BSITWT #108

James Blake - 'Limit To Your Love'

http://www.myspace.com/jamesblakeproduction

Donal Dineen - Stir the Melting Pot

A fantastic video featuring Donal Dineen, Liam Ó'Maonlai and Niwell Tsumbu culminating with Body and Soul in flying form on Friday night at EP. Delighted to say I was there. You have to appreciate the great work of all at www.ArbutusYarns.com on this. To see more from them check out their website and particularly this beauty.

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

Taken from Stop Making Sense shot at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983. Awesome.

Thank You!

Caribou, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Fever Ray, Janelle Monáe, Hot Chip (both times), Reneck Manifesto, Jape, Four Tet, R.S.A.G., Villagers (both times), Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts, Efterklang, Tunng, Donal Dineen and friends, NSO, Channel One, Greg Wilson, Gold Panda, Pantha du Prince, Yeasayer, Kele, Armand Van Helden, Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, Foals, Girls.

Now that's what I call a summer, 2010.

It's here!

Gold Panda's new record is available to stream here. Been waiting on this for months; plan on giddily overplaying it for longer...

Four Tet FACT mix

Tasty. Íoslódáil anseo (mp3).

Muto Leo - One Trick Pony available to buy on iTunes

Muto Leo (formerly SextonBlake) have been putting in the hard hours recording their first 4 track EP and single. The fruits of their labour are, I'm ecstatic to report, well worth a trip across to their MySpace page. Their first single 'One Trick Pony' is now available to buy on iTunes. Give it a lash.

www.myspace.com/muto_leo

Muto Leo Facebook Page

BTBW Playlist - U've Really Got You - August 2010

1. Girls - 'Curls'

2. Neon Indian - '6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)'

3. Broken Social Scene - 'All to All'

4. The New Pornographers - 'Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk'

5. Egyptian Hip Hop - 'Hazel Groove (Modernaire Remix)'

6. Matthew Dear - 'You Put A Smell On Me'

7. Gil Scott-Heron - 'Me And The Devil'

8. Daniel Wang - 'Not Feeling It'

9. To Rococo Rot - 'Seele'

10. Arcade Fire - 'Rococo'

11. Best Coast - 'Summer Mood'

12. The National - 'Lucky You'

13. Philip Selway - 'By Some Miracle'

14. Girls - 'Hellhole Ratrace'

This one is for Gisele. Title contender.

Íoslódáil Anseo

BSITWT #107

Beach House - 'Norway'

BTBW Playlist - Take The Edge Off - August 2010

1. HEALTH - Die Slow (Pictureplane Rmx)

2. Caribou - Odessa (Junior Boys Remix)

3. Caspa - Born To Do iT

4. Floating Points - Argonaut

5. Foals - Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix)

6. Gold Panda - I Suppose I Should Say 'Thanks' Or Some Shit

7. Bombay Bicycle Club - Evening/Morning

8. The Antlers - Kettering

9. Massive Attack - Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix)

10. Outputmessage - Bernard's Song

11. Crystal Castles - Vietnam

This one is for Natalie. Title contender.

Íoslódáil Anseo

FlashMob - Shop Street Galway

BSITWT #106

Hard Mix - Memories (mp3)

Beautiful stuff from North Carolina. The video is composed of snippets taken from the past 8 year's of Mr. Mix's (Noah Smith to his mum) life. Some folks are calling this 'chill wave'. If you see them, tell them to fuck off.

BSITWT #105

Villagers - 'Home'

www.myspace.com/villagers

He IS on a Horse

Eircom Case - Future of Illegal Downloads in Ireland

A recent case in the Irish High Court has displayed that Ireland is leading the way in combating illegal file-sharing. In a move that is likely to be replicated, or at the very least prove influential, across regulated countries record labels are beginning to make some progress in the battle against music piracy. For the purposes of shedding some light on the High Court's decision in this matter I have examined some of the main issues and likely consequences for those who fall foul of the this new legal approach.

Eircom customers consider yourselves hereby warned.

On 28 January 2009 the terms of a settlement between EMI, Universal, Sony, Warner and Eircom was set down in writing and filed in court.

The Data Protection Commissioner in turn raised three issues as to why the settlement might be doubted to conform with data protection legislation.

Under the terms of the settlement the parties agreed to implement a three stage procedure. Firstly, internet users involved in illegal downloading will be contacted and requested to desist, another warning will issue on a second infringement. When a third infringement is notified to Eircom, a review of all evidence must be conducted, and a termination notice will then be issued. The customer is at this stage entitled to make representations to Eircom as to their situation.

The Issues Raised

Issue 1

Do data comprising IP addresses, in the hands of EMI or its agent(s) constitute “personal data” for the purposes of the Data Protection Acts 1988-2003?

The court ruled that IP addresses alone are not to be considered as personal data. The court noted that in order for the IP addresses and other information obtained by the plaintiffs to constitute personal data, it must be probable that further information might come into their possession which would identify the individual end users.

Issue 2

Does the processing by Eircom of “personal data” in the context of the third of the three steps envisaged under the terms of the settlement (i.e. the termination of an internet user’s subscription) represent unwarranted [processing] by reasons of prejudice to the fundamental rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject?

Justice Charleton approached this issue by reference to the principle of proportionality and a balancing of the right of an owner of copyright to have the fruits of their labour protected versus any right which an internet user might have to access the internet and not to have that access terminated.

The court’s ruling on this issue effectively places the protection of copyright ahead of the right of an internet user to access the internet and consequently not to have that access terminated.

The second question was, therefore, answered in the negative.

Issue 3

Whether it is open to EMI and/or Eircom to implement the 3 step process set out in the settlement including, in particular, the termination of an internet user’s subscription under step 3 of that process, in circumstances where the termination of an internet user’s subscription by Eircom would be predicated on the internet user in question having committed an offence but without any such offence having been the subject of investigation by an authorised body; and, further, without any determination having been made by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The judge opined that the parties to the settlement were concerned only with the civil side of copyright infringement, and as such that a mental element of knowing or having reason to believe that one is dealing with an infringing copy of the work was not required to be proved. Justice Charleton answered the third question in the positive, specifically that the graduated response process agreed by the parties was indeed lawful.

Overall, a high degree of power to stop illegal file-sharing has been given to the four major record labels. Already a number of Eircom customers have received warnings and word is that others have had their connection severed after ignoring the warning letters received from Eircom. Similar court cases are due against the other Internet Service Providers operating in this country. The likes of NTL have vowed to fight the labels harder than Eircom and this will really clarify the future of file-sharing in Ireland.

BSITWT #104

Health - Before Tigers (Gold Panda Remix)

Gold Panda goes all Four Tet on Health, with very, very nice results.

From the new(ish) Health remix LP DISCO2 (also featuring remixes from CFCF, Crystle Castles and other good folks).

Gold Panda plays Field Day, Victoria Park, London on July 31st.

Villagers - Becoming a Jackal

Prepare for an enjoyable 3 minutes and 56 seconds of your existence. Taken from the brilliant watchlistentell.

BSITWT #103

Declan O'Rourke - 'We Didn't Mean to go to Sea'

If I had a Euro for every time I've listened to this song...*

http://www.declanorourke.com/

*...I'd have several Euro.

The Antlers - Monday 24 May @ The Academy

One of my highlights from the most recent Other Voices series, The Antlers are returning to these shores to appear in the Academy on 24 May. Their latest offering Hospice has received wide acclaim with lead singles 'Two' & 'Bear' earning repeated plays around these parts. Critics have particularly praised the narrative of the album which tells the story of a man losing a loved one to cancer. However, the album is not actually about cancer and the illness is in fact a metaphor for bad love. The story sits comfortably side-by-side the wholesome folk/indie soundtrack. Read more here. This one comes very highly recommended.

Tickets: €16.50 (+ booking fee) here.

The Antlers - 'VCR' (The xx cover)

The Antlers - 'Two'

http://antlersmusic.com/

YouTube Goodness

BSITWT #102

Crystal Castles - 'Celestica'

http://crystalcastles.com/

Later with Jools Holland - Tonight @ 11.45 - BBC 2

Everywhere

Everything

Brainy

Someone Great

BTBW Playlist - Scent of Summer - May 2010

1. Stornoway - 'I Saw You Blink'

2. Two Door Cinema Club - 'Something Good Can Work'

3. Jónsi - 'Go Do'

4. Villagers - 'Becoming a Jackal'

5. Frightened Rabbit - 'I Feel Better'

6. Efterklang - 'I Was Playing Drums'

7. Caribou - 'Odesa'

8. The Avalanches - 'Radio'

9. Mikkel Metal - 'Peaks And Troughs'

10. Husky Rescue - 'Beautiful My Monster'

11. Beach House - 'Silver Soul'

12. LCD Soundsystem - 'Dance Yrself Clean'

This one is for Melissa. Title contender.

Íoslódáil Anseo

Joanna Newsom - Later with Jools Holland

Absolutely spellbinding stuff taken from last night's show. Enjoy.

www.myspace.com/joannanewsomfansite

BSITWT #101

A classic from a real all-rounder.

James Figurine - Can't Be Sure (Sundays) (mp3)

Efterklang @ Whelan's - Sunday 25 April

If you can come up with a better way to spend this Sunday evening I will come to your house and cook you a whole meal of food. Tickets here. It's up to you now.

BSITWT #100

Caribou - 'Sun'

Taken from Caribou's splendid new album Swim and a fitting way to mark our 100th BSITWT. Caribou will appear on the EAT YOUR OWN EARS STAGE at Field Day, Victoria Park, London - 31 July 2010. We'll be there.

www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

Review - La Maroquinerie April 15th

Last night we had a treat in Paris' hipster mecca as Villagers supported Wild Beasts, both giving excellent performances. "Villagers" was in fact only main man Conor J O'Brien. In a "reverse Jape" move, Conor appeared on stage to say "Hi, I'm Villagers", which is just grammatically incorrect.... His performance allowed me to forgive the grammar though, as he offered a lovely solo guitar show, often going off-mic to give the room a genuine show of his superb voice. A passionate performer and story teller, he truly is one of today's Irish music stars, and I look forward to seeing a lot more of him.
Enjoy the video to Meaning of the Ritual below


Wild Beasts are clearly a flavour of the month at the moment, and with good reason on this showing. An extremely tight show, with two gifted vocalists among their foursome, and some seriously driving songs that drifted from Foals-esque turbo-charged drum/synth led belters to glorious electro-popscapes that nod back to the likes of New Order. If I had to complain, one could argue that there were times where it felt a bit repetitive, but all in all these guys put on a great show and seem to have the talent to be more than a summer buzz band. Check out We Still Got The Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues below, a true gem, more in the Foalsesque category from above.

BSITWT #99

Massive Attack - Babel

Three Tome Tunes

I am not going to put any of these tracks up as a BSITWT, although on another day they would all be worthy. They all come from a Mix that Donal Dineen has Soundclouded on the Fresh Air Festval Blog.
What Dineen has unearthed is really some of the finest electronica going. What really amazes is that upon listening to the MySpace or downloading an album from any of these artists, you realize that most of it is pretty average, but Dineen has uncovered this one idiosyncratic stormer that they managed to churn out in a moment of divine intervention.

1) Mikkel Metal - Peaks and Troughs
The "rest of the stuff is lame" comment above is less accurate in the case of Danish artist Mikkel Metal, who has had tracks remixed by the likes of Marcel Detmann. Peaks and Troughs evokes a train pulling out a station, chugging deliberately onwards, never quite reaching full pace. A bit like the Galway-Dublin train. Unlike said train, this is a truly beautiful piece of work.

2) Wave Machines - Turn the Lights On
Funky, fun, and bouncy, delightful vocals that border on Passion Pit novelty, but are infinitely more enjoyable*, this is track to dance and sing along to.


3) CFCF - You Hear Colours
Hints of Kate Bush's Running Up that Hill thrown in there at times, but that's OK! This is an uplifting track with wide rolling soundscapes; I am already looking forward to the first time I listen to this on a sunny day in the middle of nowhere.


*Sorry Passion Pit, your guy's voice is annoying

Snippets from the National's new album

The National have started to release new material from the album High Violet, which will be released officially in May.
Here you will find a link to Bloodbuzz Ohio, which has elements of the tenderer story telling side of Boxer, with lead vocal Matt Berninger's voice offering a reminder of why he enchanted us all on that soon-to-be-considered-classic album.





Below we see the more aggressive, upbeat side of the National's style, with a belting inaugural rendition of Terrible Love on the Jimmy Fallon Show recently



It even has elements of this storming post-rock anthem towards the end....

