Joanna does Beyoncé (quite brilliantly)

I'm not going to say anything. Just watch this - the description says it is what 'SHOULD have happened'. Indeed.

Album leaks and the right listening conditions

I had a lovely experience today. I've mentioned the new Final Fantasy - or well, Owen Pallett (the FF moniker has died) - album 'Heartland' multiple times even though I had never had the chance to listen to it. I've known just about every single song on it in one version or another though and it has made my anticipation for the real record huge. During the last few weeks I've been telling myself multiple times 'GOSH, I CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER. LEAK FOR GOODNESS' SAKE!'. It's weird, because I don't really like the idea of albums leaking on the internet early and being downloaded illegally all over the world. But I'd just become so impatient - and today, quite unexpectedly, the leak actually happened. And since I have waited for this record for so long and been wanting it, I couldn't help myself. I had to listen to it. I've already paid for my vinyl pre-order and the faster shipping. That's how excited I've been for this album.
Therefore I decided that I also wanted to listen to it for the first time under the perfect conditions. And luckily the conditions seemed quite right - the Christmas holiday began today, outside my window a snow storm was raging beautifully, covering the neighborhood with a layer of white. Suddenly the otherwise boring view from my windowsill had turned into the perfect place for enjoying the winter wonderland unfolding itself outside. I turned the lights off and decided to sit on my bed, underneath my duvet for the niceness and warmth. Then I found my big, dearly beloved Sennheiser headphones and lit three candles. At last I pressed 'play'. It was like going on a mindblowing adventure, from beginning to end - strangely it felt right for the first three tracks to sit on my bed, then on my piano bench right in front of the window for the next four, then on the floor for the eighth (while staring out the window from the little spot underneath the electric piano) and then leaning against my bed while staring into the ceiling for the last tracks. Listening to this album for the first time was like a journey through wild, amazing stories and landscapes. It made me think of dragons, witches and the fantasy books I used to love when I was younger, making for a fascination like few I have felt when listening to an album for the first time. The atmosphere is always important when you listen to music - and listening to the chaos of 'The Great Elsewhere' while staring at three candles of which the two had fluttered, waving flames and the third had a stagnant, calm one somehow just feels more fitting and enchanting than anything. Also, I don't think there's anything more perfect to look at while listening to songs like 'Oh Heartland, Up Yours!' and 'Lewis Takes Off His Shirt' than tiny, white snowflakes being thrown around.
I wrote about winter albums a few days ago and if I had heard 'Heartland' back then it would definitely be a contender. To me it is a masterpiece of a record, a beast of beauty filled with unexpected elements and flaws that make it something truly special. I am definitely not disappointed... I cannot wait for my vinyl now.

My winter albums

The winter has really arrived in Denmark now. It's minus degrees outside, there's beautiful white snow on the ground (which is a bit of a miracle at this time of year, actually) and only few days left before everyone gets to tear up presents from family members and friends. I'm the kind of person who always gets depressed, tired and annoyed during the winter - but there are a few things that are able to keep the winter depression at a considerable distance. One of these this is snow - often it's the constant darkness of the winter that saddens me. But when there's a lovely layer of white on everything, it somehow makes the little amount of light much lighter, so while the temperature may drop, my mood usually rises.
Another important factor when it comes to keeping the winter depression away is the music I listen to. Over these last few years I've found out what music suits the short days and the long nights the best.

Arcade Fire - 'Funeral'

My slight Arcade Fire obsession actually started at about the same time as the one where I began writing this blog. But since doing a write-up on them in January, things have happened and throughout the winter in the beginning of 2009, 'Funeral' was my soundtrack most of the time. There's such a warmth in Arcade Fire's music, especially on this album, and it aptly features lyrics surrounding winter themes. I mean, there probably isn't any time more appropriate for listening to 'Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)''s lyrics about digging a tunnel through the snow get through a loved one's window than on a cold morning with snow covering your own neighborhood. I've already re-discovered this album today and it just never gets old. It could possibly be my winter album this year as well, just because it is so damn fantastic.


Regina Spektor - 'Begin To Hope'

I discovered Regina's music back in December 2006. I remember it quite clearly because back then it was like some kind of musical revelation for me - and because I remember buying this album, which quite amazingly had found its way to my local record shop, in exchange of an unwanted Christmas gift. It's been quite a while since I listened to this album because with the musical standards I've set for what I want to listen to, this somehow isn't as great now as I though it was back then. And, well, because I've realised that all Regina's previous albums were much better. but when I went for a walk in the snow today I gave it a new chance because of the way it seemed fitting with the weather. And as the sounds of 'Après Moi', my favourite track from the album back in the day, found its way into my hidden-underneath-a-woolen-hat ears, it took me back to those previous winter days three years ago. They were good, and you know, Regina's good people.

Fleet Foxes - 'Fleet Foxes'

I have yet to decide what my winter album of 2009/2010 is but I have a feeling this might be at least one of them. I didn't really get into Fleet Foxes last year like everyone else - I got into The Dodos instead - and boy, was that a mistake. Because this folksy group's debut album is certainly very, very lovely. It features winter themes in some places as well, but while 'Funeral' is fitting for the snowy days, 'Fleet Foxes' has been my soundtrack during the cold, rainy days we experience oh-so-often here in Denmark.

The Hidden Cameras - 'Origion:Orphan'

Another contender, though I haven't listened to it enough yet. This album doesn't sound particularly winter-like or anything but I got my hands on it last week and it has stayed with me as one of those 'interesting, need to listen more to that' experiences. The reason why I mention this one is that I've been trying to get into The Hidden Cameras for a while and this might be the record that does the trick. It feels like one of those weird albums where you feel you just need to listen to it a bit more and then it might eventually become a new favourite. I'm intrigued and I'll probably discover it through the winter, so we'll see.

Track of the day #9

I'm feeling old today. But I'm also feeling quite young and childish. Let me tell you why; today I've been listening to lots of contemporary classical music, ambient and post-rock while I've also been reading Moomin stories. A while ago I borrowed 'The Big Moomin Book' from the library and once in a while it's really nice to just sit down, read and enjoy the philosophical, naïve and characteristic universe these stories and characters represent. I've realised what I want to do when I get old. I want to live in a Moomin house. A big, blue house with lots of floors and things to explore, right in the middle of some beautiful forest. Also, I want to write children's books, fantasize about the small and the big things in life and listen to lots of calm, quiet and haunting music in the late hours. I want to listen to Nico Muhly and this track which I have had on repeat for a while today.

