Popcast #6 - Warm in the winter

As much as i love summertime and summer songs, i think winter is an underappreciated season. Winter's great! It's perfect for cuddles under the covers, mulled wine, snowball fights, snowmen, and any sort of snow fun, hot cholocate, and mittens.

Winter's great for playing pop songs, and dancing to them till you drop as well. This popcast is a tribute to wintertime and winter fun!

The tracklist is:
Dolly mixture - Winter seems fine
Aden - Snowy sidewalks
Horowitz - I need a blanket
The specefic heats - Winter fashions
The icicles - Snowman song
Aislers set Hit the snow
The Smittens - Jeans and mittens
The fairways - Winter song
Pas/cal - I wanna take you out on your holiday sweater
Land of ill earthquakes - Long winter
Spoilsport - Snowball
Snoozer - Winterclothes
Sambassadeur - Ice and snow
Tiny records - A picture of winter
Belle and sebastian - Winter wooskie
The Shermans - Snowsong
The Postmarks - Weather the weather
The grade grubbers - Snowman
Laura watling - Spend the winter with me
Your heart breaks - Warm in winter
Stiv Bators - It's cold outside
The tidy ups - Snow song
The mother z's - Sweater weather
Nixon - Snow day
Velcro stars - Another winter
The pinefox - Chocolate snow
Au revoir simone - Fallen snow

You can download the file here.

Enjoy! xx

Label of the week: Magic marker

Following that last popcast, which was entirely dedicated to weepop! records, I decided to start a "label of week" thing, and talk a bit about my favourite labels that are around at the moment.

I was mulling over which label i should start with, there's so many i love for different reasons, and i couldn't just choose a single one, but then tullycraft came on my ipod, and being one of my favourite bands ever, it settled the matter - I decided to start with the label that has been their home for a few years now - Magic marker records.

Magic marker started with a compilation callled "We can still be friends", almost 10 years ago. It featured tracks by kisswistle, tullycraft, the minders, lunchbox, ladybug transistor, kissing book and lots others, some of which released full lengths in the label later on.

Throughout the years, they put out stuff by lots of bands i love, like dear nora, the galactic heroes, benji cossa, kissing book, the best friends group, walker kong, the gazetteers, etc; and I can say it's certainly one of those labels I trust to the point I'd gladly buy anything they put out, even if i had never listened to it before, just because I know I can count on it being good.

Their latest additon to the family was Mexico's Hello seahorse!, with the ep "Hoy A Las Ocho" that had been released online only up to now + 3 bonus tracks. I have just ordered it, along with a big compilation of rare songs by dear nora, which should be a very nice christmas present to myself.

They have at least one mp3 available as a free download for each release, here's a collection of some of my favourites:

Boycrazy - Stark street
Galactic heroes - Coffee and pastries
The best friends group - The free man
The gazeteers - Bedroom community
All girl summer fun band - Grass skirt
Walker kong - Battleship of Thieves
Benji Cossa - Knock out
Tullycraft - The punks are writing love songs
Dear nora - Make you smile
Hello seahorse! - Won't say anything

Visit Magic Marker on magicmarkerrecords.com.

In love again, again

Jacob Borshard has a new album out, it's available as a free download on his website and it's just as awesome as the previous ones.

The third in a set of three, "A glow in the dark" ties in really well with the other two albums, and even after a dozen listens, i'm still finding little bits in the lyrics that make me smile when i realize he's singing about someone or something that connects to the stories in "songs for a small stereo" and " the last brontosaurus".

Get it on creebobby.com.

POPCAST # 5 - WeePOP! records

It's been a while since the last popcast, but they're back now with a special on weePOP! records, which is a small diy label I'm involved with, and that I love so much!

The tracklist is:

Roadside Poppies - Just Another Love Song
Bugs eat books - Killers From The Start
Little My - Heavy Heart
Desmond Reed - Neat
Tinyfolk - Really really blue: a tale of unrequited (perhaps) romance and lizardry
Bunnygrunt - 1000% not creepy
Sunny Intervals - Let the city run away with us
The Just Joans - Bellshill station
Allo, Darlin' - Emily
The Motifs - Matches
One happy island - Anita
Jacob Borshard - Nine cocktails (before we set sail)
Little My - Ruining Things Like Everything
Wonder for all - Can't say it
Mexican kids at home - Start a one man band!
Summer Cats - Passion Pop
One Happy Island - Temporary tattoo
The Just Joans - Hey boy... you're oh so sensitive
Let's Whisper - Hey sunshine
The Lorimer sound - Through the Park
Megamoog - Eleanor
Kuma - Hello, my name is Kuma

You can download the file here.

Hope you enjoy it!
x

Guten Tag, Megamoog!

Megamoog came over to Europe for a mini tour in the UK and Germany last month and I managed to miss the whole thing because I was overseas myself.

As a little consolation, I found out Megan started a blog just before she left home – megamoog.wordpress.com – it’s a diary of the tour, with quite a few videos and some photos. It made my day!

Check the blog on here.
Listen to Megamoog on myspace.

Hold on twice...

Even the rain let go, let go, let go...



Matthew (who runs does an ace night in Bristol called Big Pink Cake) mentioned this video to me about a month ago and I have watched it over a dozen times ever since.

The whole thing - music, words, watercolours and animation - is made by Francois, and i wonder if there's anything this boy cannot do.

I first heard of him a couple of years ago, back when Camera obscura still played at small venues, and he was the support act for a gig they played at Cargo. He played with his band, The Atlas Mountains, and they were amazing! I went back home with a couple of cd-rs and a smile on my face.

He has released a couple of splits since then, and by the looks of it, is always busy making awesome-nesses!

More about Francois on his website or on myspace.

Desmond's red socks

I know nothing about baseball, but I can only assume Boston's Red sox are pretty awesome, because they managed to inspire Desmond Reed to write a whole album about their 2008 line up, with a song for each of the team's players.

You can listen to the whole thing at www.boston.com. Baseball fan or not, the songs are a lot of fun and definitly worth a listen.