Athousandguitars.com: Music, News, Reviews and Awesomeness

Best Coast - Summer Mood

2011-09-23T09:00:00.003+02:00

It's almost here! Bring on summer.

(Perhaps shaky, possibly drunk videos are what summer moods are all about.)

Good Cause Friday: World Animal Week

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000+02:00

World Animal Week is a yearly reminder to celebrate the difference animals make to our lives and to give something back, by fundraising for animal welfare, making a donation, taking action, eating cruelty-free, deciding to respect animals abroad, or just giving your pet some extra attention.

WSPA's offices and member societies around the world made last year a big success, and from Saturday we will be marking World Animal Week again.

What will you do? Read more and be inspired!

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US

WSPA and the Body Shop are joining forces, asking you to make yourself beautiful and show you care by signing up to the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The Declaration encourages the international recognition of animal welfare.

In New Zealand the Body Shop will also be selling Karen Walker for WSPA t-shirts and promoting the Declaration. TV presenter Jacqui Brown has lent her support, saying: “The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare will send a strong message that cruelty and neglect is not okay. Animals are a vital part of our lives.”

Brazil

A design from the 'Karen Walker for WSPA' range of t-shirts, available in New Zealand
© WSPA

Our Brazilian office is collaborating on a number of public events, including the Animals in Focus photo exhibition, and screenings of the documentary Animals: Sentient Beings in schools, churches, public squares, and universities across 29 cities. Also, the winners of a competition to create short public films on the Universal Declaration will be part of a televised Animal Festival.

Colombia

WSPA’s Colombian celebrations will be held where the welfare work really happens – schoolchildren and local animal welfare groups have been invited to a clinic treating working horses and educating owners on animal care. This week is a chance for all 130 member societies in the region to promote their work and collect Universal Declaration petition signatures.

Denmark

Volunteers will take to the streets on 4 October, promoting awareness of animal welfare and gathering signatures for the Declaration. Those who sign will be asked why animals matter to them, and their answers posted on the WSPA Denmark website.

Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

WSPA's office covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean will be promoting animal welfare and calling for Declaration signatures through regional press and media. This will be supported by member society activities in different countries, including art shows, fairs, spay and neuter education initiatives, concerts, and an animal adoption day.

The Netherlands

On the eve of World Animal Week, WSPA Netherlands will be part of the second annual ‘Animals Gala’ in Amsterdam. Organised by member society Varkens in Nood (‘Pigs in Need’), the event puts the spotlight on animals and provides an opportunity for people who care about animals to meet and be inspired.

Tanzania

Thai celebrity Por Tissadee Sahawong helps WSPA with some animal welfare education
© WSPA

WSPA Africa is collaborating with member societies and other animal welfare organisations to run free animal clinics at five venues in Dar es Salaam. Over the week, the clinics will target underprivileged communities and highlight the importance of proactive animal care.

Thailand

A WSPA Asia ambassador, TV star Por Tissadee Sahawong, has been promoting animal welfare in the run up to World Animal Week. After taking part in WSPA’s school-based educational activities, he described animal welfare as "a vital concern in our country and the world. It affects all parts of our lives, including our health and economy.”

UK

This year, the focus is on fundraising activity to support our vital work with dogs and cats.‘It’s A Piece of Cake!’ invites supporters to hold bake sales and coffee mornings at schools, vet surgeries, community halls… anywhere money can be raised to protect and care for companion animals!

For more info, go to www.wspa-international.org.

Peter, Bjorn & John - A Little Tenderness

2011-09-22T10:00:00.003+02:00

The ultimate hipsters take a stab at an Otis Redding classic.

What do you think of their version?

Green Thursdays: Breakdancers spread the 'Beyond Coal' message

2011-09-22T09:30:00.000+02:00

Story from Tree Hugger:

We need to meet people where they are and then persuade them that saving the climate is something that matters to them. That's why I love so many of the things the Sierra Club has been up to lately, including this wonderful video of breakdancers in NYC spreading the "Beyond Coal" message in such a cool way.

The Sierra Club, which is working with New York Michael Bloomberg to close the dirtiest coal plants explains, "smog and soot, major byproducts of burning coal, contribute to high asthma rates in New York and other cities."

Here's a few other not-so-cool fact about coal. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an average 500MW coal plant each year emits:

-10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide (SOx) is the main cause of acid rain, which damages forests, lakes and buildings.

-10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is a major cause of smog, and also a cause of acid rain.

-3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas, and is the leading cause of global warming. There are no regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S.

Green Thursdays: Glass roof tiles that collect energy

2011-09-22T09:00:00.006+02:00

Story from Ecogeek:

The roof is typically the best and biggest part of most homes for energy collection. But most of the available systems for gathering this energy are unsightly. That's not a concern for these roof tiles from a Swedish company, SolTech Energy, that are made from glass.

With a roof made from these tiles, it is possible to produce 300-500 kWh per square meter per year (28-46 kWh per square foot per year). Heated air collects under the glass tiles like a greenhouse, and is then drawn in and concentrated to transfer the heat to a hot fluid for use in heating the building. The system is ideal for use with a heat pump or a boiler where a hot water storage tank stores the collected heat. Then, when heat is needed, the heat pump or boiler has pre-heated water available, so that less external energy is needed to heat the space.
In addition to the energy benefits, glass tiles are expected to have a longer lifespan than traditional clay or concrete roof tiles. And because the glass is a smooth material, snow tends to slide off more readily, so that the system keeps itself cleared and in operating condition more of the time. The tiles also match common tile shape so that the glass roof system can be incorporated into a conventional tile roof.

via: Sweets News and Products

Gig Guide 21 - 27 September

2011-09-21T09:30:00.043+02:00

- Wednesday 21 September: Dubway @ Tings an' Times, PTA
                                            : Them Tornados @ &Union, CPT
                                            : Dans Dans Lisa @ Aandklas, Stellenbosch

- Thursday 22 September: CrashCarBurn @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
                                        : Laurie Levine album launch @ The Alexander Theatre, JHB

- Friday 23 September: Klopjag @ Centurion Theatre, PTA
                                    : Broken Truce, Deity's Muse, Storm Under Control @ Factory, Centurion
                                    : Vana & The Oh So Serious Folk Collective @ Steak & Ale, Centurion
                                    : Southern Gypsey Queen @ Die Boer, Durbanville
: Vredefest @ Cool Runnings, Fourways
                                    : Radio Kalahari Orkes @ Die Blou Hond, JHB
                                    : Newtown Knife Gang @ The Red Door, PMB
                                    : Ashtray Electric, Fire Through The Window, The Olympic @ Arcade Empire, PTA
                                    : Andra @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA
                                    : Silver Creek Mountain Band @ Picasso's Pub, PTA
                                    : aKing, Karen Zoid @ Klein Libertas Theatre, Stellenbosch

- Saturday 24 September: Jesse Clegg @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
                                        : Bile Of Man, Bleeding Spawn, Killatoria @ Factory Club, Centurion
                                        : aKing, Albert Frost @ The Cradle Restaurant, Magaliesberg
                                        : Tidal Waves @ Earthdance, Mpumulanga
                                        : Dan Patlansky @ The Red Door, PMB
                                        : Vredefest @ Hatfield Square, PTA

- Sunday 25 September: Captain Stu @ Silvertree Restaurant, CPT

- Monday 26 September: Chris Chameleon @ Die Boer, Durbanville

- Tuesday 27 September: Emerging Sounds Challenge @ Cafe Barcelona
                                       : The First Descent @ Aandklas, Stellenbosch

E-mail your event info to gigs@athousandguitars.com to get it featured here!

Shadowclub - Good Morning Killer

2011-09-21T09:00:00.005+02:00

The newest video from our favourite local dirty rock 'n rollas!

Read more about Shadowclub.

Stream the full PJ20 album

2011-09-20T20:56:00.001+02:00

If you follow Cameron Crowe or Pearl Jam on Twitter, you'll have been hearing about this mega music events for months now. If you don't, welcome to the anniversary of awesomeness. It is Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary and the ultimate musical director, Cameron Crowe, has made a tour documentary about PJ.

Naturally, the documentary has bitchin' music. You can stream the 29-track PJ20 soundtrack here. (You'll have to create an account, but all streaming is free after you sign in.)

Now playing: Divided By Friday

2011-09-20T09:30:00.028+02:00

The first time I turned on Divided By Friday's Prove It EP, I had to do a quick search to see if Patrick Stump or Pete Wentz had got bored of their grown-up lives and gone back to their emo pasttimes. I know you're looking at that picture above going 'you are loco, I say', but just take a listen to this:

Yeah, do you concur now?

But if you listen further to this young bunch of lad's, they become more Mayday Parade than Fall Out Boy. Their EP is packed with cascading, catchy power pop hooks and they've got the classic emo-rock double male vocals going on. They make the days I wish I was 17 again feel good again.

I also thought it was interesting to note that these guys, as one might presume, aren't out of the hubs of the East/West coasts of America, but rather Laurinburg, North Carolina. Really, people in NC are angsty and musical? Who'd've thunk it?

Join Divided By Friday on Facebook. Buy the Prove It EP on iTunes.

Brand New 20 September: Tori Amos, Tony Bennett, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

2011-09-20T09:00:00.049+02:00

Released this week:

Boots Electric - Honkey Kong (Garage Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Mary J. Blige - My Life II, The Journey Continues (R&B) Buy it on iTunes.
Nurses - Dracula (Experimental Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Opeth - Heritage (Hard Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Katie Herzig - The Waking Sleep (Folk Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time (Alt Country) Buy it on iTunes.
Leeland - Great Awakening (Christian Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Wavves - Life Sux (Surf Rock) Buy it on iTunes.
Demi Lovato - Unbroken (Pop) Buy it on iTunes.
Cody Simpson - Coast To Coast (Pop) Buy it on iTunes.

And our faves this week are:
Gavin DeGraw - Sweeter (Pop Rock) Buy it on iTunes.

Tony Bennett - Duets II (Jazz) Buy it on iTunes.

Tori Amos - Night Of Hunters (Art Rock) Buy it on iTunes.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical (Indie Rock) Buy it on iTunes.

Why I care for all this music around us

2011-09-20T08:30:00.017+02:00

Disclaimer: This blog post has been written for entry into the MusiCares® Music Blogger of the Year contest.

I think everyone goes through music phases from day to day. My whole life has been a Bon Jovi phase; in 2009, as I was living across from New Jersey, I went through a Bruce Springsteen phase; and the end of the year heralded the start of my Bob Dylan phase. I woke up one morning last week wondering what music phase I'd start that day and as I wanted to re-go through my 17th Ron Pope phase, hit up Elvis again and maybe start a Tom Petty era, and I was overcome with such sincere gratefulness for all the music around. There's so much of it that I can't fit it all into a moment, a day, or even a lifetime.

So it's not like I think Dylan and Petty are going to be reading this, but I just wanted to write a note to everyone who plays, creates and masterminds the music of the world. You not only give me something to write about every day, you give me something with which to define myself and the rest of the world around me. Music is literally a part of me - that right there is my left wrist, --->
and I have come to firmly believe that a life without music would not be a life worth living.

So to everyone I've stumbled upon in my time of A Thousand Guitars, to everyone I met at Tuks FM, to every dark and dingy club gig I've watched, to every grand arena concert I've ever cried at, to the creators, the writers, the inspirational, the lyrical, the smart, the emo, the classic, the scary, and the awesome. And even to everyone whose music I've ever turned off and gone in search of something I prefer - thank you for creating it and giving me something to exist for. Without all of you, I would not be me.

Rock and roll defines my soul, and I wouldn't have it any other way. So this is me saying thank you for the music.

And so, as life seems to be a never-ending loop of songs, there's only one way to end this article - with a tune. One of my favourite Springsteen songs - one that, I think, says a lot of shit might change and the world might seem a bleaker place, but there'll always be the music.

It's also the song I got the name for the website from, just in case you ever wondered about that.

“MusiCares® helps and supports the people who dedicate their lives to making the music I blog about. Please join the Be A Part of the Heart MusiCares® mosaic at beapartoftheheart.com and be entered for a chance to win a trip the 2012 GRAMMYS®!”

Interview: Lonehill Estate on musical progression, band inspiration and ever-evolving techno beats

2011-09-19T10:30:00.032+02:00

The creators of that great local song whose melody you can never get out of your head (I don't have to specify one because you name it - "Memories", "Gangstar", "Techno Band" or "Green Pocket" - and I bet you can hum a few lines of the chorus) took some much-appreciated time to talk to us last week about how they carved a new sound, who motivates them to raise their musical game, and where they'll be this summer.

A THOUSAND GUITARS: What are you working on at the moment, other than some sweet techno beats?

  LONEHILL ESTATE:We've followed a couple of musical tangents since releasing Daans, and though we promise not to stray too far from our new sound, we are evolving, so expect to hear some killer new sounds from the Estate later this year.

  ATG: The first time we heard “Techno Band” (and “Gangstar”), we thought there was an element of Flight Of The Conchords in your more recent music - a sort of alternative comedic music that pokes fun at its subject matter. Do you aim to make people snigger at the society they’re part of?  

LE: Yes, but I think it's more of a by-product than a main goal. Although comedic music is something we love I wouldn't say we set out to write songs that were funny, I think rather we just embraced who we are (too much Oprah possibly).  

ATG: What other musical influences have moulded your tunes today?

  LE: Although we all have Rock in common I think some of our more eclectic tastes have had or at least I hope have had an effect on the sound of our music. I think some of Nathan's biggest influences have been Disney Musicals like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, and also bands like Tool, Metallica and Jars of Clay. Mark is the encyclopaedia of Rock, he's a big fan of some obscure metal, thrash, progressive and electro-hard rock outfits, and monthly he'll introduce us to something new and fascinating like Skrillex. Although my teenage years were spent listening to metal and grunge, I've spent the last decade cultivating a healthy taste for Hollywood film score, recent favourites include Hans Zimmer's scores for Inception and The Dark Knight (with James Newton Howard), Daft Punk's score for Tron Legacy and Thomas Newman's inventive use of instrumentation in the WALL·E score.  

ATG: Can you tell me the progression of how you went from what might be deemed ‘regular’ songs to writing something like “Techno Band”?

  LE: We released two full length albums between 2005 and 2009 and while gigging and promoting those we noticed how ape the audience would go when we threw in a cover like the Black Eyed Peas "I gotta feeling" or Outkast's "Hey ya", it became somewhat painfully obvious how much the audience loved the covers more than our originals. So in late 2009 early 2010 we made a conscious decision to write music not just for ourselves but more importantly music that identifies with our audience, so in true High School Business Ec style we identified our target market, did some research and began to carve a new sound. We've never loved what we're doing more than we do now, in fact recently someone come up to us at a gig and told us "you guys are amazing but you play too many covers!" we only played one cover that night, this guy just didn't realize that we had actually written everything he thought we were covering.

  ATG: Do you have a regular process for writing lyrics or approaching new songs?  

LE: No.

  ATG: And do you think there’s an integral process to go through in approaching being in a band in South Africa?

LE: Depends what you want to do. If you want to be a success you have to think both globally and locally, globally because the second you put anything on Youtube you have an international audience, and locally because local is what makes you unique, you have to allow your upbringing, and South Africa's music scene and sonic landscape to influence your sound. Die Antwoord understood this very well when they unleashed "Zef" on the world.   

ATG: Are there any local (or international) bands at the moment who inspire you to raise your game as musicians?

  LE: We're all big fans of The Graeme Watkins Project, their production and live show is "amazeballs" (to use their expression). Internationally, the list is long, Muse, Foo Fighters, Skrillex, Lady Gaga, Family Force 5, Linkin Park, Eminem, Mutemath, Skylar Grey, Imogen Heap, Fallout Boy, Keane, Radiohead, Gorillaz, RHCP... We're also inspired by Lonehill Estate itself, the members of this band have turned it into a highly fascinating, evolving machine that we're constantly learning from.

  ATG: Any special plans for the summer?

LE: This is going to be an exciting summer for LE, more hits and killer shows.

To find out more about Lonehill Estate's upcoming plans and to get your daily dose of awesomeness from the band members, join Lonehill Estate on Facebook and Twitter.

Symphonic Rocks comes to Joburg and Cape Town this year

2011-09-19T10:30:00.001+02:00

Press release from Heineken:

Tickets flying fast for Johannesburg and Cape Town Heineken® Symphonic Rocks 2011 events.

Tickets to the second iteration of Symphonic Rocks, which this year boasts performances in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, are in high demand says event organiser and creator Andy Mac.

This should see artists such as Zebra and Giraffe, Crash Car Burn, Arno Carstens, Loyiso, Tumi and the Volume and MACSTANLEY performing with the support of a full symphony orchestra to capacity crowds at Grand West Arena West Casino in Cape Town and The Big Top Arena at Carnival City in
Johannesburg.

According to Andy Mac, who is also the frontman for well-known Pop/Rock Cape Town outfit MACSTANLEY (formerly Flat Stanley), organisation running up to the event has been going smoothly and early ticket sales suggest that Heineken® Symphonic Rocks 2011 is set to build upon the success of Symphonic Rocks 2010.

“We are incredibly pleased with how the public has reacted to Symphonic Rocks this time around. Although announcing a Johannesburg date for 2011 was a risk, it was something we felt was necessary judging from the event reception in Cape Town last year. Fortunately, the reception has been great so
far and we’re really looking forward to both events.”

With regards to sales, Mac added that “tickets are selling really well - our advice is not to put off your purchase until the last minute to avoid disappointment”.

The unique match up of chart-topping South African artists and a full symphony orchestra, set against the backdrop of an impressive lighting arrangement with an ice cold Heineken® just an arm’s length away has all the makings of the musical highlight of the year.

Tickets cost R225 in Cape Town and R225, R250 and R275 in Johannesburg at Computicket. Capacity at each of the venues is limited so fans are advised to book in advance.

Go to www.symphonicrocks.co.za for more info.

The Static Jacks: dynamic youngsters howling for their youth

2011-09-19T10:00:00.052+02:00

I tuned into New Jersey's The Static Jacks and their debut album, If You're Young, because a blurb I read told me they had barroom rock tunes in the style of Springsteen. Shoulda known right then that that review was trash because Springsteen isn't exactly barroom-esque, but I listened anyway and got something that didn't sound anything like the Jersey sound we all know and love. But luckily, what it did sound like was pretty dang cool, so The Static Jacks get to stay.

There is an element of the barroom chorus that runs throughout the record, but it's often veiled by the arty, and somewhat angsty howls that one might expect from a band like The Editors instead. In fact, a good way to describe the record is, as their website bio does, as 'a beast' - from the word go with "Defend Rosie", it surges forward with a youthful power that rarely falters throughout.

The album expands Laces’ [The Static Jack's debut EP] look at youthful trials and tribulations, from the peerless bliss of love found to the barren hell of heartbreak to fear of the ever-looming future, of growing old, of stagnation-topics at once personal and also deeply universal. Yet as the Jacks explain the record, "Even if now you’re not young, you were once, so you’ll get where these songs are coming from."

It's great to hear music from a young band, who even rub their early twenty-something age in your face with the album title, but don't make you feel like you're listening to something below you. Or, with their somewhat nostalgic subject matter, make you feel like they're old and harking back to the good times (no offense, or anything, Bruce).

It's been just two short years since the birth of The Static Jacks, but I hope they'll be around for many another one, to eventually be a bunch of awesome, angsty old men still making rockin' tunes.

Get a free download "Girl Parts", one of my favourite tracks off the record, to see what I'm talkin' about:

Listen to a summary of If You're Young here:

Join The Static Jacks on Facebook. Buy If You're Young on iTunes.

Video: Butch Walker - Summer Of '89

2011-09-19T09:30:00.005+02:00

Goddammit, I love this song.

Of the video, Walker says, "The idea was to borrow some ideas from really bad rock videos in the late Eighties and put them in perspective now."

Free Music Monday: Wavves, Toro Y Moi, The Californian

2011-09-19T09:00:00.020+02:00

For free, for you:
Wavves - I wanna Meet Dave Grohl (Yeah, don't we all, dude.)
The Californian - A Billion Grains Of Sand
Last American Buffalo - Thieves
Toro Y Moi - All Alone:

Chalk And Numbers - Summer Nights (And Summer Days)
Class Actress - Weekend
AM & Shawn Lee - Dark Into Light
Extra Classic - You Can't Bring Me Down

Butch Walker - Day Drunk

2011-09-16T09:30:00.004+02:00

It's Friday - go and get your ass day drunk.

Good Cause Friday: Concert for Conservation

2011-09-16T09:00:00.025+02:00

FRESHLYGROUND are coming to Casterbridge! Funds raised from the concert will be managed by WESSA and go towards rhino conservation in our Province.

WESSA is a truly South African non-governmental organisation with a proud history in our Country. For 85 years WESSA has proactively engaged with the challenges and opportunities presented by South Africa's unique natural heritage and the social and economic systems that depend on it. WESSA works to ensure environmental sustainability for current and future South Africa generations.

For more information on the concert visit the event page onwww.casterbridge.co.za visit the Facebook page: Concert for Conservation, follow us on Twitter @Concert4Rhino or contact 082 800 0618.

In order to further raise funds for Rhino conservation, we are calling for members of the public to make a donation into our Lowveld WESSA account, in the weeks leading up to the concert. If you donate R100 or more, you stand to win a wonderful 2 night stay for two at Isibindi Rhino Post Safari Lodge. All you need to do to qualify for the draw for this fantastic prize is to make an electronic transfer of R100 into WESSA's account :

Standard Bank account Wildlife and Environment Society SA
Account number – Standard Bank 132835126
Branch White River: code – 052852
Reference – RHINO plus your telephone number (MOST IMPORTANT - this will identify your donation for the draw and allow us to inform you that you have won!)

tracey.j.russell@gmail.com or info@casterbridge.co.za

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Lithium

2011-09-15T10:00:00.004+02:00

I do appreciate a good singing actor.

Incidentally, JGL performed this song in Seattle. I wonder if one gets stoned for performing Nirvana songs in Seattle even if one does them relatively well?

Green Thursdays: how to eat green

2011-09-15T09:30:00.002+02:00

Tips from EcoChange:

Locate and support your local organic restaurants. The food always tastes better at these places!

Watermelon is a great de-toxifier, it rids your system of a lot of nasty chemicals. Have some watermelon and start your new organic only diet!

Eat only lean meats! Chicken, Swordfish, Salmon(wild, not farm raised), Tuna, and Turkey are my favorites.

Avoid Deli meats! They are prone to germs & bacterial growth.

Avoid fast food joints you lazy-seeker of instant gratification!
Can you even remember the last time your stomach felt good after a fast food meal? It always tastes good going down. Your body tries hard to locate the little nutrients that are in it. And down right rejects the rest of the garbage. Fast food is full of food additives, flavor enhancers, preservatives, HORMONES?, and a slew of sneaky chemicals designed to make you addicted to the stuff.

Everything Organic! Yes, organic products are a little more expensive, but the rewards from using and eating them are priceless. Stay away from preservatives and synthetic toxic chemicals. Next grocery trip try only shopping in the organic section, or go to the organic only grocery store. Check the label as to where the produce/product is coming from. The ideal is to purchase organic food within 12 miles of your dinner table. Your budget for food and livelihood should not be skimped & neglected. Your health is your most important asset, it should always be your top priority!

Next time you are at the grocery store use paper to bag your groceries, then reuse the same paper bags the next time you go the store, repeat this until they need replaced. (Hint: double layer paper bags are more durable and less likely to tear)

*The best option is to always use reuseable canvas bags when shopping. I get paper bags at the grocery store sometimes because I have cats at home and I use the paper bags as garbage bags for their litter droppings.

If You Care products: 100% recycled aluminum foil, coffee filters, & parchment paper. ifyoucare.com

Green Thursdays: poo-fueled batteries may be a thing of the future

2011-09-15T09:00:00.002+02:00

Story from Inhabitat:

Raw sewage stinks, but did you know it is actually a hot commodity? Gaseous wastewater has the potential to be converted into energy-packed biofuel, powering city facilities worldwide. Soon, that noxious wastewater you’ve held your breath over could help power your home appliances through microbial fuel cell batteries!
Currently in development by environmental engineer Bruce Logan, the fuel cells contain organic-waste hungry bacteria. As they eat their way through the wastewater, they create their own waste, pooping out electrons. The fuel cells collect the electron waste on carbon bristles. They are then free to move through a circuit, creating energy to power anything around the house –lamps, fans, you name it. Logan’s fuel cells also produce hydrogen, which can potentially be used to fuel hydrogen powered vehicles in the future.

Logan has been experimenting with the viability of the fuel cells for everyday use, having reached a turning point by using affordable materials, rather than expensive precious metals. Logan, and other researchers, plan to continue working with waste-eating fuel cells. Currently, they can’t produce enough power our daily needs, but he forecasts their power to be amplified to completely run wastewater treatment plants, plus produce enough electricity for a community, if research continues as planned over the next decade.

Waste is already commonly converted back into power. Beer companies are using waste hops as biofuel, cities are using sewage gas to help power utilities, so it is only a matter of time before waste can efficiently fill the need for power in our homes.

Via Fast Company.

Gig Guide 14 - 20 September

2011-09-14T10:00:00.039+02:00

- Wednesday 14 September: Boo! @ Centurion Theatre, PTA
                                            : Elvis Blue @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA
                                            : Fokofpolisiekar, The Pretty Blue Guns @ Klein Libertas, Stellenbosch

- Thursday 15 September: Farryl Purkiss @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
   : Dan Patlansky @ Steak & Ale, PTA
                                         : Liezl Marshall @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA

- Friday 16 September: Arno Carstens & Albert Frost @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
                                    : Dan Patlansky @ Steak & Ale, PTA
: Klopjag @ Die Blou Hond, JHB
                                    : Karen Zoid @ Escapades Theatre, Klerksdorp
                                    : The Deep Blue C @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA

- Saturday 17 September: Deuriemikke Carnival @ Supersport Park, PTA
                                       : Voodoo Child, Shadowclub, Beatenberg @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
   : Joshua Grierson @ Tokyo Star, JHB
                                       : Farryl Purkiss, Isochronous @ Arcade Empire, PTA
                                       : Ashtray Electric @ Klein Libertas Theatre, Stellenbosch

- Sunday 18 September: Ashtray Electric @ Kirstenbosch Gardens, CPT
                                     : Hot Water, Tidal Waves, Souljah, Chiba Fly @ Voortrekker Monument, PTA

Send your event info to gigs@athousandguitars.com to get it featured here.

The Duke & The King: new old New York folk sentiment

2011-09-14T10:00:00.002+02:00

"I lost myself..."

... in the artistic lullabies on The Duke & The King's eponymous new record.

These guys are just lovely. There's no pretense about their music, and nothing in the mix that doesn't need to be. It is, at times plangent and folk-inspired, at times happy and clear, and even occasionally almost soulful.

Just look at these two very different tunes:
"No Easy Way Out"

"If You Ever Get Famous"

The band is my favourite kind of hippie musos:

The Duke & The King are a soul-folk-glam ensemble from the sticks of New York founded, produced, and created by Simone Felice and Robert Bird Burke, featuring the sensational Simi Stone and Nowell" Reverend Loveday" Haskins, and like any traveling theatre troupe there's bound to be a growing cast of bewitching characters. Named for the traveling Shakespeare hustlers in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn', these curious band of rebels/rabble have found an unexpected home together, a floating raft adrift on a river of chance, an itinerant church of harmony and sin where its okay to french kiss your cousin and all strays are welcome to come out of the cold and sing along to these songs of love, loss, pathos, and hope.

They're a bunch of New York artists in the vein of the Beat generation and the later travelling buskers it spawned. It's an entirely seductive image of travelling through the world and life for the music and the vibe, like them On The Road kids did, instead of doing it for anyone or anything else. Listening to their record takes you along on the ride.

Buy The Duke & The King on iTunes.
Web. Myspace. Facebook. Twitter.

Holiday Murray - Antagonizer

2011-09-14T10:00:00.001+02:00

Hadn't heard much of Holiday Murray before, but I dig this:

Holiday Murray - Antagonizer [Official Video] from Holiday Murray on Vimeo.

Lights resolve sign record deal, set album release date

2011-09-13T10:11:00.009+02:00

Press release from Lights Resolve:

“Feel You’re Different” To Be Released October 25th

Record Release Show Planned for Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on October 27th; Pre-Sale Tickets On Sale

Lights Resolve, the trio from Long Island, NY, has signed with Rock Ridge Music and will release its debut album, “Feel You’re Different,” via the label on October 25, 2011. For Feel You’re Different, Lights Resolve recorded in Bethpage, NY with legendary Long Island producer Mike Sapone (Brand New, Taking Back Sunday). “As a three-piece, we’re trying to create the most broad sound possible with just three guys on stage,” says singer/guitarist Matthew Reich. “For this record, we wanted to create a more raw and ballsy atmosphere that bore a closer resemblance to our live show. We're super proud of what we created, and it's by far our greatest work to date.”

Thematically, the album developed into both a commentary on embracing individuality and coming to grips with one’s own personal development; both are topics the members of Lights Resolve know all too well from recent years. “To me, Feel You’re Different was originally about embracing your unique qualities and finding comfort in your own skin,” explains Reich. “New meaning was found by realizing that as time passes, you change and formulate new opinions to experience your world in different ways. It's all about the struggle of change and obstacles.”

When writing Feel You’re Different, the band spent time in several different locations, including Florida, Pennsylvania and northern New York, in order to stimulate different moods and vibes for the songs. As one might imagine, the creations emanating from the “Sunshine State” are lighter, more up-tempo affairs, while the northeast-born compositions are darker and edgier than their Floridian counterparts. Musically, the band pushed itself to create a vast soundscape with just three instruments, rearranging parts originally written on piano or synth. Not only has the band captured its frenetic live energy on Feel You’re Different, but the album was also written with future performances in mind; devoid of fancy overdubs and production gloss, no trickery is needed to recreate the songs on stage.

The band is planning a record release show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY on October 27, 2011. Artist Arena Presale http://tixx1.artistarena.com/lightsresolve/ begins September 6th, AmEx presale begins September 7th, and public onsale http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/ begins September 9th. The show will be ages 16 and up. Extensive touring will follow the album’s release, with additional dates to be announced soon.

Lights Resolve formed in 2006, and the band has since issued three self-produced EPs and has toured extensively, playing with multi-platinum recording artists such as the Used, Panic at the Disco, Shiny Toy Guns, Dashboard Confessional, Phantom Planet and Straylight Run, and has appeared at festivals like the Bamboozle, SXSW, CMJ and Warped Tour, all on a DIY basis. In 2009 Rolling Stone dubbed Lights Resolve one of the year’s “Breakout Bands,” and the group was recently named “Unsigned Band of the Month” by Alternative Press magazine. Their song “Dreaming of Love” was also recently ranked the sixth-most downloaded song for the Rock Band videogame, logging 500,000+ downloads.

Lights Resolve is: Matthew Reich – Vocals, Guitar; Neal Saini – Drums; Luke Daniels – Bass.

www.lightsresolve.com

www.facebook.com/lightsresolve

www.twitter.com/lightsresolve

www.myspace.com/lightsresolve

Brand New 13 September: Anthrax, Blitzen Trapper, Bush

2011-09-13T09:30:00.000+02:00

Lots to choose from in new releases this week:

Staind - Staind (Alt Metal) www.staind.com
Terri Clark - Roots & Wings (Country) www.terriclark.com
The Devil Wears Prada - Dead Throne (Metalcore) www.tdwpband.com
Anthrax - Worship Music (Heavy Metal) www.anthrax.com
Black Francis - Paley & Francis (Alt Rock) www.blackfrancis.net
Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing (Folk Rock) www.BlitzenTrapper.net
Blondie - Panic of Girls (Punk Rock) www.blondie.net
Chuck Ragan - Covering Ground (Folk Rock) www.chuckraganmusic.com
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien (Indie Rock) www.CymbalsEatGuitars.com
Das Racist - Relax (Rap) www.dasracist.net
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost (Indie Rock) www.facebook.com/girlssf
Lady Antebellum - Own The Night (Country) www.ladyantebellum.com
Ladytron - Gravity The Seducer (Electro) www.ladytron.com
Laura Marling - Own The Night (Indie Folk) www.lauramarling.com
Mates of State - Mountaintops (Indie Pop) www.matesofstate.com
Neon Indian - Era Extrana (Electro) www.myspace.com/neonindian
Pajama Club - Pajama Club (Rock) www.pajamaclubmusic.com
Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride (Melodic Hardcore) www.myspace.com/polarbearclub
S.C.U.M. - Again Into Eyes (Art Rock) www.myspace.com/scum1968
Saves The Day - Daybreak (Power Pop) www.savestheday.com
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (Indie Pop) www.ilovestvincent.com
Tom Vek - Leisure Seizure (Alt Rock) www.tomvek.tv
Wild Flag - Wild Flag (Indie Rock) www.myspace.com/wildflag

Our picks of the week are:
The Kooks - Junk Of The Heart (Indie Rock) www.thekooks.com

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare (Glam Rock) www.alicecooper.com

Bush - The Sea Memories (Alt Rock) www.bushofficial.com

Now playing: Male Bonding

2011-09-13T09:00:00.061+02:00

I was drawn to the music of Male Bonding not for their name, but because of their interesting sound. They're like indie kids who do loud pop-punk. They're like The Dashing Suns crossed with Drew And The Grand Spectacular. And the thing to point out is that they're not from some basement in Brooklyn - their from the UK...!

Check it:

Musically, Endless Now is everything fans already love about Male Bonding… and much more. “We wanted to push ourselves as much as possible, which is something we’ve always done, but we did it even more this time,” explains Robin. “We used the studio as a tool much more, whereas I don’t feel that we did that last time.” New timbres like piano, cello, and the Mellotron all factor into the sound, and there are more guitars than ever before. In fact, there are so many overdubs they’ve had to enlist their pal Nathan Cheetahs to share guitar duties in recent live shows. Another friend loaned Robin a ride cymbal… for the very first time! “I’d never used one before and absolutely loved it. It’s all over the record.” There are abundant vocal harmonies, the female ones supplied by Frankie Rose of Crystal Stilts/Dum Dum Girls/Vivian Girls renown.

And because they're cool, they're also giving you a free download. Get their track "Bones" here:

Join the band online:

www.myspace.com/malebonding

malebondingblog.blogspot.com

www.subpop.com

www.myspace.com/paradisevendorsinc

paradisevendorsinc.blogspot.com

Watch My Morning Jacket play their whole Circuital album live

2011-09-12T10:30:00.000+02:00

Take a look at what NPR calls "one of the best live bands in rock right now" as they play through their entire latest album, Circuital, and a couples of their older tunes, at a concert in Los Angeles last month.

Yeah, who even needs bands to come all the way to Africa for us?
.
.
.
All of us, but this helps.

Now streaming: Plush

2011-09-12T10:00:00.000+02:00

I try to talk about my personal favourite bands on here as little as possible because I'll usually jusy ending up waxing lyrically to myself while everyone clicks over to somewhere else. But I do think you should listen to this album by my very favourite Cape Town gents. It's honest, lovely and catchy pop-rock and you can stream their whole recent self-titled album here:

PLUSH by sheergroup

If you dig it as much as I do, go to www.plush.us for more info or to buy the record.

Free Music Monday: The Dandy Warhols, Rachel Yamagata, Drive-By Truckers

2011-09-12T09:30:00.000+02:00

For you, with love:

All Get Out - Lucky Bastard
Spirit Animal - I'm Around
Princeton - Clamoring For Your Heart
Rachel Yamagata - Starlight
Gung Ho - Twin Rays
The Dandy Warhols - Daytrotter Sessions
My Morning Jacket - Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
Drive-By Truckers - My Sweet Annette

Rock on. Happy Monday.

Howlin' Wolf vs Little Walter

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000+02:00

I started listening to some Howlin' Wolf last week for the first time. (Yeah, yeah, hold back your judgement - we can't all have listened to all the blues ever.) I cranked it up, he was howlin', and it was all going great. Until he started sounding an awful lot like Little Walter, the harmonica virtuoso who was singin' the blues around the same time as the Wolf.

So I called up my dad, my go-to go on all matters blue, and asked him if these folks just had one standard blues riff back then because my favourite Little Walter ditty sounded a whole lot like what Howlin' Wolf was just singing. My dad said yeah, he wasn't too sure how they worked out the copyright issues back then because "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Mannish Boy" did sound totally the same.

This is "Hoochie Coochie Man":

And this is "Mannish Boy":

The funny thing is, when I called up with this question, I was actually talking about these two songs:

"My Babe" by Little Walter:

"Little Darling" by Howlin' Wolf: (covered by The Stones - I couldn't find Howlin' video unfortunately)

I suppose you could counter with "who the hell cares, at least someone was making this great music" but you get what I'm sayin' now, don't ya?

New York, New York

2011-09-11T09:35:00.000+02:00

Ten years since 9/11.

New York City, I will love you no matter what you look like.

Band Of Skulls to headline Rocking The Daisies

2011-09-09T11:47:00.000+02:00

Rocking the Daisies presented by Wrigley’s 5 Gum is very excited to announce two more international acts to complete their full line up and accompany previously announced international acts Kevin Saunderson (The Elevator) Detroit USA, Belleruche (UK) and Boom Pam (Israel).

British rock band, Band of Skulls has been confirmed as the headlining international act for the main stage on Saturday night and French electro duo Mustard Pimp / DIM MAK will be the main act for the Red Bull Studio Live Electronic Stage on Friday night.

Band of Skulls, a popular rock band from England, consist of Russell Marsden (guitar / vocals), Emma Richardson (bass / vocals) and Matt Hayward (drums). The band released their first album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, in September 2009. Success on both sides of the Atlantic has made them a high-profile and much sought after act.

After two years of solid touring the band has recently been recording their second album. The last month saw the band play the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee as well as two sold-out shows in Los Angeles. Expect to be blown away on the Saturday night by world renowned rockers!

Hitting the electro stage is French electro production/remix duo Mustard Pimp, signed to Dim Mak, with remixes of Will Smith, Stereoheroes, Dada Life and Atari Teenage Riot already under their belt. Some other tracks include Cherry, Pidgeon Flu (feat. Blatta & Inesha] Gold 3, Beetle Gum and Valium.

The final line-up is on www.rockingthedaisies.com

Good Cause Friday: International Day Of Peace

2011-09-09T09:30:00.012+02:00

The 2011 International Day Of Peace is coming up on September 21st.

All you have to do right now to support this cause is watch this video:

And share it wherever you can. And then carry peaceful vibes with you wherever you can.

For more info, go to www.internationaldayofpeace.org.

The Gaslight Anthem - High Lonesome

2011-09-09T09:00:00.003+02:00

When I first heard this song with the words "At night I wake up with the sheets soakin' wet..." I thought these guys weren't even vaguely trying to hide their Springsteen influence...

...but the line finishes with "It's a pretty good song, baby, you know the rest."

Touché, Gaslight Anthem, Touché.

My Morning Jacket & Neko Case - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

2011-09-08T10:00:00.003+02:00

I appreciate some Stevie Nicks in small doses. Throw in some Tom Petty and now you're really cookin'. My Morning Jacket and their tour opener, Neko Case, took a shot at the Petty/Nicks duet recently. I think it's good stuff.

Neko Case & My Morning Jacket - Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks Cover by TwentyFourBit.com

Watch MMJ and Case cover "Islands In The Stream" here.

Green Thursdays: save the orangutans

2011-09-08T09:30:00.007+02:00

Story from Green on Huffington Post:

Orangutans have been making quite a splash in news recently

Most recently, people watched in awe as an orangutan at Japan's Tama Zoo cooled off in a shockingly human manner, wiping his face with a wet towel.

In June, National Geographic captured on film an orangutan named Suryia befriending a hound dog named Roscoe.

Unfortunately, orangutans face many threats. Palm oil plantations have recently emerged as a cash crop for fuel and food, but production can not only destroy rain forests but also may endanger the orangutan population. Earlier this year, two Girl Scouts raised awareness about the plight of the orangutan, challenging the makers of their Girl Scout cookies to remove palm oil from the ingredients.

Michelle Desilets, executive director of the Orangutan Land Trust, told Mongabay.com, "We have found orangutans beaten to death with wooden planks and iron bars, butchered by machetes, beaten unconscious and buried alive, and doused with petrol and set alight."

According to National Geographic, orangutans are also threatened by deforestation and hunting.

Check out some of our favorite Getty images of orangutan here.

Green Thursdays: the global traffic jam just got worse

2011-09-08T09:00:00.003+02:00

Story from The Guardian:

I am starting this post snared in traffic on Beijing's third ring road, breathing exhaust fumes and taking it on faith that the sun is up there somewhere behind the smog.

It is a fitting location to expunge a little car-related angst prompted by some stunning car industry statistics that have emerged in the past few days. If you are even slightly concerned about the environment, prepare to be depressed. If you are Jeremy Clarkson, start rubbing your hands with glee now.

First, the number of cars on the planet has just passed the billion mark. Second, almost half of the new growth is in China. Third, Toyota managed to sell only one Prius in China last year. That's right. The world's most commercially successful hybrid car has found only one buyer in the fastest growing market. SUV sales, by contrast, are surging.

No wonder we are choking. Despite all the promises of green growth and reduced emissions, traditional car sales are accelerating, while efforts to shift towards "greener" hybrid and electric vehicles are stuck in neutral, particularly in the place where it matters most.

According to the trade journal, Ward's, a record 35m new vehicles were sold worldwide last year. That is 95,500 extra cars being added to the global traffic jam every day.

Most of the new demand came from developing nations, particularly China. But the country's efforts to promote "green" cars has been lagging. This is not just affecting Toyota. It had been hoped that generous government subsidies and policy support would help domestic manufacturers like BYD to leapfrog better established overseas rivals by mass producing electric cars.

But BYD have scaled back their ambitions after failing to find a market due to cost and technical concerns. Reflecting the lack of progress, prime minster Wen Jiabao recently published an article in a Communist party journal calling for a rethink of China's "road map" towards alternative powertrain vehicles.

In a report earlier this week, IHS Automotive, a Shanghai-based consultancy, said the sales increase for such vehicles is far behind the government's timeframe. It noted too the poor performance of the Prius, which notched up a sole sale in a year when 13.8m new passenger cars were registered in China. Among them were 850,000 SUVs, a rise of 24%. Luxury car sales were also on the up and up, as I noted in an earlier article.

The big brands would like more of the same - and argue there is room for growth. Only one in 16 Chinese people own a car, which is less than half the global average. If the country were to match the three-in-four ownership levels of the US, that would mean an extra 900 million vehicles.

Given the frequent traffic and smog even at current levels, I cannot imagine that ever happening. Even if all the new cars were hybrid or electric, the congestion would be incredible. "Green growth" looks a distant prospect. China is more likely to simply slow down.

Gig Guide 7 - 13 September

2011-09-07T10:00:00.000+02:00

- Wednesday 7 September: Marcia Moon @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA
: Chris Chameleon @ Cafe Art, Stellenbosch

- Thursday 8 September: Wonderboom, The Honeydroppers @ Tanz Cafe, JHB
: Plush, Holiday Murray @ Trinity Restaurant, CPT
: Koos Kombuis @ Die Blou Hond, Linden

- Friday 9 September: Boo! @ Mercury Live, CPT
: Mean Mr Mustard @ Firkin, Centurion
: Habit To @ The Red Door, PMB
: Koos Kombuis @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA

- Saturday 10 September: Nimbus Experience, The Rescue @ Tanz Cafe, JHB

- Sunday 11 September: Wrestlerish @ Kirstenbosch Gardens, CPT
: Karen Zoid @ Die Boer, Stellenbosch

Send your event info to gigs@athousandguitars.com to get it featured here.

Butch Walker parties like a reminiscent rock star on new record

2011-09-07T09:30:00.003+02:00

The Spade, my current favorite album and Butch Walker's 6th studio record (second with backing band The Black Widows - BW & The BWs, geddit?) is the kind of concept album you're going to want to listen to. Of course, Walker's never called it a concept album, but just hear me out...

Imagine sitting around the campfire/barbecue/porch with a bunch of friends you went to highschool with. You don't see them very often but they were awesome back then and still are awesome. Y'all used to really rock and roll back in the day, but things have got a little bit quieter and easier to take in in the interim. You get to reminiscing about the old days. You laugh, you joke, you get loud and raucous, you get a little sad and melancholy before getting happy again. And before you know it, someone gets punched in the face for a reason they can't remember. It is a top night in every way. This is the way The Spade unfolds.

Where Walker used to ask "I'm tired, I'm bored, where's the cocaine?", he now asks "Can I go back to when I was a winner, way before the rain came and washed away the sinners?" So you may first think he's lost some of the rock and roll along the way, but he still sings with a guttural growl that comes from deep down within his body and soul. And never fear, he can still "get down like Duran Duran in 1985."

Synthesizers by ButchWalker

And, puh-raise the Lawd, I don't know why it took someone so long to do this, but Walker's written a song about getting day drunk - one of my favorite hobbies.

Day Drunk by ButchWalker

There is nary a bad moment on this album. Download it now. Open your southern hemisphere springtime doors nice and wide, crack open a couple of beers with some mates and turn it up LOUD!

Yes, you're welcome for the advice.

Buy The Spade on iTunes. Read Walker's personal blog at www.butchwalker.com.

Taxi Violence - Long Way From Home

2011-09-07T09:00:00.001+02:00

The second single off Taxi Violence's recent album of the same name.

Now playing: Jack And White

2011-09-06T09:30:00.026+02:00

Yeah, you probably did read that wrong - I'm not trying to feature Jack Awesomeness White as a new artist. I'm trying to feature Jack AND White. (That's either someone trying to be witty, or a very smart search engine marketing technique.)

This Californian duo, made up of Jack Matranga and Brooke White are a sort of a hippie, poppier version of The Rescues. Their tunes are light, happy, and quintessential Los Angeles. Take a listen:

Jack And White, "Double Trouble"

"Just months ago, Brooke and Jack were blindly setup to co-write a song for what was supposed to be Brooke’s next solo record. The pair had no expectations and minimal knowledge of each other’s history, musical or otherwise. But they found an almost instantaneous creative chemistry and spent the first hour just talking, sharing their influences and favorite songs. In just a few short hours, JACK AND WHITE penned their first tune."

Jack And White's debut EP Gemini is out now. "Double Trouble" comes off it.

Watch this introduction vid for more info about Jack And White:

Buy Gemini on iTunes. Join Jack And White on Facebook.

250 free indie downloads

2011-09-06T09:00:00.030+02:00

I couldn't resist an additional Free Music post this week because I stumbled on a myriad downloads just sitting around waiting for y'all. And they expire next week Monday, so ya gotta get in while the getting's good.

Head over to the Popchips Facebook page and pick any/all of the selection you'd like to download. They're divided by American city - Chicago, LA, NYC, San Fran and Seattle, and labelled with their genre too, so you won't end up with anything you don't want. There's everything from pop to hip hop, so knock yourselves out!

Brand New 6 September: Grace Jones, Lindsey Buckingham, Joe Jonas

2011-09-06T09:00:00.029+02:00

Out this week:

Grace Jones - Hurricane (Dance Pop) www.theworldofgracejones.com

Joe Jonas - Fastlife (Pop) www.joejonasmusic.com

Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sow (Rock) www.lindseybuckingham.com

The Front Bottoms - The Front Bottoms (Indie Pop) www.facebook.com/thefrontbottoms

The Rapture - The Grace Of Your Love (Indie Rock) www.therapturemusic.co.uk

The Horrible Crowes - Elsie (Rock) www.cassettesinthemailbox.blogspot.com

Example - Playing In The Shadows (Electro) www.trythisforexample.com

Jessy J - Hot Sauce (Jazz) www.jessyj.com

Free Music Monday: Rival Sons, Tokyo Police Club, My Morning Jacket

2011-09-05T10:00:00.017+02:00

I was about to start this by saying we've got a real good lot of downloads for you this week, but whatevs, we always have a good lot, so here we go:

Rival Sons - TOrture:
Rival Sons - Torture by EaracheRecords

Lightouts - All I Want/Heroes (LCD Soundsystem/Bowie cover)
Body Language - Falling Out
Weekend - Hazel
The Wombats - Drop Me Like A Guillotine
Tokyo Police Club - Southside (Moby & Gwen Stefani cover)
My Morning Jacket - Circuital (Exchange your e-mail address for it on their website.)

Horrible Crowes' Elsie: Brian Fallon's love letter to your ears

2011-09-05T09:30:00.000+02:00

Brian Fallon, the gravelly-voiced lead singer of The Gaslight Anthem, has taken a side road from may favourite Jersey band to form The Horrible Crowes with his friend and guitar tech, Ian Perkins. Let me tell ya - Fallon could be singing personal insults about my mother, and I'd probably still buy his record.

Sideonedummy Records, which is releasing The Horrible Crowes debut album, Elsie says

The band is Brian Fallon's lounge-friendly tip of the hat to artist like Tom Waits, The Afghan Whigs and PJ Harvey that have shaped another side of his musical taste.

With the same lead singer, there's obviously a modicum of similarity between the two bands, but where The Gaslight Anthem came in, spun you in circles around the dance floor and then swept you off your feet with its forthright and fierce rock tunes, The Horrible Crowes woos you slowly with sexy sidelong glances and eventually wins you over with its subtlety and intimacy.

Funnily enough, the song on the album that sounds most like The Gaslight Anthem is the lead single, "Behold The Hurricane". But even then, it's reminiscent of the much mellower songs we've heard from TGA before, and has a melodic sound more like that of U2 or Coldplay.

Other tracks like "Black Betty & The Moon", "Ladykiller" and "Sugar" make this an easy listening album without any of the zone-out factor - it's got the same raw emotion Fallon has always had, that's incredibly compelling throughout the record - you can't avoid thinking of the comparison that he's got the same honesty and power in his vocals that The Boss has. I bet the New Jerseyite would be thrilled to know people think that.

God, I hope he never stops singing.

Stream Elsie here:
The Horrible Crowes "Elsie" by SideOneDummy

Pre-order Elsie on iTunes. It's released everywhere tomorrow.

Night of 1000 Drawings is back

2011-09-05T09:00:00.000+02:00

yes, that's right, we're back!
Night of a 1000 drawings is coming back to JOZI this year :). A one night exhibition that was requires everybuddy out there to donate A5 drawings (or photograph) and the public buying them up to help raise much needed funds for charities. So, pretty pls start drawing up a storm and spread the word :)

Join our facebook page:
Follow us on Twitter:

Keep and eye on your Inbox or visit our website
www.1000drawings.co.za

Upcoming Event: Doodle on the roof! The Alex Theatre: click herefor details 36 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein 2001
Sunday, 11th September 2011	2pm - you need to go home and all your creative juices has been spilled on paper

Skid Out: rock stars, young love and a bitchin' soundtrack

2011-09-05T08:28:00.000+02:00

17 year old high school senior, Jake Masters, front man of a rising rock band, finds new interest in his younger freshman next door neighbor Alyssa Montgomery. Their relationship breaks hearts; stirs jealousy and band infighting. When they’re brought to new found awareness of body and soul, will rightful boundaries be crossed? Will the right decisions and choices, which are detrimental to the band and its future, be made through the haze of infatuation? Will Jake’s absences on the road lead to another filling his shoes? Jake and Alyssa’s lifelong friendships are strained and tested; secrets are kept, admitted and shared. Family bonds are broken, as others grow stronger. Who knew a first love could cause so many problems? Then again, in their eyes, there are no problems as long as they’re together. In the end, will his new found muse bring down everything he’s worked so hard to achieve or will she inspire positive creative change; that will carry him and his band to stardom.

There are two parts to this review. First, the book: Skid Out, the new novella by Ann Marie Frohoff is what you were reading about above. It's a prequel to Frohoff's forthcoming young adult book trilogy, the Heavy Influence series. And, well, since it's for them young adults, it wasn't particularly aimed at me, but Skid Out is just so lush that I enjoyed it anyway. Frohoff characterises her story with such ease, that it didn't feel like she was writing at some indiscriminate age group below me, it just felt like she was welcoming me on the story of Jake and Alyssa. It's the kind of romantic rock world I wish my everyday life was!

But naturally, the thing that appealed to me most about Skid Out and the Heavy Influence series to come, is that it comes with a soundtrack. Yip, a book with a soundtrack. How much does that rock? It's like the happy medium between books and films - you get to read and imagine it all yourself, but have some sweet-ass tunes playing in the background the whole time. The soundtrack features the likes of The Bad Suns, Lights Resolve and Dead Country, and we've got an exclusive stream of "Transpose" by The Bad Suns, off the Skid Out soundtrack:

The Bad Suns - Transpose by athousandguitars

This track is catchy as hell, I can seldom get it out of my head. Bring us more, Frohoff, bring us more!

Log on to the book's Facebook page to get updates about its release, and the future books in the Heavy Influence series: www.facebook.com/heavyinfluence.

Fallon & Springsteen - my favourite New Jerseyites

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000+02:00

I'm not sure how this little stage collabo passed me by, but sweet lord, take a look at this:

Bruce Springsteen & Brian Fallon - No Surrender:

More on Brian Fallon later with the release of his new side project, The Horrible Crowes.

Good Cause Friday: Slutwalk South Africa

2011-09-02T09:30:00.009+02:00

	Don't blame the victim, blame the perpetrator! No matter what you wear, or what you look like, you have the right not to be sexually assaulted, and if you are, you have the right not to be blamed for someone else's actions.

	We are asking you to join us for SlutWalk, to make a unified statement about sexual assault and victims’ rights and to demand respect for all. Whether a fellow slut or simply an ally, you don’t have to wear your sexual proclivities on your sleeve, we just ask that you come. Any gender-identification, any age. Singles, couples, parents, sisters, brothers, children, friends. Come walk or roll or strut or holler or stomp with us. This has become a global movement, with Satellites happening all over the world. Come dressed as you please, whether you wear a mini skirt, ball gown, tracksuit, tuxedo, pyjamas, or even a uniform, we do not discriminate. This event is about freedom of expression - you are all invited. To quote other Slutwalk pages: On January 24th, 2011, a representative of the Toronto Police gave shocking insight into the Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. As the city’s major protective service, the Toronto Police have perpetuated the myth and stereotype of ‘the slut’, and in doing so have failed us. With sexual assault already a significantly under-reported crime, survivors have now been given even less of a reason to go to the Police, for fear that they could be blamed. Being assaulted isn’t about what you wear; it’s not even about sex; but using a pejorative term to rationalize inexcusable behaviour creates an environment in which it’s okay to blame the victim. We are proudly taking a stand against sexual violence and the bully tactics of victim blaming. We believe that all of us, regardless of gender, need to recognize that by allowing the publicly shaming of victims by using their appearance or sexual history against them, it creates a society that accepts and justifies acts of sexual violence. We recognize that we need to end not only the acts of sexual violence, but the excuses that allow that violence to continue. We believe in the simple concept that everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. Slutwalk JHB event details. For more info on the Slutwalk, go to www.slutwalktoronto.com.

We are asking you to join us for SlutWalk, to make a unified statement about sexual assault and victims’ rights and to demand respect for all. Whether a fellow slut or simply an ally, you don’t have to wear your sexual proclivities on your sleeve, we just ask that you come. Any gender-identification, any age. Singles, couples, parents, sisters, brothers, children, friends. Come walk or roll or strut or holler or stomp with us. This has become a global movement, with Satellites happening all over the world.

Come dressed as you please, whether you wear a mini skirt, ball gown, tracksuit, tuxedo, pyjamas, or even a uniform, we do not discriminate. This event is about freedom of expression - you are all invited.

To quote other Slutwalk pages:
On January 24th, 2011, a representative of the Toronto Police gave shocking insight into the Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”.

As the city’s major protective service, the Toronto Police have perpetuated the myth and stereotype of ‘the slut’, and in doing so have failed us. With sexual assault already a significantly under-reported crime, survivors have now been given even less of a reason to go to the Police, for fear that they could be blamed. Being assaulted isn’t about what you wear; it’s not even about sex; but using a pejorative term to rationalize inexcusable behaviour creates an environment in which it’s okay to blame the victim.

We are proudly taking a stand against sexual violence and the bully tactics of victim blaming.
We believe that all of us, regardless of gender, need to recognize that by allowing the publicly shaming of victims by using their appearance or sexual history against them, it creates a society that accepts and justifies acts of sexual violence.
We recognize that we need to end not only the acts of sexual violence, but the excuses that allow that violence to continue.
We believe in the simple concept that everyone deserves to be respected for who they are.

Slutwalk JHB event details.

For more info on the Slutwalk, go to www.slutwalktoronto.com.

Thomas Dutronc - Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare

2011-09-02T09:00:00.005+02:00

When I played this to my sister, she professed that she loved French music because they could be saying they're depressed and want to dies, for all she knows, but 'they just sounds so happy'.

This guy, in case you were wondering, is the inimitable Francoise Hardy's son.

Weezer - Pumped Up Kicks

2011-09-01T10:00:00.005+02:00

It's bit of a crappy video, but anything to do with Pumped Up Kicks gets my vote this week:

Watch Foster The People return the cover favour and sing Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" here.

Green Thursdays: the green eceonomy is growing - it's inevitable

2011-09-01T09:30:00.000+02:00

Story from Tree Hugger:

Since 2008, these two things haven't changed: the world is getting warmer and millions of Americans are out of work. They're not going away any time soon.

Green For All was founded on the idea that those two problems could be relieved with a common solution, green jobs. We've seen that this can work; renewable energy businesses are among the fastest growing in the American economy.

We've also learned that the green economy holds much more promise than just renewables. The scope of jobs that improve our environment runs from factory workers building high-efficiency vehicles to entrepreneurs selling organic skincare products to businesses that turn a profit recycling waste from shredded automobiles.

In July, the Brookings Institution released a report detailing the extent of the green economy. Some 2.7 million Americans work at green jobs - more than work in the fossil fuel industry. The US Conference of Mayors estimates that number will almost triple by 2040. And green jobs are quality jobs. Median wages are 13 percent higher than the median - and they're available to more Americans who have a high school degree. Investment in clean energy projects yields more than three times as many jobs as investing in fossil fuels.

Even so, there is a lot of room for growth. Back in 2008, we argued that the green economy held great promise - and could grow to scale if Congress acted boldly. Had Congress passed comprehensive climate legislation, for example, or if they'd enacted the HOME STAR program.

Neither of which happened. If they had, millions more Americans would be at work right now. Just as millions more could be at work had the stimulus been larger. Just as millions could be put to work today by decisive government action. The only thing in more critical condition than our global environment is our political environment.

Which is too bad. We've seen the positive impact that support from government can have at a local level - in Philadelphia and Portland, Oakland and Atlanta. Some projects haven't been as successful; others still have been runaway successes. This is how the American economy works.

It's how the global economy works as well. Germany recently passed the United States to assume the number two position in global clean energy investment. In first place - by a mile - is China, where government investment is deliberate and robust. Clean energy is a growing market, but a confined one - and every sale made by overseas competitors is a job lost stateside.

Some people are just fine with that. Few economic sectors in history have had an active segment of the population rooting for its failure. Fossil fuel companies, climate change deniers, those happy to see a stagnant economy until November 2012 - there are many for whom a robust, green economy is a threat. Many see those 2.7 million jobs and wish they didn't exist.

Well, they do. And that number will grow. We wish it would grow faster: the faster it grows, the sooner we can stem the worst impacts of global warming and the sooner we get money into households that desperately need it.

But that number will grow. We'll step over obstacles we encounter and roadblocks placed in front of us.
It's inevitable.

The green economy will grow.

Green Thursdays: could a natural gas cartel emerge?

2011-09-01T09:00:00.001+02:00

The oil market is global, which is a root cause of the economic and geopolitical briar patches in which the oil-intense U.S. regularly finds itself. Bomb a pipeline in the Middle East, blow over an offshore rig in a hurricane, or run up fuel demand in China and the global market will react. The results will soon show up at the corner gas station.

Not so with natural gas, according to a MIT report examining prospects for natural gas. Natural gas markets are regional and respond to their own dynamics. Transportation is one reason why. Oil is easy to move around, by pipeline or by ship. Natural gas can be moved easily overland by pipeline, but moving it over water by ship is far more cumbersome than moving oil over water. You have to chill natural gas down to a liquid state, load it into a tanker, then regasify the fuel once it's reached its destination.

What if, however, a global natural gas market emerged? That question came up at a July 19 hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which examined the MIT report. Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, the New Mexico Democrat retiring from Congress next year, was worried about that.

Here's why: Three countries hold the largest reserves of conventional gas - Qatar, Iran, and Russia. MIT's study team ran a scenario for a global natural gas market, which showed "Russia and the Middle East becoming major suppliers to all three of the major regional natural gas markets - the U.S., Europe, and industrialized and emerging Asia."

That, MIT dryly explained, would be "a cause for concern." With Vladimir Putin's mercurial hand on the valve knobs and with the Middle East being, well, the Middle East, MIT's conclusion required no great leap of logic.

Would we really want to replay the OPEC movie for natural gas?

No, but there are important differences between oil and natural gas that would make it hard for an OPEC-like cartel - OGEC if you like - to put the gas market on a short leash.

First, as MIT energy guru Ernest Moniz pointed out to the committee, natural gas does not lend itself to "cartel behavior" as easily as oil does. Oil has a death grip on the transportation energy market. Gas, however, can be substituted in all its markets - power generation, industrial processes, building heat. If a natural gas supplier wants to play games, you could always burn wood for heat. If an oil supplier wants to play games, you couldn't put wood chips into your car's fuel tank.

Second, the dominance of Russia and the Middle East over gas reserves is not ironclad. The reason is shale. The U.S. is not the only neck of the woods where there are large reserves of gas in deep shale formations. The estimated size of the technically recoverable U.S. shale gas resource is 862 trillion cubic feet (tcf), equivalent to about 37 years of domestic consumption at current rates. Canada has an estimated 388 tcf. Mexico has 681 tcf, Brazil 281, Argentina 774, South Africa 485, and Australia 396. China could be the big tuna in the shale gas world, with 1,275 tcf.

If other countries develop shale gas, a big if to be sure, patterns of gas pricing and trade would change accordingly, weakening any would-be OGEC cartel ambitions. One of the big ifs is the potential environmental impact of shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing. France, for example, holds an estimated 180 tcf of shale gas, but the French government is blocking development as a result of those concerns.

Still, a global natural gas market would not be free of energy security risks, as the MIT report pointed out. China could try to lock down supplies through bilateral contracts with exporters. Control of pipeline routes gives leverage a la Putin to turn the valves for political purposes. Long supply chains create vulnerabilities for infrastructure - pipelines, gas liquefaction and regasification plants, tankers.
MIT's conclusion is that a global gas market would be a net benefit to the U.S., provided there were sufficient diversity of suppliers and markets were transparent.

There are many issues with natural gas. The emergence of an OPEC-like cartel - an OGEC - don't appear to be one of them, if MIT's analysis is on the mark.

Dave Stewart's Blackbird Diaries: magic Americana music

2011-08-31T10:00:00.035+02:00

Look, I'll admit it - I didn't ever know much about Dave Stewart's musical prowess. To a lay person like me, he's just 'that other dude in Annie Lennox's band'. And after all, if you've ever seen Annie Lennox perform at a 46664 concert, you'll know how angry and all-encompassing she can get on stage (!).

But in last week's slew of unexciting releases, this was far and away the best choice, and it was time to get a little closer to Dave. I love him now.

The Blackbird Diaries is Stewart's sixth solo studio album and, contrary to his Brit roots, it's a rollicking romp of Americana tunes. He sounds, at times, blue and angry ("Magic In The Blues"), melancholic and lonely ("Cheaper Than Free") and, in my favourite track, jaunty and just a little bit cocky ("Gypsy Girl And Me").

"She said 'parlez vous Francais?' and I said 'oui, je parle.'"

Billboard.com says Stewart has a reputation for capturing magic in the studio and Huffington Post says "Like God and Elvis, Dave Stewart is everywhere . . . don't miss Blackbird Diaries, the former Eurythmic's best solo effort yet." God, I can't believe I've missed his music all this time!

Sounds like: I'll go as far as to say this is a happy Lou Reed*, if you're as new to Stewart's vocals as I am. He has a jaunt in his voice and a magic in his 6 strings and I love it.

Buy The Blackbird Diaries on iTunes.

*I hope no one picks up how little I really listen to Lou Reed with that comment. *cringe*

Gig Guide 31 August - 6 September

2011-08-31T09:30:00.023+02:00

- Wednesday 31 August: Plush @ Klein Libertas Theatre, Stellenbosch

- Thursday 1 September: The December Streets @ SABC Studios, JHB
                                      : Dan Patlansky & Joshua Grierson @ Tanz Cafe, Fourways

- Friday 2 September: Rambling Bones, Shadowclub, The Privates International Band @ Town Hall, Newtown
                                 : Hed Kandi launch party @ Arena Royale, Fourways
                                 : Dan Patlansky & Joshua Grierson @ Tanz Cafe, Fourways

- Saturday 3 September: Comedy Night @ Tanz Cafe, Fourways

- Tuesday 6 September: Music Quiz Night @ Tanz Cafe, Fourways

Send all your gig info to gigs@athousandguitars.com to get them featured here.

Whiskey Shivers - Gimme All Your Lovin'

2011-08-31T09:00:00.008+02:00

Just... whoa. Only in the South. I love it. What a great Southern howl.

Buy the track here if you like it.

Now playing: Icon For Hire

2011-08-30T10:00:00.022+02:00

The first time I heard Icon For Hire, thinking they sounded fairly similar to early Paramore, I thought it would be cool if they changed their vibe with every song and could emulate famous bands with their own original tunes. Like an actual icon for hire. Geddit?

But life is not going my way on that because that is not Icon For Hire's MO. They still sound like Paramore though. But in a good way. Like the early Paramore songs that had teeth and attitude and some fire behind their luminous hair. And it's great! Listen here:

Icon For Hire, "Make A Move"

"Make A Move" is off the band's debut album, Scripted, that was released last week.

Buy Scripted on iTunes. Join Icon For Hire on Facebook.

New music from Ryan Adams

2011-08-30T09:30:00.002+02:00

Mr Perpetually Crazy, Ryan Adams, has released a track off his forthcoming album, Ashes & Fire. Listen to "Lucky Now" here.

Lucky Now by ryanadams

Ashes & Fire tracklisting:
01. Dirty Rain
02. Ashes & Fire
03. Come Home
04. Rocks
05. Do I Wait
06. Chains Of Love
07. Invisible Riverside
08. Save Me
09. Kindness
10. Lucky Now
11. I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say

The album is due out on October 11th.

Brand New 30 August: RHCP, Beirut, The Nightwatchman

2011-08-30T09:00:00.050+02:00

Out this week:

Am & Shawn Lee - Celestial Electric (Jazz Fusion) www.shawnlee.net
Beirut - The Rip Tide (Indie folk) www.beirutband.com

Glen Campbell - Ghost On The Canvas (Country) www.glencampbellshow.com
Hella - Tripper (Experimental rock) www.hellaband.com
Male Bonding - Endless Now (Punk Rock) www.malebonding.bandcamp.com

Mike Doughty - Yes And Also Yes (Indie Rock) www.mikedoughty.com
The Latebirds - Last Of The Good Ol' Days (Finnish rock) www.latebirds.com
The Nightwatchman - World Wide Rebel Songs (Rock) www.nightwatchmanmusic.com
Tinariwen - Tassili (African blues) www.Tinariwen.com
Tommy Keene - Behind The Parade (Power Pop) www.TommyKeene.com
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You (Alt rock) www.redhotchilipeppers.com

Jake Owen - Barefoot Blue Jean Night (Country) www.jakeowen.net
Cobra Starship - Night Shades (Synth Pop) www.cobrastarship.com
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Am I The Enemy (Alt Rock) www.redjumpsuit.com

Free Music Monday: The War On Drugs, The Vaccines, Male Bonding

2011-08-29T11:00:00.021+02:00

I'm tempted to say 'open wide' as I serve up this good dose of free music:

The Rosebuds - Come Visit Me
The Eric Daino Ensemble - Live At Lab East
Male Bonding - Bones
The War On Drugs - Come To The City (Ben French from RollingStone called the album this track comes off one of the best of the year. I'm not convinced, but let me know what you think.)
The Vaccines - Last Friday Night (Katy Perry cover)
Future Islands - Balance
Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy and Andrew WK - I'm A Goner:
I'm A Goner - Matt & Kim featuring Soulja Boy and ANDREW W.K. by Addicted To The Music

Watch the trailer for Scorsese's George Harrison documentary

2011-08-29T10:30:00.006+02:00

What a dude. If they don't bring this doc to South Africa, it's going to get it's ass pirated off the net by me. Gotta see it!

Living In A Material World comes out in the States in October.

Now streaming: Cymbals Eat Guitars

2011-08-29T10:00:00.001+02:00

I pretty much only pay attention to this band because I think they have a clever name. But upon listening to their second album, Lenses Alien, it turns out they actually make good music too. (Well isn't that a plus?)

Lenses Alien is officially released tomorrow, but you can stream the whole thing here:

Watch Radiohead's 'From The Basement' concert online

2011-08-29T09:30:00.002+02:00

It's like they're playing in your own house.

Check it out now, because this video is available for a limited time only.

Nick Cave is in competition with no one!

2011-08-29T09:00:00.007+02:00

I kinda wish I just didn't give a fuck as much as this guy.

Nick-cave.com released this letter that Nick Cave wrote to MTV in 1996 after his nomination for Best Male Artist:

TO ALL THOSE AT MTV,

I WOULD LIKE TO START BY THANKING YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME OVER RECENT YEARS AND I AM BOTH GRATEFUL AND FLATTERED BY THE NOMINATIONS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED FOR BEST MALE ARTIST. THE AIR PLAY GIVEN TO BOTH THE KYLIE MINOGUE AND P. J. HARVEY DUETS FROM MY LATEST ALBUM MURDER BALLADS HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED AND HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED. SO AGAIN MY SINCERE THANKS.

HAVING SAID THAT, I FEEL THAT IT’S NECESSARY FOR ME TO REQUEST THAT MY NOMINATION FOR BEST MALE ARTIST BE WITHDRAWN AND FURTHERMORE ANY AWARDS OR NOMINATIONS FOR SUCH AWARDS THAT MAY ARISE IN LATER YEARS BE PRESENTED TO THOSE WHO FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF THESE AWARD CEREMONIES. I MYSELF, DO NOT. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OF THE OPINION THAT MY MUSIC IS UNIQUE AND INDIVIDUAL AND EXISTS BEYOND THE REALMS INHABITED BY THOSE WHO WOULD REDUCE THINGS TO MERE MEASURING. I AM IN COMPETITION WITH NO-ONE.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MUSE IS A DELICATE ONE AT THE BEST OF TIMES AND I FEEL THAT IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT HER FROM INFLUENCES THAT MAY OFFEND HER FRAGILE NATURE.

SHE COMES TO ME WITH THE GIFT OF SONG AND IN RETURN I TREAT HER WITH THE RESPECT I FEEL SHE DESERVES – IN THIS CASE THIS MEANS NOT SUBJECTING HER TO THE INDIGNITIES OF JUDGEMENT AND COMPETITION. MY MUSE IS NOT A HORSE AND I AM IN NO HORSE RACE AND IF INDEED SHE WAS, STILL I WOULD NOT HARNESS HER TO THIS TUMBREL – THIS BLOODY CART OF SEVERED HEADS AND GLITTERING PRIZES. MY MUSE MAY SPOOK! MAY BOLT! MAY ABANDON ME COMPLETELY!

SO ONCE AGAIN, TO THE PEOPLE AT MTV, I APPRECIATE THE ZEAL AND ENERGY THAT WAS PUT BEHIND MY LAST RECORD, I TRULY DO AND SAY THANK YOU AND AGAIN I SAY THANK YOU BUT NO…NO THANK YOU.

YOURS SINCERELY,
NICK CAVE 21 OCT 96.

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

2011-08-26T09:00:00.002+02:00

If you're anything like me, this'll stick this song in your head ALL WEEKEND LONG. Good luck. See you on Monday.

Cover of the week: The Shins - Ashes To Ashes

2011-08-25T10:00:00.008+02:00

The Shins (or The New Shins as they might likely now be called) rocked a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" on tour recently. What do you think of their homage?

Green Thursdays: Warnings from the ocean

2011-08-25T09:30:00.008+02:00

Story from Think Progress:

by Michael Conathan
Members of Congress have retreated to their respective corners over summer break while they wait for another brutal round of fighting over our country’s financial future. Meanwhile, Americans are streaming to the oceans and beaches in droves. As regular readers will have noted, this column missed its last edition while I joined my fellow beachgoers to take advantage of cool ocean breezes and escape the torrents of hot air cascading down from Capitol Hill.

What stood out to me during my “research” on Cape Cod and at Saquish Beach off the south shore of Massachusetts was that on its surface, the ocean looks pretty good. I taught my son to build drip castles in the surf—the sand and water were clean. We went swimming at night and when we dove in, the surface exploded in underwater fireworks of bioluminescence. My neighbor pulled his boat up on the sand early one morning after a 90-minute fishing trip and hopped out with a 34-inch striped bass and stories of the three other keepers he had caught and released because he only needed the one for supper.

While all this made for a spectacular vacation, it revealed, somewhat counterintuitively, that the ocean has an image problem. Only it’s not a problem in the typical sense. When we think “image problem,” we think Charlie Sheen. Or high fructose corn syrup. Or Congress. (The remarkable thing isn’t that Congress has a 14 percent approval rating; it’s that 14 percent of Americans actually think it’s doing a good job.)

The ocean’s image problem, however, is of the opposite kind. When we go down to the shore and look out at the waves, do a bit of bodysurfing, maybe watch a blazing orange and pink sunset, then swing by the fish market and pick up a fresh, local, sustainable filet of something white and flaky to bring home and fry up in the pan, we don’t see what’s really taking place beneath the surface. We don’t notice the decades of habitat degradation from coastal development and polluted runoff. We don’t see the microscopic organisms struggling to build their shells and skeletons in acidified water that dissolves them almost as quickly as they grow. We can’t comprehend that the populations of fish and marine life we experience today are such a far cry from the teeming ecosystems considered normal by even our parents and grandparents.All the scientific analyses and drumbeats of overfishing and climate change notwithstanding, it’s hard to ask people to develop a different perception than what they see with their own eyes. If a picture is worth a thousand words, an experience must be worth a billion. Particularly in this era of economic turmoil, when our focus is on big economic issues at all levels—from individuals to localities to the federal government—people are paying attention to what affects them most immediately. And an abstractly unhealthy ocean typically isn’t going to be it. Yet sometimes we must believe in the things we cannot see.

On August 10 the Center for American Progress hosted an event, “Life in Our Oceans: Art, Science, Sustenance, and Soul,” with four esteemed authors and ocean advocates who are fighting to raise awareness that the ocean’s beauty is only skin deep. Journalist Juliet Eilperin (Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks), marine biologist Nancy Knowlton (Citizens of the Sea), chef Barton Seaver (For Cod and Country), and National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry (Ocean Soul) helped explore the state of life in our oceans and how we can spread the message that our marine Edens are mostly mirages. While the authors’ presentations during the event had their moments of doom and gloom, each was ultimately able to find some good news.

Eilperin, who is also the environment reporter for The Washington Post, has seen an increasing dedication among coastal nations and U.S. states that are passing laws and instituting bans to reduce incidents of shark finning—catching a shark; slicing off its fins, which are the most valuable part of the animal; and tossing the rest of the carcass back into the sea. This wasteful practice is driven by increasing demand for shark fin soup, a culinary status symbol that is resoundingly thought to have no gustatory merit, yet is largely responsible for the rapid decline of the ocean’s top predators.

Tired of writing one death notice after another about the calamities befalling our oceans, Knowlton, along with her husband, Jeremy Jackson, created a project called “Beyond the Obituaries” to tell the success stories of ocean conservation. And in addition to serving as Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Knowlton serves as a co-director of the Census of Marine Life. The Census carried out a decade-long search for new species in our oceans and came up with more than 6,000 new denizens of the deep. Nearly two brand new species were found per day, every day for 10 years. Knowlton describes as “conservative” estimates that there are at least
another quarter-million species in our oceans no human has ever encountered.

At the other end of the food chain, chef Seaver advocates for a move beyond sustainability to what he calls a “restorative” seafood agenda. “It’s about better utilizing the resources that we already have access to,” said Seaver. “If chefs have the power to destroy, it is inherent that we also have the power to restore. Sustainable basically means do no harm, but restorative means to actually give back, actually to do something more to help actually bring back stocks.”

And Brian Skerry, who has made undersea images throughout a career exceeding three decades, has been as amazed by the ocean’s resilience as he has been dismayed by its degradation. Some of his photographs show the restorative power of marine protected areas and no-take zones that protect some of today’s most pristine remaining sea habitats. “There’s almost this arms race occurring with countries now trying to protect more and more of their oceans,” said Skerry of efforts to cordon off large swaths of ocean, as President George H. W. Bush did with the northwest Hawaiian Islands. Skerry talks about marine reserves in the south Pacific as being “like going back in time,” adding, “I’d like to be hopeful and think that the combination of good science and good journalism, good awareness will help raise everybody’s attention and this trend with continue for conservation and better management.”

For such efforts to catch on at a time when Congress is implementing historic reductions in domestic spending, marine advocates have to make a concerted effort to convince and continually remind Americans that despite what they see on vacation, the oceans are not OK. To put it in terms Washington can understand today, healthy oceans mean healthy economies. And if we ignore the warnings the ocean is trying to send, we risk losing more than just our vacation spots.

Whether you’re a scientist, a fisherman, an amateur wave rider, or a sunbaked builder of drip castles, or even if you’ve never laid eyes on the ocean, we are all invested in the survival of the mysterious, churning frontier that feeds the world, generates the very oxygen we breathe, and carries the commerce that sustains our own species. These are the stakes, and while it’s not yet too late, the time to act is running out.

— Michael Conathan, Director of Ocean Policy at the Center for American Progress.

Green Thursdays: Top 10 ethical fashion ideas

2011-08-25T09:00:00.008+02:00

This article applies to mostly British things, but it is food for thought and can always be translated into your local way of life...

Story from The Guardian:

Can fashion be a force for good?

It won't last long and we will soon, no doubt, be back to choking on our cornflakes over dubiously dressed celebrities and marvelling at the wonder that is Karl Lagerfeld's Twitter timeline, but this week Fashion Statement isn't feeling particularly flippant. In fact, we've decided to dedicate this week's dose of frivolity to the ways in which fashion isn't really that bad at all. Here, then, are 10 small ways in which you can make a difference and still get the thrill of retail therapy. The type you pay for, rather than the type that involves bricks through shop windows ...

1. Make a bid in a charity auction
Beauty company Shiseido has launched an auction to help raise money for the British Red Cross, to assist the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. All funds will go directly to help provide healthcare, food and water to the many thousands of homeless and displaced people. Pampering prizes include spa breaks, hotel stays, shopping sprees, iPods and more. Bid at ebay.co.uk/auctionforjapan .

2. Visit your high street
Londoners: go and visit the new Give + Take shop on Lordship Lane, East Dulwich. You can sell or donate your unwanted goods in their part-exchange programme and get some lovely new things to take home too. Or find your nearest TRAID shop (several have been damaged in the recent riots) and support their work by grabbing yourself a vintage bargain or a fabulous TRAIDremade piece. And if you are gnashing your teeth at FS's London-centricity, you can also buy their things online at traidremade.com.

3. Think little
FS may write debatably amusing pieces about hideous overpriced baby ranges, but we do not encourage you to buy them. Instead, buy less and buy ethical. Feel free to label us as middle-aged, stuck-up hypocrites, but we prefer our kids clothes not to actually be made by kids. Some of our favourites: Green Baby, Frugi, Babipur, Little Green Radicals and Seasalt. We particularly love Frugi's new welly boots, coming soon to a muddy puddle near you.

4. Stay in, go shopping
There are a huge number of brilliant ethical fashion sites online, from high fashion boutiques such as fashion-conscience.com and ethical pioneers such as People Tree, to our new favourite, Grannies Inc (like the Shreddies ad, only REAL). If you have no idea where to even begin, try browsing our rather-fabulous-even-though-we-say-it-ourselves ethical fashion directory.

5. Vote
The Future Friendly Awards celebrate great local environmental efforts around the UK. Have a browse and vote for your favourites: FS is voting for the O3 Ethical Fashion Fest at Oxford fashion week.

6. Step out
FS suspects trainers are having a bit of an image crisis, though possibly in a marketing meeting right now someone is claiming, "But our brand were voted most lootable! That's GREAT!". Buy some ethically produced ones: more expensive than a broken shop window, but with fewer unpleasant side effects (court cases and the like). Our suggestions: Terra Plana, Simple Shoes and Veja. More suggestions can be found here.

7. Make your own
Are you increasingly of the opinion that not only is capitalism a bad idea, but (with apologies to Douglas Adams) so was coming down from the trees and evolving in the first place? Put that cynicism away and make something nice. Our Making Time series has lots of craft projects to keep you occupied, including necklaces, snoods and dresses.

8. Check your jeans
The Clean Clothes campaign is pressing fashion manufacturers and retailers to ban sandblasting, a technique used to produce 'distressed' denim. The large amounts of silica dust created can lead to silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease. Dolce & Gabanna's response? "Dolce & Gabbana telephoned me [campaiger Deborah Lucchetti] to say thanks for the information and that it did not interest them". If you, soft-hearted liberal that you are, actually are interested in stopping people dying for the sake of a pair of overpriced jeans, sign the petition here.

9. Give something back
Support a charity working with marginalised young people. A recent Fashion Futures project worked with year 10 students on a product which they then had to market and present to a Dragons' Den-style panel. The winner impressed the jury with his brand Magic Sturling, named after and inspired by a friend lost to gang violence in 2008. Find out how you can support and help the charity here.

10. Give us a piece of your mind
This is, of course, only a small selection of the vast number of brilliant ethical fashion projects out there. Tell us about other ones you've heard of, set up, or shopped from below, and we'll make a longer list of great projects online.

Farryl Purkiss - Seraphine

2011-08-24T10:00:00.003+02:00

Purkiss goes all stop-motion (or whatever it is they call this technique) arty on us in his latest music video:

SERAPHINE from Peter Hamblin on Vimeo.

Free Southern rock downloads

2011-08-24T09:30:00.014+02:00

Because, as you may know, I think there's nothing better than a loud southern rock growl, I had to bring this southern music mix by Obscure Sounds to your attention.

It features some great bands you'll know, like the Belle Brigade, and My Morning Jacket.

And some funky new ones you probably won't have heard of yet. But we dig 'em all.

Download the "It's Too Damn Hot" Southern Mix here.

Gig Guide 24 - 30 August

2011-08-24T09:00:00.010+02:00

- Thursday 25 August: Shadowclub @ Cool Runnings, Benoni
   : Tasha Baxter @ Tanz Cafe, Bryanston

- Friday 26 August: Shadowclub @ Cafe Barcelona, PTA
: The Nile Crocodile Reunion @ Rebel Rock, PTA
                              : Isochronous album launch @ Tanz Cafe, Bryanston

- Saturday 27 August: Shadowclub @ CCHQ, JHB
: Grietfest @ Townhall, JHB
                                  : Cox & Newman @ Olympia Bakery, CPT
                                  : Stranger Daze @ Rusty Hook, Roodepoort
                                  : Easy Tiger, Tim Hendricks, Michael Ferguson @ Tanz Cafe, Bryanston

- Sunday 28 August: Dan Patlansky, Southern Gypsey Queen @ Voortrekker Monument, PTA
: Gugulethu Tenors @ Kirstenbosch Gardens, CPT

Remember to send your South African gigs to monica@athousandguitars.com to get them featured here.

Now playing: Sleep Agent

2011-08-23T09:30:00.017+02:00

Enough of this arty, introspective hipster trash (Iron & Wine, I'm looking at you). Bring on Sleeper Agent! A six-piece (yes, I know there are only five in the picture above) slice of musical fun, out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Sleeper Agent plays loud, boisterous garage-pop tunes that are entirely danceable.

Break out your best unrhythmic, convulsing dance moves and turn this up loud:

If you dig this track, download it for free here:

"Get It Daddy" comes off Sleeper Agent's debut album, Celebrasion which is out now.

The key to Sleeper Agent’s steady ascent, recently punctuated by their rollicking shows at SXSW, is disarmingly simple: the band members know how to laugh at themselves, and their songs are joyously melodic. (Possible motto, according to Smith: “Live faster, don’t die” —admittedly a work in progress.) You can hear this in particular on tracks such as the blogger-touted “Get It Daddy,” a dizzying school’s-out anthem about growing up, “Love Blood,” a jerky WTF about commitment, and “Get Burned,” the giddiest love-sucks tale you’ve ever heard that sounds like the Strokes doing the nasty with the Arcade Fire.

Buy Celebrasion on iTunes. Join Sleeper Agent on Facebook.

Brand New 23 August: Barbra Streisand, 12 Stones, Dave Stewart

2011-08-23T09:00:00.031+02:00

How interesting - people still let Barbra Streisand release albums...

12 Stones - Only Human (Hard Rock) www.12stones.com
Barbra Streisand - What Matters Most (Broadway) www.barbrastreisand.com
Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis (Indie Rock)
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Mirror Traffic (Indie Rock) www.stephenmalkmus.com
The Game - The R.E.D. Album (Rap) www.comptongame.com
Lenny Kravitz - Black And White America (Rock) www.lennykravitz.com
Dave Stewart - The Blackbird Diaries (Rock) www.davestewart.com

Lenny Kravitz is sounding interesting these days:

Download the Sunset Strip Music Festival mixtape

2011-08-22T10:30:00.012+02:00

Kevin from BuzzBands sums up my sentiment about the Sunset Strip perfectly:

Oh, Sunset Strip, you conflict me so. On one hand you are an interactive museum of rock clichés, Madame Tussauds with a pulse and a Flying V, a vast portion of your denizens seeking to inhabit the tattooed skin of GnR/Jane’s/Van Halen. On the other you inspire a certain sense of wonderment, because the fabric of Los Angeles needs your leather, lace and spandex, and maybe even Steel Panther just for laughs, no matter what they say east of Fairfax. And because your clubs sound great. Now we arrive at this year’s annual chest-thumping party, the Sunset Strip Music Festival, which culminates in a big street festival Saturday boasting a lineup nobody who doesn’t snort nostalgia would recommend. There are some gems to found in the club shows, to be sure, including my favorite new L.A. hard-rock band, Dead Sara. To thee I dedicate this humble mixtape:

Download the Sunset Strip Music Festival mixtape here:
Buzzsicle 16 - Sunset Strip Music Festival 2011 by buzzbands

Watch a 'new' 1992 Smiths documentary

2011-08-22T10:00:00.002+02:00

A little Monday morning distraction for you - a press video for The Smiths from 1992. As Vulture says, "It's mostly footage of Morrissey dancing, set to a greatest hits collection, so it's delightful." Good times.

The launch of SA's first super club

2011-08-22T09:30:00.014+02:00

I love the sound of a club modelled on a 'burlesque theatre show lounge':

Press release from Younique Concepts:

Hed Kandi - The world's most glamorous music and lifestyle brand are very proud to announce the launch of their Spring Season in Johannesburg at the incredible new Super club, Arena Royale. Hed Kandi already flies world renowned DJ’s to the Fez club in Cape Town every week for what has become a series of legendary parties and has now added Johannesburg to its weekly roster with events at Arena Royal every Friday from 2nd September.

“The Arena Royale is a unique first of its kind venue in South Africa catering to the more mature market. The magnificent venue is themed along the lines of a Burlesque Theatre Show Lounge, much like the Moulin Rouge in Paris. “We are delighted to welcome the internationally acclaimed Hed Kandi brand to Arena Royale. There is no venue better suited to this brand than ours, and this will all become evident on Friday 2nd September 2011 when we stage the fabulous launch party with DJ Andy Norman from Hed Kandi and local support from Ricky H and Ricardo Da Costa. We have an amazing D&B Audiotechnik sound system in house and more AV and lighting effects than has ever been seen for a club event in South Africa.” Says Lionel Lee - Owner of Arena Royale.

“Never before have I seen a venue of this quality in South Africa. This venue is indeed a super club in the true sense of the word. The venue owners operate a sound, stage and lighting company, so we have more lighting and sound than has even been assembled for a club night, what a treat we have in store” announces Lloyd Cornwall of Hed Kandi.

Hed Kandi is all about first class entertainment in every way, and being the world’s trendiest clubbing brand produces excellent dance music through their ever popular CD releases. Party goers in Johannesburg and Cape Town can expect an incredible clubbing experience, the kind of experience Hed Kandi has become famous for.

Hed Kandi epitomises the concept of communicating its spirit through sexy and inspired images. Hed Kandi imagery is visually alluring which is reflective of their sensual refined style. Think… Gorgeous people, posing for the camera with a cheeky party happy satisfied glint in their eyes, exuding sophistication and sex appeal.

Hed Kandi is an internationally recognised explosive music and lifestyle brand that has announced a spectacular weekly residency at The Fez Nightclub in Cape Town, Saturday nights. Hed Kandi launched the Fez Night Club party series in Cape Town in July 2011 with great success, boasting a full house of happy clubbing dancers.

Hed Kandi runs and maintains a Record Label, Radio show, a successful Chain of trendy Bars and a Fashion brand. The concept of Stylish, Glamorous Living and partying was born in 1989 and has grown to become the global sensation it is today. They have a catalogue spanning over 100 albums showcasing Hed Kandi's feel-good signature sounds with half a million copies sold yearly. They also boast bragging rights of 40 Club hits and over a thousand international events every year.

Famous dance music brand Hed Kandi has recently launched a range of iPhone, iPod audio accessories as well as a line of headphones, skins and cases. This Iconic brand is now available at Musica stores country wide, chose from a wide range of Headphones and accessories to glam up your tech lifestyle.

Dress Code:

Deliciously stylish R.O.A.R

Tickets:

Cover charge applies. See www.hedkandi.co.za for guest list and jump the queue pre booking service.

•                  Hed Kandi offers VIP cards which are very exclusive for loyal customers.
•                  You get specially selected for a VIP card after being seen in the club regularly.
•                  Ticket prices range from R50 for regular tickets and R120 for VIP.

Event Details JHB:

·                  Date - Every Friday night
·                  Time - Doors open at 10pm
·                 Venue - The Arena Royale, Broadacres Shopping Centre
                         Cnr Valley Rd and Cedar Avenue, Fourways, Johannesburg
·                 Website - www.hedkandi.co.za / www.arenaroyale.co.za
·                 Contact - Kandi@hedkandi.co.za

Event Details CT:

·                  Date - Every Saturday night
·                  Time - Doors open at 10pm
·                  Venue - The Fez, 11 Mechau Street, Cape Town.
·                 Website - www.hedkandi.com / www.fez.co.za
·                 Contact - kandi@hedkandi.co.za

Free Music Monday: Beirut, Phish, Blitzen Trapper

2011-08-22T09:00:00.018+02:00

Let's go and get our eclectic playlisting on this week:

First up, a SPIN Mag compilation for the Outside Lands festival that recently took place in the States. It's an 11-track freebie that features Phish, Beirut and The Joy Formidable, among others. Get it for the price of your e-mail address.
Download the Outside Lands sampler here.

Next up is Blitzen Trapper, a bunch of interesting-looking dudes sitting around a piano. Their lead singer says this tracks evokes "truly American nostalgia". It's off their upcoming album that's out in September. Grab it off Soundcloud below:
Blitzen Trapper - Love The Way You Walk Away by subpop

And finally, the bassist for Guns 'n' Roses and Soul Asylum, Tommy Stinson, is about to release his second solo album. Guitarists releasing their own albums sometimes goes haywire when they try to take the frontman spotlight, but let's see if Stinson does, shall we?
Download "It's A Drag" here.

Michael Bublé & Tony Bennett - Don't Get Around Much Anymore

2011-08-19T09:00:00.002+02:00

Totally off-genre, but there's something so enticing about the voice of a big band singer.

What a little bit of Jeff Bridges can do

2011-08-18T10:00:00.047+02:00

I try never to put much stock in singing actors. Perhaps, as a layman, it's an automatic prejudice against people who can do more than one thing with skill. So when Jeff Bridges, who's at least a generation above me, and might just be the apple of my mother's eye, came on to my musical radar in Crazy Heart a few years back, I put it his awesomeness on stage in the film down to the fact that I have a soft spot for the South, particularly the drunken South.

But wouldn't ya know it, Bridges has gone and released a proper album (as opposed to just being part of a film soundtrack), and when I played the opening track, "What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do" yesterday morning, it felt like a warm musical hug.

Jeff Bridges is, in fact, not Bridges' first album - back in 2000, he released Be Here Soon. That album sounds like someone was sketching out some thoughts about possibly making a great record one day. It's the starter, if you will. Which would make the new record a big, juicy, triple-stacked hamburger of awesomeness.

The record, as a whole, is a very happy one. It's mellow, and occasionally plangent, but Bridges' vocals are accompanied by an 'it might not be perfect, but hey, it's still alright' kind of vibe. Or maybe that's all wrong and I've just seen The Big Lebowski too many times. He tells you money's not going to solve everything ("Everything But Love"), says perhaps he went off course in life, but he's still okay ("Maybe I Missed The Point") and wonders about meeting expectations ("Falling Short"). All that might make you wonder if Bridges is fairly insecure, but he's actually just a regular person like the rest of us. Who'd've thunk it?

Jeff Bridges (the record, not the man) is, in short, absolutely lovely Americana music.

Here is a full 6 minute video about the Jeff Bridges album:

And here is still my favourite Bridges song:

Watch Bridges perform "What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do" in the Rolling Stone offices.
Buy Jeff Bridges on iTunes.

Green Thursdays: Where to get a green job

2011-08-18T09:30:00.002+02:00

Story from Tree Hugger:

Wondering where the green jobs are, how much the green economy has grown compared to the rest of the economy and who's actually getting green jobs? Then 1BOG (the innovative residential solar power company) has a great infographic for you. Obviously the image above is just a tiny excerpt. The full graphic is embedded below:

Green Thursdays: Plastic made from fish scales

2011-08-18T09:00:00.005+02:00

Interesting indeed...

Story from EcoGeek:

Erik de Laurens, a student from the Royal College of Art has come up with an alternative to petroleum for making plastic: fish scales. Through a process that involves nothing but heat, high pressure and natural dyes, Laurens developed a sturdy plastic that can be used in cups, eyewear and even decorative tiles.

Much like using the keratin from waste chicken feathers to make plastics, Laurens' process makes use of waste fish scales from the fishing industry, giving new life to something that would otherwise end up in the garbage. And while the thought of waste fish scales is kind of gross, the resulting products are actually really good looking.

Titled Fish Feast, his project will be on exhibit during the London Design Festival. It has been shortlisted for the 2011 Sustain RCA Award, which honors graduate student work in sustainable design.

via Crisp Green

Jeff Bridges - What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do

2011-08-17T10:16:00.005+02:00

Mmmkay, so this doesn't quite qualify as a featured video, but I heard this song for the first time today, and it felt like happiness in a music note.

"What A Little Love Can Do" comes off Bridges' latest solo album - released yesterday.

Butch Walker gets Day Drunk

2011-08-17T09:41:00.000+02:00

The words 'oh hot damn, this is my jam' come to mind when I hear this song. Georgia's Butch Walker has released a new track off his upcoming album, The Spade, and it's called "Day Drunk". Yeah, you also can't believe it took someone this long to write a track about such a great past time either, can ya?

Listen to it here:
Day Drunk by ButchWalker

And then go and pre-order Walker's new album here. You get a download of the bitchin' track "Summer Of '89" with the order before the album's release date of August 30th.

Gig Guide 17 - 23 August

2011-08-17T08:27:00.000+02:00

- Wednesday 17 August: Yoav, Joshua Grierson @ Tanz Cafe, JHB

- Thursday 18 August: Son Of A 1000, Mrs B @ Tings an' Times, PTA
   : Irvine, Holiday Murray @ Bohemia, Stellenbosch
   : Josie Field, John Ellis @ Tanz Cafe, JHB

- Friday 19 August: The Stellas, The La Els @ Arcade Empire, PTA
                              : Plush @ Tanz Cafe, JHB

- Saturday 20 August: Plush @ Tings an' Times, PTA
                                  : Autumn Lights @ The Farmyard Theatre, Limpopo
                                  : The Stellas, The La Els @ Town Hall, JHB

- Sunday 21 August: Hot Water @ Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town

Remember to send your SA gigs to monica@athousandguitars.com to get them featured here.

Now playing: Motopony

2011-08-16T10:00:00.017+02:00

One of my favourite eras of rock and roll - even more favourite than the year in which Bon Jovi was formed, surprisingly enough, is the '70s. More specifically, the era of excess that drips with a glittering, drunk life in the fast lane. It's why I continually find Hollywood so interesting and why Vegas is my nemesis. And it's the kernel of the sound that comes out of Motopony's song, "King Of Diamonds":

The band is, funnily enough, from Seattle. Yeah, you didn't know artistic music could come out of their either, did ya?*

I liked this luscious description on Motopony's Facebook page:

Throughout history, individuals have been playing with the delicate balance between polarities. Often, the combination of two opposites makes for a harmony previously unknown, a sum greater than its parts. Motopony is the embodiment of this notion – a band built on a bedrock of contrasts and the gorgeous alchemy of seemingly conflicted sounds, and the feelings mapped over them. Guided by soulful machines Daniel Blue and Buddy Ross along with guitarist Brantley Cady and drummer Forrest Mauvais, there is a warm efficiency to the hard-soul/glitch-folk contained on the quartet’s self-titled debut.

And there you have it. Buy Motopony on iTunes and join the band on Facebook.

*Sweeping, slightly offensive generalisations are what I do best - don't mind me.

Brand New 16 August: Jeff Bridges, Blue October, Sly Stone

2011-08-16T09:30:00.027+02:00

Out this week:

Braid - Closer To Closed (Emo/Hardcore)
Hercules and Love Affair - Blue Songs (Disco) www.myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair
Jeff Bridges - Jeff Bridges (Americana) www.jeffbridges.com
Luke Temple - Don't Act Like You Don't Care (Pop-folk)
Maria Taylor - Overlook (Folk-Rock) www.maria-taylor.com
Mister Heavenly - Out Of Love (Indie Rock) www.misterheavenly.com
Psychostick - Space Vampires Vs. Zombie Dinosaurs In 3d (Heavy Metal) www.psychostick.com
Sly Stone - I'm Back! Family & Friends (Funk Rock) www.slystonebook.com
Blue October - Any Man In America (Alt rock) www.blueoctober.com
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient (Indie Rock) www.thewarondrugs.net
Eli Young Band - Life At Best (Country) www.eliyoung.net

Did you know Jeff Bridges is actually an entirely pleasant singer? Even outside of his Crazy Heart hoe-downs, he's been singing for a long time, and I dig it: