Live Covers Etc.

I've been feeling rather uninspired lately, hence the inactivity around here. I'm just that kind of spontaneous blogger, rarely ever plan posts forward, just sit around and wait for ideas to strike me. I'm just having a lot on my mind these days and I'm afraid the time between posts may expand. I'm sure there are plenty of other entertaining, better-written, frequently-updated music blogs out there, though.
Anyways, this year I didn't plan to watch the Grammy, in fact I haven't watched any award shows at all for quite some time. Then the night before last, I suddenly remembered it was on and turned the tv on by curiosity. Next thing I saw is Fergie, properly covered, singing a ballad with John Legend, so that people can take her seriously as a vocal gymnast. And there was Beyonce, ever so subtle, trying so hard when Tina seemed so at ease. After a mere 15 minutes, I told myself to screw it and look up the performances & the results later on the internet. How nonchalant I've become. To think I used to manage to sit through the whole three hours of this! I have to say the results didn't really surprise me at all. It was the same old message: respect the legacy! embrace the veterans! old is gold! the ebstablished will be rewarded! and we don't care about the young folks! Some of the winning choice I found quite absurb. Justin for Best Dance Recording? He should not even be eligible! Johnny Cash over Feist and Justice for Best Short Form Music Video? Come on. It was a pleasant surprise to see Mark Ronson crowned as best non-classical producer, though, he deserved it (must have made Timbaland cry like a baby while on his limo injecting steroids! Kidding...). Also no objection to Amy Winehouse's Grammy approval whatsoever. One more thing, Feist's stripped-down performance was a bit out of place for me, just thought she could have gone all out for the occasion. What I learnt from this experience, though, is that when you've grown enough to develop and opt for your own opinions, there are things that no longer matter much to you as before.

Okay, I conclude my utterly unnecessary, whiny rant with a bunch of live covers, which has nothing to do with what I just address earlier. But they're all really nice, and shouldn't be missed at all.



Jem - In My Place (Coldplay Cover) [alt. link]
Will there ever be a second album? There needs to be.

Adele - Last Nite (The Strokes Cover) [alt. link]
'Chasing Pavements' had all the rights to be a UK number one.

Jack Penate - 1234 (Feist Cover) [alt. link]
Trivia: I just learnt his surname is pronounced correctly as Pen-Yah-Tay. Who've thought? Thanks, um, Daily Star.

Sia - Gimme More (Britney Cover) [alt. link]
Sia playfully wiped off the sleazy grease and sweat from that unfortunate stripper pole.

Goldfrapp - It's Not Over Yet (Grace/Klaxons Cover - depend on how you look at it) [alt. link]
Will and Alison just did this for Live Lounge on Feb 8, which was very listenable. Plus, now I have an excuse to attach that lovely pic above.

Mercury Music Prize - My Picks

The prestigious Mercury Music Prize's winner announcement will be broadcast live on BBC4 today, at 9PM (London time), and as a blogger with much time to kill, I decided to do mini-reviews for some of the shortlisted albums, then picked my own personal favorite. If you haven't heard all of the acts nomimated, why not give them a few spins as the result's just literally a couple of hours away...


Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

I will confess that if not for the sheer purpose of this post, this album will probably be put off from my ears for much longer. Arctic Monkeys is one of those bands that I just don't quite connect to. Their whole debut album is on my iPod, yet I hardly wanted to come back for it, maybe I mostly keep it there for some indie cred. I give them props for being very good at what they're doing, but unfortunately I can't find any occasion to put on their music willingly. Nevertheless, I was suprised to find myself enjoying 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' more than I expected. There's more variety here, more 'Mardy Bum' type of songs, and 'Fluorescent Adolescent' might be slowly growing on me. Based on first listen, I give it a 3.25/5, and I'm thinking of a possible re-evaluation in the near future...One thing you can't deny: their covers are all amazing.

