Sugarcubes reunite !!

The mighty beautiful and wonderful weird Sugarcubes are set to reunite for the first time since 1992.

This is the offical press release from Bjork site.

"Nearly 20 years ago The Sugarcubes put out on their own label Smekkleysa SM, their first single Birthday. This release was the start to the splendid career of The Sugarcubes, and impressive releases of Icelandic artists in Iceland and abroad alike. These first steps made by The Sugarcubes have made and everlasting impact and influence on the Icelandic export of music.

It is therefor with unbound joy we announce the 20th anniversary concert of Birthday and The Sugarcubes in Reykjavik on the 17th of November. The Sugarcubes will take to the stage for the first time in 14 years.

All profit from the concert goes back into Smekkleysa SM who will continue to work on a non-profit basis for the future betterment of Icelandic music and artists.

World domination or death! yes thank you!"

Here is a little bit of Bjork and the band to remind you of why they are so special:

Joy Division Live

This is some amazing footage of Joy Division live and on fire.

Its starts against a dirty looking back drop, all muddy browns and greys, flock wallpaper and shadows. The music starts with a crack of a snare, a motor beat, Can relocated to the dark back rooms of Manchester. The bass rumbles with melody, the guitar rips out sheets of noise and barbwire riffs. The singer voice a low, heavy in tone, short hair a purple shirt. He holds the stage recites his words, grip the mike stand like a crutch. After 40 seconds he releases his grip on the mike, a look to the left and then the right, his head jerking and then comes the release. Like a boxer on strong speed, a fly trapped in a neon light, his arms flaying around, his eyes closed lost in the moment, free in the noise and fire. It’s brief and the camera cuts away, the shadows falling onto Peter Hook the bass player. Ian Curtis is driven by his demons or is he trying to drive them away. The power in this brief performance is mesmerising, terrorizing and immensely powerful. If you have ever wondered why Joy Division are held in such high esteem than sit back and watch this.



This video is taken from The Factory Flick (Factory FAC 9 1979)
This is an 8mm film premiered at the Scala Cinema, London, on September 13 1979, comprising:
1. No City Fun - Joy Division (12 min)
2. All Night Party - A Certain Ratio (3 min)
3. Red Dress - Ludus (3 min)
4. Joy Division (17 min)
No City Fun, filmed by Charles Salem, was based on Liz Naylor's article in Manchester City's City Fun fanzine and features music from Unknown Pleasures.
Joy Division is a film by Malcolm Whitehead that includes Unknown Pleasures rehearsals at T J Davidson's studio, an interview with Joy Division's manager Rob Gretton recorded March 23 1979, and three songs performed at Bowdon Vale Youth Club on March 14 1979.

Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy Review

The sound that The Jesus and Mary created was famously described as like hearing a chainsaw in a hurricane. It¹s a barbwire kiss. It¹s a nightmare of static and honey. Based around the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid their debut LP still sounds as raw, electrifying and chaotic as it did in 1985. This is pop music eviscerated. Beautiful melodies debased by screaming feedback. Classic chord progression burnt and buried beneath sheets of shrill white noise. Pop toyed with and tarnished.Psychocandy is the perfect title for this collection of dazzling melodies haunted by the ghost of the Velvet Underground. The band exploded onto the indie scene in the UK in 1984-85.Their harsh black leather take on the outside stance offering stark relief to the fey strumming that dominated at the time. Bathed in a dissolute wasp nest of feedback these where howls of romantic nihilism. Simple, short, brutal exercises in the art of the classic pop single. This is Phil Spector¹s wall of sound bashed out by John Cale and Iggy Pop.From the opening scream of Just Like Honey the Reid brothers drop nothing but classic track after classic track. The basic reverb drenched drumming is provided by Bobby Gillespie. His lack of technical ability amplifies the beautiful naivety of the songs. It¹s the battle between the sonic battering and the sweetness of the music that gives the material it¹s power. These are dark places, dank with desperation but brisling with aggression and strident song writing. Anyone with a faint interest in the glory of guitar music should own this record already. If you don¹t have a copy and you love your music loud, difficult and loaded with attitude then buy this album. Revel in its beautiful chaos

Venus Bogardus

The Venus Bogardus are a something special. When a bands bio is not constructed out of lame cliché after leather trousered cliché but reads like a university critical studies reading list then you know this is different. The bio starts..riot grrl, dada, modernism, absurdism, surrealism, secession, romanticism, gothic...now that something to make you take notice. Add treated guitars, noise and poise a riot grrl drummer and lashing of artful arrogance and you have something akin to sweet perfection.

Is it me or are the terms of glamorous indie rock n roll seemly becoming more restricted by the hour? Didn’t indie once mean independent of sprit, independent of thought, independent of sound? Well it now means skinny boys in Pete Dochery hats singing bad poetry over punk skiffle. What a relief to find sprit, noise, thought and rigour applied to the form.

This the no-wave jamming with classic pop harmonies. The Jesus and Mary Chain if they owed a book shop instead of living on the dole. Art, noise, heavens above something to write home about.

http://www.myspace.com/venusbogardus

http://www.venusbogardus.com/index.html

17 Seconds A Music Blog

Have been trawling through the blog sphere and found this wonderful music blog.
Written with passion, style and elan its a great place to go a read someone writting well about music that moves them.

A Scotmans living in Edinburgh, Ed has a fine way with words and great taste in music. There are reviews of new releases, video links and other gems awaiting you.

Whats keeping you go see:

http://www17seconds.blogspot.com/

Mark Eitzel and All The Lost Anchors of the Pacific

Eitzel new band, play music with spooky harmonies and new twist on his old sound. The band features Dan and Jan Carr and Kristin Sobditch. The wonder indiefolkforever have stuck up a couple of tracks from last weeks live debut.

The tracks are All The Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco and Spinning.
Both tracks see Mark in fine form cracking jokes with the crowd.
To hear them go here:

http://indiefolkforever.blogspot.com/

Arab Strap Split

Arab Strap Split

It looks as if those Scottish masters of the miserable and mundane, the mighty Arab Strap have called last orders on their career. I will miss their ability to turn the prosaic into poetic. The stark, often brutal and always honest lyrical approach was something highly original and groundbreaking. Moffat’s revelations on the darker side of desire and the language used where a break from the standard indie issue song writing of the day. The glimpses beneath the filthy bed sheets, the cum stains and come downs broke new ground. If the likes of Pulp alluded to the world of readers wives and affairs Arab Strap documented it without irony or glamour. I for one will miss them.

Ten years on from the release of “The First Big Weekend of The Summer” they have drowned the dregs of their pint glasses for the last time.

A statement on the bands website states:

“There’s no animosity, no drama, we simply feel we’ve run our course and The Last Romance seems to us the most obvious and logical final act of the Arab Strap studio adventure.”

The duo of Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton are now set to focus on their solo careers.


Arab Strap Split

Some cool music blogs

Some cool music blogs I have found digging around the blogsphere:

Indie Don't Dance
Kids Vinyl
Burning Oak
Rawk Blog

The Mercury Music Prize

My Thoughts on The Mercury’s:

So the Artic Monkeys drunkenly stumbled off with the Mercury Music prize 2006.
Well this is my take on it

(1) The Artic Monkeys where worthy winners (that makes two years in a row for me)
(2) Again I didn’t get to the bookies so lost out on circa £50
(3) Scritti Polliti where great and I have now gone out and bought the record
(4) Richard Hawley seems a lovely bloke but I am glad it didn’t win as Coles Corner could have been written in 1956. ( I am huge fan of it by the way)
(5) The Guillemots looked like a cross between the Grateful Dead and The Art Ensemble of Chicago.
(6) Thom Yorke (YAWN)
(7) Why didn’t Lou Rhodes perform live?
(8) My those Artic Monkeys are young
(9) Why was Jo Whiley pressuring them to give the money away- had seen given her fee to charity one wonders
Since they gave the award to M People they seem to just ignore pop music? Why?
(10) Mark Lanegan is a very scary man.