can't beat free

Head over to The Whip's myspace page for links for two free remixes - a Hadouken! remix of 'Frustration' [I scratch your back you scratch mine apparently] and a Bloody Beetroots remix of 'Muzzle #1'. The latter's 'Trash' is amazing, so I look forward to this one.

When is 'Fire' going to get a single release? Seriously.

you never never love

So apparently there's a new Pop Levi single out this week. See?



Not as immediate as, say, 'Sugar Assault Me Now' or 'Pick Me Up Uppercut' but it is pretty damn good. New album in June - bring it.

And considering Action was the only place I could find that stocked the single, I'm giving them one last chance. Please don't disappoint.

[And apparently the new Hadouken! single - never really got into them, truth be told - is backed with not only a Kissy Sellout mix but also a Whip remix. So I got that, even though the song is nothing special. See?



Eh. I'm sure one of em will making it worth the 2 pound purchase price. I'll report back in a month when it finally shows up after 4 posts about all of the issues I had getting it. ;) ]

guess I'm importing it after all

So, I went out today to buy the US edition of Elbow's "The Seldom Seen Kid", expecting it to have the bonus track from the UK CD as I had read it had. Well, it doesn't - so if that's what you're holding out for, looks like you've gotta spend a little extra money to get 'We're Away'. Oh well - it will totally be worth it.

And, as a point of interest, the sticker on the front of the CD reports that it features 'One Day Like This' [first US single/second UK single], 'Grounds For Divorce' [first UK single], and 'Mirrorball'. Come on boys, 'The Bones Of You' is totally the best single choice on the album - don't pass it up.

that's better

Update on boo:

The version of 'Panic Attacks' from one of the Delay's 'Hooray' 7"s is an acoustic version. That's slightly better.

[Well, that was pointless.]

not my pick for a second single, but...

Just in my inbox:
---
Hot Chip return next month with their new single 'One Pure Thought'. You'll be able to download the various remixes and b-sides from May 11th, and then find it instore from May 12th.

If you can't wait that long, head over to Recordstore now and pick up both 7"s and the CD in a collectors box AND get an exclusive download of the original demo version of the single at a really great price!

Tracklistings for all physical formats are:

eCD
1. One Pure Thought
2. We're Looking For A Lot Of Love (Christmas Recording)
3. Ready For The Floor (Hot Chip V.I.P. Mix)
4. One Pure Thought (Dominik Eulberg Edit)
5. One Pure Thought (video)

7" coloured vinyl (part 1)
1. One Pure Thought
2. Slow Death

7" coloured vinyl (part 2)
1. One Pure Thought (Toddla T Remix)
2. Wrestlers (Sticky Dirty Pop Mix)
---

I would've gone with 'Bendable Poseable' or 'Out At The Pictures' myself, but no one consults me on these things.

That said, I love consistency with formatting, and Hot Chip have demonstrated themselves as the kings in that regard. Even better, this time one of the 7"s isn't totally redundant as they both have exclusive tracks. Huzzah! AND they're doing another nice box via Recordstore.co.uk like they did for 'Ready For The Floor'. They're gonna look really nice on the shelf next to each other. And all of this for a mere 3 pounds? Amazing!

My only complaint is that the downloads aren't available to us in the States. Which seems a bit silly in this day and age - especially since this time it seems to be exclusive. [The extended version of 'Ready For The Floor' that came as a download with that single was from a 12" promo.] Shame on you.

B-side wise, I'm very excited to hear the Sticky Dirty Pop mix of 'Wrestlers', and I don't think one can ever have too much 'Ready For The Floor'. Bring it!

I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing...

...but 'Wanderlust' - the last of the three amazing "Volta" tracks to get a single release - was, erm, released on iTunes yesterday. While I'm generally against digital releases - especially in the place of a physical release, although I suppose you could buy one of those fucking box sets but I can't really say that's a good idea either - this one I will recommend. For two reasons.

First, the remixes this time around are actually really, really good. For 'Earth Intruders' we got that Spank Rock remix that I'd rather not talk about. 'Declare Independence' is shit anyways and the remixes didn't really dress it up any better - especially the sub-3 minute Ghostdigital remix. What was that about? 'Innocence' was quite good now that I think of it, but none of them really bettered the original so they were a bit pointless. [Though the Ghostdigital one that time was much better as it gave us some Einar rambling once again - huzzah!] Both Matthew Herbert and Ratatat take 'Wanderlust' to interesting places and, while perhaps not up to the quality level of the "Post"-era remixes, are reminiscent of 90's Bjork remixes.

