Love With Clipse, A A Bondy, The Antlers and a Cod.

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1.) Clipse - Till The Casket Drops


Over at Complex they've got a pretty decent preview of the new Clipse album 'Till The Casket Drops' which many people are pretty excited about. In fact you could say it's going to be "Kinda Like a Big Deal." THAT'S THE TITLE OF A SONG FROM THE ALBUM. DO YOU GET IT?! There's a few peaks into some of the new songs and I'll be honest, I was a little dissapointed initially. 'I'm Good' is decent but y'know this is Clipse. This album is due to follow 'Lord Willin'' and 'Hell Hath No Fury'. No pressure then.

Note I did say initially up there because I then heard 'Popular Demand (Popeyes)' (dirty and clean link over at nah right.) which is just brilliant. No idea how long The Neptunes have had this beat hanging around for but it's refreshingly great for them. Pusha takes it on points over Malice but Cam'ron kinda holds his own with his murky verse. Those 'ehhs' are very 'Run This Town' aren't they. I think that's the point dumbass.

This album has a release date of December 8th but this is a hip hop album so yeah, pinch of salt delivered by a dumpster with that. It might actually come out on December 8th, I might wake up tomorrow with animal legs like that guy in Narnia.

That photo up there of the Thornton boys and Cam'ron in a Popeye's (I assume) is from nah right too. They look really funny and I don't know why. If they think they're gettin' served with their backs to the counter, they got another thing comin'. Rappers these days. No manners.



2) A.A Bondy & The Antlers














I've been listening to these two a lot this week and there's just nothing better than finding a new artist you really enjoy. I sometimes worry I'll wake one day to find that I've listened to everything I want to and there's nothing left. I usually then remember that worrying never saved anyones life, put on 'Ignition (remix)' and get on down.

- A A Bondy is currently touring with The Felice Brothers which is a good decision I think. He very much has that sound and if you like the latter, you'll definitely like the former. Hell, he's not doing anything new or different but I've not always been one striving for innovation at every corner. There just nice tunes man, put em on. 'When The Devil's Loose' is out now.

A A Bondy - A Slow Parade

"...these dogs will tear your flesh/you best give them a bone."




- The Antlers have made a really foreboding and simple album in 'Hospice' that sounds beautifully honest. Lauded by the people it's good to be lauded by in these circles, I really hope they go far.

Pitchfork say:

"Hospice is a skyscraping blend of the ambient and the anthemic, a record that swings for the bleachers at a time when it's fashionable to bunt."

We say:

"Hospice is a really beautiful album to listen to when you're walking in the forest trying not to think about too much and you're really pleased you brought your coat and not just your jumper."

People will mention Arcade Fire and perhaps Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! as influences and whatnot. I would say that but I'm fully aware that people say that about every band that's released an album in the last 5 years. So, If I wanted to bore you, I'd direct you to the appropriate website dear reader.

The Antlers - 'Two'

"...Well no one's gonna fix it for us, no one can/You say that, 'No one's gonna listen, and no one understands."



Both albums are on Spotify too. Here.


3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 'Gamers'

A Cod, yesterday. Spends its whole life in the miserable dark ocean attempting to avoid getting caught yet is still pleased it's not a 'gamer'.

'Gamers.' Just look at that name. It's something you can never use to describe yourself without then collapsing under a wall of ridicule and/or silence. You can say you're a drug addict, you can say you're a professional clown and you can probably say you are a really big Nickelback fan with out too much trouble but you say that you're a gamer, yo on yer own son.

Why? It's about LAN parties, drinking 2L soft drinks out of the bottle, fast food, obesity, little burrowed pits for eyes, poor social skills and online 'girlfriends', an absolutely ridiculous vocabulary and a strange penchant for Rammstein that truly sets these gamers apart. Today, however, finds me worried. I've just spent the last few minutes looking at videos of 'Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2' on youtube. This is out of character.

Okay some background, I have recently been exposed to both the worlds of Xbox 360 and Call of Duty (or COD as it is affectionately known to most teenage boys) and I'm seeing its appeal, I really am. There's little feeling like killing a friend/enemy in the head on this game. That's for sure. I'm guessing it's a bit like your wedding day or seeing your first child being born. i.e. pure joy. My dilemma, however, is this: I will buy COD:MW2 (even the acronym is geeky) when it is released and despite my obvious failings (I'm often shooting my own feet and/or the clouds) will play it until I am bored but the real concern is can you game and not be a gamer?

I'll leave you on that distinctly Carrie Bradshaw looking last sentence there my gamers. I'm struggling to link a song in here. Ermm. I always that when in doubt, go tenuous!

(Don't Fear) The Gamer guys.

Blue Oyster Cult: (Don't Fear) The Reaper

a Spotify Playlist!

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Here: 'MMD I: Roar vs. Whisper'

Yeah, that's the title. Click to open dumbass. It's not got a theme or anything. Just good tunes I've been listening to recently on the wonderful Spotify that I thought I would share. I assume you are all in on spotify, if not....where have you been?! Get with the times Grandad! Did ya hear home taping is killing music? Did ya hear The Berlin wall came down? You old, man.

