Mr. White vs. Mr. Aparo

In a comment earlier this week Chris compared Pete White to Angie Aparo. For some reason I've never thought of this, but after I've listened to Once Upon A Time I think it's pretty evident why Chris posted this comment! Once Upon...is a new (?) track recorded by Pete White with the assistance of Steve Austin (under the alias Austin/White). Might be a chance/risk that it IS Steve Austin who's singing on this track, which could explain why I've never noticed this very obvious resemblance in their voices? Oh well. Listen to the two songs below and judge for yourself!
+ Once Upon A Time
+ Wonderland (found at this not-so-official Angie Aparo profile)

Mixed Bag (recommended by J.A.) - Part II

As promised yesterday. Part two of the recent recommendations from J.A.

I've mentioned Hybrasil before (originally recommended by Rodolfo I think) and the band has uploaded 3 new tracks to Myspace. Yesterday all of them were available as free downloads, but unfortunately this has changed overnight to just one track. Still a very interesting indie pop band (add the usual electronic twist) with a knack for writing catchy tunes.
+ Run Forever

I also believe that I mentioned indie pop/rock band Santa Dog in this blog a long, long time ago. The title track from last year's EP Chemical is pretty good and available for free. Two more (and very good) songs can be found here.
+ Chemical

The first EP (released last year) by alternative Canadian rock band The Mission District can be downloaded for free from the band's webpage. Some Britpop inspiration in this stuff.
+ All I Ever Wanted

Last band in this round is Lolita Bras from N.Y. The only one song available is called Her Own Conversation, and it's a nice alternative rock track.
+ Her Own Conversation

Mixed Bag (recommended by J.A.)

Sometimes I cannot help wondering what Spanish reader José Antonio (in the future he'll be referred to as J.A.) is doing for a living, because he seems to have all the time in the world on his hands searching for new music!

Last week I received a lengthy email from J.A. in which he recommended several artists. I cannot say that I like all of the songs he (or other readers) in general recommends, but that particular mail was a real "winner". Lots and lots of good stuff in it, so join the trip and enjoy some of his recent findings!

Bobby Baby (what a horrible name) is a 22 years old Swedish girl writing indie pop music (with an electronic twist) and luckily her songwriting skills are a whole lot better than her band/artist naming skills! A few more tracks than the two great ones below can be downloaded from her webpage.
+ In Ten Years From Now
+ Lucky Moments

Apparently Kid Solo isn't really a band, but instead a page, where demos/sketches for future Veto Silver songs are posted. The two tracks below are danceable electro pop ones, which definitely should end up being recorded by the "big band".
+ Love The Way (Myspace quality (m.q.) or rather lack of quality)
+ Drug For My Money (m.q.)

Clear Static from L.A. is another one of those bands who have spent quite some time listening to a few 80's records. Sounds like a mix of The Bravery and The Killers, which should be all the description you need to know exactly what to expect. Lots of bands sounding like this these days, but not all of them write catchy songs like Out Of Control!
+ Out Of Control (m.q.)

I'll post part two of this post tomorrow..........

I just don't get it......

On the radio this morning I heard a song called Rudebox by a completely useless, no talented jackass called Robbie Williams. And the past few hours these two questions have been plaguing me. Why? WHY? Why do they give something this bad airplay on the radio? And why was he allowed to record the song (or any other song for that matter) in the first place?
Imagine a new and unknown band sending this as a demo song to a record company. How many days do you think it would take before the A&R's stopped laughing, so they could ask them if they seriously believed that anyone would listen to this garbage?
We are so scaringly close to The Emperor's New Clothes that it's almost insane. A few people tell us that he's wearing the finest of clothes, though all of us can (or at least most of us should be able to) see that he's butt naked....but no one dares saying anything!

I hate (it's a strong word I know!) Robbie Williams. But I hate even more the big fraud going on that has lead so many people to believe that his albums, concerts, merchandise etc. are worth their money!

Come out and take the step back to me.......

If you're observant you'll notice that I've added The Step by Anamia to the list of my current favorites (in the right column). It's difficult picking just one of the new tracks, but this one is the least noisy and most heartfelt of the 5 new ones. To cut a long story short; Music doesn't get more beautiful than this!

