I Felt So Stupid...

The Drums hail from New York, and specialise in a sort of wonky pop/rock that walks the light between heartbreak and light-heartedness. Let's Go Surfing combines driving guitar rhythms and jaunty whistles to come off like a modern Beach Boys (although, really, what do Brooklyn boys know about surfing?) while I Felt Stupid is a little bit more emoting. It kind of sounds to me like what a John Hughes film would sound like if it was a song - awkward, upset, funny, splattering emotions about everywhere, but in a teenage way. They'll pick themselves back up again. And I love the end of the song, with the kids playing and laughing. I do sort of get the impression, mainly from their website and the video for I Felt Stupid, that the Drums take themselves a little bit more seriously than summer teen pop songs though...

Also, it's horribly appropriate to me right now as I VERY stupidly broke my toe yesterday. Hurts like a bitch.

[Photo courtesy of Lili Vieira de Carvalho on flickr]

Waiting for that feeling to come

Last week I went to go see the new Blur documentary 'No Distance Left to Run' at Pure Groove record store, in Smithfields. It tells the story of Blur, ending with their triumphant reunion gigs at Glastonbury and Hyde Park in the Summer 2009. Blur are the sort of the band that I've always been dimly aware of - Song 2, Parklife, Country House etc. are indeed, faintly inescapable -but I've never truly loved them. I guess I was just always that little bit too young for them - I was 5 when their classic album Modern Life is Rubbish was released in 1993 - and I never really had someone leading me to them, in the same way that my Dad managed to do with the Rolling Stones, and a lot of 60s/70s music. But, I'd heard the documentary was good, I'd been meaning to check out Pure Groove, and my flatmate is a huge Blur fan, so I ended up heading down.

I have to say, to say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The film, in and of itself, first of all, is really fantastic. It uses unseen footage of interviews, gigs, everything, spliced together with their reunion tour, and contemporary interviews with the band. It's really well filmed too, the quality of the pictures are really great, with the whole film really having a tactile, smooth feel to it. But more than looking good, it's funny, clever, passionate and poignant.


Obviously, the soundtrack's good. First of all, I realised what a huge influence Blur have been on contemporary British music especially, but really just music in general. Secondly, I realised just how many Blur songs I knew without even trying - I mean, they're soundtracking the latest British Gas advert for crying out loud. They really are ubiquitous - in a good way, not in a Lady Gaga/Florence & the Machine/pop flavour of the moment way. The songs have stood the test of time, perhaps even matured over time. Furthermore, the gig footage demonstrates that live, Blur are also still relevant, engaging and entertaining (shame they have no further plans to play together!) - the spell-binding, shiver-inducing version of Tender at the end proves that if nothing else does.

Watch the trailer for 'No Distance Left to Run' here and a clip of them playing in Hyde Park here (I would embed them but you NEED to watch these in HD, full screen!!) The DVD is out to buy now.

Ich bin ein Berliner

Apologies for disappearing and failing to keep my New Year's Resolution... but I had a good reason. I've been doing a bit of travelling, seeing some friends and between that and all my studying (and study breaks) it all got a manic.

BERLIN




'Saturday night in East Berlin
We took the U-Bahn to the East Side Gallery'

Bloc Party - Kreuzberg

Hope for Haiti

Arcade Fire - Haiti

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The Sound of London

For those of you tune into my radio show (Pet Sounds, Tuesday 2-4pm GMT on Pulse), you will be familiar with my "Sound of London" feature, where I profile a new(ish) band from London. Despite the musical cornucopia on offer here in London town, it's not always easy to find something that I like and is radio-friendly. Having said that, over the past few weeks, I've come across some amazing people, and I thought I would share them with you here.

James Yuill
So I'm massively late coming to the party with James Yuill - I first heard about him over a year ago, but dismissed him out of hand as not really worth my time. Wow, I was wrong. I found This Sweet Love while perusing one of the many best-of lists of last year, and if I had made one, I probably would have made it. Gorgeous, relaxed, Yuill was described in the Guardian as "Nick Drake given a machine pulse by New Order". This Sweet Love is heavy on the Nick Drake - perhaps why I love it so.

Bullion
There's a lot been written about the new 'chillwave' scene, including bands like Neon Indian, Washed Out and Memory Tapes, and primarily focused on the West Coast of the States. Well, Bullion is giving it a London flavour. He first came to attention because of his mash-up/mixtape of, called Pet Sounds in the Key of Dee, where he broke apart and put together in a fresh way the whole of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys in homage to J Dilla, resulting in a beautiful yet also slightly disquieting experience. But his new single, Say Goodbye to What, takes that deconstructionist approach and gives it something of an edge - you can dance to this shit!

Starsmith
Starsmith's name is being touted about a lot these days as the man behind Ellie Goulding, winner of the BBC Sound of 2010 award, and thus officially crowned as The Next Big Thing. He's also done a series of high profile remixes for Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. I have to be honest, I'm still a little on the fence about Starsmith and his oeuvre. Having said that, his remix of Sleepyhead with Ellie Goulding providing haunting vocals is outstanding - yet I'm wondering if that his due to Passion Pit's genius rather than Starsmith? Regardless, now Ellie's album is just about finished, he's set to work on his own stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is massive/awesome.

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world

Ok, so it is more than likely that this post will destroy any credibility that this blog had as a source for decent music, but I think I'm willing to take the risk. Monday saw the UK premiere of new TV show Glee, and I have to say, I am hooked. There was an excellent article in the Guardian last Saturday which explains why it's ok to watch a programme about a high school show choir, but, while it is well-written quality television, I like it because it allows me to reminisce about my school days as a musical geek, where I could genuinely believe that On my Own from Les Mis was the pinacle of creative genius. Ah, simpler days... In that spirit, here is an excerpt from the first episode of Glee, featuring a cover of the Journey classic, Don't Stop Believin'. This song has been reclaimed from the cheese annuals in an ironic way, but the nice thing about this clip is that they play it straight - it is 100% without irony, which is kind of the whole point of the show.

And I need you more than want you

You know when you get a tune stuck in your head that you simply cannot shift... but you can't quite remember it? There's just a half-hummable fraction of it echoing over and over again, just out of your grasp. Well, I've had Witchita Lineman by Glen Campbell in my head for about a year or so - the mystery was finally solved when I heard it on Lauren Laverne's excellent BBC 6 Music radio show. And now I can fully enjoy it. Pure, simple, from the heart, yet understated, this song harks from a diferent time. It's not about being knowing or ironic or cool, just expressing emotions in a direct, honest yet beautiful way. Or something like that.

{photo courtesy of SP8254}