An analogue romance

For my birthday this year I received a gramophone and though I was immensely excited about it when I got it, I didn't have any speakers to connect it to, meaning that it has been standing on a shelf for months without being used. Yet, today, I finally got it working! the speakers I'm using are a not-that-fantastic-but-okay pair of iPod speakers. This means I finally got to listen the vinyl records I have had lying around for a while. My collection includes a couple of free 7"s (from my time as an NME reader), a couple I bought in a secondhand shop yesterday (one features Beethoven's 8th symphony in F major - and both sound really scratchy - my mom reckons they're from the '40s) and an old, old copy of The Beatles' Revolver (inherited from my grandmom - and for some reason tucked in the sleeve for Sgt. Pepper). The best experience I had with the gramophone today, though, was when I decided to give the Benoît Pioulard 7" vinyl I got as part of a bundle earlier this year a listen. I haven't had a chance to listen to it before - and as it turns out, both tracks are really, really nice. I can't share them with you since I don't think they're online anywhere (but you can buy the vinyl here: http://www.pioulard.com/lee.htm), but both tracks are truly worth it. Both songs may be covers ('Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat', originally by Ink Spots and 'Sundown, Sundown' originally by Lee Hazlewood) without me having known the originals, so I'm not going to compare. But they just sound so fitting, so calming - like most of Benoît Pioulard's stuff does. Both songs are perfect soundtracks for staring at the turntable while that little, black record turns round and round and round. So romantic.

Track of the day #8

There's a trend in music nowadays. I'm talking about the one where an artist is releasing a new album soon and as promotion gives away a free track to promote it. The latest in the row to do so is Sigur Rós' singer Jónsi, who's giving away the track 'Boy Lilikoi' from his upcoming solo album 'Go'. Today that song has been my soundtrack - December is here, Christmas is near. And I think that's what this song sounds like. Pretty white snow falling, Christmas lights shining bright in the night and happiness trying to be achieved though it's cold and dark outside. I'll have to face it; there's no way I can avoid the winter - so I might as well try to enjoy it. And it's songs like this that help me do so.

A special gig

I'm a bit late with this, I know, but sometimes the time for writing just isn't there. But I have to write about it - I really do. Last Wednesday my family and I went to Hamburg to the gig of my parents' dreams - and yes, that would indeed be Paul McCartney. I was as excited as I mostly am before any gig but it wasn't until the day after the actual gig I really realised how special it was. It wasn't the way I prefer gigs - I think the venue held about 17.000 people, I felt like I was the youngest person there and it wasn't a gig where I was guarantied to know all the songs played. Also the atmosphere was quite strange before the gig as it was announced to begin at 8PM but didn't start before 9:15PM. There was booing and jokes about why the gig hadn't started yet and judging by all the stories I had heard about how the atmosphere at a gig like this was supposed to be fantastic I was getting a bit worried. Yet, when the stylish old man and his slightly younger band finally entered the stage, many of my worries were blown away. It was a show - a two and a half hour long show - and it was majestic and big. It lived up to my expectations - but not in a bad way. The visual part of the show worked really well - the stage had a new theme for each track and though some worked better than others I overall really enjoyed them and found them quite fitting. Especially the shock of the fireworks during 'Live And Let Die' - I'm quite scared of fireworks and though it sounded like a bomb exploded somewhere each time a new blast began after the 'so live and let dieee...' part I just couldn't help but laugh and enjoy it. It was loud and majestic and slightly ridiculous - but in the best possible way. I mostly don't like singalongs either - but you know, these are the Beatles tunes. Everybody knows the lyrics (though many of them I've only learned recently) and I'd like to meet the person who could contain him/herself during these songs at the closest you can get to a Beatles gig nowadays. So I grabbed my parents and sang along as you're supposed to. It's all love, you know. It's okay to show how much you love the music sometimes. It was slightly surreal though - also since I've never really been to this type of gig before - and I've only recently realised that I've seen one of the two remaining Beatles live. That's big. That night was special - simply because of the person playing - and I'm really, really happy to have been there. Because it was a truly fantastic gig. Macca is a charmer and though lots of the show was probably planned in detail, it never seemed fake or awkward. It was just plain entertaining, musical and lovely. Also, that night I realised what my favourite Beatles tune is. Blackbird. So simple, yet so amazingly beautiful.

December 1

When I was little I used to get a little present every day during the 24 days of Christmas. I don't do that any longer and I kind of miss it - I was excited to wake up every single day and find out what my parents (or 'the house elf') had given me on this particular day. Quite unexpectedly today turned out to be a bit like the childhood ones. In the mail today I found a package from my favourite Danish music magazine Soundvenue and I expected it to be a bill or something since I haven't been asked to pay for the next three months as a subscriber yet. But when I opened the package it turned out to be a CD I'd won in a competition on their website. Quite a lovely little surprise since I had no idea I had won it.


The other 'gift' came from my favourite orchestral experimentalist (as Pitchfork has labelled him now) Owen Pallett aka Final Fantasy. The album version of 'Lewis Takes Action' was released today as a free download and it sounds really brilliant. I didn't think it was possible for me to become more excited for 'Heartland' yet somehow I am now. Above is a live performance of another new album track from a Tunnelvision session released on Pitchfork recently. Now I just need to decide whether I want the album on CD or vinyl.

The consequences of an exellent party

I went to bed at 5AM last night and I'm quite sure that's the latest I've ever stayed up. I went to a quite epic party to celebrate one of my good friends' 18th birthday and though they were only about 12-14 people and it was at a private little house it was still fantastic. But you know, these people were good people - and the music played last night was mostly fabulous. Not many people my age have more than decent taste in music and at parties I often find myself hating the party just because Akon or David Guetta is playaed for the 10th time in one night. Yesterday's party wasn't just good because of the wine and the people but also because of the music. I guess you can't avoid hearing the same song more than once at a party - but yesterday the repeated songs we'rent bad. I heard an awful lot of La Roux last night and though it got a bit too much for me at one point, I'm not complaining. As far as electropop goes nowadays the British duo is one of the better ones.

This, a song of theirs I hadn't heard before, was the highlight for me. The pounding rhythm and the distinctive voice of Eleanor Jackson make up a strong, fantastic pop tune that actually makes you want to listen to the song at a party and dance about manically.

I made two new musical discoveries last night as well. A met a very cool guy who told me stories about lamp posts, flowers and watching Nick Cave at Roskilde Festival and he told me about a band called Focus and a track of theirs called 'Hocus Pocus'. This isn't really my kind of music - though I bet my dad would love it - yet this is extremely cool, entertaining and worth sharing. I'm not going to spoil the fun, so just watch it and let it speak for itself.

