Monthly Playlist - February 2008

Bonjourno!
Again this is slightly later than I planned to get posted! However I have had a mammoth of a last 36 hours and was unable to post this entry before I left for London for the NME Big Gig at the O2.
I can say with quite convincing confidence, that it was one of the best nights of my life. I managed to get covered in deep scratches, bust a nice pair of shoes; see Zane Lowe DJ to the max, and watch the Geniusness of five bands I had previously not seen. Witness the biggest Royal Welsh Regiment band ever on stage, get blinded by the biggest laser i've ever seen in my life; touch Ricky Wilson's mic, lay my hands on and keep the graciest of all creations that be Sean Moore's drumstick, crowd surf to 'Atlantis to Interzone' twice and get myself into a picture of the afterparty that's now on NME.com. Next week I will have the biggest gig review of the Music event of the Year, so get prepared for it.


#10: Team Waterpolo - Letting Go
Debut single from the Preston four piece who recently supported CSS on their NME Album Awards tour show at the astoria. This track was also featured as track of the week in NME. If they can keep up this persona for their album, they could sell well. This track is as catchy as Kylie's classic 'Can't Get You Out of My Head'. It was released this week (24th Feb) on Moshi Moshi Records. Check out their MySpace for more.

#9: The Rascals - Superstitious Wit
Interesting release from the Liverpool setup. Out of the ashes of The Little Flames and minus Eva, they're inevitably going to benefit from their Monkeys' connections and Miles' duet album with Alex Turner. I can't help but think this song is a teaser for their much grittier demos like 'Is It Too Late?'. Released 18th Feb on Deltasonic, check out their MySpace and keep an eye out for them this year.


#8: The Harrisons - Take It To The Matress
This is the 6th song to appear on the their debut album 'No Fighting in the War Room', lets forget Monkeys' and Kaiser comparisons. NME feel this song is similar to 'Mardy Bum', yeah of course it does, if you happen to live in Glasgow. I saw the band live last year at the Astoria supporting The Enemy and didn't take much notice of them at first, but upon the release of the single 'Dear Constable' they struck me as a dark horse of modern indie, and this latest song is classic Britpop, with amazing countering riffs and lyrics, defintaly recommend a listen! Check it out on their MySpace.


#7: REM - Supernatural Superserious
The first release of the upcoming album 'Accelerate', and a return to classic REM we all love. This song isn't likely to turn many heads or light up the music scene in the way Radiohead have done in past 25 years of their existance Nor will it touch millions of people and define a generation of American culture like 'Everybody Hurts'. However, it is typical REM, and I would queue for hours to finally see this mammoth of a band live in concert.


#6: H two O Feat. Platinum - What's It Gonna Be
The hottest track to emerge from the UK Underground scene since T2's Heartbroken smashed it's way into the charts before christmas. Released this week, expect big things from the brunette and her gang of dancing school monkeys, this track'll be hitting it up in clubs up and down the country for years to come. Check out the video on youtube here and just dribble at that tantilising arse! Just ignore the Timberland wannabe 'Platinum'. Just put your fingers in your ears when the teenage rats start playing it out loud on public transport nationwide.

#5: Linkin' Park - Given Up
Despite the band being around for ten years now, they've only chucked out three studio albums, and lets be honest 'Meteora' wasn't a great follow up to the Diamond certified mammoth 'Hybrid Theory'. However, this latest single reconnected me with the band's new direction, that comprises sharp guitar melodies with a the brash nu metal presense of the 2000s era. Linkin Park' are back with a big bang and their next studio release is likely to cement Bennington and Shinoda as Rock Gods.


#4: Hadouken! - Get Smashed Gate Crash
Countless brilliance as always from the Watford/Leeds setup whose debut album 'Declaration of War' is currently in recording and should be out sometime during April.
This track should be the 5th song to appear on the album. It was uploaded to the band's MySpace just last week, and I've found myself shouting out the lyrics at the top of my voice on more than one occasion. Once some old lady on a train told me to "Shut the fuck up". If Hadouken! had been there, they probably would have mutilated her to death with their instruments!

#3: Late of the Pier - The Bears are Coming
Boasting the strangest, weirdest, but best music video I've seen this year and with a debut album hotly on the way, Late of the Pier are turning heads in all directions. If they don't appear at Glastonbury or Reading this year, I will poke my eyes out with a syringe!
The euphoric chestation of this track is partly due to the fact that the band literally bang on their synths. Imagine the Keyboardist of 'The Horrors', wacking Elton John's finest piano and you have this song down to a tee. Other hits such as 'Bathroom Gurgle' are on their MySpace.

#2: MGMT - Time to Pretend
Lighting up indie clubs up and down the country with their sureshock thunderbolt beats, and keyboard licks that sounds like collecting rings on Sonic Adventure. Their debut album Oracular Spectacular makes a mockery of a society falling flat on it's face. If only we could build lightspeed spaceshits and travel from atlantis to interzone, then maybe Brooklyn based grusome twosome would make the world alright again. 'Time to Pretend' will be released Monday 3rd March on Columbia Records.


#1: The Mars Volta - Goliath
This track has been driving me crazy ever since my course mate 'The Only Thing... I Know For Sure' recommended their new album to me a few weeks ago. If your a fan of Muse or Bloc Party, you'll love the systematic rapage of your speakers this song endevours. Exploding your mind to overdrive and casting down your soul to the devil. The Mars Volta will be the only heroin substitute you'll ever need. This is the longest song in the playlist, but it's roar sound and cataclismic beats from start to finish make it my favorite song this month!

"Could someone tell me what SHITGAZE is?"

I'm sooooooooooooooo pissed off with the current state of my blog at the moment! For some reason, the side elements are now at the bottom of the blog, and no matter what I try I can't seem to reverse this!

If anyone has any suggestions please leave a comment on this blog!

This blog is going to be a lot sharper and shorter after the last one, because if I ever write that much again, I’m likely to have a panic attack. I was slightly behind on keeping my blogs up to date on Monday mornings and I don't want to slip into a funny old routine, so this has only been posted a few days after the last one. Also as it's coming to the end of the month, I need to start focus on getting my February playlist sorted, which should be up on either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.
Next month I'm going to really challenge myself with blogs, and instead of bombarding your minds with new music all the time, I’m going to give you some old music as well. As a mid-week supplement I'll suggest five songs for you to go away and listen to, that I think require some particular attention. Some of these songs you may already know, but not necessarily remember the artist or the name of the song. I hate it when that happens you hear a song you haven't heard in ages, yet don't know the name of it!
Each song, I will have grown up listening to at some point, and some I may just find randomly during the week, that I didn't know before, but do quite enjoy. Now on with the whole problem with this new emerging genre!

Times New Vikings/Psychedelic Horseshit
Music for Deaf People!

A few weeks ago, the NME featured a new emerging genre coming out of the mid-western United States, and for some reason went for it as a great addition to their Radar section.
I'm not going to disagree with any of the comments given by the reviewer of the scene, just simply give my opinion on the music.


First up is Times New Vikings. A three piece 'lo-fi indie rock band' whatever that means, consisting of two boys on Drums and Guitar, and one girl on Keyboards and the Drummer and Keyboardist on vocals. Already they've got things wrong; I mean how a photographer can get decent pictures of a band whose vocalists are hidden behind mahoosive drum kits and keyboards. Typical Americans! The music is so hard to connect to its unbelievable; just imagine three people on stage smacking their instruments with sticks, with some added echo and amplifying and you pretty much have them down to a tee. I never thought I would find the courage to disgrace a complete scene of music, but shitgaze really is abysmal.
Another of these silhouettes of shite is 'Psychedelic Horseshit', I mean seriously which member of the band was drunk when that name was conjured up.
'New Wave Hippies' sounds like a toddler playing with something that has thousands of buttons. The guitars are scratchy, and deliberately out of tune. It's almost as if this band has gone out of its way to completely undermine every musical convention every proposed. This band is either a load of idiots on speed who suddenly thought they could play music while tripping, and sounds like a very massive pile of utter drunken shit, or it's just some very clever chimpanzee's who've evolved and suddenly realise they 'might' be able to play some music. In one song, 'Bad Vibrations' the vocalist literally says over and over again 'ahhoooowaaaooo oooo oooo oooooooo'.
I've actually given up on summing up this utterly pointless way of life. I would rather shave all of the hair off on my body and commit myself to a life of celibacy and become a neo-Nazi.
My flat mate has put this review out of its misery and very kindly summed up this entire music scene in two words, 'utter bollocks'.

Track of the Week
REM - Supernatural Superserious

After that utter mindfuck of songs, my brain needs some nurturing and appreciation for finely tuned, well-balanced balls out anthem!
The brand new single from the upcoming REM album 'Accelerate' that was released this Monday, and I think it's one of their best works for a long time. It echoes with perfection and mirrors their all time greatest song 'Everybody Hurts', only this song has more of a kick to it, because remember it's 'Superserious'. No really in all seriousnesslessnessness, this is a great track, worthy of a top #5 spot in my opinion. If you're looking for a song where you can lay back, put your feet up, close your eyes and feel every beat and every note pulsating through your skull, then this is for you!
Bloody hell, that sounded like some kind of chocolate bar advert!

Video of the Week
Late of the Pier - The Bears are Coming

I saw Late of the Pier live once last year, when they supported Hadouken! on their UK Tour at the Astoria. I got cramp in both legs about 400 times; spent 3 hours solid, jumping around like a tit face; eating glow sticks and having 15 year old ratty school kids asking me for pills and if they could give me head just to get one!
Fast forward 4 months and they've created the weirdest video known to man and aliens alike. I would get down on my knees and kiss the filthy shoes of the designer of those saucy robes any day of the week!
If you're looking to be psychologically traumatised whilst fighting the urge to masturbate in public then this is the song for you!