Nostalgia...

I went back to my mum's house this weekend to collect the thousands of CDs she boxed away for me from my old room.
When I got them back to my place - the sense of nostalgia was over-whelming when I started to play some of them.
I felt like it was 6 years ago and I was 15/16 again.
Sitting there on my living room floor, smoking ciggie's and listening to the likes of Fenix* TX, Posion the FUCKING Well and New Found Glory was the only possible way to spend my bank holiday Monday.

I kind've want to go home, pick up my guitar, and play some hardcore music now. Ever since I got my "Poison The Well" albums back - I haven't been able to stop listening to them.
I can only really describe them as beautiful hardcore. The music is totally heavy but will suddenly back off into a corner and become nice and gentle.
Jeffrey Moreira's vocals change from fury to poetic at the drop of a hat.
Try try try try TRY get your hands on their major label debut: You Come Before You, it'll knock you for six! Apathy is a Cold Body is one of the strongest melodic-hardcore songs I have heard in years.

Speaking of melodic-hardcore bands, my number 1 album of the year is still from these guys...



Emanuel have released an album so accomplished, furious & raw this year - that no other (not even Cadence Weapon or MIA) can touch.
Black Earth Tiger has to be in everyone's record collection at the end of 2007.
You'll probably have to go search for this record good & hard though because anything "heavy" generally gets dismissed as being not real music by music snobs who like to think that they are actually open-minded.
Their first record was absolutely shite - but Black Earth Tiger is such an unbelievable follow-up, it's staggering to believe that the same band actually wrote it.
Get your hands on it pronto!


The best band in the WORLD is back early next year...


And boy are they going to fucking own!
Actually, and more importabtly, front-man Daryl Palumbo is back and he is going to tear it up once again!


Daryl Palumbo is a legend.
The best thing to come out of the music scene in New York as far as I am concerned.
Glassjaw are now recording as a 4-piece (which will be exciting news to us fans)...
Probably the most anticipated release for me in 2008 (I think they are still signed to Warner but can't be too sure)...
And if anyone was smart - they'd book these guys for some gigs RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

Daryl Palumbo is God.
Glassjaw are the best band to come out of the States in the past 10 years.
There would be no Long Island hardcore scene if it wasn't for these guys.
Pioneers and geniuses - this is the most important band around and thank fuck they are writing and recording a new album.

Glassjaw - Cosmopolitan Blood Loss...

2 weeks of madness...

Starts right here.
From this evening onto Saturday November 10th - I aim to be at all of these shows.
The list (as it stands)*** is as follows:

Wednesday October 24th - Arcade Fire in the Phoenix Park

Thursday October 25th - Dizzee Rascal in Tripod

Friday October 26th - José Gonzaléz in Kilmainham and then O'Death in Whelans afterwards

Saturday October 27th - Les Savy Fav in Crawdaddy

Sunday October 28th - Reverend and the Makers in Phoenix Park

Monday October 29th - Amiina in the Button Factory

Thursday November 1st - The National & St Vincent in the Olympia Theatre

Friday November 2nd - You Say Party! We Say Die! & Voxtrot in The Hub

Saturday November 3rd - Bloc Party & Foals in the Phoenix Park

Sunday November 4th - Animal Collective in Tripod

Monday November 5th - Deer Hunter in Whelans

Thursday November 8th - Devendra Banhart in The Village

Saturday November 10th - Little Dragon in the Sugar Club

Who else is hitting the above up?


***I'm sure more will be added in the coming days.

The Boooooosh!

The boys are back. The Mighty Boosh is coming back to BBC3 in November and it's going to own like a motherfucker once again!
Probably one of the funniest British comedies ever (in my humble opinion) - Julian Barratt & Noel Fielding are awesome.
Series 1 was set in the Zoo - run by Bob Fossil & Dixon Bainbridge.
Series 2 was set in Howard & Vince's flat in Shoreditch (although scenes were rarely filmed there).
And series 3 is going to be based in Naboo's shop.