The other discovery happened when it was getting late, the people were getting fewer and the atmosphere had become more relaxed and laid-back. Somehow a record by Hauschka, a German piano-project, found its way to the speakers. I don't know what the record was called or which songs we heard from it, but I remembered the name. When I searched on YouTube this came up:

Pure musical beauty and definitely the kind of music I'll feel like listening to during the dark, rainy days we're getting so many of these days. I have yet to find out more about this new acquaintance but so far I'm fascinated and interested.

NSFW

Recently I've learned a new internet term known as 'NSFW'. It might always have existed, somehow I just haven't come across it before. It's short for 'not suitable for work', meaning, you know, that you shouldn't watch/read this content from a computer at work unless you want raised eyebrows and the like from your colleagues. Lately quite a lot of bands have released NSFW videos (Flaming Lips + Girls) - this is my favourite, though:

It's kind of insane and ridiculous, yet suits the song perfectly and provides some quite breathtaking images.

Stars

In this world of YouTube, MySpace, Google and libraries you extremely rarely have to buy a piece of music to hear it - mostly you've heard a preview, a song or maybe even the whole thing online before investing in an album. At least that's the way it has become. When I was little and just started being interested in music (I think was about 11, and - whisper it - Maroon 5 were my first favourite band after I'd grown out of Aqua and Britney Spears) I remember the excitement of actually going to the store, buying the CD and hoping it had more good music on it than just that one song. Back then I probably bought two CDs a year and then listened to them over and over and over - while nowadays it's quite different. It varies depending on how much money I've got but I don't think there's been a month this year where I haven't bought at least five-ten CDs and often many more. It is not only a consequence of me having gotten my musical horizons broadened and my wallet having gotten bigger but also one of the internet. There is almost no music you cannot find buried on the web somewhere - which is quite handy as you don't have to buy anything before you've heard at least a part of it. It's practical if you want to avoid buying something that might turn out to be crap but also takes away some of the pleasure of buying a record and being excited about getting to hear it. So sometimes I like to do really spontanous buys just to feel that little excitement again. The last time I did one of those spontanous was when I went to Aarhus to see Efterklang. Before the gig my friend and I went into my favourite record shop (called Badstuerock) and looked at used CDs. Between the new albums I couldn't find anything I wanted that I couldn't get for less on the Rough Trade website though and I was feeling slightly desperate to buy something. As my friend looked through all the older, used CDs in there he showed me 'Set Yourself On Fire' by Canadian band Stars and told me it was good. Stars were the kind of band I'd only heard about but never actually heard any music by - but from what I'd heard about them I assumed I would like them, so I bought it and gave it a listen the next day. I really liked it. It's becoming a cliché for me to say it but I'm a sucker for good pop music. And 'Set Yourself On Fire' contains lovely, lovely pop music with boy-girl vocals, horns, strings and electronics.

Albums to look forward to in 2010

So 2009 is slowly coming to an end and the musical year of 2010 is vaguely beginning to take shape. Personally I'm really, really looking forward to January and February already. Here are a few of the reasons:

It kind of surprises me as I haven't paid that much attention to either Charlotte Gainsbourg's or Becks' projects before but their forthcoming album, 'IRM', is beginning to become one of the records of 2010 I'm looking most forward to. This track, 'Heaven Can Wait', its fantastic video (featuring more than one WTF moment) and the title track (available as a free download on the web) seem very promising to me. Also, I've always loved Charlotte's speaking voice, so it's probably about time I check out her music.


I might only have been a Final Fantasy fan for about a year but I almost feel like I've been waiting for 'Heartland' as long as everyone else - that's about 3 or 4 years. With Owen having played so many of the new songs live and them all sounding incredible I've become less and less patient - if it is even half as amazing as I already feel like it is/will be I won't be disappointed. Just a little less than two months to go and I will finally get to hear this album... and if I'm really lucky, I might even get to see him live again in January. Fingers crossed!


Over the last few days Efterklang have bombarded their Facebook and MySpace followers with YouTube videos of different so-called 'magic chairs' (my favorite: http://tinyurl.com/ya92vrs) and I'm probably not the only person who has been wondering why. Today the reason was revealed - their new album is titled 'Magic Chairs' and is released on February 22 next year. The new songs they played last week in Aarhus all sounded very lovely and so this album one I definitely look forward to. Above is a video of one my favorites of the new songs they played last Friday.


When I saw the artwork for Vampire Weekend's 'Cousins' single I thought 'that's got to be a still from the video'. I was right. The video is quirky, cute and very, well, Vampire Weekend. The song will probably always remind me of being in Hyde Park in bottle rain while waiting for VW to finish and Blur to finally enter the stage. Doesn't make it less of a good song, though.

A follow-up

After having dissed Sugababes' cover of Florence & the Machine's 'Rabbit Heart', I feel like I should mention this example where a pop act covers a less known band and actually succeeds. Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's sister, has recently covered Dirty Projectors' 'Stillness Is The Move'. 'Stilness...' is a fantastically fantastic track, one of the best I've heard this year and it is definitely an r'n'b track at heart, so this kinda ought to happen. And though the original is still superior, I don't think this cover is bad at all. It's good and it had to happen. Its weakness lays in the fact that it makes you want to go and listen to the original because it is that good bit better. So I think you should do so as well - and then you also have an excuse to watch the ridicously cool video.

Performing Parades

Yesterday I had the fantastic pleasure of seeing the Danish postrock band Efterklang live in Musikhuset in Aarhus. The show was part of the band's so-called DOX:TOUR - meaning that the night consisted of a movie screening and a gig. The movie being shown was the concert film 'Performing Parades' which documents the concert Efterklang played last year accompanied by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. It was a both musical and visual treat - in the movie the band's latest album 'Parades' is played in its entirety from beginning to end. It is filmed intensely and beautifully - and the entire band and orchestra play with a passion and musicality it is a delight to witness even though it might only be on a screen. Visually the viewer is also treated to the genius of Danish design duo Hvass&Hannibal. The musicans are presented as part of a mountain landscape on the stage as everyone wears pointy little hats and the core of the band colourful garments all created specially for the occasion. 'Performing Parades' is the kind of concert movie that makes you go 'dammit, why wasn't I there?!' - but the visual documentation is definitely much, much better than nothing. For me the movie was almost good enough to let the night already be considered memorable.
But then there was a short break and the real Efterklang entered the little stage (the smallest one, I think, in Musikhuset) and blew me even more away. I was almost expecting to be disappointed as they now didn't have an orchestra and didn't wear fancy clothes. But I was proven wrong - Efterklang are, luckily, the kind of band who play with a musicality and joy that makes it an absolute pleasure watching them go. Represented was the core of the band (including before-on-this-blog-mentioned Peter Broderick). The band's set consisted of new songs and older material from before the Parades album. It was the kind of gig that made me remember just how much I love music - and especially live music. Efterklang make some of the most beautiful music I know and play it uniquely well. The crowd clapped along but remained mostly silent and observing - but by the end the band's frontman, Casper Clausen, nicely asked the sitting crowd to come closer - and so my friend and I ran down and were part of the new little crowd on the floor right in front of the band. Afterwards I bought a beautiful double-vinyl package with a DVD of the 'Performing Parades' film and I cannot wait to have it playing in the background - or in the foreground - when I read or study or do nothing else in these coming winter months.

