Teh URL

R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Star Wars Christmas Album

2006-12-07T19:04:00.000+11:00

Released: 1980
Download It

It's the Teh URL Xmas Post!

Merry Xmas R2-D2!

Wiki.

Trivia

* Jon Bon Jovi made his first recording ever on this album (he’s credited as John Bongiovi), singing lead vocals on "R2D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Jon did it as a favor to his uncle Tony Bongiovi, one of the producers of the album.

5/10

Phil Collins vs Bloc Party - She's Hearing In The Air Tonight (dj lobsterdust mash)

2006-11-16T18:42:00.000+11:00

Released: 2006
Download It

Someone's finally worked out how to make Bloc Party listenable - replace that yelping fuckface with Phil.

6/10

be your own PET - We Will Vacation, You Will Be My Parasol

2006-09-05T01:39:00.000+10:00

Released 2006
Download it (3.0 Mb)

Right up the wall to the darkest place
It gets so dark when we're below the waist
We are the knowing oh yes we know it all
We will vacation, you will be my parasol

7/10

My Morning Jacket - Run Thru

2006-09-01T20:27:00.000+10:00

Released: 2003
Download it (5.5 Mb)

Lie back and spark up a doobie while 70s rock monoliths Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd combine to form this sprawling, passionate tune.

7/10

Lily Allen - Cheryl Tweedy

2006-08-08T02:28:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download It

It looks like the predictable hipster backlash has begun, but they're a bunch of fucken fags.

For some reason, this track didn't make it onto the album, but it's actually better than half of it.

Here's a pic of Cheryl Tweedy.

6/10

The Knife - Heartbeats

2006-07-17T20:37:00.000+10:00

Released: 2003
Download it (6.1 Mb)

The original version of José González’s ubiquitous Heartbeats, presented this time as a twisted electro piece.

I prefer this version.

7/10

Bez - Bitcheshos

2006-07-14T22:20:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It

A modern classic.
A brilliant take on a subject man has grappled with since beyond memory.
This haiku like track builds texture upon texture, layer upon layer, taking the listener to familiar yet dizzyingly strange vistas and tableaus culminating in what can only be described as an aural money shot.

9/10

Muse - Starlight

2006-07-12T02:49:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download It

Yea, Muse have gone way over the top, but coincidentally have finally released an album that I actually enjoy.

This track sounds a bit like Tears For Fears. It's awesome.

9/10

The Pipettes - Pull Shapes

2006-07-12T01:50:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download it (4.9 Mb)

Allegedly this band started as a group of girlfriends of some shitty UK indie bands, who no one ever heard of or cared about. The girls got bored with the guys spending every weekend alone because their boyfriends were playing the Pudsey Arms or some shit.

Allegedly the dialogue went something like this:
Girls: Oh you think you're so great, we can form a band too
Boys: Whatever, get us a beer
Girls: You just wait, we're going to get a group together and it's going to be way more betterer than your shitty groups
Boys: I'm hearing talking but I don't have a FUCKEN BEER.

6 months later The Pipettes were unleashed on the unsuspecting public. Allegedly.

Well, I'm not sure who has won in the argument, and the girls can't really sing, and they certainly can't dance. But they can write a reasonable hook.

7/10

Explosions In The Sky - The Rescue

2006-07-06T01:11:00.000+10:00

8 free tracks from the fucking excellent Explosions In The Sky.

Get in!

8/10

Thom Yorke - Black Swan

2006-06-29T00:38:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download It

It might be a bit Kid-A lite, but this is an improvement over the Radiohead-does-Radiohead pastiche of Hail To the Thief.

More solo albums please Thom.

7/10

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Thirsty Dog

2006-06-15T23:36:00.000+10:00

Released: 1996
Download it (5.6 Mb)

Polly, Nick's sorry, really sorry in fact.

But do you really think that's going to stop him getting rat arsed at his local boozer and working himself up into a self-righteous rage?

Not bloody likely.

8/10

Tool - The Pot

2006-06-14T23:08:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download it (9.8 Mb)

(Scene: Int. Tool, a progressive metal band from Los Angeles, are in a studio recording their fourth album)

Adam: Maynard, you know I was thinking that in our seminal debut album Undertow, we really developed a core sound and song style which we very much deviated from in our subsequent albums.
Maynard: Agreed, I also feel that in spite of the strength of the songs on that album, the tinny shitty production that we all insisted on were to the detriment of the songs.
Adam: In fact I would think that, after the progressive experimentalism of Ænima, the percussive tribalism of Lateralus and your time with A Perfect Circle, giving you the opportunity to experiment with and expand your vocal range, on this, the momentous occasion of the recording our fourth album, we should revisit and update our original sound, on at least one song
Danny: bangs on drums*
Maynard: Right on
Justin: I own a bookshop.

7/10

Verve - A Man Called Sun

2006-06-14T01:29:00.000+10:00

Released: 1992
Download it (7.7 Mb)

Cool, dark, atmospheric. Just don't pay too close attention to the lyrics.