"An MMD Playlist?! Oh no they di'int!"

Be sure to check some of the stuff on the playlist out. Click the artist/album links if you feel like going positively insane. The Whiskeytown tune is taken from an essential collectors edition (such a thing actually exists, yes) of 'Strangers Almanac' which is definitely worth a listen, the Johnny Boy song would be in my top ten of the last decade (no, not just for the title) and Radiohead's 'Talk Show Host' contains the lines

"You want me/Fuckin' well come and find me/I'll be
waitin'/With a gun and a pack of Sandwiches"

Oof. Death by a .44 and a BLT. It's no way to go.

Nutin' but a Gallimimus thang baby..

By the way, When I say "...wonderful Spotify" up there I'm obviously skimming over the adverts and in particular that new advert I keep hearing for some new shit kids on the block emo band fronted by Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. No, I don't know what they're called. Life in The Shadows? An Internal Fire? From Dark, Comes Light? The New Shit Kids On The Block? Who cares. It'll be something like that won't it. And and...don't you even try and get me started on those voicemails people leave either. That guy that starts singing The Jam or whatever! God! That other one,"Spotify iz de bomb (welsh accent, not an arnie thing)" Shit!

So yeah, Spotify adverts are killing music.

Winter Knocked On My Door.

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It really did today for the first time. The sound of its glass knuckles is unmistakable. A harsh alarm. An unwelcome visitor. The journey to work was as cold as it was dark and to think that it gets worse from here on in. Holy God. It'd be almost unbearable if, say, I didn't have a wonderful holiday to look forward to or I recently got a speeding ticket or something. That would just be rotten. WAIT A MINUTE Breaking news here! Man your depression stations! We've just checked your diary and guess what? There's no holiday on the horizon buddy AND just check this shit out below...


This photo is taken from the police website. It shows me stomping blissfully unaware towards a speed trap so cleverly hidden it could never be seen by human nor dinosaur eye. After I opened the letter informing me of my motor discrepancy, I cried for a medium to long time. After that, however, I got to thinking. Mainly, I got to thinking 'How?'. How did this happen? It's impossible. I saw no camera, I saw no police. Nothing. I thought about it for a while until I arrived a conclusion. The only conclusion possible. GATSO what?! Lazer camera who?! No, no, no, no, no. Squirrel with a camera up a tree my friend. That's what this was right here. Unbelievable. Look how relaxed and happy I look! Little did I know! Have they no heart?! Man, Meet Judicial System. Gimme a break.

Whatever. Here's three records I've been digging recently. They're good for winter in their own little ways. Keep the wolf from the door whatever way ya can.

1. Russian Red - I Love Your Glasses




This is a really beautiful record. Very glacial. I don't mean slow there either. It just reminds me of glaciers. Very cold sounding yet so graceful. 'I Love Your Glasses' sounds like a Mirah album if Mirah moved to Antarctica with a broken heart but enough candles to last the night. I also know absolutely nothing about Russian Red as a person which is kinda cool with music sometimes. Surely I can't be the only one who would love Joss Stone's music if she wasn't such a clowning idiot?!* 'I Love Your Glasses' sounds perfect on a bitterly cold morning when there isn't much around other than dew, mist and a journey to a job you probably don't wanna do that much. Squirrel speed traps optional.

Russian Red - Take Me Home



2. Morrissey - Vauxhall and I



I've just rediscovered 'Vauxhall and I' and man, am I pleased. I'm convinced I now like it more than 'The Smiths' and 'Strangeways...' which is saying something isn't it. 'Vauxhall and I' broods like no other Morrissey record. It's a feeling this man is just amazing at. 'Now My Heart Is Full' is not just in my top five Morrissey solo songs but also in my top five songs that Morrissey has ever been involved with. Great, great song. Other than this weird man, tell me someone alive or dead who could write lines like "Tell all of my friends, I don't have too many. Just some raincoated lover's puny brothers..." 'Vauxhall and I' is not just Morrissey's most cohesive album but his warmest too. Naturally it's about loneliness and all but I've always taken a lot of comfort from it. Consider it a cuddle from the man looking over the edge of the multistorey car park if you must. I've got both this and 'I Love Your Glasses' in my car. Warm and cold. My CD changer is basically that joke about a flask containing a choc ice and a cup of tea.

Morrissey - Now My Heart Is Full



3. Micah P. Hinson and The Gospel of Progress




I bought '...and The Gospel of Progress' in 2004 just a couple of weeks after I started dinoversity. Strange time of my life really because I often felt both young and old at the same time. This is all pretty apt when discussing Micah P. because that dichotomy is often discussed about him too. "He's got a voice and a sound beyond his tender years." They all say, the insufferable bores. Beautiful album though this that I NEVER listen to in summer. Sounds about as welcome as 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer' in June. Listen to 'The Day Texas Sank To The Bottom of the Sea' and try not to end up in a glassy eyed trance. In fact. don't do that. Winter's at the door. Somebody let it in.

Micah P. Hinson - Beneath The Rose







*JOKE. Repeat. A joke. I really hate Joss Stone. In every way. She might be named after a joss stick for God's sake and we all know who uses joss sticks don't we? Idiots. That's who.