All Rights Reversed

Quite a big lag between posting, I must apologize.

I've been chewing on a couple of Chemical Brothers' albums recently, abit too chewy at times, a little undercooked and raw, however the taste is still very much quite endearing. 

we are the night

Pretty good album. However I still haven't given the entire thing a thorough listening, there's a few tracks that have jangled my brain cells so far.

1.) All Rights Reversed - This song features The Klaxons, and it shows - abit too well. The whole song sounds more like a Chemical Brothers' remix of an extension to 'Two Receivers'. Kickass drum beat resonating throughout, very Klaxon, beautifully harmonised, almost mournful vocal work. Epic. It would do very well in a movie trailer I think. 

edit: check out that insane effect they used, when the guy sings the word "primal".

2.) Das Spiegel - I think it's German for "The Darkness", for a very ominous sounding track title, the song itself is very happy. It's a beautiful song indeed, it has an 'innocence' laden vibe to the song; the very same vibe one can probably feel when listening to MGMT's 'Kids'. Famous ChemBro's psychadelic warped little glitches, twirps and tweaks are bombarded alongside the main riff. Personal favourite bit from the song, is when there's a short break, and there's only a very soft, palm-muted guitar plucking, with a slow and deliberate buildup. One for the treadmill I reckon, only during the warm-down though.

3.) Battle Scars - Vocals on this track are provided by a US folkie called Willy Mason. A very unique song. I don't think my words can really describe it well. So have a listen and decide for yourself! Best way I can put it, is a half-rap, half-story.

4.) The Pills Won't Help You Now - Brilliant way to end the album. Warm, soft and mellow vibes flow throughout the 6-minute track. Invokes a certain tenderness within you. I think the song title is perfect, imagine waking up on a Sunday late afternoon [after being awake till 7 in the morning], when the last of the sun is still caught in your windowsill, your jaw hurts from all the teeth gnashing, your head feels like Chernobyl, and the tune starts floating up from the radio. Someone gimme a camera, I got a film to shoot!

P.S. Here's a bonus video; I originally found the song in a friend's b-side collection, and it actually sounded pretty good. I reckon it definitely has a ChemBrother feel about it ;)

Regards,

Prayon Kid

Baby 81

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - what a name, what a band. They've got everything (everything in a superlative sense, not in a bourgeoisie sense), psychedelia, indie riffs, on-the-verge-of-metal guitars, ballads, political rockers, Jesus and Mary Chainish noise pop, folk and even a dash of gospel here and there.

First having heard about them through Noel Gallagher (he mentioned them in an inverview), I pointed my internet browser astern, hoisted a Jolly Roger, cruised into the sunset and haven't looked back yet. Named after the biker gang from the great Marlon Brando's 1953 cult classic The Wild One, they've been JamesDean-ing it up in the MTV-infested US music industry.

Baby 81 was birthed (excuse the pun) with the return of original founding drummer Nick Jago, whose heavy staccato, cymbal crashing drumming style I dearly missed, and fit very well with the album's vibe. My favourite bit of his drumming is at 3:36 of Lien On Your Dreams, when the guitar's surging to a climax, and the song halts for a second of pure rock-mindfuck, and his drumming just escalates that moment of "FUCK YES" to a heaven-piercing high.

Right so here we go!

1.) Took Out a Loan - Quite a generic sounding song, the intro's good though, and the drumming sounds like Nick wants to let people know he's back and rocking up for lost time.

2.)Berlin - What a rocker. This tune drips with attitude and class. The singing is really clever as well - "I'm gonna *uh* somebody, I'm gonna *uh* somebody", the song's got great flow and the ending is brilliant "What happened to the Revolution?". My favourite bit is when the guitar does a creepy little lick at the break, when it's only the drums carrying on.

3.) Weapon of Choice - What a f*cking tune! This is like the "Ain't no Easy Way' of Baby 81 I reckon. Folkish acoustic guitar mixed with great tempo and a heavy contrasting distortion-filled crunchy guitar riff. Peter's vocals here are good too. My favourite bit is again the break, when the guitar goes into what can only be described as a semi ripoff of Apollo 440's "Can't Stop The Rock" main lick. Obviously Peter sings about his lack of fondness for the current governmental regime. "I won't waste my love on a nation."

4.) Windows - A seepy, creepy, neurotic and paranoia-fuelled wall of sound. The intro is cracking, and the melody is hauntingly delicious. It reminds me of a dark, noir, Nightmare before Christmas-esque sort of picture. The song structure seems to me like the protagonists' journey to complete neuroticity. The piano in the beginning is very structured and 'formal' and stays constant, but the guitar work and vocals seem to get a little more 'desperate sounding' as the song goes on. Or maybe the band's just describing the nightmare of using Windows on a computer hehe..

5.) Cold Wind - One of the weaker tracks on the album, sounds more like an extension of Windows rather than a standalone track, there's an undertone of their punkish rage contained in it as well. Or maybe it's the band describing the feeling they have in their soul when they use Windows again after being on a Mac..

6.) Not What You Wanted - Suddenly the album hits back to a major-based, happy sounding track. This song's really good as well, throwing back to their folky-psychedelia. My favourite bit of the song is that weird sound the guitar makes in the background, like it's being stretched and warped, that's the only way I can describe it. Oh and when he goes "You always drink.... you always drink too much." I really like the ending as well.