In the mailbox this morning I found a link for the 9 minute long single Come Out (etc.) by Norwegian band 120 Days. Spoofing everything from Kraftwerk to Primal Scream it's a cool danceable track.
+ Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)

Another one from the mailbox is the terrific Back To Me by US indie pop band The Positions. I agree with the press info that fans of Camera Obscura will (they really should) appreciate this one!
+ Back To Me

Two new (or old? - I'm not sure, because that dude is really productive) tracks by my favorite singer/songwriter Pete White are available for download. Check him out and be prepared to listen to the most amazing voice!
+ Hand Signals
+ When You Go From My Door

Go here if you want to download the new Depeche Mode track (Martyr).

Anamia - The Final Version...

I somehow find it very difficult writing my personal thoughts on the new CD An Extraordinary New Fitness Product by Anamia. As some of you may recall, I meet the 4 guys from the band during my summer holiday and found them to be really friendly lads. So if I write something too positive, people will probably start thinking that I’m biased, which I’m always trying NOT to be. But feel free to think whatever you like (which you obviously will do, no matter what I say!).
The first 5 tracks (out of 13) on the CD are the new recordings from July, and the remaining 8 tracks are re-mastered versions of older ones. The new tracks take the band (as expected) in a new and noisier direction, and none of the songs are as immediately catchy as some of the older tracks (e.g. Butterfly in Paris). Michael of the band told me back then that he got some inspiration from bands like Sonic Youth and Traening, but (though I might be dead-wrong here) I do hear some (actually quite a lot) Mew in it as well!
So be prepared that it will require some work getting into the new songs, but if you’re ready to invest a little time, I’m certain you won’t regret it, because they are truly fabulous.
My only complaint (but also another reason for making this such a difficult post to write) is the length of the CD. I love the new tracks and I still very much enjoy the older ones. But in all honesty, I just don’t think they belong on the same CD. I fully understand that Anamia wants to showcase to the world what they are capable of, but when I listen to Fitness Product, I always get the feeling that a new (and quite different) album starts following the 5th track. Instead I’m sadly left with the feeling that with more time and money (?) on their hands; these guys could have recorded a few more songs, which a long with the 5 new tracks would have given us nothing but a fantastic album.
But! Despite leaving me starving for more An Extraordinary New Fitness Product is indeed an “extraordinary” compilation of songs, which deserves to catch the eyes and ears of the world!
+ Talk is cheap
+ Death of the chain-smoking man
+ As I walk into the fight
+ Waiting for moonlight
+ The Step

Anamia - The short version...

All songs from the new Anamia album An Extraordinary New Fitness Product are now available as free downloads at the band's wepage. I hope to find the time to write "the longer version" tomorrow. But for now I've posted a few "appetizers" below!
+ As I walk into the fight
+ The step

Oh my....it's Monday again.....

I have a rather busy day ahead of me, so I won't have much time for posting today. But here are a few shorties:

Chris is back! And so is Pastries......!

Links for two new blogs have been added:
- #1 Hits From Another Planet
- The Devil Has The Best Tuna

Torr is giving away a deck of Kasbian playing cards. Guess the number of copies Empire will sell in the US in its first week of release.

Todd Stadtman has posted a new demo at Myspace and would love to hear your thoughts!
+ Rani Rani Demo

I've just ordered the new EP If there is silence fill it with longing by Swedish dreampop/shoegaze band Mixtapes And Cellmates. If you're a fan of the sound on the debut album Lesser Matters by fellow Swedes The Radio Dept., you'll definitely love this. Download two older tracks below or the 5 tracks Longing remixed EP.
+ Longing Remixed EP (zip file)
+ Static, Oh Static
+ A: Pavement B: Home
+ Why won't you talk about it? (The Radio Dept.)

Saturday Evening......

Summing up what has happened today:

We had brunch at our favorite café this morning

I bought a few CD's (6 to be accurate) at my favorite music store.

We went for a nice afternoon stroll at the local castle.

We watched the first episode of Matador on TV. I know it's a rerun (probably for the billionth time), but still worth watching.

I received two CD's and a t-shirt in the mail this morning.

The First CD was An Extraordinary New Fitness Product by Anamia. Much welcomed as I now finally get the opportunity to hear the final versions of the songs, I heard in the studio a couple of months back. The new tracks will soon be available for download and I'll add my comments on the album by then.

The t-shirt and the second CD (Crash) were by Ether Aura. The Logo T-Shirt (click the picture and see for yourself) is awesome.

And the winner is.....

There weren't that many entries in The Charlie Don't Surf contest, which surprises me a bit, because I do think that the EP is very good. Hopefully the winners will agree? And the lucky winners are Mr. Molina from Spain and Mr. Schallgrenzen from Germany. So please mail me your home addresses and I'll ship the EP to you guys as quickly as possible.