Made-Up Blog #43

23: Track Review: Wavves

2009-01-16T20:04:00.006Z

WAVVES
SO BORED

The blogs I've seen that have been hyping up Wavves have all had different things to say. Noise pop, surf rock, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine. Of course, anything that is compared to My Bloody Valentine at all is worth checking out in my book. If "So Bored" does bring MBV to mind, it's the MBV that brought out the "You Made Me Realise" EP, and "Isn't Anything", and it definitely isn't anything like "Loveless", which is kind of a good thing - for me, nobody will be able to make music like "Loveless" again, including My Bloody Valentine.

But anyway, back to Wavves. This song is surrounded by a fuzz which at first seems like irritatingly poor sound quality, but then you realise you should look past that. Bands like Guided By Voices, and to pick a more recent example, No Age, use lo-fi to great effect, and the fuzz definitely enhances the music; you have to listen harder to hear the hooks. Most of the time, they're worth the effort.

The main vocals, provided by Nathan Williams (who pretty much IS Wavves, in the studio anyway), are perfectly complimented by a female's 'Oh's, which make for the greatest hook of the song.

For a song in which the review namechecked MBV, GBV and No Age, this is probably a bit of a disappointment in comparison. However, "So Bored" is possibly one of the funnest songs about boredom I've ever heard! A very respectable 7 out of 10, which I might even bump this up to 8 in the future, depending how much it grows on me!

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Wavves - So Bored (MP3)

22: Track Review: Heartsrevolution

2009-01-15T19:53:00.010Z

HEARTSREVOLUTION
ULTRAVIOLENCE

Two words will probably come to mind when listening to "Ultraviolence":

1. Crystal
2. Castles

They're an electronic duo. One boy. One girl. Distorted vocals. But strangely that's most of the similarities they share. I think that, if it wasn't for the use of distorted vocals in this song, Heartsrevolution would only of had half as many comparisons to Crystal Castles. And I think that this song genuinely would work better without distorted vocals.

Whereas the distorted vocals in some of CC's greatest songs, such as "Alice Practice", punctuate the 8-bit electro brilliantly and fit right into the mix, in "Ultraviolence" the vocals seem out of place. The more technologically advanced, precise, electronica that Heartsrevolution produce isn't as fun or downright crazy as anything Crystal Castles have done, but if Heartsrevolution were to replace the vocals with something cleaner and smoother, "Ultraviolence" could be a great song in its own right.

This song shows that Heartsrevolution have some promise. But hopefully, they will, instead of attempting to retread the path Crystal Castles took last year, try to concentrate more on making good music. Could be one to watch in 2009.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

^ HEARTSREVOLUTION - Ultraviolence (Vitalic Remix)

Heartsrevolution - Ultraviolence (MP3)

21: Album Review: Her Space Holiday

2009-01-13T11:35:00.009Z

HER SPACE HOLIDAY
XOXO, PANDA & THE NEW KID REVIVAL

Whereas Her Space Holiday, aka Marc Bianchi, used to specialise in indietronic music about how upsetting the world was, his latest album, 2008's "XOXO, Panda & The New Kid Revival", focuses on more folky, twee songs.

"XOXO..." isn't a bad record. It's just that the majority of it is overshadowed by either a lack of anything interesting, or the presence of something irritating. The album starts relatively well with the introduction of "The New Kid Revival", which at first seems as if it may grow into one of the better songs from I'm From Barcelona's "Let Me Introduce You To My Friends" - all handclaps and "la"s, while Bianchi ensures us "You've got your pen and pencil / I'm in a paper train". But it's all downhill from there. The chorus, "Let's start the New Kid Revival / We'll make it up as we go along / And if they tell us that we're doing it wrong / We'll just turn up the sound of the song" could of belonged to a great song, but Bianchi makes it seem dull; definitely not the kind of man who would lead a revival of any sort.

The album's second song, "The Truth Hurts So This Should Be Painless" is a step up from "The New Kid Revival", but there is still irritating moments. The best part of "The Truth,,," is the first half of the chorus. "Which side are you on my friend / Which side are you on?. Oddly, the most annoying part of the song is the second half of the chorus: "Just another lonely evening / What a way to spend a Saturday night". It sounds out of place in relation to the rest of the song; the chords seem awkward.

"The Boys And Girls", is undoubtedly a stand-out track. The track begins with a acoustic guitar, and gentle vocals. This is Bianchi's voice at its best; what makes "XOXO..." irritating on the whole is his happy-chorus-type-vocals, which unfortunately make up a large part of the album. The track nearly falls prey to this nearer to the end of the song with an annoying "Tralala lalalalala" but luckily the backing vocals, a calming "Ba ba ba bada ba ba ba dum", makes up for it.

FAVOURITE SONGS: "The Truth Hurts So This Should Be Painless", "The Boys And Girls", "Four Tapping Shoes And A Kiss"

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

^ HER SPACE HOLIDAY - The New Kid Revival

Her Space Holiday - The Boys And Girls (MP3)

20: Single Ladies Remixes

2009-01-13T11:13:00.007Z

BEYONCE - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) + Remixes

Here's Beyonce's much-loved single, "Single Ladies", with some pretty cool remixes too. My favourite remix is probably the We Love Musik one - although it doesn't sound as polished as the other two it has a lot of different ideas.

Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Brad Walsh Remix)

Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Siik Remix)

Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (We Love Musik Remix)

19: Ultimate-Blog-Album-List-of-2008!