Pictures and scenes coming out of the new series look hilarious.
Exclusive stuff I have had a glimpse of show Bob Fossil back in the mix - which is cool as he was sorely missed in series 2.

As the fans will be well aware, Matt Berry (who played Dixon Bainbridge in series 1) is coming in to do a show in Crawdaddy on November 22nd.
Berry is one of my favoutire comedians at the minute. He has featured in some of the great British comdies of the last few years;
The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Snuffbox (which he wrote and starred in - alongside Rich Fulcher, who played Bob Fossil among many other characters in the Mighty Boosh) & The IT Crowd.
Berry is a talented musician and wrote all of the music for Snuffbox - so his show on the 22nd is not to be missed!!!
Stand-up and music, what's not to like?!

I'm going to sign off on a present I was given for my 21st birthday at the end of last year.
A very BRILLIANT friend got the writers & stars of the Mighty Boosh to sign their boxset for me!!!!
If you can't make it out, it reads:

"Peter! I love you more each day. J x"

"Peter, Boosh Love. Noel X"

:)

F.L.O.R.I.A.

The Goddess that is Floria Sigismondi is back in action.
She is currently working on her first feature film. The awesome Sigismondi (love that name!) is both writing and directing this film, which is a coming of age story based on the '70s all girl rock n roll band, the Runaways.

Fans of her photography & music videos will be salivating just thinking about how unreal the cinematography will be in the movie. For art-direction, she is second to none.

Some of the most innovative music videos of the past few years have had the Sigismondi touch on them:

"Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson
"Broken Boy Soldier" - The Raconteurs
"Hurt" - Christina Aguilera
"Red Flag" - Billy Talent
"Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse
"O' Sailor" - Fiona Apple
"Blue Orchid" - The White Stripes
"The End of The World" - The Cure
"Talk Shows on Mute" - Incubus
"Megalomaniac" - Incubus
"Fighter" - Christina Aguilera
"Obstacle 1" - Interpol
"Untitled 1 (Vaka)" - Sigur Rós

Click here for Floria's incredible website.
You can also find a short film she wrote and directed called Postmortem Bliss here.

And as if it wasn't already obvious: I am going to sign off with my favourite video from the master herself.
Surprise-Surpise, it's...

Just a fan.

Let's all just pretend for a couple of minutes that I am not in love with Shannyn Sossamon.
Just put that thought to the back of your mind until you're finished reading this post.

I know I have only spoken about them but fuck!
The band she is in (Warpaint) are fucking brilliant.
There is only two songs up on the Myspace site right now (they have the best url address too!) - but I assure you that the others don't disappoint.
I suspect great things will come of them given their incredible talents.
A friend of mine saw a gig of theirs in the Summer in New York and said they were unreal live.

Check them out and see past the fact that Shannyn is in the band (there is three other members after all. Jesus)...
;)

I'll end the post with another picture of Shannyn.

Just.
Because...

Alone Amongst Friends...

The Wood For The Trees are set to release a brand new EP.
Those of you who are fans of this very small, independent electronic project will be already well aware of how good the music is.
Projects like this should be given full support as they're completely independent and free to be as artistic as possible.

4 free MP3s have been made available here for download.

Below is an animated promo directed by John Shearlock for the track "Alone Amongst Friends"...
The video is soooo good and is a terrific reflection to such a beautifully crafted song.
This was released about a year and a half ago and was a favourite of mine when it was featured heavily on MTV2's 120 Minutes.

Have a look-see...

There is a band I have been a fan of for years called El Ten Eleven.
I am shocked at the amount of people who have never heard of them. It's mental.

