BBC Sound Tips for 2010 Part II

I'm going to continue with a few acts that you, as I'm assuming you listen to good music if you read this, have probably heard of already this year..










Delphic

Formerly known by the quite fantastic name "Snowfight In The City Centre", Delphic are a four piece indie-rave band in cut from the same cloth as the cure and new order. One of the reasons they're hyped to be big is the stadium potential for tracks like this, reminiscent of klaxons circa golden skans with a major plus that the tone of lead singer James Cook's voice is so much more clear and with actual resonant lyrics rather than sounds that just go with the music. These guys are good.

Counterpoint

The Drums

Comparisons to the beach boys, the first hyped 2010 leak in 2009, the NME tour at the start of the year, pretty much all signs point to yes. With blissed out surfer pop there are drawbacks, a lack of substance (literal substance) being one and that which 2009's "girls" lacked and that 2010's surfer blood seem to have in droves. It would be easy to say that this band are somewhere in between the two and I'm on a tight schedule so there ya go :) bottom line is they're as catchy as any communicable disease you could possibly envisage.

Let's go surfing



Owl City

Pushed this guy on BIRP pretty hard since its inception really and he's gotten huge independant success which is now turning into major success with billboard #1's and shizz! You know this kind of music it's light electro-emo so like in between trees, secret handshake, rocket to the moon. I'm still kiiiiinda surprised at all the attention he's gotten because like i'm a fan of this kind of music and no one has really come close to getting this kind of mainstream press the past couple of years. And yes, it was a bit difficult not to mention the postal service... I like it alot though, it's familiar. I like it. ALOT. I'm really quite impressed with the BBC for this particular tip.

Hot air balloon
Fireflies



Two Door Cinema Club

They played truck last year and are an indefinable qauntity in that they're a great time but also have a great depth. Formidable lyricism and masterful instrumentation mean that TDCC have something to fall back onto but they don't need it because they have great tunes for that. They call themselves "electropop" but then so would the XX (who suck) so i'd like to steer clear of such labelling. You know on the postal service's give up where they underscore JT's music with guitars, hand claps and inventive swirling instrumentation, that is exactly where these guys are at. Oh they're also from bangor which (don't shoot me...) I thiiiink is in wales? and Donaghee which I gotta be honest, sounds made up :p
______________________________________

I'm off to see Frank Turner tonight for the close of the decade. So I've just done a double blog today as i'll be in gloucester tomorrow but I plan on sticking around for the next decade so get ready for some good stuff!

BBC Music tips for 2010

The "BBC sound tips for 2010" were released this week and in terms of that, not so niche brit award market they tend to be right. Last year's list included La Roux, little boots, florence and the machine, lady gaga, vv brown and dan black.

The reason i'm posting it here is that it also included Mumford and sons, empire of the sun and, although i can't tell the difference between these three apparently they're alright- the big pink, passion pit and temper trap. So I've done all the work to make sure there's no confusion between the Adele's, Duffy's and Ting Ting's and the vampire weekend's, MGMT's and black kid's.

I'm not a fan of the others mentioned in the list, I did write a little about them but if you can't say etceterawr...

I'm going to kick start this three part post with two promising female artists-



Marina and the Diamonds

I figure I should probably just start off with this fine filly. I've been going on about her ever since this blog was created and it looks like 2010 is her year. I've featured her on no less than ten occasions over the past 12 months, second only to bright eyes and death cab... which I guess makes her third... However, I digress to my first impression-

"I haven't written about this girl before because I wasn't sure if I was being swayed by just how stunningly beautiful she is. She's getting comparisons to kate nash because like she says, "I've got a keyboard and I've got a vagina". She has a deeper range which I personally dig and darker themes which are a huge plus. Some of her stuff is quite theatrical which I can only imagine will make for a great stage show, Kate Nash seemed to have very few places to go with her stuff but I can Imagine MATD will make for a killer time." Outroversion 2009

Quite right, live she's quite the performer and has a huge voice but without it being annoying (dontmentionflorencedontmentionflorencedontmentionflorence..).. Unlike some other artists who emerged in the past year who shall remain nameless. I'm kidding FATM weren't that bad, I liked my boy builds coffins but this blog isn't about her and never will be :p Umm anyway, back to Ms.Diamandis. The lack of a coherent narrative in this post is pretty much just me saying it doesn't matter what I say because she's going to be huge and you're going to love her. It is the year of the diamonds. And not of the rat or the pig or whatever the chinese are making out ;)

Mowgli's road
Seventeen
Obsessions



Ellie Goulding

You've probably heard of Ellie Goulding, I'm not sure how big she's been getting maybe i'm just more aware because I follow her on twitter but with this head's up from the BBC it's probably not going to do her too much harm! Her music is made by super producer StarSmith and she's very much in the same vein as little boots but is actually really good and a little more independant. Starry Eyed and Under the sheets have both been featured on BIRP, they're all over nme radio and they're worth the download. She records a lot of music so i'm hoping that those two tracks won't be all that she's known for in 2010 but most people are dumb so maybe she will be.

Starry Eyed
Under the sheets
The Wolves Acts 1 & 2 (bon iver cover)

Part II tomorrow :)

Album of the year: Fanfarlo- Reservoir

Big surprise right?! When I think about 2009 I'll think of them. Here are some of outroversion's testemonial's from the past year-

"Dreampop, it's one of those abstract nondescript genres that still seems to fit some bands perfectly, this is one. Great for the summer, they're a mixture between the floatysunshinecatchiness of empire of the sun and the rhythmic intrumentation consciousness of an arcade fire. I really like these guys, they are probably the band that i've been most excited to discover in this blog, they really make stunning music. In the trunk is when it really struck me. Unbelievably endorphene inducing" ~ Outroversion, 25th March 2009

"YEEAAAHH!!! I know i've gone on and on about fanfarlo but I think they're going to be massive. I'm seeing them in a couple of weeks, the night before I leave for france. This track emphasises all they're great for; haunting backing, deep bass, high strings, introspective lyrics, hopeful sounding vocals with intense lyrics. So glad I found this band. "If you look at the horizon there is always something ducking out of sight" I wrote fucking the first time I wrote that :)" ~ Outroversion, 15th May 2009



Fanfarlo- Reservoir (2009)

The review

Before listening to this album the first thing I noticed was that standout track from the demo cd "you are one of the few outsiders that understand us" isn't included but then neither is "in the trunk**" which were the first two tracks I heard by them and what hooked me in. Well it's 9 months later and every single track from the album has 4 stars or higher on my ipod so that pretty much speaks for itself...