Arctic Monkeys - Flourescent Adolescent
Arctic Monkeys - Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey Live Cover)


Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (winner)
Another album I've just listened to recently. I quickly wrote them off as a 'one-hit-wonder' since I heard about 4 songs and nothing surpassed the brilliance of 'Golden Skans'. However, the album turned out to be yet another pleasant surprise, a lot poppier than I thought it'd be. 'Gravity's Rainbow' is now my second fave Klaxons song. It's a 3.5/5.

Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow

New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom
Being a band touted as 'nu-rave', they must think they're oh-so-cool. I do love the metaphor-ridden 'Ice Cream', but found the rest of the album lackluster. It doesn't really make me want to get up and dance, in fact it's a little boring and lifeless. I just don't see myself wanting to give the record another go. 3.25/5, I'm afraid.

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream
New Young Pony Club - The Bomb

Maps - We Can Create
Not that I'm bragging, but I've heard of Maps (one-man-band of James Chapman) since he wasn't signed to Mute, so it's nice to see how he's gone a long way to this. I heard he actually recorded the album on a 16-track recorder instead of a proper laptop, and single-handedly cut and spliced sounds together. I listened to 'We Can Create' on a cool cool night, after the rain just stopped outside, and it was the perfect set-up to help me dive in its dreamy, icy soundscapes. His music is part shoegaze, part electronica, and part space-pop. This may sound silly, but imagine Sigur Ros meets M83 - and it would sound like this. 'You Don't Know Her Name' is the best track on the album, pure aural bliss, with a slightly creepy but suitable video to go with. A 3.5/5.

Maps - You Don't Know Her Name
Maps - It Will Find You
Maps - Elouise

Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold
My personal favorite. I just adore Natasha Khan. She's quite avant-garde, yet her music is both experimental and acessible at the same time. There are traces of Kate Bush, Bjork and Cat Power as her influences. 'Fur And Gold' is one of the few albums that I can say I enjoy from start to finish this year, with a stunning chill-inducing closer 'I Saw A Light'. Among my fave tracks are 'Prescilla' (a little tribal), and the wonderful trip-hoppish Shangri-Las-esque 'What's A Girl To Do' (if this is a music video competition, then the video for this song would kick all the other video's asses. Bicycle tricks, animal masks, dark void roads - surreal). But of course, it's all about the music here, and she rightfully earned my 3.75/5.

Bat For Lashes - Prescilla
Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do?
Bat For Lashes - Horse & I



The only artist that I never heard of pre-shortlist is Basquiat Strings. I tracked down a couple of their tracks and found out that they're 'jazz', but not the kind of jazz I would be into, so I didn't bother for more.

The following albums are those I chose not to listen to, not really my stuff:

Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
Fionn Regan - The End of History
Jamie T - Panic Prevention
The View - Hats Off to the Buskers
The Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men

Both Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee have won before so I don't think they will make history by winning for the second time this year.
The only album I've worn out is Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black' (by the way, happy birthday Mark Ronson!). Sure it's outstanding, but not necessarily in need of winning an award.
So in conclusion, I'm rooting for Bat For Lashes. Maps came close at second.

That's a wrap. Enjoy, everyone. I can now go to sleep.

Oh, I almost forgot that the Popjustice Music Prize will be announced today, too. As long as Girls Aloud doesn't win again, then I'm good.

*UPDATE:
Klaxons won the Mercury Music Prize 2007! Oh well, fair enough, they were my third choice. Nu-rave is now authentic etc.
On the other side, Amy Winehouse's 'Rehab' got the PopJustice 20 quid Music Prize. I'm not sure how to feel about this, I was secretly rooting for 'Overpowered' though.

Mark Ronson Redoes Golden Skans

How come I didn't know about this? I'm not sure where it came from, but there's a good chance he did it for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. He teamed up with Daniel Merriweather to reimagine Klaxons' hit 'Golden Skans', with his usual signature touches, like, of course, horns. I did prefer his version to Kaiser Chiefs' one, though. With decent production value, this could as well be a nice bonus track or b-side. Plus it inspired me to revisit some old covers and I might even post a few for the weekend.
Speaking of Daniel Merriweather, the shitty international version for 'Stop Me' video (the 'tears' one) slightly ruined the song for me. Before, I pictured Daniel as this senile, black soul singer (note to self: narrow-minded), but after viewing the video, I didn't know how to feel because it's good to see that he is not what I thought he was, but on the other side, his onscreen presence made he look so corny, like a boyband reject from the late '90s. I wish he had just remained faceless to me.
Anyway, it seems that good things are lining up for both of them. Mark is MTV US's 'Discover & Download' for this month, and Daniel's already set to perform at the VMAs in September.
And here I give you the funked-up version of 'Golden Skans':

Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather - Golden Skans (Klaxons Cover)




For more info about Mark Ronson, you can click on the banner below, which will take you to his official website.

Kaiser Chiefs Covers Klaxons' Golden Skans

Okay, sorry for the lack of updates in the last couple of days. I'm back for a few posts this weekend, then I'll be taking a break for possibly a month. Might pop in every now and then if something new needs to be posted that badly. However, this summer's gonna be all hard work as I will try to improve my posting pace and let you in on all of my favorite acts/songs of the year so far...So yeah, there will be lots of catching up to do...

Also, thanks to all those who commented on my previous post. It's a quite easy one, isn't it? Whether you want it or not, here's a big virtual hug to all Buffyverse fans! [Note to self: watch season 3 again this weekend.] Thanks for all of your suggestions, some of them I haven't heard before and will do!

Onto another thing, I've been having problems with filehosting, again. FileDen just cut their monthly bandwidth down from 20 to 5GB, and it's already eaten up, new host FileGiant closed down abruptly, UploadingIt deleted all my files...These kinds of hosts always start off so promisingly, offering so much free bandwidth, but eventually, they can't handle it and ask for more money. This sucks, so bear with me until I can find a new filehost and settle down.

Enough with the complaining. Let's get on to the musique.

Kaiser Chiefs with their take on Klaxons' biggest hit to date 'Golden Skans' for Live Lounge. And I think they did a good job! They didn't even try to change anything of the song (though I did hear a xylophone playing there), overall they just had a good time covering it, and the cover turned out decently enjoyable, too. Plus now those ooh-oohs climb their way into my head again.
I like both the two singles (Ruby & Everything Is Average Nowadays) from the new album so far, but everybody's saying 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob' was a downgrade, so I'm not sure if I should pick up the whole deal or not. Maybe I just keep my eyes on the upcoming singles and see. Enjoy it!

Kaiser Chiefs - Golden Skans (Klaxons Cover)

Sights & Sounds: New Music Vids From The Pipettes, Travis, Mika and more

The Pipettes - ABC

Apparently, this video was out about 2 weeks ago but I was just aware of its existence a few days ago. How embarassing. This time, The Pipettes go animated! Judging from the looks, I guess it was Flash-made, and the style is kinda Hanna-Barbera-ish. Somehow, their animated versions keep reminding me of, um, The Powerpuff Girls. Weird.
Anyway, the girls just signed a deal with major label Interscope in US via their division Cherrytree Records (which is also home of The Feeling and Feist). Their album will get a stateside release in summer followed by a tour. So congrats! Let's hope their label figured out the marketing strategies right and spend some proper cash on promoting. If you're still not familiar with them, check out a tune right now! A, B, C, D, 1, 2, 3, X, Y, Z...

MP3: The Pipettes - ABC

Mika - Love Today

Video for his second single. He's still very flamboyant. Somehow this vid shares a lot of similarities with the following Arctic Monkeys one.

Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm

Yes, they're back. First, I'm never a fan. They're good at doing what they do, but their melodies/lyrics/riffs just don't stay. But this song, it was produced by James Ford, producer of Simian Mobile Disco and Klaxons. And on first listen, it doesn't sound that bad. Probably their danciest song to date. And their flashiest video too. The funny thing is, it's the monkeys that look out of place in this vid.

