I'm undecided on this new Björk single that's suddenly been thrust upon us. [Well, perhaps thrust is too strong a word...]
On one hand, it's a bit like one of those old Elgar Sisters songs that were used as "Debut" b-sides taken to the next level - in other words, pretty fantastic.
On the other hand, there's not much to it. Some big drums, Björk yelling things in [presumably] Iceland, Thom Yorke moaning in the background...and then after almost 4 minutes, it fades out.
One : This is the new Depeche Mode logo. What do you think?
I must say I quite like it. It reminds me a bit of "A Broken Frame" for some reason - perhaps because the "D" is framing the "M". While that is by no means my favorite Depeche Mode album, this new logo makes me feel happy for no real reason. Album 12 could be a good one...though I'm basing that solely on the logo. [That said, I was also a big fan of the font used during the "Exciter" campaign and we all know how that turned out.] We shall find out in April 2009, apparently, if good logo = good album.
Two : After much deliberation, I've decided that The Saturdays are quite good. A bit sample happy, perhaps, but 'Up' might win the BIG POP SHOWDOWN of October 2008 with themselves, Sugababes, and Girls Aloud all releasing new singles staggered over the course of three consecutive weeks. The video is quite snappy too :
The b-side - fittingly entitled 'Crashing Down' - is also storming :
I like when pop acts put out b-sides. I also like when said b-sides are quality. So yay. I just wish everyone hadn't gone all anti-CD2 all of a sudden, leaving us with no commercial remix release. Poo.
Do you remember how brilliant this album is? Like, really and truly remember how flat out amazing "Adam and Eve" actually is?
You might think you do, but if you haven't listened to it in a while I'm willing to bet you don't fully remember it.
Put it on and you'll see.
How I miss this band. *sigh*
'Delicious' :
[Is that really the video for that song? I suppose I'd never seen it, but I thought the stills from the promo single for the song were from the video. I guess I assumed wrong.]
Full disclosure - I'm not exactly what you'd call a gigantic Oasis fan. "Definitely Maybe" has its moments, and you can make an amazing album by putting together a carefully selected tracklist from "[What's The Story] Morning Glory" and its b-sides...most of which are stronger than the album tracks. I haven't bought an Oasis album since "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" [which, along with "Be Here Now", I sold back to the record store years ago]...between the two album campaigns, there was a grand total of four songs I thought were great - 'The Fame' from the 'All Around the World' single, and then 'Fuckin' In The Bushes' and 'Go Let It Out' from "Shoulder" proper along with - the best of the four, I think - 'One Way Road' from the 'Who Feels Love?' single. [I only know about the b-sides because my old roommate Steve was a huge Oasis fan and bought all the singles, allowing me to cherry pick the ones I wanted.]
Second point - I've been having a lot of discussion lately with people about how the "digital revolution" has caused quite a bit of damage to the packaging market. Singles aren't released in the elaborate foramts they once were - both good and bad, I suppose - and physical releases are slowly but surely becoming an afterthought. However, on the flip to that, there are those artists that realize that and are making up for it by offering increasingly [and unnecessarilly] elaborate limited editions for both albums and singles, seemingly to attract the crowd - such as myself - that laments the slow death of the physical music formats. That said, most of them are taking it way to far. From Radiohead's "In Rainbows" discbox - I'm all for buying multiple formats of an album but I want a choice, and making purchasing an $80 box set the only way to get a bonus disc of otherwise unavailable material totally turns me off...especially since it's entirely redundant with both CD and LP versions of the same material - to Bjork's ridiculous singles boxes, I'm starting to wonder if they're not having a hand in killing the format. [Whoa run on sentence. Sorry about that.]
The points merge - I'm very interested in the new Oasis album...but not for the album itself as much as the bonus disc material. Two Jagz Kooner remixes! That said, the only way to get it is - you guessed it - a super pricey, overly elaborate deluxe edition. There is a "standard" deluxe edition - if you will - coming out as well, but it only has a DVD with a 20 minute EPK on making the album and the first video. Boring.
So basically, by trying to appeal to a long lost fan and format whore, they've totally turned me off and now I don't care how good the Oasis album is - and supposedly it's quite good - I refuse to buy it because [amazingly, considering how many of them there are] I can't get it in the format I want. So fuck 'em.
According to various people on the PopJustice boards who caught Dragonette on their [very] mini tour of the US in September:
1 - "Galore" is finally getting a US release in October. Pop on over to amazon.com and they've got a pre-release up for October 24th. There's nothing new or different on it - come on, give us a disc of those "Competition" remixes, I want a nice clean copy of The Whip one! - but considering it is also only list price $12.99, I shall be buying a [second] copy to support em. Huzzah!
