Daniel's Music

The Maccabeats are dynamire

2011-11-12T23:30:00.000+11:00

The Maccabeats are a cappella group from Yeshiva University formed in 2007. Their 'spoof' of Taio Cruz's Dynamite from late last year for Hanukkah was a hit.

The style was based on the Mike Tompkins cappella adaptation.

The original

Duetto buffo di due gatti

2011-04-16T17:30:00.002+10:00

Duetto buffo di due gatti (cat duet) is often attributed to Gioachino Rossini as much of the music in that piece is drawn from his opera Otello. According to allmusic

The origins of this work are cloudy, but historians agree that it is not an authentic work by Rossini. It does, however, contain a good deal of Rossini's music, so the attribution is not completely off the mark. The Cat Duet contains elements of 1) the aria "Ah, come mai non senti," from the second act of Rossini's opera Otello (1816), 2) a nearby duet between the characters Otello and Iago, and 3) an earlier work in the same vein, the "Cat Cavatina" of Danish opera and song composer C.E.F. Weyse. The compiler was probably Robert Lucas Pearsall, a British composer better known for his output of hymns. In 1973, the Schott publishing house issued a facsimile of an 1825 edition of the Cat Duet, published by Ewer & Johanning and credited to Pearsall, but bearing the pseudonym G. Berthold.

It is a wonderful and entertaining piece of work.

Montserrat Caballe and (her daughter) Montserrat Marti on German television

Pauline Tinsley and Elizabeth Vaughan for Welsh National Opera, 1996

Hannah Holgersson and Agnes Vojtko with the Cairo Opera Orchestra, 2007

Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois (Paris), 1996 in Korea. Soloists - Hyacinthe de Moulins and Regis Mengus (dark hair)

(This was wrongly attributed to Escolania of Montserrat, as Catalunia Catholic Boys' Choir, by NorCalBlogs)

The last video has gone 'viral' but most first-time listeners have no idea about the piece.

Clueso - An und für sich

2011-04-13T21:45:00.002+10:00

Clueso's latest album release An und für sich was released on 25 March 2011 and is a beauty.

Listen to samplers from Amazon.de.

The first single is Zu schnell vorbei (clip)

The Holidays

2010-07-31T00:01:00.000+10:00

The Holidays (MySpace) is a pop/soul band from Sydney comprising Simon Jones (guitar and vocals), Will Magnus (guitar and synths), Alex Kortt (bass guitar and steel drums) and Andrew Kerridge (drums and percussion). Formed in 2006, they have been playing the live music scene and signed with Liberation Music in 2008. Their debut album Post-Paradise will be released on 24 September 2010 (in Australia).

They have already released two singles from the forthcoming album. Video clips below.

Their sound is fresh and soulful. Simon Jones has a very interesting voice.

clip for 'Golden Sky'

clip for 'Moonlight Hours'

Hurts

2010-07-15T20:30:00.004+10:00

Hurts (MySpace, facebook, YouTube, Twitter) is a duo from Manchester comprising Theo Hutchcraft (vocals) and Adam Anderson (electronics, guitar). Formed in 2009, they were number four in BBC's Sound of 2010 list. They have released two singles from their forthcoming album called Happiness (RCA, September 2010) - video clips below.

(from Hurts MySpace)

Described as 1980s inspired electro-pop, their sound is rather more sophisticated, with a stylish look to go along with it.

clip for 'Wonderful Life'

clip for 'Better Than Love'

See also live performance on German 1LIVE.

Over the Rainbow

2010-07-10T21:30:00.000+10:00

Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwoʻole's Platinum selling hit "Over the Rainbow" official video produced by Jon de Mello for The Mountain Apple Company

Iz was one of the most successful musicians from Hawaii. Sadly, he passed away in 1997, aged 38 from weight-related respiratory illness. His memory lives on through his music.

Clueso - Gewinner (live)

2010-02-16T22:10:00.000+11:00

Performed at 1LIVE KRONE in December 2009. Clueso took out single of the year with Gewinner, and also awarded artist (Künstler) of the year.

One of my favourite songs.

I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron

2010-02-03T22:30:00.001+11:00

The Guardian has raved about Gil Scott-Heron's new album I'm New Here and rightly so.

clip for Me and the Devil

Clueso

2010-01-07T21:15:00.002+11:00

Clueso (MySpace), real name Thomas Hübner, from Erfurt is one of the best musicians from Germany. He began performing 15 years ago at age 15, releasing his first vinyl in 1998. Clueso began as an hip-hop artist before turning to reggae and then pop.

His style now is quite sophisticated in the vein of Jason Mraz, if not better. I find his word play extraordinarily clever. Clueso's last album So Sehr Dabei was released in 2008 and was number three in the German charts for that year (a live version album was also released in 2009). All of Clueso's music are available from iTunes.

Clueso (from his MySpace)

Album cover for Weit Weg

Album cover for So Sehr Dabei

clip for 'Gewinner' from the album So Sehr Dabei

clip for 'Niemand an dich denkt ' from So Sehr Dabei

Short Note

2010-01-04T20:15:00.001+11:00

Last year, I wrote about Matt Finish.

The video clip for Short Note (1981) is now available. The song has also recently been remixed with orchestra and it is amazing - if a little sad for people like me who remember the original at the time.

There is also a clip of lead singer, Matt Moffitt's hit, 'Miss This Tonight' from his solo album As Little As A Look

Unfortunately, As Little As A Look was only released as a vinyl LP in 1986 (and possibly cassette tape) and has not been released on CD by Sony BMG, which inherited the rights from CBS Records.

Auletta

2009-12-29T22:40:00.004+11:00

Auletta (MySpace) is the name of a town located in Italy and the name of a relatively new indie-style band from Mainz, Germany. They formed in 2005 with lead singer (and guitarist) Alexander Zwick, guitarist Martin Kloos, drummer Johannes Juschzak and bass guitarist Daniel Juschzak.

Their style is actually more post-punk and represent a new fresh sound in German pop. They signed with EMI Germany and released their first album Pöbelei & Poesie on 2009 June 23, available from iTunes worldwide.

press photo of the band

album cover for Pöbelei & Poesie

clip for song, Meine Stadt

clip for song, Ein Engel kein König.

Auletta Ein Engel Kein König - MyVideo

check out more clips from YouTube Auletta band channel

Spleen United and The William Blakes

2009-10-21T21:10:00.003+11:00

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

2009-01-15T21:30:00.002+11:00

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

A recording of Edda Moser's rendition is featured in Yoyager's Golden Record to share with the universe.

Nada Surf - Blonde on Blonde acoustic

2008-12-26T08:30:00.000+11:00

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

Okkervil River

2008-12-25T20:30:00.001+11:00

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

2008-11-04T20:00:00.001+11:00

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

2008-11-04T11:00:00.005+11:00

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 disappoint 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

2008-08-31T23:30:00.001+10:00

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

2008-06-23T19:20:00.002+10:00

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

2008-05-20T20:30:00.003+10:00

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

2008-05-06T20:45:00.002+10:00

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

2008-04-12T21:00:00.003+10:00

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

2008-04-04T22:45:00.003+11:00

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

2008-03-28T23:00:00.000+11:00

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

2008-03-15T15:00:00.001+11:00

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

2008-03-09T16:30:00.003+11:00

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.

British Sea Power

2008-02-17T16:10:00.002+11:00

British Sea Power (MySpace) is an indie rock band from Brighton (UK), which has been around for eight years or so. When their second album was released in 2005, the BBC described their sound as

They touch on The Cure's epicness, Joy Division's desolation, the Pixies' scrawling fire and Talking Heads' twisted pop, all without ever truly revealing their influences.

I only discovered them this year, by trying to keep in touch with the British music scene through reviews in the UK media. There is so much good music from Britain at the moment, which rarely rates a mention in Australia.

Their latest album Do You Like Rock Music? was rated five stars out of five by The Observer and tipped to be one of the hottest albums for 2008. NME's review was amazingly 'lyrical'. The BBC just about gushed. And rightly so.

CD cover for debut album The Decline of British Sea Power (2003)

CD cover for Open Season (2005)

CD cover for Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)

clip for 'Waving Flags' from Do You Like Rock Music?

clip for 'No Lucifer' from Do You Like Rock Music?

clip for 'Please Stand Up' from Open Season

clip for 'It Ended On an Oily Stage' from Open Season

clip for 'Remember Me' from The Decline of British Sea Power

Hard-Fi - new video clip

2008-02-16T13:30:00.001+11:00

clip for 'I Shall Overcome' from Once Upon a Time in the West

Film School

2008-02-11T22:30:00.001+11:00

Film School (MySpace) is another indie rock band (from San Francisco) that I listen to, which has a great guitar sound. They released their debut album Brilliant Career in 2001, which is now a rarity. Their self-titled second album Film School was released in 2006 when I discovered them. Hideout followed last year. Both are excellent albums, though seeing them live would be even better.

