Yo suckaa’s! It be CHRISTMAS EVE today and it’s CHRISTMAS DAY tomorrow! So we’re all in the festive mood! I don’t know if we (being Waddy and I) are still going for a Christmas pint (are pubs open on the big day?), but fuck it! It will be a lorra laughs, yeah?

Anyway, I hope you all watched THE PETER SERAFINOWICZ SHOW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL last night on BBC2 – if you didn’t, watch it on the iPlayer here, but here’s a little clip of a very festive BRIAN BUTTERFIELD:

I love Peter Serafinowicz, he’s a VERY funny man, and a great voice artist (Darth Maul’s voice in The Phantom Menace anyone?).

Towards the end of the year, every publication on the planet seems to make some crappy Top 10 albums/bands/tracks of the year, and they always seem to be the most hyped bands – this year, it’s bands like MGMT, who I kinda liked at first but they’re getting a bit on my nerves now, not being that original and having an average album, barely above average, at the least. Then there’s bands like Coldplay, Glasvegas, and Black Kids, who are pretty awful, and below average albums from Kings of Leon, Fleet Foxes and Ladyhawke, which have little excited or entranced me, and just seem to be bummed by every magazine on the planet, trying to gain indie kudos – well I don’t give a fuck, ’cause I’ve made my own list – the only albums people have been right in praising are any I have mentioned, and I don’t care what they say, cause the NME and The Times or whatever can suck my baubles.

So, here are my TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008:

20. ONE DAY AS A LION – ONE DAY AS A LION EP [ANTI-]

Okay, so it isn’t a proper album, but when I first heard about this band I wet myself in excitement, and wasn’t really prepared for what they’d sound like. I found it to be very fucking good, sounding a bit like recent Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age, and a complete absence of guitars. Jon Theodore on drums is just as fresh as his drumming on The Mars Volta’s Frances the Mute, and Zack is back on form. Highlights? All of it needs to be heard. I just keep asking, though, where’s the fucking album? I WANT IT!

19. BECK – MODERN GUILT [XL]

I dunno about you, but I don’t really mind Beck being a Scientologist – earlier in the year there was some convention or some shit, and everyone was booing, amongst others (Tom Cruise, John Travolta), Beck, but people should respect his decisions really, especially since he’s been one since birth, and it’s obviously had some effect in his weird songwriting and musical style. This new album was produced by the wonderful Danger Mouse, who is excellent both as an artist (The Grey Album, Dangerdoom’s The Mouse and the Mask) and a producer (Demon Days by Gorillaz, Pieces of the People We Love by The Rapture), and it suits Beck’s new stuff, which seems to collect all of his styles in one album, which is nice. Best moments are ‘Gamma Ray’ and ‘Walls’ – awesome shit. So gutted I missed him play in Southampton with Yeasayer supporting!

18. TV ON THE RADIO – DEAR SCIENCE [4AD]

Right, this is a brave change for TV On The Radio, and I think a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon when praising this album, cause it clearly isn’t as great as Return to Cookie Mountain, but is still nice to listen to. They seem to have been listening to some funk, maybe Talking Heads, maybe even Death Cab or Bright Eyes (or Coldplay? Eek…), but it really is quite all over the place and possibly a bit too long (most tracks are 4 or 5 minutes, and there are 11 of them). But it is brave of them. I think they saw Radiohead with their new album and thought, “Hey, we could do something that impressive, but of course on a much smaller scale, since we’re not that big yet”, and it worked out well for them. Good on them! Best tracks: ‘Dancing Choose’, ‘Red Dress’, ‘Shout Me Out’.

17. THE MARS VOLTA – BEDLAM IN GOLIATH [UNIVERSAL]

Wow. This is the best album from The Mars Volta after Frances the Mute. It really is more furious, psychedlic, and intense than any of their albums too. There are some weirder uses of the vocoder and swaying reverb in the background of some of the louder tracks. Some of it is absolutely catchy. They said themselves this is their most energetic album, and their next will be mostly acoustic, which makes sense seeing as they’re releasing solo albums (well, Omar is, on Stones Throw for example). Loudest tracks are ‘Aberinkula’, ‘Metatron’, ‘Wax Simulacra’ and ‘Goliath’.

16. THE RUBY SUNS – SEA LION [MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES]

I only discovered these guys a few months ago, and loved them instantly. Apparently they’re even signed to Sub Pop over in the US! Anyway, it’s some guy from California who moved to New Zealand and started making tunes with the locals, and came out with some awesome stuff. I think some of the lyrics are in Maori or something too! They’ve been touring with The Shins and covered El Guincho, which is nice, so they’re hanging out with all the right people it seems. Anyway yeah, deeply overlooked, and a fair few brighter beats compared to Fleet Foxes and all that shit. Listen to ‘Oh, Mojave’, and ‘Tane Mahuta’. And if you like that, listen to the Volcano! track Africa Just Wants To Have Fun, The Dodos, or Abe Vigoda’s Skeleton.

15. FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS – FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS [SUB POP]

I never thought Sub Pop would pick them up, after all, they only seem to sign US grunge or casual indie bands. But do I really need to give reasons why this is one of the albums of the year? See for yourselves:

Just a note – apparently Rhys Darby (Murray from the TV series) is on the new Jim Carrey film, Yes Man, and you should also check out his stand up, as well as Arj Barker (Dave from the TV series) and Aziz Ansari (Sinjay the racist fruitseller from the TV series).

14. MYSTERY JETS – TWENTY ONE [679]

Okay, second albums are difficult, but this is still an alright album. Not as good as the first in my opinion, mainly because of the overdone 80’s undertones that aren’t really needed (probably encouraged by the producer, Mr. Erol Alkan), but still retains the singalong qualities of the former Making Dens. I went to see them play at The Railway earlier in the year (Micachu and Golden Silvers supporting, not bad!) and they asked who preferred the new album to the old, and I think most of the crowd agreed with me, but it’s still pretty successful. I don’t think 679 will drop them like they did with The Futureheads (after their crappy second album), maybe the third will be awesome and heavy? Ha! You should hear…‘Flakes’ and ‘Young Love’.

13. BURAKA SOM SISTEMA – BLACK DIAMOND [FABRIC]

I forgot about this album coming out, and when I got hold of it I was thinking “Ooh, what will this sound like? M.I.A? Diplo? Bonde do Role?” – I was surprised to find it sounded similar, at points, to some of these, but also actually a very unique sound. Imagine if The Prodigy got lost in the jungle with all their equipment and joined a tribe. This album has the elements of Angolan kuduro music, baile funk from Brazil, and European electro, dubstep and breakbeat, shoved all together into very catchy beats. M.I.A, Dieze Tigrona and Kano feature on a few of the tracks, but it wouldn’t be any worse without them. I suggest you listen to ‘Skank & Move’, ‘General’ and ‘D…D…D…D…JAY’, yeah!

12. WHITE DENIM – WORKOUT HOLIDAY [FULL TIME HOBBY]

Since the release of this, White Denim have released another album with some of the same tracks, I think this is the European release. But yes, White Denim are bloody great. It’s a shame they didn’t play at Reading in the end, and I missed them play a one-off show in Southampton (of all places), but I hear they’re amazing live – like the Black Lips, but less immature and more talented, and bluesy! I love the intricacies they have in common with bands like Foals (fiddly guitars), and the raw vocals and swagger derived from Hendrix and possibly even Can. It’s fucking awesome, and they’re one of the best bands of this year now I think about it. You should all hear ‘Sitting’, and for something a bit more manic, try ‘Shake Shake Shake’ or ‘All You Really Have To Do’.

11. LATE OF THE PIER – FANTASY BLACK CHANNEL [PARLOPHONE]

Mmmmmm, the end of last year, Late of the Pier were my favourite band. I’ve been listening to them for aaages, and seen them a few times, and they’re an amazing band. The album was also produced by Erol Alkan, like their friends Mystery Jets, but I had heard most of the songs hundreds of times over the last 2 or so years, so it wasn’t too fresh. But it damn is impressive still – it’s completely ‘random’, as some might say, and can jump from dancey to melodic to LOUD in a dozen or so seconds. So yeah, I’d say this is the most different album of the year, different in the sense that it doesn’t sound like anything else and doesn’t follow any typical conventions that an album should, save the epic intro. Start from ‘Hot Tent Blues’, and listen from there.

10. ELBOW – THE SELDOM SEEN KID [FICTION]

I admit, when I heard this won the Mercury Music Prize I was thinking, “What the fuck?”, since I had only heard a few tracks from their 2005 album Leaders of the Free World before, and it was pretty bland from what I remembered, though since then I have realised them to be just as essential as Doves or Interpol. This album has many very different styled tracks, I can’t really cover all of them, so I won’t bother. It’s kinda a bit like Radiohead at points, which isn’t a bad thing. I would just recommend you give it a chance, like I did, cause it’s really a beautiful record, especially ‘Grounds for Divorce’, ‘One Day Like This’, ‘The Bones of You’ and ‘Mirrorball’.

9. PETE AND THE PIRATES – LITTLE DEATH [STOLEN]

I almost forgot about this album, and it was almost omitted from my list! But it’s too good an album to forget about, and I don’t care they were primarily played on Radio 2, cause they’re one of the best bands in Britain at the moment. I saw them at Reading with Waddy, and they play lovely music to slap on when you’re bored, and they cheer me up. They hold a consistent sound, unlike their buddays Let’s Wrestle – here’s proof: ‘Knots’, ‘She Doesn’t Belong To Me’, ‘Bears’ and ‘Bright Lights’.

8. FOALS – ANTIDOTES [TRANSGRESSIVE]

I wasn’t sure about this album at the end of last year, and I think it’s a bit of a grower, and I took it for granted a bit, but I still enjoy putting it on every now and then. Foals, despite being quite pop, are pretty well respected from where I stand, and are probably fed up of being compared to the acutely superior Battles. The album was produced by TV On The Radio’s very own Dave Sitek (the white one), and he has done very well with not putting in too much brass or woodwind or electronic bleeps, and it’s all focused on rhythm and layering. The re-recorded demos fit well together, and the new tracks are pretty sexy, so I’d say listen to ‘Tron’, ‘Two Steps Twice’ and ‘Olympic Airways’ and get back to me bebe.

7. HOT CHIP – MADE IN THE DARK [EMI]

Wahey! You can never go wrong with Hot Chip. This came out at the start of the year, so has also been forgotten by some, who are still obsessing over MGMT by the looks of it, but is still good. Perhaps not as exciting as it was at the beginning of the year, for me at least – we went to see them in Portsmouth earlier in the year and it was an awesome show, even got reviewed in The Guardian! Anyway, Hot Chip have got from strength to strength really, I wouldn’t be surprised their next album to be all-out dance, maybe even quite heavy and dark. Some of it is quite LCD Soundsystem-esque, and other stuff quite R’n'B, or softer (probably Alexis’ influence – hear his solo album Rubbed Out). Their first album was quite minimal and quiet, the next a critical success, and this one a mixture of the two, so I hope their next is even better! I’d take note of these: ‘Wrestlers’, ‘Out At The Pictures’, ‘We’re Looking For A Lot Of Love’ and ‘Don’t Dance’.

6. RATATAT – LP3 [XL]

I heard Ratatat were releasing new stuff, and I thought “GREAT!”, but was a bit wary seeing as their last two were quite hit-and-miss, and acted more like a soundtrack than a well-rounded album. I listened to the pre-album single ‘Shiller’, and wasn’t too impressed, although they had managed an epic scale, albiet sounding a bit like the soundtrack to Zelda, or Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. But as an opening track to the album, it is perfect, and opens up to a brilliant album that hasn’t gained much notoriety this year, which is WRONG! They’ve taken the best bits of Daft Punk, Cornelius and Moby and absorbed them into their previously agressive beats, and the outcome has been somewhat world musicy. This is no longer a soundtrack just for listenings sake, but a soundtrack to your life. I look forward to hearing Animal Collective’s remix of ‘Mirando’. Check out ‘Black Heroes’, ‘Falcon Jab’ and, of course, ‘Mirando’.

5. VAMPIRE WEEKEND – VAMPIRE WEEKEND [XL]

Okay, this has been out for some time, but is still strictly a 2008 album. And what a one it is. It would’ve been the best album of 2008 in my eyes but unfortunately it’s had quite a good running time, and everybody knows it’s good anyway. If you haven’t realised this band are obsessed with Paul Simon’s Graceland yet, then you need to update your knowledge and go listen to that (it was one of my favourite albums when this came out). Seeing them is as enjoyable as listening to them on a Sunday morning, and this album is beautifully complete. Easily singalongable, easily memorable. If you haven’t heard this, or are avoiding this, you must be crazy, and if you don’t like it, you probably don’t like life, or Christmas, or being happy at all. Highlights for me are ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)’ and ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ – which reminds me, you should listen to Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel’s cover of the last one mentioned (listen out for the lyric mentioning Mr. Gabriel in the cover version).

4. BORN RUFFIANS – RED, YELLOW AND BLUE [WARP]

I’ve loved this band since they started and released a few singles on XL, and realised how brilliant they were when they covered ‘Knife’ by Grizzly Bear. The album was only a matter of time (2 years!) before they released this, and what an album it is! Perhaps the catchiest Canadian band I can think of, even more so than Tokyo Police Club (omg did you see them on Desperate Housewives?). I’m running out of steam a little, but I’d say listen to them or you’ll regret it – try ‘Barnacle Goose’, ‘I Need A Life’, and ‘Kurt Vonnegut’.

3. EL GUINCHO – ALEGRANZA! [YOUNG TURKS]

Okay okay, everyone compares this guy to Panda Bear from Animal Collective, but it’s not quite the same. First of all, there isn’t unneccessary amounts of echo on the vocals, and he doesn’t apparently idolise Brian Wilson. El Guincho is this dude Pablo from Barcelona who thought it’d be fun to sample repetitively, much like Brian Eno & David Byrne’s My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts but with weird old calypso shit. I think he just uses a synth and maybe some percussion. But anyway, it’s pretty fucking impressive, and that’s probably why people compare him to Animal Collective. Listening to may make you feel like you’re eating pineapple or dancing with a weird Mexican family or drunkenly riding a zebra, but only vaguely, and I have never before done any of those things, but I’d imagine this is what I’d listen to if I was. It’s what I would want to listen to! Try ‘Palmitos Park’, ‘Cuando Maavilla Fui’ and ‘Prez Lagarto’!

2. METRONOMY – LIGHTS OUT [BECAUSE]

Wow. This was a grower for me. It didn’t feel quite complete when I first heard it, but I was still taken aback. Some parts aren’t that strong, like the middle of the album, but I treat it like two parts; like an LP. Metronomy have always had a unique electronic sound, and they utilise this to the extreme, making pop tracks with great singalong vocals as well as chillingly awesome electro ditties. I think everybody should get this album just to hear something different. I love this band, and the first album was just a collection of tracks, kinda like Zongamin’s first album, so this was a definite improvement, and they deserve all the attention they get. I still remember seeing part of their set at Reading last year, and them playing ‘Black Eye/Burnt Thumb’ – I knew they wouldn’t let me down with a second album. All hear ‘A Thing For Me’, ‘My Heart Rate Rapid’, ‘Back On The Motorway’ and ‘The End Of You Too’.

1. LITTLE JOY – LITTLE JOY [ROUGH TRADE]

I don’t know why people haven’t heard this album – I haven’t yet met anyone who seems to give a damn about this band. They’re the solo project of Fab Moretti from The Strokes (come on, THE STROKES?), and this album is superb. He teamed up with his girlfriend, Binki, and his Brazilian mate, Rodrigo, and they hung out in LA, and came up with a few ideas. When it came to recording they got some of their friends (other Strokes members, Devendra Banhart etc) to help out a bit on the instrumentation, and just went for it. And after hearing Albert Hammond Jr’s attempts to become a star – two mediocre albums and one retarded girlfriend – I was pleased that Fab was doing something worth listening to and admiring, despite him not being the coolest Stroke (Nick Valensi or Julian Casablancas much?). So yes, I would recommend this – it has hints of Velvet Underground and even Vampire Weekend, so I’d put this on your ‘To Hear’ list. Start with ‘No One’s Better Sake’, ‘Keep Me In Mind’, ‘The Next Time Around’ and ‘How To Hang A Warhol’.

Special mentions go to AC/DC with Black Ice, Weezer’s Red Album, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip with Angles, XX Teens‘ Welcome to Goon Island, Plastic Little with Welcome To The Jang House, Flobots‘ Fight With Tools, The Dodos with their album Visiter, Lykke Li with Youth Novels, Nine Inch Nails with The Slip, Tokyo Police Club with Elephant Shell, Lovvers‘ Think, Jay Reatard’s Matador Singles, Neon Neon’s Stainless Style, Roots Manuva with Slime and Reason, David Byrne & Brian Eno’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, Cadence Weapon’s Afterparty Babies, The Glimmers‘ Are Gee Gee Fazzi, Yo Majesty with Futuristically Speaking…Never Be Afraid, Monkey by Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett, Midfield General with General Disarray, Cut Off Your Hands with You and I, 2 by Semifinalists, Mr. Scruff with Ninja Tuna, Liquid Liquid’s Slip In and Out of Phenomenon…I can’t think of any more right now, but you get the idea. Still need to listen properly to People Under The Stairs‘ Fun DMC, Alopecia by Why?, and The Breeders‘ Mountain Battles, and probably some others according to other people. Wasn’t too impressed by MGMT at the end of the day, or the Friendly Fires and Santogold records (if I’m being honest). Soon we’re getting new albums by MF DOOM, Animal Collective and Mos Def, so fingers crossed they’ll be good, and projects like The BPA and N.A.S.A? I’m sure Waddy and Stan have their own top albums, so they could put theirs up sometime?

Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and all that shit! I’ll leave you with a few festive traxxx:

The Go! Team – ‘The Ice Storm’ [zshare] <<< .mp3 file

Eels – ‘Christmas Is Going To The Dogs’ [zshare] <<< .mp3 file

Weezer – Christmas with Weezer [zshare] <<< .zip file

!!!UPDATE!!!

I have recently been listening to TV On The Radio a lot, the new album particularly, and decide it is essential and probably should be higher in the top 20, but hey! So here you go, a couple of awesome covers of awesome songs by awesome bands:

Jay Reatard – ‘Gamma Ray (Beck Cover)’ [box] <<< .mp3 file

TV On The Radio – ‘Mr. Grieves (Pixies Cover)’ [box] <<< .mp3 file

That’s it this year! I hear next year there will be some awesome films (Watchmen, Funny People, Star Trek?) and some awesome new albums (Battles maybe?) so yeah, let’s go!

Hey sucka-fools, been pretty HECTIC recently, what with it being my BIRTHDAY last Tuesday (14th) and Waddys on the 3rd! We’ve been rioting since, and we got some awesome shit from people – Waddy got comics like Proof and Sin City and a Robot Chicken DVD and stuff, he gave me a Madman comic and I got other stuff (Ghost World, Watchmen, Zodiac on DVD, Metronomy and QOTSA albums, new hoody and Flight of the Conchords T-shirt!). We haven’t done anything major yet (maybe next weekend?) but we want to Lonely Hearts Club at The Railway Inn on Friday, and guess who happened to be playing? Only motherfucken AKIRA THE DON!!! Sadly Stan couldn’t come (he was at Kraft Kuts in Oxford), but Charlie did, and we had a fucking sweet time it was AWESOME. Waddy was so excited you shoulda seen his perma-grin. We were practically Akira’s backing dancers towards the end of the set, and we had a big ol’ chat with him, he’s the soundest performer I’ve ever met, I’d say. When he comes down next we’re definately gonna make all you readers come with us, or else man.

But yeah, recently been listening to a bunch of odd choons (and the new AC/DC album). And by odd, I mean odd. Try some of these: The Ruby Suns (from New Zealand), The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit), and Yo! Majesty (kinda like Salt ‘n Pepa/Gravy Train!!!!/Le Tigre/Santogold/Amanda Blank). Also, I heard the new albums by TV on the Radio (awesome and you know it) and Gang Gang Dance (weird New York band) and found that halfway through the latter album, there is a random spot of grime-ness. WTF?

Princes (ft. Tinchy Stryder) – Gang Gang Dance

And the new Mr. Oizo album, which has a very Missy Elliott-like track featuring Uffie:

Steroids (ft. Uffie) – Mr. Oizo

And last but not least, I was pleasantly surprised to find, this week, that Elbow aren’t as boring as I’d always thought they’d been – when they won the Mercury Music Prize I was pretty shocked, but the new album seems to teabag even Radiohead and Blur, at the same time. Take a listen (you may recognise this one):

Grounds for Divorce – Elbow

And a little somethin-somethin for you too…nice classic dancey-dancey rework of everyone’s favourite talking head (who, by the way, has a new album out with Eno!):

Lazy – X-Press 2 ft. David Byrne

And I’ll leave you with a video of an angry Xbox kid, and a crazy game that Celine showed me…

Also, if you really like any of the bands above, don’t forget to buy some of their music – new AC/DC album out tomorrow! Fable 2 is out on Xbox 360 soon too, and Iron Man on DVD next Monday! Nice!

HELLO PEOPLE! Haven’t been updating this much, but luckily Waddy has! Cheers for that buddy!

I thought I’d do a post with LOADS OF MUSIC, a bit of everthing for everyone – in no way is this a ‘cash-in’ to get our blog noticed on HypeMachine or elbo.ws at all, m’kay? Cool. First up we have Sigur Rós. I know, you’re thinking “argh depressing stuff, they don’t even sing in English let alone Icelandic” – wrong. On the new album they have a track sung in English, but that’s not what I’m here for – they actually named a track Gobbledigook, which pretty much sums up what the lyrics are. It sounds VERY Animal Collective-influenced, which is awesome, ’cause everybody loves Animal Collective.

DOWNLOAD: Gobbledigook – Sigur Rós (zshare)

Now next we have a new Mystery Jets track, from the album ‘Twenty One’ (been out for a while, produced by the genius Erol Alkan), but has been both remixed by Switch (aka Dave Taylor aka Solid Groove) and then EDITED by K-Dub’s favourite DJ in the world, the mighty DIPLO. It’s pretty damn better than the original Switch remix, and it’s crazy to think a few of us went to see Mystery Jets last month in little old Winchester, and their tracks are getting messed around with by these producer genii! Diplo’s truly brilliant – he’s always doing good. His recent remix of Black Lips was great, and I recently heard a baile funk track he did sampling Devo and another with the Pixies. Still not sick of his FabricLive CD. He was on Kissy Sell Out’s show the other day too which was pretty awesome.

DOWNLOAD: Hideaway (Produced by Erol Alkan) (Switch Remix) (Diplo Edit) – Mystery Jets (zshare)

Now I know I posted about these next guys last time I was here, but they really are going up in the world (hopefully). They were the stars of this years SXSW Festival in Texas over in the US, and now have a full album coming out, called ‘Workout Holiday’. This is probably the nicest and most soulful tracks on the album, the others being crazy, experimental/psych/Hendrix-like jam out. So I urge you to take a listen, you’ll love it.

DOWNLOAD: Sitting – White Denim (zshare)

Oh yeah, Ratatat are back! Yeah and their new stuff is pretty damn interesting! The new album, aptly named ‘LP3′, even has some Daft Punk style vocals on one track. But the track I’m gonna put up is the latin-influenced one, with a dancy beat that will remind some of Safari by Holy Fuck and others of just…well…Ratatat? Google the Ratatat website too if you wanna download their second hip-hop remixes mixtape for free! Anyway, watch the Predator-inspired video, and download the track. Apparently it will be the next single, with remixes by Animal Collective, YACHT, Zongamin and Cut Copy! Woo!

DOWNLOAD: Mirando – Ratatat (zshare)

So yeah, now for a bit of fun. Does anyone remember Afrikan Boy? The one who did guest vocals on M.I.A’s latest album, ‘Kala’, and also did this hilarious grime track about shoplifting in everybodys favourite budget supermarkets. Well his new stuff is amazingly produced, I think he’s working on an album. You’ll have to check his MySpace for more music and laughs (http://www.myspace.com/afrikanboy). And also listen to the original and new versions (which I shoplifted off his MySpace haha)…

