Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (unless you're Frank Farina or Dawson)

Strange days indeed....

*Let her go! Pacy will never forgive you now.

*On the day the Socceroos get admitted into the Asian Football Federation, meaning their chance of World Cup qualifiaction will become much more realistic, coach Frank Farina gets the kick up the ass. Crap...

*Avril's going to marry the Sum 41 singer. Hang on, are they even old enough to, y'know...rent a forklift truck?

*New Dandy Warhols opus due in September. No word on whether they've decided to return quit mimicking Bowie, T-Rex, and Duran Duran. Put down the eyeliner Courtney...

*Big fat PLUG....Hooked On Phonics is back at The Pool in Shoreditch this Thursday (31st). The Real are gonna pop by and do that zany thing they do with beats and geetarrrs (I think it's called playing music). It's free before 9pm, then it's £3, which is virtually nuthin'. Phonics and Can't Mix are like brudders man, so if I don't mention their night I get Wet Willies and Hurts Donuts all week. Ow.

*Oh, here's the new indie band of the moment. Like Arcade Fire in '04, this is the band all the bloggers and zines are clinging too, include Major Leaguer. Yeah, guilty like Micheal J....whoops. I'd better watch it or the dove lady will hunt me down.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Doomtastic - The Masked Villain

What's the best soundtrack to immerse yourself whilst writing? For me at this present time it's MF Doom...check this nice mix comprising some of the Villain's best work (the link won't last long so check it while ya can)

Super....

Oh, the pumpkin soup was quite scrummy. Hit it up with some malted wholemeal bread and you've got yourself a fine meal...

Friday, June 24, 2005

Spurred/The rise and rise of The Dears

OK, so it wasn't 4-1, but the Spurs still delivered the goods to win game 7 against the Pistons. Ginobili is now officially a god....let's hope the Jazz get a good draft pick and make the playoffs next year (yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, I'll still support those mormons anyday of the week)...

Have just arrived home from the corporate behemoth that was day 1 of the Wireless festival at Hyde Park. The Dears have definitely improved after six solid months of touring and played the stand-out set of the night. New Order? Pretty much a tribute show nowadays ('Show us your hits!') and not very inspiring. Dresden Dolls? Wrong audience, and definitely wrong time of the day (4pm on the main stage? You're having a laugh!). Rilo Kiley? Five songs, and then kicked off because another band ran over time...hopeless planning to say the least. Still, Jenny was lovely in fetching white cowgirl boots...*sigh*

A day of rest tomorrow, full of writing and cooking. Pumpkin soup anyone?

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Can't Mix Won't Mix wrap-up (ah...Pointer Sisters!)

Well that was fun...last night's Can't Mix was ace. Good crowd, great tunes, free Hoegaarden - what more do you need in a night? Big thanks to Dom from Nature Loves Courage for helping out (you need to bring more records next time!), Luke and Pat for their turntable antics, and of course Will as always (ever the professional, especially when it comes to French pop). Tune of the night? Pinball Number Count by The Pointer Sisters. If you're part of the Sesame Street crew you know where I'm at...nice one Pat.

Can't Mix Won't Mix June selections

*Freeform Five - EEEEAAOOWW (Narcoleptic Mix) (Kitsune)
*The Raveonettes - Love In A Trashcan (Columbia)
*Maximo Park - Once, A Glimpse (Warp)
*NWA - Express Yourself (Priority)
*Tom Vek - I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes (Phones remix) (Tummy Touch)
*Wire - Dot Dash (Harvest)
*Blendcrafters - Melody (MF Doom remix) (Up Above Records)
*Royksopp - 49 Percent (Wall of Sound)
*Goldfrapp - Oohlala (Virgin)
*Scott Grooves - Mothership Reconnection (Daft Punk remix) (Soma)

Monday, June 20, 2005

Nature Loves Courage vs Can't Mix this Wednesday @ The Pool

Where were we? Oh yes...

So, after BSE from www.abitnice.com dropped
some science on our asses at the last Can't Mix
(new Missy - Quality with a capital Q), we sat
back for a moment and realised that we'd been
neglecting the indie kids we know and love.

However, if you're thinking, 'Oh no, not more Gang
of Four tribute bands with scruffy hair and pencil
thin moustaches' you'd be wrong because this
week you'll actually hear Gang of Four (yes!) and
so much more.

Our fine friends at disreputable zine Nature Loves
Courage wanted to throw a bash to celebrate their
fourth issue, and we at the Can't Mix institute
thought long and hard (we even got our protractors
out and measured the angles), then said '**** it,
let's do it'. So, it's NLC vs Can't Mix...bring the
mother-****ing 'J Mascis brawling with Lou Barlow'
ruckus...

Nature Loves Courage @ Can't Mix Won't Mix
Wednesday 22nd June
8pm-1am @ The Pool, Curtain Rd, Shoreditch,
EC2
Free!
DJs: Will Kane, Euan (Can't Mix), Dom, Pat, Luke
(NLC)

What's on the stereola? Arcade Fire, Riot Grrl,
Beat Happening, Butthole Surfers, Mogwai, Slint,
HipHop, Interpol, Cure, SST Hardcore, Albini,
Sebadoh, Pavement, Pixies, Jesus and Mary
Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Smiths, Lou Reed +
new bands championed in NLC. Time to get those
Mudhoney 7"'s out...

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Obi Wan Ginobili (nope, not my joke, I swear)

A lazy day in front of the NBA....watched Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan whip the Pistons to give San Antonio a 2-0 lead. Now, now, some of you might be saying 'Hold on, haven't you seen Game 3 yet?' Well, the answer is noooooooooo. I'll watch it on Saturday becuase it's on Sky over here and since I don't have the sports channels on my cable subscription I'm relying on a guy at work to tape it for me (Awwww....yeah, he rocks). I'm hoping for Detroit to win at least one of their home games, but I think San Antonio will win it in five. Yup, 4-1 San Antonio. That's a lock.

In other news

* I hear gator wrastlin' will land you in jail...

* Kanye's sophomore effort's been bumped back to August (you heard 'Diamonds From Sierra Leone' yet? Qual-i-tay all the way...

* Old news I know, but I'm still tempted to get tix for The Mars Volta curated ATP weekend in December. Anybody want to shout me tix as an early birthday present?

Monday, June 13, 2005

I 'heart' Saint Etienne

Ow! Didn't sleep that well last night, being woken up by the light outside my window at 5:00am. 5:00AM!!! Note to self - buy dark curtains, otherwise there'll be NO......SLEEP......TILL SPRINGTIME! (NAH NAH NAH!)

To make things worse my back is killing me, which is quite odd since I've never had any problems with it before. That'll teach me not to exercise and lift boxes...what was I thinking?

Major Leaguer stereo selection

Saint Etienne - Tales From Turnpike House


Posted by Hello

Well, given my love for all stylised French pop there was really only one choice this week (did you really think I was going to choose one of the manufactured shag haired bands that are bleating every five minutes on MTV2? Besides, the only other good release today was The Magic Numbers debut, but a new Saint Etienne album is always full of lovely surprises so it got the nod...just).

The second Saint Etienne album to sport the wares of the Xenomania pop svengalis (Finisterre being the first), Turnpike House is consistently splendid, a warm concept (no, no, come back now) album about the residents of an East London block of flats. Sarah Cracknell's lush voice is in top form, and those fans who felt Finisterre may have been too cold for their liking will be relieved to find plenty of 'old Saint Etienne' songs to allay any fears, with Lightning Strikes Twice and A Good Thing standout choices for future singles. Be quick to pick-up the limited edition which carries a bonus six track disc of childrens songs (a taster for a full album which is planned for release in just in time for Christmas!)

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Can't Mix Won't Mix flyer


This is the current Can't Mix Won't Mix flyer at the moment. A nice two-tone feel if you ask me. If you think this one's the bees knees though, wait until you see what WK's rustling up for the next one! Posted by Hello

Stu Egan's Blog

I've been dropping into Stu Egan's site from time to time over the past six months and his award tour has certainly producing some cool happy snaps of people and places around the world. He's also quite a handy writer too, with his musings on hip hop regularly appearing in Hip Hop Connection (this month's issue will make you wet your Carhartts if you're a Def Jux head) and other mags about town. Go on, take a Spacewalk.

Friday, June 10, 2005

The week Major Leaguer went corporate...sorta

Highllights of the week?

* Can't Mix Won't Mix 3 - Bse from A Bit Nice dropped some science on our asses at Can't Mix on Wednesday (i.e. he played some lovely hip hop really) including the new Missy joint...damn! You're welcome back any time...

N.B. 22nd June sees Can't Mix number 4 being taken over by the Nature Loves Courage kids for their issue 4 launch party. Did I mention there'll be free NLC badges? Oh yeah....8pm-1am at The Pool Bar on Curtain Rd, EC2. If I don't see you there, I'll get Steve Albini to come over to your house and kick your ass...

*Still Sudoku mad....it's sucking my life away...

*Avoided hearing any Dr Who plot developments from WK...tomorrow's episode could be either brilliant or bollocks.

*Hearing today that Steven Gerrard's pre-season will be cut short thanks to European football. Get in there...

*Finally finding the Pere Ubu track I'd been trying to track down for several years since seeing the filmclip for it on ABC's Rage music video back in September '96 (It was the night that Custard first programmed the show, and included Dead Milkmen's Punk Rock Girl, Soundgarden's Jesus Christ Pose, and Wall Of Voodoo's Mexican Radio....whoa ohhhh, radio). Anyway, I digress...the track's called Love Love Love and is from their hard to find (and expensive) Cloudland album. It marked a poppier path for the band in comparison to their early albums such as The Modern Dance and Dub Housing.

* Oh, and as you look to your right you'll see the newly constructed Google AdSense shrine. Clicky on the linkys if you will and I'll promise I'll blog more often (or you can click on them if you want me to stop. Your choice...)

There's also a search window at the bottom of this page if you can't be assed to type in W....W....W....DOT....G...O...O...G...yeah, yeah, you get the picture. Suddenly I feel all techno-mo-logical ...

Artic Monkeys Experiment
C'mon lads, Amerie and now Jeremy Warmsley are kicking your keisters when it comes to hits directed to this site.

(Hey, that three slang words for buttocks in the one post. Looks like that journalism degree's really starting to pay off after all these years. Better remove it from the emergency toilet paper stash)

Monday, June 06, 2005

How'd you get to Major Leaguer? / Arctic Monkeys Experiment update

So, if you've just found this site for the first time it might be due to these Google searches...

6/6/05 (6:06am) - 'T4' welsh presenter - yep, the teen TV presenter Steve Jones who apparently 'conqered' Pamela Anderson and, just recently, Rose McGowan.

5/6/05 (8:37pm) - 'live in the year 3000'+lyrics - When did I blog about Busted? Oh yeah...

5/6/05 (6:28am) and 2/6/05 (11:23am) - 'frog brothers' - If you don't own this on DVD, shame on you.

2/6/05 (10:54am) and 1/6/05 (11:25am) - 'jeremy warmsley i-believe' Jeremy's single is out this week on Exercise Records. It's good, so do the right thing and get yr wallet out. Oh, here's an interview I did with Jeremy for this months issue of Subter.com

Artic Monkeys Experiment: Update

Only 3 searches in the last 3 days for 'band of the moment (while Pete Doherty is absent presumed missing presumed recording the sound of himself pissing his career down the toilet)' The Arctic Monkeys resulted in hits for Major Leaguer, whereas Amerie keeps on keepin' on, scoring 10 hits for this lil' site.

Booty shaking R'N'B 1, Indie Rock 0.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Addictions / Sleater Kinney / Arctic Monkeys

This week I have become addicted to...

...those damn Sudoku puzzles in The Guardian and The Independent each day, so much so that my internet and cable usage over the last week has been almost non-existent (maybe that's a good thing, I hear some of you say. Well....you're right...dammit).

...Amazon marketplace. Cheap books, cheap CDs. Why pay more that a fiver for anything?

...Bio-yoghurt mixed with honey and pine-nuts....yummmm!

This site has started to get quite a few hits each day now, especially after the Amerie post a few weeks ago. So, let's try a lil' experiment. I've just read a feature about the NME's hottest new band of the moment (well, one of the 50 or so this week), The Arctic Monkeys. They're supposedly a mix between Blur (good!) and The Libertines (bad!) and they're touring the UK right as I blog. So, let's see how many hits Major Leaguer gets just from mentioning them. I'll keep track each day and let all y'all know....

Major Leaguer album of the week

Sleater Kinney - The Woods

First Low, now Sleater Kinney. It seems Sub Pop can do no wrong this year. The Woods is one of those albums that re-establishes your faith in good old rock'n'roll, a crackling set from a band that have reached their creative peak. Produced by Dave Fridmann (who was also at the boards on Low's The Great Destroyer, the other Sub Pop must-have of '05), The Woods sees Brownstein, Tucker and Weiss expand upon their last two outings, All Hands on the Bad One and One Beat, crafting an album that reveals new giddy thrills with every listen. Plus, in the form of Entertain they've crafted the best song to get your rocks off to so far this year. This one isn't going to leave the Major Leaguer stereo for a long time....