All I can see are lights and eyes, the colours are tickling my tear ducts. The sounds pull my heart apart and lift it 6 feet above my neck… Holy hell… But lo, be they not men – oh no! – be they G-O-R-I-L-L-A-Z!
November the 14th has become one of those stand-out dates in my mind. There’s Christmas, New Year’s, Mum’s birthday, etc… And now, we have Nov 14th, 2010: “The Best Day Ever”. And this is not just some review full of hollow gushing praise – I absolutely mean it, with every iota, organ and amoeba that makes up my being.
Oh my, November the 14th! The euphoria I experienced on that day was on an indescribable, incendiary, interplanetary level! And as a disclaimer, I can tell you there is no way I’ll be able to cover it all here. Mere words just do not cut the monkey mustard – not for an experience like this…
Well, the beautiful beautiful thing that is Glastonbury Festival is over for another year. The sun was uncharacteristically, um… out, and the incredible line-up were out in full force celebrating the UK festival’s 40th birthday!
Our fellow In Sounder Sarah attended, so we’ll hopefully have a full Glasto report coming from her soon (unless we’ve lost her to the stone circle and herbal highs tent). Stay tuned!
In the meantime, please check these Gorillaz and Empire of the Sun clips because they are utterly epic! Damon Is God, ya dig?
Snoop & the band absolutley kiiiiiilling Clint Eastwood
Lou Reed! Lou Reed! Lou Reed!
The legendary Mark E. Smith giving Damon a soundgasm
Hey ho! I am in a state of super-cool-niiiiice-ness! The kind of super-cool-niiiiice-ness that comes with listening to a band that just sounds… just right. It fits. Like a glove. (Ba-doomsh!)
You see, while Yes Yes Vindictive was obviously a strong album in its own right… Glovesfits Operator Please. It suits them right down to a tee, just like their sexy new Viktor & Rolf garb. (Which, by the way, looking hawwwt peeps!)
Them crazy little talented outsiders from the Gold Coast have grown up. And dang nam it, they have cool-ness there in spades – because magic self-confidence is just oozing out of their pores and pulsating right through the airwaves. It is this sassy chutzpah and mean swagger that really makes this album, in the wise words of Jason Coleman, *POP* (in the active sense of the word AND as a noun).
Even better than this is the fact that Gloves is yet another signal that pop music is becoming truly exciting again – people with brains rejoice, substance has made a comeback! It’s coming out of the closet, it’s OKAYY! Just because you like quality with your spaghetti, doesn’t mean you are expected to listen to daft experimental music (or “pretentious codswallop” as my dad calls it) – pop can feed your soul, too. Really! Just listen to this album…
… and you’re dodging bullets. Strutting down the street like a Bee Gee. From the get go tight beat of Catapult, the album cuts like a knife. Sexy, vampy, gorgeous pop. Disco, 80s, bass, drums, synths, hot tamale train (yes I have been watching waaaay too much So You Think You Can Dance), elegant, sassy, smart, saucy. And most importantly, you bite and it’s TASTY & SATISFYING! Miz Amandah Wilkinson is becoming a megawatt frontwoman, and the rest of the band are right there with her spark for spark. Standout tracks for me include Just Kiss (beautiful vocal arrangement & chorus!), singles Logic & Back And Forth (bang bang, score!), and Loops (love a heavy 80s rock beat with yet more of that wicked vocal harmony!).
So put yo’ gloves on fool! And enjoy this super fine album of goooood pop. Brought to you by Operator Please.
There’s a certain stench in the air. Some dark little critter oozing and swirling in the oily waters. Sounds, like a faded orchestra, emanating from dead hollow shells. A stinky, slinky snake made of potent gases, slithering on its way through the concrete jungle of life.
THE FUTURE. It’s upon us. It’s nigh. It’s leering at you from across the bar.
The future, our global obsession, is suddenly so very close. TOMORROW COMES TODAY. (They did try to warn us.)