Second, the whole deal is $1.99. That's how you price digital releases. So kudos to whoever did that, considering they're charging $1.99 for the video alone and you get it as part of the package.

I'd recommend it thirdly for the video as supposedly it's amazing, but I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. So maybe I should do that.

"Mountain Battles" - the verdict

After spending the week listening to "Mountain Battles" on repeat - I was in Dayton, OH after all, so it only seemed fitting - any uncertainty about it's brilliance has totally disappeared. Kim Deal has, once again, made a masterpiece. Bravo.

Of course, if you asked me to rank it in terms of the other albums, I'd never be able to do it. They're all five star, absolutely essential listens. So there.

finally

The Action package finally showed up. Minus the Erykah Badu 7", which was apparently holding it up. [I actually don't believe said 7" exists as I've never seen anyone actually claiming to have it in stock.]

Even still, it took over two weeks from when they shipped it for it to show. Not OK.

Farewell, Action. You definately will be missed.

not fair

Coachella headliners now include Portishead, Kraftwerk and Prince.

Headliners for the inaugural All Points West festival - or whatever its called - are Radiohead, Radiohead, and Jack Johnson.

:(

happy "Mountain Battles" day

First listen - wow. I definately need some time to digest, but this is one fucking album. Makes "Title TK" seem like the most straightforward pop album ever.

The LP comes with a code to download the album in mp3 from the Beggar's site. Even though I've got the CD too [with super nice glossy digipak - the album art is officially the most beautiful album art evar], I'm supporting the excellent cause and downloading it as well. Everyone should do that.

Fucking. Gorgeous.

and the next Elbow single is...

'One Day Like This', out June 2nd.

Still think there are better singles, but at this point I'm just in it for the b-sides anyways.

boo

Hooray! The excellent Delays have finally announced details of the first proper single from their forthcoming third album. Entitled 'Hooray', it hits shelves in the UK on April 28th. And it's quite good. See?



Boo! Not only it is coming out on the obnoxious 2-track CD/7"/7" format - enough already! - they're recycling one of the b-sides from last year's "Love Made Visible" EP on one of the 7"s. That's 2 releases in a row getting the same b-side. Weak.

first thoughts : "Stainless Style"

So, the Neon Neon album has finally come out. Was it worth the wait? Not really.

That's not fair. Some of it is very, very good. 'I Told Her On Alderaan' is some of the hyper pop that Gruff was peddling on "Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" but in English and with more production. 'Raquel' is him fronting "Introspective"-era Pet Shop Boys remixing a-ha, and 'I Lust U' is an at once heartbreakingly gorgeous and hysterical send up of celebrity couples to a fantastically minimal electronic backing. There's some other good stuff here too, but that's all that really sticks out and is up to par with Gruff's day job. [Though 'Dream Cars' could very easilly be an SFA b-side. A weak one, but one nonetheless.]

On the other hand, nothing is really bad though. True, I'll probably be skipping over the rap tracks in future listens, but that's more because they don't really fit on the album than because they're not good. Perhaps if they had left 'Trick For Treat' a stand alone single I'd appreciate it more, but stuck in the middle of the album it's very awkward.

So a bit of a disappointment, but not without it's merits. Not being a huge fan of Boom Bip, I suppose I'm not surprised I feel that way and that my favorite tracks are the Gruff-centric ones.

fucking Amazon

Alright, here's my Amazon gripe. [Though to be fair, it's not entirely their fault, more me being impatient.] But here we go.

So a few weeks back, I pre-ordered The Whip's "X-Marks Destination" on LP from them, figuring I'd order the CD from Action. Well, after all of this nonsense that's been going on, I decided screw that I'll just get both from Amazon.co.uk, and while I'm there finally get the Hercules & Love Affair album too. So I place a separate order for the CD versions of The Whip and Hercules & Love Affair and then combine the two orders, figuring I'd save myself a little on shipping.

So Monday the 24th comes and goes and they still haven't shipped yet. Oh great, I think. I check the order and apparently there was a hold up with the vinyl version of "X-Marks Destination" so they were holding the order until that came in. Tuesday comes and goes and still no shipping. On Wednesday, I decide I don't want to wait any more and figure they'll probably just get the vinyl in with the next week's releases, so I split the order back up into two separate orders. Ten minutes after I do that, they start processing the CDs. Great. The next morning, I get an email that the vinyl is in stock and that's shipping too. So I now spent 3 pounds extra to get the CDs a day earlier. Well, let that be my lesson.

