Moving house

I've left the world of Blogger and jumped over to Tumblr instead. Heck, I may even post more than every six to eight months. Maybe. And there's going to be another site up and running too, if I get around to it that is. It'll be more on a strictly music tip, with daily (what?!?) posts. Yup, daily.

Anyway, Silly Curly Haired Man is where I'll be. Bye bye Blogger. It's been grand.

Explaining another blogging absence (again?)

Errrrr....yes. I used to blog. And I still do. Been tardy, innit?

Anywayze, yes, a few posts next week should make up for the lengthy absence, with piccy-tures of summer fun, gigs and the like. Until then....

Here are some quite delightful things on Youtube and the like that I'm quite taken with.

* Forget Alicia Keys and Jack White. This should be the official theme for the next 007 flick. Ta muchly Joe Cornish (from Adam and Joe)



* The lovely Isa GT has not just started a new club night (Musicalia at the new Moustache Bar in Dalston), but also made a video for The Black Ghosts (DJ Touche and Simon Lord's splendid band) single Anyway You Choose To Give. Aceness indeed.



* Y'know when you find something on your iPod that you've never heard before, and suddenly become obsessed with it for the next day? Step forward Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier, and their theme to Cannabis, the 1970 not-so-smash film of the same name. Grab the soundtrack from Boomkat or Play.



(yes, it's just music on a still image, but brilliant anyway)

* Some people need to step away from technology once in a while. Yikes.



Right, Earthquake is on the box so I'd best dash. Tame that quake Charlton!



(I first saw this in an all-night disaster movie marathon with The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure and Dante's Peak. Dante's Peak? Well, it was 1997!)

P.S. They've made the McFly Dunks!!!

A Muxtape for a Snowy Day / blown-a-wish

On Sunday I woke to find one my favourite sites in the whole world: a carpet of snow outside my window. During my childhood in Australia, I was lucky that I grew up in a small country town, Orange in New South Wales, that received regular snowfall each winter (due to a higher elevation than most surrounding cities) More often than not it would mean that school would be cancelled for at least a day, meaning ample time to get frostbite in pursuit of making snowmen, snow angels and the perfect snowball. Bliss.

So I decided to make the most of the white landscape and head to the local cemetery to take pictures of snow-crusted seraphs, before checking out the snowmen in Clissold park. I made sure that the music accompanying my walk would be perfect too. Nothing overwrought or frantic, just something gentle that would suffice for a stroll around snow covered Stoke Newington. This is what I came up with.

http://footprintsinthesnow.muxtape.com/

Indeed, this is the second online mixtape I've made in the last week, after stumbling across one of the most refreshing sites I've come across in a long time. Muxtape lets you create your very own mixtape for others to listen too. Simply register, upload your selection of 12 tracks, order and tag them, click save, and voilà....you're Rob Gordon. Or a smitten teenager.

NB: I'm not the first or the second, but certainly act like both all the time. And yes, I still make mixtapes. Fact.

Anyway, head over to Muxtape and listen to a random selection of user mixtapes. I've found that by clicking play on one tape and letting it run in the background while writing/browsing/cooking that I've discovered more new artists than using Last.fm. It's also made me realise that although the method of delivery may have changed over the last five years, mixtapes will continue to be made.


* After the sojourn in the snow, I spent an afternoon re-discovering artists I'd bookmarked on MySpace back while looking for acts for the first (and last) Something Secret club night at the Pleasure Unit. One such artist that caught my ear was blown-a-wish. The solo project from the bass player from London band Silent Alliance, Alex Brettel's work as blown-a-wish is reminiscent of Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. Her dreamy vignettes stay with you long after you've listened to them, with a degree of fragility that draws you in from the opening notes. If these are demos, I'm looking forward to hearing the finished product.

blown-a-wish - My Heart Into

blown-a-wish - Pale Hope

blown-a-wish - You/Her

Credit to the Edit

I love a good edit, and so does Lovefingers. One of the two folks behind the Black Disco Social Club in Los Angeles (alongside Nitedog), Andrew Lovefingers is a master of re-edits, especially of the space-disco/balearic kind. Examples of his work, as well as a slew of DJ sets, can be found on here (I'm particularly fond of the Donald Byrd and Jo Bisso cuts at the moment.....bliss).

Those who prefer hearing their music coming from a warm deck instead of a warm hard drive will be pleased to hear that Lovefingers collaboration with Nitedog, Black Disco Vol 1, is now out on 12", and a fine rekkid it is too, full of tripped-out woozy goodness. Fans of DFA and Emperor Machine need look no further. Grab it at Phonica while you can.


* Cut Copy are coming to town in April to showcase the damn fine songs from their second album In Ghost Colours, a record that has pretty much been the soundtrack to my week (apart from the sleeping bits that is, and possibly the bits where I had to go pee). Ahem.....anyway, it's out on May 5th here in the UK (yes, it seems rather odd that it's been pushed back again, and in the age of downloading, both of the legal and illegal kind, I'm perplexed as to the reasons why Universal have done this. Surely a foolish move considering the record leaked in early March, and came out in Australia last week). Tickets for their Scala show on April 23 are on sale now (grab 'em here, here, and possibly here)

And if you can't wait until May 5 and would actually like to purchase a physical copy quick smart, Red Eye in Sydney have it for around about £13 (including postage)

(Album highlight? Far Away)

* The best cartoon from my youth has finally made it DVD!

Remember this?



And this?



Wow. The only homework I ever needed as a kid.

Nul point for Sebastien Tellier? Not a chance.

Regular readers of this blog may find this confession rather strange, but I've resisted the Gallic charms of Sebastien Tellier for some time. Until now. I'm not sure why that is to be honest. I'd listened to snippets of his music here and there, and enjoyed his contribution to the Lost in Translation OST (surely one of the best soundtracks in the last ten years). Somehow though, I'd never really sought to take the time to really give his music a proper chance. Possibly because he was always name checked as an artist to like. As in, if you like Air, Beck, Daft Punk, Serge...well, you get the picture. Plus, his similarity to Gonzales bugged me in a way, almost as if he was the Pepsi to Chilly's Coke. (It's seems there's no love between the pair either, if this interview is anything to go by. And how good does the Let's Ride remix sound? Jarvis and Teki Latex? God damn.)

Anyway, I recently visited Rough Trade in Notting Hill a few weeks ago for a record hit (Total damage? You don't want to know, but I can assure you that the final haul was worth every penny) and was immediately taken by one of the tracks played overhead. Sure enough it was the work of Mr Tellier, the track in question Roche from his new album Sexuality (Woodwork). Having previously read that the LP had been produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo from Daft Punk, I knew that I would have to give Sebastien a second chance, if only to hear Guy-Man's board work. Roche is reminiscent of the quieter moments on Discovery and Human After All, the slinkier, sexier side of Daft Punk that doesn't get nearly enough credit from critics too busy eulogising about the duo's influence on French dance music's new wave.

Christo's production on Sexuality glistens, providing a jagged intensity reminiscent of Vangelis's work on Blade Runner (Une Heure for example). Together with Tellier's longing vocals, it makes for refreshing listening. There's an almost guilty pleasure feeling to the album, and although not every track works (the over-the-top Manty for one), there's plenty here to immerse yourself in, notable mentions being the stunning closer L'Amour et la Violence and the playful Trevor Hornesque Divine, which has recently been chosen as the official French entrant for this year's Eurovision contest in May. Yes, that's right kids. Vote early, vote often.

Sebastien Tellier - Divine

Meanwhile, here's what Sweden chose to fight it out with Sebastien and...ahem...Andy Abraham (oh dear).



Charlotte Perrelli - Hero.

It's not nearly as good as last year's Svensk pick, The Ark's Worrying Kind. Only 51 points? This is how a Eurovision song should sound like - camp as hell. It's like Thin Lizzy meets Edison Lighthouse. Gold.

Michel Gondry - Sweded!

So this week Mr Kane and I went to see Be Kind Rewind at the flicks. I'd heard some very mixed reviews about it, so you can understand I approached Mr Gondry's latest film with caution. Would Jack Black try to steal every scene? Would Mos Def mumble his way throughout the film's entirety? Would the concept of films re-made in a ragtag style be too twee? No, no and no.

Be Kind was far better than I had expected, and I'm glad to say there were countless occasions when I was crying with laughter. As a pair of male leads, Black and Def worked well together. Black wasn't in over-the-top mode, thankfully, and the chemistry between the pair really helped ground the film early on. The theme of community was also prevalent in Be Kind, although the sentiment was slightly saccharine towards the end. But on the whole I'd say Gondry's latest effort was very satisfying indeed.

My favourite scene in the movie was a one shot sequence of Black and Def (and Melonie Diaz) remaking various films such as 2001, King Kong and Carrie. Indeed, the scene was reminiscent of Gondry's videos for Lucas With The Lid Off and Protection. Genius. If haven't seen his Directors Label collection of selected videos then pick it up on DVD now. It's usually quite cheap on Amazon marketplace and Fopp occasionally has it for under a tenner as well.



Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off



Massive Attack - Protection

Gondry's also made a 'Sweded' trailer for the film which is almost as good as the film itself.



And Gondry's next project? He's directed one of three segments of Tokyo, a film comprising of three stories set in the aforementioned city. Gondry had also been working on the adaptation of Rudy Rucker's Master of Space and Time, which was to be scripted by Daniel Clowes, but Gondry has said himself in interviews that the project is just about 'dead in the water'. Recently though, it's been revealed that Clowes will team up with Gondry for an animated film, Migel Munya, written by Michel and his teenage son Paul. Also, Gondry has stated that his next project is Return of the Ice Kings, where the central concept is 'a story about kids who invent a water that makes you hear music when you drink it'. Errr....yeah.

What becomes of the broken hearted? They head here...

Last year's Anti-Valentines session at the Keston Lodge was a hell of a lotta fun with drinking, dancing and just generally sticking two fingers in Cupid's direction by playing a selection of 'fuck love' and done-me-wrong songs throughout the course of the evening.

(My personal favourite of the night? This one)



So this Thursday the 14th we're going to do it all again from 8pm till late. Joining my good self on the wheels of rubber, steel and plastic will be Beez and Becca, aka World of Proper. Having seen those crazy kids last play at their Christmas records bash at The Mucky Pup, I'm guessing that Thursday should be -

a) a lark
b) quite silly
c) full of pardeeeee breaks
d) probably quite messy


There will also be a ban on Joy Division tunes (seriously, that's just way too obvious for an Anti-V Day bash) and, despite what it states on the flyer above, I'm sure couples can sneak in as long as they stop holding hands for at least one millisecond whilst walking through the Keston doors. Oh, and no pashing like randy students sneaking a quickie behind the cricket nets/bleachers. Right? See y'all there.

Now, back to our (ir)regularly scheduled blogging

* A quick shout out to footie blog Angle of Post and Bar which skewers the hyperbole of the cash-grabbing Premier League and big time football quite nicely. If you're a fan of When Saturday Comes then Angle is certainly one to bookmark.

* While watching the Eng-er-land vee Switzerland match this week (if only to gaze at the sartorial smoothness of Don Capello of course), my flatmate Will decided that the name of Swiss goal scorer Derdiyok was a fine replacement for the title of Maria Vidal's 80s hit Body Rock

'Derdiyok, get your body into music...'



This led to a good hour's worth of amusement watching clips from the flick of the same name, an unintentionally hilarious cash-in on a crazy new street culture known as 'hip-hop'. I'm tempted to pick it up on Region 1 DVD for a fiver just to experience the full, camp, body popping Lorenzo Lamas experience. But for now, I guess these clips will have to do (Oh, and I'm changing my name to Chilly D).







'Yo, this cut? Very big in Europe this season....'

* Forget Sony's colour ads. Honda continue to make clever and unique commercials that never fail to raise a smile. Rubiks cubes and jigsaws. Gold.



And the making of.

2008? Already? (2007 faves)

Happy New Year and all that jazz. So I've been tardy with the blogging of late (again). Eh, whaddya gonna do. Anywayze, quite a few people have asked for my musical favourites from last year. Let's see if I can remember them.....

Top 'gee, I don't know, 3?' albums

1. Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia


Midnight Juggernauts - Road to Recovery


2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver


LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away

3. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs


Pinback - How We Breathe

Why 3? Well, that's because I looked at my iTunes and these are the albums I've played the most. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it dammit. Actually, it's more that the albums below were all of a similar standard and I couldn't really rank them (or be bothered to as it's now February, OK?)

The Juggers debut was a perfect mix of pop, emotion and beats (or as someone once said 'ELO meets Daft Punk') that stood out from the electro crowd. LCD were EVERYWHERE last year, and too bloody rightly. As for Pinback, a great follow up to Summer In Abbadon with Rob Crow's vocals sounding even more frantic and emotional than before (and his solo album was a cracker too) while Zach Smith's fretwork continued to provide the ballast that made Seraphs a mainstay on the stereo.

As for the rest? Well, these were the ones that stood repeated plays.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Good Shoes - Good Shoes
Justice - Cross
Mirrored - Battles
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Burial - Untrue
Feist - The Reminder
Digitalism - Idealism
Kanye West - Graduation
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

A few words about the selection above? The Spoon album was 2 tracks short of being a career best (and sadly enough the Jon Brion track was the weakest one on it. Odd that). Good Shoes was the most refreshing 'indie boys with guitars and floppy haircuts' release I'd heard in a long time with clever songwriting and hooks by the bucketload. Burial's second album made me pine for two-step, yet was still as haunting as his first, and just as scary to listen too while walking home at 3am. Most hip hop in '07 was shite (sad but true). PJ's album was so bleak on the first spin that I had to stop it halfway through the last track as I couldn't handle it (well, it's not exactly music for a tube journey into work is it?). However, when I finally had the nerve to come back to it I found I just couldn't stop pressing play again to become immersed in such a haunting and fragile world. And Kanye? Not even Chris Martin could spoil that LP.

Top single of 2007

UGK featuring Outkast - International Players Anthem



Despite what I said above about the poor standard of hip hop in 2007, this track towered above everything else. Andre 3000's lazy rhyming at the track's start was on second glance a splendidly sweet and effortless cameo which left the three other rappers with plenty to aim for if they were to match it. Which of course they did with aplomb. Both Underground Kingz bump the beat while rhyming about the joys of pimpin', and the cautionary finale from Big Boi signs things off pefectly. Add to that a great sample from Willie Hutch, a bumping 808 beat that kicks in just after Andre passes the mic to Pimp C, and a great clip ('Why's he dressed like Rowdy Piper?') and this collab was easily the year's finest.

(And RIP Pimp C too. A damn shame)

Gigs gigs gigs.....the best 10 of 2007 (in order this time from top to bottom)

Daft Punk @ Wireless festival, Hyde Park
Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation @ Koko
Arcade Fire and Patrick Wolf @ Brixton Academy
Pinback @ 229
The Jesus and Mary Chain @ Royal Festival Hall
Interpol @ Astoria
T-Model Ford @ The Spitz
Air @ Hammersmith Apollo
Shellac @ Koko
Murcof @ The Luminaire



Daft Punk were amazing. Simple as that. A visually stunning lightshow, a great setting with thousands going mental as the sun went down on a warm summer night, and of course the music (the finale of Together, Music Sounds Better With You and One More Time was just a wee bit special). Wonderful.

Can I go now?

Winter Warmer 2 - Pumpkin Soup with Honey and Cloves + Peanut Butter Wolf

Errrr.....ok. Here's the belated second winter warmer (yes Mish, I owe around 8 recipes now!). Why belated? Well, I haven't been blogging very much this year due to new work, being out and about Lahndahn town more often, and not being tied to a computer in my free moments. Anyhoo, here be the recipe kids and the tasty beats to go with it. Yum.

Pumpkin Soup with Honey and Cloves (courtesy of Epicurious)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon (1/4 stick) butter
2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 2-pound pumpkin peeled, seeded, chopped (about 6 cups)
6 cups (or more) chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
5 whole cloves
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey

Melt butter in sauce pan/pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add pumpkin, 6 cups stock and cloves. Cover and simmer until pumpkin is very tender, about 25 minutes.

Discard cloves. Purée soup in batches in blender. Return to sauce pan/pot. Stir in cream and honey. Bring to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Bring to simmer before serving, thinning with more stock, if desired.)


That's pretty much it. I've tried it twice now and it's not a bad lil' soup at all. As for the beats to go with it, try Peanut Butter Wolf's Bass Your Car Streets and Party Fresh Beats. From De La to Nas, Silver Apples to Prince, it's another fine selection from the Stones Throw head honcho. Peep it here, or if you want it on one of those shiny disc things known as a 'CD' (wha?) then head over to Heavy Crates (my new favourite UK HH mail order site) or Hip Hop Vinyl.

Right. Back in a day or two (honest!) with my favourite gigs of the year. Until then, how's about some new Hot Chip?



Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor

And for the dancefloor, the Soulwax re-rub to boot. Do those Dewale brothers ever flunk out when it comes to remixes?

Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor

Winter Warmer 1 - Mushroom Soup and Fabric Live 36

In honour of the days getting shorter, the nights getting longer, and the cold...well, getting colder, I decided that last week it was time to make the first soup of the season. After visiting the hustle and bustle of Dalston market to pick up provisions, I got started on making what turned out to be quite a nice mushroom soup. As much fun as getting culinary on the weekend is (and believe me, chopping up shallots and blending mushrooms is much more fun than anything the Primrose hill set get up to), what really helps while slicing and dicing is what's on the stereo, because sometimes you need some musical motivation to make sure you spend less time in the kitchen, and more time enjoying what you've just whipped up. So, in what may become a weekly feature on this blog (well, we'll see about that) here's a simple soup recipe to warm up your body, and a fine audio selection to nod your head to whilst straining and stirring.

Right, this one's easy (as it says below). I used around 500g of button mushrooms, 250g of chestnut mushrooms, and around 250g of porcini, shitake and oyster mushrooms, although I guess you can vary the ratio of each according to what type of mushrooms you can get your hands on. I found that the only laborious part of the process came when straining the rough soup (it took an aaaaaaaaaaaaagggggge before I had at least a litre of smooth soup) so make sure you blend it as smoothly as possible to speed up the process. Oh, and while truffle oil is easier to find than it was when I started my attempts at cooking several years ago, you still have to search for it as it's not exactly something that your local Sainsbury's would probably have (mine stopped stocking it a few months ago). I eventually found some at Fresh and Wild, with a small bottle costing around 8 quid a pop. It's well worth having some in the cupboard, as it's a great finishing touch. Don't worry about the cost either as a little oil goes a long way.

