JLS meet their maker

Band: Hot Chip
Title: 'I Feel Better'
Album: One Life Stand (out now)


Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Hot Chip

MySpace Music Videos
 
For those still wondering what a JLS or Blue video would look like if Chris Cunningham directed it should be happy now. Not that it was Cunningham behind the lens, but instead, UK funnyman Peter Serafinowicz. The best bit is clearly the beginning, some of the dance moves are killer. What do you mean we've missed the point?

Ober and out

Is it us, or is everyone ridiculously young these days? We know that we all start young and slowly decay and start to wither and die, but it seems that literally everywhere we look we see fresh, nubile young people with better ideas, better clothes, better jobs, etc. We're not bitter, we're just sayin'. So, to add to the misery, here's a 19-year-old American gentleman who goes by the moniker, Oberhofer.

Oberhofer makes brilliant lo-fi guitar pop and his debut EP, o0Oo0Oo (kids, eh!) is ridiculously good. By far the catchiest thing on it is 'Away FRM U', which not only features some nice xylophone action, but also a whistling solo. WHISTLING SOLO!

Before listening to this we suggest pulling your jeans down a bit, putting on a pure white vest, getting on your youngest cousins skateboard and, you know, just chillin' the fuck out Grandpa.



You can download o0Oo0Oo for free from here.

New Musick Monday

Last week was a bit of a rocky one. Two big releases in the shape of the Gorillaz album and the Goldfrapp single had decidedly mixed weeks, with the former sitting pretty at number 1 in the album charts for most of the week before being deposed by a grieving Boyzone at the last minute, whilst the latter single missed the Top 40 altogether thanks to a dearth of airplay. The terrifying Liars album missed out completely, which is how it should be really. We're not sure how society would benefit from having kids exposed to such a racket! This week is a pretty slow one all things considered.

BUY THIS

Under Great White Northern Lights by The White Stripes

Everyone's favourite 'sibling' duo return with their first ever live album, which also comes with a brilliant documentary filmed during their 2007 tour of Canada. The album features some brilliant selections, from the opening 'Let's Shake Hands' to the joyous 'Seven Nation Army', via lacerating versions of 'The Union Forver' and their last big single, 'Icky Thump'. There's a tinge of sadness that runs throughout the album and that's because it simultaneously reminds you of how good they are and makes you question whether either Jack or Meg have the desire to carry it on seeing as Jack's got his fingers in every conceivable pie and Meg had to quit the tour due to anxiety. Still, it's a worthy testament to a band who are missed more than ever.

DON'Y BUY THIS

Sweet 7 by Sugababes

We know that some of you might just say, "well, we weren't going to anyway" and that's fine of course, but this is a message to the people who think, "yeah, I like Sugababes, they make brilliant pop songs with a slight edge that show personality and have a certain something about them". NOT ANYMORE THEY DON'T. The FHM-esque cover shot tells you all you need to know about a pop group with no remaining original members, no ounce of originality and no hope of ever reclaiming the sense of excitement that you get from hearing tracks like 'Overload', 'Push The Button' and 'About You Know'. Remember those moody-looking, fully-dressed young women? They've been replaced with three personality vacums.

DOWNLOAD THIS

'Devil's Spoke' by Laura Marling

The timing couldn't be better for a new Laura Marling album seeing as her former backing band, Mumford & Sons, are currently sitting pretty in the UK Top 10. But where as they can easily be dismissed as a kind of Burtons version of folk, Marling appears to be the real deal and her second album, I Speak Because I Can, is a genuinely exciting leap forward from her debut, Alas I Cannot Swim. 'Devil's Spoke' may not be the most immediate track on the album, but it does feature this lyric, which can't help but conjure some very odd imagery; "Ripping off each others clothes in the most perculiar way". In what way is it perculiar? Are they both dressed as clowns and they're only allowed to tear garments off using their teeth? Or, with one hand behind their backs? WE NEED ANSWERS.

Cheque's in the Post

As a little aside, we've been listening to a lot of old Björk albums lately and the one that we keep coming back to is Post. So, it seems fateful that the excellent Stereogum have assembled quite a cast to record a special tribute to it. Acts including Liars, Atlas Sound, Dirty Projectors and Xiu Xiu have all attempted a track each and you can download the whole thing for free form here.

Dave Longstreth has this to say about why his band, Dirty Projectors, picked the amazing 'Hyperballad':
“I think what I took from Björk when I was obsessed with her in high school was her way with deconstruction. She writes these classic melodies but breaks them apart so that it’s sort of up to you as the listener to put them back together. The song ends up meaning so much more because of the effort you have to give to it. Out of a perverse habit, I tried to do the opposite with this recording: present the song like the unbroken stone it might have been. But I think I probably just arrived at a new deconstruction: Björk’s essence remains elusive!”

Amen to that!

High tariff

There's too much to say about this 'music video' (and we say that in the loosest terms seeing as it barely mentions the song and references nearly every film ever made), so we're just going to let it speak for itself. This is 'Telephone' by Lady GaGa and Beyoncé:



One thing, however; we're not sure those fag sunglasses are going to make it past the smoking ban.

MGMT RTRN

Those madcap drug hoovers, MGMT, are back with a new album entitled Congratulations and to celebrate the band are releasing no singles whatsoever. Oh. But what they have done instead is give away a new song, 'Flash Delirium', free on their website.

All you need to do is click here and then click on the weird picture and Bob's your mother's brother.

'Flash Delirium' is, as you might expect if you've read any of the build-up stuff surrounding this album, not exactly radio friendly, but it does have a certain charm. It also has a nice flute solo, a bit that sounds rather pleasant and a loud bit at the end. Classic journalism.

Over & Over

We're pretty big fans of Canadian hip-hop rookie Drake's debut mini-album, So Far Gone, especially the single, 'Best I Ever Had'. Given his huge success in America, expectations are high for his debut long player, Thank Me Later. As with most young rappers, Drake's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about how he can't trust anyone anymore because all his friends just want his money and all dem hoes are just trying to knock his swagga, etc. Thankfully, as with Kanye and Lil Wayne, he seems to have that ability to turn a cliche into something exciting and 'Over', complete with urgent strings and off-kilter drum beats, is pretty spectacular.



Rumour has it that Jamie from The xx has also contributed beats to the album. Those pesky kids are everywhere at the moment.

You can download 'Over' from Drake's blog