Video: Pet Shop Boys - Love etc.

If you have any interest in synthpop duos formed in the '80s with members called Neil or Chris you'll probably already know that Pet Shop Boys have a new album on the way. 

It's called Yes. We love the sheer positivity of that. Yes. 

Ahead of it, as is the way with such things, a lead single broke cover. It's called Love etc. 

It was co-written and produced by Xenomania and the PSBs say it is "a post-lifestyle anthem". Does that mean it soundtracks the lives of the formerly alive? Hmm. 

Of course it has a video. A snazzily kalaiedoscopic video, even. And here it is. 

Oscars - the winners

Some years, the Academy Awards are a triumphant review of excellence in film-making, in which much-supported films and stars step up to receive accolades they once would never have dreamed of.

But for every year when Denzel Washington scoops Best Actor or Charlie Kaufman and his imaginary brother take home a statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay (for a film which is only barely an adaptation of anything), there are years when everything happens just the way you expected. 2009's 81st Academy Awards was one of those latter years.

Sweeping the board was Danny Boyle's excellent Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight out of its nine nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. 

Most overlooked was David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which despite nominations in almost all the major categories only took home the minor-league stuff: Art Direction, Make-up and Visual Effects.

Heath Ledger defied exactly no-one's expectations and won a posthumous award for his twitchy performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. 

Kate Winslet broke an exceptional run of bad luck by taking home an Oscar for her performance in The Reader - Meryl Streep was probably the better actress, but the Academy could hardly let Winslet lose again. 

Supporting Actress was taken by Penelope Cruz for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Finally, Best Actor went to Sean Penn for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in Milk. While musicOMH could have been happy seeing Frank Langella take it for his astonishing turn as Richard Nixon, Penn's performance was the backbone for Gus Van Sant's entire film and so thoroughly deserves the recognition.

There was more British success with a win for The Duchess (for costume design), and a big smile crossed our face when Wall-E took Best Animated Feature.

So, enjoy the last few showing of what may be 2009's best films (in the UK, anyway) - and be sure to catch Slumdog and Milk (and Frost/Nixon) before they disappear from screens entirely!

BRITs 2009 - reflections

Righto.

After musicOMH gallantly reported on the BRITS launch party, we thought the least we could do was watch the ceremony and follow this through to its Fern Cotton flavoured finale.

So. A few notes.

1. Hosts James Cordon and Gavin off t'Telly were, at best, average. A couple of unfunny and smutty gags were made up for - just - by a joyous dance to the Pet Shop Boys' Go West at the end. Kylie was DREADFUL.

2. Coldplay. Poor man's U2 or just poor? Military uniforms and drummers posing do not a triumphant concert make. And Chris was out of tune.

3. Take That. Flying saucer. Incredible. A BRIT moment for the highlights video - like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with added Gary Barlow. Even without the much touted Robbie comeback, this was superb entertainment.

4. Duffy. Care? Nein. M.I.A. was robbed.

5. We don't think the Pet Shop Boys were taking their performance seriously.

6. Elbow's shock best band award - couldn't have happened to a more deserving band. Humble, lovely and they even had a joke at David Hasslehof's expence on live TV. "Fancy a drink, Dave?"

7. The Cotton. God. There must be better out there, right? Perhaps The X-Factor should start auditioning presenters too.

8. And finally, are Kings Of Leon really that good? Really?

Anyone anything to add?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs back with a big Zero

Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce to musicOMH's blog, another Michael.  This one's called Cragg.  Take it away...

Blogs are surely the kind of forum for ridiculous hyperbole, so here goes: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' second album, Show Your Bones, is one of the best albums of the decade so far.  There.  I said it.

So, it's my pleasure to introduce Zero, the first single to be taken from the band's third full album, It's Blitz! (exclamation mark band's own).  Click here to give it a listen

Unlike Gold Lion - the mainly acoustic ditty that introduced Show Your Bones - Zero is an all out visceral onslaught, a keening mix of battered synths, drum machines and Nick Zinner's typically bloodless guitar playing. Sonically, it's a mix of Show Your Bones' cleaner production with the grubbiness of the Is Is EP and has a hat-full of catchy hooks. 

It's also destined to excite the young indie fans amongst us, Karen O teasing something about putting some leather on. Expect Radio 1 to finally catch on and the band to follow Kings Of Leon up the charts... possibly.

The single is released on the 6 April, with the album out a week later.

Video: Fever Ray - When I Grow Up

Goodness, it has been a while since we've posted a video, hasn't it? Somebody should give us a right good spanking.

Apparently some of the major labels don't like YouTube, but of course it's not the only facility for streaming music videos nowadays.

Take Vimeo. It's kinda like YouTube, but with a nicer design. And on it now is another video from Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife in her Fever Ray solo incarnation.

This one's called When I Grow Up and was directed by Martin de Thurrah.

 

Like If I Had A Heart before it, this track can be found on Fever Ray's debut album. If you want that on a shiny silver disc rather than as a download, it's out on 30th March. But the album's available to buy in MP3 format now.

Keep an eye out on musicOMH in the coming days for our latest encounter with Karin...

Christian Bale inspires The Mae Shi

You've probably heard the original über-rant by The Dark Knight star Christian Bale (that's him on the left as Matt Bellamy's doppelgänger). If not, it's here.

There's already been a rather excellent techno remix by RevoLucian.

Now The Mae Shi have got in on the action and have put together a whole song, R U PROFESSIONAL? with Bale samples. Every day Batman gets that little bit more famous.

As with the original rant and the techno remix, Bale's expletives make this definitely NSFW through speakers. Good though, innit?

 

Doubt

From our film section: 

The film Doubt has earned Meryl Streep yet another Oscar nomination and has thrust playwright John Patrick Shanley into the spotlight for his first ever film as director. 

But when we caught up with them last month both were much more interested in talking about the story and the setting than any of the Hollywood buzz. 

Read the interview here; we've also got our review.