Oh, the horror, the horror...

This is not a review of the Horrors gig I went to on Sunday (since you ask, it was very good - noisy in just the right way) but a post where I want to share something horrible. Normally I'd like to only mention good music on this blog, but there is lots of bad music out there too - and sometimes I feel almost compelled to focus on that fact. That is for example when bad music attacks good music. I just came across this - a fresh example of what I'm talking about:

That's Sugarbabes covering Florence & the Machine. Gone is the sheer force of Florence Welch's insisting vocals, the heavy drums and the incredible energy of the original and instead we get a weird, look-how-much-soul-we-got version complete with congas and three anonymous girl group vocals. This isn't the worst cover I've ever heard but I think it's both quite weak and pretty boring, which isn't at all what I would label the original song with.

What is much, much, much worse, though, is this:

Cascada has commited many crimes to music over the years, but for me this is the worst. 'Because The Night' is a fantastic pop song - especially in Patti Smith's version - and I don't really feel like I need to say more. Listen to Cascada's version, then Patti's and if you don't find the existence of Cascada's version incredibly sad afterwards, I'm afraid you have no soul.

I've got three reasons as to why this video belongs in the blog.
1. 'Damaris' is one of very good songs on Patrick Wolf's latest album, which generally wasn't that fantastic.
2. The video somehow perfectly fits what I saw in my head the first time I heard the song: fields/nature, romance and Patrick being as pretentious as always while singing about love and tears. I don't experience that often - but somehow this video, though it indeed could be seen as both too pretentious and kind of silly fits perfectly - this is just the way Patrick does it and while I've disliked both of the other videos he has put out for this album, this one somehow captures something very fitting and beautiful for the song.
3. I'll admit: at the moment I have the biggest crush on a boy who looks a bit like Patrick. And I most definitely wouldn't mind messing about in a forest somewhere with him while wearing fancy clothes like mr. Wolf and his actress friend do in this video.

Track the day #7

Mika - 'Rain'

I've had a strangely good day considering how tired I was supposed be after going to bed at 1AM last night. We had a not-very-easy math test today and I was prepared to do terribly - but I think it went quite well. One of my dear classmates turned 18 today as well and the entire class celebrated by eating cake, singing 'happy birthday', talking about christmas and generally not doing what we were supposed to be doing in our music lesson. Then I went to the dentist (where everything was as it was supposed to be) and then visited my best friend Anne for a couple of hours. I couldn't help but be jealous of her - on Saturday she went to see the Flaming Lips live and had the pleasure of dancing on the stage and in general the most amazing fun I've heard about in a while. But it'll be two weeks before I get to see her again, so I was pretty focused on just having a good time with her. Today our definition of a good time was talking about music, boys and clothes and listening to Mika. We had 'Rain' on repeat for a while and though my relationship with Mika is slightly awkward, since I really cannot decide whether I like him or not (sometimes I do and sometimes he annoys me A LOT) - but the colourfulness and fun of this song definitely fitted my far-better-than-expected day quite well.

Tonight

I'm off to see The Horrors tonight. I have yet to hear their first album but it seems to be widely known that their second album, 'Primary Colours', which came out this year, contains some of the best dark rock/post-punk/shoegaze heard in years. Since I can't go see Joy Division, I guess this is the next best thing.

I don't think I'll ever be able to dislike Jarvis.

Few people can make a good music video just by goofing around and act silly. Jarvis Cocker is one of those few people. This, his new video for the title track from his latest album, proves just why the Jarv is so special. He is of my biggest musical idols ever and one who I've continued to admire since I randomly discovered his solo record and then Pulp and Blur and britpop afterwards a few years ago. He is basically one of the main reasons why I listen to the music I do today. And yet I haven't got my hands on his newest solo album though it's been out for months. I still love both Pulp and Blur but I've seemed to move on and so haven't really thought about giving that new record a listen. This video and song makes me reconsider doing so. The video reminds me of that soon-I-think-15-or-20-year-old video for Pulp's 'Babies' where El Jarvo does few things except wearing a very green shirt and act Jarvis-ly in front of a white background. This video seems like an updated version somehow - he's older, has grown a beard and got less colourful clothes. Yet somehow he still is nobody but the Jarvis we all know so well. He dances, lip-synces, wears glasses (that's actually an important thing) and acts silly. After all these years he is still truly one of a kind.

Track of the day #6

Thao With The Get Down Stay Down - 'When We Swam'
Today was the day I realised that it was no longer summer, not even at the least. No way back, only winter ahead. It was absolutely freezing outside when I walked home from school and though I had my new winter coat and my gloves on it was impossible to keep warm. Now I'm safely at home underneath my duvet enjoying the finally-turned-on heat in our house and I'm listening to the some of the nicest music I can find in my iTunes library. I just found myself a free download of the song 'Know Better Learn Faster' by Thao With The Get Down Stay Down and it's very, very nice. I thought I wanted that one to be song of the day - but then I saw the video for 'When We Swam' by the same band and started missing summer even more. Blue sky, sun, beach, sand, soap bubbles and a band consisting of a girl with a children's-sized guitar and two guys with a yellow tambourine and a pink ukulele. If that doesn't seem like fun, then I really don't know what does.

Cocteau Twins

I think I've found one of this year's first official autumn bands: Cocteau Twins. It's strange - they aren't exactly upcoming or new, they're kind of old and forgotten. My interest in them came about quite randomly - I'd read a review of a recent Massive Attack gig in Copenhagen and decided to re-listen to 'Teardrop' among other MA tracks. I then came across who sang that song - Elisabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins. I was quie interested in this voice and so then tried out a few CT tracks and was almost instantly hooked by the first album of theirs I heard, 'Heaven Or Las Vegas'. I've been thinking a lot about how to describe Cocteau Twins' music - it's shoegaze, dream pop and post-punk all at once. Sometimes they sound like The Cure fronted by Enya, sometimes like My Bloody Valentine with less loud, distorted guitars and sometimes like nothing else I can think of. It's dreamy and captivating - aka perfect for walking in the rain and spending cool afternoons in bed with homework and a cup of tea.

And another thing...

YouTube doesn't fascinate me as much nowadays as it once did, but I just remembered how amazing I think it is that videos like the one above exists. I was at this gig and when I realised what song it was I kept thinking 'Dammit, why didn't I bring my camera so I could at least capture this one?!' - and then I come home and find one of the best amateur concert videos I've seen, capturing this special little song. Though it of course makes gigs less romantic and special, I would lie if I said I didn't love to find that video so I could listen to the amazingness of that song once again. It doesn't exactly make me want to see Final Fantasy live again less and as long as that's the case I think concert clips are perfectly fine.

JJ

What are you still doing here? you should go listen to JJ's album 'JJ No 2'. It contains some of the most perfect and atmospheric electro-pop I've ever heard. So go, I tell you, go listen to it!

The Broken Beats

You should never underestimate the role of the audience. That is a universal truth I was reminded of yesterday when I went to see the danish band The Broken Beats at my hometown Viborg's only real venue Paletten (that'll be 'the palette' in English). The band you're watching might put on the performance of their lives, but if the crowd isn't with them, it might just feel like the worst gig ever. That was kind of the situation last night. I had been offered a free ticket by a friend who works at the venue, simply because of the fact that only six tickets had been sold in the advance sale - it was clear this wasn't exactly THE event to be at on a Saturday night in Viborg. Oh well, what a shame. I didn't know much of the Broken Beats' music before yesterday, just a couple of songs and it seemed that the about 20-30 people we ended up being were in the same situation as me - many of them looked like they had been given free tickets or the like, as they drank beer and seemed slightly uninterested in the band. It was a shame, I tell you. Because both the supporting band Mimas, who I hadn't heard of before and the Broken Beats themselves put on energetic and entertaining performances, with the Beats' set especially inviting the tiny crowd to join in, dance and have fun, just like the band did. This gig could have been so much fun! it just wasn't, because nobody dared to start the party. Eventually the crowd became drunker and happier during the night and a few people started dancing politely on the spot. It could have been worse - but it could also have been so much better.

Track of the day #5

The Antlers - 'Two'
In reality this should probably have been more of an 'album of the day' kind-of thing, but I'm off to a gig in an hour and I'm not ready at all yet, so I don't really have the time to write something long and meaningful. I just want to share this with everyone - I've had The Antlers' 'Hospice' album lying around for a while and I finally got to listen to it from beginning to end today. It's amazing. It's been quite some time since I last heard something this heartfelt and melancholic and beautiful and powerful from an album. I've been listening to the album's single 'Two' for a while before listening to the album and that song is quite a good example of what this album does best. It's quiet and pretty while also being filled with some kind of adrenaline and stressful vibe that makes you listen closer - and then, when you listen closer, you'll notice the lyrics and the heartbreaking story they tell. When listening to the album there's a lot of the same vibe - yet channeled in many different, exciting and thought-provoking ways. I've only listened to it all the way through once and I already feel like it might be one of my albums of the year. It feels so precious, as if it would be unfair to listen to the tracks individually. I can't wait to listen to it again - I'll hopefully have the time to do that again when I get home tonight.

France songs

Instead of telling about my trip to St. Malo in France, I'm going to sum it up with the songs that from now on will probably remind me of being down there and experiencing all those unforgettable things.


First off is a song by a Danish band I've been liking lately, When Saints Go Machine. I don't know if I listened to them a lot in France because I missed Denmark or just because they fitted my mood, but Spitting Image was definitely part of the soundtrack. Especially when I was on the bus to school in the morning and it was still dark and cool outside.


As almost the exact opposite of When Saints are The Very Best's funky and sunny African rhythms and beats. As a bit of a coincidence I had checked their MySpace and listened to a bit of their stuff before going on the trip and then one day down in France a friend of mine played me a song of theirs on his iPod and I was hooked. I decided to check them out further and I'm absolutely in love with this track - it's the sunniest, most summer-y and forget-the-winter-is-underway track I've heard all year. As a contrast to the When Saints Go Machine track it seems very fitting for the days in France as well - in the morning and during the night, the weather was cold and ungracious while in the day time it was hot and sunny as if we were in the middle of the summer. The Very Best would definitely be the very best music to remind me of those happy days spent in the sun.


Another of the songs this particular friend played me was one that seemed very fitting - for obvious reasons (we went to Paris on the last day before returning to Denmark) - and one I already knew and liked. It just has a bit more meaning now, I guess. Lovin' the cowbell.


In Paris I was surprised to actually hear some French music I knew, which is why this song will probably remind me of that one day in Paris from now on. I heard '1901' by Phoenix played out loud in a shop near Les Halles in Paris and couldn't help but smile at the fact that I heard good French music in France (even though that probably isn't weird or unusual at all).

I'm home!

Yesterday I came home from a week in France as an exchange student. There's too much to tell about the week and my experiences during it to tell, so let's just say that it was incredibly special and definitely one of the bigger things I've tried in my life. But now I'm home and going to school as normal on Monday. The week has made me hungry for new music to match the way I think the trip has changed me and my understanding of the world and so I've been spending the last few hours looking and listening to whatever I've found in my favourite music blogs and beyond. I've just come across the newest video from one of the best and most internationally known Danish groups around, Mew. It's for the track 'Repeaterbeater' from their new album (yes, the one with the abnormally long time). I like the track and the video's scary atmosphere... and I kind of like the fact that they speak Danish in it. I've been speaking so much English and French in the past week that it's nice to be able to go 'hah, I understand more than what's translated in the subtitles!'... but oh well. My French is still bad.

What does your favourite children's book sound like?

The headline is a question I've been asking myself lately. Literal references in music aren't the rarest thing, though the character of said references can be quite varied. Lately I've been hearing quite a few children's themed ones that I'd like to share with you.

Karen O & the Kids

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is behind the music in Spike Jonze's highly anticipated and before-on-this-blog-mentioned Where The Wild Things Are, a movie based on the Maurice Sendak's classic children's book. I haven't decided if I like this as music I could listen to casually but I definitely think it captures some childish essence that probably would fit both the book and the movie perfectly. I like it, because I really do think it's more important for the music to fit the mood and set the tone than be listenable and good-sounding. I'll look forward to actually hearing the song in the movie and make my final decision though.

Marina & the Diamonds

I've been avoiding British, piano-playing, coo-cooking girls for a while. But this particular track by Marina & the Diamonds, the latest female pop kook from the UK has grabbed my attention for its catchiness, electronic rhytm and sound effects and not-too-over-the-top-British accent vocals. Also, I love how this song sounds like it's name. Mowgli's Road. This song sounds like the Jungle Book as I remember it. Fun, funky and more fun. It might have been a while since the last time I read or saw the Jungle Book, but this song sends me the vibes so I won't have to go to the library or turn on Disney Channel anytime soon.


An oldie that came to mind with the whole headline-question was Regina Spektor's 'Baobabs'. While 'The Little Prince' might not strictly be a children's book, I think the song fits the description 'a song that sounds like the book it references' pretty well. Regina sounds and seems like a girl who'd have 'The Little Prince' as one of her favourite books and just that fact qualifies her as a perfect interpreter for the childish, innocent and philosophical story.

Benoît Pioulard

I'd like to begin this post on a newer of my musical obsessions with a request to the reader. Think of nature. Imagine the most nature-like landscape you can - and then image its sounds, its moods, its colours. Then you're on the way to imagine the sound of Benoît Pioulard. If you ask me what I associate Benoît Pioulard's mystical musical universe with, nature would be my answer. Which might seem odd, since Thomas Meluch, the mastermind behind the name, mainly makes his music using his computer, guitar and voice. But with his mix of collected sounds, noises you wonder where come from and the recumbent vocals, his music creates soundscapes - when you listen to Benoît Pioulard it creates a mood, a state of mind. I've experienced that there probably is no place or situation better suitable for listening to Thom's music than when taking a long walk outside in the dark, pouring rain while glancing at houses, trees, flowers, fields and other people's lives passing by. It's hard to explain, but it is exactly what Benoît Pioulard sounds like. And it's a fantastic state of mind to be in, you'll understand, just listen to 'La Guerre De Sept Ans', 'Moth Wings', 'Triggering Back' or 'The Loom Pedal'. Or anything on his MySpace, really.
www.myspace.com/pioulard

While You Wait For The Others

As I've said before, I love Grizzly Bear. But I don't think I've mentioned how much I love them for their videos - they usually make me go 'awesome, though probably made by somebody on acid'. They're uniquely weird and mad, yet also appropriate and fascinating. I still don't dare re-watch the video for 'Knife' though - it fucks with my mind and still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever in a pretty scary way. But this one I can handle - yes, it might be weird and meaningless, but somehow I think the images are very fitting for the song.

Track of the day #4

Dead Man's Bones - 'In The Room Where You Sleep'
It seems to become more and more of a trend for indie-hipster actors to try and turn things around by entering the music biz, and obviously this isn't always a good idea. I'm quite surprised that I actually like the latest in the row - i.e. Ryan Gosling's goth-orchestra-rock-gospel project Dead Man's Bones. I wouldn't call the name genius, but I've fallen for this particular video and I quite like the concept. Children's choirs are often pretty badass, and this one is without a doubt exactly that. Especially that little guy with the sword by the end. And a strong track this is too.

Way Out West 2009

I'm sick and bored and I've come to the conclusion that it'd probably be a good idea to write something here to kill some time. And I think it would be good start when getting back into my blogging to write something about the two fantastic musical days I had on August 14 and 15 at this year's Way Out West festival in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. With this year's amazing line-up my expectations were sky high and I don't think I'll see this many good artists in such a short period of time again anytime soon. So let's start at the beginning.

Friday

My brother and I arrived at the festival on Friday afternoon and started out by managing to catch the last two tracks of Bon Iver's set on the Linné stage, which is Way Out West's only tent stage. We then went and had a look around before catching about three or four songs of Beirut's set on the Flamingo stage. Their performance seemed very fitting in the lovely sunshine that graced the Friday afternoon, but we left early to try and get a good spot for Grizzly Bear's set in the Linné tent. As the band were soundchecking it slowly became apparent that something was wrong - the bass was too loud and the drums didn't sound right. But since Grizzly Bear have meant quite a lot to me over the last few months - from discovering the gorgeousness of Yellow House to seeing all those reviews of Veckatimest declaring it a masterpiece and trying to avoid listening to the leak, I just felt like I had to see them. And so I did, even though the sound only got slightly better during the actual set. I found it kind of awkward seeing GB on a tent stage at a festival in the afternoon, as I feel like the most fitting setting for a gig of theirs would be either on a Paris street (see: http://tinyurl.com/2gyvvy) or in some deep, dark club with dimmed lights and the audience sitting on the floor in complete, mesmerized silence. So this gig didn't turn out as I had hoped, obviously. But as I've noticed, Grizzly Bear generally sound a lot better and alive when they play live than on record and so, as expected, the times when the bass and drums weren't overshadowing everything else, it was blissful as hell. And as they played 'On A Neck, On A Spit' as the last song the big highlight finally arrived and one couldn't help but dance politely to one of the best, most upbeat GB songs and looking forward to hopefully seeing them 'for real' on their upcoming European tour.


Next up was Florence & the Machine, the band I've now seen live the most times, this being the fourth time. When I saw her in London last summer I predicted big things and I do think I have been quite right, with her album reaching number 2 in the UK charts (and she would probably have topped it if it wasn't for that Michael Jackson guy), her Brit Award win and her Mercury Prize nomination, and so it is also quite interesting to have seen her develop from a lo-fi, drum-hitting girl in a gold jacket with a big voice to a fully grown popstar in high heels and extravagant stage pieces designed by TopShop accompanied by a five-piece band. But somehow with all the succes I have a few times felt like Flo was in the process of losing a her rawness and strong stage presence. As she supported Blur in Hyde Park she didn't seem capable of filling that big stage, while seeing her play acoustic at the Rough Trade shop was a lovely and refreshing different take on her music though still quite different from back in the day. When I saw her at Way Out West she absolutely proved herself to have grown to a different, but still fantastic pop star with an edge. Stomping and dancing across the stage Florence still has a way of being herself as part of the mainstream while maintaining something that is her very own.


After Florence's set it was time to get something to eat and so we did, while listening to Wilco in the distance. After that we headed to the Flamingo stage and found a nice, chilled-out place in grass to sit down and enjoy the uniquely amazing Antony. Accompanied by the Gothenburg Symphonic Orchestra he sang his heart out to all of us in the audience and gave one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful live performances I've heard and with Antony's charming and thankful apperance, telling the audience about how strange it was being recognised in Gothenburg and calling us his 'little angels' it just made me want to give him a great big hug.


