Top 5 Indie Movie Soundtracks of the Past 5 Years - Guest Post

 

The indie film boom of recent years has not only been a force unto itself, but has also ushered in a love for the indie film soundtrack.  Quite often these collections are part-complilation, part-original work, and they're almost always something you can put on in the background on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  Here are five of the most notable indie movie soundtracks from the past half-decade.

Juno (2008) - Although this film may not be considered part of the indie vibe anymore given its raging commercial and critical success, Juno did bring much-deserved attention to the work of Kimya Dawson, whose voice is dotted throughout the soundtrack album.  Adorably cute or disgustingly cute, depending on your point of view, this soundtrack fits well with the film, and the Sonic Youth track alone is worth the price of the CD.

 

 

500 Days of Summer (2009) - Another cutesy film featuring the sometimes unbearably twee Zooey Deschanel, 500 Days of Summer reins itself back in from cute overload with a stellar compilation soundtrack that combines pop hits of old (Hall & Oates) with more recent indie gems (Carla Bruni).  Even if you found the movie to be too much, the soundtrack is still a worthwhile buy, and is great to put on shuffle when you have friends over for dinner.

Away We Go (2009) - Scottish songwriter Alexi Murdoch created a folk-heavy soundtrack for this film about two lost souls looking for a place to start a family, and wandering around the United States in search of a perfect home. Sam Mendes directed, which may seem a little incongruous considering he has now gone on to direct a James Bond film.  Complementing the original Murdoch tracks on Away We Go are contributions from legends like George Harrison and Bob Dylan, lending a heavy nostalgic feel to this quirky and emotional film.

Submarine (2010) - Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys fame) delved briefly into the world of soundtrack writing with Submarine, a bizarre-yet-charming film about a young man trying to get some romantic action while keeping his mother from the same.  The album (or perhaps EP is a better description) only has six tracks, but in those six tracks Turner shows that he really has a talent for blending sound with story.

Greenberg (2010) - As much as this movie was a dark horse for comedian Ben Stiller (who usually opts for more obvious comedy like Little Fockers, the soundtrack was also a departure for LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy.  Ditching the dance beats for a more piano-based feel, in many ways this is Murphy's most interesting work, and gets surprisingly little recognition from LCD Soundsystem fans.

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Brynn lives, breathes, and geeks out over all things music. When she's not hanging out at shows or figuring out her summer festival schedule, she writes about bands, performances, and musicians for authoritytickets.com. 

5 End of Summer Cuts from SPECTRASOUL - Guest Post

Spectrasoul, aka David Kennett and Jack Stevens, are a Drum and Bass duo who have played the world over and have come up with some great original tunes. Their seriously cool bass and drum combination has created some wide interest in the music world. They are consistent in their output of cool, clean tracks that hit the clubs, captivating them with their stylish mix of drums, bass and Techno style. Add some great vocals and you have brilliant songs which will endure the test of time. The Brighton lads came on the scene in 2006 and released their debut single Alibi on the Critical Music label in 2008. They soon came to the attention of the public and have been working hard ever since, visiting night clubs, festivals and smaller venues. They are the masters of creating beautiful tracks in a whole spectrum of sound. Their tunes grab your attention immediately. They are bang up-to-date and timelessly evocative at the same time. Excellent high quality mixes which are both dance floor classics and easy to listen to tracks.

Polished and utterly professional in their approach, they have produced some great new tracks, each one streamlined and slick, which can be heard on the following links.

Here’s a taster of their summer tracks:

Melodies featuring Mike Knight on the Exit label in 12”.

Great vocals by Mike Knight and a fantastic mind-blowing bass and drum section with a great boom-factor.

Away With Me (Calibre Remix) on the Label: Shogun Audio on 12”.

This track is upbeat and very atmospheric. It has a clever use of echo and sound mix and sultry vocals.

Light in the Dark features Terri Walker, on the Shogun Audio label in 12” format.

Terri Walker’s soulful voice is stirring and evocative and this mix has an edge over the other songs. This is a great tune for lying back with a glass of wine, chilling out with your lover.

Alibi on the Critical label, in 12” format.

This is a great classic dance track, which has kept people moving on the dance floor for a few years now. It is spookily metropolitan in its delivery. This would make great film music.

Lost Disciple on the Shogun label, in 12” format.

This is a very atmospheric track with an almost plaintive apocalyptic feel to it. It’s very easy to listen to.


David Kennet/Jack Stevens: Spectrasoul

Spectrasoul’s cleverly arranged tracks will reach people who are otherwise indifferent to Drum and Bass records.  All of the above, plus more are currently available on vinyl release at our favourite London record store BM Soho.