CD cover for Film School

CD cover for Hideout

clip for '11:11' from Film School

clip for 'Like You Know' from Film School

mini documentary about the band

They should really try to put more clips on to YouTube.

The Kooks

2008-02-09T23:55:00.001+11:00

The Kooks (MySpace) is an indie rock band from Brighton, UK with a unique and refreshing sound, particularly the vocals of lead singer Luke Pritchard. Their debut album Inside In/Inside Out in early 2006 was very successful in the UK. They deserve greater success in the US and Australia. I really like their sound.

I am really looking forward to their follow up album Konk to be released on 14 April 2008.

CD cover for Inside In/Inside Out

CD cover for Konk

clip for 'Naive'

clip for 'Ooh La'

clip for 'Sofa Song'

(live) clip for 'Eddie's Gun'

More from The Kooks' YouTube thekooksofficial

Foals

2008-02-03T12:30:00.002+11:00

Another hot tip for 2008 is Foals (MySpace). They are a new band from Oxford, UK. In an interview with the BBC, Foals spoke about their sound, which BBC has also described as 'punk-funk'

"We play guitar in a different way from pretty much any other mainstream indie band," declares Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis.

"We have a piano which is used in a different way to how most other bands would use it."

Guitar effects pedals are employed to "mimic the sound of the solar system", he continues, attempting to explain what sets this five-piece apart from the average rock band.

"We're just different."

They have a fresh sound, though the song Cassius reminds me of Franz Ferdinand. They also wouldn't have sounded out of place in the 1980s with their brand of punk. From a review in The Indepedent

That Foals aesthetic is one of discovery and invention, driven by a need to create something relevant within today's cultural landscape. In an industry obsessed with rehashing past styles, Foals looked to unexploited resources of musical inspiration to incorporate into their sound.

and

The band's debut album, Antidotes, is an explosion of colour and one of the most astonishingly original records of the past decade. It is a patchwork of influences, from Afrobeat and math rock to German techno and Steve Reich's minimalist loops, all woven together with a pop sensibility and a desire to defy the restraining influence of the mainstream.

Hmmm...

CD cover for upcoming album Antidotes (from 24 March)

clip for 'Mathletics'

clip for 'Hummer'

clip for 'Cassius'

More from Foals' YouTube wearefoals channel

Vampire Weekend

2008-02-02T23:45:00.002+11:00

Vampire Weekend (MySpace) does not sing about ghoulish things such as drinking blood. Actually, I've been listening to their debut album and still haven't worked out their lyrics.

Vampire Weekend is a New York band whose debut album (released this week) has been critically acclaimed. From The Guardian

Their debut album offers a meticulous hybrid of US indie rock, African pop, reggae and Irish folk, performed by four recent Ivy League graduates, who helpfully dress as recent Ivy League graduates and pose in front of blackboards and so on. That, presumably, is for the benefit of anyone unable to work out their origins from their habits of calling songs things such as Campus or writing lyrics about baroque architecture, forms of punctuation so obscure that even Lynne Truss doesn't understand them, and life among the moneyed twentysomethings of Hyannisport and Provincetown. It sounds like the winning answer to a tie-breaker beginning "the most annoying band in the world is ..."

And a great review in Rolling Stone magazine which explains a bit more about the African influence

As for the African thing, Vampire Weekend cite the blog Bennloxo.com as a source of current Afro-pop; one assumes that they're also well-acquainted with Graceland. They're smart enough to know there's a political dimension to Columbia kids borrowing from Afro-pop, and their appropriations seem fairly unspecific. Those appropriations are also tucked neatly into VW's sound: "Bryn" rides the kind of triplet-based polyrhythms both India and Africa could claim, but the tune is a love-struck thing Arcade Fire might turn out. Then there's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," the most Afro of the pop tunes here, with a conga groove and register-jumping bass lines. Koenig mentions Benetton. He sings, "This feels so unnatural/Peter Gabriel, too." VW may grow out of this kind of self-consciousness, but the song is warm and well-executed — just like most of their debut.

They are also one of the BBC's top picks for 2008.

CD cover for self-titled debut album

clip for 'Mansard Roof'

(live) clip for 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa'

clip for 'A-Punk'

(live) clip for 'Oxford Comma'

(live) clip for 'A-Punk'

Arctic Monkeys

2008-01-31T18:00:00.001+11:00

It's voting time again for the Shockwaves NME Awards and Arctic Monkeys (MySpace) has been nominated for seven awards - best British band, best live band, best album (for Favourite Worst Nightmare), best track (for 'Fluorescent Adolescent'), best video (for 'Teddy Picker') and best video album artwork (for Favourite Worst Nightmare), with lead singer Alex Turner also nominated for the "best dressed" award.

Arctic Monkeys was formed in Sheffield in 2002. Their first single 'I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor' went straight to number one in the UK charts. Their debut album Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not was critically acclaimed and a bestseller.

The success of Arctic Monkeys was not driven by major marketing by a major label but by the band themselves using the internet.

CD cover for Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not

CD cover for Favourite Worst Nightmare

(live) clip for 'I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor'

clip for 'Fluorescent Adolescent'

clip for 'Teddy Picker'

clip for 'Brianstorm'

Hard-Fi

2008-01-28T15:00:00.001+11:00

Hard-Fi (MySpace) is an indie rock band from Surrey, not far from London, with an incredible fresh sound in the style of post-punk. Highly successful in the UK, they deserve to be more popular here in Australia.

I really liked their first album, Stars of CCTV, and their second, Once Upon a Time in the West was an excellent follow up.

CD cover for Stars of CCTV

CD cover for Once Upon a Time in the West

clip for 'Cash Machine' from Stars of CCTV

clip for 'Hard to Beat' from Stars of CCV

clip for 'Living for the Weekend' from Stars of CCTV

clip for 'Suburban Knights' from Once Upon a Time in the West

More from Hard-Fi's YouTube channel

Editors

2008-01-27T14:00:00.001+11:00

Editors (MySpace) is a Birmingham indie rock band with a unique sound, particularly from lead singer Tom Smith. Relatively new (their debut album The Back Room was released in July 2005), I think they will become bigger.

CD cover for album The Back Room

CD cover for An End Has a Start (June 2007)

clip for 'Munich' from The Back Room

clip for 'Blood' from The Back Room

(studio) clip for 'Smokers Outside the Hospital Door' from An End Has a Start

clip for 'The Racing Rats' from An End Has a Start

More from Editors' YouTube editorsTV

Nada Surf

2008-01-26T18:30:00.002+11:00

Nada Surf (MySpace) is another indie group that should and deserve greater recognition. In fact, they have a larger following in Europe than in the United States.

A New York band, they started in 1992 before releasing their 1996 album on a major label, High/Low, from which the single 'Popular' became a cult favourite. They followed up with The Proximity Effect, which the major label refused to issue, instead going to an indie label.

Their third album, Let Go, is one of my favourites. I sent Let Go to a friend in the United States and introduced him to Nada Surf. He was lucky enough to attend a concert last year and sent me a signed copy of their fourth album The Weight Is a Gift.

I am so looking forward to the latest album, Lucky, which will be released in Australia on 18 February.

CD cover of Let Go

CD cover of Lucky

clip for 'Popular'

(live) clip for 'Blonde On Blonde' from Let Go

(studio) clip for 'Blizzard of 77' from Let Go

(studio) clip for 'Always Love' from Let Go

clip for 'Blanket Year' from The Weight is a Gift

clip for 'Whose Authority' from the forthcoming album Lucky

See also Reuters article of 8 December 2007

Echt and Kim Frank

2008-01-20T21:00:00.003+11:00

Echt was a German pop band that started in 1997. They were huge in Germany and were known as a 'teeniband'. Their style of pop was fresh and addictive.

CD cover for Echt (self titled debut album) 1998

clip for 'Alles wird sich ändern' from album Echt (I love this song)

clip for 'Du trägst keine Liebe in dir' from album Freischwimmer (1999)

clip for 'Weinst du' (live) from Freischwimmer

The band went into hiatus in 2001 and lead singer Kim Frank (MySpace) has pursued a very successful solo career.

CD cover for Hellblau

clip for 'Zwei Sommer' (live) from Hellblau

If Echt had sung in English, they would have been huge internationally. What a shame that non-German speakers miss out.

Glasvegas

2008-01-19T18:30:00.002+11:00

Glasvegas (Myspace) is a yet unsigned band from Glasgow, which BBC is tipping to be one of the hottest new talents for 2008 (fourth in their top ten).

They are: A Glaswegian four-piece who play vintage rock and pop with brooding guitars, like the Jesus and Mary Chain covering the Grease soundtrack.
NME magazine said they had put out the best debut single since the Arctic Monkeys.
The pundits say: "Glasvegas already sound like a classic band." Jonas Woost, Last.FM head of music
They say: "There's something really authentic about a lot of doo-wop and '50s rock 'n' roll."