2 - Even more exciting, they're working out international label details and hope to have album #2 out in January. I honestly thought we had another of those bands who put out an amazing debut then disappeared due to disinterest [there's a lot of them littering the 2000's], but it looks like that is not the case. Double huzzah!
Their fantastic take on Calvin Harris' 'The Girls', 'The Boys' [put this on as a bonus track or something, it's a-mazing!] :
The following is taken from the little promo blurb sticker on the back of the 'The Bones Of You' 1-track CD promo - the only physical format of the single "available" :
'Elbow's fourth album is their masterpiece' SUNDAY TELEGRAM [correct!]
New Single - Physical 29th Sept / Digital Available Now [incorrect!] TAKEN FROM THE MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE NOMINATED ALBUM 'THE SELDOM SEEN KID' [correct - but now we know they won. hurrah!]
Elbow contine the most successful year of their career with a new single on 29th September. 'The Bones Of You' follows the massive success [???] of 'One Day Like This' and has been a live highlight through the band's sold out UK tour in April and their highly praised sets at Glastonbury, Delamere Forest and Latitude. The band make their final festival appearance of the summer at Scotland's Connect Festival on 31st August. Elbow's fourth studio album, 'The Seldom Seen Kid', from which the single is taken, has been one of the critical hits of 2008 and nominated for the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, the second time the band have been nominated during their career. [I thought all four albums got nominated, but apparently I was incorrect.] The band embark on a full UK tour in October, including three shows in London and two in their native Manchester due to an overwhelming demand for tickets.
Then there are tour dates. So what have we learned?
- At one point, there were plans for a physical release of 'The Bones Of You', but apparently actually winning the Mercury Music Prize means "CANCEL ALL FURTHER PROMOTION FOR SAID ALBUM!". Yuck. [PJ Harvey got a third single when "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea" won - beating Elbow's "Asleep in the Back", actually - so why can't the boys?] - Barely scraping into the Top 40 for a band that generally hits it with no problem is apparently "massive success" - such success that they CANCEL ALL FURTHER PROMOTION FOR THE ALBUM. Grr. - I'm 100% positive that "Asleep in the Back" was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize as I remember being torn that year as it, the aforementioned PJ Harvey album, and SFA's "Rings Around the World" were all up and I couldn't decide which one I wanted to win. But I swore that at least "Cast of Thousands" was nominated as well.
Hrm. Oh well. Here's a[n old] picture of Guy waving:
After being a bit underwhelmed with "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" - it's no "Employment", is it? - I was having a hard time drumming up excitement for yet another Kaiser Chiefs album in 2008.
First single 'Never Miss A Beat' is out there, and at first I wasn't impressed...however by the end of the video - complete with a group dance routine! - I'm feeling cautiously optimistic.
We'll see. The album is out October 28th in the US, the week prior in the UK....of course.
So I was thinking the other day: "Hey, isn't it about time for another Rogers Sisters album?" Then I promptly forgot that thought and went on my merry way.
About 2 minutes ago, I had the same thought. So I popped on over to their myspace, only to find the headline reading "BYE BYE" and a blog entitled "FINI" dated June 25th stating that they had retired.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. :( All the good ones die young.
In their honor:
'Why Won't You' from 2006's "The Invisible Deck" :
A live version of 'Song For Freddie' [the song that made me fall in love with them] from 2002's "Purely Evil":
1 - Old news now, but they [finally!] won the Mercury Music Prize for "The Seldom Seen Kid". Huzzah!
2 - To celebrate, 'The Bones Of You' is getting a single release. Huzz...wait, what's that? It's a UK iTunes only release with merely a live version as the b-side? Boo! This is the one that should've been the single all along, and all we get is a piddly digital release? I want another proper single. :(
3 - To ease those wounds, their recent appearance on Live from Abbey Road has shown up on YouTube. Since there's no US airing in the foreseeable future, check em out:
'The Bones Of You':
'One Day Like This':
'Grounds for Divorce':
The official 'The Bones Of You' video is also out there, but they've disengaged embedding at YouTube. Just do a search and it's the first thing that pops up. It is - of course - wonderful....although, I'll take any excuse to stare at Guy Garvey, so there you have it.
Drool. Have I mentioned how much I fucking love this band?
By the way, it's September now and still no word on the b-sides album. :(
It is one of those albums that's been essentially disowned by not only the band who created it but also the core of said band's following. But oh, how wrong they are!
True, it is not a very accurate representation of the band - even as soon after its release as "The Bends", it was very clear that the newer album was more what Radiohead was all about. That said, it is probably their most honest record, the one where they wear their hearts on their sleeves and embrace them, warts and all. There's a lot here to be embarrassed by - blatant hero worship, half formed ideas as lyrics, etcetera - but for me, that's why the album is so easy to love.
