Something to listen to whilst sipping on some earl grey in bed..

Aaaand relax...

I don't know why the thought of Jonsi on Radio 1 pleases me so, but it's great to see a proper musician in the live lounge for a change.

I'm very much looking forward to Jonsi's solo album, though I have high hopes judging from his Riceboy Sleeps EP that he released a while ago with his boyfriend, Alex Somers. It'll be interesting to see just how much the album will be influenced by the almost transcendent bliss that his former band Sigur Ros have managed to create. It'd better be worth it if rumours that the ambient band are on an indefinite hiatus are true. :(

Jonsi- Time to Pretend.MP3

Wtf?

Possibly the freakiest music video I've seen in my life. MGMT never cease to surprise it seems, I don't know which is more scary, the demons and monsters goggling at the toddler or the look of pure terror on his face.


Who needs Sesame Street when you have these guys?

Yuletide Greetings

Yes that's a word.


I'd like to take a moment to say thanks a lot to everyone who's made the effort in the past 3 months to give my blog a whirl, it means a lot that people actually read these things. So cheers, it's very much appreciated and I hope that I can make this blog a hell of a lot better next year once I've found my feet.

Right, sentimental crap over, here are my gifts for you all..

Merry Christmas.MP3

If you delve into my audio stocking (what a carry on) you'll find tracks from the likes of Emmy the Great, MGMT, a very melancholic version of Stay Another Day by Glasvegas and a track by burgeoning band The Joy Formidable (pictured).

I know it's not much but it's been a bit hectic lately, what with work and christmas services to sing at, so I apologise for the rushed quality of my posts.

So, hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a kick ass New Year, from Yours Truly.
X



Tracks are courtesy of the BBC, The Joy Formidable, Glasvegas, MGMT and Emmy the Great.)

These are a Few of my Favourite Things

I thought as we're nearing that oh so cliche festive period it might be nice to think about the events that have unfolded throughout the year, as well as some of my favourite things of 2008. However, as I am aware of the quantity of my posts, I will try and include as low an amount of writing as possible; my Christmas present to you is that I will stop rambling for one whole post, you lucky sods.

Disclaimer: I have not taken any of these photos (bar the MGMT one) or videos and if they happen to breach any copyright laws please let me know and I'll remove them.



Glastonbury 2008

The defining point of my year and when I truly discovered the beauty of a muddy field packed with 150,000 strangers. Nothing could compare to that feeling of freedom when you're ambling about the Green fields, seeing top notch bands and embracing the 'Glastonbury Spirit-' see you next year Mr Eavis.


GCSE Results
Considering they're deemed as 'life changing exams' I rather enjoyed the GCSE'S though they were annoying at times. Still, 5 A's, 4 A*'s, a B and a C are definitely worth half a summer in silence.






(Amongst countless others, this year has definitely been a good one for seeing live acts.)

The Mighty Boosh

2008 was also the start of my obsession with this surrealist comedy troupe. If you haven't seen any of Series 1,2 or 3 of The Boosh, I'd strongly recommend you do so; with singing, dancing and bizarre magical characters it's got all the necessities for a good show. Plus their live stage show is AMAZING.

Heroes of 2008
It's been impossible not to have caught a glimpse at the mass of singer-songwriters about this year. James Morrison, Adele, and, errm, some others, have all been bombarding us with songs this year, prime examples being the lovely Laura Marling...

And the probably-equally-lovely-but-rather-annoying-Duffy.

Other high fliers of this year include:



(Black Kids, Florence and the Machine, Elbow and Vampire Weekend.)

Villains of the Year
Well, kind of. Over the course of the year my contempt for a certain right wing tabloid newspaper has grown tremendously, due to shoddy journalism and an appalling lack of decency in certain cases. However, the funniest thing they printed all year was what is now revered as 'Sachsgate.'