DOWNLOAD: One Day I Went To Lidl – Afrikan Boy

DOWNLOAD: One Day I Went To Lidl (2008 Mixtape Version) – Afrikan Boy

Oh yeah I went to see Vampire Weekend with Ryan and my sister at the beginning of the month. It was actually surprisingly brilliant! Support came from White Williams who looked very disheartened by the NME-reading, Radio 1-listening middle aged crowd, but it was still interesting to watch! Vampire Weekend themselves were ecstatic throughout, which rubbed off on the crowd, and the whole performance was smiley-smiley! It was great. You could really hear the Paul Simon influence all the time, which I’m not gonna diss – ‘Graceland’ is one of my favourite albums. I thought it would just be a mellow affair, with a preppy New York band playing to a bunch of Brits. Can’t wait to see them at Reading, the atmosphere will be immensely positive – it’ll be better than the first time you sucked helium from a balloon. But yeah, check out the novelty hip-hop outfit some members of Vampire Weekend used to be in before, it’s really quite funny shit…here are also some pictures of Joe Williams (White Williams) and Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) from the gig we went to (Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth):

DOWNLOAD: Interracial Dating – L’Homme Run (zshare)

Next up are Playdoe. They remind me of both Spank Rock and Yea Big & Kid Static at the same time, which is fucking sweeeeet. For some reason over here they’re signed to the really small indie label Try Harder, who released stuff by Foals, Blood Red Shoes, Tired Irie and Jonquil, which is weird seeing as they’re, like, American party-rap…their MySpace says they’re South African but I’m not sure. Still, lend an ear:

DOWNLOAD: Gravy Yard – Playdoe (zshare)

Oh and next we have the North American guitar band of the moment. I’ve been tracking these guys for the last few years, and they’ve finally released an album! And signed to Warp Records! Crazy stuff really. They’ve even toured with Hot Chip and Caribou and been remixed by Four Tet! I really do adore Born Ruffians. I’m surprised how many people don’t listen to them that I know. I’ve got Baz, my sister and Waddy into them, and I can tell you, they’re so catchy you’ll never get tired of them and never want to rip your ears out. Their track Hummingbird even appeared on the new Orange advert. But yeah they’re still sounding fresh, and in my opinion are better than their buddies Tokyo Police Club, who have turned out a super-produced album by the way (which is okay but still a bit crap). So here I have the new b-side to Born Ruffians‘ new single I Need A Life, which is out now, if you care…

DOWNLOAD: So Long, Tadpole – Born Ruffians (zshare)

I’ve been listening to El Guincho recently. He’s this guy from Barcelona, I think, and he plays music that sounds like a multicultural street band covering Animal Collective, and as I said before, everybody loves Animal Collective, or at least they should. I guess you could say he’s a better Panda Bear. That reminds me, Jalili was telling me how he saw Animal Collective in London (with Atlas Sound supporting) – how very jealous I am of him. But yeah listen to this remix El Guincho did of one of the new Architecture In Helsinki tracks, it’s pretty good. But if you want to hear something more tropical, check his MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/elguincho) or have good luck hunting down his new album, Alegranza!

DOWNLOAD: Like It Or Not (El Guincho Remix) – Architecture In Helsinki (zshare)

Again with the crazy street percussion, I have this track from the soundtrack of one of my favourite Asian films, Zatoichi. It reminds me of Boredoms and OOIOO but also has tapdancing in it… It’s a brilliant ending to a film too, seeing as the film is about a blind samurai, so has lots of violence, and concludes with a huge dance festival. I recommend everyone watch Zatoichi, it’s a brilliant film, with a brilliant soundtrack – it’s actually a remake of an old franchise which influenced films such as Kill Bill and animé series’ such as Afro Samurai. The main character, oddly called Zatoichi, is the teacher from Battle Royale (another film everyone should see).

DOWNLOAD: Festivo – Suzuki Keiichi (zshare)

Talking of soundtracks…I’ve been watching Superbad a lot recently. I saw it for the third time the other day with Waddy. It’s such a funny film, and is really done well. It’s clumsy, but in a good way. The music compliments the humour too – all this funk stuff a la Bootsie Collins and Parliament/Funkadelic. James Brown would be proud of this soundtrack. There’s also an awesome track from The Roots in the soundtrack, but the best appearance is at a party in the background when you can hear The Rapture – reminded me of how good the album ‘Echoes’ was. I also love the opening titles track by The Bar-Kays, so I’ll recommend listening to that too. These ones go out to McLovin! I also put a video of an interview (on the second disc of the DVD) of Edgar Wright (director of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) interviewing Jonah Hill and Michael Cera…and Jonah goes mental. I don’t think he realises Edgar is only kidding:

DOWNLOAD: Echoes – The Rapture (zshare)

DOWNLOAD: Too Hot To Stop – The Bar-Kays (zshare)

Oh! We move on – I’ve been loving a lot of the Aussie electro stuff recently, mostly Bumblebeez, but also Cut Copy and The Presets. I also found out about these guys, Pnau, who do a Daft Punk/Justice type thing, and it really works well. The track I’ll introduce to you sounds like SebastiAn meets MSTRKRFT. It’s excellent, I hope they play Reading!

DOWNLOAD: No More Violence – Pnau (zshare)

Speaking of Reading, I’m really psyched about the electo acts playing – Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, and Digitalism! They’re probably my favourite of the ‘holy electro trinity’ – I only managed to catch about 20 minutes of their set last year before dashing off to see Biffy Clyro, Battles and !!!. Digitalism have been remixed by some unlikely people recently, including The Horrors, but one of them caught my attention – Cansei de Ser Sexy. Their remix made Pogo sound like a sunny day out in the park rather than a stomping post-Kraftwerk electro singalong.

DOWNLOAD: Pogo (CSS Remix) – Digitalism (zshare)

It seems everybody’s looking forward to Reading this year. We keep talking about last year, like the time I monged out throughout Turbo Fruits‘ set – who Waddy still calls “Tutti Fruitti” and moans about how bad they are. From what I remember they were still alright for a band that was thrown together by two members of Be Your Own Pet. I was starting to get annoyed by Jemina Pearl’s vocals. Anyway the track I’d like you to listen to is called Devo Girl. This is because I love Devo (not so much girls…haha). I swear everytime I get into my dad’s car and Radio 2 is on, they play Whip It by Devo. It cheers me up and I always sing along.

DOWNLOAD: Devo Girl – Turbo Fruits (zshare)

Last weekend I had my sequel to Flight of the Conchords Night. We were planning to watch Eagle vs Shark – starring Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords – but Joe had lost it amongst the mess in his room and Hannah couldn’t find it. We did watch another film with Jemaine in, called Tongan Ninja – it’s ridiculously low-budget and the acting is worse than in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, even the DVD looks pirate! Instead we got drunk and watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was still pretty funny. The house was full of couples: Stan and Hannah, Waddy and Lara, Charlie and Lucy…and me and Lewi? Haha. Anyway it’s kinda stupid cause my sister bought Eagle vs Shark today. I love Jemaine though, he’s so dapper. I’d turn gay for him. He’s gonna be in a new film by Napolean Dynamite and Nacho Libre’s husband-and-wife director duo Jared and Jerusa Hess called Gentlemen Broncos (out next year). Sam Rockwell’s gonna be in it too; I can’t wait! Waddy decided to start watching the Lord of the Rings films again, so this track goes out to him – good luck! Look out at the end of the track for an early rendition of Foux De Fafa by Flight of the Conchords (albums out on Sub Pop by the way!):

DOWNLOAD: Frodo (2000 L.O.T.R. Rejected Demo Version) – Flight of the Conchords (zshare)

I was listening to De La Soul’s ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ the other day – one of the happiest hip-hop albums ever, more so than A Tribe Called Quest and Jurassic 5! I realised I hadn’t listened to the second disc – I found an alternative version of Jenifa, one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s brilliant, if you love a bit of ’80’s hip-hop I’d definately take a good listen.

DOWNLOAD: Jenifa Taught Me (12″ Version) – De La Soul (zshare)

So this is the last track! I’ve recently got into Gravy Train!!!! – they remind me of Le Tigre, Tom Tom Club and Salt ‘n’ Pepa…maybe even The B-52s, and more recently Free Blood? They’re really rude, which is pretty awesome. We all like a bit of rudeness. But the track I love is probably the least rude I’ve heard by them, haha. I was surprised to hear Late of the Pier playing them when they were guests on Rob Da Bank & Friends on Radio 1 the other week. This one goes out to Stan, who’s also a fan, and is on holiday in France, as well as Julie and Kat, who I finally got to meet on Friday night and must like this track. I mean who doesn’t?

DOWNLOAD: Hella Nervous – Gravy Train!!!! (zshare)

Also, the Great Winchester Mixtape Hunt is still on! Currently about 5 people have found, recorded on, and hidden it! So far we’ve had tracks by Can, Pavement, a Diplo remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a Nouvelle Vague cover of New Order, and Dan Sartain. So keep looking!

Me and Waddy will be back soon! Maybe even with some more art, or some pointless videos to watch! Who knows! Nobody reads this shit anyway! Do they?

Hey man it’s Ben here. Last night was Letty’s 18th partay which turned out to be awesome for me because I got massively drunk, broke my costume and lost every game of foozball. What a downer. Chris drove me and Stan back last night but I can’t remember if I went to Stan’s or not but I do remember throwing up down his road, then finding a shovel on the way home and then my dad moaning at me for being loud when I got in and then I remember waking up this morning really suddenly, covered in a map of Winchester (and surrounding area) with the bedroom light on and a massive hangover.

YAY!

Anyway I was listening to an awesome mix/podcast by The Bang Gang Deejays (Modular Records) which had some equally awesome mix of Peanut Butter Jelly Time by The Buckwheat Boys, which reminded me of a site I made ages ago which has proven quite popular (almost 7000 views):

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY DANCE

And I was bored, so I made THIS ONE HAHALOL:

O COAKLEY? YA COAKLEY!

But yeah, the main thing is, get these podcasts cause they are rate worth it. Screw it, I’ll put one up on here right now to save time, but the others you can get by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes or just downloading them as mp3s HERE.

