Have I ever told you that I love Los Campesinos? They’re such a delightfully fun band, poppy and spunky with lots of clever singalong bits that get even better when you start paying attention the lyrics. Now Hold On Youngsters… is one of my favourite albums of the last few years. Their new album, Romance is Boring, hasn’t entirely grabbed me yet, but I’ve only been listening for a few days. There are definitely a few winners so far – “We need more post-coital and less post rock; the buildup takes forever, but you never touch my cock” – and I am in love with the title track.
The video, incidentally, is directed by Alex de Campi, who has written some pretty good comics like Smoke with Igor Kordey.
Speaking of favourite albums, Lucky Soul‘s The Great Unwanted is a modern classic, a gorgeous mix of stylishly updated retro pop. They have a new album coming out some time this year, and the first single, White Russian Doll, is fantastic.
For a while, it seemed like everyone was talking about Lady Gaga, and I had no idea what anyone was talking about. I really didn’t get it; yes, she wore some weird stuff, but the music sounded like every other pop song out there. (I’m sure you’ve already seen it, but Christopher Walken’s Poker Face is excellent.)
Then Bad Romance came out. I found myself compelled to watch the video because everyone was talking about it and I felt I should at least know what I was ignoring. But holy shit: this is some crazy performance art rock star stuff. There’s being weird, and then there’s this.
It helps that the song is killer.
Lastly, let’s chalk up another win for the Power of Twitter. I really dig Neil Gaiman, and he was one of the first people I followed on Twitter when I started using it. At some point, started dating Amanda Palmer, of the Dresden Dolls, who I’d heard of but wasn’t particularly familiar with. This inevitably led to them tweeting back and forth, and eventually to them getting engaged. They are really as adorable and interesting a Twitter couple as you are likely to meet, and it’s not just because I really dig Neil Gaiman: Palmer is engaging and entertaining on her blog and on Twitter, and I was following before I’d really listened to her music. Her account of attending the Golden Globes with Gaiman is great fun.
Anyway: It turns out her music is pretty darn good, too. No one sounds quite like she does – who else plays Radiohead covers on a ukulele? I’m particularly enamoured of Oasis, which is gloriously insane and toe-tappingly tragic. It’s probably not safe for work, if you work for Sarah Palin.
(There is, unsurprisingly, a story about the reaction to the song & video, if you’re interested.)