7.) 666 Conducer - Wow. This song is f*cking blinding. It's essentially BRMC's "When the Levee Breaks". Crazy heavy drum beats and a driving acoustic riff, married with the electric guitar giving a cheeky 'kiss' now and again. This song reminds me of someone, mega pissed off, with jaws and fists clenched in fury, getting ready to beat the SHIT out of some knobhead. But that's just me. The favourite bit of the song is when the song breaks and Peter goes "I'm a 666 conducer.. you can't do the things I do sir.."

8.) All You Do Is Talk - This song sounds more like a Killers cover than anything else, and it's brilliant in every single way possible. The heavenly, gospel-induced intro builds in layers, holding Peter's vocals high on some pedestal when he finally comes in. The lyrics are absolutely awe-inspiring and beautiful. "You lucky words don't bleed.." I think this song would be great as a breakup song, or on Michael Moore's latest anti-political documentary :) "Help yourself don't say a thing, the love you show don't mean a thing at all, if all you do is talk.."

9.) Lien On Your Dreams - AFAIK, a lien is essentially a mortgage. This song has some of the most tasty lyrical peanut butter in a song sandwich that I've ever tasted in a long time. "And it hurts, and what's worse, and there's no way to reverse." "Without passion, you're a fashion." The song builds up to a tasty crescendo, which I talked about earlier in the post. It's one of the rare songs that when I listen to sometimes, can make the hairs on my arm and back of my neck stand up in unison, like some Chinese communist army regiment saluting to Chairman Mao(I don't condone communism or China, only in tiny amounts) I love when he starts going "Oooohh hoo hooooh" near the end of the song.

10.) Need Some Air - Yeahhh, this is BRMC boiled down to its core. Fast tempos, crazy drumming, edgy guitar work, incredible vocal flow, and one killer chorus. Keeps me on the edge of me seat man.

11.) Killing The Light - Now this song is weird, but in a good way, like when you're making out with a girl and she starts sucking on your finger. I didn't like this song at first, but after one or two listens, I've realised that it is utter brilliance. It's got more haunting melody and some very weird 'balloony' guitar work, the chorus wakes you up like a line of coke, slap in the face and a kick in the balls. By the time I've gotten round to this track, I've become incredibly jealous of Peter's vocals.

12.) American X - Epic. Like.. blow-my-fucking-head-off epic.

13.) Am I Only - The other weaker track of the album (IMHO). Emotional, powerful, gut-wrenching. The psychedelia saves it though, only just. :)

14.) The Likes of You (UK only bonus track) - Don't you hate how bands place a geographical bias when it comes to bonus tracks? And they blame -us- for piracy.. Anyway, this song is really cool, goes off on a different tangent. Super garage psychedelia, the drums are even almost hip-hop ish.

Well there it is, Baby 81 reviewed. Maybe I'll do another of their older albums when I find the time to wrap my ears around them again. In the meantime.. I'm going to try and look for The Effects of 333 (released 3.33 AM just a couple days ago :D).

Peace, Music, Love

Regards,
Prayon Kid.

Gomper

So I just got a tonne of the Stones' albums, pretty much their entire discography, and it feels great to have it all wash over your ears once again (I lost all of it 3 years ago in one of many unfortunate computing disasters).

I always sort of took them at face value when first listening to their older stuff, I knew it was good, but I didn't really soak it in. But now, going through it again, so far Aftermath and Their Majesties Satanic Request is on my repeat at the moment.

Aftermath:

1.) Dontcha Bother Me: A bluesy clickety clackety tune with a scalpel-like precisioned slide guitar hook, the song embodies a simple rebellious Rock N Roll message at its core embryocity.

2.) Flight 505: ChuckBerry-ism leaks out in this tune, about Jagger well.. catching a flight.

3.) Going Home: A lengthy melodic ode about being away from a girlfriend or wife for awhile, delivered in a cheeky manner. The beginning starts off normal enough.. but halfway through breaks down, with some insane momentum building up into a subdued stone rolling frenzy, Jagger displaying pretty much his entire vocal spectrum.

4.) High and Dry: One of my album-favourites. Some great harmonica blowing, Jagger's voice is a little rough but displays incredible melodious acumen.

5.) I am Waiting: I don't know why, but the lyrics and entirety of the song reminds me of a very very primitive and rudimentary slice of Klaxons-esque pie.

6.) It's Not Easy: It's not easy livin' on your own.. I love how Jag pronounces Haaaaaaard.

7.) Lady Jane: Ahhh, what a lovely little tune. Sounds like an 18th century Victorian poet serenading to his woman [Romeo and Juliet style] with The Stranglers standing behind him strumming away with cheeky grins on their faces.

8.) Paint It Black: Nothing much to be said about this scorcher.. it's been made even more famous to a new generation of kids and oldie-goldies by becoming a memorable track on Guitar Hero III. The lyrics are powerful and introspective, it's almost as if like Ian Curis hired a few mariachi's taking Hook and Sumner's spot :p

9.) Stupid Girl:
Like a lady in waiting to a virgin queen
Look at that stupid girl
She bitches 'bout things that she's never seen
Look at that stupid girl

Sing it Playa! ;)

10.) Think: A little poppy ballad about a sour break up I think. I like the way he sings Tell me whose fault was that babe? So cheeky.

11.) Under My Thumb: A classic ditty about a girl (why do you reckon The Stones had a huge female fan base rivalling The Beatles at the time) though I'm not too sure what he's trying to say about her, maybe he's proud of how he's got control of the relationship [power is corruptive kids ;)]

Right, I apologise for my lack of creativity, it's 1 a.m. and I'm quite mind-numbed.

Cheers, Prayon Kid.

