3WTM January 2010 Playlist

Back after the usual December break and there's a real mix in this months playlist. As usual there's a mix of tracks that have arrived in our inbox, in the post, via myspace and from other blogs.

This track was featured on Insounds post about the top 50 free tracks of 2009. It has really brought me back round to Camera Obscura and got me excited about the album. I was chatting to Schonberg about this track and he doesn't think it's the strongest on the album, I think that's saying something.

MP3: French Navy - Camera Obscura

Crying In The Spotlight - Dark Sparks

Earlier in the month Schonberg told you about Dark Sparks and picked out We Are Just Flies. For the end of month playlist I thought I'd bring you the other track from the same EP. I'm looking forward to hearing the track Schonberg heard live that we're told will be available this year.

MP3: Crying In The Spotlight - Dark Sparks

The Phoenix Alive - Monarchy

Carry out a search for Monarchy and you'll get lots of bands but not much information on this one. It lead to one Radio 1 DJ describing them as a grunge band who had change direction. They soon corrected themselves, Monarchy are a new band and are attempting (and achieving?) an air of mystery about themselves. Surely this has to be a moniker for someone else already in the music industry. New bands try to get as much information out there as possible, that certainly isn't the case about this band. Let's just hope we're not disappointed when we find out who they really are. For more of their tracks head to Neon Gold who are releasing a 7" for the band.

MP3: The Phoenix Alive (demo) - Monarchy

Not Sorry - Says She's Ms. Blat

After telling you about this band earlier in the month there was no way I could leave them out of the end of month playlist. Read the post here.

MP3: Not Sorry - Says She's Ms. Blat

Pastures - We The They

This band remind me of the music I would listen to when I was a kid in the back seat of my Mum and Dad's car. There's some '80s rock, a little bit of sixties music and perhaps a bit of Beach Boys. Yet they manage to a bit of modern feel to it. Perhaps this is one to keep in your locker ready for summer to hit.

MP3: Pastures - We The They

Come Saturday - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

I wrote about this band earlier in the month, if you've not turned yourself on to them yet, what are you waiting for?

MP3: Come Saturday - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Crysteena - Mille

Anyone like Daft Punk? I've got a feeling you might like this release coming out of Neon Gold. This is just the radio edit but if you want the full 12" head over there to pick it up.

MP3: Crysteena - Mille

Misfits - Lunar Youth

I'm not sure that Lunar Youth are achieving anything new with this track, go back to the nineties and Hootie and Crash Test Dummies had all this covered. However, that doesn't make it a good track, it just makes it much harder for them to hit the mainstream. If you like this track head over to their Myspace and you can also get the b-side.

MP3: Misfits - Lunar Youth

Static Waves - Andrew Belle

Andrew Belle has got an interesting singing style, not unique but it still makes him stand out. I can't remember how I stumbled upon this track but it is a lovely duet with Katie Herzig. It's available from Andrew Belle's Myspace.

MP3: Static Waves - Andrew Belle (feat. Katie Herzig)

Scandinavian Warfare - Champagne Riot

Don't read too much in to this track, it's easy to pigeon hole bands from one track, I've done it on many occasions. From this track you would draw the conclusion that Champagne Riot are merely a band that have been influence by electro bands such as Electronic and Lightening Seeds, however there's more. For starters there are no sickly-sweet lyrics that could have put you off L.S. - I can't see I an Broudie talking about a woman with a big chest a blue eyes as they do on The Champagne Anthem on their Myspace. They've also added a slightly more modern feel to the tracks of those influences.

Thanks again for another great tip off from Music of the Moment.

MP3: Scandinavian Warfare - Champagne Riot

In My Younger Days - Eels

I've mentioned Eels a few times before on this blog and this is another track for you to sample from the new album End Times. I notice that sites like play.com are featuring it on their music home page and I think it's down to Eels have a loyal, if sometime underground following. Are you one?

MP3: In My Younger Days - Eels

Marching Song - White Circus Fever

The Sheffield based band are giving this track away free and it really reminds me of The Levellers, I think that may come across as a lazy comparison as they are both politically minded bands. However is the music not the lyrics that leads me to make those links plus I think The Levellers spoke about different, dare I say more important issues?

MP3: Marching Song - White Circus Fever

La Roux / Heaven 17

Imagine being asked what your main influences on your music taste are and then someone saying 'hey, we can organise for you to have a sing song with them!' Elly La Roux is a massive fan of Heaven 17 and as it turns out from the 6music production broadcast tonight, Heaven 17 are great fans of La Roux. These two things make the collaboration a genuine one, with both groups having an interest and respect for one another's music. Have a listen and enjoy!

Link to BBC website

See, that's what we pay our 140 quid for!

White Circus Fever - BBC Tax

I'm a big fan of the BBC and for a person who loves adverts it's strange that one of the real benefits I see of the BBC is a body that tries to produce whatever they do without commercial input or prejudice. I listened to White Circus Fever's song about the BBC and thought they had your typical "why should I pay my TV license" mentality. I was pleased therefore to read in Sheffield Music Scene that they're not against the BBC, they just think the parting with £140 should be up for debate. "With millions unemployed, people could do with that £140 for something else" - I always thought the unemployed got it free / cheaper but what do I know.