2009-01-12T18:37:00.000Z

Here is the Made-Up Blog #43 Ultimate-Blog-Album-List-of-2008! We looked at as many blogs' best of lists as possible, and created this: the ultimate list. If anybody has any arguments, you shouldn't have! After all, it was chosen by YOU!
-----
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
3. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
5. Portishead - Third
6. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
7. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
8. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
9. The Walkmen - You & Me
10. Santogold - Santogold
-----
11. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
12. M83 - Saturday=Youth
13. Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
14. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
15. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
16. Deerhunter - Microcastle / Weird Era Cont.
17. Why? - Alopecia
18. Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
19. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
20. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
21. No Age - Nouns
22. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
23. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
24. She & Him - Volume One
25. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
-----
26. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
27. Department Of Eagles - In Ear Park
28. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
29. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
30. Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreaks
31. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
32. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
33. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
34. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
35. Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life
36. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creations Dark
37. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
38. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
39. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
40. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
41. R.E.M. - Accelerate
42. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster…
43. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
44. The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely
45. Torche - Meanderthal
46. Beach House - Devotion
47. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
48. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
49. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
50. Thao - We Brave Bee Stings And All

^Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

^ Lykke Li - Breaking It Up

^ No Age - Eraser

^ Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes

^ Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

18: My Favourite Albums of 2008

2009-01-11T16:43:00.002Z

25. SHE & HIM - Volume One

24. ELBOW - The Seldom Seen Kid

23. SIGUR ROS - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

22. GRAND ARCHIVES - The Grand Archives

21. The HOLD STEADY - Stay Positive

20. GUILLEMOTS - Red

19. CSS - Donkey

18. TV ON THE RADIO - Dear Science

17. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

16. CRYSTAL CASTLES - Crystal Castles

15. ELLE MILANO - Acres Of Dead Space Cadets

14. FORWARD, RUSSIA! - Life Processes

13. NIZLOPI - Make It Happen

12. GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY - Searching For The Hows & Whys

11. CUT COPY - In Ghost Colours

10. DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into

9. The ENVY CORPS - Dwell

8. HOT CLUB DE PARIS - Live At Dead Lake

7. SANTOGOLD - Santogold

6. VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Vampire Weekend

5. LYKKE LI - Youth Novels

4. MYSTERY JETS - Twenty One

3. LOS CAMPESINOS! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

2. LOS CAMPESINOS! - Hold On Now, Youngster...

1. JOHNNY FOREIGNER - Waited Up Til It Was Light

17: My Favourite Albums of 2008: Honourable Mentions and Disappointing Albums

2009-01-05T15:07:00.020Z

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

BE YOUR OWN PET - Get Awkward

BLITZEN TRAPPER - Furr

BLOOD RED SHOES - Box Of Secrets

BON IVER - For Emma, Forever Ago

FLEET FOXES - Fleet Foxes

The GASLIGHT ANTHEM - The '59 Sound

HOT CHIP - Made In The Dark

M83 - Saturdays=Youth

The METROS - More Money Less Grief

NEON NEON - Stainless Style

NO AGE - Nouns

WOLF PARADE - At Mount Zoomer

DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS

These are not the albums I think were the worst albums of the year, they are albums that I was personally quite disappointed with:

BLOC PARTY - Intimacy

I highly doubt I'm the only one who was disappointed in "Intimacy". After loving Bloc Party's debut album, "Silent Alarm" to bits, I was slightly disappointed in "A Weekend In The City". Only slightly though, the first half of the album was still great, even if it wasn't up to the standards of "Silent Alarm". I hoped, that having dealed with the difficulty of making a good sophomore album relatively well, that they would return with an album as good as "Silent Alarm" this year. They didn't.

"Intimacy" was a brave move for Bloc Party, as it saw a dramatic change in their sound. But they obviously didn't know the basic rule of music - don't change your sound unless you know how to do it properly. Otherwise, instead of making "Kid A" you'll end up with something like this. Bloc Party, please try and get your act together for album number four.

DAN LeSAC vs SCROOBIUS PIP - Angles

"Angles" was, unfairly, ripped to pieces by Pitchfork when they reviewed the album (they gave it 0.2 / 10). As I never take notice of Pitchfork's negative reviews, I decided to buy the album on the strength of the few tracks I knew. Unfortunately, the majority of the album was a waste of time.

There were many songs I liked, such as "Beat That My Heart Skipped" and "Look For The Woman", and one I even loved ("Letter From God To Man"), but most I found dull and irritating. The most obvious example of this is "Fixed", a song that explains how hip hop is broken and Dan LeSac and Scroobius Pip are here to fix it for us. By sampling Dizzee Rascal. Then saying he isn't making music properly. Unlike them.

I didn't really like "Fixed" in the first place, but this arrogance just made it unlistenable for me. Anybody could tell that Dizzee Rascal has a lot more talent and promise than Scroobius Pip, and even if hip hop were broken, this would certainly not be the album to fix it. Look at "Thou Shalt Always Kill": not a bad song in itself, definitely one of the best on the album, but it's a novelty song. And the future for hip hop is not in novelty songs. "The Magician's Assistant" starts with a simple melody, which sounds like it will evolve and grow throughout the song, when in fact it just meanders, not really going anywhere until it is hacked to pieces by Dan LeSac.