Cosmic Gate!

http://www.massiveworldwide.com/

Attention all Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Cosmic Gate and other great DJs are kicking up a rave at PWTC (think of The Mall) 20th December this year.

Check out the site for more details.

And just because I like you, there are 1000 VIP tickets (access to private upstairs area and other privileges) to be sold at RM69. (Normal price is RM100)

However, this offer expires on 27th of October.

Whoever wants to get access to this 2 week offer, contact me at sianwin@gmail.com or SMS me @ 017 312 79 46.

You Should Feel What I Feel; You Should Take What I Take

[Xu]

[Left to Right: Frenchy, Brimley, Rustpuss, PrayonKid]

[Mmm.. :)]

[Greenshirt]

[Atif caught me coming back from the bar]

[The omnipresent LapSap effigy]

Friday, 10th October, 11 p.m: We've been sitting downstairs at P.P for about 30 mins now. Conversation is subdued and my knee wont stop jerking up and down under the table. My friends are reluctant to go upstairs because, well frankly, they're abit lame.

11.01 p.m: I tell them I'll see them upstairs, I head inside, squeezing past a few bodies. I reach the stairs, expecting to have my name queried by the lady like last time, however who do I see there? Xu and Lau in the flesh. They ask me to stick my arm out to be stamped. Confused, I asked them "You not gonna ask me for my name?" Lau pressed the stamp on my arm and said "Go up, we recognise you." Guess all that FaceBooking work paid off!

I head upstairs and all I see is a throng of bodies mashed together. The 'Press' were armed with their SLR cameras in one hand, and wireless external flash devices in the other, squeezing past sweaty bodies and taking skilled photos at every opportune moment. Poses were being striked left, right and center. The dancing was very much still subdued, only a few alcohol-fuelled bodies were moving about on the spot. The more energetic and daring of them were gravitating towards the front where the DJ stand is usually set up. So what do you do when there's a gravitational pull? Well you just do what Neil Armstrong did and do a little leap for mankind. In this case, I did several little leaps for music kind. I immediately made a beeline for the DJ stand, the familiar Pioneer CDJ's and Mixers were set up and operational. On the deck was a man in a green shirt, whom I can only deduce was 1/4 of the infamous Twilight Action Girl. He was playing a boring little Kaiser Chiefs song that everyone was stark raving mad for. Anyway, I positioned myself more or less in the center, between the Left and Right speakers (the acoustics of the room aren't that brilliant) and started to bob my head a little, painfully aware that people were looking at me and I was alone.

All of a sudden, the noise stopped, and a familiar bone-stringed guitar intro came on. I was confused, my mind was reeling, for some reason the names Little Richard and Chuck Berry sprang to mind, it was only when I heard "So shake.." that my mind instantly screamed BEATLES. He played Twist and Shout!!!!!!! Fucking Mega it was... I think that was the point in the night when "Me and Them" transmogrified into "We and Us". I melded in completely with everyone else, there was spiritual harmony, the chi was balanced. After Twist and Shout ended, he played a CHINESE MANDARIN cover of Can't Buy Me Love. This seemed to put everyone a little off colour and Greenshirt immediately sensed it, though I quite liked it, grinning like an idiot. Greenshirt scrambled through his Pocket of CDs and stuck another disc on. Immediately I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see my 3 friends who decided to take a visit to Upstairsland. I felt a bit better I wasn't alone anymore, then I felt a LOT better when the infamous drum intro for The Stroke's "Reptilia" came on. I waited for the blinding rush of guitar, and threw my arms in the air, shredding my air guitar. I saw other air-Stratocasters, air-Epiphones and air-Les Pauls being played as well.

After about 30 mins more, I found myself suddenly getting further and further away from the front as people continued to push by me. I turned my head around and found that the before-dead behind crowd was now swathing around like the front crowd. This party had just kicked off.

My eyes cut to my left and a tall figure with long hair and a motorbike helmet was following a shorter long-haired character to the DJ stand with remarkable speed. Realising it was Xu and Lau, I reached out and tapped the top of his helmet. I don't know why. I found a before-buried store of energy released as I realised; LapSap are here!! It was time for the elektro-cution.

Lau jumped on a stool behind the DJ stand and seduced the crowd with his energy, he shouted and screamed like a Gospel Preacher with his hands in the air, signalling he wanted more from Us. So We gave it to him. After a finish up from TAG, the pair donned their cans (that's headphones for you and me) and kicked the real party off with the BoysNoize remix of Feist's My Moon My Man.

The rest of the night was a big blur, throughout the course of the night I met a couple of my brother's friends, an old schoolmate (who unnnervingly winked at me) and a recurring scenester whom I abhor who decided to share my spot.

For the most part, I was in a deep trance, my feet, hands and neck would not stop moving. I didn't leave the dancefloor except for a quick bathroom break and a cold beer on the way back. One of the highpoints of the night was when LapSap played Armand van Helden's heavy, bass-laden mix of Shinichi Osawa's cover of The Chemical Brother's (phew that's alot of of's) legendary "Star Guitar". Another highlight was when Lapsap played a track unbeknownst to me, but it was an ABSOLUTE STOMPER. I have to assimilate that track into my music library. The best bit was when Digitalism's aptly named Pogo was roaring at full-pace [YES THEY FINALLY PLAYED DIGITALISM!!], with LapSap touching the song up in all the right places, and as I was jumping and chanting along "WE COULD GET SO WASTED, IF YOU WOULD'VE COME!" with the song, another hand squeezed me on the shoulder (a common greeting it seems) and I saw another familiar face, Henry! I pointed him at the direction of the bar and continued to abuse my lungs and throat, and it dawned on me that I was wishing someone special came tonight with me :)

By the time I felt a little worse for wear, I noticed it was 2 a.m. "Three hours I've been on the dancefloor" I thought to myself, I think it's time to get home. Full of sweat, my head swimming with daze and a feeling of happiness flowing through my body, I cut through the heathing mass of flesh and sweat, and descended the stairs to an entirely different world. I realised I'd gone half deaf and everything sounded like I was in an astronaut's suit. My mind had shrunk and my body had become the Yellow Submarine. I met up with my mates outside, grabbed a well deserved drink, and finally made my way home.