NOEL GALLAGHER B-Sides: Do You Think There Better?

I was on YouTube the other night and got to watching Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds live in Buenos Ares, Argentina. Noel performed a song there which I haven't heard before, it's not on the album and is named "Let The Lord Shine a Light on Me", the song is a B-Side and is something I should have expected as even when Oasis were together their B-Sides generally became bigger hits than their main releases most notably of all would have to be "Half The World Away", a brilliant track especially when performed acoustically by Noel himself.

It got me to thinking are Noel Gallagher's B-Sides better than the originals all the time? Noel clearly doesn't think so, as he would probably include them on the album. I ended up on YouTube most of the night amazed by some of the B-Side releases that are coming our way from the debut album. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds literally have a whole album of B-Sides each one as brilliant as to what it plays second place to. I went to see Noel live in Newcastle and was lucky enough to see one of the B-Side performances in "The Good Rebel", I would say out of all the B-Side tracks this one is probably my least favourite, still brilliant but not as good or engaging as the others. My favourite would have to be "Let The Lord Shine a Light on Me" which I mentioned above and I'll start with the video below live.



Quite a fitting song really as Noel was recently awarded NME Magazine's God like genius award, one fan on YouTube felt it necessary to point out "How can Noel shine a light on himself?"

Moving on to an eary favourite of mine now, it's a track named "Alone on the Rope". You really have to listen to appreciate just how good this track is, not only are the lyrics brilliant but that creepy backing music wouldn't go a miss in horror movies. In fact it sounds familiar to me, tell you what. Pop over and watch the Prometheus trailer and tell me the music in the video below doesn't sound the same.





 
I never thought I would associate Noel Gallagher with Country music, but that's exactly what I'm going to do with the next video of "I'd Pick You Every Time", this is one of those songs where weather you like Noel Gallagher or not you will simply fail not to tap your feet.





 
Noel Gallagher is often referred to as a genius, rightly so as he is considered by many as the best songwriter of his generation and it's only fitting that he writes something to go in line with that. "A Simple Game of Genius" is the last B-Side video I have for you now and just listen to this track and tell me it doesn't remind you of "Everybody's On The Run", one of my favourite tracks from the main album . "A Simple Game of Genius" is simply genius.

Noise That Is Drowning Out The Melody: GUEST POST

Music is an integral part of cinema. Right from the days of silent films, when a live orchestra had to play at the theatres till the cinemas today, a film without a background score is pictures without meaning. Not only does music add to the effect of dialogue and action but also creates an ambience for the viewers. Music helps the viewers to get involved in the film and view it not only as a spectator but as a part of the film.

Till the advent of talkies, in the late 1920s, when synchronized sound had not been in use, a live orchestra used to sit in the orchestra pit of a theatre and the show would start once the music conductor had taken his place. At that point of time, music was essential since the actors would mostly do a pantomime because of the lack of synchronized sound. Their actions used to be accentuated through music.

Even after the talkies were introduced, a background score was every director’s need. A film seemed like a picture without colour. A background score is important to create a sense of drama, mystery, suspense, fun, melancholy and wrath. Background music coupled with action makes dialogues sound effective. Just like the right kind of lighting is essential for a scene to be perfected, in the same way the music has to be exactly suited to bring out the right emotion in the scene. Background music for film has evolved over the years. The live orchestra was replaced by recorded sound which was then replaced by digital sounds and music.

However, over the years, the music quality has deteriorated and background music is slowly becoming ineffective. Digital sound fails to achieve what a live orchestra could achieve. Background music of the films of the yesteryears added to the film a different charm, a magnetic charm that music makers these days somehow fail to achieve.

First of all, the musician composing the background theme should have a good understanding of cinema only to understand what kind of music will suit a particular sort of mood. A background score should accentuate the performance of the actors and make a scene more powerful. These days all a background score does is creates noise in inappropriate portions of the film. The quality of the background score has not become bad but has definitely become poorer than before.

Instruments that were used to create good and effective music are hardly in use these days. The digitalization of music has created absurd sounds that are loud and gaudy. In a film, only few parts need to be highlighted through music. Background music also acts as a leitmotif in films. It does not have to continuously play in the background but only when it is required. The quality of a background score has most definitely dropped as the years have progressed.

Background music for film is important as it creates the right kind of atmosphere for a shot. These days the background music is hardly given importance as the directors focus more on what is more commercially viable for the film.

Author's Bio : Dianna Smith, a passionate movies and music lover, loves to write content about background music for film and to know more about this ,he recommends to visit musicdealers.com.