I guess the thing that disappointed me most about "Angles" was how Dan LeSac and Scroobius Pip seem to be looking down on everyone (listeners included), and placing themselves on a stupidly high pedestal. And this, at times, tends to overshadow the music. If they concentrated on making a great album, they could do. Just grow up, boys.

^ DAN LeSAC vs SCROOBIUS PIP - Letter From God To Man

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why

Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

M83 - Graveyard Girl

No Age - Eraser

16: My Favourite Tracks of 2008: #1-#10

2009-01-03T22:04:00.021Z

Before we start the top ten countdown, here's a few songs that might've made it onto the list if I'd heard them in time, or hadn't forgotten about them: BLOOD RED SHOES - It's Getting Boring By The Sea, The GASLIGHT ANTHEM - The '59 Sound, The HOLD STEADY - Sequestered In Memphis, M83 - Graveyard Girl, SHE & HIM - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here.

#10: DAN LeSAC vs SCROOBIUS PIP - Letter To God From Man

Great song from a largely disappointing album. Any song that samples Radiohead gets my vote. Any poetic song that cleverly describes how humans are destroying the planet AND samples Radiohead is easily in my top ten.

#9: MGMT - Time To Pretend

Just crazy. I've seen so many blogs saying both this song and its video make them want to start taking drugs. I don't quite feel THAT strongly about its brilliance, but I still think it's damn good.

#8: HOT CLUB DE PARIS - Hey! Housebrick

One of my favourite songs from one of my favourite bands - this is noticeably more poppy than their older stuff, definitely the song to download if you want to look into them. Which you really should do.

#7: ELLE MILANO - Laughing All The Way To The Plank

Elle Milano isn't the latest of the thousands of female singer-songwriter, though the name sounds like it should be, it's a band. From Brighton. But let's not hold that against them! LATWTTP (I couldn't be bothered to write it all out again) (even though I've spent more time explaining it now...) is outrageously catchy. As in, after I first heard it I immediately had to find it on the internet, listen to it over and over again, then go and buy the CD as quickly as possible. And it weren't cheap either! Still worth it though.

#6: LYKKE LI - Breaking It Up

The first Lykke Li song I heard. Originally I hated it. I thought it was dull, and odd of the worst kind. Then it started to grow on me a bit, and a bit more, and a bit more...and now it's narrowly missed out on being in my top 5 tracks of the year! It just goes to show sometimes it's worth listening to things a few times rather than just the one.

#5: SIGUR ROS - Gobbledigook

Judging by their standards, any Sigur Ros single is going to be amazing, but this is one of my favourite singles of theirs. Top 3 I'd say, along with "Hoppipolla" and "Svefn-g-englar". I love the fact that Sigur Ros made a song so radically different that still sounds like them, and on top of all, is still just as, if not more, brilliant.

#4: NIZLOPI featuring IDMC Choir - Start Beginning

I would be very surprised if anyone reading this blog had heard of Nizlopi. Well, perhaps there'll be British readers who can remember their one-hit wonder "JCB Song", but apart from that, I doubt it. You really should've heard of them though! "Start Beginning" is one of the most uplifting songs of the year, and I recommend getting hold of it anyway possible! Or alternatively, just watch the video at the bottom!

#3: JOHNNY FOREIGNER - Our Bipolar Friends

Lead single from their amazing debut album, "Waited Up Til It Was Light". I don't really know what to say about this, apart from that it's good. Really good. Really really good. Just listen to it.

#2: LOS CAMPESINOS! - Death To Los Campesinos!

It was difficult choosing my favourite Los Campesinos! song. Two great albums in a year. That doesn't happen very often! Eventually, I decided on this one. Any song that includes lines about making excuses like "I wasn't trying to steal / I'm just swimming in copper / To smell and pretend like a robot" when found stealing are automatically awesome. No doubt about it. I still prefer the demo version though - it might be a bit messier than the album version and at times the vocals slip out of key, but the "ayayayayayaaaa" bit at the end always makes me smile.

And now for the number one...

#1: SANTOGOLD - Lights Out

Strangely, I haven't seen any Santogold song topping any other blog's end of 2008 lists, for either songs or album. I know most people prefer "L.E.S. Artistes" to this song, and I can see why: L.E.S. Artistes is an amazing song. But I could only put one Santogold song here. And I prefer this one.

The odd thing about this song is the first time I heard it I immediately recognised it. Not the way you recognise a song that's been in an advert on TV, or the way you recognise a song you may have heard once before, the way that you recognise a song you already love. And I grew to love it. REALLY love it. More than any other song this year in fact!

Elle Milano - Laughing All The Way To The Plank
Lykke Li - Breaking It Up
Santogold - Lights Out
Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

15: My Favourite Tracks of 2008: #11-#20

2009-01-02T15:23:00.016Z

#20: BE YOUR OWN PET - Becky

I'm sure most people know the story to this song - this and a few others were removed from Be Your Own Pet's US release of "Get Awkward" (their second, and final, studio album) for being too violent. Which was a shame because it was the best song on the album. Then they realised how good it was, and released these songs as an EP. And everyone,well, a lot of people, then heard "Becky", and thought it was a brilliant song. One of the clever things about this song is how cheery the melodies are, despite the fact that the song is about stabbing up your ex-best friend and getting done for murder.

#19: The ENVY CORPS - Story Problems

One of the greatest sing-a-long songs of the year.

