this week's Roundtable (24/02)

comedian Ed Byrne, singer/songwriter Patrick Wolf and Dave Lorre join Lammo this week

1. Foo Fighters - 'Rope' - I really like this. sure beats the hell out of that snorefest that was 'Wheels' last year. was that last year? I don't even remember. hell, even Pat Smear is back with the Foos. good sign!

2. the Dodos - 'Black Night' - when I heard this the first time, I thought it was Princeton. imagine my disappointment. I keep missing them on tour, I guess I should just hunker down and see them already.

3. the Jim Jones Revue - 'Dishonest John' - not as good as 'Shoot First...' more like a scream fest?

4. the Low Anthem - 'Boeing 737' - uhhhh... these are the same guys that put out 'Ohio' and 'Charlie Darwin', right?

5. the Primitives - 'Rattle My Cage' - too twee for me. there's no direction, as there is for, say, Camera Obscura.

6. Cashier No. 9 - 'Goldstar' - interesting. they're Northern Irish but this sounds very...'60s British Invasion? but the synths remind me of Pains of Being at Heart...

7. Radiohead album 'King of Limbs' - not gonna touch this one. sorry!

oh bugger, I missed who won again. for cryin' out loud. oops.

February 2011 Delphic teaser vids

when Rick Boardman told me last summer they were going shock some people ("It will still sound like Delphic I think, but I think it’ll shock some people. A lot of people really" - read more here) he wasn't kidding.

posted 03/02/2011 (featuring a very strange...er...just watch it)


posted 23/02/2011 (rumba beats, piano chords and what appears to be Boardman, not James Cook's voice...intriguing...)

Paul Epworth says 'Pala' is a "real game changer"

6music's Adrian Larkin spoke to producer Paul Epworth about Friendly Fires's new album 'Pala' and the new direction they've gone into...

I'm actually more excited about Friendly Fires's new material more than I am about this supposed Delphic weirdo-direction new material because the St. Albans' blokes' stuff is actually going to be released this spring versus who knows when...

off the wagon

sorry. no Friday amusement. you could say I'm not in the mood?

this is the only Vaccines song I can stand / doesn't sound like a Ramones rip-off. enjoy.

oh when you love somebody but you find someone,
and it all unravels and it comes undone

this week's Roundtable (17/02)

Kai Fish of Mystery Jets, ex-Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall , and BBC Radio1 presenter Edith Bowman join Lammo

1. the Human League - 'Never Let You Go' - oh goodness. autotune? I'd never in a million years would have put Human League and autotune in the same sentence. awful. categorically awful.

2. the Dum Dum Girls - 'He Gets Me High' - the problem with all these bands - Dum Dum Girls, Warpaint, the Like...they all sound the same, and they all sound like the Gogos. boring. someone please explain to me how these are "groundbreaking".

3. Roddy Woomble - 'Roll Along' - uhhhh this is ok. the brass is kind of weird? I thought it'd be nice, smooth, singer/songwriter kind of thing. and it's overorchestrated. people don't seem to understand less is more.

4. John Foxx and the Maths - 'Evergreen' - oh dear. this sounds like English blokes trying to be Kraftwerk! ::giggle:: giving it a pass.

5. Anna Calvi - 'Blackout' - the winner - I still don't get this woman. she sounds ok but it's not mind-blowing. as usual, I'm very cynical about female singers...

6. Moby - 'Be the One' - hahahaha Lammo was thinking exactly what I was thinking. this ain't no Jack Penate!

7. Gruff Rhys's solo album 'Hotel Shampoo' - this is ok. he's got a bit of a humdrum voice.

3 videos for a much needed battery recharge

1. pretty anticlimactic film, but this is probably my favourite song off Keane's 'Perfect Symmetry'. they never play it live, so I find it weird this is a performance video.

I have this crazy dream that one day Tim Rice-Oxley will write a song that I can duet on with Tom Chaplin. but until that day, I find solace in that there is something better, bigger than what you're doing right this v. moment. it might not feel that way, but get inspired!

you can hang your hopes on the medicine
you can put your faith in the phone-in
you can tell yourself you're doing your best
you can do so much better than this



2. this Vertical Horizon video for 'Everything You Want' takes me back quite a bit. I remember thinking, how the heck did they delay the guitars like that? (now I can fathom a guess: an effect pedal or an effect put in production later on, I'm sure.) I didn't understand what it meant then - I was a naive little kid - but I get it now.

you're waiting for someone to put you together
you're waiting for someone to push you away
there's always another wound to discover
there's always something more you wish he'd say

and yes, everything you want is not everything you need. usually.



