the sound of Merseyside

this is a nod to the British Invasion, which occupied my brain for many of my formative years...

this is a live performancedby the Searchers, and their famous hit 'Needles and Pins'. or known to my dorky brother as 'Needles and Pinsa'...

We Might as Well Be Strangers - Keane on Jools Holland (a while ago)

I hated this album when it came out. why? 'Somewhere Only We Know' was overplayed to death here in America.

thankfully, I have a better appreciation for it now, years later.

Friendly Fires get interviewed by Fuse

I just found this.

it's hilarious.

I honestly do not know what Ed Mac is talking about. he told me in Nottingham 2 years ago how uncomfortable he is singing to the camera, but I think he's got that down pat :)

(has it really been 2 years since I've been to England??? ::whimper::)

Two Door Cinema Club wins Breaking mtvU Woodie

I am so proud of my buds Two Door Cinema Club for winning the Breaking mtvU Woodie. hell, even Friendly Fires didn't manage that 2 years ago.

watch them perform 'What You Know', my favourite song by them, in front of an adoring audience in Austin last night. hells to the yeah.

2011 mtvU Woodie Awards

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?)

Two Door 'You Think You Know...' Babysweet documentary

in case you haven't seen it yet, here is the amazing 'You Think You Know, You Don't Know: A film about Two Door Cinema Club' documentary by the Babysweet folks. I honestly thought it was going to be on DVD format with the expanded edition of 'Tourist History' (I reviewed it both for Popwreckoning and TGTF) but no. they decided to let everyone have a watch of it, which, in hindsight, was pretty cool of them. watch it below.

I AM SO PROUD OF EVERYTHING THEY'VE ACHIEVED!

I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM IN 11 DAYS!

I'M GONNA HUG THEM LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!

ok. I'll calm down now.

This Momentary at Reading, and more

baby, it's cold outside. so why not think of Reading from last summer. this is my bass-playing nemesis. James Cook makes it look so easy! it's the hypnotic bass line that makes 'This Momentary' great. even if I can't suss it. grrrr...lol

interestingly, the BBC accidentally forgot to turn on the country restrictions for Reading that night and I was actually able to watch the whole thing from my computer. I couldn't have been happier :) the energy at the NME/Radio1 tent looked amazing. sometimes I cannot believe I was standing right in front of this band at tiny little DC9 last October.





below are some more vids from some guy who I guess ripped them from telly - 'Clarion Call', 'Doubt', 'Red Lights', 'Halcyon', and 'Counterpoint' . the annoying thing is that banner he's put up at the top. the least he could have done was make it smaller or less blinding. BUT if you haven't seen Delphic live, it's worth the eye strain. I think so anyway. they look nice in suits!

'this performance contains strobe lighting.' uh yeah, YA THINK? haha

Two Door Cinema Club on Jools Holland

catch this performance of 'What You Know', my favourite song by my favourite Irish boys Two Door Cinema Club from last night's Jools Holland.

guitars can talk!

the Crookes, before they were signed

I've always wondered where Lammo finds his new favourite bands. are they sitting there somewhere in that huge mountain demos that the postman comes lugging up the stairs every week.

huh.

this is just one that he introduced me to over many plays of theirs songs on Radio2 and 6music, the Crookes from Sheffield. they even play 'Backstreet Lovers' (sigh) in a bear pit...?

the bass player sings...??? ::dies::

can I also say I'm dead jealous of this Chinese girl who got to go around England on MTV's dime and interview bands. I wonder what she's doing now. I need a job like that.

and...THE PUB! ;)

Channel M does their predicting on top 5 Manchester bands of 2009 (historical)

I thought this was really interesting. Manchester is such fertile ground for music and they've got a tv station ready and willing to promote the local scene.

this show features Airship (one of the bands on Love and Disaster's first 'album'), Twisted Wheel, Everything Everything (who I think are gonna be huge), Dutch Uncles, and Delphic. with the exception of Twisted Wheel, I agree with all the other bands. for 2010 I mean.

bloody hell. I've just had a peek at James Cook's finger work on 'Halcyon'. don't think I'll be sussing this one out anytime soon.

Julian Lennon / James Scott Cook charity single for lupus research

Watch Julian Lennon talking to Harry Smith (CBS Early Show presenter) about "Lucy", the charity single he and James Scott Cook wrote and recorded to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of America and St. Thomas's Trust (the UK equivalent to the LFA). "Lucy" of course is a nod to Lucy Vodden, Julian's childhood friend and the inspiration for John Lennon to write "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (no, the song is not about LSD. really.)

I encourage you to buy the song from iTunes as I have a personal connection to this illness, in more ways than one. all proceeds go to lupus research. thanks and happy holidays.



playing "Lucy"


the PSA they recorded for LFA/STT

some mothers... / another convert to the religion

I have so far avoided talking specifically about Friendly Fires's appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show last Tuesday (25 August). this is mostly b/c while I think the guys had a good performance, it wasn't one of their best...and I'm chalking this up to utter, utter exhaustion and a bad case of the nerves - I mean, think about it. millions of American homes tuning in to see your first American late night telly appearance? it's got me quaking in my boots.

in fact, I am only mentioning b/c my mum brought it up today. ABC decided to repeat the episode last night (less than a week later, WTF?) and her being a night owl, she caught the tail-end of the show while channel surfing.

mum: why was the singer fiddling with knobs at the end of the song? ::starts bad imitation of Ed Mac turning knobs on his Moog:: there were these weird screechy sounds, terrible.
me: he plays a synth. that's what synth players do. synths have all these knobs and buttons that you can save sounds with.
mum: ::shakes head:: strange! he should have been singing at the end.
me: ::shakes head and turns away::

ohhhh mum...

she'll never get them I'm afraid. like every other musical act that's ever caught my attention.

sigh. one of these days Ed will just have to come over to play my keyboards and show her exactly how it's done.

my other comments were posted last Friday here, on There Goes the Fear.

"Kiss of Life"


"Jump in the Pool"


--

oh yes! last but certainly not least up for discussion today...I made friends with a girl from the NW of England last week on Twitter. as a fellow Friendly Fires fan, I felt it were my duty to 1) tell her that they were going to do an in-store in Manchester, just up the road from where she lived and 2) convince her that she *must* go, because she hadn't seen them perform live, ever, and that they were wonderful people.

she had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a train to Manc, but she did it...got there and got her wristband, even though both of us were worried by the ominous message she got from an HMV worker a couple days ago: "there's high demand for this event...people will be camping out the night before..."

as I expected, the lads put on a brilliant show for the punters and were charming for the autograph queue, even if the guards were pushing fans along to speed things up and no one really got to stop and talk with them. I got a lovely email from her earlier this evening before she went to bed, she said it had been the best day of her life and she thanked me for convincing her to go. she's going to post the photos she took tomorrow. I can't wait to see them, b/c I was and am truly excited for her.

I love it. another Friendly Fires gig convert!

Jack stopped to talk to me after the Brooklyn show - he recognised me from the previous night at LPR - and I explained to him I'd brought my friend from Kansas City to the New York show, so in addition to Washington D.C. being represented, so was the Midwest.

he said with an appreciative grin, "wow, all these towns converging on New York City..." yep. just doing my job, spreading the FF gospel...

you've got a spider on your eyelid (Lady Gaga on American Idol, 1 April) / another one of my gig reviews has been published

no, the image below is *not* an April Fool's joke.

(l to r) American Idol alum David Cook, and Lady Gaga

I haven't watched American Idol regularly for a long time, but I decided to post about tonight's episode because not only is last year's winner David Cook performing, but also the curiosity that is Lady Gaga. I must admit that I still am not really into her stuff, but I do acknowledge that her grooves will get you on the dancefloor. Do do doo doot.

I only wish her hair didn't look like a removable lampshade, or her fake eyelashes did not look like two large tarantulas have sprouted from her eyeballs. for whatever reason she dresses the way she does - almost like a space Christina Aguilera?...it has done its work. America is interested - and so is the world.