ETE are a 2-piece from LA who make the most immense instrumental music.
They were signed to a cool indie label in the States called Bar-None, but were never signed (or even licensed) to anyone outside of the US of A.
They have released 2 superb albums which will literally floor you when you hear them...because you must hear them!
Tim Fogarty plays the drums & electric drum machine.
Kristian Dunn plays a double-headed bass & guitar.
To say that this band is something extremely special would be an over-the-top understatment.
Both the lads are in another clever band called The Softlightes.
They are pretty similar to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or The Spinto Band.
Softlightes are signed to a world-wide deal with Modular Records/Universal (the first American band to be afforded such a feat). Unfortunately their contract states that The Softlightes is the priority so ETE don't get to tour outside of LA too much - which sucks!

Kristian Dunn is rather incredible. His podcasts were eclectic to say the least (I'll try find some old ones he has and post them up). His bass playing & guitar skills in ETE is fantastic. Once you hear this band - they'll instantly become one of your favourite & Dunn will be your new hero.

You can download various MP3s of ETE from their myspace or Kritian's myspace or even Kristian's own website but if you're a lazy arse then I'll link you to a couple directly:

The 49th Day by El Ten Eleven
Lorge by El Ten Eleven

Instead of staying in and washing your hair...

Lots and lots of gigs on the horizon here in Ireland.
Quite astounding how spoilt for choice we actually are.

I'm most looking forward to the best dressed band in music land at the RDS on December 2nd though.
Unfortunately, the incredible Blonde Redhead are only supporting on the UK dates so we wont get to see Kazu Makino strut her stuff around the stage.
There is an amusing aspect to the gig that night on the 2nd.
Interpol are obviously playing in the Main Hall at the RDS.
And right next door in Simmonscourt is Rihanna of all people.

I can't quite see an amalgamation of both sets of fans after both gigs have finished: The black-clad, psychotic pretentiousness of the Interpol ones mixed with the orange skin, platinum blonde, white-leather wearing Rihanna jokers.

Interpol have released one of the albums of the year.
I know a lot of people will disagree with me and use the same old miserable excuses (they're one trick ponies).
But fuck, if I had a pony who was able to pen songs like: The Specialist, 5, Direction, Mind Over Time & Obstacle 1 (to name but a few) - then I would be chuffed.

I recommend you go onto ebay, stand on a street corner looking for a tout or anything else which comes to mind in order to get your hands on a ticket for this show.

Inbetween song banter: Hell no.
A tight-as-fuck setlist: Most definitely.

The below video features one of Interpol's best songs. It's called Mind Over Time and was a bonus track on the Japanese version of "Our Love to Admire."

Le future is bright...

Every so often I will post about an act who turn out to be so fucking good, that they deserve a post to be solely written about them.
Without further ado, may I introduce to you: Le Loup

This band will instantly remind you of Sufjan Stevens (early Sufjan, way before the American college students tore the fucker apart). Their debut record is intricate, delicate and incredibly beautiful. The ambience of the keyboards (and possibly laptop if one is being used) compliment the soothing & melodic sound of the crispy banjo.

For an album like this to appear so late in the year (and a debut no less) is quite astounding.

You have the Seattle based label: Hardly Art to thank for bringing us this record.
For more information on this beautiful and exciting new record label, go to here

P.S. The following is an extract from a blog featured on the Hardly Art Myspace:

"Jonathan Poneman, founder of Sub Pop Records, has started a new Seattle-based label called Hardly Art. Building on the tradition of many other record labels, Hardly Art will indeed be focused on offering quality records for people to enjoy. Releases will be distributed nationally by both Sub Pop Records and ADA, and its offices will be based in the same building as Sub Pop. The label will be run by Sarah Moody, who previously worked in the publicity department at Sub Pop, and Nick Heliotis."


Le Loup is:

Sam Simkoff – Banjo, Keyboards, Vox
Christian Ervin – Computer, Guitar
Mike Ferguson – Guitar, Amp, Vox
Nicole Keenan – Keyboards, French Horn, Vox
Dan Ryan – Bass, Percussion, Vox
Robert Sahm – Drums, Percussion, Vox
May Tabol – Guitar, Vox
Jim Thomson – Guitar, Amp, Vox


"The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly" is out on November 16th.

