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LOST Season Five Official Trailer #1 - video powered by Metacafe

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

The first few albums by these guys didn't do much for me but starting with their last album, Because of the Times, they have moved in a direction that I really dig. This new album is their best yet in my opinion and the first single, "Sex on Fire", I've no doubt will be in my top 5 singles of the year. What's funny is that most of the reviews I've read have been bashing it as their worst album, so what the fuck do I know I guess. I know I love it at the very least. Do yourself a favour and watch "Sex on Fire" at the end of this post, it's such a fucking amazing song.

America, it seems, doesn't really want the Kings of Leon. Inexplicibly, the countrified rockers are more popular overseas - something their stunning new album might still struggle to change.

On-the-button music magazine Blender could only muster three-and-a-half stars for Only By The Night, despite overwhelmingly lavish praise from British rags Q (four stars) and NME (nine out of 10).

The Brits have got it right. The Kings' fourth album is a pared-back record that replaces those ear-shredding riffs and vocal shrieks that hindered last year's Because of the Times with something more understated, anthemic and unique.

The results are spine-tinglingly thrilling, thanks to one major change: front man Caleb Followill is singing. Like, proper singing.

His indescipherable southern drawl has been replaced by a slower, more pronounced lilt that sounds like he cares - especially on summer smash Sex On Fire and hit-in-waiting Use Somebody.

They're also writing songs that are capable of rocking stadiums and the charts.

If you want anthems, Only By The Night has got them, whether it's the atmospheric opener Closer, the indie-rock of Manhattan, the power-stomp of Crawl and the piano-based sing-along Notion.

Keep saying no, America. The rest of the world will gladly have the Kings of Leon. -- from here.

Click here.

Sex On Fire

The Organ - Thieves

The Organ's debut album Grab That Gun (and only album as they unfortunately broke up) is one of my favourite albums of all time, I love it that much. They released a new 6 song EP of unreleased songs on Oct 14, 2008 called Thieves. I haven't listened to it yet but if it's anything like Grab That Gun then I will love it. I hope you'll check it out.

Attempting to separate themselves from the new millennium surge of post-punk bands, the ladies of the Organ came together in 2001 to design their own original modern sound. Katie Sketch (vocals), Deb Cohen (guitar), Jenny Smyth (organ), Shelby Stocks (drums), and Ashley Webber (bass) hail from Vancouver, and each has an appreciation for bands such as the Cure and the Smiths. In summer 2002, the Organ introduced their dark style with the release of the Sinking Hearts EP. The Canadian press and indie publications across America praised the Organ's dream pop-inflected presentation. By January, the Organ signed to Chad Kroeger's 604 imprint and Mint Records. Plans for a full-length album got on their way almost immediately, with the Organ asking producer/New Pornographers drummer Kurt Dahle to produce the CD. Unfortunately, those sessions proved difficult, forcing the Organ to scrap the material and start over. Producer Paul Forgues soon jumped on board to complete Grab That Gun, which arrived in spring 2004.

Dates for an international tour quickly took shape, but shifts in personnel once again prevented the Organ from getting Grab That Gun off the ground. Bassist Ashley Webber left in December due to creative differences, only to be asked back shortly thereafter so that the band could fulfill previously scheduled European dates. Singles such as "Brother" and "Memorize the City" seemed to get things back on track; both were well-received in the press in mid-2005, while "Brother" appeared in an episode of The L Word during its second season. Webber eventually left the band for a second and final time while performing in Europe, and was later replaced by Sketch's young sister, Shmoo. With a revived lineup and a brand new distribution deal with Too Pure, the Organ continued their trek through the U.K., performing new songs on BBC 6 Music in November 2005.

By the following summer, rumors of a split started to circulate after the Organ canceled the final dates of their U.K. tour, including appearances at the Reading and Leeds festivals, due to an illness within the band. But such rumors proved true come December 2006 when the Organ announced their breakup via their MySpace page and their official website. After the split, Sketch focused on her modeling career, appearing in the U.K. edition of Vogue, among other publications, while Cohen began work on another project, Lovers Love Haters. The Organ reunited briefly to put the finishing touches on the songs they'd written and recorded for what would have been the follow-up to Grab That Gun; the results were featured on the posthumous EP Thieves, which Mint Records released in 2008.

Click here.

"Brother" from their debut album:

What Th'!?

And now the IAMX post is gone...

Placebo - Meds

Today's album is one of my favourite albums of 2006, Meds. If you're not familiar with Placebo, they are considered: Punk Revival/Neo-Glam/Alternative Rock and the like.

With 2004's release of Placebo's singles collection, the band reaffirmed that it has never quite fit into any particular fad. Their success has been gradual in the sense that their style and sound have progressed naturally with each album. Meds builds upon that notion while also embarking on a new phase for Placebo. Meds is their second coming. Frontman Brian Molko is no longer the glam-chic, gender-bending firestarter he once was. His songs are still angry and twisted in self-reflection and social rejection. Meds doesn't contain the rush to experiment like their previous records do. It's as bare and honest as Placebo have ever been, thanks to French producer Dimitri Tikovoi's straightforward approach in getting the band to make a bona fide rock record.

There's a fresh vulnerability here and a sense of danger, too; the album's title track quickly enters this sphere. It's an obsessive moment confronting the social hypnosis and dependence of medication. The Kills' Alison Mosshart lends an anxious vocal backdrop as Placebo deliver an aggressive guitar-driven assault. Meds doesn't stop for breath until its end. Fans should be pleased with the menacing "Infra-Red" and the sexy ensnaring of "One of a Kind," two tracks that showcase Placebo's signature fiery performance style. When they're not deconstructing social expectations, Placebo's storytelling is equally powerful on the more lilting tracks. The shifty slow burn of "Space Monkey" is an epic ballad for the band. Placebo step out of their skin here. A squall of fuzzed guitars, strings, and Molko's brooding vocals strike to knock down the celebrity pedestal that creates a false human image. "Broken Promise," a duet with Michael Stipe, takes similar shape as a dramatic tale of adultery unfolds into a dark, emotional storm. Letting go of toxic relationships on "Song to Say Goodbye," a melancholic closing to Meds, brings the album full circle.

To some, Meds might come off as less interesting compared to the slickness of older tracks such as "Taste in Men" and "Every You Every Me." Some may be over Molko's constant analysis of sex, drugs, and desire. What you see is what you get with Placebo and, for the first time in a long time, that vision is clear.

Click here.

Meanwhile, this is the greatest thing ever!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

That IAMX album I posted about is fucking awesome. I'm only on track 4 but so far it's my current favourite album. Highly recommended!!

If you are wondering where the Kaiser Chiefs post went...

...it has apparently been deleted. Even though the link was NOT hosted by me, the OFFENDING post was deleted. So I guess if you missed it, you snooze you lose. Here's the message I got:

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org

. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

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Affected URLs:

http://blankboysblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kaiser-chiefs-off-with-their-heads-2008.html

In case some of you have missed it, you may want to take a closer look at the "Click here" spots in the last few posts.

Gojira - The Way of All Flesh

Definitely a departure from the last few days: Gojira are a Death metal band from France. Their last album From Mars to Sirius is one of my favourite Metal albums of the last few years.

Gojira's sound is not easily classifiable as they blend several styles. Genres that have been associated with Gojira are death metal, thrash metal, progressive metal and groove metal. They are often compared to bands like Meshuggah, Mastodon, Sepultura, Neurosis and Morbid Angel. Gojira have been influenced by heavy metal artists such as Death, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Metallica, Tool, and Neurosis.

If this new album is as good as their last then it will very likely be one of my favourite albums of 2008.

When one listens to metal, they instantly try to compare and contrast it to other artists in order to come up with a likeness. However, every once and awhile, an artist peaks up from the netherworld to blow established traditions out of the water. In the last few years, our genre has been lucky enough to experience several of these, almost turning it into a trend in itself. One of these bands making waves is the French group known as Gojira, named after the Japanese version of Godzilla. Taking modern progressive death metal to new heights, Gojira is not a stereotypical death metal act, not even in the progressive tense. In fact, Gojira is sometimes so unexplainable, the best way to describe them would be avant garde. This year, the band will be releasing it’s latest foray entitled The Way of All Flesh, giving all another healthy dose of the extremes metal can go to in the name of challenging its own foundations. -- rest of review here

Go on and click here.

Lykke Li - Youth Novel

Staying in the quirky Indie Electro Pop mode, today we have Lykke Li's Youth Novel.