7/10

The Smiths ft. Sandie Shaw - Hand In Glove

2006-06-13T03:49:00.000+10:00

Released: 1984
Download It

Only Moz would stalk faded 60s icon Sandie Shaw with incessant letters and postcards until she finally agreed to sing on a track with his up-and-coming band.

The result? An improvement on the original!

8/10

Public Image - Theme

2006-06-03T18:33:00.000+10:00

Delegated Review (by Dylan)
Released: 1978
Download It

I first heard this a month ago, and it speaks volumes that it never even crossed my mind to listen to it again. While Johnny Lydon and the lads were obviously pushing boundaries with their post-punk-art-rock, it doesn't engage me on any level.

There's no better way to describe this other than as a 9-minute dirge.

It's better than the Sex Pistols though.

4/10

Hank Williams Jr. - A Country Boy Can Survive

2006-06-01T17:58:00.000+10:00

Released: Dunno
Download it (3.9 Mb)

Short Version:
If you are in the octagon when this song plays, know that you are about to get fucked up.

Long Version:
As incongruous as it may seem to hear this country song blare out during Matt Hughes's entrance in the UFC, once you couple it with Hughes's 39 - 4 - 0 record you soon come to realize that this apparently hokey song actually signals that your ass now belongs to Matt Hughes.

7/10

Ghostface Killah - Shakey Dog

2006-05-14T05:11:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download it(4.0 Mb)

It seems like it was only two years ago that rap, or specifically Kanye West was the great black hope of music.

It was coincidentally around the same time that I discovered The Blueprint.

Anyway, 2 years later, black music sounds exactly the same, if not significantly worse. And this is supposed to be the best thing that's happened this year to rap music.

In fairness it's not bad, in fact this song it pretty damn good, but, like... what happens now?

7/10

Lily Allen

2006-05-08T20:28:00.000+10:00

Now that Mike Skinner has descended into predictable celebrity self-loathing, the time is ripe for an usurper to chronicle the ins and outs of chav life in blighty.

Up steps Lily Allen with her carnival beats and wicked sense of humour. I'd probably hit it too.

Knock Em Out - 7/10

LDN - 7/10

Morrissey - Life Is A Pigsty

2006-05-02T23:42:00.000+10:00

Released: 2006
Download It

Used as the climactic closing number in his current UK tour, Moz and hired-gun producer Tony Visconti can be rightly proud of this one.

Upon a soundscape of crashing drums, cymbals, rain, thunder, and what sounds like knives sharpening, the new 'positive' Moz informs us that, while life may indeed be a pigsty, he's fallen in love... again.

8/10

Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - Don't Give Up

2006-04-12T05:36:00.000+10:00

Delegated Review
Released: 1986
Download it (8.9 Mb)

Fantastically evocative verse, typical Gabriel fare, but very good. Kate Bush chorus is really blah though. Piano outtro isn't great.

Doesn't really add up does it?

6/10

Secret Machines - Lightning Blue Eyes

2006-04-12T02:56:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (8.4 Mb)

Had a cunt of a day? If so, crank up this fist pumper and rock out with your cock out.

8/10

Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots

2006-04-05T22:42:00.000+10:00

Released: 1990
Download it (7.6 Mb)

From their brief flirtation with pop, Goo, an album which set the tone for 90's alterna-rock (and kicked off the mainstream career of Butch Vig), a time when Kim Gordon was hot and Eddy Vedder was selling beer in Oregon.

It's not going to appease the hardcore Washing Machine enthusiasts out there, but stands up as a decent piece of pop music.

8/10

Madness - Shame and Scandal

2006-03-29T22:51:00.000+11:00

Released: 2005
Download It

Suggs and co are still going strong in the 00s?

Cheeky fuckers.

7/10

David Bowie - Life On Mars

2006-03-13T19:43:00.000+11:00

Released: 1971
Download It

This is from the Hunky Dory album.

It's really good.

I think the Arcade Fire may have covered it, but I couldn't be bothered to verify that.

9/10

Johnny Cash - Cocaine Blues (Live at Folsom Prison)

2006-03-10T21:44:00.000+11:00

Released: 1968
Download it (2.9 Mb) (mp4 - sorry)
Buy it

"Every man knows he is, basically, a complete (pussy) compared to Johnny Cash." — Bongo

9/10

Neu - E-Musik

2006-03-08T20:54:00.000+11:00

Delegated Review
Released: 1975
Download It

It chugs along serenely like a long train ride, but disconcertingly, the destination station isn't your usual Liverpool Street, Amsterdam Centraal, or Dylan's/Reyn's ass - it's a windswept plain of nothingness.

So in conclusion, Krautrock, it's ok, but it doesn't make up for the Holocaust and wearing socks with sandals.

6/10

The Smashing Pumpkins - Glass and the Ghost Children

2006-03-02T04:55:00.002+11:00

Released: 2000
Download it (14.1 Mb)

This ten odd minutes of epic psychedelia is pretty fucken rad for a band who were completely past it when this album came out.