Ahem. Now, about those beats.



Punkin' Machine - I Need You Tonight (from Fabric Live 36 mixed by James Murphy and Pat Mahoney)

Surely the best Fabric compilation since last year's Cut Copy helmed Fabric Live 29, the LCD Soundsyem/DFA boffins get down to the D.I.S.C.O with a bag of classic NYC 70s and 80s cuts, alongside their own exclusive track Hippie Priest Bum-Out. My favourite though has to be the slick choice of Punkin' Machine, which brought a tear of joy to my eye. Of course, those tears came while I was chopping shallots so maybe it wasn't exactly joy induced eye-leakage, but it's still a cracking choice. Oh, and head down to Fabric on Thursday 25th October to catch the lads spin a record or two. Tix here, space disco guaranteed.

Creamy Mushroom soup (recipe by Thomasina Miers via UKTV Food)

* Servings: makes about 2 litres
* Level of difficulty: Easy
* Preparation Time: 15 minutes
* Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

* 750g field mushrooms
* 250g assorted wild mushrooms
* 2 tsp butter
* 2 large Shallots, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, sliced
* 1 litre chicken stock
* 500ml Milk
* 100ml double cream
* Truffle oil, to taste
* salt and pepper

1. Roughly chop the mushrooms.

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan, tip in the shallots and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened, but not coloured.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened - about 5-7 minutes.

4. Cover with the chicken stock and milk and simmer for a further 20 minutes.

5. Using an electric hand blender, whiz the soup until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a clean saucepan to remove any mushroom pieces.

6. Stir in the cream and season with truffle oil, salt and pepper. Reheat the soup before serving.

Errrr......fin! Now dish that dish and dig in. More soup and beats same time next week.

* In other DFA/Cutters related news, head over to Modular People to hear So Haunted, another indication that Cut Copy and Tim Goldsworthy are indeed a match made in heaven. Australian readers - go out and see the boys (plus hot to trot countrymen and fine fellows Damn Arms) as they run around Australia next month.

New Diplo mix / Check the Technique

New music anyone?


* First up, head over to FiftyOne:FiftyOne for a cracking mix from Diplo which he whipped up for Radio 1's Essential Mix show. Plenty of tunes crammed into two hours with everything from M.I.A. (natch) to Bart Simpson (remember this?) with Joakim, A Tribe Called Quest and Nirvana in between. Quality.



* A tip from my law-talkin' sister led me to Drop It In Their Laps, the latest LP from The Cops. Taking musical cues from Chic, Talking Heads and David Bowie amongst others, Drop It In Their Laps is an certainly an eclectic affair. While not every track works, there are more hits than misses, each bullseye a showcase for the band's pop sensibilities. Hot Weapon is just one example, complete with an ending reminiscent of Bowie's Modern Love. Hey, what's not to like?

The Cops - Hot Weapon

* The Lock Tavern family of 'tarted-up boozers' (their words, not mine) is expanding again with the opening of The Amersham Arms in New Cross. Set to carry on the spirit of the pub's recent offerings before being taken drafted into the Lock family, expect plenty of live nights, comedy, art exhibitions, great DJ nights and damn fine bood and beverages. For their opening night on October 12 they've managed to call in a few friends to help celebrate. Deckwork will be provided by Hot Chip, Sinden, Filthy Dukes, El Plate, Casper C, Nasty McQuaid and Ben UFO. Not bad huh, and it's just 7 quid (a fiver if you're one of those studenty types) to get in. Plus, expect David E Sugar, XX Teens, Kevin Rowland, Don Letts, Fourtet and Findlay Brown to strut their stuff in the following weeks. Splendid stuff, and they serve Glasto cider too!

* Pinback are coming to town. Yes, Armistead and Rob are finally coming back to the UK in November, with a London show on November 22 at 229. Tix here, and given the strength new album Autumn of the Seraphs (one of 2007's best) it's a fair bet that it'll sell out too.


Pinback - From Nothing To Nowhere

Old music anyone?

* Hands up who thinks tomes on hip hop history are few and far between? Considering the movement is only three decades young, it's obvious that it'll take some time before more books like the essential Can't Stop Won't Stop hit the shelves to satisfy readers hungry to learn more about the four elements.

In particular, hip hop writing suffers from a lack of documentation of the movement's classic records and the people behind them. Maybe it's because of the early focus on the single (especially in regards to deejaying) than the album that there aren't any essential books dealing with the minutiae behind albums such as Raising Hell, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Criminal Minded, or Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (kidding). Until now that is.


