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Everybody of an '80s ilk is either reforming (Spandau Ballet) or bringing out best-of compilations (Erasure, Annie Lennox) or announcing comebacks (Michael Jackson). Meanwhile everybody from the '00s wants to be from the '80s (Frankmusik, La Roux).
Well. Also FROM THE '80s, but like Pet Shop Boys still going at it hammer and tongs, Basildon boys Depeche Mode are prepping our lugs for a new album, Sounds Of The Universe, and tour dates at arenas up and down the land. And Messrs Gahan and Gore still sound as filthy as ever. The video for the new album's lead single, Wrong, is below. Maybe you're one of the million or so viewers who've already caught it. All we can say is, if Patrick Wolf reckons he's into S&M, he should get a look at this...
Lily Allen's second single from her second album is the countrified Not Fair. It follows her chart-topping exploits with The Fear earlier this year.
Sporting a glossy mane and Barbra Stanwick heels, we reckon Lilz'd fit right in amongst those line-dancin' midwestern folks. Kooky, no?
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you'll have heard all about Spotify. Indeed, you can even read S-Express' Mark Moore's views about it on this very website.
While Mark makes a persuasive argument of the inherent dangers of Spotify, particularly regarding the potential dangers for the struggling artist, there seems no doubt that it's here to stay. It's free (if you don't mind the 30 second adverts), it's convenient and you can - almost - find any track of your choice on there to listen to. All perfectly legally. It's like God's very own jukebox.
With this in mind, we thought we'd utilise Spotify to show you first hand some of the tracks we've been raving about this year. It's 3 months into 2009 and there's already been over 200 albums released so far. So, we've picked 50 of our favourite tracks from January, February and March, collected them on Spotify and arranged them into a handy playlist for your listening pleasure.
You'll obviously need to have Spotify installed (and so, apologies to our readers in North America where it's not yet available) and, if you're in the UK, you don't even need an invite to get started.
So, once you're up and running, click here to open up our playlist. And don't forget to tell us what you think below, and feel free to share your own Spotify playlists with us.
PEEJ IS BACK.
PJ Harvey & John Parish release their new album A Woman A Man Walked By on 30th March and this first video from the collaborative project, Black Hearted Love, gives a little taster of what to expect. Harvey and Parish play the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 20th and 21st April as part of a European tour. More at Polly Jean's MySpace.
With only one full day of music left at SXSW, festivities are well underway. Yesterday's main talking point was the worst kept secret of the festival - that Metallica would be performing at Stubb's, to promote the release of their Guitar Hero game. The secret leaked out on the first day of the festival's interactive conference, and a non-denial was issued by organizers. When the music part of the conference began, Guitar Hero posters appeared confirming an 'appearance' from 'members of Metallica' Would they actually be peforming, or just in town to promote the game? But fans needn't have worried as Metallica treated the audience to an hour and a half long set, of both old and new material. The night was opened by LA based band The Silversun Pickups (London folk, catch them at one of their 4 London dates from April 3rd - they're very good) and closed by DJ Shadow who was doing an exclusive set, his first of 2009, prior to heading to into the studio to record his new album. Tonight, the chatter seems firmly focused on a little known artist called Kanye West, who is reportedly performing at Levi's Fader Fort at 7pm. Perez Hilton brings the glamour tonight at his invitation only Diva's themed party. Doors open at 7pm and those lucky enough to have grabbed a pink ticket will be treated to sets from Margaret Cho, a surprise special guest, Ladyhawke, along with Solange Knowles, Little Boots, Ida Maria and french fancy Yelle. Top stuff! Who will you be seeing tonight?
More from Mark Sando in Austin: When you enter a venue and the audience are sitting on the floor waiting for their idol to come on stage, it's a pretty safe bet to say you haven't found yourself at a Metallica gig.
Ulrich Schnauss, however? If the shoegaze fits. Schnauss was in town to play songs from his three albums Goodbye, A Strangely Isolated Place and Faraway Trains Passing By, as well as showcasing songs from his forthcoming album. As he takes to the stage the crowd get off their feet, and Schnauss begins his set using ableton, a midi keyboard and a whole host of controllers, buttons and pedals.
He seemlessly blends reverb, White noise, drumbeats and squelchy synths into beautiful evocative soundscapes. There is one Metallica moment in the set though, when a fight breaks out - it seems the line between being enthusiastic and being disrespectful is one blurred by noise. Ulrich is joined on stage by Rob McVey from Longview for the sublime Shine, his vocals float above the soundscapes, he stays on stage to add noise through the rest of Schnauss' set.
