Almost Tropical

Just Plain Foxy

2010-03-11T03:57:00.000-08:00

In case anyone is stopping by here, i've set up a new blog home at Just Plain Foxy. Thanks for checking and hope to see you over there.

Kings + Queens

2009-12-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Bit excited about upcoming events including a dj set in 2 sleeps time at .HBC for their New Years Eve King + Queens ball. Meself and Katja are "manning" the ahem, "Pink Room". (Big thanks to Glamcanyon). Our dj set is scheduled for 11 - 2 AM slot. Apparently the tickets for the night are selling like hot cakes, and Princess Superstar is part of the line-up, she is mega. I saw her dj-ing at Berlin Festival and her set was a ton of fun. This time she's listed as performing live, either way I hope I get a chance to see a bit of her show - she's great!

Katja has been cooking up some hot visuals:

NYE at .HBC Berlin - 4th teaser from katja hentschel on Vimeo.

Tickets are €15 or €12 presale if you stop by during office hours:
28.-30.12.2009
12:00-18:00
.HBC
Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 9
10178 Berlin

Now, must get cracking on my costume!
xx

Come on baby I got a licence for love

2009-08-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well now, well now, well now.

I self prescribed a movie night for myself but there are just too many 80s jazzercise videos on youtube and friends joining twitter to concentrate any further.

Since I last wrote a post I djed at Berlin Festival. See for yourself: (it really kicks off around the 40 second mark)

Tempelhof airport is AMAZING. It was a STUNNING location. TOo bad the sound was shite in the hangar and there was nowhere to sit down. People were literally hanging off window ledges to give their tired legeens a rest.

I was blown away and blinded by Health. Their live show is thrilling. We interviewed them at Motor FM the next week and BJ told me about a bunker at Mauer Park that I didn't know about. Jake saw the Cardigans on our playlist and said he wouldn't mind to play that cos he likes them...I still don't know if he was being serious or not. Also enjoyed but mainly felt sad watching Micachu from the window of my ~~prison~~ dancefloor where i was tethered to the dj decks in the "Air Base One" room, with the most amazing view of the festival grounds and the outside stage and yes I did line up a Micachu song to play while she was performing with her shapes. Well it was actually one of those luxury spoilt rotten jails because I had my own personal lighting and smoke machine dude for the WHOLE NIGHT. Three hours of swirly effects and haze for about 30 people. Nobody wanted to be inside, and noone could find the fecking dancefloor either, there were no signs.

Looks like I will get to dj at the Health show on October 22nd. My first time djing in Westgermany!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where were you?

2009-06-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

Erm, don't tell anyone i'm staying in on a Saturday night. well in Berlin, pretty much Monday to Friday is Saturday night. I had my big night night out on Thursday anyway..It was after Ze had played her fun glam-pop set, in defiance of the raised eyebrows and small crowd at White Trash. Can you imagine? This indian chick in a gold barely there bikini getting crunk in the White Trash restaurant.

Well we were eating "fuck you fries" and sipping "roller girls" and a figure walked purposefully towards the stage and announced over the mic that Michael Jackson had been reported to have had a heart attack and died. Our first instinct was to go and get totally wasted. I was out with my friend Jay and we were across from 8MM where he had never been, so we gathered our belongings and moved on. Actually my first instinct was to check my phone in case the guy at the mic was a joker, i had more than a few messages and they all said the same thing. It turns out I know the barman at 8MM and when i go to the bar to order we clarify that strong drinks are needed. 8MM is full of the usual suspects, the wierdo in the corner, the arguing couple, the dj who looks like she floated off the set of the Virgin Suicides, the drunk scumbag, the barman who's real job is his band, and the circle of bandmates gushing over new song ideas and taking care of business when the scumbag opens his mouth. He was manhandled out of there faster than you can say "Be quiet scumbag".

Hangover of doom the next day, i still made it into work and out to dj at Death by Pop later on Friday night. I played a few MJ tunes and just..felt sad. It's a strange feeling because it's not like I ever knew Michael Jackson. but it must be the same feeling that nearly broke the internet when so many people googled to find out if it was true and the same feeling why everyone is buying up his records. So I never knew him, but he's always been there, grabbing his crotch and tipping his hat, ever since I can remember. I looked at my friend Sven's blog tonight and his post says it all, pop is over.

Watch "the Making of Thriller"

BABY BABY BABY

2009-06-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Yes no yes no yes no. The sun in Berlin can't make up her mind. Thankfully today was YES to the 24th degree. it could only be honoured with going for a jar after work. There's one more nice day this week: 2moro. I'll be holed up in the White Trash office for one half of it and Motor FM studio for the second half. BUT hopefully i'll be exchanging emails with Dita Von Teese (or someone very close to her hehe) and having a chat with the Cheap Freaks, the actual men themselves, so it's for a good cause. Rumour is they will do an acoustic set for our show! Should be airing on Motor FM next Wednesday July 1st! They're from Dublin aswell so i'm a bit exirah at all the hometown slang. "the lads" "defo", "mad egg". These were not all uttered in the same sentence, but if they were, it would go something like:

"the lads are defo coming out tonight, watch out for anto, he's a mad egg!"

Ummmm next week I hope Berlin will be ready with open arms because Appaloosa is sweeping into town to perform at the Bread + Butter / Vice party at - yay the MICHELBERGER hotel.

this is ZE!:

On Thursday, come out and see her perform the FIRST of a few shows she's doing in Berlin over the next few weeks. First stop White Trash Thurs June 26th, next day LUX on Friday July 25th, then Villa Wednesday July 1st then somewhere "TBC" on July 4th. "You can call me Ze, VERY BI-ZE" Get it? Busy? Busy..girl..yup..

Where do you run to

2009-06-21T13:22:00.001-07:00

the Cheap Freaks played an electrifying set last night at White Trash. They even have one song that goes something (with more words) like "Freddy / Frightening / Hit by lightning". Coincidentally the sun burned out in a blaze of orange tonight (sun set around 9.30 today) plus a wierd rainstorm, the rain looked all slanty, as if there was a garden hose aimed at Berlin from somewhere. Now thunder and lightning and I'm making miso soup. June? Nearly July? Hmm..

I hope this week we can set up a last minute gig so that the Cheap Freaks can play one more time before they head home! and that we can get them into the studio for an interview. They're here to record an album so will be busy lads! Their first set was ferocius and they were brave and played lots of new songs in their second set.

Word to your moms, Shane is back in B-town. Watch our for glorious coverage of wonderous Berlin gigs. Dawn gave me a free cupcake at Cupcake today. She spoils us rotten!!!! This photo is from a previous Cupcake outing, but you get the idea!

Things to do before we die

2009-06-20T04:59:00.001-07:00

Woke up to a phonecall from Shaun Humanzi wondering about back line for the gig at White Trash tonight. Cheap Freaks are playing. They're over here from Dublin for a few days, "I'm avoiding them.." he said, "they've been on the piss for the last 10 hours, I live here, they don't". hahaha.

Last night at Death by Pop we had a benefit for Duncan from Virgin Tongues since he is recovering from a terrible sleepwalking accident. (If you can imagine sleepwalking out of a window four stories off the ground..). I had the honour of playing "6 Feet Underground" and it gave me the shivers. Probably wasn't the most "appropriate" choice of song given the circumstances, but it's one of their best. I think the CD i had was a demo so it sounded a bit rough but still amazing. You can get the shivers too, they finally added it to their myspace page here. There doesn't seem to be any news updates there, just the telling sign that something is wrong by their "cancelled" dates.

Last night before Death by Pop I stopped by Superstore. My friend Asta has opened her very own vintage store, it's amazing!!!! She has had one of the best vintage stands at Mauer Park for years, and now she's going official, with the help of a few friends. Upstairs is a cafe with specially curated art works and furniture (which you can buy of course). I had my eye on the couch with the tropical parrot theme, oh yes. We were served free strawberry cocktails and morrocan chicken, it was a treat.

The vintage area down the steep steps (do not drink too many strawberry cocktails and then attempt those stairs let me tell you!) is STUNNING. This team of kids totally transformed the previous grotty basement to a very not grotty impeccably stylish emporium. They came up with their own AWESOME designs to decorate the walls including huge Egytpian style heiroglyphics and painted on purple leopard print, YES I SAID PURPLE LEOPARD PRINT! It's glorious! I wish i had taken photos, but if you are in Berlin you can just go there: Alsmtadt str. 43. Can't miss it. *Nice one, there are photos on Garbage Dress blog HERE!

Also I just came across a link to the Michelberger Hotel. We had some free drinks there a few weeks ago for a Vice party : ) Well heck it looks like it's gonna be a very cool place, follow the blog as they are still undertaking the refurbishments and looks like they're having a lot of fun doing so! It's all buying lotso f old school furniture, atlases, making lamps out of books and I'm sure tons of hard work and elbow grease. The website is fun - do not even think about clicking "skip" on the intro.

take care y'all.

WHO CAN SAY

2009-04-24T08:05:00.001-07:00

wow wow wow i just keeping saying it over and over

the Horrors are back!!!! really back. not just oh look there's a new Horrors album out.

a few weeks ago i was invited by Motor FM to interview Faris and Josh at the last minute. too last minute and i couldnt get off work. but they did a trailer for our show. a very sardonic and giggly trailer.

cant get over how great the video for WHO CAN SAY is:

Who Loves You Mary

2009-04-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Maybe FOX MACHINE does. Playing LIDO April 25th!

Other exciting gigs in Berlin very soon:

Health - May 3rd Berghain Cantine
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - May 6th
Pj Harvey and John Parish - MOVED TO A BIGGER VENUE YAY!!! - Astra, May 7th
Bell X1 - May 7th Bang Bang Club
Bat for Lashes - May 12th Postbahnhof

Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Reeeeeeecaaaaaaap!!

2009-02-08T17:10:00.001-08:00

I did my first "real" interview for Motor FM on Saturday!!! When I say "real" I mean in the swinging the microphone over and back between me and a dj/producer, sitting on a couch in an empty venue hours before the record release party of his 6 years in the making project, which happens to be an album with EVERYONE on it, from Karen O to Tom Waits, Ghostface Killah, Lykke Li, Kanye West and everybody else ever. I was n-n-n-ervous but Ez from N.A.S.A was a pro even though the first party of the tour had been the night before in London and he'd only had a couple of hours sleep. We started late so we didn't have as much time as planned for, but we chatted for 15 minutes "on the record" about the mighty "Spirit of Apollo"; of course when I switched off the recorder we kept talking and it was even better talking than when the mic had been switched on.

Ez aka DJ Zegon and Sam {Squeak E Clean - bro of Spike Jonze omg} are some of the last people to have worked with ODB before he passed away, the track "Strange Enough" was one ODB worked on especially with them - it's not some found material that they fandangled into something "new". And Karen O's snarling drawl on the chorus is the most perfect match.

"Spirit of Apollo" is seriously the stunt of the year. In the beginning Ez and Sam sat down and wrote their wishlist of dream artists to work with for this project, Ez said they got 80% of those people. James Brown was on that list, unfortunately he passed away before they could get started.

Ez just took a month break (6 years work in progress remember) to hang out on the beach in Sao Paulo before starting the tour this week, when he only got his hands on the finished record itself. He could have had it sooner if Sam mailed it to him from LA, but Ez told him he wanted to wait til they reunited in London for the start of the tour so that Sam could pass it directly into Ez's hands. (This was my favourite part of the interview, when Ze said that).

Some of the best tracks are "Whatchadoin" - feat M.I.A, Spank Rock, Santogold & Nick Zinner and "Hip Hop" - feat KRS-One, Fat Lip and Slim Kid Tre, has one of best raps ever making fun of so-called hip hop culture.

This project is HUGE. They're still adding footage from the release tour for the documentary coming soon. Plus, amazing artists have created the videos for each track, plus there will be a remix album. PLUS there's a hidden track!

I'm not sure when/if the interview will air > the guys at Motor fm still have to listen to it and edit if they can salvage anything!

Return of excellent blogger dude alert!

2009-01-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

Indie christoph is back updating, regularly for 13 posts now since coming back in January two-thousand-and-fine. The blog is sexy and - indie christoph is your friend!

The news i have to report from the weekend includes a 6 foot blonde adonis dancing for 7 hours straight at Death by Pop. As luck would have it, Jack, a model from Melbz, Australia who had just arrived to Berlin on Friday night, walked in the club just as i pressed play on "Into the Galaxy". Crazy dancing ensued, and he nearly hopped over the dj booth in the excitement for hearing Ladyhawke, yelling that he'd seen her play live and that i was "a better dj than the whole of Australia". haha! Also, another Australian guy came up and asked "how do you know about these Australian bands?!" Does Australia not know that we know what they know?! Anyway, the more Australian people on the dancefloor, the AWESOMER, because the German kids sometimes don't really even like hearing music like Ladyhawke, Midnight Juggernauts or Cut Copy. I'm happy to play song requests but the buck stops at Mando Diao or Pigeon Detectives, sorry German kids. (I know Ladyhawke is from New Zealand, but so far only Australianers have come running up to me all excited because I played one of her songs. I don't know where the New Zealanders are at?!).

I djed at White Noise on Saturday night as a last minute thing. Some boys from VICE UK were part of the dj line up too and were almost giggling with glee about all the fun they were having in Berlin for the fist time ever and djing at White Noise. Apparently Peaches was in attendance - she will dj there in a few weeks time. Also there will be a dj set from the Sex Pistols in the near future.

In case you were wondering, it's not minus eleven anymore, we've warmed up to a toasty one degree.

I forgot to report back about last weekend. Well I got to make Lo Fi Fnk dance to Kylie. They were in town to do some partying and came to dj at Death by Pop. They had the downstairs area and it was great. Lots of sexy Swedish people also came out to dance. They ran out of music around 2.30 so I was invited to take over and they were awesome and stayed to dance. Best interpretive dance moves ever!

I just realised I missed the Animal Collective concert tonight, so I'm off to go and sulk about that...

Dancing Therapy

2009-01-03T17:19:00.001-08:00

Flipping heck I have to find a very nice outfit for the GLAMCANYON PARTY DURING BERLIN FASHION WEEK!!! I will be a dj there, djing for the people. The party will be at Villa and the SEXUS, NEXUS and COMPLEXUS ladies are coming from London to dj aswell.

The first Glamcanyon party was in London on December 9th, and it was a mega affair. The joint was called "THE LAST DAYS OF DECADENCE" (can you believe such a place exists?) on Shoreditch High St. There was gold on the ceiling, art deco mirrors and when Kat Walks asked for a strip pole for the dancefloor, SHE GOT ONE. There was a make out room. Some other Berliners were there too including Max Krefeld, who you may know from his amazing dancefloor twirls, or music projects Appaloosa, Candyblasta and Casper who you may know as the angel who took your 6 euros at the door at Picknick once upon a time. Max did not disappoint on the dancefloor, and neither did Casper for that matter, dancing with a horseriding helmet.

Some fond memories of the night...

{all photos © Glamcanyon}

Two thousand and great

2009-01-01T22:51:00.001-08:00

This year I was totally corrupted by pop music. My friend Robbie did his top 10 and i thoroughly agree with half of his final 10, and have yet to discover the other half. I'm ashamed to admit i bought the Sons and Daughters album on vinyl but haven't listened to it yet! HOW EMBARRESSING!

A friend wrote me a note on Last fm asking what my top 10 of 2008 was, and i took up quite a bit of his page trying to answer. So i thought i would rephrase my comment in an exciting blog post!

One of the highlights of this year for me was REX THE DOG. I thought I didn't know who Rex was, but he was known as JX in the 90's and actually produced alot of 90's hits. Seriously, go to Youtube and look up JX and get your 90's dance on. This guy kept Long Wave Atlantic 252 running, for serious (DO YOU REMEMBER LISTENING TO LONG WAVE ATLANTIC 252????)

{Will this work? I'll post a hype machine search for each song or maybe a video.}

I can see you, can you see me? (hypem search) Seems to be alot of remixes for that one..

Kylie - In My Arms (hypem search) - dance or don't bother breathing in my direction

One time i decided to go to sweden for a holiday, to see the Shout Out Louds play in Stockholm. One marracas concussion and a year later i returned there to Gothenburg to see Lykke Li play a festival. My mouth was literally watering at the thought of seeing her live, I'd actually heard one of her songs while waiting for the Shout out Louds to come on that first time in Sweden. the dj was playing 7 inches and when this eerie beautiful song came on I ran over to ask him who it was and even though he pointed to the name and said it in my ear a few times i didn't have a fucking clue how i could remember it, and promptly forgot. In Swedish her name is pronounced like "luckily". Good, because saying "licky lee" is just GROCE and WRONG people! (I sincerely hope I'm right about the pronunciation..)

After seeing her live, I can assure you that all that spit was not in vain. Goddamn this girl, she has the wierdest singing voice, she is fierce on stage, she writes heartbreaking songs and SHE CAN RAP.

The video for "I'm good I'm gone" features SWEDISH MUSICAL ROYALTY including Lykke Li herself, plus Robyn, some guys from Shout out Louds, the Concretes and god knows who else is drinking the tap water (It is the tap water, have you tasted it?)

Friendly Fires are winners on several levels. Their front man who wears high waisted tight pants and sparkly jumpers can dance like a fool and sing beautifully and the overall effect is rather smashing.

Friendly Fires - Jump in the pool

Magic Wands - Teenage Love
If im djing i love to play this song at the start of the night when nobody is on the dancefloor yet.

If Ladyhawke hadn't set the world on fire I would have died a little inside (not because of her, because of the bad, bad world). THANK GOODNESS FOR LADYHAWKE! Have you seen the artwork on the album? Up close? Cats dressed up as ghosts in white sheets with holes for the eyes! it's the best ever.

Ladyhawke - My Delerium

You should definitely who La Roux is:

La Roux - Fascination (hypem search)

True beauty sung by bearded men - White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes (hypem search)

Anoraak - Talking in your sleep. (hypem search) A most excellent cover version. Relish it, or the original by the Romantics:

I'll go out on a good one. Metronomy - Thing for me. AND it's a karaoke theme video (keep watching past the first 20 seconds, it's not just a pretend karaoke video!)

Not mentioned: Britney, Leona Lewis, that "It's too late to apologise" song and other embarressing titles.

Bedecked with bicycles

2008-12-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

I never really enjoyed a backlash before, but Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is nearly the ONLY song on the radio here in Ireland at the moment thanks to the offense taken by his fans at the recent version of "Hallelujah" covered by a singing reality tv star, who then actually released her reality tv version. The backlash brought Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah back up the charts, even though his version wasn't re-released, a Facebook group was of course set up, and it must have helped because he went to number 2. Ah there is too much information to sift through it all, Buckley's version already went to number one several months ago when it was sung by a different contestant on a different reality tv singing show.

So if i'm too lazy to dig through it all, I guess I just want to say that it's nice the radio stations are supporting Buckley's beloved version. It's a relief to hear him singing it rather than some bird off the telly. And if the nearly 150,000 members of that Facebook group are anything to go by, I'm not the only one..

Online downloads are tricky little things, from the percentage of the selling cost the artist actually receives, and the quality or usability of the track you buy...

I may have exaggerated a little about the 3 song playlist rotating on the airwaves at the moment. Another artist getting a few spins is Lisa Hannigan. Anyone who was in Ireland a few years ago (or anyone who watched the OC, or anyone, ever) amid the Damien Rice mania (Damania?!) will know Lisa's soft and haunting vocals. It's amazing to see what she is doing by herself. It feels like you can get a real sense of who she is by checking out her myspace, Lisa updates her own blog (check out her christmas post with a recipe for Mrs. Moynihans flapjacks, i'm sooo trying that) and her photos are class. Lisa on a hillside with some cows / lisa performing live / and my favourite - lisa lepping about with an umbrella. (Just looking at the photos agin now it just struck me that she could be Cat Power's Irish cousin).

I'm really excited now to get my hands on her first album, when I do a bit of shopping in Dublin on my way back to Berlin. It just came out a few months ago, "Sea saw" is the name of it, and when the radio show starts back again in the new year (January 5th) I will definitely add some songs to our track list.

xo

FASCINATION

2008-12-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

Time to dust of ye olde blog. I've been blessed with a two week holiday for the christmas time and I am very excited to go home to Ireland and revel in the recession.

Tomorrow i have an afternoon flight so I am just packing at the moment (3.22am), the only things i have to pack are DIRTY CLOTHES. One of my favourite things to do is laundry, but I guess I haven't been indulging myself lately. I almost turned the washing machine on just there, but it IS the middle of the night, so I guess i'll wait til tomorrow. I'm making some mix cds to give as prezzles and one song I'm so excited to sneak on there is the Friendly Fires cover of Lykke Li's "I'm Good I'm Gone". Good job Friendly Fires! Achtung! They are playing in Berlin on March 7th in Bang Bang Club (that's a link).

How exciting about this new venue "Live at Dot" that has popped up in Kreuzberg?! There is an excellent burger eaterie at Schlesisches tor where good looking boys cook amazing burgers and chili fries. I went to visit them today to procure a cure for my hangover of doom, and in the display thing for flyers there was a set of cute looking flyers made on COFFEE FILTERS! NEAT! The information was stamped on and a little star was punched out. I was well impressed. I'm pencilling in the Sebastien Grainger date on Febuary 16th 2009. OH they're having a DFA label night with YACHT!!!!! (that's a link) 27th December, I'm not here but if you are you should go! Holy Ghost will dj and Moon Unit will also play.

Back to Sebastien Grangier (see photo). Did you know that Sebastian is one half of DFA 1979? And writes a food blog, Sebastien is delicious as well as being blessed with a voice of a hot guy in a band? Oh i just looked over at it and he hasnt updated it since August. But his last post does have a rather large paragraph dedicated to burgers. Yo Sebastien lets eat burgers when you're in town!

Hey this was fun. x

What a ho, What a tramp, What a slut

2008-09-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Russell Crowe wrote a letter to the Australian government assuring them that Snoop Dogg doesn't pose a threat to the country, since Snoop wasn't going to get a visa to enter the country and get his tour on, due to his criminal record. Well, that is funny.

Tilly and the Wall are back and they are really fierce! Before, they were fierce in a tapping, hand clapping kind of way. But now they're fierce like..handclaps and tapping plus swearwords and dirty guitars and bitches and hoes.

Great

2008-09-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

this week is pretty good. i tried to hook a few friends up with jobs, only took one day off work to recover from the zooommmbbbbiie flu and now i just saw this video:

:)

Scarytale

2008-09-06T15:43:00.001-07:00

a scary thing happened the other day. i was talking to a friend about a gig i'd been to a few months ago in Dublin, and i couldn't remember who the band was. i could remember the venue because it was the first night they were having a live band to play there, and it had sounded amazing. and i remembered that i randomly bumped into a friend i hadn't seen in years. ok it just came to be as i wrote this paragraph - sorry M83, you are amazing but the point is, i wanna try and keep track of the gigs i go to. i used to always look forward to writing about the night once i got home, i could never wait til the next day. but maybe i got stuck, it is very hard to write about music, almost impossible. but i guess that's the charm of it and you have to push yourself when writing to find highlights about the evening apart from pointing out how much you loved or hated the music...

there are some VERY GOOD CONCERTS coming up VERY SOON. there are even days this month when THREE VERY GOOD CONCERTS are all ON THE SAME NIGHT, hello September 24th.

Pete & the Pirates at Bang Bang Club
Futureheads at Knaack
Crystal Castles at Maria

Also won't be at home to answer the phone on the 23rd when Casiotone for the Painfully Alone plays at Westgermany, with support from Crayonsmith. And if I was here i'd be in a dither, i'll be away and not dithering but a bit sad i'm missing out on this night: Bon Iver plays at Postbahnhof and I'm from Barcelona play the Volksbuhne on September 28th.

Also going to start sending myself daily reminders about Metronomy on Oct 18 - must not book any flights out of the country or arrange to be anywhere else than inside Roter Salon wondering how they're gonna do the creaking door sample for Heartbreaker. Will they have a real live creaky door? With Metronomy I would not be surprised...

(by the way M83 are actually playing here Oct 14 in Lido)

i heard she broke your heart again..

2008-07-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

Metronomy have a song called Heartbreaker and it's breaking my heart.

Like on Friday night when I arrived at Tape to see Santogold without my ticket and c o u l d n ' t g e t i n. Yes i really did forget my ticket. Before that, I had also nearly got kicked off the line up at death by pop when i arrived late. The S Bahn tracks are all messed up, and if it hadn't been so upsetting in the end, it would have been sort of funny.

But who cares, let's not dwell on the heartbreak, except when Metronomy are singing about it. I found the mp3 at Have Fun Club, you should "find" it too...Is that really a squeaking door sample???

Also breaking my heart is church tax. Isn't that sexy. Now that i've been working freelance for a year and have just became an official employee, i'm all paying taxes and shit. i'm also definitely getting into heaven because the german church automatically help themselves to €50 every month. i can get out of it, but it means having to run around to several beaurocratic institutions to inform them, i probably also have to tell a priest that i'm quitting the church, that's going to be a sentence i never thought i'd learn in German.

Catch Me When I'm Falling

2008-07-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

What is going on around here? Alot of stuff. Santogold is coming to Berlin to play her first ever / only ever / pee your pants show in Germany tomorrow night right here in Berlin town! We are so lucky we have tickets we are going to see her, and her dancers, and the golden room of shields at Tape.

Another nice thing is Sunday's Best - an event by Wedding Dress & Street Clash, which is part of Berlin Fashion Week and has been curated by the inimitable Daryl of said blog, and also the best italo blog Radio No.1 (will forever be indebted to Radio No.1 for introducing me to the Passion Boys...Sally Shapiro and Fun Fun songs that I didn't know about, among others.) and I am kicking myself now because I was invited to take part and be a model but I said no. Well I said yes and then I said no. It would be so cool, but the the thought of walking down a runway in front of people..yikes. Yes, it's a concept show, Daryl says,

"I've rounded up twenty of the best dressed kids in Berlin and put them on the runway, where they will wear clothes entirely from their own closets. Berliner style in its purest form."

Sunday's Best, 20th July at Brunnenstr.64, see you there, but not on the runway * )

MELT is already happening next FRIDAY omg. Ladyhawke is playing live, so are the Teenagers and Kate Nash...and that's only 3 out of like, lots. It's gonna be dreamy! I even have a hotel room YO!!!! Maybe even breakfast included.

I must remember to organise festival necessities. I don't want to end up getting by with a pair o' wellies, some bananes and a rain mac in a bag to get me through the weekend. Actually I don't even have wellington boots. Let's see what happens..

Who Will Love You? Who Will Fight?

2008-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

OH crap. there are 3 very good music events on tonight (sunday). Bon Iver at Privatclub, Bishop Allen at Roter Salon and Sunset Rubdown at Tacheles. I would sincerely love to see each band. shite.

An Apparition of Twilight Visions

2008-05-19T14:26:00.001-07:00

Ok i nearly just booked a 300 euro flight to dublin to see Late of the Pier in Dublin this weekend. Cos i just found out they're playing with Midnight Juggernauts! But then I didn't because they (MJ) are in fact coming to Berlin real soon - June 15th, venue TBA. I think minus Late of the Pier, but hey.

Seriously though, i feel a strongly worded letter coming on. Something like:

dear Australian bands,

Please stop makin music videos that just show you playing your guitars and drums and trying to "sing sexy into the microphone". Ok? You are pretty sexy anyway, just don't over do it. Especially if you have facial hair.

Midnight Juggernauts - Into the Galaxy (video date Nov 07)

And more especially if you sort of look a bit the same as some other popular Australian bands that alreay made this kind of video.

Van She - Kelly (video date Oct 07)

And if you already DID make a flippin video like that, don't do another one, except this time with a black background. You aint foolin us...

new video for "Strangers" from Van She

and why do you mention "saturated fat" in your new song, eh?

Oh well. Australian music pretty much rules every dancefloor and mixtape being made right now!

It's Ok To Stay With You..

2008-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Teenagers are now accepting admissions for a music video for their new song "Feeling Better"..which is basically gonna be put together from footage submitted by their fans, i.e me and you and everyone we know.

"And if you need a band

Cause you wanna dance

Or missing a friend

Cause you don’t have any

Well we don’t care

Just buy our tshirts

And talk about us everywhere

If you wanna dance-dance-dance-dance-dance-dance-dance..."

Some of their previous music videos have been created by the amazing Kinga Burza and Caroline London. I am sure there is lots of inspiration in that video catalogue: making out, dancing, lollipops, rollerskates, hotpants...The amazing lyrics to "Feeling Better" are available on their myspace player, the brief for the video: you singing along to the song.

Hey I'm Real Upset

2008-05-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

I met up with my friend Sibilla this evening and while some crap German band played inside Maria, we took ourselves out to the moonlit "terrace" while Sibilla smoked a fag and i sipped an apfel-schorle. it turned out to be a dark, rat infested bench by the stagnant river. Ooh loverly! We discussed the merits of wearing white jeans and how good the new Late of the Pier song, FOCKER s. (That is just a link to the Myspace, where you can hear it. It is really good, it's out on Monday.) Look how excited they are about playing Dublin!

is that hard to see? well, there is an exclamation mark beside Dublin!

I wonder what is this "electronic music festival" they are lined up to play there. hmm?

Do you like to shake in your white denim? Please visit this blog post and download "shake shake shake" by White Denim.

Burn It All Down

2008-05-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

i'm pretending that i'm not gonna miss Surkin + Boys Noise, Soko and fucking SCANNERS this weekend. F U C K I N G H E L L ! Tonight I was offered the chance to dj at the Scanners gig. Oh shit. But taking some time out in London is worth it no matter what way I look at it. Celebrating birthdays and catchy uppies on Primrose hill, going plimsole shopping on Cheshire street, and hopefully a chelsea bun and cup of tea or two the morning after boozing and dancing til the wee hours of the smoggy London morning. If you have any London tips for this weekend (we're making the weekend last until Tuesday) you can let me know. Otherwise, you better be in Berlin because this weekend is a-mazing. I'm still gonna make Death by Pop on Friday night by the way.

You, go, go, go, go

2008-03-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

I have been srsly thinking about getting a new puppy, but whatever - Ladyhawke has a new kitty cat!!!

LUCKY US, she came to Berlin to dj at our expect excellence party two Fridays ago. Look what she did !

When I was on my way to the airport to pick her up, there was some problem with the train and we all had to get off..(and stand around looking annoyed and confused...). I sent her a message to see if she was alright hanging on for a bit. She wrote back, "I'm outside sitting on a blue bench - where the taxi's are parked - playing a video game."

The party photos went up last night here ! thanxxx to our partee photographer drea, who has a smashing new blog, here !

After we got home from the airport, when she was going through her music deciding what to play in her set, one particular band that came up was Pnau. She never mentioned it, but they've done this (((amazing))) track together called "Embrace". Tonight Pnau are playing someplace in London, I hope the kids get the version of the song with live vocals : )

(Image artwork above by Sarah Larnach).

It's Alright to be Me

2008-03-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Fritz Radio does a nice thing where they play one song from a new album they like every hour over the weekend. This weekend it's Midnight Boom from the Kills. The band gives a little intro to the each song too, which makes it "special"...Actually I just found the soundbites here at Popnutten. Cool! It's a bit funny to hear explanations for the songs that range from being inspired by Dostoyovsky to plain and simple "Making up lyrics on top of a drum beat". "Cheap and Cheerful" was requested last night at Death by Pop but I didn't have it. I am waiting for the 7 inch to arrive in my letterbox, not only is it a great song but the cover is brill:

Cheap and Cheerful - click over to get the song at !Tashed
blog.

Hot Date!
the Kills - 3rd April at Maria, Berlin.

Dance Floor Jam Packed, Hot as a Tea Kettle

2008-03-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

Alot of bloggy type stuff happened lately. If it wasn't bumping into bloggy friends, actually enjoying having a read back over my first music blog, friends and sisters starting up their first ever blogs or just doing things i would like to write about in my blog - >

haha..I've got that bloggy feeling. O-oh that bloggy feeling.

Series 21 of Never Mind the Buzzcocks not only still has Simon Amstell still in it, but I'm noticing a hot indie boy trend, including in the episodes I've seen so far (thanks youtelly) Yannis from Foals AND Ryan from the Cribs. Ryan shockingly revealed his girlfriend is Kate Nash, well it was a bit of a shock to me. I didn't know..Unfortunately when the Cribs were last in Berlin during the summer, I asked the one that looks like Ryan, indeed his brother, "Is that your van outside?" and then he ran away. Only after did I realise that even though I only asked because I couldn't really believe they were travelling around in a shitty little grey van with bedsheets for window curtains, maybe it sounded like something else.

Where was I going with this? I don't know, here's some nice gig/fun thing dates for Berlin:

Sunday 9th March - Hot Chip at Lido!
Thursday 13th March - Buck 65 at NBI (random, anyone?)
March 10th - i dj at Monster Ronsons, ahoy!
March 12th - 1 of Babyshambles djs at Death by Pop (me too!)
March 20th - Juno gets released here finally!!!

That teakettle lyric was a revelation the other night. One of the naughtiest songs EVER has one the nerdiest lines I've ever heard, ever.

Tooraloo!

I Geuss You're Just What I Needed

2008-03-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

It's not every Monday night that you get to sing "Just what i needed" with Owen Pallett in a karaoke booth. I arrived at Monster Ronsons totally jittery after a taxi nearly ran me down, it was an inch away, my hand was on the bumper when i screamed out in fright. i didn't have headphones on or anything, it just crept around the corner really slowly, and even though it was the green man for me and i had on a bright white jacket and hoody (yeah the hoody was blocking my vision on the side so I couldnt see what was coming) he didnt see me or stop til he was millimetres away...fucking hell! I drank two strong whiskey and gingers really fast when i got to the bar, which is probably why i was jumping up and down on the seats in the karaoke booth all night rapping, and pretending to be Britney Spears - which was more fun than usual since the booth was also full of gorgeous gay men, one of whom I have a date with hopefully at the end of the month to stuff our faces at Bobo, that amazing burger place on Wexford Street in Doobalin.

Wow, I just got a flashback (much better than the one of me "singing" Whitney Houston last night...) of an amazing singer who sang the last song of the night..she said she was in a band called Fancy. Unfortunately there seem to be alot of Fancys out there. Hm..

On Saturday afternoon me and Ladyhawke went for hangover food (burgers at Kreuzburger) and afterwards we went plug shopping for her Australian mac at a random store on Oranien Str called YES ELECTRIC! I nearly got a flashing lcd star necklace, that store has everything...I did get a new wire for my internets. Riveting, I know. But, I keep tripping over the fucking thing and yanking it from the wall. Then i go for weeks without a phone or internet connection cos i never have time to go get a wire. Well i got one! And i just plugged it in. So now i can be on the internets all the time and tell you about burgers and karaoke. Yay!

Do You Love

2008-03-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's one of those weeks when Ladyhawke is staying over at my house, and Peaches introduces me to Joel Gibb and Owen Pallett is like "hey, i love your jumper!" and the singer of Deerhoof is doing the crab on the floor backstage after the Maximum Black Festival and Owen joins in and nearly breaks his back and Planningtorock tells me about her dream cottage in San Francisco and I find out from Shane about a bar in Friedrichshain that is a dedicated Big Lebowski establishment!

Ladyhawke showed me her brand new video for "Back of the Van", by the amazing Kinga Burza, who has directed some of the bestest music videos of late, "Foundations" and "Homecoming". "Back of the Van" will get a special release on vinyl with some fantastic cat artwork. I CAN'T WAIT!

We had the first fantastic Expect Excellence party of '08 last Friday, the djs were amazing, and the party pictures that tell all are coming soon : )

Saturday night at Scala we got to dance the last few hours of the night away to a set by OKAY & OKAY. The two girls with feathers in their hair played really stand out tracks, including this amazing Hercules featuring Antony Hegarty and some MSTRKRFT remix that I had never heard before on the All Saints.

I feel really lucky now that I've seen Dirty Projectors twice. Last night just cemented that for me, they played the most stunning set. I got their new record, "Rise Above" and one of their tote bags too : ) Dave Lonstreth, the front man made a nice comment about Berlin, he said something like, when travelling around Europe, he often finds that some cities are a reflection of places back home in the US, but Berlin doesn't really compare to anywhere, it's a "magical fantasyland".

He has been around you, and he knows you and you are stuck together

2008-02-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

Rollin Hunt is an American musician who recently came to Berlin to play at Foerster. There was no mic stand in the house, so a little bit of improvisation later he performed his set singing into a microphone held by a mannequin positioned beside him on stage. There is an amazing new song for 2008 on his page. I think you should have a listen.

Tonight

2008-02-17T03:31:00.000-08:00

There are alot of Tonight's to look forward to, I've been looking for this one for a long time. I went to visit Stockholm last September and while I was standing around at lovely Debaser waiting for the Shout Out Louds to throw maracas at my head, the dj played this song that was totally enchanting and even though I asked him for the name and he told me and showed me the 7 inch, i could never get it right whenever i tried to search it out once I got home. Maybe the funny Swedish pronunciation or maybe I was just meant to wait..It's no coincidence that her name sounds like "Luckily" because we are so lucky to have Lykke Li! (Sorrreeee). But you can get Tonight for free on her myspace page.

I am still recovering from seeing Jens Lekman play at Lido last night..oh dear. What is that instrument like a rectangular box that you can hold in your hands, and sort of thrum these metal wands (?), it sounds like a music box. Wow. Lido was so packed you couldnt move a centimetre any which way, and everyone stomped and clapped and shouted for FOUR ENCORES. he finally came out and said he just can't play any more, but thank you so much, he can never resist stomping and he would really like to go dancing after doing a silly interview backstage actually. It struck me for some reason when he didn't walk offstage, he stood there and received our applause.

This Friday at DeathbyPop is going to be EXTRA SPESHULL because my friends Erik & Robin from Jailhouse Fuck are gonna come and dj in the downstairs area! You will probably hear The Shangri Las, Fox N Wolf, Leila K, Madonna, the Slits, maybe Kriss Kross or perhaps Virgin Mega Whore.

Don't tell anyone but i got a really bad crush on the Kooks this week!!!!! Oh my god - what is wrong with me? Their new song though is so catchy and poppy and has a do-do-do-do-do-do-do chorus...and really, that Luke Pritchard is a bit of alright. Plus I think he seems to be a kind of a sweet person, but interviewers always seem to just take the piss out of him. Well the single isn't out til March, and I can only find a radio rip of it after searching all over the whole internet, Indie Dancefloor has it.) I even checked up if they have any tour dates coming up...JUNE 16TH IN COLUMBIAHALLE!!!

This video from Glastonbury is quite good! He even has rock n roll mumble.

Oh did i tell you?

On Voit les Etoiles Qui Bouge Ici et Là

2007-12-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

WOAH! How do the weeks fly by so fast?

A couple of months ago I started as resident dj for Death by Pop, the funnest, sweatiest, danciest, sexiest indie-llectual disco dancing night in Berlin. I don't usually dj off my laptop, but last night i was doing a set in the downstairs area, where there weren't no turntables. So my record bag stayed at home. (((Sad Face))). I usually can't keep track of what I've played, (i tend to fly by the seat of my pants). But working off the 'puter, your set list gets all saved and shit. So it's very cool to look back on what i played last night and relive all those sweet moments! There isn't really any other club night in this beautiful city where you can get to hear this music, it's a special thing. Every Friday at Bang Bang Club.

Sweet Momentz: (thanx to other bloggers! click on the song links to visit their post where you'll find the song).

Elle Milano - Katsuki Remix

She's Good for Business - MSTRKRFT

In Yr Underwear - Fox n Wolf (scroll down, down)

Sweaty - Muscles

ToyBoy - Stuck in the Sound

Yelle - Ce Jeu (can't believe how many ppl were asking to hear Yelle even though I had been naughty and already played two of her traxxx!!! Sweet.)

the Bomb - New Young Pony Club (Teenagers Crush LOU Remix) Definitely yoink this!

Uffie - First Love

Playing the Krystal Kastles mix/rework/ripoff of "Atlantis to Interzone" is kinda dangerous cos it's soooo hype-y, you're like, what can i play after that? The people, they go KRAZY! So i played the original right after. Nice nice. No need to post a link to that one, it's almost a golden oldie.

This kid was bugging me to play some song that I didn't have, i didn't have what he wanted and he just wouldn't go away. I was like, "They are crap. i do not have it and i am not going to play it anyway." A while later he came up, brandishing his phone, where he had written a message for me. It went something like "u R stoopid or Y don't you play the Wombats or the Kooks." Awwwwwwwwwwesommmmmmmmme!!!!!!!!!!!!! For every stoopid guy like that one there's a hundred awesome ppls, so it equals out pretty nice.

toodles

* )

(ps - it's always a good idea to get a brownie on your way home at 6am and forget to eat it so when you wake up with a zombie hangover you can have a big cup of tea and a brownie and make it all better).

Dreamburger

2007-11-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

they are coming

myspace.com/dreamburger

You Are My Crunchie

2007-10-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

I know that there is a twix in my refridgerator and it is calling out to me! Probably cos i've watched this music video once or nine times already today:

Hotpants Romance are playing the excellent WestGermany this Saturday night, supporting the Ting Tings.

One Week of Danger!

2007-10-24T16:44:00.001-07:00

It's only Wednesday and I've already seen Handsome Furs, Les Savy Fav and Beach House! Still to come, me and Max have a Unicorn X-ing dj night (see above) on Friday at KIM and the Blow are playing in Bastard on Saturday night.

I was totally in awe of Handsome Furs. Dan Boeckner gangles onstage, nodding his head modestly at the crowd and Alexie comes bounding after him waving her arms at everyone so vigorously she is basically waving her whole body at us. Her hair is cropped short and platinum blond and she is the most stunnin' lady, ever. He announces them as "GBH from London" and opens the show with "What We Had", effectively stopping my heart...This pair are amazing. His voice and her beats (and pounding feets!) take you to another place altogether, where noone can get at you and it's so thrilling to seem them play live. And when you go back to listen to it on record it sounds better than you could ever have imagined before. Plus, how awesome is it to go on a European tour for your honeymoon?

Last night Les Savy Fav..i had no idea what we were in for. Magic, extreme laughing and not a little suspense. Once he was up on stage, entering under a guard of honor formed by the crowd, Tim "santa claus" Harrington was jumping off it again - climbing equipment, balconies, and heads, up inside one dudes t shirt (seriously did anyone get that on film?) and stripper dancing on a door-sized piece of timber he dragged into the middle of the crowd to be held up by some muscly boys. It was impossible to tell what he was gonna do. He was pretend strangling one dude with his microphone lead, and maybe actually suffered a serious neck injury. "Is it possible to like, dislodge a bone in your neck?", it was hard to watch him sing for a while after that because he would involuntarily gag, because maybe a bone was sticking into this throat...but i think they may have cut the concert a little short and he made it through to the end. I wish i had the whole evening on tape, it was AMAZING. and they even had the song i was waiting for all night on 7 inch at the merch table. White vinyl + a signed cover : )

What Would Wolves Do?

i thought it might be dangerous going to see Beach House tonight...Outside is so dark now all the time, it's wintry and cold and it's hard not to let that effect your mood. But their performance actually had the opposite effect on me. And, Ms. Legrand definitely lives up to her surname. Her eerie voice has such a strange quality, it puts you in a trance. I was really lucky because I thought they were the main band, but actually they were opening for..someone else. I arrived an hour late, just as Beach House got up to play. They warned us to stay for the headliners, I wonder if most people are showing up for them on this tour. After they finished the first song Legrand said it was already the best show they'd had.

Berlin needs to have a proper listings guide, cos there were only about 10-15 people who attended the Handsome Furs, and i KNOW there would have been ALOT more if it had been properly advertised etc somewhere.

I met some co-workers I had at City Slang last year and they told me that Universal bought V2 and now everyone is being let go and who knows whats going to happen to the bands. Oh, but "Theyre keeping the Paul Weller and Stereophonics back catalogue" > Puke.

Je m'occupe de toi

2007-10-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

dear diary,

Today I - woops! This is certainly not the right place to tell you about all those secret girl things...Instead I will tell you about fantastic music things. The last couple of gigs I attended included the earth shatteringly sexy Rilo Kiley, the Cribs and..some punk bands i dont know the name of but really jsut went to hang out at cos its on this squat on my street that i hadn't been to yet.

When I said earth shatteringly sexy, I was also including the Cribs there..swoon, thud. There's a bundle of pictures at the club website. Hello, ryan jarmans's neck veins.

Tomorrow I'm gonna be taking part of a new music video shoot for Planningtorock. I don't know which song its for yet, the only information i have so far is to wear black pants and also trainers. And i might be leaning against a wall, and in a car. Hopefully I will be able to document the shoot and have some photographs to post on here. Fun!

God Bless Shane Torturegarden and his recent amazing Final Fantasy III interview.

The past week I had some fantastic friends visiting me and it was such a laugh. We did all the best things. Dancing, drinking, eating laughing...Friday night was Death by Pop actually, I will dj there this Friday. It's the last night that Death by Pop will be on at Bastard, as apparently the venue will be torn down/renovated. Goodbye lovely venue. It's my trial run, so I'm on first and I will probably be playing all da new stuff. Like Scanners. That I just came across this week, thanks BigStereo. I don't know how exactly I am going to play them since "Raw" isn't released til November 5th and there doesn't seem to be a naughty mp3 of the track anywhere.

In the meantime I am gonna dj at Dr Pong this week, on Thursday night.

This Is a Gang, and I'm In It

2007-10-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hands up who wants to see 50 Cent and Crystal Castles on a stage TOGETHER??? Meeeeeeee!!! I didn't actually think it was true when I joked a couple of months ago that CC were "featured" on 50's latest track. There's a touch of it in Nelly Furtado's new song "Do It" aswell..Do it!!!!

More Timbaland drama associated with this "Do It" song actually, which is the end product of a remix done for the Commodore 64. Apparently it's not Crystal Castles related though...Timbaland just says he "sampled" it and doesn't have time to research if something belongs to the "public domain".

Whatevs, it's a JAM:

Find it here, at Mix Tape Maestro.

Do it - Nelly Furtado + Missy Elliott

I'm going record shopping at Hip Hop Vinyl tomorrow and I wanna pick up dat remix. Have been buying top notch records off them via Amazon, then found out they are just around the corner from me!

I just came back from some holidays and in my holiday apartment there was a tv. I watched some crap on the tv sometimes. In between the crap there were sometimes good ads. I'm dyyyying to find these two songs, but i forget the brands and the lyrics i can remember ain't helpin. "I can be happy" (and sort of sounds like a japanese girl) is one from an ad for fibre, with girls dressed normally, but you can tell they are underwater, and smiling because the fibre is really great stuff. And the other is one is from a car ad, and it goes like, "All the time I spent waiting for you with chocolates and ~~daffodils~~ dandelions(???) in my hand". Or something. If that rings a bell, tell me!

I Get Kinda Hectic Inside

2007-09-08T03:18:00.000-07:00

MP3 of LOVE - Owen Pallett - Fantasy (Mariah Carey cover)

Watch it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ain't Never Gonna Be Respectable

2007-09-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

In Berlin? Come to this tonight (Friday night) at Kim. I will dj. It will be good.

So the Organ are gonna release an EP!

bon
week-end
a
toi

OH SHIT

2007-08-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Justice, Maria, September 13

UFFIE + dj Feadz, Lido, September 19th

oh never mind that she just basically admits that she has no idea what she's doing and lets the boys tell her what to do...she's so cute!!!

Heidi Mortenson + Scream Club, September 26 in Lido

And the Cribs are coming next week, so I get to see this in RL LIFE

F-i-r-e-i-n-b-e-r-l-i-n

2007-08-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

That's right! dis my new ting. me + max djing together on the worst soundsystems all over berlin city. So come and join us!

So here's some songs, with a unicorn / sick / 50 Cent theme, because there is always room for 50 Cent. go get em:

Kiss 'n Horns - Surkin [at You Love My Mewzick]

(((Sometimes i feel like Surkin and Justice are battling for the same spot in my little heart. Anybody else feel that?)))

Dustin & Garrett - Better Than Promo [at BigStereo]

50 Cent + Timbaland + Timberlake...+ Crystal Castles??! [at Discobelle]

love!

Show Me, Show Me, Show Me

2007-08-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy time! But got to take a moment for a splendid video clash !

Lio - from the 80s - Sage Comme Une Image

Yelle - not from the 80s - A Cause des Garcons

Oh, did i tell you ?

(((Flyer by Maximilian)))

You Know You're Gonna Like It

2007-07-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

i got a pile of nasty shirts yesterday. they are so bad!!!! so. bad.

do you wanna be roomies with the Teenagers? Ok read this, in a French accent.

Date: 30 Jul 2007 14:14

Subject: looking for a flat in east london

Body: hello everybody

we are looking for a flat in east london very soon

if you re looking for 1 or 2 people in your flat very soon, let us know plz

x

love

i cant even imagine how many girls are breaking up with their boyfriends and replying to that myspace bulletin with various offers. Make it happen, girlz.

Make it Happen - the Teenagers This one is bad like my shirts. [at Yellow Stereo]

Music That We Danced To Over the Weekend, And You Should Too!

(Thanks to Other Bloggers!..and Myspace).

Put your hands on your waistline

Tonight I Have To Leave It - the Shout Out Louds [at DIY Rockstar]

and move your body to the bassline,

Ready to Uff - Uffie [at Favours for Favours]

and get your hands on some cheap wine,

Bathroom Gurgle - Late of the Pier [Myspace. It's so new nobody has it yet.]

and just enjoy it til you feel fine,

I Go Hard, I Go Home - the Presets [at This Recording]

Great things about Berlin Festival this year:::

- eatin' burritos
- Late of the Pier, the Presets and Uffie
- making new friends
- meeting old friends
- sweatiest afterparties of all time
- jim beam and coke in a can. yes please!
- Shitdisco's cover of the Prodigy's "No Good". It has sirens in it.
- Au Revoir Simone gave me goosebumps and made me cry a little bit.
- free sunglasses
- Uffie swearing her head off

BIG WEEKEND OF STUFF COMING UP REAL SOON!!!

August 9th Chromeo's rescheduled show at Club 103. i guess his eye is better.
August 10th Expect Excellence!!! at Eel Pie Almost Tropical (who me?) + Katja Hentschel Photography.
August 11th Unicorn Crossing!!! at Dr Pong. Me and him.

Trying Your Luck

2007-07-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Phones has done a remix of "Heinrich Maneuver" (((on Interpol's myspace))). It is really great! And sad and beautiful...er, I almost wish Paul's vocals weren't even on it..

This weekend is a bit up and down. But a definite high was mixing a whiskey-cola for Alexis Hot Chip. The band played at Melt! Festival yesterday evening, and invited Janine to come down and Janine invited me, lucky me! She supported them on some of their dates in the US recently, which was a match made in heaven. So, watch out for collaborations and general gadding about town from Planningtorock & Hot Chip. Their set was mega fun, it was apparent that everyone who came to the festival gathered to see them play. They didn't play anything from their first record Coming on Strong, but lots of great new songs, like everything...including My Piano from their DJ Kicks comp. It was a dance party.

The Hot Chaps are true gents and gave up one of their hotel rooms for me and Janine to sleep in (which we narrowly escaped out of this morning). Never mind that there were some kind of, but probably not flying cockroaches infestation, we had a bottle of whiskey, and a variety of topics to discuss, like the name for the new album - the Second Warning? Which could then lead onto the amazing Final Warning of course. ACtually i know what it really might be, but i probably shouldn't say. (It's really, really good).

Wow, they even give good blog.

So around midnight we were swilling champagne from the bottle and enjoying some minimal house from Michael Mayer's dj set. Afterwards I scurried over to see the Horrors. I had a backstage pass so I thought it would be extra special to watch from the side of the stage, but there was nobody else there, and i wanted to dance so I went into the crowd and up the front and had a jolly good time. The lights were too bright in the tent, so they weren't as scary as they should have been. Especially because Faris put a balloon up his t shirt.

There was a funny moment earlier in the evening. I was walking over to the bar and the Horrors were sitting down drawing in notebooks, primping hair and looking scary. As I walked by, Joe seemed to do a doubletake at my t shirt. I was (still am..) wearing this t shirt i found last week with Joey from New Kids on the Block's face on it, and his name in big letters underneath. Well, then i noticed that perhaps Joey New Kids on the Block and Joe Horror bear more than a passing resemblance! If you got Joe Horror to smile, and wear a sideways baseball cap, you would be like, Joey? Is it really you? Maybe Joe was thinking, JOEY??? IS THAT REALLY ME???

Look! Joey NKOTB, far right. Joe Horror, far right:

Basically it was a Joe-themed evening. I met the Joe from Shitdisco at the bar, he was ordering himself a watermelon cocktail at the bar and explaining to me the...difficulties shall we say, in keeping your shit together for the whole evening before you go onstage when your band is going on really late. They were playing after 1.30am or something. I can imagine how hard it could be to resist getting wasted, especially as it was such a beautiful evening, beside the lake, it was gloriously warm and just especially perfect for Watermelon cocktails. I missed Shitdisco because we had to leave, but they are coming to Berlin Festival in about two weeks. Brill.

Popular Computer - I can't forget you [Thanks alot to Keytars and Violins for sharing this track with me!!! Yay!!!]

My Piano - Hot Chip [over at Green Pea-ness, scroll down a bit, it's also a very good read).

ok that's enough, bye for now. oh, the t-shirt:

You've Got a Lovely Way With Words, Must Be The Way You See The World

2007-07-13T12:36:00.001-07:00

Some excellent things for you to check out:

Japanese Posters Today Travelling Exhibition

Unicorn X-ing (Berlin)

Glam Canyon Street Fashion (New York)

Festival Pantiero (Cannes)

There has been a lot of stuff happening lately. Feels like summer.

Here we go, Weekend Mini Mixtape Thanks to Other Bloggers!

Kate Nash - Foundations (Metronomy Remix) [over at Not on the Guestlist]

Hearts on Fire - Cut Copy [over at Appears]

We Love Tokyo - Golden Bug [over at Bigstereo]

Rich Girls - the Virgins [over at Party Ends]

Self Love - the Teenagers [over at Missing Toof]

I'm a Flirt - R Kelly [over at Pop Tarts suck Toasted]

Aahh. These are all helping me get over this hangover of doom today. It was one sweaty and drunk night last night at Dr Pong. We had our very first Unicorn X-ing dj night, and it was fun. A bit too much fun. There is a scary bump on my head, too much money in my wallet and a pretty vague recollection of the tail end of the night. Hm....I wish I had kept the note the barman passed to us with "A request from the bar: Do you have Justice feat Uffie, "the Party"? scribbled on it.

If anyone has a digital track of Popular Computer's "I can't forget you", I would lovelovelove to have it! I can't fit the vinyl in to my iPod...

BOYZZZZ

2007-06-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Boyz

if you're in Berlin i highly recommend you and your boyz come down to Eel Pie this Thursday night. Expect Excellence is on, which means we are gonna have a party and show a selection of work from photographer Jane Stockdale. Jane began taking photographs of bands after this one time she accidentally met Sonic Youth in New York aged 16. She has since photographed many live bands including Beck, Pavement, Grace Jones, REM and Iggy Pop, plus many different people, places and festivals and her works have been published in VICE, lodown, ID, NME, XLR8R, sup and German Vogue.

And i know i just dropped some names just there, but here's a shot of some kids in a car in NY. Fresh and clean.

