Thunder Road

It's Friday so I'd thought we'd have a bit of classic rock. If you have never heard Thunder Road by the Boss (that's Bruce to you) then get your ears ready.

I'm pretty sure that the song is Nick Hornby's (writer - High Fidelity, About A Boy etc) favourite song (check his book 31 Songs.) It was also an influence on The Killers new album.

Bonnie Prince Billy & Tortoise did a cover album earlier in the year which featured the song. Is it better?

Lastly I post a song I heard earlier in the week that is from a couple of years ago. It's by Vanessa Carlton (A Thousand Miles) and it's called White Houses. It has a coming-of-age Thunder Road element, but more feminine.

Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road
Bonnie Prince Billy & Tortoise -- Thunder Road

Vanessa Carlton -- White Houses

A Funny Dream

I had what I think was a dream a couple of nights ago. I was standing in a HMV and Chelsea Dagger by the Fratellis came on the speakers. I can't remember who I was speaking to but I said "I always think that this is the Cribs."

In honour of my impending schizophrenia, here are some tunes...


The Cribs -- Another Number
The Cribs -- Hey Scenesters

The Fratellis -- Stacie Anne

Actually, on second thoughts, The Fratellis just sound like the Libertines. Stupid Dream. Oh well, I came across this directory whilst I was searching. It's got some good indie stuff.

On an unrelated subject, here is a Smith's bootleg.

PS, this is how you do the sign for sleep

Daft Punk @ Coachella

Forgot to mention, you can find Daft Punk's electo-heaven set at Coachella from this summer here (follow link)

Tuesday's (Not so) Random Music Post

There is some sort of regularity forming here. Here are a couple of tunes that have been keeping me entertained recently:

The Field -- Over the Ice

Go to his MySpace page

Justice -- Waters of Nazareth (Erol Alkin Mix)
Justice -- Waters of Nazareth

MySpace page features a mix for Annie Mac

Cassie

God bless MySpace and God bless P Diddy. Like some sort of Hip Hop Electronic Lily Allen, Cassie is fast becoming the queen of New York.

Cassie started off as a MySpace artist and got picked up by Diddy's record label BadBoy Entertainment. NB: Cassie = 388,475 friends, Lily Allen = 75,997 friends.

Listen to her recent hit Me & U and remember what I told you about Detroit Techno but slow it down a little and give it a groove.

Her album is produced by Ryan Leslie whom produces for Usher (but lets not hold that against him.)

You can access her MySpace page here.

Possible new single Long Way to Go

Simian Mobile Disco

From the ashes of the band Simian come Simian Mobile Disco. Like an indie-dance caterpillar turning into a tune-mongering electro butterfly, SMD tear up the dancefloor.

Comprising of ex-Simian members James Ford and James "Jas" Shaw, SMD have been building up a steady following with their single releases and remix work. The Justice "remix" - Never Be Alone was a club hit this Summer and has had some heavy airplay on shows such as Annie Mac (see sidebar.)

Check out a couple of tunes and a link to a webpage containing their video for Hustler.

Video can be found at Saam TV (second row down, third from left)

Hustler & Never be Alone (w/ Justice).

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PS the scene they had to remove from the Dirty Sanchez movie so they could get it past the BBFC can be found here.

Detroit Techno

If you have spoken to me about music, you may have heard me bleat on about electro and in particlar, Detroit Techno.

Electro, is a variety of music which sprung up at the start of the 1980s in Detroit and Los Angeles. It drew its roots from a mixture of funk and European dance music (e.g. Kraftwerk). Technically, it is generally played at approx 130bpm.

The pioneers of this music were based in Detroit and in particular the origins can be traced to three guys: Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May.

Of the three, I prefer Juan Atkins (aka Model 500, Cybrotron). Cybotron did the tune Clear, who everyone under the sun sampled. Electro/Detroit Techno still makes it's way into todays Hip Hop. Just listen to the synth in LL Cool J's Control Myself.

Here are a couple of classics...

Model 500 - No UFOs

Cybotron - Clear (What a tune!)

Download Killers Live

You can download the whole Killers @ Blackpool gig here.

The Killers (Live)

Listen to The Killers playing their Radio 1 concert. New stuff sounds pretty good. Oh the memories of dancing like a lunatic in the leadmill/fuzz club/my wedding to Mr Brightside. (Wipes tear from eye.)

All related info can be found here.

Klaxons = Neo-Rave.... WTF?!

I'm going on a staff day out down the river tomorrow and therefore will not be able to fill your lives with joy. In my place I will leave some info on the Klaxons who will bring you some joy. Yay!

Currently spearheading the Neo-Rave scene (I didn't even know there was a scene), the Klaxons are slowly building up momentum. They've packed out tents at festivals this summer and been involved in impromptu raves in derelict offices around the Eastend of London.

You can get some info here at their MySpace site.

Listen: Gravity's Rainbow (Demo) & Atlantis to Interzone
Watch: Atlantis to Interzone on Transmission (Ch4) & Gravity's Rainbow (Music Video)


Enjoy...

Tuesday's Random Music Post

I thought I'd let you in on some of the tunes that I've listening to recently:

Junior Boys - "In the Morning"

Tokyo Police Club - "Nature of the Experiment"

DJ Shadow - “GDMFSOB (UNKLE remix)”



If you like em, you can buy them at Amazon, Ebay or Juno (see links on sidebar)

Kenny vs Spenny

Every once in a while there comes a TV show that will take up ALL my time. A few years ago this was Dirty Sanchez (btw they've made a movie).

Now... KENNY VS SPENNY. It's about two friends who live in Canada and participate in stupid competitions. Kenny always cheats, Spenny is the straight-man. You really have to watch it to understand just how funny a concept this is. Even competions that sound like they'll suck have amazing twists.

I think it may be shown on Challenge TV but I've been watching on YouTube. Below are some of my favourite episodes to get you started...

1) Who can stay blindfolded the longest? (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

2) Who will use their arms first? (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

3) Who is the best parent? (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

First Post

Hi all,

I'm back! Work is getting boring so I thought I'd fill in my time by letting you know about things you should already know about. 18 months ago I discussed such issues as:

- Dead Man's Shoes (made a lot of top ten lists)
- Napoleon Dynamite (divided a nation - love or hate? spawned a billion "Vote Pedro" T-shirts)
- Jared Leto & ThirtySecondsToMars (won a VMA last week for MTV2 best video)
- Simon Pegg's new project Hot Fuzz (just finished shooting - see things here)
- Smashing Pumpkins (back into the studio)

Stick around, it'll be fun...