There’s a great contest on MOVIES FOR MUSIC . ORG encouraging people to capture their detest of anti-filesharing politics and their love for indie structure on video, flash, slideshows, whatever. It already exhibitssome great entries, for example a video by Creative Commons. Their aim is to help artists license their work in different, personalized ways, like for example let it use others as long as they give you credits.
One of the organizers of the Music For Movies contest is Downhill Battle, who are always busy deconstructing the dis-information you get from major labels, like all that filesharing kills music crap, and who encourage people to spread the word. Visit their site! Get involved!
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It’s always like birthday when I receive a packet of new records from X-MIST, still my favourite mailorder, especially if it comes to discoveries in indiepunk off the beaten track. They recommended bands like Les Savy Fav long before they were spotted elsewhere, or The Rapture when they still smelled sweaty of small indieclubs.
Of the records I ordered this month I can’t but recommend DIE PRINCESS DIE, FLIN FLON and DOSAGE & USAGE.
DIE PRINCESS DIE is the name of a great new Sand Diego band with the drummer of CHAMPAGNE KISS (great band on Troubleman Unlimited, “black violin” by them still is one of my favorite songs). DIE PRINCESS DIE wonderfully combine cute new wave sounds with desperate Screamo and Sonic-Youth-Wall-Of-Sound-Indienoise. Nice surprise.
Here are links to MP3s of two songs by them:
“Shakes”
“Hunting Low La”
Oh – and DON’T CLICK HERE if you’re afraid of moustaches, this is there album cover.
Do I have to tell you who FLIN FLON is? Catchy indiepop stripped down to the minimum of instrumentation for the greatest effect played by trio around Mark Robinson (Unrest, Teenbeat Rec.). ‘Chicoutimi’ they call a collection of vinyl-only cuts and songs that only appeared on singles that was released as part of the ‘Warm Series’ on Teenbeat Rec. Be fast to lay your hands on this charming jewel of a cd, cause on the Teenbeat site it already says it’s sold out, here’s an mp3 of a song.
DOSAGE & USAGE is a band that had members of PLOT TO BLOW UP THE EIFFEL TOWER, but their music is postpunk with a noisy edge – rhythm focussed, dancedriven bass, sharp edged guitars and sassy vocals, on this final album on Strictly Amateur Films (http://www.strictlyamateurfilms.com) sung, yelped, screamed in japanese by Tetsunori Tawaraya.
“Swell O”
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I put up some pictures of the AGAINST ME and GRABASS CHARLESTONS show. I talked too much, too many friends I hadn’t met for a while, so I only watched G.C. for their last song but that made me guess I didn’t really missed much, they play nice but average punkrock. AGAINST ME! played a sweaty great show, only off stage they seemed a bit exhausted.
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Bluebird and Sole at Desi /nbg.
I remembered Bluebird from accompanying Grand Buffet when they last played in Nürnberg, he also joined them for one song on stage. He’s entertaining, not as funny as Grand Buffet, not as dead serious as Sole, e.g. he rapped the names of artists that influenced him incredible fast, continuing with listing equally fast all the presidents of the u.s., only to top that rattling off all the states that were bombed by the USA plus all members of the Wu-Tang Clan. Bluebird really had some entertaining ideas of bringing up political stuff, maybe even a bit too entertaining, but what I actually don’t get is this combination of being really sensitive about colour-of-skin-problems and showing creative ability when it comes to language and then at the same time using the same derogative words or metaphors as all the crappy not-conscious rappers – women only appear as bitches, or as caring mother, or as girlfriend waiting at home, if it comes to abuse it’s always “pussy” or “cocksucker”.
Grow up, I thought. If you’re so brainy use your creativity also to find some new insults.
Plus, as a friend of mine put it: “where are the women in the Anticon collective?”
Main problem of the show was the sound – vocals of both artists were far too loud, distorted and feedbacked all the time, the music only working as a quiet backing and not as pushing beats. That got on my nerves after a while, so I went outside.
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