I apologize if this is Arctic Monkeys overload, but this is an issue that MUST be addressed. 

If you're going to be famous, you're going to need an interesting name.

Is this so hard to understand, Alex Turner/Will Smith/Meg White/Chris Brown/James Brown/Jack White/Jack Black/etc. etc.?

OK, so maybe not everyone can be born with a zinger like "M. Night Shyamalan." But if your Christian name doesn't make the cut, go right ahead and make up something better! (Just ask Kid Sister, she'll show you how it's done.)

What if I wanted to add of these celebs as my friend on Facebook. (Jeez, another recurring topic tonight. My bad.) When your name search yields 500+ results, what's a blogger to do?

So, an open plea to the current Last Shadow Puppets frontman, "Alex Turner": Change your name to Aleksandro Thunder, or get out of my life.

Thanks,

The Nice People Here At indieindielalala.wordpress.com

Arctic Monkees Monkeys: 117,303 fans. 531 wall posts. (Not bad. These guys are hard on the heels of that durp-head Rihanna, who's got around 120,000 fans; meanwhile, Taylor Swift, with a mere 106,000 fans, gets walloped. YES!!!!!)

The Kooks: 79,141 fans. 1,230 wall posts.

Okkervil River: only 954 fans, 56 wall posts. but a GREAT family photo:

Rilo Kiley: 4,520 fans. 107 wall posts.

Vampire Weekend: 3,184 fans. 131 wall posts.

The Shins: 2,311 fans. 38 (!) wall posts.

Annnnd then there's the New Pornographers, chillin' at 225 fans and 8 wall posts. This makes me upset...I think I'll become a fan!

WINNER OF ROUND ONE: The Arcies, by a mile. Who knew they were still so popular?

Apparently they're touring from August. I think I'm going to see them if they're playing in Edinburgh :P

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• Last Shadow Puppets set to tour

Address the spiralling cost of public transport
Ever before the price of petrol started going up, the bus fares in Sheffield were unreasonably high. In London, you can hop on a bus for 90p using an Oyster card. Sheffield may not be as big as the capital but is the city not of a sufficient size to apply the same economic principals? It is a far cry from the 2p single bus fares I used to pay when I was a child. Obviously we can't return to the heavily subsidised days of the 1980s but if fares are lower in other big cities then there must be something First can learn from these revenue models. The least they can promise a pricing consultation and review.

Further develop Sheffield's gay scene
It was good to see a successful South Yorkshire Pride taking place earlier this month. I'm not an expert on Sheffield's gay scene, but it seems that over the years the city has struggled to maintain momentum when trying to establish decent venues that appeal to a LGBT crowd. Other places like Manchester and London have streets that are home to many gay bars and venues. I'm not sure whether this is the way to go for Sheffield - and perhaps these areas should develop organically - but a start would be for venue owners to realise that working together to establish a cluster of gay-friendly venues (in the city centre, not tucked out in Attercliffe) may benefit their business more than competing against each other until none are left. Or is Sheffield ironically too-friendly a city to support a gay scene?

Build a landmark building that will make the city's skyline distinctive
So we are resigned to losing the cooling towers, but why not be brave and create a high-quality, distinctive and tall building in Sheffield that would sit proudly on the city's horizon and be recognisable the world over? I sometimes think our town planners are overly-cautious with what they allow, perhaps due to mistakes in the past, but imagine if we had our own London Eye, CN Tower or Opera House? It wouldn't have to be on such a grand scale, but a distinctive and tasteful development along these lines that compliments the existing skyline could be spectacular.

Promote more live music at Don Valley Stadium
The organisation that runs Sheffield International Venues recently announced a record annual turnover of £21m, but I would like to see more live music taking place at Don Valley Stadium. My memory, and some internet research, recalls ten stadium gigs at Don Valley since it opened in 1990, which averages at around one every two years. Surely we can do better than that. The Arctic Monkeys played Lancashire CCC ground last summer; would a homecoming gig at Don Valley have been more fitting?

Get both Wednesday and United back in the Premiership
Easier said than done, but this would be worth millions to the city in terms of raising its profile across the world, while making a lot of Sheffield football fans very happy. Obviously we can't wave a magic wand to make this happen but the Blades are a well-run club, perfectly capable of mounting a promotion challenge this coming season and if Wednesday's imminent takeover actually happens then it may not be such a pipe dream after all.

El grupo volverá a su Sheffield natal para empezar a componer los temas que formarán parte de la placa. La dirección musical aún es un misterio, incluso para los miembros de la banda, según afirmaron.

“Todavía no se, podemos ir para cualquier lado. Estoy muy entusiasmado. El año pasado estuvimos de gira bastante tiempo así que necesitábamos descansar un poquito. Pero ya estamos listos para seguir”, comentó el guitarrista Jamie Cook a la BBC.

Indie rock can denote any Rock music on an independent label. As a genre, however, it refers to catchy, guitar-based alternative rock from the '90s and '00s. Usually indie rock is released by independent labels, but similar sounding music from a major label is also often called indie rock.

El frontman de Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, reveló que está trabajando en una nueva canción junto a Alison Mosshart, integrante del grupo The Kills.

En declaraciones a XFM, Turner dijo que la canción se llama “The Fire And The Thud” y explicó que fue escrita por él y, más tarde, Mosshart le agregó las voces.

Por otra parte, Mosshart dijo que todavía no escuchó la canción terminada pero que Turner dijo que “es buena, realmente buena”.

Finalmente, dijeron que hay muchas posibilidades de una colaboración futura y agregaron que probablemente grabaran más canciones.

Tomado de: http://cucharasonica.com/

Seria genial que grabaran mas canciones, el niño genio nunca termina de sorprendernos, y parece que no se cansa con tantos proyectos, en fin, tenemos Alex Turner para rato, asi que solo nos queda disfrutas de sus genialidades, no me imagino la vos de VV y de Alex en la misma cancion, debera escucharse exelente, esperemos que pronto salga a la luz esta colaboracion.

(http://mplimaosl.blogspot.com/)

"amazing" is not to be taken lightly. "little" isn't either.

reportedly having been around since 2004, it's surprising to me that the rumble strips - borrowing there namesake from a road safety feature meant to keep drivers from drifting too far - are not more popular than what they are. but as i peruse the youtube videos looking for more material, i notice that i'm only one of, at times, only a few thousand, or a handful of hundreds, and often less than three-digit turnout. they came to me through a series of indie playlists that i normally spend quite a bit of time rifling through between a couple different music sites - most new music, admittedly, is pure whiny, corporate-generated musings; some of it, however, is enough to excite yourself over (the twilight sad, for example, have a freshman album that has barely made a blip across the indie radar screen, and much less an official website to promote them). more than other recently popular newbies on the indie scene, such as cold war kids or beirut, the rumble strips combine jaunty optimism with organic naturalism in a refreshing way that neither alienates nor pays complete homage to the way music was originally intended.

the rumble strips' song "oh creole" is one that has steadily gained popularity amongst the indie underground despite its being one of the oldest songs in the rumble strips' repertoire. as it appears on their first album, girls and weather (2007), it sounds as if third time's the charm for the rumble strips (it was already previously recorded once on the band's ep in 2006 and again in between). with the third recording of the song, frontman charlie waller admits that while the sound is more "beefed-up," he has certainly grown a bit "sick" of playing it (don't worry - waller's suspected ennui with the song hasn't, as of yet, prevented him from performing the bit). listening to "oh creole" in comparison with the rest of the album is certainly a treat - the "creole sound" that waller sings of in the lyrics is echoed throughout the song in a manner that would make any big brass louisiana band turn green with envy. the careful tuning and layering of rich, melodic harmonies adds a depth to the song that gives the listener the impression that the finished product - third time around - isn't far from perfection.

