Girl Aloud: MSN Music Blog: Music

Would you employ these people?

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:06:06 GMT

Cutting Pink With Knives are a band from London. I like them very much, so I thought I'd interview them, but they're also good friends of mine and I put out their last album so this is all getting a bit incestuous. To keep things interesting, I decided to do it in the form of a job interview, so I found some questions which are typically asked at job interviews and put them to Edi (guitar/vocals/programming) and Alex (bass). Chris (vocals) was clearly too busy being an arty film student to answer them.

What are your weaknesses?

Alex - Sexual deviancy, periods of thinking to myself that I have a lack of motivation, love to dish out the diss but cant take it, taking people too literally and not getting their jokes. I'm basically the worst person ever. Some how i've always managed to cover this up and impress people in interviews most of the time. I don't know if thats a good thing or not. It's probably not - I then try and waste their company time. Money for nothing. And the..............for free.

Edi - As a band? worrying! we all freak out and worry constantly, it gets so tedious, but we're all guilty of it. me especially!

Why did you leave your last job?

Alex - Because I was a temp on a 2 month contract, so I had to leave. I continue to chase impossible dreams.

Edi - Because I'm weak.

How do you deal with criticism?

Alex - I used to deal with it really badly and have massive arguments, but now I just realise I deserve it, but still deal with it really badly internally. Keep your mouth shut though and subordinate. Hail to the thief.

Edi - Well. I dont really mind if someone thinks we're terrible, and there are very few people in the world who can hurt me by cricising me, especially with this band. I think that if you react badly to criticism its a sure sign that you're just not comfortable with who you are, the fact that i can take people criticising CPWK on the chin is just a sign that i really dont mind whether someone thinks we suck or not...especially being us, we get so much crap that if we were sensitive we'd just die. Never answer back to critcism, it makes you a wuss.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Alex - Either being/doing everything I have ever hoped for or crushingly miserable/depressed doing something I hate.

Edi - Unhappy.

How do you deal with authority?

Alex - Really well if they are nice. If they go on a power trip or act like pricks though i'm very happy to completely ridicule their horrible behaviour in whatever format is most appropriate. Same goes with anyone, not just authority.

Edi - Like a fuckin punk.

What do you think of your last manager?

Alex - He was basically a legend. Incredible, eclectic music taste, did so much drugs it was untrue and was a massive womaniser and then had a huge heart of gold. A bizarre mix - never judge a book by its cover is what I say. He was amazing.

Edi - ...he was a doofus?

What's the riskiest thing you have ever done?

Alex - In a work setting, looking at porn in a solicitors office more than once was pretty stupid, in life in general probably necking loads of prescription pills that were quite strong/weird, whilst drunk, was quite stupid. They are both risks in a sense.

Edi - I once did a poo at a girl's house.

Please give me one example demonstrating how you overcame adversity in a difficult situation.

Alex - To pick one example is to make the majority of life sound insignificant and easy. This is consistently the most pathetic question I have been asked by those in 'power' throughout my life. I think a much better question would be 'name several forces in life that affect you adversely. How do you deal and cope with these? Give examples.'

Edi - I'm in a band with two morons, I overcome it by ignoring them. i win.

You can find more about Cutting Pink With Knives here. They have a lot of upcoming tour dates as well as an album out now on Holy Roar Records. More info on the label will follow at some point!

Playlist: Rocket From The Crypt, Mogwai, Low, Menomena, Electrelane

Bookmark with:

Digg

The perfect mixtape

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:36:39 GMT

Making a mixtape for someone often gets translated incorrectly as 'I fancy you', and in a slightly tragic emo teenager sort of way maybe this is occasionally the case. But making a mixtape/CD is in most cases (for me at least) a chance to totally geek out and just spend a couple of hours painstakingly putting together a collection of amazing songs which I love, with normally only a fraction of a thought for the person it's for. Selfish, yes, but this is coming from the person who refreshes Last.fm on a Sunday night to see if her weekly chart has updated yet.

