Bands, Photos & Live Reviews
Thursday, 5. June 2008, 21:24:10
Apologies for the lack of posting recently. I'm continuing the trend by fobbing you off with a video again - this time for Mike TV.
The band members are good friends, so be nice when leaving any comments about them.
Thursday, 29. May 2008, 09:40:46
Normal posting will resume shortly. Meanwhile, opinions welcome on Weezer's new video.
Thursday, 22. May 2008, 20:54:36
Yesterday, Last.fm announced that a new beta of their site is available, and so as a subscriber (because it's available to subscribers only) I was straight on there to check it out.
Some of the new features included 'Your Library' (the ability to drill down into your entire music profile to every last artist and track scrobbled), real time charts, an improved music player, podcasts, sharing options, activity feeds and a new design - and whilst it's a win situation on some parts, it's very much a lose situation on others.
The biggest problem for me (and other users) is the new design. I can understand that hauling over a major site in the way of design will be tough - because people don't like change, and a mass userbase will react badly to it (I'm sure Opera Community staff can vouch for that). But Last.fm have turned their music orientated site into yet another social network clone - and that's what's ruining it for me.
Browsing through the site, I see that some pages have improved. In the case of the artist page, information is easier to find and bands, artists, visitors and users alike will have a more familiar layout to navigate around (since it pretty much looks like a cross between a MySpace profile and a Facebook profile), but the same treatment to the profile page just makes Last.fm look like another generic boring social networking site - especially with the addition of the Facebook-like 'Activity Feed'.
I'm torn on this one, but I guess I'm just going to have to put up with whatever we're given - I've used Last.fm since the Audioscrobbler days, so it's not like I'll be joining iLike anytime soon.
If you're a Last.fm subscriber, head over to beta.last.fm now to make up your own mind. For those that aren't subscribers to Last.fm, you can get your own sneak peek at the new beta in this photo album on Opera Community.
Thursday, 15. May 2008, 20:45:32
The ever-so-wonderful Hot Club de Paris are leaving their hometown of Liverpool once more to embark on a wonderful adventure of the United Kingdom. Stopping off at many fine gig venues along the way, it's all in aid of their new single 'Hey! Housebrick' and probably to promote the release of their forth-coming second album 'Live at Dead Lake'.
'Hey! Housebrick' is a snappy and concise pop song about a house brick hurtling towards a car's windscreen. The song documents the creeping claustrophobia of small-town living and the destruction and devastation produced by such negative forces. This is the first single to be taken from their new album and features backing vocals and hand-claps from Lucy and Nicola of fellow scouse-pop band Puzzle.
'Hey! Housebrick' is out on 26th May 2008 as a limited run 7" single and as a digital download from all good and bad record stores. You can watch the video on YouTube.
The album 'Live at Dead Lake' is available to pre-order has a release date of 26th 9th June 2008. A full list of live dates are available on the band's MySpace.
Related Links:
Hot Club de Paris on MySpace
Hot Club de Paris on Facebook
Hot Club de Paris on Last.fm
Hot Club de Paris Official Site
Hot Club de Paris at Piccadilly Records
Wednesday, 14. May 2008, 21:22:38
Around this time last year, I posted about Tea Time Tango!! - an event at Manchester's Castle Hotel featuring Vile Vile Creatures, Party Wierdo and Fake Tan. I went along and it was fun, they even had their own indoor waterfall.
This year, Tea Time Tango!! returns to mark the start of a UK tour for Sad Shields and Vile Vile Creatures and I urge anyone in the vicinity of Manchester to attend.
Details are sketchy, but it will most likely kick off at 4pm in the Castle Hotel. Entrance is free, but you can donate money to the bands or buy their merchendise on the day if you're so inclinded. RSVP on Upcoming or Last.fm
If you can't make it to Manchester, check out the MySpace of either Vile Vile Creatures or Sad Shields for all the latest UK tour info, door times and entry fees. Be sure to make it along to one of the dates for your fill of noise.
Related Links
Tea Time Tango Too!! on Upcoming
Tea Time Tango Too!! on Last.fm
Sad Shields on MySpace
Vile Vile Creatures on MySpace
Tea Time Tango!! photoset on Flickr
Tuesday, 13. May 2008, 20:22:37
I'm pretty sure I've posted a bunch of stuff about pop-princess Luke Leighfield before, but what better reason to post again than to promote the release of his new single, a music video tie-in, his upcoming tour of Europe, some spiffing t-shirts that he's selling (though not as good as the limited run of Prince Charles ones I have) and an opportunity for me to give you track of his to download for free.
As you can see, Luke Leighfield is keeping himself busy on his path to potential future pop-stardom - it won't be long before you see him on Top of the Pops. But, before that can happen, you'll need to purchase his single as either a digital download, or a limited edition 7" vinyl disc - preferably both.
The single 'If You Haven't Got Anything To Say' is set to be released on 16th June 2008 via Banquet Records and Luke's own label Got Got Need Records. The 7" comes with an exclusive new demo which hasn't and won't be on any future releases, online or off, and can be pre-ordered / purchased at Banquet Records for just £1.99. Did I happen to mention that the limited pressing is only 500 copies? BUY IT!
For those that want to try before they buy, you can check out the music video for the single at Luke Leighfield's YouTube Channel. It sounds the same as the single, but has motion pictures for you to marvel at. It's in colour and has stereo sound. WATCH IT!
