Live: Bon Iver at the National Stadium

Disappointed you didn't get a ticket to Bon Iver at Tripod? (You should be ashamed, tickets were on sale for weeks before selling out). Well if you'll admit to your shame, you can buy a ticket for Bon Iver's return to Dublin in December.

The man who is know to his parents as Justin Vernon will play the National Stadium on November 3rd. Tickets cause an inflationary €27.50 (it's worth it), and go on sale on Monday.

Oh and I also got my hands on Justin Vernon's album (under his own name) Hazeltons today. I'll let you know what I think!

Watch Bon Iver - 'Skinny Love'

Album News: Jem - Down to Earth

I'm sorry guys, my radar must have been broken, because I didn't hear this stalking up on me until it was right beside me. Jem's second album, the follow-up to her glorious debut Finally Woken, is to be released on Tuesday in the US. It's called Down to Earth and has already been leaked onto the internet. I only found out about it when it was being discussed in a forum I visit. How did I not hear about this? Her label must not have done too brilliant a job publicising it!

The press release states that Jem co-wrote the album with a variety of people including Jeff Bass, Lester Mendez and Greg Kurstin and sings in Japanese on the track, “Aciid!”. The album also includes a collaboration with South African singer-songwrite and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela on the track “You Will Make It” recalling 9/11, and dealing with the suffering of loss.”

Press release? I never got it... But the appearance of Vusi Mahlasela, who has worked with Dave Matthews Band, has definitely got my attention.

Hopefully there's something on here that's as good as 'They'.

Tracklist:
1. “Down to Earth” (Jem Griffiths, Jeff Bass, Justin Griffiths)
2. “Crazy” (Jem Griffiths, Jeff Bass)
3. “I Want You To…” (Jem Griffiths, Lester Mendez, Lucas MacFadden)
4. “It’s Amazing” (Lester Mendez, Jem Griffiths)
5. “Keep On Walking” (Jem Griffiths, Jeff Bass)
6. “You Will Make It” (Featuring Vusi Mahlasela) (Jem Griffiths, Justin Griffiths)
7. “I Always Knew” (Lester Mendez, Jem Griffiths)
8. “Got It Good” (Jem Griffiths, Jeff Bass)
9. “Aciid!” (Greg Kurstin, Jem Griffiths)
10. “How Would You Like It” (Jem Griffiths, Justin Griffiths)
11. “And So I Pray” (Jem Griffiths, Kevin Beber)
12. “On Top of the World” (Lester Mendez, Jem Griffiths)

Album News: Jazzman - Chicago

Most of you probably don't know Keith Meicher, but he makes damn good music. It's not available in shops, and only to close personal friends (i.e. those on a big forum on the interwebs somewhere), but his latest (third album), is the brilliant follow-up to the best instrumental record of 2007, Brass Knuckle Shuffle.

His new album is dedicated to the memory of his bandmate and personal friend, drummer Corin Fallow, and is yet another triumph.

Track titles vary from obscure to extreme, but are as endlessly entertaining as the music:
1. The Atomic Ribeye Sausage with Chimichurri and Crispy Fried Onions
2. An Open Letter to Perry Farrell and The Honorable Richard M. Daley (Please Keep Your Rock Music and Black People Out of My Park)
3. The Self-Sufficient Act of Selling Tube Socks On the EL (Six Pairs for a Dollar)
4. November 19th: The Last Day of Summer
5. Ode to the Pink Haired Barista (Michigan and Superior)
6. Late Night Memoir of a Ride on the #50 Bus
7. Oh My Ears! The Clang of Construction, The Death of a Dream, Seventy Five Stories of Stories!
8. Please Put Your Shirt Back On (Wrigleyville Whore)
9. The War Against the Morse Open Air Drug Market

Plus, isn't that the best album cover of the year?

(Hopefully I can get permission to post an mp3 of one of these excellent tunes)

Watch: Bloc Party - Talons

Bloc Party are to release a new single, and like 'Flux', it doesn't appear on an album. This didn't make the cut for Intimacy. Was it being saved for single-only release, or was it not good enough? I personally think the former. It definitely is better than tracks one and two on that return-to-form album.

The single will be released October 20th, as well as making appearance tagged on to the physical release, due October 27th. Maybe it's a way of getting people to buy actual CDs instead of downloads. Enjoy.

Bloc Party - 'Talons'

Live: New Kids on the Block at the O2 Point

Oh God, will these reunions never end? Instead of a full-band Genesis reunion, we get dross like New Kids on the Block reforming. Were they ever big over here? I definitely don't remember it.

We'll see though, as they play the O2 (former Point) on January 21st 2009. I doubt it will sell out, and fans may be treated to a Princely-pull-out. Well that's my prediction anyway. But I did get the Mercury Prize wrong, so I'm definitely prone to making mistakes.

Tickets are onsale today week: Thursday 18th.

Stream: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue album

Yes!!! You can now stream the entire new Jenny Lewis record, Acid Tongue on her MySpace. Forget Rilo Kiley, or even Paddy Kielty, Jenny Lewis solo is where it's at.

Stream it in full here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=33871577

You can catch jenny solo at the Button Factory on October 19th.

And that artwork still hurts my eyes.

Watch: Patty Duke Syndrome live

Any chance here for me to talk about Ryan Adams. Ever hear of the Patty Duke Syndrome? No? Well, they were Mr. Adams' other band, along with Whiskeytown, Cardinals, Frightwhaler and everything else he's ever done. God he's prolific. But these videos are classics. Back in 1994 Ryan was frontman for the Patty Duke Syndrome.

Enjoy!

'Maybe I':


'Texas':


Both are recorded February 4th, 1994, at the Brewery, Raleigh, North Carolina.

News: Elbow win 2008 Mercury Music Prize

I hate to tell you I didn't tell you so:
http://swearimnotpaul.blogspot.com/2008/07/news-mercury-music-prize-2008.html

But I said that Elbow would get too much backlash from the cool kids if they won the Mercury. Well they did, and the band The Cool Kids haven't complained. Yet.

Congrats to them, but I must say I'm surprised. The bookies must be delighted, as favourites Burial didn't get it this year. The Seldom Seen Kid is a decent album, but I don't think it's as good as some of the others on the lisy. That said I'm on the judging panel for absolutely nothing, so what would I know anyway? Plus, 82 on Metacritic. Maybe I just didn't give it a chance. I was probably too busy listening to Jape anyway.

Singer Guy Garvey said "I had a tenner on Radiohead. It just feels great, very unexpected. You look at it in the same way as Bedouin tribes look at a pint of milk. It doesn't happen very often but it's all the sweeter. It's been a long time we've been doing it so it's cause for celebration. To the rest of the lads I'm so proud to do it with it with my best mates."

Watch them winning the award here:

Live: Glasvegas at the Academy

No, it's not another gig announcement, it's yet another venue change. In order to accommodate a few more people, Glasvegas's Whelan's gig has been moved to The Academy. Tickets for the original venue will still work, but it'll also allow Ticketmaster to sell some more!

Their debut album, Glasvegas, is set to be number 1 in the UK this week. Something I definitely didn't expect, but also gives me a chance to stick my tongue out at my former editor who said "Who?" when I wanted to interview them way back in January.

Watch 'Daddy's Gone' on Later with Jools Holland:

New TV: Raw and Langerland.TV

A little aside from usual programming! Hopefully it might inspire some small discussion in the comments section (probably just B and myself!)