All in all, We sang when We were meant to, and We danced when We were meant to, what a bloody good night.

Will try and get some photos up soon (I wish I had a camera),
Love; the Prayon Kid.

Edit: Photos are up! Find more here!

Blue, I get a question every time I swallow you, it's true

Reporting from the usual, it's about 21:18, and I don't know why but I feel most comfortable to blog about music when I'm in the office with my Senny's on.

Anyway, if you recognise the lyrics from the title then you're of a special breed, a Verve fan :) (not The Verve Pipe..) Blue is such a powerful song, not just because of all the background sound accompanying the lyrics, but the lyrics itself and the way Ashcroft delivers it, he's definitely not the best singer in the word, but eee by gum the timing and intonations of his voice strikes deep in my soul. I love how this track sounds abit Stone Roses-esque as well.

I just got the Verve's new album a few days ago, but have only listened to it through a couple of times. I really enjoyed Love is Noise, Valium Skies and Noise Epic which is exactly what it is, EPIC NOIIIIIIISE, the last 3 seconds of this 8 minute long, shoegazing journey is effing brill (WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP,) I love the character their music has, a sort of chaotic edge to it. I am abit dissapointed however, 'cause their sound hasn't evolved that much from Urban Hymns; if you cast your music player back to their first 2 or 3 albums, yeah you can definitely see the progression they've had (though the Jesus & Mary Chain fan in me still loves their full-on shoegazing, distortion filled anthems) but, if you've split with your band for 6 years or so, and you finally get back together and get your fans are jumping up and down, least you could do is try and push the frontier a little. But, all in all, can't really complain.. if it ain't broke don't fix it as the cliche goes..

Here's a good site for downloading mp3's (just between you and I okay? ;))

I'll link a few Verve songs here now. 

1. Come On - The middle bit of the song is worth it.. listen to this if you like Phil Spector, wall-of-sound type songs. It's got such rock n roll momentum..
2. Velvet Morning - Retro feel to it, such a sweet and happy melody.
3. Catching the Butterfly - One of my favourites.. an ode to hoping.. and just dreaming in general. Put it on your 'listen-before-sleeping' playlist.
4. Space and Time - "We have existence and it's all we can share.."
5. Weeping Willow - Another melancholic anthem, "Weeping willow.. the gun under your pillow"
6. This is Music - Distortion-surrounded, dont-give-a-fuck, nonsensical anthem.
7. A Northern Soul - I like this track just cause of the opening, it's got such a monster sound to it, it's like the guitar slashes a gaping hole in you, then the amp sprays salt and spits in the wound. Listen to this especially if you're a Northener ;)

Right, that's enough Verve-milk spouting from my music-mammarial glands. I might review an album or somethin' later on tonight, cheers for reading!

Email us at were.the.crayon.kids@gmail.com, or comment if you've seen The Verve live, I'm interested.

Chaosers, bowsers;

Love, the Prayon Kid.

T-t-t-t-his is the DJ

Reporting from this invisible cubicle called my existence, time is currently 17:33 (+0800 GMT) and I canNOT get this song to stop playing on my iTunes.


AC Slater - Banger


It is exactly as it implies, a 6 minute long head-shakin', foot stomping, life questioning, soul consuming anthem. It sounds like God gave Daft Punk the holy grail of Bass in exchange for them to stop being French for one track, and to sample their vocals from the land of robots. Who is this AC Slater? Is it my long-lost cousin Jesus reincarnated as a DJ?? I've got to find out more.

What do you get when you get two men traversing Nevada to cover a Mint Royale race with a carboot full of mescaline, lsd blotters, cocaine, weed, uppers, downers and a bottle full of amyl nitrate? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But in this case, I'm talking about Death in Vegas. This trip-hop, big beat-ish electronica duo from England are an interesting pair, they were meant to produce Oasis' Don't Believe The Truth but things went astray I guess. Anyway give them a lookie, wookie. The song I'm listening to now by them is called "Song For Penny", it sounds like it would fit right in with Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2's game music, Morse Code bleeping + Red Alert type talk (DESTROY ALL SYSTEMS, DESTROY ALL OPERATING SYSTEMS) with added mellotrons. I hope this track will be Red Alert 3 :)

Death in Vegas on HypeMachine

Anyway, on Facebook today, got an invite to LapSap vs. Twilight Action Girl (the poster made me laugh) so will write about that soon. 10/10/2008!!

Chaosers Bowsers

Love, Prayon Kid

Noo band.

