Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2010 off to a great start, Part 2

Just in today -

Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP

The Besnard Lakes - Are the roaring night

Broken Bells - Broken Bells (Dangermouse & Shins singer James Mercer)

jj - nÂș 3

The Knife - Tomorrow, In A Year

Beach House - Teen Dream

and the flood gates of new music continues to be pushed open. bring on the flood.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2010 off to a great start

so 2010 rolled in with no real big noise, that was until i got my hands dirty and started to see what was coming out in Jan/Feb - so far i've been overjoyed by the new Midlake Album, intrigued by The Magnetic Fields & rocked out to Yeasayer.

so here is a list of new 2010 albums im digging so far in this new decade
Midlake - The Courage of Others
Four Tet - There Is Love in You
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Imaad Wasif - The Voidist
The Magnetic Fields - Realism

and one from last year I missed

Califone - All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Top 50 Albums of 2009

As chosen by yours truly

01 Wilco - Wilco
02 Dawes - North Hills
03 Everest - Ghost Notes
(it was recorded in August 2007, i only found it this year.I cant stop listening to it, so it counts in my top 50)
04 Pearl Jam - Backspacer
05 Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware
06 The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
07 Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
08 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
09 The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
10 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

11 Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
12 The Antlers - Hospice
13 Swell Season - Strict joy
14 Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
15 Iron & Wine - Around The Well
16 William Elliot Withmore - Animals in the Dark
17 The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...Until the Freeze
18 Imogen Heap - Ellipse
19 The Duke & The King - Nothing Gold Can Stay
20 Woods - Songs of Shame

21 Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
22 Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly
23 Deer Tick - BORN ON FLAG DAY
24 Bat for lashes - two suns
25 Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
26 Bruce Sprinsteen - Working on a Dream
27 Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want
28 Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
29 Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
30 M. Ward - Hold Time

31 Beirut - March of the Zapotec/Holland EP
32 Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom
33 The Eels - Hombre Lobo
34 The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come
35 J.Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues / Year In The Kingdom
(Two great albums in one year, not to mention the Wild Honey Never Stolen/Borne Away On a Black Barge 7")
36 Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were Eagles
37 Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy
38 Broken Records - Until the Earth Begins to Part
39 Lightning Dust - Infinite Light
40 Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

41 John Frusciante - The Empyrean
42 Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
43 Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
44 Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
45 The Bird and the Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future
46 White Rabbits - It's Frightening
47 Loney, Dear - Dear John

- - - GUILTY PLEASURE SECTION - - -
48 Steve Martin - The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo
49 Kiss - Sonic Boom
50 Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue

I cant believe i left out Volcano Choir - Unmap
its a cracking good album featuring Justin Veron from Bon Iver
so in at number 51 Volcano Choir - Unmap

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Some discoveries on Myspace

Swedish sisters with impeccable harmonies -
TAXI TAXI



http://www.myspace.com/taxitaximusic

Laurel Canyon Good old boys with sweet songs and sweet vocals, who aint afraid to rock out either - DAWES



http://www.myspace.com/dawestheband


Mellow with a hint of reserved ambient & electronica -
MATT DILL



http://www.myspace.com/mattdill


Beautiful vocal tone,with music almost on the sludgy side of folk rock -
IMAAD WASIF



http://www.myspace.com/imaadw


Amazing Vocal, stunning lyric. has to be given his dues -
SCOTT MATTHEW



http://www.myspace.com/scottmatthewmusic



Wednesday, September 23, 2009

all the wonders of my hard-drive

So there i was tidying up my bedroom for the subsequent moving house ritual that has become my life. and decided to flick through my hard-drive for some music to clean to. after a few false starts with some bands i shall not name, just to say one song was "Love gun" (Damn you Role Models). i scanned quickly through the "B" section of my drive and an old Favorite caught my eye. here is a man who many know and many more are unaware. a truly hidden gem in British music. so hopefully if i can make one person a fan I've helped a little. his name is Bill Fay
here is a track from his self titled album from 1970 -

Be not so fearful

Monday, August 17, 2009

Mozart

http://www.onlinedocumentaries4u.com/2009/04/genius-of-mozart.html

The story begins with the composer's father Leopold with whom Mozart conducted a passionate and tortured correspondence. It is Leopold who knows Mozart's secrets. And there is another voice: that of the music itself. Music is the key to unlocking the emotions of Mozart, starting in this film with the great piano works.

Without this key, how can we ever understand the emotions that gave birth to some of the most beautiful sounds the world has ever heard? The first great phase of Mozart's brief life was that of the travelling child prodigy - gifted as a performer and writer of music - who grew into the genius who, working within the restrictions of his time, began to rewrite the musical rules.

But there was another facet to Mozart - the adult thinker aware of the bigger picture, passionately attached to the progressive values of the Enlightenment - impressively well-read, a speaker of most European languages (even a little English), an Austrian Catholic, a Freemason and above all a composer at the height of his formidable powers, determined to succeed in the most difficult and lucrative area of all - Opera.
Towards the end of his life, Mozart mastered the language of instrumental and orchestral writing - and how both love and loss provoked in him an extraordinary burst of creativity. This was essentially crystallised in three ambitious works that changed the future course of music: his last, great trilogy of symphonies - numbers 39, 40 and 41 - which he wrote in six short weeks. This is a must watch film for lovers of music and life!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

new radiohead song - These Are My Twisted Words

Is This a New Radiohead Song?







http://pitchfork.com/news/36205-is-this-a-new-radiohead-song/


me thinks this IS radiohead, by all accounts so does everyone else. roger waters would be very happy with this bassline

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

"Beethoven"



Description of Documentary:

A three-episode TV mini-series produced by the BBC, "Beethoven" is a very powerful and moving docudrama based on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Fantastically written and beautifully directed, the series constitutes a thorough and accurate reconstruction of Beethoven's life, from his troubled childhood to his death at the age of 56. Paul Rhys's masterful portrayal of Beethoven is particularly noteworthy, doing well to convey in vivid color the natural genius of the Great Man and the isolation, turmoil and despair he experienced throughout his eventful life. Insightful narration from the popular conductor, composer and presenter Charles Hazlewood does well to add a sophisticated educational dimension to the series, as well as to encourage a seamless and comfortable flow of the story. This is an absolute must-watch!

Director:

Ursula Macfarlane

Cast:

Paul Rhys_______________Ludwig van Beethoven
Jack Shepherd___________Joseph Haydn
David Bamber____________Prince Lichnowsky
Alice Eve_______________Countess Giulietta Guicciardi
Nicholas Farrell__________Stephan von Breuning
Tom Goodman-Hill________Anton Schindler
Gareth David-Lloyd________Older Karl
Casper Harvey___________Young Karl
Sarah Hadland___________Johanna van Beethoven
Christian Coulson_________Archduke Rudolph
Charles Hazlewood_______Himself - Presenter


Part 1 (follow the links to remaining parts...well worth sticking through all 18)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=67pKZrxgv4Y

Monday, July 27, 2009

Bandize

http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/resized/0003/0765/30765v3-max-250x250.png

Such a handy tool for keeping tracks of your shows/finance and everything else related to your band. check it out


http://bandize.com/

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Wooden Shjips

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/10731-wooden-shjips.jpg

If your in the mood for some Acid tinged Psych Rock in the vain of The Warlocks or Howlin' Rain or old skoolers like - 13th floor elevators or Iron Butterfly. Then hop on your magic carpet and check out this band - Wooden Shjips. Well worth investing some time into expanding your mind with their musical adventures.

http://www.myspace.com/woodenshjips