The Cold Cut

Unfortunately, this post is going to have come and gone before you know it. Chemistry rules my life at this moment, but all this toil and trouble will be done (FOREVER) in a mere 36 hours. How fucking scary is that? You will actually have my undivided attention and focus for the summer.

Interpol- Rest My Chemistry

Went out this afternoon to buy some 'supplies' for post exam partying. Top of my list was a bottle of champagne (it just felt 'right'), and I was closely followed by my friends. One of whom, I might hasten to add, has promised me he is going to spray me with his champagne, just as in F1. I can be Lewis Hamilton for a few minutes, before getting off my face.

Shaggy- Intoxication

Walking out of the exam hall for the penultimate time today, I saw a guy in front of me literally doing a crotch grab and shouting 'FINISHED', a mere 10 metres from the door. Hilarious, and I can totally see where he is coming from. I can't kick the feeling that I'm going to cry when I walk out of that exam hall on Thursday: when having a conversation at lunch today, we decided that finishing exams was almost tear worthy, whereas leaving school would be emotional, but not too bad- friends stick around (if you are all willing to make the effort), whereas those are the final set of exams were I am actually forced to sit in that seat. From Thursday, my life is in my hands.

And I am looking forward to it. School has become difficult over the last few years, and my motivation almost completely dissapeared recently. However, I think I've regained a bit of face and I hope I can leave this school on a high, with a good set of grades, friends and achievments alongside me.

The Flash- All The Tunes.zip

Enough pondering: on to the tunes/news (download all: above, as promised!). Coldplay have been accused of copying Creaky Boards 'The Songs I Didn't Write' on 'Viva La Vida', their latest single. Our reply? Bullshit- listen to the two songs if you don't believe me: and even if Coldplay did copy them, 'immitation is the sincerest form of flattery'. Get over it! They did it better than you could? Nice publicity stunt, anyway...

Creaky Boards- The Songs I Didn't Write
Coldplay- Viva La Vida

Lil' Wayne continues to dominate in the rap world, with an official remix of 'A Milli' featuring both Jay-Z and Chris Brown. His songs seem to have the common trait of 'remixability'. 'Lollipop' has been tricked to death, and 'A Milli' is next in line.

Lil Wayne- A Millie (Remix Ft. Jay-Z & Chris Brown)

Oh, and Ratatat are getting remixed as well. Tres strange.

Ratatat- Falcon Jab (Them Jeans Remix)

I've just added a Skribit widget to the right: do leave a note if there's anything you think I've missed or need to write about. The aim of the blog is to keep both you and I informed, so share the knowledge and love.

Next time I write, I will be free. I imagine you can all sypathise with me. I'll catch up with comments/submissions soon!

This is a daunting post. Not only am I walking an exceedingly well trodden path, I'm also aware that my top 20 might not fit with your idea of great albums. Oh well- blogging is about opinion, so here we go. This will take the form of 4 posts, each with 5 albums. I should be done before Christmas... If you want to buy the album, click on its title. If you want to see a bit more about each artist, click their name.

After I've got through the top 20 there will be a round-up, with some notable mentions, my top tracks of the year, top films and a general 'best of the year' feature. Enjoy, and have a merry Christmas. As usual, leave comments, both good and bad. I like to read what you think.

20. Foo Fighters- Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
I've debated long and hard as to whether this deserves a place in my top 20, but I was bowled over by its simplicity and balance between anthemic rock and intimate ballads. If you are willing to take this album for what it is- a balls to the wall stadium rock album with a few soft moments- I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

Favourite Track: The Pretender

When coupled with its explosive video, 'The Pretender' becomes my favourite rock song of the year. No contest...

19. Bright Eyes- Cassadaga
Before Cassadaga, Coner Oberst had never really met my expectations. I mean, come on, being proclaimed a 'musical prodigy' ramps up the pressure a bit, doesn't it. Well, Cassadaga finally fulfilled what he, and Bright Eyes, were capable of. You could say he came of age, although he is already 27.

Favourite Track: Four Winds

Has to be 'Four Winds', for its provocative lyrics concerning religion. Folk at its most enjoyable.

18. Jay-Z- American Gangster
At the time, Jay-Z coming out of retirement was a massive mistake in my eyes, and he put fuel to the fire by releasing 'Kingdom Come', which seemed superficial and over-produced. American Gangster, on the other hand, has put my mind at rest: a concept album such as this is just the medium required for Jay to show what he is still capable. It's one of the few solid rap albums of this year, and it fully deserves its spot in my top 20.

Favourite Track: Roc Boys (And The Winner is...)

Roc Boys is a celebratory track, and Jay is obviously enjoying the fruits of his efforts. Thankfully, this song is so good that we can enjoy the moment with him. Rolling Stone's favourite track of the year, and for a good reason.

17. Klaxons- Myths Of The Near Future
So the Klaxons brought "new-rave" back to life? I don't really know what new-rave is, and to be honest, I don't really care. What's really important is that Klaxons are a weird (in the good way), revolutionary band, and Myths Of The Near Future is a fantastic debut album. Winning the Mercury award was a lovely present to cap off a brilliant year, and hopefully they will capitalise on their popularity and release some new material soon.

Favourite Track: Golden Skans

Golden Skans, a song which simultaneously invaded your conscience with its ah-wooh-ah-wooh-ah-wo-oh's and inventive video. After they released this, they became contenders.

16. Interpol- Our Love To Admire
Interpol have pulled the sneaky trick of writing the same album, three times in a row. It doesn't bother me though, and whilst 'Turn On The Bright Lights', 'Antics' and 'Our Love To Admire' are all very similar, each album is better than the last. Next time round I'd like to see a bit more progression, but you can't help loving an album with great songs such as 'Pioneer To The Falls' and 'Mammoth'.

Favourite Track: Pioneer To The Falls

A song which they now open live performances with, this song says more about Interpol than 'Turn On The Bright Lights' and 'Antics' bundled together. Looking for a chilling, atmospheric composition? Look no further...

Well, thats it for now. Parts 15-11 will be up tomorrow.

I know I posted about Interpol only a few days ago, but whilst trawling through the hype machine for the latest up and coming bands I saw a link to a blog offering the whole of Our Love To Admire as a zip file. Now, I don't agree with what this blogger did, but he will remain anonymous; posting a whole album doesn't build hype or promote a band- it just gives people something for free which should cost £10. I downloaded this zip file with a promise to myself that I would still go out and buy this album when it comes out in a few weeks.

Now that I've made clear how I feel about this, I can get on to the album, which I have to say is fantastic. Interpol have really picked up their game since their last album Antics, which didn't really have a lasting impression on me (I suppose you could call this Antics 2.0). With Our Love To Admire, they have produced an album which on the first play is as good if not better than Turn On The Bright Lights. That is quite a large claim to make at this point, but I am confident with my view on the album, even if I have only listened to it two or three times. It is at this point that I should probably mention that Our Love To Admire doesn't really shake up their basic formula; it's an Interpol album, through and through. However, that doesn't stop it from being great- despite the sub tones of sex, drugs and death which run strongly through this album, an inexplicably happy feeling accompanies each listen of the tracks. I don't have time today to run through the album track-by-track but special mention should be given to Pioneer To The Falls, the opening song, which features twinkly piano and a guitar riff I'm sure I have heard somewhere else, but regardless of the (possible) plagiarism, it is a fantastic song, and should be the next single. Another must listen tune from the album is No I In Threesome, which again shows that the band have decided to incorporate piano into their songs the third time around, something which they have mentioned in recent interviews. I have included a few lines from this track, which is obviously about sex, alongside other songs on the album such as Rest My Chemistry and Pace Is The Trick.

The new Interpol album Our Love To Admire was leaked in good quality yesterday. I had an inkling this might happen, and I manged to get most of the 11 tracks through various means. The verdict? Its very, very good; I'm going to include a selection of the best songs, but this is only in order to promote the album before its release (not reduce sales) on the 9th of July. Please be sure to pre-order or buy the album on its release here. If you want to download all the files below from one page, visit this page, and you can also get their excellent single, The Heinrich Maneuver, at the same time.

Interpol- Rest My Chemistry.mp3
Interpol- Pioneer To The Falls.mp3
Interpol- No I In Threesome.mp3
Interpol- Who Do You Think?.mp3
Interpol- All Fined Up.mp3

Over the last few months I have been waiting anxiously for any news concerning Lowlands Music Festival, which takes place in Amsterdam during late August every year. Lowlands is a festival with a lineup not dissimilar to Reading or Leeds, but also features more variety in terms of World Music; this year C.S.S, M.I.A and Interpol to name a few bands from afar. The first names playing this year have only just been announced: go to the bottom of this post to have a look at the promo posters.I went last year with about 10 other people and I really enjoyed it... it was a great place to go for your first festival: the atmosphere is really good (Dutch people are really nice, and most speak excellent English), the lineup is amazing and the facilities are traditionally Dutch. Now when most people think of festivals they get an image in their mind of shitty food, grotty showers and a general feeling of dirtiness. The toilets and showers at Lowlands are really clean and there a lot of them, which is good... I can't help recalling stories I have heard of overflowing bogs in Reading and Glastonbury.

Another huge difference at Lowlands is the quality of the food: most people don't eat much at festivals, because its all fast food. Well, at Lowlands, things are different; I can honestly say that the food at this festival must be the best out of all the festivals in the world, even though I haven't been to any others- there is a massive selection of fresh food on offer all day long, from falafels to pancakes and pizza and pretty much anything you could ever want. Its all pretty good value, and this also applies to the alcohol; everything at Lowlands is paid for with their unique currency, unfortunately named 'munten', and generally at low cost. I came back 100 euros poorer last time, which isn't bad considering I was there for 4 days. There is a supermarket where you can buy loads of fresh food each day, and you can trade a crate of any beer for a crate of cold Heineken. Not bad, hmm?

Lowlands is a superior experience in many respects; you only have to look at the ticket prices to get things into perspective. A full ticket, allowing you to stay there from the opening of the site on the 16th to the afternoon of the 20th, will set you back 125 euros, or £80. Compare this to the costs of Reading- a one day ticket to Reading can set you back upwards of £60... you do the maths. I suppose you have to factor in the cost of the plane journey over here, but there is nothing stopping you spending 2 or 3 days in Amsterdam beforehand and making it into a holiday. Also, the size of the festival site is way more convenient; all 8 stages are within 10 minutes walk of each other, so there is much more likelihood of you seeing lots of different bands on different stages.

So, to recap, Lowlands is an extremely cheap festival with a great lineup and brilliant facilities.... what more could a budding music fan want? Is anyone reading this going to Lowlands this year? Who are you looking forward to seeing?

Interpol, the leading band in their mood-rock niche, are on track to release their new album, Our Love To Admire, in early July. Now I know for a fact there is a lot of anticipation over this album, given the wait we have had (almost 3 years since their last album, Antics), and I for one am really looking forward to July 10th, the official release date. Interpol have released two previous albums, Turn On The Bright Lights, their trend-setting debut, and Antics, their follow-up which went on to sell in the region of a million copies. When I say trend-setting, I mean the first in their field: think of how many moody-rock bands you can name nowadays: The Editors, anyone? Back when their debut was released, they were the first...

Interpol's sound is very unique, characterised by their choppy, edgy guitars, thumping bass, and lead singer Paul Banks' haunting voice. On their third album proper they have decided to include the valuable addition of keyboards; this is fairly obvious on their new single, The Heinrich Maneuver, which at first left me unmoved and disinterested. I have, however, persevered with it, and it is continuing to grow on me. I was reluctant to name it my track of the day when it was released 2 weeks ago, but today, it is. Click the link below to get this track, and please, please don't dismiss it as I did...

Interpol- The Heinrich Maneuver.mp3