Nowadays in music it's all about big budget megastars - your Lady GaGas and Kylies - and on the flipside, the DIY aesthetic of bands signed to Independent labels who make songs in their bedrooms once their room mate's passed out. But what about the unsung heroes who bypass the TV talent shows, employ some friends to film a video and turn their hands at being superstars in their own right? Well, for them, youtube is their Mecca (Bingo) and here are two wonderful examples of what can happen when a dream becomes a reality.
First up is an Irish family group called Crystal Swing who seem intent on erasing the memory of The Corrs with their new single, 'He Drinks Tequila'. The song tells the story of Rosie and, er, Jose who get it on following a heavy night on the Tequila. Oh, we've all been there right?
You may think that the siblings at the front are the real stars (is their a whiff of Same Difference about their closeness? No, surely not), but it's mother Mary who steals the show with her 'playful' keyboard style and deathless stare.
Next up is Cheryl Aster with 'You Can Do It'. Let's deal with the visuals seeing as a lot of effort has gone into the video (and the song's lyrical message is pretty clear). The basic premise seems to be that poor Cheryl has been dumped (THIS VIDEO WAS MADE BEFORE THE OTHER CHERYL'S RECENT RELATIONSHIP TRAVAILS, BUT SHOULD BE HER ANTHEM REALLY), perhaps by email, and seemingly from her office in a barn. She then strides out to her car carrying a guitar and drives to er...well, it looks like she's in Egypt...and then she's back on the farm again, climbing over machinery (careful Cheryl!) and then she's in, erm, is that Broadway? It's a cityscape anyway, but not a real one. Perhaps she's inside the computer we saw earlier. For the chorus, which is obviously amazing, there are three other Cheryls behind the real one and they're all urging her to "do it on her own", though what "it" is is never really made clear (IS IT ABOUT MASTURBATION? FILLING IN YOUR TAX RETURNS? SUICIDE!?). The bridge bit is immense and incredibly stirring as we see the evil boyfriend trying to make Cheryl see the error of her ways. He seems really upset, whilst Cheryl stands firm, but then, what's this, she's now in a dark corridor and looking a bit glum, but that chorus kicks in again and there are more Cheryls and she seems chirpier. PHEW. Oh, we're back on the farm again and there's much purposeful striding about the place (careful of the cow's muck Cheryl!) and now she's back in one of those strange worlds of hers. As if to show once again that she's into rock, we get a brief glimpse of her guitar skills before the Cheryls return with some Mariah Carey style hand movements. THE END.
Please watch it here.
This song is available on iTunes. 'Firewall', which deals with another rocky relationship and has some mind-bendingly awesome lyrics about computer viruses is so far unreleased but can be heard here.
We know we're a bit late to this particular party, but how brilliant are Gaggle. For one they look like this:
Kind of like a school photo at an all girls school for technicolour druids.
They sound a bit like this.
In fact they sound a lot like that seeing as that's their new video for single, 'I Hear Flies'. Immense.
"Drink gin, get thin, win, win"
As we all know by now Jack White either doesn't sleep or exists in a world where days last longer than 24 hours. The guy doesn't seem to stop. He's now decided to get his wife involved in this seemingly endless stream of writing, recording and releasing records. Not that his wife, the former model Karen Elson, lacks musical pedigree having recorded a duet with Cat Power along with a clutch of other lovely acoustic ditties ('Coming Down' is particularly nice).
Below is a live reading of the title track from her Jack White produced debut album, The Ghost Who Walks. The album is due out in the summer via XL/Third Man and the video is also directed by her hubbie (I believe he sewed the hem on her dress, but we're awaiting clarification on that).
It's a shame the guys in the band couldn't be bothered to help out a bit. Lazy.
You can download this version of the track from here.
Neon Gold is basically one of the best labels in the pop-o-sphere and what follows here is basically cribbed from their blog. We hold our hands up, we're lazy, but when the music is this good, we're not too bothered to be honest.
First up is Alex Winston with her single 'Animal Baby', which features a nod to the '60s...no, wait, come back...this is not Duffy, it's even better than that (!?). 'Animal Baby' is basically about her ex acting like a bit of an animal, not in a sex way, more in a shitting on the carpet kind of way...oh, no? Oh, it's about being reckless and having animal-like instincts (and shitting on the rug).
WARNING: This song will be stuck in your head for the next five days
Next up is Penguin Prison who we've mentioned before and now he's back with a new double A-side and though the first track, 'The Worse It Gets', has its moments, this is a juddering, synth-lead nugget of pure wonderment (ahem). We're huge lovers of a nice synth noodle or a bit of a beat breakdown and this has oodles of them.
Last week was a bit of a struggle, wasn't it? We mean musically of course and not just because the grey skies and general malaise are making everyone look like death warmed up (only not that warm). Unbelievably, the Lightspeed Champion album managed to miss the Top 75 altogether, which is a real shame as it's a definite grower and worthy of some ear time. The Glee soundtrack crashed in at number 1, which should be something to celebrate and yet we're kind of depressed about it. Jedward proved us all wrong by climbing one spot to number 11 (those 5 extra CD singles clearly doing the trick). This week is a bit of a bumper, fuck the recession type affair, so hold onto your hats...
BUY THIS
Nerve Up by LoneLady
Perfect for the current climate, LoneLady's debut album is all chilly, skeletal guitar figures and simple beats with Julie Campbell (for it is she) crooning mysteriously about "fading to white" and some other bleak things we've yet to really decipher. Despite it's chilly exterior there's a lot to love here and what can initially seem simple and slight soon becomes hypnotic. Weirdly, there are moments where she sounds a lot like Kylie does when she does that English speak-sing voice of hers. Ergo, if you've ever wondered what Kylie would sound like if she signed to Warp, then wonder no more.
TRUST US AND BUY THIS
Fuzzo by Brigadier Ambrose
We plugged this when it came out to download, but it's out in the shops now (and still amazing) so here it is again. Read more about it here.
BUY THIS ONE TOO
Causers of This by Toro Y Moi
We did a very short thing on this guy just the other day and we were so taken by what we heard that we went out and brought the album (yep, we PAID for the music, in a shop and everything). Causers of This has been lumped in with all that chillwave, dream pop malarkey and though there are definite elements in there - none of the songs really race to get anywhere, there are some nice keyboard washes - the whole thing feels more intricate and closely produced then some of the stuff from Washed Out for example. Hell, Lissoms even sounds like a bit of a rave up in comparison to some of that other stuff. All in all, a lovely, dense album by a very talented individual.
THIS IS OUT TOO
The Family Jewels by Marina & The Diamonds
This has been picking up some very strange reviews which seem to range from 'this is the future of pop music' to 'LOL her voice is funny' to 'how fucking irritating is this woman'. We did a thing on it here so we won't write much else if it's all the same to you.
DOWNLOAD THIS
'Don't Go There' by Giggs
We've chosen this one for two reasons; firstly, it's a great song with a brilliant video and it has a strange nostalgic charm about it, what with all the early '90s, Dre-inspired staccato strings and the loping beat. Secondly, Giggs is on twitter and won't stop imploring people to buy it and his passion for the single to do well is infectious quite frankly. It's nice to see someone making music that isn't all 'well, I make music for me and if anyone else likes it, well that's a bonus'. Get a real job in that case.
The most immediate track from Vampire Weekend's recently released Contra album, 'Giving Up The Gun', has rightly been chosen as the album's second single. Seeing as the band are now a number 1 selling act in America, they've clearly been given a bigger music video budget and this new five minute clip is pretty special. Directed by The Malloys and featuring guest spots from RZA, a drunk Jake Gyllenhaal, a French Lil Jon and a dorky Jonas brother, it's a veritable tennis-related feast for the eyes.
Nice blistering forehand at the end there, although her overhead needs some work.
This is a rather lovely track by a gentleman who goes under the somewhat perplexing moniker of Toro Y Moi. 'Low Shoulder' is taken from his forthcoming album, Causers of This, which may well appear in next week's New Musick Monday. You can barely wait for that, huh?
He's been lumped in with acts like Washed Out and all the other 'chillwave' people, but from what we've heard this seems a bit lazy. We'll get back to you on this though...