Anyway back to White Circus Fever and yes they do have a bit of a political slant but the band say that's not necessarily their aim, they just write about things they know and as one of them is doing a PhD in Politics I guess they know more about that than other things. Have a listen to the track below and decide if you'd rather be listening to Zane Lowe or your local "better music mix". Oh and did I say White Circus Fever are on the front cover of this month's Sheffield Music Scene.

MP3: BBC Tax - White Circus Fever

White Circus Fever's latest EP is out now and you can get it for free by telling five friends or pay what you think it's worth.

Bromheads

One of the first bands I should point out from this month's Sheffield Music Scene is Bromheads, they are giving away a free track this month called Magic Number. Yes, they do mention the number 3 but it's not a cover of Bob Dorough's much covered song (Embrace and De La Soul versions spring to mind). It is however an upbeat track which didn't really match my mood as a drove through the rain towards work the first time I listened to it. Oh and talking of covers, the band have previously covered "These Boots Are Made For Walking" which was originally recorded by Nancy Sinatra. Bromheads' version is called quite simply "Boots" (I think) if you want to track the song down.

MP3: Magic Number - Bromheads

Sheffield Music Scene / Kalenko

I'm sure you've all read the latest issue of Sheffield Music Scene but for those of you who haven't Kalenko are on the "double" cover along with White Cricus Fever and there's a interesting interview with them. Kalenko are recording in February and then there should be an new EP out soon. Exciting stuff.

Other features in the new edition include end of year lists from the regular writers and as always demo, album and live reviews. I'll be picking out some items that have caught my eye as and when I get chance.

We are just flies - Dark Sparks

We first came across Dark Sparks when they provided the local support to Good Shoes and Wild Palms at the Leadmill in Sheffield before Christmas. The sparse crowd were treated to a very accomplished set which started, albeit a little timidly, by this song "We are just flies". The band remind me very much of The Young Knives, with a Noel Fielding-esque front man in Leigh Greenwood. The best song of a darkly-entertaining set was "Picture without sound" which Leigh promised to make available free on their website once they had recorded it early in 2010, so watch this space, Dark Sparks are coming into the light.

MP3: We are just flies - Dark Sparks

Frankie and the Heartstrings / Rivvmixx.com

Chris from Rivvmixx.com posted a link to his magazine on our recent post about Frankie and the Heartstrings, probably to promote the magazine but all I care is that he's linked to some free downloads. So if you liked what we posted about Frankie and the Heartstrings why not grab those downloads now here:

http://www.rivmixx.com/latest-headlines/frankie-the-heartstrings-free-mp3-downloads/9776/1

Come Saturday - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

I discovered this band when they were number three in Insounds Top Free MP3s of 2009 however take one look at the band's site at that's not the only plaudit they've had in 2009. Their album features highly in many end of year lists and judging by this track, the free one from Insound they've got a sound that's going to continue getting attention.

MP3: Come Saturday - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Says She's Ms. Blat

At Christmas I went back to my home town and went to the pub with my Dad on Christmas Eve. In the pub were quite a lot of people I half recognised and someone I went to school, neither of us caught each other's eye but we didn't go up to say hello either. What am I getting at? Well I'm 'friends' with this person on Facebook but neither of us bothered saying hello. Are we all getting in to the habit of keeping in touch with people just for the sake of it, is it becoming harder to ditch people? OK I'm still getting no closer to telling you what I'm on about. There is a point. Says She's Ms. Blat are a two piece band from New York and they sing about not being good at keeping in touch and they're not sorry. I love the style they sing it in, it's half lazy, half a New York slur and whole lot of good.

Says She's Ms. Blat create a good sound with just keys and drums and are really worth checking out. I'll post two songs of theirs but you can download the entire album using their Bandcamp site which amusingly is "Says She's Ms. Blat 1" as if there is another band that got there first with the same name.

MP3: Not Sorry - Says She's Ms. Blat

MP3: So Long! (If I Had More Money!) - Says She's Ms. Blat

Oh and I'm no longer friends with that person on Facebook and it felt GOOOOOOOOOD!

Eels - New Album - End Times

It may feel like it's only two minutes since I was last writing about a new album but this is in fact a new album. I'm always wary of bands releasing double albums or two albums really close together, no one has that much talent, surely? I think it's too early to say from just a few listens but I would say that there's certainly some quality in there. The problem is I keep listening out for the Mr E's Beautiful Blues but Eels are a lot more sombre than that nowadays. I guess it's a bit like when I started listening to Elbow, I kept expecting them to be Doves but they don't quite rock in the same way. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Eels are the American Elbow.

I thought I'd post A Line In The Dirt from the new album, it has the most interesting lyrics for me, sometime interesting in their simplicity, sometimes they just draw you in, make you think.