Maybe I shouldn't have deleted the rest of this album...

8/10

Morrissey - Satan Rejected My Soul

2006-02-18T22:38:00.000+11:00

Released: 1997
Download It

This is from the somewhat underrated 1997 album, Maladjusted.

I like these lyrics - Morrissey carting round his soul to whoever will take it. The ultimate snub - even Satan isn't interested.

Musically, it's a rollicking upbeat number with a great catchy central riff.

All in all, a superior Moz track.

8/10

Britney Spears - DFA Demo Track

2006-02-14T21:20:00.000+11:00

Released: Never
Download it (4.8 Mb)

Most of the time I want to listen to white boys whining about not getting laid but every now and again I need a fix of gay disco pop.

This is song fulfills that need.

8/10

Regina Spektor - Samson

2006-02-14T00:11:00.000+11:00

Released: 2002
Download it (5.4 Mb)

Beautiful.

8/10

Scott Walker - Farmer in the City

2006-02-10T02:56:00.000+11:00

Released: 1995
Download it (9.5 Mb)

Okay, so you’ve come across some music nerds, right? And they always crap on about how weird their music tastes are because they have got the original Boards of Canada LP and how they “are really getting into Trout Mask Replica” or some shit.

Well, I present to you the ultimate musical snob trump card. This album (Tilt) is by far the most out there piece of listenable music that no one’s ever heard of.

It’s also fucking brilliant.

Enjoy.

9/10

Morrissey - I Will See You In Far Off Places

2006-02-07T01:14:00.000+11:00

Released: 2006
Download It

Here's the opening track from the new Morrissey album, mischievously leaked on to the interwebs 2 months ahead of official release.

Upon first listen, one is first struck by the unexpected eastern/arabian soundscape. Is this Moz moving in new musical directions? (shudder). Nope. The use of the gimmick becomes immediately apparent as the lyrics unfold - for the 2nd album in a row, Moz has decided to kick proceedings off with a (slightly ambiguous) anti-USA political bent.

Yea, it's another vainglorious, self-contradictory, mid-tempo chugging epic in typical pithy Moz fashion. What were you expecting, the fucken Arctic Monkeys?

6/10

Peter Gabirel - Through The Wire

2006-02-06T02:34:00.000+11:00

Delegated Review
Released: 1980
Download it (8.6 Mb)

I don’t like this. It’s a combination of the awful guitar sound, the dreary drumming and the way Gabriel keeps singing WOOOOOIIIIIIYYYYYEEEEERRRR makes up for one big bowl of suck.

3/10

Annie - Heartbeat

2006-02-04T15:40:00.000+11:00

Released: 2004
Download It

I'd hit it.

8/10

Huey Lewis & The News - I Want A New Drug

2006-01-26T02:28:00.000+11:00

Released: 1983
Download It

"I Want A New Drug", with it's killer guitar riff (courtesy of Chris Hayes), is the album's centerpiece - not only is it the greatest anti-drug song ever written, it's also a personal statement about how the band has grown up, shucked off their bad-boy image and learned to become more adult. Hayes' solo on it is incredible, and the drum machine used, but not credited, gives not only "I Want A New Drug" but most of the album a more consistent backbeat than any of the previous albums - even though Bill Gibson is still a welcome presence.

8/10

Wilco - Misunderstood (Live)

2006-01-26T01:41:00.000+11:00

Download it (9.2 Mb)

Attention Rock N Roll bands of the world. This is how it is done. Take your trilby’s, your Staines attitudes, and your crack pipes and shove them up your arse.

This is how to do it, my friends. A perfect demonstration of the power of everyone’s favourite music form.

Absolutely fucking brilliant.

I would love to be able to tell you about the music itself, but I’m a lousy writer. So listen instead.

10/10

Wilco - I am trying to break your heart

2006-01-16T23:38:00.000+11:00

Released: 2002
Download it (10.4 Mb)

I love analysing music, pulling it a part to see why it works, but this one has got me stumped. How can such a mess of a song be so damn good? how can someone ‘.. assassin down the avenue’? What’s with all those plinky background noises?

Fuck knows, but I must have listened to it at least a hundred times in the past few months and I am no clearer.

Maybe you guys can figure it out. But if you can’t, you can at least enjoy this wonderful song.

9/10

New Strokes

2006-01-13T19:01:00.000+11:00

Released: 2006

I'm not sure why some critics are hating on the new album. Heart In A Cage is trad strokes at their best, better than anything they did on 'Room On Fire', while Ask Me Anything sounds like nothing they've ever done before - and it's funny! - Julian admitting that "I've got nothing to say". Don't worry Julian, that's part of the appeal.