Check the Technique makes up for lost time by focusing on 36 classic albums and the people behind them. Pieced together from countless interviews with the artists themselves, producers, DJs, label men and managers, Brian Coleman's book is a thorough look at how some of the best albums in hip hop history were made. It's perfect to dip in and out of, and provides new information on records that you've heard hundreds of times, or not at all, straight from the people that made them. One for the Christmas list, and the library too.

Nope, we're not shutting up shop, k?

Time flies when you're....

* in a new job
* entertaining visitors from overseas
* busy running errands
* playing records
* errr....

But hopefully normal service will resume this weekend. Scouts honour!

Meanwhile, I'll be playing records all weekend.....yes yes. Come down to Catch on Friday where I'll be coming off the subs bench to play alongside sioux-elin at Vinyl Glamour from 9.30pm (get well soon Lazy L!)

Saturday? After a kip and some quality time spent in the kitchen, it's off to the always lovely Defectors Weld (8.30pm till 1am). It's a bit of a warm up set for Sunday - the closing party of this year's Raindance Film Festival at Sound nightclub in Leicester Square. Hanging out with the next bunch of Spielbergs , Fords, Scotts, Capras...um.....Bolls? No matter, it'll be pretty fun.

Until this weekend's proper bumper comeback post, I'll leave y'all with this clip (gold!), and this thought....how much would you pay?*

* I went the whole hog and got the discbox. And apparantly, I'm not the only one it seems.

Midnight Juggernauts / Cobra Dukes

A message to all Australian readers - Pop down to your local rekkid store this weekend. Grab a couple of those plastic notes from your wallet (a red 20 and perhaps a pink 5 should do the trick), lay them down on the counter and ask politely for the brand-spanking new Midnight Juggernauts album, Dystopia. Smile at the guy/gal behind the counter, then thank them. Take it home. Play it. Load it onto your new-fangled MPFree player. Tell your friends. Spread the word. Yup, this album is just a lil' bit special.

Oh, and if you don't live in Australia then you can order it from Inertia, Chaos or Red Eye.


Midnight Juggernauts - Into The Galaxy

* Speaking of Australian niceness that comes in the form of music, Cobra Dukes released their debut single last Monday, and it's also just a wee bit special. The first release on new label Prestel as of last Monday, Leave The Light On has the right blend of dark, off-kilter pop and early Factory style vocals (yes, the names 'Ian' and 'Curtis' spring to mind, but with a touch of 'David' and 'Byrne'). They're playing tonight at The Luminaire in Kilburn, and for 5 of your English pounds you too can see what all the fuss is about.


Grab Leave The Light On at Beatport and Phonica.

* It's the Red Pandas up against reigning champs Otters In Love for the title of 'Darned cutest You Tube animal'. No contest - Red pandas all the way (like Stephanie Kaye).

Just for one day

Seriously kids, if you haven't seen Heroes yet (either on Sci-Fi channel or through nefarious tinterweb-assisted means) then this Wednesday on BBC2 at 9pm is your chance. Normal peeps suddenly discovering they have super powers which enable them to fly, read minds, heal, walk through walls and time travel. Plus, it's got Conor Oberst in the lead role! Well, maybe not.....


Who's your favourite cast member?


* This week I have mostly been listening to.....Black Sheep. A throwback from 1991, Dres and Mista Lawnge's easy, laidback rhymes are recommended for anybody bored of the current state of hip-hop (I mean really, have there been any must have longplayers this year? Jeez, I though last year was bad...)

Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours

Got my Simpsons Vans on and they look like sneakers

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. - That's the way you spell a good day's shopping, or summin' like that. (Imagine hearing the JUSTICE kiddies singing that...)

Following on from yesterday's hint, Codename Sparrow and myself hit the new Oxfam in Dalston, and found quite a nice addition to the strip of chicken shops, fabric warehouses, pound shops and warehouses that is Kingsland Rd. There was a poor CD selection, which was beside the point really, as it meant we could get down to business and start combing through the 49p and 99p rekkids. Near misses? Well, Leather and Lace: Volume Two was tempting....in the end I plumped for two albums - Prince's 1999 and Duran Duran's Rio. Sure, obvious choices you might say, and I'd have to agree with you. However, if there's ever a need to play at a wedding in the next few years then these would both make the shortlist for the appropriate record bag.

The catch of the day came near the end of the search, just as we hit the 7's. Ladies and gentleman, I give you the 1985 power ballad from four sharply dressed lads, Mr Mister. Pure. Solid. Gold.