of course, UK listeners always seem to have the upper hand when it comes to new UK bands. "girls and boys in love" is a hedonistic pop tune that is currently being used in advertising overseas (it was also used in the OST for "run fatboy, run"). in more or less words, waller explains that "girls and boys in love" was packed to the brim with pop feeling and catchy elements - the one track on the album that can be valued for its commercial appeal alone. more than that, however, "girls and boys in love" is a complex song that, only though careful craft and attention to detail, merely sounds bright and simple. further analysis will reveal the band's vast musical understanding and innate ability to weave together several sounds and instruments, much to the sheer delight of the listener.

i personally was much impressed with their other releases, such as "alarm clock," "no soul," "hate me (you do)," "time" (which i'm sure i've heard in an advert before, but i could be wrong) and "motorcycle," which waller claims was penned as he was biking home from a friend's house. together, they are a robust testament to the band's versatility and mastery of sound. "alarm clock" remains the gem of the bunch in my mind. the true litmus for the ability of a band is to create something out of nothing while at the same time getting it to sound listenable (for instance, "caramel" is probably one of the most organic blur songs ever written, but its appeal to listeners is lost in damon's rambling and the alienating, incoherent instrumentation). "alarm clock" is, on paper, an almost childish set of stanzas stanzas - so much so, that it might make one begin to question waller's lyrical prowess. however, the beauty of "alarm clock" is that every member of the band adds something to the song and makes it better than it would have been had the addition not been there. the sum is greater than any one of the parts, and in the end what you get is a high-quality product that most bands, i am so bold to say, simply aren't talented enough to repeat.

if you want the inside, however, much of the chatter surrounding the rumble strips has to do with their cover of an amy winehouse song called "back to black," which can be found on the band's "motorcycle" single. the rumble strips provide a rough, raw rendition of the smoldering single, without the violence, the drugs, and the lewdness of amy winehouse. so impressed with the rendition was mark ronson with wallers scathing vocals that he asked him to perform the song with his orchestra - quite an honor for a relatively unheard of vocalist (what i mean by that, simply, is that if you're familiar with the work of mark ronson, it can be said that he normally works with people who are a bit more popular than devon-raised charlie waller). fans have clamored round and round that the "motorcycle" single is worth every penny of the expense for the cover of "back to black" alone - simply, it is that good.

so what lies ahead for charlie waller, matt wheeler, tom gorbutt, henry clark, and sam mansbridge? breaking through to the american market? the world market? being what oasis could have been without all of the drugs, or what blur could have been with more raw talent? my predictions remain optimistic. i don't think that the indie scene is looking for another throwback (look at how long the arctic monkeys lasted - like an independence day fireworks show; very big, very bright, and over in about a half an hour). but that being said, i think that there's enough room for a band to come in and find their own niche. music scenes can be thought of as economical markets, and they're very cyclic. after the death of britpop (damon albarn, circa august 1996, "britpop is dead."), there was a perceptible void in the british music arena. bands like the verve and radiohead did what they could to suffer through the desolation that was 1997, but it was bands like travis, coldplay, franz ferdinand, and muse that came forth and changed the way we thought about british music (in fact, i personally credit coldplay's "parachutes" and "rush of blood to the head" for the second resurgence in britpop). the bands that came forth and filled that need were the bands who became popular, and eventually were allowed to create markets of their own (it's hard to say if the futureheads would be popular if franz ferdinand and bloc party hadn't come out first, and without them later bands like maximo park and art brut certainly wouldn't exist).

so, what exactly do the rumble strips have going for them?

1. for one, there does seem to be a trend emerging for a more organic, natural way of making and playing music - one that doesn't require the overused synth tones and heavy editing of bands like MGMT and architecture in helsinki (i already included beirut and the twilight sad earlier, but the maccabees are also worth mentioning here).
2. second, the rumble strips are extremely talented. after listening to "girls and weather" track by track, it becomes increasingly apparent to the listener that making music is both a passionate joy and a serious occupation to the members of the rumble strips. they don't go over the top when they shouldn't, and they're not audibly uncomfortable with taking their musical expression to its limits. there are songs where precise lyrics and calculated notes combine to achieve a particular sound, and there are also songs that feel catch-it-as-it-comes, encapsulating the raw, innate abilities of the musicians at hand. their sound is so diverse that the rumble strips are hardly in danger of pigeonholing themselves into a particular genre, yet their first album is about as complete and cohesive as the coming-of-age third album for the bands normally considered among the symphonic elite.
3. in addition, unlike most musical groups of the past twenty or so years, every single member of the rumble strips is good at what he does. waller is an ingenious guitarist with a grand voice and a lyrical hand. mansbridge brilliantly complements waller's strumming with just the right amount of bass - not too strong as to overpower, and not too weak as not to be heard. clark splits his talents between bombastic brass and playful piano lines. gorbutt's innate understanding of the sax is essential to the smooth fit of his instrument with the rest of his more contemporary counterparts. and wheeler is a phenomenal drummer with an effortless sense of rhythm. together they culminate into one canorous force, brimming with charisma, character, and class.
4. given just a moment's glance, i'm sure that you'll find that the rumbles strips are really an attractive group of guys. yes, yes, we all realize that part of the appeal of blur was that damon albarn was another pretty face. bands like kings of leon, on the other hand, were fair to midland in the looks department (i'm trying to be as gentle as possible here). but the rumble strips: here's a hardy group of lads raised on devon air. in their photos, interviews, and music videos, they appear lively, energetic, and youthful (although not quite sure on the "how youthful" part - biographical information remains somewhat elusive). with both good looks and talent, what is there to temper these fellows?
5. i'm not sure how many people would consider this a pro (certainly not the band themselves, perhaps), but one of the most wonderful things about the rumble strips is that they are relatively unpopular. don't take that the wrong way. in a system where every band has to go through the gauntlet of gaining a fan base - you should remember, again, that a highly successful band like blur spent a number of years merely breaking even in their finances - this is to be expected. however, being only locally popular, or enjoying pockets of popularity, does have its advantages. for one, it allows the band to be more intimate with its fans; if you take a look at their official website, you'll see that the band does a pretty good job keeping up on their news, and allows plenty of avenues for fan feedback. one can only hope that this good nature doesn't wear off when their (i feel) inevitable fame finally dawns upon them. one thing is for certain, however, and that is that the rumble strips are wholly and simultaneously devoted to both the ideas of having fun and taking their job seriously. very few people in this world have the opportunity to not only do what they love but to succeed at it - for the good fortune of the rumble strips, we, as the listeners, are bountifully rewarded.

i wish the rumble strips nothing but positives and success as they continue in their endeavors. normally i'm not seen endorsing bands so heavily, and there are many factors that come into play as far as that's concerned. however, when someone - or a group of people, rather - expresses the drive and the desire for whatever it is that they do, i can't help but to pull for them. we all want to see the right people succeed in life.

in short, the rumble strips - buy their album, watch their videos, join their fan pages, spread the word - are phenomenal. amazing, and definitely worth the chance.

Fue el final perfecto. Un chute de energía y compromiso de futuro inconformista. En el entorno perfecto, un Rock in Rio que proclama un mundo mejor. La catarsis perfecta entre un público totalmente entregado y el hippie de Toronto, que no defraudó a nadie.

La verdad es que tenía muchas ganas de verle en directo. Incluso a pesar de sus sesenta y dos tacos y de que los excesos le han llevado a un estado de salud endeble (hace relativamente poco en 2005 un aneurisma le dejó ligeramente tocado). Pero por lo demostrado en el escenario se mueve como nadie, se deja la piel en cada riff y sigue manteniendo fuerte su voz personalísima. Por momentos pareció poseído por el mismísimo espíritu de Woodstock y quería retrotraernos a aquel mítico agosto del 69 e incendiarnos con su rock violento. Muchas jóvenes promesas del rock actual (tipo Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, The Killers, Wolfmother, Black Mountain…) podrían aprender de la actitud encima del escenario de esta bestia rockera sexagenaria.

De un concierto para la historia destaco el fantástico comienzo con “Mr.Soul” de su época con Buffalo Springfield, la quebradiza “The Needle and the Damage Done” y el banjo de “Old Man” del Harvest, el country inconsolable “Too Far Gone” de ese gran disco de los 80 que fue Freedom, “Love and Only Love” una de sus mejores canciones de los 90 del Ragged Glory que inmortalizó durante más de 10 minutos y pasó a convertirla en un himno, una larguísima aunque maravillosa "No Hidden Path" que no conocía de su último disco Chrome Dreams II, y cómo no, mi preferida de siempre “Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)”.

Se echaron en falta clasicazos como Southern Man, Rockin’ in the Free World, Cowgirl in the Sand, Like a Hurricane, Cortez the Killer, Pocahontas… Pero qué cojones, el concierto fue de 10. Esperemos que regrese pronto.

Un último detalle, después de ver los resúmenes en TVE y los vídeos de La2 subidos en YouTube tengo que decir que los comentarios de Toni Garrido y Ángel Carmona me parecen lamentables y que estropean el conjunto . Por Dios, dejen de hablar gilipolleces mientras suena auténtico rock&roll!!!

As notícias foram dadas em entrevista à BBC 6Music, enquanto estavam no Glastonbury (festival que você confere review somente dentro de alguns dias, devido a problemas técnicos).

De acordo com o guitarrista Jamie Cook, já neste mês (julho) eles se reunirão no quarto de Alex, lá em Sheffield, já contando com algum progresso.

Quando o entrevistador lhe fez perguntas a respeito das direções do novo álbum, Jamie disse:

"Nós não sabemos ainda, podemos ir para qualquer direção. Estou animado. Fim do ano passado quando estivemos em tour por um longo período, nós precisávamos de um pouco de descanso. Mas eu acho que como uma banda estamos ansiosos para e voltar a ativa [...]"

A vida e relação dos membros parece estar bem diferente desde a pausa. Alex mudou-se para Londres, diminuindo drasticamente a freqüência que se viam, se comparado aos quatro anos em que estavam juntos diariamente, dormindo no mesmo ônibus, dividindo a mesma vida.

E quando perguntado sobre a possibilidade de se formar um super grupo da junção do Arctic Monkeys e do The Rascals, Jamie não deixou dúvidas:

"É a melhor idéia que eu ouvi nos últimos tempos"

Autor: Gabriel Zorzo

fonte: BBC 6Music

In any event, there is a skinny Italian who makes me laugh, but his cruelty also reminds me of myself. His dry humor is quite contradictory with the rest of his personality. He insists on putting down those around him, while he sings Disney. Do not get me wrong, Disney songs are brilliant pieces of musical genius that display the higher taste of five year olds, but really if you are more than twice that age, cease and desist. Likewise, his false usage of the word 'false' is quite interesting and there is no comment I have on that particular point. 

They all say I am weird and awkward. Hmmm, let's analyze this: book-smart, valedictorian virgins are judging me. Brilliant. What's next: arctic monkeys drinking sex on the beach and going to raves? deaf, blind Swedes smoking cha-chas and twirling to Bossanove? Ridiculous, all of it. If they said, they do not understand my ways but respect the fact that, unlike them, I do have ways, then I would have been less annoyed. Again, do not get me wrong, I am not at all angry. I am passive for the most part, but there comes point when patience withers away to the degree that there is none left and then there is nothing more to do but endure my stares, which could bring down anyone if I try just a little bit.

Next order of business is obviously the gossiping ordeal that has shocked the miniscule world that I currently inhabit. It is laughable just thinking about the fact that they choose to talk bullshit about me when I have only told them the truth. Oh, I see, you tell a person the truth and they tell you a lie. So, I am assuming that if I start lying to them, I will then receive the truth. Can human beings be more ludicrously confusing? I think not. That is not the worst part, my friends; the worst part actually is that when I start gossiping, imitating their Neanderthal personalities in order to fit in, they have the audacity to criticize it. Theoretically, they are only criticizing themselves because I am imitating them. And they are supposed to be the geniuses.

In actuality, I love them all, much like I love the pet mice I involuntarily have in my apartment building. They are the cutest little things. I named the two that look like twins Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-Shek because they fight like crazy Chinese men over a lead-producing, population-producing land. I once fed another tiny mouse to the rat that lives in the basement. I was afraid of the rat at first because it might have had some disease that would potentially cause me suffering and that would not be beneficial to my health, now would it. Then I remembered the formula for creating a poison with the mini-chemistry set my parents bought me in Amsterdam (because apparently marijuana is not the only things that are legal there) and gave him small amounts of the poison until the poor rat was on his metaphorical death bed. I then watched as I placed the dead mouse in his mouth and forced it down his neck. My friends thought I was the coolest thing on earth. Bring in the dead rats and mice and we will have a feast! Remember, everything is for show, nothing is real, nothing is true, nothing is correct, nothing is perfect; do things in the moment, for the moment, by the moment's unwritten rules. With this in mind, you will reach your own sort of Nirvana. 

A very handsome young man believes he knows about philosophy. That very handsome young man should learn a moral from the dead rat story. (Hint: the moral is that rats die.) I want to time a nerd to see how long it will take him/her to figure that humorous, dark joke out. I will give the entire mental procedure no less than four minutes because just because they have book smarts, their common sense and their common knowledge are both lacking. No matter, though, we all have our faults and I am the first to admit it.

A dark, exotic-looking girl has a scratchy throat. Let me tell you and the rest of the world with scratchy throats, there is such a thing as Halls. This invention has almost been as useful as sliced bread and the commercial has been quite successful in providing an insight into those who have had a relief from scratchy throats. In all other respects, she is tolerable. Even though her throat is scratchy and I do not have the necessary Halls to remedy that, I love her dearly. She is awfully mean, though, and for that I have a God-given right to make fun of her harsh, scratchy voice, wouldn't you say? There are some men who actually prefer scratchy throated women; I know of at least two, which means there must be specimens of these men, floating around at every corner of the world (I am sure that Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp love scratchy voices; it could pass for exotic, Cleopatra-like, and all men love Cleopatra... the Roman Empire fell because of her, so I must be right). Of course, the world is round which makes my entire point void, but it is nonetheless, an interesting point if the point is taken without the square, Colombus era Earth.

My personal opinion is that if everyone has been complaining about me among their friends, I should have the right to complain about them with myself and the cyber world. Who knows, maybe they do not think me so very "awkward and weird". 