MP3: A Line In The Dirt - Eels

Marina and the Diamonds - BBC Sound of 2010

I find it interesting how the BBC's "Sound Of..."works. They ask loads of people in and around the music scene who will make it big in the next year. Often there are obvious artists in there, they are signed to the top labels and sometimes you think they can't help but make it big with all the power and might that the large labels have. However it's always worth a look as there are usually a few lesser know artists on the smaller labels who, I for one, are not aware of. I'll be going through the list soon to see what gems are in there but one artist any regular reader of this blog will know is Marina and the Diamonds. Remember to treat everyone with respect on your way up luv...

MP3: I Am Not A Robot (acoustic) - Marina and the Diamonds

The Drums - BBC Sound of 2010

I've had four tracks by The Drums kicking about on my iTunes for a couple of months and so I knew the name instantly when I saw they'd been listed in the BBC's Sound of 2010. I haven't made my mind up about the band yet but I thought I'd tip you off about a free track they are offering through RCRDLBL.

My First CD - and I didn't even own a CD player...

My big sister's had a lot of influence over my music tastes when I was growing up and whatever music wafted out of her room soon got in my head. She soon got me in to a track by The Pale after Simon Mayo got behind the track on his breakfast show. I then asked my sister to get it me on cassette for my Birthday. The only problem was she couldn't find a copy anywhere and so bought me the CD version and got one of her friends to copy it on to tape for me. So the first CD I ever owned was The Pale's Dogs With No Tails. I'm sure you won't be surprised once you've heard the track that it had major success in Turkey after it was covered by a band over there.

MP3: Dogs With No Tails - The Pale

Album of the Decade - Is This It?

Schonberg sent out a message on Facebook asking for people's Album's of the Decade. I thought I'd post the results up here, I hope you find them interesting. Not one album featured in every list but The Strokes album Is This It? featured many times. We'd love to hear your albums of the decade, add yours as a comment, oh and don't cheat like Rich and include a re-release...

Terrance:

2000 - Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
2001 - Elbow - Asleep in the back
2002 - DJ Shadow - Private Press
2003 - White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
2005 - Kate Bush - Aerial (Very closely followed by Elbow "Leaders of the Free World")
2006 - Josh Ritter - The Animal Years
2007 - The National - Boxer
2008 - Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago (again tough call with Elbow "Seldom Seen Kid"- being a fan, but I'm keeping one eye on variety here)
2009 - Florence + The Machine - Lungs

James:

2000: PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
2001: The Strokes - Is This It
2002: Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
2003: Four Tet - Rounds
2004: Arcade Fire - Funeral
2005: LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
2006: TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
2007: LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
2008: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2009: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Mark:

2000 The Charlatans- Us And Us only.
2001 Spiritualized- Let It Come Down.
2002 The Music- The Music
2003 Spiritualized- Amazing Grace
2004 Ian Brown- Solarized.
2005 The Ravonettes- Pretty In Black.
2006 The Sunshine Underground- Raise The Alarm.
2007 Jamie T- Panic Prevention.
2008 Glasvegas- Glasvegas
2009 The Horrors- Primary Colours.

Rich:

2000 The Charlatans- Us And Us only.
2001 Spiritualized- Let It Come Down.
2002 The Music- The Music
2003 Spiritualized- Amazing Grace
2004 Ian Brown- Solarized.
2005 The Ravonettes- Pretty In Black.
2006 The Sunshine Underground- Raise The Alarm.
2007 Jamie T- Panic Prevention.
2008 Glasvegas- Glasvegas
2009 The Horrors- Primary Colours.

Andy:

2000 At The Drive In - Relationship of Command
2001 The Strokes - Is this It
2002 The Beggining Stages of... - The Polyphonic Spree
2003 Kings of Leon - Youth and Young manhood
2004 The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
2005 The Go Team! - Thunder Lightning Strike
2006 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever people say, that's what I'm not
2007 Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
2008 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2009 Florence and the Machine- Lungs

John:

2000 Coldplay- Parachutes
2001 Muse - Origin of Symmetry (makes it three different Muse albums to be picked, I think?)
2002 The Music - The Music (the Libertines came close...)
2003 Ray Lamontagne - Trouble
2004 The Killers - Hot Fuss (just beating Green Day and American Idiot)
2005 Arcade Fire - Funeral
2006 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever people say, that's what I'm not
2007 Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
2008 Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid
2009 Florence and the Machine- Lungs

Mine:

2000 Doves - Lost Souls
2001 The Strokes - Is This It
2002 Electric Soft Parade - Holes In The Wall
2003 Elbow - Cast of Thousands
2004 The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 Arcade Fire - Funeral
2006 Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
2007 The Pigeon Detectives - Wait For Me
2008 The Courteeners - St. Jude
2009 White Lies - To Lose My Life

Schonberg's

2000: Coldplay - Parachutes
2001: The Strokes - Is this it
2002: Interpol - Turn on the bright lights
2003: White Stripes - Elephant
2004: Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
2005: Editors - The back room
2006: Arctic Monkeys - Whatever people say, that's what I'm not
2007: The Cribs - Men's needs, women's needs, whatever
2008: Glasvegas - Glasvegas
2009: White Lies - To lose my life

Yours: