According to The Ticket (for those of you who do not live in Ireland, the Ticket is the weekly entertainment section in The Irish Times newspaper) Green Day are set to release the follow up to American Idiot in August.

Hopefully the four year wait has been worth it.

Album: Angles

Artists: Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip

Released: Monday 12^th May 2008

Label: Sunday Best Recordings

When you first clasp eyes on Scroobius Pip, he looks more like a local rabbi, rather than a rapper, and what a rapper this man is.

Pip is easily the best rapper in the United Kingdom; actually, he is one of the best rappers in the world today. Unlike the majority of rappers, he isn’t hung up on having a fancy image what he would rather concentrate on writing rhymes that are as good as he could possible write.

Single Thou Shalt Always Kill is a perfect showcase for how brilliant Pip’s lyrics are. The track could have been titled the commandments according to Scroobius Pip. During the song he manages to contradict himself At the beginning of the song, pip says

“Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, John Hartmond, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix or Sid Barrett in vain”.

But as the song reaches the halfway point Scroobius says the following

“Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals/No matter how great they are, or were/The Beatles were just a band/Led Zeppelin, just a band/The Beach Boys, just a band/ The Sex Pistols, just a band/The Clash, / just a band./Crass , just a band.”
Can anybody see the contradiction in his lyrics? That aside, it is still a great song that makes many insightful, intelligent and humours points.

Thou Shalt Always Kill Video

A letter from god to man, sees Pip musing on what he thinks god makes of the way in which we have treated the planet and the way in which we have used religion for our own selfish ends. A Letter From God To Man uses a brilliant sample from Radiohead’s Planet Telex.

This album is filled with brilliant lyrics, ingenious beats. It has become all too rare to have a rapper who uses intelligence when writing their rhymes. This is the best rap album since Jay Z’s The Black Album.

There is this new(ish) blog on the internet that has been written anoumously by a guy living in Dublin the reason for him writing this blog is to get off his chest all the shit that he feels that he could never tell his girl ried, here is one of the posts on his blog

Dear Lover,

Do you remember coming back to my place last night? We stripped and I went down on you. You came loudly and told me I spoiled you. Then you fell asleep. That wasn’t quite what I (we?) had planned for our evening…

While you slept:

I played with your vibrator.
Watched porn on your laptop.
Clamped one of my nipples until it felt like it was going to come off. (regrettable)
Came twice.
Looked up the cost of a Russian hitman.
Drank a glass of wine.
Played with your vibrator some more, came again and then fell asleep.

Love,

me.

if you like what you read I have put a link to the blog on my links.

There have been some truly great records released so far this year, and here is a short list of some the albums that I strongly recommend -

MGMT- Oracular Spectacular

This is a cool slice of old skool electro with a Psychedelic edge. This is helped out with top-notch production form David Friedman, who is the prouder, who has produced all but one flaming lips album on warmers records.

Time To Pretend Video

Vampire Weekend –Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend’s sound is ideal for lazy days sitting in the  summer sun.  In Ireland we have been getting  warm weather. Hopefully the warm weather we have been experiencing will last all summer, so that I can continue listening to this on the I-pod while topping up my tan.

Mansard Roof Video

Neon Neon- Stainless Style

This yet another amazing record from Gruff Rhys (super furry animals) and his producer mate Boom Bip. which is a record that was inspired by John Deloran, that fella what built the car that featured in those movie films Back To The Future. This has a strong 80’s electro feel and is a great piece of electro Indie pop.

I Lust U Video

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Dig!!! Lazarus !! Dig

This is Nick Cave’s 14^th album with the Bad Seeds, correct me if I am wrong.  It rocks like a motherfucker. The band is as a tight as nun’s cunt and Cave’s lyrics are amazing. One my favorite tracks is in long time is the brilliant rant of We Call Upon Author, which has my favorite lyrics of the year, which are-

I feel like a vacuum cleaner/ a complete sucker/ it’s fucked up and he is a fucker/but what a enormously encyclopedic brain.

Dig!!! Lazarus!!! Dig Video

Republic of Loose- Vol IV: Johnny Pyro And The Dance Of Evil

Album number three further builds upon the foundations of their second record Aggah!. There are so many different styles of music on this album, straight up rock, funk, soul, rap and gospel. Vol Iv Johnny Pyro and The Dance Of Evil is over 70 minuets long, and every single moment is genius. The Loose are the mose exciting band in the British and Irish isles at the moment.