Another handsome young man has a bland personality. There is really not much to say about that. This is for you Erica and Amanda (you know who you are), there is a very cute Slavic fellow who happens to look like a mixture between John Terry and the actor who plays Frodo Baggins (guesses on the name anyone? it has just slipped form my head.) Erica, Amanda, you guys were not playing... I was so very attracted to him and he happens to be rooting for the other team. He is currently on the bench and not yet batting (I can feel it) and so let us hope he shall be a traitor for the Mets and turn to the Yankees. (Erica, this extended metaphor is made for you, so I am expecting a comment when you get back from Referee camp with those hot English persons... how I wish I was you, I would so totally do my tricks for them). Speaking of tricks and sticks, I will have to lose several pounds because I am going to London and I cannot compete in the market of eligible bachelors with those stick figures. Speaking of attractive skeletons, there is a very good looking girl here who I fallaciously thought had her heart set out on said baseball player, but she too found out that he is a fan of the Mets. (Come to think of it, I think he said that he hated baseball and never watches it, so my metaphor has only two meanings, one being the one I want to convey and the other being the obvious? one that I do not want to convey). Since I made seven (or is it eight) guys gay, can I turn gay guys straight? I will ask my dad to look it up for me in my Freud book, because I am sure there was a passage in the inverts/perverts section where they explained the significance of the male need for anal eroticism and how to get around that. Freud was just a little more sick than I am; he is the man and he is so right. Of course, my grandfather, the philosopher who began the Liberation Movement, an underground Nudist movement in the middle of Communism. I suppose it was in protest, but, all the same, he was likewise a sick, sick man.

Ah, but I did not mention my fascination with the skinny skeleton. She is absolutely charming and I will endeavor to be good in order to impress her. This brings me to another good point. Can I ever be 'good' and can humanity ever be 'good' when we all know that tendencies are tendencies. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. I shall let my energies flow and they shall fly where they may, with the wind of the world's idiotic words guiding it, whispering false philosophies and sucking on its self-produced poison.

The other humans fascinate me, just as much, but my schoolwork has made an impression in my heart and I feel as if my heart has dropped into my stomach when I have just thought about the load of work I have tonight. Am I sleeping? Probably not, but that is of no concern to anyone I know. To sleep or not to sleep (when work needs to get done), that is the question. It is all based on scruples and the ability to bullshit in class. They are all so very good at the latter over here. I am truly learning at the feet of gurus and am beginning to understand the human psyche that much more. 

Tata for now, my fellow sages, because we all have our own knowledge to uncover to others. The point is to reveal it in such a shocking fashion that they shall lose their innocence again and again just thinking about it. Of course, if you are not a sadist, then I suggest desisting from this particular course, but if you are to experience everything that there is to experience than why not try to make others lose their innocence psychologically and metaphysically. 

Peace out girl scout.

Love always,

Miruna B

P.S.

I did not mean to offend, but have been merely recording the truth according to me. It is much like Jose Saramago who got kicked out of Portugal because he talked truthfully about the Portuguese Catholic Church. He lives on the Canary Islands and spends his time walking on the sandy beaches and conversing with birds. I so totally made the last part up, but there is a high possibility that it is true. Stay true to who you are and all will go down the drain. Good night and good luck.

Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) e Miles Kane (The Rascals) lançam no dia 7 de julho o segundo single do Last Shadow Puppets, projeto paralelo dos músicos. A banda foi formada este ano e lançou em abril o seu primeiro álbum, "The Age of Understatement", que atingiu o topo das paradas britânicas.

"Standing Next to Me" é a nova música de trabalho do grupo e já teve um clipe lançado há cerca de duas semanas. O interessante vídeo feito para a balada indie rock foi gravado em plano-seqüência. Começa com um aspecto minimalista e logo depois ganha cores e movimentos de câmera mais ousados.

Turner e Kane são amigos e já tinham trabalhado juntos antes. O vocalista do Rascals tocou guitarra em "505", a última faixa do segundo CD do Arctic Monkeys, "Favourite Worst Nightmare". Além disso, a banda em que Miles Turner tocava, The Little Flames, abriu para o grupo de Turner em alguns shows.

O disco de estréia do Last Shadow Puppets, foi gravado na França e em Londres no segundo semestre de 2007. Em dezembro, o violinista canadense Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) foi convidado para compor os arranjos de cordas e percussão do álbum - gravados no mesmo mês com 22 membros da London Metropolitan Orchestra.

Hoje, o Last Shadow Puppets também anunciou uma turnê mundial, que começa no dia 19 de agosto em Portsmouth, na Inglaterra. A banda vai ser acompanhada por uma orquestra de 16 músicos e vai tocar nos festivais de Leeds e Reading (também na Inglaterra). Outras apresentações estão marcadas para França, Dinamarca, Alemanha, Bélgica, Holanda, Escócia e EUA.

Apesar de ambos participarem de bandas de sucesso, o entusiasmo dos músicos com o projeto paralelo é grande. Em entrevista ao tablóide britânico The Sun, Miles Kane disse revelou que devem começar a trabalhar em um segundo álbum do Last Shadow Puppets já no ano que vem, depois da turnê.

Os dois artistas devem se dedicar exclusivamente à banda, pelo menos nos próximos meses. Não há notícias sobre novas gravações do Arctic Monkeys de Alex Turner. Em entrevista à rádio da BBC, o guitarrista do Arctic Monkeys, Jamie Cook, disse que o grupo vai começar a escrever as canções do terceiro álbum em julho. O último disco do grupo foi lançado há mais de um ano, em abril de 2007, e o último show aconteceu no dia 15 de dezembro, na Escócia.

Miles, no entanto, faz questão de acalmar os fãs das duas bandas. Ele disse que, a longo prazo, ele e Alex Turner estão se concentrando nos seus projetos originais. O primeiro álbum do Rascals, "Rascalize", foi lançado há poucos dias, em 23 de junho, e tem shows agendados até agosto.

Aquí vengo a hablarles del de Roskilde, cerca del pueblo de Roskilde en Dinamarca, siendo este el más importante de Escandinavia. Porque este en especifico, porqué hace justamente un año asistí a ék y justo esta semana arranca el warm up para el de este año, además nunca lo había reseñado.

La verdad no quiero ponerme a escribir algo muy largo, pero el año pasado este fue todo el cartel

Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Björk, My Chemical Romance, Queens of the Stone Age, The Who, The Arcade Fire, The Flaming Lips, Beastie Boys, Wilco, Mika, LCD Soundsystem, Basement Jaxx, In Flames, Klaxons, Justice, DJ Tiësto, Camera Obscura, John Legend, Mando Diao, Beirut, Peter Bjorn and John, The National, Cold War Kids, The Sounds, Machine Head, Jens Lekman, Talib Kweli, Against Me!, Tiësto, Mastodon, Cansei de Ser Sexy, New Young Pony Club, Eagles of Death Metal, Katatonia, Grizzly Bear, Dizzee Rascal, Spiritualized, Booka Shade, Datarock, Clipse, The Whitest Boy Alive, Strung Out, The Ark, The Thermals, Pelican, Diplo, Strike Anywhere, Laurent Garnier, Electrelane, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tunng, Boris, Akron/Family, Goose, Bonde do Role, Anthony B, Matmos, Cult of Luna, Alpha Blondy, Annuals, Fanfare Ciocărlia, Luomo, Loney, Dear, Gojira, The Twilight Sad, Camille Jones, Holly Golightly, Julee Cruise, Thomas Dybdahl, Jeans Team, The Congos, Zyklon, BigBang, Hatesphere, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Buffalo Tom, Hayseed Dixie, Mikkel Metal, Volbeat, 120 Days, Djuma Soundsystem, Digital Mystikz, Nortec Collective, Mahmoud Ahmed, Loefah, Detektivbyrån, Slaraffenland, Roky Erickson, Nephew, K'naan, Dúné, People Press Play, Moi Caprice, Oh No Ono, The Kissaway Trail, Asle, AGF, Quit Your Dayjob, Buraka Som Sistema, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Tenniscoats, Dusty, Kal, Pixel, The Lionheart Brothers, Kenneth Bager, Konono N°1, Lazee, Suspekt, The Floor Is Made Of Lava, Taxi taxi!, Kama Aina, Trost, Death by Kite, Turboweekend, Bjørn Svin, Ungdomskulen, Band Ane, Speaker Bite Me, Badun, The Psyke Project, The Broken Beats, Nostalgia 77 Octet, Mapei, Timbuktu & Damn!, Analogik, Gorilla Angreb, As in Rebekkamaria, Murder, Choir of Young Believers, atoi, Mani Spinx, Junkyard Productions, Rhonda Harris, Kasai Allstars, Jøden, Marybell Katastrophy, Alice Rose, Sort Stue, TRENTEMØLLER, Aronas, Kasper Spez, 1234, Forest & Crispian, Decorate. Decorate., DJ Click, Sonic Junior, Boys in a Band, Mike Sheridan, Kloak, The Downward Candidate, Highway Child, Soulsavers feat. Mark Lanegan, City-X, Nikaido Kazumi, Transmission Low, Poeten & Lillebror, DJ Diplo, Dream of an Opium Eater, Ben Nott, Mit Nye Band, Nils m/skils, K´naan, Decorate, mikael palner, The Musicians of the Nile

160 bandas, con 4 días de warm up donde se presentaban bandas pequeñas y para luego 4 días de festival con 7 tarimas. Pude ver un total de 21 bandas de las que puedo resaltar las actuaciones de Jens Lekman con un concierto muy intimo entre el y su banda de mujeres. Anika Trost donde arranco que la entre a ver ya sus últimas 3 canciones y la primera que vi, ella montada en el borde de un amplificador colgando del cable del micrófono, presentación un tanto demente, pero una excelente sorpresa. Björk quien era la que mas me interesaba ver en el festival. Muse que a la postre fue para mi la mejor presentación. Queens Of Stone Age quienes descargaron con todo. Flamings y Beastie Boys con shows muy divertidos. Ademas de Detektivbyrân como una de las mas gratas sorpresas. La decepcionante presentación de Red Hot Chilli Peppers, incluso mucho mas que la de Caracas. Lastima que no pude ver Peter Björn and John y Klaxons por culpa de que se presentaban a la misma hora de Queens Of Stone Age y Beastie Boys respectivamente y The Killers que no los vi porque ya estaba hasta el guevo de la lluvia.

En contra tuvo la lluvia que no paró en 4 días, casi literalmente se puede decir que los dioses decidieron mear en Dinamarca mientras estabamos allí, gracias a ello perdimos 2 carpas y se nos mojó toda la ropa, mas toda la roncha que eso nos hizo pasar y además acalanbró mis pies y los lleno de marcas y heridas que todavía luego de un año tengo marcadas. Sin embargo la excelente vibra que se vivía en el sitio, la cantidad de gente desconocida con la que uno compartía, el alcohol y la música, hacía que todo se olvidara y lo convertian en una expericia increible e irrepetible, inclusive por las bandas que uno no conoce y descubre.

Este año el cartel es un poco más flojo, aunque hay varias cosas interesantes de ver

Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers, Goldfrapp, Cat Power, Gnarls Barkley, Neil Young, Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, Mogwai, The Streets, Slayer, José González, Hot Chip, Bullet for My Valentine, M.I.A., Judas Priest, My Bloody Valentine, CocoRosie, Band of Horses, Kate Nash, Anti-Flag, The Gossip, Lupe Fiasco, The Notwist, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Digitalism, MGMT, Robyn, Battles, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Duffy, Tokyo Police Club, The Raveonettes, Liars, Fedde le Grand, The Ting Tings, Enter Shikari, At the Gates, Orishas, The Hellacopters, Girl Talk, Efterklang, Solomon Burke, Shantel, Black Mountain, Clutch, Job for a Cowboy, Santogold, Alphabeat, Grinderman, Culcha Candela, Teitur, Yeasayer, Slagsmålsklubben, The Duke Spirit, Swollen Members, Lykke Li, Holy Fuck, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Joan as Police Woman, bob hund, Skream, Dan Deacon, No Age, Motorpsycho, Familjen, AaRON, Fuck Buttons, Mugison, Dengue Fever, Lady Saw, Rotten Sound, Raunchy, Cadence Weapon, Von Hertzen Brothers, Supersilent, The Dø, VETO, La Kinky Beat, Seasick Steve, Shackleton, Polarkreis 18, The Fashion, Static, Jay Reatard, Spleen United, Tina Dickow, The Black Seeds, Various Production, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Säkert!, Tone, DJ Disse, DJ Scotch Egg, Orquestra Imperial, L.O.C., Press Play on Tape, Frisco, Miss Platnum, Queen Ifrica, Canon Blue, August, Burhan G, Jomi Massage, Vieux Farka Touré, Rumskib, Extra Golden, Juan Formell y los Van Van, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, OVe-NaXx, The Count & Sinden, Vira, L.O.C, Wagner Pá, 18th Dye, Choir of Young Believers, when saints go machine, The Shape Of Broad Minds, Lulu Rouge, Bloodgroup, Tumi and the Volume, Babylove & The Van Dangos, Rumble in Rhodos, dunkelbunt, Krusseldorf, Various productions, Maruosa, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, beta satan, Erik Levander, Noize, A Kid Hereafter, Boy Better Know, Pilgrimz, August Engkilde, Sleep with all your friends, The Campbell Brothers, La Shica, Ian Ion, isam b, Majors, Boom Clap Bachelors, albertslund terror korps, Jong Pang, The Grand, Kiss Kiss Kiss, Frédéric Galliano, Valravn, BadboE, Henrik Hall, loungeclash, Awadi, kirsten ketsjer, [dunkelbunt], Maria Timm, Casiokids, Spokfrevo Orquestra, FredNukes, Bogulta, Mamar Kassey, Fanfara Tirana, Klaus Lynggaard, Troels Boberg, Kenge Kenge, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, BeardyMan, Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band, The Late Parade, Lucy Love, The Good the Bad, ricoloop, A Kid Hereafter In The Grinding Light, Riffelsyndikatet, The River Phoenix, yoke & yohs, Le Fiasko, The Brazierlights In The Window, Dj Banel, Sidi Goma, Dee Pee, MARIA & METAMMIT, Dub Tractor & Opiate, T.S. Høeg, Tivolis Symfoniorkester, The Freudian Slip, Peter Laugesen, Lars Frost, Job For A Cowboy , Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkester, MC Jabber, Thomas Boberg, Osaka Invasion

Aquí les pongo algunos video de año pasado

Björk - Army Of Me

Muse - Stockholm Syndrome

Queens Of Stone Age - Sick Sick Sick

Flaming Lips - Intro con Wayne Coyne haciendo crowd surfing dentro de una bola.

Artic Monkeys - Mardy Bum

The Who - Pinball Wizard

Y para que vean la cantidad de agua que se acumulo en el sitio

Lastima que no tenía la camara en mano cuando vi el tractor medio hundido en el barro.

O Show do The Killers que deveria começar por volta da meia noite começou as 4:00 e terminou com o sol já nascendo. O Show do Arctic Monkeys foi encurtado devido a demora para preparar o palco para a Bjork.

