in rainbows

radiohead is about to release their new album. you can pre-order it on the internet.

you decide how much you want to pay for the album.

what a freaking brilliant idea.

Weezer

i'm traveling back through time, this was a summer anthem in...2000? 2001?.

i dare you not to sing along.

Set The Fire To The 3rd Bar

i fell in love with this song weeks ago when i first came back to london, there was something about the woman's voice that drew me in. and i just found out a couple days back that it's martha wainwright and snow patrol. i have no great feelings towards snow patrol, but i really enjoy the whole wainwright clan. i unfortunately have no albums by martha, but i think i need to pick one up.

Lilly Allen - LDN

have i even played any lilly allen for you lot? she's great and her album 'alright, still' was my summertime listening. she's sort of the softer, girlier, popier version of the streets.

the beginning bit in the record store is apparently lilly taking the piss out of the way people have described her music.

Jose Gonzales - Tear Drop (live)

i'm on a youtube roll.

i might like jose's version more than massive attack's.

the video is a little doggy, but the sound is great.

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats, Sony Bravia

this is my favourite commercial of all time and i found the full length version! 250,000 bouncy balls let loose on the streets of san fransisco with only the most minimal product placement. it also introduced me to the glorious music of jose gonzalez.

erin and i had a brief discussion about music in adverts, which inspired me to post this video. has the musician really sold out if they give their song up to the commercial? or is it just a smart way to get their song out there?

the small youtube version does not do this lovely commercial justice.

musicovery

check out what i've found! musicovery. it's an interactive webradio. you can tick the genres you want then you click somewhere on the mood matrix and presto! you have a flow of fantastic music. or you can just wave your mouse over one genre and the mood matrix shows up. you can specify which decade you want and whether or not you do or do not want 'hit' songs.

this thing is brilliant! i've had it on almost constantly for 2 days and i've discovered so many new and wonderful artists.

White and Nerdy Weird Al

this video makes me giggle ever time i see it. i'm not usually a weird al fan, but i appreciate this as it reminds me of some of the boys i know.

big time sensuality

i can't seem to imbed the lovely little youtube screen since switching to beta...so you all need to click the link. it's very worth it!

this may just be the best version of bjork's 'big time sensuality' i've ever heard.

i don't know my future after this weekend...and i don't want to.

my new favourite song

i very much enjoy this song. it came out in london a few weeks before i left and i've been having trouble tracking it down as i didn't know the name of the song or the artist. but i am victorious!

Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks

ps...now that i have broadband again i understand why YouTube is great!

holy hectic week batman!

first of all, cheers to ben for these 2 lovely photos! and happy summer solstice to you all...sorry it's a little late, but i've been a wee bit busy.

i went up to stonehenge for solstice with ben. it was good fun, staying up all night and driving into the early hours of the morning. once the rain stopped the sunrise was looking to be fantastically beautiful but unfortunately the clouds soon moved in and obscured the colours.
then last weekend, i went to shropshire (somewhere in the midlands) for play, a juggling/camping/festival. it was the best 2.5 days i've had in a while! i've learned how to hoop. and i don't just mean swinging it round your hips....which is a feat in itself, believe me...but hoop tricks that involve arms and necks and knees and thumbs. it's such fun and i have the bruises to prove it. i'll post some pictures of the festival soon.

and last night ben and i went to victoria park (my local ghetto park) for some opera. the marriage of figaro was beamed live (and free) from the royal opera house in covent garden to a large screen in the park. we had a picnic, wine, summer sun, and opera. how very civilized. we're going back for turandot on the 7th.

and the prelude to all this excitement of the past week? i met a boy...he accompanied me on my adventures...swoon. his name is alex.

congratulations finland

lordi are the champions of eurovision 2006!

and the controversy begins

rock out!

the count down is over

the time is here! i'm not ashamed to say i'm staying home on a saturday night to watch the eurovision song contest 2006. you cannot understand the seriousness which europe takes this musical tournament unless you live here. there's always accusations of political voting, certain countries banding together to ensure victory. and i find myself sucked into the furore every year.

but this year is special. england's entry is daz sampson. a middle aged, white, double denim wearing, football hooligan look-a-like, asbo who is rapping about teenage life. unbelievably a large portion of the british public is slightly crestfallen that daz was voted in, but that's what happens when you trust a public that kept the crazy frog ringtone in the number one spot on the singles chart for too many weeks last year. let's hope he does better than jemini from 3 years back...they scored "nil point" (say with a fake french accent), i don't hold out much hope.

but then a light in the tunnel, news of finland's entry into the contest became known.