#18: DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? - Dawn Of The Dead

Despite having a really quite silly name, Does It Offend You, Yeah? are actually quite good. This, the best song from their debut album (take a deep breath before you say this) "You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into", was unlike anything else DIOYY had ever done. Far from the vocoder-based songs or instrumentals about giant lesbian octopuses (no, I'm not joking), "Dawn Of The Dead" is more new-wave than anything else. But it's all the better for it.

#17: PHARRELL WILLIAMS, JULIAN CASABLANCAS & SANTOGOLD - My Drive Thru

OK, so it isn't as amazing as it could've been, but it's still an awesome song. Santogold takes this song from being good to great.

#16: ADELE - Hometown Glory

I really don't like Adele's music. Apart from this song. "Chasing Pavements", "Cold Shoulder", all her other singles just irritate me. This song, however, I love. Even though I didn't want to. While it failed to match "Chasing Pavements" enormous success in the UK, it proved that Adele didn't just make pop songs that could sell well, she could make emotional songs that actually mean something to the listener. With little more than a few piano chords and her voice. And lyrically, it was miles ahead of "Chasing Pavements". Best line: "I love it in the city when two worlds collide / You've got the people and the government / Everybody taking different sides"

#15: M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Yes, "Kala" was released in 2007, but "Paper Planes" was released as a single in 2008, and became a surprisingly big commercial success. "Paper Planes" took the brilliant quirkiness that M.I.A. is associated with and channelled it into creating a great pop song, that still managed to be different to everything else on the charts. Which other pop song in 2008 had gunshots accompanying the chorus? Umm. None. Now she can be seen not only as a highly critically acclaimed artist, but one that can obviously crossover into the mainstream if she wants - and do well. And judging by the lyrics, she hoped it would do too: "All I want to do...is take your money"

#14: CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage)

In 2008, CSS showed that growing up doesn't have to be boring. This, the best song from "Donkey", supported this claim. Its jaunty guitar hooks, and odd reminiscence of The Cure, this song would never have fitted onto something so wonderfully silly as "Cansei De Ser Sexy", the group's first album. But it shows that CSS can be serious when they want to be.

#13: GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY - Find The Time

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, aka Sam Duckworth, really should be regarded as one of Britain's best singer-songwriters by now. But for many reasons (probably including the more-than-odd pseudonym), that hasn't happened. Songs like this, however, make you think he should be a little more well known than he is.

#12: VAMPIRE WEEKEND - A-Punk

Yes, Vampire Weekend are in pretty much every "Best of 2008" list - I even saw them alongside Bring Me The Horizon on one blog. But no, I'm not just going along with the masses. Otherwise, surely I would've chosen "Oxford Comma" or "M79". My favourite Vampire Weekend song, I eventually decided (it was between "Oxford Comma" and "A-Punk"), was this. For all the Lil Jon, and coal, references in "Oxford Comma", it just doesn't have the same energy that "A-Punk" does. It makes me want to dance when I hear it. And I hate dancing.

#11: MYSTERY JETS featuring Laura Marling - Young Love

This song, and indeed the Mystery Jets in general, seemed to be a marmite-situation. You either love it, and love them. Or hate it, and hate them. After hearing this song, I immediately slotted into the first category. I've seen people write that Mystery Jets plagiarized the song off Music & Lyrics, a recent Hugh Grant film. And personally, I can see what they mean - I even noticed it myself when I watched the film. But to be honest, that doesn't make me like the song any less. After all, in "Way Back Into Love", the hook in question was the best part of the song. With "Young Love", it's the worst part.

^ DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? - Dawn Of The Dead

Be Your Own Pet - Becky
Hugh Grant and Haley Bennett - Way Back Into Love
Mystery Jets - Young Love
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

14: My Favourite Tracks of 2008: #21-#30

2009-01-01T13:42:00.023Z

#30: NEON NEON - I Told Her On Alderaan

An unexpected collaboration between producer Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys gave us Neon Neon, who produced one of the most quirky (and consistent) albums of 2008. "I Told Her On Alderaan" was the obvious choice for being included in this list though; I would even go as far as to say it's my favourite of any Gruff Rhys song (Super Furry Animals songs included).

#29: GOLDFRAPP - A & E

One of the songs I was surprised I liked in 2008 was "A & E", Goldfrapp's first single from their album "Seventh Tree". Though it consists of pretty much the same chord progression as Biffy Clyro's "Machines", this is a hundred times more moving and generally, a hundred times more brilliant. And the video was even better (piles of leaves coming to life and dancing around - what's not to like?!)

#28: The GRATES - Carve Your Name

The Grates are a band I only discovered this year, and within the first few seconds of listening to "Carve Your Name", I was already drawing comparisons to Be Your Own Pet. It seems I'm not the only one, as every other review I've seen of The Grates namechecks Be Your Own Pet. Of course, this just shows that The Grates were living in Be Your Own Pet's shadow in 2008. But if this song is anything to go by, with its violence in the chorus (Carve your name into my heart / better than a tattoo or a photograph) contrasting the singer's sweet voice, they show that they're more than capable of stepping up to fill the hole now left by Be Your Own Pet.

#27: PORTISHEAD - The Rip

Listening to "Third" was the first time I'd really properly listened to Portishead, and I have to say, considering all the hype that surrounded this album, I was relatively disappointed. I found it quite a difficult listen. Well, except for one song. "The Rip". From its lo-fi guitar scratchings to its synth-driven section, "The Rip" is a thing of beauty. It sends shivers down my spine everytime I hear that sustained "oooh" perfectly delivered by Beth Gibbons as the synth rises and builds around her. Portishead, if you're reading this, please write more songs like this! Thank you. Oh and Radiohead covered it. Nice.

#26: ELBOW - Grounds For Divorce

Elbow deservedly won the Mercury Music Prize in 2008 with their album "The Seldom Seen Kid" (though I would've liked to see In Rainbows win, Radiohead are still yet to win the award). This was the first single, and arguably best track, off their album. It wasn't as epic as, for example, "One Day Like This", but it was just as great!

#25: CUT COPY - Feel The Love

See the Song of the Day thingy about it a few posts back, I can't be bothered to write it out again!

#24: The METROS - Talk About It

The bassline is what makes this song for me.

#23: FORWARD, RUSSIA! - Welcome To The Moment (The Rest Of Your Life)

Forward, Russia! created one of my favourite albums of 2006 in "Give Me A Wall", and returned last year (2008) with their not-as-good-but-still-great sophomore effort "Life Processes". This, the opening track, set the precident for the rest of the album - it was slightly rockier and more riff-based than "Give Me A Wall", but still with great tunes to back it up. Best moment: "Tonight / God is angry / We can roll / With the punches!"

#22: DANANANANAYKROYD - Pink Sabbath

One of the bands to watch out for in 2009. This song makes me want to shout along even though I don't have a clue what the guy is saying. (Dadada FORK IN YOUR TONGUE! and so on). Killer guitar line. Awesome song.

#21: CRYSTAL CASTLES - Tell Me What To Swallow

Some might think it's probably a bit odd, considering that Crystal Castles created one of the best electronic albums of the year, that I chose the closing track from their album, "Tell Me What To Swallow", which sounds nothing like any other song. But those who have heard it might understand why. It's so effortlessly beautiful. While ordinarily, on songs like "Alice Practice", Alice Glass yelps and screams, on this she shows the calm after the storm. And man it's good. Also, in my opinion, one of the most Loveless-like songs since, well, Loveless. Which makes it brilliant no matter what.

^ GOLDFRAPP - A & E

Cut Copy - Feel The Love
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan
Portishead - The Rip

13: My Favourite Tracks of 2008: #31-#40

2008-12-28T22:15:00.014Z

So, we at Made-Up Blog #43 have finally finished our "best of" lists. This will be a compilation of our favourite songs, with only one rule: ONE SONG PER ARTIST ONLY! (This was to make sure it wasn't completely dominated by my favourite artists). The albums list will follow soon.

#40: WEEZER - Pork & Beans

But for now, here's ours: tracks 40-31 first, and starting off the list is Weezer's "Pork & Beans". A fine return to form after the frankly dreadful "Beverley Hills", "Pork & Beans" reminded us all why we loved Weezer. Because they're loveable geeks. I mean, come on, anyone who says the word 'dandy' and the phrase 'i don't give a hoot' aren't exactly the COOLest kids in the world are they? But I digress; IT'S A DARN GOOD SONG.

#39: HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR - Blind

At #39 is Pitchfork's choice for track of the year, "Blind" by Hercules & Love Affair. Definitely the best disco song I can remember, and easily my favourite song that Antony Hegarty has provided vocals for ("Hope There's Someone" probably comes in second).

#38: FLEET FOXES - He Doesn't Know Why

#38 - Fleet Foxes are appearing in pretty much every blog's album and song lists. I ALMOST didn't include them in mine, but they're just so lovely-sounding! Yup, that's the best description I've got. I decided to include this song instead of the more popular "White Winter Hymnal", because however great that song is, I prefer this one. It isn't as warm and inviting as "White Winter Hymnal" (if a song can be inviting), but it's catchier. So there.

#37: The GRAND ARCHIVES - Louis Riel

#37 - Ah, The Grand Archives. A band whose album I decided to look into just a week ago while compiling the aforementioned Ultimate Blog Albums Of 2008 List, and I fell in love with them immediately. Well, maybe that's going a bit far, but I do think the album's a brilliant listen. And this is, at the moment, my favourite song from the album. It just makes me feel so happy! Which is, in my opinion, one of the best things a song can do.

#36: HOT CHIP - One Pure Thought

#36 - Hot Chip found fame, fortune and critical acclaim with 2006's "The Warning", and this year they built on all three of those characteristics with "Made In The Dark". One of the highlights of this album was undoubtedly "One Pure Thought", which saw Hot Chip venture into new territory successfully. Who doesn't want to join in chanting, "I won't be on my way"?!

#35: CHRISTIAN FALK featuring Robyn - Dream On

#35 - Great song from two great Swedish artists - see the feature of it as Song of the Day a little bit back.

#34: 65DAYSOFSTATIC - Dance Parties (Distant) / (Mechanised)

#34 - Technically two versions of another song, "The Distant & Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties" from 65daysofstatic's most recent album, these two songs appeared on the EP of the same name. With a much more electronic feel to their usual math rock, these are two of my favourite ever 65daysofstatic songs. But "I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood" is still easily the forerunner at the moment as far as that goes.

#33: NOAH & THE WHALE - 5 Years Time

#33 - Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't deny that "5 Years Time" is hard to dislike. With ridiculously catchy whistles, ukuleles, violins, and the wonderful Laura Marling's "Sun sun sun"s (and "fun"s and "love"s for that matter), it was the feelgood hit of the summer. And not the Queens of the Stone Age kind.

#32: GUILLEMOTS - Kriss Kross

#32 - Anything that Guillemots do is worth a listen in my book. "Kriss Kross", the opening track from their most recent album "Red", is nowhere near as great as the best tracks off of "Through The Windowpane" (see "Sao Paulo" ,"Trains To Brazil", and "Made-Up Lovesong #43", a song so great it inspired the name of this blog), but it's still a great song. The staccato strings compliment Fyfe Dangerfield's vocals brilliantly, even if they do sound a bit like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean!

#31: TV ON THE RADIO - Crying

#31 - TV ON THE RADIO! Need I say more?

12: Song of the Day - Cut Copy

2008-12-22T19:49:00.003Z

CUT COPY - Feel The Love

OK, OK, so I'm pretty late to start jumping on the bandwagon of people praising Cut Copy's latest album, "In Ghost Colours", but better late than never right? I had listened to Cut Copy before, mainly "Time Stands Still" from their debut album, but though I liked it it never really grabbed me.

"Feel The Love", on the other hand, really stood out for me. From its laid back verses, tinged with "ooohs" perfectly, to its stupidly-catchy chorus (also making good use of "ooohs"!) to its vocoder section - though you don't have a clue what the guy's saying, you really don't care.

Kind of sounds like Does It Offend You, Yeah? on acid. In a good way.

Rubbish review? Yeah, but just listen to the song for yourself and see:

Cut Copy - Feel The Love

11: Pitchfork Releases "Best Of" 2008 Tracks

2008-12-16T19:52:00.003Z

100 BEST TRACKS OF 2008

So, Pitchfork, have completed their 2008 best tracks list. It's a bit of a mixed bag, in my opinion, there's a lot of great songs up there but also some quite odd choices. But then again, maybe that's a good thing? Nothing interesting in a list of predictable songs. Here's the top ten:

10: Estelle featuring Kanye West - American Boy
9: Portishead - Machine Gun
8: Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep
7: Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire
6: Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
5: M83 - Kim & Jessie
4: Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
3: Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor
2: Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
1: Hercules & Love Affair - Blind

Look out for my top 25 tracks of the year early in 2009!

10: Song of the Day - Lily Allen

2008-12-14T19:05:00.003Z

LILY ALLEN - The Fear

So, a new Lily Allen song! Always worth a look. And this song is no exception.

"The Fear" is slightly different from anything from her debut album, and it seems that Lily has grown up a bit. Yep, actually grown up! Well, for the chorus (which oddly includes some kind of synthesised panpipes). Fortunately, she's still kept her tongue-in-cheek cynicism for the verses to mock fame and modern celebrities.

In fact, the best part of "The Fear" is easily the verse lyrics. Even if you don't like the song itself, you can't help but see a lot of sense. Favourites of mine include, "I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless / ‘Cos everyone knows that’s how you get famous " and "Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner / But everything is cool as long as I’m getting thinner"

Both these lyrics could apply to so many celebrities it's ridiculous.

Well done Lily!

Lily Allen - The Fear

9: Song of the Day - Christian Falk

2008-12-09T20:17:00.005Z

CHRISTIAN FALK featuring Robyn - Dream On

Christian Falk? Who's he? Well, according to Wikipedia, he's a "Swedish music producer". So now you know!

Well, whoever he is, he's made a great song with Robyn (this is probably my favourite song out of anything Robyn's done). And it has a clever video to boot.

ENJOY!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ypQtJ8z6q5o

8: Blur Reunite!

2008-12-09T20:03:00.004Z

BLUR DECLARE REUNION GIG WITH GRAHAM COXON

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The gig will be at London's Hyde Park on July 3rd, 2009. Here's a few of my favourite Blur songs:

Blur - Coffee And TV

Blur - Girls And Boys

Blur - Song 2

7: Artist of the Week - Dananananaykroyd

2008-12-08T18:26:00.015Z

DANANANANAYKROYD

Yes, that's actually their name. And it took a while, but I've actually learnt how to say it!

I'll be brief. Here is four of the few facts I know about Dananananaykroyd:

1. They're signed to Moshi Moshi Records (which makes them worth a listen whichever way you look on it).
2. They have six members, including two drummers.
3. The bass player is married to one of the guys from The Futureheads (the bass players the girl, just in case you wondered).
4. They really are very good.

CHECK 'EM OUT!

Here's the video for their brilliant new single "Pink Sabbath" :

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mu_VWdI-5I

And here's an mp3 of the B-side:
Dananananaykroyd - Chrome Rainbow

6: Song of the Day - Kanye West

2008-12-08T18:03:00.004Z

KANYE WEST featuring Mr Hudson - Paranoid

OK, let's get this straight. I'm not a massive fan of Kanye West. Sure, I like some of his stuff, but I've never listened to an album of his all the way through, for example.

As pretty much everybody in the blogging world knows, Kanye West's most recent album was radically different from all three of his previous albums. The most obvious difference: Kanye, known for his great rapping, known AS a rapper, doesn't actually rap. He sings. Through an auto tune. If I were a massive Kanye fan, when I first heard that my blood would be boiling.