Matt Finish

2008-01-13T23:00:00.001+11:00

In the 1980s, Australian guitar bands (which were mainstream, but considered to be 'alternative' these days) had a particular sound which reflected where they were formed. Matt Finish (MySpace) was formed in Sydney and had that quintessential Sydney sound.

After a few years playing the pub circuit, they released their first album Short Note in 1981 which remains a classic today. The title track 'Short Note' can be heard from MySpace (link above).

clip for 'Come On Over' (1984) from album Word of Mouth

In between breaking up and reforming a number of times, lead singer Matt Moffitt released a debut solo album in 1986 called As Little As A Look and the single 'Miss This Tonight' charted reasonably well. I had the album on vinyl LP but unfortunately lost it in a move. Today, it is a rarity.

Moffitt died suddenly in 2003 at the age of 46. RIP.

The band Matt Finish was reformed in 2006 for the "Matt Moffitt Memorial Tour". It has continued with a regularly changing line up.

Short Note (1981) is still one of my favourites. If I had to describe what Sydney sounds like as music, Short Note would still be it.

Athlete

2008-01-12T19:00:00.001+11:00

Athlete (MySpace) is a four-piece band from Deptford UK who debuted in 2003 with Vehicles and Animals. I am yet to find anybody else I know who likes them. Lead singer Joel Pott has a very melancholic and angsty style which makes Athlete an emotional version of the Coldplay-like music which is a very common sound these days. Still very much under-rated.

CD cover for Tourist (2nd album) - one of my favourites

CD cover for Beyond the Neighbourhood (latest album)

clip for Twenty Four Hours (live) - from Tourist

clip for Tourist

clip for Hurricane - from Beyond the Neighbourhood

More clips from YouTube Athlete Channel

Les milles et une vies d'Ali Baba

2008-01-09T23:00:00.001+11:00

Les milles et une vies d'Ali Baba is a French musical which had a great run in Paris and was a huge hit in 2000.

Most musicals today seem to be derivative, a collection of existing hit songs, or Andrew Lloyd Weber productions. And they are all in English. This is really limiting.

Les milles et une vies d'Ali Baba is the type of musical that could and should go global. Sure, it is all in French, but then most classical operas are in Italian, French or German. Just include the lyrics in both English and French in the souvenir program.

The song 'A quoi bon' was a huge hit in France and charted highly.

'A quoi bon' from Les milles et une vies d'Ali Baba

'Tu Me Manques Depuis Longtemps' from Les milles et une vies d'Ali Baba

Sonia Lacen is now a really huge and famous singer in France.

cover of soundtrack album available for download/purchase from Bigpond or Amazon.fr

Sigur Rós

2008-01-08T22:30:00.001+11:00

The last concert I went to was to see Sigur Rós (Myspace) in Sydney on 12 April 2006. It was an incredible concert - Jón Þór (Jónsi) Birgisson sings in an incredible falsetto and plays the electric guitar with a cello bow. Awesome.

Jónsi

CD cover for the latest release - Hvarf/Heim

Download free MP3 tracks here (official site)

clip for Glósóli (from the album Takk...)

clip for untitled #1 (from the album () )

Radiohead

2008-01-06T16:00:00.001+11:00

I've always liked Radiohead (MySpace). The Bends is one of my favourite CDs.

Their latest release In Rainbows doesn't disappoint. The CD came in a cardboard pocket with stickers/labels for a plastic CD cover (along with instructions). Hmmm... I prefer the cardboard case.

clip for Jigsaw Falling Into Place (Scotch Mist Version)

More in Radiohead's YouTube

songs in Hebrew

2008-01-05T19:30:00.001+11:00

One of the biggest music artists in Israel is Ivri Lider עברי לידר. His songs in Hebrew, whether electronica or ballad are always on the radio at anytime in Israel.

CD cover for Haanashim Hadashim (The New People)- 2001 (Lider's 3rd album)

עברי לידר - בוא (LIVE) Ivri Lider - Bo

עברי לידר - מלטף ומשקר Ivri Lider - Melatef uMeshaker

עברי לידר -האנשים החדשים- Ivri Lider-Ha'Anashim Ha'Chadashim

(I especially like the use of traditional instruments in this one)

עברי לידר - ניסים (LIVE) Ivri Lider - Nisim

עברי לידר - הכוס הכחולה - Ivri Lider - Ha'kos Ha'kchula

Music in Hebrew sounds really cool. Those live concerts in Israel look totally awesome.