--

here's my gig review of the Airborne Toxic Event gig here on 12 March, posted on Popwreckoning. for my previous musings, have a read of this previous post.

it's only my second gig review on Popwreckoning, so comments here or there are appreciated! thanks :)

"best of" upcoming events - late March 2009 edition

b/c I'm hopelessly behind on things, we're on the last full week of March before I can get out a "best of" list...

Nemone (6music)
24.03 - Royksopp interview
25.03 - Chew Lips interview

Steve Lamacq (6music)
24.03 - Paul Smith (Maximo Park) interview
27.03 - Doves interview plus live tracks recorded in Maida Vale

Radcliffe/Maconie (Radio2)
23.03 - Colin Meloy (Decemberists) interview
25.03 - Jackie DeShannon interview

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
25.03 - Blue October performance

Jimmy Fallon(formerly Conan O'Brien) (NBC)
28.01 - Morrissey performance - watch here

Leno (NBC)
24.03 - PJ Harvey and John Parish performance
25-27.03 - Prince performances

Letterman (CBS)
23.03 - Bloc Party performance
24.03 - White Lies performance (this is so ironic b/c they're taping this in NYC this afternoon, and I'll be on the train home from their gig when they play this on tv)
26.03 - U2 performance
27.03 - Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt performance

oh yeah, and I have a ticket to see Doves in June!

"best of" upcoming events (third list of January)

addendum to this post from 12 January

Radcliffe/Maconie (Radio2)
27.01 - Graham Nash interview (added later 'cos it was just announced on Rad/Mac)
11.02 - Morrissey live session and Q&A with Mark and Stu at the BBC Theatre, London (repeated in list here b/c I'm worried I'll forget!)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
05.02 - Morrissey performance - sure to be mobbed by mozzolo regulars

Conan O'Brien (NBC)
28.01 - Cold War Kids performance
30.01 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds performance

Leno (NBC)
07.01 - Hoobastank performance
29.01 - Franz Ferdinand performance

Letterman (CBS)
29.01 - Graham Nash performance
30.01 - Gaslight Anthem performance

crap, I just realised why I missed Delta Spirit on 16.01, I was watching the wrong show. instead I was watching Hugh Laurie and his charity Band on TV. oops! at least I got to hear them on Lammo's Monday night show recently.

random thought of the day: I have tickets to see both Airborne Toxic Event (12.03) and Morrissey (14.03) and I am very excited, for I did not have to go through a tout for either! see, the little things in life make me happy.

"best of" upcoming events (second list of January)

addendum to this earlier post from last week

Ellen Degeneres (check U.S. local listings)
15.01 - Live performance (c'mon you remember them. and they're going to perform "Lightning Crashes".)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
16.01 - Delta Spirit performance (need to remember to program this directly after Airborne Toxic Event on Letterman...yeah yeah, I'm a geezer. I can't stay awake for these late night shows b/c I get up at 6 in the morning for work.)

Radcliffe/Maconie (Radio2)
12.01 - Morrissey announcement (it's got to be either an in-session at the Oxford Road Studios open to fans, or a full-fledged broadcast recording like this Elbow thingamabob being recorded this Saturday and going out on Radio2 on 31.01 - either way, this fangirl is again mourning *not* living in blighty)
13.01 -Starsailor in session, and look, it's Onion Tuesday! (don't ask, just listen)

"best of" upcoming events

fyi: ratings added 12.01

David Letterman (CBS)
05.01 - Glasvegas performance - meh.
07.01 - Okkervil River performance - meh.
16.01 - Airborne Toxic Event performance

Leno (NBC)
05.01 - Iron and Wine performance - oops, forgot about this.
09.01 - Eagles of Death Metal performance - groovy.

Radcliffe/Maconie (Radio2)
05.01 - Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds in session - they didn't grab me; nice enough tho.
07.01 - chat with Teitur ("Catherine the Waitress") - v. interesting interview from the Faroe Islands' inhabitant; wishing him every success.

random tip of the day: for the David Lee Roth fans out there, a page full of random Diamond Dave noises.