Fortunately (and surprisingly, I must say), Kanye's new album (808's & Heartbreaks) is actually quite good. Despite the lack of rapping. Despite the album not being crammed full of guest stars. Take this song for example - on "Homecoming", from the album-previous-to-this-one, he was rubbing shoulders with Chris Martin of Coldplay and general British-megastar fame. On this track, "Paranoid", he's rubbing shoulders with Mr Hudson, lead singer of little-known band Mr Hudson & The Library. Not quite as impressive eh?

Strangely enough, however, the track is. From its opening synth buzz (oddly reminiscent of "Wonderful Christmastime"), it builds, and builds, into a feel-good electro song. And when Mr Hudson comes in, singing (minus auto-tune), "Anyway they don’t know you like I do / They’ll never know you" you kind of forget that he's not Chris Martin. And frankly, you're glad he isn't.

Kanye West featuring Mr Hudson - Paranoid

5: Album Review - Johnny Foreigner

2008-12-07T21:22:00.007Z

JOHNNY FOREIGNER - Waited Up Til It Was Light

Johnny Foreigner's MySpace page describes their music as "noise pop", and that's probably more accurate than any other way I could describe it. Buzzing guitars and bass riffs are thrown back and forth amongst sung, or often yelped, vocals. Alexei (also the guitarist) and Kelly (also the bass player) share vocal duties (sometimes even with help from drummer Junior) in a style very similar to that used by tourmates Los Campesinos! (well worth checking out) and the magnificent Help She Can't Swim (r.I.p.). However, Johnny Foreigner's sound is very much unique, and their songs pack a punch that most modern bands just don't have. Also, the number of hooks and melody lines on this album is unbelievable, and you could find yourself humming any one of the songs for days after (see "Lea Room", "Our Bipolar Friends", "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella", among others).

The lyrics are generally brilliant, from the more serious moments ("Sweaty kids on pills aren't kids anymore" in "Our Bipolar Friends"), to the more light-hearted ("I may be drunk but at least I'm standing up!" in "Sometimes, In The Bullring"). One small criticism may be that most, maybe even all, of the band's songs, are based upon Birmingham in some way. But to be honest, when they're making music this good, who cares?!

Johnny Foreigner are one of the most talented bands to emerge recently, and I would definitely recommend checking them out. If nothing else, at least have a look at their MySpace and listen to any of the songs up, they're all brilliant. My favourite debut album of the year!

9 / 10

Johnny Foreigner - Our Bi-Polar Friends

4: Album Review - Hot Club De Paris

2008-12-07T20:33:00.006Z

HOT CLUB DE PARIS - Live At Dead Lake

Live At Dead Lake is the second studio album from Liverpudlian trio Hot Club de Paris. The songs are of a very similar format to those off the first album, Drop It Til It Pops. Irregular time signatures and simple guitar and bass riffs dominate, and in general work very well. The best song of the album is undoubtedly "Hey! Housebrick", which sees the band experimenting with a slightly poppier sound, and for once, makes use of a 4/4 time signature! Two instrumental tracks, "The Friendship Song" and "We Played Ourselves (Ain't Nobody Else's Fault)" are very disappointing, and don't really add much to the album.

Hot Club de Paris, like fellow Liverpudlians The Wombats, are known for their "scouse wit", and this shows on 'Live At Dead Lake'. In "Call Me Mr Demolition Ball", vocalist Matthew suggests that an unnamed girl could "lie beside me in your troubled sleep, or you could leave me for dead in the bed". The lyrics on "The Dice Just Wasn't Loaded From The Start" are easily the most heartfelt on the album: "Somewhere in the future there's a feeling, that feels just like the night we first held hands." I can't help to think though, that as in many aspects of the album, Hot Club de Paris were more successful lyrically in "Drop It Til It Pops".

Though there are some very strong songs nearer to the start of the album ("Call Me Mr Demolition Ball", "I Wasn't Being Heartless When I Said Your Favourite Song Lacked Heart", "Let Go Of Everything", to name a few), Hot Club de Paris struggle to make this form last to the end, and it seems like they begin to run out of ideas. Some may criticise Hot Club de Paris on the basis that this album doesn't really see the band mature, and though many of the songs on this album are a great, enjoyable listen, many seem to be there for the sake of it. Overall, worth your money, but I would definitely recommend buying their first album, Drop It Til It Pops, first.

7 / 10

Hot Club De Paris - Hey! Housebrick

3: Album Review - Los Campesinos!

2008-05-11T20:10:00.012+01:00

LOS CAMPESINOS! - Hold On Now, Youngster...

Los Campesinos! consists of seven friends from Cardiff, called Aleksandra Campesinos!, Ellen Campesinos!, Gareth Campesinos!, Harriet Campesinos!, Neil Campesinos!, Ollie Campesinos! and Tom Campesinos! Their myspace says influences include Pavement, Broken Social Scene, Yo La Tengo and Destroyer (among many others),
which may be one of the reasons that Pitchfork took an immediate shining to them.

The other reason is probably that they make delectably good, spazzy indie pop. "Hold On Now, Youngster..." is full of relentless in-your-face energy. With many bands this would get tiresome, but far from it - every song on the album has a hook that you could get stuck in your head for days. Opening track "Death To Los Campesinos" kicks off proceedings with a punch, with Gareth Campesinos! yelping gleefully. The Campesinos! gang manage to maintain this high note until the very end of the final song, "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks".

I was quite confused as to why the album didn't include the brilliant singles "The International Tweexcore Underground" and "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives", but the songs that are there make up for it.