Review: MADONNA Live at Super Bowl XLVI

I have to say first off and it’s something you may have picked up on earlier if you read the music post that I’m not really Madonna’s biggest fan, not even of her older music so this was going to have to be some show to convince me. I’m not arguing that she’s a talented lady who has had and still has a very successful career, it’s just not for me.

They certainly do spend some money on these Superbowl half time shows, don’t they? Last years Black Eyed Peas performance was pretty impressive with all the neon lighting, now Madonna makes somewhat of a gladiatorial entrance surrounded by guys who looked like extras from Gladiator whilst miming to Vouge, one of her hits from back in the 80’s. It was ok I suppose then she broke into Music one of her more recent hits again, not really a bad job.

I’ve seen a lot of people slating LMFAO, ok they can’t sing at least not very well, I think they were miming to, but you have to admit they did liven up proceedings convincing 53 year old Madonna that she’s sexy and she knows it, any thought’s? LMFAO have just really come into the lime light last year, how do they bag a Superbowl gig so quick? Things got worse for me when Nicki Minaj and M.I.A came onto the stage to help Madonna perform (mime) her latest release Gimme all You Luvvin  which I talked about earlier today. I’ll be honest I would rather have seen ZZ Top up their performing their hit of the same name, a big sporting event calls for big ass guitars from guys with big ass beards who would probably have rode onto the stage on their motorcycle’s saving the organizers a fortune, I bet Madonna wasn’t paying for the Gladiator extras.

From Nicki and M.I.A, I thought I was in Edinburgh for the Military Tattoo festival when all those guys came out with their drums accompanied by Cee Lo Green, an artist I love but hadn’t read to many good things about for this performance. However, I thought he done a pretty good job at first then they broke back into one of Madonna's songs that spoilt it for me, sorry Cee Lo.

That circus act guy was pretty impressive using that wire line like some sort of bouncy castle, I imagine that would take some balance, if you fall wrong it’s going to hurt, right guys? All in all I thought it was ok, I liked the Black Eyed peas performance last year better although that was helped big style by the inclusion of Slash and his guitar. I suppose they have to appeal to a global audience and out of the 160 million or so people who watched the show I’m sure that some of them were fans of Madonna.

Remember yesterday I put out the movie sneak peaks for The Avengers and The Hunger Games which featured during The Super Bowl.

New UK Single Releases: 6th February 2012 Featuring WILL I AM, MADONNA, KELLY CLARKSON and KELLY ROWLAND

Again, it’s not the best of weeks on the music release scene nothing really stands out but I think there are a couple included that you will like, pretty much main stream pop stuff is the order of the week so let’s get on, first up,

Childish Gambino – 'All The Shine' – Maybe better known to most of my readers as Donald Glover, the actor who shot to fame starring in Derrick and more recently starred in Community (I have never seen either). Gambino dropped his debut album last November after he was signed to Glassnote Records, I like rap and hip hop but I don’t like this, maybe I just don’t get it.

Dropkick Murphys – 'Going Out In Style' – These guys are a Irish-American punk band, I hadn’t heard of them probably because I’m not into punk music, I took a listen to this and within the first minute I feared my ears were about to bleed, considering I wasn’t listening to it to loud I’d say that’s not a good thing.

Friends – 'Friend Crush' – No? Don’t worry I haven’t heard of them either, How can I describe their music? Eletrical, I suppose I really have no idea what they were singing about.

J Mascis – 'Circle' – An American musician who was in the band Dinosaur Jr, not really heard of him or that band. I took a listen to this and can’t say I’m that impressed, last year J Mascis was named in the top 100 guitarists, he was 86 on the list, I suppose that’s sort of an achievement.

Kelly Clarkson - 'Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)' – Probably the most famous talent show winner ever, Kelly won the first season of American Idol in 2003 and then went on to come second in World Idol. I actually really like this song, I’ve heard it on the radio a bunch of times and after watching this I’ve decided that Kelly Clarkson is pretty hot.

Kelly Rowland feat. Big Sean - 'Lay It On Me' – I don’t need to introduce Kelly do I? The former Destiny’s Child star and now X Factor judge is back with her latest release featuring Big Sean, can’t say I’m to crazy about it really.

Madonna - 'Give Me All Your Luvvin' – This is dreadful, Madonna surrounding herself with fresh and current acts like M.I.A and Niki Minaj trying to make herself popular in the now. Sorry Maj it doesn’t work for me, oh yeah, the video is rubbish to. Be sure to check back later on Madonna though I will be reviewing her Superbowl performance.

Paul McCartney – 'My Valentine' – It’s nearly the most romantic (horribly expensive) day of the year, so, what else do you expect than former Beatle Macca releasing a love song? I don’t think I will be dining to this of 14th February, how about you?