"I am a pilot" is a heavenly track, starts the album off perfectly, and purposefully. The strings are magnificent and add a haunting atmosphere to the dark lyrics which are masked by an upbeat tempo and clapped beats which underly the piano perfectly. Part of what sounds like percussion is actually a lot of people playing the same part on guitars.

I didn't really notice until I saw them live but Cathy underscores alot of Simon Balthazar's vocals on the album and once you listen out for her you'll fall in love with her-



The similarities and indeed comparison musically to arcade fire are both obvious and unignorable. The strings and brass heavy tunes, where the flowing vocals and harmonies maybe owe a little more to Beirut but in my opinion they do both better than either band can because it really seems like the entire band has a common goal as each track builds and support each other well. Like sometimes you don't care about the other members of the band but each member of Fanfarlo is integral to the scenes they create.

After the first 6 listens to the album I considered it a consistant and not overly ambitious debut, which was by no means a bad thing, they just know what they're good at and what they can pull off live and have aimed at hitting those highs first.

For the generation that can't listen to an entire album you simply have to hear the walls are coming down, finish line and fire escape. For those that can you've probably already got this and made it your album of the year, if not, do yourself a huge favour and invest your time in this band. They tour relentlessly and will no doubt be playing within your vacinity in 2010.

**If anyone has an mp3 of this I would be eternally greatful if you could send it my way

Happy Holidays.

Happy Christmas from the outroversion blog.

I've made a little cartoon to make some people remember that there are people worse off than them in the world and to remind other people that they are not alone.
(Right click, view image to see full version)

Thankyou for visiting in 2009.

Best of December 2009

Best of Outroversion December 2009

Yeah been a heck of a month right? Still christmas in a couple of days. The rest of the year i'm pretty well restrained but christmas time I eat like.. well to put it mildly, a greedy person :) I shant bore you with christmas tales but I was walking down the street earlier on and some kid, like 8 years old said to his friend "I don't care if I don't get any gifts this year, as long as I've got my brother and my mom I'll be happy". Quite poignant but that kid should probably relax he's 8 years old like you can probably afford to just be a kid right? Anyway there's like 60 tracks and it took alot of time so i am relieved to put this up, enjoy and happy holidays from outroversion and friendssssssssss.

I've marked the must downloads with a couple of christmassy stars or asterisks if you're not into pretending that things are other things when they're not-

Low- A Dinosaur Act/Just like Christmas
Sloth Bear- Number 58
Gold Motel- Perfect in my mind
The Isolation- Dancing away
Doll and the kicks- Leaving the race
World's Greatest Ghosts- Magick Words
Princeton- Sadie and Andy
Absent Elk- Sun and water
Comet Gain- The fists in pocket
Mariee Souix- Wizard Flurry Home
Freelance Whales- Hannah/Starring/Ghosting
Eminem- Hell Breaks Loose
Baddies- Open One Eye
Uh huh her- Explode
Brazos- Day Glo/my buddy
Rye N Clover- Black Hoody
A rocket to the moon- I'm not saying goodbye
Gabby Young and other animals- Ones that got away/We're all in this together**
Cats on fire- The borders of this land
Seth lakeman- Blood red Sky
Charlotte Gainsbourg- Heaven can wait
Jose Vanders- Summer
Slow Club- Christmas TV
Savoir Adore- The Scientific.../We talk like machines
Tim Williams- Ozone Street
Guitar- Hira Hira
Brakes- Why tell the truth?
The Balconies- Battle Royale
The Raincoats- Noone's little girl?
Wintermitts- Schoolyard
Cloud Cult- The grandson of jesus
Swimming in Speakers- In Knowing *TRACK OF THE MONTH*
Grouper- Pale Through
Shinedown- Second Chance
Aficianado- The myth...
Singing Bridges- Crazy Street
Cantinero- My House
Boxer Rebellion- Evacuate
Burbank Cartel- Leonard Jones Potential
Shelby Sifters- Are you devo?
Auld Lang Syne- My first soul **
Darwin Deez- Bad day
The yes pleases- Don't say we're there yet/From whence it came
Feral Children- Saint
God help the girl- God help the girl **
Marina and the diamonds- Girls
Killers- Happy Bday Guadalupe
Kinetic Stereokids- Play
Timber Timbre- Lay down in the tall grass
Wetdog- lower leg
Erland and the carnival- My name is carnival **
Penguin Prison- A funny thing
Blood Orange- S'cooled
Le Corps Mince de Francoise- Something Golden **

Best of 2009 Part III

Part III

These are the best 15 tracks of the past year-

Frank Turner- Sunday Nights
Fanfarlo- The walls are coming down/Finish Line
Leisure Society- Last of the melting snow
Conor Oberst- Map of the world
Peter Doherty- Last of the english roses
Bombay Bicycle Club- Always like this
Camera Obscura- French Navy
Emmy the great- First love
Fun. - At least i'm not as sad (as i used to be)
Golden Silvers- Another universe
Howling Bells- Treasure Hunt
Jamie T.- Sticks and stones
Jupiter one- Volcano
Marina and the diamonds- Mowgli's road

Best of 2009 Part II

Small one today and the poppiest, most mainstream of all 3 of the posts...