The instrumentation is fantastic; this album is possibly the only time i've heard a glockenspiel and thought that it fitted in well. And the lyrics are pure genius too, at their best in "Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)": "If only you would give your life to literature just don't read Jane Eyre!" and "...And We Exhale And Roll Our Eyes In Unison": "Four sweaty boys with guitars tell me nothing about my high life"

Basically, it's a great album, and it's well worth your money!

8 / 10

Los Campesinos! - Death To Los Campesinos!

2: 9 Worst Band Names

2008-05-07T18:58:00.019+01:00

OK, so rubbish band names have probably been picked out as something to write about on blogs a million times before. But I decided to do it again, just for the sake of my own amusement, and hopefully yours. So let's have a good old rant!

!!!
Seriously, what were they thinking?! !!! (pronounced merely by producing three clicking sounds from the mouth) have probably been included in virtually every "rubbish band name" list made since their formation. So why do !!! have such a stupid name? Well, it originates from the film "The Gods Must Be Crazy". While watching the film, they noticed that the subtitles to the Bushmen's native language was simply three exclamation marks, or !!! OK, so this gives the band an explanation. But not an excuse.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are possibly one of the only bands whose band initials are longer than most bands regular names. I would actually rather say !!! than recite AYWKUBTTOD's full name every time they come up in conversation. But it could be worse. If there's dots before the name then it suggests that originally something came before it. Maybe they used to be called: If You Are Orienteering Or Tracking And You Wish To Know Where A Moose And A Modern Alternative Rock Band That We Are In Are Then You Will Know The Moose By The Trail Of Its Footprints Or Droppings And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead?

Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys sounds like the kind of name that an eleven-year-old boy would invent for his band whilst doing a science exam. "Why are there no monkeys in the arctic?" "I don't know, but it's a cool name for a band!" Erm, sorry to break it to you Alex Turner, but it's really not. Not at all.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
No, I won't clap my hands or say yeah.

Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Who has questions in their band name?! I mean, is anybody ever likely to answer that question. Though I think Does It Offend You, Yeah? have a stupid name, I wouldn't go as far as to say it offended me. To make matters worse, it has become the basis of many myspace/facebook/msn related personal messages and bulletin names (e.g. comment my new default, yeah?).

I'm From Barcelona
This is a stupid enough name for one person who's actually from Barcelona, but consider that there's twenty-odd people in I'm From Barcelona, none of which are actually from Barcelona. They're not even from Spain. They are in fact from Sweden. And then they just have to go and confuse it all by naming one of their songs "We're From Barcelona". Even though they're from Sweden. And then in this song they all sing "We're I'm From Barcelona". Apart from making no grammatical sense whatsoever, I'd like to point out the fact that they're not from Barcelona. They're from Sweden. Oh, had I already said that? Sorry.

Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong
I don't even need to explain this. It sounds like the title of a Spike Milligan poem.

Oh No! Oh My!
Stop it with the exclamation marks! Exclamation-mark-wise it isn't nearly as bad as !!! But still, you shouldn't have a band name that just sounds like an old woman in shock.

Test Icicles
If I had a penny everytime somebody scrolling through my iPod misread "Test Icicles" as something else, then I'd have about 11p. But the fact that it happened at all shows how (intentionally?) bad a name "Test Icicles" is. Unless it's meant to be misread? In which case, GROW UP! And apparently one of the band member's side projects is called Balls. When Dev Hynes moved on from Test Icicles and decided to begin a solo project, I was surprised when it wasn't called Scrotum. Which, to be honest, is probably a much better name than Lightspeed Champion anyway.

!!! - Must Be The Moon: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544730

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Mistakes And Regrets: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544802

Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum [Live]: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544804

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Sword Song: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544814

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - We Are Rockstars: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544819

I'm From Barcelona - Britney [Live]: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544845

Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong - Lucio Starts Fires: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544828

Oh No! Oh My! - I Have No Sister: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544865

Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle: http://www.savefile.com/files/1544880

1: Pop Is (Not) Dead

2008-05-06T19:58:00.017+01:00

As I was listening to the new Britney Spears single for the fifth time the other day, I realised how much her music has grown on me. Before, I wouldn't have listened to a Britney Spears song if somebody had paid me to. So what is it that's made me suddenly enjoy her music? Maybe it's the fact that she's slowly (or quickly) destroying her life with a string of embarrassing behaviour and failed relationships that've somehow had a heroin-like effect - in that despite destroying her life, it also seems to be helping her to make good music?

To be honest, I don't really care about Britney Spears' personal life. Or anybody else's for that matter. But now, even when we have to endure endless news stories about her, at least her music's that little bit better.

Britney Spears - Break The Ice: http://www.savefile.com/files/1542816

And also, here are some other better than average pop songs bothering the British charts at the moment:

Robyn - Who's That Girl: http://www.savefile.com/files/1542847

Taio Cruz featuring Luciana - Come On Girl: http://www.savefile.com/files/1542852

We Are Scientists - After Hours: http://www.savefile.com/files/1542864

Wiley - Wearing My Rolex: http://www.savefile.com/files/1542865

Parts of the Robyn song make me think a lot of electronic duo The Knife (who are also Swedish). UPDATE: it was produced by The Knife! I think this may be one of the reasons why I like this song so much, it's got a much more electro feel to either of her last two singles. And I was surprised at liking the Taio Cruz and Wiley songs, as usually I hate music like that. But now I've come to the decision that both are good, catchy songs. Enjoy!