Pnau - 'Unite Us' – These guys are a Australian duo who do dance music, I’m not struck on this at all and have to say being a former DJ I wouldn’t have played their standard release as part of my set. I imagine hardcore dance music fans would probably go for the Tommy Trash remix, it’s suited a lot more to clubs.

Will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez - 'T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)' – I actually really like this, I saw Will.Iam interviewed on Top Gear recently, I really didn’t know he was such a talented (very rich) guy. I prefer Will on his own as apposed to being part of The Black Eyed Peas and like the song I really like this video (Mick Jagger bit is great), you can tell it’s had plenty money thrown at it unlike the Madonna one I mentioned earlier, check it out below.

New Single Releases: 30th January 2012, DJ SHADOW, METALLICA, FEEDER and LIL WAYNE

Clock Opera – 'Once And For All' - An indie rock band, I have heard of these guys but I haven't heard their music, I took a listen to this one and can't say I'm that impressed.

Cloud Nothings – 'Stay Useless' - Indie bands are all I seem to write about these days, they are literally coming out the wood work. I hadn't heard of these guys and judging by this song I won't be taking any sort of detailed look into thir back catalog.

DJ Shadow – 'Scale It Back' - I don't know why this is on the release dates again this week, It featured here a month or so ago now and I was pretty positive about the song then, and I stand by that. My release info comes fom the same source every week so I don't know why we get a repeat.

Feeder – 'Borders' - I've never been the biggest fan of this alternative rock band from Wales, I don't know why because their music is massive even making it into Hollywood movies, I suppose that's because they sound more American than Welsh but it has worked for them, this song is ok, I would have it as an album filler.

Fucked Up – 'Year Of The Tiger' - I have never heard of these guys but if your inetersted they are a hardcore punk band from the U.S.

The Kills – 'Last Goodbye' - Rock band? Yawn. Very boring.

Lil Wayne feat. Bruno Mars – 'Mirrors' - Lil Wayne is a American rapper who has been signed to Cash Money Records since he was nine years old, I'm not the biggest fan of his music but I do like Bruno Mars who features on this record. Not the best record but will probably do well in the charts thanks to the names attached.

Metallica – 'Beyond Magnetic EP' - One of my favoutite bands, I just hate the album with Lou Reed though, he should probably have stayd in the 70's. Lou is an aquired taste, what can I say? He does not feature here and Metallica are back ro their hardcore rocking best.

Youngman

 Pixie Lott – 'Kiss The Stars' - I was wondering why Pixie was on morning TV this week (only seen it because of days off), I have heard this song on the radio and have switched it off every time thinking it was Justin Beiber, oops.

Radiohead – 'Bloom (Jamie xx remix)' - Never been a big fan of Radiohead and this song does nothing to add to my confidence in them.

Youngman – 'Who Knows' - Save the best till last, that's what they say and that's hat I have done, you need to be sharing this video with your Facebook, Twitter or whatever wasily the best release of the week and a new favourite of mine.

New Album & Single Releases: 16th January 2012, EVENESCANCE, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, THE TING TINGS and SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA

This post is getting doubled up with the albums again this week, were still getting over the new year in the charts so the releases will be starting to come think and fast in the next two to three weeks, in the mean time here are all the latest single and album releases from this week.

New Singles

Evanescence – 'My Heart Is Broken' – Evanescence won’t need any introduction from me, they have been on the go for long enough now, they featured here with their previous single a few months back now.

Florence And The Machine – 'No Light No Light' – Absolutely love these guys can’t rate them highly enough, I saw them perform this on the Jonathan Ross show last Saturday and although it’s not my favourite I can still listen to it easily along with their album Ceremonials.

Little Cuts – 'Plastic Disaster' – A punk band from the U.S that I have never heard of, Punk is an acquired taste one which I’m not really into, I can go back to one punk band from the 80’s called Big Country, go check out the post I done on them not long after starting this blog.

Oberhoffer – 'Gotta Go' – Another one I haven’t heard of, nor are these guys easy to find much out about. It would appear that they are a indie pop group.

The Shins – 'Simple Song' – An American indie rock band who have been on the go since 1997, that’s quite impressive these days.  Indie music is good but I can’t say I have heard to much of these guys music.

Swedish House Mafia Vs Knife Party – 'Antidote' – A trio of European DJ's and producers who have a tendency to deliver big club hits, their last featured U.K rapper Tinie Tempah and was a massive hit across the clubs in Ibiza.

The Ting Tings – 'Hang It Up' – These guys rose to fame last year making a big hit at the festivals, they are a two piece band that the whole of the U.K went mad for them but, I wasn’t to impressed.