MP3:Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm

Ben Kweller - Penny On the Train Track

The after effects of OK Go's success. Now Ben's going for the homemade, viral video look, with help from his 82-year-old granny, hip-swivelling in a gym. This is the kind of thing that makes you either feel creepily entertained or makes you wanna gouge your eyes out. Somehow I can't help but think that this is Shakira and Beyoncé at their 80s getting together and remember the olden days!
I heard this song last year and totally overlooked it. How wrong was I! Now it's stuck in my head all day. Great feel-good song. Must-hear! If The OC was still on, this would secure a spot on an episode, sigh...

MP3:Ben Kweller - Penny On the Train Track

Travis - Closer

Setting: in a supermarket in LA. A little cheesy, but fun and cute nonetheless. Fran's getting chubby. And there's a cameo from Ben Stiller. Lovely song, by the way. I'll find the Quicktime mov link and put it up tomorrow for download.You can download the vid now in good quality.

MOV:Travis - Closer music video

Manic Street Preachers feat. Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough

Simple performance piece. James has shaved his beard. And Nina still looks stunning after all these years, she doesn't seem to age at all. And the song's already one of the best of 2007 period.

Dolores O'Riordan - Ordinary Day

Dolores looks in shape for her age. The vid's nothing exciting to write about, I don't get the concept. But the park scene at the end's quite cool, anyway. I plan to listen to her solo debut this weekend, so more on that later.

---

These I forgot about yesterday...

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

Gloomy, and shot in black and white, but overall a little bit dull. The video treatment didn't work as it would sound on paper, so it's another case of could-have-been-better. Ace song, though. Love love her. She's been getting buzz in the blogosphere like crazy.

Mark Ronson - Stop Me

The story of a man and a crazy pair of white sneakers (not sure if they belong to lily Allen, though). A novelty idea for his version of The Smiths' song. Interesting enough, but I've got a feeling I've seen it all before. Deja vu, indeed.

Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow

New version shot for the re-release of the single. A different approach. Art direction's quite neat.

Sights & Sounds #1

You know what, beside being a music geek, I also have a soft spot for ace music videos. Not so much for that kind of TRL flashy promo videos. But also for those experimental, lo-fi, obscure ones that you can only see thanks to the miracles of the internet since no music channels would give them airtime. So I decided to unleash more of that side here. Every week, you can 'tune in' here for 'Sights & Sounds', a new feature in which I share my raves and rants about recently released music videos. Most of them will have downloadable high quality Quicktime mov files if available, and sometimes I might throw in an mp3 or two. Okay, let's do this..thing!

Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes (dir: Robert Hales)

The first ace music video of Snow Patrol since 'Chocolate'. It's an alt. version, and a 'homage' to a cult-classic short film made in Paris in 1976 called 'C'était un Rendezvous'. The concept is simple: a evening drive around the streets of Paris with the view from behind the windscreen, all shot beautifully in just one take. Sounds boring on paper, but actually it fits perfectly with the song, and I love how all the doves start to flap their wings off the ground as the song builds up to its climax. Unoriginally awesome.

Download the music video:Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes (the links I provide will always be MOV)


The Bird And The Bee - Again & Again (dir: Autumn De Wilde)

The very first video from my new favorite group, directed by their photographer Autumn, who did Jenny Lewis' 'Rise Up With Fists' last year. It's quite adorable, sweet and chic, a suitable visual companion to the song, and it takes the song title quite literally. Plus I never notice that the song can be this upbeat before, and now it's stuck in my head all over again, and again, and again, and again...
I know I never really did a proper post about them, but seriously, I'm so head over heels in love with this duo (vocalist Inara George & producer Greg Kurstin, whose name you will see a lot this year), and their sugary '60s indie pop confection. Here, preview the song, highly recommended!

MP3:The Bird and the Bee - Again And Again

Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill

It's amazing what a good editor what can do with a bunch of random touring footages. Trippy video for a fantastic song. This is their third single off 'Let's Get Out Of This Country', and it's their most danceable one yet. Sigh, yes, you heard it before on 'Grey's Anatomy'...Traceyanne Campbell's still got that cute I-smell-poos look on her face. Love these Glaswegians.

