Bob Dylan - "Scarlet Town"

Bob Dylan's 35th album 'Tempest' was released recently and I'm happy to say, as you probably already know, he is still on a roll. Okay, it's not quite another 'Highway 61 Revisited' or 'Blonde On Blonde' but it is up there with 'Time Out Of Mind', in my opinion. On "Scarlet Town" Bob Dylan has added banjo and fiddle to the acoustic guitar and piano. It has such a beautiful melody and even the late period Dylan croaky vocals add to the beauty. He is one of the very few veteran rock stars that doesn't live off the past... he is much more about the present. Legend!!

Sigur Ros - "Agaetis Byrjun"

In 2006 Sigur Ros went back home to Iceland for a summer tour. The unannounced homecoming tour was made into a film, 'Heima' (at home), which was released in 2007. The double DVD is a must-have for any Sigur Ros fan... or music fan. Quality music is best described in two words... Sigur Ros.

Tom Verlaine - "Yonki Time"

True fans of 'Television' more than likely progressed on to some of Tom Verlaine's solo material. However, his self titled debut solo album may have been overlooked by some of them... it's never too late to make amends. The album was released in 1979 and I bought it 2nd hand sometime in the 80's. I didn't know what to expect - but was blown away. This album had everything... some inevitable 'Television' moments, definitely some Velvet Underground influences coming through, and some great Tom Verlaine guitar, which was very much expected and relished. I still play this LP a lot and I am now asking myself why I haven't downloaded a digital version. I love every song passionately and most of them bring back 80's memories instantly. "Yonki Time" is probably the closest to a throw-away song... but not filler - just a bit of fun. It starts off sounding like Lou Reed and then it turns into something you've never heard before. From when I first heard Yonki Time, to this day, if I get asked "what time is it?" I always feel like shouting out "It's Yonki Time"... and occasionally I do.

Steve Harley - "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)"

Steve Harley had his biggest hit in 1975 with "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" from the album 'The Best Years of Our Lives' - It was released under the band name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. The stop-start song structure gives it a lot of drive and highlights the beauty of the melody. Glam rock at it's very best.

TEEN - "Better"

TEEN are a new band from New York. Former member of 'Here We Go Magic' Teeny Lieberson, set up her own band with a couple of sisters and a couple of friends. Their debut album 'In Limbo' was released recently... but we had a bit of a taster earlier in the form of "Better" and let's hope the album matches the brilliance of that song. "Better" has an 80's keyboard riff that is more than a little hypnotic. Somehow "Better" sounds as modern as it sounds retro. They "do it better than anybody else" yeah.

Rhys Darby - "Transformers"

Another busy night. Tomorrow I will be back with another piece of musical genius. But for now... have yourself a bit of a laugh.

School Of Seven Bells - "The Night"

New York band 'School Of Seven Bells' invited budding film makers to submit a video for their song "The Night" and the winning entry may have introduced us to a future star. 'The Night' is a beautiful ghostly song from School Of Seven Bells and not a bad place to start for anyone unfamiliar with the band.

I have pasted the introduction of the winning video by the band from their website...

This video really stood out for us in a big way. While there were so many amazing submissions, this one really did what music videos do best. It found a particular nuance in the song, and expanded upon it in a way that only the visual medium can. In a sense, being left behind makes children out of all of us. The conflict of the loneliness that suddenly comes over us in that situation, combined with the ecstasy of finally feeling free, is a really tough thing to capture, and we were so happy to see it brought to life in such a beautiful way. The casting is unbelievable! Not only is the resemblance incredible, the emotion in this girl's face is beyond her years, and her performance nearly had us both in tears the first time we watched it together. I'm not sure I'll hear the night again without imagining this girl either dancing her heart out, tormented and trapped in a corner, or casting a dark spell over whoever left her there alone. It's exactly what this song is meant to look like.
(taken from School Of Seven Bells website http://sviib.com)