New Albums

Attack! Attack! – 'This Means War' – With a name like Attack! Attack! You can kind of guess that these guys are some sort of heavy rock outfit, they are billed as metalcore, I’m not sure what that means but I think it may well hurt your ears.

The Big Pink – 'Future This' – An English electro rock duo who have been signed professionally since 2009 but to date have only released 5 singles from their debut album, this is their second album, I’ve not heard of the and electro rock ain’t really my thing.

Diagrams – 'Black Light'  - Never even heard of these guys!

Ani DiFranco – 'Which Side Are You On?' – A very famous lady who in her time has released over 20 albums as well as being a Grammy award winner.



Enter Shikari!

 Enter Shikari – 'A Flash Flood Of Colour' – A massive U.K band well known for mashing up all different styles of rock with electro, I have to be honest although it’s not my thing these guys do it very well and I have enjoyed their previous offerings.

Foe – 'Bad Dream Hotline' – Never heard of these guys either!

Frank Turner – 'The Second Three Years' – A well known U.K singer songwriter who’s not my idea of fun.

Anthony Green – 'Beautiful Things' – A musician that works on both sides of the fence as a solo artist but has also featured as the lead singer for many bands most of which I haven’t heard of.

Guided By Voices – 'Let's Go Eat The Factory' – A American indie rock back who were formed way back in 1983, they went till 2004 split up, got back together and are still releasing music.  You have to admit that is pretty impressive.



Howler!

 Howler – 'America Give Up' – A American rock band who made a massive name for themselves during 2011, so much so that NME named them the #3 band of the year and credited their lead singer Jordan Gatesmith as one of 2011’s coolest people, I haven’t heard much of what they do but I will be checking out this album after nods like that.

King Krule – 'King Krule' – Known formally as Zoo Kid, this guy changed his name on tour last year to King Krule inspired by some character in Donkey Kong, a bit stupid if you ask me.

One Sonic Society- 'Forever Reign' – No, sorry, I have not heard of these guys either!

The Red Inspectors – 'Are We The Red Inspectors? Are We?' – A new band that I’ve not heard of but, all of the members have been part of big bands in the past.

Tribes – 'Baby' – A four piece English rock band who are pretty well thought of in the music industry, I can’t say I have heard to much of their music but at least I have heard of them.

New UK Music Single Releases: 28th November 2011, BLINK 182, JASON DRULO, JAY-Z and KANYE WEST

Alphabet Backwards – 'British Explorer' – No don’t worry, I haven’t heard of them either and to say they are easy to find out about on the Internet would be a lie.  Google “Alphabet Backwards Wiki”, you are treated to some info on a guy who can say the Alphabet backwards.  They are a relatively new pop band from Oxford, England.

Brett Anderson – 'Crash About To Happen' – Easier if you just say Suede, you know the band?  Yeah them, Brett Anderson was their lead singer, they split in 2003 and he formed The Tears, that didn’t work out so now he’s going solo.

Blink-182 – 'Wishing Well' – Need no introduction from me do they?  Blink 182 are a massive American rock band formed in 2003, their music is pretty good and the drummer is Travis Barker, you know the guy who wants to be a millionaire, so fricken bad.


Fixers

 Fixers – 'Imperial Goddess Of Mercy EP' – A British band, I think this may be their fourth single release, previous to this they released “Swimhaus Johannesberg” which was played quite often on Radio 1.

Gotye – 'Easy Way Out' – A one guy multi instrumental musician who is also in Indie band The Basics, he performs solo and this latest track is from his fourth studio album, I ain’t heard of him but this song is very good, more the guitar riffs than anything else.

Ben Howard – 'The Fear' – An English singer/songwriter making his way up the ladder, the song is not bad but it’s not my idea of fun.


Jay Z (top), Kanye West

 Jason Derulo – 'Fight For You' – Again a guy who really does not need any introduction from me, Jason Derulo has been on plenty mixtapes here before, this song is crap.

Jay – Z and Kanye West – 'Why I Love You' – Two massive names in the world of hip hop, they seem to be working together quite a lot lately. I have heard this song a lot on the radio and I have to be honest it’s pretty catchy.

King Charles – 'Bam Bam' – An English singer/songwriter who says he tramples the border of cool and not cool.  As far as Bam Bam goes, I would have to say not cool.

Lenny Kravitz – 'Push' – An American artist who can just about do anything, I have never been the biggest fan of his music but I can’t deny he is a talented guy, this latest release is not that good but does provide you with very easy listening.


Lenny Kravitz

 Christina Perri – 'Arms' – She might be pretty but don’t let that lure you into a false sense of security, I only caught a little of this song and was beginning to develop self harm issues.

Patrick Wolf – 'Together' – An English/Irish singer/songwriter who I hadn’t heard of, after taking a listen to this I can’t say I’m that bothered.  I was bored literally just after it started.