Expect Excellence
dj Almost Tropical
Jane Stockdale Photography
EEL PIE (U Bahn Senefelder Platz, Saarbruecker str.21-22, 3rd floor)
Thurs 28 June
Doors at 11
(no cover)

janestockdale.co.uk
expectexcellence.blogspot.com
myspace.com/eel_pie

fun

2007-06-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Do you have a tape player?

There is alot of good stuff on this weekend. Unfortunately i can't seem to save the flyer image for this, but at least the central image works. I can just tell you the info:

+++
LEIF ERICH CHRISTENSEN
MARIOLA GROENER

Eröffnung: Samstag, 23. Juni, 19 Uhr

offen: Sonntag, 24. Juni 15 bis 19 Uhr
25. bis 28. Juni nach telefonische Vereinbarung: 0173 2845455

BALLHAUS OST
Pappelallee 15, 10437 Berlin
U2 - Eberswalder Strasse
WWW.BALLHAUSOST.DE

+++
Cindy Sherman Retrospective

Martin-Gropius-Bau, Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg)
Öffnungszeiten: Mi-Mo 10.00-20.00

Plus, the Presets play on Saturday night, in Sage club for 8 euros. And are taking part in the Christopher Street Day thing during the day as well.

Too much!

Next week is also gonna be too much, in a good way.

Thursday - Expect Excellence at Eel Pie / dj Almost Tropical + Jane Stockdale Photography

Friday - Bouncing Boys at Bastard with Kate Boss + dj Almost Tropical + My Friend Gravity (live)

Saturday - DAFT PUNK + SEBASTIAN at SOME BIGASS VENUE + a very nice dj pile-up for afters at Picknick. Beautiful flyers and secret infos coming soon.

the Vice Guide to Berlin is up.

j'en perds la raison dans la mer du japon

2007-06-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

this Wednesday I am gonna be here doing this

the good fight

2007-06-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

You know how i was wondering if that was really Michael Jackson in the background of Rihanna's track? Well, the next morning when I woke up I turned on the radio and heard the end of "Wanna Be Startin Something", which is indeed the sample. Spooky!!! Come on, when did you last hear that song on Radio Eins? If i wonder about some rather more pertinent issues will I get a similar answer from the universe? Or is it only name-that-tune?

The other day I was riding my bike home from work, and a bike dude cut across me. As he cycled away (on the right side of the road) he swerved right across the street in front of a crazy taxi driver (those motherfuckers) just to high five another bike dude going in the opposite direction, and then he swerved back over to the right side of the road again. I've also seen tons of people cycling with their arms crossed. I've been trying to practise my look-mum-no-hands! but i'm not really that good.

Today i met up with Jane Stockdale. Jane is an amazing photographer (see photo) and a right laff. We'll be showing a selection of some of her new work at the next Expect Excellence party. (Coming soon! I'm excited!). Take a look at her portfolio, it's really class. And, speaking of class portfolio's, Max has added some work to his new website. Check it out.

There isn't a favourite song of mine that the Teenagers haven't remixed, or released themselves. There is also a band called Teenager. Have a listen.

CHROMEO in CLUB 103 JUNE 21st!!! HOORAY!!!

it's too hot to eat, sleep or wear clothes. i love it!!!

bye.

Ice-Pops

2007-06-12T12:52:00.001-07:00

i just uploaded the photographs from the Expect Excellence party we had last weekend...

FUNNNN!!!

in other news, it's really effin hot, i have hayfever and there seems to be no end to the Rihanna songs getting stuck in my head. No need for me to since Fluo Kids already posted "Don't Stop the Music" a couple of weeks ago. "Disconcerting but cool", they said about it, en francais. (Is that really Michael Jackson's falsetto in the background?!)

Ipod is good for when you are doing housework late at night. You know, when it's the night before an early flight and you still haven't packed or done the dishes.

(i set all my false alarm clocks)

2007-06-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

DAFT PUNK plus SEBASTIAN june 30, Berlin Velodrome !!!

i just found out today that the set of photos from the party on Saturday night (taken with a real camera) got erased by accident. all gone. now all we have left are the 27 pictures that were taken on my plastic throwaway. i'm collecting them on thursday....needless to say, sad face.

I am excited to see this film "Steak". What film, "Steak"? I'm not sure either. All I know is that it is FRENCH and also SEBASTIAN seems to be all over the soundtrack. Merde, it's French-Canadian. I won't understand anything. Maybe it's one of those the -soundtrack-makes-the-movie movies.

OH! BEACH HOUSE, MENOMENA and O'DEATH are playing JULY 4th in Festsaal Kreuzberg. That is going to be a most excellent show. YO.

i have ordered my 1st ever iPod, which should arrive tomorrow. so i've been thinking of all these iPod dates i can go on now. where do you like to go with your iPod?

All My Stars Aligned / I Wanna Love

2007-06-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

YO

the weekend is over. i think i'll work backwards..

i went to see Scout Niblett tonight. It was one of those Sundays when i could luxuriously spend my time doing not much. Go pick up a record player, take a nap, listen to records and then go to a show. There was a good buzz in the venue, outside I had overheard people in the queue saying things like "Scout Niblett is indescribably brilliant". More than once the music reminded me of Nirvana, somehow. (Is there such a word as indescribably? Is it undescribably? I was eavesdropping a German conversation..hm).

Listen to "I Wanna Love" here. It's gonna be on Scout's new album (recorded in Steve Albini's studio, coming out in October).

My friend Kristian is on tour with Scout, playing drums. He told me this summer he will play drums for St Vincent, a young lady from New York who is going on tour with Arcade Fire. Holy smokes Kristian, that will be one hell of a time! (I do remember coming across St Vincent for the first time on Shane's blog a while ago.) can't stop listening to "All My Stars Aligned" here. (Check out the photographs in her profile, taken by the amazing NY based photographer Tod Seelie.)

Also NY based at the moment is Robbie! He's doing scintillating updates and stuff.

Last night at KIM was tons of fun. The crowd of people who turned up for the TADA showcase were totally awesome. We had a gang of Tada boys, modelling satin trousers and jewellery from Anna's collection. I can't wait to see the photos from the night...Dancin', drinkin' and talkin' til all hours. I even had an unexpected dj sidekick (thanks Maximilian). Max was one of the models, but not just a pretty face. A photographer and graphic designer (he made the flyer for us)...he's working on his website at the moment, I will point you in the direction when it goes up.

Expect Excellence came about because I wanted to start something new, but not just another dj night. I wanted to combine having a party funtime with showcasing art, fashion or photography work from up and coming artists and designers. I really enjoy working on this kind of thing, after getting a taste of the behind the scene's stuff from when I worked for Planningtorock, I missed it and so it's good to be working on a project like this which gives me a chance to work with some great people. Hooray!

(Photo blog of the night coming soon).

I don't particularly want a McDonalds to open in my hood, do you?

Expect Excellence this Saturday!

2007-05-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

DUDE!

it's been a whole 2 months since the last Expect Excellence artist showcase night, remember?.

this Saturday you are warmly invited to come down to Kim and check out the new collection of work from TADA FASHION.

I'ma be dj-ing the night away. That's right, JAMZ.

Worryin'

2007-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Some nice photographs from last Friday with Shit Disco thanks to my pal Drea.

Check out the photos with Darren and Joe. Look how bright it is outside! Look at poor tired Joe. Look at Darren spilling his durum doner all over the mixer. Oh Shitdisco. Bless. I didn't realise it was a bank holiday this Monday. Hooray! How bout that tempest eh? You'll be happy to know I rescued my pot plants off the balcony. I hope you and your potted plants escaped unscathed.

Last week, to celebrate my first pay cheque I bought some records. One of them was a Phones release from last year with this excellent B-side. I can't believe 2007 is already half way over. WHAT THE ? I hope you are not worryin'. (Except about how you look when you're dancing to this.)

Phones - Worryin' (ysi)

Hey You're Blocking My Way to the Dancefloor, and You're Just Standing There Talking Shit About Me and My Friends

2007-05-19T22:04:00.001-07:00

If only Shitdisco would roll in the door at 4am every time i was dj-ing! Dr Pong was even a place they had wanted to check out last time they were in Berlin. "We heard about it man...Surreal.." We like the same songs. Included in Darren and Joe's set were: the Passions mixxxx of "Homecoming" by the Teenagers; the nasty but so nice Princess Superstar v Mason on "Perfect Exceeder"; and the excellent Soulwax mix of "Gravity's Rainbow". Also "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic and Blur's "Girls and Boys". There's a little lamp that Joe switched on and off really fast, for that extra special disco effect.

Darren took some video footage, for a tour diary extravaganza which apparently will be shown on Transmission on Channel 4 in the UK. If anyone watches it, record it for them, they are sad to hand over (and probably not get back) all the tapes of their fun times on tour.

I have no idea about their gig other than the happy nods they gave me when I asked about how it went. I do know it was a Melt showcase night thing. (Melt Festival 13-15 July: Dizzee Rascal, Final Fantasy, Erase Errata, Hot Chip, I'm from Barcelona, Snap! (seriously!) the Horrors, Simian Mobile Disco..). My friend Thomas told me not to look at the message-board on the Melt website, as people were dissing my shitty flyer. "SHE MADE IT WITH PAINT LOL!!", or something like that in German. Shitdisco had posted the first one I made in a myspace bulletin, unfortunately. It's not exactly one of my best worx. I like the 2nd though. With the dancing couple. (Neither were created using Paint..!). We took some fun photos and videos during the night, I will post them soon!

Erase Errata are playing in Bastard tonight and A Hawk and a Hacksaw in NBI this Thursday..also that same night Sondre Lerche in Muddclub.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw myspace

And, i know this is only a myspace link, and this song is over 2 years old, but who can resist a nice little ditty like this with "boat race" being happily exclaimed in most excellent British accents? Boat race, boat race!

Shitdisco Dj Set / Dr Pong Fri 18th May 2007

2007-05-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night at Dr Pong, Shitdisco will come down after their gig at Magnet and take over from me for a wee dj set.

Speaking of wee, last night when they played in Cookies here in Berlin, the Black Lips frontman finished up the show with a certain degree of charm. He pissed in his own mouth (are you picturing that, are you?) and then sprayed it out over the crowd. I heard that over breakfast this ~~morning~~ afternoon.

This Is a Happy House

2007-05-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

not only is KIM a new bar, now it actually has one!

christen the new bar at KIM tonight, spill your drinxxx all over it. i am djing there tonight. come and distract me from lining that shit up!

Disco Blood

2007-05-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Me and Shitdisco will be delighting the audience at Dr Pong next Thursday.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

2007-05-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight, there was a drunk guy called Tarzan. Not only was he drunk and old and going by the name of Tarzan, but he had a picture of a dog on his sweatshirt and Shane McGowan's teeth are still pretty compared to his. And he rapped for us. He had that beat DOWWWWN!

Next month we'll have another night like that; Planningtorock, Max and I. Turns out we make an excellent team. Your turn!

My favourite traxxx:

from PTR

- Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Peek-a-boo"

- Yoko Ono, "Walking on Thin Ice"

from Max

Stacey Q - "Two of Hearts"

It was just one of those nights. On my way home a hilarious drunk actor escorted me up Kastanien Allee to the M10 tramstop when we both arrived at the M1 stop 2 minutes late. When I got in, I poured myself a bowl of cornflakes, or should i say, "Guten Morgen flakes mit vollkorn!" and i found a heart-shaped one on the top of the pile.

The first time i heard it, I really didn't like what the Teenagers did to "Fallen Snow". But then the "naked / naked / naked / naked / naked / naked" build-up kinda won me over. Now it's not so much won me over as it has knocked me over and tattooed THE TEENAGERS on my bum.

mp3 of love: Au Revoir Simone - Fallen Snow [Teenagers Remix, like totally.]

This video is wierd. And it has Jay-Z in it.

Where Are You Running To?

2007-05-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Someone googled, "new song lyrics it doesnt have words it goes wee ooh ooh ooh" and it brought them here. Hm. It sounds like "Atlantis to Interzone" to me, but that certainly does have lyrics.

"Peace on earth forever!", says Lavender Diamond. "May warm winds balance with cold winds", says Lavender Diamond. The nice lady from Lavender Diamond can't skate real good but she makes up for it with just being really class.

mp3 of love: "open your heart" - lavender diamond

Oh! The album just came out yesterday. Funny that. It's called "Imagine Our Love" and you can listen to snippets of it on their dot com.

There is a free gig happening in the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin on May 21st at Bud Rising. The Noisettes & Maximo Park. Ooh.

I don't think I can make it to Primavera festival, Sziget looks dead boring, Electric Picnic is too expensive and i would ELL OH VEE EE to see Interpol at Hurricane festival but it rained on us for 4 days the last time i went and it's too far away and too bloody organised.

Berlin festival, to the rescue!

So far,

Shit Disco
Au Revoir Simone
Midlake
Peaches
Uffie
Peter Bjorn + John
Datarock

and

omg

THE PRESETS

!!!

Now Try the Brakes..

2007-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dude it's already way past bedtime..BUT ANYWAYZ.

This week should be a bit of fun.

this Friday May 11th, the Noisettes are playing, in ROSIS.

It looks like Rodrigo Y Gabriela's Sunday show in Lido is cancelled. I wonder what happened...Not sure I would even have gone to see them actually, I saw them perform once in a tiny pub in Sligo. It was spellbinding. Don't really wanna mess around with that memory.

This Saturday there is a big fleamarket event thing happening on the "riverside terraces" of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. It even has a myspace page yo.

Also that day/night - Whitest Boy Alive will be breaking heartz in the mysterious Tape. I say mysterious just because i don't know anything about the place. Very mysterious indeed.

During the past week at various record sto's and today at Boxhagener platz i got alot of records. ALOT!!!! It's all old. Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Shannon (multiplied by 2), the Waterboys, Sade and Wham! I was looking for this amazing record by Neil Diamond. (Yes, i did just say "this amazing record by Neil Diamond".) This album was released aroundabout the time that everything was going psychedelic. Or something. I was at my friends house a couple of weeks ago, and he was playing all his psychedlic 70s Turkish records, and then this album from Neil Diamond. It has the original versions of "Red Red Wine" (it's gorgeous! ..it's hard to like that song after it was covered, I can't even bear to type their stupid name) and "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon", another song of which the cover i bloody hate. It's so nice to hear it the way it was meant to be. i sound like a geriatric with all this Neil Diamond related giving out. But come on, who actually likes Urge Overkill? I didn't know either of these songs were covers. This album is really a delight. I can't remember the damn name of it though, and googling it is futile as it only brings up a dearth of "BEST OF" results. Bleh. Ok eh, enough about Neil Diamond.

