I grew up on the crimeside... the NY Times side

A classic... the laidback piano loop sample over the beat is - to me - RZA at his very best. Hiphop fan or not, it's just great.

Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M



Choice Quote:

"But I'm still depressed, and I ask what's it worth?
Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth
Who explained working hard may help you maintain
to learn to overcome the heartaches and pain"

From their debut and absolute classic Enter the Wu (36 Chambers)

We used to dream, now we worry about dying

Your new favorite band is called Japandroids and here's why you're going to love them...

1. They're called Japandroids for crying out loud.

2. They make awesome lo-fi noisy garage rock.

3. This is how they describe themselves on their myspace; "imagine GUNS N ROSES meets IGGY & THE STOOGES meets THE SONICS meets THE ROLLING STONES!!!! that's the band we wish we were. we're not though. not even close." So you know they're cool guys too...

4. They might be lo-fi and only two, but they're not minimal... they're maximal.

5. Watch the video below and then love them...

Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire



Post- Nothing is out now on Unfamiliar Records

I love the Power Glove... it's so bad!

Video game themes in metal versions... gotta love it!

Powerglove - Mario Minor



Check out their myspace here...

The stuff of legends...

The Bats

The Bats - North by North



This should be a huge song... you know, U2 huge with that almost stadium rock sound (definitely not MOR though). It reminds of all that was great of 80's indie rock (which is a sentence I don't say often). It has that Siouxsie and The Banshees/ The Cure pop sensibility and sounds eerily a lot like Arcade Fire (maybe they're fans). Great song.

Better Late Than Never?

So about a year ago French Kicks made their single Abandon available for download and now (yes, now... 1 year later) the video is out.... Better late than never, I guess.

The song was one of my definite favorites from last year and it was pretty much a constant feature on my iPod. The only reason it didn't make my year-end list was that I wasn't sure it was from 2008 (how cool am I?). Definitely one of the very best indie rock songs 0f 2008.

French Kicks - Abandon



The song can still be downloaded (legally) from stereogum here. Do it!

Love Is A Boat And We're Sinking

I've been loving Dinosaur Pile- Up for a while now and I thought it was about time that I gave them some bloglove too. Their music is a mix of the indie rock á la The Strokes and grunge. Remember grunge? Yeah, it's become a much maligned term, but who cares when the music sounds great... and worry not, I haven't seen any flannel shirts. Yet.

"Love is a Boat and We're Sinking" is great indie rock (almost poppy), while "My Rock'n'Roll" is very reminiscent of Foo Fighters circa The Color and The Shape (an album I'm especially partial to). Enjoy!

Dinosaur Pile- Up - Love Is a Boat and We're Sinking



Dinosaur Pile- Up - My Rock'n'Roll

Now We Can See

So simple. So good. 'nuff said.

The Thermals - Now We Can See

I Need Wheels!

Best rap song ever (ever!). A 13-year-old kid rapping about needing a car so he can see his girls... how can something so wrong seem so right?

Lil' Mac - I Need Wheels

April Fools

The best joke I've seen this year's april fools has got to be the one done by Qualcomm. Wireless Convergence has been taken to the next level!



The site is also well worth a visit. Someone has really put an effort in to it... I love it.

Vlad the Impaler

The first song and video from Kasabian's forthcoming album has just been revealed and it's quite something. The song is a return to the more electronic- feel of the first album. Heavy bass-y sound (as on both their albums), but less of a indie rock sound - which you sort of had on the last album. I really like this song, but you can't really say that it's a radio hit pop song.

... the excellent video with Noel Fielding (Mighty Boosh remains one of my favorite tv shows... eels eels!) should however give them plenty of views.

You can download the song for free at Kasabian's website... in exchange for your email... here!

Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler


Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler from Kasabian on Vimeo.