Looking back... after almost a year...

Well what do you know. I am totally astounded. Like blown out of the water confused. When I started doing this blog it was because... well because, I didn't really have anything else to do with my free time other than the 'Albion' show! It was just an off the cuff "why not" sort of thing... it just seemed to make sense to share music with folks!

Recently, however, this blog thing has started to seem a lot bigger than I had ever expected. I'm not saying that Noel Gallagher is calling me up and saying "I really don't like the nice things you have to say about Damon Albarn" but... I mean there are more people reading this blog than just me...

For example... I get emails here and there saying "hey, I like your blog... can you check out my music?" and sometimes I do (obviously) check it out and then put it on the site. Other times I have larger entities (I realize I'm covering ground that has been touched on recently but not EVERYONE reads this blog like you do dear reader) like labels or magazines or stuff like that ask me to post things and sometimes I do that as well. Other times new companies or websites approach me saying "hey, can you help expose us to your readers"...

That stuff is all just way weird to me, but I gotta say I think it's wayyyyy awesome... However, I also wanted to let y'all know that the most awesome thing since I started doing this, the moment that really mattered to me most (the first thing that made me really proud of doing this)... was when Palms Out Sounds said they would put me on their blogroll. I read Palms Out Sounds religiously, like every day, and for them to say "yeah, we like your blog" made my year. Those guys have an amazing thing going there and I see nowhere to go but up for them. Someday I hope to be half was awesome as they are! (P.s. They have a store in NY *and online*... you need to go check that out). So please go take the time to check out their blog and make a point to keep going back...

Also, in the process of looking back over the last year and taking in all of these awesome experiences, I wanted to take a second here to say THANK YOU to you the reader!

THANK YOU TO YOU DEAR READER FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO READ MY RAMBLEY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT MUSIC! I mean, this blog ain't Rolling Stone... I don't even try to write with any objective or intelligent stance (most of my posts are like "FUCK YEAH THIS IS AWESOME! WAY FUCKING AWESOME!" or "Pete Doherty is like Jesus! Like Jesus I tell you!") so I appreciate you taking the time to come here even though it's not exactly the most professional joint out there... I'm just some dude who loves music... a lot...

Because I've realized how much some of you appreciate this blog I am going to come at the blog with renewed interest here in 2007 and really try to take things up a notch. I know that Charles (from "The Spirit Of Albion" Radioshow that I do) and I have talked about doing a bunch of stuff for the Albion show and the Albion site so I'm going to try to do loads of crossover stuff and make sure that no matter whether you are just a blog reader, or just a radio listener, I've got you covered! I know change has been slow to come but you gotta bare with me...

So, to thank you guys for being so rad I'm going to do an intense Dance/Rock post over the course of this week just for you!

I thought I'd start out with this awesome Charlatans vs Chemical Brothers E.P. I found on eMusic... Hopefully I'm not the only one old enough to remember how awesome it was to listen to Chemical Brothers remixes on the way to a rave thinking "What ever would have made them think to do that to this song? It's so awesome"... Shit, I still think the same thing now! I just got so nostalgic listening to this old bigbeat stuff I had to post it... so hopefully you enjoy this...

The Charlatans UK vs The Chemical Brothers- "Nine Acre Dust (Chemical Brothers Remix)"

This one isn't SO dancey but it's a product of the same era... I thought I remembered this song having words... are my headphones fucked up?
Ian Brown- "Dolphins Were Monkeys (UNKLE Vs South)"

While on the subject of Dance/Rock I wanted to point out that, thank god, for the first time in a long while we are back to the point where we are getting consistent dance remixes for most rock bands with a pulse... of course this isn't ALWAYS a good thing but usually it is... the best example of the merging of both worlds (of course) is my dear Klaxons who I've been championing since I started this blog...

Klaxons- "Forgotten Works"
Sorry folks... had to take that one down... wasn't looking forward to talking to the Klaxons legal team.. seems to be that every one who has posted Klaxons stuff doesn't have a working blog right now!

And I'm sure by now you've been over to I Was There for the most anticipated cover of the year... (which is pretty good but also kind of sounds like a high school talent show, not the greatest dance band in the world; but then again I doubt they were being very serious)... but IF you somehow haven't made it over there here's a link to the song...

Klaxons- "My Love (Justin Timberlake Cover)" zShare

Then, I can't remember if I posted this one when I first came out... but either way I want to post it again... just because "Golden Skans" is on my iPod nonstop...


So, once again thank you, and please check back soon because I'm going to keep running with this vibe and should have a bunch more awesome stuff... feel free to leave comments as it helps me get a feel for what you all want... I'd write more but I gotta go to class... peace...




P.S. Do you guys think that I should start trying to maintain some sort of real "journalistic" standards? Or should I just keep rattling on as I always have? I'm just wondering...

Help vs Help (plus other good news)

VS

WOO HOO!!! Charles and I are at the WIDR meeting right now and let me tell you... LET ME TELL YOU... there are big exciting things coming! Live playlists, new soundboard for live music, WIDR week... all sorts of shit! ALSO on the heels of that great news, Charles and I are going to be pimping out the show/website/blog/myspace during 2007 to make your listening experience even better. How you ask? Well how about with podcasts, t-shirts, and other fancy new things? You like... I know you like!

So... a few days back I posted Blur's "Eine Kleine Lift Musik" from the epic Help! charity compilation that came out in the mid-90's during the Britpop era... and today I went back to take a look at it, and the newer Help! comp that came out about a year ago, and decided it was going to do another post with some of the songs.

DO NOT GET ME WRONG! I am not saying "here you go, ignore the fact that these are supposed to be for charity and download to your hearts content"... I posting these songs because a) we American's have probably (for the most part) not heard these songs and b) because of that it's easy to forget they exist at all! I thought I would get this out here and HOPEFULLY it will convince you to pick the album up and also remind you how awesome these comps (and their charities) actually are!

Here's one from the new Help!...
Babyshambles- "Bollywood To Battersea"

And one from the old Help!...
Massive Attack- "Fake The Aroma"

On the first one Radiohead put "Lucky" (from Ok Computer) out to rave reviews... then they went and put this one on the new one...
Radiohead- "I Want None Of This"

Then here's another one from the first comp...
Suede- "Shipbuilding"

So I hope you guys dig that... PLEASE go out and actually purchase these... both albums have shitloads of tracks (20 on the original and 22 on the follow up) and lots of your favourite bands! I mean if you frequent this site then most of them probably are your favs... I mean probably not Keane but you know what I mean! Which ones do you guys think is better? I'm not sure because I haven't listened to both all the way through but... I'm interested to see what you guys think...

Anyway... make sure you come back and check for new posts! Now that I've got this new computer the posts are going to be more frequent... speaking of new computer....

Best days of my life...

The last 48 hours or so have been two of the best days in my life. I got my new lappie that I DESPERATELY needed (the lowest grade MacBook which I will trick out once I get that record contract). I got to sleep in this morning and then go over to Sam's house to work on music. Sam came up with a brilliant name for our electronic work (we will now be known as State Crime) today. I got a call earlier this evening from the guy at Soccerzone and I offically got the job. I got to go out to lunch today with Heather and not freak out about going to work (and potientially lose my job for no reason, which is how it's been since I got there) which was a seriously a relief. Everything has been totally ace.