Mr Mister - Broken Wings

To this day, I can still remember hearing this for the first time on a car trip in country Australia when I was young nipper whilst listening to Barry Bissell's Take 40 Australia chart countdown (the Australian version of Rick Dees Weekly Top 40, or Top Of The Pops). The synths, the electronic drums, the soft wailing guitar, and the pleading of singer Richard Page, knowing that 'the look of love will open up for us and let us in' (yeah yeah!). Some people may tarnish songs such as Broken Wings with the lazy (and opportunist) 'Guilty Pleasure' tag, but it still raises a smile every time I hear it, whether in the background while eating a hangover special at the local caff, or whilst playing GTA. Class.

And the clip - I swear, wife beaters and jackets are a winning sartorial one-two.



Later on in the day, I headed over to Brick Lane to check out the mighty fine Super Deluxe, where instead of picking up a pair of the new Marc Jacobs Vans (tasty), I grabbed the last pair of the nice nice Nike Court Force High's designed by Jeff Staple. Merino wool on a sneaker? You betcha.



But now I've found the next target on my shopping list. Feast your peepers on these.





Yup. Limited edition Vans designed by Kaws to commemorate The Simpsons Movie opening later this month. Head over to Freshness Mag for the rest of them (the Futura and Todd James pairs are also nifty too).

Speaking of all things Simpsonic, I followed the lead of Mish from I Used To Dance With My Daddy and pimped my yellow ass right up, avatar stylee.

Only problem is, I haven't been clean shaven in five years! It looks like some Photoshop hijinks might be the only way to get a true Major Leaguer likeness, although right now I've got other things to do with my time, such as packing my trunk for the land of Swedes.....

Sonic Youth - Theme from The Simpsons

Animal Collective / Fill your boots with Phil!

* Shhhhh....I really shouldn't be saying this, but what the hey. One of my favourite not-so-secret second hand stores, the Oxfam store on Kingsland Rd in Dalston, has just been split into two. The old store continues to sell clothes, toys, furniture and what not, while the new fangled store (situated just a few doors down) is solely devoted to records and books. Myself and Codename Sparrow are going to visit it tomorrow to look for bargains (unlike the wonderful sitemaster of Dalston Oxfam Shop whose discoveries are of a different nature, though no less important!). Still, if you ever need twelve copies of No Jacket Required, you know where to go.

* I'm off to the land of moose and trolls on Friday, but if I wasn't then you'd probably find me at these two pardees this weekend. The lads from West London's finest hip-hop night, Yo Yo at Notting Hill Arts Club, are headlining this Friday's Modular party at Ditch. Joining Seb Chew and Leo Greenslade will be the peeps from the mighty fine FACT magazine, Faggotronix, the Modular DJs themselves, and some special guests (nope, don't have the foggiest who they be....don't ask me, I won't be here!). Anyway, here's the fwyer.



If the hip to the hop ain't your bag of kittens, then why not have a night off (pfft), and rest up for Saturday's Vive La France secret warhouse party. Starts off at The Horse & Groom before heading to ...well, you guessed it, a secret warehouse. But the line-up is aceness indeed. David K, Muriel Moreno, the Girlcore ladiez, and more. Details below.



* The delightful Animal Collective are playing tonight at the Coronet in Elephant & Castle, playing songs old and new, the new being tracks from their upcoming Strawberry Jam album, out September 10. If they play this then I'll probably giggle like a school girl. Check the gorgeous clip below as well.

Animal Collective - Fireworks



* Finally, I didn't get to go see one of Trousersnake's shows at the White Eleph...sorrry, Millenium Do...sorry, 'behemoth phone company' Arena, but my man Beez from 16 33 45 78 did, and his review hits the nail right on the head. If you ever want to blow money on a pop concert with the works, checking out the Snake is highly recommended. More on the moro.

Hiding? / Pinback

Has it been this long? Have I been this busy? Well, yes and no. Life certainly hasn't been ordinary recently, and while the parties have been proper (this weekend was a blast), it hasn't all been rosy either. Made some ace new friends, and lost a dear one. Saw some great gigs (Interpol, JMC, Daft Punk). Finally escaping the smoggy town to soak up the summer sun in Sweden, providing a much needed battery charge (thanks UK Passport service! About time....)

So anyway, to recapitulate, I had a break. And now.... time for normal service to resume.....

Who likes new music? Come on down kids.


Picture courtesy of baonguyen

* Here's one that's not out until September, but too tasty not to preview. Pinback's last album, 2004's Summer in Abaddon was one of the most refreshing indie records for many a year. Simple, stripped back harmonies, on-point drumming, and Rob Crow's off-kilter vocals made for something more than the sum of its parts, and certainly scored props from the indie mafia (Pitchfork, The OC etc.)