Heart In A Cage - Download It
7/10

Ask Me Anything - Download It
7/10

Gareth's 2005 Awards

2006-01-10T01:07:00.000+11:00

Top 3 Tracks:

3. 50 Cent - Hate It Or Love It (Remix) (feat G-Unit)

Tucked away at the back of the bloated Massacre album, was this bonus track which turned out to be the rap highlight of the year. Even if you can't stand Fiddy and his brainless thugs, you'll still like this one. Except for Dylan, he gave it a 3.

2. LCD Soundsystem/Franz & Shape - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House/Countach (Remix)

Mash-ups are so 2003, but this was the indie-punk/dancefloor stormer I'd been praying and waiting for.

1. Hard-Fi - Tied Up Too Tight

Forget Bloc Party, Editors, Franz and all the other assorted 1981 tribute bands. Hard-Fi were the british sensation of 2005. This is the strongest track from the album, and my track of the year.

Honourable Mentions:

Girls Aloud - Biology
The Bravery - Honest Mistake
Daft Punk - Robot Rock (look, i got the joke, ok)

Top 3 Albums:

1. Sigur Ros - Takk
Class.

2. Girls Aloud - Chemistry
Late bolter of the year. Innovative pop-music, surprisingly sophisticated. I even like the bonus Christmas CD. I'd hit Cheryl.

3. Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV
Flounders a bit in the middle, but the opening 5 and closing 3 tracks are fantastic.

Gheyest song which I secretly liked:

Madonna - Hung Up (yea, i'm aware it samples abba)

The Track Most Likely To Turn Me Into A Psychopathic Murderer Next Time I Hear It:

James Cunt - You're Beautiful

Dylans Best Bits of Music: 2005 Edition

2005-12-23T05:43:00.000+11:00

3. Girls Aloud – Swingin’ London Town
Download it (5.7 Mb)

Cracking tune that has finally sold me on Girls Aloud. Although they are maligned by the vast majority of the population over here (understandably) their producers create some really good music. This is my favourite track of the album. By a fair margin.

2. Maximo Park – Signal and Sign
Download it (2.9 Mb)

My favourite song that refers to semiotics, it would be my number one except for the unforgivably out of tune ‘illumination’ vocal. Every time I hear that I shudder. On the plus side there is great example of one of my favourite trick in pop music – the one word chorus.

I also love the way the fucked synth melody in the verse.

1. Bloc Party – Like Eating Glass
Download it (6.1Mb)

It’s so cold in this house

Another London song and one that really captures the bleak emptiness of this city. There’s nothing I don’t love about this song. From the clipped drum sounds, the helter skelter lead guitar riff, the bridge which is just a complete mess, to the backing vocal wailing to the way it all magically comes together for the chorus, to the way it all falls apart in the outtro. But these are things that are present in any Bloc Party song.

To me, what sets these guys ahead of the rest is Kele Okereke. While he is not the most accomplished vocalist, he is adventurous with his style and he means what he is singing.

I don’t know why he’s got crosses on his eyes and he’s walking into the furniture, but I believe him.

Honourable Mentions

Arctic Monkeys – I bet you look good on the dance floor
Wilco – Ashes of American Flags (Live)
Rachel Stevens – Crazy Boy
Editors – All Sparks
Coldplay – White Shadows (Don’t hate me, this is a good song)
Dirty Three – Great Waves
Fiona Apple – Red, Red, Red (Non Jon Brion version)

Piece of shit song not including Crazy Frog
Akon - Lonely

Album of The Year
Sigur Ros – Takk…
The masterpiece album that they have been threatening to deliver for the past couple of albums. If you don’t own this album yet, get thee to a recordstore – posthaste.

Honourable mentions

Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Josh Rouse – Nashville
Arcade Fire – Funeral (Obviously)

Disappointment of the Year
Kanye West – Late Registration
Yeah it’s kinda ok, but it’s pretty fucken far from The College Dropout innit.

Gabriel-era Genesis

2005-12-20T00:52:00.000+11:00

Warning: contains mythical lyrics and organ solos.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
Released: 1973

This could have been an 8, however 1 point must be taken off for that ghey shouty-chorus bit.

7/10

Firth of Fifth
Released: 1973

This could have been an 9, however 1 point must be taken off for the following lyric:

The mountain cuts off the town from view,
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill.

WHAT?

8/10

The Best Album of the 80s

2005-12-13T00:59:00.000+11:00

Well, it's The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, innit? What else was there? Disintegration? Doolittle? Joshua Tree? Bah!

Two choice cuts for the uninitiated:

Bigmouth Strikes Again
Released: 1986

Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said /
I'd like to smash every tooth in your head

Enough said.

9/10

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Released: 1986

Morrissey switches into whimsical romantic mode, with Marr's jangling, florid guitar lines again providing the perfect accompaniment.

9/10

Bloc Party - Two More Years (MSTRKRFT Remix)

2005-12-10T04:20:00.000+11:00

Released: 2005
Download it (3.9 Mb)

Less wussy than the original.