Um monte de reclamações também em relação a organização do evento, falta de taxis, faltou bebida e a velha história com as cameras fotográficas.

Foto: Flickr

A Tim já anunciou algumas das atrações de 2008: Klaxons e The Gossip, além de Sonny Rollins e a cantora de jazz Stacey Kent também já estão confirmados.

Como sempre as grandes atrações vão ser anunciadas mais pra frente. Tim Festival vai acontecer nas cidades de Rio de Janeiro, Vitória e São Paulo (Curitiba aparentemente foi cortada)

Gordona do The Gossip, nunca ouvi falar.

Espero que dessa vez as atrações combinem entre si, ano passado era metade biba louca querendo ver Bjork e outra metade povo cool querendo ver Arctic Monkeys. Acho que eu era o único pra ver The Killers.

Già che ci sono, dopo la collaborazione che ha dato vita ai Raconteurs, ne approfitto per spendere due parole su un'altra collaborazione recente: dietro al lungo e altisonante nome The Last Shadow Puppets si nascondono infatti Alex Turner, leader degli Arctic Monkeys, e Miles Kane dei Rascals.
Uno stuzzicante esperimento costituito da ritmi incalzanti e rollanti (lo stampo delle scimmie artiche è riconoscibilissimo, ma meno banale, più filtrato ed elaborato), melodie malinconiche e scanzonate, arrangiamenti orchestrali (opera del geniale violinista Owen Pallet, che ha esordito da solo col nome Final Fantasy in He poos clouds, un lavoro molto originale). Permane l'immediatezza del rock'n'roll indie molto in voga oggi, ma con un taglio decisamente più sperimentale... insomma si sarà capito che non adoro gli artisti coinvolti (Alex Turner su tutti - scandalo!), ma non posso negare che l'idea e la riuscita di questo album realizzano un pop di gran qualità, da non sottovalutare. Mi fanno venire in mente i Beatles più sperimentali dei Settanta (altro gruppo che non adoro - scandalo bis!). Gran merito va anche ad un produttore di tutto rispetto come James Ford, almeno per quanto riguarda la capacità di far approdare al grande pubblico realtà alternative come gli Arctic Monkeys stessi o i Klaxons.

profMau
The Last Shadow Puppets - The age of the understatement (2008 )
1. The Age Of The Understatement
2. Standing Next To Me
3. Calm Like You
4. Separate And ever Deadly
5. The Chamber
6. Only The Truth
7. My Mistakes Were Made for You
8. Black Pant
9. I Don’t Like You Anymore
10. In My Room
11. The Meeting Place
12. Time Has Come Again

2006 yılında 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ' ve 2007 yılında 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' isimli albümleri hazırlamıştır.

Sheffieldlı 16 yaşındaki Alex Turner ve Jamie Cook, ailelerinden Noel hediyesi olarak gitar istediler. Arkadaşları Matt Helders çat pat davul çalıyordu. Toparlanıp çat pat şarkı çalmaya başladılar. İlk konserlerini 2003 Haziranında 13 kişiye verdiler. 2004’ün sonlarında bir arkadaşları, demoları “Beneath the Boardwalk”u internet sitesine koydu ve adresi arkadaşlarına gönderdi. Arkadaşları kendi arkadaşlarına, onlar da başkalarına, oradan MP3 arama motorlarına derken birden herkes onlar hakkında konuşmaya başladı. BBC radyosu ve İngilizlerin meşhur tabloid gazeteleri, şarkılarla değil, Arctic Monkeys’in birden nasıl herkesin konuşma konusu olduğuyla ilgileniyordu.

Arctic Monkeys, müziklerini internette yaymaya devam etmek istiyordu. Londra’daki meşhur Astoria’yı dolduracak kadar hayranları vardı, konserleri kapalı gişe gidiyordu. 2006 Mayısında kendi imkânlarıyla ilk EP’leri “Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys”den bin tane bastılar. Röportajlarda plak firmaları için “buraya kadar onlarsız geldik, bundan sonra neden onlara ihtiyaç duyalım ki” diyecek kadar da kendilerini beğenmişlerdi bir kere.

Domino Records’un sonunda onları bir anlaşmayla bağlaması için “patronun firmayı kendi dairesinden yönetmesini ve amatör ruhlarını beğendik” deseler de bizce asıl 725,000 poundluk çek ve EMI’nin albüm kayıtlarında ünlülerle çalma sözü etkili oldu. İlk single’ları “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”, 17 Ekim 2005’te yayınlandı ve çıktığı gün 38,922 adet satarak İngiltere’de bir numara oldu. İkinci single’ları “When the Sun Goes Down” (ki sitelerinde “Scummy” ismiyle yayınlamışlardı), 16 Ocak 2006’da çıktı ve 40 tane fazla, yani 38,962 tane satarak yine bir numara oldu.

Albüm kayıtları Eylül 2005’te bitmişti. 30 Ocak 2006’da çıkması planlanan albüm, “yoğun talep” nedeniyle bir hafta erkene alınıp 26 Ocak’ta yayınlandı. Yine de şarkıların tümü de bir şekilde internette kolaylıkla bulunabilmesine rağmen “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” çıktığı gün 118,501, ilk haftasında da 363,735 adet satarak İngiltere tarihinin bir günde ve bir haftada en çok satan albümü rekorunu kırdı. Albüm Amerika’da da indie bir grubun bir haftada en hızlı satan ilk albümü rekoru kırdı. İngiltere’deki kadar etkileyici değil tabii.

İlk albümlerinden sonra fazla vakit kaybetmeden hemen 5 şarkılık EP’leri “Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys”i çıkaran grup, ne yazık ki bu EP’yle hiçbir listede yer alamadı. Bunun altında yatan sebeb EP’nin ne single ne de albüm listelerine uygun olmamasıydı. Şarkıların içerdiği küfürlü sözler de radyolarda çalınmasına kısmen engel oldu.

Tam bu zafer kazanmış havalarındayken ne yazık ki basistleri Andy Nicholson'un gruptan ayrıldığı bildirildi. Ayrılma nedeni olarakta Amerika'ya gitmek istememesi olduğu açıklandı, ama doğal olarak fazla ünden rahatsız olumuşta olabilir. Grup Amerika turnesi için Nick O'Malley ile anlaştılar. Ardından resmi olarak gruba katıldığı kesinleşti.

14 Ağustos 2006’da yayınladıkları single “Leave Before the Lights Come On”, listelerde 4. sıra gibi iyi bir yere yerleşirken, grubun ilk 1. sırada yer alamayan single’ı olarak başarısızlıkla adından söz ettirdi. Solist Turner’ın bu single’la ilgili yorumu da akıllarda kalmaya değer cinsten : “Ailemizin kara koyunu”. Buna rağmen grup 2006 Mercury Ödülü’nün sahibi oldu.

EP, albüm ve single’ların çıkış zaman aralığını kısa tutan Arctic Monkeys, üretmeyi fazlasıyla seviyor ve bu özellikleri üzerine Jamie Cook eklemeden geçemiyor: “Coldplay gibi olabileceğimizi düşünemiyorum. Bir albümün turnesini 3 senede tamamlıyorsunuz, her gece aynı şarkılar.. bazı insanlar bundan hoşlanıyor olabilir ama biz değil”.

16 Nisan 2007 tarihinde “Brianstorm” adlı single’ı yayınlayan Arctic Monkeys, 23 Nisan tarihinde de “Favourite Worst Nightmare” adlı 2. stüdyo albümünü hayranlarına ulaştırdı. Albümün prodüksiyonunda James Ford ve Mike Crossey ile çalışan grup, albümün soundunda ilk albüme göre daha hızlı ve funk parçalara imza attı. “Brianstorm” single’ı ile İngiltere listelerinde 2 numara olmayı başardılar.