Part II

Paramore- All I wanted
Jay-Z- DOA
Los Campesinos!- Death to Los Campesinos!/The sea is a good place...
MC Lars- Hipster Girl
Mountain Goats- Genesis 3:23
Paloma Faith- Stone cold sober
Rihanna- Bubble Pop
6 Day Riot- O, Those Kids!
Baddies- Open one eye

Top 20 tracks of 2009 Pt. 1

Pretty self explanatory, these are the best tracks of the past year. This is both in my opinion and as a matter of fact :D This will be in 3 parts, here is part 1-

Part I

Monsters of folk- Baby Boomer
Muse- United states of Eurasia
Arctic Monkeys- Crying Lightning
Sad Day for puppets- Marble gods
Scary Mansion- Scum Inside II
Vampire Weekend- Cousins
Asher Roth- I love College
Editors- Papillion
Joy Formidable- Greyhound in the slips
Gabby Young- We're all in this together
Asteroids Galaxy Tour- Around the bend
Big Pink- Dominos
Green Day- Before the labotomy
Metric- Gimme Sympathy

Albums of the year: Eels- Hombre Lobo

Eels - Hombre Lobo

01. Prizefighter ( 2:53)
02. That Look You Gave That Guy ( 4:15)
03. Lilac Breeze ( 2:35)
04. In My Dreams ( 3:22)
05. Tremendous Dynamite ( 2:45)
06. The Longing ( 4:22)
07. Fresh Blood ( 4:24)
08. What’s A Fella Gotta Do ( 3:25)
09. My Timing Is Off ( 2:57)
10. Alll The Beautiful Things ( 2:22)
11. Beginner’s Luck ( 3:37)
12. Ordinary Men ( 3:15)

Essential Downloads: 7, 11, 3

This album came out the same time as Rumble Strips' 2009 effort, it was when I got these two albums that I decided this was going to be a hell of a year for new music if I was open to it and it has been amazing.

I love the eels, I think Mark Oliver Everitt is a genius and his success through personal tragedy should give us all hope. As with all of his albums there are some great pop gems and some really dark moments. Blinking lights was a little heavy on the latter but this has a nice mix. Fresh blood is dark but catchy and tuneful and beginner's luck is as good as any pop song you'll hear this year. Lilac breeze is so pretty. At least get the ones i've suggested as listening to a whole eels album is always a bit heavy, like i say each album has like 3 or 4 special tracks on and the ones i've reccomended are those here but the whole album is as good as any of his others if you don't mind jumping on the rollercoaster.

Lil Wayne- Drop the world Ft. Eminem

Lil Wayne- Drop the world Ft. Eminem

It's actually quite interesting how the little wayne album leaked. What a huge mess up. Good to hear more from Eminem too, I haven't listened yet so maybe it's crap like the other two that leaked a bit ago, man they were not good at all. Anyway check it if ya want.

Sisqo

Last night I was going through my old cds that I hadn't bothered putting on my ipod. The year I left high school (2000) I was very into Rap and what back then was called RnB, t'was a different animal back then to how it was but yeah fact of the matter is there was one cd that brought back certain memories.

Thong song came out in my last year of high school, when I was at college I was all about girls andI Sisqo's album "unleash the dragon", along with Nelly's "nellyville" soundtracking what was going down back in the day.

Things I liked about Sisqo-
He has silver hair
He's married to Samantha Mumba who I was so hot for as a mid teen
His music seemed to be like a magnet for crazy ass girls
He looks like Kel from Kenan and Kel

Times have changed a lot for sure but the nostalgia of these albums are pretty hilarious.

Unleash the dragon
Return of the dragon

Now i'm more mature I have a feeling dragon might be a metaphor for something. Maybe not, I dunno..

Albums of the year: Peter Doherty- Grace/Wastelands

Peter Doherty- Grace/Wastelands

1. Arcadie
2. Last Of English Roses
3. 1939 Returning
4. A Little Death Around The Eyes
5. Salome
6. Through The Looking Glass
7. Sweet By And By
8. Palace Of Bone
9. Sheep Skin Tearaway
10. Broken Love Song
11. New Love Grows On Trees

Essential Downloads: 1, 2, 4, 10, 11

I would say you don't need me to tell you about pete doherty but some people do need telling. He's an incredibly talented poet and musician who has recovered from drug addiction. Next to Ben Gibbard he is the artist I've seen perform more times than any other and one of few musicians I have and would travel anywhere to see.

The idiots who are so close minded as not to listen to his music are missing out. I'm not going to go on a huge rant here as I've learned in the past you can't win when you're talking about pete because talent and passion aren't valid points against tabloid sheep. Fuck you if you're one of them. Fuck. You. Cunts.

:) So the album came after babyshambles second brilliant album and was released while on tour with Blur's graham coxon. He carried on touring solo relentlessly until only recently when he got back on the road with babyshambles. He'd been playing some of these songs as far back as in the days of the libertines, New Love Grows On Trees is the masterpiece of those days. Last of the English Roses is so well written it's amazing, no one can write like him because he writes for himself and it's only because it's so good that the world listens in.

Just get it yeah.

Eels- end times (2010)

Eels- End of days (2010)

01. The Beginning
02. Gone Man
03. In My Younger Days
04. Mansions Of Los Feliz
05. A Line In The Dirt
06. End Times
07. Apple Trees
08. Paradise Blues
09. Nowadays
10. Unhigned
11. High And Lonesome
12. I Need A Mother
13. Little Bird
14. On My Feet

Albums of the year: Yeah Yeah Yeahs- it's blitz

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's blitz

1. Zero
2. Heads Will Roll
3. Soft Shock
4. Skeletons
5. Dull Life
6. Shame and Fortune
7. Runaway
8. Dragon Queen
9. Hysteric
10. Little Shadow

Essential Downloads: 1, 2, 3, 5

Yeah that's not the album cover but I thought it was a bit brilliant. So yeah, this album one of this year's nice surprises I think. I mean I know eeeeveryone else loves YYY's but I never got them. This album however is flawless and such a pleasure to listen to the whole way through. It's dancey, dark and everything that karen o does best. You can get the other albums in the NME post a couple of weeks ago and they are good but this is brilliant. The video to heads will roll is awesome too-

Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca (2009)

Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca (2009)

01 Cannibal Resource
02 Temecula Sunrise
03 The Bride
04 Stillness Is The Move
05 Two Doves
06 Useful Chamber
07 No Intention
08 Remade Horizon
09 Fluorescent Half Dome

Reccomended Downloads: 1, 4, 5

This was going to be one of my albums of the year but I've relistened to it and not only do I not think it qualifies for such an accolade but I really don't like it. Thought why waste the post though, check it out if you like :D

You make me want to listen to metal

I'm having a bit of a metal downloading spree at the mo. About once a year I feel like i've got no idea about metal and I hate to think anything's passing me by. I obviously love gaslight anthem, but that's a bit light and I love CKY of late but I'm talking heavy stuff up in here-

Slipknot
Motley Crue
Avenged Sevenfold
Five finger death punch
Disturbed
Poison
HateBreed
Atreyu
Rancid
Korn
KillSwitch Engage
Lamb of God
Metallica

Pretty sure i'm going to be doing a goth metal mainly featuring hot chicks post pretty soon :p

Albums of the year- Monsters of Folk

Monsters of Folk

1. Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
2. Say Please
3. Whole Lotta Losin'
4. Temazcal
5. The Right Place
6. Baby Boomer
7. Man Named Truth
8. Goodway
9. Ahead of the Curve
10. Slow Down Jo
11. Losin Yo Head
12. Magic Marker
13. Map Of The World
14. The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15. His Master's Voice

Essential Downloads: 13, 6, 2

"Upon first listen, it didn't blow my brains out. I mean do you reeeaaaally want that from an alt.folk album anyway right? I was ready to receive this as my album of the year to be honest, I was ready to listen to it on loop, buy it on cd, all that 20th century jazz. Unfortunately it didn't grab me. That is to say it hasn't, yet. I still hold out hope. One thing though- map of the world by conor oberst is incredible, it's up there with his best (by that I mean theme from pinata, rainy days and weather reports)." ~ Outroversion August 2009

Now the end of the year is coming around I would say yes, this is in my top 5 albums of the year. If it was just conor, mike and m. ward and the other guy didn't sing then it would probably be in the top 3. M. Ward's tracks are excellent, conor's great as ever and mogis always adds something, it's a nice mix, a really pleasant album.

NeverShoutNever Ep

I secretly love this band.

Albums of the year: Metric- Fantasies

Metric- Fantasies

‘Help I'm Alive’
‘Sick Muse’
‘Satellite Mind’
‘Twilight Galaxy’
‘Gold Guns Girls’
‘Gimme Sympathy’
‘Collect Call’
‘ Front Row’
‘Blindness’
‘Stadium Love’

Essential Downloads: Stadium Love,
Gimme Sympathy, Help i'm alive and Sick Muse

Probably the most underrated album on this list. This year was my first year seeing Metric having fell for "Old World Underground" in 2005 and they were so finely tuned and there was a feeling of this being the pinnacle of their powers playing something they were truly proud of. One criticism you can have for metric, though this is hardly a criticism- is that they seem to have two great lead tracks on albums and then the rest just fitting a certain mood. Thing is with this album they've got four HUGE songs, help i'm alive is just immense and embodies everything that makes haines a great front women and musically what makes metric such a formidable force. Stadium Love is anthemic in all the right ways and you've heard gimme sympathy enough times by now and it's not even the best song on the album. It's brilliant but just make sure you get those tracks at the very least (as well as old world underground).

Baddies - Do The Job (2009)

Baddies - Do The Job (2009)
01 - Tiffany, I'm Sorry
02 - Open One Eye
03 - Battleships
04 - Colin
05 - At The Party
06 - Pisces
07 - We Beat Our Chests
08 - Holler For My Holiday
09 - I Am Not A Machine
10 - To The Lions
11 - Baddies
12 - Paint The City

Baddies were responsible for some unforgettable live performances in 2009 and fortunately I witnessed quite a few of these. I haven't heard much about the new album but hopefully it hasn't been recieved badly. I do appreciate that live they're another animal altogether but I still loved the last EP. Fact of the matter is they're touring with joy formidable in 2010 and those are going to be epics, tickets are on sale now i think so do it up.

You may also like to notice that the track listing is either in the shape of a vase or a fish making a kissy face.

Outroversion's Xmas Mixtape

Outroversion's Xmas Mixtape 2009

Happy holidays guys. Here's my gift to you, another mixtape, this one with a seasonal feel. It's obviously not as dark as the halloween one, just a few tracks from my favourite artists but bright eyes and the killers do make sure things don't get too upbeat cos we wouldn't want that.

You can either download some of the files individually from the track listing below or the whole thing in the link at the top of the page...

Eels- Christmas is going to the dogs
Death Cab- Christmas Baby please come home
Bright eyes- Little drummer boy
Fall Out Boy- Yule Shoot your eye out
Killers- Don't shoot me santa/¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!
Emmy the great- Christmas in Prison
Ron Sexsmith- Maybe this christmas
Hello Saferide- Ipod Christmas

Doll and the kicks and formspring.me

Formspring is the new thing all us cool people are using, my address is http://formspring.me/notme7okitis and this was my first serious reccomendation from that site and i like the looks of this outfit..

Doll and the kicks

1. Leaving The Race
2. Roll Up The Red Carpet
3. He's A Believer
4. If You Care
5. You Turn Up
6. Pictures
7. If You're Gonna Leave Me
8. Cry In The Kitchen
9. He Was A Dancer
10. Superstar

Reccomended Downloads: 2, 4, 5, 9

Albums of the year: Golden Silvers- True Romance

Golden Silvers- True Romance

1. Another Universe 4:54
2. True Romance (True No. 9 Blues) 3:34
3. Magic Touch 4:07
4. The Seed 4:06
5. Here Comes The King 4:07
6. Shakes 3:53
7. Queen Of The 21st Century 5:03
8. Please Venus 5:02
9. Arrows Of Eros 5:40
10. Fade To Black 2:49

Essential Downloads: 1, 2, 3, 9

Albums of the year: Local natives- Gorilla Manor

Probably the latest inclusion in my albums of the year list. Just so you know, it replaced kasabian's west pauper lunatic asylum ;) I only got it a week ago but I'd been listening to the tracks I did have for about half a year and saw them live a few months ago so check out my other posts on them. They're really smooth, mgmt like in terms of atmospheric vocals and the comparisons to RaRaRiot are undeniable. Oh, also killers like in terms of having brandon flowers' moustaches. The whole album is a really gorgeous listen but the tracks I've reccomended below are absolute no question must haves.

Local Natives- Gorilla Manor

1. Wide Eyes
2. Airplanes
3. Sun Hands
4. World News
5. Shape Shifter
6. Camera Talk
7. Cards & Quarters
8. Warning Sign
9. Who Knows Who Cares
10. Cubism Dream
11. Stranger Things
12. Sticky Thread

Essential Downloads: 2, 3, 4

Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM (2009)

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG + BECK – IRM

If you downloaded the halloween mixtape you'll know this chick, she's dark and haunting and her album has jeff beck on it. It leaked today and doesn't come out til next year, probably check it out.

01. Master’s Hand 02:49
02. IRM 02:35
03. Le Chat du Café des Artistes 04:03
04. In The End 02:00
05. Heaven Can Wait 02:40
06. Me And Jane Doe 03:20
07. Vanities 03:38
08. Time Of The Assassins 02:45
09. Trick Pony 02:52
10. Greenwich Mean Time 02:25
11. Dandelion 03:17
12. Voyage 05:16
13. La Collectionneuse 02:22

Reccomended Downloads: 2, 5, 1, 4, 6

Track of the day/Dev Hynes: Blood Orange/CIA: Mind Control

So turns out Dev Hynes has another side project called blood orange, I was going to write about it a bit but i've got something more sinister I need to discuss, first here's the link to the track- Blood orange

Ok so I was in bed reading a book and wasn't really focusing because I was getting tired so I decided i'd read NME as it's a lighter read than what I was reading, I read a bit about Dev Hynes of lightspeed champion fame having a side project called blood orange. I thought I better write that on my arm so i don't forget, this I did.

I started to drift off so put on some music. It was originally a track by the get up kids and i thought this is nice and atmospheric exactly what i feel like listening to right now so i clicked genius. The genius picked out the next track to be Blood Red Shoes "it's getting boring here by the sea" it was the first time I heard it and I loved it, instant 4 stars and I thought I HAVE to blog about this awesome song so i wrote that on my arm as well.

Here's the track.

Here's the video for boring by the sea-



So, I googled Dev Hynes side project blood orange and I was taken to a site called "it's getting boring here by the sea" here. For about 30 seconds I could not understand what was going on like I don't know HOW MANY websites there are on the internet but surely this was incredibly unlikely? Like I feel like i could kill myself right now and the detective would read this blog and be like that's messed up that's probably what pushed him over the edge how the hell are you supposed to get your head around that?

Like I don't know what the fuck right now. Am I in the fucking TRUMAN show or what? I mean I never write on my arm except TWLOHA sometimes but to write JUST these two things and then wake up and go on the computer and that happen? Like. Please someone tell me what the fuck. Am I overreacting? is this actually really likely? Really likely that out of an unlimited number of websites I write two things on my arm and the first website i go to have both those things on one page? Yeah? O.K then right.

Albums of the year: Frank Turner- Poetry of the deed

This is the album where Frank Turner fulfilled everything he set out to and deservedly so.

I have about 8 playlists of my favourite bands best tracks "ultimate xxxxx" Beatles have about 67, Death cab 46, Bright Eyes 38, John Vanderslice 21, Chili peppers 45... You get the idea anyway were I to have an ultimate Frank Turner playlist it would either have zero or 128 and that's why he doesn't have one. If I want to listen to FT, which I do want to, all day if I could then I just listen to anything he's got to offer and love it as if it was his defining moment.

As an artist Frank Turner is a person I respect more than anybody but as a person I feel a little differently as he seems to be everything I wish I was. A successful musician, confident, qualified in something other than his career, has friends... you know stuff like that. His early work was angsty and frustrated and the journey from then to now has been a pleasure to watch. Poetry of the deed is truly the sound of euphoric celebration, he's got everything he wants and is using the vent as well as he always has.

Frank Turner- Poetry of the deed

1. Live Fast Die Old
2. Try This At Home
3. Dan's Song
4. Poetry Of The Deed
5. Isabel
6. The Fastest Way Back Home
7. Sons Of Liberty
8. The Road
9. Faithful Son
10. Richard Divine
11. Sunday Nights
12. Our Lady Of The Campfire
13. Journey Of The Magi

Sorry if I gushed...

Albums of the year: Fun- Aim and Ignite

Fun.- Aim and ignite

1. "Be Calm" - 4:10
2. "Benson Hedges" - 4:00
3. "All the Pretty Girls" - 3:23
4. "I Wanna Be the One" - 3:36
5. "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" - 4:07
6. "Light a Roman Candle with Me" - 3:05
7. "Walking the Dog" - 3:40
8. "Barlights" - 4:17
9. "The Gambler" - 4:11
   
10. "Take Your Time (Coming Home)" - 7:51

Essential Downloads- 1, 5, 3 7 and 2

"At this point, I really don't understand why
fun. aren't the biggest band around." ~ Hayley Williams, October '09

Fun. are the band of the year blogosphere wise, they've been hyped constantly from the start and are busy achieving success on the back of this. You can find them on twitter too where they said they'll be playing England in 2010 which is great news. If you don't know fun they rose from the ashes of the format and are in a similar vein, great times, guy/girl vocals on the best tracks, just nate on others. Truth is, in my opinion this album doesn't hold up that well over time and 6 months since finding them i only really listen to the tracks i've reccomended, you should check them all out though just to see what all the fuss was/is about.

Courteeners- Cross my heart hope to fly

Courteeners- Cross my heart hope to fly

I haven't missed a courteeners tour since I first heard of them in 2007 and that's meant travelling to manchester at times which I'd only do for very few but live they are that amazing. I go to a lot of gigs but I'd drop everything i'm doing to see Liam Fray and the guys. I loved St. Jude I thought it was flawless and was so excited for the second album, still am in fact haha. Check out this free download that was released last night and then go and get st. jude and catch up, they're here for the music the thing that they love.

Can you play guitar my boy?
Can you fuck

Albums of the year: Green Day 21st Century Breakdown

For some reason the world didn't quite understand this album. In my opinion you didn't really have to be particularly receptive or intelligent to see this was an iconic moment in an important band's career. The amount of people who said this was rubbish and then went on to say "i haven't listened to it but.." was almost responsible for a record number of forks in eyes this year. I must say however that due to the events outlined in the following paragraph it is my current opinion that if you just download my reccomended downloads your life won't be missing a whole lot and it is a long album so it's up to you...

You might remember I wasn't really into green day but this album changed that. I admit, when i went to see them live the tracks on this album didn't transfer quite as well as their past glories but when you're feeling isolated, alone and devoid of hope this album is a real shake to the system. It's full of hope. Where American Idiot was about realising that you've been put in an impossible situation due to circumstances out of your control, 21st Century Breakdown is about getting out of that funk and showing the world what you've been forced to suppress.

Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown

1. Song of the Century
2. 21st Century Breakdown
3. Know Your Enemy
4. ¡Viva La Gloria!
5. Before The Lobotomy
6. Christians Inferno
7. Last Night On Earth
8. East Jesus Nowhere
9. Peacemaker
10. Last Of The American Girls
11. Murder City
12. ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)
13. Restless Heart Syndrome
14. Horseshoes And Handgrenades
15. The Static Age
16. 21 Guns
17. American Eulogy (Mass Hysteria/Modern World)
18. See The Light

Essential Downloads: 2, 5, 10, 14, 17

Lil Wayne Leak- Da Da Da

Lil Wayne- DaDaDa

A few weeks before Lil Wayne's self proclaimed "rock influenced" album The Rebirth drops the first track from it leaks and yeah it does start with a guitar riff so I guess there you go that's all the evidence you need right?!

I was looking forward to this album as much as anyone until I witnessed little weezy try to play guitar at the camden roundhouse and ending up looking like your 10 year old cousin trying to play silent night after christmas lunch and everyone being too polite to tell him to stop embarassing himself.

Hope he gets some lessons or something cos it would be kind of cool... I suppose.

Albums of the year: Jupiter One- Sunshower

"You know sometimes you hear someone and you think they're amazing but you thihnk you better not get carried away? I don't feel that here, I just think these guys are AMAZING. They're not new so it's not on a par with finding fanfarlo, my band of this year without a doubt, but these guys are without a doubt my band of this month and it's only half way through. That's like a band of the week four weeks in a row so yes, it is quite the accolate. Just get this album it's mind blowing, Flaming arrow is the track that will get you hooked but you won't be going any where after that." ~ Outroversion October 2009

Jupiter One- Sunshower (2009)

"Sunshower can be rare occurrence, but when these opposing forces meet, magic
and allure is in theair. This is exactly why the NYC-based rockers, Jupiter One, chose the title
(inspired by the Japanese short film Dreams by Akira Kurosawa) for their upcoming Ryko album. Their far-out freshness mixed with timeless musical inspirations mesh together in a bittersweet indie-pop rock concoction." ~ Last.fm

01. Volcano ( 3:53)
02. Lights Go Out ( 3:06)
03. Flaming Arrow ( 3:23)
04. Made In A Day ( 2:53)
05. Anna ( 3:21)
06. Simple Stones ( 4:32)
07. High Plains Drifter Finds The Oracle At Delphi ( 4:29)
08. Find Me A Place ( 3:34)
09. Come On ( 3:24)
10. Strange Teacher ( 4:04)
11. People In The Mountain, People Of The Ocean ( 1:49)

The only thing that's changed in my mind since I first posted this album is that "volcano" has become one of my tracks of the year. The thing is genius. You might need to listen to it a few times before you really get it but the lyrics are actually brilliant. The entire album is a delight, for me this is 2009's oracular spectacular, it's a masterpiece.

Straight Edge

I don't really talk about Buddhism or straight edge to people as- 1. they're my own decisions I don't really want to force them on people and probably the more pertinant one- I don't trust a lot of people (the majority of people) in my life not to be disrespectful.

However, this morning I was reading about a lot of people's different reasons for deciding to choose this way of life and alot of them mentioned the music. Strangely this wasn't something that struck me early on and I wasn't really aware of it.

I had a couple of bands on my ipod that i checked out and although I wasn't into the shouty nature of it I really dug how angry these people were at the poison that destroys peoples' lives :)

Here's some to check out. If you've just got a vague interest then minor threat are pretty much the forefathers of edge-

Minor Threat
7 Seconds
SSD
DYS
Negative FX
Slapshot
Youth Of Today
Gorilla Biscuts
Mouthpiece
Ten Yard Fight
Floorpunch
What Happens Next?
Bones Brigade

Bombay Bicycle Club- I had the blues but i shook them loose (2009)

Bombay Bicycle Club- I had the blues but i shook them loose (2009)

1. Emergency Contraception Blues
2. Lamplight
3. Evening / Morning
4. Dust On The Ground
5. Ghost
6. Always Like This
7. Magnet
8. Cancel On Me
9. Autumn
10. The Hill
11. What If
12. The Giantess

Essential Downloads: 6, 10, 5, 4, 8

I can't put this in my albums of the year as I've only had 4 tracks from it until recently but those were spectacular and "It's always like this" is a contender for my top track of the year. Absolutely adore it, it's brilliant, simple, isolating, atmospheric, desperate and so well delivered. Magnificent. Check out the tracks I suggested above at least as, as has been highlighted in these parts of late this is one hell of an underrated album.

