2006年 05月 24日 水曜日 10:22

Thought I would write a decent journal entry for a change, considering it's been awhile since I have. The topic of this journal, as you have probably guessed, is on some of the new music I have heard over the last week or so, and what I thought of it all. Firstly I would like to thank who ever it was who in their journal brought eMusic to my attention, and their 14 day free trial, which gives you 50 free downloads and no obligation to continue with a subscription after the 14 days are up. Indeed seeing this I was excited at the prospect of downloading some new tunes to listen to and see if I could find any bands that I have failed to check out before.

Art Brut
eMusic had an exclusive live set by Art Brut, recorded in Chicago last Novemeber which is fantastic. Eddie Argos's between-song banter is amusing, and they even play a couple of new tracks. Art Brut are humourous and play good time rock and roll. What is there not to love?

Biffy Clyro
via eMusic I managed to get my ears around the b-sides to earlier Biffy singles, which is something I have wanted for ages. Out of them all I highly recommend tracking down Hope For An Angel. I had heard them play it most times I have seen them, so to hear the original was nice!

Bloc Party
Okay, I already have most of Bloc Party's output, but on seeing that there was a Death From Above 1979 remix of 'Luno', I thought it worthy of a download. To say it is a remix is a bit misleading. Its more a case of DFA1979 cover Bloc Party. On the whole, not the worst thing ever, but at the same time not the best Bloc Party remix I have heard. Two More Years (MSTRKRFT Remix) on the other hand is a pretty awesome remix. MSTRKRFT being one of the dudes from DFA1979 dance music stylee act. This is available for download off of the Vice Music records website I think.

Cat Power
I heard Living Proof some months back, and loved it, so I finally got round to getting a few tracks to check out. 'Living Proof' is still my favourite. On the look out for The Greatest at a good price now.

The Dears
Since I bought No Cities Left,they have rereleased the Lp with the Protest as a bonus. Which is annoying as I dont really want to re-buy the record. Fortunatly eMusic saved me £10 by letting me check them out. Not as good as the material on the Lp, but as an Ep it is a good collection of tracks, but not, in my opinion, essential listening.

Death From Above 1979
Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Edition) dances up one of DFA1979 tracks off of their debut. And if I am honest I think I prefer this mix. The bass line is just classic.

Dntel
Dntel were brought to my attention the other week by Matt when he played a Postal Service remix of one of the Dntel tracks. I proceeded to check them out, and enjoyed what I heard, especially (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.

Field Music
Another band that I keep going to buy the record of, but never getting round to it. The tracks I listened to were good, but not as beautiful as You're So Pretty, which was the first track I heard by them.

iLiKETRAiNS
I have been following iLiKETRAiNS for awhile now, and whilst some people think them a little pretentious, I feel they are one of the best underground acts in the UK at the moment. The Beeching Report is a protest song against Mr. Beeching, whose report in the 1960's caused thousands upon thousands to loose their jobs as certain railway lines and stations were closed down.

Pedro The Lion
Often heard them talked about, but never really taking to time to listen to them, and being reminded of this fact the other night when I saw Mattias wearing one of their t-shirts, I thought it time to sort my act out. It turned out that I was a bit indifferent to it all. Much seems to be made of them being a Christian act (I believe they have now split), but this didnt directly affect my listening. I think that 'Rapture' was my favourite of the several I downloaded. Will have to hear more before I fully make my mind up here.

Thursday
Just to complete holes in my Thursday collection I downloaded a couple of tracks from compilation records I would never consider buying. Firstly A Hole In The World (Acoustic), which is a nice rendition, although I think it a tad too long and not as good as the original. Secondly is their take on Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)? which is a competent cover, but again, does not beat the original version by The Buzzcocks.

We Are Scientists
For one reason or another I went kind of mad on WAS this week. This partially I believe, because someone drew my attention towards a wealth or earlier pop-punk style material. These 40-odd tracks include the hilarious Dissect An Alien from a demo session, and a full studio album with the ever-so-witty title Safety, Fun, And Learning (In That Order). I think they shall be my top artist this week.

White Rose Movement
Had already heard quite a lot of their tracks, but wanted to hear a couple more before going out and buying their Lp. Both Girls In The Back and Love Is A Number are great tracks, very eighties, very fun.

Thats about enough I think. There are probably other bits and pieces I've listened to that are worth mentioning, but right now, I'm tired out. Think I;m going to have a lie down.