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Nov 29, 2008

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

Nov 3, 2008

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.

Oct 27, 2008

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.

Oct 13, 2008

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.

Oct 12, 2008

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!




Oct 6, 2008

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 NoiseValium 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.

Oct 3, 2008

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 :)

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

Oct 1, 2008

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

Sep 30, 2008

GRRAOOWWHHHHH

izkandariseighteenwootwoot

Sep 29, 2008

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.

Sep 26, 2008

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)

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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! =)