With my luck lately, I'm thinking, they'll arrive at the same time and it'll be a wash. Oh no, even better. Yesterday afternoon, the vinyl shows up with no CDs in sight. In today's mail, the CDs.

I really don't understand how the postal service works, I guess, because that makes no sense.

But now here I am - approximately six dollars poorer and a day behind on my Hercules & Love Affair listening. Which honestly is fine, because this Whip record is sooooooooooo fucking good.

first thoughts : "X-Marks Destination"

The long-awaited [by me, anyways] debut from The Whip finally landed on my doorstep today.

Going in, I was a bit nervous that I'd be disappointed - which, in retrospect, is a bit silly. I love all four [!!!] singles it houses [one of which, 'Divebomb', was my favorite track of 2007] and was lovingly familiar with two more of the tracks, leaving only 4 out of 10 unknowns. Still, there was a fear of hyping it up in my mind too much for it to possibly live up to my expectations.

Well, it does and then some, so there you go. It actually might be my favorite album of the year so far. [Sorry Elbow.] Off for listen #2.

are you serious? [aka fucking Action, part three]

It now appears I have been double charged for that second order from Action.

I officially give up. It isn't worth the hassle any more.

the kind of buzz that lasts for days

They never bettered this, and I think it's safe to say at this point they never will.

By the way, I had no idea that they replaced the album version with the single mix on the 10th Anniversary Edition. [Is it even the single mix? It sounds like a remixed, updated single mix? The beginning is definately longer.] This tears me - on one hand, the single mix is, like, a zillion times better [I counted, it really is a zillion]. One of my favorite songs ever probably. On the other hand, I hate hate hate when reissues - particularly "anniversary editions" - replace parts of the original album, no matter how much better it makes it. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

Anyways, I found this out while listening to the anniversary edition today after finally buying it, and it was at once a very pleasant and very disturbing surprise.

I don't think I'd ever seen the video, by the way. Wow. Kind of like "Yesterday, when I was mad" crossed with "Black Hole Sun", isn't it?

lately, I feel like all I do is complain

But seriously. Stop giving me shit to complain about. ;)

OK, so how come Australia gets a Wolf & Cub remix of Operator Please's 'Get What You Want' on their CD single while the UK gets a barely different "original version"? Let's try to coordinate releases more here, folks.

Really, I should be in charge of formatting. This is just nonsense.

fucking Action, part two

Alright, apparently bitching about things on the internet DOES fix things.

Today, the first order finally showed. Minus three things from the new release list that had sold out - to be fair, they were promos, but considering how I placed my order within an hour of the list going up I'm not entirely sure how that always happens to me - but it's here. So, does anyone know where I can get one of those Whip CD promos with the live version of 'Divebomb'?

I also got a response about the second order and it's finally shipping today. Not sure what the hold up was, but looking at what my card was charged there's no way everything is in it. Wish I knew what it was so I could start tracking them down, but I'm not gonna push my luck. I'm guessing I'm going to need to search for a Whip 'Trash' 12" soon though.

Still haven't quite forgiven them, but they've redeemed themselves a bit.

update: I just approximated what the total for the order should be, and it appears to be possible that everything was included. So why did it take so long? Hrm.

Oh, and the Bimbo Jones remix of Alphabeat's 'Fascination' is fucking ridiculous and was totally worth the wait. Not that I should've had to wait so long, but there you go. Something positive came out of it.

fucking Action

Almost four weeks ago, I placed an order for 3 of the 5 singles mentioned in March madness [the Kills got delayed a week, and the Ting Tings was super limited and five pounds for a 2-track CD so I skipped it] and a few other things from your favorite and mine, Action Records.

As of today, it still has not shown up. This is not okay.

Two weeks ago, I placed the order seen in March madness, part 2. Forget not having shown up, it still has yet to even be processed.

Last week, I sent a polite email to Action Records enquiring as to the status of the two orders as both were taking abnormally long. Today I sent a second email as the first had yet to be responded to.

If I haven't heard by tomorrow, there's going to be hell to pay.

In the end, I think I'm ending my 10+ year ordering relationship with Action because this is unacceptable. This makes me sad as they were usually the most cost efficient, friendliest, and most convenient way to order things from the UK, but one can only take so much. And this is only the most recent issue of foul ups in the past 2 or 3 years.

I've got a gripe about Amazon too, but I'll save that for later.