Two words peoples: Scott and Walker. Who the hell?? I will give you a clue… David Bowie covered about three of his songs and has influenced a few minor artists such as Radiohead, Brian Eno, Sting, STINGGG!!!! STIINGGGGGGGGG, Jarvis Cocker, and Goldfrapp.

He’s arguably one of the greatest voices of our time, originally started in the 60’s, and eventually put down his guitar to sing lead vocals for a B-side, as a result the song became an instant hit in the UK which lead to huge successes for the Walker Brothers career.

He then went solo, where he had an array of hits until he eventually “lost touch with the youth” after Scott IV (yes that’s the name of the album, it was 1969 so don’t be a hater). With his cool factor almost over and still in his 20’s his record company gave him no choice but to spend the next 10 years performing his back catalogue of old and new pop songs, releasing an array of average pop albums which to this day Scott will not allow to be re-released. This 10 year period in his life drove him to depression and a change in musical style that would make him the artist he is today.

Who cares?? Well David Bowie sure does because he just made a documentary about it called Scott Walker 30th Century Man. Here is the preview for it:

…and to give you a taste of the voice that influenced David Bowie here are some YouTube songs I found. Never mind the imagery but this song chosen is one of my favourites, and please keep in mind along with one of the most unusual voices in the world he writes all the music, all the string arrangements, all vocal melody’s and lyrics, EVERYTHING!! Kind of like a 60/70’s Prince:

• Scott Walker – The Electrician
• And this is from his latest 2007 album (!Warning! very different): Scott Walker – Cossacks Are

Now we move forward to Bat For Lashes and Two Suns. This blows my mind every time I listen to it. There are few times I actually dance, and to add to that, dancing and singing at the same time… never!!! However, I find myself bouncing around the office singing the words Daniel which again is very foreign for me… but I keep telling myself… “it’s about Karate Kid, its cool man, its cool!” Now I eventually get to the last track on the album The Big Sleep: a very simple piano song. Its simplicity yet intensity gives me chills, and the effect she put on the piano gives the track a strong 20th century feel that makes me think Kate Bush meets Johann Sebastian Bach… and who’s that singing guest vocals on that last track… who???? Mr. SCOTT WALKER himself.

So the point of my little rant is, if Scott Walker is jamming with Natasha Khan she not only has her shit together, but she is making a bold statement by featuring a legend like him on her new album instead of some T-Pain-I’m-on-a-boat-flavour-of-the-month-Chris-Brown-Rianna-money-making-marketing-idea-for-the-headlines-and-all-the-mini-skirts-of-the-world. Rather, this statement speaks volumes for her respect for those who have come before, quality musicianship, her love for the underground and passion for original quality musicians, rare these days.

RESPECT NATASHA RESPECT!!

Combine the collect-ability of album artwork and postage stamps, and tadaaaa, we give you the ultimate Collector breakdown material. Granted, 34×32mm is a far cry from 12″ vinyl artwork, but the stamp versions are a whole lot cheaper (for the moment).

In 2010, Royal Mail will release the Classic Album Covers series as a follow-up to 2009’s British Design Classics. The final ten selected sleeves were picked from by the editors of three of the UK’s most influential music publications together with a number of graphic designers and design writers.

The series features sleeve artwork from 1960 onwards: Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell, Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood To The Head, Blur’s Parklife, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, The Clash’s London Calling, Led Zeppelin IV, New Order’s Power, Corruption, & Lies, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, and Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.

Check out Norvic Philatelics for more. They’ve even made a introduction for us muso’s who are brand new to stamp collecting. Bless their souls!

image courtesy of @KaraTM

What’s to do when you look out the window in the morning, only to see your town blanketed in blood red dust and the zombies have been let out to play? (maybe… we can’t see them, but that’s not saying much today)

Put your feet up, turn on our Dust Apocalypse playlist, and watch the storm roll in. It’s end of the world as we know it…

• REM – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (Karen, Bec, Lisa, Bryan M, Liesl, Pri)
• Siouxsie and the Banshees – Cities In Dust (Liz)
• Chemical Brothers – In Dust We Trust (Scotty)
• Muse – Apocalypse Please (Pri)
• Talking Heads – Road To Nowhere (Tara)
• Split Enz – I See Red (Nikki)
• Aphrodite’s Child – The Four Horsemen (Saunders)
• Rob Pattinson – Choking On The Dust (Asha)
• Gerling – Dust Me Selecta (Hawker, Mark H)
• Cloud Control – Death Cloud (Mark H)
• Alessi’s Ark – The Asteroids Collide (Liesl)
• Prince – 1999 (Poston)
• Craig Armstrong – Weather Storm (Mark F)
• Misfits – Dust To Dust (Emma)
• The Doors – The End (Dickie) / Riders On The Storm (Bryan M)
• Doves – Kingdom of Rust (Nikki)
• Slim Dusty – How Good It Is (Craig M)
• Dusty Springfield – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Bryan M, Nikki)
• Peter Gabriel – Red Rain (Paul)
• Darude – Sandstorm (Mark H)
• Queen – Another One Bites The Dust (Barnesy, Bec, Pri)
• Mazzy Star – Into Dust (Liesl, Nikki)
• David Bowie – Life On Mars (Kristy)
• Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills (Bec)
• Queens Of The Stone Age – Go With The Flow (Kara)

What have really discovered today, is that Oz EMI staff can really step up to the plate when song puns are involved…

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