BSITWT #98

Local Natives - 'Warning Sign'

This Talking Heads cover is taken from the sublime Gorilla Manor. Any of the 12 tracks on Southern Californians' debut would have been a worthy recipient of today's prize.

www.myspace.com/localnatives

BSITWT #97

Funnest track by miles from Yeasayer's new Odd Blood record.

Yeasayer - One (mp3)

BSITWT #96

Once lazily described in these pages as 'the Danish Arcade Fire', Efterklang - Denmark's answer to Canadian superstars Arcade Fire - are back with an absolute stormer. Magic Chairs is the group's first LP on 4AD, and it could be the one that finally gives their sprawling orchestral wizardry some real bite - there are more than a handful of tracks on this that offer something tangible; something that imposes itself in your head rather than happlily fluttering through. Call it focus, maturity - whatever; it has resulted in a record that could make the summer theirs.

Efterklkang - Modern Drift (mp3)

BSITWT #95

Beach House - Silver Soul

They are such a big deal at the moment! Sublime gig at La Maroquinerie in Paris last night.

Buy the new album Teen Dream here

BSITWT #94

Samamidon - Sugar Baby (mp3)

Get Nico Muhly involved with the arrangments, drizzle some Sufjan-esque magic on it, and tie it together with the Vermont version of Ronan O'Snodaigh's voice. Booma- you have one of the most exciting folk artists to emerge in years.

This one's taken from his 2007 Bedroom Community release All is Well; though, in truth, you could have just as easily taken anything from his forthcoming follow-up, I See The Sign. Plays in Dublin's National Concert Hall on 21st April with the rest of the Bedroom Community ensemble: Mulhy, Ben Frost and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson. Tickets €25. Info here.

Other Voices - Series 8

Temper Trap performing in O'Flaherty's pub

In its eighth year, Other Voices continues to deliver an outstanding array of musical delicacies. The concept started as a means to showcase established artists, alongside promising newcomers, in an original venue located in a treasured part of south west Ireland. St James Church in Dingle has hosted some impressive names since the 'Dingle Concerts' began in 2002. Those making the pilgrimage to date include Damien Dempsey, Lisa Hannigan, Damien Rice, Amy Winehouse, Snow Patrol, Bell x1 and Jape, amongst others. One of my own favourite acts (as you may have guessed by now!), Elbow, featured on the roster last year. The stated aim of the series is to bring together names of the calibre mentioned above to promote an atmosphere of creativity, form diverse collaborations and lasting friendships. Importantly, established artists are known to mentor the fledglings passing on ideas and advice, over a creamy pint in Foxy John's I bet. Filmed over a week or so every December, 80 people auction their Granny for a seat in the intimate surrounds of St James'.

The latest series began its weekly broadcast on 3 February and the first two episodes are available to watch on the RTE Player here. Last week's episode features The xx performing 'Crystalised' in a very small bedroom in a local family house, worth the watch alone.


Full dates and details of the 6 shows are as follows:

Programme 1 – Wednesday 3rd February

Snow Patrol
Speech Debelle
Adrian Crowley
IMRO Other Room – Low Mountain

Programme 2 – Wednesday 10th February

Imelda May
The Lost Brothers
The xx
IMRO Other Room – O Emperor

Programme 3 – Wednesday 17th February

Florence & the Machine
Brett Anderson
The Antlers
IMRO Other Room – Valerie Francis

Programme 4 – Wednesday 24th February

Bell X1
Megafaun
Jesca Hoop
IMRO Other Room – The Chakras

Programme 5 – Wednesday 3rd March

Temper Trap
Magic Numbers
Fionn Reagan
Lisa Hannigan
IMRO Other Room – 202s

Programme 6 – Wednesday 10th March

Richard Hawley
The Brothers Movement
Fionn Reagan
Villagers
IMRO Other Room – James Vincent McMorrow


Other Voices broadcasts at 11.20pm for the next 4 Wednesdays and will be available thereafter on the RTE Player. Worthwhile read on the series from The Ticket 'The Other MTV' dated Friday 29 January.

www.othervoices.ie

Size2shoes

Irish acoustic pop band, Size2shoes is made up of brothers Eoin and Mícheál ó Súilleabháin. Belonging to a family of esteemed musicians, the Limerick natives have received much acclaim for their musical ability and unique approach to their craft. They describe their tracks as "deftly mixing rap, vocal percussion and virtuoso guitars with sharp double vocals and a huge dollop of humour". Accounts of their appearance at Dublin's Sugar Club last November suggest that the duo are more than capable of holding their own in the live arena. Guests joining them on stage on the night included Julie Feeney, nice. Their self-titled debut album described by Hotpress as "a very impressive , musically sophisticated debut…so filled with cheeryliy optimistic good advice that i want to marry them off to relatives”, is available to buy/sample here. Word from their site is that the lads are working on a follow up album so watch this space.

www.size2shoes.com

BSITWT #93

Midlake - 'Acts of Man'

Midlake Site

I had to do it after the last post

Without the track, the interlude after two minutes for the Spaniards fighting is worth it alone

Resident Advisor Tunes of the Decade

RA have provided a list of their Top 100 tunes of the decade. Makes for a lot of fun looking up the ones you never heard of. I suppose we could rant about lists like this all day, so critiquing it is pointless. That Metro Area track is fantastic, but the best tune of the last 10 years??? I am delighted that Garnier got the recognition for The Man With The Red Face, which truly is one of those tracks that we should never ever forget.

Anyway enjoy the ranking here

Eoin has also alerted me to their Top 100 albums of the decade

Just for fun, here are a few tracks that did not make it onto the RA top 100 that have made my decade:















*This is not including any remix by Four Tet, or anything off Four Tet's new album. Neither does it include anything by Pantha du Prince. My real top ten would probably be half comprised solely of Four Tet oeuvres.

BSITWT #92 or An Ode

Four Tet - Sing (mp3)

From the outrageously anticipated There is Love in You record. And yes, it is phenomenal. Is there anyone more important in music at the moment?

The National new album coming soon

The National will release a long-awaited, and as yet untitled new album in May on 4AD records. On top of that, they have released some dates for a short tour supporting the release of the new album. It's all very exciting, if you live in London, Paris or Berlin. Or America. Or Canadia

6-28 MARCH: KNOXVILLE, TN
BIG EARS FESTIVAL 2010 / TENNESSEE THEATRE
Tickets on-sale now:
http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/3065

22 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA
THE NATIONAL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0100442F9DDB5528

23 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA
THE NATIONAL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0100442FAE716864

06 MAY: LONDON, UK
ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/promo/3v6xmt?camefrom=CFC_UK_LINA_TN_FC270110

07 MAY: PARIS, FRANCE
LE ZENITH w/ PAVEMENT
Tickets on-sale now / FNAC:
http://www.fnacspectacles.com/place-spectacle/manifestation/Pop-rock-Folk-PAVEMENT-ZPPAV.htm

Tickets on-sale now / Digitick:
http://www.digitick.com/ext/billetterie2/index.php4?site=radical&p=11&idRep=422355

09 MAY: BERLIN, GERMANY
ASTRA
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketonline.com/de/de/production/21099-The+National/

22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA
THE WILTERN
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/417298

23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA
SPRECKELS THEATRE
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.americanmary.com/tour.php

27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA
FOX THEATRE
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C00442BAD786B92

02 JUNE: BOSTON, MA
HOUSE OF BLUES
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.americanmary.com/tour.php

05 JUNE: PHILADELPHIA, PA
ELECTRIC FACTORY
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/02004435CD005CB9

06 JUNE: WASHINGTON, DC
DAR CONSTITUTION HALL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/15004435C0226C84

08 JUNE: TORONTO, CANADA
MASSEY HALL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.americanmary.com/tour.php

16 JUNE: NEW YORK, NY
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
Pre-Sale Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1D004435F3B759C

LCD Soundsystem - Tripod - 20/21 April 2010

LCD Soundsystem will begin their latest tour following the release of a new album (still untitled) in March. News of their Dublin dates leaked on Monday and tickets for the first gig went on sale (and sold out) on Wednesday.

Tickets for their second show on Wednesday 21 April go on sale tomorrow morning (Saturday 23 January) at 9.00am. You have been warned! This will sell out.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster (€36.50-€39.50). Do it.

Standing in front of people doing things loudly.

BSITWT #91

Levon Vincent - 'Six Figures'

www.myspace.com/levonvincent

File this one under 'Intimidating'.