8/10

Pixies - Head On

2005-12-07T05:00:00.000+11:00

Released: 1993
Download it (3.3 Mb)

Gareth's been hitting the Pixies a bit lately and I was reminded of this song, a slice of mid-90s pop-punk perfection from the masters. It was this song that spawned a million Jimmy Eat Worlds.

The best thing about Head On is that Black / Frank / Charles was inspired enough to take the sludgy dull original (Jesus and Mary Chain) version and turn it into this.

Enjoy.

8/10

Brian Eno - The True Wheel

2005-12-02T01:54:00.000+11:00

Released: 1974
Download It

Before Brian went off the deep end and decided it would be interesting to listen to the same 3 notes played over and over and over again for 25-fucken-minutes, he managed to release a few decent pop albums.

7/10

Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer

2005-11-25T03:05:00.000+11:00

Released: 1986
Download It (3.9Mb)

It was a dark and rainy sunny day in London, Live 8 was on in the background. The bar was full of people drinking in a desparate attempt to forget that there wasn't enough money to eat and drink that week.

Suddenly Live 8 cuts from London to Miami, and everyone bursts into song.

8/10

Smoosh - Make It Through

2005-11-19T03:52:00.000+11:00

Released: 2005
Download it (4.6Mb)

Quite decent music by two little girls. Different, a little challenging but original and a lot less cutesy than you think.

More here.

6/10

Kate Bush - Sunset

2005-11-17T00:45:00.000+11:00

Released: 2005
Download It

a) I like the way this pleasant ballad morphs into a blissed out latin-tinged groove.

b) She's bonkers.

7/10

Maxïmo Park - Apply Some Pressure

2005-11-11T03:26:00.000+11:00

Released: 2005
Download it (3.9 Mb)

Another one of these new British guitar bands.

Students are currently pogoing to this one all across the nation.

This song takes a while to get good, so be a little patient.

7/10

Sophia Loren - Mambo Bacan

2005-11-07T21:37:00.000+11:00

Released: 1955
Download It

mambo mambo, mambo bacan

w00t

8/10

Girls Aloud - Biology

2005-10-26T21:45:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (5.0 Mb)

Goddammit, just when you think Girls Aloud have written the BEST SONG EVAR™, they go and fuck it all up with a sappy disco pop verse and chorus.

Intro / Outro 9.9999/10
Rest of the song 6/10

Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me (2004 Mix)

2005-10-25T00:56:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It

If you're sad enough, as I am, to instantly recognise the moment from 1980s celluloid history* in the pic above, then you're going to want to download this mp3.

Yep, our old fave's been remixed for the new millenium into another electrified dancefloor stomper.

And here's the original for you purists.

7/10 (9/10 for the original)

*It's the final shot from The Breakfast Club, when Judd Nelson's character punches the air in triumph.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Anenome

2005-10-19T03:03:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005-10-18
Download it (7.3 Mb)

It took a second listen for me to really get into the Brian Jonestown Massacre experience, but there’s a louche, dark confidence that oozes out of this track that many groups strive (and fail) to achieve over the course of their entire career.

7/10

t.A.T.u - All About Us

2005-10-18T03:56:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It

Not a bad sophomore effort from the russki lesbos, but errm, kinda sounds like an outtake from the previous album. Nice chorus.

6/10

New Kids On The Block - Step By Step

2005-10-17T23:38:00.000+10:00

Delegated Review (By Reyn)
Released: 1990
Genre: Fag
Download it (4.1 Mb)

Hrmmm, they can't really sing can they? The song is a middling piece of late 80s electropop. Listen to it for the bit where the fat guy goes (step 1) "you can have lots of fun" and laugh your arse off. He manages to miss 4 out of the 6 notes

Then delete it and never listen to it again. Please, for the love of god delete it.

4/10

Sigur Rós - Mílanó

2005-10-14T21:25:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (14.7 Mb)

Epic. Brilliant. Buy it. Now.

9/10

When Prog Bands Turned Ghey

2005-10-07T02:11:00.000+10:00

Look, I AM planning to get into their critically-lauded 'proper' 70s stuff, but as a child of the 80s, this stuff was the real "Yes" and "Genesis" to me.

Forced to aclimatise to the MTV Generation and a massive downswell of interest in 'prog', these bands recorded shallow, clinical over-processed 80s pop. I love it.

Genesis - Invisible Touch
Released: 1985
Download
9/10

Yes - Owner Of a Lonely Heart
Released: 1983
Download
7/10

Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance

2005-10-05T20:26:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (6.2 Mb)

OK, the Arctic Monkeys are the It right now. They've just signed to EMI and (from what the A & R girls tell me) VERY big things are expected from these boys over the next few years.

After listening to their songs, and catching them last night, I think that, for once, the hype is right. These guys are going to be fucking huge. They remind me of Joy Division, not musically, but when you look at them, you see 4 young men who are going to reshape the face of popular music.

Believe the hype.

9/10

The Bravery - An Honest Mistake (Super Discount Remix)

2005-10-04T02:06:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It

One my fave tunes of '05 remixed into an electrified dancefloor stomper by some french fags.

Pretty good.

7/10

Dirty Three with Cat Power - Great Waves

2005-09-22T23:45:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (4.8 Mb)

Everything great about this fairly productive combination all rolled into one great song – strange plunkety plunk lurching background music that worms its way in through your Medulla oblongata.

I like it.

7/10

Kanye West - Drive Slow

2005-09-17T01:15:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (5.2 Mb)

The ubiquitous Mr West writes a song about kerb crawlers.

This is a really cool, low-key piece of hip-hop. It's up to his usual standards, but less, showy than his previous work.

8/10

The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk

2005-09-08T04:17:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download it (4.0 Mb)

I think The Hives are a bit like cricket - you really need to experience live to get the full picture.

Anyway I had the pleasure of seeing these guys perform a few weeks ago and they were fucking amazing.

Not only did the singer threaten to destroy us (fucking awesome), hey also managed to whip a jaded, tired sunday night festival crowd in to a frenzy of Hives adulation.

The song consists of the catchiest rock riff since Jailbreak and 3 1/2 minutes of biting politcal commentary.

Awesome, as they say The Hives are giving you PUNKROCK MUSIC AVEC KABOOM.

See them live if you can. Or I will destroy you.

8/10

Era - Enae Volare Mezzo

2005-09-06T12:10:00.000+10:00

Download It (6.6Mb)

Fedor's theme song in the Pride Fighting Championships.

Suffice to say, when you hear this song playing in Pride, you know you are about to get your ass seriously beat down.

This song was also on the soundtrack of the french smash hit movie, "Les Visiteurs", but it was french, so who gives a shit?

Razorlight - Golden Touch

2005-09-01T01:32:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download it (4.8 Mb - MP4, Sorry)

I've never been on the Razorlight bandwagon, and I'm not about to hop on board but I doubt there would be to many people in the world who wouldn't be satisfied with churning out this little dittie.

7/10

P.S. Maybe Borrell's not such a complete twat after all.

Gym Class Heroes - Taxi Driver

2005-08-30T13:39:00.000+10:00

Download It

From their site:

"The band has produced an original hip-hop sound fusing crisp guitar rhythms, deep melodic bass lines, head cracking beats, and conscious lyrics to create a sound that is truly their own."

This song is kind of cute.

7/10

Youthgroup - Shadowlands

2005-08-25T23:32:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (5.6Mb)

Dylan
A sweet, pretty, hopeful song that brings me back imagined memories of being young and sad. Or happy. I forget.

Great chorus.

By a sydney band I had deliberately ignored because I assumed they would be another fucking stooges rip-off.

7/10

Gareth
This is obviously not my type of thing; derivative emo guitar stylings and oh-so-sincere lyrics, it sounds like something from the soundtrack to The OC. I would never have picked these guys as Aussies. It's harmless and pretty enough to still get a...

5/10

Reyn
The sparkly guitars and insistant driving beat leads me along nicely enough. This song gives me the same feeling as those 5 seconds after orgasm when I've momentarily forgotten the name of the girl in the photo that I'd just beat off to.

6/10

Genghis Tron - Laser Bitch

2005-08-24T20:45:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It

Starts off like New Order circa '83, and ends up in a whirlpool of grindcore.

Bizarre.

5/10

Supercar - Strobolights

2005-08-22T14:35:00.000+10:00

Released: 2002
Download It (3.4Mb)

This song can be heard during a montage sequence (of sorts) in one of my favourite movies, Ping Pong.

Calm beginning builds into a driving, uplifting song that shimmers and soars. Electric but still organic.

8/10

Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade

2005-08-20T22:52:00.000+10:00

Released: 1942
Download It

One of the best remembered instrumentals from the famous yet doomed* WW2-era band leader.

8/10

*On December 15, 1944, he was scheduled to fly from England to Paris to play for the soldiers that had recently liberated the city. His plane disappeared over the English Channel and was never found. Miller's death remains somewhat of a mystery; the fact that neither Miller's remains nor the wreckage of his plane (a single-engined Norseman UC-64, USAAF Tail Number 44-70285) were ever recovered from the Channel have led to many conspiracy theories over the years. Read more.

Frank Zappa - The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution.

2005-08-17T22:25:00.000+10:00

Delegated Review (By Gareth)
Released: 1977
Download it (19.0 Mb)

I'm not entirely unconvinced that Gareth listens to Zappa to piss me off.

Sure his audioscrobbler stats may indicate otherwise, but unlike most of the music that he listens to, I have no understanding of the appeal of this music.

3/10

VHS or Beta - Night On Fire

2005-08-15T18:53:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It

OK it's a blatant Duran Duran rip-off, but this really comes alive in the last 1/3 of the song when that bass hits.

7/10

Jay-Z - Girls, Girls, Girls

2005-08-12T20:07:00.000+10:00

Released: 11 September 2001
Download it (5.3 Mb)

Jigga man raps about 14 of his favourite lady-friends. The melodramatic strings and swooning vocal samples lend the song a sympathetic air; You find yourself thinking, 'Poor Hov, all these girls, girls, girls must be a real headache. How does he manage?'.

But then you go, 'Wait, you're whinging about having 14 girls? Fuck you.'

Anyway this is a pretty cool song.

8/10

The Decemberists - The Infanta

2005-08-11T18:08:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (9.1 Mb)

I probably used to hate the Decemberists, I have a knee-jerk negative reaction to over-hyped indie bands that I haven’t heard. Particularly when they do ‘Arty’.

Well, like pretty much everything else, I was wrong.

This is a rollicking song about an child ruler or some shit, whatever, just download the fucken thing or get off the site.

Actually most of you have done that already.

8/10

The New Amsterdams - Idaho

2005-08-08T19:43:00.000+10:00

Delegated Review (Reyn)
Released: 2005
Download it (7.0 Mb)

The New Amsterdams attempt to do Death Cab for Cutie, badly.

This isn't awful, just crap; a mediocre band attempting something that is far beyond their limited abilities.

4/10

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - In This Home On Ice

2005-08-08T12:18:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It

I don't like his vocals. It also sounds EXACTLY like an indie/alterno track from the 90s but I can't work out which one.

But it's still one of the nicest tracks I've heard so far this year.

8/10

Secret Lives of the Freemasons - It Only Took A Whisper

2005-08-03T10:09:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (5Mb)

Singer sounds like a cross between Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) and Dryden Mitchell (Alien Ant Farm), song is a pretty bland and generic mish mash of emo / screamo / pop / punk. Yet I still like it. Nothing new here, but they know what they're doing and they do it well.

8/10

Gogol Bordello - Sally

2005-08-02T22:22:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (3.1MB)

Meh. More New York hype.

Sounds like a bunch of thieving gypsies stole some old Mr. Bungle riffs.

4/10

Fiddy Special Edition Post

2005-08-01T12:03:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005

I'm Supposed To Die Tonight. Download It.

Yes Fiddy, of course you are.

"Niggaz wanna stick me for my paper" ... actually, that's more or less true.

6/10

Piggy Bank. Download It.

Fiddy earns shedloads of paper and has lots of bling. Let him remind you of that fact for 4 minutes.

6/10

Joanna Newsom - "En Gallop"

2005-07-27T22:41:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download it (6.3 Mb)
Buy it (Amazon)

OK I am about a year late to hop on this bandwagon, but what can ya do?

Anyway this is a lovely song, a really warm recording, with just a crazy girl and her harp in a cottage in the appalachian highlands*.

7/10

*Yes you relentless pedants, I am aware that she is from San Francisco, but lets not spoil the illusion on this one for the sake of pointless accuracy.

Doghorse - Observations on Time Travel

2005-07-27T10:18:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It (638Kb)

Fucken brilliant.

9/10

Mansun - Witness To A Murder (Part Two)

2005-07-26T20:04:00.000+10:00

Released: 1998
Download it (2.9 Mb)

Opera singer? Harpsichord?? Tom Baker??? Yup it's mid 90's do-nothings Mansun with their incredibly pretentious but not awful softmore album Six.

They must have shat themselves when they heard the Mars Volta album.

5/10

Audiobullys feat. Nancy Sinatra - Shot You Down

2005-07-25T00:59:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (3.5MB)

Ugh. Sounds like Fatboy Slim soundtracking a painfully-retro Tarantino film.

Absolutely dire.

1/10

New Order - In a Lonely Place

2005-07-22T16:22:00.000+10:00

Released: 1981
Download It (9.7MB)

After Joy Division collapsed with the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis, and before New Order rose out of the ashes to almost singlehandedly create the genre of electronic-pop, there was a strange in-between period where the confused lads continued playing JD-inspired dirges sans-Ian.

And yea - believe it or not, that's Bernard Sumner on vocals, doing his best Curtis-impersonation.

6/10

Super Car - Last Scene

2005-07-21T13:20:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It (4.7Mb)

Meandering along, pretty much like the last scene of some bullshit romantic comedy. 2:24 And the song starts accelerating a little with an aching change.

6/10

Bizarre - Hip Hop (feat. Eminem)

2005-07-19T21:34:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (7.0MB)

More dope beats from the shower-capped fat one. Eminem's flow in this one is up to the standards of yesteryear.

Can't believe this guy is getting another...

6/10

Jikustik - Takluk

2005-07-18T11:55:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It (6.9Mb)

Usually I don't get into this piano based adult pop shit. But if get over yourself for a second or two, you find it's a sweet song.

6/10

Mickey Harte - I Don't Want You Back

2005-07-17T19:29:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It (3.7Mb)

You'll probably never read this, but Happy Birthday anyway.

Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch

2005-07-16T01:55:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (6.2 Mb)

OK, it's a little Gatecrasher, but there's a satisfying amount of rock in here.

6/10

Noel Gallagher With Burt Bacharach - This Guys In Love With You

2005-07-15T10:17:00.000+10:00

Released: 1996
Download It (3.4Mb)

"Then there was... Sat in Burt Bacharach's hotel room one afternoon singing This guy's in love with you, just me and him on piano, that was quite ludicrous as well, just for the fact that he's 67 and I'm 29. Could be my Grandad. I mean, what do you talk to him about. I was just coming on like, (looks blank for a few seconds) D'ya like The Clash? He's like, (Bacharach's foppy West Coast bur to a tee) Uh, I can't say I've ever heard of them. Then he idles over to the piano on the other side of the room and starts playing the intro to This Guy's In Love With You. Then he turn around to me and goes, Just join in, man. I'm sat there thinking, How the fuck did I manage to get here? Doing the show at the Royal Festival Hall was nerve-wracking because I'd never sang without being up there with an electric or acoustic guitar. I was sat on a stool with a microphone like fucking Val Doonican, with a 36-piece orchestra behind me being directed by Burt Bacharach. It was ace. Mad."

- Noel Gallagher, select magazine - aug '96

He's an idiot but it's a nice song.

7/10

Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes The Summer

2005-07-14T14:32:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (4.6MB)

The Furnaces have undoubtedly got the "fun oddball indie pop" thing down pat.

6/10

Denali - Hold Your Breath

2005-07-14T12:04:00.000+10:00

Released: 2003
Download (3.5Mb)

When I hear the words "haunting vocals" I immediately want to glass whoever said it.
Haunting female vocals complement the sinister tone of this track. Starts by slinking out of the darkness and then proceeds to pick up the pace. Even the fuzzy mini solo sounds aiight.

7/10

Dion Jones and the Filth - One Eye Open

2005-07-14T03:03:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (4.8 Mb)

Alright, I'll admit it, there is a bit of insider trading on this post; went to Uni with the drummer and have seen them playing in garages and innumerable shitty pub gigs over the years.

Anyroad up, several bass-players and guitarists later, they seem to have cemented a line-up and a sound and have released their debut album, which is getting (by the sounds of it) some pretty decent airtime in Sydney.

So, now to the music. The song I have selected really sums up the Dion Jones and The Filth experience; lots of instrumental flourishes, vaguely retro sound, fantastic hooks and that voice. Dion has a fucking amazing voice, and Dave (who sings the verses in this song) has a decent set of pipes as well.

So download this song, and if you can get past the mawkish lyrics in the verses you will be rewarded with the best chorus hook I have heard this year, and what is actually, a damn good song.

8/10

Bonus Tracks!

Back on the horse (5.5 Mb) - Police-esque rocker

Gordon's long ride home (4.4 Mb) - Gorgeous soft country ballad

Hawthorne Heights - Ohio Is For Lovers

2005-07-13T11:28:00.000+10:00

Released: 2004
Download It (5.8Mb)
Hawthorne Heights Website

The man / boy sing / screams with forthright conviction and heartfelt determination. Can you possibly resist?

7/10

Engineers - Thrasher

2005-07-13T04:48:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download it (3.3 Mb)

I read the reviews, I read 'beautiful', I read 'symphonic', I read 'Spiritualized'.

I bought the CD, I heard 'bland', I heard 'boring', I heard 'Enya'.

Very disappointed.

3/10

Sheila On 7 - Pria Kesepian

2005-07-12T10:55:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (6.6Mb)

Rolls along like your dad does when he's tanked on JD and coke, wearing his cowboy hat cos your mum's just run away with the rodeo clown.

8/10

The Freaque - It's Gonna Be Alright

2005-07-12T02:15:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005 (Demo)
Download it* (4.6 Mb)

To save confusion, I'll let The Freaque boys describe their music:

Making the new sound and colour in which groovy kind of 60s taste is absorbed, is theme.
Obviously, influenced 60s, British Beat, Psychedelic, Punk and 90s... However their soul blows up something more than respect and love in them and new.

Whatever, as it turns out Japs do Moddish Brit-pop better than they do punk-surf music.

6/10

*Note: Shitty demo quality recording

Fall Out Boy - Sugar We're Going Down

2005-07-11T09:59:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (6.2Mb)

"I'm just a notch in your bedpost
but you're just a line a song"

Big moving chords, harmonies, plaintive whiny vocals. The build up with 1 minute to go ending in a call - response run home, love this shit.

8/10

Soulwax - NY Excuse

2005-07-10T13:53:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (5.6MB)

Hot off the heels of their shit-hot "daft punk is playing" remix, comes the new single from the ever-reliable belgians (better known as their moonlighting mix-up moniker "2manydjs").

Bouncy electro goodness with manic vocals supplied by nancy from lcd soundsystem. I like.

7/10

Sufjan Stevens - The Lord God Bird

2005-07-09T16:22:00.000+10:00

Released: 2005
Download It (3.4Mb)

This song is like a satisfying bowel movement in a national park on a crystal clear
sunday morning.

5/10