The Wombats - '1996' – An Indie rock band from Liverpool, England.  They featured here a couple of weeks back, I have never been their biggest fan but this song is ok.

New Music Single Releases 21st November 2011, CHASE & STATUS, MARY J.BLIGE, KASABIAN and KELLY ROWLAND

Big Deal – 'Distant Neighborhood' - Never heard of these guys, they are kind of alternative.  Only way to find them is by writing their name and song title into Google otherwise other songs actually named Big Deal beat them to the chase.

Bleeding Knees Club – 'Teenage Girls' - I have to be honest again, I have not heard of these guys.  The reason for that is simple, they are an up coming indie rock band from Australia, they consist of two members one who sings and plays drums the other plays the guitar.

Britney Spears – 'Criminal' - Don't like Britney Spears, don't know about you.  I just can't take her seriously as a musician or artist, piss artist maybe but her music is just not for me, not even as a teenager was I interested in this (music wise).

Kelly Rowland – 'Down For Whatever' - Argh Kelly, the lady who is currently judging on the X Factor UK, yo all know who she is her music is pretty up beat and entertaining, it's not the kind of thing I would have in the car but it's good pop music.

Seranades – 'Come Home EP' - There English apparently, I have never heard of them but they have been on the go for some time, since 1993 in fact.  In that time they have only managed one album though, I think that speaks for itself really.

Will Young – 'Come On' - The winner of the original Pop Idol, Will's carrer ha gone on the up and up, not only does he do music but he also stars in TV shows and has even had a movie role.  He fought against Cowell to prove that he ws a real artist, not being a smug guy I think he quietly beat him.  His music is not my thing but the guy is pretty talented.

Wu Lyf - 'We Bros' - A strange group of guys from the UK, who incidentally form another indie band, they are pretty secrative about who they are or even what they do, I took a listen to this and to be honest they have no reason to be secrative, it's shit.

Chase & Status – 'Flashing Lights' - These guys have featured here a few time lately, they are an electronic duo from London, artist is a word that you can associate with them unlike Britney, this song is actually quite good, I really think I'm starting to get into this dub step thing, it's not really my sort of music but these guys do a very good job at it.

The Duke Spirit – 'Don't Wait' - An English rock band that I have never heard of, they must be doing ok though.  Just as you start typing their name into Google or YouTube it knows what you want to write, still this song is not for me.

EMA – 'Marked/Angelo' - Not to much about this girl on the Internet, she works alone although her band name wouldn't suggest it, I haven't figured out the name of this song yet it's one of the two words I have mentioned, the other is the title of her album.


Enrique (top), Grouplove

Grouplove – 'Lovely Cup' - What is it with indie rock bands right now, ever sine Kings Of Leon became such big stars indie groups are coming from everywhere, some of them are quite good, not as good as KOL of course but good all the same.  As far as Gropulove goes, I hope that's a motto they follow as they may only love there own music.

Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull – 'Like How It Feels' - I have to make a little confession, I actually quite like Enriques music, not all of it granted but some of it.  He has taken the safety ption here and got Pitbull on board, for that reason this will be a top ten hit, I have no doubt.

Mary J.Blige – '25/8' - Never heard of this lady for a long time and I'm sure she needs no introduction from me, I can't say I have ever been the biggest fan but I do like some of her stuff, not this though.

Kasabian – 'Re-Wired' - This is an English rock band that I really like, I can listen to pretty much all of their music and this latest release is no exception to that, I heard these guys perform this live on TV last week, I think it may have been better than the actual video version.

The King Blues – 'The Future's Not What It Used To Be' - A pretty famous English punk group who I have never heard of, this song ain't bad though, It's not something that I could enjoy time and time again but one listen is not to bad.



New Music Single Releases: 14th November 2011

2:54 – 'Scarlet' - Haven't heard of them them?  Don't worry me neither but these guys are the reason I love doing this post.  They are a rock band from London and are currently unsigned but this song is very, very good , seriously you have to check it out.  I have a feeling these guys are going to be around for a while.  Wondering how to pronounce their name?  It's Two Fifty Four and the song is available to download from iTunes now, enjoy.

The Collective – 'Teardrop' - A collection of just about everyone who's popular right now, Teardrop is the official Children In Need single.  As always it's for a great cause and your efforts to download it (legally) will help towards Children all over the world.  Friday Night BBC is devoted to Children In Need, don't forget to dig deep.

Death Cab For Cutie – 'Stay Young, Go Dancing' - An American alternative rock band who have been on the go now for 14 years, this latest release is from their seventh album "Keys and Codes Remix EP".  It is a very good song but not something I could listen to over and over, maybe it's a grower.  I can't say I have heard to much of their music at all, note to self.  Go check out on YouTube.

