre are engaged in a project called Rewind where they are getting a whole host of their current favourite artists to cover their favourite songs from the 80s.

now covers can either be brilliant or disastrous (see: Kate Nash), and covers of 80s songs usually means bands slaughtering prolific musical moments, which is why i was extremely wary about this whole thing. is it ever a good idea to cover one of your favourite songs? is it ever a good idea to listen to a cover of one of your favourite songs? and if your favourite song is a cover, would you steer away from the original?

i saw the following song on the list and winced quite a lot. South Central doing 'Kerosene' by Big Black. initial reaction: "nooooooooooooooooooooo!". i love South Central and whilst i'll put my hands up and say i'm not Big Black's number one fan or anything, i really really love 'Kerosene'. all this could possibly spell for me was disaster. all the bands on the project were asked 3 questions and South Central's answers convinced me the whole thing might not be as bad as i'd originally thought.

1. Why have you chosen to do a cover of this song? Does this song bring back childhood memories?
No memories as such. Big Black were one of the early Punk/new Wave acts to mix electronic beats with Guitars and they had a cool DIY ethic, so it was a logical or natural choice for us.

2. If you were asked to do a tribute to the 00's in 20 years time, what song would you choose?
Probably something by the Fall maybe Sparta FC.

3. If you could choose, who would you like to do a version of one of your own songs?
Kraftwerk doing one of our songs that would be the business.

in 'Kerosene' South Central manage to maintain the dark and menacing tones of Big Black whilst neatly working their electro vibe into the track. it stomps and growls just like it should. the bass reverberates whilst the vocals snarl the lyrics. the opening 35 seconds even propose the possibility you could move around on a dancefloor to 'Kerosene'. it sounds like what The Horrors should sound like.
perhaps i shouldn't have been so quick to judge the outcome of this track. South Central always do a top job and this is definitely no exception. if only all covers were this good.

South Central - Kerosene [right click save as]
Big Black - Kerosene (live) [YSI]

ps. Modular have just launched some new clothing merchandise. completely bypassing the the scary gimp mannequins, who the fuck is going to pay nearly £40 (minus p+p!!) for a tshirt you could probably knock up yourself?? i know there's inflation insanity but this takes the piss.

some blog house 4 u?

here's some blog house (bahahahahhaha) to liven up your weekend.


video: I Scream Ice Cream - Trust Issue.

apparently all the songs over at the I Scream Ice Cream myspace are just snippets from 3 really long songs done by Jesper Mortenson of Junior Senior. definitely excited to get my hands on the full versions.

I Scream Ice Cream - Caveman OK edit

the enemy IS the future.

in twelve months time will we look back on (yet another bizarre) video from Late Of The Pier the way we look back on this:



?????

and what is it with the top half nakedness? please someone explain before i have to see yet another unjustified appearance of a pale, wiry torso.

mercury.

new Bloc Party.. here's the video:



and here's the track:

Bloc Party - Mercury (radio rip)

i don't know what to make of it. lots of people have been saying it's very Radiohead-esque and other people have been saying it's fucking awful.

ps. anyone going to Offset Festival? i reeeeally want to go.

i can has compilation?

the one thing I’ve always really really loved about Artrocker is the free compilation CDs it sometimes comes with. they’re usually ram packed with brilliant unsigned bands. not just any old unsigned rubbish but quality bands making really decent music that is bubbling away under the surface of the scene.

the first ever compilation I managed to get my hands on was ‘Artrocker Summer Of Six’ which came free with issue 39 in June 2006. looking back, it was a pretty significant CD! it introduced me, for the first time, to Hot Club De Paris, Victorian English Gentlemens Club, The Horrors (lololol), Die! Die! Die!, Punish The Atom and Elle Milano. at the time, I was starting to get into music in a much more serious way and I began to constantly search for any new music. these CDs offered me a great alternative to whatever was on the front cover of NME each week. the bands Artrocker compiled were more gritty, and far more interesting to listen to. every song sounded totally different to the previous one, yet they all managed to fit together like a glove to a hand. much like Artrocker’s writing style, there was no filler and a lack of bullshit.

with their latest offering, Artrocker has brought much of the same. ‘Artrocker Unsigned ’08 Vol. 4’ is bursting at the seams with fresh, hot talent. there’s tracks from Elle S’appelle, Let’s Wrestle, John & Jehn and Paper Planes, plus a whole host of ace songs by some even more unknown names. I spend the majority of my spare time (which is.. erm.. all the time) looking for new music and, most importantly, good music. these compilations make my life easy peasy lemon squeezy. someone email Artrocker and ask them to never stop, plz?

here's a few stellar tracks off the latest CD.

White Denim – Mess Your Hair Up
Diamond Sea – Heavy Skies
Racecar Red - Shrimp

it’s probably sold out in shops by now because I’m (cleverly!) a whole month late. but you can pick up a copy of the July issue, complete with CD, here.