you're wasting away half your day

not any more. i'm a firm believer that the 'sleep clock' in your body is a complete piss take of the highest order. by this i mean that keeping my eyes open when i have something to do is often a struggle, where as now that i've finished college and have nothing that requires getting up for im up at the crack of dawn bored out my tits.

i guess my insomnia might be wimbledon related. who isn't excited about wee andys chances this year? federer is looking unbeatable though.

anyway, heres some busy p before i go and remember to protect and entertain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2bFJbl3A1c

i'm dedicating this blog

to william wabble. the wabster. wabzy. the man with a plan. the myth. he's the kinda guy that goes to t in the park and shags two iranian twins and lives to tell the tale. behold, wabble.

shoot them down, set me free, bat for lashes!

despite quite alot of fuss being made recently over la roux and little boots, i still feel that they aren't quite in the same league as natasha khans bat for lashes. fur and gold, released in 2007 was probably one of the most breath taking albums of the year. shes the closest to a female version of patrick wolf as we're ever going to see.

bat for lashes - whats a girl to do

the airbourne toxic event

another band from america - its weird to find that once i start a blog up that most of the bands i'm listening to these days are from over seas - this time its los angeles - and not brooklyn. but with a different state comes a different style, and thats only a good thing, right?

when i listen to this band i can't help but get feelings of arcade fire, interpol and white lies. but at the same time, they sound very authentic and original.

with there debut album released this year in the uk they should be a band that will create alot of hype. i'm predicting in a vampire weekend sort of way they are going to come from nowhere and leave everyone thinking 'wow'.

airborne toxic on myspace
sometime around midnight

i feel better now i've seen you

dev hynes, of former testicles fame, has been back on the music scene for quite abit now under the alias of lightspeed champion. and my god, do we love it over here at the h-block (thats shite, isn't it? i'll never be using that again).

although not in the same veign as jack penate, jamie t, lilly allen, kate nash etc.etc.etc. dev is part of the influx of 'singer/songwriters' that have been clogging up the charts for the past 2 years. dev's music is more soul/country/pop like. and its excellent.

galaxy of the lost
dev hynes blog

i used my one phonecall to dedicate a song to you on the radio

aaaah. everybodies favourite swede, after henrik of course, jens lekman is an artist who has been getting alot of playtime on my itunes recently.

lekman belongs in the belle and sebastian type bracket. eloquently beautiful. a joy to the ears. abit of light listening, some would say. despite lyrically sounding glum and depressing, lekmans music always seems to raise a smile.

infact, my favourite song by jens is all about getting the jail for vandalising his girlfriends dads' car. its a feel good song that will no doubt have you dancing, or singing along, or both.

currently jens has 3 studio albums that have been released mainly in english. despite claiming to not being able to speak the language and learning the words phoenetically.

you are the light
a postcard to nina

prepare for battle

i'm not quite sure what it is i love about patrick wolf, obviously there is his musical talent, but there is also some sort of attraction towards him. is it because hes different to most of the artists currently on the scene? is it because his roots are firmly established in keeping independant records alive? is it because he's released 3 quality albums, all of which are unique and brillliant in there own way?

enter band stock.

wolf is one of the first artists of recognition to jump on this idea. an idea based on that if the fans want an album made then they buy a share in the album (min. £10) - the shares in albums go towards the creation, the producing etc.

becoming a share holder offers benefits such as a share of the income generated by the album, a credit on the first run of albums produced - aswell as a credit on the website, a free high-quality download of the album, rights to buy signed limited editions at discount rates, and lastly, special privileges that have been pre-agreed with the artist, this can range from pre sale gig links, free signed singles and special prices on premium album packages (special editions etc).

if you hadn't already guessed, this is how patrick wolf is going to realese his 4th studio album - battles. aren't we all excited? i personally feel that this is a brilliant idea that works for both fan and artist. the artists get more recording money allowing them to produce a better album, where as the fans get to feel personally involved. if you want to read more on band stock then you should check out the website here.

the magic position on spotify
the childcatcher

amazing baby

from booklyn, amazing baby are just another one of the many great bands coming out of america these days. endorsed by mark ronson, with a poppy electro sound reminisance of other bands i've already mentioned on this blog (born ruffians, empire of the sun, mgmt) they are a band who are sure to break into the mainstream this year.

its also nice to see that they have put there debut ep - infinite fucking cross - on there website as a free download.

http://www.theamazingbaby.com/

oh, and is brooklyn the new dundee?

