Stuck in the sound

Saw this on 'Boards forever ago, and am (still) eagerly awaiting their arrival stateside - never has being chased through the streets by a horny man-ma-tron seemed so appealing!



Olivier Babinet turns Parisian band Stuck in the Sound into action figures for this delightfully odd promo.

Tried to make me listen to soul music / I said no, no, no...

Though I love reading about her, I never actually wanted to listen to Amy Winehouse, or 'Wino' as she has appropriately been dubbed by the gossip blogs, knowing her not for her love of jazzy, bluesy soul fused with lyrics about contemporary life in London, but for her love of crack. Sweet, sweet crack. And also alcohol, cocaine, heroin and the horse tranquillizer ketamine.

So imagine my suprise when I heard "Rehab," the first track on her stateside debut, Back to Black, and was treated to the layered and lucious sound of a middle-aged black woman from Brooklyn belting the most smoldering soul music to every grace my iPod. What the hell? Winehouse has been hailed by Newsweek Magazine as "a cross between Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill", by the New York Daily News as "a marvelous debut that would do Etta James proud," and by New Yorker Magazine as "a fierce English performer whose voice combines the smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse with the heated passion of a soul singer." For once, all these critical accolades seem well-deserved, not just prime space filler for an advertisement.

Whether it's the brassy gospel of 'Rehab' ('Try to make me go to rehab/ I say no, no, no'), the achingly Spector-esque 'Back to Black,' (I love you much/It's not enough/You love blow and I love puff) or the hip hop infused 'Addicted' ( Tell your boyfriend next time he around/To buy his own weed and don't wear my shit down), I really liked this album, with it's time-twisted mix of retro sound and modern lyrics - which, though I didn't make mention of them, also touch on love, loss and other things that will drive a girl to drugs & drink. She's a sinking ship, for sure, but the band is playing some great music on the way down.

Back to Black is actually Winehouse's second album. Frank, her first album, was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and earned her nominations for two Brit awards with risque tracks like 'Fuck Me Pumps' - a title which has also assured it a place on my lala.com list.

Ve can't vait to visten to vis band

Courtesy of Lauren spending some down time (translation: work hours) peeking into CrownDozen's windows - they sum it up nicely, saying "Turquoise Izod, collar up, peg legged jeans, sun at your back in Kenya, fake pointy teeth just for giggles. Strummy, Strummy. Jang, Jang. Skank.

This is the first single from Vampire Weekend's eponymous debut album on XL due out on Jan 29, 2008. The video was directed by the Hammer & Tongs guys (Blur, Pulp, R.E.M. and Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy). We can't wait for Lauren to get it, listen to it and review it so we know whether it's worth the buy!

There's a bun in my musical oven!

Juno the movie was gentle and moving, and the same can be said of Juno the soundtrack, which stands on its own as a nice folk-centric album for people who don't really like folk. Kimya Dawson, formerly of the Moldy Peaches (also featured on the soundtrack), contributes heavily but there are also some great oldies from the Kinks, Buddy Holly and Mott the Hoople. This is a nice kick in the sonic ass, breaking up an otherwise acoustic heavy soundtrack with some much needed rawk, but classic rawk so as not to loose any indie cred. I don't think I would have been interested in the soundtrack if I hadn't seen the movie first, as there's a lot of love spilling over from the film - certain songs remind me of certain scenes, especially the last track featuring both Ellen Page and Michael Cera. As the credits started to roll and we exited the theater, Lauren was on one side saying how great the songs were and Jeff was on the other saying how annoying, so see the film first and decide for yourself.

Album Selection to come.

This blog will give a variety of opinions on different kinds of music - what will be the lucky first album??