I'm also really happy with being able to come back here and get the music back out to all you folks. On top of just regular posting I have to say the one thing that I've really dug since I've gotten back into writing this blog is the people who contact me about posting stuff. Big and small I love them all! From major labels to tiny little indie bands I love posting stuff. So now I am going to take the time to get around to somethings I've been too busy to attend to.

First off is Saturna... they contacted me a minute back but I was way to busy to fuck with it then. So I will bring them to you now. Their song kind of defies explanation... best I can come up with is that their single "Pop Rocks" is an amalgamation of Oasis with bits of the Stone Roses thrown in for good measure PLUS a bit of that "90's sound" that has been so sorely missed by me recently. Funny part is they aren't British at all; they live in Portland (I know it's against format but it at least KIND of is still within it)! My favourite part of their song is from 2:30 to the end where it gets all psyched out and then goes back to rocking. They undoubtedly have a bright future ahead of them (and when they blow up you can say "oh yeah, I heard that shit on Albion"). I also wanted to note, their sound is amazing. I don't know if it's paying for a good studio, or maybe they just know how to rock the software studio real well but they sound great...
Saturna- "Pop Rocks"

Then we've got ist. This is the kind of band that makes me smile. They released a straight forward punk rock song called "I'm Jesus (And You're Not)" AS A CHRISTMAS SINGLE!!! How insane would it have been to have that as the Christmas number one? Fucking bonkers. But if you only have 60 seconds to listen to a song today I would suggest this one. It's got a surf rock low-end, punk guitars, and... well that's about it I mean how much can you fit in on minute! It does contain the fastest sing-talking I've heard since "End Of The World As We Know It"! Check it out... if you don't end of getting it here it's being re-released on VALENTINES DAY!
ist- "I'm Jesus (And You're Not)"

Look out for other indie hopefuls Cuckoo Canoe on the site here in the future... at this point that one is probably "in the mail"...

Hey! Before I lose your attention... While you're here why not check out this interview with Amy Winehouse.. right? Why not! Tres random over here at Arcadia...
AOL Interface w/ Amy Winehouse

Or maybe these Lily Allen sessions?
Lily Allen AOL Music Sessions

Or maybe the new Clinic?
Clinic, ‘Visitations’

Ok I wish I could post more but I HAVE to go to class.. I'll see you cats later...

The Good The Great and The Fantastic

Well today has just about been the best day ever. After the internet blackout for a while (due to work cutting me off) I have finally recieved my MacBook in the mail! Now I can blog in bed and life is perfect...

On top of this good news I (basically) got a new job today... I'm waiting another 24+ hours for confirmation but the guy who did the interview with said I'm the man for the job (which is nice because I'm sick of being treated like dog shit at my current job). This makes life SO much better...

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL THE GOOD NEWS! As an extra little icing on the cake... for you and me both... I've got some more stuff on The Good The Bad and The Queen to share with you via THE FADER.

I've always really liked THE FADER as I kind of felt like they were the American equivalent of The Face (the best magazine ever that is now defunct) which is a pretty big compliment. Their content has helped usher in a new era where you have indie kids that listen to grime, real hiphop heads who know who Interpol is, and a forum for new 'stars' like M.I.A. who really don't get cover status anywhere else (not unlike other coverstars Clipse, Icarus Line, W.I.T., and others). Shit, in fact I love THE FADER so much that back in the day I used to keep a copy of the Neptunes issue on my person at all time like it was the Bible. For real though.......... and last time I checked my peeps Flosstradamus were doing a mixtape or something of the sort with those cats from THE FADER so I gotta love it!

I don't want y'all to think that this blog has become a completely Damon Albarn-centric blog.... it's just that fucking man has taken the music world by storm and loads of people have said that TGTB&TQ album is about the most important shit in rock music this year! And why not? When you've got bits of Blur, The Clash, The Verve and Africa 70 together that is a force to be reckoned with! I hope y'all are going to check out that album (especially since Parlophone and I gave you those two tracks) because I know you are going to wish you had already bought it once you read the new FREE PDF issue of THE FADER and listen to the accompanying podcast.

ON said podcast you've got Kanye West's homie GLC (who was featured on "Spaceship"), Aloe Blacc, Mavado, Vybz Kartel, and loads more... and of course TGTB&TQ with "Kingdom Of Doom"... and if I read the email correctly Damon Albarn himself is also on the podcast as well. It's so pretty wicked shit and totally more than worth the price of FREE... I mean how are you going to turn down free songs?!?!?! And the free magazine??!?!?! Shit I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't buy The Fader last Friday at the news stand because I didn't have enough money on me.. and I couldn't be more psyched that I just got it for free! I'm sure you all will feel the same way...

The magazine is HERE and the podcast either there or HERE.


Now (to tie in to all this) I would feel pretty awful giving away another TGTB&TQ track without permission so instead I'm going to give you a track off the legendary HELP! War Child album from Damon Albarn's OTHER band Blur (I'm sure you've heard of them before). This was originally made to help children affected by the war in Somalia... I imagine it still is, so if you like this track check out the rest of it and help someone in need (because I don't need "screwing over kids in war torn regions by giving away free songs" on my conscience!)... the song and album are over @ eMusic.... I'm sure I don't need to tell you if you join eMusic from the image below I make money and YOU get a free trial... cause I'm sure you knew that already....

Blur- "Eine Kleine Lift Musik" from HELP!

Ok... so I got the new computer things should be back to normal... if I don't have anything posted keep checking back or... I dunno.. go over to Palms Out Sounds or something! And if you guys could please leave some comments... it at least lets me know peopel are still stopping by lol... peace!

LIMITED EDITION... Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

Well... things have become SO pathetic over the last couple days. I'm staring down the barrel for a gun (for no good reason except the owner doesn't like me) at work... because of this I have no internet at work... I've had to scramble to get classes for this semester by begging my teachers to let me into their classes... I haven't done any work on the album... and I have just barely talked my girlfriend. Fucking garbage.

BUT despite adversity I still bring you a new Arcadia post? Why bother you wonder? Because Chris over at Parlophone has sent another track in this direction... which of course is always a good reason to post.

The song is by Siobhan Donaghy. I don't really know too much about her (I mean obviously I know the Sugababes) but here's the low down...

Siobhán Donaghy (born 14 June 1984 in London, England), is a female singer-songwriter. Until September 2001, she was a member of English pop group, the Sugababes, after which she was replaced by new member Heidi Range. After her departure from the Sugababes, Donaghy released three solo singles and an album. She still lives in Eastcote, Middlesex, with her family, which includes her sisters Bevin and Roisin.

Now normally I don't go for straight up POP songs... but this song is pretty straight... and the Sugababes (and now-former-member-Donaghy) have become a British institution and it's worth taking note of what goes on with them and their (former) member's careers... yeah? I doubt it's the last time you hear about Donaghy (or the 'Babes) on Arcadia...

The track itself is actually a pulsing throbbing house track done by Medicine 8... I don't know what the actual song sounds like but this remix is wicked... what's even cooler about it is that it's going to be released on super limited edition 12" BUT YOU GUYS GET TO HEAR IT HERE!!! (For you mp3 based Djs... you're welcome...)

Here's the stream for this track...
Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

Here's the download...
Siobhan Donaghy- "Don't Give Up (Medicine 8 Remix)"

You can check out more at her Myspace or at her website... AS USUAL COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED... the more you guys say the more Parlophone listens (from what I gather) and the more tracks they give me to give you! Good news yeah?

Well anyway... I will try to be back on here as soon as humanly possible... but right now I have to deal with the Thought Police and it's hard to get around that... keep checking back...

Well I've got good news, and I've got bad news...

Let's start with the the good news, shall we? The good news is that whilst talking to my father yesterday he agreed that I needed help getting a new laptop as BOTH my computers are held together by shoestrings (as some of you may remember my other laptop's screen went out and the replacement screen was going to be the cost of the computer, and my Mac is running 128mb of RAM and a 30 gig hard drive).

Ready for the bad news?

They pulled the internet at work. Which is where I did most of my posts (usually on my break I might add). So this REALLY sucks. The only reason I really kept this job was because I could do stuff like work on the internet or download stuff for my show. Now, apparently, they feel they can't trust me (which is such a load of garbage). It all stems from the fact that my last boss painted me as a heathen so that she could explain why work wasn't getting done in her department.

So, long story short... I will soon be doing posts (and working on my album) from bed! So things WILL go back to normal here at Arcadia... just as soon as that new comp gets here!

Anybody got suggestions for a new job? Because I have to think they are trying to force me out without firing me.

First news was "there's Americans on the shore! Maybe, now we're all going to war!"

Here's the 2nd half of the Babyshambles post I promised you... apparantly you guys DUG the last one because my traffic was way awesome... I think it was close to 600 or something for Thursday (which is crazy because my weekend numbers are usually SO much better)... and the numbers we also way high for the random post from WIDR studios! Hope y'all enjoyed that as well...

So back to Babyshambles... What do I think of the new songs? WELL LET ME TELL YOU! I think they are fucking faboo. FABOO! Obviously the older ones (last post) have gotten little tweaking and still work as well as they used to, but these new ones are just as good....... they seem full of an energy that seemed to pop up when Pete wrote 'Sedative'... or at least they all piggyback on that vibe (I mean that in a good way)...

BTW... I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT ALL OF THESE SONGS CAME FROM ALBION ARKS which is the first and foremost place to pick up rare and unreleased Babyshambles material. I just am jacking them and throwing them up here... so if all the downloads are out and you still want these tracks then you should probably head over there! (They were originally posted on href="http://www.frenchdogblues.com">French Dog Blues which is the official homebase for Babyshambles fanatics!)

Babyshambles- "Crumb Begging Baghead"

Babyshambles- "Unstookietitled"

Babyshambles- "Carry On Up The Morning"

Babyshambles- "Cuckoo 1440"

Babyshambles- "Delivery"

Here is a song titled "18d" which ended up being 'Delivery' from the sounds of it... or maybe it's the other way around... I can't tell!

I would really like you know what you all think of this stuff... it's been pretty comment lite here for a while... if you guys want 'Shambles tracks before anyone else gets them you gotta comment or Parlophone won't give em to me lol (only half serious)...

Well, I've gotta get back to work... I'm really tired today... writing this album is kicking my ass... hold tight until next time!

Just a couple quick random ones...

I figured there had to be a couple random songs over at the radiostation that you guys could get into and I figured I'd just quickly throw them up.... the first is a BoC remix for cLOUDDEAD, and the second and WICKED live version of an Elastica favourite... I can't really type much because we are on the air but make sure to keep checking back for the 2nd half of my Babyshambles post! VIVE L'ALBION!

cLOUDDEAD- "Dead Dogs Two (Boards Of Canada Remix)"

Elastica- "2:1 (Peel Session Version)"

Babyshambles Triumphant Return!

You know what can kiss my ass? My songs not showing up on the Hype Machine. Now I know there are a few of you who read the blog no matter what but most of the traffic on this site comes from being listed on the Hype Machine. Recently it's been droppping tracks or turning them into numbers on the listing which is no use to me..... and they never reply to my emails about this. Does anyone know how to stop that? Am I doing something wrong? Well anyway, I can't stay too upset... tonight is TACO NIGHT IN THE ARCADIA HOUSEHOLD and that means there is nothing wrong with the world if only for tonight... because taco's a fucking awesome.

You know what else is fucking awesome? Wait for it....

NEW BABYSHAMBLES DEMOS!!! That's right! Apparently after the massive success (and the immediate bidding war allegedly started by) by their "Blinding E.P.", Pete & Co are at it again with a new selection of tracks called the Stookie And Bumfest Demos. Apparently these were posted at one point on Pete's site French Dog Blues and the demand for them was so great it crashed their server (and that fucking thing still isn't fixed I don't think).

I got these copies from good old Albion Arks which is always the best place to get any Libertines/Babyshambles/etc related bootlegs. I haven't really gotten a chance to really listen to these closely, and therefore don't have a lot of constructive criticism about these songs... BUT I can say they sound REALLY REALLY REALLY good and it's looks as though Pete is poised to show all of his detractors what's really up! I'm just going to post the songs I already know are awesome right now, and will get to the others when I have something to say about them (i.e. tomorrow or the next day)...

Babyshambles- "There She Goes (A Little Heartache)"

Babyshambles- "New Loves Grows On Trees"

Babyshambles- "Unbilotitled"

Here's another new one apparently titled "14.40"...


In other interesting (personal) news... I figured out last night how to sequence drums in Reason... now writing my album is going to be SOOOOOOO MUCH EASIER! I have spent five years trying to figure this out and finally got it last night! It was so simple I can't believe I didn't figure it out before... anyway, I think you guys will be very pleased with these new songs I'm working on.. and I will post some before Sam and I go down to Miami in March for the Winter Music Conference...

The word on The Streets...

SO I'm really surprised to see there is a (possibly) new track by The Streets on the Internet? I mean it's a little confusing... because there are a few tracks here and none of them are STRAIGHT Mike Skinner tracks... they are with his singer Leo The Lion and himself... and sometimes with grime MC Kano.

There is a groovy live version of Leo singing the hook to Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc" on Radio 1 with Kano, and then there is a track called "She's Got It All Wrong" that has Leo singing and Mike (and someone else) rapping (this is the one I would imagine is a Streets track), and then there is a song (that is a Kano release) called "Nite Nite" that has Mike Skinner, and Leo from 2005. They are all really cool (especially if you are a big fan of The Streets like I am).

All of these are (or perhaps 'were' by the time you get to them, as these things tend to go) for download over at Leo The Lions Myspace. OR if you rather RIGHT HERE ON ARCADIA! If anyone knows the origins of "She's Got It All Wrong" let me know so I can properly label it.

Kano- "Nite Nite (feat The Streets)"

The Streets- "She's Got It All Wrong"

Leo (from The Streets)& Kano- "Feel Good Inc (Live @ Radio 1)"



Leo (for those of you who don't know) has sung on many of The Streets tracks ("All Goes Out The Window" for example) and sings on ALL of them while on tour. Generally speaking at some point during his performances he also exposes his near perfect physique by taking off his shirt... which probably makes sense in England (where Grime/2step/etc is just like hip-hop here) but did't make so much sense in America when he did it to a crowd full of scrawny indie kids *cough Intonation Festival 2006*.. to each their own I suppose.

Anyway.. go add Leo on Myspace... check out Vice Records for more info on The Streets and make sure you keep checking back for more music here at Arcadia!

MORE TGTB&TQ!!!

Here at Arcadia, we LOVE Parlophone records. Solid release after solid release after solid release. Between them, and their offshoot Regal, we've been able to bring you stuff from Babyshambles, Tiny Dancers, and The Good The Bad & The Queen far before their release date. It's good for you guys because you get in on the new stuff early, it's good for me because it keeps you guys coming back lol!

Given the fact that they are so nice to us I suggest you guys actually pick up these albums... the Babyshambles EP was so amazing I would be surprised if you guys HADN'T gotten it, Tiny Dancers have gotten a lot of hype since we posted em (Radar in NME, and a session with Steve Lamacq), and OBVIOUSLY this TGTB&TQ album is going to be bonkers awesome. So please, support the labels who are playing ball with us here and prove to the majors and bigger indies that file sharing, blogs, and the like are PART of the future of music and not just a hindrance that should be done away with!

So if you've been paying attention, I'm sure you picked up the last track we posted from Damon Albarn (member of Blur and Gorillaz) and Paul Siminon's (formerly of The Clash) new project The Good The Bad & The Queen called "History Song". It was the amazing first track off their forthcoming album that hints at the same magic that we've seen in other Albarn efforts of the recent past. NOW WE'VE GOT THE 2nd SONG! And it's just as cool as the last one! Make sure you leave comments because I really want to know what you guys think of it.

Here's an AWESOME little video that can give you a better overview of the project and the music... just in case you didn't see the bio excerpt I posted last time...


And without further ado...

The Good The Bad And The Queen- "80's Life" YSI

The Good The Bad And The Queen- "80's Life" zShare

Here's a live video for "80's Life"...


As I mentioned last time, you can preorder the album from 7 Digital, and if you do before 15 January, you can listen to 5 tracks off the album before it is released on 22 January! You can also pick it up at Amazon US or Amazon UK. Make sure you also pop by their website and their Myspace. Please pick up the album and show your support! This song will be up for a week and then I gotta take it down so get it while the gettings good!


ON A QUICK POLITICAL NOTE: Since I mentioned something earlier about people wanting to do away with things on the internet... I don't know if you are aware but the Internet is AT RISK of being taken over by the super huge companies out there and turned into a mindless commercial wasteland. Can you imagine in Internet where AT&T had control over all the content on it? I assure you there would be no more pictures of young ladies birthing plastic dolls out of their hoo-hoos' (and other pervy things like that) but you undoubtedly would end up with lots of political things getting censored as well. It is not worth it to give up our privacy and our control for better internet browsers on our phones and cheaper cable modems. Please sign a petition, send a letter to your representatives, and keep an eye on this or we may end up with merely a 'ghost' of what the internet once was. PROTECT NET NEUTRALITY!!!

Here's what Moby has to say about it... whatever your feelings are about him it's a very informative video! When you're done with that head over to Save The Internet to make a difference!

New Year, New School!

New years was pretty straight. Heather and I went downtown and watched the fireworks go off at midnight, but kept it pretty low key all weekend. Which was nice. We don't get to do that too often and it was BLISSFUL. Fucking fantastic. This year is starting off with a bang! A BANG I TELL YOU!

Why is everything so great? Well first off I got my new keyboard in the mail (well UPS... R.I.P. Ford) today... brand spanking new fresh out the box... and it came with Ableton Live Lite, which I have desperately been seeking. I'm going to home and fucking go wild with that thing. Y'all don't even KNOW! I'm going to write a song that's going to bring peace to Israel and Palestine... seriously. Seriously.

I also heard from the GM of my absolute favourite record company ever today. Not about anything that would be interesting to you guys. Just heard from him. Which I thought was way cool... because that's the shit that makes your day/week/month. I mean, when someone who doesn't really even need to pay attention to you gives you the time of day, that my friends, is true kindness. So having said that please pick up something from Hot Chip, Sia, The Chemical Brothers, Air, Fatboy Slim, DFA, Phoenix, Placebo or one of the other amazing albums that Astralwerks has to offer... because you and I both know that America has not seen a label with that much talent since the 60's and they deserve our support through thick and thin.

OK... on to the post. As I've been working on my album I've been kind of going through everything I possibly can to get a feel for what music should sound like in 2007. Although I haven't figured it out what MY music should sound like, I can tell you the sound of 2006 was dubstep... in full effect... and the leaders of this burgeoning new school movement are easily Kode 9, Burial, and Various.

Dubstep, in case you didn't know, is a combination (obviously) dub and 2step/hip-hop. Here is what Wikipedia has to say...

Dubstep is a genre of music which takes its name from the largely South London-based dark 2step sound that originally came out of productions by El-B (as part of both Groove Chronicles with Noodles and then the Ghost camp), Zed Bias, Horsepower and Steve Gurley in 1999-2000.[citation needed] Like another garage hybrid, grime, it uses dark sounds, but differs from grime in being largely instrumental. It also predates the evolution of grime by several years.

Interesting yeah? I cannot claim to have some thorough knowledge of the genre at all. I can tell you a lot about 2-step... and I can tell you a fair amount about Grime... but dubstep is something I've been largely out of the loop about until Pitchfork started doing their column this last year (which I only recently have really gotten in to). Said column (This Month In Grime/Dubstep) has announced the scene's 'crossover into the indie mainstream' and therefore it's about time you got up on this shit! UNLESS you really really got into the XLR8R article in 2002 and you already know everything about dubstep (I remember listening to something from Horsepower Productions back then and thinking 'this is cool, but this could very well be the new 'hip-house'... a rad genre with few records to it's name and an even shorter life span'... obviously I was WAY wrong)!

To bring you up to speed.. here's a little documentary the BBC did...

And here's one from MTV:


Various have been hailed as the post-millennium Portishead, and have more or less made good on that label. They have become of the darlings of the scene so much so that Thom Yorke recruited them to do a remix of 'Analyse' for him. The album goes from harsh, to light-folksy-depressing, to buoyant dub, to epic singles and it just keeps delivering over and over. It's a well polished, and near perfect, debut. Here's ONE of my faves and that Thom Yorke remix (courtesy of Dead Air Space):

Various- "Lost" YSI

Thom Yorke- "Analyse (Various Remix)" YSI

Thom Yorke- "Analyse (Various Remix)" zShare


Kode 9 (with The Spaceape MCing) has made a classic with his album 'Memories Of The Future'. It's everything you want out of dubstep... it's dark, it's minimal, it's fucking experimental but it's still accessible. It's a dream come true and you need to get up on that shit like yesterday! I listened to this album about 5 times yesterday...

Kode 9- "9 Samurai" YSI

Last off is Burial who is on the Hyperdub label along with Kode 9. Burial has also been hailed as one of the greatest in the genre and it's easy to see why. I'm not going to post Burial's singles (and therefore best stuff) but I thought you might be interested in this b-side to the 'Distant Lights' single. It shares more with So Solid Crew, tempo wise, than these other sort of 'narcotic' beats.

Burial- "Pirates" YSI

Hope you guys dug this dubstep stuff. It's goooooooood. I can't get enough of it! If there are any other English dubstep artists you think I should cover (or you are one) let me know! You can find all these artists on, my favourite place on the internet, eMusic! And if you join eMusic from right here, not only do you get free songs and a free trial, but I also get a little kickback! Which would be much appreciated!



Anyway, I will be back soon with more music!

I'm back! Happy holidays motherf**kas!!!

Woo... what a fucking great Christmas. Usually, I'm not a big fan of it, but this year was great! I got a 'Nightmare Before Christmas' fucking TRAINSET! A TRAINSET MOTHERFUCKER! What do you think of that? How ill is that? I also got a vinyl organizer, a book about New Order, the 'Life Less Lived' Goth Box set, a Pete Doherty Warhol-eque print, some dope clothes like an Ecko hoodie and some shit like that.. and today I picked up an M-Audio O2 keyboard and some records from Ghostly International... so my goth-electronic-hiphop-indierock-loving ass is bursting at the seams with happiness...

THEN... just to make things a little cooler... I found out something MASSIVE today. My songwriting partner Sam and I are going to the Winter Music Conference in Miami this March... and with our badges we get free entry into the Ultra Music Festival.

GUESS WHO IS PLAYING AT THE ULTRA FUCKING MUSIC FESTIVAL?



THE FUCKING CURE DUDE!!! THE CURE!!! Can you believe that? I've spent my whole life obsessing over The Cure and now I finally get to see them (I was kicking myself for not going to the Curiosa tour when Interpol was playing with them... but then Tyler & I got to hang out with Carlos D from Interpol all night one night... and now I'm going to this, so I'm ok now!)... I couldn't be more psyched. It will be a little weird gathering amongst the tanned masses the week of spring break to see The Cure.. but it's still sooooooooooo fucking cool...

So in honor of how awesome that is I'm going to post some semi-rare Cure stuff. Semi-rare you say? Well first off I'll put up some stuff from the limited edition 'Acoustic Hits' cd that came with some versions of their 'Greatest Hits'... and then throw up a couple of extended mixes I copped a couple months back...

The Cure- "Boys Don't Cry (Acoustic Version)"

The Cure- "The Lovecats (Acoustic Version)"

The Cure- "Just Like Heaven (Acoustic Version)"

The Cure- "High (Acoustic Version)"

While you're at it check out this MTV Icons clip from 2004... watch and wonder how all these shitastic artists/bands (Fred Durst, Papa Roach) were still popular in 2004... Carlos D is in there for like 5 seconds, and the tolerable Marilyn Manson does the narration during their 'band story'

And part 2...


Didn't they do an MTV Icons programme for Janet Jackson's vagina? I know for sure this wasn't shown in the U.S... it's funny because during the 2nd half of this segment all the cool people (Placebo, Air, The Rapture) show up... why the FUCK would you start out with those other assholes.. because it's MTV... because it's MTV... *sigh*

Here's part two of my Cure extravaganza!

The Cure- "Close To Me (Extended Remix)"

The Cure- "Pictures Of You (Extended Remix)"

And just in time for tomorrow...

The Cure- "Friday I'm In Love (Extended Mix)"

Hopefully this gets you geared up for Ultra Fest... it is their first show in two years here in the U.S. you know! If anyone else is going make sure you drop me a line...

THE GOOD THE BAD & THE QUEEN

I'm trying to get on top of this and be the first person to post this... I rarely feel that I've got any sort of inside track so I need to exploit this as fast as I possibly can! Given that, this will be a very short post because I want to get it up and stake my claim as one of the first people to post an album track from THE GOOD THE BAD & THE QUEEN!

Just in case you don't have the back story (or didn't see it the last time I posted that live track) here it is from Wikipedia:

Initially reported as a solo album by Albarn with Danger Mouse producing, NME revealed in late July 2006 that the solo project was switched to a new group formed by Albarn. The group, which consists of Albarn, The Clash's bassist Paul Simonon, former The Verve guitarist Simon Tong (who also played guitar during Blur's Think Tank tour following Graham Coxon's departure, and played guitar for Gorillaz on their "Demon Days" album) and Afrobeat pioneer and Africa 70 drummer Tony Allen, released and deleted their first single, "Herculean" on 30 October 2006 (see 2006 in British music). The single followed the band's appearance at the BBC's Electric Proms season at the redeveloped The Roundhouse in Camden on 26 October. Three warm-up gigs in East Prawle at the Pig's Nose Inn, Ilfracombes Marlboro Club and The Exeter Cavern Club preceded the Electric Proms gig. The second major gig of the band's career took place on 12th December 2006, at Wilton's Music Hall in East London. It was witnessed by 300 specially selected fans, as the launch gig of MySpace's The List. The band will release a second single, "Kingdom of Doom", a week prior to the release of their debut album, The Good, the Bad and the Queen in January 2007. The album was produced by Danger Mouse, and features songs about London.



The Good The Bad And The Queen- "History Song" YSI
The Good The Bad And The Queen- "History Song"

How fucking stoked are you to hear this track? I know I've been waiting a long time... I'm a pretty big Blur/Gorillaz/Mali Music/Anything-Damon-Does fan so... I can't wait to hear the album.. tell me what you guys think!

I wanted to mention that you can preorder the album from 7 Digital, and if you do before 15 January, you can listen to 5 tracks off the album before it is released on 22 January! Which is pretty fucking sweet if you are dying to hear it. You can also pick it up at Amazon US or Amazon UK. To stay on top of TGTB&TQ news make sure you pop by their website and their Myspace.

Here's an extra parting gift...


Oh yeah... and if you wondered when the next single is out (because Wikipedia wasn't very clear) it will be officially released on 15 Jan, with the debut self titled album coming out a week later.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION I'LL BE POSTING ANOTHER TRACK FROM THE ALBUM IN JANUARY SO MAKE SURE YOU CHECK BACK! HOLLA!

WHOO HOO!!! PARTY!!!

OH yeah... how you like these apples. I've had a counter up for roughly 2 months (give or take a day) and I broke 20,000 hits this morning. That is totally mental to me... 20,000 hits in such a short period of time! Since I couldn't have done it without you (well I suppose I could have but that would have been pretty crazy) so I'm going to try to give you the BEST British "BEST OF" I can come up with! I haven't quite finished my list so instead it's just going to be a rough overview of the best bands/tracks of the year...

LET'S GET IT STARTED (shoot the imaginary stereo for playing BEP.. cause they suck... and WILL leave wet spots on your couch!)

I would say my favourite song of the year is probably "Boy From School" by Hot Chip... it's perfect mixture of Simon & Garfunkle melancholy and filter house grooves was the most amazing musical combo this year (next to Timberlake/Timbaland but that's another story... here's the Erol Alkan Rework...

Hot Chip- "Boy From School (Erol Alkan's Extended Rework)"

Then we have a track from The Streets... it's pretty obvious that "Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living" is going to make a lot of people's lists this year... but this track (which is an improvement on the already great original) will likely be overlooked...

The Streets- "When You Wasn't Famous (Professor Green Remix)

And of course Arctic Monkeys are the most important band of the year... the new 'Oasis'... and I don't need to tell you anything about them... here's a live one from KCRW!
Arctic Monkeys- "Fake Tales Of San Francisco (Live @ KCRW)"

I don't know a lot about Sunshine Underground other than the name is from a Chemical Brother's song... but they are pretty sweet.. here's a fun live track from the London Calling festival...
Sunshine Underground- "Commercial Breakdown (Live @ London Calling, Amsterdam 1.4.06)"

Guillemots (which I STILL do not know how to pronounce) wrote one of the most touching albums this year (in fact 'Trains To Brazil' easily will make it into my ten best songs of the year) and this is a beautiful b-side off their EP...

Guillemots- "Sea Out (B-Side)"

I wanted to post the video for "Trains To Brazil" as well... it's fucking awesome...


I know I mainly talk about Pete Doherty but his former partner Carl Barat, and his band Dirty Pretty Things, are just as relevant and just as exciting as the Libertines use to be... however without the drama that Babyshambles were surrounded by DPT were largely overlooked this year... and so was this bonus track at the end of their album... (if you buy the limited edition vinyl version this is on the bonus 7 inch.. sweet song)

Dirty Pretty Things- "B.U.R.M.A (Hidden Track)"

Ah the Kooks... my friend Lolly, who is mates with them, introduced me to them earlier this year just prior to the "THEY ARE FROM MUSIC SCHOOL" backlash... because of this I have no tainted view about them and really enjoyed their album... this is a wicked cover of Gnarls Barkley...

The Kooks- "Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Cover @ Radio 1 Live Lounge)"

...and speaking of covers, and speaking of The Kooks, Lily Allen hit both bases this year while taking the piss at the same time... after making a bunch of remarks on how worthless The Kooks were she went ahead and did this at Radio 1's Live Lounge as if to beat them at their own game... then to prove she was still indie friendly she dueted with Alan from The Rakes... game, set, match!

Lily Allen- "Naive (Kooks Covere @ Radio 1 Live Lounge)"

If you've been reading this blog you know I love dance music... and Klaxons were the biggest thing to happen this year in British dance music... this is a demo version of their cover version of the old rave classic 'The Bouncer' (that was a mouthful)!

Klaxons- "The Bouncer (Demo Version)"

Here is an AWESOME 2 part Klaxons performance... fucking ace...



This song is about a girl being raped and killed... I think... that's a bit dark for me so instead I just bop around not listening to the words.. works well.. you should try it... anyway.. Larrkin Love's skank funk was so successful they almost beat Babyshambles for the best white reagee influenced band this year! Here's a live rendition of the song from London Calling festival...

Larrikin Love- "Happy As Annie (Live @ London Calling, Amsterdam)"

Of course no 'best of' comp would be complete without the next Arctic Monkeys The View... they haven't quite taken the world by storm but you can TRUST they will be on my 2007 list as well.. these guys are going to take over the world.. and this song will help them do it! Here's a demo of their biggest track thus far... an homage to their friends the Wasted Little Djs...

The View- "Wasted Little DJs (Demo)"

The Fratellis are little lad rock-y for me... BUT I generally still dig them just because I like overly masculine bands with insane egos (Kasabian, Oasis)... and these guys have got that one nailed!

The Fratellis- "Dirty Barry Stole The Blackbird (B-side)"

Ahhhh... The Pipettes... the prettiest girls you've never met... this track was a refreshing step away from the norm with one of the most catchy choruses in 06... here's a live one from Radio 1's Blue Room...

The Pipettes- "We Are The Pipettes (Live @ Radio 1's Blue Room)"

...and why not just give you their super weird Austin Powers-esque video...


...and last but not least... my favourite midget Lady Sovereign... I think I already posted this but this is one of the songs that didn't make it to the album... I heard her do it live and it's a nice addition to any Sov collection (for all you completists out here)! This is actually from 2005 and got a 4 star review over at Pitchfork...

Lady Sovereign- "The Broom (B-Side)"

Actually here is sort of what that sounded like...


So that's that! I will (as I said) still be doing a 'best of list' before Christmas and will keep giving you more tracks from this years best artists until the 1st (if everything goes to plan)... so, thanks again for stopping by and PLEASE feel free to leave comments!

P.s. If we blow through a BUNCH of these YouSendIt links really fast I will throw some other sort of links up if you guys request them!

Editors

I've never used EzArchive before... but I'm being FORCED to because stupid fucking YouSendIt said that I've uploaded too much shit... fuckkkkkk thattttttttttttt... I'm helping make them money, so they can stop bitching! Anyway... I hope I did all this right... if not please leave me some comments or you guys are going to be the ones getting stuck with the dud-links!

So... I don't think I've done any Editors posts before. But I think they are fantastic... Heather and I went to see them this summer and they were fucking bonkers awesome. Funny story about that show too... Heather and I were hanging out downstairs in the bowling alley at the Magic Stick and who comes walking by but Mr Tom Editor himself. I walked up and said "I love all the covers you've been playing recently" to which he said "Thanks. My name is Tom" and shook my hand. I replied "I know your name!" and proceeded to bullshit about college radio for a couple minutes and wished him good luck. Then LATER (because I'm a real weirdo about having more than one contact in an evening with a singer) I had Heather run up and get his autograph while the crap opening band played. I was surprised no one else realized it was him, as he was in the audience. I was also surprised that it wasn't full... but then again I really really really like them so I have a high opinion of them and think they should sell out U.S. stadiums! Anyway... that was a cool night.

Hopefully the U.S. appreciation of Editors will get a little stronger with this new remix E.P. which looks as though it's going to be awesome. I haven't gotten it yet because I've been trying to deal with Christmas (the only purchase I 'made for myself', i.e. got my mom/dad to buy it, was the Ghostly Box over @ Ghostly International... how cool is that thing?) but I am going to pick it up soon. I'm super stoked about the other remixes that are being leaked to blogs to promote this EP, as there is a Pase Rock remix (of Five Deez/ Spank Rock fame) as well as Shy Child and some others. I have a couple of the leaked ones posted below.

Just in case you don't know anything about Editors (which is unlikely) here's a little info from AllMusic.com:

Neo-post-punk quartet the Editors formed in 2003. Originally dubbed Snowfield, the group comprised singer/guitarist Tom Smith, lead guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, bassist Russell Leetch, and drummer Ed Lay, all music technology students at Britain's Stafford University who relocated to Birmingham after graduation. A series of a well-received club dates and a single demo tape earned the Editors the interest of British labels large and small, and after a bidding frenzy the group signed to a revitalized Kitchenware, the venerable British indie once home to Prefab Sprout. Kitchenware issued their debut single, "Bullets," in early January 2005 and the record sold out in one day, earning comparison to the dark, dramatic sound of contemporary bands like Interpol and Bloc Party as well as ancestors like Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen. The Editors' follow-up, "Munich," made them darlings of the U.K. music press, and just weeks after their standout performance at the annual Glastonbury Music Festival, the band issued its third single, "Blood." Their much-anticipated debut LP, The Back Room, followed in mid-2005. "Munich" was reissued in January 2006, placing The Back Room in the Top Five on the U.K. album chart and earning the band a gold record. A joint North American tour with stellastarr* coincided with the stateside release of The Back Room in March. A Mercury Music Prize nomination followed in July.

Here's some "Munich" on Conan:


And here is the video for the same song:


So I went balls out here and posted EVERYTHING I had on one of my computers that was NOT on the Editors album (i.e. stuff I don't think anyone is going to be 'upset' that I posted). It isn't going to be up for a long time so get it while the getting is good. I will make sure to keep my eyes peeled for any of the new mixes as they come out.
Here's a b-side:
Editors- "Crawl Down The Wall"
Editors- "Crawl Down The Wall" EzArchive

Here's some stuff from KEXP:
Editors- "Lights (Live @ KEXP)"
Editors- "Lights (Live @ KEXP)" EzArchive

Editors- "All Sparks (Live @ KEXP)"
Editors- "All Sparks (Live @ KEXP)" EzArchive

Here's some covers:
Editors- "French Disco (Stereolab Cover)"
Editors- "French Disco (Stereolab Cover)" EzArchive
Editors- "French Disco (Stereolab Cover)" YSI


Editors- "Road To Nowhere (Talking Heads Cover Live)"
Editors- "Road To Nowhere (Talking Heads Cover Live)" EzArchive
Editors- "Road To Nowhere (Talking Heads Cover Live)" YSI