Albums of the year: Lonely Island- Incredibad

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Lonely Island- Incredibad

01 "Who Said We're Wack?" 1:16
02 "Santana DVX" (ft.E-40) 2:35
03 "Jizz In My Pants" 2:31
04 "I'm On A Boat" (ft.T-Pain) 2:36
05 "Sax Man" (ft. Jack Black) 2:07
06 "Lazy Sunday" (ft. Chris Parnell) 2:20
07 "Normal Guy" - Interlude 1:04
08 "Boombox" (ft. Julian Casablancas) 3:13
09 "Shrooms - Interlude" :34
10 "Like A Boss" 1:46
11 "We Like Sportz" 2:03
12 "Dreamgirl" (ft. Norah Jones) 3:13
13 "Ras Trent" (ft. Sly & Robbie) 2:05
14 "Dick In A Box" (ft. Justin Timberlake) 2:41
15 "The Old Saloon (Mix Tape Edit) - Interlude" 1:05
16 "Punch You In The Jeans" 2:46
17 "Space Olympics" 2:55
18 "Natalie's Rap" (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell) 2:26
19 "Incredibad" 2:54

Essential Downloads: 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 18

As if I wasn't going to include this album?! Never! The hardest part was what picture to pick haha. I discovered Lonely island in about 2005 with the video "just two guys" ah yeah i may as well :D...



hahaha oh I was in love with this song back then, it's brilliance. When I moved to canada I found Andy Samberg on SNL and never looked back. Lazy Sunday was just genius, dick in a box was hilarious and jizz in my pants?! oh. man.

Most recently "I'm a boss" which is once again just brilliance. I can't speak highly enough of this cd. Although I must say I really really hate I'm on a boat. I don't get it, I don't appreciate bad language and that seems to be what's supposed to be funny about it and that is kinda lame and 1974.

Otherwise this is amazing! Take it sax man!!!

Here's some of the vids-

Jizz. In my pants.


Like a boss


Lazy Sunday

Hayley Williams- Teenagers (2009)

Woo another excuse to post pictures of Hayley Williams!!! :P

Soooo why did I start this post? Oh yeah- Teenagers lolz

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Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavillion

"Animal Collective is a New York City/Washington, D.C/Lisbon based music collective of avant-garde musicians from Baltimore, Maryland. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). Records released under the name Animal Collective may include contributions from any or all of these members; the lineup is not uniform."

Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavillion

My opinion: Why everyone has suddenly been told to like this band is anybody's guess. This band has been putting out the same ear bleeding not quite avante garde, not at all indie nonsense for nearly 10 years. In fact this album was out over a year before everyone suddenly decided it was good. So yeah pretty much all i've got to say is well done domino records you've polished... well you know the rest.

I figure everyone's got high and wanted to stare at the cover. The only good thing about this band.

Gabby Young

Gabby Young and other animals
We're all in this together
The ones that got away

It's always nice to look back on how you discovered a band and think that you're doing something right. I assumed that I found Gabby Young through the guardian's "next big things" but can't find the article so I have no idea how I did, but i'm glad that I did. It does seem however that had I not, I would have eventually for gabby and her animals are getting the recognition that the music, her innovation and commitment to the cause deserves.

There are a million reasons why you should be listening to gabby young and the reasons not to like, "i really should get something to eat" or "a homeless man licked my earbuds earlier and then handed me a doctor's note outlining the symptoms of syphallis" isn't going to fly. You'll fall for the music eventually and whether it be by her huge voice, described as "having the power to make you feel like you're swimming in velvet", her style, her unique approach to selling records which i shall go into in a moment or the fact that her last tour was of vintage shops-



So you may have watched sky news this morning and seen Gaby on a feature regarding indepedant artists and their survival in a world dominated by commercialism and lady gaga. On her website there is the option to "become an animal" and, as i'm sure you're aware- animals have pretty sweet lives. My cat's upstairs lounging on the bed as we speak, which I guess is fine as it's saturday but let me tell you- he does the same thing ALL week. Yeah- that's right...

As I was saying, you can become an animal, not by living well in this life and being rewarded with good owners in the next but by donating to the the fulfillment of their musical dreams. This can either be in the form of a mole, a bear or a tiger and to be honest with you it's the greatest, most unusual but spectacularly amazing move i've ever seen. Like for three scores and a godiva you get all this-

“We’re All In This Together” signed Album + 4 tickets to invite only shows + merchandise including limited edition back catalogue CDs + special prize draw every month + free videos + bonus tracks + video blog updates + exclusive access to the band + personalised Gabby Young video message + high quality signed photos. PLUS Tigers will be invited into many aspects of Gabby Young and Other Animals’ world… a rehearsal, a music video, our website, join in on a writing session, to hang out post gig backstage and many other surprise honours."

All bands should do this. I can barely formulate superlatives to describe how great an idea this was, seriously all other bands in the entire world are missing a trick. I have a feeling in the future that this will become the norm and to do so will be a verb, "to gabby young".

I've posted a couple of tracks up there that she was kind enough to send me but I urge you to check out the website and consider supporting them through buying their wares or becoming a big rawrlysnarly animal for there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about how hard it is to be a musician but when someone says they like your stuff or actually buys your music it makes you feel like the struggles worth it.

