Spleen United and The William Blakes

Both are groups based in Denmark. Their cover version of Kate Bush's 1985 hit Running Up That Hill is really good.

the high Fs

Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, the second aria by the Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) is one of the most difficult arias to perform, ranging over two octaves from F4 to the almost supernatural F6.

It is difficult enough for most sopranos. I was blown away to see it performed by a treble (boy soprano).

This clip is of Robin Schlotz in July 2005 when he was 13 years old. He was a member of Tölzer Knabenchor (a famous choir) in Munich.



Though not perfect and one would not expect so from a 13 year old boy, reaching the high Fs was incredible.

Here are another 40


And someone's top four

Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde acoustic

Here is a great acoustic version of Blonde on Blonde - one of my favourite songs of all time.

Okkervil River

Okkervil River (MySpace) is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, they signed with independent label Jagjaguwar, based in Bloomington, Indiana. I only have the last two (fourth and fifth albums), which are brilliant.


B. Cassidy, T. Nelsen, J. Meiburg, P. Pestorius, S. Brackett, W. Sheff

album cover for the highly acclaimed Black Sheep Boy (2005)


album cover for The Stage Names (2007)


album cover for The Stand Ins (2008)


clip for 'Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe' from The Stage Names


See also YouTube channel OkkervilRiver

November playlist

Joel Macdonald and Troy Selwood over at mac-bunno.tv (their blog) are two players with the Brisbane Lions and music is an important part of their slickly produced videos of the happenings at the football club, and off-field adventures.

Since portable music players were invented (remember those Sony cassette tape Walkmans?), music has been an important part of game preparation.

Anyway, Joel (jmac) put up a playlist for October of what is current on his iPod.

Similarly, here is my November playlist (of full albums) -

Glasvegas - Glasvegas
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
Army Navy - Army Navy
Kaiser Chiefs - Off with their Heads
Nine Black Alps - Love/Hate
Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
What Made Milwaukee Famous - Trying Never to Catch Up
What Made Milwaukee Famous - What Doesn't Kill Us

Glasvegas

I first wrote about Glasvegas on 19 January 2008. Their album will finally be released in Australia on 7 November.

I couldn't wait and ordered the CD+DVD from amazon.co.uk, which Kim brought back from her recent trip to the UK.

album cover for Glasvegas self-titled (debut) album


The album doesn't disappointed and was worth the very long wait.

Gritty, working class and raw, Glasvegas has a fresh sound that touches a nerve. If you like Hard-Fi, you'll love Glasvegas.

Autour De Lucie

Autour De Lucie (MySpace) is a French pop/rock band consisting of vocalist Valérie Leulliot, guitarist Olivier Durand and bassist Fabrice Dumont. Their sound reminds me a little of Camera Obscura.



album cover for Autour de Lucie (originally as L'Échappée belle)


clip for 'Sur Tes Pas'


live clip for 'Je Reviens'


clip for 'Personne N'est Comme Toi'

Jason Mraz - wordsmith

Jason Mraz (MySpace) is an amazing singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia who has a wonderful way with words.

I came late to Mr Mraz, back in 2006 after the release of his second album. His third has been a long time coming and it was worth the wait.



album cover for Waiting for My Rocket to Come



album cover for Mr. A-Z


album cover for We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things




live performance of Curbside Prophet from the album Waiting for My Rocket to Come


clip for Wordplay from Mr. A-Z


clip for Life is Wonderful Mr. A-Z




clip for I'm Yours from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things


More from YouTube OfficialJasonMraz

Glasvegas - Geraldine

Another brilliant new song by Glasvegas

clip for Geraldine

Glasvegas has finally signed with a label - Columbia with their debut album due out in August or September.

VHS or Beta

VHS or Beta (MySpace) is a rock/French house/dance-punk group from Louisville, Kentucky. They have an awesome sound and could have stepped out of the seventies.

Their latest album, Bring on the Comets was released in August 2007 following Night on Fire in 2004.

album cover for Bring on the Comets


Craig Pfunder, Mike McGill, Mark Guldry, Chea Beckley and Mark Paldry



clip for 'Can't Believe a Sing Word' from Bring on the Comets


live clip for 'Burn It All Down' from Bring on the Comets


clip for 'You Got Me' from Night on Fire


More from YouTube VHS or Beta channel

The Last Shadow Puppets

I watched a video clip this morning on Rage and thought Arctic Monkeys had a new song out. In fact, it was from a new group formed by Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and Miles Kane from The Rascals called The Last Shadow Puppets (MySpace).



The title song 'The Age Of The Understatement' is brilliant

clip of 'The Age Of The Understatement'

live studio clip of 'The Age Of The Understatement'


clip for 'Standing Next To Me'


album cover of soon to be released The Age Of The Understatement

The Feeling - Join With Us

The Feeling's latest album Join With Us is brilliant.

album cover of Join With Us


clip for the newest single 'I thought it was over'


live in London at Porchester hall

MUSE live

MUSE's latest album is a recording of the Wembley Stadium concert on 16 and 17 June 2007, which includes both CD and DVD.

A fantastic album.

album cover of HAARP

OneRepublic

I recently discovered OneRepublic (MySpace), a Los Angeles based rock group (originally formed in Colorado), which performed in a recent episode of Smallville.

OneRepublic had great success on MySpace before releasing their debut album Dreaming Out Loud late last year. Lead singer Ryan Tedder has a brilliant falsetto, when he uses it.



album cover for Dreaming Out Loud


clip for 'Apologize'


clip for 'Mercy'


appearance on Smallville (snippet of 'Stop and Stare')


More from OneRepublic on YouTube including a clip of 'Apologize' featuring Timbaland

Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional (MySpace) is one of the better emo groups, which has a great sound courtesy of lead singer Chris Carrabba who sings with great anguish.

They have been around for more than eight years, releasing their debut album The Swiss Army Romance in 2000. This was followed by another four albums, with the latest The Shade of Poison Trees released last year. I still think their best work is Dusk and Summer.

Chris Carrabba


album cover for Dusk and Summer


album cover for The Shade of Poison Trees


clip for 'Don't Wait' from Dusk and Summer


live clip for 'Stolen' from Dusk and Summer


As with most emo music, listening to it depends on mood.