I Like Music(Single version) Video

British Sea Power- Do You Like Rock Music?

Third record from British Sea Power. Do You Like Rock Music is so atmospheric and brilliantly crafted, no much else to say other than to say it is brilliant.

No Lucifer Video

REM- Accelerate

R.E.M pull it out of the bag, with a short and sweet album that proves that there is still life in the old dogs yet.

Supernatural Superserious Video

well that concludes my list of some of what I believe have been the best albums released so far in 2008.

label: Different

Released: 28 April 2008

After reading the glowing reviews for their self-debut album I went out a purchase a copy of the record.

So was this worth all the critical praise that has been heap upon it? No it fucking was not worth the fucking goddamn hype. This is a steaming pile of horse shit of a record.

here are five things that are more I would get more pleasurable from

• Getting punched by Mike Tyson
• Rubbing sand paper my arms and then pouring salt a vinegar on the wounds
• Having my teeth pulled out by a pair of pliers
• Being kicked in my balls 30 times with a steal capped boot.
• Having water melon shoved up my asshole

This was absolute torture; it was nothing but shoe gazing nonsense. Crystal Castles are so bad that i have run out of ways to describe just what an utterly terrible record this was, there is no redeeming feature to this crap.

Label: Loaded Dice

Released: Friday 2^nd may 2008

Trying to follow up a record as confident and electrifying as Aggah! was always going to be tricky thing.

The loose not only mange to do it, but it sounds as if the guys barely broke a sweat in crafting this brilliant follow up.Record three contains funk, rock, soul, rap and gospel. Trying to sum up the sound of Republic Of Loose is a futile as putting a tiger in a cage that is constructed entirely out of cheese.

One of the more controversial tracks on Vol IV: Johnny Pyro And The Dance Of Evil is I.R.I.I.S.H. featuring the talents of Dublin singer writer Mighty Stef and Nigerian born rap group The Millionaire boys with a chorus like this-

I am I.R.I.I.S.H/ fuck you and what you stand for/ fuck a girl in her face/fuck you

You are either going to find the track either needless crass or extremely exiting and catchy. I fall into the catchy and exciting camp.

My only gripe is the bands decision to include two versions of the song I Like Music. One of the version is contains verses from American rapper Style’s P and the other is the version that was released as lead single

I Like Music(single Version) video

They should have just included the single version and had the rap version as the B-side, but that dose very little to detract from the quality of Vol IV: Johnny Pyro And The Dance Of Evil. Everything about this band and record is as cool as fuck. This is yet more proof that band is the best band in the British and Irish isles.

For the first time in awhile I have updated this site, since I last checked my stats, over three thousand people have viewed this blog, my heart felt thanks to all those of you out there who has read my blog.

I have been sitting at my computer avoiding college work. The two things that have been keeping me away from what I am supposed to be doing were N-Blox, which is a unofficial online remake of classic Nintendo game Tetris. And the vast majority will be aware just how fucking addictive that god damn game is. Who’d have thought that a game in which you position falling blocks into a line would be the gaming equivalent to crack cocaine!

If you want to play N-Blox it can be found at

www.neave.com/games/nblox/

When not spending countless hours trying to get to level ten, still have not achieved that feat, I spent my time online watching The Nostalgia Critic. He makes fun of movie from the 80’s and 90’s. his angry rants are the funniest things that I have scene in a long time, but rather than me continuing type, type, typing, watch the below video.

The Nostalgia critic takes on

the cartoon all stars

Do you agree that this is guy is hilarious, then don’t waste time in going to his website-

www.thatguywiththeglases.com

On Saturday the IFI, put on a one off screen of the ill-fated Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse.

For anyone who is unaware of Grindhouse, it was a concept that the two directors made, to make two full-length features and show them back-to-back. The two directors were big fans of the Grindhouse genres, which were popular in the 70’s. Grindhouse movies were often shown as a double feature. Grindhouse movies or exploitation movies featured woman with little or no cloths on, and a large amount gore. And that is where the idea for this movie was born.

The two movies that they made as homage to the Genre were Planet Terror (Rodriguez’s feature) and Death Proof (Tarantino’s feature) as well as two features, the movie contains a trailers for fake movies.

