ISoA's Best of 2010

NOTE: This list will be updated with songs and music and pictures galore until the end of December! Please keep checking back!

Sorry I haven't been around. I've been trying to figure out what to do. In my opinion if I can't give you guys my all then... there is no point in even trying...

Normally that would lead to me saying I'm packing it in... BUT that's not what I want to do. I want to pull my extraordinarily depressed head out of my arse and get back to work.

All the experiences I've had with this blog have been brilliant! I mean whether it was bowling with Klaxons, or FreQ Nasty interviewing me lol, I can't imagine anything cooler. It would be insane to give up now. Plus I still have archived stuff you guys want to hear/see for sure and how could I possibly deprive you of that?

Enough blather... this is why you came here...
BEST OF 2010
Remember this is (mostly) based on U.S. release dates (unless the album didn't come out here *cough* TMB)!

Best Albums:

It would be hard to beat the epic scope of Plastic Beach and the inclusion of "Cloud Of Unknowing" sort of seals the deal on it being my "record of the year". I will say that Surfing The Void was a very very very close second.

Gorillaz - "Plastic Beach"
Klaxons - "Surfing The Void"
To My Boy - "The Habitable Zone"
The xx - S/T
Editors - "In This Light And On This Evening"
Ellie Goulding - "Lights"
Foals - "Total Life Forever"
Hot Chip - "One Life Stand"
M.I.A. - "Maya"
The Chemical Brothers - "Further"

Best Singles:

This time Klaxons win as they rightly should! If I could I'd give 'em like every award for best everything (which I almost am) so we'll save some time here and say that the narco-dreamscape vibe of "Twin Flames" wins both best single and best video of the year!

Klaxons 'Twin Flames' from Trim Editing on Vimeo.

Klaxons - "Twin Flames" (Best song also best video!)
La Roux - "Bulletproof"
To My Boy - "Hello Horizon"
Gorillaz - "On Melancholy Hill"
Ellie Goulding - "The Writer"
Foals - "This Orient"
Kele - "Everything You Wanted"
Frankmusik - "Fear Inside Of Me"

Best Breakout Artists:
She Is Danger
Gorillaz - "On Melancholy Hill (She Is Danger Remix)"

Best Non-Brit Dance Album:
Matthew Dear - "Black City"

Best Non-Brit Album:
Kanye West - "My Beautiful Dark Fantasy"


Best Remix Of The Year:
Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance (Starsmith Remix)"

Best Concert Of The Year:

Klaxons
This is fun because there's a nice story with it.

Well let's start at the end and work our way back to the beginning. Right as we parted company, on our second night with the Klaxons, Jamie Reynolds said "Never has something so negative, in my mind, brought about something so positive"...

What is this negativity you ask? It's around 1:12... it probably worth you knowing that my radio show is called "The Spirit Of Albion" :)


And what was the positivity? The fact I ended up making friends with my favourite band after that mess.

I went to the Klaxons show at the Magic Stick with the expectation that I would have some time to talk to them. I'd already talked to their manager so it was a sure thing (but I kind of expected it to be like 5 minutes, and a hand shake, and off we go). Instead it turned into hanging out with the whole band til 2am and going bowling. Then getting an invitation extended to join them in Chicago the next day blew the lid off of awesome and we entered some new realm of awesome lol...

Highlights:
Bowling with Jamie and creating our own new technique; surprisingly I won which made no sense...
Bursting into song with James singing Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" (as he could not remember the city of Kalamazoo)
Simon inviting us to Chicago where the list read "Guy from Detroit"
Exposing the band to Bell's beer one of Kalamazoo's greatest exports
Hearing loads of awesome stories that I'd never read in a magazine, or write about here
Jamie bought a fucking CROSSBOW because that's how truck stops in America work
Making friends with one of my favourite bands of all time


Lowlights: (or "The stupid shit I say to this band every time I see Klaxons")
James: "So I guess the original version of the album sounded more like 'Echoes'"...
Me: "(Me thinking of the sound) You mean like Ride? Like shoegazey music?!?"
James: "Umm, no, like the song 'Echoes'"
Me: "Oh, yeah... *awkward pause*"

Me: "Anthony, I'm really glad I didn't realize who you were last night. I think I would have geeked out" Note: For those of you who don't know Anthony Rossmondo was Pete Doherty's replacement in The Libertines which is this blog's other favourite band
Anthony: "I'm really glad that you didn't do that"
Me: "Yeah me too, me too" (if you picture me acting like Scott Pilgrim that scene just comes alive with how retarded I was acting)

As far as a review of the live show: The shows both nights were great but the Chicago show had more energy than the Detroit one (largely due to crowd size). They really killed nearly every song they did but one of the biggest tunes was "Flashover"... they do a great job with their poppier songs? But the intensity of their harder songs sort of transforms the crowd and everyone is sort of in tandem (like the "Twin Flames" vid without the nudity lol)... further proof of this was "Atlantis To Interzone" which literally was an amazing bolt of sonic energy bouncing around the room. I've seen them perform 4 times and this tour has been their best so far. They seem more centered, more grounded, and generally happier dudes... or maybe I just caught them on a couple great days and had a wonderful time? Perhaps I can confirm that next time they roll through the Midwest...

I could continue to blather about fun times but let's just say Klaxons are as nice in real life as they are in your heads.




Ok I've got some work to do... but there are literally pages and pages of written material for this I simply have to go back and proof read. I figured if I was going to disappear for months I'd come back with something big lol. Love you guys... thanks for the on going support!

In Search Of Arcadia: Best Of 2008

Well this is a little impromptu... but as things have been going lately I'll be coming BACK to finish this post a little later. Right now Hype Machine wants my URL :)

EDIT: I'm almost done as the year is ending... BUT DON'T BE SURPRISED if it keeps changing right up until NYE lol!

I initially wrote that I wasn't pleased with music this year. Then I realized I was just in a god awful mood and remembered the boat loads of albums and singles that I loved this year! Suddenly there were more and more albums I was remembering and stuff I forgot about... so instead of being bitchy and writing about how lame things were, I'm perking up and trying to remind both you and myself how dope 2008 was...

British best of...
EDIT: Ok, I wasn't sure about this... but... I thought Radiohead didn't count because the digital version of "In Rainbows" came out like September last year. Then the boxed set came out in December 2007. Then I suddenly realized that the physical release actually came after the beginning of 2008! So if you recognize "In Rainbows" as being a 2008 release then that's my number one. If not then the list stays the same...
1. Portishead- "Third"
2. Hot Chip- "Made In The Dark" (download Hot Chip- "Sensual Seduction (Snoop Dogg Cover)")
3. The Black Ghosts- "S/t" (download Black Ghosts July 2007 Mini Mix)
4. Bloc Party- "Intimacy"
5. The Streets- "Everything Is Borrowed"
6. Foals- "Antidotes"
7. The Last Shadow Puppets- "Age Of Understatement"
8. Metronomy- "Nights Out" (download Metronomy - "A Thing For Me (Sinden Remix)" from the single of the same name)
9. Dizzee Rascal- "Maths & English" (came out in the U.S. this year which is fair play)
10. Benga- "Diaries Of An Afro Warrior"


Honourable Mentions:
The Chap- "Mega Breakfast"
Friendly Fires: "S/t"
The Whip- "X Marks Destination" (download The Whip- "Trash (South Central Remix)")
Supergrass- "Diamond Hoo Ha Man"
Late of the Pier- "Fantasy Black Channel" (not out in the U.S. til 2009; download Late of the Pier- "Space And the Woods (South Central Remix)")

Best Single:

Bloc Party's "Mercury" was my favourite single of the year. Not just because of awesome remixes from CSS and Flosstradamus but the mesmerizing b-side "Idea For A Story" (which was included on the 'indie retail' version of "Intimacy" in the U.S)... the song's tense anxious strings, it's menacing chorus, and perfect production made it stand out amongst a lot of good tracks this year. What really made it my fav though was the verse...
"When I saw you last night, I wanted to say,
`Run away with me, away from the cynics
That this could be the start of something truly real`
But all that I could say was, `hey`,
Was, `hey`, was, `hey`, was, `hey`"
...which is totally fucking brilliant in my opinion. Fantastic stuff. Now if only I could get my Bloc Party Pioneers account to present the right profile info lol...


Best Compilations: This is very difficult because pretty much everything that Fabric released was really really good. Perhaps... I'm gonna go with Fabriclive 42: FreQ Nasty and Stanton Warriors: Sessions Volume 3. There isn't a way to say one is better than the other because they were both phenomenal.
Here's a taste of that Stanton Warriors...


Best 'Best Of': Chemical Brothers: "Brotherhood" album (which came with the amazing 'Electronic Battle Weapon' tracks they've been releasing on vinyl for the last few years) was really awesome. I think I'm giving import copies of this away for Xmas lol... (download The Chemical Brothers- "Electronic Battle Weapon 8")

Best British labels: Hyperdub for sure. They haven't had one release that was anything less than bangin'... Fabric of course makes the list because they're outdoing what they did last year and keep expanding the scope of what they're doing.

Best U.S. label of the year: Ghostly International/Spectral Sound

Ghostly International/Spectral Sound for having released Michna, Osborne, Kate Simko, Tycho, School Of Seven Bells, JDSY, The Chap, and just about every other electronic or avant-pop record that you should have listened to at home or in the club.

Best E.P.s both U.S. and U.K...
Frankmusik- "3 Little Words EP"

JDSY- "Understander EP"

The Cool Kids- "Bake Sale EP"



Best of the rest... of the world...
Kanye West- "808s & Heartbreak"
Osborne- "Osborne"
JDSY- "Adage Of Known"
Sébastien Tellier- "Sexuality"
The Presets- "Apocalypso"
Flying Lotus- "Los Angeles"
Lil Wayne- "Tha Carter III"
T.I.- "Paper Trail"
Cut Copy- "In Ghost Colours"
Crystal Castles- "S/t"
Satnogold- "S/t"


Albums I'm still waiting on (that I wish would have come out this year lol)...
Kid Sister- "Dream Date", The BPA album, and of course the Frankmusik's debut full length...

And even though we only JUST saw and EP this year out of him... ARTIST OF THE YEAR (and probably next year) easily goes to Frankmusik!

Vincent Frank is the summation of everything I've hoped I'd see in an electronic pop artist in my lifetime. His favourite film is Blade Runner (which obviously informs his aesthetic and his songs)... he does his own take on streetwear culture looking like an accessible dude you'd hang out with at Fabric... and at the same time can turn around and look, not just respectable in a gray wool coat, but enigmatic and distant. He can put out a cheerfully frustrated song like "Confusion Girl" and within months give us the wistful longing of "Done Done". With Stuart Price (aka Jaques Lu Cont/Les Rythmes Digitales) working with him on his full length album, after being at the helm for grip of very successful Madonna tunes, it's obvious that he will not just be 'one to watch' but he very well may be one to change the course of crossover pop music as we know it. Unlike some of his peers (if you can even call them that) who will only be remembered for one song, Vincent Frank will endure, and by my estimation end up being one of the most important and successful songwriters of our generation. So while his output was relegated to remixes, and freebies, this year he still outperformed nearly every new British artist in every way. From how he handled the press, to how you can't pin down what he's doing next, to the fact that I haven't met a person who didn't enjoy his music, he's without question the artist of the year. This typically enthusiastic review isn't because Frankmusik is a friend of Arcadia but because he is a much needed breath of fresh air in a sometimes dismal musical landscape. Check him out at The Heaths Of Thornton. So hats off you to Vincent...