Dry The River – 'Weights & Meisures EP' - A new band from the UK who I hadn't heard of until today, this track is taken from their album of the same name.  Not my idea of good music but I suppose it's what ever floats your boat.

Death Cab For Cutie (left) Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran – 'Lego House' - Acts simply don't come any bigger right now, Ed Sheeran's debut album and first two singles took the UK charts by storm.  This latest offering isn't his best in my opinion I like "You Need Me, I don't Need You" better but, of course that's just me maybe you like this.

Estelle – 'Back To Love' - An English singer songwriter who I first heard of when she featured on Kanye West's "American Boy" track.  Since then I really haven't heard to much of her, great voice no doubt but this is not something I could listen to.

Hyde & Beast – 'You Will Be Lonely' - Yeah I know don't worry, I have not heard of these guys either, it seems this week is quite popular for dubut artists.  A name like Hyde & Beast suggests an American Trash metal group, I couldn't have been more wrong these guys are a band from the UK.  Unfortunately for them they are no where near as good as 2:54.

Kate Bush – 'Wild Man' - Second time this lady has been on this post recently, probably one of the most successful UK recording artists of the last 30 years Kate Bush's talent is undeniable.  As far as her music goes, well it's not for me.

Oh Land – 'White Nights' - You are thinking what I did, I've never heard of that band.  Well that's because it's not a band, Nanna Fabricius performs under the stage name Oh Land, she is Danish, a singer songwriter who currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.  The song!  Is crap.

One Direction (top) Rammstein

One Direction – 'Gotta Be You' - We all know who these guys are, manufactured last year thanks to the X Factor (UK), the guys are currently releasing their debut album.  They performed this song live on the X Factor results show Sunday gone, I didn't like it then and I still don't like it now.

Owl City – 'Dreams Don't Turn To Dust' - Fronted by American singer songwriter Adam Young, these guys really are not who I could listen to daily, I remember hearing "Fire Flies" by them, this song sounds the same it even features the same little sample in the background.

Rammstein – 'Mein Land' - A German band from Berlin, set up in 1994 these guys are nearly 20 years old.  That speaks for itself really, as you would expect from the name the guys are pretty heavy  I actually quite like this song although I don't understand a word they say, it is very good.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers


Red Hot Chili Peppers – 'Monarchy Of Roses' - You don't need me to introduce these guys.  I have never been the biggest fan of the Chilli Peppers, don't get me wrong some of their music does really get my foot tapping but in general they just aren't for me.

The Saturdays – 'My Heart Takes Over' - A British girl band, very sexy?  Indeed, but as far as their music goes, well it's pretty much what you would expect.

Tom Vek – 'Someone Loves You' - I have not heard of this guy but if you play video games, particularly Grand Theft Auto then you may know him his music has featured on that before.

Westlife – 'Lighthouse' - These guys have recently split up after a good 13 year (approx) run, I don't know why they are releasing more music.  The only person who really cares that they have split is Louis Walsh.

Mixtape: LOU REED ft METALLICA, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE and VARIOUS CRUELTIES

Ok I'm trying to catch up from all the decorating so here is the mixtape which should have gone out on Thursday.  This week I decided upon a special mixtape for you, last week we looked at 80's retro.  This week we are going to to take  look at some live performances from the bands I mentioned above when they appeared on Later Live with Jools Holland.

First up this week is a collaborative effort from rock singer songwriter Lou Reed and heavy metal band Metallica.  I'm a big Metallica fan especially their older music from late 80's early 90's, I'm not so much a fan of their newer stuff.  Lou Reed, I hadn't heard of.  A quick check on the Internet and a chat with my parents (who thought it was hilarious I hadn't heard of him) and I find out that this Lou Reed guy is actually pretty famous.  His music was pretty alternative, out there you might say, I've tried to listen to some of his stuff but it's not for me.  The collaboration came about after Reed performed with Metallica at the 25th anniversary of the rock and roll hall of fame concert.  The album is named Lulu and they were over in England doing some promotional work playing two songs one named White Light/White Heat which I really didn't like  and before that a song named Iced Honey, the video is below see what you think.  For me the music is good, it gets your foot going but as far as the singing goes from both Reed and James Hetfield it's really not that special.

Next up I'll move onto Florence and The Machine, a band that's featured here on both mixtapes and weekly music release post's.  I like these guys, the band features the vocal talents of Florence Welch and consists of a collaboration of other artists/musicians who are there to back her up.  They made it big back in 2009 when they released their debut album "Lungs", the album was a massive success and sat at number 2 in the albums chart for 5 weeks.  Since then the band have gone from strength to strength and have received praise throughout the music world.  On Jools Holland they performed What The Water Gave Me, very capturing and a whole lot better than Lou and Metallica is my opinion.