Pantha Claus

Pantha du Prince releases his third record, Black Noise, on Rough Trade this Feb. Collaborators include members of Animal Collective, Panda Bear, !!! and LCD SoundSystem. Prediction #1 for 2010 - this is going to be huge.

Here's some magic from his 2004 Diamond Daze record. How this passed me by I'll never know.

More Choice Talk...

As mentioned by Ed.Ward below, the Choice shortlist was announced last week - cue streams of incessent bitching and general shiteology that tends to accompany these lists. Anyway, having inexplicably trawled through the guff, three ommissions seemed particularly harsh: Kittser (of course), Hunter-Gatherer, and the amazing Patrick Kelleher. One would have hoped that genuinely innovative records like these would have been picked up by the nation's alternative to the Meteors. Ah well.

If you want see what the fuss is about, pop along to Hunter-Gatherer's hyphen fest with Tune-Yards in Whelan's on Feb 12th. Patrick Kelleher has dates in Galway, Cork and Limerick at the end of Febuary.

Pantha du Prince!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rex Club, Paris, Sat 6th March.
Again, there appears to be no Dublin date!!! Flights folks!!

Broken Social Scene!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.brokensocialscene.ca/tourdates.php

Can't get onto the website to buy tickets for the Paris show, hope it is the fault of my laptop, will be trying at work tomorrow morning. There is no Dublin show. As of yet.

Thursday May 13th, 2010	London , UK	Brixton Academy
Friday May 14th, 2010	Minehead @ Butlins , UK	All Tomorrow's Parties
Monday May 17th, 2010	London , UK	Heaven
Tuesday May 18th, 2010	Amsterdam , Netherlands	Melkweg
Wednesday May 19th, 2010	Cologne , Germany	Burgerhaus Stollwerck
Friday May 21st, 2010	Paris , France	La Maroquinerie
Saturday June 19th, 2010	Toronto , ON	Olympic Island

Ricardo Villalobos - The Academy - 3 April

Ricardo Villalobos makes a welcome return to these shores on 3 April with an appearance at The Academy, Dublin. This is sure to be a sweaty sell out so get your tickets here (€29.50 incl booking fee).

Ricardo Villalobos Interview

Nice video

Bradford Cox, of Atlas Sound and Deerhunter fame, teams up with Randy Randall of No Age and Jim Jarmusch for a rendition of Neil Young's Cortez the Killer.

BSITWT #90

B Movie Lightning - Triple Trouble

Galway's very own Mike Smalle, who forms part of Cane 141, also moonlights by the above moniker. I know we traditionally put up a link to a way in which you can get the track yourself on these posts, but I cannot for the life of me locate this track anywhere except on the MySpace of the artist. Depriving you of this track for such a reason just didn't seem fair so I've decided to go for it.

So click on here and listen away. The other track on the website, Take Yourself to the City, is also a beautiful one.

BSITWT #89

Ben Klock - 'Grip'


www.myspace.com/benklock

Choice Music Prize Shortlist 2010

The nominees for this year's Choice Music Prize have been announced. The winner will be announced on Wednesday 3 March at a special event in Vicar Street. The shortlist has been compiled by a 12 person music industry panel.

The 10 nominees are as follows:

And So I Watch You From Afar And So I Watch You From Afar
Bell X1 Blue Lights on the Runway
CODES TreesDreamInAlgebra
Adrian Crowley Season of the Sparks
Dark Room Notes We Love You Dark Matter
The Duckworth Lewis Method The Duckworth Lewis Method
Julie Feeney Pages
Valerie Francis Slow Dynamo
Laura Izibor Let the Truth Be Told
The Swell Season Strict Joy


Jim Carroll is the overall force behind the prize but the shortlist is compiled by the following:

Martin Burns (News of the World)
Josh Clarke (i105-i107, Galway)
Roisin Dwyer (Hot Press)
Tony Fenton (Today FM)
Cathal Funge (Phantom 105.2, Dublin)
Padraic Halpin (Ragged Words)
Sophie Gorman (Irish Independent)
John McMahon (2fm)
Rob O’Connor (Beat 102-103, Waterford)
Eva Staic (Spin 1038, Dublin)
Chris Wasser (Evening Herald)
Aoife Woodlock (Other Voices Tv Show)

www.choicemusicprize.com

BSITWT #88

Floating Points - K&G Beat

I know Eoin gave Floating Points a BSITWT already in the last week, but the guy is just that good.