Here's Frankmusik's remix of Teef...
Teef- "Take Em Out (Frankmusik Remix)"

Best Festival Of The Year: Is very obviously Lollapalooza.

I mean... how could it not be? We got to see Radiohead and KanYe rock the pants off insanely huge crowds, saw Spank Rock get like 10,000 college ho'bags nearly dropping their pants, Flosstradamus (on Curt's birthday none the less) and Franki Chan (and our once upon a time friend? Dani Deahl) wreck the dance tent, see Foals play to a group of people so large it was most likely unsafe and then have a chat afterwards about Ghostly International, and so many more awesome moments I can't even try to write about them. Believe it or not the only thing that sucked about it was that I was ripped on Morphine (due to a tooth infection, don't get it twisted) and some of the intensity of how cool it was disappeared before my tiny pupils could transmit the info to my brain. Even then we still had a ball! Veronica of Cream Team fame put the wife and I up for the weekend, which lead to going to Todd Kane's b-day party, watching an insane show with Hollywood Holt, Mic Terror, GLC, Skyler, and then chatting with the above people... we also got to avoid the velvet rope all weekend, even finding our way in to the sold out Battles/Foals show (for an interview that never materialized). And the only bad bits were that we were 3 feet away from my ex and her best friend at the entry gate on the first day (yeah, close one, as far as I can tell she didn't notice), that interview never happened, and I got a $100 parking ticket. But all things considered it doesn't get better than that. And I got to drink for once lol...

Best Concert: Bloc Party

Apparently Bloc Pary did well this year as far as this blog is concerned lol. Bloc Party in Royal Oak (around Detroit) was amazing. It was the first official show to tour in North America for 'Intimacy' and it was blazing. Charles (of 'The Spirit Of Albion' fame) and I stood really close to the stage and got to see all the kids mobbing Kele when we jumped into the crowd. Much different than their Lollapalooza gig but in a good way. The band were at their very best and of the three times I've seen them this was the one that proved they had their live show perfected. Runner Up: Hot Chip at The Metro.

Keep your eye on this page... I'm not quite done with this 'best of' thing... but I'm working on it!

Return from Chicago (back from the dead)

Awwwww... it's 6:14am right now... and that's not a good thing. Went to bed at 2:30am or so... I'm having, uh, sleep disturbances do to uhhhhhh...........

Oh forget it. I don't feel well is the point. In fact "I feel like dying" so I don't know how I'm typing... but alas the show must go on.

Now I know I did a short "text post" about Foals, but here is what happened. When we showed up they were starting their set and that shit was PACKED. I mean, like the crowd for CSS was about 1/4 of the people there for Foals (and much earlier in the day I might add).

So I try to get a hold of their manager... and nothing. The original idea was since they had spare time I would show them around Chicago (shit I was trying to get them to go see Hollywood Holt lol), go out to eat, and get an interview done some time in between. Instead they were fucking maxed out doing press and stuff.

With little other choice I made my way to the FYE signing tent and was like "Hey, what's up. I'm supposed to be interviewing you today. I've been text messaging your manager and he's missing in action." They mentioned he was being pretty elusive and to tell him that they said to text him.

Then I get a text, something like "Hey sorry. We're really busy. Meet us at the Double Door later?"... ok sure! Problem was the show was sold out because it was Foals AND Battles. But, whatever, we got on the list and went right in. They tore it up for the 2nd time in 12 hours, and despite being fucking crazy awesome, we're admittedly showing signed of fatigue. They even said on the stage "We're very jetlagged. We're into the next day for us."

At this point I knew there was no interview happening. I've gotten done DJing and have wanted to be left the fuck alone and that certainly doesn't require the physical exertion they put out on stage... there is no way they want to deal with me after a couple days with no sleep. So I sent their manager a last ditch text and finally one saying "Your band seems pretty busy. I'll just email you some questions if that's cool. Have a good night!" and that was that...



Other highlights were getting to see Curt's famous ass for more than 5 seconds. It was his birthday and I got him the stupidest gift ever so I'm not even going to mention it. But it was nice to see him and Flosstradamus fucking killed it on the dance stage before Kanye took the main stage.



I told you guys I would get videos and pictures up from Lolla... and here you go!

And since these are all Radiohead videos... how about this gem?

Radiohead- "Follow Me Around"





And here is the cream of the crop video...


Ok that's it for now... it's taken me over 12 hours to write this post. Don't expect a lot out of me this week!

Dancey (rock) pants!

AND WE'RE BACK... I think I'm on a roll with this new music... so we'll just keep it going...

Seeing as I'm going to see Klaxons on Sunday and Monday, I thought I'd put some of their opening bands on here... first off is Metronomy who is tipped for big big things this year. Unlike some of their counterparts that they haven't seemed so fond of Klaxons really seem to like Metronomy so I'd say he's a shoe in for "Break Out" of 2007!

Here's the low down from Wiki:

"Metronomy (Joseph Mount) is an electronic artist from Brighton, United Kingdom. In live shows his backing band is The Food Groups. He has also done remixes for Architecture in Helsinki, Infadels, Magnet, Dead Disco, Roots Manuva, Franz Ferdinand, Temposhark, Sébastien Tellier, Klaxons, Box Codax, Max Sedgley and The Young Knives."

Metronomy Live @ Sold Out

Here's the new Metronomy video:



Next off is Foals. I think that's a pretty shit name. Baby horses. Doesn't do much for me. BUT their music totally does... I was listening to their WOXY performance and some of these demos a LOT this week and am for sure playing them on Albion tonight... here's a really dope demo...

Foals-"Balloons (Demo)"

Here's the new Foals video for their song "Hummer"




A search on Wiki for The Whip provides us with info about a melodramatic play from 1909. Errrrrr... don't know what you tell you about The Whip... this song however is fucking fantastic... Imagine a perfect world where Joy Division never made "Atmosphere" and it ended up being made later as a New Order song, that's what "Frustration" is... the synths are very reminiscent of the latter I don't think they're rip offs in the slightest... this is quality shit and they have made a fan out of me overnight...

The Whip- "Frustration (Mazen Murao Master)"

Then I have a couple recommendations (as they opened for Klaxons) that I don't have songs for... The KBC (not to be confused with The KBC Band) play the electronic rock thing in a direction that isn't quite the one that works for me... but I figured I should mention them because them seem to write a decent tune (although I couldn't find one on the internet for the life of me... check out the Myspace link above...

Here's a blurb from Wiki on The KBC:
"All three members of the band were in the same class at school together and are currently signed to DIY Manchester label High Voltage Sounds. Since their limited debut 7”, Trippin, hit the independent record store shelves, the band have established themselves across the UK and Europe, playing alongside ¡Forward, Russia!, The Sunshine Underground, The Paddingtons and The Strokes. They also run their own nightclub, "Club Sandwich", in their hometown, Preston. They were handpicked to play the unsigned stage at Glastonbury in 2005, and have since enjoyed radio support by Marc Riley, Zane Lowe, XFM and Steve Lamacq. The band are currently set to release their debut album, On The Beat!, in the summer of 2007."

Another hotly tipped band has been Maths Class, who also don't seem to have any leaked tracks lying about... stay tuned to see if I can find out more about them... they didn't tour with Klaxons as far as I know but I imagine it's probably not long... I see them, more likely, playing with Shitdisco...

We'll that's it for this post... stay tuned for more new music AND MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO "THE SPIRIT OF ALBION" TONIGHT FROM 7-9 PM EST!!! The request line number at that time is (269) 387-3603... we'd love to hear from our readers!