There's Nothing Like This Lolita

After a string of supposedly unauthorised leaks, Parlophone has officially unveiled a track from the forthcoming album from 'it-girl' turned popstar Sky Ferreira.

Written by Radioclit and Nicole Morier, 'Lolita' is a fun track, drenched in sass, that should help fuel the mounting buzz around the seventeen-year-old singer.



You can hear another relatively new track, 'Femme Fatale', over on Sky's Myspace.

[Image: Rob Brink]

Stuck On Repeat

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)



The Killers vs La Roux - Smile Like You're Bulletproof



When Saints Go Machine - Pinned



O'Spada - Time



Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance (Miike Snow Remix)



Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler



[Image: Colin Hill]

We're Under The Sheets And You're Killing Me...

Ellie Goulding's music video for 'Under The Sheets' has surfaced and it's nothing short of brilliant. The video features some gorgeous cinematography and perfectly complements Ellie's brand of other-worldly alt-pop.

'Under The Sheets' is being released by Neon Gold and should lay some great foundations for her major-label release next year.

Nice wind machine usage. Download the 'Under The Sheets' mp3 for free from here.

Destroy Everything You Touch

Over the past while, I've noticed a drastic increase in the number of arts-oriented club nights in Dublin. Honestly, I'd put this down to ignorance on my part due to my being perfectly content to get sloshed in the student bar at DCU.

However, the people behind The Destructors' Manifesto a once-off "non-profit celebration of everything that is great about Irish culture and art today" contend that there has indeed been a surge in creativity and that this is an inevitable state of affairs in the wake of the rather abrupt ending of our collective Celtic dreamtime.

"Out of destruction comes creation" is the group's mantra and they intend to showcase the creativity in various forms at their event in the newly refurbished Tivoli Theatre next Friday, the 30th of September from 8pm.

The brainchild of artist Maria Roche, the event will incorporate art, theatre, live music, film, photography, graffiti, story-telling and, of course, dancing. The full line-up of artists and performers can be found on the Facebook page and tickets are €10 (purely to help cover costs, I'm told).

Let me know if you're planning on checking it out. We can, you know, dance and pretend to appreciate art and stuff.

Need Inspiration For Hallowe'en?

Look no further than Fever Ray's back catalogue of videos.

The side-project of Karen Dreijer Andersson of The Knife, Fever Ray have been responsible for five wonderfully sinister videos, depicting shamen, witches and all manner of creepy characters.

The latest single to be taken from Fever Ray's self-titled album is 'Stranger Than Kindness'. As much as I love the albums, I'm not sure if any of the tracks work as 'singles' in any remotely commercial sense but I'm grateful we can enjoy their visual accompaniments:



[Image: Jet Ingenue]

Scandipop O'Clock

O'Spada are a new Swedish band that caught my attention earlier this week. Playing cruelly on both my weakness for Scandinavian pop music and love of 80's synths, a matter of days later I'm utterly infatuated.

Their track 'Time' sounds packs some serious punch and, if the word on the street is to believed, there are several other equally infectious ditties in their arsenal:



If I manage to get my DJ shenanigans up and running, the Suck Shaft remix of the track is something I'd love to play:


[Image: Par Olofsson]

Somewhat Overcast

Almost as exciting as a new film from genius animation team Pixar is the prospect of seeing one of the 'shorts' that precedes the main feature in cinemas.

'Partly Cloudy', which accompanies latest Pixar flick 'Up', is some of their best work to date. If you haven't yet checked out 'Up', here's yet another reason why you should:



Another favourite of mine is 'Presto'.

[Via Michael]

Jungle Fever

Cue the fanfare.

The video for Marina and the Diamonds' 'Mowgli's Road' has arrived:



A little more variety mightn't have gone amiss but the video certainly ties in well with Marina's art-pop/bubblegum hybrid and it's a pretty creative way of conveying the song's message of being pulled in multiple directions. Hopefully it'll be gracing our tellyboxes on MTV and the likes over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Marina's only gone and made a remix of the track availablle for free download. Click here to download Russ Chimes' Mowgli's Road remix.

[Via Popjustice]

If You Feel Your Head Is Lacking Pizzazz...

...this might help.