On a basic level, it's such an honest record, and maybe because if brings me back to a place and time so well, but I just love how it sounds when I put it on.
I'll just come out and say it - it is my third favorite Radiohead record behind "The Bends" and "OK Computer". It does way more for me than the purposely difficult "Kid A" and "Amnesiac", the snorefest of "Hail to the Thief" [talk about a band sounding like they're trying too hard!], and whatever the hell "In Rainbows" was supposed to be but clearly isn't. Accuse me of not moving on with the band - fine. This is the Radiohead I fell in love with, and this is where I want to stay.
According to this nme.com article - which itself is sourced from a BBC 6music interview - the next Super Furry Animals album is going to be instrumental. I'm intrigued, though am hoping for more along the lines of '[A] Touch Sensitive' than 'Cowbird'.
No idea when it's going to come out - I swear I read somewhere they are contractually obliged to put out an album a year for the three years from 2007-2009 for Rough Trade, but I might have made that up - but I think it would send 2008 out in lovely fashion.
The aforementioned '[A] Touch Sensitive', one of my favorite Furry tunes and videos - and a song I wish they'd reintroduce to the setlist:
The Ladyhawke album is up for pre-order at amazon.co.uk for a ridiculous £5.98. No idea why it's so low, but with VAT discount and shipping it comes to around $16. If the singles are anything to go by - and PopJustice's raving about it - then that's the deal of the year.
[Thanks to Joe and Dingo for both passing this along to me - you boys know me too well. ;)]
We'll just get down to it - Parralox are fucking hott. Apparently they formed back in February, are from Australia, and are responsible for 'We Believe In Electric Love' which is one of the most amazing pop songs of 2008 so far. [What's up with all the pop love from Australia lately? Speaking of, I really need to get the Van She album.]
There's no YouTube videos to post that I could find, but pop on over to their myspace to check it out. Avoid 'Black Jeans' while you're there because it's a bit shit - sample lyric: 'I wear black jeans on my ass'...seriously? - but also check out 'I Fell In Love With A Drum Machine' [amazing title] and the megamix. Lots of megamix love lately...I'm glad to see it return as an artform. :)
So thank you California boys. I am in your pop debt once again.
I'm undecided on this new Björk single that's suddenly been thrust upon us. [Well, perhaps thrust is too strong a word...]
So : apparently Hum have reunited for a one-off show on New Year's Eve at the Double Door in Chicago.
Now that I've a proper copy of it, I cannot stop listening to the new Kaiser Chiefs single. I try, I really do, but I keep getting drawn back to it.
One : This is the new Depeche Mode logo. What do you think?
Do you remember how brilliant this album is? Like, really and truly remember how flat out amazing "Adam and Eve" actually is?
Full disclosure - I'm not exactly what you'd call a gigantic Oasis fan. "Definitely Maybe" has its moments, and you can make an amazing album by putting together a carefully selected tracklist from "[What's The Story] Morning Glory" and its b-sides...most of which are stronger than the album tracks. I haven't bought an Oasis album since "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" [which, along with "Be Here Now", I sold back to the record store years ago]...between the two album campaigns, there was a grand total of four songs I thought were great - 'The Fame' from the 'All Around the World' single, and then 'Fuckin' In The Bushes' and 'Go Let It Out' from "Shoulder" proper along with - the best of the four, I think - 'One Way Road' from the 'Who Feels Love?' single. [I only know about the b-sides because my old roommate Steve was a huge Oasis fan and bought all the singles, allowing me to cherry pick the ones I wanted.]
According to various people on the PopJustice boards who caught Dragonette on their [very] mini tour of the US in September:
Pretty fucking fantastic.
The following is taken from the little promo blurb sticker on the back of the 'The Bones Of You' 1-track CD promo - the only physical format of the single "available" :
I'm having a bit of a love affair with this album at the moment.
After being a bit underwhelmed with "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" - it's no "Employment", is it? - I was having a hard time drumming up excitement for yet another Kaiser Chiefs album in 2008.
So I was thinking the other day: "Hey, isn't it about time for another Rogers Sisters album?" Then I promptly forgot that thought and went on my merry way.
Three pieces of Elbow:
Let's talk about "Pablo Honey".
According to this nme.com article - which itself is sourced from a BBC 6music interview - the next Super Furry Animals album is going to be instrumental. I'm intrigued, though am hoping for more along the lines of '[A] Touch Sensitive' than 'Cowbird'.
The Ladyhawke album is up for pre-order at amazon.co.uk for a ridiculous £5.98. No idea why it's so low, but with VAT discount and shipping it comes to around $16. If the singles are anything to go by - and PopJustice's raving about it - then that's the deal of the year.
[Thanks to Joe and Dingo for both passing this along to me - you boys know me too well. ;)]
