This song and it’s video are truly beautiful.

posted by Andrew Tidball

Do you like synth pop? Do you hate it that every one likes Passion Pit now? Then check out this cool track from Portlands Baby Monster,

posted by Tim Ellis

Avenue Q was initially developed at the 2002 National Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. It was then produced by and opened at the Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre in March 2003. The production transferred to Broadway in July 2003 and won several Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical. The show spawned a 2005 Las Vegas production, a 2006 West End production and various international productions. An Australian national tour began in June 2009 and is heading to New Zealand for a strictly limited season from 13 May.

Here’s a clip of their classic “The Internet is for Porn”

For the month of March – there are special discount tickets for students of only $25 each (plus service fees)- head on over to ww.buytickets.co.nz or 0800BUYTICKETS or AOTEA CENTRE BOX OFFICE, Ground Floor, Aotea Centre, Auckland City.

“It’s not every show that manages to be tongue-in-cheek and hand-on-heart, while having its arm up a puppet’s bum.” The Independent, UK

As the song says… “grab your dick and double-click!”

posted by Andrew

London rapper Tinie Tempa is choice-as-mutha-flippa…

He’s getting a bit of attention – this music video his single Pass Out (directed by Tim Brown (Colonel Plimp)) has received over 100,000 views on Youtube in two weeks and his blog is getting 5000 hits per day!

posted by Andrew Tidball

Buffalo is the title track and lead single from Phoenix Foundation’s new forthcoming album (due out 26 April)

FOR A LIMITED TIME (ie till next Wednesday 17th March, apparently) you can download the single and the non-album b-side ‘Dickheads Abound’ which was recorded as part of the Buffalo sessions from here

The album pre-sales start 29th March.
A limited number of ‘Buffalo’ collectors edition packages will be available from www.thephoenixfoundation.co.nz (including 12” vinyl!

posted by Andrew Tidball

As everyone knows, MGMT have a sophomore album Congratulations due out 12 April – and word is that it is definitely a ‘response’ to the commercial successes of their debut and finding themselves to be ‘pop-stars’.

Flash Delirium is available for free (and legal) download from their official site

It’s weird and wonderful!

posted by Andrew Tidball

Shallow Grave is one of my favourite albums of the last few years, Kristian Matsson (The Tallest Man on Earth) creates perfect modern americana, and he’s Swedish for christ’s sake!  So it was to great surprise that I found out he has a new album coming out very soon.  Entitled The Wild Hunt, Kristian has created 10 new masterpieces, all much like those found on Shallow Grave except somewhat more polished, creating one heck of a beautiful album.  Below you can download a track off the album called ‘Troubles Will Be Gone’

 http://gramotunes.com/Troubles_Will_be_Gone.mp3

Live Long and Prosper,

Nikki Tu-meke

New music video from Auckland’s Popstrangers!

Newish Australian band TV Colours bring a under 2 minute pop noize attack with this rad number. The video below is cut from an old drug awareness video, pretty cool if you ask me. They used to be called Basketball Cards, hence the video having a different name. If you dig that Wavves sound you’ll love this one.

via Rose Quartz

Posted By Tim Ellis

There are just days when I totally know how this three year old feels.

I love Justin ‘cos I know he loves me back, too.

posted by Andrew Tidball

When you’re catapulted into world-wide notoriety for making a really cool music video like that treadmill one (Here It Goes Again, 2006) then it’s kinda tough to follow that shiz up, huh?

Well, so you would think – but fuck-me-a-bubble, the band spent several months with the help of Syyn Labsdesigning and building “the machine” in a two story warehouse in Los Angeles – to make this one-shot video wonder!

Who needs CGI and 3D huh?
Check out the Making Of too… in 4 Parts – ONE \ TWO \ THREE \ FOUR

posted by Andrew Tidball

So I just got home from the MySpace Black Curtain preview of Walt Disney and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and it’s really awesome!