This mix is ‘The Grey Disc’, a free extra third part of their 2-CD mix release last year sometime called Light Sound Dance (on Modular, check Amazon, HMV or eBay or whatever). Here’s the tracklisting:

1.The Eternals – Wrath of Zeus
2.Dj Mehdi – Signatune (Thomas Bangalter edit)
3.Yuksek – Break Ya
4.Sinden – Beeper
5.Bobmo – Home Alone
6.Mr. Oizo – Patrick 122
7.Riot in Belgium – La Musique (sinden remix)
8.Data – J’Taime Pas le art (Data remix)
8.Nicky Van She and Dangerous Dan – Around The World (The Death set remix)
9.Os Magrinhos – Japonesa
10.Bonde Do Role – Office Boy (CSS remix)
11.Da Hool – Met Her in Baltimore (Elroy’s edit)
12.TTC – Travellier (Orgasmic remix)
13.Bag Raiders – Nil by Mouth
14.Fesit – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Classic remix)
15.Cyndi Lauper – When You Were Mine
16.Boys noize – Let’s Buy Happiness
17.MSTRKRFT – Bodywork / Paul Woolford – Erotic Tool
18.Yuksek – Dirty little trip (vicarious Bliss remix)
19.Duke Dumont – Pop That Pussy
20.Klaxons – Golden Skans (Switch Unreleased remix)
21.In flagranti – Genital Blue Room
22.My Cousin Roy – Bobbi’s Back
23.Beatles – Day Tripper
24.Radioclit – Nelly Ti Picou
25. Bondo do role – gasolina (Buraka Som Sistema Remix)
26.Mystery Jets – Diamonds In The Dark (Tapedeck remix)
27.Mr. Oizo – Stunt
28. Justice – Let There Be Light (Dj Funk remix)
29.Fat Joe – Make It Rain (Remix)
30. Starski n Clutch – East to west
31.Ying Yang Twins – Peanut Butter Jelly Time (remix)
32.Claude Von Stroke – Peanut Butter Jelly time (Claude’s Miami Doodoo bootleg)
33.Trevor loveys and Sinden – Organ Grinder
34.Teki latex – disco dance with you (Para one remix)
35.Whirpool Productions – Disco to Disco (LRD remix)
36. Louie Austen – Im a Disco Dancer
37.Hedman – On and On (Zombie Nation remix)
38.Muscles – Sweaty
39. Midnight Juggernauts – Nine Lives
40.Westbam and Nena – Old school baby (Piano mix)
41. Franki Valli – Beggin (Speaker Killer remix)

DOWNLOAD MP3 (right click, save as) or DOWNLOAD THROUGH ZSHARE (follow links)

And I reckon everybody should have a look at this trailer for this film. It’s called TROPIC THUNDER and it stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr and Steve Coogan. Innit:

Oh yeah, and college is crap at the moment, gotta finish coursework, finishing Photography AS this week, and exams coming up. But still, a few gigs are on in the next couple of months (Mystery Jets, Vampire Weekend) that should be a laugh. Oh and STANS BIRTHDAY!

Mmm-hmm girlfriend.

Over and out, peace and carrots. Love y’all!

PS: Fack it I’ll give you a few essential MP3’s you NEED:

Claude VonStroke & Christian Martin – Peanut Butter Jelly Time (Miami Doodoo Bootleg) (mediafire – follow links)
Mark Mothersbaugh – Ping Island/Lightning Strike Op (zshare – follow links)
OMFO – Magic Mamaliga (from Borat Soundtrack) (right click-save as)

And a mix (if you like mash-ups, Girl Talk, that kinda thing):

Ludachrist – Bangfest (right click-save as)

And I also just remembered a few things. READING FESTIVAL tickets are on sale tomorrow at 6:45pm! SHIT! If I don’t manage to get a weekend ticket, I’ll get a day ticket for whenever RAGE (?) are playing, and then maybe go to BLISSFIELDS (lineup so far includes Roni Size/Reprazent, Pete and the Pirates, The Whip, The Noisettes, Infadels, and more) in sunny Winchester!

And also the lineup for UNDERAGE FESTIVAL has been announced! So far it includes Bombay Bicycle Club, Bonde Do Role, Sinden & Herve (aka The Count of Monte Cristal), Foals (who were fucking brilliant last year), Gallows (err), Sons & Daughters, The Horrors (haha), XX Teens (YES!), Mystery Jets, Operator Please and Domino DJ’s. Pretty good! But never as good as the OVER 18’s FIELD DAY line-up. Last year they got 1990s, Battles, Caribou, Erol Alkan, Foals, Four Tet, Justice, Late of the Pier, Liars, Mystery Jets and more whilst Erol didn’t turn up to Underage, but we still got Late of the Pier, Foals, Mystery Jets, Crystal Castles, The Young Knives, Tiny Masters of Today etc. This year FIELD DAY gets Bloggers Delight DJs, Brodinski, Crookers, Dirty Projectors, Eat Your Own Ears Djs, Emperor Machine, Filthy Dukes, Foals, King Creosote, Mystery Jets, Of Montreal, Simian Mobile Disco, The Field, Tunng and White Lies SO FAR. Taking the piss.

In the Autumn, me, Waddy and Chris will be 18 so next year we could go to ANY festival…Tales of the Jackalope? Lovebox Weekender? Bestival? Field Day? The world will be our oyster.