If you love a bit of lo-fi distinctly American indie rock now and then, Paper Rival are the band for you. Hailing from Nashville, their songs fuse the harmonies of Fleet Foxes with the lyricism of Bon Iver, and then add violins and vague drum beats to top it all off. Like the sound of it? Check out their site, their old Myspace, back from when they were called CODA. And of course, this song:

Cassandra -- Paper Rival

GRRAOOWWHHHHH

izkandariseighteenwootwoot

CONCERT UPDATE

Fresh from the Twilight Action Girl Facebook group:

MANIC STREET PREACHERS LIVE IN SINGAPORE!
November 24 2008 @ Fort Canning Park

TAG indie fans should not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Manic Street Preachers perform Live for the first time in Singapore at Fort Canning Park on November 24! General Admission Early Bird Tickets are S$95. Tickets go on sale September 29 at all Sistic outlets, www.sistic.com.sg or by calling (65) 6348-5555. Ticket price will be S$110 on day of show. 

Manic Street Preachers is proudly promoted by LAMC Productions in Singapore and also Hong Kong on November 26th. They will also be headlining the Bangkok 100 Rock Festival on November 30 in Bangkok, Thailand. As usual, KL has been ignored.

As usual... KL has been ignored................ thanks alot, Rest of the World.

The Prayon Kid

Enter the Pray-on Kid: a sandpit quagmire, stuck in a joke, stuck in an enigma, sandwiched by the walls of Pandora's Box; or simply my chosen moniker for posting on the CrayonKids blog.

This is my first time posting on a blog in about 4/5 years, and I've just realised it's pissing down cats and dogs outside and I've forgotten to close the windows in my room at home.. so what's a kid to do? but prayyyyyyyyyyy on hehe (i'm copyrighting that if you're reading Noel Gallagher)

Anyway, luckily I've got some delicious T and T (tones and tuneage for those of you who aren't me) to allay my fears for the moment, stuck in this invisible cubicle called my existence.

First off - Jack White. An absolute freak of a man, who gained fame for playing in a 2-piece outfit with his sister and/or wife. Recently, he's melded with 3 other assorted musicians from other semi-famous bands to form the Raconteurs (or the Saboteurs for you Aussies). Seven Nation Army? fuck that, STEADY AS SHE GOES.

As repetitive as the song gets, it'll keep pinching those same spots in your brain that you love, and the "Slave to the Sunshine Mix" does exactly that, with added flavour. Starts off with very simple loops and laps that entice you in... then slowly builds, like layers upon layers, just like that line which made Shrek famous. It ends with an almost reverse-crescendo as it reverts back to an all out rock fest, and if you're not nodding and rocking when the timer hits -1:00, then you've seriously gotta pick up a LedZep record or summat.

The Raconteurs - Steady as She Goes (Slave to the Sunshine Remix)

Secondly, this man needs no introduction: Calvin Harris. From Dumb-Friays (Dumfries), Scotland, he's got it goin' ON. Looks to be a rising star indeed, here's hoping he doesn't do the whole drugs + sex -> burnout thing.

My fave track off his album - ACCEPTABLE IN THE 80's, what a funny song... insanely rhythmic and catchy it borders on bubblegum pop. Oh and 'I Created Disco' is like new age disco-lectro Primal Scream haha! I love it.

Anyways, give that a listen..

Thirdly, don't you think the singer from the Kings of Leon sounds just like Whitney Houston after inhaling muscle relaxants sprays?

Lastly............. been listening to a little chillout lately, and Cardamar is the name to blame. CLICK HERE to download some of their wonderful longggg mixes.

I never enjoyed chillout/downtempo but now I'm growing older or something it's quite good on occasions where you gotta sit down and work. 

If you do download any mixes, make sure you check out "Nebra Skydisk" if you're a trance fan.. Trance legends Blank and Jones do a little cameo...

Anyway, this is taking up too much time, I've gotta do some incredibly boring and lame stuff.... Post up soon..

Ciaosers Bowsers.

Love, the Pray-on Kid.

CK do COVERS!!!

Because I'm really bored, I'm going to do a series of my favourite covers ever. And there are a LOT. But I'm going to go slow and do four per post. Soooooo... here goes! =)

1. Andrew Bird & Nora O' Connor -- "Oh Sister" (Bob Dylan cover)

Now I love Bobby D. and his songs are like holy to me; so I'm usually really critical of people who actually dare and try cover the great man. Sometimes I even tell myself that the original Dylan version of "All Along the Watchtower" beats the legendary Hendrix cover. (I knooow!) But then one day I stumbled along this cover, and fell absolutely in love with it. I'll even go so far as to say that it's better than the Dylan original, depending on what you like. Dylan's version, as usual, is strong and contains large amounts of loud harmonica -- quintessential Dylan. Bird's spin replaces the harmonica with yummy doses of violin and whistling (he is a professinal whistler, after all!), and renders the whole song....sweet. That's the only word for it. With Bird's soft melodies and Dylan's amazing lyrics ("time is an ocean but it ends at the shore"?? YUM.), this is one song everybody has to hear.

Andrew Bird & Nora O' Connor - Oh Sister (Dylan cover)

2. Amy Millan -- "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" (Death Cab for Cutie cover)

Covering legends is one thing (and risky business), but covering hit contemporary singles is another (but just as risky). Luckily, the Stars and sometime Broken Social Scene songstress is well up to the task. I love the original song, and even living through three months of the world incessantly singing it didn't make me hate it for life (and that's saying something!). So this is one my favourite covers right now; a feminine, more drawly (but just as mellow) take on a song that was maybe - if I have to criticise - a bit too sweet to the ears. Millan humanises the song with her voice.