So, what’s this ‘future’ turning out to be like? Spaceships, Jetson-style hair-do machines (why haven’t they invented these yet? Whyyy!!), intergalactic speedracers, 2001, 1989…?
Nah – it’s turning out to be even more bizarre than all of that COMBINED…
It’s filthy, it’s dirty, it’s consumerism + depth = religion, it’s elements of Gotham City, it’s waste, it’s copy+paste, it’s computer-simulations, games and over-stimulations, it’s dangerous, it’s hilarious, it’s somehow strangely beautiful, it’s… Plastic Beach.
Do you want to HEAR the future? Friends, hobos, lunching men – lend Gorillaz your ears!
And the saga continues… As we told you a little while back, über-cool genre-straddler & member of the talented Knowles clan, Solange, did a cover of the stunning stunning amazing beautiful AWESOME track Stillness Is The Move by the equally stunning stunning amazing beautiful AWESOME Dirty Projectors! And so the whole indie world did rejoice, for there was a new poster girl in town, one advertising the wonders to be born from uniting the worlds of soul/r’n'b and alternative music… showcasing one of the new directions in which music seems to be heading. A direction I am SUPER excited about!
So I was even more excited to find that Chapter Two sees them performing the track together! The magical incident occurred at a party for the new Opening Ceremony store in New York, check it out:
Combining the original with Solange’s reworking of the song works a treat; the two versions together almost create an even bigger explosion of pure awesomeness. And check out the lungs on those ladies, my oh my. SIZZLIN!!
As if that wasn’t enough, they all went on to cover Groove Theory’s Tell Me… also included for your enjoyment!
The future will be… Chapter Three! Whoo, personally, I can’t wait.
Welcome to The Land Down Wonder… a parallel universe full of chooooons! Stop short of the Land Down Under, press play, and jump down the rabbit hole – and you’ll find yourself in a world of indescribable emotions brought on by lovely phonics and super sonics. Yes, the passage to this place is triggered by glorious sounds and pure euphonious beauty – i.e. by listening to sweet, sweet tunes!
Oddities can come from space, a la Bowie. And they can come from parallel universes, a la Dr Who, Red Dwarf, etc (also from our everyday universe, a la suburban shopping malls and Donatella Versace’s skin tone). Owen Pallett’s music comes from another place altogether, one that is so brilliant it’s hard to comprehend, but…! Who cares – where it takes us is all that matters, right?! And that is somewhere beyond wonderful. Head to his myspace page, where his whole album is up for you to enjoy.
Press play and you’ll be flying with me, wonderlings…
It is far too difficult for this inarticulate writer to express any kind of tribute to such a pivotal, brilliant and fascinating character as Lennon with mere words, so instead we let his own words and music paint the picture – and remember him with a few of our favourite clips (see below).
“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?” – John Lennon
The face of music was literally changed forever. John lives on. Peace and love! (and basketballs and cigarettes!)
When the gent “from the Herald Sun” rang and asked for the release date of Patrick Dempsey’s new album, I thought “aww, poor thing, he’s a bit mixed up” (we do get some very mixed up folk ringing here on a regular basis) – anyway, aside from the fact they’re both good-looking blokes, I didn’t think anyone could get McDreamy mixed up with our Aussie master of songwriting and musicianship (although, actually, it turns out someone did, teehee).
On correcting him, and then realising it was Merrick, Rosso, Kate Richie and Paul (not Patrick) himself, I can say I was preeetty relieved not to have made the error myself (can you imagine!). Paul (again, I emphasise, not Patrick) Dempsey is one of our absolute favourites here at EMI HQ so I can’t imagine any of my colleagues getting that one wrong.
The Nova crew were really lovely though and it was definitely a bit of a laugh. And Paul was wonderful as always in the interview…
Will be particularly wary of any such calls in future, say for Billy Allen or the Arctic Primates. Guess that’s the universe getting back at me for all the prank calls I made with my sister as a kid.
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