Ivri Lider's stardom may also now shift to the United States, where he has released songs in English. Unfortunately, he seems to be only going for the gay niche market there - check out his MySpace, or possibly the gay Jewish (or Jewish gay) market.

Surely translations of his original hits in Hebrew would have been a good start.

the genius of Wally: Gotye and The Basics

2007-12-31T23:00:00.001+11:00

There are a lot of great Australian musicians and a few rare geniuses. One of these rare geniuses is Wally De Backer. As Gotye (a moniker based on his real first name of Wouter, Flemish version of the French Gaultier - and pronounced gore-ti-yeah), he released two albums independently, Boardface (2004) and Like Drawing Blood (2006).

Boardface CD cover

Like Drawing Blood CD cover

Both albums are brilliant. From the independent label, Creative Vibes which distributes for Gotye

Gotye is Wally De Backer. He plays drums, percussion and piano, and he writes, sings and produces tracks at his home, in Mentone, Victoria, Australia. Gotye’s sound is a melting pot of samples from sources far and wide, mixed with Wally’s home recorded sounds to form original songs that are as much influenced by the ’80’s British electro of Depeche Mode and mock-lounge pop of Roxy Music, as the scratchy sounds of old noir soundtracks and majestic orchestras of John Barry and Henry Mancini.

The cut’n'paste approach of hip-hop djs also figures prominently in the arrangements, inspired especially by the musicality of San Francisco’s finest sample- composers, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. The results are songs that both reference and incorporate styles and sounds of the past, while showcasing Wally’s unique songwriting in a broad web of sonic environments. Wally songs display the diversity of his listening interests, incorporating sounds from a wide spectrum of sources. They encompass a variety of styles, tempos and textures in their mix of organic and electronic sources, experimenting with form and tone while nevertheless clearly exhibiting Wally’s love of pop music (in any of its manifestations and mutations over the last half a century).

Oh yeah!

One of Wally's worst nightmares is being seen in public in such lurid pyjamas.

clip for Hearts a Mess

clip for Learnalilgivinanlovin (live at 2007 ARIA awards) - Wally was also awarded best male artist for 2007

The thing about geniuses is that they are multi-talented. Wally is also one-third of Indie band, The Basics, together with Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder. They sound like they have stepped out of a time warp worm hole straight out of American Bandstand.

Stand Out / Fit In CD cover (The Basics)

clip for Just Hold On

clip for Lookin' Over My Shoulder

On the tube whilst on tour in the UK (management couldn't afford the limousine)
(photo by Gaelle Beri)

Links
- Gotye
- Gotye MySpace
- The Basics
- The Basics MySpace

MUSE

2007-12-27T13:30:00.001+11:00

I only recently discovered MUSE (MySpace) and still wonder why I had never really heard their music before.

I have been listening to their latest album Black Holes and Revelations a lot lately. Matthew Bellamy has an incredible vocal range, and the guitar work is superb.

In my opinion, they should be as big or even bigger than Coldplay.

clip of Starlight (from the Black Holes and Revelations album)

The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home

2007-12-26T13:00:00.002+11:00

One of my favourite albums at the moment is Twelve Stops and Home, the debut album by UK band The Feeling (MySpace).

The Feeling was the No 1 most played band in the UK in 2006. Their four singles “Sewn” (March ‘06), “Fill My Little World” (June ‘06) “Never Be Lonely” (August ‘06) and “Love It When You Call” (November ‘06) were all huge hits in the UK. Unfortunately, music lovers in Australia are still yet to discover them. Place a song in Grey's Anatomy, I say.

The Feeling, with vocals by Dan Gillespie Sells, goes back to basics. Their sound is very much 80s pop and soothing. And the song writers are masters of the hook.

clip for Never Be Lonely

clip for Rosé

clip for Sewn

clip for Love It When You Call

Not a single bad song on the album.

I am looking forward to their next album Join With Us

The Panics

2007-12-25T19:30:00.001+11:00

The Panics (MySpace) is an Australian band formed in Perth around seven years ago. They are going to be huge.

Cruel Guards is their fourth album, and it is sensational.

clip for Don't Fight It (track 4 from the album Cruel Guards)

They are playing a gig at a festival in Melbourne in February 2008. I was looking forward to attending, but tickets are sold out.

new blog for music

2007-09-04T14:00:00.000+10:00

Welcome to my new blog about the music that I like.

I hope to share what I'm listening to, and many of my favourites.