Lordi, the hard rock monsters from Finland. Wearing platform shoes that must be 12 inches high, lead singer Lordi growls out '‘Hard Rock Hallelujah'’ in front of a stunning display of pyrotechnics, this isn'’t just a few sparks; we'’re talking huge jets of fire. Huge bat wings unfurl from Lordi'’s back and by the end and the now-smoke-filled arena is stunned. Terrifying but brilliant.

there was such who-haa over lordi. some fins blamed russia for tactically voting in lordi to ensure russia's victory, who would vote for a metal band over a greasy russian? but a large british audience has embraced the finnish competitor. it's an exciting time to be alive! i know who i'm voting for in a few short hours.

glory be the age of technology

my hunt for more live music in life is going quite well. i can share some of the evidence with you thanks to my fancy-pants new phone which take pictures. i really didn't think i'd ever use a camera phone but finding a mobile in this country without one is near impossible. i will admit, this little camera has proven it's worth. normally i wouldn't ever share such poor quality photos but my evening was just so wonderful i feel i must.

i went out on tuesday to a lovely pub called the abbey. they specialize in belgian beers which come in all sorts of regular and fruity varieties. strawberry or cherry beer = alco-pop = yum! it's like drinking juice, but you get a buzz.

anyhoo, there were 4 acts on the bill. angel anderson (backed by jonny berliner and his guitar) was first up and she set a high standard. why this girl is singing in pubs i'm not sure. you can listen to her here. she's funky, soulful and sexy. if i was a lesbian.....

next up was jamie woon and his guitar, listen here. he took a while to work up the crowd but once he got going i was in awe. for one song, a friend joined him on stage, whose name escapes me. he did some beautiful spoken word poetry over jamie's strumming and chorus singing. but the highlight was when jamie put down the guitar and got out this little green box on the floor. he started making beats into the mic which would record into the box and loop. then he's add a different beat which would record and loop and this whole layering-looping process was fascinating. in the end he had created a 4 part backing harmony over 3 drum beats with 2 clapping beats all layered and looping. then he sang over it! i looked like a fish the whole time, mouth gaping open catching flies.

i'm gliding over the 3rd act....

last up was jonny berliner who i've mentioned before. he's just fun to watch and listen to live, anyone who writes a kazoo part into their songs is ok by me! i think i may have to turn into a groupie. i got his new cd, it's lazy sunday afternoon listening. very enjoyable, you can listen to some of it here.

go live music!

you don't need eyes to see you need vision

i was just attempting a wee bit of spring cleaning -with procrastination.....2 blog entires in as many hours- and noticed something. while organising the cds scattered around my stereo, i saw the one cd that has stood the test of time. the one cd that has remained at the stereo's side when all others were put away on the shelf giving room to the next musical interest. the one cd that has firmly remained in constant rotation for a year.

faithless
no roots

a brilliant album. it's completely written in the key of C, so every track bleeds into one another creating a homogeneous record. it's beautiful to listen to. inspiring lyrics mixed with funky instrumental tidbits.

everyone should love a rapping buddhist and a fantastic, british, female dj. and for those of you who like dido, you should listen to her in her other context, a backing singer.

i don't see enough live music. that my friends, is a fact.

lydia, with all her crazy musical posts, has inspired me to see more live music. and since i've been in bed with a raging flu/ear ache/cough/nastiness thing for days, it's safe to say i won't be starting my musical mission tonight. but what i will do is tell you all about the great music i've recently come to enjoy.
i went to a benefit show a long while back and fell in love with the musical guest, jonny berliner. i've completely stolen the picture from his site. at one point during the gig, his bass player made toast with a variety of spreads for the audience. and the myth of 'marmite, you either love it or hate it' became officially debunked, as some people in the audience were ambivalent to the idea of eating it on their toast.
he has a new cd out - a friend for all seasons. i haven't heard the cd itself, but when i saw him he played most of the songs from it. everyone should buy it becasue it's great!
all my london people, you can check him out and a crazy good pub.
4 April
The Abbey, 8.30pm
124 Kentish Town Road

rock out!