If you're not one for buying singles or haven't got a record player, you can support Luke Leighfield by going to see him play live in person at a venue near you. He's playing all around the UK and Europe at normal gig venues, festivals and people's living rooms - he may even play at your house if you send him a nice message on MySpace - which is also where you can find a comprehensive list of tour dates. LIVE IT!
Where it's not often you'll find me posting about a band's collection of t-shirts (except for maybe Encyclopedia - kings of merchandise), but there are some spiffing tees available with a Luke Leighfield logo on the front. What's more, they verify Luke as being 'pop music' and have a 'Got Got Need Records' logo on the back - there is truely no better way you can look good this summer. WEAR IT!
If you're still reading this shameless act of promotional guff, I thank you and present you with your reward; an MP3 of 'If I Try' - the second track taken from Luke's latest album - which you can buy together with his debut album for just ten of your Great British Pounds. DOWNLOAD IT!
Related Links:
Luke Leighfield on MySpace
Luke Leighfield on Facebook
Luke Leighfield on Virb
Luke Leighfield on Last.fm
Luke Leighfield Official Store
Got Got Need Records Official Store
Monday, 12. May 2008, 17:57:39
It was just this weekend that I happened to be perusing Pure Groove Digital thinking of how it's nice to have an alternative to iTunes Music Store (iTMS), a place that will sell you high-quality 320k MP3s for a reasonable price... and how it's another digital download music service I'm never going to use.
Today, it's closed down.
I don't suppose that my custom would've helped matters and that it would've closed down regardless - there's something about owning a physical copy of the music that appeals to me, and I think they realise that - because come 2nd June 2008, Pure Groove Records will be launching a brand new mail-order website to tie in with the relocation of their store from the infamous Holloway Road to (a presumably larger location) West Smithfield.
Hopefully we'll hear an explanation of why the doors have closed on Pure Groove Digital on the official Pure Groove Blog and, unless anyone has a better suggestion, I recommend that for future anti-iTMS digital downloads you point your browser in the direction of Banquet Digital, 7digital or the good old The Pirate Bay
Sunday, 11. May 2008, 12:35:18
This time last week I was about to venture into Manchester Salford to watch the bands that had gathered at a number of different venues in the area as part of the one-day showcase of upcoming talent under the banner 'Sounds from the Other City'.
One of the bands that I was particularly interested in catching was Down the Tiny Steps who were playing in the Sacred Trinity Church. They were a new band to me, but sounded quite intriguing.
Hailing from Glasgow, their electronic-folk indie-pop sounds are complemented by the bold Scottish accent of lead singer / song-writer Jonnie Common - who appeared to carry an aura about himself akin to that of when I first seen Tom Vek on-stage.
The band have recently been scaled down to just three people and they're busy working on new material and refining their sound - but you can check out their MySpace where you can hear some of their current tracks, find live dates and download the track 'Red Deer Club' which was created exclusively for their Sounds from the Other City gig.
Related Links:
Download Free Track via Sharebee
Down the Tiny Steps on MySpace
Down the Tiny Steps on Last.fm
Jonnie Common on MySpace
Sounds from the Other City Official Site
Saturday, 10. May 2008, 09:37:36
Fellow music blogger Keep Hope Inside alerted me to the new Weezer material that's made it's way onto the internet - and so I did what anyone would do and seeked to download it.
I'm liking what I've heard so far and am glad the new Weezer album sounds pretty promising. But then, it couldn't sound much worse than the abysmal Make Believe.
Their latest single Pork & Beans has been available for purchase since 24th April 2008 with another self-titled album set for release on 24th June 2008. You can pre-order the album
Related Links:
The Red Album (8 Leaked Tracks) on The Pirate Bay
Pre-order Weezer (The Red Album) on Amazon UK
Weezer on MySpace
Weezer on Last.fm
Friday, 9. May 2008, 22:55:33
I've noticed recently that the friendly-folk and good friends at Alcopop Records have a new signing to their roster in the way of Cut the Blue Wire.
Cut the Blue Wire (CtBW) are probably the first and only thing I can name to ever come out of Portsmouth, and they do so by delivering their post-punk sounds to my ears.
These guys sound like the sort of music you'd find yourself downloading from IT-LEAKED before it went 'private' and you never got to create your account (or was that just me?) and can be bundled together with the likes of Piage - but arguably better - and a number of other emo-rock bands that I can't think of off the top of my head.
With four songs available to listen to on their MySpace, and one to download, CtBW have a single titled 'Everest' set for release on Monday 12th May 2008 which you can buy in a digital format.
Related Links:
Cut the Blue Wire on Last.fm
Cut the Blue Wire on MySpace
Alcopop Records Official Site
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Matt really wants / needs some chocolate
The image above is a close-up of my Facebook social graph. Each of the white dots represent a friend of mine - the connecting lines mean those people also know each other, and the colour determines their compatibility (based off similar content populating their profile) . It was produced by a Faceb ...
Karl Addison of partybots.org has some lovely screen printed tees and other merch for men, women and kids. All his tees are eco-friendly using organic materials, soy-based solvents and water-based glue and his design and style is unique. I bought myself two tees (feat. the designs above) which ar ...
and now i need a shave.
(you set the fire in me)
vote.
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