9 Temmuzda çıkan Favourite Worst Nightmare albümünün 2. single'ı Fluorescent Adolescent'in klibi unutulmayacak kadar orjinal tartışmasız. Bu single'dan sonra uzunca bir ara veren grup, 3. singleları Teddy Picker'ı 3 Aralıkta çıkardılar. E tabikide tüm single'lar herzamanki gibi bol b-sidelı!

Son olarak grup ekim ayında NME'ye verdikleri bir röpörtajda, 3. albümleri için çoktan hazırlıklara başladıklarını belirtmiştir. Zaten her radyo programı ve hemen hemen 15 konserde bir yeni şarkı çıkaran grup için 3 senede 3 albüm o kadarda zor bir şey değil!

Achava que era uma paranóia minha, mas lembrei dessa letra:

"Well oh they might wear classic Reeboks
Or knackered Converse
Or tracky bottoms tucked in socks
But all of that's what the point is not
The points thats there ain't no romance around there"

E, se formos falar dos gays que estão descobrindo a noite, então... vixe! É difícil achar graça no excesso de frases e piadas copiadas da internet, e na graça de achar tanta graça da internet. E qualquer programa de fim de semana que não seja casa dos amigos, ou a festa que toca o TOP TVZ + o pop anos 90 + os hits gays, ou uma balada indie, vira "programa cult".

"And over there there's broken bones,
There's only music, so that there's new ringtones
and it don't take no Sherlock Holmes
to see it's a little different around here"

Acho que eles são geniais de uma outra maneira e que vão contribuir com o mundo, mas talvez não com a minha vida amorosa. Estou voltando com o meu ex, te contei? Aliás, na semana passada ele me disse que também pensa em mim quando escuta "Não Me Arrependo", do Caetano. Adorei!

Ou seja, "só nós, velhos, somos feios e mais ninguém."
(A letra é "A Certain Romance", do Arctic Monkeys. E se toca na noite, eles devem dançar sem suspeitar de nada! deus... patins... geladeira).

Nevertheless, there's no doubting the Prize's ability to - overnight, frequently - thrust a struggling yet talented artist into the limelight, thus ensuring a short-term boost in sales. Elsewhere in its history, the nominees and winners have definitely caused me to further investigate a particular artist, as in the case of Antony and the Johnsons in 2005 (who won), and Richard Hawley in 2006 (who didn't).

Though I have no fear in saying that British music is at an all time nadir, it is with some optimism that I would suggest the past twelve months have seen signs of a resurgence among our more experimental and esoteric, risk-taking artists, and I really hope the judges take a careful look at such albums when making their decisions this year. Though I doubt my selections will bear any relation to the real shortlist, here are some British albums that have been released since last August (the usual cut-off point) that I feel the judges would be loath to ignore:

British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music? - I'm aware that Pitchfork have significantly decreased their love of BSP since this third LP, owing to it sounding (to their ears) more and more like U2. However, I would have to disagree, since the album is not at all bereft of soul and human interest, and is instead full of sonic experimentation (no doubt stemming from Efrim Menuck's input) and highly agreeable songs that certainly evoke comparison with Echo and the Bunnymen. It's not unthinkable to suggest that the Mercury judges may finally acknowledge the band's existence with a nomination.

Burial, Untrue - It's dubstep at its most evolved. It plainly evokes the unique experience of wondering through the city in the post-club comedown hinterland, and does so with these somewhat familiar 90s-sounding R&B vocals, mutated and squelched alongside harrowing beats.

Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid - Tragically, I haven't actually heard this album yet, but I remain hopeful that, on the basis of their previous work, and the acclaimed reviews this one's been getting, it will be nominated, which would be an apt peak for such a hard-grafting band as Elbow. It's even got a collaboration with Richard Hawley on it.

Foals, Antidotes - One of the most hyped-up British bands for a while, particularly in more adventurous circles, and this, their debut, really didn't disappoint, for me. While it will always plague me as to whether critics would have preferred the Dave Sitek mix, I think it's only appropriate to applaud a band who have taken the far-out branches of math rock, and honed them into what is, in the end, a great pop album. Admittedly, the vocals and lyrics are sometimes on the wrong side of obtuse, but my personal feeling is that the technical virtuosity of the instrumental work far outweighs the album's problems.

Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood - One of my less likely suggestions, particularly since it consists of half an hour's worth of modernist, minimalist classical music composed for one of the most awe-inspiring films I have seen in my entire life. However, there's no denying its scope and beauty, and the unrelentingly bleak mood that it conveys with a traditional orchestra creating wildly experimental sounds. More importantly, I really think it does work as an album, as opposed to just being a soundtrack: the sequencing of the tracks is good; there is an intelligent arc in tone, pace and texture. 

Hot Chip, Made In The Dark - Their third studio effort isn't at all flawless, but I think it is the unexpected things and the constant sense of surprise and wit that might win it a nomination. In Ready For The Floor the band have surely written their perfect Christmas pop song, while elsewhere on the record there's a definite feeling that the band is learning to embrace their live potential in making songs that just build and build, and then take some unexpected step, such as on Hold On.

The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement - It wouldn't be a surprise at all if this was nominated and indeed won the prize, which would be a fairly unprecedented feat for Alex Turner. It may not be at all forward-thinking (not that that stopped Klaxons from taking home the award last year), but it makes up for that by capturing the spirit of Scott Walker ballads, and embellishing solid hooks and vignettes with some of the most lush and inventive orchestration used in this context for a long time.

M.I.A., Kala - An acquaintance of mine believes that this will never win, because the British press remain sceptical of her confused political agenda, and because they don't like music that's so aggressive and wilfully sloganeering. Whatever the outcome, it only just missed the release deadline for last year's shortlist, and I really do believe they'd be foolish to have forgotten about it. On Kala M.I.A. takes all the sonic invention and global influences on Arular, and builds on them with further-reaching production values and slightly less of the banal anecdotes that peppered its predecessor. It's a stunning work, blending a wide range of talents and samples to make something relentlessly attention-seeking.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand - Another one of which I've only heard snippets, but, on the basis of what I have heard, it could be a worthy contender. The song selection is fantastic; the arrangements very appropriate; and, of course, in Plant and Krauss there is one of the most effective and unusual vocal pairings for a while.

Portishead, Third - I find it very difficult to write about this album: what is there to say about such a wilfully difficult, tortured album that has universally silenced the critics who thought either that Portishead would never make another album, or that any future album from the band would be an extension of the Bristol sound. It's comparable to Massive Attack's Mezzanine only in the fact that they've followed two albums of (admittedly talented) dinner party music with something you would be scared to expose to young children. Musically, the two albums are completely disparate; similar only in their consistently bleak, grimy tone. Third is alternately mechanical, languid, industrial, chilling, upsetting, unrelenting and apocalyptic. And I love it.

Radiohead, In Rainbows - Radiohead have never won the Mercury Prize, and I don't think they will with In Rainbows either. Though it is their best album since Kid A, I don't think it pushes nearly as many boundaries, and, for me, proved to be a relatively 'easy' listen. It's not that their lifting up their feet and taking the foot off the accelerator of invention and rule-breaking, it's just that they've decided on a more relaxed, soulful tone on this album, which I don't think gels with the forward-thinking agenda of the judges. Nevertheless, it's a delight to listen to.

Spiritualized, Songs in A&E - Every positive review of this album has hit the nail right on the head with an extremely large hammer: it sounds like he's writing and singing from beyond the grave; the music is a distillation of all his best work since the days of Spacemen 3; it's life-affirming music made by someone who almost died. And they're all correct, because the album can be beautiful and moving, and then shift into the full-on, space rock sprawling mess that everyone loves.

Oh, by the way, the biggest mistake the judges ever made was not nominating Field Music's Tones of Town last year. It should have been on the shortlist and it should have won.

Superstar duo The Last Shadow Puppets' 2nd single embraces what all duos of past have created, perfect pop singles.  Clocking in at only two minutes and twenty-one seconds, "Standing Next To Me" evokes vintage chorus lines and to-the-point lyrics.

The music video itself mirrors a time and period that The Last Shadow Puppets embrace so effortlessly that you might almost forget that this duo is from 2008 and not 1968.

MP3: “Standing Next To Me“
Website: http://www.theageoftheunderstatement.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thelastshadowpuppets
Purchase: The Age of Understatement
Label: Domino

"Use your iTunes or whatever and put it on shuffle. Answer the following questions with the songtitle that will show up (witout skipping anything!)"

So let the play begin:

How does the world see me?  

-->  Jazz at the Bookstore   --> OK, whatever

Will I lead a happy life?  

--> Balaclava   --> According to this cloth...

what do my friends really think of me?   

--> Ravey Ravey Ravey Club   --> I can live with that.

Do people secretly lust after me?  

--> Du Schreibst Geschichte (which means: you make history)   --> seems like that ;o)

How can I make myself happy?  

-->  Etwas zerstört (which means: something destroyed)   --> Ok, now I have the license to destroy!!! Huahahahahah...

What should I do with my life?  

--> Damn Girl   --> Ok, I'll never ask again...

Why should life be full of so much pain?  

--> Nobody Knows   --> How smart...

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?  

--> Tonight I wanna Cry   --> Uhm, no...

Will I ever have children?  

--> Loyal To none   --> Poor little children ;o)

Will I die happy?  

-->  2 o'clock   --> I don't know how, but I know when. A bit scary...

What is some good advice for me?  

--> Why you not ?   --> Why I am not...WHAT?

What is happiness?  

--> Devil Town   --> Huahahaha....

What is your fetish?  

--> The Limit to your Love   --> ...

How will I be remembered?  

--> London Calling   --> Ok.

.....useless stuff turned out to be useless! Yeah!

Cheers! 

Parece que The Kooks y Arctic Monkeys son una especie de Blur y Oasis de la actualidad. Ahora Luke Pritchard, frontman de The Kooks, aseguró que el grupo liderado por Alex Turner está “muerto” en los Estados Unidos.

En declaraciones que le dio al periódico The Sun, Pritchard dijo: ”Arctic Monkeys murió allá (en Estados Unidos). Ellos fueron enormes con el primer disco pero no pasó lo mismo con el segundo”.

Recuerden que hace un tiempo Pritchard también aseguró que le tuvo que pegar una patada en la cara a Alex Turner mientras realizaban una presentación en vivo.

Tomado de: http://cucharasonica.com/

No se que tenga Luke Pitchard en contra de Arctic Monkeys, pero la verdad se esta viendo bien nena, las dos bandas son estilos diferentes, y las dos son de mi agrado, aunque si me dieran a elegir me quedaria con Arctic Monkeys, Luke deberia dedicarse a la promocion de su disco en vez de enfocar su atencion en la banda de Alex Turner, ya que si nos vamos a comparar alas bandas, que solo se pregunte que banda a ganado mas premios musicalmente hablando?. En fin, parece que esto nunca acabara, mientras Luke causa polemica, Alex y compañia se dedican a lo que sera su tercer disco, esa es la diferencia entre ambas bandas, ya lo habia dicho antes.

If we're honest, Arctic Monkeys put Sheffield on the musical map. Sure, it got some press thanks to the likes of Pulp and The Human League but then Jarvis moved to London and THL never really got much further than Don't You Want Me Baby? Not for my generation anyway. And no, Richard Hawley doesn't count. As great an artist as he is - he never really hit the mainstream. So I feel it would be wrong of me to write about Sheffield without mentioning the Arctics, as so many people do.

Winners of eighteen awards including 7 NME awards for Best New Band, Best British Band [x2], Best Track [x2], Best International Album and Best Album, they really are the shining light of Sheffield's music scene despite having released only two albums. The first of which, Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not, was cited by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe as being one of the 'masterpiece' albums that changed the face of music alongside Is This It? by The Strokes, Never Mind by Nirvana and Led Zeppelin IV by, that's right, Led Zeppelin

Arctic Monkeys have many friends in the music industry. One of them being Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers. Apparently he was Alex Turner's mentor teaching him about music and such. It seems a shame then, that Reverend and the Makers debut album, 'The State of Things', was such a disappointment. I'm not going to go into it too much because it is that boring it would possibly put you off Sheffield forever and that would be just wrong. I'll tell you the major problem with this album though and that is - it's shit. And people don't seem to mind that it's shit because he is 'a poet', a 'preacherman' and of course, 'a political activist'. Except he's not telling us anything he hasn't told us before. Songs about package holidays and teenage mums are not only uninspiring, they're ten to a dozen around here. If he wanted to talk rubbish all day, then perhaps he would have been better as a politician.

Onto Milburn. Highly overrated amongst Sheffield folk, highly underrated by everyone else. Debut album, Well Well Well, was essentially an album packed full with laddish indie pop and what's wrong with that? Tracks like What You Could've Won and Lipstick Licking are songs of friday nights out and fighting with the bigger boys mixed in with the catchiest riffs in South Yorkshire. And noone could accuse them of jumping on the Arctic Monkeys bandwagon either seen as how they were around before the famous four hit the big time. Only one problem with Milburn, they played their last ever gig last month. Buy their 2nd album These Are The Facts - it'll make you feel better. Or worse, if you realise what you've been missing.

And if you are visiting Sheffield and fancy checking out the local music scene you could do worse than dropping into The Grapes, The Frog & Parrot or The Harley. If you just want to go to a great gig there's always my favourite venue, The Leadmill, or check out The Plug, The Boardwalk or, for the bravest of you, Corporation. All legendary venues amongst the locals.

What You Could've Won mp3.

Hace tan solo un año que salió al mercado su segundo disco de estudio y Arctic Monkeys ya están trabajando en el que será el tercero. En este año, su cantante Alex turner ha formado otro grupo, The Last Shadow Puppets, y ha sacado un disco. ¿Realmente hay tiempo para todo?

Realmente Favourite Worst Nightmare es bastante malo y se puede entender por la rapidez en que lo sacaron al mercado después de el gran éxito de su primer disco. The Last Shadow Puppets en cambio es una buena banda que se distancia un poco de lo que hace Alex Turner con los monos árticos.

Pero ahora en tan poco tiempo quieren volver al estudio este verano y el propio Alex ha declarado que ya tienen unas 6 canciones preparadas. Si realmente es así, no quiero ni pensar como seran las canciones. Puede que sea pesimista, pero viendo su último trabajo, y el poco tiempo que han tenido para componerlas no creo que sean una maravilla. Aunque también es verdad que todo lo que tocan estos chicos se convierte en oro, por lo menos de momento...

Puede que tengamos nuevo álbum a finales de este año si se dan mucha prisa (como hasta ahora) o a principios de 2009 si se relajan un poco más.

Vía | Hipersonica