Ten things I love about (it's actually only 7 though)...

What Team Shapes & Shadows are loving at the minute:

1) Rollie Pemberton AKA Cadence Weapon supporting The G! Unit in Tripod, Wednesday November 21st. This dude (and Saul Williams of course) are the only sparks in the ever declining Hip Hop scene.

Rollie's Music!


2) Shannyn Sossamon is fucking hot. We all know this. She is the girl I would leave my family for. The multi-talented Sossamon is in a band in which she sings and plays drums called Warpaint! Someone set up a record label with me so we can sign them and I can meet her!

Shannyn's fit!


3) Mongrel Magazine will always be my favourite magazine (probably because I have no idea how those messers produce absolute gold every month). Best ever cynical album reviews included.

Jokers.


4) Wayne Rooney. Nemanja Vidic. Christiano Ronaldo. Rio Ferdinand. Gary Neville. Paul Scholes. John O'Shea. Van Der Sar. Owen Hargreaves. Nani. Ryan Giggs. Anderson. Louis Saha. Michael Carrick. Patrice Evra. Wes Brown. Ben Foster. Ji-sung Park. Gerard Pique.

Liverpool are cunts.


5) Blood Red Shoes debut album is a stomper. Not out until next year - I can assure you, it doesn't disappoint. Jack & Meg White in reverse: Steven Ansell (vocals and drums) and Laura-Mary Carter (vocals and guitar). They make dirty, loud guitar music. Get on it already.

Noisey Noize!!


6) What would you do if I told you there was a modern day "At The Drive-In" doing the rounds at the minute? Meet Kristian Stockhaus, Øyvind Solheim & Frode Kvinge Flatland: otherwise known as Ungdomskulen. This band rock so fucking hard. Crazy and loud, just the way we like it.

At The Drive-In for 2007!!!


7) Be Kind Rewind is the new movie by everyone's favourite headcase Michel Gondry. The plot is basically incredible: Jerry (Jack Black) is a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant that he believes is melting his brain. But when his plan goes awry, the magnetic field that he creates accidentally erases all of the videotapes in a local video store where his best friend Mike (Mos Def) works. Fearing that the mishap will cost Mike his job, the two friends team up to keep the store's only loyal customer, a little old lady with a tenuous grasp on reality ­(Mia Farrow) from realizing what has happened by recreating and re-filming every movie that she decides to rent. From Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Driving Miss Daisy, RoboCop, Rush Hour 2, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Boyz n the Hood, and The Lion King. Jerry and Mike become the biggest stars in their neighborhood by starring in the biggest movies ever made.

A movie for the Jilted Generation.

Cheer it on!

Tokyo Police Club should be bigger than what they already are.
Okay, so they have only released one EP so far (a damn fine EP too called A Lesson In Crime) - but still!
If there was any justice in the world (or Ireland) then TPC would be headlining Croker, instead of aging assholes like Sting and his buddies.
Okay, slight exaggeration there, TPC would be awful in Croker.
Anyone who was lucky enough to see them in The Hub on Friday July 6th (it was a great way to spend the night before Oxegen) would back me up by saying that the gig was one of the best the dingy Hub has ever seen.
Take away the fact that there were some dodgy chics who were pissed and falling over the bands equipment, then the night would have been perfect.
Their debut album is out in early 2008 (late January/early February) and hopefully it will the see the Toronto natives be name-checked as one of the bands for the future.
I already have monies down on them for winning the Polaris next year and I haven't even heard the record.
Nothing I can say on this post will do them justice - so just head off to their myspace and listen for yourself:
When you're standing in TOKYO POLICE CLUB!!!
If you're into studio sessions then check out these four songs (available for DL too) recorded for the Day Trotter Sessions. Super front-man Dave gives a brief description of each track too.
Free MP3s!!!