www.myspace.com/floatingpoints

Four Tet Mix CD

This CD was given out by Kieran Hebden at a Plastic People gig recently. Having seen it appearing on blogs all over the place, Hebden decided to put it up on his own interwebpage for our listening pleasure. Starts off with Love Cry and Moth before moving onto some stuff that I need ID'd very soon. Incredible hour and a bit's listening.
Enjoy

Top 50 albums of the decade

On the back of a taunt from Ed, I am going to try write up my "Best of the Noughties" list. Given that at the turn of the millenium I was listening to nothing but hip-hop and garbage trance, you can consider this a personal, yet very incomplete attempt, heavily skewed towards albums since 2005! Some albums are included for their sheer brilliance, others are highly rated for their hugely influential role in defining or shaping a genre (Kid A, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, Balance 005, The Eraser), while some are there for the utter dominance of my ipod over a prolonged period of time (In Rainbows, Boxer, (), Takk...). I decided to try to rank a top 20, and to leave the next 30 in no particular order, as it would have become ridiculously arbitrary ranking 42 vs 43. Kid A wins for the sheer daring of it given what had come before. Arguably never before has a band taken such an obscure turn after producing two of the top ten albums of all time (according to all those lists on TV). And never before has it sounded so good. If I did a top 50 tracks of the decade, Idioteque would win, and Everything in its right place and The National Anthem would both be high up, which is heavy going for one album indeed! The Postal Service make the top 20 almost uniquely for The Natural Anthem, which is easily one of my top 5 songs of the decade, but also for injecting something very different into the world of electro-pop, including two of the most remixable anthems of the decade in The District Sleeps Alone Tonight and Such Great Heights. The Knife make the top 20 for a similar contribution both in the delightfully eerie and atmospheric tracks they have offered us, and for the ease in which they have been transformed into a must-have for any techno DJ in remixed form. So.... here goes.

The Top 20

1. Radiohead - Kid A
2. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
3. Radiohead - In Rainbows
4. The National - Boxer
5. Sigur Ros - ()
6. Arcade Fire - Funeral
7. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
8. The Libertines - The Libertines
9. James Holden - Balance 005
10. Final Fantasy - Has a Good Home
11. Sigur Ros - Takk...
12. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
13. Donal Dineen - Small Hours, Summer Mornings; compilation for Foggy Notions
14. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
    
15. Hot Chip - The Warning
16. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
17. The Postal Service - Give Up
18. Four Tet - Rounds
19. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
20. The Knife - Silent Shout

Numbers 21-50, in no particular order

Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Interpol - Antics
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Moderat - Moderat
Apparat - Walls
Ellen Allien and Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
Paul Kalkbrenner - Berlin Calling OST
Various - Dark Was the Night
Air - Talkie Walkie
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Modeselektor - Hello Mom!
Tiefschwarz - Fabric 29
Ewan Pearson - Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers
The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules
Foals - Antidotes
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Gui Boratto - Chromophobia
Jape - Ritual
Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
Milosh - You Make Me Feel
Royksopp - Melody AM
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Birun
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Daft Punk - Discovery
The Field - From Here we go Sublime
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

BSITWT #87

The Knife - Colourings of Pidgeons

I dare you to take a walk through a foggy, scary, icy forest with this on.

Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay

Matias Aguayo released one of 2009's more unconventional albums in Ay Ay Ay. Formed mostly around the human voice in varying chants, percussive samples and languages, it is a departure from the standard techno flavour of Kompakt's output over the past number of years. Aguayo himself has moved away from the minimal sound that forged his reputation, he is one half of Closer Musik (with Dirk Leyers). I don't feel that Ay Ay Ay represents a new dawn for all things around the 120bpm mark but it is something different to wrap your ears around. The lead track 'Menta Latte' can annoy and delight in equal measures with its numerous layered vocals. First single 'Rollerskate' is a worth a whirl and will have your head moving before you know it. My favourite track has to be the sinister sounding 'Ay Shit - The Master'.

Ay Ay Ay was released on 26 October 2009 on Kompakt records. Buy here.