The follow up, Autumn Of The Seraphs, seems a much more contemplative affair. While Crow and Armistead Burwell Smith IV continue to mine the same territory that made Summer a staple on the Urban Outfitters stereo, the melancholy that surrounds Autumn makes for a more satisfying listen. Tracks such as Subbing For Eden and Walters don't hit home until the third or fourth spin, giving them time to burrow deep and plant their seeds. The metronomic Devil You Know is one of the many nautically-based songs on Autumn ('We crash into the rocks below') alongside Good To Sea and How We Breathe, conjuring images of sunken treasure, sand between toes, and rising tides. Those wanting something more substantial will be served well by the bookend tracks From Nothing To Nowhere and Off By 50; indeed it's almost as if both tracks came from splitting Summer's closing bruiser AFK with an axe. More of a side-step than a distillation of Pinback's 'commercial' efforts, Autumn shows Crow and Smith continue to perplex and beguile in equal measures.

Pinback - Subbing For Eden

* Let's go shopping. I'll take these kicks please.


And this tee.


Oh, and I'm sure I could find a new cap here.

And some rekkids? Sure, I'll just head over to Brick Lane. Well, in a week or so (July 20 to be exact).

Phew!

* More tomorrow. Until then, why not become addicted to the strange world of cat lolz? I could browse I Can Has Cheezburger for days....

Two turntables and no microphone

Shameless plug...shameless plug...shameless plug....but if you come down tomorrow night I'm sure you'll hear this! Playing three times in four days meant that I played a heck of a lot of records of all types of genres (even Toto!), but this track seemed to fit into every set. Just lovely.

Dragonette - I Get Around (Midnight Juggernauts mix)


**************************************

REKKIDS WITH GINO & EUAN

WEDNESDAY 30TH MAY

9-12PM

DOWNSTAIRS @ CATCH

22 KINGSLAND RD

SHOREDITCH

Shellac @ Koko

All photos courtesy of Jonathan Dadds

Last Thursday saw Steve Albini and his Shellac roadshow come to town with one of the most impressive concerts I've seen in years. Highlights? 'Prayer To God' and 'Squirrel Song' from 1000 Hurts were greeted with cheers (well, as many cheers as the audience, the majority being mostly male music geeks like myself, could muster). New tracks 'The End Of Radio' and 'Steady As She Goes' were also received like old favourites, possibly because they'd been floating around the highways and byways of the web for almost two years, the only evidence of new material from the band.


A hilarious five minute diatribe by drummer Todd Trainer was another memorable moment, especially as he started by talking about AC/DC and ended with a shout out to the Costa coffee shop across from the venue, where the fuel which gave power to his bizarre rant originated.

Bassist Bob Weston was also on fine form, leading the now traditional 'Q and A' sessions with the audience between songs. Subject matter included his beloved Chicago baseball team ('How's the Cubs doing? The Cubs? They lost 6 and 5 to the Mets last night') to rejecting song requests (Audience member: 'Play Crow!', to which Weston responded 'If you shout it out, I guarantee we won't play it').

Most importantly though, the one question which everybody wanted an answer to ensured that the long seven year wait between Shellac albums would soon be over.

'When's the album coming out? June 5'


So to celebrate, head over to the very fine Something I Learned Today for a taster from Excellent Italian Greyhound (the post might be eighteen months old, but that's how long these tracks have been around for).

And here's my highlight of the night.

Shellac - Squirrel Song

* Do you care about the future of internet radio? Don't let the US House of representatives assist Clear Channel and other corporate behemoths water down the choice of music on the airwaves. Sign the petition at Save Net Radio and help keep internet radio alive.

* The new Nine Inch Nails album is certainly a vast improvement on With Teeth, and it looks like Trent has continued his knack for finding the right folks to re-work his vignettes on machines, modern life & 'merica. Come on down Dave 'Switch' Taylor - your leather pants await!

Grab the Switch remix at I Heart Comix.

Here's the fine Bush-baiting original.

Nine Inch Nails - Capital G

Farewell Blades (and God too)

Poor Sheffield United. I can't say I'm one of Neil Warnock's biggest fans, but he does give good soundbites, making a comedic alternative to most of the cliche-laden managers in the Premiership (apart from the 'special one' - everything that comes from his mouth is a joke, especially his post Champions League semi-final comments). Who would have thought a decade ago that relegation from the top-flight would cost 30 million quid?


In other action, God bowed out without a goal.


Luckily, Harry saved the day and may have landed a seat on the plane to Athens in the process. Now, if he could just nick one in the final....

Enjoy Bolton's retirement home Robbie. We'll always have the memories, right?


Bob Dylan - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Mick Harvey - I Have Come To Tell You That I'm Going (Serge Gainsbourg cover)