poppy bird i wonder, what your name is

ever get that feeling? you're on the bus, the train or any form of public transport and you see someone of the opposite gender that you isntantly take a like to? someone that, if you had the nuts, you would happily go and talk to?

anyway. i was told a while ago that if i ever get the chance i should go and see bromheads jacket live. after religiously listening to dits from the commuter belt when it was released 3 years ago i had agreed that i should definetly be checking them out in the live sense.

so i did. right after there latest effort, on the brain, was released. which is also a cracking album. the broms (thats what im calling them from now on) specialise in short 2-3 minute songs and rarely go over that. there sound can be described as a confused mike skinner with guitars and drums. the gig itself was brilliant - the band had lots of banter with the crowd and seemed up for a laugh. i even managed to get a plectrum afterwards after talking away to the band about favourite musicians and there influences. apparantly my like of tom waits was 'left field'.

i would post a picture, but there haircuts are horrible and no way reflect there brilliance.

poppy bird
on the brain on the spotify
dits from the commuter belt

always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill

if born ruffians are the bastard love child of vampire weekend and mgmt, then empire of the sun are the band who has been given the chance to bring the child up.

with a poppy electronic sound that is similar to mgmt i feel that empire of the sun could be massive this year. and they deserve it (if only for making one of the best music videos ive seen in ages).

this is nick littlemore and luke steel. and they are brilliant.


empire of the sun - walking on a dream
we are the people who rule the world trailor

death disco

euphoria:
n.

A feeling of great happiness or well-being.

[New Latin, from Greek, from euphoros, healthy : eu-, eu- + pherein, to bear.]

the arches:

a place to expierence euphoria. who's coming?

i first heard of brodinski through a klaxons re-mix last year and instantly knew this guy had talent. on further look it seems that he likes to remix the klaxons. despite not knowing alot about him, it looks like he is a main player in the electro blogging scene (fluo kids etc...)

klaxons - its not over yet (brodinski remix)
brodinski - golddigger
heres a little something to wet your apetite (spotify)
filthy dukes on spotify

oh and, despite all the gay news thats been floating around about the arches i'd just like to say...death disco is an alternative, open-minded environment for the straight, gay and not-sure-yets.

we're all scared of the kids in our neighboorhood

im not going to act like i know alot about frank turner, infact ive only heard a selection of his work. what i do know though is that hes a folk singer raised in london who writes good tunes. i'm about to listen to 'the first 3 years'. turner, from what i've heard, seems like a songwriter similar to his namesake alex. only with more venom and more grit. social commentry seems to be a strong point of his. definite billy bragg influence evident.


thatcher fucked the kids
the first 3 years on spotify

i leave my memoirs in blood on the floor

sososo, i mentioned glasvegas in the last post and it brought back the events of last night. nme awards tour, and as you can imagine, i wasn't going to see glavegas. the bill consisted of florence and the machine, white lies, friendly fires and glasvegas. but yeah, me and my friends got the tickets hoping to see white lies.

an annoyance is that late trains and long walks meant we missed florence and the machine aswell as pretty much all of white lies' set. i walked in and got to the front of the hall just as they started to play death, proclaiming that it would be there last song. fair enough i thought, plenty of other times to see them. but what happened left me with a sour taste in my mouth (atleast untill friendly fires came on).

i don't usually say things like this, and nor do i usually jump on the bandwagon of bands that are being hyped up to the hill by idiotic music press. however, watching white lies, the feeling i felt was indescribeable. it was as if something special was happening in the room at that moment. the light show, the chilling vocals, everything, it was perfect. it was very post-punk.



to loose my life on spotify
unfinished business live on joollss
you still love him

the twilight sad killed my parents and hit the road

fuck glasvegas. this is the scottish band you all want to be listening to at the moment. the twilight sad are immense; there melodic-sing-along-anthem-like-sound is just what the doctor ordered. not quite belle and sebastian, and not trying to be as big as glasvegas, but it works. and it works very well. if you like camera obscura, then the twilight sad should be at the top of your 'to do list'

fourteen autumns and fifteen winters on spotify
the twilight sad, live

oh by the way. if anyone needs an invite to spotify then give me a shout.

i shout, FIRE! FIRE!

i can't help but get excited. such a change from the fluent panic prevention, jamie t's new effort that he's posted on his website sounds more underground grit than poetic pop. have fun trying to guess the lyrics, have even more fun enjoying the song. and remember, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, this song is better than you.

im sorry guiz, theres a music video coming though
panic prevention on spotify