Watching Ulrich is fascinating in itself; yes, he's just a guy with a laptop and some pedals but he is passionate about his music and creating sets that are gripping and urgent, and never quite the same as the last. His passion is evident when a member of the SXSW staff flash lights in his eyes to signal that his time is up, but Ulrich is not the kind of artist to cut a well planned set short. Marvellous stuff. * What should Mark see tomorrow? Comment below or tweet @marksando
Patrick Wolf (that's him lounging about on the left) has been working with Alec Empire, which sounds like an inspired collaboration to us. Vulture, from his forthcoming album The Bachelor, is the result.
The video (below) heads into S&M territory (and why not?) and precedes the single's release on 20th April, with the album following along in June.
If you fancy investing in the album through Bandstocks, you have at the time of writing 34 days left to do so. More details here.
In Austin, Texas, is Mark Sando. He'll be checking in with occasional blogs during SXSW this week. At the moment I've no idea why the post says it's from me, as I'm not there and didn't write it. Technolobugglz. Michael The Golden Filter first appeared in July 2008 under a cloak of
mystery. "We are super new and somewhat secretive" they said, causing
a flurry of excitement amongst blog readers who speculated that the
band was a vehicle for the side project of someone quite well known. Guesses ranged from her Madge through to Kylie, Blondie - and even
Little Boots gets a mention. Some months on, and as The Golden Filter take to the day stage in
Austin's convention centre the enigma remains. The band's lead singer
is dressed in purple and gold, her fringe so long that you cannot see
her face - you wouldn't blame her for avoiding the gaze of her audience
- the setting is grey and corporate, filled with tables, chairs and
old men taking photographs. Nonetheless, The Golden Filter begins to whirr and break into their
first track Favourite Things, owed to everything the band love in
life - vodka, whiskey, pretty dresses, New York, London and Paris
(well, who doesn't love all these things, really?). The vocals are like that of a drunk and etheral sacharine coated
madonna and the energetic singer struggles to be heard above the
pounding drums and synth stabs of their moog prodigy.
Song two is a more dream like affair pairing whispered vocals with
understated keyboards and chimes.
The third and final track in their short set is Solid Gold or 'the
single' (literally, the single). It's a synth drenched ditty that
invites you to bask in the sunshine with the beautiful people. The Golden Filter are also keen remixers and remixes of Peter Bjorn
and John, Little Boots, Cut Copy and Empire Of The Sun - maybe this gives you a good
idea of where their sound lies.
Keep an eye out for them in 2009, and let's hope the mystery is revealed.
Ahead of new album Veckatimest, out on 25th May through Warp, Grizzly Bear (who are a bit good) are giving away an MP3 of album track Cheerleader.
download it here For those of you at SXSW, you can catch them at these times and venues (more about SXSW shortly): 19th March @ 8:30pm @ Central Presbyterian Church (200 E 8th St) EMusic Party 20th March @ 11:45pm @ Cedar Street Courtyard (208 W 4th St) Blackberry Party
A theatre update from theatre editor Natasha Tripney:
Hello there,
Welcome to another of our decidely irregular musicOMH theatre updates. Plenty of goodies for you this week including:
Angela Lansbury, Rupert Everett and Christine Ebersole in Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit on Broadway: read
Philip Ralph's powerful verbatim play about the deaths at the Deepcut barracks arrives at the Tricycle:
read
Ian Kennedy Marshall's Berlin Hanover Express at Hampstead investiagtes Irish neutrality in the Second World War:
read
Adam Brace's promenade play Stovepipe takes its audience on a journey through the West 12 shopping centre:
read
Jane Fonda returns to Broadway after a 46 year absence in 33 Variations:
read
Twins Harry and Luke Treadaway star in Mark Ravenhill's Over There at the Royal Court:
read
Also at the Court, Molly Davies' A Miracle continues the Young Writers Festival:
read
A hip-hop Pied Piper makes its mark at the Barbican:
read
Enda Walsh's New Electric Ballroom arrives at Riverside Studios:
read
The Hounding of David Oluwale tours to Liverpool:
read
Tanja Liedtke's compelling Twelfth Floor comes to the South Bank:
read
Next time: Judi Dench at Wyndham's, Kathryn Hunter at the Young Vic, Jez Butterworth's latest at the Almeida and plenty more from both the UK and New York.
As ever, if you have any tips, comments or recommedations of shows you'd like us to cover, then please get in touch.
Natasha
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