Anyhow, I'm currently in the process of making two CDs and have just received one. I'm obviously not a complete music fascist as I've moved away from tapes, purely because (despite having a tape deck), iTunes makes everything so much easier. And I can't scrobble a cassette. One is for a 'friend', the other is for people I will be attending Primavera with, and is made up solely of bands playing the festival. WikiHow tells me there are certain rules to follow, which of course seem to stem from the 'gospel' laid down in High Fidelity. Anyhow, I do not like these rules. I regularly break the rule of having two songs by the same band back to back, and opening with a slow burner rather than a 'corker'. I go for the really obvious choices all the time, and picking opening tracks off an album feels like a cop-out but sometimes it works. I've made them for people I fancy and people I don't even know, and both times I just end up putting on them what the hell I want to anyway. This is my mix for my 'friend'. It's mostly made up of bands which, as far as I'm aware, they don't know very well. And they should like. Loads. OH, and the one rule I do like to follow is the one about giving every mix a title. 2006 was a great year to make mixes as every one became 'in the mix 2006' or 'a Merry Christmas mix 2006'. This is proving harder. Maybe 'A collection of songs that you, as far as I'm aware, aren't aware of.' Thus:

1. Belly full o f hell - Planes Mistaken For Stars

2. Super Inuit - Holy Fuck

3. My lil' shocker - US Maple

4. Good woman - Cat Power

5. One after one - Dananananaykroyd

6. In Berlin - Electrelane

7. Stop grass - Tristeza

8. Magic fingers - Cursed

9. Invisible leader - Fucked Up

10. Get off the floor - Murder City Devils

11. Mirador - Efterklang

12. Close to me - Why?

13. Belarus - Low

14. Late repeat- Charlottefield

15. Faded from the winter - Iron & Wine

16. All your faithless loyalties - Two Gallants

17. Beatrotter - Rolo Tomassi

And at this point I would like to add I'm always open to more mixtape or CD trading. ALWAYS.

Playlist: Pissed Jeans, Dananananaykroyd, Melt Banana

Bookmark with:

Digg

My favourite website.fm

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:13:03 GMT

I am obsessed with Last.fm. It's the best social networking site, and it's all about being a bit overly obsessive about music at the same time. I'm sure the music part is way more important than the 'networking' part, but it's there, and you can stalk someone based on the number of times they've listened to Braid rather than who they've been poking recently.

The hierarchy of similar webistes is currently: Last.fm>Flickr (sort of doesn't fit, I know)>Facebook>Livejournal (remember that?)>Myspace (almost entirely useless now no?)>Friendster (hahahahahahaha)

I'm going to spend ages talking about Last.fm on here, so I'm keeping this brief, here's my top artists for last week. You can see my full profile here.

1    Why? 18 - New album is sublime, and tour dates for June announced!

2    The Appleseed Cast 16 - CLASSIC

3    Orchid 12 - ALSO CLASSIC

3    The Notwist 12 - Playing Primavera, and following the Why?/13 & God fest I dug this out as well.

5    13 & God 11 - An almost perfect album.

5    The Shins 11 - Zach Braff loves the Shins; everyone loves the Shins.

7    The Murder City Devils 10 - A flawless band in my books.

7    Les Savy Fav 10 - I will dance to them at Primavera and ATP. Oh yes I will.

9    Charlottefield 8 - More UK bands like this needed now please. New album on Fat Cat is super.

9    Blonde Redhead 8 - Now in possession of a ticket to see them for whenever it is they're playing soon. AWESOME.

Playlist: Lots of Last.fm radio, Blonde Redhead, Melt Banana, Xiu Xiu

Bookmark with:

Digg

A new band I dig, #1

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:42:12 GMT

Tropics are a bit of a hip London-all-stars type band, featuring people who used to be in other cool bands. The satisfying thing is Tropics are actually awesome, and having seen how tight they were at their first gig (a couple of weeks ago, supporting the also awesome This Ain't Vegas), the future seems quite exciting for them. I sent them some questions over the old Myspace (remember that? Cripes, Facebook really has taken over) and the answers I got were pretty great so I couldn't be bothered to edit them. ENJOY.

Please can you introduce yourself and then tell me what your favourite Sonic Youth album is.

my name is robin silas and my favourite sonic youth album is washing machine

my name is Matthew flag and I think my favourite Sonic Youth album is EVOL, but sometimes its Dirty or Goo, y'know, the pop stuff!

My name is Dan Reeves and I have two favourite Sonic Youth albums. They are Daydream Nation and Goo.

I'm Jodie and I play guitar and attempt vocals in Tropics. The question of a favourite Sonic Youth album is tricky as it's always a tie out of Sister and Washing Machine for me. Today though, I'm gonna go for Sister.

You've all been in other bands/done other stuff within music etc etc, well scrap that. Tell me a more interesting story about how Tropics came to be rather than 'yeah so he used to play in this band and we're both friends with so and so...' etc. Yes, you can make it up.

ROBIN - I met matt through a mutual love for tintin and loving life, Dan through a mutual love for amazing dancing and even more amazing jumpers, and Jodie through a mutual love for pizza, twin peaks and watching gray's anatomy

MATT FLAG - Jodie came round my house for a Bar-B-Q and he locked himself in my room listening to the second TRAPDOOR FUCKING EXIT lp and loving his life, that made me love him.
Robin has good taste in pastel coloured underwear and socks and his room looks like an ice cream, this makes me love him.
Dan has re-invented himself to look like like Adrian Brody circa era- The Pianist, which makes me love him although he has always cut a slick figure.

DAN REEVES - We all met on the corner when we gathered around to watch Robin beatbox, rap AND break-dance at the same time. Shit was CRAZY! That was like 78 or something?

JODIE: I met Robin whilst living in China. I used to beg outside the dojo where he taught Jeet Kun Do (Bruce Lee's martial art) where he was already gaining much acclaim as he had mastered the one-inch punch at such an early age. After seeing him for so many years and only offering a bow of the head in respect rather than a questioning hand for any available change, we spoke once and found that we had a shared fondness for music, boobies, beer and dancing. He took me in and then after a while of practicing lots, we flew to England to seek our potential fortune and like minded individuals. I have always known Matt as being a fevered lover of life since we first met at the tiki-tiki hooha club.I was working as a bar man serving Seabreezes when Robin brought him in and introduce me to him. He cuts out peoples faces in heat magazine, colours them in with black metal make up and makes them into badges. Awesome. Dan i on another level altogether. In fact he was IN Another Level originally but was kicked out early before the band hit the chrts for being just too damn handsome. I mean, come on! Just LOOK at that guy!!! We then started Tropics. Hmmmmmmm, is that bullshit enough?

What's the deal with London, do you think the 'scene' here or whatever can get a bit incestuous and boring, or do you think it's an exciting place to be right now?

ROBIN - I love London, it’s hard sometimes, like when you have no money but it’s certainly the best city I have ever been to full of really amazing people and I’m really happy to live here. I don't know about 'scenes' but there's lots of people doing some really good stuff at the moment across a really large scale, I like that all our friends do really different things. London right now it is more exciting than it has been in the five years I have lived here. well done London.

MATT FLAG - I'm completely in love with London right now, I think it’s amazing how many people are creative and are making/doing/creating awesome stuff. I think the incautiousness is part of the vitality too, because we choose to share/make things with other kids who have mad skills. And I’ve never got bored at the amount of great things to do in London, I still feel like a tourist that has never left.

DAN REEVES - I live in Brighton but I love London more with each visit. There are tons of nice people doing lots of good art and music stuff and I love the way it's so massive. I guess you can get a little jaded with most 'scenes' but I think the capital has enough going on to keep me satisfied.

JODIE: I think 'Scene' is such a funny expression nowadays. I think it means something different now to what it did in a community sense years ago. I personally don't feel that there is THAT much of a scene going on at the moment but I do think there are some great, eclectic bands in London right now. In fact, the UK has some great bands! All of them are working hard to do what they wanna do and I think that's killer. Maybe I'm just being naive and there is more of a scene going on at the moment that I haven't been privy to but that would just be my own fault.

Was the This Ain't Vegas gig your first right? It all seemed to go really well, and really naturally. Is that from practicing a lot? Or just being good friends and generally 'getting' each other etc... Or just luck!? How do YOU think it went?

ROBIN - I thought it was fun, the people tiger and Steve who put us on are good people, the other bands are friends of ours and matt did some excellent dancing.

MATT FLAG - I honestly think it went as well as a first gig could go, but it was the first time in ages I’d felt nervous about playing, because I think the way the songs are written means we have to be tight otherwise it sounds crap, and I’ve been in allot of bands where I got away with being sloppy, but these boys have been whipping me into shape.

DAN REEVES - It was good! I played this one guitar line right which I always fuck up. That was a highlight. Also using Rory's amp cos it sounds great. Also Matt's big moves were great. Also getting drunk and hanging out with our friends after was great. It was pretty great for a first show. I think the 'vibe' with this band is just a bunch of friends having fun playing stuff we like so there's not really much pressure. We do like to nail songs though.

JODIE: Yep, that was show number one and I think the show went well actually. I was nervous and had just come from my first funeral to get there for soundcheck and felt a bit all over the place. It seemed that the others had quite a day of interesting stuff happen too that day. We have all known each other for ages and get on really well and it seems are on similar wave lengths with writing stuff so it's just fun playing together.

To me you have a very Dischord-y, even Drive Like Jehu-ish sound, which a lot of bands try to do but often sound boring. You do it well.. Are you intentionally being a little bit wistful? What do you think you sound like?

ROBIN - I honestly don't know. I think as soon as you start playing shows it’s hard to be able to tell. I asked my friends but it’s hard for them to be honest too.

MATT FLAG - I love Drive Like Jehu and I love Dischord that makes me happy to hear that, thank you!! I honestly don't know what we sound like, I think yes, there are aspects of all the bands we like which is amazing because we all growing freaking out to certain records so that’s filtered down but I don't know if we rip off anyone in particular?? I’m trying to rip Dan Higgs though, love that guy.

DAN REEVES - I'm really in to mid-paced melodi-hardcore from the late 90s and early 00s at the mo. I kind of just forgot about that stuff for a while but am re-finding some great bands especially those on Dischord that were such big influences on us. I'm glad you like what we do, there has not really been any intention to sound a certain way, and it just came out like this!

JODIE: Hahahahahaha! For me personally, I don't think I'll ever shake that tag of sounding like that. If you would have thrown Unwound in there then it would have been spot on! All of us have a love for that Dischord / DLJ / Hot Snakes stuff so that will be apparent. I'd like to think that we sound fun in comparison to previous bands we've done and hopefully that our collective song writing is just getting better. I hope that A LOT! Right now it's just a lot of fun and I hope it continues that way.

Do you all have your fingers in lots of pies, or is Tropics what you're all focusing on right now?

ROBIN - I play in a band called 'male bonding' with my friends John and Kevin from and sometimes I play live drums for 'sleeping states' but that’s not my project, it’s my friend Markland’s. I work hard at my job which is freelance research on photography exhibitions and every time I get drunk I try and start a new band - a foolish move for my sanity! being a drummer is dangerous, compared to guitar players we are a rare species.

MATT FLAG - I’m also doing a band with Maya Victoria of Leopard Leg called INCEST, which is kind of thrashy fast hardcore/power violence, and we're also gonna start a power electronic black metal noise band as it sounds like fun and we both dig the black metal styles. I’m also starting a cassette label called SUPLEX CASSETTES with releases for Male Bonding, Kasms, Rohame, Queen of Swords, Incest, Liberez and many others! Plus I make funny badges. check www.lmldistro.wordpress.com

DAN REEVES - I play and sing in a band called An Emergency, we have an album coming out very soon. I also play in a band in Brighton that is much noisier and a bit dancey, I guess, called Cold Pumas, we'll do some stuff through out the year hopefully. I also do a lot of artwork / graphic design for bands and labels (as you know!) which I really enjoy. I'm going to be doing an exhibition later this year too but I can't say too much about that in case I jinx it. I run a record Although we are all very busy with other stuff I think we are all pretty serious about Tropics so hopefully we'll achieve allot of stuff in the near future.

JODIE: As well as doing stuff with Tropics I have a couple of other projects on the go. I have been involved in a project called Rohame that I do with some friends I've known since I started playing music and getting into different stuff since I was 14. That band is much more about repetition and melody right now and I enjoy that a lot. We'll hopefully be doing that more later this year, hopefully with some releases and shows too. If I'm allowed to plug it, we have myspace page here: www.myspce.com/rohame I have one other band that I'm focusing on right now too but is based in Seattle. It's with members of These Arms Are Snakes, Some Girls and Botch and has been fun so far. We have a an EP coming out in the spring and hopefully full length LP later in the year. I hope it comes out ok!!!

Plans to release anything?

ROBIN - I hope a 7" or two and then an album.

JODIE: We would love to!!! Know anyone who might be interested? We have had some potential interest and are kinda following that up right now so hopefuly we'll have something soon. We're absolutely itching to get a 7" done!!! If anyone is interested, feel free to get in touch! :D

What other UK bands should people be looking out for?

ROBIN - lovvers, pre, sleeping states, comanechi, your twenties, kasms, hot club de paris, comet gain, graffiti island, joanne robertson, look look dancing boys, emmy the great, correcto.....

MATT - All of the above plus The Shitty Limits, The Sceptres, Rohame, Cold Pumas, Hot Damn, Trencher, Queen of Swords, Liberez, Train Chronicles, Super Tennis.....

DAN REEVES - Also check out... The Light Sleepers, youmetheswitch, OK Pilot and This Town Needs Guns...

JODIE: I would recommend checking out Pre, Sleeping States, Lovvers, An Emergency, Trencher, Queen of Swords, One Unique Signal, The Unit Ama, Lords, Part Chimp if you don;t know them already to name a few.

Why do so many people like shit bands?

ROBIN - I’m not sure but it’s ok if they like them.

MATT FLAG - I think me like allot of them too.

DAN REEVES - Because they suck.

JODIE: It's all a matter of taste and opinion me thinks.

Playlist: Tropics (well, duh), Charlottefield, 13 & God, The Notwist

Bookmark with:

Digg

More festival excitement!

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:46:29 GMT

I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK

please mark your calendars for the 11th-13th July 2008, for this year's installment of what Plan B magazine called "the best organised and most wisely curated festival". Taking place at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, with additional activity around the area. Tickets will go on sale in mid March and will include weekend tickets as well as day tickets.

This year sees the return of some of the most popular names from previous Supersonics, in particular BATTLES, the then unheard of surprise hit of 2005's festival who make a triumphant return to headline, and in the grand tradition of Supersonic, a cult underground act playing their first ever show on European soil - This year the honour goes to HARVEY MILK, Athens Georgia's seismic sludge titans.

A truly International affair, also already confirmed to appear are: EFTERKLANG, HARMONIA, NOXAGT, EARTH, WOODEN SHJIPS, THRONES, OXBOW, JUSTICE YELDMAN, DALEK, ORTHODOX, BLACK SUN, THE OWL SERVICE, MAX TUNDRA, MAGNETAPHONE, PCM, EINSTELLUNG and GUAPO. With many more acts to be announced, please stay tuned for more news as we get it.

For further info on bands:
http://www.capsule.org.uk/Coming_Up/209.aspx

Again, I'm going to list the bands I'm most excited about. Thus:

BATTLES

HARVEY MILK

EFTERKLANG

EARTH

DALEK

GUAPO

Supersonic is simply my favourite festival, probably in the world. I'm biased, I know (Lisa Meyer, one half of Capsule who run the festival, adopted my Mum's dog. Well, her parents did. It's a long story involving daschunds) but simply put, there are very few festivals which can touch their honest intentions: this is a festival about music, and I guess in some sense art, but it has no bullshit, made by great people with a lot of love, and they have amazing bands play. I could gush about them for hours, no doubt I will some more in the next few months.

Playlist: Les Savy Fav, Hot Chip, Joy Division

Bookmark with:

Digg

Jimmy eats my world

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:00:35 GMT

Last night I saw one of my favourite bands, Jimmy Eat World. Yeah, not really that new or exciting or anything, but I still love them almost as much as when I was 16 and I think this was the sixth time I've seen them.

It was an alright gig; understandably a lot was new material, but none of it sounded as good as their old stuff. Isn't it annoying when people say that? Very often it isn't true, and in JEW's defence, 'Let it happen' off this year's album 'Chase this light' is as good as anything off 'Static prevails'. It's just everyone likes gettng cool about bands, especially bands like JEW who have been accused of 'actually selling out', whatever that means. Anyhow, the fact is their old stuff is just geniunely better than the pop rock they produce today, albeit very well written and catchy pop rock. 1999's 'Clarity' still remains the album everyone cites as their best, although for me over time 1996's 'Static prevails' is the one I always return to, and the one I always get on my high horse over and bemoan 'why aren't they as great as this any more?'

The thing I always like about JEW live is the Jim Adkins' pose. Legs hip-width apart, shoulders hunched, keep a stiff back for the next 90 minutes. Good man.

Playlist: Songs: Ohia, Appleseed Cast, The Rapture, 90 Day Men

Bookmark with:

Digg

Primavera line-up announced

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:39:27 GMT

Earlier today a lot more bands were added to the Primavera Sound '08 line-up, which is apparently not even complete yet:

808 State, A Place To Bury Strangers, Alan Braxe, Animal Collective, Apparat Band, Dj Assault, Atlas Sound, Autolux, Awesome Color, Bill Callahan, Bishop Allen, Bob Mould Band, Bon Iver, Boris, British Sea Power, Buffalo Tom, Caribou, Cat Power, Clipse, The Cribs, De La Soul, Deerhunter, Digital Mystikz, Dinosaur Jr., Dirty Projectors, Dr. Octagon aka Kool Keith + Kutmasta Kurt, Edan & MC Dagha, El Guincho, Ellen Allien, Enon, Eric's Trip, Fanfarlo, The Felice Brothers, Fuck Buttons, Dj Funk, Gentle Music Men, The Go! Team, Grande-Marlaska, Health, Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, Holy Fuck, It's Not Not, Kavinsky, Kinski, Les Savy Fav, Lightspeed Champion, Madee, Man Man, The Mary Onettes, Mary Weiss, The Marzipan Man, Menomena, Messer Chups, Midnight Juggernauts, Mission Of Burma, Mixmaster Mike, Model 500, MV & EE with The Golden Road, Nick Lowe, No Age, The Notwist, Okkervil River, Om, Para One, Pissed Jeans, Polvo, Port O'Brien, Portishead, Prinzhorn Dance School, Public Enemy performing It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Robert Hood, Rufus Wainwright, The Rumble Strips, Scout Niblett, Sebadoh, Shipping News, Silver Jews, Simian Mobile Disco, Six Organs Of Admittance, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, Subterranean Kids, Supermayer, Surkin, The Swell Season, Tachenko, Tarántula, Throbbing Gristle, Tiefschwarz, Tindersticks, Träd Gräs och Stenar, Vampire Weekend, Vórtice, Voxtrot, White Williams, Why?, Young Marble Giants.