Last one to mention now, there a new band from the UK called Various Cruelties.  They are so new that I can't even find anything out about them on the Internet, imagine this.  Various Cruelties get Jools Holland's booking agent on the phone "hey your a new up coming band, Jools wants you to perform on Later Live".  "Wow ok no problem who we on with".  "Ergh Lou Reed and Metallica, good luck".  It's got to be pretty nerve wracking for a new band to perform in front of such huge legends but these guys definitely pulled it out the bag.

New Music Single Releases: 7th November 2011, LOICK ESSIEN, CHRIS BROWN, TINCHY STRYDER and MAVERICK SABRE

Back as always with this week's new music releases for you, I have to be honest it's quite a good week with some big names for a change.  They must all be readying their albums for Christmas releases or something.  First up;

Chris Brown – 'She Ain't You' The man who is probably more famous for being the X boyfriend of mega star Rhianna, they split when he hit.  Most people would probably have not worked again for something like that but it seems to have sent this guys career sky rocketing.  I have to be honest his music is pretty good and very catchy but, hitting women!!! Come on man.

Cage The Elephant – 'Aberdeen' Formed back in 2006, Cage The Elephant are an American rock band from Kentucky.  This is the latest release from their second album "Thank You, Happy Birthday" which was released in January this year.  As far as this song goes, not my idea of fun but the video is pretty unusual.

Loick Essien – 'Me Without You' This guy is a British singer songwriter and this is the second single from his debut album which is due to be released in January 2012.  I actually like this song and this guy as an artist his first single "How We Roll" featured on must have songs for your iPod a while back now.The Wombats - '1996' Another British indie rock band for you now, again this music ain't my thing nor have I liked much this band have done in the past.  This song though is actually not bad I could listen to it in the car no problem.

Jessie J (top), JLS

Jessie J – 'Who You Are' Jessie is a British recording artist and songwriter, I'm not the biggest fan of her work but recently I saw her perform live (can't remember where) she was actually pretty amazing, this latest release is from her Boombox series.  That's a stereo in case you're wondering.

JLS – 'Take A Chance On Me' Previously named UFO, these guys finished runners up on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008.  Since then their popularity has soared and pretty much anything they release goes to number 1.  I have to be honest I really like their music and they are genuinely talented guys, they thoroughly deserve the label of best boy band around right now.

Kele – 'The Hunter EP' Don't worry I hadn't heard of him either.  Does the band name Block Party mean anything to you?  If so then you've probably heard of him, he is their lead singer.  I'm not the biggest fan of Block Party and as far as this release goes I can't even find a video for it, says a lot I would think.

The Kooks – 'Junk Of The Heart' Some "proper" music for you now.  The Kooks are an English indie rock band, like I said last week I'm not the biggest indie fan nor am I to keen on the Kooks.  This latest single is taken from their new album of the same name, it's not my cup of tea, my favourite from these guys would be "Do You Wanna" from the album "Konk"

Manic Street Preachers – 'This Is The Day' Funnily enough I was just talking about these guys with a friend of mine at the weekend, I was telling him I got tickets to see Noel Gallagher next year and we decided to re-cap who we had seen.  Manic's were on his list, I have to be honest I'm not the biggest fan of the Welsh alternative rock back but this song really isn't to bad.

Maverick Sabre – 'I Need' An English vocalist and rapper from London, I really liked this guys fist release "Let Me Go", no doubt he is a talented guy and his voice is very unique but this latest release just ain't for me.



Pixie Lott (top), The Wombats

 Pixie Lott – 'What Do You Take Me For?' An English singer / songwriter who moonlights as a dancer and actress, to pretty good detail though.  Like sexy half naked women?  Yeah, yeah me too, this video will be right up your street.  It also features Pusha T an American rapper, it's good job you have the half naked ladies in my opinion otherwise I don't think you could bear 3 minutes or so of this.

Sunday Girl – 'Love You More' A new British pop singer who I haven't heard of, this single is taken from her debut album which is yet to be released or even finished for that matter.  The song is garbage so, maybe they won't bother finishing the album.  Refreshing though, she doesn't come from a reality show.

Tinchy Stryder – 'Off The Record' Real name Kwasi Danquah III, Tinchy is a little easier to remember.  He is a Ghanaian British rapper singer and songwriter who has taken the rap world by storm in recent years, this latest offering is actually very catching.  It has all the rap star video traits, nice cars hot girls, shades, and it's pretty cool.