http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/ Music is my boyfriend, and ain't that the truth. http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification en-gb Fri, 09 May 2008 07:54:09 -0700 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The sun touched me yesterday. It hadn't called for quite some time and I'd grown somewhat fearful, but then with a gentle smile, it reached out its warm, warm hands to me. Hallelujah! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=224 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 I wouldn't recommend listening if you're thinking of playing the game Portal anytime soon since it gives away quite a lot. But for those of you that aren't, and to be honest, I would never have done given that anything in first-person freaks me out somewhat (I'm strictly 2D you see...) here's the final payoff of the game. A haunting and mesmerising ode to the delights of moist cake and science. It's meant as a joke. But to be honest, its the sort of thing I'd listen to naturally. Oh dear. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=223 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 And why has this been left for release so late in this, our sceptr'd isle? Are we not Great? Do we not rule the waves with an Imperial glee? Oh wait. It's 2008 and we're just a rainy speck of rock again. For shame indeed! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=222 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Oh! How do I love the smoke-cracked croon of Antony Hegarty? Let me count the ways. But more than this oh so very much more when coupled with amped beats of a tastefulness near-epic in proportion. Sweet jesus, I'm in love. And so, dear reader, shall you be. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=221 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Awww. So she's hugely popular. And beholden of an awfully commercial sound. And her work will probably be raped on the altar of commercial tie-ins. But who could fail to love that voice eh? Huh? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=220 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 I spit pixels in your face. You recoil aghast. But remain intrigued. The year a crisp '91. A handful of paper-pirated blue-discs and prayer. Rainbow plasma guns and alien biotech. I laugh. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=219 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Why? cover the Cure? Why not? Do you see what I did there? Tee-hee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=218 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 That's another side project of Joe Hot Chip to you. Over and over and over and over. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=217 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 The hiss and squelch of these seething things. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=216 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 And do you know, what with all the rushing and whirring and what-not, I've quite forgotten to post a Magnetic Fields track. I suppose it will be the same that everyone else has posted for it is something of a limited album, but this one is still lovely. Tchuss! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=215 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 The Unicorns of Asymantia flicked the pixxxelated dew beads with their crystal hooves. Colours bled down the page and pooled amongst the Aaaaahs. Lilac lightning shook the tape sky-loops and the Skaaazh bugs fell dead. Truly a day to rejoice. They flew away. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=214 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 A paean to pr0n. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=213 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Oh to be drunk on cheap wine. It is a special feeling and that's always so very true. In my head, I'm wearing peacock feathers and dancing sensually whilst Jesus looks on. No wait. That's their video for this song. YouTube it. I insist that you must! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=212 Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 8-bit tomfoolery ahoy! Look away now if you wanna play along. Hey, you know, if I ever get some time, I'll slap together a lil' pixellated video for this baby. T'would be harsh tasty f'sure. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=211 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 And wouldn't you post this song for the title alone? Liar! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=210 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Oh! The hand is truly with the Scandinavians! Now is their time! Those beautiful purveyors of the finest pop gold. I will bend ever to their superior skills of frost-smitten chanteusery. Yes. Yes. Yes. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=209 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Brought to you by the same meme as Arcade Fire. But then, what harm in that? It's making me feel fine n' dandy and that's the truth. There's even a hint of a poor man's Robert Smith in there. Nice! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=208 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 I've been listening a lot to The Speakers lately. And the Lightning Bug Situation obviously too given the one-halfedness of the latter t'ward the former. And there's this definite sense of, if not occupying, then at least bearing witness to the intricacies of their lives whenever you take a listen. It's the music of the finer details. Of the minutae of life. The people and the places you see everyday and the patches of dappled light that play upon them and fill your heart with a strange sense of peace. Which makes it all the more emotional then when a, wrong word I suppose but, character, is forced to graciously bow out. Topher was a dog who has been name-checked throughout the Speaker's oeuvre and this is his last song. Goodbye. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=207 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 You know, if you were a good person, you'd run right over to A Faulty Chromosome's website right this minute and donate a little cash and in the style of a Radiohead freely-priced download support the work of these fine and upstanding young men. And you are a good person right? Right? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=206 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 I believe in you. Really I do. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=205 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 The scratch and hiss of warmly tender feelings. It pleasures us. It does. The medium is the message, at least to my mind. Not for I, the pristine lure of undistorted sound. Of digital transfer to cleanly efficient speakers grouped and arranged. Listen. And know that I am right. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=204 Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreak. And off we go again. It's been far, far too long. And I do apologise, but life tends to get in the way somewhat. And life also tends to remind you to get back on with things. So here I am again. Seeing Hot Chip again. And I'm posting them again. Shirley Bassey would be proud eh? Oh. And this one's about wrestlers, who I grew up secretly fancying. And so faced with those somewhat oversized gentlemen and the sly innuendo of an RnB-tinged naked wrestling match. It kinda makes me feel hot. Did you need to know that? Probably not. But hey-ho. Let's go! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=203 Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Mainstream week continues apace with this staggering work of stomping joy. Who loves ya baby? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=202 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And this week is mainstream week at the Lovely Party. Wheeeee. This is mainly 'cause I don't have the internet in my new flat and will have to rely entirely on music gleaned from the music drive of my lugar o' trabajar. It will be an interesting experience for all of us I'm sure. And so our first slab of joy comes from those dance stalwarts the Chemical Brothers. Who I've never got around to buying an album from since they're so ruddy ubiquitous. Which is a shame, 'cause they're kinda good. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=201 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Oh c'mon. Who's he kidding? We all know it's you Mr Aphex. You can come out now. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=200 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Hush now baby, don't say a word. Momma's gonna buy you a mockin' bird. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=199 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And again with the stomping and again with the swirling. So much beauty! Don't it just make you wanna sing? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=198 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Ah! The swirl and drive of passion! The emboldened cries and eerie lilt! The end sequence that for some reason makes me picture the Addams Family mansion. Why is that? Who knows? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=197 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Apologies for lateness, I have been somewhat busy of late with the travel and the moving and the international life of a jaded no-one. But settled now and back to resume the good work. The noble work. The work that requires I dredge the very heavens for odd and irrational slices of shreiking, circuit bent noise for your delight and, one would imagine, your delictation. Come now brothers! Let us feast once more on the (lack of) beat. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=196 Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Y'know, I stole all my comedy stylings from Vic Reeves. But no-one sees the similarities. Go figure... http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=195 Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 The shimmering beings of Ske'Lath Hor were a peaceful race, given only to thoughts of soft apples and rubber-bands and tides of grass-stalks. Their faces, punctured as they were by eyes, watered and large, bore no sign of unhappiness or the aches of modernity. A faint glow littered their wake as they passed by; a slight resonance that was felt upon the cochlea and the skull of man. Their language was of mithered clicks and flicking chirrups, and as they sang, they lifted also the heart and the being. And it was for this fact, most of all, that they could not remain. Except in trace. Except in memory. Except in music. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=194 Thu, 24 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Goth Robot says this is cool. And I agree. What fun! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=193 Wed, 23 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And at night, when my dreams invariably switch to stand-by, and the Teletext pictures play out across the full stretch of the night. This music plays. A sub 8-bit miasma incrimenting gradually through local news rendered in lurid reds and greens and turquoise. And I'm happy. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=192 Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 So Mark E. Smith is the new James Murphy? Erm yes. I'm cool with that. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=191 Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Something for the weekend, sir? What's that? 80's synths to make you wince? Why certainly sir! A fine choice indeed. Why not try this from Australia's Miami Horror. They're like a chirpier Zombi. Which has gotta be good right? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=190 Thu, 17 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 It had been a good night. And though this was more some woozy knowing than a full and fleshed out recollection it was proof enough for him. Peppercorn stars pecked at the night sky as he walked home alone through wide streets and the wider spaces between. A brief lilt of congealed smoke leaked from the pores of his jacket and teased out a memory from his head. A shimmering blur of guitars and laughter. Of wheeling crowds and of movement therein. Of Steve and of Joe and of Kate. He was smiling then and he smiled again. It had been a good night. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=189 Wed, 16 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Ah! The sound of old computers. Is there nothing more cherished to those who were born in the 80s? Who were acceptable at the time? I'd wager 'no'. But is it right that we continually revisit these cheesey-beat electro thematics? That we dredge up the tinny cracked noises of our youth at this late stage? They're packaging up our childhoods, y'know, and selling it back to us piece by piece. Right? Good? Nah! Damn right, nah! Now please excuse me, I have to go read more about the new Transformers movie. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=188 Tue, 15 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Now this fella, one Mr Daniel Saxon Judd, is the noise de jour. And I would have liked more than the full blossom of the evening to have brought you the guilty, lilty sounds of his new 12" rekkid on Tirk, Surfing At Midnight. Or even the Pitchfork approved delights of the Prins Thomas remix of the aforementioned track. But I can't. So listen to this shoddy offcut by him instead. Only jokin' - it's ace! Tee-hee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=187 Fri, 11 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Awww c'mon! It's the weekend! Let's get happy! Woo-hoo yeah! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=186 Thu, 10 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Soft and woozy, the order of this day. Fine and delicate like the white clouds and shafts of light which pass through them, but stained grey with the idle threat of a storm to come. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=185 Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Like a louche Depeche Mode is my sage opinion. What say YOU? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=184 Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Shhhh. Listen! It's the sound of the Fragile Army! The Polyphonic Spree's latest album, due to hit at some specific point in June. Listen! It's a cutesy little mash-up made by DeLaughter himself and featuring snippets from the new stuff. Oh, don't it make you feel good to be part of the machine when they slow drip you news of the good stuff? Oh yes! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=183 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 We're here. We're queer. You're buying us a beer. Or else. But honestly, don't fuck us around. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=182 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 There's a certain nightclub in a certain town where it's £20 to get in and the drinks are thrown in for 'free'. It plays cheese all night long on a Saturday night. And this is a tribute to that very venue, but with an achingly hip remix flavour courtesy of the achingly hip Justice. I mean, I wouldn't want to lose face or anything now would I? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=181 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 There is nothing better in this world than songs taped and piped though tinny tiny speakers. To the sound purists out there, be told: the medium is the message. Hot damn! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=180 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And I love you too Mr Buggles. I really, really do. Come, let us frolic about the pulsing rivers of energy that, Tron-like, circle our electronic love-folder. Touch my capacitors. Mmm. Yes! but let us not go any further than that, lest we boot-up the Add N To (x) program. I'm honestly too young for that. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=179 Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Hush now, there's always time for The Diskettes. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=178 Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 This song is lull and charm. Graceful and gradual, it conspires softly to scrape across the ridges of a tired mind and leave it hopeful and young again while, all the while, the ghost of Sigur Ros cocks some slight smile from the middle distance. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=177 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Dear reader, I hope this correspondance finds you in something approaching a rude and destitute health. The Olsen twins are fine, larking freely as they do with an insolent air and a whimsical stride in their fevered boots. They ask after you, you know and you really should visit some time. Please find enclosed a delightul missive from those masters of Can-ned heat, the LCD Soundsystem. To you, the world and everything in it. Ta ta. Ta ta. Sir Henry Thripplewaithe III http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=176 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 You know them. You can't possibly not. But this remix. How fine! How divine! It makes the heart swell with all the unreasonable joy of a Tuesday morning! Just you see! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=175 Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Strange. She'd never noticed before, but then she'd never been looking before. The electric candles flared dimly in the cheap plastic of their sockets and cast a slim nicotine light about what she supposed was the ghost's face. Only the eyes remained unaffected. Two smeared patches of a perfect kohl black that chose not to reflect back the draped lamps of the bar and seemed instead to suck the light inward. A static drone rose in her ears and the room bleached suddenly. Nothing could be perceived above the rising blur of white. Only the eyes remained unaffected. Only the eyes. And the faintest flicker of a smile. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=174 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 I'm a tumbler. I'm a government man. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=173 Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Stomp and swirl. Swirl and stomp. If there's one thing sure to melt the perma-frost cool of your host's exquisite frontage it's a riotously giddy and theatrical stormer of a track such as this. Oh! If only the cool kids could see the way I dance and clap and jump about the room when it is piped into my speakers! Why, they'd never talk to me again. Hmm. On second thoughts, maybe I should send them an invite. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=172 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. God I'm a soppy bastard at times. I really, really am. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=171 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Continuing then with my fevered obsession for tracks that end albums and tracks that should end albums. Let us consider the Pumpkins. Ah! Sweet Jesus! A textbook example of what I call the "Pantomime finish" - a soft and childlike ruse where everyone featured on the album comes together to wave off the listener as they float softly into the gently twinkling firmament. You can almost hear the slow procession of bows and the red velvet drapes as they slide together and come to rest. For further reading consider 'Death Is Not The End' by Old Saint Nick on 'Murder Ballads'. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=170 Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And now. An interlude. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=169 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 I know what you're thinking. It's "Miss You" by Mirwais right? Yes. At least that's what it's taken me all day to realise. Oh yes. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=168 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Well. In lieu of the soundtrack for Inland Empire, I'll just have to post this. It's 9:45, though it feels much later. The horse and the well. I'm very good with animals. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=167 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=166 Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Love, love, love, love, all your...natural resources! I mean, why shouldn't we? Let's show some appreciation then for coal! Yes! And iron ore! And forests! Yes. They're especially good. Huzzah! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=165 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Come! Let us hug each other and feel special. For it is the weekend. And that is what we must do. Quickly! To the big city lights. How beautiful! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=164 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Amen sister! Amen! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=163 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 She breathed deeply; the wet tide of concrete and asphalt rolling up the hill toward her and filling her lungs. She thought of his face now; bloodied and slick from the beating. The puddles pooled about her feet as she flicked the hair back from her eyes. There'd been no need for it; no reason in it. And certainly no sense. But that hardly mattered now- it was Wednesday. It was all for nothing. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=162 Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 There is a hotel beneath a sky green/grey and leaden. Small and old and possessed only of tattered awning it sits besides the overpass; too sullen, or too grimly proud to move from its steady casual approach all those years ago. The Tindersticks stayed here once whilst they wrote their first eponymous album. Dakota Suite took an entire suite and wrote Wintersong here. And now the Lightning Bug Situation have taken up residence with no real means of paying their bill, though one imagines the beauty of this song to be more than sufficient payment. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=161 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 When machines coo, my heart, it lies broken. Shattered, scattered about the water-stained linoleum of the kitchen floor. Listen: this machine wants to be loved! "Do you like me?" its soothing plea. Yes! Machine! Yes, we do! Be calm! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=160 Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 It's the weekend! Time to wheel out a stomper! Oh my, and this is beautiful! There's nowt better than a fantastic remix of a song you love and treasure - and that's just what this LA Priest person has been able to do. Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=159 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 A bad vegetarian is an even worse vegan and a frankly abysmal fruitarian. Did you know that? No? Well now you do! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=158 Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 The gentle and the soft and the lovely. The sunshine and the rainbows and the flowers. The good and the hopeful and the kind. And they also sound like the Envelopes. This is a good thing. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=157 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 A duet! 'tween man and woman! Is there nothing more beautiful in the pastel gardens of twee where the light falls gently about the dappled lawns? No! The answer is "no"! A resolute "no"! A firm "no"! Oh! How sweet the sound! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=156 Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 We love vanity at the Lovely Party. But only if it is allowed to mature to full blossom and then subsequently and cruelly cut down to size. Witness now our friends The Rakes as they set upon the deserving targets of the fashion industry. Obvious, perhaps, but then does that make it any the less enjoyable. No! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=155 Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Oh go on then. It's the best thing from the new Arcade Fire album. You already know them I'm sure, but today, well. I'm stuck. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=154 Thu, 15 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Yes yes yes yes! Fuck yes! Yes! Mother fucker! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=153 Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 My lord. Look what I found over on Fluokids. A remix! Of Young Folks! And it does what every good remix should - completely alter the tone of the song, yet keep the kernel of goodness within intact. That once chipper number is now a slow-dying flame as if their endless talking of me and you were finally drawing to a close. All things move toward their end. Even their love. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=152 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And this is of smokey rooms and ill-lit rooms. Of warn rooms and beer-flecked rooms. Of the night and the people that live there. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=151 Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And did I also mention I like Stereolab? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=150 Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And so, it's here, and it's a doozy. The new Grinderman album. Kick those white mice and baboons out and get it on! Get it on! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=149 Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Hear the throbbing beats of latin passion! See the fierce fires of desire in their eyes! Smell the very sex as it drips from their very pores! They are Cachicamoconcaspa y Leyko el Perro de la IIII dimension! And you will know love for them! Ojala! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=148 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Kids will love me. Kids will love me. Kids will love me. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=147 Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Now you know, this is a great track. This is a really fucking amazingly great track. Those synths! That hook! The fact that it has love only for a certain (now, thankfully legal) target demographic. So it's a simple joy to allow it entry (plus one) to the hallowed halls and flashing under-lit floors of the lovely Lovely Party. But hey, I wonder - will it outstay its welcome as the weeks roll on? As the inevitable tide of radio-play and video-play and club-play conspire to wring all that is pure and good from this song. Will it rise up from its humble bedroom beginnings to blithely crush the skulls of all who stand before it? Probably. So, erm, you have been warned. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=146 Mon, 05 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And that's the weekend come and gone. Say goodbye to the good times and hello to the drab auspices of work-a-day drudgery! Goodnight ladies! Ladies goodnight. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=145 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Never let it be said that the Lovely Party highlights only the more obscure and unlistenable acts of this fair world. No. We often include uptempo pop numbers such as this. Tee-hee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=144 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 It's a rare and special thing to hear the woozy strains of the oboe here at the Lovely Party. Or at least I at think it's an oboe. But what the hell would I know of such matters? All I care about is the effect it has on me, me, me. Which is a delicious sensation of idling dreaminess. Yes. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=143 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 The Avalanches! Remember them? Oh why haven't they done an album since back in the day? The whores. And mash-ups! Whatever happened to those? Why has it been so long since I heard a really nice slice o' bootleg special? Well children, that is all to change. Yes. Tonight Matthew, 2007 is going to be 2002. And Wham are gonna make out with Digitalism. Smooth. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=142 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Mandolin! Check! Vocoder! Check! Sweet swirl of innocence! Check! Certainly, Mr Blood Music, come right on in. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=141 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Here are the rules of Lovely Party. The first rule of Lovely Party is that you talk to everyone about Lovely Party. The second rule of Lovely Party is that you talk to EVERYONE about Lovely Party. The third rule of Lovley Party is that any song featuring hand-claps, whistles or la-la-la's is a thing to be cherished and adored. And with that in mind, dear reader, let us rejoice at Lavender Diamond. Awwwww. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=140 Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Because the kids love the Klaxons, I'm reduced to this? No fear! Why do people like the Kaxons anyway, I mean honestly? They only have one good song. And that's Golden Skans. I blame the XXjfgs. But hey, this mix is pretty damn fine in that grind-it-down grind-it-up sorta way that Mr Simian's Mobile Discotorium does so well. Give it time mind, 'cause the track is a little retarded und slow at front. You want chip with thaaaa? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=139 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 This was the anthem of London town when I was down there last. It's rocking the Goth Robot's world. And it does special things to me too. Go figure. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=138 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Love is in the air. Can't you smell it? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=137 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 The indie kids are dancing. The dance kids are indie. The future never happened. It never happened. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=136 Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Oh. So that's what New Rave sounds like. Like a Hot Chip cast off then. Because it is. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=135 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 My lord. It's been a long time. I shouldn't have left you, without some twee twang to step to. But I'm back again with a tale of quiet despair that has always tugged at my proverbial heart-strings. I can't actually reach the end of this song without crying. I'm welling up just thinking about it even now. That poor, poor graceful beast. Perhaps this is what inspired the plot of The Fountain. Perhaps I'm soft. Perhaps I'm not and you're callous for not caring. But listen. Please, listen. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=134 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Majestic. You know it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=133 Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Shuffling, they walked through dust and fell spastic; sprawling into flowers that gaped maws of a perfect black. Spring was coming, but they'd never know. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=132 Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Yelp mo-fo! Yelp like there's no tomorrow. 'Cause one day, it'll be true! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=131 Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 So the die-hards amongst you will probably already have heard this track in it's proper context within the 45:33 mix that LCD Soundsystem did for Nike (sell-out whores that they are), but for the benefit of those who haven't wandered on over to the iTunes store (and who can blame you, it's a travesty), here's the best bit. Well. Merely one of the best bits because, hot damn, I honestly am far too into that mix. Enjoy. Savour. And shame on you! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=130 Wed, 24 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And you know, I'm pretty sure that there's a whole slew of people out there that have never heard a KLF track. Just imagine that. I can't imagine that. I won't imagine that! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=129 Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 I wanna do bad things. Oh it's true, it's true, it's true. So unmistakably true that it aches my teeth and jabs my incoherent mind with it's shrill insistent truth. But bad is the new good right? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=128 Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 There's a definite tendency these days to the marriage of stuttering electronic pulses to lofi indie schlock. A trend which normally results in sensitive songs with sensitive lyrics that tend not to go anywhere 'cause in all the nubile novelty of the new, they tend to forget about...erm...y'know, a hook or a decent chorus. Thankfully this track manages to avoid that fate - but only just. It could so easily have swung the other way. I mean, those verses, they almost outstayed their welcome. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=127 Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Not since Aphex Twin's Windowlicker have I encountered such a happy-happy burbling noise as is featured in this track. Such electronic 'coo's and 'laa's are to be encouraged. Yes! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=126 Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 There was no album that had me more enthralled in 2005 than the first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album. Sure. Call me a faux-hipster, deride me for the fact that I first heard about them on Pitchfork, but oh! What an album! I couldn't stop listening to it for days and weeks and months. Nearly all of that year on near constant rotation - and never getting tired! And now, a new album for 2007. It has a lot to live up to, it's true. But I'm liking what I've heard so far. Listen! See! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=125 Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Awwwwww. Let's all wear our pyjamas and have a slumber party! C'mon everyone! Let's shuffle together awkwardly and giggle when our legs touch. Let's think of soft things and cute things and little things that make us smile. Let's do it now. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=124 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 They say that Jupiter is a band worth your valuable time. And it's so painfully true. Oh why must they be so entertaining? Why am I compelled to spontaneous dance by this wicked, wicked tune? Ah! Synths! We meet again! And who is this, your charming friend? Enchantee, Ms Hint o' B-52. Let me buy you a drink! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=123 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Abernethy sing songs of ice and lakes and forests and the few scattered people that live between them. It's an old world, but a new world and consequently not one that is yet tamed. There's magic there still, and spies, and intrigues of each and every beautiful kind. Dinosaurs who've forgotten their cues still wheel about the sky and through it all, beneath the ground, the thread of a voice like a rich seam of gold. Deep and low and precious. Their new album, College Grove, is out in Canada on the 16th January. This song is from that album and it would do you proud to buy it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=122 Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 And how do we like the beats at the Lovely Party? Yes Johnny? Fractured? Why of course! And Jenny? Dirty! Yes, good girl, that too! Little Alan? Moribund? Get out now! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=121 Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Damn. I hate advertisers. They suck the very blood from all that is good and true and pure and smear it casually upon a can of soup in the vain hope that you'll remember it's name. I spit on their graves, that's for sure. Use your own brains instead of leeching from the ideas of your betters, vile whores! And listen to the kids in this track, so happy and full of life, unaware that their joyous sound will be reconfigured and used in a car commercial. Hiss! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=120 Fri, 05 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Fans of Said The Gramophone might already have got this track from there - full disclosure: I know I did. But my God did it hook me. I think it was the line "i was drunk / i didn't let on" that did it. That pretty much sums me up these days. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=119 Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 It's Chi-Lite time. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=118 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 This song should be happy. It's gentle stabs of toy piano flit languidly about like a bright and shimmering thing in the summertime, while a strum of guitar laughs alongside. But there's something not quite right there. It's sad. You can tell. I wonder why. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=117 Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 There's a light at the end of every tunnel, or so they say. But one can only hope that that light materialises gradually, in a slow-build as perfect and satisfying as a winter dawn. Or like this song. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=116 Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 A break-up breaks-out the Tindersticks records. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=115 Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Weep dear reader! Weep! For it is Christmas, and you're all to go home 'til new year. But as I usher you towards your coats and towards the door, let us console ourselves by considering the soothing ache of yultide love as narrated by my favourite artist of this year past. El Perro Del Mar. Take it away Sarah. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=114 Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Oh my. I almost forgot to post this. I've been meaning to invite t'Spree to the Lovely Party for quite some time and given the perfect opportunity, I go and forget! How terribly remiss of me! For shame. Still, they're here now. Won't you have some punch? No, not all of you. I'm not sure there's enough. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=113 Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 The Lovely Party is a many-faced thing. Some guests choose to dance, others to watch, some to fuck and some to weep softly into their own-brand cava. Other guests however, are different, they are violent sexually depraved predators who seek to throttle and maim, to take no prisoners as they slash the sofa covers and pee down the stairwell. And I'm pretty sure that we encourage this sort of behaviour. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=112 Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 I'm sorry. I don't mean to obsessively post old Eric's Trip songs, but honestly, this one is new one to me. And it's a doozy that's for sure. A woozy doozy in fact. Now what say you to that? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=111 Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 You! Smiling face of youth! With your day-glo laces and your soft, soft hair. With your new-rave cut and your lack of knowing. Taste the bitter fare of the past. For there is no hope y'see! There is only this. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=110 Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 A song about drugs! How daring! Uh-huh. So yeah, What is it with the romanticising of drugs these days? Not that I'm violently opposed, but really, all that talk of expanding conciousness and altered states of mystical being - does anyone actually believe all that stuff? Hmmmm. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=109 Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Who hates the Unicorns? I mean, I ask you... http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=108 Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 There's something quite unsettling about No Bra's act. For Susanne Oberbeck, their lead, is in possession of an unfashionable sort of androgeny. Not for her the elfish features of soft, soft and quite palatable boy/girls. Not for her the safe and innocent smiles of the mainstream queers, who are tolerated so long as they remain deliciously camp and unwilling to fuck. Instead she presents an alternative moustachioed beast, breasts lazily exposed and spouting her/his intentions quite clearly and in no uncertain terms. You buy yes? You should yes? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=107 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Oh come on, who doesn't love an overly bookish song? So grab your cardigans and let a little twee into your life today! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=106 Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 And this is the anthem for the darker places of this world. The shadowed retreats where people gather at night and bad things happen and innocence is lost. The woods and the alleys and the rooms with black walls. This is for them. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=105 Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Why is it that there's nothing much out (musically speaking) at Christmas? Why the hell must the yearly flock of Greatest Hits compilations come home to roost at exactly this point in time? I tell you, it's going to make my life as an MP3 curate nigh-on impossible 'til Spring. There'll be not much to talk about that's new 'til then. I suppose I'll have to start mining my collection again... Oh! Here's a little beauty right now. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=104 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 It's December already. Time to crack open the Christmas tunes and make merry with the sherry. I know this song will be playing from the lounge as I rush wide-eyed with dumb elation toward the yuletide tree. Yes. Just picture that. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=103 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Welcome dear reader, to the hell of a thousand cover versions. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=102 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 "Foul-mouthed, noisy, hairy, and damn well old enough to know better, Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos." Or at least, thus spoketh the website. All I know is that any side project of Old Saint Nick deserves a mention, especially with a title like this one. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=101 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Awwwww. Computer wants to sing! Mr Hopkinson's computer is certainly a plucky little fellow, belting out his special renditions of 90's staples like there's no tomorrow. Go buy his CD! I'm certianly going to... http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=100 Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Something of an unexpected break in the Lovely Party as I go AWOL in America. Though now I'm back. And now I'm next to my CD collection. And now I'm able to devote sufficient time to tracking down those tiny pieces of aural joy that others have overlooked or don't care a toss about. And isn't that a lovely thing? A truly special thing? I like to think so. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=99 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 There's nothing wrong with posting more Beck I take it? Can I help it if I'm a huge fan? Yes? Well, probably, yes. I can't help it. I'm trapped in inter-city hell in an airport in Kelowna. Whatcha gonna do about it huh? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=98 Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 And this is the anthem of the moment for all our current road trips. Just listen to that cheeky synth horn thing that kicks in later on. It melts my heart! It melts my face! With joy! Sheer joy! Hoo-hah! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=97 Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 "Music may well be your boyfriend, but I had him last night bitch." http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=96 Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Britain: Americans dance funny. That, and they have pints. In cans. An entire pint of Fosters. But in a can. Have they NO shame? Tee-hee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=95 Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 And why? Why not? Well. Actually, I'm seeing Hot Chip tonight, so I guess I have to pay homage to them once more. All together now: "ooh, aah, Ferdinand!" http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=94 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Trashy. Funny. Trashy is funny. I think the logic speaks for itself. This song trashy. This song funny. You like the tit-for-tat exchanges of two Hoxton/Soho whores yes? You like lyrics involving syphillis, Top Shop and the "Anal Staircase" yes? Then enjoy, and remember to dispose of your waste carefully. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=93 Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Guess what? For the next three weeks the Lovley Party will be hosted in another continent! North America in fact. Coming to you from Cleveland in the US of A and Kelowna in Canada. Which is good timing, since I get to see Hot Chip again at the Grog Shop. Sweet joy or joys! This song has no bearing on anything. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=92 Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Now if word is to be believed, this is 28 years old. Yes. I was suprised at first too, but what can you do. Why, how about bask in those synth swirls like they're going out of fashion? What do you mean they already are? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=91 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 It's true. I HAVE danced enough. That's more than enough of that. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=90 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0800 If you're born in England, there's an unspoken expectation upon you that every word you say will be loaded with irony, double entendre and / or a healthy dose of cynicism. And hey, let us not forget sarcasm! All of which is well and good when you're out on the town and kicking up a gay riot with your various friends and necking back pints of faux-European larger. But sometimes, just sometimes, it becomes a little difficult to just let it go. To say something without setting up an elaborate double-handed joke. Thankfully though, there is music to jolt our blackened hearts into some semblance of feeling. Music to remind us of what we've lost. Like the occasional shaft of light that sometimes manages to pierce the omnipresent bank of grey-clouds that is our roof. Beat Radio make music like that, and for which we are eternally grateful. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=89 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0800 And it's truer today than it's ever been since it's original release on the back side of the UK Loser single all those moons ago. My God I feel old sometimes. But hey! At least I'm not 30 yet! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=88 Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I'm faced with an eternal dilemma whenever I post here y'know. Do I go with what's new and de la mode, though offensively lack-lustre, or do I stick with the truly great stuff that's kept me sappy and happy for years and pray that you've never heard it? What to do, what to do. In the end today, I've chosen the past and a special something from Eric's Trip. It's definitely the better song. Now can just go fuck itself. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=87 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And this is the soundtrack to some 60s happening. Naked girls lop about a floor bedecked in paper leaving slimey trails of paint in their wake. Gentlemen nod in some sage encouragement. A poet reads from the phone book, enunciating every second syllable for no real reason. The glass of a lens is touched by the glint of light for just a second as it cooly records everything for posterity. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=86 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Sorry, sorry, sorry. A light intermission in the Lovely Party as I disappear off to Italy. And what merry japes were had there. Including perilous mountain roads w/ learner drivers, tracking dinosaur footprints amidst fog-shrouded peaks and curious encounters with neo-fascists. It makes me tired, yet content. And thus the mood of Beach House! Lazy beauty! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=85 Wed, 18 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Urgh. As ever on Wednesdays. My head hurts. Someone, dear God, make it stop. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=84 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Oooh. She's so street. So urban. She says that she's grounded as the amounts roll in. But is she? Really? And is she grounded as the beat fractures about her ample frame and up becomes down and down becomes up? What then huh? Huh? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=83 Mon, 16 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back Fog to the Lovely Party. It is most unexpected since I actually want to talk about the trio of gigs I saw last week. Hot Chip, Fischerspooner and the Knife. If I were some sort of suit, I might say "work hard, play hard", but I really don't have to do that sort of thing. FYI - each gig was superb in it's own right. But the coveted award for my favourite goes to Fischerspooner. Who pipped the Knife to top spot by a) playing for longer than 45 minutes, b) having multiple glitter explosions and c) spewing champagne right in my face. The Knife, however, deserve a commendation for their double-screened antics and especially for the skeleton robot winding merrily away to stage left. Hot Chip just need to ditch the sizeable 15 year old contingent of their audience, who, being in the tender years of their life, refuse to dance for fear of looking stupid. Grow up children and realise that no-one, but no-one, actually gives a damn. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=82 Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I'm late, I'm late. For a very important date. Actually, that's a lie. The bit about the important date I mean. It's really just another wage-slave thang. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=81 Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Some bands stay relatively stationary. Each consecutive album remaining roughly the same as previous efforts. And this can be good - they remain fixed within the sphere of your interest and taste. Others, of course, don't. They are on some strange elliptical orbit, passing close to your little world only for a brief moment, before passing away into other territories. Hot Chip, I can't help but feel, are in this latter category. Coming On Strong was one of my favourite albums of recent years. It was pure of heart, and quiet, but enjoying itself none-the-less. Like an awkward geek in the corner of a hip-party. But now, they've changed. Now they're smack-bang at the centre of that party - everyone's accepted them. I saw them play live last night and it was great to see them working that crowd like it was nobody's business, but I couldn't help but feel that they'd lost something that no-one knew, but still missed. Or maybe it's just me. I think I just like everyone to be melancholy. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=80 Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 We like screaming at the Lovely Party. But not in a nihilistic, psuedo-punk, look-at-me-I'm-RAWKING sorta way that obviously slays them over at XXjfg. No dear readers! We like our wailing to be deranged and emotive - Eric's Trip (when they're not being sappy), and PJ Harvey (anything on 4 Track Demos) for example. Alternatively, we like insane burbling. That makes us chuckle like lords. And heavens - does this song deliver. But in a tuneful way you understand. We're optimists after all. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=79 Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Now now, bear with me. If you're anything like me, you'll shiver in the sun at the slightest mention of an NME band. And I'd always had Interpol pegged as one of those for some reason. Probably because they are. But browsing through the racks of CDs in search of something to lift my spirits a couple of weeks ago, I heard the (suitably nu-new-wave, black of shirt and hair) shop assistant play a track from their 'Turn On The Bright Lights' album. Well, I was transfixed. And my, oh my, they had it for sale at five pounds. How could I refuse? This song isn't the one I heard, but it's even better than that - can you imagine? And the best bit was watching the guy's crestfallen grimace at the counter as he realised that he'd actively encouraged a scruffy, shambolic, lord of the twee to buy his favourite record, thus tainting the exclusivity of his adoration. Hah! Isn't music fandom a wonderful thing? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=78 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 New Beck! New Beck! And thank heavens that it's better than Guero, which frankly, I couldn't really get into as much as I should have been able to. FYI, the best bits on The Information are the tracks where things get cosmic. And by that I mean psyched-out weirdness and flitting polygons spinning 'bout your blind spot. Bleeps and whoops and everything aural you need to live a happy happy life. Here, enjoy! And for our North American friends listening and watching, this is a UK bonus track just for you. Mmmm, nice. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=77 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Joy Zipper. I bought their first album from a boutique in Madrid. In summer. I was on holiday. It was a gentle time. And how lovely is this record as a testament to that? They sing softly of death and strange transformations and nightmares. Oh wait, that's not my holidays. I'm confused. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=76 Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 It's funny how the slightest thing can spark a memory. I was just playing about on t'internet last night when I came across a reference to Girls Against Boys. I never actually owned one of their albums, but a friend had made up a mix-tape years ago with a couple of their tracks on it for me. I couldn't remember the name, but I knew that I had loved it, so I paid a quick visit to their site and had a good ol' rummage around. The name leaped out when I saw it. That one. Bam! Bingo. And here it is for your delight and consideration. It's actually kinda interesting to hear how my taste has matured over the years don't you think? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=75 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 My god. His voice. It's so deep and low. And so damn sexy. Sweet jesus, yes. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=74 Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Let's veer now to the opposite end of the Lovely graph. And what do we find there? Why Kids On TV dancing gaily upon the bloodied bones of Dave Gahan in a scene reminiscent of the unnecessary gore of Eli Roth's Hostel. It may be messy, but at least they're happy. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=73 Mon, 02 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 La la la, ole! Who doesn't love a happy-clappy sing-a-long? Welcome then, to the other Polyphonic Spree. From Sweden. It's a shame they're not wearing robes too, but you can't have everything eh? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=72 Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 So how many people know the story of Bjork's first solo album? No. Not 'Debut'. Her real first album from 1977. The one where her dad helps out and together they record a bunch of covers (and a couple of original tracks) for the kids. The one that sounds like this. It went platinum in Iceland by all accounts, but to be honest, I'd guess that that isn't too difficult. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=71 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Well hark at me with the latest sounds. Apparently this hasn't even been released in the UK yet. Oh my. I've never been on the nub of youth culture before. I feel slightly giddy if truth be told. A mild wheezing sensation has overtaken me. I'm not sure I like it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=70 Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And this is a hymn to my poor aching head. Children: winners don't do drink. Oh hell no. Actually, winners probably don't listen to the Kings of Convenience either, but what do I care about such matters? I'd much rather listen to them than anything energetic this morning. Oh yes indeed. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=69 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 So, the Lovely Party jury is in on the new Yo La Tengo album. It's slightly disappointing. What a bugger. Now that's not to say I'm not enjoying elements of it immensely, but it just doesn't seem to hang together in the way that I would like it to. Uh-huh, it seems a bit scrappy and what-not. But hey, at least it has this track, which whips me into a spinning dervish of a frenzy. See if it does you and know that there is hope. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=68 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 There are albums that are rise themselves up from their immediate surroundings and elevate themselves to a higher plane. I include My Bloody Valentine's Loveless amongst them. The process can take a number of years or it can be almost instantaneous, but when it happens, it's a joy to behold. You're guaranteed a sound so fresh and incomprehensible that it lasts far longer than the cheap perfume of a regular album. In other words, you must experience this for yourself. You must own a copy of this album. Let this be a gentle nudge for you if you don't already own it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=67 Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Argh! Children! Nyu! Spoken word! Nyar! Robots! Fu! Leather! Caaa! Inexplicable tirade of nonsensical splutterings and juju! Gah! Does it get any better than this? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=66 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Note to self: when in doubt, post a Magnetic Fields track. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=65 Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I know nothing of this band, and know nothing of the context. Only that they are on an El records retrospective that I've been lent. But my, what a song! What a dispassionate lyrical style and off-kilter lilt! Mmmm. That's what makes my boat float etc etc. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=64 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 A forgotten gem now. And for shame! The cream of Sheffield (including the nice young fella from Baby Bird) come together to decry the fate of one young girl and her tepid, turgid, rapid ascent to the top. They had a few hit singles y'know. Not many people listened mind. Once more: for shame y'all! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=63 Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Apologies for the lack of Friday goodness, but I was otherwise engaged in a night of sordid debauchery and unceasing, fastidious merriment. All weekend long. We went to see a number of highly popular dance-o-tarium acts play together in one night, such as Mekon, Lo-Fi-Fnk and today's nominees for MP3 ascendency, Justice. And though it was supposed to be achingly hip, and members of my hedonistic fraternity were indeed overwhelmed by it the bright lights and the pretty colours (and that cool girl with the stag's skull for a face), I couldn't help but think - "is this all there is?" Have I been cheated by my expectations? Why was I not awed into unblinking submission. What the hell is wrong with me? I know - cynicism! You betcha! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=62 Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 La la la! Final fantasy again! It's like a gay parade! Hurrah! But hey, soon will be the new Yo La Tengo, I'm just processing the album. It's...different. You'll see. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=61 Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 You know, this song is probably too easy a thing to post. But gah. I'm delicate this morning (see last post for details). http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=60 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And this is for the friend that I always think of when I hear this song. We're going to karaoke tonight. Oh yeeeeeah. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=59 Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Brighton and Hove's finest, but then, I don't think that would really take much. I've always been suspicious of Brighton, y'see. It's a little too smug for my tastes. All those ex-Londoners moving in and colonising the place and thinking they're superior to everyone else for making an hour's commute back into town each day. And the beach! That's not a beach, it's a rude and dirty gash of pebbles seperating where the sea should rightfully be. Harumph! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=58 Fri, 08 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Thank you for your custom. Come again. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=57 Thu, 07 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 You can see the thinking behind this one quite quite clearly. "Well Hot Chip namechecked Prince and DFA namechecked Daft Punk, and both of their albums became classics of the genre so let's namecheck DFA in turn and all will be well." And so it came to pass. And lo! They were very very successful. Who can begrudge them that with a track like this one? Shame the rest of the album isn't quite as good though. Aww. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=56 Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Oh dear God. My head hurts. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=55 Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And now I sit on the bridges of London and think only of this song. Is that appropriate? Who knows. But it's the only song that's ever come close to encapsulating the essence of this city. The leaden skies and the weight of their movement crushing the shimmers of people below. The dirty whorls and eddies of the Thames churning like some rude challenge. Nick knows. I'm just glad someone noticed. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=54 Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Oh for the joys of Limewire and all the suprises it brings! I accidentally picked this up a couple of years ago while surfing for rare Belle and Sebastian tracks. It was innapropriately labelled, but erm, distracting, all the same. What can I say? I have a Spanish boyfriend. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=53 Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Fact: Originally, I thought that the lyrics to this song are 'The English motorway system is beautiful and straight'. Rather, it is 'beautiful and strange'. I think I prefer my take a little more, given that it implies a brutal, yet perfect efficiency, but then, who am I to argue? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=52 Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Yes! Yes! Yes! I haven't wanted to dance so much in a long long time. This song is such a happy happy bastard. It reminds me of trains and summer and fields and home and boys and fun and a million other things unconnected to London town. And futhermore, it's a clap-along barn stormer! Yes! Yes! Yes! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=51 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Bombs are falling. And this, the soundtrack. Explosions, and lights streak the dawn sky. And no-one cares. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=50 Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 It isn't big. And it isn't clever. But it made me laugh. So there. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=49 Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 It's beautiful, yes. But listen carefully - they're a shallow pair and no mistake. They don't care about the young folks and they don't care about the old folks. Let no amount of jaunty whistling blind you to that fact. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=48 Fri, 25 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And this my dear, is dedicated to the summer that never came. To the sun that never shone. To the way it had to be. I should really move to Spain. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=47 Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Do you mind that I don't blog the latest, freshest, hottest tunes? I don't know if I should be pushing myself harder or something. I mean, take this track, I love it, and it's great, but I heard it way after the event. Long after the ship had sailed and the horse had bolted. Does that make me a bad man? Answers on a postcard. Or who knows, even an email. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=46 Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I'm with stupid. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=45 Tue, 22 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Hey, that song sounds familiar! Yes. Because it's another cover version. Cha'mone! This time taken from a whole compliation of free Belle & Sebastian cover versions available at kirstenspostcard.com, the link's below, so click, click, click away my unruly charges. This is my favourite of the bunch, it's respectful of the original, but also features a slight, lo-fidelity, electronic whirring buried in the mix, which you know I cannot resist. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=44 Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Casiotone! Ho! Why have I not posted any CFTPA on my blog before now? How queer. His throbbing, fragile electro beats piped through tinny speakers and back are one of my favourite things in the whole wide world. His weary, broken voice narrating the minutae of the love lives of bored, disillusioned twenty-somethings. I will fix this injustice now and post something lovely. Casiotone! Ho! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=43 Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 There are a number of things that I want for my funeral. First amongst these is a cortege of ten, perhaps twelve black horses with grand plumes of ostrich feather and a fine lick of spittle about the bits of their bridles. Weeping women to be employed so as to add a little gravitas to proceedings as the grim spectacle wound its way through the village streets. Nobody would be permitted to say 'let's have a celebration, it's what he would have wanted'. Because it would be terribly, horribly untrue. And lastly, I want this song playing. It's funny. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=42 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 'Lepidoptera - An order of insects, characterised by the possession of a spiral proboscis, and of four large more or less scaly wings. It includes the well-known butterflies and moths.' I didn't know that until today. But I did know that this song makes me go wheeeeeeeeeeeee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=41 Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 The concept is simple. If I get no sleep, you get no explanation. Capiche? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=40 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Awwww. This song should be played at the end of any compilation/film. It's perfect for a gradual panning shot across the detritus of some frantic scene the night before. The twisted and broken bodies of pretty young hipsters rousing themselves, groggy, and bringing themselves up to full height and staggering dazed through a doorframe into white light and cut. So...why was it track four on their album? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=39 Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 A soothing, lilting slice of off-kilter electronica for you this morning. It is a monday after all, and the body needs shaking gently to wake it. Let's do that now. Mmmm. That's better. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=38 Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Don't speak. There's nothing much to say. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=37 Sat, 12 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Who doesn't enjoy a hymn now and then? Maybe it's the experience of growing up in rural England and going to a church-run primary, but there's something safe and oddly reassuring about happy-clapping stories of cute little animals helping out the lil' baby Jesus. Hmmm. Better remind me to post something vile and offensive tomorrow eh? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=36 Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Woah, for a moment there, I went off in some sort of electro-fuelled tangent. Spinning off on the rippling bass and ever insistent 4-4s. But time to end all that. Here's Oh No! Oh My! with one of their own compositions called 'The Backseat'. Maricones, un applausa! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=35 Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Air-lifted from the muddled murk of my new Cassette Boy compilation (always good for a laugh, I do recommend) - comes this cautionary tale of one man going gay...and erm...actually quite liking it. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this track - a helpline is available. Just get in touch with your stats, age/sex/location and a photo of yourself and I'll...see what I can do. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=34 Wed, 09 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 You know about Lo-Fi-Fnk right? You're aware of their poppy, infectious beats and undiluted good-time atmosphere huh? Yes? Then all is good, I was just making sure. No? Then why ever not? They're a couple of Swedish beauties and you should make them your favourite party band immediately. Huzzah! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=33 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 The robots like to touch! The robots like to touch! My God they are filthy! Transistors are where they shouldn't be, and logic switches are being flipped all over the place. Man. That's some good loving. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=32 Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 No, no. I honestly agree... http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=31 Sun, 06 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 It's the return of the gurgling robots at the Lovely Party. And how we enjoy their happy ways! See as they walk with their funny little walks and dance with their funny little tin arms a-flailin' about from here and there. Wheeeeeeeeee! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=30 Sat, 05 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 My one complaint about dance music in general is it's utter lack of soul. Sure, I know it's not really a complete package listening to it in a temperate state and that, actually, it is fit for purpose (namely being a aural pad for the munted, gurning youth of this, our fine nation), but man, it takes a special song to rise above it's humble roots and connect with me in 'peace-time', as it were. So I guess it's odd that I love this track so much. I mean, it's bleaker than a Northern winter, and the lyrics sung in such a apathetic manner, and yet, and yet...I dance. What is up with that? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=29 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Cover versions and remixes. Isn't that what little blogs are made of? This particular remix is a tightened up version of the beautiful Window Licker. And although it lacks that disjointed 'mmmmmm' noise, sorta like a confused bee, that dances gaily through the original and makes it so compelling, it's the little stabs of familiar noise and random, I'm figuring, German woman more than compensate. Enjoy my little lovelies. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=28 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I didn't know this track existed until yesterday, when I found it at the Motel De Moka. It made me giggle with joy and clap my hands with unrestrained glee. I'm imagining that it's terribly poor form to post it on my site almost immediately after it's appeared on someone else's, but who cares when it's a curio piece this necessary? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=27 Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Today is National Cliche Day in Britain. Did you not know? What were you thinking? Anyway. In tribute of this auspicious day, I present the most obvious post that one can imagine upon an MP3 blog. A cover version! Yes! And by Final Fantasy! Heaven forfend! I really should try harder. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=26 Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And here may I warmly present to you a squalid little track with an East End bedsit bassline that hits on you like a glue-sniffin' someone trying to claw their way into your pants/panties. Hell, this track probably enjoys sniffing your hair while you're sprawled unconcious on the sofa at a house-party. It's a grubby little number and no mistake guv'nor. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=25 Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Ok. I know what you're thinking. 'The Beautiful South? Jeez man, what are you trying to do to me? They're pathetic.' And true enough, that is what they have become over years and over time. But to be honest, I really used to like them. Back at the beginning when they formed from the ashes of the Housemartins. Yes, I was about ten when this came out, but that didn't stop me from appreciating that wilting guitar and messed up vocal. I challenge you to listen now and not like it. This is because it is very very good. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=24 Sun, 30 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Oops. Apologies for lateness, but I was in the Shire. Yorkshire that is. And beatuiful though it is, it doesn't alter the fact that it is, at least for me, sans broadband. For shame! But still, when there, I have access to the older part of my collection, wherein lie the 'forgotten gems'. Like this b-side from Swedish alt-rock pin-ups Whale. Any song that features the KLF and Kiki Dee wins in my book. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=23 Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Casual misogyny from the hot pretty mouth of a strong feminist voice. And all in the name of her 'heros' Chas and Dave. Such delicious ironies! Such a complex affair. Was she serious? Did she really mean it? And how wonderful is it when she says 'ghurrrrrls'? Discuss. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=22 Fri, 28 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 'Silver Apples is an organic mechanism composed of the Simeon and the Taylor Drums.' This song is from 1968. Remeber that. 1968. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=21 Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I don't know what they are saying. And I'll never know. But the effect that is has on a listener is quite something. Vocal jump cuts and glitches glitches glitches. A delicate tracery of disperate elements held together - somehow. These are the things that make the world spin round. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=20 Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 If I had been just a little bit smarter, just a tad more prepared, I could have presented a scatologically themed selection this week. What with Mu throwing up and now Fischerspooner on the john, I just needed to throw in a little Add N to (x) for the hot n' sticky sex scenes and Throbbing Gristle for the dried flecks of blood inching up the wall. You could have had it all people! What good luck that you didn't! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=19 Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 'Eeeeeemagggggiiinnnneeeee allll theeee peeeeeople...' Yes. Quite. Exactly. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=18 Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 All praise dischordia! All praise ill-tempered piano stabs that stray wide of the mark - hitting where they ought not. And paranoid lyrics, praise them too, for they are always 'well informed'. A thought: this should be the anthem for file-swappers and MP3 posters everywhere. After all, 'they know about you and i...' http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=17 Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 This was my first experience of the Dirty Three. I'd first heard of them through my period of obsessional Nick Cave worship and been meaning to pick up something of theirs for years. It took the UFKUKO EP to break me in. And what a first night it was, all sweeping majesty and gradual crescendos. I remember afterward, lighting a cigarette and feeling that everything might turn out alright. It might be ok. And the stars wheeled about the window. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=16 Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 The best part of this song is when it ends. And I don't mean that badly, it's just that at the end is when the "oh-oh-ohs" and "ah-ah-ahs" kick in. And there's nothing I like more than a hint of tra-la-la and do-wap. Why is that? I wish I knew. Answers on a postcard I guess. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=15 Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Self explanatory. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=14 Thu, 20 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Oh Tree Wave! You and your gurgling dot-matrix music harkens back to a time when technology was more a slow-witted friend, and less an inescapable mire of linked databases threatening to curtail all human liberty. Then, technology came poured into cassette tapes and calculators - and was soft and warm and fuzzy. Let us relive that time now, and let us be quick, for the machines...my god...they're here at my door! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=13 Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I arrived just as Eric's Trip was coming down. So it's hard for me to know exactly how influential they were in their time. But I want them to have been huge - after all they certainly were in my life. This track forms the most perfect closing to an album I've heard in all my days. It's just so, satisfying. And sappy. Everyone on the internet who has reviewed the album that it is taken from, Love Tara, recounts the same story of accidentally stumbling across the album and being forever transfixed by it's warmth and delicate layers of tape hiss. If I'm truthful, it's probably because of this album that lofi exists on the lovelyparty scale and for that you should all be thankful. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=12 Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I like Louie Austen. I like his voice. And I love his records. But it always puzzles me why this guy is doing what he's doing in them. I can't, for some awful reason, shake the feeling that someone, somewhere is trying to have a joke at his expense. My strongest evidence of this is the cover for Easy Love on Kitty-Yo - I mean, why is he dressed in a white-tux in a toilet with the unshakeable connotation that he's out to cruise some cock? That isn't post-modern. Or ironic. I'd say it's more, erm, degrading? Our elders are our betters aren't they? Hmmm. Still, no exploitation on this mix by Snr Malente. It's a lil' cutie. Oh yeah. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=11 Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 These days, it's far too easy to laugh off anything that might be considered anti-social in art / music. One hundred years plus of cheap shock-tactics by fevered enthusiasts of knocking the status quo has jaded near everyone's pallet. The annual, almost ritualistic, proclamations of stunned outrage at the Turner Prize entries is proof enough. Those c-c-c-c-rrrazy bohemians and their self-publicising ways! You can almost hear the collective sound of eyeballs scraping about their sockets whenever the story appears on the news. But then of course - there are some people whose work you cannot ignore. People who refuse to give that knowing wink or nod that lets an audience know that 'it's OK, it's just part of the persona'. Throbbing Gristle are definitely that 'wrong' sort of person. Their work is horror film made pop. But why? As some sort of comment? As a tool with which to offend? Or are they just genuinely messed up? You decide! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=10 Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 'Cornfields in every direction, no sound of a train' reads the liner notes. And who am I to disagree? http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=9 Sat, 15 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I hate to admit it, though I wasn't overly impressed with 10th Avenue Freakout, the last album from the ever-esteemed Fog. Which is disappointing given that this is the first track from it. It promised so much, there I was waiting in line for my 'hunting with avant-garde time-waster' licence, only to find out it cost too much. Ho-hum. But this track is lovely regardless of the rest of the album. Just wait for the trumpet to kick in - you'll know when you hear it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=8 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 And it's the witching hour and you're out-of-doors, you silly silly fool. And you're scared - and with good reason - for listen! What's that approaching from the black of the wood? Slowly a figure lurches unevenly forward and you can see the blurred out form of some J-horror ghost, all lank of hair and broken of limb. Clicking, always clicking, she approaches. But hey, she doesn't want to maim you in some awful retribution for her being thrown down a well, no, now you can see that she just wants to seduce you! To possess you! Hear her soft disjointed lilt quicken. Feel her bony finger stubs as they stroke through your sweat-matted hair. And then oh, oh, mmmmmmm, she's gone, leaving you with naught but the sad realisation that you're fondling the corpse of some unremembered lover. And don't you get off on it. Off on it. Off on it. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=7 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 If you plan on reading this site for any length of time, you'll have to get used to songs like this. Unnervingly glum sentiments wrapped in a sweet and syrupy confection so as you don't notice / choke on your tears. Oh wow, I guess a spoonful of sugar really does make the medicine go down. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=6 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Praise the bodymachine. A machine of perfect efficiency in which the laws of thermodynamics are cruelly cheated. A machine that spins and whirs with pistons flexing about filled lymphatic chambers. It is methodical and exact! It is warm and unsentimental! And this, this is it's unquestionable soundtrack. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=5 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 I once watched a programme with Harry Enfield describing his 'loadsamoney' character - you know the one, big thick jacket, cocky posture, vacant eyes and a thick bundle of twenty pound notes extended toward you. Anyway, he was expounding his firmly held belief that the most successful comedy characters are the ones where the brunt of the joke actually comes to identify with the character and see it as a glowing endorsement of their lifestyle. Vicky Pollard being widely loved by the chavs that she is supposed to satirise being a more recent example of this phenomenon. Well this song is most certainly along similar lines. I can well imagine the coked-up dregs of Brighton town rubbing their grubby hipster-faces across dusted mirror tiles while this song leers in the background. All together now - blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=4 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Yo La Tengo are wonderful. This is a fact. This is a stone cold truth. And they are at their most majestic when they choose to stretch out a song into a slow-kindling flame that gradually and quite purposefully envelopes all. The beauty of songs like this is their ability to work me up like no other. Just when you think it can't get any better, when you think that the song has hit it's peak, another element is dropped into the fray. Joy! Joy! Joy! http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=3 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 Nothing says 'Dear Lord, I'm avant-garde!' more than bursts of choppy glitches and lyrics that ripple with vague dark threats against a mother and her child. And so it is with great joy that I offer up this curio piece of minimal electronica from one Ivan Pavlov aka Coh. 'A Russian-born sound artist and engineer who currently works and resides in Sweden' as it usefully notes on discogs.com. 'Daddy loves you, but he can't love what he can't have...' Indeed. http://www.lovelyparty.co.uk/archive.php?mynumber=2