First thoughts=incredible, but needs a few more I haven't seen before to get more excited than I was for ATP Vs the Fans last year. The ones I'm most excited about right now are Bob Mould, BORIS, Cat Power, Dinosaur Jr, Fuck Buttons, Holy Fuck, LES SAVY FAV, No Age, The Notwist, Pissed Jeans, PUBLIC ENEMY, Sebadoh, Simian Mobile Disco, Six Organs of Admittance, WHY?

Throbbing Gristle will be great I'm sure but my last experience with them me selling their merch at Supersonic '05 and Genesis P Orridge telling me I'd look 'super cute' if I modelled one of their shirts. I decided not to. On the subject of Supersonic Festival, the line-up for that should get announced soon as well. Glastonbury Schmastonbury...

Playlist: Fugazi, Orchid

Bookmark with:

Digg

A Friday shuffle, and some cub scouts...

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:48:42 GMT

MP3 players were almost exclusively designed to listen to music on shuffle, and then forcing yourself to not press the skip button, whatever mood you're in or whether you really like the song that much or not.

For this reason, here's a Friday shuffle. I'm putting my iPod on random and this is what I get, no cheating.

1. A kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid - Nation of Ulysses (ROCK, cool choice to start on, I'm saving face already)

2. Square heart - Black Heart Procession (I spoke about them yesterday, nothing more to say about this band, next...)

3. Salka - Sigur Ros (now they're soundtracking every BBC programme about animals or whatever, they feel a little bit less special, but they still Sigur Rock)

3. Dead dogs two - cLOUDDEAD (nice bit of Anticon, who I'll no doubt spend a lot of time talking about)

4. Puny go stompin' - Souvaris (OOH! One of my favourite British bands, awesome. They might've split up though? I should check their Myspace)

5. Vivian girls - F*cked Up (they played the Barfly last night, I should've gone to see them)

6. The high cost of playing god - Converge (what can you say about Converge? Oh, they're touring soon and playing the Underworld actually...)

7. Murderer - Low (happy music for a Friday afternoon then, Low are my second Valentine's Day band of choice after BHP this year)

8. Trembling of the rose - Two Gallants (I wish I actually paid attention to them at ATP last year)

9. 3x0 - Pinback (I wish I went to see them last year. And yes, there's a pattern emerging isn't there...)

10. Pink squares - I Was A Cub Scout (old version of the song, super cute and twee as hell)

On the subject of I Was A Cub Scout (what a convenient segue...), their debut album 'I want you to know there is always hope' is out on Monday. I have it pre-ordered because I'm cool like that. For those not in the know, IWACS are two young men called Will and Todd who between them produce cutesy pop music with synths, keys, drums, guitars, that kind of thing. They've released a bunch of singles on 7" but their album, coming out on Abeano, which is part of XL, is exciting stuff. A lot of twee indie-pop can get trite as hell, but IWACS are keeping it quite close to the bone, somehow, and fail to get boring, with me at least. But I still love the Postal Service so what do I know. Interestingly, their entire album is available for streaming on their Myspace. Free music is good music, and this is a GREAT thing. Listen to it, love them, and then go out and buy the album on Monday alright? Oh, and they're on tour right now with a little band I also love called Rolo Tomassi. I'll come back to them later. But anyway, at least I know what I'll be listening to all weekend now...

Today's Playlist: IWACS, Deftones (it's like being 15 again), The For Carnation, The Holy Mountain, Karp, This Ain't Vegas

I Was A Cub Scout - Pink Squares

Bookmark with:

Digg