As the afternoon turned into evening and into night, it was time to watch the Arctic Monkeys on the Flamingo stage. I wouldn't call myself the biggest Artic Monkeys fan, as I generally think they are very good at what they're good at - making energetic, straight-forward indie-rock, but not much more than that. They are absolute expert on this area though and as they are one of the bigger bands of the world today I felt like I had to see them. And it was worth it, as they ran through a set with lots of new material and proved themselves as being a very good live band. I was glad they played that many new songs as I think it made for a quite interesting set. I haven't actually heard their new album yet, but they do seem to have grown up and started being interesting again. I was quite gutted to have missed Fever Ray, though, but since she's Swedish I'll hopefully get a chance to see her at some other point. We left a bit early from the Arctic Monkeys set to try and get into Annedalskyrkan, the church that served as a one of the festival's club stages, to see Andrew Bird. But the queue outside the church was so long I couldn't believe my eyes and we ended up standing outside listening. I was pretty sad to have missed Andrew's set, as he is supposed to be amazing live, but it was still a fantastic day. Oh, and we even caught the particular part of Röykopp's set I wanted to see, i.e. the part where they were joined on stage by Karin Dreijer (of The Knife and Fever Ray) to play 'What Else Is There?' - it was a lovely little highlight since that song is my favourite of theirs.

Saturday

We kicked of Saturday with Patrick Wolf's set in the Linné tent at 1PM. From what I'd noticed when looking on the internet and in the papers and at the growing audience on the day, this was an eagerly anticipated set. I stood beside a girl dressed in all blue (including her hair) and saw quite a lot of people sporting looks not unsimilar to Patrick's. But we had to wait a while for the boy himself as he and his band didn't enter the stage before 5-10 minutes past 1. And at a festival with 45 minute sets that shortened the gig more than one would have liked. But anyway, Patrick entered the stage as extravagant as always, wearing a grey, black and white Union Jack jumpsuit (which he later took off, even though he promised not strip this time, as he had apparently done the last time he was in Sweden), a headpiece and his signature knee high socks. Though I have only seen videos from gigs of his before seeing him live for real, I think I can safely say his live performance must have changed a bit over the last year or so, as he has adopted something, for the viola- and piano-playing Patrick, as strange as the electric guitar and judging from this set it has had a big impact on his live show. Most of the songs he played, including the older ones, seemed to suddenly have turned into rock numbers with the added guitar, which I had a hard time (no pun intended) figuring out whether was a good or a bad thing. It became much more of a rock show, which isn't really what I would expect or want from Patrick, but it was a good and entertaining show anyway, though I think it could have been better under different circumstances.


Following Patrick Wolf's show was Jenny Wilson on the Flamingo stage, which was quite a highlight, even though it was pouring down with rain at this point. Jenny is one of my favourite pop songstresses out there at the moment - she's funky, fresh and strong, and has a voice I haven't heard a hundred times before. If they played her songs on MTV instead of Lady Gaga and Jordin Sparks I know that channel (and the world in general) would be a much better place. Backed by an almost all-female Jenny sported a big blue dress and hat and sang, clapped and played her way through tracks from her two albums 'Love & Youth' and 'Hardships!'. And her saxophonist was very, very cool as well.


A while later, as the rain still fell from the sky, we watched Vampire Weekend on the very same Flamingo stage and they were as always fun, sunny and nice. Afterwards it would be an even longer while before the next act we wanted to see was due and so we hid from the rain for a while.


We were back for My Bloody Valentine, who I've decided to remain undecided about. Because I quite like them on record - Loveless is a really good album - but after just two tracks I decided they were far, far too loud for my fragile ears - I just couldn't enjoy their set (especially since I hate wearing earplugs). So we decided we could live without theirs and Lily Allen's set and made our way to Annedalskyrkan on the other side of the road from the Slottsskogen forest where the festival took place.


Though the first of that evening's three acts in the church wasn't scheduled to play before an hour later, the queue was already pretty long, so coming early was a very, very good idea we found out. We mainly wanted to get in because I wanted to be sure to see Final Fantasy, the last of the three acts, but as things turned out, that night in general ended up being one of the absolute biggest highlights of the festival. Both of the two others acts had I heard the names of, but never heard any music from and I ended up being pleasantly surprised by both. Especially the first act, Peter Broderick, put on one of the most compelling, mesmerizing and fascinating live performances I've witnessed. As a multi-instrumentialist and someone who isn't afraid to record and loop everything and part-sing with himself, he left me ever wondering what he was going to do next. He picked up the guitar, the violin and the musical saw as well as encourage the entire audience to scream so he could hear how that would sound in the church - by the end he even ran through the church, singing with his looped self, while playng two tambourine-like instruments. He kept everyone spellbound through the entire set, resulting in a standing ovation by the end. He was followed by the young girl duo First Aid Kit, who played a charming and heartwarming combination of classic singer-songwriter tales and folk music. They were very good, but by the end I couldn't help but start to become a bit bored, as I knew what was up next. The concert that for me at the moment ranks as the best I've ever been to in my life so far is the one where I saw Final Fantasy at the Union Chapel in London this year. It was perfectly flawless and amazing and though I knew it would be different, I couldn't wait to hear what Owen Pallett had up his sleeve this time. That, it turned out to be, was a setlist very different to the one from the London gig. He played some oldies, some rarities, some covers and some new songs and ended the show with a cover of the slightly obscure song 'Independence Is No Solution', something I had never heard before. It was different from the London gig, definitely, but still incredible - I don't know how he does it, but Owen just manages to always put on a fantastic, beautiful and blissful show whatever the circumstances.
All in all, Way Out West was a mindblowing experience with so many great gigs in just two days. On the ferry home I realised just how many of my favourite artists I'd just seen live and I had a hard time getting my head around that fact. I'm definitely back next year, if their line-up is even just half as good as it was this year.

[ALL ARTIST PHOTOS FROM rockfoto.nu]

Birthday!

I turn 17 today, so I thought I'd make a little update on how this has improved my musical life (or, you know, something like that). First off, my aunt and her husband sent me a happy birthday card from Iceland with puffins on and it immediately sent my thoughts in the direction of the The Sugarcubes' 'Birthday'. Lovely Icelandic pop, featuring a young Björk, who, as always, shows off her perfect vocal antics.
In other news, in the gifts area, I got five CDs - '( )' by Sigur Rós (more Iceland!), 'The Reminder' by Feist, 'Deep Cuts' by The Knife, 'Disintegration' by The Cure and 'The Beatles' by The Beatles (better known as the white album). Some of them records I've heard and wanted, but haven't bothered buying and some completely new and undiscovered. Quite a good mix, I think. Also, I finally got a gramophone - time to start my vinyl collection, I guess.

