Here is the latest video clip fopr "King Rat" from the new Modest Mouse rarities EP, No One's First, and You're Next. It was directed by the late Heath Leadger and is a fantastic animated clip and a great song too. Ledger's first music video attempt was for Ben Harper's "Morning Yearning" which was also an excellent clip. Enjoy.
It's been a good year for music so far with plenty of excellent releases on the schedule for the next couple of months including newies from Eels, Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate), Placebo, Eskimo Joe, Kasabian, Phoenix, Lemonheads(cover album) and the debut album by Passion Pit. Here are the film clips for some of the tracks that I have been listening to lately. My favourite song at the moment is "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" by Bill Callahan from his great new album Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle but unfortunately there is no clip for this song as yet.
1. Silver Revolver 2. Home Sweet Home 3. White Rose parade 4. Jack Nimble 5. Big Jet Plane 6. Smoking Gun 7. Daisychain 8. The Wolf 9. Anna 10. Kings Black Magic 11. Dead Mans Train 12. Lady Sunshine
Lady of the Sunshine is a new project by Angus Stone, who's main gig is fronting the band Angus and Julia Stone with his equally talented sister. The first taste of the album, "White Rose Parade", features a heavier sound than I was expecting from the usually laid back singer songwriter and it is one of the best songs of the year so far. The album will be released on 3rd April 2009 and if "White Rose Parade" is any indication it should be a great album. Here is a statement by the man himself describing the new project:
"Hey..
I wanted to introduce you to ‘Lady Of The Sunshine’, a project I have been working on in the lab and the result is a new album ‘Smoking Gun’…
I’ve been skipping off in between tours for about a year now to shake my head of these songs. Every emotion in my head had its own voice and this album is what became of them.
Last year the old timer gave me his old telecaster which shot me a chance to move into a heavier sound & gave me the stones to get a bit more fired up. I tripped up to North QLD to record with ‘Finn’ (Govinda Doyle) who plays drums and bass on the record. We layed down the tracks in about 6 weeks throughout 2008, recording in an old water tank Finn had fixed up. Finn’s wife would cook supper for us and her new born baby whilst we worked till the young hours of dawn.
I guess the idea of this album was that there would be no idea of how it would come together as a whole. I wanted these songs to have their own emotions & create their own style. I enjoyed how the songs took on their own ride, most from the simplest of ideas.
I wanted to work on the artwork as we did the music. I was throwing ideas back n fourth with Caroline Pedler who did all the original canvas paintings for the album booklet and a little drawing of mine for Daisychain.
So… ‘Lady Of the Sunshine’… Peace.. Angus Stone"
Go to their My Space page for more information http://www.myspace.com/ladyofthesunshine
Here's a clip for the new song featuring some great surf footage and a couple of classics from Angus and Julia Stone.
MIchael Franti has just announced that he will be playing two intimate and acoustic shows in Melbourne before he heads to Byron Bay to play the 20th Bluesfest at easter. Franti is a frequent vistor to Australia and was here late 2008 for a series of raved about shows promoting his latest album All Rebel Rockers. Michael Franti & Spearhead blend funk, rock, hip-hop, reggae, dub and roots and their live shows create a party atmosphere with plenty of crowd involvement. The concert has been billed as Michael Franti with Friends so who knows who will join him on stage. His performance of "Sometimes" at Bluesfest 2003 had Xavier Rudd, Jack Johnson, G Love, John Butler, Sly and Robbie and Radioactive all joining in the fun and went for over 20 minutes. His 2003 acoustic album, "Songs From the Front Porch" is my favourite Franti album and catching the big bare-footed legend in acoustic mode is an event I will not miss again, after missing his acoustic show in Byron Bay 2003.
Tickets for this unique event go on sale from ticketek from Tuesday 10th March. The gigs will take place at the Prince of Wales, St Kilda on Sunday 5th April and Ferntree Gully Hotel on Tuesday 7th April. Tickets are only $44 and will likely sell out in no time.
The V Festival has just announced a 2nd round of acts that will be touring around Australia in March/April. The full lineup is:
The Killers / Snow Patrol / Kaiser Chiefs / Elbow / Madness / The Kills / The Do / The Human League / Duffy / M83 / Louis XIV / Tame Impala / The Temper Trap / Canyons / Jenny Lewis / Jackson Jackson / Howling Bells / Wolf & Cub / Children Collide.
Not as good as last year's lineup but given that the festival is run so well it is sure to be an excellent day all the same. I went to the Melbourne V Festival last year and was inpressed with the layout and being an Over 18 event means there are no designated drinking areas which makes a big difference. Elbow will be the band I will be looking forward to seeing the most. Their Mercury Prize winning album of last year The Seldom Seen Kid was their best to date. The dates for the Festival are below and for more details go to the official V Festival website.
http://www.vfestival.com.au
Centennial Park, Sydney, 28th Mar AVICA Resort, Gold Coast, 29th Mar Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne, 4th Apr Claremont Showgrounds, Perth, 5th Apr
Here are some tracks by Artists playing at V Fest this year.
This Friday 13th Febraury, Mat McHugh will be playing a solo gig at the awesome venue Ruby's Lounge. It's a great chance to see one of Australia's best singer songwriters play some songs from his debut solo album Seperatista!. It is the start of an intimate set of dates around Australia. See details below
Tune in to Triple J's Breakfast Shift this Friday morning at 7:45am to hear Mat play an original and a cover on Like a Version. For those who missed it, here is the audio of Mat McHugh live on JJJ having a chat with the Breakfast Shift and performing "The Bottle" from Seperatista! and a great cover of Yazoo's "Only You". Also the video from "Only You"
Mat McHugh (Beautiful Girls) + Cats Are Black Ruby's Lounge, VIC 1648 Burwood Highway, Belgrave 3160 Fri 13 Feb 08:00 PM $22 at Door
Its been a stunted start for Mat McHughs solo mission thanks to an untimely motor bike accident that left him bed ridden in the USA for a month. The injuries have healed, the tour has been rescheduled and Mat is ready to bring his solo project out into the live forum and so he announces his Seperatista! Australian Album Tour. Which brings us to SEPERATISTA!, a free-floating animal of rare sensitivity and grace, recorded with a band largely seconded from the Sydney jazz scene. Off-kilter drums, deep bass, horns, piano, organ, melodica and cello flesh out Mat's voice, acoustic guitar and occasional ukulele on an album rich in precious sonic details. $18+BF$22 at door.
Australian Tour Dates 12 Feb 2009 8:00 P The Toff in Town Melbourne, Victoria 13 Feb 2009 8:00 P Rubys Belgrave, Victoria 14 Feb 2009 6:00 P The Palais Hepburn Springs, Victoria 19 Feb 2009 9:00 P Settlers Tavern Margaret River, Western Australia 20 Feb 2009 8:00 P Fly By Night Fremantle, Western Australia 21 Feb 2009 6:30 P At The Beach Scarborough Scarborough, Western Australia 22 Feb 2009 7:00 P Speigeltent - Garden of Unearthly Adelaide, South Australia 1 Mar 2009 12:00 P Corinbank Festival Corinbank, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 5 Mar 2009 8:30 P The Zoo Brisbane, Queensland 6 Mar 2009 8:00 P Joe’s Waterhole Eumundi, Queensland 7 Mar 2009 6:00 P Quiky Pro-Show Tweed Heads, Queensland
Below is the clip for the excellent first single from Seperatista! "Darling, This Scene Must End".
Here are some cool live clips of Ben Harper with his new band Relenless 7 from a club in California called Spaceland in December last year. Hopefully they will play some extra shows around Australia when they come down in Easter to headline Bluesfest in Byron Bay. Their new album White Lies for Dark Times is due to be released on May 5th. Go to their My Space page to hear "Shimmer and Shine", the first taste of the new album as well as covers of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times, Bad Times" and Prince's "Purple Rain".
Here's a pretty cool track by Michael Franti & Spearhead called "Obama Song" . With Barack Obama officially becoming the leader of the free world today, it's a good time to check out this funky little track.
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