Night: Crude and Dorkmeister present LAST NIGHT

My good friends Crude and Dorkmeister are a couple of DJs whose mega-sick and eclectic mixes are matched only by their brilliant song choice. CCRs "Fortunate Son" into The Lonely Island's "Jizz in My Pants"? Why not. After rocking underground house parties from West Surry Hills to East Redfern in Australia they've decided to take their Daft-Punk-esque live show to the Northern Hemisphere - Amsterdam to be exact. Last Night is the gig, Cafe Batavia the venue, Saturday the 7th March the date. Watch out for the promotional tour where a bronzed statue of Dorkmeister will float down every canal in the city centre, it's HIStory in the making.

Video: Dananananaykroyd live in Amsterdam

So SPINearth has finally launched and the wait was well worth it. It looks great with a big screen that can go Theatre-sized should you desire. Joining cities and their music scenes from all over the world you can jump from Toronto to Bogota and over to Paris with Hercules & the Love Affair, Gogol Bordello and Emiliana Torrini. Of course you can always stop into Amsterdam and see what I've been up to - like seeing Glaswegian lunatics Dananananaykroyd. Get involved.

As ridicululululous as their name, Dananananaykroyd play indie punk with a stutter; quick, hyperactive and erratic. If it were a math rock test they'd have got a C- because it's not quite sharp and calculated enough. They take something from the genre for sure, but only about as much as you or I took from math class.
The Glaswegians have an angular inclination but their geometry doesn't always line up, so they move into straight up and down indie thrash with one singer also lending himself to be a second drummer in case it wasn't frenetic enough.
Through shouts, hollers and wails they careened about the stage with a lot of effeminate posturing as if to offset the balls in their music.
A young band, you could tell Dananananaykroyd, all six, were stoked to be playing to a full Heineken Music Hall, even if just in support.
Their sound holds a kinetic energy but probably not the cleanest, most efficient resource, with waste in feedback and shambolic riffage. Alas it's this chaos that makes them all the more fun. A complete surprise – definitely worth catching live.

Dananananaykroyd mySpace
Dananananaykroyd blog

Video: "I'm on a Boat"

The Lonely Island are three dudes from SNL who have got together and dropped a comedy album called Incredibad. This here delight entitled "I'm on a Boat" features T-Pain being, well T-Pain.



Thanks to Benjamin Radley for the link.

Video: Kaiser Chiefs Rock Amsterdam

The SPIN Earth website has launched at long last and you should all go and check it out. It's a pretty slick operation, a must for all music-loving travelers or travel-loving musos alike. You can watch the best gigs from New York, Paris, London and Sydney but also dive into the music scene of Lagos, Singapore, Bogata, Adelaide and shitloads more. Also, if you are planning to travel, scope out who's playing in your destinations in the coming months with the gig guide. Nothing sucks more than getting to Berlin to find out Kraftwerk has sold out. Anyway, Monday night I hit up the Kaiser Chiefs show at Heineken Music Hall, here's my report.


View video

"We are the Kaiser Chiefs and we demand perfection," announced Ricky Wilson to the sold out Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.
A boisterous frontman, a 'raise the roof' sound, an electric light show, and simple lyrics the fans love to shout en masse all make for a fun gig.
And whether you loved them when they first came out and still love them today, or feel they've lost that initial punch that had them giving relief from moppy Britpop while predicting riots back in 2005, there's no denying the Kaiser Chiefs are meant for the stadium.
Sure enough the Leeds lads brought with them their infectious yell-a-longs and it's hard to deny them, even for the most subdued Dutchie or cool kid that thought the Kaisers were 'so 2005'.
Opening with "Spanish Metal" and "Everyday I love You Less and Less" with new songs "You Want History" and "Good Days Bad Days" rounding out the middle, it gave space for crowd favourites "Ruby" and "I Predict A Riot" to close the first part of the show – fans going suitably nuts, reminding us of the urgency and freshness that rode on this post punk, new wave revival four years ago.
The encore was reserved for the likes of Kaiser classics "Modern Way" and finale "Oh My God". What is a bit of a nothing song on record in my opinion turned into a rollicking blaspheme-fest live. As Ricky sang the crowd replied, to quote the song's own line, "coming back stronger than a powered-up Pac-Man". Amidst the climax, the back wall bleachers were finally on their feet having seemed reluctant the majority of the show, while on the floor the less-reserved flung near empty beer cups, the last drops of a good session tossed in celebration, piercing the light show. The Kaiser Chiefs' last show in Europe for this tour went out with a bang, leaving a smiling, sweaty crowd.

Kaiser Chiefs website
Kaiser Chiefs mySpace

Video: When I Grow Up - Fever Ray

When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

In the midst of watching all things Fever Ray over the past week the video for second single "When I Grow Up" has gone live. Pretty stunning work by Martin de Thurah and keeps a similar haunting mood to the Andreas Nilsson-directed video to "If I Had A Heart", just a little more suburban. The model looks like she's coming down off an MGMT concert - which is probably a good way of describing Fever Ray.

Review: Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid

From: Time Out
Last year’s Attack Release by The Black Keys saw the duo break into multi-dimensional roots music beyond the stripped-back electric blues of previous records.
Now, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s first solo album Keep It Hid continues the exploration. Opening is ‘Trouble Weighs A Ton,’ a solemn chain-gang gospel before the devilish ‘I Want Some More’ thunders in. ‘Whispered Words’ blends a slow motown swing with Auerbach’s mournful blues voice. ‘Mean Monsoon’ has a voodoo haunt that spills into the dark and dangerous psychedelia of ‘The Prowl’ while ‘My Last Mistake’ feels like freewheeling CCR. Final tune ‘Goin’ Home’ is a little ditty that ends with front porch wind chimes and a sense of ease that re-instils a desire to sit on Auerbach’s veranda, a case of beer between us and get educated by his record collection, track by track til the rains roll in.

Mixtape: The Dudez - Mixtape Madness pt 2

Being a gentleman I let the ladies go first yesterday. Today here are three mixes by the brutes, the lads, the dudes. Whether I find a hermaphrodite mixtape tomorrow to round out the sexes, well you'll just have to come back and check. For now we've got three of the best, but very different mixes.
Lords of the Synth mixtape -
Bachelor #1 – Lords of the Synth love electronic beats, snowboarding, long walks on the beach and intergalactic civil war.




Captain Franco mixtape -
Bachelor #2 - Captain Franco loves music that crackles, sailing, Red Stripe and Rhonda back in one piece (you prick whoever you are).




Radge mixtape -
Bachelor #3 - Radge enjoys the sunsets of chill out albums, singlets, long necks, beards and classic rock from the 60s, 70s 80s and today.