Swedish indie pop artist Lykke Li Zachrisson (better known as Lykke Li) grabbed the attention of bloggers the world over in the early 2000s with a handful of catchy and genuinely impressive retro-chic singles made available on her MySpace profile. Armed with sensuous, barely-there vocals and backed up by a quirky, bass-heavy, ever-so-slightly lo-fi sound (courtesy of Peter Bjorn and John's Björn Yttling, who produced her first discs), Lykke Li released her debut EP, a three-track affair entitled Little Bit, on her fledgling label, LL Recordings, in 2007. The disc's title track went on to earn a good deal of buzz among indie pop-centric bloggers and, perhaps to a greater extent, the mainstream Swedish music press soon after it was released. Lykke Li made her first appearance on Swedish MTV that year, performing an acoustic version of "Tonight" on Phaser, and the video for "Little Bit" was nominated for Best Video at that year's Swedish Grammy Awards. Her debut full-length, Youth Novels, was slated for release in 2008.

Watch this video and tell me you aren't immediately hooked!



Cool video and the song is so friggin' catchy!

Led by electro mavericks The Knife, and the emotional disco of Robyn, the Swedes now proudly present Lykke Li, 2008's girl most likely too. A Madonna obsessive and former dancer, Li joins the aforementioned by tapping into the early '80s manna of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Japan - adding a dash of Bjorkish ambition to her imaginative homemade digitalism.

With Peter, Bjorn & John's Bjorn Yttling twiddling the production dials, there are other similarly infectious moments. And stacks of ambition too. Moving from the Concretes-like indie of opener "Tonight", the listener is rewarded with a succession of curve balls, including spoken-word ambience ("Melodies & Desires"), hip-swinging electro ("I'm Good, I'm Gone") and nursery-rhyme show-stoppers ("My"). This is a brilliant imagination running riot and "I'm Good I'm Gone", in particular, should be a monster hit. Everywhere.

More impressive, is the fact that, as an album, "Youth Novels" barely flags. A banquet of bewildering sounds is served, culminating in the insane world music mélange of "Breaking It Up" and the symphonic twirl of "Window Blues". Still only 22 (!), Lykke Li has constructed one of 2008's most ambitiously grandiose statements. Madonna can shuffle off to her Live Nation millions, a new pop saviour has been found.

by Adam Webb

Click here.

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

An album I've been digging lately is Saturdays = Youth by M83.

In 2003, Frenchmen Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau enjoyed international acclaim for Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, a luscious blend of shoegaze aesthetics, ambient pop, and progressive textures. But M83 had been around since at least 2001, when they issued their self-titled debut through the tiny but tastemaking French label Gooom. The success of Dead Cities, Red Seas brought attention not only to M83, but Gooom, too, and suddenly glitchy, sleek, and vaguely psychedelic artists like Cyann & Ben were enjoying (deserved) exposure alongside M83. Fromageau departed the project for solo work after the second album, and Gonzalez returned to the studio for a follow-up. When Before the Dawn Heals Us appeared in January 2005, the addition of vocals and more consistent rhythms made it M83's most cohesive album yet. Gonzalez worked with producers Ewan Pearson and Ken Thomas on Saturdays = Youth, which was released in April 2008.

If you like Shoegaze, Alternative and good Pop mixed with Electronic music then give it a listen. Link below.

Old fans will note a substantial difference between the new album and the previous releases; Saturdays = Youth is more shoegaze-y in texture and more pop in construction. While the galactic, deep space vibe is still there (frontman Anthony Gonzalez loves those distorted synths!), the overall aesthetic is more Cocteau Twins a la My Bloody Valentine rather than another addition to the towering electronic post-rock tradition that Mogwai and Sigur Rós perfected.

The record specifically tackles "how it feels to be dazed, confused and 15 years old" and, says Gonzalez, draws heavily from the likes of "Tears For Fears and Cocteau Twins, as well as classic John Hughes teen movies" Recorded with Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, Sugar Cubes, Cocteau Twins) and Ewan Pearson (The Rapture, Ladytron). - Anthem.

Click here. Oh, if you listen to it, let me know what you think.

I know what I'll do...

I think I'll start posting daily music recommendations, gotta use this space for something.

What to start with...?