In case you haven't seen it, 'Welcome To Our House' is inspired by Brenda Dickson's 'Welcome To My Home' videos, which were tragically removed from Youtube earlier this year when she decided to try and cash in on their cult following.

[via Dónal]

In Defence of Gaga

Few, if any, musical acts can claim to have had as steep a career trajectory as Lady Gaga over the past twelve months. After generating significant blog-hype and a sizeable online following, she managed the difficult task of converting this into commercial success and has barely been out of the papers or off the radio since.

Some contend that her music is mediocre but, although 'The Fame' is certainly patchy in parts, 'Poker Face' is, in my view, one of the finest pop songs of the past decade, while 'Just Dance' is certainly worthy of a 'highly commended' rosette.

Gaga's extreme outfits and outlandish performances might not tally with her pop-by-numbers music but, at a time when the mystique that 'stars' once possessed has been ravaged by reality TV, Heat magazine et al, I think it's refreshing to see someone so contradictory on numerous levels that she keeps the public guessing.

Yes, I appreciate that much of her zany behaviour is carefully engineered and that, behind the wacky facade, Lady Gaga is a highly-intelligent business-savvy entrepreneur. Even still, I can't help but admire her unfaltering commitment to the charade. She makes some of her predecessors and peers seem positively yawn-inducing and her influence on contemporary pop music is already evident.

Today 'Bad Romance', the lead single from forthcoming special-edition album 'Fame Monster', received its premiere:



The track is a sure-fire chart smash that's a damn sight better than the shoddy LQ version that had been floating around until now but it also sounds like most of her other stuff. The familiarity of the track means it's never going to be able to match the impact of hearing 'Poker Face' for the first time.

Hopefully once 'Fame Monster' is out of the way, Gaga will ditch her producer Red One and get to work on developing her sound a little more. In the meantime, I'm more than happy to switch on this track, turn up the volume and just dance.

Oh, Francoise

Finnish oddities Le Corps Mince de Francoise came to my attention earlier this year as a reult of The Guardian's wonderful 'New Band of the Day' feature.

It seems the experimental pop purveyors have now caught the attention of super-cool French label Kitsuné, who are releasing a new track 'Something Golden' in December.

The track is every bit as zany and colourful as the trio's earlier material but, thankfully, sees them deviating from the seemingly CSS-influenced territory that would have worked a treat back in 2007 but mightn't get them noticed today.



Yum.

[Image: Myspace]

Off The Scales

Allow me to introduce you to Samuel & The Dragon, a mysterious London-based duo about whom details are hard come by.

minimalist, brooding electronic backdrops and flamboyant singer Samuel's haunting voice make for a startling combination, reminding me somewhat of Anthony & The Johnsons and old-school Patrick Wolf (before he was crushed by the weight of his ego.) I suspect the group's first single, 'Diamonds On A Boat' , is set to cause quite a stir when it gets releases next month on super-cool indie label Moshi Moshi.



I, for one, am slain.

Desperately Seeking Elton

Lily Allen, quite rightly, continues to milk her hit-heavy sophomore album, 'It's Not Me, It's You'. Who'd Have Known is the fourth track to be released from the album (in some territories the fifth). La Allen has even taken some time out from bemoaning the state of the music industry to make a video for the track, which samples Take That's 'Shine'.

Anyone who remembers Lily's showdown with Elton John at the GQ Awards last year may find themselves reading between the lines as they watch this frankly quite bizarre video:

Stuck on Repeat

Annie - I Don't Like Your Band (free download)



Monarchy - Gold in the Fire (free download)



Don Diablo vs Phoenix vs Jay Z - 99 Fences



Sugababes - Hey Sexy (Hadouken! Remix)



M.I.A. - Paper Planes (DFA Remix)



Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (free download)



Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance (Dada Life Guerilla Fart 4)



[Image: Dirty Sexy Music]

Defying Gravity

Although I reckon 'Symmetry' is crying out for a proper release, Team Little Boots have opted for 'Earthquake' as the follow-up to her biggest hit to date, 'Remedy'.

I'm not all that fussed on the song itself but the video works perfectly with both the song and Victoria Hesketh's space-age synth queen image:



The spacey Yes Giantess remix of the track is well worth a spin too if you're in the market for something a tad more frantic:

Team Whitmore

I popped into the shop today to get change for my bus and who should I see staring up at me from the front cover of 'RTE Guide' but MTV presenter and DCU alum Laura Whitmore. Seemingly, Laura has been shortlisted for RTE's 'Best Dressed Celebrity Award', facing competition from Lorraine Keane, Róisín Murphy, Victoria Smurfit and a host of RTE's home-grown 'personalities' (shocker.)

