I was on the old I-Tunes the other day again and I came across Spinto Band. If you can imagine a cross between Talking Heads, specifically the jarring vocals, and Pavement’s DIY slacker approach to playing, with inventive chords and amusing lyrics, then your half way to Spinto land. This band are really great particularly recomended are Direct to Helmet and Oh Mandy (my fave!).

 

 Some amusing caption to accompany photo…………

They also seem very entertaining live; they were on Jules Holland a while back and are one of those bands who just seem to have a lot of fun on stage. This was borne out by the fact that they had an all band kazoo riff which was exciting enough for me. They also have an interchange between the two lead singers who have distinct and unique vocal styles which work very well in harmony. I’d completely forgotten to investigate them further, but I’m glad I did. Their music has a real spirit and invention to it which is at once charming but immediate and accessible. Well done lads. You can check out the video for Direct to Helmet or Mountains here, they’re canny good n’al that. If anyone knows if there gonna come to the North East (the UK’s “Gold Coast” for those not in the know) let me know….

I used to make a hell of a lot of compilation CDs for friends. I still do occassionally and used to enjoy getting horrific album covers to compliment the music within. “God Squad” album were always easy pickings as pictured below.

Mulligan and O’Hare?

I felt recently I was running out of amusing material for the compilations covers and scowered the net for any new material and man did I find a good sight. For the worst albums covers ever click here, this is a data base of the entire master works.

Check out this beauty entitled Reborn by Orion……….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nacho Libre?

There are 155 more where that came from too……if you know of any more please let me know.

 

 

They’re mint….

 Do you watch Ferris Beuller’s Day Off whilst skiving from work? Do you backcomb your hair, own cherry red DMs and sulk around as your mascarra drips down your white powdered face? Do you have pogoing sessions round the front room, curtains closed and lights off to “Panic” by The Smiths smashing flowers off the side board in the name of nostalgia? If this sound like you - but you’ve hit thirty or so and tend to have dinner parties with close friends rather than getting trollied at the local goth/indie disco….. Then Nouvelle Vague are the band pour vous (sorry) and they are tres bon (sorry and I’ll stop). They are essentially a covers band, however, all their tracks are  alternative 80s music and some may be rather familiar. For example their versions of “Teenage Kicks” by The Undertones (from some advert for cars?), “I’ll Stop The World and Melt with You” by Modern English (from some mobile phone advert and the Mr and Mrs Smith Soundtrack) and ”Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode (From some other bloody car advert!) are taken from their first album and will, no doubt, been drumed into your subconcious already, whether you like it or not. Their new album: “Bande A’Part” contains another corking tracklist which you can find by clicking here (this link has the debut album tracklist too, bonus!).

 I reckon they’d be great live – even with less revealing clothing

The main twist, for me personally is that they play new versions in a gentle gallic lounge style. Unlike the humourous Richard Cheese covers or the plain crazy Senor Coconut, there is an unpresidented air of cool and class about Nouvelle’s covers which makes them ideal background music for someone who grew up listening to 80s music.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT NOUVELLE VAGUE CLICK HERE

The Motorettes from Tynemouth, a sleepy sea-side village in the north east, (apart from sunday night when it’s full of charvers, or chavs if your southern) have been hard working under various AKAs for some years now.

Check out the cool graphics/axe on that!

They’ve finally struck a deal with Kitchenware Records and singer/guitar player Robin and co. are releasing a debut album in the next few days. Even if they’re not everyone’s cuppa I can’t help but feel blasting out their punky-pop cover of The Boss’s “I’m on fire” would bring a grin to even the sourest of pusses. There single “You gotta look the parts” is out now, you can watch the video here.

I feel congratulations are in order as well as good luck wishing for these aimiable chaps.

If you don’t click on the link you’ll never know what your missing!

Sitting in boxershorts in front of computer screen usually means only one thing for most gentleman of leisure, however, it’s not what your thinking for this particular blogger. I spend a great deal of time and conscious effort scouring I-Tunes Music Store for good new music. Those 30 second previews of each track are usually enough for me to condem the bands to a very fiery plateau of hell or download entire collections. Usually, and to my dismay, the ammount of MOR stuff that is churned out is so vast that over a two hour stint of listening I’m lucky to find any wheat in the dense chaff (sorry that was a bit poor). I love the experimental, but I’m still a sucker for melody, Beck is obviously a hero then….. I enjoy the diversity of styles and the fact that production adds to the asthetics of French bands Air and Phoenix. I can’t forget to mention the Strokes, Kings of Leon, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, Super Furry Animals, Lo-Fidelity All Stars, Royksopp, De La Soul, Nouvelle Vague, Echo and the Bunnymen, Saint Ettienne (breathe), Sigur Ros, Sly and The Family Stone, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, The Kinks, Blur, The Who, Lalo Schiffrin, John Barry, The Cure, The Smiths, The Charlatans, The Stone Roses, The Beta Band, Belle and Sebastian, The Bee Gees (really! Saturday Night Fever is a cracking album – discuss….) Johnny Cash, The Boss (again, really! I think so anyway!?) Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Aretha Fraklin and…….out of breathe, I could go on but you get the picture. I still like the odd bit of Sh**e, we all do, past purchases include Kim Wilde albums, Roachford and sin of all sins Stefan Dennis’s “Don’t it make you feel good” (Paul from neighbours play that funky music white lad!) 

 Sigur Ros – Experimental? Maybe

Beck, genius – Probably

Air – French? Definitley!

Back to the plot, I’m in my kegs thinking – it has been a while since I felt inspired by new tunes, in particular a whole album, I’m a sucker for the mix tape/CD/Mp3 playlist nowadays as a consequence of this lack of quality Long Players….

Thanks then must go to Band of Horses whose “Everything All the Time” Album is great on the whole. If you like bands like My Morning Jacket and Great Lake Swimmers, this will be right up your Americana Alley (Ouch!). Blending breezy, yearning and heart-felt vocals that are reminisent of The Band with slacker rock and accoustic country folk providing the grooves. Band of Horses brings to mind Neil Young: beautifully fragile this record stinks of class. It subtle though so for some it may take a few listens……If anyone knows of any other band of this ilk then I’m interested?

Luminaries is me, but I’d like to think that one day it could be us……. Why? Imagine you had a 200 piece Anglo/Asian/African orchestra with a cajun band, DJ, MC, gospel choir, female and male singers of all kinds, guitar players, bass (double, upright, accoustic), drumers, drum machines (from 303s to sampled loops ). Oh and Keyboards, I mean seas of them; grand piano to Fender Rhodes, Clavinova to hammond, SH101 to Moog. How about percussion, doesn’t really bare thinking about, I’m talking about acess to all of Bongolia here. Kazoos, maybe? Stylophones, theremins…..Oh…..Oh….FX units Wah-Wah, Delay, Reverb, Phaser….Flanger. What songs could you create with this type of musical kit and musicians at your and their disposal, what would you create? All playing at once, how about the asian orchestra, the DJ, kazoos and some wah-wah porn action?!

I think we should try it don’t you?……

Apart from some blogging about music and movies and stuff , my aim is also to get musicians from different backgrounds together to create some interesting music drawing on people’s individual skills and talents and the diverse music they make and the wide range of instruments they play.

 

Imagine the different fomulae and combinations you could come up with. Example fomular follows:

  +  + =

Imagine that album!!!!!!!!!