Amy Millan -- I Will Follow You Into the Dark (DCfC cover)



3. Audrey Hepburn -- "Moon River" (Frank Sinatra cover)

SCROLLSCROLLSCROLL....and come down to my all-time favourite woman, Audrey Hepburn. Not satisfied with being absolutely gorgeous to boot, a brilliant actress and a lovely person, Audrey Hepburn had to go be a really sweet singer as well. As modern times have proved more often than not -- actresses (usually) shouldn't sing; it failed for Hilary Duff, it failed for Lindsay Lohan; it even failed for Scarlett Johansson (I'm sorry, Scarlett!). And yes, the indie masses will throw Zooey Deschanel in my face -- but she's special; an exception to the rule. And a beautiful voice wasn't always a prerequisite for acting in musicals, although Julie Andrews could do it; Hepburn's voice was actually recorded over in "My Fair Lady". Listening to this track, you wonder why. If anybody hasn't yet -- watch "Breakfast at Tiffany's". You'll do this song the most justice seeing it with the aura and atmosphere of the movie, all Holly Golightly-esque.

Audrey Hepburn -- Moon River (Sinatra cover)

4. Lightspeed Champion -- "Back to Black" (Amy Winehouse cover)

Yup; it's back to the old faves. This time we bringin' out the big guns with Lighthouse Champion again (yeah, remember him?), who does a sparse, acousticky version of Winehouse's sultry, piano-heavy "Back to Black". Where she went with hard-pressed keys, he goes with strums. The song loses none of its strange gloomy tone; in fact, I think it works better with this version, with its lack of instruments (save one). It's a nice change. CHECK IT OUTTT.

Lightspeed Champion -- Back to Black (Winehouse cover)


wahhhhh.
that's it for nowww! =)

we got invaded!!! by who??

The SEX INVADERS, of course. Lapsap (what happened to the other half? :O) & Sex Invaders. I wasn't there for too long, but Palate Palette, small though the space was, was having a blast. Again; I can't really describe electro beats properly with words -- so how bout some pictures instead? (19th September 2008)

Live concert review: Mono, 5th July 2008

Post-rock fans must be having a fantastic year in Malaysia, because the post-rock bands just seem to keep coming. With a brilliant Explosions in the Sky concert at Ruum’s in February, summer ’08 delivered another great show by Mono, this time at Zouk KL’s Mainroom. (And there’s more in August, as Ruum’s once more becomes the venue for Toe’s South-East Asian Tour, so hardcore post-rockers, watch out for that one!) Mono Live in Malaysia was a concert on a much smaller scale than Explosions – Zouk’s Mainroom was by no means packed with enthusiastic moshers, although there must have been a good 150+ people there. The fans who were there were not disappointed; there were two brilliant (if rather long and drawn-out… that’s my only complaint; after a while I just wanted Mono to come the hell out, already!!) opening acts from the Indonesian Forbidden Culture and the local Elemental Gaze, both of which set the tone for the main act to come.



But the opening acts went on for a good hour+, and I was growing bored of opening acts and finally, the elusive Mono did come on stage, to set up their equipment. They came on without saying a word (and I learnt that this was customary of Mono), and disappeared after five minutes of sorting out their equipment. The crowd was bemused, but the MC soon enlightened us – we needed to cheer louder? Which we did, I guess, and then the mysterious and silent Mono reappeared on stage, and began to play without saying a word to the audience. The concert wasn’t the most upbeat of them all, as their song openings were slow and soft, and the build-ups usually led into excessive distortion. The drummer in particular caught my eye, as he played some amazing beats, which were enough to whip some of the crowd into a frenzy, as were their playing “Yearning”, which elicited huge applause and cheers. The music was fantastic, but the distortive build-ups were not good for anybody standing too near either speaker, as it did funny stuff to the ears and brain; that was probably the only flaw in what was otherwise a musically brilliant performance: LOUD DISTORTION. Mono didn’t play for very long – they didn’t do the non-stop frenzied playing of Explosions, and although their songs were long (some went on for about sixteen minutes), the song breaks were easily recognised, as they stopped now and then to catch a second’s breather. They played for about one and a half hours max, and the concert was over by about 10 pm. Thus ended Mono’s stint in Malaysia =D For any hardcore enthusiastic fan, it probably would have been an excellent concert. Even for the neutral viewer (me) the music was breathtaking; but the concert itself just wasn’t that memorable. I think I’ll stick with listening to their CDs, where I can turn the volume down when the distortion becomes a little too much. :P

the night shitdisco spun at zouk

Well; words are futile when we try and describe the wild night that was SHITDISCO (UK) vs LAPSAP (KL). So we just brought out the camera, every time Darren jumped into the crowd. Enjoy! The night was immense. (12th July 2008)

Shitdisco VS Lapsap

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Electric Electric: Crystal Castles & Apartment Play

Crystal Castle take 'electric electric' to a whole new level; obscure vocals & bleeps throughout; the one word their music screams is 'DISTORTION'. It might not appeal to all, but they have a unique sound, and their distorted vocals punctuated with 8-bit synth beats are the kind that mess with one's mind. It's screechy, it's beepy, it's electro.



Alice Glass - vocalist
Ethan Kath - producer/remixer

The band's ascent to fame is an interesting story in itself; their first publicly released single was "Alice Practice", which was a microphone test by vocalist Glass (she didn't know it was being recorded). However, hearing it on their MySpace, a record label offered them a deal -- and three years later the result takes the shape of "Crystal Castles" (yes! self-titled debut albums! we ♥ them!).

If you like your music to have deep, meaningful lyrics or clear-cut instrumental riffs, clarity of sound & entwining of melodies -- forget Crystal Castles. They're not for you. Crystal Castles make music that's nihilistic; their seemingly chaotic sounds believe in adhering to no musically-set precedents, no musical traditions. It's 'dance music', but the kind that would electrify and migraine down a drunk body; as the BBC so perfectly puts it in their review: "this is the soundtrack for 20-something chaos seekers who grew up playing Ataris rather than listening to Kraftwerk." If you do like your music to be unique, different, something sublime and wholly untried before (and it'd help if you fancied dance music, electro, synth, blah blah blah as well) -- then definitely, definitely give these guys a go; they're something revolutionary, they're mind-fuckingly distortive. And who knows but it might fit certain moods and temparaments?

Crystal Castles - xxzxczx me


A random band I came across with a similar sound to Crystal Castles: Apartment Play. With a cryptic profile on MySpace ("cortex boy. cortex girl."????!!?), only 3091 profile views & 935 plays on last.fm, these guys are mysterious. Their music has been labelled (kinda negatively) as 'noise' and 'trash', but if one takes the trouble to actually listen to it -- it's quite fantastic. Ignoring the fact that they've only released 4 songs.

If anything, it's more distorted and confused than Crystal Castles', which shows a semblance of structure in some songs and has underlying depth in all, despite the cover of chaos. Apartment Play's songs don't really speak of structure or construction as such; but it's a nice sound, and if you liked Crystal Castles, you might just like this too, intense as it is.



And for your downloaaading pleasuree~
Apartment Play -- toanwts
Apartment Play -- Greco is a Parasite
Crystal Castles -- Dolls

Enjoy!

Folkie: Lightspeed Champion

Being a former Test Icicles fan i know him as Dev, and will refer to him as Dev. Wow! 180 180 - from the "make my ear bleed" dance punk sound of the Test Icicles to the more folk-like sounds of Lightspeed Champion - with the name coming from a series of comic strips Dev did as a teenager in his school maths books.

Having crossed the pond in early 2007, Dev went over to Omaha, Nebraska to record his debut album - "Falling Off The Lavender Bridge". Being a one man band Mr. Champion had to turn to several established musicians from The Faint, Cursive And The Tilly Wall and Emmy The Great. The coming together of so many different musicians of whom have very different influences can be seen throughout the album - highlighted by the showcasing a wide variety of instruments. Violins, Banjos, Horns alongside the sounds of any indie-folk artis - heavy strumming and twinkly synths.

Personally i think the album is brilliant, despite such a happy feel the album is able to convey such dirty and grungy lyrics. Songs like "Midnight Surprise" and "Let The Bitches Die" provide an outlet for Hynes to be rude, provocative and frank, whilst still being able to maintain the light hearted sounds of the record and without having to resort to darker elements or a slower tempo. His songwriting ability has not impressed many...i disagree - Dev's voice is superbly melodic and versatile - the defining characteristic of his songs. These range from straightforward folk ballads, to rock, to harmonic pop. The mid-song banter is suitably inane, but free of swearing. The album emits a comfortable Brit-pop and Omaha-laced country-rock energy.

Lightspeed Champion -- Fresh Failures (Let the Sunshine In).mp3

Electric Electric: Steve Aoki

ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY ARE YOU READY

Pillowface And His Airplane Chronicles. Aoki explained that there's a meaning behind the album name. Pillow Face is a character he created who is really his alter ego. He is "traveling and surviving with no sleep – practically, no sleep for weeks, yet still being able to function. His head turns into a pillow. Airplane Chronicles – was referring to the constant traveling, living in airports and going global.



Going global is exactly what he did; with his touchdown in KL little under a month ago. I do enjoy the album it is really "dancey" and makes me want to stomp my feet. Aoki has managed to include some of your favorite bands and performers into an "actionpackallstarcast" cd. Yelle, Justice, Bloc Party, Klaxons and Mystery Jets. He has also been able to capture the essence of the Hollywood sub-culture "Scarlet Jo and Lindsay Lo" + "Found god on the next episode of LOST". Unfortunately he has also managed to include the likes of Mickey Avalon "Chilling in the locker room with Mark the Cobrasnake, taking pictures of my dick".I don't know, it may just be me -- but i would never admit to something like that through a press statement or a track. Mickey Avalon you homofreak. Besides "Wet N Wild" there seems to be a recurring theme throughout the CD; sexxsexxsexx. "All i say is sex sex sex" and again in the same song "I sleep all day and i fuck all night" - thank you Waters of Nazareth. 

The opening track "New Noise" is the worst mix/dance track i've ever heard. I'm tempted to rename the track into something more fitting like -- "Electric Nazism". It doesn't seem to fit with the feel of the CD - sexxsexxsexx. Though it does come close as it screams raperaperape.

sexsexsexing everyone

Needless to say there are still some great great great tracks on the mix. Aoki has been able to appeal to many cultures and music tastes through a single album, hippidy hop, indiecindy, jewhatingnazifuck and pop. All of which are going to contribute to mazzive CD sales and undoubtedly mega chart success. Props.



BUY BUY BUY

Folkie: Joanna Newsom

Female singers; we've all seen the category labels, in the music stores, at the Grammys, on music blogs. And they're all women & they all sing. Woohoo. Lots of them sound shit, and lots of them sound like each other -- get lost, get lost! you scream; we don't want another excuse for a strip-tease of a music video parading around pretending to make 'music'! Go find yourself a red light district, jesus.

So I'm going to tell y'all about a woman who sings unlike any other musician I have ever come across, and whose voice I hated upon hearing. Because it was just so odd & unusual & (as the harshest of critics say) "child-like" -- how could anyone sing the way Joanna Newsom did? Why would anyone sing this way? (Yes, her screeches of "disembodieeeed" sounded horrible.) And so my face would scrunch up with a look of disgust everytime "Bridges & Balloons" came up due to the iPod Shuffle's lack of judgment.



But like fungus grows on old bread & moss on old stones, so grew Joanna Newsom's eerie, quirky, completely unusual brand of music on me. This woman makes music. And she doesn't just do it with an endearing (once you hear it enough) & beautiful voice, but also with some amazingly elite harp-playing skills & some brilliantly eloquent lyrics to match (who else would sing about calm canaries getting irritable? or scraps of sassafras?). Her style of music is usually classified as 'indie folk'; some say it has strains of 'Appalachian music' -- I don't even know what that is, so I'm not going to pretend it is -- & others 'psych folk', along the breed of other eccentric & experimental folkies: Devendra Banhart, Mirah, Cat Power & the Animal Collective. I'm just going to classify it as 'beautiful' & 'inspiring' & 'lovely-to-fall-asleep-to' -- the harp lends her music a serene quality, and her lyrics are almost stories in themselves (particularly in the album Ys).

And despite her unique classifications, she still finds the time to lend her classical harp-playing skills to noise-rock trio Nervous Cop (which features the likes of Deerhoof's Greg Saunier), and her keyboard-playing skills to rockers/post-punkers The Pleased. They're worth a check-out too, if only for variance. (: There's also a loverly loverly loverrrrly cover of "Bridges & Balloons" done by none other than The Decemberists, which appears on their Picaresqueties album & has some uplifting jangly guitar chords :-) check THAT out too, because it's actually one of the best covers I have ever heard. Annnnnd long post, but I could go on about her awesomeness forever. So give her a listen.

Pop: The Kooks (Konk)

Luke Pritchard
Hugh Harris
Paul Garred
Dan Logan

The Kooks never cease to impress me; from the day i found out that Pritchard wrote "Naive" at age fifteen i have been in awe of their musical talent. The Kooks have shown such promise; with their debut album Inside In/ Inside Out going platinum, opening for the Rolling Stones, the adoring fans, the adoring women, the length of playtime they receive on mainstream radio and my play count of Eddie's Gun.

And then Konk came along.

Not to say that Konk is a bad album, in fact in isolation it's a great album. The guitars are catchy, the lyrics are intelligent and there is a definite "sing-a-long" vibe to Konk. "Always Where I Need To Be" is a perfect "first of summer song" for 2008.

The only problem i have with it is the lack of progression. Kooks 08 is still Kooks 06. What has changed? There has been little sign of the band maturing and moving away from their original sound. But why should they? Well for starters when i listen to them on my iPod, (off the top of my head) i cant tell where one album stops and the other starts. How long can they continue this "Kook Album Template" before people get bored and turn towards other bands who provide a little bit more than the Kooks or are exactly the same but with a more catchier name "The Crayon Kids". I'm tired of hearing about Luke Pritchard's love life and the groans of wasted teenage dreams. Give me something more.

Maybe this is me just being overly pedantic - trying to find faults in what is destined to be a best seller. Errgh. I don't know if i truly like it or not - well i do...i like it.

'Ardcore: This City

Chris Purr - Vocals
Arran Day - Guitar
Grant Coleman - Guitar & Vocals
George Travis - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Ben Morgan - Drums & Vocals

A bunch of neo-post-quasi-sub-pseudo-new-wave kids, picking up where the Test Icicles left off. This City. Who label themselves as “Hardcore Indie Pop” are a testament to a good jamming session – yelpy vocals and jagged riffs. Leaving me screaming for moreee.

I like it very loud.

The band are able to melt and mix together the indie guitars, yelpy lyrics and disco choruses to create a song that has a holistic approach to my music taste.

Pop: Foals

Foals Foals Foals. With a new album "Antidotes" out, these five guys reek of yummy British accents and strange obscure bleeping sounds in the middle of their songs.

Yannis Philippakis
Jack Bevan
Jimmy Smith
Edwin Congreave
Walter Gervers

Formed by various cliques of childhood friends; a pair of Oxford drop-outs, a pair of cult math-rockers & then some, Foals bring a unique mix of sounds to the fore: they fuse synthesizers with guitar lines. Their music is experimentative, having been produced by Dave Sitek of "TV on the Radio" -- it's a mixture of the usual mechanic techno beats & slightly more unusual 12-piece brass afro-beats, and it's bit of a rollercoaster listen through the whole album.

If you like the experimentative, math rock, obscure (and sometimes slightly angry?) lyrics or even just a bit of unclassifiable synthesised pop, then this band is one you should definitely check out; their debut album has been heralded as one of the best Britain will see released this year, and tracks such as "Cassius" & "Electric Bloom" do not disappoint :-)

Electric Electric: Ghost Frequency

Doran Edwards - Vocals
Barney Ward - Synthesizer
Ross Colgan - Guitar
Ben Chetwood – Drums

“we want prosthetic limbs, we want disasterrrr”

If you were into the Test Icicles or enjoy the sounds of raging laptops, flaying guitars and pulsating synthesizers then this ma copain is the band for you.

Having formed in the Spring of 05 the Ghost Frequency has been able to gain a lot of ground in such a short time. Supporting “Hadouken!” and other acts like “Does It Offend You Yeah?”

The beats are catchy, the lyrics are witty and the synths are synthy synthia.