Web Blog Last.fm Twitter

We're all in this together is going to be featured on next month's indie rock playlist too, here's the video-



Tour dates-

05/12/09 Bristol at MOTEL
12/12/09 Newcastle Upon Tyne at BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
13/12/09 Sheffield at BANG BANG VINTAGE
16/12/09 London at THE BORDERLINE

Albums of 2009: Mumford and sons- Sigh no more

Mumford and sons- Sigh no more

Back up link

Tracklist
1.Sigh No More
2.The Cave
3.Winter Winds
4.Roll Away Your Stone
5.White Blank Page
6.Gave You All
7.Little Lion Man
8.Timshel
9.Thistle & Weeds
10.Awake My Soul
11.Dust Bowl Dance
12.After The Storm

I really stumbled across mumford and sons. I was at one of those indoor music festivals where you walk around town going to different venues and at about 5pm I'd gone to the furthest venue away and was like i'm just going to stay here (until the baddies play) and i watched a couple of ok bands upstairs and inbetween waiting for the next one, went to see who was downstairs and it was these guys...

"... They remind me so much of the decemberists it is untrue. And alas this brings me onto one issue I have with them- you know how bright eyes is so depressing and angry it's inspiring? These guys are kinda depressing in a really despondent way like morbidly. The music's a little TOO haunting at times, the anger spills over at moments that are so poignant it makes you feel a little uncomfortable.

This isn't neccesarily a bad thing but I can see people being put off because of this, not me though because live they really are an event. They feel like how watching elbow after 10 years of playing together and 3 years before they broke must have felt; a bunch of guys who have played together for so long they are as tight as imaginable musically and know what each other are thinking and have a real feel for the evening and the way to sculpt it to maximise each particular audiences experience." ~ Outroversion June 2009

Alicia Keys- Elements of freedom (2009)

Alicia Keys- Elements of freedom (2009)

1. The Element Of Freedom (Intro)
2. Love Is Blind
3. Doesn't Mean Anything
4. Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart
5. Wait Til They See My Smile
6. That's How Strong My Love Is
7. Unthinkable (I'm Ready)
8. Love Is My Disease
9. Like The Sea
10. Put It In A Love Song (feat. Beyoncé)
11. This Bed
12. Distance And Time
13. How It Feels To Fly
14. Empire State Of Mind (Part II) (feat. Jay-Z)

So this leaked a few hours ago and this is probably something people don't know about me- I love alicia keys. Her, vanessa carlton, delta goodrem and bic runga I have all their stuff on my ipod without question like I like listening to it regardless of the lyrical quality. Fortunately all four of those tend to be good but i'm just saying.. Here's some more pics :p

Albums of the year 2009: A change of pace

Hope you've enjoyed my albums of 2009 list so far, it's only going to get better.

I just wanted to mix things up a bit becuse while deciding what to put on my list I remembered those albums that everyone else loves that I'm not really fussed about. No big hoopla but just in case you dig them or just want to see what the big deal is here's 3 that have been topping other lists that i've seen.

La Roux


Arctic Monkeys- Humbug


Florence and the Machine- Lungs

The Future of Outroversion

... Is good :D

Just wanted to do a quick post on what's coming up on the blog. On the back of the success of my halloween mixtape i'm going to do a christmas one too, it's looking good so far. Will continue doing the albums of the past year but in addition to that i'm going to be doing a lot of posts over the course of the next few months wrapping up the past decade so that includes the albums of the last 10 years but the main thing is the artists that shaped 2000-2009. I've compiled my list and it doesn't include lady gaga, the strokes, franz ferdinand, muse, coldplay or kings of leon so as you can imagine it's going to be pretty amazing. There's ben gibbard, dr. dre, mark oliver everitt, frank turner, dev hynes, conor oberst and about 30 others it's going to be epic.

In fact I think i'll post the whole list here and then put links to the articles as I do them...

Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service, All time quarterback)
Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk)
Marshall Mathers (Eminem)
Frank Turner
Brandon Flowers (The Killers)
Mark Oliver Everitt (The Eels)
Anthony Kiedis/Flea/John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Pete Doherty (The Libertines)
Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse)
Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys/Last Shadow Puppets)
Nick Cave (Grinderman/Bad Seeds)
Amy Winehouse
Bic Runga
Noel and Liam Gallagher (Oasis)
Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy)
Bryce Avery (Rocket Summer)
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/Them Crooked Vultures)
Shawn Corey Carter (Jay-Z)
Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley)
Devonte Hynes (Lightspeed Champion)
Kate Jackson (The Long blondes/Madame Ray)
Emily Haines (Metric/Broken Social Scene)
Hayley Williams (Paramore)
Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
Billy Joe Armstrong (Greenday/Foxboro Hottubs)
Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz)

If there's anyone you think i'm missing out i'll either put them in or tell you why they're not going to be included. This is going to go on until at least January for I want to do pretty thorough posts for each person.

Literal Music Videos

Next in the series of "Some of simon's, I mean outroversion's favourite things on youtube are..." are literal videos!

My favourite of all time is RHCP's under the bridge-



I saw this for the first time today I thought it was great, total eclipse of the heart-



And technically this is the marker laid down for all other literal videos, it's quite brilliant, aha's take on me. It can't be embedded but check it here.

New Eminem Tracks

Couple of new eminem tracks from Relapse:Refill leaked earlier on thought i'd post. I was going to post the lyrics but it would make the blog look messy. Here's the tracks-

Elevator

Buffalo Bill

O.K I've listened to these now and elevator is pathetic and Buffalo Bill is indistinguishable from that 3am track from relapse. Lame. For christmas get him a time machine and bring back the old eminem from 2001.

Albums of the year: Camera Obscura- My Maudelain Career

Camera Obscura- My Maudelain Career



01 French Navy
02 The Sweetest Thing
03 You Told a Lie
04 Away With Murder
05 Swans
06 James
07 Careless Love
08 My Maudlin Career
09 Forest and Sands
10 Other Towns and Cities
11 Honey in the Sun

Essential Downloads: 1, 5, 8

I've posted about camera obscura enough times for you to hopefully know what to expect from them and this album is exactly that. Gorgeous and insiteful vocals from Traceyanne Campbell draped over 50's highschool disco guitars, keys and brass. Everyone seems to say this or get out of this country is their best album so there ya go, I prefer Underachievers but this album is good enough to be one of the albums of the year, it's what you need this winter, comfort and warmth and CO always deliver.