Grindhouse Fake Trailers

Machete

Written by Robert Rodriguez

This is no longer a trailer for a fake movie it’s set for release as a straight to DVD feature.

Werewolf Woman Of The S.S.

Written by Rom Zombie

Don’t

Written by Edgar Write

Thanksgiving

Written by Eli Roth

Grindhouse begins with the trailer for machete. Afterwards follows Rodriguez’s homage to the zombie sub-genre of horror. Planet Terror. The plot of the movie is about a gas being released that turns the inhabitants of a Texan town into flesh eating Zombie. El Ray played by Freddy Rodriguez tries to lead a group of survivors to freedom.

This movie is a fun watch, a really damn fun watch. The plot of the movie is a very basic one. But who cares? The action is over the top, and gore is so over the top that it can’t be taken seriously.

Stacy Ferguson (Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas) makes a brief cameo, only to be ripped limb form limb by fleshing eating Zombies. That alone made it worth the price of admission, let’s see you try to sing London Bridge now, bitch?

After three more fake trailers, comes Tarantino’s feature Death Proof. The polt of the movie revolves around a psychotic a psychotic stuntman, Stuntman Mike (played by Kurt Russell) who tracks down woman and uses his car to kill them.

Death Proof is the weaker of the two, but it’s far a bad movie. There are moments when the dialogue comes across as if Quentin was trying to make the language too hip. And it moves slower than Pallet Terror. And yes this is the worst of the five movies Tarantino has made to date, but a sub power Tarantino movie, is still better than most directors out their.

But by the time it comes to the car chase at the end, which is one of the best car chases it really has you on the edge of your seat.

These movies should never have been released separately, as they only work as a double feature .

It’s a bit of a waste of time for me to write this, and for you to read this because no matter how pervasive I am, you may never get to see Grindhouse.

At this moment no news has surface as to wheather Dimension Films have decided to release this movie in the future. Any one who reads this post should send a petition to demand that the movie be released in the UK and Ireland on DVD.

Director: Fred Wolf

Screenplay: Peter Gaulke and Fred Wolf

Certificate: 16

Trailer

Strange Wilderness has an extremely simple plot., the movie’s about a motley crew who make a TV called Strange Wilderness. When the head of the network the show is aired on gives the creators two weeks to come up with a great idea to save their show. They are at a loss of what to do, and think that the show is doomed.

Until their camera man tells them that he has a map that will direct them to Bigfoot, so they pack up their van and go off to film the creature.

That is until their camera man tells them that he has a map that will direct them to Bigfoot, so they pack up their van and go off to film the creature.

The script was written loosely which gave the actors a lot of room scope from them to improve the lines in this movie. Not all the jokes in the movie work, but those that do are very funny indeed. The funniest scenes in the movie are when the presenter of Strange Wilderness, is doing the voiceover for the TV show.

The best line in the movie is when he is talking about monkeys, when he comes out with this “monkeys make up 80 percent of the worlds monkeys population”.

Strange Wilderness is not one of the best comedy movies that has ever been made, but it’s a million ways from being terrible. It succeeds in what it set out to do, which is to provide an entertaining night in the cinema. If you want a good laugh, then you go do a lot worse then going to see strange wilderness.

Album: Stainless Style

Artist: Neon Neon

Label: Lex

Released: Monday 17^th Mar 2008

Below: Stainless Style Album cover

This is further proof that more often then not, records that receive little or no media attention are great listens. And this is such a release.

Maybe the music media cave this band a lot of coverage prior to this albums release. Maybe the hype was so massive that there was a New Years Eve style countdown in Time Square. If there were was any hype about Neon Neon it passed me by.

For those who don’t know, Neon Neon is a calibration between Gruff Rhys (he of super Furry Animals) and American musician Boom Bip. Their debut album, is a concept record about the life of John Z DeLorean, the fellow who stumped up the cash to make the DeLorean, which was the Back To The Future car, just encase you didn’t know who he was.

Making concept records at the best of times is a huge gamble, they took the gamble and it pays off.

This record is heavily influenced by 80’s electro power pop. This a fantastic release. This is a definite contender for the album of the year. Let’s hope that they duo have plans to release more music as Neon Neon.

I Lust U Video