I was, admittedly kinda nervous about it to be honest – Burton has been disappointing me – his take on Willy Wonka et al was, let’s be frank, shit in a bucket and his rendition of Sweeny Todd also left me feeling a bit empty inside. I had, honestly, started to come to the conclusion that Burton just made pretty looking films – but seemed to totally miss the point of engaging the audience with something more than wonderful looking things. So, yeah I was fully prepared to be left feeling a bit underwhelmed.

But, I am really pleased to report that not only was it all very, very, very pretty – but the story kept my attention; and the characters were well portrayed.

In this, Burton’s re-telling of the 1865 classic, Alice is about 19 and is a bit of an outsider in Victorian England – she’s rather publicly proposed to by a bit of a retarded Lord and, like any young lady in that position runs off down a rabbit hole to think it all over… and thus the dreamlike fantasy begins, as she enters Underland.

I am pretty sure that there’s gonna be purist haters out there – or probably more likely, people pretending to be purists – crying wah-wah tears that this isn’t a pure re-telling of Lewis Carrol’s original work – but that’s just, in my opinion, closed mindedness at it’s extreme – it’s a re-interpretation and a re-telling – get the fuck over it!

I loved Tweedledee and Tweedledum played by Matt Lucas (the only gay in the village) – Burton’s choice to build their CGI to actually be a caricature Lucus was brilliant. Mia Wasikowska plays Alice and it’s gotta be admitted she’s very much a bit of a hottie – especially when she shrinks or grows out of her clothes! Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal of the Red Queen is perfect – her callous regard for life captured wonderfully with some great comic moments – watch out for her reference to Tadpoles on Toast and her use of various animals for her own personal gratification – the Flamingo vs Hedgehog scene is pretty hilarious – as is her use for pigs.

Johnny Depp never has really done it for me – perhaps ‘cos I am not, despite my best impressions at times, a 14 year old girl. But his distant and distracted style did suit his role as Mad Hatter – but I loved Paul Whitehouse as the March Hare – “SPOON!”

Luckily, Depp doesn’t actually look like Madonna (as depicted here) all the way through the film.

Of course, it has to be mentioned that the combination of live-action and CGI has, here, I think, matched Avatar in it’s apparent seamless-ness and of course the 3D is nicely used and under-stated enough to not come across as a gimmick.

Overall, then – I really liked Alice in Wonderland. It’s rad if you’re not a purist dick.

- Andrew Tidball

Well holidays in places with no internet are nice, but it is also nice to come home and find a good remix of one of your favorite artists of the summer.

Neon Indian has been taking his style of psychedelic, bedroom nerd-core out to the masses for a while now, so this Summer Dregs remix is worth a listen.

xx rebecca

Ahh – a swirly lush pop song about moving on – a rebound song! Awesome!
“There’s nothing like someone new / And this girl, she as nothing like you”
Harsh? Yes! Brilliant? Yes!

Watch the video-eo-eo-eo clip here

This is the second single from their third album and I think it’s rather choice!
Monday’s Leaky Faucet happen to have a MP3 to download of it too.

Posted by Andrew Tidball

A new album of recently unearthed material is being released – (well, seven of the 12 tracks have never, ever been released before) – the album is called Valleys of Neptune.

Here’s the music video for the lead single and title track.

Arguably, the material is un-finished and perhaps Jimi would not have released it as it is – but bloody hell it’s amazing as it is and totally shits all over a lot of stuff that is, apparently, finished. So, yeah go suck on that.

Album is out in about a week.

There are three types of people, really.
One type is going to the show at Vector; another is going to the show at Powerstation, and everyone else wishes they were one of the others.

Pixies documentary :

Part two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Check out this clip of El Perro Del Mar performing Shelter by The XX at Teh Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on 17 Feb.

Big ups to our pal Milana for pointing this out to us…

posted by Andrew Tidball

Genius

posted by Andrew Tidball

Giving Up The Gun is the second song from Vampire Weekend’s excellent (and in my opinion far, far superior) sophomore album to have an official music video released.

Directed by The Malloys, the video features cameos from Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lil’ Jon and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Check out this very cute promotional clip for Broken Bells – the new band from Dangermouse and James Mercer of The Shins.

The High Road

Kids tell the truth about the new material.