MP3:Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill

M.I.A. - Bird Flu

Oh look! She must have gone back to Sri Lanka to film this! Look at those kids! In tie-dye t-shirts! Breaking it down to the beats! They look so healthy and well-fed! Could it get any happier than this?
Musically, it's such a collage of different cultures that it sounds ace despite being quite tuneless. M.I.A. said she called it 'Bird Flu' because 'this beat's gon' kill everyone!'. Oh.

Download the music video:M.I.A. - Bird Flu

Klaxons - Golden Skans (dir: Saam Faramand)

Shame on me. I've had the song for quite a while, but just watched this last week. And wow, it's so, uhm, visually newrave! So many lights! It's a step up, since the last vid I saw from them, 'Magick', totally grossed me out!

The Killers - Read My Mind (dir: Diane Martel)

The first likeable single from 'Sam's Town', and also the most immediate track on it. This time, The Killers go 'Lost In Translation'. They do all kinds of things foreigners would do in Tokyo, like throwing dead leaves at local children, getting their face powdered up and donning geisha kimonos, and sleeping with a 'kawaii' green dinosaur. And not shaving a moustache.

Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches (dir: Johan Sandberg, Fredrik Skogkvist, Henrik Timonen)

It's so cheesy it's great! The first song from Robyn that I actually like! The vid takes the lyrics literally, and by that, we 've got a whole lot of costumes with karaoke subtitles! It sounds and looks like a 'poor man' version of a Missy Elliott song/video. Ba da boom boom.
Took 16 months to make from first meeting to post-production.

MP3:Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches (fun Swedish pop, y'all)
MOV:Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches
Bonus:Photos of all the costumes here!

Scissor Sisters - She's My Man

Could be the next viral video sensation, whatever that means. The treatment is fun though it has nothing to do with the song (and that's a good thing, the song's terrible). It's supposed to let you see the tricks, and what the hell is Ana Matronic wearing?

Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around...Comes Around (dir: Samuel Bayer)

Yawn. 9 minutes. Boring dialogue. An average song. The only thing interesting here is, ahem, Scarlett Johansson's boobs. Here's the plot [spoiler!]:girl meets boy. girl cheats boy. boy knows. girl crashes her car. girl's dead.
See, that's the message, cheat Justin and you're way dead.

Hilary Duff - With Love (dir: Matthew Rolston)

Is it just me that finds this quite disturbing? So Duff's all grown up, she wants to get her sexy on now, I get it. She spent all those years proving how nice and clean-cut she is, criticizing her famous peers in interviews and now she ends up doing just the same to sell records? Yeah. I was hoping that maybe the lyrics still have some Disney values (since that's what she's best at), but after watching this, it's clear she's singing about getting boned! I really do like this new catchy, refreshing electropop sound of her, but come on, why do it if you're gonna look so awkward doing it? It's like her publicist aims for 'anorexic cheap whore'. You know what's even more shameful than that fake orgasmic face of her in the elevator? That this whole thing is obviously just a cross-promotion for her crappy perfume. End of rant.
Besides, who the hell thinks they will have a good video by booking Matthew Rolston these days?

*

Here are a few more cool videos that are not new, but deserve a download if you want more than just blurry YouTube clips:

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Catch You
Mika - Grace Kelly
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let It Go To Waste
Muse - Knights Of Cydonia

Now applaud yourself for making it to the end of the post.

Cover: Klaxons - My Love!

Oh guess what, Klaxons, one of the buzzing new acts of 2007 that everyone's raving about, just stopped by an obscure radio show called...wait for it...BBC Live Lounge with Jo Whiley!, and did a cover of...Justin Timberlake's 'My Love'!, the song you've probably heard for a billionth time by now.
I'm in a hurry right now, so all I can say is that they did a damn fantastic job. It's a faithful cover, and they added a little cool piano part which is a nice touch. Though being covered by an indie band, the song's actually still very catchy and pretty danceable. My thoughts on the band may be saved for another time, another post. For now, I say no more and let you hear it for yourself, if you haven't yet.

Klaxons - My Love (Justin Timberlake Cover)

Link: Their myspace