Did anyone catch the two new RTÉ Two shows last night? Raw starring The Rock, Stone Cold, oh no wait, it's not the wrestling program, it's a rip-off of Channel 5's The Kitchen. Raw is "raw" new drama from RTÉ - gettit? Based around the steamy lives of restaurant workers. See steamy? I am puntastic today! It stars me lad from Bachelor's Walk and me one from Pure Mule. It' a show so good, it doesn't even have an iMDB page yet. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to watch it; I was cooking up something else (oh yeah!), but what did my four avid readers think?

If you missed it (like me), you can still catch the episode here:
http://www.rte.ie/tv/raw

On the other hand, I did catch sight of the awful Langerland.TV I will admit I was mildly amused at previous net phenomenon (at least in Ireland), 'What Have The Brits Ever Done For Us?' But last night's IRA-themed nonsense seemed like just cheap joke after cheap joke, and it didn't bring out a smile, never mind a chortle or guffaw. RTÉ and new programming rarely go together. The best ever TV show we had here was a Channel 4 production. That should tell you something. Luckily, sometimes they get it right. Now is not one of those times.

I was a fan of Pure Mule and Bachelor's Walk, which will probably mean I'll click that link above and check out episode one of Raw over the weekend; but somehow I doubt I'll ever watch the clichéd Langerland ever again.

This was three years ago, when Langerland was actually half-decent:

Competition: Hard Working Class Heroes

This isn't my comnpetition, by any means. Just thought I'd let you know that On the Record has two weekend passes (allowing you to see whatever you want) to give away.

All you have to do is leave a comment for Jim about how you're the Hardest Working Class Hero, and thus why you deserve the tickets.

Leave the comments here:
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2008/09/09/competition-be-a-hard-working-class-hero-for-a-weekend/

Download: DJ AM & Travis Barker - Fix Your Face Mixtape

Free music is always good. While I'm not the biggest Travis Barker fan, I'll check out anything that's given to me for free. HINT HINT!

Anyhow, Travis has hooked up with DJ AM to make the charmingly-titled Fix Your Face Mixtape, available here:
http://www.trvsdjam.com/download.php?

Stream:

Live: Hard Working Class Heroes Schedule

The official HWCH has a beautiful colouredy schedule already done up for you (better than Oxegen and Electric Picnic), so rather than re-type it myself, here's the link:
http://www.hwch.net/schedule.html

I won't be there this weekend - I'll be heading down the country - but to everyone else, enjoy it. Some of those Scottish bands are worth the admission fee. Not to mention Fight Like Apes, Autamata, and the rest!

Stream: Justice - Planisphere EP

Everybody seemed to love 'D.A.N.C.E' last year (or was it this year? Time flies.), and now Justice are back with more of, well, the same. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. They also had that great track with Simian: 'We Are Your Friends'. So there's been plenty to like so far. If you liked anything they've done before, you should devour their new EP Planisphere, which can be streamed in full on their MySpace page.

The music originally appeared at the Dior Homme fashion show. How street-smart is that?

Stream it here:
http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

Live: Glasvegas at Whelan's

It's hard to know what to make of these guys. Some critics live them, some hate them. Some like their lyrics and music but often find it hard to understand mainman James Allan's vocals. I fall into that third category. God that is one thick Scottish accent. And I thought my bogger accent was bad!

Glasvegas are set to play Dublin's Whelan's on December 14th (anyone want to buy me an early birthday present?), and Belfast's Spring & Airbrake the following night, December 15th.

Tickets down south are €15, while up north you'll get in for ten sterling.

Live: Kraftwerk show moved to Kilmainham

Bad news or maybe not for anyone who was planning to go to Kraftwek in Luggala. Due to the horrible weather, Saturday's show has been moved to the Royal Hospital Grounds in Kilmainham where Leonard Cohen et al. played recently.

If you choose not to go to the show, you can get a full refund; and anyone who decides to stick it out in Dublin instead of Wicklow can get a twenty euro refund. Not bad, seeing as how the show will be entirely the same. Plus Kilmainham is a great venue!

EDIT: Thanks Gerry, seems I don't know Irish geography.