Yes I know it is like so 2 months ago and it's been done to death, but I resisted the urge to blog about this affair before now so that should be praised at least. In case you live in some remote tribe that haven't heard of either of these two guys, the one on the bottom is 'edgy' comedian Russell Brand (I swear to god if someone uses that word to describe comedy again I shall scream, it's not edgy if you call it edgy) and the one on the top is presenter and sometime comedian Jonathan Ross. And they done a bad thing. Well, it depends on what your take on it is, to be honest I found thing whole thing rather funny, which was the aim afterall. However, some two people decided to have a pop at the BBC for swearing and then 5 days later it all kicked off when the Daily Mail readers of Middle England decided it was time to be upset. People resigned, got suspended and all sorts, there was quite a big fuss, apparently (I'd hardly noticed).

Still, how can you stay mad at Wossy for that long? Just look at him..


New Loves
No I'm not going to start onning about the woes of a teenager's social life, I'm much more bothered about music.




The InDelicates- New Art for The People.mp3
This duo are utterly brilliant. I discovered them upon an evening's stroll down last.fm a little while ago and, I'm sad to say, I forgot about them until I saw that one of their tracks was a free download. I'm still unsure what their main focus is on; comically brilliant and enrapturing lyrics or just playing songs. Either way it's the perfect combination of the two. If you download it, do let me know what you think of them.

TV
WARNING: Further reading may result in the credibility of the writer plummeting to below sea level. You have been warned.

One of my new loves this year television wise has been Come Dine With Me.

See what I mean?
I'm crap at cooking. I managed to somehow set the toaster on fire not long ago, and nearly set the entire kitchen alight due to an overheated frying pan. So I don't know why I like this so much. It's a reality show in which 4 randomers (usually) have a week full of dinner parties in order to win some cash. How terribly middle class. Anyway, I think I may be hitting a mid-life crisis at the grand old age of 16, as I love this show. Aren't you glad my blog is usually music based?

The IT Crowd

I know this show isn't exactly new but I've only uncovered the awesomeness that is The IT Crowd as of this year. The casting is superb; Matt Berry plays a retarded Company Executive and Richard Aoyade and Chris O Dowd are two lonesome geeks based in the IT department, and both make as great a double act as they do when solo. Matt Berry is amazingly good at playing the fool and, FYI is also the chap from the Bring on the Trumpets! advert.

What have been your favourite aspects of this wondrous year?

The Mandatory 2008 Post-Continued..

I know, the suspense must be killing you, just who will obtain that oh so glorious accolade of my favourite album of the year?

5.The Last Shadow Puppets-The Age of the Understatement
It was obvious from the moment the new side project of Alex Turner's came into public awareness that it was going to be a hit. He seems to have the midas touch, what with the Arctics going from strength to strength; the band picked up 2 Brit awards in February of this year, one of which for their album Favourite Worst Nightmare. And then there's this bloke called Miles from some Northern Indie band. The music industry seemed to hold a collective breath when news of an album was uncovered: would this be as good as some of what the Arctic Monkeys did? Did this mean that they were splitting up? And who the hell is this guy called Miles? Whilst we still don't really know the answer to the latter (ok so he's the guy from The Rascals, but does anybody care?) we do now know that whilst venturing into a thoroughly different terrain, it seems the boys still know how to make just as exciting an album. If you're a fan of the vintage James Bond films then you'll love the lush orchestral backing, and for those who actually enjoy a song with meaning (I mean really, are we human or are we dancer? Please) there's plenty of Alex's ever-so-clever wit to keep you entertained for the duration of the record. If you like this, then also check out some of Scott Walker's stuff, it runs along a similar vein and is where the inspiration for this LP.






4. The Ting Tings- We Started Nothing
I think we can safely say everybody on the face of the little dot that is our world is aware of this pop duo. No doubt you've seen the iPod ads, hummed along to it on the radio and probably seen them being interviewed countless times on the tellybox. So, I hear you ask, why the hell do you have them here when they've become largely annoying? Well, for one this album is the perfect example of how music should be played. Tracks like We Started Nothing have a definite groove to them, you feel as if you're a fly on the wall of Katie and Jules' garage having a jamming session. Others, like Fruit Machine and Great DJ are cheeky slices of pop, completely inoffensive and, more importantly, infectious. I challenge you to hear this album in its entirety without once smiling or bobbing your head. I can testify that this is, infact, impossible. Yes they've been a constant presence in 2008, but for damn good reason; Jules and Katie really love the music, you can tell from the this record and, when listening to them, it's hard not to agree with them.