What else? If you're out & about on Tuesday night, come to KINGKONGKLUB. I'ma be djing with my friends Max and Janine....All going well, as the fromer is sick in bed and the latter (see t shirt in photo) is flying in from Brussels that day! ooer.

Watch out Berlin, Nina Hynes and the Husbands are moving in! Kitty Go are taking care of them. (Also taking care of Chikinki, Shout Out Louds, YELLE, the Bishops and more...).

Almost Tropical in Purple Crush Angst Shocker

2007-05-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

i don't know what was going on there, i'm telling you every other second of that show i was HAVING A GREAT TIME, but for the 1 second of that camera click i look like i'm watching someone tear apart my favourite teddy bear. WHAT THE EFF??

Anyhoo, this Tuesday I will be dj-ing at KING KONG KLUB. Playing the JAMZ especially 4 U. I shall be joined by a special guest dj. Say nuffing.

on 18th May there is another Expect Excellence party, and SHITDISCO will be joining me for a dj set.

You're not really invited to this birthday party, but this flyer is too fun not to post.

I missed Frida Hyvoenen and the Boredoms tonight.

Oh well, last night I burned the midnight oil with my friend Drea (pictured above, see amazin' purple hatted lady) and her friend Jamie and his manager Philip. Philip manages the Rakes and also JAPE - who just got signed to effin V2! Jape is from Dublin and I've been a big fan for a long time and I'm very exirah and delirah for Ritchie, V2 will re-release his debut album "The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me". Great news altogether.

What do the Rakes like to do in their spare time, you wonder. They like to go jogging every morning, in shiny shell suits, even if they only got to bed at 6am, it's a strict regime of jogging every morning bright and early. They also fire eachother on a regular basis and spread malicious rumours about their wicked manager. They think nobody likes them in Ireland, which is a bit funny since both Jamie and Alan have irish mammies or grannies or something, i can't remember. From Roscommon. FROM ROSCOMMON!!!!!

Haha bye!

Tell Me We Both Matter Don't We?

2007-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

DFA are re-releasing Planningtorock's album "Have it All". There will be bonus traxxx, including "The Havers". Needless to say, BLOODY HELL THAT'S BRILLIANT!!!

[[[The next Expect Excellence party is gonna be on May 8th in King Kong Club. ]]]

25 ain't bad so far. i just had a major crash from my sugar high and slept the last 3 hours. so much cake and muffins and chewy sweets and lemonade i had today! birthday booty is the bestest. i received Shit Disco's "super limited edition" new album "Kingdom of Fear" from Katja, a Ptr t shirt, Polka dot gloves and a dress from Janine, a beautiful hand-embroidered tote bag from amazin' Andrea (click it! she just uploaded a huge stash of photos from SXSW 2007! Architecture in Helsinki, Ra Ra Riot, Simple Kid, Peter Bjorn and John und mehr!).

[Shit Disco in Magnet March 18th, if Joel has recovered from his illness by then!]

PURPLE CRUSH played here last night. Oh my.

Purple Crush - Running Up That Hill

I've been searching high and low for that track all week, and finally struck gold today at Chazology, which was a most excellent find.

The first band of the night was Trash Fashion. They are from London and have excellent London accents and do some kind of glam rock, indie rave, bedroom-rappin' thing that is pretty hot and funny.

New Young Pony Club were also in the line-up last night. BUT THEY WERE ONLY DJING!!! The last time they were supposed to play in Berlin they cancelled.

The free ice-pops sorta made up for it though. Yeh, free ice-pops!

This week should be nice.

>>>>> The Rakes + the Bishops in Lido, Teusday May 2nd.

Everything is Worth a Kiss

2007-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

hey pals, this weather is CLASS.

Are you coming out to get your pop on at Magnet on Friday night? Simian Mobile Disco (who have come a long way from "we are your friends") are playing a special Melt Festival night with Trash Money and Para One.

Saturday night i'm djing at KIM (Brunnenstr.10) from ELEVEN TIL ONE.

You can't touch this. The glitz, the glamour.

1 2 3 4

2007-04-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

The photos from the 1st Expect Excellence party are up!

MAJOR BUMMER. I forgot SURKIN was playing in Berlin tonight!

SHAKES Sunday 22nd @ Magnet
the HORRORS Tuesday 24th @ Magnet

Poopsy Club is tonight (Saturday) at WestGermany.

Watch out for me at KIM (BrunnenStr.10) next Saturday (28th) doing a little dj set from 11 0'clock. There will be a special exhibition on there from 5PM and also other djs throughout the day & night.

Did you have a look at that flyer? If you're in London, that will be a pretty good night. POWERS are setting sail for foreign shores to play their first show outside of Berlin. Performance sound like they are gonna be very interesting live. Check out their myspace player for a killer track, "The Ending".

Feist is taking Grizzly Bear on tour with her! Oh, just imagine.

BOO!

2007-04-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Je Revois la Ville en Fête et en Délire

2007-04-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't realise that landing a job would be so exciting. But, it is! I haven't been this excited since I was 12 years old and at Irish college for the first time. Seriously. This guy Philip, with an undercut and a Sepultura t-shirt thought I was 16 so asked me to "shift him on the way home". Henceforth we were inseparable. I grilled him about obscure* indie bands and he said "no" alot.

" do you know Gene?"
"no"
" do you know Pulp?"
"no"
"do you know Elastica?"
"no"
"do you know.."
"frustrated-what-have-i-let-myself-in-for-sigh".

but i was just so excited, i didnt know what to do! my first boyfriend! wittering about music is a great fallback. i just hope i don't arrive into the office next Tuesday badgering my new co-workers about bands.

*obscure in the 12 year old girls from Ireland set anyway. rih?

It's basically a platform for crafty people to sell their fancy goods. I have a had a great year working un/underpaid internships for Planningtorock and City Slang, but despite the tremendous fun, I didn't have much bread on the table. And now I got a really nice job. I'm so excited!

British Music Week is coming up soon!

April 10-30 in venues across Berlin.

Pencil me in for Lady Sovereign at 103 Club on Sat 21st April; Shakes on 22nd April in Magnet [with the Magdelenas and Olympus Mons] and the Horrors on 24th April [with the Voom Blooms].

Not really part of BMW, but noteworthy nonetheless Shit Disco are coming back to make your disco blood boil. May 18 we shall be having a reactor party at Magnet. Watch out cos I know Kung Fu, OK?

Their latest video is very good:

Last night at Eel Pie was most excellent. Katja Hentschel graced us with her presence, and her big ass camera. I'm setting up a new website dedicated to the Expect Excellence party. Katja's snaps coming soon.

Don'tcha. No You Don't.

2007-04-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

"What are you doing up so late?"

"Looking for a Pussycat Dolls mp3".

"Er."

"The "I don't need a man" song."

"THAT SONG IS FUCKING AWFUL!"

"IT'S NOT FUCKING AWFUL! ...Granted, the lyrics are rubbish. But the beat and melodies and saxophone bits are great."

"That saxophone is coming from a button on a keyboard."

"That's why it's so good."

"Right."

"Xiu Xiu did a cover of that other song they had, "Dont'cha"."

"Right."

"Oh my god. If you go look on the hype machine you can hear "Don'tcha" and "Let's Dance" by David Bowiew in a mash-up. IT'S SO GOOD!!!"

"Wha- I'm going to bed."

Expect Excellence this Friday 6th April at Eel Pie

2007-04-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

It's a photography showcase (and also a party) featuring documentation of SXSW 2007 by Drea Augustin; photography and video footage of Au Revoir Simone, Dandi Wind, Peter Bjorn and John, the Presets, Simple Kid, Architecture in Helsinki and much, much more.

I will be djing// Doors at 10pm // Adm FREE!//

..and now all the halves wander the world over seeking one another.

2007-03-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

This guy wants to be my boyfriend on myspace.

i won't be able to afford to go to any of these shows, but a girl can wish.

~~APRIL~~ HOLY SHIT!!!!!!

4th the Shins Postbahnhof

8th Camera Obscura Lido

9th Joan as Policewoman Volksbuhne

9th Cocorosie Postbahnhof

12th Cansei de ser Sexy Maria

13th April the Presets Maria

14th April Akron Family Festsaal Kreuzberg

15th Deerhoof + the Blow Festsaal Kreuzberg

25th Joanna Newsom Volksbuhne

This week I missed Nina Hynes and Manowar..I'm just finishing up "the unbearable lightness of being". Now that I'm nearing the end, I only read a couple of pages at a time. I really, really don't want it to be over. It's reassuring to think of all the other books of his I have yet to read.

This Wednesday I am djing at Magnet. I'm on first, 10.30pm til midnight.

Do You Miss Home?

2007-03-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

MP3 of Love

You Are Gold And Silva-a-a

2007-03-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

1,000 Different Versions of Yourself

2007-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

i'm djing this Saturday in Dr Pong..which is 17th March, aka St. Patrick's Day. I would kind of avoid taking part in anything if I was in Ireland...Traiterous words from one whose sister is working on the St Patrick's Day Festival in Dublin..But I'm in Berlin! Yay.

So watch out for Shamrock shaped cut-outs tacked to the wall and maybe probably some boozy green concoction to get punch drunk on. Come dancing ; )

St Patrick's Day Hop @ Dr Pong, Sat 17th March Eberswalder Str. 21

watch out!

The Shins at the Postbahnhof April 4 2007
Deerhoof plus the Blow, Festsaal Kreuzberg 15 April 2007

Careless in Our Summer Clothes

2007-03-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

there hasn't been a song for a while that made me do AIR GUITAR.

but this "hang me out to dry" by the cold war kids..you know the bit i mean. it's not even a big mad crazy solo. but this hot, echoey bassline and guitar riff. duuuuude. and the clearcut drum beats and the yelling. this week was not cool, so i made a Friday mix to make it all better, including this. i could have just put this song 10 times in a row! Hot damn! i am really regretting missing them when they played with CYHSY recently. there's a couple of videos for this song, i prefer this one:

SXSW - junior senior are gonna be doing a LIVE RENDITION, YO of this song with J.D from le Tigre at their showcase. Dammmmn. Drea I hope you get to this!

Junior Senior Plus J.D Samson

Saturday, March 17 1:00 a.m.
Exodus (302 E 6th St)

You Always Come to the Party

2007-03-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

1 o' my friends is going to SXSW. Lucky!!!!! Here is my reco'mmendations:

1. GIRL TALK

"Pure Magic"

Sat 17 1AM at Elysium
(705 Red River Street)

2. BEACH HOUSE

Friday March 16th 1am at The Tap Room at Six
(117 W 4th Street)

3. BISHOP ALLEN

"Queen of the Rummage Sale" mp3.

Thursday, March 15 10:30 p.m.
Mohawk Patio (912 Red River St)

4. PETER, BJORN AND JOHN

Friday, March 16 9:00 p.m.
Austin Convention Center (500 E Cesar Chavez St)

(also listed as Wednesday, March 14 12:30 a.m.
La Zona Rosa, 612 W 4th St)

5. AWESOME COOL DUDES

"move something / like you just hit the groove button / on the Casio / i aint gotta prove nothin'"

PLEASE GO TO THE MYSPACE AND LISTEN TO "CLAP CLAP"

Saturday, March 17 9:00 p.m.
Karma Lounge (119 W 8th St)

6. SIMPLE KID

Wednesday, March 14 8:00 p.m.
Copa (217 Congress Ave)

He's irish, get him drunk.

7. MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND

Friday, March 16 10:00 p.m.
Antone's (213 W 5th St)

8. THE PRESETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, March 15 1:00 a.m.
Beauty Bar Patio (617 E 7th St)

9. SHIT DISCO

Thursday, March 15 12:15 a.m.
Beauty Bar Patio (617 E 7th St)

10. CHAMILLIONAIRE

Tuesday March 13th
Carver Museum Backporch
The Recording Academy at 6:30 p.m.
(1165 Angelina St)

11. DANDI WIND

Saturday, March 17 9:00 p.m.
Beauty Bar (617 E 7th St)

Honourable mentions - bloc party, blonde redhead, the bravery, cody chestnutt, datarock!!!, au revoir simone, cold war kids, my latest novel, oh no! oh my!, the rapture, ron sexsmith,

young hearts

2007-03-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

this one time, au revoir simone and we are scientists were on tour together, MAKIN' VIDEOS:

The Au Revoir ladies packed out Bastard tonight. AND played "Young Turks" for the encore.

JE VEUX TE VOIR

2007-02-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

i'm djing tomorrow night with some other djs aswell. it's a new place, so lots to check out. is the beer cheap? do they have cool toilets? will that cute barman be working? hm.

i went to see Regina Spektor at Lido last Friday night. she was amazing. she had a golden chair to hit with a drumstick when she wanted some beats. i love the contrast of her dripping-with-diamonds voice and the funny noises she makes, like the puking on "Magic Box" when she sings the line about gulping the soapy water.

THIS WEEKEND OMG:

Saturday night: Au Revoir Simone in Bastard, and later on, BONDE DE ROLE IN RIO!!!!!

She's Not Allowed to Europe

2007-02-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

Well that was a pretty great week.

Had a work dinner on Tuesday night to celebrate a visit from the kids from 'merica, Jai-Alai Savant and the Album Leaf. (They came over to perform at the Intro Intime this week.) I had the spicy pizza, and the chocolate mousse for desert (both were melt-in-yr-mouth amazing. You'll never finish a mousse di cioccolato at Il Due Forni). Several beers, plates of food, seat exchanges and slang-from-Philly lessons from Major Taylor later it was all over, and i know how to use "jawn" in the right context.

The Broken Hearts Club affair was a memorable one on Valentine's night thanks to Autonervous.

Thursday evening I went (for my first time in a year and half spent in Berlin) to an irish pub, with my irish friend to have some "irish" food and merriment. I almost even bought crisps. We wanted to have a "real pint", ended up having three with our dinner and desert, and also stealing a book (I love Mary Wesley!).

Later that evening, the Hospitals played a great show in the Festsaal keller, thanks the Hospitals. People went crazy. Even a chick in killer heels and a fifties prom dress.

Friday I just caught the beginning of Leslie and the Lys playing at the Wice party in the Scala. SHE IS AMAZING!

Peaches and Planningtorock were out and behaving like a pair of mischievious kids.

I couldn't stay long because i was djing at Stella Bar. Which was a little quiet, but fun anyway. They have a fun programme of stuff going on, which includes "russian night" every Thursday. Food, drink, performances, film directors, screenings, djs. Everything russian you can think of!

Ooh, here is a russian-related story from that night too: My friend Max came out to Stella, and brought some new music he's been working on. One CD from his Achtung Liebe Automat project had "She's Not Allowed to Europe" on it. It's a song about a friend of our friend (who is a really nice and lovely girl, but just had a bit of passport trouble once.) There was a night spent in jail and she's ended up being not really allowed to travel to Europe. And so is stuck in Russia. It sounds like it's the hit song from a cult eighties movie about a girl with a moustache who leaves a trail of destruction and broken hearts in her wake as she travels across the capital cities of the european continent.

Wow, i just noticed Leslie's red-eye in my photo there is actually one-red-eye-one-gold-eye, totally matching her outfit! Geez Leslie, you just can't get any better.

http://www.myspace.com/djmajortaylor
http://www.myspace.com/thejaialaisavant (don't even try and resist "Scarlett Johannsen Why Don't You Love Me?")
http://www.myspace.com/autonervous
http://www.myspace.com/hospitals
http://www.myspace.com/achtungliebeautomat ("Not Allowed To Europe")
http://www.myspace.com/stellabar

http://www.myspace.com/eel_pie

i guess the fun really started last Saturday night when I jumped around a room of scrunched up newspaper at Eel Pie.

Check that place out, it's new. A Bar with the stunning attraction of a room full of scrunched up newspaper which you are totally allowed to jump around in.

oh, lots!

2007-02-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

woah!

(click to enlarge)

tonight:

broken hearts club at ballhaus, mitte:

tomorrow night:

Earsugar 7" singles release party at Bastard:

friday night:

i'm djing for the first time at Stella Bar. It's a best sweater party!

(i just found out that Leslie and the Lys are playing on Friday night at the Vice party. That is kind of funny seeing as i made my dj night at Stella a "best sweater" party...!)

People in England, do you want to have the best time ever? Look what Shit Disco just said:

We're looking for someone to let us play in their living room on the following dates:

28 Feb LONDON
4 Mar GLASGOW
5 Mar LEEDS
7 Mar BRISTOL
8 Mar PORTSMOUTH
9 Mar COVENTRY
10 Mar MIDDLESBOROUGH

We'll bring the soundsystem, lights & smoke machine.
You just let the people through your door.

Ask your flatmates, it will get messy.
Then send us a message & we'll arrange the particulars.

X
SHITDISCO

Yes!

(the only kind that i relate to)

2007-02-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

I can't get last thursday night out of my head. I made myself and Robbeh some cheese sandwiches and we headed over to Porchester Hall in the early evening. Robbeh is a pro at queueing, i believe it's standard procedure in Britain, especially for gigs. i was going to avoid the waiting around bit, but then i thought it would be funner to do the queue thing and go with Robbeh, than not go and then probably get lost trying to find my way to Porchester Hall by myself and miss Arcade Fire.

We get there and our queueing presence fucks with the bouncer's head. (Though, since it's Porchester Hall, and he was really nice, let's say he was the doorman.) He couldn't quite grasp the idea that we'd come a couple of hours early, and told us to go away to the pub for a while and come back. But we were determinded to hang about. So we did. Richard Reed Perry wandered by, and asked "how's life?" He is smiling beautifically, and it's hard not to smile beautifically back. Life is good when in possession of a ticket to an Arcade Fire show that's on later Richard! I give dirty looks to two fat middle aged men who look like touts. (Later i see them up the front bopping around and enjoying themselves tremendously. Could it be?)

The doorman felt a bit sorry for us, and when the waiting crowd grew to a respectably troublesome size, he made arrangements for us to be let inside to wait in a warm and cosy room. How nice is that, seriously. Robbeh's friend Sarah arrived with CHIPS, which might have been a bit much what with the cheese sandwiches we'd already had, but waiting around for Arcade Fire is a very energy-expending exercise. Yes. While we were sitting on the floor in that room we heard the thrums and yodels of the soundcheck. We weren't just sitting there, we were also guarding the doorman's lunch, and keeping stupid americans away from the chairs. Don't ask. Ok do, it's a funny story and involves the line "oh, are you the boss of the chairs?!!?!!?" or something. It's nearly time for the doors to open, and so many people are in the room now that it's very hard to discern any kind of line. Our man Pete was on hand to get everyone in order. "I hate when things aren't organised properly!" Pete said. People congratulated Pete's line ordering skills, and soon after the doors OPEN!

i tried really hard not to run up the stairs like mad and dash into the hall, like a greedy kid running after...running cake. but i totally did. i even ran by the free badges. (oh well, i got better ones at work last week!) so, up the front we are. people are trying to squish themselves anywhere to get in the very front row. Wow. It's an incredible spot. Because the crowd is so well behaved, and noone bashes into me, it's like i'm standing there gobsmacked by Arcade Fire all by myself, but i'm not the only one of course. Win says how nice it is to have a few days to spend in London. That he hated it before, but doesn't anymore. The set list goes to shit because of the heckling from the audience. If you are clever enough to have a ticket to see Arcade Fire, don't shout orders at them. Just let them play! Whatever they have decided on is going to be more magical than you can ever imagine anyway. Leave them alone!

For some reason I thought Win Butler was going to look a bit like Jack White. But he doesn't. He is Win Butler from his giant feet, to his braces and sweaty shirt and big brown eyes. And Regine is Peaches' long lost twin sister if ever I saw one. (Gem fingerless gloves?) Richard definitely brings the suspense element to the show. First of all, he picks the most difficult "picking up" instruments to play and you can only just about bear to look in those moments when he's running from double bass to accordian and he's throwing one instrument down and galloping over to the other one and HE JUST MAKES IT IN TIME. Always. And he even has time to do a little jig, or sing and laugh at the same time aswell. Heck.

So! Bloody hell I can't wait til they come and play in Berlin in March.

Jesus Christ Don't Keep It Hid

2007-02-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

God i had the best week ever.

- nearly, but didn't miss my flight to London on Wednesday.

- spent way too much money in Fopp (can only be a good thing, really. Especially when it all went on books. Especially in Fopp. Swoon, thud.)

- spent way too much money in record shops across Lahhhndaahhn tahn. (And definitely could have spent more.) I've come home with a rather fancy bundle of stuff. Colour-dy vinyl 7 inch singles (and also plain sexy black) from the Boyfriends, the Noisettes, Archie Bronson Outfit, Vive Voce, the Organ and Klaxons (Golden Skans might just be the best song of this decade. Shame about the video..) The best part was when I thought I was buying some second hand albums (3 for five quid) BUT actually they had brand new copies. (Pat Benatar, Joe Jackson, Modern English).

- getting stepped on by Win Butler. If you're up the front at an Arcade Fire gig, do not look down. because that is probably the second that the big boot is gonna come down on you. Ow, but OH!OH!OH! most amazing gig ever, needless to say. See you there in March when they play in Berlin. Maybe not so up the front.

-chelsea buns at Borough market. YUM!

- Fish and chips at Toffs in Muswell Hill. (This Fish & Chips establishment has been decreed one of the best by Badly Drawn Boy. he is having a gig there at some stage very soon i believe.) (It really is the best.)

- Bulmers from a can in the queue at the Scala for Cansei de Ser Sexy. Yes, queueing can be fun, when queueing with friendly germans, bezzie mates and have can of cider in hand.

- Shopping for dickie bows at Episode in Camden

I had a look on Flickr for photographs from the night I saw Arcade Fire play at Porchester hall - some of the photos up there are amazing. Please go have a look. Search "arcade fire porchester" or "css scala london" you'll see. Go look!

Oh, Win Butler is very witty. People kept shouting song requests from the crowd. (Which i only found mildly entertaing cos of the funny London accents). But it obviously irked the 'Fire front man, though he charmingly laughed it off with a girlfriend/boyfriend analogy. Because shouting song requests is like telling your girlfriend she looks fat in that dress. He forgot the lyrics to "Powers Out" (which did not make him look fat) but didn't give up and just sort of hung his head and said "it's been a while". That moment actually was probably one of th emost mind blowing. He jumped into this crowd, (with the help of my shoulder) and kept on playing, with people hugging him and patting him on the back and trying to hump his leg etc. He sort of curled up into a ball and suddenly the pounding intro to "Rebellion (Lies)" was happening, and it was a bit too much.

And today, well maybe i'm going splits on a drum kit with my friend. Yesssss I probably could have used the money from this trip to put towards it, but i wouldn't change anything about the past few days.

Robbie took some amazing photographs from the night.

k-i-s-s-i-n-g

2007-01-28T12:43:00.000-08:00

Hey look at this! RUBY MAGAZINE. Woah. I got some badges at work this week. One is a sort of fat square, with a neon bible on it, and the other is the name of the band, in typewriter letters. I'm afraid to wear either of em. I'm also afraid of listening to the album. But late on a Sunday evening is kind of perfect. I drank too many beers at the Vice party last night. They were pretty lucky that DATAROCK were there to liven things up with some chest-hair sleaze pop. No cherry beer or nothin.

New Young Pony Club were supposed to play here on Saturday but they big fat didn't show up. The venue was this big huge concrete structure that used to be an electrical plant. It's the new Tresor venue, practically identical to Berghain, except the lights were on really bright, there were ice sculptures and flames coming out of the walls, and a mini basketball court. But no NYPC.

If you like dancing to hot chip, the gossip, planningtorock and kate bush, and feeling a bit sad that all the hot boys dancing around you are gay, then NBI on a Wednesday night is just for you! It's the Berlin Hilton night & this past Wednesday Hanayo played. Yeh, she nearly fell through the wall.

This is kind of funny:

Datarock - Computer Camp Love

ps - here is what i wrote the first time i saw Datarock, last May. This weekend they played in Berlin twice.

It's Like a Picture of a Loved One in Disguise

2007-01-21T19:32:00.000-08:00

My new shoes. They are so the best.

The Shins put up the whole of "Wincing the Night Away" for listenin'!

Hey, I'm looking to finally get my own drum kit, so if you are in berlin and are selling a drum kit, please let me know! I just need something that is good enough to practise on, for the moment.

Shit Disco + Lo Fi Fnk last week = so good. Plus, I was standing beside a boy who had an "aer lingus" badge on his jacket. It was the night the "orkan" was supposed to blast us all away and even though I had sleepy eyes and it was pretty cold, the Maria is only around the corner from me and it was actually nice enough outside that i could ride out ON MY BIKE!

Seriously can't wait to see them again.

(Dr Pong was deadly on Friday night.)

This Thursday, 28 Costumes at Magnet!

You Think Its Alright

2007-01-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

Shit Disco fucked shit up tonight.

Before I Put Another Notch in My Lipstick Case...

2007-01-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

The door bitches got me again. So I missed Peter Bjorn and John last week. It was all sold out, there was a MASSIVE crowd outside, only about 3 people in that crowd had tickets. Maaaaan. I didn't know the guestlist closed at 9pm and there was really no way to get in at the insanely late hour of our arrival of 9.25pm.

OH WELL! IM GOING TO SEE ARCADE FIRE ON 1ST FEBRUARY IN LONDON IN PORCHESTER HALL!

And nobody is going to not let me in. I have a real ticket and everything.

Work this week was very much orientated around the 'Fire. Printing out labels and then packing up promo copies. I even heard the album a few times. The promo copies are all watermarked and numbered for extra precaution against the music getting leaked onto the internet. It's so gorgeous, it's like listening to something that you're not sure is really there. At the beginning of December I was sitting in on a Wednesday morning meeting when their name came up...It has been really surreal to be behind the scenes, some of them anyway. This album is going to SHAKE THE WORLD LIKE A SNOW GLOBE.

Girl Talk Remixes Are Hot!

1. Peter Bjorn + John, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off". Girl Talk Remix. I am a sucker for kettle drums.

2. Grizzly Bear, "The Knife" Girl Talk Remix. I sort of like this alot, but i would love it it more if he wasn't all "wamp wamp". It's priceless from about 2.12secs. "...we could have never thought of it and finally we can dance to our own music! Haha" Ed Droste, probably.

FEB 16 LESLIE AND THE LYS AT WHITE TRASH, BERLIN

Caught In a Motion That I Don't Wanna Stop

2007-01-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

This is It

2007-01-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Since I woke up and turned on the radio about a half an hour ago, Radio Eins has played this:

the Pigeon Detectives - "I Found Out"
JJ72 - "Oxygen"
Beck - "Nausea"
Tokyo Police Club - "Nature of the Experiment"
the Church - "Under the Milky Way"
Bloc Party - "So Here We Are"
Bright Eyes - "A Perfect Sonnet"
If you're in Berlin, you wouldn't be doing too badly to show up at these gigs:

10 Jan - Peter, Bjorn and John in Lido
25 Jan - 28 Costumes (+ the Bishops) in Magnet

Wolf Like Me

2007-01-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

Say say my playmate
wont you lay hands on me
mirror my maladie
transfer my tragedy

Got a curse i cannot lift
shines when the sunset shifts
when the moon is round and full
gotta bust that box gotta gut that fish

My mind's aflame

We could jet in a stolen car
but i bet we wouldnt get too far
before the transformation takes
and bloodlust tanks and
crave gets slaked

My mind has changed
my bodys frame but god i like it
my hearts aflame
my bodys strained but god i like it

My mind has changed
my bodys frame but god i like it
my hearts aflame
my bodys strained but god i like it

Charge me your day rate
ill turn you out in kind
when the moon is round and full
gonna teach you tricks that'll blow your mongrel mind
baby doll i recognize
you're a hideous thing inside
if ever there were a lucky kind it's

you you you you

I know its strange another way to get to know you
you'll never know unless we go so let me show you
i know its strange another way to get to know you
we've got till noon here comes the moon
so let it show you
show you now

Dream me oh dreamer
down to the floor
open my hands and let them
weave onto yours

Feel me, completer
down to my core
open my heart and let it
bleed onto yours

Feeding on fever
down on all fours
show you what all that
howl is for

Hey hey my playmate
let me lay waste to thee
burned down their hanging trees
it's hot here hot here hot here hot here

Got a curse we cannot lift
shines when the sunset shifts
there's a curse comes with a kiss
the bite that binds the gift that gives

now that we got gone for good
writhing under your riding hood
tell your gra'ma and your mama too
it's true true true true

we're howling forever

All I Wanna Do Is Ride Bikes With You, And Stay Up Late and Watch Cartoons

2006-12-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

Keep an eye on Wears the Trousers for Robbie's sexy interview with Planningtorock.

