October '13 Video Box

1. Anna Calvi - Sing to me



2. Summer Camp - Two chords



3. Yeasayer - Glass of the microscope



4. CSS - Into the sun



Pick of the month:

Arctic Monkeys - One for the road

September '13 Music Box

1. Sleigh Bells - You don't get me twice



2. M.I.A. - Come walk with me



3. Holm. - Day 337 useless options.



4. Holm. - Day 355 it moves.



5. Holm. - Day 356 quit.



6. Anna Calvi - Sing to me



Pick of the month:

Anna Calvi - Suddenly

August '13 Video Box

1. MGMT - Your Life is a Lie



2. Maven Fiction - Wishbone Break Up



3. These New Puritans - Organ Eternal



4. Franco and the Dreadnought - Moving Mountains



5. Anna Calvi - Eliza



6. Haim - The Wire



7. Mutya Keisha Siobhan - Flatline



PickS! of the month:

8. Zola Jesus - Fall Back



9. Lady Gaga - Applause

August '13 Music Box

1. Anna Calvi - Eliza



2. Frankie Rose - Sorrow



3. Arctic Monkeys - Stop the world I wanna get off with you



4. Tree - Karma Police (Radiohead cover)



5. Shelf Nunny -  I was (Albert Softmann)





Pick of the month:

6. Kings of Leon - Wait For Me

HMV Next Big Thing

THE BEST
NEW BANDS
NINE UK VENUES
THREE BANDS A NIGHT
2-12 FEBRUARY 2012
TEN POUNDS A GIG

February 7th, 2012

  

On The Garage's special menu we had fiN., Dog Is Dead and King Charles. The first two we had no idea about until that evening. All I could say that it was a successful night of discovering great music and cherishing the one already discovered. Keep in mind that last year's festival had acts such as Anna Calvi and James Blake, and look where they are now.

fiN.

Southwest Londoners with an ungoogleable name, which makes Finnish people smirk. That mixed with indie rock, you'll get a music enthusiast going nuts when trying to search for some good tunes. 

I thought the stage was too small for them, as the members moved around like crazy... Eventually causing a guitar to break.

Dog Is Dead

Don't let Nottingham-based quintet's name fool you, since they do also have cheerful songs, which will make the audience jump and sing as a choir. Most notably, the band has appeared on Skins and supported Bombay Bicycle Club. The best part, though,  is that one of our bands Athletes In Paris will be supporting them in Newcastle February 27th! That's a great match that one.

King Charles

Last but not least, the King himself! The Londoner with the big hair, moustache and who is much shorter in real life for my surprise, is what someone from the audience called 'hot, steamy, sexy'. Pure love!

Long live King Charles!

Top 11 Videos of 2011

Last week I presented you my Top 11 Songs of 2011, here's now my top videos;

11. Tellison - Edith
If you don't pay attention, you'll be surprised of the 'twist' in the end like I was. Somehow I can picture the ending to be my sister's future.



10. Radiohead - Lotus Flower
There's an anti-Radiohead rule at our office, which made me almost forget this mesmerizing video. Anyone who knows our dear Finnish friend Janne, would think that he would dance like that if he was on drugs. Janne's response to that comment was; 'I don't need drugs to do that'.



9. Crystal Fighters - Champion Sound
Of course I have to have the video, in which I am myself! The band just posted today on Facebook and Twitter that it has already over 200 000 views! And I'm the second last person to be seen in it. ;)
(Read here about the video shooting experience, here my feature on the band and here my gig review from last May)



8. Austra - Lose It
My face screams without any motion. Raise your hand if you've ever felt like that before. This is what my friend had to say about the video; 'It's just way too weird for me to watch it now'.
(Read here my gig review from last September)



7. The National - Conversation 16
Seems that I've forgotten the definitions of all sorts of terms. How would you describe this video? Satire? Anyways, great great great acting!
(Read here my gig review from last February)



6. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Here you have an example of why you should have your top music of a year done after the year has ended. Arcade Fire released this video in mid-December, and they've done it again. With the interactivity in their videos I mean. In 2010 they released a video, which requires Google Chrome to work, click here to see the brilliance of it and dive into your childhood. This time the interactive video requires a web cam and some hand muscles, click here for that.

Those who prefer traditional music videos, see below and be amazed of Régine's and others' dancing.



5. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp
This video is just way too funny and accurate. Don't tell me that you've never had any of those thoughts during a gig. And I love the cheeky marketing.



4. Bon Iver - Holocene
Who doesn't love a video, which wants you to travel to the place in which it was filmed? In this case it's Iceland.
(Read here my video review and here my album review)



3. Summer Camp - Down
Such a loony video. Top points to the girl with the Usher's 'Yeah' move in 1:50!



2. Friends - I'm His Girl
You'd have to be sitting next to me, so I could explain every single amazing detail of this video.
(Read here my feature on the band)



And after so many amazing moving images, ladies and gentlemen I present you my favorite video of 2011 and probably of all time.. Does this actually come as a surprise to anyone anymore?

ANNA CALVI - SUZANNE AND I

Like I described the song, I'm going to describe the video; Bju-ti-ful.
(Read here my review of the video and here my gig review from last April)



What were your favorite videos of 2011?

Top 11 Songs of 2011

Many music sites and bloggers list their top whatever of the year usually during December. But what if something good shows up during the last days of the year? That's why I'm posting my own lists this month, because in a matter of fact December did hit me up with a special treat, but more of that next week.

Now I present you my top 11 songs of 2011:

11. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Touch The Sky
This is the feel good factor song. Well no wonder, since they keep on singing 'I feel good, You feel good'.
(Read here my gig review from last November)



10. Zola Jesus - In Your Nature
One of my 2011 music crushes. Here's my favorite song of her latest album 'Conatus'.



9. Crystal Fighters - Plage
When I worked at a CD factory this song was on the radio every single day..Just to make my work days merrier.
(Read here my feature on them and here my gig review from last May)



8. Austra - Beat And The Pulse
I just simply love the dark and wonderfully numbing beats of this song.
(Read here my gig review from last September)



7. The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness
Isn't it great to have them back after five years? And their comeback song doesn't suck, which is something you're usually afraid of.



6. Wild Beasts - Reach A Bit Further
Their latest album 'Smother' isn't the easiest to listen to, even this song's beauty I've started to understand only after hearing it live. But you can't deny the fact that it has brilliant lyrics and killer vocals from both Hayden and Tom as always. Best duet so far.



5. Explosions In The Sky - Postcard From 1952
2011 was the year when I got to know the band, fall in love with them and have their latest album 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' playing many days at the office, many times. Here's my favorite song (or instrumental as we learned at law class) of the album from my 'dose of happy melancholia'.
(Read here my gig review from last May)



4. The Kills - Future Starts Slow
You can blow what's left of my right mind. Just hearing the first seconds of the opening track of their 'Blood Pressures' album did just that and already I was sure that the rest of the album is great.
(Read here my gig review from last March)



3. Bon Iver - Calgary
In my opinion the most anticipated song/album of the year. When hearing that Bon Iver's style would change a bit with the new songs, I was worried. Though in vain.
(Read here my Bon Iver, Bon Iver album review)



2. Friends - I'm His Girl
All I can say that this song gives hope to the music scene (and relationships).
(Read here my feature on the band)



And after listening to many kick ass songs, ladies and gentlemen I present you my number 1 song of 2011:

Anna Calvi - Suzanne And I
I have one word to describe this masterpiece; BJU-TI-FUL.
(Read here my review of the video and here my gig review from last April)



What were your top songs of 2011?

[ME]

Last blog post of 2011 folks! And no, it's not going to be about myself. I realize that the title is very distracting, but it's a band's name. The name is quite bad yes, however let that be the only negative fact to be said of this London-based, originally from Melbourne act! Okey, that's pretty much what I know of them, so a missing bio will be the last minus said! I can assure that, by proudly declaring [ME] being the first support act, whose performance I didn't see, but ended up being on my 'new favorite bands' list.

You can read the story from my Evanescence gig post, but shortly we got to the gig a bit late and just saw 30 seconds of [ME]'s performance. Luckily someone was there handing out flyers of the band, which I found a month later under a pile of clothes when I was cleaning up my room. Poor flyer was thrown away after doing its job well, as I did check the band's sites and gave the songs a listen.



And hooray! Proper rock is back with style!

The music is like Panic! At The Disco and Muse having a lovechild and somehow Billy Talent's singer getting in between.



Speaking of which, the band will be supporting Panic! At The Disco in their winter UK tour (previously they've supported Evanescence and Kasabian). I was kind of 50/50 whether I'd go see Panic!., but having a support act like that, I'm definitely going. I'll also try to go to the HMV Next Big Thing (last year's acts were for example James Blake and Anna Calvi).

If you aren't convinced yet, then I need to mention of the label they're on; Lizard King Records. This record label has previously had e.g. Santigold signed to, and the owner has before been the co-owner of the label, which signed and launched the career of The Killers. Quality? Yes!



And why so many '!', because I'm in a hurry to go celebrate the last day of the year!  
Have an awesome 2012! and let it be full of great music as 2011 was.

Ps. you can like my blog's Facebook page here, and also give ideas of what my 100th blog post could be about either there or here! Thanks! X

Friends

During your teens you start to really develop your music taste of what it was when you were a kid. For example I really liked Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. When I was 14 that changed to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Muse.

I'd say the critical turning point was the start of the Interpol phase. Because of that I was able to listen to 'difficult music', and dive deeper into the alternative scene.

About six years later I find myself being really into electro rock/pop, and people say that at some point you almost stop being into new music and stick to the old favorites. I don't know when that will happen, but I can say that nowadays there's so many new acts around that it's hard to keep up, and sometimes you get tired of anything new.

Part of my job is to be checking out over a hundred of music blogs and through that I've heard new music. The main reason, why I've checked out acts such as Zola Jesus (pure love), Lana del Rey and Neon Indian, is the massive hype. Of course I have to know what the fuss is all about.

A month ago an exception happened. I came across with a feature of this band called Friends. First of all I wasn't sure if it even was a band's name or something else. But what really grabbed my attention was the picture in it:

My first thoughts were; what is this overly retro thing going on..they look disturbingly odd in this, but still in a good way, wonder what kind of music they play..the girl on the right looks like a young Vanessa Williams..

It was written that Friends are the hottest band coming from Brooklyn at the moment, and that they might be the future of alternative music. Wow. It takes a lot to state something like that, considering how today's music is just a mimic of something else. Still I wasn't quite yet convinced to listen to a song of theirs.

Until I saw the the still image of their video I'm His Girl. In my opinion it's as interesting as their group photo. I'd actually want to know if that image was chosen by the band or YouTube. You might think what the hell am I talking about, but the colors and how some of the band members are placed in it was enough for me to have a look. Will you too? ->



You know that moment, when the first 30 seconds of the song tells you that you've perhaps found your new music crush? This was it. I've been waiting for so many years to hear something fresh and a band that could be added to the list of  'acts that played a big role in my music taste evolution'. I actually thought that there wasn't any hope for that anymore, but I guess I have to have an Obama face on now.

And I know I'm not the only one who says that the base line is sick and that the video is just way too cool. You'd have to be sitting next to me, so I could explain every single cool part of it. Anyone willing for that, let me know.

The rest of the day passed by with having the song and video on repeat. Earlier this autumn I stated that Anna Calvi's Suzanne and I is the best video I've seen. I almost took my words back, but then I realized that it isn't fair to compare these two videos, since they're way too different from each other.

Q: So are Friends Brooklyn's hottest band at the moment?
A: No. They're hipster world's hottest band (which will probably change soon into just world's hottest band, since Friends are too hyped for hipsters now).

Q: Are Friends the future of alternative music?
A: I'd rather say they're the alternative for the alternative. Cheers to that.

Q: Can you say screw Dr. Phil, because I'm His Girl's lyrics can be used as a foundation for any healthy relationship?
A: Yes.

Friends Official

Friends' second London, UK gig. (Click the link to get yourself a ticket, the first one sold out already, so be quick. Like me, leaving work early to get to the box office, since I still don't have a credit card).

Proud Camden Look Right Look Left

14.9.2011

After work we headed with our Indian take away to Linda's place. FINALLY FINALLY! I mean the Indian, not Linda's place. Eventhough she lives in a really cool place just 1min away from Thames with 3 bankers and their prostitutes..

When my mouth was burned enough, we met up with our collegues in Camden for a showcase. First time in Camden for me, which is a perfect bohemian drug cave with lekker (dutch for delicious) street food, which isn't recommended to eat. Pff like we'd listen to that.

Anyways here's how Musicweek.com describes the event:

"Breakout's monthly showcase for new and breaking acts staged by Music Week in conjunction with All Night Long Promotions, throws a spotlight on newly-signed acts - those creating a buzz in A&R circles. Breakout gives the music industry and the public a first glance of up-and-coming talent.

   

singer looks like runkle from californication

katy perry #2

The most interesting act of the evening was definitely Alex Winston. The only act who made me jump. She works with the same producer who's worked with Jessie J and Mumford&Sons. Actually her live performance was a bit Mumfordish music wise. And the drummer's gum-chewing  reminded us of Finnish ice-hockey players.

Funniest thing was that when Linda tried to take photos, there was always this photographer in front of her. And when she asked me to swap places, the guy just jumped in front of her again, and sticked his butt so much back to keep Linda further away. Lol.

Remember the post of Anna Calvi's latest video, and how I wanted to write about it straight after work, but never had the chance until next day after work? Well Jolien, sorry to disappoint you, I just wasn't able to get home anymore that time, so I had to stay over at Linda's place. Nothing more exciting than that :P

Linda was crazy though when we had to run across the street to catch our bus, and she didn't event look if cars were coming. I just had to yell from behind "Look right, look left!"- I guess I'm getting used to already how the cars go here. Not.



pictures by l.lundberg

Austra @ Scala, London

6.9.2011

I'm a fan of Domino Records. I've seen only a couple of artists of theirs though (The Kills, Anna Calvi). Last spring whenever I checked their website, I saw the name 'Austra'. Also YouTube kept on recommending me to see their videos. So I watched 'Lose It', which is a fine tune and the video is crazy.



'My face screams without an emotion' - brilliant. Now who hasn't felt that way sometimes?

I had listened to some more songs, but still it was only about liking them. So, I wasn't sure whether I should have gone to the gig or not.

I knew that I would have regret not going. And also last year I missed Mumford&Sons in Holland, because I didn't have the courage to go to Amsterdam right on the first week. But hey at least this gig was still in the same city.

Luckily there were still tickets left at the door, when I got to Scala straight after work. And what a coincidence to meet Finnish people waiting in front of the doors as well. Even bigger coincidence for them to live in the same area as I.

I went to stand as front as I could, and when the cool warm up band 'Kool Thing' started to play, this guy in front of me asked if I was ok and if I wanted to get on first row. I told him yes, I'm a bit too short for this. He agreed with me.

I wonder how many people like to play with the words cool and kool, when talking about the band. And how many get annoyed of having Sonic Youth's song 'Kool Thing' pop up first and more often than the band in Google. Anyways, this duo consists of an Irish and Australian, who formed the band in Paris and live now in Berlin. Kool. Apparently they also like Finnish people. Kool. They play kool music. Kool.

this was the best pic i got of them. kool. sorry.

 When Austra started to play I didn't even realize it, since the singer got on stage first and other members got on one by one, when it usually is the opposite. And now what could I say about it? It was great, but great is not enough of a good word to describe how good it actually was. The band as a whole is just something unique, and it gives a good feeling when watching them.

always wondered how a gig panorama pic would look like

And to the actual music! The base melodies were so catchy and made you dance, though the weird thing is that I never concentrated on them that much when listening to the album. Same thing with the drums! And the singing, the piano, everything! The album sounds even better now.

It was really nice to be able to get pictures afterwards with great musicians.

you might recognize this duo from the red picture

I was about to catch the tube and go home sleep, but surprisingly the Finns convinced me to go to the official after party. Never been to one of those, so it was interesting to see. And take the taxi for the first and second time in London (now how useful was it to bump into Finns living in the same area).

Well, it was the best last minute decision that I've ever made to finally go to the gig. I had a great time.



There was only one video on YouTube of the gig, and it was too short. So I decided to put one from their older gigs. This is also a great tune, and actually the only time the English crowd went a bit crazy (really disappointed how conservative they were).

Suzanne and I

Yesterday at work I noticed that Anna Calvi's new video was available. I was anxious to get home and write about it, but I never got home until now. More of that at some point.

Anyways, I've told at least a couple of times that 'Suzanne and I' is my favorite song of her debut album. From the first time I heard it until the time I didn't see the video, I never had any kind of image for a video of the song. (Which is very weird, because usually when I listen to music I start to think of what kind of video I would do for the song.)

And now after seeing it, I have that image stuck in my head.

I've been waiting for a while now to see a really great video from Anna Calvi. And not only was the director Romain Chassaing able to deliver that, but also I think that it is one of the best music videos I've ever seen.

The choreography by Lionel Hoche and the dancers tell the story beautifully, and the slow motion bits give it the extra dramatic cut. A classmate of mine in Holland said very often 'it's love' when she talked about something that she really liked. This could be 'über love' then.

I've probably said enough of one video already, though I could go on and on. But simply; a dramatic video for a dramatic song, Bju-ti-ful. I should just go Suzanne and Aijaijai and let you watch it.



Ps. I also love her hair in this.

Personal Treatment

It should be kind of obvious to most of you that listening to music and discovering the new and old is something that I can't live without. Friends come and go, family far away, but music it stays.

It's my personal treatment, the non-irritant Dr. Phil. And it's about time to share more audio/visual treats for you all.

Let's start with a few of my favorite artists, who have released something new in August.

I've mentioned already many times how I adore Anna Calvi and the way she plays the guitar. Well in 'Baby It's You', B-side single to 'Suzanne and I' (my favorite song of her debut album), her talented playing just pierces straight to my brain.

Baby It's You by Anna Calvi

Florence + The Machine. pff. I can *pff* either in good or bad. And pff my oh my. I've been waiting for a long time now for her to release new music, and what happens is that I don't even listen to the song 'What The Water Gave Me', because I concentrate too much on the video. The video isn't that special, just footage in the studio and some bits of her outside. But the way it was filmed, showing all the emotions Florence is able to transmit from the song in front of the camera. The song has a dark start, but after halfway through the song starts to build up into something I would listen to preparing for a sports match or whatever challenge.

And yes now I have the song often on repeat, it grew on me, or actually it still grows. I also really hope to see her before I leave London.



Of course I'm going to leave the most melancholic song for the end. But this time it's the video, which I ask you to pay close attention too. It bursts of 'happy melancholia'. It screams 'freedom'.

I give you the second single 'Holocene' from Bon Iver's second album.



Now who wants to go to Iceland with me?