3. I take it as a good sign that I can listen to 'Magic' by the Cars and not break down (haha no pun intended). watching the video and noting how pointy Ric Ocasek is? that really helps.

the '80s were such thrilling years for music. everything since has been redux/remake/remodel of something that's come before. or electronically produced to be such.

'Perfect' and 'Love is Like Oxygen' for Valentine's Day

two features for today.

1. the video for Smashing Pumpkins's 'Perfect' makes no sense. (if you feel the need to watch it, go here.) but the song is, no pun intended, perfect, especially the lyrics. so follow them on the video below. I've also included a live telly appearance from several years back.

anyone who has loved and lost can relate to this...

strangers down the line
lovers out of time
memories unwind...
so far, I still know who you are
but now I wonder who I was...
angel, you know it's not the end
we'll always be good friends
the letters have been sent on...

is it hopeful? is it regretful? what do you think?





2. the Sweet's 'Love is Like Oxygen' has somewhat silly lyrics, but the more you listen to them, they make more sense. especially if you've been loved. and been hurt.

love is like oxygen
you get too much, you get too high
not enough and you're gonna die

'Fireworks' demo

this is a demo of 'Fireworks' by my dear friend Matt Abbott (aka Skint and Demoralised). sure beats that Katy Perry rubbish.

"the only way to love myself is spending my time with you..." good work mate!

two good friends have a birthday today - ♥ you, hope you're enjoying your day.

Delphic - old 'blog video' 04/03/09

to this day I still have no idea why Rick Boardman does not have biceps like a gorilla's. he should be as ripped as Dan Hadley. WHAT.

watch this (drumsticks flying) and see what I mean...

and be a gymnast. see 1.09. an outdoor climbing wall? REI has never come up with anything so cool. (BTW, best wishes son...)

and Dan. ohhhh Dan. LOLZ slave to the rhythm at 3.10, completely oblivious to what's going on around him. LOVE IT ::snicker::

this week's Roundtable (10/02)

with NME's Kristi Murrison, Miranda Sawyer, and Simon Raymonde

1. the Strokes - 'Under the Cover of Darkness' - I've never been a huge Strokes fan. this just sounds like generic guitar rock to me. yes, I know to be ready for a stoning.

2. Flats - 'Never Again' - the winner - too screamy. blech. are you shouting "ELLA! ELLA! ELLA! ELLA!" ???

3. Jon Fratelli - 'Rhythm Doesn't Make You a Dancer' - this isn't as bad as everyone is saying it is. it sure is better than the one that followed it...

4. Dr. Dre feat. Eminem and Skylar Gray - 'I Need a Doctor' - what is this. ugh.

5. The Dears - 'Blood' - not my usual thing but it's got a v. cool vibe.

6. Iron and Wine - 'Dream by the River' - is.not.my.thing.

7. the Streets' new album - good stuff. interesting, unlike #4.

Two Door Cinema Club - before they was

this is Life Without Rory, the band Two Door Cinema Club was in before they became...well, Two Door Cinema Club. the presenter says they're 16 years old, which would place this show 5 years ago.

check out Sam Halliday's long locks. and TBH I'm not sure if that's Kev Baird on bass. if it is, it's really weird how he and Sam look like twins. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised:



watch and enjoy a live performance of 'You Missed the Point' by Life without Rory below. (Two Door Cinema Club is a MUCH better band name, isn't it?)

this week's Roundtable (03/02)

Keith Cameron, and who else? not sure...it's not on Lammo's page (sorry)

1. Fleet Foxes - 'Helplessness Blues' - I liked Fleet Foxes when they first appeared on the scene, I really did. then they became the populist favourite, which drove me nuts b/c people were liking them b/c it was 'cool'. this is ok. but boring.

I remember wanting to see them at the Black Cat 3 years ago and of course the show(s) sold out. now they're playing DAR this year, which I think is ridiculous!

2. Cloud Control - 'There's Nothing in the Water' - man, this is annoying.

3. the View - 'Grace' - I know I'm not supposed to like these guys but pretty catchy. now I understand the mainstream appeal.

4. Gil-Scott Heron (reworked by Jamie xx) - the winner - 'I'll Take Care of You' -it's ok. just not my thing.

5. Beth Ditto / Simian Mobile Disco - 'I Wrote the Book' - interesting, didn't they do 'Cruel Intentions' before? it's amazing to hear Beth Ditto's voice again disco, it actually sounds better than her stuff with the Gossip.

6. James Blake - 'The Wilhelm Scream' - I don't really get James Blake. it's ok I suppose but I don't like the sound effects.

7. Chapel Club's 'Palace' - I adore this album. top 10 of 2011, for sure. 'Blind' - GORGEOUS. and I'm not saying that b/c Lewis Bowman personally sent me the lyrics to that song. ::swoon::