..who is playing here on 21 Dec in Rio by the way.

Last night at Dr Pong was wheely great. Apparently yesterday there was a bicycle race in Berlin. There was a bicycle-dude get together after party thing at the bar, so there was an especially invented for the occasion PUNCH for all the bicycle dudes to get drunk on...which they certainly did! Get drunk AND punch. Well, nearly. I was a bit scared of them sometimes. But then they would dance to Cansei de Ser Sexy, or make a "wish" for Whitney Houston, "only one of the good ones, from the 80s."

I hope that everyone is going to see "Little Miss Sunshine". If you are in the mood to go and watch a really good film at the cinema, I highly recommend it.

We had our own smoke machine button at the UDK party on Friday.

My neighbour is so cool. He has fashioned some pretend snowballs so it looks like someone has just splatted his door with two snowballs! HA! I went to the flea market today, and now have my first christmas decoration: a shooting star light. It's small, but fiery. It practically lights up my whole place.

In Ireland, if someone is very, very good looking we say they are "a ride".

Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karina, Arlene Dahl.

2006-12-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

There are alot of good things on this week: the UDK university is having a BIG MAD PARTY on Friday night. My friend signed us up to be the "indie" djs. We have a room all to ourselves for the night, and it's quite a beautiful room. AND the party is not just for grotty students. So please come out and dance!

I guess cassette-flyers are de rigeur. i made a flyer up like this only last week...Look closely because everything you need to know is ON THE FLYER.

This Saturday night i'm djing at Dr Pong:

Beat that, UDK.

KLAXONS just came on the radio!..On radio eins!. Swit Swoo. And there's..extra bits in "Gravity's Rainbow". Scratchy, whiny, excellent bits.

That was exciting.

Also exciting, and a bit troublesome are the upcoming gigs over the next few days. FRIEDA HYVOENEN and LOVE IS ALL are both playing here on Sunday night. I would love to check out Privatclub, I've never been to a gig there. But I think I've been looking forward to the latter for a bit longer. Which means another stuffy, smoky, shove-y night in Magnet.

Monday poses another dilemma. i didn't realise it 'til just now but THE THERMALS and LONG BLONDES are in town playing the same night.

Oh, bugger. Not only will i be totally knackered after the weekend, i will have to make decisions. Hate dah.

I Can Razmatazz You Honey If You Want Me To

2006-12-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

i discovered an amazing song this week. "cherry cola" by eagles of death metal.

so, how's your weekend? hm, today i have a pretty bad hangover. pretty much the worst! i got a last minute job dj job for this dude's birthday party last night. it was held in a pretty cool venue and there was a big crowd. i was happy because people were dancing and there was a really good buzz. But then, after a couple of hours things started to go hilariously downhill. This 4 foot indian called "Moon" accosted me with his USB stick - at first i thought he wanted me to copy my music onto it, and i was a smidge flattered. (i never djed with a laptop before, but i was warned that maybe there wouldnt be a double cd mixer, so i should be prepared. i don't keep my music on it so i spent a good few hours beforehand uploading about 7 hours of music. it turned out that they had some reeeeeeeally nice equipment for cd mixing, which was one of the only nice things about the whole evening...)

so this Moon dude actually wanted me to copy all the music from HIS usb stick and play stuff off it. I started to do it, then the birthday dude came over and said "Whats going on here?..Just ignore that guy, he wasnt even invited" So i pretended there was a problem with my laptop and handed the USB stick back to Moon who said "yeh well you better have the music that we want." with a vicious glint in his eye. From then on he went out of his way to make things difficult. Even though people were dancing and having a good time and coming up to me and saying "MUSIC IS GREAT!!! AWOOOHOOO!!" this Moon dude and his pals kept coming over all serious asking for "more upbeat stuff..like Benny Benassi." Oh i wish i could have seen my face when he said that. I felt really bad because the birthday guy just wanted people to have a good time. and i didnt want people to have a bad time cos they didnt like the music i was playing. but it was really just this little bunch of twats that ganged up against me because they didnt know that a dj had been booked, and they had all thought they would be hooking up their little usb sticks and putting on their terrible, awful, shitty music.

i did have nerd, justin timberlake and amerie with me so i played some of that..I even resorted to some early J.Lo. But these fuckers were just not happy. this guy was sharing his birthday party with his co-worker, and her boyfriend came up and bullied me into letting him take over. He started playing this euro dance trash and all the annoying bastards went "woo!!" but then two seconds later, people were getting their jackets and leaving, and those that stayed were coming up to me and saying "what happened? your music was better.." i didnt really know what to do then, because i was being paid to be there, but drunken control freaks with terrible music taste (possibly the worst kind of human being in existence) had taken over. then the boyfriend stomps up to me and demands to know why i have been complaining and so im trying to explain how shitty this situation is. i felt really bad because people should not be getting angry at a birthday party. and i was also just like "dude, you have terrible taste in music. what are you playing? can you hear this? It is TRASH." To his credit, he actually laughed and said "Yeh." Birthday guy had told me the party would be a crowd of 20-30 year olds who wanted to dance. and i had told him that the music i play is like new indie rock and some electronica stuff and 80s pop. i actually like that one benny benassi song, "satisfaction" but still. those people were absolutely evil motherfuckers. at one point i sort of cried a little bit because i am such a fucking girl and it was just so stressy.

Then this nice girl came up and we talked for a bit and she said she might have music on her laptop which they would like, so she would dj for a while. (i dunno there were alot of people with usb sticks and laptops at this party.) she did play some cool music, but people started attacking her with their usb sticks, and when one drunken eastern european bimbo tried to jam in her usb stick into the girls Mac even though it didnt fit, she got fed up and quit. so we left the boyfriend to it.

i really like djing. but last night was such a shitty position to be in. and i know it came about because it was all so last minute and not really planned very well. and ive wasted my weekend on the resulting hangover of doom - from the alcahol and all the drama. it was like a highschool prom gone wrong or something.

"cherry cola" does nearly make it all better though. it's up for download at their little spot. also, if you click on that cherry bakewell tart it gets really big. like really big.

Give Me a Polaroid Picture ‘til You Fit in my Pocket

2006-11-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

You have a date tonight.

in Dr Pong, at 11 0'clock.

(there will also be cake.)

I Heard a Sound

2006-11-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

Powers are playing tonight, Friday night in Bastard, you bastards. Plus, it's Jessica(moog player)'s birthday. Plus Kate Boss is going to dj your ass off. DOORS 10.30PM.

don't miss it.

Check out the powers of Powers!

They just got back from TOURING with BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. YO.

(Field Music cancelled their Sunday show. Needless to say, BOO.)

Alot of Things. Yay!

2006-11-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hey, imagine three girls with long hair and blouses playing keyboards and bopping to a drum machine. Theyre singing about lying in the back yard measuring the stars with a ruler and a compass.

Au Revoir Simone, leaving a trail of swooning boys wherever their soft steps wander. They popped into the office yesterday morning, but I wasn't there yet, so I missed out. But I got to type up an interview Annie did. (I'm not saying anything, but guess who used to have a shaved head.)

They played last night in Magnet, as the opening band for Mono. It might seem like an unlikely pairing, but let me tell you all those long-haired noise-rock boys were totally under the spell of their dreamy pop lullabies. We were all waving from side to side, sighing longingly at the end of every song. They kept reminding me of someone, but i couldn't put my finger on it 'til my friend said "Postal Service". They also reminded me of the Lisbon sisters, though in a more well adjusted, less fatalistic kind of way. My favourite song from the night was the last one, a cover of Rod Stewarts "Young Turks"...(Why did he call it that? Why isn't this cover all over the INTERSPHEREOFLOVE yet? Listen to the original here! Oh, Rod Stewie.)

i'm sorry. these are the best lyrics EVER:

"Paradise was closed so they headed for the coast in a blissful manner.
They took a tworoom apartment that was jumping evry night of the week.
Happiness was found in each others arms as expected, yeah
Billy pierced his ears, drove a pickup like a lunatic, ooh!"

And it really is the best chorus melody ever. Especially the keyboard bits. No wonder they picked this one to cover.

And they have names like Annie and Heather. And surnames like Hart and D'Angelo. And i think i just fell in love with Annie's boyfriend's band though i haven't heard the music yet. This is two of the boys talking about a video for one of their songs:

...in the video for "No Radio." it started off with this real upbeat guitar track, and it just made me want to move my feet, and I was like, 'Oh, how funny would it be if we made this video that was like '80s Jazzercise?' And two months later, I found myself in short shorts, jumpin' around.

I hope that this week you are not going to miss:

Powers . Bastard . Fri 24 November. (also a Kate Boss dj night. There will be dancing.)

http://www.myspace.com/powersofpowers

Poopsy Club. WestGermany. Also Friday. I just got the newsletter on this one. There
will be a hairdresser called Charlie offering his services and there is "Queer darkroom" for "sexy chillout". I don't know, it's all in German..I think there is a band called Riots Not Diets from Argentina. You can read about one of the djs here. (Scroll down to A.Ona).

Field Music . Mudd Club. Sun 26 November. Playing support to Cold War Kids.

Almost Tropical (That's me.) djing at Dr Pong. Sun 26 Nov. From 11pm.

Field Music have put up some songs from their new album Tones of Town today. Get them while they are hot. Sit Tight and Give It Lose It Take It.

ps i missed Cansei de ser Sexy last night because tickets were TWENTY EUROS.

THAT IS RIDICULOUS CANSEI DE SER SEXY, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!

hello

2006-11-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

CA$H MONEY PARTY LAST NIGHT!!!!!!! It was on in a very Stanley Kubrik type of setting, on the second level of a shopping centre @ Alex. There were rows of square refridgerators behind the bar with LCD displays telling you what was inside. And a live light show going on. The huge windows were actually sliding doors, and they even opened them up! Lots of dancing and people watching going on. I was kind of all danced out from Klaxons, but still didn't leave til way after 4.

ON THE DANCEFLOOR: Whitney "How Will I know", Shannon "Let the Music Play", "Ice Cream" New Young Pony Club, "Over and Over", Hot Chip..."Everything She Wants", George Michael.

CA$H MONEY PARTY

Your Name's Not Down You're Not Coming In

2006-11-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

In this photo you can see:

One Klaxon, sporting a rather dishy jumper, hairdo and instrument.

Also, just about, is the bicycle helmet of one of the girlz from Robots in Disguise. Yeh i guess the Robots in Disguise girlz were up the front wearing bicycle helmets.

I was supposed to get an interview, photopass, golden ticket to the gig and a slice of cake, but no. It transpired that none of this was going to work out for me. It was really disappointing to not have a chat with them and have to spend money that i don't have at the last minute. I really couldn't afford to get a ticket, my friend Kaffrin was gonna buy me one, and I was reliably informed by two different people that i was on the guestlist. But in the end...well you know the words to the song, innit.

I couldn't miss the show, and it was bloody worth it to be there. i have the big smile, sore feet, bruises, aching limbs, empty wallet and ringing ears to prove it.

"Magick" is going to do insane things on dancefloors..That wailing guitar and ooh-wee-ee-oooh-wee-ooh in the background and the chanting and the glitter on the snow...It seemed like the people who had been going fucking mental to "Atlantis to Interzone" didn't really know this one too well. Yet? but i did!..thanks to bigstereo. "Not Over Yet" is still my favourite. On the new album?!?!?!?!?!?! Hope so.

OH MY GOSH look what i just found, "Not Over Yet" Mp3.

I Just Like Your Brain

2006-11-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

Go to this:
KLAXONS IN MAGNET THURSDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 2006.

Then go to this:
THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB

THURSDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 2006 FROM 10PM
AT BALLHAUS BERLIN (NEXT TO RIO)

HEARTBREAK-LOVESONGS PLAYED BY
DIRKBONN
WOLFRAM AMADEUS (DISKOKAINE/VIENNA)
COCO
TABI
DJ FUCK HUGO
NOMAD

BURLESQUE DANCESHOW PERFORMED BY
CLEA CUTTHROAT & BUNNY CLYDE

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEBROKENHEARTSCLUBBERLIN

Then enter this video competition City Slang are runnin' at the moment.

Ok? Thanks.

Grizzly Bear + Powers show at Lido 13 November, cancelled

2006-11-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

There are some evil scum walking the earth. You know the kind who steal honest, hardworking people's vans full of expensive gear and valueable personal belongings. Such is the fate of Grizzly Bear, who have had to cancel the last 12 dates of their tour, thanks to some nasty motherfucker who stole their van in Brussels last night. They already felt unsure about continueing because Daniel's father is ill. I am sure they felt the pressure from all the people who were depending on them to show up and be professional. But also the need to return home, for Daniel to be with his family at a time like this. My heart goes out to the band, I'm really sad we won't get to see them in Berlin. But hopefully things will work out. They will get their stuff back and Daniel's father will get well again.

If anyone has ANY information regarding their van that was stolen, they should contact the band at their myspace page.

PS - who the eff is this lil' kid?