Happy Friday folks.

Fancy a chilled out track to ease yourself into the weekend?

You do?

Good.

I have to say, I am utterly exhausted. This month has really taken its toll on me, which may account for the lack of meaty posts. Fear not though, I have a few things in the pipeline for February, not to mention a particularly scathing rant about valentine's day. Hurrah.

In the meantime though, enjoy this chilled out track from the effervescent Magnetic Fields. You could do no better than buy their new album, Realism. It's almost on a par with their epic 69 Love Songs, (it's not as sappy as it sounds, the dark undertones are almost overwhelming at times; it's brilliant) which is rather surprising considering their last album was somewhat of a disappointment. This is one of my favourite songs from Realism, very bittersweet (and I'm still astounded by just how low Stephen Meritt's voice actually gets, I have yet to hear a bass match him for sheer sonority!). Enjoy.

Frank: On the Road

Everyone's favourite troubadour Mr Frank Turner is set to release a Live DVD this March, to coincide with his upcoming UK tour.

The DVD is alleged to have not just one but TWO full shows, recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and Union Chapel in the latter part of last year. Featuring behind the scenes tour diaries, interviews and promo videos, this DVD looks like a must have for all FT fans, and a great introduction for those not yet acquainted with the Winchester lad. If you want something to watch over a weekend, you could do far worse than checking this out, you may find yourself surprised by the sheer brutality of Frank's live sets, it's pretty damn good.

Right, gushing over, here's the trailer..

Take to the Road is released on the 22nd March through Xtra Mile Recordings.

Nerd Rock Anyone?

Who knew Rick Astley and Mario would make such a cute couple...

I feel ashamed to like this, but this song's great if only for the bass and bizarreness of it all. So, sit back and enjoy this whilst the Mario theme slowly ingrains itself into your very being. Or Never Gonna Give You Up. Frankly, I'm not sure which is worse.

I Fight Dragons- Rick and Mario.MP3

This Ain't a Miracle

..But it's bloody good.

Only Revelations has definitely grown on me since its release in November last year. The die hard Biffy fans will no doubt think the lads from Ayrshire have gone soft, taking a poppier route for their new album, but who really cares? Biffy have been toiling hard for the past15 years to receive the acclaim they now possess; really it's about bloody time, even if that means changing their style a bit. And really, it's pretty great. Like Puzzle there's the same hooks, dramatic orchestration and brilliant lyrics that we've come to know and love (plus a strange obsession with horses..) as well as a couple of lighter in the air moments in tracks like Many of Horror- well worth listening to if you get the chance.

This is one of my favourite tracks from the album. Enjoy.

Dealing With Snow in A Typically English Fashion

The schools are closed. The transport system's in tatters and the hospital beds are filling up because your granny thought it would be a good idea to go jogging on the ice (well ok maybe not the last one, but you get the picture). Of course, it must be time for another bout of snow to fall upon the fair shires of Albion.

Ah well, I'm certainly not complaining. Two days off college has provided me with a golden opportunity to finish any hellish coursework and do some much needed revision. And obviously, when I say revision I mean procrastinating by checking out Hype Machine every 15 minutes. But hey, at least I can bring you lovely people a bit more music to indulge in and warm you up on a snowy winter's day.

Now I'm not usually one to sing Paolo Nutini's praises; I thought his debut stuff was thoroughly average, destined to be just another lot of chart fodder for decaying Radio 2 listeners. However, it may have taken a few years but he's finally produced something I actually like. Pencil Full of Lead is unashamedly retro (without a synth in sight-hurrah!) and just makes me want to get up and dance. The cheekiness of the trumpets is pure brilliance and, surprisingly, Paolo's husky vocals fit perfectly with the 1920's jazz style- this is a thousand shades better than some of the dirge he's released. Oh and the video's pretty damn good too, I'm loving the yellow bows!

So come on baby let me see you shake a tail feather ;)

Warm Your Cockles On This

If you're a fan of Daft Punk and the such, you may like this video by amazingly named synth band, Owl City:

This is the most sweetly inoffensive song I've heard in a while. In fact, if this isn't used in the next Disney Pixar film they'll have missed a trick. You can't get twee-er than this.

I get a thousand hugs from a ten thousand lightning bugs as they tried to teach me how to dance- aaw!

It's so refreshing to hear a song that's not about the minefield that is the world of relationships or angst. For ONCE, it's not about some stupid ditzy girl whose bloke cheated on her, or about some guy chasing after a girl who's out of his league, it's literally just a song about fireflies. And escapism and hope if you're really that bothered. Either way it's hardly the next Black Parade which can only be a good thing. Personally, I think it's quirky in all the right ways and I expect to see big things from these guys this year.

The Morning After

After a night on the tiles saying good riddance to the year that gave us swine flu, kindles and more than our fair share of Stephen Fry, you may be understandably worse for wear. Cringing from the previous night's escapades (and the Facebook photos to remind you incase it's still a bit of a blur; just when did you put that traffic cone on your head?) you may not want to jump right in to 2010. To be fair, I don't blame you, poor sods.

So, whilst you sip on your berocca and have the obligatory New Years' fry up, take a listen to this rather mellow track by low fi indie band The Antlers. Then get back to removing all evidence from the night before and bury your head in the duvet.

Go on, it's a bank holiday.

N.B. Oh, and as it happens this is my 100th post here on Irrelevant Twaddle, I can't believe it's come around quite so quickly. To all who have ever read, commented, scoffed at or interacted with my blog over the past year or so, thanks it means a lot. Here's to another good year for alternative music and a lot more twaddle!