Although Laura herself reckons Róisín has the award in the bag, I reckon Team Whitmore could reign supreme. Click here to cast your vote.

Freak In The Morning, Pretty Respectable-Looking In The Evening

Savvy fashion retailers American Apparel have come up with a nifty way to boost their October sales margins - by marketing some of their everyday stock as Hallowe'en costumes.

The company has introduced an online 'costume builder', which provides users with suggestions of costumes that can be constructed using American Apparel clothing and accessories. I think the idea behind it is that, once the 31st of October has come and passed, you'll still be able to make good use of the various bits and pieces.

You got to give 'em kudos for the idea because, even if to follow the suggestions would indicate a complete absence of imagination, some of the costumes aren't half bad:

Lobster Bebes

The Bubble Boy's old foe Lobster Boy is back in The Bernard Shaw tonight for his monthly session of crayon-fuelled debauchery. This time he's managed to rope in blog-favourites Attention Bebe to play some of their trademark big-band 90's covers. The best part? It's all free. The madness kicks off at 8pm.

Attenion Bebe, who've recently undergone a line-up reshuffle, are also doing a slightly bigger gig on Saturday night in Tripod. If you fancy coming along to that, give me an e-mail thebubbleboyblog@gmail.com before Friday at noon and I'll do my utmost to get you on the guest-list.

Where Is The Piscine?

As Nialler9 has quite rightly pointed out, there are two things that strike you straight away about Ou Est Le Swimming Pool:

1. Their name is slightly genius.
2. They look like morons.

Thanfully, the deal-breaker for the band is their rather excellent music, which occupies a point on the musical spectrum somewhere between Friendly Fires and Pet Shop Boys. New single 'Dance The Way I Feel' is relentlessly catchy and I wouldn't be at all surpirsed if we find ourselves shimmying to this on Dublin dancefloors over the next few months:



Ou Est Le Swimming Pool support La Roux next month at The Academy. Sold out. Raging.

Not-So-Single Ladies

Check out Flo (of 'and the Mo' fame) doing her very best Beyonce impression in the video for 'You've Got The Love':



What a diva she's shaping up to be.

I stand by my original assertion that The xx remix of this tune is one of the best songs I've heard all year (can you still call it a 'remix' if it barely features any of the original song?) Here it is again in case you missed it:

Annie Dislikes Your Musical Performance Group

You might remember a while back I posted about poor Norwegian poppet Annie who, despite a (violently) loyal fanbase, had been dropped by her record-label last year just before her sophomore album, 'Don't Stop', was due to be released.

Well, as I mentioned at the time, plans are afoot to get a re-swizzed version of 'Don't Stop' to the masses and now, the first of the new tracks has surfaced on the interweb. Good news: it's whopper.

A slinky electro-pop number entitled 'I Don't Like Your Band', the song features lyrics that are quite fitting in light of the convoluted history of the album: "You gotta ditch your instruments/And start it up again/Buy yourself a sequencer/And let the games begin." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the song is a tongue-in-cheek swipe at her former record label bosses.

In anyways, here's the track, courtesy of Mr. Dylan 'Finger On The Pulse' Newe:



Ailbhe Malone, one of two wonderful ladies responsible for Bluebirds Are So Natural, has reviewed the album for NME and you can read what she has to say here.

Florence, Is That You?

I'm missing yet another Partie Monster this week, as it clashes with Eimear and I making our joint DJ debut (calm yourselves, it's just a 21st.) Pity really, 'cos this month's theme of Burton Monster is something worth getting excited about.

Presumably while researching costume ideas, my friend Dónal stumbled upon these great shots from the October issue of Harper's Bazaar. A fashion shoot inspired by Tim Burton's work is hardly an original idea, but it's pretty deftly executed, incorporating designs from Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier and Ralph Lauren among others. Full collection of photographs and designer info here.







[Catwalk Images via Tom & Lorenzo]

Stuck On Repeat: Strictly Remixed

Royksopp (featuring Fever Ray) - This Must Be It (Thin White Duke Remix)



Marina and the Diamonds - Mowgli's Road (The Knocks Remix)



Drake vs Miike Snow - Cult Logic Forever (The Hood Internet Mash)



Uffie - Pop The Glock (Mirwais Pop Remix)



La Roux - Bulletproof (Redial Remix)



Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream (Skream's Pour Another Glass of Champers Remix)



The Virgins featuring Sky Ferreira - Teen Lovers (The Shoes Remix)



[Image: Getarooman]

Can Has Cheeseburger

I've wanted to post about rising star Sky Ferreira for a while but there's always been one fairly significant hurdle to overcome: the girl has no songs.

The 16-year-old model and singer from L.A. has had all manner of music industry elite fawning over her but the only chance the general public have had to hear what all the fuss is about has been a guest spot on The Shoes' remix of The Virgins' track 'Teen Lovers' (which essentially just involves some breathy counting on Sky's part...)

Although we'll have to wait another while to hear what she's been cooking up in the studio with superstar producers Bloodshy & Avant, a couple of slightly incredible cover versions have started to crop up online.

The tracks have been perfectly selected, the first being a cover of Miike Snow's indie-pop anthem 'Animal', completely pared back to just piano and Sky's staggeringly mature-sounding vocal:



I know, right? Amazing.

Next up is an interpretation of Ellie Goulding's 'Wish I Stayed', presumably recorded during one of her sessions with the song's writer Frankmusik. Using the same backing track, Sky's version isn't a drastic departure from the original but is a pretty stonking rendition nonetheless.



Sky Ferreira: coming to a 'Tips for 2010' feature near you.

Sheet Music

The wonderful new Ellie Goulding single, 'Under The Sheets', was given its radio premiere a couple of days ago and has now materialised online in decent quality.

The single is being released by Neon Gold Records and, seemingly, we can expect to see 'Starry Eyed' as her first major-label release. The track was produced by Ellie's partner-in-crime Starsmith and, if you listen closely, you'll hear him on backing vocals.

What The Uff?

So, it looks like the long-awaited album from electro-minx Uffie is finally about to surface. Today Ed Banger Records unveiled her brand new music video for, eh, 'Pop The Glock'.

Don't get me wrong. 'Pop The Glock' is a firm favourite of mine and the video is perfectly passable. I'm just at a loss as to why a song that's two years old and that most people have already heard is the lead single.

One can't help but wonder if, perhaps, the video was rushed to prevent Ke$ha from stealing her thunder. Although Ke$ha is infinitely lower on the trendy-o-meter than Uffie, many have commented on the startling similarities between the girls' musical styles. Reckon it's pure coincidence that Uffie's video surfaces within days of Ke$ha's Tik Tok?



Electro-skanks, start your engines.

[Image: Daughterboy]

Kitty Litterature

A new short but sweet instalment of 'Simon's Cat' has surfaced to coincide with the release of the first Simon's Cat book.

Behold 'Hot Spot':



The book by animator Simon Tofield is available on Amazon and I'm adding it to my Christmas wishlist.

Pick Up A Penguin

Neon Gold Records is, in my opinion, the most exciting record label on the scene at the moment. Not only was Neon Gold responsible for first bringing Passion Pit, The Sound of Arrows and Marina and the Diamonds to the masses but pretty much every song posted on the label's blog is an anthem-in-waiting.

The latest exclusive Neon Gold track is a rather stonking remix of Erik Hassle's already-quite-brilliant track 'Hurtful' by hot prospect Penguin Prison. The remix strips away some of the melancholy of the original, slipping some synths and a cow-bell under Hassle's vocal and transforming him into an anguished disco diva.

You can download the track here but this is a sneak preview:



[Image: Bjorn Iooss]

Black Magic Woman

A year after its release, poor Ladyhawke continues to flog her self-titled debut album. Yes, it probably is one of the finest pop albums of the past five years and, yes, it's a crying shame that it hasn't propelled Pip to megastardom but, at this stage, it's probably time to set it aside and move on to album #2.

That said, it's nice to see that 'Magic', the best song on the album after 'My Delirium'. I kinda love the accompanying video for it's theatrics and deliberately rough-around-the-edges effects.



Well done Ladyhawke. Now get cracking on some new tunes, love.