Editors- "Feel Good Inc (Gorillaz Cover)"
Editors- "Feel Good Inc (Gorillaz Cover)" EzArchive
Editors- "Feel Good Inc (Gorillaz Cover)" YSI

Editors- "Orange Crush (R.E.M. Cover)"
Editors- "Orange Crush (R.E.M. Cover)" EzArchive

More b-sides:
Editors- "You Are Fading"
Editors- "You Are Fading" EzArchive
Editors- "You Are Fading" YSI


Editors- "Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home"
Editors- "Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home" EzArchive

An old demo:
Editors- "The Diplomat (Snowfield Demo)"
Editors- "The Diplomat (Snowfield Demo)" EzArchive
Editors- "The Diplomat (Snowfield Demo)" YSI

And some remixes:
Editors- "Camera (Rubber Bullets Remix)"
Editors- "Camera (Rubber Bullets Remix)" EzArchive

Editors- "All Sparks (Phones Remix)"
Editors- "All Sparks (Phones Remix)" EzArchive

Editors- "All Sparks (Cicada Remix)"
Editors- "All Sparks (Cicada Remix)" EzArchive
Editors- "All Sparks (Cicada Remix)" YSI

And last, but not least, an interview on AOL's Interface:
Editors on AOL's 'Interface'

Hopefully you guys dig all this stuff... sorry I haven't been around since that Bloc Party post.. seemed like you all dug it though... I was in the Top 5 on the Hype Machine almost ALL of last week... thanks for checking it out! You guys are the best!

"If you want to know what makes me sad/ Well it's hope, the endurance of faith..."

Yours truly (to the left) at a Bloc Party signing @ Intonation Festival 2006

Boy do I love some fucking Bloc Party. When this album leaked I was equal parts sad and excited. It took me quite a while to decide if I was going to review or post from it and I finally decided I would post... but not any new 'album' tracks. This is the second part of my review with all sorts of (non-album) awesomeness to get you excited. Let's start with a little video from the above festival...


And here's the video from that day @ Intonation Festival... it's actually pretty good quality!

As I've taken a more in depth look at the theme and the lyrics, it's become apparent that this is the 'grown up' version of the Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not... It deals with going out, getting fucked up, feeling great, having a good old time, and having to deal with the fall out afterwards. In fact, fall out is one of the main themes of this album... What happens after terrorist attacks? What happens when people feel displaced? Where do I belong NOW? Is there anyone here for me? Is any of this real? Is this really worth it? Can I go on? There have been a lot of albums tackling the day-to-day working class grind in 2006 but this album comes at it from a different angle. Is there hope after things (i.e. buses, buildings, brain cells, adolescence) are destroyed or disappear? I hope you guys enjoy my assessment and PLEASE feel free to comment!

Here's the b-side of the album...

7) Where Is Home?
This is another identity/immigration song starting out "Everyday, we are reminded, that this is not home for us..." adding to further the existential dread on this album a little more. I think this is quite a strong song on the second half, and makes good use of 'choir vocals' (like 'The Prayer') and stutter effects. This certainly isn't a hard sounding song, nor is it a light ballad... this is one of the songs that shows their new approach holds water. A driving beat with a tortured melody. (Btw I think this song is about Kele's cousin who was killed in a 'racist attack' and, OBVIOUSLY, how his family dealt with it).

8) Kreuzburg
This starts out with an intro that will remind you of 'This Modern Love' but to write it off as derivative would be silly... that most certainly isn't the case, because the moment the drums kick in and Kele starts singing "I/ I have decided/ At 25/ That something has to change" this song will wrap itself right around your heart. That is unless you hate Bloc Party. Because if you do I don't think this track is going to convert you... in short if you like them this song will captivate you after one listen on a pair of headphones, but people who don't like Bloc Party will site this song as being a weak link. And they will be wrong. If you ARE in your mid-twenties then lines like "After sex/ The bitter taste/ Been fooled again/ The search continues" will really resonate (especially if you DO live in the city)... but if you're a 36 year old surly music critic this shit will seem so far away and so opposed to your need for another 'Gang Of Four like' album that you will hate it. End of story.

9) I Still Remember
Bloc Party- "It Started In An Afternoon (Live @ Northumbria)" which is an early version of I Still Remember
Bloc Party- "It Started In An Afternoon (Live @ Northumbria)" zShare

This is a song about a love that could have been, and how if reminded Kele would still remember and it could blossom now... and that is a nice sentiment. Problem is this is one of the weaker songs on the album. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty little song and will grace MANY mix tapes... but it just doesn't aim for (and hence doesn't achieve) the greatness that the rest of the album does. I think cursory listens to the album made people say it's front loaded because of this song. Because it doesn't have the depth or the experimental reach that the rest of the album does (I mean it's not bad, it good enough, but it should have been a b-side and it could have held it's own). AND it also drags down the song before it and the song after it....

10) Sunday
This is the song that the LAST song should have been. It tackles adult themes saying "I love you in the morning , When you’re still hung-over/ I love you in the morning, when you’re still strung out", saying 'no, this wasn't a one night stand, I really care about you even after the magic of our booze and drug filled nights ends'. The lyrics on this song are fucking fantastic and show that even if a Bloc Party song is softer it can still carry a wallop. Anybody agree with me on this? Because this song is not fluff. It really helps the theme work as more of a story.

11) SXRT
By this time, I will admit, you are probably saying "What's up with all the slow stuff, huh Bloc? You guys lost all the party on the first half of the album!" and I can't blame you. But listen close to the lyrics (just like on the last song) and you will appreciate how fucking great this song is. This album is a great album closer... especially since it's about killing yourself (and frankly we know their isn't anything more rock'n'roll than that right? lol). "If you want to know what makes me sad/ Well it's hope, the endurance of faith/ A battle that lasts a lifetime/ A fight that never ends" is a perfect description of a life led in too much quiet desperation seeking a final solution. These are some of the best lyrics they've ever written by a mile. Outside of one song this whole second half has been really emotionally intense and (I think) the better for it.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what's my final assessment? I think this is a great sophomore album. I also think it's going to be a sort of Kid A sort of thing where people are either going to love it or hate it. Once again if you're looking for a direct descendant of post punk it's not here; this album has post punk influences but it's not just that, this has a lot more ambition than that. People who only really liked the really guitar driven Bloc Party songs will hate this album and talk it into the ground, whereas people who appreciate the bands vision and enjoy their more sensitive stuff will love it.

BUT, for all the nice things I've said about it, I think "Uniform" and "I Still Remember" are the two weak-er songs on here. It's not that they aren't good but, they just aren't as strong as the rest of them. "Uniform" and it's cock rock guitars I've heard 7 million times bore me to a degree but it's still a good song (however I think this is the track that the 'guitar' loving BlocHeads will dig; I will only deduct .5 for this) and "I Still Remember" does sort of seem like Laguna Beach fodder in comparison to "SXRT" (for which I will take off a whole point). But I think it's a fantastic album overall and I can't stop listening to it!

Final Rating: 8.5/10

(But it's a 10 in my heart!)

This is a track I'm REALLY excited to hear as a b-side... from what I've read in the official Bloc Party Forum this should have been on the album it's so good...

Bloc Party- "Blue Moon (Live @ Newcastle) which is the original title for a new song called "England"

Bloc Party- "Blue Moon (Live @ Newcastle)" zShare

Here's the original demo for "She's Hearing Voices"...
Bloc Party- "She's Hearing Voices (demo)" zShare
Speaking of old tracks here's a SUPER old Bloc Party video...


Here's the hidden track off of 'Silent Alarm' (which is the first track on the vinyl version)...

Bloc Party- "Everytime Is The Last Time" YSI

Bloc Party- "Everytime Is The Last Time" zShare


Here's a fucking wicked awesome remix from MSTRKRFT (who Heather and I got to see, after the Lady Sov show, @ Smartbar)...

Bloc Party- "Two More Years (MSTRKRFT Remix)" zShare

Bloc Party- "Two More Years (MSTRKRFT Remix)" YSI

Then while I've got your lust for 'Sensitive Bloc' going... how about that M83 remix off Silent Alarm Remixed?

Bloc Party- "The Pioneers (M83 Remix)" YSI

Bloc Party- "The Pioneers (M83 Remix)" zShare

And while you're at it... there's a BUNCH of recently arrived Bloc Party EPs over at eMusic for you to enjoy... from the 'Dimmakified' remix EP, to 'Two More Years' to the original 'Bloc Party EP' that I had Kele sign this summer... it's all there! And if you click on the link below you will make me some MUCH needed Christmas money!

Disappear here...

There was (unspecified) time where I was at the lowest point in my life. Couldn't possibly get lower. During this time I was spending most of my time lying around reading and doing little else. While having thoughts of giving up on everything swirled through my head I called my dad and asked him to bring me some books. He brought me a stack of stuff by Brett Easton Ellis and I began completely immersing myself in them in an attempt to get my head away from where it had been lingering. During this time I read "Less Than Zero". Twice. In one day. Which is not exactly the smartest thing ever when you are trying to get your head away from complete and utter despair... however it is one of the greatest books I have ever read.

Apparently Kele from Bloc Party thinks so as well. The coked out, indifferent, opulent nature of the book has so obviously been reflected in the world around us in recent years. And after admitting (through very thinly veiled statements; i.e. he didn't say which drug he was taking) his drug use and new found love for dancing all night in clubs after the tour for 'Silent Alarm', it's safe to say he woke up one morning and saw the same retched qualities in himself that he hated about society. That's where A Weekend In The City was born.

The week of November 10th Bloc Party were forced to cancel their tour with P!@TD (thank god) because Matt Tong (their drummer) suffered a collapsed lung. As if that weren't enough, shortly after, their new album leaked WAYYYYYY ahead of time. A Weekend In The City is supposed to come out until February 2007. One has to imagine without Matt Tong's 400 Vicodin pills he got for his lung operation Bloc Party would collectively be jumping off a bridge right now... and perhaps metaphorically they are. Maybe in 2008 or 2009 (Jesus, are we almost a decade away from Y2K?) we will see the 3rd album from Whitechapel's art-rock heroes that is riddled in the other hard narcotic laced with wistful melodies and more hurt than their prior. But in the meantime we have this album to deal with.

I have struggled a LOT with this... do I post anything off the leaked album? How would I feel if someone did that to me? But isn't everyone else doing it? I mean in February it's going to be a moot point... everything will have already been said. The release of A Weekend In The City will be a true 'non-event'. However, I encourage you to buy it because they need your support. This could be a career crippling moment for them and they don't deserve that!

So in the end, I'm not going to post anything FROM the album... but I will post a demo and some live tracks from songs that are on the album. And I will give you a little review of this 'A Side' of this album... I will follow with the 'B Side' in a couple days when I feel more well acquainted with it...

Let's get started at the 'quick glance' review...

1) Bloc Party- "Song For Clay/Disappear Here(Demo Version)" zShare
This song is written (apparently) for the lead character in Less Than Zero. It talks about enjoying yourself at the expense of others and really let's you know that this album is wayyyy different from the last one. The super high falsetto is thin and frail, which would weaken the track if it weren't for the propulsive chorus that takes this song into the stars. By the time he's singing the book's maxim "People are afraid to merge on the freeway" this song is rocking out showing it's a really strong album opener.

2) Hunting For Witches
It starts out super glitchy and chopped up like 'Coat Check' by Soft Pink Truth, and then we get live drums that sound like a old school drum and bass loop... and then... WHOA... is this 'Crazy Train'? Because that's what the guitar sounds like (for those of you who magically aren't versed in that guitar lick, it's the one Lil John and Trick Daddy stole for 'Let's Go'... some of you just groaned because I wrote that, but remember, the whole world isn't full of music afficianados)! But as the song starts to warm up it's apparent they aren't trying to bite any one's style. This song is about as anthematic as a song that isn't a single can be (having said that it would not blow me away if this did end up being a single in the U.K... there is probably only one U.S. single and that will be #4). It's basically about nationalistic additudes towards immigrants and "terrorists".

3)Bloc Party- "Waiting For The 7.18 (Live @ Bedford)" zShare
&
Bloc Party- "Waiting For The 7.18 (live @ Coachella) YSI
Nice and pretty like a Christmas version of 'So Here We Are' at the beginning. We get more drum-and-bass drums from Matt Tong (that couldn't be more different than the last album) and it suddenly bursts into the chorus. It's a wall of guitars and rhythm which is a good contrast to the xylophone and other sprightly sounds in the verses. The last bit "Let's drive to Brighton on the weekend" sounds so fucking impassioned it's as though it's the request of a dying man in love. Funny bit with the birds at the end because this is without question a 'winter' track, but what the hell why not, it works anyway. As soon as I got up this morning I threw this on the stereo... that's how good it is.

4) The Prayer
The obvious lead single that also seems to obviously be about cocaine. "Let me outshine the moon..." isn't a request that most of us make when we plan to go out on a Friday night. I think most people are like "let this fucking zit go away", not "let me be a god"! The chorus which goes: "Tonight, make me unstoppable/ I will chop, I will slice/ I will dazzle them with my wit...", is easily the most engaging thing Bloc Party have ever done (unless you hate pop music in which case 'Helicopter' was the best they've ever done). It is a song that undoubtedly will be played in front of many bathroom mirrors, and in many car stereos in the way to the bar, from now until the end of forever. So fucking ace I CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO IT! Seriously... about 5,000 spins and counting... this is the one we played on the radioshow the other night...


5)Bloc Party- "Uniform (live @ Coachella)" YSI
The lyrics are this one are like the modern indie version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'... JUST THE LYRICS PEOPLE! It's all about the internet keeping us together, MTV teaching you how to sulk and grow your hair long... (and says "We're so handsome... entertain us" which is why I draw the Nirvana comparison). The second half of the song is like an old Bloc Party song to a degree... however the new vocal harmonies, and the heavy metal/mid-90's guitars that weren't on Silent Alarm are here (the cock rock guitar solo right before the end is sweet!). Lyrics like "I could have been a hero" I've gotten so good at lying to myself, all my pain and honour is used up" and "I'm a believer I just need a cause" make this song. It's a damn fine one.

6) On
"You make my tongue loose" totally turns this into the makeout song on the A Side. It's a very earnest and heartfelt song that would go well (and probably WILL go well) in a scene from 'The O.C.' The strings and ambient noise underneath give this the dizzying romanticism it needs to be memorable It actually reminds me of the drumbeat from a David Grey song mixed with a British Smashing Pumpkins song... anyone else hear that?

Well anyway, I'll be back soon with a review of the B Side (the last 5 tracks on this album)! If I can stop listening to the A Side!

Speaking of b-sides here's my favourite one they've done... fucking brilliant...
Bloc Party- "Always New Depths"