On a last note: a friend of mine has called me the dancing queen an awful lot over the years. ABBA are definitely a guilty pleasure of mine and now my age finally fits with the lyrics! so there you go:

Track of the day #3

Graham Coxon - 'In The Morning'

I haven't listened to Graham Coxon's solo stuff for a while, but on my last outing to Leicester Square's HMV just before flying home from London, I bought his latest album, 'The Spinning Top', and I'm liking it more and more. It is definitely a departure from the later albums - this record is quite far away from the garagerock of 'Love Travels At Illegal Speeds' and 'Happiness In Magazines' - instead, it takes a much more acoustic and laid back approach to things. I've liked Graham's solo records, but I find this record much more appealing in a way, in particular the eight and a half minutes long bliss of 'In The Morning'. It's so lovely and pretty, while still maintaining an edge - though I quite like the album as a whole, I just like this song so much that I'm tempted to have it on repeat. As soon as the summer weather (hopefully) returns, I'll be outside in shorts with a book and this filling my ears.

5 things I listen to at the moment

Chairlift - 'Chairlift'
I have yet to decide whether this is actually a really good record or just an album with some lovely, likeable tracks on it. I won the album on a Danish music website called Undertoner.dk and I don't think I would have bought it if I hadn't won it - but as it turns it, there are some tracks on I that cannot seem to get out of my head. 'Planet Health', 'Evident Utensil', 'Territory' and - my favourite, just for it's playful French vibe - 'Le Flying Saucer Hat' - are all quality eletropop tracks that make you want to dance all night long with some colourful drink in hand.


Patti Smith
When I was in London in May I went to Rough Trade and HMV and bought myself a big lovely pile of CDs. In HMV I finally found the first The Smiths album which I had been wanting for quite a while but had a hard time finding in my local record shop. In HMV, it was part of one of their '2 for £10' offer and I thought 'that's cheap, why not get an extra CD with it?' - at first I didn't find anything I really needed or had been looking for, so I did what I sometimes do when I feel like buying new music - I grabbed a classic, Patti Smith's 'Horses'. Before buying it I hadn't heard much of her work - if any - so I just crossed my fingers and hoped for it to be as good as I had heard it was. So when I got home I listened to it, the first few tracks and slowly realised just how good and powerfully raw it was. It's rock and roll with songs like 'Gloria', 'Free Money' and 'My Generation' (a quite fantastic The Who cover at the end). Then, on other tracks, especially the epic 'Birdland', I realised just how much of an impact Patti Smith has had on one of my favourite newer musicians, Regina Spektor. I have seen Patti mentioned as an influence a lot of times, but I wasn't exactly sure how Miss Spektor was influenced by Miss Smith - but when listening to especially the earlier Regina stuff on '11:11' and 'Songs', I can definitely hear a resemblance. But anyway, with Patti, I feel like I've got lots more to discover. Now I just know that 'Horses' is a fantastic record. Oh, and that lady's got one hell of a special (and recognizable) voice.


Florence And The Machine
Now, with this band, I almost feel like a proud mother watching her daughter growing up. I started listening to FATM about 19 months ago, when the amount of coverage of the band on the web and everywhere else was minimal - at that point Florence Welch and her ever-changing Machine hadn't released anything properly yet, but had some demos on their MySpace and other recordings floating around on the net that nowadays seem quite rare. Also, the Last.fm description said 'Born in a military tank in Ukraine, Florence eats nothing but tobacco. Rumours have it that she is to be adopted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.' Over those many months that since have passed, Flo has been hyped just about everywhere - and this week she finally released her debut album, 'Lungs'. The reviews I've read have been mixed, but mostly positive, and as for my own opinion, I do think it's a very nice album. Sometimes I miss the rawness and simplicity of those old demos, but I'm trying to focus on the album as a different chapter in the FATM story, because nobody takes away those demos and if the album consisted only of old songs recorded exactly like they were, I doubt that I wouldn't be disappointed. The album definitely sounds produced, but not too produced. It's a new universe, and luckily Florence hasn't completely left her old one - my friend and I saw her play an acoustic Rough Trade instore last Monday when the album came out and it was quite simple and lovely, almost like in the old days.


Blur
Well, duh. The Blur gig in Hyde Park on July 3 last week was probably one of the wildest things I've experienced - 55.000 people gathered in a park, throwing bottles, being off their faces drunk, crushing each other while shouting 'WOOHOO' and 'PARKLIFE'. And still it was an absolutely brilliant gig. I managed to get quite close to the front, actually, in the middle when all four support bands played. Lovely atmosphere, friendly water-sharing crowd and pretty good support acts as well (though four might have been just one too many) , but then, when Blur actually came on stage, I think I managed to get through three songs before realising that I couldn't enjoy the gig if I couldn't stand still or breathe because of the amount of people going apeshit in the front. So I got pulled over the barrier and got out, found myself a more calm area to stand in and enjoyed the gig more than I thought I would be able to when having to watch it mostly on the big screens. Watching Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave, it was as if they'd never been apart, as if I'd never stopped having Blur as my favourite band - it was really, really damn good. I'm not fan of singalong gigs and I would have liked more of their newer material (my favourite album of theirs is '13'), but that night it just felt right and I sang along to every word I could remember while absolutely loving the fact that Blur were there on stage, playing together once again. And yes, I'm afraid I did shed a tiny little tear when the played 'The Universal' by the end.


My Brightest Diamond - 'Inside A Boy'
I'd heard the name mentioned a few times and my Last.fm profile had been recommending me My Brightest Diamond for a while before I actually got to hear any of the music. When I was in London in May, another one of my buys was the excellent compilation 'Dark Was The Night' and when listening to the first disc in the box I came across My Brightest Diamond's version of 'Feeling Good' and was pretty fascinated with what I heard. Big, dramatic, orchestral - and with a deep, soaring voice sealing the beautiful deal. I instantly knew that I had to check out what else this Bright Diamond woman had done. And so I did, checked the MySpace and fell in love with the video and track 'Inside A Boy' - it carries some of the same strengths as 'Feeling Good', but in a much more rocking and heavy way. And that voice - I adore Shara Worden's voice. After hearing that particular track I had the title stuck in my head for days without remembering how the song itself sounded - just the fact that it was a good song and that I needed to hear it again. So on my latest trip to London - I came home on Wednesday this week - I bought her to albums 'Bring Me The Workhorse' and 'A Thousand Shark's Teeth'. I just need to get over the gooodness of 'Inside A Boy' before I can really focus on whether the albums are quality or not.