3.Lightspeed Champion-Falling Off the Lavender Bridge So, your band Test Icicles has just fallen apart and you're left with nothing to do, what now? Well, you create a whole new alter ego and create an album full of truly magical folk. Duh. I could only compare this album to After Eights: Rich and indulgent, yet at the same time bitter, and as much as you try you can't eat just one. A similar experience is listening to Falling Off the Lavender Bridge. Dev utilises the mass of instruments he has at his disposal, from flutes to fiddles, and features the fantabulous Emmy the Great on a number of tracks. All of these combine to make a warm and welcoming sound, traditional of Western folk, but still retaining a hint of darkness. I don't know what Dev had to go through to think of lyrics like 'Guzzle down, my neck will burn as we kiss and I'm sick in your mouth' and frankly, neither do I want to, but still, they're acid singed and purposeful.


Although at first glance, 10 minute song Midnight Surprise seems daunting and ostentatious, you soon forget it's one song but rather 3, the movements seem to interweave effortlessly and upon its ending you still find yourself yearning. This deserves to be placed higher on my list than #3, and would have been if it weren't for those pesky Americans..



















2.MGMT-Oracular Spectacular Alright, hands up if this is a shock. I thought so. Funnily enough this little known band (I jest of course) have made quite a stir both sides of the Atlantic. I vaguely remember reading an article in the NME near the beginning of this year, something about bands to watch out for in 2008, and these guys were featured quite highly. Described as fresh and psychedelic, a kind of new Flaming Lips for all the indie kids to drool over, if you will. It wasn't until I'd heard their now infamous Time to Pretend featured on the last episode of Series 2 of Skins that I actually had any inclination to agree. Then, after much googling and downloading of their album, I regretlessly joined the growing cohort of MGMT fans. My only sulk about this band was that they played two sets at Glastonbury at awkward slots, in between nap time and wandering around the Green fields. Damn them. Anyway, this album is the perfect soundtrack to lazing about in a field somewhere, prancing about the flowerbeds and hugging trees. Or what the 70's would have been like if it were ever so slightly more edgy.


This album contains more than a few hooks, prompting many a shout-a-long at their gigs and the skill of the guitarist is incredible. Some bands like to coyly shuffle onto the scene with a little ditty about some girl that left them. Not these guys though. They exploded onto the indie/rock airwaves with an astonishingly magnificent first album. Let's hope they don't fall in the pitfall that is the second album curse.



1. Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
And so we reach the climax of my top ten album rundown with the lovely Vampire Weekend. The main reason this band's album is my favourite of the year is because it contains the blueprint for success in the indie industry. This group of preppie types certainly know how to dress well whilst also in keeping with the afro-influenced style of their music. Now I'm not a huge fan of African music, purely because although it sounds ok there's nothing that catches me, it just sort of ambles along. Vampire Weekend's afro-indie however does anything but. The influence of Afro syncopation adds a rather exciting pace to the track, thoroughly different from the boring 4/4 rock we've been enduring for some time. Plus the harmonised vocals on this are truly a delight, particularly on tracks like Oxford Comma.


Each song also has a distinctive vibe to it that sets it apart from the next, from the hyper bouncing A-Punk to the lazy Sunday afternoon The Kids Don't Stand a Chance, every track is treated as a potential single rather than a bunch of tracks thrown together carelessly. As well as using African influences, the group have also included a seemingly odd orchestral backing that, surprisingly, actually works quite well. Although some may deem this band too preppy for their liking, I adore this record as it is truly one of the most original things to have come out of this decade so far, not just the year, makes a lovely change from the mockney masses, don't you think?

So that was my very long album chart, but here's some more albums you may want to try:

• Glasvegas-Glasvegas- Miserable music at its best.
  
• The Cure-4.13 Dream- It's like they've never been away-hurrah!
• Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes- Another interesting take on the typical American rock album.
  
• Sigur Ros- With a Buzz in Our Ears we Play Endlessly- Truly awe inspiring ambiance from the band with the unpronounceable song titles.
  

What have been your favourites of the year?